Rosemary Cocktail Onions

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I’m kind of addicted to tiny vegetables–baby carrots, mini eggplants, and of course, tiny onions. Not to mention that I love savory cocktails, so cocktail onions are kind of a necessity around here. Unfortunately, some of the commercial ones have either a really flat and bland flavor profile or a ton of preservatives that you don’t really need. So, I made my own. It’s slightly herbal, but the brine itself is still simple enough that it doesn’t have a ton of strong flavors that would compete with the onions.

Some notes: If you grow your own rosemary and bay leaves, they’ll make this recipe even better. Otherwise, if you don’t have access to the fresh stuff a dried bay leaf and a couple pinches of dried rosemary will work too. Also, you’ll make more brine than you need when you prepare this recipe. I prefer having too much brine to not enough so I don’t have to stop the whole preparation process to make another batch. This recipe yields one pint, but you can multiply it very easily.

Rosemary Cocktail Onions

10 oz white pearl onions
6 peppercorns
2 cups water
2 cups vinegar
2 tbsp salt
1 bay leaf
2 small sprigs rosemary

-Prepare your canning jars (I used two half pint jars) by placing in boiling water to sterilize (if you haven’t canned before, this is a pretty good tutorial)
-Combine all ingredients besides onions and rosemary in a pan and simmer for ten minutes.
-Meanwhile, drop the onions (peels and all) into boiling water and boil for three minutes.
-Remove the onions to a bowl of ice water.
-Cut off the root end of the onion, and gently squeeze the top to push the onion out of its skin.
-Remove sterilized jars from water and add a rosemary sprig to the bottom of each.
-Divide the onions between the jars, and ladle hot brine over them to cover, leaving 1/2 inch of space in the jar.
-Top with lids and rings, place in hot water bath and process for 15 minutes.

Spiced Carrot Hummus

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About a week ago, I purchased the largest and most terrifying carrot I’ve ever laid eyes on at Tomatoland, my favorite place in town to buy produce. Here is the carrot in question:

Terrifying, right?

I had absolutely no idea what to with the carrot. I shaved bits off here and there to add to salads, but it wasn’t even making a dent in the overall amount of carrot in my life. After a few days, I decided to cut it up and roast it off. That one carrot took up the entirety of my largest roasting pan. Once the carrot was roasted, I still didn’t know what to with it.
That is, until this morning, when I said ‘I want hummus, but I’m too lazy to rinse off a can of garbanzo beans.’ And thus, I give you this recipe.

Roasted Carrot Hummus

4 whole carrots
Extra virgin olive oil (about 1-2 tbsp)
salt and pepper
2 1/2 tbsp tahini
1 tsp Garam Masala powder (I make my own from this book, but if anyone knows of a good recipe online, let me know!)

-Preheat oven to 350. Cut carrots into 1 inch cubes, toss in oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until tender (this step can be done ahead).
-Combine carrots, tahini, Garam Masala, and salt to taste in a blender or food processor. If using a blender, you may have to add a little water to loosen everything enough to blend.
-Process until the hummus is the texture you would like. I left mine a little chunky.
-Enjoy!

Tom Yum Soup with Bonus Tutorial

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I’ve been wanting to make Tom Yum soup, a tasty and fragrant Thai soup, for a long time. Tom Yum is one of my favorite soups and an awesome comfort food. The flavor is complex, sour, and spicy, and is as good in summer as it is in winter. Last week, I got galangal through the farmer’s market (Red Hills Online is the one I use–you order and prepay, then just go pick your produce up. It’s magical). Galangal is a root that looks sort of like ginger, but has a different flavor and more of a bite rather than ginger’s warm spiciness. If you don’t have it in your area, you may be able to find it dried. To make my soup, I followed the order this site uses to add the ingredients, but measured as I went along. I also left the shells on the shrimp when I cooked them, as this adds extra flavor to the broth. I’ve met quite a few people who don’t know how to devein shrimp with the shells on, so I’ve made a photo tutorial for you at the end of the post. In my research I’ve found tons of variations, so this soup can be used for the basis of many tasty experiments!

