Easy Small Batch Spiced Plum Preserve ( No pectin)

Hello every one! I would like to introduce you all to my first ever bottle of jam. I am so hooked!
Update: This bottle of jam was featured on Yummly's 10 Fruity Fall Jams for National Canning Day 

Ok first of all the difference between preserve and jam apparently is that in preserve there are chunks of fruit whereas jam is more smooth with the fruit having been crushed or pureed, and jelly is even more smooth being made from the fruit juice and not the pulp. This one is full of soft spreadable plum chunks so it is a preserve, and not jam but I'm going to  use the terms interchangeably, ok?

Last month I met the talented Patty of Patty's Food at a bloggers meet and we discovered that we lived quite close to each other. She invited me to her beautiful home to cook together,  and I had a blast whipping  up some spicy tomato rice with the cherry tomatoes we bought from the farmers market on the way over,  and Patty showed me how to make this delicious Spiced Plum Jam. I had no idea it would be SO easy to make! ( and eat :O) So Patty, I have you to thank, both for a delightful afternoon, and what I am sure is going to be a lifelong addiction to jamming!

It was all gone too quickly and then I made another large batch of jam and learnt to can or bottle it so that I could take it with me in my suitcase to Ohio to gift to my family I was visiting there, and it was a huge hit with them too. Now that I am back I am buying up all the plums and peaches I can find at my favourite stall for stone fruits at our farmers market- Kashiwase Farms, to make more jam, and  bottle up the last of summer goodness for the chilly months to come ( well, not SO chilly, I do live in California after all!)

My mom makes a very sweet banana jam popular in banana abundant Kerala, with a surprisingly natural red hue,  which was a favourite of mine growing up. She used to make it to take to my college hostel- my roomies and I  would spread the runny jam on Marie biscuits as a midnight snack! I think I ate too much of it though, because now I've become a lot more  finicky about my jam and do not like it overly sweet, and prefer to let the taste of the fruit shine through. If you love jam then you MUST make yours at home too. It is so easy and it knocks the socks of supermarket jam. Best of all you can make your own flavour combinations to spread on toast ( try it in between your grilled cheese sandwich!) , crackers, spoon over dessert or serve with yogurt or cheese...

                      

The leaves on most trees are tinged red and I know overnight they will be all red or gold and soon begin to fall. So go, hurry and get jamming before all trace of summer is gone along with all the summer fruits! Isn't that a really depressing thought? That these mounds of juicy stone fruits are going to quickly disappear? But you know what, every time I think that September slipping away  is going to throw me into wallowing despair, almost unwillingly I succumb to Fall's seductions. A lone red leaf lying on the pavement, a whiff of cinnamon,  Halloween  costumes and Thanksgiving decorations in store windows (ALREADY! ) My mind wanders towards pumpkin pies and crisp apples  and then of course I am falling for Fall too :)

Just in case I do pine for  a taste of summer, all I have to do is open up one of my many bottles of spiced plum jam!

Recipe for Small Batch Plum Preserve

Recipe adapted from: Epicurious with tips from Patty of Patty's Food
Yield: Makes about 3 half pint bottles of jam, recipe can be easily doubled or tripled.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds plums or pluots ( I used a delicious variety fom Kashiwase Farms called Flavour King) 
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 4 cloves or 1 stick cinnamon or other spice of your choice
• 1/2 vanilla bean (optional) 

Directions:
Place a plate or bowl in the freezer ( preferably a steel one)
Coarsely chop the plums after pitting into large chunks ( if you are using organic plums, no need to peel them)
Stir together with the water, sugar and cloves in a large (2 quart or more) pot, saucepan or dutch oven.
Slit and scrape the inside of the vanilla bean and add it along with the bean to the saucepan.
Place on medium heat until it reaches a simmer and then reduce heat to low.
Let it simmer, stirring occasionally so that it does not get stuck to the bottom of the pan, especially towards the end when the jam starts to thicken and reduce (in about an hour)
Pick out the cloves and vanilla bean before bottling.

