TartQueen's Kitchen

Summer is my favorite time of the year for fruit.  Plums, peaches, cherries, nectarines, and, my favorite, berries.  All of them.

Berries are one fruit that are now available all year ’round.  However, I tend to eat them only seasonally.  The fruit sold in the winter not only has little taste but is generally shipped from South America; a very heavy carbon footprint.

Of course, one age-old way to hold on to that summer flavor is to make preserves.  So, that’s what I did.

Now, on to the recipe

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A couple of notes:

1.  You can use any combination of berries you like in this recipe.  Just make sure you have 9 cups total.  I used the four most commonly seen in the grocery, but if you find/have gooseberries, boysenberries, etc., you can use those as well.

2.  Always buy extra.  This is to take into account bad berries, trimming, and any that you eat along the way.

3.  Check the date on the pectin.  You want to be sure it’s good.  If it’s out of date, buy new.

4.  To get a full explanation of the hows and whys of canning, please read my post from August 10, 2012, “Classic Strawberry Jam”.

The ingredients

Strawberries, Blueberries, Blackberries, Raspberries.

9 cups total fresh berries, trimmed, picked through, and washed  (For this recipe I used 3 c. strawberries, 2 c. blackberries, 2 c. blueberries, 2 c. raspberries)

6 tbsp. powdered pectin

1/4 c. lemon juice

6 c. sugar

1.  Wash the jars, lids, and rims in hot soapy water.  Place the jars in a large stockpot of boiling water to sterilize them.  Leave them in the boiling water, topping it off as needed (you need at least 1″ water above the tops of the jars).  Place the lids into a small saucepan.  Bring the water just to a boil, then turn the heat down to low and let the water simmer.  The rims don’t need to be sterilized.

2.  In a large saucepan, take the berries, 1/4 at a time and crush them with a potato masher.  It’s OK if there are some large pieces.  You don’t need to mash the berries smooth.

Crushing the berries.

3.  Add the lemon juice and the pectin.  Stir until the pectin has dissolved.

Adding the pectin and lemon.

The crushed berries, pectin, and lemon mixed together. And, we’re ready to go.

4.  Place the saucepan over medium heat and, stirring frequently, bring the mixture to a rolling boil.  (You want it to come back to a boil immediately after stirring.)

A rolling boil.

5.  Add the sugar and stir until it’s dissolved.

Adding the sugar.

The sugar dissolved and the jam beginning to take shape.

Continue stirring frequently until the mixture again comes to a rolling boil.  Boil for 1 minute.

Another rolling boil.

6.  Remove the saucepan from the heat. Carefully skim the foam from the top of the jam.

Skimming the foam from the jam.

7.  Take the jars from the boiling water and drain.  Carefully ladle the jam into the jars, leaving 1/4″ of head space in the jar (use a jar gauge to make sure you’re at the right level).

Ladling the jam into the jars. Use a wide-mouth funnel. It certainly reduces mess.

Measuring the head space in the jar.

Clean the jar rims with a damp towel.

Cleaning the jar rims. If the rims have any food on them, the jars won’t seal properly.

8.  Place the lids and rims (tighten them only finger tight) on the jars and place them back into the hot water.  Bring the water up to the boil and process the jars for 10 minutes.

9.  The jars can take up to 24 hours to seal.  However, it usually doesn’t take that long.  You’ll know the jars are sealed when the lid becomes concave.  You’ll also hear something like a “ping” when the jar begins to seal.  Once the jar is sealed, you can tighten the rim.

Ideally, let the jars sit for about 24 hours before moving them.  But, as long as you let them sit until they are cool, you should be fine.

If the jar doesn’t seal, put it in the fridge and eat the jam within 2 – 3 weeks.  You can also remove the contents from the jar, wash it and the rim, discard the lid, re-sterilize everything, fill the jar again and process.  It’s up to you.

Be sure to label and date the jars.

The finished jam in sealed jars.

Enjoy!

Meringues are that almost etherial confection that can either come out beautifully or end in frustration for many a baker.

On top of a pie, as a base or crust, or in bite-sized form, in actuality, they’re easy and fun to make. They can make a dessert look elegant or festive. And mostly, especially for those of us with a sweet tooth, delicious.

There are three basic types of meringue:  Italian, French, and Swiss.

The Italian Meringue consists of boiling syrup poured slowly into beaten egg whites.  This produces a meringue that is more stable and can be used in a variety of desserts without a danger of it breaking down or collapsing.  Because boiling sugar is added to the whites, no further cooking is needed. (If you want to see an example of Italian Meringue, check out my blog post from May 31,2012: “Key Lime Pie”.)

French Meringue is the most commonly used meringue in home kitchens.  It consists of either granulated or powdered sugar slowly added to egg whites and beaten until stiff.

Swiss Meringue consists of the egg whites beaten over a bain-marie or a very slow simmering double boiler to warm the egg whites and sugar together.  Whisk until the sugar is dissolved and the egg whites are warm.  The whites are then removed from the heat and beaten until they have a dense, marshmallow-like consistency.

The history of the meringue is a bit of a murky one.  The first known reference to meringues is found in Francois Massialot’s 1692 cookbook,  Nouvelle instruction pour les confitures, les liqueurs et les fruits (Instruction for new jams and fruit liqueurs).  The first reference to meringues in England is from 1706 in a translation of Massialot’s book.

Two earlier 17th Century English recipe books give instructions for confections that are recognizable as meringue, though called “white biskit bread” in the book of recipes started in 1604 by Lady Elinor Fettiplace of Appleton in Berkshire (now in Oxfordshire), and called “pets” in the manuscript of collected recipes written by Lady Rachel Fane of Kent.

Slowly baked meringues are still referred to as “pets” (meaning farts in French) in the Loire region of France due to their light and fluffy texture.

How lovely.

(some information from www.wikipedia.org)

There are several important things to remember when making a meringue:

1.  Make sure your eggs are separated properly.  The egg whites must be free of yolk.  Even a small amount of fat in egg whites will prevent them from reaching their full volume and may cause them to collapse.

2.  Make sure your egg whites are at room temperature.  This allows the proteins of the whites to relax and loosen.  The volume of the egg whites is not only contingent on no fat, but also the breakdown of hydrogen bonds in the protein.  A warmer temperature helps to create this.

3.  Make sure the utensils you use are clean, free of any fat (including any oily residue), and room temperature. Avoid using plastic bowls or utensils; they tend to hold on to oils.

4.  Do not overbeat the whites.  You’ll know you’ve done this if the whites begin to separate, look dry, and you see liquid (albumen) pooling at the bottom of the bowl.  There are supposedly methods for saving the whites, but I’ve never found one that works.  Just start over.

5.  When adding the sugar (or any dry ingredients), it has to be done slowly and gradually.  If you add all of the sugar at once, it won’t dissolve properly and the egg whites and will attract moisture.  Moisture is the ruination of a meringue.

A note about the cocoa powder: M. Herme uses exclusively the Valrhona Dutch-processed cocoa powder.  He calls for it in this recipe.  I did use the Dutch-processed cocoa (what I have at home is Hershey’s) and I like it; in fact, I prefer it. Dutch-processed cocoa is readily available, but, if you have natural cocoa powder, you should be fine.

Natural Cocoa Powder is made with all of the cocoa butter is removed from the cocoa liquor leaving a dry cake that is then ground down to a fine powder that’s  bitter and acidic.  Its natural acidity is used to help activate baking soda in recipes.  It’s only used in cooked or baked desserts.

Dutch Process Cocoa Powder is natural powder that’s been treated with a small amount of alkaline to reduce the cocoa’s natural acidity. The process makes the powder darker and gives it a more mellow flavor.

