I used to shy away from even attempting to make homemade jams because I thought you needed to buy special ingredients, such as pectin, to make them at home. I also thought you had to go through the whole canning process which uses special containers (which, are kind of expensive).

I gave them a try after reading David Lebovitz’s blog and realizing that not only does he not use commercial pectin, but there is no need to go through the canning process. I buy regular glass containers, with regular twist on/off caps and wash them with hot soapy water before using them. That’s it. Jams will keep for months in the refrigerator without problem.

I have already made a few different types of jam, but hadn’t tried a classic mixed berry jam.  This would go great with cream cheese and scones.  Check out our two recipes for scones, while you’re here.

Helga

Mixed Berries Jam

Yields: 5 one cup jars (8 oz jars)
Adapted from David Lebovitz

Ingredients:

1 pound strawberries
1 pound blackberries
1 pound raspberries
1 cup blueberries
1 cup water or apple juice
5 1/2 cups sugar
juice of one lemon
pinch of salt
Optional: 1 tablespoon kirsch

Procedure:

1. In a large pot, mix the berries, and the water or apple juice. Cook, covered, stirring frequently over moderate heat, until the berries are cooked through and thoroughly tender. It should take about 10 minutes.
2. Put a small plate in the freezer.
3. Add the sugar, lemon juice, and salt, and cook, uncovered, skimming off and discarding any foam that rises to the surface, until the jam is thick and passes the wrinkle test.
4. To do the wrinkle test: place a small spoonful of the jam on the frozen plate. Return it to the freezer and check it a few minutes later; if the jam wrinkles when nudged, it’s done. You can also use a candy thermometer; jam jells at approximately 220F (104C).
5. Stir in the kirsch, if using, then ladle the jam into clean jars, cover, and store in the refrigerator.

© 2013, The Foodies' Kitchen. All rights reserved.

Around here, Huevos Rancheros aren’t anything special or out of the ordinary (we call them Huevos a la Ranchera). You’ll find them at any restaurant for breakfast, or you’ll probably get them on a weekend at your parent’s house. Essentially, it’s a corn tortilla spread with beans and topped with fried eggs and  tomato sauce. I tried to give it a little twist. I used a “tostada” for the base, which is a crisp corn tortilla (we have a baked variety at the local stores, which helps make this dish healthier), and instead of refried beans, I used whole black beans and also added some avocado as a topping. I should mention that the type of tomato sauce you use for this dish is important. Don’t use any Italian type of  sauce for this. You need basic tomato sauce. Also, cilantro is important. I don’t know why, I never have cilantro when I need it!  I didn’t put any in mine, but I had some dried cilantro so I sprinkled some on top. Not the same thing, not even close.  So please, get some fresh cilantro when you plan ahead for this.

Huevos Rancheros is not something for your weekday breakfast, when we’re all on the go… try on the weekend when you have a little more time to enjoy them.

Oh, and don’t forget the coffee.  Always have coffee with your Huevos Rancheros.

Buen provecho!

Helga

Huevos Rancheros  (Foodies’ Style)

A The Foodies’ Kitchen Original Recipe
Serves: 2

Ingredients:
4 eggs
4 crisp corn tortillas (tostadas)
1 can whole black beans
1¼ cup tomato sauce (not italian style)
1 avocado, sliced
½ white onion (a small one, diced)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon dried cumin
Crumbled dried cheese
Cream
Fresh Cilantro
Salt and Pepper to taste
Tabasco Sauce (optional)

Procedure:

1. In a small pot, bring the can of beans to a simmer.  Add the cumin and lower the heat, just to keep them hot.
2. Meanwhile, heat a medium sized pan over medium-high heat.  Add the oil and let it heat up for a moment.   Add the diced onions and let them cook for about 3 minutes.
3. Lower the heat, and add the tomato sauce.  Be careful!  It will splatter.    Season with salt and pepper.   Set aside
4. Heat another pan, and give it a good coating of cooking spray.  Crack your eggs, two at a time and “fry” them sunny side up.
5. Now, assemble.   On a plate, place 2 corn tortillas, slightly overlapping over each other.   Spoon some beans on one side (drain the juice off the spoon before you put them on the tortilla) and arrange half of the sliced avocado on the other side.  Season with salt and pepper.   Add a bit of cream on top of the beans, if you’re using.
6. Place 2 eggs on top, and top with your reserved tomato sauce.
7. Sprinkle with crumbled cheese, fresh cilantro and season with a bit more salt and pepper.  A little Tabasco sauce wouldn’t be out of place here.
8. Dig in!

