Quince

One of the joys of eating locally and seasonally is that moment in time when one perfect food appears, then quickly disappears again.  Morels, strawberries, and dandelion leaves in the spring; that first, sun soaked, still warm on the vine tomato in the summer; in the winter, for me, it's the first homemade pickled thing, popped out of a jar, with just the perfect amount of brine clinging on it; and in the fall - pumpkins and squash, pears, and quince.

Our tasting at the Aeppel Treow Winery, next
door to the Orchard

Two weekends ago, Jeff and I went to Brightonwoods Orchard, in Burlington WI.  In addition to many pounds of apples for eating and drying, and a case of apple related booze from the Apple Winery next door, I picked up about five pounds of quince.

This is our second trip to Brightonwoods Orchard, and I'm a big fan.  They don't have that much, it's not a pick your own deal, so if you've got kids and you're into all that stuff they might not be right for you.  But for us, it's perfect.  We walk around the orchard for about 15 minutes, look in their cute little market, then head next door to the Apple Winery (I want to call it a Cidery, but spell check keeps telling me that's not a word...) and get drunk.

Quince is not, I've learned, a particularly popular product.  So much so that I usually need to repeat it 5 or 6 times before people understand what I'm saying:

ME: Quince
Person: Quint?
ME: Quince.
Person: Quints?
ME: QUINCE.
Person: Quimp?

Quimp?  Really?  That's not even almost a word.

After some quick research on Wikipedia: Quince was once a popular fruit in the United States, being brought over by English Settlers.  In England, it is appropriate to have one quince tree ta the lower corner of a proper garden, and two in a well stocked orchard.

So even then, when it was "popular," people were getting at most one or two trees.

I have no clue why.  If anyone wants to do more research than I did (I looked it up on Wikipedia on my phone, so it wouldn't take much to be "more" research than I did) I would be happy to hear it.  If you would like to write a report on quince, I will totally post it and link to your blog or thing you want to promote.  Shoot me a message on Facebook (see how that makes you like me on Facebook?  I'm such a scammer!)  The trees appear to be nice - little pretty trees with gnarled bonsai like branches and large pink flowers.  It is also (per my extensive Wikipedia research) a useful plant.  Quince is high in pectin and therefor is good to add to jams and jellies.  The plant itself is strong and can be grafted on to other plants in the rose family (apples, pears, peaches... all roses.  If you know me personally, that might explain why I really want to have an orchard) to dwarf the plant and increase the yield.

So why aren't we growing it?

No demand.

I blame you personally.  When's the last time you went and asked for quince at your neighborhood grocery store?  And why not.  It's a perfectly fine fruit - somewhere between an apple and a pear, with a bit of a pineapple aroma.  Okay, sure' you've got to peel it and cook it before you can eat it (raw quince are inedible), but there are lots of things you cook before eating and it's not stopping anybody.  Rhubarb, for example, not so hot raw.  But people are still making Rhubarb pies.  Why no quince pies?

So, go out and demand some quince!  Get the farmer's growing it.  And when you plan your orchard, or well stocked garden, remember to plant at least one or two quince trees.  No "quimp" trees, because that's not a thing.

This is neither a quince tree nor a quinp tree.  It's an apple
tree.

If you would like to see more of the orchard trip pictures, Like "Home Grown, Homemade" on Facebook!

Beef Short Ribs with Quince
(this recipe is modified from several I found for lamb shank.  You can do this with lamb shank as well - but you may want to reduce the cooking time depending on the size of your shank.)

(Anyone else giggle at "size of your shank"?  No?  Just me.  That's fine.  I'm a child.)

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 lbs Beef short ribs, trimmed of fat
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 or more garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tsp freshly ground ginger
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 quinces, peeled, core removed, and quartered
• 3 cups chicken or beef stock
• 4 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp lemon rind
• Cilantro and Couscous for serving

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees. 

Season the short ribs generously with salt and pepper.  Heat oil in a large ovenproof casserole or french oven over medium high heat and cook the shanks in batches until well browned.  Transfer to a plate.  Reduce the heat to low.  Add the onion and sweat until softened - about 10 to 15 minutes.  Turn the heat back up to medium high, stir in the garlic and spices and cook, stirring, for one minute or until fragrant.  Do not let the spices burn!

Return the meat to the pan, add the stock and honey, bring to a boil then cover with the lid and place in the oven.  After 30 minutes, stir in the quince, and continue to cook for another hour.  Add the lemon rind, taste and adjust seasonings, and continue to cook for 30 more minutes (2 hours total).

Serve over couscous with freshly chopped cilantro.

I also made curried cauliflower.  The orange
stuff in this picture is the quince.

Quince in Syrup

• 2 lbs quince
• 1 cup water
• 2 cups honey
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary (optional)
• 2 whole cloves (optional)
• 2 cinnamon sticks (optional)

Peel, core, and slice the quince.  In a large pot, combine water, honey, and any desired spices, and bring to a gentle boil.  Add the quince (the plural of quince is quince, by the way), and allow to simmer until just tender 20 minutes, or less depending on the thickness of your slices.

Remove the quince from the pot and raise the temperature to high.  Allow to boil until reduced in half.

From here you've got a few options.  You could serve the quince and syrup over ice cream or a pound cake.  Or, you could take just the fruit and substitute it for half of the apples in your favorite apple pie or crisp or crumble or whatever.  I went the crisp method.
 

Week Long Episode of Chopped.

