Archive | October, 2010

Passion Fruit/Guava Fizzy Drink

20 Oct

I wanted to serve a signature drink for my sister’s baby shower…  she couldn’t drink anything with alcohol and the room we were having the activity didn’t allowed it either.  It gave me the perfect situation to serve a non-alcoholic punch that would be enjoyed by everyone.

I have made a version of this drink using champagne…  I served it at my friend’s bridal shower.  So this is an updated version using frozen fruit pulp, as opposed to frozen fruit juice.  You can find frozen fruit pulp in almost any supermarket in Puerto Rico and also in Southern Florida, where the shower was held.

 

 

PASSION FRUIT / GUAVA FIZZY DRINK

2 passion fruit pulp – defrosted
1 guava pulp – defrosted
½ cups brown sugar simple syrup
About 50 oz natural ginger ale – between 4-5 cans or bottles
1 cup of fresh strawberries, sliced

 

  1. In a large punch bowl mix together the defrosted fruit pulps, the simple syrup, ginger ale and fresh strawberries. 
  2. Add the ginger ale slowly because it will create lots of fizz.  If you find it makes too many bubbles, just skim them using a large spoon.
  3. Add ice to keep the mixture cold for guests.

 

 

If you want to make this ahead for a party, this is how I made it.

  1. I mixed the fruit pulps with the simple syrup to create kind of like a fruit juice concentrate. 
  2. I sliced the strawberries and froze them in individual layers divided by parchment paper.
  3. At the party, I mixed together the juice concentrate with the ginger ale and added the frozen strawberries last.  Add ice to keep the mixture cold.

 

If you want to make individual drinks, just add fruit concentrate in a tall glass, add ginger ale to taste and add ice as needed.   You could also mix with water and it will taste fine too.

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A Vegetarian Baby Shower…

18 Oct

My sister is about to have her first baby… the first grandson and nephew for our side of the family.  And Titi Madelyn gave herself the task to plan a baby shower for my sister.

One of my most daunting tasks for this baby shower was to plan a menu that would be pleasing to all invitees and that it would still be vegetarian and it would represent me well.  I couldn’t bear myself to say I planned a baby shower that would be filled with food and treats that I wouldn’t be able to try out or taste.  The next toughest thing was to find a caterer that would be open to create a fully vegetarian menu where the meat-eaters would never miss the meat.   

I was very lucky my sister and brother-in-law trusted me and my taste in food and didn’t even question my choices.  I only informed them of the menu selected after it was all planned.

I decided to make the Appetizers and a Signature Drink or Bull and have the lunch catered by someone professional.  I had too many things to look after to make food for 35+ people…

  

The appetizers we served were:

  

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Red Bell Pepper Dip with an assortment of whole grain crackers

  

Rosemary Almonds

Erasmo, husband to my cousin Marilyn, fell in love with these Almonds…  I gave them all to him to enjoy for later on.

  

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Asparagus Sandwiches

Spinach Pinwheels

Spinach Pinwheels

We baked these the morning of the baby shower and they kept very fresh for the party.  My sister’s nieces and nephew were cautious of these “pastelillitos” and their parents were almost sure they would not like them because spinach is not in their repertoire, but they were all surprised on how delicious they were.  I was a bit afraid they would not leave enough for the other guests at a point… that’s how much they enjoyed them.

Passion Fruit/Guava Fizzy Drink

The catered part of the lunch included:

Green Tossed Salad with Candied Pecans and Cranberries with a Balsamic Vinaigrette

Whole Wheat Rolls with butter

Butternut Squash Risotto made with vegetable broth

Penne Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomato Creamy Sauce

Green Beans with butter and garlic

     

 At the end, my sister and brother-in-law were very pleased with the baby shower we planned.  And no one  missed the meat…  at least they never mentioned it to me!!!

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Broccoli Rice Burrito

15 Oct

I am telling you… broccoli is everywhere and cheap.  So I need to cook off all this broccoli before it goes bad on me.

As the official caterer to my mom and aunt while my grandma was in the hospital, I decided to make something they would both enjoy, knowing how picky and particular my aunt is about vegetarian food.  She says she likes it… but then she has certain rules like she only eats avocados with rice…  go figure!!!

