(Jamie Ford, on my Kindle). A poignant story about a Chinese-American, growing up in Seattle at the beginning of World War II. Henry falls in love with a young Japanese girl before her family is interned in a relocation camp. It a very secretive relationship because his parents would highly disapprove. The story goes back to the 40’s and forward to the 1980’s when Henry is in his 50’s and his wife (not the Japanese woman) has just died of cancer. The story pulls you in from the first page, especially when some artifacts are found in the basement of an old hotel which contain personal belongings from several Japanese families who were suddenly taken away back in 1942. You can see where it’s going, can’t you? I heard criticism of this book that it was just a little bit contrived. Halfway through I’m enjoying it very much.
(Kathryn Stockett on my Kindle); if you haven’t heard about this book, you should! It’s a novel written from the voice of the black servants and some of the people they work for, all residents of Jackson, Mississippi. In the 1950’s. The maids generally are disrespected, still have to ride in the back of the bus, and some are prevented from using the bathroom in the houses where they work. The story is about a young woman (daughter of one of the society ladies) who decides to write a book about the stories of the maids. Anonymously. But not quite, of course. So it’s not only the stories themselves, but about the society-ladies’ relationships, and about the stealth required to interview the maids and write the book. And the repercussions when it’s published. A fantastic read.
by Jetta Carleton (Kindle edition); 
by Susan Richards (Kindle edition); 
by Sally Gunning (Kindle edition)
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(Mario Batali & Gweneth Paltrow); 
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Every few days I look at some new food blogs. Surely I shouldn’t be spending any more of my time reading more and more food blogs, but I can’t seem to help myself. If you notice the Foodie Blogroll thing on my sidebar, it lists a bunch of blogs. That list changes every day. They aren’t my lists (my personal blogroll is down on the bottom of my page – those are the ones I follow regularly), but is a commercial site that gives food bloggers some visibility. Once in a great while my blog shows up on the list.
Sometimes the blogs linked there are in foreign languages. Scratch those. Sometimes they’re ones I’ve already examined or watch regularly. This time it was a new one, so I started reading LaDue & Crew’s last month of posts. And what did I spy but a kumquat recipe. Hmmm. I still have oodles of kumquats. Well, I did – most of what’s left (below) will be used in a reprise of this recipe it’s so good!
You know about kumquats, right? They look like miniature elongated oranges. But boy, do they pack a punch. It’s the SKIN that’s sweet. The juice inside (which unfortunately contains a few seeds) is super-tart. The kind that makes your mouth pucker and you stand taller for a few seconds. If you eat them out of hand, you simply must chew some of the rind with the juice or you’ll be shaking your head and wanting to spit it out.
This comprises the end of my kumquat harvest.
So, what I found over at LaDue & Crew was a story about an Asian pear dessert with poached kumquats in a vanilla-scented syrup. What can I tell you about this dish: my DH said “fabulous, honey.” Then he said “it is so unusual, and different. I expected something kind of blah from looking at it. It didn’t LOOK like how it tasted, that’s for sure. It just looked like slices of apple” [no, it was Asian pear, though they have the texture of apple]. THEN, he said “wow, it is just this unbelievable combo of the pear, kumquat with the mint.” I garnished with the mint, and it’s a super addition to this recipe. Our recommendation: each and every bite must include a piece of pear (about thumb size), one slice of kumquat, AND a tiny slice of mint.
It took very little time to make this – except for slicing and de-seeding the little kumquat gems. That probably took 15 minutes. Maybe you can recruit one of your children to help with that, if you have some around. You make a simple syrup, really (half sugar, half water) with some lime juice added. I used Splenda so my DH could enjoy this too. The syrup is simmered very briefly with a half of a vanilla bean (the seeds scraped out into the syrup as well as the pod). That’s it. Then the warm/hot syrup is poured over the pears, and it’s allowed to cool, then you refrigerate it. I think next time I’ll just put the whole batch into a plastic bag so you can turn the bag over a few times during the cooling process, because the pear slices that were IN the syrup had a much more vanilla-accented flavor than the ones on top which had almost no contact with the syrup. The benefit to using Asian pear is that it can sit for hours without darkening. Because the pear isn’t cooked, you see.
Next time I think I’ll make a double batch of the syrup, because it is scrumptious. I wanted more of it. The next morning, after the pears had soaked for 12+ hours, the flavor was sensational. I think marinating overnight, or at least 8-12 hours is essential. I might also try putting a dollop of creme fraiche on top too. Just for fun. We ate the remainder yesterday with some Fage Greek yogurt – for breakfast. The flavors were still fabulous. Thanks to LaDue and crew for this great recipe.
I also made a kumquat salad dressing (for greens). I’ll be writing that up in the next few days. So stay tuned if you’re searching for kumquat recipes.
Asian Pears With Vanilla Poached Kumquats
Recipe: LaDue & Crew blog
Servings: 6
1/2 whole vanilla bean — halved lengthwise
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 cup sugar — [I used Splenda]
1 pinch salt
1/2 pound kumquats — about 20, ends trimmed, seeded, and sliced across, 1/3 inch thick
4 large Asian Pears — peeled, cored and sliced lengthwise, 1/4 inch thick
1/4 cup fresh mint — whole leaves for garnish & eating (or may be minced) [my addition]
1. Combine water and lime juice in a small, heavy saucepan. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean pod and add seeds and bean pod to the water, along with sugar and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat and simmer for three minutes.
2. Add Kumquat slices, cover and simmer until they just begin to soften, three to four minutes. Arrange pears in a heatproof bowl. Pour kumquats and syrup over pears and toss gently, then cool. Chill fruit, covered, at least two to six hours [or overnight]. Or, place mixture in a heavy-duty ziploc bag and refrigerate, turning several times during the chilling process. Serve with fresh mint.
Per Serving: 125 Calories; trace Fat (1.6% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 32g Carbohydrate; 6g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 26mg Sodium. Made with Splenda the calories go down to about 62 and the carbs are 15.
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A year ago: Grilled tri-tip roast with tequila marinade and cherry tomato relish
Two years ago: Tangerine vinaigrette
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