Food of the Month Club: Mango Salsa

Mangoes are my favorite fruit ever.  They are great in margaritas, chutney, desserts, or just on their own. When they were announced as the May Food of the Month over at La Cocina De Leslie I became excited.  While mangoes have such a nice, bright flavor that works well in a variety of dishes, I prefer them prepared simply with a bit of spice and tang.  This mango salsa comes together quickly and makes a wonderful compliment to grilled meats or fish, coconut rice, or just plain tortilla chips.

•3 large mangoes, pit removed, peeled and diced
•1 large onion, chopped
•1 red bell pepper, chopped
•2 cloves garlic, minced
•2 or 3 serrano chilies, minced
•A large handful of fresh cilantro, minced
•1/4 cup lime juice

Pit, peel, and cube the mangoes.  I have found that the easiest way to do this is to cut two slices lengthwise from the mango, leaving the large pit in the middle.  Score the flesh of the mango halves in a checkerboard pattern.  Be careful not to cut through the skin.  Flip the mango inside out, pushing the cubes apart.  Cut the cubes off of the peel right into a bowl.  Get as much flesh off of the pit as you can with a sharp knife.

Combine the mango cubes with the onion, red bell pepper, serrano chilies, garlic, and cilantro.  Toss with the lime juice.

Shrimp Spring Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce

For Mother's Day we had my parents over for a barbecue.  We went with an Asian theme for the day by having Korean barbecue ribs, which we wrapped in leaves of lettuce and served with chili sauce, a quinoa salad with a ginger dressing, and shrimp spring rolls with peanut sauce.

Wade made the meat with a recipe from Steve Rachlin's Planet Barbecue.  That is a wonderful cookbook filled with barbecue recipes from all over the world.  It gets used a lot at our house in the summer.  The quinoa salad recipe is from Canning for a New Generation by Liana Kristoff.  The dressing is made with some home canned sushi ginger and the pickling liquid.  It pairs nicely with the cucumbers and tomatoes in the salad.  And it's just cool to home can your own ginger.  It makes a nice project for the middle of winter when there isn't much else around to can.  The spring rolls are our own creation using some vegetables we had on hand.  Wade made up the recipe for the peanut sauce, which would be great in a stir fry as well. I forgot to take a picture of the sauce, but I'll post one next time we make it.

Mom loved everything and we had a great Mother's Day.

•Spring roll wraps, about a dozen.
•3 cups fresh spinach leaves
•2 cups very finely shredded cabbage
•2 carrots, shredded
•3 green onions, sliced
•1 red bell pepper, finely sliced
•a handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
•salt, to taste
•1 Tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
•1/2 pound shrimp, cooked and split in half

For the Peanut Dipping Sauce:
•1/2 cup coconut milk
•1 cup peanut butter
•handful of fresh cilantro
•1 teaspoon fish sauce
•1 1/2 Tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
•1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
•2 cloves garlic

Fill a pie dish with warm water.  Set aside. Set the spinach leaves aside.  Mix the cabbage, carrots, green onion, bell pepper, and cilantro together in a bowl.  Salt to taste and toss with the oil.

The spring roll wrapper is there.  It's just hard to see since it's clear.

Dip a spring roll wrapper in the water for about 30 seconds, to soften.  Place on a cutting board.  Top with a few slices of spinach in the middle of the wrapper.  Place a few tablespoons of the vegetable mixture on top of the spinach.  Top the vegetable mixture with 4 shrimp halves.

Fold the bottom of the wrapper up over the filling, tuck in the sides, and roll up.  The wrapper with stick to itself.  Repeat until the vegetables are gone.

Blend all of the ingredients for the sauce together in a food processor.  Serve alongside the spring rolls.

Cute Chick Deviled Eggs for Spring

It's been a long, long time since I last posted.  I had to really get down to work, but I have FINALLY finished my thesis.  Yay!  Now I'm excited to have some free time to do some crafts, gardening, and of course, cooking.

Today's post was made and photographed by my Mom.  Every year, for as long as I can remember, we have deviled eggs that look like chicks in colored shells for Easter.  They are one of our favorite food traditions. These eggs can be a bit tedious to make if you are making a big batch, but they are so cute it is totally worth it.  Bring these to a picnic this spring and be prepared for everyone to go go nuts.

•eggs, hard-boiled and peeled

•mayo
•yellow mustard
•salt and pepper
•food coloring
•1 carrot, cut into tiny matchsticks, for the beaks
•several black olives, cut into tiny pieces for the eyes

Set out several bowls or ziploc bags.  Add some water to each bag and tint with food coloring to the desired shades.  Place several hard-boiled eggs in each container and set aside until the desired color is achieved.  Remove eggs from the dye and set aside on paper towels to dry.

