The Curried Cook

Channa Masala in the Fagor Pressure Cooker Chickpeas

2013-10-29T16:39:00.001-07:00

If you have a pressure cooker, it is really easy and convenient to make channa masala. The beauty of this recipe is you can use the pressure cooker for everything!

You can find my recipe for Channa Masala here.

Ingredients
1 cup chickpeas
1 tea bag
6 cups water
2 tablespoons, vegetable oil
2 medium onions, diced (yellow onions preferred, white onions in a pinch)
2 tablespoons minced ginger
2 green chilies, sliced (if you like it spicy, add more!)
2 teaspoons crushed garlic
3 medium tomatoes, diced
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1.5 teaspoons ground cumin
.5 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons minced coriander leaves
1/4 teaspoon Garam Masala
Shredded Ginger (for garnish)

Add 5 cups of water and 1 tea bag to the pressure cooker with 1cup uncooked, un-soaked chickpeas.

Cover and lock lid (Don’t bring the tea to boil beforehand). Place pressure cooker on setting 1. Bring to pressure over high heat for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, bring pressure down to ambient pressure. Remove the lid, reserve 1 cup of the liquid and drain the rest of the chickpeas in a colander. Add a little oil to the pressure cooker.

Add onions and stir fry till golden. Add ginger and chilies, continue to stir fry until their aroma is released. Last, add the garlic and stir fry a few seconds until golden.

Add coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder and red pepper powder. Stir fry for 5-10 minutes.

Add tomatoes, reserved tea liquid and chickpeas.

Cover and lock lid of the pressure cooker. Place on setting 1. Turn gas to high. Cook for 10 minutes on HIGH pressure.

After 10 minutes, bring pressure down to ambient pressure.

Salmon with Blue Chair Fruit Plum Jam

2012-11-29T10:55:00.002-08:00

I am always looking for new ways to use great food products-jam from Blue Chair Fruit, a local jam company here in Oakland, is one of them.

We were in Seattle a few months ago visiting friends. As a present for staying at our generous hosts house, we brought them Blue Chair Jam, needless to say they are powerfully impressed! If you can get your hands on any of their jams, count yourself very lucky! Each jam is handmade, crafted with skill and perfection. Rachel, the owner, sourcing everything locally, and seasonally. They are fantastic jams, and there really is no reason to buy any other sort of jam! Honestly!

Robyn and I got some fresh Salmon from Pike's Place and cooked up this dish. The kicker was using Blue Chair Fruit Plum jam! It really made this dish!

This dish can be made on the grill or barbeque. It works equally well if you have a broiler on your oven with a flame. I used my oven with the broiler. Make sure to re-position the tray in the oven so it is directly below the broiler, otherwise your fish will not caramelize properly.

Ingredients
Fresh salmon fillet (not a steak cut), cleaned and de-boned
Salt and Pepper
Blue Chair Fruit, Plum jam
2 lemons, sliced thinly
1/2 for juice

In an oven broiler
Place lemon slices on a cookie sheet. Lay the salmon on the lemon slices (this will prevent sticking). Adjust the rack so it is directly below the broiler.

Lay the fish on the lemon slices, skin side up and facing you. Salt and pepper the skin and place in the broiler.

Turn the broiler on HIGH. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until the skin is cooked and puffy, but not charred.

Place additional lemon slices on the cooked skin. Gently flip the fish, so the lemon slices are now on the bottom. The flesh of the fish should be on top, with lemon slices. Remove the lemon slices on top. Squeeze any remaining juice from the lemon slices on the fish and discard.

With a brush, gently spread the plum over the flesh of the fish. The heat of the fish should make the jam a little runny. Give it a good coating of jam. Salt and pepper the fish again.

Place the fish back in the broiler and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, until the fish is cooked. I usually like my salmon slightly cooked, otherwise it gets too hard. You want the jam to caramelize a little.

On a barbeque grill

If you are using a grill, heat the charcoal until very hot. Lay the lemon slices on the grill in a rectangle pattern. Lay the fish on the lemon slices, skin side up and facing you. Salt and pepper the skin. Add some of the jam and gently spread it over the fish with a brush or butter knife. Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Gently flip the fish. Take advantage of the lemon slices, it will make it easier to flip the fish.
Cook for an additional 2 minutes, or until done.

Pozole, Mexican Corn Soup

2012-11-20T14:50:00.000-08:00

This is a traditional soup that has been eaten for thousands of years in Mesoamerica. Pozole uses hominy, or dried maize kernals. Although the recipe can be made using regular corn kernals, it really helps if you can get hold of some hominy. Most Mexican stores will have them dried. You can also get some canned hominy, which eliminates the need to soak the hominy overnight. Either way, it is a delicious recipe and perfect for a cold winter night! Obviously, using homemade chicken stock imparts a delicious flavor.

Ingredients
Olive oil
1/4 white onion, diced
2 garlic cloves peeled and whole
1/2-1 lbs chicken breast or thigh, diced
Oregano
Salt
pepper
2 Tomatoes, diced

Rich Dark chicken stock, 1/2 to 3/4 cup

Hominy, 1 cup dried or canned
Water

Avocado, sliced

Fresh lime juice

Saute the onions and garlic in a large sauce pan with some olive oil. Be sure not to let the garlic get too dark.

When the onion and garlic release their aroma, add the chicken, oregano, salt and pepper.

Stir fry for a few minutes until the chicken is white and no longer raw.

Add the tomatoes, and give them a good stir, letting them
sweat out their juices.

Add the chicken stock and cook for several minutes.

Add the hominy and give it a good stir.

You will need to have the hominy completely submerged in the liquid created by the tomatoes and chicken stock. If you don't have enough liquid to cover the hominy, add water or more chicken stock until the hominy is completely submerged in liquid.

Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes. Check the hominy after 15 minutes. If it is not cooked to your likeness, continue to cook in the liquid until the hominy is as soft as you want it. If you are using canned hominy, it has already been cooked, so you just need to cook for 3-5 minutes to heat up the hominy and distribute the flavors. If you are using regular corn, you don't have to cook the mixture for 15 minutes--it will probably be much less.

Serve with freshly squeezed lemon or lime, avocado, salt and pepper.

Spicy Mabo Tofu

2012-11-16T13:00:00.000-08:00

The first time I had Mabo Tofu was in Japan. I was studying abroad in Kyoto, and decided to make a visit to Kobe's Chinatown. It was cold and rainy, as many cities in Japan are in the winter. This dish really hit the spot-warm, spicy and delicious.

Mabo Tofu is a Japanese take on a Sichuan dish. Tofu is stir fried with leeks, ginger, garlic and tomatoes. The Sichuan original has the addition of fermented black beans, which are quite tasty, but I can never seem to motivate to cook them. Some preparations can overdo it with the sesame seed oil, but a good Mabo Tofu should not be oily.

I replaced the beef with ground turkey, I found it to be a little cheaper (and healthier!). This dish is great by itself, with freshly cooked rice or with noodles!

Ingredients

Meat Mix
1 lbs ground meat (Turkey, lamb or beef)
3 tablespoons brandy
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Vegetable Mix

Raiyu (Chinese Hot Chili Oil)
Sichuan Peppercorn Oil
Dried Mikan from the Raiyu, sliced
Leek, minced 5 tablespoons

Ginger, peeled and minced 2 tablespoons
Garlic minced 1 tablespoon
1/2 teaspoon roasted Sichuan peppercorns
3 tomatoes, skin removed, diced
1/2 cup fish stock
3 teaspoons Morrocan Ketchup or regular ketchup mixed with 1 teaspoon harrisa
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon Korean Chili Pepper
Tofu, cut into cubes

Remove the tofu and wash gently. Place the tofu on a plate. Place a second plate on top of the tofu. Place a book or a heavy object (pot with water?) on the top plate. Let the tofu sit for 20-30 minutes as you prepare the other ingredients. This will force water out of the tofu, making it firmer.

Heat the Raiyu and Sichuan peppercorn oil in a wok until very hot, but not smoking. When their aroma is released, add the ground meat and stir fry for several minutes until the meat is no longer pink. Remove the meat.

