FoodCraze

Daring Bakers: French Macarons

2009-11-02T16:22:00.000-08:00

HmHmm...sadly, this month's challenge is what I think as a failed mission. My intention was to remake these macaroons, but couldn’t find the time. I have made coconut based macaroons many times, but this is the first time making French macarons and I surely got a 'Ha ha, the joke is on you' slap.

First, even after I left it resting to dry, there was no obvious feet on the macaroons. Room temperature white eggs and I am quite sure I did not mess it up in egg whites beating part. Well..that was that. Then...

I suspect that I didn’t pipe it thick enough, hence the flat disk shape result. Didn’t have hard time in baking it though, came out perfectly fine (to my untrained eyes on macarons), it did not stick to parchment paper.

I made it with three different flavors; cardamom and cinnamon, chocolate and pandan. Pandan one tasted the best I think. Sprinkle a tad too much cardamom to first batch - and it was way infused with it! Though Vik found it to be a perfect match with chai and ice cream!

As for filling, I went on simple route - just made simple chocolate cream (sour cream, confectioner sugar, dash of rum, powdered cocoa; all whipped together until fluffy) and equally simple raspberry and cherry cream (whipped double cream, added with raspberry puree and cherry liquor).

I liked it better with filling. Vik, not so much. He dipped his to tea, coffee and crumbled it to ice cream.

This is one of those recipes that I made a note on, will get back to it one of these days and get those 'feet' on them!!

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

Daring Bakers: Dobos Torte

2009-08-31T15:22:00.000-07:00

When I saw this month's challenge, I thought about my (paternal) grandparents. This is just their type of cake. More so, my grandma. She'd hide certain fancy cake (chocolate especially) to the back of the fridge, just so she can devour it on her own during her high tea moment. Between 18 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren who constantly dropping by unannounced, I can't say I blame her, it's safer for her just to 'hide' 'em, you know? Cake, chocolate and good cheese - she is not sharing. So, I thought next time around when I visit home, I'd whip this up for her.

That said, I don't have the sweet tooth like my grandparents do. Neither my dear husband. And with all these layers of chocolate buttercream and caramel - it ought to be sweet! I was toying with the idea of different flavor of buttercream, it's endless. Fruity, or plain vanilla buttercream, rum buttercream, praline, etc. But my mind kept going back to the finished torte photos posted in DB forum. The delicate layers - pale color of sponge cake and dark chocolate buttercream - it's stunning!

In the end, I toned down the chocolate flavor by using less chocolate with shots of espresso in it. It's not very creative pairing. But I simply can't think of any better combination of flavor - rich and deep flavor of Sumatra coffee paired with bitter sweet chocolate.

It's pretty straight forward recipe to follow, in my opinion. Looks complicated, but once breaks down to stages. Oh fun! The sponge cake comes out perfect - light and airy.The butter cream does not hold very well for me, which is very surprising. Far from expert in butter cream making, but I am not a stranger of it either. So, it was quite perplexing on how or where did I go wrong on this part. I wished I toss in more chocolate though, as it did not turn out as dark as I would like either. Thoroughly enjoy the caramel part.

All said and done, this torte is simply delightful!! Absolutely a keeper! Maybe does not look as enticing as what I had in my mind, but the flavor and taste - divine! Can't wait to make it for my o-ma!

The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonfulof Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

Daring Bakers: Mallows and Milan Cookies

2009-07-29T18:09:00.000-07:00

The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

As I looked at the recipe earlier on the month. I was feeling pretty comfortable, especially knowing we are allowed to bake both goodies or to choose one of the two. Have made Milan cookies in the past, so sort of thought I am pretty okay on that front. Never occurred to my mind to make homemade marshmallow; was a little bit reluctant to do so in all honesty. The only time I'll buy marshmallow is when we go camping. Should I really go through the trouble in making homemade version?!! Is it worth it? Sure it does. When else will I be tempted to make my own marshmallow if not now? Though I told myself, will do this challenge a week before deadline. Just in case.

That is until I stared at the calendar on Sunday morning and realized, holymarshmallow!! How could it be end of month already? My simple reasoning, weekend goes by so fast during summer. Especially summer in Toronto, I think. We just don't get enough of warm weather, so when we get them, we won't be wasting it one bit. Salsa fesival, jazz festival, Caribana, oh..all the activities!

So anyway, I decided only to make marshmallow cookies, just to take up the marshmallow challenge.

The marshmallow did not turn out as great as I hoped for and not at all as gorgeous as other Daring Bakers'!! Theirs seem to have a nice stiff peak on it. Mine, it flopped within minutes. Okay, so maybe my fault for not whipping it long enough. I was disappointed. Taste was pretty good, but ugh - the flat top!!! The end result however was quite delicious. Not exactly my type of sweets, but I could totally see the appeal of it. Just like opening Christmas gift! Marshmallow and Chocolate. Maybe something I'll make for holiday season for gifts.

With failed marshmallow episode, I was pumped to whip up second recipe. Pffftttt...Milan cookies, made it dozen times. As I mixed and whipped, it dawned to me that I have never really made it all by myself. It's my mom's cookies - it's her specialties kind of cookies. But yours truly posses a streak of arrogance in her, what my mom can do, I can do better. Yeah!!

I remember how fast my mom could pipe these babies. So, let me take it up a notch by piping them in stripes!! Yeepee! If only I piped it slower, it would have been fine and uniform. I was embarrassed, to say the least. All the crooked zig-zagged cookies!!! Well, this challenge surely keep my feet on the ground. :)

In short, appearance wise for this time around of Daring Bakers Challenge, I am not so proud of myself. In brighter note, Vik voted this Milano cookies as his favorite cookies!!

Extra Notes: Posting few days after the deadline. And this morning, Vik already asked for 2nd batch of Milan Cookies!! So I just baked another half recipe!

Thanks Nicole for this month's challenge!!

Daring Bakers: Bakewell Tart..err..Pudding

2009-06-29T17:07:00.000-07:00

While loading photos to this entry, I can't help but wishing these tarts could just magically appear in front of me!! Either from my oven or materializing themselves from photos. Just my perfect kind of sweet thing.

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

And I LOVE IT! As described in the recipe, the frangipane in this tart..mmh.. simply out of this world.

I have decided far in advance that whatever June's challenge will be, I am going to make it for Vik's birthday. Whether sweet or savory, it'd be on the menu. Less one item to worry about, right?

One of the challenges in making DB's challenges has always been the fact that there are only two of us and it's nice not to have leftover of anything sitting in the fridge. Hence, I've always tried to time my whipping up the challenge in such a way that we have some friends to share it with. No difference with this challenge - a dinner party for Vik's birthday. And may I say, nothing left! Except for the two I purposely saved up. The intention was so I'd use it the next day for photo taking purpose - of the filling/inside of these tarts. Well, obviously that did not happen. I completely forgot about it and we had the last two tarts with our morning coffee the next morning. Whoops!

For the jam part, I made simple pineapple jam; grated pineapple, sugar, cinnamon, and cloves. Cook 'em to somewhat thick consistency. I was pleasantly surprised on how easy everything came together. Great texture, right level of sweetness and the perfect size (mini tart that is) of indulgence.

Great pick of recipe! Thanks to Jasmine and AnneMarie!!

Daring Bakers Challenge: Apple Strudel

2009-05-28T19:22:00.000-07:00

This gotta be a joke! The exact reaction I had over this month's challenge. Suddenly all other challenges I have done in the past sounded so easy. Pftt..what tossing pizza dough compared to stretching and rolling paper thin strudel dough?! I was about to sit this month's challenge out. As I diligently read the forum and gazing dreaming-ly to such beautiful results from fellow DBs - I was so tempted. And on very positive notes, seems like almost everybody was so surprised on how easy the dough come around. Maybe it's not at all too bad then.

The fact that this challenge does not cost much at all helped tremendously - in case I mess it up big time. Every single thing in recipe is pretty much a staple. I simply could not any excuse of having to buy extra fancy stuff to get this strudel going.

In short, oh wow...the result itself was slightly above average, the apples' one was bit too tart - hence I decided to glaze it with Canadian Maple syrup infused with orange peel, cloves and cinnamon. The cabbage one though was pretty good. However, what wow-ed me was the dough!! LOVE IT! It was super easy to work with and the feel of it - ahh...clay vs gum combo I think. I could just play with it for hours!! I was mesmerized by its elasticity and how transparent it could get without having to put too much effort in rolling. Just simply pull and stretch.

At first, I was just going to make apple strudel, with 1/2 recipe of the dough. However, after all that fun stretching, I couldn't resist to use the other half of the dough. Quick rummaging through the fridge, 1/4 head of cabbage. So, yeap..I was too lazy to come up with fancier filling. I also wanted to whip it up quickly while the other half of dough sitting on countertop for over 2 hours already. I sprinkled chopped up green onions when rolling out this savory dough. Quickly chopped up the cabbage, panfried it - with touch of sugar and pepper. Mmmh....not too shabby, if I may say.

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

Daring Bakers: Abbey's Famous Cheesecake

2009-04-28T14:46:00.000-07:00

Such dilemma when I saw this month's challenge. The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge. Cheesecake is one of very few desserts I can truly say that I enjoy. Almost savory dessert, see? The tag of the challenge though 'Be Creative with flavors, toppings, etc.' - oh, I think of myself as quite creative person. That's besides the point. Point is, I am cheesecake type of gal. Rarely go with something flavored or fancy toppings. One, the whole idea of cheesecake is the cheese, no? Second, cheesecake on its own is sinful enough.

However, if I were to make a batch of ole' plain cheesecake - how would I face fellow Daring Bakers? Hence, I decided to make cheesecake tartlets, couple plain ones and few assorted kind.

Figuring out the type of assorted flavor was a challenge on its own. I tried to remember the last time I had a not-plain cheesecake. Mid 2005! Cheesecake factory just came to the town I used to live at. Not a big fan of franchise and food in the Factory is mediocre, in my opinion. However, my parents were visiting and my dad was baffled on something called 'Cake Factory.'

Long story short - I took them there. Dad picked one with chocolate on it. He has never been a fan of cheese, but he'd eat bugs dipped in chocolate - just for the sake of chocolate. Mom decided on Tiramisu one. My dad ended up polishing his entire Chocolate Cheesecake and half of my mom's!

Hence, the Chocolate topping cheesecake and Tiramisu (swirled ones). Like usual, I tend to make sure there will be some other people (family or friends or strangers), other than us, who will help polishing off any dessert I bake. Girlfriend's birthday gathering happened to be on that weekend. Pretty sure that they'd go for chocolate/tiramisu kind, but just to complete the cheesecake scene - I did some simple fruit glaze: passion fruit and mixed berry.

Glad I only made 2 plain ones. If I were to make all plain ones, I'd just stand right in front of the fridge and ate them all!!

Daring Bakers Challenge: Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna

2009-03-29T19:16:00.000-07:00

I was beyond ecstatic about this month's challenge. Was so ready for savory recipes!

The sauces are pretty easy. Have always made my own ragu sauce, so it's not a biggie, until I read the recipe. Celery and carrot. Really?! Just never thought of mixing in celery and carrot in it. Interesting. The way the sauces sounded, bechamel and ragu sauce..mmhh, I knew it'd be super delicious. And spinach is one of my favorite vegetables. What a combo.

I was so thrilled, or to be exact, so sure about my memory that I went pouncing to kitchen ready to make the lasagne shells without printing nor writing down the recipe. Flour, spinach, eggs. As I mixed in the dough, I though to myself, shouldn't this be somewhat sticky in the beginning? 'Nawh' - keep mixing keep mixing. )#()@!!!! This does not feel right.

Ran to my laptop - holycow!!! Spinach measurement!! 300 gr FRESH spinach or 170 gr FROZEN!!! Used frozen but with 300 gr (150 gr since I halved the recipe) as measurement. So 1 egg and 200 gr flour with 150 gr frozen spinach. Of course only time like this that I only had less than a cup of flour left in my flour tin. And no eggs!! Grrr!! Wait, I have some egg whites in fridge, leftover from some baking couple days ago. Hm. So it came down to, sprinkle some flour and egg whites and had to mix it by feel. Oh please please, let it come out alright!

The dough was not as pliable as I thought it'd be; I think I could safely blame it to my totally wrong ratio of ingredients! Such a simple and short list of ingredients and I just had to measure it wrong! Didn't roll the dough as thin as I would love to, simply because if I spent another 30 minutes to roll out the dough, I'd have no energy to lift my fork to eat the end result!! If I were to do this everyday, I would be able to omit all the dip and curl in the gym, for sure. Thin or bit thick pasta - did not seem to have a major impact on our appetite. No leftover!

Decided to skip out the meat part and used chopped up cremini mushrooms, red peppers, zucchini and artichoke. For having said that, I just couldn't say no to pancetta and prosciutto. It's just way too important of ingredient to be left out. :D The ragu sauce came out so good that I was so tempted to serve it right away with plain ol spaghetti.

The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge. And it is absolutely one of my favorites challenges and recipes from Daring Bakers!

#1 Spinach Egg Pasta (Pasta Verde)

Preparation: 45 minutes

Makes enough for 6 to 8 first course servings or 4 to 6 main course servings, equivalent to 1 pound (450g) dried boxed pasta.

2 jumbo eggs (2 ounces/60g or more)
10 ounces (300g) fresh spinach, rinsed dry, and finely chopped; or 6 ounces (170g) frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
3&1/2 cups (14 ounces/400g) all purpose unbleached (plain) flour (organic stone ground preferred)

Working by Hand:

Equipment

A roomy work surface, 24 to 30 inches deep by 30 to 36 inches (60cm to 77cm deep by 60cm to 92cm). Any smooth surface will do, but marble cools dough slightly, making it less flexible than desired.

A pastry scraper and a small wooden spoon for blending the dough.

A wooden dowel-style rolling pin. In Italy, pasta makers use one about 35 inches long and 2 inches thick (89cm long and 5cm thick). The shorter American-style pin with handles at either end can be used, but the longer it is, the easier it is to roll the pasta.
Note: although it is not traditional, Enza has successfully made pasta with a marble rolling pin, and this can be substituted for the wooden pin, if you have one.

Plastic wrap to wrap the resting dough and to cover rolled-out pasta waiting to be filled. It protects the pasta from drying out too quickly.

A sharp chef’s knife for cutting pasta sheets.

Cloth-covered chair backs, broom handles, or specially designed pasta racks found in cookware shops for draping the pasta.

Mixing the dough:
Mound the flour in the center of your work surface and make a well in the middle. Add the eggs and spinach. Use a wooden spoon to beat together the eggs and spinach. Then gradually start incorporating shallow scrapings of flour from the sides of the well into the liquid. As you work more and more flour into the liquid, the well’s sides may collapse. Use a pastry scraper to keep the liquids from running off and to incorporate the last bits of flour into the dough. Don’t worry if it looks like a hopelessly rough and messy lump.

Kneading:
With the aid of the scraper to scoop up unruly pieces, start kneading the dough. Once it becomes a cohesive mass, use the scraper to remove any bits of hard flour on the work surface – these will make the dough lumpy. Knead the dough for about 3 minutes. Its consistency should be elastic and a little sticky. If it is too sticky to move easily, knead in a few more tablespoons of flour. Continue kneading about 10 minutes, or until the dough has become satiny, smooth, and very elastic. It will feel alive under your hands. Do not shortcut this step. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and let it relax at room temperature 30 minutes to 3 hours.

Stretching and Thinning:
If using an extra-long rolling pin work with half the dough at a time. With a regular-length rolling pin, roll out a quarter of the dough at a time and keep the rest of the dough wrapped. Lightly sprinkle a large work surface with flour. The idea is to stretch the dough rather than press down and push it. Shape it into a ball and begin rolling out to form a circle, frequently turning the disc of dough a quarter turn. As it thins outs, start rolling the disc back on the pin a quarter of the way toward the center and stretching it gently sideways by running the palms of your hands over the rolled-up dough from the center of the pin outward. Unroll, turn the disc a quarter turn, and repeat. Do twice more.

Stretch and even out the center of the disc by rolling the dough a quarter of the way back on the pin. Then gently push the rolling pin away from you with one hand while holding the sheet in place on the work surface with the other hand. Repeat three more times, turning the dough a quarter turn each time.

Repeat the two processes as the disc becomes larger and thinner. The goal is a sheet of even thickness. For lasagne, the sheet should be so thin that you can clearly see your hand through it and see colours. Cut into rectangles about 4 by 8 inches (10 x 20 cm). Note: Enza says that transparency is a crucial element of lasagne pasta and the dough should be rolled as thinly as possible. She says this is why her housekeeper has such strong arms!

Dry the pasta at room temperature and store in a sealed container or bag.

#2 Bechamel

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

4 tablespoons (2 ounces/60g) unsalted butter
4 tablespoons (2 ounces/60g) all purpose unbleached (plain) flour, organic stone ground preferred
2&2/3 cups (approx 570ml) milk
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Freshly grated nutmeg to taste

Using a medium-sized saucepan, melt the butter over low to medium heat. Sift over the flour, whisk until smooth, and then stir (without stopping) for about 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk a little at a time and keep the mixture smooth. Bring to a slow simmer, and stir 3 to 4 minutes, or until the sauce thickens. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Season with salt, pepper, and a hint of nutmeg.

#3 Country Style Ragu’ (Ragu alla Contadina)

Preparation Time: Ingredient Preparation Time 30 minutes and Cooking time 2 hours
Makes enough sauce for 1 recipe fresh pasta or 1 pound/450g dried pasta)

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (45 mL)
2 ounces/60g pancetta, finely chopped
1 medium onion, minced
1 medium stalk celery with leaves, minced
1 small carrot, minced
4 ounces/125g boneless veal shoulder or round
4 ounces/125g pork loin, trimmed of fat, or 4 ounces/125g mild Italian sausage (made without fennel)
8 ounces/250g beef skirt steak, hanging tender, or boneless chuck blade or chuck center cut (in order of preference)
1 ounce/30g thinly sliced Prosciutto di Parma
2/3 cup (5 ounces/160ml) dry red wine
1 &1/2 cups (12 ounces/375ml) chicken or beef stock (homemade if possible)
2 cups (16 ounces/500ml) milk
3 canned plum tomatoes, drained
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Working Ahead:
The ragu can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. It also freezes well for up to 1 month. Skim the fat from the ragu’ before using it.

Browning the Ragu Base:
Heat the olive oil in a 12 inch (30cm) skillet (frying pan) over medium-high heat. Have a large saucepan handy to use once browning is complete. Add the pancetta and minced vegetables and sauté, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, 10 minutes, or until the onions barely begin to color. Coarsely grind all the meats together, including the prosciutto, in a food processor or meat grinder. Stir into the pan and slowly brown over medium heat. First the meats will give off a liquid and turn dull grey but, as the liquid evaporates, browning will begin. Stir often, scooping under the meats with the wooden spatula. Protect the brown glaze forming on the bottom of the pan by turning the heat down. Cook 15 minutes, or until the meats are a deep brown. Turn the contents of the skillet into a strainer and shake out the fat. Turn them into the saucepan and set over medium heat.

Reducing and Simmering: Add the wine to the skillet, lowering the heat so the sauce bubbles quietly. Stir occasionally until the wine has reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Scrape up the brown glaze as the wine bubbles. Then pour the reduced wine into the saucepan and set the skillet aside.

Stir ½ cup stock into the saucepan and let it bubble slowly, 10 minutes, or until totally evaporated. Repeat with another ½ cup stock. Stir in the last 1/2 cup stock along with the milk. Adjust heat so the liquid bubbles very slowly. Partially cover the pot, and cook 1 hour. Stir frequently to check for sticking.

Add the tomatoes, crushing them as they go into the pot. Cook uncovered, at a very slow bubble for another 45 minutes, or until the sauce resembles a thick, meaty stew. Season with salt and pepper.

Oh and the new logos are just way too cool!

My favorite is of course the Chopping Ninja!! Love my knife!

