Orange Spiced Syrup

We came across this recipe from Martha Stewart for Orange Spiced Syrup. It's perfect for winter pancakes.  We had some with pumpkin pancakes the other day--it was even better!

1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 pinch of ground cinnamon
1 pinch of salt
1/4 cup light corn syrup
3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

 In a small saucepan, mix brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in corn syrup and orange juice. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally; cool until slightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Let cool; stir in vanilla.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

Where I'm From

I am from heat, dry and wavy.
From cactus, rocks and transplanted palms.
I am from feet burning hot on the concrete.
I am from gliders on the back porch,
and the call of mourning doves.

I am from trees with painted white bark,
dangling large yellow globes from their branches.
I am from grapefruit, eaten with serrated spoons
(They aren't even sour if you eat them first thing.)
I am from a tree house surrounded by fruit,
carried home in the trunk in brown paper bags.

I am from wind chimes
and the glug of fresh water delivered by truck.
I'm from a window sunny and large,
watching small birds in the bath,
and humming birds drinking.

I'm from Chester and Virginia
From the sound of fingernails clicking on keys
as the piano is played.
From scriptures read and long evening prayers. 
I'm from "Goodbye until next time--
We'll see you again."





* * *
I took this prompt to write about where I'm from (while not actually writing about "where" I'm from) It's more like what I come from--if you get my semantic difference. I decided to focus on just one part of where I'm from. 

Enjoying citrus season has had me thinking about childhood visits to my grandparent's home in Phoenix a lot recently, so I wrote just about that.  I'd love to use this prompt again to write about when my family lived in Germany, and also for my childhood as a whole.  Exploring "where I'm from" is a fun exercise for someone like me who doesn't have a certain place to call "home". 

Read more "Where I'm From" here.

Breakfast Sausage

We enjoyed the homemade sausage links with biscuits for Sunday morning breakfast. The sausages tasted just like they should. So flavorful with fresh herbs, but no artificial ingredients or nitrates or anything we didn't choose.



We used instructions from Alton brown--going all out with a meat grinder and sausage stuffer.  It was great, but we've now made this a number of times using just plain ground pork and adding the seasonings as well..  I just try not to overwork the ground pork, and it has turned out fine and easy.



Breakfast Sausage Recipe-adapted from Alton Brown

2 pounds pork butt (2 1/2 pounds with bone), diced into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 pound fat back, diced into 1/4-inch pieces
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage leaves
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Combine diced pork with all other ingredients and chill for 1 hour. Using the fine blade of a grinder, grind the pork. Form into 1-inch rounds. Refrigerate and use within 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months. For immediate use, saute patties over medium-low heat in a non-stick pan. Saute until brown and cooked through, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. 

Orange Sherbet

Owen has been obsessed with an idea lately.  We try to encourage any interest the boys show towards food or cooking and Owen was obsessed with making homemade orange sherbet.  We watched Alton Brown make it on Good Eats and since then Owen asked about it almost daily.

I cannot even describe how delicious it turned out.  It tastes so orange and the flavor is so clear.  As I was eating it I was thinking about how so many people and us included just don't even know what the "real thing" tastes like.  And I wondered if we sat a bunch of people down in a room and fed them the real thing if they wouldn't just instantly be converted to real food because they simply hadn't known what they had been missing?

Unfortunately for some people their taste buds have been assaulted with too much added salt, and too much added sugar, and too many artificial "natural flavorings"  for so long they can overlook real food upon first re-taste.   But I've seen my homemade chocolate pudding rock people's worlds before, and I'm going to bet that this orange sherbet would do the same.

It sure rocked mine.

Orange Sherbet Recipe

7 ounces sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons finely grated orange zest
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice, (2 to 3 pounds oranges)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups very cold whole milk

In the bowl of a food processor combine all of the ingredients except the milk and process until the sugar is dissolved, approximately 1 minute. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and whisk in the milk. Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator until the mixture reaches 40 degrees F or below, approximately 1 hour. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and process until it is the consistency of soft serve ice cream. You may serve now or transfer to a lidded container and place in freezer until firm, approximately 3 hours.

