China Dina

Chung Sing Restaurant
210 E Lancaster Ave
Ardmore, PA 19003
(610) 649-8115
(click on the link above for a citysearch review and a complete pic.s)

So the truth is I am not the most qualified person to write this review as I'm not one of those die hard Chinese take out comfort queens.
After a bad day I want ice cream and a bed.
If I don't feel like cooking I get chicken parm or falafel.
To me chinese food is Chinese food.
Don't get me wrong, I can get down with the real deal.
I also love me some hot and sour soup almost as much as frying up an egg with left over pork-fried rice for breakfast.
Yet when it comes to the whole take-out thing I am more of a back seat eater.
But Chung Sing isn't just chinese food.
It is Chinese food in an amended diner.
A shiny , oddly seductive , self-entitled glam pagoda.
It sits across from a car dealership throwing sunshine like rotten eggs into the reflective windshields of brand new lexus's like a mischeif night hoodlum.
It's entirely bizare and as such doubly enticing.
When I first saw it I couldn't help but salivate.

I wanted an egg roll.



I probably don't need to remind you of my love for diners, so it should come as no surprise to you that I petitioned the Dr. Admiral to pull over and investigate with me. What with its precious stone like roof , red neon signage, paper lanterns and old school chrome diner get-up how could you feel anything less then charmed.
It's easy to overlook the broken tile bathroom and general brown/neglected feel. Chung Sing is magical.
It's aethstetic is at once mildly disconcerting and undeniably familiar.
Chinese restaurants are a dime a dozen, but Chung Sing offers something none of the others even come close to.
Unparalleled atmosphere.
As a troubled half breed, Chung's offers a peculiarity deserving of your after noon snack support.

The meals were cheap, and somewhat inventive ,collecting the creative better parts of mailbox menu's , though hardly deviating from what you would expect.

Everything on the menu can be made with a vegetarian "meat," which looked homemade and spongey. All the better to soak up deliscious sauces.

The service was quick and kind which leads me wondering hwere the bullet hole in the window came from.
Not that its the first Chineese Restaurant I've been to with a bullet hole in teh window
(um ... I will thank some of my brooklyn crew to think back to a brown bag night night with a 40 and a 4 top in Fort Greene)

On to the food:


I got my roll.

A good egg roll can be like an unexpected back rub;
A bad one, on par with being stood up at the alter.
Chung's egg rolls were crispy without being oily.
Craving settled.



Foods featured clockwise from the rice:
Rice (a doi Ralph...) , cashew chicken, pork fried rice, lychee duck , noodles and pickled veggies.



Dr. Admiral ordered the cashew chicken.
It was good.
It had both cashews and chicken in it.
This might sound dumb to say ,and I don't mean to offend any Chinese food store owners, but If I had a quarter for every time I asked, "is this really chicken?" with a barely discernible mass somewhat resembling meat dangling form my fork I'd have a whole lotta won ton if you know what I mean.
And if you don't I mean quarters.
With cashews for miles and beautifully cooked chicken I was forced into pointing away form the table and shouting , "LOOK!" just to break the the good Dr.'s concentration long enough to steal a fork full from his plate.
yeah.
I'm sneaky like that.



I really went out on a limb with the lychee duck ( ala Shirley Mclain).
Well, the limb broke.
It was simply unable to support the weight of my heavy expectations.
I love love love lychee, but the "sauce" it made was far too sweet, and way to viscous. Clearly made from a can, and
Impervious to any attempts I made to wipe it off the veggies.
It engulfed them , rendering them limp and lifeless next to the duck fowl on my plate like exxon valdez victims.
That brings in the second problem.
The duck.
It was uber fatty, gray and had a weird skin.



In short , Chung chicken is kickn'.
Chung duck fowl..is ...well...foul.

I would definately check this place out , if only to go inside.

Cannoli French Toast with Chocolate Chip Challah

Challah back!

This recipe is my Ode to my home state.
If you don't know, New Jersey is home to many things, but diners and Italians are at the top of the list.

If you have ever had the pleasure of eating French toast in a jersey diner you know it can be just like sugar coated crack.
The bread is cut into monster yellow-gold bricks that would set Dorothy Gale off on a whole new trip.
Digging your fork into a piece you find that they fall apart like cotton candy; melting slowly and sweetly.
Billowy clouds that soak up syrup like a sponge, then release it in a satisfying bolt, stroking your blood sugar till you’re purring like a cat.

