Tag Archives: food

Soursop Juice

10 May

Growing up I did not like any of the tropical fruit flavors… tamarind, mango, papaya or soursop. I would only like cherry, grape or orange. You know… the artificially-flavored stuff.  Buying piraguas in Old San Juan, I remember they had syrups made from our Puerto Rican fruits flavors, but I always chose the deep dark red one; the one I would stay farthest away from nowadays.

Then your tastes change… and they evolve and those flavors that you once thought were not that appealing are the ones you crave and appreciate the most.

Soursop is one of those flavors to me… I remember my grandma offering us guanábana at our casa de campo and we refusing profusely. Now, it’s one of my favorite flavors. But soursops are very hard to come by sometimes.  Soursops have a newfound rep of having cancer-fighting properties and when those types of reports start crawling around the internet, things get scarce. Whenever you see soursops at the grocery store, they’re expensive. So if you have a fruit-bearing tree… take very good care of it.

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I found some soursops at the grocery store the other day and I decided to treat myself to some juice… it’s so easy to make yourself.

Look for soursops that are starting to give a little bit.  If they’re hard, they’re not fully ripe yet.  Allow them to fully ripen on your kitchen counter. And if they are beginning to soften and you can’t get to it, place it in the fridge to stop the ripening process.

 

Jugo de Guanabana Collage

SOURSOP JUICE for one…

1/3 cup of soursop pulp
About 1 cup of filtered water
2 tbs brown sugar

 

I like to remove the seeds from the pulp. I read from someone on Facebook that you could leave the seeds in… I guess you could, but it will become a mess when you strain it. I prefer to remove the seeds and try to grow some new soursop trees from them.

Semillas Guanabana 2

 

  1. In a blender or your Magic Bullet, add the fruit pulp, water and sugar. Add an ice cube if the water is not cold. Blend well together. The mixture will become white and creamy.
  2. I like to strain it… It’s not necessary, but I think the texture is better if you strain the juice before drinking it. Besides, if you miss a seed, you’ll be sure to take it out before drinking.

 

This is the measurement I use to make juice just for me in my Magic Bullet. I prefer to keep the pulp in the fridge and make the juice fresh right before I am about to drink it. All you need to do to make a larger batch for your family is to increase the quantities. Basically you’ll need 1 part pulp to 3 parts water and sweeten to taste.

Add sugar as you see fit. I like my soursop juice sweet. Sometimes the pulp is not as sweet as you would like. So feel free to adjust the sugar amount to your taste.

 

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Veggie Bites of Wisdom #34

7 May

Bob Barker - VBW

Cinco de Mayo – The most popular celebration not celebrated in Mexico…

3 May

Ever since I lived in Chicago a few years ago, where there is a huge Mexican population, I learned that Mexico’s Independence Day is celebrated in September. I remember people riding outside their car windows carrying huge Mexican flags, parading themselves with pride.

So, if this is celebrated every year in September… why does every gringo I know believes Mexican Independence day falls on Cinco de Mayo?  My belief on the popularity of Cinco de Mayo is for several reasons (and I am just speculating here):

  • It’s simple to pronounce even if your main language is English. Try saying “dieciséis de septiembre”!!!! Rolling those “r’s” can be a challenge to many.
  • May more or less signifies the beginning of warmer weather so gives people an excuse to party in shorts
  • I truly believe a beer company started this as a promotional scheme to start selling beer in May rather than waiting until June/July when it’s actually hot.

 

Cinco de Mayo is not really an important holiday or celebration in Mexico. I am “friends” on Facebook with Chef Marcela Valladolid. And this is her perspective, as a Mexican, on Cinco de Mayo:

Chef Marcela - Cinco de Mayo

In reality, Cinco de Mayo is the date when the Mexican army drove away the French army at a great battle in Puebla. The Mexicans were never ever expected to win and they did. And for that… we celebrate!!!!

Nonetheless, for whatever reason Cinco de Mayo got popularized in the US, we use it as an excuse to celebrate everything Mexican. I wish I had a recipe for Mole Poblano in my blog to share with you all, but in the meantime, here are a few recipes that celebrate Mexico, France and combine a little bit of both…

French Quesadilla

Cordon Bleu Quesadilla

(In México, these are called sincronizadas because they’re made on Wheat Tortilla.  True Quesadillas are made on corn tortillas)

Fried Quesadillas with Fresh Tomato Salsa

Poblano Pepper Rajas

Chopped Avocado Dressing

Veggie Tortilla Soup

Mexican Lasagna

mexican-lasagna

 

Indian Edible Sweet Souvenirs

29 Apr

Over the years, I have tried to never accustom anyone in my family to expect a gift whenever I travel. It may sound kinda harsh, but with the amount of travel I do, if I accustom people to expect a gift from me, it would be a burden to my schedule and my budget. I do try to bring things to share with people so they can enjoy a little bit of my travels too… Say for example, it’s kind of awkward to travel in India for 3 weeks and arrive at my sister’s home empty-handed.

As soon as we arrived in India, we were gifted a backpack filled with Indian goodies: a sari for the girls and a dhoti for the guys, a towel that looks like a very nice kitchen towel and these… Gajjak Til Papad. The best way I can describe it is this is the Indian version of a sesame seed brittle. Super duper thin sheet of sugar with sesame seeds, pistachios and flavored with cardamom. We ate one box along the trip… this was our in-room snack, we brought one box for my sister and I have an extra one with me in Puerto Rico. It’s in the fridge for the sugar to be hard and crispy like we ate them in India and not softy and chewy.

Gajjak Til  Papad

For years, my mom and I have enjoyed 2 of India’s most popular desserts – galub jamun and rasgulla. We lovingly call them “the Indian balls”. Galub Jamun is a ball made of wheat flour and Rasgulla is a ball made from an Indian cheese similar to paneer called chhena. Both are served warm in syrup and they’re delicious!!!! For years, we’ve seen these desserts packed for travel in cans and this was the first time we brought some home. You can find them in any sweet shop and especially at gift shops at the airports.

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Rasgulla Collage

In Allahabad we were treated to Dry Petha… which is a dry, sugared pumpkin. I am guessing it’s some sort of zucchini or squash because it’s white in color. I have not been able to identify the “pumpkin” this sweet is made of. They’re a nice ending to a meal… sweet and light and perfect to bring a few to your room for a snack!! 😉 You can also find these packed in boxes ready to travel home with you.

Dry Petha Collage

And in Delhi we were taken to a sweet shop called Bikanervala… here we bought our to-go cans of rasgullas and galub jamun. But we also discovered something else that was completely new to me – Mawas. I am not even sure if this is their correct name. I believe it’s a halva made from dried fruits or nuts. Or as we would say in the west, like a turrón or dry nougat. We just saw the little packages in the store, asked to try one and ended up buying 3 kinds – Mango, Badam which is Almond and Pista which is pistachio. Now I know 3 more words in hindi, yay!!!!

Turrones Collage

Over the last few weeks, these sweets have been a terrific way to remember thru our taste buds some of the wonderful experiences we had in India. I can’t wait to make some Indian sweets of my own!!!!

Do you bring back edible souvenirs from your travels?? Tell me all about them…

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Veggie Bites of Wisdom #33

23 Apr

Faith Hill - VBW