sweet miscellany

A small forage of wild muscadine grapes is transformed into a thick, sweet-tart fruit butter with warm spices. This vegan and gluten free fruit butter is perfect for spreading on toast or stirring into oatmeal or yogurt!

For as long as I can remember I have been fascinated by being able to forage for food. As a kid, I loved going with my Dad to find dewberries patches at the beginning of summer. It seemed so satisfying to partake in all of the foraging activities and it even made the berries themselves taste that much better. We had a pecan tree and a pear tree in our backyard so as a kid I would often pretend that I was collecting my food supply for a life in the outdoors. I would ferret my collections away in my playhouse. I would also sneak kumquats from a neighbor’s tree from time to time. I think I find it so much more satisfying to be able to do the work of finding, picking, or growing food for myself. It’s much more personal and involved than driving to a grocery store and buying say an apple. I would rather go to an orchard, take in the beauty, and do the work of harvesting apples myself. Maybe that’s why I’ve become such an avid proponent of supporting farmers markets!

It’s late summer in East Texas which means it’s muscadine season. Muscadines are a type of grape that are found growing in the wild throughout the South. From my experience, the vines love climbing up trees and tend to be in season in the late summer/early fall. In years past I’ve not been successful in picking any because the ones I see tend to grow at heights that would require a ladder. I got lucky recently while on the trail and spotted some within reach. I made a mental note of their location and returned to pick as many as I could manage. You can eat muscadines raw, though it’s quite a chore as the skins are tough and they have a seed in the center that is not edible. They have a musky and sometimes peppery scent and taste, making their name rather appropriate.

My original plan with these was to make more of a jam, but I ended up completely pureeing the skins in my blender so I went with a fruit butter instead! The resulting butter is a gorgeous deep purple color with a velvety, thick texture. It has a nice sweet/tart flavor and pretty much tastes like fall in a jar thanks to the spices. I’ll probably end up rationing it out to make it last a while unless I find another surprise cache of muscadines. 🙂

Spiced Muscadine Butter

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Author: Courtney West
Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Yield: 1 cup 1x
Diet: Vegan

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Ingredients

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2 cups muscadine grapes, rinsed well
2–3 tbsp maple syrup (or honey if not making it vegan)
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cloves
water as needed

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Instructions

Working over a medium sized saucepan, cut a slit in the top of each grape and squeeze out the pulp/seeds into the sauce pan. Place the skins in a blender and set them aside.

Cover the pulp/seeds with about 1/2 inch of water, then place it on a burner set to medium-high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer. Cook the mixture, stirring occasionally, until the seeds separate from the pulp (about 15-20 minutes).

While the pulp mixture is cooking, add just enough water to the blender to cover the skins, then blend until smooth. If your blender does not allow you to get a smooth puree/juice mixture, it will still work. You will just end up having more of a jam than a butter.

When the pulp mixture is ready, strain out the seeds, then return the pulp mixture to the pan along with the blended up skins. Stir in the maple syrup and spices and set the mixture over medium-high heat. Once it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook the mixture for 30-60 minutes or until it thickens to an applesauce-like consistency. As the butter is cooking, make sure to stir it regularly to keep it from burning on the bottom. Also, skim off any foam that may rise to the surface.

Once the mixture has thickened, remove it from the heat and put it into a clean jar. Store the butter in the fridge. It will keep for several weeks. Makes 1 heaping cup.

Notes

This recipe has not been formulated for canning.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Category: preserve

I have really been slacking with this whole blogging thing lately. I’ve had a lot going on (more to come on that later) and it’s been tough to find time for blog posts. I actually meant to post this last week but I got side-tracked. That seems to happen a lot lately. I went on a little weekend vacation to Little Rock, Arkansas at the end of July and figured I would do something I’ve never really done before and post a restaurant guide of sorts. I was only there for 3 days so it’s not that extensive, but I was able to easily find gluten free, vegan, and vegetarian options my entire stay. I’m always blown away when restaurants are willing to cater to special diets. Maybe it’s because I’ve been living in a small-ish town for the past 6 years where it isn’t that common. Or, maybe Little Rock is just one of the many places that is hip to the growing number of vegan and gluten-free eaters. Either way, Little Rock is definitely worth a visit.

Dempsey Bakery

Obviously I had to make it a point to stop in a completely gluten free bakery. I made sure to scope it out online before my trip and in doing so I realized they also had a lot of dairy-free and egg-free items as well. I went on a Saturday a couple of hours before closing and it was clear they had a busy morning. There wasn’t a lot left in the bakery cases, but I was able to snag a “Jai” chocolate chip cookie and a package of 4 mini banana muffins (both items were dairy free/egg free). The owner noticed I was eyeing their beautiful loaves of bread and offered us a sample of the white sandwich bread and the hearty Italian bread. Both were great with that amazing chewy texture this is so hard to come by in gluten free breads. I think I would have bought a loaf of the Italian bread had I been heading home the next day. The good thing is if I get a hankering for it, I can order it and have it shipped to my door. In addition to baked goods, they serve lunch daily and have a variety of daily specials every week. They also provide their gluten free breads, buns, and other products to local restaurants. Check out all of their products on their website.