Belated Chinese New Year Dinner Post

2009-03-20T10:15:00.000-07:00

Growing up, my grandma's menu for Chinese New Year has always been lontong/ rice rolls and its fixings. Oh, the memory I have. My grandma with her huge pot - she and her tiny frame of 5'1" could easily fit in the pot!! A week worth of cooking. She is about 80 now and still fixing up this dish for the New Year. So I thought, okay..let's do lontong this year!

Note: I sent her a photo of finish product and she giggled, chuckled and I think...sorta proud. Or so I hope.

It was lontong, lodeh (mixed vegetables in mild coconut milk gravy), tauco (sliced up chillies cooked in salted soy beans sauce), rendang (beef in spicy coconut milk), sambal kering kentang and a must of such dish, shrimp crackers to top it up. The trio lodeh, tauco and rendang will have their own designated posts soon.

And guess what was the hardest part of all? Frying up the sambal kering kentang! The fried potato stick thing. Three attempts!! I was so flabbergasted. I couldn't even bring myself up to ask my mom what I did wrong. She'd laughed her head off. Seriously. The spices was a cinch. My mistake was not frying up enough oil for the spices (I have a tendency to cut back oil to minimal)..and they all turned up clumpy.

Recipe for Sambal Kering Kentang:
- 1 kg potatoes, cut up like matchsticks, soak in water and drained thoroughly. Deep fry and set aside once crispy.
- 1 tsp vinegar
- 3 tbsp fried onion

Grind to paste:
- 8 small shallots
- 2 garlic
- 10 candlenuts
- 1 tbsp dried shrimp
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 10-15 red peppers (though I only throw in about 4, half of our guests can't stand much heat)

How:
- Heat about 4 tbsp oil and stir in spice paste, add vinegar and keep stirring until paste is somewhat dry up. Toss in fried potato sticks and fried onion. Stir and mix well with spices. Quickly turn off heat.
- Let cool before storing in a jar.

Mini chicken pies and curry puff as starters:

And it's only complete to serve some pineapple tarts with it:

I had to thank Lidia of 'Bianca's and Jordan's Mom' on her tips about whipping up pineapple jam/filling using canned pineapple!!! Oh what a time saving tip and less expensive too.

I have always wondered about using canned pineapple for these tarts but never tried it out, so when I heard she successfully did it. Why on earth would I spend time grating pineapple?? :D

Pineapple Tart:
What:
- 700 gr flour
- 100 gr sugar
- 500 gr butter
- 3 egg yolks
- 2 canned crushed pinapple
- sugar to add to pineapple jam
(My mom recipe calls for old way of measuring : 1 rice bowl of fresh grated pinapple + 1 rice bowl of sugar) *sigh* And that's what I did all the time before using this quicker simpler method of canned pinapple!!

How:
- Making the jam: Drained most of the juice from canned pineapple, leaving maybe just few tablespoons of it. Dump crushed pineapple to soup pot with medium heat on.
- Add sugar a little bit at the time. I forgot to measure how much I actually put in it. Hmm. But I am sure everyone has their preference in sweetness. I have always liked my jam/jelly on the tart side. I use hand blender to crush it some more. Then keep cooking until it reaches consistency of thick jam. Set aside and let cool.
- Making the tart dough: Beat sugar and butter until pale and creamy. Add in egg yolk, one at a time.
- Using hand/spatula, mix in flour and knead until it leaves the side of bowl.
- Take about 1 tablespoon of dough and roll to ball, make indentation in the center (like mini cup) and fill with pineapple jam. Gather back dough over jam and shape it back to round ball shape. Glaze with egg wash.
- I top mine with cloves - that is maybe the oldest method of making pineapple tart. Easy and sorta cute, no?
- Bake in 375 oven for about 30 minutes or until golden.

To end the night, some light fluffy cream puffs.

Daring Bakers : For the Love of Chocolate. Flourless Chocolate Cake with Coffee-Cardamom Ice Cream

2009-02-28T16:49:00.000-08:00

I am not at all adventurous when it comes to chocolate. Only eat those candy bars type. I don't even do hot chocolate or chocolate ice cream or fudge. Boring, I know. However, I joined Daring Bakers for reasons. To challenge myself with baking adventures. No excuse about like or dislike over chocolate. Plus, I have never made flourless cake. And at that, home-made ice cream?!!

The cake is quite good. It's very rich and dense, not exactly my cuppa tea, but I have a feeling that it must be a huge hit for chocolate lover. Say if I were to make this for my grandma and my dad, both of them will fight off each other for the last crumb. Oh! It would be perfect for fancy dinner party.

Chocolate Valentino
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
1 lbs semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
1 stickplus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 large eggs separated

1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.
2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).
5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.
7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. {link of folding demonstration}
8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C
9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C.
Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.
10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

Bit timid about ice cream part. I told my mom about it and felt like hitting my head afterward because I just knew it!! She says 'But it shouldn't be that hard. Your grandpa used to make it..ya da yadayada..' I find it amusing that my grandpa and his brother used to make ice cream at home. My mom said it was to entertain the kids (read: my mom and her 6 siblings and dozen of cousins) and put them to some useful work - cranking the ice cream drum. Though no one in family made any home-made ice cream once my grandpa passed.

So armed with hand blender - I buzzzzzeeddd and mixed my way through. Oh WOW! Did I really just make home-made ice cream?!

Dharm's Ice Cream Recipe
Classic Vanilla Ice Cream
Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Recipe comes from the Ice Cream Book by Joanna Farrow and Sara Lewis (tested modifications and notes in parentheses by Dharm)

Ingredients
1 Vanilla Pod (or substitute with vanilla extract)
300ml / ½ pint / 1 ¼ cups Semi Skimmed Milk – in the U.S. this is 2% fat (or use fresh full fat milk that is pasteurised and homogenised {as opposed to canned or powdered}). Dharm used whole milk.
4 large egg yolks
75g / 3oz / 6 tbsp caster sugar {superfine sugar can be achieved in a food processor or use regular granulated sugar}
5ml / 1 tsp corn flour {cornstarch}
300ml / ½ pint / 1 ¼ cups Double Cream (48% butter fat) {in the U.S. heavy cream is 37% fat)
{you can easily increase your cream's fat content by heating 1/4 cup of heavy cream with 3 Tbs of butter until melted - cool to room temperature and add to the heavy cream as soon as whisk marks appear in the cream, in a slow steady stream, with the mixer on low speed. Raise speed and continue whipping the cream) or use heavy cream the difference will be in the creaminess of the ice cream.

1. Using a small knife slit the vanilla pod lengthways. Pour the milk into a heavy based saucepan, add the vanilla pod and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and leave for 15 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse
Lift the vanilla pod up. Holding it over the pan, scrape the black seeds out of the pod with a small knife so that they fall back into the milk. SET the vanilla pod aside and bring the milk back to the boil.
2. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and corn-flour in a bowl until the mixture is thick and foamy. 3. Gradually pour in the hot milk, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the pan and cook over a gentle hear, stirring all the time
4. When the custard thickens and is smooth, pour it back into the bowl. Cool it then chill.
5. By Hand: Whip the cream until it has thickened but still falls from a spoon. Fold it into the custard and pour into a plastic tub or similar freeze-proof container. Freeze for 6 hours or until firm enough to scoop, beating it twice (during the freezing process – to get smoother ice cream or else the ice cream will be icy and coarse)
By Using and Ice Cream Maker: Stir the cream into the custard and churn the mixture until thick (follow instructions on your ice cream maker)

Wendy's Ice Cream Recipe
Vanilla Philadelphia Style Recipe
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
2 cups (473 ml) of half and half (1 cup of heavy cream and 1 cup of whole, full fat milk)
1 cup (237 ml) heavy cream
2/3 (128 grams) cup sugar
Dash of salt
1 (12 grams) tablespoon of vanilla

Mix all ingredients together (we do this in a plastic pitcher and mix with an emulsifier hand blender-whisking works too).
Refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer
Mix in your ice cream maker as directed.

Vik was absolutely in love with the ice cream. Scraping off the bowl of his second serving, while subtly giving hints of what flavors next home-made ice cream should be. Huh. Did not remember telling him I'd be making it again.

However, truth to be told, I was blown away by the ice-cream and can't wait to experiment with different flavors. What about green tea for St.Patrick's Day party?! I sorta whipped it (perhaps) way too many times than necessary, simply just so I could lick the leftover off the whisk.

I decided to make coffee and cardamom ice cream cause, well...it sounded good. Have always loved cardamom as spices: it gives such a special aroma and hint of warmth and 'mmhhh' factor to dessert. Then of course, coffee and cake pairing just sounds right.

Made only half recipe of the cake, plenty for the two of us and still enough to give as a 'thank you' token for a client. Boxed it up, drizzled with some glaze - a quick whip of coconut juice and confectioner sugar. To prevent the cake from moving around, I tossed in some home-made candied citrus peel.

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.
We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

February’s challenge is a Flourless Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Valentino, inspired by Malaysia’s “most flamboyant food ambassador”, Chef Wan. Recipe comes from Sweet Treats by Chef Wan

India Trip 2: The Chow

2009-02-10T13:54:00.000-08:00

Without further ado...

Oh, this little package. Ain't it pretty?! It's Paan. And since I am no expert in it, I won't go all lengthy in explanation. In nutshell, it's a filled up betel leaf. There are many variety of paan, according to its fillings - sweet, tobacco, spices/herbs (cardamom, saffron, fennel, etc). I guess it's similar to what 'Sirih/Sireh' is in Indonesia. It is believed to freshen up palate as much as helping with digestion after meal.

I have tried only couple different ones. And personally think it's too perfumey and sweet. The smell of it, I like. To chew it in my mouth, that..I don't like. However, my dad (to my surprise) seems to enjoy it!

The gentleman in this below photo - we pretty much walked by him few times within the 2 nights we stayed in Delhi. With my fear about taking photos of things/ other people in public, I kept throwing (what I felt) charming smiles at him, hoping he'd notice and oh...smile back, maybe? Oh no. Did not happen.

But I really wanted to take this picture!! Especially due to the fact that my mom in law made fresh paneer few days before that and just thought it'd be nice to see the differences, you know?

Me (to Vik): Can you go and take his picture? (Yes, I am that pathetic!)
Vik (sipping on Thumbs Up - carbonated drink, similar to Pepsi): You go! He won't mind. Seriously. It makes more sense if you are the one taking the picture. You are the tourist, anyway. (Insert sarcasm here)
Me: Can you come with me at least, please pretty please? (My dad would be so ashamed of me!)
So we walked and I gave the guy the sweetest smile I could mustered and asked 'Can I take a photo?' He nodded or..shook his head, in a way of agreeing.
Me (smile in triumph): You think I can ask him to smile? (whispering to Vik)
Vik: Err..let's dont push our luck!

This one was made by mom in law. Pretty much, when milk comes to boil, squeeze in some lime juice (or vinegar) and let it curdles. Strain and mold to shape.

Next is green chana. Green chick peas. Bought raw in its pods and then dry roasted in a pan, giving a delicious smokey slightly burnt flavor to it.

Khaman, maybe one of my favorite Indian snacks of all time. I could skip breakfast, lunch and dinner just for this. Pretty much a snack food, though it can be made at home, it's equally normal to get it from store - easier and economical and the taste is just as good. Seems like the texture varies depending on the store. Denser in some stores. Airy and fluffy in some. I love airy fluffly lighter version. With tons of cilantro and chutney!

This is new for me. Fafrad. It's fried dough made of chickpea flour and is eaten along with pickled vegetables and green mangoes. During the 2 weeks we were in India, we ate fafra oh..about 5 times!

I had quite hard time taking good photos of plated dishes though. When dishes are something with some sort of gravy, it always came out bit 'slobbish/globbish' in photos, no? I guess if I have the time to arrange it and under adequate light, it'd be okay. However, I am nervous enough about taking food photos in public...so..

Oh tandoori naan!!! These guys were smiling when I brought out my camera, I assume that they are accustomed to such 'attention.'

According to my mother in law, dinner is not complete without dessert. Not much of dessert person, however, I rarely say no to a good gulab jamun. So, we headed to Bikanervala and sample few items. Mmmh.
The drink in the earthen clay cup is thandai or badam thandai (milk beverage with almonds, cardamom, saffron, and some other seeds), ladled from the pot insert on the cart.

Oh and .. just a random food related photo. Our schedule was quite a mess on that particular day, due to the high traffic (Christmas holiday) on our way to Amber Fort. Hence, we took a quick detour and made a stop at city park - so starved that we decided to grab a plate of noodles. It was not mind blowing by any means, but for about USD 0.50, it kept us going for couple hours.

India Trip 1 : Kitchen and cookware

2009-01-11T10:49:00.000-08:00

Oh, I have sooo many food related news to share, but oh so little time! Making new year resolution has never been a big thing for me. Long time ago, Vik and I made a list of things we would like to do (achieve) in our lifetime, and we both agree not to get too excited and keep coming up with new list each new year, ya know? Though, I wonder if I should add to that list : Blog more often! :)

One tiny new wish for this year is to be tad braver....in taking photos in public! I admire those who click away over dishes in dining places, wherever that may be. Fancy or street hawkers. I am terrified in doing so, worrying whether I am disturbing other patrons, etc. Maybe I am just being chicken!! Here I am, wishing I have taken more food related photos while vacationing. Argh!

Anyways, so yeah, our trip to India. Before the trip, I knew that I'd have to take some photos of kitchen. Growing up, we traveled quite often and my dad always made the point of eating whatever local eats. He believes that it's one way of learning the culture, if not the most important way, that is. As my love for food deepens, cookware and cooking technique become somewhat of interest. To study not only on how and what local eats, but the scene behind it all before the food being set on the table.

At that, wouldn't be fun if all bloggers post their kitchen and utensils in their blog?!

The first two photos are taken at Vik's aunt's kitchen. The shallow round ones, standing on their own slots or compartments are used for eating. Of course, there are regular plates too - glass/ceramic kind, but these are more commonly used in household. I think it's neat how they store it. Small tin bowls on the top shelf are for dhal, curry, etc. The few bigger ones on the first shelf and top-side shelves are for cooking.

Most pantry I have been and seen are sorta walk-in type, like shown in the photos. Spices, lentils, flour, sweets and snacks.

This utensils photo is taken at in law's kitchen and I am kicking myself for not taking more photos of other utensils!! Again, most kitchen I 'visited' - there is always a rack like that to hang their cooking utensils. There is even one that is designed to store silverware.

And these stainless steel - copper bowls are what I bought. They are used mostly in restaurants and lemme tell ya, hunting them out was quite a trip! See, I wanted decorated handles. Most market/shops carry ones with plain handles. After quite of struggle, hopping from one market to another. I found them in below market in Ahmedabad. Oh, I love riding the rickshaw. Vik hated it. But that's the whole point of traveling, I think. To mingle and simply to absorb the surrounding.

Vik: Oh gosh, taking video?!! You are acting like a tourist.
Me: What do you mean?! I AM A TOURIST!!

Each strip in the market is dedicated to certain things: poojas (praying items), spices, cookwares, etc. Instead of fixed price, the bowls were being weighed on a scale and priced according to its weight. I was hoping to find fancier ladle, but the one I got will do. I believe it's being used to ladle out water from its container. But I can't wait to use it for oh..dozen other ideas!

I will post about food on next post and at that, I couldn't help but had to take a photo of this 'kaka' (uncle) ;) He literally stood in the centre of a courtyard, overlooking Jal Mahal - palace on the lake. Looks so chilled and extremely attentive to whatever he is doing. Just gotta take picture of him.

Daring Baker's Challenge 3: French Yule Log

2009-01-02T01:28:00.000-08:00

A late posting of December DB's Challenge, due to our trip and for forgetting to download photos to the right laptop, one that we took with us while traveling!! Anyways..

For this month's challenge, I secretly hoping it'd be something fairly easy (I guess it's called Daring Bakers not for nothing, eh?). I meant, easy as in, something that does not involve six layers of different things, like this French Yule Log!! :) When I read, or scrolled up and down the post announcing the challenge, I seriously thought I experienced a severe migraine - and I don't have any history of migraine! Only a little over a week before our vacation and with all the baking...no way!

I told Vik that I may skip this month's challenge, then my beloved husband read the recipe with me. Ain't he sweet? That's until he says 'But aren't you making mousse and creme bruleé anyway for our Christmas dinner next week? 'Just' another 4 things to do, no? And you'd have the ganache for one of your cookies too, right?' Oh so much I want to whip him with spatula. He does not even cook! But I got to admit, I was panicking scrolling down 17 pages, totally oblivious to the fact that three aspects from this log would be done, regardless yule log or no yule log.

However, I know it gotta be miniature log, used butter dish as mold!! Just so I can proudly say 'I have made French Yule Log' Heee...This month's challenge is brought to us by the adventurous Hilda from Saffron and Blueberry and Marion from Il en Faut Peu Pour Etre Heureux. They have chosen a French Yule Log by Flore from Florilege Gourmand.

This challenge makes me grin with sense of achievement! I think it's perfect for chocolate-addict, like my dad and grandma. I enjoy chocolate but have always preferred it in solid form - piece of chocolate or er..the entire bar, but not so much as in cakes, cookies or ice-cream. That said, I will be so making it next time I spend Christmas with my family - my grandma, at the age of 82, probably stock up more chocolate in her pantry than any other family with kids.

Since I was serving mocha mousse and cardamom creme bruleé as our dessert for our early-Christmas dinner , I just made a little bit more of that and use it for this yule log. I think it worked out very well with the chocolate ganache, icing and the pralines crisps. Not chocolate overload. The praline crisps, is more of hazelnuts crisps, sorta hate to go and buy me praline paste just for this one time use, especially for such a small log. So I grind up some hazelnuts from pantry and make into a paste. I mixed some coconut into one batch of crisps, thus, 2 layers of crisps.

Also 2 layers of the dacquois biscuit, top one is vanilla and the bottom one is coffee. Yeah, at the time...I was just so much in baking trance that I managed to make two kinds!! Then slept the entire 8 hours to London. ;)

Can't say that this is my best baking adventure, aesthetic wise. Did not turn out smooth at all as I completely run out of time and energy to decorate. Our flight was at 6 pm and I took the log out for photo taking and cutting at 1 pm! However, appearance aside, the taste made your eyes rolled!! It was fancy, delicate and fun - all in one.

Bonne annee!! Happy New Year!! Hope everyone has a superb holidays. I am working on my India trip food post and can't wait to share it with fellow bloggers.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T21:47:00.000-08:00

A quick post from India to wish everyone a Happy Holiday and Merry Christmas. As we traveled from one city to another, our wireless internet connection sorta spotty. I will get back to check on blogs and comments once back to TO. Even as I am typing this, a message just shows up 'Could not contact ....' We shall see, then.

Part of 100s dozens cookies I baked before leaving for India. Hope you all have superb holidays and Merry Merry Christmas!!

Daring Bakers Challenge 2: Caramel Cake with Caramelized Butter Frosting

2008-11-29T04:32:00.000-08:00

Right away after I saw this month challenge - Caramel Cake with Caramelized Butter frosting by Shuna Fish Lydon (http://eggbeater.typepad.com/) - I knew I'd make it for holiday brunch. Then as days passed, as I kept reading others DBs posts, I started to quiver. Mostly about the sweetness of this cake. Many DBs commented on how super extra ultra sweet this cake turns out to be - it's yummily delicious, but sorta very sweet too. And neither of us eat sweet things much. However, attempts of cutting back sugar seem to work very well to many DBs. So..I am all hope and eager to whip up this cake.

Everybody loved it!! 7 people, 12 triangles and I have no leftover. I totally fall in love with the frosting, and I am one of those people who usually scrape off frosting from cakes. But how could I not - when it's made with browned butter?!! This is the very first time I have made frosting with browned butter, actually first time of knowing there is such thing. Heehee..I am so going to use this frosting recipe on other cakes from now on.

Vik ate all the crumbs from the cake, kinda rare event on its own. As I sliced off the top and sides to make the cake all even, he picked on them and next thing I know all those bits were gone. It's quite of work, making the caramel syrup and then browned butter, but so well worth it!!

