By Roberta Bailey
When I was in my early years of homesteading, my gardens were my canvas, the plants my palette, an artistic expression of edible creativity that I never wanted to end. As news of the oncoming killing frost came across my weather radio, I would roar against the fates, head tilted to the sky. The growing season was just coming into its full, productive glory. I was not ready for it all to end. I did not own enough tarps and bedding to cover even a fraction of my garden crops. Row cover had yet to be invented or was not readily available yet.
There is no appeasing the powerful cycles of frost and freezes. The tomatoes and peppers succumb to a watery wilt. The basil blackens. Slowly I learned to accept these cycles with more grace, to embrace the quiet, restorative, and creative days of winter that will come. Come February, I start thinking about seedlings again. And oddly, I am never ready for my deep immersion into winter art making to end.
These days, the frosts come later. I am psychologically ready to be done with all the food harvest and putting by. Ready to be done with the weeds that got ahead of me and the incessant zucchini, so many that even the chickens won’t eat them anymore. Ready to shift gears away from the busyness of summer towards winter’s white palette. Throw on a sweater, doesn’t it feel great? And an extra blanket at night. Soup, yes, let’s make a big pot of soup. The craving for winter squash, baked and dry, has me checking the curing squash, pressing my fingernail into the hardening skin. Soon, soon.
I do enjoy the play, which is what I call small batches of pickled, canned, or frozen creations. The work is the big batches of canned stewed tomatoes, sauce, salsa, and juice. The play is creative small batches. Can I make marmalade without all that sugar? What if I boil down honeydew melon and add ginger, would it make a thick jam? How about making an Asian dipping sauce with a pear base?
Here is a small collection of playful recipes to brighten your larder through the winter. Experiment, change them to your liking. Take notes. If you like them, you will want to know what you actually did. Always take notes.
Frozen Divine Waterfall
(From Liz Lauer of Prentiss Township, Maine.)
Chop equal parts, pear (not skinned), grapes, and melon. Place in a blender and puree, adding enough liquid (water, cider, pear juice) to make a thick slurry. Taste and add a splash of honey or maple syrup if desired.
Pour into quart freezer containers. Add a dime-size piece of fresh ginger root to each quart.
(I freeze it in wide-mouth pint canning jars, and reduce the ginger slightly.)
Remove from the freezer and drink when it has thawed to a slushy stage.
Smoky Tomato Jam
(This recipe was shared with me by Rosey Guest of Jefferson, Maine.)
1 ½ lbs. ripe grape tomatoes (4 ½ cups)
1 ¼ cups sugar
¼ cup lemon juice
2 Tbsp. vinegar
2 tsp. smoked ground paprika
1 ½ tsp. sea salt
¼ tsp. ground cayenne (optional)
Cook tomatoes, sugar, lemon, and vinegar until reduced and syrupy. Add paprika, salt, and cayenne. Stir and cook for 3 minutes or so. Sterilize small canning jars (I use the ¼ pints, as they fit perfectly on a charcuterie board). Fill, leaving ¼-inch headspace, and seal. Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.
Mushroom Dream
A reduction used to flavor sauces and soups, to spread on fresh bread as a meal or part of an appetizer, or to top pizza. Makes about 3 cups.
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 medium onions or 3 shallots, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
5-6 cups assorted mushrooms (about 1 ½ lbs.)
2 Tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh oregano, chopped
2 cups dry red wine
Salt and pepper to taste
Melt the butter and oil in a large skillet. Add the onion or shallots and garlic. Cook for 1 minute over low heat. Do not brown. Add the mushrooms and slowly cook until the liquid has evaporated. Add the herbs and wine. Cook for about 20 minutes or until the liquid is almost gone. Cool, then pulse and puree until the mushrooms are finely chopped. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pack into small containers. Freeze for up to 6 months. Refrigerate for 1 week.
