Brandied Cocktail Cherries

This rainy day is perfect timing – I have been meaning to share details on the making of things I've brought to our recent swaps, and this is just the break I needed.

For the June swap I focused on the seasonal bounty of stone fruit, and first up was cherries. Like most of you I imagine, I keep folders – both online and hard copy, depending on where I find them – of recipes I want to try out, and this Cocktail Cherries recipe had caught my eye on the KCRW Good Food blog a few months back. I was just waiting for the cherries to appear...and then they were here, in huge ripe tempting piles of red fruit, everywhere!

I scored 4 lbs. of gorgeous, plump pesticide-free cherries at the Civic Center Farmers Market for $9 and trundled home happily. The thing I really liked about this recipe is that aside from the fruit I had everything required already in my pantry: sugar, fresh lemon juice, cinnamon stick, fresh vanilla bean, cardamon pods, star anise, brandy and water. I added a couple extra cardamom pods, and substituted simple syrup for the agave nectar since sometimes agave can taste a little off to me, but otherwise stuck to the above recipe.

Cocktail cherries on simmer

One thing I did notice is that some of the cherries got a bit scalded. Whether this was from me simmering them too long (I did cook them a bit longer than called for to make sure the flavors really absorbed), or letting the heat get a little high, or the fact I used a larger pot which left them closer to the heat in a thinner layer across the bottom, I'm not sure...but aside from a couple having wrinkly skin, there were no real negative effects so I didn't worry about it.

Hot cherries

The other nice thing about this recipe is that you let the cherries cool to room temperature before putting them in jars, so there's no handling of hot fruit and liquid which definitely makes it easier. The recipe yielded six 8-oz. jars (though this will vary depending on the size of your cherries), with some left over for me to use for samples at the swap, but I did need to mix up some extra liquid to cover all the cherries. To do this I took some remaining simple syrup, some additional brandy and a little water – mixed it up in the saucepan used to cook the fruit to get any remaining cherry goodness out, and spread it between the jars to top them up.

Topping off the jars

The cherries were left whole, with the stem and pit still on, so while they do look great in a cocktail glass, you need to either remember to remove the pits before serving, or advise yourself/your pals before consuming. They are also excellent atop vanilla ice cream, yogurt or any dessert you want to add a little kick to, and the liquid can be added to your Manhattan or other drinks to taste too.

In my opinion these turned out so well I actually wish I had kept a jar for myself, but luckily they were very easy to make, so I'll just have to get another batch in jars before all the cherries are gone. Come to think of it, that's another thing that'd be perfect for this rainy day!

Hot Swap!

Our second swap took place on Father's Day with unseasonally warm (for San Francisco) weather in a spectacular outdoor setting, thanks to fellow swappers and gracious hosts: Olga, Jim and Mary.

Swap with a view

SF Swappers gals Stephanie and I with Kate Payne

We also had our special guest Kate Payne, original co-founder of BK Swappers, blogger and author of Hip Girl's Guide to Homemaking there. She talked about her book a little, but even more enthusiastically about how the book tour has enabled her to attend all kinds of house parties and other food swap events around the country and how lucky she feels to meet so many people making and sharing their food, strengthening our food communities and growing the swap movement. She now calls Austin, TX home, where she's one of the forces behind ATXswappers.

I of course bought a copy of her book, got it signed, and cracked the spine as soon as I was home with my feet up. Its subtitle provides an accurate preview: Decorating, Dining, and the Gratifying Pleasures of Self-Sufficiency – on a Budget, but does not do full justice to the contents. It is all at once practical, insightful, personal, accessible, aesthetically pleasing and filled with tons of fun tips anyone can apply to their home. I'm still in the first chapter, but have already been tackling our overflowing pantry based on some of what I've read. Two big thumbs up and a "get thyself a copy" endorsement from this homemaker.

Whether because of the warm weather or the holiday we had a smaller group than expected, but it did make for a casual and intimate event, and it meant almost everyone could swap with each other which was very rewarding – and much less frenzied.

Let's dig in to the food... Once again the potluck tables were chock-full of tempting eats – from prosciutto wrapped mozzarella to scones to seasonal fruit to frittata – and of course mimosas were on the menu.

