Avocado Ice Cream from Brazil

Avocado Ice Cream

After receiving about fifty ripe avocados, I spent all weekend making guacamole and freezing it--each avocado went mashed, together with a tablespoon of lime juice, into a small sandwich bag. The avocado ice cream was a breeze to make in comparison. It packed the contents of about twelve small avocados all at once into one container!

California Avocado Pie next to some avocados

History of the Avocado
This new world fruit was compared to pears and figs when the Spaniards and Portuguese, mesmerized, first tasted it. It is native to many countries, such as Mexico, Central American and South American countries, and it's name comes from the indigenous language, nahuatl. The oldest traces of the avocado plant have been found in Puebla, Mexico, but there are also historical accounts of them in other Latin American countries as early as 900 A.D.

The avocado is a power fruit/vegetable. It is packed with vitamins and minerals, such as Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Potassium, and B vitamins.


The Avocado in Brazil
In 1809, the avocado plant was introduced to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the location of the 2016 Olympics (only 1232 more days left, as you can see on the official website: http://www.rio2016.org/en). Nowadays, this country is one of the largest producers of this delectable fruit.
In Brazil, the avocado is often whipped with a small amount of sugar and some milk into a delicious smoothie. It is also beaten with sugar to make "sweet avocado". Some recipes even add eggs or cheese, and condensed milk to turn it into ice cream. Other countries that make these sweet beverages in similar ways are the Philippines, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Morocco.


Recipe
from http://tudogostoso.uol.com.br/receita/18119-sorvete-de-abacate.html

2 cups of mashed avocados
1 can of condensed milk
2 tablespoons of lime juice
2 tablespoons of sugar

Beat ingredients together and place in a container in the freezer, until it hardens. Scoop it out! The condensed milk makes it easy to freeze.


References
http://poderdasfrutas.com/a-historia-do-abacate/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avocado
http://www.avocadosource.com/WAC1/WAC1_p082.htm
http://www.olympic.org/rio-2016-summer-olympics

Italian Mimosa Cake for International Women´s Day

Men give women mimosa flowers or mimosa cakes in Italy, especially in Emilia-Romagna, on March 8th, for Women's Day. 

History

International Women's Day was first celebrated in the United States in 1909. In Italy, it was first conmemorated in 1946. The mimosa flower blooms in March and was thus added as a colorful, vital, and  feminine symbol for the occasion in this country. 

Mimosa Cake

This delicate cake is made to resemble the flower. Its main elements consist of: a) a light sponge cake, so it can be imbued with a rum syrup. b) enough sponge cake leftover so it can be cut into enough cubes to properly cover the cake. c) a very yellow sponge cake so that it resembles the color of the flower d) a dome-shaped cake should result in the end, whether you place the cake in a bowl so that it takes its shape, or you heap enough cream on top, or even taper the cake tower enough with the knife to give it a dome shape. e) pastry cream mixed with whipped cream results in a delicious filling that is also used to cover the cake.

Recipe 

from http://www.gamberorosso.it/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=233677:torta-mimosa&Itemid=17&tmpl=component&print=1

Sponge Cake

75 grams of white sugar

75 grams of flour

3 egg yolks

3 egg whites

Beat egg yolks and sugar until they are thick and lighter in color. 

Beat egg whites until stiff; then fold them into the batter. Finally, fold in the flour.

 Pour the batter into four greased and floured 4 inch springform pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes.

Syrup Recipe

1/2 cup of water

1 1/2 ounces of sugar

4 tablespoons of rum

Heat water and sugar until the sugar has dissolved. Turn off the heat and add rum.

 

When the cakes are ready, poke holes in three layers and pour the syrup over them.

Next, take the extra layer, remove the crusts and cut it into small cubes.

Pastry Cream

1 egg yolk

30 grams of sugar

30 grams of flour

Zest of half a lemon

pinch of salt

Place milk, salt, sugar, flour, and lemon zest in saucepan. Heat until boiling, then pour a small amount on the egg yolk and mix. Pour the egg yolk mix into the saucepan. Stir until thick and remove from heat.

Whipped Cream

62 grams of whipping cream

25 grams of confectioner's sugar

Whip until the cream is stiff.

Assembling the cake

Fold the whipping cream into the pastry cream. Place this cream on one of the layers of sponge cake, then another layer of cake on top. Add more cream, then the third piece of cake. Cover the entire dome with cream.

Place the cubes on top of the cream-covered cake, so that it will resemble the mimosa flower.

