Ann's Lunar Rhubarb Cake - Test 1

Ann McMullen made us this cake, and it was delicious. She pointed out that she couldn't get the wood stove oven hot enough for the recommended temperature, which means we haven't experienced the cratered topping. I suspect I would like to add a bit more rhubarb to it. Oh, and I've start to beef up the instructions.

1 - My current oven seems to be cooler, which means everything takes longer to cook. It would be useful to gage the temperature, for which I need an oven thermometer. All that to say that in a rush, I put in this cake for the prescribed amount of time and I think the center was not quite cooked. Therefore I will leave this in the Testing phase. Also, I used the leftover rhubarb from making liqueur, so it had an extra kick!

2 - It is a very good cake, the crumb moist and tender with very little bite. I am using a different oven and I find it needs a bit more time, again. I also tried to quantify in terms of weight what 2 cups of rhubarb is, and I can't remember what I found. I think it was 300gr. And I found that wasn't quite enough. So whatever the amount was, 100 grams more of that, to try for next time!

3 - I think this was just right.

1/2 cup butter (4oz/114gr)
1/2 cup sugar (3.55oz/100g)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup buttermilk or sour milk
2 cups flour (reserve 2 Tbsps to mix with rhubarb)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups (400g) rhubarb, diced
1/4 cup butter
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup (7.1oz/200g) brown sugar 

1. Preheat the oven to 375F.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar until light; whisk in the egg and vanilla until smooth. Combine with the buttermilk/milk (this may look a bit lumpy as the fats won't mix easily with the liquid, but don't worry).
3. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, soda and salt.
4. In yet another bowl, combine the rhubarb with the reserved flour (or do this step using the butter bowl after you've emptied it).
5. Without overworking the dough, fold in the wet mixture into the dry.
6. Gently fold in the floured rhubarb.
7. Grease a 9x9 baking dish. Pour the dough into the dish, smoothing it evenly.
8. In a small bowl use a fork to combine the butter with the sugar and cinnamon until uniform and crumbly.
9. Sprinkle this crumbly mixture on top.
10. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes.

Grilled Salmon - Testing

Make sure your grill is clean. Rub the cooking grate with a thin layer of oil. Heat the grill, either charcoal or gas, to medium-high (you should be able to hold your hand about 1 inch above the cooking grate for 3 to 4 seconds before pulling it away from the heat). A properly heated grill will help keep the fish from sticking excessively while also cooking it gently and thoroughly without setting it aflame.

Properly heat grill for cooking salmon

While the grill heats, prepare the salmon fillet(s): Rinse them and pat them dry. If you feel like it or have particular eaters sitting at your table, use tweezers to pull out the pin bones (pull them out in the direction at which they're coming out for the smoothest results). Don't see any pin bones? Run your finger down the "seam" of the fillet—you'll feel them. Brush the salmon skin with oil. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper to season.


Brush the cooking grate with oil. Turn off the middle burner to cook over indirect heat. Place the salmon, skin-side-down, on the grill and close the lid. Cook, undisturbed, until the salmon just starts to release its fat (opaque mayonnaise-like stuff) and/or the flesh flakes easily, 10 to 15 minutes for most 1 inch thick fillets. Allow another 10 minutes for each extra inch of thickness. Use a spatula to remove the fish from the grill.

Cook salmon on grill until flaky

Serve grilled salmon immediately. Offer lemon wedges so people can spritz their salmon with fresh lemon juice, or serve with the garnish of your choice (fresh herbs are nice).

Hawthorn Flower and Berry Recipes - Untested

http://www.foodsofengland.co.uk/mayliqueur.htm

Original Receipt from the 'Nottingham Evening Post' - Thursday 07 May 1936
Like To Know.- May Liqueur: Gather hawthorn blossoms on a fine day, strip off leaves and stems, put flowers in wide-mouthed glass bottles; fill up bottles with good brandy and 2oz crushed sugar candy per pint. Cork tightly, leave three months; then filter and rebottle

Original Receipt from 'Pot-luck; or, The British home cookery book' by May Byron (Byron 1914)
1031. HAWTHORN BRANDY (Middlesex, 1822)
Put as much full blossom of the white thorn (hawthorn), picked dry and clean from leaves and stalks, as a great bottle will hold lightly, without pressing down. Fill it up with French brandy, let it stand two or three weeks, then decant it off clear, and add as much sugar as may make it of a proper sweetness.

