Jasmine Orange Ice Cream

Jasmine Orange Ice Cream

I have made at least 6 different ice creams, but this is the first time I have blogged about one. That's because this one is really, really, really good.

A perfect example of what I wrote about previously, this recipe was created because a bunch of beautiful local oranges fell into my lap, so to speak. We were at our good friends' house this past weekend, and they had this amazing orange tree, loaded with oranges. And they asked me what the heck they should do with all those oranges ...

So I googled how to use oranges, because, well, I'd had a glass or two of wine, and we were watching football, and I wasn't feeling particularly creative at that moment. I found this, and this, and then I found this recipe for jasmine orange cupcakes. Jasmine and orange is a brilliant combination, and not only because the smell of jasmine reminds me a lot of the scent of orange blossoms. 

Orange blossoms and jasmine blossom. Images available at: http://tinyurl.com/5qbx6

While researching these ingredients, I learned that jasmines are in the same family as olive trees, Oleaceae. That was an "of course!" moment for me since we use both in many culinary applications. I also must admit a sentimental attachment to jasmine (I wore jasmine flowers in my hair on our wedding day). So, if you don't love this as much as I do, I will totally understand.

I let that jasmine-orange idea sit in my head overnight. And then I thought . . . ice cream! Aside from emotional chemistry, there is quiet a bit of actual chemistry involved in this (and all) ice cream making. Frankly, ice cream is a rather fantastic structure of air, ice, fat, and sugar.

Ice cream under the microscope
 (From Clarke, 2012, “The Science of Ice Cream” Physics Education 38 (3))

The scientific concept of freezing-point depression is what governs much of texture of the ice cream. Freezing-point depression is when the freezing point of a liquid (here, the milk and cream) is lowered by the presence of other molecules (the sugar). The sugar molecules get in the way of liquid freezing. If you have too little sugar, the ice cream will end up too hard and icy. Too much, and the result is slushy. Just the right amount helps you achieve soft, scoop-able ice cream.

There is a fun article on the science of ice cream at Ice Cream Nation if you'd like to read more. And if you'd rather just eat ice cream instead . . .

Appreciating What We Have.

Grapefruit Tart with Earl Grey Cream

Appreciating what we have. It is both a kitchen, and life, philosophy. My inspiration for recipes is whatever fresh produce I have in hand. It could be that a neighbor dropped off a big box of persimmons, or that our CSA that week included purslane, or I might see some beautiful broccoli Romanesco at the market. That's where I like to start, with whatever may be at my fingertips (or at least close by).

It is a similar ethos to locavorism and seasonalism. But for me, it goes deeper than that -- for me it is also a metaphor for life. Noticing and appreciating what is right in front of me. Letting what is present on any given day inspire me, and allow me to connect more fully with myself and my family and friends.

This week the inspiration was grapefruit. It's a lovely, bright, and sunny inspiration. My folks dropped off a big bag of grapefruit from their friend's farm. I had a lot of ideas -- grapefruit avocado salad, grapefruit pound cake, winter citrus salad ... and then this . . . Grapefruit Tart with Earl Grey Cream.

Now, it may look like I, as a 49ers fan, making a red-and-gold tart today is some kind of a message.  It isn't! Football, like cooking, can be sweet and savory, or sour or bitter.  The sign of good cooking isn't in the flavor -- if it were, we'd eat nothing but milkshakes. It's the response to, and understanding of, our environment, of where and when we live, that makes the craft into an art, and makes us enjoy what we find right in front of us ...

Ode to Coconut and, a Bit of Kitchen Chemistry

Toasted Coconut Pancakes . . . I know I had you at toasted. We love pancakes in our house, and I find it easy to make pancakes that are delicious and also pack in a lot of nutrition.

Toasted Coconut Pancakes

For these pancakes I use shredded coconut, coconut sugar, coconut milk and coconut oil. You know what they always say,  "Go coconut, or go home!"

Holding all that coconut together are whole grain flours, a touch of almond extract (I find it enhances the coconut flavor), and buttermilk. The buttermilk is important. It plays a vital role in making a fluffy pancake with a tender crumb. Why? Because of its acid content.

