You'd remember drinking horchata

I don't know about you, but if I hear "horchata", I think Vampire Weekend. Click this to dig it.

TIP = horchata is pronounced "or·CHA·ta"


Recently, I became inspired to make horchata.

HORCHATA

-1/2 c. rice, crushed in a blender
-1 c. almonds, blanched & skins removed (just dunk them in boiling water for a minute & the skin comes right off!)
-1 stick cinnamon
-some lemon peel, if you so desire

Soak everything in 4 to 4.5 cups water for 8 or so hours. Blend several minutes in the blender, and strain through a coffee filter or an old t-shirt (it will take a while to drip through!). Enjoy!

Some ideas:
-horchata latte (steamed horchata + expresso = paradise)
-mazamorra de horchata (Heat up the horchata, add in about 1/4 corn starch mixed with enough water to dissolve it. It will become thick like pudding. And with some fruit on top? mmmm...)
-plain, over ice, for breakfast. That's what I did!:

Happy Horchata

Curry Crazed

Ever since I've discovered how easy it is to make paneer cheese and spice blends at home, I've been trying to learn as many curry recipes as possible.

(homemade paneer)

I used this recipe from Indian Simmer how to make paneer cheese. Suuuuper simple.

(Bin Bhuna Hua Garam Masala)

Recipe from The Cooks Collection. I used it to make the mutter paneer in the link.




Other favorite recipes, in order of favoriteness:


1. Rice & Spice's Sri Lankan Curry. It's spicy like I need my curry to be, and goes well with any ingredients. I also added lime leaves, to give it a citrusy unctuousness. I made this with eggplant & tofu instead of crab, since I don't trust crab in Colorado :/

2. Dana Treat's Thai red curry paste. Again, happily spicy, just what I want when I want curry.

3. Show Me the Curry's Roti recipe. Because every curry needs a delicious flatbread to soak it up. And these two ladies are just too cute.

Life and Bread (life comes first, bread shortly thereafter)

This March & April, Colorado has been throwing little hissy fits.

Record heats over 80 degrees, brief and random monsoon-like rain showers, crazy out-of-control wildfires, a little snow and frigid winds here and there. Maybe mother nature hit her head somewhere and got a little confused.

All of that means that it's time to savor the lovely spring weather (and a budding garden!) before a drought hits.

Radish Hearts :)

Baby lettuce peeking through plum blossoms

Little tinkling bluebells


The babies are enjoying the spring sunshine too:

I made a nice lentil salad (from the lentils in my pretty glass jar)

And ground some fresh fennel to make sourdough Swedish Limpa bread.

My sourdough culture was a gift from my parents.

It wasn't wrapped with a bow, and it was more like a I-dunno-what-to-do-with-this-here-you-take-it re-gifting.

But I love it just as if it did have a bow. I feed it and dress it up and give it a place to stay.




SWEDISH LIMPA BREAD (molasses & fennel rye bread)
(makes 1 loaf)


Ingredients:

-3/4 c. warm water
-1 tsp. yeast
-1/3 c. molasses
-heaping 1/2 c. sourdough starter
-2 c. dark rye flour
-1.75 c. bread or high-gluten flour
-1/2 Tbs. ground fennel
-1 tsp. salt

Directions:

Mix the water with yeast and let sit until frothy. Then mix in the molasses and sourdough starter until the starter is well-incorporated with the water. I was using a stand mixer, so I just dumped the rest of the ingredients in, put on a dough hook, mixed on low until everything was incorporated, then beat on high 6 minutes until dough was smooth and slightly elastic. Otherwise, knead by hand 11 minutes. Roll against counter until you form a ball with a very tight skin on top. This helps keep the gasses the yeast make in, helping it rise and develop sourdough flavor.

Drop the ball in an oiled bowl, turned to coat with oil. Cover with a wet towel, and leave to rise about 8 hours (I made it in the morning so I can come back to it for dinner). If you're around to punch it down every couple hours, that's great. If not, your dough won't die of overproofing.

Afterward, form into a log, and place on greased baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise another hour.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees, and place a tray of boiling water on the bottom rack. Score the bread (I like diagonal stripes across the top), and put in the middle rack of the oven. Bake uncovered 3 minutes, cover loosely with foil and bake 15 minutes, then uncover and bake 20 to 25 minutes. When done it should be very brown on the bottom and hollow-sounding when the bottom is tapped.

