Baja and Alta California Ice Cream / Nieve de Baja y Alta California

With the summer at the door the days have been increasingly warm here in San Diego. The time for cold beer, refreshing lemonade and luscious ice cream is now here. With my trusty ice cream maker and The Perfect Scoop, the book by David Lebovitz, on hand, I am ready for the summer!

I've been making good use of this book since I got it for my birthday, back in February. I have been making homemade ice cream for me and my husband, he loves ice cream and eats a bowl of it every night. His favorite flavor has always been vanilla and the recipe for vanilla ice cream in The Perfect Scoop is terrific, I make it often.

 All the recipes in this book are wonderful and the book also has recipes for sorbets, frozen yogurt and for sauces and toppings. I have made several of the ice creams in this book beside the vanilla; Aztec hot chocolate, cinnamon and even frozen yogurt. Sometimes I follow the recipe to the letter but sometimes I feel creative and modify them to my taste or to what I have on hand. Today, I'll share an ice cream recipe with a few modifications. 

I used a wonderful wine syrup from the Guadalupe Valley in Baja California, Mexico and my favorite olive oil from the San Joaquín Valley in California, USA. I hope you enjoy it.

Wine Syrup from Baja California and Olive Oil from Alta California

Olive Oil and Wine Syrup Ice Cream

1 1/3  cups whole milk

1/4 cup honey (the recipe from the book calls for 1/2 cup sugar)

1/4 cup wine syrup (this is my addition)

Pinch of salt

1 cup heavy cream

6 large egg yolks

1/2 cup fruity olive oil

Warm the milk, salt, honey and wine syrup in a medium saucepan. Pour the cream into a large bowl and set aside. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan. 

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, or a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through a strainer and stir it into the cream. Whisk the olive oil into the custard vigorously until it's well blended, then stir until cool. 

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. 

The Perfect Scoop!

And now some pictures from the Guadalupe Valley:

Happy Mother's Day, 2012! / Felíz Día de las Madres, 2012!

Today is Mexican Mother’s Day. I know some readers are not Mexican but I want to share this holiday of my roots with you.

I am not a mother but I have great admiration for all women holding the title of “Mom”.  That is a big job and it takes strong, caring and beautiful people to take on such a great responsibility. All of you are that and more!

These flowers are for you, as a token of my appreciation for taking care of our children and for doing your best to ensure they become great people like yourselves.

Have a wonderful day and a very happy Mother’s celebration!

Homemade Yoghurt / Yoghurt Casero

Do you want to prepare yoghurt without any special equipment?

Here is a recipe:

Quieres preparar yoghurt casero sin ningún equipo especial? 

Aquí esta una receta: 

 Se necesitan frascos limpios con sus tapaderas.

Un frasco lleno de agua hirviendo.

Calentar 1/2 galón de leche hasta que alcance una temperatura de 180°F. Después dejar que la temperatura baje hasta 125°F y agregar  3 cucharadas de yoghurt comercial sin sabor. Revolver bien para combinar.

Llenar los frascos con la mezcla de leche y poner en una hielera portátil junto con el frasco de agua caliente (esto es para mantener la temperatura).

Cubrir con una toalla de cocina y cerrar la tapa.

Colocar la hielera en un lugar libre de vientos y dejar sin disturbar por toda la noche.

Tendrás un hermoso yoghurt por la mañana!

Refrigerar por 3 horas antes de servir.

Not Exactly The Same / No Exactamente Lo Mismo

Güerito and Cuaresmeño (jalapeño) Chiles

Sweet Baby Bell Peppers

A few days ago my blogger friend, Nora from ¿Gusta Usted?, posted a recipe for Chiles Cuaresmeños Rellenos de Queso. This is not the common chile relleno dish which is usually prepared with poblano peppers, this one is prepared with jalapeño peppers. The procedures are almost the same as with the poblanos; filled with cheese and covered in a eggy batter. However, these take the extra step of rapidly being cooked in boiling water and, beware, they are very spicy! 

