Black Grapes

First of all, clearly I have had grapes, so no I am not crazy to add them to this blog.  I actually love grapes.  I just happened to notice black grapes at my grocery store this week and thought, hey I saw a recipe for those and I have never had them or the recipe so lets try it for G.

Grapes, specifically black grapes; apparently are not wildly popular yet but I am sure they will be.  I could not find much information on Black Grapes themselves, turns out a grape is a grape is a grape. These really did seem to taste much  grapier and sweeter, and didn't have a bitter skin so someone should really tell Wikipedia to get on it and add some Black Grape information.

Domestic grapes began nearly 8000 years ago in an area we used to refer to as the "Near East".  Most table grapes are grown from a European variety are mostly cultivated as "seedless" and have much thinner skin than that of a wine grape.  Table grapes are also less sweet than those of the wine grape variety.

The Black Grapes I purchased seem bursting with juice and were just as good eaten cold as roasted, yes I said roasted.

I had seen a recipe where grapes were roasted, and while at first I thought that was nuts, I really wanted to try them.  I actually checked around and have seen both sweet and savory roasted grape recipes.  I opted for the savory as I was pairing them with roasted pork.  It is really very easy and they came out very tasty.

You take one bunch of Black Grapes, rinse and dry them and remove them from the stems....or not, it is up to you.  Roll them in Olive oil and sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste.  Lay them out on a pan and roast at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes.  Or until they just burst.  I saved the juice from the pan and poured it over my pork and it was DELICIOUS!  I think next time I will just throw them on the same pan as the pork, in the last ten minutes, in the oven and make a pan sauce from all the drippings.

Friarielli

Friarielli, also known as Broccoli Rabe, Broccoletti, Broccoli di Rape, Cime di Para, Rape, Rappini, Rappi…the list could go on forever folks, is very hard to describe.

Friarielli is part of the Mustard family.  It is a green leafy vegetable with firm edible stalks and little clusters of buds that resemble broccoli however do not taste like it at and sometimes has little yellow flowers at the peak of the buds.  It is mostly common in the cuisine of Italy and China, although presented in very different ways.  It is classified as a Brassica rapaIt and is definitely an acquired taste for those who don't care for greens, however I have to say after sampling it myself it has the greens texture of cooked spinach, the stalk texture of asparagus and the taste is between that of greens and asparagus with a bit of a bitter finish.   I quite enjoyed it and will be eating it again.  I can see this sautéed with garlic and shallots finished with red pepper flakes and served over pasta in lieu of sauce.  I was so excited when I finished my recipe I forgot to take a photo of the finished dish, guess I will have to make it again soon to update this blog post.

Sauted Friarielli with Garlic and Shallots
I cut the end of the stalks off and discarded them, then I trimmed the stalks into three sections.  Starting with the lowest part of the stalk I dropped them into boiling water for about a minute before adding the rest to blanch another minute to two minutes.  I drained them from the hot water and left them to cool while I sautéed two minced cloves of garlic and one large shallot sliced.  I removed these from the pan and heated up about three tablespoons of olive oil, then placed the Friarielli in the pan to sauté for about ten minutes stirring frequently with salt and pepper to taste.  I added the shallots and garlic and sautéed a minute or two longer and served warm along side roasted pork and my next recipe, roasted Black Grapes.  See next post.

Eggplant

OK, first of all let me apologize for being so behind on posts.  My daughter wanted to join the Girl Scouts about 5 months ago, so we signed her up.  Then no leaders took the reigns to get these girls started in new troops so my Friend Marlene and I (thank you Marlene) decided to take one for the team and started our own troop.....NO ONE SAID how much time it would take.  Not to mention we joined at COOKIE TIME!!  But I digress, I have been a bit busy lately so I am behind in the posting of my blog....please enjoy as I try to catch up on my weeks.

The Eggplant, also known as Aubergine, Melongene, brinjal or guinea squash is considered a Night Shade.  Eggplants are native to India, this I did not know, however they seem to be cultivated just about anywhere now a days I even grew them in my garden a couple of years ago. This particular Night Shade is in the genus; Solanum along with Potatos and Tomatos.  They often have colorful flowers of white or purple and in the wild the fruit grows much smaller than those in cultivation.  The fruit itself is classified as a berry so I am not quite sure if this is a fruit or veggie, non the less I wanted to try it at home.  The flesh of the fruit is fleshy or meaty as they say, with many many seeds that really should be removed prior to cooking if you don't like the bitter taste.  I seem to only like it in Eggplant Parmesan and thought I could cook it up like my favorite Mushroom Steak Fries (Portabellos) and see if it retained the same texture.  Alas it did not, it became quite mushy inside and I really didn't like it.  So I guess I am sticking to Eggplant Parm for future Eggplant ingestion.  To be honest I didn't even take photos, I was so disappointed.  :(  If you know of any other recipes where the fruit does not tend to get mushy, let me know and I might take another crack at it.

