Persimmon Picking & Pulping + Persimmon Bread

Micah spotted persimmon trees on the trail to the Gesher Tsar Meod, and in 2023 Jo, Micah, and I picked a bunch. Then he found an even bigger tree and I went with Jennifer Paget and we picked a half a pot full.

I purchased a vintage Foley Food Mill on Ebay and it worked wonderfully, though it's slow. Eventually you collect pulp, which you can eat as a kind of cross between jam and sauce. It's a beautiful color. The dark flecks in it are completely edible.

We baked three loaves with this recipe. It's dark and moist. Nice with cream cheese. You can use pumpkin pie spice in lieu of the cinnamon/nutmeg/cloves.

This recipe is from Feast Magazine, doubled.

2 1/2 c (175g) flour (1/2 each whole wheat and white is fine)
1 t baking soda
1 t  salt
1 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t fresh ground nutmeg
1/2 t ground cloves
1 1/3 cup  sugar
4 eggs
2 t vanilla 
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 c (260g) persimmon pulp

Preheat oven to 350˚F and spray pans. 

Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves in a medium bowl; set aside. 

In a larger bowl, beat sugar, eggs and vanilla together until combined and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. With mixer running, stream in melted butter; continue to beat until incorporated, scraping sides of bowl down with a spatula as needed. Fold in persimmon pulp and mix until incorporated. 

Fold flour mixture into butter mixture just until combined, then fold in persimmon pulp until incorporated and no streaks remain. Divide between your pans.

Bake on middle rack of oven for 45 to 50 minutes, rotating pan after 20 minutes of baking. Bread is done when a wooden skewer comes out clean or with a few crumbs. Set on wire rack to cool completely.

 

Basic Wholewheat Pancake with or without Banana

This is from Favorite Recipes from Quilters, contributed by two different cooks--Emma Troyer of Partridge, KS and Cathy Mazur of Williams Lake, BC.

It is easy and, for wholewheat pancakes, very light and high. I added the lemon zest.

You can add fresh berries; add them whole when you flip them in the loose batter on the second side.

1 c. wholewheat flour
1 T sugar
1 t. baking powder (push through a sieve)
1/2 t. baking soda (push through a sieve)
1/2 t salt
1 egg
1 c. buttermilk

optional: one mashed ripe banana
2 T melted butter
grated lemon zest to taste
cinnamon to taste

In medium bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. 

Add egg, buttermilk, melted butter, and lemon zest. Whisk.

In hot, oiled skillet or grill, drop about 1/4 c of batter per pancake. Flip. On the induction burner, you can turn off the burner for the second side and the pancakes will cook fine and be less likely to burn.

Cinnamon Star Coffee Cake/Challah (or Pesto Star)

This is a King Arthur recipe - It's a lot of steps but fun. I baked one with Shula and Amira for our New Years Eve 2022/Shabbat Dinner. Obviously dairy. In this case the filling ran a bit, so a better seal matters. There are lots of videos to review the cut/twist steps.

The dough would be easy to double. It's such an impressive bread.

To do a six-pointed star, assumedly you can cut each quarter into thirds, and have six points instead of eight.

Dough
2 c (240g) Flour
1/2 cup (46g) dried potato flakes
1/4 cup (28g) nonfat dry milk powder
3/4 cup + 2 to 4 tablespoons (198g to 227g) lukewarm water, enough to make a soft, smooth dough
4 T (57g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 t vanilla extract (omit if you're baking a savory star, like with pesto)
2 t instant yeast
2 T (25g) granulated sugar (cut to 1 T. for Savory Star)
1 t (6g) salt

Filling
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 c (99g) granulated sugar
1 T cinnamon

    or

Pesto (1/2 cup)

Combine all of the dough ingredients and mix and knead — by hand, mixer, or bread machine — to make a soft, smooth dough. It is a rich dough and doesn't need a lot of working. Starting with a mixer and finishing by hand, in the bowl, seems to work fine.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let it rise for 60 minutes, until it's nearly doubled in bulk.

