Baked Plantain Cranberry Teabread

THIS IS A WINNER! I'm always looking for new ways to use the fruits and vegetables from tropical countries. Plantains are a member of the Banana family but they taste nothing like a banana. They have their own unique flavor, which intensifies further when baked. I have another recipe on my site for a plantain cranberry bread but with this one, I opted to bake the plantain first as that intensifies the flavor and sweetness of the fruit. I have also used oatmeal, and whole wheat flour to add a dimension of more complex carbohydrates rather than just using only flour. The desiccated coconut also add some carbohydrates that are more slowly absorbed than just flour, and also gives it an interesting taste and texture. For spices, I have used ground coriander for its citrus note, allspice and cayenne pepper to add a little "zing" to the taste. I have used very little sugar (and could probably even decrease it to 1/3 cup) in this recipe because the cranberries, and plantain add their natural sweetness, and makes the bread sweet enough. For an interesting twist, you could also substitute half of the dried cranberries with Goji Berries, if desired.
Ingredients
3/4 cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup green tea (flavored is fine. I use 1 teabag of Lipton Purple Acai Berry green tea for the 1/2 cup of water)
1 large plantain, unpeeled

Juice and zest of half lemon
1 cup bread or all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup oatmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

3 tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/3 cup half and half

1/2 cup desiccated coconut, unsweetened
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
Method

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit

2. In a small saucepan, bring the 1/2 cup water to a boil. Pour over the tea bag, cranberries, and let steep for 3-5 minutes. Remove tea bag and set tea mixture aside. Let the mixture sit until the cranberries have absorbed the tea and plump up. 

3. Make a shallow cut in the skin of the plantain along its length. Fold back the skin of the plantain and lightly oil the surface of the plantain. Bake the plantain on the skin, a cookie sheet until it is easily pierced with a knife blade. About 15-20 minutes in a convection (fan) oven at 425 degrees Fahrenheit will do it. Remove from the oven and mash it with a fork (photo). Let it cool, and mix it in with the tea mixture, cranberries, lemon juice and zest.  Set aside

4. Melt the butter and coconut oil and let cool.

5. Sift the flour, baking powder, desiccated coconut, baking soda, spices, and salt into a mixing bowl. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat both eggs and the sugar until it becomes pale in color. Add the vanilla, melted butter, and oil, to the mixture, and beat for about 30 seconds more.

6. Add the mashed plantain mixture to the mixture in the electric mixer bowl and blend on low speed. Alternate adding the dry ingredients with the half and half, mixing until all the ingredients are incorporated.  End with the dry ingredients.  Do not over mix. Fold in the pecans (if you are using them) and pour it into a lightly greased 9 by 5-inch loaf pan, the bottom of which has been lined with parchment paper. 

7. Bake in the oven for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, or until a toothpick or bamboo skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack, in pan for 10 minutes before attempting to turn out the bread. Slice when cooled to room temperature. I freeze the slices by wrapping them in plastic wrap, and then foil.  

Quick Potstickers and Stir Fry Vegetables

Like everyone else, I'm always looking for easy ways to enjoy an exotic dish. This does not require prolonged preparation as most of the ingredients are pre-packaged. The trickiest bits are steam frying the frozen dumplings, and mixing the dumpling sauce, trying to get a good balance of flavors. Alternatively, you can just buy the bottled dumpling sauce and most any Asian supermarket. The brand of frozen dumpling I like to use is shown in the photo above. The vegetables I used are the Costco Sweet Kale Salad as I do like the blend of vegetables that is used.
Ingredients
2-3 cups of Costco Sweet Kale Salad mix
8 frozen, pre-steamed dumplings (see photo)
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed flat with a cleaver
1 inch piece of ginger root, peeled and smashed
4 tablespoons of oil for stir frying (2 for the dumplings and 2 for the vegetables in separate woks or frying pans)
about 4 tablespoons water
Dumpling Sauce (if you decide to make it)
1 tablespoon of white vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Microwave all on high for 45 minutes, stir and set aside.
Method
1. Put 2 tablespoons oil in the wok and heat on high heat. Add the ginger and garlic and stir fry until fragrant, taking care not to burn the garlic. Remove from heat and discard the garlic and ginger. Return the wok to the heat and stir fry the vegetable mix in the flavored oil for 2-3 minutes. Empty into a shallow bowl.
2. Using the same wok or another, add 2 tablespoons oil and heat till smoking. Add the frozen dumplings, flat side down, and fry until bottoms start to brown. At this point add 1 tablespoon water at a time, covering the wok after each addition, and letting the steam heat the dumplings. Remove the cover and add the other tablespoons water, repeating the process as described above. I do this until the dumpling temperature has reached 165 degrees Fahrenheit (yes, I use a thermometer to test). Once the dumplings are cooked, place on top of the stir fried vegetables and pour the dumpling sauce over everything.