Quick breads, things like pancakes and muffins, owe their rise to a bit of simple chemistry. It is the same reaction that produces those science fair "volcanoes". The reaction of Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and acid. Combine baking soda, and vinegar (or lemon juice, or buttermilk), and you get Carbon dioxide and water. The Carbon dioxide gas gets trapped as bubbles in the batter resulting in light airy pancakes.

There is not much point in adding baking soda to a batter that doesn't have any acid in it. It won't have anything to react with. If you're batter doesn't call for an acidic ingredient, baking powder will be your leavening agent. Baking powder is baking soda with the acid already added, usually in the form of potassium bitartrate, also known as "cream of tartar". In fact, if you run out of baking powder, you can substitute baking soda with the addition of vinegar, lemon juice, or cream of tartar.

Image source: http://tinyurl.com/mlmwq2n

Ok, back to the toasted coconut. Do you know how good coconut smells when it is toasting? Crazy good! I seriously adore it. To start making these pancakes, set your broiler to low. Spread shredded coconut in a thin, even layer on a baking sheet. Set it on the middle rack of the oven. Then just stand there.

I know, it's hard to just stand there and not start doing other things.  Trust me it's worth it. Think of it as a few minutes of meditation; be fully present in the moment, with your coconut. You will be rewarded for your efforts by a greater sense of calm, and the amazing smell of perfectly toasted coconut. You want it just the softest shade of brown. It should look a lot like the latte you are drinking.

Now that you are in coconut heaven, let the coconut cool while you mix the rest of the ingredients for your pancakes. Then enjoy (with your latte of course)!

Amazing Birthday Blueberry Muffins

Whew! With a birthday party and Christmas preparations now complete, I feel like we are all taking a deep breath.  Our Christmas day was peaceful and lovely, and I hope yours was too. 

Our oldest recently turned 6 and we asked her if she'd like to plan her special day. From what to have for breakfast, to what activities the family would do, she picked her favorite things. It was both fun and endearing. Her first request was blueberry muffins for breakfast. 

With all the holiday indulgences I wanted to serve a very nutritious muffin, but of course it also had to be delicious and feel special for her special day. Then of course, we are in December, pretty much the opposite side of the year from fresh blueberry season in Northern California. I picked up some frozen organic blueberries. A bit leery of them releasing too much moisture into the batter, I thawed them (just by leaving them out in a bowl on the counter top) and then gently patted them dry with paper towels. 

For extra blueberry-ness, I used a special blueberry infused honey, compliments of Sonoma Harvest. If you don't have this, any good local honey will work.

The second trick to these muffins is ripe bananas--blended well. A while back I made banana crepes (which were incredibly tasty). When you prep the batter for banana crepes, you blend the banana, eggs, flour and milk together with an immersion, or stand blender until the mixture is totally smooth. I have since employed this strategy whenever baking with bananas. I love this technique because you get all of the banana nutrition and natural sweetness, with out those little chunks or brown stringy bits that pop up in your banana baked goods when you just mash with a fork. Now if you're into banana chunks, but all means go for it. But for these muffins the perfectly blended bananas work wonders.

All I have to say, is mission accomplished! These muffins had loads of blueberries, held together by a 100% whole grain, refined sugar free batter. 

A note about the recipes: you probably noticed that I changed the format of my recipe display here. While cooking over the holidays, and usually using an iPad to reference my recipe, it was constantly bugging me that I was scrolling up and down between the ingredients and the method. It leads to either a rather messy iPad, or attempting to scroll with my elbow, which never works well. I came up with this side-by-side orientation in the hopes that you can view all the essential information at tonce. I'd love your feedback on the best way to view recipes, well actually I'd love any feedback at all :-)

A Milk & Honey Giveaway!

It's an exciting day--our first giveaway. I have mentioned Milk & Honey Ice Cream before, a small batch ice cream company that utilizes seasonal, local ingredients. Their ice cream is made only from all the good stuff: organic cream, eggs and evaporated cane juice -- that's it, no stabilizers or other strange ingredients.

Their Rum Ginger Caramel Ice Cream was amazing! My Pear & Butternut Squash Pie was delicious, but that ice cream took it over the top into the completely, utterly fabulous realm. Well, today, you get a chance to win two pints of Milk & Honey Ice Cream! Cool, right? (Seriously, no pun intended.)

