Cookin' and Hookin'

 We've had an enjoyable and productive weekend.

Yesterday Zip and I met our friends Willa and Chuck at the St. Mary's Greek Orthodox Church in Chambersburg for their annual open house, yard sale and food festival.
I don't know why it doesn't show on the picture, but the domes on the church are GOLD!  Quite beautiful!

We have a lot of restaurants in our area that are owned by Greek families, but they seldom serve Greek foods, so this is a special treat to be able to sample their traditional dishes.

I don't know if I'm spelling the names correctly.  At the top left is a pirogi.  It was delicious!

Bottom left is spanikopita, filo dough filled with spinach and cheese. 

Bottom right is moussaka with eggplant, ground beef or lamb and bechamel sauce.

 I don't know the Greek name for this colorful salad but we were told it was made with beets and potatoes.  When I tasted it, there was a nice bitey tang that I'm sure was turnip.

And for dessert there was an assortment of baked goods.  We went for the baklava and peanut butter pie.  We enjoyed the tasting, but most of this went home with us to be lunch for several days!

This week Weis Market had sweet red bell peppers for one dollar apiece.  I couldn't pass up that price, since they are usually quite expensive.  At the hook-in in Chambersburg last Monday, one of the women had brought a cracker spread made with sweet red peppers.  It was yummy.  She gave out the recipe to any who wanted to try it. 

So with peppers on sale and a great recipe at hand, I made jam.

I don't think Thelma would mind if I shared the recipe.  It can also be found on several cooking websites.

About 10 red bell peppers

2 cups of white vinegar

3 cups of sugar

1 tablespoon salt

hot pepper sauce or dried red pepper are optional

I like a little heat, so I used the dry red pepper, adding it to the pot while cooking.

Seed and coarsely chop the peppers.

Put into a food processor and whir until finely chopped but NOT pureed.

Empty into a colander and sprinkle with the salt.

One recipe said put it in the fridge overnight, another said let drain for several hours.  I did the latter.

When they have drained, put the peppers in a HEAVY large sauce pan or dutch oven.  If you do not use a heavy pan with even heat this stuff will STICK!  I don't know if a crock pot would work or not (it would take longer).  Cook at a simmer for about an hour until thick like jam.  I tested it on a small plate.  Just take out a spoonful, put it on the plate and let it cool.  If it's not runny, it's ready.

You could sterilize your jars, put the hot jam in them and put on the lids and let them seal if that's how you do jam.  I'm putting mine in the freezer (if it lasts that long!!!)

This is so yummy!  Try it on crackers with cream cheese.  As a relish on sandwiches.

I had just finished making jam and was washing up the dishes when I looked out the window and saw something I had never before seen in our yard.

A VULTURE!!!

We've lived here for over forty years and have had numerous dead critters out in our field, but no vulture ever arrived.  A few days ago Zip found a dead possum under one of the pear trees, but with the recent rains he hadn't gone out to clean it up.

So this guy swooped in to do the job.  He had just finished his meal and flew to the compost bin to sit and clean his feathers.  He's only about fifty feet from the house!

I finally had some time to work on my hooking.  My logo is looking more acceptably primitive.  Thanks for all the comments and suggestions you gave me!  I'm going to put hit or miss tongues around the edge.  The background will be a light golden tan.  That's the idea, so far.  Things can change in an instant!

Until next time, happy hooking!