Link Love! Gifts In Jars

My 300-ish square foot apartment is currently overflowing with jars of things. Three types of jam, tomato sauce, two types of liqueur, pickles, pears, and on and on. My general motivation here is not only to have beautiful summer produce throughout the year, but also to have a perfect stash of last minute gifts and treats to share with friends and loved ones during the holiday season. It isn't too late for handmade gifts by any means- and the perks of gifting something that can be both stored, and later eaten once the house is cleared of other holiday sweet things is truly hard to argue. I've also tried to include primarily recipes that don't require any special canning equipment.

- Despite the fact that Washington doesn't actually have a citrus season- it still is citrus season. I'm enamored with the idea of this Chili Mandarin Marmalade with a Spritz of Ginger from Mandolin the Mirthful. She notes its intensity and that it would pair beautifully with crackers and chevre. My kind of lady.

- On that note- this idea of gifting Marinated Goat Cheese is unarguably simple, and absolutely gorgeous. This would make a phenomenal host/ess gift, even when rushed for time.

- Homemade Coffee Liqueur from Food In Jars makes for another well received gift that uses a few straight-forward ingredients. The original recipe notes that it's best when allowed to sit anywhere from three to six weeks- but I've given gifts like this in the past that included a note one when it's best to open. No one has complained.

- Okay, I'm totally cheating on this one. It doesn't come in a jar, it's merely just being served in one. But I cannot get over how obscenely delicious this sounds. I cannot. Jen Altman's Black Spiced Rum Eggnog will be my first attempt at eggnog ever. I will drink it out of a jar, and I will probably not share. You should go ahead and make your own.

-  Bacon Jam. I know. Bacon is played out, and this recipe takes hours to make, and if you want to store it out of the fridge you need a pressure cooker. But I don't care about any of those things. It's bacon, and onions, and maple syrup. And I just don't care.

- I accidentally made myself a big beautiful jar of ginger syrup last year- it was the byproduct of candied ginger, and it was probably one of the best accidents I've had in some time. It makes for some of the best ginger ale I've ever had, and has stored perfectly in my pantry without any issues. Joy the Baker shares her recipe for Homemade Ginger Syrup for Ginger Ale and includes a perfectly simple recipe for ginger ale to tack on as part of a gift.

Are you making any of your gifts this year? What are your favorite homemade treats to give and receive?

Events: July 9th- 1st Annual Summer Cider Day

We're heading out of Seattle to Port Townsend tomorrow morning to spend the day sampling local ciders and hopefully getting fantastic sun burns!

Discover the delicious diversity of Pacific Northwest craft hard ciders at the Northwest Cider Association's first annual Summer Cider Day in Port Townsend (WA) on Saturday July 9th from 11 AM to 7 PM.

Located at beautiful Fort Worden State Park, featuring 10 plus local cidermakers, at least 30 varieties of regional ciders and a tent of imported ciders, “Summer Cider Day” offers the experienced cider enthusiast as well as the newly cider curious a chance to sample a complete range of cider styles and flavors. Come enjoy a day in the park as you talk with your local cidermakers, taste cheeses, enjoy a bit of live music and celebrate the fermented apple in its many fine forms.

Ticket prices are $25, 20$ for NWCA members. Event ticket price includes admission for one, 10 taste tickets, and a keepsake Northwest Cider Association glass. Additional taste tickets will be available for purchase.

Enjoy a day or weekend in the artful, beautiful seaport town of Port Townsend Washington, have a cider paired meal at a local restaurant or explore Fort Worden's wide stretch of beaches and forest trails. And if you want to learn even more about cider, you can drive the "Cider Loop" as all three local cideries will also be open for tours and tastes.

Summer Cider Day Details

• 10+ Northwest Cider Makers
• 30+ Different Cider Varieties & Styles
• Tickets include 10 tastes and a 5 OZ. souvenir Northwest Cider Association glass.
• Additional taste tickets available for purchase
• Cheese Pairing with Mt. Townsend Creamery
• Food
• Onsite Parking
• Kid Friendly
• Dogs allowed on leashes
• Non-Alcoholic option
• Live music throughout the day

 Tickets and more info available here!

I'll be back on Sunday with lots of pictures- and maybe I'll even be awesome and share my photos from this past weekend of hiking and camping in the North Cascades!