This cake's recipe can be found in Bay Area Bites (http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/).

Thank you so much for Dolores of http://culinarycuriosity.blogspot.com/, the host this month's challenge and co-hosts Alex of Brownie of the Blondie and Brownie duo: http://blondieandbrownie.blogspot.com/ and Jenny of Foray into Food http://forayintofood.blogspot.com/

Mix and Match

2008-11-21T15:42:00.000-08:00

Many of us have that one or two things that we'd just jump into it - no matter what. For example Vik, it can be snowing or scorching hot outside, but if you have soccer ball and enough guys to play a game. He'd be out within seconds. He is in that certain pool of people who would go golfing in 5 layers of clothing - to get the last game before the grass frost over. Or, my very best friend who loves to sing and she'd sign up to all sorta singing contest - just for the heck of it. The one that you really would hate to go to karaoke with, because it's all her songs!! Or it can be your song but she is the one who sings it.

Me, house renovating and cooking. Cooking. Not baking. Yet, two weeks ago when being asked if I am willing to 'help' out with holiday food drive, by baking some cookies. I said YES YES I WILL! No further questions asked - was not very smart, huh? I just have soft spot on that kinda thing. Never mind that I have my own baking plans for the holiday already. After quick tally up, in total, I will be baking about 150 dozens of cookies. Cookies baking is not big deal, so it's not like I am whining. Bread and cake is not my strongest suit. What I did not take into calculation is that .... lack of space!! Time, I can make time - though with 1.5 full time job and I do have life outside job, ya know - it gets crazy sometimes :) Still, I can do my work anywhere I want and cream-ing butter and sugar while reviewing specs - is entirely doable.

Space....we borrow friends' fridge. Yeah. And I don't do any fancy shaped cookies. My mom was horrified when I told her about sliced and dropped cookies. Eh, in her glorious days of running a bakery - sure she was a career woman and has another full time job as well, but there were always 5 girls working the ovens, shaping, molding, finishing, etc. My aunts and grandma on dough mixing. Mom came from her job and do super thorough checking. No crooked edges cookies. Checklist and what not.

Do you see any other pair of hands around here?! :) Truth is, she thinks I am crazy. In cute way. It's not that I don't want to ask some girl friends over for help. But the only way I can manage in winging these baking frenzy is that I do it in random times. I simply can't put away 4 solid hours.

Anyhoo, so I dig out this cheat sheet and thought to share it here. Up til now, I have about 50 dozens worth of cookies dough all packed up in freezer. I am a little bit nervous for the baking day (s) though. Gotta borrow some baking pans too. Maybe then I have to call up couple friends.

This spritz cookies is not even in 'the list.' My overachiever personality seems to take over last week and so I whipped up small batch of this. One of those breezy easy cookies yet just the right kind for dunking to tea and coffee.

What:
- 250 gr unsatled butter, room temperature
- 175 gr sugar
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 350 gr flour, sift with 1/4 tsp salt

How:
- Cream butter until fluffly and pale. Add sugar and continue beating to smoother texture.
- Beat in egg yolks and vanilla extract on low speed just until blended.
- Add flour-salt mixture to butter mixture, and stir with wooden spoon just until blended.
- Spritz using either cookie press or cone with star tips.
- Bake in the 375 oven for about 8-10 minutes.

Couple tips: Make sure baking sheets are cool - or dough tends to slip off when lifting cookie press/ cone on warm sheets. If dough starts to feel warm, put in the fridge for about 15 minutes. Oh and I only made half of the recipe, and comes up with about 2 dozens.

Thanksgiving Stuffed Turkey

This stuffed turkey has been a sitting duck (sitting turkey) in my draft for oh...1 month?! So before holiday season is over and next thing I know it's 2009, I thought to combine these posts together. It was fairly small Thanksgiving dinner - so I opted for stuffed turkey breast. Quick, easy and never had any leftover - while if it's whole turkey, I may have to make turkey sandwich, salad, chili, etc with the leftover.

The 'out from the oven' photo is not so great - it was 7.30 pm and I had to take it to the table quick. So it was literally point and shoot under my poor kitchen lighting.

What:
- 1 turkey boneless turkey breast, lightly pound to flatten it up.
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 3 sprigs of rosemary
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Stuffing is the combination of these (adjust ratio to own liking)
- red onion
- garlic
- wild mushrooms
- celery
- carrots
- sun dried tomatoes
- olives
- almonds
- rosemary, finely chopped

How:
- Marinate the turkey the night before in ziploc bag. Toss in olive oil, bay leaf, garlic and 2 sprigs of rosemary. Give it a good 'massage.'
- Cook the stuffing in olive oil.
- Assemble by placing the turkey breast, skin side down. Spread stuffing and leave about 1/2 - 1" border all around. Gently roll up - try to somewhat tighten up while rolling.
- The better way of doing it is using kitchen strings - which I completely truly absolutely sure I got in my kitchen drawer. But it's nowhere to be found. Since it's not exactly gigantic, toothpick works just fine. Secure the seam with toothpick.
- Place rolled up turkey breast on roasting pan. I use few skinny farmers market carrots as rack for it so that all the drippings would drip better. Also, it gives space underneath the rolls to brown up nicely, instead of creating icky mess. Tuck in sprig of rosemary under the skin. Brush top with some garlic infused melted butter. (Whacked garlic and let it sit in melted butter)
- Bake in preheated 375 oven for about 40 minutes - depending on thickness of breast. Using meat thermometer is of course recommended. But I just prick it with satay skewer and once the juice runs clear - it's done.
- I make simple gravy with the drippings and chopped up shallots.

Diwali Part 1: Moong Dhal, Palak Paneer, Chana Masala/ Chole

2008-11-03T16:27:00.000-08:00

I have about 25 or so photos in my edit box, waiting for me to write up and post!! (Banging head) This is getting old, yeah? Listening to my excuses :) One day maybe I will post about all these goals I have in my to-do list and these past few weeks, I sorta have the opportunities to cross some of them out. But of course, having food blog has always been one of those goals too. So, pardon me and let's talk about better things.

Diwali Dinner Part 1, from our small 4 people Diwali Dinner on the 28th. Vik was not expecting an Indian dinner - thinking it'd be just some celebratory dinner with friends. Since we are having 'the' more authentic Diwali Dinner on Saturday with family friends, he thought I'd just wait to fix up Indian menu for that Saturday. But see..I believe in celebration, especially the fact that it was indeed a New Year. A small nice surprise is always a good thing, right? So I came home earlier and quickly whipped up some Indian dishes. Lit up few dozens of diyas around the house, some on balcony. He would have been fine if I didn't do it, ya know? But he was grinning when he got home and saw all these little candles everywhere. Now, let's hope sometimes before Christmas, I'd come home to a fully decorated Christmas tree in our living room, yeah?

I ended up making some bhajias, rotlis, Moong Dhal, Chole and Palak Paneer. Since I simply did not have the time to fix up dessert/sweets - which is extremely essential in Diwali festival. The other couple brought in tiramisu and eclairs. Mmhh...

Anyway, so maybe the most Gujarati dish in this dinner is the Moong Dhal. I have never been a huge fan of this dhal - in my head, mung beans are eaten as sweet dishes. While he thinks it should be savory. Well, it's New Year, so savory it is then. Chole/ Chana masala is a dish of chickpeas cooked in spicy slightly dry gravy. Which I prefer to eat with chips or thinly sliced baguette - and I did exactly that with some leftover the next day for lunch. Weird, huh?

Palak Paneer has sometype of sentimental value in it. ;) It was our first cooking together dish. Many moon ago on one Sunday he decided that we'd have some friends over for simple Indian meal. At the time, I did not have very well stock Indian pantry, ya know? Tons of spices, as Indonesian cuisine shares quite similarity to Indian's, but that's basically it. Just spices.

So it got to be something simple and did not involve too much running around to get the ingredients. We both love Palak Paneer and it is fairly easy dish, so we just went to grab some spinach and paneer. However, it did involve an episode of some of this green stuff jumping out from blender when my then-boyfriend did not put the lid secure enough onto the blender! Can't let him in kitchen, see?

Moong Dhal recipe is similar to this Dhal recipe. Simply swap the lentils/ beans. Pressure cooker is better way to go in cooking this dish - much faster process, but I just use regular soup pot. That said, it requires parboiling these moong beans for a while until it softens up before dumping in the spices.

Chole/ Chana Masala
What:
- 1 canned chick peas, drained and set aside in a bowl
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1" ginger, grated
- 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 small ripe tomato, chopped
- 4-5 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp coriander powder
- 1 tbsp cumin powder
- 1 1/2 tbsp garam masala
- 2 green chilies
- pinch of turmeric
- few sprigs of cilantro, chopped
- 2 tbsp tamarind juice (mix warm water to 1 tsp tamarind paste)

How:
- Heat oil and fry onions, garlic, ginger and chillies until onions is soft. Add this mixture to drained chickpeas and set aside for now.
- In same pot, heat a little bit oil and toast coriander seeds for few seconds. Then add in all other spices. Fry.
- Toss in tomatoes and cook until soft, add tomato paste. Stir.
- Add in the chickpeas onion mixture to the pot. Stir and mix well. Add in tamarind juice. Cover for couple minutes.
- Add just enough water to moisten it up and form slightly dry thick gravy coating the chickpeas. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Toss in cilantro right before serving.
Palak Paneer
What:
- 1/2 block of store bought paneer, cubed and pan-fried for few minute and set aside. (home-made paneer of course tastes much better and I could have had put some efforts to make it on my own, but really...)
- 1 bunch of spinach, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 small onions, chopped
- 1 small tomatoes, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1" ginger, grated
- 1 tsp of each turmeric and groud coriander
- 2 tsp cumin
- pinch of garam masala
- 2 jalapenos (optional), chopped
- 4 tbsp of cream/ half and half (sour cream works well too)

How:
- Heat little oil and toss in onion, garlic, ginger and jalapenos. Fry for couple minutes until onion is translucent.
- Add in spices. Fry. Toss in tomatoes. Stir well.
- Toss in spinach and cook until it is slightly wilted. Add in about 1 tbsp of cream, just so that it has some liquidy consitency, for easy blending.
- Using hand blender, blend the mixture. We don't like it too smooth, so just blend until the consistency you prefer.
- Add in some more cream. Stir. Toss in cubed and fried paneer. Let simmer for few minutes.
- Just right before turning off the heat, add in chopped up cilantro and stir well.

Diwali Part 2 is coming up soon!!

October Daring Bakers: Pizza

2008-10-29T13:46:00.000-07:00

My first challenge as Daring Bakers. Am I out of my mind?!! I have said million times that I just don't bake (much). Cause I am scared. Too many unknown factors. However, I love challenges. What's better way of challenging my baking skills (or lack off) by joining Daring Bakers? And of all things I fear most to bake, yeap...bread type of baking and surely, my first challenge just has to be pizza!

That said, I do make pizza dough quite often; my aunt's recipe and I have been sticking with that very one recipe for years. So I was both excited and nervous when I see this month's Daring Bakers task. For this challenge, we are using a recipe by Peter Reinhart, The Bread Baker’s Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread.

The first step of kneading went great. Did not use mixer - cause I don't think my hand held mixer can take the abuse. I was bit worried when my dough did not seem to be sticky (supposedly, the dough in this recipe would be somewhat sticky) but it seems completely fine, based on my minimal knowledge of 'bread' dough. Next day though, woohoo..it smells heavenly, a tad of yeast smell. The dough looks delicate and just right (whatever 'right' is)

Problem arises when I was hoping that Vik would take picture of me tossing the pizza - it was somewhat of a rule in this challenge: toss the pizza and take a photo of flying pizza. He called from office and said he'd be running late. And he has a soccer match to catch within 1.5 hour. Factor in: getting ready, eat, catch up for a bit - I just couldn't wait for him. I tempted using the recording button - but yeah..it might end up recording just the ceiling or my feet or something.

Anyway, so move on to the last few steps. Now the dough becomes kinda super soft, softer than what I accustomed to. Did some knuckle stretching, rotating, flip about 1/8" to the air. Actually I did send it to the air and guess what, somewhere in midair, it decided to fold itself together. Take a deeeeeppp breath. Okay, so..that's the reason I took out 3 parts of dough from the fridge, knowing that some trial and errors may occurred. It turned out okay though, I 'repaired' it - by stretching and patting it back together.

Hence, I had 2 pretty good round shape pizza and one splattered looking oval. Did not use any rolling pin!! Usually I used rolling pin for pizza. I have decided on topping early on. First one is inspired by our favorite pizza from Terroni (it's one of our favorite places) - Polentona. Tomatoes, speck (smoked prosciutto), fontina, mozzarella and pine nuts. I used smoked mozzarella and holysmokeee..it was so smokey, so sweet. The sauce is just a simple tomato paste with chopped up garlic and basil, the whole idea of this pizza is to showcase the rich smokey salty flavor of prosciutto.

Second one, I have always loved mushrooms in my pizza. So I went ahead and do vegetarian pizza of creminis, capers, artichokes, olives with goat cheese and basil pesto as sauce. Then I did the last one, half and half for Vik's lunch the next day.

I have another 2 doughs in freezer and so tempted to whip up sweet one this weekend, after seeing so many great inspiration on other DB posts.

The verdict: This pizza sure worth the effort!! The process is slightly more complex than the other recipe I got, but the result is super rewarding. Vik ate 3/4 of the prosciutto pizza and about 1/4 of mushrooms one. When he got back from soccer, he did second round dinner.

Thank you Rosa for hosting this month Daring Bakers!

Pumpkin Choco Chips Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Cinnamon Frosting

2008-10-19T12:50:00.000-07:00

Work was normal last week and I was planning to blog more often. Obviously, it simply did not go as planned. Practically, I have been sorting through my work 'zone' - if I may say, I am quite organized person (on the verge of obsessive) however there are days that my desk is covered from one corner to another. As well as floor space...and sometimes, wall. So I had to do some shuffling. Then closet swap - winter/fall clothing out from the box, summer goes in. With tiny closet, there is no other way of doing it.

All that and enjoying fall colors - I run better during fall and winter. I know it's different for everybody, but I have always thought there is something magical about fall and winter, hence I have upped my miles and at that, sore factor. Meeting up with girl friends for catching up. Enough excuses. A week late, but this is what I whipped up as dessert for our Thanksgiving dinner. I did not get to take photos of everything, trying not to make it into habit for asking our friends to sit on the table and wait around until I am done taking photos.

Vik came up with the idea of cupcakes. No extra dessert plates to wash, see? Though I thought, cupcakes for Thanksgiving dessert?? It does not fit the bill - Thanksgiving! Not bake-sale. Then of course, as I give it some thoughts. I know I wanted to do something with pumpkin. Know I don't want to roll out pie dough, so pumpkin pie is out. Something I can make ahead. When I saw a block of cream cheese in my fridge. Cupcakes with cream cheese frosting sounds just about right.

Do I have a recipe on my own though for pumpkin cupcakes? Of course not. I google-d around and found few different ones. However this one was actually from my pilates instructor. Well..she got it from Canadian Living magazine and changed some of the ingredients. How do I get a recipe from an instructor, long story short - I took her session for a while then switched to another instructor, we bumped to one another, she asked and I explained. Two months ago she started new class and as promised, I went in to check it out and I have been diligently going to her class since then. And couple weeks ago, we established another working relationship, she becomes my client. Gotta make back all the money I paid for membership!! The cream cheese frosting is finger licking good! It's what my host family used to whip up for their carrot cake and red velvet cake.

Cupcakes:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (I don't have any, so I just mix in nutmeg, ground cloves and cinnamon)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup milk (original recipe: buttermilk)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (original recipe: vegetable oil)
few tbsp of chocolate chips (I added this simply because I have some in my pantry)

Frosting:
6 oz cream cheese
2/3 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt

How:
- For cupcakes: Mix all dry ingredients together with fork. In another bowl, whisk all wet ingredients together. Pour wet ingredients to dry and mix just until moistened. Fill muffin cups to the top. (Surprise surprise, I don't have muffin baking cups/pan, but I do have assorted brioche molds I got from Indonesia, so I used that instead)
- Bake in 375° oven for about 20-30 minutes until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- For frosting: Cream together butter, cream cheese, salt and confectioners sugar until smooth. Add in cinnamon and vanilla.
- In my dream, I'd have pipe the frosting to make it all nice. But in reality, I just spread it with spatula. It yields 11 cupcakes and all of them have different frosting design. Not because I have excessive talent in cupcake decorating, but simply couldn't decide which one could win 'the laziest effort of frosting' event. ;) So there was swirly kind, spikey, zagged, et cetera.

Bowl of Quick Chicken Noodle Soup at 2 AM

2008-10-13T14:45:00.000-07:00

Alright, I think work life is somewhat back to normal phase and hopefully now I can post more regularly and able to check out everybody else' blogs as often like I used to. ;)

I don't think most of us inspects photos very closely, do we? I mean...other people's photos. Unless it happens to be a passion - photography or such. That said, what do I know?! Photography is not exactly a passion of mine. I may even consider it less interesting than gardening - and everybody knows how I feel about gardening! It hates me. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy beautiful photography, but not with me fiddling on the lens and buttons.

However, out of habit, I pay lots of attention on images (photos, drawings, art, etc). I am that annoying friend you have who will point to your wall arrangement and says 'That one frame there..I think it's 1/4" crooked" Keyword: FRIEND. I will never be that rude with new people - I may just pretend looking and admiring and when you are not looking, I'd nudge it a bit just for the sake of leveling it. ;) Kind of a person who installs toilet by looking at the diagrams, and not at written instructions.

Visual and all, this photo of noodle bowl. I took it at 2 am this past Thursday in my kitchen. It does not look very bad, I guess. And really, if you make some food at 2 am, you ought to be pretty desperate for food and photo taking shouldn't even an option, no? But the camera just sits there on the shelf so..might as well. Also, I am intrigued to see how it'd turns out - since natural light is not going to stay much longer anymore. Hmm...the result, I dunno. Maybe this is the time for me to start finding better spot somewhere else!! Can't count on natural light all the time, right?

Now the food..this is kinda food if I were to live in Indonesia, I can get it from roadside vendors at 2 am or 4 am. But since that is not the case, my kitchen it is then. It's comforting dish, homey and quick to whip up. Not as quick as PBJ, but I need to be away from my desk for a while and at 2 am..where am I gonna go to take a break? I guess, the right question is, where in the city that I can go in pajamas?

What:
- rice noodles, cook as instructed in the package, drained and toss in dash of oil
- 1 cup cooked chicken, shredded to chunks (I usually have some cooked chicken in fridge; for exactly this type of quick dish)
- 1 shallots, finely chopped
- 1 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1/2" ginger, finely chopped
- 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 tbsp sweet soy sauce
- pepper
- handful of bean sprouts, rinsed
- few sprigs of cilantro
- 2 cup of chicken broth (Into soup pot, I dropped in half a tray of ice cubes frozen broth I made not too long ago, add some water, dash of salt and pepper - let it comes to boil)

How:
- Toss in chicken, garlic, shallots and ginger to pan. Fry for few minutes.
- Add in both soy sauce (salty and sweet). Dash of pepper.
- This is the 'street fare' version of assembling such bowl:
- Add small dash of sweet, salty soy sauce and sesame oil to the bottom of serving bowl.
- On top of that, put noodles (either let it that way for now, or toss noodles to soy sauce, I like to leave it alone just as is)
- Top with shredded chicken mixture and tons of bean sprouts.
- Laddle boiling hot soup on top. Garnish with cilantro or green onions or...ohhh...fried shallots!
- Add some hot sauce just before eating.

Happy Thanksgiving to fellow Canadian bloggers! Can't wait to catch up with blogs to see what's on the table.

