Owning a pressure canner is your gateway to eating fresh and local, all year round. It is a safe, easy, and fun way to save those bountiful summer harvests and to make sure you’ve always got something in your Campus Kitchen pantry. Here, I will  provide basic, step-by-step instructions for canning tomato sauce when harvests reach their peak and tomatoes are plentiful near the of summer. Come winter, you will be able to crack open these jars to make spaghetti sauce, chili, lasagna, or any other tomato based dish.

With a 23-quart pressure canner, you can fit 7 quart jars at a time (plus several smaller jars).

You will need:

• 23-quart pressure canner ( I recommend Presto 23-qt pressure cooker/canner. About $80)
• 1 large pot (for scalding tomatoes)
• 1 large bowl of ice water
• Jar Funnel (I recommend buying a canning set)
• Jar grabber
• Quart-sized mason jars (Ball or Kerr jars can be found at most grocery stores or dollar stores, like Wal-Mart or Big Lots)
• Large spoons and ladles

Step 1: Pick your Tomatoes! A bushel of tomatoes weighs approximately 53 lbs. and will yield about 12 quarts of sauce.

Step 2: Sterilize the jars and lids. This is most easily done in the dishwasher. Start your dishwasher before you begin anything else, so that it will be done by the time you are ready to fill the jars with sauce. If you don’t have a dishwasher, you can boil a large pot of water and submerge the jars and lids in there.

Step 3: Scald the tomatoes. This is to remove the skins. Submerge the tomatoes, a few at a time in boiling water for 1 minute. Quickly transfer them to a bowl of ice water and then slide the skins off.

Step 4: Drain excess water from tomatoes. Slice them in half and place them in a strainer as you work through the bunch. Draining the water greatly reduces cooking time and results in a thicker sauce.

Step 5: Transfer tomatoes to large pot. Bring to a boil and let simmer until the volume is reduced by about one third (thinner sauce) or one half (thicker sauce). Stir a bit to break up large tomato chunks.

Step 6: Fill jars. Using the funnel and a ladle, transfer sauce to jars, leaving ¼ inch head space. Add 2 tbsp lemon juice/quart jar to help prevent spoilage and to retain color and flavor. Then, using a dry and clean cloth, wipe the rim of the jar before covering with the lid and tightening the ring.

Step 7: Pressure canning! Follow the directions that came with your canner.

Step 8: Finishing up. Once the time is up, remove the jars with the jar grabber, making sure to not bump the other jars. Place them in a cool, draft free place, overnight. As the jars seal you will hear “pop!”. You can check to see that they have all sealed by gently pressing in the center of the each lid. If it pops up and down, it is not sealed.

For helpful tips/questions see my favorite, trustworthy canning website

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Bucket gardens will offer ‘food security’ to needy families in Oswego County: The Food Bank of Central New York (the primary supplier for the food pantry where I volunteered an undergraduate!) is launching a Garden in a Bucket program, distributing tomato plants in bucket pots to families in need. Not only will the program show people how to grow their own food, but it will show them how delightful and empowering it can be.

Since we posted the link a couple of weeks back to a story called Let Them Eat Arugula, there’s been considerable backlash in the blogosphere. I like the way Kathryn Baer, Poverty and Policy blogger, puts it:

 As everyone should know by now, there are significant long-term social and economic costs associated with unhealthful diets–obesity, related chronic health problems, unemployment, etc. So cutting corners on food assistance will ratchet up the costs of other services.

High school students carve out a future in the culinary arts: The Slow Food USA blog this week featured this interview with the directors of the new movie Pressure Cooker, which follows three high school students from northeast Philadelphia as they try to make it through Mrs. Stephensen’s  culinary arts curriculum and out of the circumstances in their neighborhoods. Jennifer Grausman identifies one of the many benefits of working with food for the students:

Some students develop a passion for food and cooking, some gain respect and understanding for the products used in the kitchen, and many learn about nutrition as they broaden their palate and modify their eating habits.

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 ”Kearney has relatively limited resources when it comes to things such as the Farmer’s Market,” said Justine Derr, CKUNK coordinator, so she often schedules weekends away around whether or not there is someone to stop by the Farmer’s Market.

But it’s worth it. “The  benefits have been huge,” said Justine, “We get to serve fresh veggies  to our clients and they LOVE the extra fresh stuff!”

As is often the case with Campus Kitchens donations, unique situations arise: “For example, a few times we got an exorbitant amount of eggplant,” said Justine. “We got to work and came up with all the different types of recipes using eggplant and absorbed it!”

The advantage of working with the Farmer’s Market folks is not just the extra fresh food, it’s also the opportunity to make connections in the Kearney community. Justine stressed that the success of the Farmer’s Market pickup is because of the relationships the’ve built. “Our Farmer’s Market leaders LOVE the idea behind CKP so whenever we pick up, their enthusiasm spreads amongst all the farmers there,” she said.  “They ‘sell us’ like no other–which means more food donated!”

At the end of each Saturday, the rewards are clear: “It’s so awesome to see fresh produce being used for a great cause and not just trashed,” said Justine.

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Poverty experiment is an eye opener: Experimenting with downward mobility teaches community advocates in Utah about the day to day difficulties that low-income people face, from dealing with unexpected crises, like a broken car, to just “being a little hungry all the time.”

The cost of shelter: The controversial decision to start charging people with jobs for shelter space in New York City has garnered lots of media attention over the past couple of weeks. Is this “preposterous” and “inhumane” or just a sign of the times? 