The perfect Sunday morning pick me up.

And any jersey Dego worth his weight in gold chains knows that good French toast starts with days old crusted up challah bread.
Like a good Italian boy you need a bread that is soft enough to love his Mama, but tough enough to give you a tooth ache - its got to be able to stand up to an oil slick of butter and syrup.
And, of course, just like and Italian boy, big where it counts.
When you’re slicing up your bread remember to cut it big and thick.

Stuffing a few slices with cannoli filling is like a dream come true.
Not too sweet, it's the perfect foil to the crusty texture of the French toast.
I feel like making good cannoli cream is just one of those funny things you get a feel for over several attempts.
However I included a jumping off place if you have never made one before.
It was gleaned from a drunken conversation with a cannoli obsessed uncle I met at a wedding.
This same uncle (who will go nameless) was seen later collecting "extra" packets of Jordan almonds off of neighboring tables at the reception.
You know, the pastel/silver coated kind your Nona keeps in her china closet for decades on end.
Those sugared almonds are no joke and most Italians I know take them more seriously than an edict from the Pope.
I would insult someone’s mother before I'd even glance at their almonds-
it’s a death wish.
Any man willing to risk his life over a few extra Jordan almonds must have a serious sweet's addiction. That sort of thing bodes well for a confectionary conversation , and when he starting eyeing up my nuts I got him talking.
When a man like that slurs out a cannoli recipe, you grab a cocktail napkin and start writing.

I cut the ricotta with a little cream cheese for breakfast.
The challah recipe comes by way of recipe zaar.
Not exactly diner bread but delicious.
It cranks out two loaves and judging by my families overwhelming response (There was only one left come mornings light), it wouldn’t hurt to make both.
Just be sure to knead the hell out of it.
I didn’t the first time and while it wasn't tough it wasn't quite as light as I was hoping.
I also dusted some brown sugar on top with the second egg wash.




first the bread:

Chocolate Chip Challah Bread
By Ariella. Reprinted from RecipeZaar

• 10 g dry yeast (approximately 1.5 packages)
  
• 1 tablespoon sugar
  
• 1/2 cup sugar
  
• 1 3/4 cups warm water
  
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  
• 5 large egg
  
• 1 tablespoon salt
  
• 8 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips.(i used s mix of milk and dark)

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and 1 Tablespoon of sugar in the water. Whisk until completely combined.

Add vegetable oil and whisk. Then add 4 of the eggs, whisking for about one minute after each egg is added. Whisk in remaining sugar and salt. Add flour one cup at a time, mixing with a sturdy spoon after each cup.

When all of the flour has been added, turn dough onto floured surface and knead the dough to remove all lumps. Clean out bowl and grease it. Form dough into a ball and return it to the bowl. Let dough rise for one hour in a warm. The dough should approximately double in size. Punch it down and then put chocolate chips in center of dough and reform dough into a ball so that the chocolate chips are encased in the center of the dough. Allow to rise for another 30 minutes.

Remove dough from warm spot and place dough ball onto floured surface. Using a long serated knife, cut the dough in half and then cut each halve into thirds. Reform all six dough balls so that the chocolate is encased in the center of each ball. Then, using your hands, roll out each ball into a strand approximately 15 inches in length. Take three strands and pinch them together at one end, tucking the pinched ends under the bread. Braid the three strands together. When you get to the end of the strands, pinch the strands together and tuck under loaf. Repeat for remaining three strands to create a second loaf.

Lightly grease a large baking sheet. Gently transfer the challahs to the baking sheet. Whisk remaining egg in a small bowl and brush generously onto each challah. Return loafs to warm spot to rise for another 30 minutes. (this is where I sprinkled on the brown sugar)

Preheat oven to 375. Brush challahs with second round of egg wash. Be sure to get egg wash into all the cracks and crevices. Place loaves into oven on middle rack. Fill a baking dish or roasting pan with about two inches of water. Place dish on the rack below the challahs. Bake the challahs for thirty minutes, rotating the baking sheet once in the middle of baking time. Challahs should have a medium golden brown crust and sound hollow when tapped. Be sure to check challahs near end of baking time in order to avoid over cooking. Continue cooking past 30 minutes if challahs aren't golden brown yet.

Cool challahs completely on wire baking rack.

Below are a few bread making tips:


You catch more flys with honey...

