Easter Treats

In the few days leading up to today, I was busy with work but also with baking. First, as a lunch box treat, I made Easter-themed Linzer cookies. In order to do this, I needed to get tiny little cookie cutters. Even with them being so small, the cookies needed to be a fairly large size to accommodate the challenges of asymmetric cut outs. Many of the rabbits broke, but here are some of the ones that made it:

The fillings were blueberry jam and strawberry lavender jam.

Today, in between Easter baskets, video games, an egg hunt and a walk to the grocery store, I made Puits D'amour (wells of love) out of quick puff pastry (butter, flour, salt and water, folded and rolled many times), lemon curd and meringue. Since they ended up being more oval than round, I took that as serendipity. They are egg shaped, after all.

Happy Easter!

Meyer Lemon Ideas

Happy New Year!

There's lot to write about, particularly the adventure of co-roasting a goose for dinner the other night, but I'll get to that when I make goose stock, hopefully soon. Today's slow-payoff project was to brine Meyer lemons.

A few weeks ago I'd purchased Meyer lemons to make curd but never got around to it. As it's the beginning of the season around here, I figured I will have a chance in a few weeks to do that but these lemons really shouldn't wait that long. My sister tipped me off to a blog called Punk Domestics (although, I think I made the slow cooker pulled pork using a recipe from there a long time ago) and I saw that someone had brined lemons for a year, dehydrated them and then ground them into a powder which was used as a spice. That sounds awesome. I want to do that.

Getting the lemons brined is a very quick process. I followed these instructions and incompletely quartered them and salted them, but when it was time to get them into the jar I added bay leaves and some water which had been boiled and then cooled, so I knew it was sterile. I'll leave it on the counter a few days until the salt has been dissolved and then they'll go into the fridge for 6-12 months.

That gives me that much time to figure out if I want to purchase a dehydrator or maybe by then I'll have an oven with a dehydrator feature. We'll see!

Day 24: Petits Fours Frais

Yesterday's class involved making something we've made before, pâte à choux. However, we were making it in the context of petits fours frais, or fresh. Some of us had already done this when we volunteered to do the prep for that party back in the beginning of March. So when it came time to make the little tartlets, we were familiar with the process. Pate sucrée, almond cream, fresh fruits with apricot glaze and lemon curd with Italian meringue. I got to work the torch again, which always makes me happy.

The best part of yesterday was getting a sense of how far we'd come. We made pâte à choux in week 3. It's now week 12 and it was a whole lot easier. Not perfect, mind you, but easier.

Today I made a batch of lemon sablée cookies, which are being set aside to be sent to Vancouver. My great aunt, a woman very special to me, passed away a few weeks ago and, while I can't go to the memorial service, I can be there in spirit in the form of cookies. After all, food is love. I have one more batch of cookies to make (tomorrow) and then I'll send them up to my cousin.

Also, I finally got to that bag of Meyer lemons in the fridge, and currently have 5.5 cups of lemon curd in the canner.

Meyer Lemons in Season

Actually, I bought the lemons over a week ago but I haven't had time to make curd until today. (Wonder why. Hah.)

The lemons were particularly juicy so eight lemons yielded 1.25 cups of juice. I scaled the recipe accordingly [10 oz. butter, 5 eggs, 1.85 cups sugar] and made almost five cups of curd. This time, I used a large metal bowl set in a pot of water which fit perfectly rather than struggle with two saucepans that don't stack at all. Four jars were canned and the incomplete jar is in the fridge. Even though I plan to store the jars in the fridge, I usually process them for 15 minutes first.

Wee Little Lemons

Tablespoon for scale

The other day I brought a holiday gift to our mason and his family. It was nice to see him, as always! He took me out to the greenhouse and picked 4 tiny Meyer lemons off one of his trees and handed them to me. It was just enough for a half-batch of curd.

This morning I zested the lemons and squeezed them, getting 1/4 cup of juice. To this I added 3/8 cup sugar and 1 egg and whisked over a double boiler. Once that was properly mixed, I added 4 T. of unsalted butter and continued whisking and cooking until it was thickened. I now have two tiny jars of curd, about 4 ounces each. I won't be canning them; they can stay in the fridge and I expect they'll be eaten in a few days.

Straight and Narrow

Last week I found Meyer lemons in the store again.  It's that time of year!  I was down to one last jar of lemon curd so bought 8 lemons and planned to make a new batch.  Unfortunately, between work and getting sick, I'm only getting to this today.

In the past I have experimented with other flavors:  key lime, regular lime, grapefruit.  None of them were ever as good as the lemon.  In fact, I just tossed 2 jars of grapefruit curd because I came to the realization that no one was ever going to eat them and they were just getting older in the back of the fridge.  I guess grapefruit doesn't cook as well as lemon does.  So.  No more experimenting!  (At least, not with curd.)

