I screamed into the wind in sheer delight (and terror) as the helicopter swooped in and down around the island of Kauai. We had been told by friends that a helicopter ride around Kauai was a definite must, but if we did it, we should opt for one that did not have doors. “You get a much better view!” they said. Of course we were also flying in a helicopter without doors. A simple lap belt was all that was keeping me from plummeting thousands of feet to my death. But they were right. The view was life changing.
I had recently quit my day job as a graphic designer to go full-time freelance. I had started a food blog a year before. Though I wasn’t yet earning money from blogging, it had lit a fire underneath me to do more satisfying work. So I took the plunge to freelance, and because my partner teaches at a community college we had an opportunity to travel in the summer. It was a rare chance to spend a whole summer away from home. We packed our bags with t-shirts, board shorts and flip flops, and headed to Hawaii.
We had been to Hawaii a number of times on short vacations or for destination weddings. The Kauai trip had been one of those trips and it had whetted our appetites for tropical islands. For our summer travel we opted for Maui, an island that had native Hawaiian culture and metropolitan life as well as countryside, plenty of hiking, and beaches for exploring and camping. What we didn’t expect was the abundance of locally grown fruit and produce. In the past, when we vacationed for a week at a hotel or resort, we ate out and went to the beach. Now, living in a rented condo for five weeks, we were going to cook our own food. That meant shopping at local grocery stores and farmers markets.
I live in San Francisco where I am spoiled by the amount of heirloom produce available at farmers markets. But I have yet to come across heirloom bananas anywhere outside of Hawaii. Bananas can grow only in specific tropical regions. Because they don’t ship well over long distances, the bananas most Americans are familiar with are the basic yellow bananas sold in supermarkets. But in Hawaii, the various bananas actually have different flavors.
Ice Cream Bananas and Apple Bananas and Red Bananas can be found at farmers markets, produce stands, and occasionally at the local grocery store. Each banana has a slightly different shape, and though they all taste like bananas, each has a distinctive flavor. How is that possible? Think about going to a hardware store to buy some white paint. You think it’s going to be an easy thing to do, but the minute you start looking at paint chips, you realize that white comes in myriad colors, from ecru to eggshell to bone white to brilliant titanium white. They are all white but they all have different tones. Hawaii bananas are the same way. Some have the creamy smoothness of vanilla ice cream while others are intensely sweet with an almost apple-berry flavor. Why aren’t these bananas available elsewhere? Most likely it’s because of the lack of demand and the cost of shipping them.
Hawaii has its own indigenous tropical fruit that can be hard to find on the mainland. On Maui I was surprised to see wax apples, a fruit I had discovered and loved in Taiwan. But they aren’t usually sold at farmers markets. When I asked a vendor if she sold them, she just giggled and said, “Oh no one sells those. We just take them from our neighbors’ trees when we want them.” Other native fruit like passion fruit, strawberry guavas, and cherimoya can be found at farmers markets, but the demand from the public isn’t high. Often it’s easier to do as the locals do, and pick from fruit trees while strolling down to the beach.
For me, the proliferation and widespread use of local fruit was startling. The chance to try fruit that I couldn’t get at home gave me a new appreciation of enjoying what was at hand. Food writers and food enthusiasts are constantly trying to find the next trend, the next new thing. But diving deep into local food, into what is immediately available to you, is just as satisfying.
By the time I got back from Hawaii I was supremely tan and had a new interest in the local heirloom fruit available to me at home in San Francisco. I’ve always been an advocate for seasonal fruit but sometimes I’d been lazy. When strawberries are available year-round, it’s hard to remember that they really are at their peak in late spring to early summer. Now I’m more aware of what’s local and fresh. It’s true that sometimes I cave in and buy a pineapple at the grocery store, but it’s almost always disappointing. Perhaps I just wish I was back in Hawaii, walking to the beach, picking an apple guava off a tree and enjoying life in the moment.
First published December 2016
Banana Crunch Beer Brownies
The minute a friend of mine mentioned that she was eating beer brownies, I became obsessed with the idea. I’ve made cakes using deep-roasted barley beer like Guinness, but it had never occurred to me to make brownies with beer. It’s a natural combination that makes sense, especially since the beer lends a toothsome quality that makes the brownies addictive. Here I’ve added a banana crunch crumble to give it some textural punch as well as a little banana in the brownie. If you’re a fan of chocolate banana bread, this is basically the brownie version of that, on steroids.
