These preserves are the result of a co-worker’s citrus bounty from his backyard tree.  He brought in a bag of delicious, juicy oranges a few days ago, and I was the happy recipient of what was left at the end of the day, under the condition ‘bring me a jar of whatever you make‘.  Sounds fair to me.

I have been enjoying these preserves on toast, mixed into plain yogurt, and on top of creamy vanilla ice cream.  I imagine the preserves would also be delicious mixed into homemade buttermilk cheese (minus the thyme and lemon), heated and drizzled over pork, or as a glaze to cooked chicken thighs.  With it’s subtle mix of sweet and savory flavors, the possibilities are numerous…

And just a quick note about preserve making and canning: while it is entirely possible to make pickles and preserves without specialized equipment (jar lifter, lid lifter, canning funnel, etc), these tools are really useful and make the process much simpler.  And they’re cheap!  I think you can get a jar lifter + magnetic lid lifter + canning funnel for about $12 total.  It’s absolutely worth it.  I don’t have a special water bath canner, but instead use my 12 qt. stock pot, which works like a charm.

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Five Spice Orange Preserves
Adapted from Christine Ferber’s Mes Confitures
makes about six 1/2 pints

2 1/2 lbs Granny Smith Apples
4 2/3 c. sugar, plus 1 c.
About 3 lbs oranges, or 2 c. 1 oz juice and pulp
3 c. 2 oz water, plus 7 oz
2 attractive medium sized oranges
Juice of 1 small lemon
3/4 t. Chinese five-spice powder (a mixtures of cloves, cinnamon, anise, ginger, star anise, and ginger)
2 or 3 three inch pieces of cinnamon stick (optional)

Special Equipment:
6 half pint canning jars with two piece lids.

Rinse the apples in cold water.  Remove the stems and cut them in quarters without  peeling.  Put them in a preserving pan and cover with about 3 1/2 c. water.  Bring to a boil and let the mixture simmer for 30 minutes on low heat.

Collect the juice of the apples by pouring the apple mixture into a fine sieve, pressing lightly on the fruit to extract the juices.  Filter a second time through a clean handkerchief or cheesecloth that has been previously wet and wrung out.  Refrigerate the juice overnight.

The next day, measure 2 c. 1 oz of the juice, leaving in the bowl any sediment that formed during the night.

Sterilize the jars and lids by 1) boiling the lids and rings in a medium saucepan for about 5 minutes; leave the lids in the water until ready to use, and 2) place the empty jars on a baking sheet and place in a 225 degree oven for 10 minutes.  Turn off the heat and leave jars in the oven until ready to use.

Squeeze the 3 lbs of oranges.  Measure 2 c. 1 oz juice and put the seeds into a cheesecloth bag.

Wash and brush the 2 oranges under cold water and cut them into very thin round (1/8 – 1/16 inch or so).  In a preserving pan, poach them with 1 c. sugar and 7 oz water.  Cook at a boil until the slices are translucent, about 15-20 minutes  Add the apple juice, orange juice, lemon juice, five spice powder, cinnamon sticks, 4 2/3 c. sugar, and the seeds in the cheesecloth bag.  Bring to a boil, stirring gently.  Skim.  Continue cooking on high heat for about 10 -15 minutes, stirring constantly.  Remove the cheesecloth bag of seeds.  Check the set*.  Put the jam into jars, close with two piece lids (lid + ring), and process in a boiling water bath for about 8 minutes.  Allow to cool, and enjoy!

*To check the set, I typically place a small plate in the freezer when I start boiling the preserves.  When the preserves are nearly set, I do the ‘wrinkle test’.  Spoon about 1/2 t. of the preserves onto the cold plate, place in the freezer for about 2-3 minutes, remove, then press the preserves with your finger.  If it wrinkles, it is ready; if it looks more like honey, keep cooking it.  For a more exact approach, use a candy thermometer — the preserves should be set around 220 degrees F.

