I personally like a sweet slaw. One that you can eat by itself. I like mine and it's just sweet enough that its refreshing!  So easy and perfect for a picnic, party or BBQ Enjoy ~ Diane 

Diane's Summer Slaw

Ingredients:

Slaw:
4 cups cabbage, finely diced
1 cup cucumber, (1 large), diced
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup tomato, diced


Dressing:
1/4 cup sour cream
2 Tbs mayonnaise
1 Tbs vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp salt *or to taste
1/4 tsp celery seed
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions:
Dice cabbage, cucumber, and tomatoes. Place into a large bowl and stir in chopped onion. In a small bowl, mix dressing ingredients together. Add dressing to cabbage mixture. Stir and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. *you can use light sour cream & mayo if preferred.
Recipe and Photo by: Diane Baker for Canning and Cooking at Home

Homemade Pappardelle with Spinach Basil Pesto Sauce 
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Pappardelle

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 cup semolina flour, plus more for dusting
6 large eggs, at room temperature
4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt

Directions:
Make the dough. Sift both flours together on a large work surface and make a well in the center. Place the eggs, olive oil and a pinch of salt in a bowl, then pour into the well; with a fork, break up the eggs, then gradually mix the wet ingredients into the flour mixture just until combined.

Knead by hand. Gather the dough into 2 equal-size balls; flour the surface. To knead each piece, push the dough away from you with the heel of your hand, fold the dough over itself and turn it counterclockwise. Continue pushing, folding and turning until the dough is smooth and elastic, 4 to 5 minutes.

Rest the dough. Pat each piece into a ball. Flatten slightly, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight. (You can freeze 1 ball for later, or roll out both and freeze the cut pasta.)

Roll out the dough. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and dust with flour. Starting in the middle, push away from you with a rolling pin, easing up on the pressure as you approach the edge. Continue rolling the dough into a sheet, turning occasionally, until you can see your fingers through the bottom. Let dry about 10 minutes.

Cut the pappardelle. Dust the top of the sheet of dough with flour and loosely roll it into a cylinder. Using a sharp knife, cut into 3/4-inch-wide slices. Unwrap the noodles; dust with semolina and gently toss to separate. Place on a sheet pan and cover with a tea towel until ready to cook (or freeze in freezer bags for up to 2 months).

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Spinach Basil Pesto

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups baby spinach leaves
3/4 cup fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 cloves garlic, peeled and quartered
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 Roma tomatoes, diced 

Directions:
Blend the spinach, basil, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice, lemon zest, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a food processor until nearly smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula as necessary. Drizzle the remaining olive oil into the mixture while processing until smooth. Fold in cut up tomatoes. 

Pasta Recipe Adapted from : Michael Chiarello 
Pesto Recipe from: Dianne Casonnic
Photo by: Diane Baker for Canning and Cooking at Home

When you have left overs of peppers and tomatoes from making spicy mustard relish - you make... Salsa!!!  So easy and fresh and eaten so quickly around here that I don't even water bath can this.  Most recipes are for 6+ pound of tomatoes - I just want to get 3 half pints filled so we can eat right away so, this recipe is for a small un-canned batch.  I cook this down to reduce the liquid in the dish and then bottle in sterilized jars and seal with hot lids but, place in the fridge. Enjoy! ~Diane 

Salsa Del Norte
Ingredients:
2 lbs of roma tomatoes, sliced in half
2 Anaheim green chiles, rough chopped
1 pasilla (poblano) pepper, seeded and ribs removed, rough chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and ribs removed, rough chopped
1 chopped onion
1/4 cup distilled vinegar
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh chopped garlic chive 
1/4 cup chopped parsley 
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons salt
1-2 teaspoons sugar (to taste)

Directions:
Makes approx 1.5 pints
pulse all the peppers and onion in Cuisenart, add to large sauce pan. pulse all tomatoes, and add to sauce pan. Stir well and cook over medium heat. Add remaining ingredients and cook down at a low simmer until most of the liquid has cooked off. I sterilize jars and heat lids, spoon into hot jars and put lids on, let set on counter until cooled down and store in fridge.
*prepared and stored in fridge (use within 3 weeks)
Recipe and Photos by: Diane Baker for Canning and Cooking at Home
#spicy #salsa #tomatoes

