Sunday, June 20, 2010

Monk Fish



Kismet Inn Maine After a busy day last night I had John and Dominique over for dinner and I had promised them to make a prune, carrot, spinach dish that I remember my aunt use to make except she would make it with chicken in stew form and serve it with rice. Rice seems to be served with everything in my native land along with many different kinds of stew. I often take the ingredients from my childhood dishes and mix them with the dishes I have had at the many different places I have lived. In this case, I decided to use fish instead of kitchen, sweet potato instead of rice and not make it in the form of stew.

At farmers market we have 'Port Clyde Co-op' fishers who bring along their map showing where they catch the fish... the fish is fresh and incredibly tasty. I had bought halibut last weekend which was excellent so I planned to get halibut this weekend but she didn't have any instead she recommended monk fish so I got some monk fish.

First I sauteed some onions in teaspoon of ghee then sliced carrots added it to the onion with a tiny bit of salt and pepper, let it simmer for a few minutes. I sauteed onions in 1/2 teaspoon of ghee added spinach, salt & pepper turned off the stove put the lid on the pot let the spinach cook for couple of minutes with the turned off burner's heat.

I cooked the sweet potato separately for 20 minutes.

I put a teaspoon of ghee in a frying pan, washed the monk fish put it in the pan, added salt, pepper, masala spice let it simmer for 5 minutes then turned it over added more masala spice let it cook for another 5 minutes, squeezed 1/2 fresh lemon juice let it cook for 2 minutes. It was ready to serve.

For salad I picked some fresh greens and herbs from the garden added just olive oil and squeezed half a lemon.

For Cheese I got two kinds of goat cheese from Caitlin 'appleton creamery'
John and Dominique brought a bottle of red wine (sorry can't remember the name of the wine) I am terrible in remembering names.

The fish turned out excellent mixed with prune, carrots and sweet potato, the spinach was just as good. If you cook spinach with just the warmth of the turned off burner it will still have that wonderful green taste. The greens from the garden were so fresh that I didn't need to put any salt or pepper just the olive oil and the lemon and the cheese is always good. The whole dinner took about 45 minutes to make. A note -- I do things very slowly!

Monday, May 31, 2010

Rhubarb Jam


Here at the Kismet Inn Bed and Breakfast I never buy any industrialized, supermarket or even homemade jams from the Farmers Market where I get most of my food ingredients. I make all of my jams with fresh, organic and local ingredients. Couple of weekends ago I decided to make rhubarb jam without looking up any recipes. I thought the best recipe is what I put together in my head. The simple truth for any kind of jam is sugar and the fruit or vegetable.

For this rhubarb jam I used:
Rhubarb - 8 cups of rhubarb
Cane Juice Organic Sugar - 2 cups
Arrow root - 2 tablespoons
Raisins - 1 cup
Toasted Walnuts - 2 cups
Toasted Coconuts - 1 cup
Cardamom pods - 1 cup

Wash and cut the rhubarbs into small bits, put it in a pot, add the sugar let the sugar melt while the burner is on low heat - about 30-45 minutes. Take a little bit of the juice mix the arrow root in the juice add it to the pot and stir so it gets mixed up with the entire rhubarb. Toast the walnuts add it to the pot, toast the raisins add to the pot, toast the coconut add to the pot, ground with pestle and mortar, the shell removed the pods added to the pot. Stir all the ingredients then let the jam cook under low heat for another 20 minutes. By now it should have a good thick texture.

Put about 10 4 oz mason jar in boiling water to sterilize, fill the jars tighten the lids. Since I don't cook the jams for long hours even though I sterilize the jars I still store them in the refrigerator till I use them. Once I open a jar I leave it outside the fridge till it is finished.

