Custard or Sugar Apple

Our client was visiting our office and we started talking about local fruits that she has tried at the hotel where she is staying. She loves the local mangoes and the mangosteens. Later in the conversation she was describing a fruit that was red and had spiky hairs. The fruit was white with a large seed. I told her that was a rambutan, similar to lychees but the sweetness is entirely different.

I asked her if the hotel also served a locally grown fruit called atis. In other countries this fruit is called sugar apple or sweetsop. Relative to the custard apple since it belongs to the same Annona family, the meat is sweet having a 50-50 ratio of sucrose and glucose. I showed her a photo of the fruit, and she said they didn't serve this in the hotel. So I brought one the following day. She was amazed and surprised with the sweetness and the number of seeds a fruit could have. She still prefers the rambutan though and couldn't get enough of it.

In my research for this entry, I found out interesting facts about this delectable fruit:

- for every 100g of edible meat, there is 88.9 - 95.7g of calories; 40mg of vitamin C and is a good source of iron.
- the meat may be eaten raw, turned into ice-cream, cider or wine
- there are medicinal properties that may alleviate rheumatic pain, dizziness and fainting spells; treat dysentery, colds and fever. However the seeds are said to be poisonous and may cause blindness despite it's healing remedy for hair lice.
- the blacken aborted fruit is part of the ingredients for "unton" ( a pillow pouch pinned to a child's dress to fight against bales or "bati")

From experience, when buying, pick the firm and harder fruit. The size of the "scales" should have defined groves. It is fine to get the pieces with dark firm spots at the top. Place the fruit in a sturdy container, the firmest on on the bottom and the least on top. When it is ripe, the fruit becomes verify delicate and is easily bruised. In storing, keep in room temperature until it is soft. To prolong it's shelf life, store the fruit in the refrigerator when it is almost ripe but not overly so.

References:

http://www.philippineherbalmedicine.org/atis.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar-apple
http://www.stuartxchange.org/Atis.html
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/sugar_apple.html

Candidate 1: Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes

As I have mentioned in my previous entry, I am in search for this year's yuletide treat. I happen to come across Rachel Rappaport's site named "Coconut and Lime". It had an interesting name that was definitely catchy. It made me think of the Carribeans, the islands of Guam or Hawaii, and the ethnic countries of Thailand and Indonesia. It even made me think of home... the Philippines. Probably it was the affinity with the word coconut that made me think of these things... That is another story.

Her site had a wide array of recipes that she herself made. They looked easy to do and from the numerous "happy" comments, I had to try one of her recipes. It might end up in my yuletide giveaways this year. So I chose Pineapple Upside-Down Cupcakes. I decided to give this a try because of the simplicity and availability of the ingredients. Not to mention, I opened a can of pineapple tidbits used as a pizza topping and had lots left over. Instead of openning another one with whole slices, I decided to use this instead. I arranged them to look like a star/flower which I thought looked timely for the season.

The verdict: True be told, it didn't raise as high as I thought it would. They tasted really good. My mom, cousin M and co-workers thought so too. I had slight difficulty in removing some that got alittle stuck. Some of the tidbits were stuck on the bottom of the muffin pan when I was removing them, but that was just 3 out of the 12. The rest came out whole and perfect. The caramel sauce made it really moist and sticky.

Maybe for a more festive and attactive presentation, I would add a cherry on the center.

With the permission of the author, I am sharing with you the recipe.

Pineapple Uside Down Cupcakes

Ingredients:

Topping:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
20 oz canned pineapple rings in 100% pineapple juice, drain and reserve juice for batter


Cake Batter:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup flour
1 egg, at room temperature
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Butter or spray (with cooking spray with flour) 10 wells in a cupcake pan. Cut a 1/2 inch chunk out of 10 pineapple slices and place the slices (not the little chunks) individually in 10 cupcake wells. They should lie flat in the pan and look like a "whole" ring again. In a small saucepan, melt and stir together butter, brown sugar and corn syrup. Cook over low heat about 5 minutes or until it thickens slightly. Stir thoroughly to combine. Pour about one teaspoon of this topping into the bottom of each pineapple ring covered cupcake well. In a medium sized mixing bowl, cream together the butter and the sugar until fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Add the baking powder, mix briefly then add the flour alternately with the pineapple juice. Pour about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of batter over each pineapple slice and bake for 20 minutes. Cool 20 minutes in pan then invert over a baking rack. You may want to place parchment paper or a towel under the rack because they may drip. Serve on a plate, pineapple side up.

Bongo Room Brunch

I was busy archiving my photos that I have taken on my recent US trip. I decided to add this as an entry because everyone enjoyed the moment.



It was our last day in Downtown Chicago when my brother, mom, I and J decided to spend it together shopping. But before we headed to the stores my brother brought us to the Bongo Room along Wabash. As you enter the restaurant, it had a perky feeling and ambiance accompanied by lively staff.

They had an array of breakfast dishes that would make your mouth water. I decided to get the Crab Lobster Eggs Benedict with a glass of grapefruit. My brother, I and J got the same dish while mom ordered the Ham and Eggs Benedict. They had fresh brewed coffee. As we wait, I peeked at the neighboring table. Seeing how each bite brought smiles and luster in their eyes made me wish that the food we ordered be there ASAP. Looking at servers bringing the food in for other customers made me hungrier.

True enough, after 10 minutes, I got my plate of eggs benedict topped with crab lobster hollandaise sauce over a crusty bread. It was accompanied by a side dish of potato and bacon. The sauce wasn't overly powering nor rich that you would loose interest with the second eggs benedict. It complimented the dish perfectly that you would want more. My brother and I surely did wanted to get my share when they ate theirs in a whiff.



While we were busy enjoying our meals, my brother saw a family order a mouth watering plate of fresh fruit with ice cream. So he calls the server and adds Strawberry Mango French Toast topped with Vanilla Ice Cream. He also added Banana Pancakes with Chocolate-Cream Sauce topped with Oreo Cookie (I am not sure if this is the correct title). One thing I loved about this place is you could request for a smaller serving. The photo below is only 1/3 of the actual regular serving.



It tasted heavenly and wonderful no less but my tummy couldn't handle the amount of food anymore. A great way to welcome the day of shopping.