Friday, December 04, 2015

Fresh Chayote Salad with Pomegranate

After waiting for two years, the planted chayote fruit has finally sprouted, blossomed!! What's more surprising is that the fruits appeared in late November!!
The crazy warm mild November weather in Sacramento has prolonged the chayote plants this year and fruited.  The fruits that normally grow in warm climate area - like Mexico, are growing unexpectedly.  Just like my Lotus flower, it appeared when you least expected.   All I remembered was seeing the flower, but the temperature was dropping quite dramatically each evening in November.  I was sure that the plant would die.  The fruits grew quickly, escaping my notice, from flower to croppable hand size.   I didn't know what to do with it when I saw them.   I was amused with the way they were growing in my yard.  I have never tasted it before.   A week before, not seeing any chayote fruits growing and seeing the evening temperature has been coming down quite low, I purchased chayote from a grocery store -- still not knowing what or how to prepare it.  They were just sitting in refrigerator.  After seeing my chayote growing in the garden, I decided to prepare one of them.  I got enough information from the Internet to prepare it into salad.   And it turned out delicious with just some vinaigrette dressing.
This is my home grown pomegranate from my own yard.   It is a fast growing plant from seeds to fruiting in one summer or was it two years.  It doesn't matter.  It fruited three.
 Surprise!  No seeds in the young ones.  The texture is like an apple and crisp pear.




Fennel Salad with KAKI, Fuji Apple, and Pomegranates

Fennel Power!   
This has become one of my favorite salad.  Refreshing and it helps me with joint inflammation.   Fennel is considered anti-inflammatory, it says.  When I first tasted fennel, it was a few years ago at one of our co-workers' home party to celebrate autumn vegetables.   Fennel and FUYU KAKI (Japanese persimmon) salad.  I did not particularly took interest in its taste as it tasted very much like Licorice.  Licorice is one taste that I never become fond of.  However, it was one of the menu ingredients when I received my package of the week from the Blue Apron.   I didn't know quite what to do with it, except to follow the direction and prepare the dish.   Again, another surprise.  The dish turned out tasty.  Since then, I have purchased it a number of times from our Sacramento Food Co-Op.  I didn't know much about it.  I chopped away the stalks and reserved a few stems of fennel fern.   I didn't know I could use the whiter part of stalk as well... like leek.   Anyways, I added slices of KAKI, and pomegranates from my mother's home.   Made vinaigrette from Pure Olive Oil, Dijon mustard, Vinegar, organic cane sugar, salt and pepper, and lemon juice.  The taste is perfect match for this salad.   I ate every bit of it.   Variation is using shaved carrots and or sliced cucumbers.
 Fresh home grown Pomegranates and FUYU KAKI.   You only need two tablespoon of Pomegranate and one Kaki - sliced.

 I like pomegranates, so there are more than 2 Tbsp of it in my salad.


Monday, November 30, 2015

Cooking with BlueApron Delivery - Parsnip and Sweet Potato?

 
Wow! This is another surprising menu with wonderful flavor that made my palate dance around to enjoy every bite of it.  This is one of my BlueApron menu of the week delivered to my home.  The menu name - Spiced Salmon and Cranberry Chutney is not a name that would get my curiosity but to my surprise it is another winner at my dining table.

Ingredients:
2 Skin-On Salmon Fillets - Fresh Wild Caught
1 Clementine - zested, peels cut off and skin/membranes removed
1 Sweet Potato - peeled and Cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 Parsnip - peeled and Cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 Red Onion - peeled, cut into halves, then cut each halves into quarters or 6 to 8 parts (depending on the size of the onion.)
1 Bunch Mint - rinsed and leaves removed from the stem.  Reserve a small sprig for plating, if you wish.  It is basically served to compliment the dish.  Not just as a garnish.

