Rhubarb and Kumquat Jam

When I visited my family in Seattle last summer I discovered that my lovely and thoughtful mom saved me her last rhubarb harvest of the season because she knows how much I love it. I cut down the stalks on my way out of town and only got a couple of stares at the airport when I brought it back to New York with me, wrapped in newspaper and packed in my carry on luggage. Then, when I got home, I promptly shoved it to the back of my freezer and forgot about it for six months, as you do. Flash forward to a couple of weeks ago when I was cleaning out my freezer and stumbled upon my glorious (albeit a bit freezer burnt) bounty. I knew it was time to use it up, so I pulled out my favorite jam cookbook and turned to a page I had dog-eared years ago, this rhubarb and kumquat jam. I realize that rhubarb may not be in season where you live, but maybe you have some in the freezer too? Or maybe you can bookmark this one for next year? If you are lucky enough to live in a magical place where rhubarb and kumquats (darn you California!) are in season at the same time you won't have to plan so far ahead to make this delicious late winter/early spring treat.

Rhubarb and Kumquat Jam
adapted from the Blue Chair Jam Cookbook
yield roughly 8, 8-ounce jars

The original recipe calls for only kumquats, but I had a pile of mandarinquats that needed using up so I added them in. They are a bit sweeter than kumquats, but still tart with soft and edible rinds.

3 1/2 pounds rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 pounds 14 ounces sugar
5 ounces fresh lemon juice
1 pound seeded tart kumquats or mandarinquats cut into thin rounds

Day 1

Combine the rhubarb, sugar and lemon juice in a large glass bowl or storage container. Stir gently to combine then cover tightly and let the mixture macerate for 24 hours at room temperature.

Day 2

1. Transfer the now juicy rhubarb mixture into a large, non reactive pot or copper preserving pan. Add the sliced kumquats and stir well to dissolve any remaining sugar.

2. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Cook the jam until it is thick and no longer watery 15-20 minutes.  For the last 5-10 minutes stir the jam constantly to prevent scorching. Test the jam for doneness using the wrinkle test.

3. Ladle the jam into clean jars and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Apple Butter Doughnut Muffins

I'm gearing up for a bit of fall preserving over here, but before I start putting up apples and pears I thought I should take care of the stragglers left over in the "pantry" from last year. I had one lonely jar of apple butter left on the shelf and I wanted to make a recipe that would use the whole thing in one go, so I turned to a fall favorite muffin recipe and made a few simple swaps. The results are these gently spiced, sugar coated beauties and some open space to fill with some new jars. Not to shabby, for leftovers.

Apple Butter Doughnut Muffins
yield 12 muffins
adapted from Everyday Food
The results of this recipe rest heavily on the apple butter you choose to use in this recipe. The apple butter I make at home is lightly sweetened and spiced so the amounts of additional sugar and spice in this recipe reflect that. If your apple butter is heavily spiced you may want to hold off on adding additional spices, but do make sure there is a bit of nutmeg in there. The nutmeg is the key to the donutty flavor. I imagine they would also bake up quite nicely in a doughnut pan.

12 3/4 ounces all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon allspice
5 ounces softened butter
3 3/4 ounces brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ounces buttermilk
8 ounces prepared apple butter
1 small apple, peeled and diced into 1/4'' cubes

For the Topping/Coating

3.5 ounces granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 ounces melted butter
1 ounce confectioner's sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 350º and butter and flour a 12 cup muffin tin

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices. In another small bowl whisk together the buttermilk and apple butter.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in an electric mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg, then add the vanilla extract.
3. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in three additions alternating with the apple butter mixture. Remove the bowl from the mixer and gently fold in the diced apple by hand. The mixture will be very thick.
4. Scoop 1/3 cup batter into each muffin cup and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
5. While the muffins are baking prepare the topping by mixing the cinnamon and sugar together in a small bowl. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then, working with one at a time, brush the muffins with butter and toss to coat in the cinnamon sugar mixture. When completely cool, dust with confectioner's sugar (optional). These muffins taste best the day that they are made.

Gingery Pickled Beets

These beets serve as my opening ceremony to this year's canning season and the recipe comes from my original canning inspiration's new cookbook, Food in Jars. When a review copy of Marisa's beautiful book showed up in the mail I first squealed like a little school girl, then I got to work marking all of the recipes I couldn't wait to try. I started with this recipe for gorgeous ruby red beets in a gently spiced brine which temporarily stained my stovetop with bright magenta splatters (entirely my fault). Oh, and I totally jumped the gun on letting these guys rest. I opened a jar after only three days and topped my lunch salad with a few beets and they were just as bright and spicy from the sliced ginger as I'd hoped they would be. I'm sure they'll be even more delicious after a few more days in their vinegary bath.

Thank you Marisa for this gorgeous book, I can't wait to use it all summer long!

Gingery Pickled Beets
from Food in Jars by Marisa McClellan
yield, 3 finished pints of beets

The only changes I made to this beautiful recipe were to use wide mouth jars (my local hardware store only carries wide mouth jars, no idea why) and I sliced a jar worth of beets into rounds instead of wedges to pickle and give to my Aussie Burger loving pal. I also had a bit of extra brine that I tossed in a jar with some sugar snap peas I had laying around. 

2 lbs red beets
2 cups apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons pickling salt
1 cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 2'' piece of fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced

Scrub the beets, removing the greens and long roots (save the greens, they're edible!). Place the beets in a pot and cover with water. Simmer over medium heat until the beets are just tender, about 30-45 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. When the beets are cool enough to handle, rub the skins off with your fingers. (Wear plastic gloves or resealable plastic bags on your hands if you are averse to pink-stained skin.) Trim the unwieldy ends, cut the beets into wedges, and set aside.

