Moringa Chia Pudding with Raspberry Recipe

A current food trend is the emergence of exotic superfood ingredients such as elderberry, aronia, haskap and moringa. Moringa is a plant native to South Asia and grown throughout the tropics. It's considered a superfood because the powdered leaves provide protein, calcium, iron, Vitamin A and Vitamin C. Peace Corps volunteer Lisa Curtis discovered it when she was living in West Africa and suffering from malnutrition. Now back in the US, she is the founder of Kuli Kuli Foods, a company that sells moringa based product in the US and helps to improve the lives of women like the ones she worked with, in Africa.

When I met Lisa I was inspired by her story and also curious to try experimenting with moringa, which comes in a powdered form, looking a bit like matcha but tasting more herbal with a slight bitter but not unpleasant edge. Aside from adding it to smoothies or using it bars, I thought it might be good in a chia pudding. 

Lots of chia pudding recipes use coconut or almond milk in addition to yogurt. I'm not really sure why! I used both whole milk and full fat Greek yogurt for this little verrine but you can use any milk you like. It makes a healthy and yet indulgent snack or light breakfast. The bitterness of the moringa is offset by a tiny bit of honey and the fresh raspberries. 

Moringa Chia Pudding with Raspberry

Makes 4 servings 

Ingredients 

1/2 cup milk

4 teaspoons honey

2 cups Greek yogurt

2 Tablespoons chia seeds 

1 Tablespoon moringa powder

1/2 cup raspberries

1/2 teaspoon honey

2 teaspoons chia seeds 

Instructions

Gently heat the milk and honey in a small bowl in the microwave or in a saucepan just until the honey disolves. Whisk together the milk and honey mixture, Greek yogurt, chia seeds and morinaga in a bowl then transfer to a container, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours but preferably overnight. 

Mash together the raspberries, honey and chia seeds and place in small container, cover and refrigerate. 

Portion the pudding into 4 verrines, cups or ramekins and top each with a spoonful of raspberrry sauce. 

Enjoy! 

Disclaimer: I was provided with samples of moringa to use in this recipe. I was not compensated monetarily for this or any other post on this blog. 

Jewish Cookbooks 2015

Are you suffering from an overload of everything Christmas? Shabbat Shalom! Here are a few books worth taking a look at, whether you are Jewish or not.

The Seasonal Jewish Kitchen is the book that could make anyone fall in love with Jewish food. Amelia Saltsman has Iraqi and Romanian heritage and manages to take the best from both of those cuisines along with her own wonderfully creative ideas and California sensibility to craft a cookbook full of “keeper” recipes. The photography is fresh and modern. 

The crazy good recipes in this book make me think I could actually give up my beloved pork and go kosher! I mean we’re talking about things like Lamb Kebabs with Parsley, Mint and Tahini Sauce, Yemenite Pumpkin and Carrot Soup, Curried Roasted Cauliflower, Freekeh with Kale, Butternut Squash and Smoked Salt. Recipes like Tunisian Lemon Rind Salad condiment and the Blood Orange and Olive Oil Polenta Upside Down Cake are reason enough to treasure this book. 

Food, Family and Tradition: Hungarian Kosher Family Recipes and Traditions is a love story. It’s a tribute from a daughter to her parents, part biography, mostly cookbook. I fell in love with Budapest and in particular with the wonderful paprika and delicious dumplings, potato dishes and goulashes that are such comfort food. One of the very first recipes in the book caught my eye—a spread with farmers cheese, paprika and garlic. 

The recipes in the book are a combination of old world and new world, but mostly fairly traditional things like blintzes, kreplach, kugel, veal breast and brisket with a Hungarian accent. These recipes are family heirlooms, but good enough that you might want to add them to your repertoire too. 



It’s not everyday you come across a cookbook published posthumously. But the family of famed third generation baker George Greenstein made sure his baking secrets would continue on, with the publication of A Jewish Baker’s Pastry Secrets. 

With clear instructions you too can make babka, bundt cakes, gugelhopf and fillings for cookies and pastries made from poppy seeds, prunes and walnuts. The book offers both cups and weights. The recipes come from a bakery but are scaled and written for a home baker. 