Notes:
To check that the jam is done, put a drop of the jam on the cold plate from the freezer.
Tilt the plate and if the drop of jam runs down then that means that the jam needs to cook some more.
Another way to check is to run a spoon through the jam in the pot and it should leave a channel or a trail ( think parting of the red sea!) for a few seconds before getting filled up again.
I don't mind my jam being a little runny, but I make sure that I don't over cook it so that the fruit still tastes bright and  the texture is not too hard or gummy.
If you jam is still too runny, you can use it as a delicious topping for yogurt,  ice cream or other desserts too! So don't worry, get jamming!

Storage:
You can store your jam in clean and dry containers in the fridge. If you want to keep it longer than a month or so and plan to store it out of the fridge, you should can it, following the guide lines here

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Onam Special

Happy Onam to all my fellow Malayalis and Malayalis at heart :) I hope you all enjoy a wonderful feast and have some extra for me :)

Onam is the harvest festival of Kerala celebrated not only by the Hindus for whom it is a religious festival, but by everyone throughout the state and all Mallus scattered worldwide,  as a sort of celebration of everything that is beautiful and beloved to Kerala! If you visit Kerala during Onam, you will see colourful carpets made from flower petals outside every home, beautifully dressed women in their white and gold saris and ornate jewelry with strings of jasmine in their hair, and boat races along the many rivers, and if you are really lucky maybe even some Kathakali performances or Puli Kali ( tiger dance with the dancers bodies painted orange and striped black to look like tigers)

I hope to enjoy a full blown Sadhya this year after ages. Sadhya to all my non-Mallu friends is a large feast of delicious vegetarian dishes ranging from spicy to tangy to sweet, served with a mound of rice, typically on a large banana leaf, which ofcourse is my favourite part of Onam!
I am really looking forward to my Onam celebration with my sister-in-law's family, especially since my cute little niece will be performing a special Onam dance! but this Onam get together is happening only in two weeks. So tomorrow, I will be making just one or two of our Onam favourites. Since it will just be the two of us and the monkey I am not attempting to make a full Sadhya (that might probably kill me!) Preparing a full Sadhya requires a lot of collaborative effort and you need a team of dedicated, chattering aunts or a team of skilled cooks to accomplish!

Here are some of my favourite dishes from the archives that may be part of the Sadhya:

Red Moong and Squash Eriserry

Beans Mezukkuperutti

Muthira Curry- Horsegram Garlic Stew

Sambhar

Parripu Curry- Lentils

And now to my favourite part... the dessert! 

Quick Pressure Cooker Carrot Pal Payasam

Ada Payasam

For more Onam special recipes visit our Kerala Cooking group- The Kerala Kitchen 

I think the apart from the Payasams, Eriserry is my favourite. What is your favourite Onam item?

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Mascarpone Ice Cream with Wine Poached Cherries

Sitting cross legged on the grass, feeling the sun on our backs, talking and laughing, watching my toddler entertain himself as puppies chased each other, and savouring scoops of ice cream that melted away too quickly, as did the afternoon itself..

Looking for tree toads! 

There is something about eating ice cream that makes a fun day, even more fun don't you think? Though I think I now enjoy making  ice cream as much, if not even more than eating it! I made this peach bourbon ice cream without an ice cream maker, and we also loved this pistachio honey, salty caramel. and this macaron ice cream sandwich.. so how could I let this summer go by without making even one? 

This time I wanted to make something to pair with all kinds of glorious summer fruits and it so does- it's lightly tangy from home made mascarpone cream, a perfect match for fresh, poached or roasted summer fruit like these deep red cherries which I poached in red wine, but I just know it will be as spectacular with caramelized grilled peaches.

(See how to pit cherries with a beer bottle!)

Best of all, it requires no ice cream maker! I kind of stumbled onto this when I whizzed together some home made ( yes, yes homemade! and it couldn't be easier- I'll tell you how soon, promise) mascarpone cheese and whipped cream and then froze the whole thing because I knew a tub of THAT would not be safe anywhere else but the freezer!

The resulting ice cream is smooth and rich and so, so lickable! It kind of took me by surprise by how good it was considering how easy it was to make. You must know that we are a household of ice cream snobs, and will allow ourselves only the luxury of Jenny's Splendid Ice Cream or my Bay Area favourite Bi-Rite. This one passed our ice cream test, so you know it is good. Real good!

