that's my jam!

a few weeks month ago (how is that possible?!), i made a batch of strawberry rhubarb ginger jam based on this recipe. i used the same base recipe to make some strawberry mint jam this time:
~1kg/~2 lbs strawberries
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 fistfulls of fresh mint
zing of lemon juice (from a bottle)

first, i poured about a half a cup into the ol' food processor with the mint and let that whirl around for a bit. this is the same technique i used when i made chocolate basil cake and i think it works quite well.

strawberries and mint sugar were plunked in a bowl to make themselves all syrupy. Then, i cooked and cooked and cooked and cooked the jam in a skillet (to maximise evaporation). This recipe produced about 3 small jars--i gave two away and kept one for ourselves.





the jams were processed in a water bath for 10 minutes and, post-boil, 5 minutes longer, just to make sure they were nice and sealed.

i am entirely grateful that my dear friend kathryn sent me canning supplies. after a great amount of searching for something that apparently doesnt exist here, a common theme in my life, i used the interwebs to make my dreams come true. or at least provide me with a jar lifter. (and a super cute tea towel! and really hot homegrown peppers!). another thing i cannot find here are 2 part lids--the kind i watched my mom use with the flat lid and screw part. however, i survived using a one piece lid. of all the jars i processed--of strawberry, plum, and cherry jams--only one didnt seal.

next, inspired by this recipe , and my penchant for chinese 5 spice, i made some plum jam. we happened to have nearly a pound of plums around, and i picked up a few more at the market to supplement the batch.

i used:
~.5kg/~1 lb plums
2/3 cup sugar
chinese 5 spice (五香份 [wǔxiāngfěn])
sichuan pepper, fennel, cinnamon, clove, and star anise

it was very messy.

this time, instead of cooking the jam in a skillet, i used our trusty fondue pot.

i got a jar and a half of deliciousness from this batch.  the half jar is in the fridge and the other one will be tucked away to eat later in the year when we are pining for fresh fruit.



lastly, i made some cherry jam with cardamon.

1 kg-ish/~2 lbs. cherries
1 packet pectin (50 g gélifiant)
2 cups sugar
cardamon

i was curious about the pectin here, so i decided to use it. i know i didnt for the strawberries, which are also low in pectin, but the only way to learn is by trying, right? right. the packet i found said it wasnt sweetened, but my jam turned out really sweet. true, i added more sugar in this recipe than the others, but still. i was a bit surprised how sweet it was.

but, before the cherries were cooked, i had to pit them; we don't have a cherry pitter... however, we do have a funnel! and funnels make for great cherry pitters. will you make a mondo mess? indubitably. but pitting cherries is a messy business no matter how you slice it.

i put the cherries a few at a time into a small glass bowl and press on them with the funnel with the pointy end. it takes out the stem and pit in one fell swoop. then, you can easily put the waste in the compost with a tap. it only took me about 15 minutes to pit all the cherries -- i was processing the plum jam at the same time.

the cherries and sugar were combined to encourage syrupy action


and then cooked and cooked and cooked, again in the fondue pot.


i added the pectin, brought the mixture again to a boil, and then filled my jars.


the cherries this year are amazing. over the last few weeks, ive had them with breakfast and made hand pies.

the fresh pop of fruit has been welcome at this house as once again the weather has decided to bite its thumb at us. here's hoping for warmer temperatures and picnics and eating OUTSIDE.

ginger up!

right now in the oven are yesterday's pumpkin cinnamon rolls. im warming them up to devour. my mother-in-law gave us some puree for soup (there's not a lot of pumpkin creativity here--it's soup or soup. boggles the mind. i'm all, people! this is a PUMPKIN! do you know what you can do with a pumpkin?!), and while i do adore a lovely pumpkin soup (the mister made a delightful soup with potato and parsley), i also had some fun with the orangey goo. i made pumpkin macaroni and cheese, the afore mentioned cinnamon rolls, and a sponge cake with ginger cream.

because ginger is glorious. first, i made a simple syrup--one cup water, one cup sugar--and then i added huge chunks of ginger.

i let that cook for a long time.



the flavour was sharp and gingerlicious.

the cake itself was based on what i've done before, but i wanted to be sure i got the ratio right. adding chocolate is one thing. adding pumpkin is another. i found a recipe that suited my needs and the only thing i changed was adding less sugar.

for the filling, i whipped 2.5 dl of cream, and slowly poured in a few glugs of my ginger syrup.

