Ube - Purple Yams

Ube (Dioscorea alata) - these were a gift from a fellow fruit grower who spent time in the Philippines. Ube is in the same family as the invasive air potato, so we have been growing them in large pots. Pots are a great way to grow yams and potatoes here in Florida. The pots help prevent pest damage and make harvesting very easy.

The key to keeping the deep purple color is boiling the yams with the skin intact. Most of the color is just below the skin.

Yams must be cooked before eating! Boil the ube for 30 minutes. Allow to cool and peel off brown skin with the edge of a knife blade - scraping the skin off.

I use a food processor to pure the ube...isn't the color beautiful? I save some of the deep purple cooking liquid to add to my recipes for extra color.

 Next, I made Ube Halaya. This is a sweet Ube jam used in many recipes. It can be added to smoothies, ice cream, cakes, and cookies.

Easy Ube Halaya Recipe

4-6 cups cooked/pureed Ube
2 cans sweetened condensed milk
1 can evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla (optional)

1. Melt Butter
2. Add sweetened condensed milk and mix well over medium heat
3. Add evaporated milk and vanilla if desired. Continue stirring.
4. Reduce heat to low and add Ube a little at a time. Continue stirring. After about 15 minutes, your arm will be very sore, but you must keep stirring for at least 40 minutes until very sticky. 

The Halaya can be stored in the refrigerator to use in recipes, or molded into a buttered dish to enjoy as is. 

Ube Cookie Recipe

1 1/2 cup unbleached flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup ube halaya (see recipe above)

1-2 T ube cooking liquid (strained)

1 cup powdered sugar (for coating)

1. Mix flour, baking powder and salt.
2. In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar, then add egg. 
3. Mix in halaya and cooking liquid if desired. Mix wet and dry ingredients together.
4. Cover and chill in refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight. 
5. I use a small melon scoop to size cookie dough balls. Roll and coat in powdered sugar.
6. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes

Sapodilla - Ice Cream Recipe

Sapodilla is a fruit that grows well in SW Florida. The trees are attractive and can produce many fruit. 

They are tolerant of poor soils and periods of draught, though providing them with irrigation during the dry season can help with increased fruit production. 

The bark contains a white sap called chicle that has been used as a base for chewing gum. 

The flavor is a bit like brown sugar and the texture a bit like a ripe pear.  Sapodilla can be eaten out of hand, but it makes an even better milkshake or ice cream. 

To use in recipes, remove skin and seeds and then puree. 

Sapodilla Ice Cream (no egg, no cook)

3/4 cup heavy cream

3 cups milk

pulp from 5 small sapodilla - about 1-1/3 cups

1 cup cane sugar

Blend all ingredients well. Process in ice cream maker. After processing, you can put in the freezer for a firmer ice cream.

Enjoy!

Sideroxylon foetidissimum is a related tree that is native to FL. The taste reminds me of canistel mixed with sapodilla with a hint of cantaloupe. It contains quite a bit of latex. 

Beeswax / Coconut Oil Polish

With each jar of honey, we give a small heart of wax from our bees. Beeswax can be used in making lip balm, candles, and much more. My favorite use is making polish.

Beeswax Polish Recipe

1 part beeswax
3 parts coconut oil

Melt beeswax in a pot or double boiler. Once melted, add oil and mix. Pour into glass jar and allow to cool. You can also melt directly in the glass jar in the microwave. We have a special pot we use for melting beeswax and our stove top has a melt setting that works perfectly. We have had one batch for two years now and it still works and smells great.

This polish is great for wooden spoons and bowls, wood furniture, and leather...and also for polishing rocks and seashells. It can also be used to soften dry skin.

Below are rocks we brought back from Ecuador. Look at the different after applying some polish! It makes them look like they did when we found them wet in the river.

Passion Fruit Ice Cream with Mora Syrup Topping

This flavor combination is wildly delicious! Passion fruit is highly aromatic, and Mora Andina (Rubus glaucus) is delicious. Sadly, Rubus glaucus has not grown well in Florida. It grows at higher elevations, closer to the equator in Ecuador, Columbia, and other tropical countries with elevation. It prefers cooler temps, but no freezes. Thankfully, the pulp can be purchased frozen at many locations. In Ecuador, it was sold by the pound in plastic bags. 

Passion Fruit Ice Cream 

2 1/2 c. milk
1 c. passion fruit pulp (without seeds)
1 c. heavy cream
1 c. sugar

In a bowl, whisk ingredients together and then chill in the freezer for 30 minutes. Place ingredients in ice cream maker or stir every 30 minutes in the freezer. Store extra ice cream in airtight container in the freezer.

