Tropical Fruit Salad

A fruit salad made with pineapple, mango, and banana tossed in coconut milk.

First I must tell you that I will be out of town for 2 weeks and will not post during this time so see you in 2 weeks.  Now back to the fruit salad.

For those of you who do not know it's mango season.  Yes you can buy them in stores, but one of my favorite things about being in Hawaii is that they grow all over.  My husband passes a park on his way to work (he bikes) that has lots of big mango trees.  Apparently no one picks the fruit and it just piles on the ground and rots where it falls.  What a waste (at least birds and other animals are happy).  So my husband has been bringing some mangos home with him, any that fall to the side of the road and are fresh, usually they are perfectly ripe or will ripen in a few days.   For the past 2 weeks we have had fresh mango on hand.  They are great in smoothies, but I wanted a fruit salad so this is my creation.

Ingredients:

1/2 Pineapple, cubed (about 2 cups)
2 large bananas, sliced
2 mangos, chopped
1/4-1/2 cup coconutmilk

The most difficult part of this salad is cutting up all the fruit.  I eat pineapples and mangos so often now that this is simple.  There are plenty of tutorials online to show you how it's done if you need help.  The work is well worth it.

In a large bowl toss the fruit together to combine.  Then add the coconut milk and toss to coat.  I sweetened the coconut milk a little (1 cup powdered sugar to an entire can) you can too or not what ever you prefer.  If you feel a little naughty add some coconut flavored rum to the mix for an adult salad.

This serves two and makes a great afternoon snack, a dessert, or accompaniment to an evening meal.  I also used this salad as the filling for my Sourdough Crepes.

You can double this recipe, I just had to wait for more mangos to ripen, if you have leftover salad it makes a great blended drink or smoothie.  Just add some milk, yogurt, or kefir then blend until smooth.  You can add some coconut rum and have a delicious cocktail. The picture is not great, but I was much more interested in drinking it; the photo was just an after thought.

Enjoy.

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Bacon Nachos

Crunchy tortilla chips spread with melted cheese, crisp bacon and spicy jalapenos.  A great dinner for two or a snack.

I have posted about nachos before but these deserved their own post.  Why?  Because these nachos are bacon nachos.  My husband just opened a new bag of chips and I had some bacon in the fridge and cheese so I suggested bacon nachos.  These are fabulous nachos.  They may not be very healthy but they are so good (it doesn't hurt to splurge every once in a while).  This was our late 'Father's Day' dinner (we don't have children but we have a turtle).

Ingredients:

Tortilla chips
1/2 pack of bacon
2 cups shredded cheese
1/4 cup diced jalapenos

Cut the bacon into 1/2 inch pieces and fry until crisp then drain.

Assemble the nachos.   Place a layer of chips on a baking dish then top with 1/3 of the cheese, bacon, and jalapenos.  Continue layering chips, cheese, bacon, and jalapenos until you run out of toppings.

Bake the nachos at 200F for 20 minutes then broil for about 5 minutes until cheese is melted.

Serves 2 as a dinner, or more as a snack.  Enjoy.

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Saturday Breakfast: Sourdough Crepes

Crepes made from sourdough starter and stuffed with tropical fruit salad with, of course, bacon on the side.

 

I had my first crepes last weekend from a local restaurant and they were fantastic.  I had them on my brain all week and I decided to try and make them at home.  I have made sourdough pancakes before and I was curious if you could make sourdough crepes as well.  I searched online and found this Sourdough Crepes Recipe.  It looked simple enough so I tried it.

Having never made crepes I was surprised by how simple they were.  I don't have a special crepe pan I just used my regular 8 inch non stick frying pan and plastic spatula and they worked great.  I even think they are easier than making pancakes.  Learn how to make crepes here.

Best of all it used up extra sourdough that would have been thrown away during my next refresh.  I also did not need to feed the sourdough the night before.  The crepe batter was prepared right before cooking.  Easy peasy (lemon squeezy).

These crepes were delicious and simple a definite make again recipe.

