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hummingbirdkiss

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Posts posted by hummingbirdkiss

  1. a giant "Smartie" or "Sweet Tart" that took two days to eat

    And the great part was that they were popular when the Salvo laundry detergent tablet with the same shape was all the rage. Every time my mom did laundry I got a craving and plotted how to sneak to the dime store and get one. Of course in those days they let 7 year olds walk to the market alone, even in Los Angeles.

    That is so funny!!! they did look like the detergent Salvo!!!!

    they were so good I remember them being almost sweet ..almost peppery and quite sour (not the detergent)

  2. Thank you so much for the suggestions! I can try to post a picture later when I put this cake on a serving plate ...

    you guys are great! Tropicalfox we had a soursop tree in our yard in Panama as well .. the trees are massive and so are the fruits! the flavor is so comforting to me ..hard to explain and I loved the texture of the meat of it ...

    soursop is by far one of my favorite fruits ...you can use Goya's frozen puree for this cake... I love those they are very reasonable in price..store well because they are flat ...and as close as I can get to some of these fruits (unless when folks travel they make room in the suitcase for me! or when I travel I bring an extra suitcase!)

    Macadamia nuts would have been perfect! so would the mango topping ..I wish I had some on hand I would have done that ... ... I took the other suggestions and went with a butter cookie and coconut crust ...so thank you so much I was just coming up blank ..and all of you are right chocolate was not the correct answer here :raz: (see why I need you?)

    I made a little test cake it was perfect enough to share! so here is the recipe ..and if you want to work a soursop into a cheesecake you will not be disapointed it goes perfectly! ..I hope you will try this recipe it is nothing special just a basic recipe for cheesecake not unlike many I am sure posted all over the place ..however after many trial and error I finally wrote this down and want to share it just in case something about it is just enough different for you to enjoy!

    the crust

    3/4 cup flaked unsweetened coconut

    3/4 cup butter cookies

    1/4 tsp of fresh ground mace

    3 tbl butter

    grind it up in the food processor and pat into the a springform pan bake for 10 min at 350 ..cool the crust while you make the filling

    my last cheesecake was a disaster of cracks! so I reread all the advice I was given about not over mixing, slow cool down ect ect ..well this time it had one small crack and I think it is just because I moved it to the cooling rack too soon ...and personally I don't care about one small crack because I put some soursop mousse on top!

    oh and you can use any fruits you like ...fresh strawberries or raspberries ...I have used roasted rhubarb, passion fruits, guava, avocado makes a wonderful cake ...and my favorite banana and rum!

    Filling

    Everything should be at room temperature

    beat together well

    2 1/2 lbs of cream cheese

    1 cup of vanilla sugar

    then add 3 tablespoons of flour

    1/2 cup coconut milk mixed with 1/2 cup of crema or sour cream

    1-1/2 cups frozen soursop puree (or pureed fruits of your choice)

    freshly squeezed juice of one lime

    beat them well ...

    then with a fork gently whisk your eggs and yolks together (do not beat them)

    4 whole eggs 2 extra yolks (I use jumbo)

    stir with a wooden spoon into the cream cheese mixture just until incorporated and smooth (no over mixing)

    pour into the prepared pan (you should have enough filling and crust to make a mini pan to try)

    bake at 450 for 12 min then reduce the oven to 200 degrees for one hour...then turn the oven off and let rest in there with the door cracked for another 30 min or so

    when the cake is cool top with

    soursop mousse (this is the spackle that saved my last cheesecake thank you!)

    1 8 oz package of cream cheese

    1/3 cup heavy cream

    1/2 cup soursop (or other fruit puree)

    1/3 cup of vanilla sugar

    juice of 1/2 lime

    while beating on high ...whip the cream cheese....add the whipping cream...add the fruit puree ....sugar...lime juice when fluffy top your cake with it

    sprinkle with toasted coconut for the garnish

  3. I was able to pull about a pound of rhubarb from the garden yesterday! The first ones of the season for me and my frist taste was right from the garden ..(.shiver I just love the sour)

    this is wonderful red rhubarb so tart and bright tasting!!!

    made a really "rustic" rustic tart (no picture I am sorry)

    just a simple pie pastry rolled out on pizza pan...put the diced rhubarb on it sprinkled with vanilla sugar ..folded the edges over ...sprnkled again with some more vanilla sugar and baked it

    to die for

    I am behind you guys in the rhubarb eating but wow that first bite :wub:

  4. I am making a soursop (or guanabana) cheesecake for tomorrow...the filling I am ok with and will just use my favoirte cheesecake recipe

    I am quite stuck on the crust and topping for ideas?

    (if you do not know this fruit ...this is not a great discription but better than I can do I guess soursop )

    I actually was thinking of chocolate cookies for the crust ...but wonder if it would over run the delicate flavor of this fruit?

    coconut maybe? if so what would you mix the coconut with to make a good crust ..

