The Beef on the Battle of Waterloo.

Happy New Year 2024!  As usual, our celebration was quiet, sort of.  We indulged in take-out from Ja-Roen Thai and Sushi; their Ja-Roen Roll is quite addicting.  While Roy was at work, wishing good cheer to travelers passing through Monticello, our neighbors put on a fireworks display at midnight.  By quarter after midnight, all was quiet, so hunkering down for a relaxing sleep was the last of the New Year’s Eve to-do list.

During the weeks before the Christmas holiday, much baking and cooking was done by yours truly.  Besides the yearly treats given out, prepping and planning went into meals, not just for ourselves, but for Roy’s mother and brother down in Moab.  So, that week between Christmas and New Year’s was definitely one of limbo.  I rightly cannot say what I did, overall, during that week.  I know I had intentions, one being writing, but as I stared at the computer screen, the photos and words refused to come into focus.  It was not so much a case of writer’s block, but one of “writer’s brain vacation”.

Ah, but now it is the New Year, the bullet train of holidays is at the depot for maintenance.  The coming months will still have a holiday, or two, but none that will make us go into hyperdrive; we hope.  What did I create for the Christmas holiday of 2023?  By request, from Roy, he wondered if I would make a dish, one he had only once before, but remembered well.  That dish was Beef Wellington sans the liver pate, but stuffed with a rich mixture of mushrooms and red onions.  Recipe history time!

 

Beef Wellington and Potatoes Au Gratin

 

In Britain, the development of Beef Wellington is attributed to Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, whose army helped to defeat Napoleon Bonaparte, at the Battle of Waterloo (1815).  However, the encasing of some type of meat within a dough was a technique used in France, England, and even in Poland, for centuries before hand.  Culinary historians think that the dish was named, actually, after a style of boot that the 1^st Duke wore, coincidentally named the “Wellington boot”.  Why?  Supposedly the structure of the meat within the dough, once baked, resembled the boot, and was served during the celebration of Napoleon’s humiliating defeat.  I guess this could be equated to Britian “stepping on the little guy and showing him who’s boss”.

Traditionally, the recipe for Beef Wellington comes from France.  It consists of a beef tenderloin wrapped in layers of pâté (goose liver), duxelles (finely chopped mixture of mushrooms), Parma ham (aka prosciutto), wrapped in puff pastry, then baked.  The tenderloin is typically about 1 and ½ lbs. and kept cold before wrapped in its layers and baked.  After baking for one hour, the meat is extremely rare and dripping with flavorful juices.  However, the meat can be seen as equivalent to raw, with the additional liquid from the pate and mushrooms creating a soggy texture within.  Though it looks impressive, this type of dish takes a lot of prep work if you want it to come out correctly.  Discouraged?  Do not give up before even trying!  Remember, this is a new year, and for those who like to cook, and especially try new recipes, make this your year of bravery.  What is bravery?  Being scared of doing something, but doing it anyway!  So, the new motto for 2024 is, “Be brave and do it anyway!”

Now, in our household, goose liver, or any type of liver, will not be on our menu; and we are not huge fans of ham either.  Therefore, my recipe for Beef Wellington will be just that, the way I do it, but that does not mean you cannot give the original recipe a try.  For the mushrooms, typically only white, brown or Portobello can be found, and all of them work well for this dish.  Using fancy mushrooms, like Chanterelles, can be pricey, and once diced up, well no one will be able to tell the difference between them, and a cheaper white mushroom.  For the beef, look for a lean cut, but do not allow it to break your bank; while a beautiful eye round roast could be $10/lb., a London broil, at half the price, works very well.  Also, in the original recipe, the roast is covered, raw, in layers of pate, mushrooms and ham before being encased in the puff pastry.  With my technique, the meat is butterflied open with the mushroom/onion filling rolled within the meat itself.  Once completed, and cut into slices, it still becomes a pretty presentation on the plate.

 

Gravy draped over.

Sitting atop gravy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beef Wellington

 

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. butter

1 large red onion, diced

½ lb. mushrooms, diced

¼ cup beef broth

2 lb. London broil (trim off as much fat as possible, the leaner the better)

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. ground black pepper

1 Tbsp. crushed, dried thyme leaves

1 sheet thawed puff pastry (Pepperidge Farm brand recommended)

1 egg, beaten

Preparation:

 

In a medium sized skillet, on low heat, melt butter into oil; sauté mushrooms and onion for 20 minutes.  Raise heat to high, add broth and allow to cook down for 7-10 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cut the London broil lengthwise, through the center, but not all the way through, leave about ½ inch on long side, and open up (this is butterflying open the meat).  With a meat mallet, pound out the meat to about ¼ inch thickness.  Mix together salt, black pepper and thyme, sprinkle over interior of the meat.  The mushroom/onion mixture should be cool enough to handle, spread evenly over the meat, leaving ½ inch clean around the edges.  Carefully begin to roll the meat, stuffing back any filling that might come out the sides.  Seam side up, wrap tightly in aluminum foil and place inside refrigerator for 2 hours.

 

Preheat oven to 425F.  In a large skillet, high heat, seam side down, brown meat; rotate till all meat has been browned.  Rewrap into aluminum foil, place inside pan and roast for 50-60 minutes, or internal temperature reads “Rare”.  Remove from oven and let rest; keep oven on.

 

 

 

 

While meat is resting, sprinkle flour on board, or clean counter top, and roll out puff pastry to double its original size.  Remove meat from foil, and place in center of pastry. Brush edges with beaten egg and fold pastry over long sides first from top of pastry to bottom.  Take one end of pastry, drape over meat and rest of remaining pastry.  Take other end of pastry and fold over both remaining pastry and already covered meat.  Tuck seam under the entire roll, and place inside baking pan.  If desired, indent pastry with a design, being careful not to cut all the way through the dough.  Bake 20-25 minutes, or until puff pastry is golden brown.

Remove from oven and let rest for 15 minutes to allow juices to redistribute inside the meat.  Cut one inch slice per serving.

Makes 10-12 servings, dependent on how long butterflied meat was pounded out to.

The directions might read a little confusing, especially wrapping the meat inside the pastry.  If you have ever made burritos, it is similar to this procedure.  As I stated before though, make 2024 the year of being brave, and no matter how difficult a recipe might read, try it anyway!

Mary Cokenour

 

 

 

 

Barbeque - Asian Style.

The first time I had ever experienced Hoisin sauce, or should I say knowingly had it, was at a Chinese restaurant in New York City's Chinatown.  Ever seen a photo of a huge round table, with a, almost as huge, turn table in the center?  The many platters and bowls of food set upon it, and as it is turned, diners take a portion of each delicacy offered. I had been asked to a celebration dinner which consisted of such a set up, and one delicacy served was Peking Duck.  There was a thick, dark sauce served with the duck; smearing just a small amount onto a Chinese pancake, a few slivers of duck and scallion were then wrapped within the pancake.  The first bite was a surprise, but the continuing bites lead to ecstasy; such a rich, heady flavor came from the sauce.

My next conscious experience with Hoisin was having Mhu Shu (also written as Moo Shu or Mu Shu) Pork; a pork and vegetable mixture which is eaten inside, again, a pancake smeared with Hoisin. A most excellent dish and if pork is not to your liking, it can be prepared with shrimp, chicken, beef or a combination.  Be careful though, while these pancakes with filling are small, do not be surprised that you ate several more than you ever intended to.

Hoisin sauce is the Chinese version of barbecue sauce which, besides grilling, can be used in stir fries, marinades, as a condiment or a thickener. It is a soy based sauce having the components of salty, sweet and spicy due to the additional ingredients of garlic, vinegar, sweeteners and chilies. The texture of the sauce is usually thick, but can be thinned with the addition of sesame oil or water until the desired consistency is achieved.

While Hoisin can be purchased in a store, it can just as easily be made at home. Having a mortar and pestle handy in the kitchen is an asset for creating the paste quality of some of the ingredients. Patience is also necessary as it needs a good amount of mixing to help the ingredients meet and marry together; using a blender is quite useful for this and easier on the wrist.

