Five Spice Powder Roasted Chicken

This came out decent and a tad undercooked in the thigh area; more or less edible straight from the oven. This is adapted from my dad's roast duck recipe. If I do this recipe again (the first time I never wrote it up), I'll have to try the slower roasting method. Most poultry roasting recipes call for 50-60 minutes of unadulterated time in a very hot oven, with temps ranging from 400 degrees F to 450 degrees F. A slow roast would involve dropping the oven temp to 275 degrees F but increasing the time to roast to 3-4 hours. That would definitely not be a weekday meal unless I started it on a weekend.

Ingredients

1 whole fryer chicken, cleaned and giblets removed

2 1/2 tsp Chinese five spice powder
4 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp red Chinese rice wine
2 tbsp organic granulated sugar
3/4 tsp kosher sea salt
1 c filtered water

Directions

Place chicken breast-side up into a 9" x 13" baking dish (or roasting pan, if you have one).

In a bowl, combine five spice powder, sugar, salt, soy sauce, rice wine, and water.

Use a spoon or basting brush to cover the chicken (all sides) with the five-spice sauce.

Roast for an hour in a pre-heated oven at 400 degrees F.

Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before carving.

Spicy Tomato Salsa

This batch came out a lot spicier than last year's and it is likely that I wasn't paying attention to actually reading last year's recipe write-up. Because I also picked up some hatch chiles from the produce market at the same time as the tomatoes, I thought I might reserve some of the tomatoes for another salsa recipe using the hatch chiles as I was already mid-recipe. I ran out of pint jars so I only made 6 pints.

What's different between last year and this year's salsa? I left the seeds in the jalapenos, and there's half as many tomatoes in this batch.

Yield: 6 pints (canned) + 1 quart (refrigerated)

Ingredients

12 green jalapenos, stemmed but not seeded
8 tomatilllos, husk removed and quartered
5-6 lbs ripe Roma tomatoes, quartered, not peeled/seeded
2 green bell peppers, stemmed and seeded, diced
2 heads of garlic, cloves removed and roughly chopped
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
juice of 2 limes (4-5 tbsp)
2 tbsp kosher salt (without anti-caking additive)

Directions

Process in batches, a few pulses at a time with a food processor machine, all the ingredients except for the cilantro, lime juice and salt. Last year's salsa was processed into a sauce-like consistency. This time, it's a bit more chunky.

Empty roughly chopped batches into a large stockpot. Add lime juice, salt, and cilantro.

Cook for 1.5 hrs, or until the desired consistency is achieved.

I used a slotted spoon when filling the pint jars for canning. The quart or so of salsa leftover had a lot of water.

I processed the jars in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes.

I'm not sure this will last until next summer. I have already polished off a quart of salsa and gave away one jar. Looks like I may have to procure more of everything. :) :)

Kitchen Notes: Everything Pumpkin

Last year's T-day desserts featuring pumpkin were clearly winners: pumpkin pound cake and the pumpkin roll with candied ginger in the cream cheese filling. Here's a listing of all the pumpkin recipes-to-date on this blog:

pumpkin pie spice
pumpkin spice scones
pumpkin fried rice
pumpkin bread with yogurt
pumpkin bread with tofu
pumpkin soup
pumpkin pound cake
pumpkin roll with candied ginger
pumpkin spice latte
pumpkin muffins
pumpkin cranberry biscotti

Should kabocha squash be included in the pumpkin recipes? After all, it is pumpkin-like in shape, cooking methods, and color. If so, here are those recipe links:

Spicy Sweet Roasted Kabocha Squash
pumpkin potage

With the autumn season close by, pumpkins will soon be available at local farms and the produce market. Here are some recipe ideas that I'll be toying with for this year's T-day:

Southern Living's Pumpkin Chips (deep fried)
Pumpkin Butter
Pumpkin Cornbread
Pumpkin Bread Pudding
Serious Eats' Pumpkin Liqueur

Gluten-Free Zucchini Muffins

I feel like I am contributing to California's water shortage by encouraging the use of almonds in recipes, or the desolation of coconut groves in the Philippines by using coconut flour. Nonetheless, here is another egg-heavy coconut flour recipe. The coconut oil and vanilla are not in this recipe. I simply forgot to add it. Let this be a lesson to you.. don't bake when tired, really! Things get missed.

Makes: 12

Ingredients

1/2 c organic coconut flour
1/4 c almond flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
4 large eggs
1/3 c raw honey
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 ripe banana
1 c shredded zucchini
1 shredded organic carrot (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine almond flour, coconut flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Add eggs, honey, vanilla, and coconut oil. Pulse until combined.

2. If you happen to be using a frozen banana, thaw it then lop off the stem and squeeze the banana out into the bowl. Add apple cider vinegar, banana, and zucchini. Pulse to mix thoroughly.

3. Line a muffin tin with silicone or paper muffin liners. Fill each liner with 1-2 tbsp of mixture.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool and enjoy.

These came out looking really dark and not smooth on top.

Blackberry Basil Seltzer

This version of the seltzer is more colorful than the strawberry one and can be served in short glass. Refreshing and light on the palate, this is another drink for a summertime dinner party.

For each serving:

1/4 c blackberries
2-3 basil leaves
1 tbsp syrup sweetener (agave, honey, or simple syrup)
seltzer or sparkling water
crushed ice

Directions

In a glass, add ingredients and squish together with the back of a spoon. Add ice and fill glass with seltzer water. Enjoy.