Persimmon Muffins

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I made persimmon muffins to bring to my brother's Christmas Eve goose dinner. When persimmons are in season, and if you know someone who has a tree, then you know that when they ripen, you can't eat persimmons fast enough.

The big, pointy hachiya persimmons have to be very, very ripe before you can eat them. But once they're ripe, you can spoon them and eat them like pudding. I chose to mash them and make them into a couple of dozen muffins. You can also use the squat fuyu persimmons for this, just double the amount since they're smaller. Make sure the fuyus are also very ripe before doing so.



Persimmon Muffins
adapted from my recipe for Persimmon Bread

for 2 dozen muffins, you'll need:
3 very ripe hachiya persimmons or 6 very ripe fuyu persimmons
2 cups whole wheat or regular flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened at room temperature
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup yogurt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Gently peel 3 very ripe hachiya persimmons. These are the pointy round kind. If you have the squat fuyu persimmons, you can use those too, but double up to 6 of them since they're smaller.


The persimmons can be a bit fibrous, so puree them a bit with the hand mixer.


Mix 2 cups whole wheat flour, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ground ginger, 2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 cup butter, 3 eggs, and 1 tsp vanilla.



Beat until mixed.



Gently fold 1/2 cup yogurt.



Pour into muffin tins.



Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes to half an hour.



Enjoy!

My other sweet bread recipes:
Banana Bread
Blueberry Muffins 
Cinnamon Rolls
Mango Bread
Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Cranberry/Pumpkin Butter/Walnut Filling and Maple Icing
Strawberry Banana Bread
Taro Dinner Rolls

*****
1 year ago today,
2 years ago today, Whiffie's Fried Pies (Food Cart) - Portland - Oregon.
3 years ago today, Heirloom rose.
4 years ago today, my oldest uncle's Christmas party.

King Hua Restaurant (Dim Sum) - Alhambra

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My childhood friend and I recently started a tradition of meeting up for the lunar new year. Last year was the fancy afternoon tea at Tres by Jose Andres at the SLS Hotel. Two years before that was dim sum at Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant - Rosemead. So for the Year of the Dragon we decided to sort of go back to the beginning. Rumor has it that some of the chefs at Sea Harbour jumped over to King Hua Restaurant in Alhambra. We were hoping for the upscale dim sum like at Sea Harbour but without the upscale prices.

Every time I passed by the restaurant, I always wondered what the inside was like. The interior was a lot nicer than I expected with the gold brocade-covered chairs and the pretty Chinese frog buttons down the back.





The dim sum prices ranged from $2.48 small, $3.48 medium, $4.48 large, and specials were $5.88 and $6.88. A low price point of $2.48 sounded good until I realized that nothing good was for that price. Or well, none of the savory dim sum, just mango pudding and almond pudding. So not as cheap as I'd hoped.

We started off with my usual order of chrysanthemum tea, petals only, $1 each person.



Char siu bao (Chinese barbecued pork buns), $3.48 medium. Soft, sticky bun and savory filling.



Lotus leaf-wrapped sticky rice, $4.48 large.



Siu mai (Chinese shrimp and pork dumplings), $3.48.



Har gow (Chinese shrimp dumplings), $3.48.



Deep-fried lotus root puff, $4.48 large. These looked really nice, but unfortunately the frying oil was a bit old-tasting. Blech!



The filling was crunchy and a bit savory. Would have been really good if the frying oil was fresh.



Shrimp cheorng fun (Chinese rice noodles), $3.48 medium.



Deep-fried egg tofu with scallops in abalone sauce, $4.48 large. Very soft tofu, with yummy umami-rich seafood filling and sauce.



Steamed shrimp and scallop dumplings with shark fin, $4.48 large.



Visible pieces of shark fin too.



Steamed shrimp and pea tips dumplings, $4.48. I loved the cute arrangement of the tops of the dumplings.



I love seeing pictures of all the dim sum plates on the table.



King Hua egg custard tarts, $3.48 medium. These were fine, but I had hoped for Macanese egg tarts, which are better.




The bill was $45.46 before tip for two teas, five medium, and five large dim sum. Ouch! Part of that was because we splurged on fancier dim sum such as the shark fin and scallop dumplings. But, the whole time, I kept thinking, the presentation was slightly better and the prices were slightly lower at Lunasia Chinese Cuisine (Dim Sum) - Alhambra. And it's just down the street, so if I'd rather go there. But that's just because Lunasia is my favorite dim sum at the moment.

The dim sum at King Hua was perfectly fine, but having no good savory dim sum in the small plate price range tipped me away.

Other dim sum restaurant posts:
Capital Dim Sum & BBQ - Monterey Park
CBS Seafood Restaurant (Dim Sum) - Los Angeles (Chinatown)
Dim Sum Express - Monterey Park
Elite Restaurant (Dim Sum) - Monterey Park
Lunasia Chinese Cuisine (Dim Sum) - Alhambra
NBC Seafood Restaurant (Dim Sum) - Monterey Park
Ocean Star Seafood Restaurant (Dim Sum) - Monterey Park
Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant (Dim Sum) - Rosemead
Yum Cha Cafe - San Gabriel

King Hua Restaurant
2000 W. Main St.
Alhambra, CA 91801
626-282-8833
Monday to Friday 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Saturday and Sun 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

*****
1 year ago today,
2 years ago today,
3 years ago today, I Ate What? 2008 Eating Out Roundup.
4 years ago today, Tom Tau Hu Ky (Vietnamese Shrimp Paste Wrapped in Bean Curd Skin).
5 years ago today, Pumpkin Curry and Toasted Pumpkin Seeds from the sugar pumpkins I grew in my garden.

