Creme Fraiche

It's possible, people.  And it's so easy you'll wonder what all the hype is about.  We're making the elusive creme fraiche today!

Ingredients:

-1 pint heavy whipping cream (not ultra-pasturized)

-2 tbsp yogurt with active cultures, buttermilk, or creme fraiche (1 tbsp per cup of cream)

Directions:

-Mix the ingredients together well in a jar with a lid (I shook mine for good measure, and I used a cleaned olive jar)

Note: It's okay if the ingredients are cold -- no need to heat up.

-Store in a warm or room temperature location for at least 6 hours (I put mine in my gas oven overnight, but I think just sitting on the counter during the summer is fine).

-Take it out and put it in the fridge to cool.  Note: At this point in my process, it still seemed very liquid-y and I was afraid it wouldn't firm up.  Turns out it firmed up quite a bit, almost to a sour cream consistency.  It was delicious.  If you want it runnier, don't let it sit out too long (6 hours would be better than overnight).  Also, if it is bubbly, DON'T PANIC (like I did).  It's totally fine.  When you stir it up, you'll be amazed.

-Stir it up and eat up with strawberries, cake, cobbler, or whatever!

The consistency of mine turned out like super thick greek yogurt, with a slight tang.  It was delicious over sliced strawberries and bananas with a drizzle of honey for breakfast.

Something's Coming

Some dear friends of ours just got engaged, and in honor of their engagement we will be having them over for a nice meal.  Hold onto something, lest you get blown away.  In a week and a half, there will be some interesting stuff happening in this here kitchen.  Get ready for your imaginations to get a workout.

Zatar Eggplant and Kale

Before I decided to do more raw foods this summer, I first decided to cook on a budget.  So far, there are wins and loses in that department, but this recipe was a win.  Growing up, my mom would make Zatar Chicken, with sauteed onions and chicken (it was the only form of onions I cared to eat), cooked with zatar and lemon and served over rice.

I have come to simply adore the combination of kale and eggplant.  When those two vegetables are cooking (with onion and garlic), the smell is simply heavenly.  Add this spice of my people, and we have an excellent vegetarian, budget-friendly, and super healthy and delicious dish.  Added to rice, the mixture goes a long way (Matt and I ate it for lunches most of the week).

Ingredients:

-3 tbsp vegetable oil (and olive oil to be added later, at your discretion, but try not to do the initial cooking with olive oil, as it can burn)

-1 yellow onion, sliced (cut in half, then halve the half, then slice)

-1 eggplant (skin on), chopped into bite-size pieces

     Note: The easiest way for me is to cut it lengthwise from just below the stem to the end, three approximately even cuts with one side up, then rotate and make another 3 cuts to make a cross hatch pattern so that it stays attached at the stem; then chop it widthwise.  I will add pictures the next time I use this technique.

-1 bunch kale, chopped into bite-size pieces (stems too)

-2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

-3 tbsp lemon juice (or more, if you prefer)

-2-3 tbsp zatar (a middle eastern spice found at ethnic grocery stores, though the regular grocery store might have it too)

-1 tsp salt (more if desired)

-cracked pepper to taste

-1 can garbanzo beans (aka chick peas)

-rice for serving (jasmine rice is my favorite, but any long-grain rice will do)

Directions:

-Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet or a pot

-Sautee the sliced onion, garlic, kale stems, and eggplant for 3-5 minutes

-Add the kale leaves and continue to sautee.  You may need to add them a bit at a time, and let them cook down to make room for the rest.

-Add the zatar and lemon juice, a few twists of cracked pepper, and salt, and continue to cook

                             

-Rinse the garbanzo beans and add to the pan.

-Add a bit of olive oil to moisten the mixture.  You want to have a bit of a sauce (just a bit).

-Continue to cook on low-medium to warm the beans, and mix everything together.

-Serve over rice.

Serves 6-8

Raw Shaved Squash Salad

I hereby declare this a summer of raw fruits and veggies (and other things in moderation).

We went to a guerilla restaurant, the Agrarian, for dinner with some friends, and I ordered a dish that involved raw shaved yellow squash, and a black garlic puree mixture for dipping.  It was quite delicious, and I was very pleased to learn it was possible to enjoy raw yellow squash.  Our friend Gretchen works for the restaurant and informed me that they soaked the squash in some kind of vinegar.  And doesn't that just sound fresh and yummy!

