Sekanjabin: drink syrup of endless possibilities

Reference: Cariadoc's Miscellany, http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cariadoc/drinks.html

I first ran into sekanjabin as a refreshing cold drink offered at an Society for Creative Anachronism event. When the basic flavored syrup is diluted with water, the effect is much like lemonade: tart and sweet. With a bit of sekanjabin to freshen it up, even stale or bad-tasting water is enjoyable.

The basics are: 4 cups sugar to 2.5 cups water, boil, add 1 cup vinegar, boil 1/2 hour, remove from heat and throw in a handful of flavoring, then strain that out after the syrup has cooled in the covered pot. To drink, dilute syrup with water. I prefer a ratio of about five parts water to one part syrup. After receiving the basic sekanjabin syrup recipe from my friend Jean, I started experimenting with new flavors. The traditional flavoring is fresh mint leaves, but I don't like mint much myself, so I'm always looking out for something new.

My old standby is sliced ginger root w/apple cider vinegar, with thinly sliced lemon w/white vinegar coming in a close second place. I haven't really goofed around much with wine vinegars, although I've enjoyed Jean's efforts with red wine vinegar and that type of vinegar would be more appropriate to pre-1600 cookery.

Other fun experiments have included the pale pink syrup from using pomegranate arils and white vinegar; rhubarb and mulling spices with brown sugar and apple cider vinegar (molassey flavor, not my favorite); and fennel seeds, anise seeds and ground coriander with apple cider vinegar, which was vaguely medicinal tasting, but refreshing.

My favorite sekanjabin of all so far was made with white vinegar and sea buckthorn berries (German name: Sanddorn) from a bush around the corner from our house in Calgary. The berries are bright orange, tangy and juicy, and they made the most beautiful and most exciting-flavored syrup yet. Here's a picture of my bottles of Sanddorn sekanjabin:

Other possibilities I've got in mind but haven't tried yet: white wine vinegar with raspberries, lemongrass and red wine vinegar, citrusy lime basil and red wine vinegar. I'm looking forward to finding out how those turn out. Just as soon as we get to the bottom of the half-gallon of ginger sekanjabin syrup that's in the house now.

Food safety note: although the syrup keeps for months when bottled in clean jars/bottles with clean lids, it's advisable to refrigerate diluted sekanjabin if you don't drink it right away.

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Smoothie #5

Andrew's latest creation:
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1 banana in chunks
a couple tablespoons of juice concentrate for sweetener
1/2 cup frozen peach slices
unsweetened soy milk to taste (he likes less for thick smoothies, but I like more milk)

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Baking disappointment

I baked bread today with some yeast that has been in the cupboard for a while and if it had an expiration date on the package, the date probably would have passed already.
The yeast was sluggish to form bubbles in the liquid I started it in, but it didn't do too badly, so I figured I'd just need to give it some extra time with the risings. I gave it some extra time to rise and the bread rose nicely, so into the oven it went.

The disappointment: no oven spring. The bread had risen to the tops of the bread pans before I put it in the oven, and the bread was still only at the tops of the bread pans when it was done baking. It didn't rise another millimeter while it was baking. I think I'm going to be in for some pretty dense bread when it comes time to eat it for dinner. I fear the center may not be cooked all the way through.

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What to call this potato salad?

So far, this potato salad

has no well-written recipe, and no name. I threw the sauce for it together in a bit of a hurry to get out the door and on to my birthday hike and picnic in the county park yesterday.

The ingredient list, use these items to taste:
potatoes, scrubbed and boiled with skins on in salted water, then chilled and chopped
mayonnaise
plain yogurt
finely chopped pickles (I used kosher dills)
Worcestershire sauce
freshly ground black pepper
spicy brown mustard (I used a mix of store-bought and homemade-by-friend spicy brown mustards)
cider vinegar
fresh rosemary (from my herb pots), chopped very fine
fresh parsley (from my herb pots), chopped
fresh cilantro, chopped

Salad tasted wicked spicy and reeked of rosemary when the dear husband and I ate it three hours after mixing, but mellowed out and tasted more blended and mustardy on Day Two. Obligatory food safety tip: with salads dressed in mayonnaise, be sure that they are kept very cold in your picnic cooler and aren't left outside the cooler more than half an hour before or after serving.

I'll measure the ingredients next time. So far, the best name I've come up with is a pretty lame pun: "Herb-y Birthday" Potato Salad. Any suggestion from the readers?

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Try a different grain for breakfast: bulgur wheat

This dish was my second response to the challenge posed at work by an entire batch of bulgur wheat that I had overcooked. (First response: mixing it with parmesan cheese to make a crust for quiche). It was just a little bit too exploded and sticky for the tabbouleh for which it was intended, but it was still fine to use for something else. If only we had another bulgur wheat recipe...

Bulgur Breakfast Pudding
makes at least 6 one-cup servings, more if served in small ramekins

3 cups cooked bulgur wheat
2/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup dried cherries
1/3 cup craisins
1/3 cup pecan pieces
2 cups whipping cream*
1 3/4 cup whole milk*
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger powder
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 Tbsp flour

* lower-fat options: 2 cups half-and-half and 1 3/4 cup 2 percent milk OR no cream and 3 3/4 cups whole milk, but resulting pudding will not be as thick when hot and won't taste as creamy

Mix all ingredients in large saucepan except the flour. Bring to a simmer SLOWLY over medium-low heat. Stir frequently. When the mixture is hot, add flour by stirring in small amounts with a whisk to avoid lumps. Simmer on low heat until mixture is thick like oatmeal, stirring frequently to avoid scorching the bottom. Spoon into cereal bowls or ramekins. Serve hot or cold. Keeps a shape if chilled in a greased mold.


Note on cream: for best quality and flavor, don't bother with creams that have anything besides dairy products listed on the package. Filler ingredients make both the price and the quality lower.

It's sad that I could never eat this for breakfast myself as the dairy in it would make my guts very unhappy first thing in the morning. I really enjoyed the little tastes I took while creating the recipe.

Although I intended it to be a stand-alone breakfast food, I'm sure a small serving would be a nice addition to a brunch or make an interesting molded dessert.

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Smoothie #4

Pink and frothy! This smoothie was a "clearing of the decks" of fruits left over in freezer and fridge from previous smoothies. Need to make room for fresh fruits now that spring is here again.

2 to 4 oz frozen strawberries
about 8 oz frozen tart cherries
1 cup kesar mango pulp
1 banana in chunks
unsweetened soy milk
frozen non-citrus juice concentrate, thawed

Place all fruits in 5-cup (1.25L) blender and add 1 to 3 Tbsp juice concentrate to taste. Fill blender the rest of the way with soy milk. Use less soy milk if you like your smoothie extra-thick. Use even less milk to make a spoonable dessert.

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