I served the jam to the guests over the Memorial Day Weekend and the guests loved it. The taste is not too sweet, you can taste each ingredient, the tartness of the rhubarb, the toastiness of the walnuts and the coconut and the raisins each have their distinct flavor. By adding the coconut and raisin you can add less sugar and by adding the arrow root you add the thickness to the jam. Enjoy it ... if you find it difficult to make, please come to the Kismet Inn Bed and Breakfast to enjoy it here either for breakfast as stay over guest or with scones for afternoon tea as non-stay over guests.

Please, contact Shadi at 207-443-3399 or email stay@kismetinnmaine.com

Friday, May 21, 2010

Blueberry Jam


It was raining on Tuesday here in Bath, Maine so I decided to make blueberry jam for Kismet Inn Bed and Breakfast's guest since I have only one more bottle left. I try to add a different taste to the jams I make so it doesn't have the generic taste of all the jams that are made out there.

The ingredients are:

1. 7 pounds of Blueberry - wild Maine blueberries which are MOFGA certified (Maine organic farmers gardeners association)

2. 3 pounds Sugar

3. 1 cup full cardamom coarsely grounded with mortar and pastel, the peel/skin removed.

4. 2 Tablespoon Arrowroot

Put the blueberries in a good pot such as Le Creuset add the sugar - absolutely no water. Once the sugar has melted there will be plenty of juice, take a bowl pour some of the juice into the bowl mix the arrow root then pour it back in the pot, add the cardamom. Let it cook on medium heat for 20 minutes.

Sterilize the jars by putting them in a pot and boiling the water ... remove one jar at a time, pour the blueberry jam then put the lid on tighten it and store it.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Beet Green Quiche


As a child I remember my family would make so many different kinds of quiches. My favorite one was the spinach one mixed with herbs. As I was thinking of those wonderful days I thought of making a quiche with beet greens right here at the Kismet Inn bed and breakfast.

The ingredients:
Beet Greens
Eggs
Roasted Walnuts
Barberries
Onion, garlic, salt, pepper, masala spice

Fry the onions then add garlic let them fry till they become crispy.
In a big bowl whip up the eggs with a hand whipper, add the the beet greens, roasted walnuts, barberries, the fried/crispy onions and garlic, salt, pepper and masala spice. Mix all the ingredients, whipping them by hand turn it into a big frying pan (use ghee) put a lid on it let it cook over low heat for 30 minutes!

Then let it cool cutting it into triangles after it has cooled. Serve it with salad as brunch, lunch, dinner or even breakfast just by itself. It is healthy and easy to make.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Egg with Avocado


My cooking is never the same. I never follow any recipes however, I do have a collection of cook books, books on food or anything to do with eating... very diverse. Today, as I was doing gardening I needed to take a break so I came in and made two eggs with spring onions and mixed it with avocado.

Yes, it doesn't sound anything special but it was, the taste was incredible because I made the spring onions crispy so when I was eating this wonderful crispiness was a delight in my mouth. I also hardly ever mix the egg, meaning don't mix the white and the yolk, I crack the egg over the ingredients which I did this time as well. The onions and the egg both turned out very crispy and crunchy. I added just a little bit of salt, dash of black pepper, sliced one avocado then put the eggs over the avocado then ready to eat.

Now back to the gardens of Kismet Inn bed and breakfast ... there is a lot to do in getting the inn ready for the start of season of 2010.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Sword Fish with Fiddle Heads


Today at Kismet Inn Bed and Breakfast in Bath, Maine I offered Sword Fish with Fiddle Heads and my guests loved it.

It was very simple to make. To me the quality of the ingredients is the key for making any dish whether it be a French, Chinese, American, Middle Eastern, Indian and...

I usually buy my fish from Plant's Sea Food on 'High Street' in Bath, Maine which is only a few miles away from Kismet Inn. I went to get some sword fish on Friday later in the day they had sold out so I went on Saturday morning around 9 and got some sword fish. It was sparkling white. I also go some haddock as well. I will post some writings about the haddock for now here is what I did with the sword fish.

