CSA - Lemon basil avocado sorbet

After my failure with last week's avocado sherbet I wanted to jump back on the horse, but a) other than the problems with the lavender I was happy with the results in general and I wasn't interested in doing it again immediately and b) I didn't have quite enough avocado left. So instead I decided to add a bit of avocado to lemon sorbet to see what happens. I've never made a citrus sorbet before so that was interesting in itself as well.

My initial research turned up lots of different lemon sorbet recipes on-line which varied surprisingly widely on how much lemon and how much sugar to use. With the variation in lemons' size and flavor and not having tried this before I was at a bit of a loss as to what to do. Lebovitz's Perfect Scoop hasn't let me down yet so that seemed a safe starting point. He was one of the few recipe authors who described the resulting flavor--"tangy"--plus his was the only recipe that specified mixing in the lemon juice at the last minute. I don't know how that would be important, but it shows he's been thinking, anyway.

So I started with 1/2 cup of water, a cup of sugar and the zest from one really big lemon. I heated that up until the sugar was dissolved. Then I poured that into a blender along with about 3/4 cup of avocado and enough more water to bring the volume up to 2 1/2 cups.

After blending, I was a bit surprised to see that the mix wasn't letting go of its air bubbles. That uneven reflection you can see in the picture is from the knobbly bubbly surface of the mix. I had no idea avocado was a foam stabilizer. This was a good sign.

While that was chilling, it was time to get a cup of juice. Or it would be if I hadn't decided that I wanted all the pulp too. Most sorbets get some additional texture from the solid bits of the fruit and I wanted to add that here if I could. So I ended up doing some careful microsurgery to peel a few lemons and either peel away the connective membranes or cut supremes. Once I had a cup I decided not to run it through the blender as I had originally planned. I liked the idea of little packets of pure lemon juice mixed in with the sweetened sorbet around it. So I just mushed up lemon bits to release about half the juice but leave the rest encapsulated. And that got chilled too.

The next day they got mixed and into the churn. This is when I got an inkling that I may have made a mistake. The freezing process, usually so elegant for sorbets, was ugly and clumpy. Who really wants texture in a sorbet anyway? Well, too late to back out now.

To add a bit more interest to the flavor, just before the mix was done churning I added a quarter cup of chopped fresh basil. Visually, the flecks of green are quite nice, but it's more to chew on which, again, might not have been the best idea. But too late now.

After churning, I ripened it in the freezer and here's the results. I still like the look, but, yeah, the texture isn't great. There is nice smooth sorbet, but it's got chunks of frozen lemon, bits of loose pulp and little leaves floating in it. I'm of half a mind to melt it down, run it through the blender and churn it again.
...
Now I'm of a full mind to do it.








So, before:








after:









and afterer:










and even afterer:


The texture is much improved with that perfect creaminess that I'm still amazed that sorbet can achieve. Maybe it's frozen up a little more solidly than your average sorbet. There wasn't any alcohol included so that hurt it but maybe the avocado helped? Further investigation is required.

The basil flavor is now well distributed and maybe there's a hint of avocado there too. You can tell that straight lemon sorbet would be like a piece of hard candy: just citrus and sweet melting on the tongue. The basil makes it significantly more interesting. The flavors aren't blended into anything synergistic--the lemon and basil are clearly distinguishable--but they go well together and take the edge off each other. Italian sweet basil would probably have worked better than the Thai basil I've got. Lemon basil would probably have worked better still. But I've got what I've got and what I've got is certainly plenty nice on a hot Miami day. I may revisit this when the CSA supplies some Italian basil. Maybe I'll use lime instead. ...Argh, I just did a quick Google and found that Jaime Oliver does a basil lime sorbet and Emeril does a basil lemon. OK, I've been saving a perfectly unique ice cream idea and it's going up next in the line-up. Watch this space.

The Next Loaf

I don't know how long I'm going to keep posting about baking bread using my mixer. It's not really all that notable and you guys don't really need to know about everything I cook. But since this week shows some marked reversion to the mean after last week's remarkable success, it's worth writing up if only so I can organize my thoughts and attempt to isolate the problem.

This week I decided to make an all-white-flour olive oil loaf. This recipe and the one from last week are adapted from Rustic European Breads From Your Bread Machine by Linda West Eckhardt and Diana Collingwood Butts--a book that served me remarkably ill for a couple years before I gave up in frustration and gave away my bread machine. Despite that history, the recipes are easy to translate to my new mechanized method and are make sensibly-sized batches for the bachelor chef. Other bread cookbooks I've looked at have recipes that make two three-pound loaves or 18 rolls. Who needs that much bread?

