Equinox Plums

Several weeks ago we came upon some really incredible plum trees that looked like they needed picking. Last weekend we made our way back, with baskets this time, and stayed until they were full. They are a wild variety, similar to Italian plums- small, firm even when ripe and more green/pink than purple. We spent the rest of the day pitting and quartering. My hands were brown and achy by the time we were done. With the riches of many bowls full of fruit we set to jamming. I like this verb, jamming. It implies spontaneous music making, using what you got, rocking out. So there we were, jamming. Boiling pots of plums and sugar, trying decide on pectin ratios. Eventually the recipe ended something like this: (Adapted from Food and Wine)

1.5 lbs plums, pitted and cut into pieces
1.5 cups sugar (we used palm sugar)
1 lemon seeded

In a large non-reactive saucepan/pot, toss the plums with the sugar and let macerate for an hour or so.

Squeeze the lemon over the plums and bring combo to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolves. Cook over moderate heat, stirring, until the liquid runs off the side of the spoon in thick, syrupy drops. (In the original recipe they suggest this will take around 25 minutes, while mine took several hours to reach this consistency.)

If you never reach that thickness and you don't want to add more sugar you can add some pectin. We used Pomona's which had easy to follow directions.

Discard lemon and spoon the jam into jars (I used 1/2 pints), leaving about 1/4 inch at the top of the jar.

At this point you can do a water bath so they will store on the shelf or store them in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.

This stuff is really yummy, it won't last 3 months in the fridge. If you do can it, it is a lovely gift for your faithful compadres- now, or at Christmas.
Go Jam.

Saudades

Here we are. The leaves are starting to turn and drift down in the wind. Pumpkins, diakon and brussel sprouts are for sale at Farmer's Market and the children are already anticipating Halloween. The summer was wonderful- longer days in which to eat more watermelon, swim more, laze more, dream more- and now, it is finished. In Portuguese, the word is Saudade, a feeling that dominated a good portion of my twenties and makes an apperance in my life every autumn. It is a longing for that which one knows is lost, or sometimes for that which never existed. It takes like ginginha (a sour cherry brandy for sale on the street corners of Lisbon) and roasted chestnuts wrapped in newspaper. It sounds like Amalia Rodrigues and it feels like lambswool- appealing, warm, a little itchy. Here are some photos taken on a recent trip to Europe. Lucien and the fruits of summer. Thank you universe, they were delicious. Tenho saudades tuas.

You can pickle anything

In celebration of Summer Solstice: odd foods. More probiotic slaw, kombucha, sprouts, mustard, garlic aioli (which I finally got to the right consistency after many failed attempts) and two types of pickles. The first was a Japanese style pickle, called Nuka zuke which are pickles made with a rice bran start. The second batch was miso pickles, which involve burying the veggies of your choice in a vat of miso and leaving them for a few weeks (although some recipes call for at least a year) at which point you get these wonderful salty pickles and the liquid that rises to the top is your own homemade tamari. The pickled garlic is amazing! We used red miso but you can use white too, for a slightly different flavor.
Making pickles is a nice way to preserve some of the summer harvest to enjoy later. Good vegetables for pickling include:
carrots, burdock root, asparagus, garlic, shiso leaves, daikon, beets and Japanese cucumbers.
Recipe for a nice summer day in the kitchen: Start early before it gets hot, green tea and melon for breakfast. Field trip to local Asian Grocery where you can find daikon, shiso, kyuri, red and white miso and all sorts of other things that you don't need like White Rabbit sweets, ginger flowers and fresh coconuts..maybe buy some rice balls and seaweed for lunch. In the afternoon you can cut the veggies, listening to something inspiring like Phillip Glass, Santigold, Ira Glass or my new favorite, The Bird and The Bee. Put veggies in the bases of bran, miso, kombucha etc. and then set in jars on the counter to admire your work. More green tea.

Let's give it up for potatoes

It is finally summer! This spring had lots of cold days and late frosts and we just had a very rare few days of straight rain- but it is hot out there now, people. Time for the pool, watermelon and of course.. potatoes! I know, I know this humble vegetable is evocative of winter stews, hard times and thin ale but the blessed pomme de terre can travel. Tonight I just wanted a simple dinner of greens from the garden and steak frites.
To make frites just cut into wide matchsticks, splash with a little apple cider vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper and bake at 400 degrees until crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. Here's to you, tubers.

I woke up dreaming of Italy. Maybe it was Peggy's pasticciotto recipe that is now on my "must eat" list, maybe it was the dappled sunlight on our new espalier apple trees but I woke up with a this lovely feeling, and I hope it stays all day.

As long as I am laying things bare, here is another thing about me: inspiration comes in waves. Since we are about to move into a spring cleanse and be talking sprouts and flax meal, I figured we should get the deli stuff out of the way first. Truth: I love cheese. I love the stinky ones, the mild fresh ones, the gooey oozing ones and now, I have begun making my own. About a month ago I took a class here and have since made some tasty ricotta, mozzarella and butter! Double truth: I love butter.
Anyway, the fresh cheeses are amazingly easy and delicious in summer tarts, caprese salad or a simply with jam on morning toast.
Here is the recipe from haystack for goat ricotta- super yummy, super simple.

Ricotta Goat
Ingredients:
1 gallon whole milk
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 T melted butter
1/2 t baking soda

1. Heat the milk in a non-reactive pan to 195 degrees, stirring often! You will need a hand held thermometer to keep track of your temps.

2. Once you reach 195 F, slowly stir in vinegar, a little at at a time, until the curds and whey ( of little Miss Muffet fame) separate. If whey is milky, heat to 205 degrees F.

3. Spoon (or use your hands) curds into a colander lined with cheesecloth and let drain for 1 minute.

4. Place curds in a bowl and mix in butter and baking soda. Done.

Store in refrigerator but let it come back up to room temperature before enjoying.

I confess

It has been too long. Those last few months of winter really took a long time to transform into spring. I felt a bit like the nascent seeds, curled into myself, waiting for the sun to do its magic, and here it finally is. May 22. I have been busy planting, getting a new bee colony set up for another season and making food projects with my friend Mara. Our latest endeavour? Sausage.
Here is the confession: It was a little gross. I mean c'mon, cutting up chunks of pork fat and then smooshing that into the grinder that makes all sorts of guttural noises and then there was the casing... yup, that's right, 50 feet of pork gut that needs to be soaked, cleaned and then loaded like a water balloon onto the end of the sausage stuffer. This was a great project for a few reasons. 1. We laughed a lot 2. My five year old son was fascinated with the whole process and now informs dinner guests that, "guess what? We eat pork guts!!" 3. and perhaps most important- having a relationship to how foods that we eat actually come into being changes that way we look at them. To get up close and personal (and I still have a long way to go, wild game butchery- here I come) with meat makes me realize the visceral nature of what I am eating and how much goes into the true farm to table journey. I have begun to limit the amount of meat that we eat as a family and when we do it, well, it is good to know where it is coming from and whenever possible to be part of that process. We buy meat shares here and it adds to the flavor knowing that there are giggles as well as garlic in the sausage. If you are inspired, this is a great book and there are a few good tips here. Coming up soon, homemade miso and nuka pickles. I promise I won't stay away so long.