Tom Yum Soup

4 c homemade chicken stock
2 stalks lemongrass
1 medium-sized knob of fresh galangal
5-6 kaffir lime leaves (fresh ones are best, but if you don’t have them, substitute jarred or dried)
2 small shallots
1 tsp sea salt
1-2 tbsp sweet roasted chili paste (I didn’t have chili paste, so I used fermented cayenne sauce instead)
4 tbsp Thai fish sauce (I use this one–A shout out to Two in Tally for telling me about it!)
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 pint crimini mushrooms
1/2-1 lb shrimp, deveined (see tutorial below)
1 small bunch fresh cilantro (about 3 tbsp of chopped leaves)
lime wedges and fresh chilis for garnish

-Heat the stock over medium heat until simmering. Add 1 tsp sea salt (if desired).
-Lay the lemongrass on a cutting board and hit (not *too* hard) with the back of a knife to release the flavor. Cut into two-inch pieces, and add to stock.
-Peel the galangal with a spoon, slice into 1/4-inch pieces, and add to the broth.
-Tear the kaffir lime leaves into about 4-6 pieces each and add to the broth.
-Peel and thinly slice the shallots, and throw into the pot.
-Add your chili paste (or cayenne sauce if you’re me) and stir.
-Add fish sauce.
-Quarter the tomatoes and mushrooms, and add to the broth.
-Chop the cilantro, and add to the pot.
-After you’ve deveined your shrimp, add them to the broth and turn off the heat. Let sit for 2 1/2 – 3 minutes.
-Ladle the soup into bowls, and garnish with fresh-sliced peppers (I used fresh cayenne peppers) and a squeeze of lime juice.

Bonus Tutorial (!): Deveining shrimp in their shells
The ‘vein’ in a shrimp is actually a part of the digestive tract, and is filled with grit that is not too fun to eat. Thankfully, taking the vein out is easy, and it’s as easy to do with the shell on as it is to do with shelled shrimp. Don’t laugh too much at the photos, it’s hard to photograph one-handed while cooking!

Step One: Slice down the back with kitchen shears. Make sure to go down the middle, where you would normally take the vein out.

Step Two: Hold the legs together and press so that the back of the shrimp spreads apart and you can see the vein.

Step Three: Using a knife with a thin blade, slide the point under the vein and lift to remove. Pull with your fingers and discard.

Kimchi kimchi kimchi!

Note: This recipe is the old version of my kimchi recipe. You can find an updated version in my Preserving Abundance online class.

If you’d like to see the preserve recipes and other goodies I’m working on now, check out my fermentation and food history company: Root! (@rootkitchens)

You can get exclusive recipes through our monthly membership, learn some new skills online, or sign up for our free newsletter.

Given how much I love making and eating sauerkraut (this is the recipe I use), it should come as no great shock that I also love its spicy, but also fermented cabbage-y, cousin kimchi. I do a hybrid of a couple recipes, and honestly I don’t always measure out each ingredient, but I’ll put down a rough estimate of what I usually use for you to use as a guide. I’ve also put bean sprouts in a couple times, although I’ve been told it’s even better without them by the folks I’ve shared it with (I happen to like it both ways). I’ve been meaning to write down what I put in mine for a while after a few requests, so here you go! I know the post is a bit long and rambling, but I promise the process is as simple as chopping and grating some things, tossing them with tasty flavorings, and letting them sit there a while. The purpose of all the words and steps isn’t to scare anyone off, it’s to try to clarify the process as much as possible so you won’t be intimidated by making this incredibly simple and heathy food. And the reward is jar upon jar of delicious kimchi!

First, the ingredients…

-1 large head napa cabbage
-fermented chili paste (learn more about it here: available at Asian groceries)*
-about 2-3 tbsp fish sauce (also available in Asian grocery stores. This has an image of the brand I use. Just make sure to *not* give the thicker, opaque sauce)**
-chopped garlic scapes (or green garlic; it looks like scallions)–I use one bunch, which usually has about a dozen of the little guys in it.
-1 daikon radish, grated
-1 ginger root, grated
-sea salt
*I use about 1/4 cup in mine, which is spicy but doesn’t punch you in the face too much. You can obviously adjust it to your tastes. The same peppers are available in powder form, which is what is traditionally used, but until recently I had trouble finding it so I’ve always just used the paste).
**Fish sauce won’t make your kimchi taste like fish–instead, it gives it a savory flavor that is delicious. You’ll find the amount that’s right for you, but I tend to stick with a few generous splashes from my bottle when making a batch.

