Jerk Chicken Thighs with Pineapple Cilantro Salad

They love jerk chicken wings so I thought I would give this a try with boneless chicken thighs. Since I only use my barbecue for baking bread I cooked the thighs inn cast iron skillet which gave them a nice glaze.  Everyone enjoyed but requested more heat next time.  I would also put the chicken in the marinate for 4 to 6 hours.

 

Jerk Chicken Thighs with Pineapple Cilantro Salad

from Kitchen Life

Art Smith

adapted

Pineapple Salad

1/2 of a pineapple cut into cubes

2T chopped fresh cilantro (I used 6 Trader Joe's frozen cubes)

1T rice vinegar

1T honey

1T olive oil

~ toss all of the ingredient in a bowl and refrigerate 1 to 4 hours

Jerk Chicken

2 garlic cloves

1 japapeno for mild or 3 or more red hot serrano chilies for spicy

6 scallions coarsely chopped

1T light brown sugar

1t allspice

3t fresh thyme

1/2t salt

2T safflower oil

2lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs

1 1/2T safflower oil

~ put garlic and chili in mini food processor

~ chop

~ add scallions, brown sugar, allspice, thyme, and salt turn on and off and occasionally scrape down sides until finely chopped

~ add oil to make thick paste

~ put chicken in glass container and toss with marinated

~ cover and refrigerate 4 to 6 hours

~ heat cast iron skillet medium high and add a bit of oil

~ cook chicken  until it shows no signs of pink

Pistachio Gelato

 

one word AMAZING

I promised for weeks to make pistachio ice cream, but I dragged my heels and heard daily complaints, "you promised...you're never going to make it...I opened all the pastachio's for you..."  AHHHH fine, I'll make it.  Luckly I picked up a plethora of books from the library including The Ciao Bella Book of Gelato & Sorbetto by F.W. Pearce & Danilo Zecchin because on can never peruse, skim, enjoy or own too many cookbooks.  Unfortunately for them, they would have to wait 12 hours for the base to develop.

 

Plain Base for Gelato

from The Ciao Bella Book of Gelato & Sorbetto

F.W. Pearce & Danilo Zecchin

makes about 1 quart 

2 cups organic whole milk
1 cup organic heavy cream
4 large organic egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar

~ in a heavy bottom sauce pan combine milk and cream
~ place over medium-low heat
~ stir occasionally until temperature reaches 170 degrees  and tiny bubbles start to form
~ meanwhile put egg yolks in a round medium size pyrex and whisk until smooth
~ add sugar to yolks and whisk until thick and pale
~ IMPORTANT PART
~ temper your egg yolks by taking about 1/2 cup of hot milk/cream mixture and slowly pour into yolks while whisking yolks...keep it moving or you will end up with scrambled eggs
~ continue adding about 1/2 cup at a time slowly until you have added about 1 1/2 to 2 cups
~ pour egg mixture into remaining milk/cream mixture in pan
~ cook over low heat stirring frequently until mixture reaches 185 degrees (do not boil)
~ pour mixture through a fine mesh strainer back into pyrex
~ cool and place in refrigerator at least 4 hours or overnight

Turning it into pistachio gelato

 

Love this little Vivalp processor.  I wish I had another.  I think it is on it's last leg.

Pistachio Gelato

from The Ciao Bella Book of Gelato & Sorbetto

F.W. Pearce & Danilo Zecchin

adapted

1/2 of plain base

1/2 cup shelled dry roasted unsalted pistachios

1/8t vanilla extract

1/2 cup shelled dry roasted unsalted pistachios

~ toast pistachios in small cast iron skillet until slightly browned
~ cool
~ grind 1/2 cup in coffee grinder or mini food processor
~ blend ground pistachios and cream base in blender until smooth
~ pour into ice cream maker and freeze according to ice cream makers instructions
~ about 5 minutes before complete add whole pistachios

enjoy the pure flavor explosion

Chinese Curried Noodles with Chicken and Vegetables

Chinese, noodles and chicken: magical culinary words according to my kids.  I hear cheering and shouts of happiness while I chop, dice, boil and so on and the ever present, "When will it be done.  I am so hungry".  "Ummm smells so good.  I am the taste tester!" and the arguing begins.  Everyone wants to be the official "Taste Test".  Requirements of the Taste Tester, tasting the pasta and announcing al dente, perfect or just a minute more. 