Add more Raiyu and Sichuan peppercorn oil to the wok. Stir fry the leek, ginger, garlic and peppercorns for several minutes, until the leeks is cooked through.

Add the tomatoes and stir fry for a few minutes until the tomatoes begin to sweat and break down. Add the fish stock, Morrocan Ketchup, paprika and chili powder. Stir to incorporate. Taste. Add additional paprika and chili powder to taste. Add the cooked meat back into the wok.

Add the tofu, cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook on low heat for 15-20 minutes, or until the tofu is cooked through.

Serve with cooked rice!

Roasted Shishito Peppers

2012-11-09T15:42:00.000-08:00

Shishito Peppers are Japanese Green Peppers. These peppers are usually served at Izakaya-Japanese style pubs. They are super simple to prepare and quite delicious!

Ingredients
Shishito Green Pepper
Kosher Salt
Olive Oil

Heat a little oil in a frying pan or wok. Add the peppers when the oil is hot, but not smoking. Stir fry for several minutes until part of the skin of the peppers chars and turns black.

Remove from heat. Sprinkle with salt, mix and serve in a bowl.

Simple and delicious!

Soy Braised Chicken Wings

2012-11-08T18:59:00.001-08:00

This is a twist on a very traditional Chinese dish. Whole chickens are slow simmered in soy sauce, shaoxing (Chinese Rice Wine), ginger, garlic and dried mikan peels. I replaced dried mikan peels with freshly squeezed mikan (tangerines) juice and their peels. I also replaced shaoxing with Apple Brandy. I replaced balsamic vinegar with Fig Balsamic Vinegar, to give it a hint of complexity. Finally, to offset the saltiness of the soy sauce, and an additional note of complexity, I added honey'd preserved figs. Its absolutely delicious!

Ingredients
1 lbs chicken wings
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup of Apple Brandy or Applejack (Regular brandy will work too)
1 tablespoon peeled, sliced ginger
3 scallions, chopped
7-8 garlic cloves, whole with skin removed
2 mikan (tangerines)
Honey'd preserved figs 5 tablespoons
Fig Balsamic Vinegar 1 tablespoon
Brown Sugar (optional)

Procedure

Remove the chicken wings from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature.

Mix the soy sauce, Apple Brandy, ginger, garlic and scallions together in a wok.

Wash and peel the mikan. Add the peels to the wok.

Add the mikan to a food processor. Remove the seeds from the mikan and discard. Blend the mikan (sans skin and seeds). Add the pureed mikan to the wok. Add the ginger and garlic to the wok.

Over medium heat, bring the soy sauce mixture to a gentle boil.

Add the honey'd preserved figs and gently mix the figs into the soy sauce.

Add the Fig Balsamic Vinegar to the soy sauce mixture. Taste. Adjust accordingly--if the soy sauce is too salty and powerful, add more brandy, figs, fig balsamic vinegar or brown sugar.

Add the chicken wings to the wok. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the chicken is fully cooked, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. The internal temperature needs to reach 165.

Steak on the barbie

2012-10-25T10:49:00.002-07:00

I ordinarily don't eat steak--it's expensive and all that meat can't possibly be good for you if you have it regularly. But once in a while really is a treat! I found these steaks on sale at our local Whole Food on their Friday sale.

This is an Italian twist on a traditional steak. I got the recipe from Chef Fabio Viviani---You can watch his video on steak here.

A tip I learned from Chef Viviani:
1) Don't salt your steak before cooking it. Instead, you freshly cracked pepper. A lot of pepper. The cracked pepper will help create a thin layer on the steak which will seal in the juices. The salt with draw out the moisture in the meat and dry out your steak. If you want salt, add it at the very end!

2) Use a fresh branch of rosemary as your basting brush. Heat activates the oil in rosemary and really brings out its flavor. If you have some rosemary oil, use that!

3) Look for marbling in the steak. The marbling helps lock in the juices--so they will stay inside the steak and not leak out during the cooking process.

A few tips I learned along the way:
1) Bring you steak to room temperature before grilling. For this recipe, I made a mix of chopped garlic and olive oil. I then let the steak marinade in that for about 1 hour at room temperature.

2) Make sure your grill is clean and oiled. Noone wants the reminants of whatever what cooked on the grill two weeks ago in their food. Its best to clean the grill after your last grilling job, when the grills are hot, food doesn't stick as well.

3) Oil your grill before you add your meat. The best way to do this is to bunch up a paper towel and douse it in oil. Wrap it in one thin layer of aluminum foil and puncture the aluminum foil several times with a fork. Use a pair of tongs to brush the grill when it is hot with the oil.

2) Make sure your grill is nice and hot! When heating your coals, use a chimney starter--they are really inexpensive and work great. They take a little bit longer to heat up your charcoal, but it is much better--no one wants to taste lighter fluid on their food!

3) On that note, be sure to use natural charcoal. Some manufacturers will douse their charcoal in lighter fluid for an easy light...Don't but these brands.

4) If you have any natural wood to burn it, use it! Natural wood works really well, and imparts a delicious flavor to meat! The best part is that if you use natural wood logs, they turn into charcoal as they burn, saving you a trip to the store. I will place two logs of wood on each end of the barbeque, and then add the hot coal in between. The heat of the coals will make the logs burn, so you get a good combination of flame and slow heat from the charcoal.

5) Use steak with the bone in. It will help lock in moisture.

Ingredients
1 steak
Freshly cracked pepper
Garlic
Olive Oil
1 rosemary stem
Fresh Thyme
Salt

Bring the steak to room temperature.

Drizzle the steak with olive oil on both sides. Massage the olive oil in.

Cover your steak with freshly cracked pepper. This pepper will help create a seal which will lock in the juiciness and flavors of the steak so be liberal with it.

Fire up your barbeque.
Cook on high heat for 7-8 mintues. Don't be constantly prodding the steak. Just close the cover and let it cook undisturbed.

After 7 minutes, add some fresh thyme to the top of the steak (the raw side) and flip the steak. Brush the top of the steak (the cooked portion) with the rosemary brush. Sprinkle some salt on the cooked side.

Place a meat thermometer inside the steak. The temperature needs to get to 145 F (62.7 C) for 15 seconds.

Cover and cook for another 7-8 minutes.

Once the steak is done, remove from heat and let it sit for 5 minutes or so. The internal heat will continue to cook the steak.

Serve with mashed potatoes, salad or sauted mushrooms. I found the flavor so intense from the wood fire and the rosemary, that the steak didn't need any seasoning at all.

Once you are done grilling, clean off the grill while the coals are still hot with a grill brush. Let the coals burn out naturally. The wood you used will have turned to charcoal, so you can use that charcoal the next time you barbeque.

Roasted Chicken in a Dutch Oven

2012-10-22T14:46:00.000-07:00

We recently got an Oval Dutch Oven from Le Creuset . I have roasted a chicken many times before, in a roasting pan, like the one's that comes with a standard oven. Although that works just fine, you really get something special when you roast a chicken in a Dutch Oven!

The main difference I saw was that the meat cooked faster, and the bird was much more juicier. All of the moisture gets locked into the bird, and makes it really soft and tender. The next major benefit was that this really was a one pot meal. I roasted the chicken in the dutch oven with carrots, celery and fennel. I could store the chicken in the same Dutch oven in the refrigerator. When I was done with the chicken, I could make chicken stock directly in the Dutch oven, with the bones, carcass and the vegetables I used to roast the chicken.

Lastly, all the fat from the chicken dripped out into the pan, so I could easily collect it and use it in another recipe! Look at all that deliciousness! LeCreuset is definitely the way to roast a chicken!

This is a standard recipe for roasting a chicken. My recipe for roasting a chicken on Shokubi can be found here.

Bring the chicken to room temperature. Take a lemon and boil it in water for a few minutes, until it becomes soft. Prick it several times with a knife and stuff it into the chicken. Stuff with carrots, celery, fennel and onions. Pop a few garlic cloves under the skin and place on a be of carrots, celery and potatoes. Generously rub with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Roast the chicken at 400 F for 1 hour or so. After the chicken comes to the proper internal temperature, 160 F on a meat thermometer, remove the cover and let it roast for about 10 minutes more, or until the skin gets very crispy.

