Blood Orange Sorbet

Last March, I made this batch of blood orange and pink grapefruit marmalade that was totally disappointing in the colour department. The blood oranges? Mostly orange, little blood.

I had no idea what to label the jars. They sure didn't look like they'd been made with blood oranges.

Since that occasion, I find myself holding my breath every time I cut into one of these oranges. I'm convinced I'm going to be met with vibrant tangerine rather than the colour of oxblood.

And, since I was making a blood orange sorbet, I was especially nervous.

Because, you know, if it's not bloody looking, you're really missing the whole point of the blood orange.

Thankfully, they were all dark and purple-red in the centre.

You know what else I realized while making this dish? My kitchen looks like a murder scene afterwards.

It's just oranges. I swear. No one was injured. At least... no one was injured in making this particular dish.

For the record, this is a much more grainy sorbet than the pear one, but I also found it to be much more cleansing on the palate.

Blood Orange Sorbet

(from David Lebowitz)


1. Juice your blood oranges. The measure the juice.

2. For each 1 cup (250ml) of juice, figure 1/4 cup (50g) of granulated sugar to be added.
For example: Use 1/2 cup (100g) sugar for 2 cups juice (500ml).

3. Put the sugar in a small, non-reactive saucepan. Add just enough juice to saturate it very well. Heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar is completely dissolved.

4. Stir the sugar back into the reserved blood orange juice.

5. Stir in two tablespoons Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur of your choice.

6. Chill thoroughly, then freeze in your ice cream maker

I love that colour. Gorgeous.

Curried Carrot Tangerine Soup

I awoke this past Saturday morning to a flurry of snowfall. There's something so magical about going to bed with the world looking one way and then waking up with it covered with a thick blanket of ivory. While brewing the coffee, I stood in the kitchen, looking out over the backyards and alley behind the houses on our street. The snowfall had deadened the sound of the traffic and I could only hear the peeping of the birds on the feeder next door.

I love freshly fallen snow. As a child, I would get very upset whenever anyone would walk across the front lawn of our house. I hated to see that perfection - and it was perfect to me - destroyed.

By the time I'd finished my coffee and reached for my camera, people were already out shovelling away.

 

Though the stillness had been broken, a day like this called for something equally simple and soothing.

Curried Carrot Orange Soup

Adapted from Rose Reisman's Art of Living Well

Ingredients

2 tsp vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp mild curry powder
5 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 small sweet potato, peeled and chopped (about 1 cup)
3½ cups vegetable or chicken stock
2 tsp tangerine zest
½ cup tangerine juice
¼ cup cream or milk (optional) OR a dollop of mascarpone cheese in each bowl
2 tbsp finely chopped green onions, parsley or cilantro (optional)

Directions

1. Heat oil in medium pot over medium low heat. Add onion and sauté until beginning to turn translucent, 3-4 minutes. Add ginger and garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly, until fragrant. Stir in curry powder, sautéing for an additional minute.

2. Add carrots, sweet potato and stock. Raise the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat, cover and simmer until carrots and sweet potato are tender, about 20 minutes.

3. Purée soup in batches in a blender or in the pot with an immersion blender (which, if you read the Disaster post earlier this week, you've heard all about) until smooth.

4. Stir in zest, juice and cream (if using). Serve in bowls and garnish with mascarpone and additional garnishes.

Serves 4

This soup freezes really well (especially if you don't add the milk in), so freeze leftovers in individual containers to bring for lunch throughout the week.

Beet, Blood Orange and Quinoa Salad

Austerity measures.

At Christmas, my parents kept mentioning this phrase, not in regards to the current economies of Ireland and Greece, but in regards to our plans for January foods. I've taken this thought home with me. After the indulgences of Christmas and the inevitable pounds that come with it, dietary austerity measures are definitely required.

Thankfully, austerity has little to do with deliciousness.

In my frenzy of citrus purchases last week, I was really excited to get a good batch of blood oranges. Last year, when I last bought them, they were a total disappointment. They were orange on the outside and orange on the inside.

Where's that crimson colour, I ask you. Where's the ox blood?

So, when I sliced off the rinds of the blood oranges, I was met with a happy sight.

Just look at that pulp! I love the combination of burgundy and bright yellowy oranges.

And the gradation of colour from top to bottom! Nothing excites me so much in food as colour.

