Eredien's Journal

Sumac Lemonade


Ingredients:
5-10 heads of staghorn or other [non-poison] sumac
Lots of cold water
1-2 c sugar for taste

Equipment:
The biggest bowl you have in your kitchen
The second-biggest bowl in your kitchen
A strainer with small holes
Paper towel or cheesecloth

Take the second biggest bowl and fill with coldish but not frigid water. Tap water is fine.
Grab one of the sumac heads, and sort of twist it like you were wringing out a towel or washcloth. Some of the sumac berries will come off in the water; this is fine. The branches are kind of pointy once the berries are gone, so you may want to wear dish gloves or something to protect your skin.

Keep doing this until the water is a nice pink color--not baby pink, but 80's hot pants pink.

You will now have a bundle of soggy sumac that you can discard in anywhere but the disposal.
Now you have a big bowl of water with berries and little berry hairs and stuff floating in it.

Set the strainer over the biggest bowl and put paper towels or cheesecloth in the bottom. Pour the pink stuff slowly through the paper towel so all the junk gets caught and you are left with a delicious clear pink elixir of summer.

Add sugar if needed; stir; enjoy. Serve in little faceted cups with mint sprigs and cucumber sandwiches if you like, because it just looks like the kind of food that calls for fancy treatment. Or you can just guzzle it straight from the ice tea pitcher. It's delicious.

Yield: about 1/2 gallon approx.

Sumac Simple Syrup
Use this to flavor drinks (?), or pour over waffles, or ice cream, or I guess you could really boil it down to make some hard candy but that seemed to involve more heat so I wasn't really interested.

Make the sumac lemonade above, and before you add the sugar to the whole batch reserve about 2 cups of sumac liquid and add about 1 and 1/2 c of sugar (or stevia, or agave, or whatever sweetener you like). The deal here is to get the sumacwater-to-sugar ratio about 1:3, so that the syrup is not sickeningly sweet but has a syrupy texture, unlike the lemonade.

Boil this down, stirring occasionally, until syrup thickens and turns a slightly deeper pink than the lemonade. You can eat this immediately or you can bottle it--I let this cool for a while, and then when it was cool poured it into a clean glass salad-dressing bottle I rescued from the recycling bin. It looks practically professional, except perhaps for the masking-tape label.

Yield: Makes about 1 c simple syrup after you reserve for the recipe below; if you do not make the ice cream you get about 1 1/2 c syrup.


Vegan Sumac Ice Cream


This recipe assumes you have a battery or electrical powered ice cream maker, and that you have prepared its container by freezing it or whatever else the instructions say to do for your model. Please substitute other nut or non-dairy milks to fit your diet.

1/2 can coconut milk (not coconut water; not cream of coconut)
about 2 c almond milk
1/2 c Reserved Sumac Simple Syrup
Pinch salt

Since you already added and concentrated the sugars in the syrup making process, you do not need to add any more sugar! I would also try this with soymilk but I really liked the subtle blending of the coconut, almonds, and almost lemon-like tones of sumac together. Plus, I had no soymilk.

Heat up the reserved syrup, stirring in the almond milk gently to combine. Add salt.

Just before the milk/syrup mix scalds, take it off the heat and immediately pour in coconut milk.

Cool to room temperature or below. I cheated by putting this near my AC unit but usually I put it in the refrigerator for an hour or two.

Put the cooled mixture in the ice cream maker, and put the ice cream maker in the freezer and start it up. In 24 hours you should have delicious sumac ice cream!

Serves: about 4 scoops; my ice cream maker is small (1 qt). If you have a bigger ice cream maker please scale up this recipe.

I think this would be fantastic with homemade Thai food. The spiciness and tartness of the food would segue really well to this creamy and slightly acidic dessert. This comes out a lovely pale pink/lilac color; very elegant!

Photos Will Follow - I am waiting for the ice cream to freeze so I can take a nice picture in a glass instead of just taking a picture of what looks like lavender soup.

Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Get a regular-sized muffin tin. Line it with scraps of filo dough, brushing briefly with olive oil. Add either:

Mushrooms in Filo
- Wash 12 mushrooms, take out stems; put in whole to filo-lined muffin cups.
- Add fresh marjoram, pepper, and garlic salt. Rosemary optional.
- Put in 350 deg. F oven for 15-20 m or until done. Allow to cool on wire rack in tin so filo keeps its shape.
Makes 12 mushroom bites. Great for appetizers or just eating. A good way to use up the last few mushrooms in the bin.



Moroccan-Influenced Sweet Potato rounds in Filo
- Get 12 frozen sweet potato rounds (you can find these at Aldi's or at Trader Joe's). Do not thaw. Place 1 round each in prepared filo-lined muffin tin.
- Add cumin, coriander, salt, and pepper to taste.
- Add a small amount of vegan margarine to each muffin cup.
- Put in 250 deg. oven for 15-20 minutes or until the most delicious smell ever fills the room. Allow to cool on wire rack in tin so filo keeps its shape.
Makes 12 sweet potato bites. You will immediately want to eat more so I suggest making a double batch of these. Best served warm. They are also excellent cold the next day and can be refrigerated in a tupperware for several days.





Edited: added photos!

Does anyone know why these particular fudges are named after Vassar, Smith, and Wellesley? I haven't seen these recipes elsewhere, and hope that if somebody knows more, they'll share with me!

- Vassar Fudge
- Smith College Fudge
- Wellesley Marshmallow Fudge
- Bryn Mawr Hepburn Brownies

The three fudge recipes below are from the booklet "Chocolate and Cocoa Recipes by Miss Parloa and Home Made Candy Recipes by Mrs. Janet McKenzie Hill," which was put out by the Walter Baker & Co, Ltd. chocolate company in 1909.

Vassar Fudge
2 c white sugar
1 tbsp butter
1 c cream
1/4 cake Baker's Premium no 1 chocolate

Put in the sugar and cream, and when this becomes hot put in the chocolate, broken up into fine pieces. Stir vigorously and constantly. Put in butter when it begins to boil. Stir until it creams when beaten on a saucer. Then remove and heat until quite cool and pour into buttered tins. When cold cut in diamond-shaped pieces.

Smith College Fudge
Melt one-quarter cup of butter. Mix together in a separate dish one cup of white sugar, one cup of brown sugar, one quarter cup of molasses and one-half cup of cream. Add this to the butter, and after it has been brought to a boil continue boiling for two and one-half minutes, stirring rapidly. Then add two squares of Baker's Premium No. 1 Chocolate, scraped fine. Boil this five minutes, stirring it first rapidly, and then more slowly towards the end. After it has been taken from the fire, add one and one-half teaspoonfuls of vanilla. Then stir constantly until the mass thickens. Pour into buttered pan and set in a cool place.

Wellesley Marshmallow Fudge
Heat two cups of granulated gusar and one cup of rich milk (cream is better). Add two squares of Baker's Chocolate, and boil until it hardens in cold water. Just before it is done add a small piece of butter, then begin to stir in marshmallows, crushing and beating them with a spoon. Continue to stir in marshmallows, after the fudge has been taken from the fire, until half a pound has been stirred into the fudge [!]. Cool in sheets three-quarters of an inch thick, and cut in cubes.

Bryn Mawr Hepburn Brownies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup unsweetened cocoa (preferably Dutch process)
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
½ cup all-purpose flour
2 cups broken walnuts or pecans
2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
butter to grease the pan

1. Preheat oven to 325 deg. F
2. Butter the bottom and sides of a 7 x 11-inch baking dish.
3. Melt the butter and cocoa together in a double boiler over simmering water. Stir until smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.
4. Mix in the eggs, one at a time. Add the sugar, flour, nuts, vanilla, and salt. Stir until well blended.
5. Pour into greased pan.
6. Bake for 45 minutes. Don’t overbake or the brownies will be dry; they should be very moist.
7. Let the brownies cool completely on a cooling rack before cutting into bars of desired size.

- Gardening!
Gardening is great. I have half of the garden in the back. The roses and the irises are blooming, and in my little garden I have planted: about 6 tiny little lettuces, which I hope will grow; 1 fennel plant which was already sprouting; 5 wild onions and 5 regular onions; 1 garlic which sprouted right in the bag from TJ's and is now growing happily; two strawberry plants which will produce next year and not this year; and now 2 zucchini plants and 6 chili pepper plants I bought from the farmers' market today.

