Miri Leigh | Page 2

Jul

An All-American Canning Project: Brandied Cherries

Do you find yourself shedding a small tear when you realize that cherry season will end just as abruptly as it started? Well, cry no more my friend. You can preserve cherries by soaking them in brandy and then canning them until winter. Just imagine for a moment that it’s December (hard to imagine in this heat, I know) and you’re serving this summer’s sweetest cherries in a rich liqueur syrup over vanilla ice cream at your holiday dinner table. It’ll blow pumpkin pie out of the water.

Knowing what we now know about botulism and other scary bacterial illnesses, canning can seem a little intimidating at first. It’s true that if you’re not careful, you can make yourself and your loved ones very sick. Washing the fruit carefully, heating it to the appropriate temperature, using sterile equipment, and following all directions very carefully are super-duper important steps.

I am by no means an expert on canning, but I’ve done it enough to feel pretty comfortable with the process. (And I even think it’s fun. Such a food nerd, right?) It all started about five years ago when a neighbor brought over three grocery bags full of navel oranges one cold winter morning, harvested from their small orchard. I stared at those oranges for about half a day before I realized there was only one thing to do with them: make marmalade. I did a little online research, bought some canning jars at the grocery store, and ended up with enough jars of marmalade to check about 30 people off my list of friends and family for whom I otherwise would have had to buy a holiday present. And they loved those little jars of homemade goodness… there’s nothing like a gift from the kitchen.

The National Center for Home Food Preservation at the University of Georgia is really the authority on the subject of canning, so definitely set aside some time to do a little browsing there before you dive in. If, after reading up on canning, you decide you don’t even want to mess with it, you can simply store the finished cherries in their syrup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three weeks.

But I hope you’ll try canning. If you have a garden or are part of a farm share, you’ll quickly learn that canning is a great way to preserve all that leftover produce. And don’t put this project off because cherries will be all but gone from the farmers markets by the end of July. You’ll be sorry come Christmas Eve when you have nothing but boring ol’ pumpkin pie on the table.

Brandied Cherries

3 1/2 pounds Bing cherries
2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups water
juice of one lemon
1 cinnamon stick
1 1/4 cups brandy
1 tablespoon vanilla

Rinse, stem and pit cherries. Combine the sugar, water, lemon juice and cinnamon stick in a saucepan. Heat to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour 1/4 cup syrup into each clean, hot jar. Fill jars with cherries. Add 1/4 cup brandy and more syrup as needed to fill each jar, leaving 1/2-inch headspace; seal. Process in a boiling water bath 20 minutes.

Yields 5 pints.

Posted in Home & Garden, Recipes | Tagged cherries, dessert | 3 Comments

Jun

I love strawberries…

…I really do. And that’s why I was thrilled when the California Strawberry Commission asked me to host this great little video on how to select and store this season’s best strawberries. It was great fun for me to work with a professional production crew and I felt so honored to be given such an incredible opportunity. Watch and enjoy!

(And definitely try the recipe — I’ve been having strawberry smoothies for breakfast since we shot this a month ago!)

Posted in Recipes, Videos | Tagged strawberries | 3 Comments

Jun

Dahlia Diary (And other news from the garden.)

I ventured out to photograph my dahlias this weekend because I know I’ve been promising an update. But you know what? Nothing much is happening. They’ve broken through the earth and they’re big and green and bushy… but that’s about all. No blooms, not even a bud. My camera literally yawned with each click of the shutter.

So I photographed everything else there was to photograph… marigolds, lobelia, tomatoes (now blooming!), squash (with tiny baby squashes sprouting!), and my sunflower seedlings. Yes, I realize I’ve gone a little wild in the gardening department this summer; I’m determined to make good use of the terraced beds in my backyard that have sat empty since my landlord tore out the landscaping two years ago.

It feels good! Growing the stuff you eat is really pretty amazing. And having fresh flowers to cut is a real treat. Every day I come home excited to get outside and see what’s blooming. (Am I total garden nerd or what?)

