Cooked From the Heart » fruits
The Avocado League Blog Tour
I have been searching for inspiration for an original avocado recipe since I got notice for the Avocado League Blog Tour. But really, how original can one get with an ingredient that, in my opinion, is best consumed fresh and uncooked? I truly love avocado in all it’s fresh glory. I just can’t imagine subjecting its natural freshness and unctuousness to heat. It just seems so against nature. So for the “Big Hit” Contest and Avocado League Blog Tour, I offer two very simple recipes that showcases the natural goodness of the avocado. One of the requirements for this contest to to feature, along with the avocado, something that embodies the spirit of their hometown. Well it’s kind of hard for me to pinpoint my hometown since I am a California … Read entire article »
LaPiS #5 – SOUR
This is my entry for this week’s Lasang Pinoy Sundays, which features photos of Filipino foods or foods cooked up by Pinoys. This week’s theme is Sour. While some people shy away from strong tastes such as sour, we seem to be drawn to it. Why, even when something doesn’t seem quite good enough to eat, we fix it up by dousing it with something sour. The photo I am entering for this week’s theme is not super sour, it is actually more on the sweet side with just a touch of tang. This is Mangosteen and we tasted it for the first time when we went to the Philippines a couple of years ago. We had almost drove by the fruit stand when the girls asked what the purple fruit … Read entire article »
Papaya & Lime Juice
One of my favorites fruits is papaya. My daughters have never been very fond of it and couldn’t understand my liking for it. That is, until they went home to the Philippines in 2006. They are still gushing about the papaya they had over there. Sadly though, that just made them turn their noses up even more to the bland papayas that we get here. I don’t ever learn my lesson though, that’s how strong my attraction is to this fruit. Every time I see one at the store, I just can’t pass it up. My daughter says to me, “I don’t know why you’re getting another one, you’d just be disappointed.” She’s right, more often than not, I end up getting disappointed that they aren’t sweet enough or fragrant … Read entire article »
Filed under: fruits
Creamy Mango
Before the girls left for summer vacation, we bought a pack of ataulfo mangoes from Costco, which in the past have been very good, but this time they were not too sweet and were on the verge of getting over ripe. We decided to just scoop out all the flesh and make a puree out of it. We weren’t really sure where we were going with this puree. I was seriously considering mango cake but just didn’t have the energy for it. With dinner time looming and still had some prepping to do before our company arrived, we decided to just dump the whole thing in the ice cream maker and this is what came out. Like I said, I was feeling really lazy and didn’t want to deal with making … Read entire article »
Checkerboard Parfait
This recipe was cooked up by ASI based on the ‘Frozen Chocolate and Berry Chequerboard Parfait’ from the Crazy for Chocolate cookbook, part of the Kitchen Library Series by Bay Books. She did everything by herself, and except for a minor glitch where her beaten egg did not quite peak and had to start over again, she did quite well for her first attempt. We luckily had some very good strawberries on hand, and they were delicious in this dessert. The recipe also suggested raspberries as a good alternative or in addition to strawberries, but this time we couldn’t find raspberries in the store so this recipe only has strawberries. The process took several steps and many bowls, but she did very well following the directions. Now if only she would learn … Read entire article »
Stewed Apples
This is another easy way of using up old or close to over ripe apples before they are tossed into the compost bin. My mother-in-law, Momma Dot introduced me to this, another Southern dish, and has been a staple on our weekend brunches since. It’s quite easy to make, just peel and cut the apples into fourths or eighths depending on the size or your preference. Place apples in a sauce pan. Proportions will also vary for … Read entire article »
LP 11 – Cantaloupe Juice
Another summer time treat that I remember is this cantaloupe juice. I remember buying this from street vendors when I was growing up in the Philippines. I don’t know why, but the steet bought juice was always so much better than the known to be hygenically prepared juice from home. Today, I make this when I have a cantaloupe that is slightly over ripe and too mushy for the girls to eat as is. The girls have taken a liking to this refreshing drink and so has my hubby who was a bit skeptical about watering down a cantaloupe. The only tool I can’t do without when making this is this little grater that makes fine strips out of the cantaloupe flesh. I have tried mashing the fruit in the … Read entire article »
Filed under: drinks, Filipino, fruits, Lasang Pinoy
Buttermilk Banana Bread
Here’s another way to use up buttermilk and also over ripe bananas. It’s perfect for breakfast or afterschool snack. When I baked this a few weeks ago, I had plenty of buttermilk to use up. This past weekend though, when I found two over ripe bananas and wanted to make this bread again, I was out of buttermilk. So I resorted to the recipe below for making your own buttermilk. However, since I am forever tweaking things in our kitchen, I came up with another variation that works just as well. As I was getting the milk out I realized there was an almost empty container of sour cream that I know will just sit there and mold if I don’t do anything about it so I took that out … Read entire article »
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