Liquid love affair ! ( Iced mango lassi)

Chill everything except the mango









My sassy mango lassi ( a lassi with a little twist)


" I close my eyes, I know you're there,
addicted to this liquid love affair,
tall, bright and a frosty yellow,
"pour me another" you burly fellow.

A virgin drink, yet so nutritious,
I cannot stop! you're so delicious,
So here's to you, you aim to please,
quit being such a bloody tease!"
Nazarina.


Normally, a lassi ( Indian mango yogurt drink) is made by blending mangoes, yogurt, milk and cardamom. I love a tiny bit of fizz in mine, so I changed the recipe just a little. Please use organic ingredients when possible.

• 1 c superfine sugar
• 11/2 c water
• 1/2 c lemon juice ( fresh)
• 2 c vanilla yogurt
• 1 can mango pulp( see above for my personal best brand)
• 1 bottle lemon sparkling mineral water( Target)
• 1 mango

Method for the yogurt and lemon sorbet:

Boil 11/2 c water with the sugar until the mixture just boils. remove from hot plate and cool and then refrigerate for about half an hour. Add the lemon juice, stir and place in the freezer for about 1 hour. Remove and then whisk in the yogurt, grate some fresh mango on the fine side of the grater and add to this and then either freeze in ice cube trays or just a container until you can scrape with an ice cream scoop.

OR if you do not want to cook anything on the stove top: just buy a pint of lemon sorbet from the market, let it melt and whisk in the yogurt, add the grated fresh mango and then freeze and proceed to follow the directions below to make the lassi.

To make the drink:

Blend some of the frozen yogurt lemon sorbet with the mango pulp ( or fresh mangoes), add just a little lemon mineral water to this mixture not too much( you just want a bit of a fizz) and blend again until incorporated. Pour into pretty glasses with ice cubes and also garnish with more of the lemon yogurt sorbet cubes.

Enjoy the mango lassi!!!

This is my entry for beat the heat competition.

Nazarina.

Join this competition hosted by Southern grace

Levi Anderson has requested to put this recipe on their weg page (See his comment)

Here is the link: http://www.allysonskitchen.com/pc-2635-341-sassy-iced-mango-lassi.aspx

Thanksgiving and beyond.....sweet potato croquettes with a basil infused sweet potato bisque and " chile limon" pumpkin seeds.

This little sweetheart of a vegetable ( sweet potato) needs no introduction. This starchy root vegetable can stand its ground against the pumpkin on Thanksgiving day or any other day for that matter, at least for me and especially if you prepare it my way. It is crunchy on the outside but once you take a bite, that savory and sweet flesh says "Hello" you have reached the love! These are baked in the oven and the bisque is a great accompaniment to this croquette. The bisque too is all sweet potato with just a little bit of cream to impart a smooth velvety texture.I have had guests try this and comment that they do not particularly like root vegetables but will eat this one any day as long as I prepare it!

This sweet potato has a light yellow flesh and I am not talking about the "bright orange" one called the yam.

See also my other sweet potato dish http://giddygastronome.blogspot.com/2008/02/jamaican-jerk-sweet-potatoes-with-sweet.html

More....Thanksgiving and beyond....pumpkin banana fritters

Pumpkin and banana fritters







On Thanksgiving morning when it is cold outside and the snow is falling ever so softly, these fritters are indeed a warm welcome with a cup of coffee. The smell of the cinnamon sugar erases all the anxiety of getting the bird into the oven already!! OR just make these when you want to spend a healing moment with a loved one!

Please use organic ingredients if possible.

• 1 c self raising flour
• pinch kosher salt
• 1 T plus 1 t sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 T melted butter
• 1/2 c milk
• 1 t of ginger, cardamom and cinnamon
• 1 banana sliced
• 1/2 c pumpkin puree
• 1 t banana extract
• 1 t vanilla extract

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and stir in the sugar. Make a well in the center and add the egg, butter, extracts, spices and the milk. mix to form a thick pancake batter.Add the pumpkin and then lastly fold in bananas.

