chutney love

I have a lifetime resistance to chutney. I think most people who weren't born in england or one of the british colonies does. What exactly is chutney after all?! Chunky jam? Mushy spiced fruit? Apple sauce gone terribly wrong?!

Alas, I broke down my inhibitions and delved into the wide world of chutney thanks to a recipe in More Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin. Simple and delicious. And now I'm armed with an understanding of the world of diversity that is chutney and all of its uses! A bit tangy, usually with some heat and yes, a chunky jam thing, chutney has become a house favorite of mine; and I'm working on convincing the guys of its virtues!

This recipe originally called for pears. I've adapted it to use the market fresh blueberries I can't resist! I think any fruit would work beautifully and tasting and playing is only going to make everything better ;)

I will be eating it on fish and chicken-and imagine someone would love it on a pork roast!-dipped by crackers or pita and shmeared on sandwiches. Yum. Just yum. in love. trish

Blueberry Chutney

3 lbs blueberries (about three pint baskets)

3 large garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp salt

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp cayenne

2 tsp ground coriander seeds (buy whole and get your pestle out again :)

1/2 c prosecco, lime juice, or lemon juice

1/2 c white vinegar (or any combo of liquid that sounds appealing to you!)

1 1/2 c chopped dried apricots (prunes?)

2 TBLS minced fresh ginger or 1 tsp dried/ground

Cook all of this together in a large pot over medium heat. Stir every once in awhile to keep things moving. Once the berries are broken down and the liquid begins to thicken (1 hour?), add 1/2 c brown sugar. Cook and stir until it is sludgy but not liquidy (10-20 more minutes). Scoop into sterilized 8 oz jars (I used three) and process in boiling water to seal correctly for storage (see canning jar directions or google canning fruit)

Store for two months before opening-it's worth it I promise! Think Christmas hostess gifts....

pear chutney

change is a comin'

S is for Sad......and for the mysterious appetite that often surges in us when our hearts seem to be breaking and our lives appear too bleakly empty. Like every other physical phenomenon, there is good reason for this hunger, if we will be blunt enough to recognize it."
--M. F. K. Fisher, An Alphabet for Gourmets

The most beautiful sound caused me to catch my breath as I scraped warm wax from a board this evening. A magical, simple pleasure that made my mind and heart travel back fifteen years to a time when that sound belonged to a much smaller incantation of the one I'd just heard. Back to the easy days of holding small hands crossing the street, catching 40 pound bodies as they plummet down the park slide and cutting crusts from peanut butter sandwiches. To a time when the tugs at the heart were associated with fleeting desires to have them stay this way forever-to never grow up and to continue to delight in the innocent pleasure of the sway of a lazy sprinkler on a hot summer day. The sound was so familiar to me that on many another day, with different tasks filling my minutes and engaging my brain, it has gone unnoticed-simply continuing its bounce off the wall and up the stairs to dissolve in the beeswax fumed air of my studio. But this evening it captured me. Grabbed my heart and filled my thoughts with smiles. A laugh: The free flowing, still innocent laugh of a child. Deeply resonating in its post-pubescent growth and full of presumed-self knowing that would daily be challenged by this worlds rough edges; the laugh was still mine- still his. Still held the timber of the three foot tall, chipmunk-cheeked youth slipping through spring-mud filled grass. It captured me now for the bittersweet warmth of its existence-soon to be gone. Soon to exist in the vacuous silence of my reminiscing alone. Exist only in the memory of its once innocent flutter from the sofa, up the stairs and to my concentrating ears and mommy heart. feed the hunger. in love. trish

Brian's favorite rhubarb berry crisp
'crisp':

1 c flour

1c brown sugar

1 c quick oats

1 t cinnamon

2 sticks butter, melted and cooled

Mix the crisp ingredients until crumbly. Press 1/2 the mixture into a greased baking dish. Spread 4-5 c chopped rhubarb and assorted seasonal berries over this base. In a saucepan blend

1 c sugar

3 T flour

1 t vanilla

1 1/2 c water

Cook this mixture until it thickens (about 5 minutes) then pour over the fruit. Spread the remaining 1/2 of the crisp over this layer and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Allow to cool and dig in. It only gets better with time~and a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream!

I make this for Brian, exclusively. He can eat a 10x14 dish of it in three days easy; that's if he's pacing himself.

ginger

Besides my fetish for ginger redheaded boys, my sons!, a ginger fetish rests heavily on the pungent rhizome as well. When I am not cooking or baking for the aforementioned boys, I love to pull one of the many incantations of this spicy reed to the counter and mix its hot-sweet spiciness into the dishes I am preparing. My current addiction is in the breakfast bowl. Spicy ginger granola has gone through many transformations since I discovered the original base recipe in an Eating Well magazine several years ago. The best way to eat it is with fresh yogurt-I tend to go with Nancy's Nonfat
Organic if I haven't created a batch myself (insert eye rolls here, I know....truly it is easy and so much better than the store version!) Milk is a tasty alternative as well-cold or warmed in the microwave! Experiment and find your personal favorite; and share them here so I can expand my repertoire!
Spicy Ginger Granola
5 c rolled oats- Bob's RedMill has a nice version
1/2c coconut-again, Bob's RedMill has a tasty unsweetened
1/2 c honey
1/2 c maple syrup
1 c dried fruit-I love Trader Joe's berry blend
1/2 c crystallized or dehydrated ginger, chopped to your liking
1 c almonds, chopped to your liking
In a saucepan over medium heat blend the honey and syrup until bubbling. Turn the heat to low and simmer, stirring frequently, for five minutes. Meanwhile in a mixing bowl blend oats and coconut. Once the honey blend is finished, pour over the blended oats and coconut. Pour this mixture onto a lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from the oven, add the dried fruit, ginger and almonds and stir to blend. Return to oven and bake for another 12 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven, allow to cool on sheet then put into air tight container and eat it up within two weeks! Many variations of the granola can be concocted. Enjoy experimenting and finding your favorite.
More ginger to follow. It's all so good! in love. trish.