Tangy Pear Cranberry Jam
4 cups peeled and diced pears
3 cups coarsely chopped cranberries
½ cup apple cider or water
2 tsp. lemon zest
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 ¼ cups honey
10 tsp. Pomona’s or other low methoxyl pectin
6 tsp. calcium solution (mix together ⅛ tsp. calcium powder that comes with the pectin and ¼ cup water)
Combine the pears, cranberries, cider or water, and lemon zest in a large stainless-steel saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, then cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the lemon juice.
Mix the dry pectin powder into the honey. Thoroughly whisk the mixture into the pear puree.
Have your sterilized small canning jars and lids ready.
Stir the calcium solution. Measure 6 teaspoons of the calcium solution into the jam. Stir well. Ladle the hot jam into the jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Makes about 5 cups. Can be doubled or more, as desired.
Canned Tomato Soup (with a Beany Option)
A Tri-County MOFGA chapter recipe from the 1980s. Makes 10-12 quarts.
8-10 lbs. ripe tomatoes (to make about 20 cups of puree)
3 large green peppers, seeded and chopped
4 large onions, peeled and diced
1 bunch celery, roughly chopped
1 cup chopped fresh basil
4-6 cloves garlic, chopped
3-4 Tbsp. sea salt
5-10 cups of cooked but still firm dry beans (black turtle, cannellini, etc.)
To thicken, mix together:
¾ cup arrowroot powder or organic cornstarch
½ cup honey (optional)
5 Tbsp. hot water
In a very large stainless pot, cook the tomatoes until very soft. Cool enough to put them through a strainer to puree and remove seeds and skins. Return to the pot, add the peppers, onions, celery, garlic, and basil. Simmer until soft, then puree with an immersion blender or upright blender. Add salt to taste.
Mix together the thickener. Whisk it thoroughly into the soup.
Fill sterilized pint or quart canning jars with ½-1 cup of cooked dry beans per jar. Add the soup, leaving ½-inch headspace. Seal the jars. Pressure can for 30 minutes at 10 pounds pressure.
Winter Pickle Medley
Makes 4 pints.
2 cups cauliflower florets
1 cup pearl or small onions, quartered
1 cup thickly sliced celery
1 cup carrots, sliced
1 cup corn kernels
1 cup yellow or green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 large sweet red peppers, cut into squares
3 cups white wine vinegar
¾ cups honey
1 ½ cups water
2 tsp. sea salt
⅛ tsp. ground paprika
Combine the cauliflower, onions, celery, carrot, and corn in a large bowl. Combine the beans and peppers in a separate bowl.
Combine the vinegar, honey, salt, and paprika in a large stainless-steel saucepan. Bring to a full boil and add the cauliflower mixture. Return to a boil. Stir in the beans and peppers.
Pack the vegetables into hot, sterilized canning jars. Pour liquid into pint or quart jars, allowing ½-inch headspace. Seal. Process pints for 10 minutes, quarts for 15 minutes in a boiling water bath.
Fruity Chutney
2 heads garlic, roasted
3 cups tart apples, peeled and chopped
2 cups peaches (about 4-5), peeled and chopped
1 cup onions, diced
1 cup raisins
½ cup dried apricots, diced
1 ¼ cup cider vinegar
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. grated or minced fresh ginger root
½ tsp. ground allspice
½ tsp. sea salt
¼ tsp. ground cloves
½ cup honey
Roast garlic by wrapping the heads in tin foil and baking it in a 400 F oven for 40-50 minutes, until the cloves are soft. Squeeze the garlic from the cloves and chop or mash it into a paste.
Place all ingredients except the honey in a stainless-steel pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to boil gently uncovered for 30 minutes or until thickened. Stir in the honey.
To can, remove pint or ½-pint jars from the canner and ladle chutney into jars, leaving ½-inch headspace. Process in a boiling water bath: 10 minutes for ½ pints, 15 minutes for pints.
Note: While creativity in the kitchen is encouraged, it is important to follow tested recipes when canning, including methods and processing times, to ensure food safety.
This article was originally published in the fall 2025 issue of The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener.