Food in Jars by Marisa McClellan

Although you can, of course, can and preserve food and drink year-round the really fruitful time for both is just around the corner. If you want a new book to keep you company and guide you through the putting-by time consider Marisa McClellan's just published book Food in Jars: Preserving in Small Batches Year Round (Running Press, May 2012, hardcover, 240 pages) which shares the name of her popular food blog. Although McClellan lives in Philadelphia now she's a born-and-raised Portlander and she'll be in town this week to promote her inspiring DIY book.

According to McClellan: "Unlike other books on canning and preserving, Food in Jars offers small-batch recipes ideal for tiny kitchens."

I haven't had a chance to cook from Food in Jars yet but I'm looking forward to these recipes amongst others: rhubarb jam with strawberries and oranges, strawberry vanilla jam, Meyer lemon jelly, zesty lime curd, pickled brussels sprouts, blueberry lemon syrup, and chocolate hazelnut butter.

Thursday, June 14th @ KitchenCru 6:30-8:30pm -- Marisa will teach a canning class on the basics of boiling water batch canning while making a batch of take-home strawberry lemon jam. Sign up for the $60 class here.

Saturday, June 16th @ Powell's Books on Hawthorne 2-4pm -- Marisa will sign copies of Food in Jars and be available for any and all canning questions.

Food in Jars: Preserving in Small Batches Year-Round by Marisa McClellan pub. date May, 2012 240 pages $23, Running Press www.foodinjars.com

For Your Viewing Pleasure Pt. 3

We're just at the mid-way point in terms of writing the Toro Bravo Cookbook: The Making, Breaking and Riding of a Bull (McSweeney's fall 2013) and that means things are really cooking now -- literally and figuratively. I don't have time to do much more this week than meet my monthly deadline for the book so I'm putting up a snapshot that I took while at the restaurant a few weeks ago during prep. and service. I got to ride with the bulls and it was a lot of fun. If you didn't get to come out and celebrate Toro's fifth anniversary this past Friday I'm sorry but you missed out. I'll put up photos and possibly a video from that up here eventually as well. The best part: the marching band procession from Tasty n Sons to Toro Bravo that kicked it off.

www.torobravopdx.comFor Your Viewing Pleasure Pt. 1For Your Viewing Pleasure Pt. 2

DIY Meat Smoking Pt. 2 -- Q&A with Dave Blaikie

Q & A with Dave Blaikie (If you haven't read the first part of this blog series you can at DIY Meat Smoking Pt. 1)

Me: When did you build your smoker?

Dave: In 2009.

Me: How did you make it?

Dave: I made it out of a 55-gallon drum that used to be filled with vegetable oil. A man was selling them in his front yard and I had to get one. It was 15 bucks and I wedged it into the back seat of a Mazda Protege. Sheet metal that I found in a scrap pile and angle steel lengths make up the smoker box and stand. It took a week to cut and weld all the pieces in my garage. The design is based on a smoker my friend had.

Me: What are your favorite things to smoke?

Dave:Anything pork. Baby back ribs are my faves followed by the pork butt, and country-style ribs.

Me: Any advice for someone who's never smoked meat before and is about to try?

Dave: Ask questions. For starters, get a good book because you have a lot to learn and you're going to be sitting for a while. Don't use lighter fluid, unless you like that taste in your food. Use a mixture of woods. I use oak or mesquite as a fuel wood and add any fruit wood that I can get my hands on. You can use all fruit wood if you want for both fuel and flavor as well. Apple wood is my favorite and if you can get your hands on some, do it.

Get the temperature in the smoker up to where you want it. You want to have a good fire going but want the smoke to be as light as you can get it. Don't worry it'll have a smoky flavoring without too much smoke. That's about it. Every smoker is different and it takes time to understand the in's and out's of each one. Oh yeah, don't rush it. This is all about kicking back with your friends, drinking and salivating over an aroma that can only be made from smoking meat.

Check out DIY Meat Smoking Pt. 1

Dave and Tyler doing what smoking meat requires -- a lot of waiting...

Blaikie with friends with a rib in his hands. Eating smoked meat from the smoker that he built of course...

After learning from the master Tyler tried his hand at some smoked pork butt. It turned out really good.

Juicy and perfectly smoked pork butt.

