Green Chiles

I'm still on break from blogging bit the wedding planning has slowed down somewhat. I have most of my vendors booked. Now we just have to wait until it gets closer to finalize everything else. I'm still quite busy at work but last weekend I actually didn't work so I drove out to west Denver and bought some green chiles. (I made it just in time because green chile season is nearing an end.)

I bought two bushels. I usually buy a few at a time during green chile season and when they’re out of season, I usually cook with poblanos, jalapenos or anaheims. I bought a pork loin the other day and decided to cook it with chiles. I had a few anaheims in the fridge so I roasted them in a cast iron skillet.

I thought they tasted fine but not as flavorful as when I make it with green chiles. I even added a roasted jalapeno. (This last batch of jalapenos I roasted was extremely hot.) I then came across an ad for the chili guys. I live in Colorado. Green chile is roasted at Whole Food and about every farmers market. Why am I not buying it by the bushel? Folks from out of state have it mailed to them at outrageous prices. I decided it was time to make the trek and pick up some green chiles.

I guess I didn’t realize how much I was committing to when I said two bushels. I justified my purchase of two bushels for $25 with the fact that without the coupon, a bushel started at $23 for some of the varieties. With the coupon I could choose two bushels of any variety.

I had the chiles roasted for me. Some people prefer to take them home and do their own roasting but I didn't feel like watching over a barbecue grill. Plus chile vendors have a really cool roaster designed especially for roasting chiles. One the drive home, the chiles steam in the bag and are ready to peel shortly after you get home. Wait a little bit since they get pretty hot. Remember to invest in some plastic gloves. I never keep plastic gloves around the house but I remember seeing a few pairs in my cake decorating kit.

I asked for a mild chile. I said maybe Big Jims. (Honestly Big Jims are the only variety I am familiar with.) The nice man suggested the Hatch Mediums. I also saw Hatch Milds but they only had about half a bushel left so I went ahead with the Hatch Mediums. The varieties were arranged from mildest to hottest. The Hatch Mediums were only one variety away from the mildest. It looks like most people opt for the extra spicy varieties such as the Sandia.

I’m not sure what exact variety he sold me because I don’t believe Hatch Medium is a variety. Hatch is the name of the region most green chiles are grown in. The mediums are probably a mix of NuMex Joe E. Parker, NuMex 6-4, and NuMex Big Jims because I noticed the chiles in the batch were slightly different shapes and sizes. The shop also had the Dynamite variety that is locally grown in Brighton, Colorado. I’m not sure if the Dynamite variety is mild or hot.

I am a wimp when it comes to spiciness. I love the flavor but I hate the heat. That’s why I love poblanos so much. I know they are consistently mild without any surprises. As I was peeling and seeding the chiles, I noticed a few in the batch were extra spicy. You can tell when a chile is spicy when you cut into it and starts to burn your eyes and nostrils. As I cleaned those, I made sure I removed all seeds and membranes and rinsed out the capsaicin really well.

Some people prefer to simply freeze the peppers as is but I don’t like having to wait for my chiles to thaw so that I can peel and seed them. Plus leaving the seeds in, allows for the capsaicin to penetrate the flesh of the chiles, making them spicier. I don’t mind some skin so I peel as much off as possible but leave the stubborn pieces on. I don’t like the seeds mainly because of the heat so I remove as much as possible along with the membranes. I don’t go too crazy about removing everything because with two bushels, I could be working all day. I finished two bushels in about three hours. After processing, I lost about a third of the volume. I didn’t take the time to pre-chop the chiles. Chopping is pretty easy to do right before adding to a recipe.

I bagged them up and froze them flat. (I should have used smaller bags.) I just pulled out a bag today to add to the crock pot salsa chicken I'm making tomorrow. I also took a chile out and sliced it into thirds lengthwise to use in the three breakfast burritos I will be eating for breakfast this week.