Happy Summer - I'm Back

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California Poppies & Purple Lupine

I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer.  I'm back from months of having to take a blogging break (due to two moves, yuck, glad to be settled again).

What memories have you been creating this summer so far?  I'd love to hear.

My little family has had a lot going on, some wonderful changes, which I will be sharing about in the near future.  Here's a little peak at some of the memories we've been creating.

Enjoying the beauty by the river on a hike with my dear friend Kim.

"Little Love" & Me

Stunning Bodega Bay, CA

"Big Love" & Me

My Beautiful Little Love

Little Love enjoying the bicycle powered carousel at the Davis Farmers Market.

I'm hoping to get back in the swing of posting recipes more often again.  Please stay tuned for those.

A special thank you for all of the support I have received from you over the last few months, especially on my Facebook page.  I am so grateful for my readers, I can't thank you enough for all of your kind words.  I am approaching my 1 year anniversary of this blog, and I am just so overwhelmed by the love and support I have received from my readers and fellow bloggers.  I love this community and I look forward to sharing more with you.

Love and Light,
Emily

Filet's last day.

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After a day of watching the fog roll in and then a drizzly morning I found out that even when you have a hate/love relationship with a beef cow they are just on the farm too long not to build some bond with.  Eddie from Barstow Custom Butchering came by and dropped off pork so I was busy organizing it in the freezer and could not be down in "livestock central" as Eddie began his job.  When I finally arrived there was nothing but a hanging piece of meat and that was fine.  I took the liver up to cut, the ox tail and the heart and tongue.  He showed me the marbling that I had attained that would be determined choice due to fat content...perfect.  Our goal is grass fed with just a touch of marbling that we add with the six weeks of grain.  Of course those of you who chose grass fed only will just be fed a little longer to attain some marbling with age versus grain.  He also invited us to come out when the cutting was done after the two weeks of aging so that we can understand all the cut choices better and relay this information to our customers in aiding them in making their choices.  A bittersweet day, but at the same time I thank the Lord for providing us with the beef with the awesome protein and amino acids that feeds my muscles that I so need to complete my daily chores.  Amen!!

It's still hot!!

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The last few weeks are a blur with being sick, planting and finishing up more canning, and I can't believe it is still hot!!  I have the greenhouse going off five times a day trying to save my lettuce transplants, but it does not look good!!  The only saving grace is the cooler evenings, but when the world provides lemons, make lemonade...in this case start throwing spinach in the ground as fast as you can in order to maybe sneak in a harvest before the dead of winter and/or hope that it overwinters for an early harvest in February/March, and also start more transplants inside in case you lose what is in the ground, and plant, plant, plant seed!!  The meat chickens are at their "doubling" time...every time I go out there they seem to have doubled in size and the turkeys are really starting to take off too!!   The new laying hens are in full production...though here at home we are eating a lot of "baby size" eggs :).   The cows as you can see are enjoying the cleaning of the fields...squash plants are delicious...just ask them!  The piglets should be here in a few weeks for the beginning of the next pork batch, and thank you everyone for the comments on how delicious it is...makes my day!!  I spent quite a lot of time dealing with the tree order today and decided to ask if anyone wanted to hitch onto the order.  These trees you will not find in the store and they are being ordered on rootstock specific to this region.  Heirloom apples, peaches, pluots, plums, cherries, figs, etc.  Just email me at moonstruckfarms@verizon.net and I will provide a list.  I need to know by November 10th and the money is due then too.  They will be delivered in January/February 2013 as bareroot.   By the way...did you know the deep beige color on the butternut squash develops after it cures in the field...thought I would let you know...I had customers asking why mine was not like that; I was picking fresh from the vine...the rest are curing in the fields now :).  Have a great week everyone!!
Moonstruck signing off!!

Persimmon Mini Bundt Cakes

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For my brother's Christmas Eve goose dinner, I wanted to make something a little more festive than just Persimmon Muffins. So I baked the other half of the batter into mini bundt cakes. Dusted with powdered sugar for a wintery effect.

Why yes, this is the exact same recipe as the persimmon muffins. :P Search engine optimization, yo! Plus, quickie post!





Persimmon Mini Bundt Cakes
adapted from my recipe for Persimmon Bread

for 2 dozen mini bundt cakes, you'll need:
3 very ripe hachiya persimmons or 6 very ripe fuyu persimmons
2 cups whole wheat or regular flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened at room temperature
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup yogurt
Powdered sugar for sprinkling on top.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Gently peel 3 very ripe hachiya persimmons. These are the pointy round kind. If you have the squat fuyu persimmons, you can use those too, but double up to 6 of them since they're smaller.