mini whisk...a must have item

2 for .99 at 99 cent only store

Chinese Curried Noodles with Chicken and Vegetables

from Kitchen Life

Art Smith

adapted

1 lb of thin egg noodles
3 T safflower oil ( you will need 1 1/2 at a time)
4 boneless chicken breasts cut into bit size pieces (I use kitchen shears)
2/3 cup low sodium chicken broth
2T low sodium soy sauce
1T dry sherry
1t corn starch
1 organic red bell pepper cut in either strips or squares
4 large organic carrots cut in rounds
4 organic celery ribs cut into thin bit size pieces
2 scallions white and green parts chopped
2T grated ginger (use micro plane)
2 garlic cloves (I used trader joes frozen cubes)
3t madras style curry powder
1t sugar
sesame oil to taste

~ bring large pot of salted water to boil over high heat and add noodles
~ cook until al dente
~ return noodles to pot
~ in warm large cast iron skillet heat 1 1/2 T oil over high heat
~ add chicken stirring often until cooked through
~ transfer chicken to plate
~ mix broth, soy sauce and sherry in a small bowl
~ add cornstarch and whisk until dissolved (set aside)
~ heat remaining 1 1/2T oil in skillet over high heat and add red pepper, carrots, celery and stir fry about 2 minutes or until softened
~ add scallions, ginger and garlic 1 minute
~ add curry and sugar 15 seconds
~ stir broth mixture and add to skillet, bring to boil
~ add chicken and cook until heated throught
~ stir in pasta
~ throw it all in a bowl and serve
~ add sesame oil to taste


*side notes - looking back I don't think I added the broth, oops.  Also unbelievable to me, I was out of thin egg noodles (like a chow mein noodle) so I used spaghetti and the noodles were too thick. 

Everyone loved the dish and hopes for leftovers were dashed when everyone had seconds.  Deemed a make again.

Granola Bar or Everything But the Kitchen Sink and Nuts

 

Packing a lunch for school includes moans and groans..."We have nothing to eat", "That is just gross", "I'll eat that when I get home", and on and on.  I don't know why they will not bring left overs from the previous nights meal.  It is as if over night in the refrigerator that fabulous dinner morphed into something that will cause their throats to swell and lips to turn green, just so embarrassing.  OK, what if I make something with chocolate chips and white chocolate?

Easy Granola Bars

from Kitchen Life

Art Smith

adapted

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

2 cups graham crackers crushed

1/2 old fashion rolled oatmeal

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

1/2 dried blue berries

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/4 cup bits of white chocolate

~ preheat oven 350

~ butter glass baking dish 11 1/2" by 8" and line with parchment paper

~ mix all ingredients together in medium bowl

~ press into baking dish

~ bake 30 minutes or until edges look crisp

~ cool and cut bars

~ store in air tight contain for up to 3 days

In the end they were not thrilled. *&^#  back to the drawing board!  I thought it tasted very good.

Barbecue Chicken Under Pressure

 

Need a meal in a flash?  Pressure Cooker a life saver for life's busy schedule.  I was always afraid of pressure cookers with their little clink clank piece.  Visions of explosions clouded my judgment until I saw the new and improved pressure cookers and now I am in love.  

 Quick Barbecue Chicken

  from Cooking Under Pressure

Lorna J. Sass

adapted

2T safflower oil

3 pounds of chicken parts skin removed

2 cups of barbecue sauce

1 cup coarsely chopped sweet onion

~ heat 1T oil in cooker

~ brown chicken well on both sides

~ remove chicken and put in left over oil

~ add onions and cook until soft

~ add sauce and stir well

~ add chicken and any collected juices

~ stir and coast chicken

~ lock lid and over high heat bring to high pressure

~ adjust the heat to maintain high pressure and cook for 9 minutes

~ reduce pressure with quick release method (make sure it is away from you )

~ serve

Grape Sorbet

 

Organic grapes are still available so I decided to make sorbet.  I just checked out The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz from the library.  His recipe called for corn syrup.  I am not a fan of corn syrup so, I pulled out my book Gourmet Sweets Desserts for Every Occasion and combined the two recipes.

