Plantain Chips

Plantain chips are very near and dear to my heart.  I'd never liked them before Josh took me to Levi's Key West Fishouse on our first date (I didn't know it was a date at the time.  I thought I was just getting a free meal from the cute guy across the dorm courtyard who liked me and had a car).  We definitely bonded over our love of all things seafood and Caribbean cuisine.  He ordered plantain chips for an appetizer and they came sprinkled with garlic salt and served with mango chutney.  It was one of the best things I'd ever eaten and when we started living together, we made them all the time.  This is another one of those crowd pleaser recipes that everyone always loves.

The hardest thing about this recipe is finding plantains at the right level of ripeness.  Bananas are best for cooking when they're almost brown but I like to use plantains when they're green.  Yellow and brown ones are fine for making maduros or soft chips, but I'll be making crunchy chips and tostones.

Start with a couple green plantains.  As an appetizer, one per person is enough.

Slice just through the skin lengthwise once on either side.  Carefully slide your thumb under the skin and gently peel it off.

The chips and tostones start out similarly.  For the chips, cut the plantain into very thin slices, a little thinner than 1/4".  For the tostones, make 1" slices.

Put them into a cold water bath for a couple minutes.  This gets rid of some of the starch and makes the chips crispier.

We'll make the chips first.  Dry the slices thoroughly and put them in a pan with about 3/4" of 325 degree oil.  Don't put in more than you see here or else the oil temperature will drop and the chips will cook too slowly to get crispy.

If you use a Frydaddy, it will tell you when the oil is right but if you use a pan like I did, you really should use a candy thermometer for the best results.  If you don't have one, drip a drop of water in the oil and when it sizzles, the oil is about right.  Not knowing the temperature, you need to watch the chips carefully.

When the chips are golden brown, scoop them out with a slotted spoon and let them drain on some paper towels.

Now for the tostones.  Take the big chunks out of the water and dry them thoroughly just like the chips.  Carefully place them cut side down in the 325 degree oil.  Let them fry for 2-3 minutes until the bottoms are golden brown.  Flip them over and cook the other side until it is also golden brown.

Take them out of the oil and let them drain on a paper towel.

Then smash them with a flat spatula until they're about 1/4" thick.

Put them back in the water for about a minute.

Put them back in the 325 degree oil and let fry for 2-3 minutes per side until crispy and golden brown.

Remove from the oil and let drain on paper towels.

For both the chips and tostones, sprinkle on 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp garlic powder and toss to coat.  Serve with mango ginger chutney.

Mmmm, crispy chips

Mmmm, garlicky tostones

Mmmm, sweet mango ginger chutney

I'm suddenly feeling like having a date night.  Where are my keys?  I need to get some plantains.

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

Since picking fresh blueberries last week, Josh has requested in no uncertain terms that I keep these muffins constantly in stock.  I make them frequently anyway with frozen berries but fresh ones just make them irresistible. My husband, who has two degrees mind you, then complains about burning his mouth because he can't even let the poor muffins cool.  I can't really blame him though.  When the smell of fresh baked blueberry muffins fills your house, all self-control is lost.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

1 egg
1 c plain, nonfat yogurt
1/4 c oil or softened margarine
1 1/4 c whole wheat flour
1 cup quick oatmeal
1/2 c agave nectar or honey
1/4 c brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1 c fresh blueberries (or thawed and drained if previously frozen)

Combine everything BUT the blueberries.

Then gently fold in the blueberries.

Divide the batter among 12 muffin cups.  The batter doesn't rise much so fill them to the top.

Cook for 20-25 minutes until the tops are golden brown and slightly crisp.

Unlike frozen ones, fresh blueberries burst a bit in the muffins.  That just means there's too much delicious for the muffin to hold, nothing to worry about.

Blueberries!

I went to pick blueberries today.  I pass so many produce stands and farms on my way to and from town that I figured I may as well try one out.  As I arrived just about an hour after dawn (because I'm whipped and I get up with Josh to make breakfast), a woman and her husband were arriving at the same time and said they regularly drive 2 hrs to this farm because it has the best berries.  That made me much more confident in my choice.  Especially since I wasn't just wasting time on the closest place to my house, but that it happened to be really good. 

I just want to wear this like a feed bag.

