Tomatillo Jicama Fruit Salad with Tapioca and Lemon Creme

I made this lemon anglaise-like cream that I was going to use for cake with and then I decided I could do something far more interesting with the cream and I combined it with fresh cut fruit and large tapioca pearls.

The Tomatillo is looks like a green tomato but is really a berry that’s related to the gooseberry. It taste almost watermelon like when it’s raw like from the part near the rind. Jicama is neutral and adds a nice light crunch. The fruit adds flavor and sweetness and the tapioca makes the salad special. Thai Basil adds just the right seasoning that ties everything together. This salad seems light and is refreshing.

Ingredients for about 8 servings

1 12 0z. can evaporated milk

1/2 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

4 lemons – the fresh juice and zest (you need about a cup plus 1/4 of juice)

4 XL yolks -beaten

2 Tablespoons butter

1/2 cup water

pinch salt

1/2 large jicama – peeled and cut in cubes (about 2 1/2 cups)

2 oranges peeled and supreme and cut in smaller pieces

1 lb tomatillos 3 large or bunch of small cored, peeled, cleaned – cubed

1 apple cored cubed

l lemon just the fresh squeezed juice

2 Tablespoon fresh Thai Basil – chopped

1/2 cup large pearl tapioca

2 cups water

Directions

In a small mixing bowl combine cornstarch sugar, salt, yolks and mix well. In a saucepan on medium heat add your butter, lemon juice/zest, water, Whisk in your small bowl contents into your sauce pan. The mixture must bubble and thicken. Let it bubble for about 5 minutes and turn down heat so it doesn’t burn.

When done refrigerate.

Prep up the produce if you haven’t done already.

There are different kinds of tapioca out there that need different cooking methods so follow the directions on the kind you purchased. Mine was to bring to boil, then reduce to slow boil for about 10 minutes and then reduced to simmer about 10 minutes. Staring often because this stuff sticks. I recommend using a nonstick pot if you have one. Rinse the tapioca well and then add the tapioca to the chilled lemon sauce. Then pour the sauce over the produce and add the Thai Basil.

People will be impressed with this one. Delicious with interesting flavors and textures. This recipe might be prize winning. I should forking charge for this one.

Your Welcome!

Tomatio Jicama Fruit Salad with Tapioca and Lemon Creme

This is Fabulous and that’s The Forking Truth

Rosemary Lemon Cucumber & Carrot Salad

I had a bunch of pickling cucumbers, some lemons and some fresh rosemary and I was undecided if I wanted to make pickles or salad so I made salad but pickled style. The salad came out very light and refreshing. Cumbers are really a blank canvas you can infuse any flavor to them. Rosemary can be a harsh flavor and isn’t typically used with cucumber but if you are very careful and don’t over use it then it is fine and goes very well with lemon. After you make it the the flavors need at least a day to combine but for the best flavor you need to let it sit about one week.

Ingredients to make around 14 servings

3 1/2 lb pickling cucumbers – remove ends, slice in chip shapes

1 carrot peeled, and sliced very thin

1 sweet onion sliced thin

1 1/2 cup water

1 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar

1 1/2 cup white vinegar

1 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons kosher salt

1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice and a small amount of the zest.

8 garlic cloves smashed

1 oz fresh rosemary – finely chopped

Directions

In a large bowl add your cucumber, carrot, onion and rosemary. Get a medium sized sauce pan on the stove and add all the remaining ingredients. Bring to boil and then reduce to slow boil for about twenty minutes. With a slotted spoon remove the garlic and discard. Pour the hot liquid over the big bowl with cucumbers. Chill and serve.

Rosemary Lemon Cucumber & Carrot Salad

Very light and tasty.

These are refreshing and light and that’s The Forking Truth

Brazilian Inspired Potato Salad

I recently dined at Carvalho’s Brazilian Kitchen in Scottsdale AZ and tried their potato salad with my steak. The Brazilian Potato Salad had a good play of flavor between the sweet soft carrots and briney olives. It also was  very bright tasting maybe from lemon.  I became inspired to create a similar salad. The interesting thing that seemed different to me was the texture. It was more like mashed potatoes mixed with chunks of firm potatoes.

My recipe isn’t exactly the same but it is similar. I took liberties and added hearts of palm because it was suppose come with my dinner and was substituted with something else. The hearts of palm surprisingly goes well in the salad.

Some of the tricks to making this potato salad are to boil the potatoes just right. You need to have a cooked but firm center and the ends need to be softer so than when you mix you get a creaminess from the ends of the potatoes. The other part of my trick is to infuse the potatoes with flavors from boiling them with a hot banana pepper and scallions. The palm hearts I added added another texture and taste that goes remarkably well in this salad.

Honestly my potato salad came out really amazing but I never would have thought about making such a salad if it wasn’t for Carvalho’s Brazilian Kitchen.