Prepare a boiling water bath and sterilize 3 regular-mouth 1-pint jars. Place the lids in a small saucepan, cover them with water, and simmer over very low heat.

Combine vinegar, 2 cups of waer, salt, sugar, cinnamon stick and ginger slices in a pot and bring the brine to a boil.

Meanwhile, pack the beet wedges into the sterilized jars. Slowly pour the hot brine over the beets in each jar (making sure to include 2-3 ginger slices in each jar), leaving 1/2'' headspace. Gently tap the jars on a towel-lined countertop to help loosen any bubbles before using a wooden chopstick to dislodge any remaining bubbles. Check the headspace again and add more brine if necessary.

Wipe the rims, apply the lids and rings and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Let the pickles cure for at least 1 week before eating.

Marmalade Pull Apart Bread

I've talked about my "condiment situation" here before so I know many of you also find yourself with an overabundance of jam on your shelves. Well, with rhubarb season in full swing and strawberries just around the corner I decided it was time to face the pantry head on, and by pantry I mean the shelf in my closet where I keep my jam. It's next to the extra sheets if you were wondering. Fancy, I know. This little loaf that I whipped up last weekend is a lot of things, fun to eat, easy to share, your toast and marmalade all in one, but the best part is that it uses an entire 8oz jar of marmalade. Like a lot of sweet bread this is the tastiest the day it’s made, but if you have to keep it around for a day or so make sure you wrap it up tight and warm it up before you eat it.

Marmalade Pull Apart Bread

For the Dough
adapted from Smitten Kitchen
yield, one 9x5 loaf

3 cups all purpose flour
2 Tablespoon sugar
1 envelope active dry yeast (2 1/4t)
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 Tablespoon unsalted butter
1/3 cup milk + 1/4 cup milk, separated
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

For the Filling

8oz marmalade
4 Tablespoon butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
½ vanilla bean scraped  or 1t vanilla extract (I used a vanilla scented marmalade and I loved the vanilla flavor so much, but this is totally optional)

To Assemble

1. In a small saucepan heat the 1/3c milk and butter until the butter is melted. Add in the 1/4c milk, vanilla, and the sugar. Let the mixture cool to between 105-115º, then whisk in the yeast and set aside until the mixture is foamy and frothy. 2. In a large bowl stir 2c flour and the salt together, then add in the yeast mixture and stir until the liquid is incorporated. Add the eggs in one at a time, followed by the last cup of flour. Stir for about two minutes, the dough should be quite sticky, but well mixed.
3. Place the dough in a large, greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rise until doubled in size, about an hour. While the dough rises, prepare the filling.
4. Dump the marmalade into your blender (or use an immersion blender) and pulse a few times to break up the bits of zest, I pulverized mine pretty well because I wanted it to be easily spreadable. If your marmalade has finer bits of zest to begin with, you probably won’t have to go crazy with the blender, you don’t want to totally puree it. Then, add in the spices and vanilla if using. If you are using a flavored marmalade, you might want to skip the spices and vanilla, your call. Grease and line a 9x5 loaf pan with parchment.
5. After the dough has risen, dump it onto a floured board and roll it into a roughly 12x20 rectangle. Use a brush or spoon spread the melted butter onto the dough, then gently spread the marmalade mixture on top. You want a very, very thin layer of marmalade so you may need a bit less than 8oz total.
6. Slice the dough into 6 vertical strips, then stack the strips on top of each other. Slice the stack into 6 squarish pieces. Lay the stacks of dough in the prepared loaf pan so the layers are visible, like the pages of a book. Cover and let rise until almost doubled again, 30-45 minutes.
7. Heat your oven to 350º. When the dough has risen, put the loaf pan onto a sheet pan and slide it into the oven. Bake until deep golden brown, 30-35min. Let it rest for about 20 minutes then dig in!

Quick Pickles

Happy Friday everyone! I am planning on spending my weekend searching for tart cherries to make a jar or two of preserves and maybe if I am lucky I can find someone to drive me upstate to pick some raspberries. I'm also going to make some veggie spring rolls using these quick Vietnamese pickles I've been making lately thanks to my newfound obsession with Vietnamese flavors and Not Without Salt's bahn mi recipe. These pickles are simple to make and so tasty in all kinds of dishes from salads to sandwiches and they would make an excellent contribution to a picnic spread this weekend. What are you all up to?

Vietnamese Pickles
adapted from Simply Recipes

1lb carrots peeled and cut into 1/4'' matchsticks
1 lb daikon radishes peeled and cut into 1/4'' matchsticks
1 jalapeno without seeds or ribs, cut into thin matchsticks (optional)
1/2c plus 2t sugar
1t salt
1 1/4c rice vinegar
1 c warm water (warm enough to easily dissolve sugar)
About 3 pint jars

1. Place the carrots, daikon, 2t sugar and 1t salt in a large bowl. With your hands, massage the sugar and salt into the veggies until they are soft and pliable, about 3min. Transfer them to a colander, rinse with cold water and drain well.

2. In another bowl mix the remaining sugar, vinegar and warm water until the sugar dissolves.

3. Pack the carrots and daikon (and jalapeno if you'd like some heat) into clean sterilized jars and pour in the brine to cover the veggies. Refrigerate and let sit overnight before eating.

These pickles are not shelf stable and should be stored in the fridge where they will last 4 to 6 weeks.

For another easy pickling method, check out this great post from Food in Jars, my go-to for all things jar related. I used her method for the jar pictured with peppercorns, red pepper flakes and bay leaves. They are mighty tasty too.