Wine Grapes (Blue) Jelly

Summer of 2013 was typical characteristic earth warming but I don't want to go into those facts like I'm suffering a broken record syndrome.
The grapes were left on the vine to ripen till late November.  They were super juicy and sweet.

A jelly is made from fruit juice. A jam is made from crushed fruits. 
What do you call it when it's made from juice of crushed fruits ? 
How does JAMLY sound.....or JELJAM ? 

Method:

1. Place the grapes,  stalks and seeds included (my grapes were seedless) in a large stockpot. Add a cup of water to the pot.  Cover and heat the pot over medium heat until the water begins to boil. Reduce to low and simmer for 15 or 20 minutes till grapes are soft.  Let the grapes cool

2. Work the soften grapes in batches with a food mill (Flotte Lotte).  Discard solubles like stalks, seeds and skin (maybe a bee or wasp as well). 

3. By now, you should know how much of  juice/pulp you have collected.  Combine juice/pulp with measured amount of pectin sugar and bring to boil. 

4. Prepare clean jars and set aside, ready to fill them.

5. Turn down heat to low and let juice/pulp gentle rolling boil.  Scoop and discard scum which float to top.  

6. The jelly/jam is ready for filling soon as skin starts to form on top.

7.  Turn off heat and fill immediately into prepared jars, leaving 1/4 inch (0.64 cm) of space.
Screw on the lid tight and overturn to let it sit on its head/lid. This will sterilize the jar and lid all at same time.  Wait 10 minutes and turn the jars upright, let cool.  

8. During the cooling process, you may hear popping sound, created by vacuum on the lids.  Jars without vacuum means the lid is not properly closed or defect so the contents should be consumed soonest.

9.  Label the jars (contents and date of filling) and keep in cool storage.  

A neighbor gave me some white weingrapes and I bottled them the same way.  The color may not be as rich but taste just as yummy.

Dried Meat

Preserving meat is a tradition that has been around for centuries.  The meat may be game, fowl or fish. The difference is in the cure - spices and way of dehydration. Be it Biltong (South African), Jerky (American), Neua Tod (Thai), Bündner Fleisch (Swiss) to name a few. 

This delicate snack  (Yes, a snack) is very addictive.  Chewed on while watching TV, hiking  or travelling.  It does not need refrigeration, lightweight and delicious.  Even suitable for those on diet if not for the high sodium content (and pricey too).  All the more reason to make them yourselves.

One doesn't need prime cut.  I used Minute beefsteaks and prepared them as follow....


500g Minute Beef steak cut into thin strips
2 tsp coriander seeds, crushed
2 tsp salt
1 tsp peppercorn, fresh milled
Optional : 1 tsp chili powder if you like them spicy


Mix all the above with the steak strips and marinate overnight.


Place the strips evenly onto a tray and dry in oven with door slightly ajar at 80°C until dry. You may hang the strips out in the sun (you must keep the flies away though) if it's hot enough.
Remember, heat is not intended to cook; gentle heat to dehydrate. 
I placed mine on wood oven shelf  overnight.
If 'jerky' is properly stored, it will keep for months.
For your information:   from 500g of steak, finished product was 150g 'jerky'. 

Drunken chicken (with homemade Huang Jiu)

There are many different ways of cooking drunken chicken. One popular version is to cook and marinate the chicken exclusively in Shaoxing wine. Another version (guess this is the 'foreign' chinese) is using glutinuous rice wine which is my personal preference as it is much lighter and simple to prepare. And one does not get drunk just from eating few pieces of chicken. Usually, this is a starter at a wedding banquet. The chicken is served in the liquor/wine flavoured gelatine. I have not eaten this dish since I left home. Lily and I made this dish at the same time so hope to see her version in blog soon. Ingredients

• 2 chicken thighs (deboned)
  
• A handful goji berries/wolfberries
  
• salt + pepper
  
• 1 cup homemade rice wine
  
• 1 tsp shaoxing wine
  
• Optional: 4 slices dong guai or ginseng, red dates, or dried longan.

Method

1. Trim excess skin. Place chicken thigh, skin down and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread goji berries/woldberries evenly over meat and roll up. Bind with string.
   
2. Place rolled chicken in a deep dish and steam at medium heat for 30 minutes or until cooked. (Add optional ingredients to steam at this stage.) You may stick a skewer into meat, if no pink liquid flows out, it is cooked.
   
3. Lift chicken out of dish and let cool. IMPORTANT - DO NOT DISCARD LIQUID/CHICKEN STOCK COLLECTED AT BOTTOM OF DISH.
   
4. When chicken is cooled, remove strings and with a very sharp knife, cut into 2cm thick slices.
   
5. Arrange chicken slices in a deep dish.
   
6. Add rice wine and shaoxing to CHICKEN STOCK.
   
7. Pour liquid over chicken slices.
   
8. Cover dish with cling film and place dish in the refrigerator to chill for at least 24 hours.
   
9. Serve cold with dijon mustard as dip.