Here it is, the end of Dungeness crab season and I am *finally* getting around to posting this delicious roasted crab recipe…  don’t walk… RUN to get the last of the dungeness before it is gone!  Tender, sweet, and oh so sustainable, dungeness crab is one of my favorite wintertime treats.

Typically when preparing crab, I opt for a very simple preparation — I warm the crab in a steamer then make a lemon butter sauce for dipping — simple and delicious.  But, sometimes it’s fun to be adventurous and try an unexpected combination.  Enter Ms. Shafia’s Roasted Crab with Fennel and Orange.

I first came across Louisa Shafia’s new cookbook Lucid Food while perusing the latest 10 Speed Press offerings.  With regards to cookbooks, they are tops.  A large percentage of my favorite cookbooks are published by 10 Speed Press (Super Natural Cooking, Asian Dumplings, Fat: A Misunderstood Ingredient, The River Cottage Meat Book, and the whole Moosewood series, to name a few…).  So, I guess it is no surprise that I am really enjoying this latest publication that has recipes ranging from down home american to out there asian interpretations (ginko nut dumplings with foraged ginkos!) to persian delicacies.

Anyhow, this cookbook is really lovely.  In its layout, it reminds me a bit of Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Cooking (read: beautiful pictures, nice typography, overall beautiful layout), though the recipes have a focus on omnivorous eco-concious cooking instead of vegetarian cuisine.  It is divided by season, and stresses the use of locally available seasonal ingredients.

Some of the other recipes on my to-cook list are (mostly from the Fall and Winter sections… Summer seems too far away to read the chapter yet!):

- Buckwheat Crepes with Mashed Potatoes and Jack Cheese
- Amaranth Porridge with Fruit and Nuts
- Kale Salad with Avocado, Almonds, and Toasted Nori
- Pan-Roasted Portobello Mushrooms with Mashed Parsnips
- Red Cabbage, Apple, and Dulse Salad
- Fesenjan (Chicken in Pomegranate Walnut Sauce)
- Fava Beans and Seared Zucchini with Garlicky Croutons
- Rhubarb and Pistachios over Thick Yogurt

Speaking of those foraged ginkos, I’ve noticed quite a few elderberry trees coming into bloom near my office.  Anyone have plans to make any elderflower creations?

Oven-Roasted Dungeness Crab with Fennel and Orange
Adapted from Lucid Food by Louisa Shafia
Serves 2

2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 c. olive oil
2 T. dijon mustard
1/2 an orange, zested, then cut into supremes
10 sprigs fresh thyme
1 dungeness crab, cooked, cleaned, cracked, and split into halves or pieces
1 small shallot
1 small fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced
3/4 c. dry white wine
1/4 c. orange juice
salt and pepper
1/2 lemon, quartered

Whisk together the garlic, 3 T. of the olive oil, the mustard, and orange zest.  Toss in 6 of the thyme sprigs.  Place crabs in a shallow baking dish and smear the garlic mixture all over them, working it into the cracks in the shell.  Set aside in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 425 F.

Heat a large ovenproof saute pan over medium-high heat and add the remaining 1 T. olive oil.  Add the shallot and saute for 1 minute.  Add the fennel and the rest of the thyme and saute for 1 minute.  Pour in the wine and orange juice and bring to a boil.  Add salt to taste, decrease the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes.  Uncover and simmer for about 5 more minutes.

Add the crab and all of the marinade to the pan and bring to a boil.  Taste the sauce and season as needed.  Cover the pan and put it in the oven for 5 minutes.  Baste the crab with the sauce and roast for 5 minutes more.  Take the pan out of the oven and carefully pour the sauce through a large strainer into a bowl.  Cover the crab to keep it warm.

Pour the sauce into a small saucepan and bring it to a boil.  Reduce the sauce, stirring often, for 4 minutes.  Turn off the heat and whisk in the butter.  To serve, divide the crab among the plates.  Pour the sauce over the crab and season with pepper.  Garnish with orange slices and a lemon quarter.  Serve with crusty bread and a tender green salad.  Enjoy!

