"Non-Dairy" Avocado Ice Cream (or "How I Spent My Summer Vacation")

Serving 1: With slivered honey almonds

It has been an interesting summer. I took a break from my dance class to rest my knees, get much needed recovery time, and get a chance to clean up around the house. It really felt I had a vacation, even though I was still working. I loved the extra free time that I had to take walks, window shop and even read! I miss that.

An interesting side effect was I also ended up spending extra time in the kitchen. It is one of my creative outlets, although it is mostly due to the necessity of nourishment. Regardless, it gave me a chance to play with ingredients and be inspired. 

One of these experiments was making my own frozen desserts. I guess it started when I made Avocado “Ice Cream”. I’ve always wanted to make Avocado Ice Cream like my Dad did every summer. Avocado was one of his favorites (and still is) so he would take one or two avocados, mash them and mix them up with condensed milk and put it in the freezer and enjoy it for a week. Dad would be back at the fridge once or twice a day getting avocado ice cream while I had my normal Magnolia Chocolate Marble (Yeah!) or Mocha. Back then, I did not like avocado and preferred chocolate (well, I still do), so Dad enjoyed it all by himself.

Frozen fruit in the (Ninja) Blender

Now, I love avocado. During the season, I may have an avocado or three every week – on toast, tacos, tamales, omelets, you name it. I am a “Californian” anyway, so I think its a law to have avocado (along with Kale). There was a time when I bought mini avocados. My Hubby was wondering why I bought them – but it was the perfect size for one serving.

Back to ice cream… With my making dairy-free banana “ice cream” last year, I was inspired to make a healthier and perhaps dairy free version of my Dad’s summer favorite. I am trying to minimize my dairy and condensed milk has tons of sugar, so that was my motivation. I had a vision of combining avocado with frozen bananas and getting the perfect scoop.

Freezing the avocado was also in my vision because I usually end up with half of an avocado after lunch. That was the other rationale for freezing. I thought freezing it will preserve the lovely green color.

Here’s what I have so far…

Mad Gourmet’s Healthier Dairy-free Avocado “Ice Cream”

Inspired by my childhood summers with Dad
Makes 2 servings

Ingredients

• 1/2 avocado (about 1/3 cup)
• 1 banana (about 1/2 cup)
• (Up to) 1/4 cup of coconut milk
• 1/2 tsp of agave syrup (add more to taste)
• Almond slivers or coconut shavings for toppings.

Directions

1. Peel and cut banana and avocado into one inch slices.
2. Freeze (I usually do this overnight).
3. Put avocado chunks and banana in a blender.
4. Add coconut milk as needed (consistency should be like ice cream not a smoothie)
5. Top with almonds or coconut shavings and enjoy.

Verdict

Serving 2: With Coconut Shavings

I love the combination of avocado and bananas. The bananas provide the creaminess that you usually get with ice cream. The addition of coconut milk adds to the creaminess and makes it closer to the ice cream that Dad loved. It also makes for a delicious but healthy tropical treat.

As blended, it is a yummy dessert, but tricky to make a perfect scoop. It usually has a yogurt-like (or shall I say guacamole?) texture that may be a bit runny for the scooper. I find that putting the mixture in the freezer until it firms up (about 20-30 minutes) does the trick. As I am writing this, I am thinking that a quenelle may be a good alternative presentation.

After that experiment, I became encouraged to make my other frozen treats. (Hmmm... I feel another blog post coming). Think granitas and sorbets... some with summer fruit. I never thought that these would be so easy to make.

So, here’s my summer tribute to Dad. By the way, he loved Durian too… but I don’t think I’ll acquire a taste for that.

Lighter Onolicious Butter Mochi

It has been a while... My day job has been getting the best of me last year. I have been working long hours as usual and all my energies have been focused on work. Don’t get me wrong – I have been cooking, but it was mostly for sustenance. I have been relying on the cooking experience that I had in the previous year to add some variation, but I have had no time to read up on trends, new techniques, or even watch cooking shows. Honestly, I miss it... a lot!


However, it's a new year. I had time to relax and somewhat catch up. What the New Year also means is making mochi for our dojo's new year celebration. We celebrate Kagami Baraki every year, and one of the traditional treats is mochi. I feel compelled to somewhat maintain tradition - perhaps in a non-traditional way.

I have a small batch mochi recipe that I've been using when I have the urge to make mochi. But that is usually good for only 2-3 people (or one very hungry cook). I do not think that would be good for a potluck though, plus I am not looking forward to rolling mochi balls for 20 people (Watch out for it on a future post, though).

I found a recipe for Butter Mochi a while ago and decided it was time to make it for this year's party. It's not quite Japanese mochi, but I think this reflects my personality especially at the dojo: Slightly Japanese, slightly Hawaiian - although I am neither (I'm Filipino). In reading the reviews, some people said that this recipe reminded them of Filipino bibingka. So, this is almost perfect...

