Fresh Young Coconut

Even if craving fresh young coconut makes me sound like a cougar, I can't resist the tender, creamy flesh...the cool, sweet juice...mmmm...ooooh baby.

To "pick up" one, check the base of the coconut. It should be clear of dark spots and green mold. It should also feel pretty heavy. A good price is under $1.

I use a Chinese cleaver to crack these babies open although I know Whole Foods offer a free coconut cracking service. I don't know the most efficient way, but for me the trick is to imagine a circle you'd like to cut and aiming the bottom corner of the blade, use decisive, steady blows. Don't whack carelessly. Focus and conserve your energy. You know you're not concentrating your energy if it takes more than 20 blows. Oh! And don't forget to peel any plastic or stickers off of it before you start otherwise, you'll the knife might drag that trash into your coconut when you start working into it.

Grab a spoon and a straw, mama. He's ready.

ATK Pan-Seared Steaks

 

You can prepare a sauce with the browned bits in the pan but this recipe is amazing in all its glorious simplicity.

In general, you can facilitate a well-caramelized exterior and crust by doing the following:

1. Pat the steaks dry

2. Get the pan really hot (you can tell it is hot by the smoking oil)

3. Use a pan that is big enough so the steaks have enough room to sear

Boneless beef steak (8 ounces) 1 to 1 1/4" thick, trimmed--I used a rib eye steak

Salt and pepper

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

Pat and dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a 12" skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown the steaks on the first side, about 4 minutes.

Flip the steaks over and continue to cook to desired doneness, 4-6 minutes. Transfer the steaks to a clean plate, tent with foil, and let rest for 5 minutes.

Serves 1, from America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Playing with food

Dragon Fruit

This was my first time attempting dragon fruit at home. Cross between a kiwi and pear with crunchy black sesame looking seeds on the inside. I should have done some research on how to cut it and how to pick it, as from this site:

Look for bright, even-colored skin. If the fruit has a lot of blotches, it may be over-ripe (a few is normal). Another sign of over-ripe dragon fruit is a very dry, brittle brown stem, or brown on the tips of the "leaves".

Hold the dragon fruit in your palm and try pressing the skin with your thumb or fingers - it should give a little, but shouldn't be too soft or mushy. If it's very firm, it will need to ripen for a few days. It should have a slight fragrant scent too, not like mold.

When you cut it up, you can spoon it out (it comes out really easily), making sure you cut all the pink off (all the pink is inedible). Then you can cube it and serve.

Cherimoya

Almost like a custardy pina colada in fruit form.

Suggested seasons are November-May. Pick one that is yellow green without blemishes. Ripen it at home in a paper bag or on the counter for a couple of days. It should be ready when it yields to gentle pressure (like avocado) and emits a fragrance.

Cut in half and enjoy with a spoon, sucking the flesh (ew, that sounds gross) off the seed and spitting out the seeds.

Some people suggest freezing it before spooning it out. Never tried it, but sounds good!

How to Use a Plastic Coffee Cone Drip

What you need:

Your favorite mug
One #2 Paper filter, unbleached is nice (unlike the one in the photo)
Plastic Coffee Cone Filter (Bought mine $2.99 with a mug at a grocery store. $1.50 at Daiso)
Spoon
Fresh whole coffee beans
Measuring cup to measure out at least 6 oz of water

1. Boil water (start with more than 8 oz.)
2. Grind enough coffee to have approximately 2 T per 6 oz of water
3. Pour hot water through the filter so that the paper filter is saturated and discard the water.
4. Place the plastic cone on top of your mug and spoon 2 T of grounds inside cone filter
5. Add some water, stir a little and watch it bloom! This means it's fresh coffee.
6. Add more hot water and stir stir stir
7. Wait until all the water has passed through. Then it's read to drink!

Makes 1 6oz cup of coffee

Lemon Delicious

A self-saucing cake. Soft, fluffy, warm, creamy, citrus. Sooo good. I could have eaten the whole thing by myself.

Lemony Info:
Buy lemons that are heavy for their size and feel firm.
The juice of one lemon is usually about 3 Tbsp.
Lemons at room temperature or warmed in the microwave juice more easily.

