Curried Cucumbers

 A move to a new kitchen (and accompanying new kitchenware) had to sponsor a feast of epic "moving-in day" proportions. Although this feast took place about 5 days after the actual move, it was a great way to break in (sometimes literally) the new appliances and flatware. Because karma is kind, my new roommate has a penchant for buying produce at the weekly farmer's market. She brought home the most beautiful cucumbers, fortunate as the New York Times had just devoted an entire section to the vegetable (well, actually fruit, but let's not be silly). I had never thought to "curry" cucumbers before but it was a great late summer side dish. The NY Times recommended using about 1 teaspoon of curry powder which I thought to be absolutely ridiculous. I used at least 5 and still thought it could have used more. Of course, it's entirely up to taste, but I say the more curry the better.

Ingredients

4 medium cucumbers, peeled if waxed, or 2 European cucumbers

1 tablespoon canola oil or extra virgin olive oil

1 small onion, cut in half lengthwise, then sliced across the grain

Salt and freshly ground pepper

5+ teaspoons curry powder (more to taste)

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives or cilantro

Preparation

1. If using regular cucumbers, cut in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Slice on the diagonal about 1/4 inch thick. If using long European cucumbers, peel, if desired, and slice on the diagonal about 1/4 inch thick.

2. Heat the oil in a large lidded skillet or saucepan over medium heat, and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, about five minutes. Add a pinch of salt and the curry powder, and stir together for another minute. Add the cucumber, and cook, stirring, for three minutes. Stir in the wine, and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer 15 minutes. Uncover, raise the heat and cook until the liquid evaporates. Season to taste with salt, remove from the heat and stir in the chives and cilantro. Serve hot, at room temperature or cold.

Yield: Serves four to six.

Advance preparation: You can make these several hours before serving and reheat.

Rhubarb Crisp/Crumble

Despite all this avowed loyalty to the southwestern lands of the US, I am and always will be a midwesterner at heart. Living in Michigan during my "formative years", I was able to experience the joys of a garden that, in the summer time, bestowed all kinds of delicious fruit and vegetables. Although I was more than on board with picking and eating the berries or snap peas directly from my mother's well-tended garden, I was always wary of the large celery-type looking thing that was rhubarb. It didn't help matters that my mother had warned me off the stuff by saying that the leaves were poisonous.
Why would anyone eat such a thing?

She would attempt to incorporate it into various summer pies or cobblers, but my mind was resolutely made up that no quasi-posionous foot item that so resembled a vegetable could possibly be delicious.

This opinion stuck with until my move to England, where I found it incorporated into all number of desserts, usually served with custard or cream. And thus only recently did I discover the joys of fresh summer rhubarb, made better still by combining it with sugar, rolled oats, and cinnamon. The crumble or crisp being one of my favorite desserts, when Bittman came up with this easy beauty of a rhurbarb crumble, I couldn't pass it up. Although it was in season when I made this, I still worried that my "Tesco-sourced" rhubarb would be too tart for the scant amount of sugar that Bittman includes with the recipe. So I upped it by about 1/4 cup.
Tell me adding sugar to anything is wrong.
Go ahead, tell me.

Rhubarb Crisp/Crumble

Time: About 1 hour, largely unattended

Ingredients

6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for greasing the pan

2 1/2 to 3 pounds rhubarb, trimmed, tough strings removed, and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces (about 5 to 6 cups)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon orange or lemon juice
1 teaspoon orange or lemon zest
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, or to taste
Pinch salt
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup pecans.

Preparation

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease an 8- or 9-inch square baking or gratin dish with a little butter. Toss rhubarb with white sugar, orange or lemon juice and zest, and spread in baking dish.
2. Put the 6 tablespoons butter in a food processor along with brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt, and pulse for about 20 or 30 seconds, until it looks like small peas and just begins to clump together. Add oats and pecans and pulse just a few times to combine.
3. Crumble the topping over rhubarb and bake until golden and beginning to brown, 45 to 50 minutes.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

Coconut Cookies: Two Ways!

A friend of mine had a birthday recently and she is helplessly addicted to coconut. While I had originally planned to make coconut macaroons for her, I discovered only too late that what I thought was shredded coconut in my pantry (the ingredient called for by the recipe) was instead powdered coconut "cream". I was a bit worried but curious how it would turn out if I used it instead.
Lo and behold it worked like a charm!
And then, in a mood of particular curiosity and wanting to use up all other coconut products I had lying around (as you do...) I used dried coconut milk as a substitute ingredient for the next batch which came out as an entirely different cookie and consistency. But just as delicious! The powdered coconut milk kept the cookie moist in the middle but still retained a firm shape and coconut flavor. These are great recipes if you only want a few cookies and not an entire tray full. Enjoy!