Tofu Meatballs (You read it right, TOFU)

2008-10-06T12:26:00.000-07:00

Been few days since I blogged last. I don't know how most of food bloggers can post everyday..hats off to you guys! :) Work has been up to my neck lately, I love my job very very much (thus, I will never complain about work load) and love food and cooking. However, these past few nights, by the time I hit home and done cooking, eating and cleaning up - and sometimes work for couple more hours. I just want to crawl under blanket in my pjs and not to move a single finger. I want to blame the weather. Yet, I secretly love cold weather. Odd, huh? Anyhow, I am truly impressed with fellow bloggers who manage to blog everyday.

Well, so I was doing some fridge purging over the weekend. With Thanksgiving coming, I got to empty up my fridge so that I have space you know..to put Thanksgiving related food. Been thinking about whipping up Derby Pie. Though it is way up there on 'too sweet, too sugary' stuff for my taste buds, Derby Pie has such a special place in my heart. Growing up, we made apple pie and some savory pie but that's basically it. It never occurred to me that there were gazillions different pie out there. Long story short, the family I stayed with during my early years in the States always make one or two home-made pie a week. Derby pie was 'our' first pie together. That was my first time even seeing pecans!!! Derby pie just brings back good memories.

Anyway, not sure why I am rambling about Derby Pie!! Maybe because I want a slice at this very moment...

So after major wiping, disinfecting, et cetera - there were not too many random things actually, but enough to make couple meals. I have half block of tofu and some 1/4 cup of ground chicken in freezer, yeap..1/4 cup, it was a leftover from some dumplings I made last week. Almost sad looking chives. Few packets of plum sauce - from those Chinese take out joints. 2 wrinkly looking long red chillies. Hmm...Vik is not a huge fan of tofu. I LOVE tofu, it's one of very few things I can eat in daily basis. However, I long learned that if I mix up the tofu with something spicy and almost like hiding it - he would not mind as much. Tofu meatballs then!! My gradma used to make a version of this with shrimps and we'd dunk these meatballs to sweet sour sauce. It was so good that we would keep counts on how many the other person has eaten, just to make sure it's all fair and square!! Hey, we were kids!!

What:
Tofu meatballs
- 1/4 cup ground chicken
- 1 cup of tofu, mashed
- 5 sprigs of chives, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/4 tsp five spice powder
- 1 small egg, lightly beaten
- salt and pepper

Spicy Sour Sauce:
- 1/2 small onions, chopped
- 1 tomatoes, quarters
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 red chillies, slit to half
- 1/2 " ginger, julienne
- 4 packets of plum sauce
- 1 tbsp hot sauce/ sambal ABC
- 1/2 cup of pineapple nectar
- dash of sugar
- salt and pepper
- 1 green onions, chopped (for garnish)

How:
- Make meatballs by mixing all the ingedients together, shape into small balls. Either deep fry it, or panfry with little oil. It will be okay to bake them, but for not having no fat in this meatballs mixture (tofu and ground chicken), baking may dry them up pretty badly.
- While frying up the meatballs. Pour 1/2 tbsp oil in another pan. Toss in garlic, chillies, tomatoes, and onions. Stir until they get all soft and nice.
- Add in plum sauce, hot sauce, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir and let it gets to quick bubble. Pour in pineapple nectar.
- Toss in tofu meatballs. Stir and when it starts to boil, turn off heat. Garnish with chopped up green onions.

We opted to sit outside on our balcony for dinner - regardless it was about 11 celcius. Told ya I love cold weather. It wasn't too bad with such spicy hot dish and steaming bowl of jasmine rice. Oh, and I made quick broth (tips: when making home-made broth, always always freeze them in ice cubes tray, they work wonder!) with some random chopped up veggies. Soup slurping, spicy tofu meatballs. 11 celcius...was alright. Though few minutes after we done eating and all the heat from chillies were all gone, we literally pushing each other trying to get back inside. Hee..

Fenugreek Crisps / Methi Methia

2008-10-02T11:23:00.000-07:00

My previous entry talks about 100th posts anniversary and so on, and I did not think much about it, except replying to all the nice comments, of course. However, Vik checked it out later this afternoon, called me up and says 'What did you mean by 100th posts? The blog archive only shows 89' - Oh so much for my passionate entry about our courtship!! ;) Shouldn't he be oohhing?! EEEEeck. But of course to my own horror, OMG!! So why did I think it was 100th posts? I ran to my desk and ..huh..the 'Dashboard' section does show 100! Oh silly me, it counts those entries that has not yet being posted, isnt it?! There are times that I just load the photos and put a title, so I can work on my posts during breaks.

Thus in case any of you DO check on my sidebar, I was not making up about 100 posts in trying to lure and trick you guys in reading a little bit of my story!! :D

Anywaayyy, this was going to be my submission for Think Spice Think Fenugreek food event at Kittie's blog, I knew instantly that I'd love to participate. Just to quickly note though, I did not get to submit it - I was way behind the deadline and just couldn't type the entry soon enough.

At the time, I was thinking of making Oondhiyu, very hearty vegetables stew with morsels of methi dough. But did not get a chance to hit up Indian grocery store to get all the ingredients. However, methi methia in this dish is perfect as snacks as it is part of Oondhiyu. Seriously, it's like a thick crisps/chips bursting with exotic flavors. Serve with masala chai or just plain hot jasmine tea, yumm..for afternoon snack outside the balcony in this rainy weather.

For Oondhiyu, the making of methi methia is super easy, just mixing of fenugreek leaves with besan/ chickpeas flour and several other spices. As snacks, I have always added some extra this and that to jazz it up, whatever looks good at the time in my pantry. Still fairy easy thing to do.

What:
- 1 cup of gram flour/besan flour
- 2 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves
- 1 jalapenos, coarsely chopped
- 3-4 red chillies, coarsely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1" ginger, grated
- pinch of turmeric
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- few tbsp of water

How:
- Mix everything thoroughly with fork (except oil and water).
- Add in oil. Mix. Add water by tablespoon, just until it forms into soft dough.
- Knead for couple minutes. Shape into thin rounds or logs. Dust hand with some flour (any kind of flour is fine) while shaping if dough is a little bit sticky.
- Arrange on baking pan lined with parchment paper. Bake at 400°F oven for about 20 minutes until it's golden brown.

Mixing it with some chopped up cilantro and ajwain seeds give this snacks another dimension of flavor. Or even some coarsely chopped almonds. But I thought since the fenugreek should be the main spice, I try not to mix too many other strong flavor herbs/spices to it.

Like mentioned, I did not get to send this entry for the event. One, procrastinating in making this until last minute. Two, with my cold last week, there were only couple entries I managed to post. Next time. In mean while, chomp chomp chomp.

100th Posts and Award!! And some more..

2008-10-01T20:11:00.000-07:00

Perhaps this will be the most personal entry in this food blog. I was going to post either dessert I made last night or chicken rice I made last week, or only about the Award. However, I just realized that this is my 100th posts!!! And it is our 3rd wedding anniversary. October 1st, 2005. Oh, and it's Eid Mubarak and half of my family celebrating this Festive Day, which by default it means everybody chime in to celebrate and...eat all the yummy goodies. Selamat Hari Raya! Minal Aidin Wal Faidzin.

One hundred posts - this food blogging has been nothing but fun. I enjoy being able to 'meet' so many talented, creative and food-passionate people. Many different styles: recipes, food, ingredients, dislikes and likes, baking, cooking, but the bottom line is that we all love FOOD!

So yes, the E Award! I got my first one from Elra and few days later got another one from Alexa of Artsy-Foodie. Good things do come in multiples huh? :) I was not sure about being awarded back to back that I had to read Alexa's blog twice, just to make sure it was 'Cecil - FoodCraze' and that I was not imagining things.

I came across Artsy-Foodie blog not too long ago, but seeing her profile illustration, oohh..I know I am hooked! I think anybody who has the humor to draw up herself just awesome!! My line of work requires a lot of doodling, thus I am always drawn to drawings and hers are just fun to look at. Then as I follow her blogs and recipes, I found such innovative dishes and always so beautifully presented. Thank you, Alexa!

Now, it's time to pass along that Award. I am newbie (will use this as an excuse until ....perhaps the 200th posts or something) so I may read too much into the ideas of passing awards. Like, I seriously give some thoughts to it! That's why it took me a while before posting this! Sorry! Anyway, so I would like to pass this award, in no particular order, to:

Mochachocolata Rita, such a great sense of humor with her food posts. Simple dishes injected with tons of spicy stories and oh, how could I not love her illustration sketches? Yeah yeah, I love any kind of drawings and completely enjoy her illustrations very much. Love her funny tales, from putting buckets and pots to catch leaking water to whacking up coconut and adorable loving comments about her Sous Chef. Her blog makes cooking sounds fun, a comical Manga style!!

The Mediocre Cook, fairly new blogger but I have been tuning in his blog since Day One and love his writing. He is cooking 'The New Best Recipe.' When he posts about his adventure in cutting up a whole chicken, far cry from ahem, not so long ago green peas cooking episode resembling more of green peas popcorn! I just have to give him this award! Surprise me more when he whipped up Pad Thai, with his trip to find tamarind and oh the perfumey unique smell of dried shrimps. His often honest remarks of not having a clue what he is doing makes me laugh and remind me that learning new things can be such a good thing.

Erica of Itzy's Kitchen, let's just say I don't know how she can lift a finger to cook or bake after all her work - as analyst and group fitness instructor. The keyword is 'Fitness Instructor' and all that classes she is taking! See, before I go for my run or dance studio, I will make sure the food is ready and waiting. Otherwise, I'll just grab......I don't even want to go there. But she manages to make all these healthy food after work. And still sounds so bubbly!

Prudy of Prudy Pennywise, Prudy's blog was one of very first blogs I religiously visit. I love her cooking, straight forward and such a 'real life, real people' food. Adore her budget saving tips and the first time I saw the phrase 'Prudence Pennywise' as her alter ego, I knew instantly I will continue reading her blog. And oh, her background music, it makes my day.

By the way, this award comes with rules, here they are:
Please find at least 10 more blogs of any kind which you deem to be excellent; but hey if you only come up with 3 or 5, I don’t mind.
Post about the blogs you picked, linking back to me and to them.
Once you’ve posted, return here to let me know your post is up, and of course let your 10 award winners know too.

Thanks again Alexa!

As I mentioned earlier, this is our 3rd anniversary. And yet, it's 9 pm and I just walked in to my studio a while ago to finish up more work. Vik too is working. Oh so what am I doing blogging away then?! :) Well, one is that I am waiting for the other person to tie up loose end and..it's my 100th post, award post...and just thought let's celebrate with people who love food!! :)

I am not a good writer so I don't know how to tell it in any better way. It was a special day - wedding gown and chania cholis. A month later, come another special shocking day where I had to put into hospital gown, was diagnosed with Leukemia and honeymoon was a hospital suite. The bright side was that I got the biggest private suite there is. Not only honeymoon, we spent Thanksgiving - which was a complete haze, I was so drugged to combat all the nasty side effects of chemo, and Christmas with tiny tree and Christmas songs. I said we because Vik stayed the entire 34 nights sleeping on the hospital chair. I had a small duffel bag. He reeled in a suitcase for his stuff. And that was that.

First anniversary was a little bit surreal, my hair grown back some and we made a point to revisit our photographer and had our picture taken professionally. I was still in oral chemotherapy and looked just a shade darker than bright white printing paper.

Last year, we asked a stranger on the street to take our picture after dinner. It was a fresh start and we made many toasts literally for everything, moved to Toronto and finally able to start our own company. I had to wear my flats though, not so sexy huh? Had bone marrow biopsy couple days prior and it always left my hips with funny feeling for few days. Either try to look cute in high heels and walk wobbly like a 90 years old or pretend I don't care that flats make me..short (-er than already am)!! Truth is, I did not wear wigs when I was bald, so..looking short is not that big of concern in my fashion list. ;)

Now it's 2008, we are not going anywhere tonight to celebrate. Work load just won't allow us, it sounds sad, but when deadline is slapping from right and left, there is not much we can do. Vik has been doing his 6 am - 2 am. Mine is not so rough but enough that four hours dinner is not an option.

I am not sure how many of us remember friends' anniversary. Best friends, parents', siblings', favorite aunt's, maybe. Even that, not many of us manage to...what, I have to remember birthdays, and now anniversaries too!? Come on! :) I remember because my parents' is 5 days after mine, best friend's - 10 days. Aunt's, a week after my birthday. Easy to remember.

Yet this morning, Vik and I got quite a bit of Happy Anniversary emails and messages. From former co-workers, friends we have not seen for a while, etcetera. It's a little bit weird (in comforting way) - be that they remember because of the 'dramatic' row of events or it was indeed a memorable wedding. Either way, I am thankful. Because they think of us and take the time to wish us best wishes. I know quite a few of them are silent lurker here and I just want to say...please don't count on us to remember yer anniversary dates as return!! ;)

Which come to this point, I am sharing this here because we all take the time to post something we each so passionate about, it requires time, labor and love. On top of that, we take the time to read (sometimes, learn and study) and comment on others' blog. Thank You! I so appreciate that.

Now, I need to get back working so we can have some real deal anniversary date this weekend!

Lupis/ Packed Sweet Glutinous Rice with Palm Sugar Syrup

2008-09-28T19:35:00.000-07:00

This sweet sticky rice could well be one of my favorite breakfast items growing up. I don't have much of sweet tooth, less so for breakfast food, I rarely eat pancake or sugary cereal for breakfast. Lupis is an exception. It's no fuss no pretend sort of food. Very peasant dish, if I may. Basically it consists of sticky rice, palm sugar syrup and grated coconut.

99.99% of time, it comes in triangular shapes. Sometimes you will see cylinder/ log shaped lupis, but ....that's just not right!! :) It also has to have a tint of green on it, which primarily from the banana leaves wrappers. I guess it won't have any green tint if it's wrapped in foil or plastic. However, my favorite lupis stall actually tint hers with pandan extract. She sells the regular kind too (no pandan extract ones) but boy, the pandan kind is my favorite! I love love the smell of pandan leaves. Somebody should make it into potpourri!

I prefer lupis being packed in banana leaves, not only for the earthy smell of it, but also the beautiful faint green color it lends to this sticky rice. Unfortunately, my last batch of banana leaves went to Pepes Ikan and I haven't been to Asian grocery store since then. So, foil it is then, which actually make the process much easier. I added pandan extract..mmhh..to recreate the ones I used to eat for breakfast. Also, to get the green color on it. I am a firm believer that we feast through our eyes first.

The combination of coconut and pandan alone can make my day. Add to that, palm sugar syrup. Mmmhhmmhh!! Growing up, whenever I saw my mom/grandma was about to make something with palm sugar, I'd just stand there with eyes fixating to chopping block and pick on cubes or shavings of this sweet block. It's heavenly.

What:
- 1 cup glutinous rice, rinse well and soak in water for about 45 minutes, drained.
- pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp slaked lime water
- 1 pandan leaf, make into a knot (optional)
- 1 drop of pandan extract (optional)
- 5-6 6" foil square, make into triangular pouch/ cone shape

Syrup:
- 1/2 cup gula Jawa/ palm sugar
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 pandan leaf, make into knot
- 1/2 cup unsweetened grated coconut

How:
- After draining rice, toss in pinch of salt, add slaked lime water to rice. Stir. Add 1 drop of pandan extract. Mix well.
- Take 1 piece of cone foil, fill with 1/3 - 1/2 cup rice. Fold the sides and crimp. Pack it in such way that it resembles equilateral triangle, all equal length three sides.
- Put triangles in pot and cover with hot water. Boil for 2 hours. Check every so often and add hot water if necessary. Drain and let it cool.
- To make syrup, just toss in sugar, water and pandan leaf into saucepan. Stir and let it comes to thick syrup. I like my syrup pretty thick, add more water for thinner syrup.
- Once the triangle bundles cool down, dredge on grated coconut.
- Pour syrup on top of it. Actually, dump the syrup on it!! :) Both posted photos show only some drizzle, simply because I don't think glob of dark syrup would look very appetizing. In real life though, with fork in hand, syrup pouring, folks!

I wanted to say slaked lime water is optional, but at the same time, it is sort of alkali that makes the unique texture of lupis and other similar sweet dishes. I am scratching my head here trying to describe it better. Slaked lime water is sometimes used for fried food/crackers to maintain its crunchiness. In lupis though, it gives identical character of 'crisping' up the stickiness of rice so that it is more solid rather than too chewy and soft. It has certain 'give' when cutting and biting to it, think...al dante in pasta. However, if it comes to it, sudden cravings and all, then I would careless about whether there is slaked lime water or not. :D

That said, I am so submitting this to this month - Waiter, there's something in my..Indonesian, hosted by Wine.Scribbler.

Roti Jala & Kari Kambing / Laced Crepe with Goat Curry

2008-09-27T10:57:00.000-07:00

I couldn't even begin to describe the love I have for Roti Jala and Kari Kambing. I could eat them til I get sick. Ew, I know. But it's just so deliciousss!! Vik got the first taste of this in Penang, Malaysia. My aunt got some of this one night, meant to be shared by the FIVE OF US along with other goodies she bought. But once Vik digged to this dish, he literally pushed all other dishes away and 'inhale' it all by himself. Then of course, my mom had to make a batch of this for him when we visited my parents.

That was the point when I sort of thought I needed to get me this cup thing to make the crepe. The two kinds my mom have are pretty old..OLD as in ANCIENT from my greatgrandma! I almost had to take one of those with me, which I would hate, because it only has 3 prongs and takes many moons to get a plate done with 3 prongs. We forgot to buy it and were scheduled to be in airport by 7 am next morning. But the nature of Asian living ya know, we love sharing things with neighbors. Parents' neighbor also happen to be a great cook and has the best collection of herbs in their yard (I hope my dad never reads this blog - for he thinks his garden is the best in the entire county!!). So anyway, Mrs.Neighbor ran to her kitchen and came out with the 'newer and 5 prongs' one and just gave it to me.

My grandma made this quite often when we grew up. I'd carefully peel open the nicely folded up crepe and pour the curry on it. :D She was not very happy about it, but..eh..I just loved to inspect her handwork. That's a degree of appreciation, right? This crepe business, it will take some practice to get it right. Almost like crepe. Just twice trickier, with having to move very flowingly and steady, but also to make the netting pattern too. But oh so fun. Just think of it as very tiny and thin funnel cake.

These crepes, is best (to my opinion) paired with goat curry. Oooohhh!!! But chicken curry works just fine too. Or, it can be made just with potatoes for vegetarian curry.

In the nutshell, it's everyday meal - curry is not a fancy dish by any means. However when served with roti jala, mmhh..it turns into such a special treat! Roti can be folded to triangles or rolled up like rolls. We often did it in triangles, our neighbors' did hers in rolls. I can't decide which one I like better so I just pretend it's origami on hot pan. ;)

Crepe
What:
- 200 gr flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 600 cc thin coconut milk
- 1 tsp melted butter

How:
- Whisk together all ingredients.
- Heat pan, scoop batter with cup and start the flowing drizzling process to make the lace, by moving hands sideways, circular and back and forth.
- It will only take a minute or two to get it cooked through, it should has slight nice golden brown color. Gently fold crepe to triangular, by folding to half and another half. Or roll it, by bringing side to the center, edges touching and roll up.

Curry
What:
- 500 gr goat meat, cut to chunks (boned in version will be much much better! :)
- 2 cardamom
- 2" cinnamon stick
- 1" galangal
- 1 stalk lemongrass
- 2 bayleaf
- 2 star anises
- 1 pandan leave, make into a knot
- 7-8 curry leaves
- 3 tbsp shredded coconut, pan fry until golden brown and grind to medium coarse texture
- 350 cc coconut milk (150 cc thick + 200 cc thin)
- 1 medium size potato, cut to chunks

Grind to paste:
- 5 red chillies
- 5 shallots
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 3 candlenuts
- 1/2 tbsp grated ginger
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp coriander
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- pepper and salt

How:
- Heat a little oil in pot. Drop meats to pan, searing just to brown the oustide of meats. Once browned, remove from pot and set aside.
- Toss in spice paste to pot. Fry for couple minutes, scraping all the browned bits. Add in the rest of ingredients (except coconut milk, meat and potatoes). Fry for another minute.
- Pour in the thick coconut milk, stir and mix with spices.
- Put back meat to the pot. Mix thoroughly with gravy.
- Pour the rest of coconut milk to pot. Lower the heat to medium low. Simmer for about 45 min. to 1 hour. Stir occasionaly.
- Toss in potatoes and let cook for another 15 minutes. Meat should be fork tender.

