Doña Lupe’s Kitchen

One of the simple things that I make and my grown children go absolutely nuts over and always ask for is my tostadas de atún or tuna tosadas. It’s super simple, but so good and perfect for hot weather when you just don’t want to cook at all. It also a good recipe to make when you have little, hungry kids in the house and they want to help cook. Jasmine and Aiden like helping cook a lot so I chop everything up for them, open cans and then just let them add everything to a mixing bowl and stir. It makes them happy and they get a decent meal in the heat. The recipe also allows for a lot of creativity. It’s pretty flexible. When my kids were growing up, each one had their own spin on it. Albert always wanted me to add canned corn to it, lots of it and no mayo. Bernadette wanted pickles, cucumber and chopped celery. Phillip was the one who drowned it in so much lemon that we made him make his own and Bobby loved it with canned jalapenos and plenty of avocado.

Last Saturday, it was typical L.A. July weather, hot and nasty. We had gone over to Read Books for story time and Jasmine invited her friend Velouria over for an impromptu kiddie pool play date (for all my Twitter friends who commiserated and suggested help for the drowned Blackberry, yes that’s when I dropped it into the pool and thanks to all my Twitterfriend’s advice, it survived and is working).

After some fun time out back with Velouria’s mom Monica and the kids, Aiden and I went inside to fix lunch for everyone. I quickly decided on Tostadas de atún, because it was fast, easy and perfect for the day. I also decided I’d make my Grandma Lupe’s horchata de melon or agua de melon, a very cool and refreshing drink made of cantaloupe seeds. It was always my favorite agua fresca in the summertime and my grandkids love it just as much as I did.

While Aiden and I were working on lunch Monica and the girls came in from outside and Monica very kindly offered to take pictures since my camera is broken and I am not so patiently waiting for my new one to arrive. Thanks Monica!

Tostadas de atún

Tostada shells (store bought like we use or you can make your own)
Canned tuna (we use albacore in spring water)
Mayonnaise (optional)
Lettuce or other green leafy (on this day we used Mache)
Fresh lime or lemon juice to taste
Chopped tomato
Chopped green onions
Chopped cilantro
Finely chopped fresh jalapeno peppers (optional)
Avocado chopped for the tuna and some slices for garnish
Powdered chile limon, sometimes called pico de gallo (optional)
Canned corn, chopped celery, chopped cucumbers, pickles, canned jalapenos (all optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
Tapatio or other chile sauce to taste

Add tuna to a mixing bowl and add the chopped tomato, avocado, cilantro and green onion along with any thing else you want to toss in. Add about a quarter cup of mayonnaise if you want it creamy or just add the juice of one squeezed lemon or lime if you want it plain. I use both.

Scoop it onto a tostada shell and garnish with avocado slices. Add Tapatio sauce if desired and a squirt of fresh lime.

Horchata de melon/Cantaloupe orchata

The seeds of one cantaloupe
Sugar or honey to taste
Ice
Water

Slice a chilled cantaloupe and scoop out the seeds and put into a blender.
Add about a cup of ice and water to almost fill the blender.
Puree for about five minutes, then strain through a sieve lined with cheesecloth to get all the seeds out.
Add sugar or honey to taste and more ice if desired. Serve.

My friend Rachel Braver is very involved in putting together the very first Taste of Eagle Rock event, and being that it involves both food and community service, I was interested to find out more.  Rachel very kindly facilitated an interview with Dr. Patricia Hughes, CEO of GLAD for me, which proved very insightful. I’m happy to include it here on Dona Lupe’s Kitchen and hope that my foodie friends and readers will pitch in to help make this event a successful one that will encourage future events like it.

GR:     What is Taste of Eagle Rock and how is GLAD involved?

