I found some super tender, young and fresh asparagus at the store and it was on sale...while growing it in my garden will take years and then I hear production can be sporadic at best - I decided to give it a go and pressure can some along with pickling some.  I decided that I'd pickled one quart and see how I like them...I can always get more.  So, now comes the wait (2-3 days) for the brine to work its magic in the fridge and produce amazing tastes.  Serve these in Bloody Mary's or as a side on a cheese plate for an extra treat. Enjoy! Diane 

 Pickled Asparagus Spears {for the Fridge}
Ingredients:
2 pounds asparagus spears, trimmed to fit 
2 cups apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon mustard seed
1 1/2 teaspoons celery seed
1 teaspoon dill seed
4 cloves garlic, peeled
*chili pepper flakes (optional) 

Directions:

1.  Make the brine:  In a saucepan, stir together the apple cider vinegar, water, kosher salt, mustard seed, celery seed, and dill seed. Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and allow to cool uncovered.
2.  Steam/slightly cook the asparagus so its absorbs the brine better.  Place the steamer basket in a pot and add about 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Place washed & trimmed asparagus around the basket and cover pot. S team just until shiny and crisp tender, abut 1 minutes.  Remove from heat.
3. Place the garlic cloves in the wide mouth jar, and lay the jar on its side. (*add a few pinches of chili pepper flakes if you want some 'heat' to your spears). Gently lay the steamed asparagus in the jar with the tips toward the top. Pack tightly to keep the asparagus from floating in the brine. 
4. Pour the brine over the asparagus and allow to rest at room temperature for a few minutes, until the asparagus is no longer hot. Screw on the lid and refrigerate for at least 2 days before eating.
   

Photos by: Diane Baker for Canning and Cooking at Home 
Recipe Adapted from:  Andrea's Recipes

Best Ribs in the Universe "BRITU"

 This post is from my husband who is a 'grill master' with our Big Green Egg.  We wanted to share what he grilled but, also give credit to those that brought this great recipe to light:  Mike Scrutchfield and Ray Basso.  
So without further ado - here is the Recipe and I will say - it holds true to its name as BRITU!!!! Enjoy! Diane 

..."This recipe and cooking procedure won the prestigious title "Best Ribs in the Universe" at the 1993 American Royal Bar-B-Que contest as the Overall Grand Champion. It also took "Reserve Grand Champion" at the 1994 American Royal. This is the largest Bar-B-Que contest in the World. Enjoy!" - via Ray Basso

Meat:  Baby Back Ribs. 
 2 lbs. -  Membrane on the inner (Stomach) side removed.  All excess fat trimmed.

Dry Rub: Mix all ingredients thoroughly and store unused in moisture proof container
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Non-Iodized Table Salt
½ Cup Brown Sugar (Dried out lightly by exposing on cookie sheet room temp. several hours, or slightly warmed
5 Tablespoons + 1 Teaspoons Chili Powder
2 Tablespoons + 2 Teaspoons Ground Cumin
4 Teaspoons MSG (Accent)  *we left this out on ours and it was fine
4 Teaspoons Cayenne Pepper
4 Teaspoons Black Pepper freshly ground (important)
4 Teaspoons Garlic Powder
4 Teaspoons Onion Powder

Sprinkle Meat 2 hours before cooking with rub and allow meat to come to room temperature. Do not over-season. A good overall dusting of the spices is all that's needed. The spices will become a nice red liquid coating after sitting for about an hour, if you used the proper amount.

Basic Cooking procedure: Smoke ribs in a "Water Pan" smoker i.e. Brinkman, or Weber "Smoky Mountain Cooker" (the best) Start Charcoal (7-10lbs.) and 4 chunks of White Oak and 2 chunks of Cherry wood (about the size of a tennis ball) at least 1 hour before cooking meat. All fuel should be started in a chimney style starter, no starter fluid and all the charcoal must be grey/white hot. 
Remove all bark from wood chunks, do not soak. Very little smoke will be visible. Don't worry about that you'll get the flavor. Use straight water in the water pan and keep it full during the entire cooking process. Control oven temperature of cooker by regulating the bottom vents only. Never, ever, completely close the top vent! If you don't have one, put a thermometer on your cooker. Cook ribs for 3 hours fairly cool at 225 degrees on rib racks. After 3 hours lift the lid for the first time, flip the slabs end for end, and upside down, and open all the vents on the smoker wide open. Temperature of the cooker should rise into the 250 to 275 degree range. Peek every ½ hour to monitor doneness. Ribs will be finished when fairly brown in color, and the meat has pulled down on the long bones at least ¾ of an inch. (usually another 1 or 2 hours) Remove from cooker and sauce both sides before cutting individual ribs. I like K. C. Masterpiece BBQ sauce sweetened even more. ( 5 parts sauce, 1 part Honey), and so do the Judges! This basic cooking procedure is probably the most important of all, and works very well with other meats as well. Forget about how much smoke is coming out of the cooker, if you've got the wood you like in there burning up cleanly, the flavor will be in the meat. Smoke is nothing more that a smoke screen, and any coming out of the top of the cooker is flavor lost!