With the amount of coconut being used, it's only right that I submit this recipe to Weekend Wokk i ng, a world-wide food blogging event created by Wandering Chopsticks. The host this month - with secret ingredient 'Coconut' is Ivy of Precious Pea.

Hot Spicy Eggplants - Szechuan Style

2008-09-24T20:40:00.000-07:00

I am not the type who get sick or feeling under weather easily. That said, I did have my own crazy drama few years ago. However, in general, it's rare to find me saying 'I don't feel too great today.' If you've seen those commercial of Energizer Bunny - well...I could be the twins of it. Rap rap rap, drumming the big drums.

Anyhoo, these past two days though...holycow..runny nose, watery eyes, sneezing sneezing sneezing - that's all I have been doing for the past 2 days. Just super bleh! Hate that feeling when you feel like you are about to sneeze but it's not happening...one second..two secs...three...four..come on...staring to the ceiling....wall. Not happening. Again and again. More teary eyes. Ugh!

There I was leaving my studio, hoping to hit home earlier today, juggling few bags and with my not so clear headed mind, somehow I walked pass my subway station. I don't even know how it happened. When I realized, I thought ..hm..either go to the next one or just walk back. Next one. Passed by this Chinese restaurant and runny nose aside, I can smell the familiar aroma of Chinese cooking. I was tempted to go in and order a take-out, which would involve waiting for 15-20 minutes and I don't want to be sneezing up (gross!!) while people are eating. And I don't want to be caught...squinting my eyes..staring at wall..waiting for the sneeze to come. More teary eyes.

So I hurried home!!! Chicken rice with its broth as soup sounds right for the night. I had to make a stop at grocers to pick up some ginger. Saw some Chinese eggplants...woohoo...hot spicy eggplants dish sounds like a winner. Sure it'll worsen up runny nose and teary eyes, but I convince myself that it is exactly what I needed - to clear up my nose and head.

What:
- 2 Chinese eggplants, cut lengthwise and then cut to 3" pieces.
- 4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
- 1" ginger, finely chopped
- 5 dried chillies, soaked
- 3 thai bird eyes chillies, chopped
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1/4 cup chicken broth (water)
- 2 green onions, cut to 3" pieces
- 1 tsp sesame oil

How:
- Heat oil in pan and fry eggplant until it has nice golden brown color on it. Set aside. Pour out leftover frying oil to container, leaving just 1/2 tbsp in pan.
- Toss in garlic, ginger, green onions, dried and fresh chillies. Fry for few minutes.
- Add in all sauces (soy, hoisin, oyster). Stir and let it come to bubble. Pour in chicken broth. Gravy should thicken up a little bit. Cornstarch can be added if you like thicker gravy.
- Toss in eggplants. Quickly stir and mix with gravy. Cook for couple minutes. Turn heat off and then add sesame oil. Stir.

It's absolutely a hot and spicy dish and garlicky but oh..it was yum!! The mild flavor from chicken rice helped toning down the heat quite a bit.

Chicken Vegetable Pot Pie

2008-09-23T18:53:00.000-07:00

So I just watched Bobby Flay Throwdown on Lasagna. The opponent uses crumbled up meatballs as the filling. Half of my mind couldn't stop but wonder, isn't it pretty much the same just fixing up batch of ground meats and mix it with all these spices and cheeses the guy put in these meatballs mixture. But my entire heart and the other half of my mind just screaming 'OHHH...that just sounds sooo right!! Crumbled up meatballs' and my mouth is watering! Mmmh..*make note to self*!! Bobby Flay's gourmet lasagna won, but I am pretty sure I will take the 'Sauce Boy' lasagna anytime. Ya know, the real deal kind.

All that just my ramblings...I am not making any lasagna, just sharing my thoughts out loud. While I am in my rambling mode - has anybody know or plan the menu for Thanksgiving? Traditional menu? Or non-traditional? I am still getting used to the idea of October Thanksgiving instead of November. It may actually work out better, I think. At least, there is a slight chance to have 'warmer' Thanksgiving, which means I can still peruse our balcony. Ya know, it takes some adjusting when we moved here and got to live in tiny apartment. Every square foot (inches) counts. On good notes, it forces me to be super organized and there is NIL space to store junk away. So, we don't have junk, you guys! :D Oh and cleaning is a breeze! Wipe, wipe, vacuum, all in 10 minutes.

On bad notes, it's such a tight space that last year when it was below 0 Celcius, we had to open a window to let the air in so that our friends wouldn't pass out.

Anyhoo..Vik is gone to the States for few days for work. Practically, I should just let my stove and oven chill out for few days or just make something like..oh..salad. I admit that I am not very great in cooking for one type of person. That said, I also refuse to eat salad or stir fry for the entire week. Scenario like this, you call up friends and entice them with food. :)

So that's what I did this afternoon. I was thinking about chicken and dumpling soup - Southern style. With some biscuit! Mmmh! Then the friend weighed in her opinion for potpie instead, she wanted to learn to make simple pie crust, to prepare for Thanksgiving pie. So why not..biscuit vs crust. Same thing! I mean, butter rich wise. ;) The recipe is for double crust pie for a typical 9-10" pie pan, but we used two small casserole dish instead - deep chicken pot pie!! And we scraped it to the last bits. Since I am not much a fan of double crust pot-pie, we split the dough to 3 disks, instead of 4. Hence she got quite thick of bottom crust (as pictured above) - which she loves! I am happy with my single top crust pot pie.

Pot pie is also a great dish to clean up freezer. And we did exactly that, frozen peas, frozen carrots, frozen lima beans!

What:
Pie Dough:
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 1/4 (or less) cup cold water
- pinch of salt

Filling:
- 2 cups of any veggies (we used peas, carrots, mushrooms, lima beans, snap peas, red bell peppers, celery)
- almost 1 cup chicken, chopped
- 1/2 small onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/4 cup milk (half and half or cream is absolutely fine too)
- 1/4 cup chicken broth (from poaching chicken breast and thighs)
- salt and pepper

How:
- Mix flour, baking powder and salt.
- Add in cold butter to flour mixture, cut with 2 knives, pastry blender or use finger tips to rub in butter until it resembles coarse meal.
- Add in cold water by tablespoonful, just enough to moisten up the mixture to hold together.
- Form dough to 3 disks. Put in fridge for about 15-20 minutes.
- Make the filling by sauteing onion and garlic until onion is translucent.
- Add in chicken and vegetables. Toss in thyme and bayleaf. Stir.
- Sprinkle flour. Stir and cook for few minutes.
- Pour chicken broth. Stir. Add in milk. Stir until thickens. If too thick, add more broth.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Take out dough from fridge, roll it out to fit dish. Place it into pie/casserole dish, build the side and bring it to the rim.
- Fill with chicken vegetable mixture. Place the top crust dough on top, crimp, tuck to the the rim.
- Brush top with milk (optional). Bake in 350° oven until crust is golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Yeehaa!! E Award!!

2008-09-22T15:31:00.000-07:00

What can I say? I am just truly humble and of course, giddily joyful when I received a message from Elra of Elra Cooking & Baking (oh and boy..she has gorgeous garden!!), that she is passing me this award! I still consider myself a newbie in food blogging, so this is important day for me, ya'll!!! :) Okay, so I still say "ya'll' sometimes when I get excited. And..Yeehaa!

That said, I also would like to share and pass along this award with:

Clumbsy Cookie, though I just recently found her blog, she got me at 'Inside-Out Smores' and I have been reading through her entries, all sort of innovative recipes!

Hot Garlic, well..I LOVE garlic! :) I insantly drawn to her blog layout, so chic, with such creative recipes. Love how she always put that extra punch in her food presentation.

Dee of ChoosandChews , just adore her blog!! Entertaining, witty and always with great recipes!

And I have to say that I love all the photos from these three bloggers. Something I am very much struggling with. :D

Thank you again Elra!! Terima Kasih! I am so tempted to bake/make/knead more breads after seeing all your beautiful breads!

Pepes Ikan/ Grilled-Baked Fish in Banana Leaves

2008-09-19T18:06:00.001-07:00

This past week has been one of those weeks where days just fly by..besides work and all other things in life, I have also been playing hide and seek, cat and mice (me being the cat!) with prospective client and a travel agent. Being at different time zone, 13 hours apart just make it tad harder. That said, I haven't put the time to take food photos. My lame excuse is that by the time I am done cooking, it's dark outside and all my 'better' pictures that I have taken - I have been banking it all on natural daylight. Which come to this conclusion; when days go shorter, I'll need to find new spot for the right lighting. Hmm!!

Anyhoo, so after all that craziness in this week, I decided that I should reward myself (and Vik) with food 'present.' This dish is absolutely presented like a 'gift' - with its banana leaves packaging. While it's cooking, the kitchen filled with such familiar earthy banana leaves aroma with hint of spices seeping out from the leaves. When opened...mhh..there would be a moment of silence and a huge grin on our face. It's literally like opening a gift.

Best if made with whole fish and then grilled as the end process, but I just don't buy whole fish that often and, I don't have a grill. So, fish fillet it is. And, pan seared!!

What:
- 500 gr fish fillet
- 1 lime
- 2 candlenuts, crushed
- 5 shallots, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tomato, quartered
- 10 long red chillies (not bird eyes chillies - it'll be wayyy too fiercy hot. However I guess, if thai bird eyes chillies are more accessible, then mix 2 chillies with 1 red bell pepper)
- 2 thai basil leaves, chopped
- 1/2 tbsp shrimp paste (pan fry for few minutes, optional)
- pinch of turmeric
- salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2-3 (12"x12") banana leaves, wipe with damp cloth.

How:
- Rub fish with lime juice, let stand for about 10 minutes.
- Grind all spices (except banana leaves, of course) to paste.
- Arrange banana leaves by putting one piece on top of another, with the ribs going the opposite side of each other. One goes horizontal, the other goes vertical - just for security purpose. :) To prevent domino effect of one ripped leaves lead to another. Smear little bit of vegetable oil on the side that is facing up - where we'll put the fish on.
- Place fish fillet on top of oil-smear. Spread spice paste all over fillet.
- Wrap parcel by folding top and bottom side of leaves overlapping each other, like making an envelope. Secure rignt and left ends with toothpicks.
- Place bundle in pan, medium heat. Pour about 1/4 cup of water to the pan, not over the fish. Cover and let it steam. Or of course, if there is a steamer with its rack and all, that's the preferred method. But I don't have such steamer :D - and my dimsum steamer is not quite big to fit this fish package.
- Cooking time varied depending on thickness of fish. But I do about 10 minutes of steaming and by then, there should be no water left in pan and leaves should show some changes in color.
- Turn heat medium-hot, and now let the outer leaves charred (grilling, see). Once one side is charred, flip carefully to get the same effect on the other side.

I serve this with steamy jasmine rice and Sayur Asam. I have always liked the combination of spicy fiery hot of this grilled fish with something tangy fresh - to offset the heat.

Taro and Shrimp Spring Rolls

2008-09-15T15:43:00.001-07:00

To accompany the savory rolls, I quickly whipped up these easy spring rolls. Lately, I have been craving taro and been using it few times for this same recipe, mixing it with different ingredients. Mushrooms and taro, shrimp and taro, or taro with any ground meat. Some water chestnuts to add crunch is yummy too. Super easy to make and the frying part is not too bad with its tiny size - I just use small frying pan and just rotate it to get even browning. Or, of course a huge pan and do it all at once. But then I got to use more oil and I am not particularly fond on having some leftover frying oil. Feel bad to toss it after one time use, as bad as having it sit there in a container. Ick.

What:
- 15 spring rolls wrappers
- 1 taro, peeled and either cut to small cubes or shred.
- 1 cup shrimps, deveined, shelled and chopped coarsely
- 3 dried chinese mushrooms, soaked and choped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 small onion, minced
- 1/2 tbsp five spice powder
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
- 2-3 spring onions, chopped
- pepper
- dash of sugar

How:
- Heat a little bit oil in pan. Pan fry taro. Once tender, set aside on a platter.
- Toss in onion and garlic to pan. Saute until onion is soft.
- Add mushrooms, five spice powder, soy sauce, green onions, pepper and sugar. Stir and mix thoroughly.
- Add taro back to the pan and toss in shrimps. Cook just until shrimp turn color. Turn heat off and stir in sesame oil.
- Take a wrapper. Put about 1 1/2 tbsp of filling to the edge and roll it like a cigar. Seal with mixture of corn starch and water.
- Fry until golden brown.

For dipping sauce, version of Vietnamese style sauce is perfect, nuoc nam with lime juice, sprinkle with warm water and thinly sliced bird eyes chillies with garlic. Or, just bottled hot sauce. Hoisin sauce whisk together with lime juice and few teaspoon of hot chili sauce is a pretty good pairing also.

Savory Asian Rolls

2008-09-15T13:23:00.000-07:00

Having a work-session at our place this weekend. Depressing enough that we needed to work on weekend, on top of that, the weather was not the best - gloomy, humid, semi-raining, semi-sunshine! So everybody decided to bring some snacks to keep going and motivated (to keep eating). I decided to make some rolls - bread rolls and spring rolls!

I have been thinking a lot about baking rolls/bread, especially after religiously checking out Elra's blog! Something about bread baking has always been somewhat intimidating. Which is rather silly due to the fact that I grew up watching a lot of dough kneading and some involved slapping dough to air and counter top - still not quite sure whether it was some anger management session taking place or that type of high level slapping was truly needed?!! Ooh, we don't do any fancy breads, just simple basic savory/sweet filled buns and rolls - I loveee coconut buns!!! And occasionally, some Chinese steamed buns. In short, I should feel okay with the bread ordeal, yeah? But I am just not.

However, enough whining, so I leafed through family's recipe and realized that there is another reason why I feel reluctant!! High protein vs low protein flour?!! Most of these recipes combine both. And I suddenly remember that in Indonesia - they kinda use the brand name to identify it, isn't it? Or that's just my silly judgment? Cakra as high protein (typically used for bread making) and Segitiga as......low protein? Or is it just all purpose flour? It's for everything kind of flour, yes? Can I just use bread flour then? King Arthur? One day I will figure this out and my oven will be spitting out toasty delicious rolls and buns like no tomorrow! :)

Then I came across another stash of recipes that I kept from random sources and this one sounds good. The picture in magazine looks like what I have in my head, savory filled buns. Big plus it only calls for all purpose flour. Bigger plus, it does not seem too demanding - effort and time.

Savory Asian Rolls
adapted from Korean Spiced Beef and Cabbage Rolls, Cooking Light, January 2008.

Filling:
- 1/2 cup chopped green onions
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp chinese cooking wine
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp fresh ginger
- 1/4 tsp minced garlic
- 1/8 tsp ground red pepper
- 1/2 lbs ground chicken

Dough:
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tbsp baking pwder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/3 cups water
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tbsp canola oil

Eggwash:
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 large egg white, lightly beaten

How:
- Heat a little oil in pan. Toss all filling ingredients together. Cook until chicken is done. Remove from heat and cool completely.
- Combine dry mixture in one bowl: flour, baking powder, and salt, stir with a whisk. Combine 1 1/3 cup water, honey and canola oil, whisk. Add water mixture to flour mixture, stir until a soft dough forms.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic about 5 minutes. Cover and let stand for another 5 minutes. (This is where I jumped into making this recipe, 10 minutes in a making just sounds extremely doable, isnt it?!)
- The recipe calls for rolling the dough into a 16 x 12 rectangle, 1/4" thick, on lightly floured surface. Cut dough to 12 squares. But with limited counter space, I just eyeball and portion out 15 dough-balls. Rolling each ball to a 1/4" disk.
- Cover dough with damp cloth. Work with 1 square/disk at the time, spoon about 1/4 cup filling into the center of dough. Moisten edges with water and bring corners to center. Pinch to seal.
- Place rolls, seam side down on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Mix lightly beaten egg with water. Brush top of dough. The recipe suggests sprinkling sesame seeds on top of dough. But..I don't have any, so plain top it is.
- Bake at 375° for 25 minutes or until rolls are lightly browned.

Well, the outcome is not too bad. Not exactly great either. The dough part is somewhat bland and has crusty/crispy top as opposed to pillow soft like. Not quite what I wished it would turn out to. But maybe if I want these rolls to be the type that I want them to, I should have used the recipe that is meant for it, right?! :) To say the least, for such little time it took to make these mini rolls, I feel quite happy with the result. Plus, there was no leftover, so I really can't complain much.

Now that I am blogging this, it just occurred to me that I did not take any photos of the fillings!!! It was the best part of these small buns. Geez!

Tandoori Chicken

2008-09-11T16:42:00.000-07:00

This is to round up our Indian dinner we had the other night. As mentioned in the bhajia entry, our favorite Indian restaurant used to make very delicious moist tender Tandoori Chicken, but it has been hit and miss lately. We were told that there is a new chef joining the team, yet we sorta find it as very odd that all other dishes' quality remain the same, except the Tandoori Chicken! Oh well..it's not like we can't live without it ya know?

My quick history with Tandoori Chicken - well..would never thought of making it until I met Vik. That said, he is not at all an expert of Tandoori either. He just happen to have cravings for it once a while. One fine day when we were still dating, he decided that he'd make me Tandoori Chicken. Of all things he could have made, he had to pick not at all a 'beginner' recipe. I was somewhat terrified. Cooking is just not his forte. I still remember the second week after we just met, he and his best friend decided to cook and invited some friends over. At the time, I assumed they are pretty comfortable with cooking. It was until I got there and heard all these whispers in kitchen 'Hm...do you think this chicken is cooked?' 'I don't know..does it look like it?' 'Should we cut it and check?' 'Oh ewh..it is absolutely not done' OH MY GOODNESS!! Therefore, my panic when he said he'd made me Tandoori Chicken.

To give him some credit, he was smart enough to buy those instant mix. Yet as first timer, he just randomly picked one brand...how do I say this ... it was quite memorable, to say the least. We ate at the stoop of my apartment. His effort and thought made up for weird 'did not even look like tandoori chicken' Tandoori Chicken. It was hilarious - we got such a good laugh over it.

To prevent history repeats itself, here we go:

What:
- about 6 of any skinless cuts of chicken (we both prefer thighs, but I often just mix them up - whatever there is in fridge.) I use 2 drumsticks, 2 thighs and 1 half breast, cut to 2 piece, rub quickly with lime juice.
- 1/2 cup of yogurt
- 1 small onions, quartered
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 inches ginger, minced
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1/4 tbsp turmeric
- 2 tbsp sweet paprika
- 1 tsp hot chili powder
- 1 tbsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tbsp cumin powder
- 2 pods cardamom

How:
- Whisk all the spices in yogurt together, including onions, garlic and ginger.
- Put chicken pieces in ziploc bag, pour the marinade on it. Zip up and 'knead' the bag to mix up chicken and yogurt mixture thoroughly.
- Place ziploc bag in fridge for overnight. Try to at least marinate it for 6 hours.
- Bake chicken covered with foil in 375 oven, for about 20 - 30 minutes.
- Uncovered and put it under broil to get the nice char on chicken. It's not like we can just buy a Tandoor from Williams-Sonoma, right? :)
- Squeeze more lemon juice on top of chicken before serving.
To get the familiar red of Tandoori Chicken, besides red food coloring, there are few other options: saffron thread or annatto seeds; which extract is used for cheese and butter coloring, I believe. Or, in my case, I just sprinkle some more paprika on top of chicken right before baking.

