Portland Preservation Society: A Pickle and a Jam

Those of you who follow me on Instagram, or keep up with my Fabulous Fridays posts, know that two weeks ago I went to a meeting of the Portland Preservation Society. The PPS is a gathering for local food preservers to trade their goods. The idea is you bring 5 or 6 of something you made and trade it for 5 or 6 things out of what other people have brought. This way, instead of having 8 jars of strawberry jam in your garage, you have 2 jars of your jam, plus 6 completely different items! Totally a win-win!

Lookie! I'm talking to someone I don't know!

For my first meeting, I brought 2 jars of my first homemade jam- my strawberry-passionfruit-rose creation, as well as 3 jars of giardiniera, inspired by a lovely dinner I had at Nostrana. When I arrived at the location of the gathering, I placed my items on the table and filled out a form describing what I'd brought, how it should be eaten, and how long it keeps. I then perused the other items, taking notes on what I hoped to come away with. To trade, two flags were passed around, and when you had the flag, you approached the table and took one item. This continued until every had as many items as they had brought with them.

So.Many.Jars.

I felt pretty lucky with my bounty. I left with 3 bottles of kombucha (mango, grape, and cranberry flavored), a jar of hibiscus cordial, a jar of raspberry shrub, 2 small jars of sangria jam, and a jar of nectarine and plum jam. So far, I've really enjoyed the kombucha, the nectarine and plum jam has been divine, the cordial was tart and sweet, and the sangria jam was a nice substitute for maple syrup on some French toast. I can't wait for the next event to see what other people come up with!

Since I am all about sharing, I thought I'd share with you the recipes for the giardiniera and the jam. I hope you enjoy!

For giardiniera, I used this recipe, but I added French radishes. Note: I had way too many vegetables and not enough brine. I suggest doubling the amount of brine, and have a few extra jars prepared. I really love how this turned out- a good blend of tang and spice. As it turns out, I love pickled peppers! As for what to do with the giardiniera, here is a simple recipe:

Tuna Cannelini Bean Salad with Giardiniera

1 15oz can cannelini beans

1 5oz can tuna (I used albacore tuna)

1 jar of giardiniera (use as much or as little as you like)

olive oil

Drain and rinse the cannelini beans and drain the tuna. Toss the two together in a small bowl or a medium Pyrex dish. Drizzle about 2 teaspoons of olive oil over the mixture and toss to lightly coat. Sppon some of the brine from the giardiniera over the tuna bean mixture, then add as many of the vegetables as you like. Serve and enjoy!

For the strawberry jam, I followed this recipe with one change: I added in the pulp of 4 passion fruits. The recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of rose water, but I found it to be a bit too much. Next time I will try about 2 teaspoons of rose water so that the rose doesn't over-power the fruit as much. Let me tell you thou, the smell of this stuff cooking on the stove was divine. 

Well, readers, how do you feel about canning? Do you have any go-to recipes? New things you're dying to try? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below!

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