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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 8, 2020)
2B — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD HOME & LIVING TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2020 Cool off with passion fruit sorbet By Ben Mims Los Angeles Times At this point in quarantine, there’s not a lot to brighten your mood, but on a trip to the farmers market this past weekend, I was thrilled to fi nd at least one thing to do just that: passion fruit. Usually at its peak in the autumn, passion fruit have arrived in the markets early this year and are such a wel- come sight amid all the stone fruit and melons, which are hitting their summer novelty peak. To celebrate, I made the only thing with passion fruit that sounded both appealing during this heatwave and worthy of their enchanting fl avor: sorbet. I mix their seedy, sunny pulp with syrup and orange and lime juices, then pack the churned slush into the passion fruit’s spent shells. The whimsy of the cute little cup is a great foil for our current heatwave- induced delirium and offers a respite from all that over- whelms us. PASSION FRUIT SORBET Time: 15 minutes, plus 4 1/2 hours freezing time Yields: Makes 12 Dreamstime/TNS Kitchen appliances breaking around the same time can often feel like a conspiracy. Ben Mims / Los Angeles Times-TNS The fl oral tang of passion fruit is ideal in an ice-cold sorbet, the perfect treat to cool off with. container as you would any ice cream. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, see the granita Variation, below. 6 large, wrinkled passion fruit 1 cup granulated sugar 3/4 cup fi ltered water Juice of 1 large orange Juice of 2 limes 1. Halve the passion fruit across their equators and, These passion fruit ices working over a bowl, use a are the perfect treat for small spoon to scrape out all when it’s too hot outside to their pulp; reserve the empty do anything. Buy a few extra shells on a plate. Measure out 3/4 cup of the pulp in a liquid passion fruit, because some measuring cup; keep any can be fi lled with less pulp than others even though they remaining pulp for another are the same size. The orange use, such as in lemonade or as a topping for yogurt and and lime juices help round out passion fruit’s distinctive granola. 2. In a small saucepan, tang. If you want to make this but don’t have access to combine the sugar and water fresh passion fruit, substitute and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Immedi- 3/4 cup frozen passion fruit puree for the fresh pulp and ately remove the pan from the heat and stir in the passion pack the sorbet in a plastic HOMESTYLE this will make your life easier. It will not. It will make your Continued from Page 1B kitchen messier and take more time, but it may make Experiment with your little (and big) ones seasoning vegetables consume more if they’re fussy I’m often asked how to get eaters. kids to like vegetables and Older kids can make their other nutritious foods, and I own lunches from start to wish I had a magic solution fi nish, and yes, that process that works for everyone. The should include putting dishes one thing I can say is that a away. You can set up the little seasoning goes a long menu and fridge lunch-box, way. Some kids like plain raw or let them determine what carrots, celery, cucumbers they want. My daughters and tomatoes. All of those op- are now teenagers and enjoy tions — and really, anything putting together their own else — taste better with a midday meals. And because little sprinkle of salt. If you’re grocery shopping is one of feeling ambitious, you can the few things they can do make a dip, salsa, dressing or during quarantine, they also crunchy topping to serve with like trips to choose their own raw and cooked vegetables. ingredients. Pickles add a bright tang to a meal, and homemade ones Bake cookies With everything we have can be a fun family project. If to do as parents during online you want an instant pickle- schooling, baking cookies y option, simply toss sliced vegetables with a pinch each may not seem like a smart of salt and sugar and a splash move. It’s neither “lunch” nor of lemon juice or vinegar. “vegetables.” But the act of it can be therapeutic alone time Let kids DIY or sweet family bonding time, One of the fi rst lessons in and the result of it is a way to any professional kitchen is to brighten kids’ “school” days. taste what you’re cooking. You Cookies can’t replace class- become invested in the dish’s mates or teachers or recess outcome and learn about (or lunch, I guess), but they seasoning in the process. can bring joy. Over many years of teaching cooking classes and hosting ONE-PAN PASTA playdates, I’ve seen how get- ting kids involved in prepping WITH TOMATO SAUCE the meal makes them more likely to eat the food. Even Time: 30 minutes toddlers can have a (messy) Yields: Serves 4 to 6 hand in it. Whether they sprinkle cheese on a tortilla, When angel hair cooks in spread jelly over peanut but- tomato sauce, it soaks up its ter or stir sauce into ramen, they’ll be more excited to eat tangy taste — and cuts down on dishwashing. The broken their own creations. noodles are fi rst toasted in I would be lying if I said fruit pulp, orange juice and lime juice. Let the syrup cool to room temperature in the pan, about 30 minutes. 3. Using an immersion or stand blender, pulse the pas- sion fruit syrup a few times to break up the seeds and then pour the syrup through a fi ne mesh strainer into a bowl, pressing to extract as much liquid as possible. If you want some seeds in the sorbet for aesthetics and crunch, add 1 teaspoon of the broken seeds from the strainer back to the syrup; otherwise, discard all the seeds. Pour the syrup into a resealable container and chill at least 2 hours or overnight in the refrigerator. 4. Stir the syrup and then pour it into an ice cream machine and churn according to the manufacturer’s instruc- tions. Spoon the sorbet into the reserved passion fruit shells and smooth the tops fl at or mound up slightly; oil to give them a deep rich- ness and to keep them from sticking together or becoming mushy. That means leftovers reheat beautifully. When eaten fresh out of the pan, the fl avorful crust that develops on the bottom has a satisfying crackle. 