Yesterday I inaugurated my new canning equipment — a huge 12 quart stockpot, a canning funnel, a magnetic lid lifter, and a bright red rubber coated jar lifter.  Joy!  Granted, I actually received most of this for Christmas last year, but since I didn’t envision myself doing much canning in Germany, I packed everything away in storage and forgot about it for a year.

But, now I am back in San Francisco and getting settled into ‘life as normal’, whatever that means.  One of the things that signifies ‘life as normal’ is being settled enough that I feel like embarking on culinary adventures.  Homemade tofu, jelly, pickles, sauerkraut, tempeh, and sausage are the sorts of things I am talking about here — things you can easily buy at the grocery store, but sometimes are just fun to make from scratch because 1) seeing the process is interesting, and 2) the results are often more unique and flavorful than their store bought counterparts.  When things are up in the air or unsettled, the farthest thing from my mind is making something like tofu from scratch, but I can tell when I have finally settled in somewhere because I typically develop the urge to make sausage, pickle something, or cook up some marmalade.

Such is the case now… finally!  sigh of relief that our move is over…

This recipe is adapted from Christine Ferber’s beautiful and imaginative book, Mes Confitures.  Divided by season, this volume focused entirely on unusual preserves and jellies is the jam maker’s dream.  There are SO many things I want to try out of here.  Judging from the fantastic results of my first foray into her book, I expect great things from her other recipes.  A few of the standouts that I plan to make are: Pineapple with Vanilla and Rosemary, Banana with Bittersweet Chocolate, Clementine with Lemon and Cinnamon, Kumquat with Apple and Grapefruit, and Praline Milk Jam to name a very few (and these are just from the ‘Winter’ section!).

This both is and is not a great book for beginners — to me it feels a little like reading through a grandmother’s notes — scant detail, few instructions regarding proper sterilization methods, no tips on how to tell when the jam is set, etc.– but on the other hand it has so many wonderful and imaginative recipes that are sure to inspire the beginning preserver.  Also, there is no packaged pectin to be found in any of her recipes!  For low pectin fruits, Ms. Ferber calls for the addition of green apples or pectin-rich homemade Green Apple Jelly.  I really like this aspect of the book, as I have always felt a little put off by those strange little packages of powdered pectin one buys at the grocery store.  Call me crazy and old-fashioned, but they just don’t feel natural to me.  Her approach is truly ‘from scratch’, and instead of being daunting, I think it actually demystifies the whole process of making preserves (i.e. no magic powders…)

Anyhow, these preserves of orange, pomelo, lemon, and ginger are a wonderful mixture of sweet, bitter, sour, and spicy.  So far my favorite thing to do with it is stir it into plain yogurt.  It’s also tasty on toast or stirred into oatmeal.  Ms. Ferber recommends mixing these preserves into fromage blanc, which I am sure would be delicious as well.  As with so many things, the final result depends heavily on the quality of the ingredients you use.  Citrus is in prime season right now, so try to buy the ingredients at your local farmer’s market.  You will get fruit that is flavorful, perfectly ripe, and truly in season.

Do you make preserves? do you have any favorite recipes?  I’d love to hear them.

Essential ingredients: citrus and sugar

Bring mixture to a boil, then refrigerate several hours

Notice the foamy bubbles — these preserves are not set  yet

See how the bubbles have changed? They are less foamy now.  These preserves are nearly set (set point is ~220 degrees F)

Orange, Pomelo, Lemon and Ginger Preserves
Adapted from Christine Ferber’s Mes Confitures
makes a scant 6 cups

1 3/4 lb oranges (800 g), or 1 lb 2 oz (500g) net (cara-cara oranges are delicious here)
2 lb pomelos, or 1 lb 2 oz (500g) net (or substitute grapefruits to follow Ms. Ferber’s original recipe)
2 lemons
3 3/4 c. (800 g) sugar
11 oz (300g) candied ginger, finely chopped

