40 pounds of peaches canned in a day

Why, oh why, did Mom never teach me how to can? I remember eating jars and jars of canned peaches and pears when I was growing up, but I can't remember ever seeing Mom actually doing it -- although I do remember her later saying she would never do it again.

I think I'm going to get her to start up again. After all, I will need a partner to get started after taking a daylong lesson over the weekend at my friend Leslie's house. Plus, Mom lives closer to the rural parts of the county where you can actually come out ahead when you can, unlike us city folk who can end up spending an arm and a leg to "save money" on canning.

So what did we can? Forty pounds of peaches and 5 pounds of green beans!!! I suppose to people who actually can regularly, that's nothin'. Our instructor, a mutual friend with whom Leslie once worked and I went to college, said she normally cans 100 pounds in a day. And she has two children. And I have no excuses! Well, I still have yet to buy the equipment, but I'm hoping Costco will have it all in a big package in honor of the season the next time I go. Or maybe I'll just hit up some estate sales or look on Craigslist.

The class was wonderful, though. Laura and our other instructor, Kathy, gathered herbs in bulk (the only way to buy, apparently!) for us to use as we desired in our peaches and pickled green beans. I used a piece of vanilla bean, a couple of cardamon pods and a cinnamon stick in my peaches; and I got two jars of green beans: a spicy one with probably too many hot peppers, basil and garlic; and one to share with my friend Nicole, who can't handle spicy food, with just dill and garlic. Can't open them for at least a month, so if you're lucky, I'll come back with a full report.

I finally tried the peach jam today on an English muffin and it was absolutely heavenly. Looks like Leslie is responsible for yet another hobby in my overhobbified life!

Battle of the peach pies

Now this was the Peach Pie I wanted to make for Mom's birthday party. Isn't it beautiful? I know, I should have taken a shot of it after it was actually baked, but I couldn't find the right lighting (it's the only excuse I can think of!).

So here's the saga. I found this great recipe that ran in the Seattle P-I three years ago that I always wanted to make, and after Nicole served me some delicious peach pie last week, I knew I had to finally give it a whirl.

But unfortunately, I went to the local Asian store, HT Oaktree Market, for my supplies. Technically it's an "ethnic" store, which I should be the first to admit since I went there to buy the usual: Mexican food. Well, sometimes I get Asian food there, too! But no, usually it's Mexican food fixins.

Anyway, since Stephen doesn't have a grill, we decided tacos would be nice and easy for the 13 people (including three, count 'em, three teenage girls) that would be eating at his house. I made another P-I recipe: Mexican Pulled Pork, and he sauteed some spiced-up chicken with garlic and onions to go with all the expected fare: cole slaw (with a little chipotle), a few homemade salsas from Stephen (we'll have to ask him for the recipes), tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, lettuce, refried beans, Mai Ling's Guacamole (ask nicely and maybe I'll share) that actually was devoured before the tacos were served, a billion different kinds of tortillas, and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few special details. Alas we hadn't considered that maybe the Asian side of the family wasn't very familiar with tacos ... but hey, let's be honest, some of the stuff I eat at their house I'm pretty unfamiliar with, too!

Needless to say, there were some leftovers. But there wasn't any leftover pie, and talk about an ugly pie. Why, you ask?

Well, I know I should make my own pie crust, but somebody's got to keep the Pillsbury Dough Boy alive. So I sought him out at the HT Mart, but all I could find were crappy frozen crusts. Nor could I find the vanilla bean needed for Hsiao-Ching Chou's recipe. So I thawed out my frozen crusts and searched my unphotographic memory for the recipe Nicole had used when I was at her house: six peaches, 1/3 c. flour, 2/3 c. sugar and 1/4 t. cinnamon. Turned out fabulous ... but ugly. Using a frozen crust, no matter how thawed out it is, simply cannot look good on top of a pie.

Obviously, it didn't matter to the eaters, so I shouldn't care, but I just had to prove that I could make it pretty.

So later in the week, I got my standby Pillsbury refrigerated crusts and set out to make this beaut. Okay, here's the disclaimer. It was totally soupy!!! I think maybe the peaches were too ripe, if that's possible. Or maybe I didn't bake it long enough? Or maybe the beautiful crust is to blame, because unlike the first crust that expelled half the peaches' juices, this one kept 'em all in. Soupy, sure, but dang, did it taste good. Here's the P-I's recipe, from "The Baker's Dozen Cookbook":

Vanilla Peach Pie
3/4 c. packed light or dark brown sugar
3 T. all-purpose flour (I wouldn't hold it against you if you added a little more, just in case!)
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1-inch piece vanilla bean, split
7 ripe medium peaches, peeled pitted and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 T. fresh lemon juice
Butter Pie Dough or Cream Cheese Pie Dough (or Pillsbury!!!)
1 T. unsalted butter

In a medium bowl, mix the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt. Using the tip of a knife, scrape out the tiny seeds from the vanilla bean and add to the mixture. The pod can be saved for another purpose or discarded. Add the peaches and lemon juice and toss.