For the swap, there was a great balance of savory and sweet, fresh and for the pantry.

The list included Candy Cap Mushroom Cookies, Palestinian Hummus, Sorrel Pesto, Trifle, Cha-cha-cha Cherry Chocolate and Chipotle Chili Crumble, Candied Kumquats, Marinated Mushrooms, Smoked Salmon Mousse and Crostini, Dukkah, Garden Fresh Herbs & Radicchio, Raw Honey from Berkeley, Roasted Corn & Edamame Salad, Fruit Leather, Brandied Cocktail Cherries and Lemon Balm Cordial. Yeah!

Artful hummus sampler plate

Candy Cap Mushroom Cookies (foraged from an undisclosed CA location)

Organic Candied Kumquats

Seasonal Fruit Leather Trios

Raw Honey from the Algarden Urban Farm in Berkeley

Want more? You got it! There are photos of all the swap items in a Flickr set here.

In the meantime, I've been enjoying my take-home haul daily and love how the different dishes both bring a whole new repetoire to my kitchen, and inspire me to eat differently and keep cookin'.

June Swap Goodies at home

Our next swap will be in August - we'll announce the date soon so you can mark your calendars and plan ahead.

SF Swappers featured on Eat the Love blog

A fantastic write-up and excellent photos of our first swap is now up on Irvin Lin's delicious Eat the Love blog. There's also a recipe for his amazing Blueberry and White Chocolate Jumbo Cookie, so don't miss out!

Join us and special guest Kate Payne at our next swap!

In case you haven't heard, the second SF Swappers event will take place on Sunday, June 19^th from 1-3 pm. We know it’s Father’s Day, but our friend, Kate Payne, blogger and author of Hip Girl's Guide to Homemaking, will be in town from Austin, TX on her book tour, and is making our swap a special stop. Some of her fabulous books will also be available for purchase.

This swap will be starring Mother Nature and a view. Yup, that's right it's taking place outdoors. Pray for better weather than we've had so far this June...

Get full details and register here.

First swap recap

The fact it's taken me a few weeks to do a round-up from our first food swap event in no way reflects my lack of excitement. In fact, it was so awesome I think it took a few days for me just to come down from my swap high. And then we had house guests for a week, baseball games to see, cocktail parties to go to, the first barbecue of the season...you know how it goes, life gets all busy on you!

Setting up and getting to know each other

We didn't know what to expect at all for the first swap, but word clearly got around because we "sold" out. With a few last minute cancellations just before the event, we ended up with 19 swappers including myself and my co-host Stephanie, plus a few guests. Given the space (my home) it was actually just about the right number, as things were pretty crowded once we had everything set up and especially when the swapping action started happening.

Out of the 17 swappers, I only knew four beforehand. And while it goes without saying it was lovely to have some friends there, to me the spirit of the swap was really embodied by the fact that my house filled up with all of these strangers - some who had come from as far as Paso Robles! - to meet like-minded folks and share their food creations.

Upon arrival swappers found a spot on the tables to set up, mingled with other swappers, and enjoyed the incredible edibles that were the potluck. The food on hand here was impressive, and included multiple salads, cakes, muffins, beverages and savory items like deviled eggs and chicken cranberry endive bites.

Potluck table #1

Potluck table #2

But you're here to hear about the swapping part, right? First off, everything was delicious, beautifully presented and totally diverse. From fennel pollen to caramels to liver pear and brandy pate, the entire range of sweet, savory, spicy and salty was well represented. And, even though we had multiple strawberry jams, they were all different: strawberry, strawberry rhubarb, strawberry lemon, strawberry vanilla, plus orange marmalade and Pink Lady apple jelly. A couple kinds of kimchees, perogis, enchiladas, truffled white beans, chipotle beets, various pickles and sriracha sauce (a hot swap item for sure!) rounded out the offerings. (Did I miss anything?)