* Make sure your yeast isn't wicked old. You want this bad boy to rise and tired yeast is'nt going to get it.

* A warm spot does not mean the top of your frigidaire or ,God bless, standing over an open bowl with a hair dryer. Place it on the stove top while the oven is preheating or out in the sun. I also place a wet/ damp paper towel over the top of rising bread to keep it from drying out. or getting any bugs/debris in it. As you can see from teh abov epicture there is nothing you can do if its out in the open.

* I would also suggest baking on a pizza stone if you have one, or undercooking it by a few minute sto avoid burning the bottom.

* I didnt really get the cutting instructions. I mean, I did it but it didn't make sense to me entirely because when yopu keep placing all teh chocolate chips in teh middle , only the middle of each bread, and subsequently the middle of each loaf has all the chips. There is no reason why you can't distribute a few in teh outer edges of the bread by pressing them in in order to avoid this problem.

* Wetting your fingertips makes them dough glue sticks. Rub them along the tips of each rolled out dough braid before mossing them together and they will adhere to on another a little better.

* Your boyfriend or girl friend may hate it, but this is one place its ok to BE KNEADY! knock that dough around for at least 7 minutes. A standing mixer helps with this but there is nothing quite as satisfying as adding in a little elbow grease.
This is a place to get butch.
Ruff.


The bread maker bread.

Alternately,

the first time I experimented with this was using the Dr. Admiral's bread machine. I have judged bread machines harshly in the past, snickering at wedding parties and calling friends homo's. But , as teh slow cooker of the bread world, it really does cut down your work load. It is always nice to wake up early inth emorning and do all of these steps while your multitasking with laundry and paying bills. But a bread maker cuts your chain and your free.
I just added some chocolate chips to the "add ins" phase of a regular challad bread recipe.
The only bummer is that they mostly fell to the bottom , but having a crust filled with chocolate is never a bad thing.


Cannoli filling

The original recipe handed down to me was i part sugar to 2 parts ricotta. Cannoli can have a lot of personality depending on what region the recipe comes from. I added a cap full of vanilla and substituted some cream cheese to make it a little more breakfasty. If your after something more traditional, leave out the cream cheese and put the same amount of ricotta back in. Add in a little citron , pistachios, maraschino cherries or a pinch of coco powder / cinnamon.
As for my personal cannoli recipe? Im not giving it up.

• 1 1/2 C plus a little extra dry ricotta
  
• 1/4 - 1/2 C cream cheese
  
• 1 cup powdered sugar
  
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
  
• capfull vanilla extract or about 1/2 a vanilla bean's innards
  

The trick here is to make sure your ricotta is DRY. If its very wet, wrap it in cheese cloth (or a coffee filter) and stick in in the fridge suspended over a bowl over night. The filter/fabric will absorb and express some of the liquid.

When you are ready, beat the ricott and cream cheese together with the vanilla, adding the powdered after the two "cheeses" are well combined.
Here comes the most important part.
Taste it.
Add more sugar if you want.
Then dump in the chocolate chips and any add ins.
If you cant find the mini chips , run of teh mill baking chisp will do or you can grate , beat or chop them into little bits.

Putting it together: French Toast

It may seem sort of pretentious / presumptious to tell you how to make French toast, but I just had a mystified friend (one of my intelligencia mind you) ask last week.
There is no shame in that.
So, just in case...

• 1 egg beaten
  
• pinches of both cinnamon and nutmeg
  
• splash of milk / cream * optional
  

Beat the egg. Add in the milk if your using it along with the spices.
I usually do this right in a bowl , and then drop the sliced bread in.
I let it sit on each side for a minute to be sure it absorbs the egg mix and is super duper coated. I usually fry them two by two - allowing pairs to hang out in the egg bowl while frying up two others.
Generally I don't add the milk to keep the bread away from teh soggy side but it does help carrry the spices.
Alls you've gots ta do is fry the eggy pieces in a pan with some butter on each side till perfectly browned and then add the filling.

The lazy way: spread with the cannoli filling like a sandwhich.

The not as lazy way messy way: cut slices in the bread to make them into little pockets. Fill with cannoli and fry.

The not as lazy and not messy way / aka the best way:
Slice the bread on its lateral side after frying and stuff with the cannoli filling.

Lamb burgers with zucchini fries

Bar-B-Qewe.

