Butternut Butter, But No Butter - Simple Saturday

Butternut Squash Butter does not contain any butter, or even dairy. In fact, it's pure roasted Butternut, a dash of cinnamon, a squeeze of orange, and a drizzle of real Maple Syrup. Doesn't that already sound so darn good?It's also very addictive and you'll find yourself spreading it on a biscuit, a crostini or stirring it into a bowl of rice and then sneaking a spoonful of it just for the joy of eating it plain (yeah, I did.) There are jams, jellies, conserves and preserves and there are also butters. Fruit butters are usually made with apples, pears, peaches and sometimes pumpkins.

The butters are less sweet than jams or jellies. Butters are made by heating up the fruit (or vegetable), pushing it through a sieve or using a blender to puree the pulp, then cooking it with a bit of sweet and sometimes citrus on a fairly high heat and quickly until it is thick and spreadable. There should be no left-over liquid, and stirring is important so it doesn't burn. It takes very little time, and it keeps in the refrigerator for a couple weeks at least. I think it's called a "butter" because of the smooth, buttery feel in your mouth. If you've ever had Apple Butter you know about the full flavor of pure apple that it gives to just a simple slice of toast, or how it brings an extra zing to a peanut butter sandwich or a bran muffin. This Butternut Butter is like that, but with the warm, cozy, earthy taste of roasted Butternut Squash.
Besides a biscuit or scone topper, this wintery colored spread is also an easy Bruschetta appetizer. Swirl it on top of crostini, add a dollop of goat cheese, sprinkle on crispy bacon and toast on Medium. I ate a plate of these before my friends arrived and I had to make another plate (shhh, don't tell them.)

RECIPE: Butternut Squash Butter

1/2 Butternut Squash (Roasted, seeds removed and pulp scooped out)
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla
Juice of 1/2 Orange
2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
pinch of salt

1) In a saucepan, heat and stir the pulp from the roasted Butternut Squash with all the other ingredients, just until combined and very warm.

2) Carefully, pour all into a blender and puree until smooth, then return to saucepan.

3) Heat and stir the puree on Med. for about 10-15 minutes. Most of the liquid should be gone and the mixture will mound into a smooth spreadable consistency.

4) Taste a cooled portion and adjust seasoning to your desire.

5) Allow to cool, then store in a clean container in the refrigerator. It will last for a couple weeks.

I've been trying this Butternut Squash Butter in so many different things: Stirred into Quinoa, added to the center of cornbread muffins, and mixed into a chicken salad.

If you think of other ways or try them, please add it to the comments here or on the ShowFood Chef Facebook page (HERE.) Thanks for stopping by~

Water with Flavor ~ Rosemary & Plum Simple Syrup - Simple Saturday

I've never been one of those people who carry a water bottle around with them where ever they go. Yet, when I make a conscious effort to really DRINK more water I always feel better. I have less aches and pains. My skin feels better, my face looks more rested and my eyes are brighter. So, why don't I drink more water? It's boring... and it makes me have to stop for a rest(room) every hour, which is aggravating. I'm such a big baby!

ROSEMARY & PLUM WATER

Here's how I put the fun into getting hydrated - I added flavor. Ok, I know I didn't come up with this great idea, although many years ago I did pitch the idea to Crystal Geyser even before they were flavoring sparkling water. I wish I had a penny for everyone of those sold.I know some peeps might be thinking, who has the time to flavor water? I challenge you to call forth the 10-year-old version of yourself that had fun creating your own science experiments and play a little with this tasty luxury. By the way, it is also beautiful and can add a little sparkle to your table, picnic, or party.

The basis is a Simple Syrup, aptly named because it is SO SIMPLE to make. The big plus to making Simple Syrup is how many ways you can use it: sweetener for tea/coffee/cocktails, a flavor addition to flat or sparkling waters, a flavored extract for baking, etc...
Simple Syrup is merely equal parts water and sugar, heated to almost boiling and then cooled. That's it. That's all. After that, it's play-time. You can flavor your simple syrup by infusing it with herbs, spices, liquors, jams, fruits, extracts, zest, tea, or edible flowers. Try your hand at combining flavors and see what you come up with - why not?
For this combo, I used Rosemary and a bit of my homemade Plum Jam. After making the Simple Syrup, I stored it in the refrigerator and I've used it for chilled waters, ice pops, a mojito and in muffins. I'm having fun. Join in.ReCipE: Rosemary Plum Simple Syrup for WATER

3 cups water
3 cups sugar
2-3 large sprigs of fresh Rosemary
2 Tablespoons Plum Jam1) In a saucepan, bring the water and sugar to almost boil while stirring to dissolve the sugar.

2) Remove from the heat and stir in the jam and herbs, cover and let infuse for 20 minutes.

3) Strain into a bottle, label and store in refrigerator up to 3 weeks.