Grape Sorbet

from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

and

Gourmet Sweets

adapted and combined

2 cups of grapes

1T water

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2t lemon juice

1T vodka

~ remove grapes from stems

~ place in a non-reactive pot add water, cover and cook over medium heat until the skins have burst and the grapes are soft

~ let cool

~ blend grapes 

~ add sugar, lemon and vodka

~ blend

~ freeze according to ice cream makers instructions

Pasta with Acorn Squash and Roasted Garlic

"We want pasta for dinner", sing the three every night.  "Really you want pasta?  Perfect because I just found a recipe that you will really love" I reply as I slice the acorn squash in half.  "What's that?"  "Squash" "ooh, yeech, I said pasta just plain pasta.  I hate it when you add stuff!"  "oh well"...Dinner is served and after a lot feeble attempts to separate pasta from squash they give in and ask for seconds.

Pasta with Acorn Squash and Roasted Garlic

from Vegetarina Planet

Didi Emmons

adapted

1 acorn squash
2T olive oil
garlic bulb
1lb pasta
1/3 cup white wine
1/2t salt
fresh ground pepper
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 chopped walnuts

~ preheat oven 375 (I used my small toaster oven)
~ cut acorn squash and remove seeds and place on baking sheet cut side down
~ bake with oiled garlic bulb 45 to 60 minutes or until flesh is soft
~ let squash cool and scoop out flesh from shell and chop finely
~ cook pasta and reserve 3/4 cup of pasta water
~ heat cast iron skillet
~ toast walnuts, remove and cool
~ add 1T oil and squeeze a few of the garlic cloves into the skillet
~ add wine and reserved pasta water and bring to a boil and let boil 2 minutes
~ add chopped squash and let boil 3 more minutes
~ add pasta and stir well
~ add salt, pepper and cheese and toss
~ plate and sprinkle walnuts and additional cheese

Yellow Mung Beans with Spinach and Panchphoran : Masala bhat

 

I will make them appreciate Indian food.  The glorious spices and wonderful flavors hanging well beyond the meal keep me coming back for more.  The one with a peanut allergy gets a pass since legumes cause his tongue to tingle.  Everyone else, eat this veggy complete protein.

When cooking Indian food one must prepare everything in advance.  Picture this, your own cooking show in front of a studio audience who hangs on your every word.  Your counter will be littered with little bowls filled with exotic spices and it looks very impressive.  Everything happens fast and you will not have time to measure out ingredients once you get started.  If you are not prepared, you will spend a great deal of time clean up burned spices.

 

 

Yellow Mung Beans with Spinach and Panchphaoran

Muger Dal

from Indian Home Cooking

Suvir Saran and Stephanie Lyness

adapted

serves 4

1T safflower oil
1 cup yellow mung beans picked over, washed and drained
1/2t turmeric
4 cups water
1 bay leaf
1 1/2t sea salt
2 cups firmly packed stemmed fresh spinach, finely chopped
1/2t cayenne pepper

~ heat oil over medium high heat
~ add mung beans and turmeric
~ add water, bay leaf and salt
~ bring to boil and skim well
~ reduce the heat and simmer partially covered until beans are tender 20 minutes
~ add spinach and cayenne pepper and cook partially covered 15 minutes

Tempering Oil
2T safflower oil
2t panchphoran (ha, you don't have this?) aka Bengali five-spice mix (ring a bell?) or like me you can create your own: 1t cumin seeds,  1/2t coriander seeds and 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
3 whole dried red chilies (dried on the vine in my garden)
1/2 fresh jalapeno (picked from my garden)
juice of one lemon or if you have any, I do, 1/2t amchur (dried mango powder)

~ heat small cast iron pan medium heat
~ add oil and warm
~ add "panchphorah" and chilies
~ stir until cumin seeds turn golden brown 1 to 2 minutes
~ remove pan from heat and stir in lemon juice or amchur
~ pour tempering oil into pan with dal and stir
~ transfer to serving dish

~ serve hot

Masala bhat

Spicy Rice

from The Hare Krishna Book of Vegetarian Cooking

Adiraja dasa

adapted 

2 cups basmati rice
3 1/2 cups water
1t sea salt
2T safflower oil
1t cumin seeds
2 jalapenos (from my garden)
1t ground cinnamon
1t grated fresh ginger
1/2t fresh grated nutmeg
3 cardamon pods bruised (I push on mine with the side of a knife)
2T freshly chopped coriander or like me you can use two frozen cilantro cubes from Trader Joe's
2T butter