For me, blueberries are one of those foods that I forget I love until I pick them myself because at other times of the year,  I just use frozen or imported ones.  I hesitate a little before biting into one that I've just pulled off a bush because I expect it to be sour or bitter.  As soon as the memories of the previous summer's fresh berries come back with that first bite, I could just sit amongst the bushes and eat all day.  Luckily, Josh is the same way and blueberries are super healthy so I don't mind being a glutton.  He was so excited when I brought home fresh berries that he ate a whole pint while my back was turned.  He tried to blame it on the dogs but his blue tongue gave him away.

It wasn't all pleasant pickings though.  As it was getting hot and I was getting close to being done, I saw a cool caterpillar on a blueberry leaf.

I used to live in the woods and wanted to be a veterinarian at one point so I love animals (except spiders) and I especially love to discover ones I've never seen.  I snapped a quick picture of this little guy with my camera phone and then left him alone to pick more berries.  I thought I had moved down the row a bit more but suddenly as my arm brushed against a branch, I felt an excruciating burn on my elbow.  I backed away and then noticed that the caterpillar was where I had just been and I'd accidentally touched it.  I could hear other berry pickers nearby and I was in so much pain that I really considered calling for help.  I'm a soccer player though, so I just quickly Googled "poisonous green caterpillar" on my phone to see if I was in any real danger.  I found the Wikipedia page for the Io Moth Caterpillar and everything seemed to match.  Basically, caterpillar stings are like bee stings; if you happen to be allergic to the barbs on their back, you might be in trouble but otherwise, you'll just be in a lot of pain for a short while.  The pain went away after only a minute or two but I was done for the day.  Time to run home to deal once again with the despicable cable company in this area and to start building my herb boxes!  Be careful out there! The most innocent of critters can be dangerous.

Moving Week...bleh

Oh what a miserable week it was last week.  We moved from Louisiana to East Texas because The Company admitted they made a mistake sending Josh to that useless shop and decided his skills as an engineer would be put to better use in one of their other shops.  While waiting for the 30-day lease breakage period to end at our LA apartment, Josh was commuting 82 miles between our apartment and his new shop because they wanted him to start right away.  He also went from sitting around all day to working on oil tools for 8-10 hrs straight.  That was fun at-home time.  We were also waiting for approval to buy moving supplies.  It was frustrating because the person who was supposed to put the paperwork through couldn't be reached for some reason and I was just sitting on my thumbs writing this blog when I should have been packing.  Their policy is that they have to approve the expenses before you even consider buying or else they won't issue a reimbursement.  To this day, we still haven't actually gotten approval for the stuff we bought like boxes, a moving truck, and loading help so I'm really hoping they'll take pity on us and pay.  Especially since they expect Josh's little wifey to take care of EVERYTHING (which I did) because they won't give him time off to help.  I'd like to see any one man lift our couch.  Yeah, I needed help and they need to pay for it since they didn't pay a dime of us moving from Atlanta.  Whew, ok I think I'm done ranting about the moving...for now. 


It was very stressful trying to find a new place to live in East Texas.  We liked our apartment but, having lived in a house with a yard and garden previously, we hated sharing walls and walking up to the third floor and having to watch our dogs while they poop.  Skip hated the stairs from the start.  Layla raced us to the top every time but Skip was huffing and puffing after just a few steps like someone on one of those weight loss shows.  We really wanted to rent a house but there weren't many available so we thought we'd have to settle for another apartment just like the last one until Craigslist yielded us a perfect little house that we ended up going with.  Since it was so far away and we were afraid someone would snatch it up before we could even see it, I told Josh to just go see it and give the guy a deposit if he liked it.  That's trust right there.  Letting your husband decide where you're going to live next.  And not only that, but he ended up signing a 2 year lease to lock in the good price.  So that meant the first time I'd see the place I'd be living for the next 2 years would be the day I haul in boxes.  Fun.  The best surprise about the place though, was that it needed a fridge!

My mommy and sister drove from Atlanta partly to help us move but mostly to bring our fridge.  This fridge...deep breath.  We bought it last August RIGHT before we got married.  The one our house came with just decided to die one day with no warning.  At the time, Josh hadn't gotten his job yet and we thought we'd be in that house indefinitely so we bought a nice fridge that we loved.  French door, bottom freezer, huge, I was in love as soon as I saw it.  It also saved my ass when I made my wedding cake because our previous side-by-side would not have held all the layers that ended up being huge.

This, except there was another even bigger layer on that bottom shelf too.  Thank you, fridge.

When Josh got his job and we moved away in February, we had to leave the fridge at the house because we would be living in an apartment.  It wasn't even fully paid off yet.  The house was being taken over by some close family so it wasn't lost and we knew we'd see it again...someday...hopefully.

