i.gourmet

Foodbuzz Challenge #2 - Sushi

2010-09-26T10:22:00.000-07:00

Spring Roll

When I considered entering this challenge I laid in my mind a plan to the end - what I would make, how I would push myself, but when I advanced from Challenge #1 to the present culinary dare everything went out the window. I am awed and honored to continue therefore I decided to try something that would really press my skills.

Spicy Shrimp Roll

Guess what? My kitchen has never been in such disarray, I have never laughed so hard while making difficult food and I had a wonderful friend there to enjoy every step of the way. You see, I have a large family and they expect to eat anything I make therefore, along with my friend and her 3 kids, my four kids, two more friends staying over, my husband and my mother - we had a lot of sushi to make. By the end we had made 25 rolls and the best dessert tempura I have ever tasted. At one point I looked at the tiny 2-year-old seated next to me while she pounded back her weight in rice, salmon & avocado and I was proud of what I made for this challenge but had to giggle as I noticed the goggles she wore around her neck (2-year-olds love interesting accessories) were full of sushi, "for later" she told me.


Salmon Roll

Our menu included:

Spring Rolls

For this roll, I made a fresh spring roll with red pepper, portabello mushroom, mung beans, asparagus and carrot all blanched then wrapped and deep fried. This spring roll was covered in spiced sushi rice & black sesame seeds. Soy and wasabi was served with it.

Spicy Shrimp Roll

The spicy shrimp roll was my favorite one to make and eat...the center was a glorious combination of habenaro grilled shrimp, avocado, french fried shallots, mango & cucumber with a delicate lemon sauce.

Salmon & Romaine Roll

This was the most difficult and in the future I will shred the lettuce leaves for ease in rolling. The delicate flavors of the romaine hearts, the seared salmon and lime sauce was a real treat. I served it with a spicy rose Sriracha.

The piece d' resistence was the tempura fried pineapple with sugared lime curls and toasted coconut!!! I ate it until 1 in the morning, no regrets...

In the end I learned to make a food I adore with relative proficiency, my kids are overjoyed to think we can eat sushi more often and every recipe that I created was a keeper. My only obstacle is to convince my dear sweet wonderful husband to let me buy really expensive knives to cut the sushi. :)

Thank you for the opportunity to push myself beyond the confines of my present culinary skills! I am thrilled to put another notch in my chefs knife. This says it all...

Happy Eating!

Canning Marathon

2010-09-14T16:45:00.000-07:00

It’s never to early or too late to get kids involved in canning. We preserve like crazy around here because it’s a valuable technique to know and because it’s makes winter so much more enjoyable. To open a jar of freshly canned peaches or perfectly stewed applesauce is a winter treat that’s hard to beat. As the years have passed our kids have graduated in jobs that they can complete safely. But, when they were small they could peel apples and pears with peelers, pit cherries and wash jars. Now they are able to use knives and start learning how to jar and process the summer’s bounty.

We did:

40+ Quarts of Peaches

27 jars of Peach Raspberry Marmalade

35 Quarts of Pears

Now its onto the beautiful grapes that have froze once, therefore will be perfect jam!

Raspberry Marmalade

One Batch = 16 cups = (12) 10-12 ounce jars

In a large stock pot or turkey roaster combine:

20 fresh ripe peaches

2 cartons fresh or 1 bag frozen raspberries

Juice and zest of 8 oranges

Juice of one lemon

6 cups organic sugar (adjust for your own taste, this is low sugar)

Use a masher to combine all these ingredients. I use Pomodoro Brand pectin because it thickens with a calcium activator rather than based on the sugar added. Whatever you use, read the directions and add enough pectin to ensure it sets properly. This recipe has become a famous combination and has the nickname “Killer Jam” instead of Raspberry Orange Marmalade.

Happy Canning!

Food Buzz Challenge #1

2010-09-12T10:48:00.000-07:00

Why my foodilicious blog Innovative Gourmet should be #1?

To wholeheartedly desire the number one spot is easy but to humbly beseech through words that i.gourmet should be number one, is quite another thing. Thank you for the opportunity to try!

The food we create, the creations we devour and the lessons we learn as a family through this foodie adventure is priceless. As a former cafe owner and a person dedicated to GOOD food since I started learning to cook over 33 years ago, my goal from the beginning has been to share my love of food with each and every person who read my blogs or comes to our home to learn how to make delicious food.

As I provide meals for my own family and many friends I also have the opportunity to feed my elderly grandparents, three times each day, this is my greatest challenge... to give them nutritious food that manages her diabetes and satisfies his palate. In all of this daily culinary activity my utmost purpose in life combines my love of community and my adoration of the culinary arts, thus blogging has been the catalyst to see this dream realized on a larger scale.