Now.  On to the recipe.

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Lotsa chocolate. My most recent class at Central Market.

This recipe is based on a recipe from the great book Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme by Dorie Greenspan (Little, Brown; 2001).  While it is a wonderful recipe, I did make a couple of changes.

1.  M. Herme calls for Valrhona cocoa powder.  While I like Valrhona and use it occasionally, it is expensive ($13.99/lb. at Central Market).  Plus, not it’s not available to everyone. You can use any type of Dutch-process cocoa you like in this recipe.

2.  He does have a step in his original recipe saying to dust the raw meringues with powdered sugar and cocoa before putting in the oven to dry.  I did that.  I found it to be an unnecessary step.  When I took my meringues out of the oven, I had to take a soft pastry brush and brush off the excess sugar and cocoa.  So, I left it out of the recipe I’m showing you.

3.  His original recipe doesn’t include cream of tartar.  I added it because it helps to add to the stability of the whites and helps to produce a stiffer peak.

The Ingredients

1 c. powdered sugar

3 tbsp. Dutch-process cocoa

4 egg whites, room temperature

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

7 tbsp. granulated sugar, separated into 2 ea. 3-1/2 tbsp.

1.  Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat it to 250F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.  Fit a large pastry bag with a plain 1/2″ – 3/4″ tip – you want a large tip so you can pipe generous meringue kisses.  (If you don’t have a large enough tip or a pastry bag, skip the pastry bag and use a zipper-lock plastic bag.  Seal the bag and then snip off a corner so that it creates a “tip” that’s just the right size.)

2.  Sift together the powdered sugar and cocoa and set aside.

Sifting the sugar and the cocoa.

3.  In a clean, dry mixer bowl with a clean, dry whisk attachment in place, whip the egg whites on high speed until they form soft peaks.

Egg whites and cream of tartar ready for whipping.

Soft peak stage.

Still whipping on high, gradually add the first half of the granulated sugar.and continue to beat until the whites are glossy and form stiff peaks.

Adding the sugar.

The egg whites at stiff peak stage after adding the first half of the sugar.

Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and gradually beat in the remaining half of the granulated sugar.

Adding the remaining sugar.

The finished egg whites.

4.  Remove the bowl from the mixer and, working with a large rubber spatula, gradually fold in the sifted powdered sugar and cocoa mixture.

I like to sift the dry ingredients on top of the egg whites before I begin to fold. Makes for a more even mixture.

Folding the powdered sugar/cocoa mix into the egg whites.

Work quickly but delicately, and don’t be discouraged when your beautifully airy meringue deflates a little; it’s inevitable.

Ready for the piping bag.

5.  Working with half the batter at a time, gently spoon half the batter into the pastry bag.

A trick to more neatly fill a pastry bag: Take a large glass, either twist or bend the tip of the bag, and place the bag into and over the glass as shown. Take the spatula and fill the pastry bag about 1/2 – 2/3 full.

The filled pastry bag.

Pipe out rounds roughly 1-1/2″ – 2″ in diameter, finishing with a peak in the center onto the baking sheets (they should look like giant chocolate kisses).

Twist or fold over the top of the pastry bag and gently work the batter down to the tip. Be sure to work from the top of the bag down. Don’t squeeze in the center.

Use your dominant hand to squeeze from the top, continuing to twist or fold the bag as you go. Your non-dominant hand is for guiding and lifting the bag only.

Allow about 1 inch between each puff.  The larger the meringues, the fewer you’ll have. (M. Herme’s recipe says make the meringues 2-1/2″ for a yield of 20. Mine are generally smaller, so I’ve had as many as 40.)

Piping the meringues onto the baking sheet. Not perfect. But, hey, they’re homemade.

6.  Place the baking sheets in the oven and insert a handle of a wooden spoon into the door to keep it slightly ajar (this helps cut down on moisture in the oven).  Bake the puffs for 1 hour, rotate the sheet pans, and bake for another hour.

A sheet pan ready for the oven.

A wooden spatula in the oven door for venting.

7.  After the second hour, turn off the oven, take the wooden spoon out of the door to close the oven, and continue to dry the meringues for another 2 hours, or as long as overnight.  Take the meringues out of the oven and transfer, parchment and all, to racks to cool to room to room temperature.  Run a thin metal spatula under the puffs to release them from the paper.

The finished meringues.

*The meringues can be kept up to one week in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

“What exactly is Welsh Rarebit?” you’re probably asking yourself.

Most of us know this dish as basically cheese on toast.  Not a bad thing.

It’s actually a dish that was born of poverty in 18th Century Wales.  At that time, only the wealthiest could afford meat.  Cheese was the “meat” of the poor.  Over time, “Rarebit” became the bastardization of “rabbit”.

Most recipes that I’ve found contain some sort of alcohol, generally ale.  However, I wanted a recipe that didn’t have any alcohol.  And, I finally came across one written by Jennifer Paterson of “Two Fat Ladies” fame.  It is different than traditional Rarebit, which is generally a cheese sauce, in that this recipe is more of a souffle-style.

This won’t behave like what most would think of as a souffle.  It certainly doesn’t rise like one.  The souffle-style comes from the base  (cheese and egg yolks) folded into beaten egg whites which makes the topping a souffle effect.

The tomato soup is just a natural paring.

Tomato soup goes with just about everything.

Welsh Rarebit mixed with tomato soup or tomatoes is known as “Blushing Bunny”.  Huh.

Now.  To the recipes.

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Now, of course, with either of these recipes, you can serve them separately with a simple salad to make a nice lunch or a light dinner.  Together, they make a rather hearty end-of-day vegetarian supper.

For the Rarebit, if you want to use other cheeses or all of one or the other, go ahead.  However, cheddar is the most traditional.  Be sure to use a sharp cheddar.  Once you add the egg whites, it will neutralize the flavor of the cheese mixture, so you want a stong-tasting cheese.  Longhorn cheddar won’t do.

With summer coming up, fresh tomatoes will be abundant.  If you want to use your fresh home-grown tomatoes, by all means, do.  Use the equivalent amount to fresh tomatoes.  Depending on how “rustic” you like your soup, you can peel and seed your fresh tomatoes before using them in the soup if you prefer.  It’s up to you.

As for canned, I use Muir Glen Fire Roasted.  If you want to use your fresh tomatoes but would like the roasted flavor, you can either roast your tomatoes on the grill or slow-roast in your oven.

Tomato Soup:

The ingredients

The spices (clockwise from top): Red Pepper Flakes, ground Black Pepper, Kosher Salt

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 small onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes, optional

4 tbsp. tomato paste

1 lg. (28 oz.) can tomatoes

1/4 c. balsamic vinegar

1 lg. sprig rosemary, left whole

4 c. vegetable broth

Pinch sugar

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 bunch fresh basil, julienned

Shredded Parmesan or Romano

1.  In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, saute the onions and garlic until the onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes.

Sauteing the onions and garlic.

2.  Add the red pepper flakes, if using, and cook another minute.

3.  Add the tomato paste and, stirring frequently, cook until the tomato paste begins to take on a rust-colored appearance (this indicates the sugars in the tomato paste are caramelizing).

Cooking the tomato paste. The paste is beginning to turn a burnt orange color.

4.  Add the tomatoes, rosemary, vinegar, broth, sugar, salt & pepper.  Stir until the soup is well mixed.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Once the soup has come to a boil, uncover, lower the heat to medium-low, and cook for 30 minutes.  Stir occasionally.

After adding the tomatoes, broth, rosemary, vinegar, and spices

Bringing the soup to a boil.

5.  After the first 30 minutes of cooking, remove the soup from the heat and remove the rosemary stem.  Let the soup cool slightly.

