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.

Recipe request

As I've received a few requests for recipes, I'll post the lemon curd recipe below. This is a modified version of the recipe found in my preserving "bible," Preserving by Oded Schwartz.

Ingredients

• grated rind and juice of 6 lemons
• 1 1/2 cups (375 g) granulated sugar (while this is what the recipe calls for, I usually cut the sugar by almost half)
  
• 3/4 cup (150 g) butter, softened
• 5 eggs, beaten
• (I add about a teaspoon of cardamom)

1. Place the lemon rind and juice in a small pan with the sugar. Heat gently, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Add the butter and stir until melted.
2. Transfer the mixture to a double boiler or a bowl placed over a pan of simmering water. Strain in the eggs and cook over barely simmering water, stirring often, for 25-40 minutes, until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. If you're going to add cardamom, do so toward the end of the cooking period, about 5 minutes before the mixture is ready. Do not let the mixture boil or it will curdle. (More importantly, be really careful with the eggs as you don't want them to cook too soon.)
3. Pour the curd into warm, sterilized jars, and seal. (Finish them off with a hot water bath or if you're going to eat/use the curd within a week, you can place the jars in the fridge.)

If you want a completely smooth curd with no zest, you may also want to strain the mixture before you put it into the double boiler.

Citrus on my mind

Ah, lemon curd! The Meyer lemons have been begging to be used, and so the doctor and I decided to do dueling recipes: I from my preserving bible, and she from a home recipe. We both cut the sugar considerably, and created lovely (and very different) curds - mine was eggier and more lemony, and hers was lighter and more delicate. Needless to add, both batches were gone within the week, and I now have "orders" to produce more for various friends and family.

I'd like to try adding a bit of cardamom the next time for a more complex curd. But first, I have orange marmalade (with a touch of coriander!) on the brain, and will be tackling both this Sunday, when the kitchen will transform into the church of curd and citrus....