Mulberries Galore! (Part I - Mulberry Jam)



Mulberry Jam

Mulberries, despite what the children's song would like you to believe, don't grow on a bush. They grow on a tree--a tree that can become huge. Some people see mulberry trees as a pest, something they'd like to get rid of, because when birds eat mulberries, it turns their poop purple. Charming, right? But I'm not convinced that purple birdcrap is any worse than white birdcrap.

The town where I live has a ton of mulberry trees in the parks and they're all heavy with fruit right now. The other day, I went mulberry-foraging with Annie. We expected to collect maybe a pint of mulberries and if we'd been working alone, that would've probably been about right. However, together we were able to collect a half gallon of mulberries in about two hours (mostly spent wandering around seeking mulberry trees with branches low enough we could reach). Teamwork made this easier. One of us would grab a branch and pull it down (thus pulling other branches into reach). We'd strip the branch of ripe (black and dark red) mulberries and then start in on another branch.
Because mulberries are delicate, usually the best bet is to take a large towel or sheet and just shake the tree -- the ripe berries drop onto the blanket for easy collection. We, however, didn't have a large sheet with us (oh well) and our foraging resulted in purple fingers (and a few close calls with poison ivy) for both of us.

Annie talked about putting her mulberries over ice cream (yum!) and I decided to make mine into jam -- especially since we'd already made plans to collect more berries later in the week. I looked at recipes online. Either they called for a TON of sugar, or none at all. Since you should add some sort of acid to jams (i.e. - lemon juice or lime juice) you plan to preserve, I wanted some sugar added -- just enough to balance to acid. I wasn't planning to can my jam -- or even make freezer jam -- because I wasn't making enough, but I do believe in practicing safe preserving methods whenever possible.
The recipe I developed lets the flavor of the berries come through, is slightly tart, and just sweet enough. If you like super-sweet jams (or you prefer jellies without all that texture-y goodness) there are recipes online that looked wonderful. I let my jam cook about 30 minutes over medium-low heat and it firmed up more as it cooled.

Mulberry Jam (low sugar)
1 quart ripe mulberries, soaked and rinsed 3x
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice

In a large saucepan over medium heat, add all ingredients together. Stir occasionally and allow the mixture to come to a high simmer/low boil. Cook, stirring frequently to prevent burning, until the mixture reaches the desired consistency. Yields approximately 10-12 ounces.

You could certainly can this jam with a pressure canner, or a water bath, make freezer jam (or, like me, put it in the refrigerator and use it in the next few days).



Mulberry Jam on a NutThin

Vegan Navratan Korma with Chana Dal

When I visit my parents and we go out for Indian food, this is the dish my mom usually wants to order. It's a stew-like dish, usually made with a cashew-cream sauce (at least at the restaurants we go to). My mom likes the creamy smoothness of the dishes and the "jewels" of vegetables. According to various sources (and menus!) "navratan" means "nine jewels" and refers to the mixture of vegetables in this dish.

The restaurants we've had this at in the past generally make it in a North Indian style. If you're not familiar with the differences between North and South Indian cuisine, it's kind of like nothern versus southern Italian food. Northern Indian cooking is more cream-based while southern Indian cuisine relies more heavily on tomatoes (among other differences). This recipe blends north and south Indian cooking styles, which adds a bit of complexity to the meal.

This recipe, modified from one posted at Lisa's Kitchen, is a new staple in my house. I've made it for vegans and non-vegans alike and since I first discovered it in early April, I've made it five times. About three weeks ago, I had a bunch of people over for a potluck (in theory it was an Indian-food themed potluck, but it only kind of worked out that way) and this dish went quickly, despite the fact that I more than doubled it. Reduce the amount of chiles if you like less spice, or if your dried chiles are particularly hot (mine are). It goes well with quinoa or rice, if you're gluten-free (or with gluten-free naan, recipe coming soon). You might serve it with a cooling drink like a smoothie, mango lassi, or even (wrong culture, I know) horchata.

If you're not into eating tons of leftovers and you don't need to feed 8, the recipe cuts in half fairly easily. That's what I usually do when I'm not feeding a large crowd. If you buy your ingredients in bulk and/or at an Indian/Pakistani (these are my options) food market, you make this meal cheaply many times over.