- Cooking!
Cooking is also great. I am mostly cooking on weekends or on the evenings of my days off, and making a lot so I can take it to work in my bento box. Stuff I've made lately: Cold pasta salad with lemon asparagus with garlic; romaine lettuce salad with apples and candied chestnuts and cilantro vegan dressing; little fake pizzas with capers and olives and Daiya cheese on a whole wheat tortilla, delicious to eat cold;
vegan chocolate mousse (fantastic when frozen, use an immersion blender and your life will be easier); and now I am making a quick rhubarb compote with farmers' market rhubarb.

But by far my favorite is My Grandma's Chicken Tofu & Dumplings!



Here is the vegan-ized recipe from my grandma. <3

Since it uses tofu rather than chicken, instead of taking hours to cook (the original recipe calls for 1 hr 30 min of chicken cooking time before you do anything else), it takes about 45m-60 m total, not counting cooling time. This is an excellent recipe to use up whatever vegetables are left in your refrigerator. Warning: the dumplings expand. Next time I make this I am planning on using half the dumpling mix and freezing the rest.

This is super-hearty; great for winter but also good eaten cold (IMO). You may want a really big soup pot/casserole. My 4-quart enameled casserole dish barely held all of this stuff; I think the only reason the lid did not fly off was because it was cast iron.

This freezes well and serves 4-6 people.

What you need:
1 pack firm tofu
3 to 4 c vegetable broth
thyme to taste
1 bay leaf
parsley to taste
salt
other spices to taste (I think I used rosemary, sage, and a little ground mustard)
carrot, sliced
onion, chopped roughly (optional)
garlic, chopped
celery, chopped roughly
potatoes, chopped (optional. I left these out because the dumplings are really hearty, and I am glad I did).
about 1/3 c Frozen or fresh peas (if using peas of whatever type, put them in last on top of the dumplings just before you steam them. It will cook them perfectly without making them mushy).
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 to 1/2 c chopped mushrooms (optional, but I found it did good things for the broth)

Dumplings
2 c all purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt (this salt really only interacts with the baking powder)
2 Tbsp cold vegan margarine or vegan shortening
1 c cold soy or almond milk (almond milk makes the dumplings sweeter)
salt/pepper to taste (optional)


Dice tofu into 1 in. squares. Saute tofu in pan with olive oil, garlic, and onions. When it is brown and crispy on the outside but still chewy on the inside, remove from heat.

In a large covered casserole dish or large stock pot, put broth, mushrooms, and all remaining vegetables (except peas). Add spices, salt and pepper. Let simmer until vegetables are slightly less than tender and still very bright (about 20m). After 20 min, add the onions, garlic and tofu. Remove pot from heat after adding these items. (This keeps the tofu from dissolving into nothingness, but stops it from getting cold, and also the garlic and onion have time to cook a little more into the soup since the soup is still warm).

While the soup is simmering make the dumplings:
Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder.
Cut in cold shortening or margarine using knives, pastry cutter/blender, or food processor.
Gradually add cold soy/almond milk. Mix until smooth (this will have the consistency of bread dough). (All this stuff is cold so the dumplings mix well and hold together better).

Drop dumpling dough by tiny tablespoon-fulls into soup. Sort of press the dumplings down into the soup so they do not all stick together at the top, though you want some at the top. At this time add the peas on top of the top layer of dumplings if you are using peas.

Then cover the pot tightly, put the pot back onto the stove, and simmer 10-12 m without removing the lid until the dumplings are all floating to the top and the vegetables are tender but still bright. (The entirely-in-soup dumplings will get chewy, the top dumplings will steam on the top and absorb the soup on the bottom and form a delicious crust of deliciousness).

You are left with only a little bit of broth at the end; the dumplings absorb the soup to turn everything into a light gravy-like coating. So if you don't like soup, don't worry: there is only about a tablespoon of soup that doesn't turn automatically into gravy deliciousness.

Enjoy!