Tag: recipes

The Life of Pi …. err…Pie Bird & A Strawberry Pie

“If you don’t let technology help you, if you resist good ideas, you condemn yourself to dinosaurhood.”
Yann Martel, Life of Pi

Strawberry Pie ... & a pie bird A Strawberry Pie and a Pie Bird. Strange how good things happen at the same time. Around the week that the Life of Pi won an Oscar, the folk from Zansaar sent me something very interesting … a beautiful aubergine stoneware baking dish with an intriguing creature inside. They call it a Pie Bird!

Have you heard of one?  To be honest, I had no clue that such a charming creature actually existed. Google enlightened! From whimsical banter from when we used to chime “Four & twenty black birds baked in a pie” as toddlers, to Alton Brown who wholeheartedly endorses the pie bird, it seems to be quite a handy bakers tool. Many ardent pie bakers swear by it.

What might a pie bird be? It’s a little hollow contraption made of ceramic, that helps keep a pie base from getting soggy. It also prevents it from boiling over, sometimes even saving a pie from dramatically exploding!

A pie bird, pie vent, pie whistle, pie funnel, or pie chimney is a hollow ceramic device, originating in Europe, shaped like a funnel, chimney, or upstretched bird with open beak. Funnel-style steam vents have been placed in the center of fruit and meat pies during cooking since Victorian times; bird shapes came later.

Pie funnels were used to prevent pie filling from boiling up and leaking through the crust by allowing steam to escape from inside the pie. They also supported the pastry crust in the center of the pie, so that it did not sag in the middle, and are occasionally known as “crustholders”. Older ovens had more problems with uniform heating, and the pie bird prevented boil-over in pie cooking.

Fancy my delight when I received it as also the beautiful aubergine pie dish from the Mason Cash collection. It’s a handy dish to bake a classic apple pie, or maybe a chicken / vegetable pie. The high quality stoneware dish has a wide lip that  makes it ideal for pie crusts while the stoneware construction ensures that it heats evenly.

I enjoyed ‘playing with it’. It gave me much food for thought, Life of Pi and pie bird quotes flying through my head. You see, at the same time, the younger teen was doing a film review on the Life of P. There was plenty of Pi / Pie happening!

I wanted to make an apple pie but I had my last stash of red luscious strawberries from the recent Pune trip. I thought a strawberry pie just might work. It did and the pie baked up beautifully. Once completely cool, it stepped out of the dish gingerly with no trouble at all. It’s a good size baking dish for a meal for two, or maybe part of a meal for four.

I was in a hurry to slice the pie so the juices ‘leaked’ a bit. It sliced just fine a while later! The dough is a normal short crust that I substituted with a little cornmeal. Cornmeal works really well in all my galettes. This was my first double crust pie. It worked great. A classic American apple pie served with vanilla ice cream seems likely in the future!

I had some leftover dough, and about 1/2 a cup of left over filling. Could I just let it sit? Of course I couldn’t. The leftovers made a neat little galette which included one left over plum from an earlier baking project. The galette was crisp and full of fruity goodness. A drizzle of unsweetened single cream … delicieux!


[print_this]Recipe: Strawberry Pie

Summary: A fruity and delicious strawberry pie. A great way to use fruit in season.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour plus cooling time
Ingredients:

  • Pastry
  • 160g plain flour
  • 40g cornmeal {makki ka aata}
  • pinch salt
  • 100g unsalted butter, frozen, grated
  • 2-3 tbsp of ice water {as required}
  • Filling
  • 500g frozen strawberries {or fresh}
  • 35g cornflour
  • 25g plain flour
  • 200g vanilla sugar {decrease if fruit is very sweet}
  • Juice of 1/2 a lime
  • 25g pistachios, chopped {few slivered}
  • 1tbsp apricot jam, melted
  • Single cream for brushing over {and serving}
  • Vanilla sugar

Method:

  1. Pastry
  2. Place the plain flour, cornmeal and salt in bowl of food processor and pulse briefly to mix.
  3. Add the frozen butter and pulse again for a few seconds until you get a breadcrumb like mix.
  4. Add the water 1 tbsp at a time, until the dough comes together when you pinch it between your fingers. {You might need more than 3 tbsp as the absorption property of flours differs across brands, regions etc}
  5. Turn out push together to form a tight ball. Divide into two, flatten into disks, wrap in clingwrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.
  6. Filling
  7. Preheat the oven to 200C.
  8. Place the ingredients in a large bowl and toss well together. {If your strawberries are really sweet, then add about 1/4 cup less sugar. Taste and adjust if required}. Let stand for 15 minutes.
  9. Assemble
  10. Take one disk of chilled dough, and roll out to line the baking dish. Gently transfer to dish, crimp or ruffle the edges if you like, else trim them to fit the edge. Brush the base with apricot jam. 
  11. Place the pie bird in the centre of the pastry.
  12. Turn the fruit into a sieve to remove any released juices {if you have the time, you can reduce the juices in a pan over low heat and add them back to the fruit}. Ladle into the pie dish around the bird.
  13. Roll the second disk of pastry to cover the top, cut out a 1 1/2 – 2″ circle and gently place over the pie bird.
  14. Seal the edges of the pie with the tines of a fork. Use some left over dough to make leaves etc for the top if you like.
  15. Brush the top with single cream, sprinkle over with vanilla sugar and slivered pistachios if you like.
  16. Bake at 200C for 25 minutes, and then at 180C for 25-30 minutes more until the crust is golden brown.
  17. Note: Tent the top or cover the edges with foil if the crust is becoming too brown.
  18. Let it cool completely before trying to turn out of baking dish. Slice only once completely cool, 3-4 hours after baking.

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Baking | Rye Cheddar Crackers & Pizza Dough Crisps … Crackling good times with the Daring Bakers!

“Sometimes I want to clean up my desk and go out and say, respect me, I’m a respectable grown-up, and other times I just want to jump into a paper bag and shake and bake myself to death.”

Wendy Wasserstein

Rye Cheddar Crackers & Pizza Dough Crisps … with less than little time on hand, I baked myself to death. Literally! I missed the last DB challenge,and this months was a cracker! It’s been yet another busy month, but I snuck a day midweek and had a whale of a time!It’s a cracking good time to be a Daring Baker. Crackers all the way, something we at home love to love, yet something that tends to get ignored in the baking schedule more often than never. Yet crackers and crisps are right up my street, savoury my choice over sweet!

Sarah from All Our Fingers in the Pie was our February 2013 Daring Bakers’ host and she challenges us to use our creativity in making our own Crisp Flatbreads and Crackers!

Having missed last months challenge, I was determined not to miss this one, and was quite chuffed when I read the challenge. But time flies as always, work piles up, schedules lag, mismanagement and procrastination galore, I find the panic rising the minute we get past the 15th.

Quite murmurs with fellow DBs…are you done yet? Did you do the challenge. Always looking for the push, the motivation, the ‘get up and go‘ to get up and go! I was quite motivated after we had a potluck at home, and Sangeeta brought some delightful whole wheat crackers.

Up early one Saturday morning, with the kids snoring, I had whole wheat cheddar crackers ruling my head…but alas, no recipe on Sangeeta’s blog. I decided to chart my own path, and thought I’d use the rye in the larder also know as finger millet or sprouted ragi flour locally.

Threw a few things together, garlic and sweet paprika two of my favourites, cheddar because crackers must have some yummy cheese in them {IMHO}, and smoked sea salt because I love the flavours it subtly adds! It was a timid attempt. Was pleased with the outcome, crisp, earthy, flavourful crackers … nom nom nom. Ran one past the boy. “YES! These are nice Mama.” What a relief.

Handed one out to the better half, lavished with some kumquat chili  marmalade that Sangeeta made with the kumquats I sent her. What a combination! “Can I have another please”, said Mr Man…and I knew we had some magic in here! I did pester her for her wholewheat cracker recipe, which she parted with large heartedly. That’s next on my list to do.

Then one day I made pizzas…actually Calzones, Pizza Pies & Popovers with lamb & beet greens. All that done, I still had a small ball of dough left. Almost chucked it out, then remembered reading ages ago that someone had made crisps out of leftover pizza dough. Don’t throw out that left over dough!

Such fun. Roll the dough between two sheets of parchment as thin as you possibly can. Give it a brush of extra virgin olive oil, a sprinkling of dried herbs, pepper, sweet paprika, maybe sea salt {though be careful if you dough already has salt in it}. Bake until crisp in a less that medium hot {lower element only} oven. Keep checking as every oven ‘does it’s own thing’. Before you know it, you might have burnt crackers!

I was out at sea for a dip for these and then thought a cheese dip might bring the pizza story together. Eyeballing is always good for dips. Cheddar, olive oil, low fat cream, garlic, dried herbs … and into the microwave. Voila! It was a cheese fondue on the side!