Ingredients:

1 cup sourdough barm (100% hydration)
3 eggs
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1/4-1/2 cup milk



In a medium bowl mix together the barm, eggs, and butter until smooth.  Stir in enough milk until the batter is runny.

Heat a non stick frying pan over medium heat and rub with butter.  Pour one ladle full of batter onto the center of the pan.

Pick up the pan and rotate it spreading the batter into a wider circle.  Continue rotating the pan until the batter no longer moves.  Place pan back on the burner.

Gently run the spatula around the edges of the crepe to loosen them.  Lift and flip the crepe when the batter is set and no longer shiny (it only takes seconds).

Cook the crepe for about 30 seconds on the other side.  Remove crepe to a plate, butter the pan and repeat.  Makes about 5 10-inch crepes.  You can stack the crepes one atop the other until ready to fill and eat.

I filled my crepes with a tropical fruit salad made with pineapple, banana, mango and coconut milk (I will post the recipe next week).  You can fill these crepes with anything you like sweet or savory are all tasty.  Enjoy.

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Candied Pecans

These sweet and crunchy pecans make great salad toppers and snacks.

I need to have something crunchy in my salads.  Maybe I'm weird, but it is a must for me, I crave crunchy.  My husband says crunchy is my favorite texture.  When ever I make salads I always prefer to add something crunchy to them, sometimes this is croutons, but lately it has been pecans.

I always keep a bag of raw pecan halves in my pantry and just adding a hand full to my salads satisfies my crunch fetish.  Recently I came across a blog (I wish I saved the link so I could give them credit for this fabulous idea) that posted a recipe of candied pecans.  It was so simple I had to try it.  All you do is toss the pecans in maple syrup and bake them.  The first time I made these I started snacking on them right out of the oven and almost did not have any left for my salad.  Now I make a bigger batch and store them in a zipper bag in my pantry for whenever I need something crunchy.

Ingredients:

1 cup pecans
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1-2 Tbsp brown sugar

In a large bowl toss the pecans with the maple syrup until they are coated.  Then add the brown sugar and toss until evenly coated.  Spread onto a lined cookie sheet and bake at 250F for about 30 minutes (checking half way through) until dried and crispy.

You can bake these at a higher temperature for a shorter time, but I end up accidentally burning them so I'd rather be safe and do it low and slow.


Add the pecans to salads, oatmeal, yogurt or eat alone.  You can use more of less sugar depending on your taste.

Enjoy.

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The Best Salad Ever

A green salad topped with blue cheese, chicken, strawberries, and candied pecans.

I know this is a very steep claim, but in my opinion this is the best salad ever.  My husband and I used to get a salad similar to this when ever we went to Whole Foods and we would immediately gobble it up.  When I found my self with both blue cheese and fresh strawberries in my refrigerator I had to recreate this amazing salad.  It has been quite a while since I have had the Whole Foods version of this salad but mine did not disappoint.  I would even say it was much better.  I highly recommend this salad.  It is flavorful and very filling.

The Best Salad Ever

Ingredients:

lettuce or spinach
green onions, sliced
shredded cooked chicken (great use for leftover rotisserie chicken)
strawberries, sliced
blue cheese
candied pecans
balsamic vinaigrette

Toss the lettuce in the vinaigrette until well coated (I usually use 2-3 hand fulls of lettuce per person and the vinaigrette is 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar, I just eye ball it).

Place the dressed lettuce on a plate or shallow bowl and sprinkle on the green onions, as much as you like I use about 1/4 cup (you could use red onion slices too I just find green onions to be milder and still impart an onion flavor).

Next add the pecans, I use about a hand full but it's all  up to personal tastes, and some chicken (however much you like).

Lastly top with straw berries and blue cheese (about 1/4 cup of each).

You could just add all of the ingredients together and toss in the vinaigrette, this would save some time, but usually all the toppings fall to the bottom of the bowl making it difficult to get proper amounts of everything in each serving (I'm just picky so I will do it my way...it's the right way after all).

Enjoy.

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Warm Blue Cheese Spinach Dip

A warm creamy dip made with cream cheese, blue cheese and spinach.  Great party dip for breads and chips.

