Kitchen Tip: Serve the Perfect Avocado

 

The photo above was taken at the absolute peak of this avocado's flavor. I am convinced that many who loathe avocado have not had the pleasure of consuming an avocado at its peak. If they had, they would adore avocado and seek it out regularly. 

Nutty, buttery, and just at the right texture: not too firm but not too soft. Easy to peel, no avocado stuck to the skin, and no skin adhering to the avocado (as it sometimes does. The inside of the skin will stick & you have to scrape it off to get to the green goodness. Well, you can leave it on, but I wouldn't recommend it.) I'll take a picture the next time it happens and add it to this blog entry. 

No blemishes on this beauty though - none inside or outside. Just avocado perfection. 

I finally learned my lesson about these some years back. When you shop for them, you will either find them completely unripe and hard as a rock, or mush. Sometimes you get lucky and find an "in between," but even then there's no guarantee it will be acceptable. 

So never mind the "in between," unless you have a grocery store you know you can trust. Buy them when they are completely unripe, and allow them to ripen at home. One or two days on the counter, then when they start to get slightly soft (just barely yielding to finger pressure), pop them in the fridge to finish. 

If you are planning to make guacamole or some other dish for a party, you have to plan ahead so they are at their peak, or at least near it. It is worth the extra effort though. Absolutely. 

Here in South Central Texas, they will ripen in 2-3 days; sometimes 3-4, depending on the time of year. Once you do some personal testing, you will find your own "sweet spot." 

I found out about "The Avocado Guy" in New York City a few months ago. He gets it! So much so that he has turned it into a business. Every city should have an avocado guy like this. Lucky, lucky, lucky! 

Here is his story. Video is almost 11 minutes, and worth the watch for sure!

The Avocado Guy

A Banana Story: The Bananas That Drove Me Bananas

 Going Bananas

I have to share this banana story, because these were the best store-bought bananas I ever had. I bought them right around the time of the "Big Freeze" in Texas. I can't recall now if it was just before or just after, but when I bought them, the store only had green bananas available. I purchased a bunch that had 6 bananas, grown in Ecuador. I don't recall which company logo was on the sticker. (Dole and Chiquita  are pretty common here.)  

 

I assume the green bananas will not be a problem because they ripen so quickly anyway, thanks to human intervention. Well, someone was asleep at the switch for this shipment, and it yielded some wonderful results. 

The bananas I bought were hung on the banana hook on the counter. They hung there for a week, with no obvious change. So we bought some more bananas, and placed them near the green bananas to see if it would help. 

We finished the newer banana bunch, but the green bananas were still green. So the green bananas were moved into a paper bag and the bag was kept closed. 

Time passed. More bananas were purchased. There were daily checks on the green bananas. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Still green. 

The next time we bought a bunch, we put one of the bananas inside the bag with the green bananas. The newer banana ripened. The green bananas did not. 

Okay. 

I was ready to give up. I started wondering if the bananas would be any good at all even if they did ripen, or if they were just going to rot without ripening. 

Finally, over 3 weeks into this little banana adventure, they started to change color. A couple of them started to show signs of ripening. 

They didn't ripen all at once. They ripened one by one for the most part. I ate the first one that was ripe and it was simply delicious. It had a nice texture, a bit heavier than the usual banana. The flavor was more concentrated too. It was divine! 

The very last green banana (visible in the pic above) ripened over a month after the bunch was purchased. 

So...Wow! I wish this would happen more often. 

Bananas are harvested when they are still green, then dosed with ethylene gas once they reach their destination. Organic bananas are supposed to be exempt from this treatment, but I call BS on that because they ripen just as fast as "regular" bananas. Have I considered that they might pick them after they start to turn and are using a faster shipping method? Yes. I think they would cost a lot more if that was the case. There's not a huge difference in price between regular and organic. Anyway, if you know of a grocer who sources their bananas from a smaller banana trader that doesn't use ethylene gas, instead of one of the huge international companies...do tell! 

We used to have a grove of banana trees, but someone got a wild hair one day and cut all of them down (and dug up the rest). I don't know the specifics anymore, but I do miss the trees, because at least we'd have homegrown bananas from time to time. Looks like it's time to find some again. 

If you're interested, this link to the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has some interesting banana facts & figures. 

Unaltered Photo of Men Hauling Bananas With a Bike in Uganda
Emesik, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Hummingbird Cake - Taste the Fruity Fusion

 Who loves Hummingbird Cake? 

