Saturday, August 27, 2016

Passiflora Incarnata

In 2008 I took this picture of a flower while on vacation in San Francisco:

Spotted in the Grace Marchant Gardens as we descended the Filbert Steps from Coit Tower down Telegraph Hill.

I had never seen anything like it and had no idea what it was, other than amazing.

Imagine my surprise then when a couple of days ago I spotted its purple cousin while on a walk in my own neighborhood in DFW.  Thanks to the community at iNaturalist, and the iNaturalist app, I now know that it is a Purple Passionflower, and that it is a native plant of Texas.  Funny that I've lived here my whole life and never seen one.

Vines overgrowing the hedge with just a few blossoms by the side of the street
An amazing flower
It's like a purple sun with a yellow carnival ride in the middle



Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Bananas Foster Sorbet - OMG

The peach sorbet was good, the cantaloupe sorbet was great, the bananas foster sorbet is amazing!

Bananas foster sorbet

No recipe for this one - I just tinkered.  I started with a simple syrup, substituting brown sugar for white.  When the sugar was dissolved I took it off the heat and added about a tablespoon or tablespoon-and-a-half of unsalted butter and let it melt in.  A teaspoon of rum extract (I would have used actual rum, but I didn't have any on hand.  Next time.) and a healthy dash of cinnamon topped off the mix.

I added it to my bananas in the blender, pureed it, then put it in the refrigerator for an hour to bring the temperature down.  After that I processed it in the Cuisinart ice cream maker for 35 minutes, then let it sit in the freezer overnight.

The results were delicious!  This one definitely goes to the top of the list.  Now, what to try next?

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

A Rainy Morning On The Canal - Videos

After a week long summer cold I was back to walking for exercise yesterday.  Of course as luck would have it it was raining, but not too bad, and the temperature was down so it wasn't so hot.

While I was out I shot a couple of videos:  one of the rain on the water and a duck coming in to land, and the other a slow motion shot of a fish breaching the surface of the water.  Enjoy.




Sunday, August 7, 2016

Speedwalking In My Asics

A short time-lapse video I made on this morning's walk.  The music is "The Best Revenge (Tocadisco's Macaco Gordo Mix)" by Fischerspooner, from the Danse en France EP (not available in iTunes).

Let's go!



Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Tunnel Vision

You may recall that while the local park is closed (due to flooding aftermath) I've been sometimes walking along the canals that snake through our neighborhood (ooh, foreshadowing).

Along the way there are several tunnels; I thought I'd chronicle a few below.  There are more after the jump.


I don't go through this one anymore - their are light fixtures along the left wall and all are thickly covered with spider webs and a disturbing amount of harmful-looking brown spiders.  They're on the ceiling too and the thought of one dropping on me makes my skin crawl.

Monday, August 1, 2016

Sunday: A Second Serving Of Sorbet - The Results

Ok, so I have to say this turned out to be one of the best things I've made.  The key is definitely ensuring the melon is at the peak of ripeness.

Cantaloupe sorbet

Working with an Alton Brown recipe as a starting point, I tweaked it to my liking and taste.  The result is a smooth, cold, sweet, perfectly cantaloupe-flavored treat with a little twist and kick.  Very refreshing.  The recipe is below.

4 cups chilled ripe cantaloupe, diced roughly into 1-inch cubes
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons Absolut Raspberri Vodka
1 to 1/4 cups sugar, depending on ripeness of melon
1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon fresh-ground coarse black pepper, to taste

Place the melon in a blender or food processor and process until smooth.  Add the lemon juice, vodka and sugar and process until the sugar is incorporated, about another 30 seconds.

Place the mixture in the refrigerator until cold (30 min to 1 hour depending on how cold the melon was going in).

Add the mixture to the ice-cream maker of your choice, and process according to the manufacturer's directions.  (I used a Cuisinart ice-cream maker, and let it churn for 30 minutes).  Approx. 5-10 minutes before completion, add the cracked black pepper and let the machine mix it in.

Transfer the sorbet quickly to an airtight, freezer-safe container, and let chill for at least 4 hours; preferably overnight.  For best results, serve in a chilled dish or bowl.

Delicious!