Sunchowder's Emporia Handcrafted Fresh Fruit Jams and Chutneys Longwood, Florida

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Wendy Read — Sat, 12 May 2012 00:36:30 +0000

This recipe is for one of my all time favorite cookies, Oatmeal Chocolate Chippers as my Mom used to call them. I have adapted her recipe over the years to tweek it and make it just a bit more healthy (not much considering it calls for 2 huge sticks of butter). I don’ t know where the recipe originated, it is hand-written on an index card covered in crunchy cellophane (always the ones that are so sentimental to me). She always used Crisco shortening and I have exchanged that for butter. I have also used some White Whole Wheat Flour and Bread Flour in this recipe to give the cookies a little more “chew”. My Mom would have used Nestle Chocolate Chips, my Grandmother would have insisted on raisins, but I love bittersweet chocolate. Ghirardelli makes a large bittersweet chip that is just a little more dear than Nestle and oh so much better tasting. You can chill the dough before scooping if you have time, if not, they will not suffer one bit! My mom would sometimes add a cup of chopped walnuts or pecans to these too…I have chosen to leave them off the ingredients list.

OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

INGREDIENTS

1 cup butter (2 sticks)

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup white granulated sugar

2 eggs (room temperature)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup bread flour

3/4 cup white whole wheat flour (I use King Arthur’s)

2 1/2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal

1 10 oz package bittersweet chocolate chips (I use Ghiradelli) (reduce this amount if you are not a chocolate lover)

METHOD

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

1. Using your electric mixer, cream the butter first especially if it is not room temperature to begin with, then add the brown sugar and white sugar. Beat for about 2 to 3 minutes until smooth. Add the eggs to the mixture and continue to beat, add vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt and continue to mix.

2. Add the flours to the mixture, first the 1 cup of bread flour, mix to incorporate, then add the 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour and mix again to incorporate. This mixture should look really thick at this point.

3. Add the 2 1/2 cups of oatmeal and beat slowly to incorporate, lastly, add the bag of chips and beat ever so slowly to incorporate these evenly into the cookie dough.

4. I use a baking stone for my cookies, it is always ungreased. Drop large rounded tablespoons of the dough spaced evenly on your pan. If you are using regular cookie sheets, you do not need to grease them.

5. Bake for 15 to 16 minutes until the edges are browned and the tops are bubbly.

6. After removing from the oven, let them sit for a few minutes before trying to take them off the stone. Place each one on a wire rack to cool. You can store them in a tin lined with wax paper after they have cooled completely.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chippers

Peach Lavender Cornmeal Buttermilk Muffins #Baketogether

Wendy Read — Thu, 10 May 2012 18:43:43 +0000

The Baketogether with Abby Dodge this month featured a fabulous recipe for Cornmeal Buttermilk Muffins , a sweet or savory version. As the first juicy peaches are now coming in from South Georgia, I wanted to incorporate peaches into the recipe. Here I have used my Peach Lavender jam to create a sweet version of the original muffin recipe. So…instead of fresh fruit, I added 5 oz of my Peach Lavender jam to the egg mixture. The baked muffins are marbled with the jam and they burst with bits of peach flavor, really pleased with the results! I also decided to put a little sweet topping on these and used my trusty Vita Mix to blend sugar and dried organic lavender flowers to elevate these muffins. You will note I reduced the sugar in the muffins ever so slightly as I was using jam, plus adding a sweet topping. Taken directly from Abby, if you are new or would like to join the #Baketogether, please know that we are a very inclusive group of happy bakers. You can Subscribe to Abby’s rss feed so you are always in-the-know and check out this post for some info on how we #baketogether.