I remember that this particular cake made a lot of appearances in many different places when I was growing up. I remember that it would show up at the county fair when we worked at the "Chuckwagon Cafe," (operated at that time by Jody Mazac). People would bring cakes in and we'd slice them up and put them in the cake safe to sell during the day. So I would have a piece now and again. Cake sampling! Perks of that job were great! Giant vats of "old timey" bbq sauce made by Eddie Lux's parents (the kind almost everyone used to make that's so hard to find now, unless you make it); Sausage (they usually boiled it, but the brisket was totally legit...and delicious!); steam table with side orders; loaves and loves of bread to soak up that great sauce; BBQ sandwiches...it was a great place to be during the fair, even with all of the clean up when the day was done. We worked really long hours, 6am through 8 or 9pm, but it was temporary, so it was easy to recover once the fair was over. 

This cake was also a frequent visitor at potlucks. My grandma used to make it now and then too. I've even made it at least a couple of times. So...great cake! But...sugar overload!! Even back in the day when calories weren't an issue, it was still too sweet. 

So this time, I made a tweaked version, and baked it in a 9x13 pan because it needed to travel out of town. You can totally get away with omitting some sugar in a cake. It is great for crumb structure, but there's no need to go overboard. I also omitted a great deal of the oil that's called for in the recipe. Guess what? It was still wonderfully moist. I'm posting the recipe now before I forget. And please do make note of the frosting recipe. I tweaked that too, and it was totally bomb! 

Hummingbird Cake

Ingredients: 

3 cups AP flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar (I prefer Zulka, it's minimally processed & no bone char is used)

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 tsp. Kosher salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 pinch of nutmeg

3 large eggs (at room temperature), beaten

3/4 cup light olive oil (coconut or vegetable oil will also work)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. rum (optional)

1 8 oz. can of crushed pineapple with juice

2 cups chopped ripe bananas 

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted (but toasting is optional)

Method: 

(You can use a mixer, but it's not necessary. I used a Danish whisk, but a regular whisk would work fine too.)

Set oven to 350° & coat 9x13 pan with cooking spray. 

1. Sift flour into mixing bowl. Add sugars, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix well. 

2. Add the oil to your beaten eggs & mix until incorporated, then add to flour mixer & mix until just combined. (Don't worry if it seems thick, the pineapple & its juice will take care of that.)

3. Add crushed pineapple & juice; vanilla; and rum. Mix until incorporated. 

4. Fold in bananas & nuts. 

5. Pour into prepared 9x13 pan. 

6. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes. If you bake a lot, you know your oven, so adjust as necessary. Test middle with toothpick or thin knife after about 25 minutes. If it comes out clean, take out the cake. Also check to see if cake has pulled away from the sides. That's another good "tell." 

7. Let cool completely before frosting. 

8. Garnish  with additional toasted nuts, if desired. 

You can also use this recipe for 3 9" layers or even cupcakes, if you prefer. 25 to 30 minutes for the layers, 15-18 minutes for cupcakes. 

Totally Bomb Frosting Recipe! 💣

Ingredients:

12 oz. white chocolate chips (I actually used Ghirardelli baking chips in this recipe. The bag is 11 oz. and they do not contain any cocoa butter, but they will still work. If you can find chips with actual cocoa butter in them in your area, well...even better.)

4 oz. heavy cream

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. rum

2 Tbsps. unsalted butter, cubed

1 8 oz. package of cream cheese, room temperature (the brick kind, not the whipped version)

Method:

1. Make ganache. (You can use a bain marie if you like. I made this one using a 1200w microwave.)

2. Pour cream into microwave-safe bowl. Heat for 30-45 seconds. 

3. Add chips to bowl & stir a bit, then set aside for a few minutes. After the wait, continue mixing. Microwave another 10 seconds if necessary to make sure chips are melting. If it seems grainy, add more cream in small increments until it is smooth (you might need to hit it once of twice more with the microwave). 

4. Once the chips are completely melted and starting to look glossy, add in the butter a couple of cubes at a time & stir until well incorporated. It's okay to place in microwave for 10 seconds if needed. 

5. Add vanilla & rum & stir until well combined. 

6. Place a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the ganache & put it in the refrigerator until completely cooled. It's fine if it hardened. I actually did mine the night before I made the frosting, but overnight refrigeration isn't necessary.  

7. Take the ganache out of the fridge & let rest on countertop for 30 minutes to an hour. 

8. Using a spoon, stir the ganache & scrape the sides to make it easier for the mixer. If you have a stand mixer, just scrape it into the stand mixer's bowl. 

9. Whip the ganache until light & fluffy. Add cream cheese in 3 portions, whipping well after each.

10. Try not to eat it all before you get it on the cake. 😆

Just One More Thing...

