Grandpa's Blackberry Jam

When I think of my Grandpa I think of bear hugs and whisker rubs.  I think of long afternoons sitting in the carport watching him guide wood across the surface of his table saw, showing me how to do it safely, how to measure carefully so no wood went to waste.  He built furniture with sturdy frames, generally covered in laminate with a wood pattern - he thought laminate with a wood pattern was a marvel.  When I smell sawdust, or wood glue, or contact cement those memories rush back.

My Grandpa was a teacher, not so much with his words as with his actions.  Despite growing up in an era where a woman's place was securely in the home, he sent my Grandma off to go shopping and socializing with her girlfriend's every weekend.  He stayed home and invited all of the neighborhood children over for a big pancake breakfast.  I am sure that there was no mess for her to clean up afterwards, that would have been an unacceptable way to treat a wife he loved deeply.

I have so many memories of growing up with him.  When I turned five, he dressed up as a candyman for my birthday party.  He pinned bags of candy all over his shirt and pants and then ran as a horde of young girls chased him down ripping off the candy.  The before, during and after pictures are hilarious and he is smiling in all of them.  During Christmas he let the grandkids decorate his bald head with the bows from our presents because it made us laugh.  He loved making people laugh.

What I remember the most though is how openly he loved us.  His cards were always the corny floral ones with one on my mantle reading in his carpenter's print, I want to thank you for the treasure you have become to me.  It's from several years ago but I pick it up and read it often.  He was such a treasure to me.

He loved me despite the distance between our world views, despite my back covered in tattoos and my hair dyed a platinum blonde.  It is through him that I first began to understand what unconditional love looked like in real life.

He passed away a few months ago, after several years of decline, first his body, then his mind.  I mourn that the newest generation, my baby nieces and nephews, will never remember his bear hugs.  In my mourning though I realize the honour of sharing his love falls to those who knew him.  That I can make epic pancake breakfasts, hug my niece tightly and love her unconditionally. 

At this time of year, late-August moving into fall, blackberries are at their peak and blackberry jam was my Grandpa's favorite.  I decided to ask him for the recipe a few years ago, I wanted to know his secrets, the story behind the recipe that I was sure had been passed down through the generations.  In his common sense way, he looked at me and said, "Just follow the directions on the pectin box dear."  So as I attempt to capture late summer in a jar by carefully following the directions on the pectin box please know that his love is my inspiration.


Directions:

Follow the directions on the pectin box.  With blackberries you may want to strain half the berries to remove some of the seeds as it is quite a seedy fruit.  That's the one tip Grandpa gave me.

Thanks Grandpa.

Eat on toast with cream cheese or butter.








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Shonagh explores the guts of food in An Offal Experiment.

Shonagh vs. Fruitcake: Day 1

So I decided to take on fruitcake.  Why I don't remember.  I think it came up in some sort of search, perhaps I was looking up preserved fruit or apricot cake.  Either way, I have decided to become the queen of fruitcake.  It is my new Christmas tradition or should I say, it will become my new Christmas tradition.

I am a little obsessed with tradition, how it orients our lives, creating rhythms and familiarity, a cycle.  Often we think of traditions as old-fashioned, and they can be, associated with grandparents and parents.  However, it is entirely possible and quite joyful to start new traditions.  I already have one Christmas tradition - my Christmas Eve Brunch and now it has a companion - Gingery Fruitcake.

When I came upon my first fruitcake recipe it made me think.  What is the purpose of fruitcake?  So many malign it terribly, but somehow it has clung on.  As I pondered the purpose of fruitcake, surrounded by fresh fruit I had brought home from the Farmer's Market, it hit me!  The purpose of fruitcake is to capture summer!  This fruit-filled cake exists to ease the chill of winter and to keep people going until spring.  So with this purpose in mind, I decided to radically redesign my fruitcake turning it into the height of fantastic deliciousness.

Creating a fruitcake is a process and the process should begin the day before you actually bake it.  The first steps are drying the fruits you want to use and candying your ginger.  I chose a ginger fruitcake because ginger is one of my favorite things in the world and in my opinion makes almost everything better.

