Kousa Dogwood Fruit {Foraged Edible}

Last week, we walked the dogs past this house and this tree for the thousandth time when I spotted something new: pink spiked fruit.

Alex picked one up off the ground. The soft fruit was about the size of his thumb nail. With a little pressure, the skin split open to reveal bright orange flesh inside.

"It's edible," I said without knowing exactly what it was, nor having ever tasted it myself. I just knew I looked it up a few years ago. Ever the risk-taker, Alex licked a bit. "Tastes like mango." We passed around the fruit and agreed it was very sweet and tropical-flavored.

As soon as I returned home, I looked up the tree. It's a Kousa Dogwood, an Asian version of the ornamental tree species. Kousa fruits are indeed edible and sometimes used to make wine.

Lil and I ventured out later to collect some more. We observed the Rules of Foraging and rang the bell of the nearest house to ask permission. No one answered so we limited our picking to what was fallen on the ground.

I tossed our modest haul in the Foley food mill and pressed the gritty flesh from the tough skin. With only a few tablespoons of yield, I naturally mixed the puree into a vodka martini with a lemon twist.

If you happen to see a Kousa tree in your neighborhood, collect fruit in the fall to experience this taste of the tropics in central Ohio. And if you're a gardener, consider planting one - these Dogwoods are resistant to fungal diseases that often kill the more common Flowering Dogwood.

Rhubarb Infused Vodka

It's rhubarb season in central Ohio! I like rhubarb in jam, strawberry rhubarb pie, and my grandmother's rhubarb crunch. But my favorite way to enjoy this slightly sweet, floral, first "fruit" of spring is in a vodka infusion. You might think I'm a lush but hear me out. Rhubarb is tongue-searingly sour and requires a lot of sugar or another strong flavor to temper the tart. Until I infused vodka with rhubarb, I had never truly appreciated the subtlty of the rhubarb flavor.

Making an infusion, with rhubarb or any other fruit, is dead simple. Chop or mascerate fruit in a clean glass container. Fill with vodka to cover all the fruit. Age in a dark place, tasting regularly, until the infusion matches your desired flavor. Strain out the fruit and enjoy the infusion as a mixer or on its own with fizzy water, a delightfully low-cal, high-zest drink.

In the case of rhubarb, I like to leave the infusion for up to two weeks. The clear vodka will turn a dusty red color and keep its piquancy for up to a year. The picture above shows the last of our 2011 rhubarb infusion, in one of my favorite jars made in Columbus Ohio, surrounded by the fresh rhubarb from the Greener Grocer that will make this year's batch.

I am reserving some rhubarb to make into a shrub, a sweetened vinegar infusion. I suspect that the shrub method will show off the many characteristics of rhubarb much like the vodka infusion I hold so dear.

Do you like rhubarb? How do you prepare it?

Peach Cobbler {Recipe}

It's Peach Week at Hounds in the Kitchen! See Monday's introduction with a peach cocktail recipe and follow the whole week for preserving tips and a pick your own farm review. Truth be told, I would rather eat fresh fruit than most desserts.

But when I ran out of jars when canning peach pieces, I was left with the perfect beginning to a baked dessert: a pile of juicy, fresh, peeled and sliced peaches.

I piled the peach slices into a pan, topped with sweet buttermilk biscuit dough and baked it to make a cobbler. We ran out of time to eat the cobbler warm and instead enjoyed it as a snack and breakfast straight from the fridge.

NB: Wikipedia has a fascinating article on the definition of cobbler and other cooked fruit with toppings, including brown betty, crisp, crumble, buckle, etc.

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Fruit Cobbler biscuit topping adapted from Betty Crocker New Cookbook 7th edition Makes 12 servings in a 9x13 inch pan

8 cups cleaned and sliced fresh fruit such as peaches, plums, cherries, or blueberries sugar to taste (I add none for fresh peaches) spice to taste (I add a little cinnamon, sometimes ginger)

1/4 cup butter 1/4 cup vegetable shortening 2 cups all purpose or white whole wheat flour 3 tablespoons granulated white sugar 3 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 1 1/4 cup buttermilk 1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Layer fruit in a 9x13 inch pan. Add sugar to taste and any spices you wish. 2. Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl. 3. Cut butter and vegetable shortening into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or two knives until the mixture is the size of small peas. 4. In a liquid measuring cup, stir vanilla into buttermilk. 5. Pour liquid into flour and stir just until mixture comes together. Do not over mix. 6. Spoon biscuit mix over fruit in 12 equal portions. 7. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until biscuits are browned and fruit is bubbly.

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Notes: Recipe added to Hearth and Soul. And, congratulations to Pork Giveaway winner Emily!

Fruit Babies!

There is nothing like homegrown fruit. Last year we enjoyed warm raspberries off the vine and perfectly sweet strawberries along with two (yes, just two) Italian plums. The anticipation for this year's fruit starts with tiny flower buds and bitty baby fruit that are revealing themselves now. Here are some of the fruitlets we are tending this year:

concord grapes, montmorency cherries

strawberries, and red raspberries.

Not pictured are the fuzzy green peaches, snow drop blueberry flowers, soft chartreuse figs, and hard emerald lemons gathering sunlight and water in our garden.

Are you growing fruit this year? What kind(s)?

How to Make Fruit Liqueur

Homemade flavored liqueur is one of the simplest ways to preserve the flavor of fresh fruit.  I posted a recipe for cranberry liqueur last year, but one can make liqueur with any fruit with the following simple method.

Local, in season fruits make the best liqueurs because they have the strongest fresh flavor.  Choose clean washed fruit.  Smash berries, chop stone fruits, or juice citrus and place in a clean large glass container, like a half gallon ball jar.  This series of photos uses some local concord grades from our fruit CSA.

Add an equal volume of cooled sugar syrup or honey. (Make sugar syrup by boiling an equal amount of sugar and water until the sugar is dissolved.)

Top that off with an equal amount of full strength (80 proof) or higher vodka.

Add the lid and give the mix a swirl.  Find a spot for the jar to rest at room temperature.  Swirl once a day, tasting each day. At first the taste will be very alcohol forward, but the flavors mellow the alcohol over time.

When the taste is to your liking, usually in five to seven days, strain out the fruit.  Strain through cheesecloth for the most clear result.

Bottle in a jar with a tight fitting lid.  You can reuse jars or buy new Swing Top or Flask Bottles online.  Add a personalized label, perhaps with a suggested cocktail recipe, for a special gift.

The color may mute over time but the flavor will remain fresh for years.  Serve in a cordial glass or mix into a cocktail.

Homemade Fruit Liqueur

1 part crushed fresh fruit

1 part sugar syrup or honey

1 part 80+ proof neutral tasting vodka

1. Mix all ingredients in a clean glass container.

2. Keep at room temperature, swirling and tasting once a day.

3. When the flavor develops as you like, strain out the fruit through cheesecloth.

4. Adjust alcohol content or sweetness by adding vodka (to strengthen), water (to weaken), or sugar syrup.

5. Store in a closed bottle in a cool dark location for best results.

Post added to Hearth and Soul.