PEACH LAVENDER CORNMEAL BUTTERMILK MUFFINS

Recipe from Abby Dodge http://www.abbydodge.com/2012/05/cornmeal-buttermilk-muffinssweet-or-savory-baketogether/

INGREDIENTS

3/4 Cup all purpose flour

1/3 Cup finely ground yellow cornmeal

1/4 Cup granulated sugar

2 Tsp baking powder

1/4 Tsp Salt

1/2 Cup buttermilk (room temperature)

1 Large egg (room temperature)

3 Tbsp Canola Oil

5 Oz Peach Lavender Jam

1/4 Tsp Almond Extract

For Topping:

3 Tbsp White Sugar

1/2 Tsp Organic Dried Lavender Flowers

1 Tbsp Brown Sugar (to be added AFTER the sugar and lavender are blended)

METHOD

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Line 9 regular-sized mufin cups with paper or foil liners.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt. Whisk until well-blended.

3. In a separate bowl, add the buttermilk and egg, whisk gently. Then add canola oil, almond extract and Peach Lavender Jam, stir this to incorporate.

4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold them carefully with a spoon until just blended, Abby mentions no stirring–this will ensure the muffins don’t have a “tough” texture.

5. Portion the batter between all of the cups, I came out with 9 muffins.

6. Add the 3 Tbsp Sugar and 1/2 tsp of lavender flowers to your blender container. (I used my Vita-Mix) Blend this for about 30 seconds until the mixture resembles confectioner’s sugar with tiny bits of lavender. Empty the blender contents into a small bowl and add the one Tbsp of Brown Sugar. Mix this with your fingers and top each muffin with a bit of this mixture to form a crumbly topping for each one. You will have some mixture left over.

7. Bake these muffins for 18 to 20 minutes until the tops are starting to brown. Move to a wire rack and let them cool for 15 minutes. Remove the muffins from the pan and set them on a wire rack to cool them completely. Store them in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. These taste wonderful heated just a bit before serving, which was also Abby’s suggestion.

Marbled Peach Lavender Muffins

Creamy Plantain Pudding

Wendy Read — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 18:21:19 +0000

Plantains are so widely available here in Central Florida, and I have really gotten accustomed to eating them a few times a week. They can be baked, fried, boiled, or steamed. I did a little research on them and Wiki says that plantains, like bananas, are believed to have originated in southeast Asia, having been cultivated in south India by 500 BC. From there, ancient trade routes distributed it to Africa through Madagascar. By 1000 AD, plantains had spread eastward to Japan and Samoa. They arrived in the Caribbean and Latin America by 1500 AD. Since then, they have spread widely throughout the tropics. Each country adds something unique in terms of spice and combination. Plantains contain beta carotene, vitamins C, B1, B3, B6, B12, K, and folate. Minerals include iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc, iodine, phosphorus, chloride and selenium.

I had three tremendous and terribly ripe plantains in the kitchen today, and I really wanted to do something different with them! I did a bit of research on the web and I decided on a sweet pudding. This recipe was inspired by one that on found online by Melissa’s World Variety Produce.

Creamy Plantain Pudding

Ingredients

Recipe from Sunchowders Emporia Kitchen

2 lbs (after peeling) ripe plaintains, mashed

1 1/2 Tbsp Butter

1 Tbsp Sour Cream

3/4 cup Brown Sugar

3 eggs, beaten

1 12 oz can evaporated milk

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup seedless raisins

1/4 tsp fresh grated nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp instant expresso powder

Cinnamon for sprinkling (optional)

Method

Using your kitchenaid or stand mixer:

1. Cream the plaintains, butter, sour cream and sugar.

2. Add three beaten eggs and one can of evaporated milk.

3. Add 1/4 cup whole wheat flour, raisins, nutmeg, and instant coffee to the mixture, do not overmix.

4. Pour this mixture into a greased 2 quart deep casserole dish. Sprinkle cinnamon on top if desired.

5. Bake at 370 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes until top is golden brown. When you shake it, the center should still have a bit of a jiggle, but certainly needs to look “set” or your pudding with be rawish and liquidy in the center.

