A pregnant pause

I'm startled that it's been over 9 months since I last posted. Somehow, I've been canning but not documenting that, so here's a sample of my recent efforts: Casa de Madera Roja White Peach and Saffron, Plum with Cardamom, and Apricot and Vanilla preserves. (I also lucked into a sale of these cute little jars at Sur La Table.)

In this interim, I've found some new reading material, including a book from a friend in Tasmania, A Year in a Bottle by Sally Wise (full of interesting new fruits like medlars). The best of the recent lot is an irreverent and fun Southern-inspired view on canning from Liana Krissoff: Canning for a New Generation. Never thought I'd find a diatribe about the availability of quinces in the US so entertaining. :) These recipes are comprehensive, practical and easy to follow.

As we move into fall, I'm looking forward to trying out some new recipes for apples and pinot noir grapes: lucky me, I got to pick the latter fresh from a friend's vines. Here's to some new tastes!

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!

Carciofi for Christmas?

The marketeer called me this week to tell me she and her husband, the lawyer, had bags of artichokes, and would I want to come help them "put up" the 'chokes? Certo! Especially since I'd never had a chance to do artichokes before. Off I went, jars and St. Helena olive oil in hand.

We did two batches: one brined and the other in olive oil. Both types will be ready in about 3 weeks. It was incredibly easy - most of the time spent was in preparing the artichokes. The lawyer - who grew up in artichoke farmland - showed me how to trim them properly so they aren't tough or bitter.

Next time I want to do some whole baby artichokes - anyone have any recipes they like?

I think it actually worked!

This Thanksgiving, we celebrated the life of my late, lamented uncle. Now, he was an odd man - after his death, 5 (FIVE) guillotines were found in his house. One (which I particularly remember) was dedicated to chopping the heads off asparagus; particularly effective over dinners when - as kids - we visited him. The gravlax went over well - of course, these are my relatives, but two of them lived in Norway for several years, so I'm feeling confident. :) The salmon was firm, deep red, and quite tasty when served with capers, onions, some lemon and dill.

And the turkey (all 18 lbs) was quite delicious - the consensus was that it was better than last year (wow!). I think that might have had something to do with the fact that this year it wasn't a Butterball, but rather a "natural" turkey that didn't have hormones/ antibiotics injected like the usual Butterball behemoth. While it wasn't a heritage turkey, the dark meat sure did taste good, and it was done in 3 hours flat. Yum yum YUM! The only thing I missed was a decent pecan pie - I'm definitely making one next year.

Tomorrow we'll eat leftovers and joke amongst ourselves about the previous night's stories. In the meantime, happy Thanksgiving one and all!

Thanksgiving

Made the "Judy Bird" this afternoon: a dry-brined recipe from Judy Rogers of the Zuni Cafe in SF. I shouldn't say I made the bird, just started the process of brining and will cook it on Thursday (all 18 pounds). It came out beautifully last year so I'm looking forward to my second time around.

And I tried something new today - I prepared gravlax. I've always wanted to make things like cured meats, and gravlax is basically cured salmon. I rubbed equal amounts of sugar and salt into some nice salmon fillets, covered them in dill, wrapped them in plastic wrap, and put them in the fridge where they'll sit quietly for the next 3 days, upon which they'll turn into something resembling smoked salmon without the smoking. A classic Scandinavian or North Baltic dish, which I'll be serving prior to my family's Thanksgiving feast in Florida. :)

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you Americans, wherever you are!

Time for dem pears again, hon

I finally tasted the creme de cassis, and darn if it isn't good! Got that confirmed by a couple of "tasters" of the kir royales that I made, who agreed that not only was it good, but it was doing a good job of covering up some rather miserable bubbly someone had given us as a freebie (thankfully, that was after we'd had some good champagne). Note to self: always use decent sparkling wine!

Since the kitchen I have is considerably smaller than the doctor's in Sonoma, and not very conducive to hot water canning, I decided to continue with the alcohol-based preserving. The marketeer gave me some beautiful pears she and the lawyer had picked last weekend, so I mixed some Red Bartletts and Boscs in a lovely, big Italian jar I bought recently, and added vanilla, sugar, and about 5 cups of vodka. Since it needs to sit for at least 3 months (preferrably 4), it'll probably be New Year's before we can try the resulting liquor. Just when we'll need it!

Here figgy figgy!

Figs ruled Labor Day weekend: both the preserved and the fresh variety. We started by making fig chutney, a rich concoction updated from a Victorian cookbook. Amazing when served with a triple cream like St. Andre or maybe a really runny Camembert!

