Archive for the ‘Food Stuff’ Category
Odd Foods: Monstera Deliciosa
The Delicious Monster!
The Monstera Deliciosa or Delicious Monster would seem well described as a cross between an ear of corn and a plated dinosaur, while its taste lies squarely between that of a banana and a pineapple.
I’ve had the pleasure of ingesting this fruit on more than one occasion. Only recently, however, had I taken the time to photograph it. There is a multi-day delay between when you get the fruit home and when it’s then ready to eat. For easy ripening it’s suggested that you stand the fruit up in a large glass, tip down (see photo below). When the scales begin to fold outward and drop off, the internal flesh is then ready to eat. It’s worth noting that if eaten while unripe the fruit can irritate the throat and the latex of the leaves and vines can create rashes on the skin.
Monstera deliciosa is a creeping vine native to the tropical rainforests of southern Mexico south to Colombia, and many of you have likely seen it before (though not fruiting) as it’s a popular choice of interior decorators. This member of the Arum family is an epiphyte with aerial roots, able to grow up to 60 ft high with large, leathery, glossy, heart-shaped leaves.
Like so many worldwide fruits, it’s common names are numerous, including Ceriman, Swiss Cheese Plant (or just Cheese Plant), Fruit Salad Plant, Monster fruit, Monsterio Delicio, Monstereo, Mexican Breadfruit, Monstera, split-leaf philodendron, Locust and Wild Honey, Windowleaf, Delicious Monster, Balazo and Penglai Banana.
In a world where foreign (and somewhat alien) fruits can be delivered to our doorsteps just shy of optimal eating one should not be surprised to read that the Delicious Monster is not cheap. Noting that a complete fruit takes nearly a year to mature it makes the close to $5 cost (from the most economical grocery store in New York City!!!) almost bearable.
Click the image below for a larger multi-photo collection of the fruit’s lifecycle (once it’s in your home.)
Odd Foods: Dragonfruit
As mentioned before, New York City is a veritable paradise for those who seek the weird in the world of food (and many other worlds… should you choose to stumble down those alleys.)
On numerous occasions I’ve discovered something new simply by walking the streets and stalls of Chinatown. Many of the most prominent stalls along the Eastern end of Canal St. offer a variety of oddly shaped, festively colored, and reasonably priced fruits. One that has often caught my eye is the (seasonally) short lived Dragonfruit, commonly known as a Pitaya.
A pitaya is the fruit of several cactus species, and sensibly occupies an important place in many culinary cultures: they are found across the globe from Asia to the Americas.
The skin of the fruit is somewhat leathery, featuring leafy offshoots. It sits comfortably in the hand, but can weigh anywhere from .25 lb to 1.3 lbs. Wikipedia notes that fruit up to 2.2 lbs has been recorded.
The flesh, a bright white speckled with small black seeds, is similar to that of the kiwi with somewhat more of a physical snap (in texture, not taste.) The red (in this case, though there are other varietals) skin is not consumed and has been known to be fouled by pesticides with farm grown fruits. The flavor is mild and acts as an excellent palate cleanser between courses of more strongly flavored foods. Since it is low in calories you can consume quite a bit of it without worry.
The Dragonfruit is relatively expensive when compared to more common fruits, but it’s flashy appearance and abundant flesh make it an excellent addition to many meals, and has never failed to illicit a raised eyebrow from visiting dinner guests.
Odd Foods: The Ground Cherry
“It’s a what?,” I stammered as the woman at the local green market tried to explain what it was I had just put in my mouth.
“A ground cherry”, she repeated, “though it has no relation to the actual fruit.”
She had also described the little orange yellow fruit as seeming to offer everyone a different experience. She thought they tasted a little like natural peanut butter, while to me it tasted just like the milk left at the bottom of a bowl of Berry Berry Kix cereal from my youth – sweet and savory… so clearly we were getting something different out of it.
An interesting tactile experience, the ground cherry, also known as a husk tomato, and officially as Physalis Pruinosa, grows close to the ground and is sheathed in a paper-like husk (top photo) that parts easily when the fruit is ripe (see below). Popping one in your mouth is not unlike popping a small cherry tomato into one’s mouth (taste aside).
Native to South and Central America this little globular surprise would be incredible dipped in chocolate, and likely make an excellent choice for jams or jellies.
Apparently it can be grown from seed in most warmer climates, and it might just make an appearance on our deck next summer. If you get the chance, be sure to try this small wonder: I have no idea what it will taste like for you.