When making Rosemary Plum Water - add syrup per glass or into a large bottle according to taste.

Ham and Jam Crostini - Simple Saturday

This week we have lots of family and friends here for my daughter's wedding. I pass along a quick bite to serve the ones you love and the one's they bring with them.

Ham and Jam Crostini

RECIPE: Ham and Jam Crostini

1 French Baguette - sliced on the diagonal, drizzle each piece with olive oil and toast til crisp

On each crostini:

1 tsp. Ricotta cheese (so easy to make your own; see here)

1/3 slice of Black Forest Ham (roll into a cone for a little height on the crostini)

1 tsp. of Fig Jam (any not too sweet jam goes great with this)

A few strips of fresh mint chopped

Then add a tiny drizzle of good olive oil, and serve on a platter.

The combo of the earthy ham, the sweet jam, the creamy cheese, the crunch of the crostini and the surprise of the mint...is so satisfying. Here's wishing all of you love and happiness in your relationships - and Simple Saturdays.

Peach & Blueberry Ginger Jam - Video Interview

One of my earliest memories of growing up next to my Grandparent's farm in North Carolina is how the kitchen felt when G-Ma was canning. The air was moist, the windows were fogged over, you had to talk over the rattling of jars in the giant boiling water pots, there was sugar on the floor that had spilled from the scoops, and there were women laughing - lots of laughing.

Peach & Blueberry Ginger Jam

The September 2010 Daring Cooks’ challenge was hosted by John of Eat4Fun. John chose to challenge The Daring Cooks to learn about food preservation, mainly in the form of canning and freezing. He challenged everyone to make a recipe and preserve it. John’s source for food preservation information was from The National Center for Home Food Preservation.

IRONICALLY: This month's Tigress Can/Jam challenge was Stone Fruit as chosen by Hip Girl's Guide. So, rather than have double posts - I doubled up on a post.

The choices of stone-fruits are numerous at this time of the season in California. I'm also keen on using combinations and my little blueberry plant is giving me her last jewels, so I paired those with golden freestone peaches.

Our host for Daring Cooks, John, gave us the option of using one of our own recipes if canning and preserving were already in our wheel-house. It's not only familiar to me - it's like home. So, for this post, I'll add a little video that I had the honor of being in for an interview about Boutique foods in Southern California. I'll add the recipe that I used that day for Peach & Blueberry Ginger Jam. I have many jams on my site also, and I hope you'll take a look if anything appeals to you.



RECIPE: PEACH & BLUEBERRY GINGER JAM

2lbs Peaches (peeled and sliced)
1lb Blueberries
32oz. organic sugar
2Tbls. minced fresh ginger
2 lemons (juice and zest)
2 cinnamon sticks (*optional and to be removed before putting jam in jars)

1) In a large pot add: peaches, blueberries, sugar, lemon juice and zest (and cinnamon sticks). Stir to combine.
2) Macerate (let sit, covered for flavors to mix) in refrigerator overnight or at least 8 hours
3) When ready to continue, add ginger to pot and heat on Med., stirring to dissolve sugar for about 10 minutes.
4) Remove the cinnamon sticks, and increase heat. Stir now and then.
5) Heat til liquid from jam runs off a wooden spoon slowly, rather than a single stream. This may take about 25 minutes depending on amount cooking. (You can also check by putting a small ceramic plate in the freezer before starting your jam, then check the jam set by spooning a bit of the jam on the cold plate. If the jam doesn't run, and has a bit of a rise to it - the jam is ready. You can also check by temperature - jam sets around 219-223F. )

If you are canning the jam, follow the safety rules for home canning in a hot water bath (easy and conveniently found here.)

If you are making this for consumption within a few weeks, you can pour jam into clean containers, let cool, cover and keep in refrigerator.

Anybody can jam, so get your jam on!

Rhubarb-Pineapple-Coconut Conserve

Rhubarb is one of those foods that cause me to ask: Who or when did someone pick this out of the ground and say, "Hey, I think we should eat this red and green stalk"? I'm so glad they did.

Rhubarb-Pineapple-Coconut Conserve

Rhubarb has been used for about 5000 years, and in my reading I found credit given to the Asian world, India and then the English for bringing it over to American soil. Here's the part that raises that same question, though. The LEAVES are toxic. So, who found that out (poor soul), and who decided to keep trying it even after that? Also, rhubarb has been used for purifying, cleaning cookware, adding color to hair and even as an insecticide. But hold on...it's also used to raise metabolism and help in weight loss. You'll never use Formula 401 for that (hopefully). I've tried rhubarb in the raw form and when it's fresh and crisp the taste is tart and sparkly like citrus crossed with a crunchy celery stick. It makes a nice appetizer with a creamy yogurt dip.

