Recipes, Cooking & Art Direction: Mariana Nuño Ruiz McEnroe | Photography: Ian McEnroe |
Published: June 22, 2016
Summer is here, and that Strawberry Moon was driving everybody crazy!… Like this crazy refreshing Coconut Lime Mint Paletas will drive you crazy too. Creamy, light and tangy, not overly sweet, the addition of mint make them light and fresh.
They are a breeze to make and sooooo E A S Y!…
As Cliché as it sounds: “put the lime and the Coconut…Yes, you call me in the morning, you call me in the morning
I’ll tell you what to do if you call me in the morning… Doctor!
Woo-oo-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Woo-oo-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Woo-oo-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Recipes, Cooking & Art Direction: Mariana Nuño Ruiz McEnroe | Photography: Ian McEnroe |
Published: December 15, 2015
Chocolate, who can’t resist chocolate specially at this time of the year?…Dreaming of luscious chocolate desserts, this Chocolate Avocado Coconut Mousse recipe it’s the ticket for a simple crowd pleaser dessert. You would not believe how free of everything this mousse is. It should be called “Chocolate Freedom”. The truth is, If you want to make a dessert suited for all guests, taste good for all palates, and diverse diets you are at the right place.
For me, Chocolate Mousse is the perfect ending dessert for a dinner party. You can prepare it ahead, its no fuss, looks gorgeous, and suits all crowds. This recipe, especially suits guests with diverse diets: dairy-free, gluten-free, sugar-free, nut-free, grain-free, egg-free, all free diet situations. I feel people with food sensitivities are often neglected, or end up with fruit as a dessert, why not go the extra mile? On the other hand for the cooks at home its always a little stressful to think or trying to cook or bake with un-familiar ingredients, well I got you covered, this recipe is also easy on the Cook. Simple ingredients, a few simple steps and your guests will appreciate you going the extra mile. Its is always nice to make the effort to make a happy ending dessert for everyone especially during the holiday season.
Read the recipe very carefully, and please, do not make faces; yes I can see you from here frowning about avocado and chocolate. I was one of those people as well. Now I’m converted. To be honest, once you try this combination I know you’ll be converted too. Let’s talk a little about it.
Recipes, Cooking & Art Direction: Mariana Nuño Ruiz McEnroe | Photography: Ian McEnroe |
Published: November 24, 2015
It seems so obvious but these two are a natural match. During the holidays, dates are added to breads and other confections for sweetness but the pecan pie is really the best use of my date. The prospect of complementing a roasted salty pecan with this fruit got me excited from the start. In a pecan pie I want richness, balance of flavor, creamy crunchy texture, and a buttery crust. The trick is doing it all without hitting a oversugared level of super sweetness. The dates in this recipe get us there and in my opinion with a little more character than the traditional pecan pie recipe, of which I am an enthusiast. I add flake salt to the finished top layer after glazing with maple syrup to create the final note, the one that gives balance and complements the natural caramel sweetness of the date filling.
Recipes, Cooking & Art Direction: Mariana Nuño Ruiz McEnroe | Photography: Ian McEnroe |
Published: November 12, 2015
Its coming… It’s here… the most wonderful time of the year, you can drop the ball, and roll around with it or you can just keep it simple and delicious.
No guilt trips, no counting calories, just decide what makes you feel good before, during and after you eat it. I think that will be my mantra for the season and the year to come. I do not know if I will survive but I know that at least by asking this question it will make me chose better options with happy endings and no regrets like this Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pie with Pecan Crust. To tell you the truth, when I was creating the recipe I was a little skeptical about if was going to be a recipe that will stand up side by side to all the goodness on a Thanksgiving table. Because after all it is “that time of the year” to be grateful and enjoy.
Trying a slice, this delicious creamy pumpkin pie that made me feel good while eating, before, during and after. I was hooked.