The one that I found originally had adzuki beans and I could not find it. Luckily, this one from allrecipes was very similar. The bonus was it had a high ranking.

What I don't like about it was it seemed to be too rich - eggs, butter, condensed milk, coconut milk - oh so yummy, but so high calorie. Besides, with all the rich foods everyone has been enjoying through the holidays, I thought a lighter version would be more appropriate, but being cautious not to sacrifice flavors.

Since the holidays allowed me to rest my brain cells, I believe I have come up with very good, if not excellent, substitutions. If it were last year, I'd probably come up with zilch. 

This is what I have so far… as always, let me know what you think.



Lighter Ono Butter Mochi

Based on Ono Butter Mochi from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 1 lb mochiko (1 box)
• 1 2/3 cup of sugar
• 1 1/2 cup lite coconut milk (I can)
• 1 1/2 cup 2% milk
• 1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (or more)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp of salt

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 x13 inch baking dish (or if you prefer thinner cakes, 2 8 x 8 inch baking dishes).
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla and milk.
• In a separate larger bowl, stir together the rice flour, sugar, and baking powder.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and stir to blend. Mix in melted butter. Pour into the prepared pan(s).
• Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven. Cool completely, then cut into squares to serve.

Verdict:

Butter Mochi: The crust is the best!

As the Hawaiians would say, Auwe! This was a hit at the party. The kids loved it, and asked me to make it again soon. The adults even asked me for the recipe. I was quite flattered. My self-proclaimed non-dessert eating husband even had seconds!

I brought some extras at the office, and one of my office mates said that it reminded them of an Indian snack called Pitha. According to her, pitha also has rice flour, coconut milk, sugar - but no eggs. Another office mate said it tasted like a Malay snack called kuay. No sure of the spellings though…

One change that I would make is to figure out how to half the recipe. This resulted in two 8 x 8 pans (I made them thinner) and while that is awesome, I think that may be too much. I have some ideas... But I need to experiment. I guess no one would complain if I make some more.

As a side note... It really feels good to write again. I really do hope I have more opportunity to do so in 2017. I have a list of projects to share specifically those inspired by our last trip to Kona in Hawaii last summer. Unfortunately, this year is going to be busy again... No complaints... it's job-security. I am wishing for more time to write.

Here’s to more creativity and more writing. Happy New Year!!!

Discovery Weekends: Sweet Taste of the Tropics At Plumeria Flours

I finally had a chance to redeem a gift certificate from Plumeria Flours. It was a gift from a friend of mine (Thanks Sengita Warich!) and after a long hard work week, I felt it was about time to redeem it.

Plumeria Flours has a cozy shop tucked away in a strip mall near Walnut Creek’s Broadway Plaza.  One of their specialties is square tropical-flavored cupcake, which is what my gift certificate was good for – six of them! OMG, I do not think I can finish six cupcakes!

They had four flavors available that day: Mango, Papaya, Guava, and Kona Coffee. Since my favorite fruit is mango, I got two mango cupcakes. Also, two Kona Coffees, and one each of the papaya and guava. I think of the bunch, Kona Coffee is my favorite: good coffee flavor complemented by a mocha frosting. Yummy. My next favorite: you guessed it – mango. The cupcakes were topped with a thin layer of whipped cream frosting, appropriately flavored of course. This ratio was okay for me, since I usually do not like too much frosting. However, I felt it could use just a tad more. The frosting may not be enough for most people though, but there was more than enough cake, which I think is the most important part.

I was disappointed that they did not have Haupia cupcake that day. Haupia is a traditional coconut-milk based dessert or snack. It has a similar consistency to gelatin, but richer. Haupia is one of my favorite snacks while I am in Hawaii and reminds me of being in Hawaii.

Another specialty item is their chocolate covered and plumeria decorated Oreos. I did not see any while I was there, perhaps because it was late on a Friday afternoon. If you check out Plumeria Flour’s website, you can see how gorgeous these cookies are (The website did say that it is Out-of-Stock).

However, the caramel popcorn was very tempting and quite inexpensive too. I think $6 per bag. The popcorn had names like “Kalua Pig”, “100% Hapa”, “Humuhumunukuapua’a”. The names reflect the flavor: “Kalua Pig” was Bacon Caramel and “Humuhumunukunukuapua’a” (the Hawaiian state fish, a type of triggerfish) was Seaweed infused, if I remember. I don’t remember what “100% Hapa” was made out of… but I did remember discussing the contradiction in the name (“Hapa” is a pidgin Hawaiian word derived from the word “Half” … so, go figure, 100% = Half?).  Anyway, with six cupcakes, I decided it maybe prudent to save popcorn for a later trip.

For the fall, Plumeria Flours have limited hours: only Wednesday – Friday, 10 am – 5:30 pm. You can catch them at different Polynesian events in the San Francisco Bay Area. Check them out at PlumeriaFlours.com.