© 2013, The Foodies' Kitchen. All rights reserved.

Two very good friends just got married (my husband’s cousin and his girlfriend) so I made this dessert for a little “we’re happy you’re getting married” dinner party we hosted at our apartment with family and our usual suspects group. To celebrate the occasion I made roast chicken with maple glazed sweet potatoes, a green salad with rhubarb vinaigrette and I wanted to serve a flavorful, but not too rich or complicated dessert. I had no time to improvise or think about adapting the recipe, so I just used this one as it is. One of our friends is lactose intolerant, so I was happy to offer coconut whipped cream to serve with this dessert. It’s the perfect combination: mango & coconut. You can find the procedure to prepare it on our Mango Pancakes with Coconut Whipped Cream post.

For the verdict, well… I hope my guests comment on my post so you can read what they thought about it! (ehem, ehem… guys? hint, hint)

Helga

Mango Upside-Down Cake

Serves 8-10
Adapted from a recipe in the January 2002 issue of Gourmet

Ingredients for the Topping:
2 firm-ripe mangoes, peeled
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup packed light brown sugar

Ingredients for the Cake:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 whole eggs + 1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup fresh-squeezed orange juice

Preparation:

1. Slice mangoes lengthwise and remove flesh from the halves using a spoon. Cut into half-inch slivers. Be sure to extract any excess flesh from the pit, since that’ll be usable too.
2. Melt butter over med-low heat in a small saucepan. Once melted, stir in the brown sugar and simmer (stirring occasionally) until the sugar is incorporated and you’re left with a thick paste, about 2 minutes.
3. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch cake pan and spread the butter/sugar mixture. It won’t coat the entire surface, but spread as best you can. Arrange the mango slices on top in whatever pattern you think is prettiest. Set aside.

Directions for the Cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the sugar and softened butter until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the 2 whole eggs and one egg yolk one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.

4. Reduce speed to the lowest setting and add half of the flour mixture stirring until just combined. Pour in the orange juice and stir, then add the remaining half of the flour mixture. Finish stirring by hand to avoid over mixing.
5. Spoon the batter over the arranged mango slices in the cake pan – being careful not to disturb your lovely arrangement – and spread the batter evenly. Bake for 47-50 minutes or until golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean.
6. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then run a thin knife along the edges of the pan, invert onto a platter and continue cooling. Serve at room temperature with ice cream or coconut whipped cream.

© 2013, The Foodies' Kitchen. All rights reserved.

We are thrilled to be turning 3! Time time sure flies by. It’s been 3 years of fun, hits and misses… but above all, of culinary adventures that we share with our friends and family. These past few months, we have been thinking about doing something BIG for Foodies. And it began with our little makeover. The new site and logo gave us an unexpected push, and we started adding more things to our little site:

• We expanded the Desktop Calendar to a Desktop Collection (Desktop, iPad and iPhone wallpapers)
• The Foodies’ Kitchen Store (powered by Amazon)

One of the things we started thinking from the early days, but didn’t get on it right away, was to have The Foodies’ Kitchen in both english and spanish. We talked about it several times over the years, but last December when we were releasing our new look, we decided it was time! So, the work started behind the scenes, working behind the scenes: making the backbones of the site ready to take on a new duty: serving as a mirror for our content in both spanish and english. that meant coding, making things look exactly the same and properly translated. After a week or so, we started to translate the first batch of recipes. To the day, we have translated 72 recipes and articles. The work ahead of us is long: 548 recipes and articles to translate.

From today on, all of our new recipes will be in both Spanish & English. And we will be adding more to the mix as we go. Of course, we wanted to launch this with all of our recipes translated, but they are quite a few, and you won’t believe how sometimes certain ingredients are not that popular locally, so we have to look for the correct translation for them. Since not only our recipes get our love, the Desktop Collection will also be in both Spanish and English (we already updated our May calendar so you can download it in spanish too). To switch between both languages, you’ll find a big button on the sidebar to your right – click away!

And because just translating wasn’t going to be enough, we have a brand new domain for our Spanish counterpart: lasfoodies.com. We absolutely love our name in english, but it’s quite a mouthful when sharing our site with someone who doesn’t speak english. It’s short, memorable and we are crazy happy about it.

And trust us, this new year at The Foodies’ Kitchen will bring more surprises! You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest and BlogLovin’.

Kitty & Helga

© 2013, The Foodies' Kitchen. All rights reserved.