This was also an opportunity to try out my new juicer attachment for the KitchenAid mixer, which was a Christmas present.  What an improvement!  It is so easy to use and to clean.  Thanks, Stephanie!

Here's the link back to the recipe.  A double batch makes just over 4 cups, I got 3 half-pint jars and 3 half-cup jars.  We should be set for a while.

Whey Good!

This morning my parents were coming to visit and I wanted to make something special for them with that ricotta I made yesterday.  I had 12 ounces of ricotta and found a recipe for a ricotta cake in The North End Italian Cookbook.  12 ounces is 1/4 of the ricotta the recipe calls for so I scaled the recipe down and made 3 tiny heart shaped cheesecakes.  It's ricotta, sugar, eggs, flour (just a little), lemon, vanilla and a tiny bit of cream.  The recommended crust is graham cracker crumbs but my box of those was really old and smelled funny, and I didn't have any other graham crackers, so I used some shortbread type cookies I had instead.  They are baked at 425 for 10 minutes and then 350 for another 40, then I turned the oven off and let them cool in the oven.  They are supposed to be served chilled but I didn't have time so they were a little warm.  Not a problem.

We ate the cheesecakes topped with canned peaches, lemon curd, or candied kumquats.  They were terrific!

All or Nothing

Winter is always a slow time for canning but this year has been exceptionally slow.  Between work and everything else, my cooking time hasn't been what I wish it could be.  This afternoon I seem to be making up for it!

I wanted to make an Irish Soda Bread today for St. Patrick's day and I tried this recipe a week or so ago and we all really liked it.  Well, the 7 year old would have preferred it without raisins.  So I went to Whole Foods to get buttermilk and clotted cream and saw... Meyer lemons.  (Danger! Danger!) Anyhow, I figured I had some time and bought a bunch.  Enough to make three batches (6 half-pint jars) of Meyer lemon curd.  Yum.

Then I made a double batch of beef stroganoff for dinner (I know, not very Irish, right?) and am currently putting up 2 quarts of stroganoff for later dinners.  These are in the pressure canner at 10 pounds of pressure for 90 minutes while the rest of the stroganoff simmers and waits for dinnertime.  This time I used just shy of 4 pounds of stew beef, regular button mushrooms and a small package of baby bellas, shitake and oyster mushrooms, a couple of onions, some red wine, and 2 jars of Heinz mushroom gravy.  I usually use Dawn Fresh gravy, but the grocery store I have to use now (the one I liked closed, boo...) doesn't carry it.  Don't get me started on the grocery store thing...not only is my favorite store turning into a Whole Foods, which puts one within a mile of my house (remember? Danger!), but the more standard grocery is just a nightmare.  I avoid it whenever possible.

Lastly I made 2 loaves of the Irish Soda Bread - one with raisins and one without.  That ought to please everybody.

Another Round

This morning I had enough time to whip up another batch of the Meyer Lemon Curd.  It's so wonderful and easy, if you don't mind whisking for 10 minutes straight... but now all that is left of my citrus spree are two grapefruits and no plan.

Do you have black squirrels where you live?  We have one; I think he lives nearby.  They are still a little rare in eastern Massachusetts, but very common in parts of Canada and in an ever-growing circle around Kent State University in Ohio.  They seem to be more aggressive than their grey counterparts, and the one in our yard is dominating the bird feeder.  All the other squirrels have to wait until he's done!  He's also larger - once I caught a quick glimpse of him and thought he was a cat!

In terms of recent cooking, last night we had salmon with a mango-blood orange salsa.  I took some of the blood orange jelly, which is still pretty runny, and mixed it with diced mango, minced fresh ginger, and some of the pickled jalapeno peppers, chopped finely.  The salmon (caught by Lisa in BC, thanks again!) was grilled and the salsa spooned on top at the last minute.  It was very good!  This morning we had blueberry pancakes, using the frozen wild blueberries we picked last summer (7 one-cup bags left) and the last jar of raspberry syrup.  We are certainly eating well!

Again With the Citrus

Not to overdo it or anything but, did I mention I like citrus?

Ha.  Today, in the hour and a half after the kids left for school, I made 2 citrus curds.  I started with grapefruit and made a double batch of curd.  One big ruby red grapefruit yields 1 cup of juice which is perfect since that is what a double batch requires.  How convenient!  Using the same recipe as the Meyer lemon curd but without the zest (it seemed like grapefruit zest might not give the desired effect) I ended up with 3 half-pint jars and one half-cup jar of curd.  I tinted it a little pink with 4 drops of red food coloring, just for the grapefruitiness of it.

