Nico Mara-McKay » Food

Pluots

Nico — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 16:01:50 +0000

I’m a city girl, and my husband does most of the grocery shopping, so when I went to the St Jacob’s farmers’ market with my BFF, Jo, last weekend, I was amazed to discover a whole new variety of fruits and vegetables that I never knew existed. Among them, the mighty pluot.⁽¹⁾

Pluots are a cross between a plum and an apricot, with a slight emphasis on plum. There are others variations, as I discovered from Wikipedia: the plumcot, apriplum and aprium among them. Though pluots win my heart for their name,⁽²⁾ their flavour is incredible as well.

My original intent was to pick up a few fruits and veggies for making jams, preserves and pickles as it’s become a new hobby, and I came away with more food than I could possibly eat in a reasonable time. I’ve been jamming for four days straight now,⁽³⁾ and made some incredible things.⁽⁴⁾

I think the best thing I’ve made so far comes from Sarah B Hood’s We Sure Can, and it’s for a strawberry jam with balsamic vinegar and cracked black pepper. I had no idea those flavours could be combined, or that they’d be so wonderful together. It may be the most delicious thing that’s ever been in my mouth.

After my first brief exposure to making red pepper jelly last year, I hadn’t canned anything until earlier this summer. Now, in the past there days, I’ve made four different jams, cranberry sauce, and star anise plum preserves. It’s been a bit of a learning curve, but also, somewhat surprisingly, a lot of fun.

I’m always looking for new recipes, if you’ve got one to share, let me know!

Pluots

Footnotes:

Pronounced plu-ot.
So close to Pluto!
Eat your heart out, Bob.
Though one didn’t turn out quite as well as planned.

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The perfect red wine?

Nico — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 17:37:37 +0000

I like fancy dinner parties, and I like my wines to be well dressed too, so when I saw wine capes at the store I had to buy them.

Though likely intended as a Hallowe’en decoration, I use them year round. Vampires are always fashionable.⁽¹⁾

A very thoughtful friend brought this back from Edmonton, of all places. Apparently the LCBO doesn’t carry it. To have this corrected, write to them here.

I love the idea, and the wine’s not bad either. Very fruity.

Vampire Vineyards is located in sunny California, and seems to have a vested interest in vampire literature and culture.

We tried the Cabernet Sauvignon, but they also make vampire coffee and Dracola. I kid you not.

I’m (un)dying to try out some of their other wines.

In other news…

I’ve been serving as a juror on a civil case for the past two and a half weeks. We have a brief three day break, then I go back for (at least) another week, so things are likely to be relatively quiet here and on Twitter for the next little bit.

I know it’s my civic duty and whatnot, but it is taking a large chunk of time away from my work, which is discouraging. So it goes.

The perfect red wine?

Footnotes:

Notice the lack of sparkle. Bling – yes, sparkle – no.

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Recipe for Riz Aleister Crowley

Nico — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 18:31:39 +0000

Crowley calls this recipe a “Poem of Spring”, and I decided to have a go at it for our Winter Solstice Feast on Saturday.

This picture on the left was taken afterwards, with cold leftovers, which were still delicious.

The recipe was posted on Coilhouse, where guest blogger S. Elizabeth dug up found and shared it, I’ve included Crowley’s original instructions below the cut.

Unfortunately, Crowley does not give any quantities for the ingredients, so I had to improvise. I’ve listed the ratios I used below, which can be modified to make any quantity.

This was also the first time I’ve ever made curry, and it turned out well. So well, in fact, that I’ll be making it as the vegetarian option for Giftmas dinner, along with Riz Aleister Crowley.

Riz Aleister Crowley
(to be eaten with curry)

For Crowley’s original instructions click on the images on the right.

Riz Aleister Crowley - Page 1

Ingredients

- 1 cup brown basmati rice
- sea salt
- 1/4 cup sultanas
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds⁽¹⁾
- 1/4 cup pistachio nuts
- powdered clove
- powdered cardamoms
- turmeric powder (enough to colour the rice to a clear golden tint)
- 2 tblsp. butter

Steps

Bring two cups of salted water to a bowl. Throw in in the rice, stirring regularly.
Test the rice after about ten minutes “by taking a grain, and pressing between finger and thumb. It must be easily crushed, but not sodden or sloppy. Test again, if not right, every two minutes.”

Riz Aleister Crowley - Page 2

When ready, pour cold water into the saucepan.
Empty the rice into a colander, and rinse under cold tap.
Put colander on a rack above the flames, if you have a gas stove, and let it dry. If, like me, your stove is electric, the rice can be dried by placing large sheets of paper towel over and under the rice, soaking up the water. Preferably the rice should seem very loose, almost as if it it has not been cooked at all. When you’ve removed as much water as you can, remove the paper towel.
Place the rice back into the pot on a much lower temperature.
Stirring continuously, add the butter, sultanas, almonds, pistachio nuts, a dash or two of cloves and a dash of cardamom.
Add enough turmeric that the rice, after stirring, is “uniform, a clear golden colour, with the green pistachio nuts making it a Poem of Spring.”