The weather here in the Delaware Valley is just starting to curve up, ever so slightly.
The gorgeous first blooms I have been obsessively photographing the past few weeks ,powder pink and absurdly pretty, have been abducted nightly by some unseen hand - turning up like missing persons strewn across the ground each morning.
Dawn breaks and the reluctant rush of a mid week morning begins.
Each day a few more flowers are gone and I look to find fresh , bright green leaves waving good moring in place of dethroned pink.

With summer just around the corner I have been biting at the bit for BBQ season.
But, why wait?
So , here it is. Spring Bar-B-Qewe.
I drew inspiration from the description of one of my all time favorite restaurants staples : Oznot's lamb burger with zaatar aioli and harissa.
This recipe ain't no Oznot's, but it is definitely a keeper.
I used fresh zaatar-ish herbs
(which, proper and dried would lend themselves to a kick ass rub)
placing them directly into the burger.
I also attempted to make the harissa into a BBQ like sauce.
I'm still working out the kinks on that one, but
serving them with straight up harissa and tsatsiki was Delicious.
I nearly chewed my own fingers.




For The Burger

• 1.5 ib ground lamb
  
• coriander (dried)
  
• cumin (dried)
  
• oregano
  
• marjoram
  
• cilantro
  
• salt and pepper
  
• 3 small garlic cloves
  
• 1/2 large onion (I used yellow but red would give more kick)

* This burger would have been A-maaaazing with Chevre. Feta if your into it. Oznaut's used manchego. This time around I just a cut up baby bell.

Nothing could be more simple.
Saute the onion and garlic until just barely tinged golden.
mix with meat.
Then add in roughly one tbl coriander and one tbl cumin.
Chop up about a hand full of each of the other fresh herbs and mix it all together with your hands, forming the meat into flattened patties.
Grill , broil or fry until juices run clear and the cut open center of the burger reflects the desired well done-ness.
Be sure to cook thoroughly in order to avoid illness.



For The Zucchini Fries

• two huge zucchini
  
• paprika
  
• pesto mix
  
• garlic cloves to taste

You can, of course, add whatever spices you like and even cut in some parm cheese.
I would suggest dredging the zucchini in a little flour/ salt mix , or adding breadcrumbs to the herb mix in order to draw out some of the moisture and keep them from going entirely limp.
No one likes a limp zucchini.

Cut up the zucchini into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces.

Now you have got several ways to go:

method 1:
The easiest is to simple spread on a cookie sheet adn drizzle with olive oil . Then sprinkle with herbs and bake as below.
or
method 2:
Dredge with some salt and flour, enough to dust the zucchini pieces.
Let the zucchini sit like this for 15 minutes - 1/2 hour or so.
This step isn't entirely necessary but it does help keep the zucchini a little more on the dry side.
(This would be a good place to multi-task. While the zuchs are drying out - mix up the burger etc.- just be sure to wash your hands after handling raw meat.)

Fill a bowl with enough olive oil to coat all of the zucchini and mix it with the herbs.
Spread out evenly on a cookie sheet.
Bake in a super duper hot oven.
450 degrees for 15 minutes.
Try to flip them with tongs or a spatula about half way through.
or
method 3:
You can also mix equal parts parm cheese and bread crumbs, beat and egg and bread the zucchini by dipping it first into the egg, then into the parm/breadcrumb mix.
Afterward bake as above.

The method I used that yielded the best results was method 2.
It kept the zucchini little on the dry side and coating the slices entirely in oil made sure they were all evenly coated with the oil mixture.

sooo good.

Spring Garden

"Weed" may be the only four-letter word in the English language I don't use.

As a young collegiate lad, I decided to indulge my underfed bio nerdiness by supplementing my high falooten design degree with a certification in western herbalism at the New York Open Center under Peeka Trenkle.
Those classes fuelled a budding interest in food and health that ushered in a major change in the way I thought about food, and of course, how I ate.
Ever since I have been known to get a little witchy on occasion.
I'm not ashamed to dig up a root or two , and if you cough around me I'm going to try to dose you with garlic.
Enuf said.

So, this is the long way of saying I would like to introduce you to my Garden.
Garden, Reader. Reader Garden.
She may look a little toe-up now, but after she combs her hair its going to start getting green around here.
In addition to a few hot photos , you can expect gardening tips I have picked up along the way , as well as benefiting from my ethnobotanical knowledge (not that I am an expert or a medical professional or anything so respect my amatuerity and don't go suing me. Instead go to a doctor. p.s. that was the disclaimer).