Prep time 20 minutes
Bake time 40 minutes

2 oz butter (1/2 stick), softened
¾ C sugar
3 eggs, separated
1 tsp grated lemon rind
1/3 C self-raising flour (mix 1 C flour + 1 ½ tsp baking powder + ½ tsp salt, then measure out 1/3 C of that)
¼ C lemon juice
¾ C milk
powdered sugar to top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Oil a 32 oz. ovenproof dish with oil. Using electric beaters, beat the butter, sugar, egg yolks and rind in a small bowl until the mixture is light and creamy. Add flour, stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Add the juice and milk and stir and combine.

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until firm peaks form. Fold in the pudding mixture with a metal spoon until just combined.

Spoon into the ovenproof dish and place the dish in a deep baking dish. Pour in boiling water to come one third of the way up the side of the pudding dish. Bake 40 minutes, dust with sugar and spoon some sauce on each serving.

Serves 4

Makin' Toddy Coffee

This stuff could last 1 week, making 1-2 cups of coffee for about 4-5 girls in our house. Marvelous invention. Absolutely marvelous.

From the Toddy website:

1. FILL - The Toddy brewing container is designed to hold (1) one pound of coffee and (9) nine cups (72 fluid ounces) of water.
   
   Add (1) one cup of water into the bottom of the Toddy brewing container. Then, add (1/2) half-pound coarsely ground coffee. When pouring the water over the grounds, the water should be added gently, in a circular motion, to make sure all the grounds get wet and there are no dry pockets. Slowly pour (4) four cups of water over the grounds, then add the remaining (1/2) half pound ground coffee. Slowly pour (3) three additional cups of water over the grounds. Finally, wait five minutes and slowly add (1) one cup of water.
   
   DO NOT STIR. Lightly tap the topmost grounds with the back of a spoon to ensure all grounds get wet. Allow to cold brew for 12 hours before draining.



2. BREW - We recommend that you cold-brew your coffee grounds 12 hours to achieve maximum results. Remove the stopper and let coffee concentrate flow into the glass decanter. Toddy's cold-brew process should yield (6) six cups (48 fluid ounces) of coffee concentrate. The coffee beans absorb the balance of the water.
   
   You may cold-brew your grounds longer than the recommended 12 hours. However, if you do, more acidity and caffeine will be absorbed into the liquid (although the amount of acidity and caffeine will never be as much as coffee brewed by conventional hot water methods). The trade-off: Richer concentrate will be produced (with the same amount of liquid), therefore allowing you to produce more cups of coffee per pound of coffee beans.



3. SERVE - The Toddy produces a naturally low acid, bold yet smooth coffee concentrate that may be refrigerated for up to 14 days without any deterioration in taste or freshness. And, importantly, there's no waste. Toddy can be made one cup at a time simply by adding steaming hot or cold water, milk or cream. It's also microwavable (do not boil concentrate).
   
   We recommend a ratio of (1) one part coffee concentrate to (3) three parts water, milk or cream. However, one of the benefits of using the Toddy system is that you can mix to taste (make it as strong or as weak as you prefer).
   
   And, you drink the coffee you make (unlike hot brewed coffee, where an average of 3-4 cups are consumed for every 8-10 produced).
   
   NOTES: Different coffee brewing methods require different types of grinds. It's important that you use a universal or, better yet, coarsely ground coffee with your Toddy.
   
   If you grind your beans at home, you may use an inexpensive blade grinder, grinding your beans between 9-11 seconds - similar to the grind used in an old-fashioned percolator.

Carolyn Chu! You work that Toddy!
I love how patient Kelly is listening although she doesn't drink coffee anymore.

Brining Chicken Breast

This kind of method for chicken breasts is great for shredding or cubing for salads or to prepare the chicken to grill then baste with BBQ sauce.

4 C water
3 T Morton's kosher salt OR 2 T table salt

2 T sugar

Prepare 1 quart of the brine per pound of food, not to exceed 2 gallons
And marinade for 1 hour per pound of food, not to exceed 8 hours

Rinse thoroughly, pat dry, your seasonings then bake.

I sprinkled my chicken with garlic and then baked at 375 for 30 minutes. The time depends on how many pounds. Definitely check. It may look pale and pasty (mine did but I hear it's because I did not put sugar, which aids in the caramelizing and browning of the chicken), but trust me...it will be juicy beyond belief.

My Guilty Pleasure

Did you notice the little grain of rice riding this slice of spam? So cute!!

