Special Diet Pineapple Mousse

300g can Golden Circle Dietetic Pineapple Pieces and juice (as this product is no longer available, pieces in juice rather than syrup would be the better choice) 1 dstpn sucaryl solution (sugar substitute), 2 level tspns gelatine, 2 dstspns lemon juice, ½ cup chilled unsweetened evaporated milk (undiluted).

Sprinkle gelatine over pineapple pieces and juice in a saucepan. Allow to stand for 5 minutes, then dissolve over low heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from stove, add sucaryl and lemon juice. Chill until just beginning to set, then beat until thickened and fluffy. Beat milk until thick and creamy and fold into pineapple mixture. Place in freezing trays. Freeze until firm.

This dessert was quite light and fluffy. However I think it would be more enjoyable with the addition of something like fresh mango slices, Anne.

Grow your own and eat it!

 

The continuing tale of "Maurice" and "Paloma":

Pineapple Ice Cream

Before the weather gets toooooo cold, Anne.

440g can Golden Circle Crushed Pineapple, 3 eggs, ½ cup sugar, 1 ¼ cups milk, ¼ tsp salt, 2 oz crystallised ginger, 12 marshmallows, 1 ½ cups cream, extra whipped sweetened cream, chopped nuts.

Strain syrup from pineapple into top of double saucepan. Beat eggs well, beat in sugar, milk and salt. Stir into pineapple syrup. Cook over simmering water, stirring constantly until mixture thickens, remove from water. Cool. Pour into trays and freeze until consistency of soft ice cream. Turn into chilled bowl, beat until very smooth, fold in pineapple, ginger and halved marshmallows. Whip cream until stiff and fold into pineapple mixture. Return to trays and freeze till firm. Serve topped with sweetened whipped cream and chopped nuts.

Well, that’s how Ruby made it. This is my recipe for my wizzo ice cream maker, Anne.

Combine 300ml milk, 250ml cream, ½ cup caster sugar. Churn for 30 minutes in ice cream maker. Spoon into bowl with 440g can Golden Circle Crushed Pineapple (drained), 12 chopped marshmallows and 2 tblspns chopped crystallised ginger. Serve topped with chopped nuts.

Sausage Tropicana

Well, it has an exotic name! Anne.

440g can Golden Circle Pineapple Pieces or Crushed Pineapple, 3 cups boiled, salted, drained rice, 450g cooked beef or pork sausages, 1 tblspn brown sugar, 1 tblspn vinegar, salt pepper, mustard.

Place the rice in a well-buttered casserole. Arrange the browned sausages over the top. Drain the pineapple and to it add the brown sugar, vinegar and seasonings. Spoon the seasoned pineapple over the sausages. Moisten with a little of the pineapple syrup. Dot with butter. Bake in a moderate oven about 20 minutes.

Sweet-Sour Fish

1 jar Golden Circle Sweet-Sour Sauce, 1 whole snapper (about 1 kilo) 1 small can mushrooms in butter sauce, 1 cup cooked rice, 1 chopped onion, herbs to taste, ½ tspn grated lemon rind, 1 tsp chopped parsley, salt and pepper, 1 tblspn butter.

Lightly fry onion in butter, then stir in rice, mushrooms, herbs, lemon rind, parsley, salt and pepper to taste. Fill fish cavity and secure with small skewers. Place fish on buttered baking dish, sprinkle with melted butter. Bake in moderate oven until just tender. Heat sweet-Sour Sauce and spoon over fish before serving.

Ruby's Sweet Sour Fish

That was one delicious fish. I used a fresh trout, couldn’t find a snapper. The stuffing was OK but would have been better with fresh mushrooms rather than tinned. 

The sweet sour sauce I made the same as the one for the duck (see our blog 28th March) but didn’t cook it for so long to keep the fresh colours. The sauce had ginger, onion, carrot, green capsicum, Golden Circle canned pineapple of course, pineapple juice, cider vinegar, chilli and tomato sauce. 

The stuffing was as the recipe. The fish was only one pound (500g thereabouts) so there is plenty of rice and sauce left over.  After stuffing the raw fish I cooked it in the oven for 15 minutes, Ann.

Ann's Sweet Sour Fish

Steak Tropic Style

440g can Golden Circle Sliced Pineapple, required number of steaks, butter, brown sugar.

Grill or deep-fry steaks till done. When turning steaks, add drained pineapple slices to grilling rack. Brush with melted butter, sprinkle with brown sugar and continue cooking until pineapple slices are richly glazed. If deep-frying the steaks, remove to warm plate when done. Place pineapple slices in pan, sprinkle with brown sugar and cook until glazed. Then serve steaks with pineapple slices, mashed potatoes, grilled tomato slices and green beans.

Our friend Georgina’s snake beans, and "bubble and squeak" fried in capsicum rings were a tasty addition, Anne.

Drive a pineapple ? !

Brazilian scientists have found a way to turn fibres from pineapples, bananas, coconut shells and other plants into plastics that can be used in automobiles.

These fruits and plants contain cellulose, which can be processed into tiny nano fibers that reinforce plastics used in automotive manufacturing. The material is renewable, extremely strong and lightweight.

