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cooking with dried tea, cooking with hibiscus, cooking with plantain flour, cooking with yucca starch, what's cooking?
Rose/Hibiscus Tea Blend
Impromptu company stops by, and you have nothing to serve. Quick! Check your dried tea selection, and you might be able to whip up a unique appetizer! Here’s an easy dip or spread using dried tea! In honor of Valentine’s day, hibiscus will star in this post! (Fresh hibiscus always trumps dried products, but dried hibiscus in tea form is so convenient!)
Saute diced onion, celery and peppers, cool, then add to softened cream cheese. I used green jalapenos. (Equal portions onion/celery/pepper to cream cheese)
A splash of lemon juice enhances the red colors. (The green of the jalapenos ‘fought’ with the red flowers, so use red peppers if possible!)
I have the luxury of using fresh flowers, which offsets that classic lesson in art: Red plus green equals brown!
With no crackers or chips in the kitchen, yucca and plantain flours stepped forward to play a role in this ‘there’s nothing to serve‘ solution! I avoid wheat products as often as possible, so this provided a great opportunity to try new options!
Mix equal parts plantain flour and yucca starch with salt, paprika and water to resemble pancake mix. After a few tests, I added diced onions and a touch of jalapeno to the mixture and cooked the ‘crisps’ pancake style over medium heat. Use enough oil to make them crisp on the outside and tender inside!
Ta-dah!
For more unique ways to use hibiscus and other tropical foods, start here!
Z
Zeebra Designs & Destinations 
Omg this looks yummy, I love tea will try this. Happy Love Day Lisa! Hope you have a great day…but not only one day of love but many…friends are meant to be celbrates..Feliz día del Amor y Amistad! (in Mexico that is what is called)
how great that amistad is included! thanks, dear friend, and igualmente to you as well!
give my best regards to your sobrina!
z
Love the colors, nice shots!
Thanks! Hibiscus adds so much color to the landscape or to the kichen!
Love this post! I always have tea on hand and look for non wheat options when possible as well. I don’t think I will be able the ingredients here but you’ve inspired me to look at other options.
green plantains/platanos are very popular here, and Ecuadorians use fresh plantains as well as the flour. I’ve been curious to try it, and it has lots of possibilities. The yucca starch/flour is used to make an amazing bread called ‘pan de yucca’ and those little rolls are so yummy! Silky on the inside and bread like on the outside.
Sounds wonderful.
looks yummy and great photos !
You, dear Mary, could probably invent some amazing creations with the plantain flour!
drooooling….
😉 ‘Twas easy!
Jalapeno pancakes must be a first? I have to say that yucca starch doesn’t sound too succulent either, but it looks good on the plate, Lisa. Happy Valentine’s Day! (I may be opening a tin of beans- got to go and make a card quick as I didn’t have time to buy one. Wish you were here- to help)
I’m sure you will find a unique way to express your sentiments!
Jalapeno pancakes? When I diced the jalapenos, I thought, “Chocolate with chilis is very good!”
I agree about the yucca starch, and had I never tried the yucca rolls, I would probably never have purchased that bag of ‘starch.’
I’m always open to gluten free options. Thanks for the tip on these flours, an alternative to rice flour that I have on hand. The dip sounds tasty. Just need some hibiscus.
Ecuadorians on the coast use plantains a lot in their daily culinary life; many soups have ‘ball’s of plantains.. sometimes there’s a surprise ‘stuffing’ in the center! There’s a dish called torta de pescado that uses grated green plantains, onions, peppers, etc with fish added.. then baked.. when i watched my friend prepare it, i thought, ugh.. and now i’ll have to eat this when it comes out of the oven.’
it was wonderful! i was all but addicted with the first bite!
tonight i used the leftover hibiscus mixture for an easy dinner. . rice noodles, tomatoes, sauteed onions then a can of tuna (i worked outside til past dark) and stirred in the cream cheese mixture. in ten minutes it was prepared, and now i’m stuffed!
z
Very nice, Z! I knew that hibiscus is used in tea, but had no idea you can use them the same way people use squash flowers. Brilliant!! I will certainly plant some hibiscus. Btw, do you know if what they call “horchata” is hibiscus tea, or is it something else? It is red in color. Thanks for this lovely, colorful post, and happy Valentine’s Day to you and your readers!
i’ll have to check on that (horchata) the last that i used had very large, stiff dried flowers that were not the typical hibiscus. there’s another variety of hibiscus that is more medicinal… this horchada makes a very deep red tea, right?
when you’re ready to plant, i should have around 20 good cuttings to help get your hibiscus started… as long as the goats don’t raid the yard!
z
Very creative, colorful and yummy looking, Z.
it sort of negates a healthy diet, but as long as it’s not daily! thanks, doc!
You are as creative in the kitchen as you are with your artwork 🙂
thanks!! i love to cook, garden, (work on water lines!) – anything that involves that hand/eye attention! i suspect that you are wired the same way! z
Not sure about the water lines but one never knows!
ha! i checked yesterday’s repair and there’s a slight drip… i’ve never worked on/with flexible hose, so there’s a learning curve!!! repairing a simple break is a zen sort of job! z
Have fun! Perhaps the pipe/hose would benefit from some of your creative paintwork; just for fun.
the photos are fabulous….the dip looks appealing, too!
hey! i’m glad you liked the post! thank you!
Hallo,
This for you, for beiing kind for others and me, http://www.bigcards.nl/card/pickup/bc-c7cf3c10/
Sweet greetings, Summer
what a sweet card! thank you, beautiful summer!
