Pumpkin Baboosa with mascarpone, cranberries, walnuts and crumble from Zahav Philadelphia PA

I recently had this delicious dessert called a Basboosa at Zahav Restaurant in Philadelphia PA. I never had a basboosa before and also never heard of such a dessert so I looked it up to see wtfork a basboosa is.

The basboosa is a small cake that’s popular in Middle Eastern Countries. It made of cooked semolina and soaked with a simple syrup and is often but not always topped with an almond.

In Arab Countries coconut is a popular flavor and often orange flower water or rose water is a part of the syrup.

And That’s WTFork a Basboosa is.

Forking Truth

Kaniwa (Kah-nyee-wah) is grain- like but is actually a seed that’s smaller than quinoa.  It’s a little easier to cook than quinoa because you don’t need to rinse it before cooking. To prepare Kaniwa you need two parts water to one part kana and a little salt. Bring to boil and then simmer covered for about 15 minutes and your done.

It’s kind of earthy and a little crunchier than quinoa. It has the texture of wet coffee grinds.

To eat it you need to add a lot of texture to it.

I made a salad out of it.

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Limequats

The limequat is a cross between a key lime and a kumquat. They have a sweet tasting skin and forking bitter sweet pulp that’s sort of complex and limey. Most people make them into marmalades or whip them into forking cocktails.

Forking Truth

I saw forking KALE SPROUTS at Trader Joe’s so I purchased them. They are a cross between Kale and Brussels Sprouts.

First I washed them off.

Then I look at them and they seem like mostly forking stems with a little bit of kale. I taste one and it taste like raw cabbage so I decide to split them in halves.

I boiled them in vegetable stock to infuse them with flavor with some thin sliced onions.

When they turn tender I tasted one again. Now it forking taste like a brussels sprouts and I think they need a little roasting in the oven.

I sprinkle them with extra virgin olive oil and roast them for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

They brown up and get a little crisp. I add sea salt and fresh ground black pepper.

They taste good this way. A little crisp and nutty and a sort of sweet taste to them.

Are you going to try the forking Kale Sprouts?

Forking Truth

Cardoons

Cardoons only grows in the wild in the Mediterranean South and is considered a forking weed in Australia and California.

Cardoons

Cardoons looks like a forking ugly celery with thorns but isn’t celery.  The Cardoons are from the Artichoke Family and are sometimes grown as an ornamental plant since it grows large Violet Purple Flowers.

The Cardoons (after forking pealing) can be boiled or braised or eaten raw. (raw won’t kill you but the cardoon I had didn’t taste good raw)

In the Abruzzi region of Italy Christmas Lunch is traditionally a soup of Cardoons cooked in chicken broth with small meatballs, sometimes an egg or fried chopped liver and heart.

The Cardoons is a vegetable source of enzymes for cheese production.

Cardoons are used to flavor Amaro Liquor.

According to Wikipedia where I got most of my forking information.  In the U.S. if you find Cardoons they usually are available May-July. I have never found  Cardoons before but I got my forking Cardoons in December.

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Buddha’s Hand

Buddha’s Hand is an unusual shaped Citron.  In China the Buddha’s Hand is used mainly for perfuming rooms and personal items.  The fruit is completely juiceless and often doesn’t have pulp.

There wasn’t a forking reason to purchase this fruit so I didn’t.

Forking Truth

Have you ever seen a Watermelon Radish? It’s NOT a Forking watermelon but does look like a slice of one.

The Watermelon Radish is actually a Heirloom Chinese Daikon Radish and also is a member of the mustard family.

Watermelon Radish

They taste the same as a regular radish.

They just look different.

The Watermelon Radish

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Red Spinach

I never forking saw Red Spinach before. I read that Red Spinach is also called Chinese Spinach and also Spleen Amaranth. Red Spinach is originally native to South America.

Today I saw it at my local Trader Joe’s.

It doesn’t taste too much different raw. Just slightly sweeter. Cooked taste more sweet less vegetable.

Cooked Red Spinach

Red Spinach is attractive in salads.

A pickled egg, beets and some red runner beans would be forking nice to add to this salad.

Hope I see Red Spinach again!

Forking Truth

White Turmeric

I wasn’t forking sure what to do with White Turmeric so I looked to the internet for suggestions. I read that white turmeric is not the same as regular Turmeric and should used like a vegetable. Some people say they just eat it raw with a little lemon juice. So I forking tasted it raw. It sort of was crunchy and wet and very gingery. I thought maybe roasting the White Turmeric might be interesting so I did.

After I roasted the White Turmeric they changed a little and became a little potato like but wetter. They still tasted like ginger and I decided they were too strong to eat as is and I made a dipping sauce out of the white turmeric because for me the White Turmeric didn’t work out as a vegetable.

I rough chopped the white turmeric and added some white miso, mirin, rice vinegar, an elephant garlic clove, and a tiny bit of sesame oil.

It came out tasty as a light refreshing dip with the vegetables.

The White Turmeric is like the Elephant Garlic. The Turmeric wants to be ginger but isn’t and the Elephant Garlic wants to be garlic but isn’t.  Both the White Turmeric and the Elephant Garlic are easier to eat raw than Ginger and Garlic.

Forking Truth