Trying new things

There are things out on the web you see floating around sometimes, becoming a kind of food trend as foodie after foodie gives it a try. And while yes, all these people seem to be raving about it, you gotta just give in the squint eye and go NO WAY! It seems too easy. Or too impossible. I've combined two this weekend into one amazing treat. A 1 ingredient ice cream that's dairy free and so smooth and sweet you'll swear its the best soft serve around. And conquering my fear of an exploding can as well as scrubbing caramel off every inch of my teeny kitchen all weekend, I've made dulce de leche in a can!

Dulce de Leche Banana Sundae

Banana Ice Cream:

1 ripened to black dots on skin stage banana

That's right. That's all you need. Peel and slice the banana into thick rounds and freeze over night. You can lay them out flat in a pan if you want or in a baggie and smoosh them around every hour or so until the outsides have frozen so the slices don't stick together. Use a food processor or blender and blend the frozen slices until you achieve a thick lump free soft serve like consistency.

Dulce de Leche:

1 can sweetened condensed milk

Again all you need is one thing! I did three cans at once because you can store the cans for up to a year unopened in the fridge after its done. Various websites talk about different ways to do this. Microwave, stove top, oven, etc. The one I picked seemed the least dangerous/explody way with the least amount of effort as well. Line the bottom of your slow cooker with a kitchen towel. Add the cans on their side on top. Add enough water to fully cover the cans + 1 inch. You want to ensure that the cans stay fully submerged. Cook on low for 8-12 hours. The longer you let it go, the darker and thicker it gets. I wanted a light caramelly flavor and a very drizzly sauce so I did 8. Now this is important. DO NOT OPEN THE CANS HOT. Turn off the crock, uncover, and just let it sit and cool until it hits room temp. Your patience will be rewarded.

Sundae:

Layer scoops of banana ice cream with drizzles of dulce de leche. Top with whip cream (not on mine tho because I'm not a whip cream fan) and pretend its a deconstructed banoffee pie :)

Yellow carrots? WHOA.

So I finally found my way to a farmer's market I might be able to make regular trips to. Of course the season is almost over but I intend to do what I can to make it there as much as possible. I've been aware for a while now that carrots come in different colors but as far as I knew simply tasted carrot-y. Like the classic orange ones do. Now I'm not sure if it was the winning smile on the teen trying to sell me on them, the fact that they were local and farm fresh, or the fact that they were yellow but the soup I got from them was superbly sweet. Almost a dessert. Its a beautiful golden color and melts in your mouth with a buttery carroty sweetness. I took my time savoring it all week. Its a simple recipe and I've made it often with regular carrots as well so if you can't find yellow ones, don't despair.

Carrot Soup

1 lb carrots sliced into thick 3/4 inch chunks
chicken broth
1 tsp sage
salt & pepper to taste

Add carrots to pot and add in just enough broth to barely reach the top of the chunks. Add in sage. Bring to a boil then lower flame to simmer for 20-30 mins or until carrots are soft. Blend into a thick puree. Add more broth if it seems too thick to you. Add salt & pepper to taste. Bring back to a boil, stir, then serve.

Satisfying the sweet tooth

Once in a while (oh who am I kidding? ALL the time...) I get the urge to have something sweet. I don't want it too sweet like frosting but just a bit of natural sweetness perked up. And I want it NOW. Not an hour from now when some stupid cake has finished baking. Nor do I want to fuss with waiting for an oven to preheat. And a cookie just won't do. Cookies are for munching on but they don't have the same kind of sink you teeth in slight sweet satisfaction factor to it that a cake, pie, or brownie does. I have found the answer to my problems. Tapioca cakes. They cook quick in the steamer. I start the water boiling while I prep in and by the time the water is ready so am I. 15 mins later a treat is done. The recipe I give below is complete but the thing is, once you get the hang of it all you have to do is keep around some tapioca pearls soaking in water in a little jar in the fridge. Pull it out and make a single serving when you feel like it with any filling you please. I use red bean below but have since happily subbed it out for PB, sesame seed paste, sweetened mashed yams, dulce de leche, and more. Whatever you like.

