So being in New Mexico, without a job, and hardly knowing anyone there is little to do. Once can only unpack, clean, organize, move, organize, unpack… for so long before going insane. As stated previously I have gotten into reading about France, more specifically about Provence. I read one great book many years ago which I loved, but sadly the author never wrote another book (or got one published). The latest book that I purchased I finished in one day and it discussed the different French cuisine and stories surrounding the author learning about them.
All this reading about food, of course, made me want to get back into the kitchen and do the baking that I enjoy so much. Having the summers off is a wonderful opportunity for me to get back to try new things in the kitchen, it is unfortunate that I do not have this chance during the holidays, I am burnt out by break.
Looking through my Provence cookbook I came across a summer bread. It called for flour, yogurt, eggs, cheese, mustard, chives, thyme, and mint. Since I did not have mint I substituted rosemary. It came out okay, I guess I was expecting some wonderfully sweet delicious bread…perhaps my cheese was not melty enough… the author said to try it with cheese, so my accompaniment of Brie worked well.
Flipping through the pages, looking for something else, I came across a chickpea recipe. It was simple enough, only four ingredients (chickpeas, pepper, salt, ground cumin) and about 40 minutes of my time. Unfortunately, I am not used to this oven and I think (like the bread) it was a bit over done. I was able to salvage enough and Justin seems to enjoy munching on them. The end product was okay in my opinion, but I loved the flavors. Perhaps next time, I will experiment with some red pepper flakes…
Still feeling unsatisfied I took a stroll in the backyard. Everything seems to be in bloom despite being the in the high dessert. Purples, reds, oranges, and yellows everywhere I look. The roses have been dead-headed and the rosemary has been sniffed. Oh yes, and my beautiful apricot tree…well actually it is my neighbors but 1/3 of it hangs into our yard and we were told to help ourselves…maybe I can find something for those to go in. Back to the kitchen to look up tarts, pastries, ice creams, and ah yes apricot jam.
The recipe only calls for apricots and sugar, both of which I have a high abundance of. Off to pick 20 ripe apricots, without stepping on any slugs, is task enough but nothing could stop me from trying my hand at some homemade jam. I cleaned them off and cut them in half, into the pot they go. I needed to crack the pits though to get the almond shaped “thing” (which by the way happens to be edible). I pulled out my meat tenderizer and went to work, to no avail. All that I managed to do was mark up my beautiful silver tenderizer. Ah, nut crackers, of course! They were not so helpful as the pits were tiny and slippery. Looking into my drawer of tools, I found one last glimmer of hope, my claw cracker. It just so happened to do its job, quite well at that. I on the other hand, did have a few problems, pit particles went flying and the inside was cracked. Luckily I only needed ten and I had twenty to attempt.
After my ten items were added to the pot, I added some sugar and turned up the heat. Right away the apricots started to melt together with the sugar into a smooth golden stream. I had 60 minutes to pace around the kitchen, stirring, and smelling. The smell was so warm and sweet I could not help but to lick the spoon. It was so earthy and wonderful, it reminded me of my grandmother’s kitchen. Perhaps because she always used prunes and plums to bake, I am not fully sure why, but it took me to that place. This was supposed to have a nutty hint to it, but all I could taste was earthy, which I think was from the wooden spoon. Perhaps my nose and taste buds will gain sophistication in France.
All of the skins melted with the sugar and it looked like boiling sugar used for decorating cakes. The jam bubbled up and then oozed together. It thickened and then was removed from the stove. I was supposed to have enough for 4 8oz jars, I think I have enough for one. Perhaps my apricots were small, or I cooked it for too long, it was really thick. I set it aside and let it rest overnight. The next morning I picked the “pits” out and tried it on some of the summer bread and everything seemed to come together. Tomorrow, I will make a new batch, cook it for less time, leave in the edible seeds and jar it for later.
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