This particular recipe starts with 1 1/2 cups bread flour, 2 teaspoons yeast and 5 ounces water stirred together, covered and let sit overnight. No problem there.

This morning I added the rest of the ingredients: another 1 1/2 cups bread flour, 2 teaspoons kosher salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, 2 Tablespoons fruity extra virgin olive oil and, skimping a little due to the humidity, 4 more ounces of water. That goes under the bread hook for 15 minutes of kneading. And here's the problem. The dough came together at the start, but after a couple minutes it loosened up into a very wet and sticky dough. I added a few more Tablespoons of flour but it just soaked them up with little notable change in texture. Since I wasn't planning on handling the dough or letting it sit on any open surfaces it could slump out on I figured I could let it be, but I'm baffled as to why I always end up with a much wetter dough than the recipe authors do. Am I using different, less dense flour? Wetter water? The humidity can't contribute that much moisture, can it? Next time I'm going to pack down the flour first in kind of an anti-sifting procedure and see if that makes the recipes work eight.


So once I was done kneading I dumped the dough into an oiled plastic bucket to rise. The recipe said to give it an hour to double in size but it was already near triple by a half hour and that's with using less yeast than called for. Hyperactive modern yeasts? Hot Miami kitchens? I dunno.






Again I used the no-knead baking method with the pre-heated container. I'm still using my clay cooker which gave the loaf a bit of shape. If I used a dutch oven I would have ended up with a focaccia-esque flat round loaf. Nothing wrong with that, I suppose.

After opening the cooker half way through baking I got a strong whiff of the Play-Doh failed-rise scent I remember from my bread machine days, but the loaf looked like it at least kept most of the extra-high initial rise even if it wasn't getting a second lift in the oven. After another half hour the temperature inside the loaf was still a little low so I gave it some more time, then again and again without much change. With a wet dough like this that's not too surprising, but after 20 extra minutes it was starting to burn so out it came despite a few missing degrees in the center.



You can see that the crust looks kind of shellacked. That's a seriously hard crust, but it's rather thin so it adds a nice crackly edge to each slice.






Inside you can see that the crumb is surprisingly light and tender.
The flavor is milder than last week's rustic loaf, but the straightforward wheat flavor is accented by the toasty crust and aromatic olive oil. So, despite the difficulties along the way, a tasty success. I think I have my food-blogging with all that cooking and thinking about cooking I've been doing to thank. I'm more able to understand what's happening and more comfortable adjusting as I go along than I was back when I was failing with my bread machine. Next time I think I'll try a recipe I never had the guts for before: French butter loaves.

The Omnivore's Hundred - part four

Continuing on from Part three.

Here's how it works.
"list a hundred interesting foods and:
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results."

Since this is a cooking blog, I'll add 5) italicize the items you've cooked.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

