pease porridge

On Canning

On Thursday, my husband came home from the farm with ten pounds of tomatoes:

Now, there is nothing in the world nicer than fresh tomatoes, but we were expecting another ten or so pounds to come in on Sunday, so we had to think fast.  The solution?  Run out and buy a gigantic canner:

Okay, so we weren't planning on buying a gigantic canner; we would've settled for a more modest size, but there aren't many places that actually sell canners these days, so we had to make do with what we found, which was this one.  Should the occasion arise, we shall be able to can nine quarts of produce at a time.  I have no idea where I'm going to put it.

By the way, I'm just going to give you a summary here of what happened next.  If you want actual factual information, please don't start canning without going to the U.S. Department of Agriculture website.  I do not want to be responsible for an outbreak of botulism if I can help it.

Caramelized-Leek and Celery Tart Part 1: The Crust

I love making tarts.  For some reason, they're less intimidating than pies, and thus they inspire in me a freewheeling, loosy-goosy attitude towards making them.  While I feel like I have to plan ahead to make a pie, I'm pretty comfortable whipping up a tart any old time.

Once Upon a Tart by Frank Mentesana and Jerome Audureau may have something to do with my nonchalance.  This is another accidental cookbook that I'm thankful made its way into my kitchen.  For starters, it's not at all fussy; in fact, I think that if you know someone who wants to cook but is just a little trepidatious about it, you should give them this book and they'll totally relax.

For another thing, their recipe for savory tart crust is so fabulous, it alone is worth the price of admission.

Massaman Curry Paste

I was recently in a conversation about eating paste in kindergarten, and one of my friends joked that I should post a recipe for paste on my blog.  Little did he suspect that I actually love cooking with paste!  Mix it with some coconut milk, throw in some meat and veggies, and you're ready to eat.

I know that you can buy ready-made curry paste at the supermarket these days, but I prefer to make my own.  It is a bit involved, but the good news is that you can make it ahead of time; double the recipe and you have several nights-worth of dinner more or less sewn up.

I picked Massaman curry because it lends itself to hearty, wintry stews with meats and root veggies.  It's probably the mildest of the Thai curries that I've tried, which means it's perfect if you have kids or don't like really spicy food.  The one I use comes from True Thai by Victor Sodsook, which is my go-to for fabulous, authentic Thai food.  He points out that Massaman curry comes from the Muslim people of southern Thailand, who regularly employ cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and other fragrant, sweet spices in their cooking.