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Recipe: Fresh orange custard boasts old-fashioned flavors
If you like the flavor of fresh oranges, this old-fashioned custard is for you. I love fresh oranges, which is a good thing: We have backyard citrus trees and a steady supply of sweet winter fruit. In search of more ways to enjoy oranges, I recalled that my grandmother occasionally made an orange pudding that could double as a pie filling; it wasn’t chiffon, it was custard. While that specific recipe still eludes me, this one comes close. The orange segments (an idea borrowed from “Joy of Cooking”) give it a fresh taste, added texture and a lot more orange flavor. The fruit is like buried treasure hidden under the rich topping. Take some extra time to “supreme” the orange segments. Remove all the fibrous membranes by slicing the fruit sections out instead of pulling the sections apart. The trick is to use a sharp knife and cut along each membrane where it meets the juice sacs. Forming a wedge, cut along one membrane; do the same on the other side of that segment. Then, pop the segment out. It’s handy to work over a bowl to catch the segments and juice. Or you can use a cutting board to steady the fruit. The orange supremes look pretty at the bottom of a glass bowl topped by the silky custard speckled with orange zest.
Fresh orange custard Makes 4 servings Ingredients: 2 tablespoons orange zest1/3 cup sugar4 oranges2 cups low-fat milk¼ cup heavy cream3 egg yolks2 tablespoons cornstarch1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract Instructions:
Mix together orange zest and sugar. Set aside. Over a large bowl, peel oranges with a sharp knife, cutting away the white pith and letting any juice collect in the bowl. Section the oranges supreme-style, slicing along the membranes; remove any seeds. Put the orange sections in the bowl and squeeze any remaining juice from the membranes over the sections. Set aside. In a saucepan over medium heat, mix together milk and cream. Scald the milk (heating until little bubbles form around the edges), stirring often so it doesn’t stick. Meanwhile, in the top of a double boiler, beat the egg yolks. Stir in the hot scalded milk. Add cornstarch to the zest-sugar mixture; stir into custard. Stir in vanilla extract. In the double boiler over medium heat, cook the custard until thickened, stirring often (it takes about 7 minutes). Remove from heat and let cool a few minutes.
Place spoonfuls of orange segments at the bottom of a glass dish or into individual ramekins. Spoon custard over the orange segments. Chill.
Serve the custards plain or with whipped cream.
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A recipe for preparing delicious meals from the bounty of the garden.
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Garden Checklist for week of May 19
Temperatures will be a bit higher than normal in the afternoons this week. Take care of chores early in the day – then enjoy the afternoon. It’s time to smell the roses.
* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. If you haven’t already, it’s time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.
* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.
* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.
* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters.
* Plant dahlia tubers. Other perennials to set out include verbena, coreopsis, coneflower and astilbe.
* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.
* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.
* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.
* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.
* Don’t forget to water. Seedlings need moisture. Deep watering will help build strong roots and healthy plants.
* Add mulch to the garden to help keep that precious water from evaporating. Mulch also cuts down on weeds. But don’t let it mound around the stems or trunks of trees or shrubs. Leave about a 6-inch to 1-foot circle to avoid crown rot or other problems.
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