Fruit Directions

1) I selected apricots and cherries for the fruit portion of my cake.  They came from a local shop.  I quartered the apricots and halved the cherries, putting them on baking sheets at 200 F.  If you have a dehydrator then use that, but don't suck all the moisture out.  They should be dry but not dry to the bone.  You want some plumpness in your fruit still.  This took most of the first day, over night and a bit more time in the morning.  I turned the oven on for several hours, turned it off over night but kept the fruit in the oven, turned it back on for an hour in the morning and then turned it off again leaving the fruit in the oven for another five hours or so.  I snipped the apricot quarters in half again once they were dry.

Ginger Directions

1) I love candied ginger.  This is a really easy way to do it and leaves a beautiful texture to the root.  Peel your ginger bulbs and then cube the ginger.  The easiest way to cut ginger is to cut lengthwise first (with the fibres) and then against the fibres.  If you are finding that your ginger is really stringy then it might be a touch too old.

2) Add your cubed ginger to a heavy pot with two cups of sugar and two cups of water.  Turn the heat on to medium and let the whole mess simmer for two hours or until the ginger is at a nice level of softness.  The liquid should be reduced by half.  Pour everything through a strainer, reserving the syrup.  Dust your candied ginger with sugar and let cool.  At this point you really should treat yourself to a little spoonful of the ginger syrup.  Watch out though it will blow your socks off!  Spicy and fantastic!

You are now ready to make the fruitcake itself but that is being saved for another post.  Check back in a few days for the next stage of glorious ginger fruitcake.

Do you love fruitcake?  Have you ever met a fruitcake that you didn't like?  What is your take on those green candied things that try to pass themselves off as fruit?

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Shonagh explores the guts of food in An Offal Experiment.

Early Spring at the Market - On the Cheap!

When people talk of visiting the Farmer's Market they don't often exclaim over its cheapness.  More usually you hear grumbling and groaning over the prices, so much more expensive than the supermarket, is it actually worth the money...

All opinions aside over whether it really is that much more expensive, I am here to offer the market through another lens - my Scottish thrifty lens.  My Scottish thrifty lens is an inheritance from a long line of thrifty Scots.  When it comes to sniffing out a deal or using the very last drop of dish soap, few do it better than the Scottish.  So if you are heading towards the market, make sure to keep your eyes out for these smokin' early spring deals.

1) Apples - In Vancouver, apples are a fall fruit.  They are at their peak as the air crisps up, signalling the oncoming winter.  So the spring is the best time to find deals on apples.  They have been in cold storage and aren't at the height of crunchiness but who says you have to only eat apples raw.  Stock up on big bags of apples and make apple sauce, apple pie, apple chutney, etc. etc.  I found big bags of certified organic apples for only $5 bucks! 

2) Beet Greens - So I've actually been volunteering at the market and I've discovered that most people don't want the beet greens.  They ask the farmer to strip them off.  I know!  Crazy!  All that delicious and nutritious greenery going straight into the compost bin.  So what is a thrifty person to do?  Well you have two options: 

• Option 1: Stand by the beets and start makin' deals.  Ask people if they are going to eat the greens and if they say no, offer to take them off their hands.  You are doing them a favour by relieving their "throwing it away" guilt.  
• Option 2: Speak to the farmer directly.  Explain that you are a beet green fanatic and are horrified that people don't eat them.  As you ask what they cost train your children to chime in with a "mommy I'm hungry" and I am sure you will get them for free.  Ethics you say?  You're talking to a thrifty Scot.

3) Frozen Tomatoes - Farmers don't throw stuff away, especially small-scale organic farmers.  They process it, freeze it or compost it.  Certified organic frozen tomatoes are the way to go.  Way cheaper than fresh and perfect, perfect, perfect for making tomato sauce and paste.  Early spring is the time to find frozen tomatoes because that year's crop isn't quite in yet.  Snap them up!

4) Market Membership - With all the hustle and the bustle of the market many things escaped my notice in the past.  Now that I am volunteering I have time to soak in the market culture.  Lesson from last weekend?  Get a membership to the farmer's market society.  Then, as you wander around the booths, you will get deals on specific items.  It's a win-win situation.  Get on it.

I would love to hear about other deals and steals that people find at the market either through commenting or email.

Check back soon to hear more about my experiences volunteering at the market this summer.

