further developments

It's annoying to come across a recipe raving about the taste or beauty of something exotic or unattainable. I first heard about quince from the renowned Australian Le Dame D’Escoffier Maggie Beer. She makes an awesome quince paste that is imported from Australia that I found in a nearby specialty food shop. It is a reddish jello-like block or firm reddish paste. Once I tried it I was hooked. It is typically eaten in sandwiches or with cheese, traditionally Manchego cheese, or accompanying fresh curds and is delicious. The sweet , floral notes of the quince paste contrasts nicely with the tanginess of the cheese.

Although not everyone can find quince in their local market, they're not necessarily all that hard to track down. I actually found some at a Whole Foods market not far from my home. There were only a few, stuck in an odd spot off to the side. They look like a strangely deformed pear, and actually they are related to apples and pears. The immature fruit is green with dense grey-white kind of “fur”, most of which rubs off before maturity in late autumn when the fruit changes color to yellow with hard, strongly-perfumed flesh.

Most varieties of quince are too hard and sour to eat raw; mostly they are cooked before eating. They are used to make jam, jelly and quince pudding, or they may be peeled, then roasted, baked or stewed The very strong perfume means they can be added in small quantities to apple pies and jam to enhance the flavor. Adding a diced quince to apple sauce will enhance the taste of the applesauce with the chunks of relatively firm, tart quince.

Quinces aren’t all that easy to prepare. But like most things that we so desperately want, they take time and patience, and they take work. They are pretty darn hard to cut so be careful. They are about as hard as a pumpkin to get into, so it might be a good idea to steady it on a kitchen towel while preparing to stabilize it a little.

I have been baking, simmering and poaching quince this week, so stay tuned.  Who knows what will turn up.

Enjoy!
Shannon

the conclusion

Today I stumbled upon a few precious baskets of figs at my local market. It is definitely the tail end of the season for these lovely fruits, so I was happy to see them.

Figs grow best and produce the best quality fruit in Mediterranean and dryer warm-temperate climates, but are also grown in the Northwest as well. In Southern California the Brown Turkey cultivar is most common. Its’ skin is a purplish brown, and the flesh is a pinkish amber. The matured fruit has a tough peel, often cracking upon ripeness, and exposing the pulp beneath. The interior has a white inner rind containing a seed mass bound with jelly-like flesh. The edible seeds are numerous and generally hollow, unless pollinated. Pollinated seeds provide the characteristic nutty taste of dried figs.
Figs must be allowed to ripen fully on the tree before they are picked. They will not ripen if picked when immature. A ripe fruit will be slightly soft and starting to bend at the neck.
Fresh figs do not keep well and can be stored in the refrigerator for only 2 - 3 days, so enjoy them quickly.

with a passion

Passion fruit is a plant cultivated commercially in frost-free areas for its fruit. It is native to South America and widely grown in, New Zealand, the Caribbean, Indonesia, California, Florida, Hawaii, Australia, East Africa, Israel and South Africa.

And now is the time to enjoy them here in Southern California. They will be in season for about another 3 weeks, according to my farmers’ market vendor. Passion fruit is not widely available in stores, so most of the fruit comes from backyard gardens or wild groves. It can be found, however, in farmers' markets throughout my area.

The passion fruit is round to oval, yellow or dark purple at maturity, with a soft to firm, juicy interior filled with numerous seeds. The edible part of a passion fruit lies under a leathery, dark purple, bitter-tasting skin.

Within is a cavity more or less filled with an aromatic mass of double walled, membranous sacs containing orange-colored, pulpy juice and as many as 250 small, hard, dark brown or black, pitted seeds. The unique flavor is appealing, musky, guava-like and sweet/tart to tart.

The fruit can be grown to eat or for its juice, which is often added to other fruit juices to enhance aroma. Its intense, tropical-flavored orange pulp and seeds are excellent in fruit desserts, sorbets, beverages, jams and sauces.

Choose the largest passion fruit available. They're usually sold by the piece. Look for one that's partially deflated or creased to be sure it's ripe before eating. Cut the passion fruit in half with a sharp knife. Scrape out the pulp with a spoon. Press through a fine sieve to remove the tiny seeds if desired. You'll get about 1 tbsp. pulp from one of the egg-shaped, 2-inch-long passion fruit.

