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!

Still Hungry?  Try one of these:

- Three Infused Vodkas: Persimmon, Lemon, and Pear/Ginger

- Wild Elderberry Preserves with Honey and Almond

- Lacinto Kale with Lemon and Candied Ginger

I am back!  Back to cooking, back to blogging, back to the USA, back to San Francisco!

Steven and I returned from our 10 month German adventure at the beginning of November, and have been doing all the things people do when they return to a place they have missed dearly.  I’ve been visiting with family and friends, eating at my favorite restaurants, shopping at my favorite grocery store, jogging along the waterfront, and of course visiting the farmer’s market.

The first saturday we were back I convinced Steven to go to the Palo Alto farmer’s market with me by offering to stop along the way for oh-so-tasty and impossible-to-find-in-Germany breakfast sandwiches.  Eggs.  Bacon.  Cheese.  Bagel.  One would think this delicious combination would be America’s #1 export!

At the market, colorful, plump winter squash were stacked high on vendors’ tables along with whole stalks of brussels sprouts, baseball-sized pomegranates, and all sorts of pears and apples.  What a bounty!  Always a squash lover, I decided to pick up a sugar pie pumpkin.  It’s one of my favorites since it has a wonderful flavor that’s not too sweet, has a good texture, and is fairly easy to peel and carve.  I also picked up some fresh hot red chiles, cilantro, and torpedo onions since I had this curry in mind.  I love coconut milk based curries, and this somewhat unusual one with pumpkin is no exception.  It’s rich and flavorful, a little sweet, a little spicy, but not too heavy since it is brimming with vegetables.  Served atop brown rice, it’s substantial enough for a meal in itself, though it would also be lovely in a spread with other curries, raitas, noodles, etc.  Squash is in peak season right now too, so it’s a great time to try this.

On a totally different note, thanks for sticking with me while I dropped off the face of the planet during our move! :)  and Happy Thanksgiving!

Spicy Pumpkin and Peanut Curry

1 c. water
1/3 c. chunky peanut butter
zest and juice from 1 lime
1 T. soy sauce
1 T. tomato paste

Olive oil
4 medium red torpedo onions, cut into 1-2 inch chunks (or substitute 2 medium red onions)
1 medium sugar pie pumpkin, peeled, deseeded, and cut into 2-3 inch chunks

2 large handfuls cilantro, chopped, divided
2 fresh red chiles, finely diced
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1 400ml can coconut milk
1/4 cup roasted peanuts, chopped, for garnish (optional)

Mix together the water, peanut butter, lime zest and juice, soy sauce, and tomato paste in a bowl and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet (14 inch) or a chef’s pan over medium high heat, then add the onions and saute until softened and the edges are beginning to brown, 4-5 minutes.  Add the pumpkin and stir fry for about 4-5 minutes.  Add half the cilantro, chiles, garlic, and garlic, and stir fry for about 2 minutes.  Add the coconut milk and peanut mixture and stir until well mixed.  Loosely cover with tinfoil, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer until the pumpkin is tender and the sauce has thickened, about 15-20 minutes.  Add more water if the sauce becomes too thick, or boil vigorously if the sauce is too thin towards the end.

Serve with rice and garnish with the other half of the cilantro and the chopped peanuts.  Enjoy!
(Note:  This curry goes particularly well with Half Moon Bay Brewing Company’s Pumpkin Harvest Ale!)

Still Hungry?  Try one of these:

- Spicy Split Pea Soup, and Thoughts on Comfort Food

- Spicy Slivered Green Beans with Lime and Cilantro

- Sweet and Spicy Baked Beans

Pickles, pickles, pickles of every kind… that’s how the last few months have been going — pickled kohlrabi, pickled lemons, pickled cabbage, pickled onions, and now pickled eggs! Pickled peppers, pickled cucumber, and pickled okra are yet to come, and you can expect recipes for these once summer is in full swing.

Pickled eggs in particular hold a special place in my heart. One of my old hang-outs in Cambridge/Boston was a lounge called The B-Side; whereas most bars serve some array of nuts, chips, and pretzels as bar snacks, The B-Side served — you guessed it — pickled eggs. I have very fond memories of sitting with my good friend Jordan, talking music, sipping cocktails, and eating pickled eggs…

When I started perusing Linda Zeidrich’s, The Joy of Pickling (one of my favorite cookbooks), I was immediately attracted to the recipes for pickled eggs. I knew it would be one of the first things that I tried. Whereas The B-Side served classic pickled eggs, I decided to take a little more adventurous route and make these Indian-style hot and spicy pickled eggs. These pickles are relatively quick too — they’re ready in a week rather than a month or even… a thousand years.