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Recipe: Rye Cheddar Crackers

Summary: Crisp, earthy, flavourful crackers with rye flour.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:

  • 120g rye / sprouted ragi flour
  • 120g plain flour
  • 1 tsp smoked sea salt
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp smoked sweet paprika
  • 50g cheddar, grated
  • 30g butter, room temperature
  • 100-125ml water {about 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup}
  • Sesame seeds {optional}

Method:

  1. Place rye, plain flour, sea salt, garlic, sweet paprika, cheddar and butter in food processor and whiz till it becomes fine breadcrumbs.
  2. Gradually add enough water to make a firm, smooth dough.
  3. Roll out as thin as possible, brush with beaten egg {or milk} and sprinkle over sesame seeds, and cut into rectangles with a fluted pastry cutter.
  4. Bake at 170C for about 15 minutes, until brown and crisp.
  5. Cool completely on racks, and store in an airtight box.
  6. Serve with Kumquat Chili Marmalade and cheese.

Recipe: Pizza Dough Crisps 

Summary: Crisp crackers made out of pizza dough. Give it a brush of extra virgin olive oil, a sprinkling of dried herbs, pepper, sweet paprika, maybe sea salt.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:

    • 1 small orange sized ball of pizza dough
    • extra virgin olive oil
    • Suggested toppings : dried herbs, smoke paprika, sea salt, chili flakes, sumac, freshly ground pepper, sesame seeds, poppy seeds
    • Plain flour for rolling

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 160-170C, medium low heat.
  2. Divide the dough into 2, lightly dust with flour, and roll out as thin as possible between two sheets of parchment paper.
  3. Keep checking the paper to ensure it doesn’t stick on top, and dust a little if required. You will bake on the bottom sheet, so the lower sheet doesn’t matter.
  4. Brush with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle over your choice of toppings.
  5. Bake in a medium low oven until crisp. I used just the lower element and kept checking. My oven took about 25 minutes.
  6. Cool completely, and then break into shards.
  7. Serve with a dip of your choice.
  8. A cheese fondue, a fresh salsa, a ranch buttermilk cream cheese dip, or a chili marmalade are great on the side.

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Baking | Lamb & Beet Greens – Calzones, Pies & Popovers …pizza dough three ways for times when you can’t think of anything better!

“I talked to a calzone for fifteen minutes last night before I realized it was just an introverted pizza. I wish all my acquaintances were so tasty.
”
Jarod Kintz

Calzones, Pizza Pies & Popovers with lamb & beet greens. Pizza dough many ways because minced lamb was all that I had in the freezer. I toyed with the idea of meatballs…but NAH, too much effort! So I made pizza dough, with some whole wheat thrown in for good measure! One batch went a long way. Deliciously too. With mince lamb and beet greens, we had calzones one day, pizza pies the next, and popovers for snacks. Never a hungry moment! What is it with teens? Forever hungry! “What’s for fooooooood”  echoes through the house every weekend. Why do weekends seem so long? Why are so many meals involved? Why are ‘they’ so hungry? So many questions … one answer. Something pizza!

It gives me a sense of security and comfort to have a slow rising dough in the fridge. If all else fails, there is always margarita! Make ahead is good stuff! Made ahead pizza dough, even better!I’ve grown some beets and carrots in my little patch this year. When the first beet surfaced I was thrilled. MY FIRST BEET EVER! The gardener {lazy inefficient man that he is, quite good for nothing but non stop banter} was even happier. “Photo?” he queried. The camera obliged! We had the little beets for salad and I didn’t know what to do with the greens. There were loads of them. Sent them for Man Fridays rabbits to munch {Coco didn’t take to them unfortunately though she loves peas and brocolli}. Then spoke to Sangeeta who suggested using the greens in salad etc since they were edible. A few beets and carrots also went into a fermented drink, kaanji, which is highly nutritional and a result of bacterial fermentation. The deep colour comes from ‘black carrots’ or ‘kaali gajar’ which is the star of the drink. Black carrots are available for a brief period in winter in North India. The kaanji recipe can be found on Sangeeta’s blog. It turned out to good to be true; full of nostalgic memories of the years gone by. Fermented products are an acquired taste, and interestingly, most cultures have something to contribute.

Fermentation in food processing typically is the conversion of carbohydrates to alcohols and carbon dioxide or organic acids using yeasts, bacteria, or a combination thereof, under anaerobic conditions. Fermentation in simple terms is the chemical conversion of sugars into ethanol. The science of fermentation is also known as zymology or zymurgy.

Fermentation usually implies that the action of microorganisms is desirable, and the process is used to produce alcoholic beverages such as wine, beer, and cider. Fermentation also is employed in the leavening of bread (CO2 produced by yeast activity); in preservation techniques to produce lactic acid in sour foods such as sauerkraut, dry sausages, kimchi, and yogurt; and in pickling of foods with vinegar.

