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Growing Saffron in Utah.

November 9, 2011 in Blog, Featured, Organic Gardening, SLC Urban Farm Life with 0 Comments

I posted some pictures of my saffron patch on Facebook the other day and it spawned a long discussion and how-to on growing it.  So I figured it was a good idea to bring that over here to the blog.

Yes, I grow saffron and I grow it in Utah.  Everyone may think it is one of those things you have to spend big bucks on and that if you live a local only lifestyle you must forgo altogether, but neither is true.  It’s cheap, grows well in Utah, tastes every bit as good as the stuff from Spain and nothing is more local than your own yard.

Saffron corms can be purchased everywhere from Amazon.com to nurseries that supply them over the internet, Willow Creek Gardens has a good selection of them and I would trust them more than the Amazon sellers.  I personally got mine at the Farmers Market several years ago and paid about $5 for 30 of them.

The key to growing them is to plant them in a part of your yard that never gets any water other than rain water.  They will sprout and bloom in the fall after the September rains arrive and then grow through the winter to die off in June or July.

Once you have your corms go find a sunny spot where the dirt can’t be cracked with a shovel and bang out a shallow area about 3 inches deep. drop in your corms and cover them up. I did it in August the first year. I also cover mine with about 2 inches of mulch.

DO NOT WATER THEM! EVER!!! Wait for the September rains to come….. when it does you will soon see little green shoots.

About three weeks after the green shoots appear you will have flowers with stamens You can pluck the stamens and leave the flowers. Everday check for more new flowers and pluck the stamens. You will do this for 3 weeks or so. Each time you can set aside your stamens to dry on a paper towel.  When they have dried you should move them to an airtight container for storage and don’t eat them for a few weeks.  When fresh, they are tasteless and they will develop the earthy aroma and taste over time.  They can be stored for about 2 years.

It really is that easy!  So try it.  You will be glad you did when you have that first beautiful patch of flowers and harvest your first batch of saffron valued at over $1,900 a pound!

 

Making Mustard. It’s easier than you might think.

November 9, 2011 in Blog, Featured, Recipes, SLC Urban Farm Life with 0 Comments

A few weeks ago I came across a great deal on some mustard seed at Williams-Sonoma and just the day before I had been thumbing through Home Made by Yvette Van Boven where she had a recipe for making mustard.  So I grabbed the jars and took the seed home to try my hand at making my own mustard.

It was easy, cheap and seriously made me wonder why I had never done it before.  In fact I will NEVER buy mustard in the store again!  It is expensive and no where near as good as what you can make yourself.  You can customize your ingredients any number of ways with vinegar, herbs, spices, beers and whatever else you can dream up.  Just remember that whatever you make will need to rest for at least 24 hours before you eat it.  Mustard is very bitter for the first few hours after making it and needs this time to rest and mellow it’s flavor.

The first step is to soak your seeds in the vinegar, beer or both.  Two hours is good, 24 hours are better.

The seeds should look plump and happy after the beer soak.

Then you throw them into the food processor with all the other ingredients.  I didn’t add more liquid, but you can.  Just depends on how viscous you want your mustard to be.

Crank up the processor and then stop it occasionally to scrape down the mustard seeds.

When you are done you should have a nice course and delicious mustard that will keep for a very long time in the fridge!

 

Coarse Brown Mustard
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Recipe type: Condiment
Author: Andrew Stone
Prep time: 2 hours
Cook time: 5 mins
Total time: 2 hours 5 mins
A quick, easy and cheap way to get mustard without a trip to the store and pulling $$ from your pocket!.
Ingredients
  • 4 oz mustard seed
  • 3/4 cup of a beer of your choosing
  • 3/4 apple cider vinegar
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 tbs demerara sugar
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
  1. Soak your mustard seed for at least two hours or overnight in the beer and vinegar.
  2. After soaking add the seeds and liquid (add more liquid later if you want a runnier mustard) along with all the other ingredients to a food processor and run it for about 5 minutes. Stop occasionally to scrape down the sides.
  3. When you reach your desired consistency move your mustard to storage jars and let it rest at least 24 hours before consuming. For the first 30 minutes to an hour it will be quite bitter.
  4. You can store your refrigerated mustard for a very long time. Just don’t let it dry out.

 

Salt Cured Chili Peppers

October 8, 2011 in Blog, Canning and Preserving, Recipes with 0 Comments

A month or so ago I came across a book that had a recipe for Salt Cured Peppers. I was intrigued at the idea of an option other than pickling or drying, so I decided to give it a go.  The result was amazing!  The flavor of the pepper is well preserved along with the heat.  In fact, I find it very much like eating them fresh.  Well, with a salty bite on the tongue.

The great thing about these peppers is that you can save them a year or more and when you find yourself needing to make a salsa in February or wanting a touch of hot pepper oil you need to only chop them or puree them with the accompanying ingredients to fulfill the needs of your recipe.  No more store bought peppers for you!

The process is easy.  You need only cut your peppers into 1/2 inch segments, salt them and then cover and refrigerate them for 5 days, stirring them once each day.  At the end of five days you bottle them in one or two quart jars and you are on your way.