To shape the loaf: Divide the dough into four equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball, cover the balls, and allow them to rest for 15 minutes.

On a lightly greased or floured work surface, roll one piece of dough into a 10" circle. Place the circle on a piece of parchment, brush a thin coat of beaten egg on the surface, then evenly sprinkle with 1/3 of the cinnamon sugar (or pesto), leaving 1/4" of bare dough around the perimeter.

Roll out a second circle the same size as the first, and place it on top of the filling-covered circle. Repeat the layering process — egg, cinnamon sugar, dough circle — leaving the top circle bare. [Pinch the perimeter so the filling doesn't burst out as much.]

Place a 2 1/2" to 3" round cutter in the center of the dough circle as a guide. With a sharp knife, cut the circle into 16 equal strips, from the cutter to the edge, through all the layers.

Using two hands, pick up two adjacent strips, pull up & out and twist them away from each other twice so that the top side is facing up again. Repeat with the remaining strips of dough so that you end up with eight pairs of strips.

Pinch the pairs of strips together to create a star-like shape with eight points.

Transfer the star on the parchment to a baking sheet. Cover the star and let it rise until it becomes noticeably puffy, about 45 minutes.


While the star is rising, preheat the oven to 400°F.


Brush the star with a thin coat of the beaten egg. Bake it for 12 to 15 minutes, until it's nicely golden with dark brown cinnamon streaks; the center should register 200°F on a digital thermometer.


Remove the loaf from the oven and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes before serving. Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve warm or at room temperature.

Irish Soda Bread / Bundt

This is 2 c. of flour, in a cast iron pan

This recipe is from a book I picked up from a Little Free Library, The Cast Iron Skillet Cookbook by Sharon Kramis. I have modified it for a 10" skillet, using 2 cups of flour.

1 egg

1 c. buttermilk

2 c mixed flour (can include wheat germ, flax seed, etc)

1/2 t. baking soda 

1 t  baking powder 

4 oz butter, softened 

1/2 c raisins 

9/7, 2022 - New Yonim at ECP

1/4 c sugar

Pinch salt

Heat oven at 350.

Olive oil or butter a 10" cast iron skillet. 

In large bowl, mix flours, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, currants, and salt. To break up any lumps, I now use a small sieve instead of a sifter. Add soft butter and work it in.

In a smaller bowl, whisk eggs and buttermilk. Make a well in the flour, adding the butter (cut it into small pieces in winter when room temperature butter is colder) and the buttermilk/egg. Stir with a spoon until it comes together, incorporating the flour from the periphery.

Knead right in the bowl (really not much different than stirring) until it's a shaggy dough that holds together. It's quite sticky.

Place the dough in the skillet and spread into the pan. Score a large X, going the full depth, and separating the sections if possible. (This allows the baking to reach the center.) Take a knife and tap each quadrant to let the fairies out. (I saw that on YouTube!)

Bake about 32-35 minutes, covering with tin foil if it browns too quickly (the norm if you bake in the Breville). Test with a toothpick. 

Grandmother Kramis's Irish Soda Bread (3 cup recipe) from the cookbook

Grease/Flour a bundt pan (baker's spray) - my adaptation

1½ c. regular flour
1½ c. whole wheat flour (my change to the recipe) - a small portion can be wheat germ and flax seed
¾ t. baking soda
1½ t. baking powder
⅜ c. sugar (you could decrease this)
⅜ c. currants or ¾ c. raisins
Pinch salt
6 oz unsalted butter, melted 
2 eggs
1½ c. buttermilk (powdered works OK)

In large bowl, mix flours, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, currants, and salt. To break up any lumps, I now use a small sieve instead of a sifter.

In a smaller bowl, whisk eggs and buttermilk. Make a well in the flour, adding the butter and the buttermilk/egg. Stir with a spoon until it comes together, incorporating the flour from the periphery.

Knead right in the bowl (really not much different than stirring) until it's a shaggy dough that holds together. It's quite sticky.

