Can Jam March - Allium

The third Can Jam challenge of the year was allium.

I was happy, because I have lots of garlic left over from last year's garden .

I also had 2 Copra onions from last year's garden that I was saving for something special.

Something special like Onion Garlic Jam!

This is seriously good stuff.

When I'm cooking something and I really like it, this is what I say to myself, "Mmmm, oh yeah. This is some seriously good stuff. I'll just try a little more."

Onion Garlic Jam

4 cups cooked garlic/onion puree -For texture if desired, reserve 1 cup onions cooked, but unpureed
4 cups brown sugar

3 cups vinegar

2 Tbs salt

1 pkg no sugar needed pectin

Variety of home grown garlic.

Garlic bulbs ready for roasting in a 400F degree oven, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt.



My 2 normal large sized onions and a JUMBO onion from the grocery store.
It was huge!

Slicing up a Copra onion. It is amazing how well these onions store through the winter. This onion is over 6 months old.

More onion slicing.

Cooking the onion slices with a little butter and salt.

The salt breaks the cell walls in the onions and helps them release more water.

Less water = more onion flavored jam.

Roasted garlic ready for pureeing.

All the ingredients in the pot ready to be boiled up.

Bring everything to a boil and then add pectin.

Return to a boil and continue cooking for 1 min at a rolling boil that can't be stirred down.

I cooked mine for about 5 mins at a rolling boil, because I wanted a very firm jam.

Pectin added - reboiling.

Pour into sterilized jars and adjust 2 piece tops.

Process in a boiling water bath canner for 15 mins.

This post to me a ridiculously long time to write, because I have a new fur baby distraction.

Tansy!

I also worked 7 out of the last 8 days..........my one day off? I made jam! LOL

Ponzu Shrimp Potato Balls

You might remember that I received a bottle of Ponzu sauce through the Foodbuzz taste maker's program.

I made these shrimp balls and some in a croquette shape. I forgot to take any pictures of the flattened croquette shape, which is too bad, because I like them better that way.

They cooked evenly in the croquette shape, so just flatten them a little bit before baking.

I started with some boiled white potatoes ( from my garden!).

As a side note: I'm still using potatoes that I harvested from my garden last Fall.

They are a little wrinkly, but still yummy.

I riced the potatoes. This was about 2 cups of riced potatoes.


Then some roasted onions and red potatoes.
And a bag of 50 frozen defrosted shrimp.
Plus a little roasted garlic paste.



Zipped up in the food processor with a *dash* of cilantro.
Don't you love my cute spoon?!?
My friend Carol gave it to me.




Then 1/2 cup of Ponzu, an egg and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.
Add everything together and blend in the food processor.
After you have mixed everything together - made your "dough" - put it in a bowl and refrigerate over night.
The next day prepare your shrimp ball/croquette making area: one bowl with flour, one bowl with a whisked egg and one bowl with Ponzu breadcrumbs.
Take a tablespoon sized ball of dough and roll it first in the flour, next in the egg and finally in the breadcrumbs.
Continue with the rest of the dough.
Bake on a greased baking sheet and bake at 400F degrees for 10 mins or until toasted brown.

Bouillon d’oignon with Potato Cutouts

Bouillon d'oignon or onion broth. This was so delicious!

There really isn't a recipe for this.

I think it will turn out differently every time I make it, but here is how I made it this time.

First I took onions (from my garden).

Sliced the tops off of them and sliced them into flowers.
I didn't cut all the way through the root ends.
Then I placed the onions on a well greased cookie sheet and broiled the onions until they were charred on top.




Then I roasted the onions at 450F degrees, until the onions were soft and caramelized.



Then I popped the whole shebang into the food processor and whizzed the onions up.
Then I put the onions, 3 1/2 quarts water, 1 large whole carrot, 1 stick of celery, 2 bay leaves, some smoke flavor, some vegetarian "beef" bullion, a pkg of Knorr's veg. soup mix, thyme and some garlic puree.
I boiled it all gently for an hour.
Then I used a cheese cloth to strain all of the onion, ect. out of the broth.






The broth was dark and rich.

To make the potato cutouts: Take raw potato and slice it 1/2 inch thick.

With a small cookie cutter cut out shapes.

Toss with olive oil, salt, paprika and pepper.

Bake at 450F degrees for 10 mins until puffy.

Place on top of hot soup and serve.

Dried Onions

This is right up there with dried lemon peel - a must do for any food preserver.

Slice the onions and place them on your dehydrator sheets.

Dry for 8-10 hours, until crisp and transfer to a Ziploc or jar for storage.

4 huge 1lb. onions made a scant 2 cups dried.

I use them in everything.

Sprinkled into the pan before adding eggs for scrambled eggs,

added before re-heating canned soup,

to casseroles,

to brownies (Ok, not brownies! I was just checking to see if you were reading!).

Add them to ALMOST everything!

~

Note: I tried dicing some and they turned pink.

Yes! Pink!

Some chemical reaction?

Harvest Time...sorta

A pictorial tour of the week's harvest.

Onions

Tomatoes!

I have an outdoor sink - that I got for free!

It really comes in handy for washing up the harvest.

Potatoes

Yum.

The purple ones are so sweet, yet still potatoey.

They were still green, so I just took 2 tiny ones from the top.