Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Panna Cotta Pandemonium

After seeing that Tish Boyle had made Coconut Panna Cotta, it sounded too good not to whip some up myself. I had coconut milk, passion fruit, sugar and gelatin and was ready to rock. At the last moment, I thought, “what if I infused some tea into this?” And Pandemonium was born.



My friend Chris Peralta, awesome guy & founder/guitarist of punk band Dead Panic is always nice enough to let me force food on him and give honest feedback. You can thank him for the name, which he used in his excited description of how much he liked it!

1 c coconut milk
1 c whole milk
½ c brown sugar
2 tsp Vanilla Coconut Tea from ChaCha Tea
2 sheets gelatin
Passion Fruit Puree

Pour milks and sugar into a pan and simmer until heated through.

Add tea and let steep to the desired taste.



Rinse gelatin until it softens. I didn’t soak it. Since I am not using very much, I wanted to make sure I got the most of it. Stir in to mixture if still warm, or reheat lightly if you need to.



Set up about 4 to 5 small glasses. This looks really pretty with the passion fruit swirling through! Put about 2 tsp of puree per glass in the bottom, or more if you love the tarty taste as I do. Each glass can hold about ½ c. let stand until cool, then put into fridge to set.

This is fantastic served with green figs, which are gorgeous and flavorful, complimenting this rather than overpowering it.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Fennel Brown Sugar Cookies

Getting a sample of Fennel Pollen was interesting for me. I wanted to make a savory dish, yet my mind kept saying, 'coooookies....brown sugar.....' So I finally gave in and made some.

I took them to work last week to get my friends to test them out and the reponse was excellent. Then yesterday, one of my co-workers begged me to make them again. So there you have it folks, these cookies are good and they linger in the memory!



Fennel Pollen Brown Sugar Cookies

Preheat oven to 375 F

2/3 c vegetable shortening (I like Jungle)
3/4 c C & H brown sugar
1 egg
4 tsp almond milk
1 tbsp Fennel Pollen Spice
2 c WW flour
1½ tsp baking powder

Thoroughly cream butter, sugar, & Fennel Pollen Spice. Add egg; beat fluffy. Stir in milk. S

Sift dry ingredients; stir in.

Chill at least one hour, though two is best.

On a lightly sugared surface (I used a Fennel Pollen/sugar mix I made) and roll 1/2 the dough to 1/8” thickness, cutout with cookie cutters.

Chill remaining dough until ready to use. Place on ungreased cookie sheet, making
sure they are not touching. Bake 6-8 minutes until light brown.



P.S. There will be a savory recipe with the pollen, so stay tuned!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Samooosaaaaass!



I am lucky to have a lot of really cool friends that I have made on Twitter. One of them, Shaheen, the delightful @PurpleFoodie has agreed to the be the guest blogger for samosas! So here she is!

Hot Samosas and Friendship

I’ve known Luna for a few months over twitter now and it’s been lovely knowing her. On one such occasion over a twitter chatter, Luna asked me if I had a nice samosa recipe. Now here in Bombay (Mumbai), samosas are found at the corner of every other street. I just have to walk down my lane for a minute and I can get some delicious, piping hot samosas. That’s the reason why I hardly ever make them at home. But since it’s Luna, I just had to make it for her. :)

If you’re not already following her on twitter, then go do that right now! You will then know what thoughtful she is. I especially remember the time she gave me all the moral support I needed to venture out in alone in New York City when I went there a few months ago. Thanks, sweetie!


So back to the samosas - when I made them they took a lot lesser tie than I had anticipated so the long list of ingredients shouldn't stop you! Everyone at home loved them. The samosa was flaky and crunchy all at once and the flavour of the spicy potato filling was kicked up a knotch with the addition of fennel seeds. Try it, you will love it


Samosa recipe

Yield: 6-8

For the dough

1-1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup ghee or vegetable shortening
2 Tbs. plain yogurt, stirred well

1/4 cup water (or as required)

In a wide, shallow bowl, mix the flour with the salt and baking soda.

Rub in the ghee or shortening, whichever you’re using into the flour.

Rub the fat and the flour together until the flour is evenly coated; there shouldn’t be any lumps.
Add the yogurt-water mixture a little at a time. Add just enough liquid until the dough comes together in a mass.

Knead the dough until it's smooth and elastic. The dough is ready when it's no longer sticky and feels nice and supple (after about 5 minutes of kneading).

Wrap it in plastic, and let it rest for about 15 minutes.




For Potato and Peas Filling

1 tbs. cooking oil

3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped

½ tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp. cumin seeds

1 tsp. coriander powder

1/2 tsp. dry mango powder or amchoor

½ tsp turmeric

¼-1/2 tsp. chilli powder (depending on how hot you want it to be)

1 cups very coarsely mashed potatoes

½ cup peas, boiled

Salt to taste


Canola oil or any flavourless oil for deep frying


Heat 1 tbsp oil and add the garlic. Cook until fragrant. About 2 minutes.

Next add in the whole seeds – mustard, cumin and fennel and cook until they sizzle. Another 1 minute.

Now add all the powdered spices, coriander, dry mango, turmeric, chilli.

Once it is all incorporated, add the potatoes and peas and mix well. Add the salt.

Let this potato mixture cool.



Assembling the samosa

Divide the dough into about 6-8 portions.

Roll them out into strips of 1/8th inch thickness.

Place the potato filling in the middle and seal the sides as shown in the photo.

Heat the oil for deep frying the samosas.

Drop 2-3 in at a time and dry till they are golden brown.

Drain on paper towel and serve hot!


http://purplefoodie.com/

Monday, May 3, 2010

Love Potion #9 Cake


I tried out this cake on my friends and it ended up paired with figs & goat cheese that had been baked & drizzled in balsamic. The cake is light and moist, the liqueur flavor unique. I know it was a hit because the Cheese Princess kept drifting over for more! The only addition we would have liked might have been little Love Potion #9 laced Chantilly cream.

2 c flour
2 tsp b powder
¼ tsp salt
½ c milk
½ c Love Potion #9
½ c sugar
¾ vegetable shortening
3 eggs

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine dry ingredients, set aside. Combine milk and Love Potion #9, set aside.
Cream shortening & sugar, add eggs. Starting & ending with flour mixture, alternately add flour mix with milk mix. Do not over mix! If you have some flour that doesn’t blend in, use a spatula.
I used four 6 x 3½ loaf pans, baked for approx 25 minutes.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Molasses Whoopie Pie

Last week, overcome by the urge to make whoopie pies, I used this recipe by Vegan Visitor:

http://veganvisitor.wordpress.com/2008/05/24/molasses-cookie-whoopie-pie/

I have made the cookies previously with great success. The whoopie pies got their seal of approval from Monkey, from the SO and from my friend Chris, who gobbled it down about 2 minutes after I handed it to him. Make and enjoy!



I think the next batch is gonna be chocolate....!