Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Apples and Cranberries

Sweet Potates are one of my very favorite fall/winter foods. We almost always have sweet potatoes in our kitchen from our favorite local produce farm because they are so versatile and can be used in stews and soups, mashed, souffled or fried, but roasted is one of my absolute favorite ways to cook them.

Sweet potatoes also pair well with so many things, but are especially delicious as an accompaniment to grilled or roasted poultry or pork.

The first time I made this dish, my husband who is NOT normally a big veggie or fruit eater, absolutely demolished his portion. He love it, and declared right then, "that's a keeper!" 

Did you know?
Sweet potatoes are known to be a great source of beta-carotene, but they also deliver good sources of vitamin A, a good source of vitamin C, and are full of manganese, calcium, potassium, iron, vitamin B6 and fiber.

Sounds good? It gets better: the sweet potato has a lower glycemic index than the potato.

RECIPE
Ingredients
1 lb sweet potatoes or about 2 medium-sized sweet potatoes  
1 honeycrisp apple (or any hard crunchy apple)
1 cup cranberries
2 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Method
Heat oven to 350. Spray a medium-size 9x9 baking pan or casserole dish with cooking spray. 

Peel the sweet potatoes then cut them in half and slice the potatoes into 1/4-inch half-moon shapes. Add them to a large bowl.

Peel and cut the apples in half, then into quarters. Remove the core and seeds. On a cutting board, slice the apple quarters into 1/4-inch slices. Add the apples to the sweet potatoes.

Add the cranberries, olive oil, maple syrup, cinnamon, salt to the sweet potatoes and apples and mix to combine.

Place the mixture into the prepared baking pan. Roast the sweet potatoes for 45 minutes or until the potatoes and apples are nice and tender. Stir several times during baking.

Remove from the oven and serve while hot. Any leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for several days. To reheat, simply pop in the microwave to warm up.

Recipe adapted from One Hot Oven

Enjoy,
Mary

© Cooking with Mary and Friends. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Cooking with Mary and Friends with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Marinated Mushrooms

This Marinated Mushroom recipe is one of those very rare canning recipes where oil of any kind is used and approved to be used by the USDA and the National Center for Home Food Preservation.

Marinated mushrooms make use of herbs, zesty garlic, crushed red pepper flakes and black peppercorns for some zing. Nibble straight from the jar or add to salads, antipasto plates, or charcuterie plates. They are surprisingly easy to make and make a wonderful treat to have in your pantry.

What do you need to make marinated mushrooms?

• Whole button mushrooms
• Bottled lemon juice
• Olive or Salad Oil
• Oregano, Basil and Red Pepper flakes
• Whole Black peppercorns
• Canning or Pickling salt
• Chopped onions
  
• Diced Pimentos (or any pepper)
• Garlic cloves

No worries if the oil and vinegar separate a bit over time. Just give them a good shake before you open the jar.

RECIPE
Ingredients
7 lbs small whole button mushrooms
1/2 cup bottled lemon juice
2 cups olive or salad oil
2-1/2 cups white vinegar (5 percent acidity)
1 tbsp oregano leaves
1 tbsp dried basil leaves
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsp canning or pickling salt
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1/4 cup diced pimento (or any mild pepper)
2 cloves garlic, cut in quarters
25 black peppercorns

Method
Select very fresh button mushrooms with caps less than 1-1/4 inch in diameter. Wash mushrooms well. Cut larger mushrooms in half or quarters and cut stems, leaving 1/4 inch attached to cap. Add lemon juice and water to cover. Bring to boil. Simmer 5 minutes. Drain mushrooms. 

Mix olive oil, vinegar, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes and salt in a saucepan. Stir in onions and pimento or peppers and heat to boiling. Place 1/4 garlic clove and 2-3 peppercorns in a half-pint jar. Fill jars with mushrooms and hot, well-mixed oil/vinegar solution, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.

Wipe rims with a clean cloth, cover jars with lids and bands and process half-pint jars 20 minutes in a boiling water bath or steam canner.

Remove jars from canner and let sit on a kitchen towel on your countertop 24 hours undisturbed. Jars are sealed when button on top of lid is fully depressed and won't flex up and down.

Yield: approx. 8 half-pint jars

Recipe source: Marinated Whole Mushrooms. Andress, Elizabeth L. and Judy A. Harrison. So Easy to Preserve. University of Georgia Cooperative Extension. Bulletin 989. Sixth Edition. 2014. Page 143.

Enjoy,
Mary

© Cooking with Mary and Friends. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Cooking with Mary and Friends with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Canning Mushrooms

Over the past year I've been lucky to be able to purchase freshly dug button mushrooms from a local farmer at the farmers market. Honestly it can't get better than dug Friday morning and in my hands Friday afternooon. Of course they have been delicious fresh, but I've also put up some fantastic marinated mushrooms, and now these sliced canned mushrooms.

Home-canned mushrooms are absolutely fantastic. These are not like jarred mushrooms from the store which can be metallic tasting and rubbery-textured.

These really are a great product to have on hand in your pantry and they do taste so fresh and mushroomy. I am very happy I spent the time putting them up.

What do you need to make canned mushrooms?

• fresh button-type mushrooms 
• water
• salt (optional)
• 1/2 pint or pint canning jars
• a pressure canner (not a pressure cooker)

RECIPE
Ingredients
Whole button mushrooms
Boiling water
1/4 tsp salt per half-pint jar (optional)

Method
Trim off and discard stem ends. Soak in a sink, or large pot or bowl, full of cold water. Soak for 10 minutes to loosen any dirt; wash mushrooms well to remove any dirt.

Slice mushrooms and place in a pot with water, bring to a boil and boil 5 minutes. Remove from heat and drain.

Pack mushrooms into 1/2 pint or pint jars leaving 1-inch headspace. Top with 1/4 tsp salt per half-pint jar (optional) and clean boiling water maintaining headspace; remove any air bubbles by running a plastic knife arouond the inside of the jar moving it up and down; adjust headspace as needed. Wipe jar rims and put lids on. Process in pressure canner 45 minutes at 10 lbs pressure adjusting for altitude.

Once processing time is done, remove from heat and allow the canner to come down off the pressure on its own. Once the pressure is gone, remove the lid part way, let cool a few minutes then take lid completely off. Remove jars and allow them to sit undisturbed on a kitchen towel on your countertop 24 hours. 

Jars are sealed when button on top of lid is fully depressed and won't flex up and down. Store jars in pantry. Opened jars must be refrigerated.

Yield: varies depending on how many mushrooms your have and their size. I had about 6 pints whole mushrooms and got 8 - half pint jars of sliced mushrooms.

Recipe follows guidance from the NCHFP

Enjoy,
Mary

© Cooking with Mary and Friends. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Cooking with Mary and Friends with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.