Crowley was famous for his spicy curries, and I find this pilaf comes out very sweet and is wonderful pared with something spicy. I’ll share my curry recipe later in the week, if anyone is interested.

Recipe for Riz Aleister Crowley

Footnotes:

Crowley recommends the use of Jordan almonds, which are candied, but this recipe is very sweet as it is, and I find slivered almonds more pleasant.

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Awesome shortbread cookie recipe

How to make red pepper jelly

Awesome shortbread cookie recipe

Nico — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 17:04:25 +0000

After seeing a friend’s recipe on her blog, Edible Noir, I decided to have a go at it myself, with a few slight changes.

I love making shortbread, and I recently purchased new forest themed cookie cutters, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to try them out.

Alas, the ninjabread cookie cutters still seem to be out of stock, but if you’re lucky enough to have them, ninja shortbread would be awesome, too.

Often the shortbread I make tends to be to soft and the cookie can’t hold its shape, but these worked out perfectly.

The original recipe is her Nana’s, and you can find it here, with her commentary here.

My changes and approach are below.

Ingredients

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)

2 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

white sugar for dusting

Steps

Mix dry ingredients together (except white sugar).

Add the vanilla and cut in the butter.

Knead until the colour is uniform.

Roll the dough into a ball and wrap it in saran wrap. Refrigerate for half an hour.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Roll out dough between two pieces of wax paper, until even. Crackled edges are ok.

Place some white sugar on a small plate.

Cut out shapes and drop (gently!) onto the plate, covering both sides with sugar. Place them on a non-stick cookie sheet.

Repeat steps 6 and 8 until you’re out of room on your cookie sheet, or you’re out of dough.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on your oven. You want to remove them as soon as they start to brown on top.

Let the cookies cool on the tray for a few minutes before transferring to the cooling rack.

Eat and enjoy delicious shortbread cookies.

Thanks, Au Contraire and Au Contraire’s Nana!

© 2008-2011 Nico Mara-McKay
For the original source of the content please see nicomaramckay.com.

Awesome shortbread cookie recipe

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Ninjabread cookie cutters

Recipe for Riz Aleister Crowley

How to make red pepper jelly

Ninjabread cookie cutters

Nico — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 14:00:51 +0000

Ninjabread

I saw this on ThinkGeek, and how could I not want them?

They’re officially called Ninjabread Men Cookie Cutters, though there’s nothing particularly manly about them. I think they could easily serve as gender neutral breads if one so desired.⁽¹⁾

Rational: I bake excellent cookies, so this would be far more useful than either the Titanium Spork, or LOLMagnetz, or the Jolly Roger Toast Stamp, or…well, pretty much anything else in their kitchen section.⁽²⁾

Alas, they are sold out, scheduled to return in mid-December.

But, hey! Now you know what to get me for Agnostica!

© 2008-2011 Nico Mara-McKay
For the original source of the content please see nicomaramckay.com.

Ninjabread cookie cutters

Footnotes:

And I so desire.
Though the Labcutter Science Cookie Cutters are also kind of cool.
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Awesome shortbread cookie recipe

How to make red pepper jelly

Nico — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 14:00:32 +0000

Red Peppers

My best friend Jo asked if I’d like to go to St Jacobs Farmers’ Market with her. I didn’t realize she meant at 6:30 am – before the sun. I made it, more or less. I had a few things to pick up, just a few peppers, maybe seven or eight, to do a vegetarian entrée for my family’s Thanksgiving,⁽¹⁾ but ended up buying way more than I need.

Jo also bought tons of peppers, and planned to make red pepper jelly with them, and in a fit of (over?)enthusiasm I decided I would do the same. I’ve never canned anything before in my life.

Below is what occurred, including the recipe for red pepper jelly that was excellent when Jo made it. Footnotes provide irreverent commentary and additional advice.

Step One: Have an Awesome Best Friend

I was going to say that you can’t have Jo, ’cause she’s already my BFF, but she’s a really friendly person. She can probably handle several dozen BFFs without batting an eye. When we were at Nuit Blanche⁽²⁾ last weekend some guy lost his friends and announced it to all who were near. Jo offered, but he wandered off. That guy totally missed out.

This recipe and my market adventure all happened because of Jo. If you’re not best friends with Jo, you can use your own best friend and this recipe to make your own (hopefully) awesome jelly.

Pro-tip: Jo is awesome. Also, as this is time one of me making this stuff, I’m clearly not a pro. But you will benefit from my errors with these tips. For sure.

Step Two: Have Canning Supplies

As I mentioned, I’ve never done this before. I went to Canadian Tire⁽³⁾ and purchased a dozen 500 ml and a dozen 125 ml cans. This recipe makes ten cups, which for me filled x jars.

Mason jars

Caps & lids

Jarring tongs (so helpful!)