1 pound angel hair pasta 3 tablespoons everyday extra-virgin olive oil 1 small yellow onion, fi nely diced 2 large garlic cloves, minced Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 jar (24 ounces) marinara or other tomato sauce 2 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock or tomato juice Finely grated Parmesan cheese, for serving (optional) 1. Grab a small bundle of angel hair, hold it over a large bowl, and break into 1-inch pieces. Repeat with the remaining noodles. 2. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large, deep skillet over medi- um-high heat. Add the broken noodles and cook, stirring, un- til toasted dark golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Pour back into the bowl. Wipe out the skillet if any bits remain and return to medium-high heat. 3. Add the remaining tablespoon oil and the onion and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring often, until the onion is golden brown around the edges and almost translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the marinara sauce and bring to a boil. Boil, stirring occasionally, until any watery liquid evaporates and the sauce thickens slightly, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the toasted store any remaining sorbet in a resealable container in the freezer. 5. Place the fi lled hulls on the plate in the freezer and chill until fi rm, at least 2 hours. Enjoy straight from the freezer with a spoon. Variations Passion Fruit Granita In Step 4, pour the mixture into a shallow glass dish and freeze for 4 hours, scraping the mixture every 30 minutes with the tines of a fork, until it forms fl uffy crystals like shaved ice. Spoon the granita into the reserved passion fruit shells and freeze until ready to serve. Make Ahead You can make the passion fruit syrup base up to 1 week before you plan to churn the sorbet. The churned sorbet will keep in an airtight con- tainer for up to 1 month. noodles and stock and stir in carefully to mix. Continue stir- ring until the sauce returns to a boil, then spread in an even layer. The noodles should be submerged. 4. Reduce the heat to maintain a steady simmer and cook until the noodles are just tender, 8 to 10 minutes. You should hear a crackling sound and the noodles on top should start to curl up. Remove from the heat and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with Parmesan if you’d like. Kitchen appliances breeding conspiracy theories By Daniel Neman St. Louis Post-Dispatch At what point does it stop being a theory and start be- ing an actual conspiracy? I only ask because my kitchen appliances are out to get me. My refrigerator and dishwasher are clearly in cahoots. Both were going along fine, for the most part, cooling food and cleaning dishes, respectively. And then, they both decided to break at the same time. Don’t tell me it was a coincidence. I’ve seen them whis- pering to the stove and the microwave when they thought I wasn’t looking. They have been subtle about it, too. Nothing as obvious as completely stopping. Instead, their simultaneous dete- rioration has been slow but precipitous. Take the dishwasher. It isn’t entirely broken. It is still working. And by “still working,” I mean that I turned it on three hours ago and it is still working. It didn’t use to take this long. It was always a bit — let’s say leisurely — in its cleaning. It took perhaps a full two hours to process through a load of dishes. See Conspiracy/Page 3B Pure maple syrup, along with sea salt to complement its sweetness, gives both the cookie dough and the icing a homey warmth. So does brown sugar, which makes these cookies chewy in the center and crisp around the edges. 2 cups all-purpose fl our 1 teaspoon baking soda 3/4 teaspoon fi ne sea salt, plus more 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened 1 cup packed dark Variations brown sugar • Shrimp Pasta: Before 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon toasting the noodles, season pure maple syrup 12 large peeled shrimp with 1 large egg, room salt and pepper. Sear in 1 temperature tablespoon olive oil over high 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract heat, about 1 minute per side. 1/2 cup packed Transfer to a plate. Proceed powdered sugar with the recipe through step 3, then nestle the shrimp on top of the noodles at the beginning of step 4. • Vegetable Pasta: Stir 2 cups fi nely diced or thinly sliced vegetables, such as mushrooms, peppers, celery or carrots in with the onion and garlic. • Cheesy Pasta: After the noodles are done cooking, sprinkle the top with an even layer of shredded mozzarella. Run under the broiler until bubbling and lightly browned. Make Ahead Leftovers can be reheated for up to 5 days. BROWN SUGAR COOKIES WITH MAPLE DRIZZLE Time: 55 minutes Yields: Makes about 45 cookies Come Check Out Our New Location & New Menu! blended. Add the fl our mix- ture and fold gently until no traces of fl our remain. 4. Using a 1 1/4-inch cookie scoop or measuring table- spoon, drop the dough onto the prepared sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. 5. Bake 1 sheet at a time until dark golden brown, about 12 minutes. Cool com- pletely on the sheets on wire racks. 6. Stir the powdered sugar, remaining tablespoon syrup, 1 tablespoon water and a tiny pinch of salt in a small bowl. Taste and add more salt if you’d like. Drizzle all over the cooled cookies. Let stand until the drizzle hardens. Variations 1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line 3 cookie sheets with parchment paper. 2. Whisk the fl our, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. 3. Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, beat the butter and brown sugar until smooth and creamy. Add 1/4 cup syrup and beat until incorporated, then beat in the egg and vanilla until well • Spiced Brown Sugar Cookies: Add 2 teaspoons warm spices, such as ground ginger, cinnamon, carda- mom, nutmeg or a combina- tion to the dry ingredients. You also can use apple pie spice or pumpkin pie spice. • Whole Wheat Brown Sugar Cookies: Substitute 1 cup whole wheat fl our for 1 cup of the all-purpose. Make Ahead The cookies can be kept in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Superior Quality Care You Can Count On Even during a pandemic. GoHOSPICE.com BAKER CITY LA GRANDE (541) 524-7688 (541) 624-5800 New Family Friendly Location! New Menu! Bar Bites, Wood Stone Pizza and More! MON-TUES CLOSED WED-SAT 11-9 • SUN 11-7 1106 Adams Avenue Suite 100 • 541 663-9010 • tapthatgrowlers.com