Finnriver Cidery & Point No Point

Last weekend, as my final birthday request- I wrangled up two of my favorite people and we hopped the ferry to Kingston.  From there we had a bit of an eventful drive, full of sugary coffee drinks and bizarre fender benders (not us).  Our intended destination was Finnriver Cidery & Farm in Chimacum, on the Olympic Peninsula.  I sort of offhandedly decided that 2011 is going to be a year full of ciders.  So far- I've done pretty alright for myself.  There seems to be an uprising of local cideries in Washington, and I'm totally in love.

 

"Come quickly, I am tasting stars!" - Don Perignon

Crystie humored us for over an hour- letting us taste every cider that they had available, as well as a pear cider that they're still experimenting with.  We brought home a bottle of their Sprited Apple Wine- which is an apple wine that's been combined with apple brandy.  I'm drinking a glass right now.  We also brought home their Farmstead Cider, made with heirloom apples.  It's very dry and not very sweet- quite different than what I'm used to.  I love it.

We had a few hours to kill before we needed to catch the ferry back- and so we made a bit of a detour to check out Point No Point.

 

We also made a quick pitstop at CB's Nuts to pick up some of their Oregon pumpkin seeds, and peanuts.  It's a tiny little space, but worth checking out- mostly for the free samples.

If you're in the Seattle area, but aren't able to make it out to Chimacum just for cider- Bottleworks in Wallingford carries a few of their varieties, and from what it sounds like- Finnriver is working on getting some of their ciders into some local bars as well. 

All in all- a pretty fantastic day.

Eat Your Love

Just a quick roundup of some edible gift ideas!  I'll be making a number of these today and the rest of the week, as I get ready to head home to Alaska for Christmas.

 

- DIY Salt Caramels from The Kitchn are ridiculous and amazing. I know this because I made them last weekend to bring in to work.  My co-workers flipped, and the few that I had left at home have been devoured since. 

- Candied Ginger from Put Up With Me uses three ingredients and a few basic steps.  It would look lovely piled into a canning jar.

- Cranberry Liqueur from Sidewalk Shoes needs about three weeks to sit and really come together- but I can still imagine gifting this with the cranberry bits inside the bottle.

- Cranberry Marmalade with Dried Apricots from Food In Jars is just one of her gorgeous gift ideas.  Homemade Vanilla Extract (I made this last year!), Little Loaves of Cranberry Bread, and Rosy Quince Jelly would all be much loved.

- I happen to think that this is the coolest thing ever.  The gorgeous Patrice of The Fantastic Mr. Feedbag made Patchop's Red Hot Saveur Sauce and blew me away.  The spicy food lovers in my life (myself) would go crazy over this.

- Lastly- iVillage has a roundup of 23 Homemade Gift Ideas from Your Kitchen featuring some really creative recipes from food bloggers. 

What are you making this year?

Tart & Lovely

 

Cranberry Bogs from cowhntrx

I love the inside of my freezer.  It's full of wild berries picked mid-summer, cubes of stinging nettles, freezer bags full of fair trade chocolate pieces, and bulk packages of udon noodles.  I am constantly shuffling them around amongst the packages of coffee and assortment of fish and game meat that I've horded away.

I also stash bags of cranberries in my freezer as if November only comes once every three years.  Right now cranberries are all that I care about.

While homemade cranberry sauce is an absolute requirement for me come Thanksgiving- I am never one to say no to cranberries in most any other form.  For whatever reason the internets have been exploding with beautiful cranberry dessert recipes this year, and I am not one to resist.  I still haven't decided which I'll be making for our actual Thanksgiving dinner- but with a "practice" dinner tomorrow night, and Wednesday just hanging out doing nothing- I think I'll be able to fit more than one into my week.

- Cranberry Shortbread Cake from The Way the Cookie Crumbles is November's answer to out-of-season strawberries.  It sounds like such a fantastic combination and comes out looking rustic and lovely.

- Persimmon Cranberry Sauce is my sauce of choice this year.  I usually just stick with a basic cranberry/citrus/spices combo- but I'm exited to mix things up a little with star anise and the texture of persimmon.  

- Smitten Kitchen gets me every single time.  No matter what.  Deb is talented beyond words, and even when she isn't overly in love with a recipe it still turns out beautifully.  Upside-Down Cranberry Cake is no exception.

- Nantucket Cranberry Pie from the very well known Pioneer Woman is not a pie.  It's cake on top of cranberries.  And I really, really don't care.  Apparently it's a pie when you're in Nantucket.  I can live with that. 