Middle Eastern Rhubarb Fool

The rhubarb theme continues in my mother's garden.  My niece was visiting from LA and the family decided to celebrate her "Almost 1" birthday since she wouldn't be in town when she actually turned one.  It was the perfect opportunity to use up some of my mom's rhubarb and introduce my wee niece to a new taste! 

But first I needed rhubarb inspiration.  Epicurious is so helpful for this.  They had a ton of rhubarb recipes - rhubarb upside down cake, rhubarb pie, rhubarb cheesecake, the list went on...  For once though I didn't want to spend hours prepping and/or making my dessert.  I wanted simple and delicious.  Rhubarb fool was the obvious choice.

I attempted to figure out where the name for this light and airy dessert came from and found nothing concrete.   However, the OED gave me a few hints.  The word, when it was originally used and when the dessert was originally served, had a much gentler meaning than the modern usage.  It was almost a term of endearment, which makes sense in the context of the court jester being the Crown's fool.  The term was also referenced in the Feast of Fool's, a dancing and feasting church celebration in the Middle Ages.  If I were to hazard a guess, and I am always willing, I would imagine that fool refers to the light and airy nature of the dessert.  It is not a dessert to take seriously like a heavy cheesecake or a rich chocolate pate.  It is more appropriate to joyfully spoon it on top of other desserts, as if it were a bit of a joke.

A fool is a simple dessert and perfect for the summertime.  It is basically stewed fruit layered with whipped cream.  Yummy!  I decided to add a Middle Eastern twist to mine.  Feel free to play around with the flavours.

Ingredients

• Rhubarb - 4 cups
• Honey - to taste
• Orange juice - three oranges
• Orange blossom water - several capfuls
• Vanilla bean - scraped out
• Whipping cream - 2 cups
• Orange zest - three oranges
• Icing sugar - to taste

Directions

1) The rhubarb needs to be chopped into 3/4 inch chunks.  Keep the pieces fairly large because you don't want them breaking down completely when you stew the rhubarb.  A fool needs some texture.

2) Add the rhubarb to a heavy, non-reactive saucepan with the freshly squeezed orange juice, orange blossom water, honey and vanilla pod (scrape out the seeds to use in the whipped cream, see note below for instructions).  Cook down on low to medium heat until the rhubarb is soft but not mush.  Start to check your rhubarb at ten minutes and keep an eye on it after that.  Once it is at a nice consistency, pull it off the heat and add two oranges worth of zest to the stewed fruit.  Let it cool completely.

As it cooks and then cools you will have some free time to spend with your family - in my case, my wee niece.  This is an excellent opportunity to introduce her to a new flavour: rhubarb!

As you can see it's a little sour, not that the sourness stopped her from munching on it for quite a while.  It's good to see an adventurous palate at such a young age.  Oh the food adventures I will take her on as she gets older!

3) Once you have finished socializing, head back into the kitchen to whip the cream.  I used a hand mixer and I recommend a deep bowl and an apron because whipping cream can be a bit messy.  As you whip it, add icing sugar to taste as well as the vanilla seeds that you scraped from the pod (see below for instructions).  Whip the cream until it is whipped!

4) If the rhubarb is cold and the cream is whipped, it is time to assemble your fool.  Start with a layer of stewed rhubarb and then add a layer of whipping cream.  Then GENTLY spoon another layer of rhubarb on top.  You want to create distinct layers and if you slosh the stewed fruit onto the delicate whipping cream it will muddy up your presentation.  Finish with a layer of whipping cream and then zest the final orange on top to make your fool look extra pretty.  I wanted to add toasted, sliced almonds on top for garnish but they burned because I was too busy kissing and cooing over my niece.  Such is life!

To Serve

Rhubarb fool is wonderful on its own.  It's also great spooned onto pie or cake.  If you are feeling like extra work then you can make beautiful single servings in wine glasses.  Dressing up like a jester is optional but would be a hilarious compliment to your fool.

Notes 

• To scrape out a vanilla bean, take a sharp knife and cut the bean open lengthwise.  Inside you will find an oily, black paste - those are the vanilla seeds.  Take your knife and scrape out all of the delicious paste.
• Any kind of stewed fruit will do for a fool.  I read that gooseberry is the traditional choice.
• Experiment with different flavour and texture combinations.  I almost added candied ginger but then decided to allow the orange blossom water to shine.  Rosewater is a traditional choice, cinnamon is delicious, star anise, lemon peel, clove, let your imagination go wild!

