Candied Orange Peels: sweet slices of sparkly sugared citrus.

 

I feel bad.

I meant to get this post out before Christmas. I know some people wanted the recipe last week. But there was last minute shopping to do and the kids started flying into town and before I knew it, I was knee-deep in cookie dough and gift wrapping supplies and I just ran out of time. Oh, we got married last night too, at our annual Day-After-Christmas Party. So you see, I've been kinda' busy.

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Bartlett Pear~Vanilla Bean Preserves...Aristotle's favorite toast spread.

I think when Aristotle famously said "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts" he was probably talking about my scrumptious Bartlett Pear~Vanilla Bean Preserves. 

Half-pints, filled with hot Bartlett Pear~Vanilla Bean Preserves. Look closely...you can see the tiny vanilla bean seeds.

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Preserving Kumquats is a sure way to brighten up a winter day!

6 pounds of "Nagami" Kumquats

Why do I love Kumquats so much?

Where do I start?

As some of you might know, I am obsessed with ORANGE. The color, the flavor, and the many types of citrus fruit in the orange family. I also like tiny versions of my favorite things. Miniature horses, bite-size candy bars and kumquats* all fill that bill.

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Using dried fruit to decorate for the holidays

Updated on Thursday, December 9, 2010 at 9:36AM by Brook Hurst Stephens

If you do a fair amount of preserving, like I do, it means there is often a surplus of fruit in the house. Sometimes it's a bowl of Quince, left out to ripen, or a bag of apples, being kept in the produce bin in the fridge to keep them fresher. I really like the look of having fruit around main living areas of the house, and it inspires me to create, too.

I recently did a post on Sugared Fruit, and in the last couple months have posted photos of bowls of Seckel Pears and Meyer Lemons that I was using for decorating purposes.

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"Hi, my name is Brook and I like to eat paste..."

Quince paste that's been allowed to jell in individual ring molds.

"...quince paste, that is!"

According to WiseGeek, Quince Paste, also known as Membrillo, is "a thick jam made from the fruit of a quince tree. This richly colored  orange-red jam has a sweet taste and a slightly floral flavor, and it is extremely popular in Southern Europe and the Middle East. Outside of these regions, quince paste can be somewhat harder to obtain, and it may be viewed as a delicacy, with a corresponding high price."

Quince Paste is commonly offered with breakfast, spread on breads. It can also be used to accompany roast meats and other dishes, with its sweet, floral flavor complementing a range of foods. In Spain, quince paste & Manchego cheese is a very popular snack, with some people considering it the national dish of Spain...

Fresh bread, Manchego cheese, quince paste and Marcona almonds.

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Please don't nibble on my Sugared Fruit...

...it looks tasty but it's only for decoration!

For my centerpiece, I used a quince, an orange, an apple, a few limes and Seckel pears, and some cranberries. For this batch I used the whites from 2 eggs and about 1 cup of plain ol' sugar.

This is my first attempt at Sugared Fruit, but it won't be my last. It was easier than I thought it would be, and even though my results weren't perfect, you get the general idea.

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Cleaning out the fridge...my way.

Seckel Pear Vodka

Believe it or not, after buying over 30 pounds of Seckel Pears in the month of November, I still had a few of the darling little pears left in the produce drawer. Dilemma? I needed to make room for groceries I bought for Thanksgiving and though these pears are delicious, I really didn't feel like eating any more of them.

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Does the taste of raw cauliflower leave you cold? Pickle it!

Pickled Cauliflower, Carrots, Onions, and a bit of red Bell Pepper.

You know how Jerry Seinfeld's wife wrote that book about disguising vegetables in other foods so kids will eat them? You don't need to go out of your way to cut up cauliflower beyond recognition. Just pickle it! Kids love pickled stuff.

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Sweet & Sour: Cranberry Syrup AND Cranberry Drinking Vinegar, made from the same cranberries!

Sweet~Tart Cranberry Syrup in an adorable cranberry-shaped bottle, of course!

I really don't like to see anything go to waste.

Yesterday, in our "Cranberry - 3 Different Ways" class at Whole Foods, we made Cranberry~Jalapeno Chutney, Traditional Cranberry Sauce, and Sweet~Tart Cranberry Syrup. I always set out compost bowls near the prep stations, but I realized as I was setting up before class, that there would be very little "waste" in all three of our recipes. That makes me happy!

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Wanna' glam up that cocktail? Three words: Ginger-Sugar Rim.

Updated on Monday, December 13, 2010 at 11:10AM by Brook Hurst Stephens

Glass rimmed wih Homemade Ginger-Sugar    

You might be asking yourself:  What does Ginger-Sugar have to do with preserving?

My answer: A lot!

You can't make Ginger-Sugar without Candied Ginger* (also known as Crystallized Ginger). Just thinking about it makes my mouth water...it happens to be one of my favorite things!

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Meyer Lemons...what else....PRESERVED!

Meyer Lemon wedges, packed in salt, spices and lemon juice, are set aside to ferment.

~~~~~

It's November, so you know what that means....

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Quince, the Queen of Pectin

Well, I wasn't looking for her, but I was happy I found her just the same. I hardly ever see her around anymore, and so when I do bump into her, it's always a pleasant surprise. I'm talking about my old friend, her Royal Highness, Quince. She is, in my book, the unofficial "Queen of Pectin". 

In the early 80's I had a Quince tree in my yard in Wenatchee, and I don't think I fully appreciated it. That small but mighty tree required little care, yet gave back so much. The heady scent of it's blossoms could best be described as tropical, and every fall it's branches sagged with the weight of it's abundance of healthy fruit.

Every once in awhile now I see a small pile of quince amongst other "exotic fruits" in the produce department at the local QFC and I nearly faint because they are almost always quite expensive. Try $2.99. Each.

If only I had known in the 80's what I know now. But that goes without saying for a lot of reasons.

Quince. Pineapple Quince, to be specific. (As opposed to Apple Quince, which are fuzzy.)

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