Place the dough in the bundt pan. 

Bake about 32-35 minutes, covering with tin foil if it browns too quickly Test with a toothpick. 

Yum!

Here is an old version from the NYTimes that was posted on the Coronobake FB Group. It has no sugar or butter but more raisins:

Diane Casteel

2 C all purpose flour

1 1/2 t baking powder

1/4 t baking soda

1/4 t salt

1 t caraway seeds

1/2 C raisins

1 C buttermilk

Sift dry ingredients together. Add the rest. Knead on floured board for 5 min [or in the bowl]. Shape into rounded loaf. Cut an "X" in the top of the loaf, half an inch deep. Place on greased baking sheet. Preheat oven to 375°. After placing baking sheet with loaf in the oven, turn the oven down to 350°. Bake 45-50 minutes. Enjoy!

 

Dosas: Laurie Hertz Style

Laurie lives near Devon Avenue, the epicenter of South Asian American immigrant groceries. The "diaspora" comes from all over the Midwest to shop in these stores for their families and also for restaurants. It's so fun to shop there.

You can buy dosa batter, traditionally fermented lentil/rice, either powdered or liquid. You can also use chickpea flower for a variation. I just ordered a tawa that can be used on the induction stovetop, so will be experimenting.

Laurie chops scallions, carrots, zucchini, and adds peas. You can use any combo, of course. You add a little oil to the tawa and spread the dosa batter. While it's setting, lay on the grated vegies and peas. Let them set in, and flip. This is hard to do - if it falls apart, no worries. They main thing is to have enough oil, hot enough, so the batter crisps. 

These are fast, nutritious, and delicious. Serve with condiments. It's really a full meal.

Blintzes for Shavuot, or Anytime! + Strawberry Rhubarb Compote

We had a pre-Erev Shavuot dinner together at 412, and Nomi even dropped a blintz by for Rilka who was just out of surgery. (During COVID.)

I hadn't made these since I made them with my mom when I was about 17 - so, fifty years ago. They aren't hard but a lot of it is defined by the size pan. Go with an 8" non-stick.

Best is a lb of farmer cheese, if you can source it. It is much drier than ricotta.

If not, you can use ricotta. Measure out the ricotta the night before and put it in a coffee filter to strain out the liquid. This method worked perfectly - a good 2 T. of liquid was there in the AM. No need to use cheesecloth.

The technique is easy to follow on this video, but I modified his recipe. Mine is below.

Makes about a dozen+ blintzes. 

For the batter:
4 large eggs
1 ⅓ c milk

⅓ c cold water (if you're short of milk, you can add more water to make up the difference)
1 ⅓ c all-purpose flour
4 t white sugar
½ tsp salt
2 T + 2 t vegetable oil
⅓ t vanilla

cinammon to taste

Mix all the  ingredients in a blender or with a hand mixer until flour is well-integrated. Scrape sides as needed. Let batter sit at room temperature about a half hour. Meanwhile, make the filling. (The advantage of a blender is you can pour batter into the skillet.)

For the filling:
1½ c ricotta cheese (drained) +
½ cup marscapone (or cream cheese) 

    or,

1 lb. farmer cheese in place of ricotta/marscapone. 
zest from one lemon
pinch salt
2 T  sugar, or more to taste
1 large egg

Heat an 8" frying pan to medium, melting some butter in it. Pour 1/4 c batter, just enough to cover the bottom. Swirl as needed. When the top dries, flip onto a clean dish towel and repeat, adding butter as needed. The crepes should not brown. That comes from frying them when they're rolled up. 

Check the first one or two to make sure they're pliable for folding. If they're not very flexible, add water to the batter, or just put less on the pan and spread thinner. Nomi had a job making crepes when she was a teen, so channel her. 

This makes about 12-14. 

Our Zwilling ceramic pan, purchased in Chestertown, is perfect and really doesn't need added butter.

You can start on the filling while you're frying the blintz discs. 