The persimmons can be a bit fibrous, so puree them a bit with the hand mixer.


Mix 2 cups whole wheat flour, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ground ginger, 2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 cup butter, 3 eggs, and 1 tsp vanilla.



Beat until mixed.



Gently fold 1/2 cup yogurt.



Pour into a mini bundt pan or muffin tin.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes to half an hour.



Let the mini bundt cakes cool a bit before overturning them.



Dust with powdered sugar on top.



So pretty!



Enjoy!


My other sweet bread recipes:
Banana Bread
Blueberry Muffins 
Cinnamon Rolls
Mango Bread
Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Cranberry/Pumpkin Butter/Walnut Filling and Maple Icing
Strawberry Banana Bread
Taro Dinner Rolls

*****
1 year ago today,
2 years ago today, Potato Champion (Food Cart) - Portland - Oregon.
3 years ago today, Nearly Wild rose.
4 years ago today, Sukju Namul (Korean Seasoned Mung Bean Sprouts).
5 years ago today, Sweet Corn Tomalito.

French Filet Mignon with Red Wine Shallot Sauce

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Doesn't the filet mignon look marvelous? It was the most tender steak I've ever had in my life. Seriously!

I jumped at the chance when one of my advertisers, Foodie Blogroll, offered samples of filet mignon and sea bass from Certified Steak and Seafood Company. U.S.D.A. Certified Prime Angus Beef. The filet mignon is certified in the top 1% of beef, center cut, slow aged, hand cut, and hand matched. It's touted to cut like butter, and even just handling it before cooking, the filet mignon was the softest beef I've ever touched. My only other experience with online frozen beef was with Omaha Steaks and it wasn't even anywhere close to the same quality as Certified Steak and Seafood Company's filet mignon. Nowhere close.

I was trying to remember if I've ever ordered filet mignon, and all I could remember was the filet Chateaubriand at Club 33, the secret restaurant inside Disneyland, which was nowhere near as tender. But the red wine sauce did remind me of a lovely meal of steak with red wine and shallot sauce I enjoyed at Pierre Victoire Restaurant in London. So I decided that was the perfect preparation for this filet mignon.



French Filet Mignon with Red Wine Shallot Sauce
Inspired by the steak with red wine shallot sauce I ate at Pierre Victoire Restaurant in London.

For 1 serving, you'll need:
French fries, McDonald's, frozen, whatever you like
1 8-oz filet mignon
1/2 tsp Montreal steak seasoning or other coarse salt
1/2 cup shallots, finely diced
1 tblsp butter
1/2 cup red wine
Sprinkle of thyme
1 tsp flour

Optional: Add beef broth for a more savory sauce.

The filet mignon and sea bass steaks came frozen in a box with dry ice. I was only cooking one filet mignon for myself this night.



The raw filet mignon photo from Certified Steak and Seafood Company actually didn't look that different from my own version.



Sprinkle about 1/2 tsp of Montreal steak seasoning all over the filet mignon.



Ideally, I'd give it about 15 minutes or so to soak in the salt, but I was hungry. In a black steel or cast iron pan on medium-high heat, drizzle a bit of olive oil and let the filet mignon pan sear.



Meanwhile, you can heat up your French fries. I stopped off at McDonald's and got a large order of fries to go earlier in the day and just re-heated them in my toaster oven. Whatever method works best for you.



Meanwhile, finely dice the shallots. I bought extra large shallots so I only had to dice two, but if you have normal-sized ones, you'll want about 1/2 cup's worth. Set aside.

In about 3 minutes, the filet mignon looked about halfway cooked so it was time to flip it.



Just one more minute and it was done. Remove from the pan and let the steak rest to redistribute the juices.



Turn the pan down to medium and add the diced shallots, scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon to get the nicely browned bits.



When the shallots have softened, add a tablespoon of butter.



And about 1/2 cup of red wine of your choice. Add some beef broth if you want it more savory and don't want too intense of a red wine flavor.



Then add in a quick sprinkle of thyme.



And about 1 tsp of flour to thicken the sauce.



After about 10 minutes, the filet mignon should have rested enough that you can plate it with the French fries.



The sauce should be done as well. You don't want it thick like gravy, just a bit like below, where if you spoon it aside, it won't immediately trickle in like water.



Pour the red wine shallot sauce over the steak. I like to dip my fries into the sauce as well.



And another shot of the inside of the filet mignon. It was sooo incredibly tender.



Enjoy!

Disclaimer:
This sponsorship is brought to you by Certified Steak & Seafood Company who we have partnered with for this promotion.




If you'd like to try it, the folks at Certified Steak and Seafood Company are offering $25 off your entire order if you use coupon code FBR125D. For more information, you can also visit their Facebook page, Twitter and/or Pinterest.



*****
1 year ago today,
2 years ago today,
3 years ago today, How to Devein Shrimp with a Toothpick.
4 years ago today, Donna Darlin' rose.
5 years ago today, Aji Verde (Peruvian Green Chili Sauce).
6 years ago today, Food Choices, Fu Lin Chinese Restaurant, and Burrito-Sized Egg Rolls in Salzburg.