Fit the dough into a 9-inch pie pan. Fill the shell with the peach mixture and dot with butter. Trim the overhanging dough to a 1/2-inch overhang. Center the remaining dough over the filling. Fold the top crust under the edge of the bottom crust and pinch together firmly to seal. Crimp the dough. Cut a few slits in the top crust to allow the steam to escape. Place the pie on a baking sheet and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, position a rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees.

Bake the pie for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and continue baking until the crust is golden brown and the peaches are tender when pierced through a slit with the tip of a knife, 50 minutes to 1 hour.

Cool 1-2 hours before cutting.

Late night eating in the ID

And we thought we were being so clever by taking the bus to the Sounders vs. Barcelona game on Wednesday. Ha!

Oh, it probably was better than trying to drive through the mayhem, but we sure as heck didn’t want to stand in line at the bus stop for an hour. Nor did we want to struggle with the drunks in Pioneer Square. So we instead headed to the International District to see if anything was open where we could grab a bite to eat.

If only we'd paid a little closer attention. Just that weekend The Seattle Weekly had published an article about the "Ragin' Asian" scene in Seattle that keeps ID restaurants open until as late as 3:30 a.m. Unbeknownst to us, we could have gone to any number of restaurants within minutes of the ID bus station, but luckily the place we found turned out to be a real gem.

What led us there was a sign on King Street that Bryan thought said Noodles, so we walked toward it and saw the sign actually said Models. No worries, though, because right next to it was a cafe that really did say noodles and it had people in it, so we ended up at the Homestyle Hong Kong Cafe.

I was not disappointed. The menu was full of congee and different kinds of noodles and other dishes. But I saw congee and there was no turning back. There was a moment when I was wondering if it was appropriate to order congee at night, since it's typically something Mom serves in the morning, but then I saw "real" Asians ordering it so I figured I was good to go!

When the congee, which I ordered with preserved duck eggs and pork, arrived I was so excited it didn't cross my mind that since the congee was sizzling, the stone pot it was in was probably even hotter. Um, ouch. So watch out for the bowl, but do get the congee if rice cooked into mush sounds like something you would like.

My former Seattle P-I co-worker, Hsiao-Ching Chou, who has gone on to do much bigger and better things in the foodie world, includes some instructions on making congee here, but stay tuned for Mom's. She told me once how she makes it and it made my head spin. It's supposed to be a simple meal, but of course Mom turns in into a gourmet masterpiece. And people wonder why I fear cooking Chinese food!

I do think I'm going to try to bring Mom to the Homestyle Hong Kong Cafe someday, even though she hates eating out. Let somebody else make the congee for once!

Camping with some gourmet style

I'm really getting the hang of this gourmet camping thing. I remember the first time Bryan and I used our plastic camping wine glasses: I had votives lit all over the campsite, and this couple walked by and complimented how lovely our site looked. I've never forgotten my wine glasses since!

We like to camp in style, and lucky for us, so do most of our friends. Salami, cheese, crackers, grapes and even some nuts make pretty much the best snack indoors or out, as far as I'm concerned! We even picked up some garlic and herb cheese curds at the Poulsbo Farmers Market that went oh so nicely with my cheap white wine!

For our first night of dinner I marinated some steaks using Mom's Barbecue Steak recipe. Of course, I took one bite of it and said, "This isn't as good as Mom's," to groans from the rest of the group who said it was delicious. And it really was, but I do think I'll use a little less soy sauce and a bit more Worcestershire sauce the next time I make these steaks.

Julie grilled them to perfection, along with some grilled corn on the cob that Andrew spiced up for us and some potatoes thrown in the coals. I fixed them up Mom-style (she ALWAYS fixed up our baked potatoes for us, and I wish to emulate that extreme act of Momness) with butter, sour cream and some onions Veronica chopped up for me.

The steaks were so big, we even had an extra one that we wrapped in foil and I devoured the next day while everybody else was eating sausages. Selfish? Perhaps, but I did share!

Maybe I should look at the recipe next time

I learned a valuable lesson last night. It's much easier to not ruin Mom's recipes if I actually bother to look at them first.