So today at the farmers market I bought some squash and decided to make it into a salad.  The process was so simple that a paragraph of explanation should suffice:

Ingredients/Directions:

Shave the squash into a bowl with a vegetable peeler, and add a couple splashes of rice vinegar, a sprinkling of salt and sugar, and fresh cracked black pepper (I used flower pepper from Trader Joes).  Mix the contents of the bowl.  No need to let it soak, just eat up.  

Note: The squash we bought also tasted surprisingly delicious raw without the vinegar mixture, but that may have been the variety.  With other varieties, you may find it needs some soak time.

I used rice vinegar because I like its sweetness and wanted to see how it would taste.  I'm sure balsamic or apple cider vinegar would work quite well also.  If a significant amount of vinegar accumulates at the bottom of the bowl, carefully drain it.  I put a little too much vinegar in mine, and after tossing it a bit, had to pour some out.

The result did not disappoint.  Here's to an excellent start to the summer of raw fruits and veggies!

Tart Cherry Frozen Yogurt

Last night I made the best frozen yogurt (possibly best food) I have ever had.  Then again, I'm a sucker for sour, tart, tangy foods and desserts.  And I couldn't get you a picture because we gobbled it up right quick.  Just let your imagination soar with Tart Cherry Frozen Yogurt.

Note: The canned cherries I bought were rather large, compared to a normal cherry pie filling, so I smushed them up.  Chopping them would also be an option, but I had already poured them into the yogurt and stirred the mixture when I realized it.

Ingredients:

-1 quart yogurt (I used my homemade yogurt, which is much tangier than the plain yogurt from the store, see recipe for homemade yogurt here)
-1 can pitted cherries in heavy syrup (DO NOT DRAIN - you want the sweetness of the syrup) -- a can of cherry pie filling would be good too
-1/4 cup sugar

Directions:

-Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl.  Stir well to help remove yogurt lumps.
-Freeze the mixture in an ice cream maker until frozen like soft-serve ice cream.
-Put the frozen yogurt in the freezer for an hour or so (I put them in individual mugs first, then stick those in the freezer).  I much prefer a softer-serve, so if you prefer it harder, just freeze for longer.

The result was incredibly creamy, tangy, and a beautiful red violet colored frozen yogurt with delicious fruit.

Matt loved some sliced almonds on top of his serving, and we both agreed that fudge would also have been a good addition.

Something I thought to do in the future is to make a goat milk yogurt (which tastes similar to goat cheese), and add a can of blueberries in syrup and some sugar.  I suspect that would be delicious too.

Stuffed Poblanos and Cilantro Lime Ice Cream

     Matt just finished a 4-day-long bike ride.  So naturally he wants Mexican food.  And I am rededicated to eating healthy, more veggies and less gluten.  What are we to do?  I found a recipe on Against All Grain's blog for roasted poblano peppers, stuffed with ground beef and sweet potatoes.  http://www.againstallgrain.com/2013/05/23/stuffed-peppers-with-chile-verde-sauce/.  It sounded like it had potential.  With a little help, it became phenomenal.

     Step 1 was nixing the ground beef and instead cooking up some lengua.  If you don't like the idea of beef tongue, just use whatever meat you desire.  The fun part is roasting and stuffing the peppers and adding delectable sauces to your heart's content.

     I also modified the veggies a bit.  Just sweet potatoes and yu choy (a cousin of bok choy which can be found at Asian grocery stores). Against All Grain uses spinach, so feel free to substitute any green you like.  Greens are good.

     We made 3 sauces for our peppers and for dipping chips.  We did make some salsa verde, as the base recipe suggests, with some modifications.  Matt loves mole sauce (a chocolate chili sauce found in some regional Mexican foods), so he was in charge of making that.  He says the recipe is a secret (you can look it up on the internet).  I also decided to take this opportunity to make an avocado cilantro lime cream sauce.  Yum.  Just yum.  Cilantro and lime is probably my favorite flavor combination (I'm planning to make some cookies with those flavors soon).  Add avocados, and it's heaven.

     As a continuation of the cilantro-lime theme, we just had to do some coconut milk ice cream that incorporates the two flavors.  I was very excited, and the results were not too shabby.

     I think I can safely say that this meal is the most delicious Mexican food I've ever put together, and it's relatively "clean" and healthy :)

Ingredients

Salsa Verde:

-1 lb. tomatillos

-2 jalapenos, seeded (Cut the sides lengthwise, leaving the stem and seeds separate.  This helps you to avoid touching the inside of the pepper and is quick and easy.

