Savoring the end of summer- Apricot Sorbet

When having a home with many trees and a handy gardener, I often find a surplus of fruits and vegetables that need to be consumed quickly or given away. In this case, our neighbor had been out of town and given us authority to harvest and distribute apricots from his tree.

I am always finding new things to create with my surplus that are fun and healthy. I'm getting tired of desserts, I want to stay healthy and reduce my carbohydrate intake, and I don't really find a challenge in making desserts like puddings, custards, pies, cakes and cookies anymore; plus, I have way more fruits than can fit into a cake.

So the results involve me trying to rearrange and enhance the properties of the fruit, meanwhile concentrating on withstanding the temptation to overpower the essence and beauty of my fresh organically obtained fruits by adding creams and batters. This focus seems so daunting for me, and it would be so much easier to make an apricot pie than think of more creative things to do!  So to help me think out of the box, I've resulted in making spiced poached pears from the pear tree, persimmon chips and souffle from my coworker's persimmons, roasted apples with cheese and rosemary, and a slurry of a few other different desserts for fall.

I think one of the easiest options is to simply puree my fruit and grab my cheap little ice cream maker that I treasure so dearly. Combining flavors can be a trick, but with fruits, rose and orange essence, vanilla, and ground spices can transform and enhance the flavor of nearly any fruit!

What I'm showing here is a Apricot-Vanilla Sorbet, accompanied with a vanilla custard ice cream and fresh strawberries. I find that apricots and vanilla enhance each others' qualities of tart and semi-sweet, and the mild tartness of the strawberries combined with the warmness of the vanilla custard provide a contrast of tastes that help the brain isolate the individual and unique flavors in the custard for an awesome dessert experience.

Apricot Sorbet and Vanilla Custard Ice Cream with fresh Strawberries

Apricot Sorbet
Ingredients:

• 4 cups frozen apricots, slightly thawed
• 2/3 cup simple syrup recipe (here)
• 2 tb ground gum mastic (also known as gum arabic)
• Purée apricots with simple syrup until the mixture is smooth and no apricot pieces remain.
• 1/8 tsp seeds of a vanilla bean (cut the bean in half lengthwise and scrape the seeds out with a spoon)
• Add the gum arabic powder and mix until combined.

Put this mixture in your ice cream maker and turn it on. Since the apricots were partially frozen, the mixture shouldn't take more than 20 minutes to freeze in the machine. If you are not using frozen apricots, refrigerate your puree for 4 hours before putting it in your machine. It will require around an hour of churning if you use refrigerated apricot puree.

Serve this little scoop of summer with strawberries. To warm up this summery fruit flavor, I paired it with a homemade custard-based vanilla bean ice cream.

Nutrition Facts for 1/2c apricot sorbet:

Calories: 90, total carbohydrates: 17g, total fiber 2g, total fat: 0g, total protein 0g.

Make your own yogurt

Like most things homemade, yogurt you make yourself is better for so many reasons:

• It's better for you (no preservatives, sugar or chemicals added) 
• The bacteria are active, so you can be sure that your yogurt has active probiotics 
• It's less expensive 
• It tastes amazing 
• There's no packaging to waste (or to try to find ways to save and reuse) 

Plus, you only need a cooking thermometer and a container with a tightly fitting lid. There's no need to buy any special equipment.

Ingredients:

• 1 Half gallon of milk 
• 2-3 Tbs of plain yogurt (as a starter) 
• 1 8-10 Qt stock pot 
• 1 4-5 Qt pot with lid 
• 1 Metal or plastic spoon (so you can sterilize it) 
• 1 Dial thermometer (it should have a range of at least 100°-185°F, and ideally, a clip for your pot's rim) 

Notes:
However much milk you use, is how much yogurt you will get in return: using 1/2 gal milk gives you 1/2 gal yogurt. You can use regular, reduced or non fat milk, but with nonfat milk, your yogurt will likeky turn out too watery. My sister adds whey protein powder to thicken the fat free milk during cooking and add extra protein.
For your first batch, you will need to purchase plain yogurt with active cultures, like Dannon, Pavels, or Stoneyfield (all future batches you will use your own). Alternatively, you may use freeze-dried yogurt starter cultures.

Step 1-- Make a Double Boiler:
You can skip this step and boil the milk directly in a pot-- but if you do, you have much higher chances to burn the milk on the bottom before it has the chance to heat fully.

1. Create a double boiler by putting the smaller 4-Qt pot inside the larger 8-qt one, and fill the larger one about halfway with water to create a water-jacket effect. 
2. Put a lid on the smaller pot, and heat the water in the big pot (surrounding the smaller pot) until boiling. 
3. Sterilize your thermometer and a tablespoon by putting them in the boiling water for about 15 seconds and removing them. 