Mora Syrup/Ice Cream topping

1 package frozen Mora Pulp
1 c. sugar

Heat in a sauce pan until slightly thickened. Cool and store in glass jar in the refrigerator.

Dried Star Fruit - An Excellent Snack

Generally, I prefer fresh fruit to dried fruit. However, the starfruit is an exception. Starfruit takes on a wonderful flavor and texture when dried. 

Any time you are using starfruit, you should cut off the rips and ends. 

To prepare for drying, cut starfruit into 1/4-1/2" sections.

Place the slices on the dehydrator trays and set the temperature to 135 degrees. Any thinner pieces will dry faster (about 8 hours), while thicker pieces may take up to 12 hours. Store cooled fruit in a sealed container in the refrigerator. These make a tasty snack to bring along when out and about.

We recently purchased an Excalibur dehydrator. We are very pleased with it and find it far superior to the round dehydrators we were accustomed to using. It is a good investment if you plan on drying fruits/flowers/herbs from your yard. We have been making fresh herbal teas and drying fruits ~ all using items grown in our backyard. These starfruit, were a gift from a friend's backyard tree.

Starfruit makes an excellent dried snack! 

Note: Starfruit should not be eaten by people with kidney disease

Passion Fruit Ice Cream

If you are looking for a prolific fruit plant to grow in the southern half of Florida, Passion Fruit is very rewarding. This is what we gathered over the past two days. It is important to check under the vine once or twice a day as passion fruit should not be picked, but rather fallen fruit should be gathered to ensure ripeness. The variety of passion fruit that we sell bares fruit year round. Mid- February, we gather over 25 fruits per day. 

Passion fruit can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. 

For extended storage, the pulp can be scooped out and frozen in containers or ice cube trays. 

8 medium sized fruits will yield about a cup of pulp without seeds. 

To separate the seeds from the pulp, simply blend the pulp (with seeds) for a 15 seconds. Use a mesh strainer to strain out the seeds. Use the back of a spoon to press the pulp through. You can add a small amount of water to get the last bits of pulp through the strainer. The pulp can be used to make many things - syrup, jelly, ice cream, and more.

Passion Fruit Ice Cream  - eggless!

2 1/2 c. milk
1 c. passion fruit pulp (without seeds)
1 c. heavy cream
1 c. sugar

In a bowl, whisk ingredients together and then chill in the freezer for 30 minutes. Place ingredients in ice cream maker or stir every 30 minutes in the freezer. Store extra ice cream in airtight container in the freezer.

Growing Sweet Potatoes

Growing sweet potatoes in Florida is very simple and rewarding. 

Start with one organically grown sweet potato.  Cut the sweet potato in half and place each half upright in a clay saucer filled halfway with wet soil. This method is superior to using water alone.

 Keep the soil very wet and eventually, you should begin to see leaves and roots forming. It can take several weeks for sufficient roots to form. 

Break or cut off sections that have both roots and leaves. These are then planted outdoors. 

The sweet potato "slips" can be planted in an area of the yard, or in a large pot. I grow them in pots in control their growth as they can spread quite a bit when planted in the ground. 

Adding compost or worm castings to your soil will help in producing large sweet potatoes. 

After six months, check the top of the soil by gently moving some aside with your hands. For our first harvest, we could see the potatoes peeking out of the top of the soil. We only pull out what we will eat that month. After we pull out the sweet potatoes, we brush them off with a dry towel and allow them to sit out on the counter for a few days before eating. 

We leave behind the small sweet potatoes in the pot and harvest them at least 3 months later.


Sweet Potato Casserole

Sweet Potatoes
3 c. sweet potatoes
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs (beaten)
1/2 c. milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla

Boil sweet potatoes in water until tender. Allow to cool and then remove skin easily by hand. Mash sweet potatoes. Mix all ingredients together and pour into a 9" square or round baking dish.

Topping
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. flour
1 c. pecans (optional)

Cut sugar into butter. Gradually add in flour and mix with hands. Do not over mix. Mix in the pecans. Sprinkle topping over sweet potato mixture. Cook at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Choco Bananas -Namwah Bananas

One of our favorite varieties of bananas are Namwah bananas. These plants produce very quickly. The bunches contain a great number of small bananas. You can cut off a hand at a time and allow it to ripen inside to avoid having too many ripe all at once.

However, should you have too many ripen at the same time, chocolate covered, frozen bananas are a great treat to make with the excess.