Rinse it under cold water. Warm up the pan add coconut butter, put the fish in the pan, add salt and pepper, a spoonful of saffron infused ghee let it simmer for a few minutes. Turn it over, do the same with this side.

In the meantime, clean and wash fiddle heads, add a cup of water, salt bring it to boil the turn it down let it cook for 5 minutes, add some fresh crushed ginger.

To serve:
Put the fish on the plate, put the fiddle heads over the fish et voila ready to present it to the guest to eat.

The guest loved it and finished every bite of it.

Saturday, May 08, 2010

Salmon, Asparagus Sandwich


Today at the Kismet Inn Maine Bed and Breakfast seems to be fish day. I made salmon with Asparagus for lunch, dinner is going to be Tamarind Fish stew with Saffron rice which I will post later.

The Salmon, Asparagus sandwich was loved by the guest. It is easy to make and very delicious.

Salmon, fresh ginger, fresh garlic, onion, ghee, salt, pepper and asparagus.

Saute the onion in ghee then add the salmon sprinkle it with salt, pepper, crush the ginger and garlic on the salmon let it cook for couple of minutes then turn it over do the same with this side.

Cook the asparagus in just a little bit of water with a pinch of salt for 3 minutes after bringing the water to boil.

Put the salmon on the plate first then the asparagus then salmon.

The asparagus was fresh from 'Firefly' Farm in Topsham, Maine.

The guest thought it was the best salmon and asparagus she had ever had. What a great compliment to receive.

Thursday, May 06, 2010

Baklava Pastry


It is cloudy and rainy in Bath, Maine today so I decided to make some baklava at Kismet Inn bed and breakfast.


Please note... all the ingredients are organic and local... not even industrialized organic but local organic.
The eggs are free range, fresh, local, farmers market egg.The ghee which I make myself again from the local, organic butter I get.
The flour is from local Maine co-op.
Ingredients:1/4 cup milk -- I used my own homemade yogurt made with raw, organic milk.
1/2 cup ghee -- melted
1 tablespoon syrup -- sugar, water, rose water
1/4 cup rose water
1 egg
2 1/2 cups flour

Combine the yogurt, ghee, syrup, rose water, and egg in a mixing bowl or dough maker. Add the flour and mix well for 5-10 minutes to form a dough that does not stick to your hands. Divide the dough into 2 balls of equal size and place in a bowl. Cover with a clean towel and let rise for 1/2 hour in room temperature.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Marigold Tea


Linda and John have been coming to the Kismet Inn Bed and Breakfast on regular basis for the past three years. Their daughter attends the boarding school called 'Hyde' who will be graduating in May. They come every year for a long weekend in April and October, they arrive on Thursday early evening and leave early morning Sunday. Every Thursday after their arrival they come down to the living room/tearoom area we sit for a good chat, catching up on our lives, families, friends, children and... Linda and I both have deep interest in being mindful to our surroundings so we also share books. She always takes couple of books from the inn's library to read while here. Last time she took a book of 'Hafize's Poems' which she loved because she knew only of Rumi not of Hafiz. Incidentally both are Mary Oliver's most like writers/poets... I love that.

Tonight I have Linda a book written by a friend of mine called 'Elegant Simplicity' which is about how destructive our egos can be. It is an easy read and a lot that one can learn from. The book should be in most bookstores in the U.S., soon. I am actually thinking of setting up a retreat for yoga and discussion of the book as well... what do you think? Would you come if I did?

Anyway, Linda is reading the book now. I made them marigold tea and offered them the raisin, coconut and rice cookies which I had made last week. They enjoyed everything and so did I. It is always a pleasure to have guest like Linda and John with whom we have become like family sharing many, many stories in our lives with each other. They will be back in May for their daughter's graduation, they will spend two night at the inn this time along with their 3 children and Linda's brother. The will also have dinner at the inn which we discussed the menu tonight. I will miss them so.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Candle Light Dinner


At Kismet Inn bed and breakfast there is no kind of regimentation. I tell my guests, breakfast is served at whatever time they wish to have breakfast .. I just need to know the night before to make sure the breakfast is fresh and warm. I don’t want to make breakfast and have it get cold or have the coffee sitting in a thermostat which incidentally I don’t have one. I make the coffee all fresh for each guest.

