.: evil jungle prince :.

When my friend so kindly gave me a bunch of her Hibiscus sabdariffa (Roselle) seeds, I must admit I planted them and promptly forgot about them. But as the plant matured and produced unusual, bulbous, deep-red calyces, I dove into the culture of the plant and learned that I had actually consumed it before in the form of Mexican jamaica -- a type of agua fresca. I love this drink and looked forward to making my own refreshing drink by boiling the succulent calyces myself.

I started my experiment by boiling a handful of Hibiscus sabdariffa calyces in hot water, mixing in about 1/4 cup sugar for about 10 mins. I then placed this mixture into the refrigerator to cool down. This alone makes a nice tea which can be enjoyed over ice.

I used a little bit of the tea and mixed it together with ginger ale, which created yet another fun drink. Hibiscus-infused ginger ale tasted zesty and sweet with just a hint of bitter which was immediately appealing. I plan on making it again.

I then went on to think how unique hibiscus frozen yogurt might taste. Armed with my new ice cream maker, I made my first batch by doing the following:

1. First I boiled down my Hibiscus tea until it was a syrupy liquid (about 1/4 cup of liquid). I let this cool completely to room temperature.

2. Next I fired up the ice cream maker and mixed 16 oz of Greek yogurt, the Hibiscus syrup, 1/4 cup of additional sugar (for total of 1/2 cup), and a dash of vanilla extract. I allowed to churn until very firm and then placed into the freezer to harden.

The result? My best frozen yogurt to date. The sour pungency of the yogurt worked perfectly with the sweet but slightly bitter Hibiscus syrup, mellowed by the aromatic vanilla essence. Ahhhhhhh, this recipe was a success and I'll be making it again.

Posted by Evil Jungle Prince at 07:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

I love this bread! My boss's wife, a Norwegian, bakes these every year and it's such a treat to receive them. But this year I found myself unwilling to wait a full year's cycle and made them myself.

Lusse Bread (Lusse Bröd, or Swedish Sweet Saffron & Almond Bread) is made by combining a mixture of flour, almond meal, and saffron infused milk. As you can imagine, this combination of flavors after being baked is nothing short of bread nirvana, both for the tongue and for the nose.

1. Begin by heating 1/2 cup milk (or soy milk, which is what I used) and a few strands of saffron. When the milk begins to boil, turn off heat and allow to infuse for 15 mins.

2. Meanwhile, combine 1/2 cup almond meal, 3 1/2 cups flour, 6 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp salt in a mixing bowl.

3. Mix 1/2 cup warm water and 25g fresh yeast until a froth forms. Add to flour mixture and mix. Finally, add 50g softened butter (about 1/3 stick butter) until dough is elastic. Set aside for 1 hour to rise.

4. Cut dough into 12 parts and roll with hands into long ropes. Form curly shape on either end and place on oiled baking pan. Allow to rise for 30 mins.

5. Combine egg white and 1 tsp water. Baste the bread pieces and sprinkle a little sugar on top.

5. Preheat oven to 400 and bake for 15 mins or until golden. Convection oven time will be about 10 mins.

Posted by Evil Jungle Prince at 09:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)

This frozen yogurt was inspired by the Korean traditional dessert, baesuk (배숙). (Traditional baesuk is peeled and sliced Korean pear cooked in water with black peppercorns, ginger and sugar, then garnished with ground pine nuts.) This frozen version of baesuk substitutes the creaminess of pine nuts with the smooth texture of yogurt. I hope you'll enjoy my creation.

1. First begin by peeling two Korean pears (aka Asian pears) and chopping into small pieces. Place the pear pieces together with a dash of lemon juice into a blender with just enough water as was necessary to grind them to a smooth mixture.

2. Combine 16 oz of Greek yogurt (rBGH free) together with the Korean pear mixture and 1/2 cup sugar in the ice cream maker.

3. While the mixture is churning in an ice cream maker, add 1-2 tsp ginger juice. Also add 1/2 tsp vanilla extract.

4. After 30 mins of churning, the frozen baesuk yogurt will be ready to freeze in a freezer. Place into a plastic container and allow to freeze for at least four hours before serving.

Posted by Evil Jungle Prince at 12:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)