Friday, January 20, 2012

Maraschino Cherries

It is difficult to find a reasonably priced Maraschino cherry that is free of red dye #40, corn syrup and/or almond extract. Here is a very easy recipe to make them yourself. The first version is the "cocktail" version and contains alcohol, the second is the kiddy version. Enjoy!

Cocktail Maraschino Cherries

Special Tools
Hot water bath canner
Six 1/2-pint jars with lids and rings
Cherry pitter

Ingredients
2-1/2 cups Luxardo Maraschino Liquor
2 cups pure black cherry juice (Lakewood)
1/2 cup pure cane sugar
5 cups fresh organic cherries of choice, stemmed and pitted
  1. Using dishwasher set to sterilize cycle, or sani-rinse cycle, sterilize 1/2 pint jars and rings; do not open dishwasher until you are ready to fill the jars.
  2. Fill hot water bath canner with water as directed by manufacturer; place over high heat to bring water to a boil; add lid inserts.
  3. Meanwhile, wash cherries very well in cool water; pull off stems; remove pits from cherries with cherry pitter; place pitted cherries on paper-towel lined baking sheet; dry cherries well.
  4. In a saucepan set over medium heat, stir together liquor, black cherry juice and cane sugar; stir to dissolve sugar; heat to boiling; drop heat to a simmer.
  5. Add cherries to simmering liquid; cook 5 minutes; turn off heat.
  6. Remove jars from dishwasher; using slotted spoon, fill each jar with cherries, being sure to leave 1" headspace; continue filling 1/2-pint jars until all cherries are jarred; using a ladle or large spoon, fill each jar with simmering liquid (leave at least 3/4" headspace); using tongs, remove lids from water bath canner and carefully place one on each jar and then secure with metal rings.
  7. Place lidded jars into hot water bath canner and boil for 10 minutes.
Remove jars from canner to counter to cool completely prior to storage at room temperature up to 1 year. Chill cherries prior to opening, if desired.

Once jar is opened, refrigerate and use within 1 month. The liquid in the jar can be used to make cocktails, such as a cherry martini.
Kiddy Maraschino Cherries

Special Tools
Hot water bath canner
Six 1/2-pint jars with lids and rings
Cherry pitter

Ingredients
2-1/2 cups pure black cherry juice (Lakewood)
2 cups water
1-1/2 cups pure cane sugar
5 cups fresh organic cherries of choice, stemmed and pitted
  1. Using dishwasher set to sterilize cycle, or sani-rinse cycle, sterilize 1/2 pint jars and rings; do not open dishwasher until you are ready to fill the jars.
  2. Fill hot water bath canner with water as directed by manufacturer; place over high heat to bring water to a boil; add lid inserts.
  3. Meanwhile, wash cherries very well in cool water; pull off stems; remove pits from cherries with cherry pitter; place pitted cherries on paper-towel lined baking sheet; dry cherries well.
  4. In a saucepan set over medium heat, stir together water, black cherry juice and cane sugar; stir to dissolve sugar; heat to boiling; drop heat to a simmer.
  5. Add cherries to simmering liquid; cook 5 minutes; turn off heat.
  6. Remove jars from dishwasher; using slotted spoon, fill each jar with cherries, being sure to leave 1" headspace; continue filling 1/2-pint jars until all cherries are jarred; using a ladle or large spoon, fill each jar with simmering liquid (leave at least 3/4" headspace); using tongs, remove lids from water bath canner and carefully place one on each jar and then secure with metal rings.
  7. Place lidded jars into hot water bath canner and boil for 10 minutes.
Remove jars from canner to counter to cool completely prior to storage at room temperature up to 1 year. Chill cherries prior to opening, if desired.

Once jar is opened, refrigerate and use within 1 month. The liquid in the jar can be used to make cocktails, such as a kiddy cocktail (mix with lemon-lime-orange soda pop).

Sunday, January 01, 2012

Crackers

Happy New Year! To kick off 2012, I decided I would work on "cracking the code" to a good homemade allergen free cracker. What follows is a versatile recipe that can be encouraged with the right spices to meet your every cracker need. Enjoy!

The italicized ingredients are easily omitted to create a plain cracker or cracker base that can be modified as needed.

1/4 cup millet flour, or sorghum flour, or GF oat flour
1/4 cup brown rice flour, or white rice flour
1/4 cup potato starch
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
pinch of freshly-ground black pepper
5 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon pure olive oil or extra virgin olive oil
small bowl of cold water
1/2 teaspoon kosher sea salt or coarse sea salt
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F; place baking rack in second position.
  2. In airtight container, combine millet flour, brown rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, nutritional yeast, onion powder, sea salt, mustard powder, paprika, garlic powder and freshly-ground black pepper to taste; place on lid and shake vigorously to combine and to introduce air.
  3. Pour dry mixture into mixing bowl; add water and oil; beat with electric mixer to form soft dough.
  4. Turn dough out onto parchment paper; flatten into round disc; cover with parchment paper and roll out, using a rolling pin, to 1/4" thick.
  5. Using a very sharp knife, slice dough into desired shapes - uniform squares are the easiest; be careful to not move the squares apart as they will bake more evenly if left touching one another - you will be able to easily separate them once they are cooled. Brush dough lightly with cold water and sprinkle on a total of 1/2 teaspoon kosher sea salt or coarse sea salt.
  6. Move dough along with parchment paper to baking sheet; place on second rack of preheated 400 degree F oven and bake 20 to 25 minutes.
Remove baking sheet from oven; remove crackers to wire cooling rack to cool completely prior to storage in airtight container at room temperature up to 7 days.

Servings: 1"-crackers, about 48
Prep time: 15 minutes
Preheat: 400 degrees F
Baking time: 20 - 25 minutes

Variations

Sweet crackers: omit nutritional yeast, onion powder, mustard powder, paprika, garlic powder and freshly-ground black pepper; add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 2 tablespoons light brown sugar to dry mix. Brush rolled out dough with water and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar. Proceed with recipe as otherwise stated.

Rosemary crackers: omit nutritional yeast, mustard powder and freshly-ground black pepper; add 1 teaspoon crushed rosemary leaves (or 1/4 teaspoon ground rosemary leaves); brush rolled out dough with water and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon rosemary leaves that have been ground a bit using a mortar and pestle along with coarse sea salt.

Be creative! You can also replace the 1/2 cup mixed GF flours with a nut or seed flour of choice, such as almond flour or pumpkinseed flour.

Feel free to add up to 2 tablespoons of nuts or seeds of choice, such as flax seeds, chia seeds, or poppy seeds.