The same applies to dinner, guests have a choice of sitting in the dinning room, the tearoom at the table by the window or recently 2 couples chose to have dinner by the fire in a very informal setting. Both spent four hours eating dinner. On Saturday I had Katharine and Kellie from Yarmouth, Maine as my guests. It was Kellie’s birthday so Katharine had treated her to a nights stay, dinner, massage and Kismet Inn bed and breakfast’s signature exfoliation.

They arrived on Saturday around 2:30 .. stayed in Saffron Room where the bed, the armoire and table are custom made. Designed by me, Shadi Towfighi, the owner and made by Mark Donovan a brilliant craftsman from Bowdoinham, Maine. The bathroom is also custom made, designed my me again. It is deep soaking Japanese Style tub or Turkish Hamam style with transom window and radiant heat floor, a separate faucet for the tub and one for the shower. The one for the tub is really interesting, it is Kholer made, the water comes straight from the wall without a long faucet sticking out. It is quite elegant and simple.

They chose this room because of its deep soaking Japanese tub so they could soak in it then get the exfoliation. I showed them their room and explained thoroughly how the exfoliation would work. They came down shortly after for tea and raisin, coconut and rice cookies (I had made them the night before) the tea was Kismet Inn bed and breakfast signature tea brewed with cardamom. They loved both the tea and the cookies. They went up around 5 soaked in the tub for 45 minutes .. I made sure to take up pitcher of ice water to keep them well hydrated. I went up after 45 minutes scrubbed Kellie first, dead skin came rolling off in long inches, then I scrubbed Katharine. They both took showers, washed their hair, oiled their bodies, dressed and came down for dinner.

Actually, they wanted to open up their wine bottle in their room so I took the cheese which they were going to have with dinner up to their room. They decided to have dinner by the fire so I took the vegetables with the plates first. The vegetables were beets, parsnips, salsify steamed over slow heat for couple of hours. The third round was the salad – mixed greens, mustard greens, arugula from Fish Bowl Farm in Bowdoinham, the sauce I make myself, salt, pepper, olive oil, 1/2 fresh lemon squeezed, balsamic vinegar, toasted seeds such as flax, sesame and sunflower. The fourth round was the entree which was Jewel Rice with slivered pistachio, slivered almond, raisins, orange peel, julienne carrots, barberries, cinnamon, cardamom, cumin, lots of saffron made with white basmati rice from India served with lamb shanks that had been cooking since 10 a.m. The fifth round, the last round was poached pears with blueberry sauce.

They sat chatting by the fireside while eating their dinner at a very leisurely, slow pace. They loved the fact that there was no push or any sense of rush. Kismet Inn bed and breakfast believes slow food, slow town, slow life style. I hope to serve each one of you.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Raisin Cookies


I love baking all of the goodies at the Kismet Inn Bed and Breakfast. I try to make cookies that are more on the uncommon side such as raisin cookies. I just want to have my guests taste something different. Here is the recipe for the raisin cookies.

2 cups unsalted organic butter
4 eggs
1&3/4 cups sugar
2 cups raisins
2&1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cardamom

All the ingredients I use are organic (non-industrialized organic) I get my ingredients through small coops, local venders. This way I can be quite sure nothing has been sitting on the shelf for a long time and it is really organic, no cheating goes into it.

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter the cookie sheet.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine melted butter, eggs, butter, and sugar. Mix well until creamy.
3. Add raisins.
4. Gradually add flour and mix with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms.
5. Drop teaspoonfuls of batter on the cookie sheet, leaving about 2 inches in between each spoonful.
6. Place the cookie cheet in the center of the oven and bake 10-15 minutes, or until slightly golden.
7. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool Gently lift the cookies off the cookie sheet.