"Weed" might be the only four letter word in the English I don't use,
as evidenced in the picture above I like to keep it on the wild side.
If strangers are friends you haven't met yet, then the same can be said for weeds.
They are nothing less then misunderstood plants, and learning to control your pruning finger can be a rich educational experience.
Gardens are , after all, one of the last places where we hold onto some part of our illicit past as hunter gatherers. Modern as we may feel ourselves to be, we often carry around plants as heirlooms- passed down to us like ancestral china.
We invite plants to sit on our windowsills and in our offices, pack them like over sized shirts into the grids of our cities and nurture them in our backyards.

But every garden has its outliers.
The wild has only been mildly domesticated.
In a feral garden there is always something new and once the growing season starts I'm always finding some interesting foreign leafy thing to look up.
Adding to the field book Que are butterflies , birds , assorted pollinators and the associated riff raff that follow them.
I actively try to recruit wildlife who appreciate the diversity and often reward me by popping in to "drop off" new seeds.
These are my gems.
Very often the very plants Ive been contemplating purchasing at the garden center actually turn up unannounced in the beds provided I give them a chance to grow.
I like the idea of a garden as constantly evolving with its own desires and personality.
While I make an effort to tidy up the beds I give it some room to breathe.
I'm on the liberal left when it comes to border patrol.
What can I say?
I like it a little hairy.

Welcome to my garden.

Ruby Red Grapefruit Granita with Rosewater and Honey

Grapefruits are like God's gift.
A ruby red grapefruit is one of the last bastions in adulthood where you are given silent permission to sweeten the hell out of something without being reprimanded.
Even if you are 65 and have diabetes no one will bat an eye as you sprinkle sugar all over your grapefruit half , spoon in one hand and insulin in the other.
With a breakfast like that who among us wouldn't feel blessed?

This was my first time making a granita and while I knew it would be super simple I had no idea how defeated I would feel afterward.
There was no " Holy crap I'm a culinary genius!" ego stroke to be found here folks.
But the sophisticated fancy pants points come in here with the name.
Say it out loud with me.

GRANITA!

Sometimes sparkly Italian words give you eat cred.
So cut that "water-ice" talk and let yourself feel superior.

Despite my opening sweetener rant , I went for the gold here and swapped out the sugar for some honey.
I have always wanted to keep bee's and have some really great jars from family friends in the Ukraine but opted for a reserve jar I bought straight from a keeper on a dirt road in Hawaii.
This is a great place for a flowery honey.
It compliments the gentle perfume of rosewater and softens the grapefruit into something pooling and breezy.

* I don't have my notes in front of me while I'm writing this but this is pretty darn close. I will check back with exactly what it is I did soon I promise.

Ruby Red Grapefruit Granita with Honey and Rosewater and Honey

• One Grapefruit juiced with pulp included
  
• one half cup water
  
• 1/4 cup honey
  
• 2 tbsp rosewater

Heat the water and honey until bubbles form.
Once cooled added the grapefruit juice and rosewater.
Mix well.
At this point you've got options.

1) Freeze in ice cube trays and blend up in a food processor.

2) Freeze in a plastic freezer bag.
Once frozen double bag and beat against the concrete / smash with a mallet.
Of course this is the method I prefer.
(just be careful. not only for the sake of your thumbs but for the sake of the bag. It may rip open.)

3) Freeze in a tray or container that will allow you to scrape it into flakes with a fork. This actually works pretty well.


Now eat it. Let it melt on your tongue and bring you one step closer to God.

Whoa image. It is. it's kind of ridiculous. and another citrus fruit.

Hot Sweet and Sour Glazed Shrimp

TaaDaaH!

While not entirely off my radar, I have never really loved a lot of heat in food. Something about the watering eyes/masochistic burning lips / killing taste buds thing has never made any sense to me.
It hurts.
But tastes change.
Where once I would wildly hunt the back of the Frigidaire for the salty sour of a crisp pickle, lately I've been hacking up and piecing together pepper parts like a Mad Dr.

Yes...
A Dr. pepper if you will.
Lets just say if bland is a disease, I've got the cure.