Peel the oranges and pomelo, removing all the white with the rind.  Slice the fruit into rounds a little less than 1/2 inch thick.  Remove the seeds and cut the slices into quarters.  Rinse and brush the lemons under cold water and cut them in very thin slices, removing the seeds as you go.  In a preserving pan (5 qt is a good size), combine the citrus fruits, sugar, and ginger.  Bring to a simmer, then turn the preparation into a bowl.  Cover with a round of parchment paper and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.

Pour the mixture into a preserving pan and bring to a boil, stirring gently.  Skim and continue cooking on high heat for 5-10 minutes, stirring continuously.  Check the set.  Put the jam into jars immediately and seal.

This post is part of Food Renegade’s Fight Back Fridays!

Homemade Sausage: Greek Orange / Loukanika
Adapted from ‘The Sausage Making Cookbook’ by Jerry Predika
makes 5 lbs

5 lbs boneless pork shoulder, chilled (or 5 lbs finely ground pork butt/shoulder)
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 T. dried thyme
1 T. dried marjoram
1.5 T grated orange zest
1 T. ground allspice
1 T. black pepper
1 T. salt
1 c. dry white wine

Step 1: Make seasoning mixture
Combine garlic, thyme, marjoram, orange zest, allspice, pepper, salt, and white wine in a bowl or measuring cup and allow to stand for an hour to allow the flavors to blend.

Step 2: Grind pork (skip this step if using pre-ground pork)
Cut the chilled pork shoulder into 1 inch chunks, then grind using the fine or medium plate of your meat grinder.  Place ground meat in refrigerator until ready to use.

Step 3: Make sausage
Combine chilled ground pork and seasoning mixture in a large bowl, and blend using your (clean) hands, taking care that the seasoning mixture is evenly distributed.  Form into patties, divide into bulk portions, stuff into casings, or make ’skinless’ links using the stuffing tube of your meat grinder.

Enjoy!

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A while back, I got the idea in my head that I wanted to make my own sausage.  Why?  first and foremost, I love good sausage; secondly, I’m *very* picky about my sausage — it needs to be super high quality and made with fresh, ethically sourced ingredients (which severely limits my choices of where to buy sausage); thirdly, there’s a huge amount of room for culinary creativity; fourthly, did I mention I love good sausage?  So I poked around the internet and found my grinder — the Porkert #10 — a solid cast iron grinder with a double tin coating, straight from the Czech Republic.

Porkert #10 grinder

My birthday was coming up, and so I said to Steven — ‘I found what I’d like for my birthday’, and showed him the grinder.

‘What?!?  I’m not getting you a meat grinder for your birthday!  Do you want some jewelry, something nice, I don’t know… something that’s NOT a meat grinder?’ he replied.

Well, as you can see he finally came around to the idea, mostly through me saying things like, ‘don’t you want to get me something you know that I really want and will use?’ and ‘wouldn’t you rather know that what is going into your sausage is all fresh, high-quality, ethical, etc?’.  And I must say, you know you’ve got a good man if he’ll get you a meat grinder for your birthday… :)

So my birthday came and went — it was a fantastic day — we slept in, had a good breakfast of eggs, biscuits, and padrones peppers, took a long beautiful drive out to the ocean, stopped at a goat farm for super fresh goat cheese, climbed the rocks and listened to the surf at the beach … and of course, I received my wonderful BIRTHDAY MEAT GRINDER from Steven.

I didn’t waste any time getting started on my sausage making endeavor:  I placed an order with my butcher for 5 lbs of pastured pork shoulder (also called boston butt or picnic shoulder), which I would make into homemade sausage treats for my birthday BBQ this past weekend (yeah, I stretch my birthday celebration out for at least 2-3 weeks).