Crunchy Puffed Millet and Sesame Squares

These are just wonderful very crisp and crunchy cookie squares. The Carbohydrate count comes back at about 18g per square with 6g of sugar. It's not bad compared to other recipes around but if you are watching the intake of either of these food items, then you will have to exercise some restraint and not gobble them all up at once. WARNING: It's very hard to just stop eating them! They can be made even more irresistible and decadent by dipping them in melted, caramel. butterscotch or dark chocolate!They are just crispy, crunchy, golden bites of wonderfulness! This recipe yields about 24 squares.
Ingredients

1 cup bread flour

1/2 cup durum flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons butter softened

4 tablespoons shortening

4 tablespoons coconut oil

2 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup Raw brown sugar (Panela or Piloncillo), broken into small pieces

1/4 cup warm water

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats, coarsely chopped in blender to bread crumb consistency

1 cup puffed millet

1/2 cup sesame seeds
Directions

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 9 by 13 inch baking pan with parchment paper and set aside. Make sure the parchment paper is cut large enough to hang over the sides of the pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Dissolve the Panela or Piloncillo in the warm water. Allow to cool to room temperature.
4. In a large bowl (of a stand mixer or with a handheld electric mixer), beat the butter, coconut oil, shortening, tahini, and granulated sugar together until just combined. Increase the mixer speed to medium and continue to beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute longer.  Add the egg, and vanilla and beat on medium-low, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, as needed. Add the flour mixture and mix at low speed. At this point add the water with the dissolved Panela or Piloncillo. Gradually add the oats, puffed millet and sesame seeds and mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
5. Pour the mixture into a 9 by 13 inch baking pan, lined with parchment paper that hangs over the edge of the pan. 
   
   Using a flexible spatula, press the mixture in the bottom of the pan. Intermittently moisten the spatula and smooth the mixture till it becomes like a firm slab in the baking pan.
   

6. Bake 20 minutes and remove from oven. Cut into squares in the pan, cool.

Lift out squares on parchment paper and put on a cookie sheet.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes then gently separate the squares. I find a large, flat sharp Chinese style cleaver works well for this.

Clean the cleaver as you go so that the blade has no batter caught on it. If batter is on the blade, the squares will not separate cleanly, and will break when you try to separate them.

Return the squares to oven that has been decreased to a temperature of 275 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for another hour and forty five minutes until the squares feel dry to the touch and they are nicely browned.  Cool the squares completely on a rack. They will crisp up further as they cool.

Oatmeal Sesame Cookies

These cookies are another variation of low carb, low sugar snacks. They go well with a cup of coffee or tea, and one will be enough to satisfy that craving for something that's a little sweet but not too sweet! Any type of seed can be used in place of sesame seeds. It's also possible to substitute some of the sugar by using dried fruit  but I have not tried that. The butter may be substituted by using any of the nut butters you like. The cookies have very little cholesterol. They are very much like "digestive biscuits" one gets in Europe but not as buttery or sweet. Each cookie is listed at 176 cals, CHO 10.5g, Fiber 2.3g, and sugar 3.4g.