The burritos were inspired by an Einstein Bros. breakfast wrap called the Spicy Elmo but I opted to use turkey sausage instead of bacon and I skipped the cream cheese. I cooked up three eggs, topped them with shredded cheese and then heated up some precooked turkey breakfast sausage, put them on top of the eggs and then heated the green chiles to remove the excess moisture and put that on top. The filling is in one glass snapware container. In the morning, all I have to do is grab a multi-grain wrap and fill it with a third of the filling and heat in the microwave at work. I made enough for three breakfasts this week. I really like doing make ahead breakfasts because sometimes I get tired of eating Greek yogurt all the time.

Yes, that's a crock pot int he picture. I told the bf that I will probably be working late the next few months so either he does the cooking or we get a crock pot.

The roasted chiles were placed in this bag. It started leaking in the trunk.

Currently on Break...

...from food blogging

I'm getting married!!! So I've been busy with wedding planning. I thought I would be able to do both but this wedding planning is taking a lot longer than I expected. First we had to find a venue. We looked into places in San Diego and then places in Denver. After having a little panic attack because the thought of hosting a wedding for 500-800 guests almost threw me over the edge, we decided on a much smaller wedding (200 guests) in Las Vegas.

So far I'm ahead of schedule with a lot of the planning. I have two dresses hanging in my closet, three pairs of shoes, jewelry, veil, the venue, photographer, dj, cake designer, officiant...the save the dates came in today. I'm knee deep in invitation samples. I still have a lot to do but I feel really good about my progress.

Chicken Stew with Butternut Squash and Roasted Poblanos

The inspiration from this stew came from one of my coworkers. She loves roasted poblanos and uses them in many recipes. She makes a stew with lean ground chicken, acorn squash, and roasted poblanos. I texted her one day and asked her what sesasoning she used for her stew. She texted back and said she varied the spices depending on her mood. Some days it's herbs de provence and other days it's jerk seasoning and rosemary. Sometimes she adds parmesan cheese and other days she uses white wine vinegar and tobasco.

I went ahead and I used whatever I found in my spice drawer. I didn't have ground chicken so I just chopped up some chicken breast.


Chicken Stew with Butternut Squash and Roasted Poblanos

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound chicken breast (fine-medium dice) or 1 pound ground chicken
1 clove garlic
1 shallot, diced
1 tablespoon Jerk Seasoning
1 tablespoon Essence of Emeril
black pepper, to taste
sea salt, to taste
1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
water, to cover
1 teaspoon Better Than Buillion
1 to 2 poblanos, roasted and diced

1. Heat olive oil in a medium dutch oven over medium heat. Saute chicken breast, garlic, and shallots. Cook until chicken is lightly golden.
2. Add jerk seasoning, Essence of Emeril, black pepper and salt.
3. Add butternut squash, water and Better Than Buillion. Bring to a boil and cook until squash is soft.
4. Add poblanos and return to a boil.

Homemade Yogurt -- Two Methods

I've been experimenting with homemade yogurt over the last few months. This is a rather strange post for me because although I do like yogurt and I eat it. I don't think I can say that I LOVE it. I go through periods where I feel like I should eat yogurt because it's good for me. I mainly purchased Yogplait because I preferred it over Dannon and then I started eating Activia because of the digestive health claims and the non-traditional prune flavor. I tried other brands like Brown Cow cream top and I gagged. I hated the taste of Horizon and Mountain High had a strange grainy texture.

I knew I should be eating a different brand that wasn't loaded with high fructose corn syrup and various thickeners but they were all pretty expensive. It wasn't really the price that deterred me from purchasing the other yogurts. It was the fact that I only had a like relationship with yogurt so it wasn't really worth it.

On a whim, I tried making my own yogurt. I remember trying this a long long time ago with milk and an acidophilus pill. I think the milk was either too hot or not hot enough. I know I didn't use a thermometer. It never turned into yogurt so I tossed it.

I went out and bought a half gallon of Horizon whole milk and a four pack of Stonyfield YoBaby yogurt. I used a quart mason jar and an Igloo insulated water jug and four hours later, I had the yummiest yogurt I had ever tasted. It was a bit whey-y and a bit separated but I drained off the whey and mixed in a spoonful of homemade jam and drizzled a bit of local Colorado honey and tasted pure heaven.