I love all kinds of party dips, especially the warm cheesy kinds.  I am also picky.  I don't like to dip tortilla chips in cream cheese based dips I prefer bread.  I hate it when I go to a restaurant and order spinach artichoke dip and it is served with chips.  I believe any warm cheese dip (made with a cream cheese base) should be served with bread.  Leave the tortilla chips for queso and salsa.

So when I had fresh bread and more blue cheese than I knew what to do with; I made a dip.  There were not a lot of blue cheese dip recipes that weren't for dressing or vegetable dips.   So I made up this one.  I used cream cheese as the base and added blue cheese for the flavor and then I added some spinach to make me feel healthier.  I have to say this was awesome.  The blue cheese adds another layer of flavor that makes a regular spinach dip taste so much better.  I highly recommend this recipe and the next time I have a party or need to bring something to a party this will be it.

Ingredients:

1 package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup parmasean
1 cup cooked spinach (I used boiled from frozen spinach)
1 tsp garlic powder
pinch of salt
crumbled bacon, optional (I just had some leftover from breakfast and added it)

Stir all of the ingredients together until well combined.  Scrape into an oven proof baking dish and bake at 350F for 20-30 minutes until bubbly.

Serve with thin slices of your favorite bread and enjoy.

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Blue Cheese Dip/Dressing

A very simple blue cheese dip for vegetables that can also be used as a dressing for salads or a dip for buffalo wings.

One day my husband came home from the store with some fancy blue cheese dip/dressing.  It was on sale because usually it is pretty expensive.  We ate it that night with raw broccoli and wow was it good.  I don't usually care for blue cheese dressing, but this had a great blue cheese flavor with actual chunks of cheese in it.  A few days later it was gone and my husband asked if I could make it.  I immediately looked online for recipes and the general consensus was sour cream and blue cheese.  It couldn't be easier.

My husband bought huge tubs of each at Costco and we had enough supplies to make 4 rounds of dip.  We froze two (we haven't tried the frozen ones yet so I'm not sure if this was a good idea or not but it was worth a try, I'll update when I've tried them) and ate the other two within a couple of weeks.  And we had extra sour cream and blue cheese for other recipes.  The best part of all was that it tasted better and was much cheaper than the store bought.

Ingredients:

2 cups sour cream
1/2-1 cup blue cheese crumbles
2 Tbsp Mayonnaise, optional
salt and pepper and garlic powder to taste

Stir all ingredients together and serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 week (if you are like us it won't last that long).

We tried it with mayonnaise and without and couldn't tell the difference.

Use as much or as little blue cheese as you like depending on your taste preference.

It makes a great dip for all kinds of vegetables.  We used broccoli, celery, carrots, bell peppers, and sugar snap peas.  Our favorite was the broccoli.  It would also be a great dip for hot wings.

Enjoy.

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Bruschetta (remake) and Antipasto

Diced tomatoes and basil to top thinly sliced ciabatta toast with a meat and cheese platter .  Great as an appetizer and filling enough for a meal.

This is a recipe remake of my earlier Bruschetta with very slight changes.  And served with a plate of cured meats (salami and prosciutto).  Roasted red peppers make a wonderful addition to both the bruschetta and antipasto plate.

We had 1 loaf of ciabatta bread left over and wanting to use it and other meats we had in the fridge I decided we would have Antipasto for dinner.  I love appetizers and would rather eat them instead of an entree.  The meats and cheese along with the bruschetta make this a light but filling meal.  It also feels special because we usually only have this stuff when people come over.  That is actually why we had the meats, they were left over from a get together.  It is almost like having breakfast for dinner; having only appetizers seems taboo and tastes great.

Ingredients:

2 cups chopped tomatoes
20 basil leaves, chiffonade
1/4 cup diced roasted red peppers
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Toasted thin slices of bread

Toss the tomatoes, basil, peppers, vinegar, salt and pepper together.  Let sit out at room temperature for at least 1 hour before serving.