Ingredients

85g wholemeal flour

85g durum atta flour
85g Scottish oatmeal

85g Flax meal
75g cold butter, cut in cubes

75g Crisco shortening
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
70g dark brown sugar or Panela (Colombian Raw Sugar)
1/2 tsp salt
2-3 tablespoons half and half
1/4 cup sesame seeds

2 tablespoons sesame seed paste (Tahini)
Method

1. Briefly pulse the dry ingredients in a food processor.

2. Add the butter and shortening and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse bread crumbs

3. Turn out into a bowl and add the half and half, sesame seed paste until a dough that sticks together is formed. Roll out to make a large log, about 8 inches long

4. Wrap in plastic wrap or greaseproof paper and chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight.

5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, unwrap and slice the log into 1/4" slices. Arrange slices on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

6. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Decrease oven temperature

to 275 degrees Fahrenheit and  return the cookies to the oven to bake for another 1 1/2 hours minutes. Turn off oven and leave cookies to dry out in the oven until cool. Cool completely on a rack and store in air tight container.

Crumbly Oatmeal Sesame Squares

The inspiration for these came from my desire to make an oatmeal cookie that was in-between a granola bar and a chewy oatmeal cookie. It also had to be low in sugar, trans fat and cholesterol. Naturally, it had to have seeds and flax meal. This is the result of all that planning. The cookies are not sweet, and although they are crumbly, hold together well. The nutritional information using one of the on line calculators show that each piece is 136 calories, Carbs 15.9g, Sugar 4.7g, and Fiber 2.8g.
Ingredients

6 Tablespoons shortening
1/4 cup panela or brown sugar, unpacked

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup water
2 Tablespoons molasses

1 tablespoon golden syrup

1 tablespoon Sesame Seed paste (Tahini)
1 1/2 cups uncooked Scottish oatmeal

1/2 cup Sesame Seeds

1/2 cup flax meal

1/2 cup durum atta flour
¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
Method
1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Mix together all the dry ingredients
2. Melt shortening, and mix in the Tahini paste. Set aside. Add the sugar, and salt to the water and gently warm, stirring constantly until the sugar is dissolved. Add the golden syrup, molasses and vanilla, and allow this mixture to cool slightly. 
3. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well to form a dough.
4. Spread mixture evenly in 9 x 13 inch pan, lined with parchment paper. Make sure to cut the parchment paper larger than the baking pan so that the edges overhang.  Flatten using your hands and spread evenly using a wet spatula so that the mixture forms a slab (tiling skills come in useful here as it's almost like spreading thin set concrete for tiling).
5. Bake for 20 minutes. While warm, cut into 24 square pieces.

Allow to cool for 20 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 250 degrees Fahrenheit, and transfer the cookies to a baking sheet by lifting the parchment paper. Separate all the pieces and bake for another 1 1/2 hours until golden brown. Allow to cool completely before storing in an air tight container. 

20 Minute Baked Fish

This is a very easy and tasty way to cook fish fillets. It is steam-baked in the oven, along with vegetables of your choice, wrapped in aluminum foil or parchment paper and baked (the fancy name for this is "en papillote" which means "wrapped in parchment." For this recipe, I have used a Caribbean style of seasoning but you can use the seasoning of choice to suit your taste as the recipe is very flexible. I have used carrots and cauliflower here but the mix of vegetables can also be varied to include asparagus, sweet potato, tomatoes, or any others that you like. They must however be cut in small pieces in order to cook in 25 minutes.
Ingredients
10 oz fish filet (Red Snapper, Basa etc)
Seasoning of choice (I use Grace Caribbean Fish Seasoning but any other can be used)
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 green onions, cut in half and the bottom end crushed with a flat  knife
5 sprigs of thyme
1 teaspoon butter
1 tablespoon white cooking wine
1 tablespoon Extra Virgin olive oil
1 medium carrot, peeled and sliced
2 florets of cauliflower, cut into small pieces
A few drops of Sriracha pepper sauce, if desired but Tomato Ketchup can be substituted.
A square of aluminum foil or parchment paper that is large enough to hold all the ingredients
Method
1. Dry the fish fillet with a paper towel, and cut in half to fit  the baking sheet or pan you are using. A 8"x 8" works well.
2. Season both sides of the fillet well.
3. Place 1 half of the fish in the foil, and put the sliced garlic, green onions and thyme on top of this. Place the second fillet on top of this (like you are making a sandwich).
4. Top with the butter, and add the olive oil, and cooking wine. Place the cut vegetables around this "sandwich".