So over the last several months, I've been making yogurt at least once at week (sometime as much as 4 times week), trying out different milk and different yogurt starter cultures. So far, I think whole milk with Yogourmet or Activia yogurt make the best texture yogurt. The Stonyfield yogurt as starter is delicious but a bit grainy.

So what do you need to do before getting started? You need to decide on the method, milk, and starter to use.

First off, you will need to decide on whether or not to purchase a yogurt maker like one of these things.

or use something you have around the house like this insulated beverage jug.

I started off making yogurt using the jug and then I went out and bought a yogurt maker for the convenience. Some people report great results using a crock pot but I find that most crock pots run a little too hot even on the keep warm setting. There are also other methods using an electric blanket, an oven, a warm place abov the fridge...but all these methods require way too much brain damage for me.

Next you want to choose your milk. I tried various brands of milk and with various fat percentages. I find whole milk the most decadent but 2% also produced nicely thickened yogurt. I prefer using milk from a local dairy. It comes in reusable glass bottles. Some people use skim milk and add powdered milk. I tried a batch with powdered milk but the taste really bothers me so I make mine without.

Finally, it's time to experiment with yogurt starters. Using plain yogurt from the grocery store is the easiest way. I think Stonyfield Yobaby is a great starter with lots of strains of good bacteria. But for the best texture, I prefer either Activia or Yogourmet freeze dried starter. Amazon sells three boxes with 6 envelopes in each box for about $13.

The method described below makes the yummiest, thickest, and creamiest yogurt ever. It doesn’t need any thickeners such as pectin, gelatin, or starch. It doesn’t require any straining and is still as thick as Greek yogurt. This makes a half gallon of yogurt. Double or halve the recipe as necessary for your needs.

Equipment Needed:
Double Boiler or large bowl and pot
Thermomether
2 quart mason jar (if using insulated cooler) or 2.5 to 3 quart glass or stoneware bowl (if using yogurt maker)
ladle
insulated water jug or cooler
or
yogurt maker (incubator)

Ingredients:
2 quarts milk (whole or 2%)
2 packets (10 grams) Yogourmet yogurt starter or 8 ounces plain yogurt

Method:
- Heat milk in a double boiler to 185 degrees and keep the temp between 185 and 190 degrees for 30 minutes. This denatures and unravels the whey protein, resulting in a thicker and less whey-y yogurt.

- Cool milk to 110 degrees. Pour yogurt starter into a small clean bowl and thoroughly mix with a small amount of milk. (I find that if using yogurt as starter, it's easier to mix the yogurt directly into the milk and use an immersion blender to thoroughly mix. This helps create a smoother yogurt.) Add mixture to milk.

- Incubate at 100 to 120 degrees for 4 to 12 hours. Once yogurt is thicken, cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours.

- You can go ahead and strain the yogurt and use the whey for something else but I find it unnecessary. My yogurt comes out as thick as Greek yogurt without any straining.

Incubation Methods:
You can use any incubation method that works for you. I started with an igloo water jug. I filled a quart mason jar with the yogurt mixture and filled the water jug with 120 degree tap water. I monitored the temp the entire time and after 4 hours, the water temp was at 104 degrees. You will have to add more hot water if you plan on incubating for longer than 4 hours. I find that with the water bath method, my yogurt thickens up faster. Maybe there's just better heat circulation. I bought a yogurt maker to make life easier. The yogurt maker kept the heat constant for the entire duration of the process.

Method in pictures:

Heat milk in a double boiler to 185 degrees.

Keep milk between 185 to 190 degrees for 30 minutes.

Cool milk to 110 degrees and then add yogurt starter.

Incubate yogurt for 4 to 12 hours between 100 and 120 degrees. This shows temp of water after 4 hours using an insulated water jug.

Refrigerate until cool.


...and then spoon into individual containers.

Yogurt Toppings and Mix Ins:
I applaud those who are able to eat plain yogurt without any sweeteners or flavorings. I mix in a spoonful of homemade jam and drizzle some local Colorado honey on top. This is how I eat yogurt and it’s yummy. The bf likes to eat his topped with fruity granola.