This time I brushed the bread slices with olive oil and broiled them about 5 minutes until brown and crispy.  Then, I rubbed them with garlic.

The meats are salami and prosciutto and the cheese is a camembert and gorgonzala blend we found at Costco.

Put out the bruscheta, meats and cheese and top the toasts with what ever combination you prefer.  Enjoy.

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Ciabatta (Sourdough)

A crisp and chewy loaf of rustic bread made from a very wet dough.

*Submitted to YeastSpotting
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Ciabatta; just writing about this delicious bread is making me drool.  This bread is made with a very wet dough and little kneading.  The gluten is developed by using a stretch and fold method.  You pour out the dough onto a square of flour (or oil). Then, you stretch the dough from each side until it is about double it's length then fold the dough like a letter over it's self returning it to it's original size.  This is messy but as long as you use plenty of flour and flour your hands the dough won't stick to anything (you just have flour everywhere).  All of the mess is well worth it because this is a great bread (the more you make this bread the better you will get and it won't be as messy).  The crust is very crisp straight out of the oven, but once it cools it softens and becomes chewy.

Here is a video of the stretch and fold method by Peter Reinhart:

(This is different from the method I use because it does not add flour.  My recipe comes from Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice.  One thing I love about Peter Reinhart is that he is always perfecting his recipes and methods to make better bread.  I will try this flourless stretch and fold next time)

Ingredients (measured by weight):

Modified slightly from Peter Reinhart's Ciabatta, Poolish Version (The Bread Baker's Apprentice pg136)

22.75 oz Sourdough barm 100% hydration (equal parts flour and water)
13.5 oz bread flour
.44 oz salt
3-6 oz kefir (or milk or buttermilk), at room temperature

The night before you plan to make this bread feed about 4 oz of sourdough starter equal parts flour and water to equal 22.75 oz of barm.  Leave at room temperature overnight until active and bubbly.

In the morning of the next day, add the barm, flour, salt, and kefir to the bowl of a stand mixer.   Stir, using the paddle attachment until all ingredients are combined and you have a very wet and sticky dough.  Continue mixing with the paddle attachment on medium speed for 5-7 minutes until The dough is smooth and sticky.  It should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom and be very soft and sticky.

Sprinkle flour onto the counter to create a large square.  Using a bowl scraper or spatula, scrape the dough out of the bowl and onto the bed of flour.  Sprinkle the top of the dough with flour and (with floured hands) stretch and fold the dough.  Spray the top with oil and sprinkle with flour then cover with plastic wrap.

Let rest for 30 minutes and stretch and fold again.  Spray with oil, sprinkle with flour and cover again.  This time allow the dough to ferment on the counter for 3-4 hours until it swells (it won't necessarily double in size)

Prepare a couche (a thick linen cloth sprayed with cooking oil and with flour rubbed in to keep the dough from sticking.  You can also use a large smooth white towel or table cloth).

Divide the dough into 3 or four pieces; sprinkle with flour and using a scrapper gently lift the dough from the counter.  Roll each piece in flour (try not to degas it) and transfer it to the couche.  Stretch and fold each piece to form an oblong about 4 or 5 inches long.  Bunch the cloth between each piece to make a wall.  Spray with oil, dust with flour then cover with a towel.

 Proof at room temperature for about 2 hours.

Place a baking stone on the lowest rack of the oven and a cast iron skillet on the top rack and preheat the oven to 500F for at least 45 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a peel or cookie sheet (I use parchment paper under the dough so that it slides easily onto the stone just make sure to pull the parchment out from under the bread after about 5 minutes so that it doesn't burn) and gently stretch the dough to make a longer loaf.  Slide the dough (I do one at a time because I have a small stone) onto the baking stone.  Pour about 1 cup of hot water into the cast iron pan to create steam and close the oven door.   After 30 seconds open the oven and spray the sides of the oven with water.  Do this twice more at 30 second intervals.  Then lower the oven temperature to 450F.

Bake the loaves for 15-20 minutes turning half way through for even baking.

Transfer to a cooling rack and cool for at least 45 minutes before slicing.  Enjoy.

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