Of jamming and canning

Classic peach jam 

      

Strawberry preserve

      

Cherry jam

     

If you ever see in Deli’s like Moshe’s, Le pain quotidian, smoke house or at any gourmet super markets there are pretty good chances that you would catch me around their shelves which are dotted by jams and preserves made inhouse, checking the label for ingredients and effusing over their brilliant flavor pairings but too pricey to bring them home. 

Strange but Its only this year for me in Mumbai that I got introduced to peaches, nectarines, persimmons, picture perfect cherries and abundance of strawberries. these fruits elude the markets of Hyderabad *sigh*. So in an attempt to take full advantage of the abundance I decided preserve few fruits, carefully ‘can’ them, eat it over buttered toast in the morning, eat it by spoonful when craving for sweet in the night or to put a twine around the jars and present it to friends. while I was looking up for tips on canning and recipes on Jams I did a right thing by ordering Canning for a new generation by Lianna krisoff and I was hooked. Earthy recipes and canning at home with minimum care are the star points for me in this book. 

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With my personal santa gifting me Baking with Julia a week before it was Tuesday I had the right kind of encouragement to bake a loaf of white bread and to be a  part of TWD . Sadly, though I baked a gorgeous loaf I couldn’t post on time. My blog provider was at its nasty best and internet connection too shaky. Im happy to report that The white bread loaf was kneaded, baked and devoured with a generous helping of cinnamon butter . 

For the White loaf recipe please hop onto Jules Blog

(Finally) Welcome BBC GoodFood (India) !!

Each time I visit a bookstore, I scan the magazine racks for food magazines and would most of the time return disappointed. I would always see a slew of books on photography, fashion, technology, finance, health but none on food. While some imported food magazines like Martha’s Living are available but at exorbitant price. So I would just flip through the glossy international magazines, standing there tempted to buy then would finally give in or more often give it a pass. Finally my months of disappointment was answered with Good Food India magazine, brought to you by BBC. It is a perfect package matching the international standards with glossy pages, gorgeous food pictures, beautiful kitchenware and recipes in abundance. The content is perfect (for me), with a mix of easy to make on a weekday night recipes and some elaborate recipes. The ingredients used are pretty easy to find and their source is most often listed. It’s really inspiring to come across some of our Indian chefs who I dint know existed but now follow them on Twitter happily. The kitchen tools recommendations, book picks, ingredient reviews and restaurant reviews are a good guide for a amateur cook like me. The foodie holiday suggestions are a total happy/informative read so are their articles on one seasonal fruit per issue. Though I find the advertisements  too bothersome I wouldn’t mind it for all the food writing I get to devour.

So when a good friend asked me to whip up desserts for a Christmas dinner, it was but natural for me to pick a recipe from the magazine I have been reading so religiously. Since the time I had on time was little, I chose to make vanilla panna cotta with fresh strawberry sauce. I did not bother testing the recipe beforehand as it seemed pretty straightforward and also the mag claims that the recipes are triple tested for a domestic kitchen and I wanted to believe them. The reviews I got both for the look and taste were rave. I literally caught somebody swooning after their first bite, I guess the cold vanilla speckled cream against the sweet tang of strawberries does have the happy effect. 

vanilla panna cotta with fresh strawberry sauce

Source- BBC GoodFood India

Notes- I had halved the recipe and made use of muffin tins in place of custard cups. Half of this recipe in muffin tins yield around 12 panna cotta’s

Update: In place of custard cups or muffin tins I have also tried making them in Disposable bowls and they work just fine.

For the panna cotta

Fresh cream- 1 ltr  (I used Amul cream)

Sugar- 200 gms

Vanilla bean- 1 split lengthwise

Powdered gelatin - 4 1/2 tsp

Cold water - 100 ml

For the fresh strawberry sauce

Strawberries- 400 gms washed and hulled

Sugar- 2 tbsp

• In a saucepan heat cream and vanilla bean and bring it to a simmer


• Turn off the heat and cover the Pan for 30 mins.


• Discard the bean Re-heat the cream with sugar until completely dissolved


• Lightly oil 8 custard cup with neutral oil like sunflower


• Sprinkle gelatin over cold water and let it stand for 5-10 mins


• Pour the warm cream mixture over gelatin and stir until its completely dissolved


• Divide the panna cotta mixture into the prepared cups and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours until firm

For the strawberry sauce

• Blend half the strawbrerries into a purée. Chop the other half of the strawberries and stir it with the purée


• Add sugar and transfer to a serving bowl


• To unmould the panna cotta run a sharp knife around the edge of each panna cotta or briefly dip the cups into warm water. 


