Wash the fruit in lots of water.
Swish about to make sure no ants or other creepy crawlies end up in your dessert!
Drain.
Cut fruit from seeds, place in a pan and cover with water.
Bring to the boil and simmer until fruit is soft (15-20 mins).
Blend or process until smooth.
Push though a sieve with a wooden spoon (a cup or two at a time) to remove the fiber.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Simple Syrup
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of water
Heat until sugar is dissolved. That's it!
I like to make a big jar of it and keep it in the fridge to have on hand for lemonade or for spontaneous sorbet making sessions! I tend to use white/cane sugar or half white and half soft brown as brown sugar can cause the bright colors of some fruits to become dull.
1 cup of water
Heat until sugar is dissolved. That's it!
I like to make a big jar of it and keep it in the fridge to have on hand for lemonade or for spontaneous sorbet making sessions! I tend to use white/cane sugar or half white and half soft brown as brown sugar can cause the bright colors of some fruits to become dull.
Pindo Palm Sorbet
The Butia Capitata Palm – also know as the Pindo or Jelly Palm - grows all over Gainesville. It bears several large bracts of fruit which produce 3-5 lbs of fruit each. Refreshingly tart and sweet all at the same time - the Pindo Palm fruit tastes of pineapple and apricot in equal measures with a citrusy 'finish.' The flesh is a bit fibrous which means you have spit out the fiber after you’ve chewed the fruit, but is excellent for baking – for making jelly, fruit curds and pies! It makes an incredible, tropical tasting sorbet.
Here are my top 3 favorite Pindo Palm Sorbet Recipes of this (my first) Season!
Pindo Palm Sorbet # 1
This is the one that tastes most strongly of the pindo palm fruit
2 cups cooked and strained Pindo palm puree/juice
1/2 cup sour orange or lemon juice
2 cups simple syrup (or more to taste)
Pindo Palm Sorbet # 2
This is more generally tropical tasting
2 cups cooked and strained Pindo palm puree/juice
1 cup chopped fresh pineapple **
1 cup chopped fresh mango
1/2 cup sour orange or lemon juice
3 cups simple syrup (or more to taste)
Pindo Palm Sorbet # 3
This one has a more dominant mango flavor
2 cups cooked and strained Pindo palm puree/juice
2 cups chopped fresh mango (or the best canned mango pulp *)
1/2 cup sour orange or lemon juice
3 cups simple syrup (or more to taste)
Blend and freeze!
* Indian stores have the best mango pulp in tins. My local Indian store has Alfonso pulp in big tins. Alfonsos are the King of mangos and the fruit is startlingly intense in both color and flavor.
** The pineapple we used was one we grew ourselves. The miracle of pineapples is that you pop the cut off top of a pineapple into the ground and hey presto! a couple of years later it grows into a whole new pineapple! Amazing!!
Here are my top 3 favorite Pindo Palm Sorbet Recipes of this (my first) Season!
Pindo Palm Sorbet # 1
This is the one that tastes most strongly of the pindo palm fruit
2 cups cooked and strained Pindo palm puree/juice
1/2 cup sour orange or lemon juice
2 cups simple syrup (or more to taste)
Pindo Palm Sorbet # 2
This is more generally tropical tasting
2 cups cooked and strained Pindo palm puree/juice
1 cup chopped fresh pineapple **
1 cup chopped fresh mango
1/2 cup sour orange or lemon juice
3 cups simple syrup (or more to taste)
Pindo Palm Sorbet # 3
This one has a more dominant mango flavor
2 cups cooked and strained Pindo palm puree/juice
2 cups chopped fresh mango (or the best canned mango pulp *)
1/2 cup sour orange or lemon juice
3 cups simple syrup (or more to taste)
Blend and freeze!
* Indian stores have the best mango pulp in tins. My local Indian store has Alfonso pulp in big tins. Alfonsos are the King of mangos and the fruit is startlingly intense in both color and flavor.
** The pineapple we used was one we grew ourselves. The miracle of pineapples is that you pop the cut off top of a pineapple into the ground and hey presto! a couple of years later it grows into a whole new pineapple! Amazing!!
Monday, June 18, 2007
Devil's on Horseback
Here's a recipe my mother would make for parties. It's quick and delicious finger food. Children love everything about it - especially participating in the making of them!
Ingredients
The same number of prunes or dates and almonds and half the number of rashers of bacon!
Roast whole peeled almonds dry in the oven for 15 minutes at about 325 - until golden brown.
Stir or shake them from time to time so they brown all over.
Remove from oven and cool.
