Cherry Popovers

September 1: National Cherry Popover Day

We admit that we spent a little money on a few specialized kitchen gadgets and baking pans over the years for fun cooking projects. Highlander bought a cherry pitter so he could make cherry pies with fresh fruit instead of canned filling. Islander bought a popover pan so she could bake popovers for breakfast or brunch. While both items have come in handy, they are not necessary to make cherry popovers. Use a knife to slice the seeds out of the cherries and use a muffin tin/cupcake pan to bake the popovers. The cherry popovers turn out tasty and terrific either way! Prepare some popovers with a fresh cherry filling for National Cherry Popover Day.

Recipe

(Adapted from Care2)

 Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh cherries, pitted
• ¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 ½ cup flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ cup milk
• 3 eggs
• powdered sugar

Directions

Pit the cherries and set aside. Alternatively, slice out the seeds and dry the cherries with paper towels.

Melt the butter. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt and milk. Pour in the melted butter and stir until smooth. Beat the eggs into the batter. Fold in the cherries. Let the batter rest for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Butter the wells and top of a 6-cup popover pan (or a 12-cup muffin tin/cupcake pan). Fill the wells with the batter about ¾ to the top, leaving room for it to rise and “pop over” the top of the pan. Bake for 20 minutes without opening the oven door, then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F and continue to bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and invert the popovers onto paper towels to soak up any grease. Arrange them on a plate or bowl and generously sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve hot.

Notes

• The batter yields enough for 8 cherry popovers.
• Instead of cherries, use blueberries as a popover filling. See the sweeter recipe for blueberry popovers on National Blueberry Popover Day on March 10.
• Try cherry turnovers as an alternative to cherry popovers. See the recipe on National Cherry Turnover Day on August 28.
• Search our blog for a bunch of other cherry recipes.

Khao Pad (Thai Fried Rice)

September: National Rice Month

Rice is one of the first things that the keiki (children)of Hawaii and Asia learn how to cook.

When Highlander visited Oahu to “meet the parents” of Islander, he was asked to cook rice for the first time and help prepare the family’s meal. When measuring the grains from the cup to the cooker container, he spilled the rice all over the kitchen floor. What a way to impress his soon-to-be in-laws! But he learned how easy it is to cook rice and can confidently make it now without a mess.

For our wedding, we were gifted with a large rice cooker from Islander’s co-workers. We use it to cook big batches of rice when we host a lot of people in our home. We also have a smaller rice cooker from Islander’s college days which we still use to prepare enough rice to feed just the two of us. If we have a lot left over, we simply stir-fry it for another meal.

One of the dishes we cook is khao pad with leftover jasmine rice. This Thai-style fried rice is hearty and fragrant and is our featured post for National Rice Month.

Recipe

(Adapted from About.com Thai Food)

For the stir-fry sauce

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespooon lime juice
• 2 teaspoons sugar 

For the fried rice

• 2-3 cups leftover cooked rice (we recommend jasmine rice)
• 2 tablespoons oil, divided use
• 2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or minced
• 3-4 dried red chili peppers (optional)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup shrimp, shelled and deveined
• ½ cup frozen peas
• 1 cup fried tofu
• 2-3 green onions, sliced
• cilantro sprigs and sliced cucumbers (optional garnish)

Directions

Cook the rice several days in advance (measure, rinse/wash and steam in the cooker). Or use leftover rice.

Prepared the stir-fry sauce by combining the soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, lime juice and sugar. Mix well and set aside. Separate any clumps of leftover rice by gently working 1 tablespoon of oil through the grains with your fingers. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok or large skillet. Stir fry the garlic for about a minute under medium-high heat. Mix in the red chili peppers, if using. Push the garlic and chili peppers to the side of the pan. Crack the eggs and scramble them. Push to the side of the pan.

Saute the shrimp until pink. Fold in the rice with the stir-fry sauce and mix well. Add the peas, tofu and green onions. Remove from the stovetop and serve hot. Garnish with cilantro sprigs and sliced cucumbers.

Notes

• Fried rice recipes are very versatile and other ingredients may be added. Substitute the shrimp for thinly sliced pork, Chinese sausage (lap cheung) or chicken pieces. Add frozen diced carrots with the frozen peas and tomato wedges to the stir-fry for more of a vegetable medley.
• Thanks to Lisa L. for the Thai silk skirt which we used as a background for our final food photo above. She got it for Islander when she was stationed in Thailand.
• Search our blog for more rice recipes.

Arancini (Sicilian Rice Balls)

September: National Rice Month

Rice is a staple in our household, as Islander was raised eating it almost every day in Hawaii. Any leftovers would be made into fried rice, such as Spam fried rice, sinangag and khao pad. Then our friend Lisa L., who spent time in Sicily, Italy, as a reservist in the U.S. Navy, told us about fried rice balls called arancini. She ate them as a snack while she toured the towns during base liberty there.  Islander was interested in using leftover rice to cook a different dish from another culture—and arancini was a great idea!

Arancini is derived from the Italian word arancia, meaning “orange” (arancina means “little orange”), because the fried rice balls look like the fruit. There are a variety of filllings, such as meat, peas, mushrooms, cheese and even chocolate (on the Feast Day of St. Lucy).

We made our arancini with a mozzarella cheese filling. These simple Sicilian snacks are petite, portable and perfect for posting a recipe in observance of National Rice Month!

Recipe

(Adapted from UKTV Good Food Channel)

Ingredients

• Leftover rice or pasta risotto
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Mozzarella cheese, cut into ½ inch cubes
• 1 egg, beaten
• Italian-flavored breadcrumbs (such as Progresso brand)
• Japanese breadcrumbs (panko)
• Oil for frying

Directions

Salt and pepper the leftover rice. Make a 2 ½ – 3-inch diameter ball with the rice and slightly flatten it to create a well in the middle. Place a cube of cheese and enclose with the rice.

Beat the egg and dip the rice ball in it. Coat in the Italian-flavored breadcrumbs. Then roll in panko to add crispness.

Deep fry until golden and drain on paper towels. Serve hot with a side of tomato sauce (optional).

Notes 

• We made Santa Lucia Leves on the Feast Day of St. Lucy on December 13,  but the water used to boil the rice just added flavor to this Hungarian soup. The rice itself was not included in the recipe so we made arancini out of it.
• Search our blog for other rice recipes.