Tostones: Three Ways to Plantain Glory!

Tostones, maduros, plantain chips, mofongo ... plantains are like the scheherazade of the vegetable kingdom. They can be made into savory main meals, sweet desserts, baked, boiled, fried, mashed ... endless possibilities.

Yet, somehow I've always managed to screw up cooking with plantains. I've tried. Many times years ago. Then, after many botched attempts, I put the plantain down.

So, when I saw the simple and direct tostone recipe on A Boulder Table, I felt a renewed sense of courage! I'll try it again! Tostones are truly simple to make. I'll get through my weird tostone block! This time with a partner, right there on my computer screen. She tried it! See! I can too.

The Trials and Tribulations, and Ultimately, Great Taste of Tostones
To get myself past my block, I decided to use A Boulder Table's recipe in two ways and try out a traditional tostone recipe--for a total of three ways to make tostones. I worked through my block, and now I have an awesome and easy tostone recipe! This recipe is part of the Taste & Create food blog recipe exchange.


green plantains
organic vegetable oil
salt
bowl of lukewarm salt water

1) Peel the plantains. This is the first step, and it's when I always begin to screw up. But this time I figured it out. (Why did it take me so long? Don't know). When plantains are green, they are more like potatoes. When they are yellow, they are more like bananas. So, green plantains need to be peeled like potatoes are peeled ... with a peeling knife.
2) I sliced the tostones three different ways: really thin (about 1/8 of an inch), thin and at an angle julienned (about 1/8-1/4 of an inch), slightly thicker and at an angle julienned (1/3 of an inch).
3) Batch 1: These were a little thinner than A Boulder Table's Tostones
I heated about 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan and started with the really thin slices (1/8-inch). I cooked them on medium heat, about 3 minutes per side, until brown. I put on them on paper towels to drain, and sprinkled them with salt while they were still hot.
4) Batch 2: These were a about as thin as A Boulder Table's Tostones
I add a little bit more oil to the pan and added the medium-thin slices (1/8-1/4 inch). I cooked them on medium heat, about 3 minutes per side, until brown. I put on them on paper towels to drain, and sprinkled them with salt while they were still hot.
5) Batch 3: These were the traditional tostones
While cooking batches 1 and 2, I'd soaked the traditional tostones (about 1/3 inch thick) in a bowl of lukewarm salt water. Once batches 1 and 2 were done, I drained these from the water, added a touch more oil to the pan, threw these in, and stood back (water pops on a hot oiled pan--ouch!). I cooked them on medium-low heat, about 4 minutes per side. Once pulled from the heat, I smashed them gently with the flat end of a meat tenderizer. Then, they go back into the hot pan for about 2-3 more minutes per side until golden brown. Again, when done, they go on some paper towels and get a light dusting of salt.

Meaner, Greener, Leaner!
* Okay, generally foods cooked in oils can be higher in fat. But with a touch of patience, I think they can be made a little healthier. How does the patience factor in? I need to have patience to actually allow the pan to heat up a touch before adding the plantains. This allows them to hit the hot pan instead of absorbing oil while the pan heats up. Also, I need to have patience to allow them to drain on the paper towels before eating them all!
* Organic oil, organic oil! I mentioned my love and reasoning to spend the extra $$ on organic oil in my first post.

Here are more pictures from the process.

My neighborhood is full of great padanderias and Latino restaurants. Normally, when I want tostones, I buy them and end up standing at the counter and wait while they cook. But since I was making my own, I picked myself up some nice treats at the panaderia as a snack while they tostones cooked.


All three styles together in one photo!



Batch 1--turned out more like plantain chips--thin, crispy, savory, yumness.



Batch 2 (via A Boulder Table)--good texture and flavor--an awesome & quick tostone recipe!



Batch 3 (traditional tostone recipe I got when visiting Puerto Rico)--delicious, a little more caramelization--a tried and true recipe for night's when I have the energy to cook them the traditional way



Go here www.tasteandcreate.com for more info about Taste & Create.

Check Out These Melons! (Watermelon & Lemon Granita)

Mmm, watermelon. The Hub doesn't like watermelon, so I often find summer watermelons pass me by as I do not want to buy slices of watermelon on those awful Styrofoam grocery store plates wrapped in yards of plastic wrap.

But this year, I found mini-watermelon! How cute! I adore them. I bought two. One to eat plain as is, and one to play with. This is the recipe I came up with. I used the empty halves as bowls. Again, how cute! In the end, the husband dug this dessert and liked watermelon for the first time.

Watermelon & Lemonade Granita
Insanely cold and refreshing. With a texture like snow!