Coconut Macaroons (Amended)

Ingredients

1 egg white
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp almond extract
3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut (or, in my case, powdered coconut "cream")


Preparation

Stir together all ingredients except for the coconut in a large bowl. When combined, slowly add the coconut while stirring. Divide into fourths and drop onto a baking sheet lined with foil, buttered and floured. Baked for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes:  4 cookies

Coconut Milk Cookies


Ingredients

1 egg white
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 cup "powdered coconut milk" (I used the brand Maggi)

Preparation

Stir together all ingredients except for the coconut in a large bowl. When combined, slowly add the coconut while stirring. Divide into fourths and drop onto a baking sheet lined with foil, buttered and floured. Baked for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes: 4 cookies

Pork Tamales

Well, we've crossed another marker in the Mexican food exploits of UK living. Pork tamales. This is something I've wanted to make for years. But if I've moaned about sourcing ingredients before, try finding dried corn husks in the UK. This was a necessary Arizonan import. Intent on my goal, I brought a bag back with me last time I visited home, where a bag of about 50 are on sale for less than $1. Because honestly. They're corn husks.

Tamales are the ubiquitous Mexican New Year's Eve food. Usually complemented with red and/or green salsa, most families will gather around a large bowl of masa and set up an assembly line for making them. The trick is to get the balance between the filling (pork in this case) and masa just right. You set grandma up with making the masa, Mom gets working on the pork (or whatever filling) and then everyone grabs a corn husk and starts making these little parcels of deliciousness. Pork is traditional, but you can even make dessert tamales by stuffing the masa with chocolate, dried fruit, or really whatever your heart desires. You will need a steamer for these guys and about a day free for cooking. The recipe I used (from this website) actually advised spending two days on the project. Now I can justify a day of cooking as thesis procrastination, but even I have to draw the line at two. I started cooking the meat in the morning and it was falling apart (perfect tamales consistency) by 3 or 4 in the afternoon. The masa took minutes to make. So worry not, delicious tamales can be yours in less than 24 hours.

Ingredients

2 pounds pork lean steak (fat trimmed and cut into 2'' cubes)
1 onion, thickly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
1/4 cup chili powder (I used a blend of ancho and achiote, very smoky and not too hot)
salt and pepper to taste
3 tbsp cumin
4 cups masa harina (dried masa for tortillas)
1 cup lard (or vegetable shortening but good luck finding it!)
corn husks

Preparation

Cook the pork in a large pot of water (or in a slow-cooker filled with water) with an onion, 2 garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon of chili powder, salt and pepper. Cook for the day, 4 hours minimum.

After the meat is cooked (so that it falls apart and shreds easily), remove from pot, set aside to cool, and puree the onion and garlic with the broth. Season broth mixture to taste with chili powder and salt.

Shred meat finely with two forks (you can even chop it after shredding), and store covered in refrigerator separately from broth.

Soak your corn husks in a bowl of boiling hot water for about 30 minutes or until they are soft and pliant.

Season shredded meat with chili powder, salt, and cumin (optional) to taste. As you season the meat, add a small amount of broth to moisten meat, but it should not be runny.

For every 2 cups of masa harina (meal), add ½ cup of shortening or lard, 1tsp. of salt, and enough chili powder to make a pink dough. Add broth mixture a little at a time to masa and mix with your hands to get a smooth, spreadable consistency. If you run out of broth, you can use hot water, but you will wish you had plenty of broth.

Assemble the tamales: spread masa about 1/8 inch thick on corn husk with fingers, leaving about ½ inch border along the sides and 2 inch border along the top and bottom of husk. Use about 2 Tbsp. of shredded meat to fill the tamal (like a cigar). Fold sides until they just overlap, fold narrow end under, and place tamal folded side down.

To keep the corn husk in place, I recommend making small strips of one corn husk, using each strip to tie a "belt" around each corn husk.

To cook, place about 1/2'' of water at the bottom of your steamer, allow the water to come to a boil and then reduce to a nice simmer. Place the tamales in the steamer so that they just overlap with each other (but don't crowd them!) and then steam for 15 minutes or until masa is no longer sticky.

Serves: about 8-10

Courgettes (Zucchini) with cheese and green chilies

I will not even deign to comment on the whole zucchini/courgette name debate but suffice it to say I was looking for a veggie side dish that was at least pseudo-Mexican and this one fit the bill. Delicious, but feel free to decrease the amount of cream cheese you put in.
Consider it dependent on your adherence to the credo that veggie side dishes should retain at least some nutritional value.

Ingredients

2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tomatoes
1/3 cup drained pickled jalapeno chili slices, chopped
1 1/4 lb (500g) courgettes (zucchini)
1/2 cup (115g) cream cheese
salt and ground black pepper

Preparation

Heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the onion, garlic, and oregano. Fry for 3-4 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent.

Cut a cross in the base of each tomato. Place in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave in the water for 3 minutes, then lift out on a slotted spoon and plunge into a bowl of cold water. Drain. The skins will have begun to peel back from the crosses. Remove the skins and cut the tomatoes in half and squeeze out the seeds. Chop the flesh into strips.

Top and tail the courgettes, then cut them lengthways into 1/2 inch wide strips. Slice the strips into matchsticks.

Stir the courgettes into the onion mixture and fry for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until just tender. Add the tomatoes and chopped jalapenos and cook for 2-3 minutes more.

Add the cream cheese. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting. As the cheese melts, stir gently to coat the courgettes. Season with salt, pile into a heated dish and serve.

Serves 6 as a side dish