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well hello there! sorry about the crumbs - i've been trying out a lot of new recipes in the last few months. this is partly because we're trying to stretch what's in the fridge and make less grocery runs, but also because now i have the time and boredom to indulge in every wildly unneccesary idea that crosses my path. and i thought i'd document some of the tastier ones here! enjoy :)
suggested to me by a friend - it was my first time making jam and I thought this would be a low-stakes introduction. i collected some cherries and mulberries from a consenting old woman's yard and slow cooked the fruit, sugar, and some lemon juice at low heat for about eight hours (make sure your power goes out and renders your slow cooker useless for six hours in the middle though). i overcooked the jam because i was worried about how runny it was, but as it cooled it thickened up a lot more than i was expecting. the result was a jam that was a bit viscous and candy-like, although it still serves its purpose, and tastes pretty great as long as you're not hoping to have a productive start to the day. i actually ended up making some jam cooked at regular speeds later, with foraged wild raspberries! this one turned out thinner than i'd like, so i need to find a happy medium with the slow cooker perhaps. hoping to try again before the end of the summer, as if i don't have enough jam in my freezer hehe.
speaking of my freezer, since i am inexperieced (and also paranoid), i opted to make freezer jam rather than canning the jars "properly" to be stored at room temperature. i still followed the standard canning/jarring procedures: boil the jars, rings, and lids to sterilize them, fill them up but leave only a quarter inch of empty space, wipe down the rims of the jars properly to prevent spoiling, and seal the lids finger-tight - but, you don't need to boil the sealed jars or wait for the seal on the lid to depress. they just need to be stored in the freezer until you're ready to eat them, and after they're out of there, they'll last about a month in the fridge. although i'm not a canning expert so please read the links below if you want to try! i'd recommend it, very tasty :)
a more complete guide to slow-cooker jam
freezer jam recipe (contains pectin, although i never use it)
this one is stolen from tabitha brown's poppin instagram, and it's satisfied a lot of my sushi cravings without making me whip up some rice. her suggestion was to use carrot as a substitute for spicy tuna - grate it and then squeeze out the juice using paper towels (or, if you own a juicer, juice the carrot and then use the pulp), and then to mix it with some mayo or vegan mayo, sriracha, and nori furikake or small bits of seaweed. i wrapped my mixture up in tiny rolls with avocado and cucumber, using those smaller sheets of roasted and seasoned nori, but i'm sure this would work well in a true spicy tuna/carrot roll as well. of course the texture will never be the same as fish, but i think it does feel like you're eating a tuna roll when it's accompanied by everything else. give it a try if you've got some carrots you need to get rid of!
i made this recipe until i ran out of noodles, it's great. i substituted the pork for tofu when i had it (frozen edamame beans when i didn't) and it's served for a nice healthful-feeling-but-still-satisfying lunch.
original recipe by quokka here
i've just realized this is mostly asian food. oh well, here's one more! i had been looking into making some veggie or shrimp dumplings for a while, just to say that i've made them. i'm nervous about the art of getting things thin enough and folding properly, but i discovered a recipe for japanese oyaki recently, which take the pressure off both of those requirements! oyaki are meant to be fairly thick, and i never had much trouble folding them since i use the uglier but still tasty beginner's method. the classic fillings are eggplant and kabocha/squash, but i opted for a tasty mushroom-miso and a nuttier one since you can essentially put whatever you want in these little pouches of carbs and happiness. i actually put leftover vegetarian meatloaf in them once, and they didn't turn out too bad! i'm hoping to get a steamer basket soon and continue to explore different oyaki fillings, and more complicated dumpling recipes as well!
oyaki recipe with squash and eggplant fillings
there are my food things! wahoo! the jam and oyaki are great things to drop at friends' doors in exchange for cookies or embroidery thread or whatever else. it feels like i'm part of a little village or something, you know? i'd highly reccommend them all though. oh, i think my dough is done rising! :)
. < a crumb, as promised
-atyrfingerprints