Turkey Stuffed Tofu

2012-10-15T15:02:00.001-07:00

This is a twist on traditional pork stuffed tofu. Tofu is cut in half, stuffed with raw pork and scallions, deep fried and served with a sauce. This variation replaces the pork with turkey, which is leaner and has less fat, but just as delicious!

Ingredients
Extra Firm Tofu, 2 10 oz blocks

Filling
Ground Turkey, about 1/2 lbs (you can also use ground pork)
1 scallion, minced (use whole scallion, white and green parts)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon dry sherry
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Sauce
1/3 cup rich dark chicken stock
1 teaspoon soy sauce
2 teaspoon oyster sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1.5 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon of water
1/2 teaspoon black bean sauce (optional)

Directions
For the filling, mix all the ingredients and marinade for 20-30 minutes or up to 2 hours.

Combine the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and stir regularly on medium heat, or until all the ingredients dissolve into the sauce. Set aside.

Wash and pat dry the tofu squares.

Cut the tofu squares into triangles. To do this, take one tofu block and cut it in half lengthwise.

Take one of those halves and cut it into four triangles, by cutting a big X through the tofu block. Repeat with the other half of the tofu. If you are using 2 packs of tofu, you should end up with 16 tofu triangles.

Take one of the triangles of tofu. With a sharp pairing knife, cut out a thin pocket on the long side of the tofu. Take the carved out tofu and use for another recipe. Repeat for the remaining tofu triangles. Reserve the scrapped out tofu for Mabo Tofu.

After the tofu ingredients have marinated, take on the tofu triangles, and stuff the tofu pocket with the turkey mixture. Be sure not to overstuff the tofu, it will break the tofu and ruin your stuffed tofu! It takes about 2 teaspoons of meat mixture. Repeat for the remaining tofu triangles.

You can fry these immediately, or keep them in the refrigerator for a few hours.

When you are ready to eat, heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a wok or cast iron skillet. When it gets hot, almost smoking, add the triangles, meat side down. Cook for 5-6 minutes total, turning the tofu to brown on each side. When all the sides are nicely browned remove from the wok and place on paper towels. Let any remaining oil drain off.

Serve with the dipping sauce!

Honey'd Preserved Figs

2012-10-03T14:37:00.000-07:00

I still had some figs left over from my last meal, Fig Balsamic Vinegar, and I didn't want them to go bad. At the same time, I didn't have any dishes I readily wanted to make with figs, so I decided to make a fig jam. I went online and found a recipe for Honey'd Preserved Figs, from a blog called Will Cook for Friends.

This turned out really good! I used some Hawaiian honey from the Big Island and it was so delicious!

This works great as a spread for toasted rustic bread! I am thinking about making some sort of ice cream with it.

Ingredients
1 lbs black mission figs or any other type
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Gently wash and stem the figs. Cut them into half or quarters and add them to a saucepan.

Add the remaining ingredients. Give them a good stir, its okay if you break down the figs a bit.

Let the figs marinate in the lemon juice, honey and sugar for 15 minutes.

Put the saucepan with the figs on medium heat, and cook for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
I found stirring the figs with a large wooden pestle really does the trick! Continue stirring until the fruit begins to break down.

Reduce the heat to low. Continue to cook for 7-10 minutes more, or until the jam has thickened to your liking.

Spoon the preserves into a glass jar. They will stay in the refrigerator for a few weeks. Alternatively, you could can the fruits. Properly sealed jars can stay in a cool dark place for several months. Just be very careful with the canning process!

Fig Balsamic Vinegar

2012-10-01T16:23:00.004-07:00

We recently got a bunch of figs from friends! Thank you very much! We were debating what to do with them.

I scoured the internet and found this recipe from a food blog called White on Rice. Its delicious! I have been using this as a dipping sauce for roasted chicken. I am thinking of other uses for it. It works great with toasted bread and goat cheese as well!

Ingredients
1 cup of fig pulp (I used Mission figs, but I think Brown Turkey would work too)
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Scoop out the fig pulp from the figs. I found a paring knife works best for this.

In a saucepan, add the balsamic vinegar and fig pulp. Simmer on low heat for 30-45 minutes, or until the mixture reduces to about half. Give it a good stir every 5 minutes or so, to make sure the figs don't stick to the pan.

Allow the fig reduction to cool. Place the mixture in a food processor and blend thoroughly.

The recipe from White on Rice called for straining the fig seeds out of the mixture, but I found the figs seeds were too small and just fell through my colander I would stay strain it if you have a really fine mesh colander--those seeds are small! Otherwise, just leave the seeds in.

Add a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract.

Store in a glass container in the fridge.

Pineapple Mint Shave Ice

2012-09-25T12:28:00.001-07:00

Pineapple and Mint are best mates. This is a fantastic dessert for summer when fresh mint and pineapple are both in season!

Similar to my post yesterday on Shokubi, Pineapple Li Hing Mui Shave Ice, I was intending to make a pineapple mint sorbet, but it turned into a granita or Hawaiian Shave Ice.

It was still a little tasty, but when frozen it was rock hard! If you let this dish sit out for about 10 minutes, it gets softer and much easier to serve and eat! You can also scrape it straight out of the freezer if you are looking for more of a shave ice texture.

This was a super simple recipe to follow, as long as you have an Ice Cream Maker. We received a KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker Stand Mixer Attachment as a wedding gift, and it worked wonderful!

I am still experimenting with it. A few plausible theories I have as to why it didn't come out right:

1. I didn't have enough sugar in the mix. The pineapple had natural sugars in it, that this would be enough sweetness. I had tasted the mixture before freezing and after freezing, and it was plenty sweet. I had added only 2 tablespoons of sugar to this dish. By contrast, when I was making a Lemongrass Mint sorbet a few months back, I had added 1.5 cups of sugar to 1 cup of water.

So for the same volume of liquid, 1.5 cups of sugar is going to give you a very soft sorbet, and 2 tablespoons is going to give you a very hard granita. The hypothesis I am arriving at is that the sugar is providing a textural element as well, making it softer somehow. Perhaps the sugar is prevents the liquid element from forming ice crystals, making it softer.

2. I didn't seep or boil the liquid. When I made a Lemongrass Mint sorbet a few months back, I had seeped the flavor elements (mint and lemongrass) in boiling water with sugar for 20 minutes. This allowed the flavor to infuse into the liquid. Obviously, the heat released some natural oils in the lemongrass, and possibly the mint. Maybe by heating the liquid and then adding the sugar, the sugar dissolved into the mixture, changing itself structurally. Any chemists out there who can help me confirm this hypothesis?

3. The pineapple is making the dish too chunky. Somehow the pineapple is interfering with the formation of ice crystals, making the whole thing hard. I don't know the science behind this...Any readers out there chemists? I am experimenting with blending the pineapple in the food processor, then squeezing out the liquid with a cheesecloth. This will impart the flavor of pineapple. Then after everything has gone through the ice cream maker, I add back in a few spoonfuls of the pineapple.

In any event, I found that if I let this granita sit outside the freezer for about 5-8 minutes, the ice crystals loosen up and it is easier to spoon out. Either way, it tastes good.

I will give the recipe for what I did, and then make recommendations for how I would improve the recipe for next time.

This granita, as it is, also works wonders as a base for mixed drinks. Like a Pineapple Mint Mojito!

Ingredients, Initial Run (what I did)
Pineapple, cut and cored, 3.5 cups
Fresh Mint Leaves, 1 large handful, washed
Sugar 2 tablespoons

Procedure, Initial Run (what I did)
Place your ice cream maker's bowl and paddle in the freezer and let it freeze completely (at least 24 hours).

Cut your pineapple into cubes, as outlined in my blog post Cutting a Pineapple. Cut and remove the core. You can either toss the core or makes something else with it. I place my cores in a glass jar with vodka and make pineapple infused vodka!