So, you might be thinking — what in the world would one do with 5 LBS of sausage??  well, around here, we actually eat a fair bit of sausage — I typically buy fresh sausages from the butcher or the farmer’s market then remove the casings and use the sausage in pasta dishes, casseroles, with scrambled eggs, on pizza, stuffed into zucchini or eggplants.  A little goes a long way, and I find it’s a good way to eat less meat without sacrificing taste, culinary creativity, etc.

2.5lbs boneless pork shoulder

Slicing pork shoulder into cubes

But here’s what I did with these specific 5 lbs — 2 lbs got cooked into dishes for the BBQ, 2 lbs were frozen (2 x 1lb bags), and 1 lb was made into skinless breakfast links and patties (which I also froze).  This will last us at *least* a month, if not more.  This particular recipe with its herby, peppery, and orange undertones works well either at breakfast time, or cooked into a savory lunch or dinner dish.

starting to cook sausage

sausage is almost done!

Anyhow, I have many sausage making plans on the horizon:
- spicy creole
- Pennsylvania Dutch breakfast sausage
- Cantonese style sausage (with honey, orange juice, soy sauce, and vinegar)
- German caraway (Schwabischewurst)
- Bologna

… to name a few.  I’ve been browsing ‘The Sausage Making Cookbook’, which has no fewer than 230 sausages recipes from all over the world — delicious!

Quick Citrus Pickled Red Onions
from Chow.com
Makes 3-4 cups

2 medium red onions, cored, sliced into very thin (1/16 inch) rounds
1/2 c. lime juice (fresh squeezed is preferable – about 4-5 limes)
1 c. orange juice (fresh squeezed is preferable – about 5 oranges)
1 t. sugar
1 T. pickling salt (any non iodized salt will do, such as sea salt)
1 jalapeño or serrano pepper, halved lengthwise, seeds removed, very thinly sliced

Bring a medium sized pot of water to a rolling boil. Drop in onions and blanch for 15 seconds. Drain onions in a colander.

Mix the lime juice, orange juice, sugar, and salt in a non-reactive bowl until sugar is dissolved. Add onion slices and slivered jalapeño and stir to coat. Refrigerate onions for at least 3 hours before serving. Store extra pickled onions in an airtight glass or tupperware container for up to two weeks.

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It has been HOT around here lately. The thermometer climbed to well over 90 degrees four of the last five days, and reached over 100 last thursday. It was hard to choose which was worse–being outside under the hot sun, sitting at work with a semi-functional air conditioner and no windows, or sitting in my tiny apartment that acts like a convection oven with its southern facing windows… as a Seattle native, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able adjust to any temperature above about 78 degrees…

But the saturday farmer’s market went on, heat and all, and I made my weekly visit. With the hot weather, my mind turned to cool, raw, refreshing foods while I wandered through the market, and I found myself picking up what normally are my mid-summer go-to’s: cucumbers, whitefish, peaches, spicy peppers, cherries, basil, and cilantro to name a few. Once home, I wanted to make foods that required as little cooking as possible, things with a crunch or a refreshing chill, things that required very little active time, since standing in a hot kitchen was the opposite of what I wanted to be doing that hot afternoon. One of the things I settled on was citrus pickled red onions.

Besides fitting all of the above criteria (very little cooking, refreshing, extremely simple), these onions taste great! They’re pungent, a little sour, a little sweet, a little salty, and a little spicy — basically heaven in a jar. They’re also quite versatile. Since I made these on saturday, I’ve used them with nearly every meal I’ve eaten besides breakfast. Some things I’ve done so far are:

- topping for Hawaiian-Style Braised Pork (I shredded the pork instead of leaving it in cubes)
- mixed into brown rice with cilantro, as a side dish for a white fish stir fry (a.k.a. was- supposed- to- be- ceviche- but- I- couldn’t- handle- raw- fish- after- Bay- to- Breakers)
- sauteed with sliced pasilla/padron peppers

Some things I intend to do:

- mixed into white fish and jalepeño ceviche
- minced with cilantro and a little sour cream as a dip for tortilla chips
- added as a garnish to a gin gimlet

One thing you’ll notice is the spectacular hot pink color of these pickled onions. At first I was a bit put off by the shocking color since it makes them look a little artificial, but I soon got over it by picturing some of nature’s other brightly colored vegetables, namely… BEETS! Sometimes things in nature just have spectacular colors and we might as well embrace it as one of the myriad spices of life.