First Lady Speaks to Corporation For National and Community Service: When it comes to service, Michelle Obama has been walking the walk by volunteering all over DC, and this week, she also talked the talk at a meeting of the Corporation for National and Community Service:

When I thought about the things that I cared about, the things that I was passionate about, service was always somewhere in there…So my goal was to figure out how I could not do that in my spare time, but how I could make my work service.

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Future Le Cordon Bleu student and CKBU volunteer Andrew Woolridge is on the left

On the opening day of the Campus Kitchen at Baylor University, Andrew Woolridge was in charge. “That first day,” he said. ”We had no idea what we were going to do.” He didn’t know what the kitchen would be like, what food was available, or that it would all be frozen. He did know that he had 2 hours to cook for about 50 people.

What he got to know was his team of inexperienced but energetic Campus Kitchens volunteers. “People were so much fun,” he said. “Experiencing the start up process together was thrilling.”

CKBU’s kickoff wasn’t the first time Andrew has faced a formidable cooking challenge, nor will it be the last:  He’s recently been accepted at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, a world-renowned culinary arts school.

He’s looking forward to returning to France, where he studied at the University of Caen for six months in 2008. It was there that Andrew began to “see food in a whole new light.” He spent his time “traveling, roving the markets, meeting butchers, bakers, cheesemakers and more.”

The challenge was his kitchen: he had just two burners and a sink in his communal kitchen, plus a pot, a skillet, and a cutting board. Yet he still created ” some phenomenal meals.” He said it’s not just about the superior quality of produce there, or the extra care that is put into production.

Those meals were so memorable because of the difference in food culture between France and the U.S.: “There’s a part of me that felt completely at home there, in a place that orients itself around food and around meals,” he said. ”It’s such a communal and hospitable thing, and that’s part of what attracted me to the Campus Kitchen.”

The thing about food, said Andrew, is that “the joy is lost if there’s not someone to share it with.”

And share he did. He even got the chance to deliver meals from time to time, which made a significant impression on him. “It was such a wonderful experience to see the way peoples eyes lit up,” he said “and to see how excited and how grateful they were,” he said.

Like his food education in France, experiences like delivery shifts also made Andrew look at food in a whole new way, specifically what he calls an “abundance mentality.” He said: “Ironically, there is enough food for everyone if we use it wisely and don’t waste things.”

A passion for using food wisely, carefully, slowly is what Andrew hopes he brought to the Campus Kitchen, but ultimately, what he gained is perhaps more meaningful than what be brought.”The act of preparing a meal for someone is almost sacred in nature,” he said. ”I love being able to feed other people. It feeds my soul.”

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The talking heads on all of the news network shows have been throwing out ominous economic buzzwords. You don’t need to turn on a TV or read the newspaper (if they’re still operating) to know we’re in a recession. Just ask people all around the country who see their own financial crisis take place at the grocery store checkout line.

Food prices have risen across the board by more than 5 percent over the last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture in a May 2008 report-milk hikes (13%) are rivaling those of gasoline, and cheese and eggs are up 12 and 30% respectively. Even cereals and baked goods have risen 8.9% since last year. The “good ole days” when bread, butter, and milk were all under $1 are long gone and wages to pay for these items have not increased with them.

In our penny-pinching economy, everyone is cutting back. At Campus Kitchens, dining services are watching the bottom line, which means less traditional proteins such as chicken and beef. However, this doesn’t stop Campus Kitchens from fulfilling its mission of sending balanced nutritious meals to our community members. Fresh meats may be some of the most expensive things in the grocery store.

Why not begin to explore alternative protein sources like eggs, lentils, nuts and tofu? These items pack a powerful protein punch for a fraction of the cost of meats. Not sure how to combine some of these ingredients? No worries, CKP compiled an Alternative Protein Cookbook, which contains 40 alternative protein recipes. You can find a copy of the recipes on CKP’s Intranet or email agold@campuskitches.org for some recipes.

(Note: If you’re cooking beans in a slow cooker, allow for PLENTY of extra time for the beans to get tender and don’t use the immersion blender until the beans are tender – that story for another post.)

Still not sure how your clients will react to tofu instead of chicken? Epicurious wrote a list of ten food ingredients to make the most of any tight budget. The list includes hearty pantry staples, inexpensive proteins, and ideas to add spice and flavor.

Here’s a recipe from the Alternative Proteins cookbook to get you started:

Black Bean Croquettes with Fresh Salsa

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
¼ cup plus ⅓ cup plain dry breadcrumbs, divided
2 cups finely chopped tomatoes
2 scallions, sliced
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon chili powder, hot if desired, divided
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Directions

Preheat oven to 425°F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
Mash black beans and cumin with a fork in a large bowl until no whole beans remain. Stir in corn and 1/4 cup breadcrumbs.
Combine tomatoes, scallions, cilantro, 1/2 teaspoon chili powder and salt in a medium bowl. Stir 1 cup of the tomato mixture into the black bean mixture.
Mix the remaining 1/3 cup breadcrumbs, oil and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon chili powder in a small bowl until the breadcrumbs are coated with oil.
Divide the bean mixture into 8 scant 1/2-cup balls. Lightly press each bean ball into the breadcrumb mixture, turning to coat. Place on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake the croquettes until heated through and the breadcrumbs are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Serve the salsa with the croquettes.

Nutrition Information per serving: 405 calories; 12 g fat (2 g sat, 8 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 61 g carbohydrate; 16 g protein; 16 g fiber; 438 mg sodium; 621 mg potassium.

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