Here is a new role for that versatile out of work jam in your kitchen.
Serrano's punch up the sweet and sour of raspberry/currant/blood orange jam with roasted Pablanos yielding to a satisfying balance of heat and sweet.
It's also worth mentioning one of the greatest attributes of a mason jar glaze.
The jam sets up beautifully into a sticky high gloss that caramelizes like whoa.
This dish would be great on the BBQ with some grilled pineapple, or pan crackle it like I did.

Hot Sweet and Sour Glazed Shrimp

• 1 lb Shrimp
  
• 1 onion
  
• 3 cloves garlic
  
• 2 Serrano peppers
  
• 1 Pablano pepper
  

For the Glaze

• 2 tbsp jam (3 if you like it sweeter)
  
• 1 1/4 cup pineapple juice (or substitute orange)
  
• 2 tbsp vinegar
  
• 1 lime juiced
  
• 2/3 cup fresh cilantro
  
• 3 tbsp cornstarch.
  

* optional*
salt, pepper, cumin powder....and fish stock for the rice if your into it.
Feel free to substitute the red currant rasberry blood orange jam from last post. I won't get my feelings hurt. Try raspberry,orange marmalade,guava, or even lime!
I did do you a favor though.
As far as the cornstarch goes more makes it thick and clingy, less more saucey.
Keep this in mind when deciding whether to grill or fry.
I kept the proportion of glaze to shrimp in a 1:1 ratio so that it is easy to multiply the ingredients by the number of pounds shrimp you intend to use. See...Daddy loves you.
Now get to work.

Clean the shrimp.

Mix juice and jam in a pot and bring to a simmer.
Now dump in the vinegar and let the mixture reduce a little, finally adding the cornstarch, stirring until it is fully incorporated without any lumps.
Turn off the heat.
The glaze will thicken while you stir it.
Mix in cilantro reserving some to sprinkle on top.
Leave the glaze on the stove top. Don't panic if its a little cloudy.

Dip the shrimp into the glaze or brush them several times over, and place on a sheet or dish.

Roast the Poblano and Serrano over an open flame, then chop them up with the onion and garlic. Watch the seeds. More seeds generally means more heat.
Saute the vegetables.

When the vegetables just begin to wilt add in the glazed shrimp and sprinkle with salt/pepper/cumin powder.
Cook on each side till sort of see through and pinkish - about 4 minutes depending on whether or not you bought them pre-cooked.

Serve it with a smile.
You did a great job!

Red Currant Jam with Blood Orange and Raspberries

In like a lion out like lamb.
March has paraded into town all vibrato and big hair this year which means we are currently under the paw of some serious lion days.
Tangled in its mane, the wind is thick and the sky alternates between slate gray and a gorgeous airbrushed blue.
Airbrushed. Like the Jersey shore. "I love Nino" with palm trees on the back of a boardwalk T-shirt.
Kind of makes you want to bust open your kaboodle, tie in your favorite scrunchy and make out on the Ferris wheel doesn't it?
(OK maybe those are just my airbrush associations...
Or just a shout out to my sister).

Anyway , don't get fooled by the jam recipe.
I'm not one of those people anxiously awaiting summer even after a trip last week to visit family in Florida.
This is one of my favorite times of year.
Bulbs are peeking out to see whats going on this side of the dirt divide and weird fruit starts showing up at my grocery store.
I have a habit of buying fruit and thinking about it later,which not only explains the crowded nation of pomelos confined to my crisper, but also the jam.
You can't let food go to waste and I can't help buying it.
Last week a hot little container of tart red currants rendered my mind zombified and my wallet parted open so wide that the cashier asked if my first name was Moses.

Raspberry and Red currants are old bedfellows, matched in color, sour factor and jam-ability. Blood orange lends its distinct color to an all together gorgeous sweet and sour jam.
"Yes," I hear you say.
"But What to do with a sweet and sour jam?"
I'm like a superdelegate for jam and maybe Im campaigning a little hard but
I believe it is underutilized.
I have an unexpected use for this one and I plan on posting it next week.

Red Currant Jam with Blood orange and Raspberries

• 2 cups red currants
  
• 2 cups raspberries
  
• 3 blood oranges
  
• 2 cups sugar
  

* note there is no need for added pectin

Boil the currants in just enough water to cover them for a few minutes to soften them.
Now mash em up.
Add in the raspberries and the blood oranges peeled and cut up into small pieces.
Boil until the jam begins to reduce and get jamy.
Pour into sterilized jars and process for about 7 minutes.

This makes about 3 1/2 pints.