Dark chocolate molds

So, I have this flat sheet mould that I used to make the chocolate fish. The mould was from a kit to make soap, but that's a crafty adventure for another post.

Directions to melt chocolate

1. Water-bath / double boiler method

a. chop chocolate into smaller pieces and put it in a heat-proof bowl that fits snugly on top of a saucepan that has been filled with water.

b. Bring the saucepan to a simmer and stir the chocolate until it melts completely (it should look smooth and shiny); be sure to have the stove heat low enough so that the water doesn't boil. Turn off the heat once the chocolate has all melted.

Directions for Tempering Chocolate

The Cooking for Engineers blog has a good explanation of how this is done and why it is different than just melting chocolate.

Filling the mould

Spoon the chocolate into the mould, but don't overfill it. If the chocolate is still warm, you can gently swirl the spoon around in the melted chocolate to fill the detailed parts (like the fish's fins). Tap the mould on the counter to settle the surface of the chocolate as well as release any air bubbles.

Refrigerate the mold for about 30 minutes until the chocolate has set. Invert the mould onto a wax paper or parchment paper and chill it again.

Now then, I need to find a natural way to keep this chocolate from melting at room temperature. They look fine after having set in the refrigerator; but there's not a whole lot I can do with it.

When making bread...

The recipe calls for dried onion as one of the ingredients for curry bread. I don't like onions and don't eat onions, if I can help it. If I swapped that out for powdered garlic, would that still taste ok? Also, it seems that my area had a power surge and the electricity flickered.. resetting the timer for the current loaf (oatmeal bread) in the bread machine. Seeing how it's just in the first kneading stage, I wonder if an extra 10 minutes of kneading will affect how it rises. Hmm.. Making bread at home seems easier than going out to the store to buy, except now I have to go to the store to buy things to eat with the bread.

Garlic in a jar

Sure, garlic in a jar is nothing new. You can get it at the grocery store, peeled, minced, or sitting in some funky liquid like olive oil; but garlic is pretty darn cheap and it only takes a few seconds to prep garlic this way rather than buying some pre-packaged stuff. Want to keep garlic fresh like when you bought it, but live in a climate where your garlic either sprouts like mad in the cupboard, rots in jars in the cupboard, or goes all wonky on you in the fridge? Try this method, then decide what's best for your cooking style. 

Keeping Garlic Fresh 

Take a clean glass jar with a screw-on lid. Take a garlic bulb (or several bulbs if you bought in bulk). Take the outer paper layers off the bulb, the ones that encase the bulb but not the paper that encases the cloves. Break apart the bulb into individual cloves. Put the cloves into the glass jar, screw the lid on, and put the jar in the fridge. That is it. When you need garlic for whatever purpose, simply prepare the garlic cloves as you normally would.

A quotation for early risers

"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?" "What's for breakfast?" said Pooh, "What do you say, Piglet?" "I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet. Pooh nodded thoughtfully. "It's the same thing," he said. --A.A. Milne, Winne-the-Pooh (1926)

Beef stew, or something

Earlier in the year I picked up some fresh giant enoki mushrooms. I thinly sliced and air dried the mushrooms, and put them into a glass container for later use. The flavor that they added to this soupish-stew was pretty decent, a bit earthy.

I don't like how soggy pasta gets in most noodle soup dishes, so I cooked the pasta and the soup separately, adding the cooked pasta right to the soup immediately before serving. I think this ingredient combination came out quite well. You'll find all sorts of traditional vegetable ingredients missing from my soups/stews because I simply don't like them, but adapt away if you like. I also like my pasta cooked just past al dente.

The ingredients:

4-6 cups of water
1/2 cup red wine
1/3 lb beef stew meat
1/4 to 1/2 cup dried or fresh mushrooms
generous dashes of garlic powder
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 cup tomato sauce, fresh or canned*
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup cut corn
1-2 organic carrots, roughly chopped

1. Bring water to boil. Add all ingredients except for the corn and pasta.

2. In a separate pot, boil as much water as you want to cook pasta. You don't have to use celantini pasta, you can use any type of small bite-sized pasta if you wish. I am using celantini pasta because I've never cooked it before and thought I'd give it a try. When the pasta is done, either by the pasta's instructions or your measure of taste, drain and set aside.

3. When the soup is just about done, add the corn and cook for about 3-5 minutes. When you're about to serve the soup, stir in enough pasta for each person (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup cooked pasta per person). Serve hot.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes to mosh all the flavors together

*For canned tomato sauce, try to use one that has natural or no sugar in it and no corn syrup.