~ wash rice
~ soak rice 15 minutes
~ let drain 15 minutes
~ put water and salt in pot over high heat
~ heat safflower oil in medium pan and fry cumin and chillies
~ when cumin seeds start to brown in a few seconds
~ add cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and nutmeg
~ stir once
~ add the rice and continue stirring
~ in a minute or two rice should start to lightly toast
~ pour the boiling water over the rice
~ cover and turn heat down very low and do not remove lid
~ cook 15-18 minutes
~ uncover and allow steam to escape
~ remove cardamom pod
~ mix in butter and coriander or cilantro
~ put in serving dish

Fast Buttermilk Waffles

***Warning***

this recipe will have you knee deep in dirty dishes

The other day I decided to make pancakes.  The next morning like baby birds three mouths chirped, "The pancakes were so yummy... it's nice to have a hot breakfast... I think I did better in school...waffles?"  How can I say no?  The recipes should only take 25 minutes.  ehmmmm... what they neglected to leave out is the clean up time.

 

Buttermilk Waffles

from The American's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

adapted

makes 6 to 8 waffles 

2 cups of all purpose flour

2T corn meal

1t salt
1/2t baking soda
2 large eggs seperated
4T unsalted butter melted
1 3/4 c buttermilk (of course I did not have any so mix 2 cup of milk and 2T lemon juice let stand a few minutes and that does the trick)
a pinch of cream of tarter

~ heat waffle iron according to instructions
~ in a large bowl whisk flour, corn meal, salt and baking soda
~ in another bowl whisk egg yolks, butter and then buttermilk
~ in an electric mixer beat egg whites and cream of tarter on medium high speed until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes
~ make a well in the center of dry ingredients and pour in buttermilk mixture
~ GENTLY whisk
~ when you think you are about half way done fold in the whipped egg whites
~until just incorporated  You should see lumps
~ pour the amount suggested on waffle maker

Fish Taco's

I love fish taco's.  Being crazy about cabbage might have something to do with it and I truly enjoy watching my kids eating vegetables while not grumbling.  This is a lazy meal since Trader Joe's now carries cut and vacuumed sealed frozen wild cod.  I have made my own corn tortilla's in the past with my fabulous tortilla press; however, I opted for store made this time.

 

Fish Tacos

from: Kitchen Life Real Food for Real Families - Even Yours

by Art Smith

adapted

severs 5 with left overs for lunch for 2

Lime Slaw

5T low fat mayonnaise

1 lime zest and juice

3 cups shredded cabbage

3 carrots shredded

2 scallions chopped white and green parts

2T chopped cilantro

 salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

~ mix mayonnaise, lime zest and juice in a medium bowl.  Add cabbage, carrots, scallions and cilantro - mix well.  Season with salt and pepper.

Fish

3T olive oil

3 lbs of wild cod, cut into bite size portions

chile powder to taste

salt to taste

1/2 cup all purpose flour

~ Put chili powder, salt and flour in a large zip-lock bag.  

~ Add a third of the fish to bag at a time and shake to coat.  

~ Heat large cast iron skillet over medium heat.  

~ Add oil and heat to warm but not smoking. 

~ Put coated cod in skillet.  Take care not to crowd the nuggets.  

~ Brown turning once about 6-8 minutes. 

~ Transfer to plate

Corn Tortillas

~heat tortillas over gas flame until desired color is achieved

Very good, received a thumbs up rating from the crowd.

Happy Pumkin Muffins

with a wink and a smile...

 

These happy faces were a sheer accident.  Note those adorned with chocolate chips for the kids smile with glee, while the adult walnut cranberry are just muffins, nuts!

 Pumpkin Muffins

adult and kid version  

from: The American's Test Kitchen

Family Cookbook

adapted

2 cups all purpose flour

1t baking soda

1t baking powder

2t cinnamon

1/2t sea salt

1/2t  nutmeg ( I prefer freshly grated)

1 15oz can organic pumpkin

1 cup sugar

8T butter melted and cooled

2 lg eggs

3t vanilla extract

kids version you choose the amount

chocolate chips

adult version you choose the amount

raw walnuts toasted

dried cranberries

~ set oven to 350 degrees

~ whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnomon, salt, nutmeg and ginger in a large bowl.

