This trip to Columbus and Pittsburgh has been totally wonderful. In Columbus, I stayed with Faith (and got to see her amazing kitchen), taught in a beautiful space, and discovered that Columbus might possibly have the best thrift stores in all of the US. I think I’m a little bit in love with Columbus.
Here in PGH, I’ve gotten to know the wonderful folks from the Pittsburgh Canning Exchange, peeked into the preserves room at Legume Bistro (they had jar after jar of smoked rhubarb ketchup!), and got some quality time in with one of my dearest friends. All in all, not a bad stretch of travel.
Now, links!
- Two takes on pickled grapes. Or, if you prefer, pickled strawberries.
- Kevin West has returned to his blog, with a recipe for raspberry jam with rose geranium and SIMI rosé.
- Strawberry rhubarb galette, with the rhubarb cut into batons instead of little slices.
- Burnished sourdough challah. Bread is so darned beautiful.
- Pickled kohlrabi with mustard seeds.
- Brandied summer cherries.
- Use up those odds and ends of cheese this way. I might do this as soon as I get home, as I know there are some weird pieces languishing in the cheese drawer.
- Strawberry fruit leather. Get it done before strawberries end their season!
- Dead easy fridge pickles.
A few nice things about Preserving by the Pint!
- Over on the FN Dish, Mallory Viscardi shares my recipe for Peach Jam with Sriracha.
- Ashley English said many nice things about the book recently, and is giving away a copy! If you haven’t gotten a copy yet, go enter!
- The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette devoted some space to my PGH events and offered some details about me and the book.
- Pop Matters printed a very thorough review of the book. Diane Leach calls out some of its weaknesses (it happens!), but seems to like it in the end.
The winner of the Core Kitchen giveaway is #416/e, who said, “I like my flat wooden spoon. Regular spoons don’t touch enough surface area in the pan, but I have one that is flat at the end and cut on an angle and it is perfect. I’m tempted to cut all my wooden spoons that way! But, I’d give the silicone variety a try.”
E, I think you’ll like these tools!
I love following all your links and discovering new things!
Ok I just read that Pop Matters review and got all indignant on your behalf. What a bunch of nonsense! I love your new book, love the unusual yet accessible flavor combos, and love that I don’t need a pressure canner and can just work with my basic kitchen tools to can up some goodness.
Thanks for the link love, Marisa! The brandied cherries turned out great…ready to make a perfect Manhattan very soon. Cheers! 🙂 Excited to try the fruit leather by the Babbling Botanist! Looks great!
Now I have to visit Columbus! I’ve never been, and if it’s got the best thrift stores in the US…
I hope that potted cheese works out for you–I’m in love with it. Thanks for the shout!
I grew up in Columbus and it does have the best thrift stores! Living in Philly, I am alway on the hunt for good ones (I’m currently liking Village Thrift in Kensington). It is funny my mom called me all excited to tell me about this author from Philly she just heard on the radio! I already had Marisa’s first book, now I’ll have to get her/your second!
By the way, I wouldn’t call Leach’s dislikes ‘weaknesses’ so much as preferences. What she objects to, I appreciate. I don’t want a book on pressure canning, I do this for fun. And I bought (and love) your books precisely because they have cool ideas that go beyond your basic flavors, and encourage me to experiment a bit, too. Also–she’s just flat wrong about the salt-sweet craze. Considering I was brought up salting watermelon and cantaloupe (in the sixties, and of course I got it from my mom, who used to put salted peanuts in her Coke), I’d say that this flavor combo is no fad. It’s just a wonder that continually gets rediscovered.
So I guess I’m just saying, keep on doing what you are doing, because it works for me!