Happy Thanksgiving, Liliko'i Butter Mochi!!

Some of you might wonder, why is she posting about Mochi on Thanksgiving?  Well, no special reason, it's just what I decided to make for dessert on this special day.  Luckily my daughter brought cheesecake, so there was  a choice. If you've (likely) never tried it before, mochi is more confection than cake.  Similar consistency to Applets and Cotlets, or nougat, and popular here in Hawaii.  I was going through my box of clipped recipes, which hardly ever gets looked at nowadays, since the computer recipe file I keep, and ended up online, with this one from the Executive chef at the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani, Ralf Bauer, originally clipped from our local airline magazine.

The Bee's Kiss and Madeira Cake with Passion Fruit Glaze

This seems to be the season for slightly shady or shall we say perversely themed novels on my shelf.  The Frida thing done, I picked up The Bee's Kiss, by Barbara Cleverly, another in her Joe Sandilands mystery series.  I've enjoyed them so far, and am reading the books in order, this being her 5th in the series. The year is 1926 and Joe is back in London after a number of cases had kept the Commander in India.

A prominent, aristocratic feminist leader, Dame Beatrice, with high up connections, who turns out not not to be entirely what she seems, is bludgeoned to death in her suite at the Ritz.  Often mysteries will have a really unsympathetic and despicable character murdered at the start, and I am privately cheering.  This is definitely one of those.  Still the crime must be solved, the backstory discovered, and that is where we readers get involved and interested in the motives and whodunit.   Of course, this one does get resolved, not quite as we would expect, with all the internal betrayal, and upper level corruption going on, but still with unexpected twists and turns, solved in the end.

Making Passion-fruit Mead

Is fermenting cooking?  At any rate, it's food related.  Wine or mead is something I make with excess fruit.  And right now it is passion-fruit, known in Hawaii as lillikoi.  Lots of it around here, some of which I've given away, some made into sorbet, or syrup.  Jam is good.  But, I have to say the easiest way to deal with large quantities of fruit is to dump it all into a nylon straining bag and ferment.  Yea, no worries about the seeds.  The bag will be pulled out at the end of the week, with only seeds left in it.

Spiced Shortbread with Passion fruit Ginger Glaze

My Nephew, Kalani, back in Hawaii after several years away on the Mainland, informed me that he had made this shortbread for his co-workers there, to great acclaim.  I then asked, "...and where did you get the recipe?"  To which he said (as I knew he'd better), "From mom."  "And, where do you think she got it???" I asked.  Yes,  the end of the recipe trail, as you may have guessed, moi.  At least as far as our family goes. So, an old favorite here in an upbeat incarnation, with the addition of lillikoi (as we call passion fruit) syrup in the glaze.  When they are in season I make both jam and syrup, so we have it on hand all year.

It's  a wonderful buttery, crunchy shortbread, abetted nicely by spices and the fresh ginger, citric tangy glaze.  But even better, if that's possible, it bangs together so quickly.  Which is a good thing in my book, otherwise I don't usually have either time or energy to make dessert, unless for a special occasion.

Passion Fruit (Lillikoi as we say in Hawaii) Jam Recipe

You will not need to add pectin.  I don't usually mess with the stuff myself, and just add fruit with high pectin content if what I'm using (say pineapple) is low.  I like the old fashioned boil it down method.  Since lillikoi are dropping off the vines around our place and this jam is an old favorite, I thought I'd share the secret recipe.

Passion Fruit have a thin tough outer yellow (unless you have the purple variety) shell (which resists fruit flies nicely) and a thicker, fibrous inner white shell with lots of pectin, and then the fruit and seed mixture inside.

You will be using both the juice and inner white shell.  First wash the fruits, then cut each one in half, scoop out the juicy pulpy seedy part and reserve in a jar.

Then take half the shells (I use the nicer looking ones - without fruit fly stings) and set in a large bowl.  Cover with water, top with a plate to keep submerged, and let sit on your counter overnight or 24 hours.  The next day, dump shells and water into a large pot and bring to a boil, turn down heat and simmer for about 45 minutes.  Pour into a colander (saving enough of the water for later) and let the shells cool down enough to handle.

Now you take a spoon and scoop out the softened, thick inner pulp, discarding the brittle outer shell.  You can either chop the pulp finely or put into a food processor.  I like the jam with a bit of texture, rather than blending smooth.

Passion Fruit Jam

Ingredients: (adjust to the amount you have)
36 passion fruits (or 6 cups juice)
half the shells reserved and cooked, pulp chopped finely (see above)
1 1/2 cups water
3-4 cups sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice

When you are ready, juice the fruit to separate out the seeds.  I use an Acme juicer, which is centrifugal so the seeds don't get crushed into the juice.  Add your chopped pulp to the juice, reserved water, lemon juice and sugar in a medium saucepan.

Bring to a brisk boil, stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved.  You will need to stir frequently to keep the jam from sticking to the bottom and burning, as I have been known to do. Then I tell myself that the hint of caramelized fruit is nice. Ha.  Boil rapidly until set.  Ladle into clean, sterile jars and label if you like.

Now that is a vibrantly flavored, delicious jam for your toast, scones or inside of cookies or tarts.  Going over to Hearth 'n Soul Blog Hop for this week, hosted by Swathi, check it out.

Roasted Sweet Potato Scones with Passion Fruit

I realize that it hasn't been all that long since I posted about scones.  But, you'll have to forgive me, we're doing trials here to find the all time best recipe.  In the not too distant past, I didn't bother making them at all, mostly because the ones I occasionally bought weren't ever something that knocked off my socks.  Just so you know, my socks are now off.  These have more than a hint of orange rind and fresh lillikoi (passion fruit - which are dropping off our vines), a touch of garam masala and the intensity of sweet potato when it is roasted, not to mention butter.  Kind of crunchy on the outside, tender inside.  Absolutely awesome.  You really should make these.
 

We had oven roasted sweet potatoes last night as a side, which left me some to play with.  And after buying the new cookbook put out by our Natural Foods Market (favorite Deli recipes), I wanted to give their scones recipe a try.  Though, these don't really retain much of the original.  Only the proportions of butter, liquid and amount of sugar (which could probably be reduced if you were so inclined).  Since I used kefir, which is a sour milk and some passion fruit juice (acid), the baking powder needed to be adjusted as well, and baking soda added.

We found that they were sweet enough, so you don't need to slather them with honey, or even butter.  They're lovely as is.  Of course, to be traditional, you could top your scone with a big dollop of clotted cream, or your kefir cream cheese.  But, totally icing on the cake.

Roasted Sweet Potato Scones with Passion Fruit

Adapted from the Island Naturals Cookbook

2 cups flour (I used 1/2 white unbleached and !/2 whole wheat spelt)
3/4 cup raw sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup kefir or buttermilk
1/4 cup passion fruit or orange juice
1/2 cup mashed roasted sweet potato
1 teaspoon orange zest

Pre-heat oven to 350F.
Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, garam masala and salt in a large mixing bowl.  Cut in the butter until a crumbly dough forms, resembling corn grits.  Grate in the orange zest.

In blender or food processor blend sweet potato, kefir, and passion fruit juice.  Slowly add into the dry ingredients, stirring until moistened and clumping together.  Turn out onto floured counter and pat into an 8 inch circle.  Cut into 8 wedges and place onto a buttered baking sheet, an inch apart.  Bake at 350 F for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Don't over bake.  I think you're going to love these babies.  Sending them off to Let's Do Brunch, hosted by Chaya.