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Awake at the Whisk

Monday, October 18, 2010

 

Pineapple Guava Applesauce Recipe

Traditional applesauce recipe gets California twist

Applesauce colors my childhood memories. I picture the pale ruby sauce in large mason jars steadfastly lining the basement shelf. I never had to ask permission to reach a jar from that shelf, pop the lid off with a can opener, and dive spoon-first into the thick honeyed nectar.

Mom and Dad grew six apple trees on our two-and-a-half-acre yard in rural Illinois. I’m certain my blood is made up of apple juice. Those crisp rosy-skinned fruits taught me as many life lessons as my schoolbooks ever did. I learned discipline by regularly pulling my wagon around the base of the trees, loading rotten fruit for Dad to haul away later. I learned patience in the kitchen as I helped cut and core first one apple, then 50, then 100 for Dad to stew in a pot while Mom churned a wooden pestle round and round in a cone-shaped metal strainer. As her elbow cranked in a clockwise motion, thick cream the color of cherry blossoms would pour out from the holes: applesauce.

We were the only family in town who had pink applesauce. Mom left the skins on when she cooked the apples. She believed the skins were colorful because they were good for you.  I used to cringe whenever someone served me a pale, snotty-colored heap of store brand sauce. It lacked the vigor and life of my parents’ joyful sauce.

I miss those giant jars of fresh sauce. I remember its warmth, and the steam of the canning process filling the kitchen on a crisp fall day. As I worked methodically with my parents, we shared a quiet contentment made possible by those glorious fruits from our very own trees.

When my husband and I were selecting fruit trees to plant in our new home here in Sacramento, California, an apple tree was at the top of my list. I didn’t choose a variety based on its hand-to-mouth flavor. I chose one for its baking qualities. I imagine my future Californian life filled with a steaming kitchen and beautiful batches of pale pink applesauce.

Pineapple guavas: seasonal addition to applesauce
For now, my tree is too young to produce enough fruit for canning. I’ll have to wait a few years for that. But I do have a mature pineapple guava tree that’s dropping fruit by the bushels.

Pineapple guavas are a citrus fruit with an apple-like flavor and a creamy texture. Last year, not knowing what to do with so many of these, I made jam. My husband and I love jam, but don’t often find ourselves eating it. So my poor pineapple guava jam went unnoticed.

This year, as the air cooled with the crispness of fall, I yearned, as I do every Autumn, for applesauce. In a flash of creation, I pondered the notion of blending pineapple guavas with apples for a unique sauce. I used some green apples that a friend gave me, combined with cinnamon sticks and spices. And wouldn’t you know the combination worked! It’s a wonderfully bright sauce from the citrusy guavas, yet mellowed and soothing from the harvest spices and comforting apples.

Yet, my sauce doesn’t have that gorgeous crimson hue that Mom’s had. Next time I’ll have to buy red apples. But I did leave the skins on. You may wish to go the extra mile and peel your apples. I also don’t own a large strainer like Mom’s, so I left my sauce chunky.

Perhaps I have a new tradition for the California era of my life!

Pineapple Guava Applesauce Recipe
3 baking apples cut into chunks and cored
25 pineapple guavas cut in half and the fruit scooped out
½ cup organic cane sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
1 vanilla bean
4 whole cloves
2 cardamom pods

Farmers' Market Ingredients: apples
Backyard Farm Ingredients: pineapple guavas
Supermarket Ingredients: sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, cloves, cardamom 

Pineapple Guava Applesauce Recipe
Combine all the ingredients in a 2 quart sauce pan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, and continue to boil for about 10-15 minutes until fruit becomes soft. Use a potato masher to smash the fruit into a thick pulp. Leave some chunks of fruit for a rich, rustic texture. Turn the heat down and allow to cool. Remove the spices before serving.

My husband and I enjoyed this creation over sweet potato French toast (another creation I’ll have to write about in the near future) with maple syrup and chopped walnuts for a complete fall harvest! Enjoy it with oatmeal or dive in spoon-first like I did as a little girl in my Mom’s kitchen.

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# posted by Amber @ Monday, October 18, 2010 7 Comments

Sunday, September 26, 2010

 

Baked Mexican Sopes with Fresh Corn Flour Recipe

Baked Mexican Sopes with Fresh Corn Flour Recipe

That bag of masa harina sat in my cupboard for months. Each time I opened the door I would reach right over the sack and grab instead the baking powder, the sugar, or the beans. But never the masa harina. I bought it with good intentions. I have always wanted to make my own tortillas or tamales. Yet every time I said I would do it, the laundry needed folding or the car needed a smog test. Eventually, I had to throw the bag out.

If you’re like me, and have a bag of unused masa harina, wait no more! Here’s an easy recipe that’s sure to get you baking with that wonderful, fresh corn flour. Once you try these sopes, you’ll return to them again and again. They taste of earthy corn sweetness and fall.

I discovered this recipe in a delightful new vegan cookbook called Viva Vegan by Terry Hope Romero. I love this book! It makes cooking popular Latin dishes seem easy, and for any vegetarian, puts a traditionally meat-heavy cuisine well within your grasp. If you like corn tortillas, you will love these homemade sopes.

Sopes are traditionally fried, but Viva Vegan offers a baked variation of the little corn tarts. There are only three ingredients: masa harina, water, and salt. You can’t mess it up! Shaping them is also easy, because they are meant to look rustic. No dough cutter required. You need only one tool: your hands.

