Travel Post: Monterey Bay Aquarium

"The sea is as close as we can come to entering another world"

- Quote seen on entering Monterey Bay Aquarium's sardine room 

I found some pictures from a visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and thought I would share them here even though these were taken about a year ago on my point and shoot camera. The monkey (seen here with his Ammama who was visiting us then) is now a very opinionated pint sized little man, no longer the baby in these photos! 

You should definitely make a trip to the aquarium if you find these angelic beings as fascinating as I do. (I could stare at them for hours. Or days.)

...and If your bucket list includes high fiving a star fish

And especially if you have little monkeys who would like to have conversations with fish...

....or look for Nemo 

...or just make silly faces with grandmothers from behind the fish tanks :)

If you are visiting the Bay area and especially if you are planning a trip to beautiful Carmel or Big Sur, the Monterey Bay Aquarium is close and is definitely worth seeing. There are special events at the aquarium during the day including wine tasting and even celebrity chef visits so check out the website before you plan your trip. Cannery row where the aquarium is located, where there used to be sardine canning companies which are all shut down now,  is also interesting to stroll through. There are many quaint little shops and restaurants.

If you are driving down from San Jose it is only about a two hour drive and you must make a pit stop at Morgan Hill at the delicious Trail Dust  BBQ. The Gilroy outlet malls are also enroute if you want to stop for some deep discount and factory store shopping  and in July, Gilroy is the destination for all garlic lovers during their annual Gilroy Garlic Festival. 

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Thanksgiving Macaron Centerpiece: Pumpkin Spice Macarons

Hey all! How are your thanksgiving preparations going? did you plan your menus, finish the grocery shopping and shine the silver already or are you more of a last minute type (like me?) I have been seeing posts and tweets about turkey thawing, and pie-crust rolling and I can't help getting caught up in the excitement. I always miss my large family during holiday season and wish there were more of us on the West Coast. But I can't complain too much since I was blessed to see my awesome cousins recently and had my mom-in-law visiting us until last week. So this year Thanksgiving looks to be a small affair with my little family and plans to meet a couple of friends after which we three are heading off for a short trip. It didn't seem natural to not do any cooking or baking though, so here is a thanks giving center piece idea: Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Macarons! 

Making these and piling them into glass jars or stacking them on cake stands along with little pumpkins, squash, pine cones and autumn leaves seemed like a good idea to add some festive cheer to your table. They would make great hostess gifts too I'm thinking :)

I haven't made macarons in a while and recently a couple of friends were discussing them and I felt that familiar itch to bake them all over again. Looks like my macobsession is back eeeeeks! These pint sized treats are perfect to nibble on while waiting for the caramel cardamom pumpkin pie or swirly pumpkin-ginger  cheesecake to be served. Another interesting fall macaron idea is this Ginger Spice Macaron

Oh and I discovered that you don't need cream to make ganache. Ok so I forgot to buy cream. But the important thing  is- you don't need it! Make ganache with chocolate and ...milk! You can thank me now and Nigella who apparently knew too. 

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Easy Small Batch Spiced Plum Preserve ( No pectin)

Hello every one! I would like to introduce you all to my first ever bottle of jam. I am so hooked!
Update: This bottle of jam was featured on Yummly's 10 Fruity Fall Jams for National Canning Day 

Ok first of all the difference between preserve and jam apparently is that in preserve there are chunks of fruit whereas jam is more smooth with the fruit having been crushed or pureed, and jelly is even more smooth being made from the fruit juice and not the pulp. This one is full of soft spreadable plum chunks so it is a preserve, and not jam but I'm going to  use the terms interchangeably, ok?

Last month I met the talented Patty of Patty's Food at a bloggers meet and we discovered that we lived quite close to each other. She invited me to her beautiful home to cook together,  and I had a blast whipping  up some spicy tomato rice with the cherry tomatoes we bought from the farmers market on the way over,  and Patty showed me how to make this delicious Spiced Plum Jam. I had no idea it would be SO easy to make! ( and eat :O) So Patty, I have you to thank, both for a delightful afternoon, and what I am sure is going to be a lifelong addiction to jamming!

It was all gone too quickly and then I made another large batch of jam and learnt to can or bottle it so that I could take it with me in my suitcase to Ohio to gift to my family I was visiting there, and it was a huge hit with them too. Now that I am back I am buying up all the plums and peaches I can find at my favourite stall for stone fruits at our farmers market- Kashiwase Farms, to make more jam, and  bottle up the last of summer goodness for the chilly months to come ( well, not SO chilly, I do live in California after all!)

