Jul 17

Easy tapas adventures at home

In Spain, tapas are little delicacies served in bars, enjoyed with something to drink. It is said that Alfonso the 10th of Castile gave an order that taverns were not to serve wine unless it was accompanied by tapas. The word ‘tapas’, comes from the Spanish word ‘tapar’, which means ‘to cover’, and it is thought that it has come from the practice of pacing small slices of bread over a glass of sherry to prevent flies from landing in it. Nowadays it has basically come to mean Spanish appetizers, or snacks such as simple plate of olives or sausage, but it can still be used to describe a whole meal.

Simple bowl of marinated olives

Simple bowl of marinated olives

Throughout the whole of the Mediterranean, similar types of dishes appear such Meze and Antipasti, which though not quite the same, serve a similar purpose as appetizers and share many of the same ingredients such as garlic, lemon juice and copious amounts of olive oil. The other qualities that they all possess, is that they are made from simple and fresh ingredients, and many small dishes are served instead of large dish.

When I get a craving for tapas / meze, I usually buy a lot of ingredients, mostly vegetables, on a Monday, and make between 5 and 8 small dishes. There are always leftovers, so on the Tuesday, I only have to make a couple of small dishes, and the feast rolls on throughout the week with an exciting selection of food each night for dinner. I sure a lot of people have sometimes looked at an restaurant appetizer menu and wished that they could just order appetizers because they sound so good. Well making tapas / meze at home is a great way to give in to that indulgence.

Coming up with tapas style dishes isn’t that hard. I don’t claim that any of my creations are authentic Spanish tapas, but the ingredients are similar and the end result of simple, fresh and tasty little dishes is the same. When I go shopping for ‘Tapas Week’, I tend to buy tomatoes, courgettes (zucchini), aubergine (eggplant), bell peppers, olives, potatoes, lemons and parsley. I also always have a plentiful supply of garlic, onions, frozen prawns, olive oil and Spanish chorizo at home. A note about Spanish chorizo, this is different to the Mexican chorizo, in that it is more like a salami than ground sausage. The ingredients for both types of chorizo are similar, but the Spanish one stays together when cooking.

Spanish Chorizo and Potato Tapas

This dish is one of the staples I make when starting a Tapas marathon as it is easy to throw together and it is very tasty hot or cold.

Ingredients

  • 0.5lbs (225g) of cooked potatoes, cut into cubes
  • 1 medium onion, sliced thinly
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely diced or crushed
  • 6″ (15cm) of Spanish Chorizo, thickly sliced and quartered
  • 4 tbsp of olive oil
  • a handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Heat the olive oil in a pan and first start to sauté the onions until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 secs before adding the chorizo and then the potatoes. Cook until the edges of the potatoes and the chorizo start to brown. Mix in the parsley and serve in a small dish. Though this dish is great served warm it can easily be served cold.

Spanish Chorizo and Potato Tapas

Spanish Chorizo and Potato Tapas

Jul 15

Easy To Make Homemade Wild Grape Jam

Recently I found the mother lode of wild grapes growing near my home in Katy, TX. Since the wild Mustang Grapes (Vitis mustangensis) are not suitable for eating fresh (too acidic), I knew that I was going to be canning homemade grape jam. In the post Homemade Garden Grape Jam, Welch’s Take Note!, I detailed how to make jam from grapes with seeds, however in this post I provide greater detail (more pictures) on the specific steps required.

Plastic Bags of Picked Wild Mustang Grapes

Picked Wild Mustang Grapes in Plastic Bags

Regardless if the grapes are grown in your own yard or picked wild, they need to be thoroughly inspected, washed, soaked and inspected again when plucked from the stem.

Mustang Grapes Soaking in Water

Wild Mustang Grapes Soaking in Water

I triple washed and soaked the grapes to ensure that any possible external debris was removed from the grapes. As I washed the grapes, I also removed any grapes that appeared damaged or withered.

Mustang Grapes that have been Triple Washed

Triple Washed Wild Mustang Grapes

Once the grapes had been cleaned, I then inspected them again as I plucked the grapes from from the stems. In all, I had enough plucked grapes to nearly fill two colanders.

Colander of Wild Mustang Grapes

Wild Mustang Grapes Triple Washed, Plucked and in a Colander

I washed the grapes again and then poured them into a large pot with two cups of water.

Pot filled with Mustang Grapes

Mustang Grapes in a Pot to be Boiled

I turned on the stove to medium-high and allowed the grapes to boil down, stirring occasionally until all the grapes had burst. The best indicator that the grapes are thoroughly boiled is when stirring there are no whole grapes and all that is remaining is a pot full of grape juice, pulp, skin and seeds.