Despite the gorgeous photo on the cover, this book lacks any other photos, but is a great resource for those looking to make professional looking pastries. 

The reason why Celebrate: Food Family Shabbos caught my eye was because is because many of the recipes such as Whole Wheat Challah and Fresh Tuna, Chickpeas and Rosemary Salad and Acorn Squash Stuffed with Jeweled Israeli Couscous feel very modern and while all the recipes are kosher, many recipes include a kosher for Passover variation. Anyone who keeps kosher for Passover can always use a few more recipes to get them through the week. 

I have already bookmarked the Coffee Braised Brisket, Roasted Chicken with Shiitake Mushrooms and Artichokes and Extreme Chocolate Drop Cookies to make during Passover next year. 






Disclaimer: I received these books as review copies and this post includes affiliate links. 

NOMA: My Perfect Storm movie review

Even after reading the NOMA:Time and Place in Nordic Cuisine cookbook and going to see chef Rene Redzepi speak, I am still curious about the restaurant and the chef. Short of flying off to Copenhagen and dining at the restaurant (it’s on my bucket list!) I really enjoy reading anything I can about this restaurant that has been chosen “#1 in the world” four times.

The latest attempt to dig deeper into the Noma phenomenon and psyche of chef Rene Redzepi is the feature length documentary, Noma: My Perfect Storm. Towards the beginning it’s easy to fall under the spell of the chef and his concept for the restaurant. It’s a concept which has had and will continue to have a ripple effect. Because really, this is more than just about one chef or one restaurant, it’s about a philosophy that is changing food, cooking and how we approach it everywhere. It's about creating a cuisine that reflects time and place in the most authentic way possible. Not surprisingly, it’s also about the process of pursuing something great.

René Redzepi in NOMA/ MY PERFECT STORM, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures. Photo credit/ Pierre Deschamps

While I was initially inspired by much of the film there comes a turning point where frankly things get a bit ugly. And things did get very ugly in 2013. Not just that the restaurant lost its top honor, but also there was a norovirus incident that closed the restaurant down completely for a while. What happened? How did the restaurant end up as #1 and then lose its way? Or did it lose its way at all? Does it even matter? All of this and much more is explored. It’s an almost brutally honest film. There is no sugar coating. There are interviews with many people—chefs from inside the restaurant and beyond, purveyors, food critics and even a childhood friend of the chef. There are many scenes which take place in the kitchen, very few in the dining room. The photography of the food is breathtaking beautiful and yet some of the interactions in the kitchen can also be painful to watch.

I don’t want to give too much away, but I do urge you to see this film, especially if you are interested in Noma or in the changes undergoing restaurant and food culture today. Theater dates and how to watch on demand.

Speciality Food Holiday Gifts 2015 & Giveaway!

Over the past year I've gotten to try a lot of speciality foods. Here are some of my absolute favorite sweet and savory treats. 

This year I fell in love with the products from Tonewood Maple. They make maple products in many different forms, but also highlight different styles and flavors of maple. If you think as I did, “maple is maple” there’s a reason for that. In many places, such as a certain well-known province of Canada, all the maple products are processed together. So you don’t get different flavors from different estates, just different grades. 

Tonewood offers single estate maple syrups in their grade collection in golden delicate, amber rich and dark robust flavor profiles, and each are completely different. These are maple products that reflect place, just like wine! Some are earthy, some are spicy, but they all have a depth of flavor missing from other maple syrups. Honestly this is the best maple syrup I’ve ever tasted. 

In addition to syrup, they offer maple cream, which has the most divine, melt-in-your-mouth buttery consistency. You’d swear there is butter in the product but it’s just pure maple. 

The other very cool product they offer is their award winning maple cube. It’s solid and you grate it to get chips or flakes that are lovely on a cheese plate but also can be a great topping for ice cream, salads, cereal or more. 

Another award-winning product that knocked my socks off this year at the Fancy Food Show was Pistacchiosa, a Sicilian pistachio spread with extra virgin olive oil. This unbelievably creamy smooth and lucious spread is intensely flavored with the best pistachios in the world. While you could just smear it on toast, because it’s not very sweet, you can use it in recipes as well. Try it in ice cream or gelato, add it to whipped cream or pastry cream to make a cake or eclair filling or slather it on fresh ricotta or goat cheese. 

