Tempura

Tempura

I recently discovered how easy it is to make tempura when researching how to fry pumpkin blossoms (link to that post

I am new to frying, so rest assured; if I can do it, you can too. I will explain the tempura batter and then given tips on frying the various foods mentioned above.

Ingredients (tempura batter):

• 1 egg
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup cold water (I use refrigerated water)

That's it. Amazingly simple. I have also made a quick version that is 1:1 flour and cold water (great for frying only a couple items)

Procedure:

1. Preheat oil in wok or pan to 340ºF to 360ºF. Doing this first helps keep the batter cold which is critical.
2. Prepare foods to be fried. Clean and shell shrimp. Cut vegetables into strips (do not precook)
3. Mix tempura ingredients together (do not overmix! Multiple sources said that the batter should be lumpy). I use chop sticks for this step.
4. Dip item in batter, coating both sides, and allow excess batter to trip off.
5. Put item into hot oil (be careful not to splash hot oil)
6. Cook item until golden brown. ~2-4 minutes for vegetables (until soft). ~3+ minutes for shrimp (until fully pink). ~5 minutes per side for mahi Mahi (until fully cooked)
7. Remove from oil and place on a paper towel lined plate
8. Enjoy (best enjoyed hot or warm)

That's it. Like I said, it is super easy and delicious.

Fried Pumpkin Blossoms

Fried Pumpkin Blossoms

The idea of fried pumpkin blossoms may seem strange to the uninitiated, but these tasty little frites are simple to make. Mine were from a mini pumpkin plant, but any pumpkin, squash, or zucchini flower should be suitable. My plant's flowers only last a day, so each morning I wake up to new pumpkin flowers to fry.

Don't worry if you are new to frying, these edible delights were my first foray into frying. I used a modified tempura batter to be light and crisp like the flowers rather than drowning them in batter.

Ingredients:

• Pumpkin flowers
• Frying batter (1:1 cold water and flour. You can add more cold water. Batter should be more of a liquid than a paste. Thankfully, it does not have to be an exact ratio)
• Oil (for frying)

Procedure:

1. Wash the flowers and cut out the center of the flower (stamen) which is covered in pollen (see Figure 1).
2. Heat oil to about 350ºF/177ºC.
3. Mix batter ingredients in a small bowl.
4. Dip flowers into batter and place them in the hot oil. Allow to cook until browned on the edges.
5. Remove, cool, salt to taste, and enjoy (see Figure 2).

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Pumpkin Roll

Pumpkin Roll

Pumpkin roll is a class autumn dessert. I first learned this recipe from some Amish folks I met in my travels, and I will now pass it on to you dear traveler of the internets. Just promise me that every fall you will share this delicacy with friends and family.

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

Roll

• 1 C pumpkin puree
• 3 eggs, beaten at high speed (5 minutes)
• 1 C sugar
• 0.75 C flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 0.5 tsp ginger
• 0.5 tsp salt

Filling

• 1 C confectioner's sugar
• 0.25 C butter
• 8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Equipment:

• Large bowl
• 2 Medium bowls
• Hand mixer/stand mixer
• Jellyroll pan
• Wax paper
• Clean towel 
• Oven

Procedure:

• Preheat oven to 375ºF
• Beat eggs at high speed for 5 minutes
• Add pumpkin and sugar to beaten eggs
• Sift and mix dry ingredients (see Figure 1.)
• Add dry ingredients gradually to pumpkin mix
• Pour into a wax paper lined jellyroll pan
• Bake until golden brown (approximately 15 minutes) (see Figure 2.)
• Place on a damp clean towel sprinkled with confectioner's sugar and roll up (see Figure 3.)
• Cool for one hour (see Figure 4.)
• Make filling by beating together the filling ingredients (see Figure 5.)
• Unroll, add filling, re-roll (see Figure 6.)
• Enjoy (see Figure 7)

Figure 1. The dry ingredients

Figure 2.a Golden brown achieved

Figure 2.b Golden brown

Figure 3. Place on a damp clean towel sprinkled with confectioner's sugar 

Figure 4. Cool for one hour

Figure 5. Make filling while the roll cools

Figure 6. Add frosting and re-roll

Figure 7. Enjoy

Mojito Infusion Recipe

Mojito Infusion Recipe

I have been toying with creating various teas and infusions (also known as herbal tea, it is "tea" made without any part of the tea plant). In this case, it was opportunity, not necessity, which drove innovation. I like growing my own herbs, and mint is one of my favorites. Click here for my mint infusion recipe. I wanted to try another variation using mint; I also found myself with access to a large amount of limes (don't let the above photo fool you, this is a lime that I just zested. I grew up with a Bearss sweet lime tree, which produces yellow limes, in my parents' backyard. Teachers at school never believed me when I said that limes were yellow.

The combination of mint and lime made me think of mojitos. I can't say from experience what a mojito tastes like, but it should be mint, lime, and rum.