Baked Plantain Pudding

Savory Gruyere and Corn Relish Bread Pudding

Wendy Read — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 15:30:24 +0000

This recipe was developed with my Farmer’s Market customers in mind. So many will ask me, well what do you do with this? How can I incorporate this into my meals? I researched some recipes on line and found a fabulous one that was written up in the LA Times which I have linked for you below. I eliminated the ham entirely to keep this meatless, used the herbs I had here in my garden, and substituted a jar of my corn relish for the called-for carrots in the original. This makes a hearty, sturdy bread pudding which makes a delightful side dish served with green salad or placed alongside a beautiful cut of beef. The recipe called for using a bain-marie which is an age-old process for cooking with a gentle, steady heat and adds a smoothness to the end product.

The jarred corn relish gives this pudding a slight tang of vinegar, I just love it and hope that you will too!

Inspired by the Savory bread pudding served at the Serpentine in San Franciso

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Prepare a 13 X 9 inch flat casserole or pan (spray with canola oil or use a bit of butter)

Prepare a larger casserole dish to be filled with water (about half-way up the sides) to be used as a waterbath. (Bain-Marie) This will give the bread pudding a smoother texture.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/4 pound Whole Grain Levain, preferably stale – 2 days old is perfect, cut into 1/2 to 3/4 inch cubes

6 cups milk (separated into 2 cups, then 4 cups)

8 Eggs

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh Lemon Balm

2 Tsp chopped fresh Rosemary

1/2 Tsp fresh ground pepper

1 Tsp kosher salt

1/8 cup Canola Oil (for onion saute)

12 oz of chopped fresh onion

1 16 oz jar of Sunchowder’s Emporia Corn Relish (or your favorite brand) My relish contains fresh corn off the cob, onions, peppers, cider vinegar and a host of yummy spices.

1 lb Gruyere Cheese, grated

1/8 cup butter (optional, to be added in small pats across the bread pudding before placing in the oven)

METHOD

1. Lay out the cubes of bread into the prepared pan.

2. Pour 2 cups of the milk over the bread and let this soak in for at least 20 minutes while you are preparing the other ingredients.

3. In a 10 inch or larger saute pan, add 1/8 cup canola oil and add the chopped onions, saute these until transparent and browned along the edges, also called carmelized. While the onions are working you can go to the next step. Once the onions are complete, move them from the heat and let them cool.

4. In a large bowl, add the eggs and whisk, then add the balance of the 4 cups of milk and whisk again to incorporate.

5. Add the chopped Lemon Balm and Rosemary, pepper and salt and whisk again to incorporate.

6. Add the jar of Corn Relish and beat gently with a wooden spoon to incorporate.

7. Gently fold in the cooled sauted onions.

8. Stir in the 1 pound of grated gruyere cheese.

9. Pour this mixture over the bread cubes and mix gently with a wooden spoon to incorporate the ingredients and ensure each bite gets a bit of lovely corn and cheese.

10. If desired, cut the 1/8 cup butter into bite-sized pats and dot across the casserole.

11. Place this casserole into the larger casserole that has water in it that will reach half way up the sides of your bread pudding casserole.

12. Place in the oven uncovered and bake for 1 hour and 20 to 25 minutes.

Mom’s Custard Rice Pudding circa 1950

Wendy Read — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 18:13:52 +0000

Mom used to make this rice pudding for us when we were kids, and I would love to eat it warm for breakfast. She had a special pink pyrex casserole she used to bake this in, and one year at a family gathering it was smashed to pieces…I mourned over it. These objects take on a life of their own especially after a loved one’s death. They seem irreplacable, but the healing is in the making. So her recipe lives on through me and hopefully my daughter will someday make this same pudding and feel as gushy as I do about my “vintage” pyrex. These past few months have been difficult for me, my brother has been horribly ill and is thankfully on his way back up. He lost his swallow relflex and has been in a skilled nursing home working hard with a speech therapist to regain his ability to swallow and have his stomach tube removed. I visited him this week, and he had been taken to the hospital to have the “official” swallow test done and he passed! For now it is on to soft foods for him and he does not have to be tethered to a bottle of chocolate protein…and I am hopeful that he will continue to get stronger. I asked him if he would like to have a bit of “mom’s” rice pudding, can you guess what he said?