Hoisin Sauce

Ingredients:

6 Tbsps. soy sauce

1 Tbsp. each creamy peanut butter and black bean paste

1 Tbsp. each honey and dark molasses

2 tsps. white vinegar

¼ tsp. each garlic and onion paste

2 tsps. sesame oil

1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

Hot sauce – dependent upon how mild, medium or hot is desired, or add pieces of chopped chilies to the garlic and onion when creating the paste.

Preparation:

Add all ingredients into a medium bowl, or into a blender, and mix until smooth. The texture will be thick; if a thinner consistency is desired, add a teaspoon of sesame oil or water until achieved.

Makes ½ cup.

One item I like to use Hoisin on is salmon; giving the fish a rich, smoky flavor from the sauce and a mild sweetness and spice from the glaze it creates. As a side dish, cook up a package of ramen, adding oriental style vegetables such as snow pea pods, bamboo shoots, shitake mushrooms, and red bell peppers for colors; substitute ½ cup soy sauce for the equivalent of the water needed.

 

The salmon has the skin and bones removed and cut into 4 to 6 ounce portions; depending on how large the side of salmon is. Preheat the oven to 350F and line a jelly roll pan with aluminum foil. Use a pastry brush to spread a half cup of Hoisin sauce over the foil, wherever the salmon will be lying. Place the salmon on the foil and brush it liberally with sauce; sprinkle a little ground ginger over all. Bake the salmon for 20 minutes; test for doneness in the thickest part of the filets. While the salmon is baking, the side dish can be made.

Simple and quite delicious!

But if you would rather have a nice bit o’ beef…

Fresh brisket, a lovely red color to the meat, just a 1/4 inch fat cap on top; and just at the two pound mark.  Too small for the smoker; too pretty to cut up for use in a recipe; what to do is a good question!

I saw the bottle of Hoisin sauce (yes, I keep a bottle on hand) on the refrigerator door shelf.  Hmmm, a smoky sauce with a multitude of flavors on a pretty cut of brisket; and the brain kicked in with an idea.  Have not had good fried rice in a while either, so I knew that would be my side dish; a dash of Hoisin would give it a little smokiness as well.

Hoisin Beef (Brisket)

 Ingredients:

2 lb. beef brisket, trimmed of fat

3 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar (or white vinegar)

½ tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. white pepper

1 tsp. salt

1 cup Hoisin sauce

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

2 Tbsps. diced red onion

Preparation:

Two hours before roasting the brisket; rub the vinegar over all sides of the meat, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Preheat oven to 325F; line roasting pan with aluminum foil.  Score top and bottom of meat with diagonal cuts, creating one inch diamond marks.  Mix together the ginger, white pepper and salt; rub on both sides of meat.  Place meat in pan and roast for 15 minutes.

 

Mix together sauce, garlic and onion; turn meat over in pan, baste top and sides of meat with sauce mixture making sure to get sauce into score marks.  Return to oven for 30 minutes; turn over meat, baste and roast for another 30 minutes for medium-rare.  For medium; repeat turn and baste process, roast for 30 minutes more.  For medium-well; repeat turn and baste process, roast for 30 minutes more.

 

Remove meat to cutting board; rest for 5 minutes before slicing; spoon sauce from roasting pan over meat.  Serve with fried rice; when making rice, add one teaspoon of Hoisin sauce for every three servings to boost the flavor.

Makes 6 servings.

 

Oh, the recipe for fried rice?  Don’t worry, that will be coming soon enough.  If I gave you all the recipes, all at once, whatever else would I write about?

Mary Cokenour

 

 

 

 

A Chicken Named Dinner.

One of my neighbors has chickens, not unusual in San Juan County; and the fresh eggs they lay are better than any purchased at a store.  The yokes are a deeper colored yellow, with a fuller richness and the whites seem to cook up fluffier.  However, due to a hole in their fencing, several of their chickens like to walk over to our front yard; pecking at goodies only a chicken seems to enjoy.  Usually they all run back home when we are outside, except one; light brown with dark brown tail feathers standing definitely clucking at us.  This one gained the name of “Dinner”, while we would never think of hurting the little devil, I like teasing it with the threat of becoming dinner.