Next, the preparation…
My technique is a combination of the sauerkraut recipe I mentioned before, and this very helpful kimchi primer. I use Tigress’ primer to feel out the proportions of ingredients I want to use, what size pieces to cut the cabbage into, how long to soak everything, etc. I use the Headspace kraut-in-a-jar method for the actual fermentation, because it keeps the lid on tightly enough to help calm my paranoia about bugs getting in my food (I am in Florida, after all), and because it keeps the house from smelling like fermented cabbage (which my upstairs neighbor probably appreciates). Just like with the kraut, make sure to loosen the ring on your lid ever-so-slightly every few days, or when you press on the top of the jar and it doesn’t give it all. If you don’t release a bit of pressure once in a while, you risk getting a face full of brine when you do open the jar to check on your food. Incidentally, you can use the same in-jar method for my new favorite hot sauce, which I made a *ton* of this year.
OK, that was kind of a long, rambling rant. Ready to make some kimchi? Good. Here’s how:
1. Wash all your veggies, grate the radish and ginger, chop the garlic scapes, and core and chop your cabbage.
2. Combine all your veggies and roots (everything but the salt, pepper paste, and fish sauce). I usually use two large mixing bowls for each batch, so when I make a lot of kimchi I end up using every bowl and pot I have. Press down, and make sure to leave some space at the top, since you’re adding liquid to it.*
3. Pour brine (or salt water) over the veggies to cover them. For my brine (and all my salt needs), I only use fine sea salt, which is available in my natural food co-op in bulk and which has a flavor and texture I prefer over other salts. Tigress calls for  1/4 c sea salt to quart of water, which is roughly the ratio I use as well.
4. The next day, drain your veggies with a fine mesh strainer (but preserve the brine!) and toss them with the fish sauce and the hot pepper paste until everything is nice and thoroughly coated (I wear latex gloves for this).
5. Put the mixture into jars, filling most (but not all) of the way (I follow Tigress here too and go with 3/4 full). Pour the reserved brine over the top of each jar until the mixture is covered, then put on the lids and set aside to ferment (I choose a place away from direct sunlight or heat, such as the corner of my counter top).
*I’ve also made a quick kimchi without the overnight soaking before, and it turned out pretty well (although the soaked version was a tad better). If you’re in a rush, you can skip the overnight soaking (steps 2-3). Just make sure you are still combining all your veggies before you mix them with peppers and jar them up so you get some of each in all your jars.

And finally…you have kimchi!
Once your kimchi is all jarred up, it’s just a matter of waiting for it to ferment as long as you’d like. The speed of fermentation varies dramatically depending on all sorts of environmental factors, so I check any ferment I’m doing every day. I open the jars and smell the kimchi, and I’ll pluck a piece out to taste. If it’s not done, you’ll know (really), and once it gets to a level of softness and ferment-y flavor that you like, go ahead and put it in the fridge (which is cool enough to keep the probiotic critters from continuing to ferment it). Kimchi keeps for a long time (Tigress says a year, I’ve never kept it around much longer than a month before I’ve eaten through it or given it away as gifts), and goes with just about everything.
Do you have other ways of preparing kimchi? Other ingredients you prefer? Let me know in the comments!

Modernizing Markham Now Available as a Book!

There has been a bit of radio silence on the blog for a few months, but with very good reason: I’ve just published Modernizing Markham as a book! For those who aren’t familiar with that project, MM is my food and book history blog, where I try to recreate early modern English recipes using modern ingredients and equipment. I also discuss the history of the cookbook I work from (The English Housewife), along with the history of the different foods I create, to try to help contextualize my work. It’s a lot of fun, and eventually it’s going to be a part of a series of books that deal with different types of recipes or different aspects of history!

All the recipes from the original blog are included, along with the historical discussions and some additional goodies that aren’t on the blog. As an added bonus, I’m donating a portion of my profits to the Center for the Book, which gave me tons of support and guidance as I worked on the project.