Can you believe it’s May already? We are a few days away from unveiling our surprise! Today, we feature flowers (not food) on our May 2013 Wallpaper Collection. May brings flowers and most importantly, Mother’s Day! Here in Guatemala, we celebrate Mother’s Day on May 10th, and in the US it’s on the second Sunday of the month. Either way, try to make the entire weekend a celebration for the special mom(s) in your life!

This month we got tons of Foodies Mail asking about different dishes for us to prepare (we are looking for some good solid recipes!), or about places and restaurants they could visit in Guatemala… and mostly just other Guatemalans that are far away from home that just found our local cuisine posts. We are thrilled to know that our fellow chapines are enjoying these little bits of Guatemalan flavors around the globe!

Kitty & Helga

Download Desktop Calendar (English)

Download Desktop Calendar (Español)

Download iPad Wallpaper

Download iPhone Wallpaper

© 2013, The Foodies' Kitchen. All rights reserved.

I did it!  I poached an egg!  I don’t know why, but I could never get an egg to poach.   The last time I tried (quite a while ago), Mariano saw me in the kitchen trying to fish out bits of loose egg white from a cloudy mess inside a pot, while I cursed up a storm.  He laughed and said- How hard can it be? let me try!-    6 eggs later, we still didn’t have poached eggs.    We gave up.

I did a little research, and found out there a couple of tips that are absolutely necessary for you to be able to get a poached egg. I’ll share them with you in a minute.  One of the tips is to use fresh eggs, so when I brought them home from the store a couple of weeks ago, I decided to try again.    I had seen the recipe for poached eggs lying on a bed of mashed avocado on toast that I really wanted to try.   It looked so pretty…and healthy. I was really, really, really hoping to get the poaching right this time.

Tips:

• The water needs to be simmering, but not boiling.  Don’t let it get any bubbles going. This will break apart your egg. Let it get to a slow simmer.
• Add vinegar to the water, it will help hold the egg together
• Make circles in the water to get a spiral going, carefully drop your egg in the center.  The motion of the water will also help contain the egg white.
• Use fresh eggs.   Break your egg in a small bowl, and when putting the egg into the water do it carefully by letting it drop from very close to the water level.
• After the 4 minutes are up, transfer them with a large spoon to a cold water bath.  This also helps them retain their shape.

Success! And the recipe was delicious. Mariano asked that I make it again for an easy Sunday breakfast.

Helga

Poached Eggs

Recipe adapted from Simply Recipes
Cook time: 4 minutes

Ingredients:
Fresh eggs
1 to 2 teaspoons vinegar

Procedure:

1. First bring water in a saucepan to almost boiling. If the water is already boiling, lower the heat until it is no longer boiling. At this point, you can add one or two teaspoons of vinegar to the water, if you want. The vinegar will help the egg whites to congeal more easily.
2. Working with the eggs one by one, crack an egg into a small cup, then place the cup near the surface of the hot water and gently drop the egg into the water. (this is where I did the spiral in the water thing, before dropping the egg) With a spoon, nudge the egg whites closer to their yolks. This will help the egg whites hold together
3. .Turn off the heat. Cover. Let sit for 4 minutes, until the egg whites are cooked.
4. Lift eggs out of pan with a slotted spoon.
5. Transfer to a bowl with ice water for a few seconds before serving.

Toast with Poached Eggs & Avocado

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart
Serves 3

Ingredients:

1 avocado
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
3 slices whole wheat bread, lightly toasted
3 large eggs

Procedure:

1. Halve avocado, remove pit, and scoop flesh into a medium bowl. Add lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Mash and stir with a fork until combined and mostly smooth, with some small chunks remaining.
2. Divide avocado mixture among toast slices, spreading evenly.
3. Follow the steps above to make your poached eggs.
4. Carefully remove eggs from water with a slotted spoon, allowing excess water to drain off. Place 1 egg on each  toast slice. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

© 2013, The Foodies' Kitchen. All rights reserved.

Doesn’t this look fresh?   The heat has been going up and up in Guatemala so this dish was welcomed.  It’s definitely a make ahead meal, since you need to let the fish marinate in lemon juice for a few hours before serving it, this is how the fish gets cooked.  Our Guatemalan and Latin American readers will know all about this, since this is how we make good old fashioned ceviche.

