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!

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.

eff fashion

tonight's dinner:
quinoa with a sprinkling of gomasio
red lentils with seaweed and indian spices
fresh corn from sauvie island
yum

it was suggested to me today that my bigotry over skinny jeans was misplaced. one thing i can say for the latest fashion trends is that i've seen bigger girls wearing leggings and short skirts and looking cute and confident. i sometimes wonder how much being a teen in the early 90s affected me and friends' body image. i mean, NO ONE looks good in tapered, high-wasted, pleated jeans.

evidence:


come on! jennie garth is hot and she looks weird and dumpy in those pants. ew.

i don't know. maybe i'll get a pair of skinny jeans. with today's stretchy-fabric technology, they are probably fairly comfortable...

Another one about food.

Not only do I LOVE having a market across the street from where I live, I LOVE that it's an Asian market. Prices are extremely low and I can find everything I need to make tom ka. They also have produce, kitchenware, and all sort of treats.

Yesterday I bought the most delicious drink ever: Chin Chin Aloe Vera and Mixed Fruit Juice Drink. It was a fantastic blend of pineapple, orange, guava, banana, passion fruit, mango and apple juices with chunks of aloe vera pulp floating in it. So good. Bubble ain't got nothing on this juice. I almost bought the straight guava/aloe drink, but the guy suggested the mixed fruit. I appreciate when people feel comfortable offering their opinions on stuff you've never had before. Especially when it turns out to be your new favorite thing.

For treats I bought some hot fruit beef jerky, Vietnamese instant coffee in a cute little plastic box, and a packet of coconut macaroons from a local Asian bakery. Oh yeah, I also got potatoes and a purple yam for dinner. All this cost me around $8.

I LOVE Vieng Lao. Too bad they're only open until 8.