To order a copy, you can share the ISBN (available on the Candle Light Press website) with your favorite local bookseller, or you can order it online from Amazon or Barnes and Noble.  I’m also having a release party on December 14th at the Spaceport Bar (in the back of Waterworks), so if you’re in the Tallahassee area, stop by and get your copy signed if you would like!

Lacto-Fermented Pesto

This post is one of the first ferment recipes I crafted! If you like what you see, you can follow my fermentation and food history company at @rootkitchens, visit our website, sign up for our free newsletter, or check out our online classes.

I planted a ton of basil this year, and I’ve been looking for ways to preserve it so I can enjoy it in the winter. I searched around for lacto-fermented pesto recipes, but all the ones I found seemed to have a ton of brine in them. Then the thought occurred that I could modify the sauerkraut recipe I use to get enough basil packed in the jars to make a thicker pesto. Best of all, it’s super easy! Once the pesto is done fermenting, just dump the whole jar into the blender or food processor and process until it’s the texture you like. As an added bonus, toss the stems in some water with some sugar and a pinch of sea salt to make an excellent basil simple syrup.
I made two jars so I could try it out, and it worked very well! I ate one jar right away, and canned the other in a hot water bath to see if it would hold up (it does). The flavor is about the same as regular old pesto, but slightly more savory thanks to the fermentation process. Because it’s packed in brine, it also is thinner than traditional pesto, but still is a good consistency to toss with pastas, stir in to soups, or add to just about anything else!

The jars prior to fermenting.

Lacto-Fermented Pesto

~3 cups fresh basil leaves
1 tbsp salt (I use sea salt)
1 1/2-2 c water
2 cloves garlic
2 pint jars

-Tightly pack the basil leaves into the pint jars, pressing down as you add more leaves to the jars.
-Place a clove of garlic on top of each jar.
-Mix the salt in the water until dissolved.
-Pour the brine over the leaves until they are covered.
-Place the lids of the jars and set aside for two weeks to ferment.

Basil Simple Syrup

1 cup basil stems
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
pinch sea salt

-Combine water, salt, and basil in a pot.
-Heat until simmering, and simmer for 7-10 minutes or until the infusion is as strong as you would like.
-Add the sugar and stir until dissolved.

Goose Fat and Blackberry Shortbread

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This year, I got what just might be the greatest birthday gift of all: a jar of goose fat! I used some of it to fry potatoes for a German meal, but was unsure with how to use the rest of it up. I wanted to put it in pastry, but the texture is such that some pastries were out of the question. After some serious soul searching, I felt that the best way to use my goose fat would be in tandem with the blackberry jam I made from last week’s berry picking experience. The result: shortbread with a light, flaky texture and an incredibly rich sweet and savory flavor. I’ll definitely be making these again (if anyone ever has extra goose or duck fat they want to send my way, I would be most appreciative).

1/2 c goose fat
2 tbsp turbinado sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4  c granulated sugar
3 tbsp butter, softened
2 1/2 c flour (this may be a bit more or less depending on the texture of the fat, the humidity in the air, etc.)
blackberry jam (about 1/4-1/3 cup)

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
-Cream together all ingredients but the flour and jam using a mixer.
-Gradually add the flour until the dough is very stiff and almost crumbly, but still holds its shape.
-Pinch off about 1 tbsp – 1 1/2 tbsp of dough and shape into a circle with your hands. Depress the center a bit so you have a place to put the jam. Place on a greased cookie sheet.
-Repeat with the rest of the dough.
-Spoon a small amount of jam into the depressions in each cookie.
-Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until they just begin to turn golden (you don’t want to overcook them).