Cut a small slice from both ends of each egg.  Set aside.  These will be the "hats" of the chicks.  Cut each egg in half with a zig-zag cut.

Remove the yolks from the eggs and mash with the mayo, mustard, salt, and pepper, to taste.  Or make the filling according to your usual deviled egg recipe.

Pipe the filling into each egg half.  Add carrots and olives for the beaks and eyes.  Top with the "hats".

Owl Cheese Ball with Crackers

Cheese balls are my Mom's specialty.  She makes them in all different flavors like taco, pineapple with sunflowers and green olive and bacon.  She also has made a variety of shapes over the years such as Christmas trees, reindeer, and jack-o-lanterns.  This is my addition into the mix of family cheese balls. I got the idea for the owl shape at a blog dedicated to all things about owls, My Owl Barn.  The recipe is an adaptation from a recipe found online at Yummly.

•3 8 oz packages cream cheese (I used neufchatel), softened
•2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
•1 small bunch of green onions, thinly sliced
•1 Tablespoon chili powder
•1 Tablespoon Creole Seasoning 
•1 cup shredded white or yellow cheddar cheese
•1 cup finely chopped leftover ham

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.  Set aside.

Prepare garnishes.

For the Garnishes:

•6 oz. package sliced almonds (reserve about 1/3 of a cup.  Grind the rest in a food processor)
•1 pimento stuffed green olive, sliced in half
•a few slices of fresh carrot (leave 2 round, cut the edges off of a third round to make a triangle shape, and cut the last round into thin matchsticks to use as feet)

•2 pieces of cheddar cheese, cut unto circles slightly larger than the carrot rounds

•A few tablespoons of cream cheese mixture, reserved- for attaching the garnishes

Crackers, for serving.

Divide the cream cheese mixture in thirds.  Spread the ground almonds on a piece of waxed paper.  Place 2/3 of the cream cheese mixture on top of the almonds.  Coat evenly and gently shape the mixture into a ball.  Place the ball on the serving plate or a cheese board and press down, flattening softly.  Form legs at the bottom of the owl, as shown in the picture.  Place the remaining 1/3 of the cream cheese mixture on the remaining ground almonds and repeat, shaping into a ball.  Place the ball on the cheese board above the owl's body and press down slightly.  Form ears.

Spread a little cream cheese mixture on the back of the cheese slices.  Press them gently into the head to form the eyes.  Spread more cream cheese on the backs of the carrots and place on top of the cheese rounds.  Repeat with the green olive to form pupils.  Spread some cream cheese mixture on the back of the carrot triangle and place beneath the eyes to form the nose.  Press the carrot matchsticks gently into the feet to form the claws.

Gently spread the remaining cream cheese mixture on to the center of the body.  Starting at the bottom of the owl, place the almond slices on the body to form feathers.  Continue all the way to the top, filling in bald spots as you go.  Refrigerate until serving time.  Serve with crackers.

Eggplants Everywhere

This is the first year I have ever grown eggplants.  They are quite prolific.  Our two plants have given us far more eggplant than we could reasonable use without becoming absolutely sick of it.  We did the babaghanoush, eggplant parmesan, eggplant creole, grilled eggplant, tossed eggplant pasta, and some other things I'm surely forgetting.  But they keep coming.  I picked six the other day and preserved them.  Then I picked a great big one for my Mom when she was visiting.  There are about seven more that will be ready within the week.  We are getting a little tired of them now, but I know we'll miss them in the middle of winter.  So, I'd like to share with you two ways to preserve eggplants.  There aren't really recipes to either of these, just methods.  

Eggplant Preserved in Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil

The first is eggplant preserved in olive oil.  Kept in the fridge, it would make a great snack on its own or a nice addition to salads.  It could even be chopped up and added to pasta sauce for a nice flavor.  I originally found this recipe at The Slow Cook.

Take 2-3 medium to large eggplants.  Peel them and cut into bite sized slices or pieces.  Salt generously, (not too much!  I used about 1 or 2 Tablespoons of kosher salt) and place in a colander over a bowl to drain in the refrigerator, at least 12 hours.  I wasn't able to get to mine the next day, so they were draining for about 30 hours.  It didn't seem to make much of a difference.

Toss the eggplant pieces with any vinegar of your choice.  I used balsamic.  A red wine or a flavored vinegar, like pomegranate, would also be good.

Slice a few cloves of garlic very thinly.  Grab some fresh basil leaves.