So we rented a truck for my mom in Atlanta and she took it to my old house and got the fridge out (with great difficulty and with rain threatening the entire time) with the help of my father-in-law, his partner, his brother, my dad...it really did take a village to make it work.  So my mom drove all the way from Atlanta to Bossier City and helped us get ready to leave in the morning.

This is how stressed Josh was...since he just had to go to  work in the morning.

So when Josh got up bright and early at 5.30 to go to work, we all got up too.  All except my sister, who slept til about 8.30, right before the movers got there.  That's my TV wrapped in a blanket by her head.  I wrapped it moments before this picture was taken.  Do you know how loud those packing tape dispensers are?  Bitch can sleep through that.  Must be nice.

That's what she gets for sleeping in and knowing full well I just got a new camera.

My sad living room full of boxes.  I hate boxes.

While all this was going on, my poor babies were so stressed.  They know what boxes and suitcases mean and they know that every once in awhile, they stay home when the suitcases come out so they won't eat.  It's annoying but I can't make them eat so I just try to act normal so they don't worry more.

We had hired 3 guys for 3 hours to load our truck.  We hired 3 guys for 2 hours to unload when we moved in so we figured one more hour would be PLENTY since we had only acquired a couch, a chair, and a small table in 3 months.  I had scheduled everything that day to the minute and everything should have been fine.  The unloaders would arrive at a certain time in Texas and the cable/internet guy was coming to hook up our new services. Everything should have been fine...but it certainly was not.  It started when I went to get the get Uhaul from the other side of the complex to park it by our place only to discover that the battery was dead.  The key had locked in the POS ignition and I thought it was because the lights were on or something.  I started turning dials and knobs until the key came out.  I had unknowingly turned the lights on and left them on all night.  Ever tried to jumpstart a 26' truck with a Honda Civic?  It works, it just takes about 20 minutes.  Just as I got the truck started, the loaders arrived.  Bullet dodged, everything would still be fine.  Wrong again.  The head mover spent most of his time organizing the truck, which was fine, except that his helpers were next to useless.  One hour to go and they still hadn't loaded any furniture and I was starting to get frantic.  I told them to get that stuff in since I couldn't lift it after they left.  Half an hour to go and they hadn't even loaded our 3-piece sectional (3 small pieces).  I know that it was very hot that day but it was snowing when the same company (2 different guys) moved us in so I wasn't having much sympathy.  The whole point of being reimbursed for moving help was so that my mom and I didn't have to do it all ourselves like we did in Atlanta.  Nope, I had to give the head guy a personal check for another hour of work that I won't get paid back for just so that they could finish.  It ended up taking them 2 extra hours and that's with my 52-yr old mother, my 17-yr old sister, and me helping.  I was worried for my mom because she gets unhealthily flushed when she works outside.  She's fine but it shouldn't have been an issue.  At one point when my sister was helping me with something, one of them asked if she was my daughter.  I know I looked like crap that day but at least I was wearing a bra and I certainly don't look old enough to have a 17-yr old child no matter what!  I also caught one of the guys sneaking back into an empty bedroom to check his phone.  If that guy had asked to be paid for both extra hours, I might have hit him.  About halfway into the loading, I called the unloaders in Texas and told them we'd be at least an hour late.  They said that's fine, they'll just wait.  We ended up being 2 hours late and missed the cable guy by about 20 minutes.  He didn't end up coming back until Monday and it was only that early because I threw a fit to no fewer than 6 customer service people.  I was done with it.

My navigator was so pooped.

Getting to the house was such a relief.  Their head mover took the Uhaul keys and told me to go sit down, they'll take care of the rest.  And they certainly did.

They unloaded that truck so fast.

But then this is what I was left with.  I still hate boxes.

That night, I made Miso Soup.  My mom and sister and I went to the store to get some things while the fridge was getting cold and while Josh was putting together our new dining chairs.  I built that dining table in college and it has never had a proper set of chairs.  We finally got some since we now have a place big enough to accommodate it all.  You're looking at the first proper meal eaten at that table since it was built in 2008.  Shameful, I know.

We used a 26' Uhaul to get from LA to Texas.  Yes, little 5'3", 23-year old me had to drive what felt like an 18-wheeler to our apartment and then to our new house in Texas.  The maneuvering was actually very easy, it was the driving that was awful.  Every time I tried to accelerate, I felt like I was asking a 2 year old to do something and all they could say was "NO!"  The brakes made this awful hissing noise whenever I pressed them which I can only assume was some sort of air-ride but it freaked me out while having all my earthly possessions moving right behind me.  My mom kept saying how proud she was that I could drive it.  Then she helped me pry my white fingers off the steering wheel.