5. Fold the foil to completely seal the fish and vegetables, and bake in oven at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and carefully open the foil to avoid being scalded by the escaping steam. Plate and enjoy

Red Cabbage, Beetroot and Cranberry Pickle

I love pickles! You can see this from my earlier recipes of pickled Jalapenos, Habanero jelly etc that I posted last year.  It is based on Achara which is a type of sweet pickle from the Philippines. The traditional Philippine Achara uses green Papaya as the base but I wanted to develop a recipe using red cabbage and raw Beetroot. Because of the bright red color, this is a very nice pickle to use either at Thanksgiving or Christmas  but can naturally be made anytime of the year. It'll keep for quite a while in the refrigerator.  I shredded the beetroot by hand, and also sliced the cabbage in this way but the shredder and slicing discs on a food processor obviously will make the task less difficult. I have added Thai Chili to the pickle as I like pickles to be spicy. If you do not want a spicy pickle, this chili may be omitted. If you like a sweeter pickle, the sugar may be increased. Although the pickle can be eaten after 24 hours, it is best eaten after about 1 week in the refrigerator as this will give it time to mature, and the flavors to mix together. It will keep for a couple of months in the refrigerator.
Ingredients

1 small head of red cabbage or Radicchio

2 medium sized beetroot

1/2 cup pickling salt

1 cup white vinegar

1 red onion, thinly sliced

5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced into thin strips

2 red Jalapeno peppers, seeds removed and cut into slices

2 green Jalapeno peppers, seeds removed and sliced

2 red Thai chili peppers, sliced (optional)

6 tablespoons dried cranberries

Pickling Brine

2 cups white vinegar

1 1/2 cups sugar (increase to 1 3/4 cups if you like a sweeter pickle)

2 teaspoons salt

1/8 teaspoon Pickle Crisp granules (optional but I like to use it as it keeps the pickles nice and crunchy)
Method

1. Wash and finely slice the red cabbage as if to make Sauerkraut.

2. Wash the beetroot carefully, cut off tops and root at the bottom. Peel the beetroot. Use the coarse shredder on a grater or the appropriate disc on a food processor, shred the beetroot and mix with the cabbage. Add to this the 1/2 cup of pickling salt and massage it into the vegetables for about 10 minutes. This will cause some fluid to be extracted  from the cabbage and beetroot. Put the mixture in a colander or sieve to drain the liquid. Rinse the cabbage and beetroot once or twice to wash away the excess salt. Using a clean cheesecloth, place a handful of the mixture at a time into the cloth and squeeze out as much moisture as you can. Place the vegetables in a glass bowl, add 1 cup of vinegar, cover and leave in refrigerator overnight.

3. The next day, clean and sterilize a glass jar for the pickles. Place the strips of ginger at the bottom of the jar.

4. In a small pot, add the vinegar, sugar, salt, Pickle it (if you are using that), dried cranberries, and salt. Heat the contents over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves. DO NOT allow the mixture to boil. Let it cool to room temperature as this will allow the dried cranberries to absorb some of the liquid and  "plump up".

5. Using another piece of cheesecloth, place small quantities of the vinegar soaked cabbage and beetroot mixture on the cloth and squeeze out as much of the vinegar as you can.

6. In the clean and sterilized pickling jar, arrange the cabbage and beetroot in alternating layers with the sliced onion, garlic and peppers. Pour the pickling brine over this and shake the jar a couple of times to ensure that pockets of air that may be trapped in the mixture, rise to the surface. Use a clean spoon or fork to further press down on the mixture as well. Store in the refrigerator.