After 30 minutes of cooking.

6.  With either a stand blender (in batches) or a stick blender, puree the soup.  Make it as smooth or as texture as you like.  If you want a super-smooth soup, then pour the pureed soup through a strainer.  Taste for seasoning.

Pureeing the soup with a stick blender. (I find the stick blender easier and it uses fewer dishes.)

7.  Put the soup back on the stove to reheat over medium heat and just bring back to a boil.  Turn off the heat and add the basil.  Set the soup aside and let the basil “steep”.

Adding the basil and letting it “steep” in the soup.

Meanwhile, while the soup is cooking, make the Rarebit.

The Ingredients

The Spices (clockwise from top center): Paprika, Kosher Salt, Cayenne Pepper, dry Mustard, Black Pepper

Cheddar and Gruyere cheeses

1 c. grated extra sharp Cheddar Cheese

1 c. grated Gruyère or Emmenthal Cheese

3 eggs, separated

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. dry mustard

1/2 tsp. cayenne

1/2 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

Salt & pepper to taste

4 thick slices bread (sourdough or country loaf works best)

1.  In a large bowl mix the cheese with the egg yolks, Worcestershire, dry mustard, cayenne, paprika, salt & pepper.  Set aside.

The cheese mixed with the eggs and spices.

2.  Preheat the oven to 450F.  Place the bread on a baking sheet lines with foil and parchment paper and toast the bread until it is lightly toasted on both sides.  Set aside.

Toasted bread.

3.  In a mixer, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until the whites reach stiff peak stage.

Perfectly beaten egg whites.

4.  Take 1/4 of the egg whites and mix them into the cheese mixture to lighten it up a bit.

Folding in the egg whites.

5.  Take the remaining egg whites, 1/3 at a time, and fold them into the cheese mixture.  Don’t worry about making a homogenous mixture.  You just want to get a good mix with the cheese.

Ready for the bread. Don’t worry about making a homogeneous mixture.

6.  Divide the mixture evenly between the pieces of bread (there will be quite a lot).

Ready for the oven.

Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 10  – 12 minutes or until the souffles are brown and have risen slightly.

The finished rarebit. Golden brown, slightly puffy, a little crispy.

Finish the meal:  By this point, the soup should be finished and the basil “steeping”.

Spoon the soup into a bowl and sprinkle some Parmesan or Romano over the top.

The finished soup. Parmesan to be added.

Place one of the Rarebit on a plate.

The finished Rarebit. Molten gooddness.

Suppertime!

Supper! Yummy, yummy supper.

Enjoy!

Shrimp & Grits. For most Southerners, this sounds like ambrosia. It’s almost a religion. For everyone else, an odd combination at best.

Now, some people are wondering, what exactly are grits?  Here’s an excellent quick explanation from http://whatscookingamerica.net:

“Grits (or hominy) were one of the first truly American foods. The Native Americans ate a mush made of softened corn or maize. In 1584, during their reconnaissance party of what is now Roanoke, North Carolina, Sir Walter Raleigh and his men met and dined with the local Indians. Having no language in common, the two groups quickly resorted to food and drink. One of Raleigh’s men, Arthur Barlowe, recorded notes on the foods of the Indians. He mad a special not of corn, which he found “very white, faire, and well tasted.” He also wrote about being served a boiled corn or hominy.

When the colonists came ashore in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607, the Indians offered them bowls of this boiled corn substance. The Indians called it “rockahomine,” which was later shortened to “hominy” by the colonists. The Indians taught the colonists how to thresh the hulls from dried yellow corn. Corn was a year-round staple and each tribe called it by a different name.”

Shrimp & Grits started off as a breakfast staple among the fisherman of South Carolina’s coastal low country during shrimp season (May – December).  It was a simple dish called “breakfast shrimp” that was usually cooked in bacon grease or butter. In recent years, however, it’s been “fancified” and is now seen in restaurants all across the South and is eaten at any time of day.

Now, on to the recipe:

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Now, admittedly, my recipe differs from traditional style Shrimp & Grits in that I use cornmeal, cheese, and parsley.  It’s one of those “fancified” versions.

A few notes:

1.  It’s important that you don’t use instant or quick-cooking grits.  They don’t have the flavor or texture of slow cooked grits.

2.  If you can’t find grits, then you can use stone-ground cornmeal.  In fact, that’s what I use in this recipe.

3.  For my readers who don’t eat pork, you can substitute turkey bacon.  Just add 2 tablespoons oil or butter to the pan. The bacon will flavor the oil or butter which in turn will flavor the shrimp.

4.  The cheese in the grits wouldn’t have been found in the earliest recipes.  It’s a more modern addition.  If you don’t want to add the cheese, feel free to omit it.

5.  Use large or (insert oxymoron here) jumbo shrimp.  They are just better in this recipe.

The ingredients

4 c. water, chicken or shrimp stock

2 c. whole milk or half & half

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1 1/2 c. grits (not instant or quick-cooking) or stone-ground cornmeal

2 tbsp. butter

2 c. sharp cheddar cheese

6 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into roughly 1/2″ pieces

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 lb. large shrimp, peeled & deveined

4 scallions, thinly sliced

1 tbsp. or juice of 1 lemon

1/4 c. parsley, minced

1.  Make the grits:  Bring the water or broth, and half & half to a boil.  Add the salt and pepper.  Whisk in the grits or cornmeal 1/2 cup at a time.

Whisking in the cornmeal.

It’s very important to keep whisking as you add the grits or cornmeal until they come back to the boil; otherwise, they’ll become lumpy and no amount of whisking will fix it.

All the cornmeal in the pot and whisking until it comes back to a boil.

When the all the grits are added and come back to a boil, lower the heat to low.  (Be careful, there will be some splatter.  This should calm down as you lower the heat and the mixture thickens.)  Stir often.

The boiling cauldron.

Continue cooking until all the liquid is absorbed and the mixture becomes very thick, about 20 – 25 minutes.

After about 20 minutes.

Remove the grits from the heat. Stir in the butter and cheese.

Adding the butter.

Adding the cheese.

Once the butter and cheese have been mixed in, cover the saucepan and set the grits aside.

2.  Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the bacon and cook until browned.

Cooking the bacon.

Once the bacon is cooked, remove it from the skillet with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Increase the heat to medium-high and add the garlic.  Cook for 1 – 2 minutes.

Cooking the garlic. Be sure not to let it become too brown.

Add the shrimp and cook until they turn pink, about 5 minutes.

Cooking the shrimp. You just want them to turn pink at this point.

Add the scallions and cook another 1 – 2 minutes.

Adding the scallions.

Add the lemon juice and cook another minute.  Take the skillet off the heat and stir in the parsley and reserved bacon.

Adding the parsley and bacon.

3.  Serve the grits with a generous helping of the shrimp on top.

Anytime meal. Yum.

Enjoy!

p.s.  One of the great things about leftover grits (regular or cornmeal) is when, when cooked properly, they solidify as they cool.  While to the uninitiated, it sounds unappetizing, for a Southerner, it’s great.

Take any leftover grits and put them into a small loaf pan or in a square or rectangular container and make as even as possible.  The next day, take the “loaf” and cut it into pieces about 1/2-inch thick.  Fry in oil or butter until browned on both sides (they will soften a bit).  Take off the heat, and serve with some syrup or jam.

Oh. Yeah.

I’m about to say something that will send some chili aficionados into a wall-eyed fit: green chili is a good thing.

Now, being from Texas, I know that’s not necessarily a popular sentiment.  Unless you’re close to the New Mexico border.  In fact, at the best-known chili cookoff in Terlingua, Texas, there’s not even a green chili category.