Salt Cured Chili Peppers
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Recipe type: Condiment
Prep time: 10 mins
Total time: 10 mins
Use these peppers anywhere you would typically use hot chilies.
Ingredients
  • 2 pounds fresh hot peppers
  • 1/2 cup salt
Instructions
  1. Wash, dry and chop the peppers into 1/2 inch segments.
  2. Put them in a ceramic or non reactive bowl and pour the salt over the peppers. Mix the salt throughout the peppers, and let them sit at room temperature for at least 24 hours cover and refrigerate.
  3. After placing them in the fridge you will need to stir them once each day for 5 days, skim off any scum that may form at the top.
  4. After 5 days have passed, Pack them in a jar and keep in the fridge for a year or more. Every time you need peppers your supply is at hand.

Raised Waffles

October 2, 2011 in Blog, Featured, Recipes, SLC Urban Farm Life with 0 Comments

What is a Sunday morning without waffles?  I’m not talking about eggos.  The waffles I am talking about are the kind of waffles you make up the night before using yeast.  You let them rise overnight and then add the eggs in the morning, just before you cook them.  They are crispy on the exterior, soft inside and malty with the remnants of the yeast party that happened while you were peacefully sleeping and dreaming of a plate of this goodness!

Sorry that all you get is a photo of the mix.  I was too busy diving in to actually photograph the waffle.  I’ll get one up here someday.

Yeast Raised Waffles
Print
Recipe type: Breakfast
Prep time: 12 hours
Cook time: 20 mins
Total time: 12 hours 20 mins
Serves: 8
Probably the best recipe to have in any box. These waffles are the perfect mix of crunchy and soft and sweet and savory. They are a great breakfast with syrup or jam and equally fantastic with fried chicken and gravy.
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 1 package dry yeast
  • 2 cups warm milk
  • 1/2 cup melted butter
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
  1. Use a large mixing bowl (at least 6 quarts) as the batter will rise to double its original volume. Put the water in the mixing bowl and sprinkle in the yeast. Let stand to dissolve for 5 minutes. Add the milk, butter, salt, sugar, and flour to the yeast mixture and beat until smooth and blended. A whisk or fork will work just fine.
  2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, go to bed, and let stand overnight at room temperature.
  3. Just before cooking the waffles, separate your eggs, lightly beat the yolks and fold them into your mix. Then whip your eggs whites until stiff peaks form(this is the true trick to the best wafles ever) and fold them into the mix. Add the baking soda, and stir until well mixed. The batter will be very thin.
  4. Pour about 1/2 to 3/4 cup batter into a very hot waffle iron. Bake the waffles until they are golden and crisp. This batter will keep well for several days in the refrigerator.
  5. This should make about 8 waffles.

 

Tomatoes everywhere. Time to can some tomato sauce.

September 6, 2011 in Blog, Canning and Preserving, Featured, SLC Urban Farm Life with 0 Comments

So, last weekend I got the bug to go pick tomatoes at one of our local U-Pick Farms. It was Day Farms up in Layton. It is a great place and just a short drive from SLC.

It really was a beautiful Day.  Not too hot and not too cool.  Just right for the back breaking job of tomato and pepper gathering.

So I sent the laborer off into the fields…

And we came home with this!

And a case of peaches and a case of peppers and a bag of zucchini and a bunch of corn.  Day Farms is a great place!

Two days later I was canning tomato sauce and tomato paste.

It took all day but I did end up with 10 quarts and 9 pints of sauce and 11 4oz jars of Tomato paste.  Today I am working on more sauce.  Should get another 10 pints or so.

The process is pretty easy so check out the photos below and have fun.

First you roughly chop up about 12 pounds of tomatoes and put skins, seeds and all into a large pot to simmer.  (I leave the skins and seeds on to add depth and flavor) You will also notice chopped garlic in that photo.  I added one clove per 12 lb batch for added depth as well.  No salt.  I’ll do that when I cook.

You should have a pot like this.

Notice the super cool Portable Induction Cooktop I got!  Such even and FAST heat!!!

Once you get it warmed up and simmering you can mash it a bit with a masher.

Simmer some more (1/2 hour I guess) and then dump it into your food processor to puree the whole lot of it.  Better yet, if you have an Immersion Blender, puree it in the pot.  It is much safer that way.

Then you simmer some more (1/2 hour I guess).

And then ladle it into a Food Mill to separate the sauce, the seeds and the skins.

Then return it to the pot to simmer some more.  You want to go from about 7 quarts to about 5 quarts of sauce.  Then bottle your sauce in quart or pint jars and process it in your pressure canner per the directions as they are laid out for your region and altitude.  In my case it was 13 lbs of pressure for 25 minutes.

When you are done ( in my case I did it four times), you will end up with this…

 

Want to make tomato paste?  Then roast your tomatoes in a 450 degree oven for about 1/2 an hour – 45 minutes.  Then follow the steps above and simmer to a lovely thick paste.

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