Layer the eggplant, garlic slices, and basil in a glass jar until full.  Be sure to pack it all in tightly.  Top with olive oil.  This will keep in the fridge for quite a while.  I think we had ours for about a month or two.  We definitely ate it all up before it got bad.  According to the original recipe, it actually gets better with age.

So enjoy it in a few months when you are in the mood for eggplant again.

Panfried Breaded Eggplant

The next recipe is almost as simple.  Simply heat about 1/4 inch of olive oil in a shallow frying pan over medium high heat.  Prepare three plates or shallow bowls.  Put a cup or so of flour on the first plate.  Beat a few eggs together in another bowl.  Mix some dried breadcrumbs and whatever seasonings you would like together on the last plate.

Slice up the rest of your eggplants, about 1/2 inch thick.

Dredge the slices first in flour, then dip in eggs, then in the breadcrumb mixture.  Fry until golden brown on each side.  This should only take 2-4 minutes on each side.  Add more oil to the pan as necessary.

Drain on paper towels.  When they are completely cooled, place in freezer bags and freeze for several months.  Make eggplant parmesan, sandwiches, cut them up and add them to pizza or pasta, or layer with cheese and other vegetables for a meatless main dish.

Two Family Recipes for a Housewarming Party

After several month of work Wade and I were finally ready to have our housewarming party.  Everybody came over in the afternoon and enjoyed three different kinds of sangria (made by my Mom) and several different appetizers.  We had Reuben spreadwith pumpernickel toasts, shrimp spread with crackers, brownies, tortilla roll-ups, and little smokies with barbecue sauce.  I'm not sure where the recipes for the shrimp spread and tortilla roll-ups came from originally, but my family has been making them for get-togethers forever.  Wade absolutely loves the shrimp spread, so I usually make it every couple months for when we just do a snacks-for-supper night and watch movies.

Shrimp Spread

•8 oz cream cheese, softened

•1/2 cup sour cream

•1/4 cup mayo or miracle whip

•1 cup cocktail sauce

•2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

•2 4.5 oz. cans cocktail shrimp, drained

•3 green onions, sliced

•1 or 2 finely chopped tomatoes (I used yellow tomatoes)

Beat cream cheese, sour cream, and mayo or miracle whip together until smooth.  Spread into the bottom of a pie dish or a 12" platter.  Layer the remaining ingredients in the order given.  Cover and chill until serving time.  Serve with crackers.

Tortilla Roll-ups

•8 oz. cream cheese, softened

•1 small onion, chopped

•small can (4 oz.) green chilies, undrained

•small can (4 oz.)of chopped black olives, undrained

•Several flour tortillas

Combine the cream cheese, onion, green chilies, and olives in a medium sized mixing bowl.  Spread 1/4" thick on tortillas.  Roll up tightly.  Cover loosely and refrigerate for several hours.  Cut into 1/2" slices and serve.

End of Summer Pesto Veggie Bars

My Mom came up to make some curtains for our kitchen today.  Since I don't know how to sew I wasn't a whole lot of help.  She was going to book club in the evening and mentioned that she needed to run to the store to grab a snack to take since she didn't have time to make one. I had several yellow tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers from the garden on the kitchen counter, so I offered to whip up an appetizer for the book club. 

We decided on a veggie tart because it used ingredients I had on hand and would travel well.  With a biscuit crust, pesto cream cheese and a variety of fresh vegetables topped with parmesan cheese these veggie bars are easy to make and versatile.  You could use any combination of vegetables that you have on hand.  Sun dried tomatoes, broccoli, green onions, mushrooms, and thinly sliced carrots would all be nice additions to these bars.

•1 heaping cup of all purpose flour
•1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
•1/4 teaspoon salt
•1/4 cup shortening
•1/2 cup milk 
•1/4 cup pesto- homemade or prepared
•1 8 oz. block cream cheese, softened
•Assorted fresh vegetables, chopped into small pieces-  I used some fresh onion, a yellow tomato, one red tomato, some green pepper, and a small cucumber
•A few Tablespoons Parmesan cheese for topping

Preheat oven to 375.  Grease an 8x8 inch pan.  Set aside.

Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl.  Mix in the shortening with a fork until the mixture is crumbly.  Stir in the milk to form a dough.  Press the dough into the bottom of the baking pan and bake for 11-13 minutes, until done.  Let cool completely.

Mix the cream cheese and pesto together in a small bowl.  Spread the cream cheese mixture over the biscuit crust making sure to cover all the edges and corners. 

Top with fresh vegetables and freshly shredded Parmesan cheese.  Chill until serving.  Cut into small squares.