Obligatory: of course. Fun to tinker: more fun than a barrel of..... What? Plastic blister wrapping? You get the same effect when cooking cranberry sauce. At a slow boil you hear the pop-pop-pop until there are no more.
A bag of 12 ounces makes a little more than 1/2 a quart of finished. This year I dispensed with white or brown sugar and went with miel corse (a Corsican honey) and some local honey to dilute the Corsican; lime zest, lime juice, orange juice and white wine instead of other liquids; a dash of salt; allspice, ground black pepper, and cinnamon sticks; and some dried cherries (at least 2 or 3 ounces). The cranberry seems to exude pectin so gelling is easy. I would have added maybe a full cup of liquid instead of 3/4 and 2-shot glasses.
It's very intense. It would surely be perfect in a turkey sandwich on Saturday. I'm curious to hear what the eaters say tomorrow.
25 November 2009
21 November 2009
Onions
I really have to post a photo of Karen's onion crop. I have below, part of the crop. They are so beautiful and plentiful. They are actually a very sweet red onion. I have noticed in my travels that American commercial produce tends to be BIG. Apparently we like our green peppers big. Big, better, more; that's some mantra here. Sometimes it works, but I know the economy is suffering. Clearly the smaller green peppers from non-commercial sources are available, possibly from farmers markets, and surely from our garden. Their flavor is more intense and concentrated. There is more thickness to the flesh of the commercial green pepper but it doesn't result in a satisfactory flavor.
When living in Pennsylvania in the 70's I had a friend named Richard who loved to hike and one of his favorite foods was green peppers. He might have other foods, but the fact that it was a water food and fresh was enough incentive for Richard. He'd eat them whole. I think that's where I got my habit.
The onions. I carmelized a whole onion this week. Thinly sliced on my Benriner and slowly cooked to golden transformed and concentrated the sweetness. Not a dot of added sugar was necessary. I made it as a side for some chicken livers bought for dinner from the local chain market. Don't ever read the label of chicken livers. Rarely do you see any ingredient providing more than 100% of anything; if I recall they had 136% of my daily required minimum intake of cholesterol. Yikes. Undaunted I made some and had a richly rewarding dinner.
I don't know how long our onions will last but they will surely accompany many dishes this winter.
When living in Pennsylvania in the 70's I had a friend named Richard who loved to hike and one of his favorite foods was green peppers. He might have other foods, but the fact that it was a water food and fresh was enough incentive for Richard. He'd eat them whole. I think that's where I got my habit.
The onions. I carmelized a whole onion this week. Thinly sliced on my Benriner and slowly cooked to golden transformed and concentrated the sweetness. Not a dot of added sugar was necessary. I made it as a side for some chicken livers bought for dinner from the local chain market. Don't ever read the label of chicken livers. Rarely do you see any ingredient providing more than 100% of anything; if I recall they had 136% of my daily required minimum intake of cholesterol. Yikes. Undaunted I made some and had a richly rewarding dinner.
I don't know how long our onions will last but they will surely accompany many dishes this winter.
14 November 2009
Kale
I don't know why I wrote about kale in the chard post.
Cooked it again tonight. It was a curly kale but softer than what Karen grew in the garden. Since I actually bought it at the chain-store it may have been in the pipeline a while. It was unlabeled as to origin (I really, really hate that and hope soon that all veggies will be tagged as to origin).
The stem/stalk was as thick as a chair leg but the leaves were dense and tight but soft. It appeared to be younger rather than older. The taste, as reported from around the table, was to the eaters' liking.
I think, if one only cuts, cleans, dries, and sautees the kale that it will not be cooked. It seems so important to blanch it in water first, even to return to a boil after putting it in the water. Hard to kill this stuff I think.
Onions and oil finished the cooking. Salt and pepper and white balsamic finished it off before serving.
Cooked it again tonight. It was a curly kale but softer than what Karen grew in the garden. Since I actually bought it at the chain-store it may have been in the pipeline a while. It was unlabeled as to origin (I really, really hate that and hope soon that all veggies will be tagged as to origin).
The stem/stalk was as thick as a chair leg but the leaves were dense and tight but soft. It appeared to be younger rather than older. The taste, as reported from around the table, was to the eaters' liking.
I think, if one only cuts, cleans, dries, and sautees the kale that it will not be cooked. It seems so important to blanch it in water first, even to return to a boil after putting it in the water. Hard to kill this stuff I think.
Onions and oil finished the cooking. Salt and pepper and white balsamic finished it off before serving.
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