Heat a cup of oil in a shallow pan and fry tablespoons of the batter . Flip with a fork and cook until both sides are golden brown and puffy. Drain well on paper towels and dust with cinnamon sugar. Mix 2 t sugar with 2 t cinnamon for this batch. Makes about 24.

Nazarina A

Thanksgiving Day and beyond.....turkey. Do not play "Russian roulette" with the star , make a roulade instead!

Turkey roulade




In the next few posts, I shall feature some Thanksgiving dishes that could very well be prepared on days other than Thanksgiving. I know that it is only July.....hence my title " Thanksgiving and Beyond." Even though I love the turkey roulade, I dare not cook it on Thanksgiving day because I have far too many diners over at my house and they always demand the bird and the whole enchilada! This could be a preparation for someone that does not want to cook the actual turkey, and still enjoy the "star" on D day! Here my "stuffing" is kind of on the outside if you will and this rendition is succulent and flavorful. It is craaaazy good!

Thanksgiving is a holiday celebrated in the US on the last Thursday in November. It is a holiday celebrated to give thanks to our Creator for the "abundance of the harvest", much like the Pilgrims in the days of yonder. It is a time for communal Thanksgiving and to reflect on those times when it was the Native Indian who taught the Pilgrims about the invaluable bounty of this wild frontier!


Turkey roulade: Filling:

1 small onion ( small dice)
11/2 red bell peppers and 1 green bell pepper chopped
1/2 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
1 t pounded garlic
1 t pure pickle masala or sweet Hungarian paprika
1t roasted bell pepper and garlic seeds
Kosher salt to taste

Sauté onion and garlic in 2 T olive oil until golden about 10 mins., add the masala, the seeds and the sun dried tomatoes and cook further for another 5mins. Lastly add the all the chopped bell peppers and cook until just tender another 5 mins. Set aside to cool.


Topping:
Cilantro lemon crust:
2 c panko breadcrumbs
1 bunch chopped cilantro
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 T roasted red bell pepper seeds
olive oil and kosher salt

Add the chopped cilantro, zest , juice and seeds to the breadcrumbs and mix and add just enough oil to lightly coat the crumbs, do not drench ! Season to taste.

Cover a 2lbs turkey breast with plastic and using a meat mallet pound out the breast. Season the breast on both sides with a mixture of kosher salt, pickle masala, lemon pepper, cumin and dried oregano. Fill the roulade with the cooled filling and roll up like a Swiss roll. Place in a baking dish and cover the top of the roll with the topping, sprinkle with some olive oil and bake 375 for approx. 50 mins to an hour. Make sure that there is enough olive oil to coat the breast while baking. The end result will be a flavorful and a succulent roulade, just like in my picture!
Enjoy!


E-mail me if you have questions

"Boerewors"( South African sausage), peri peri spice chips

Boerewors, homemade chips and Mrs Balls bladjang! Yummmmeeeeeee!!!

Boerewors sausage, egg and homemade barbecue sauce on a bread roll.

I make this boerewors from scratch twice a year, (4Th of July and December). There is just too much work involved and when I do make it, it disappears right from under my nose. It is also a two day process for me and I use only 80/20 ground beef or turkey or sometimes even chicken.
I only make about 8lbs a time because that is what my biggest bowl can hold. Homemade sausage rolls, paella, quiche are amongst the other dishes I make with sausage (I will show these in future posts).
This Boerewors sausage is so tasty and does not have a lot of fat at all. The roasted flavorful veggies and all the fresh roasted spices that goes into the ground beef make the meat tender and superlatively scrumptious!

Oh! do not forget to dip the boerewors into the spicy and yet sweet apricot chutney( Mrs Balls bladjang) and the malt vinegar for the chips) this is a British fetish!

Nazarina A.