PH:    The Taste of Eagle Rock will be held on Saturday, August 23, 2008 from Noon-6pm.  This much anticipated event will bring together diverse restaurants and community based businesses in support of our non-profit organization known as the Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness, more commonly known as GLAD.  It will showcase local restaurants that will provide delicious samplings of selected menu items and is sure to draw residents of all ages from the local and surrounding areas for a fun filled and informative day.

GLAD in conjunction with the Eagle Rock Chamber of Commerce will proudly present this first ever event.  GLAD has been improving the lives of the deaf and hard of hearing since its creation as a volunteer organization in 1969.  The mission of GLAD is to ensure equal access of the deaf and hard of hearing community to the same opportunities afforded their hearing counterparts. The organization’s general purposes and powers are directed around the promotion of the social, recreational, cultural, educational, and vocational well being of its deaf and hard of hearing consumers.  GLAD is proud to be housed in the former Women’s Christian Temperance Union building, an Eagle Rock historical landmark and is a 501c3 Non-profit organization Tax ID Number 95-2677094.

GR:    What do you feel are the key ingredients of a rocking good food event

PH:    Great food, entertainment and FUN!

GR:    What local restaurants are participating

PH:    We have secured 13 restaurants for this first time event.

•    Big Mama’s & Papa’s Pizzeria
•    Colombos’s Italian Steakhouse
•    Colorado Donuts\
•    Dave’s Chillin’-N-Grillin’
•    Jamba Juice
•    Lemongrass
•    Marty’s
•    Senor Fish
•    Swork
•    The Capri Restaurant
•    The Oinkster
•    Tommy’s
•    Trader Joes

GR:     What can people do to contribute to both the event and GLAD to insure that this is worth the effort and time you put into it?

PH:    Participation will not only benefit a crucial social service agency serving the needs of the deaf and hard of hearing community, it will also serve as an introduction, establishment or re-establishment of relations with the community at large.  The community can support the event in the following ways:

Become an event sponsor to help underwrite production costs- visit www.gladinc.org for sponsorship opportunities

Restaurant vendors still being accepted- visit www.gladinc.org for restaurant participation

Entertainers looking to share their talents- contact Vic Parrino at Colombo’s restaurant if you would like to perform- 323-254-9138

Raffle Items are always accepted- send donated items with item description/value to GLAD, Attn Taste of Eagle Rock, 2222 Laverna Ave. Los Angeles, CA  90041

Spread the word to increase ticket sales- tickets on sale now—www.gladinc.org

GR:    Are there any particular foods that you are excited about?

PH:    ALL OF THEM!  The GLAD staff loves to eat at these Eagle Rock establishments.

GR:    How well received has this event been? Do you still have need of donations in terms of food-related items and/or money?

PH:    The Eagle Rock community and Northeast LA are excited!  We have a wonderful planning committee and the event host committee consists of elected officials Congressman Xavier Becerra, Assemblymember Anthony Portantino, Senator Jack Scott, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Supervisor Gloria Molina, and Councilmember Jose Huizar.  Additional supporters include the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council, Time Warner Cable, Sir Michaels Party Rentals, People Connectors and KRLA radio.   This is a great way for the community to come together.

YES- we are still in need of financial assistance to ensure the success of the event.  Contributions can be sent to GLAD, 2222 Laverna Ave. Los Angeles, CA  90041 or online at www.gladinc.org

GR:    For future events, do you think the idea of having famous foodies, critics and food bloggers would be invited to speak or otherwise participate?

PH:    Without a doubt- there are endless opportunities for future events.   Peter Dills, son of Elmer Dills, is currently helping with the promotion of this event.

GR: I’ve taken part in blogging events to benefit a particular cause that were very successful.  Have you considered a food blog event such as A Taste of Yellow – (a food blog event benefiting cancer research), or other type of blog-wide event would be of something that would benefit GLAD?  Food bloggers raising money in a worldwide blog event benefiting the deaf and hard of hearing community?

PH:    GLAD is open to any and all fundraising ideas especially with the current status of the State’s financial situation.  GLAD receives 80% of its funding from the Department of Social Services and is facing a 10% cut.