Then I set to work on the Meyer lemons.  4 lemons makes 1 cup of juice and, since I didn't have any more half-cup jars, I made 3 half-pint jars and topped off an open jar in the fridge.

I generally store these in the fridge, even though they are sealed.  I didn't before, but then I decided that if it's going to take a while to get to them, it might be better if I did.

There are enough lemons left for another batch, but I need to get more unsalted butter and that won't be happening today.  I have other errands to do!

Citrus and Cheese

Most of my family knows I have a weird thing with citrus.  I love citrus flavors - all of them.  Oranges, blood oranges, limes, even grapefruits (especially the grapefruit jelly fruit slices), really, anything citrus.  I even ate a Bergamot orange last night.  It was amazingly fragrant and tart!  But, as much as I love citrus, they have to be in the correct form.  Huh?

Let me explain.  I can't stand foods that are citrus flavored when they aren't supposed to be.  Lemon chicken?  Out.  Orange beef?  Nope.  I don't even like lemon juice on fish.  To me it's just wrong.  I'm not sure why I feel this way, why I taste things this way, but there it is.

Today I dared the Whole Foods and came away with blood oranges, Meyer lemons, and some grapefruit.  I have it in my head that I'm going to make a bunch of jellies and curds with them.  Pure citrus.  First I made Blood Orange Jelly.

2 cups blood orange juice

2 cups sugar

1 pouch liquid pectin

This yielded 3 cups and a little bit, and I'm hoping it will gel up soon.  The little bit in the fridge is still runny but it might take weeks to set up.  We shall see.  I plan to make Meyer lemon curd and try to make grapefruit curd over the next few days.

Last night my husband, a friend and I went to a cheese tasting class at a very dangerous store, even more dangerous than the Whole Foods!  Formaggio Kitchen is in Cambridge, MA, and they import some amazing cheeses, charcuterie, and specialty goods (this is where I purchased the Bergamot orange).  We tried 8 different cheeses, paired with wines and beers and honey and fruit and even cacao nibs.  (The cacao nibs go amazingly with blue cheeses!!!)  Anyway, afterward, my husband asked, why doesn't your cheese come out like the fresh goat cheese?

Good question.  It must have to do with using chymosin as opposed to lemon juice or vinegar to separate the curds and whey.  So today I made some goat cheese.  I bought a quart of goat milk from Whole Foods and followed the instructions here.  Obviously since I only had a quart of milk I used only a tablespoon of lemon juice.  The cheese is currently hanging over a bucket, draining the whey.  Hopefully tomorrow I can put it in a container with a little salt and let it sit for a few days.  It's still pretty runny.  What will really test this theory is if I use cow's milk with the lemon juice and see if it comes out more like chevre than queijo fresco.  We'll see.

Meyer Lemons are Back

Ahh, Whole Foods. Just when I think I've quit you, you pull me right back in again. You know my weaknesses. And right now you are stocking both blood oranges and Meyer lemons. Why did I even stop by to visit you? I hate you. I love you.

And now I have 6.5 pints of Meyer lemon curd. It's an addiction.

Lovely Lemon Curd

This is a test. This is a beta-test of the NEW inventory management system, thanks to my wonderful husband.

Now I can:

1. make the item
2. blog about it
3. add it to the inventory app
4. print QR labels
5. affix to the jars
6. manage inventory using the QR reader on my iPhone

Today's demonstration batch is 5 jars of Meyer Lemon Curd. A double batch (2 jars are 4 ounces each, the other 3 are 8 ounces each), made in the largest pot (thanks, note-to-self!).

Divine Figgy Goodness

Once again, I find that Whole Foods is my enabler. Yesterday I discovered Black Mission Figs, on sale(!), and bought 3 8-ounce packages. I still have a little fig jam left but I was thinking about preserves. After my overnight shift, a nap, and some dinner, I found this recipe for preserves, which seemed easiest. It is very easy. I halved the recipe, and I hope I didn't cook them too long, because the preserves are really thick. I did use the kitchen shears at the end to chop up the figs in the preserve as they were too large, in my opinion. But the preserves are so yummy, and thick, and figgy. They taste like candy.

Also at Whole Foods yesterday: Meyer lemons. I bought 6.

While the figs were simmering I made another batch of Dilled Carrots. When my sister-in-law and I went to the farm on Thursday we decided that I should take the whole bowl of carrots this week and make them all into dilled carrots, and then give her half the jars. Works for me! Again, it's such an easy recipe I don't mind. I ran out of the fresh dill so I did use dried dill in one of the jars. I'm not worried, though. It should be fine. I got 4.5 pints out of that batch and will keep just 2 pints.

Wicked Easy

Normally, I don't use the word "wicked" in the traditional New England sense, even though I am a New Englander. But today it truly applies.

