Feasting: Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

I made some impromptu jam after seeing rhubarb at the market. Yum: sweet strawberries and tart rhubarb - and I think rhubarb always adds such a home-made-goodness taste. The following recipe is rather approximate - but jam is one of those nice, imprecise things to make in the kitchen on a lark.

 Take about two pints of these and hull them, then mash them slightly.

Chop about 5-7 stalks of these into 1 inch pieces, simmer with a little water - just covering - until slightly mushy.  Drain.  Add strawberries and about 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar or lemon juice.  I added sugar with pectin (perhaps a German peculiarity?), about a cup and a half, but if you want a more congealed texture, add more pectin - and you may want more sugar.  I'm trying to cut down a bit!  Bring to hard boil for 3-4 minutes.  Take off heat to cool.  Pour into two prepared jam jars.

Enjoy!

Making: Apple Tawashi

I stumbled upon a wonderful knit and crochet blog - it's now on my links list on the right of this page - Salihan Crafts.  On it there are some adorable amigurumi toys that I would love to try my hand at sometime in the future.

For the moment, since I am without immediate access to toy stuffing and the like, I decided to make the apple tawashi (dishcloth) instead.  It is a free pattern and you can find it here.  It really was an easy pattern, but clever and cute!  I'm not usually a crocheter, but I just looked up stitches and instructions at Lion Brand Yarn (great tutorial videos) and off I went.

The leaf I "designed" myself - that is to say, fooled around with the crochet hook until I was satisfied.  It went something like this:

ch12
sc2 dc3 tc2 dc3 sc2 on one side of the chain (the chain is the middle vein running through the leaf)
turn work
sc2 dc3 tc2 dc3 sc2 on the other side of the chain, so you have a symmetrical shape.  Ta-da!

Sew with tails onto both stem and apple body to make secure.

In the end, the tawashi was too big for a tawashi - I used an H hook and cotton yarn that was a bit thick.  I think it will exist instead as a pot holder for my sister.  Now to put it in the post to California...

Persimmon Pudding with Toffee Sauce

At this time of year persimmons are dangling on bare tree branches, like lanterns or brilliant pendant earrings. I've had the pleasure of eating two types of persimmons, the squatter, crispy type ("Fuyu") and the heart-shaped, soft-fleshed type ("Hachiya").

A Hachiya persimmon. My parents ripen them on the windowsill, bottoms up.

The sweet bounty of persimmons in winter sometimes poses a conundrum - what to do with all these orange beauties ripening into softness at the same time? Since only my dad and I eat the Hachiya persimmon (my mom ONLY eats crisp fruit, so no papayas, bananas, or Hachiyas for her), something had to be done about all our extra ripe persimmons. Hence this recipe, which I baked for our family Christmas Eve dinner. Persimmons really do not have a strong flavor (except for their tannins, and that is only when they're not fully ripe) so this recipe yields a very English plummy-pudding cake. With toffee sauce drizzled on top, it's a sweet, festive end to a holiday meal.

For the Pudding

2 Cups Persimmon Pulp

1 3/4 Cups Sugar

2 Egg

4 Tbs. Melted Butter

2 Cup Milk

2 Cup Flour

3 Tsp. Baking Soda

1 Tsp. Cinnamon

1 Tsp. Salt

1 Cup Golden Raisins
3/4 Cup Chopped Pitted Dates

1 Cup Nuts

Preheat oven to 325 degees. Grease a bundt pan.
Mix sugar, pulp, egg, melted butter and milk.
In separate bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.
Gradually add pulp mixture, mixing well.
Dust raisins, dates, and nuts with flour to keep them from sinking to bottom; add them to mixture.
Pour into bundt pan and bake at 325 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes.

For the Sauce

2 Cups Brown Sugar
1 Cup Heavy Cream
1/2 Cup Butter (1 stick)
1/4 Tsp. Salt

Combine ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until mixture is beginning to caramelize. Remove from heat and cool. Drizzle lavishly over pudding.

This would be lovely served with vanilla ice-cream!

Good-Bye to Summer Fruits

I bought a pint of strawberries yesterday, but the variety (and prices!) of other summer berries left much to be desired. A favorite this last summer, which I have never really taken advantage of before, was the blueberry. I had always thought of it as a fruit that disappointed - never sweet enough and not tasting as you think it should.



But I happened to buy a LOT of blueberries this summer from a great source, Jersey Fruit (preferably pronounced "Joisey Fruit!" in a high pitched voice). They were sweet and juicy, and the adorable mascots on the pint labels made me laugh.

Now, what to do with this last pint of strawberries? One of my favorite things to make with fresh strawberries is a British dessert called a "fool." I love British dessert (or "pudding") names: syllabubs, fools, whim whams. Why don't we have names like that?

A fool is simply macerated fruit (that is, fruit softened after being mixed with sugar) swirled into whipped cream - it MUST be homemade whipped cream rather than any non-dairy product. Quite luxurious and simple, and devastatingly bad for you!

But, although I will miss summer's abundance, fall desserts and fruits have a charm all their own.

Here are some apples, baked with dark chocolate at their cores and sprinkled with cinnamon - an idea I got from Martha's site. Definitely autumn comfort food.

Eating My Way through Taiwan Part 2: The Garden of Eden

I'll let the pictures do most of the talking...but just a word on Taiwan's fruit: it's the best. My favorite is the Shi-Jia Guo, or "custard apple." I can't explain it, you'll just have to try it. Anyway, this tropical island is bursting at the seams with good fruit - and everyone loves it, natives and visitors.

Star fruit, growing wildly. I can't really describe the taste - sort of zesty citron and a little remniscent of plum. Lots of fruit grows wildly - like bananas or coconuts. It's awesome.

A fruit aisle in a posh store at the 101 building. The green fruit is the custard apple. They have a new breed, the pineapple custard apple, which is heavenly. Taiwanese are so into their fruit that they're always finding ways to improve it or create new varieties.

Okay, it's not a fruit, but this woman is shaving (at the request of my mom) sugar cane for us so we can munch on it in the bus. You take a bite off a stalk and enjoy the yummy, sugary, cane-y juices, and then spit out the remaining pulp. You can kinda feel like an elephant. Munch, munch.

Fresh coconuts for sale! The lady at the stand chops off the top with one whack of her machete and then sticks a straw in for you so you can drink the coconut juice.

Ah, yes, at the night market in Sa-Lu. See how each fruit is placed in its own little sock with care.

Okay, I'm cheating. This is in Thailand. This is the world's tiniest banana. Actually, it's not properly a banana, but I don't remember the name. A little more fragrant - flower-y - tasting than the usual we have in the States.

Also in Thailand, but Taiwan has both these fruits also. This is the rambutan, half-peeled. It is basically like a lychee - but I don't think it has as much flavor.

To be continued. (I can't stop writing about food. Is that a problem?)