strawberries – Celestine Cooks for One

Surgery & Strawberry Jam

June 29, 2017Leave a comment

So the proper strawberry season has started. I bought a big bunch of them, had them with breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert! I even had some left over for some jam 🙂 Last weekend was a mad frenzy of getting the house and fridge ready for my knee surgery recovery. Cooking, cleaning, more cooking, more cleaning… And now I need to sit still and rest, not the easiest feat for me. I am slightly depressed I can’t go to the market to walk the aisles and take in the beauty of all that summer bounty. I hope I can make it at least once or twice before my 6 weeks of recuperation are up… I hope I get some more recipes up here before the summer is up!!! For this strawberry jam, I made a large quantity (6 jars), but you can make as much or as little as you like. Just be sure to weigh your hulled strawberries to get the right ratio of sugar to fruit. Usually, jam is a 1 to 1 ratio of sugar to fruit, I prefer my jam on the more fruity side, so I go for a 3/4 to 1 ratio of sugar to fruit. I have been making it this way for years and my jam has always kept well, just make sure to properly sterilize your jars and you should be good 🙂 Another particularity of my jams is that I like them on the slightly runny side, again you can do it the classic way and have them firm, it’s all about finding your personal preference! I’ve made enough to treat myself through the year and a few to treat friends and family 🙂

STRAWBERRY JAM

3 quarts strawberries, rinsed and hulled and weighed

3/4 to exact weight of fruit in sugar

1 vanilla bean, halved and scraped

Juice of 1 lemon

EQUIPMENT

Jam mason jars, 250 ml or 125 ml for offering ( this recipe made 4 250ml + 3 125ml jars)

Jam funnel

Ladle

INSTRUCTIONS

Place strawberries, sugar, vanilla bean and lemon juice in saucepan and blend well. Cover and allow strawberries to let out their juice ( 2-3 hours ). Bring a large pot of water to a boil and place a tea towel at the bottom, then jam jars inside to sterilize. After 20 minutes, turn heat off and keep covered until jam is set. Place saucepan on medium-heat and bring the strawberries to a boil, lower heat to medium for a soft boil on jam. Place a small plate in freezer for testing jam. occasionally stir jam. After 20 minutes start checking for jam set by putting a spoonful in the frozen plate. Jam is set when you can run your finger through the jam and it stays streaked. Continue until desired texture, making sure not to overcook as jam will harden. Remove jars from hot water bath and let them drip dry on clean kitchen towel. Using a jam funnel, ladle jam into sterilised jars. Screw on the jar lids and let the jam cool. The lids should pop, confirming that your jam is properly sealed. If some jars don’t, you can refrigerate them. Enjoy on weekend croissants, toast or as an ice cream and yogurt topping!

Strawberries at last! Strawberry panzanella, inspired by eat in my kitchen

June 15, 2017Leave a comment

Walking through the market, looking for some supper inspiration after a long day, my eyes fell upon the first of the strawberries. My heart skipped. I think I started missing fresh strawberries from the moment they went out of season last summer! I was feeling too lazy to bake a pie and I can’t say strawberries inspire a proper supper. Then I remembered the last eat in my kitchen post, which was a strawberry-berry panzanella salad. I’d never made panzanella and as usual, love a challenge discovering new recipes. So, without following Meike Peters recipe, I imagined what my salad could look like. I have arugula growing, I could stop by the cheese chop and buy some mozzarella di buffala, grill my sourdough bread cut up into croutons and top it with a balsamic reduction. And by George, it was lovely! A light summer supper for a hot summer evening, bursting with berry flavour 🙂 I am one happy camper!!!

RECIPE

1 small pint strawberries, hulled and quartered

1 small bunch arugula, roughly chopped in halves

1/2 muzzarella di buffala

Balsamic reduction

4-5 leaves, thinly sliced + more to garnish

2 cups cubed stale bread, lightly oiled, salted and grilled

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt & pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

To make the balsamic reduction, place 1 cup balsamic vinegar in small saucepan and simmer on low heat until reduced to a thick syrup. Place lettuce and strawberries in bowl with sliced basil and mix. Top with slices of mozzarella and drizzle with the balsamic reduction. Top with basil to garnish and serve. Serves one. Enjoy!

Treating yourself, a Valentine’s day celebration menu for one

February 14, 2017February 14, 2017Leave a comment

There’s nothing I enjoy more than cooking up a celebratory meal, wether it be for friends and family, or for myself. I’ve never been much of a believer of Valentine’s day celebrations while in a couple, I feel you should be showing your appreciation all year long. But when you celebrate it with children or yourself, I find it’s a great excuse to treat yourself 🙂 So I’ll be opening a small bottle of bubbly (my favorite!) and enjoying this simple but delicious meal. Happy Valentine’s day!

Tender chicken thighs with leek julienne and creamed butternut squash with a tarragon cream sauce

Ingredients

115 gr, chicken thighs

1 cup julienne leek, white and pale green parts

1 cup butternut squash, cubed

1 small shallot, minced

50 ml coconut cream

2 sprigs tarragon

Butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Boil squash cubes in salted water, check for doneness, 10-15 minutes. Melt a nugget of butter in a small pan over medium heat and add shallot to sauté until glassy. Add cream and 1 sprig of tarragon and let simmer on low heat for 15 minutes. Mince other sprig of tarragon and set aside. Meanwhile, season chicken thighs and sauté in skillet with a little butter on medium heat until browned on both sides. Be careful not to crowd pan to avoid boiling the meat. Take off heat and slice against the grain, set aside. Rinse off skillet and place on medium heat, add a little butter and add leeks to sauté until glassy and soft, season with salt and set aside. Remove squash when cooked and purée with a nugget of butter. If you have a plating ring, place in the middle of plate and add leek julienne, then place chicken and finish with squash purée. Even out using a spatula. Serve with tarragon cream, removing sprig, and garnish with minced tarragon.

Microwaved Chocolate ricotta cheesecake with stewed strawberries and hazelnut brittle

Ingredients

1/2 cup ricotta

35 gr dark chocolate, melted

1 Tb sour cream

1 egg, separated

1 tsp cocoa

5 ml vanilla

3 1/2 Tb sugar

1 Tb hazelnuts, crushed

6-7 frozen strawberries

25 ml red wine

5 ml rum

Instructions

Using frozen strawberries is ideal in the winter months, when strawberries aren’t in season, they will be ideal for stewing. In a small bowl, combine wine, rum, 1 teaspoon sugar and strawberries, cover and set aside. Allow to stew for 1-2 hours. In a small skillet, brown hazelnuts in a small nugget of butter. Place hazelnuts on small sheet of parchment paper.In a small saucepan, add 2 Tb sugar with 1 Tb water and place on medium heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved then leave until golden amber in colour, roughly 10 minutes. Keep an eye to avoid burning the caramel. Pour over hazelnuts quickly and set aside to allow to harden. Meanwhile, blend ricotta with the egg yolk, 1 Tb sugar, cocoa, melted chocolate, sour cream and vanilla until smooth. An immersion hand blender is ideal for this, whisking by hand is fine. Whisk egg whites until stiff and foamy. Fold in whites into ricotta batter. Place in microwave safe dish and cook on medium-low heat for roughly 5 minutes. Keep an eye out as microwave temperatures vary greatly. Allow to cool before unmolding. Serve in dessert plate with stewed strawberries and garnish with brittle that you broke down into 1 decorative piece and roughly grind remainder. Serve and enjoy!