When I was growing up, we had apple trees and a pear tree and even grape vines in our yard. My dad kept a vegetable garden and grew many of the same things I’m growing this year: tomatoes, beans, lettuce, and carrots are what I remember. I know it’s because I had an early exposure to gardening that I find so much pleasure in it now. Literally, the smell of a tomato vine takes me back in time. And it doesn’t hurt that my aunt, who lives within walking distance of where I live now, is also a devoted gardener with a lush garden that looks like it belongs in a magazine. She’s always starting seeds in small pots and then handing the young plants out for adoption, and many of them come to me.

I hope you’re keeping a garden this summer, even if it’s just a pot of herbs on your windowsill. What are you growing, and what do you wish you could grow if you had more time, more space, or better weather?

Posted in Home & Garden | 3 Comments

Jun

Almond-Apricot Tart

This photo pretty much sums up my weekend… beautiful, relaxing, and a tad bit decadent. Saturday morning I hit the Grand-Lake farmer’s market and loaded up on all kinds of edible treasures I didn’t really need but simply couldn’t resist: cherries, strawberries, apricots, eggs, herbs, green kale, garlic, turnips, lavender honey, and a loaf of mushroom-potato flatbread. Just as I was wondering what I was going to do with all that food, my friend Yvonne called and asked if I was free to get together. Sure! I said. C’mon over for brunch tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I had the rest of Saturday all to myself with no plans whatsoever. I finished graduate school five weeks ago and I’m still not quite accustomed to the stillness of my school-free weekends. But I’m working hard at adjusting: I spent the rest of the day on the couch with a book. I’m halfway through a riveting piece of historical fiction, The Help, which fills me with utter dismay one moment and unbounded hope the next. It’s hard to believe that less than fifty years ago folks in Mississippi were building separate bathrooms—outdoors—for their African American housekeepers because they thought it unsanitary to share a toilet. And yet it’s painfully, painfully true.

Saturday night I had the pleasure of attending a dinner party with some of my Wharton classmates at our friend Prasad’s house in Fremont. You’ve never seen such a fabulous home! It must be 5000 square feet and his lovely wife Risha has filled it with some incredible pieces of artwork and sculpture. But in traditional Indian style, dinner wasn’t served until after 10pm, so it was a late night. I stumbled into my apartment (which suddenly felt very much like a shoebox) well past midnight.

This morning, by some small miracle, I got myself out of bed for an early run and then put together a pretty fantastic spread with Saturday’s farmer’s market bounty. Yvonne and I feasted at my breakfast counter and got lost in conversation for a good couple of hours. But when she left, I realized I had forgotten the apricots: There they were still in a paper bag tucked behind some cookbooks on the counter.

And so I thumbed through the June issue of Martha Stewart Living, and lo and behold… there was a recipe for apricots in all their luscious, golden glory: Almond-Apricot Tart.

I think I’m legal in printing the recipe here because I’ve modified it just a bit. The original version yielded too much filling, so I pared it down. I also think whipped cream needs a little sugar and vanilla when it’s paired with uncooked, unsweetened fruit, so I added both. But you can leave it unsweetened if you prefer.

Still, you should pick up a copy of the magazine, not only for this recipe but because it’s filled with all kinds of other fun things this month: Some lovely photography of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, some great recipes for summertime libations, and a fun piece on collecting antique citrus juicers. I know we all love to hate Martha, but she really does publish a beautiful magazine.

Make the Crust

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup blanched almonds, toasted*
4 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
1/3 cup confectioners sugar
1 large egg yolk
Pinch of salt

Pulse the almonds and flour in a food processor and set aside. Beat butter and confectioner’s sugar with a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add flour mixture, yolk, and the salt. Mix until the dough comes together, then turn out into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Using the heel of your hand or the bottom of a lightly greased drinking glass, press the dough over the bottom and up the sides of the tart pan. Refrigerate one hour.