• Spoon over some strawberry sauce and serve.

Apple and Strawberry jam with Blueberries

Apple and Strawberry jam with Blueberries

Each time I discuss with Seeteez something new in pastry that completely stumped me, he does not fail to remind me of my blog which is lying in limbo. That big boy can never get convinced if I plainly tell him I have no natural talent for writing and food blogging is all about beautiful writing, food styling, photography and keeping up with the trends happening in some very popular blogs all around the world. The truth is I have a lot to share. My life is practically revolving around butter, sugar, flour, eggs and chocolate and I am loving every sweet bit of it.

Without much ado I would like to tell you guys that I am now working as a trainee at a bakeshop which has been selling fantastic breads for the last 55 years. Its been two months working in a professional pastry kitchen and boy oh boy this did some wonders to my speed. 5 hours is what i spend working at the bakeshop shaping loaves, creaming butter and sugar, separating 60 eggs for a meringue and peeping into massive ovens with a crinkly face. After a snoozy local train ride I am back home ogling at food blogs and baking in my brothers adorable kitchen by the big window which truly is a spa treatment for the mind.  Every time i am close to finishing my bakery ingredients i  ever so happily make a trip to RUN to Crawford market. When I am there I’m untouched by all the melee. it’s the variety of dry fruits from macadamia to Turkish hazelnuts, cream cheese and cheddar at discounted prices, fresh herbs and my love bordering on obsession with fruits that makes this place a Medina of sorts for me.

Couple of weeks back I was insanely scouting the food blogs for recipes on homemade jam, after hours of searching I was totally lost with the whole canning process. The difference in sugar content, addition of pectin and other preservatives did little to comfort me. For that week since I was so pumped about jam making, I made Strawberry and Apple jam with Blueberries. I used this recipe from my good old trusted source, the jam turned out beautiful ruby red with every flavor being high and distinct and thus continuing my quest for good homemade jams led me to this book. This is my first book on jams and canning , it is terrific in the sense that it takes away all the mystery from canning and makes the whole jam making process a simple 4 stepped one.  More on this and jam recipes in my next post.

Caramel Cake!!

Remember the garage scene in Kill Bill-1. How ‘The bride’ spots a garish yellow truck with the words Pussy wagon spray-painted on the tailgate, she climbs onto the backseat with difficulty and rests. She struggles to move her feet and  keeps repeating "Wiggle your big toe," Nothing happens. She repeats the line again, and again and again. Big-ups to this moment of cinematic brilliance which is almost the apt metaphor describing the  struggle to get my blog movin again :) :)

While my blog was at it, I was diligently baking at home and working not so diligently at the bank, met more people and made new friends than I ever did before, started drinking beer without making a funny face, ate beef like it should be eaten chewed and swallowed and not down it with water but the dislike stays, read a lot more ( if reading blogs counts  i.e) ,  
added expensive chocolate, real vanilla and 5  types of sugar to my pantry and finally graduated from baking basic chocolate cakes to more complex breads and pies. I now have a well organised baking corner where my whisk and Spatula's are at arm’s length, equipped it with nifty kitchen tools that I cant stop buying, a well stashed fridge with hard to find ingredients sitting pretty. Ever growing list of things to bake and books to buy.  All the right things just to make the baker in me happy.

And to Celebrate the coming back of my blog i leave you with a very simple to make  buttermilk Cake Topped with  a smooth creamy caramel glaze ...believe me when i tell you the caramel glaze was outstanding, the texture was smooth like butter,  just the right amount of sweetness  and butterscotch taste,  just the right qualities to be called holy goo!! 

Caramel Cake!!

Caramel Cake.

Adapted from-  Lottie+Doof

For the Cake:

• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sifted cake flour ( I substituted cake flour with ‘2 cups + 2 tbps All Purpose flour’ + 5 tbsp Cornflour)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (Omit salt if using salted butter)
• 1 stick (4 oz)/ 113 grams unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup well-shaken buttermilk ( I made buttermilk using 3/4^th cup Yogurt + 1/4^th cup milk)

For the Caramel Glaze:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (I  used 1/4^th cup dark brown + 1/4^th cup regular White sugar)
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

 To make the cake

• Preheat oven to 180°C , Butter and line an 8X8  square cake pan
• Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt leave aside
• Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3-4 mins. Add in vanilla. and beat for less then a min
•  Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition for about a min.
•  At low speed, beat in buttermilk until just combined (mixture may look curdled).
•  Add flour mixture in 3 batches, mixing until each addition is just incorporated.
• Spread batter evenly in cake pan, then tap pan on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles. 
• Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then run a knife around edge of pan. Invert onto rack and discard parchment, flip cake so it is right-side up and then cool completely, about 1 hour.