References
http://cookitalia.blogspot.com/2011/03/mimosa-cake.html
http://www.academiabarilla.com/italian-recipes/step-step-recipes/mimosa-cake.aspx

Hamantaschen Cookies for Purim, February 24th, from Israel

You trudge upwards on a hot, diagonal mountain path near the Dead Sea. You volunteered to do this instead of taking the cable car. As you sweat under the sun, you see the plateau you are walking towards: the Masad. What was once Herod the Great's Palace is now in ruins, a fossil-like spiral snail structure in the middle of the desert.
Nearby, you can also visit Ein Gedi, a genuine oasis that has been inhabited for 5,000 years.Two waterfalls are attractions, as well as spotting animals such as wild goats.
In contrast, float in a natural spa nearby which is also one of the lowest points on Earth, the Dead Sea. At 483 meters below sea level, it is much lower than Badwater in Death Valley California, or the Caspian Sea in Kazakhstan.

History

Hamantaschen (Oznei Haman in Hebrew) are cookies that are eaten during the Jewish feast of Purim (once the fasting is over). Purim conmemorates an event written in the book of Esther; Queen Esther's cousin told her that a man named Haman had convinced the King to kill all the Jewish people in the kingdom, and she fortunately was able to convince him to reverse the edict. Thus, the cookies represent this man, Haman's pockets (taschen) full of bribe money. 

They are usually filled with a homemade jam that includes walnuts, but can be filled with any jam. I tried an apricot filling, as well as nontraditional fillings such as my guava and loquat jams.

Recipe from http://www.gemsinisrael.com/hamantaschen.html
1 1/4 cups of butter
1/2 cup of sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon of orange juice
1/2 teaspoon of salt
3 cups of flour

Filling (My recipe is different from that cited above)
A more traditional apricot jam or firm one of your choice (I used loquat and guava)
1/2 teaspoon of rum
1/2 cup of walnuts

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg, orange juice, and salt, and beat well. Mix in flour until it turns into a dough ball. Refrigerate half an hour.

Roll out a quarter of the dough at a time. Cut out 3 inch circles. You can even use the top of a 3 inch mug to cut them out if you don't have the right size cookie cutter. (That's what I did). Wet the perimeter of the circle with water. Place a teaspoonful of the jam in the center, then pinch three points of the circle with your thumb and forefinger to form a triangle. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes at 375 degrees F.






References
Recipe from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/great-grandmother-bubbies-hamantaschen/
http://judaism.about.com/od/holidays/a/Purim-Food-Customs.htm
http://www.israel-travel-and-tours.com/tourist-attractions-in-israel.html

Chinese Fortune Cookies from San Francisco for their New Year

I held my breath as the car climbed a 40 degree street. When we precariously reached the top of it, I could see the city below, and could only anticipate what it would feel like to go down.

 Suddenly the vehicle was released much like a pinball, and it sped down the street like a roller coaster car. And the slow climb began once more, to take it once again. We searched for similar streets, and found and explored most of them.
The next vehicle we would take would be a boat--straight to an island that most people that visited it in the past dreaded going to--Alcatraz. If it hadn't been for the prison cells, the lovely view of San Francisco, the seagulls, and the boat ride would have made it feel like a pleasant seaside day trip, without the extra dose of excitement that prison cell stories gave it.

 Other pleasant visits in San Francisco are the Presidio and Golden Gate Parks, which have many beautiful views to explore, from Chinese or Japanese Gardens to ocean views of the Golden Gate.

History

One of the most credible stories about where fortune cookies were created claims that San Francisco was their birthplace.  They were gourmet treats called fortune tea cakes until a fortune cookie machine was created, and they were able to be mass produced.
Originally, Japanese Americans brought the idea to the United States of a similar confection in Japan. Chinese Americans later produced them, and it became a Chinese American tradition.

Recipe: http://www.marthastewart.com/262421/fortune-cookies
The instructions are quite clear, except I would add that it is better to make the cookies one at a time and/or on a griddle, as it is quite tricky to fold them! It is necessary to form them when they are very hot, before they are too brittle to be shaped.
The most fun part of making the cookies is typing up the fortunes--you get to choose your favorite ones, add lucky numbers, print and cut them out, and finally insert them in your concoctions!

References
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/16/dining/16fort.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
http://www.fancyfortunecookies.com/Articles.asp?ID=148
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortune_cookie

Curdled Milk Candy from Ahuachapan, El Salvador

"La Asuncion" Church

The annual festivities in Ahuachapan take place on the second week of February, and are called the "Sweet Name of Jesus". Ahuachapan was originally founded in the 500's by the Pokomame Indians, but was not declared a city by the Spaniards until 1869.

Tower in Plaza Concordia

History

The curdled milk candy you can find in El Salvador is only made in the department of Ahuachapan; there it is known as "Dulce de Bodoque".  It was probably brought to El Salvador by the Spaniards in the colonial period, around the 1600's, as similar versions are also made in Guatemala, Peru, Cuba, Colombia, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic.

