Rooting for Ginger

Hello Love Handlers. After a bit of a break since LHF's last post, the last ten days of November are going to be packed with new recipies. It should be very exciting, since with Thanksgiving right around the corner, November is a month that truly needs special attention.

To fit right in with the feel of fall, the flavor featured this month is: roots!

It's amazing just how much can be made with roots and LHF has some yummy treats, a fun craft, and a soothing drink in store. To start us off, I want to share that soothing drink, and also let everyone know why they should go out and buy a tea ball if they don't already have one.

Tonight, after a long day of work, I needed something to wind down. I opted to made some fresh ginger and honey tea, which is one of my favorites because not only is it incredibly good for you, it is also very easy to make if you have the right tools.

To make this, you will need:
Fresh ginger root
Honey (I bought mine from a local producer in Julian)
Tea ball (or a tea straw)
Grater

Simply grate enough of your fresh ginger root to fill your tea ball. Then, place your tea ball filled with ginger in a mug and let it steep in boiling water. Add honey.

Relax. Enjoy.

-Ianna

Homemade Apple Butter

Iiiiiiiiiitttts apple season! One of my favorite times of year. When apples are in season, I think I could honestly eat two a day. They are beautiful colors with anything from a sweet to sour flavor. This last week when my roommate and I both had a night to relax together and make something, we decided to make apple butter. The day before she had gone apple picking with her family and brought back a big bag of Gravenstein apples and some half pint mason jars.

Here's what you can do at home to get the same chunky spicy spread:

You Will Need:

At least 4-5 lbs fresh apples

2 C. water

2 C. apple cider vinegar

4 C. sugar

4 Tsp. cinnamon

1 Tsp. allspice

1/2 Tsp. ground cloves

Sterilized glass jars with lids

A friend to help you

PROCESS

-Wash and quarter apples

-Add to a large pot and bring to a boil, along water and apple cider vinegar

-Reduce heat and simmer for about 40-45 minutes

-Remove from heat and pass through a food mill or some sort of strainer to separate out the seeds and stems :)

-Add sugar and spices

-Simmer on low heat for about 2 hours, stirring constantly. You will want to have a friend around to help you for this part.

-In the mean time as you and your partner are taking turns stirring, prepare the jars for sterilization. There are two general methods, wet and dry sterilization. You can boil your jars to sterilize them, but I find this is too much hassle in my small kitchen. Instead, we washed our jars with soap and warm water and allowed them to dry. Then we put them in the oven on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, and allowed the jars to sterilize in the oven for about 30 minutes on 425F.

-As the apple butter mixture thickens, make sure to keep stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot so that nothing sticks and no layer of burned butter at the bottom forms. What you end up with is a very fragrant chunky syrup mix that can be ladled carefully into the jars. It will be mostly a matter of preference, but you will want to get a thick consistency. To test, spoon a small amount on a plate that has been sitting in your freezer. The apple butter should set up and not be too runny or think on a cold plate if it has cooked and reduced down enough.

-H.BOMB

Coconut Curry Fish Fry with Coconut Lime Rice

Lately I have been on a fish fix. I have been craving sushi, salmon, tuna, and shrimp all week. Five days a week I work as a server at a crazy little seafood cafe in Pismo Beach, but this isn't exactly the seafood I want to eat on my nights off. My cafe serves basically all fried seafood, from cod to Atlantic clams and calamari, save for some grilled salmon and ahi tuna. Don't get me wrong, its all good food and I am glad to serve it, but what I have been wanting is something much fresher and with some crazy flavor and texture.

First I went to the fresh seafood market a couple of miles from my new house, where I got about a pound and a half of cod, which was the daily special for $6.99/lb. Then I went to the local grocery store like I usually do, with one or two ingredients in mind, and ended up with a super yummy fish dinner perfect for summer, and I even got to get my hands a little messy in the process. With the volume on the boom box cranked up and a frosty cold IPA popped open, I got to cookin' and broke in my new kitchen.

This recipe is a simple breaded fried fish recipe, with some spice and flavor mixed in to make it taste like a pro made it. If you have ever made fried chicken, for example, this will be easy as pie. You will simply marinate your fish while you prep your breading station. 

