Dessert

  • Dessert,  Fruit,  Gardening adventures,  Recipes,  Sweet Decorations,  Vegan,  Vegetarian

    Candying Kumquats

     

    An army of kumquat halves

    We have two small but prolific kumquat trees.  Kumquats are very small citrus that are tart and sweet at the same time, and you eat the skin and all whole.  Kind of scary.  Not wanting to waste food, my daughter picked a whole batch of them and was determined to juice them.  And she did, one tiny half at a time!  There was about half a cup of juice in all, which she froze in plastic butter molds for future use in drinks, etc.

    De-pithed kumquat shells

    Then we had all these little half shells, so she carefully scraped the pith out of all of them and candied them.  The idea was to make little candied shells in which we’d put little scoops of vanilla ice cream, lemon sherbet, or something yum.  We tried a couple with homemade vanilla ice cream, and it was worth all the work.

    Cooking kumquats in simple syrup

    The kumquats needed to dry round, like little bowls, so I picked some more kumquats (yes, there are still more!), halved them and used them as molds for the shells, which were put onto the halves like little hats.

    Using kumquat halves as molds for shells

    All the split ones were set aside, and then everything was sugared and dried.  Several years ago we candied orange and lemon peel and I pulled some out of the bags now and then for use in baked goods.  Now we have candied kumquat peels and shells.

    Sugaring the peels and letting them dry

    But we still had all those kumquat halves that we’d used as molds.  We also had half a saucepan of simple syrup in which the kumquats had been cooked.  So, not wanting to waste, we put the kumquat halves into the syrup and boiled it again until the halves were candied and then I put them in jars and sealed them.  I’m not sure what I’m going to do with them, but they can be used to decorate desserts.

    Candied kumquat preserves in syrup

    I also had another ginger beer recipe that called for slicing the ginger, cooking the slices in a sugar and water mixture until reduced, then using the liquid as a base for a ginger drink.  The slices could then be sugared and dried and eaten.  I keep candied ginger from Trader Joe’s in the car to snack on, because ginger helps with car sickness or an upset stomach.  These homemade ginger slices were quite hot, so I think I’ll save them to use in cakes and pies instead.

    Stored candied kumquat shells and peels

    So it was a day of sugaring, preserving and messing about in the kitchen.  We now have seven quarts of pickles, a couple of bags of dried kale that is not only good to munch on, but great to crumble over rice or noodles, jars of candied kumquats, a jar of sugared kumquat peel, a bag of candied ginger slices, some miscellaneous jam, and lots of zucchini with more to come!

  • Dessert,  Fruit,  Recipes,  Vegetarian

    Freestyle Peach and Apricot Tart

    Freestyle Peach and Apricot Tart
    Author: 
    Recipe type: Dessert
    Prep time: 
    Cook time: 
    Total time: 
    Serves: 8
     
    A handsome, rustic dessert that is easier to make than a regular pie or tart, and delicious, too!
    Ingredients
    • For Pastry:
    • ½ cup cold unsalted butter
    • 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
    • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
    • 1 beaten egg yolk
    • 2-3 tablespoons ice water
    • For Filling:
    • ¼ cup granulated sugar
    • 4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
    • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
    • 3 cups total sliced, peeled peaches and apricots
    • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
    • 1 beaten egg
    • Powdered sugar
    Instructions
    1. For Pastry:
    2. In a mixing bowl cut butter into flour with a pastry blender until pieces are small pea-sized.
    3. Stir together egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of the ice water
    4. Graually fold egg yolk mixture into flour mixture.
    5. Using a fork, gently toss rest of ice water one tablespoon at a time into flour mixture, till all the dough is moistened.
    6. Gently press together dough until you can form a ball.
    7. If necessary, cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for ½ an hour or more until the dough is easy to handle.
    8. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and sprinkle it lightly with flour.
    9. Place the dough in the middle and roll to a 13-inch circle; a chilled rolling pin will help with this, or lightly dusting the top of the dough with flour (don't overdo!).
    10. For Filling:
    11. Mix together granulated sugar, flour and nutmeg, then stir in fruit and lemon juice.
    12. Mound fruit mixture in the center of the crust, leaving a 2-inch border.
    13. Fold border up over fruit in an artsy, farmhouse sort of way, leaving the middle exposed.
    14. Combine the egg and 1 tablespoon water and use it to brush onto the top and sides of crust for browning.
    15. Bake in a 375F oven for 40-45 minutes until crust is golden and fruit is bubbling.
    16. To prevent overbrowning, you can cover the edge with foil for the last 10 minutes of baking.
    17. Cool 30 minutes on the baking sheet.
    18. Dust edges with powdered sugar, if desired.
    19. Serve as is, or with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.