Stuffing the sopes is equally simple. Choose your favorite Latin toppings, and throw them together. Make it as complicated or as simple as you want. I have stuffed mine with a minimal mixture of pinto beans, cheese, and hot sauce. I have also gone fancy by adding marinated onions and aioli to sautéed, fresh veggies.

Think of these tiny sopes as open-faced tacos. The sky is the limit here. Be creative. Have fun. And, finally, use up that bag of masa harina sitting in your cupboard! (Unless it’s no longer fresh. Then I really recommend throwing it out and buying a new one.)

Baked Mexican Sopes with Fresh Corn Flour Recipe (adapted from Viva Vegan)
1 1/2 cups masa harina
1 1/4 cups warm water
½ teaspoon salt

Mix the above ingredients together to form pliable dough. If it's too crumbly, add more water. If it's too moist, add more masa harina. Knead it for a few minutes until smooth, and then return to bowl and cover with a wet cloth.

To make the sope, pinch off the dough and form a ball about the size of a ping pong ball in the palm of your hand. Flatten it to about 1/4-inch thick and pinch the edges to form a little tart. Using a dry skillet (no oil) that's been heated over medium-high flame, place the sopes in the skillet and heat until they are browned on the bottom.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Once all your sopes are browned, place them in the oven on a baking sheet for about 10 minutes.

Or, if you’re in a hurry, you can skip the skillet step and place them in a 425 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until they are firm to the touch.

Now you can fill them with anything your heart desires! You can cover your sopes with a dry towel to keep them warm as you are filling them. I recommend the following:

Sope Filling Recipe

Marinated Onions:
1 red onion, cut in half and thinly sliced
Juice of one lime
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sugar

In a small bowl, squeeze enough lime juice over the onion slices to cover. Stir in the salt and sugar. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour to marinate. These pretty onions will keep for two weeks in the fridge and can be made in advance.

Chili Pepper Aioli:
3 Tablespoons organic mayonnaise
1 teaspoon lime juice
1 teaspoon chili powder

Stir together mayonnaise, lime juice, and chili powder. Cover and set aside in the refrigerator. This will keep for a week in the fridge and can be made in advance.

Sautéed Zucchini & Cactus Garnish:
1 zucchini, diced into 1-inch cubes
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
3 Tablespoons pickled cactus, drained (optional)
1 generous handful cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
2 Tablespoons cilantro, chopped

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly spray a baking sheet with olive oil. Spread the diced zucchini evenly on the sheet and place in the preheated oven for about 10-15 minutes, or until tender firm when poked with a fork. Remove from oven and sprinkle with chili powder and freshly ground black pepper. If you add salt to your food, you can sprinkle some on the zucchini.

Assembling the Sopes
Working with one sope at a time, spread about ½ teaspoon of the chili powder mayonnaise aioli onto the bottom of the sope. Next, pile in your veggies, using a few pieces each of the baked zucchini, cherry tomatoes, cactus, and marinated onions. Top with cilantro.

Yield: 8-10 sopes 

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# posted by Amber @ Sunday, September 26, 2010 0 Comments

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

 

Roasted Garlic Egg Salad: Revising a Classic

When it comes to egg salad, most people don’t want you messing with their momma’s recipe. If Mom made hers with pickle relish, then by golly, all good egg salad needs pickle relish. But if Mom’s recipe came without pickle relish, you might possibly start a household World War III by adding the stuff. There are certain classics that the home cook just doesn’t redesign.

Well, welcome to World War III! I have done the unthinkable. I’ve taken a classic recipe and utterly rearranged it. I have invented Roasted Garlic Egg Salad. And by jiminy, this stuff stands toe-to-toe with the classic version, if I do say so myself. Even my husband gobbled it up happily and without an utterance of “This isn’t how Mom used to make it.”

I hope you’ll agree that this little sandwich is delightful. In fact, now you can freely introduce egg salad to your “company’s coming” menu. By adding roasted garlic and “fancy” brown mustard, you’ve just elevated egg salad from brown bag lunch to Sunday brunch. Roll out the red carpet!

Roasted Garlic Egg Salad
4 organic hard-boiled eggs, peeled and rinsed
4 cloves roasted garlic (recipe follows)
1 ½ to 2 Tablespoons organic mayo (more or less, depending on how moist you like your egg salad)
1 teaspoon grainy brown mustard such as Boetje’s Stone Ground Mustard
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 slices corn rye bread

Farmers’ Market Fare: eggs, garlic, (mayo if you use farm eggs and local olive oil to make your own), rye bread
Non-local ingredients from grocery store: mustard, black pepper

Mash the hard-boiled eggs with a fork. Add the roasted garlic cloves, mayo, mustard, and black pepper. Stir to combine. Divide the egg salad evenly between the four slices of bread and serve as an open-faced sandwich.

Serves 4.

Roasted Garlic
1 Whole bulb garlic
1 teaspoon olive oil
A dash each of salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut the upper inch off the bulb of garlic so that the whites of the cloves are just beginning to show. Tear off two square sheets of aluminum foil and place them one on top of the other. Set the garlic bulb in the middle of the foil, then drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pull the foil tight around the garlic and place in the middle oven rack for 45 minutes to an hour. You will know the garlic is fully roasted when the cloves turn a caramelized golden brown color. When the garlic has cooled, you can now individually pull off cloves of yummy roasted garlic for your egg salad. You can also use this heavenly invention on pizzas, in pasta sauce, with potatoes, and just about anything that you want to taste better.

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# posted by Amber @ Tuesday, March 30, 2010 0 Comments

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