Dates

I was very dissapointed this week when I could not find my chosen "D" Fruit.  I really wanted to try Dragon Fruit, and I may still when "D" comes back around.  I dragged my feet a bit to find a replacement.  So instead I settled on Dates.  I had no idea I would learn so much and to be honest I didn't know what they were. I thought they were related to raisins some how, because they are dried.

Dates are actually the fruit of the Date Palm.  There is no certainty on the place of origin but it is believed to be some where in the Coastal Areas of the Persian Gulf.  Today they are grown as crops in Turkey, Iraq, Arabia North Africa and Morroco as well as parts of the US (California, Arizona & South Florida).  Knowing that dates come from Palms was surprising to me and makes me wonder how many I have seen over the years growing up in Miami and never knew.  There are several varieties of Date Palms.  Turns out they are quite an expensive palm and the True Date Palm being the one to produce edible dates is being grown and sold more and more for landscaping in South Florida, although excessive water from rain or landscape sprinklers may prevent the fruit from forming.  The trees, leaves and stems have so many uses I couldn't possibly list them all, but you should check it out online.  Culinarily the fruits are used in breads and baked goods or eated fresh or slightly dried. I bought the slightly dried version , tasted them out of the package.  Not very strong tasting but they seemed a bit tough.  I used them in a topping for a tart, however I did see in Spain they wrap them with with bacon and pan fry them....that sounds tasty and I may have to try it since I have so many left over.  I will upload photos of my recipe, let me know if you want the details.  They came out quite nice, the shell is crispy, with a sweet cream cheese filling and the topping is walnuts, brown sugar and diced dates.  The dates get a bit chewier and a nice caramel crisp when done this way.

Any suggestions for letter E?

Red Currants

Not much information on Red Currants available.  They are classified as Ribes which include Currants and Gooseberries.  They are native to Western Europe and can be found in Asia and parts of North America.  The round berries look like small grapes and cluster.  Once mature they have a strong tart flavor.  To me they are very much like a pomegranate in taste and texture, only a bit larger and much easier to pull the fruit from the vine, than to beat up a pomegranate.  They are mostly used culinarily in Jams, Jellies and in baked goods.  They can be eaten raw from the vine or in salads and have also been used to make wine.  They are certainly not cheap, considering the size of the package but they are definitely a specific taste and could be used for many many different dishes.  I used them in a sauce and more than likely will again, however next time I may run it through a sieve as the seeds are very hard, small and bitter and get stuck in your molars.

I ate a couple of them raw….phew! Really tart.  So I opted for a cooked version.  I made a Red Currant Sauce, very simply, although I could see how this could get way more gourmet with the addition of citrus zest or spices.  I decided since I was making a sauce, I would have to put it on something.  I decided a simple Rice Pudding would be fancied up with the bright red sauce.

To make the sauce, pull all the currants from the vine and place in a pot on medium high heat with 1/3 cup of sugar of your choice.  Bring to a low boil and simmer until all sugar is dissolved.  You can continue to reduce the sauce to a thick syrup or serve a bit runny with the beautiful red pulp of the berries.

Beets

Beet, Beetroot or Garden beet.  They come in varying colors most well known of these being Purple or Deep Pink inside. Beets are believed to have been found originally along the Mediterranean.  In the 19th century it was discovered that one variety - the sugar beet - could have sucrose extracted and refined as an alternative to sugar cane. (more on this later as I have learned something new and wish to share it with you, see below the recipes) Depending on the variety of the beet there are many ways to cook or eat them, the Spinach Beet and Chard are used for its leaves that are often cooked like spinach.  The mangelwurzel was used as animal feed.  The sugar beet was used to make table sugar and the beet root was cultivated for the tuber to be cooked in different ways, while beet juice is used as a colourant, here have been numerous medicinal uses as well.
A one cup serving of beets has about 74 calories, 3 grams of dietary fiber 11% Vitamin C, 51% Manganese and various other vitamins and minerals.




I desperately wanted to buy fresh beets, but apparently my grocery store didn't have them.  I opted for cut canned beets instead, not pickled.  It turns out using canned beets just speeds up the process if you are planning to roast them, which is what I did.  I love pickled beets so it didn't seem that much of a stretch that I might like them roasted but I have to tell you I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed them.  I would say in the future roasted beets could replace potatos along side a steak; no problem, which is how I ate them.  The beets roasted with red onions paired together beautifully.  I also made a salad with them.


What you will need to roast the beets.


Two cans beets, not pickled.  Store brand is just fine for this method.
Olive oil to coat them
Sea or Kosher Salt
Course Ground black pepper
Garlic powder
Thinly sliced red onions, use your desired amount.


Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Open and drain beets, place on foil rimmed baking sheet along with sliced onions scattered about.  Drizzle desired amount of olive oil on beets/onions and sprinkle with salt, peper and garlic.  Toss to coat and lay in even layer on baking sheet.  Roast for 7-8 minutes. Using tongs turn each beet over and roast for 7-8 minutes longer.  Remove sheet form oven and serve warm as a side dish or allow to cool and use in a salad.


Beet and Clementine salad:
Romaine lettuce chopped to your desired size and amount, handfull of roasted beets, sliced fresh red onion, chick peas, clementine segments, what ever crumbly cheese you have on hand (I used Queso Fresco a mexican crumbled cheese but you could use feta or bleu and it would be great) and c.hopped roasted walnuts.  I tossed with a basic vinagrette I made using Rasberry Blush Vinegar.  Very very yummy salad indeed.




So back to beet sugar.  Turns out that most store brands, which I am a buyer of by the way, may actually more than cane sugar for our table sugar.  As a matter of fact (the label reader in me cringed) I realized that one of the brands I have bought in the past actually read "Pure Sugar". Turns out, due to no regulation, a company has does not have to provide the source of the sugar and the bags may actually contain all beet sugar or part beet and part cane sugar.  Beet sugar apparently does not have as lengthy a process as cane sugar and can be grown further north  and at different times of the year which makes the production of it a bit cheaper.  What is wrong with this you ask?  I like to save money so I am all about store brands but I am not so sure anymore.  It depends on what you feel might be wrong.  Beet sugar, I come to find, behaves differently in baking that cane sugar.  It doesn't make caramel well, and may burn while be broiled for a brulee or other fancy desert where cane sugar makes a much better desert.  Make sense to me now as I have noticed problems in both these areas and never considered the sugar to be the culprit, just thought I might be having a bad day.  The other issue I have found, searching the net (which is not always a great thing, especially since I am not happy with what I found) is that 50% of all sugar consumed in the US is beet sugar, 95% of that sugar is grown from Monsanto Round up ready seeds.  If you have not watched the documentary Food Inc. stop reading right now and go rent it and you will know why this is bad bad bad.  It kind of sucks to find out that doing research for a blog I thought would be fun and get me to try new things will just make more work for me as I have to now research the food I buy that much more. :(
I am definitely buying only Florida Cane Sugar from now on, since there are companies here that do not have GM Cane Sugar, damn the price I gotta do it.  Now,I have to find out if my actual beets are GM....I see more internet searches in my future.

Acorn Squash

Ok, so here it is my first post of the new year.

I decided to go ahead and try Acorn Squash both for the first time and for my first blog post.

Acorn squash is a fruit treated culinarily as a vegetable. It is native to the Americas and being a squash; is part of the three most important food staples of Native American Indians, the other two being beans and corn. There are a few variations on color however the most popular is mostly dark green with a spot of yellow.  1 cup of this squash cubed has 2 g fiber, 1g protein and 56 calories with the follwing percentages of vitamins 10% A & 26 % C.

Information I found can be located at: http://homecooking.about.com/od/foodhistory/a/acornsquashhist.htm
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2644/2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acorn_squash


Below are the two recipes I created and tried.  I really liked the stuffed savory version the best.

Served Savory: Suffed Acorn Squash 2 acorn squash sliced lengthwise, seeds removed 1/3 lb each ground beef and pork 1/3 cup frozen diced onion and green pepper Sea salt/crushed black pepper Italian seasoning Olive oil Parmesean cheese 1 Steamer bag of brown rice heated per directions Slice off the back of the squash to roast them with the opening up, this way they lay flat and level.  Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and crushed pepper roaste at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. While they are roasting I saute the peppers an onions in 1 tbs of olive oil, seasone with salt and pepper.  Once the veggies are warmed through and beginning to brown add the ground meats season  with salt and pepper and sauted till browned.  Once the meat mixture is cooked through add a sprinking of italian seasoning and parmesean cheese to taste and turn heat off. Once the squash are roasted mix the rice into the meat mixture then fill with heaping spoonfuls into openings.  Depending on the size of squash the mixture should fill all four with no mixture remaining.  Sprinkle each one with a bit more cheese then place back in the oven for 20-25 more minutes.  Serve warm and enjoy. Served Sweet: Brown sugar roasted Acorn Squash 1 Acorn Squash 3 tbsp butter melted 1 tbsp cinnamon sugar 1 tbsp brown sugar Slice squash lengthwise and core each half then cut each one in half and in half again.  Place slices on paper plate and cover with a damp paper towel.  Microwave on high for 5 minutes.  Place slices on foiled baking sheet toss with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and brown sugar.  Roast at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes. So that is it for my first post, check back next week and see what I try next.  I will try not to be so wordy next time and only try one recipe. :)