Spam is one of the greatest inventions of the quickie food world (next to instant ramen); and I'm not just saying this because the economy is bad. Spam is good! When prepared just right, it's like a superhero mutant hybrid of bacon and ham!

People hate Spam because of anti-spam propaganda and because they don't know what to do with the slimy pale stump. Spam is simply misunderstood like oh...say, Frankenstein's creature.

"Ewwww...," you say? Never fear! I will teach you the way to enjoy Spam, so stop throwing up in your mouth and read on...

Spam tip #1: Buy the 50% Less Sodium Can

Sure, high blood pressure and that "it's-so-salty-I've-got-a-zingy-feeling-in-my-teeth" experience is fun, but with 50% less sodium you can eat even more before feeling queasy!

Spam tip #2: Never eat the thing raw
I always thought this was a no brainer. Just look at it!! All greasy, splotchy, sickly, gelatinous...Yuck! Merely looking at it could make the weak at heart wretch! I would never eat spam!!...raw. Please. A girl's gotta have standards.

Spam tip #3: Slice it thiiiiiin
Not paper thin, but pretty thin. Please refer to the photo. This will help it get crispy when cooked.

Spam tip #4: Lazy? Microwave it
I learned this on a trip to SF with Susan Mun. I know we swore that what happened in SF would stay in SF, but this tip is too good to keep to myself. Lay the slices of spam on two paper towels stacked and microwave for 15-45 seconds (depending on how thin you managed to cut them) until crisp.

Spam tip #5: Not as lazy? Pan fry
This is the ideal way. Heat a pan. Do not use any oil! Oil from the slices will ooze out and it will basically deep fry in its own juices. Wait until slightly darker and little bit of foam comes to the surface, then flip. It should appear to be a little soft, and only a little crispy but should crisp as it cools. When done, let it sit on a paper towel.

Spam tip #6: Eat with rice
This I learned from Mika, who took rice and made them into thick patties, placed a spam slice on top and then wrapped them in saran wrap to take with us to Universal Studios. Amazing. Spam nigiri!!!

Spam tip #7: Eat with kim chee
And sriracha hot sauce. And bowls of rice. This, I learned from Anna.

This list of tips is just the start of something beautiful. People eat spam in fried rice, pasta, mac & cheese, casseroles, omelets, sushi rolls, pie (...ok, maybe not pie). Although the possibilities are endless, in my humble opinion, Spam reaches its pinnacle of delightfulness on a simple bed of rice (please review tip #6 and #7).

Cookie Tips

If you want chewy cookies, add melted butter. Butter is 20 percent water. Melting helps water in butter mix with flour to form gluten.

If you want thin, candy-like cookies, add more sugar. Sugar becomes fluid in the oven and helps cookies spread.

If you want cakey cookies, add more eggs. Yolks make cookies rich, and whites cause cookies to puff and dry out.

If you want an open, coarse crumb and craggy top, add baking soda. Baking soda reacts quickly with acidic ingredients (such as brown sugar) to create lots of gas bubbles.

If you want a fine, tight crumb and smooth top, add baking powder. Baking powder works slowly and allows for an even rise.

From Cooks Illustrated

How to Prepare Lemongrass

Choose long and firm stalks that are not as dry.

1. Cut off the bottom near the root end, or base of the lemongrass stalk, maybe one cm. Also, cut the top grassy part, as you will only use the bottom 6" or so of the lemongrass.

2. Peel away and discard a few grassy outer layers until you reach the inner tender portion. If the lemongrass is too old and it's all dry, then you should beat the stalk with the back of your chef's knife to "tenderize" it.

3. Cut large enough sections to fit your needs.

4. If left in large sections, you can add to stir fries, broths, or rice to impart that lemon flavor but remove before serving.

5. If minced, or used in a food processor, you can add it to curries, soups and stews and leave it in and serve it.

Baking Substitutions

1 C buttermilk = 1 t vinegar or 1 T lemon juice + 1 C milk

1 C heavy cream (not for whipping) = 3/4 C milk + 3 T melted butter

1 C honey = 1 1/4 C white sugar + 1/3 C water

1 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate = 3 T unsweetened cocoa + 1 T oil or melted butter

1 T baking powder = 1 1/2 t cream of tartar + 3/4 t baking soda