thegoodfellas/blogset-br huggingface dataset:
simply wonderful. The Norwegian strawberries are a chapter apart, extra sweet and extra red, little or no acidity at all, due to the time the berries spent buried under snow during the long and cold Norwegian winters. Unfortunately, this does not mean they are free from toxic chemicals used in strawberry production. Even in cold Norway the strawberries are heavily sprayed and these berries should be well washed before eating and eaten in small amounts. The only good alternative is organic strawberries which are growing more and more every year. It is a challenge to grow organic strawberries, but the conventional one is not but better because, as expected, the bugs and pests are wiser that the chemical industry, and as humans we got to do better than that...Mango and Strawberry Jam(Inspired by Christine-Ferber)300 grams of mangoes in cubes (preferably organic)450 grams halved washed strawberries (preferably organic)300 grams organic sugar (this is up to you, use more if you like)2 tablespoons lemon juiceHow:In a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat cook the mangoes and the strawberries with 100ml of water. Once the mixture boils reduce the heat and let it cook until the fruits are soft, circa 10 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and using a hand mixer mix the fruits until they are homogeneous. Take the pan back to stove top, add sugar and lemon and cook until the right consistence. Around 10 minutes more. To check if the jam is ready, check the consistence by adding a teaspoon of jam to a cold plate. If the jam spreads it is not ready. Once it is ready the jam will gel immediately once in contact with the cold plate. This recipe makes around 3 glasses of 250 ml to 300 ml.Tips:To check if the jam is ready, test its consistence by adding a teaspoon of jam to a cold plate. If the jam spreads around, more like a liquid, it is not ready and needs extra cooking time. However, if the jam is ready it will hold its form and gel immediately once in contact with the cold plate. Always remember that the gel will thicken after it is completely cooled down, so avoid over cooking it if you don't want to end up with a thick fruit paste.Add sugar according to your taste and the quality of the fruits you have in mind. You are not obliged to follow old school of jamming and add equal parts of fruit and sugar. Today is is pretty OK to break the rule of extra sweet jams and make more fruity and less sweet. In jam making it is very important how to sterilize and manipulate the jam once it is ready, to avoid dangerous mold.It is OK if you want to keep the fruit pieces and avoid the processing part. In that case add the sugar and cook a little extra time to reduce the liquids a little more.
Chocolate is a winner, an unanimity if I may say. Nearly everybody loves it. Exceptions exist as they say, to make stronger the rule. Chocolate is the best.The problem is, when you are looking forward to adopt a "low fructose" or "fructose free diet", the perspective of living completely without chocolate is quite sad. However, there are alternatives out there to try. When I am faced with strong chocolate cravings, instead of a sugar loaded bombom, my chocolate substitute of choice is a delicious hot cocoa drink, which I make with extra high quality cacao powder, good milk and totally sugar/sweetener free. All I add, besides milk and cacao, is a pinch of vanilla powder. Vanilla or cinnamon can add not only flavor, but sweetness too. If I am really in the mood, I might add some (no sugar or sweetener added) whipped cream to make it really naughty. I usually add some drops of vanilla extract or a dash of vanilla powder before I whip the cream. It is a favorite around here, zero sugar or sweetener added. High fat and extra low carb. Recently I have found an alternative to help me through the days when all I want is to lay my teeth on a bar of chocolate, or on a little "bombom". It was not an easy task, trying to master the art of natural chocolate making. After trying for a while to limit myself to extra dark chocolate bars, I gave up and decided to find myself something less bitter, creamier and tastier... Not that dark chocolates are not tasty. I don t mean that. Tasty they surely are. But I am a chocolate-with-nuts kind of person. Besides, I love some plain milk chocolate too. Just like my strong cup of cacao drink with a big dollop of cream on top. After sorting out some alternatives, I manage to find my favorite made from scratch homemade chocolate bombons. Here they are. These homemade chocolates are delicious, they make my taste buds happy, but they are not as sensational as advertised. They lake the consistence and the texture of commercial and store bought chocolates. Free from conservantes and additives of all sorts, including lecithin, these bars can not resist room temperature for very long and in warmer areas of the world must be kept in the fridge at all times. They are free from fructose because I decided to use barley malt syrup in their making. Barley malt syrup is a dark syrup that contain only glucose and is totally free from fructose. The type of sweetener is pretty much your own choice, you can go for the one you prefer. As a fructose free chocolate bombom, these little beauties have a feel good side for me because I have fructose intolerance, even if they are not what I would call healthy. Can chocolate ever really be healthy? My opinion is: Even if chocolates are made from cacao (cocoa), a very healthy and rich fruit, our ways with the products made out of the mass, paste and fat