My mom makes a very sweet banana jam popular in banana abundant Kerala, with a surprisingly natural red hue,  which was a favourite of mine growing up. She used to make it to take to my college hostel- my roomies and I  would spread the runny jam on Marie biscuits as a midnight snack! I think I ate too much of it though, because now I've become a lot more  finicky about my jam and do not like it overly sweet, and prefer to let the taste of the fruit shine through. If you love jam then you MUST make yours at home too. It is so easy and it knocks the socks of supermarket jam. Best of all you can make your own flavour combinations to spread on toast ( try it in between your grilled cheese sandwich!) , crackers, spoon over dessert or serve with yogurt or cheese...

                      

The leaves on most trees are tinged red and I know overnight they will be all red or gold and soon begin to fall. So go, hurry and get jamming before all trace of summer is gone along with all the summer fruits! Isn't that a really depressing thought? That these mounds of juicy stone fruits are going to quickly disappear? But you know what, every time I think that September slipping away  is going to throw me into wallowing despair, almost unwillingly I succumb to Fall's seductions. A lone red leaf lying on the pavement, a whiff of cinnamon,  Halloween  costumes and Thanksgiving decorations in store windows (ALREADY! ) My mind wanders towards pumpkin pies and crisp apples  and then of course I am falling for Fall too :)

Just in case I do pine for  a taste of summer, all I have to do is open up one of my many bottles of spiced plum jam!

Recipe for Small Batch Plum Preserve

Recipe adapted from: Epicurious with tips from Patty of Patty's Food
Yield: Makes about 3 half pint bottles of jam, recipe can be easily doubled or tripled.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds plums or pluots ( I used a delicious variety fom Kashiwase Farms called Flavour King) 
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 4 cloves or 1 stick cinnamon or other spice of your choice
• 1/2 vanilla bean (optional) 

Directions:
Place a plate or bowl in the freezer ( preferably a steel one)
Coarsely chop the plums after pitting into large chunks ( if you are using organic plums, no need to peel them)
Stir together with the water, sugar and cloves in a large (2 quart or more) pot, saucepan or dutch oven.
Slit and scrape the inside of the vanilla bean and add it along with the bean to the saucepan.
Place on medium heat until it reaches a simmer and then reduce heat to low.
Let it simmer, stirring occasionally so that it does not get stuck to the bottom of the pan, especially towards the end when the jam starts to thicken and reduce (in about an hour)
Pick out the cloves and vanilla bean before bottling.

Notes:
To check that the jam is done, put a drop of the jam on the cold plate from the freezer.
Tilt the plate and if the drop of jam runs down then that means that the jam needs to cook some more.
Another way to check is to run a spoon through the jam in the pot and it should leave a channel or a trail ( think parting of the red sea!) for a few seconds before getting filled up again.
I don't mind my jam being a little runny, but I make sure that I don't over cook it so that the fruit still tastes bright and  the texture is not too hard or gummy.
If you jam is still too runny, you can use it as a delicious topping for yogurt,  ice cream or other desserts too! So don't worry, get jamming!

Storage:
You can store your jam in clean and dry containers in the fridge. If you want to keep it longer than a month or so and plan to store it out of the fridge, you should can it, following the guide lines here

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Onam Special

Happy Onam to all my fellow Malayalis and Malayalis at heart :) I hope you all enjoy a wonderful feast and have some extra for me :)

Onam is the harvest festival of Kerala celebrated not only by the Hindus for whom it is a religious festival, but by everyone throughout the state and all Mallus scattered worldwide,  as a sort of celebration of everything that is beautiful and beloved to Kerala! If you visit Kerala during Onam, you will see colourful carpets made from flower petals outside every home, beautifully dressed women in their white and gold saris and ornate jewelry with strings of jasmine in their hair, and boat races along the many rivers, and if you are really lucky maybe even some Kathakali performances or Puli Kali ( tiger dance with the dancers bodies painted orange and striped black to look like tigers)

I hope to enjoy a full blown Sadhya this year after ages. Sadhya to all my non-Mallu friends is a large feast of delicious vegetarian dishes ranging from spicy to tangy to sweet, served with a mound of rice, typically on a large banana leaf, which ofcourse is my favourite part of Onam!
I am really looking forward to my Onam celebration with my sister-in-law's family, especially since my cute little niece will be performing a special Onam dance! but this Onam get together is happening only in two weeks. So tomorrow, I will be making just one or two of our Onam favourites. Since it will just be the two of us and the monkey I am not attempting to make a full Sadhya (that might probably kill me!) Preparing a full Sadhya requires a lot of collaborative effort and you need a team of dedicated, chattering aunts or a team of skilled cooks to accomplish!

Here are some of my favourite dishes from the archives that may be part of the Sadhya:

Red Moong and Squash Eriserry

Beans Mezukkuperutti

Muthira Curry- Horsegram Garlic Stew

Sambhar

Parripu Curry- Lentils

And now to my favourite part... the dessert! 