If your blintzes are browning on the bottom (which is the case with the induction at 3 or 4), fold the blintz with the browned side up.

Eventually you can choreograph it so you can fill and roll a blintz while cooking one.

Put about 2 T of filling toward the bottom of the disc and flatten a little. Fold the sides in and roll up. (If they come out as trapezoids, the batter is too thick.)

Repeat.

Fry in butter until beautifully browned. 

Shavuot is rhubarb season - I made a rhubarb/strawberry compote, Yum!!

Water - not too much, as the fruits shed water when cooked. But put the water in first or the pan burns.

Equal amounts hulled strawberries and chopped rhubarb (they are local at the same time.)

Sugar to taste

A squeeze of lemon, a little vanilla

Mint - for garnish

Bring to a boil and cook for about 25 minutes. Serve warm or cold.

If you want it thicker, add a tablespoon of cornstarch to enough water to dissolve. Add it to the boiling mixture and cook for a minute, until is thickens. Same technique as Blueberry/Peach soup.

Sweet Potato Spinach Feta Latkes

These combine two superfoods, spinach and sweet potatoes. And if you're making them for Hanukkah, the Greek cheese celebrates that long after the fact, we are eating their food and they are gone!

No exact measures.

2 peeled, grated sweet potatoes
1/2 small onion, minced
8 oz of chopped spinach, microwaved with the moisture squeezed out
2 eggs
a few oz. grated Feta
1-2 T flour
salt, pepper

oil, butter for frying

Mix the ingredients well. Heat the oil and butter to medium high. When the butter is browning, add the batter by spoonfuls.  Fry until browned, and flip. Be patient - these need to brown. The cheese will melt and emit some liquid.

Makes about a dozen.

Oatmeal Scones

Frosted with icing and grated lemon zest

These have great flavor and texture. Makes about 2 dozen small scones.

Found the recipe online but it's so modified, it isn't the same recipe by now.






Preheat oven to 375°

1 ¾ c. flour (one cup white, ¾ whole wheat is a good mix)

1 ½ t baking powder

¾ t. baking soda

½ t. salt

⅓ c. sugar
-------------------------------------------------
¾ c. butter (1.5 sticks), cold, cut into bits

1⅓ c. old fashioned oats

½ c. currants, dried cranberries, chopped prunes or raisins

½ c. buttermilk or regular milk

1 large egg, lightly beaten

confectioners sugar + water drops


Combine first 5 ingredients by hand in a medium-large bowl.

Add butter and mix by hand until it resembles coarse meal.

Add oats, currants, buttermilk, and egg until dough just sticks together. Knead in the bowl until it holds together. Doesn't take long but your hands get very messy!

Flatten into a large circle on a smooth surface like a flexible mat.

Cut into sixths. Then cut each sixth into 4 triangles. Try to make them approximately the same size.

Arrange on a sprayed cookie tin. They will fit on one sheet. They don't rise or spread much. Bake about 18 minutes or until lightly browned. (It's hard to see since the dough is already brown.)

When they're cool, you can ice them. In a small bowl, pour confectioners sugar. Add a scant amount of water and keep eye dropping it in until you can spread it. If you put in too much water it is too thin to spread.

Daniel Rosen's Green Shakshouka Via Jo

We have an abundant kale crop over at the Sterns - I planted a row of kale for George when he was post-knee surgery, and now - 4 months later - these monster kale plants are super prolific.  Really, I can go pick a whole basket full and you can hardly tell any is missing.
Jo made this with me when she visited for my birthday and I made it again a few days later - very easy.  You could make it more complicated with hot pepper, tomato sauces, et al, but this worked really well.

onion, sliced
1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced
lots of  fresh kale
2 to 3 tomatoes, chopped
4 to 6 eggs
pepper, salt
optional: feta cheese to sprinkle on top when you add the eggs

Chop an onion and saute it, with minced garlic, in olive oil in a large deep fry pan over medium heat.  Make sure it has a cover, which you will need.

