Mango Salsa- in memory of "family"

The vegetable market is absolutely fantastic at the moment. Peaches are on the way out, okra is starting to make an appearance. The tomatoes are beautiful- I think they are summer tomatoes, they have beautiful tomatoes here year round, it is just the shape and slight change in the taste.
So on Saturday, I went a little overboard at the market. We had gone the week before but due to the end of Ramadan/Ramajan it was closed. I am safe in the candy store- but the vegetable market- watch out! We had a Turkish speaking friend this trip, for the first time so I got to learn a little more (more quickly), so now know where to get the dried fruits (without sulfur) and nuts, and a good place for a snack. And the place I always go for spinache- he told my friend that I was his big sister (that made me feel old).

Marinated eggplant is posted. I will have to test the others tomorrow as I did not have all the ingredients for the recipe and improvised.
So I am posting the Mango Salsa, which I got from my friend Ann S.C. in Peru. I have been thinking about her wonderful family and the fun dinners we had, and just learned that her father passed very recently. So here is something which is wonderful for family/friend gatherings. You can use it as a dip, or throw it in the lasagna.

Mango Salsa

3 cups of mango (or pineapple) chopped small
1 cup white onion chooped small
1 cup red bell pepper
¼ cup aji Amarillo- minced
¼ cup rocoto pepper- minced, that would be a spicy bell pepper, sub something spicy
1/3 cup cilantro- minced
2 cloves of garlic- minced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger- minced
1/3 cup lemon/lime juice
1 tablespoon cumin powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon pepper

Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate.
From Ann St. Clair

Peach Orange Marmalade- for Mom

For Mom from Ilga
Ilga’s Peach Orange Marmalade
Mom asked for one of my grandma’s recipes (I have her recipe box). I think I found it.




12 peaches
4 oranges
1 cup water
2 cups sour apples diced
Sugar

Peal and slice peaches. Cut the peel of 2 oranges into shreds. Squeeze the juice from all 4 oranges.

Cook the peaches, apples and orange shreds with the water until tender.

Add juice and measure. Use cup for cup of sugar. Cook until thick.

If my grandmother had written this for me instead of herself, she would have added some more details (like "this takes patience Terie" plus a little more). Cook until thick is a little ambiguous for me, I know what thick is for custard, but for marmalade I only know what is in the grocery store...

I had to add 8 cups of sugar to my mixture, which created a full pot that eventually boiled over. I then took the solids and put them through the food processor, then re-added them to the liquid and cooked it until it was "thick" (but not as thick as custard).

Now I need to get canning jars..

Pavlova

the perfect summer time dessert- light melt in your mouth meringue with fresh fruit and lemon (or lime or passion fruit) curd.

The Pavlova
5 egg whites
2 pinches salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup sugar with 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed in
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice (I use a little more).

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F or 150 degrees C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Beat the egg whites with the salt until they begin to form soft peaks. Gradually add the 1 cup of sugar (about a tablespoon at a time) beat until stiff peaks are formed. Fold in the remaining sugar cornstarch mixture and the lemon juice.

Put the mixture on the parchment paper in a circle. Bake in the oven for 1 hour. Turn off the oven and let the meringue sit in the oven for another hour.

"Lemon" Curd
I prefer to use passion fruit (lilikoi or maracuya) but cannot always find it. This time I used limes as I find them a bit stronger than lemons.

5 egg yolks and one egg
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup "lemon" juice
1/4 cup butter
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Slowly heat them on the stovetop until the mixture thickens. Place in bowl and cover with plastic and refridgerate.

Note: I forgot the butter when I made this over the weekend, and it still was great.
Putting it all together

1 cup heavy whipping cream
mixture of various fruits- strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, bananas, kiwi- you may want to mix in a little orange juice to keep them fresh

Whip up the cream and combine with the curd. Carefully spread the curd mixture over the top of the cooled Pavlova. Top with your fruits. Enjoy!

Garlic Ranch

From Cooking From the Heart with Sam Choy

3 cloves garlic- I use more and the fresh garlic is the best
1/2 cup minced onion (put in micro for 30 secs if friends can't eat raw onions)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar (I mix rice vinegar and balsamic when I don't have red wine vinegar)
1/2 cup olive oil
2 cups mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp dry mustard (I use wet dijon)
1 Tbsp fresh oregano, minced
1 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped

Mix all ingredients until well mixed and chill.

Good for salad dressing or dip for vegtables.

Apologies

My hard drive was corrupt and replaced. However, when they replaced it they did not include all the "stuff" that was on the original. Thus, I have no word processing program. I am trying to post, but am much slower without my MS word.

Freezing Fruit

The International Counselor wanted to know about freezing fruit. I have not thought about it, but here it goes.

I usually buy more fruit than we can eat, as it all looks so good. For peaches and strawberries I usually freeze the excess. For raspberries, apricots, and cherries I make preserves to put on toast in the morning (or inside a quesadilla).

I clean and cut up the fruit before it is too ripe. I put the fruit in plastic bags designed for freezing- that keeps the freezer burn out. When I am ready to use the fruit, I take it out of the freezer and place the bag in a bowl or on paper towels (there will be condensation). The fruit is also good in smoothies- you can pack your little bags for smoothies too.

Luckily for me, my freezer consists of two drawers, so it is much easier to store things. For the freezer that things get thrown into, you may want a rectangular Tupperware container to keep your bags of fruit in so that they do not wander away.

Peach Cobbler

Some people are already enjoying their summer vacation. My friend, Lucy who got me started on this blog, has asked for a Peach Cobbler recipe. It is below. The peaches in summer are fantastic, so we often cut them up and freeze them so we can also enjoy peach cobblers in the winter. You can add additional fruit too, not too much at once though. No picture yet, Lucy will need to send me one!

Peach Cobbler

This is a basic recipe from my mom; I do not know where she got it. And I am doing this from memory, which should be okay; however I have been working on reports and grades.

Buttered 9 X 13 inch rectangular pan
Peaches, sliced- enough to comfortably cover a 13 X 9 inch pan 3 -5 sliced peaches deep
1-2 tablespoons lemon, lime or liqueur (I like Grande Marnier)

1 stick or half a cup or 4 ounces butter, softened but NOT mushy falling apart soft
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar- in Turkey I use white sugar and two tablespoons
molasses as we have no brown sugar
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, or 180 C. Place sliced peaches in the pan, squeeze a little lemon or lime or liqueur over the peaches.

Place butter, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg in a food processor. Pulse until it is like crumbs. Cover the peaches with the topping, spread it evenly.

Cook in the oven until the peach juice is bubbling (about 45 minutes to an hour depending on your oven). It should make the house smell good too. Goes great with home-made vanilla ice cream!