Talos con Chocolat

Otherwise known as Corn Tortillas with Melted Chocolate. This is one item I haven't seen offered at any Latin-American restaurants or ethnic supermarkets in California, or the continental US for that matter. This recipe is adapted from an article on Basque country foods Saveur Magazine, issue #102. What I was able to make in my kitchen came comparably close to Saveur's photo of the dish.

Here are my ingredient ratio tweaks:

1 cup masa harina
1/2 tsp sugar
3/4 cup water
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1.5 oz semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped

The original recipe features salt in the corn flour dough, but I added sugar because this is a dessert. Per masa harina cup, the amount of water that I use is more because I live in an arid part of southern California where even the ice cubes in my freezer tend to evaporate.

Directions:

1. Stir together masa harina, sugar and water; but gradually add the water, stirring with each 1/8 cup. It is possible that all the water might not be used so don't add it all at once. When the dough comes together, you should be able to work it by hand. It will have the texture of playdoh.

2. Roll the dough into a large ball and cut into quarters. For each quarter of dough, roll it into a ball and flatten it with the palm of your hand on a sheet of wax paper (if you use wax paper, you won't need an offset spatula to remove it; just peel off the wax paper and you're set). Press out the dough until it is roughly 5 or 6 inches in diameter. Repeat with another quarter dough piece.

3. Roughly chop semisweet chocolate and set aside.

The next step for the tortillas and chocolate have two possible methods, 4a and 4b. I used 4a, but 4b seems more practical and less messy to deal with.

4a. Heat skillet (for tortillas, I use a round 8-inch cast iron pan), then add the oil and let the oil heat up. Turn stove to "low" because you want to slowcook the tortilla so that it cooks entirely through from one side. Add one tortilla, put the chocolate on top of that, and the second tortilla on top of the chocolate. You can gently lift one edge of the bottom tortilla to check its brownedness, about 3-5 mins. Flip the tortilla sandwich and cook the other side of the tortilla. When that has browned, remove from heat and serve.

4b. Add oil to skillet over medium heat. Lay a tortilla in the skillet and cook, flipping once until lightly browned. About 3-4 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the tortilla. Transfer tortilla to a plate and put some chopped chocolate along half of the tortilla. Fold in half and let the heat from the tortilla melt the chocolate. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and chocolate. Serve hot.

Photos:

Grilled Ginger-Lime Chicken

I wonder why people call this dish grilled when it isn't grilled at all but fried in a skillet. I suppose that, in some context, it is like having a grilled cheese sandwich. The ingredients are pretty basic to an Asian kitchen, and by omitting the chicken, you can swap in shrimp, firm tofu, or another meat. Although, I don't think this is a good flavor combination for turkey.

Ingredients:

5 chicken drumsticks*
2 pieces of ginger, peeled and minced
3 (or more) garlic cloves, diced
juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp unsalted butter (optional)
sea salt and black pepper, to taste
EVOO for frying

Directions:

1. Combine lime juice, salt and pepper together in a bowl
2. Add olive oil to skillet and lightly brown ginger and garlic
3. Remove ginger and garlic from the oil and set aside
4. Add chicken to skillet and fry on medium-high heat until lightly browned on all sides.
5. Add a scant 1/4 cup boiling water to chicken. Cook covered until clear juices come out when the meat is pierced with a fork or knife.
6. Add ginger, garlic, and lime juice to chicken and stir until flavors mingle. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with steamed brown rice or noodles.

*The Trader Joe's packages of natural chicken drumsticks only come five to a pack.

Trial & Error: corn tortillas from "scratch"

The other day at Vallarta's I picked up a small 2 lb bag of Maseca 'instant' corn flour because I wanted to try making corn tortillas from scratch. Maseca is a brand name and their corn is treated with lime before the grinding process. The lime that is added to the corn isn't from the lime fruit, but rather calcium hydroxide (slaked lime) which helps to loosen hulls from the kernels and soften the corn.

There are a few reviews of this brand of masa harina out on the Net and I'd have to say that I agree with most of them, leaning towards tortillas made with this flour tasting rather bland and flavorless. Well, here's the thing. Any corn product made with simple ingredients (corn, water, pinch of salt, etc) is bound to taste flavorless; like polenta. With the first few tries, the tortillas were bland. It is probably because I didn't add enough salt.

I don't have a tortilla press nor plastic wrap, so I used two sheets of waxed paper and a rolling pin to form my tortillas. I must be doing something wrong with the oil I'm using for frying because they're not even getting lightly browned. Ahh, I also only use EVOO for cooking/eating so.. maybe that's my problem instead of using a cooking oil like canola or grapeseed oil.