Flavored liqueurs by Andrea

Simple syrup trios by yours truly 

Eat the Love Jumbo Cookies by Irvin

Jams, jellies, candied citrus, fennel pollen and more by Hongmai

Sik Hye (Korean Rice Dessert Drink) by Jeena

Salsa fresca by Pamela

Orange marmalade and candied espresso walnuts by Michelle

Sriracha sauce by Mary

I apologize to my fellow swappers for not doing a better job documenting every swap item that was brought. Things were a bit crazy as a first-time swap host, but I promise to do a better job next time!

Other lessons learned? Make more items so I can swap with more people, of course.

Get your swap on!

OK swappers, tickets are now available for our first event on Sunday, May 15th from 12 noon - 3 pm. Sign up here. As of now there are 12 spots left!

A Swapping How-To

While we’ve had enormous interest and positive responses from lots of folks (thank you, thank you), many of you may be still scratching your heads and wondering how this swapping thing actually works…

Let me demystify. This will be a casual and friendly gathering of food makers and cooks, who are all willing to bring their homemade goods and barter with others for them.  

You know how it is when you get fixated on an ingredient, or perfecting a new baking process, or just get too much of something in your CSA box and need to get creative with ways to consume it all? Well now instead of contemplating how you could possibly eat all that pickled whatever yourself, you don’t have to! 

Just sign up for the swap, make the items you want to trade and show up.

Goods from a recent BK Swappers event.
© All rights reserved by janelerner 

What to bring

Appropriate items for swapping include jams and preserves, syrups, oils, infused liquors and vinegars, home brewed alcohol and spirits, baked goods, candies, teas, home canned foods, pickles, chutneys, salsas, smoked meats, honey and more... In the words of our fellow swappers in Brooklyn, “if you made it and it's edible, you can trade it!” 

The event timeline

The swap event itself will last 2.5 to 3 hours. During the first hour or so we’ll sign-in, set up, have some brunchable eats, and get to know each other. 

Upon check-in each swapper will be given swap sheets where they write down the details of the items they brought to swap (what it is, ingredients etc.) See sample sheet here from our pals across the Bay, EBCA Food Swaps.

In the second hour, swappers will walk around and purvey all the goods. They will place bids on the sheets for the items they’re interested in trading for. Once bids have been placed, the swapping begins! 

Note that just because you write down a bid on someone’s sheet does not mean you will necessarily get the item. There may be multiple bids for each available item and every swapper can choose what they want to trade for. Swappers may also approach people who didn’t place bids on their sheets if they have items they want to try to trade for anyway. Swaps take place through discussion and agreed upon exchanges.

Tricks of the trade

• Plan to bring 5-10 items (some people bring more, some less), which can range from packages of homemade granola to honey from your hives. You can also bring a mix of items if you want.
• We suggest between 4–16 oz. as portion sizes, depending on the cost of the materials involved.
• We definitely suggest bringing extra for samples. People are going to be more keen to swap when they can taste your amazing creations.
• While packaging and presentation is wholly up to the individual, recycled containers are encouraged. 
• Consider whether you need to bring something extra (bag, box etc.) to carry your new food items home! 

The event will be a potluck with a few dishes and special drinks provided by the hosts, so also plan on making a favorite dish to bring and share.

Want some visuals? Watch the below video of a recent PDX Swappers event taking place in Portland.

Hope this helped and has gotten you excited for the first swap on May 15^th! 

Next steps

1. Please “like” us on Facebook so you’ll be tuned in for event announcements and news from your fellow swappers. You can also follow us on Twitter: @sfswappers
2. If you haven’t already joined our mailing list, do so by shooting an email to sfswappers@gmail.com asking to be added. 
3. Mark your calendar with the following dates: 

• The first swap event is on Sunday, May 15^th from 12-3 pm in the Mission (address provided upon confirmed reservation) 
• Free tickets will be available starting on Tuesday, April 19^th at 6 pm. Space is limited is 25 swappers, though we will have a waiting list in case there are cancellations.

Lastly, if you are interested in starting a food swap in your town, a couple of our swapping cohorts have posted their advice on how to host a food swap – see Hip Girl's Guide to Homemaking and Brooklyn Homesteader. 

Also have a look at the links on the right-hand side of this page if you are interested in reading more from other swap groups around the country, plus recent stories in the news!

Looking forward to a swapping good time with all of you!