Matcha Red Bean Tapioca Mini-Cakes

Original recipe found here: http://en.christinesrecipes.com/2009/01/steamed-tapioca-red-bean-cake.html

200 grams tapioca
85 grams sugar
2 tsp matcha powder
2 tblsp oil
145 grams sweetened red bean paste

Soak tapioca in enough water to cover at least 2 inches for at least 1 hour. Rinse and drain well. Add in sugar, matcha, and oil and mix.

Use any shape mold you like. I used silicone muffin cups. Spoon in enough of the tapioca mixture to line the bottom and sides of muffin cup right up to the top. Add in enough red bean paste to fill the cavity and leave about 1/2 inch from the top. Top with more tapioca mix. Steam for 25 mins until tapioca is translucent. They pop right out of the silicone muffin cups but if you use a regular muffin pan (nonstick or not) you might have to oil the pan a bit first and use a knife to loosen it. It lasts several days and is good eaten hot or warm. You can store in the fridge and reheat it by steaming quickly for 5 mins.

Faux Gumbo

I call this my faux gumbo because really it changes every time I make it and I've never tasted real gumbo so who knows how much I'm killing the real thing? I make it to my tastes and its extremely versatile. Some things like a nice dark roux to start are a must but you can switch around the veggies, meat, etc as you like and generally I just dump in whatever I have on hand. Its one of the best kinds of warm satisfying comfort foods though and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Faux Gumbo

1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup flour
1 onion finely diced
3 garlic cloves minced
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp celery seed
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
1 28 oz can chopped tomatoes
1 turkey kielbasa cut into 1/4 inch rounds (you can sub this with any meat you like. I often use chicken thigh meat cut into chunks or whole shrimp)
1 bag frozen okra
1 bag frozen zucchini

Cook the flour and oil whisking gently all the while until the roux grows into a dark caramel color. Be careful not to burn it. Add in onion and garlic and cooked until onion has softened. Add in chili, celery seed, white wine, broth and tomatoes. Bring to a boil while stirring. Add in kielbasa. Cover and cook on a medium low flame for 20 mins. Add in okra and zucchini. Cook uncovered for another 20 mins over a medium high flame, stirring occasionally. Serve over rice.

For My Daddy

So my dad loves his sweets and his carbs. His eyes light up at the mere mention of an apple pie but fate has struck him a cruel blow. Several years ago he had a quad bypass and since them he's been on a pretty strict fat free diet. I'm constantly scouring the web and racking my brain around the holidays and his birthday to come up with some kind of fat free treat he might like. Have you any idea how hard it is to come up with a decent sub for butter in a pie crust that still gives you a certain degree of that flaky deliciousness? I have yet to perfect that. If you have any ideas, slip me a note. For his birthday this year I came up with an asian twist to the classic dense banana bread, a steamed banana cake. I made them into giant muffin size but you can just make one big cake as preferred. Its steamed instead of baked so it retains its moistness with minimal fats and is flaky airy light with a great banana fragrance about it. I liked it smeared with some sweetened condensed milk and nothing else. Dad liked his plain and hot from the steamer. You can always reheat by a quick steaming and they will last a good week in the fridge if eaten this way.

Steamed Banana Cake

Original recipe found here: http://chowtimes.com/2007/06/08/steamed-banana-cake/

1 ripe banana, mashed
1 egg (I used eggbeaters)
1 tsp oil
2 tsp water
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup icing sugar
100 grams flour

Put all ingredients into mixing bowl. Mix with a hand whisk until well blended. Pour into cake pan of your choice. I used extra big silicon muffin cups. Steam over a medium flame for 15-20 minutes or until a tester inserted into the middle comes out clean.