Recipes, Cooking & Art Direction: Mariana Nuño Ruiz McEnroe | Photography: Ian McEnroe |
Published: October 23, 2015
Susuwataris are my favorite creatures from the Japanese film creator, producer, screenwriter, animator, author, and Magna artist Hayao Miyasaki. He is one of my favorite people in the world (area); his imagination, and ability to create amazing stories from common daily situations always amazes me. If you have not seen his movies please do yourself a favor and watch them all. To name a few of my favorite movies from Hayao Miyasaki-Studio Ghilbli: Castle in the sky, My Neighbor Totoro, Poco Rosso, Spirited away, Howl’s Moving Castle, Ponyo, Princess Mononoke, to name a few.
Now, what are Black soots, Dust bunnies aka Susuwataris? In the first movie, Spirited Away, they appeared as lil workers in a boiler room. They have arms, legs and inquisitive eyes. They make a squeaky murmuring sounds when excited, and dissolve into powder (soot) if crushed. They are the cleansers of evil spirits.
They also appeared in the movie My Neighbor Totoro playing the role of dust balls in an abandoned house, where the main characters were moving. Susuwataris in this movie are mainly an optical illusion caused by moving quickly from light into darkness. Like the same effect at night when you turn the lights on your bedroom to go to sleep, if you quickly look into the corners, you might me able to see them. Despite their appearance, Susuwataris are good creatures in the movie, mainly they make sure that the family that is moving into the new house is composed of good people. And everybody knows that good people makes their own candy for Halloween… hehehe
Recipes, Cooking & Art Direction: Mariana Nuño Ruiz McEnroe | Photography: Ian McEnroe |
Published: August 7, 2015
Figs…an inverted flower fruit, sweet, with a sexy shape. I often crave their flowery delicate sweetness and incredible texture. I remember the first time I had a fig I was at a little orchard on a “Family Sunday Comida” in a little town out side the city. My Grandpa Alfredo had a cousin with a great house, a ridiculously oversized pool, and a fruit orchard. You can imagine that for a kid this combination was heaven. I had a place to run, to swim, discover fruits, plants while the adults were too busy playing dominos, cards, laughing out loud, and macerating their happy Sunday souls in Tequila. Hehehe… no worries Mexican mothers were always around watching over us. Moms, aunts, great-aunts were in the kitchen serving food plates, and every so often screamed at us “Be careful!, get down from that tree!, No more!, A comer!… you get the family situation.
Trino, was my Grandpa’s cousin’s name. I remember he gathered all the kids and told us we could cut every fruit we want, as long we ate it. Then he cut a handful of figs and handed one fig to each kid, whiled he explained what we needed to look for on a ripe fig; “Look for a dark purple color and a honey smell”. With that little said, we all kids had a mission, but first we tried the figs he handed us. At first I did not know what to do, how to eat it, or what to think about this strange looking black-purpled fruit, but when I decided to bite into it, my eyes opened wide and my taste buds went crazy. After one fig bite, I wondered where have figs been all my short life and why don’t all fruits taste like figs. Soft and warm from the sun, utterly sweet and floral, all in one cosmic bite; it made me think that the bees around the area could start chasing me if I kept eating the figs from the tree.
Since then figs have stolen my heart. I look for them when in season, if possible. Black Mission figs are my favorite because of their flavor, texture, color and because it brings back these memories. Figs are one of the few things I like in purple. Texas has a brief fig season June-July mostly. It is August I know but I ran into these California Mission figs and I could not say no to them.
This tart is a no-bake fresh dessert. It combines all what I love in a Summer dessert; fresh fruit, something light, creamy, and cold with out being overly sweet. The crust its a combination of Pecans and Walnuts, dates cardamom and orange blossom water. A breeze to make with the help of a food processor. Despite the use of dates, this crust is just sweet enough. For the creamy component I chose Kefir Cheese and a drizzle of honey mixed into it. This makes a silky and tangy cloud for the fig slices to snuggle. Two layers of fresh fig slices, chopped, toasted pecans, salt flakes, a drizzle of honey or Balsamic, make this irresistible. Besides it is a really good source of delicious healthy treat. Despite the figs and the dates, this little tart is made with 8-10 dates which amounts around one date per person, A good handful of nuts and good oils, and the tastiest creamy, dreamy, probiotic Kefir cheese its a must! sorry I would not dare to suggest a substitution on this one, trust me.