Also check out this tantalizing Cherry Ginger Chutney , this gorgeous Cherry Ice Cream  and this tempting Strawberry Ice Cream that my friends Prerna, Kankana and Viji made that triggered my cherry + ice cream quest!

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How to pit cherries without a cherry pitter

Pitting a bowl of these can be messy business if you don't have a cherry pitter. Since I already have several gadgets that I hardly use and I hate buying stuff that serves only one purpose, I was thrilled to see this idea from food52. I know I might be a little late to be sharing this, but it was too good not to!

Simply place the cherry in the mouth of an empty bottle with a small neck- your typical beer bottle. 

Use a sturdy plastic straw, a pastry tip or  a plastic spout like I used (something with a sort of nozzle works better, than the chopstick that they suggest I think) to gently push the pit out, right into the bottle! Easy!

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blueberry coconut vegan scones - no butter, no eggs

Hope you are all having a good summer. Can you believe that it's almost August already? I think this is my favourite season (but then, I do say that every season! ) Picnics, trips to the beach, bbqs, road trips...summer is just the perfect time for fun and for portable, finger friendly food, that you can pack and take along, like these blueberry coconut scones. 

We made a trip up to beautiful Carmel some time ago and I baked up these blueberry scones to take with us.  I made them with coconut milk so my little dairy allergic munchkin could have them too, but you could use any kind of milk. For good measure I tossed in some shredded coconut and blueberries which bubbled and burst in the oven, leaking rivulets of purple juices.

Isn't it kind of weird that blueberries are actually a translucent green inside? When you bake them, the inside turns purply too. Baking really makes blueberries even better, turning them jammy and juicy and wonderful.

These are not exactly like the traditional butter scones. These are super simple and quick to make- everything gets mixed together in one bowl with a fork.  The batter is somewhat loose and you drop them by the tablespoons and bake. That's it. They are as delicious though, with a crisp exterior and all tender and soft inside- good on their own, fantastic with some buttery spread and preserves. 
You can skip the coconut if you are not a coconut lover and replace the coconut milk with any other milk. Play around with them- a little zest, some spice, dried fruit?  

Here is a picture from Carmel, on a drive to Big Sur. I had to walk down small trail, braving poison oak and stand on the edge of a cliff, risking my neck to take this pic for you all. It is a truly beautiful place, simply spectacular sights and if we stopped every time I wanted to enjoy the jaw-dropping view and take pictures, the drive would have taken us several days at least. 

Downtown Carmel is like walking into a fairytale. There are moss covered cottages filled with sweets, quaint tea shops, galleries and secret passages. The Monterey Bay aquarium is also close by so if you are making a trip that side, it is definitely worth visiting too.

It was quite sad to come away from a truly dreamy weekend there, but I'm glad to have the memories, pictures and these scones!  

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coffee cake with coffee swiss meringue buttercream for dads

Today being Father's day, I had planned to post this coffee high cake in honour of the two fathers in my life- T and my dad who both have a thing for coffee, and so I am assuming most other dads do too.

My Dad drinks his cuppa several times a day and  although he is one of the most easy going people ever, he is very specific about the way his coffee should be made. Even today I don't seem to make it just the way he likes it -it has to be just hot enough, with just the right amount of milk and topped with the exact  tiny amount of froth.. It's much easier to make macarons than Dad's cup of coffee!
T is thankfully not as particular but likes his espresso straight up- no milk no sugar- full strength.

I was thinking about a special Father's Day message to begin this coffee cake post with and was chopping some onions to make a  quick brunch, with my little toddler/tiny kitchen helper running around looking through my cabinets for his "lello" crayon to put the finishing touches on his hand drawn card for T, when it happened to me...

If you watch Top Chef or any of those cooking shows ( as I do obsessively) everytime someone is chopping onions invariably they will cut their finger. It happens so often it's almost predictable. Kitchen accidents are very very common, and yes the kitchen, even a stress free kitchen like the one at home is a dangerous place. I don't mean to scare you but I was reminded of the fact today, perhaps so that I can be more careful and aware!

