Maui Coffee Jelly

For the first time since I started my blog, I'm taking a couple weeks off from posting. I'm on vacation with my family and since our accommodations have intermittent internet access, it might be another week or so before I post again.

I just wanted to share a photo I took yesterday at an impressive gift shop/coffee roaster called Kona Mountain Coffee. Lots of unique high-quality local products on the shelves here, including Maui Coffee Jelly.

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Easy Pear Mincemeat, without the meat!

Maybe the title of this blog post doesn't make sense to you, but please bear with me for a minute.

Some people don't realize traditional mincemeat usually contains beef and/or beef suet, and when they find out, they visibly cringe.

I adore "real" mincemeat, but it isn't realistic to think that all of my guests are carnivores. Normally holiday pies, cakes and tarts are "safe" foods for my vegetarian friends...

...and I don't want anyone unexpectedly eating meat when they indulge in my tasty little turnovers. This is why I've created a perfect vegetarian and vegan-friendly Pear Mincemeat recipe that captures the sweet & spicy essence of mincemeat without the meat.

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Serving Sweet Bing Cherry Compote

 Sweet Bing Cherry Compote is a wonderful way to dress up healthy but plain-looking desserts, like Yogurt Panna Cotta.

This is the time of year when I'm really glad I took the time to preserve Bing cherries in July. My Sweet Bing Cherry Compote has made several well-received appearances at our dining room table since summer.

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Quince Apple Ginger Jam: small batch, big flavors

 I have a New Year's resolution, even though the new year is a month away. I vow to show more restraint when making preserves. In other words, more small batches!

It's easy for me to get caught up in larger batches of preserves when I'm looking at a 30 pound box of fruit, but today I'm being more realistic.

It's my gift to those of you who write to me and ask: "I have ONE quince...now what should I do with it?" 

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Quick Salt Pickles

I hear it all the time. You meant to make pickles when pickling cukes were in season in September, but you never got around to it.

Never fear....Quick Salt Pickles are here!

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Two more ways to enjoy Home-cured Bacon

First up: Buttermilk Bacon Pralines. 

They're enticing served with pre-dinner cocktails. They'll provide a wonderful sweet-salty contrast served alongside a savory spinach salad. Or how about treating your guests to a knock-out two-bite dessert by pairing these unusual pralines with a steaming hot cup of black coffee?

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Tangerine Marmalade. Only 2 ingredients.

You read that right.

All you need are some tasty tangerines plus sugar. 

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All Quinces, great and small

This is the time of year when quince are at their finest, be they commercially-grown, like the "Pineapple Quince" in the middle or wild, like the smaller ones.

My neighbor has a little quince bush that's been fruiting for decades. You can smell its sweet blossoms in the spring from 20 feet away, but the scent of the blossoms pale in comparison to the way the diminutive golden quince fruits perfume the chilly air in the months of October and November.

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Simple steps to making Bosc Pear-Cranberry-Orange Sauce

Bosc Pear-Cranberry-Orange Sauce

A twist on tradition for your Thanksgiving table.

Start with fresh pears.

I used Bosc pears for this recipe, because they hold their shape beautifully when cooked, and because they taste wonderful. What better reasons do I need?

For the batch of Bosc Pear-Cranberry-Orange Sauce in the photo, I mashed the mixture toward the end of cooking; I'll show you what I mean later on in this blog post. If you prefer a chunkier sauce, you can skip the mashing step, and the chunks of Bosc pears will still be visible in the end result.

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Pumpkin Ketchup, easy as pie.

Peter Peter Pumpkin-Eater,

Had a wife and couldn't keep her.

If only he'd made her some Pumpkin Ketchup.

I bet she would have stuck around.

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Pickled Herring

Ya sure, you betcha.

Thanks to the Bothell Sons of Norway, I pickled 5 pounds of herring yesterday. Yep, 5 pounds fits in a gallon jar. 

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Another use for jam...spoon it into a smoothie!

The quickest way I know to put some pizzazz in a protein smoothie is to add homemade jam. No hard and fast rules here. Feel free to experiment by trying different fun combinations.

This morning I added a spoonful of Red Raspberry Jam to my usual blend of ice, nonfat yogurt, fresh bananas, protein powder and water.... 

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