Thursday, August 31, 2017

Fresh Corn Juice or Soup or Stock?


While doing some health and food research in YouTube, I found information on the benefit of corn silk stock. My first batch using my home grown corn and corn silk was exciting.  As it is home grown without any pesticides.  This time I tried with store bought corn.  I am very hesitant about using the non-organic corn as normal corns are heavily sprayed with pesticides.   And I can smell them in the corns right at grocer's shelves.  But this is how I did it to assure clean stock produced from store bought corns.  
3 fresh corns with husk. 
Remove husks layers, and carefully retain corn silk in a bowl with strainer with cleaned corns.

Add water and rinse, strain. Repeat twice.  Then soak with filtered water.  Rinse after 5 minutes, then, soak again in filtered water for 10 minutes.
Fill a pot just enough to cover corns (with silk in the pot).  Cover the pot.  Bring to boil.  
Cook over high heat for three minutes. 
Do not open the lid.
Turn off the heat.
Wait 10 minutes.
Serve.

Strain the stock and enjoy it hot or cold.

Stir Fried Cactus Salad


After my mother's home cook testing with nopales, I thought I would give it a try myself.   She made them into a very tasty refreshing salad.
Wearing thick gloves, Fresh cut young nopales.  
Use a blow torch to burn off the fine thorns or use a garden hand shovel and scrape off thorns.   
Use kitchen peeler to scrape off all the thorn eyes left behind. 
Rinse well. 
Cut into slices. 

Heat 1-1/2 tablespoon of avocado oil in a sauté pan.  Medium high heat. 
Add nopales slices.  Stir fry for a minute...

Lower to medium heat.
Stir fry for 1-1/2 min to 2 min.  
Remove. 
You have a choice to fresh squeeze a lemon and add to it or eat it as is. What taste do you expect!?  Ready?! Stir fried nopales tasty sour to tangy all by itself.   I love it just the way it is. Eat it straight out of refrigerator. Cool salad.  

Saturday, August 19, 2017

Scones with Chocolate Chip, Flaxseed Meal, Poppy Seeds

You can make these scones 45 minutes before you leave for work and share with your co-workers.  
 
This recipe contains:
6 oz organic Flour Shifted with 2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp kosher salt.  Shift well.  
Add and mix 4 oz organic sugar,
1 Tbsp Poppy Seeds,
1 Tbsp ground Flaxseed Meal.  
Preheat oven to 425'F.   
Add 4 oz Creme de Fraiche, 1/4 C organic milk plus some more, and organic dark chocolate chips.  
Gently - Blend well with spatula.    Then, add handful of organic dark chocolate chips or chopped dark European chocolate pistoles.
The dough is softer than the cookie dough.   If too moist, add 1+ tablespoon of flour. 
Transfer the dough to the baking pan lined with parchment paper. 
Form the dough into disc. 
Apply egg wash - 1 egg yolk and 1 tsp milk. 
Baking time and temperature depends on your oven's BTU.  I am using an electric countertop convection oven.  However, it seems this unit's convection is questionable.  But check at 20 min. Then, lower the temperature to 375'F and bake 12+ more minutes.  Bake till the tester comes out quite dry. 
The final scone should be moist like cake and beautifully browned at the top. 

 The crumbs are very tender