First off, I would like to apologize to any offended Russians.  I have been mistakenly assuming that Borscht is Russian, and I learned that it is not.  So, I am sorry that I said I would reward my Russian readers by making Borscht.  Please let me know what I should make, preferably out of  beets, because that's what I have.

Moving on.

I decided part of the problem of my not eating my canned goods is that they are hidden away in my basement where no-one (me) can see them.  I really wish that there wasn't the whole rule about storing your canned goods in a cool dark place.  First, out of sight is out of mind - so I don't think to use them.  Secondly, though, they're just so pretty.  I can picture a wall of fancy, module-y, Ikea style shelves, adorned with brightly colored, shiny canned jars.  But, alas, that is not an option.  In order to make the food last longer, the cans are regulated to the basement.  So, I took my garden picking basket down into the basement and picked me some basement fresh vegetables.

And this week's basket contains...

apple pie filling, yellow tomato chutney, spaghetti sauce, corn salsa, pickled fennel, and beets.

Honestly, I did not plan ahead.  I just pulled random jars off the shelf and threw them in the basket.

The spaghetti sauce was easy.  I had spaghetti for lunch on Sunday.

The apple pie filling went into an apple pie and rhubarb crisp, which I would totally show you a picture of, but I forgot to take a picture and I already ate some tonight.  And, if I have to take a picture, that means I have to eat more, which... this is sounding like a good plan.  No.  No Picture.  Willpower.  I don't need a second bowl of dessert.

Anyway, it was good.  I cooked down some frozen rhubarb (2 cups) with a little bit of honey.  Then I mixed in the apples, spread it into a baking dish, and topped it with my apple crisp topping which is:

• 3/4 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 3/4 sp ground cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, and eat with ice or whipped cream.

Sunday night for dinner (I'm a little behind) we used the corn salsa in some steak tacos.  They were delicious!

Steak, fried up in a hot pan, finished in the oven, seasoned with salt, pepper, and a little bit of cayenne.  Topped with cheddar, corn salsa, guacamole, sour cream, and arugula.  The arugula, I think, was the real star.  It is such a bitter, peppery green.  It worked perfect with the sweet corn salsa.

So I push onward.  Trying to eat up as much of the preserved food as I can before new food is available.  Maybe I can keep my March and April food bills super low, and then spend all that money on seeds to put in the garden to grow more food than I can eat all of next winter!

It is an excellent cycle.

The offer is still out there, by the way.  So far, Shannon is the only one getting canned goodies.  Speak up!  You know you want some.  I haven't gotten botulism yet!

Jobs I think should be invented...

I went out for dinner last night with my husband and a friend, and we ate at Honeypie - a restaurant not that far from our house that focuses on using local food.  Their specialty - pie.  And it is GOOD pie.  As we were contemplating the plethora of pie choices before us, it was suggested that the restaurant should have a pie sommelier.  Someone who could try all the pies, and pair them with a perfect beverage.  Sign me up!

Another job that I would like to have is Williams-Sonoma tester.  They could just send me their products, and I could test them and make sure they work right.  That way, I could have all their fancy things and NOT spend my entire paycheck at Williams-Sonoma.

One thing that I would like to test first is their fancy outdoor oven.  I do live in WI, so 11.5 months out of the year I would prefer to have my indoor oven running, but occasionally it gets really, really, REALLY hot here.  (really).  This past week has been one of those times.  And I would have used the crap out of that oven.

One of the main problems with me wanting things from Williams-Sonoma, is that most of them are things that I could easily use something else for - something that I could get for cheap.  Or free.  For example, the Chicken Roaster for the grill.  They call it Beer Butt Chicken for a reason here, people.  You stick a beer can up the chicken's butt.  Why am I paying $24.95 for a beer can with no beer in it!  But do I want it?  You bet I do!  Why?  Because William-Sonoma has cast a spell on me and I want to buy everything they sell regardless of it's functional use and/or whether or not I can get the same thing at World Market for 1/10th the price.

Same thing is true of the oven.  I have an outdoor oven.  It's called a grill.  And, what I learned in my last post, is that indirect heat basically turns my grill into an oven. 

So I decided to be adventurous.  But not too adventurous, because I don't want to burn my new grill down too...

My first thought was a pie.  But pies are hard enough normally.  I have had a lot of problem with pies in the past.  So, I decided to go with the poor man's pie: A crisp!

Grilled Rhubarb Crisp:

• 4 cups Rhubarb, chopped about 1/2 inch thick (L*)
• 1 tbsp flour (L)
• 1/2 cup honey (L)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp salt 
• 1 tbsp water (L I guess...)
• 6 tbsp butter (L)
• 6 tbsp flour (L)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• Butter for greasing pan (L)

Pre-heat your grill to 350 degrees.  If at all possible, use indirect heat.  I have a four burner grill, and had to turn the outside burners to high and the inside burners to low.  Place a pizza stone on the grill over the area that isn't receiving direct heat. 

Lightly grease the inside of a 10x6x2 inch glass baking dish.  In the baking dish, combine the first 6 ingredients.  Cream butter, flour, and brown sugar, then stir in oats.  Sprinkle over the top of the rhubarb.

Place baking dish on pizza stone and cook for approximately 40 minutes.  Make sure you keep an eye on the grill, as it may not maintain an even temperature like an oven would.  This is especially true if it starts to rain... like it did for me.

I served this over strawberry rhubarb ice cream.