Stir or shake them from time to time so they brown all over.
Remove from oven and cool.
Turn the oven up to 400 degrees.
Pit the prunes or dates - if they are dry soak them in freshly boiled water for 30 minutes first.
Pit the prunes or dates - if they are dry soak them in freshly boiled water for 30 minutes first.
Stuff each prune or date with an almond.
Wrap tightly with half a rasher of bacon so the fat is showing. *
Secure with a tooth pick.
Pack into a foil lined tray.
Pack into a foil lined tray.
Bake for 15 minutes or until crispy
* Strong bacon is better - Canadian or English style.
Some recipes stuff the prunes with mango chutney - i have never done that and don't like the idea of it!
Friday, June 8, 2007
Lemonade!
This is the easiest, most delicious and refreshing of all home-made drinks. Ring the changes and you will never tire of it. It's also good for you. About a million times gooder than any store bought soda which has 10-11 teaspoons of sugar per can.
Basic Syrup
Add the lemon juice. Couldn't be easier!
Store in the fridge and add water (still or sparkling) and ice to taste.
Remember – all the ones and double up for larger quantities.
Now let’s make it more delicious.
Use soft brown sugar instead of white for a wonderful flavor or half brown/half white.
Cut strips of rind off one lemon (no white pith – just thin strips of rind) and add to the syrup hot water. Leave in the syrup – the flavors will intensify. Or take out after a day or two once it's just right for you - it can get a little bitter if left in for too long.
Make it with Limes or Meyers’ Lemons for a differently delicious limey or lemony flavor.
Mint Lemonade—Bright & Fresh
Add a handful of mint leaves to the hot water. Leave in the syrup – the flavors will intensify over time or take out when it's minty enough for you.
Strawberry Lemonade—Pretty in Pink
Take a pound of fresh strawberries, wash and hull them. Chop them roughly and simmer them in a cup of water for a few minutes.
Blend or mash (a potato masher works great)
Cool and sieve (you don’t want any seeds or pulp).
Let the juice sit for an hour so any pulp can sink to the bottom. You can add it all to the lemon syrup but it will make it cloudy.
Add a cup of clear strawberry juice for each cup of lemon juice.
Prickly Pear Lemonade—Psychedelic Purple
The taste of the prickly pear is more subtle—the color is absolutely spectacular, it's hard to believe it comes from nature. You can grow prickly pears yourself or buy them in Publix, your local wholefood or latin american food store.
Cut 4 or 5 prickly pears in half and scoop their innards out into a pan.
Add a cup or so of water and simmer until the fruit softens and breaks up.
Smash with a potato masher.
Sieve to get the juice but not the seeds.
Add a cup of prickly pear juice for each cup of lemon juice.
Prickly pear 'limeade' is not such a nice color. Green + purple = a muddy purple!
Prickly Pear Limeade is not such a nice color - the green turns it a muddy purple.
Basic Syrup
- 1 cup lemon juice
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
Add the lemon juice. Couldn't be easier!
Store in the fridge and add water (still or sparkling) and ice to taste.
Remember – all the ones and double up for larger quantities.
Now let’s make it more delicious.
Use soft brown sugar instead of white for a wonderful flavor or half brown/half white.
Cut strips of rind off one lemon (no white pith – just thin strips of rind) and add to the syrup hot water. Leave in the syrup – the flavors will intensify. Or take out after a day or two once it's just right for you - it can get a little bitter if left in for too long.
Make it with Limes or Meyers’ Lemons for a differently delicious limey or lemony flavor.
Mint Lemonade—Bright & Fresh
Add a handful of mint leaves to the hot water. Leave in the syrup – the flavors will intensify over time or take out when it's minty enough for you.
Strawberry Lemonade—Pretty in Pink
Take a pound of fresh strawberries, wash and hull them. Chop them roughly and simmer them in a cup of water for a few minutes.
Blend or mash (a potato masher works great)
Cool and sieve (you don’t want any seeds or pulp).
Let the juice sit for an hour so any pulp can sink to the bottom. You can add it all to the lemon syrup but it will make it cloudy.
Add a cup of clear strawberry juice for each cup of lemon juice.
Prickly Pear Lemonade—Psychedelic Purple
The taste of the prickly pear is more subtle—the color is absolutely spectacular, it's hard to believe it comes from nature. You can grow prickly pears yourself or buy them in Publix, your local wholefood or latin american food store.
Cut 4 or 5 prickly pears in half and scoop their innards out into a pan.
Add a cup or so of water and simmer until the fruit softens and breaks up.
Smash with a potato masher.