Coffee Liqueur

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I love homemade coffee liqueur, but for some reason I haven’t been doing much infusing lately so it’s taken me a while to get around to trying it. I’m getting some yummy raw cream in a couple weeks, so now seemed like the perfect time to make something tasty to enjoy it with. I had initially thought about using clear liquor for it, but then it occurred to me that the caramel-y notes of the rum I had in the pantry might go really well with the coffee I have (I prefer beans from Central and South America, so that’s what I used here). Make sure you’re using good beans here! Just like using wine in cooking, you want something you enjoy the flavor of as that flavor is going to carry over to the finished product. The number of recipes I saw online that encouraged people to opt for cheap grounds made me cringe! Some recipes added vanilla and lots of spices, but I want to try just the straight coffee infusion this time around and see how the flavor of these delicious coffee beans comes through. I just put it up today, so I’ll be checking it every few days and we’ll see how it turned out! As with other infusions, I’ll make a simple syrup (sugar and water, I add a pinch of salt too) to add to it to sweeten it up a bit after it’s infused.

Update: I strained it after 4 days and it was perfect. Snuck a little bit of coconut cream from my dinner (trying my hand at haw mok pla using the leaves from my banana trees, along with one of my favorite things–lime rice!) and had a pre-dinner cocktail that was really delicious but also made it incredibly hard to concentrate on cooking. Mmm.

Coffee Liqueur

2 cups dark rum (not spiced)
1 cup whole coffee beans, coarsely chopped
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
pinch salt

-Combine rum and coffee in a container with a sealing lid (I always use glass or other nonreactive containers, just in case).
-Let sit until the coffee flavor is as strong as you would like it (I’m guessing  2-3 weeks).
-Strain the infusion and set aside.
-Combine water, sugar, and salt in a pot. Stir and heat until the sugar and salt dissolve completely.
-Add the simple syrup to the infusion.
-I like to drink it with some cream or half and half (or even just milk).

Kumquat Marmalade, Part 2

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A little while back I shared my recipe for maple kumquat marmalade. We Floridians are rolling in fresh citrus this time of year, so my friends who gifted me the kumquats for that marmalade gifted me another gallon bag of them in exchange for using my canning pot. These kumquats were perfectly ripe and so tasty, and when you get citrus like that the best thing to do is make sure you are bringing out all those great flavors (instead of masking them behind other ingredients). Making this was such a fun experience: few things in the world beat taking the time to slow down and experience a perfectly fresh ingredient while it’s being prepared (my whole house smelled like fresh citrus, it was delightful). Adding fresh bay leaves to my citrus preserves is my new favorite way to bring in some exciting flavor elements that are subtle enough to let the main ingredient(s) shine. I canned 3 jars of this stuff this morning, so I’ll have plenty to last me once our citrus trees are done fruiting.

Simple Kumquat Marmalade
1 gallon (I’m guessing it was ~2-3 lbs worth) fresh kumquats
1/2 tsp sea salt
3/4 – 1 c sugar (depending on your tastes)
2 fresh bay leaves
1 c water

-Slice the kumquats in to little rounds, taking care to remove the seeds as you go.
-Place the sliced fruit in a nonreactive bowl and add half the sugar. Toss to coat the kumquats evenly.
-Let sit overnight to remove some of the bitterness from the fruit and start the preserving process.
-The next day, add the kumquats, the rest of the sugar, bay leaves, salt, and water to a pot and simmer until the water is absorbed (it will still be chunky, you just don’t want it to be soupy).
-Place in to canning jars and process in a hot water bath (or just keep it in the fridge).

Preserved Tangerines Three Ways

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Thanks for visiting my blog! I haven’t updated this site since roundabout 2012:

If you’d like to see the preserve recipes and other goodies I’m working on now, check out my fermentation and food history company: Root! (@rootkitchens)

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From left to right: Peppery tangerines, chai spiced, and herbed.