Anyhow, if this past week is any indication, chances are we’re in for a long hot summer… what are your favorite summer dishes? most of mine are variations on cucumber salad…

Beet Towers with Farmers Cheese and Oranges

2 medium beets, washed, greens removed
1 small orange (Cara-cara are my favorites)
~ 2-4 T. farmers cheese or good quality ricotta
Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Wrap beets in a foil packet and roast for about 1 hour, or until beets are tender and can be easily pierced with a knife. Carefully open foil packets and allow to cool (this can be done up to a day in advance).

When beets are cool enough to handle, slip off skins and trim top of beet so that it is a flat surface. Place the beets on their sides and slice into 1/3 inch or so slices, keeping the slices in order.

Cut the bottom and top off the orange, then peel using a serrated knife to cut away the peel and all of the white pith. Cut the orange into thin slices — count the number of beet slices that you have, then cut that many orange slices, minus two.

Place the bottom slice of one beet on a plate or small cutting board. Take about 1-1.5 t. farmers cheese and spread it evenly over beet slice. Top with orange slice. Sprinkle the layer with a small amount of pepper. Place the next beet slice on top of the orange, and repeat layering process — beet, cheese. orange, pepper — until you’ve used the whole beet. Repeat to assemble second tower.

Makes 2 towers

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Ah, beets. My trusty standby — ready to be prepared and enjoyed in the same old ordinary way (roasted, plain), yet always willing to be a player in my latest experimental recipe. It’s hard not to appreciate a vegetable that is so bold, yet so flexible.

This latest beet creation, oddly enough, came out of the fact that I both 1) love ricotta cheese and 2) am extremely picky about it. I was at the Milk Pail Market the other day, a european style open-air grocery in Mountain View, CA that has a fantastic and diverse cheese selection, and I, as always, checked the cheeses to see if they had started carrying any other ricotta than the factory produced kind. Every time I go there, I check for good ricotta, and alas, every time I check, I am disappointed (though I regularly put in written and verbal requests for Bellwether Farmers ricotta). Anyhow, this check/disappointment cycle has been going on for nearly a year now (since I started shopping there), so I decided that instead of just sulking, I would see if there were any other options, namely a good farmers cheese or quark. Much to my delight, the Milk Pail does carry a hand-packed artisan farmers cheese, which is very similar to ricotta, except slightly drier.

Farmer’s cheese is very mild, with a slightly grainy texture. It’s great for spreading on breads, using in pastas, mixing with herbs — basically anywhere you would use ricotta, you can substitute farmer’s cheese. Both texturally and taste-wise, it goes extremely well with beets and other roasted vegetables. It is mild enough to allow the vegetable flavor to shine through, and at the same time, the contrast of soft roasted vegetable and textured grainy cheese is wonderful.

But back to the recipe — the most time consuming part of this recipe is actually roasting the beets; once that is done, the towers come together in a few short minutes. I served mine at room temperature, though they would also be delicious if you popped them in a medium oven for a few minutes (10 minutes at 325 or so) to warm everything. Also, roasting the beets can been done up to 2 days in advance, but do not assemble the towers until close to the time you are ready to served them, as the crimson beets will stain the cheese and oranges a fiery pink.

Anyhow, as you might have guessed from the blog title, beets are my favorite vegetable, and I’m always looking for new ways to prepare them. Do you have any ideas? Also, what’s your favorite vegetable, and how do you like to prepare it?

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