Methuselah’s Plate: Homemade Pizza
pizza pre-flight
I like to cook. I like to eat. This is a good combination.
Homemade pizza is an incredibly simple dish that never ceases to please the crowds.
With just a few “specialized” implements you can really take your game up a few notches. I’m thinking: rolling pin, granite counters, and a pizza wheel, which unto themselves aren’t all that specialized as they can be used for any number of other kitchen adventures.
A pizza stone and peel are, however, an all-together different story: if you’ve been in a pizza parlor then you’ve seen a peel, and the stone is just what it sounds like: a round, flat ceramic stone on which you cook the pizza (think crusty bottoms). The peel is the giant wooden or metal spatula that your local dough-thrower uses to retrieve that crispy pie from the ovens.
Living in New York City has many benefits and drawbacks, but one of the benefits for someone that likes to cook is the proximity to inexpensive restaurant supply stores open to the public. You can pop in and purchase a bewildering variety of no-frill, pro-quality cookware: pizza peel included for $12.99.
The real challenge is not GETTING the pizza peel, it’s USING the peel. Words of wisdom from a man who has seen pizza fall on the floor: use lots of corn meal and dress your pizza after you place the naked dough on the peel. Trust me.
In the image above we’ve made a traditional pie, as well as a sausage, basil, and red onion pizza: me… I like the meat.
Odd Foods: The UGLI© Fruit
In my on-going pursuit of food oddities, particularly fruit oddities, I’m continually amazed by what’s available at your local store.
At first I thought, “well, I do live in New York City, and there’s something fitting about having access to so much”, but as time has passed and I’ve been around, I’m realizing that these kinds of things are everywhere! The bodega or deli around the corner as well as the local grocer.
The ugli fruit (pronounced oo-glee according to wikipedia), or Jamaican Tangelo, is something special: not only are fruits like this available thanks to globalization, but their names are copyrighted and they’re sold as branded items. This fruit, which at the end of it all is a hybridization between a grapefruit and a tangerine, is sold under two different brand names: UGLI© Fruit and Uniq© Fruit.
Grown largely in it’s native Jamaica, the fruit was actually discovered growing wild on the island, and has since been commercialized.
The skin is rough, but easy to peel like a naval orange, while the flesh is extremely juicy tending more towards the sweet of the tangerine, rather than the bitter of the grapefruit… which is good because I don’t like grapefruit, and I did like this.
Not as expensive as some of the exotics I’ve looked at before, it does however command a premium when compared to more mundane fruits (apples and oranges for example). It’s slightly larger than a standard grapefruit, and had a sturdy shelf life, lasting more than 2 weeks on my counter before I dug in.
Odd Foods: I’m not quite sure… UPDATED
Once in awhile I’m struck, and I mean absolutely struck, by some of the fruit you come across in your day to day life (not unlike an autistic child might be smitten by the workings of a light switch).
For example, the above: I found this small, pleasingly colored fruit, about the size of a medium plum, in a local market and was so taken by the appeal of its aesthetic that I completely forgot to take note of its name.
UPDATE: Finally, after much searching, I’ve discovered what this fruit is called: it’s a Loquat! You can read more about it here!
It was, however, firm to the touch with a slight give under pressure. The flesh was pleasantly crisp and juicy, though not so much so that liquid spilled from it once cut. It tasted much like a plum, but with a hint of citrusy sweetness and a touch of the tropical one might find in a fruit like a mango or papaya (while tasting unlike either fruit).
In the center of the fruit was a large nut with brown skin hiding a verdant green underlayer (click here for a better look at the center) which was dense, though not nearly as, say, a peach pit. The nut sliced easily with a common kitchen knife revealing a white flesh with a single thin green line. (click here for a close-up)
All in all, a pleasant fruit I could see myself eating often, though as is the case with many of these exotic fruits its price was somewhat prohibitive ($1.99 each), which for such a small fruit must account for either the difficulties of growing it, or the cost of shipping it to non-native regions (ie. Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, NY)
Methuselah’s Plate: Fish Sausage
I like to cook. I like to eat. This is a good combination.
Once in a blue moon I will grab a somewhat dusty cookbook and crack it open while uttering the phrase (internally… not quite that crazy) “I will cook what first appears”.
Enter Fish Sausages. Yeah, you read that right. Fish sausages.