Ahh, I see there are many more new things I need to try! Why do you avoid wheat, just out of curiosity? I’ve been on a major journey the last year or two with my weight. I have discovered wheat usually causes a surprisingly large and distressing overnight weight gain, so I’ve pretty much cut it out entirely. I’m doing fine without it but it might be fun to try your plantain and yucca products.
hey amiga
lo siento, that it took half a day to get back to you on this one. my computer balked last night, and i wanted to check some facts before writing back.
when i am doing ‘well’ on my diet – or awareness of what i am eating, i try to keep my ph on the alkaline side.. cancer needs an acidic ph and thrives on that…so every morning i try to start the day with water and lemon, which starts acidic yet changed to alkaline in the human body. processed wheat – and sugar – were never meant to be a large part of the human diet; they act more like poisons to our bodies, and some people are like the canaries in the caves – the react/ have obvious reactions to those foods, and we should all pay attention and get out of that cave fast before we die! it’s easy for me to switch to rice pasta instead of wheat – it’s easier to cook as well, though i can’t say it’s the best choice… but as long as we try to eat well, it doesn’t bother me to indulge as long as i get back on track!
i am very sensitive to msg and aspartame, both excito toxins, and i am the canary.. believe me, they both are very dangerous and i try to avoid them at all costs. i have often left a full glass of ‘juice’ on the table when i was thirsty – but drinking aspartame was not worth risking my vision for a third time! it took two times for me to make the connection!
back to wheat; here are a few post that explain the no-wheat concept better than i!
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/02/gluten-free-diet-fad
http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2013/01/03/cut-out-the-wheat-and-lose-weight-why-your-daily-bread-could-be-making-you-fat/
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505269_162-57505149/modern-wheat-a-perfect-chronic-poison-doctor-says/
i haven’t used the plantain flour much, but i really liked the experiment… i overcooked one of the little rounds, and it was surprisingly crispy like an oven-baked cookie. i did another experiment with sugar (half brown and half stevia from ‘juan valdez lite”) and no egg or anything, and it turned out much better than i expected. zero fat, zero egg.. just that pancake-like mixture and sugar!
i think you’ll like using the plantain flour. we’ll have to start swapping success and failure stories!
good luck, amiga!
z
I love food that is brightly colored without use of artificial dyes. I know hibiscus tea but have never tried it in cooking.
I look forward to popping in to your house and tasting the flowers amiga!
it would be a great pleasure to prepare you a special floral feast! thanks!
I would love to come round to your place for that snack looks and sounds delicious
i wish you were upriver or down river! i would send you and jack special healthy snacks via pelicans or incoming/outgoing tides!!!!
That would be soooo good 🙂
Beautiful colours! Yummy 🙂
thank you amiga, but they are nothing compared to your gorgeous works of art!
I would put jalapeño on my ice cream, if I could! This all looks delish!
we would get along well! hot spicy foods help the body release feel-good endorphins as well! maybe that’s why you are always so cheerful and funny! z
Yummm!
🙂 thanks, hugh!
I’ve been trying to find this tea EVERYWHERE since you recommended it to me last month. I guess I’ll find it on Amazon!
red zinger would be a good start, though i am not sure what the other ingredients are, and if they would do well ‘dumped’ into a dip! i’d have to tear open a bag and inspect it!
hibiscus is sold as flor de jamaica in some places.
on the box in the image, the details say: In Usa: inported and distributed by Cambiaso Brothers Inc / Miami 1 954 3023198
there’s another spot that says, ‘sevicio al consumidor 800 210202 http://www.supremo.cl
i hope this helps!
z
Thanks I keep looking but I live in the Suburbs so even Scottish Breakfast is an EXOTIC!
ha! good luck amiga! z
Happy Valentines Day Z! How creative, would who have ever guessed. Great post!
it’s fun and easy! i almost always open the tea bag and dump it into my cup of hot water – as long as the contents are ground into small bits, i feel as if that fiber is important! z
This is my kind of eating…looks yummy!
thanks, amiga! i suspect that you’re great in the kitchen! z
I love to cook. I make a mean Peruvian Chicken with lime and chili. 🙂
oh that sounds really really nice!
Yum, I live yucca! And, this is what you do when you have nothing to serve? I’ll be right over!
hey!
i’m so glad that you commented from this blog; i’ve read all of your posts (i think!) and enjoyed every one.
there’s always a creative solution to ‘there’s nothing to serve…’ especially when fresh hibiscus, mint, lemon grass, etc etc are right outside in the garden!
thanks!
I suppose when you live in the Garden of Eden there is always a luscious flower for taste delight! And, thanks for taking the time to read my new blog. Oh, there you are leaving me a message…! Must go read!!
you are so very welcome!! z
Looks soo yummm !
you must be hungrrrry! thanks! z
This all looks so delicious, z. Hope you’ve had a great Valentine’s day. 🙂
Looks very artistic, as always, and delicious as well. I wish I was there to partake!
I finally got myself to the store to look, and yes, ma’am. There is hibiscus tea available. I also have found a source now for truly good plantain chips – not the heavy, too-thick ones soggy from industrial cooking, but lovely, thin ones still strong enough to use with dips.
The markets are a little low just now because of the time of year, but yesterday I brought home yellow squash and carrots – they’re so good julienned with a vinaigrette dressing!
What a good idea! The pictures are so colorful!
Thanks! what a cute gravatar you have!!!! z