For more information check out:

http://phys.org/news/2011-03-green-cars-pineapples-bananas.html

http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2011/03/30/greener-plastics-possible-bananas-pineapples

But, if you can’t wait until these new materials are on the market you can try Johan’s inventive pineapple car modelling approach pictured here.

And if you're really keen on the details of constructing this pineapplemobile here is the youtube link, Anne.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4GMAEycK5U

Walnut Meringue Pie

Pie: 440g can Golden Circle Crushed Pineapple, 2 tblspns cornflour, ¼ cup water, 2 egg yolks, 1 tblspn butter, baked pastry shell

Walnut Meringue: 2 egg whites, ½ cup sugar, pinch salt, ¼ cup chopped walnuts, walnut halves

Pie: Place Golden Circle Crushed Pineapple in saucepan. When boiling thicken with cornflour blended in water. Remove from stove and beat in egg yolks and butter. Spoon into pastry shell. Top with Walnut Meringue and brown in oven.

Walnut Meringue: Beat egg whites stiffly, adding sugar and salt. When very stiff, fold in chopped walnuts. Swirl on top of pie and decorate with walnut halves.

Ruby Borrowdale offers this advice in the "Golden Circle Tropical Recipe Book”

“Try using custard powder occasionally when cornflour is called for in a recipe. Especially in cake, biscuit and short paste recipes, it imparts a rich colour and delicious flavour.”

God's own fruit

 

The online translation for the phrase on this beautiful piece of fabric my sister-in-law, Jill, and brother-in-law, John, brought back from Kenya is “No glory except God alone”.

I wonder how that connects with pineapples?

There would definitely have been pineapples in the Garden of Eden – hmmm, maybe there was a typo in the original translation of Genesis and that apple was really a pineapple ????  Anne

Fried Rice, with ?

Light fry in butter 1 X 440g can Golden Circle Pineapple Pieces (drained), 1 cup chopped onion or eschallots, 1 cup chopped capsicum, 1 cup chopped celery. Add one cup diced cooked chicken or prawns and 6 cups freshly cooked rice. Flavour with salt, pepper and soy sauce. Serve in bowls garnished with strips of cooked rice.

Prawns and more prawns and pineapple

The Hayman Scramble did taste slightly better than it looked.  The salad was OK but stuck in a 1950s time warp.  Both recipes interesting from a historical perspective but not good enough to repeat, they won’t become part of my repertoire, Ann.

Hayman Scramble

440g can Golden Circle Sliced Pineapple, 450g shelled prawns, 4 to 6 eggs, salt, pepper, 2 tblspns butter, soy sauce. Drain pineapple. Chop 2 slices and add to prawns. Melt butter in frypan. Add pineapple and prawns, heat slowly. Beat eggs with salt and pepper. Pour over prawns and pineapple. Cook and stir until eggs are set and lightly browned. Sprinkle with soy sauce. Fry remaining pineapple slices and serve with the scramble. Add a garnish of salad vegetables.

Pineapple ‘N’ Prawn Salad

Golden Circle Pineapple Pieces with cooked shelled prawns, potato or rice salad, lettuce, tomatoes and radishes. Goes great with crusty rolls and prepared mayonnaise.

Preparing the radish roses

Exquisite Piña from the Phillipines

Pineapple fiber or Piña is a strong white or creamy cobweb-like fiber drawn from tall leaves of an indigenous pineapple plant. The fiber is hand stripped from the leaves in lengths of about 18 inches to 3 feet, sun-bleached, hand knotted and spun.

 

It is commonly used in the Philippines where it is sometimes combined with silk or polyester to create a textile fabric.

 

Thanks very much to Karen Angel N  and Quing Obillos for the use of their lovely detailed photographs of Piña embroidery.

Mommysaurus75 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mommysaurus75/5551708114/sizes/z/in/photostream/

Quing Obillos      

http://www.flickr.com/photos/quingobillos/4128406268/

 

And thank you to Karen Ilagan for this beautiful wedding dress photograph.  

http://www.flickr.com/photos/karenilagan/2223115934/

Two fascinating youtubes were made almost 100 years apart - 1918 and 2012 - on the production of Piña. You will make some interesting observations about factory production in the 1918 film "Luzon Lingerie" . . .

 

 

The youtube made in 2012 clearly shows the process but is too long to include on the blog: If you would like to watch it here's the address:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRvWiiGoOzI
Anne

Perfect Partners.

440g can Golden Circle Sliced Pineapple, one thin layer chocolate cake, individual pavlovas (meringue circles), whipped cream, cherries, mint leaves

Drain and chill pineapple slices. Spread chocolate cake with a thin layer of chocolate icing. When set cut into 9cm circles. Make meringues by beating 3 egg whites with a pinch of salt and cream of tartar until frothy. Gradually beat in 6 tblsns castor sugar. When very firm flavour with vanilla essence. Spoon into about 9cm circles on foil-lined baking trays. Bake in slow oven (160°C) until firm. At serving-time place a circle of iced chocolate cake on dessert plate, top with a meringue and then one or two slices chilled pineapple. Garnish with whipped cream, cherry and mint leaves.