Examples of fermentation across cultures include kimchi, soy sauce, miso, pickled cucumbers, quark, crème fraîche, sourdough bread, kombucha, idli, dosa, dhokla, sake, vodka, whisky, wine, fish sauce, chorizo …. the list is endless!  Sangeeta is very “fresh produce and ingredient informed“especially when it comes to local produce. She suggested that I could harvest the beet greens and use them as I like, leaving the beets below the ground. New leaves will keep appearing. Since beets are perennials, they will stay good for two years! This is what I love about food blogging. It’s a large hearted community which has the willingness to share and grow.Then the possibilities exploded! I searched the net to find a whole load of folk do eat the beet greens, and happily so. The next bunch of leaves headed for pizza. Fingers crossed that the kids wouldn’t think I was ‘killing them with spinach‘ again. That has happened in the past which is why I shifted to purslane. It fared really well in Lamb & Purslane Pides{Turkish pizzas}!Threw in chopped onion, garlic and some sweet smelling marjoram from Sangeeta’s garden = BLISS. Life was certainly looking up suddenly. In went the chopped greens and they imparted a beautiful deep red to the onions. NICE! They wilted pretty soon. Once the lamb came into play, you couldn’t tell what ‘green’ was ‘going on in there‘. The tiredness went, and the spices flew in. Before I knew it I was cooking up certain yumminess. Sweet paprika, smoked, adds huge flavour dimensions to minced lamb. Juberfam & Mittal do a really really nice one available locally. I LOVE it! Bell peppers went in next, basically whatever there was on hand. They were a hit!! Next time would possibly see finely chopped mushrooms too.

[print_this]Recipe: Lamb & Beet Greens – Calzones, Pies & Popovers 

Summary: Lamb & Beet Greens – Calzones, Pies & Popovers …pizza dough three ways. One batch went a long way. Deliciously too with mince lamb and beet greens. We had calzones one day, pizza pies the next, and popovers for snacks. Never a hungry moment!

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour plus dough rising and resting time
Ingredients:

  • Dough
  • 150g wholewheat flour
  • 350g all purpose flour
  • 1.5tsp yeast
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • 1 tbsp dried herbs
  • 1 tbsp pickled peppers
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 310ml warm water
  • Filling
  • 500g minced lamb
  • 1 onions, chopped fine
  • 5 cloves garlic, chooped fine
  • 1 small bunch fresh marjoram {or dried}
  • 10-15 beet greens, chopped
  • 1tsp sweet smoked paprika, Juberfam & Mittal
  • 2 tsp roasted cumin powder
  • Salt & pepper t taste
  • 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 50g cream cheese
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • 2 bell peppers, red & yellow, julienned
  • Mozzarella
  • Pimento olives

Method:

  1. Dough {I make it in the Thermomix}
  2. Place all ingredients except water in bowl of food processor and whiz for 1 minute.
  3. Add water and knead to a smooth dough.
  4. Place in a greased bowl and allow to rise for 1-2 hours, until doubled. At this point you can refrigerate the dough, else use it. I prefer using it after a rest in the fridge.
  5. Filling
  6. Heat the olive oil in a pan. Sweat onions, marjoram and garlic until light pink and fragrant.
  7. Add the beet greens and saute until wilted. Throw in the mince and cook on high for about 5 minutes.
  8. Add the paprika, cumin, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well.
  9. Cook open for about 15 minutes until the mince is cooked. Add the cream cheese, mix well and turn off heat. Cover pan and allow to cool completely.
  10. Preheat oven to 180C.
  11. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper for calzones, used ceramic dishes for pies, and muffin molds for popovers.
  12. Calzones: You can follow the basic recipe on the Roasted Bell Pepper, Mushroom and Ricotta Calzones. This recipe has a nice vegetarian filling option. Maybe some beet greens will do great in here.
  13. Pizza Pies: Roll out small balls of dough and place in ceramic pie dishes, leaving a border hanging out. Fill with filling of your choice, then frill the border back over part of the filling. Bake at 180C for about 30 minutes {until golden brown and firm to touch. Time will vary depending on size of pie}
  14. Pizza Popovers: Roll out small balls of dough. Place the filling in the centre and pull the sides up to form a sack. Twist gently to keep in place. I tied mine with a bit of marjoram. gently place in muffin tins and bake for about 25-30 minutes until firm to touch, crisp and brown.

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No bake | Dark Chocolate & Kumquat Creme Pots … In Season with Kumquats

“Chemically speaking, chocolate really is the world’s perfect food.”
Michael Levine

Dark Chocolate & Kumquat Creme Pots … these were decadent. Delicious, bowl scraping good and soul satisfying. The season and the colours of the humble little kumquat, a sour citrus fruit that was until a few years ago just an ornamental plant, all inspire creativity. This dessert was the result of one such inspired moment!