of the toasted cacao beans are far from healthy. We have allowed ourselves to over indulge and get addicted to the sugar that coats the world of chocolate. Our sugar craving is what guide our search (in vain, I believe) for healthy chocolate alternatives. I can see it clear that I am addicted to chocolate/sugar and to feed my cravings is bad for me. I hope to leave it all behind me some day, meanwhile enjoy moderately... Peanut Butter and Coconut Chocolate100g organic cacao butter (I like this one)50g organic cacao mass ( I like this one )30g organic cacao powder (this time I used this one )50g organic extra virgin coconut oil50g organic pure peanut butter (without added oils, sugar or salt) 50g organic barley malt syrup (you can use the sweetener you prefer: rice malt syrup, honey, maples syrup, agave, coconut palm sugar, stevia, erythritol or even plain sugar...)1/2 teaspoon vanilla powderSea salt (optional)How:In a glass bowl over a pot of simmering water melt the cacao butter, the cacao mass, the coconut oil and the peanut butter. You don t want the mixture to be very warm, just to melt, therefore I recommend the double boiler. Remove from heart, add the barley malt syrup, take it back to heat and whisk well until completely smooth and homogeneous. Remove from heat and sift in cacao powder and vanilla powder or seeds. Add sea salt if using. Taste for sweetness and saltiness, and adjust accordingly.In silicon or paper cups spoon the chocolate batter. Don't spoon too much because you will prefer a rather thin chocolate cup. Place in the fridge or freezer for 30 minutes or until its solid enough to be removed from the cups and served. Keep in refrigerated.Makes 15 to 40 chocolate pieces. It all depends on the size of the molds/silicone cups you are using.
I am totally crazy for red oranges which I refuse to call blood orange. This is just a bad name. I call them simply red oranges because that's how they are called in Italy, where they come from. The color of those beauties are they high point of attraction, at least to me. I just can't resist them. Their flavor reminds me of laranja pera another species of oranges, typical of the State in Brazil where I grew up. Most of the red oranges I find here in Norway are Tarocco species, from Sicily. It is also quite easy to find them organic in some of the best food stores in town. It is now also quite common to find some of the Spanish red oranges around the shops. I prefer the Italian ones not only because they are much sweeter but because they have the perfect shade of red. The Spanish are not as sweet and they are so dark that looks a little bit scary orange.Besides having the highest vitamin C content among all the oranges produced in the World, Arancia Rossa di Sicilia (Red oranges of Sicily) have protected geographical status and are just the perfect red orange for desserts, salads and juices. The more sour ones are more suitable for marmelades and marinades. I love to make red orange gelatin with freshly squeezed red orange juice or salad with organic black Greek Kalamata olives and some fresh organic oregano leaves. Simple taste better. Next post I will come with the red orange gelatin recipe. Tell me more about simple recipes... Financier is a world famous French cake made with almond meal and large amounts of browned butter. Nevertheless, my coconut financiers are made with neither nuts or regular butter. I have just adapted my personal recipe for this deliciously dense cake to be able to serve it to my stepson, who is heavily allergic to nuts. I love financiers and the thick dense texture of these baking-powder-free-and-egg-whites-only cake and have made it with all sorts of nuts. Hazelnut, pistachios, cashew nuts and Brazil nuts are just some of them. You can find the other recipes by clicking the links to Almond financiers, de Hazelnut financiers, de Cashew nut financier and Pistachios financiers. The Macarons, another world famous French speciality, just like the Financiers, can also be made by using flours of all sorts of nuts and go perfectly well made with any one of those other nuts. And with seeds. Perfectly good Macarons and financiers can be made using flours obtained by finally grounding seeds of all sorts, as you can see in my delicious Omega seeds macarons with Matcha. I made those by grounding a mix of sesame, pumpkin, sunflower and flax seeds into a fine flour and used it just like I would use the regular almond flour. I added some Matcha, mostly for the color and because the recipe I was using recommended it (you find the link to original recipe I used here), and the result was perfect and that you can see in
