Gelo di mellone: our summer watermelon pudding

Do you know what the "gelo di mellone" is? It's the name of a very traditional summer pudding that is made in Palermo and its province. Mellone in Italian is a generic word to mean melon, but this dessert is actually made only with watermelon and has a delicate and delicious fresh taste. 

We like to eat it plain, just as a pudding but we also use it as filling in the pie, to have a more important dessert! You find it in all the patisseries of the Sicilian capital in summertime and you can also see the single-portions (mini-pies) as well as the big pie.

Ingredients & preparation for 8-10 people:
1 lt fresh watermelon juice
100 gr. starch
200 gr. sugar
50 gr. chocolate chips
a glass of jasmine water
*pistaches and cookies to serve (but not essential)

Before starting to prepare the "gelo" you need a couple of jasmine flowers. Wash them and leave them in water for 24 hours. 
Now you are ready to start:
1. Cut the watermelon and put the pieces in a blunder, having removed the green hard part. Blund until it becomes all liquid.
2. To strain the juice and remove the solid little parts we usually use a kitchen tool similar to the one we use to press the tomatoes for the sauce, it's also similar to a colander, but bigger, like the one in the pic below. When you have finished to strain the juice you can measure how much of that you've got. Usually a big quarter of a watermelon should be around 1 liter.

3. In a sauce pan mix the starch and the sugar, then, when you have obtained the proper amount of juice pour it little by little, stirring constantly with a spoon or a whip. When the ingredients are all melted together place the sauce pan under a low heat. 
4. Add the jasmine water and gently keep stirring until the liquid starts to boil and become as consistent as a pudding. As soon as it is quite solid (few minutes) turn off the heat and place it in little bowls for single portions or in a large mold or tin instead.

5. Let it cool down and after at least 40-45 minutes if it is not warm anymore put the chocolate chips on top and if you like also some pistaches as the one shown in the big picture above.
6. Place in the fridge at least two hours before serving it. Then, to finish up the decoration in the best possible way just stick two wonderful cookies or other kind of biscuits to accompany the pudding and you will enjoy it so much that you are definetely going to make it again and again and again! Happy Summer :-)))

"Cassata al forno", the most tempting Sicilian baked pie with the famous sweet ricotta cream filling

Do you know what the "Cassata al forno" is? The Cassata is a lovely baked pie filled with a delicious cream made of ricotta cheese and chocolate chips. You can either prepare a big one or if you prefer some mini-pies just like the ones in the picture below on the right.
 

Before carrying on with the recipe it's important to make some preliminary remarks. The Cassata is the most traditional dessert made in Sicily together with the famous cannoli.


Thanks to a very renowned line of the movie "The Godfather"... "leave the gun, take the cannoli", almost every person in the planet has an idea of what cannoli look like.


But what about the Cassata? We have two different kinds of Cassata that we call: the classic one, the Sicilian Cassata (cassata siciliana) and the baked cassata (cassata al forno). 

While the first is famous for its cover of icing and colored candied fruits and it is made of green marzipan on the sides (just like shown in the pic on the left) the second one, which is the most ancient, has got exactly the same filling but it's simpler because it is just a baked pie. (See the main pic on top or the one below on the right).
Nowadays you can find both all year long, but remain traditional of big important festivities like Christmas and Easter.

The origins of this dessert with ricotta cream go probably back to the Arabic domination (IX- XI centuries), but the version with marzipan and candied fruits was created more recently in the middle of XIXth century from a patisserie chef named Gulì.

About the etimology of the word cassata is still uncertain. Some people think that comes from the Arabic qas'at, that was the rounded bowl or basin where the cassata was prepared, that gives it that particular shape, some others think comes from the latin caseus, that is cheese, probably in reference to the ricotta cheese that fill the pie.

To prepare about 10 mini-pies or just one big baked pie instead, you will need:

For the dough
500 gr flour - 200 gr lard - 100 gr caster sugar - 2 eggs + 2 yolks - half glass of Marsala wine - a pinch of salt

1. Let soften the lard out of the fridge, then mix it with the sugar until the result is smooth and soft.
2. On a surface put the flour and making a well put inside the mix of lard plus eggs, some of the Marsala and the pinch of salt. 3. Mix well all the ingredients until you have a soft dough. In case is a bit hard, add the other Marsala, then make a ball and place in the fridge for about an hour. 