I don't know about you but, every time I make chiles rellenos, I end up with extra egg batter and, even though I add some to my caldillo (a tomato broth I make for my chiles), I unhappily have to throw some away. Not any more! Nora also gave us a tip on what to do with the extra egg. She made a torta de ejotes, a green bean frittata if you will. 

I read her post in the morning, with an empty stomach. The chiles rellenos sounded and looked very appetizing for dinner so I decided to prepare some for us.  However, when going over my ingredients, I found out I had some chiles, cheese and green beans. Not exactly the same as Nora's but my recipe was inspired by hers. 

If you want an inspiring recipe follow the link to Nora's blog.  Or for another version, here is mine:

Sweet Rellenos with Green Beans

12 sweet baby bell peppers

1 lb. green beans, cleaned and cut in half

6 cups water

salt to taste

for the filling:

1-2 Tablespoon olive oil

1/2 lb.  mushrooms (any kind you like), finely chopped

1 leek, halved and finely sliced (a small sweet onion would work well)

1 garlic glove, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

Queso Fresco (if queso fresco is not available use a mild feta)

1-2 cup grape tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes, quartered)

Extra virgin olive oil to finish the dish

On a dry cast iron griddle, over high heat, roast the peppers for about 3 minutes on each side. Peppers should have some black spots in places but should still be firm. 

Meanwhile, prepare the filling; in a skillet, heat the oil and saute leeks, garlic and mushrooms for about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and let cool. When cold, add crumbled cheese and stir to combine.

In a deep pot, bring water to a rapid boil, add salt and cook green beans to desired  tenderness, I like mine with some crunch so I only cook them for 3 to 5 minutes. When cooked, remove beans from the hot water and place them in a bowl filled with ice water so the cooking stops and beans maintain their green color. When cool, drain and set aside.

Add chiles to the same water you cooked the beans in and cook for only 1 minute or 2. Remove from hot water and place in a cold bath as the beans. At this point the peppers should be a little soft but not overcooked. Drain, remove the black skin, cut a slit along each pepper until all are done. These peppers don't have many seeds so don't bother to take out the very few seeds in them.

To assemble the dish, fill peppers with mushroom mixture. Place on a dish alternating pepper and green beans. decorate with grape tomatoes and sprinkle with extra virgin olive oil. 

This is a very satisfying vegetarian dish that can be eaten cold or at room temperature. If you like, it can be served to accompany grilled fish or chicken. Like I said, not the same as Nora's but her recipe inspired this delicious chiles rellenos.

This Morning Market / El Mercado

Kale

I went to the farmer's market this morning and found an abundance of colorful produce. Everything was so fresh and bright, with vivid colors, it was just wonderful!

I wanted to buy everything; tomatoes, cabbage, purple cauliflower, everything! However, with only two people in my household, all I could do is buy a few vegetables and take some pictures. I'm sharing my findings and a simple recipe for pickled beets.

First the recipe:

I got this recipe from my mother-in-law. She prepares it with red beets but the golden beets were so pretty at this morning market, I decided to use them instead.

Red and golden beets

Pickle Beets

4 medium size beets (gold or red)

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar

3/4 cup water

1 Tablespoon whole allspice

1 Tablespoon whole cloves

Golden beets

Trim beets leaving about 1/2 inch stem, scrub and cook them in water until desired tenderness (I like mine a little crunchy). Once cooked, drain and set aside.

In a saucepan, mix together remaining ingredients and cook until sugar dissolves and the mixture boils, about 10 minutes.

When the beets are cool enough to handle, peel and slice them. Place slices in a a previously sterilized jar and cover with boiling vinegar mixture.  Cover the jar and let cool completely.  They will be ready to eat as soon as they cool, but they are better after a couple of days in the vinegar. Store in refrigerator.

Now the pictures:

Mushrooms

French cabbage

Purple Cauliflower

Savoy Cabbage

White radishes

Tomatoes

Kale 

Asparagus

Heirloom tomatoes

Green and purple cabbage