Lasang Pinoy, Sundays: Saba Con Hielo

saba in syrup + shaved ice = chillin' snack

During my two pregnancies in the perpetually hot and humid Philippines, I had saba bananas in syrup with shaved ice and milk almost every other day to cool me off. Not halo-halo which is too rich, just sweet saba, ice, and milk. I could have eaten just milk and sugar on shaved ice and I would probably have been happy anyway. Ripe saba banana, in my opinion, is the only kind of banana that pairs very well with shaved ice and milk.

I added tiny tapioca pearls and used half-and-half for a creamier richer cold treat

yummy saba con hielo

Lasang Pinoy Sundays is a weekly food photography meme, Pinoy style, hosted by SpiCes. Let's CHILL!

Weekend Herb Blogging: Green Tomatoes And Apples Hazelnut Crisp

A week ago strong winds broke a branch of one of my tomato plants bearing a few green tomatoes. Since there wasn't enough to fry I sliced them and together with two granny smith apples I made them into a fruit crisp. The flavor combination of slightly tart apples, sweetish tomatoes, and hazelnuts is amazing, very very yummy.

These green [yellow variety] tomatoes are surprisingly sweet and there isn't a hint of tartness. Being a tomato fiend (I love to snack on tomatoes since I was a small child) I could eat them regularly straight from the bush or in desserts.

sweet and crunchy green (yellow) tomatoes

Green Tomatoes And Apples Hazelnut Crisp
2 Granny Smith apples, thinly sliced
2 medium green tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar, more if you prefer it sweeter
finely grated rind of 1 lemon
¼ cup all purpose flour
6 tablespoons dark brown sugar
¼ cup cold salted butter, diced
1 cup roasted hazelnuts
2 - 3 tablespoons Nutella

• In a small bowl mix the apples and tomatoes, drizzle with lemon juice. In another small bowl, stir together 2 tablespoons flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, and lemon rind, then sprinkle all over the fruits. Toss mixture gently to coat fruits. Transfer into a baking dish. Bake in a preheated 375 degree F oven for 20 minutes.
  
• Prepare the topping while the fruits are baking: In a food processor, pulse together the flour, brown sugar, and butter. Add the hazelnuts and process until nuts are chopped fine. Refrigerate until needed. Sprinkle evenly on top of fruits and bake for another 15 minutes or until nicely browned and crisp. Remove from oven and let rest for 2 minutes.
  
• Spoon Nutella in a disposable icing bag and pipe thin strips on top of crisp. Serve warm or at room temperature.
  

I'm submitting this post to Weekend Herb Blogging which is being hosted this week by Dhanggit. For more info on how to join this weekly event visit Haalo's blog.

The Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge 13: Focaccia

I was eager to bake Focaccia, 13th recipe in The Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge but I was sort of disappointed after slicing the bread. Although very yummy and the crust crispy, I find the crumb, which has irregular large and medium air pockets, oddly soft and airy. I prefer very chewy focaccia and the crumb of this focaccia definitely is not, at least to me it isn't.

I don't know where I did wrong because I followed the recipe (using bread flour) accordingly, did not change any of the ingredients or procedure except I baked them pizza-style in round pans. I used 8 ounces of dough in 8-inch pans and 10 ounces in 9-inch pans and they baked to the perfect thickness of 1½ inches. On a positive note, I love the herbed oil and will use it again with different herb combination but I don't think I'll follow this dough recipe next time I make focaccia.

Here is a better recipe, also from Peter Reinhart.

topped with cherry tomatoes (from my garden), caramelized Vidalia onions, and sea salt

I will slice this one horizontally to make into a gigantic sandwich

Rating:
flavor 4
texture 2
visual appeal 5
ease of preparation 5
performance 4
worth 1
Total: 21
Average: 3.5

Black Corinth Financiers

financier bars and frozen black corinth grapes

One of my to-bake recipes is the French tiny almond cookies, Financiers, for oh over two years already but somehow I never found the time to make them. Looking for what other things to do with Black Corinth grapes besides freezing them to eat as fruit ice candies, I saw this and thought now is the time to make financiers and bake them with the tiny grapes. They are very yummy, the edges are crispy but soft inside, not too sweet and I like that the grapes are very mild and don't dominate the flavor of the cookies. The only negative is one recipe makes very few cookies that I want to bake another batch soon, maybe tomorrow.:-)

I baked them in small rectangular loaf pans because I don't have the shallow rectangular ones for baking these cookies and I think they came out a little bit thick, I'm not really sure. I do have those boat tart molds but I can't remember where I kept them.

French Almond Cookies
½ cup melted butter or browned butter
½ cup toasted almond meal
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup confectioner's sugar
3 egg whites, lightly beaten
1/8 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
fresh raspberries or jam, black corinth or regular seedless grapes
mini cupcake pan or boat tart molds

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. If using molds, place them on a cookie sheet.
• Transfer 2 tablespoons of the melted butter into a small container. Brush molds generously with the butter.
• In a medium bowl, mix together the almond meal, sugar, flour, and salt. Stir in the egg whites, the remaining 1/3 cup butter, and vanilla extract. Fill mini cupcake pan or molds almost to the top.
• Bake for 4 minutes. Remove from oven and top with fruits or fruit jam. Return to oven and bake until cookies are golden brown. Transfer into a wire rack and cool for 5 minutes. Unmold cookies and enjoy with frozen grapes.

fruity gold ingots

black corinth grapes, very sweet and fun to eat when frozen