Make the Filling

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 large egg yolks
1/4 cup light corn syrup
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons Myers rum
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325F. Heat the butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat until browned, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool at least 10 minutes. Meanwhile, beat the yolks, corn syrup, and brown sugar in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in the browned butter, scraping the bottom of the pan to get all the browned solids. Add the rum, cream and vanilla and continue to beat until smooth.

Remove the tart shell from the refrigerator and pour the filling into it. Bake until the crust is golden and the filling is just barely set in the middle, about 40 minutes. Allow to cool on a rack.

Prepare the Topping

6 medium firm-ripe apricots, pitted and sliced thinly
2 cups heavy cream, cold
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Arrange the apricots in concentric circles, starting at the outside edge, until the surface of the tart filling is covered. Beat the cold cream with the sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form. Serve each wedge of the tart with a dollop of whipped cream. (Note, the apricots will start to turn brown within 30 minutes, so you’ll want to assemble this tart as close to serving time as possible. If you must make it a few hours ahead, brush the apricots with melted, strained apricot jelly to “seal” them, then cover with plastic wrap.)

*To toast the almonds, spread them in a single layer over a cookie sheet and toast in a 325F oven for 5-10 minutes, stirring them with a wooden spoon every two minutes. Alternatively, you can toss them gently in a hot, un-greased cast iron skillet over a medium-high flame. Be careful not to let them burn. Allow to cool completely before using.

Posted in Baking & Cake Decorating, Essays, Recipes | Tagged apricots, pastry, summer, tart | 14 Comments

Jun

People Who Are Into Things

My parents have retired to Santa Maria, on California’s Central Coast, and I’m so happy about it I feel like I’m the one who has retired. Most of California is great, no question, but Santa Maria is… perfect. It gets a cool breeze from the Pacific Ocean and provides awesome access to beaches, hiking, restaurants, and all kinds of great recreation. It’s not densely populated, it’s pretty safe, and it gets bonus points for being less than a four hour drive from San Francisco. And a beautiful drive at that!

I was there for Memorial Day weekend and we had a fantastic time just roaming around. We enjoyed the lovely garden at the Back Bay Inn, just a few miles north of Santa Maria in Baywood Park, which is where most of these photos were taken. The Inn sits right on the water and the grounds, while meticulously kept, convey a sort of whimsical, relaxed ocean-inspired state of mind. The abundance of Salvia, roses, iceland poppies, fuschia, and hydrangea is visually intoxicating.

Later that evening we stumbled upon a car show by West Coast Kustoms, which drew hundreds of spectators to downtown Santa Maria as car owners, many of whom had driven their four-wheeled beauties the distance of several states, cruised up and down the main drag. Each car was more impressive than the one that preceded it: custom paint, hydraulics, colored lights, plush interiors. Each was unique, and each reflected hours (and hours, and hours!) of love and labor. I’m not really a car girl, myself, but I was enthralled by what I knew those people felt for their cars: dedication, pride, and passion. It was palpable.

And then it hit me. I was standing there on the sidewalk watching these cars roll by, surrounded by men and women of all shapes and sizes and children who had ice cream dripping down their chins, and I realized that I’m really into people who are into things. Whatever it is–as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone or cause excessive damage to the earth–I say pursue your passion! Pursue it, and pursue it with vigor. Being into something, whether it’s fixing up your 56 Chevy or writing a food blog or making quilts or collecting seashells, is what makes life worth living.

What one thing are you really into? I’d love to hear what you’re passionate about. Here’s a seemingly simple challenge a very wise woman once posed to me: See if you can finish the following sentence in seven words or less.

“I’m {insert your name} and I’m someone who…”

It’s harder than you’d think, isn’t it! If you’re stumped, don’t worry… it’s never too late to develop a passion. My dad, for example, discovered wood working at the age of 65. My friend Cheri started a boutique matchmaking service after her husband passed away. You might just discover your passion when you least expect it.

Posted in Essays, Home & Garden, Travel | 6 Comments