Egg Custard Rice Pudding

Custard Rice Pudding

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 1 1/2 or 2 Quart Casserole Dish

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Short Grain Rice (if possible) (My Mom used River Brand, now I believe long gone)

4 cups Milk, separated into 2 cups each

1 Tbsp Water

1/4 cup Butter (one half of a standard stick)

Separately:

2 cups Milk

3 Eggs

3/4 cup Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/2 tsp Almond Extract

Cinnamon for Sprinkling, Fresh scraped Nutmeg

Method:

1. Cook 1/2 cup short grain rice in a heavy-bottomed pot with 2 cups of milk and one tablespoon of water. Set this on the lowest heat/flame possible. If you have a diffuser, this is the perfect time to use it. Cook for 20 minutes and add 1/4 cup butter, continue to cook until the rice is tender. My Mom used a double boiler for this, this makes it less labor intensive as you have to keep stirring this on the stovetop to avoid sticking. Your choice.

2. In a large mixing bowl, add 2 cups of milk, 3 eggs and 3/4 cup of sugar. Beat well and then add 1 tsp vanilla and 1/2 tsp pure almond flavoring.

3. SLOWLY add hot cooked rice mixture to the mixture of cold ingredients, whisking with each addtion so that the mixture does not begin to cook (this is called tempering).

4. Pour mixture into your prepared 1 1/2 or 2 quart baking casserole. Sprinkle with Cinnamon and Freshly scraped Nutmeg.

5. Bake for 50 minutes at 350 degrees.

This cooks up with a layer of custard over the top, the rice sinks to the bottom of the casserole. It is really a special dessert and a very special memory for me each time I prepare and make this for my family.

Recipe from www.sunchowdersemporia.com

Digging in to a Rice Pudding Casserole

Orange and Ginger Angel Food Cake #Baketogether

Wendy Read — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 20:50:07 +0000

The Baketogether with Abby Dodge this month featured a Tangerine Angel Food Cake with a bittersweet carmel sauce. I stuck very closely to her recipe this time, I only switched it up a bit and used my fresh picked oranges for zest and juice for the curd, and I added crystallized ginger to this batter. Instead of a carmel sauce, I wanted to use up some of those egg yolks so I modified a fabulous recipe for lemon curd from my friend LiztheChef and substituted orange for lemon, omitted the cornstarch and added some chocolate! It is more of a sauce than a curd, but it is really tasty and perfect with cake. I have to say this is the lightest Angel Food Cake I have ever made, it melts in your mouth. This recipe is a staple and keeper in my library.

I really love participating in the Baketogethers. Taken directly from Abby, if you are new or would like to join the #Baketogether, please know that we are a very inclusive group of happy bakers. You can Subscribe to Abby’s rss feed so you stay in-the-know and check out this post for some info on how we #baketogether.

INGREDIENTS

For the cake:

1 cup (4 ounces) cake flour

1 1/4 cup (5 ounces) confectioners’ sugar

1/4 teaspoon table salt

11 large (1 1/3 cups) egg whites, at room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 cup (7 ounces) superfine sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons finely grated orange zest

1 Tablespoon finely chopped crystallized ginger

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla bean paste

For the curd:

1 Cup Sugar

1 tsp Kosher Salt

1 Cup Juice of Fresh Oranges

6 Egg Yolks

2 oz Chocolate (I used Valhrona)