For a long while I roasted chickens according to packaging directions; 350F for 20 minutes for each pound.  While the meat itself was moist, tender and very tasty, the skin was still pliable and fatty; we ended up pulling it off and feeding it to the pets.  Then I read a recipe where the cook roasted her chickens at 450F to 500F; the only seasoning used was salt.  The fat melted off the chicken, the skin was crispy, but she did warn that it caused a lot of splattering and smoking.  You know I had to play with this concept of roasting chicken….for dinner.

 After removing the organs from the cavity (the outdoor cats truly enjoyed that treat), the chicken was washed inside and out with cold water; then sprinkled a generous amount of salt also inside and out.  Prepping the roast pan is by lining with aluminum foil; one cup of water plus one can (10.5 oz.) chicken broth poured into the pan; sprayed a rack with nonstick spray and placed it inside the pan. Why the water/broth mixture? As the fat dripped into the pan, the liquid would keep it from splattering, burning and smoking from hitting the foil straight on; and it will become the base for a great gravy.  Placing the chicken on the rack, I drizzled a few tablespoons of olive oil over the top and just allowed it to slide down over the chicken. Now I have this Organic Salt less Seasoning that I enjoy using; 21 organically grown herbs and spices ground together; a generous portion was rubbed over the outside of the chicken, knowing the oil would hold it in place.

The oven temperature had been previously set at 450F; pan inside the oven and patiently waited for the internal temperature to reach 180F.  Where it used to take 2 1/2 to 3 hours for a 5 pound bird, it now only took 1 and 1/2 hours.  The fat had dripped into the pan, the skin was crispy; yet the seasoning mixture had only browned, not burned.  The flavoring permeated the meat which was tender, moist and very juicy. Removing the chicken from the pan onto a platter, I let it rest for 15 minutes before beginning to carve it.

I took advantage of the high temperature setting by mixing together chunks of potato and butternut squash, slices of onion, salt, Italian seasoning blend, minced garlic and olive oil. This mixture was placed in an aluminum baking pan and put into the oven at the same time as the chicken; it finished cooking while the chicken rested (an additional 15 minutes).  Actually, I made two chickens and one was given to my mother-in-law with a generous amount of the roasted veggies; she was very pleased.

As to the smoking and splattering the other cook warned about, I experienced none of that and all because of the liquid I had put into the pan.  To make gravy, I poured the after roasting liquid into a plastic container, placed it into the freezer until the fat rose and solidified (about one hour).  At a firm, but not frozen, stage, the solid fat was scooped off; placing the liquid into a saucepan, bringing it to boil on medium-high heat, I whisked in a little flour for thickening.

There you have it, roast chicken at a higher than recommended temperature, and it is so quick, easy and extremely delicious.  Enjoy!  …and no harm has come to Dinner, it’s still pecking away at our front lawn.

Mary Cokenour

Roasting Another Chicken.

For a long while I roasted chickens according to packaging directions; 350F for 20 minutes for each pound.  While the meat itself was moist, tender and very tasty, the skin was still pliable and fatty; we ended up pulling it off and feeding it to the pets.  Then I read a recipe where the cook roasted her chickens at 450F to 500F; the only seasoning used was salt.  The fat melted off the chicken and the skin was crispy, but she did warn that it caused a lot of splattering and smoking.  You know I had to play with this concept of roasting chicken.

After removing the organs from the cavity (the outdoor cats truly enjoyed that treat), I washed the chicken inside and out with cold water; then sprinkled a generous amount of salt also inside and out. Previously, I had lined a roasting pan with aluminum foil; poured 2 cups of water into the pan; sprayed the rack with nonstick spray and placed it inside the pan. Why the water? As the fat dripped into the pan, the water would keep it from splattering, burning and smoking from hitting the foil straight on. Placing the chicken on the rack, I drizzled a few tablespoons of olive oil over the top and just allowed it to slide down over the chicken. Now I have this Organic Saltless Seasoning that I enjoy using; 21 organically grown herbs and spices ground together and I rubbed another generous portion over the outside of the chicken, knowing the oil would hold it in place.