then the mister and i ate some ginger chunks. it was an important part of the process!

the cake was almost pumpkin pie-ish, with the added texture of the hazelnuts. delicious!  everyone enjoyed it.

but oh! my stars! i still had syrup left over! and pumpkin!!

what's a girl to do but keep on baking. the next morning, i was on a cinnamon roll mission.

brown sugar doesnt exist here, so i used some sucre complet de canne i found in france.

 i added some orange juice to the syrup and boiled it down.


when the rolls came out, i poured the glaze over them... and lo we had a fabulous breakfast

and a bonus: orange ginger candy

happy new year! we'll take a cake o' kindness yet, for auld lang syne.

for new year's, the mister and i headed over to the warm home of our friends for dinner and revelry. the mister made GF french onion soup, his own recipe that he's been making for years, and i made a layered GF chocolate cake to share. after spending the christmas holiday at my in-laws house, and watching my mother-in-law make two yule logs, i decided i needed to make a light and fluffy sponge cake. with booze. and chocolate. and brown butter.

egg yolks and sugar 

6 eggs were separated, 120 g of dark chocolate was melted (i used callier's baking chocolate), and the oven was warmed to 175C.

with the trusty kitchen aid, i paddled the egg yolk and 1/4 cup sugar until thick and ribbony. i added a drop of almond extract, and then the melted and cooled chocolate.

i took a baking sheet, olive oiled it, then put down a layer of parchment paper and olive oiled and GF floured it.

the yokes were transported to a new bowl and then i worked on the egg whites. they were beat until foamy, and then i added a pinch of salt. i continued to beat until i got soft peaks, then added sugar, and beat some more.


so fluffy.

the whites were gently folded into the chocolate, and then i poured the batter into the prepared pan. i dropped it on the counter to pop the air bubbles.

folding in whites

6 large eggs, separated
200 grams chocolate (divided--120g and 80g)
1 pinch of salt
1/4 cup + 1 generous spoonful of sugar
almond extract


for good measure, i sprinkled the batter with edible glitter.

i knew i would be making a ganache, but i was hoping the glitter might peek through now and again. these days i am resisting the urge to sprinkle edible glitter on everything. want to make that pasta dish seem more festive? GLITTER! oh, is that a plain bowl of oatmeal? GLITTER. im glad the mister loves me no matter what.

the cake baked for roughly 15 minutes. i covered it with a damp towel to keep it moist. then i made some cream for the filling.

i whipped some heavy cream until just so, and then added some cointreau. and then a little more cointreau.

and you know what goes with chocolate and orange? cinnamon. for the ganache, i made browned butter and combined it with the remaining chocolate. i added just a pinch of cinnamon. the ganache was stashed in the fridge to cool, and then i layered the cake with the cream and frosted it when the time came.

and yum.

Ode on a Kitchen Aid (with apologies to keats)
More happy love! more happy, happy love!
For ever warm and still to be enjoy'd,
For ever baking, and for ever young;

...and sometimes food is not for eating.

the weather outside might be frightful, but baking things inside makes the house smell delightful.

when the apples came tumbling down from the trees at the abode of the mister's parents, we were gifted a winter storage box stuffed with the bounty. we've done our fair share eating the apples, baking the apples, and such, but i thought of one more way to enjoy the apples: sapin de Noël ornaments.

some of the apples looked a bit... tired. they werent over the hill totally, but well on their way. i didnt want to waste the buggers, so i peeled and chopped them, sprinkled on some lemon juice, boiled them in water until soft enough to squash, and made applesauce. 

i added an entire bottle of cinnamon to about 3/4ish cup of applesauce, as well as some nutmeg and cloves, and made a dough. i pressed it with baking paper and let it hang out in the fridge for a short while. this dough is a bit persnickety to work with, and making it cold helps. a lot.



from there, i just used my cookie cutters and made stars.  lots and lots of stars.  when the dough started to rebel, i stuck it back in the fridge.

the stars were baked at 100C for nearly 3 hours.


and what better way to hang the apple ornaments? why, with orange slices! this process is unquestionably easy: thinly slice an orange or two. line a baking pan. turn the oven on low (100C/200F). sprinkle the orange slices with spices. bake for 4 hours (wait for the slices to slowly dry out. they'll become hard and shrink quite a lot once all the moisture is out). and they smell ah-may-zing.

and the melding of the spices, apple, and orange smells? a bouquet of winter. next year i am considering making wreaths with these.