2.5 Tbsp Butter

METHOD

For the cake: Heat oven to 350. Have ready an 10 x 4–inch angel food cake pan–do not grease the pan. Sift ( just a regular old sieve will work here) together the flour, confectioners’ sugar and salt three times (no joke – THREE times) onto a sheet of parchment, waxed paper or foil and set aside. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on medium-low speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar, increasing speed to medium, and beat until whites are opaque and climbing about half way up the bowl (the tracks from the whisk will be beginning to hold their shape) forming very soft peaks. Continue beating while slowly and continuously adding the superfine sugar. Beat on medium high until the whites are thick, shiny and form medium-firm, fluffy peaks. (The peaks should droop over gently.) Do not over beat. You want to leave some room for those whites to expand in the oven. Add the orange zest, crystallized ginger and vanilla bean paste. Beat just until blended, about 10 seconds. Sift 1/4 of the flour mixture over the beaten whites. Using a large rubber spatula, gently fold the dry ingredients into the whites. Repeat with remaining flour mixture, one quarter at a time.

Using the spatula to gently coax the batter, pour evenly into the prepared pan. Smooth the top with a knife or short spatula. Bake until the cake is light golden brown and the cake is springy when touched, about 40 minutes. Immediately invert the pan onto the counter if the pan has feet or if it doesn’t, invert the pan sliding the center tube onto the neck of the bottle. Let cool completely. To remove the cake, rotate the pan, gently tapping the bottom edge of the cake pan on the counter as you turn it until the cake loosens from the pan. If necessary, run a long, thin knife between the cake and the pan and around the inside of the tube to loosen the cake. Slip the cake from the pan and gently lift it up from the center of the pan and arrange on a flat serving plate. Cut the cooled cake using a serrated knife and a gently sawing motion. Serve slices of cake drizzled with the warm or room temperature orange chocolate curd.

For the curd:

Using a heavy bottom pot (I use my Le Creuset), add 1 cup of sugar, 1 tsp of salt and 1 cup of fresh squeezed orange juice to the pot. Put on medium flame and whisk these ingredients together. Beat the 6 egg yolks and add to the pot, continually whisking until this mixture is almost at the boil. Add the two ounces of chocolate and continue to whisk. This mixture will begin to thicken ever so slightly–do not let this mixture boil. Remove from the flame and add your 2 1/2 tbsp of butter to this mixture. Pour into a clean jar and cover until cooled. Refrigerate until needed. This made a light chocolate flavor, if you like, you might try adding one more ounce of chocolate for a deeper flavor, but I liked this version just fine.

Cowboy Candy Corn Bread

Wendy Read — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 19:51:53 +0000

Rebecca of Foodie with Family fame, has a recipe for candied jalapenos on her site that is wonderful. I adapted her recipe to make my own “Cowboy Candy”, aka candied jalapenos, and I use these candied gems to enhance a wonderful Corn Bread that pairs well with chili or a simple green salad. This cornbread is sometimes sampled to my Winter Park Farmer’s Market customers so that they can get ideas for how to incorporate my canned products into their meals. You can also use the leftover syrup for making your own salad dressing, or martinis….or simply adding some zippy flavor to some plain brown rice. If you press on the link above, it will take you directly to Rebecca’s site so that you can make your own. I made several modifcations to her recipe when developing mine which includes using fresh ground Guajilla pepper , along with about twice as much granulated garlic and some other “secret” spices. Surely, you will add your own twist to these exciting bits!

The corn bread recipe below was taken from All Recipes and ever so slightly adapted, I used canola oil instead of olive oil and instead of using 3 fresh Jalapenos I used 1/3 of a cup of my candied jalapenos along with a tablespoon of the juice from the jar to kick this recipe up a notch. I also turned the heat down from 400 to 395 and this slight difference added a touch of moistness to the crumb, corn bread can really come out dry sometimes. Follow the link above to see the original recipe, here is my adaptation.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups Cornmeal

1/2 cup White Whole Grain Flour (I use King Arthurs)

6 Tbsp Sugar

2 Tsp Baking Powder

1 Tsp Kosher Salt

1/2 Tsp Bakng Soda

1/3 cup chopped Candied Jalapenos (toss these into the stirred dry mixture so that they do not sink to the bottom while bread is baking)

Separately:

2 Eggs

1 Cup Buttermilk (make your own with whole milk and 2 tsp cider vinegar if none on hand–you must wait for mixture to “curdle”)

1/3 cup Canola Oil

1 Tbsp Candied Jalapeno Syrup

METHOD

Preheat oven to 395 degrees. Grease a 9 inch round baking tin and set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. When mixed thoroughly, add in the chopped candied jalapenos to coat them thoroughly. This will help them stay incorporated into the cornbread and not just sink to the bottom of your pan. Set aside.

