baby rambutan

from the farmers’ market, these food finds:

and the sweetest juiciest corn on the cob…
what to make?
why, corn ice cream of course!

based on chef Joseph Margate(of Clink Restaurant, Liberty Hotel, Boston)’s recipe, published in the Boston Globe Food section, August 20, 2008.

one sweltering summer afternoon, picture this:

town fiesta, Orani, Bataan. hot and sticky and sunburnt from a day at the beach chasing waves and dipping juicy pakwan into the sea-salty waters of Mariveles, a 7 year old girl marveling at…

a long long glass-topped, dining table surrounded by wide open windows, and perhaps three dozen relatives, great-aunts, titas and titos, first and second cousins,
flies being swatted away by blue and red plastic shreds tied together in sticks,
a wonderful meal of steamed crabs, tubs of oysters, platters of grilled fish, sinigang, pancit palabok from the Orani town market, lechon de leche special ordered, bibingka and puto and…

then tita Lu rolls out a serving cart with a large bucket of homemade pinipig (roasted pounded rice) and corn and cheese ice cream.
aaaah! sublime! freshly churned carabao(water buffalo)’s milk, when i close my eyes i can still see it and taste and crunch on it.

i was tempted to add bits of cheddar cheese into chef Margate’s recipe but i figure i’ll give my children their first taste of just-corn ice cream, and break it to them gently, that cheese has to be in it. i’ve seen Mexican grilled corn rolled in butter and crema and sprinkled with manchego cheese, and i’m toying with incorporating it into an ice cream, just like that fiesta lunch years and years ago.

i only added back some of the strained corn, about 2 tbsps. worth, for a bit texture, and used the juice of half a lime. this earned a thumbs up from everyone, and for the encore, maybe the manchego cheese bits.

so that’ll be a future project, especially with the abundance of freshly harvested corn this summer….

sweet corn ice cream:

5 ears of fresh corn on the cob, preferably from the farm stand, shucked
3 cups of heavy cream
1 cup of half-&-half
1 cup of sugar
6 egg yolks
pinch of sea salt
juice of one lime

in a large heavy saucepan, combine the corn, sugar, cream and half-and-half. heat the mixture stirring constantly, tuntil it is hot but not boiling. remove from the heat.
in a medium bowl, whisk the yolks and salt, slowly whisk in about q/e cup of the hot cream mixture. gradually pour the warmed yolk mixture back into the sauce pan, whisking constantly.
return the sauce pan to low heat. stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, cook the custard for about 8 minutes or until it coats the back of a the spoon. pour the mixture into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.

seat a strainer over a bowl. strain the corn to extract all the juices.
discard the corn. stir the lime juice into the custard.
freeze the custard in an ice cream maker, using the manufacturer’s directions. transfer the ice cream to a plastic container and freeze until firm.

“at Clink the chef serves the ice cream topped with a sprinkling of freeze-dried corn kernels and a crisp cookie…”
–Lisa Zwirn.

i think grilled corn kernels and lime zest works too!

so this popular ice cream brand has been featuring in its commercials, peach ice cream.

that this ice cream has only all natural ingredients.

that this ice cream is so good you’ll have to have some.

and of course, the idea was mind boggling. fresh peaches! cream! sugar!

so off i went looking.

and there was none to be found.

yup we tried, all the stores within reasonable driving distance (this, despite the escalating gas prices! we were compelled), and the company seems so unreachable(no 800 number to call, no “contact us” button on the webpage).

exasperating? sure, so i tried to make some.

end product: tasted too much like custard. it must have been the…cheating. yes i confess i didn’t follow instructions. instead of using fresh peaches–blanched, peeled, pitted, sliced, and THEN macerated with sugar, for 8 HOURS!– i used canned slices in heavy syrup.

oh well, next time i’ll be more obedient. anyway the in-house ice cream aficionados are eating it up.

creamy, without cream! the recipe is from Saveur magazine, the May 2006 issue has gotten dog-eared now.

mango sherbet

1 pack, around 17 ounces, mango puree (Philippine brand) (you may substitute fresh very ripe mangoes to equal 2 cups, after straining–to remove the fibers)

3/4 cup superfine granulated sugar

1/2 tbsp. calamansi juice (or lemon juice)

1 tbsp. vodka (to inhibit ice crystals)

mix everything in a large mixing bowl preferably with a spout (for easy pouring into the ice cream maker) until sugar is dissolved.

freeze according to the ice cream maker instructions. let it sit in the freezer for a couple of hours for the flavors to mellow and for the sherbet to firm up.

luscious! my two older kids loved it, #2son had a little taste and said, can you make me some orange sherbet please? (i relented somewhat and bought him a new Edy’s flavor, orange with chocolate chips. everyone’s pleased.)

i must yield, and announce, there is an even better (cuter) way to make mango sherbet…chef monkey shows us how!

(more…)

it was P.G. Wodehouse.
my lolo (grandpa) had a library where i loved to hang out as a child. it was there that i discovered all his Jeeves books. my lola (grandma) bought me Jane Austen and Louisa May Alcott books. i read of the rituals and the pinky up and the white gloves and tea cakes and scones…i’d only ever encountered tea as a ginger brew to cure throat ailments before then.
that is why when i got my hands on my mother’s teabags–they must have been Lipton–i started having them in big mugs with milk. powdered milk, more often than not. i remember experimenting with calamansi/native lemon squirts, then with milk, then together. ugh.
i met an Englishman who introduced me to Earl Grey. he used to send them up to me from Manila to the boondocks where i used to work, with instructions on adding “just a splash of milk,” and thus was sealed my lingering love affair with tea.
then i married into a Chinese family. they drank it with their fancy lauriat-banquets! after every meal! i was told that it helped digestion immensely. with dimsum it is a must. husband canNOT have the dumplings and morsels without the tiny cups of tea. i learned how to summon more pots just by turning the lid just so….