For the ricotta cream
500 gr sheep fresh ricotta cheese - 300 gr sugar - 80 gr dark chocolate chips - 60 gr zuccata (which is a candied kind of big zucchini or cougettes) - cinnamon in powder - icing sugar.

1. Sift the ricotta cheese in a sieve and mix it with the sugar. 2. Stir until it turns very soft and creamy, then add some dark chocolate chopped in small pieces (or chocolate chips if you have) and cinnamon to parfume the cream. 3. If you like it, cut the piece of zuccata in tiny cubes and mix them to the cream. Its taste is very delicate.
4. Now prepare the pie as usual, dividing the dough in two parts, one a bit bigger for the bottom part. 5. Roll out the first half of the dough on the special cassata tin, giving a rounded shape, fill with the ricotta cream and cover with the second half of pastry, that has to be flat.
6. Careful in sealing the sides of the pastry well, so that the cream inside won't come out with the heat of the oven.
7. Bake for about 45-50 minutes at a temperature of 180° C. It obviously has to be brown.
8. When is ready and has cooled down a bit, sprinkle with icing sugar and cinnamon powder if you like. Usually here in the patisserie you find a checked or a rhombus decoration done with sugar and cinnamon.


If you have some left-over place it in the fridge, it will be still perfect for the following 2 or 3 days (especially if your ricotta cheese was really fresh!) and you will be able to enjoy it for more than just one day!

Marsala cream pudding with strawberries, a spring version of Tiramisù

Do you know how to prepare a Marsala cream pudding? I sometimes like to post recipes that are not necessary of the strict regional tradition (we obviously eat Italian dishes too!!!) but sometimes I do like to experiment introducing a Sicilian ingredient or product in a popular recipe.

This is the case of this kind of "Spring Tiramisù" as I like to call it, because has strawberries (and strawberry juice) instead of coffee and above all it has a delicious cream made of mascarpone cheese plus the unmistakable flavor of Sicilian Marsala wine.


Ingredients & preparation for 8 people:
- a classic sponge cake cut in four thin layers**
- fresh strawberries (3 small baskets)
- 3 eggs
- 10 ts of sugar
- 500 gr. mascarpone cheese
- 4-5 ts of Marsala wine (more if you like a stronger taste)
- cocoa powder


For the cream: 
1. In a large bowl mix the eggs with the sugar until they become homogeneous.

2. Add the mascarpone and the Marsala wine and mix well the ingredients together until the cream become light and fluffy, then place it in the fridge.


For the dessert:
1. Gently wash the strawberries. Remove the leaves on top and select the ones that are riper and squashier.
2. Blend these last ones with a 1/4 cup of water to make it less dense. You will use this juice with a kitchen brush to moisten the sponge.

3. Cut the rest of the strawberries into pieces, but leave aside 2 or 3 strawberries for the final decoration. 

4. As soon as you finish with the strawberries, take a bowl or a deep plate with high rims and start making the tiramisù.

5. First put a thin layer of cream mix, then the first layer of sponge cake, then moisten with some strawberry juice, using a kitchen brush (because it cannot be too much), then 2-3 spoons full of cream to cover all the sponge surface and finally the pieces of fresh strawberries. Keep doing the same thing for the second layer and the third one.


6. Cover with the last layer of sponge, moistening again with the strawberry juice and finish all the cream. It has to be all covered in cream in the end. Sprinkle abundant cocoa on top and decorate as you like with 2 or 3 strawberries. Put in the fridge for at least one hour and serve cold. 


It is not a local dessert but it definetely has a lovely Sicilian flavor. I am sure you will go crazy for it!!!


**Sponge cake is very similar to our "Pan di Spagna" the basic recipe we use for many cakes and desserts in Sicily, the only difference is that we make it with starch instead of normal flour.

Wonderful Millet Balls, Bandanas, and Other Eats

Millet ball stir fry? Why of course.  The millet balls are a recipe from Vegan Delights cookbook, which I was lucky to win through a New Year's Eve giveaway over at Mehitable Days blog. It arrived with a group of donkeys:

The millet balls where the first recipe that caught my eye--officially called Wonderful Millet Balls in the book-- and they turned out tasty, if a bit on the delicate side. They're basically 2 cups cooked millet, 1/2 cup ground almonds (I threw in some ground flax too), and 1 Tbsp flour or arrowroot powder mixed with a variety of sauteed vegetables, tamari, veggie broth and seasonings to taste and to achieve a workable consistency. 