    I am totally coming up empty here

    help?

    thank you so much in advance

  5. Hmmmm.  That's a challange in itself, maybe I'll just deepsix them.

    I dunno... I find that supermarket mushrooms remain quite fresh if left in their original packaging for quite a few days. I suspect you would be quite alarmed if you learned how long they remain in the supermarket that way!

    I completely agree with this! dont toss them they are most likely fine

    when mushrooms are off it is obvious not something you will miss

    if meat of the mushroom is firm and the gills are still tight and intact they are fine

    portobellos are pretty tough mushrooms

    good luck

  6. congratulations on the asparagus Pebs!

    a sudden and pretty harsh hail storm knocked all the blooms off my fruit trees yesterday ..when I got home I had nothing but bare branches on my baby trees ...I am absolutely crushed :sad:

    I hope some bees had their way with the flowers and some fruits will make it ...

    it does not look good right now

  7. OH COFFEE of course I would not give up good coffee and thanks to Egullet and a friend on this board I am now roasting my own! it is half the price to get the better beans and I had a stovetop popcorn popper already

    this board has a ton of ideas on how to do things from bare bones ..literally I have saved tons of money by learning how to do more things from scratch here

  8. first of all my empathy for your situation!

    I am not sure but I think you were asking what we would not sacrifice? not so much what we would do to cut corners and save money?

    I would not sacrifice salt like you said..for sure not buy "table" salt

    giving up fresh fruit and vegetables would not happen for me ... you can always find something on sale, in season or even pick it in the wild depending on where you live..it is amazing what you can do with one big carrot ..a nice onion or a head of cabbage.....and a person can grow a little something ... even if you live in a small apartment all you need is a sunny spot or a grow light you can grow some greens.a few herbs ..if you have a porch or deck you can grow things in 3 gallon food grade buckets with holes cut in the bottom ..tomatoes, peas, carrots whatever ...I would find a way and not give up fresh fruits and vegetables

    second ..good cheese ..I would rather buy a very small amt of wonderful cheese and just eat less than buy cheaper lower quality cheeses

    I do not usually buy expensive food and if I do it is always used in small quantities

    you can still have what you love on a budget just in smaller amounts

    it is fun to figure food out and make great things on little money

    I think so anyway :smile:

    best wishes to you and please let us know how you do it and make it work for yourself

  9. Korean and Japanese rice are dwindling around here

    but the prices of the Jasmin and basmati are about the same and there seems to be plenty of it

    groceries in general are like gas...too high for reason ..I refuse to work more hours to buy food ...we can make do ..I will just eat less and maneuver my spending towards things that are still affordable ..there is so much free food around here ..from nettles to mushrooms to berries ...and trading/buying with friends is a given

    I am glad I planted my "Victory Garden" this year it gives me a little feeling of control in all this mess ..

    I am sick of the news and am on a black out ...I mean seriously the way the panic has been manipulated by the media is so obvious by the conversations I am having with patients .people are freaking out and even storing gas again like in 1979!

    someone poked a hole in the local food bank truck's gas tank and stole the gas ...how bad is that anyway??????

  10. "Let's hope this cold spring means we're in for a warm summer!"

    I so agree with you

    I am very worried about my figs I pruned them (as I probably mentioned) last fall ..I had to the branches were out of control and getting dangerous to the eyes! but I only see two tiny buds on the branches ..

    it was a prune back to where they had fruits last year ..I almost wish I had left it one more year ...danger or not

    those figs are so beautiful and taste just wonderful

    I am bummed at how it looks for fruit this year

  11. mtigges I love your garden blog thank you for sharing it! ...I am doing the same thing with potatoes ...my box and the amount planted look just like the one you pictured ...I planted some dark blue potatoes (inside and outside blue) some reds and whites as well ...in about 12 inches of soil then I am going to mound them with straw instead of more soil ...I have not tried this before but everything I have read it sounds like it should do fine ...very light and easy to just keep putting straw on top ..should do well with drainage and not getting too hot when we finally have consistent sunshine! .....I have done the tires and it just made the soil too hot ....I think all that black ...so they did not do well at all ...

    Karen I am yearning to pull my rhubarb! this week maybe I can pull enough to make something ..but I hate to (and always do) pull the first ones too soon .. ..I keep eyeing our rhubarb thread ..I just can not buy rhubarb when I know in a few weeks I will have tons of it ...

    right now I am flooded with chives, parsley and tender tips of rosemary

    my collards are going to seed and they are so meaningful to me I am going to save the seeds ..I need to plant them in a different place they are a funny looking landscape plant that is for sure!

    I am so worried since I pruned my fig last fall I wont get any ..I have two buds on the tree ...

    my escarole is taking off and hopefully will do well ..it is hard to find here and when I do find it ..very expensive!