About Chief Executive Officer – Dr. Patricia A. Hughes
Patricia Hughes is responsible for the administration of GLAD programs and services, and working with the Board of Directors for long and short range planning for GLAD, policy and procedure development, establishment of programmatic goals and objectives, program analysis and evaluation. CEO oversees fiscal and budget of the agency, public relations including community education and deaf advocacy statewide and nationwide.

Hughes joins GLAD with a well-rounded career with work experience within government, the public and private non-profit sector and for-profit corporations. Hughes’s extensive educational background includes; Bachelor of Arts Degree in American Studies from Gallaudet University, Washington DC, Master of Public Administration Degree from Seattle University, Washington, and Doctor of Philosophy degree emphasizing on Organizational Development from the Union Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio.

About Rachel Braver:

Rachel didn’t send me a bio but I can tell you that I’ve watched her coordinate these events over the time I’ve known her and she is an amazing and completely tireless dynamo who attacks these events with joy, compassion, her exuberant energy and unbelievable sense of organization. Any event organized by Rachel is bound to be classy, tasteful, fun and successful. Her efforts are what make these events shine.

Thank you to both Dr. Hughes and Rachel for this informative interview. 

Please take the time to visit the GLAD website and learn of the tremendous service they provide for the deaf and hard of hearing community in Los Angeles.  If you live in L.A., please visit the Taste of Eagle Rock to ensure its success and help it to grow for next year.

I love cooking and baking and take just about any opportunity to try something new or make something. If I’m cooking, I’m a happy camper. So when my roommate Rachel wanted to buy Challah for Shabbat with a friend, I jumped right in and asked if I could make it.

I had this recipe floating around that belonged to my grandmother Ruth on my dad’s side of the family. Grandma Ruth was a tiny bird of a woman who ruled with the proverbial iron hand in velvet glove. My grandfather Cecil Gleason towered over her at 6’8 and she was a tiny just under five feet woman. He was Irish, she was Jewish/English (or maybe Welsh) I believe. I wasn’t as close to them as I was to my Mexican grandparents but they loved me and they were sure interesting as hell. Grandma Ruth’s father Cornelius Losey was from Holland. I’m not sure when they came over or how the Judaism got left behind but that’s all I have from my dad. If any long lost family members see this and want to fill me in, I’d be grateful. I think my Grandma Ruth gave me this recipe years ago when I was still married and came over for a vist in a little envelope with a few other recipes. I’ve never tried any of them, although I really want to try her oxtail soup recipe.

I dug around for the recipe and there it was on a faded index card and found not too much to go on, no measurements. See I get that from both grandmothers!

The recipe was written as follows: flour, honey, yeast, eggs, oil, salt and water. Braid into six strands and bake. Garnish with poppy or sesame seeds. Continue Reading »

When I first saw this challenge posted, my first thought was, “oh holy crap no, there’s no way I can make that, I’m skipping this month,” but then I shook myself off and started thinking about fillings. The fillings got me going and as I read through the recipe, it actually didn’t seem that hard. Watching the video helped immensely (thanks to our hosts for providing that link) and I found other videos on Youtube that helped as well. I was starting to get excited about this recipe.

I ran into a few small snags. One was the weather here in Los Angeles. It was so hot I was calling in it Hell A instead of L.A. I worried that my dough wouldn’t hold the butter so I kept putting it off, hoping for cooler weather. One morning I woke up and decided to head off to Silverlake for ingredients. I neglected to check the weather and only when I was there did I find it was 110 degrees! Still I was dressed for the weather and determined to get what I needed. It turned out to be quite the odyssey.

