Changes

Potlicker will be changing its surface, but its content will still be focused on learning by doing, and simple forgotten tasks that were once part of daily life or new things that I've found that may hold my interests and have a future with me.

Ginger pears (vegan)

For this I used mostly d'anjou and some red scarlet pears.

 As promised I am going to let you know what I choose to put up and when so you can see what goes into my pantry/larder.

I think that ginger is one of those things that rings freshness through the nose.  You FEEL it's flavor.  Like hot peppers, it is a bit of a physically undeniable experience that extends the tasting to a perfume.
I feel Ginger harkens excitement, awakening and makes things happier.  I once hated it and now am confused at how I could have possibly.

I am a big pear fan.  I feel like if I had a friend I'd want them to be an apple - a little more durable and robust, but a pear is a lover.  It takes a little more finesse and you must treat them nicer.  So isn't it lovely that pears have a very long season (variety to variety).  This means that they can get nabbed locally (for me) for a lot of months.  This makes me feel contented until their prices go up... then less so.  So preserving them is a good thing while they are cheap.  Cheap, FRESH, seasonal and local.

I looked through the giant catalog styled books of canning and found not a jot interesting enough to try out on the pears (other than pear butters, which require a lot more pears than I was willing to sacrifice).  So feeling a bit like Imelda Marcos needing a pair of sturdy hiking boots I went all internet on it and still came up short.  In which case the result is *&@% it, add cardamom and ginger - bang. Done.

I use Jelly jars for this recipe because it is potent and I can't imagine eating a lot in one sitting.  If you have a big family then Quarts may be the way to go.

You will need approximately 1 pear for every half pint (the little jelly jars) you use.  The yield depends on how packed you can get the jars with pear pieces.  It averages 10 half pints per this recipe of liquid it you jam them babies up well (making sure to leave just enough room to have the lids seat properly).  I got 20 jars from 18 pears and did the recipe below twice for that same amount.

5 - 6 Cups water
2 1/2 Cups vegan sugar - this is considered a "light syrup" I feel "light" is by old standards and seems really sweet to me.
8-10 cardamom pods
2 -3 twigs of cinnamon (I used real cinnamon not cassia bark... Ceylon/real cinnamon is lovely, delicate and smooth,  cassia is potent so you can use a lot less of it for this.  1 twig or 1 heaping tsp of cassia cinnamon.  If you don't know if your powder is cassia and you are in the US, chances are it is, if it says Ceylon then you know it isn't.  If it doesn't state this implicitly then it is cassia.)
3/4 inch knuckle of ginger root grated (This is plenty to bring the feeling and taste of ginger without a lot of nose heat, if you'd like more do it up.)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 lemon's zest

Bring water to a simmer - light boil, add sugar and whisk gently to blend into dissolving. Once dissolved add spices, zest and ginger. While liquid simmers and steeps peel and core fruit and slice into chunks and coat with a touch of lemon juice to keep them from browning.
In your clean jars add a 1 tsp lemon juice this will insure your fruit has enough acidity to preserve.
pack well with pear pieces.
Strain your very hot liquid through a sieve and fill jars with syrup leaving 1/4-1/2 inch room.
Lid and finger tighten then place into water bath's boil water.

I pre-warm my oven to 150-200
I have the jars rumble boil in the bath for at least 12 minutes then move the hot jars to a lightly warm oven 150-200 for 5 minutes... then move the jars to room temp until they cool.  This will help them cool down SLOWLY.  You'll hear the jars doing "things" and making sounds for the next hour and that is the jars sealing themselves into that vacuum to keep things tasty and pure for you.

Process your water bath as you normally do.  If you don't normally do this then I recommend you grab a book on the subject to fully understand it as food preservation is pretty crucial to get correct.  The rule is that you hear a "voop" sound when you open the jar to eat.  It not... that jar of stuff can make you dead sick, or just dead.

Pack your jars well so when the jar is sealed and the fruit floats there isn't a lot of room that is just syrup.

Serve these as a dessert alone or over ice cream, whipped cream, vanilla breads of a variety of sorts or a rich deep almost bitter chocolate thing.

I'm blowing your mind, I know.
...crickets...

Salt Crusted fish

The gorgeous blue shimmering pattern of mackerel.

An old preparation for a new lot.  That lot is my family and hopefully soon yours!  In the 1990's Clarissa Dickson Wright (The blonde of the Two Fat Ladies) with all her ancient recipe collecting knowledge brought to the forefront some amazing recipes.  This is a favorite.  This is up there with smoked fish (cold and hot smoked) for me.

Clarissa uses her favorite fish and other fillings.  Sea Trout and I think dill fronds. So, go nuts.  The only thing that I don't recommend is making the outer crust any more difficult.  I've gone through some "fancy" rehashes of Clarissa prep and it is a lot more fuss for a not-better result.  Try it with Snapper and hot chilis if you wish, just keep the exterior simple in the name of kitchen sanity and anti-wastefulness.

