Young Coconut Sherbet

   Coconuts we get from the market come from Mexico and Thailand. Most of the young coconut come from Thailand and are available all year round. They are sold in boxes already prepared and ready for use. One only has to open them properly to get every precious water and tender meat they offer. I open them with ease by slicing the white husk to expose the shell around the mid section then knock it with the blunt side of a cleaver or a similar object to open. This is done right above a huge bowl to catch every drop of the sweet coconut water.

To make the sherbet, you only need to freeze the coconut water that is slightly sweetened with white sugar and then put in a blender to make into a smoothie. Then incorporate some of the very tender coconut meat into the slush and serve in any way you like.

The tender meat looks like this. So soft, you can spoon and eat it from the shell.

Enjoy a really refreshing treat!

Mother's Day Ivory Carving You Can Eat

Mother's day is commemorated on different days in many parts of the world. Here we celebrate Mother's day on the 8th of May. A special day to honor mothers and motherhood. We get together and treat our moms to a special dinner and also give nice greeting cards and little gifts of appreciation. It has become a tradition we observe every year we don't want to miss.  I went to downtown San Francisco where my mom lives to look for things I could buy for her. I saw so many things but did not find anything my mom would really like. I went to  Chinatown on Grant Avenue and got an idea to make instead. Something my mom and all the mothers at the party could enjoy without harming beautiful creatures in the wild. Something I could afford and organic to carve in my kitchen. It's a white chocolate carving of an ivory tusk with a garden motif for all of you to enjoy!

Paella de Verduras

Paella can be done in many ways including vegetarian. Get your favorite vegetables in season, some arborio rice and a good pinch of Spanish saffron and you're ready to make a fabulous meal.

I make this special paella whenever artichokes are in season and with it the usual paella vegetables like bell peppers, green beans, onions,tomatoes and peas. I added zucchini,  green unions and fava beans well.

Start with an 18"wide paella pan and sautee in olive oil the aromatic vegetables first until wilt and transparent. Peppers first then the onions followed by the tomatoes. 

Add 4 cups of arborio rice at this point, stirring it together to coat every grain with the aromatic sofrito. Then add  the rest of the vegetables. Stir for a couple of minutes and add water just enough to cover the rice. Stir in the saffron that have been ground in a wooden mortar and pestle. I usually pour a little hot water to get every bit of it. Season well with your favorite salt for the rice will absorb every flavor. 

Allow the liquid to boil and reduce until you see the rice appear cooking away. Lower the flame to minimum and cover the pan for at least 20 minutes. Do not open at this point. Just make sure the heat is evenly distributed all over the pan by rotating it around every now and to prevent scorching at the bottom. 

The rice should be perfectly cooked after 20 minutes and ready for the table.

Garnish with half a lemon and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Yogurt from 2% Fat Milk to 100% Homemade

Here's a fast and easy way to make yogurt of your choice at home. With this yogurt maker, you only need to boil 6 cups of milk then cool to lukewarm and add 1 cup of yogurt as starter. 

You can cool it faster when you place the hot milk over a pot of cold water.

Pour mixture into the individual jars and cover with the dome without the lids.

You can set the maker to 9 hours at night and have the yogurt ready the next morning for breakfast. 

You are now ready have a fresh jar of yogurt plain with muscovado sugar, topped with homemade jam or fruit macedonia.

Enjoy!

Chirimoya Ice Cream

The chirimoya is a tropical fruit that originated in South America. It is a species of Annona native to the Andean highland valleys. So priced that it is cultivated in parts of the world that  have similar climates. Here too but with much difficulty because they will not bear fruit unless they are hand pollinated. That is why they are so pricey and very seldom found in markets here. I found them so abundant and inexpensive in Spain when in season. They usually come from the Canary Islands or the Azores if sold in Portugal.

The chirimoya is one of my favorite fruit. I find the white flesh so creamy and almost like eating custard with a fruity flavor. Mark Twain called the chirimoya "the most delicious fruit known to men."

To make the ice cream you need to remove the dark brown seed. They are very easy to dislodged with a fork. You need at least 2 cups of the delicately sweet and creamy pulp.

Beat a pint or 2 cups of heavy cream and sweeten it with at least 6 tablespoons of powdered sugar. Mix the pulp gently and freeze until firm.

Enjoy!

Buona Pasqua - Felices Pascuas

Here's a flower vase for you. I made it entirely with white chocolate. It's hallow, about a foot high and 25 inches in diameter. I lined two steel bowls with chocolate flowers and glued them together with melted shavings. Then created the base made of flowers also and crowned it with lilly of the valley. Buona Pasqua! Felices Pascuas!

Manila Mango Scorpacciata

Famous for their sweet and distinctive flavor it is cultivated mainly in Mexico and also in Florida and some in Arizona. Manilas are a South East Asian type mango that is relatively thin and long and very sweet.  Now in season and they are ripe at their best. Breakfast fruit or dessert, this mango is just perfect.

The manila mangos gets very sweet after a couple of days when purchased still greenish. They are at their ripest best when they start to wrinkle a little like the one at end.

The best way to get the most out of this delectable fruit is to slice it on both sides as close as possible to the single seed in the middle. You can then scoop the flesh easily with a spoon. 

You can also have fun cutting it in cubes if you wish.

With this you can make a refreshing mango smoothie on a warm day. For 2 servings you will need at least 2 cups of cubed really ripe manila mangoes and blend with 2 1/2 cups of cold milk and 4 ice cubes or more. Add sugar to taste if your smoothie is no sweet enough. Top your glass with mango cubes for extra bite.

Here is a popular Thai dessert you can make with the mango. It's called Mango Sticky Rice. One cup of  sweet rice is boiled really soft then mixed with coconut cream and topped with a really ripe mango and extra cream is poured for garnish. The coconut cream is made by boiling 2 cups of thick coconut milk and 4 tablespoons or more of sugar until thick. Mix 3/4 of the cream to the soft rice and set aside. The remaining 1/4 is for garnishing. Every Thai restaurant have a different style of serving it.You can serve this dessert in any way you like too. I choose to put them all together like a cake this way.

Enjoy!