We always referred to kumquats as Chinese oranges or tangerines. Food blogging threw up new names. So many references to a similar fruit by the name of kumquat, and then the Google Gods demystified it. These are round kumquats, the Asian cousins of the elliptical round ones that colour the web every now and then.The boughs are hanging heavy with fruit, ready for picking, and more buds and green kumquats are already showing up. My mothers shrub too is full with fruit too. This seems to be a good year for this tart citrus fruit.

I’ve done lots with these beauties this season … Kumquat & Strawberry Tiramisu Charlotte, Kumquat Marmalade, and No Bake Cheesecake Pots. My mind works overtime thinking of how much more we can do with kumquats.

I had serious dark chocolate and orange cravings one day. Two years ago I had  made Dark chocolate & sour orange tartlets. My blog was hacked shortly after that and some posts disappeared. I didn’t have the time to check then. Recently when I looked for the tartlets high and low, I drew a blank on PAB.

The pictures are still firmly etched in my head. Googling led me to FoodGawker and I was relieved to see I had indeed made the tartlets, only that the recipe post has been lost forever. I have attempted to recreate it. I remember cooking the whole fruit then.If I wasn’t inspired enough by the fruit of the season, I was even more fortunate that day. Look at these beautiful little ceramic cups and single serve creamers that I got from Urban Dazzle. Adorable!!  Love at first sight, it brought out the inner child in me. Took me back to when we were little girls, playing with miniature tea sets.  How could I not be inspired?

There’s something about white ceramic bakeware. It holds so much promise. These little round ramekins are one of the best additions to my bursting bakeware collection. There is so much you can do in them … cream caramels, panna cotta, ice cream in summer, chocolate custard pots, lime possets. Do you have any more ideas dear readers? What would you make in these little beauties?

One look at them as I unpacked them, smooth ceramic, neat, clean edges, aesthetically designed and my imagination took wing. There was no time to bake so I took the fast track to dessert. A winning combination of sour orange and dark chocolate, topped with a light white chocolate cream sauce. We were back in business! Dark chocolate from Thorntons married a bittersweet sour orange puree to make thick custard like pastry cream. A light cream chocolate sauce made with melt in the mouth white chocolate made it sublime. Candied kumquats tied the flavours together with some white chocolate garnishing. All we heard after dinner was ‘scrape, scrape, scrape’.

You cannot go wrong with good quality chocolate. The pots were bowl licking good as might be the case with the kids. They too fell in love with the little ‘baby’ creamers, so charming and so unreal in this world which is in so much of a hurry sometimes. It was wonderful to sit back and enjoy the petite servings.

In the days to come I will try and find more ways to use the bounty of nature, i.e. kumquats in full strength. Bitter Kumquat Marmalade has been made; distributed too! I bottled some Kumquat Liqueur a few days ago in a decanter my Mum gave me. The colours are so pretty!

A few thoughts before I take you to the recipe. Do use good quality chocolate as that is what makes simple desserts like these absolutely shine! Also, if you prefer a smoother texture, you can always skip the almond meal. I just like to add ‘nuts’ in any form to my food.

This post is brought to you in conjunction with Thorntons.

[print_this]Recipe: Dark Chocolate & Kumquat Creme Pots

Summary: Delicious, bowl scraping good and soul satisfying, these no bake Dark Chocolate & Kumquat Creme Pots are inspired by fruit in season. The very tart and colourful kumquats lend deep ‘orangey’ flavour to the dark chocolate, and colour to the presentation.

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Ingredients:

  • Kumquat Puree {Your require a few tbsps. Store the ramainder in a jar in the fridge}
  • 250g kumquats, halved, seeds removed
  • 250g sugar
  • 1/2 vanilla bean
  • Creme Pots
  • 100g kumquat puree {recipe follows}
  • 250g dark chocolate
  • 25g raw sugar {or regular}
  • 20g cornflour
  • 200ml low fat cream
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 100ml milk 2%
  • 1/2 vanilla bean, scraped
  • 25g almond meal
  • White chocolate cream
  • 100ml low fat cream
  • 25g white chocolate, grated
  • 25g white chocolate for garnishing if desired
  • Candied Kumquats
  • 100g kumquats, sliced, seeds removed
  • 200g sugar
  • 200ml water

Method:

  1. Candied Kumquats
  2. Place sugar, water and sliced kumqauts in a saucepan. Simmer for about 15-20 minutes until the kumquats become translucent  Handle gently and strain the kumquats and reserve in a bowl.
  3. Return the syrup to the pan and reduce to about 2/3rd amount. Return the sliced candied kumquats to the syrup, cool and refrigerate until required.
  4. Kumquat puree
  5. Thermomix:
  6. Place all ingredients in bowl of TM, cook on 100, reverse speed 2 for 8 minutes. Blend until smooth.
  7. Stove Top:
  8. Place kumquats, sugar and vanilla bean in a saucepan. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until the kumquat peel is soft. Remove bean {or leave in as I did}. Puree until smooth.
  9. Place 100g kumquat puree with the dark chooclate and melt over a bain marie, or in the microwave.
  10. White chocolate cream
  11. Gently heat the cream, and pour over the white chocolate. Mix until smooth. Cool.
  12. For the pastry cream:
  13. Thermomix:
  14. Place 100g kumquat puree with the dark chocolate in TM bowl and run at speed 4, 10 seconds.
  15. Place remaining ingredients except almond meal. Cook at 90C, speed 4, 7 minutes. Add the almond meal and run at speed 6 for 30 seconds.
  16. Stove Top:
  17. Mix together the sugar, cornflour, cream and vanilla extract in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. To this add the egg yolks and whisk until smooth.
  18. Now place the saucepan over low heat and cook, stirring constantly to prevent the mixture from curdling.
    Add the milk a little at a time, still stirring constantly. After about 10-12 minutes the mixture will be thick, free of lumps and beginning to bubble. {If you have a few lumps, don’t worry. You can push the cream through a fine-mesh strainer}
  19. Fold in the dark chocolate-kumquat puree, and then uniformly stir in the almond meal.
  20. Transfer the cream to serving bowls immediately, tap gently to level out, and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate at least 2-3 hours before serving.
  21. Assemble
  22. Top each bowl with 1-2 tbsp of white chocolate cream, some candied kumquats and white chocolate scrolls. Serve immediately or chill until required.

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Jam making | Kumquat Marmalade … In Season & in plenty!

“I got the blues thinking of the future, so I left off and made some marmalade. It’s amazing how it cheers one up to shred oranges and scrub the floor.”
D.H. Lawrence

It’s a happy feeling just looking at a jar of homemade Kumquat Marmalade, characteristically bitter-sweet and delicious. Life continues to race, the days forever busy. A feeling of strange uncertainty takes over at times, like I’ve forgotten something, maybe missed a deadline.  It’s not the ‘end of the year‘ panicky feeling, or the ‘before exam restlessness‘. Then again, maybe like marmalade, life is bitter-sweet too!

I like to enjoy what I do, relax and vegetate sometimes, yet the modern day rat race of sorts is woven into every second that ticks by. Can’t figure out what happened to those laid back times of yesteryear.

Then in this feeling of being on a roller coaster comes a small break … jam making. Thankfully it’s a process that you so totally get immersed in, that the unsettled feeling is forgotten. The marmalade kept me on my toes, more so because junior decided to get involved.

Right from plucking the fruit off the tree, to shooting fruit in baskets, to grabbing some away from the dog, stirring, bottling … he was there all the way! {Little Coco had her eyes peeled through-out}I have been fascinated by the fruit since I was young. No one ever ate them, too tart of course, but they were so pretty! And the colours? Inspirational! Then a few years ago, a lady in the neighbourhood let us into her guarded little secret of making bitter marmalade with these. You will not imagine how many kilos of sugar disappeared into jars of jam once we were ‘fruitily enlightened‘!Every one we knew and their cousins were gifted bitter marmalade with glee. The hard work of snipping peels and stirring the jam until translucent well worth the look of amazement on the happy recipients faces. For the past 3 years this is all I do come winter, and everyone in the neighbourhood knows where to send their fruit.

Call it the strangeness of nature, but the much in demand lime tree just doesn’t seem to bear fruit like the kumquat tree. Kumquats finds little use among common growers and are not commercially sold in India. Yet, almost every household in North India proudly sports a kumquat tree, also called ornamental orange. The fruit fall and rot once ripe as even birds don’t feed on them, they are so tart!!

The round kumquat also called Marumi kumquat or Morgani kumquat, is an evergreen tree, producing edible golden-yellow fruit. Kumquat literally means ‘golden orange’. The fruit can be eaten cooked but is mainly used to make marmalades and jellies. It is grown as an ornamental plant and can be used in bonsai. The plant symbolizes good luck in China and other Asian countries.

“So much sugar? More? No Mama, No”! I forgot all my jam making skills, and I have made this jam umpteen times. “Is it done mama, is it done. Shall I stir? What if the bag of seeds opens? I think you haven’t tied it properly?” I could have tied up the thirteen year old, I was so nervous.