The oven temperature had been previously set at 450F; placed the pan inside the oven and waited for the internal temperature to reach 180F.  Where it used to take 2 1/2 to 3 hours for a 5 pound bird, it now only took 1 and 1/2 hours.  The fat had dripped into the pan and the skin was crispy; yet the seasoning mixture had only browned, not burned.  The flavoring permeated the meat which was tender, moist and very juicy. Removing the chicken from the pan onto a platter, I let it rest for 15 minutes before beginning to carve it.

I took advantage of the high temperature setting by mixing together chunks of potato and butternut squash, slices of onion, salt, Italian seasoning blend, minced garlic and olive oil. This mixture was placed in an aluminum baking pan and put into the oven at the same time as the chicken; it finished cooking while the chicken rested (an additional 15 minutes).

Actually, I made two chickens and one was given to my mother-in-law with a generous amount of the roasted veggies.  She was very pleased.

As to the smoking and splattering the other cook warned about, I experienced none of that and probably because of the water I had put into the pan.  If I wanted to have a gravy, I would have used chicken broth mixed with water; poured the after roasting liquid into a plastic container and placed it into the freezer until the fat rose and solidified.  At a firm, but not frozen, stage, I would have scooped off the solid fat and then made my gravy from the remaining liquid.

There you have it, roast chicken at a higher than recommended temperature, and it is so quick, easy and extremely delicious.  Enjoy!

Mary Cokenour

Frozen Beef? Roast It Anyway.

The scenario goes, suddenly in the mood for roast beef sandwiches; oh no!, all you have is a frozen solid roast in the freezer. What to do? Defrost in the microwave? Hate that, as it eventually begins cooking if you don't time it correctly. Defrost in the refrigerator? Then it won't be ready for roasting until tomorrow....you want it today! Calm down, you can have that roast beef ready in the same amount of time as if it was defrosted; just as tender and juicy as you like it too. Impossible?
 

Not if you use heavy duty aluminum foil, or one of those aluminum grill bags; roasting in the foil will help keep the moisture in, while maximizing the heat needed to have the beef cooked to the desired doneness in the correct amount of time. I took a frozen solid, three pound rump roast and seasoned it all around with a mixture of: 1 teaspoon each of onion and garlic powders, 1 teaspoon crushed, dried thyme, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper and 1/4 teaspoon of fine sea salt. Placing it inside my aluminum foil pouch, I then surrounded it with an entire tray of ice cubes. Why the ice cubes? To create steam that would not just help the roast defrost properly, but mix with any beef juices that escaped to create an au jus; or a gravy if combined with a cornstarch slurry.

Preheating the oven to 350F; I sealed all the sides tightly to make sure no steam or liquid would leak out. I placed the package on top of a rack inside a roasting pan; again, if there was any leakage of liquid, the pan would catch it. After two hours I placed a food thermometer into the package at its thickest part which was easy to make out through the bump in the foil package. Now be careful when doing this that you don't push it in too far and puncture the bottom; you'll lose that liquid into the pan. At 2 1/2 hours, it was at rare; at 2 3/4 hours it was at medium; we usually enjoy medium-rare, so I was amazed at how it jumped from rare to medium within a 15 minute time period.

Carefully opening the top of the bag with the point of a knife, the steam escaped completely and left me with a fully cooked roast with a crisp seasoned coating; in the same amount of time as if it had been defrosted first. I removed the beef to a cutting board to rest before slicing. Inside the bag was a lovely brown liquid that I could serve over the roast as is, or as I mentioned earlier, make a cornstarch slurry and create a gravy with. Of course I strained the liquid before using it.

 

The beef was a medium doneness, tender, juicy, wonderfully seasoned; the scent of the garlic and onion was entralling. My sharp knife cut through it like it was butter; and I just couldn't keep a piece from jumping into my mouth now and then.

So don't panic next time you want to make a roast, but it's frozen solid and you're worried over time. Using heavy duty aluminum foil will get you done on time and with the same results.