In another bowl, beat your two eggs, then add buttermilk, canola oil and your candied jalapeno syrup.

Take these wet ingredients and add them to the bowl of dry ingredients, mix thoroughly.

Pour this mixture into your baking tin. Bake for 22 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean. If you overbake this, your cornbread will come out dry.

Recipe adapted from All Recipes website, my version published on www.sunchowdersemporia.com

Cowboy Candy Cornbread on a Sunday Afternoon

Fresh Orange, Soursop, Vanilla Bean and Bourbon Jam

Wendy Read — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 18:00:17 +0000

I myself am not a great lover of marmalades. My husband, on the other hand, loves the sweet bitterness they impart on the tongue….whereas I can only think of bile to be honest. But I am so grateful to be living in the midst of citrus heaven here in Central Florida. I have access to a small grove of orange and grapefuit trees in Apopka where I can go to pick oranges to my heart’s content. I created a new jam this year combining these fresh oranges with frozen soursop pulp. I am usually a purist and like to stick with fresh fruit only–but until I can grow my own soursop, I will be using the frozen pulp that I can purchase at our local hispanic store. Soursop tastes like a combination of strawberries and pineapple and almost to me a bit “watermelony” with citrus undertones. It is known as guanabana in the Carribean countries and is used to make fruit drinks, smoothies and ice creams. I was introduced to this fruit by my Columbian friends who make glorious popsicles each summer using the frozen pulp.

This recipe does not even use any of the zest of the fruit and to me has all the sweet qualities that citrus has without any of the “tough” bitter bits! The preparation is a bit intense, but it is so worth it when you tuck into your fresh preserves long after the season has passed.

Fresh Orange Soursop Jam with Ladyfingers and Expresso

For the preparation, I take the whole oranges, I cut them in half, then quarter them. I place all of these orange quarters in a large working bowl, and then I carefully cut the flesh out of the skin and “clip out” the membrane containing the seeds. I save the seeds and membranes in a ziplock and then freeze, so I can use in my other jams that require more pectin. These fresh orange sections have plenty of pectin and do not need the added seeds to help the jam come together to a beautiful consistency. You will have lots of juice on your cutting board, keep scooping up the juice as you work and add to your completed bowl of orange flesh, all of these juices add to the flavor! Do not worry at all about how the oranges look, just add all the tender bits that you can. Once the fruit is added to your jam pot, you will use an immersion blender to break the fruit down into the bit size pieces that make this preserve so wonderful. I cook mine in a large french copper jam pot, you may use any type of wide bottomed pot that you have in your kitchen–the heavier the better. This jam will require standing and stirring towards the end of the cooking process, it cannot be left to cook on its own.

INGREDIENTS

4 lbs fresh orange segments (about 7 to 8 pounds of whole oranges)

2 14 oz packages of frozen soursop pulp (unsweetened)

3 1/4 lbs sugar

1 tsp citric acid (optional, keeps color bright)

1 fresh vanilla bean, split open, scraped

1/8 cup good quality Bourbon

METHOD

1. Prepare about 12 eight oz ball jars for this recipe. You will need to sterlize the jars in a boiling water canner. Boil the jars for at least 12 minutes and then keep them in the warm water while you prepare the jam. Take a small plate and place in your freezer, you will use this later to test the doneness of your jam. This amount of fruit will make 11 or 12 jars depending on how much of the juices you capture.

2. Prepare the oranges and pour them into your canning vessel.

3. Add the soursop pulp, sugar and citric acid to your pan.

4. Take your immerson blender and blend the mixture until the pieces are fine, but still have a bit of a “chew”, no more than 1 inch or so for a nice end product.