Yogurt Maker/Machine:
I read reviews on the Waring Pro yogurt maker, a Yogurt maker that retails for approx. $90 but read that many people bought it at Tuesday Morning for $29. I decided to drive over to Tuesday Morning and check it out. They had three in stock. I bought it and made a batch of yogurt to test it out. The nice thing about this yogurt maker is that it comes with six 8-ounce containers and two 16-ounce containers. Not all the containers will fit in the machine at once but it's nice to have options. You can even use your own mason jars, bowls or whatever will fit in the machine. I like the flexibility of not being stuck using only the provided containers. It is basically just a device that keeps the temp between 110 to 120 degrees. (I took the temp by sticking the probe of my thermometer in the machine and it registered exactly 120 degrees..)

It is convenient but totally unnecessary. The $8 igloo water jug worked great. I think the water bath did a great job of circulating the heat.

If you’re looking at purchasing a yogurt maker, I really like the large canister type machines that make 1 or 2 quarts in a removable bucket. The Yogourmet maker uses a water bath system. I think water does a great job of incubating yogurt. If you want the flexibility of incubating one large batch of yogurt or small individual containers of yogurt, find a machine with a flexible jar configuration like the Waring Pro or the Yolife machines. Both machines come with individual containers with the option of using your own container. Some people use 4 quart mason jars in the machine but I prefer using one large glass or stoneware bowl.

Yogurt Starter Cultures:
I started with Stonyfield YoBaby whole milk yogurt as my starter. I was very happy with the results. Stonyfield yogurt contains the most bacteria strains I’ve been able to find in any commercial yogurt. 365 brand plain yogurt was also good. The smoothest and most custardy yogurts were made using Activia yogurt and Yogourmet freeze-dried starter. I use Yogourmet mostly now because I like the flavor and texture. The only downside is that the regular Yogourmet that I’m able to get doesn’t include l. casei bacteria. Yogourmet does make a starter with l. casei but I haven’t tried it yet.

Some people save a little bit of yogurt from a previous batch to culture the next batch. I don’t like to take chances of introducing the wrong bacteria. Good milk is not cheap and the number of hours involved to incubate a batch of yogurt is too numerous to take chances. Plus yogurt starter is not all that expensive. Yogourmet is a bit expensive but not by much. It works out to $.83 per one-quart batch for me. Stonyfield Yobaby is about $.67 and Activia is about $.50 when I buy the four packs. It could be less if I bought the larger container and froze the yogurt in an ice cube tray. I don’t do this because the savings are not worth the headache. If I bought the 32 ounce tub of Stonyfield plain, I would get approximately 8 starters and at $3.99 per tub, the starter would cost $.50 per batch. I haven’t priced out Activia large tubs but I would guess that a price per batch is probably slightly less. And of course I could use Dannon plain as the starter.

My goal here is not to make the cheapest yogurt because with just the two of us, cooking is usually not about quantity. If we wanted to make economically friendly yogurt, we could use powdered milk and any plain yogurt. Many people swear that yogurt made with powdered milk tastes pretty good but I cannot stand the flavor.

Freezing Starter:
Yogurt bacteria do survive freezing but I’m not sure if every strain survives and how much of it survives. I used previously frozen Stonyfield YoBaby and it took longer to set than the batch made with fresh yogurt. The finished yogurt was also slightly slimy. It wasn’t very slimy but I could definitely tell a difference as I spooned the yogurt into individual containers. The sliminess went away after about a day.

Milk:
Whole milk make the thickest and creamiest yogurt. I tried cream top milk but the texture of the separated milk fat bothered me. The first time I made yogurt, I used Horizon brand whole milk. Be careful when you buy organic milk because a lot of brands ultra-pasteurize their milk. I hear ultra-pasteurized milk does not work very well for yogurt milking. Horizon sells both regularly pasteurized and ultra-pasteurized organic milk. I know a lot of people who will not buy organic milk because of this. Raw milk would be ideal but it seems like you have to be part of an underground cult in order to purchase raw milk. So the next best thing for me is to buy milk from the local dairies. Grocery store milk is perfectly acceptable.