For my fillings I wanted one to have something to do with these amazing glazed, roasted figs I had found a few months ago at The Cheesestore in Silverlake. I was lucky and found the one package they had left which caused a bit of consternation. Would it be enough? I quickly decided that chopped Fuji apples would be great with the figs and Brie and would augment my small quantity of the figs. The second braid would be filled with brandied cherries and dark chocolate, a little homage to someone I care deeply about whose favorite cake is Black Forest. To find out more about my crazy day hunting ingredients in 100-degree weather, check out my L.A. Journal.

I also sweet-talked my brother into taking me on a separate day to the Indian store I love in Los Feliz. They have a huge selection of spices and I was happy to find several varieties of cardamom. The proprietress let me snap away pictures at will in the store and seemed to be amused by my desire to do so. I have to go back, I completely forgot rosewater to try my hand at macarons ala Pierre Hermes.

Finally, a cooler day arrived and I was eagerly anticipating my baking. I gathered up my ingredients and three teenagers (my niece Arielle, my nephew Jesse and their friend Debbie who are out on summer break) and set off for last minute ingredients. We put off the dough for one more day and hung out a bit until they went off to the movies. The next day my brother Jesse dropped three sleepy teenagers off at my house and left whistling. I dubbed them Daring Baker Dude and Bakerettes and put them to work. Arielle grated orange rind, Debbie handed me flour and Jesse did a last minute store run for more flour. They all got to sniff the cardamom that I had found in cheaply at an Indian store in Los Feliz and I got to give a little impromptu class on spices, dough, yeast proofing and other fun tidbits. I found I really like teaching teenagers to bake! It helps that they were into it, interested and eager to learn. (If my brother is reading this, it does not mean your kids can hang at my house all summer long). Continue Reading »

Rachel and I throw one hell of a party. She is the event organizer extraordinaire, full of ideas, creativity and excitement. I am the cook and baker who takes her party ideas and gives them the voice of taste, aroma and color from the kitchen. I keep telling her we should go into business designing parties for people.

Last Saturday we threw another one of our parties (the last one we say). This one was for the Sex and the City movie. We gathered up a group of girls, dressed up and headed for the movie then came back here for laughter, conversation and desserts. We had New York style pizza delivered as well.

We wanted to do desserts and have fun with them and have one fancy thing. Rachel wanted to use the new trifle bowl she bought so I came up with a fun dessert menu that paid a little homage to Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha as well as the fabulous city of New York that I love so much.

We chose Mini Paris Cupcakes (recipe at Epicurious.com) for Carrie’s time in Paris, Alpineberry’s fabulous Meyer lemon bars for a taste of the sweet and the sour the girls experienced on the show and in the movie, double chocolate espresso brownies for those dark Manhattan nights and a decadent peach trifle because the show was so over the top with fashion that we figured an over the top dessert was in order.

I adapted the BBC’s recipe for the Madeira cake, adding more butter and more sugar for a sweeter, richer cake, then used their custard recipe, adding a little lemon zest to it along with the vanilla. I used Montbisou Pêches, an intensely flavored liqueur, I bought at Trader Joe’s a while back to soak my finished slices of Madiera cake in and slathered them with a homemade tart pomegranate jelly instead of raspberry jam. I blanched peaches in white wine and peeled the skins, then sliced them and added them to the third layer. Homemade whipped cream, lightly flavored with Pêches topped the dessert and, as a flourish, I added shaved chocolate and hand poured dark chocolate butterflies. It was as sexy, decadent and hedonistic as Samantha Jones and everyone loved it.

Sexy Sex & the City Peach Trifle

Madeira Cake (adapted from the Traditional Trifle Recipe, BBC)
My changes were to add an ounce more butter, an ounce more sugar and the zest of one whole lemon rather than a half. I wanted something a little more intensely flavored and it turned out beautifully.



For the custard, i used the BBC’s recipe to the letter with the exception of the bit of lemon zest I added (about 1/4 of a lemon).

I brought a mixture of white wine and the Pêches to a soft boil, then quickly blanched whole peaches in it until the skins were easily removed. I let them cool, saving the white wine, mixture in the freezer. I figure it can use it later for a simple syrup or maybe even a peachy vinaigrette. Once cooled, the peaches were peeled and sliced and set aside.