These cookies are great with tea. That is how I serve them here at the Kismet Inn bed and breakfast and my guests without exception love them.

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Eggs, Eggs, Eggs


Eggs, Eggs, Eggs. First a A few Very Important Notations About Eggs!

Here, at Kismet Inn Bed and Breakfast, I make sure to get eggs from Farmers Market, the smaller the vendor the better because I don't want them producing so much that they are able to deliver to the supermarkets or even small health food stores. Once that becomes the case then it all chan...ges. My belief is to stick to small local food places unless it is something that can't be grown in the area.

The eggs I get -- the yolks are deep dark yellow/orange not pale yellow like the ones from supermarkets. These hens are graced by the suns rays, shining on them giving them all the necessary nutrients they need to be healthy thus, to produce incredible eggs. The yolk also stands up, I really mean that, it stands up, it is well rounded, bumpy and smiles. It is not like the ones from supermarkets --- the poor hens are cooped up in dark, small cages, never see the sun, live miserably, never get to roam the free grass and be happy. Have you noticed these yolks are so pale yellow sometimes it is like beige, cream color.... even the free range, organic ones in the supermarket cannot compare to the free range, organic small, local farms.
The grains the small local, organic farms feed them are just so much better too. So whenever you are buying eggs just make sure you get them from a small, local, organic farm or even your neighbor will be better than a supermarket. If you have no choice but to get it from a supermarket just make sure they are free range, organic certified eggs.

Having noted the kind of eggs I use, now I absolutely love eggs. I love them fried, boiled, poached, scrambled is my least liked because I can't get to taste the yolk that much. In my native land, we make so many different egg dishes, mix them with all sorts of vegetables, crack them over all sorts of vegetables or mix them with meat, have it raw mixed with rice and ghee, make a yogurt soup that is yogurt, fried onions and eggs with spices, it is heavenly. I don't know if I could live without them!

Wild Mushroom Omelet


Here at the Kismet Inn Bed and Breakfast, I make sure to make different kinds of breakfast specially for guests with longer stay. I often get guests who stay for a week seeking a place to respite with an organic way of life. And that is what I offer at the Kismet Inn Bed and Breakfast, an all organic, local, natural place to stay.

One of my breakfasts is 'Wild Mushroom' Omelet. The mushrooms are from 'Oyster Creek Farm' in Damariscotta, Maine. They grow their own mushrooms, have a mix called 'Maine Wild Mix' There is seven different kinds of mushrooms in the mix which are oyster, Matsutake, Shiitake, Chanterelles, Black Trumpet, Boletes, Lobster and Morels. The eggs are from 'Sparrow Farm' all organic and free range eggs.

The Recipe for two people:
A handful of 'Oyster Creek Farm, Wild Maine Mix Mushrooms'
4 Eggs
Salt, Pepper, Masala Spice
1/4 of small onion
Ghee (Clarified Butter)

1. Soak the mushroom mix in boiled water an hour before making it.
2. Warm up a saucepan, put a big tablespoon of ghee in the saucepan.
3. Chop the onions add to the ghee let it brown.
4. Add the mushroom mix, let it saute for couple of minutes, add the salt, pepper and masala spice.
5. Add the water in which mushroom mix was soaked let it come to boil turn the heat down, let it cook for a few minutes.
6. Crack the eggs over the mushrooms, sprinkle some salt over the eggs, put a lid over the saucepan let the eggs cook for couple of minutes on low heat. I usually let the white cook completely and the yolk cook slightly.. be runny a little. I don't like the yolk well done. I think if I wanted it well done then I should have made boiled egg.