Anyhow, the pickles turned out great — a little spicy, vinegary, a bit salty — and with a wonderful texture! Some ideas to serve these are:

- plain, as an appetizer with cocktails
- sliced into rounds, served on crackers/toasts
- crumbled over rice with cilantro or parsley
- crumbled and mixed with cottage cheese as a dip

Do you pickle? If so, do you have it posted on your blog? Leave a comment with a link, and I’ll collect everything I receive for a future post in the next few weeks and post a digest — I’m so curious as to what everyone else is doing!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Hot and Spicy Pickled Eggs
Adapted from The Joy of Pickling

4 hard cooked eggs, peeled (pour boiling water over raw eggs and allow to sit, covered, for 14 minutes, then peel)
2/3 T. pickling salt (any non-iodized salt will do, i.e. sea salt)
2 fresh green chile peppers (serrano, jalepeno)
1/2 c. cider vinegar
3 T. water
1 t. minced fresh ginger
1 t. black mustard seeds
1 t. crushed black pepper
1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped

Special Equipment: 1 pint jar with lid

With a fork, pierce each egg through the white to the yolk about 6 times. Put the eggs into a 1 pint jar. In a nonreactive saucepan, combine the remaining ingredients. Bring them to a boil, reduce heat, and cover. Simmer 15 minutes.

Let the liquid cool a bit, then pour over the eggs. Cap the jar, and refrigerate for at least 1 week to allow the eggs to absorb the flavor. Refrigerated, the eggs will keep for several weeks.

Still Hungry?  Try one of these:

- Quick Citrus Pickled Red Onions

- Quick Purple Kohlrabi Pickles

- Spicy Slivered Green Beans with Lime and Cilantro

Three Infusions: Persimmon Vodka, Lemon Vodka, and Pear and Ginger Vodka

Note: The amounts given are just approximations. The amount of fruit and vodka you will need will depend entirely on the size of the jars you use. You don’t need any special bottles, jars, or containers either–I used an old juice bottle (persimmon), an applesauce jar (pear/ginger), and a honey jar (lemon). Also, a mid range vodka will work just fine for this (i.e. Smirnoff). Save the Grey Goose for the dirty martini.

Persimmon Infused Vodka:
-5 Fuyu persimmons, tops with stems cut off, cut into 1/2 inch slices, and then cut in half again
- approx 1/2 liter vodka

Lemon Infused Vodka:
- 2 lemons, sliced lengthwise into eighths
- approx 1/4 liter vodka

Pear and Ginger Infused Vodka:
-2 Bartlett pears
-2 inch knob of fresh ginger, peeled, thinly sliced
-approx 1/4 liter vodka

Tightly pack infusion ingredients into a clean glass jar. Pour enough vodka over the top to cover. Seal with lid. Place in a cool dark spot and allow to infuse for about 2-3 weeks. At this point, you might want to strain the vodka, and add simple syrup (sugar and water heated until sugar dissolves) if you’d like the vodka to be more like a liquer or after-dinner drink (optional). Enjoy!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Lazy Sundays can’t be beat. There have been times in my life when the day of the week didn’t matter too much and time was a very fluid thing–for good or bad though, now is not one of those times, and I savor my lazy Sundays.

This past Sunday I awoke on the early side, 8:30 or so (we’re talking weekend time here), made myself a cup of coffee, sat on my couch, and just looked out the window for a little while. How often does one do that? Or a better question, when does one possibly have the time to do that? only on a lazy Sunday, I suppose.

Staring out the window my mind wandered to a culinary adventure I’d seen in a blog post I’d read the previous day by ‘The Baklava Queen‘, a regular contributor to Ethicurean.com, about non-traditional, non-consumerist, home-made food-related gifts (that sure is a lot of hyphens!). Even before reading the entry, I had decided that this year for the holidays I was going to give edible gifts. I’ve been feeling the proliferation of ‘stuff’ this year (this short video also made me want to avoid more ‘stuff’), and instead of filling my favorite people’s lives with more ‘stuff’, they will instead eat home-made, delicious treats.

One of the holiday tasties I decided to make is an array of fruit-infused vodkas. So, Sunday morning I jumped in my french fry-mobile and headed to the farmer’s market to pick out some infusing fruits. Persimmons are practically falling off the trees right now here in the Bay Area, including my favorite–the crunchy and firm Fuyu persimmon. Lemons too are starting to come into season, as are mandarins and other winter citrus. Apples and pears have been making appearances during the last month or two, and will continue into the winter and early spring. Due to their abundance (and the fact that all were less than $1/lb), I settled on persimmons, lemons, and pears (to be combined with ginger).

Infused vodkas are sooooooo easy to make. The steps are:

1. cut fruit
2. put fruit in jar
3. pour enough vodka over fruit to cover
4. put a lid on the jar
5. wait

seriously, that’s it.

The waiting part is a little bit gray. I found a source saying that three days is enough infusion time, but I found another that said wait at least a year! I think that 2-3 weeks is probably a good amount of time to infuse.

Instead of giving these as gifts, I’ll probably just take them home to Seattle and make holiday cocktails for my family. I’m thinking a simple combination of fruit-infused vodka, seltzer, and one accent ingredient to compliment the flavor of the vodka is the way to go, for example:

- Persimmon vodka, seltzer, and a tiny dab of home-made cranberry sauce
- Pear/Ginger vodka, seltzer, and 1T. of pear nectar
- fresh mint leaves muddled with sugar, Lemon Vodka, and seltzer

… but really, let your imagination guide you.

Still Hungry?  Try one of these:

- Lacinto Kale with Lemon and Candied Ginger