However, I do like it.  I find it’s generally easier to make than traditional chili (if you’d like the recipe, see my post [Chili… Or, Them’s Fightin’ Words] from Feb. 14, 2012), it’s just as versatile, and mostly, it’s delicious.

So, off I go.  On to the recipe:

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A couple of notes:

1.  Using canned Hatch chiles will save time and mess.  But, if you have Hatch chiles from last year in the freezer, use them.

2.  I’ve also used, in place of the thighs, a whole chicken from the deli.  This will save time also and make this a reasonably quick after-work meal.

3.  You can use pork instead or make the chili vegetarian.  In place of chicken or pork, you can use beans.  Yes… Beans.  Also, substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth.

4.  Admittedly, my chili is not green, per se.  I call it green because I don’t use any tomatoes or red meat.  However, if you want a fully green chili, you can use green chili powder (usually ground jalapeno, hatch, or poblano chiles.)  However, you will want to experiment and check the spice level and adjust the recipe accordingly.

5.  Taste the chili before adding the lime juice.  I like more citrus than most people, so I enjoy the added tartness.  However, you may not.

The ingredients

Clockwise from top: Mexican Oregano, Black Pepper, Salt, ground Cumin, Chili Powder

3 lbs. chicken thighs

4 c. water or chicken broth

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

4 cl. garlic, minced

1 med. onion, diced

2 serranos, sliced in half lengthwise, seeds removed if you prefer

1 c. roasted, seeded,  peeled , and chipped Anaheim, Poblano, or Hatch Chilies (roughly 4 – 6 chiles)

-or-

2 small cans chopped Hatch chilies

1 1/2 lbs. tomatillos, husks removed and rinsed, leave whole

2 tsp. dried Mexican Oregano

1 tbsp. ground cumin

1 tbsp. chili powder

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground black pepper

1/2 c. chopped cilantro

juice of 1 lime

2 tbsp. masa

Queso fresco or Jack cheese and Tortillas for serving

1.  Put the chicken thighs and stock or water in a large saucepan or Dutch oven.  Cover and bring the stock to a boil over medium heat.  Once the liquid has started boiling , uncover, turn the heat down to medium-low and continue cooking until the thighs are cooked.

2.  Place a large strainer or colander over a large bowl and drain the thighs.  Reserve the stock and set the thighs aside to cool.

**If you’re using a pre-cooked chicken, you can skip steps 1 & 2.** 

3.  While the thighs are cooling, turn the heat on the stove back up to medium-high.  Add the oil.  Once the oil is hot, add the onions and garlic,  Saute until the onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes.

Sauteing the onions and garlic.

4.  Add the serranos.  Saute another 2 – 3 minutes.

How I prep the serranos. I leave the stem on and cut the serrano almost in half.

Sauteing the peppers with the onions and garlic.

Add the chiles and saute another 2 – 3 minutes.

Adding the chiles.

Add the tomatillos and mix them in well.

The perfect tomatillo.

Choose tomatillos that are firm and the outer husk peels away easily.  You don’t want tomatillos that are too small for the husk.  They’re generally old and dehydrated.  The tomatillo will be sticky when you peel off the husk, so be sure to wear gloves.

Adding the tomatilos to the saucepan.

5.  Add the spices and cook until they begin to have a scent.  About another 2 – 3 minutes.

Adding the spices.

6.  Add the reserved stock back into the pan.

Adding the broth.

Cover and bring to a boil.  Uncover the saucepan, lower the heat to medium, and continue to cook until the tomatillos have softened, about 20 – 30 minutes.

Boiling the tomatillos.

7.  Meanwhile, skin, bone, and shred the chicken.  Set aside.

The shredded chicken. Not pretty. But delicious.

8.  Make a slurry.  Take the masa and add 2 – 3 tablespoons of the cooking liquid or water.  Mix together until smooth.  Set aside.

9.  Once the tomatillos are soft, remove the saucepan from the heat.  Take a potato masher and carefully mash the tomatillos.

Mashing the tomatillos.

Place the saucepan back on the heat and cook for another 20 minutes.  Be sure to stir frequently.  Taste for seasoning.

10.  Add the slurry and mix in well.  Add the chicken, cilantro, and lime juice.

Adding the chicken, cilantro, and lime juice.

Cook for another 5 – 10 minutes, or until slightly thickened.  Taste for seasoning.  Stir frequently.

11.  Serve with tortillas and a little queso fresco or shredded jack cheese.

Dinner!

Now, If you have some leftover chili, and I’m sure you will, here’s a great way to use it.

Take a couple of toastada shells and break them into large pieces on a plate. (Or, you can use tortilla chips.) Take a skillet and set it over medium heat.  Add a little vegetable oil and heat.  Add roughly 1 cup of the chili.  Heat the chili and stir frequently.  Spread the chili out as evenly as possible over the bottom of the skillet and crack 2 eggs on top of the chili.  Cover the skillet and turn the heat to medium-low.

I generally like to spoon some of the warm chili over the top of the eggs to help with cooking. Carefully use a rubber spatula to get under the chili and eggs so the chili doesn’t stick to the pan and burn.

Let the eggs poach in the chili until they’re done to your liking.  I generally like my eggs soft, so I’ll let them cook about 5 minutes.

When the eggs are done, carefully scoop out the chili and eggs and place them over the broken toastada shells.

Yummy.

Breakfast!

Enjoy!

The humble tomato. One of our favorite  nightshade family fruits used as a vegetable. It’s hard to imagine now how it was once considered at best a trash food, and, at worst, poisonous.

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A brief history (via www.wikipedia.org)

Aztecs and other peoples in Mesoamerica used tomatoes in their cooking. The exact date of domestication is unknown; however,  by 500 BCE, it was already being cultivated in southern Mexico. The large, lumpy tomato, a mutation from a smoother, smaller fruit, originated in Mesoamerica, and may be the direct ancestor of some modern cultivated tomatoes.

There is some specualtion as to whether it was Christopher Columbus or Hernán Cortés was the first European to transfer the small yellow tomato to Europe. The earliest discussion of the tomato in European literature appeared  in 1544 by Pietro Andrea Mattioli, an Italian physician and botanist, who suggested that a new type of “eggplant” had been brought to Italy that was blood red or golden color when mature and could be eaten like an eggplant—cooked and seasoned with salt, black pepper, and oil. However it wasn’t until ten years later that tomatoes were named in print by Mattioli as pomi d’oro, or “golden apple”.

The earliest discovered cookbook with tomato recipes was published in Naples in 1692, though the author had apparently obtained these recipes from Spanish sources. In northern areas of Italy, however, the fruit was used solely as a tabletop decoration before it was incorporated into the local cuisine in the late 17th or early 18th century.

The first recorded history of tomatoes in Italy dates back to October 31, 1548 when the house steward of the de’ Medici family wrote to the Medici private secretary informing him that the basket of tomatoes sent from the family’s Florentine estate at Torre del Gallo “had arrived safely.” Tomatoes were grown mainly as ornamentals early on after their arrival in Italy. The Florentine aristocrat Giovanvettorio Soderini wrote how they “were to be sought only for their beauty” and were grown only in gardens or flower beds. The tomato’s ability to mutate and create new and different varieties helped contribute to its success and spread throughout Italy. However, even in areas where the climate supported growing tomatoes, their proximity of growing to the ground suggested low status. They were not adopted as a staple of the peasant population because they were not as filling as other fruits already available. Additionally, both toxic and inedible varieties discouraged many people from attempting to consume or prepare them.

