Wild grape wine

Wine making, I am learning is a lesson in patience.  

The picking is the easy part.

As they say...waiting

Pickled Pumpkin

My cheese pumpkins and long-pie pumpkins did especially well this year!  I like these two varieties for their dense orange flesh and excellent flavor.  They're great for everything from pies to soups, but one of our favorite winter treats is a crusty slice of bread, chevre and some pickled pumpkin.  Its like pumpkin pie, but crunchy and with vinegar.  What could be better?

I am not going to show you step by step pictures.  The butchering of the pumpkin was not pretty and did not go quietly into that good night.  Also it was large enough that I ended up working in 5 gallon bucket size quantities.  The recipe that follows is a civilized quantity.  Next year once you are really hooked on this fantastic treat you can go for the five gallon bucket.  Use a dense-fleshed squash, (think butternut).  The jack-o-lantern type are typically too stringy and watery to work for preserving of this sort.
 *Warning* this entire process takes three days all together to complete.  Plan to have a gallon of cider vinegar and 6 cups of sugar on hand.

For a 5 pound pumpkin- makes 8 to 10 pints

Day 1

• Peel rind, cut stem and blossom ends off, thoroughly seed scraping away all connective flesh leaving only the real "meat".
• Portion pumpkin into 1.5x 5 inch spears or 1.5 inch cubes.  Place in a non-reactive vessel, such as a large stainless steel bowl, tupperware, or glass-no aluminium.  
• Add water to the vessel one quart at a time until it just covers the pumpkin.  For every quart of water add one tablespoon of kosher or pickling salt.  The importance is consistent grain size and that it is not iodized.  Mix well and let stand overnight in a cool spot.  My porch in Maine during pumpkin season is just the right temperature (35-40 degrees Fahrenheit at night) so I go ahead, cover and set it outside in a safe spot).

Day 2

• Make a syrup on the stove using:
•  3 cups cider vinegar
•  3 cups water
•  3 cups sugar
•  2 tablespoons whole allspice
•  2 tablespoons whole cloves
•  3 cinnamon sticks
•   Bring to a boil and simmer 5 minutes then turn off heat and let cool to room temperature.
• Drain and rinse pumpkin.  Replace in storage container and cover with cooled, spiced syrup.  Let this stand in a cool spot overnight.

Day 3

• Strain the soaking syrup into a large pot. 
•  Add 3 more cups sugar and 3 more cups vinegar.  
• Bring to a boil.
• Meanwhile pack pumpkin into sterilized and prepared jars.
• Pour hot syrup, evenly distributing spices, over pumpkins leaving a one inch head space.  Process for 15 minutes.
• Let these jars "cure" for at least a month for the flavors to really develop.
• Variations can include adding mustard seed, chili flakes, celery seed.

It is important to not skip the brining and soaking steps.  They are essential to maintaining the textural integrity of the squash and not ending up with vinegary pumpkin pie filling...

Come visit!

Sriracha homestyle

Our Matchbox Chilis in the greenhouse.

The chilis are mixed with palm sugar, garlic, vinegar and water then fermented for a week before blending

The mixture is thoroughly blended before being put on the stove to reduce to a thicker sauce before being blended again, strained and then goes through it's final fermentation.

There are a few great sites out there for how-to's, but of course I had to read those and then veer off in my own direction.  My friend, fellow cook and farmer, Billi, turned me on to this project after visiting her at the Common Ground Fair where she serves up some serious fish tacos.  She can be found cooking the rest of the year over at Firefly Farm. The bottom line with this sauce is to preserve the essence of the fresh hot pepper and not end up with a cooked red pepper flavor.  Multiple fermenting stages accomplish this nicely.  I used a Foley Food Mill, but a medium mesh strainer or china cap would work. This is what I did and am very happy with the results.  I am sure you could vary the amount of sugar, increase the number of garlic cloves, whatever.  I used a combination of matchbox chilies, cayenne  and ghost peppers because that is what I had.  Other recipes call for Fresno chilies  but jalapenos or a blend of any red, hot peppers should work.

The Recipe:

Makes 2 cups

• Clean and stuff in a jar: 3 lbs whole hot peppers, one head of garlic (cloves peeled) 3 cups vinegar, 3 cups water, 1/4 cup palm sugar, 1 teaspoon salt.
• Ferment at room temp. for one week
• With lots of air-flow (hood vent on high...) strain peppers and garlic, reserving the liquid.  Blend on high adding reserved liquid as needed to make a thick mud-like consistency.  Don't bother cleaning the processor/blender; you'll be using it soon.
• Once mostly smooth-ish, put in a non-reactive pot on medium heat.  Add remaining liquid and stir often.
• Cook down by half till or until the sauce reaches ketchup consistency.
• Let the mixture cool to room temp and blend again until very smooth. Put through strainer to pull out seeds.
• Ladle into a jar or squeeze bottle  and let sit for three to four days at room temp, then refrigerate.

Next up:  Roasted tomato, tomatillo, chipotle salsa