Bread Crumb Cobbler

Our family is more or, as was THIS day, LESS bilingual. On the "less" days, that seventh sense is really important. If someone is tired, this seventh sense is usually out of service and strange things happen.

I was on a bread baking binge this winter. Yes, it is now fall again. Months later, and finally this post is applicable! Finally! My husband KNEW I'd been baking bread. Our minuscule kitchen was covered in flour. He'd been EATING the bread! How could he not have understood me when I gave him the shopping list and asked for...

OK, let me back up a tiny bit and give you a tiny Japanese language lesson so you won't think I was totally crazy! We put the word "ko" before or after things/people/animals to make them small. Like "dog" is "inu". A puppy is..."ko inu." Pretty cool, huh? Many women's last names end in "ko" - like an endearative. (Was that English? Oh well.) In the kitchen we have items that have been ground up and are called "something something 'ko'". Like flour is "mugi ko."

Now, I suppose there are tons of different kinds of flour in the US too, but I never had to feed a family there so never thought about it. But, here the flour that I usually buy here is definitely NOT bread flour. And I needed bread flour. The word for bread is "pan". I asked Ryu to buy me a bag of "pan ko." Now, doesn't that make sense to MOST OF YOU OUT THERE? OK, I know some who speak Japanese are howling in their green tea, so I'll let the rest of you kind folk in on the joke.

Ryu came home with a HUGE bag of Bread Crumbs. Yep. And I KNEW this, of course, but...in the heat of the moment spaced right out - "pan ko" means ground up crumbled bread. Thus began the 1/2 year long search for ways to use up this huge bag of bread crumbs.

I always suspected that they could be used as a topping in dessert but never experimented to figure out how. Then, just yesterday evening - when I was FINALLY down to a mere 3/4 cup of bread crumbs, I ran across this recipe when I was drooling over individual pie slice pans. I made a 1/2 batch of it - see above at the mere 3/4 cup of bread crumbs remaining - and it was so so wonderful!

Let me tell you why it was wonderful. Cobbler is basically a fruit pie filling with no crust on the bottom and one of a few crusts on the top. The first common crust is a standard pie crust. My Grandma Mary used to make this. I couldn't understand why someone would go through the torture of cutting shortening into flour for a mere cobbler! My Mom (she'll surely correct me if I'm wrong), would make the drop biscuit type top crust for cobbler. This is fine if you can actually get the fruit done and the biscuits neither soggy or burnt. The third type of crust that I am familiar with is the oatmeal crust. Frankly it is usually too something. Too sweet, too...something.

So, that is why this crust is so wonderful. It is TRULY crunchy! It was way too sweet, but THAT can be changed in the twinkling of an eye. The recipe states that you can use prepackaged "panko," which I understand is on sale in most supermarkets in the US now, or that you could use fresh bread crumbs. You may be scratching your head at the oxymoron of fresh bread crumbs, but...my mother in law makes them when she makes pork cutlets. Grab your fresh bread and a cheese grater and give it a try! I think a "crunchy" bread with nuts and stuff in it would really add to this topping! Mom - why don't you try it and let me know?

Ginger Jam

I brought some Candied Ginger to church the other morning and a friend said she had just seen a recipe for ginger jam on NHK - our national TV station. Eagerly, I DEMANDED to know the ingredients. And...that is exactly what she gave me. I am not sure if the amounts are in US cup sizes or Japanese, and I have no idea of the proper way to make the jam. I looked on the Internet in English and Japanese. I couldn't find NHK's original recipe, but here is what I did. And...it is HOT and ohohohohoh so yummy! I've had it on toast and in yogurt. It could also be made into a tea.

GINGER JAM

100 gm ginger root
3/4 cup honey
1/4 cup lemon juice (juice of 2 lemons)

Scrape the peel off of the ginger root with a spoon, and use a ginger-grater to grate it very very finely. Throw away any left over stringy things.

