Chai Roasted Plums with Vanilla Cream

The past couple of weeks have finally been giving hints of Fall. San Diego can have it's moments of "I can't believe it's so nice outside today!" weather, but lately, that has not been a trend. Summer seems to be lasting far too long, thrusting us into jealousy as the rest of the country embraces it's pumpkin everything boot-wearing sweater weather. In an effort to do some kind of rain dance esque plea to the God of Seasons to let us keep Fall, I've created a nice recipe using fall flavors and spices. Enjoy, and pray for us.

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Chai Roasted Plums

• 9 plums
• 1 cup water
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp minced ginger (fresh, dried, or crystallized are fine)
• 1/2 tsp cardamom seeds
• 1/2 tsp black peppercorns, slightly crushed
• 1/2 tsp whole cloves
• 1/2 vanilla bean pod (I suggest scraping the inside and reserving for the vanilla cream)
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 tsp black tea leaves or 1 tea bag
• 1 recipe of Vanilla Cream (below)
• 1/4 cup pistachios, chopped

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. Halve and pit plums and place cut-side down on a rimmed baking sheet. To make chai, place water in a small sauce pan over medium heat and add ingredients from brown sugar to cinnamon. Heat until the brown sugar is dissolved and the mixture just begins to simmer. Turn off heat and add tea. Steep for 5 minutes. If you are using loose leaf tea, be sure to add them to an infuser or bag first. 

Once your tea has steeped, remove the tea and pour the chai (all spices included) into the pan with the plums. Move the pan around to evenly distribute the liquid if needed. Place in the oven and roast for 25 minutes. You'll know they are done when the liquid is mostly evaporated and there is a thin layer of syrup left around the plums. 

If adapting this recipe to serve a smaller portion, roast in a smaller pan and use half of the chai liquid; otherwise, it won't caramelize by the time the plums are cooked. I used a 12" x 17" pan in my recipe.

Cool for a few minutes. Serve warm with a loving heap of vanilla cream and sprinkled with pistachios.  

Vanilla Cream

• 1 egg white
• 2 tbs sugar
• 1/2 vanilla bean, scraped
• 1/2 cup greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Whip egg white until stiff peaks form. Add in sugar, vanilla, greek yogurt and heavy cream. Whip for 2 more minutes. 

I recommend making this while the plums are roasting. If making ahead of time, whip again for 30 seconds before serving.

Foil Dinners & Campfire Brussels Sprouts

Foil Dinners & Campfire Brussel Sprouts

A few weekends ago, Chris and I went camping up at Palomar Mountain State Park (if you love trees, you should go. Coming from someone who moved from a subtropical rain forest to the desert, this place is tree therapy). We hit the farmers market on our way out and grabbed some ingredients to make our childhood camping favorite- foil dinners.

What I've started to realize throughout my time of frequenting these local markets is that if you are heading out on a road or camping trip, stopping by the market on your way out is well worth the small amount of extra time it takes to shop there than at the grocery store. 

*You can make a vegetarian option by eliminating the ground beef and adding the sprouts to the main meal.

Foil Dinners

• 1/2 lb grass fed ground beef
• 10-12 mixed baby potatoes (or 3 red potatoes)
• 1 shallot*
• 5-6 small carrots
• 2 large lettuce leaves
• 6 garlic cloves
• Worcestershire sauce
• Butter
• Salt and pepper

Campfire Brussels Sprouts

• 1 lb brussels sprouts
• 1 shallot*
• 3 garlic cloves
• Butter
• Salt and pepper

Start your campfire. Lay out 3 pieces of foil- two for the dinners and one for the sprouts. You'll want to make sure you have enough foil to fold over itself to create a sealed package, roughly 18 inches long.

For the foil dinners, place a lettuce leaf in the center of each foil piece. Cut potatoes, onion and carrots into 1 inch pieces and dice garlic cloves. Divide cut veggies, garlic and ground beef evenly and place on top of the lettuce. The lettuce might seem like an odd addition, but it will keep the dinners from burning in the coals and will keep your meet moist while cooking.