I used finely chopped onion, shallot, garlic, celery, shitake mushrooms, broccoli, and carrots...for a total volume of about 2.5 cups of finely chopped veggies. The seasonings can be altered according to what flavor you want to give them...since I was planning a stir fry, I added some brown mustard seeds, ginger, and a little turmeric. Baked in the oven @ 400 F for about 25 minutes, they come out delicate, but sturdy up somewhat as they cool. 

Before baking:

Out of the oven:

The stir fry was green onions, celery, and shitake mushrooms in a sort of teriyaki-style sauce (1/4 cup tamari, 1/4 cup mirin, 1 tbsp turbinado sugar, a few drops of toasted sesame oil, and about 1/8 cup water---thickened with arrowroot. Because the millet balls are on the delicate side, I added them in at the very end.

Speaking of giveaways, I also won this fun pink bandana from Molly over at VeganFlower. She sent some cool stickers and some of her business cards, which are really well done. 

Thanks Molly!! I love it!

Not as wonderful as giveaway winnings or millet balls, but in other food recently... 

...seitan sausages with sun dried tomato, kalamata olives, garlic, fennel, and oregano. I wrapped them in tin foil, steamed them, then uwrapped and browned them in the oven:

....with pasta:

Actually I take back what I said just now, the following is as wonderful as giveaways and millet balls...

Vic's BBQ Seitan Steaks from The Life blog:

You can't really see the seitan with the onions and mushrooms on top, but trust me: it's good.

Also an apple cake that looked nice, but came out rubbery:

Not sure why so rubbery...it was made from 1 pound of chopped apples tossed with 2 cups unbleached flour, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1 tbsp cinnamon, 1 tsp Old Bay seasoning, and a pinch of salt, then mixed with a puree of 2 ripe bananas, 1/2 cup applesauce, 1/2 cup raw cane sugar, 1 cup oat milk and 1 tsp of vanilla, then topped with apple slices and a drizzle of maple syrup. It might be better with whole wheat flour instead.

Inspired by Shen of Shenandoah Vegan fame, who often tops desserts with a little agave syrup...

...makes it all better.

Tea time with some friends, what dessert should I prepare?

On sunday I have some friends coming home for tea. One of my dearest friend has just celebrated his 35th birthday, so I was wondering what sweet I should prepare. A chocolate cake? A pie with jam or a pudding?
Suggestions are welcome... :)

Everything's Coming up Green Mangoes

Aamer Ombol and Aam Porar Sharbat: green mango refreshers

**Post Factum:** 

This is one of a series of posts for Vegan MoFo 2010; my theme was a 'Virtual Random Road Trip', where I used random.org's random geographic location generator to select locations around the globe, I then attempted to cook a few dishes from the traditional cuisine of that place. I didn't have a lot of time between generating the locations and coming up with recipes (~ 1 day). So, lacking time to do proper research, I can't vouch for the authenticity of anything I came up with. However, they are what they are, and it was a fun theme. 

This post couldn't be less appropriate to the local weather here at the moment. Both of the recipes are cooling summer treats, while here in the Pacific Northwest, we're having our first snow of the season.

Yet, the roadtrip happened upon Bangladesh and while searching for recipe ideas, these two caught my eye. I'm not trying to imply that the weather in Bangladesh is terribly warm at the moment. From what I can gather, April tends to be the hottest month there, while January is the coolest month with temperatures averaging in the mid-70's F. According to an online weather site, it's 84F and clear in Dhaka today. But, I digress.

I was a bit befuddled over the weekend, trying to figure out what to make for this destination...I quickly came to find that there are many regions, so many dishes: some sort of familiar, others completely new to me...Where to begin? What to do? How to begin on the path of the unititiated?

After all that, I decided to try a beverage and a cold soup, both made with green (unripe) mango. I have a confession about these recipes: I believe they are common in West Bengal, but I do not know for sure whether they are also common in Bangladesh. I'm hoping that they are...as I say, befuddled.

I'll begin with the chilled soup: Aamer Ombol – Chilled Green Mango Soup

This was my favorite of the two items. A thin, cooling soup, usually eaten as part of a meal during hot summer months, it consists of green mango, dusted with turmeric and then simmered with chili, mustard seeds, and some sugar.  If you're interested, I highly recommend reading the engaging post (with full recipe).