Mustang Grapes Boiled Down

Mustang Grapes Boiled Down

Once the grape “stew” had cooled, I poured the mixture through a colander to separate the juice and pulp from the seeds and skin. After the majority of the juice and pulp had been separated, I pushed down on the mass of skin and seeds to collect any remaining juice.

Mustang Grapes Boiled and with the Juice Being Separated

Mustang Grapes Boiled and with the Juice Being Separated through a Colander

In all, 15 cups of grape juice and pulp were created. I tasted the grape juice to determine if the juice was too acidic and required the addition of sodium bicarbonate. It did not. The tartness of the juice was far less than the acidity of the grapes when eaten fresh.

A pot of 14 Cups of Mustang Grape Juice and Pulp

15 Cups of Juice and Pulp of Mustang Grapes in a Pot

Following the instructions on the box of Pectin, I combined 5 Cups of Grape Juice with 1 Box of Pectin and brought the mixture to a boil. I then added 7 Cups of Sugar; thoroughly mixing the ingredients until the jam mixture came was brought to a roiling boil for 1 Minute.I removed the pot of jam from the burner and then prepared to fill the jars that had been sterilized earlier.

Mustang Grape Jam Being Boiled

Mustang Grape Jam Being Boiled

There is no lack of instructions in books, the internet or family recipes on how to successfully can jams, jellies or preserves. Despite all of this information, I still refer to the instructions provided with the box of Pectin and still refer to the PDF available from Ball Preserving.

Jars of Wild Mustang Grape Jam

Wild Mustang Grape Jam in Jars

In addition to licking the spoon and ladle of the Wild Mustang Grape Jam, my first official “taste test” was with toast and peanut butter. The flavor of the jam was intense, similar to Concord Grapes with the texture of the jam being smooth. What is most amazing is the deep purple bordering on black color of the jam.

Mustang Grape Jam with Peanut Butter & Toast

Homemade Mustang Grape Jam with Peanut Butter & Toast

 

Jul 14

Chicken Caesar salad – Not quite the classic dish

Caesar salad is one of the dishes that has probably been mucked about with and abused more than any other, including by myself, which given that it was originally created with leftovers on the spur of the moment it would be hard to say that any version is truly authentic.

The inventor or the Caesar salad was Caesar Cardini, was an Italian immigrant who owned restaurants in the South West US and Mexico. It is said that on the 4th of July 1924, after a rush on the kitchen one night, he invented the salad with leftovers. However it wasn’t until 1946 when the first record of it existence came into being. Today there are many salads that claim to be Caesar salads or authentic Caesar dressings. The original Caesar salad consisted of Romaine lettuce, croutons, lemon juice, olive oil, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, garlic, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Over the years various other ingredients have crept into the recipe such as anchovies (which were actually part of Cardini’s brother Aviator’s Salad), bacon, cos lettuce, various meats, such as chicken (see below), capers, Romano cheese.

The original Caesar salad dressing

If you have time and aren’t concerened about raw eggs, then Caesar salad dressing is easy to make. However you can easily buy Caesar Cardini’s caesar salad dressing or there are lots of other fairly decent ones.

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp of lemon juice
  • 1 clove of garlic, crushed
  • 2 tsp of Worcestershire sauce
  • 5 tbsp of olive oil
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 0.5 tsp of red wine vinegar
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Add the olive oil, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, egg yolk, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper to a bowl and mix together, or alternately add the ingredients to blender to mix.

 

My version of Chicken Caesar Salad

Chicken Caesar Salad

Chicken Caesar Salad

My favourite version of a Caesar salad is with chicken, and I also like to add anchovies if I have them, otherwise some crispy bacon bits add the little bit of saltiness.

Ingredients

  • Romaine Lettuce
  • Croutons (I use left-over bread crisped up in the oven rather than frying them)
  • Caesar dressing
  • Parmesan cheese, grated
  • Cooked chicken breast
  • Crispy bacon bits or anchovies

Method
Pull apart the lettuce into pieces and arrange in a salad bowl, add the chicken, croutons, bacon (or anchovies). Cover with Caesar dressing and the grated cheese.

 

Jul 14

Picking Wild Grapes in the Tame Suburbs of Katy, TX

Living in Houston, TX does not invoke images of the wild and untamed world but every now and then one does find a surprise. Most often it is seeing wild life (feral pigs, deer, snakes, rabbits and alligators) while biking through the reservoir. A few days ago while riding my mountain bike along a less frequented bike trail along Mason Creek I came upon another surprise, wild grapes (Mustang Grapes – Vitis mustangensis).

Ripe Mustang Grapes (wild grapes in East Texas)

Ripe Mustang Grapes (Vitis mustangensis) in East Texas

I have seen wild grapes vines in addition to wild roses growing over trees and shrubs during my bike rides, but I never looked that closely. The only reason I even realized that there was some type of fruit ripening was that there were “fruit skins” discarded on the pavement, an indicator that birds, specifically Mocking Birds were eating wild fruit.