When it's cooked, it becomes a wonderfully acidic marinade for fish, or balance to the sweetness of corn and potatoes. I think it's at its best when added to other flavors: strawberries, bananas, etc. This conserve-like-spread took me back to a visit in Hawaii, and the rhubarb was the perfect balance to the sweet flaky coconut and the tangy pineapple. It's a quick one to make and very addictive. Hope you'll try it. Mahalo!

Rhubarb is one of the ingredients for May's TigressCanJam round-up. Take a look (here) at the varied ways to prepare the versatile and seasonal Rhubarb plant.
Recipe: Rhubarb-Coconut-Pineapple Conserve
*1lb. rhubarb (cut into 1/2 inch chunks)
*12 oz. sugar 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (Combine these in a stainless steel pan overnight)
*Add to the pan: 1 (15oz) can Pineapple, drained
*Cook on med. til sugars are dissolved.
*Increase heat to full rolling boil and a temp. of 222F (check for jam)
*Remove from heat and add: 1/2 cup flaked or shredded coconut.
*Stir to combine.
*Pour, carefully, into sterilized jars, seal and water bath process for 10".

You Say Tomato, I Say Tomato Jam

This post is about my first virtual lunch with virtual friends whose names start with @, and although I don't know them-know them...I know them. I joined in on the wonderful idea to "create a BLT with your own spin on it, photograph it, and blog about it". Mine is a BLTea ~I'm kinda new to the social media scene, twitter schmitter, life in 140 characters or less, but I'm hooked! I'm trying hard to catch up with some of the big guns in the foodie/chef/cooking online world. I have to say, most of the time I've found them to be amazingly intelligent, creative, passionate, and generous with info and time. I'm having a blast and so thrilled to be playing. This #BLTlunch idea was one of those twitters that I read between @cowgirlchef and @cheryltan88 and @pinchmysalt. They explained briefly (because that's all you can do on twitter) about doing something that sounded like a virtual picnic, a Friday web-lunch, a Recipe Roundup where BLT sandwiches were the star of the moment. I loved the idea and also knew that it would get me off my canister with the blogging thing.

I cook - every day. I think about food - every moment. I take "sorta" good photos - every meal. My family is already so used to eating food that has to be warmed up after it has starred in its own 15 minutes of fame. I wrote to each one of those well established and extremely talented bloggers and said, "count me in". They responded as if we had been friends forever, excited that I was aboard and anxious to see what BLTea was about.

Well, my BLTea is about making a Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato sandwich that would be good in all seasons - made with seasonal and farmer's market heritage tomatoes. To do that, I turned the tomatoes into a savory, just a bit spicy, jam infused with smokey tea.For about a year now, I've been developing recipes for the very highly respected ALGABAR, a Home and Tea Salon in Los Angeles. I'm Executive Chef for their catering division, Fete Du The, and I've grown to appreciate the healthy, spiritual, sensual qualities of truly great tea-- like the ones they have in the shop on La Brea in Los Angeles. Gail and Robb are more than retailers, they are passionate artists and connoisseurs of taste and style. It's rare to be able to say such great things about people that you work with, and I think of them as friends. But before I throw-up the sandwich I just ate (and loved) with all this mushy talk - let me finish with the bullet points of my BLTea sandwich and I hope you will try making the jam. There is such a self-loving feeling that happens when you spread your own, home-made jam on a piece of bread. You feel - no matter what else - I can survive. I can make jam! Jam on.

SMOKEY TEA TOMATO JAM for a BLTea-

300 grams (about 8) Farmer's Market Heritage Tomatoes (red, zebra, yellow, etc. peeled, cored, seeded, chopped)
200 grams (about 3) Apples (peeled, cored, sliced)
300 grams (about 1 1/4 cups) sugar
1 tsp. minced serrano chili pepper
1 lemon (zest and juice)
2 Tbls. Smokey Tea

In a deep sauce pan combine the tomatoes, apples, sugar, minced serrano, lemon zest and juice. Heat just to boiling then remove the pan and let cool.
Meanwhile, wrap 2 Tbls. of smokey tea leaves in a cheesecloth and tie tightly with kitchen string. Place the wrapped tea into the pan with tomatoes and push into the liquid. Cover the pan and place in refrigerator over night to infuse.The next day, heat the pan of tomatoes and tea to just before boiling. Remove the wrapped tea and continue boiling the tomato mixture til it reaches 224F. and is concentrated. This should take about 20 minutes. Check the set and carefully pour into prepared jars immediately and seal properly. If not preserving, this can be sealed and kept in refrigerator for 1 week.

My BLTea is prepared by spreading the Smokey Tea Jam on one side of dark, multi-grain Russian Rye bread. Add crisp Bacon on top, then wild Rocket Arugula and the second slice of bread. This is a great sandwich for traveling.

Let me hear about your jamming, too. Enjoy!