Add 7 to 8 shakes of Worcestershire sauce to each dinner - this measurement can certainly be adjusted based on your taste. Add a couple of pats of butter on top and sprinkle each with a pinch of salt and pepper. Starting hot-dog style (or taking the two longer sides of the foil), fold the edges together until they touch and pinch together to form a seal. Do the same with the opposite ends, but make sure they overlap. Check to be sure that all end are sealed- this will steam the dinners and trap the flavors. 

For the brussel sprouts, lay out a piece of foil just like you did for the dinners. Cut each sprout in half, chop the shallot and garlic cloves and place on the foil. Top with a couple of pats of butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Fold over and seal the same way as the dinners.

Place the dinners and sprouts on outer edges of your campfire coals and cook for 15-20 minutes. They may take longer depending on the strength of your fire, so check them after 15 by poking a potato with a fork or knife. If they need more time, reseal and return to the fire and check them every 5 minutes. If the sprouts begin to burn do to the heat of the coals, try moving the to the further edges or place them on the grill grate above the fire pit if it has one. 

*The shallot can be substituted for 1/2 a small onion if you can't find a shallot easily

Serves 2

Tahitian Squash and Drunken Apple Pie

Tahitian Squash and Drunken Apple Pie

My parents were in town this week, visiting from the land of fire flies and the best fried catfish you can find- Alabama. Since my brother and I moved out here, they've been visiting a couple of times a year and it's become a regular activity to visits San Diego's Little Italy Farmers Market. If you live in the area and have never been, or you are planning on visiting San Diego, put this on your list of must-do's. This time around, we picked up a 7 pound Tahitian squash from one of my favorite booths- Schaner Farms. Some of the nicest people and best produce (and eggs). With so much squash on hand, I decided to take a twist on a traditional pumpkin pie, lighten it up a bit and add bit more fall flare with pink lady apples from another farmer's booth just down the street. 

I used a 12 in cast iron pan, but you can use a regular pie pan if you don't have one; however, you might end up with a bit of the filling left over.

 

Pie crust

• 1 Basic Pie Dough

Tahitian squash filling

• 3 lbs of Tahitian squash, baked (about 2.5 cups cooked/smashed)
• 6 oz. low or nonfat plain greek yogurt
• 1 cup of coconut crystals
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 ts ground ginger
• 1 tbs ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom

Druken apples

• 2 apples (suggested: 1 pink lady, 1 fuji or jonagold)
• 1 cup spiced rum
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tbs whole wheat flour

Heat your oven to 375 degrees.

To begin, peel, core, quarter and thinly sliced your apples. Your slices should be about 1/8 in thick. Place in a small, shallow pan and cover with spiced rum. Set aside while you prep the rest of your pie. Be sure to stir your apples a couple of times to ensure they are all getting soaked in the rum.  

Roll out your chilled whole wheat pie crust in a circle until about 1/8 inch think, or until it’s large enough to slightly extend over the side of your pan (I chose a 10” cast iron skillet and it baked wonderfully). Place rolled dough in the pan, form to the sides and trim off excess, using the edge as a guide for your knife.

In a food processor, place all ingredients for the Tahitian squash filling. Process until smooth (about 30 sec - 1 minute). Set aside. Drain the apples and add the remaining ingredients. Gently shake or toss until all slices are evenly coated.

Pour squash filling into your pie crust. Begin placing apple slices in a circle, starting on the outer edge and working your way around and then into the middle (you can use the photo as a reference, but get creative and have fun, adding your own flair). When finished, there should be about a ½ inch gap between the top of the apples to the edge of the pie crust.

Gently fold the crust over the edge of the apples and tuck the edge back a little. Again, get creative! Place in the oven with a piece of foil laid on top. Bake for an hour and 15 minutes or until the center doesn’t giggle when you gently shake the pan.

Let the pie cool for 45 minutes. Best served, slightly warm and with a cup of hot coffee or chai.

Yields 6-8 servings.