Kitchen Notes: Hacking the Coconut

The coconut can be a very formidable opponent in the kitchen. And, granted it has taken me much longer than all the YouTube videos combined that I've watched on how to open a brown coconut. I swear, I did whack it with a hammer and to no avail. Finally, tonight It opened with minimal effort.

There's a video that shows how to open a coconut in 30 seconds. Except the prep time is 12 hours! Needless to say, this was my first attempt. I put the coconut in the freezer for 12 hours, took it out, whacked it with the hammer and nothing happened.

Back into the fridge it went for thawing.

Then, I took a philips screwdriver and a hammer and pierced the coconut's eyes. Draining the coconut of its water yielded almost a cup of coconut water. I hear it has a lot of potassium and electrolytes.

After that, I used the Alton Brown method and preheated the oven to 375 degrees F, then baked the coconut for 15 minutes. The coconut isn't that hot out of the oven, but you'll still want to wear an oven mitt because of the chaff of the outer husk. Give the coconut a few good whacks with the hammer and the shell will start to crack and come off. Use a vegetable peeler to peel off the stubborn inner skin.

What you should have left is a whole coconut, minus the outer hard shell. At least I didn't have to pry the meat out of the shell with a paring knife and scrape off the inner brown skin.

A peeled coconut, ready for use

Rice Flour Flat Bread (Gluten Free Tortillas)

Just because it's made with rice flour does not mean this will be healthier for you. On my first attempt, they taste okay. I'm not sure what these are supposed to taste like; though, I could probably find out by ordering Chokha ni Rotli at an Indian restaurant. This recipe ratio comes from the Indiaphile blog.

Rice Flour Flat Bread (Tortillas)

These are really bland to eat. Better pair them with a spicy chutney, hummus, or other potently flavored spread.

Approx calories: 816 (divide this by the number of pieces made)

Ingredients

1 c rice flour
2 c water
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
additional rice flour for dusting

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, heat water, oil, and salt until it just comes to a boil. Remove from heat.

2. Add rice flour to a large bowl. Slowly pour in the hot water, stirring to combine with the flour with a wooden spoon. (I tried stirring with a rubber spatula and that didn't quite work.)

3. Generously flour a silicone mat with rice flour. Be sure to flour the rolling pin as well, this does get a bit sticky but less sticky as the dough cools down.

4. Roll out the dough to form a log and divide into equal portions. Depending on how small or large you make the portions, you can easily divide this into 8, 10, or 12 pieces.

5. Form a ball with each piece and flatten with the palm of your hand. Gently roll it out into a circle or rectangle. Don't press too hard on the dough or it will stick to the rolling pin.

6. While you are rolling out the dough, heat a cast iron skillet without oil. When it is hot, place one flat bread on the skillet. As the water in the dough steams off, bubbles will appear on the top. Flip the bread over with an offset spatula or flat sided tongs. (I used a pie server because it was my only offset flat utensil).

7. Remove cooked flat bread and set onto a plate with a clean kitchen towel. The towel will absorb whatever steam comes off the flat bread. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.

Baked Delicata Squash

The very first time I tried delicata squash, I didn't realize how sweet it was. Savory herbs and earthy spices pair well with this. For the amount of prep work, I have to cross it off my list of potential vegetable dishes for Thanksgiving unless I can find helpers to peel the squash and scrape out the seeds. I ate this squash in one sitting. You know that myth about vegetables having bulk to make you feel more full? I think it's still a myth. I could certainly eat another.

I did not preheat the oven.

Ingredients

1 delicata squash, peeled, seeded and chopped
olive oil
five spice powder
ground thyme
sea salt, to taste

Directions

Toss squash chunks in olive oil then spread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle spices and salt on top. 

Bake at 375 degrees F for 40 minutes. 

Serve hot.

Salsa

Making salsa is neither hard nor time consuming, but having all the necessary ingredients on hand is the troublesome part. There is certainly some spice to it. And, in early autumn, all of these ingredients are in season. The recipe ratio comes from Harold Shifflett's YouTube video.

Makes 10 pints

Lots of salsa for the winter

Ingredients

10 pounds fresh tomatoes, any variety
8 tomatillos
8 jalapenos
4 red chilis
2 green bell peppers
1 bunch fresh cilantro
2 heads of garlic, cloves removed
4 tbsp lime or lemon juice
4 tbsp kosher salt or sea salt (this tastes salty to me, maybe next time start with 3 tbsp)

Directions

1. Prepare ingredients for the food prep:

Wash and core tomatoes. Slice into wedges and set aside.
Wash and de-stem hot peppers (red chilis and jalapenos). Set aside.
Wash and core the bell pepper. Discard seeds. Roughly chop.
Discard the outer hull of the tomatillos. Wash fruit and set aside.
Peel outer layer then roughly chop the onion(s).
Wash cilantro bunch, remove brown leaves and stems. Roughly chop and set aside.
Peel and trim hard end from garlic cloves. Set aside.

2. Work in batches. Toss everything except the salt and lemon juice into a food prep or blender and puree until no big chunks remain.

3. Pour puree into a large stockpot, add 1 tbsp of salt at a time, add lemon or lime juice. Boil for 1.5 hours or until the salsa reaches a proper consistency (not too watery, not too chunky).

4. Process in a hot water canning bath for 10 minutes.

Pumpkin Spice Latte (Coffee or Tea)

If you like bits floating around in your tea, you can certainly skip straining the liquid before drinking. I strained it because I didn't want the spices to steep longer than they should. I would caution that you shouldn't drink this at night or before going to bed. These spices, while warming, are also stimulants. First time making this and after tasting, the recipe still needs some tweaking. Recipe can be doubled, as necessary.

Makes 1 cup.

Ingredients

1 cup organic milk (whole cow milk, coconut milk, almond milk, etc.)
1 tbsp organic pumpkin puree
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
1 tsp loose leaf black tea or green tea (instant coffee, instant espresso, or 2 tbsp freshly ground coffee)
sweetener to taste (I used 2 tsp organic sugar)
ground cinnamon for garnish (optional)
organic whipped cream for garnish (optional, only 8 calories per tbsp!)

Directions

Heat milk, pumpkin, and pumpkin pie spice in a small saucepan. Don't let it scald or boil, a gentle simmer until the milk starts to foam. Remove from heat and pour through a mesh strainer into a mug. Stir in vanilla extract and sugar. Enjoy.

Pumpkin Pie Spice

This autumn, Portland is strangely sunny and dry. Not that I'm complaining mind you. The mornings are a bit chilly now (in the 40s) but for the most part very pleasant. I'd imagine you'd be using this in a pumpkin or sweet squash pie; but for today, I am using this in a chai tea latte.

The basic ratio goes like this:

4 tbsp ground cinnamon
4 tbsp ground nutmeg
4 tbsp ground ginger
3 tbsp ground allspice

Mix all spices together in a half pint mason jar. Stir until combined. Cap and label the jar. Use as directed by another recipe.

Steamed Bao with Pork and Nappa Cabbage

This is a different bao dough recipe than the other one (uses milk) or this one (uses milk powder) posted on this blog; the primary difference is that it doesn't call for dairy. For wrapping meat dumplings, it is very pliable and easy to work with. It's tastes ok. Though, it'll take a lot more tries to get the pleats to look "normal" at the top.

Steamed Bao, looks pretty ugly, tastes okay

Because it's autumn, it's about 60 degrees in the kitchen. I used a double boiler with a covered bowl insert to create a warm, dark environment for the yeast to rise. It's really quite clever. I didn't even have to crank the oven.