Chef Sam de Leoz is hosting Lasang Pinoy 10th Edition! This month we will be reminiscing about our childhood memories of food.
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"What is Jihvā ?Jihvā, the Sanskrit word means taste, desire and deep longing.This month The Baking Fairy is hosting Jihva for Strawberries. The thing about strawberries is that I love them so much. I certainly have a Jihva for strawberries. But what to make for this event? Well, I am going to present a simple Strawberry Coulis. But that is not really a dish you say. Well, if you make a strawberry coulis you can freeze it and use it whenever you want and on almost anything you want. This way you can have strawberry whenever you want. Instant gratification is something you have to love. So, have some ice cream? Put a little Strawberry Coulis on it. Grilled some fruit? Put a little Strawberry Coulis on it. Make a chocolate cake? Put some Strawberry Coulis on it. Got an empty spoon? Well you know the drill.
This powerful word also represents tongue and taste buds. What is Jihvā for
Ingredients?I believe for Jihvā to happen, it’s all in the ingredients and how
they are cooked. Jihvā for Ingredients (JFI) is online monthly food event,
celebrating the Ingredients and what they can do for our Jihvā."
Indira from Mahanandi held her first blog event recently, the first in a series called
Strawberry Coulis
Berry Smoothies
2 cups Berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries)
1 cup soy milk or milk
2 teaspoons lavender honey
3 bananas
Garnish with mint
Combine all ingredients in a blender. Process until smooth.
Tip: It is really refreshing to used frozen berries and bananas. If you have bananas and/or berries that are starting to get a little old, simply place them in Ziploc bags and freeze. This way there will be no waste and they will already be frozen.
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Please check out Kayln’s Kitchen who started and runs Weekend Herb Blogging. Celebrate food with the taste of herbs! This month marks the first month that another blogger will be guest hosting this weekend event and luckily for us it is Ilva from Lucullian Delights and her blog has the most beautiful photographs so make sure you take a look.Peanut Butter Étouffee is hosting their first Food Blog Event! - Grill of My Dreams. They are celebrating Memorial Day weekend with the Barbeque. So heat up those coals and get smoking! Well we started right away on Friday night with Steak Kebabs with Pineapple Teriyaki Marinade
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Steak Kebabs with Pineapple Teriyaki Marinade
Serves 4
Pineapple Teriyaki Marinade:
1/2 cup pineapple mashed - See Note
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 shallot, minced
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon ginger powder
1 teaspoon ground pepper
Kebabs:
1 1/4-pound sirloin steak, cut into sixteen 1-inch cubes
16 cherry tomatoes8 wooden skewers
In a medium bowl combine all the pineapple teriyaki marinade ingredients. Soak wooden skewers in water for 10 minutes. Alternate beef and tomatoes on each skewer so that there are 4 of each on each of the four skewers. Pour marinade over the kebabs and marinate about 30 minutes. Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Grill kebabs until beef is medium-rare about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to platter and serve. The marinade can be made and stored in the refrigerator up to two days in advance.
Note: Do not let sit in the marinade for more than 30 minutes because the enzymes in the fresh pineapple will break the meat down too much. So if you are using a tougher meat then the fresh pineapple is a great meat tenderizer. If you want a heavier pineapple flavor, use canned pineapple.
Remember it is BBQ Season and it is a perfect time to have a party!
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Steaks with Thyme Lavender Butter
Serves: 2
1/4 cup dry vermouth
4 tablespoons minced shallots
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme, well packed
2 teaspoons dried organic culinary lavender
2 garlic cloves, sliced
Salt
Pepper
4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
Olive Oil
2 1-inch New York steaks
Combine 2 tablespoons shallots, 1-tablespoon thyme, lavender, and garlic. Chop ingredients until they are very fine and paste has been formed. Press salt and pepper into both sides of the steaks. Then spread the paste on both sides of the steaks. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Let marinate for 2 to 24 hours.
Boil vermouth, 2 tablespoons shallot and 1 tablespoon thyme in small saucepan until liquid evaporates, about 2 minutes. Cool completely. Mix butter into shallot mixture. Season the butter with a pinch of salt and pepper. Form butter mixture into log; wrap in plastic and chill until firm. Can be made 3 days ahead. Cut butter into slices. Bring to room temperature before cooking the meat.