However, this is definitely a different version for it.  I served it on a bed of shredded greens, and instead of mixing it with the usual tomato and onions, it is served with a mixture of mango and avocado.  Instead of the usual salt, lemon and Worcestershire sauce, it is served with a spicy citrus vinaigrette.  You just have to try it, if you like ceviche, you will love this dish.

Note: The day I made this, I forgot to get cilantro.  Please, put some on yours.

Helga

Ceviche Salad with Spicy Citrus Vinaigrette

Adapted from a Spicy Perspective
4 servings

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb. fresh white fish fillet (Mahi Mahi, Cod, Halibut, Sea Bass)
5 limes, juiced
1 additional lime, juiced
1/2 an onion, finely sliced.
3 avocados, peeled and sliced
2 ripe mangoes, peeled and sliced
1 bunch fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 an orange, juiced
1-2 tsp. honey
salt and pepper
cayenne pepper
Optional: grated fresh ginger

Procedure:

1. Flash freeze the fish for 30 minutes until it’s slightly frozen, making it firm and easier to slice. Then slice the fillet crossways into ultra thin pieces. Lay them in an airtight container.
2. Sprinkle the fish with 1 teaspoon of salt, then squeeze 5 limes over the fish and add the onion scattered on top. Shake a little, then cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
3. Whisk the oil, juices of the remaining lime, and the orange juice together. Add 1 or 2 teaspoon of honey, and cayenne pepper if you’re using it. Taste and adjust for sweetness and heat. Then salt and pepper to taste.
4. To Serve: After 3 hours, drain the juices from the ceviche. Arrange several slices of fish, arrange some of the onions, mango, and avocado on each plate. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro leaves and drizzle with the spicy vinaigrette.  If you like ginger, it gives it a great flavor if you sprinkle a few shavings of fresh ginger using your zester.

© 2013, The Foodies' Kitchen. All rights reserved.

Today is Earth Day and millions of people around the globe are engaging in activities to help lower our carbon footprint.  In Argentina, volunteers from the Surfrider Foundation are cleaning up the local beaches and planting evergreens and Tamarisk shrubs to help prevent wind and water erosion. In Milan, Italy, thousands of people are gathering for the Earth Day Italia Festival to learn about environmental issues and spur action on local green initiatives. In Veracruz, Mexico, Tortugas Fundacion Yepez is mobilizing volunteers to protect the habitat of sea turtles by cleaning up the local beaches and organizing a reforestation campaign.  What are you doing on Earth Day?

To celebrate this day, we’re posting our list of recipes featuring vegetables and fruits:

Couscous Tomato (Pico de Gallo) and Zucchinni Salad
Jicama Salad
Avocado and Corn Salad with Cilantro Vinaigrette
Capellini with Cherry Tomatoes, Basil & Goat Cheese
Warm Butternut Squash Salad
Corn Soup
Sweet Corn & Quinoa with Honey Lemon Vinaigrette
Sun-Dried Tomato, Arugula and Fresh Cheese Mini Pitas
Roasted Eggplant Soup
Creamed Spinach
Baby Corn
Grilled Asparagus
Mushroom Ceviche
Corn Fritters
Summery Mango and Avocado Tacos
Kiwi, Strawberry and Spinach Salad
Green Beans with Lemon & Garlic
Brussel Sprouts with Vinegar Glazed Onions
Radicchio and Raisin Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
Watermelon, Manchego and Serrano Ham Salad with Pedro Ximénez Wine Reduction
Honey Balsamic Strawberry Galette
Balsamic Strawberry-Mango Jam
Spring Mascarpone & Fruit Tart
Lychee Panna Cotta
Concord Grape Muffins

 Photo via Whole Foods

© 2013, The Foodies' Kitchen. All rights reserved.

I hosted a last minute family get together a few weeks ago,  Kristen and I decided that we wanted to bake something for her grandparents and I had pound cake in mind since it’s easy to bake and it’s the perfect coffee cake.   I knew we had a pound cake recipe at Foodies’ already, but I wanted to try a different recipe so I hit google and started to browse through the results.  I found recipes from sites I know and trust such as Pioneer Woman or Joy the Baker, but when I saw Elvis Presley’s favorite pound cake recipe I knew the search was over.  How could I not want to try The King’s favorite pound cake!

Upon reading about the recipe from Saveur, I found out that one of Elvis’s favorite sweets was the pound cake made by his childhood friend Janelle McComb who shared the recipe on the 10th anniversary of his death.  She would bake two loaves for Christmas and bring them to Graceland, Elvis could eat one all by himself!