Sieve to get the juice but not the seeds.
Add a cup of prickly pear juice for each cup of lemon juice.
Prickly pear 'limeade' is not such a nice color. Green + purple = a muddy purple!
Prickly Pear Limeade is not such a nice color - the green turns it a muddy purple.
Monday, May 7, 2007
Sour Orange Pie
This is key lime pie without the bitter edge, without the ghastly after-taste of citric acid that comes in every bottle of key lime juice and/or without the time-consuming work of squeezing a bagful of slippery key limes.
This is a pie to die for - it is utterly, exquisitely, eye-rollingly delicious. The crust needs a little work - it is a pecan, shortbread crust that is pretty damn good but I would like it to be a little crisper - a little more cookie-like, so that the juxtaposition between the crisp base and the soft filling create a kind of edible symphony! I achieved this one time but didn't make a note of the proportions I used. Grrr. The lovely orange flavors ring through more clearly than with a sweet orange and the rind colors it as well. One time I tried to intensify the color of the filling using prickly pear juice - I forgot that purple + white (milk) = pink and I ended up with the most disgusting looking pie in the world - the color of pepto-bismol. We ate that one with our eyes closed.
Ingredients for one large (10” pie)
The Pecan Shortcrust Base
6 oz flour
4 oz ground pecans (or chopped and toasted if you want a crunchy base)
5 oz brown sugar
5 oz cold unsalted butter
Turn the oven to 375 degrees
~Process the flour and butter lightly (or cut then rub the butter into the flour)
~Fold in brown sugar and the nuts
~Add a little ice water to make it stick together
~Pat into a buttered/floured pan. Use the bottom of a flat glass to flatten it gently.
~Bake for 30 mins or until light brown and smelling heavenly.
Set aside to cool for an hour or two. This helps with the final texture of the base – if you add the filling when it's freshly cooked the base will be softer.
While you are waiting for it to cool you can separate the egg yolks from the whites and make a batch of Pecan Meringue Kisses!!!
The Sour Orange Filling
5 large egg yolks
1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
1 cup of sour orange juice
grated rind of 2 oranges
Turn the oven to 350 degrees
Blend all ingredients for 20 seconds or whisk like crazy for a good minute.
Pour into the cake pan and bake for 15 mins (to set the pie and kill the salmonella!)
Finishing Touches
Top it with some berries - in an untidy, uneven pile, or arranged carefully around the edge so every slice gets one (or more!)
A sprinkling of flowers from the garden are lovely
A mandala of small edible leaves (mint, lemon balm or cranberry hibiscus are perfect)!
Eat It!
This pie is delectable warm, delicious cold, even better the next day.
Serve it with cream and/or a raspberry coulis (fresh sauce), or chopped strawberries.
It lasts a good week in the fridge (not mine!) but remember that the crust becomes softer over time.
Working Notes!
If you prefer your pies more tart than sweet then add the juice of one lemon to ‘brighten’ it.
There’s no way around the tin of condensed milk – it’s a strange ingredient for a whole food nut but it works like nothing else.
Switch out the pecans for walnuts or hazelnuts.
The rind adds color and deepens the orange flavors in the tart. You can omit it if you like or replace the orange with lemon rind.
If you use lemon juice or rind try a Meyer’s lemon (my personal favorite) which has a slight tangerine tang to it.
Use a 'rasp' to grate the rind - it's super quick and easy and you only get the aromatic outside i.e. none of the white at all.
Use a pan with a removable side if you can – we Brits call these spring-form – I’m not sure what they are called in the US.
This is a pie to die for - it is utterly, exquisitely, eye-rollingly delicious. The crust needs a little work - it is a pecan, shortbread crust that is pretty damn good but I would like it to be a little crisper - a little more cookie-like, so that the juxtaposition between the crisp base and the soft filling create a kind of edible symphony! I achieved this one time but didn't make a note of the proportions I used. Grrr. The lovely orange flavors ring through more clearly than with a sweet orange and the rind colors it as well. One time I tried to intensify the color of the filling using prickly pear juice - I forgot that purple + white (milk) = pink and I ended up with the most disgusting looking pie in the world - the color of pepto-bismol. We ate that one with our eyes closed.
Ingredients for one large (10” pie)
The Pecan Shortcrust Base
6 oz flour
4 oz ground pecans (or chopped and toasted if you want a crunchy base)
5 oz brown sugar
5 oz cold unsalted butter
Turn the oven to 375 degrees
~Process the flour and butter lightly (or cut then rub the butter into the flour)
~Fold in brown sugar and the nuts
~Add a little ice water to make it stick together
~Pat into a buttered/floured pan. Use the bottom of a flat glass to flatten it gently.