Brittaney is the talent behind these wonderful ice creams. She's a local Sonoma mom, and all around great gal, and has graciously offered to host a giveaway here. You can enter to win a pint of each of this month's flavors, and they sound fabulous:

Eggnog: Straus organic cream and milk, Hooker House bourbon and cognac with a touch of winter spices.

Chocolate Chip Candied Orange: Straus organic cream and milk, homemade candied organic orange and chocolate chips with swirls of silky chocolate sauce.

I am also going to include a jar of my homemade Salted Caramel Sauce, just in case you want to "gild the lily." With just 4 ingredients, organic cream, butter, cane sugar, and sea salt, it is completely delicious drizzled over ice cream, cakes, or folded into marshmallows. More to come on that . . .

So, how to enter? You need not be local to win -- I will pack it up appropriately and FedEx it anywhere in the United States. Sorry, Australian readers, no international shipping yet.

Step (1) Like Olive Oil Salt & Pepper on Facebook.

Step (2) Like Milk & Honey on Facebook.

(If you are already a fan, yay! Just go to Step (3).)

Step (3) Then leave a comment on the Olive Oil Salt & Pepper Page on Facebook letting us know the ice cream flavor you'd most like to try!

For an extra entry, just share this Facebook post and we will add your name to the drawing again.

The winner will be selected on Wednesday, December 18th. 

Persimmon Posibilities

I have been in a bit of a cooking slump. I think it was a the Thanksgiving preparations, Christmas preparations, and having a nasty cold. Frankly, I was starting to worry a bit that I wasn't going to feel that burning desire to create something in the kitchen.

Fortunately, I AM BACK! Due in no small part to this inspiring post at Abi's Farmhouse Kitchen. In the last 24 hours, I made yeast raised waffles--wow! Salted caramel marshmallows--amazing! And, this awesome persimmon pork dish.

It seems this year has yielded a bumper crop of persimmons in Northern California. Some dear friends gave us a huge box full of Fuyu persimmons from the tree in their yard and told us they don't really care for them. Even my brother, who is a chef, says they are not high on his list. However, I think persimmons, Fuyu persimmons, are underrated, (and clearly my daughter agrees as she just ate 5 of them). And, I am willing to bet I get can my brother and our friends to love persimmons.

I dreamed up an entire persimmon menu, think of an Iron Chef episode with persimmon as the secret ingredient.

Persimmon Lavender Shrub Cocktails

Persimmon Carpaccio with Burrata and Shaved Fennel

Bresola wrapped Persimmons and Arugula

--

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Caramelized Persimmons and Kalamata Olives

Salad of Shaved Brussel Sprouts and Kale with Warm Pancetta Persimmon Vinaigrette

--

Eggnog Ice Cream with Persimmon Salted Caramel Sauce

Friends, (you know who you are), you will be called upon give some or all of these ideas a taste!

Thanksgiving Tour -- Bringing It All Together

I am having a hard time believing that tomorrow is Thanksgiving. It seems like a week ago that the kids were just going back to school. I am also having a hard time believing that I still have two recipes to post!

For the Thanksgiving salad, Fuyu persimmons and Bosc pears are tossed with a blood orange vinaigrette and topped with toasted almonds and pomegranate seeds. It's simple and lovely. No blood orange olive oil on hand? No problem, just use another excellent extra virgin olive oil.

You could substitute Fuji or Gala apples for the pears, but please make sure to get the Fuyu and not Hachiya persimmons. The Fuyu are firm, shaped somewhat like a doughnut, and much tastier to eat straight out of hand.


And last, but certainly not least, the stuffing (or dressing). On day one of this adventure I posted about the Wild Rice and Roasted Squash Salad. I also promised that I would transform those same ingredients into the stuffing.

When I made the stuffing I used the leftovers from the Wild Rice Salad, added toasted baguette cubes, cranberries, walnuts and some fresh chicken stock. It was delicious. I have written the recipe up for you here from scratch since I am figuring you may want to make this and don't have the Wild Rice Salad in your fridge.

On a final note, thank you for reading, sincerely thank you! This is my 18th post in 35 days. That's a lot of blogging. And now, I think I am going on a hiatus, for a few days anyway. . .