DIY Meat Smoking Pt. 1

Our friend Dave built the above barrel smoker a few years ago and we've gotten to eat all sorts of delicious things smoked in it. A little less than a year ago Dave needed someplace to store it and we've had it at our house ever since.

Late April Dave and his fiance Rachel came over and we celebrated their engagement by smoking an insane amount of meat for four people while splitting wood from our old apple tree that we cut down this winter. It was a really old tree -- one arborist thought it was nearly as old as our 100+ year old house -- and hollowed out as you'll see in the photos. Although the wood is still drying it was the perfect combo because apple wood which is ideal for smoking meat.

That day with Dave and Rachel we smoked a five pound brisket, three pound pork butt, and a rack of pork and beef ribs. Don't worry -- in the end, we invited some other friends over to help us eat it all.

The Basics

We mortar and pestled herbs and spices and then dry-rubbed all of the meat with various combinations, adding brown sugar to some of the rubs and leaving it off of others. We got the smoker up to temperature (Dave says the sweet spot temperature-wise is 220-230) with mesquite, dried some apple wood while doing that, and then put all the meat into the smoker at 3:30pm to cook until about 8pm -- 4.5 hours.

The hottest spot on the racks is of course right by the smoke chute. We put our meat in when it got to 200. Then as the meat smoked we occasionally rotated things and cracked the door if it got too hot -- we tried to keep it between 220-230 -- and added wood if the fire got low.

You don't want too much smoke -- just a bit. We put wood shavings in a small cast-iron skillet and had an apple wood fire with mesquite coals in the barbecue. Although we didn't do it this time Dave usually adds vinegar and mustard to the meat toward the end to keep it moist. And if you don't know this already you always want to remove the silvery membrane from ribs so that they cook properly.

Gartner's never fails -- brisket, pork spare ribs, pork butt and Dave brought beef ribs.

We gave all the cuts nice dry rubs and put them in the smoker when it was 200 and nicely, lightly smoking.

Masters of the meat -- Rachel, Dave and Tyler. And Rubin -- can't forget the white wolfie.

Splitting apple wood while the meat smoked. Apple wood is great for smoking meat and seafood.

Sweet spot.

Not much longer to go.

Carving time.

Brisket!

We climbed meat mountain and lived to tell the tale! So good.

Up next a Q&A with the meat master himself -- Dave Blaikie!

Taste of the Nation Portland 2012

This year's 25th anniversary Portland Taste of the Nation at Jeld-Wen Field was incredible and rather than type up all of the reasons why I'm going to lay it all out in photos for you. If you were there you might see yourself in some of the photos below because I snapped a lot and managed to only drop my camera once. It's ok. This was the first year Taste was held at Jeld-Wen Field and I think it's a fantastic venue. You'll see from the photos. If you weren't able to make it please consider attending next year. It costs a pretty penny but 100% of proceeds go toward hunger relief in Oregon. Without further ado...

One of the most decadent treats of the night was Gruner's foie gras torchon on toasted brioche topped with riesling pickled rhubarb. One of my favorites of the night and they went fast.

Another favorite only available to VIP ticket holders (spend more on your ticket for several additional tastes and early entry) was Bamboo Sushi's amberjack topped with red jalapeno, cilantro, black flying fish roe and miso vinaigrette.

My friend Craig joined me this year and this is what his tray looked like 10 minutes in. So many tasty treats. And we got to sample a lot of nice wine, beer and spirits as well.

Chop's table was very popular and they had one of the most diverse spreads of any of the partipants. Tried all kinds of delicious salames, proscuittos and pates and had a difficult time leaving that table and moving along...

This was probably about 30 minutes into general admission. Packed but not uncomfortable because of all the natural light and air flow above. Everyone was in great spirits sampling all the food and drink and knowing that all money spent goes to a great cause.

For $25 you could try your luck at restaurant roulette. All sorts of local food and drink gift certificates to be won...

I won these! Anya Spence of Miss Zumstein is a good friend of a friend and looking forward to using both GCs.

Departure was serving up one of my other favorites of the night -- spicy steamed honey chicken bao.

They deserve a close-up -- Departure's spicy chicken bao.

I always look forward to what Andina cooks up for Taste of the Nation. This year they did lomo saltado empanadas and potato, avocado, smoked tomato causitas. Both were delicious as always.