 Me, giddy that I'm getting rid of that awful truck.

So here we are in a little neighborhood just outside Tyler, TX with a fenced backyard and ranches all around.  It's pretty cool to wake up with horses grazing just beyond your yard. It also has a garage!  I haven't had a garage since my parent's house.  It's so awesome to get in my car when it's 100+ degrees outside and not burn myself on the seatbelt because the car has been inside all day.  I love the house, by the way.  Josh did a good job.  We're still getting settled but most of the boxes were unpacked by Monday.  I'm not typically a neat freak but again, I hate boxes.  I like to feel at home.  I can feel at home with a little clutter but not moving boxes.  This feels like home even before we're all unpacked.  The dogs like it too.

Miso Soup

Have you ever had something to eat in a restaurant and think, "that recipe is so good and seems so simple, I must make it at home"?  That was miso soup for me.  There was a sushi place in Atlanta that had the best I'd ever found.  They had several locations and each one made it differently for some reason.  I would go to my local Asian market and could see packaged soup mixes for days.  I was intimidated to try any, lest it suck and then I was stuck with several packets of expensive soup mix.  That and it just seemed wrong to get my favorite soup from a paper pouch.  Then one day, by some miracle from above, I was watching Good Eats with Alton Brown, my favorite Atlanta-area native, and the theme of the show was...wait for it...MISO SOUP!  I'd trust Alton Brown to be my surgeon, I love him so much.  One thing I love most about him is that he takes simple recipes and makes them completely from scratch.  Sometimes making your own beer or smoking your own salmon is a little beyond what I want to do but some really traditional dishes just beg to be made in the most deconstructed, traditional way.  This soup really does taste like the best restaurant miso soup you've ever had.  It's so hearty and is actually just as simple as you think it should be as long as you get the right ingredients.  It's also another one of those soups that keeps really well so I always make a big pot and eat it for lunch every day for a week.

The base stock of miso soup is called dashi. Traditional dashi is made by boiling kombu (edible kelp) and bonito (shavings of katsuobushi: dried, fermented, and smoked skipjack tuna).  Yes, it's fish stock.  You probably didn't even know it before I just told you so deal with it.  Today, it's usually made with prepared pellets similar to bullion but I like to make it from scratch if I can get my hands on the ingredients.

Here's how to make dashi and the miso soup is second.

This is what the instant dashi looks like

 

Two 4” square pieces of kombu
2 1/2 qt. water
1/2 oz. bonito flakes/katsouboshi

Soak the kombu in the water for 30 min.

It expands quite a bit in that time.

Heat the water over medium heat just until bubbles start to form on the edges.

Remove the kombu and bring the broth to a boil for 5-6 min.

Reduce the heat to low and add the bonito flakes.

Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Strain the bonito flakes out. They can be reused so you don't have to throw them away.  Dashi can be refrigerated for a week or frozen for a month.


Miso Soup

12 oz. block firm tofu
2 qt. dashi
6 tbs dark or red miso
2 tbs light or white miso
4 scallions, thinly sliced

Before you start cooking, take your block of tofu and wrap in in a few paper towels to squeeze out the excess moisture.

Weight it down under a plate and a can of something moderately heavy.  There are two basic types of tofu, silky and firm.  The silky has more moisture and has a texture just like its name, smooth and silky.  Alton Brown's recipe actually calls for the silky type but I tried the firm and preferred its meatier texture.  It's up to you, they taste the same. This needs to sit for at least 10 minutes so while you're waiting, heat up the 2 quarts of dashi you just made.

Measure the red and white miso into a bowl.  (Miso is amazing.  It's made from soy and has such an amazing, robust saltiness.  You can use it to make sauces or marinades in addition to soup so check back for other recipes.  You can find it in Asian grocery stores and it keeps for a long time in the fridge.)

Ladle a cup or two of the warm dashi into the bowl...

...and whisk it until there are no more miso lumps.  We want nice, smooth soup.

Pour the miso back into the pot.  The tofu should be ready by now so unwrap it and dice it up into little cubes of whatever size you desire.  Chop the scallions into thin slices while you're at it.  Pour it all into the pot and let it simmer for just a couple minutes to let the tofu absorb some flavors.

Serve it up and if you happen upon some of those fun spoons they use in Asian restaurants while you're in that Asian grocery store, get them.  Miso soup is way more fun to eat out of the big restaurant spoons.