Tomatoes were not grown in England until the 1590s. One of the earliest cultivators was John Gerard, a barber-surgeon. Gerard’sHerbal, published in 1597, and largely plagiarized from continental sources, is also one of the earliest discussions of the tomato in England. Gerard knew the tomato was eaten in Spain and Italy.  Nonetheless, he believed it was poisonous.  Gerard’s views were influential, and the tomato was considered unfit for eating (though not necessarily poisonous) for many years in Britain and its North American colonies. By the mid-18th century, tomatoes were widely eaten in Britain, and before the end of that century, the Encyclopædia Britannica stated the tomato was “in daily use” in soups, broths, and as a garnish.

The tomato was introduced to cultivation in the Middle East/Asia by John Barker, British consul in Aleppo circa 1799 to 1825. Nineteenth century descriptions of its consumption are uniformly as an ingredient in a cooked dish. In 1881, it is described as only eaten in the region “within the last forty years”.

The tomato entered Iran through two separate routes; one was through Turkey and Armenia, and the other was through the Qajar royal family’s frequent travels to France. The early name used for tomato in Iran was Armani badenjan (Armenian eggplant). Currently, the name used for tomato in Iran is gojeh farangi [French plum].

The earliest reference to tomatoes being grown in British North America is from 1710, when herbalist William Salmon reported seeing them in what is today South Carolina, where they were introduced from the Caribbean. By the mid-18th century, they were cultivated on some Carolina plantations, and likely in other parts of the Southeast as well. Possibly, some people continued to think tomatoes were poisonous at this time; and in general, they were grown more as ornamental plants than as food. Thomas Jefferson, who ate tomatoes in Paris, sent some seeds back to America.

Alexander W. Livingston was the first person who succeeded in upgrading the wild tomato, developing different breeds and stabilizing the plants. In the 1937 yearbook of the Federal Department of Agriculture, it was declared that “half of the major varieties were a result of the abilities of the Livingstons to evaluate and perpetuate superior material in the tomato”. Livingston’s first breed of tomato, the Paragon, was introduced in 1870. In 1875, he introduced the Acme, which was said to be involved in the parentage of most of the tomatoes introduced by him and his competitors for the next twenty-five years.

When Alexander W. Livingston had begun his attempts to develop the tomato as a commercial crop, his aim had been to grow tomatoes smooth in contour, uniform in size and having better flavor.  After five years, the fruit became fleshier and larger. In 1870, Alexander introduced the Paragon and tomato culture began at once to be a great enterprise of the county. Today, the crop is grown in every state in the Union. He eventually developed over seventeen different varieties of the tomato plant.

And… thus  the birth of the  homoginization of the tomato.

Luckily, that’s changing rapidly as heirloom varieties are now becoming more readily avilable.

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This recipe is one of my favorites not only because of its ease of preparation and the fact that it’s delicious, but because of its long cooking time.

Yes. You read that right.

This is a recipe that requires a very long cooking time.  At least 6 hours.

I know what some of you are thinking. What?! That’s insane! What do you mean by this being a good thing?

Trust me.  It is.  Because I can put this in the oven on a low, slow cook, walk away, and forget about it for a few hours. I can get on with my day.

Now, admittedly, some of you don’t feel comfortable leaving your oven on all day without someone at home to monitor it.  And that’s fine.  You can certainly roast the tomatoes over a weekend day and save them until later in the week for a quick weeknight supper.

Now, to the recipe:

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A few notes:

a) I generally use Roma tomatoes in this recipe.  This particular variety of tomato is meant to be cooked because of it’s meatiness. (It’s typically used in sauces and pastes.) They’re also available year-round.

b) Feel free to use whatever spices and herbs you like for this.  However, due to the long cooking time, I recommend using dried herbs.  If you’d like to use fresh herbs, mix them into the roasted tomatoes and pasta at the end.

c) Feel free to use what ever pasta you like.  I like to use orecchiette (meaning “little ears” in Italian) because the shape of the pasta holds so much of the sauce that comes from roasting the tomatoes.  However, if you would like to use another pasta, I would recommend using a shaped pasta as opposed to a straight pasta like spaghetti or pappardelle.

d) You can roast the tomatoes in advance and keep them in the refrigerator for 4 – 5 days.  Just heat them up slowly as you cook the pasta, then, mix them together when the pasta is done.

e) If you like, you can mix in a little protein to the tomatoes and pasta just before you serve.  Spicy Italian sausage works well.

The ingredients

5 – 6 lb. Roma tomatoes, seeded, stem end cut out

1/2 c. olive oil

Assorted herbs and spices, as much or as little as you like

Seasonings I used. Clockwise from top: Sugar, Black Pepper, Salt, Red Pepper Flakes, Italian Seasoning Blend

1 lb. Orecchiette, or other shaped pasta

Grated Romano cheese

1.  Turn on your oven to 200F – 250F (depends on how fast you want to cook your tomatoes). Take a very large baking dish (mine is 12″ x 18″), and, if you like, give it a quick spritz with some non-stick spray.

2.  Cut the blossom end off and cut the  tomatoes in half along their equator. Give each of the halves a squeeze and use your fingers to remove as many of the seeds as possible.

Cleaning out the tomatoes. Not a pretty job.

The cleaned tomato.

Take the discarded seeds and use them in the compost pile or save for seeds for the garden.

3.  Place the cleaned halves in the baking dish.  Try to make sure you have a single layer.

Tomatoes in the baking dish ready for seasoning.

4.  Drizzle the olive oil over the tomatoes.

Drizzling over the olive oil

Sprinkle over the seasonings.  Again, use as much or as little of what you like.  Carefully toss the tomatoes to completely coat them in the oil and seasonings.

Tomatoes ready for the oven.

5.  Now, bake the tomatoes for at least 6 hours.  You can go as long as you like, depending on your oven temperature and how roasted you want your tomatoes.

I generally bake my tomatoes at 225F for about 8-10 hours.  I like them pretty well reduced.

With the amount of tomatoes you are roasting, unless they are very dry (and some may be, especially in the winter), you will end up with a lot of juices in the pan.  Embrace that.  Makes a great natural sauce for the pasta along with the tomatoes.

6.  After the tomatoes have roasted for at least 6 hours, check them.  Stir if you like. At this point, you can take the tomatoes out of the oven or continue to roast further.

The roasted tomatoes.

7.  After the tomatoes are out of the oven, cook your chosen pasta according to the package directions until al dente.  Drain and put back into the cooking pot.

8.  Meanwhile, cut or chop the tomatoes.  I like doing this with a pair of kitchen shears.  It’s just easier and a whole lot less messy.

Cutting the tomatoes

9.  Pour the tomatoes and juice into the cooking pot with the pasta and mix together.

Pasta and tomatoes ready to eat

If you like, sprinkle on some Romano Cheese.  I find it works well with the roasted flavor of the tomatoes.

Dinner!

Enjoy!

When my husband, Steve, was a vegetarian, I had to come up with all sorts of variations on my favorite dishes to accommodate his dietary needs. (He has since come back to the dark side.)  Since one of my favorites has always been Posole, I wanted to come up with a variation that we would both enjoy. (For more on posole, see my Feb. 28, 2012 post “Posole (…or Pozole)”.)

Traditional posole is always made with meat.  Usually pork.  However, my recipe is a quick, easy, and most importantly, tasty recipe that will make vegetarian and non-vegetarians alike very happy. And full.

Now, to the recipe.

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Notes:

a) I realize I’m wandering dangerously close into Sandra Lee territory with all the canned ingredients.  But, trust me, they work in this dish.  However, if you’d like to use all fresh, be my guest.

b) If you omit the cheese as a garnish and cook the hominy from dried, you can make this dish vegan.  If you’d like to add some protein, use chicken broth and add some cooked chicken at the end.

