The Charmed Kitchen

Assorted liqueurs

I will be teaching a class on Homemade Liqueurs next Tuesday in Mentor. There are only a couple of places available. Mentor classes are held at Wildwood Center at 7645 Little Mountain Road.  You can register online at CityofMentor.com/play or by phone at 440 974 5720 from Cleveland call 440 942 8796.

New for this class will be a limited edition of elderberry liqueur for tasting.

Learn about the history of liqueurs and how their combination of fruit, herbs and spices can enhance your cooking. Sample recipes that, through the addition of liqueurs, go from ordinary to extraordinary. You’ll learn how to make your own liqueurs and how to use them in cooking. Students must be age 21 or older to take this class.

This is a great gluten-free dessert. You don’t have to be gluten-free to love it. Dense and rich it is a great end for any meal. Simple to make and always a hit. I made this one for a clambake I’ll be going to soon. I decorated it with chocolate leaves but you can serve it plain, too.  Here is the recipe. If you want to avoid the alcohol you can substitute fruit juice, I like orange juice.

Flour-less Chocolate Mousse Cake

½ c. each sugar and water

1 stick butter

12 oz. semi sweet chocolate

6 eggs

¼ dark rum or other liqueur

Butter an eight inch cake pan and line with parchment. In saucepan heat together water and sugar until they boil. Stir in butter and bring to boil. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate until melted. Beat in eggs until smooth and stir in rum. Pour batter into prepared pan and place pan in a roasting pan. Pour boiling water into roaster to come up sides of pan 1 inch. Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 45 minutes. Cool, invert onto plate.

Serve cake topped with whipped cream and decorate with raspberries, other fresh fruit or even toasted nuts. Dense and rich this cake serves 8-10.

I harvested what will probably be the last of this season’s tomatoes. Some red ones, but mostly green. I love fried green tomatoes but there are far too many for just that.  My friend Mari has the same problem so I promised to post the recipe for green tomato pickles for her. They are really easy to make and they taste good, too. I have also included the recipe for sweet green tomato pickles.

                                      Green Tomato Dill Pickles ‑ Kosher style

Green tomatoes

Stalk celery

Sweet green peppers

Garlic

2 quarts water

1 quart vinegar

1 cup salt

Dill

Use small firm green tomatoes.  Pack into sterilized canning jars.  Add to each quart jar a bud of garlic, 1 stalk of celery, and 1 green pepper cut into fourths.  Make a brine of the water, vinegar, and the salt.  Boil with the dill for 5 minutes.  Pour the hot brine over the pickles to within 1/2 inch of the top of the jar.  Put on cap, screw band firmly tight.  Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.  These pickles will be ready for use in 4‑6 weeks.  Yield:  About 6 quarts.

Green Tomato Sweet Pickles

1 gallon green tomatoes (16 c. sliced)

1/4 c. salt

1/2 T. powdered alum

3 c. vinegar (5% acidity)

1 c. water

4 c. sugar

2 T. Pickling spice

1 T. celery seed

1/2 t. cinnamon

Slice tomatoes.  Sprinkle with salt and allow to stand overnight.  Next morning, drain and pour 2 quarts of boiling water with 1/2 Tablespoon of powdered alum over the tomatoes and let stand 20 minutes.  Drain and cover with cold water, drain.  Combine vinegar, water, sugar and spices (tie spices loosely in a bag) and bring to a boil.  Pour this over the tomatoes.  Let stand in this solution overnight.  Then drain and bring solution to boil and pour over tomatoes.  Let stand overnight.  On the third morning bring the pickles and solution to a boil.  Pack into sterilized canning jars to within 1/2 inch of top.  Put on cap, screw band firmly tight.  Process in boiling water bath for ten minutes.  Yield:  8 pints

Its been such a long  and often hot season and I can’t believe its almost over. Thursday will be the last market of the year at Blue Pike Farm- 900 E. 72 Street in Cleveland. I hope if you have wanted to come and haven’t you will make it tomorrow. I have been busy making wine jelly, pomegranate jelly and sweet onion relish. I will also have strawberry preserves, apple butter and my salt- free seasoning packets. I’ve been baking more lately, too. There will be zucchini bread, chocolate beet cake,  pumpkin cake, pumpkin scones , oatmeal bread and Swedish Limpa bread. I also have 1 hydrangea wreath left for sale. There will also be fresh eggs, honey and produce. Hope to see you there- the weather is supposed to be wonderful!!!

While I was blending up some basil for the freezer tonight it occurred to me that there is a simple way to clean the blade I’d like to share with you. Whether its basil or hummus when it comes time to clean out the food processor the blade can be tricky. Its very sharp, or should be, and can nick a rubber spatula. The solution? Just clean out the food that you can get to easily. With the processor nearly empty turn it on for a few seconds. The centrifugal force will send the remaining food to the side of the bowl leaving the blade clean. Easy!

Basil puree in processor

Processor running

Clean blade

So what treats will you be planning for Halloween this year? Candy apples, cauldrons of smoking punch, finger sandwiches? I’ve had some fun Halloweens over the years and have made a lot of fun treats. Bat cookies, flaming ghost cake cake, bat wings, goblin goo drink and many more. I’d love to hear what plans you have for Halloween this year. I’ll be sharing recipes, too. Here are a couple to get you started.