Local Lime

I’m pretty sure it’s a requirement to love Tex-Mex and Mexican food when you are from Texas. I’ve had some pretty terrible Mexican food while on my travels with work so I was just a tad worried about the state of Mexican food in Arkansas. This place did not disappoint. I think I was most taken with the gluten free/vegetarian/vegan labels on their menu as well as a statement about being able to accommodate dietary restrictions if you asked your waiter. The food was fresh, well seasoned, and aesthetically pleasing upon its arrival to the table. For starters, we ordered the salsa sampler which comes with 3 salsas of your choice for less than $4. We ended up getting the verde tomatillo, the tres chiles, and the zucchini salsas. All of them were pretty amazing, especially the zucchini salsa. It wasn’t vegan, though the other two were. For my entree, I ordered the “beans & greens” taco plate with a side of jicama jalapeno slaw. The taco plate came with 3 corn tortillas piled high with fresh guacamole, black beans, cabbage, pickled onions, and hot sauce. The entree was completely gluten free/vegan and was pretty damn good. For drinks I ended up trying both the Local Paloma and the House Margarita. Both were fresh and well-made (no mixes here!). The only downside to Local Lime was that it is a bit small, so get there early or later or be prepared to sit at the bar. Visit their website for more info.

Big Orange
My guy is a meat-eater so I try to make sure we go to places where we will both be satisfied and able to find something good to eat. Big Orange is a burger joint, but it ended up being more than a typical burger and fries type of place. My guy and I shared the truffle garlic herb fries which were pretty amazing. If you want them vegan, avoid the aioli and make sure they don’t sprinkle any cheese on top. I ended up ordering the house-made veggie burger on a gluten free bun in more of a classic style (butter lettuce, tomato, dill pickle, onion). I loved that they had a little note about the availability of gluten free buns and how they were even toasted in a dedicated gluten free toaster. And, just like at Local Lime, their menu had gluten free and vegetarian notifications when applicable. I noticed they had a pretty extensive shake/float menu if you aren’t vegan or lactose intolerant. They even served locally made fountain sodas if that tickles your fancy. Visit the website for more information, hours, and locations.

The Root

For Sunday brunch we lazily headed over to the Root to enjoy some locally grown and sourced fare. The online menu is marked with vegan and vegetarian notations and the staff will answer any questions about dietary needs. I ended up trying the cardamom iced coffee with soy milk (so freaking delicious!) and the tofu scrambler with a side salad. And because I didn’t already have enough to eat, I got a bowl of granola with soy milk to test it out. Overall everything was very good and very fresh. There were several specials listed for the day but by the time we arrived, most of them were already sold out. We did have to wait in a line out the door, but were lucky enough to snag a table inside. The inside seating is rather limited, but the outdoor seating seemed to be a bit more ample. We opted for an inside table since it was eleventy-billion degrees out. The atmosphere was very casual and very much focused on a “homemade” vibe. I noticed they were making crock pickles and kombucha in the corner and you could even purchase their house-made jams. Make sure to check out their website for hours and other info before visiting.

Star of India
I LOVE Indian food. If I had to pick a cuisine to eat for the rest of my life, it would be Indian. It’s the first type of restaurant I look for when I’m in a new town or city. Plenty of vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free options were available here. The owner was really nice and the food was great. I ordered the aloo saag and it was damn tasty. It was so good I nearly ate myself silly and had to make myself stop before I got to the point of un-buttoning my pants. If you are feeling like dessert afterwards, there’s a TCBY down the road that serves vegan almond milk frozen yogurt.
Stone’s Throw Brewery

I’ve never been a beer person, and having to go gluten free pretty much took it away as an option anyway, but my guy likes beer. He wanted to visit a local brewery, and being the considerate person that he is, he checked to see if they had a cider option I might be able to enjoy. I had the Queen Ruby Apple Cider. I typically prefer my cider a bit less dry and a bit more amber, but overall it was a good cider. The sitting room at the brewery is a bit limited, but they do have a stack of board games to choose from to make your visit a little more interesting. If you bike or walk to the brewery and tell them and they will give you a surprise 🙂 Find out more about the brewery here.

Little Rock Farmers Market

You would think that someone who sells at a farmers market every Saturday morning would at least spend their vacation away from one… wrong. I make it a point to visit any and all farmers markets I can when traveling. This market is located along the Arkansas River in the River Market District downtown. It is held under a large pavilion structure so you are shielded from the elements. There were roughly 20 to 25 vendors when I was there selling a variety of local produce, jams, honey, baked goods, and other locally produced items. I did notice there were a couple of vendors with non-local produce so just make sure to ask the farmers if that is what you are after. You can find more information on the farmers market here.

Ottenheimer Market Hall
Adjacent to the farmers market is the Ottenheimer Market Hall which houses 15 different food vendors offering a variety of cuisines (Thai, Mexican, Middle Eastern…). It was reminiscent of an upscale mall food court, but with much better food. I originally wanted to get some food from The Veg, a vendor specializing in vegetarian food made with local seasonal produce. They change up the specials daily depending on what’s available and usually have at least one gluten free option. I wanted to get my lunch here but they were out of the gluten free option. I was really tempted by their “good ass smoothie” and am kicking myself (or my ass) for not having tried it. I ended up getting some green curry with tofu from Bangkok Thai and it was good, though quite spicy. It was a huge amount of food so I suggest sharing with someone or be prepared to take home leftovers. Find out more about the vendors here.

A common theme I began to see in Little Rock was a focus on Arkansas goods and supporting “local partners”. This was very much at play at Big Orange where you could order locally made fountain sodas, sub-in a locally made gluten free bun (made at Dempsey Bakery), or enjoy some fresh Arkansas produce in your meal. I think what blew me away was this was available at casual restaurants, not necessarily reserved for upscale ones. So often the terms “locally made” and “farm to plate” seem synonymous with expensive restaurants but this was not the case in Little Rock. I was pleasantly surprised by the food offerings here and am looking forward to exploring even more in the future.

p.s. let me know if you’d like to see more of this sort of thing on the blog from now on 🙂

Wild Foraging and a Spiced Muscadine Butter

Spiced Muscadine Butter

Description

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

Little Rock Restaurant Guide