76. Baijiu - I had never heard of this, but, when I saw the picture at the Wikipedia entry I discovered I've recently been treated to a few glasses. Surprisingly smooth drinking considering how strong it is.
77. Hostess Fruit Pie - Feh. Anyone who grew up in the mid-Atlantic states knows Tastycake is miles better.
78. Snail - Like the frog legs it's traditionally prepared drowned in garlic. What's the point?
79. Lapsang souchong - One of my favorite teas. America's Test Kitchen has a really cool recipe where you quickly infuse smoke flavor into meat by putting a tray full of this smoked tea into the oven with it. I want to try it once the weather cools down a bit.
80. Bellini - I had a couple different versions at the Mango Brunch last month.
81. Tom yum - Geez, they may as well have just said "Thai food". Does any Thai restaurant not have tom yum? It's surprisingly easy to make, too.
82. Eggs Benedict - On the other hand. Eggs benedict is a pain in the butt to make. No wonder it always costs so much.
83. Pocky - I prefer Yan Yan, where you dip the cookie sticks in the still liquid chocolatey goop.
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant. - Some day.
85. Kobe beef - I've had the American equivalent, but I don't eat enough steak to really appreciate the difference.
86. Hare - I've seen rabbit on menus but never hare. It's probably more common in the U.K.
87. Goulash - Easier to make than you think.
88. Flowers - As far as I can tell, petals sprinkled into salad are mostly just for color. You need extracts to concentrate the flavor if you really want to taste them.
89. Horse - Anyone who's tried it want to say what it was like in the comments? I'm curious if it's worth seeking out.
90. Criollo chocolate - I'm pretty sure the top end chocolate makers like Ghirardelli use some in their mix but I don't think I've had the straight stuff.
91. Spam - When you've grown up with scrapple, Spam seems downright classy. My mom used to make a killer Spam fried rice but I can't get it to come out the same. It probably helps to be twelve.
92. Soft shell crab - Great stuff for freaking out your sister. Also best when you're twelve.
93. Rose harissa - Plain harissa sure, but not this extra-fancy version.
94. Catfish - Another gimme for Americans that's probably much harder to find in the U.K.
95. Mole poblano - Unlike some of the other concoctions on this list, this is legitimately difficult to make. You've got to wonder how so complicated a staple ingredient was developed.
96. Bagel and lox - I've put lox on bagles, but I've never made either although I understand lox is easier to make than you'd expect.
97. Lobster Thermidor - I almost always have my lobster simply boiled and served with butter and lemon. I don't have it often so when I do I usually just want a lobster.
98. Polenta - I've never quite managed to get the nice crispy crust I want when I fry it. I don't know how it manages to stick to teflon.
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee - I used to work in a kitchen store that sold little packs of Blue Mountain with just enough to make a couple cups. I didn't have a very good coffee maker at the time and I think I ruined it when I tried it. Or maybe I'm just not a discerning coffee drinker. Quite possibly both.
100. Snake - Haven't had the chance.

Since I've gone through the list bit by bit I've had a chance to go shopping and pick up some black truffles. These are summer truffles so it's the $20 little bottle not the $55 one. But they fit the entry. I haven't done anything fancy with them yet, but I did try the simple recipe suggested on the bottle: a slice of homey crusty bread, drizzled with olive oil and topped with slices of basil, tomato and truffle. I've just baked some suitable bread this morning, I've got plenty of basil from my garden and Whole Foods had a sale on heirloom tomatoes when I visited Friday so I think I'm well prepared to let the truffle strut its stuff. I made one slice with and one without the truffle so I could compare and contrast. What I found was that the truffle didn't jump out in front. Instead, it was an suffusing earthy richness that undergirded the sharpness of the basil and brightness of the tomato. Now that I've done a little research I see that the summer truffle is much more subtle than the winter variety and that's why it didn't step forward. I suppose I should be a bit less parsimonious with it.

That brings my totals to 72 eaten, 25 cooked or cooked with and three I'm not interested in. Looking over comments of the hundreds of folks who have gone over the list it looks like 72 is respectable. I'm more interested in added to my cooking list though and since I added that aspect myself I guess I'm the benchmark

CSA - South Indian Shrimp Curry

I checked my curry leaves today and while they were much faded from their prime, there was a still a little life left in them. That means one more South Indian curry before they get the toss. I do wish ? Farms would supply their more esoteric herbs in smaller batches; I can't imagine I'm the only one having trouble using them all up.

I didn't change the recipe from how I found it on Epicurious (from the latest issue of Gourmet it says there) other than compensating for the weak curry leaves so I'll ask you to click over for the specifics. Here I'll just illustrate the process and discuss the results. To do that I'm trying a new format: a picture post.



The recipe starts with frying up the aromatics: curry leaves, chilies (and plenty of 'em), garlic and ginger.











Then go in the spices: coriander, cumin, turmeric, mustard seeds, salt and pepper. The recipe said to turn the heat down and wait for the seeds to pop, but mustard seeds don't pop at medium heat so leave the heat up.








Next the onion, cooked until it's softened and soaked up the spices.











Then goes in tomato and coconut. My tomato was not very juicy and my coconut was dried so I ended up adding water now and again to keep the sauce saucy. I probably added a full cup by the time it was done.





Maybe that was a mistake as the flavors are not nearly as intense as I expected. (In the picture at Epicurious it looks like they didn't add water. But they don't seem to have peeled the shrimp either so it's designed for a beauty shot not for flavor and if you've read my review of Abokado you know how I feel about that.) There's a bit of heat and the warmth of the spices, but the main flavors are the tomato, the coconut, shrimp and, if you get a good bite of one, curry leaf each individual and not really tied together into a synergistic whole. After taking the pot off the heat, I added a second stem of curry leaves, crushed and lightly fried in oil to release their flavors; I'm glad that effort paid off, but all of those great aromas from the first couple steps of the cooking process are just background players, not strong enough to successfully unify the dish. Still and all, it's tasty if not fabulous. And, if you've got some peeling and chopping help in the kitchen, a cinch to make.

