Lemon-Sage Wine Mustard

When this post goes live it will be my birthday.  This year's birthday is a extra special because it's the last one of my 30's.  When I think about that, I sigh a little.  I know it's cliché, but where did the time go?  I am not so sure...but I do know I plan to make the most of 39.  Then next year at this time, we'll see how well I'm embracing the reality of 40.  Long sigh.  I have a feeling I might go into it kicking and screaming just a little bit. 

The birthday plans have been low key this year.  Just enjoying a few meals out with various family and friends.  My sister's birthday is 3 days prior to mine so we always celebrate together.  We went out on Sunday for lunch at a restaurant I've been wanting to try for over a year.  They specialize in seasonal ingredients and all their dishes are under 475 calories.  I have to say I was very impressed with how they spent their calories--will definitely be going back.  On the actual birthday Hubby and I are going to dinner just the two of us to steak house.  I'm not going to be counting the calories there--trust me!  Tuesday evening I'm slated for dinner with one of my closest friends for Mexican food and Thursday is dinner with the parents at a seafood restaurant.  Food, friends and family is the perfect way to celebrate. :)

I didn't necessarily plan a specific post to coincide with my birthday, and it just so happens this lemon-sage wine mustard is up next on the blog roster.   But I'm more than happy to celebrate with mustard! 

I LOVE mustard!  It's high up on my list of preferred and necessary condiments.  My family thinks I'm a little crazy about mustard in fact.  When I eat a hot dog for instance, the ratio of mustard to dog is about 50/50.  Yeah.  Really.  I guess my family has a point and it might be a smidge overboard.  What can I say?  I just cannot seem to get too much mustard on a hot dog.  And I like it all.  Yellow.  Dijon.  Grain.  Brown.  Honey.  Spicy.  I love the acidity and tang from mustard.  Yum.

When Hima of All Four Burners challenged us to use citrus in our monthly Can It Up project, I started looking for recipes.  I came across this lemon-sage wine mustard in my Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving.  I thought it would be kind of cool to make homemade mustard.  Plus I've only canned sweet things to date....jams, fruit butters, preserves, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to combine my love of canning with my love of mustard.  That sounds silly as I read it back.  But it really was fun to make and I enjoyed the final product. 

The mustard is really very lemony.  The sage is subtle and the wine sings a nice little melody in the background.  Since the lemon is prominent, I've found I've enjoyed this accompanied with a little mayo too to balance it out. At least on sandwiches.  The sandwich pictured below is homemade ciabatta bread (courtesy of Hubby), turkey, grated sharp white cheddar cheese, mayo and lemon-sage wine mustard.  Delicious! 

Mustard is surprisingly easy to make.  The hardest part was finding the main ingredient.  Whole mustard seeds.  My first stop was Whole Foods.  They sold it.  In incredibly tiny portions.  My mustard would have cost a small fortune.  I know a lot of people love Whole Foods, but I really don't seem to have the best luck there.  Next I tried Sprouts (another local health food grocery store).  What's great about Sprouts is they sell spices in bulk bins/jars where you can fill up a bag with as much or as little as you want.  I've purchased many spices this way especially when I am using something new for a recipe and I don't know if I want to invest in a whole jar.  I was thrilled to see Sprouts had a huge container of mustard seeds.  I was able to eyeball a 3/4 cup portion and it cost right around $5 dollars.  Once I secured all my ingredients it was smooth sailing.

The mustard seeds get soaked in a sage steeped wine for a couple of hours.  The seeds soak up all the liquid from the wine and get transferred to a food processor along with white wine vinegar.  Several long pulses in the food processor allow the seeds to break down, but some grain is left.  It's nice to have a little texture from the seeds in the finished product.  The mustard goes into a pot on the stove to cook along with the lemon, sage, honey and salt and, then into prepared canning jars to be processed in boiling water. 

You'll notice this mustard doesn't have a bright yellow color.  I had always assumed the mustard seed is where the color came in.  But I learned that it actually comes from one of the spices in yellow mustard, turmeric.  Since this mustard is turmeric free it has a much more muted yellow, almost pale brown color.  Don't let the color fool you, this mustard has quite a zing! 

It's great on sandwiches.  And I envision it accompanying homemade pretzels, grilled bratwurst or hot dogs or a honey baked ham. 

Enjoy!

Lemon-Sage Wine Mustard
from Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving

Makes 5 four ounce jars

1 bunch of fresh sage (enough to yield 1/3 cup finely chopped plus 1/2 cup roughly chopped)
3/4 cup dry white wine (I used Pinot Gris)
3/4 cup yellow mustard seeds
1 cup white wine vinegar
Grated zest and juice of two large lemons
1/2 cup liquid honey (I used regular honey)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Finely chop enough sage leaves to measure 1/3 cup and set aside. 

