This Dame Cooks A Collection of Recipes from Alaska to the South Pacific and Caribbean

Living alone and cooking for one it seems there are always leftovers.  This dish was just a spur of the moment concoction thrown together with leftover polenta slices, a paillard of chicken breast, some mushrooms and a handful of baby spinach leaves.   It ended up being a tasty main that I will downsize for a starter dish the next time friends come for dinner.

The polenta was seasoned with Rosemary Salt, butter and grated parmigiano then poured into a mini loaf pan and refrigerated overnight.  The next day it popped right out of the pan and was super easy to slice 1/2-inch thick.   I sauteed the slices in nutty brown butter until they turned golden brown.

Next, the sliced mushrooms were sauteed in butter with a drop of oil and seasoned with salt and pepper.  When the mushrooms were just about dry I added another nob of butter, the cut up paillard of chicken, along with a minced clove of garlic.  When the chicken pieces were opaque and there was a nice crust of drippings on the bottom of the pan, I splashed in some white wine, a sprig of fresh thyme and a couple dashes of Puerto Rican hot pepper sauce.  Lastly, a handful of baby spinach leaves were added.  Salt and pepper finished the dish off when the spinach was wilted.  Spooned over the sauteed polenta this was so good it really made me smile.

Super simple, tasty and satisfying.  Try this for a starter course.

Have you heard the saying, “40 is the old side of young and 50 is the young side of old?” Well Martha’s son is visiting from Connecticut and turned 50 on Monday so we all met at the Cofresi Resort to wish him Happy Birthday.  Wendell is also a diabetic and fond of agave for sweetening his drinks and desserts.  We had to have a cake of-course and Martha asked me to do the honors of baking Wendell a cake with agave nectar.

This lime pound cake is made with 1/2 cup agave nectar instead of 1 cup of granulated refined sugar.  Everyone enjoyed the cake which was luscious with the zest and juice of a large lime.  I think the agave allowed the lime to really sparkle.

Icing the cake was a problem since its tropical here and there are not too many sugar-free icing recipes out there that would hold up to the heat and humidity of Puerto Rico.  I found a super easy recipe video at Volcanic Nectar  for agave marshmallows that really worked and definitely held up to the humidity and heat.   I’ve made marshmallows before with a hot sugar syrup and egg whites and this recipe was so much easier with simply gelatin, water, agave and vanilla.  The trick is to blend 2 envelopes of plain gelatin in 6 Tbsp of water and heat it for 30 seconds in the microwave before adding it to 1 cup of agave with a pinch of salt.  Then beat the mixture with a handheld mixer for 8-10 minutes and add vanilla extract and beat until blended.  WOW!  The consistency was perfect for spreading and after a few minutes the fluff set a little more so it even worked tinted with food coloring and piped from a pastry bag.

The cake recipe makes 2 layers filled and iced with agave marshmallow fluff.  If you want a traditional pound cake loaf by all means pour the batter into a standard sized loaf pan and adjust the baking time per recipe below.

I’m not going to debate the value of splenda, sweet and low, etc. versus agave nectar but to say that agave is metabolized more slowly and tolerated well by most diabetics.  It is also great to cook with whereas the others are not.  Give agave nectar a try the next time you want a dessert without refined sugar.

Ingredients for Agave Lime Pound Cake:

• 2 cups flour (all-purpose)
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 eggs at room temperature
• 1/2 cup Agave Nectar
• zest of 1 large lime
• 2 Tbsp lime juice
• 10 oz. butter (1-1/4 sticks) at room temperature
• 2/3 cup milk

Method:

1. Preheat oven 350° F.  Grease and flour 2 9-inch cake tins or a 4×8-inch loaf pan.
2. In a medium bowl sift together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
3. In a separate bowl cream the butter with the Agave Nectar.  Use a hand-mixer or standing mixer.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.  Add the lime zest and lime juice and beat another 30 seconds.
4. With you mixer on slow speed add 1/3 of the flour mix and 1/3 cup of the milk (that’s half the milk).  Increase the mixer speed until the batter is smooth.  Add 1/2 of the flour mix remaining and the remaining 1/3 cup of milk, mix until smooth then add the remaining flour.
5. Pour the batter into prepared cake tins or loaf pan spreading the batter smooth and even.  Tap pans on the counter to release any air bubbles.
6. Bake cake layers for 35 minutes, bake loaf for 1 hour.  The cake is done when the batter pulls away from the side of the pan and a skewer or toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.  Be careful not to over bake.

Bazaars for the holidays are just around the corner.  I’m in the groove creating new pieces that hopefully will be irresistible to ornament collectors.  This sweet little angel is four inches tall, weighs less than an ounce and is made of wired metallic ribbon gathered over a wine cork.  Her head is a one inch Styrofoam ball covered with paper-mache and painted a pale pink.  The wings are just a bow made of the same metallic ribbon.  Ordinary kitchen twine wrapped around the head creates her hair and the halo is a string of gold pearls.  An ivory satin ribbon with a violet satin rose finishes her adornments.

Hang this sweet angel on your Christmas tree or the office tree.  Give her to a friend or loved one, or dress up a gift box with her for someone special.  She will be saved and cherished for years to come.

Check out last year’s wine-cork creations. 

Next up – snowmen with paper-clay over Styrofoam armatures.

Star fruit or Carambola is another tropical fruit with a delicate flavor reminiscent of citrus and watermelon. Its sweet when ripe and makes a nice chutney.  This chutney has just enough jalapeño chili to offset the sweet and sour of the sauce and there’s texture from the onions, bell peppers and fruit.  This condiment really makes chicken and fish pop.  It certainly gave my roasted chicken and fried breadfruit chips a zing.

Carambola are in season now here in the Caribbean so you probably can find them in major supermarkets.  They should be yellow with light brown spots on the ribs of the star.  If they’re green without any blemishes just set them in a bowl on the counter for a few days to ripen.  Again, if you’ve been following my blogs, fruit will not ripen sweetly if it was picked too green so its kind of a gamble buying green fruit from a market.  The best fresh produce markets offer a slice of their fruits in season so customers have the opportunity to taste the quality before they buy.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound star fruit, seeded and chopped into 1/2-inch to 1 inch chunks
• 1 onion diced 1/2-inch
• 1 red bell pepper, diced 1/2-inch (or 1 can
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeño pepper, minced (or chile of joice to taste)
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar (or white vinegar with 5% acidity)
• 1/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp Chinese Five Spice powder
• 2 tsp sea salt (or canning salt)
• 4 scallions, sliced green leaves and bulbs

Method:

1. Place all ingredients except scallions into a heavy bottom sauces pan.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and cover for 10 minutes.
2. Remove cover and continue to cook until sauce has thickened, about 20 minutes.  Check that veggies and fruit are tender and sauce is sweet and sour to your taste.  Add scallions and cook until sauce is consistency of ketchup.
3. Remove from heat and pour into sterilized jars.  Wipe rims and cap.  Water bath for 15 minutes with water level 1-inch above jars.  Remove jars to a draft free area and let cool.  Check seals.  Refrigerate unsealed jars.
4. Store in a dry and dark pantry up to 6 months.  Always refrigerate after opening.

Its that time of year when all good elves start working to make gifts for the holiday bazaars.  I love going to bazaars and finding unique and beautiful arts and crafts.  So much fun and really fuels my creative side.  This year I’m making these quilted Christmas ornaments.  They’re  dazzling on a Christmas tree and make a fabulous heirloom gift.

These are easy peasy to make…just fabric scraps, straight pins and 3-inch styrofoam balls.

Check out this video below.

I’ll update this post with new balls as I work my way up to bazaar days so check back often.