The Omnivore's Hundred - part three

Continuing on from Part 2.

Here's how it works.
"list a hundred interesting foods and:
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results."

Since this is a cooking blog, I'll add 5) italicize the items you've cooked.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

51. Prickly pear - In candy form from a cheezy gift shop in an Indian reservation museum.
52. Umeboshi - I have a bad habit of purchasing unrecognizable items in untranslated packaging in Asian groceries.
53. Abalone - and pointing to the untranslated specials board in Asian restaurants and saying "I'll have that!"
54. Paneer - with palak preferably.
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal - I worked at McDonalds in my youth. Haven't been in in at least a couple decades, though.
56. Spaetzle - This always looks fun to make. I'll have to try it.
57. Dirty gin martini - I'm not much for mixed drinks.
58. Beer above 8% ABV - Generally called barley wine if I'm thinking of the same stuff. My preferred drink at the bar I mentioned earlier.
59. Poutine - All really-bad-for-you food should taste this good.
60. Carob chips - Remember when carob was suddenly everywhere as a substitute for chocolate? Was it actually more healthy? Probably. Eating a chocolate chip cookie must be worse for you than suspiciously eying and then not eating a carob chip cookie.
61. S’mores - I'll eat marshmallows in s'mores and in hot chocolate, but that's it. At least for mass-produced marshmallows. I should try the confectioner's version some time.
62. Sweetbreads - At Union restaurant in Seattle during my recent trip there. I'd cook with them if I could find any to buy.
63. Kaolin - Wikipedia says Kaolin is a a rock that can be used in "a specially formulated spray applied to fruits, vegetables, and other vegetation to repel or deter insect damage." That sounds like it might be used in organic farming. I might have eaten some.
64. Currywurst - A German fast food. I haven't had the opportunity.
65. Durian - This I've had plenty of opportunities for. The Asian groceries I shopped at when I lived in Boston and San Diego carried frozen durians. But even the aspects of durian that are supposed to be non-repulsive have never sounded particularly good to me. Also, I understand frozen is not a patch on the fresh stuff and if you're going to try such a thing you really should try it at its best. I'm not going to seek it out, but if you're having some and you offer, I wouldn't say no.
66. Frogs’ legs - They taste like garlic when you cover them in a garlic sauce. Deep fried, they taste like batter. I'd like to find some simply prepared so I can taste frog at some point.
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake - I think funnel cake is my favorite of the four, but I feel so urbane nibbling on beignets and sipping cafe au lait on a Sunday morning.
68. Haggis - Not a fine example of it, though, I'm sure. I liked it better slathered with vegemite.
69. Fried plantain - I use butter and a little bit of sugar to get flavor and the caramelized edges you get at the Cuban restaurants, but I'm pretty sure I'm cheating.
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette - I haven't had the opportunity terribly often as I've never spent much time in the regions where chitterlings are served and those regions are also places where you'll find good barbecue so I had better things to do.
71. Gazpacho - I've looked into recipes a few times intending to make gazpacho sorbet but I haven't followed through yet.
72. Caviar and blini - Not the really good stuff, though.
73. Louche absinthe - When you think about those romantic poets lounging about so sophisticatedly sipping absinthe keep in mind that it tastes like candy.
74. Gjetost, or brunost - Another obscure cheese with no particular reason to given to seek it out.
75. Roadkill - Is game by car really any different than game killed any other way? Is it nicely tenderized by the impact?

To be continued...

Tahu goreng - fried tofu in peanut sauce

This is one of my favorite Javanese recipes. It's quick and easy to make and has a great distinctively Indonesian flavor.