1 small organic watermelon
1 cup lemonade
1/2 a lime

1) Scoop out the watermelon, and pick out the black seeds.
2) Mash the watermelon with a potato masher or fork, or you can use a blender. (If you want really fine-textured granita, strain once you've finished mashing. I like chunks of frozen watermelon, so I did not strain.)
3) Add the lemonade. Squeeze in the juice of half a lime. Mix together.
4) Pour into a shallow metal container, such as a baking dish. Put in the freezer.
5) Check in every half hour or so, and use a fork to scrape into a texture like snow.
6) If you want to, serve in the emptied halves of the mini watermelon. Just be sure to slice off a little of the ends of each half to create a flat area on which the watermelon bowl can sit and stay balanced.

Meaner, Greener, Leaner!
* There's no need for extra added sugar. If you buy a nice organic lemonade, then it will probably be sweetened with agave. If you don't have lemonade, then you can make your own with the juice of one lemon, a two-thirds cup of water, and agave to taste (start with a teaspoon).
* There's no cooking! So the main energy used here is with the freezer.
* It's low in calories with tons of vitamin A and vitamin C. Check out the nutritional analysis of watermelon here.

Here are more pictures from the process.

My lovely green baby...


Nice watermelon flesh, firm but tender. I sliced little coins off the ends so my watermelon bowls would sit still in a balanced way.


Watermelon bowls almost complete!



The mixture after it's been frozen and scraped into granita...



A nice bowl of dessert!



A close-up.

Getting My Lazy Arse Some Dessert: Strawberries & Raw Sugar

Some days are seriously lazy.

Lazier than my old orange hound.

But even on very lazy days, I have a very demanding sweet tooth.

So, if you are having a very lazy day, I recommend getting yourself some strawberries on a plate, along with a little pile of sugar and a dollop of fluffy cream.

Strawberries & Raw Sugar
Self-serve. Easy sweets.


No need for a step-by-step, just some organic strawberries, homemade whipped cream (or store bought), and raw sugar. I also had some pretty pink sugar crystals (leftover cake decorations).

Just pluck yourself a strawberry, dip in the cream, then roll in the sugar. Or mix up the combination: strawberry & sugar, strawberry & just cream, spoonful of cream dipped in sugar!

Pictures from the (eating) process.

This plate mimics the old TV dinner trays, but instead filled with some fresh fruit and extras. Four strawberries for me, and four for my hubby.


A bite, and a bit of both sugars ...


More, more, more!

Maple Syrup & Popcorn Everywhere, and I Want to Eat It All!

Popcorn is in the air.
Maple syrup skies.

It must be something about September. Autumnal thoughts? Because I'm seeing some goo-oo-ood recipes out there for maple syrup and popcorn. (Or maybe after eating all mine, I just want to make some more.) In the last couple days, I found these two great-looking recipes, so I thought I'd share:

Joy the Baker
Maple Bacon Kettle Corn
Yes, bacon. Want some now.

Tinned Tomatoes & Rhubarb and Honey (via a recipe exchange)
Maple Pecan Popcorn (made entirely from maple syrup as a sugar source)


These are just fantastic. :-)

Homemade Maple Syrup & Cognac Caramel Corn

Caramel corn!

Hooray!

I grew up on Cracker Jacks. I love-love-loved those boxes with the surprise inside. I was a child who loved caramel corn growing up in a family who loved caramel corn in a town with a caramel-corn loving history! At one point, my hometown actually had competing caramel corn stores. I thought it was normal to get a bunny sculpted out of caramel corn in my Easter basket. Green hard candy eyes. Red hard candy nose. And a tuft of tail easily broken off and munched on. I really had no idea how unusual that was until I moved to NYC. They can't be ordered online. So now, as a grown adult, once a year, you can find me on Easter Sunday, taking the last Greyhound bus from my hometown back to NYC with a cardboard box full of caramel corn rabbits carefully guarded in my lap.

As luck would have it, when I moved to NYC in 1997, one of the first people I ever met and became friends with also loves caramel corn! Walking along 5th Avenue, window shopping together, you can hear us whisper "Fiddle Faddle comes in toffee flavor" or "Crunch-n-Munch comes with cashews" the way other people in NYC talk about stocks and bonds or Dolce and Gabbana.

Her birthday and my birthday are just days apart. So, this year, I made us a birthday treat I knew we'd both love. (I could have eaten the whole batch alone, in a dark closet, where my husband couldn't find me ... but I didn't. Instead, I shared. My husband got some. My First NYC Friend got some. And sharing was fine. No, it was good. No, seriously, sharing was gooood.)

