New developments coming out of my kitchen this afternoon include Agua Fresca with the leftover cantaloupe and watermelon from a great weekend sale at the local supermarket-- Because our apartment is so hot right now, the cantaloupe got REAL ripe overnight, so I had to chop it up and refrigerate it, and promptly forgot about it. Blending the fruit pieces and then straining them does an amazing job of retaining the sweetness and bouquet of the fruit, while removing the gross texture of borderline overripe melon. It's totally delicious. Zips, who prefers watermelon to any other melon, and who is ambivalent about the delights cantaloupe has to offer, DOWNED the cantaloupe agua fresca in two gulps. The watermelon was excellent too. It was a wonderful GIGANTIC seeded melon. I added sugar as the recipe called for, so it ended up being a tad on the sweet side. Easily counteracted, though, with a couple ice cubes.
I got the idea for Agua Fresca earlier in the summer with a so-so not-quite-in-season watermelon. It made a horrid watermelon gazpacho, so the rest of it was an experiment. The remainder of the melon needed to be used, so I found this great site with recipes. Zips hated the first attempt at agua fresca. Probably because I cut the melon on the same board as the onion for the gazpacho-- not so tasty in juice.
Anyway, today, since I was only working with a portion of each kind of melon and only half a lime (other recipes call for as many as 2-3 limes), I fudged the measurements. Here's what I did:
Agua de Melon (Cantaloupe)
4 c. chopped cantaloupe
2 c. water
1/2 c. sugar
blend until smooth. strain. refrigerate.
Agua de Sandia (Watermelon)
4 c. chopped watermelon (remove seeds as you put it in the blender)
1 1/2 c. water
1/4 c. sugar
juice of 1/2 lime
blend. strain. refrigerate
Seriously, how can you resist? Have you no heart?Part II: Arabic Salad
FINALLY, with the fruits of our labors! One of Zips ALL TIME favorites is arabic salad. I clipped some of our flatleaf parsley, some crazy abundant spearmint (about 1/4 c. of each, chopped), a green onion (chopped), two early girl tomatoes, and a cuke (each diced), the juice of a lemon (not from our garden, alas...I'll have to wait until we live in a different climate!), a drizzle of olive oil, and some salt and pepper. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes when you've mixed everything together to let the flavors meld. Then grab a couple of spoons and dig in! (Of course, you could eat it in a bowl or plate, alongside some lovely tabouleh or couscous...but Zips can't wait that long).
Part III: Sesame Ginger Dipping Sauce
In the continuing quest to replicate a Veggie Tempura dipping sauce (that I've never tasted) from a restaurant in Richmond, Virginia (that I've never been to), I tried out this recipe that's attempting to copy a Asiatic lettuce wrap served at Chili's (that I've also never tasted). I love it when home chefs try to figure out restaurant recipes (and of course share them). One total success I've had is the KFC cole slaw that's out there. Anyways, Zips says this sauce is very very close to what she ate:
1/4 c. water
1 Tb. cornstarch (I added even more when all the ingredients were incorporated to thicken it up)
1/3 c. sugar
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/3 c. rice vinegar
1 tsp. minced ginger (I am usually prone to add more ginger, but I stuck with this measurement. I might add a little more next time)
1 tsp. sesame oil
1/4-1/2 tsp. minced garlic (I used my microplane grater for both this and the ginger. I grated about half of one clove of garlic)
Heat the water and cornstarch to dissolve it. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for about 2 minutes. (And if you're me, use those 2 minutes to dissolve more cornstarch in water and add to the sauce until you achieve the desired consistency.)
Thumbs up. I think I'm going to try tempura tonight, so I'll let you know how it goes!
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