I have tended a beautifully bohemian kitchen garden for nearly ten years. This is where my inspiration stems from, it's inaugural year taught my then small children to love beets sauteed in butter and dill, my sweet husband that grazing on fresh herbs is a good idea and my mother that there are no better blueberries than the ones you grow yourself. As the years have passed and I have developed the gardens, our palates and my culinary skills, food has become my greatest passion, blogging simply lets me share it. It all began as an easier way to share recipes with friends so we would not need to scratch out instructions while talking on the phone, doing laundry and herding children. I would post recipes and provide a PDF download for them to print when it was convenient. This was an instant hit. As I became more excited about the benefits of blogging, my aspirations for all things creative flourished especially foodie fun, how to reach my community and take the photographs that would inspire people to try my recipes. Here is a video moment of my daily life...

Happy Eating...Thank You Food Buzz!!

The Best Bread

2010-09-03T12:05:00.000-07:00

When I am “prosperous” financially, I buy bread. It may seem silly or simple, but money brings me peace only because I can buy all the food we “want”. Then when things get tight, I go back to baking all our breads, making more stews and soups and being far more creative in my meal preparation. Guess what? It’s BETTER! I’m always surprised at how much better our bread is and how I love the creations we can muster. I am re-posting this recipe because I really want people to enjoy the beauty and flavor of fresh homemade bread! Now, I make two recipes for a total of 4 loaves, twice a week... even when I can buy bread I prefer this one. :)

1 pkg. dry yeast

1/4 c. warm water

1/3 c. boiling water

2 TBSP. oil

1/3 c. plus 1 teas. sugar

1 teas. salt

1/3 c. cold water

1/3 c. wheat bran

1/3 c. ground flax meal

1 c. whole wheat bread (sometimes I use oat flour, it changes the density, but I like the flavor)

1 3/4 -2 c. bread flour

Remember, if you buy specialty flours, they need to be refrigerated, this is an expensive lesson, that I have learned myself.In a small bowl: dissolve yeast in warm water - set aside.

In the mixer bowl: stir boiling water, oil, sugar & salt together until dissolved. Stir in cold water, bran & flax. Add yeast mixture

Add wheat flour & 1 1/2 c. of the bread flour, beat on medium for 2-3 minutes. Add the rest of the flour to make a stiff dough. Knead by hand or with the dough hook for 8 minutes.
Let rise in a greased bowl until the dough doubles in size, divide into loaves, put them in two greased loaf pans and let rise again for at lest an hour in a warm place. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 - 45 minutes. Absolutely delicious!

Garden Salad

2010-08-31T12:14:00.000-07:00

Oh, this is a summer long favorite! When we can get most of the ingredients from the garden, it’s out-of-this-world!

2 large cucumbers (preferably burpless) cut into chunks
2 large tomatoes cut into wedges (a cool thing to do with toms is to drain them. Lay your wedges on several layers of paper towels, sprinkle with some salt and let them lay there until your salad is ready and then stir them in, it’s worth the effort. Your salad is not so “soupy”, is that a word?)
1/2 red onion cut into chunks
1/2 cup pitted and torn kalamata olives
1/2 cup torn fresh basil
1 t. minced fresh oregano (1/4 t. dry)
1 t. minced garlic
1 tub fresh mozzarella cut into chunks
1/2 c. feta cheese
1/4 c. good olive oil
1/8 c. good vinegar
Pepper to taste
Stir together and eat alone or ladled over a bed of lettuce.

My mom always reminds me that “GOOD BREAD” is a must. So, eat it with good bread!

Just so you know, I actually prefer my favorite french vinaigrette by Brianna’s rather than oil and vinegar.

Happy Eating!

Spicy Shrimp & Noodles

2010-08-25T09:01:00.000-07:00

This recipe has been adapted from one found in Sunset a few years ago. I have been grilling the shrimp instead of deep frying them. Although they are not as crisp, the taste is just as good.

2 lbs. shrimp (uncooked)

1/2 cup butter

2 Tablespoons olive oil

4 bunches green onions - chopped

4 fresh jalapenos - sliced (add more for added heat)

2 garlic cloves - crushed

salt & pepper to taste

Saute onions, jalapenos, butter, garlic & 1/2 teaspoon salt just until onions have wilted and peppers are soft, set aside. This is the sauce.

Melt 1 stick of butter to dip scrimp into before being dredged in the flour mixture.

Dredge

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup corn meal

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

Dip each shrimp in butter and then dip in the flour mixture, place on a platter for the grill.

Spray grill with nonstick spray before lighting it then heat grill to med/high. Cook each shrimp for about 3-5 minutes or until pink throughout the flesh.

Cook Angel Hair pasta until done, drain and toss with green onion and pepper sauce. Lay your cooked shrimp on top and serve.

Beautiful!!

Mango Garden Salsa

2010-08-21T09:18:00.000-07:00

As the Food Buzz Contest gears up... I am getting ready to take on the ten challenges and video all my recipes. So try this amazing salsa and vote for i.gourmet over at Food Buzz when everything gets under way. I will keep you posted!

I am also moving my blog into blogger for ease of comments etc. The iweb platform does not make commenting easy. As the weeks pass I will recycle the posts from there to here and then keep everything linked. Ohhh... the pain of changing one's mind! :)

Happy Eating!