October Afternoon Blog Post

Hello friends!

There is a new post up on October Afternoon's blog featuring a vintage bed tray that I altered.

Have a lovely day, surya

What Are Fresh Black Currants? Not Dried Currants and Not Raisins.

Fresh black currants from Pudwill Berry Farms in Nipomo, CA.

What comes to mind when you hear the word "currant"? Raisins? Scones? The Brits? It's a confusing matter. So after purchasing a basket of fresh black currants at the Little Italy Mercato a couple of weeks ago, I did some sleuthing on the internet. Here's what I have learned about the differences between fresh black currants, dried black currants, and raisins.

Fresh black currants are small, round, glossy, black berries that pack a tart punch. They are related to red currants, white currants, and gooseberries; they are NOT grapes.

Dried black currants, also called Zante currants, are dried Corinth grapes, so technically they are raisins. With their black, wrinkly skins and sweet flavor, they look, smell, and taste just like traditional raisins.

Raisins are dried grapes, usually green Thompson grapes whose color darkens when dried. Similar to dried currants, raisins are shriveled, chewy, sweet, and fragrant.


Fresh black currants and boysenberries from Pudwill Berry Farms in Nipomo, CA.


Where can you buy fresh black currants? In cool, rainy places such as the UK. In the US, the Pacific Northwest and northern California grow fresh currants which can be found at farmers' markets and organic markets. They're also sometimes found in the freezer section of organic and specialty markets.

How do you cook with fresh black currants? Fresh black currants are most often used  to make jams and jellies, ice cream and sorbet, schnapps, and pies. They're also delicious in baked goods such as scones, muffins, and cakes. Fresh black currants have a savory side too: they make a tangy sauce for meats such as chicken, pork, and lamb and can be tossed into salads. If you have a recipe calling for fresh black currants and can't find them, then blackberries and gooseberries make good substitutes.

What are the health benefits of fresh black currants? Fresh black currants are high in vitamin C and potassium. They're also are rich, little nuggets of antioxidants (2X the antioxidants of blueberries!) which help reduce inflammation and may help lower your risk of cancer.

Now it's time to get cooking with fresh black currants, so check out the tempting list of recipes below.


Greek Yogurt, Fresh Fig, and Black Currant Parfaits from Food Blogga

Read more about fresh black currants:
"A Tart Berry Reintroduces Itself" from the NYT
Fresh Black Currants information page from Specialty Produce in San Diego 

Black currant Savory recipes:
Black Currant Chicken recipe from Anne's Food
Lamb Chops with Black Currant BBQ Sauce recipe from Suzi's Blog

Black currant sweet recipes:
Black Currant Sorbet recipe from NYT
Blackcurrant Pie recipe from Bron Marshall
Black Currant Scones recipe from Local Kitchen
Red and Black Currant Parfaits recipe from Country Living
Black Currant Schnapps recipe from Danish Schnapps Recipes
Blackcurrant Swirl Cheesecake recipe from Good Food Channel
Black Currant and Orange Sour Cream Coffee Cake recipe from Epicurean
Apricot Almond Tart with Black Currants and Lavender Syrup from Vegalicious Recipes

White Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

It is so good to be back beautiful readers!  Last week Allison shared a gorgeous post with all the delicious summer food she's been eating.  I thought about doing something similar, but then I remembered that my meals from the last few weeks consist of frozen pizzas, prepackaged salads,and Thai takeout.  Not exactly the stuff that culinary dreams are made of.  John has spent the last 3 1/2 weeks working in Chicago, and what I've learned is that I don't cook well without an audience.  When it's just me, a giant bowl of chips and salsa and a glass of red wine does the trick.       

The good news is that John is back on California soil, and I found a new frosting I'm crazy about.  I'm feeling like myself again, and really excited to bring you a great cupcake.

I'm baking for a wedding next month, and the bride-to-be loves a classic white chocolate raspberry combo.  I've had a few misses in my quest to find the right recipe, but when I brought her these beauties, we both agreed that we have a winner on our hands.

There are three parts to this goodness, so you might want to spread out the baking across a couple of days.

Once you're ready for assembly, use a small sharp knife to cut little cores out of each cupcake.  They don't need to be huge, a little filling goes a long way.