~Bake for 30 mins or until light brown and smelling heavenly.
Set aside to cool for an hour or two. This helps with the final texture of the base – if you add the filling when it's freshly cooked the base will be softer.
While you are waiting for it to cool you can separate the egg yolks from the whites and make a batch of Pecan Meringue Kisses!!!
The Sour Orange Filling
5 large egg yolks
1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
1 cup of sour orange juice
grated rind of 2 oranges
Turn the oven to 350 degrees
Blend all ingredients for 20 seconds or whisk like crazy for a good minute.
Pour into the cake pan and bake for 15 mins (to set the pie and kill the salmonella!)
Finishing Touches
Top it with some berries - in an untidy, uneven pile, or arranged carefully around the edge so every slice gets one (or more!)
A sprinkling of flowers from the garden are lovely
A mandala of small edible leaves (mint, lemon balm or cranberry hibiscus are perfect)!
Eat It!
This pie is delectable warm, delicious cold, even better the next day.
Serve it with cream and/or a raspberry coulis (fresh sauce), or chopped strawberries.
It lasts a good week in the fridge (not mine!) but remember that the crust becomes softer over time.
Working Notes!
If you prefer your pies more tart than sweet then add the juice of one lemon to ‘brighten’ it.
There’s no way around the tin of condensed milk – it’s a strange ingredient for a whole food nut but it works like nothing else.
Switch out the pecans for walnuts or hazelnuts.
The rind adds color and deepens the orange flavors in the tart. You can omit it if you like or replace the orange with lemon rind.
If you use lemon juice or rind try a Meyer’s lemon (my personal favorite) which has a slight tangerine tang to it.
Use a 'rasp' to grate the rind - it's super quick and easy and you only get the aromatic outside i.e. none of the white at all.
Use a pan with a removable side if you can – we Brits call these spring-form – I’m not sure what they are called in the US.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Pecan Kisses
When I first arrived in Gainesville I became obsessed with sour oranges. My new friend Corky had a sour orange tree in her garden - a good orange tree turned 'native' after a hurricane. Her tree was full of oranges. She had been letting them fall to the ground and rot for many years. I experimented with sour oranges - cooking nearly everything that asked for key limes - and finding Sour Orange Pie (with a pecan shortbread crust) to be a hands-down winner. I couldn't get enough oranges. She stripped her tree and I filled my freezer with one cup portions of juice and grated rind so I wouldn't get withdrawals when the sour orange season was over. Here's the problem - I made so many dishes that involved egg yolks my fridge became literally overrun with egg whites. I don't particularly like meringues so I searched for a way to make a 'cookie' that uses up the exact number of egg whites that are left over after making a fruit curd or a sour orange pie!
Here they are! Divine little dairy-and-wheat/gluten free, meringue-like cookies. They use less than half the sugar of other similar recipes. Depending on how long you cook them they are crisp and crunchy (better than biscotti!), or soft and chewy! It is impossible to eat one of them. I have known grown men to eat 10 or more in one sitting!
This recipe makes about 40 tablespoon size cookies or about 60-80 small ones and is really quick and easy to cook up!
Ingredients
5 eggs (about a cup of egg whites) at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1 cup soft brown sugar
2 cups of ground pecans (or 1 cup ground and 1 cup roughly chopped)
Turn the oven on to 250 degrees
Whisk the egg whites & salt till they form soft peaks.
Add the sugar gradually and carry on whisking until the peaks are stiffer (it's possible to get stiff whites with confectioner's sugar but the flavor isn't the same).
Fold in the pecans.
Line 3 cookie sheets or pans with lightly greased parchment. *
Drop even sized spoonfuls with half inch gaps (they shouldn't spread much).
Cook for 45 minutes (for chewy cookies)
Cook for one hour or a bit longer (for crisper cookies).
* Use a flavorless oil like safflower or sunflower or canola. I often don't bother greasing the parchment - once they are cool I peel off the paper carefully so as not to leave any on the cookies!
Welcome!
Welcome to the My Recipe Blog - inspired by the Edible Plant Project in Gainesville, Florida.
I shall post my favorite recipes here - and also those I am trying out so you can help me make them better.
There'll be photos and videos and other fun stuff.
Thanks for passing by - come back soon!
Miranda
I shall post my favorite recipes here - and also those I am trying out so you can help me make them better.
There'll be photos and videos and other fun stuff.
Thanks for passing by - come back soon!
Miranda
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