Grapes Skins on Bike Path Discarded By Birds

Mustang Grape Skins on Bike Path Discarded By Birds

I stopped where there was the largest concentration of discarded fruit skin on the path and looked closer at the tree line a couple of yards away. I saw nothing until I walked closer to the tree line, one eye on the vines and another on the ground for snakes. As I got closer, I saw hundreds of bunches of deep purple, almost black grapes hanging on the vines from the ground all the way to the tops of the trees.

Wild Grapes (Mustang Grapes - Vitis mustangensis)

Bunches of Mustang Grapes (Vitis mustangensis) Ripening on the Vine

Combined with this primordial fear of snakes is our human desire to live so I confirmed that the grapes were in fact attached to grape vines with leaves and tentatively ate one of the grapes. The flavor was tart, very acidic, with minimal sweetness, but the essence of grapes was present. I waited for a few minutes to see whether I was going to double over with cramps or break out in a cold sweat, sure signs that I had consumed something poisonous, but I was fine. I ate a few more grapes and only then did I noticed that there was a slight tingling on my lips and tongue due to the high acidity.

At the time all I knew was that there were wild / feral grapes growing in abundance in the tree line along Mason Creek. Growing up in the northeast I initially thought that these grapes could be Concord Grapes, but I knew that Houston, TX is too far south for this variety. I then considered that these grapes were domesticated grapes that had gone feral (wild) from a hedgerow or old vineyard from a farming / ranch homestead from a time long before Katy, TX was just another suburb of Houston, TX.

I rode back to the house, a quick four mile bike ride, pulled out my backpack, gathered some plastic grocery bags and packed my camera and I rode back to where I found the grapes. It took some effort for the grapes do not grow in large bunches, but I eventually picked between 15 – 20 pounds of grapes with one eye on the ground for snakes.

Wild Grapes (Mustang Grapes) Picked and Bagged

Picked Mustang Grapes in Plastic Bags (15 – 20 Pounds)

I did not even come close to picking all of the grapes that I could reach and there was so much more beyond my reach. While I was picking the grapes, I would notice the Mocking Birds to swoop in, pick a grape and quickly fly away. I am sure that they were not pleased with me finding their secret stash. My thought was Mr. Mocking Bird, you have eaten my garden grapes, so now I am going to eat your grapes.

Back home I researched the grapes that I had picked and based upon the location, tartness, acidity, color, growing style and the underside color of the leaf I was able to determine that I had picked Mustang Grapes (Vitis mustangensis), a variety of grapes that indigenous to East Texas. Between the acidity, toughness of the skin and the fruit full of seeds I knew that Mustang Grapes have no place on the table to be eaten fresh. I did know that I was going to enjoy making jams and jellies from the grapes. Who would have thought that among the densely populated suburbs of Katy, TX that wild grapes that are growing among the trees along the roads and bayous.

Note of caution: Due to the high acid content of Mustang Grapes it is recommended to wear gloves when picking and to limit the amount of grapes that are eaten fresh. I followed neither of these cautions, but nonetheless, it is suggested.

 

Jul 13

Yogurt & Date Crystals, a Guiltless Treat for a Snack or Breakfast

I like yogurt, specifically plain yogurt and have no problems enjoying fat free plain yogurt. I enjoy the simple tangy flavor that plain yogurt provides, but I do enjoy adding some additional flavor and texture. In the past I have added granola, fresh fruit and even honey. Recently however, I have been using Date Crystals to provide both flavor and texture.

There is something very refreshing about a bowl of yogurt that has been flavored with Date Crystals that have been allowed to absorb the moisture from the yogurt and transformed from crunchy little bites of natural sweetness to soft pieces of dates in the yogurt. The tartness of the plain yogurt combined with the subtle sweetness of the Date Crystals is just sweet enough to satisfy that near insatiable craving for sweets that I possess, yet is surprisingly healthy.

To make Yogurt with Date Crystals is very simple:

1 Cup of Plain Yogurt (I prefer Fat Free)

1 ½ Tablespoons of Date Crystals

Mix the Date Crystals into the Yogurt.

Plain Fat Free Yogurt and Date Crystals

Date Crystals added to Plain Fat Free Yogurt

You can either eat the combination then and enjoy the crunchy sweetness of the Date Crystals, or wait about an hour which provides sufficient time for the dates to soften. You can even prepare this dish the night before and enjoy it for breakfast the next morning.

Plain Fat Free Yogurt with Date Crystals Added

Date Crystals (Soft) and Plain Fat Free Yogurt

Out of curiosity I calculated the number of calories for this snack and even I was surprised that for 1 Cup of Fat Free Plain Yogurt and 1 ½ Tablespoons of Date Crystals there were only 210 calories. I believe that this qualifies for a guiltless treat to be enjoyed any time of the day.