The ingredients

Clockwise from top: ground cumin, salt, black pepper, Mexican oregano

2 tbsp. vegetable or canola oil

1 med. white onion, diced

3 cl. garlic, minced

1 small can (approximately 1/2 c.) salsa verde

2 small cans (approxomately 1/2 c.) chopped green chiles, hot, mild, or a combination

2 cans hominy, drained

1 tsp. dried Mexican oregano

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. Kosher salt

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

4 c. vegetable broth

few dashes green Tabasco

Juice of 1 lime, or to taste

For garnish:

chopped avocado

diced queso fresco

chopped cilantro

fresh limes, quartered (because I like more lime than most normal people)

corn tortillas

1.  Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat.  Add the onions and garlic.  Saute until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes.

Sauteing the onion and garlic.

2.  Add the salsa verde and the chiles.  Saute another 2 -3 minutes.  Add the oregano, cumin, salt & pepper.  Saute another 2 – 3 minutes.

Sauteing the salsa verde, chiles, and spices

3.  Add the hominy and saute for another 2 – 3 minutes.

Adding the hominy

4.  Add the vegetable broth and a few dashes of the green Tabasco.

Adding the broth and Tabasco.

Cover the saucepan and bring the broth to a boil.  Uncover, lower the heat to medium low, and cook for 30 – 45 minutes.  The soup will thicken slightly as it cooks.

Stir frequently.  Taste for seasoning after the first 30 minutes.

The posole after 45 minutes of cooking. It’s reduced and thickened slightly.

5.  After the initial cooking time, add the lime juice and cook another 5 minutes.  Taste the soup for seasoning.

Mmmm….

6.  Serve the posole with queso fresco, chopped cilantro, chopped avocado, and more lime.  Have heated corn tortillas on the side.

The condiment tray. clockwise from top: chopped cilantro, queso fresco, chopped avocado, limes.

Dinner!

Enjoy!

In the final throws of winter in Central Texas, my mind continues to turn to heartier fare.  Sometimes, beans sound delicious.

Admittedly, beans are not a food I eat often.  I do like them, but it’s not a food that immediately springs to mind when I’m deciding what to make for dinner.  They should, though.  Beans are almost the perfect food.  They have high amounts of fiber and soluble fiber. (One cup of cooked beans providing between nine and 13 grams of fiber.)  Soluble fiber can help lower blood cholesterol. Beans are also high in protein, complex carbohydrates, folate, and iron.

Beans are one of the longest-cultivated plants. Broad beans (fava beans) were gathered in Afghanistan and the Himalayan foothills. They’ve been grown in Thailand since the early seventh millennium BCE.  They were buried with the dead in ancient Egypt. In the second millennium BC did cultivated, large-seeded broad beans appear in the Aegean, Iberia and transalpine Europe. In the Iliad (late-8th century) is a passing mention of beans and chickpeas cast on the threshing floor.

Beans were an important source of protein throughout Old and New World history, and still are today.

The oldest-known domesticated beans in the Americas were found in Guitarrero Cave, an archaeological site in Peru, and dated to around the second millennium BCE.

Most of the kinds commonly eaten fresh or dried, those of the genus Phaseolus, come originally from the Americas, being first seen by a European when Christopher Columbus, during his exploration, of what may have been the Bahamas, found them growing in fields. Five kinds of Phaseolus beans were domesticated by pre-Columbian peoples: common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) grown from Chile to the northern part of what is now the United States, and lima and sieva beans (Phaseolus lunatus), as well as the less widely distributed teparies (Phaseolus acutifolius), scarlet runner beans (Phaseolus coccineus) and polyanthus beans (Phaseolus polyanthus). One especially famous use of beans by pre-Columbian people as far north as the Atlantic seaboard is the “Three Sisters” method of companion plant cultivation:

In the New World, many tribes would grow beans together with maize (corn), and squash. The corn would not be planted in rows as is done by European agriculture, but in a checkerboard/hex fashion across a field, in separate patches of one to six stalks each.

Beans would be planted around the base of the developing stalks, and would vine their way up as the stalks grew. All American beans at that time were vine plants, “bush beans” having been bred only more recently. The cornstalks would work as a trellis for the beans, and the beans would provide much-needed nitrogen for the corn.

Squash would be planted in the spaces between the patches of corn in the field. They would be provided slight shelter from the sun by the corn, would shade the soil and reduce evaporation, and would deter many animals from attacking the corn and beans because their coarse, hairy vines and broad, stiff leaves are difficult or uncomfortable for animals such as deer and raccoons to walk through, crows to land on, etc.

Dry beans come from both Old World varieties of broad beans (fava beans) and New World varieties (kidney, black, cranberry, pinto, navy/haricot).

Beans are a heliotropic plant, meaning that the leaves tilt throughout the day to face the sun. At nighttime, they go into a folded “sleep” position.

(Information from www.wikipedia.org)

The bean varieties I eat most often are pinto and black.  Hell, I’m in Texas.  It’s almost a requirement.  I’ve also enjoyed garbanzo, fava, navy, red kidney, and, my personal favorite, cannellini.

I’m not sure what it is about cannellini beans that I enjoy so much.  Perhaps it’s the slight sweetness to them.  They’re also very versatile. Like pretty much all beans.

Now, to the recipe.

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The recipe is presented as vegetarian.  I generally keep it that way.  However, if you would like to make the recipe vegan, cook the beans from dried and omit the Parmesan rinds.  If you would like to add some meat to the recipe, a little leftover chicken or diced pork would work well.

I do used canned beans in this recipe.  Beans are a foodstuff that cans well.  It’s also quick, convenient, and cheap.

This is most definitely a dish one can make after a day at work.  It also freezes well.

As for the Parmesan rinds: if you have a good cheese section in your grocery store or a specialty cheese shop that cuts Parmesan down from the wheel, ask them to save you some of the rinds.  Sometimes you’ll be charged a nominal amount, sometimes you’ll get them for free.  Keep them in the freezer.  They add a lot of flavor ro many soups and stews without imparting too much extra fat or cheese.

The Ingredients

The classic mirepoix. Equal parts carrot, onion, and celery.

2 cans cannellini beans, drained

1 med. carrot, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

1/2 c. yellow onion, minced

4 cl. garlic, minced

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 c. vegetable broth

1 tsp. dried sage

1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper, or to taste

Approx. 3 – 4 oz. Parmesan rinds (If they are large enough, you can leave them loose in the soup while cooking. Otherwise, wrap them in a cheesecloth for easy removal after cooking.)

Extra olive oil for serving

1.  In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the vegetables (the mirepoix) and the garlic and saute until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes.

Sauteing the vegetables and garlic.

2.  Add the beans, sage, salt & pepper.  Saute another 2 – 3 minutes.

Adding the beans, sage, salt & pepper.

3.  Add the broth and rinds.  Bring the broth to a boil, then turn the heat down to medium-low.  Cook for 30 – 45 minutes, or until the soup begins to thicken. Stir occasionally to be sure the rinds don’t stick to the bottom.

Adding the broth and the rinds. 

4.  When the soup is done, taste for seasoning and adjust to your liking.  Remove as many of the rinds as you can before or as you serve. (The rinds are basically inedible.)  Drizzle some olive oil over the top of the soup if you like.

The finished soup.

I like to have a good hearty country-style bread to serve with the soup.

Enjoy!

Winter is the perfect time to make marmalade.  The oranges that are considered the best for marmalade – Blood, Seville, Cara Cara – are most readily available December & January.  By February into early March, they disappear for the year.

They all have a bitterness and high pectin content (important for thickening) that is prized by marmalade afficionados.