Coarsely chop remaining sage leaves and stems to measure 1/2 cup and place in a small stainless steel saucepan with the white wine.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, while stirring and pressing on the sage to release as much flavor as possible.  Remove the pan from the heat and cover.  Allow to steep for 5 minutes.

Using a fine mesh strainer or sieve, drain the safe infused wine into a bowl while pressing down on the sage to remove as much liquid as possible.  Discard the sage and return the wine to the saucepan.  Add the mustard seeds to the wine and cover with a lid.  Allow to sit at room temperature for about 2 hours or until the mustard seeds have absorbed most of the moisture.

Prepare your lids and jars by washing in hot soapy water.  Place jars in a water canner, ensuring jars are covered with water and bring to a boil.  Place lids in a small sauce pan over low heat.  Set screw rings aside. 

Transfer wine soaked mustard seeds to a food processor or blender, including an residual liquid.  Add vinegar and process until the mustard seeds are well chopped but still has a slightly grainy texture. 

Transfer the mixture to a stainless steel medium-large size saucepan.  Add lemon juice, zest, honey, salt and the 1/3 cup of finely chopped sage.  Turn heat to high and boil, stirring continuously.  Once boiling, reduce heat to low and allow to gently boil, stirring often.  Allow mustard to reduce by 1/3 of it's volume, about 20 minutes (note--mine only took 10 minutes).  The book cautions from allowing the mustard to get too thick as it can prohibit proper heat penetration during canning process. 

Remove one jar at time from the canner using tongs, discarding the water and hold with a doubled up clean kitchen towel.  Ladle hot mustard into hot jars leaving 1/4 head space at the top.  Remove air bubbles by using a thin chopstick around the mustard.  Wipe any residue off the rim.  Place a hot lid on top and secure using a screw band until resistance is met and turning until fingertip tight (do not over tighten).  Repeat until all the jars are filled. 

Place prepared jars in canner.  Allow the water level to sit at least 1 full inch above the jars.  Bring to boil.  Process for 10 minutes with lid on the canner.  Once they've boiled for 10 minutes, remove the canner lid and wait 5 minutes.  Remove jars from canner and cool on a kitchen towel, undisturbed for 24 hours. 

Cranberry Orange Preserves

Thanksgiving went by way too fast....Hubby and I arrived at Grandma's house on Tuesday night, with our cat Oliver in tow, ready to get up first thing on Wednesday morning for a full day of preparation to begin.  My cousin was also there to help so it was all hands on deck.  We...

• made 6 pies--1 apple, 1 pecan and 4 pumpkin
• made 3 salads--blueberry jello salad, 7 layer salad and prepped fruit salad with whipped cream and marshmallows to be put together the next day
• made the base and topping for sweet potato casserole and traditional sweet potatoes with marshmallows, also ready for assembly the next day
• peeled potatoes for mashed potatoes (and vacuum sealed them in a little water so they would be ready to go the next day--I love the idea of vacuum sealing them so you can avoid all that potato prep on Thanksgiving day when you are busy with a 1000 other things)
• made 2 big pans of cinnamon rolls to be baked early Thanksgiving morning (looks like this one might be a new tradition)

Grandma had also done some serious prep before we got there...she made all the pie crusts and froze them (including making crust for turkey pot pies to be made from leftovers) and chopping all the veggies for the stuffing and the relish/veggie tray.  Not to mention all the shopping of course.  Grandma's been hosting Thanksgiving for a while now and has it all down to a science.  She makes it look so easy to pull together all these dishes, along with a traditional turkey (and a ham), for 20 people all by 1pm!  We eat early which means we have room for "second dinner" in the early evening where everyone is already anxious to break out the leftovers.  Yum.   

One of the treats that graced the Thanksgiving table this year were these cranberry orange preserves.  It was my first time working with fresh cranberries and I wasn't sure how the preserves would come out.  I'm happy to say my fears were unfounded and it was a big hit at the Thanksgiving table.  Even my 10 year old nephew couldn't stop talking about how much he liked the preserves.  It was really a nice accompaniment to the turkey and has officially turned me into a cranberry believer.  I gave away 6 of 7 jars to family members (had to keep one for myself so I could share it with you all!).