Homemade Maple Syrup & Cognac Caramel Corn
Just a little bit of maple syrup adds a hint of maple flavor without upsetting the delicate chemical structure of candy that you need for that crisp satisfying crunch.


3-3 1/2 c. popped unsalted organic corn
3/4 c. organic sucanat sugar (unrefined brown sugar)
1/3 c. organic maple syrup
1/4. c. refined white sugar
1/4 c. corn syrup
1 stick of butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
2 T. cognac, or dark beer, or 1 T. vanilla extract
a large bowl of ice water (good advice from Joy the Baker--it's for safety, just in case of sugar burns)

1) Put the popped corn on a baking sheet (cookie sheet or jelly roll pan). Get out two spatulas. Set aside.
2) Combine the sucanat (brown sugar), maple syrup, white sugar, corn syrup, butter, and salt in a pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat
3) Boil for 8 minutes, stirring constantly.
4) Turn the oven on to 250 degrees F.
5) Remove the caramel from heat. Add the baking soda and cognac (or flavoring) to the caramel. If you are using cognac or beer, be sure to keep your head away from the pot as you stir. The alcohol will nearly instantaneously evaporate, and you don't want that alcohol-steam in your eyes!
6) Pour caramel over the popcorn. Toss with the spatulas. Don't worry about coating perfectly.
7) Put the caramel corn in the oven for 1 hour. Toss with the spatulas every 15 minutes.
8) Allow to cool completely. (I lick the spatulas while I wait.) Then, dig in!

Meaner, Greener, Leaner!
* I usually try to avoid corn syrup, but what can you do? Candy requires what candy requires. And when adding a different sugar source, like sucanat or maple syrup, I definitely want the solid and reliable standard crystalline structure of a little corn syrup to be the backbone of the recipe. So, for candy recipes, I compromise. I use whatever alternative sugar sources that I can, but then I'm sure to use some the standard sugar sources so that the candy turns out great in the end.
* Putting the caramel corn in the oven is helpful. It helps the caramel finishing crystallizing nicely (in my opinion), and it coats the corn evenly while keeping the corn crispy. But since the caramel corn will be in there for a while, there's no need to pre-heat the oven. I just turn it on a moment or two before the caramel corn goes in.
* Popcorn, on its own, is a superbly healthy treat. We air pop ours. That means about 32 calories and 1.2 grams of fiber per cup. Not bad! Low in calories, high in fiber. Caramel corn (obviously) has a lot more calories, but it also still has all that healthy fiber. And splitting this batch of caramel corn was a great way to make sure I didn't eat up the whole batch. (Yes, I am a caramel corn addict.) Here's more info about the nutritional value of popcorn.

Here are more pictures from the process.

Excellent treat!


Ready to get started!



Bubble bubble toil and trouble!


A close up ...

Blueberry Streusel Coffeecake

What's better than streusel topping? I can't think of anything. I can eat streusel topping on its own. My husband could bribe me to watch baseball with streusel topping (if he only knew). When I make it for a dessert, I always make a little extra so I can sneakily eat spoonfuls on the sly.

So, it was with great excitement that I saw "Grandma's Blueberry Streusel Coffeecake" on Always Eat on the Good China. First off, she's got several recipes with streusel!!! I like this lady! Second of all, I can always tell when I'm working with a solid, time-tested recipe, because it holds up to my ingredients switcharoos. This recipe is part of the Taste & Create food blog recipe exchange.

Blueberry Streusel Coffeecake
Mouth watering yet?


Cake:
2 cups unbleached organic spelt flour
2/3 cup organic sucanat sugar (unrefined brown sugar)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
grated lemon peel (most, save some for the streusel)
4 T. melted butter
2 organic free-range eggs, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup water
2 cups blueberries

Streusel:
1 cup organic whole wheat flour
3/4 cup sucanat sugar
1/4 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
4-5 T. room-temperature butter
1/4 cup organic oats

1) Begin the cake. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon peel, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
2) Whisk together the eggs, butter, yogurt, water, and vanilla in a second bowl.
3) Then, begin the streusel in a third bowl. In this third bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, oats, and chopped-up pieces of butter. Use a fork or your hands to blend these ingredients together.
4) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
5) Mix together the wet and dry cake ingredients (the first and second bowls). Then, gently fold in the blueberries.
6) Pour the blueberry cake batter into a 9 x 9 pan or an 8 x 11 pan, prepared with coconut oil or butter.
7) Scatter the streusel on top.
8) Bake 35-40 minutes. Check the cake with a toothpicks. If it comes up clear of cake batter, then you're good to go! If not, turn off the oven and leave in for another 10-15 minutes.
9) Serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt, fresh blueberries, and a drizzle of maple syrup!