So yes, I bought a bag full and they are still on the kitchen counter waiting for inspiration to hit me. 

Until tomorrow.

Shannon

well preserved

No matter how many times I recite that familiar mantra on the way to the farmers market "I will not overbuy, I will not overbuy", something happens to me when I get there. I get out of my car, grab my fabulous expandable shopping bag, all the while remembering self control is a good thing.

But as I walk in and smell the strawberries, see the plethora of lovely lettuces piled high or notice those yellow zucchini blossoms...something happens. I inevitably end up in some sort of fresh fruit and vegetable trance, and then proceed to go to town filling up my shopping bag.

Once I get home with half of the market in tow, I usually get that "You need to join a group" look from my husband. Now in my defense, I have been cooking up a storm, finding new and creative ways to use up all of these wonderful finds. But still, I must confess there are those times that I open up my fridge and see those beauties, that don't look quite so alluring as they did at the farmers market days before. I feel guilty when I see them wrinkling, browning and bruising, just waiting for me to get inspired.

So to ward off some of the guilt as well as preserve some of the bounty that is in season. I have been boning up on recipes and techniques for putting up small batches of seasonal foods to enjoy later in the year.

To that end I will be sharing with you my findings...the first of which is preserved lemons. I actually used Meyer lemons, while the trees produce fruit throughout the year, the majority of the crop is available in winter. It is native to China, and thought to be a cross between a true lemon and a mandarin orange. The fruit is yellow and rounder than a true lemon with a slight orange tint when ripe. It has a sweeter, less acidic flavor than the more common lemon and a fragrant edible skin. Which makes it a perfect candidate of preserving.

Preserved lemons are a staple in Moroccan cuisine, but can be adapted to many other dishes. They add a wallop of flavor to any dish that calls for strong lemon flavor, including condiments like homemade mayonnaise and vinaigrette. However, they are intense and should be used in moderation. There are about a thousand recipes for preserved lemons out there. This one, I like best and is a confluence of many. I like the tangeriney quality of Meyer lemons, but you can preserve any kind of lemons with this recipe.

Preserved lemons are a type of pickle made by the dry salt method: brined in salt and the lemon's own juices. After the curing process, they are stored in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

Shannon

Preserved Meyer Lemons

makes 2 pints
10 Meyer lemons, regular lemons, or a combination, scrubbed

1/2 cup kosher salt

With a sharp knife, remove the stem ends of 6 of the lemons. Slice the lemons into quarters from pole to pole.

Bring 2 wide-mouth pint jars and their bands to a boil in a large pot of water fitted with a rack. Boil for 10 minutes. Remove jars with tongs (the tongs don't need to be sterilized). Simmer new lids in a small pan of hot water to soften the rubberized flange. When the jars are dry but still hot, shove the lemon wedges into the jars, trying not to crush the fruit too much, but do pack them in, sprinkling 3 tablespoons of salt per jar as you go and making sure the salt is well distributed throughout. Meyer lemons are softer than regular lemons and therefore easier to squash down in the jar.

Juice the remaining 4 lemons. Top each jar with 1 final tablespoon of salt, then distribute the juice between the jars, making sure the lemon wedges are completely covered with juice. If you see air bubbles along the side of the jar, slip a butter knife down into it and press aside the fruit to allow juice to fill the space. You may need more juice depending on the juiciness of your lemons. Set on the lids, and screw on the bands fingertip tight. Let the lemons ferment on your kitchen counter for 2 weeks for Meyer lemons, 3 to 4 weeks for regular lemons, which have tougher skins, and ferment until they are soft enough to tear. Turn the jars upside down every other day to make sure the salt stays well distributed. The lemons will become soft and the salt and juice mixture syrupy. Transfer the fermented jars to the refrigerator, where they will hold for up to 6 months.

To use, remove a lemon wedge and scrape off the seeds. If you see white stuff on the lemons, don't worry: it's just a precipitate of salt, oils, and whatever from the pith. Scrape the pith off the lemons before using. For a milder taste, rinse before cooking.