The inspiration for these preserves was Hima's Can It Up project over at All Four Burners.  Each month Hima announces an ingredient and all who are interested make a recipe featuring that ingredient that can be water bath canned.  Without Hima's pick of cranberries for November, I'm not so sure I would have taken the cranberry plunge.  Cranberries in the raw are extremely tart and somewhat bitter so I've always been hesitant to use them.  But I'm so glad I looked past that.  A little sugar (okay, a lot of sugar) and some other fruit transform these tart rubies into something really special.  So if you have a cranberry phobia, I encourage you to give these little beauties a try.  It would make a nice addition to your Christmas menu. 

I have a sneaking feeling these preserves will become another new Thanksgiving tradition right alongside those cinnamon rolls.

Enjoy!

Cranberry Orange Preserves
from The Ginger Snap Girl

6 cups whole fresh cranberries
4 cups apples, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces (I used honeycrisp, but you could use any combination)
2/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
2/3 cup water
4 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Zest of 2 oranges (about 1 packed full tablespoon)

Add all ingredients to a large pot and cook on medium, stirring frequently, until the mixture simmers.  Turn the heat to medium low and continue cooking until fruit is very soft and slightly thickened (this took about 20-30 minutes for me).  I like my preserves to have a smooth texture, so I used an immersion blender to puree the mixture prior to canning.  To check if your preserves have reached the right consistency, spoon a dollop onto a small plate and place the plate in the freezer for a couple of minutes.  Remove the plate from the freezer and turn it on its side.  If the preserves slide right down and look runny, you probably want to continue cooking.  If they hold their shape and only slide a little, you're good to go. 

To can your preserves, prepare jars, lids and rings by washing them with hot soapy water and rinse thoroughly.  Once you start cooking your preserves, fill a pot with enough water to fully submerge all the jars and turn heat to high (note I use the same pot for preheating the jars as I do for the actual water bath).  Heating the jars allows you to ladle in the hot preserves without cracking the jars.  In small pan also heat your lids.  Have a clean ladle and tongs ready.  Once your preserves are done cooking, remove a jar from the hot water with your tongs and drain excess water.  Hold the jar with a kitchen towel while you ladle in the preserves.  Fill jars leaving a 1/4 inch of head space.  Use your tongs to carefully lift a lid out of the hot water and place it on top of the jar.  Screw on the outer ring until firmly snug, but not too tight.  Set aside on a clean kitchen towel and repeat the process, filling all your jars.  Bring your canning pot of water up to a boil and submerge each jar in the water using tongs.  Make sure jars are covered by at least 2 inches of water.  Boil for 10 minutes.  Remove jars from water and set on a kitchen towel to rest, undisturbed for 24 hours. 

Makes 7 half pint jars

Caramel Apple Jam

Do you follow Sugar Crafter's blog?  If you don't, you should.  Tracy has all kinds of great recipes, including a number of homemade jams and preserves.  In fact, she has turned her love of canning into a business and sells her unique jams and preserves at local farmer's markets.  That's pretty cool! 

I was browsing Tracy's blog recently and came across these stunning Brandied Apple Preserves.  Apple pie filling anyone?  Yes, please.  When I read through her post, I found her delicious looking preserves were inspired by a new monthly canning project that kicks off this month called Can It Up, founded by Hima at All Four Burners.  I'm totally in! 

I became enamored of canning after my first go at it.  I've said it before, and I'll say it again...It's so completely satisfying to not only make your own homemade jam, but to preserve it to give as gifts or just always have on hand.  I LOVE it. 

The first time I canned preserves I was nervous as heck.  I downloaded the Ball guide to canning from the web and read it through about 10 times.  It seemed like a lot of steps and a bit overwhelming.  The hardest part that first time around was timing everything and juggling multiple pots on my stove top.  But after one go round, it wasn't so intimidating anymore. 

Here's the gist...

1. Clean jars and lids (don't re-use lids...jars and outer bands can be re-used, but buy new lids).
2. Heat jars and lids so the jars don't crack when you ladle in hot jam.
3. Make jam.
4. Fill jars leaving about 1/4 inch space at the top, wipe the tops clean with clean towel or paper towel, put on the lid and screw on the outer band.
5. Repeat step 4 until all jars are filled.
6. Place hot jars in a boiling water bath, fully submerged, and boil for the amount time indicated for the type of product you are canning.  Most fruit jams/preserves take 10 minutes. 
7.  Remove processed jars from water bath and allow to cool on a kitchen towel on your counter for 24 hours, undisturbed.
8. Voila, jam!