I sliced the Madeira cake into chunks slathered on the pomegranate jelly, then drizzled them with the Pêches to form the first layer in the bowl. That layer was then topped with the cooled custard.



The second layer of Pêches soaked cake topped with pom jelly was also covered with the custard and then topped with the sliced peaches to completely cover the custard. Another layer of cake and the last bit of custard and peaches formed the third layer. I then covered it and put it into the fridge to chill for a few hours.


For the whipped topping, I took heavy cream and beat it till stiff, slowly adding drips of the Pêches, crossing my fingers and hoping it wouldn’t curdle the cream. I managed to get about a 1/4 cup of the liqueur into the cream, giving it a nice peachy flavor with a kick. A half cup of caster sugar poured in a bit at a time gave it sweetness.



I scooped out the cream and filled the rest of the bowl with it. Topped it with grated dark chocolate and hand poured (a little sloppily but I couldn’t find my piping bag, I think Jasmine or Aiden made it disappear) two fat chocolate butterflies. Back into the fridge it went to chill until the party. This trifle is intensely flavored, extremely rich and a little goes a long way. I’d say it serves about 20-25 people in small servings.

I’ve been a member of The Daring Bakers for three months now and have really enjoyed the challenges and the community of creatively wonderful people. Each time I visit one of their websites or blogs or our private forum to see the creations, I am amazed and in awe of the beautiful creativity that is out there. I love the challenging of myself and how I get stretched to push for perfection. They’ve been easy on me so far, the first two challenges were good ones and certainly a challenge, but this month really stretched me and I learned a lot.

This month, the challenge was to create an Opéra cake, but one that was light in color and in taste to honor the Taste of Yellow food blog event to benefit LiveSTRONG foundation started by Lance Armstrong. Barbara, a Daring Baker is the force behind the Taste of Yellow event which is held in May this year and I would like to dedicate my Opéra to her and to LiveSTRONG. I have my own personal reasons on why this challenge meant so much to me – cancer and I are old enemies and it has affected my life and that of my family and friends for far too long and in too many insidious ways.

Our lovely challenge hosts were Lis, Ivonne, Fran & Shea.

We were given a recipe and some leeway. I took one look at the recipe and knew immediately that I wanted to use lavender in some way. The problem with lavender though is that I often find it I used with far too heavy a hand and things made with it (it’s become trendy in California) often taste like cough medicine. The challenge I posted to myself was how to use it and compliment its flavor without it being overpowering. I puzzled on it for almost the whole month, shopping and tossing ideas up in the air and rejecting one after another. Finally, I decided that lemon would be a lovely accompaniment but still puzzled over the strong taste of lavender and how to mute it just enough so that I could balance out the lemon and almond flavors of the cake but make sure its presence was felt.

Another challenge was finding the ingredients. Thank goodness for the wonderful Trader Joe’s in Eagle Rock and the equally splendid Sur la Table in Pasadena. I found almond meal, white chocolate, heavy cream, butter and limoncello easily and economically at TJ’s. Trader Joe’s also had a beautiful fresh lavender plant that I bought for garnishing the cake. At Sur la Table, I found lavender extract (yay I had thought to make my own from dried lavender found in the Mexican section of the grocery store. We use it for tea.), as well as superfine confectioners sugar, silver pearl dust, paint brushes and a lovely lemon extract.

In my vision of my cake, I saw a soft green buttercream and glaze lightly flavored with lemon and the white chocolate mousse dyed lavender to match the extract I was flavoring it with. At the last moment, as I rummaged through my baking shelf, I found a little bottle of rose water and it clicked. I’d use rose water to round out and sweeten the lavender as well as giving a hint of rose. That’s when I really began to be excited about this challenge and I couldn’t wait to taste it.