I heat my milk to 185 degrees and keep it between 185 and 190 degrees for 30 minutes. This helps to denature and unravel the whey proteins. I know some yogurt makers only heat to 110 or heat to 185 and immediately cool. I find that keeping it at 185 degrees for 30 minutes, helps with the whey separation issue. When I didn’t heat my milk, I ended up pouring off or straining the whey from the yogurt so one quart of milk only made about 3 cups of yogurt.

The easiest way to heat milk is in a double boiler (or big bowl over a pot of simmering water). I've tried microwaving in a quart-sized glass measuring cup and heating in a thick bottom enamel pot with mixed results. It's hard to sustain the 185 degrees for 20 minutes using a microwave and I've managed to scorch milk in the Le Creuset.

Yogurt Containers:
I dislike most single serve yogurt containers that come with most yogurt machines.
So most of the time I culture the yogurt in a large bowl stoneware or pyrex dish and then spoon into single serve containers when the yogurt is cool. I could just leave it in the bowl but there is a convenience factor with single serve portions. I spoon them into cute glass containers. The containers are by Gurallar Artcraft, a glass company based in Turkey. I bought 16 of them from Ross. They hold 9.25 ounces each but I usually leave room for jam and other mix-ins.

Since the bf’s prefers his batch of yogurt with gelatin added, I make his batch separately and I culture it directly in Ball freezer jelly containers. Many folks like using the Ball and Kerr 8 ounce glass jelly jars (and I have about 5 dozen of these jars at any given time) but they are a bit too bulky and unless you purchase the one-piece plastic lids, the two piece lids are annoying to use

Commercial Yogurt:
If you're too lazy to make your own yogurt, I think Stonyfield is a great brand if you are looking for what us Americans think of as yogurt. I highly recommend another brand called Noosa. I think Noosa is slightly better than Fage. The only problem I have with Noosa is the powdered milk.

Noosa yoghurt is a local yoghurt made using Morning Fresh Dairy milk and an Australian culture. I liked it but I didn't care for the powdered milk. It was thick but not nearly as creamy as the yogurt that I make. They add cream, which makes it really decadent. Below is the ingredient list. I thought that in order to be labeled yoghurt or yogurt, it must contain both Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus salivarius ssp. thermophilus
Noosa Yoghurt: Milk, sugar, cream, skim milk powder, honey, pectin, milk proteins live cultures: acidophilus, bifidus, l. casei

Batch of yogurt cultured in a wide mouth quart size canning jar:

A batch of chilled yogurt. You can see the whey leak out as I spooned the yogurt. You can strained your yogurt to remove the whey but I just stir it back in. The yogurt is still thick enough for me even with the whey stirred back in.


Yogurt spooned into individual serving containers.


One the left is the bf's yogurt made with Activia as the starter and 1 package of gelatin to set the yogurt. On the right are my containers of yogurt.

Dutch Oven Pulled Pork

Sometimes when I go through my old food photos and recipe drafts, I end up finding something I meant to blog about but never got around to doing it. Below is one such recipe. I made this back in August.

I don't pretend to be the expert on barbecue. I grew up in San Diego and I'm Asian. Despite these facts, I think my pulled pork ain't bad. Well...at the very least I can tell you what I do and do not like in my limited barbecue experience. I like KC style barbecue sauces...a little sweet but not overly sweet like Sweet Baby Rays.

The barbecue sauce that I've been using lately is Head Country. It hails from Oklahoma. And yes, that's a 1 gallon jug of the sauce. One of my coworkers is from Oklahoma. She gave me a sample. I loved it so much, I ended up getting a gallon. Before I discovered Head, I really like the sauce from a local barbecue joint called Brothers BBQ. It is a nice thick sauce with a lot of celery seed flavor. Another sauce I buy is Famous Dave's Rich & Sassy. The other sauce in the squeeze bottle is a North Carolina vinegar sauce. The recipe is at the end of this post.

I'm using a dutch oven but I've successfully made this using a slow cooker. The next time I cook pork shoulder, I'm going to try a Hawaiian style Kalua pork using my stash of Alaea sea salt.