Then I announced it was ‘plate test time’. “What’s that? Ooh can I do it? I think it’s setting. Ya. No. Noooooooooooo … cook some more Mama. OK, let me stir. Shall we cook more?” . I finally regained control of my bitter kumquat marmalade finally telling him I thought it was done {though I think I cooked it a little longer than I should have!}

It’s strange how when kids are part of a process, they love the food even more. It’s been marmalade and toast for the past few days no matter what. Double fried eggs, cereal … and then the call, “Mama, if it’s not too much trouble, can I have toast with marmalade please?” Did I tell you he was charming? Gosh, all the way!

A word of thanks –  Thank you Ziet Online for featuring me in Sunday Dinners.

[print_this]Recipe: Kumquat Marmalade

Summary: Bitter kumquat marmalade is one of the best ways to use up this tart fruit. Makes a for a great gift, and is also a wonderful addition to cake batters, frosting, pies etc. Makes about 6 jars.

Prep Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Ingredients:

  • 1kg kumquats 
  • 1kg sugar 
  • 250ml water

Method:

  1. Sterilize 4-5 jam jars. Place a metal spoon in each jar {this ensures that the glass jar will not crack when the hot jam is poured in}.
  2. Place the sieving bowl over a bigger bowl, and squeeze the seeds to deseed the fruit. We need to collect the seeds as they contain the pectin to set the jam. Make a bouquet garnet of the seeds.
  3. Snip the peels with scissors into strips.
  4. Place the strips, with the pouch of seeds, in a heavy bottom pan on full heat. Boil for a few minutes till the peel is tender, stirring constantly.
  5. Add the water and continue to cook on high for 2-3 minutes. Now add sugar, stirring constantly.
  6. Continue to cook over high heat for a further 10-15 minutes until the mixture thickens & the strips becomes translucent.
  7. Do a plate test by dropping some marmalade on a cold metal plate to check if the jam is setting properly. After 30 seconds, it should congeal and look jellylike.
  8. Put off the flame, discard the muslin pouch with the seeds and allow the jam to cool for 10-15 minutes. Stir to distribute the strips.
  9. Now pour the marmalade into the jars, and seal after 10-15 minutes.
  10. {I refrigerate my jars}
  11. Thermomix method:
  12. Place the peels in the TM bowl and slice at speed 10 for 2-3 seconds. Add the reserved juice to the TM bowl, with 250g water, and run on Reverse at 100 for 10 minutes, speed slow.
  13. Add 800g sugar and the bouquet garni {which holds the seeds}, and run at reverse at speed 2 for 2 minutes. Add a further 450g sugar {small kumquats tend to be very bitter}, and continue to cook at reverse speed 2 for a further 8 minutes.
  14. Now turn power to 100C, place the lid at an angle, and cook until the gelling action kicks in and the jam begins to set. {Do a stainless steel plate test. Drop some marmalade on a cold plate to see if it sets in under a minute}. Mine took about 7-8 minutes.
  15. Put off the TM, discard the muslin pouch with the seeds & allow to stand in TM jar for about 15-20 minutes, and then pour into prepared jars. I refrigerate my marmalade.

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Baking | Creamy Chicken Pasta Bake … & a Broccoli salad #comfortfood

“From morning till night, sounds drift from the kitchen, most of them familiar and comforting. On days when warmth is the most important need of the human heart, the kitchen is the place you can find it; it dries the wet sock, it cools the hot little brain.”
E.B.White

Creamy Chicken Pasta Bake … this was one of those meals made on the trot, rummaging through the fridge, cleaning out whatever I could use. Then came the daughters’ call to her brother,  “Whatever she is making smells REALLY good“. One fork dug deep in later, “Man, this is GOOD! Wow!”

It turned out to be an indulgent, comforting meal in a bowl for days like we are experiencing. Cold Cold Cold. Temperatures nearly dipping into the freezer, 1-2° C range, no central heating, hands as cold as ice. Cooking feels good, stirring a pot over a warm fire quite comforting. Chopping is ugh; then again, there needs to be a means to the end I guess. The upside? Loads of fresh winter vegetables. L O A D S!

I’ve made the most of mushrooms, bell peppers and broccoli this season. Mushrooms are dicey though as the older teen cannot stand them, so I need to sneak them in. This time they hid under some lovely garlic butter and olive oil, then disappeared deep into Worcestershire sauce! Life does get so delicious sometimes….

This was one of those times in the kitchen when I felt like The Pioneer Woman or then the Domestic Goddess. Every pat of  butter, every dribble of cream seemed justified in this incessantly cold weather. I cannot even begin to tell you how wonderful the kitchen smelt … warm, garlicky, buttery and oh-so-comforting! Sometimes that little bit of extra fat makes life so much more worthwhile.