Here in Florida, you stumble across tasty winter citrus every time you go shopping. The last time I went to get produce at Tomatoland (kind of like a permanent farm stand/small grocery store), there were big stacks of tangerines calling my name. I bought dozens of them, thinking I would make some marmalade, but I’m still eating up my last batch of marmalade and wanted to do something a bit different. I always have preserved lemons in my fridge: when I’m almost out I just toss some more together and wait a few weeks. Usually I just add salt and sliced lemons to a jar, but I’ve been wanting to add spices. These tangerines provided the perfect opportunity to experiment! I had grand plans for waiting to post this until the tangerines are done preserving (it does take several weeks), but I felt eager to share the fruits of my labor while there’s still plenty of time to use in-season citrus. Given how easy it is to make these things, they’re pretty much guaranteed to turn out well, so that makes it a little easier to share now too. A couple notes here: you don’t have to be a slave to the measuring spoon with these. I usually just add a layer of citrus and sprinkle on salt (and herbs and spices, if I’m using them) between each layer. As I add a new layer of citrus, I press them down before sprinkling with salt. Basically the process looks like this:
Slice citrus into wedges, salt bottom of jar. Add a layer of wedges, press, sprinkle with salt. Add another layer, press, salt, and repeat until your jar is full. Honestly, I have never measured the salt and they turn out fine. Just make sure you are  salting and packing them tightly so that your citrus releases its juices. Then, leave the jars somewhere cool and dark for a month, shaking them when you think about it. Keep an eye on them the first few days, though: if they haven’t released enough juice to cover the fruit, add some more freshly squeezed juice to the jars and re-cover. After 3-4 weeks, you’ll have soft, yummy citrus you can add to just about anything, plus delicious brine that makes great dressings and sauces!

Chai Spiced Tangerines
I always have this spice mixture around, too. If you go to the link, you’ll find the proprotions of the spices to use (make sure to toast them first!), and you can use them in chai syrup or blend the dry spices with tea. I use them to flavor sauces and desserts too. These tangerines would be good in sweet and savory applications: I could see them going well in a rice dish with lots of raisins and toasted nuts, or sliced and put on top of a chocolate cake.
For this recipe, makes sure your spices cool completely after toasting. You can leave the toasted spices whole or you can grind them in a spice grinder. I made mine a couple days ago and ground them, so I went with the ground spices. I used about 2 1/2 tbsp of the ground spices for a pint of preserved tangerines. I also used sea salt in this and the other recipes because I like it’s clear, briny flavor best. You can also use kosher salt if you feel so inclined, but you may have to adjust the amount.

1/4 c sea salt
2 1/2 tbsp ground chai spices
2-3 tangerines, cut into wedges

-Sprinkle some salt and spices in the bottom of a pint jar.
-Add a layer of tangerine wedges and press.
-Top with another layer of salt and spices.
-Add another layer of tangerine wedges, press, and top with salt and spices.
-Continue this process until your jar is full.
-Screw the lid on tightly and shake the jar.
-Store in a cool, dark place for 3-4 weeks, shaking every few days.

Peppery Tangerines
These tangerines use spices that I see in a lot of recipes for preserved lemons, which means I’ll be substituting them in recipes where spiced, preserved lemons are used (Moroccan cooking, for example). There are plenty of examples over at Punk Domestics to provide inspiration!

1/4 c sea salt
2 small bay leaves
1 dried cayenne pepper, halved (you could substitute other peppers here: guajillo peppers, for example, would make for a nice smoky addition)
1 tsp peppercorns (I had tricolored peppercorns, but you can use black peppercorns or whatever ones you have around)

-Sprinkle some salt in the bottom of a pint jar and add the cayenne pepper.
-Add a layer of tangerine wedges and press.
-Add bay leaves.
-Top with another layer of salt.
-Add peppercorns.
-Add another layer of tangerine wedges, press, and top with salt.
-Continue this process until your jar is full.
-Screw the lid on tightly and shake the jar.
-Store in a cool, dark place for 3-4 weeks, shaking every few days.

Herbed Tangerines
The flavors I used here remind me of the flavors found in foods from Provence. I’m planning on using these tangerines to spice up French dishes and to flavor roasted chicken.

1/4 c sea salt
1/2 whole nutmeg nut (I had one that I had partially used for grating, if you only have a whole nut you can just use that and rough up the surface so it releases its flavor).
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 tsp lavender flowers

-Sprinkle some salt in the bottom of a pint jar and add the nutmeg.
-Add a layer of tangerine wedges and press.
-Add rosemary sprig.
-Top with another layer of salt.
-Add lavender.
-Add another layer of tangerine wedges, press, and top with salt.
-Continue this process until your jar is full.
-Screw the lid on tightly and shake the jar.
-Store in a cool, dark place for 3-4 weeks, shaking every few days.

This recipe is on Punk Domestics!