Add the Pineapple, mint leaves and sugar to a food processor. Blend until smooth.

Set up the Ice cream bowl and paddle on your KitchenAid (see my blog post Lemongrass Granita to learn how to set up your KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker).

Churn for 7-12 minutes on speed 1. Remove and pour into a plastic container. Freeze.

The texture of this batch wasn't as hard as the Pineapple Li Hing Mui Shave Ice, but it was still not smooth at all. It was still rather hard, and I needed to let it sit outside the freezer at room temperature for 5-6 minutes, before serving it.

Ingredients, 2nd Run

Pineapple, cut and cored, 3.5 cups
Fresh Mint Leaves, 1 large handful, washed
Sugar 1.5 cups
1 cup boiling water

Procedure, 2nd Run
Place your ice cream maker's bowl and paddle in the freezer and let it freeze completely (at least 24 hours).

Cut your pineapple into cubes, as outlined in my blog post Cutting a Pineapple. Cut and remove the core. You can either toss the core or makes something else with it. I place my cores in a glass jar with vodka and make pineapple infused vodka!

Add the pineapple cubes to your food processor and blend until smooth. Strain the pineapple through a fine sieve or cheesecloth. Discard the solids or place the solids in a glass jar of vodka to seep for flavored vodka. Keep the liquid portion in a separate bowl.

In a separate bowl, add sugar and boiling water. Stir till the sugar is dissolved. Add the liquid pineapple and give it a good stir again. Place a kitchen towel over the mixture and let seep for 20 minutes.

Cool.

Set up the Ice cream bowl and paddle on your KitchenAid (see my blog post Lemongrass Granita to learn how to set up your KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker).

Churn for 7-12 minutes on speed 1. Remove and pour into a plastic container. Freeze.

Ingredients, 3rd Run
Fresh Pineapple, cut and cored, 3.5 cups
Fresh Mint Leaves, 1 large handful, washed
3 cups sugar
1 cup of boiling water

Procedure, 3rd Run
Place your ice cream maker's bowl and paddle in the freezer and let it freeze completely (at least 24 hours).

Cut your pineapple into cubes, as outlined in my blog post Cutting a Pineapple. Cut and remove the core. You can either toss the core or makes something else with it. I place my cores in a glass jar with vodka and make pineapple infused vodka!

Add mint, sugar and the pineapple to a large bowl. With your hands or a large pestle, squish the pineapple and mint into the sugar, breaking up the pineapple and releasing some of the pineapple juices and mint oils. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes, allowing the pineapple to release some of its juices. Add the boiling water. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Cover with a kitchen towel and let seep for 20 minutes or until cool.

Strain the mixture with a colander, separating the solids from the liquids. Place the liquid portion into the refrigerator.

Take the solids parts and place in a food processor. Blend until smooth.
Strain the now liquid pineapple with a cheesecloth, adding the liquid portion to the other part. Use the solid portion to flavor vodka or throw away.

Cool the mixture and run through an ice cream maker, as outlined above.

I am tempted to say the third one will give the best consistency in terms of texture, but it will have the most sugar! Shokubi Readers, why don't your try making a batch and let me know how it turns out! Either post on my blog (see bottom of the page) or give me a holler on my Twitter account.

Happy cooking! (And eating!!)

Pineapple Li Hing Mui Shave Ice

2012-09-24T11:58:00.000-07:00

Li Hing Mui is an acquired taste. It is a Hawaiian confection of salty dried plums which have be crushed to a powder and added to sugar. Hawaiians put Li Hing Mui on almost anything! When I was living in Hawaii, one of my favorite ways to have it was on fresh pineapple. The sweetness of the pineapple is brought out and creates a wonderful contrast to the saltiness of the Li Hing Mui. My cousin Ruthe, who used to live on Maui, made a Shokubi request for "something Li Hing Mui". Well, here you go Cousin Ruthe!

I have a confession to make to my Shokubi Readers! Disaster struck with this recipe! Well, maybe not a disaster, but it didn't turn out how I wanted it to! I was intending to make a beautiful soft sorbet, but it turned into this super rock hard chunk of ice. It tastes really good, but you will almost break your spoon trying to eat it. I had to scrape the edge of a spoon to get it out of the container! It turned into more of a Granita or shave ice than a sorbet!

I got a KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker attachment for my KitchenAid mixer a few months back for our wedding. I was dying to try it out, but had to wait until after the wedding...no need for extra calories or pounds.

I tried this recipe two times--once with this Pineapple Li Hing Mui granita, and the next day with Mint-Pineapple granita. Both times, I was aiming for a sorbet, but fell far from the mark. The taste was good, but both times it came out super hard.

I am still experimenting with it. A few plausible theories I have as to why it didn't come out right:

1. I didn't have enough sugar in the mix. At the time, I was thinking that because the Li Hing Mui was essentially sugar with licorice flavoring, and the pineapple had natural sugars in it, that this would be enough sweetness. I had tasted the mixture before freezing and after freezing, and it was plenty sweet. I had added only 2 tablespoons of sugar to this dish. By contrast, when I was making a Lemongrass Mint sorbet a few months back, I had added 1.5 cups of sugar to 1 cup of water.

So for the same volume of liquid, 1.5 cups of sugar is going to give you a very soft sorbet, and 2 tablespoons is going to give you a very hard granita. The hypothesis I am arriving at is that the sugar is providing a textural element as well, making it softer somehow. Perhaps the sugar is prevents the liquid element from forming ice crystals, making it softer.

2. I didn't seep or boil the liquid. When I made a Lemongrass Mint sorbet a few months back, I had seeped the flavor elements (mint and lemongrass) in boiling water with sugar for 20 minutes. This allowed the flavor to infuse into the liquid. Obviously, the heat released some natural oils in the lemongrass, and possibly the mint. Maybe by heating the liquid and then adding the sugar, the sugar dissolved into the mixture, changing itself structurally. Any chemists out there who can help me confirm this hypothesis?

3. The pineapple is making the dish too chunky. Somehow the pineapple is interfering with the formation of ice crystals, making the whole thing hard. I don't know the science behind this...Any readers out there chemists? I am experimenting with blending the pineapple in the food processor, then squeezing out the liquid with a cheesecloth. This will impart the flavor of pineapple. Then after everything has gone through the ice cream maker, I add back in a few spoonfuls of the pineapple.

In any event, I found that if I let this granita sit outside the freezer for about 5-8 minutes, the ice crystals loosen up and it is easier to spoon out. Either way, it tastes good.

I will first write how I made this granita, then follow it up with how I would do it a second time.

This granita, as it is, also works wonders as a base for mixed drinks. Like a Li Hing Mui Mojito!

Ingredients Initial Run (what I did)
1 Fresh Pineapple, cut into cubes (about 3 1/4 cups)
Li Hing Mui Powder, 2 tablespoons

Procedure: Initial Run
Place your ice cream maker's bowl and paddle, in the freezer and let it freeze completely (at least 24 hours).

Cut your pineapple into cubes, as outlined in my blog post Cutting a Pineapple. Cut and remove the core. You can either toss the core or makes something else with it. I place my cores in a glass jar with vodka and make pineapple infused vodka!

Add the pineapple cubes to your food processor and blend until smooth. Add the Li Hing Mui powder. Blend again until the Li Hing Mui Powder is mixed thoroughly. Taste. Add more Li Hing Mui powder until you get a flavor profile you enjoy. The whole mixture should look orange.

Set up the Ice cream bowl and paddle on your KitchenAid (see my blog post Lemongrass Granita to learn how to set up your KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker).

Pour the Pineapple & Li Hing Mui mixture into the bowl. Churn for 7-12 minutes on speed 1. Remove and pour into a plastic container. Freeze.

2nd Run
Ingredients 2nd Run
1 Fresh Pineapple, cut into cubes (about 3 1/4 cups)
1.5 cups sugar
1 cup of boiling water
Li Hing Mui Powder, 2 tablespoons

Procedure: 2nd Run
Place your ice cream maker's bowl and paddle in the freezer and let it freeze completely (at least 24 hours).