Frozen pie shell, a pint of lemon curd, and a pint of raspberries. Plus some whipped cream for serving. Mmm.

I guess I'll be making more lemon curd soon!

Finally, Something Other Than Soup!

Ah, Whole Foods. Just when winter doldrums are their worst, Whole Foods comes through with something seasonal and unusual. Yes, it's Meyer Lemon season, and it's time for more curd. I decided I didn't need to make any more of the Meyer Lemon Marmalade, as good as it is, because I still have some from last May. But the curd is very popular in this house, and goes fast, so I made a double batch.

Note to self: when making a double batch, use the LARGEST pot.

For Christmas my wonderful family got me more gadgets, and this was my first opportunity to use the zester. I LOVE it! It's so EASY! And it's dishwasher safe! (Good thing, otherwise the cleaning cloth would be shredded in 2 seconds flat.)Since I make this a lot, I've decided to rewrite the recipe here, so in case the website where I found it goes away, I will still have the recipe. To give credit where credit is due, here is where I found the recipe in the first place.

Meyer Lemon Curd
(also, Key Lime Curd, just replace with the correct citrus) - makes 16 oz. of curd

1/2 c. Meyer lemon juice
zest from the lemons that produced the juice
3/4 c. organic sugar
2 large eggs
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces - use real butter

Whisk juice, zest, sugar and eggs in double boiler until smooth. Add butter, and continue whisking over the simmering water about 10 minutes until opaque and thicker but still liquidy enough to pour. While it’s still hot, carefully pour the lemon curd through a fine strainer. I use the large mesh strainer set upon the canning funnel and balance it all on the edge of the pot since I'm not Krishna and just don't have enough arms. Process in boiling water canner for 15 minutes.

We had a little left over, which the 8 year old ate this morning on a crepe. YUM.

Now I just have to watch for more muscat grapes....

Citrusy Holiday Gifts

A while ago I made the Apple Pie in a Jar for holiday gifts, but realized I'd need to make something else to finish my list. Well, I was at the Whole Foods the other day (that very dangerous place...) and found Meyer lemons and key limes and got the idea to make lemon and lime curds. But when?

Today I tried to get to work. I really, really tried. But there was a tanker truck that had turned over on the highway, so I went another way, and that was backed up, too. After being in the car for 45 minutes and getting only 1/4 of the way in (usually it takes me 35 minutes to get to work), it became clear that I was going to miss the only meeting on my calendar today, so I called in and declared that I was going home.

So I spent the day alternating between doing stuff for work and making Meyer Lemon Curd, lemon-lime curd, and key lime curd. YUM. But it's a LOT of work. Especially grating the zest off the tiny little key limes and then juicing them. For the key lime curd I added a couple of drops of green food coloring to make it more "lime-ish" (and so I could tell the difference between the 2 kinds when I brought them out of the canner). They're very cute, in their wee little jars! This added 17 jars to my holiday gift stash, and maybe I'm done?

Tarts

Tonight was another school PTO bake sale. Last week I'd made chex mix which did not sell all that well. This week, I went for sweet. I bought a bunch of phyllo dough shells, the little ones, and filled them with the lemon curd, raspberry jam, and peach jam. They went fast at 2 for $1 and I will definitely be making them again!

Mmmmmmarmalade!

The birthday party, with the Halloween theme, the jack-o-lantern ice cream cake with whipped cream frosting, the trays of food and the happy young children, is over. After a little break it was time to start up the meyer lemon marmalade process again.



The lemons boiled for about 45 minutes with the contents of 2 vanilla beans, plus the beans themselves. Then 4 cups of sugar, then cook some more to get it to gel. Then into the jars and process for 5 minutes. This is marmalade I will actually eat!

Meyer Lemons!

Yes, I know, I have a weakness for: (a) foods that are unusual or with limited availability and (b) Whole Foods. So, in the process of researching the right way to can the kaya, I found lots of recipes for Meyer Lemons. Hey, guess what? I have been seeing Meyer Lemons in the Whole Foods lately! I made a special trip up there last week to get a dozen lemons and a few vanilla beans.

I found this wonderful recipe on line for Meyer Lemon Curd, and added in the canning instructions for lemon curd from here, and made this really delicious curd. Now I just have to think about what to do with it, maybe little tarts?

Also, since I had the canner out, I processed the onion pickles from yesterday for 5 minutes.

Tomorrow's project, after everyone goes home from the birthday party I'm throwing, is to make a vanilla meyer lemon marmalade. I got out the fancy and super sharp Japanese knife and thinly sliced 6 lemons. They are currently sitting in water with the seeds in a little cheesecloth bag (pectin, maybe?) until tomorrow, when I will add in the vanilla bean and sugar and cook it all up.