INGREDIENTS

Fresh fish of your choice

Lemons

Limes

Garlic, fresh or powder

Sweet Chili Sauce

Curry Spice powder

Flour

Eggs

Coconut Milk

Coconut Shavings

Olive Oil

Rice

  *To make a more flavorful rice, replace some water with coconut milk and lime juice.

ALSO

Glass baking dish

Foil

2 Bowls or Dishes

2 Additional Dishes

Tongs or Spatula

Begin by cutting your fish into pieces. I cut mine into large chunks, probably about 1 oz each. Place these in your glass baking dish. Add lemon and lime juice, garlic, sweet chili sauce, and curry spice to taste. Toss the fish well, but gently, to evenly coat. Cover with foil and leave to marinate for about 30 minutes while you begin to boil water for rice and prepare the breading station. As I suggest above, I replaced about one cup of water with coconut milk and added the juice of one lime to the rice while it cooked. I also used a double boiler and used the steam from the rice to cook some roughly chopped bok choy. YUM!

Prepare your breading station with a total of 4 bowls and/or dishes/plates. In the fist dish you will need a cup or two of flour, more garlic seasoning, and curry spice. Mix these well. In the second dish, you will need 2 eggs and about a cup of coconut milk, whisked together. In the third will be coconut shavings only. The last dish is for placing prepared breaded (or coconut-ed) fish pieces before frying them. The order you will dip and coat your fish pieces will be flour mix-egg mix-coconut shavings (dry-wet-dry). Be sure to fully coat each piece in each mix. (Helpful hint: only load the coconut plate with about a 1/4 of the bag at first because the egg drippings make the shavings stick together and not want to stick to the fish, so only use a bit of the coconut at a time so you don't gunk it up too bad from the beginning).

Heat olive oil in a pan. Cook each piece of fish for about 2-3 minutes per side, depending on how big you cut them. Turn them over as they begin to brown and smell like toasted coconut. Serve the fried fish with prepared coconut lime rice and some veggies for a delicious dinner! Enjoy!

-H.BOMB

Black and Blue Chocolate Cheesecake Pie

Cheesecake Trials Part II

If you can remember a few weeks ago, I got a little excited over some mini berry cheesecakes I had fun preparing and decorating one night with my roommate Christy. Here is another report back on my personal challenge to develop and try out some fun new cheesecake recipes. As it turns out, once you figure out how to get the basic consistency of the cheesecake batter, you have basically gotten through the tough part. You just keep adding delicious little bits of flavor and texture, and BOOM! you have a delicious dessert that is sure to impress. I got the idea for this dessert from an absolutely delicious pie I tried at a cafe in Budapest, Hungary. I hope I've done it some justice.

INGREDIENTS

CRUST
1 1/2 C. chocolate cookie crumbs
1 Tbsp. sugar
6 Tbsp. butter, softened or even melted

FILLING
1 8 Oz. pkg of cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tsp. vanilla
1 Egg
Juice from 1 medium sized lemon

TOPPING 
1 C. fresh blueberries
1/2 C. fresh blackberries
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/4-1/3 C. slivered almonds

ALSO
2 mixing bowls
1 8 inch round non stick baking dish
1 small sauce pan
1 sandwich bag

Begin by preheating your oven to 375 F. Place chocolate cookies in a sandwich bag, and crush until they are a semi fine texture. Place the cookie crumbs in a mixing bowl and add softened or melted butter and sugar. Mix until you can compress the crumbs together in your hand and they can loosely hold their shape. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom of your 8 inch round to form a thick chocolate crust.

On the side, prepare a mixed berry sauce to top off and marble into the cheesecake batter later. Just take fresh whole berries and a tablespoon of sugar and allow it to simmer and cook down over a medium heat for about 15-20 minutes. Use a fork or spoon to crush a few of the berries and release some juice for the rest to cook in. You can basically leave this alone while preparing the batter, just stir occasionally. What I was going for was a sort of berry syrup with a bit of flesh still for some texture. Besides an extra sweet tart taste the berry syrup mixture adds a beautiful rich bluish purple color to the finished pie.