Mary Cokenour

Tomato Processing Yields Fresh Results

When I saw that Bountiful Baskets was offering the purchase of 20 pound boxes of fresh tomatoes; I jumped on that. My own garden yielded very few tomatoes itself, so if I wanted to have processed tomatoes ready to make homemade pasta sauce or tomato soup, I needed to buy them. Using canned tomatoes is perfectly fine, but fresh tomatoes, well the taste? Canned cannot compare to fresh tomatoes; there is the lack of preservatives for one, and then the overall knowledge that you know exactly what went into your sauce without having to read any labels. Jarred sauce? Oh, you just don't want to get me started on that; basically that is, in football terms, a "hail mary pass" due to desperation or downright laziness.  Making homemade sauce is NOT that hard.

Anyway, this post is geared towards explaining how to process fresh tomatoes for your own present or future usage.  The first method is "fire roasting" where the tomatoes are placed in the oven, or on a grill, and roasted until the skin blackens and blisters.  After peeling the tomatoes, the flesh itself takes on a richer, deeper flavor making it perfect for meat sauces, salsas and other dishes that look for an outstanding tomato flavor.   For the oven, core the tomatoes and place them open side down on an aluminum foil lined tray (jelly roll pan is best).  Preheat the oven to 450 F, place the tray on the center rack and the tomatoes are ready when the skin is blackened and blistered.  This method takes longer than the grill where you would place the whole (uncored) tomatoes on a very hot grill; watching and turning them as they blacken and blister.  Why not remove the core first?  As the tomato is blackening, it is, in essence, also cooking and you don't want the insides to come dripping out into your grill.

The second method is the water bath where the tomatoes are simmered in a large pot of heated water until the skin wrinkles, and then is easily removed; it basically slides off the tomato flesh. After coring the tomatoes, turn them upside down and score an "X" on the bottom.

I own a set of very large stock pots, so I was able to fit 30 tomatoes each into two of the pots, and there was no overcrowding; so yes, when I say large, I mean it. First I filled each halfway up with cold water; placed 30 tomatoes into each and then brought the water up to until there was about two inches of free space from the rim. I turned on the stove top to high heat; after about 10 minutes I took my wire skimmer and moved the bottom tomatoes up, the top ones downward, so they would all cook evenly. It took another ten minutes until the skin was wrinkled enough to come off easily; the water was not boiling, but there were small bubbles all around the sides of the pots. Removing the tomatoes with the skimmer, I immersed them in a large bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process.

The skin will easily peel off with your fingers; just pinch a corner from the scored section and pull; but if you feel more comfortable using a small knife, then go ahead. The tomatoes will feel cool to the touch from being immersed in the cold water, but don't be fooled; squeeze too hard and your fingertips will get burned from the hot insides.

The first 30 tomatoes fit perfectly inside my six quart crockpot; setting it on low I let the tomatoes cook down for three hours. I then added a can (12 ounces) of tomato paste, one very large red onion (diced), 4 tablespoons of Italian herbal mix, 3 tablespoons of minced garlic; the sauce continued to cook for another five hours.

Turning off the heat and letting the sauce get to room temperature, I used my immersion blender to smooth it out. The taste? Absolutely incredible!!! The freshness of the tomatoes and onions is overwhelming; nothing you'll ever get out of a jar.




The second batch of tomatoes I rough chopped and divided up into 4 cup containers which I placed in my upright freezer for future use. Unfortunately, my home is too small (no basement) to devote an area for food canning and storage. Oh how I miss the basement from my old home back in Pennsylvania, but if anyone is interested in buying my current home, so I can move into another larger one, I won't turn down any reasonable offers.

So, buy up those fresh tomatoes when you can and easily home process them for your own use; you won't regret it and your taste buds will love you for it.

Mary Cokenour

Crack that Coconut!

Several weeks ago I purchased the tropical fruit package from Bountiful Baskets and included was a coconut. My first reaction upon seeing it was, "what the heck am I supposed to do with that!?!" I had never worked with a real coconut before, just the bagged shredded coconut you get in the supermarket. So on the counter it sat, watching me, staring at me, mocking me.

