Brandies and fruit

Haven't done much canning this fall, and much of it due to being busy at work, but I did manage to put up some tiny Seckel pears in liquor, and we're getting ready to try some soon. :) Photos soon - I expect we'll try some over ice cream or some creme fraiche.

Kitchen experiments at harvest

The garden is taking its time this year, and while there are lotsa tomatoes, they seem to be ripening slowly, much to the frustration of the doctor, who's waiting for the bounty to come in. The plants are laden, and this year there are more melons, eggplants, and peppers to add to the crops, as well as a healthy looking lot of tomatillos.

Re-visited favorites:

• Tomato preserves: so easy!
  
• Grilled figs stuffed with herbs and chevre, wrapped in a grape leaf
  
• Pimientos del padron: this time, fresh from the garden
• Grilled zucchini and stir-fried zucchini flowers
  
• Peaches with cognac and vanilla (new favorite: made ice cream with these preserves - amazingly creamy, fluffy and barely boozily indulgent)

And made some new favorites:

• Cherry preserves with pinot noir (again, made amazingly good ice cream)
• Apricots and peaches in brandy
• Striped, spiced pears

Next up this fall:

• Fig chutney (the doctor will be making Jack London fig chutney this week from some little green figs that were recently "saved" from the birds on the author's property)
• Time to try making bacon; in a 5th grade science experiment, the doctor and I decided to try infusing some white Wisconsin whiskey with bacon - we'll see how it all comes out

Happy Labor Day everyone!

A Proustian moment

I don't really eat my own (sweet) preserves - not much of a jam girl, much as I like making them. But apricots are an exception - for some reason the sweet tartness of a good apricot jam is irresistible. The first time I remember tasting it was my Aunt Marge's homemade apricot jam - she and my engineer uncle Bill lived on the peninsula and had an apricot tree in their yard. My family was visiting one summer and I think I had them on toast. I can still remember that taste, and it brings back some very nice memories of the first family trip to "the West," dry heat, and a lot of laughing as we celebrated my cousin's wedding.

So for the first time ever this week, I made apricot preserves using Christine Ferber's recipe for Bergeron Apricots. (I still have no idea what Bergeron Apricots are - mine were sold to me out of the back of a truck in a Sonoma diner parking lot.) It took 2 days to make 'em (Ferber advocates marinating them in sugar and lemon juice - what's known as macerating - for at least a day), and boy was it worth it. Triple YUM. Season doesn't last long, and I have a feeling I'll be heading to the farmer's market soon enough to get some more. And I'm setting aside a jar to give Aunt Marge.

Mid spring

Decided to make a fava bean "cream" this weekend, a la Eugenia Bone, although I halved the recipe since I really couldn't deal with shelling 8 lbs of favas. The cream is a lovely color - the green of the hills after a proper rainy season here in Northern California. Can't wait to try it on a nice piece of fish, or even in a pasta!

It was a summer-like day here today - and after taking advantage of the great outdoors and drinking in several gorgeous bridgeside views, I came home and made us a lentil salad with hard boiled egg, goat cheese, and a dash of Slow Jams' bacon onion relish. It was the perfect warm weather dinner, and I hope the sign of many to come this summer.

2nd Annual Urban Canning Dinner

15 1/2 attended this year's dinner! We had a lively dinner, including a "kids' table," and celebrated the bounty of the year.

The menu was wide-ranging, and featured a couple of repeats from last year:

- Hors d’oeuvres: Mixed olives and peppers, Camembert and paglierina with fig chutney and peach chutney, nachos with cheddar and bacon onion relish

- Soup: Butternut squash with pear, port & thyme conserve

- Salad: Pickled baby artichokes on mixed greens

- Greens: Crispy kale with jalapeno hot pepper jelly

- Bread: Cheese sticks

- Entrée: Chateaubriand

- Dessert: Vanilla ice cream, coconut non-dairy ice cream, regular and brandied peaches with whipped cream, miniature pie shells filled with an assortment of preserves (peach chutney, quince butter, povidle, sweet tomato, and orange curd) and honey with mixed nuts and saffron

- After-dinner drinks: pear-infused vodka steeped with vanilla and sugar

The only unhappy creatures were the four dogs who had to wait outside while we dined inside. :)

Buon appetito tutti - here's to the next one!