Recipe by:  Mike Scrutchfield 
Shared from: Ray Basso "Best Ribs in the Universe" 
http://www.rbjb.com/fpq/britu.htm

My Husbands Notes: He used the Big Green Egg, debarked the wood and smoked for 2 hours (he did soak the wood in water) he then added about 1/4 cup water to a foil pan with ribs and covered in foil, and cooked 2 hours, then placed ribs directly on grill grate for one more final hour - before basting with BBQ sauce (cooking 10 mins more) and serving hot...  The Big Green Egg is a massive ceramic encased grill/oven that acts a lot different then the smokers/grills mentioned in the recipe above - we thought it best to express that we adapted that recipe to suit our Big Green Egg.
 
Photo by: Diane Baker for Canning and Cooking at Home

Buffalo Chicken Wings

Ingredients: 
Chicken Wings (how every many you need, that will fit in your oven or on grill)
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Sauce 
*don't have a bottle of Frank's - don't worry - I have a "make from scratch recipe"

Hot Wing Sauce - Homemade: 
1 Cup Cayenne Pepper Sauce
1/3 Vegetable Oil
1 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1/8 tsp Black Pepper
2 tsp Water
2 Tsp Corn Starch


Directions:
Preheat oven to 450. 
Line baking sheet with foil and place a drip rack over baking sheet. (this will catch the fat)  
Lightly brush olive oil over drip rack. (this will make fore easier cleanup) 
In a bowl, combine chicken wings, with a sprinkle of salt and pepper, add in Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Sauce to cover wings and toss to combine.  Lay covered chicken out onto drop rack.  Bake in oven for 15 mins and baste with leftover sauce in bowl, bake an additional 15 mins and baste once more.  Turn oven off and let wings set 5 more minutes before serving.  I serve my wings with fresh cut celery sticks and carrot sticks along with buttermilk ranch and blue cheese dressings as 'dipper sauces.'  


*Note: watch wings carefully in oven, if cooking too quick then reduce oven temp to 425. 
Wings can be done on a BBQ Grill but, since most residential grills do not sustain the higher temps, you will be cooking your wings longer (double the oven cook time) on a traditional BBQ Grill (and test for doneness with digital thermometer) 


Recipe & Photos by: Diane Baker for Canning and Cooking at Home 

Strawberries are starting to look good this time of year. I snagged a few cartons at my local store the other day and had to make something special with them. I decided on a coffee cake.  One of my favorite ingredients in any cake is sour cream. Why? because it adds moisture to the cake. It's dense, creamy and moist all at the same time.  The hint of lemon and fresh berries lend themselves well to the overall taste too.  My husband said that this recipe is now his favorite.  I think next time that I may add a hint of cinnamon to the crumb topping and see how that flavors the cake... 
Enjoy ~ Diane 

Strawberry Lemon Coffee Cake Bars

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract or paste
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup fresh strawberries *sprinkled with 1/4 cup sugar, see below

Topping Ingredients:
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup melted butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8" square pan with butter or spray with non-stick baking spray. 

*Place cut up strawberries in a bowl and sprinkle with sugar, let set for at least 45 mins. until the sugar turns into a syrup, stir to coat. (this is an optional step but, preferred if your strawberries are not super sweet to being with) 

Beat the butter and the sugar together until light and fluffy, about 5-6 minutes. Stir in the vanilla, lemon zest, lemon juice. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing just until combined.

Add half of the dry ingredients (flour & baking powder) to the mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add the sour cream, mix again, and add the remaining dry ingredients. Mix until combined.

Pour the strawberries into batter and sprinkle berries with a bit of flour. Gently fold in the strawberries into batter and pour the batter into the prepared pan. Place the flour and sugar for the topping in a small bowl and add the melted butter. Stir lightly with a fork to combine. Sprinkle the sugary crumb topping over the batter in the pan.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean or with moist crumbs. Let cool before slicing. 

Enjoy!

Recipe & Photos by: Diane Baker for Canning and Cooking at Home