the pictures. Back to Financiers, well, these cakes can also be made by using ground seeds or, as you can see today, finely grounded dried unsweetened coconut flakes. I have made Coconut Macarons and they are my all time favorite macarons, they are so light and flavorful and best eaten without filling (I prefer macarons without any filling). I made those also inspired by my nut allergic stepson who had never tried a macaron before I decided to master macarons without the use of nut flours. There might be some people out there who will see those nut free macarons and nut free financiers as culinary anomalies. In some ways they are anomalies, but once the results of my coconut macarons are good, the texture and the looks are just identical to the original ones, the taste is to die for, and allergic people can dive in, I think they are just perfect. Another thing to be considered, if you want to learn how to make macarons and financiers and do not want to waste money on expensive nut flours, you can start by trying to master them with coconut instead. Once you find a good recipe, just go for it and try as many times as you want, guilty free. Here in Norway the unsweetened dried coconut costs less than 20% of the price of the same of almonds, not to mention the ready made almond flour which costs even more. If, like me, you prefer all organic, it adds up a little more what makes the experiments with coconut worth the try. Coconut Financier with Raspberries - Nut free and Lactose free2,5DL (one cup) dry unsweetened coconut flakes2 DL (3/4 cup) wheat flour (use gluten free flours if you prefer)2 DL (3/4 cup) confectioners sugar150g egg whites (4 a 5 claras) at room temperature150g coconut butter50g coconut oilHalf vanilla bean (or 1 tsp vanilla powder or vanilla extract)40 to 50 Fresh of frozen raspberries (optional)How:Put the coconut butter, the coconut oil and the scraps of the vanilla bean (not the vanilla extract, that must be added later or it will totally evaporate) in a heavy pan and let it simmer and boil, over very low heat, until the coconut butter starts to look like a very light caramelized liquid and really aromatic. The butter process needs attention because it can go quite fast, keep your eyes on it. Remove the butter from heat and let it cool.In a food processor (or a coffee grinder) and process the coconut flakes to obtain a not very fine coconut flour. Add the sugar and process until you get a fine and homogeneous mix. Add the wheat flour and pulse a little bit more to incorporate. Transfer the mix of flours to a bowl. Once the coconut butter is lukewarm you are ready to go. Using a whisk the egg whites, in a large bowl, beat the egg white to break them and whisk until they start to look foamy. Add the mix of flours, slowly, in parts. With the whisk, mix until all
the flour is incorporated to the egg whites. Finally add the melted butter. If you are using the vanilla extract add it now, with the butter and using a spatula or large metal spoon, mix well and softly until all the butter is incorporated to the batter. Let the batter cool in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, ideally 1 hour.Set the oven at 175C (325F) and let it heat while the batter cools. Meanwhile prepare the pans, greasing them well with coconut oil or any other type of grease you prefer. You can use cupcake, muffin or tartelettes pans to bake the financiers if, like me, you don t really like (and don t have) the traditional financiers pans. Scoop one or two tablespoons of batter into the prepared pans and press one or two raspberries on top of them. Don t fill the pans too much because the cake will raise. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes. Remove immediately from pan, while warm.Obs 1. Time of baking depends of the size of the pan. Regular cupcake pans take 15 minutes. Obs 2. Don t over bake because it can get really dry. Obs 3. Don t let the batter rest in the fridge for too long, differently from the batter made with regular butter, which is very easy to scoop even extra cold, the cold coconut oil get very, very hard and can be very difficult to scoop the batter into the pans if it is really hard. The time in the fridge should be just enough to completely cool the batter, to allow it be scooped instead of poured into the pans. I used the coconut butter shown in the picture, a delicious creamy butter made of organic coconut. You can just use coconut oil, in case you don t find coconut oil, or use a mix of coconut oil and the solid part of the coconut milk. To use coconut milk you have to first drain all the liquid that separates from the solids, in the can. Then use the solids of the milk with coconut oil, according to the recipe.It is funny to speak of macarons and financiers as world famous French specialities since there are, all over the world, many cakes and cookies that are made exactly the same way as the French macaron and financier. Even if they end up looking differently. It is a fact that the French cuisine went viral world wide, the French versions became the rule, but there are amazing versions of those two being made all over the Middle East and Europe, with not so famous names!