Brush large nonstick grill pan with oil; heat over medium-high heat. Sprinkle steaks with salt and pepper; add to skillet. Cook to desired doneness, about 6 minutes per side for medium-rare. Overlap butter slices atop steaks and serve.
Remember it is BBQ Season and it is a perfect time to have a party!
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I love my children more than words can express.
They are so difficult. Fiesty.
They are so loving. Darling.
They are my children. Perfection
TUNA TARTARE RECIPE
Originally Published:
April 26, 2006 in the New York Times Food Section
Adapted from Gotham Bar and Grill
Yield: 6 servings
FOR THE GINGER VINAIGRETTE:
10 ounces fresh ginger
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/8 teaspoon Tabasco or other hot sauce - OMITTED
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons grape seed or canola oil
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 garlic clove, minced and mashed to a paste with a sprinkle of salt – SUBSTITUTED WITH ROASTED GARLIC
Coarse salt and freshly ground white pepper – SUBSTITUTED WITH BLACK PEPPER
FOR THE CROUTONS:
1 baguette, cut diagonally into 18 slices, each 1/8 inch thick
Extra virgin olive oil
FOR THE HERB SALAD:
1 small head baby frisée, rinsed, dried and torn into 1- to 1½-inch pieces – SUBSTITUTED WITH MICRO-GREENS
½ cup gently packed chervil leaves - OMITTED
1/3 cup gently packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/3 cup gently packed cilantro leaves
1 large seedless cucumber, ends trimmed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE TUNA TARTARE:
1 pound sushi-grade yellowfin tuna, well chilled
6 shiso leaves, cut into narrow strips - SUBSTITUTED WITH MINT LEAVES, MINCED
1/3 cup very thinly sliced scallions, white part only
Coarse salt and freshly ground white pepper – SUBSTITUTED WITH BLACK PEPPER
1. For the ginger vinaigrette, use a food processor or medium-fine holes of a cheese grater to chop or grate ginger as finely as possible. In batches, wrap ginger in a piece of cheesecloth or a clean kitchen towel, and squeeze to extract 3 tablespoons of juice into a small bowl. Whisk in lime juice and hot sauce. Gradually whisk in oil until vinaigrette has emulsified. Whisk in shallot and garlic, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover, and refrigerate.
2. For the croutons, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Arrange baguette slices on a baking sheet, and bake until golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes. Let slices cool, and brush both sides ONE SIDE very lightly with olive oil. Place in an airtight container until needed.
3. For the herb salad, in a medium bowl, toss together the frisée, chervil, MICRO-GREENS, parsley and cilantro. If you wish, use a vegetable peeler or sharp knife to remove strips of peel about ½ inch apart down the length of the cucumber. Using mandoline or sharp knife, cut cucumber into paper-thin slices - OR CUT THE CUCUMBER INTO MATCHSTICK PIECES. Set aside.
4. For the tuna tartare, using a sharp thin-bladed knife and an impeccably clean cutting board, slice tuna into ¼-inch dice. Place in a mixing bowl, and add shiso, MINT, scallions and ½ cup ginger vinaigrette. Toss, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. For assembly, dress herb salad with 3 tablespoons vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper to taste; mix well. Place a 2½- to 3-inch ring mold in center of a chilled dinner plate. Using outside edge of mold as a guide, make a ring of overlapping cucumber slices. Spoon a sixth of the tuna tartare into mold, pressing it down lightly. (If you do not have a ring mold, simply arrange a ring of cucumber slices, and shape a neat mound of tartare in center.) Stand 2 or 3 croutons in tartare, and pile dressed salad on tartare, between croutons. Carefully lift mold up and off the plate. Repeat to make 6 servings. IGNORE and PLATE AS YOU WISH.
Enjoy!
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Once the threat of the cessation of Internet Neutrality was brought to my attention, I wrote my Senators. So, I got a response from one of my Senators, Barbara Boxer. Her office is very organized and sends out form letters pretty quickly. Hopefully she will keep true to her word and fight against this.
if you are unaware of this issue that affects all of our lives please see A Day Without Food Blogging for more information.
Dear Mrs. True:
Thank you for contacting me regarding network neutrality, which is the principle that consumers should have access to the Internet content and applications of their choice without interference by network operators. I appreciate the opportunity to hear your views on this issue.