Friday morning it rained and when I woke up I knew it was THE DAY. I gathered my ingredients and the recipe and read it through twice. My original plan was to prepare part of it on Friday and the rest on Saturday. I didn’t count on my crazy compulsion to finish or my excited reaction to each step. I made it all in one day. Lesson learned: Never make an Opéra cake all in one day, it’s completely mad.

I ran into one or two small glitches in my plans. The cream I had bought had soured and I only realized it when I tried to whip it and got clotty goop, which caused a five-minute cursing rant (good thing I was alone). I’d also miscalculated the amount of white chocolate needed and was under about 6 ounces. I ran out in the rain the six blocks to the store and came back armed with fresh cream and a couple of white chocolate candy bars, all I could find at the nearby store.

The almond meal sponge cake turned out perfectly and perfumed the house. I used the host’s change in butter ratio on the buttercream and got a perfectly creamy, lovely green buttercream scented and flavored with light lemon. I was stoked. I made the syrup and used the limoncello to intensify my lemon theme.

For the white chocolate mousse, I didn’t use liqueur, opting instead for the lavender extract drop by drop tasting after each drop to ensure I didn’t get cough medicine mousse, then adding the rose water to the mixture. Tasted it again and added one more drop of lavender extract. I got the result I was hoping for, a light lavender flavor that held up to the lemon but was almost a whisper. The rose water scented the mousse and made it almost ethereal. I then dyed it lavender, hoping the food coloring wouldn’t water it down. It worked. I ended up with a pretty color and the mousse held up.

I ran into problems again with the glaze, which just wouldn’t set properly. I blame the candy bars but it still looked lovely. I put the cake in the fridge at about midnight and left it till the morning. I then dusted the whole thing with silver pearl dust and garnished with fresh lavender and sliced it up. It as just what I hoped – light, airy, delicate and layered with flavor. It tasted like a garden and summery light.

Runny glaze - my one disaster. It worked out in the end.

This is the description from our hosts of L’ Opéra:

For those of you that don’t know about this cake, it’s an extremely elegant and polished French dessert that is believed to have been created around the beginning of the 1900s. Many people credit a gentleman by the name of Louis Clichy with inventing the cake and that’s why it’s sometimes referred to as Clichy Cake.

So what exactly is an Opéra Cake?

Well it’s a cake that is made up (usually) of five components: a joconde (a cake layer), a syrup (to wet the joconde), a buttercream (to fill some of the layers), a ganache or mousse (to top the final cake layer) and a glaze (to cover the final layer of cake or of ganache/mousse).

Finally, the recipe.

A Taste of Light: Opéra Cake

This recipe is based on Opéra Cake recipes in Dorie Greenspan’s Paris Sweets and Tish Boyle and Timothy Moriarty’s Chocolate Passion.

For the joconde

(Note: The joconde can be made up to 1 day in advance and kept wrapped at room temperate)

What you’ll need:

•2 121?2 x 151?2-inch (31 x 39-cm) jelly-roll pans (Note: If you do not have jelly-roll pans this size, do not fear! You can use different-sized jelly-roll pans like 10 x 15-inches.)
•a few tablespoons of melted butter (in addition to what’s called for in the ingredients’ list) and a brush (to grease the pans)
•parchment paper
•a whisk and a paddle attachment for a stand mixer or for a handheld mixer
•two mixing bowls (you can make do with one but it’s preferable to have two)

Ingredients:

6 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 tbsp. (30 grams) granulated sugar
2 cups (225 grams) ground blanched almonds (Note: If you do not want to use almond meal, you can use another nut meal like hazelnut. You can buy almond meal in bulk food stores or health food stores, or you can make it at home by grinding almonds in the food processor with a tablespoon or two of the flour that you would use in the cake. The reason you need the flour is to prevent the almonds from turning oily or pasty in the processor. You will need about 2 cups of blanched almonds to create enough almond meal for