Yummy, homemade vegan food! The best way to live a happy and nurturing life, starts with the food that we put into our bodies and how we treat those that are weaker than us.
I absolutely LOVE asparagus any way that I can get it. Pickled is my new favorite was to eat it because it’s fast, convenient, and I love the dilly sour taste. I can’t get enough of it, so when I see asparagus on a sale, I stock up and get to canning!
What do I need?:
1 lb of asparagus spears
1 cup of white vinegar
1 cup of water
1 tsp whole peppercorns
1/2 tsp pink salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp of dried or fresh dill
How do I make it?:
Clean you asparagus
Snap at the natural break (hold the tip and the end and bend until it snaps on its own)
Put the dill and red pepper flakes in the mason jar(s)
Pack your mason jar(s) as much as you can with the asparagus
Meanwhile, bring water, vinegar, salt and peppercorns to a boil for one minute.
Pour the mixture over your asparagus up to 1/4″ from the top of the jar.
Let sit 24-48 hours.
Store in the refrigerator for up to a month (not that they will even last more than a few days).
This picture is after 3 days
Send me some ideas for next time. Just remember, anything you can make, I can probably make vegan.
Gotta love canning stuff so you have a decent amount to last you for a little. I make applesauce often because not only do I use it as a snack for the children, but we also use it in place of eggs for baking! 1/4 cup of applesauce is equal to one egg and it makes your recipe more moist and fluffy. Try it, I promise you will love it.
I make applesauce two different ways. One way I make it is while I am making apple cider so that I don’t waste anything. Here is the link if you want to check it out.
Marmalade… Then nastiest of all of the jams and jellies out there on the planet, or so I thought. I tried orange marmalade when I was little. I remember being about 5 or 6 years old and my great grandmother had me try a bite of her toast. I didn’t like the taste or the texture of it at all. Fast forward about 15 years, I went to a cute little B&B and was given a nice cup of tea, oatmeal, and an English with a spread of yummy and fruity spreads. There it was, looking at me, calling to me. The beautifully citrus smell of the marmalade wafted up my nose. I was drawn to it. I scooped a nice size amount on my knife and spread it on my English muffin. It oozed into all of the little spaces. A smile went across my face and I took a bite. It tasted like… disappointment. I wish it hadn’t. I so wanted to like it.
Now I am 35 years old and was overwhelmed with the amount of oranges coming in with my fruit and veggie box that I get once a week from Misfitsmarket.com and didn’t know what to do with all of them. The kids will eat them once in a while but not fast enough. My solution? Marmalade. I will defeat you this time, mark my word. Here we go!
Here’s what you will need:
1 lb of oranges
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of water
1.5-2 tsp of vanilla extract
Your cooking tools:
Sauce pot
Mandolin or very sharp knife
Canning Jars
Let’s get cooking!
I use a mandolin to cut my oranges. It makes the perfect size slices (about 1/4″ thick) and they are all uniform. Pick out the seeds as you go. I do not cut anything off of the oranges and the seeds are the only part that I remove. I had several different kids of oranges so I used some of each. I don’t know if it changed the flavor all that much, but the end result tasted great.Add the water and the sugar to the sauce pot and turn it to medium high.Add in the oranges and the vanilla. I love the creamsicle taste that the vanilla added so I went for 2 tsps instead of 1-1.5 tsp.
Bring the whole mixture to a boil and then take it down to a low heat or simmer.This is what my marmalade looked like after 1 hour. When your mixture is half the amount as it was when you started, it is about time to take it off the heat. There are several ways to test it. I took a spoon and put it in the freezer, when I got to the texture above, I took a little bit and dripped it onto the frozen spoon. When I tipped the spoon back and forth, it looked like I wanted the final product to look like when set.To sterilize your canning jars, boil them! I take the lids and put them in the freezer. While my mixture is still hot, I spoon it into the canning jars because I don’t have one of those fancy canning funnels. I grab those super cold lids and rings out of the freezer and put them right on the jars. Once the lids are on, I throw them right into the refrigerator and the lid does its thing and seals!
So finally, after all these years at the age of 35, I finally do love marmalade. I am so sad that it took me this long, but at least it happened!
Until next time, send me some ideas of things that you would like me to make for you. Just remember, anything you can make, I can probably make vegan!
Jen's Vegan Kitchen 