Category Archives: Fruit

Get Your Mojo On With This Delicious Chicken Dish

A chicken dish that honors the flavors of Puerto Rico.
A chicken dish that honors the flavors of Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico exists in the in-between.

The Caribbean island is a U.S. territory whose people are U.S. citizens. But yet, they cannot vote in U.S. presidential elections.

And when calamities like so many devastating hurricanes of late hit, Puerto Rico can seem even more isolated and alone.

Illyanna Maisonet aims to bridge that void with her thoughtful book, “Diasporican” (Ten Speed Press, 2022), of which I received a review copy.

Born in Sacramento to Puerto Ricans who moved stateside, she became the first Puerto Rican food columnist for a major newspaper, the San Francisco Chronicle.

The cookbook includes more than 90 recipes, many of which she learned from her mother and grandmother, such as “Rabbit Fricassee with Chayote,” “Puerto Rican Laab,” “Pernil” (crispy-skin pork shoulder studded with garlic cloves), and “Ron del Barrilito Rum Cake.”

Through this feast, she shows how Puerto Rican cuisine shares commonalities with that of Hawaii, Guam, and the Philiippines, and take influences from Caribbean Taino, Spanish, and African cultures.

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The Time Is Ripe For Braised Lamb Shanks with Sweet-and-Sour Kumquats

Fall-off-the-bone tender lamb shanks get garnished with wine-simmered, sweet-tangy kumquats.
Fall-off-the-bone tender lamb shanks get garnished with wine-simmered, sweet-tangy kumquats.

Admittedly, I often hem and haw, even dodge, duck, and deflect, when people invariably ask me what my favorite recipe is in my cookbook, “East Bay Cooks” (Figure 1, 2019).

It’s like choosing a favorite child — or in my case, only one dessert to eat for the rest of my life.

It just can’t be done.

However, I will concede this: At this time of year especially, I will eagerly flip the pages of my cookbook until I stop longingly at “Braised Lamb Shanks with Sweet-and-Sour Kumquats.”

This comforting dish is from Chef Kevin Gin of Bridges in Danville. It’s one of those fabulous dishes in which your oven really does all the work — turning lamb shanks, cooked with an entire bottle of red wine and aromatics like thyme and rosemary, into fall-off-the-bone lusciousness.

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Did Someone Say “Chocolate Series”?

Portland's Salt & Straw teamed with San Francisco's Dandelion Chocolate for this limited-edition ice cream flavor.
Portland’s Salt & Straw teamed with San Francisco’s Dandelion Chocolate for this limited-edition ice cream flavor.

If you didn’t get your fill of chocolate on Valentine’s Day already, head to your nearest Salt & Straw to really indulge.

The artisan ice cream maker out of Portland, OR launched this month its “Chocolate Series,” five chocolate-centric flavors made in collaboration with local chocolatiers located in the five markets that it has scoop shops.

Lucky me had a chance to try samples of all five limited-edition flavors now available at all Salt & Straw shops by the scoop or hand-packed pint ($12.95). If you don’t have a shop near you, not to worry; you can have all five flavors delivered to your door at a special discounted price of $68.

The "Chocolate Series.''
The “Chocolate Series.”

The five flavors are: Fran’s Almond Gold Bar, Cloudforest Chocolate Ishpingo & Mango, Dandelion Cocoa Nibs & Frangipane; Compartes Coffee & Love Nuts; and Exquisito Guanabana Stracciatella.

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Sponsored Post: Pazazz Apple, Brown Rice, Cranberry & Almond Salad Perks Up Any Day

A hale and hearty salad with Pazazz apples that does a body and spirit good.
A hale and hearty salad with Pazazz apples that does a body and spirit good.

Nothing perks us up like a carefree walk through a verdant park, basking on a sun-warmed beach or pumping up the volume on a favorite tune.

Or best yet, simply biting into a gloriously crunchy and juicy apple.

Indeed, did you know that apples are full of antioxidants that fuel neurotransmitters in the brain that trigger the release of dopamine that boosts mood? All of that makes apples a veritable “happy” fruit.

This month, it especially pays to “don’t worry, be happy” by indulging in your love of apples, which not only can boost your mood, but also help protect against cancer.

After all, February is National Cancer Prevention Month. I’m proud to partner with the American Institute for Cancer Research and Pazazz Apples to help spread the word about how apples are high in fiber and antioxidants that can help reduce the risks of some cancers. To learn more about how nutritious apples are and to assess how your own lifestyle choices affect your risk of cancer, go to the informative health check here.

Crunchy-as-can-be Pazazz apples to enjoy now through June.
Crunchy-as-can-be Pazazz apples to enjoy now through June.

Then, head to Albertsons, Safeway, or Vons to pick up some Pazazz apples, now at peak flavor through June. These beautiful, large, red-skinned apples with yellow-green striations are full of snap, as well as sweet-tangy juice.

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Praise for Braised Winter Melon

Juicy, cucumber-like chunks of winter melon get braised gently in this easy dish.
Juicy, cucumber-like chunks of winter melon get braised gently in this easy dish.

Some ingredients like caviar and truffles are unabashedly luxe.

Others like celery decidedly relegated — rightly or wrongly — to mundane.

Winter melon, though, is that rarity that falls equally into high- and low-brow camps.

Like tomatoes, these huge green-skinned melons, which can grow as large as 40 pounds, are actually a fruit that’s most often treated as a vegetable.

As a kid, I still have memories of many a Chinese restaurant Lunar New Year banquet at this time of year, where a waiter would gingerly carry a heaving half winter melon to the Lazy Susan on our table. Its skin would be intricately carved with Chinese characters for a grand presentation and its chasm filled to the brim with bubbling soup fortified with ginko nuts, shredded dried scallops, and the melon’s flesh. It was the epitome of special occasion.

In contrast, I also fondly remember my mom regularly making a much simpler version at home, cutting the melon into chunks to simmer in canned chicken broth with slivers of ginger, and sometimes a little bit of pork or chicken. It was not only an economical way to stretch a meal, but her way of trying to ward off colds and flus, as winter melon is high in Vitamin C.

Whether prepared fancifully or frugally, winter melon is a taste of home for me.

Even though it can be prepared many ways, including in candy and poached in a dessert soup, I’ve mostly had it in savory soups. That’s why this recipe for “Braised Winter Melon” immediately caught my eye as a novel method I just had to try.

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