Without knowing exactly how to tell otherwise, it seems as though my first attempt at canning was successful.
Here's most of what I used:
I boiled the watery kumquat mixture for 45 minutes. I added pectin and sugar. I brought the mixture to 220 degrees (the gel stage). I sterilized the jars and lids in boiling water. I added the hot, gooey mixture to the sterilized jars. I twisted the lids on so they were "finger-tight," as instructed. I boiled the filled jars for 15 minutes each:
I removed them and let them cool, and then...
*POP!*
That sound of snapping-lids-as-a-vacuum-seal-was-formed. Or as I might call it from now on: An Angel Snapping. What a glorious sound!
Amazing.
This canning experiment feels like a big success based on that sound alone. Even though I know I added the pectin at probably the wrong stage. Also, I just boiled the jars and lids - I didn't truly sterilize them. I don't think? I don't know! Basically, what I learned is that I don't know enough about canning and I want to learn more.
Now I just wait for everything to set - 24 hours without any movement of the jars - and... Presto! Kumquat marmalade! Hopefully...
I was in Florida this past weekend to see my family and photograph my sister's dance studio's annual recital. It was a quick trip, filled with travel nightmares that I won't bore you with, but I scored something very special - fresh kumquats from a kumquat tree in my grandmother's backyard.
Have you ever had a kumquat? It's a citrus fruit and tastes like tangerine and orange. You eat the whole thing, skin and all. The skin is really sweet, but the pulp and juice inside is very sour. They're about the size of grapes. We used to have one in our backyard in Jacksonville when I was a kid. Then one year, it was suddenly a lemon tree. I should ask my dad about that, actually. Anyway, you can find out everything you never knew about kumquats on this site.
I wish I'd taken a picture of my grandmother's tree. Its branches were loaded and heavy with beautiful, little orange jewels. I told my dad I had the impulse to pick them, not knowing what I'd do with 5 cups of kumquats in Brooklyn, but he gave me a hand. Here's what I ended up with:
I did some research and found a simple, elegant recipe for kumquat marmalade on Gothamist.com, of all places. I like the suggestion of making this with Earl Grey tea, though I bet mint tea would be good, too, especially with a bit of fresh mint chiffonade. Hmm...
I started the first step this morning, chopping the kumquats up and soaking them. I spent an hour picking through the mixture to remove as many seeds as possible. It looks like risotto!
Needless to say, this was an annoying step, made all the more annoying by the fact that I mistakenly discarded all the seeds. The seeds contain the pectin that you need to have for the marmalade to gel together. Not a big deal, though - I can buy pectin.
Did you know that people in the UK call seeds "pips?" I thought that was cute and worth mentioning.
Pips.
So this mess sits over night and, presumably, the fruit absorbs a lot of the water and plumps and makes it juicier. I'm not sure of the science here...
Lastly, I like to mention that this is my first ever attempt and canning (which is a misnomer - there aren't any cans involved). I have to now read up on how to can things, because I have no idea how to do it properly. I've somehow acquired a canning "kit" over the past few years, though, so that should come in handy. Sterilize the jars? Fill the jars with hot goo? Chill them? I don't know. Good luck to me.
That's really it for now. I need to buy small canning jars today, as well as pectin and maybe mint. Check back tomorrow (or the next day, because it's SO nice out in NYC now) for the results.
In fact, it's so nice out that I've been listening to my "happy mix" of Dolly Parton songs all morning, with "Light of a Clear Blue Morning" on repeat. That song is so fantastic.
So my second attempt at the chocolate peanut butter cake was a success. I really don't like to brag, but people were coming up to me telling me it was the best cake they'd ever eaten in their lives. Maybe they were exaggerating, but I let myself think maybe not. It is a really effing good cake. Greg's birthday crowd seemed to really enjoy it, as did the staff of The Edison!
You can see here that the cake almost slid totally off the plate. Close call. Yep, that's 33 candles. Or, let's say flirtythree candles...
And Greg, trying desperately (and fairly successfully) to hide his embarrassment:
Greg took a few pictures of me decorating the cake, too. Kinda funny to see myself work. I look a little cross-eyed when I decorate a cake:
Gooey.
LA was so fun! I know that most people who are reading this have been to LA, but it was my first time. The people are so friendly, and the architecture is so weird and cool. I didn't realize that everything still looks very 1960's astro-space-age-retro. It's weird, but very distinct. Plus, I'm not a huge movie buff or anything, but driving past all the big studios or recognizing all the sets and locations from movies was pretty cool. After a hike in Runyon Canyon, Greg (who, by the way, is the BEST host and LA tour guide on Earth) and I were standing on the ruins of an old front porch and some steps. Turns out it was Errol Flynn's old house! It's so wild to me that the "Golden Age of Hollywood" is literally in ruins now, considering it was less than a century ago. I mean obviously a lot of it has been preserved, but seeing these "ruins" felt oddly historical and strictly American. It was all pretty cool. If you're interested, you can check out some of the fun stuff I did by clicking HERE.
As far as the food in LA goes (since this is technically a food blog and not a "what-Christian-did-in-LA" blog), I was pretty underwhelmed. Nothing really stood out too much. Though Greg took me to a super gay place called Hamburger Mary's (a chain, from what I understand), and I had the best burger I've ever eaten in my life. It was stuffed with bacon, bleu cheese, and onions. Oh, and it was amateur drag night:
OH! And the bathroom there was real hi-klass and gay! Yep, in LA, you can shit to an ABBA remix under a disco ball. Like Naomi Watts says in Mulholland Drive (one of the best movies ever made), it's a "dream place." (She also gets fucked up, masturbates painfully hard, then kills herself during a drug-induced delusional fit, but that's much later in the movie - like way after the "dream place" bit.) Check it:
(Ya like how I just subtly introduced video to my blog? Hey now!)
Greg took me and my friend Mike to El Compadre, where we had dangerously strong flaming margaritas. You can sort of make out the flame here:
The Mexican food in LA didn't especially appeal to me, with one exception - Alegria, in Silverlake. My pal Franc took me there. It was really fresh and clearly made by knowledgeable folks who care deeply about their food and their customers' enjoyment. It was quite good.
Franc also introduced me to Dirty Dogs - bacon-wrapped hotdogs fried in bacon grease in, from as far as I could tell, a dented cookie sheet. The roasted jalapeno peppers on the side were a delicious, savory and spicy touch. It was SO good, but it, um, "stayed with me" for the whole next day. Owee.
Oh, duh! Greg also took me to Sprinkles Cupcakes in Beverly Hills, claiming they were some of the best cupcakes he's ever had. I've had their site bookmarked for a while in my favorites because I like their design aesthetic. They claim to be "Original Cupcake Bakery." While I think that's unlikely,the red velvet cupcake I had was absolutely, hands-down, the moistest, tastiest, most amazing cupcake I've ever had! If you read this blog, you know that I don't have much of a sweet tooth, but I've been craving this cupcake since I left LA. It's so rare to get a red velvet cake that tastes like anything at all, but this one had so much flavor - chocolately and buttery, but with the sharp tang of just enough vinegar. And the cream cheese frosting was perfect - sweet and tangy, and just enough of it. Man. It was good.
Off topic, here's me riding a bull:
Lastly, I'd like to add this video. I rediscovered this song in LA thanks to Greg, but mostly I love the sound effects in the video. Supercute. I will forever associate it with Greg and with LA. Enjoy, and thanks for reading.