I have to admit to being more in the savory than sweet camp. And I love Dijon style mustard! In Paris just past the famous Ladurée tea shop, famous for French macarons, you will find at the Place de la Madeleine  the wonderful food shop Fauchon and the Maille mustard boutique. Step into the shop and there are so many different flavors of fresh, pungent and scrumptious mustard on tap! 

Maille makes outstanding mustard, so much brighter and more intense than what you can get from most other brands. Fortunately their products are available online, especially the more fantastic flavored mustards like the ones in the Exotique collection. It features mango and Thai spices, fig and coriander, apricot and curry and saffron and Isigny creme fraiche. This gift will make any mustard lover swoon! 

Last but not least I recently attended a party thrown by Touch of Modern, which is a rather masculine site that has flash sales. They have a gourmet category that often has some pretty amazing deals on really great stuff. You never know what they will have, but I recently saw the best price I’d ever seen on jamon Iberico de bellota as well as Three Jerks beef jerky made from filet mignon. 

They also offer some other quirky things like Himalayan salt shot glasses and Stu's Mixology Set for making bloody mary's, which includes powdered key lime and sweet corn to rim your glasses. 

And now the 

GIVEAWAY

Thanks to Tonewood Maple and Maille mustard I am giving away a maple cube and a set of the Exotique mustards. 

Please let me know if you prefer savory or sweet treats, which ONE item you are interested in winning. You must have a US mailing address to win. You MUST leave your email address in the field where it is requested, it will not be visible to the public only to me. DO NOT leave your email address in the body of your comment, if you do, I will delete it. Only one entry per person! I will choose the winners at random on December 18th, 2015.

Disclaimer: Review samples and giveaway prizes provided by the companies indicated. I was not provided with monetary compensation for this or any other post. 

New Dessert Cookbooks Winter 2015

This holiday season there are several new dessert cookbooks, here are some of my top picks.

Home Baked isn't strictly a dessert book, it also contains savory baked goods, but the vast majority of the recipes are for sweets with just one section dedicated to breads (and a few recipes for dog biscuits). This book is mammoth! It has over 150 recipes for everything from Viennoiserie to cakes, cookies, pies and patisserie. 

What sets the book apart is that the instructions are incredibly clear and well written and for the most part feel very easy to accomplish. The photographs are appealing as are the creative flavor combinations like Zaatar, Carrot Banana Cake, Chocolate Olive Oil Cake with Grapefruit, Peach and Berry Tarts with Buttermilk Custard and Fig, Apricot, Stilton and Goat Cheese Tart.
Who's it for? Any baking enthusiast or as the author says, "domestic adventurer." 

Marie Asselin the author of Sweet Spot: Modern Better-for-You Dessert Recipes, with Clever Tips to Bake (mostly) Dairy-Free) is the talented writer and baker who has created some winning recipes for sweets that don't rely on butter and cream. There are cakes, cookies. creamy treats and some nifty master recipes for things like coconut whipped cream, an easy butterscotch recipe, nut praline and more. 

The photography is clean and modern, and the recipes for things like Carrot and Pineapple Cupcakes with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting, Fresh Strawberry Squares with Pistachio Crust and Dark Chocolate and Whiskey Pots de Creme with Almond Langues de Chat are very appealing. Who's it for? Anyone who's looking for dairy free recipes, or just looking to lighten their desserts. 

Note this is an e-book, available as a pdf or for an iPad. 

Incredibly Decadent Desserts is the latest title from Cooking Light. So that means each recipe offers portions that are 300 calories or less. The recipes rely on more "low-fat" rather than "no-fat" dairy; this book is much more in the moderation camp. There is a recognition that dessert is, well, dessert. It’s an indulgence and frankly it should feel that way. The knowledgable author Deb Wise includes lots of tips and incorporates very of-the-moment ingredients like yogurt, bacon, amaranth, teff and Kamut flour in her recipes. 