~ mix pumpkin, sugar, melted butter, eggs and vanilla in another large bowl until frothy.

~ GENTLY fold in pumpkin mixture into the dry ingredients using a rubber spatula until just combined (over mixing will cause gluten to form and brick muffins)

~ line muffin tin and fill 1/3

~ sprinkle with chosen add in - chips, nuts, fruit

~ add more batter to cover and sprinkle some of you add in on top

~ bake on middle rack about 25 minutes

~ should spring back when touched

~ cool on wire rack

Key Lime Bar

The kids are obsessed with lemon bars.  While on vacation they indulged at every bakery and decided that I could do better.  The key to our bar would be key limes from our neighbors tree.  The bar needs to be tart, not too sweet or eggy.

 

key limes from the most fabulous tree

Key Lime Bars

from Kitchen Life Real Food for Real Families - Even Yours! 

by Art Smith

adapted

crust:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
8t (1 stick) unsalted butter cut into small pieces

~preheat oven 350 degrees

~ cut with pastry cutter flour, sugar, salt and butter until looks like small pebbles.
~ dump into glass baking dish 8x8
~ press to even out with spatula
~ bake until very lightly browned about 15 minutes
~ set on counter for 10 minutes then put in refrigerator for 10 minutes...make filling while crust cools

filling:

2 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar
2 T all purpose flour
juice of 2 large key limes
zest of 3 large key limes
1/2 t baking powder

confections' sugar for sprinkling

~ whisk the eggs in a medium bowl until combined
~ add sugar, flour, juice, zest and baking powder and whisk well
~ pour over cooled crust
~ bake until filling is set about 20 minutes
~ cool on wire rack
~ sprinkle with powder sugar