Meaner, Greener, Leaner!
* I dig non-wheat flours. I don't want all of American agriculture to be cows, pigs, corn, and wheat. I believe my purchase of non-wheat flours, such as spelt, is like a vote in the grocery store. More diversification on the farm field and in our gullet is healthy for everyone all around.
* In addition, spelt is higher in protein than your average flour. A cake with protein in it? Yuh-huh! So, using spelt flour turns a simple carbohydrate cake into a more complex carbohydrate, which my body will take longer to break down. More nutrients and good for stable blood-sugar levels!
* In comparison to standard bleached, white flours and sugars, I have found that spelt flour tends to need/absorb more moisture and sucanut sugar tends to creat more moisture when heated. Together, they are a perfect combination!
* I don't believe in pre-heating the oven before I begin making a multi-step dish. While I want the oven warm before sliding in the cake, I don't want to use all that gas and electricity the *whole* time I'm measuring ingredients. What a waste! So, I pre-heat the oven a few steps before the end of the recipe. Here's a nice and brief article about avoiding pre-heating your oven for a variety of recipes.
* In addition, with stable recipes such as quick-breads and cakes that rely on baking soda and baking powder, I have often tried the approach of turning off the oven and leaving in a nearly-done-but-not-quite baked good for about 10 more minutes. The oven is warm enough to finish cooking the baked goodie. No problemo!


Here are more pictures from the process.

Hello, dry ingredients! I'd like to introduce you to my little friend...


... lemon rind!



... and a few hundred of my little buddies, blueberries!


All set for that recently preheated oven (small mess in the background!).


Good on its own ...


... and with some Greek strained yogurt on top!




Go here www.tasteandcreate.com for more info about Taste & Create.

Pesto Edamame Salad: Husband-Approved Salad #2

I played a little word association game with The Husband today. It went something like this:

Me: Giants .................... Hub: Jets
Me: coffee ..................... Hub: more
Me: cat .......................... Hub: dog
Me: vegetables .............. Hub: minerals
Me: eating vegetables ... Hub: puking up vegetables

Well, if that doesn't just say it all!

So I'm continuing with my personal challenge of coming up with 50 HUSBAND SALADS! We're onto HUSBAND-APPROVED SALAD #2!

Pesto Edamame Salad
I'd recently made a pesto penne with chicken and edamame, which we both really loved. So, I decided to adapt that recipe into a salad. I served the salad with some goat cheese. But this would also be good with thin slices of parmesan, toasted walnuts or pine nuts, or tossed with salad greens. We had it as a side to a salmon entree for a lovely dinner.


1 bag of shelled non-GMO edamame
2 medium-large organic green bell peppers
1 large organic shallot
a handful of heirloom cherry tomatoes
1 organic lemon
a bundle of fresh basil (fully washed of all the dirt and grit)
1 T. organic olive oil
1 tsp. garlic chili sauce
salt and pepper

1) Follow the directions on the edamame bag to cook the soy beans. Then cool.
2) Finely chop the green bell peppers, shallot, and tomatoes. Add to the bowl of soy beans.
3) Rip the basil leaves by hand. Add to the bowl of veggies.
4) Now, time to season! Pour the olive oil onto the veggies. Squeeze the juice from the lemon over the veggies. Add the chili peppers, salt, and pepper. Toss together.

Meaner, Greener, Leaner!
* My husband dislikes most vegetables, but he loves lima beans, kidney beans, and such. Edamame is wonderful for anyone who likes beans, as it offers a fairly familiar texture and flavor, but a much better nutritional balance. Edamame has tons of protein, vitamin C, iron, calcium, and fiber, and they're low in calories. Check out the nutritional breakdown edamame for more info.
* By making my own simple salad dressing with olive oil, lemon juice, and seasoning, we avoid trans fats and unnecessary corn syrup that are common with store-bought bottles of salad dressing.
* I like to buy non-GMO edamame. If you ever watched Food, Inc., then you remember the whole section about Monsanto's control over GMO soybeans. Big Brother. Disgusting corporate behavior. For more info, here's an article from Ecosalon, and another article about Monsanto suing farmers for saving seeds from Organicconsumers.

Here are more pictures from the process.

Freshly cooked edamame. Que adorable!


Why hello there, Mr. and Mrs. Green Pepper, fresh from the bath!


The pale lavender veins in shallots are gorgeous to look at up close. Lovely enough for a tattoo ... hmmm.