The Gourmet Mama

Rambutan, related to the lychee, can be found in most areas in a Chinese produce store. They look rather odd, like little hairy animals, but the fruit inside is truly heavenly. North America is one of the few areas of the world that doesn`t produce this delightful fruit, though it is usually grown within 15º of the equator for the best results.

The outer, “hairy” skin can be peeled off and is rather stiff. Underneath, you`ll find a jelly-like, white fruit with a thick brown pit in the middle. It`s sweet and delicate tasting and the rambutan can be used for many types of cooking.

Rambutan is a fragile fruit that doesn`t last long in the market, since it must be tree-ripened. You will want firm fruit with good color, avoid any with spots or browning.

This fruit can be eaten as is, simply peeled and the meat sucked off the pit. It`s even better chilled! But that`s not the end of it. Rambutan can be used in jellies and desserts, too.

Savory Rambutan with Garlic

3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons crushed coriander roots (or use powdered)
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
oil
1/2 pound minced pork
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped peanuts
4 teaspoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons sugar
1 chili pepper, seeds removed and minced
2 cans rambutans, drained or about 3 cups fresh

In a frying pan, saute garlic and coriander with the oil until the garlic is lightly browned. Add all remaining ingredients except rambutans. Cook until everything is browned and the liquid is all but gone. Add in the rambutans and cook for 2 min. This goes well with rice.

Baked Ham with Rambutan

1 ham, cook according to directions

about 3 dozen rambutans, peeled, pitted and sliced in half

When the ham is nearly done baking, use toothpicks to pin the rambutan halves to it, covering the meat completely. Roasted rambutans are tasty and the juice seeps into the meat, adding a tropical flavor that is far more subtle than pineapple.

Rambutan Pudding

1 package ladyfingers

2 cups rambutans, peeled, pitted and finely chopped

3 cups whipped cream

Lay the ladyfingers in a pie dish, covering the bottom completely and sticking up the sides. Fold rambutan chunks into the whipped cream and fill the pie dish. Refridgerate until ready.

Hint: For extra flavor, soak the rambutan in brandy or white wine overnight before adding to the whipped cream.

A lot of moms don`t get around to doing much in the way of homemade desserts because they just seem complicated. You might be surprised at how very simple it is to whip out a beautiful dessert, but today we`re looking at the more rustic and very tasty strawberry shortcake. You can use any berry with it, really, so feel free to substitute.

Super Simple Strawberry Shortcake

Topping:

Whipped cream or chantilly

2 cups sliced strawberries

2 tablespoons sugar

Place strawberries in a bowl and sprinkle with sugar. Toss until all the berries are coated, set aside.

Cake:

2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

pinch of salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine

1 1/3 cups water

Preheat oven to 350º. Mix dry ingredients well. Use your fingers to crumble the margarine into the flour until you have little pea sized bits. Add the water all at once and stir quickly until the mixture is just moistened. Spread in an 8×8″ pan and bake for 25-30 min. or until cooked through.

To serve, cut into squares, top with strawberries and a dollop of whipped cream. Super simple and absolutely heavenly!

If you want to toast some nuts to add to salads or baking, there are two different ways to do so. You can put them in an ungreased frying pan and cook them on medium for 3-5 minutes or until golden brown, or bake them at 350 degrees for 5 - 10 minutes or until golden brown. You want to stir or shake them often.

When freezing stews, don’t add the potatoes. Add them when you thaw the stew to make it taste the best.

We all know that kids aren’t the only ones who need to have snacks throughout the day. Here are a list of easy to pack snacks that you can take with you for when you are waiting for ballet class or soccer practise to be over, so that you can make it through the day. I don’t know about you but I’m awfully grumpy by dinner if I don’t have a snack halfway through the afternoon.

1. Yoghurt cups

2. Veggies - one of my favorite way to pack veggies is to chop up a bunch the night before and put them in a little tupperware container with a drizzle of salad dressing. Then you shake it all up so that they are all coated and by the morning its mixed with the juices for a scrumptious and delicious treat.

3. an apple

4. granola bars

5. grapes - these stuck in a little ziplock bag are perfect for taking with you places.

6. leftover pizza…ok, I know its not the healthiest, but thats what I had for a snack today so I’m putting it in here.

7. banana

8. muffin

9. mixed nuts

10. A V8 juice…very tasty and very healthy!

Happy snacking!!!

Photo by Leonid Mamchenkov

Salt used to be a precious commodity. It`s an essential mineral and before the technology made the extraction of salt easy, it was extremely valuable. That`s why we say, “Worth his salt” . . . it was really worth a lot and some workers were even paid with salt. So if you were worth your salt, you were a very good employee.

While there has been a lot of hype about salt free diet, the truth is that salt is usually pretty good for you. In moderation. It brings out the flavors in the food and makes even bland items like pasta pop with taste.

Using salt is something that most people don`t know how to do properly. The best dishes will have salt incorporated right into them. That means, rather than sprinkling the salt on afterwards, you season the dish at the beginning. When you go to cook chicken breasts, for example, sprinkle it with salt before cooking. For pasta, the water should be salted. This technique allows for the salt flavor to penetrate the food and make it truly taste great.

How should you add salt? Sprinkling it from fairly high up is the best method of getting even distribution and preventing clumps of salty areas.

I was playing around with new muffin recipes the other day and found one that was completly addicting! I had a hard time not eating all of the batter, let alone the actual cooked muffins. So I thought that I would share it with you.

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 t. vanilla

4 cups flour (the recipe calls for white but I used 2 cups white and 2 cups whole wheat)

1 cup milk

4 t. baking powder

4 cups berries (I got one of those frozen bags of berry mix…strawberry, blueberry, raspberry and blackberry)

Cream together the butter and sugar. Mix in the eggs, vanilla and milk. add flour and baking powder and mix everything together into a smooth batter. Add the berries and gently fold in. If the berries are still frozen, you don’t have to worry about being too gentle but if they are thawed or fresh, you want to be really careful. Put a spoonful of batter into each cup of a greased muffin tin and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until the tops brown. These muffins are to die for!!! Enjoy!

Many people are under the mistaken impression that gourmet food has to be extremely complicated. Fortunately, that isn`t the case. What you may consider to be an amazing dish is probably more because of the combination of flavors and the presentation.

Think about those cooking shows you see where the end result is a tiny morsel of food on a big white plate. It looks pretty spiffy, right? But the truth is, it`s really more of an illusion than anything else.

There are a few parts to a truly amazing meal and here they are:

1. The base. This is often starchy, such as rice, bulgar or cous cous and serves as the main part of the dish.
2. The flavor. This could be anything that you place atop the base, lamb, crab, or a combination of vegetables.
3. The sauce. Usually the sauce will combine the flavors that you`ve put into the dish and make them really pop. A well-done sauce can make a dish.
4. The garnish. This is what tops it all off and makes the dish look professional. A sprig of a fresh herb, a sprinkle of black pepper or the curl of carrot that turns a plain dish into a spectacular one.

The one real rule of making a dish great . . . keep them wanting more. Rather than giving people their fill of something, offer them small amounts to whet their appetite. No more. You`ll have them oohing and awwing about how amazing your cooking is. This is why top restaurants provide small, two bite appetizers and tiny entrees. It`s a trick you can use with your visitors, too!

Put a marshmallow in the bottom of the ice cream cone to prevent drippy cones.

To save time when you are making buscuits, don’t worry about cutting them out with a round cutter. Just roll them out and use a knife to cut them into squares.