5. Split and scrape your vanilla bean, add this along with the whole bean to your mixture.

6. Cook the product down for at least 20 minutes on a medium flame or heat. Stir frequently. You will notice that the mixture will thicken a bit and will change into a deeper color.

7. This jam will not need the use of a themometer, after 20 to 25 minutes of cooking, you can do your first test. Take your plate out of the freezer and place a small bit of the jam on the plate. Return to the freezer for 5 minutes, take out and gently “push” the jam with your finger, if it wrinkles, the jam is ready. You can also tip the plate to see how quickly it runs down. Trust yourself. Rinse and place the plate back in the freezer and continue cooking the jam until it thickens. This will vary depending on your pan, your stove and the amount that you stir the jam.

8. Once the jam has reached the desired thickness, tip in 1/8 cup of Bourbon and quickly shut the flame. Stir this in gently. At this point remove your jars from the canner, and then pour the jam into your prepared jars leaving 1/4 inch of headspace in each jar so that a vacuum can be created when they are boiled. I use a kitchen ladle and a canning funnel to put the hot jam into the jars.

9. Process in a water bath canner for 12 minutes.

10. Remove from canner and leave undisturbed for several hours, check to ensure that the seals are good by pressing into the center of the lid, the seal has been made when there is no sound when pressing on the “pop” top.

This jam will stay shelf-stable for up to two years. I like to use all of my products before the 12 month mark for clarity and color.

Recipe created by www.sunchowdersemporia.com

Droolworthy Orange Soursop Vanilla and Bourbon Jam

Spicy Cheddar Sables for #Baketogether with Abby Dodge

Wendy Read — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 12:46:36 +0000

I was finally able to participate again this month with Abby Dodge for the monthly “Baketogether! She has presented another fabulous recipe that turns a melt-in-your-mouth shortbread cookie into an elegant, savory, and versatile sable. I served these sables with grapes, sharp cheddar chunks, plum ginger apricot jam, and fresh brewed coffee for a mid-afternoon reprieve. Abby serves these up with wine and cocktails! I made just a few changes to the original recipe to change it up a bit, and I was very pleased with the results. I just happen to be growing some Lemon Basil and thought that would be a great subsitution for the chopped fresh thyme in the original recipe. I also subsituted Kerrygold Irish Cheddar for the classic Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. I love the ease of this recipe and the results are stunning. Once you taste these, you will never want to place a hunk of cheese on a store-bought cracker, I can tell you that! Abby uses a classic technique called fraisage which calls for very little handling of the dough (to create those layers of melt-in-your-mouth greatness) and then uses a simple dough scraper to shape the dough into a log for slicing after the dough is chilled. For the original recipe and Abby’s step by step instructional photos, please visit her blog here.

I invite everyone to visit Abby’s Blog. She is a former pastry chef, she studied at La Varenne in Paris, has authored seven books…she is amazing and she inspires me to be better! If you would like to join the Baketogether, please subscribe to Abby’s updates so that you can get yourself in the “know”. You will get to join a friendly community of bakers and bloggers, and she makes it so easy to add your version and results to the roundup. Below is the recipe, and I have incorporated the small changes I made here in case you would like to try my version. If you have never used this technique, please visit Abby’s blog page as she took the time to post up some great photos with a step by step instructional.

Spicy Cheddar Sables

Makes 29 sables.

■1 1/3 cups (6 ounces) all purpose flour

■1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated Irish KerryGold Cheddar

■1 teaspoon table salt

■3/4 teaspoon chopped fresh lemon basil

■1/8 teaspoon (or more to taste) ground cayenne pepper (I only used 1/8 tsp)

■8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 7 slices, well chilled

■2 tablespoons + 1 1/2 teaspoons very cold water (I used an ice cube in my water to get it chilled quickly)

To make the dough:

1. Put the flour, cheese, salt, lemon basil and cayenne in a food processor and pulse briefly to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the butter pieces are slightly larger than pea size, about 10 to 12 pulses depending on your machine. Drizzle the water evenly over the flour mixture. Pulse until the dough begins to form moist crumbs that are just beginning to clump together, about 8 or 9 more pulses depending on your machine.

