cooling off.

Today was hot. Like, "Oh my God, I'm gonna kill myself!" kind of hot. And not only that, it was also errand day. Talk about double torture...not only did I want to kill myself, I wanted to do it with little effort and as cold as possible... I'm thinkin' frostbite in Antarctica. Mmmm....snow.

Which leads me to the most awesomely fantastic find I found today in my grocery store: Shaved ice! I was in the produce section of the store when I noticed that they had some samples out for fruit. Being curious, I headed over to see what goodies to try and to my surprise, they had shaved ice! Not just one kind, but two!

What really stood out for these were the fact that they were majorly made from fresh, in-season fruit. They were also a take on Japanese and Hawaiian shaved ice except without the beans. For their version, they used crushed ice, rather than shaved, so it gave them a delightfully crunchy texture. The interesting part? They added tarragon to the tropical version! Wow!

So, of course I had to ask for the recipes. They were so flattered that I asked but since they didn't measure anything out, they just gave me what they put in. I eyeballed the contents so I'll have to tweak the recipe when I actually make it. Without further ado...

---- o o o o ---- 

Tropical Island Shaved Ice
(from my friendly produce grocer!)

1 pineapple, cored and chopped small
1/2 cantaloupe, chopped small
1 (12oz) bottle macapuno/coconut sport
1 (14oz or so) can coconut milk
2-3 sprigs tarragon, chopped fine
condensed milk for topping
crushed or shaved ice

Combine pineapple and cantaloupe in a large refrigerable container. In a separate bowl, mix together the macapuno/coconut sport, coconut milk, and tarragon. Add to the fruit and stir gently to combine. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before use. To serve, spoon a generous portion over ice and drizzle condensed milk as desired.

---- o o o o ---- 

Berry Breeze Shaved Ice
(from my friendly produce grocer!)

1 (1-lbs shell) strawberries, chopped small
1 (6oz shell) blueberries
juice from one orange (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup)
1 sprig basil, julienned (optional)
condensed milk for topping
crushed or shaved ice

Combine strawberries and blueberries in a refrigerable container. Add orange juice and basil (if using) to the fruit and stir gently to combine. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before use. To serve, spoon a generous portion over ice and drizzle condensed milk as desired.

learning how to cook.

my sister has always had trouble with cooking. try as she might, everything that she does is either under-seasoned or just plain off. in an effort to boost her cooking skills, she looked to her favorite food for inspiration: mediterranean food.

maybe it's something about the rice...or maybe the meat...or maybe even the wonderful mix of spices that this cuisine offers...whatever it is, mediterranean food has always been her favorite. every time that we have "ethnic" night for dinner, it's been her go-to for dining out. but after a while, she started to want to be able to cook as well as she was eating. it's been a tricky journey for her to learn how to taste her food and knowing the basics of preparing the ingredients that she loves. and with the help of her newly found favorite cookbook, tonight she made us a meal worthy of all her efforts.

 

Chicken With Caramelized Onion and Cardamom Rice
(from Jerusalem, c/o The New York Times)

Time: 1 hour, plus 30 minutes’ cooking and 10 minutes’ resting
Yield: 4 servings

3 tablespoons sugar (40 grams)
2 1/2 tablespoons barberries, or use currants (25 grams)
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, thinly sliced (2 cups/250 grams)
2 1/4 pounds skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (1 kilogram), or 1 whole chicken, quartered
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
10 cardamom pods
Rounded 1/4 teaspoon whole cloves
2 long cinnamon sticks, broken in two
1 2/3 cups basmati rice (300 grams)
2 1/4 cups boiling water (550 milliliters)
1 1/2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley leaves (5 grams), chopped
1/2 cup dill leaves (5 grams), chopped
1/4 cup cilantro leaves (5 grams), chopped
1/3 cup Greek yogurt (100 grams), mixed with 2 tablespoons olive oil (optional)

1. Put the sugar and scant 3 tablespoons water in a small saucepan and heat until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat, add the barberries, and set aside to soak. If using currants, you do not need to soak them in this way.

2. Meanwhile, heat half the olive oil in a large sauté pan for which you have a lid over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion has turned a deep golden brown. Transfer the onion to a small bowl and wipe the pan clean.