Vegan Navratan Korma with Chana Dal

2/3 cup of chana dal (or yellow split peas), soaked for at least three hours
2 tablespoons of high quality vegetable oil
1 small sweet onion, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
2 1/4 cups of water
1 large potato, diced
3 large carrots, diced
2 cups frozen peas
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne
1 1/2 teaspoons of sea salt
handful of dry curry leaves (optional, but they make a lovely addition if you can get your hands on them. Fresh would work also)

For the paste:

1/2 cup of dried, unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup of cashews
1 teaspoon of coriander seeds
1 teaspoons of cumin seeds
2-3 whole dried red chilies
2-inch piece of ginger, chopped

For the tadka:

1 teaspoon of black mustard seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds (optional)
pinch or two of asafetida (you can sub in about a tablespoon of lime juice in a pinch, but it won’t be the same) 2- 4 whole dried red chilies

Begin by making the paste. Soak the coconut in 1/2 cup of hot water for 10 - 15 minutes. Drain. Soak the cashews in some warm water for 10 - 15 minutes. Drain. Dry roast the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and dried red chili over medium heat for a few minutes. Transfer the coconut, cashews and roasted seeds to a food processor or blender along with the ginger and green chilies. Process until you have a fairly smooth paste (in my food processor, this takes some pulsing and some additional water – you’d like this to look as much like cashew butter as possible). Add a bit of water if desired.

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. When hot, toss in the onion and stir and fry until it is translucent. Add the tomatoes to the pot and cook for another 5 minutes or until they thicken up and have a sauce-like consistency. Drain the chana dal and add to the pot along with 2 1/4 cups of water. Simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes, or until the chana dal is just tender. Add the carrots, potato, turmeric and cayenne. Continue to simmer until the vegetables are tender. You can add more water to achieve your desired consistency.
Now add the ground paste to the pot and the sea salt. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook for another 10 - 15 minutes. Add peas and curry leaves to the pan near the end of the cooking time.

To prepare the tadka, heat a few teaspoons of oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. When hot, toss in the mustard seeds, fennel, dried red chilies, and asafetida. Stir and fry until the mustard and fennel seeds begin to pop. Immediately pour into the vegetable pot, stir and cover and let sit for 5 minutes to allow the flavours to blend.

Serves 8.

It's Been a While

The end of the semester is a strange beast. Even this year, when I didn't feel as busy, I didn't seem to find the time to hop on here and blog. But! I have been baking and cooking and so new recipes should appear...soonish. Not to mention, the farmer's markets are starting up and I'm beginning to feel a new blogging-wind coming on (or maybe that's the storm brewing outside). Some recipes I've tried recently that might grace this blog:

Gluten-free vegan naan
Gluten-free vegan blueberry corn muffins
Gluten-free vegan lemon cupcakes with lemon-y frosting
White chocolate popcorn
Vegetable korma
Indian Yellow Spring rice
Black bean hummus

There are others too...but those are the ones I'm most likely to make again and/or already have pictures of! And we all know pictures help make food blogs interesting.

I was talking to Brenna over at Brenna Bakes recently about this notion of food blogging on a very tiny budget, in a state where it's sometimes difficult to get ingredients other people consider "common." And add to the equation: vegetarianism. And, add to the equation: gluten-free and vegan (at least some of the time). Well, you get the picture. That's part of what makes our blogging such an adventure though...and what makes us such a fan of substitutions!

So, I want to hear from you: what are your baking/cooking needs? And where are you baking/cooking from? A student kitchen is very different from a kitchen of someone who's lived in the same apartment for a couple of years and only cooks to impress a new sweetie is very different from the kitchen your mom/dad/grandmother cooked in when you were growing up. What type of recipes are you seeking out?

Me, I'm seeking out gluten-free recipes. I've decided I'm probably gluten-intolerant, but that's just because it seems to make me uncomfortable. So I'm going to try and avoid it, at least for now...and I'm starting to realize how many options that means I lose. You'll continue to find more gluten-free (and likely vegan, though I'm not vegan by any stretch of the imagination) recipes on this blog. If you're gluten-free especially, let me know what you're really seeking a replacement for. I can't promise I'll make it (or that it'll turn out good enough for me to post the recipe), but there's a good shot I'll at least consider giving it a try!