Step 2-- Sterilize Your Milk:

• Fill the small pot with milk. Make sure the level of water is at about the same line as the level of milk in the smaller pot. This will ensure the milk is heated evenly. 
• Clip your thermometer to the inside of the milk pot, stir frequently, and wait until the temperature reaches 185F. 
• Once the temperature reaches 185F, remove it from the double boiler and let it cool. 
• Note: The milk will naturally create a type of skin on the top of the milk as its heating and cooling. Try to leave the skin as intact as possible (this skin is like a natural barrier against airborne bacteria from getting inside the milk, so if you don't have a lid on the pot as its heating or while it cools, this layer becomes super helpful)

Step 3-- Cool Your Milk:

• While the milk is heating, you can prepare a cold water bath in your sink using another 8-qt pot or extra large bowl. You may want to add ice to help the cooling process. 
• After the milk has reached 185F, remove it from the boiling water, turn off the heat, and transfer the hot milk to the ice water bath. 
• Keep the thermometer inside, and continue stirring the milk until the temperature reduces to 110F. At this temperature, the bacterial cultures will be able to consume the lactose and grow. 
• Remove the sterile milk from the ice water bath. 

Step 4: Prepare and Add Your Yogurt Culture:

• Prepare your yogurt culture by removing some of your warm, sterile milk and adding it to your yogurt starter to dilute it. This makes the yogurt more watery so it disperses better in the milk. 
• Add your diluted yogurt culture to the pot of 110-degree milk. 
• Stir the yogurt culture and warm milk with your sanitized spoon. 

Step 5: Incubate it and Give it Time:

• Place the lid on the pot, making sure it fits tightly so heat will not escape. 
• Wrap the pot in warm towels to help ensure that the mixture stays a more constant temperature or decreases in temperature more slowly. 
• Place your newly cultured milk in a warm, consistant-temperature area (I use the oven when off and barely warm as the incubator in my house). 
• Hold the pot in this situation for 6-8 hours, or overnight. Refrigerate your finished yogurt for use! 

* to make a second batch, just reserve a small amount of yogurt from this successful batch so you don't need to buy yogurt cultures again from the store.

Persimmon Chips

So persimmon season is upon us, and as a result, a friend gave me bucketfuls of Fuyu persimmons from their tree. Having not tried persimmons before, I was gleefully filling bags of persimmons to take home. Because you can't go wrong with free food, am I right? 
Wrong! My family protested strongly when my heavy sack of persimmons was brought in-- apparently, not one of my family members enjoys the flavor of persimmons.  I was feeling helpless at that point-- the sudden fright of knowing that I selfishly hoarded pounds of persimmons without having a plan of what I'd do with them, brought on my guilty thoughts: I have struck a beautiful fruit useless. Given my scale-able sadness, I decided to try to eat one myself. Disappointingly, there is no fruit that I adore less than persimmons. 

I paced about the house for a couple days, wondering what I'd do with them, given that nobody really likes them. I pondered the idea of pureeing them and making a persimmon custard or pie, or even a persimmon souffle as I've done with yams in previous years. All, however seemed trite, and in addition, my family protested. After making apple chips a week before with apples that we bought in bulk and found going bad, it struck me to try Fuyu persimmon chips! To the dismay and outcries from the naysayers in my family, I replied, 'Yes, darn it! Chips!' 
Using the mandolin attachment that came with our food processor, the beauty of the persimmon chip was born. The novelty I discovered was that when the persimmon is sliced vertically, it appears to have a lightly colored line down the center. But when cut laterally, however, the light line transforms into the shape of a star/sand dollar! 
I placed the slices in the oven on a wire mesh grilling tray my parents had found at the dollar store many months before. This tray I've found very valuable in drying many of my excess fruits in the oven, and also in making chips of other types. 

I left them in the oven for around 1 hour and 15 minutes. The result was a crisp, sweet sand dollar chip! 
My friends liked them so much, one of my very good friends brought her own persimmons over to make more chips. 

Before last year, I had not known that there are two kinds of persimmons: the Fuyu, the kind you can eat right away, and the Hachiya, the horribly bitter kind you can't eat until they are very mushy. To tell the difference between them without being traumatized by the astringency, its easiest to note that the Fuyu are flatter, more pancake shaped, and the Hachiya are more oblong, similar in shape to a Roma tomato.  In any case, to make these persimmon chips, I found it easiest to use the Fuyu persimmons, because they are more firm when ripe, and they ripen sooner. I tried slicing the Hachiya persimmons when ripe and it became just a mushy mess! 



By the way, I believe I've found the only way my family will eat persimmons (aside from the souffle)!


The recipe is as follows:

Persimmon Chips
Ingredients: 

5 fuyu persimmons, washed with leafy tops removed


Directions: 

1. Slice persimmons laterally (across the fattest width of the persimmon) to 1/8 inch thickness
2. Place chips on a wire mesh tray, like a grilling tray or metal cooling rack that breathes. 
3. Bake in the oven at 200F for 2 hours and 15 minutes, or to the firmness that you desire.  

Some notes: 

• Thinner persimmon slices should be separated and baked on a separate tray because they require less cooking time (say 45 minutes for 1/16 inch thickness)
• There may be no need to oil the baking tray. The trays I used were aluminum, not nonstick, but the chips were easy to remove from the trays.
• After arranging my persimmons on the tray, I also tried sprinkling them with cinnamon and sugar, and a variant with cinnamon and Splenda (sucralose), both with wonderful results after baking. 
• These chips I've found taste wonderful with desserts containing nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon, but also pair well with other flavors like orange, ginger, and anise. 