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Here’s a nice quick history of marmalade by Elizabeth Field from the New York Times (I couldn’t find a date on the article)

Early Marmalade History

Marmalade began more than 2,000 years ago as a solid cooked quince and honey paste similar to today’s membrillo, the Spanish quince paste that is typically served with sheep-milk cheeses. Known as melomeli in ancient Greece and melimela in Latin, it was used both as a preserve and a reputed remedy for digestive complaints. The Portuguese took up the product, perhaps via the Arabs, substituting sugar for the honey, around the 10th century. They called it “marmelada,” which derives from the Portuguese marmelo, or quince.

The first shipments of marmelada, packed in wooden boxes, arrived in London in 1495. Fabulously expensive and imbued with purported medical and aphrodisiac powers, it was a popular gift among noble families.

Simultaneously, a northern European version of a cooked quince and sugar preserve called alternately chardequince, condoignac, cotignac or quiddony sprung up. Flavored with red wine, honey, cinnamon stick and powdered ginger, it was taken at the end of a medieval feast, along with pears, nuts, sugar-coated aniseed and other sweetmeats whose purpose, harkening back to the ancient Greeks, was to ease an upset stomach.

Versions of quince marmalade became a staple of “banquetting stuffe,” the elegant display of sweetmeats and confectionery served at the end of 16th- and 17th-century English feasts. Rolled and twisted into hearts and knots or flattened and then stamped with flowers and tarts, pale and rose-colored quince pastes were as decorative as they were therapeutic. Food historian Ivan Day offers period recipes and photos of these creations on his website.

Scotland’s Contributions

In the 18th century, the Scots pioneered the switchover from quince to orange marmalade. Many regions of the country were too cold for quince trees to flourish, and imported Seville (bitter) oranges had been available since the late 15th century. Cooks were now producing a thinner form of marmalade, stored in pots or glasses, achieved through a shorter cooking time. A succession of Scottish cookbook authors including Elizabeth Cleland, Hannah Robertson, Susanna Maciver, J.Caird and Margaret Dods, turned marmalade-making into an art form, introducing the term “chips” for shreds of orange rind, and refining techniques to produce marmalades that ranged from dark and chunky to transparent and golden.

More significant perhaps than the switch from quince to orange marmalade, was the new Scottish pattern of serving marmalade as a breakfast and tea-time food rather than an after-dinner digestive. This coincided with the evolution of the legendary British breakfast, which in its 19th-century heyday could consist of eggs in many guises, bacon, sausage, broiled mutton chops, stewed kidneys and smoked fish with crisp toast and an array of rich breakfast cakes. Orange marmalade, honey and jam were ubiquitous accompaniments.

While the “invention” of orange marmalade in 1797 is sometimes erroneously attributed to Janet Keiller, a Dundee grocer’s wife, she was among the first of a series of late 18th- and early 19th-century Scottish grocer’s wives who established commercial marmalade factories. Demand for store-bought marmalade had risen, perhaps facilitated by the growing number of women working outside the home.

By the late 19th century, numerous British firms produced marmalades for every preference, ranging from Robertson’s fine-cut Golden and Silver Shred to Frank Cooper’s coarse-cut “Oxford” marmalade, to Chivers’ Olde English, which was marketed as “The Aristocrat of Marmalades.” Wilkin of Tiptree, an English fruit conserving company founded in 1885, was producing some 27 different marmalades by the turn of the 20th century, according to the preeminent marmalade scholar, C. Anne Wilson, who authored “The Book of Marmalade.”

An Enduring Tradition

After a post-World War II decline in consumption, marmalade is now undergoing a comeback in Britain. Many home cooks continue to make their own, often using generations-old recipes. Because Seville oranges are only available for a few weeks in January and February, marmalade-making is a seasonal ritual. The enticing aroma of bubbling brews of oranges and sugar on the stove and the glow of newly filled jars of marmalade signal the coming of brighter days during the short, dark winter days.

The annual World’s Original Marmalade Festival held each February at Dalemain Estate, in Penrith, Cumbria, England, is to marmalade lovers as California’s Gilroy Garlic Festival is to garlic aficionados. A paean to British marma-lade culture, hundreds of home cooks compete for titles in categories ranging from classic Seville Orange marmalade to the more eccentric Clergy Marmalade, for ministers, priests, rabbis or anyone associated with a religious group.

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The more traditional recipes have equal parts sugar and water along with the citrus; no pectin.  So, a recipe can have, for example, 8 cups sugar, 8 cups water, and anywhere from 2 – 5 pounds of fruit.  This makes a very sweet-bitter combination.

Now, admittedly, Orange Marmalade isn’t one of my favorite foods.  I generally find it too sweet. But this one recipe, that’s more on the tart/bitter side, is one I will eat. (In fact, marmalade is one of those foods one either loves with a passion reserved only for a significant other or hates like their worst enemy.)

Of course, you can adjust the sweetness as you prefer.

Now, on to the recipe.

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The finished marmalade in this recipe will not look the same as many marmalades.  Because I use juice and honey as sweeteners, the marmalade is much more opaque than if I made a marmalade with sugar.

Oranges typically used in marmalade are very seasonal and are only available 2 – 3 months a year in the winter.  However, you can use any type of orange and regular orange juice.  The flavor won’t be the same (probably sweeter), but will be delicious nonetheless.

If you need to know about the how’s and why’s of canning sweet preserves, please look at my August 10, 2012 post, “Classic Strawberry Jam”.

The Ingredients

5 lbs. Blood, Seville, or Cara Cara oranges

4 c. blood orange juice

Zest and juice of 2 lemons

1 tbsp. calcuim water (if using Pomona’s Pectin)

1 1/2 c. honey

3 1/2 tbsp. low sugar pectin (if using Pomona’s Pectin)

-or-

3 tbsp. low- to no-sugar powdered pectin

1.  Cut the ends of 2 pounds of oranges down to the pulp.

The end cut off the orange. It’s a beautiful ruby color. Hence the name.

Cut the oranges into quarters, cut out the center pith, and remove the seeds.

The trimmed orange quarters.

Slice each quarter very thinly and put into a large stock pot.

Ready for the pot.

2.  Segment the remaining 3 pounds of oranges.  Do this by cutting away the peel and pith all the way down to the pulp.

Cutting the peel off the oranges.

Then, cut the segments out from between the segment membranes (you’ll see them; they look like white lines).

Segmenting the oranges.

The orange segments.

Add the segments to the stockpot.  (Be sure to squeeze and reserve whatever juice you can from the peels and segment membranes.  You’ll be surprised at how much juice you’ll get.  Discard or compost the unused peels, the membranes, and seeds.)

The center membrane with the segments cut out. Be sure to squeeze it to extract as much juice as you can.

(Alternately, you can peel, segment, and juice  all 5 pounds of oranges, take as many or as few of the peels as you like and slice them as thick or thin as you like. It’s up to you.)

3.  Add the reserved  juice, lemon zest, lemon juice, and 4 c. blood orange juice to the pot with the oranges.

Comparison of blood and regular orange juices.

Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently.  Once the juice comes to a boil, turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer for 45 – 60 minutes.  The pulp should be broken down and the peel very soft.

4.  After the oranges have cooked, if you are using Pomona’s pectin, stir in the calcium water. (Calcuim powder comes with the pectin). If you’re not using Pomona’s, skip this step.

5.  In a separate bowl, stir together the honey and pectin.  Add to the orange mixture.  Stir well to combine.

6.  Turn the heat back up to medium and bring the marmalade back to a boil.  Stir almost constantly to prevent scorching.  It should thicken within 5 – 10 minutes.

Cooking the marmalade. The thermometer is to check the temperature. Ideal jelling comes at 220F.