The mushrooms were kept veggie company with bell peppers and garlic greens. I love the added flavour garlic greens lend to a dish. Mushrooms and Worcestershire sauce also make for great pairing. I didn’t know that but tasting en-route endorsed it. For that matter rosemary, buttah and chicken make for great bedfellows too.

The creamy chicken was meant to be served over pasta, but the kids woke up really late. That meant a late lunch so I figured I could bake it altogether briefly. It’s wonderful how the creamy sauce got into every little crevice of the pasta. A quick grating of mozzarella and a handsome dash of smoked paprika {from Juberfam & Mittal; excellent stuff} made us all sing out loud.

This is a good one bowl meal, warming, filling, indulgent with some oven roasted potato wedges on the side. Oh, and a warm broccoli salad too. Crisp, full of flavour and really nice. Thankfully, broccoli has ended the battle of the greens with the kids! They know 6-7 florets are ‘mandatory‘; now quite enjoy it. I am yet to win the battle of the cauliflower!

The salad plate is a classic white one from Urban Dazzle. It’s reasonably priced and one that I really really like. Aesthetically designed, slightly tilted and handy to have on hand, it beautifully doubled up as a cake platter on my recent Tea Rose Fondant Cake.

It’s got a nice rounded base which tends to hold any extra dressing juices. Keeps the salad from getting soggy.

The tilt towards the front gives it a good feel. I served a cold potato buttermilk salad in it a few days ago. That is one of our favourites and a great way to enjoy spuds! YUM!

Before I go on to the recipe, I’d like to thank Turmeric n Spice for having me over in her series “Inspiration form the Blogging Community“. I truly enjoyed being there.

[print_this]Recipe: Creamy Chicken Pasta Bake

Summary: Creamy, cheesy, indulgent and comforting, this is a great one bowl meal for cold winter days. Make ahead and bake just before serving. Maybe you can do a broccoli salad and oven baked wedges alongside. Serves 6-8

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour Ingredients:

  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 tbsp extra vigin olive oil
  • 6 cloves garlic, chopped fine
  • 1 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
  • 1 tsp chili flakes
  • 200g button mushrooms, sliced fine
  • 750g chicken thigh tenders, cut into bite sized pieces
  • salt & pepper
  • 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 bell peppers {1red/1yellow}, chopped fine
  • 4-5 garlic greens, chopped fine with stalks
  • 1.5 tbsp plain flour
  • 1.5 cups plain milk
  • 200ml low fat cream {or half & half}
  • 50g cheddar, grated
  • 350g fusilli, cooked al dente
  • 100g mozzarella, grated
  • 1tsp smoked sweet paprika {from Juberfam & Mittal}

Method:

  1. Heat butter and olive oil in a heavy bottom pan. Add the chili flakes, dried rosemary and garlic. Saute until garlic turns light golden and fragrant.
  2. Add the mushrooms, sprinkle a little salt and saute over high heat until mushrooms turn golden brown and give up all their moisture. Add the Worcestershire sauce and mix well; then add the chicken tenders. Season with salt and pepper and saute over high heat until lightly browned.
  3. Sprinkle over the flour, mix to coat chicken pieces, and then pour in the milk. Stir continuously until the sauce thickens.
  4. Reduce heat to simmer, add the cream and grated cheddar and simmer for 5-7 minutes. 
  5. Stir in the chopped bell peppers and garlic greens, taste and adjust seasoning, then stir in the cooked pasta. 
  6. Divide the pasta and chicken mixture into serving dishes, casseroles etc, top with grated mozzarella, sprinkle over smoked paprika and some more garlic greens if you like.
  7. Bake at 180C for 15 minutes, allow to stand for 10 minutes and serve.

Recipe: Simple Broccoli Salad

Summary: Crisp, flavourful brocolli salad.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:

  • 2-3 heads of broccoli, broken into florets
  • 1-2 tsp salt and 4-5 cups water
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • Dressing
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 3-4 cloves garlic, sliced fine
  • 1-2 tbsp pickled red & green peppers {or jalapenos}, sliced
  • 1 tbsp white sesame seeds
  • Sea salt & pepper

Method:

  1. Blanch the florets in boiling salted water for 2 minutes, drain well and toss in 1 tbsp of olive oil. Reserve.
  2. Dressing
  3. Heat remaining olive oil in small saucepan, add the garlic and sliced pickled peppers. Simmer until the garlic is fragrant and light golden.
  4. Add the sesame seeds and simmer until they turn light brown and begin popping.
  5. Pour over broccoli, toss, grind pepper over it, throw in some sea salt and serve warm or at room temperature.

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