Yesterday I marinated some country-style pork ribs to make my uncle's Chinese Barbecue Pork. When it came time to put them on the grill, I opened up my cupboard and saw a jar of Char Siu Sauce (aka Chinese Barbecue Sauce), and I panicked. I was sure I'd messed up the recipe so I had Bryan put that sauce on instead of the Hoison sauce, which not only does the recipe call for, but it's also what the pork had marinated in all day.

Well, it turns out the two sauces don't have that different of a flavor, so it still turned out delicious. But no, it's not as good as Mom's since I, of course, ruined it!

I did not, however, ruin my own recipe for my favorite grilled veggie, zucchini. Well, one of my favorites, but since it's so easy, it's often on the grill.

Grilled Zucchini
4 zucchini, cut in 1-inch pieces
2-4 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1 t. sea salt
1 t. Mrs. Dash Garlic Seasoning
1/2 t. freshly ground pepper

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, then place cut side on grill heated to medium high. Turn when zucchini starts to brown and grill marks show up on zucchini, about 5 minutes. Cook other cut side until brown and zucchini is soft, about 5 more minutes.

Toss Zucchini in same bowl, then serve.

P.S. Doesn't Bryan look cute behind the grill?

Dim sum-style green peppers

Do you love dim sum but hate the greasy feeling in your gut later on? Yeah, me neither, but Mom really does. As a matter of fact, I have to fight tooth and nail to get her to meet me in the International District, even though secretly I know she likes the food.

Now I have proof. You know those Stuffed Green Peppers they serve at dim sum restaurants, usually they have shrimp in them and they come with a sauce on top? Well, Mom made a heart-healthy and superdelicious version that sounds like it just might be easier to make. Instead of shrimp, which is packed with cholesterol, she used chicken and pork. And we did without the salty sauce. However, if you decide to make this, I wish you luck in finding the pickled mustard. In case you didn't already figure this out, I would suggest looking for it at some sort of an ethnic store.

Peppers Stuffed with Pork and Chicken

1/4 pound chicken breast, trimmed of fat and cut in chunks

3/4 pound boneless country-style pork ribs, trimmed of fat and cut in chunks

1-inch piece of pickled mustard, cut in chunks

1 T. soy sauce

1 T. vegetable oil

2 t. corn starch

1 t. sugar

2 Pasilla peppers, seeds removed and deveined

Pulse chicken, pork and pickled mustard in a food processor until it's ground like hamburger meat. Move to a bowl, then add the soy sauce, vegetable oil, corn starch and sugar. Let marinate in the fridge for a couple of hours.

To prepare the peppers, cut each in half lengthwise, then cut again widthwise so you have four somewhat equal pieces. Then you'll want to cut appetizer-size pieces lengthwise so that they each are about two inches wide.

Spoon some of the stuffing in each of the pepper pieces until it's all used up. Heat a nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Pan-fry the peppers with the meat down for a few minutes, then turn them to cook the green side. Repeat the process until the meat is brown and cooked through, and the peppers are brown and soft, about 10 minutes.

And here's what we had with the peppers. No salt, no seasonings, just grilled tilapia. Yes, it's looking at you!

Smoked ribs to warm my home

Honestly, I do want to apologize to all my vegetarian friends out there. I swear, I do not eat huge slabs of meat for dinner every night. I even used to be a vegetarian! But now that I'm back on the meat, it's all I want in the summertime. Meat off the grill, meat on a stick, meat on a bun, you name it.

Anyhoo, for those of you who live in the area, you may have noticed that after the perfect Fourth of July weekend, the weather is no longer quite as ideal for barbecues. Just in time, Bryan got a rack of smoked ribs that spent enough time in the coals to only need a warm-up in the oven. Kept me from having to turn on the heat (I'm kidding!)!

And where did Bryan get this rack of ribs? His colleague, who participates in barbecue competitions under the name SouthPaw BBQ, made them for us in one of his many weekend practice runs for the mere price of cost. Cooking on Monday nights has never been easier! Check out the smoker SouthPaw cooks with and other photos here.

We did an informal taste test with Mom's Barbecue Ribs, and really, with such a unique, smokey flavor, there's simply no comparison. The smoker definitely makes the meat a bit drier, but I really like the way it falls off the bone, whereas I kind of have to gnaw it off Barbecue Ribs. On that note, I can't say I've ever had a bad homemade rack of ribs, so maybe I'm not the best judge.

After the last few experiences with SouthPaw, Bryan and I talked about buying a smoker. But I think a lot of the flavor in their meats comes from their experience and the rub they use. Besides, I was eavesdropping on the bus the other day and heard somebody raving about a smokehouse on our route, Jenson's Old-Fashioned Smokehouse. I finally stopped there last week and I do believe that place will soothe my craving if SouthPaw goes to the big time and we lose our connection.