Recipe, trial 1:

• 1/2 teaspoon fresh lime zest
• 1/2 teaspoon dried mint leaves
• Steep in a 2 cup tea pot for five minutes
• Add sugar to taste

Observations:

The infusion was good, but a little weak. Variables to explore in future trials: increasing to 1 teaspoon lime zest and mint leaves, dried lime zest instead of fresh.

This was just the first step, and with a bunch of dried mint leaves and frig drawer full of limes, I will be experimenting with recipes and ratios.

Homemade Sugar Cubes

There is something fun about sugar in cube/lump/morsel form. They also provide a convenient unit for sweetening tea and other drinks. But commercial sugar cubes are  expensive. This drove me to plumb the depths of the internets (a quick google search) to find an alchemic method of conjuring sugar cubes at home.

The incantation recipe which looked most promising came from Marcia Simmons at this food blog (to be clear, I have no affiliation with this blogger or blog, but I like to cite my sources).

Ingredients:

1. 1/4 C granulated sugar
2. 1/2 tsp water

Proceedure:

• Mix 1/2 teaspoon water into 1/4 cup sugar (should be a moist dough, see figure 1)
• Press into shape using hands or molds (see figures 2-5)
• Allow to dry overnight (8ish hours)

I made several batches of the above ingredient ration (probably about 1.5 cups sugar). I tried four different ways of shaping my trial 1 sugar cubes:

1. half teaspoon (figure 2)
2. hand (figure 3)
3. filling a loaf pan and then dividing into cubes (figure 4)
4. ice cube tray (figure 5)

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

 Figure 3.

 Figure 4.

 Figure 5. I don't own any normal ice cube trays, so I used my Titanic and iceberg tray

Results and Observations:

Results

The sugar cubes shaped with the half teaspoon and by hand hardened perfectly. I am very excited to achieve such success. 

The sugar cubes in the loaf pan also hardened, but a few crumbled during extraction. Sadly, the sugar cube Titanic and iceberg crumbled completely. This is thought to result from the mold slowing the rate the sugar cubes dry. Further testing with longer drying times is needed to sink a sugar Titanic into my cuppa.

Homemade Christmas Tea

Introduction:
Now that we are living in California again, there is no Christmas market for us to visit this Advent season. One of our favorite things at the Grenoble Christmas market was the thé du Noël (Christmas tea). The absence of Christmas tea has driven me to scour the internet for recipes. Most American "traditional" recipes included "orange drink mix" as the base ingredient. That is not traditional or acceptable. The recipe I settled on comes from a French blogger (post here). I have translated her recipe to the best of my ability, and have modified it only by the omission of cloves which I do not prefer.

Ingredients:

• 100 grams black tea (unflavored)
• 1 orange
• 1 lemon
• 1 tsp vanilla powder (not liquid extract)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 210 deg F
2. Wash, dry, and peel orange and lemon into long strips using a potato peeler (be sure to only get the zest and none of the white, which is very bitter)
3. Cut peel into small even squares
4. Place peel evenly on a parchment lined baking sheet
5. Bake peel for 1 hour
6. Mix dry ingredients together and add dried peel once baked.
7. Boil water and steep like normal black tea (1 tsp tea/cup, steep 5 mins)
8. Store in a metal tin for longevity
9. Enjoy!

Results and Observations:
C'était bon ! (It was delicious!). The tea turned out very well. This tea can be enjoyed as is without further modification.

However, what fun would this be without a little experimentation? The citrus flavors were not very pronounced, so I think I will try increasing that. The vanilla was also not very strong (but a critical background flavor?), so I may try omitting it in the future (also, vanilla powder is somewhat pricey)

Cold Brew Coffee Trial 1.

Introduction:
Everyone loves coffee and one of the current coffee trends is "cold brew". This cool manifestation of coffee requires little equipment or technique to create. With a little experimentation, I hope perfect the recipe and procedure.


Ingredients and Materials:
1 cup whole coffee beans
4.5 cups of filtered water (eliminates tapwater taste variables)
Coffee grinder
Brewing vessel
Airtight storage vessel 

Procedure:

• Course grind coffee beans (should appear courser than sand)
• Add grounds and filtered water to brewing vessel (see figure 1.)
• Store brewing vessel at room temperature for more than 12 hours but less than 15 hours (variable for future experimentation)
• Pour cold brew from brewing vessel through a fine sieve into the airtight storage vessel (see figure 2.1 and 2.2)
• Seal cold brew in airtight storage vessel (see figure 3) and store until drinking (store in the refrigerator for increased temperature reduction)
• Drink and enjoy (I am enjoying my first glass of cold brew as I write this post)

Results and Observations:

The coffee has strong flavor (stronger than hot brewed coffee which has been forgotten and allowed to cool down) and lacks some of the acidic taste. These findings are consistent with reports about cold brew. Further testing is needed/desired

Figure 1.

Figure 2.1

Figure 2.2

Figure 3