To make Cranberry Chutney:
2 Tbsp Organic Cane Sugar
1/2 C Fresh Cranberries
2 Tbsp Water
2 tsp Cranberry Chutney Spice Blend

To make 2 Tbsp Spice Blend
Mix and test to combine following spices:
 Ground Fennel Seed
Ground Coriander
Ground Cardamom
Ground Nutmeg

3 Tbsp - Extra Virgin Olive Oil for cooking
Kosher Salt and Black/White Pepper for taste

In a small sauce pot, add cranberries, sugar, clementine zest, 1 Tbsp Spice Blend and 2 Tbsp water plus 1 Tbsp water.   On high heat - bring to boil.  Turn to simmer.  Stir and cook to reduce liquid, cranberries are softened and chutney thickened.  Remove from heat and set it aside.   In a skillet or saute pan with lid, heat 1 to 2 Tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil on Medium-high until hot.  Stir fry parsnip and sweet potato for 8 to 10 min - covering with lid after first 30 seconds.  Open the lid and stir fry every 3 minutes, repeat until sweet potatoes are almost tender.  Add Onion to the pan.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Stir fry until Onion is translucent and softened.  Turn off the heat.  Reuse the pan to fry salmon.  Add the clementine.  Stir thoroughly.  Transfer to a serving bowl or plates.
Rub Salmon with kosher salt all over and rinse gently under running filter water.  Pat dry.   Coat salmon with Spice Blend.   Reheat the pan.  Add some EVOO 2 to 3 tsp.   Bring oil to shimmer.  Cook salmon skin side down on medium-high heat. - Cook 2 to 4 minutes per side.   I like to cover with lid to assure complete heat through and to avoid grease splatter.  Cook until browned.  Remove from heat.
Serve with finished vegetables and salmon.  Garnish with Cranberry chutney and top with mint.
The mint is really great with this vegetable to balance the sweetness of the sweet potato and onion.  Parsnip is a delight to the taste.
Enjoy!   Hope you will have a fun adventure with your menu order from www.blueapron.com
They are your2nd  sous chef that you always wanted in your kitchen.
If you are interested in ordering from BlueApron and would like a discount coupon, please let me know, I have two coupons that I can share.

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Fresh Coconut Milk Chiffon Cake


Follow Pandan Coconut Chiffon Cake recipe or the Kabocha Chiffon Cake on this blog to complete the cake.

 
 Woops!  it shrunk without my permission!!!
 But Beautiful!
 The shrinkage was not that much.
 
 
Yum!   Nicely turned out.  Light and fluffy.
 The texture is moist and light.
 
 
 Yum!   the taste of Fresh Coconut Milk is refreshing find in the bites.

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Polly's Biscuits .... Ahhh, it's back

Ingredients:
2 C flour shift with 2-1/2 tsp baking powder and 3/4 tsp Kosher salt.  
In a medium bowl with shifted flour mixture, add 3 TBsp of room temperature Butter.  
Use finger to rub them into flour.   
Cut 3 Tbsp of cold Butter and slice them into cubes.  
Use fingers and mash cold butter with flour between fingers... most of them should be in flat floured shapes.  Add 1/2 C Buttermilk and 1/4 C water by spreading liquid all over the dry ingredients.  
Allow liquid to be absorbed.   
Use hand to 'toss' moist flour to form shaggy dough.   Do not knead, yet.
Transfer to lightly floured work surface.
 If there are some dry flour mixture still, then add teaspoonful or drops of buttermilk.  Let it absorb.
Form the dough into round by gently pressing them into disc shape.  Roll out a bit with rolling pin.
Cut out with Biscuit cutter.  Place on baking sheet by placing them close to each other.
Cover.  Set it aside to rest while waiting for oven to come to temperature.
Heat oven to 435'F.
Roll it out gently and cut out with Biscuit cutter or Cut out with . . .  pizza cutter, it would work also.   But don't use knife and Press Down into the dough.   That would "Seal" the cut edges.
Bake until golden.  Check around 12 minutes and Brush with Egg wash - egg yolk and milk, if you wish.  Or brush top with butter when done.