My boyfriend's friend Brewer Dylan Goldsmith of Captured by Porches poured my friend Craig an alt beer right before Mayor Sam Adams gave a speech declaring May 8th officially No Child Hungry Day and at the end thanked Dylan for the tasty IPA he was drinking.

Happy to donate some copies of my book to the silent raffle. My book came with gift certificates to Chop, Nong's Khao Man Gai and Missionary Chocolates. Not too shabby.

Closing shot -- love this one of Irving Street Kitchen's station cooking up potato latkes with gravlax and apple butter. Can't beat cooking in sunglasses...

Stay tuned for next year's Taste of the Nation! www.portlandtaste.org

Kids' Meals with Seeds -- Zenger Farm & Burgerville

There's a great promo. going on at all Burgerville locations throughout Oregon and Washington that you should know about if you have kids in your life. Local, sustainable fast food chain Burgerville is offering seed packets in its kids' meals. They've partnered up with urban farm education center Zenger Farm and this spring through May -- until supplies last -- when you purchase a Burgerville kids' meal you get a packet of seeds, an illustrated plant stake and a Zenger Farm activity bag. So go get some burgers and fries and plant some seeds!

Straight from the press release...

“It all starts with a seed. When kids plant, tend and harvest vegetables, they are more inclined to eat them. We see it over and over again at Zenger Farm,” said Jill Kuehler, Executive Director of Zenger Farm. “We are proud to partner with Burgerville to encourage families to plant a garden this spring and cook with what they grow.”

About Zenger Farm

Founded in 1999, Zenger Farm is a working urban farm that models, promotes and educates about sustainable food systems, environmental stewardship, community development and access to good food for all. It now consists of 9.7 acres of farmland and wetland in outer southeast Portland. Learn more at zengerfarm.org or call (503) 282-4245.

About Burgerville

Burgerville is a restaurant company with 38 locations throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington, serving guests fresh, great tasting food from the mission “serve with love.” Burgerville’s values extend beyond locally grown berries, all-natural Country Natural Beef, Walla Walla onions and cage-free eggs. At Burgerville, the commitment to fresh, local and sustainable values is about helping people and communities thrive. The innovative company, established in 1961, is redefining industry norms by providing affordable health care for hourly employees and their dependents, purchasing wind power equal to their electricity use, converting used trans-fat free cooking oil to biodiesel and implementing comprehensive resource stewardship and recycling. For more information about Burgerville, please visit burgerville.com

Winner of Taste of the Nation Portland 2012 Tickets!

You know who you are lucky #6 commenter! You've won yourself two tickets to this year's Taste of the Nation next Tuesday, May 9th at Jeld-Wen Field. Drop me a line @ info at lizcrain dot com with your full name and contact info. and I'll pass that along to the organizers who are donating the tickets. Your two general admission tickets will be available the night of the event at will call. (Don't worry if it takes me a few days to respond -- I'm out of town for work and will be back mid-week.)

Thanks everyone for all of your tasty comments! I hope that some of these businesses come to fruition. If you build it they will come!

For those of you who didn't win tickets there are still tickets available for this year's 25th anniversary Taste of the Nation. It's one of the best food events in town and I highly recommend it. In addition to it being delicious and super fun 100% of proceeds go toward ending local child hunger. Gotta feel good about that.

Thanks everyone!

Share Our Strength's Taste of the Nation Tuesday, May 8th, 2012 6:30-9pm Jeld-Wen Field 1844 SW Morrison St. Portland, OR 97205 Tickets $85 and up (order by phone 877.26TASTE, online or at any New Seasons Market) www.strength.org/portland

Taste of the Nation Portland 2012 -- Ticket Giveaway!

Share Our Strength's annual Taste of the Nation on Tuesday, May 8th at Jeld-Wen Field is just two weeks and a day away and it's the 25th anniversary of this fantastic event. In the interest of shouting it out loud and clear and getting as many people to come out for it and support it as possible I'm giving away a pair of tickets here on my blog.

I love this event because 100% of ticket sales go toward working to end child hunger via Oregon Food Bank, Klamath-Lake Counties Food Bank, St. Vincent de Paul Food Recovery Program and Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon. Read about last year's Taste of the Nation here.

This year's TOTN will showcase food and drink from 50 restaurants, 25 wineries and 5 breweries -- these folks. The list is growing daily.