Aloo Gobi Curry (Potato Cauliflower)

2008-09-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

I guess there is a basic recipe for Aloo Gobi or shall I say, a base recipe for this dish. Then there are many different take on it. I think I have had at least half dozen of its variation. Most of them on the drier side - without too much gravy. Then there are some with gravy/ curry in it. I am not very picky about it though. However, of course, the person who does not cook (aka my husband) just happen to have a version that he likes. It can not be oily, that's for one. The vegetables can't be too soft. Bit crunch with softer texture inside. Sure, I am a miracle worker. :)

I learned my basic from my mom in law and have been adapting it a little bit here and there. Sometimes I make the dry version, sometimes bit gravy version, depending on the other dish. Since I am pairing it with Tandoori Chicken, I thought some gravy will be a nice touch.

What:
- 1 cup cauliflower, cut to florets
- 1 cup potatoes, cut to chunks
- 1 jalapenos, minced
- 1/2 small onions, chopped
- 1 tsp ginger, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp of chilies powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- pinch of turmeric
- 1/2 small container of yogurt (sour cream or cream can be use interchangably)
- salt and pepper
- handful of coriander leaves, chopped.

How:
- Put cauliflowers and potatoes on baking sheet. Toss lightly with olive oil and paprika. Slide into 400° preheated oven - to somewhat roast it. Just for about 15 minutes or so. Take out from oven and put aside.
- Heat a little oil in pan. Toss in mustard seeds and cumin seeds until sizzles.
- Add in onion, garlic, ginger and jalapenos. Saute until soft.
- Add in coriander powder, chilies powder, garam masala, turmeric, salt and pepper. Stir.
- Toss in vegetables. Stir. Add in yogurt and turn the heat up - keep stiring to prevent burning. The (personal) idea is to 'force' all the ingredients to mingle together quickly without making the vegetables too soft and mushy.
- Turn the heat off. Toss in handful of coriander leaves, stir. Squeeze some lime juice just before serving.

Banana Chocolate Chips Cookies

2008-09-10T12:51:00.001-07:00

Working from home today and just had to sneak into the kitchen halfway through work. Not gonna cook, because we are to meet couple friends for dinner. That leaves baking. Have a very scary looking banana on our fruit bowls. Banana bread? But I'll need more than 1 banana.

There is cooking science and baking science, yes? Let's just say if both are school subjects, I'd fail miserably in baking science. Give me any cooking ingredients and I will figure my way out - it won't be Iron Chef quality, but it'll be decent. Baking ingredients though, I just have no clue of where to start. Just can't comprehend the right ratio of things. Too many unknown entities for me. Low protein, high protein flour. Hard and soft wheat. When to use both baking powder and soda. Which make it so challenging and...can be fun.

That said, I don't know what I can do with beyond over ripe single banana. On top of that, a package of instant oatmeal that just happen to sit in our cereal bars container!! Also have little bit of brown sugar. Google can't even handle such odd search. :D Went through some of my cookies recipe archive. Diligently paying close attention to ratio of flour:sugar:butter:the adds on.

Therefore, the quest begins. Whoa..I saw a small ziploc bag of wheat flour. I bought some a while ago from those bulk stores - was going to use it for something, can't remember what but must be something healthy - whole wheat flour. Butter. Salted or unsalted? Unsalted should be better, maybe? Yet it costs me more per stick than salted, and without knowing how it'll turn out, I think I should save the unsalted ones for better use.

What:
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- pinch of salt
- a little bit less than 1/2 cup brown sugar (I only have that much, maybe about 3/8 cup)
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 egg
- 1 packet instant oatmeal (from Quaker, and happen to be cinnamon flavored one)
- 1 banana, mashed
- a dash of vanilla essence
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips
How:
- Beat sugar and butter until creamy. Add eggs and essence. Beat until mix thoroughly.
- With spatula, mix in mashed bananas.
- Mix together flour, baking soda, instant oatmeal and salt. Pour into sugar mixture. Mix with spatula.
- Fold in chocolate chips. Mix until just combined.
- Drop a full tablespoon of dough to baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes in 350 oven, until bottom is golden brown.

Hmm..the verdict...it was not bad!!! At first, I was about to toss it out when I see the bottom starts getting all nice and golden but with very spongy soft almost mushy top. Chewy cookies are fine, but soft mushy? No. Then I thought about how some cookies should be left to cool and will harden up on its own. Maybe this is one of those. One thing for sure though, our place was filled with such lovely smell. Took it out from oven and leave it to cool. I could not help but keep touching and poking it. Still soft!! Oh my goodness! Hm..is it thoroughly baked?! I am absolutely not an expert baker, but I am pretty sure it's thoroughly done. Just to be sure, I inserted toothpick and it comes out super clean.

Ten minute later, the top harden up and I carefully break a piece. Still soft/cake- like inside, but look quite okay to eat. :) I took a bite and almost did a cha-cha slide. Nawh. Not to that extreme!! But really, it was pretty yummy. Instead of cookies, I may have to think of it more of miniature banana bread with crusty outer layers. Most importantly, I got to use up the overripe banana and that one packet of cinnamon oatmeal and that small amount of brown sugar leftover.

Oh, this will be perfect cookies for young children, no? Not too hard in texture, loaded with good stuff - oatmeal, banana and whole wheat flour!!

Bhajia - Potato, Onion and Cauliflower

2008-09-09T16:03:00.000-07:00

So yeah theweathernetwork dot com did say it is going to be raining today. I have learned to pay little attention to weather channel (rarely accurate, dont they?) despite the fact that I do check it everyday. However, I don't need weather network to tell me it's going to rain today, it has been looking all gloomy and dark all morning. Took the umbrella with me for varous meetings. Yet I managed to leave it in the car while going into post office, dropping in few boxes - was quite shock to know 1 kg costs $15 and 5 kg = $22!! Anyway, I thought, heh, 5 minutes, how bad could it be?! It won't be pouring rain all of sudden, will it? It took me longer than 5 minutes. As I inched my way out the door, there were at least a dozen people standing under the awnings in the hope to protect themselves from nasty rain!! So, should I stand there too? Or should I just run?

Car was not too far and I was to pick up Vik from his meeting. So, I dashed!!! Hoping to put all my training to the test. Well, I never train under pouring rain so I skidded a little bit and by the time I got into the car, my jeans was soaked all the way to my knee. All in less than 1 minute time.

Vik quickly pointed out that he was hungry - at 4.30 pm!! Asked me what's for dinner and I told him that I have some chicken marinated overnight for Tandoori Chicken. He was just thrilled. Not because it is my 'special' dish or anything, but he has been disappointed on Tandoori Chicken from our favorite Indian Restaurant. It has always been very good until the past couple months, it becomes a hit and miss dish. Then Vik says 'Can you make some bhajia too? Piping hot bhajia sounds good in this rainy weather'

In normal circumstances, I'd have shove him out off the door. What?!!! I was half soaked, had to deal with a grumpy client not too long ago, and I already have a perfect dinner planned: Tandoori Chicken, Aloo Gobi curry, rice and naan. Have all these steps in my head - put chicken in oven, roast the vegetables, make the sauce, take quick hot shower. Then I am all done. But see, this is not at all..not at all...a normal request from Vik. Flashnews: Vik does not like fried food. He'd never ever order pakoras or bhajias in restaurants. There are some exceptions, but never pakoras, bhajias, samosas, etc. So in conclusion, he must be in serious cravings for it. I just could not say no. Also..I love fried food. :)

Oil issue aside. We both don't like heavily battered fritters - and most restaurants tend to have a thick coat of batter. So I went to work on fritters after popping in chicken to oven as well as cauliflower and potatoes.
I mix and match the ingredients. Just cauliflower. Potatoes, onions and jalapenos. Cauliflower, zucchini and jalapenos. The 'just cauliflower' ones is really for me. I like it that way. But at the end, I only ate about 3..

What:
- chickpea/ gram flour
- water (my ratio of flour: water is something like 1/2 cup flour to 1 1/2 cup water - very thin batter, basically it's just a thin coating for fritters)
- garam masala
- hot chillies powder
- salt and pepper
- cumin powder
- assorted vegetables:
- potatoes, slice thinly
- cauliflower, cut to bite size florets
- onions, slice
- jalapenos, slice
- zucchini, julienne

How:
- Heat oil in pot.
- Mix flour, water, garam masala, salt, pepper, hot chillies powder, cumin. Whisk.
- For cauliflowers, dip it to batter, give it a quick shake (to let excessive batter drips) and drop it carefully to hot oil.
- For the mix: Mix the vegetables in separate bowl. It can be done two ways: Either mix in the batter to vegetables. Spoon a spoonful of it and drop to hot oil. Or, I use slotted spoon, scoop dry vegetable mix, dip to batter, lift and let excess batter drips off through spoon. Then gently drop fritter to hot oil. Fry until golden.

We eat it with trio sauce of coriander chutney, sweet and hot sauce, and sambal ABC.

Moroccan Chicken with Apricots

2008-09-08T20:49:00.000-07:00

I read this Moroccan Chicken recipe in Cooking Light quite a while ago and at the time, I think I was more drawn to the picture of it than the recipe itself. It just has that look of very hearty flavorful dish. I wrote the recipe down in my notebook, thinking I'd come to it one day. That one day happens to be today!! But as I read through the recipe, it just did not give me the 'it' factor I was hoping for. It sure sounds like a great dish, and examining the recipe, it quite obvious that the apricots is the key ingredient for the dish. Still missing something though. One, spicy heat. Two, something at the end to add some freshness twist to it. Thus, I added red chillies powder and couple cloves to intense the earthy flavor and handful of coriander leaves and few squeeze of lemon juice at the end of cooking.

Like most Moroccan dish, the dish is paired with couscous - which will be super perfect! However, what's the odd, usually there is a box or two in the pantry, but just when I need it, I seem not to have any. Thus, I opted for basmati rice, cooked with pinch of turmeric to give it beautiful color and just a hint of earthy peppery aroma. Toss in some raisins and almonds.

What:
- 1/2 tsp olive oil
- 1 lbs skinless, boneless chicken (I use thighs and drumsticks)
- 1 cup thinly sliced onion
- 1/2 tbsp ginger, minced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 3/4 cup fat free, less-sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 can (15 1/2 oz) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 cup dried apricots, halved
- 1 small yellow bell peppers, thinly sliced (optional)
- 1 tsp chillies powder (optional)
- handful cilantro, chopped (optional)
- lemon juice (optional)
- 2 cloves (optional)

How:
- Heat olive oil in heavy pot. Add chicken to pan, browning all sides. Remove chicken and set aside.
- Add onion to pan, saute until tender. Add ginger, garlic, cumin, salt, coriander, cinnamon, pepper, yellow bell peppers, chillies powder, cloves. Fry until fragrant.
- Stir in broth, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.
- Return chicken to pan, bring to simmer. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for about 1 hour.
- Remove chicken from pan, let cool slightly. Coarsely shred chicken to bite sized. Return chicken to pot with chickepas and apricots. Cover and simmer for another 15 min.
- Toss in cilantro leaves. Stir. Remove from heat. Squeeze in some lemon juice right before serving.
The rice is super easy and simple to make. Toss in 1 tbsp of unsalted butter to pot, add in about 1 cup of rice, stir and let it toast for a bit to get nutty flavor. Pour in just a little bit over 1 cup of broth. Cover and let cook for about 15 minutes. Turn the heat off, lift lids, toss in raisins and almonds, stir and fluff rice. Put the lids back on and just let it sits for few more minutes.

Well, it is absolutely a nice dinner. Still on the mild side to our taste, even after the extra hot chilies powder addition. However, I think it can be a good meal to please a crowd. Not too overly spicy, not bland either. Just right smack in the middle. The slight tartness from apricots give a nice contrast to smoky earthy flavor of the dish.

Vik thinks basmati rice is a better pairing than original coucous. His reasoning is that couscous may get mushy, with its tiny grain and gravy-ish chicken. He loves to give random 0.02 cents. To say the least, fragrant basmati rice with sweet plump raisins and almond slivers absolutely do its job complementing this Moroccan Chicken with Apricot dish.

Cheddar Chives Scones

2008-09-08T19:03:00.000-07:00

There is this one TV commercial about iced cappuccino. Two people happen to bump into each other, one of them has a cappuccino on his hand and the other person was just so mesmerized by it. Something along that line happened to me earlier today. As I got out from a building, an older lady almost bumped into me, some 'sorry/pardon/excuse me' being exchanged but all I care at that time was this huge scone in her hand. Hmm!! I am not sure whether the familiar baked goods smell from the bakery nearby or the visual image of the scone that just made me think of scones all the way coming home!!

I knew I'd making a small batch of it as soon as I got home. First I was thinking about sweet kind of scones. A quick look to the pantry - hm..nothing exciting for sweet scones in there. I ended up doing what I usually do, looking at the back of fridge, the drawers, whether any small bits I can use. Few strands of chives. Some cheddar. Very basic cheddar and chives scones then!

I prefer my scones almost biscuit like. Hard crust outside but still has some flakiness inside. From all things I bake, scones rank pretty high up in easy and fast category. It's really quick and effortless. Perfect for quick breakfast. Or, in our case today, afternoon snack. I have always loved herbs flavored scones, it works beautifully with cheeses. Even plain herb scones works wonder with a smear of butter on it.

What:
- 1 cup of flour
- 1/2 tbsp baking powder
- 5 tbsp of unsalted butter, cold, cubed
- 1/2 cup shredded old cheddar
- 1 tsp chives, finely chopped
- 1/3 tsp minced garlic (optional)
- 1/3 cup light cream
- pinch of salt and pepper

How:
- Mix flour, baking powder, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add butter and using pastry blender to make a coarse butter-flour crumbs. Using fingers to rub butter into flour just work as good.
- Add cheese, chives, and garlic to mixture. Toss gently just until combine.
- Pour cream on top and stir slowly to make a loose dough.
- Dump dough onto floured surface and gently knead for a minute just until it does not crumble. Gather into a ball. Pat to 1" thick disc. Cut to wedges or cut to rounds using cookie cutters. I just cut mine to 4 big wedges. Easy work. :D
- Bake in preheated 400°F oven for about 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

Eat it as is, warm from oven. Or with some spread. Or for sandwich. Or with soup! The options are endless. What I like about this type of scones (hard crust outside and still has some flakiness inside) is that it keeps better than the harder version.

Simple Easy Fried Noodles

2008-09-07T12:24:00.000-07:00

I can eat noodles just as often as rice. That's what we grow up accustomed to in Indonesia. All kind of noodles, fried, soup, gravy-ish. Fancy with all the trimmings or very plain: noodles, with garlic, beansprouts and eggs, soy sauce of course. For the latter, if it's being whipped up with very well-made noodles - oooh..it tastes just heavenly!!!

That said, my usual is full to the brim trimmings. Shrimp, fishball, veggies, eggs, chicken, et cetera!! Mhhmhh. At first, Vik just did not get this deep love I have for noodles. Even after gentle (and later, grumpy) explanation of that's just what 'we' eat!! He always thought noodle is either those ramen type or Pad Thai!! Just imagine my exasperation. I knew he'd changed his perception as we traveled through S.E.Asia. He was in awe to see noodles in various thickness, form, taste and the 1001 ways of it being cooked. I said I told you so in every chance I got. ;)

Anyhoo, weather has been gloomy - I sort of love gloomy rainy weather. It's just perfect for sitting on balcony, reading and falling asleep weather, ya know? Vik, on the other hand, detests this weather. He prefers either hot days, or just cold snowy days. Nothing in between. What perfect food to cure his moody day? A plate of fried noodles!!! Hot out from wok, sitting on the balcony. With a cup of jasmine tea.

What:
- 250 gr noodles
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tbsp chillies in oil
- 3 handful of beansprouts (we love beansprouts)
- 1 cup of green leaf vegetables, chopped coarsely (I use romaine lettuce)
- 6 beef meatballs, cut thick
- 1/4 cup boneless chicken (or shrimp)
- 3-4 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp sweet soy sauce
- 1 egg
- cilantro, chopped (optional)

How:
- Heat oil in pan. Toss in garlic. Stir fry.
- Toss in chilies. Toss in chicken. Fry.
- Add meatballs. Stir. Add in eggs. Let it set for a while before scrambling it.
- Toss in lettuce. Stir well with everything.
- Turn the heat up to high. Toss in noodles. Pour both salty and sweet soy sauce. Stir quickly but try to do it lightly. Overworking the noodles can break them apart. Wok tossing-flicking skill is very useful in dishes like this.
- Toss in beansprouts. Stir and mix thoroughly, just for a minute or so. Turn off the heat.
- Stir in fresh cilantro.

Seafood & Sausage Gumbo

2008-09-05T13:24:00.000-07:00

Gumbo is absolutely a type of food that fall into category of 'labor of love.' Not only it is such a comfort food, very earthy flavor and hit you on right spot type of dish. It also puts your patience to the test. I am talking about making the roux. Oh my. The first time I made this about 5 years ago and with all these horror stories about burnt roux, it took me 1.5 hour to get it to amber color. I was so worried for having to redo the entire thing so I started it with low-medium heat and stir until my arm was so sore!

It has to be at least medium brown and all the way to dark reddish brown. Nowadays, I stir while reading a magazine or a book. Just perk a magazine on the counter and keep stirring. It is one of those dishes that takes pretty much equal labor, whether cooking for 2 or for 50.

Gumbo is such a dish that everybody can add their own little signature to it. Lots of people love file powder on it. Thicker stew. Or some prefer it stew-soupy like. Eaten with both rice and bread. I just like mine with crusty french baguette. Creole and Cajun version share some similarities as well as differences. Cajun's is the darker version of the two, a personal favorite but instead of magazine, I may have to grab encyclopedia to read while stirring.

My first true gumbo recipe came from client. The husband grew up in Louisiana, and with his wife, they'd throw a mean Cajun/Creole party over Labor Day weekend. I have had gumbo prior to that but never attempted making it on my own. I still remember when I visited their home to do some final check two days before Labor day weekend kick off. They were both in the kitchen and chopping away peppers, onions, celery, sausages, etc. Pounds and pounds of crawfish. For about 150 people feast. The rest of menu was handled by caterer, EXCEPT for the gumbo. So I knew I got to stay and watch (and take notes).

What:
- Combination of any of these; andouille sausages (or any spicy sausages will be good), seafood (crawfish, shrimp, crabmeat/claws, clams), chicken, ham.
My usual is 2 link of andouille sausage, 1 cup of crabmeat (picked through and make sure it's nice firm lump crab meat, not tiny shred of flakes ), 1 cup of shrimp. I'd add some clams, if I have any.
- 1 1/2 cup of celery
- 1 1/2 cup bell peppers (I like to use red, but any combination is fine)
- 1 1/2 cup onions
The holy trinity of Creole cooking, celery, peppers, and onions. I like to chop 1/2 amount of it very finely. 1 cup of celery = 1/2 cup coarsely chopped and 1/2 cup finely chopped. I love the colorful small specks they create in the gumbo. The combo also adds some extra weight/thickness to this stew.
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil (I like to use 1/4 oil and 1/4 butter combination. However, with its low smoking point, butter burns easily, that said, it really depends on personal comfort zone whether to mix the two or not. Burnt butter or roux automatically means a start over)
- 1 cup flour
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp paprika powder
- 2 tsp hot chili powder (optional)
- 1/2 cup okra, pan-fry until crispy to remove all that slimy stuff it has. Set aside.
- 5-6 cups seafood broth (or vegetable/chicken broth)
- 1 sprig of tyhme
- handful of parsley, chopped coarsely
- few dash of tabasco (optional)

How:
- Heat a little bit of oil in a pan. Toss in sausages and just let it brown up. Take out from pan and put aside.
- Toss in garlic and onion to the same pan. Fry for a little bit. Add in peppers and celery, scrape all the brown bits from the pan. Just quickly stir them for couple minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Come the roux! Make sure you are all relaxed and have good thoughts. :)
- Add oil/butter to heavy pot. Gradually sprinkle in flour. Stir stir stir. Read magazine, sing, meditate, but you got to keep stirring. If there is a burning smell or any brown specks, got to toss it and start all over. Keep stirring!!
- Once it's nice and brown. Toss in finely chopped onion, pepper and celery. Stir, mix thoroughly. It will look very thick, but it's okay.
- Toss in the rest of chopped onion, pepper, celery and parsley.
- Add in bayleaf, paprika powder, chili powder, thyme. Stir.
- Pour broth to pot. Keep stirring to mix the roux and vegetables to broth thoroughly. Let it come to quick boil and turn heat medium-low, let it simmer for about another 40 minutes.
- Add sausages. Cook for about 10 minutes.
- Add cooked okra to the pot, crab meat and shrimps. Garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve over a bowl of rice or just with a piece (or entire loaf) of crusty french baguette.