If you are concerned about calories and have all but given up on dessert, this book will open up a world of possibilities including cakes, cookies, puddings and pies. Recipes I’ve bookmarked include Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cake, Mexican Chocolate Cream Pie  and Apricot Pistachio Tart. Who’s it for? Anyone who wants to enjoy dessert with a little less guilt 

Francois Payard the author of Payard Cookies is a third generation French pastry chef. He was named pastry chef of the year by both the James Beard Foundation and Bon Appetit magazine. He is also a cookie monster. Ok, not a monster but a self-proclaimed lover of cookies. As you might imagine, his cookies are not rustic or homey, they are elegant, sophisticated and well, fancy. 

This is not a book for beginners but for someone with a stand mixer, a scale (everyone should really have one). rolls of parchment paper, a pastry bag and tips as well as silicone baking mats and in some cases, a candy thermometer. The cookies are stunning and involved. For example the Walnut Cookie Bars are composed of a crust, walnut filling, almond cream and a topping.
Who’s it for? Anyone looking to impress or learn some professional pastry techniques. 

I thought I’d seen it all, until Cookies & Beer came around. Yes, it is what it sounds like, a book of cookie recipes with beer pairings. Like a romantic comedy with a car chase thrown in, I suppose it might bridge a divide between two possibly divergent groups, in this case beer lovers and cookie lovers. 

The recipes come from brewers as well as acclaimed pastry chefs from around the country—such as William Werner and Christopher Elbow. The book has both traditional and modern recipes—there are manly cookies with bacon, savory cookies as well as some classics like Russian Tea Cakes and several versions of chocolate chip cookies. There are even cookies with spent grain (from making beer) or beer in the batter.

The recipes are mostly really easy and you can skip the beer if it’s not your thing, or put a whole new spin on the traditional cookie party.
Who’s it for? Obviously cookie and beer lovers!

Guittard Chocolate Cookbook was written by Amy Guittard, the great, great granddaughter of the founder of the Guittard chocolate company. It was published earlier this year but it has lots of holiday appropriate recipes, such as Chocolate Trifle, Chocolate Almond Ginger Bark and Jim's Special Fudge so I'm including it.


I love the use of light rye flour in recipes like Chocolate Pistachio Sables, Salted Chocolate Shortbread and Morning Muffins made with applesauce and oats. The recipes are geared for the home baker and generally don't require any fancy techniques. The book has recipes for cookies and bars, breakfast pastries, cakes, puddings and confections.The recipes use Guittard chocolate, and the chips at very least are widely available in supermarkets.
Who's it for? Chocolate lovers!

Disclaimer: These books were provided as review copies and this post includes affiliate links

Artisanal Italian Pasta

If you go to most grocery stores or supermarkets you can find dried pasta for as little as about $1 per package. At the same time there is “artisanal” dried pasta which costs at least twice as much, and often much more. Is it worth it? Yes, it is and here’s why.

Recently I was at an event where there was an in depth discussion about pasta. Big producers like Barilla make in 2 days what a smaller artisanal company like Rustichella d’Abruzzo produces in an entire year. But it’s not just about volume, it’s also about how the pasta is made.

One big difference is how the pasta is extruded. Artisanal producers use bronze dies, these create a rougher surface texture which allows the pasta to better absorb sauces or condiments. While sauces are important, so are the noodles! They should really taste good. Extruding the pasta through these dies is a slower process than using the teflon dies that industrial producers use. Bronze dies don’t last as long and are much more expensive.

The drying time in particular is also crucial. Smaller artisanal producers slowly dry the pasta and it sometimes takes up to 2 days, whereas large producers dry it as quickly as possible using heat. The resulting pasta is a noticeably different color. Industrial pasta effectively toasts the wheat by the use of heat, which gives it a different flavor altogether. It’s not terrible, it’s just not nearly as good.

Last but not least, one of the most important ingredients is the wheat itself. A proper blend of grain yields just the right texture and flavor.