Regular kitchen tongs⁽⁴⁾

Sterilize these things. WikiHow has great instructions, but I basically washed everything, then boiled the jars and lids for ten minutes. After which I placed the jars upside down on a clean dishcloth until I was ready for them.

Pro-tip: Sterilize everything just before you start making the jelly, so you know it’s safe to funnel in once you’re ready to. Keeping everything super clean is key with preserves. I learned that on the Internet.

Step Three: Have Ingredients

Yeah, the importance factor on this step is way up there. Without ingredients, you pretty much just have an awesome best friend and some empty jars. You could try canning your BFF, but s/he may object to that. YMMV.

If you’re not canning human remains, you will need:

2 lb red peppers

2 cups white wine vinegar

2 tsp sea salt

2 chili peppers

10 cups white sugar

6 tsp powdered citrus pectin

American measurements: they’re awkward, I know, but that’s how I got them. For some reason I still cook in Imperial, despite it being an American adaptation of a royal measurement, after they rejected royalty. Go with it.

I cheated and used sea salt with chili flakes in it because I received a jar of it for Giftmas a while ago and haven’t yet had the chance to use it. This seemed an appropriate usage.

I have no idea what citrus pectin is. I couldn’t find that at either my local grocery store nor at Canadian Tire, so I used normal pectin and added a squirt of lemon juice. I hope that doesn’t make it suck.

Pro-tip: This is about 8 peppers. When I asked Jo how many peppers 2lbs is she wasn’t sure. My scale only gives me ounces and grams. Two pounds is about 32 oz. My scale crapped out after measuring one pepper, so I used it as a standard, 4 oz. I guestimated eight, then threw in another one because I messed up on the next step.

Step Four: Put on Bob Marley

Specifically, “Jammin’”.

Pro-tip: Your Best Of CD will have it. Don’t worry.

Step Five: Make it into Jelly

This is where the real jellying business begins.

Halve the red peppers, cut out the seeds, chop it finely, toss it in a blender or food processor until it’s really, really finely chopped.⁽⁵⁾ Toss these things into a large nonreactive pot.⁽⁶⁾ Ditto the chilies.

Pro-tip: Blend ‘em at one pepper at a time. Not having blended anything in a really, really long time, I casually tossed three or four peppers in, filling it up, and creating an awful mess when it wouldn’t blend properly, and I had to pull odd bits out. So, don’t do that.

Add in the rest of the ingredients except the pectin. Yes, that does seem like an awful lot of sugar. Apparently that’s ok. But do not add the pectin yet – that happens way later. You’ll see.

It will look like soup. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring. Let it do that for a minute or two, then bring the heat back down to a simmer. Set your timer for one hour, stirring occasionally. When that hour’s up: it’s pectin time.

Add the pectin, increase the heat and bring it to a boil for two minutes. Skim the surface to remove the scum.⁽⁷⁾ Remove the pan from heat. Ladle the jelly into the warmed sterilized jars.

Canned red pepper jelly

Step Six: Seal It (Not the Arctic Kind)

Once again, WikiHow has great instructions – see the section on Water Bathing, specifically.

Seal the jars tight, but not so tight you damage them.

Get a very large pot, fill it with water so that if you set the jar inside, there is an inch or two of water above the top of the jar. Then you boil the water, and set the cans inside – do not stack them, you can repeat this as many times as necessary until they’ve all been airlocked.

Depending on your altitude – I don’t know why, but apparently this matters – you boil it for ten to fifteen minutes or longer. The jars you bought will tell you how long for certain. If you don’t know your altitude: Google it.

Step Seven: Wait

Yeah, this part’s less fun. It seems like so much work (it’s not), so much anticipation (it is), but you should wait two weeks before opening it an actually enjoying it. Something about it setting.

I just made this stuff last night, so I haven’t tasted it yet, but I will. If it sucks, I’ll put a warning at the top. If it’s awesome, oh baby, you’ll know.⁽⁸⁾

Update: I put in the wrong kind of pectin – liquid instead of crystals. Folks: this matters. The jelly set, but not as firm as I’d like it to be.

Update II: It is delicious. Sweet – it could have used another hot pepper or two, but still delicious. Thanks Jo!

© 2008-2011 Nico Mara-McKay
For the original source of the content please see nicomaramckay.com.

How to make red pepper jelly

Footnotes:

If you want the stuffed peppers recipe – let me know!
It was pretty awesome. I hope you were there.
Canadian Tire tends to have surly staff, so if you know of a friendlier place to go, by all means do — and tell me, so I can go there next time!
Jarring tongs for the jars, regular kitchen tongs for the lids. You can also get special magnetic canning picker upper things, but hey, this was my first time.
It looked kind of like a chunky puree when I did it. So I called Jo and asked if that was ok, she said it was all good. That’s what BFFs are for.
I used a large non-stick pot. I think that’s what it means.
Scum is the weird foamy stuff at the top.
And if it sucks it will totally be my fault. Jo mixes and matches recipes when she does things like this because she’s a proper chef (if not officially). So this may not be exactly how she makes it, but it shouldn’t be too far off.
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