These burritos are super easy to make… their portable and can be eaten warm or at room temperature.  But warm are better in my opinion.  Perfect for a picnic, brown-bag lunch and even to bring to someone in the hospital…

 

BROCCOLI RICE BURRITO

½ broccoli head, florets only
½ cup cooked whole grain rice
2 ounces of cream cheese
1/3 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese
¼ cup of toasted walnuts
2 handfuls of fresh baby spinach leaves
8 slices of tomato
4 tbs of Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
4 whole grain flour tortillas or flatbreads

 

  1. In a medium covered skillet with about ¼ cup of water, add the cooked rice and the broccoli florets.  Cover the skillet and over medium heat that bit of water will steam both the rice and the broccoli.   After about 10 minutes, just turn off the stove and the rice and broccoli will be done.
  2. Drain any excess water, but there usually isn’t any every time I make it this way.   In that same skillet add a drizzle of olive oil, the cream cheese, parmesan, walnuts.  Season with salt and pepper and mix well to combine.
  3. You can warm up the tortillas or the flatbreads if you’d like… I do it on the oven or in a skillet, depending on which ones I’ll use.  Sometimes, the flatbreads are just perfect as is.
  4. Place about ¼ cup of rice on each tortilla/flatbread.  Spread 1tbs of tomatillo salsa over it.  Top with the baby spinach and tomato slices.  Roll up the tortilla/flatbread and wrap in parchment paper before you put any aluminum foil over it.   This way you’ll be able to stick them in the oven to warm up and they’ll stay warm for a while.

               

 Both my mom and aunt loved these burritos…  My mom had hers with a slice of avocado on the side, as she is in my camp that we will eat an avocado any time, any place without any restrictions whatsoever.  But you can certainly add the avocado inside the burrito if you’d like.

Hope you like them too…

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Spicy Asian Noodles

7 Oct

Has this ever happened to you… that you see or hear a recipe that calls your attention and realize you have ALL the ingredients in your fridge and pantry to make it that same night?

That’s exactly what happened when I learned this recipe.  I saw it once and said to myself “This is what I am having for dinner tonight”.  Of course, I changed up the recipe so that I would be able to handle the spiciness.  My spice tolerance has improved, but not thaaaaaaat much.

 These noodles were originally Szechuan Asian Noodles from Ina Garten, but my version is just Spicy Asian Noodles.  The spiciness comes from the ginger and the pinch of red pepper flakes, a new addition in my pantry.  If you prefer no spice at all, just omit them.

 

SPICY ASIAN NOODLES

3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/8 cup fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup good soy sauce
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1/8 cup honey
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Small pinch of red pepper flakes
1/2 pound spaghetti
1/2 red bell pepper, julienned
1/2 yellow bell pepper, julienned
2 scallions, sliced diagonally (white and green parts)

 

  1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the spaghetti al dente.
  2. Meanwhile, place in a food processor the garlic, ginger, vegetable oil, peanut butter, soy sauce, sherry, sherry vinegar, honey, sesame oil, and the ground peppers. Puree the sauce until smooth.
  3. Drain the pasta in a colander, and return the drained pasta to the same pot and toss with 3/4 of the sauce. Add the red and yellow bell peppers and scallions; toss well. Serve warm or at room temperature.

The remaining sauce may be added, as needed, to moisten the pasta.

This tastes to me very much like pad thai… so it’s a good facsimile.

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How I squeeze the juice out of a lemon

4 Oct

I use a lot of lemons in my cooking…  I just love lemon juice drizzled over fried eggplants, as part of a dressing or even to marinate tofu.

I never thought the way I squeeze the juice from the lemon was anything special, but watching so much food shows on TV I noticed no one on TV does it the way I do.  The only person that does something similar is Anne Burrell.  So I want to share it with you to maybe help you out getting as much juice out of your lemons.

 

HOW I SQUEEZE THE JUICE OUT OF A LEMON

1 lemon half
Fork

 

  1. To get the most juice out of your lemon half, I insert the tines of a fork in the lemon pulp and squeeze away. 
  2. I change the positioning of the fork so I can squeeze as much juice as possible out of the half I am working with.

 

Anne Burrell sticks the tip of a knife inside the pulp, but I think that is a bit dangerous.  I was taught to do this when I was little by my dad.  So this is a tried and true method that works with all types of lemons.  And I’ve noticed that on yellow American lemons, it’s best if you take some of the rind off to make the pith more pliable and helps get more juice out.

Hope this new technique will help you get as much juice out of your lemons as possible.  Especially when drizzling lemon juice on food at the table.

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