Choco Bananas

Simply peel the bananas and insert a popsicle stick or chopstick into one end - pushing it almost all the way through. In a double boiler, heat chocolate chips or melting chocolate wafers, stirring often. Dip the bananas into the chocolate and use a spoon if necessary to completely cover the banana with chocolate. You can cover with chopped peanuts or sprinkles. Place covered bananas on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Once the cookie sheet is full, place in the freezer. After 8 hours, you can place the frozen bananas into a bag.

Ecuadorian Chicken Empanada Recipe

While living in Ecuador, we loved to walk down the street and order chicken empanadas. Thankfully, we have been able to recreate the same flavors here in Florida. We start with an organically grown, free range chicken. We put it in a pressure cooker with 1 carrot, 2 celery leaf stalks, and a little salt and pepper. We then cover with drinking water, and seal. We cook it for about 30 minutes. After allowing it to cool a little, remove the chicken and begin separating the meat into a bowl. The broth is then strained and stored to be used for other recipes. 

Shred the chicken or cut using kitchen shears (our favorite kitchen tool). Next, we boil a pot of water and add in carrots which have been peeled and diced. Add 2 T of sugar and boil for about 5 minutes. Add in a cup or two of organic peas and continue cooking until tender. Strain and mix the vegetables with the chicken. 

Next, you will add 1-4 Tablespoons of cilantro/garlic seasoning - depending upon your preference. 

To make Cilantro/Garlic seasoning - In a blender, place 10 peeled cloves of garlic and one large bunch of fresh cilantro. Blend until smooth. Add 1-3T cumin and 2 tsp salt. This will store in the refrigerator for 10 days. 

Once you have mixed together the chicken, peas, carrots, and cilantro/garlic seasoning, you can freeze any extra mixture to use at a later date. This makes a wonderful freeze ahead meal.

Next, place a Tablespoon of filling into an empanada wrapper (recipe below). I purchase Goya pre made empanada wrappers that are sold in a plastic container (not bag) found in the frozen food aisle to make a quick meal. 

Gently fold over the edge, a finger tip width at a time, to seal. 

Heat oil to 350 degrees. Fry empanadas until lightly brown. Place on paper towel to absorb extra oil.

Enjoy!

These can be filled with all sorts of vegetables and meats. Queso fresco (fresh cheese) can also be used as a filling and the cooked empanada then sprinkled with sugar. 

Chicken Empanadas

1 c. cooked, shredded chicken

1/2 c. frozen peas

1 carrot, diced

1 T. sugar

1 tsp. salt (optional)

1-4 T. Alino (cilantro/garlic/cumin) seasoning

Empanada Wrapper Recipe

3 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 stick of butter cut into pieces

1/2 – 2/3 cup cold water

Preparation:

1. In a food processor, mix the flour, salt and baking powder.
2. Add butter and 1/2 cup of water. Mix and add more water if needed to form a ball.
3. Once ball has formed, place dough in a covered bowl for up to an hour. 
4. Roll the dough into a thin sheet on a non stick rolling mat. Cut into circles and roll thinner if too thick. These should be very thin- about 2-3mm.
5. Use immediately or store in the refrigerator or freezer to use later with a piece of plastic between each circle. 

Cilantro

While living in Ecuador, we gained a love for cilantro. Unlike the cilantro that is typically sold in the United States,

Ecuadorian cilantro is slow to bolt, has thinner leaves, and a different flavor. We now grow both types. The Ecuadorian variety has less of the soapy taste that some cilantro foes complain about. 

The flowers of the cilantro plant are also pretty in a small vase. 

Aliño Recipe

Aliño is a very popular seasoning in Ecuador. We now make our own, with the addition of cilantro.

First, we separate the cloves of a head of garlic

An easy way to completely remove the peels is to remove the peeling with your hands that is very easy to remove and then soak the cloves in water with 1/4 c of baking soda for 20 minutes. 

After soaking, the remaining peel will remove easily

I then remove the leaves from the cilantro. 

I puree the garlic, cilantro, 1 T of cumin, 1 T of sunflower seed oil (optional) and a dash of salt. Add water if necessary to achieve a sauce like consistency. Typically, Aliño is made without cilantro, but I like the flavor with it added. 

This will store in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks. We add this to our Seco de Pollo chicken dish , pinchos (meat on a stick), and chicken empanada filling. It gives an Ecuadorian flavor to most any dish. 

You can also add this to mayonnaise, which makes a great dipping sauce for beef, potatoes, and vegetables.