Celebrating Independence day with a product from "Down Under"

Ginger beer floats with my quick berry sorbet stars
and homemade ice cream

I love when the berry sorbet starts to melt
into the ice cream. The fruity flavor cuts
through the creaminess of the ice cream

Floats! who can resist them? I love the ginger beer float with my home made ice cream and the intense fresh raspberry sorbet that I have made in these cute ice trays obtainable from Target and is just a mere buck! It is only raspberries, strawberries and blueberries pureed with a little lemon juice and organic sugar crystals( no cooking involved) , then put through a sieve and frozen and this ginger beer float is a quick little drink to serve on a hot 4th of July weekend or on any other hot summer's day.

This ginger beer is available at Cost Plus and check out this link for my home made ice cream.
http://giddygastronome.blogspot.com/2008/06/falooda-aka-bombay-crush-exquisite-rose.html

Enjoy!

The state of zen!

Round soap says" Tranquility" & the rectangle says" Energy"

I would love to be in the" state of zen" always but it is not humanly possible especially since we live in a world where everything is so rushed! However, the bathroom is and should be the one place where one can retreat to and linger and wash away the c...... of the day! LOL!

This soap has lemongrass or I make them with a green tea fragrance. It also has goats milk, soy, olive oil and shea butter and email me if you are interested nazarina@karston.com

Cooking to the tune of the star-spangled banner and singing praises to good old fashioned corn!

Another 4th of July celebration food! Everybody at the camp enjoyed this variation and surely in no time there was nothing left.
Check out my other corn recipe: http://giddygastronome.blogspot.com/2008/03/stuffed-poblanos-with-roasted-poblano.html

Corn, the good old fashioned camp food, is always a must have at any outdoor occasion." It is better for the body and soul much more so than an inanimate vehicle with an energy efficient goal"! Where has all the good corn gone?

Compound butter :

1 stick unsalted European butter( softened)

1/4 c chopped red bell pepper

1/4 c cilantro chopped

1 red chili chopped( seeds removed)

1 t fresh lemon juice

1 t sweet pickle masala or sweet Hungarian paprika

1 t red bell pepper seeds with roasted garlic

salt to taste.

Method:

Mix all the ingredients together and roll up like a sausage in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until ready for use. Place slices of the compound butter with corn in foil on the hot coals. It takes about 40mins. OR you can boil the corn in salted water for 25 mins until tender, pour out the water and place back on stove top with a slice of the butter on each corn. Place lid on pot and just keep warm on low. The butter will melt and you will have steaming, buttery and flavorful corn.

Enjoy!

Brown butter Naan Khatai (Indian shortbread) good enough to celebrate Independence Day!

The United States is truly a jamboree of dynamic cultures and it is this very diverse cuisine that should bring people closer together no matter what the ethnicity. So let us all abolish "xenofoodophobia" from our gastronomic vocabulary and let food unite all those unnecessary divisions!
Here, now, is my contribution to celebrate red, white and blue with a multi-cultural flair. Happy birthday America!

Brown butter Naan Khatai
Please use organic ingredients if possible!


3/4 c unsalted European butter ( 11/2 sticks). Melt in saucepan and brown, then skim off the solids that form on the top and use only the clarified portion. It takes about 20mins to brown on low heat. Do not burn! Cool and then place in refrigerator for 10 mins.

1/2 c superfine sugar.
1/4 t bicarbonate of soda ( baking soda)
1/4 t nutmeg
1 level t ground cardamom
2 c sifted King Arthur's all purpose flour.

Method:
Let the clarified brown butter come completely to room temp. and then beat together with the cardamom, nutmeg, bicarb and sugar until creamy( 7 mins) . Add the flour gradually to make soft dough. Shape into rounds ( teaspoonfuls) and flatten tops ever so slightly. Place on silpat on cookie tray and bake in a preheated 330 degree oven for 30 mins.
It is imperative to cool cookies considerably before removing from the sheet. It is extremely crumbly and delicate.

These cookies will not brown too much because the milk solids were removed from butter that causes the browning. They are absolutely intense and buttery and simply just melts in your mouth! A cup of tea would be a perfect accompaniment

I normally remove the cookies the next day from the cookie sheet and decorate this traditional cookie with pistachios, but the red and blue food color dots is in keeping with July 4Th celebrations. Makes about 15.

Enjoy!