Test the set by pouring a small amount of the marmalade on a plate that has been chilled in the freezer.  It should set up quickly and when you run your finger through the marmalade, it should “wrinkle”.

Testing the set of the marmalade. (I used an ice mug that I keep in the freezer.)

The set marmalade.

(Also, if you have a thermometer, clip it to the edge of the stockpot and bring the marmalade up to 220F.  That is the ideal temperature for proper jelling.)

The finished marmalade.

7.  Ladle the marmalade into hot, sterlized jars, leaving 1/4″ headspace.  Process the jars in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes (begin timing after the water has come to a boil).  Let the jars cool on racks.  The marmalade will set up as it cools.

Cooling the jarred marmalade.

Makes approximately 5 half-pint jars.

Enjoy!

It’s January. We all know what that means.

Resolutions.

Arguably, the most popular is lose weight.  As most all of us know, one of the best ways to lose weight is to consume less sugar.

Hence, I came up with a recipe for one of the most popular sugar-laden foods out there: jelly.  Many commercial jellies have sugar and/or corn syrup as one of the main ingredients. (I know you can get low- and no-sugar alternatives off the grocery shelf.  However, I personally find many of them below par in taste and texture.)  And, if you decide to make your own, a typical recipe will have  4 cups of sugar for roughly 4 – 5 cups of finished jelly.

I wanted to come up with an alternative that I would eat and enjoy. My recipe is sweetened with honey (equivalent to 2 1/4 cups sugar) and reduced apple cider.

Honey instead of sugar? Yes. For one, honey is a very natural sweetener (so is sugar, but it is generally heavily processed), you use less, and it tastes better. (You can also find sugar-free honey as well.)

I’m also using a more, well, older and ancient form of pectin. Fresh apple pectin.

Fresh homemade apple pectin.

What exactly is pectin? By way of a  quick explanation, this comes from www.wisegeek.org:

“In cooking, pectin is used as a thickening agent, and could be considered one of the most natural types around. The first pectin available for purchase was derived from apples, which have a high amount. There are other fruits that naturally contain this gelling agent, including many plums and pears. The properties of pectin were discovered and identified by the French chemist and pharmacist, Henri Braconnot, and his discovery soon led to many manufacturers making deals with makers of apple juice to obtain the remains of pressed apples (pomace) that were then produced in a liquid form.

Pectin is a complex carbohydrate, which is found both in the cell walls of plants, and between the cell walls, helping to regulate the flow of water in between cells and keeping them rigid. You’ll note some plants begin to lose part of this complex carbohydrate as they age. Apples left out too long get soft and mushy as pectin diminishes. When apples are just ripe, they have a firm and crisp texture, mainly due to the presence of pectin.”

I did a lot of research before writing this recipe and almost all of the recipes I read used fresh apple pectin in their apple jelly.  So, that’s what I decided to use.

Now. To the recipe.

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Notes: a) I use apple cider in this recipe.  It has a better flavor than juice, plus, it still has the pectin.  Pectin has been centrifuged out of apple juice.  I generally use Martinelli’s Cider because it’s always available.  However, if you can get fresh cider, all the better. In other words, don’t substitute apple juice for cider.

b) Green apples will have more pectin than red.  Granny Smiths have the highest concentration of pectin (at least that I’ve found).  Make sure the apples you use aren’t too ripe or bruised.  The riper the apple, the lower the pectin.  You want them to be firm.

c) Admittedly, this recipe takes some time to make.  You are making pectin and reducing 3 liters of apple cider.  So, be prepared to take a couple of days making this recipe from start to finish. It won’t be continual work, but there will be a lot of waiting.

d) If you need to know the hows & whys of making sweet preserves, jelly, etc., please look at my August 10, 2012 post, “Classic Strawberry Jam”

The Ingredients

10 lb. Granny Smith apples (make sure they are firm and have no bruising)

6 c. apple cider or water

-or-

a total of 6 cups combined cider or water

3 liters apple cider, reduced down to 2 cups

6 tbsp. lemon juice

1 1/2 c. honey

1.  Reduce the cider: In a 4-quart saucepan, heat the cider over low heat.  It will slowly reduce over several hours.  Be patient.  Stir occasionally, especially if you’re using fresh cider because the solids will settle at the bottom.  (I don’t like to let the cider come to a boil. I find it makes the cider taste cooked and there’s a risk of “burning” it.)

You want the cider to reduce down to 2 cups.  It will be much thicker and darker in color.

Cider in the saucepan before reduction.

2 cups reduced cider. Much darker and thicker.

Reduced cider. A view from the top.

At this point, the cider will keep in the refrigerator for 3 – 4 days.  Just leave it in the measuring cup and cover it with plastic.

2.  Meanwhile, make the pectin: Quarter the apples and remove the stems and blossom ends (discard or put in the compost).  Then put the quarters, peels, seeds, cores, and all into a large stockpot.  Pour in the cider or water (or both).  Place the stockpot over medium heat, cover, and bring to a boil.  Turn the heat to medium-low.  Stir frequently to make sure the apples don’t stick to the bottom.

Cook the apples until they resemble soft applesauce; about 45 – 60 minutes.

Cooking the apples to make pectin.

3.  Have a large colander or strainer set in a large bowl or hung over a large stockpot lined with dampened cheesecloth.  Carefully ladle and pour the cooked apples into the strainer or colander.  Let the liquid drain for at least 2 – 3 hours, and up to 24.

Making pectin: Straining the cooked apples

Many apple pectin recipes warn not to weigh the apples down because some solids may get into the liquid and make a cloudy jelly.  Me? I don’t really care.  I’ll let the apples drain for several hours and then weigh them down just to be sure I extract as much of the pectin as possible.  But, it’s up to you.

You should end up with at least 6 cups of pectin. This is what you’ll need for the recipe.  If you have any extra, it will keep in the refrigerator for a week, or, you can process it like preserves (leaving a 1/4″ head space; hot water process for 10 minutes).  It will keep for 1 year if you process it.

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There is a way to test your newly made pectin.

Take 2 tablespoon rubbing alcohol and 2 tablespoons cooled pectin and mix them together.  (Hot pectin won’t work for this test.) The alcohol should jell.

Testing the pectin. Note the gelled alcohol on the fork.

Be sure to immediately discard the mixture. It’s poisonous.

If it doesn’t jell, you may need to cook your pectin down a bit to strengthen the pectin.

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4.  In a large stockpot (I like to use my pasta pot), combine the pectin, reduced cider, honey, and lemon juice.  Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pot or have one handy.  Bring the liquid to a boil over medium-high heat.  Lower the heat to medium-low and slowly cook the jelly until the mixture reaches 220F. (220F is the optimum temperature for gelling.)

Cooking the jelly.

Another way to test the set-up of the jelly is to pour a small amount onto a plate that has been in the freezer.  Place the plate back into the freezer for a few minutes.  When you take it out, run your finger through the jelly. It should be firm and wrinkle as you run your finger through it.

5.  Once the jelly is done, remove the stockpot from the heat.  With a large spoon, skim off as much foam as you can.

Skimming off the foam

6.  Ladle the jelly into sterilized jars, leaving 1/4″ head space.  Process for 10 minutes (begin timing after the water comes to a boil).

Once you take the jars out of the canner, let them sit for at least 12 hours. The jelly needs time to fully set.

Jelly! The dark amber color is due to the reduced cider. I think it’s lovely.

Once the jelly has sealed, label & date it.  It will keep for 1 year.  If it doesn’t seal, place the jar in the refrigerator and eat the jelly within 3 weeks.

Makes approximately 4 – 5 half pints.

Enjoy!