'Poor Girl' Crab Cakes with Tahini Red Pepper Rémoulade

2008-09-04T17:16:00.001-07:00

After all work and no play Labor day weekend, I decided to take it bit easy today. Went for my long run of the week. Lazily dragged my feet to yoga class. Instructor is undergoing some minor surgery and her substitute is hmm...she is okay. The drawback of yoga classes in a gym is that after a while, it's same ol' same ol' and gets very predictable. But real deal yoga studio is way $$$$$!! And I refuse to pay both gym and yoga studio membership! So, to lighten up my mood after yoga, or, for all its worth, after such relaxing session, it leaves me with all sort of energy! yupee!! ;) I thought about chili crab! Ohh..how much I would love to dig into one!! But ya know how inconvinence that is to fry a crab in tiny kitchen with not so great ventilation? I don't even want to think about it.

But I want spicy crab dish!! Vik suggested to do a take-out from this one Chinese place, but that's not exactly what I wanted. I want something with thick sauce/gravy. Hm...gumbo sounds soo good!! Bought few beautiful red peppers from farmer's market over the weekend. Couple stalk of celery in fridge. Fresh thyme. Far from original whole crab idea, but oohh..nice firm lumpy crab meat (and without the frying and all) just sound as great!

Got home and nooo..we forgot to grab some crusty French Bread!!!! Looking at time, it's a little bit too late anyway to fix a pot of gumbo, the time to make the roux. Thus, we come to the decision of crab cakes. :D But we got to use it sparingly - still want chunks of crab in my gumbo tomorrow. That said, we'll just call it 'poor girl' crabcakes, since I added tons of other stuff to it. Little crab, tons of other stuff to make up for it. Heee..And, I have a small jar of red-pepper jelly!!! Perfect for nice rémoulade.

What:
- 1/3 cup lump crab meat (picked through, make sure no shells)
- 1/4 cup red peppers, chopped
- 4 shallots, coarsely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
- 1/4 cup celery, chopped
- 1/4 cup mushroom, chopped
- 2 tbsp fat free sour cream
- 1/2 tsp of dijon mustard
- 1 slice of whole wheat bread (tear to small pieces)
- 1 small red skin potatoes, boiled and mashed with skin intact
- few dash of tabasco sauce
Rémoulade:
- 1 1/2 tbsp tahini
- 5 tbsp yogurt
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 2 full overflowing tbsp red pepper jelly
- handful of chopped coriander

How:
- Heat a little bit olive oil in pan. Fry shallots and garlic.
- Add in celery, red pepper, mushroom. Sweat them for few minutes. Remove from heat, let cool.
- In a bowl, toss mashed potatoes, stir in dijon mustard, sour cream and torn pieces of bread.
- Toss in celery mixture. Mix thoroughly.
- Gently fold in crab meat.
- Make few patties.
- Pan fry with little oil in the pan. For not having much binding agent (eggs, breadcrumbs), these babies are softer in texture (but not at all mushy!!). So, once put in pan, just let it be for few minutes to get a nice crisp sturdier bottom, no poking or move it around. Gently flip and brown the other side.
- Whip all the dipping sauce ingredients together.

The tahini-red pepper combo whipped with fresh coriander leaves makes the dish feel less 'poor'!! With some olive oil, it can be made into fine salad dressing! Or, simply sandwich spread.

Chicken & Beef Sate & Lontong with Peanut Sauce/ Bumbu Kacang

2008-09-03T18:56:00.000-07:00

It takes me a while to post this entry, it has been many weeks since I made them. Just too long of entry/recipe, ya know? Thinking about breaking it down to 3 posts, sate, sauce and lontong/rice rolls. But if I were to do that, I'd never get around to it. The dish itself is not extremely hard, but a complete time consuming. Especially lontong. I was explaining to our friends what lontong is. They thought it was just a version of lemper (without the chicken), but it's not. It's just basically regular rice (not sticky rice), half cooked, packed into cylinder shape pouch/ package made from banana leaves (traditionally) and submerge into pot of water for 2nd stage cooking - where the rice grain expand and become compressed. However, foil and heat-proof plastic are widely used or last I heard, there is special mold made for this very purpose.

Absolutely not rocket science but it does take some practice or experience to get it right. My 'perfect' lontong has always been ones made by my grandma. My mom couldn't even quite master it yet (shhh) It has to have some bite to it without being too hard. But foremost, not gummy nor mushy soft. Ergh. And when being cut, there should be no cooked rice grain crumbling out from it. Though it easily falls into rice category, it's not quite a substitute for plain rice as daily staple. We eat/use it with sate and some other gravy/saucey items. Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

One thing I love about lontong is its character (now I make it sound as if it's a person or somethin). From street push carts or nicer dining place. Bare to the bone fixing, simple vegetable gravy poured on top of it, or as complement for sate, to fancier complete lontong dinner of lodeh, rendang, and all other fixings. 50 cents/plate or $10/plate. Either way, it is 'just' a basic delicious compressed rice dish (I would even eat it with sweet soy and crispy shallots!!). Doesn't matter how gourmet the end result of a dish, lontong is lontong, homey and nothing pretentious. It's almost impossible to believe how a simple dish like this can be so addicting!

Lontong/ Ricerolls
What:
- 2 cups rice, rinse very well
- 4 cups water
- dash of salt
- pandan leaves, make into a knot (optional)
- 5 (12x12") foil/ banana leaves (if using banana leaves, make sure to wipe leaves with damp cloth and there is no tear anywhere)

How:
- Cook rice and water in a pot. Toss in pandan leaves. Let water come to a boil.
- Turn the heat down to medium low, cover with lid and cook until water is absorbed, about 15 minutes.
- Remove pot from heat and just let stand for another 15 minutes, still covered.
- Take a piece of foil, put about 1 1/2 cup of rice onto center of foil. Roll it up tight like a cylinder. Twist both ends securely. Repeat with the rest of rice.
- Put rolled up bundles into a big pot. Fill with water. Water has to cover all rolls. Let cook in medium heat for 2 hours. Hm..yeah. Check once in a while to make sure the water level is still above rolls. Add hot water if need be.
- Test the readiness of it by poking with blunt end tools (I use the handle of wooden spoon) and it should feel solid.
- Lift with tongs, as it will be super ultra hot. Once lifted, let rolls stand upright on a big bowl/basin to drain any water that may have seep through bundles.

Traditional style of using banana leaves will leave a faint green color on the exterior of lontong and it lends a wonderful smell of banana leaves. I was torn between using it for this or for plating. Obviously, I opted it for plating!! If using banana leaves, make the mold ahead of time - by rolling it to a tube shape and secure one end with toothpick. Hence, it's ready to filled with rice and just secure the other end before putting it into pot.

Sate
What:-
- chicken (cut to 3/4 x 3/4" - I like to mix white and dark meat)
- beef (cut to 3/4 x 3/4")
grind to paste:
- 2 stalk lemongrass (white part only)
- 6 shallots
- 4 cloves of garlic
- piece of galangal
- 1 inch of ginger
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 4 tbsp coriander
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 tsp palm sugar
- pinch of cinammon
- salt and pepper

How:
- Fry paste in a little bit of oil for few minutes. Let cool.
- Slather paste to meat and marinate for at least 6 hours. Preferably overnight but not longer than 24 hours.
- Skewer meat to sticks and grill away! :D Squeeze some lime juice on top just before serving. And drizzle some sweet soy!! Yum!!

Peanut Sauce
What:
- 500 gr peanuts (ground - I use mortar and pestle so I can control the texture. It should be still somewhat coarse, \yet fine enough to give a nice texture to sauce)
- 250 gr chilies (ground to smooth paste, or I guess some bottled sambal oelek is fine)
- 5 shallots
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 stalk lemon grass, whacked
- 1 piece of galangal (optional)
- 5 candlenuts, panseared very quickly to release the oil
- 200 gr palm sugar (to taste)
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 cups coconut milk (I diluted the canned coconut milk, 1 1/2 cup milk with 1 1/2 cup water)
- 2 tbsp coconut oil (optional, any oil is fine)

How:
- Grind shallots, garlic, galangal, candlenuts to coarse paste.
- Heat coconut oil in pot. Toss in spice paste, lemon grass, bay leaf. Fry for few minutes.
- Add in chili paste. Stir. Toss in ground nuts and sugar. Mix throughly.
- Pour in coconut milk. Keep stirring until it thickens. About 20-30 minutes.
- If I have basil leaves on hand (one of the herbs I am trying to grow right now. Yihaa!), I like to add it to the sauce to give it some zing.

There. Sate, lontong & bumbu kacang. Pfuih! Pardon the poor lighting of the picture. It was taken very quickly - so the platter could get into dining table for our hungry guests. Earlier in the afternoon on that day, Vik gently let in his concern.Me, I don't mind waiting while you take all these food photos, and my stomach is growling (well..what would he eats if he doesn't wait, huh?) But let's don't do this to our friends, yeah?

Mini Cheese Puff

2008-09-03T14:55:00.000-07:00

After some thoughts, I think I should rephrase myself when I say 'I don't bake as much as I cook.' Because I sort of bake quite often. I just don't enjoy baking the way I enjoy cooking. There. That sounds just about right.

That said, I have enough baking molds/cups/tins to open a tiny bakery. When I travel, I usually would bring back about 1/2 a suitcase of baking stuff. Yeah. If any suitcase rattles going through conveyor belt, most likely that's mine. Not in excessive manner though. Not yet, at least. I am pretty realistic person. Kitchen with only very few cabinets, there is only so much I can store. I got them not necessarily because I know how to use all of them, but I LOVE LOVE their quirky design. Okay so, yeah I do sometimes buy them, believing that I will eventually use them one day. But mostly because I know they'll be great for something else too. For example, steam cake mold thing I got, I use it as candle holders on our balcony. So on.

Out my sets of pie molds/cups. Oval, round, and something resembling a boat. I wanted to use the mini ones but ya know how it is so often that anything mini requires too much of work and take only a second to eat! So, it has to be something quick and simple.

I thought about this one cheese puff recipe I read not long ago in Cooking Light, using mini muffin cup. Have couple different cheeses in fridge that I need to use. Perfect! Quickly checked out the recipe, only to find out that I don't even have half of the ingredients. But..once I put my mind to it, I will prevail! So, here goes pulling things out from fridge.

What:
- 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/4 cup old cheddar, finely grated
- 1/4 cup mozarella, finely grated
- 1/4 cup asiago, finely grated
- 4 tbsp parmesan, finely grated
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 1 tbsp parsley, chopped
- pinch of baking powder
- 1 tsp flour for dusting the tin

How:
- Whip everything with a whisk.
- Grease molds/cups, dust tin with flour.
- Fill cups all the way to the rim. It will rise and deflated.
- Bake in preheated 350 oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
- It yields just about 18 minis. Gone in oh..20 minutes. No, we did not eat them all!! :D It was four of us.Considering the time it takes to make this - about 8 minutes (from taking things out from fridge to grating cheese, whisking it), it turns out to be seriously good!! Not too cheesy (though I will not complain if it is), a little crisp outside with soft pillowy melt to your mouth inside.

Kastangel/ Kue Keju/ Cheese Cookies

2008-09-02T09:54:00.000-07:00

I made these two weekend ago for a friend, gave her most of whatever comes out from it, and keep a small jar for us. My hope was to redo the 'photo session' - I have this pretty image in my head of how it should look like, see? But who am I kidding?!! It's all gone by the third day.

I don't make these sort of cookies much. See that little suckers?!! Take forever! Besides, I had enough share of making/helping to make these growing up. Aunt and mom owned a bakery many years ago. Talking about illegal child labor! In busy seasons, Christmas, Chinese New Year, Idul Fitri/Eid - they were always short of help. And I swear, every person (neighbor included) coming through the kitchen, would be handed a brush for egg wash or metal spatula to transfer cookies to cool.

Batches and batches of these. Most dreadful one was helping to shape pineapple filling for pineapple tarts. It was a complete torture. Sticky and so not rewarding, since it'd be INSIDE the tarts anyway. Still dislike the task, and will only make a batch after serious bribing. Though I secretly enjoyed the end part of it when all tins, boxes being tied up with pretty ribbons. Labeling them (I am a queen of labels - I label every single thing!) and crossing down a list of customers.

Anyhow, the most two common shape of this cookie (at least, that's what we made in those days) is somewhat resembling pinky finger. Cylinder with slightly flat top, topped with finely shredded cheese. Or, rolled dough cut with spikey edges rectangular cookie cutter. But I have seen petal shaped ones, round with criss cross hatch ones. Anything goes. Of course, if there is any cookie press around, it'll be much easier. Used to have one, that is until we moved up here and somehow I packed all the small disks, except the press tube. Won't do me no good, will it?

Commonly used cheese for this recipe is a Kraft 'Cheddar' block wrapped in tin foil, in a blue box. Have not seen it around here - both US and Canada. Not that I have tried extra hard in finding it - I tend to be very lenient when it comes to certain recipes that I feel its ingredient is versatile and can be substitute, if it comes to it. The closest match so far is Edam cheese. Second is old cheddar. Use either just one type, or mix of both.

What:
- 600 gr butter (I like to use at least 300 gr of it as unsalted butter.)
- 250 gr old cheddar/ edam, finely grated (reserve few tablespoon for sprinkle, which I forgot to do)
- 750 gr flour
- 3 egg yolk (2 for dough and 1 for egg wash)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp sugar

How:
- Beat butter until pale in color. Add in flour. Mix until incorporated.
- Fold in cheese, sugar and salt with spatula, mix.
- Add in eggs and mix thoroughly with spatula.
- Gently gather dough, pack with hands to form a ball.
- Take a handful of dough, roll to very slender log of 1/2" diameter.
- Cut 1 1/2" length of dough with knife.
- Cover the rest of dough with damp towel to prevent drying.
- If using cookie cutter, just roll dough out with rollingpin and cut with cookie cutter.
- Brush with eggwash and sprinkle some grated cheese on top.
- Bake in 350 preheated oven until golden yellow about 20 min. Rotate pan halfway baking.

In general, this is a ultra easy cookie to make. Just a little bit pain if there is no cookie press or some cutter. The only complaint I usually hear is how they can get very brittle crumbly or very dry. The only idea I can come up is that once it has some tint of beautiful golden yellow, take it out from oven. Because these cookies bake very quickly and any extra minute of overbaking will dry it out. Unless of course, some people may enjoy it crispy and brittle. :)

Fresh Corn Chicken Soup

2008-09-01T19:59:00.000-07:00

From the 8 corns I bought, used up just 1 for the tamarind based soup. Vik eagerly put 2 in microwave for his late night snack the other night. And with a festive dinner we had last night at friend's birthday, I thought I should make something lighter but yet fulfilling. With five corn I have, creamed corn soup just sounds to fit the bill.

It's pretty close to Chinese Creamed Corn soup, sans the creaminess. It still has some thickness on it, but just not as creamy. I did not add neither thickening agent nor the beaten egg to create that beautiful eggs swirls. No thickening agent, because it's just personal thing - I sort of like my soup that way. No beaten egg though is another story. I LOVE those swirls, however, the last 3 eggs I have, all went to the pound cake. Could have dragged myself to get some eggs, but just too lazy.

What:
- 5 sweet corn (grate 2 to get the pulp, and run through knife on the other 3 to get kernels)
- 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 inch ginger, minced
- 1/2 tbsp chinese cooking wine
- 3 chicken thighs
- handful of green beans, chopped
- 2 - 3 cups of broth
- salt and pepper
- green onions
- sesame oil
- black vinegar (optional)
- hot sauce (optional)

What:
- Heat pot with 1 tsp of oil. Toss in garlic and ginger. Fry for few seconds. Toss in chicken pieces.
- Sear chicken pieces for few minutes. Add kernels. Stir.
- Add corn pulp, beans, cooking wine and broth. Season with salt and pepper.
- Cover with lid and let simmer. Once chicken is done, lift and cut to cubes. Put back to soup.
- Just right before turning off the heat, toss in 1 tsp of sesame oil. Serve with green onions, dash of black vinegar and hot sauce.

Blueberry Lemon Pound Cake with Blueberry Butter

2008-09-01T19:38:00.000-07:00

I have 3 pint of blueberries that I was hoping to make into smoothies and a batch of muffin. So as I grabbed yogurt out from fridge, I saw sour cream tub next to it. Did not even remember I have it, so I checked to make sure it's indeed sour cream inside. I re-use these tubs for random things. Lo behold, almost 1 cup of sour cream in it, with expiration date of Sept 3rd! Gotta use it!!

The only thing that come to my mind is this Ol' Pound Cake Recipe. Just a plain pound cake with sour cream, but thought it'd be mighty good with blueberries and lemon zest! However, it's not going to need 3 pints of blueberries, so..thinking thinking thinking..and fruit butter sounds just right, huh? Blueberries butter/ jelly/ preserve - I still can't exactly figure out the difference. Jelly is smoother and jell like, made with pectin? Preserve is more chunkier? Butter is basically a whipped jelly/ preserve? I should know, because the family I lived with in high school LOVED to make all sort of preserve and jelly. However, I was quickly defeated and no longer paid any attention came the tedious work of canning.

Anyway..blueberry butter slather on top of slice of pound cake - that sounds good, doesnt it?!

Blueberry butter:
- 2 pint of blueberries
- 3 tbsp of sugar (more if you like it sweeter, but neither of us have sweet tooth)
- 2 cloves
- 1 lemon peel
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 cup of water

How:
- Dump everything in a pot. Let it simmer until it thicken up - about 1 hour. Stir occasionally.
- I use hand-blender and blend/ whip it until all smooth and nice.

The only similar thing to this that I ever made was pineapple filling for cookies. Therefore, I was not sure whether it'd turn out as expected. But, to my own amazement, it's super easy and yummmmeyy!! I have always liked tart jam so I ate about two spoonful just like that, with the excuse of 'trying to see if it tastes right.' It only yields about 1 cup, that said, it'll be gone in couple days.

Blueberry Lemon Pound Cake:
- 1 1/2 cup of all purpose flour
- 1/2 tbsp of baking soda
- 1 1/4 cup of sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 3 eggs
- zest from 1 lemon
- juice from 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup blueberries

How:
- Sift flour and baking soda together and put aside.
- Beat sugar and butter until they mix thoroughly. Add in sour cream, beat until creamy.
- Add flour mixture in stages. Taking turn with eggs. Flour - egg - flour - egg - flour - egg. Beat until all are incorporated.
- Fold in zest and juice of lemon and blueberries.
- Pour into a 4x8 loaf pan and bake in preheated 325° oven for about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Insert toothpick in the center to check on done-ness.

Is not overly sweet, moist with nice crust on top and just perfect with the butter! Sort of wish I put an effort in taking down bigger loaf pan instead of using a medium size pan I happen to store 'within reach.' Kitchen this size, some rarely use stuff just have to be stored somewhere - in this case, the corner top shelf of wall cabinet. The batter overflowed a little over the rim. But oh well...Vik wolfed down two thick slices with huge dollop of butter. Came my running partner, took 2 slices home. Packed few slices for Vik's cousin along with some butter. The overflow part is nowhere to be seen anymore!