As a longtime advocate for network neutrality, I believe that network operators should facilitate, not stifle, Americans' access to the Internet. Consumers will suffer if network operators are allowed to discriminate against their competitors' use of the network by giving certain content referential treatment.
I believe that individuals' ability to define and shape their experiences on the Internet has led to an explosion of creativity that has greatly benefited our economy and our lives. I fear that if network operators abandon the principle of network neutrality, the next generation of Internet innovators will be harmed.
Congress is currently considering a number of bills on this issue. As a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over broadband and telecommunications issues, please be assured that I will continue working to ensure that the Internet remains an engine of growth for commerce and ideas.
Again, thank you for writing to me. Please do not hesitate to contact me again about this or any other issue of concern to you. Barbara BoxerUnited States SenatorPlease
visit my website at http://boxer.senate.gov/
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Yep that is right. I have officially been blogging for 1 month. I obviously have dove head first, plunging fast as I can. My main topics are Food (Recipes, Food Blog Events, Culinary Discovery), Motherhood, Daily Reports, Photography, and Shopping.
I have loved taking part in many Blog Food Events. I never even knew they existed until about one or two days after I started posting. They have really gotten me back into the kitchen and cooking with flair. Since the twins were born almost two years ago, I have spent precious little time in the kitchen which is a place I love dearly. I had lost most of my motivation for heading into the kitchen and taking lots of care and really experimenting with recipes. Yes, I made almost all the baby food I could with the very best organic ingredients I could find but I think that pretty much zapped me. The fact that I was not cooking up meals that were even close to gourmet for my husband and me upset me a lot. But, I look at my boys who, like many twins, were born almost two months early, and I see how healthy they are I know it was worth putting all my efforts into their diet. But now they are eating “people food” or table food and now I only have to really cook one dinner. Sometimes I leave off certain very hot spices for them but for the most part they eat everything we eat. And I have to say; I think my menu choices are the healthier for it.
My Daily Reports are much like this one, a free-rambling post about current events in my life. They are not daily which I knew at the point I started this exercise would not be. But it is nice to talk about me to me and if anyone else enjoys reading them well that is nice too.
I hope to do more entries on Motherhood and Shopping finds. I just have not actually had time to do that which obviously is totally understandable. Plus how many posts can I make a day!
Enjoy!
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HISTORY There are a few different accounts of the first Memorial Day. Whenever and wherever the exact date and location was, Memorial Day was called Decoration Day because the graves of the soldiers were decorated with flags and flowers. One of the first Memorial Days was celebrated on May 5, 1866, in Waterloo, New York to honor Union soldiers killed during the Civil War. Also, in 1866, Decoration Day was celebrated in Georgia to honor the confederate soldiers killed in the Civil War.
Please check out Kayln’s Kitchen who hosts Weekend Herb Blogging. Celebrate food with the taste of herbs!
As described on LennDevours:
What is the Fabulous Favorites Festival exactly? It's a food and wine pairing event that, we hope, will attract the largest group of participants ever for any culinary blog
event. For this one day at least, food bloggers will be "forced" to dive into the wine pool, while wine bloggers will have to uncork their cooking skills. The concept is simple, with two plans of attack you can choose from.
1- Pick a favorite bottle of wine from your cellar and create/cook a dish
that goes with it.
2- Pick a favorite dish in your culinary repertoire and seek
out a wine that will pair will it.
So, I am going to opt for choice #2. I have cooked one of my new favorite recipes - Lamb Kebabs with the Three C's with Couscous with Pine Nuts and Dried Apricots.
I have chosen a deliciouis Syrah from Napa Valley, ESCA, 2003. A dear friend gave me this bottle recently and we loved it so that she helped us track down some more. It was sort of hard to find at first but luckily our local Bristol Farms had it!
When I found out about this event, I wanted to find out more about this wine so I looked a little bit on the internet for this wine. From the Esca website, I found this:
The 2003 Esca Syrah was made from 100% Napa Valley grapes grown on the western hillsides of St. Helena in the Spring Mountain AVA. The wine was aged for 21 months in 100% French oak barrels and was bottled in August 2005. The Syrah is intense and focused. It offers aromas of black cherry, candied currant, chocolate and espresso. The well-integrated oak shows layers of vanilla and cedar. The elegant wine has fine tannins and a lengthy finish. 450 Cases Produced -Anna Monticelli, Winemaker