Quick Pressure Cooker Carrot Pal Payasam

Ada Payasam

For more Onam special recipes visit our Kerala Cooking group- The Kerala Kitchen 

I think the apart from the Payasams, Eriserry is my favourite. What is your favourite Onam item?

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Mascarpone Ice Cream with Wine Poached Cherries

Sitting cross legged on the grass, feeling the sun on our backs, talking and laughing, watching my toddler entertain himself as puppies chased each other, and savouring scoops of ice cream that melted away too quickly, as did the afternoon itself..

Looking for tree toads! 

There is something about eating ice cream that makes a fun day, even more fun don't you think? Though I think I now enjoy making  ice cream as much, if not even more than eating it! I made this peach bourbon ice cream without an ice cream maker, and we also loved this pistachio honey, salty caramel. and this macaron ice cream sandwich.. so how could I let this summer go by without making even one? 

This time I wanted to make something to pair with all kinds of glorious summer fruits and it so does- it's lightly tangy from home made mascarpone cream, a perfect match for fresh, poached or roasted summer fruit like these deep red cherries which I poached in red wine, but I just know it will be as spectacular with caramelized grilled peaches.

(See how to pit cherries with a beer bottle!)

Best of all, it requires no ice cream maker! I kind of stumbled onto this when I whizzed together some home made ( yes, yes homemade! and it couldn't be easier- I'll tell you how soon, promise) mascarpone cheese and whipped cream and then froze the whole thing because I knew a tub of THAT would not be safe anywhere else but the freezer!

The resulting ice cream is smooth and rich and so, so lickable! It kind of took me by surprise by how good it was considering how easy it was to make. You must know that we are a household of ice cream snobs, and will allow ourselves only the luxury of Jenny's Splendid Ice Cream or my Bay Area favourite Bi-Rite. This one passed our ice cream test, so you know it is good. Real good!

Also check out this tantalizing Cherry Ginger Chutney , this gorgeous Cherry Ice Cream  and this tempting Strawberry Ice Cream that my friends Prerna, Kankana and Viji made that triggered my cherry + ice cream quest!

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How to pit cherries without a cherry pitter

Pitting a bowl of these can be messy business if you don't have a cherry pitter. Since I already have several gadgets that I hardly use and I hate buying stuff that serves only one purpose, I was thrilled to see this idea from food52. I know I might be a little late to be sharing this, but it was too good not to!

Simply place the cherry in the mouth of an empty bottle with a small neck- your typical beer bottle. 

Use a sturdy plastic straw, a pastry tip or  a plastic spout like I used (something with a sort of nozzle works better, than the chopstick that they suggest I think) to gently push the pit out, right into the bottle! Easy!

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blueberry coconut vegan scones - no butter, no eggs

Hope you are all having a good summer. Can you believe that it's almost August already? I think this is my favourite season (but then, I do say that every season! ) Picnics, trips to the beach, bbqs, road trips...summer is just the perfect time for fun and for portable, finger friendly food, that you can pack and take along, like these blueberry coconut scones. 

We made a trip up to beautiful Carmel some time ago and I baked up these blueberry scones to take with us.  I made them with coconut milk so my little dairy allergic munchkin could have them too, but you could use any kind of milk. For good measure I tossed in some shredded coconut and blueberries which bubbled and burst in the oven, leaking rivulets of purple juices.

Isn't it kind of weird that blueberries are actually a translucent green inside? When you bake them, the inside turns purply too. Baking really makes blueberries even better, turning them jammy and juicy and wonderful.

These are not exactly like the traditional butter scones. These are super simple and quick to make- everything gets mixed together in one bowl with a fork.  The batter is somewhat loose and you drop them by the tablespoons and bake. That's it. They are as delicious though, with a crisp exterior and all tender and soft inside- good on their own, fantastic with some buttery spread and preserves. 
You can skip the coconut if you are not a coconut lover and replace the coconut milk with any other milk. Play around with them- a little zest, some spice, dried fruit?  

Here is a picture from Carmel, on a drive to Big Sur. I had to walk down small trail, braving poison oak and stand on the edge of a cliff, risking my neck to take this pic for you all. It is a truly beautiful place, simply spectacular sights and if we stopped every time I wanted to enjoy the jaw-dropping view and take pictures, the drive would have taken us several days at least. 

Downtown Carmel is like walking into a fairytale. There are moss covered cottages filled with sweets, quaint tea shops, galleries and secret passages. The Monterey Bay aquarium is also close by so if you are making a trip that side, it is definitely worth visiting too.

It was quite sad to come away from a truly dreamy weekend there, but I'm glad to have the memories, pictures and these scones!  

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