Vampire Chasers

2-3 heads garlic

Olive oil

½ c. grated Parmesan cheese

Sliced, toasted French or Italian bread, about 1 loaf

2 large onions, sliced thin

Salt and pepper

Shredded mozzarella cheese

Trim tops off the garlic heads, being careful not to dislodge the cloves. Brush with oil and wrap in foil. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until garlic is soft. Remove from oven and allow to cool a little. Squeeze roasted garlic out of skins and combine with the Parmesan cheese. Spread on the bread and keep wrapped until ready to use. Can be made a day ahead. Sauté onions in oil until browned. Season to taste. Divide onions among bread slices. Top with some of the shredded cheese and bake or broil until cheese has melted.

Bone Yard Beef Ribs

5-6 lbs. Beef back ribs cut into single bone pieces

Salt and pepper to taste

Garlic powder

1 c. Italian dressing, home made preferred

Barbecue sauce

Trim off any excess fat. You can ask your butcher to cut ribs in half lengthwise when you but them because they are very long. Still, the most dramatic effect is attained when the bones are left intact. Place ribs in a roasting pan and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Drizzle on the dressing and seal pan with foil or tight fitting lid. You can cook them right away or refrigerate overnight. When ready to cook place pan in preheated 350-degree oven for 1½ hours. Remove foil; drain off any liquids in pan and brush with barbecue sauce. Bake 30 minutes longer. Serve with extra sauce on the side. Serves 4-5.

Note: You can use pork ribs instead, if you prefer.

For a fun serving idea, stick ribs upright in a bowl or food-safe pail.

Beef ribs are not always available so ask your butcher ahead to insure you will have them.

I made these cookies for a friend who has been sick. Inspired by the season for the shapes and colors.The recipe is very easy to make. The royal icing hardens so the cookies are easier to stack and transport.

 Sugar Cookies

1 c. butter

1 c. sugar

1 egg

1 t. vanilla

3 c. flour

2 t. baking powder

3 T. milk

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients and add to butter mixture. Beat in milk.  Heat oven to 375-degrees. Roll dough on lightly floured surface to about 1/3- inch thickness. Cut out with lightly floured cutters and bake on ungreased baking sheet for 10-12 minutes. Cool on baking sheet 3 minutes before placing on wire rack to cool completely. Frost when cooled. Makes about 4 dozen.

For tinted dough you can add food coloring to butter mixture before adding flour. For chocolate sugar cookies you can add ½ c. cocoa to flour mixture before adding to shortening and reduce flour by ¼ cup.

Decorating your cookies:

You can use tube of pre-made frosting or you can tint canned frosting, however the best way is to use royal icing. Because royal icing contains egg whites it gets hard. Cookies have a smooth appearance and can be stacked. When making royal icing ALWAYS USE PASTUERIZED EGG WHITES OR POWDERED EGGS WHITES TO PREVENT SAMONELLA.

You can also use colored sugar and sprinkles and mini chocolate chips for eyes.

Royal Icing

1 lb. powdered sugar

½ t. cream of tartar

5¼ t. egg white powder

6 T. water

½ t. vanilla, optional

Assorted food colorings

In large mixing bowl combine dry ingredients and mix well. Add water and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. Divide into small bowls and tint each batch as needed. Keep bowl covered with a damp towel while waiting to use so frosting will not dry out.

Beet Relish

Sometimes called Red Relish , Beet Relish is one of my favorite beet dishes. Its also a good way to preserve beets for later use. You can use it like other relishes. Fun part is the lovely color it adds to dishes along with great flavor.

Beet Relish

1 qt. chopped cooked beets, about 12 medium

1 quart chopped cabbage, about 1 small head

1 c. chopped onion

1 c. chopped red sweet pepper

1 1/2 c. sugar

1 T. prepared horseradish

1 T. canning salt ( non-iodized)

3 c. vinegar, white or cider

Combine all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer 10 minutes. Bring mixture to a boil. Pack hot relish into hot jars leaving 1/4 -inch head space. Seal jars and process in a boiling water bath 15 minutes. Yield about 10 half-pint jars.

I will be at this local food festival this Saturday. I’ll be giving a free canning class at 12:35 and will be selling stuff the rest of the time. I’ll have my cookbooks, herb packets, local jams, preserves, relishes and pickles and yummy baked good, too. Hope you can come by. It will be a fun time for all and informative, too.

http://www.sustainableheightsnetwork.net/2012/09/free-and-open-to-all-local-food-week.html

LOCAL FOOD FESTIVAL | 10am-3pm Grace Lutheran Church, 13001 Cedar Road, Cleveland Heights

Free and open to all. Come for a presentation or two (or all!), meet the local food activists who are leading the local food revolution in our area, and sample local food. Help grow the local food movement in the Heights. Family friendly, handicap accessible, near public transportation.

DOOR PRIZES! FarmShare Gift Basket and a One Year Subscription to Edible Cleveland

 

TABLES, PRESENTATIONS AND WORKSHOPS Farm fresh food samples | Food preservation and composting workshops| Fun stuff for the kids | Urban agriculture | Make seed balls | Locally-sourced food | Network with your food-growing neighbors | Community gardening | Local Cook books | Homemade jams and jellies | Reserve a Farm Fresh Thanksgiving Turkey|Herbs