Ingredients
For the banana crunch mix-in:
- •60 grams (½ cup) nonfat dry milk powder
- •45 grams (1/3 cup) all-purpose flour
- •158 ml (2/3 cup) cornflakes, lightly crushed
- •30 ml (2 tablespoons) cornstarch
- •30 ml (2 tablespoons) granulated sugar
- •3.7 ml (3/4 teaspoon) kosher salt
- •57 grams (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
- •70 grams (1½ cups) freeze-dried banana slices (available in health food and specialty food stores; do not use banana chips, which are fried)
- •85 grams (3 ounces) white chocolate
For the brownie batter:
- •225 grams (8 ounces) semisweet chocolate, chopped into .6 cm (¼-inch) chunks
- •115 grams (½ cup) unsalted butter
- •30 grams (¼ cup) natural cocoa powder
- •2.5 ml (½ teaspoon) kosher salt
- •118 ml (4 fluid ounces) Guinness or other dry stout
- •3 large eggs
- •1 medium banana, mashed
- •200 grams (1 cup) granulated sugar
- •220 grams (1 cup) packed dark brown sugar
- •2.5 ml (½ teaspoon) baking powder
- •10 ml (2 teaspoons) vanilla extract
- •140 grams (1 cup) all-purpose flour
For the chocolate-beer ganache:
- •170 grams (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate
- •30 ml (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter
- •59 ml (2 fluid ounces) heavy cream
- •59 ml (2 fluid ounces) Guinness or other dry stout
- •5 ml (1 teaspoon) flaky sea salt
Preparation
For the banana crunch mix-in: Preheat the oven to 121°C (250°F) and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or nonstick liner. Combine the powdered milk, flour, cornflakes, cornstarch, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl and stir vigorously with a whisk until all the ingredients are evenly distributed. Drizzle the melted butter over the dry ingredients and toss until clumps start to form.
Pour into the lined baking sheet and spread into an even layer. Bake for 10 minutes. Stir the crunch with a spatula, making sure the darker outer clumps get mixed with the inner clumps, and then bake for about 10 minutes more. Break up any big chunks and let cool completely on the baking sheet.
While the crunch is baking, put the freeze-dried bananas in a food processor and pulse until they are reduced to powder. Chop the white chocolate into small chunks and place them in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, then stop and stir. Cook for another 30 seconds, and then stir until melted and smooth, letting the residual heat from the bowl finish melting the white chocolate. If there are any stubborn big pieces, microwave in 10-second intervals and stir until completely melted and smooth. Be careful of overheating, though, as white chocolate has a tendency to scorch easily.
Once the crunch has cooled, pour it into a bowl and add the banana powder. Drizzle the white chocolate over the bowl and toss until the crunch absorbs the white chocolate and banana powder. Refrigerate while you make the brownie batter.
For the brownie batter: Increase the oven temperature to 177°C (350°F). Coat a 23 x 33 cm (9 x 13-inch) baking pan with cooking spray and then line the bottom and sides with parchment paper, with 5 cm (2 inches) of paper overhanging the edge of the pan on two sides. Place 115 grams (4 ounces) of the chopped chocolate in a large heatproof mixing bowl. Place the butter in a medium skillet and turn the heat to medium-high. Cook the butter, stirring constantly, until it has completely melted and the solid butterfat starts to brown. Turn the heat off and continue to stir until the heat browns all the butterfat and it smells fragrant and nutty. It should be bordering on reddish brown. Immediately pour the hot butter into the bowl with the chopped chocolate, making sure to scrape out all the brown bits in the pan. Stir the chocolate until it melts. Add the cocoa and salt and stir until the cocoa has been absorbed. Add the beer and stir to incorporate.
Combine the eggs, banana, both sugars, baking powder, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat the ingredients together on medium speed until they are combined and thick, about 30 seconds. Add the chocolate-beer mixture and mix on medium-low speed until incorporated. Add the flour and beat on medium speed until absorbed into the batter, about 15 seconds. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer, add the remaining 110 grams (3.8 ounces) chocolate and half the banana crunch mix-in, and fold them in using a large spatula.