~ refrigerate uneaten portion

~~~ notes: next time I would add zest to crust it give it a bit of a zing.

ugh!  Key Lime Bars gone in less then 24 hours...

What Is On The Menu For The Next Few Weeks

Jacques Pepin

The Short-Cut Cook

Hot Cucumber Relish
Eggplant Caviar
Banana Bread
Pan Bagna
Potato Salad
Greek Salad
Bartlett Pear Pastry
Cheese Sticks

 Art Smith

Kitchen Life

Real Food for Real Families - Even Yours!

Fish Taco's 11/05 yummy

Curried Carrot Soup

Spicy Black Bean Soup very strange flavor and watery not a make again

Caesar Salad

Java Beef Stew 11/06 not a make again, very so so

Chunky Beef Chili 11/10 eh, not a make again

Jerk Chicken Thighs 11/11 good: need to make more spicy

Asian Chicken Wraps 11/13 good: with new adaptations

Chinese Curried Noodles with Chicken and Vegetables 11/07 gobbled up and deemed make again

Carrot Cupcakes

Easy Granola Bars  11/07 good and great snack

Lemon Bars (Key Lime Bars) 11/07 if you blinked you missed your chance...make again

Coconut Cupcakes

Pineapple Sorbet

 We love love love our gelato maker.  My experiments with fruit continues.  Coming up later: grape, fancy sweet cantaloupe, and persimmons sorbet.  So refreshing, during this ^*^%* hot weather!

Pineapple Sorbet

from Cook' Illustrated July/ August 1995

adapted

1 pineapple

1/2 cup sugar

some agave

1T lemon juice

1T vodka or rum

~ stem, cut in 1/4ths, peel and core pineapple

~ puree in blender

~ add sugar, agave, lemon juice and vodka

~ puree

~ put in ice cream maker

Fabulous!  Tasted rich like a sherbet.

Old Fashion Sugar Free Applesauce

One of the most amazing tools the apple peeler that cores and slices. What to do with sad apples?  Make apple sauce of course!  When I was growing up my Mom made her sauce with diet Shasta soda.  Since the glorious flavor of saccharin is so hard to find these days, I decided to go the sugar free route.
 

 

Applesauce

from: Lost Recipes by Marion Cunningham

3 or more cups

adapted

apples sliced and cored 4 or more just adjust water amounts

water 1/2 c per 4 apples

sugar if needed...I used none

3T lemon juice

~put apples and water in saute pan

~cook on medium 

~stirring often

~apples should be tender in 5-6 minutes

~add sugar if needed and lemon juice

~blend well 

~cook for another minute or two

~mash with fork or use an immersion blender to break up skin

Planting Day and list of pesticides in fruits and vegetables

 Today we are planting seeds to start our winter garden, yeah! Seeds purchased from Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company.

*cauliflower (purple of sicily)*cucumber (hmong red)*cardoon (gobbo di nizzia)*herbs (borage, cumin, thai dill, caraway, fenugreek)*squash (zucchino rampicante)*pepper (purple beauty,corno di toro giallo)*lettuce (rouge d'hiver)*radish (chinese red meat)*beans (aquadulce fava)

list from

Food News

The Full List: 49 Fruits and Veggies

from best to worst

Rank Fruit or Veggie 1 (Best) Onions 2 Avocado 3 Sweet Corn (Frozen) 4 Pineapples 5 Mango (Subtropical and Tropical) 6 Sweet Peas (Frozen) 7 Asparagus 8 Kiwi Fruit (Subtropical and Tropical) 9 Cabbage 10 Eggplant 11 Cantaloupe (Domestic) 12 Watermelon 13 Grapefruit 14 Sweet Potatoes 15 Honeydew Melon 16 Plums (Domestic) 17 Cranberries 18 Winter Squash 19 Broccoli 20 Bananas 21 Tomatoes 22 Cauliflower 23 Cucumbers (Domestic) 24 Cantaloupe (Imported) 25 Grapes (Domestic) 26 Oranges 27 Red Raspberries 28 Hot Peppers 29 Green Beans (Imported) 30 Cucumbers (Imported) 31 Summer Squash 32 Plums (Imported) 33 Pears 34 Green Beans (Domestic) 35 Carrots 36 Blueberries (Imported) 37 Lettuce
DIRTY DOZEN
38 Grapes (Imported) 39 Potatoes 40 Kale / Collard Greens 41 Cherries 42 Spinach 43 Sweet Bell Peppers 44 Nectarines 45 Blueberries (Domestic) 46 Apples 47 Strawberries 48 Peaches 49 (Worst) Celery

Save the bees don't use pesticides

Food Arts Article

If you can get a hold of Food Arts Magazine, you must read Big Bang Book.  The article opens the pages of Nathan Myhrvold newest book Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking.  Fascinating!  Although a bit odd in their constant references to Outliers Theory by Malcolm Gladwell. (A book I did read and liked until the end when it was all about the author, boring.)   The article for the food trade explores cooking science and the awesome tools/machine molecular chefs play with. Oh, when will they morph into items for home use?   The few pictures from the book are artful and filled with bits of science geek data.  Bisected pot of steaming broccoli explains the dynamics of steaming and answers the burning question why steaming is often slower then boiling.  Although boiling is so 1960's.  Practical uses for the everyday cook includes test tube used to hold spices.  A great idea for those who purchase bulk. Sadly, I like many others can not afford the dream tools of the trade and safety issues would curtail the use of 1,980 degree propane generated flame.  Towards the end of the article, a table of envy list hot molecular equipment: liquid nitrogen, modern combi oven, vacuum sealer (I have one), homogenizer, pacojet (a dream for me), vacuum pump and so on.  To live the dream I will be contacting my library to purchase Mr. Myhrvold detailed data so I can pour through it and gain a better understanding of all my cooking screw ups.

