Katori's Kitchen

I’m a G.R.I.T. Girl Raised in the South, and every now and again I get a craving for that good old comfort Southern food. We fry everythang and I mean EVRY’ thang. We fry twinkies, Snickers bars, pink guitars. Yes, I know all about my oils (from peanut to conola). Peanut is good for turkeys and conola is good for green tomatoes.

It’s rare to find a good friend green tomato up here in the Northeast. When I found these tomatoes in my local grocery store I couldn’t resist. And the fact that they had buttermilk, too? Awww, man. I won’t be coming home for awhile, but these will have to suffice. 

INGREDIENTS

3 green tomatoes

2 cups of buttermilk

1 cups of all purpose flour

1 cup of yellow cornmeal

1 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp pepper

1tbsp salt

4 cups of canola or vegetable oil

1) Heat the oil on medium-high heat

2) Mix the flour, cornmeal, paprika and salt together

3) Slice the green tomatoes

4) Dip in buttermilk

5) Dip in mixture flour/cornmeal mixture

6) Check the oil by putting in a speck of cornmeal. It should begin to fry immediately

7) Deep fry for  5-7 minutes

8)  Place on paper towel to catch the oil.

ENJOY!!!

PHOTOGRAPHY: ME

I’m a lover of unexpected fusions of flavors. When I landed upon a delightful concoction of Lavender Lemonade at Eatonville Restaurant in Washington D.C., I was hell-bent on deciphering the recipe. Unfortunately, Aretha, the waitress was not too forthcoming about all the sweet details. Never one to give up, I picked up a bag of culinary lavender at the Union Square Farmer’s Market in New York City and got to experimenting in the kitchen like a mad scientist.

Now, you can’t just pick up any old lavender from the store. No use getting those dried fragrant bundles West Elm sells to spruce up the smell of a dank room. That will have your stomach churning faster than a Texas tornado. Culinary lavender is specially cultivated and can be added into drinks and even certain meat dishes. It gives foods an outright aromatic flavor and surprisingly adds a sweetness that cuts the tartness of citrus.

Boiling the lavender will make any kitchen smell like a field in France. It makes a floral tea that turns brown in the boil.

But don’t let the look of lavender fool you. When mixed with the acid of lemon juice, the lilac leaves can turn the liquid a bright pink! The hidcote variety is the type that makes this pretty and unusual hue. Get in the kitchen pronto and get your mad scientist on.

INGREDIENTS

4 tbsp culinary lavender

2 cups of freshly squeezed lemon juice (8 lemons)

2 cups of water (for lavender tea)

1/2 cup of sugar (for tea)

8 cups of cold water

1/2 cup of sugar (to taste)

1) Squeeze lemons to make at least 2 cups of lemon juice.

2) Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Pour in the culinary lavender and 1/2 cup of sugar. Bring tea down to medium-high and boil for 10 minutes.

3) Strain the leaves out of the tea. Set aside.

4) Pour lemon juice and lavender tea together in a pitcher. Add the cold water. The hidcote variety should turn the lemonade pink.

5) Add more sugar to taste. Serves 8.

Happy Thanksgiving, Fam! I hope everyone is taking this time to enjoy family and friends and especially good food! Here at Katori’s Kitchen, I wanted to share a remix on a down-home Southern Thanksgiving favorite–the sweet potato pie.

I don’t know about y’all, but though TDay can be amazing, every year it’s often the start to a 5-7 pound weight gain for me that rolls through Christmas straight into the New Year. And since my New Year’s resolution this year is NOT to make any resolutions (i.e. the #1 rez LOSE WEIGHT!), I’ve decided to be proactive and create a healthier version of a dish I can’t do without. I’m calling it Agave Sweet Potato Pie.

 Instead of using an entire cup of brown sugar, I’ve reduced it to 1/4 and replaced the rest with 1/2 cup of blue agave sweetener (473 calories). Though together with the reduced brown sugar amount, the calorie count equals 682 only 200 calories less than 1 cup of brown sugar, the agave is definitely a healthier substitute. With its low glycemic index, it’s a much safer dessert for family members dealing with diseases like diabetes or hyperglycemia. Cutting out the half stick of butter knocks out another 400 calories. Replacing whole milk with low-fat Carnation cooking milk knocks out 5 grams of fat.  My usual pie serving is 410 calories with 18 grams of fat. This one? 330 calories and 12 grams of fat. Hey, every bit counts

:: Agave Sweet Potato Pie ::

Ingredients:

3 medium sized sweet potatoes (boiled till soft)

1/2 cup of blue agave sweetener

2 eggs

1 teaspoon of baking powder

2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour

1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) of brown sugar

1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 cup of evaporated lowfat milk

1 9″ inch deep dish pie crust

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2) Remove skins from boiled sweet potatoes

3) Mix sweet potatoes, adding the blue agave sweetener, eggs, baking powder, all-purpose flour, brown sugar, ground nutmeg, cinnamon, and evaporated lowfat milk. Electronic hand mixers are amazing, y’all!!

4) Pour mixture into an oven-warmed pie crust

5) Cook for 40 minutes.

6 ) Serves 8. Enjoy!!

Photography :: SCOOP PIXELS