Tuesday, February 26, 2013

One, Two, Three!

Limoncello...it's as easy as

5 Meyer Lemons plus one orange

Rind peeled & pithed off, citrus juiced, 3/4 cup simple syrup

Plus 3 cups of vodka
and voila!  Limoncello!  Wait several weeks, add more simple syrup to taste, enjoy!

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Pucker Up, Sunshine!

It's kumquat season!  You know, that tiny little fruit you pop in your mouth for a burst of sweet and sour and seed spitting?  Yum!

I picked up a couple of pints at the store this week and after trying them out on my unsuspecting sons (they loved them), trawled the internetz for ways to preserve these little beauties.  Apparently, you can pickle anything!

I borrowed this recipe from vanillagarlic, making my own modifications because really?  Who has cardamom pods in their pantry without prior planning.  I promise, I have a ridiculous spice cabinet.  Especially for someone who moves as often as we do.  But I will have to add the pods.  Apparently, 10 pods equals about a teaspoon of ground cardomom, so we're good.  If you need pods, or even cardomom, I highly recommend the wonderful folks at Savory Spice Shop, based in Colorado with franchises popping up all over the place.  But I digress.

finished product


Pickled Kumquats
(2 pint jars of pickle)

2 pints of kumquats, (about 4 cups), halved with seeds popped out as you can reach them.
1 tsp kosher salt
3 cups white vinegar
1 cup sugar
4 cardamom pods (or about 1/4 tsp ground cardamom)
5 whole cloves
6 black peppercorns
1 tsp ground ginger
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half

Sterilize two pint size canning jars in a small-batch canning pot full of boiling water, place your lids in another small pot with a few ladles of the boiling canning water to soften the seals, arrange your canning equipment for easy access (funnel, towel, little magnetic stick thingie to pick up the lids from the hot water, rings, jar grabber, damp paper towel to wipe the jar before placing the lid, timer, ladle).

After prepping your kumquats, a surprisingly easy task, place them in a 4 quart saucepan, cover with water, add salt, and bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer for 5 minutes while you get your spices together.  Drain and set aside.

Add the vinegar, sugar, and spices to the pan and bring the mixture to a boil.  Add the kumquats back to the pan and simmer for one minute.

Ladle the kumquats into sterilized jars.  Be sure the fruit is fully immersed in the liquid, leaving 1/2 inch head space.  Lid, ring, and process for 10 minutes in the canner.  Remove the canner from the heat and take off the lid of the pot for about 5 minutes, then remove the jars from the canner.

Any extras that did not fit in your two pint jars should be cool enough to eat now!  Warning:  Don't breath in with the pickling liquid in your mouth.  You will cough!