I used quite possibly the most sustainable of all Ocean fish that has a horrible reputation for being "fishy" - that fish is Mackerel.  It is abused by being canned and used as a feeder fish for all sorts of animal foods and the impoverished.  I would like to clear this fish's good name because this fish has a few things going for it 1.) its numbers are VERY high and doing well.  This can't be said for many fish on the market. 2.) This fish is cheap because very few folks understand how incredible it is 3.)  This fish tastes smoked and buttery. 4.) This is a "fatty" fish meaning no saturated fats and high in Omega 3 fatty acid, good for your hair, skin, heart, blood circulation, especially the brain and a load of other things including anti-cancer properties. This fish must be eaten the day of catch or immediately cured or frozen.  It is highly recommended by another favorite chef of mine, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (of River Cottage fame) for smoking, drying, curing.  He does all this with it and even cooks it directly on the beach.   I figured this fish would really shine with this old-styled prep Clarissa gave me since Hugh uses it in simple applications.  What I didn't know is that this fish would have a smoked flavor BY ITSELF!  I was astonished at how buttery rich and smokey this fish turned out.  Thank God this is an unpopular fish because it was 5.99 a lb.  Making my monster mackerel a whopping 8.50 and could have easily fed 4 very hungry souls. More with sides and what have yous.

For this magic you'll need:

1 to 1 1/2 Cups Coarse Sea Salt
Your choice of fish (preferably an oily or fatty fish like trout or salmon if you don't have mackerel)
1/4 - 1/2 Cup of whatever herbs you wish to use

I cut the head off behind the gill and tossed it in a pot with 1/2 Cup water for the puppy.
I then gut the fish and removed the tail (you can leave the head and tail on for dinner parties as it does a fancy fine job of making you look nifty) and rinsed the stomach cavity with cool water.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In my pan I placed about a 1/4 -1/2 inch "fish shaped" pile of coarse sea salt. Lay the fish on the salt bed you prepped.

I removed the tiny forefins for ease of eating later.

 Fill the cavity with whatever flavorful herbs, or onions you like.  I used chopped leek and parsley.

Cover the top of the fish in another 1/4 - 1/2 inch of coarse sea salt.

Using very wet fingers sprinkle the salted top with water this will keep the salt from sliding off the top of the fish while it cooks.  It will create a crust which when you remove it will pull the skin with it and unveil the loveliest baked fish you've ever had the pleasure of dining on.

Place in the oven and leave for at least 40 minutes.  You can stab through your salt crust into the fish with a knife to test it and if the tip of the knife is hot then your fish is cooked.  If not put in for another 10 minutes.

The time depends mostly on the size of the fish, but any caramelizing you witness will tell you your fish is done.  This is also a tough recipe to overcook since the goodness is rather sealed in until you crack the crust.

Crack this baby open in front of guests and watch their faces glow like Christmas morning.  (Or of course your holiday what-have-yous) The interior will be soft enough to spoon or spatulate from the skeleton.  Simply remove the spine once visible and be mindful of remaining bones.

I served this with chimichurri (minced parsley with olive oil)  over rice and an over easy egg to spill it's yolky goodness all over my fish and rice.  It was heavenly.  It isn't pictured because we had to smell this amazing food and couldn't handle it any longer.

Table Bread (Vegan)

 
 

A good around the house food.

It is simple and requires just a couple of resting periods where you can go and do something else for awhile and come back to it.

This bread is a good sandwich bread which I have been making regularly in lieu of my fridge fermentation breads.  I just like to mix it up and sometimes I forget to put up the fermenting dough and this becomes a more instant bread.

The active time is maybe 20 minutes. Less once you get the hang of it.  Inactive time depends on how warm your bread environment is. Averages around 1-2 hours.

For this bread you'll need:

Yield is two loaves  (They go quickly!)

• 5 Cups of flour ( I do usually 3 1/2 Cups white unbleached and 1 and 1/2 Cups whole wheat)
• 1 heaping tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/3 Cup vegan sugar (yeast LOVES sugar,  this will help fluff your bread without the fermentation process, it wont make a sweet bread necessarily.  It does take the edge off of the whole wheat which is sometimes bitter)
• 2 Cups tepid water
• 1 heaping tsp yeast

Have oven at a low temp to help warm your kitchen if it is a little frosty.

Mix tepid water and yeast, set aside to froth.

Mix dry ingredients.
Once yeast water is frothy add to the dry mix and stir until combined.  If there are some dry patches then while still in the bowl use your hands to fold and push together.  Turn out on a lightly floured surface.  Knead.  Half the dough.
Knead individually.  Let rest on newly floured surface giving plenty of room for growth.  Cover with a towel.
Let these rest for 30 minutes to an hour until they double in size.

Take two loaf pans and grease with butter, olive oil or fat all the way up the sides and the bottom.

Once the first rise is done punch out the dough and knead again folding inward and shaping the dough vaguely like that of the loaf pan.  Put any seams the dough may have at the bottom and they'll mend during baking.

Bottom seams mended from baking.

Once these are in the pan and ready for the second rise turn the oven to 500 degrees. (480 at the least!)

You will need two pieces of foil to cover the bread gently AFTER the initial browning.  The first heat of the bread is the most important.  It forms the crust and helps the bread retain its shape.
Check after 7-10 minutes once the top is as golden as you'd like then cover with foil lightly curling the edges, it need not be form fitting.  The bread will need another 7-10 minutes to cook fully through.

Take out and ditch from loaf pans.  Place on wire racks to keep the crust firm and from having any soggy bottomed bread.  Let rest for 5 minutes before cutting.  Your bread will still be cooking during this time and it vital for fluffy insides!

If you cut the bread and don't want it to dry out simply place cut side down flat against the bread board or a cutting board. 

I don't package my bread at all.  I leave it out and if it gets too crusty through and through I make toast, crostini, croutons or breadcrumbs.  Num.