Enjoy steaming & with butter or soft cheese :)

Happy Bunny Day!

May all your bunny wishes come true.

Cornbread, my love

Tonight I've made something glorious. Tonight I've made....

Pan de Choclo!

Peruvian cornbread, stuffed with spiced chicken, raisins, olives, and hard boiled eggs, pan de choclo is a winner.

Here's the recipe on my travel blog: KT-Synesthesia. I made this one with a pound of blue corn I used to make chicha, then boiled that and put it through the food processor to make corn meal.

I made it with a cranberry salsa, just to give it a little pink :) I'll include the recipe for that at the bottom, only eat it if you are in the mood to eat many many tortilla chips...or pan de choclo!

Cranberry Salsa recipe:

-1 bag cranberries
-3 fresno chilis
-1/2 an onion
-1 clove garlic
-2 tomatoes
-juice of 2 limes


Stick everything in the food processor, and whir!. Just a note, I don't add salt because chips are salty enough, but do what you like.

Favorite Perú food moments (Mis momentos favoritos de comida Peruana) - English & Español

If there is a food you come to Perú to experience, I'd have to argue that sure, while ceviche is great, if you want amazing food, it's a la leña. Perú knows how to slow cook meat over an open fire. Above you see chicharrones, smoky de-boned riblets soaking in their own grease, aka heaven. There's also lechón, a whole, slow-roasted suckling pig, that is served on french bread with sauces. Another must-do experience is trying cecina, beef or pork halfway through the jerky-making process, then grilled with lots of seasoned oil. The.best.beer.food.ever. Next, of course, anticuchos, or grilled cow heart, steals even the most doubting hearts. And finally, an old favorite, is pollo a la brasa, a whole slow cooked chicken injected with spice concoctions with incredibly crisp skin. Oooh....I'm drooling...

Si hay una comida que vienes a Perú para experimentar, me gustaría exponer que, aunque ceviche está bien rico, si quieres comida increíble, va a ser a la leña. Perú sabe como asar lentamente el carne. Arriba se puede ver chicharrones, que en Perú son costillas de cerdo (chancho) sin hueso, que vienen en su propio grasa, alias paraíso. También hay lechón, un cerdito entero asado por mucho tiempo, servido con pan francés y salsas. También debes tener la experiencia de probar cecina, carne de res o cerdo hecho a charqui (o charque), y asado con mucha aceite sazonada. Siguiente, por supuesto, son anticuchos, o corazón de res asado, que roba incluso a los corazones más dubitativos. Y finalmente, un clásico es pollo a la brasa, un pollo entero asado en el horno, inyectado con un menjunje de especias con un piel increíblemente crocante. Oohh...

Ceviche and cancha (Peruvian popcorn)...#2 best drunk food in Perú.

Ceviche y cancha (palomitas de maíz Peruanos)...#2 mejor comida para cuando tomas.

Comida Arequipeña. We ate this just before venturing to the deepest cañon in the world, the Colca. Amazing quinoa and queso fresco soup, alpaca meat, various southern style stews.

Comida Arequipeña. Comimos eso antes de aventurándonos al cañon más profundo del mundo, la Colca. Asombrosa sopa de quinoa y queso fresco, carne de alpaca, y varios otros guisos del estilo del sur.

Queso helado, a cinnamony, hand-made ice cream from the South of Perú. Above, a woman makes it in the traditional method, by turning and stirring a bowl with milk and spices that is set in ice.

Queso helado, un helado con canela hecho a mano del sur de Perú. Arriba, una mujer lo hace en método tradicional, revolviéndolo en un tazón puesto en hielo.

Tacu tacu, beans and rice with plantains, eggs, and sometimes a steak with onions, smothered in my favorite, ají (hot sauce made with ají peppers). And a little ají volcano, whee!

Tacu tacu, arroz con frijoles y plátanos, huevos, y a veces bistec encebollado, bañado en salsa de ají. Y un volcanito de ají, wee!

And best for last, ponche de leche con Pisco. It's like eggnog, but with Pisco! Brilliant.

Y lo mejor para el final, ponche de leche con Pisco. Otros nobres de otros países incluyen "ponche de huevo, candeal, y rompope", y en los EEUU es llamado "eggnog". Pero con Pisco! Genial.

¡Come Perú!

Just a little note, I've posted my favorite Peruvian food recipes at my travel blog, here: KT-Synesthesia.




Llama bread says, "Enjoy!"