3. Place the chicken in a large mixing bowl and season with 1½ teaspoons each salt and black pepper. Add the remaining olive oil, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon and use your hands to mix everything together well. Heat the frying pan again and place the chicken and spices in it. Sear chicken for 5 minutes on each side and remove from the pan (this is important as it part-cooks the chicken). The spices can stay in the pan, but don’t worry if they stick to the chicken. Remove most of the remaining oil as well, leaving just a thin film at the bottom. Add the rice, caramelized onion, 1 teaspoon salt and plenty of black pepper. Drain the barberries and add them as well. Stir well and return the seared chicken to the pan, pushing it into the rice.

4. Pour the boiling water over the rice and chicken, cover the pan, and cook over very low heat for 30 minutes. Take the pan off the heat, remove the lid, quickly place a clean tea towel over the pan, and seal again with the lid. Leave the dish undisturbed for another 10 minutes. Finally, add the herbs and use a fork to stir them in and fluff up the rice. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Serve hot or warm with yogurt mixture if you like.

 

Mixed Bean Salad
(from Jerusalem c/o The Guardian)

If you can't get yellow beans, just double the amount of french – it won't be a "mixed" bean salad, but it'll still be damned tasty. Serves four.

280g yellow beans
280g french beans, trimmed
2 red peppers, deseeded and cut into 0.5cm strips
2½ tbsp olive oil, plus 1 tsp extra
50g capers, rinsed and patted dry
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
4 spring onions, thinly sliced
10g roughly chopped tarragon
20g picked chervil (or a mixture of picked dill and shredded parsley)
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Salt and black pepper

Heat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Bring a large pan of water to a boil and add the yellow beans. After two minutes, add the french beans and cook for four minutes more. Refresh under cold water, drain, pat dry and place in a large bowl. Toss the pepper strips in a teaspoon of oil, spread on an oven tray and roast for five minutes, until tender. Remove and add to the beans.

Heat the oil in a small saucepan. Add the capers (be careful, as they'll spit) and garlic, fry for 20 seconds, then add the seeds and fry for another 20 seconds. The garlic should by now have turned golden. Remove from the heat and immediately pour over the beans. Add the spring onion, herbs, lemon zest, a quarter-teaspoon of salt and some black pepper, and toss to combine. This salad will keep well for a day.

roasting for the rain.

today was a cold day. the rain fell in hard little drops and the crispness of the air signaled the start of fall in our normally temperate city. what better way to welcome the season than a nice roasted game hen? :)

this recipe for the cornish game hen was really killer. savoury and tasty...the kind that you just want to keep on eating until you couldn't eat anymore. the flavor of the garlic and soy suace with a light lemon finish really stayed in your mouth. we ended up doubling the recipe as the hens we got were on the smaller side.

my sister and i paired it with tarragon glazed carrots and a coucous to balance everything out. the sides we chose were a great accompaniment to the hens and everything just worked together to create a perfect fall meal. next time i do the couscous though, i'd make it a tad more tomato-y and add less butter. we also adjusted the recipes to serve two people.

Cornish Game Hens with Lemon and Garlic
(from What’s Cooking America)

1 Cornish Game Hen*
Coarse sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
3 to 4 minced garlic cloves
Juice from 1 to 2 lemons (to taste) (we only had bottled, so guestimated)
2 tablespoons butter

* Have your meat cutter cut one (1) Cornish game hen in half. Remove inside bag from each half prior to preparing.

Place non-stick aluminum foil on baking sheet. Salt and pepper both sides of the Cornish game hen.

In a microwave-safe bowl, combine soy sauce, garlic, lemon juice, and butter. Heat in microwave until butter has melted and you can smell the garlic. Carefully remove from microwave.

Baste both hen halves, on each side, with the prepared marinade and place on the prepared baking sheet. NOTE: The hens can now go back into the refrigerator until cooking time. Remove 1 hour before cooking to allow hens to come to room temperature.

Heat the broiler of your oven and move oven rack up to the second notch below the broiler element. Broil hens on one side until you see the marinade start to bubble and the skin starting to brown; baste again, turns hens over, baste, and broil until starting to brown. Using oven mitts, remove Cornish game hens from the oven.

Turn the oven to 375 degrees F. Move oven rack down to roasting position.

Place the partially cooked Cornish game hens back in the oven (cut side down), and baste again. Roast until the hens, are done, or until a thermometer registers an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. (juices will run clear when cut with the tip of a knife). Baste frequently with accumulating juices.