Anyway, let me introduce you to today's recipe. It's a gorgeous salad, filled with lots of different colours and textures.

One of the great things about it is it uses quinoa. Quinoa is one of those amazing pre-Colombian grains that's enjoyed a modern resurgence. The Incas held it to be sacred, though once the Spanish showed up, they forbade them from growing it. Quinoa is one of those rare grains that has a high protein content, but on top of that, unlike other grains like oat or wheat, it also has a balanced set of amino acids, making it a complete protein. It's high in fiber, gluten-free and (apparently) easy to digest.

It's so awesome that NASA is considering it as a crop to try and grow up in space.

So, if you haven't tried it yet, what the heck are you waiting for?

Beet, Blood Orange and Quinoa Salad

Adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients

Dressing:

1/4  cup  finely chopped green onions
2  teaspoons  grated blood orange rind
1  teaspoon  grated lemon rind
2  tablespoons  blood orange juice
1  tablespoon  fresh lemon juice
1/4  teaspoon  salt
1/4  teaspoon  ground coriander
1/4  teaspoon  ground cumin
1/4  teaspoon  paprika
2  tablespoons oil (a neutral vegetable like canola or something stronger like olive oil)

Salad:

1  cup uncooked quinoa (I used a mixture of white and black quinoa)
1 3/4  cups  water
1/2  teaspoon  salt, divided
1  cup  blood orange sections, chopped (about 4 medium)
1 avocado, chopped
6  whole kumquats, seeded and sliced
2  medium beets, cooked and cut into wedges*

*To cook beets, scrub whole beets (remove most of the tops), wrap in foil and bake at 375º until tender, 25-45 minutes (it really depends on the beet)

Preparation

1. To prepare dressing, combine first 10 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Gradually add oil, stirring constantly with a whisk. Set aside.

2. To prepare salad, place quinoa in a fine sieve, and place sieve in a large bowl. Cover quinoa with water. Using your hands, rub grains together for 30 seconds; rinse and drain. Repeat procedure twice. Drain well.

Rinsed quinoa

3. Combine 1 3/4 cups water, quinoa, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat; fluff with a fork.

Chopping the avocado

Combine quinoa, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, blood orange sections, avocado, and kumquats in a large bowl, tossing gently to combine.

Just before adding the quinoa. Check out those kumquat slices!

Add dressing; toss gently to coat salad. Spoon 1 cup salad onto each of 4 plates; top each serving with about 1/2 cup beets.

The finished salad

 A vibrant salad for a cold January day.

The flavours of January

There's something about January that makes me crave citrus fruits. The clean, tart flavours brighten those post-Christmas blah days.

Back from the crazy holiday season, my first stop after school today was the grocery store, where I may have over indulged in citrus purchases. I couldn't help myself!

Of course, this means you'll have to suffer through a week of citrus inspired recipes! I'm really excited to try the kumquats out; I've never had those before!

Musings on Oranges

I'm writing this from school today, which is unusual for me because I rarely have to much time for blogging while I'm here. But, on the penultimate day before the holidays begin, the school is in preparation for the annual Christmas concert this morning and there are far fewer kids in the audience than in the band and orchestra!


Source: wikipedia.org

So, as I was sitting here at my paper covered desk along with the peel of a mandarin orange (from Argentina) lying on my desk beside me, and with a mug of Stash Moroccan Mint Green Tea, I realized how much these two flavours symbolize the holidays for me.
Here's the thing about oranges and me: we haven't always gotten along. For reasons totally not understood by anyone, I cannot chew the skin on most orange segments. Most. The exception of that is the small mandarin family that have a much thinner skin. So, when the boxes of clementines from Morocco begin arriving in the grocery stores, I always get excited. Not only do I get to enjoy their vibrant, sweet goodness, but they usually start appearing mid-November, which means vacations are just around the corner.

Source: http://www.gardeningforyou.com/

In Japan, I used to get mikan (mandarins) all the time, and satsumas too. Both are Japanese versions, fragrant and sweet. The satsuma flavour, I found, was a little more delicate and floral than that of the mikan. Regardless, there's little more cheery than a present wrapped in a vibrant orange jacket!

For the record, my love of clementines and mandarins pales in comparison to that of my brother, who has been known to go through 6-7 in a day. As a kid, he adopted the name: Cosmic Clementine Caliph to really show his dedication to the fruit. There was even a song to go with the name!

Confession: We still sing it sometimes.