Dutch Oven Pulled Pork

6 to 8 pound Boston Butt or Pork Shoulder (mine was 6.38 pounds)
4 cups water
4 ounces pickling salt
2/3 cups molasses
2 bay leaves
your favorite rub (I'm using Savory Spice Shop's Red Rocks Hickory Smoke Seasoning)
your favorite barbecue and vinegar sauces (recipe below)
buns

1. Combine water, pickling salt, molasses, and bay leaves. Pour over pork and brine at least 8 hours or overnight. (Some people like to use extra large ziploc bags. My pork shoulder fit perfectly into one of my plastic beverage pitchers.)

2. Remove pork from brine and pat dry. Cover the entire pork shoulder with rub.

3. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

4. Heat a large dutch oven on stove. Sear the pork shoulder on all sides. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and place in preheated oven. Roast for 5 to 6 hours or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Let meat rest about 30 minutes to 1 hour and then shred using two forks.

5. Moisten meat with some of drippings. Serve with barbecue and vinegar sauces.

Recipe in Photos:

Brine:


Rub:

Sear:

Roast:

Shred:

Moisten:

North Carolina Pulled Pork Vinegar Sauce

Ingredients:
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ketchup
1 teaspoon Texas Pete’s Hot Sauce
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:
Heat everything together to dissolve sugar. Store and serve in a squeeze bottle.

Apple Pie Filling

Be prepared for a series of posts about my adventures in canning. I've spent the summer and part of fall learning about water bath canning.

One of my coworkers had an abundance of apples so after spending a weekend making apple butter and apple jelly, she left me a box of apples for pie filling. After doing some research, I discovered that I needed something called ClearJel in order to safely can the apples. ClearJel is difficult to find in stores so I ordered it.

My order took longer than expected to ship. By the time I got the Clear Jel, the apples from my coworker were pretty mealy so I abandoned the whole canning pie filling idea and made apple sauce instead. It was a great idea because the apples were perfect for apple sauce. I used some for pie and the flavor was too one dimensional. I prefer apple pie made with a combination of different types of apples.

After making apple sauce, I went out and bought apples for the pie filling. I used the trusty Granny Smiths and combined them with some Braeburns and Jonathans. I wished we had Gravenstein, Spy, Macoun, and other great pie apples out here but we don't so I had to make do. We do get Honey Crisps and Pink Lady apples but those are my eating fresh varieties.

Here are the apples from my coworker. I don't know the name of these apples but I assume they're probably a variety that does well in Colorado.


I used one of those nifty apple peeler/slicer/corer thingamajig to save time. I wish I was able to adjust the thickness of the slices because I wanted them to be a little thicker.


The peels and cores from when I made apple sauce and when I made apple pie filling. I boiled them down and made pectin. The first batch with the mealy apples made a poor pectin.

This recipe uses a product called Clear Jel sold under the brand name ClearJel. Clear Jel is a modified corn starch and is the only USDA recommended thickener for canned pie fillings.

Clear Jel is used in almost all commercially prepared fruit pie fillings and used by many home canners who care about safe canning. I’m a safe canner. (I’m HACCP certified. It was part of the food safety and sanitation class we were required to take.) I know many people swear that they have been using the same recipe for 30 years without any ill effects. But I don’t want to be the person who poisoned or killed a friend or family member with strawberry jam.

The reason why it is not safe to use regular cornstarch or tapioca starch is because the thickeners thicken the product while it is being heat processed and therefore inhibiting the product from reaching the correct temp to kill the bacteria. I never cared for cornstarch as a thickener because to me, it is considered an inferior thickener. It produces clear sauces that break down with prolonged (ten minutes) heating. That’s why gravies separate and become watery when reheated. Tapioca and arrowroot are better thickeners but also not safe for canning.

I pretty much followed the recipe on this website. I think they know a thing or two about canning. http://www.pickyourown.org/applepiefilling.htm

The only thing I did differently was use all water instead of apple juice and used a baking spice mix from my local spice shop supplemented with some freshly grated nutmeg instead of the list of spices they used. I also tripled the amount so instead of the 7 quarts, I got about 20 quarts and one half liter. (I'm mixing quarts and liters because I used a Bormioli Rocco Quattro Staglioni jar because I didn't have enough apples to fill a full quart.)