 

Recipe (from Comida Tipica, by Vilma G. de Escobar)

6 eggs

1 liter of milk

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cylinder of solid brown cane sugar (panela), grated

2 tablespoons of lime juice

grated zest of 1 lime

3 cinnamon sticks

Panela, hard brown sugar

 Place all ingredients, except for the cinnamon sticks in a blender and mix well. Pour into a wide and tall pot, and bring to a boil. Do not move the liquid. Let it simmer for about an hour. By this time, you can move it a little bit if you need to avoid it sticking to the bottom of the pan.

 Usually it doesn't burn, but once in a while a few pieces might. When most of the liquid has disappeared, the candy will be ready, and its consistency will have become stickier and more solid.

Dulce de Bodoque next to coffee beans and ground coffee

References
http://mekitchen.tumblr.com/post/36346284608/bodoque-de-morena-y-mi-abuela
http://mariscakes.blogspot.com/2010/07/dulce-de-leche-cortada-english-sweet.html

Stroopwaffels in Amsterdam for Candlemas

Someone moved the bookshelf, which opened like a door, revealing more rooms inside. I stepped in a genuine secret chamber for the first time--before, I had only read about them or played pretend. Here, the austere quarters of a young girl and her family took me to the 1940's, when Amsterdam was occupied by Nazis. I was in Anne Frank's house.
That was not the only time travelling I did in this city. I was able to mix colorful powdered earth for paints in Rembrandt's home from the 1600's, and to witness more than one of Van Gogh's 19th century sunflower paintings in his museum.
Outside the royal palace, amid festive carrousels and other rides, at Dam Square, I enjoyed patats (french fries) with mayonnaise, and slices of gouda at a bakery. Cheese is not the only invention the town of Gouda left us. Stroopwaffels were also made there for the first time.
Stroopwaffels
These cookies were invented in Gouda in 1784. Its creator, Gerard Kamphuisen, put crumbs and spices together into a waffle, and them spread it with syrup. It became known as the poor man's cookie, because it was made out of leftovers.

Recipe
-Cooked pizelles;find recipe at http://recipecircus.com/recipes/Stella/ETHNIC/Dutch_Stroopwafel.html

My Molasses Filling Recipe
1 cup brown sugar
8 tablespoons of butter
3 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Cook brown sugar, 6 tablespoons of butter, molasses, corn syrup, and cinnamon until the mixture reaches 240 degrees. Remove from heat, then add 2 tablespoons of butter.

Take a pizelle and spread 2 tablespoons of molasses filling on top of it, then stick another pizelle onto the filling. Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter, preferably a comfort grip cutter. Cut through the sandwich cookie and remove excess.
If you place the cookie on top of a cup of coffee, the vapor should warm it.

Mauritian Banana Tart for February 1st

When I was in tenth grade, I had to complete a social studies project on an island I had never heard of before--Mauritius. Light green palm trees leaves graced the pamphlet I would later receive by mail. Because there was no internet at the time, that would be all the extra information I would get, other than short accounts in encyclopedias at the library.
Now, however, thanks to the internet, anyone can find travel packages and tourist attractions galore. (See
http://mauritiusattractions.com/mauritius-attractions-c-24.html )  Mauritius is more than a few palm trees; this is proven by the fact that it won a Travelers' Choice Award for 2012. It has tea plantations, French chateaus, colonial houses, safaris to see zebras/lions/cheetahs/tigers, giant tortoises, rum breweries, salt basins, and a sugar museum.
The following video shows waterlilies that are larger than baseball bases, pencil thin waterfalls on steep cliffs, as well as mountains that look like Mexican hats or brown goblins: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0KFH15Tn-U
But now let's get to the recipe section. I found and made a wholesome tart that is mostly freshly cooked fruit.

Festivities in Mauritius
Mauritians hold the spiritual Cavadee Festival at the end of January and the beginning of February. The indians of Tamil origin place needles in their body and carry an ark on their back.
On February 1st, the abolition of slavery that took place in 1835 is conmemorated every year. The Dutch first took people from Madagascar and the East Indies to develop the island, during the 17th and 18th century.

Recipe from http://inspiredtobake.wordpress.com/2010/03/04/tarte-a-la-banane-recette-mauricienne/
Crust
2 cups flour
175 g butter
Filling
2 cups banana puree
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To make the crust, mix all the ingredients for it together and roll into a ball. Roll out the dough and cut into one-inch strips.

I painstakingly placed the strips on one by one. However, now I purchased a nordicware mini pie pan that allows you to cut the lattice all at once!

Reference
http://inspiredtobake.wordpress.com/2010/03/04/tarte-a-la-banane-recette-mauricienne/
Video: http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipe/150/Banana-tart/
http://globaltableadventure.com/category/recipes-by-category/favorites/mr-pickys-favorite-recipes/

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krHmNb-evdc