SERVES 8 (1/2 cup serving);

Red Beet Risotto (And Mushroom Variation)

Jeremy goes to school for 12 straight hours on Mondays, so that meant we definitely did not have some amazing Valentine's Day planned.  In fact a student asked Jeremy what his plans were and he told her he was in class until 7:30.  So she asked what his plans were for after that.  Jeremy said, "I dunno--maybe watch a movie?"

I told Jeremy that I'm sure he completely crushed that poor girl's dreams about life after marriage!  Because after you get married you're supposed to have romantic special Valentine's Days forever--right?!

Well since we had zero plans for actually doing anything special I thought the least I could to was make a celebratory dinner.

I saw some ideas online for using beets to make "pink" rice salads for Valentine's Day.  I loved the idea but wanted to be sure it would actually be enjoyable to eat not just look at so I really didn't want to experiment with a new recipe.   I thought about just making rice balls, but since Owen wasn't a huge fan of the beets last time I served them (just steamed with butter and salt) I thought I would need to flavor them a little more.  Then I realized the perfect recipe to use.
 

   Risotto.  My family loves risotto.  It's very basic, but the broth and cheese make it very flavorful--I knew it would be perfect to add beets to.  All I did to make it red was add the raw beets to simmer in the broth and they bled their color into the broth which I was using to cook the rice.  Thus we ended up with striking red rice.  And cute little heart-shaped beets as well. 

And it was as big a hit as I hoped for.  Owen ate the beets up (of course he did have to remind me before trying them that he didn't like beets last time), Jeremy got a special dinner, though it wasn't the candle-lit sit down dinner of anyone's dreams, and I was satisfied with a job well done--it's always nice when things turn out like you hope. 

For the sake of interest, beets aren't the only thing you can cut into hearts either.  I also put heart-shaped carrots in Owen's lunch Monday.

Red Heart Risotto

1 medium beet-washed and peeled
3 tablespoons butter-separated
1/2 cup onion-diced
1 cup rice (traditionally Arborio)
1/2 cup white wine (or substitute with more broth)
4 cups chicken broth
2oz fresh Parmesan cheese--grated (matchbook sized piece ungrated about 1/4 cup grated)

Put 2 tbsp butter in a large saute pan.  Add diced onions and cook until softened.  Meanwhile put broth in a pot over medium low heat an bring to a simmer.  Cut beets and add to simmering broth.

I cut the beet into 1/4 inch round slices.  Then cut each round like a pizza into 6 wedges.  Then shaped each wedge into a heart.  I tossed all the hearts and all the little trimmings into the broth.

When onions are softened, add the rice and stir for 1 minute to absorb any extra butter.  Add the wine and stir until rice has absorbed all the liquid.  Keeping the broth at a low simmer, adding it to the rice 1/2 cup at a time, waiting each time to add more until the liquid is mostly absorbed, stirring often.  The whole process should take about 30 minutes.  With the last 1/2 cup of broth transfer the beets into the rice pan as well.  When all the liquid is mostly absorbed turn off the heat, add the remaining tablespoon of butter and the cheese.  Add salt if needed and pepper.  Serve hot!

This is a good recipe without the beets as well, often I use mushrooms instead.  Put two tablespoons of butter in a different saute pan and 1/2 pound of sliced mushrooms.  I cook those down and add them when I add the cheese.  Delicious and creamy and we'll eat it for our main dish.

Cranberry Wassail

This is my mom's recipe for cranberry wassail.  The cranberry wassail is a great drink if you want something different, or are sick of the hot apple cider served all fall, but still want a festive winter drink.

We had a great time last night and were happy our friends made it out despite the blizzarding conditions outside!


Cranberry Wassail

4 Cups Cranberry Juice
4 Cups Water
2 Cups Orange Juice
1 Cup Pineapple Juice
1/4 Cup Lemon Juice
1 Cup Sugar
3 Cinnamon Sticks

Combine in a large pot and simmer 15 minutes.