    I have bagged the idea of eating the cardoon again this year I tried to pull it together to blanch it and the leaves just snapped like celery ..so I will let it go to that giant purple flower and let the bees have it again his year...

    2 more days of working for a living then I can return to the garden ...my house is trashed but who cares while the weather is nice how do I resist being outside ..it has crazy winter here that is for sure

    Thanks to Meanderer I am going to put some rain barrels in over the weekend ..a friend of mine gave me four and with all our rain why on earth do I not collect some for the dry month watering?

    happy gardening!

  12. I'm actually donating mine, because I don't like the idea of that former tax money going right back to heads of corporations who already get tax breaks! If I spend the money on something frivolous, I'm pretty much handing it over to the rich, which I suppose was G.W.'s plan all along, right? ;)

    I'll be donating it to a local meal program that provides food for low income families in my community. So yes, it's food related.

    me too I am thinking of a wonderful food bank in Tacoma where thousands of folks are fed everyday ...

    eta I am not at all judging anyone who wants to do anything fun with it ..this is only my half I am speaking of ..my husband is taking his to help him buy a new camera ..I will inherit his old one and maybe take better food pics myself as a result ..I just can not bring myself to spend my half of is is all

  13. Bumping gardens because I get lost in mine and hope others are doing the same?

    how is your garden doing ..big or small?

    I just noticed some pots I had sitting on the deck are growing peas ..I dont remember planting them there they usually hold flowers ...so peas it is!

    If everything does well I will have enough peas carrots and potatoes to feed all of Egullet! now that I have to thin them I realize just how crazy I got planting!

    my rhubarb is so close to the first pull it is making me nuts just leaving it ...I keep looking at the rhubarb thread ...I can not buy any I have two huge areas of it planted and just have to wait!

    each thing has it's own time

    I think I will try to make rhubarb wine this year ..

    I found a carboy of pear wine I had forgotten about and it ended up being almost brandy like ..very good and quite high proof

    quite a nice score!

  14. Just checking how everyone's garden is growing ..the weather was so nice I moved bark and a little gravel (that job sucks) and thinned the carrots ...

    time moves differently when you are gardening that is for sure ...when I look ahead I am overwhelmed with work .. ..when I look behind me ..I am kind of proud of what I have accomplished ...

    in a couple of weeks we should be able to start putting tomato plants in the ground you think?

    I took my peanut plants outside to let them enjoy the sunlight

  15. One hole to exterior for extra cold air in winter (I wish i could find a way to automatically open and close the trap according to temperature inside and outside the cold room).

    If you can find something like an electric roof vent (you would have to turn the fan around) then all you need is a digital thermostat with a temperature probe. I have a beer fridge in the garage that I use to ferment beer in Summer. I use the digital thermostat to keep the frig at the proper temps.

    JimH reminded me ..there is a roof vent with a fan and thermometer in the cool room ...the room is bone dry and pretty much stays a constant temp I keep the fan running most of the time to pull air out instead of in but it can be reversed if needed it is a very simple set up made with a dryer vent hose and a small fan scavenged from something else ..... so far year around it stays the same temp ..I think because it is built into the bluff and very well insulated by bedrock

    not a speck of moisture in there.. and that can be good and bad because vegetables do kind of dehydrate if I do not use them up .. and that is strange considering I grew up in a place where all basements had dehumidifiers and sump pumps!

  16. Thanks for the kind words Jon ...I know my food tastes good I have no idea how to present it to look as good ....folks here I am so impressed with how everyone photographs food

    sigh

  17. this sounds fantastic ..your guacamole is as guacamole should be .anything more to me is avocado "dip"!

    Last night was chicken tacos with guacamole, queso fresco, crema, salsa verde and a side of chilled Tecate w/ a bit of mexican lime in it.

    I tried using some fresh masa from the supermercado and honestly prefer the taste and texture I get using maseca. That was kind of a bummer since I was hoping for a nicer tortilla using the "better" product.

    The chicken was very nice. I kind of start out the same way I would for Carnitas -

    Cube up a couple pounds of skinless/boneless thighs, place in a dutch oven add stock to barely cover. A chopped onion, fresh roasted/ground cumin and coriander, a little chipoltle, 5-6 cloves roughly chopped garlic, a few bay leaves and a couple limes worth of juice.

    Simmer for an hour or so partly covered then uncover and consider it ready when the chix is just shy of au sec. This way the meat is nice and moist but not drippy. I've tried taking this to the browning stage and the results were not as tasty, probably doable if fat were added though.

    The guacamole was extremely simple just mashed avocado, a little sea salt, knife point's worth of smoked cayenne. No citrus juice added since it would not last long enough to oxidize and I don't especially care for a citrus note in guac anyway.

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