-2 cloves of garlic

-zest and juice from 2 limes

-1/2 tsp salt

Avocado Cilantro Lime Cream Sauce:

-2 avocados

-1 bunch cilantro (just stems or just leaves would be sufficient; I used just stems, then saved the leaves for the salsa)

-zest and juice of 2 limes

-1/2 tsp salt

-1/4 tsp black pepper

-dash of olive oil

(I needed a little more liquid, so I added a dash of bottled lemon juice.  Use fresh-squeezed whenever possible, though.)

Stuffed Peppers

-Beef tongue (or any other meat or meat substitute)

-6 Poblano peppers, seeds removed

-goat cheese (chevre)

-2 tbsp vegetable oil

-1 onion, sliced

-1 bunch cilantro, chopped

-2 sweet potatoes, diced

-chopped green (yu choy or spinach or anything else you want)

-3 roma tomatoes, roughly chopped

Cilantro Lime Ice Cream

-2 cans coconut milk

-1 bunch cilantro (leaves only)

-juice of 2 limes

-1 cup sugar

Directions

For the Main Dish:

*Preheat oven to 350º

1. Prepare the meat as desired.  I was making a beef tongue, and to do that you can boil it for 4 hours or so, or cook it on low in a crock pot for 8-10 hours (or on high for 6 hours).  In the Against All Grain Recipe, she browns ground beef then sautees the meat with the veggies.  

2. Combine all ingredients for the salsa verde in a food processor, process together until salsa-consistency.  Transfer to another container and store in the refrigerator until serving.

3. Combine all ingredients for the avocado cilantro lime cream sauce and process in the food processor as well.  Transfer to another container and store in the refrigerator until serving.

4. Cut the poblanos lengthwise along one side.  Remove the seeds (Try not to touch them, and be careful not to touch your eyes right after.  Wash your hands with soap).  

5. Evenly sprinkle pieces of the goat cheese on the bottom of the pepper and roast in the oven for 20 minutes, until the peppers are soft and the cheese is nice and melted.

6. Sautee the sweet potato in 1 tbsp vegetable oil until almost soft.  Then add the greens and continue sauteeing for 5 minutes. Lastly, add the tomatoes and stir over heat until warm.

7. Sautee separately the onion in 1 tbsp of vegetable oil.  When it is almost translucent, add the chopped cilantro and continue sauteeing over medium heat for 2-3 minutes.  This needs to be done last so that the cilantro will keep its strong flavor.  I've never been happy with this combination when it is permitted to cook too long or is not eaten immediately when it is hot.

Stuff the peppers with the meat, sauteed veggies, and onion.  Add the desired sauces and eat up!

If you would like all of the components to "homogenize" better, stuff everything (except for the salsa or avocado sauce) in the pepper and cook it another 10-15 minutes.  Then add the condiments and eat up.

For the Ice Cream:

1. Blend the coconut milk, cilantro, lime, and sugar until smooth and green :)

2. Process in an ice cream maker.  Allow to chill in the freezer for at least 30 minutes before serving (unless you prefer soft serve).  I like to divide the ice cream into servings, then putting the individual serving containers in the freezer for their chilling time.

Ice Cream with a BANG!

Sorry to have ignored you for so long, readers.  My cooking experiences during finals were basically either 1) asking Matt to cook dinner for the week, 2) baking potatoes, and 3) Getting together leftovers from when Matt cooked and making a soup out of the random ingredients.

But Sunday was Cinco de Mayo, and something better was called for :)

Like Chocolate Habanero Frozen Yogurt.  Yum.

I first made homemade yogurt a couple days before, see the recipe here.  I only let it sit for a day and a half, so it was not as firm as it usually is.  It was still quite tart, though.  Everyone liked it all the same!

Ingredients:
2 quarts yogurt (whatever kind you want.  If you buy it at the store, you might need to use less, and add some liquid - water or milk so that it won't be too thick.  On the other hand, I'm sure that would be delicious too)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 habaneros (NO seeds - they're hot enough as they are) (And of course you can reduce this to 1 if you want less spice.
2 cups sugar

Directions:
Blend all ingredients in a blender.  Then freeze in an ice cream maker!  Bada-bing.  That's it :)
You may wish to reduce or increase the sugar.

It's certainly tangy and sweet and chocolat-y, then gives you a kick in the back of your throat when you swallow.

I'll be experimenting with frozen yogurt recipes a lot this summer - some savory ones too that can be a healthy frozen snack or meal.