*Some like to use a 50/50 ratio for ganache when making whipped ganache. That's fine if you're planning to use it to pour ganache on a dessert, or to use for dipping other yummy things like cream puffs, but stick to 1:3 for this ganache. (1 part cream, 3 parts chocolate.) This way you won't have to add anything else in to thicken the ganache, like powdered sugar. This version was smooth, creamy, and divine! I didn't try to use it for piping since I was making a 9x13, so I can't speak to that. I will do a test on that in the future.  

Shout-Out to Zulka! Keep Rockin' It! 

Blueberry Hemp Cake-Part I

This experiment is part 1 of "The Blueberry Cake Series." The cake in part one is dense...more like a pound cake in texture. The batter contained blueberry preserves, about a cup of frozen blueberries and hemp seeds. The icing was made with cream cheese, chopped dried blueberries and toasted hemp seeds. It was good, not too sweet (even though the preserves were insanely sweet). It got good reviews from the "taste testers." ;)

The next test will be as soon as possible. Since it's "busy time" in the garden, I'm not sure of an exact date but here are a couple of ideas I've been tossing around:

1.  A blueberry torte...with a sponge made of dried blueberries and hemp seeds...filled with blueberry mousse. (And maybe a cream cheese mousse...I'm not sure yet.
2. A blueberry angel food cake
3. A chiffon cake with blueberries

We shall see. It's always an adventure in Dr. Frazier-stein's kitchen laboratory. Ha! :)

Blueberry Hemp Cake

Blueberry Hemp Cake-An Inside Look

Blueberry Cookies

Blueberry Cookies

Blueberry Frosting

Garnished with Dried Blueberries

Need I say more? 

Dr. Frazier-stein's experiment was a success! It's alive...........ALIVE!! <<<(Pop-culture reference for horror movie fans.)

Click HERE for this yummy recipe! 

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Blueberry Cookies

When Life Hands You Lemons....

 Make Candied Lemon Slices! WOO-HOO!!! 

Peaches 'n' Cream Pie

I love it in the laboratory and this pie was cobbled together on the fly with leftover dough and leftover pastry cream. I guess it should have been a cobbler instead, ha ha ha!

I didn't have quite enough dough to make a fancy, fluted crust for the edges so I studded the crust with some ground pecans. It didn't need a long baking time so the pecans were perfectly safe without one of those crust protectors.

The peaches were organic frozen peaches poached in organic peach preserves + their own juices. No other sugar was needed. Trust me on this! This particlar jar of peach preserves is very lovely but the preserves are so sweet they knock you right on your butt! We've been searching for alternative uses for these insanely sweet preserves besides using them for glazing fruit. I even added some to the leftover pastry cream (mixing well).

So I guess this is a "Frankenstein" pie...but we'll call it a "Frazier-stein" pie. Because...well, why not? Making things fun in the kitchen always brings great results! I know that there are people who are nervous in the kitchen and afraid of messing up but you just have to relax and have fun. Get in "THE ZONE." That's when you'll kick some serious butt! :)

Peaches-n-Cream Pie

Nan and Her Czech Plum Dumplings

My Czech grandmother (we all called her Nan), used to make plum dumplings. She called them "Siskas," which she pronounced as "Sheesh-kaz." I haven't been able to find this name and this recipe together on the internet. Czech websites call them, "'Svestkove Knedliky." Is her word how you pronounce, "Svestkove?" I don't know. 


I do know that she often had nicknames for things, (which reminds me a lot of me), but her nicknames were in Czech, lol. 


My Mom and I have been dying to make some plum dumplings. We remember Nan's recipe. I also did a search on the internet to see if I could find similarities to her recipe. Most of the Czech recipes call for bread crumbs (to be fried in butter before the cooked dumplings are added).

Nan never used bread crumbs when she made her recipe. She would either use cinnamon, sugar and butter or the same combination with a little cottage cheese thrown in. Then you tossed the cooked dumplings in the mixture. 


This recipe is really, really, really good. As soon as we find some proper plums, it is a definite, "Go!" I'm not sure if we'll be able to find them locally. The plums Nan used were a smaller variety. They used to carry them at the local grocery store because there were so many Czech and German families in the area. Now, not so much. So it may take some footwork to find the right dumplings. Regular plums can be used, but you have to cut them up, rather than using the whole plum. 


You never knew what you might walk into when you walked into Nan's kitchen, but whether it was fresh kolache, streudel, or plum dumplings, it was always a nice surprise! 

If you've ever experienced this fabulous plum dumplings recipe, please drop me a line. 


As always, Happy Eating! :)