Pickled Beets

 

Pickled Beets

 

4 C cider vinegar

2 C water

2 C sugar (white or raw granulated)

1 ½ tsp salt (canning salt with no iodine)

2 cinnamon sticks – broken into ~ ½” pieces

12 whole cloves         

1 tsp whole allspice

 

Prepare pickling solution.  Mix all ingredients and heat to almost boiling.

 

Cook beets with 1” of stem attached. 

When skin is loose, rinse in cold water then slip off skin and stem.

Slice or ~½” cube or whatever.  If beets are small, you can leave whole.

Place into clean canning jars – I often use a few small sized jars but mostly pints.

Pour vinegar solution into jar, filling to ½” from top of jar.  Put in at least one clove and a small piece of cinnamon in each jar.

Place new canning lid on each jar and hold in place with a screw top that is just tight – don’t make too tight, the lid has to ‘breathe’ a bit.

 Partially fill canner/water bath pot with warm water at the tap (it gets heavy).  Place on stove top.

Put jars into pot. 

Cover jars with water so that there is at least 1” of water over lids. I preheat water in my electric teapot and then pour it into the pot.

Bring to full boil then set timer for 20 minutes.

Turn off heat and remove jars with canning jar tongs. (I usually wait ~15 minutes to let the lids settle a bit)

Try to hold jars straight as you lift the jars from the hot water so vinegar solution doesn’t leak out.

Place hot jars on a wood surface or heavy cloth.  If hot jars are placed on tile or granite that temperature difference can cause the glass to break..

Allow to cool completely – usually overnight.

If any lid has not sealed, put that jar in the fridge and use soon.  With pickles it should be good for quite a while – like a month.

Remove screw tops and wash jars in warm soapy water being careful to get all the vinegar solution away from the sealed lids to minimize any sort of bacterial or fungal growth.

 

Here are the latest recommendations.  They are slightly different from what I do – usually more conservative.

https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/pickle/vegetable-pickles/pickled-beets/

https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/pickle/general-information-pickling/general-information-on-pickling/

Bread - Gluten-Free, Vegan

Bread – Gluten-Free, Vegan

9” x 5” loaf pan           350F                35-45 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 ¼ warm water

1 cup warm milk

2 ¼ tsp dry yeast

2 tsp sugar

½ cup ground flax seed

3 TBsp oil (olive or other)

2 TBsp maple syrup

1 ½ tsp salt

Flours and Meals – 3 ½ cups total

   1 cup Gluten Free flour mix

   1 ¼ cup oat flour

   ¼ cup corn flour

   ½ cup cornmeal

   3 TBsp potato starch

   1 TBsp buckwheat flour

DIRECTIONS

1. Pour warm water and warm milk into large bowl.  Mix in sugar.  Sprinkle dry yeast on top of liquid.  Let sit about five minutes or until it begins to froth.  I use a large stand mixer with a dough hook.  Any large bowl and a sturdy wooden spoon would work to mix this dough.

2. Add oil, syrup, and ground flax seed to yeast mixture.  Mix well and let sit another 2 – 5 minutes while flax absorbs liquid.  Ground flax seed holds the bread together like gluten or eggs.

3. In a separate bowl, mix together flours, meals, and salt.  The above ingredient mix is just a guideline.  These flours are available at my local grocery store.  The corn and oat help with structure and taste of the bread.  Buckwheat is a flavor and can be replaced with GF flour mix.  The potato starch helps lighten up the loaf which tends to be very dense.  If you are concerned about any gluten in the oat flour, you can purchase gluten-free oatmeal and grind it in a blender or food processor. 

4. Add dry ingredients to yeast mix and blend well for at least 3 or 4 minutes until all ingredients are blended in.  The dough will be very soft and sticky.

5. Grease the bread pan very well.  In addition, I cut a piece of waxed paper to size and set it on the bottom of the greased pan and then grease the top of the waxed paper.

6. Pour batter into the loaf pan.  Rise in a warm place (I preheat my oven until it is warm, then turn it off and put the bread in the oven to rise).  You might want to put a cookie sheet under the loaf pan to catch spills.  Watch very closely.  This dough is soft and does not hold together.  It will spill over the top and drip out.  It is too soft to rise like wheat bread.

7. When dough has risen to just over the top of the loaf pan.  Gently punch it down with a spoon.

8. Let rise again until dough is just over the top of the loaf pan. Very carefully set aside – the dough is fragile and if bumped it will collapse.  Preheat the oven to 350F (or lower if using convection fan).  The edges and crusts of this dough tend to overcook easily so make sure your oven is not too hot.

9. Gently place pan in oven and cook about 35 – 45 minutes.  You can test for doneness by tapping the top.  It will not sound as hollow as a loaf of wheat bread but almost.

10. Remove from oven and cool in pan for ten minutes.

11. Slide a butter knifte along the sides of the pan to loosen the bread.  Turn onto rack or towel to cool. 

12. When completely cooled, store in airtight container or plastic bag.  The crust and edges will soften up overnight.

Thanks to Sarah for her gluten free vegan everyday bread posted March 11, 2014 by Sarah.   http://www.sarahbakesgfree.com/2014/03/gluten-free-vegan-everyday-bread.html

My adjustments started when I was unable to find ground chia seeds at my grocery store.

 

Roasted Nuts and Seeds

Roasted Mixed Nuts and Seeds

Ingredients

2 ½ cups mixed unsalted raw nuts and seeds, for example:

      sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, hazelnuts, cashews, etc.

2 TBS butter

Mix of spices, examples might be:

      2 TBS fresh rosemary – finely chopped

      1 tsp cumin

      1 tsp curry powder

      1/8 – 1 tsp hot chili pepper powder: cayenne, chipotle, ancho, etc.

      ½ tsp allspice

      1 tsp salt (optional)

1 ½ tsp maple syrup (not artificial maple flavored syrup)

1 TBS brown sugar (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Measure nuts and seed and toss together in a bowl. Set aside.
3. In a large sauté or fry pan, gently melt butter over very low heat. 
4. Add spices to butter.  Mix and heat until fragrant, about 1 minute or less.
5. Remove from heat and stir in maple syrup.
6. Add the nuts to the sauté pan. Stir and toss to completely coat. Sprinkle brown sugar over nuts and toss lightly for added sweetness.
7. Transfer the seasoned nuts to the prepared baking sheet. Spread out in a single layer.
8. Bake until nuts are toasted and light golden in color, about 10-15 minutes. Turn the pan or put on different shelf part way through cooking to insure even heating.
9. Allow the nuts to cool on the pan until firm & crunchy (not soft) and cool to touch.
10. If not for immediate eating, store in a lidded container in the refrigerator or freezer.

Notes.  I cook several batches at a time with each batch having a slightly different blend of spices and sweetness.  Then I mix them all together before serving.