Ingredients for about 8 servings

2 LB russet potatoes – peeled, cut in halves

1 hot banana pepper (or other hot pepper you like to boil the potatoes with)

4 scallions (to boil the potatoes with)

1 Tablespoon salt (kosher or sea salt)

3 carrots peeled – cut in quarters longways- and half again

1/3 cup olives pitted and then rough chopped – I used kalamata

14.1 oz. can hearts of palm – rinsed well and drained – rough chopped

3 scallions – rough chopped on a diagonal

1 lemon -just the fresh squeezed juice

1/2 cup low fat mayonnaise

fresh ground salt to taste (about a Tablespoon)

fresh cracked pepper to taste (about 1/2 a teaspoon)

Directions

Place your potatoes, 1 tablespoon salt, hot pepper and 4 scallions in a medium size sauce pan. fill with water to the top of produce. Bring to boil and then reduce to a slow boil for around 15 minutes. You want the potato to be just fork tender. Remove the potatoes with a slotted spoon and set them to the side. You will re-use the water to do your carrots. When cool enough to handle cut the potatoes in large chunks and place in a large bowl. set to the side.

Now add the carrots and they need to cook about 8 minutes. You want them soft but not falling apart.

When carrots are done drain them and add them to the large bowl of potatoes.

Throw out the used scallions and used hot pepper. (you might want to keep the liquid for making vegetable soup)

Now to the large bowl add olives, hearts of palm, 3 scallions, lemon juice, low fat mayonnaise and stir gently. Add fresh ground sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste.

Brazilian Inspired Potato Salad

The forking truth is that after a gave my husband a small bowl to try he kept coming back for more. He kept saying this is really good. He didn’t even think I should call this potato salad Brazilian Potato Salad. He said it’s just REALLY GOOD Potato salad.

This REALLY is FORKING GOOD Potato Salad and That’s The Forking Truth

Baked Crispy Gochujang Chicken Breast

Gochujang is just delicious! It’s a savory, Korean paste made from fermented soybeans, rice, and chilies. If you like Sriracha you will Love Gochujang. It’s far more complex and interesting. I had an idea of what flavors went well with gochujang  so I wanted to marinate chicken in it to make it delicious. I also wanted to add a crispy texture simply baking the plain boneless breast of chicken. So I thought of the kind of American Crispy Chicken recipes where Corn Flakes are used for a crispy texture. So I used Asian thin crispy rice crackers, crushed them and applied them to the marinated chicken and they stayed on and more importantly tasted great. This really did come out amazing. This is something you will make over and over again!

Ingredients for 4 servings

2 lbs. Chicken Breast – Mine were two large breast that I cut in half and pounded Makes 4 servings

The marinate

3 Tablespoons lite soy sauce

1 Tablespoon shaohsing rice cooking wine (looks black..)

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

1 Tablespoon gochujang

1 teaspoon red chili flakes

2 Tablespoons canola oil

1 Tablespoon sesame oil

2 Tablespoons fresh ground ginger

1 teaspoon black bean  sauce (Lee Kum Kee Brand fermented black beans and garlic)

2 Tablespoons sugar

Directions

Put your chicken in a gallon zip lock bag. Mix all the ingredients together and pour into bag with chicken. Squish it around a little and let sit in your refrigerator for an hour. Now make the sauce.

Ingredients for sauce

3 Tablespoons lite soy sauce

2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon shaohsing rice cooking wine (looks black)

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

2 Tablespoons gochujang

1 teaspoon red chili flakes

1 Tablespoon fresh ginger minced

1 Tablespoon honey

1 Tablespoon dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon black bean sauce (Lee Kum Kee Brand fermented beans and garlic)

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

Directions

Mix together and set to the side.

Ingredients

30 Asian Rice crackers

Non-stick spray

Directions

Get rice rackers and crush up in a sandwich bag and set to the side and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Get your non-stock spray and spray a baking sheet.

Get your marinated chicken out of the marinate and blot dry. Throw out the marinate. Place the chicken on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with the crushed rice crackers. Roast till done. Should be done in 20-25 minutes.

Decide if you want to use some of the juice that released from the chicken and add some into the sauce if desired.

Immediately before serving for sauce over chicken add chopped scallions if desired.

Baked Crispy Gochujang Chicken Breast

This is FORKING Delicious!

It’s a rollercoaster of flavors in your mouth. Incredibly scrumptious!

(your welcome)

This is Forking Delicious and that’s The Forking Truth!

Garlic Dill Pickles

These pickles come out delicious and crisp and might be your favorite!

Ingredients makes around 24 servings

3 1/2 lbs pickling cucumbers – whole or halved and trimmed (slice the ends off)

1 sweet onion – sliced thin

3 cups water

3 cups white vinegar

3 cups rice wine vinegar

4 Tablespoons kosher salt

3oz  fresh dill

1 teaspoon celery seeds

1 Tablespoon +1 teaspoons mustard seeds

1 Tablespoon +1 teaspoons red pepper flakes

4 bay leaves

20 garlic cloves smashed

1 Tablespoon+1 teaspoons black peppercorns

Everything except for the cucumbers and onions bring to a boil and reduce to a slow boil for about 20 minutes. Place the cucumbers and onions into sterilized jars or containers and pour the hot mixture over them. Place in refrigerator and enjoy in about a week.

Garlic Dill Pickles

Crunchy!  Very Good Pickles!

These are Great and that’s The Forking Truth