Canned Apple Pie Filling:
5 gallons of peeled, cored and sliced apples (use a variety of apples)
9 cups sugar
6 tablespoons baking spice mix
freshly grated nutmeg
22.5 cups water (just over 5 and a half quarts)
4 cups Clear Jel (I used slightly less because I didn't want the filling to be too thick)
1 1/2 cups bottled lemon juice (use more or less depending on the tartness of your apples)

1. Wash and sterilize jars.
2. Prep apples by washing, peeling, coring, and slicing. Soak apples in a mixture of water and citric acid or lemon juice.
3. Blanch apples in batches for about one minute. Reserve blanching water and use for making your filling liquid.
4. Make the filling liquid by combing water, sugar, spices. Heat the liquid. When it comes to a boil, combine Clear Jel with lemon juice to make a slurry. Add the slurry to the boiling liquid. Boil one minute and remove from heat.
5. Fill the sterilized jars by alternating layers of apples and liquid. (I tried filling with apples and then with liquid. It doesn't work. The liquid is thick enough that it doesn't really seep nicely.) Pack the jars tighly with apples. Who wants a mostly thickened liquid pie? Leave about half an inch to and inch of space. There will be some expansion while processing. Remove air bubbles. Clean rims (and in my case outsides of jars) and place lids and bands.
6. Process in a water bath for 25 minutes. (I processed for an additional 10 minutes because I live 5,280 feet above sea level.)

What I learned:

- Triple batch of apple pie filling takes a long time and should not be tackled on a school (work) night. I was up until 1 AM and making pie filling and baking two cakes for class.

- Wide mouth jars are my friend.

- Italian canning jars are strange, especially when you fll them too much. The lid almost exploded off. It was nicely rounded when I took it out of the canner. I thought I would have to use the jar right away because there was no way it would properly seal. I woke up in the morning and the lid was nicely flat and sucked back in and it sealed. Yay!

- Large quart size jars probably will not all seal right away like little pints and half pints. I went to bed thinking that after canning over a hundred jars of jam, this was my first batch with less than 100% sealing success rate. (The unsealed jars were Kerr brand. All of the Ball jars sealed within half an hour.) I woke up in the morning and the two remaining jars were sealed. Yay for maintaing a 100% sealing success rate!

I think the jars of apple pie filling are just gorgeous. The apple slices are nicely suspended in the Clear Jel -- No floating apple pieces above a layer of sauce. The Clear Jel is supposed to last indefinitely so I have a number 10 can of it plus a smaller can of instant Clear Jel. I'm excited to try a fresh strawberry pie using instant Clear Jel.

Cake Classes

I completed my second cake class a few weeks ago. (Actually, I didn't make it to the last class because I came down with a respiratory infection.) I took the first class at a specialty cake supply store but decided that $80 was a bit too much for a cake decorating class. The second course, the fondant and gum paste course, was $20 at Hobby Lobby.

A few cakes from my the first course: Decorating Basics.

This one was the cake we had to bake for the second class. We were supposed to learn about torting, icing and some basic piping. The icing we used was a special recipe that the instructor came up with. She called it Helen's "buttercream" for fondant look cakes. The icing tastes like Crisco and powdered sugar but does create a very smooth icing that mimics the smooth look of fondant. I'm not posting pictures of the cupcakes for the third class. We learned shaggy mums and were supposed to decorate the cupcakes with them. I thought they looked like cousin It.

This was the final cake. I made the roses the weekend before class using royal icing. I made over 50 roses that weekend for practice. When I showed up to class, the instructor watched me make my roses and said I did them the wrong way. I was supposed to go counter-clockwise instead of clockwise. Well...after 50+ roses done the wrong way, my brain cannot be re-trained to do them the correct way. (This cake sat on my counter for about five days before I took the picture. The icing does not rot or melt. Gross!)

The shell border that we learned in class.

Cake for the Fondant & Gum Paste Course:

And this cake was for my fondant and gum paste course. We only had to bake one cake for the last class. Weeks 1 through 3 were all about learning to make the various gum paste flowers and designs. I made the cake, covered it with fondant and then stuck all the flowers in place. My plan was to give it the finishing touches in class. I got sick so I sent the cake to class with my friend. She finished it with a rope border and covered up the fondant cracks with cut outs using the calyx cutter. (She took the two photos below and posted them of facebook. I never actually got to see the cake because it was served to my coworkers.)