Cut your pineapple into cubes, as outlined in my blog post Cutting a Pineapple. Cut and remove the core. You can either toss the core or makes something else with it. I place my cores in a glass jar with vodka and make pineapple infused vodka!

Add the pineapple cubes to your food processor and blend until smooth. In a separate bowl, add sugar and boiling water. Stir till the sugar is dissolved. Add the pineapple and give it a good stir again. Place a kitchen towel over the mixture and let seep for 20 minutes.

Strain the mixture through a fine sieve or cheesecloth. Discard the solids or place the solids in a glass jar of vodka to seep for flavored vodka.

Add the Li Hing Mui powder to the liquid.

Take the liquid and run it through an Ice Cream maker as outlined above.

3rd Run
Ingredients 3rd Run
1 Fresh Pineapple, cut into cubes (about 3 1/4 cups)
3 cups sugar
1 cup of boiling water
Li Hing Mui Powder, 4 tablespoons

Procedure: 3rd Run
Place your ice cream maker's bowl and paddle in the freezer and let it freeze completely (at least 24 hours).

Cut your pineapple into cubes, as outlined in my blog post Cutting a Pineapple. Cut and remove the core. You can either toss the core or makes something else with it. I place my cores in a glass jar with vodka and make pineapple infused vodka!

Add sugar and the pineapple to a large bowl. With your hands or a large pestle, squish the pineapple into the sugar, breaking up the pineapple and releasing some of its juices. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes, allowing the pineapple to release some of its juices. Add the boiling water. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Cover with a kitchen towel and let seep for 20 minutes or until cool.

Strain the mixture with a cheesecloth, separating the solids from the liquids. Add the Li Hing Mui Powder to the liquid part and stir to incorporate. Place the liquid portion into the refrigerator. Discard the solids or place in a glass jar with vodka.

Cool the mixture and run through an ice cream maker, as outlined above.

I am tempted to say the third one will give the best consistency in terms of texture, but it will have the most sugar! Shokubi Readers, why don't your try making a batch and let me know how it turns out! Either post on my blog (see bottom of the page) or give me a holler on my Twitter account.

Happy cooking! (And eating!!)

Thai Green Curry with Avocado

2012-09-21T14:31:00.003-07:00

Those of you who follow my blog will recognize parts of this recipe. I used the same base for Thai Green Curry with Chicken and Eggplant as before, but with the addition of blended avocado this time. The blended avocado makes the dish very creamy, rich and buttery. It is absolutely delicious! In this recipe, I made a base from blended avocado and green curry paste, which gives texture to this curry. I then make a regular batch of curry, with its usual spiciness. The eggplant is cooked in the curry to infuse flavor into the eggplant. Chicken is cooked in the curry coconut milk slurry. Finally, vegetables are added.

Ingredients
For the Avocado Base thickening agent:
1 avocado
Cooking oil
1 tablespoon green curry paste, or to taste (Mae Ploy is my preferred brand)

1/2 cup coconut milk

For the green curry base:

1.5 cups coconut milk (1 can)
1 tablespoon green curry paste, or to taste (Mae Ploy is my preferred brand)

Rich Dark Chicken Stock, 1/4 cup
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 lemongrass stalk, bruised and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 Kaffir lime leaves, cut into thin slivers (use a pair of scissors)

2 Thai, Chinese or Japanese eggplants, cut into cubes (don't use Italian eggplants)
2 red tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
15 fresh basil leaves, cut in half
Fresh cilantro for garnish

Directions

Avocado based thickening agent

Cut the avocado in half and remove the stone. The best way to remove the spoon is to hold the avocado half in your left hand and with your right hand make an incision into the stone using a knife. Turn the stone counter clockwise and it should pop out. Make incisions vertically and horizontally into the flesh with a pairing knife. Taking a spoon, peel out the avocado into a food processor (I use Cuisinart).

In a wok, heat some oil on high until hot but not smoking. Add the curry paste, it will sizzle a bit so be careful. Stir fry it for 1-3 minutes, or until the curry paste releases its aroma. Add 1/2 cup or less of coconut milk into the wok. I will usually pour a little coconut milk from the can into the wok and spread it around so it evenly and thinly covers the side of the wok. It is easier to add a little coconut milk at a time and adjust upwards than it is to take coconut milk out of the wok. The more coconut milk you add, the more the flavor will be diluted. So less is more! Mix the coconut milk in with the curry paste until it is dissolved. Keep a close eye on the coconut milk, you do not want it to boil. Adjust the temperature downward to prevent the coconut milk from boiling. You want to make sure that the coconut milk takes on a nice green color, mixing thoroughly with the curry paste. Taste. Add more curry paste if you like it spicier.

Transfer to the food processor with the avocado in it. Thoroughly blend the curry paste, coconut milk and the avocado in the food processor, until the mixture is very smooth and thick.

Transfer the blended avocado back to the wok and heat for a few seconds, again making sure not to bring the coconut milk to a boil. Transfer to a smaller bowl. This is now your thickening agent!

From here, it is just like making regular green curry found on Shokubi!

Green Curry Base:
Heat the wok and add a swig of coconut milk, again just enough to thinly coat the wok. Adjust heat downward to ensure that the coconut milk doesn't start to boil.

Add 1 tablespoon of green curry paste and lemongrass and mix it in with the coconut milk. Taste, and add more green curry paste to make it spicier.

Add homemade chicken stock, fish sauce, turmeric and lime leaves.

Add the eggplant and let the eggplant cook until it is cooked. I like my eggplant soft, but with a little structure.

Add the chicken and let it cook until white, around 3-5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and let them start to cook. The tomatoes will release their juices, thinning out your curry. Add the remainder of your coconut milk.

Now for the avocado thickening agent: Push all your vegetables and chicken to the side of the wok, allowing the liquid to pool in the center. Add a spoonful of the blended avocado and mix into the green curry sauce. Taste. If it is too thin, continue to add more blended avocado until you reach the consistency you like. I like my curry creamy enough so it sticks onto the meat and vegetables, but runny enough that it still feels like a curry.

Serve with hot freshly cooked rice!

South Indian Tomato Pickle

2012-09-20T16:22:00.000-07:00

I never had tomato pickle until I was working in Chennai, India. I was mighty impressed by it! The bright colored spicy sour pickle goes well with crispy dosas, curd rice or any curry. The subtle combination of sweet, spicy and tangy is a great way to spice up any south Indian dish.

When I came to California, I found a few brands at local Indian grocery stores. They are fairly descent pickles, especially for the price. I wouldn't make this recipe unless you have extra tomato pulp from making your own homemade tomato sauce. That being said, homemade Tomato pickle is sooo much better than the commerically available tomato pickle!

To be honest, this recipe was an afterthought---I was eager to try out my new Kitchenaid Stand-Mixer Grinder/Slicer/Strainer set. I had made homemade tomato sauce two weeks ago. The strainer separated the juice of the tomato from the flesh, pulp, skin and seeds. This made the solid remains of the tomato relatively free of moisture. I thought it would be a real shame to throw the pulp, skin and seeds away. I was thinking of making tomato bread out of it, but then I remembered I was low on Tomato Pickle, so I decided my hand at making South Indian Tomato Pickle with it. I scoured the web and found two recipes for tomato pickle: One, Divine Taste, called for sesame seed oil. The second, Gayatri Vantillu's, didn't call for sesame seed oil, so I went with the latter! It came out delicious, although I made some adjustments to the recipe.

The solid remains of the tomatoes are salted and left for a week in a jar. The tomatoes are then squeezed of their juices and dried out for an additional week. Tamarind, chili powder and fenugreek seeds are added to the salted tomato juice. A masala of fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds and red chilies is added to the pickles. Lastly, the sun dried tomatoes are incorporated back into the pickle.

That being said, you can make this recipe either with regular tomatoes or the remains of the tomatoes like I had. If you are using fresh tomatoes, you just need to increase the salt content to draw out the water in the tomatoes (I would stick with the 6 tablespoons & 1 teaspoon salt). If you are using tomatoes that have been juiced, I would reduce the amount of salt (maybe try 5 tablespoons).