I was really tired some weeks ago and I decided to make some puff pastry to relax (laughs). The last puff pastry dough I made was perfect, real delight and it was very easy to do. The secret is the method called Rough Puff Pastry, developed by French chef Michel Roux. It is different from all the puff pastry recipes out there because it eliminates the need to prepare two doughs and then wrap the butter brick with that made of flour and water. The recipe of Michel Roux tells to mix it all at once, carefully of course, and then goes direct to the folds. I loved the recipe and decided to make a chocolate version, or better, cocoa version.The idea to make a chocolate pastry thing I got from Pierre Herme who has developed his own version of a chocolate puff pastry, but his version is the so called "inverted" dough, which is very labor intensive. My chocolate puff pastry is just an adaptation of Michel Roux rough and the result is just as good with a flaky consistency and slightly savory taste.I made some changes tough. I made six folds instead of the four indicated by Roux. The cocoa mass is more delicate, melts easily and for that reason I did one fold at a time and did six folds in total, instead of four. What exactly you can do with more than a kilo of chocolate puff pastry? Anything you would make with the regular one... Why not start with a pears and chocolate tart? Chocolate Puff PastryA variation of the rough Puff Pastry from the Pastry by the French chef Michel Roux.Para ver um passo a passo do metodo tradicional de massa folheada clique aqui. Para ver minha postagem com a versao normal da massa folheada do Michel Roux clique aqui .500 gramas de manteiga sem sal gelada450 gramas de farinha de trigo50 gramas de cacau em po1/2 colher de cha de sal150 ml de agua geladaHow:In a clean, dry surface, make a circle with the flour and add the sifted cocoa and salt. With the help of a fork mix the flour to cocoa. Then add the diced butter. With the fingertips (or fork) go mixing the butter mixture to flour, cocoa and salt until it forms a crumbly and dry mass. then add water to the few and continue stirring until a homogeneous mass. You may not need to use any water or possibly need to use more water than indicated, it depends on the environmental conditions of your kitchen and the quality of flour used.Do not over mix the dough too, while mixing butter to flour, to prevent the butter to melt too fast. Careful with the adding of the water. I have not needed to add any water indicated, only half to form the dough. Maybe you need it all, maybe you don t.Once the dough got stick together, make a ball and wrap the dough in plastic and light film and refrigerate for half an hour.Once chilled, remove the dough from the
refrigerator and open on a floured surface. Careful not to add too much flour to the surface. Roll the dough to form a rectangle with size close to 40CM X 20CM and then fold the dough in three, just like folding as a letter. First you fold the top part down, to the middle and then you fold the bottom part up to the middle. Just like folding a letter. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place the dough in the refrigerator for 20 minutes or half an hour. Tip: before wrapping the dough in the plastic, make some marks on the dough with your fingers, two little marks, to help your remember that you have folded the dough twice.Roll the dough again until it forms a slightly larger rectangle with 50CM X 30CM. Fold the dough into three again, always vertically. The top part down and the bottom part up, like a letter (that was fold number THREE). Then, turn the folded dough and place it vertically in front of you and roll the dough again, into another 50 X 30 rectangle (the same size as the previous rectangle) and fold it again, as a letter (that is fold number FOUR). Make FOUR finger marks on the surface of the dough to remind you the numbers of fold you have already done. Wrap the dough in plastic again and place the dough in the fridge for 20 more minutes.Repeat the folding twice again, to reach a total of SIX foldings. At the end of the sixth fold place the dough in the fridge again for 40 minutes. After that your cacao puff pastry is ready to be used. You now have around 1kg (two pounds) of puff pastry. Divide the dough and place the parts in a clean fresh film or a sealable plastic bag. Place them in the freezer or in the fridge, you case you plan to use it immediately. It can stay in the fridge for up to 3-4 days and in the freezer for up two months. After their cold mass is ready to use.