1032. HAWTHORN BRANDY (Surrey)
Take a large bottle, fill it three-parts full with hawthorn petals, picked when the day is dry and sunny (putting the flowers only, not the stalks), and fill up with brandy. Let them infuse for about five or six weeks, then strain off the hquid into a clean bottle, and cork up well. This imparts a delicious flavouring to puddings, etc.

https://moonshiners.club/hawthorn-liqueur-recipe/

Hawthorn – 100 grams of fresh or 30-50 grams of dried fruits
Vodka (40-45% alcohol, moonshine, brandy) – 0.5 liter
4-5 pitted prunes (optional)
Raising – 15 grams (optional)
Vanillin – a pinch (optional)
Lemon peel from a third of a lemon (optional)
Sugar (liquid honey) – 150 grams
Water – 100 ml
Hawthorn Liqueur Recipe

Put the hawthorn fruits into a fermentation vessel. Add prunes, raisins, vanillin, and lemon peel (before peeling, scald the lemon with boiling water and wipe dry to remove any preservatives on its surface).
Pour in the alcohol base and stir. Then seal the vessel tightly. Leave it in a warm dark place for 20 days. Shake it once every 3 days.
Filter the obtained hawthorn infusion through several layers of cheesecloth. Gently press the fruits.
Mix water and sugar (or honey) in a cooking pot. Bring the mixture to a boil and let it simmer for 5 minutes, skimming off the foam. Then let it cool to room temperature.
If you’re adding honey don’t heat up the syrup above 40°C. Stir the mixture until it becomes homogenous to preserve healthy substances.

Mix the infusion and syrup. Bottle the liqueur for storing. In case of settling or cloudiness filter through cotton wool. 22-24% ABV.
Prior to tasting it leave it for 5 days in a cold dark place to let the taste stabilize.
Hawthorn liqueur’s shelf-life is up to 3 years. 23-25% ABV.

https://peculiarpotions.wordpress.com/2013/07/08/hawthorn-blossom-brandy/

To make this I used a 1litre kilner jar, filled it almost to the top with fresh white Hawthorn Blossom flowers, then added a 70cl bottle of brandy. After a few days of steeping I added a bit of sugar and put it away in a dark place. If you are making this then give it a taste once the 3 months are up and add more sugar if you need to. To bottle, just strain through a sieve lined with muslin or an old tea towel and add to clean bottles.

This is a lovely drink, it tastes very cherry-like in a subtle kind of way. You can drink it on it’s own or use it as a cocktail base and in a nice bottle, it makes a great present for someone lovely

https://www.eatweeds.co.uk/hawthorn-crataegus-monogyna
Click for more

Greek Lamb with Orzo - Test 1

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/5846/greek-lamb-with-orzo

1 - I switched from oven baked to stovetop cooked and it worked out just fine. Quite well, actually. Not for the cinnamon faint-of-heart.

2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb shoulder of lamb, in 1" cubes
1 larce onion, sliced
1 tbsp chopped oregano or 1 tsp dried
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper
400g can chopped tomato
3 cups light stock
1 or 2 cups orzo
freshly grated parmesan

1. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Cut the lamb into 4cm chunks, then spread over the base of a large, wide casserole dish.  Add oil to a medium-sized pot and heat. Add the meat and stir frequently. Meanwhile, prepare the onion, then add along with the oregano, cinnamon sticks, ground cinnamon, salt and pepper. Continue to stir frequently until the onions become transparent and most of the liquid has evaporated - listen to the sizzling sound; it will become different. and olive oil, then stir well. Bake, uncovered, for 45 mins, stirring halfway.
2. Pour over the chopped tomatoes and stock. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer until half of the liquid has evaporated, about an hour to an hour. , cover tightly, then return to the oven for 1½ hrs, until the lamb is very tender.
3. Stir in the orzo, cover and cook another 20 minutes. Adjust seasoning.
4. Remove the cinnamon sticks, then stir in the orzo. Cover  again then cook for a further 20 mins, stirring halfway through. The orzo should be cooked and the sauce thickened. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan and serve with crusty bread.