I used tomatoes from my tomato sauce, so they were fairly dried out. I used 6 tablespoons of salt, which was too much. I had to cut the saltiness down by adding 2 teaspoons of sugar at the end, and it came out fine!

Ingredients
Tomatoes 3/4 lbs to 1 lbs
Turmeric 1/4 tsp
Salt 6 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon (use less salt if you are using tomatoes that have been juiced)
Tamarind, 1 tablespoon
Fenugreek seeds 1 tablespoon
Red Chili Powder 4 tablespoons or to taste

Masala
Mustard Seeds 1 teaspoon
Fenugreek seeds 1/2 teaspoon
Asafoetida powder 1/8 teaspoon
Red Chilies 2
Oil

Directions

Wash and dry the tomatoes and run them through the KitchenAid Strainer attachment, as detailed in my blog post, Homemade Tomato Sauce with the KitchenAid. Have two bowls set up-one directly underneath the mixer to collect the juice, and a smaller one in front of the mixer to collect the solid parts of the tomatoes.

Take the liquid part of the tomato juice and use it to make tomato sauce. Use the solid pieces for this pickle recipe.

Add turmeric powder and salt to the tomato solids. Put the tomatoes in a glass jar with an airtight seal. Seal the jar and place in a warm, sunny part of the house. Let the tomatoes sit for 1 week (7 full days).

After a week, the salt should have drawn out a lot of the liquid from the tomatoes. Drain the tomatoes, reserving the juice in a separate bowl. Squeeze the tomatoes, separating the liquid from the solid. I used a piece of cheesecloth for this. Really wring out as much juice as you can. When I was making mine, I yielded about 1.5 cups of juice and 1 cup of tomato solids.

Take the tomato solids and place them on a cookie tray. Lay them out as evenly as possible so to form a single layer of tomato peels. They should be fairly dried. Set aside.

Add 1 tablespoons (or 50 grams) of tamarind to the tomato juice. Mix the tamarind in with a fork or your fingers. It should turn a nice red color! If there is a seed in the tamarind, remove it. Take the tomato and tamarind juice mixture and blend it in a food processor until smooth.

Add the chili powder to the juice mixture and blend in the food processor for a few minutes. Taste and add more chili powder if you like it spicier! I used 4 tablespoons of Korean Kimchi Chili Powder. Transfer the juice mixture to a glass jar with a seal on it (the jar you intend to store the Tomato Pickle in).

Dry roast the fenugreek seeds in a cast iron skillet. Allow the seeds to cool and then grind into a fine powder. Add the ground fenugreek powder to the juice mixture.

Make the masala by heating oil in a small frypan. Add the asofoidia powder, fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds and red chilies. Stir fry for a few minutes, until their aroma is released but before the chilies start to turn black and burn (they should retain their red color). Add the masala to the juice mixture. Store it in the refrigerator until the tomatoes are dried out (2-3 days).

Drying out the tomatoes

Note the Dried Mikan Tangerine peels on the left,
tomatoes on the right!

Cover the tomato peels with a single piece of cheesecloth. The best way to sundry tomatoes is in your car. Leave your car outside, windows shut. It took 3 full days for the tomatoes to dry out.Your car will stink like tomatoes, but you should already be having some tangerine mikan peels drying out there as well, so it is no biggie! The car will trap the natural heat of the sun, the glass will magnify the heat, and there is very little chance for bugs and other critters to get into your car. Keep them in the back seat for a minimum of 3 days or up to a week (I live in Oakland CA and we have been blessed by some sunny weather of late, adjust the amount of time depending on how much sun your neighborhood gets).

After 3 days or so, the tomato peels should be fairly dried out. Give them a feel with your fingers, if they feel wet or moist, then give them a few more days in the car. Once they feel fairly dried out, bring them out of the car.

Just to make sure that they are fully dried, pop them in the oven on the lowest possible setting (170 F on my oven) for about 30-40 minutes. Check on them fairly regularly, mixing them around with your fingers and feeling that they are fully dried.

Add the dried tomatoes to the pickles in the jar. Mix with a fork to distribute the dried tomatoes evenly.

Taste the mixture. If the tomato pickle tastes too salty to you, add sugar (I added 2 teaspoons of sugar).

Store the pickle in the refrigerator. It will keep for a long while.

Guacamole

2012-09-19T10:50:00.002-07:00

This guacamole is a great dip for chips. It also works great as a condiment for beef tacos, fish tacos and enchiladas.

Ingredients
2 avocados
1 small onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 lime, juiced
Salt and pepper to taste.
1 tomato, chopped

Directions
Cut the avocado in half lengthwise. The best way of doing this is with a pairing knife. Cut into the top of the avocado and cut down till you hit the stone. Using the knife, guide the blade around the stone, cutting through the opposite side you originally cut on.

Take the avacado in the palm of your hand and twist the top half with your other hand counter clockwise. It should come off easily.

Cut a small wedge into the stone and dig your knife in. Be very careful doing this, because the stone is very slippery with avacado flesh. I have cut myself doing this and it hurts.

When the knife is is place, twist the knife counter clockwise while firmly holding the avacado. The stone should come out.

With a pairing knife, make incisions into the avocado length and width wise.

Take a spoon and nudge it in between the flesh and the skin. Scoop out the flesh, it should fall off in cubes.

Add to a bowl. With a large pestle, mash the avocado.

Add the remaining ingredients except the tomato. Adjust the lime juice and salt to fit your preference.

Lastly, add the tomato and give it a gentle stir.

Enchiladas with Cilantro Rice

2012-09-18T14:38:00.001-07:00

These enchiladas are delicious! A few days ago, I had made some homemade tomato sauce with my KitchenAid juicer. I had lots of tomato sauce as a result, so I decided to make the enchiladas. They were superb! Chicken is cooked in a spicy tomato sauce and then shredded. The cooked chicken is then rolled in a fresh tortilla with cilantro rice, covered in cheese and more hot sauce is added. It is then baked for 10 minutes. The result is pure deliciousness. I got this recipe from a blog called Annie's Eats, which I highly recommend. She's got good recipes!Although the Cilantro rice was my own addition, but it gives some filling and texture to the enchiladas.

Ingredients
1 batch of Cilantro Rice
1 medium onion, chopped fine (I used a food processor)
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons Korean chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups homemade tomato sauce (or 1 15 oz can tomato sauce if you don't have any)
1 cup water
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
Salt and pepper
1 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup shredded cheese
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
12 8 inch tortillas (I used a green chili tortillas from a brand called Mi Abuelita Bonita "My Cute Grandmother")
Cooking spray

Condiments
Guacamole
Fresh salsa
Salsa Verde

Directions
Add some oil to a large pot. Add the jalapeno peppers and onions. Stir often for 8-10 minutes, until the onions have lost their raw taste and have turned transparent.

Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin and sugar. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the tomato sauce, water and chopped tomato.

Bring the sauce to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, or until the sauce thickens.

Nestle the chicken into the sauce. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 12-20 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked (160 F). Remove from heat and set aside.

Strain the sauce in a large mesh bowl into a medium bowl, pressing down to extract as much juice as possible. Season the sauce with salt and pepper. With a fork, shred the chicken in the mesh bowl and set aside.

Shred the chicken with a fork and add to the bowl with the other solids.

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Spray a baking dish with olive oil spray. Stack the tortillas on a plate and microwave for 30-60 seconds.

Spoon a little bit of the chicken mixture onto the tortilla. Spoon a little cilantro rice on the tortilla.

Roll into a cigar shape and place on the baking dish, folded side down. Continue until your plate is full! Lightly spray the tops of the tortilla with olive oil, and place in the oven for 7 minutes, or until the tortillas start to brown slightly and turn crispy.

Reduce the oven temperature to 400 F. Remove the tortillas from the oven. Pour the tomato sauce over the tortillas.

Sprinkle with shredded cheese.

Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 5 minutes more. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes.

To serve, spoon some guacamole, fresh salsa and salsa verde over the enchilada.