I probably have to play with the water / corn flour ratios a bit because Maseca recommended this ingredient list to make 4 tortillas. It made four very small tortillas.

1/2 cup Maseca corn flour
1/3 cup water
pinch of salt

This mix was a bit on the dry side and the dough just barely clung together. I think it needs more water. I have pictures, but I'll wait until I make a normal looking tortilla.. at least to the quality of "homemade" from a fast food restaurant.

Maybe for my next attempt with masa harina, I could try to make chicken sopes.

To be or not to be organic

The debate between eating organic and eating everything else can go on for an eternity; but by today's definition "organic" foods are apparently more organic than the non-organically grown foods available at the supermarket. What do I mean by this? The very definition of organic is a substance that is edible. Inorganic means something that is not edible. So for farms that don't use hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, waxes, dyes, or other chemical enhancements to produce the optimal crop, they've been branding their food as "Organic". They tend to use natural methods of reducing pestilence, like using ladybugs for aphid control or diluted white vinegar for weed control.

I cook mostly organic foods in my kitchen. The split is about 40/60, with the latter hinging on my food budget. For practical purposes, I don't buy organic meats. I simply cannot afford that lifestyle. I also don't eat cleanly enough to tell the difference between grain or grass-fed cattle, nor can I tell if a fish tastes like it's been farm raised or wild caught. I can tell the difference in fresh fruits and vegetables. Just eat cleanly for three months, then eat some carrots.. organic and not-organically grown. You can do this test with apples as well. There is a definite pesticide taste in the flesh of apples and carrots that is more pronounced than any other fruit or vegetable that is not organically grown. Where do these chemicals go? Why.. to your liver and kidneys, and it's not like humans actually ingest solvents to rid themselves of these toxins.

You should know that the darkness of an egg yolk depends heavily on what the chickens are fed. They're only healthier because the chickens are fed a healthier feed mix. Some farms brand this as having higher Omega 3 fatty oils. It's just more damn marketing. It's that competitive advantage some farms have over others, IMHO. But, I digress.

Here's what I use in my kitchen:

• organic whole milk or milk not treated with rBST
• antibiotic-free and hormone-free eggs
• unbleached white flour, or organic white/wheat flour
• nitrite/nitrate-free lunch meat, hotdogs, bacon, etc
• fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables
  
• sulphur-free, colorant-free dried fruits
• whole grain bread
• organic juice
  

I don't use corn syrup, ever, not even to make mochi.

I do use a Brita water filter because water in the LA water system is just chock full of nasty chemicals like chlorine and fluoride.

The closer to the earth the food source is, the more you have to eat Organic.

Risotto Milanese

Here's the nth time I've tried making risotto from the Joy of Cooking. I must say that I really dislike the way instructions are written for a lot of their recipes. I think I finally have the order of operations down for this rice dish. Saffron can easily be one of the most expensive spice to get, but it doesn't have to cost more than all other ingredients in the dish. I used Mexican saffron which still imparts the same warm yellowish coloring to the rice, and has a lightly fragrant scent. Currently, I'm cooking for one, so the list below reflects that. The JoC recipe uses a pound of arborio rice which I don't see myself consuming all at once or even for leftovers. Also, my version doesn't add grated Parmesan cheese. I like Parmesan cheese, but oddly, only on spaghetti sauce. Total cook/prep time is 30 minutes. Risotto can be heated up as leftovers, but it isn't as tasty as other types of rice. The ingredients & directions: 1. In a small saucepan, bring to boil 1 cup of chicken broth and a generous pinch of saffron threads. Remove from heat and set aside. 2. In a large saucepan, heat 2 tbsp EVOO and add your optional ingredients. Today I used diced carrots instead of mushrooms, but you can also use fennel, rosemary, garlic, etc. Let the carrots sweat in the oil until partly cooked but not tender. 2a. Remove carrots to a bowl and reserve. You don't want them cooking the entire time since they will get mushy. 2b. In a separate pot, heat 4 cups of chicken stock and set aside. 2c. Add 2 tbsp butter to the saucepan, 1 clove minced garlic, and heat until the oil is fragrant. Add 1 cup of arborio rice and stir until combined. Raise heat to medium. Add chicken stock, one cup at a time until it has been absorbed by the rice. Add the carrots, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. 2d. Add the saffron-chicken stock to the rice and stir until the excess liquid has been absorbed. Turn off heat and serve. Ingredient summary: 1 c. chicken stock 1 generous pinch of saffron threads 2 tbsp EVOO 1 medium organic carrot, diced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 c. arborio rice 2 tbsp unsalted butter 4 c. chicken stock, hot salt & pepper to taste A pepper note: I don't have ground white pepper in my kitchen pantry. It's used in so few recipes that I know of that I only have black pepper available. If you don't want to see little black specks in your risotto, by all means, use ground white pepper.

