I had used alcohol in my mulled port tri-tip and brandied mushrooms, so Jan thought she would use Irish whisky in a sauce to pour over ice cream for dessert.

Jan’s Irish Whiskey Ginger Sauce
I had used alcohol in my mulled port tri-tip and brandied mushrooms, so Jan thought she would use Irish whisky in a sauce to pour over ice cream for dessert.

Jan’s Irish Whiskey Ginger Sauce
Filed under California Fusion, Desserts & Treats, Sauces and Spices, Treats, Vegetarian
I have been making marmalade the same way for years for a Christmas giveaway. I bought a microplane zester that produced very fine bits of rind. Over time I have been experimenting with the recipe— no extra water, fine bits of zest and less and less sugar. This has produced an intensely flavorful marmalade.

Karl’s Caramel Mandarin
Micro Marmalade
Filed under Breakfast, California Fusion, Treats, Vegan, Vegetarian
Adapted from an Ina Garten recipe
When I was a child my mother, Claudia, would make strawberry jam every strawberry season. With five kids and a tight budget, it was one more way to stretch a dollar—even then commercial jelly was expensive. Whenever she did this, she would also bake bread—the smell of fresh bread and jam would fill the house. We would all gather around anticipating the treat of hot jam on warm bread just out of the oven.

Karl’s Strawberry Jam
Filed under Breakfast, California Fusion, Treats, Vegan, Vegetarian
One of Jan’s friends has a sweet lime tree. She gave Jan 6 limes from her current crop. I decided that a small batch of marmalade was the best way to preserve this bounty. I have learned over time that you can make marmalade out of any citrus fruit.

Karl’s Sweet Lime Micro Marmalade
Filed under Breakfast, California Fusion, Desserts & Treats, Treats, Vegan, Vegetarian
Every Christmas for more than the last decade I have made marmalade as a giveaway. A few years ago, I bought a microplane zester that produced very fine bits of rind. I also stopped using any extra water, just the zest and juice of the oranges. This micro marmalade was an intense flavorful jam, but it did not make as much as the old way I had been using. This year I ended up giving away all of the marmalade I produced and we had none left for ourselves.

Karl’s Micro Mandarin Marmalade
Filed under Desserts & Treats, Treats, Vegan, Vegetarian
Adapted from a Fine Cooking recipe
My neighbor lemon bombed me again (~60 lemons), with a hint that he was looking forward to some more of my lemon curd. When I had processed the fruit I had 14+ cups of juice and zest. If I turned all of this into lemon curd it would get very expensive—19 cups of sugar, 15 sticks of butter and almost 5 dozen eggs, as well as all of the jars to put it in.

Karl’s Ginger Lemon Curd
Filed under Breakfast, Treats, Vegetarian
For me Claudia’s Chocolate Mousse is the mousse by which all others are judged. It is however, not a health food. Jan has started to make it on anyone’s birthday. Jan spent years perfecting the techniques of making the mousse, but she got bored with making just “chocolate” mousse. She now make a different variation every time she make it.

Jan’s Ginger Chocolate Mousse
Filed under California Fusion, Desserts & Treats, Holidays, Treats, Vegetarian
Every month, Jan and usually, my daughter, Miriam attend the monthly Ethno Breakfast. While many of the larger companies have discovered the usefulness of using Anthropologist to research what their customers need and want, they usually only hire one or two. This leaves these Ethnographers isolated from others who really “get” what they are talking about. The Ethno Breakfast gives them a chance to socialize and discuss problems and solutions—topics that do not really interest the company officers and computer engineers, with whom they spend much of their days.

Karl’s Cinnamon Sugar Monkey Bread
Filed under bread, Breakfast, Desserts & Treats, Side Dishes, Treats, Vegetarian
What is a Thanksgiving feast without pumpkin pie? Although I recently made a similar pie for Jan’s new brother, there is always room for improvement. I found real pumpkin for this one and I decided to stir in the crystallized ginger, instead if just sprinkling it on top.

Karl’s Pumpkin Pie
with Grand Marnier Whipped Cream
Filed under Desserts & Treats, Holidays, Pies & Tarts, Vegetarian