Cilantro Rice

2012-09-18T12:00:00.002-07:00

Chicken with Cilantro rice,
the beginning of an Enchilada

This is a Peruvian dish. My lovely and adventurous wife went to Peru to complete a nutrition analysis and one of the local families she was working with gave her this recipe. Its a very simple dish--cilantro is blended into a paste, water and cumin powder are added and the whole thing is cooked in a pot or in your rice cooker.

It's delicious! This dish works really well when paired with a mole. It also works great as a filler for fajitas, enchiladas or tomales.

Ingredients

1 cup of uncooked white rice

1 bunch fresh cilantro (stems removed if you want to be fancy)

1/2 cup of water

1/2 cup Homemade Chicken Stock

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon minced garlic (optional)

Wash the rice and add to the rice cooker.

Blend the water and cilantro in a food processor, it should turn into a green liquid. Add to the rice cooker.

Add the chicken stock, cumin and minced garlic to the rice cooker. Give it a good stir and follow the directions for cooking rice in the rice cooker.

If you don't have a rice cooker, pour the blended cilantro water, chicken stock, cumin and minced garlic into a saucepan. Add the rice and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook on low heat for 15-20 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed. Give it a good stir every now and then to make sure the rice is not sticking to the pan.

The rice should come out cooked and green!

Miso-Citrus Marinade

2012-09-14T11:42:00.002-07:00

This is a classic miso and sake marinade from Ming Tsai. The addition of the ponzu lends an acidic element which helps it "cook" the marinade into fish and animal protein. Its delicious!

Makes 5.5 cups

1 cup sake
1 cup ponzu sauce
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups shiro miso (light miso)
3 tablespoons peeled and minced ginger
1 cup grapeseed or canola oil

In a large bowl, combine the sake, ponzu and sugar. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Whisk in the miso until smooth. And the ginger and whisk in the oil gradually. Store in the refrigerator.

This is excellent on fish, like Broiled Miso-Citrus Salmon

Broiled Miso-Citrus Salmon

2012-09-14T11:35:00.000-07:00

I got this recipe from Ming Tsai's Simply Ming. Ordinarily, I am not a big fan of fusion food, but this was really tasty. I made Umeboshi Rice with it as a side, but the color didn't come out very pretty.

Ingredients
4 salmon fillets (5-8 oz), cleaned and deboned
2.5 cups Miso-Citrus Marinade
Freshly ground black pepper
1 plastic bag

Directions
We get a CSA (community supported agriculture) once every two weeks, and they pack all of our lovely vegetables and fruits in these big plastic bags. Instead of throwing them away, I usually keep them for purposes like this! If you don't have a large plastic bag, a ziplock bag will do in a pinch.

Pour 1/2 a cup of the marinade into a separate bowl and set aside. This will be your glaze after the fish is done. Pour the remaining marinade in the bag and gently add the fish. Take out most of the air and tie off the bag. Place in a bowl to prevent contamination from dripping, and refrigerate for 4 hours.

Place a rack in the center of the oven. Place a heavy baking sheet or cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil on the sheet. Place the sheet under the broiler and turn the temperature to broil. When the tray is very hot, remove it and spray with olive or vegetable oil. Do not turn off the broiler.

Remove the salmon from the marinade. Throw the marinade away. Place it on the aluminum foil, flesh side facing up. Pat dry. Lightly season with pepper. Gently flip the salmon and place it skin side up on the tray. Broil for 6-8 minutes, or until medium rare.

Be sure not to burn or char the skin, like I did! If the skin starts to char, lower the oven rack by one notch. It still tasted good!

Serve with the reserve marinade and Umeboshi rice.

Baked (not Fried) Eggplant Parmesan

2012-09-13T14:11:00.000-07:00

I got this recipe from a blog called Just a Pinch. This is a delicious and healthy variation on traditional eggplant parmesan. I found this method actually easier (you don't have to deal with frying), healthier and just as tasty!

Ingredients
Eggplant (1 or 2), sliced
Eggs (2 or 3)
Homemade breadcrumbs
Dried herbs (Oregano, Basil and Sage)
Fresh Parmesan Cheese
Fresh Mozzarella Cheese
Homemade tomato sauce

Equipment
1 bowl for egg wash
1 small square baking pan (9x9 in) (for breading the eggplant)
2 cookie sheets (for baking the eggplant), greased with olive oil
1 rectangle baking pan (9 x13 in) (for baking the whole dish)

Directions
Preheat oven to 450 F.

Grease a 13 x9 glass baking dish with olive oil.

Scramble eggs in a cereal bowl.

Place homemade breadcrumbs in the square baking pan. Sprinkle in the fresh herbs and mix with your fingers.

Slice eggplants fairly thinly.

Grease a baking sheet.

Set up your stations. Have the eggplants to the far left, followed by the egg wash, the breadcrumbs and the cookie sheets. You can do this with one cookie sheet, but it goes faster with 2.

Dunk the eggplant in the egg wash. Lift out and let most of the egg wash come off. Dredge in the breadcrumb mixture on both sides.

Place on the cookie sheet. Continue to bread the eggplants until the sheet is full. Place in oven and bake for 10 minutes.

As the eggplant is baking, start in on breading the
next batch.

Pour a thin layer of tomato sauce on the rectangle baking pan.

When the eggplant is done, remove from the oven and place on the rectangle baking pan in a single layer with the tomato sauce.

Put the next batch of breaded eggplants into the oven and bake for 10 minutes.

Place a layer of shredded cheese over the eggplant.

Continue to bread and bake eggplants, then layer eggplant, cheese and sauce until you run out of eggplants.

Make sure the last layer is a nice layer of cheese.

Cover with aluminum foil and pop it into the oven at 450 F for 20 minutes, or until the top layer of cheese is brown and melted.

Delicious!

Pork Barbacoa

2012-09-12T11:11:00.002-07:00

I was recently at a farmer's market in Sonoma and got some pork neck. Neck meat is really great for stews, because of all the bones, and it is relatively inexpensive. I had some spicy barbacoa sauce that I had made previously and froze in an ice cube tray. This is a really simple and delicious dish in a slowcooker.

Ingredients
1/2 cup of spicy barbacoa sauce (about 4 cubes, if you freeze them)
1 cup of homemade lamb stock (you can use homemade rich dark chicken stock if you want to, about 8 cubes, if you freeze them)
Red wine, about 1 cup or so (day old wine works best, don't waste the good stuff)

1 or 2 lbs of Pork or Lamb neck (with bones)
1 tomato, chopped
5 cloves of garlic

Directions
Melt the barbacoa and lamb stock in a sauce pan.

Add the red wine to the sauce. Taste. If the barbacoa is too spicy and overpowering for you, add more lamb stock and red wine to get a flavor profile you like.

Once the stock and barbacoa has melted, transfer to the slowcooker.

Add the neck bones to the slowcooker. Add the tomatoes and garlic to the slowcooker.

Cook for 4 hours on low heat. Check the meat after 4 hours. If should be falling off the bone. If not, let it cook for another hour.

Season with salt and pepper.

Serve with barley or farro and rustic bread.

Delicious!

Green Lasagne with a tofu filling

2012-09-11T12:07:00.001-07:00

We got a KitchenAid pasta attachment set and I was dying to try and make some fresh pasta sheets. The insipration for this recipe was David Tanis's Platter of Figs and Other Recipes. I saw his recipe and thought I would give it a try. His recipe calls for a pound of ricotta, which I replaced with tofu. A pound of ricotta sounds fat, and two, I hate ricotta cheese! The tofu is much healthier, and I think tastier than the ricotta. (I had tried out a tofu lasagne before, and I really liked it) I was curious what the addition of fresh lasagne noodles would be like to this dish, and I really got to say it makes a difference. Rolling out fresh lasagne noodles though is a big chore (unless you have a pasta roller, like the one I have from KitchenAid), so I think store bought noodles would work fine.

A grand success! It was delicious! Like the tofu lasagne I made before, I didn't boil the fresh noodles before assembling, the sauce was enough to cook them through.

