Morning Song Farm News

Kumquat Sorbet   To start, make your puree: Puree 5 cups kumquats,   3 cups of filtered water. Hit puree for a few minutes, and then using the back of a wooden spoon, force through a sieve into a large pot. Toss the mass that won't go through the sieve. Add sugar to the liquid and then freeze, following your ice cream machine’s instructions.

Other than having to make a batch of kumquat reduction, this recipe is as simple as a quickbread can be. To start, make your reduction: Fill a blender with kumquats, and then cover your kumquats with filtered water. Hit puree for a few minutes, and then using the back of a wooden spoon, force through a sieve into a large pot. Toss the mass that won't go through the sieve. Add sugar to the liquid in your pot to taste, and then gently simmer until the consistency of a thick syrup has been achieved. Enjoy the scent of cooking kumquats, there's nothing quite like it. Preheat to 350 F. Wet Ingredients: 1/4 cup of kumquat reduction, see directions above. (ave the remainder of your unused reduction for pancake syrup, beverage flavoring, an amazing Margarita mix, even flavoring seafood.) 2 eggs 1/3 cup vegetable oil (we use avocado oil) 3 Tablespoons of melted butter 1.25 cups milk Combine all wet ingredients and set aside Dry Ingredients: 1.5 cups wheat flour 2/3 c...

Ingredients 3/4 pound of organic Nagami kumquats 2 cups water for boiling kumquats 2 cups water to make syrup 2 cups sugar ½ cup crystallized ginger 1 teaspoon ginger root, freshly grated Instructions Rinse the kumquats under running cold water. Cut each kumquat in half and flick out the seeds. Put the seeded fruit in a medium sized saucepan. Add two cups of water to cover the kumquats completely and bring to a boil on a medium flame. Once the water boils, keep an eye on the fruit and when it becomes translucent, you're done. Process the kumquats in Cuinsart to a smooth puree. Stirring, bring  2 cups of water 2 cups of  sugar and the ginger to a boil. Remove the syrup from the flame and pass the syrup through a sieve to collect the ginger bits. Keep the ginger aside. Put the syrup in a glass bow and chill in an ice water bath. Stir in the kumquat puree and allow to cool to room temperature. This will take about 30-40 minutes. Pass...

In the last couple weeks our farm boxes have included a "braising mix," a blend of young kale leaves, leafy fennel, baby Swiss Chard and a bit of green onions or chives. As kale is among my favorite leafy greens, I really enjoy the nuttiness of this intended-to-be-stir-fried mix. I just use a bit of coconut oil  chipped into the sauté pan and dump the whole bag right on top. (I'm currently using an unrefined, virgin coconut oil that is certified organic.) Interestingly, the oil is liquid at room temperature, but is harder than butter right out of the fridge. I keep mine refrigerated. Anyway, heat until sizzling, and the greens are wilted and tender. The coconut oil lends a subtle, sweet tropical taste to the finish to which I add slivered kumquats, flicking out the seeds as I go. As I've said before, cooking brings out the complex flavors of kumquats, so don't give up on them if you've only eaten them raw. I served this with a steamed brown rice and found the ...

kumquats and honey This is a great recipe to introduce yourself to the pleasures of both cooked kumquats (which, incidentally will fill your kitchen with the other-worldly aroma of simmering kumquats) and sauteed, freshly harvested young fennel leaf. Combined, they make a lovely stir fry with a little wilted spinach over a nice basmati rice. Young leafy fennel and butter To do: I cut a handful of kumquats longwise, and flicked out the seeds. Toss kumquats in the smallest pan you have, add water and a quarter cup of honey. If you have honey on the shelf that has crystalized, here's a good use for it. I cook down the kumquats until the liquid has thickened somewhat. Leave the pan uncovered, and as the liquid reduces; you'll enjoy a little "aroma therapy":) Finished Product I sliced the tender stems and leafy green of the fennel and sauteed with a bit of butter until the fennel leaf is tender, and then set aside. This doesn't take long, the fennel toda...

I’m pretty excited about the enhanced quality of our Harvest Ticket this week. Ever since starting our blog here at www.blogspot.com , we’ve had problems downloading images created in Word, which is where I’ve found it’s easiest to create our tickets. I’ve jumped through all kinds of hoops, and blogspot usually says it’s not in the right format. The only way I could figure out how to get blogspot to accept the image, was to scan and save it in a format blogspot would accept, with an unavoidable, ensuing quality reduction . I’ve just discovered Gimp2, which is a free software program that can change formats, and it works!   Passion fruit this week! Passion Flower For those of you who have been with us since last year, this is old news; but here’s what you need to know to enjoy your passion fruit. First, the uglier, and more wrinkled, the better. Where else are you going to hear that sentence? Yup, the smooth, fresh looking fruits should be left on your counter to “a...

This is such a simple recipe, and the results are amazing. Even if you disdain fresh kumquats, this concoction is worth a try. Ingredients: 1 pound of kumquats or so, cut in half and seeds flicked out. 1 cup water 2 cups sugar 1 teaspoon of a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves In saucepan, bring water and sugar to a boil. Boil for 3 or 4 minutes, which will thicken the sugar mixture to a syrup. Add fruit and spices. Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Use slotted spoon to remove kumquats from the mixture. Continue to cook the syrup to about half what you started with, then pour over fruit, jar and refrigerate.

Eric Jones, an OC subscriber, has kindly forwarded this kumquat recipe for our pleasure: 4 kumquats, halved and seeded 3 teaspoons rosemary-kumquat simple syrup (recipe follows) 1 sprig of rosemary 1/2 kumquat, candied (see simple syrup recipe) 2.5 oz. gin 1.5 oz. dry vermouth ice In lthe bottom of a cocktail shaker, muddle the kumquat halves with the simple syrup and vermouth. Add the gin and ice. Shake until the shaker is so cold you can hardly stand it. Pour into a chilled cocktail glass. And ice if desired or serve martini style. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary and a candied kumquat half. rosemary-Kumquat Simple Syrup Makes 1/4 cup (about enough for 2 drinks) 2 T light brown sugar 1/4 cup water 1 rosemary sprig, roughly chopped 2 kumquat halves In a small,heavy saucepan, combinel the brown sugar and the water. Stir until the sugar has just dissolved. Add the rosemary and kumquat halves. Simmer over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes. Keep a close eye on the lsyrup so it does not...