This cake is a new family favorite. A chocolate banana cake, lactose free, baked with olive oil. I use non extra virgin olive oil, but if you decide to make this cake, which I totally recommend, you can use any type of oil you prefer. You can also add some pieces or chips of chocolate to the dough for an extra chocolate flavor. The secret of this cake however is a mash made of extra ripe bananas which gives this cake sweetness and an amazing texture. The magical powers of bananas. I also used dark brown sugar, the darkest natural cane sugar we can find, which adds texture and a special flavor to this cake. The result is a dense, humid, chocolaty and fruity cake that is definitely a winner. The dark brown shade of this cake is due to the dutch-processed cocoa which is a process that reduces the natural acidity of the cocoa beans. The Dutch process is called this way because it was invented by a Dutch chocolate maker in 1840. The process creates an alkalized cocoa, changes the composition and the taste by reducing the acidity and the bitterness natural to cocoa beans. This process unfortunately reduces the amount of antioxidants in the processed cocoa. Dutch processed cocoa powders contain in average 20% of the antioxidants contained in the natural cocoa powder and impedes the organic certification of alkalized cocoa powders. Quite a downside, hum?Alkalized cocoa is more suitable for certain recipes, but not recommended for others. For example, to make a good hot chocolate at home it is best to use natural unprocessed cocoa which have a more reddish color. Even if the beverage industry used the processed cocoa in liquors and cocoa based drinks. The alkalized cocoa powder is interesting to bake cakes, cookies and pastries because it is less bitter, less acid and has a much more intense color. I used Valrhona, which is a lightly processed cocoa and one of the cocoa brands we used to sell at the store. Chocolate Banana Cake with Chocolate Chips3 eggs 125ml (1/2 cup) olive oil2 DL brown sugar3DL baking flour1 DL cocoa powder3 ripe bananas mashed1 tablespoon baking powder100 grams of chocolate chips (optional)1 tablespoon vanilla extract natural or vanilla powderHow:Put olive oil and sugar in a large bowl and with a hand whisk (fouet) or a simple wooden spoon, beat sugar and oil to form a lightly foamed mixture. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well to form an emulsified and smooth batter. Add the cocoa powder and the vanilla powder and mix well to incorporate. With a fork mash the bananas in a large dish, until you obtain a homogenous mash without any large pieces of bananas left. Add the mashed bananas to the batter and mix well to incorporate. Add baking powder to the flour, and add flour in parts, mixing well until you get a homogenous batter. Finally add the chocolate chips, if using, and mix some more. Transfer the batter to a oiled bread pan and bake at 180C for
25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of mass comes out dry.Obs. Baking soda will not work as a leavening agent in a cake made with alkalized cocoa powder. Baking soda needs an acid component to make it react, therefore you need to add regular baking powder. To use baking powder you have to add natural unprocessed cacao.