In a second mixing bowl, use a fork to mix together softened cream cheese and sugar. You want smooth consistency. Add one egg, vanilla, and lemon juice. Whisk these all together until you get a very smooth texture, about 5-7 minutes. Spoon the cream cheese mixture into the prepared chocolate crust, and even it out. Then spoon on top in a sort of random pattern at least half of your berry mixture, if you want to save some to use at the end to pour over a warm slice. Use a knife or toothpick to swirl the dark purple berry mix into the off white cream cheese mix. Don't mix too much or else you will just end up with a purple pie, unless that is what you are going for :) Sprinkle on top some almond slivers for some crunch, and throw it in the oven for 25-30 minutes, checking often towards the end to make sure the top doesn't brown too much.

Remove the pie from the oven and allow it to cool for at least 10-15 minutes. Enjoy the it plain, or with some leftover berry syrup. More importantly, remember to enjoy it with a friend.

The pie which inspired this post. Chocolate cheesecake with tart blueberry sauce and star fruit from Cafe Jelen in Budapest, Hungary. Delicious then and delicious now.

Mini Berry Cheesecakes

All week long I have been having a major sweet tooth. This has not been made easier by the fact that I just got a second part time job at a chocolate shop on the beach. What I've had a sweet tooth for though, I something fruity and not so rich for summer time. Last Wednesday afternoon after getting off work, I invited my roommate, Christy, to join me in going to the small farmer's market in downtown Pismo Beach that is still growing in size and popularity. There was a very friendly vendor who was selling freshly picked strawberries and raspberry baskets for a decent price, so of course I bought some. These mini cheesecakes are what Christy and I came up with after a little brainstorming. Best part of all, these are super simple and nearly fool proof, so you will be indulging in some sweet little treats in practically no time at all ;p

INGREDIENTS
CRUST

1 C. crushed graham crackers, about one plastic sleeve

1/3 C. brown sugar

3/4 stick of butter, softened to room temperature

FILLING

1 8oz. package of cream cheese, softened to room temperature

1/3 C. brown or white sugar

1 egg

*optional- 1/2 C. berry puree for extra color and flavor

OPTIONAL TOPPING IDEAS
-berry puree and a few tea spoons of sugar reduced over low heat, spooned over the top

-fresh raspberries, strawberries, blueberries

-left over graham cracker crumbs

-lemon zest, dark or white chocolate, honey, the list goes on!

YOU WILL ALSO NEED

Muffin tin

Paper baking cups

2 Mixing bowls

Blender???

Begin by crushing graham crackers to make the crust. It is easiest to break the graham crackers into squares and putting them in a sandwich bag to crush so you don't make a huge mess in your kitchen. Crush the graham crackers, and mix with butter and brown sugar. Spoon the mix into a muffin tin lined with baking cups, about 2 spoonfuls per cup. Use the back of the spoon to compress the crumb mix into a firm crust.

In a separate bowl, combine softened cream cheese and sugar. Mix well and add an egg. Whisk the entire mixture until it is smooth. If you prefer, this is also a good moment to add some fresh berry puree if you want to add some extra color and flavor to your mini cheesecakes. I made two half batches of plain and berry flavored minis. 

Spoon the cream cheese mixture on top of the prepared crusts. Fill the cups to about 3/4 full of the mix. Place these in the oven preheated to 350degrees F for about 15-17 minutes. After about 13 minutes I spooned the last 1/3 cup or so of my cooked down berry puree over half of my plain batch. This cooked for the last few minutes to make a sort of yummy berry jam on top of a few of my minis. Also, don't forget to lick up and enjoy every last bit of the berry goodness off of your utensils and fingers. Trust me, you won't want to let any go to waste.

Remove the done minis from the oven and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before removing from the tin and decorating. But remember, have fun and be creative when decorating. What makes them cute isn't really the fact that they are some berry petite treats, although it helps, its the fact that each one can have its own personality, texture, and flavors.

These little treats were so fun, easy, and delicious that my roommate and I have become inspired to attempt other versions of these minis...chocolate, pumpkin, peanut butter, cookie...the possibilities are only limited by our imaginations! More reports on those mini adventures to come.