It took about two weeks to complete all the flowers. I didn't work on them each night. (I had to take a break when I sliced my thumb with my Asian vegetable peeler.) I spent about an hour or two each night making the flowers. I made a total of 25 mums and averaged about 5 mums per night. Some nights were spent making and coloring the gum paste and fondant.

It took a lot of tools. I took over the kitchen table. I covered it with a vinyl tablecloth and had tools everywhere.

Some Recipes:

Buttercream for Fondant Look Cakes
2 pounds powdered sugar
4 Tablespoons meringue powder
1 teaspoon popcorn salt
1 cup Crisco shortening
1/3 to ½ cup water (lukewarm)
2 teaspoons vanilla or flavoring of your choice

Combine powdered sugar, meringue powder and salt together. Add remaining ingredients and mix at low to medium speed until smooth. Enjoy!

Royal Icing for Piping
(Stiff consistency)
yield: 3 cups

3 level tablespoons Meringue Powder
1 lb. icing sugar
5 tablespoons lukewarm water

Make sure all utensils are grease free (containers to store the icing, too!)

Place icing sugar and Meringue Powder in a bowl. Stir or mix at low speed until blended. Add water and mix 7 to 10 minutes at low-medium speed until icing loses its sheen. To prevent drying, be sure to cover the bowl with a damp cloth while working with icing.

Store in an airtight grease-free container (stainless steel bowls with airtight lid are ideal) for up to 2 weeks (room temperature). To reuse, beat on low to restore original texture.

Classic Rolled Fondant
yield: 2 lb.
1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup cold water* * or, 3 tablespoons cold water, and
1/2 cup Glucose* * 1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 tablespoon Glycerin
2 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening
2 lbs. Icing sugar
2 to 3 drops liquid food colour and flavoring, as desired

• Combine gelatin and cold water; let stand until thick.
• Place gelatin mixture in top of double boiler and heat until dissolved.
• Add glucose and glycerin, mix well.
• Stir in shortening and just before completely melted, remove from heat, add flavoring and colour.
• Mixture should cool until lukewarm.
• Next, place 1 lb. Icing sugar in a bowl and make a well.
• Pour the lukewarm gelatin mixture into the well and stir with a wooden spoon, mixing in sugar and adding more, a little at a time, until stickiness disappears.
• Knead in remaining sugar.
• Knead until the fondant is smooth, pliable and does not stick to hands.
• If fondant is too soft, add more sugar; if too stiff, add water (a drop at a time).
• Use fondant immediately, or follow the direction for storing rolled fondant.

Storing Rolled Fondant:
Rolled Fondant dries out very quickly, so keep it covered and store properly and promptly.
If stored properly (and promptly), it will keep up to 1 month R room temperature.

1. Roll it into smooth ball, disc, or log shape.
2. Coat it with solid white vegetable shortening.
3. Wrap with plastic food storage wrap (microwaveable), twice.
4. Wrap with aluminium foil.
5. If freezing, put it in a resealable plastic food storage bag or airtight container.

Gum Paste
This recipe is the one on the back of the Wilton can of Gum-Tex (with minor modifications to make life easier). The texture of is really nice. I like to mix the gum paste with equal parts fondant when making flowers or bows.

1 tablespoon Wilton Gum-Tex
4 cups (1 pound) sifted powdered sugar
1 heaping tablesspoon Glucose or light corn syrup
4 tablespoons warm water

In a large bowl, combine Gum-Tex with 3 cups of powdered sugar. Make a well in the center and set aside. Combine water and glucose in a glass measuring cup. Heat in microwave on high for about 30 seconds. until mixture is clear. Pour into well of sugar and mix until well blended. Slowly knead in the last cup of powdered sugar.

Wrap with plastic wrap and place in airtight container. Allow gum paste to rest at least 8 hours. Keep well wrapped. Knead in shortening to keep gum paste soft and pliable.