As for the cake itself, it is sweet, and dense.  There are two things that really make this cake what it is. One of them, is the added cream and the other is beating it for 5 minutes.  We’re always telling you not to over beat batters for baking, as this does affect the consistency.  This time, we want you to beat! Also, if you have two loaf pans, use them.  I used a single bundt cake pan and it almost overflowed out of my pan.

This cake was a hit with my family, and even more so when I shared the story behind the recipe, my mother in law was especially curious to try Elvis’s favorite pound cake recipe.  She is a true fan… she has all his records and her coffee mug has Elvis on it.
Enjoy it, and tell the story!

Helga

 Elvis Presley’s Favorite Pound Cake

Serves 10
Recipe from Saveur

 Ingredients

16 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pans
3 cups cake flour, sifted, plus more for pans
3 cups sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
¾ tsp. kosher salt
7 eggs
1 cup heavy cream

Procedure:

1. Heat oven to 350°. Grease and flour two 9″x 5″x 2″ loaf pans; set aside.
2. Beat butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a bowl on medium-high speed of a hand mixer until pale and fluffy, about 6 minutes.
3. Add eggs one at time, beating well after each, until smooth.
4. Add flour and cream alternately, beginning and ending with flour, beating until smooth.
5. Increase speed to high; beat batter until smooth and light, about 5 minutes.
6. Divide batter between prepared pans, and smooth tops with a rubber spatula; bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with a couple crumbs adhering to it, about 1 hour, 15 minutes.
7. Let cool 30 minutes, and then unmold onto a cooling rack; let cool completely before slicing and serving.

© 2013, The Foodies' Kitchen. All rights reserved.

I’ve been wanted to bake vanilla bean scones since I tried some last year at a Washington, DC Starbucks. Mini vanilla bean triangle  scones that were just the perfect breakfast/cookie on the go. I searched for many recipes, including the classic one we have here at TFK. I remembered that I read that Ree Drummond from Pioneer Woman had the same experience, so I decided to try out her recipe!

Her recipe was such a success that after baking the scones on a Saturday, there were 3 left by Tuesday. Since I used a small biscuit cutter, I was able to get about 25 scones from this recipe. Since we were going away on a Holiday to the gorgeous Lake Atitlán, my mom asked me to whip up another recipe to take with us. Since I was tight on time, I woke up early Wednesday morning (we were leaving just after noon) and baked both recipes. Since I was able to double test the recipe, I decided to try the food processor the second time around to save some time. The scones came delicious as well, but I have to say they came out extra flaky when I used the pasty cutter.

Ree’s original recipe suggests that you dunk the scones in the glaze. For me, just dipping the top was enough for my sweet tooth – the recipe for the glaze is reduced from its original quantities. All around, this became a family approved recipe in just a few hours!

Kitty

Vanilla Bean Scones

About 25 1-inch scones
Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Scone Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
⅔ cups Sugar
5 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
8 ounces of unsalted butter, chilled
1 egg
¾ cups of heavy cream
1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste or 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Glaze Ingredients
2 ½ cups of confectioners sugar
⅓ cup of whole milk, more if needed for thinning
½ teaspoon of vanilla bean paste or 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Dash of salt

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350º degrees.
2. If you’re using vanilla beans, stir into cream and set aside for at least 15 minutes.
3. Sift together flour, ⅔ cup sugar, baking powder, and salt.
4. Cut cold butter into pats, then use a pastry cutter or two knives to cut the butter into the flour. Keep going until mixture resembles crumbs.
5. Mix vanilla cream with egg, then combine with flour mixture; stir gently with a fork just until it comes together.
6. Turn dough onto a floured surface and roll about  ½ inch to ¾ inch thick. Cut the cookies with a biscuit cutter. Use your hands to help with the forming if necessary with the last few crumbs.
7. Transfer to a parchment or baking mat-lined cookie sheet and bake for 18 minutes, removing from the oven just before they start to turn golden.
8. Allow to cool for 15 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Vanilla Bean Glaze:

1. To make the icing, stir vanilla beans into milk; allow to sit for a while.
2. Sift the confectioners sugar along with the salt, and then add the vanilla bean milk to the sifted ingredients, adding more powdered sugar or milk if necessary to get the consistency the right thickness. Whisk until completely smooth.
3. One at a time, carefully dip the top of each cooled scone in the glaze.
4. Transfer to parchment paper or the cooling rack. Allow the glaze to set completely, about an hour. Scones will keep several days if glazed.

© 2013, The Foodies' Kitchen. All rights reserved.