The taste is incredible, mushrooms are earthy with different textures, the eggs are great cracked over the mushrooms because you can taste the white and the yolk, the onions fried in ghee add the extra special aroma.
Warm up the saucepan, put one table

Enjoy it and if you have any question please email me at stay@kismetinnmaine.com

The information for Oyster Creek Farm:
Oyster Creek Farm
Damariscotta, Maine 04543
Telephone: 207-563-1076
Website: http://oystercreekmushroom.com/

Tuesday, April 06, 2010

Organic, Grass fed Hamburger


At Kismet Inn Bed and Breakfast, I try to use only grass fed meat as much as I can. I don't like using any kind of meat if it is not as natural as possible, by natural I don't mean just the fact that the animal is raised free range, or not injected all sorts of antibiotics. By natural I mean to make sure animals such as cows are not fed any kind of grains even organic grains, to make sure they are free range, graze on grass, roam around on land without being crowded, see the sun, the sun shines on them gracing them with its vitamins and have a stress free life.

The beef I use is from 'Kelley Bros. Farm Stand' which is located along the east side of the Kennebec River Pittston, Maine. The farm is currently owned and operated by Pete and Tammy Kelley along with their boys Billy and Cody, their farm was founded in 1873 by William E. and his son A. Leonard Kelley and passed down through four generations. Originally the farm was a working Dairy Farm until the main barn burnt in a fire in 1967. The farm was home to many pulling horses who also worked in the woods. They currently have added a new facility and a farm stand to sell their products. They also offer for sale their own organic hay that they process each year and hot to add natural compost for the summer. They do not sell in any stores or super markets, only at Farmers Markets and their own stand.

Today, I made a hamburger with their ground beef. I served it with just celeriac, no bread. My guest thought it was the best hamburger she had had in her life. I added salt, pepper and some sumac, fried quarter of an onion then put the hamburger in the pan let it fry for 5 minutes turned it over let it fry for another 10 minutes served it with celeriac root, green tea and honey. It was simple, delicious and nutritious.

Here is the information for Kelley Bro. Farm... they have no website, are not on FB, don't have a blog... they just do farming. They have email address and phone number.
Email: tlkell@aol.com
Phone: 207-242-8818
Cell: 207-2428818

Monday, March 29, 2010

Juicing


I try very hard to keep away not just from industrialized food but also industrialized organic food whether it be juice, broth, paste, dough, whatever it maybe, I try to make it from scratch. The other day I had gotten 5 lbs of cranberry from 'Sparrow Farm' which is MOFGA (Maine organic farmers gardeners association) Cranberries are one of the juicing I do by soaking them for a day so they are not so dry then juice them. Usually the bottle keeps for at least 10-12 days. I make cranberry tea by boiling water, add a little bit of the juice, a teaspoon raw, organic honey, drink it in the morning or late afternoon. It is incredibly delicious and well, you all know healthy AND a thousand times better than the industrialized, bottled cranberry juices that sit on the shelf.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Country Sourdough

Sour Dough Bread:
Over the weekend I had two sets of guests both of which had requested dinner, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. Since I make everything from scratch, I decided to make my own sour dough bread making Kismet Inn Bed and Breakfast stay a rare experience. I got the recipe from a 'Le Cordon Bleu' book. I offered different kind of bread on their second day of breakfast but both wanted to have Kismet Inn's home made sour dough bread. It did taste quite good, the aroma was the part that I really loved, it was sweet and a slight smell of beer which was part of the starter. Here is the recipe for it.

Country Sourdough

Prolonged yeast fermentation gives the characteristic taste to this sourdough loaf. The starter needs to begin fermenting about two days before the loaf is made.