Apple bars

This is a quick, easy recipe for apple bars. It uses fresh apples and can be a party food.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9" x 13" baking dish.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. organic rolled oats
1 1/3 c. unbleached white flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
12 tbsp unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened or melted
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 sweet, firm apples (I used Gala apples)
2-3 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. In a bowl, sift flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together; then mix in the rolled oats

2. Melt butter and let cool, then whisk together with eggs, vanilla, and brown sugar.

3. Fold together the flour mix and the butter mix until well combined. Pour into prepared baking dish and Bake for 35-40 minutes. Let cool for at least 30 minutes, then cut into bars and remove from baking pan.

Oven notes: My oven doesn't heat properly and heats up unevenly, so I tend to bake for 5-10 minutes longer. If you have an accurate oven, these bars should be baked for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean in the middle.

Elk curry

I am a big fan of wild game meat, except I live in a quaint suburb of Los Angeles and there's often no such meat to be had unless I go out of my way to a specialty meat shop. Fortunately, there's a shop a few miles away, Harmony Farms. I have eaten elk jerky before, but with all the spices really hard to tell what elk really tastes like.

Any meat cooked with curry is prepared a lot like a stew. You take some flavoring agent like ginger or garlic, heat it up with some oil (usually 2 tbsp) in a skillet and add whatever meat. With the exception to roast duck, I don't think anyone else in my family likes eating game meats. I love it and I love reading folklorist-styled cookbooks that talk about the olde ways of preparing food. Anyhow.. onto the recipe.

There's a small hole-in-the-wall Middle-Eastern foods specialty shop that sells a lot of dried goods and spices in Burbank called Y & K Distributing. The curry that I have is packaged under their label and the spice ratios of it are unknown to me; but it is rather mild and flavorful.

Ingredients:

4 tsp curry powder + enough water to make a paste
2 tbsp EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
1 lb elk stew meat
boiling water
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp wine (I used red xiao-xing wine)

Directions:

1. In a skillet, heat oil until hot but not smoking; add curry paste and stir until fragrant but not burning.
2. Add the elk meat and brown the elk meat. This step takes a lot less time than with beef stew meat since there is a lot less fat in elk meat. About 5 mins, or less.
3. Add enough boiling water to cover the meat.
4. Add soy sauce (this is a natural glutamate)
5. Simmer for 45 minutes to an hour. You could add wine to this step. It is optional.

Serve with steamed rice, noodles, or fresh lavash bread.

IMHO, it tastes pretty good.

Red bean mooncakes

So, on my quest to make mooncakes from scratch this year instead of buying them for $20/4pc.. I soaked some azuki beans in water for 2 hours, drained off the water, then proceeded to boil them at a simmer until they were soft. I blended them into a soppy paste with some lard and sugar, except the paste has too much water in it. Hmm.. and, the paste is of a purplish hue instead of dark red -- like what you'd get out of canned, sweetened red bean paste. The recipe I'm using isn't for the faint of heart. There's lard in both dough mixes. Mmmm.. lard.. Well, these look pretty darn strange coming out of the oven (See also: pic2 & pic3). Since I didn't use an egg wash, none of the mooncakes retained their mould image. The crust is about right, a little on the thick side and not sweet even though I added about 1/8 cup sugar to the outer crust recipe. The purple azuki bean paste looks pretty purple, so maybe for the next batch I should use the canned red bean paste instead. Maybe there's a video on this somewhere of how to form these things. The instructions I have suggest to put the fold side into the mould so that the fold is imprinted, but that's just all wacky. Here're the ingredients: One 14 oz package of azuki beans water 3/4 c. lard 1 c. sugar Water-lard dough: 2 c. unbleached white flour 5 tbsp. lard 10+ tbsp cold water 1/8 c. sugar Flaky dough: 1 c. unbleached white flour 5 tbsp lard This batch yielded 12 malformed mooncakes. For this recipe, I used duck lard and while the dough faintly smelled of roast duck (kao ya), the taste didn't stay with the pastry after baking. I ended up using more than 10 tbsp water with the water-lard dough just to get the dough to come together. The bean paste doesn't taste all that sweet because I misread the recipe. It originally called for 1 3/4 c. sugar. Now that I've gone through the process once, I think that a bit of powdered sugar can be added to the water-lard dough without it drying out too much. It would impart more sweetness and still be a dough. The ratio has yet to be determined.