Pork or Lamb Dhansak - PUBLISHED

https://www.bbc.com/food/recipes/lamb_dhansak_79850

1 - I am substituting the lamb for pork. Given that we have pigs on the farm and no sheep, it seems fitting that I do so, given that we are trying to feed ourselves. I also want to use the slow cooker (to keep temps low in summer) and 300F is likely the equivalent to 'High' on my unit according to this source.

1.1 - I forgot to put a timer on! I cubed pork steaks and put them in the slow cooker at about 2pm? And it's now 6pm and the meat is quite cooked. I suspect that the grain is overly pronounced in this cut of meat, giving it a stringy texture, but I'll wait and see what my audience thinks. I would like to standardize the amount of salt for a starting point to get the seasoning right - I think I put in about 1 tsp this time.

1.2 - Woops, I only but in 1 cardamom pod instead of the prescribed 10 (which seems like a lot).

1.3 - It worked! 

2 - Tried pork loin (chops) and it was dry. It could be I left it to cook on High for too long. I've had good results with the pork chops for pulled pork recipes, but maybe in chunks like this stew it isn't right.

3 - Yes, it worked well again, and I suspect it's better baked rather than in the slow cooker. Not sure why though, so I likely should make it again but in the slow cooker, soon. I've added steamed pumpkin (I guess just squash in general would do) - the sweet but plain flesh seems like a nice counterpoint to the highly flavored dhansak.

4 - Yes, another positive reaction. In fact, I didn't have enough red lentils and substituted with French lentils and it worked just fine, gobbled by everyone who partook. I also used fresh tomatoes again and it did not go amiss. The big confirmation is that steamed pumpkin is a positive and nearly essential component - the sweet yet bland flesh is a perfect counterpoint to the savory, heavily spiced meat. Graduating to Test 1.

5 - Yup, yet again, success. :) And I was able to reproduce the effect using a pork leg roast this time.

2+1 Tbsps mild oil
1 kg/2lb 4oz diced lamb or pork (or pork steaks) shoulder or leg, or a mixture of both
2 onions, chopped
25g/1oz fresh root ginger, finely grated
4 garlic cloves, pressed
2 red chillies, seeds removed, finely chopped
1 green cardamom pod, finely ground
1½ Tbsp ground cumin
1½ Tbsp ground coriander
½ Tbsp ground turmeric
1 x 400g/14oz can chopped tomatoes or the equivalent in fresh chopped tomato
200ml/7fl oz beef stock
75g/2½oz red lentils
3 2 Tbsps honey or maple syrup
1 tsp salt 

1/2 tsp pepper
To serve
Savoury Rice

Steamed pumpkin pieces

1. NOTE: this can prepared in the oven or in the slow cooker. Refer to points 9 and 10 in the instructions for the type of cooking you choose to use.
2. Heat two Tbsps of oil in a large frying pan. Sear the meat until it is browned on all sides. Put in the cooking pot.
3. Add the remaining oil to the pan. Add the onion and fry for 4-5 minutes, or until beginning to soften.
4. Meanwhile, combine the ginger, garlic and chilli.
5. Remove the cardamom seeds from their husks and grind them to a fine powder in a pestle and mortar. 
6. Add the garlic and ginger mixture to the pan along with ground cardamom and the remaining spices.
7. Add the tomatoes and beef stock to the pan and deglaze. When all the good browned bits are loose from the bottom, pour into the cooking pot.
8. Mix in the honey or maple syrup and the red lentils. 
9. SLOW COOKER METHOD: Turn the slow cooker on High and cook for 3 hours or until tender. 
10. BAKED METHOD: Preheat the oven to 300F. Use a casserole and cover to cook for 1½ hours or until the meat is fall-apart tender.
11. Check the seasoning and serve with rice.