Fill these babies with raspberry goodness.  Hello delicious!

Pipe on some buttercream, and you're in business!

 

White Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen, Food & Wine, and Group Recipes

Makes 30 cupcakes

Note:  I burned the first dozen.  They may not come out very golden, so use the toothpick test in order to tell when they're really done.

For the cupcakes:

 4 cups plus 2 tablespoons cake flour (not self-rising)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups buttermilk, well-shaken

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line cupcake tins with papers.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl after each addition. At low speed, beat in buttermilk until just combined (mixture will look curdled). Add flour mixture in three batches, mixing until each addition is just incorporated.

Use a cookie scoop to drop batter into the cupcake tins.  Fill about 3/4 full, and wipe the sides of the pan clean.  Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, about 10 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes, then remove and cool completely before assembling.

For the filling:

2 12 ounce packages of frozen raspberries (not packed in syrup)
1 1/3 cups water
1 1/2-2 cups granulated sugar (or to taste, 2 cups will be pretty sweet)
2 tablespoons lemon juice 
5-6 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 1/2 cup water

In a saucepan combine the raspberries, water, sugar, and lemon juice.  Bring to boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the raspberries have broken down.

Remove the mixture from the heat and strain with a fine mesh sieve. Return the strained mixture to the heat.

Dissolve the cornstarch in 1/2 cup of water.  Whisk the slurry into the raspberry mixture.  Bring the mixture back to a boil and simmer for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.  Let cool completely before assembling cupcakes.

For the frosting
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1/2 pound powdered sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 ounces white chocolate, chopped, melted, and cooled.

In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter until creamy. At low speed, beat in the confectioners' sugar. Increase the speed to high and beat until fluffy, scraping down the side of the bowl, about 2 minutes longer.

At low speed, beat in the cream and vanilla, then gradually beat in the white chocolate. Scrape down the side of the bowl and the paddle, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until light, 3 minutes longer. Using a wooden spoon, vigorously beat the buttercream for 30 seconds to deflate any air bubbles.

To assemble

Use a small sharp knife to cut a cone-shaped core out of the top of each cupcake.  Fill the core with raspberry filling.  Use a pastry bag and a decorative tip to pipe frosting on top of the cupcake, and top with a fresh raspberry.  Enjoy! 

 

Sausage & Kale Lentil Soup and Parmesan Skillet Rolls--My first Soup & Homemade Rolls for Fall

It's a very strange weather pattern we're experiencing in Monterey, California.  Yesterday, it was overcast and muggy.  Today, the skies were gloomy and I had a craving for soup.  I was also craving fresh bread to go with the soup.  I love lentil soup, and I especially love it when it's paired with sausage.  So, I grabbed my soup "Holy Trinity" of one onion, carrots and celery and speed chopped them with my food processor.  I have plenty of homemade chicken stock in the freezer and then I just started grabbing what I could find in my pantry. What I didn't  grab was my camera.  I figured that there are plenty of lentil soup recipes on blogs and so I just started creating a soup.  As a result, this time, there aren't my usual step-by-step photos on how to make this soup.  I decided to make our favorite Buttered Rosemary Rolls because they are easy to make and don't take a lot of time.  At the last minute, I decided to use Parmesan Cheese, instead. 

These smelled so good, that I decided to grab my camera after all, so I could share it with you.

I'm so glad that I adapted the Buttered Rosemary Rolls with Parmesan Cheese. They were wonderful!  My son was happy, because he doesn't care for Rosemary.  By garnishing the lentil soup with a little Parmesan, my family had a hearty and comforting meal that was perfect for Fall weather.

Heaven help me, these are good!

From what I hear, we are supposed to have a heat wave next week.  Sigh.  That means my Weber will be back in action.  I surprised myself, at how delicious my concoctions turned out!  So here ya go...the printable recipes cards are below.  That is, if you'd like to make either (or both) of these recipes.  If you would like a step-by-step on making the rolls, click here.

I am submitting this post to Deb at Kahakai Kitchen for her Souper Sunday weekly roundup of recipes of bloggers who make soups, sandwiches or salads.  It looks like my soup kettle is back in business again!

Enjoy!