October 25 2025

Notes from My Montana Kitchen

Happy October, Everyone!

Today's Newsletter Lineup:

Canning Season comes to a close
Subscribers-Only Content: Chocolate Budino with Salted Caramel and Maple Whipped Cream
My Favorite Fall Activities in Montana

How To Batch Process Garlic

Canning Season has been a big success this year. Our cold pantry is stocked with fig jam, mixed berry preserves, canned tomato sauce, canned diced tomatoes, honeyberry shrubs, and loads of onions, squash, potatoes, garlic, and beans to get us through the winter.

Here is how I store my garlic:

You will need a food processor, rimmed sheet tray, parchment paper, zip-top bags, and small spring-loaded ice cream scooper.

Separate the cloves from your heads of garlic.
Remove the outer papery coating to expose all the fresh garlic.
Place garlic cloves in the bowl of a food processor, then pulse 10-15 cloves at a time until finely chopped, but not a paste. I do this in about 10-12 pulses.
Continue until you have chopped all of the garlic and place it into a large bowl. Add ½ tsp of a neutral oil, (I used Wesson vegetable oil) PER clove to the finely chopped garlic. Do NOT use olive oil.
Using a small scooper, place round mounds of garlic onto a rimmed sheet tray lined with parchment paper. Freeze for 1-2 hours.
Place the frozen balls of garlic into a freezer-proof container or zip-top bag. Write the date on each batch.
Store your garlic in the freezer for 1-2 months. Each time a recipe calls for garlic, just pop out the frozen balls and use in your recipe.

My Favorite things: Fall Edition

Hike the Beaver Lakes trail once the larches have turned golden.
Make that first pot of soup and serve with a loaf of Fleur sourdough bread and salted butter.
Get the firewood split and stacked for Winter.
Check out the new chef at Bigfork Wine & Whiskey.
Treat myself to a new fall sweater. I was going to get a sweater, but I had to order this gorgeous blouse from Maison Hotel. Perfect for Montana.
Put up the remaining tomatoes and make apple butter with apples from local orchards.
Bake a batch of Pumpkin Spice Maple bars and share with friends.
Go for a long walk every afternoon before the time change comes.
Start a new book. Right now, I'm reading Tiny Beautiful Things, Cheryl Strayed and Vanilla, By Eric Jennings.
Button up the garden by composting the leaves in the woods for critters to nest in during the winter, dig up the dahlia tubers, harvest all the lavender and make wands, and start new batches of vinegar for the Spring.
Travel with friends before the holiday rush begins. Where are we going next?
Iron all the linens for Thanksgiving guests. I love to do this while watching football games.
Make time for friends, such as grabbing that cup of coffee you’ve been putting off all year.

Canned Tomato Sauce

Fall Floral Arrangement

Member-Only Content:

No Bake Dessert

Chocolate Budino | Pudding with salted caramel and maple whipped cream topping.

Budino (Boo-dee-no) means “pudding” in Italian. There is no cornstarch in this recipe, but the texture is rich and silky. This simple dessert takes just minutes to cook over your stovetop and requires NO baking. It’s a perfect make-ahead dessert for holiday entertaining. I recently served it at a small cocktail party and it received rave reviews. Use dark chocolate for a richer flavor and don’t skip the salt!

6 servings | 4 hours chilling time

Ingredients:

6 oz dark chocolate bar, like Lindt or Guittard

3 cups heavy cream, divided

6 egg yolks

½ cup granulated sugar- I used Wild Montana Food Vanilla Sugar

½ tsp kosher salt

1 TBSP unsalted butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

Store-bought caramel - I used Mrs. Richardson’s

Smoked flaked sea salt

½ cup heavy whipping cream

Vanilla maple syrup or plain maple syrup (not pancake syrup)

Equipment needed:

Heavy-bottomed saucepan

Fine mesh strainer (optional)

Silicone spatula

Whisk

6 small espresso cups or ramekins

Mixer for whipping cream

Method:

Chop the chocolate into fine pieces, and set aside.
In the saucepan, off heat, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until smooth. Add in 2 ½ cups of the heavy cream. On low heat, whisking constantly, bring the mixture to a simmer until fine bubbles form around the edges, but do not let the mixture boil. Cook, whisking for 8-10 minutes or until the mixture slightly thickens.
Remove the heat and quickly add in the salt, butter, dark chocolate and vanilla extract, whisking until smooth and the chocolate is fully incorporated. Optional: Pass the mixture through a fine sieve to remove any clumps of egg.
Pour the chocolate mixture(budino) into ramekins or espresso cups until ¾ full.
Chill for 4 hours.
Just before serving, whip remaining cream with 1-2 tsp of vanilla maple syrup until thick. Set aside.
Top each Budino with a layer of ¼ tsp flaky smoked sea salt and a layer of caramel. I added about 1-2 TBSP per serving.
Dollop with heavy cream off to one side to show the layer of caramel. Serve with a gingersnap or shortbread cookie, if desired.
These keep in the fridge for three days. Save any remaining maple whipped cream for hot chocolates, coffee or another dessert.

See you next time!

Meggen Wilson

Pine and Palm Kitchen | Wild Montana Foods, Founder

Whitefish, Montana
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