- 2 large cukes
- 1/2 yellow onion, sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1c water
- 1c cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 c sugar (to taste)
- salt (to taste, 1/2 t?)
- 1t mustard seeds
- 1t turmeric
- 1/2 t celery seeds
- 1/2 t pickling spice
- 1/2 t red pepper flakes
Toast spices to help release flavors, combine with water, vinegar sugar and salt in small saucepan and bring to boil with smashed garlic. Simmer for a few minutes to help release oils from spices. Slice cukes into 1/4″ thick rounds, toss with sliced onions and pack tightly into quart mason jars. Poor brine over pickles, let cool to room temperature and refrigerate. Make a little extra brine with 1 part water to 1 part vinegar if needed to completely cover pickles. Ready in about 24-48 hours!
- 5# Apricots
- juice and zest of 1 lemon
- 3c sugar
- 1c, scant, water
- kernels from 1/2 of the apricots
Combine all ingredients, cook, process!
- 4# Apricots (Blenheim)
- Juice and zest from 1 lemon
- 3c sugar
- 1 scant cup water
- 1/4 cup fresh lavender flowers
- kernels from about 1/2 of apricots
Combine all incredients, except for lavender flowers in a heavy pot and cook until nearly done. Add lavender flowers to taste and cook another 5 to 10 minutes. Add to jars, process and enjoy!
3/4oz Nocino della Cristina
1/2 oz Galliano
1/2 oz Cointreau
1/2 oz citrus infused vodka
1 oz cream
1 egg white
Shake, with ice, serve in a cocktail class. Maybe with a preserved cherry or lemon twist spritzed around the rim.
We’ve been searching for a cocktail to features Nocino della Cristina but haven’t had a lot of success until now. That amazing walnutiness comes through clearly neither fighting with or overpowering the other spirits. The Cointreau and infused vodka lend just a hint of citrus that peaks through the otherwise dark, herbally flavor.
We’ll try it with Grand Marnier and cognac next but I suspect the Cointreau and vodka keep it from becoming too heavy.
We’re looking forward to celebrating St. John the Baptist this year in addition to Emily’s birthday to the heady smell of black-end fingers and chattering of the squirrels by making our own Nocino.
- 5# Quinces
- 2 Lemons (to taste)
- Sugar
Cut quinces into small chunks and put into pot half about half covered with water. Bring to boil and cook until the quinces are soft. Mill, strain, measure and return to heat. Add lemon zest and juice to taste. Add 1/4 of puree’s volume in sugar. 5# quinices yielded 8 cups of puree and 2 cups of sugar. Cook down until it’s reached the desired thickness – somewhere in the neighborhood of 220°F. It can be helpful to do this in a 300°F over in a large flat pan rather than on a stove top where it is likely to burn. In either case stir frequently. When finished, fill 1/2 pint jars, seal and process for 6 minutes.
- Quinces
- Water
- Sugar
- Lemon
Cut up and slice the unpeeled quinces thinly and place in a large non-reactive pot. Add enough water to cover. Bring to a hard boil, turn down heat to a simmer. Cook until not quite mushy. Turn out entire contents of the pot into a large chinoise or strainer over a large pot and leave overnight to drain. To keep the jelly more or less clear, don’t force the pulp through the strainer. Just let it drip.
Measure the liquid and add 3/4 its volume in sugar and return to heat. Add lemon juice to taste. Boil and skim until the Jelly is ready – 220°F at sea level (8°F over boiling water) – or when it passes the spoon or plate tests to your liking. Fill jars leaving 1/4″ air gap, seal and process for 6 minutes in a boiling water bath.
Three and a half pounds of quinces yielded 10 half-pints of delicious, floral, quince jelly. Perfect for serving with pate!
Tomato Serrano Jam
- 2# San Marzano Tomatoes, peeled
- 3 Serrano Chillies, sliced
- 3 cups sugar
- Juice of one lemon
- a couple of pinches of salt
Puree half of the tomatoes and dice the rest. Combine everything in non-reactive pot and bring to a boil. Cook for about 30 minutes skimming the foam as it comes up. Turn off the heat and let sit, covered, overnight. It’s a good time to taste it and add more chillies if needed – three is a little short of where I’d like it but isn’t too spicy for my children to enjoy it. Bring back to a boil and reduce to a medium heat, skimming and stirring frequently, cooking until it passes the plate test. Ladle into prepared jars and process for 6 minutes.
Great with cheese, even better with peanut butter, bacon and bannanas.
So, I wrote a bit of a post about our adventures in bagel-making over here, but we’ve since made another batch and I feel that I should record the differences.
I used a recipe from The Fresh Loaf which appealed to me because it could be made in the evening and then boiled and baked in the morning. The first time out we used 1/4 cup less flour in the last mixing because it was pretty dry and our mixer was having a hard time with it (we still had to alternate between kneading half by hand and the other half in the mixer) but this time we ended up adding the entire amount of flour plus almost a whole 1/4 cup.
Yes, head scratching ensued.
The only thing I can think is that we used a different brand of flour this time–last batch was made with Bob’s Red Mill bread flour and this time with King Arthur bread flour, and to be perfectly honest, I’m not sure which kind of yeast I used last time, but this time it was Rapid Rise.
The bagels cooked up about the same–maybe a little chewier this time, but I don’t really have any complaints. They’re not bready which is a total plus, or this recipe would be a junker, but they’re missing a certain je ne sais bagelness that I can’t put my finger on.
Overall: not bad. Pretty fair. Will make again.
- 1 1/2 oz. gin
- 1/2 oz creme de casis
- 1/4 oz fresh lime juice (not syrup, please – it’s sweet enough already!)
- 1 egg white
- a generous dash or two of Tabasco Sauce
Shake with plenty of ice and strain, serve up.
This is a surprisingly tasty cocktail and has been featured frequently since its discovery while trying to find something to mix with the bottle of Gabriel Boudier Dijon Creme de Cassis that we picked up. We like it on the hot side. The Tabasco balances out the sweetness of the creme de cassis which would otherwise be overpowering.