Beyond wheat, there are also different ingredients. Today many companies often make pasta that is gluten free, organic or made from different grains. I tried some dried pasta from Rustichella made with different ingredients that lend not just color but flavor. They make tonnarelli (aka spaghetti alla chitarra) with squid ink, spicy red pepper and spinach, but my favorite was the pumpkin torchio (torches). The sweet flavor of pumpkin really shines in this pasta which is best dressed with a very simple sauce such as the one suggested on the package which combines sausage, white wine and sauteed onion.

Curious about all the different types of pasta? This Encyclopedia of Pasta infographic helps to make sense of 188 shapes. Here’s my quick and easy guide to pairing pasta and sauce:

Long thin pasta—oil or tomato based thin sauces
Wide ribbons — thicker meat sauces
Cup or shell pasta — chunky with vegetables or bits of meat
Tubular pasta — thicker ragu style meat sauces
Mini pasta — soups or salads

Bottom line, pasta is relatively inexpensive. Considering it’s often the main part of a dish even $5-10 for 4-6 servings is quite reasonable.

Disclaimer: My thanks to Manicaretti for providing Rustichella d’Abruzzo products for me to review. 

XO Sauce Recipe

I’m recently back from a whirlwind week long trip to Guangdong province in China. The capital city Guangzhou is the home of Cantonese food and I am obsessed by many spectacular dishes I enjoyed there. Some were complicated like stuffed mud carp and a candy like crisp pork belly, and some were rather simple yet very compelling such as the congee I ate every morning topped with fried peanuts and some preserved vegetables. One of the simplest dishes I had was a pile of thin flat rice noodles tossed with vinegar, sesame seeds and a generous dollop of XO sauce. The savory, salty, fishy, hot and sweet ingredients in the sauce all meld together to make something greater than the sum of its parts.

XO sauce was invented in Hong Kong, possibly Kowloon, in the 1980’s and there are many different recipes for it. The name XO means extra old, like you see on a very expensive bottle of cognac (popular in China). But there isn’t any cognac in XO sauce, although the dried seafood used in it is rather expensive. The sauce is primarily dried seafood and ham or sausage and pungent aromatics and while you can buy it, it’s extremely satisfying to make. Fortunately you can easily find all the ingredients for it easily in an Asian market. I found the dried shrimp and scallops in a refirgerated case with tofu and noodles. Use the absolute best quality you can find. 

This sauce is kind of crumbly and chewy. It’s super easy to make and just a pure umami bomb. Add it to fried rice, rice porridge, dumplings or noodles, steamed green vegetables or fish, or on anything you like! I’m thinking a jar of it would make a really nice gift this time of year but I wouldn’t blame you for keeping it all for yourself. My version of it is adapted from various sources primarily recipes by David Chang and Kylie Kwong. I first made David Chang's recipe but I felt it had too much ginger and garlic. My version is closer to what I had in China and unlike Chang's version mine includes shallots and Shaoxing wine. 

XO Sauce 

Ingredients

2 ounces dried shrimp, about 3/4 cup2 ounces dried scallops, about 1/2 cup

3/4 cup rice bran oil or other neutral flavored oil

1 cup thickly sliced Chinese sausage

1 Tablespoon dried red chile flakes

1/4 cup shallots, peeled and thinly sliced

1/4 cup garlic cloves, peeled and cut in half if large

1/4 cup fresh ginger, peeled and cut into chunks

2 Tablespoons Shaoxing wine

2 teaspoons soy sauce or tamari

Instructions 

Place the scallops and shrimp in a medium bowl and cover with water allowing extra water since they will absorb most of it.. Cover the bowl and let sit overnight. 

Heat the oil in a large skillet, preferably nonstick or cast iron. In a food processor pulse the Chinese sausage until finely minced. Place the sausage crumbles in the oil and cook for 3 minutes. Meanwhile drain the scallops and shrimp, place them in the food processor and pulse until finely minced. Repeat the process with the shallots, garlic and ginger. 

Reduce the heat to very low and add the chile flakes and minced scallops, shrimp, shallots, garlic, ginger, Shaoxing wine and soy sauce to the pan. Stir the mixture and let the sauce cook over very low heat for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce should dry out and turn a deep redish golden color and have a thick sludge-like consistency. Remove from heat, let cool slightly then store in a covered jar in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!