Category Archives: How to

Olive Preservation

Posted on 01/16/2024 by Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide

A friend had an over abundance of olives on their trees this season and I was kind enough to take as many as they wanted to give. I tested out some different ways to preserve the olives & this is … Continue reading →

Posted in Garden, How to, Things in Jars | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Pickled White Turnips

Posted on 06/23/2021 by Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide

Keep turnips whole up to the size of a ping pong ball, halve any larger. Make sure to wash and remove bad spots before parboiling. This is the ratio per 32 oz jar of pickles. Pickled White Turnips 1 1/2 … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Garden, How to, Recipes, Sides, Things in Jars, vegetarian | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Fish Pepper Brine

Posted on 04/21/2020 by Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide

This is a basic brine for any firm flesh/low oil fish for smoking. This makes enough for about 1 lb of fish fillets. On how to smoke go here. Basic Fish Brine 2 cups boiling water 1 dried ancho chili … Continue reading →

Posted in Dinner, Food, Grilling/Smoking, How to, Recipes, Seafood | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Water Velveting Chicken

Posted on 12/11/2015 by Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide

This is a healthier way to prep chicken, or any meat, for Chinese cooking. The traditional way is in oil, but the water bath works just as well and is far easier to clean up after. Water Velveting 1 lb … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, How to, Recipes | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Thanksgiving Menu

Posted on 11/25/2015 by Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide

We hope you all have a great holiday. If you’ve forgotten a recipe or still have room on your table for one more dish, we hope this roundup helps. Cranberry Sauces Brandied Cranberry Sauce Cranberry Sauce with Raspberries Cranberry Gelee … Continue reading →

Posted in Appetizers, Chicken, Dessert, Dinner, Food, Grilling/Smoking, How to, Recipes, Sides, Soups, vegetarian | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

In Our Kitchen: Sweet Potatoes

Posted on 10/01/2015 by Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide

The garlic came in the mail so it was time to pull the sweet potatoes. Although they did yield a pretty good harvest I will not plant them again unless there is an isolated space for them to grow. I … Continue reading →

Posted in How to, Rants | Tagged | 18 Comments

In Our Kitchen: The Last Tomatoes

Posted on 09/04/2015 by Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide

Our tomato crop was a bust this year. The grape tomatoes did well for a few weeks, but the crop was felled by a combination of too much rain in the spring and the oppressive July heat that normally does … Continue reading →

Posted in Garden, How to, Rants | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

In Our Kitchen: Pickling, Garlic and Eggs

Posted on 07/01/2015 by Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide

The title may seem confusing if you do not understand the use of a comma. I spent an entire afternoon canning 36 large jars of pickles. Go here for the recipe.This happened because when I bought the 20 lbs of … Continue reading →

Posted in Garden, How to, Rants, Things in Jars | Tagged | 15 Comments

In Our Kitchen: Rain Delays

Posted on 06/01/2015 by Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide

Everything has been way behind schedule due to all the rain. Normally we would have already made the pickles and strawberry jam for the next year, but at this point the garlic scapes have just arrived and the arugula is … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Garden, How to, Italian, Rants | Tagged , , | 17 Comments

In Our Kitchen: So Long Saint Patrick

Posted on 04/03/2015 by Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide

So a favorite holiday of ours passed and as you can see it was celebrated in spades. Even after the corned beef was finally finished in a pretty tasty hash a week later there is still leftover beer in the … Continue reading →

Posted in How to | Tagged , | 21 Comments