Throw the ginger in a saucepan with the honey and lemon juice. Simmer till it is the consistency of jam. Probably around 30 min. Don't let the heat get too high, and stir occasionally.

Japanese jam recipes don't call for pectin or other jelling agents. I don't know if this makes our (Japanese) jam less healthy because we simmer the heck out of the berries and fruit to reach jam consistency...or more healthy because it is just berries/fruit and sugar/honey. Hmmm. But, as I can't get the jelling agents easily - Japan style it is.

I did notice many other ginger jam and jelly recipes on the English Internet. Some add fruits such as pears or apples to the jam. This sounds yummy to me, as I love to use the ginger syrup, left over from the candied ginger I made, with a spoonful of applesauce in a cup of hot water.

I think I am just TOO into ginger root. But, if you have another way to use it...PLEASE share!

Sue, I hope it helps your hubby get over his flu! No fun!!!

Apple Salad a la Grandma Esther

My memories of Grandma Esther's cooking will stay with me forever. When we were growing up and stayed over while Mom and Dad were off hunting deer, we got to have Lucky Charms cold cereal! With the shaped marshmallows in it! Never at home. Grandma Esther also opened an entire 1/2 gallon box shaped carton of ice-cream and used a knife to cut pieces for us - like a cake. Then she closed it back up and put the box back in the freezer. Anyway, she was full of surprises when it came to cooking - but that is for another post.

Her Apple Salad has become a holiday tradition in our home - if I am home to make it, that is! So easy and yummy. And, I must admit that as I have never seen her recipe, this is my interpretation of it!

Apple Salad a la Grandma Esther

• apples! I like to use a green one, a yellow one, and a red one. One or two of each. I might peel half of them and not the other half. I like the color in the salad. Slice the apples into 8 wedges (or so), and then cut across the wedges so you get nice triangular shapes.
• raisins! I throw in a handful or two of raisins. However, at Thanksgiving or Christmas, you might use dried cranberries or cherries.
• walnuts! Well, Jun is allergic to walnuts, so...I am so sad. However, I bet you could use pecans or ???
• celery! I am not a big celery eater. My Japanese student HATES celery - except in this salad. Cut it as big or little as you like. The crunch is a must in this salad!
• marshmallows! My Grandma Esther put miniature marshmallows in this salad! See! She was a very cool Grandma! I don't put them in because I am a mature, health conscious, boring person with no access to marshmallows. All the above are true! Again, a handful or two will make any kid happy to eat this salad!
• dressing! I make it differently every time. Basically start with something like mayonnaise, drained yogurt, miracle whip - whatever your family/friends like. You will not need as much as you think, so be careful! Add some sugar, especially if you skip those marshmallows!, and I like a big dash of cinnamon and a tiny dash of nutmeg. Mix and pour over the salad and stir well.

If you make this a little early in the day, the raisins will soak up extra moisture and plump up nicely. Be sure to refrigerate it. So easy, colorful, and yummy. My Hubby even likes it!

Chutney

I found a recipe for peach and pear chutney in a holiday recipe book. I have never eaten, seen, or made chutney before. And, I didn't have most of the ingredients, but the idea stuck in my head. So, I looked to see what I DID have and made the following chutney. It is SOOOO spicy and delicious!

Peach and Pear Chutney

1 can peaches - drained and diced
1 can pears - drained and diced
3/4 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1 Tbsp. pickles spice (see note below) put in a cheesecloth or tea holder.
2 Tbsp. finely chopped raw ginger (at the request of Ryu. I diced it, and it was a bit too big, I guess.)
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup reserved syrup/juice from peaches/pears.

Place all in a sauce pan and cook over low for 1-1 1/2 hours or so, until liquid is nearly gone, all fruits are soft, and yummy! I put a lid on it till the fruit was soft, then took the lid off and simmered it till the liquid was reduced.

This chutney is QUITE spicy, and wonderful with curry. I want to try it with cream cheese on crackers too.

**Pickles Spice. I used a pickle spice mix that contains: bay leaf, chili pepper, cinnamon and cloves.