J = Josephine and Junket

Josephine, that is my name, I sort of like it and I sort of don’t. If anyone calls me Josephine I assume I am in trouble, I much prefer to be called Jo, and please don’t spell that with an e. Joe is masculine, Jo is feminine. The name which is supposed to derive from Joseph, husband to Mary, originates from Hebrew and apparently means Jehova Increases. According to the internet there are 35 variants of the name Fifi, Fifine, Fina, Finetta, Finette, Guiseppina, Jo, Joette, Joey, Joline, Josana, Josanna, Josanne, Josee, Josefa, Josefena, Josefene, Josefina, Josefine, Josepha, Josephe, Josephene, Josephina, Josephyna, Josephyna, Josephyne, Josetta, Josette, Josey, Josiane, Josianna, Josianne, Josie, Josy and Jozsa. (DO NOT call me Fifi). Apparently Napoleon’s empress was really a Josephe, not a Josephine. I have mentioned before that as a young woman I spent a lot of time in France and Belgium. I always fancied myself as a reincarnation of Josephine Bonaparte in those days and my friends used to call me La Petite Imperatrice – the Little Empress! OK, I got over it.

Junket used to be a popular dessert when I was a youngster, I haven’t seen or eaten it in years. I’m afraid the picture doesn’t go with the recipe,  but I couldn’t find one with rhubarb.

Cornish junket with stewed rhubarb

BBC Food

This creamy, curdled milk dessert is the English answer to panna cotta, flavoured with lemon and nutmeg.

Ingredients

For the junket

 

400ml/14fl oz full-fat milk

150ml/5fl oz whipping cream

50g/2oz caster sugar

1 vanilla pod, split, seeds scraped out

2-3 pieces lemon rind, white pith removed

pinch freshly grated nutmeg, plus extra for serving

1 tsp rennet (or vegetarian alternative)

For the rhubarb

3 sticks rhubarb, cut into 5cm/2in batons

50g/2oz caster sugar, or to taste

1 lemon, finely grated zest only

Preparation method

1. For the junket, place the milk, cream, sugar, vanilla pod, vanilla seeds and lemon rind into a heavy-based saucepan and gently heat to 36.9C/98.42F (check using a digital thermometer).
   
2. Quickly remove the rind and vanilla pod and pour the mixture into a clean bowl with a pinch of grated nutmeg. Add the rennet and stir well. Pour the junket mixture into four small serving bowls and set aside to cool to room temperature and set.
   
3. Once set, place the junket into the fridge to chill for 45 minutes. Just before serving sprinkle a little more freshly grated nutmeg over the top.
   
4. Meanwhile, for the rhubarb, place the rhubarb into a saucepan with the sugar, lemon zest and a splash of water. Cook over a medium heat until the rhurbarb is tender but still retains its shape. Leave to cool, then chill in the fridge until ready to serve.
   
5. Arrange the stewed rhubarb over the junket and serve.
   

Have a great day

Bowling, Governments

How sad, the last bowling day of the summer league today. We have our lunch at 1 and then bowl three games, one straight, and two "silly". Like bowling with your other hand, or backwards through your legs etc. in one game and the other is called bowling bingo where you have a sheet of scores to check off and you all bowl like mad to try and get the scores first. I remembered to ice my thumb joint last night but I'm not sure I did enough to help today so maybe the rest through August will do it good. Grrr, Governments. I quit work last year and sent in a tax form showing my estimated income for 2008, after several months, they adjusted our pensions and supplements to reflect my lack of earnings for 2008. Friday I got a another form saying they have adjusted our pensions reflecting the tax filing for 2007 which has dropped our pensions considerably each month due to my salary in 2007. This morning I phoned and I have to fill out yet another form showing estimated income for 2008 which will take another 3 months for them to adjust. It seems to me it is yet another case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. I am not a happy camper. I have just finished reading Karen Miller's Empress in her Godspeaker Series - I enjoyed it, but I sure learned to intensely dislike the main protagonist, Hecat, however, Karen assures me that in her next book, Riven Kingdom, it talks about a different bunch and I will not come across Hecat too much. I am now reading an amusing book called Goblin Quest by Jim C. Hines, part of a series. The book is described as hilarious, I wouldn't go that far, put it is pretty funny in some places. Who would ever think you could empathise with a goblin. I think the cover alone is pretty funny, I hope you can make it out OK. I will certainly be reading the rest of this series. For those of you who know my love of dragons, no, I did not choose this book because of the dragon on the cover, I chose it because of a recommendation in one of my ezines, Recipe du Jour. Well, better get going, I don't want to miss my "banquet". Hope some of you enjoyed the River Cross puzzle I posted yesterday. When we visited Portugal I loved their pork stews, I have been trying to find one similar, this is one of the nearest I found on the Internet. I apologise, I don't remember the exact source. PORK STEW WITH CUMIN (Portugal) Portugese Servings: 6 Ingredients: 2 pounds boneless pork, cubed MARINADE: 1/3 cup dry white wine 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 2 teaspoons lemon juice 2 teaspoons cumin 1 bay leaf salt and pepper to taste TO COOK: 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 large onion, finely chopped water or stock (if needed) TO SERVE: 10 large pitted black olives lemon wedges for garnish Instructions: Marinate pork in mixture of white wine, garlic, lemon juice, cumin, bay leaf, salt, and pepper in refrigerator for 6 hours. Remove pork from marinade and reserve liquid. Sauté pork and onion in oil until pork is browned. Add marinade and bring to a simmer; cook 30 minutes. Add water or stock if necessary to keep it moist. Scatter with olives and serve with lemon wedges. Have a great day.