Pour the batter into the lined baking pan and spread evenly. Cover with aluminum foil and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
For the chocolate-beer ganache: Chop the chocolate into .6 cm (1/4-inch) chunks. Place the chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir and then cook for 1 minute, stopping after 30 seconds to stir again. Stir until completely smooth. If there are any stubborn big pieces, microwave in 15-second intervals and stir until completely melted and smooth. Add the cream and beer to the warm chocolate and stir until incorporated. Spread the ganache over the cooled brownies and sprinkle the reserved banana crunch mix-in and the sea salt over the ganache. Let cool completely before cutting and serving.
Grilled Pineapple, Vanilla Pastry Cream & Rosemary Galette
Ingredients
For the rosemary crust:
- •350 grams (2½ cups) all-purpose flour
- •50 grams (¼ cup) granulated sugar
- •10 ml (2 teaspoons) fresh minced rosemary
- •1.25 ml (¼ teaspoon) kosher salt
- •225 grams (1 cup) cold unsalted butter
- •2 large egg yolks
For the grilled pineapple:
- •1 fresh pineapple
For the pastry cream:
- •2 large egg yolks
- •10 ml (2 teaspoons) cornstarch
- •60 ml (4 tablespoons) granulated sugar
- •.6 ml (1/8 teaspoon) kosher salt
- •237 ml (1 cup) whole milk
- •1 vanilla bean
- •15 ml (1 tablespoon) unsalted butter
- •5 ml (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract
For assembly:
- •1 large egg yolk
- •15 ml (1 tablespoon) cold water
Preparation
For the rosemary crust: Combine the flour, sugar, rosemary, and salt in a large bowl. Stir vigorously together with a whisk until the ingredients are evenly distributed. Cut the butter into 1.2 cm (1/2 inch) cubes and sprinkle over the dry ingredients. Using your fingers and hands, first toss the butter in the flour, then smash the butter into thin slivers, breaking them up as you go. Once they have been broken and flattened into small bits the size of peas, add the egg yolks to 118 ml (1/2 cup) water in a glass measuring cup and beat together with a fork. Drizzle the eggy water over the butter and flour. Toss with a fork until the dough starts to come together. If the dough still isn’t forming, add the remaining 1 tablespoon water. Massage the mass with your hands until it forms a cohesive dough. Flatten into a disk about 2.5 cm (1 inch) thick, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours. When you are ready to proceed, preheat the oven to 191°C (375°F).
For the grilled pineapple: Preheat a grill to high heat. Remove the crown of the pineapple and slice off the prickly skin. Cut the pineapple in half lengthwise and reserve one half for another use. Slice the remaining half lengthwise again, making two long spears. Cut out the tough center core and then grill the pineapple spears. Cook until grill marks form, 2 to 3 minutes, then flip the pineapple spears and repeat. Then flip to the third “rounded” edge and repeat. Let the pineapple cool while you make the filling.
For the vanilla pastry cream: Stir together egg yolks, cornstarch, 30 ml (2 tablespoons) sugar, and kosher salt in a medium bowl until a paste forms. Combine the whole milk and remaining 30 ml (2 tablespoons) granulated sugar in a medium saucepan. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the milk, then add the empty vanilla pod as well. Bring to a boil, then drizzle the hot milk into the egg yolk paste, whisking constantly.
Once all the hot milk has been added, pour the entire mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a whisk, until thickened. Remove from the heat and whisk in butter and vanilla extract. Press a piece of parchment paper on the surface of the custard and allow the pastry cream to cool for 30 minutes.
For assembly: On a clean surface dusted with flour, roll out the dough into a 38 cm (15 inch) circle. Slip a clean piece of parchment paper under the dough. Spread the vanilla pastry cream out in the middle of the dough, leaving a border about 5 cm (2 inches) all the way around the edge of the dough. Slice the pineapple into 1.3 cm (1/2-inch) thick wedges and arrange on the pastry cream.
Fold the edge of the dough over the pineapple in a circle, “pleating” the dough to make it fold around the fruit. You should have a 5 cm (2 inch) border of dough and an 18 cm (7 inch) circle of exposed pineapple in the center; the whole galette should be about 28 cm (11 inches) in diameter and fit in the center of the parchment paper.
Carefully use the parchment paper to lift and slide the galette onto a 33 x 46 cm (13×18 inch) rimmed baking sheet. Beat together the egg yolk and the water in a small bowl. Brush the top crust (as well as under the pleats of dough to “seal” the dough to itself) with the egg wash, trying not to get any of the egg wash on the parchment paper. Sprinkle with the turbinado sugar and bake until the crust is a deep golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool completely on the baking sheet before slipping the galette onto a serving platter.