- Cranberry Liqueur from Vino Luci would make a great gift for your host/ess or your own guests.  Just make sure you spell it right.

- Lastly- because a straight-forward simple cranberry sauce is still so good to have- The Delicious Life has a great recipe for Basic Cranberry Sauce which also includes notes on using the leftovers to make cranberry sorbet.  So damn witty.


How do you feel about cranberries?  What are your favorite ways to eat them?

Link Love!

Food, oh food.  Once upon a time my Link Love posts contained all sorts of fun and exciting things.  These days my definition of "fun and exciting" basically includes the making, eating, finding, creating, reading, learning or traveling all for the sake of food.  Mmm.  As you saw in my second half of our Mt. Rainier camping adventure pictures- the trip ended with the purchasing of a whole blackberry pie.  I can't help it.  I really can't.

- Is it wrong to start off with a cocktail?  No?  Alright!  This Cucumber-Rosemary Gin and Tonic makes me wish it were possible to drink nothing else.  Water?  Pfft.  

- I love bread puddings and stratas, but rarely ever make them. This recipe for Summer Strata with Spinach, Basil & Roasted Garlic Custard from Eat Me, Delicious pretty much covers every base that needs to be covered.  Bread, cheese, custard, greens, garlic... mmm.  Hi.

- A few of my favorite semi-recent articles from Serious Eats:  How to Build a Tolerance for Spicy Food is excellent and worth a read.  I adore spicy foods, but it took me a long time to get there.  Healthy Corner Store Initiative Takes Off in Providence is a great article about a group of students in Providence, RI who work to make-over convenience stores and corner markets to carry more healthful options. 

- Four Fish by Paul Greenberg feels like one of those books that I am just supposed to read.  I think it's so important to understand where our food comes from, how it's procured, and what that means in terms of sustainability and longevity.  And, well- fish matters.  Especially to me, a giant fish nerd.

- Working Class Foodies is an awesome online show that follows two siblings in their quest to turn local and seasonal ingredients into great meals for under $6 per person.  The recipes are beautiful and easy to follow along.  Some recent recipes: Ice Pops, Ricotta, and Zucchini Pancakes, Homemade Veggie Burgers and Potato Salad, and Soda with fresh fruit and herbs.

- These Sweet Corn Pancakes from Smitten Kitchen sound like the perfect weekend treat.  I'm so excited that corn is becoming the new trendy food to experiment with.  I'm happy eating it out of the bag from the freezer (yes, still), but nothing beats fresh corn.  Especially when combined with breakfast.

- How to Become a Poacher has nothing to do with illegal activities, and everything to do with delicious food.  Beautifully outlined.

- Lastly- this list of 5 Quick and Delicious Lunches under 400 Calories is just awesome.  I'm not much of a calorie counter, but I also prefer to eat light small meals throughout the day, and the presentation of these is just phenomenal.  

Frozen Treats Link Love!

I have made and eaten so many delicious frozen things lately- it seems only fair that I share a little frozen link love!

- Caramel Crunch Ice Cream Bars from Eat Me, Delicious look so, so good.  I haven't made these yet.  I'm a little afraid to make them, honestly.  I may never want to eat anything else ever again.

- This recipe for chocolate sorbet doesn't look like much.  But it is absolutely ridiculous.  In the best way ever.  It's like eating frozen creamy fudgy cake batter, except that it's vegan and really not that bad for you.  I used classic mint from Theo in mine, as well as a touch of espresso powder, and the combination is surprisingly good.  Each bite tastes different and complex.

- This Blueberry Ice Cream doesn't require an ice cream maker or egg yolks and kind of makes me want to cry just looking at it.  I still have quite a few frozen blueberries from my trip home last fall and I don't think I'd have any issues at all using some of them up this way.

- My lovely friend Becca just posted a recipe for Vegan Raspberry Ice Cream which she says is "like creamy sorbet, but somehow not sherbet-y."  Works for me!

- Chocolate Gelato with Salted Caramel Pecans is probably my soul mate.
 

- And because I quite literally cannot get enough of fruit and berries in/on/with ice cream- this Cherry Lambic Ice Cream Float sounds like sweet perfection in a glass.  I love raspberry lambic with an unashamed and undying passion, and although I rarely drink it due to its syrupy sweetness- I think that this is the perfect way to do it.  Especially in August.  Especially on our patio.

What are your favorite frozen summer treats?