I don't own special canning equipment (no canning pot or rack, no wide mouthed funnel, no canning tongs, no magnetic lid lifter).  I use my multi-pot to both heat the jars (step 2) and process the filled jars (step 6).  In my early canning endeavors I used a separate pot for heating the jars and processing the jars, but then figured out it I could do it all in one pot.  I use non stick kitchen tongs to lift the jars out of the hot water and then a doubled up kitchen towel to hold the hot jar while I use a small ladle to fill up the jar with hot jam.  I use my tongs to grab a lid out of the hot water and gently place it on top of the jar and then screw on the outer band.  Once all the jars are filled, I remove the strainer portion of my multi-pot and place the jars in the strainer (using a kitchen towel...since they are hot).  I lower the strainer into the boiling water and process. It really is easy.

October's Can It Up ingredient?  Apples of course! 

Now the big question, what to make?  I made apple butter in my slow cooker last year so I wanted to do something different.  I ran across a few recipes for caramel apple jam and I knew that's the direction I wanted to go.  I saw several recipes that called for a mix of brown sugar and white sugar, reporting that the brown sugar added a caramel taste to the jam.  These recipes also included spices, like cinnamon and nutmeg.  I read some comments that said the caramel flavor was hard to detect and that technically caramel apples don't traditionally have spices in them.  So I continued my search and found this recipe over at Hitchhiking to Heaven (another blogger with a love of canning!).  What drew me in was the recipe called for actually making caramel and then adding in the apple.  It had no spices, unless you count vanilla, and the recipe was pure caramel and apple.

I'm pretty darn happy with the end product.  The one comment/note I will change for next time is to let my caramel become a deeper golden caramel color before removing it from the heat.  I was nervous the caramel would get too dark or burn so I removed it from the heat a touch early.  I feel like the caramel flavor isn't quite as prevalent as I would like, though it's definitely there in the background.  I don't miss the spices and even without them, this jam is reminiscent of apple pie goodness. A wonderful fall treat...to dress up your toast, use in a crumble bar or cookie filling or to give as a gift!  I have 5 jars left to share with friends or family.  So if you'd like to drop by and pick one up, it's all yours!

If you want to get in on the apple canning action, you have until October 31st to link up over at Hima's site.  I'm looking forward to seeing what November's ingredient will be.

Enjoy!

Caramel Apple Jam
from Hitchhiking to Heaven

5 cups unsweetned applesauce (make your own starting with 3 1/2 pounds of apples and about 1/2 cup water) - I used a mix of granny smith, fuji, pink lady and honeycrisp
3 1/2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (I didn't have a vanilla bean so I stirred in 1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract at the end)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons dark rum (I omitted)

If you are making your own applesauce, start by peeling and coring apples and cut in to slices (about 1/4 - 1/2 inch).  Place apples in a large sauce pan with water (about 1/2 cup) and bring to a simmer with the lid on for about 20 minutes, until apples are tender.  Use an immersion blender (or a food mill) and puree the apples into applesauce.

Prepare your jars and lids.  Start by placing clean jars submerged in a pot of water, and bring to a near boil or until very hot.  Heat clean lids in a small saucepan of water.

Make the caramel.  Take a large clean pot (at least 7 quarts) and evenly scatter 1 1/2 cups of sugar over the bottom of the pan (you want to add it evenly because you will not be stirring the mixture).  Add 1/2 cup of water and lemon juice and bring to a slow boil, adjusting the heat as necessary.  Do not stir.  Keep a close eye on this as it turns from a clear syrup to caramel when you turn your back (the whole process took about 15-20 min for me).   When the syrup turns a golden caramel color, remove the pan from the heat. 

While the sugar is caramelizing, combine remaining 1 1/2 cups of sugar and sea salt in a medium bowl, stirring to combine.  If using a vanilla bean, split the bean lengthwise with a paring knife and scrape out the seeds.  Place the seeds and the pod into the sugar mixture and set the sugar mixture aside.

When the caramel is the color you want it, add in the applesauce, the sugar/salt/vanilla bean mixture (pod and all) and stir to combine over medium/low heat.  Once the sugar is dissolved, bring the jam to a boil and stir continuously for 8-10 minutes, or until jam thickens. This jam sputters and splatters quite a bit, but the continuous stirring prevents it from getting too violent.  Hot jam hurts!  You can test jam by placing a small dollop on a plate and placing it in the freezer for a couple of minutes.  If the jam easily slides off the plate when you tip on it's side, it's not quite ready. 

Once jam is done, turn off the heat and remove vanilla bean.  Stir in rum.  Remove a hot jar from your water bath (I use non stick tongs) and ladle jam into the jar, leaving 1/4 inch of head space at the top.   Using a clean damp paper towel, wipe away any excess from the edge of the jar.  Place a hot lid on top and screw on outer band. 

Process finished jars (completely submerged) in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.  Remove from bath and allow jars to cool undisturbed for 24 hours. 

Makes 6 half pint jars.