References

"fool, n.1 and adj.". OED Online. March 2012. Oxford University Press. 1 June 2012 <http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/72642?rskey=sIq05A&result=1&isAdvanced=false>.

Ginger-Rhubarb Compote

Often the first vegetable to pop up in the spring, rhubarb is one of my favorites. 

While I love it in pie my new favorite way of using rhubarb is making compote.  Compote is french for "mixture" and is basically just a stewed fruit dish.  Rhubarb makes a beautiful compote. 

Compote is also a great way to prepare rhubarb for canning so it can be enjoyed in the winter.  The version I am making is sweet but a savory variety is fabulous with roast pork.

Ingredients

1 cup rhubarb - diced finely and freshly picked from your garden if possible!
1/2 cup sugar (to taste)
1/4 cup liquid - water is fine, a clear juice would work as well
1 tbsp ginger - diced finely
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 vanilla bean pod - scraped out is fine (see notes below)

Directions

1. Rhubarb leaves are poisonous so they should be removed and discarded as you pick it.  The rhubarb stalks should then be washed well to remove any dirt, oil/grease and diced finely.  The easiest way to dice rhubarb is to split it several times lengthwise (depending on the thickness of the stalk) and then to cut across the lengths.
2. Add diced rhubarb to a non-reactive pot (it's quite acidic) and then add your sugar, liquid, ginger, cinnamon and vanilla bean pod.  Everything can be adjusted according to taste.  The liquid facilitates the cooking down and softening of the rhubarb so add more if your compote seems to be drying out.  As it cooks down, taste your compote.  Add more sugar if you feel it needs it.  I tend to like my food not-too-sweet so make sure the compote tastes good according to your tastes.
3. Once the compote is cooked down, remove the vanilla bean.  The compote is now ready for eating or for canning.

Uses

• I chilled my compote and then ate it over dark chocolate pudding and it was outstanding.  It would also be wonderful over mousse.
• A rhubarb pie with vanilla ice cream topped with a scoop of warm compote could possibly make your guests swoon or your family insist that you make rhubarb compote every day.
• I also love compote on porridge in the morning!  Some diced apple would make it extra wonderful.

Notes

• Many recipes call for the tiny seeds inside the vanilla pod but don't use the pod itself.  Well there is only so much vanilla sugar a person can make.  This recipe is great to extract all the flavour out of your leftover vanilla pod.
• A vanilla bean is the fruit of an orchid.  I think it is the most sensual spice.
• To make the rhubarb compote savory just start thinking like a chutney.  Chunks of lemon peel (preserved works), garlic, thyme, black pepper, coriander seed...  You get the idea.  With chutney I like the texture to be a bit chunkier so I would add some large dice apples at the end and cook them long enough to soften but not disintegrate.

References

Rhubarb

Thank Yous!

• To my girlfriend Marla with her wonderful partner Leevon and their new baby Joni for the delicious rhubarb from their garden in Courtney, BC. 

Grandmummy with a Pick Axe

I went over to my cousin's new place the other day to help get her yard in order.  I arrived and walked around back to where the family was gathered.  There was my Grandmummy with a giant shovel turning over the soil in the veggie-garden-to-be, while my two cousins-in-law (men in their 30's) were sanding a bannister.  Hilarious!  I don't know how she got assigned shoveling duty but there it was.  So I jumped in with her and then insisted we snap a pic.  Please note that I am 5'8" so she is rather on the small side.

We shovel for several hours and then she decides that the size of the rocks really requires a pick axe.  A pick axe!  I inquired as to whether or not she is a miner and then decide that I need a video clip of her using her pick axe.

I would also like to mention that the thing was heavy.  She lost it momentarily and sent me scurrying around the yard to find it for her and when I found it I did think to myself: This pick axe is freakin' heavy.  I would get tired using it!

As Mother's Day approaches, I just want to say: Grandmummy, you rock!  You give all of the women in our family an ambitious example of life in the later years and I only hope I can live up to it and be an equally ambitious example for my grandkids.

Perhaps I will take up chain sawing in my 90's?