Spicy Mustard Relish II

1 QT Hot Peppers, chopped (4 Cups) 
1 QT Onions, chopped (4 Cups)
1 QT Red Roma Tomatoes, chopped (4 Cups)**
1 Pint Sugar (2 Cups) 
1 Pint Vinegar (2 Cups) 
1 Pint French's Mustard (2 Cups) 
**Citric Acid

Cook all together in a large stock pot or dutch oven.  You can roast your tomatoes first which will speed up the "cook down" time considerably.  (Wash, Core and Slice Tomatoes lengthwise, roast in a roasting pan at 425F for 40 minutes, stirring twice while roasting to prevent scorching.  Once cooled, the tomato skins slips off.  
Cook on medium for 1 hour, stirring often, then reduce heat to low and cook another hour while stirring often - you are looking for the liquid to cook down and thicken. 
When water-bath canning, leave 1/4' headspace. Process for 15 minutes in a boiling water-bath adjusting for altitude. 
Make sure to add Citric Acid to each jar to raise the level of acidity for safety when canning. (see below) 

**Acidification:  To ensure safe acidity in tomatoes, for half-pints use 1/8 teaspoon citric acid; for pints, use 1/4 teaspoon citric acid.  Acid can be added directly to the jars before filling with product. Add sugar to offset acid taste, if desired. 

**the juicier your red tomatoes are the longer the cooking time (to cook down the liquids) 
**Always wear thin kitchen gloves when handling hot peppers!  

Makes Approx. 7 half pints or a little over 3 pints 
Recipe From: M. Slentz  "Original Spicy Green Tomato Relish" 
Photos by: Diane Baker for Canning and Cooking at Home

I love trying to dream up new dishes using herbs from my garden. Rosemary is hands down my favorite Herb. I wanted to create a hearty chicken dish that was filling but, not overbearingly heavy. I spied some fresh lemons in my kitchen and my idea for a White Rosemary & Lemon Cream Sauce was falling into place. I started cooking the sauce and the smell from the rosemary and lemon was intoxicating. As I assembled the chicken and sauce into a smaller casserole dish I decided it needed a slightly salty, cheesy kick - that's when I remembered I had some beautiful hickory smoked Aloutte Brie in the fridge! Score!! The perfect topping. I might kick in more rosemary and lemon next time and spoon it over pasta - its a saucy dish - and needed some noodles to rest upon.  Enjoy! ~ Diane

Rosemary & Lemon Saucy Brie Chicken

2 Cups Cooked Chicken, Shredded 
1 Tbs Butter
1 Tbs Flour
2 Cups Cream
4-5 Sprigs, Rosemary
2 tsp Lemon Zest
Salt & Pepper to taste
5-6 slices of Brie cheese (I use Aloutte Smoked Baby Brie) 
*serve plain or spoon over prepared pasta.

Preheat oven to 350.
Melt butter in a sauté pan or pot, stir in flour and 
cook the flour/butter mixture until flour browns and smells nutty. Add the 2 cups of cream and 2-3 full sprigs of rosemary in the pan and raise the heat slightly, constantly stirring until sauce starts to thicken. 
Add 1 Tbs minced, fresh rosemary and 2 tsp of zested, lemon to sauce *keep stirring (lower heat to 'low' if cream starts to bubble too much) Let sauce simmer approx 5 mins. on 'low' so that the rosemary can steep in the cream. (You will remove the full sprigs of rosemary before assembling the casserole) Salt & Pepper the sauce to taste.

Lightly oil baking dish with olive oil.
Place cooked shredded chicken in bottom of dish and pour your rosemary cream sauce over the top, break up brie into small squares and place around top of dish. Bake uncovered for 20 mins.

** Serve hot over prepared pasta or wild rice. 
**If you want the chicken a bit more "lemony" squeeze a bit of lemon juice over prepared casserole before baking.

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