By Crystal Atamian
Cover photo courtesy of Lara Gricar
My 900-square-foot garden has been generating fruit, vegetables and an insane amount of weeds for 15 years. When it comes to preserving that bounty, I like to get creative. Especially in the fall. My favorite companion on this adventure has been a book: Not Your Mama’s Canning Book: Modern Canned Goods and What to Make with Them by Rebecca Lindamood. During tomato season, my teenagers insist I make the Tikka Masala.
Tikka Masala Sauce
(adapted from “Not Your Mama’s Canning Book,” yields 6 pints)
1 Tbsp olive oil // 3 large onions // 12 garlic cloves, peeled and minced // 2 tsp kosher salt // 3 Tbsp garam masala // 6-inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated // 3 jalapeño peppers, stems and seeds removed, minced // 12 cups peeled and diced tomatoes
Sauté the garlic and onions in olive oil on medium heat. Sprinkle in the garam masala and stir until fragrant. Add the ginger and peppers. Cook 1 minute. Add tomatoes and stir, raising heat to medium-high. Bring to a low boil. Scrape sides and bottom regularly to avoid scorching. Drop heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
Ladle into pint jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Use a chopstick to release any air bubbles. Moisten a paper towel with vinegar and wipe the rims of the jars before placing on the lids. Process in a pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure for 30 minutes. Let canner come back to atmospheric pressure naturally, then transfer jars to a towel-lined rack to cool for 24 hours. Store in a cool, dry place for up to one year.
If you don’t have a pressure canner (I don’t), split the mixture into six freezer-safe containers and freeze. Use within six to nine months.
This makes for an easy dinner: Sauté chicken (or your protein of choice) and any veggies you desire. (I love adding sweet onion, red bell pepper, and garbanzo beans.) Add 1 pint of preserved tikka masala sauce and 1 cup of heavy cream or full-fat coconut milk. Serve over basmati rice. Pro Tip: Put the canned sauce in the blender (or use an immersion blender) before adding the cream for a smooth and yummy result. For bonus points, add frozen peas, chopped dill, and cilantro to the rice.
Kale, 3-in-1 Pears, and Apple Pie Filling
We all need easy preserving options in fall. I blanch kale and freeze it for an easy addition to soups and pastas. My other low-maintenance favorite is to mash peeled pears with a little lemon juice and grated ginger into a crockpot. Cook it down to make a pear butter you can enjoy all winter! An immersion blender used at the end makes it extra creamy.
Here are two other options that require a little more effort, but the results are mouthwatering! Preserve fall pears by making three-in-one pears (also in Lindamood’s book). This simple recipe combines making dark ginger pear syrup, pears, and pear juice into one session. All three are canned using the standard boiling-water bath technique. If apple pie filling calls to you, use the recipe from the National Center for Home Food Preservation. It has one-quart and seven-quart recipe options.
Fall is delicious for its abundant social time, amazing hiking and biking under yellowing larch trees, and so much good, fresh food. Canning and freezing means that the garden goodness can be enjoyed all winter, and I love that it makes meals easier once that sweet snow begins to fall.
Crystal Atamian is a writer and science editor who is looking forward to skiing, winter bonfires, and vanilla ice cream topped with pears in dark ginger syrup. She has written about bear safety, fishing with kids, and the impact of budget cuts on avalanche forecasting in the West in recent issues of Out There.
