I need to ask for your help. We need some recipes for putting up/down some of our garden harvest. Do you have a recipe using the last of your cucumbers? Or your squash? Or maybe your cauliflower. Send them in to us. I get emails every week asking for new ways to prepare/can/pickle our garden harvest. Thank you!
I have received a couple of emails and a couple of folks caught me out and about. The issue this week seems to be runny/loose pies. As we grew up we watched parents and grandparents use flour, corn starch and/or tapioca to thicken the fruit and juices in our fruit pies. Many times I have made a pie to have it runny, and loose. The taste is fabulous, however the difficulty getting it out of the pie plate and onto a dessert plate is a challenge. It is important to use enough corn starch, flour or tapioca to thicken. The amount to use varies from season to season. Some years our fruit is firmer and drier, resulting in using less thickener as you would in the years the fruit is fatter and juicier. We need to roll with it and adjust accordingly. One way to help make the judgment before you slice into it, would be to make the filling up before you put it in the pie crust. Also make sure you allow the cooked pie to cool completely before you cut into it. This is one of the hardest parts-but trust me, it will be worth the wait.
I would suggest you let it cool inside on the counter, or in the refrigerator – let me tell you a story – my husband and I were baking pies and one of them was a chocolate cream with a tower of whipped cream on the top. The fridge was full and we were still using most of the countertop. Why not set it outside on the porch table? We set a large stainless bowl over it to keep the bugs out of it and went back inside. We heard the bowl hit the deck and rushed to see a raccoon with whipped cream up to her ears thoroughly enjoying the pie. We don’t cool pies outside anymore.
7 quart jars, lids and rings-washed and sterilized
4 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons salt
10 cups water
3 tablespoons lemon juice
6 pounds apples
Directions: In a large pan, mix sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add salt and water and mix well. Bring to a boil and cook until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and add lemon juice and food coloring.
Sterilize canning jars, lids and rings by boiling them in a large pot of water. Peel, core, and slice apples. Pack the sliced apples into hot canning jars, leaving a 1/2 inch headspace. Fill jars with hot syrup, and gently remove air bubbles with a knife. Put lids on and process in a water bath canner for 20 minutes.
(recipe is for1 quart-increase accordingly for more)
3 1 /2 cups fresh strawberries
3/4 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Corn Starch
1 cup water or strawberry juice
Directions: Hull, sort and wash your strawberries-pack in jars, leaving a 1/ 2 inch headspace. Mix 1/4 cup corn starch with the 3/4 cup of sugar in a large pot. Add the 1 cup of water (or strawberry juice, if you can find natural strawberry juice) and heat on the stove until the mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Pour hot liquid over strawberries, put lids on and process in a water bath canner for 30 minutes.
4 c. raspberries
1 1/4 c. sugar, granulated
3 tbsp. tapioca or
1/ 4 cup corn starch
Directions: Mix well in bowl, raspberries, sugar, and tapioca. Put into pie pan, put top on, and bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes. Have a great week! I’ll be looking forward to hearing from you with any suggestions or recipes you like. I can be reached at susieqcooking@ainop.com or c/o Pioneer Times, PO Box 456, Houlton, Maine 04730.
See you next week! Susie Q