clement of alacuisine is kindly hosting what promises to be days and days of posts on tea related dishes for this month’s edition of Is My Blog Burning? #17.
tea-smoked duck legs and chicken eggs…this i first encountered in an ancient issue of Gourmet magazine found in our second apartment. i served it to my in-laws who pronounced it a winner and since then i’ve contributed it to many a family gathering.

for the same price as a whole duck, 6 duck legs proffer more meat and palatable skin, we now conclude.
roast 2 tbsps. coarse sea salt and 2 tbsps. peppercorns in a heavy saucepan or wok until fragrant. let cool and rub into 6 duck legs. cover tightly with foil, store in refrigerator overnight.

if you want the smoked eggs:
set 3 large eggs in a pot with cold water to cover by a half inch. turn up burner to medium and bring up to a boil. turn off the water and set the timer to 3 minutes.
immediately remove from heat and let run under a cold water tap. carefully peel the eggs and set aside to cool completely. soak in 2 tbsps. soy sauce, 1/2 tsp. sugar, 1/2 tsp. sesame oil and 1/2 tsp. salt. turn eggs to coat evenly.

wipe off salt and peppercorns from duck legs.
steam duck legs over a rack, with water coming up to 3/4 inch in the pan, in a platter, for about 45 minutes or until meat thermometer registers 160F. let cool completely to room temperature before smoking.

set duck legs and hard boiled eggs over rack in a roasting pan (or wok) with a tight fitting lid which has been fitted with aluminum foil. sprinkle 1/4 cup black tea leaves (i used oolong) and 1/4 cup raw long-grain rice, 1 tbsp. brown sugar, 2 large pieces of dehydrated citrus peel. cover with a large piece of aluminum foil tightly then cover with the lid.

i used a cheap little single burner, OUTDOORS, because we do not have a ventilator/extractor hood. our 110 year old house cannot take it.

heat the burner up to high and smoke for about 4 minutes. the duck legs and hardboiled eggs should brown by then.

…and green tea ice cream! my all time favorite, one of many green coloured ice creams i adore…pandan and pistachio among them.
i tried this first in a Japanese sushi restaurant in lower Manhattan, and i have tried it deep-fried. once. the flavor is deep and smokey and leafy. an acquired taste yes, but quite addictive.

(from Gourmet, July 2002)

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1/4 tsp. salt
6 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar
2 tbsps. matcha (powdered Japanese green tea)

bring cream, milk, and salt to a boil in a 3 to 4 quart heavy saucepan and remove from heat.
whisk together eggs, sugar, and matcha in a bowl (tea will not be completely dissolved), then add 1 cup hot cream mixture in a slow stream, whisking vigorously. whisk custard into remaining cream mixture in saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spooon, until thick enough to coat back of spoon and registers 170 F on an instand-read thermometer (do not let boil).
immediately pour custard through a fine sieve into a metal bowl, then cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. chill covered, until cold, at least 1 hour.
freeze in ice cream maker, then transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden.
daughter’s garnish is green tea pocky; we spirited away two madeleine cookies from big brother…perfect foil for the mildly bitter and smokey aftertaste of matcha.

thank you to celiaK for pointing out my error of omission of a very important step!!! steaming the duck legs….i’ve added it in italics above…mea culpa, so sorry, patawad po…*contrite*

this is it.
my “orig” recipe born out of some desperation.
#2 son took a lick and declared it his favorite when we first discovered it in an Asian superstore in Boston. the only place to get it.
*sigh* $1 per bar. steep, albeit quite delicious. i promised to make it for him instead of trekking all the way there (a couple of times they didn’t have it and baby boy went “wahhh!”) and plunking down the hard-earned cash.
yesterday’s family reunion cookout for husband’s family was the perfect occasion and i ended up giving them a foodie lesson on “pandan” (”you know, it’s a kind of grass, screwpine? we use it for giving flavoring and scent,” and trotting out the frozen packet of leaves from the freezer).
the family pronounced it a winner, worthy of marketing! heehee, i need an ice cream cart and bell. *blush* i’m just so happy that #2 son is now a contented boy and i can claim that i made this up on my own….with a little help from a couple of cookbooks: “Shiok” and “Sorbets and Ice Creams” by Lou Seibert Pappas.
the next quest is to score an extra freezer bowl for the krups ice cream maker so i can make more than 1 quart at a time.

2/3 cup pandan syrup concentrate*, cooled to room temperature
1 & 1/2 cups half and half
6 egg yolks, beaten
1 & 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

in a double boiler, heat the half and half over barely simmering water until scalded. whsik the pandan syrup into the egg yolks. whisk in some of the hot half and half, return the mixture ot the pan, and cook over barely simmering water, stirring constantly until the custard coats the spoon (slightly thickened). immediately place the pan in a bowl of cold ice water and stir to cool to room temperature. stir in the heavy cream.
cover and refrigerate the mixture for 2 to 3 hours at least, or until thoroughly chilled. freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions (for this it took about 25 minutes to get a creamy but firm texture).
makes 1 quart.

*pandan syrup:
1 can pandan juice (Maesri brand) or equivalent of a big bunch of pandan, snipped and processed, placed in cheesecloth, squeezed with water, enough to make 2 cups)
1 cup sugar

mix and bring to boil, until sugar is dissolved. if you have it, add more pandan cut to 1 inch pieces and add to syrup. simmer to reduce to 2/3 cup (it will be somewhat thick). drain and let cool.
add in 1 tsp. pandan essence/extract, if desired.