Secret Happenings in the Lab, Part 2

woohoo!

I cut one teeny corner of the solidified goo, then I cut that in half. Each piece now about 1 x 1 x .5 inches. I used a heart-shaped cookie cutter and tasted the trim. Delicious!

The box is a mock-up from this template

Here's a picture of the blobs rolled in sugar with their test box:



I think that in order to keep the pieces in top form, it will be advisable to only cut as many as needed at the time. I think the goo will sweat like cranberry sauce and if it has sugar on it, they'll get all melty and weird. I wonder how hard it would be to dip one in chocolate...

Secret Happenings in the Lab

In early October I was introduced to the best candies in the world. Cranberry Sweet's pure Pates de Fruits. The store in Coos Bay has almost every type of Pate for a gummy lover to sample. I bought some cranberry ones in dark chocolate and a bag of what they call the "trim." These are the super chewy waste pieces cut off the chunks they sell. What flavor.

So when I came across a recipe for these little jewels, I freaked. The Cranberry Sweets site says that theirs take weeks from start to finish, which is AWESOME, but I don't want to commit to that much time if I don't know what I'm doing and their recipe is super secret anyway.

On the internet, all the recipes are for things like apple or mango, but I wanted CRANBERRY. So. That's what I did tonight. While my pan of goo is cooling, I'm going to write a bit about my process. There will probably be multiple addenda because who knows how they'll turn out...

Here's my recipe:
2 bags of frozen cranberries (or fresh)
1 granny smith apple, peeled
2.5 - 3 cups Sugar
1 Tbs unsalted butter
6 oz (2 pouches) liquid pectin. I used Certo brand.

Prepare an 8 x 8 pan with a tin-foil lining and brush the inside with a teeny bit of oil. Set aside.

1. I started by poaching the apple for a while. Recipes I found said that you should do it for 25 minutes, but if you do, you'll need to strain the bits that fall off into the water. One medium granny smith apple doesn't make much purée, but it tastes delicious. I synthesized three recipes and was trying for 2 cups of purée total. Two bags of cranberries make almost two cups of purée, so that's where the apple helps.

2. To purée the cranberries:
In a medium saucepan bring some water to a boil. Dump in cranberries. When skins start to pop open, drain cranberries. (The juice is pretty and tastes kinda good. Maybe tea?)

Toss the cranberries into a blender with about 1/4 cup of the cranberry juice and blend until smooth.

3. Dump the resulting purée into a mesh strainer over a bowl that is at least the diameter of the strainer. With a rubber spatula or a spoon back squish the cranberries through the strainer. Scrape the purée that gathers on the strainer into the bowl. Keep going until you feel like your hand is going to fall off and the stuff in the strainer starts to look like just skins.

I basically did the same thing with the apple, but I first cut out the core and chopped it to bits.

5. Ok. Here's the good part. Eat dinner and watch Heroes.

6. When you're done with dinner, dump all the purée into a medium saucepan with the sugar. Stir until well-blended while you bring it to a boil. Lower heat to medium or medium-high or the stuff will spit out like hot magma and burn you. Stir constantly for about four minutes and then stir in the butter. Keep stirring and boiling until the stuff seems thicker. About 5 minutes.

7. Remove from heat and stir in the pouches of pectin. Make sure to stir it in well and then pour into prepared pan.

Notes:
My strainer is small, so I did one bag of cranberries at a time. There's got to be a better way, but I have to say that the smooshing of cranberries is a bit meditational.

I checked on my setting goo and it jiggled! I read somewhere that apples and cranberries have natural pectin and are a good choice for this type of recipe, but I hope it doesn't get too solid.

Here's a crappy picture of the pectin and the goo in the pan:



Updates to come!

strata

the beautiful snowy sunday turned into a blustery 20-degree monday. i wore more layers than my poor little body could handle.

layer 0: bra, undies, wool blend socks
layer 1: tank top, silk long underwear
layer 2: short-sleeved t-shirt, pants, boots
layer 3: long-sleeved t-shirt
layer 4: wool sweater, neck-tie as scarf
layer 5: cashmere overcoat, pashmina shawl, beret

people who live in cold climates must do a LOT of laundry.

Serendipity

A series of extremely fortunate events.

This afternoon I took myself to breakfast at the Beaterville cafe. They use an interesting font on their menus. I copied this one:


I realized as I was finishing that I'd left my wallet at home, so I 'fessed up to the server and she let me run home to get it. Whew. After I paid and was unlocking my bike, a denizen of the neighborhood asked if I wanted to see the crucifix collection next door at the little vintage shop.

I'd never been into this shop before, but had always wondered what treasures were inside. The proprietress showed me the lot of crucifixes she'd bought at an estate sale, AND I found the most awesome thing for my mom. Which I shan't write here in case someone who knows her relates the info...

Anyway, I have to go back tomorrow because she doesn't take cards. Hopefully tomorrow is as glorious as today and I can ride my bike down there.

Later...

I was going to set up my desk to do some work, but realized that I didn't have a bulb for my lamp. I rode my bike to Fred Meyer and on the way home got to witness an amazing sunset. Think Maxfield Parrish on ACID. Unfortunately my photos don't do the glory of nature justice, however, upon approaching my apartment, I was surrounded by a mob of Santas.





Sigh, what a day.

a few notes on things learned

whoa. thanksgiving was spectacular. here are some things i learned over the past few days:

1. trust new seasons and their how-to booklets. they gave us one that included info on ordering, brining, and roasting our turkey. and the turkey... succulent. perfect. brining is surely the way to go.

2. when people bring dishes, they leave with them and the only dishes you have to do are the plates and big pots! amazing.

3. you can feel sexy in skinny jeans, you just have to prepare yourself well to shop for them. here's how:
*though you are going to the mall (or in my case, Ross dress for less), take the time to spruce up a little. no one cares what you look like, but when you're standing in that filthy dressing room under fluorescent lights, you'll be glad you brushed your hair and put on a little blush.
*wear your favorite underwear because, let me tell you, those skinny jeans are tight and you want your butt to look as good as it can.
*shop at Ross. i can't condone the throwaway spirit, but if you hate those skinny jeans in a month, hell, they were only $14.99. you can turn them into denim arm-warmers or something.

4. when using a potato peeler to skin large amounts of ginger, wear eye protection because ginger juice BURNS when it gets in your eyes. as a matter of fact, maybe you should wear a mask because it also burns the nose.

5. i look good in a beret. and i don't care that you think i'm a nerd.