Note: In the recipe link above, I think she leaves out the turmeric on the ingredient list, but mentions it in the directions. I just sprinkled the fruit with a light dusting of  turmeric before adding it to the pot to simmer.

Not surprisingly, it tastes like stewed fruit, pleasantly settling on the tastebuds somewhere between sweet and slightly savory. The chili in my batch (I used 1 small chili)  was not too strong; I think I would have preferred it a little hotter. The turmeric and the mustard seeds add a mellow dimension and it turns into a mild soup with sort of a deep undertone (if that makes sense). It's easy to imagine this being very suitable and welcome in hot weather. As it was, I was happy to eat it for breakfast, amidst the snow.

The next item is called Aam Panna, or Aam Porar Sharbat (in West Bengal)

I forgot to save some mint for a garnish, (darn it), but this is a beverage made with roasted unripe mangoes, mint, cumin, black salt, and green chilis. (In case you haven't guessed, aam = mango.) It's a cool beverage, meant to be the consistentcy of orange juice rather than a thicker shake-like drink. Again, I encourage you to read through the delightful post where I found the full recipe.

After you roast the mangoes, you remove the skins, collect the pulp and blend it with the mint and other spices, along with enough water to acheive the correct consistency. It was a fun process, and the drink is wonderfully minty. I have to say, the cumin was a bit strong for my tastes, and making this again, would reduce the amount by half. According to the recipe, using the kala namak, or black salt, is essential to the flavor.

Post scriptum: I used the wrong kind of salt! The salt I used is indeed black, but it was black lava salt, the Hawaiian kind. Oh well, next time I'll try it with real kala namak! Thanks to Laurie for pointing me in the right direction.

...Looking in on the colorful world of aam from the snow:

Raw Key Lime Pie

**Post Factum:** 

This is one of a series of posts for Vegan MoFo 2010; my theme was a 'Virtual Random Road Trip', where I used random.org's random geographic location generator to select locations around the globe, I then attempted to cook a few dishes from the traditional cuisine of that place. I didn't have a lot of time between generating the locations and coming up with recipes (~ 1 day). So, lacking time to do proper research, I can't vouch for the authenticity of anything I came up with. However, they are what they are, and it was a fun theme. 

No visit to Florida would be complete without a visit to the Keys, and I've been wanting to try a raw dessert for a while now, so this presented a good opportunity. This is the second dessert dish I've made in the period of a week. I can't even remember the last time I ate two desserts in the same week...I always say that I don't have much of a sweet tooth, but now I'm thinking that I've had one all along and just didn't know it...this is super yummy.

The crust is made with dates, cashews, shredded coconut and a little salt. I thought it would be too sweet, but it's so good, I could eat it on its own. Dried fruit and nuts just go together. The filling is avocado, lime juice, and agave nectar. It is smooth and cool with a nice lime flavor, but again not too sweet. It's really delicious with banana slices too. I used my 7-inch springform pan, and only made half a recipe.The full recipe is here.

Raw desserts are fun, (and clever) and so much quicker than the baked/cooked versions.

Anyway, time to move on...the next destination is:

 Algeria. YUM!

Back in a day or two with an appropriate comestible.

Roseann LaPonte

Rosanne Tobin

Coconut-Cinnamon Pudding and The Next Destination

**Post Factum:** 

This is one of a series of posts for Vegan MoFo 2010; my theme was a 'Virtual Random Road Trip', where I used random.org's random geographic location generator to select locations around the globe, I then attempted to cook a few dishes from the traditional cuisine of that place. I didn't have a lot of time between generating the locations and coming up with recipes (~ 1 day). So, lacking time to do proper research, I can't vouch for the authenticity of anything I came up with. However, they are what they are, and it was a fun theme. 

For my last post on Bolivia, I thought a dessert might be appropriate. In choosing a recipe, I was going back and forth between a couple of options billed as traditional Bolivian desserts. One of them was cocadas, which are coconut candies made with condensed milk and eggs. Not versed in vegan candy making, I balked at trying to veganize that...it might be easy, but I wasn't sure. I was also extremely tempted by a cinnamon sorbet ( helado de canela), which was vegan from the get-go.

In the end, I decided on a coconut pudding, lightly flavored with cinnamon. I'm not sure whether this is considered specifically a traditional dessert, but I found it on a Bolivian recipes site, so I assume it's a fairly popular dessert at any rate.

I made the pudding this morning before work, and let me tell you, I'm not particularly fond of sweet things in the morning, nor do I have a big sweet tooth in general, but this is sooo good. I ate some for breakfast!