Preparation time 30 minutes plus rising (two days in advance for starter and three hours thirty minutes for rising) Total cooking time 55 minutes.
Makes two 1-1b loaves

Starter
1 cup bread flour (I used the flour I had - white flour)
1 teaspoon fresh yeast or 1/2 teaspoon dried yeast
1 cup buttermilk or beer (I used beer)

Sponge
1 teaspoon fresh yeast or 1/2 teaspoon dried yeast
1 cup bread flour
2 teaspoons fresh yeast or 1 teaspoon dried yeast
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
4 tablespoons butter, softened
5 cups white bread flour
1 egg, beaten, to glaze

I used the same flour throughout, fresh yeast all three times and beer for starter.

One To make the starter, begin two days before you want to make the bread. Sift the flour into a large bowl and crumble the yeast over the surface. Heat the beer until lukewarm and mix into the flour using a wooden spoon and leave for 8-12 hours (I left it for 12 hours) at room temperature, or until the starter begins bubbling a little.

Two Prepare the sponge. Add the yeast and 1 cup lukewarm water to the starter and beat with a wooden spoon until the yeast has dissolved. Stir in the flour until smooth, scrape down the sides of the bowl, cover and leave at room temperature for 8-12 hours.

Three On the day you want to bake the bread, place the fermenting starter into a large mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. I didn't do any of that, I did it all manually. Add the last amount of yeast, the salt, sugar, butter and a quarter of the flour, and beat until a smooth paste is formed. Add the remaining flour in three stages, beating well between them. You should have a soft dough. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 15 minutes or until smooth and elastic.

Four Return the dough to a clean, lightly oiled bowl and turn once to coat the surface in oil. Cover with a clean damp kitchen towel and allow the dough to rise at room temperature until it has doubled in size (the rising time will depend on the temperature of your kitchen.)

Five Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and then divide in half and knead gently for 5 minutes until smooth. Shape the two pieces of dough into round loaves. Dust a baking sheet with flour, lift the loaves onto the sheet and brush them with the beaten egg. Use a very sharp knife to cut a pattern like loaves. cover the dough with a damp kitchen towel and let it rise again until nearly doubled in size. I let it rise over night. Towards the end of this time, preheat the oven to 375F degrees.

Six Bake the risen loaves for 45-50 minutes, or until deep golden with a good crust. Remove from the baking sheet and cool on a wire rack.

Cut a piece while it is warm, put a dab of butter on it and some carrot jam. It is heavenly.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Carrot Jam



How to make Carrot Jam:
Carrot jam is quite easy to make it just needs some patience to do the preparation manually and cook slowly. It is also important that all the ingredients be organic. I bought the carrots from a local farm called 'Fish Bowl Farm' I made my own vanilla from organic vanilla beans which I bought from a local organic spice merchant called 'Gryffon Ridge' These were organic Tahitian beans which I marinated in plain vodka for about 6 weeks. Cardamom pods and organic cane juice sugar.
For this batch I used 25 big, fat carrots, 2 teaspoon vanilla, 4 cups sugar, handful cardamom pods.
Wash the carrots.
Peel them.
Grate them manually.
Put a layer of carrots, then sugar, sprinkle some cardamom, repeat till the pot is full, add 2 teaspoonful of vanilla.
Put the lid on, turn the heat on very low to dissolve the sugar.
Once sugar is dissolved, mix it with wooden spoon.
Let it cook under low heat till all the liquid has evaporated.
Set the jars the carrot is going to be used for inside the sink, pour boiling water in the jars then take one jar at a time pouring the water out, putting it on a cloth to get the water out, then fill it up with the jam then put the lid on and tighten it then turn the jar upside down leave over night.
I serve carrot jam to my guests most of whom - kind of all say, they have never had carrot jam before and without exception everyone loves it. The last batch was finished by a guest from Florida to whom I will be sending 5 bottles next week. You can also have it with lentil rice, yogurt even snow. I have a brother who absolutely loves carrot jam, once when it had snowed he took a plate filled it up with snow, put some carrot jam on it and ate it. This was 40 something years ago when the world was less polluted. Enjoy making it or better yet, come over to the Kismet Inn enjoy it for breakfast or afternoon tea.