While the onion and garlic and cooking, chop up a lot of kale.  (Spinach would work, too.)  Add it to the pan, and let it cook down.  If you have fresh tomatoes, chop and add them, as well.  Season with salt and pepper.  After about 5 to 10 minutes, they will have cooked down to a dense consistency. Crack 4 to 6 eggs, one at a time , and drop each on top of the mixture.  Cover and poach the eggs. [a sprinkle of feta cheese would be good at this point.]  This takes just a few minutes, and you can turn the heat off for most of it.

It is a great brunch dish, and or lovely for a light dinner.  We used eggs from the Rosens' coop, quite a treat.

Buttermilk Kugel

This is an easy, dense, nutritious relatively low-fat/nutritious kugel.  Most kugels call for sour cream and/or cream cheese.
The recipe comes from both Beryl Levine, Susan's mom, and Bev Osnowitz, Debi's mom. Beryl didn't cook much, what with five kids and commuting 90 miles to law school.  She was the talk of the town. My mom's generation, about 10-20 years older, just couldn't understand why a well-to-do doctor's wife with 5 children could have high-powered career ambitions.  Once she was a practicing lawyer and appointed to the North Dakota state supreme court, they warmed up to the idea, though.

12 oz egg noodles
3 eggs
½ c. sugar - less if you don't want it as sweet
3 c. buttermilk (lowfat by nature, but I think you can also opt for a lower fat variety)
butter - generous pat
optional: small can crushed pineapple. (Don't need to drain.)

Streusel topping:

¼ c. brown sugar mixed with ¼ c. cornflake crumbs and about a teaspoon of melted butter

1. Boil noodles, following package directions.


2. Preheat oven to 350°.  Put the pat of butter in the pan, cut it into small pieces, into a large oven-proof pan (lasagna size).  Place in the oven to melt the butter.


3. In a large bowl, mix all the non-streusel ingredients.  With a HOT PAD, take out the pan, swirl the melted butter to coat the whole pan bottom.  Pour in the noodle mixture, which will be very loose.


4. Bake for 35 minutes.  Take out the kugel and spread the streusel on top, pushing any baked/hardened noodles down underneath the surface.
    
5. Bake another 25 minutes.

I like this with cut fresh fruit.  If it's for shavuot, you might hit local strawberries!

Frittata with Chard & Sun Dried Tomatoes

This is a recipe from the Inqy - since we have been growing chard, I was happy to try it.  Trick is to make sure your flat large fry pan is oven-safe up to 500°.  It's nice for brunch, or a midweek dinner.
By J.M. Hirsch

Associated Press

It's a complete meal. It's easy. It's fast. It's versatile. A frittata is one of the best choices for a fast weeknight meal. Think of frittatas as scrambled eggs with other ingredients mixed in. And finishing it under the broiler creates a delicious, lightly browned top, especially if you toss a bit of cheese on it before popping it in the oven.

Chard and Sun-Dried Tomato Frittata

Makes 6 servings


6 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes,
plus a bit of oil from the jar
4 ounces sliced white button mushrooms
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chopped chard
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese


1. Heat the broiler.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and thyme. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

3. Set a large oven-safe, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes, mushrooms, onion, garlic, and 2 tablespoons of the oil the tomatoes are packed in. Saute until the onions are soft and the mushrooms brown, about 5 minutes. Add the chard; cook until just wilted.

4. Spread the vegetables in an even layer over the bottom of the pan. Pour the egg mixture over them, then cook, without stirring, for 4 minutes, or until the bottom has set. Sprinkle the cheese over the top of the frittata.

5. Transfer the pan to the middle oven rack and broil until the frittata is puffed, lightly browned and firm at the center, 2 to 3 minutes.

6. Remove from the oven; cool slightly before slicing.

Per serving:140 calories, 10 grams protein, 7 grams carbohydrates, 8 grams fat, 225 milligrams cholesterol, 340 milligrams sodium, 1 gram dietary fiber.

Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/food/20111020_Rush_Hour_Gourmet.html#ixzz1hCujlehq
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