-H.BOMB

Little Tastes of Paradise: The Mira Mesa Farmer's Market

Since graduating college, and traveling all around Europe for over a month, Helaina and I are now living back in our home towns. Rest assured though, we are still going to keep this blog running, and visit and collaborate with each other when we can!

Here at Love Handling Food, we really love fresh, quality foods and drinks. One of the best places that you can find these, is none other than your local farmer's market. On top of the quality ingredients that you can purchase at these markets, we also like being able to support the local producers rather than the corporate grocery chains. Now that I am back living in San Diego, a goal of mine is to visit many of the farmer's markets around the city.

To begin, I thought it best to first visit the market in my own neighborhood. Every Tuesday from 2:00 pm to 7:00 pm, is the Mira Mesa Farmer's Market. Held in the parking lot of Mira Mesa High School, there is an abundance of great buys to be found. I took my dad along for the foodie adventure, and he was especially pleased at the freshly prepared food options at a decent price, and I was especially pleased that I was convincing him to try something other than Denny's for a change. We had a range of choices from fresh seafood that included mussels and oyster plates, to authentic Thai food. It was the Filipino food stand that lured us in though, offering rather largely portioned combo plates for $7.00. For that price, we were able to get a whole plate of thin, pancit noodles with veggies and chicken that were flavored with lemon juice, in addition to a chicken or pork kebab straight from the BBQ and many pieces of lumpia, prepared right in front of us. For those of you who have not been lucky enough yet to try Filipino food, lumpia is best described as little tastes of paradise. They are fried spring rolls, and are typically stuffed with pork, minced onions, carrots, and a bouquet of delicious spices, perfectly paired with a sweet and sour dipping sauce.

After satisfying our appetites with that delicious Filipino cuisine, I wanted to take a look around the market, as I was on a hunt for some fresh produce to take home with me. As we made our rounds, though, I found that this market held much more than fruit and vegetable stands. There were crafts! There was art! There was an array of potted plants to make any gardener's heart jump for joy!

I stopped to admire some beautiful orchids, when much to my excitement, I saw a stand that held a very wide variety of potted herbs. I suppose it would be appropriate to tell you another goal of mine now that I am back in San Diego: to have a pallet garden on my porch. Who says that you can't still garden if you're living in an apartment? I went over to the herb stand, and for $2.00 a pot, I was able to buy basil, thyme, rosemary, and a twilight chili pepper plant. I was especially intrigued by the pepper plant, because it produces tiny peppers, that turn from purple, to yellow, then orange, and then red when mature. Although this plant is typically used more for its ornamental purposes, I'm sure a few of the peppers can still add a mild spice to many dishes. I am very excited to see how my garden progresses, and am returning next week to pick up some more plant additions. The man who sold me my starting plants even told me he would have a potted cherry tomato plant for me next week!

I still have to pick up a couple of pallets...but for now this table will do!

Once I gathered my four pots that were just waiting to be placed out on my porch, it was then time to pick out the produce I wanted to buy, and wow, I am so delighted with my choices. I purchased (and I am not exaggerating) the best strawberries I have ever had. They were perfectly ripe, and tasted like tangy, sugary candies of the earth. I also bought some broccoli, green beans, and tomatoes that were still on the vine. My most unusual buy, though, was the tropical fruit, cherimoya, which is also known as a custard apple. This fruit had green, scaly skin, and white, creamy flesh. The woman who ran the stand taught me that the cherimoya is native to South America. Although I had never tried it before, its look and texture reminded me greatly of another tropical fruit that I had tried on the island of Antigua, called soursap. Its taste was nothing like soursap though, which has a very sour, yet sweet flavor. If there was any good way to describe the taste of the cherimoya, I would say it was a mix of mango and coconut, but a lot more mild in flavor compared to the two.

I left the Mira Mesa Farmer's Market with a full stomach, and full hopes. I was ready to get growing, and get cooking.

Please, do check back if you're interested in reading reviews on other San Diego farmer's markets, or just are curious about the pallet garden's progress.

-Ianna