Occasionally I picked it up, walked over to the trash can, but no, I didn't throw it out. I refused to be beaten by a mere coconut. I would shake it and hear the liquid inside; that's a good sign that shows that the coconut "meat" is still fresh and moist. Then I decided to do the insanest thing possible; I gave it to my dog to play with. He loved tossing and chasing it around the yard, but then I noticed that he had stopped and was licking it profusely. He had cracked it and lapped up the leaking liquid.

The coconut was small and I didn't give much thought to cracking it open and trying to do something with the liquid myself. Remember, I was looking at it as a protagonist; an enemy that needed to be conquered. Yes, I could have gotten a hammer, cracked it open in a proper way, etc, etc, etc. What fun would that be? Anyway, I grabbed the coconut, took it out to the driveway and let it drop and split open completely it did. The outdoor cats enjoyed the treat of the spilled coconut liquid and I felt good spoiling them a bit.


Right, so what do I do now? Finally went on the internet and looked up how to handle a coconut. I gave the two parts a good wash in water to remove any dirt. Now most sites said to roast the coconut between 400F to 450F, so I took the middle of the road at 425F and preheated my oven. I placed the two halves, open ends downward, into an aluminum baking pan. Now the coconut has a rather "hairy" exterior, so I covered them with a sheet of aluminum foil, leaving the ends open for air circulation. How embarrassing it would have been to have the hair on the coconut catch on fire.


I roasted the coconut for 20 minutes; the edges of the meat closest to the shell will start turning brown. Removed the pan from the oven and let them cool till I could comfortably handle them. Using a meat mallet to whack the shell and a butter knife between the shell and meat, I removed the meat from the shell; it will break apart if you're not gentle in the procedure.


The meat will have a firm brown skin on it and this can easily be removed using a vegetable/potato peeler. Again, be gentle as it can break apart easily.




The final tool you'll need is a grater for shredding the deskinned coconut meat. Now you might want to use a food processor, but the meat is very moist, so don't be surprised to constantly be cleaning your blades. In this instance, a grater is just more logical and efficient to use.

After shredding, I was able to fill a quart size freezer bag; squeeze the air out before sealing and it will last about six months in the freezer.

All in all, I probably will try this again, but this time I will be more careful and save the liquid. Whether I use it immediately for baking, or drinks like a pina colada, or freeze it into cubes, I'll still not waste it.

Mary Cokenour

Kabobing with the Greeks

Souvlaki (plural is Souvlakia), is small pieces of meat or poultry, sometimes vegetables are included, which are grilled on a skewer. The grilled food can be eaten right off the skewer or pulled off onto a warm pita bread to make a sandwich. If you're looking more for a dinner entree, place the souvlaki over rice or orzo. The warm pita bread, broken into pieces, can act as a utensil.
This is a simple and easy meal that can be prepared for sports oriented children. Get them home after their event and while they're cleaning up, you can be getting together this healthy meal for them. Vegetarians can indulge by substituting tofu for the protein and adding a larger variety of vegetables.

The marinade for the Souvlakia is simply lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, parsley and garlic. The lemon juice helps to break down the connective tissue in the proteins; tenderness is assured after grilling or oven roasting.  For my recipe, I added capers for a little twang on the tongue.

Beef and Vegetable Souvlaki

Ingredients:

1 lb beef cubes, trimmed of fat
1 lb mini sweet peppers, cut in half and seeded
1 large onion, chopped
½ lb small button mushrooms
¼ cup lemon juice
½ cup olive oil
2 Tbsp minced garlic
½ tsp each of fine sea salt and ground black pepper
2 Tbsp minced parsley
1 tsp capers

Preparation:

In a large plastic container, combine all ingredients thoroughly; seal and refrigerate overnight.

If grilling, alternate beef cubes and vegetables on skewers. (soak wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes first to avoid burning). Place on medium-high preheated grill; cook for 6 minutes before turning skewers; cook another 6 minutes before serving.

If roasting, preheat oven to 450F. Place beef, vegetables and remaining marinade into a large roasting pan, or onto a large jelly roll pan, in a single layer. Cook for 3 minutes, turn beef; repeat; on 3rd turn of beef, also turn vegetables (this will allow for beef and vegetables to caramelize); turn beef a 4th time, cook for 3 minutes.

Makes 4 servings.

Mary Cokenour