An incredible dessert and simple to make this Summer, this Fig Tart is truly love at first bite.
Just make it its delicious!, for the recipe you will need….
Recipes, Cooking & Art Direction: Mariana Nuño Ruiz McEnroe | Photography: Ian McEnroe |
Published: July 3, 2015
Crostata, Galette, Free form pie, you all know my idilic love with this pastry goodness. Four ingredients for the crust, berries and sugar, never haved tasted so good. Talk about simplicity and mayor goodness. I think I have already 4 crostata recipes on this blog, and I did not even hesitate to add a new variation.
There is a warm gratifying feeling about making this simple crust, using your hands, an effortless crust, that when is baked you can stop smiling. With all this berries in season, you will need so little sugar to enhance their flavor. What is not to crave about fresh fruit baked in a thin almondy crust? I feel like this crostata is a guiltless pleasure…that leaves more room for ice cream. hehehe
My advice, avoid wasting your time thinking what to do or bake to celebrate this weekend, if you have 15 minutes to spare to make a crust in the morning, 15 minutes to roll and prep,and 45 minutes to careless baking while you relax zipping an ice tea, these berry beauty is all you need for a great Summer afternoon.
I only know, that for this Summer this is all what I want, a slice of this berry crostata slightly warm, with a scoop of vanilla bean ice-cream or a dollop of whipped cream, an ice tea on the side, and sparkling objects on the sky to celebrate the 4th, 5th, 6th…or 28th of July…Enjoy!
Recipes, Cooking & Art Direction: Mariana Nuño Ruiz McEnroe | Photography: Ian McEnroe |
Published: May 30, 2015
When the rain is gone the petrichor remains anticipating a clean fresh day. A day of sunshine finally warmed up the city of Austin, and with this shiny day a reminder that it is of the end of May. Warm days ahead allure me with one peachy promise. Texas Peach season is here, now in full swing through warm August. All the recent rain equals juicy peaches. Rumor has it that it is the best crop in at least five years.
With this rumor in mind I bought a basket of peaches, which lasted us thirty seconds. After the peach binge I ran and bought more peaches to make a recipe for them. I came up with three delicious recipes. First one, road peaches: Just eat them as they are, cold or slightly warm room temperature, bite into one and your taste buds go into overdrive. A magnificent juicy, acid, sweet, floral taste, with juice running through your fingers. Advice: take lots of napkins and a little pouch with pink himalayan salt to sprinkle in every other bite…To die for.
Second recipe, a Peach, Sweet Corn, Basil and grilled Hallumi Salad which will be on the blog next week…stay tuned.
And a third recipe to say goodbye to spring: Peaches and Cream Empanadas. These little empanadas are a breeze to make. The dough its not sweet, it has no sugar, only salt. It is so easy and forgiving once you get the hang of it you’re going to want to make every fruit, vegetable, meat, poultry, cheese filling into an empanada. They cook really fast; 15-18 minutes. Forget about store bought, make the real deal. The dough can me made in advance because it keeps up to a month in the freezer, maybe a little more, but I think a month is tops so the buttery flavor is not gone.
The filling its a combination of cooked and uncooked peaches, which give the empanada that tangy flavor with out being overly sweet…because that’s the way I like it. Combining fresh and cooked gives you the bright peach flavor closer to that fresh bite. In one bite you can taste the sweet butter and tender crumb from the dough, the creamy ricotta and the sweet, tangy juicy peaches. Cinnamon sugar dust adds that extra sandy crystal texture that just make them irresistible. Yes, that’s why they are little in size. Good things come in small packages right?… The recipe makes 12 / 3.5″- 4″ mini empanadas.
Where to get these scrumptious peaches? If you are a Texan you know where to go, in fact share with us where is your favorite place to get peached. But if you are new in town: Road side stands are a usually in my opininon the best and most accessible way to get your peachy cravings. If you live in the Austin, Texas area or nearby check this following link to more information about visiting Fredericksburg The Texas Hill Country click here for market days, for a great peachy day.
If you want to know about other locations to buy and for a complete guide on where to buy visit: Texas Peaches.