You'll need:
1 pound medium to extra firm tofu. (You can get a lot of different textures from fried tofu depending on the firmness you start with and how long you fry it. I like mine a bit dried out and chewy but I think I'm in the minority. You definitely don't want the airy store bought pre-fried tofu. That's a different ingredient entirely and is good for different sorts of recipes.)
1/2 cup oil for shallow frying
1 large handful bean sprouts
1 clove garlic, sliced
1/2 green hot chili, sliced (something small and very hot is typical for Java)
1 teaspoon sugar
4 Tablespoons sweet soy sauce (a.k.a. kecap manis)
2 Tablespoons water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 Tablespoons crunchy peanut butter
2 scallions, sliced thin
3 Tablespoons crispy fried onions


Those crispy fried onions are a traditional Javanese condiment that's pretty similar to a traditional Ashkenazi Jewish condiment that goes with chopped liver. I think that's fried in schmaltz instead of peanut oil. If my mom's reads this, maybe she'll clarify in the comments.

You'll need:
1 small onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 large pinch of salt
1/2 cup oil for shallow frying

1. Toss the onion with the salt and spread on a paper towel over a draining rack. Let sit for five minutes.

2. Meanwhile, Heat the oil in a medium pan (cast iron preferably) until the surface shimmers and a test piece of onion sizzles but doesn't burn. Turn heat to medium.

3. Roll up the paper towel and squeeze gently to get a bit more water out of the onions and to get some of the salt to stick to the paper towel.

4. Add the onion to the pan in a single layer. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 to 7 minutes, until the onions are a golden brown.

5. Remove onions to a new paper towel spread over the rack. Let sit for 15 minutes. They'll darken a little and get crispier.

6. Save the oil for deep frying the tofu.


OK, now back to the main recipe.

1. Start some rice cooking. Short grain and kind of sticky would be appropriate. Sushi rice is a fair approximation if you don't rinse it.

2. Cut the tofu into inch-thick slices. Pat dry and maybe squeeze out some of the moisture. Heat oil the same way as for the onions and fry at least until light brown on both sides. I prefer to go a little longer, but it's up to you. Remove to a paper towel on a draining rack and set aside.

3. Put a medium pot of water on the boil.

4. In a mortar, crush the garlic, chili and sugar until enough juice has been released to dissolve the sugar. Add the soy sauce, water, lemon juice and peanut butter and stir until fairly smooth.

5. When the water has boiled add the bean sprouts. Wait until the water has returned to a boil, no more than 30 seconds. You just want a quick blanch. Remove bean sprouts.

6. Cut the tofu into cubes. Or don't if you don't want to.

7. For each serving, put the rice in a bowl, then the tofu, cover with the bean sprouts, spoon over the sauce and garnish with the scallions and onions. You can serve hot or at room temperature, but remember that room temperature in Java is around 85 degrees.

(both recipes are adapted from The Indonesian Kitchen by Copeland Marks and Mintari Soeharjo)


In each bite you can get soft rice, chewy tofu, crunchy bean sprouts and scallions and the crisp onions. The tofu gains a savory flavor from the frying, the sauce is sweet and earthy, the onions salty and the vegetables...um...herbaceous? Anyway, there's an enormous amount going on for such a simple dish. And if you don't care about that, it's just really tasty.

It occurs to me that this dish has kid-friendly flavors and is pretty easy to pack (rice, tofu and vegetables in one bowl, sauce in another and a small bag of onions). I'll bet it makes a mighty impressive elementary school lunch. (It probably makes an impressive work lunch too, but my coworkers have long ceased inquiring about all but the most aromatic of what I've brought in.) If any mothers want to try it, do please report back on how it goes.

CSA - Tastes like soap

Really fancy soap, sure, but still not what I was hoping for. I'm talking about my latest sherbet here and looking at the ingredients I really shouldn't be surprised: avocado, lemon, honey, lavender and thyme. But avocado ice cream isn't all that unusual (as unusual ice creams go) and it's usually paired with lemon. Honey--avocado honey from a previous CSA delivery--is a natural addition. It's where I started getting creative with the flavorings that things went wrong. I'm not going to say lavender and thyme were bad ideas; both go well with the other flavors involved here and straight out of the blender the sherbet base had a lovely rich, sweet and slowly blooming herbal mix of flavors. The problem only came after churning; the low temperatures damped all the flavors down except the lavender. That actually seems to have intensified into a nasty astringent long-lingering chemical tang. So, a teaspoon of lavender extract is way too much. So noted.

On the other hand, the texture is as smooth and creamy as you might ask for, albeit recognizably with the particular smoothness of avocado, the color is lovely (you'll have to trust me on that one. My phone-camera's white balance can't capture the reality of its pale green) and, like I said before, the flavors work if I can get the balance right. I'm going to try this again when some avocados show up in the CSA and I'll give a proper recipe then.