Remove from oven and baste again with the remaining juices that have browned nicely on the foil. Cover cooked Cornish game hens loosely with a piece of aluminum foil for about 10 minutes. Baste again on both sides, and place on individual serving plates.

 

Herb and Tomato Couscous
(from Honest Fare)

About 10-12 sun dried or roasted tomatoes (used sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil)
Olive oil
Handful of fresh sage and oregano (used dried and eyeballed it, maybe 2 tsp each?)
Salt
Black Pepper
1 small clove garlic (trippled this and used roasted garlic instead)
1/4 red onion (doubled this cuz we love onions :D)
2 shallots (i subbed chopped scallions and added it in the end)
1 1/2 cups dry couscous (we used boxed whole wheat couscous)
1/4 cup pine nuts (feta crumbles as sub.)

1. Dice up herbs, tomatoes, shallots, red onion and garlic (set a small amount of fresh herbs aside for later). Saute it all on medium heat in about 4 tablespoons of olive oil until onions are tender. Add a teaspoon of salt and some cracked black pepper. Keep partially covered for about half the time so all the juice doesn’t evaporate.

2. Prepare couscous: you’ll need 1 ½ cup dry couscous per 2 cups of water. When water boils, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, ½ a teaspoon of salt and the grain. Remove pot from burner right away. Keep covered for 5 minutes. Fluff when fully absorbed. If you use a box, just follow those directions. (followed box directions)

3. Toast pine nuts: cover the bottom of a pan evenly with pine nuts (no oil is required). Cook on medium low heat (no higher!) and keep tossing them around until they’re browned on both sides. Don’t take your eyes off them too long or they’ll burn…and that sucks.

4. Add herb and tomato mix to the couscous. Crack a little extra pepper and hit it with another dash of salt and/or olive oil if you like. Toss REALLY well to remove all clumps. Top with pine nuts or feta cheese and the fresh herbs you set aside in the beginning. Toss again and serve. (next time, i would probably put the herbs and use the oil from the tomatoes together in the pot of couscous while it's cooking. this would pobably make the dish a little bit more flavorful.)

 

Tarragon Glazed Carrots
(from A Teaspoon of Happiness)

8 carrots, sliced
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh tarragon (used dried, about 1-2 tsp)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

1. In a large saucepan or skillet, cover carrots with water and bring to boil - keep pot covered.

2. Reduce heat and continue simmering for about 10 - 15 more minutes or until carrots are tender.

3. Drain water from the pot.

4. Stir in the remaining ingredients and allow to cook for 2 more minutes or until butter is melted.

tarragon chicken over polenta.

just got back from a trip. missed my kitchen and decided to whip something out of the blue. never tried making polenta before so i decided to use this recipe. all in all, turned out to be a good dish. it's good to be home. :)

 
Tarragon Chicken
(serves one)

1 skinless boneless chicken thigh, chopped to small pieces
1/4 cup white onion, roughly chopped
1/8 cup fennel bulb, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 to 1 1/12 tsp dried tarragon
1/2 tsp fresh fennel leaves
1/4 tsp paprika
salt and pepper
olive oil
1 to 1 1/2 cup low sodium chiken stock
1 to 2 tbsp cornstarch with water for thickener

Fry onion and garlic in olive oil until fragrant. Add chopped fennel and cook for an additional couple of minutes. Add chopped chicken thigh, tarragon, paprika, fennel leaves, and season with salt and pepper. Slightly brown chicken then add chicken stock. Let simmer for 5 minutes then add thickener. Cook additional 5 to 10 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked. Serve over polenta.

 
Soft Polenta
(from La Buona Cucina)

2 cups chicken broth or stock
2 cups water
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup coarse or medium grind corn meal (white or yellow)
1/2 teaspoon salt
fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated cheese*

*Parmigiano Reggiano, Pecorino Romano, Asiago, Gorgonzola...or a combo of all 3 totaling 1/2 cup.

In a 4- to 6-qt. pan over medium-high heat, bring the water and broth to a boil. Whisk in the salt and then the corn meal in a thin, steady stream, whisking non-stop until smooth.

Reduce heat to low and simmer, whisking pretty frequently, for a good 8-10 minutes or until smooth and thickened.

Remove from heat and stir in butter & olive oil, cheese (if desired), a few grinds of pepper, and taste for salt.

Now, you can serve this right away or you can cover and it should keep warm and soft for about 20 minutes.