As fate would have it I found myself with a somewhat complicated and certainly time consuming recipe, containing four different kinds of aquatic ocean life (mussels, white fish, salmon, and shrimp). Not to be daunted and too stubborn to change my mind I quickly found myself mired in the usual understocked kitchen dilemmas, such as “blender as food processor” or the famed “wooden spoon as spatula” scenario… seemingly simple and of little consequence, these little foibles can add up and create head shaking results (such as the time I tried to make chocolate with a blender, and ended up with sparks, smoke and a broken blender).
After 45 minutes of effort that involved steaming, shelling, mincing, and chilling the mussels, I blended the fish together with oil, egg whites, dill and love. I next wrapped the concoction in saran wrap, rolling the filler and twirling the ends of the wrap to create a sausage shape, before wrapping them in foil, and simmering them in a shallow pan of steaming water.
Once returned to the fridge, you simply pan sear them when ready to dine, and drizzle them in a parsley, butter and caper sauce.
The result: near perfection for those that enjoy the ocean’s bounty. Absolutely, without question, worth the effort!
Click here to see it in all its gory glory. Bon apetite!
Methuselah’s Plate: A Turkey Log?
I like to cook. I like to eat. This is a good combination.
After Thanksgiving I am always influenced by the combination of flavors that roll about the traditional plate.
Though now long past, this last Thanksgiving was no different. I vowed to myself that I would continue on with the Turkey love… and I did.
I rolled a fat one.
In a moment (of perhaps misguided) inspiration I decided to pound flat turkey breasts and stuff them with cranberry sauce, basil leaves and Stovetop stuffing. I rolled it all up tightly, bound it with soaked butcher’s string so that it would not ignite once in the stove and set it to bake at 350 for 35 minutes (in hindsight, a touch over-long).
While that dish baked I set to slowly cooking diced onions in a frying pan. During which time I clumsily shaved several potatoes, and sweet potatoes. Into a wrought iron frying pan I layered the slivers of potato and sweet potato and sandwiched the sticky, yellow sweetness of the now done onions between potato layers and inserted the whole mess into the oven.
As I waited I whipped up a classsic chicken stock gravy and a salad of fresh cucumber, tomato, native corn, cracked pepper, olive oil, and a white balsamic raspberry vinaigrette.
I wouldn’t say it was an utter, unabashed success, though neither would I call it a failure. For next time I would most certainly remove the basil leaves as they left a somewhat bitter taste when all was layed upon the plate. I would also consider adding ground sausage in small quantities to the stuffing of the turkey, for after all, pork is from the pig as bacon is too, and everything is better with bacon. You do the math.
Click the image to view it in all it’s gory glory. Bon Apetite…
Odd Foods: A… ki-what-o?
A horny melon, a melano, the African horned cucumber, jelly melon, hedged gourd, English tomato, or kiwano (a registered trademark of New Zealand’s Prinut Inc.), is a vine of African origin, grown for its fruit, which looks like an oval melon with horns and is very decorative. Once native only to a region of the Kalahari desert, the horned melon is now also grown in California and New Zealand.
Apparently this melon has been known for more than 3,000 years, but has only been sold commercially in the last several years. Of note, it has a remarkable shelf life and can be stored at room temperature for up to six months.
I purchased this fruit in a Shop Rite food superstore, located on the borders of the Catskill State Park in New York state: truly a testament to the steady globalization of the world and re-confirmation of our amazing quality of life here in the United States.
It was impulse that delivered the prickly egg into my basket, and it was awe that registered when the fruit rang through as $5.99. “This thing better be as incredible on the inside as it is on the outside,” I remember thinking.
When picked green, and allowed to ripen to an orange color, the fruit tastes like a sweet cucumber. The fully ripe melon has an orange rind with rigid spikes. The yellow-green flesh has a gelatinous consistency and contains whitish seeds similar to those of a cucumber. I can see quite easily how it might be known as the African horned cucumber.
click here to see more images…
Methuselah’s Plate: Poor Man’s Lobster
I like to cook. I like to eat. This is a good combination.
A little bit of this and a little bit of that and before you know it you’ve got yourself… something.
Monkfish is often referred to as the poor man’s lobster, most likely because of its texture and consistency, and of course, because of its relatively low cost when compared to the fabled red sea-bug.
The broth this dish sits in is an unskilled approach towards something called a nage: a variety of mildly flavored vegetables boiled in a chicken broth with copious amounts of butter, white wine, and if I had had it… heavy cream. The result is then strained, leaving you with a richly flavored, relatively thin broth that accompanies a richly flavored fish like Monkfish perfectly.
Click the image to view it in all it’s gory glory. Bon Apetite…