To make the glaze:

• Bring cream, brown sugar, corn syrup, and a pinch of salt to a boil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved.
• Boil until glaze registers 210 to 212°F on thermometer, 12 to 14 minutes, then stir in vanilla.
• Put rack with cake in a shallow baking pan and pour hot glaze over top of cake, allowing it to run down sides. Cool until glaze is set, about 30 minutes.

Garlic bread anybody?

More often than not I crave for Italian food… cheesy garlicky pastas, nachos with salsa, olives, sun dried tomatoes, thin crust pizzas baked in a wood-fired oven, the Tiramisu … ohhh all this makes me drool…and when I do  get these cravings there is no way to resist them. To fulfill these cravings I bully people into taking me to Little Italy, Deli 9 or the other famous local chains which I consider to be places that serve up decent Italian khana. I have observed that whenever I dine at these places I end up feeling guilty of over-stuffing myself with garlic bread and end up eating very little of the main course. I get so carried away eating the garlic bread that I keep asking the waiter for more and keep refilling the jar with salsa many a time ... so over time I have learnt that making garlic bread at home is so dead easy. I use any kind of bread and butter+garlic+cheese. How can anything with garlic and butter ever go wrong?

P.S:-This post is dedicated to Sandeep Anna who introduced me to Italian khana...I love you and love the fact that you never let me pay for all the innumerable trials at Italian joints :)

Garlic Bread
WHAT YOU NEED

•  1 loaf of bread or sub rolls( i use whatever is handy)
•  1/2 cup Amul butter
•  6 cloves of garlic finely chopped
•  3 tbsp of parmesan(again i use whever is availble)
•  Seasoning oregano,parsley(optional)

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

• Slice the bread
• In a small bowl heat the butter until slightly warm add chopped garlic
• Pour this mixture onto the bread using a spoon
• Top it with cheese and herbs(optional)
• Bake  in a preheated oven at 200°C for 6 to 10 mins until the cheese melts or slightly golden brown

All in a days work!

This brownie is a result of N’s and my day out in the kitchen.The day out in the kitchen was'nt the original plan,we actually met to finish an assignment. while we were almost doing it,N spotted a cook book under the rubble of other books. Now N is the kind who with mere mention of chocolate salivates was oohing aahing over the pics of dark chocolate oozing from the pies.I am not much of a chocolate lover! yes you 5 ppl in the world who read my blog you heard it right..i never get chocolate cravings when pmsing, never get weak kneed at the sight of chocolate,never gobble down a chocolate bar to give myself comfort,never squabble for chocolate pastry like N & L do.I am just happy if given a sweet white chocolate.The brown stuff doesnt impress me much..But this indifference doesnt keep me away from adding chocolate goodness in my bakes just for the sheer beauty of the colour and richness and to keep ppl like N & L happy & loyal..so we decided we break for an hour and bake ourselves brownies to keep us gng for the day..This recipe comes from one of my first cook books i bought at a book sale sponsored by v "fresh baked" by Louise Pickford.The brownies are very rich and chocolatey with a slightly unusual melt-in-your-mouth texture that makes them seem almost like cake.This recipe also calls for some maple syrup that gave the brownies a little moisture.The brownies were not too fudgey nor cakey but somewhere in between.Exactly the way i like them and what a relief that i didnt have to scrape the bits of it stuck in the pan it came out without much hassle..
In the end we had a pending assigmnt and two brownie fans!

P.S- I am still learning at the lens and I use my phone cam to click food pics,hence the haze please bear with me till i gift myself a fancy new cam !!

Double Chocolate Brownies
Adapted from "Fresh baked" by Louise Pickford

What you need
• 275 gms Dark chocolate
• 250 gms Unsalted butter
• 3 Eggs
• 175 gms Caster sugar
• 50 ml Maple syrup
• 100 gms Self-raising flour
• pinch of Salt
• 100 gms Walnuts toasted
What you need to do
• Melt the dark chocolate, Butter in a pan over a pot of simmering water
• Using electric beaters, whisk eggs, sugar, maple syrup till pale
• Stir in the choc + butter mixture and the flour, salt & walnuts
• oil and line 20x20 baking tin, spoon the mixture into the tin
• Bake in a preheated oven 190c for 30 to 40 mins until top sets but the cake still feels soft underneath