You can find the full recipe at the bottom of the post.

The next item on the agenda is the next road trip destination. So, courtesy of Random.org:

Florida!

...well, off the coast of Florida. I think I mentioned before that 60-70% of the randomly generated locations end up being in the ocean...this was one of them, but it was pretty close to land, so why not choose the closest shore? I've decided to abandon the road for this stop and travel aboard a MoFo yacht for a while. We'll be sailing in a southerly direction, me thinks. This should be a nice way to spend the weekend.

Coconut-Cinnamon Pudding (4 Small or 2 Generous Servings)

I halved the original recipe (which you can find here) and veganized it by using coconut milk beverage instead of dairy milk. The original recipe calls for cloves in addition to the cinnamon, but I was out, so omitted them. I also reduced the amount of sugar by half.

I recommend using unsweetened coconut milk beverage...the drinkable kind,  not the heavy tinned kind.

2 and 1/4 cups unsweetened coconut milk beverage, like the So Delicious variety or similar

1.5 cups unsweetened shredded coconut

1/2 cup sugar or 1/3 agave syrup

4-inch piece of cinnamon bark

1/4 cup corn starch, mixed until smooth with 2 to 2.5 tablespoons water

Combine 2 cups of the coconut milk with the shredded coconut and the cinnamon in a pot and bring slowly to a boil, stirring frequently. When the mixture comes to a boil, add the sugar (or agave), reduce heat to low/med-low and allow to cook gently for another 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

After the sweetened mixture has cooked for 10 minutes, remove from heat and strain to remove the shredded coconut and the cinnamon. (Alternately, you could puree the coconut shreds into the milk with a blender.)

Return the strained milk to the pot, add in the remaining 1/4 cup coconut milk and the cornstarch/water mixture. Cook over medium-high, stirring constantly, until the mixture is quite thick and viscous. Remove from heat, and allow to cool completely. 

Once cooled, you can chill it in the fridge until serving, or serve at room temperature. Garnish with toasted coconut and powdered cinnamon. 

Post scriptum:  Depending on how much you allow it to thicken, it will get pretty solid as it cools and sets up. Mine became like a molded piece of pudding or similar, so to "break" the mold and get a creamy texture, I put it in a bowl and whisked it for a good minute or two...the mold-like mass then becomes more soft and creamy.

Back tomorrow with an appropriate comestible.

Roseann LaPonte
Rosanne Tobin

Random Road Trips + Halloween

The first day of November has arrived, and Vegan Mofo 2010 is already well underway. I can't wait to check out what everyone will be up to and discover all sorts of new and incredible blogs and bloggers.

My theme this year will be a random road trip. The idea is to use the random geo-location generator from random.org to generate the destinations. Basically, I'll go to the random location generator and click Pick Coordinates. This will provide me with the locations for the "road trip"--provided that the location is not in the middle of the ocean or on a polar ice cap. If you play around with the locator a little, you'll probably find that about 60 - 70 % of random locations end up being precisely in one of those places. So, I'll keep clicking until I get a land location and go with it.

I am hoping this will take me to many exotic and interesting places, but I can't vouch for the authenticity of anything I come up with...I won't have a lot of time to research each destination, but I'll do my best. And, I'll probably stick around at each location for a post or two.

Last year I somehow managed to post all 31 days, but I'm feeling a little dubious that will happen this year. I think the rules technically say that there are no official rules as to how often you need to post, but should aim for at least 5 days a week, or 20 posts in the month, which is what I'm aiming for.  At any rate, 20 posts in the month will be about 4 x more than my average.

So without any further ado, the first location is:


¡Bolivia! Tune in tomorrow for some comida boliviana.

In the mean time, here are some pics from Halloween.

Lots of vegan Halloween booty, including Yummy Earth Lollipops that come in flavors like Mango, Apple Tart, and Pomegranate. Lollipops have come a long way since I was a kid:



All tolled, we got about 15 groups of Halloween revelers...not bad compared to years passed.

Here's my favorite trick-or-treater:



Spooky porch...enter if you dare:



Of course, you need some friendly pumpkins to guide the way:

And some not so friendly ones:

How's this for an attitude? -->

Here's a little visitor, who snuck in on a flower and decided to stay for dinner:

He/she munched on that flower while we had chili in pumpkins...probably the spookiest photo of all:

That's it, ciao for now.