So it's a VERY worthwhile cause that I highly recommend buying tickets for. You can also try your luck for a pair of general admission tickets here on my blog. I've got a number in mind and I've written it down and taken a photo of it as proof. That numbered person to comment takes the cake. You get me your name and contact info. and there will be a pair of tickets waiting for you at this year's Taste of the Nation will call the night of May 8th. Please help me to spread the word about this ticket giveaway and Taste of the Nation on Twitter, Facebook etc. I'm foodloverPDX on Twitter.

So what to comment about? Let me know what sort of food/drink business you'd love to see launch in Portland. It could be a food or drink product, a market, a non-profit, coffeeshop, brewery. It could be something that already exists and you'd like to see replicated in another neighborhood or it could be a business you've just always wished existed here that you've never seen. Leave a comment and let me know -- just because I'm curious.

I'll announce the lucky winner early next week!

Share Our Strength's Taste of the Nation Tuesday, May 8th, 2012 6:30-9pm Jeld-Wen Field 1844 SW Morrison St. Portland, OR 97205 Tickets $85 and up (order by phone 877.26TASTE, online or at any New Seasons Market) www.strength.org/portland

Vij's Cookbook Pt. 2

I first wrote about Vij's cookbook -- Vij's Elegant and Inspired Indian Cuisine -- here in late December. At that point I'd cooked a few tasty dishes from it (love their Vancouver, B.C. restaurant so much) and just about licked the plate clean with every one. Since then I've cooked some more from it and I'm sharing some of that here with you.

I don't often cook so much from any one cookbook in such a short amount of time but this one never lets you down and I've learned so much. I also happen to love Indian cuisine and haven't found too much of it in Portland to be honest that hits the spot. (Although I'm really looking forward to checking out the newly opened Bollywood Theater.) If you love Indian food as much as I do I recommend checking out this book.

We served the Vij lamb curry with this quick cabbage curry with mustard seeds that still had a lot of crunch and flavor to it and was really tasty.

I went ahead and bought a twenty pound sack of basmati from Fiji Emporium on North Interstate Ave. since I cooked a lot of Indian food over the winter and early spring.

I've been bulking up on my Indian spices as well...

This simple vegetable curry was really tasty with raita and black chickpea curry.

We make a lot of the Vij chai now too. It's a simple one with green cardamom and fennel.

Vij's Cookbook Pt. 1

Vij's Elegant and Inspired Indian Cuisinewww.vijs.ca

Yard Fresh Pt. 21

Things are starting to get going in the garden -- right now I have tah-tsai (which I thought was a new green for me but it's actually another way to say tatsoi -- funny), flashy trout's back lettuce and borage are all sprouting and we've been eating some volunteer arugula as well. The rhubarb is getting very big and leafy and the snap peas have finally sprouted! The garlic is looking great although it still has a few months of growing -- I usually pick it in June or July. And I have all the vegetable seeds I'm going to plant this spring and summer and will probably start my indoor seed trays in a week or so to be transplanted out in several weeks.

That's all just a long-winded way of saying happy spring! Although not very much of the food photographed in this post came from the garden I still call it Yard Fresh as a catch-all for good things that I've been cooking and eating lately. Hope you are doing well. Growing anything interesting this season? Eat anything tasty lately?

The only thing really going in the yard right now that's ready to eat is the arugula that volunteered so we've been having a lot of salads with it and throwing it in scrambles and sandwiches.

The only thing really going in the yard right now that's ready to eat is the arugula that volunteered so we've been having a lot of salads with it and throwing it in scrambles and sandwiches.

I love Edelweiss Sausage & Delicatessen and their oregano-coated Nuremberger is one of my favorites. I sauteed it and served it with potatoes and kale with lemon butter. Really good.

And I can't make a trip to Edelweiss without getting some of their paprika loaf thinly sliced. If you haven't had it then please do yourself a favor and go buy some. You won't be disappointed.

My favorite way to eat it is stacked on lightly toasted bread with mayonnaise and sometimes slivered onion. That's it -- keep it simple.

Simple broiled cheese bread with egg. Mixed mozzarella, onion and mayonnaise for the cheese sauce.

Another tasty, savory breakfast -- this time with leftover spaghetti in red sauce.