I'd found a recipe for grilled figs on the NY Times Bitten blog, and the doctor and I decided we should try 'em Saturday evening. I picked the grape leaves, tied the little bundles up with a rosemary skewer, and boy were they a thing of beauty! We ate them with chicken and some sausage, and relished the creamy goat cheese with the fig, drizzling some of the leftover fig chutney "sauce" over the top of the grilled figs. Yum!

The garden is looking fabulous, and we also spent time working on peaches and tomatoes, returning again to the fabulous 1948 tomato preserve recipe we'd tried last year. The doctor modified the peach conserve recipe and used white peaches and lemon. Quite happy to know there will be plenty more tomatoes before the season is out, so we can keep trying more recipes, including putting up some salsa.

Peachy

Given the popularity of my peach marmalade with vanilla and cognac, I felt compelled yesterday to do a big batch of peach preserves. Armed with almost 15 pounds of peaches, I launched into preserving while everyone else was drinking frosty drinks in the summer Sonoma heat. Once again, the peach marmalade recipe I have proved fussy, and it's clear I'll have to re-trench and experiment with it to make sure I don't end up with caramelized peaches (as I did yesterday). While waiting for the peach marmalade to cook down, I indulged in a hilarious Wii game, Samba de Amigo, much to the amusement of the doctor and the gamer.

I did manage to succeed with peaches in brandy (ready in about a month), which resulted in a bit of leftover simple syrup that we put over ice cream and happily gobbled up.

Peaches - I'll have to consult with the marketeer to get 'em right the next time....

Ready in a month

Experimenting today - found new Italian canning jars (single lid variety from Bormioli, very Euro), and decided to try two new recipes: creme de cassis and eggplants in olive oil (from my "bible").

As usual, new recipes and new methods mean experimentation, and for the eggplant recipe I used a lovely, fruity Sciabica olive oil which I found at the farmer's market yesterday.

The creme de cassis is a huge experiment - couldn't find black currants so I used red and added a few blackberries for color.

We'll see how they both turn out in a month or so!

Is it Kir time?

I'm thinking of creme de cassis right now - any local (NoCal) sources for currants?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/dining/22currant.html

Fruity drinks at the farmette

While at the Sonoma farmette yesterday, I pulled out the frozen watermelon and plum juices yesterday to whip up a batch of drinks. The watermelon was light and frothy - especially with the addition of some lime juice and mint, freshly picked from the garden. For the plum, a dark rich purple jammy juice, I added a bit of basil that I'd gathered, and it really highlighted the sweet-sour of the juice. (Next time I might add a bit of seltzer or more ice to lighten the plum as some found it a bit too thick.)

We also had occasion to pick some more cucumbers as well as some green beens (tiny haricots verts ready to eat raw!) as well as eggplant and zucchini which the doctor grilled up to accompany the sausages and brats the marketeer had sourced from her North Beach butcher. The marketeer also brought along a few of her creations for the doctor and the gamer to try: cherries in wine and the apricot conserves. Being the marketeer, her preserves were beautifully labeled, unlike my scrawls using any indelible marker on hand. :) Time to up my game!

We had some fabulous wine and great conversation, enjoying the visiting sailor's tales of the South Pacific, especially his trip from Easter Island to Pitcairn. (I briefly wondered what food preserving might be like on that incredibly remote and isolated island!)

The marketeer and market goods

I had the great good fortune of spending some time yesterday with my friend the marketeer who has been on a canning roll in the last week: white peaches, apricots, strawberries, and (as of last night) cherries. Inspiration for some of this comes from the Eugenia Bone book, Well-Preserved, as well as Mes Confitures, by Christine Ferber. (Both of which were featured in the recent NY Times article; thanks to my incredibly generous friend, I now have copies of my own!) I love the focus on savory in the Bone book, and as the marketeer noted, the Ferber book has more of a preserved whole fruit approach which resembles that of my own preserving bible, the Oded Schwartz book, Preserving. I wonder if this is a more European approach to preserving?

We prepared cherries in wine last night, and while they'll have to sit for a little bit before we use them, I'm looking forward to sharing the bounty with the doctor once she returns from the wilds of Wisconsin.

In the meantime, I'm on the search for good fruit in alcohol recipes, so if anyone has ideas for recipes or sources for purchasing copious amounts of eau de vie (we will have a LOT of pears!), please post them here!

Has preserving gone "mainstream"?

From the NY Times today: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/27/dining/27cann.html

Preserving Time in a Bottle (or a Jar)

By JULIA MOSKIN

Published: May 27, 2009

The recent revival of canning fits neatly into the modern renaissance of handcrafted food, heirloom agriculture, and using food in its season.