As I was chopping the onion, the peel slipped and I cut my finger. It was not very deep or anything, but there was some blood and since there are lots of nerve endings on the fingertips- quite some pain. Being the wuss that I am, I got lightheaded was sure I was going to faint, and could see that my little kitchen helper was getting worried. Thankfully just then T walked into the kitchen and in my half-faint I immediately knew it was all ok, and so did the little one who joyfully jumped into his arms.  And that's what fathers do- they make you feel like everything will be ok.
(I did not faint, the feeling passed in about half an hour- apparently its just adrenalin rushing and my finger is fine, just a little sore and bandaged. )

Happy Father's Day to T, the little one's hero, to my own wonderful daddy who has always been there for me through my childhood and terrible, terrible door slamming teens ( I cringe) all these years and to all fathers everywhere! Today seems just as good a day as any, to say thank you for all that you do and for having been there for us.

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easy and quick cashew chicken stir fry and a trip to china town

Photo for "Less is More" Photography Exercise 

When we were kids, on Sunday after breakfast mom's kitchen was closed, and that was one day in the week she usually didn't cook. Sundays meant church, grocery shopping or trips to the zoo or the park, all of us watching the Mahabharata or Tipu Sultan on Door Darshan ( ah! those days before cable!) and the highlight being when dad would take us to our favourite neighbourhood eat out. Most often these were small hole in the wall kinds of places which I have learnt have some of the best food! Annapurna for crispy Dosas, the Shawarma stand at a nearby park, Moti Mahal for their yum butter chicken or to Golden Dragon, our neighbourhood Chinese restaurant where the food was in no way authentic to China but modified and spiced up to suit local tastes which is why I will only call it Asian inspired or Indo-Chinese.

Now that we live in the San Francisco Bay Area,  I have the opportunity to taste and discover many kinds of cuisines and sample unusual dishes and ingredients - from fresh tofu straight from the bamboo molds to funky fermented things. But even today when I crave Chinese food what I usually mean is the familiar, Indo-Chinese dishes like sweet and sour pork,  chilly chicken, gobi manchurian etc. that I grew up eating.

So when I recently wandered around the colourful and bustling San Francisco China Town where I guess I will taste the most authentic versions of Chinese Cuisine without actually taking a flight to China, I found the food ( apart from the dim sums which I LOVE) to be bland to my taste buds accustomed to the heavy dose of garlic and ginger and assaulted with spices. Although I am beginning to appreciate more subtleties and nuances in flavour, more often I like my flavours really bold!

Visiting China Town:
Walk! It's impossible to find parking here. Plus it's great to wander around and soak in the ambiance and especially interesting to visit during parades and festivals- though ofcourse would be much more crowded then.
My little one loved the stone lions outside the Chinese Benevolent Association building.
For knick knacks and props : The Far East Flea Market 
and The Wok Shop for cast iron woks and other kitchen utensils
Keep an eye out for street art by the UK artist Banksy 

I love going to China Town to pick up unusual ingredients and inexpensive little props for the blog. It's good to carry cash as some stores don't take cards.
It's also great fun to walk through the busy market and see weird things like dried sea urchin that I someday hope to find a way to use in my cooking! There are also lots of familiar things too, like this dried shrimp that made my Mallu mouth water.

China Town has very unique bakeries with impossibly fluffy sponge cakes and filled steamed cakes, and these cute shaped breads, that I spotted while I was traipsing down the busy markets, camera in one hand and my delicious bubble tea in the other. That was a good day!



When I got back home I was craving some of the kind of spicy Asian inspired stir frys that for me ( An Indian in the US)  is quintessential Chinese food. I am very curious to hear suggestions for authentic and unique Chinese food I should try next time in China Town.

I usually make stir frys in my cast iron skillet to give the chicken a nice sear and a better alternative to deep frying. Garlic powder gives it that restaurant type taste, though I often add a lot of fresh garlic as well, being a household of garlic lovers! I toss in what ever vegetables I have on hand- broccoli, mushroom, peas, even a bag of frozen mixed veggies. That day it was bell peppers and onions and a handful of cashews for crunch!  It may not be authentic, but it sure tastes good!

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