Ingredients
For the Pasta Dough:
2 cups shredded raw greens (I used the leafy part of beet greens, sans stems)
2 small eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups all purpose flour

For the Veggie Filling:
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon pepper flakes
2 lbs chopped washed greens (chard & spinach)
Salt and pepper

For the Tofu Filling:
Tofu
Shredded Mozzarella cheese
grated zest of 1/2 lemon
Fresh herbs (optional)

Homemade tomato sauce

Making the pasta dough

Slice the leafy greens from the stems. Reserve the stems for vegetable stock or compost them. I used beet greens. Cut in half and add to a food processor.

Add the eggs, salt and olive oil to the food processor. Puree until smooth.

Transfer the puree to a bowl add the flour. Kneed the flour with your hands into a soft dough. You can also use the Kitchenaid Dough Hook for this. If the dough seems sticky, add flour. The dough should have a nice deep green color with specks of leafy green in them. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap or cover with a cloth and set aside.

Make the Veggie Filling

Add olive oil to the wok. Heat and add the garlic. Stir fry for few seconds and let it sizzle, but don't let it brown or burn. Add the pepper flakes. Add the leafy greens. Continue to stir fry the leafy greens until they begin to wilt. Season with salt and pepper and give them one last good stir. With a spatula, bring the greens to the side of the wok and give them a good squeeze to remove any excess juices. Set aside.

Make the Tofu Filling
Cut up the tofu into chucks and add to the food processor. Add shredded mozzarella cheese and lemon zest.

Add any fresh herbs you want to (I used fresh oregano and basil). Puree in the food processor till very smooth.

Rolling the pasta dough
Take out the pasta roller from the box. Loosen the thumb screw and remove the cover on the stand mixer.

Attach the pasta roller to the socket where the cover was. Tighten the thumb screw to lock the pasta roller in place. Set the roller setting to 1.

Roll the pasta dough into a log.

Divide the log into even pieces. To do this, I usually will make a mark with a knife in the center of the log. I make another mark in the center of the left hand side of the log, and the right hand side of the log. You should get an even number of similar size dough pieces. Cut through all the way and you should have 4 or 6 rounds of dough, depending on how long your roll was.

Take one of the rounds of dough and give it a good dunk in flour. Dust off any excess flour and flatten with the palms of your hands.

Place the pasta roller on setting 1. Feed the pasta dough through the roller. Increase the setting to 2 and repeat. Continue to roll the dough through the pasta roller, increasing the setting by 1 unit each time until the dough reaches the width of the pasta roller.

You will start getting these long beautiful sheet of pasta that looks somewhat oblique. If the sheet is getting to long to handle, cut the sheet in half and continue rolling it out until the width of the pasta reaches the width of the pasta roller. If you need to cut a sheet in half, be sure to give it a good dusting of flour so it wont stick.

Assembly

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Take a large baking dish, around 8 x 12 inches. Pour a thin layer of olive oil on the pan and smear around with your fingers. Pour a thin layer of the tomato sauce in the pan and spread it around the whole pan with a spatula.

Gently place the lasagne noodles ontop of the tomato sauce. Arrange them so there is a minimal amount of gaps.

Next, take the spatula and smear a thin layer of the tofu mixture on the lasagne noodles. Take the shredded mozzarella cheese and sprinkle a layer over the tofu.

Place a layer of the greens onto the mozzarella cheese and spread it around.

Sprinkle another layer of mozzarella cheese onto the greens. Continue the same pattern until you run out of ingredients!

Make sure your last layer is a layer of cheese!

Cover with aluminum foil and pop it into the oven. Cook at 375 F for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Homemade Tomato Sauce with the KitchenAid

2012-09-10T12:46:00.000-07:00

Tomatoes are in season and cheap!

Look at these beautiful tomatoes we found at the farmers market!

We got the KitchenAid Food Grinder Attachment, KitchenAid Fruit And Vegetable Strainer and the KitchenAid Food Tray Attachment as a gift for our wedding! They are really incredible!

The fruit and vegetable strainer attaches to the food grinder to make applesauce, tomato sauce, baby food or mash pretty much any fruit or vegetable. The tray attachment is very handy to place all your vegetables on when making sauce.

This sauce is a really simple recipe-Set up all the parts of the KitchenAid, wash your tomatoes, and push them into the strainer, can or store your sauce. The hardest part of this recipe was setting up the KitchenAid, which, I have to admit, was a little daunting. But it is nothing you can't handle!

Ingredients
Tomatoes, lots of tomatoes, preferably roma tomatoes ( I used about 3/4 of a regular plastic grocery bag, mostly romas, and a few other varieties mixed in)
Garlic (no need to peel)
Fresh herbs (I used fresh rosemary and thyme)
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Pour a generous amount of olive oil on a cookie tray. Remove the little stem on the tomatoes. Cut the tomatoes in half. Place them on cookie tray. Flip them around a few time to make sure they are covered in oil. Add the garlic, fresh herbs. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Cook the tomatoes for about 10-15 minutes, until the tomatoes are soft and start to pop. Once the tomatoes start to break down, turn off the oven and turn on the broiler. Broil under open flame for a few minutes until the tomatoes are lightly charred. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Setting up the Fruit and Vegetable Strainer
Take the Food grinder out of the box. It should come 5 objects: a metal spring shaft, a white plastic worm corkscrew, a straining cone, a white plastic housing box and a clear plastic cover.

Attach the KitchenAid Fruit and Vegetable Strainer to the food grinder
Remove the cover nut and metal driving plates, cross blade and worm from the box.

Add the shaft to the food grinder. Push it in
firmly.

Place the worm over the shaft.

Place the straining cone over the whole worm shaft.

Secure the whole device by screwing in the cover nut. Dont twist too tightly-you will strip the screw.

Attach the grinder to the KitchenAid Mixer

Now, add the grinder device to the stand mixer. Loosen the thumb screw and remove the cover on the stand mixer. Pop on the attachment, moving it back and forward as needed for it to be secure. Tighten the screw again.

Place the straining cover over the straining cone (this will ensure your kitchen doesn't turn into a tomato explosion when you are making the sauce). Last, place the plastic clear splash guard on the top of the straining cover.

Set up your food tray

Add the food tray to the top of the whole device.

Your setup should look something like this:

Place two bowls under the strainer: one will be to collect the tomato puree as it comes out, and the other will be to catch the tomato skins and seeds as they come out.

By this time, the tomatoes should have cooled off enough to touch them. Carefully add the tomatoes to the food tray, making sure not to spill any liquid that collected in the pan.

Once all the tomatoes are on the food tray, turn on the mixer. Turn to speed 1 to start, and then move it up to speed 4.

With the food pusher, gently push the tomatoes down the shaft. The tomato juice should come out of the strainer, with no seeds or skin. It should then fall into the straining cover and drip down into the bowl below it.

You should be left with beautiful fresh tomato sauce.

The skin, seeds and pulp of the tomato should start popping out of the other end (have a smaller bowl there to collect the skin, seeds and pulp and use to make tomato pickle). You can either discard them or use to make something else. I was thinking either sun dried tomatoes, tomato bread or South Indian Tomato Pickle. I opted for the South Indian Tomato pickle!

Place your tomato sauce in a glass jar to refrigerate. Or can immediately using a pressure cooker! Eat this Classico!

Jumbalaya in the Slow Cooker

2012-08-24T16:11:00.001-07:00

This is part of my continuing series on Jumbalaya.

This was actually the first time I tried my hand at Jumbalaya. It turned out okay, but it wasn't as tasty as my Jumbalaya in a cast iron pot, which had a delicious Gumbo base.

Ingredients
1 lbs chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes
1/2 lbs of adouille sausage, sliced
1 (28 oz) can tomatoes, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green pepper, diced and seeded
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 cup rich dark chicken stock
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoon Cajun Spice Mix
1 teaspoon hot sauce
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 cups rice, uncooked

In your trusty slow cooker, combine the chicken, sausage, tomato, onion, green pepper, celery and chicken broth. Stir in the oregano, Cajun spice mix, hot sauce, bay leaves, thyme and rice.

Slow cook on LOW for 7 hours, or on HIGH for 3 hours.