Big storm? S'more please!

In solidarity with my friends and family in the mid-Atlantic this past, blizzardy weekend, I figured it was time to snuggle up by the fire at the farmette. And what better thing to make than s'mores? I've been wanting to make marshmallows, so once I found unflavored gelatin at the store, off I went to the kitchen with a bottle of corn syrup, some sugar, and vanilla. The doctor and I stirred, and the first batch failed miserably since the sugar mixture was far too hot. But the second time round, it worked like a charm, and an hour after they set, we had marshmallows! Granted, ours were square and not as stiff as commercially made marshmallows, but they still melted just right in the fire and made delicious s'mores. (Between us, the gamer and my dearest, we did some damage to 'em.) Then we had to deal with the resulting sugar rush with a round of Rock Band: Beatles.

Kimchee, kimchi, yummeeee!

Ok, the kimchi came out great - my friend Kenny describes it as "very fresh." Here, for the recipe seekers, is Karen Solomon's recipe which is quite easy (makes about 5 pints):

3 large heads Napa cabbage, chopped into 2-inch pieces
1 c kosher salt
10 cloves garlic, sliced
1 (2-inch) piece ginger, peeled and minced
1 c Korean dried chile flakes
1 bunch green onions, sliced

"Put the cabbage in a large colander set over a bowl or in the sink. Toss the cabbage with the salt; your hands are best tools for this job. Let sit for about 40 minutes to express some of the excess moisture.
You'll notice that cabbage has decreased in volume. Dump the liquid in the bowl, rinse off the excess salt, and pat the cabbage dry with a clean kitchen towel. Pour the cabbage into a clean bowl and add the garlic, ginger, chile flakes, and green onions. Toss well. Loosely cover, and let it sit overnight or longer, up to 3 days, with the flavor growing more intense and fermented. Stir and taste every 12 hours or so, and move on to the next step when the flavor is to your liking. Note that it will release a most fragrant perfume and a good amount of liquid. Both are desired effects. Pack the kimchee tightly into pint-sized Mason jars, including enough liquid to cover all the solids. If you need more liquid, add the smallest amount of cool tap water possible. Keep refrigerated, immersed in the brine, for up to 2 months."

"Fragrant perfume" is a bit of an understatement: it really really helps to have an extra fridge in the garage for this one. The doctor said she could smell it outside her garage. I can only imagine what it would have done in my small fridge!

Ringing in the holidays and the new decade

Had an opportunity to try a lot of the results of our preserving work, and also tried some new things over the holidays. Here's the tally:

- Peaches in brandy: wonderfully mellow, *very* peachy brandy, and we served 'em simply - in a bowl, with a little bit of the brandy "juice" and a dollop of whipped cream
- Artichokes in oil and lemon juice: good, still crunchy, and will have to compare with the brined ones the marketeer and the lawyer made
- Pears in vodka: unbelievably alcoholic, and the pears were still crunchy. Not as effective as last year, and I'd change two things: make sure the pears are riper and use brandy instead of vodka for a smoother result
- Gravlax: tasty again, consumed on New Year's Day with scrambled eggs
- Foie gras with fig chutney: a revelation! So unbelievably GOOD!

New: kimchi (still fermenting); really easy to make, and we'll see how it turns out (although it's already making it clear it needs a separate fridge)

I also made a batch of lemon curd in response to repeated demands from my friend Mike. He went home with a full pint, which I think will keep him happy for awhile. It's one of the easiest things to make, and since it doesn't require heat processing, hardly requires the time/effort of full-on canning.

Finally, it turns out that I really really need to make more creme de cassis - mine almost disappeared to LA one night, proving its popularity. Big challenge in the coming year: find black currants so I can make *proper* creme de cassis!

Happy New Year one and all!