At Trader Joe's today I found a packet of dried dragonfruit, so I decided to try integrating this unusual item into a vegan recipe for scones. Here's what I did.

First I cut the dragonfruit into very small pieces -- about 1/2 cup of them. These were then allowed to soak in Crème de Cassis (blackcurrant liqueur). (This gives the pieces color, sweet taste, and softens them enough to be integrated into this recipe).

Second, I added the following to my Kitchenaid mixer with the paddle attachment: 2 cups flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/3 cup butter/margarine cut into small cubes, 2 tsp Stevia. I whisked these until the mixture resembled coarse crumbs.

Next I added 1/3 cup soy milk and mixed until a ball was formed. I then folded in the drained dragonfruit pieces by hand and pressed the mixture into a flattened ball shape. At this point I also cut the dough into eight wedge shapes.

This was then placed on to a buttered, floured baking sheet and baked at 350F for approx. 20 mins.

Posted by Evil Jungle Prince at 07:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

I'm not a big dessert eater, so preparing a dessert that is 75% butter is not exactly part of my regular repertoire. But when I stumbled across a receipe for "peach tart with almond cream" I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it: tropicalize it into a Pacific Rim dish using guavas.

This was more a fun experiment than anything, but I thought I'd go ahead and post my experiences as I can't be the only guava-lover out there looking for new ways to make use of this wacky tropical fruit.

I love the taste and smell of guavas. Though I have a guava tree in my backyard -- a rather unusual tree for California but thriving nonetheless -- it is still only a few years old and hasn't begun producing more than a couple guavas a year. So for this recipe I've used canned guavas which I purchased at the Mexican grocery store.

1. I started out by making the crust. First I placed 1 1/4 cups sifted flour, 3/4 tsp salt, 7 tsp cold butter cut into pieces, and 1 egg yolk into a mixer and mixed. Once mixed, I dropped 2-3 cold spoonfuls of water into the mixture (while mixing) and watched the mixture magically coalesce. This was formed into a ball with my hands and placed into the refrigerator (in a plastic bag) to cool.

2. While the crust dough cooled, I placed 2/3 cup blanched almonds and 2 tsp flour into a food processor and created an almond flour. I then placed this mixture into a mixer and combined it with the following: 7 tsp room temperature butter, 1 egg, 1/2 cup sugar, and 2 tsp vanilla extract. This was beat until light and fluffy.

3. I then took the dough out, rolled out the dough on a flour surface, and transferred it to a tart pan. Once the dough was molded to the shape of the tart pan, I pricked the bottom with a fork and placed the pan into the refrigerator to cool.

4. While the dough was cooling again, I cut approx. 8 guavas into slices. I then (after about 10 mins or so) took the tart pan out and filled it with the almond cream, topping this with the guava slices.

5. The tart then went into an oven preheated to 400F, baked for 15 mins. The temp was then turned down to 350F for another 15 mins. During the last 10 mins, I placed two spoonfuls of sugar over the top to caramelize.

Lessons learned: leaving the guava seeds in doesn't work! They are too hard, so remove the guava seeds before arranging them on the tart. Also, do not pile the guava pieces to compactly in the center of the tart because they will release too much water. Other than this, this recipe worked for me and tasted yummy. But one piece was enough... this is sweet, fatty, and decadent!

Posted by Evil Jungle Prince at 05:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Recently I picked up the oh-so-delicious book Chocolate: The Nature of Indulgence which offers a broad academic history of the cocoa bean. This book, not surprisingly, has caused me want to gobble up Everything Chocolate within reach. Coincidentally I was just reading a recipe for Mallorcan ensaimadas and making a mental note that I wanted to try preparing those. This is when I had the idea to try smashing the two together.

1. I started out by mixing 5 tsp soy milk, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1/2 oz of yeast (I used dried). Set aside and wait for the froth.

2. I then mixed together in a mixer (with bread paddle attachment): 2 cups flour, 1 tsp salt, dash of vanilla extract, 1 heaping spoonful of dried cocoa powder, 1 egg white, 2 tsp vegetable oil, and the yeast mixture (see above). If too dry, add a little more soy milk until the mixture is firm but pliant. Set this aside for 45 minutes covered with a damp cloth in a warm place.

3. Next was the fun part, melting 1/4 cup of butter and then placing the liquid in a bowl. Cut the dough into 12 parts, rolling each part into a very long rope. Dip the rope into the butter and then coil the ropes into round disc on a buttered sheet. Repeat until there are 12 coiled discs. Cover and allow to rise again for 45 mins or until doubled in size. Space them so they have room to rise.

4. Finally bake the coils for 10 mins at 375F. Before placing them into the oven, baste with a little water and sprinkle caster sugar over the tops. Bake, remove, place on wire rack, and dust again. Finally, before serving, shave a chocolate bar over the top.

Not overly sweet nor overly chocolatety, these were just great for a cold day and for helping to tame the Chocolate Monster which lurks inside each and every one of us.

Posted by Evil Jungle Prince at 03:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

If we all suffer something in common in this country, it is the general lack of time, and our culinary culture suffers because of it. Soaking noodles for two hours before eating just generally isn't an option, and in my opinion is not even necessary. So let's talk about how to make delicious pad thai on the go.

1. Start by preparing your liquid seasonings. Mix 1 tsp palm sugar (or brown sugar), 1 tsp white sugar, 2 tsp fish sauce, 2 tsp soy sauce, 1 large tsp chili flakes, and a dab of tamarind concentrate. Mix until the sugars are dissolved and then set aside.

2. Cut a bunch of green onions into 1-inch lengths, at a diagonal angle. Set aside. Place a handful of peanuts in a plastic sandwich bag and hit them softly with the bottom of a soup can until "chopped" looking. Set aside. Cut 1/3 of a block of firm tofu into rectangle shapes and set aside. Rinse a handful of bean sprouts and set aside. Rinse some fresh cilantro and set aside. Coarsely chop two red shallots and set aside. Shred 1 tsp worth of white radish, salt, drain by squeezing, and set aside.

3. Bring a pot of hot water to a boil and place 1/2 package of pad thai rice noodles into the water, stirring and testing continually until the noodles are al dente and not soggy. This goes very quickly so DO NOT OVERCOOK. Pour the water and noodles into a colander and rinse with very cold water until noodles are cool/cold. Set aside noodles.

4. Fry two red shallots in a wok (or any onion will do), coarsely chopped with a pinch of salt in peanut oil until fragrant and beginning to color. (Here now you can fry an egg if you like but I don't like eggs so I omit them.) Add fresh shrimp and fry until pink. Add tofu and drained radish, frying briefly, then add noodles.

5. Turn up heat after adding noodles and stir fry for a minute until noodles turn color. Add liquid seasonings and combined, frying for about 30 secs to one minute -- this process flavors the noodles and gets rid of some of the excess liquid. Turn off wok burner and then combine noodles with green onions and bean sprouts. Serve, topping with peanuts, cilantro, a couple reserved green onion pieces, and squeeze lime juice over the top.

Voila, pad thai in under 20 minutes. Enjoy.

Posted by Evil Jungle Prince at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)