Plum Sorbet

"Mom can you make me sorbet?" yells out my youngest.  Grinning I reply sure what flavor would you like as I looked over the nearly deceased fruit. We have pears, plums, grapes, banana, and apples.  A perplexed look crosses her face and we decide plum.

The last time I made sorbet I hit the hare trigger switch on my blender and everything went flying into the air.  watermelon sorbet on the walls, on the window, all over my gelato maker, my mixer...New rule unplug the blender before the lid comes off!

Quickly, we threw everything in that evil blender.  We had only 20 minutes until we needed to hop into the car and head to dance.

Plum Sorbet 

5 very large plums

1/2 c sugar

couple squirts agave

2T lemon juice

1T vodka

~ Put plums in blender and puree 

~ Add  sugar and agave blend on-off until fully dissolved

~ Mix in lemon juice and vodka

~ Chill or put directly into ice cream maker

 This was deemed a make again.

Lemon Stir Fry Chicken with Bittman

Yesterday in between drop offs and pick ups as well as shopping Targets 75% off garden sale, I whipped together dinner.  My kids are huge fans of sweet and sour chicken and I am still searching for that perfect no fry recipe so in the meantime I thought I would throw a little Mark Bittman in their direction.  First question, Is this sweet and sour chicken???  Yummmmm.  Unfortunately, there were no left overs and I was asked to repeat for lunch today.  Repeat a recipe???  I have hundreds of books and recipes left to explore.  Perhaps in a year or two.

Lemon Chicken Stir Fry

from: The Best Recipes In The World by Mark Bittman

adaptation:

served 5+

quick and delicious

3lbs boneless chicken thighs (organic at Costco or Trader Joe's)

scallions/chives (from my garden)

1/2 inch piece of ginger peeled and chopped

3T soy sauce

1T oyster sauce ( vegetarian)

1t Shaoxing wine

black pepper 1/4 t or what ever you choose to grind

safflower oil

1/4c fresh lemon juice ( love my neighbors meyer lemon tree)

1/2 c chicken stock

2T honey

2t cornstatch

salt or no salt to taste

~marinate chicken in chive, ginger, soy sauce, oyster sauce, wine and pepper one to two hours

~heat wok or stainless steel pan

~add 3T oil and heat

~add chicken until pinkness is gone

~stir in ginger 10 secs

~add soy sauce, oyster sauce, wine, pepper (marinade)

~ also add lemon juice, stock, honey, cornstarch

~mix and combine

~cook until sauce thickens

~plate on top of rice

~garnish with additional chives

I -- Scream!

I looked at the recipe.  I printed the recipe.  I read the recipe.  I was distracted with a million questions while attempting to make the recipe. ACK!  The sugar gets mixed in the the eggs and not cooked with the cream base.  Too late to separate the sugar from the cream, if that was even possible.  Not to worry, this kind of error has happen a million times to me.  Balancing act needed as well as ear plugs!  Add a few splashes of milk, a bit more vanilla in paste form and sugar to the yolks this time and hope it all comes together.  To the despair of the critics the creaminess needs to cure in the fridge over night, but not without a taste test.  The spoon goes into the mouth and comes out clean and the thumb goes up.  Confetti falls from the sky...not really.  Twenty four hours passes and it's time to rev up The Delonghi Gelato Maker (Happy Birthday to ME).  Twenty minutes later and rich creaminess delights the eyes.  Sorry kids bedtime (insert evil laugh here!)  I dish a bowl to the man who cries, "Give me Hagen Daz or give me nothing".  Comments include rich but not as rich as Hagen Daz, creamy, could use more vanilla and more refreshing then Hagen Daz.  What was that again?  Did I hear right?  Refreshing, better and you would rather have mine, score!

Vanilla Bean Gelato My Way

5 eggs yolks at room temp, lightly beaten
1/2 cup sugar (bit less then 1/4 c to balance)
2 c organic whole milk (1/2 c more to balance)
1 1/2 cup organic heavy cream
1 whole vanilla bean, split and seeded  (1/2 t vanilla bean paste)
pinch of sea salt


In a medium, deep sauce pot combine milk, cream, salt, vanilla seeds/pod (I added the sugar here 1/2 c and vanilla paste) and bring to a scald.  Let steep covered for 20 minutes then bring back to a scald.  Pour your hot cream through a fine strainer to remove the pod and any skin that may have formed as the cream steeped.   In a large metal bowl combine eggs and sugar (only less then 1/4 c in the other went in cream base) thoroughly with a whisk.  Pour cream into eggs very very very slowly to avoid overcooking and "scrambled" egg.  Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water (low heat) and cook 8-10 minutes, scraping the bottom and sides continuously for even cooking.  Strain again* and cool completely in the fridge about overnight.  Churn in your machine according to the instructions until you have the consistency of thick soft serve.  Place in a freezer safe container to set overnight.

*after make this I realized I should just refrigerated the custard in the gelato machines metal bowl.  If you are lucky like me and transitioned from freezer bowl to compression machine, you might want to give this a whirl.

* I always strain after completion of egg custard. Who wants egg lumps in their gelato/ice cream?