2. Dump the moist crumbs onto the unfloured counter and gather into a pile. With the heel of you hand, push and gently smear the crumbs away from you until they start to come together in a cohesive dough. Two or three ‘smears’ should do the trick. Using a bench scraper, gather the dough together and turn it about 45 degrees and give it one or two more smears. Gather the dough together and shape the dough into a 7 1/4-inch long and 2 1/4 -inch wide rectangle using the bench scraper to make the sides nice and straight. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until very firm, about 3 hours, or up to 2 days.

3. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 375°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment. Using a thin, sharp knife, cut the logs into 1/4-inch slices and arrange about 1 inch apart (they don’t spread much at all) on the prepared sheets. Bake, one sheet at a time, until nutty brown around the edges, 16 to 18 minutes. If you like, sprinkle the crackers with a little kosher salt just as the baking sheets come out of the oven. Serve slightly warm or room temperature.

4. The dough can be shaped and frozen for up to a month and then thawed for about an hour on the counter or in the refrigerator overnight. Likewise, tuck the baked and cooled sables in a heavy duty zip top bag and stash them in the freezer. Thaw at room temperature and warm them for a few minutes at 325°F to refresh the flavors.

Abby makes note that it is important to bake these until the edges are brown or you can come out with a sable that lacks crisp texture and flavor.

Sables with Lemon Basil

Spring and My Favorite Banana Bread

Wendy Read — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 00:14:50 +0000

And so it is Spring once more. I went outside to pluck a lemon from my tree, and I found a beautiful nest with three precious eggs which will be hatched in the next week. Momma Cardinal was off for a quick bite and soon enough returned to the nest after I photographed her perfect eggs. The seasons tend to blurr here, as it is always green and full of flowers, but the birds always let me know that the weather will be changing and all will be renewed.

Here is a recipe for my favorite Banana Bread, the one that my Mom always made when I was growing up. The only time this was made in my house was when we had to “use up” the overripe bananas, and I have continued the tradition in my own family. I don’t know where the recipe originated, if it was with my Mom or her Mom, or a magazine from long ago. It is not overly sweet, but nice and moist from the addition of sour cream. This is considered a quick bread because it uses the addition of baking powder and soda as opposed to yeast. I baked mine in a 10 1/4 by 4 1/4 clay baker, but you can use the standard loaf pan and adjust the cooking time to 55 minutes. This recipe can also be easily doubled.

Banana Quick Bread Recipe

Ingredients

1/2 Cup Butter, softened

3/4 Cup Sugar

1 Tsp Vanilla

1 Tsp Lemon Juice (cider vinegar can be substituted)

2 Eggs

1 Cup Mashed Ripe Bananas

1/2 Tsp Salt

1 3/4 Cup Flour

1 Tsp Baking Soda

1 Tsp Baking Powder

1/2 Cup Sour Cream (you can use reduced fat sour cream if desired)

Spray Oil to coat your baking dish (you can use butter if you like)

Method

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

I use my stand mixer to make this bread. Cream together the butter and sugar first, then add eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla, lemon and salt. Add the mashed bananas being careful not to overmix. In a separate bowl, add the dry ingredients listed above, flour, baking soda and baking powder, and mix by hand to incorporate. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in your stand mixer bowl. Alternate adding the flour mixture, adding half of the sour cream, mixing, then the balance of flour along with the sour cream. Pour the mixture into your choice of greased loaf pans, if you use the standard pan (9″ X 5″) increase the baking time to 55 minutes. If you are using a tea loaf pan which is longer and more narrow, cook for 50 minutes at 350 degrees. A toothpick inserted into the center of the bread should come out clean when the bread is done.