Exotic Potato Pudding [Cooking For One]

Oh yeah, time to get into the weird stuff. Pineapple + oranges + potato. Yes, potato. I apparently this isn't meant to be a dessert either - it's in the "vegetarian meal" section of the Cooking For One cookbook. It's also partially cooked in the microwave, and oddly for this cookbook, makes more than just one portion.

Cookbook Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 9 oz (255g) cooked potatoes
• Finely grated rind of 1 orange
• 1/2 orange, peeled
• 1/2 small pineapple, peeled (I prefer the term "butchered")
• 3 1/2 oz (99g) canned mandarins
• 3 tbsp mandarin juice from the can
• salt
• 1 tbsp butter

Following the cookbook recipe exactly:

1. Cut the potatoes into thin strips, sprinkle with the orange rind, and mix. Slice the orange and pineapple. Layer the potatoes, orange, pineapple, and mandarins in a greased microwaveable dish, top with a layer of potatoes. The potatoes are going to get a bit crumbly because, well, cooked potatoes.

2. Put the mandarin juice, butter, and a dash of salt in a bowl and microwave on high for 1 minute. Pour over the potatoes.

What am I doing with my life

3. Microwave the dish for 4-5 minutes.

The Outcome:

What the hell am I eating? It doesn't taste bad per se, but it's very, very weird. It's warm citrus and pineapple, but then suddenly there's a piece of potato. The weirdness is compounded since there aren't any spices in here, it's just fruit and potato. The good news is potato is such a neutral flavour, so it's more just weird than bad. I think I'm having some kind of dissonance with this, because I did eat seconds of this, but I still can't really wrap my head around it.

Mango-Sriracha Margarita [The Veggie-Lover's Sriracha Cookbook]

I really wanted to try one of the two alcoholic Sriracha drinks in this cookbook, but both rely on fruit that is really hard to find out of season in my part of Canada (the other recipe is a watermelon and sriracha sangria). The good news is I had already scored some mango for the last recipe, so mango margaritas it is!

Cookbook Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 284g (10oz) frozen mango chunks (this is a standard size package, but the mango I had cut up and frozen also turned out to be pretty much exactly that weight)
• 3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (it took about two medium oranges for me)
• 1/2 cup tequila
• 1/4 cup orange liqueur (Cointreau, Grand Marnier, and triple sec are all allowed by the cookbook)
• 1/4 cup sugar or 3 tbsp raw agave nectar
• 1/2 tbsp Sriracha
• juice of three limes
• ice cubes or cold water
• Kosher or margarita salt for rimming (I had to make a necessary substitution here, I realized I only had sea salt and it was late - so I ground it to margarita salt consistency in a mortar)
• fresh mint leaves for garnish

Following the cookbook recipe exactly:

1. Combine the mango, orange juice, tequila, orange liqueur, sugar, Sriracha, and juice from two of the limes in a blender until smooth.

I know it's twee but I heart my silly ice cube trays.

2. Add ice cubes or cold water (for thicker or thinner consistency) until the volume is 4 cups. It really helps if your blender has volume marked on it. Blend until smooth.

3. Put the juice of the remaining lime and the salt in seperate shallow dishes. Wet the lip of your glasses in the lime juice then rim it in the salt. Pour the drink into the glasses and garnish with mint.

The Outcome:

The first few sips seemed a bit off - I guess I was expecting it to be sweeter, but the Sriracha gives it a slightly earthy taste. A few sips in the flavour started to grow on me - it's lightly spicy, just enough for a mild tingle, and the flavours of citrus, mango, Sriracha, and tequila all come together really nicely. It's a very summery and fun drink, so it feels odd to be drinking it in the middle of winter - I should put a picture of a beach as my desktop while I drink this.