For now I've exhausted my supply of persimmons, but I have great plans of a persimmon chip comeback, maybe using them as a garnish over pudding with a orange zest and ginger, or with a spice cake! For more unique ways to use persimmons, see my persimmon ginger souffle!


Meanwhile, you can take home the recipe, here!

Moroccan Preserved Lemons

A wonderful use of a lemon surplus is to preserve them with salt and spices. This is commonly done in Morocco, and lemons are usually preserved until winter time when their use in flavoring food continues when lemon season does not.

Our Orange-X juicer. It has a long arm that crashes down over the lemons. Great if you have bucketfuls of citrus  to squeeze!

First slice the top and bottom off the lemon, then cut a cross into the lemon vertically, being careful to not go completely through the bottom of the lemon. Stuff the cross with rock salt.

This recipe is amazingly easy, the lemons being preserved in just salt and their own juices. The beauty of preserved lemons is their acidity is reduced with preservation, and the lemony flavor is amazingly strong. They also add a bit of salt to cooked food, minimizing your need to add salt in cooking, and preserved lemons can be cooked without becoming bitter (fresh lemons are much more bitter when cooked).

Push your salt-stuffed lemons into a jar, packing them tightly. Don't be afraid if you squeeze out some juice. After each layer of lemons, add a layer of whole spices. When you can no longer add more lemons, add the lemon juice until it completely covers the tops of the lemons. Then add a final layer of rock salt, cover, shake, and store it in a cool, dark place, caring for your lemons as directed in the recipe below.


To use your lemons after they had been preserved, simply wash off the excess salt, and take out the seeds. You can use the lemons in stews, also using the sliced rind in salads or even drinks.

I'll provide you with recipes for chicken, and lamb and salad using these preserved lemons.
So try these, you'll love them!


Moroccan Preserved Lemons
Ingredients:

• 2  1-Quart canning jars with lids
• 1c kosher salt
• 16-18 organic eureka lemons, scrubbed clean
• 2 tsp whole cloves
• 2 tsp black peppercorns
• 2 tsp coriander seeds
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 4 bay leaves
• 1c lemon juice

Directions:

1. To prepare your canning jars, first wash them in hot, soapy water. You may boil them or use a high-temperature dishwasher to ensure their cleanliness. Any time you are preparing jars to preserve things in, you must clean the lids and jars as above. This will make sure there is no bacteria in the jars before they are filled and sealed.
2. Next, add 3 TBSP salt to your jars.
3. First slice off the top and bottom tips of your lemons. 
4. Cut a cross in each lemon, making sure your cuts do not go completely through and the bottom of your lemon is still intact.
5. Stuff the insides of your lemon generously with salt.
6. Place the lemons in the jar, and press each layer down, squeezing juice out of them and packing them tightly. 
7. Sprinkle the spices over each layer of lemons. Once the jar is filled with lemons, add more lemon juice, enough to completely cover the lemons.
8. Add 4 tablespoons more salt to the tops of the jars, seal them well, and shake to mix. (Due to the salt, the tops of most canning jars will rust. To prevent this, I put a thin sheet of paraffin or plastic wrap over the mouth of the jar, then put the lid over this to fully seal.)
9. Store your preserved lemons in a cool, dark place. 
10. Make sure to flip the jars of lemons upside down every 2 days for 1 week. Then continue to store them in the refrigerator until use, also turning every 2 days for 2 more weeks. After 3 weeks of waiting and turning, your lemons are now ready to use!

Simple Summer salad

This summer has been lovely for my family's garden, providing us with some very large quantities of tomatoes, cucumbers.  Our trees are also dropping to the ground with lemons, so wherever possible, I'll add a lemon or two.
Our family grows these crops year after year without hesitation and I feel that they are some of the most important and common ingredients in Lebanese cuisine.
Plus, its hot here and I don't want to cook much... So I'll do very little, make my beautiful vegetables do the hard work of tasting delicious, light, juicy and refreshing, and I'll rest until its dinner time. :-)

Tomato and Herb Salad
Serves 4
Ingredients:

• 4 large tomatoes, chopped to large pieces
• 10-15 leaves of mint, sliced into thin strips (about 1/2 cup)
• 4 cucumbers, lightly peeled
• 1 clove of garlic, finely minced
• Juice from 1 lemon
• 1 TB olive oil

Directions:
Slice the peeled cucumbers into thin rounds and place them in the salad bowl.
Add to these the to the chopped tomatoes with the garlic, lemon and oil.
Chop the mint and add it just before serving to prevent the mint from discoloring.


Nutrition facts for 1 cup of tomato/cucumber salad:
45 total calories, 4gm total carbohydrate, 3 gm fiber, 0 protein, 1 gm fat
(0.25 Carbohydrate (0 NET carb), 0 Fat, and 0 protein exchanges)