Bubur Ayam / Chicken Congee

2008-08-31T15:57:00.000-07:00

Of course I do miss Indonesian food, but I have long letting go of that sudden cravings. One, I enjoy fixing it up in my own kitchen. Two, I stock up enough instant gratification quick snacks (i.e. shrimp crackers, frozen Asian style meat/fishballs, frozen red bean popsicle, etc.) Three, there are gazillion different food here for me to try - I am too busy thinking about which new place to hit. Vik and I are attempting to try every single restaurant on 5 block radius. And see how long it'll take us to do so.

Howeeverrr, Vik is oddly different. He thinks about Indonesian food more than I do! He describes the food to our friends in a way that I could not muster. Still talking about how we spent full two weeks in my hometown and barely ate similar type of food nor went to one place twice. 14 days, 42 meals, hm..and about 60 snacks in between, heehee. If I remember correctly, there were only two places (his favorites) where we ended up twice.

So few nights ago as weather was a little bit chilly/rainy over the afternoon, he says 'Don't you think it'll be soooo nice if we have bubur ayam for dinner tonight? It'll be such comforting dish after golf in this cool weather.' Been together for almost 7 years, married for 3. Not extravagantly long, but long enough that I know what he is trying to say:.

1. You don't mind I go for 18 holes, do you? - No, I don't mind, we both deserve some break after crazy work hours and the fact that this long weekend is just going to be loaded with work. 2. Can you fix me bubur ayam? - now, truth is I sort of sworn off congee. That's mostly what I ate for a full 3 months at one point of life. But then, of course Vik went to long description of this one bubur ayam he had - more of Indonesian style, with sweet soy, soy bean nuts. Ah, suddenly I craved for it too!! See, he just has this crazy skill in describing food, while he does not even cook!

So anyway, I happily fix up a pot of bubur ayam. There are all type of bubur out there. I can't even begin to describe it. The most that I am familiar with are either Chinese style (from cracking raw egg to the bottom of the bowl, piping hot congee poured on top of it, or eat with salted duck eggs (yum!!) to fish congee) or Indonesian style (most likely involved sweet soy, shredded chicken, krupuk, and sometimes, little spiced broth on top of this rice concoction). In my opinion, there is no right or wrong way of cooking/eating congee. In some version, soft rice grain still visible. Other version, it is just like creamy soup. Thick or thin. Hence, the rice vs water ratio is varied. But, let's just say, you can always thin it out, by adding more water/broth, but once it's too thin, it's almost impossible to thicken it (unless you leave it outside to harden up..eww.).

What:
- 1/2 cup of rice
- 5 cup water/ broth (I have always prefered adding low sodium broth)
- 3 inches of ginger, cut to 2, whacked
- 4 cloves of garlic, grated (or whacked is fine too)
- tiny bit of oil
- 1 tsp of salt
- 3 chicken thighs (with bone - this is a perfect dish to toss in any reserved chicken wing tips, or any bones)

How:
- Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pot. Toss in ginger and garlic. Lightly fry.
- Toss in chicken pieces (I like to sear it for a while). Toss in rice.
- Pour water/broth. Stir. Cover with lid.
- Check pot once a while to stir and making sure it gets to the consistency of personal liking.
- Lift chicken pieces after about 20 minutes (depending on size of chicken pieces). Transfter to plate/ chopping board. Shred.
- At this point, it's absolutely fine to simply toss back shredded chicken to porridge. And just serve/eat it as is. It can be doctored up with sweet soy with sprinkle of crisy shallots - Indo style. Or, drizzle with soy and sesame oil - which bring it to somewhat of Chinese style. The flavor and smell of this congee is just super comforting!

However, we are taking it up a notch by this ingredients:
- handful of unsalted soy bean nuts
- 3 shallots, finely chopped
- shredded chicken
- sweet soy sauce
- salty soy sauce
- sambal oelek (optional)
- 2 green onions, chopped (save some for garnish)

How:
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in pan, toss in shallots and shredded chicken.
- Toss in green onions, and both sweet and salty soy sauce to mixture. Stir for few minutes.
- I like to add the soy bean nuts to the pan too (but it can also be added on its own, just before serving). Stir and fry together with shredded chicken for a little while.
- Serve by scooping up congee to a bowl, top with some chicken mixture, drizzle some more sweet soy sauce, and salty soy (optional), sambal oelek, and garnish with green onions.

Taking up two notches by adding cakwe/yao ja gwai/ you tiao/ Chinese fried dough (crullers) on top of porridge. Don't have any of those though. Just wishful thinking. Maybe I should try to make some. Maybe not.

'Pan-Fried' Chicken Satay/ Sate Ayam Kecap

2008-08-28T16:02:00.001-07:00

I made satay/sate with peanut sauce for the Independence day - still not post an entry about it yet and kinda promised the sauce recipe to few people, but well..too bad.., it's too long of a recipe. But will get to it.

Anyway, THAT combination was as real deal as I could get for satay and peanut sauce; except that I did not grill it on charcoal neither using bamboo weaved hand-fan to distribute the coals' heat. There are always shortcuts (like, using peanut butter) but I wanted to make it as authentic as possible, so it was all hard labor, grinding peanuts and all! That is then, story for another day, today is different story. I still have 10 satay skewers in my drawer. I used up 40 that weekend. Suppose I can just leave the skewers in the drawer, but no, I can't. I may have certain type of disorder. I can't stand '2 tbsp of chopped pecan', or '1 cup of rolled oats' just sitting there type of person. If it's basic, staple sort of ingredients, as in, sugar, salt, it's fine. Otherwise, I gotta use it and I will find a recipe that require exactly that amount.

So, these 10 skewers. Hm..I can cut them up and use it as toothpick. I can use them as 'craft' materials. Then I see a half cut tomato I used for lunch. Heh. Mix it with sweet soy sauce, chillies and shallots. Perfect for another satay dish, however, not the trouble. For 10 satay - it has to be Painless, with capital P! So 'panfrying' on high heat is the way to go. And it's perfect with Sayur Asam. Both combined, from prep to serve, less than 1 hour.

What:
satays:
- chicken pieces
- soy sauce
- sweet soy sauce (do not go overboard, or satay will burn too quickly on the pan)
- pinch of turmeric
- pinch of coriander
- more than a pinch of chillies powder
- pepper

sauce:
- sweet soy sauce (now, you can pour as much as your heart desire, in my case, for 10 satays, 1/2 a cup!)
- 4 shallots, chopped to thin rings
- 1/2 large sized tomatoes, coarsely chopped
- 6 red chillies, coarsely chopped
- juice of 1 lime/lemon (ideally lime, but only have lemon on hand, so..lemon it is)

How:
- Toss all the spices with chicken and let it marinate for about 20-30 minutes.
- Mix all sauce ingredients and lightly mash them, to infuse all the flavor together.
- Skewer chicken to sticks.
- Heat a touch of oil/butter on non stick pan. Heat has to be on medium-high. Place chicken skewers on pan.
- Once one side is browned, flip chicken to other side. Turn the heat down to medium and put the lid on for a minute, to ensure chicken is cooked throughout.
- Lift the lid and turn heat back up to high, just long enough to 'char' the other side.
- Serve with the sauce poured on top of satay.
Note: Don't overcrowd the pan, or juice from chicken will start a 'steaming' process instead of 'faking' a grilling process.

edited** 08/29/08 A friend says 'So, what do I do with the sauce?' - Heehee. :) FYI, he is just as Indonesian as I am, but felt the need of pointing out a flaw. Lucky that we grew up together so I let him be!! :P So, I added the last line of 'how'

Sayur Asam/ Tamarind Based Vegetable

2008-08-28T16:00:00.000-07:00

Every Sunday, I write down a possible menu for the coming week. Back in the days when I had to be at work M-F, 8-5 kinda hours, I stick to the list 80% of the time. Oh wait, it was also days when there weren't many 'food related' eye-candies along the way from work/gym/et cetera to home. And it'd involve me going back to the car, drive to grocery store - if I were to spring out random menu everyday.

Since we moved up here, life (at least, eating life) changes. Fresh produces, farmers market, butcher, all these local stores lining up around neighborhood. I still write up weekly menu, it helps me to stay organize, but it's going on 50% rate nowadays. There is always something catching my eyes, whatever that is, spices, produce, herbs, and I'd just pick them up and figure out what to do with it.

Corn is everywhere..EVERYWHERE!! I don't really like corn as is. I like it when it's mixed to something else. So, I grab 8 ears for $2. Not sure what I am gonna do with it. Corn muffin, corn salsa, corn pancake, corn soup....So anyway, here goes tamarind based vegetable soup/ stew. It's somewhere between soup, stew, or simply 'vegetable dish'?! Sayur Asam, which word to word translation will make it to 'Tart/Sour Vegetable' - the title doesn't do justice to the dish.

It's slightly sweet, tangy, spicy and hot (optional, but anything we eat usually involve heat) :) Very refreshing type of dish. It's very traditional. Very homey and basic. Amount/ variety of vegetables should be whatever suits personal liking. The only thing that I wish I could find is melinjo/belinjo - have been on the hunt for these, but haven't come across it yet.

What:
- 1 corn cut to 1 - 1 1/2" thick
- 1 small chayote, cut
- handful of long beans, cut to 1 1/2" long
- handful of cabbage, cut to chunks
- 1/2 cup of raw peanuts
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 stalk lemongrass, whacked
- 2 1/2 cups water (I use boxed vegetable broth, but water is completely fine)
- 1 tbsp tamarind paste, dissolved in 2 tbsp of warm water

Grind to paste:
- 3-4 candlenuts
- 2-5 red chillies (depending on personal taste or tolerance to heat)
- 5 shallots
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp shrimp paste (optional, and I have been told that if it comes to it, one can use few dash of fish sauce as substitute. They both stink :D Never tried it yet though)

How:
- Heat 1 tbsp of oil in the pot. Toss in spice paste, fry for a minute or two. Add in lemongrass stalk, bay leaf and tamarind water. Let it come to quick boil.
- Pour in water/broth. Let it come to boil. Toss in all vegetables. Turn heat to low-medium.
- Cover and let it cook for about 40 minutes.

Coffee Chocolate Chips Biscotti

2008-08-26T13:27:00.001-07:00

Fiddling in the kitchen (for exception of doing dishes! 'gaargh..) has always been some sort of therapeutic thing for me. Oh, how much I just love chopping, slicing, mincing and so on. The most expensive item I have in my kitchen is well..my knife (knives). Not pots and pans, as what I assume most people would think. And absolutely not gadgets; not much of gadget person and above all, if I can fit ONE gadget in my tiny kitchen, it'd be KitchenAid mixer. Anyhoo, in many occasion when I have to cook at somebody else' kitchen, I don't mind using their pots/pans/chopping block/spatula/colander and what not, but I will always always bring my knife. My choice of weapon, yeah? As long as I come armed with my cleaver. I hope this obsession does not at all imply a seriously 'distubed' personality hidden somewhere in me. :)

So this morning, halfway through some paperwork, I just needed to get away for few minutes. The leisure of having a job that entitles me to work anywhere, which today happens to be at home, is that I could sneak in to my therapy session!!! And where did the biscotti idea come from? The back of calendar from Sobey's (grocery store). I don't even shop there that much, but the neighborhood stores I frequent don't give away free calendar, ya know? :)

I was looking up some dates, then absent mindedly read this very recipe and 45 minutes later, a batch of biscotti. When thinking of biscotti, I always relate it to almond; don't have any almonds on hand, however, I have some amaretti cookies, so I crushed them up and added it to the mixture. It smells heavenly!

What:
- 2 3/4 all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 cup instant coffee (Sobey's puts Nescafe Rich Instant Coffee, but I use our personal favorite, Sumatra Coffee)
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1 1/3 cup sugar (I use 1 cup sugar and 1/3 cup crushed amaretti cookies)
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

How:
- Whisk together flour, baking powder and cinnamon.
- Whisk together coffee with 2 tbsp hot water until dissolved. Whisk in butter, sugar, then eggs until combined.
- Stir coffee mixture to flour mixture until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
- Halve dough. With spatula, shape one half into a log, measuring 12" long and 3" wide. Do the same with second log. Place logs 3 inches apart.
- Bake in center of 350°F oven for 20 to 25 minutes until just firm. Let cool on pan on rack for 10 minutes.
- Transfer to cutting board. With serrated knife, cut into 1/2" thick slices. Stand slices upright spaced apart on 2 baking sheets. Bake in 325°F oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until sides are no longer springy to the touch. Let cool on pans on rack.

Chipotle Smoked-Cheddar Burger

2008-08-25T22:53:00.000-07:00

Work has been somewhat brutal lately. We both have been putting in 15 hours/day load, though long weekend is on horizon - it's a slim chance we'll be spending it by doing nothing. Sometimes, it makes me wonder on how we easily survived college life - 15-19 credits, held a job or two (three in Vik's case), and still had the energy for partying. Now, 15 hours/day for few weeks and our bodies felt so abused! Is this somewhat sign of old-age?!!!

So, I am taking a day off. Half day off, since I did have to do some work related errands in the morning. Vik too decided to free up some afternoon hours so we can just chill and relax. So on my way back home, I thought to fix up some fancy-nice dinner and we'll eat it out on the balcony. Well..it did not go as planned. Some unforeseen work glitches came up and what fancy-nice dinner?! :) So, something 'equally' nice but not necessarily fancy. Juicy burger with chipotle - adobo sauce and smoked cheddar, along with sweet potato baked fries. With cooling yogurt topping, to balance out spicy chipotle. And, creme caramel as dessert.

What:
Patties:
- 3/4 lbs of ground beef
- 2 chipotle in adobo sauce, chopped coarsely
- 1 tsp of the adobo sauce
- smoked cheddar, cut to itsy bitsy cubes
- 2 cloves garlic, grated/ finely minced
- 2 tsp of coarsely chopped red onions
- salt and pepper

Saucy toppings:
- 5 shallots, cut rather thickly
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2-3 tbsp yogurt
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 tsp hot sauce

How:
- Fry up shallots with olive oil until soft and caramelized. Let cool.
- Whip yogurt, honey, hot sauce in small bowl and toss in cooled shallots. This can be made bit in advance and store in fridge.
- Mix all patties ingredients, don't overwork the mixture. Shape to patties, size depends on personal taste.
- Slide to oven under broiler for about 12 minutes.
Note: yogurt can be substitute with mayo, of course. But I find chilled yogurt make a great combination with piping hot spicy burger.

The sweet potato fries is pretty easy. Just cut it up after peeling. Make sure they are dry (pat dry with paper towel), toss lightly with olive oil. Slide to the oven on 450F for about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with pepper and salt once out from oven. Some cajun spices or sweet paprika will also work superbly. Thought about it halfway munching them. A burger joint near our place has quite good spicy sweet potato fries with their burgers - hm...half a plate too late.

Croquette/ Kroket

2008-08-25T13:17:00.000-07:00

Many variations of croquette across the board. Just in our household alone, we are accustomed with three different ones. According to granny, these croquettes, and many other snack goodies were brought/ introduced to Indonesia during the ruling of the Dutch colonial. Grandmas, of both sides have all these hand written cookbooks (all of which my mom keep and eventually will be mine!!!) , yellowed and brittled, half of them have titles that neither Indonesian nor English. Some funny ingredients that I believe will need extra hunting trip to speciality store. One of these days, I will.

As far as my knowledge, this style of kroket (that I like most) is pretty similar to bitterballen, just different shapes, one is shaped like small balls, the other one is cylinder. It's roux based with minced meat. Deep fried (yummmm!!) and we usually eat these by dunking it to hot sauce. But in reality what savory snack is there that we don't dunk into or slather with hot sauce? Er..almost everything!! :)

What:
- 100 gr flour
- 250 gr combination of chicken and shrimp (we have always used the combination of two, but it's not mandatory, all chicken is fine)
- 2 carrots, very finely shredded
- 75 gr unsalted butter
- 200 ml milk
- 1 egg (separate the yolk and white)
- 6 shallots, slice super thinly
- 2 green onions, finely chopped
- pinch of nutmeg
- salt and pepper

How:
- Heat butter in wok, toss in shallots and fry until soft. Note: It is 'lots' of butter (Paula Deen would just love it), but with it being roux based, well..butter it is.
- Toss in ground chicken and shrimps, stir and slightly 'mashed' with wooden spoon to prevent lumping. Toss in carrots, green onions, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir and mix thoroughly.
- Pour in milk and let it comes to boil. Then, scoop in flour gradually. Turn the heat to low. Cook for few minutes. Turn off the heat and let cool.
- Once batter/ dough is cool to touch, mix in the 1 egg yolk. Stir thoroughly.
- Form dough to oblong shape. First, dip to eggwhite and then roll to breadcrumbs. Then deepfry them until golden brown.
Note: this snack can be made few days ahead, keep in fridge and just reheat in conventional oven/ toaster oven.

Risoles/ Risole

2008-08-21T12:06:00.000-07:00

Instead of frying these risoles, I bake them. Personally, I like it best all fried and crispy. However, being the last item I made for the weekend Independence Day dinner and after frying batches of croquette and corn fritters, I have enough of it. Enough of the hot oil and the lingering fume of it. And also, I'd feel a little bit bad to eat all these fried foods.

I was not very certain about baking them. This is my very first time baking risoles! Doesn't sound very 'right', does it - baked risoles??! But anyway, I did. It's crispy, but man..the fried version is still better!!

Measurement of the filling/stuffing is pretty much up to the person who makes it. :) Just eye-ball everything. It also can be made vegetarian.

What:
Filling:
- 1 1/2 cups long beans, chopped
- 2 cups carrots, small cubed
- 1 1/2 cup cooked shredded chicken (optional)
- 4 shallots, minced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- pinch of nutmeg
- 1/2 block of chicken bouillon mix with 1/4 cup warm water
- 1 tsp of cornstarch, mixed with water
- salt and pepper

Crepe:
- 250 gram of all purpose flour
- 2 eggs
- 600 ml milk (I just use 2% milk, but my mom mix up water with powdered milk (Nestle), and if I may say, it gives a hint of sweet flavor, but I don't have a box of Nestle just sit around in my pantry)
- 60 ml melted butter
- pinch of salt

How:
- Make filling by frying up shallots and garlic. Then, just toss in chicken, green beans, carrots and nutmeg. Stir. Pour in chicken bouillon mixture. Salt and pepper. Cook until carrots are tender.
- Pour in corn starch mixture. Filling should be slightly sticky/damp.
- Make and assemble risoles just like the Pandan Crepe entry.
- Dip risoles to egg whites, roll on breadcrumbs. Bake in 400F preheated oven, until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Turn the rolls once halfway cooking. Or, better yet, fry them!

For spicy hot food eaters, slip in one or two thai bird eyes chillies at both end of rolls once fried. The way I like to eat it: take out the chili, take a bite of risoles, then a bite of chili. Or, my brothers would just start from one end that has chili/chillies on it. The heat should (it will) linger long enough til the last bite.

Lemper Ayam (Glutinous Rice with Chicken Floss)

2008-08-20T07:27:00.000-07:00

Traditionally, lemper comes in banana leaves as wrappers, then grilled on open fire. The charred banana leaves lend this smoky flavor the the 'patties'. But nowadays, lots of places just wrap a sliver of banana leaves around it, less hassle. That said, I just semi wrap it with banana leaves band. Ugh..I feel silly for having to say this, but these leaves are just for show - decoration! Not intended for consumption. Things like this, escapes my mind and often, put our friends to the risk of 'chewing leafy' stuff. Good thing Vik has always been very good in reminding such things to our friends/guests, sometimes he also insists on signing consent form. ;)

The 'right' way of making the rice part is to steam it, then mixing it with boiling coconut milk, and steam it again until it's cooked. I find it a tad time consuming and plus the only steamer I have is just too small for this purpose. So, I just have been 'cooking' it like any rice cooking - no complaints so far.

What:
Rice part:
- 1/2 kg glutinous/ sticky rice, soak for about 1 hour.
- 350 cc coconut milk
- 1 stalk lemon grass, wacked
- pinch of salt
- pinch of sugar

Filling:
- 2 cooked chicken breast, shredded very finely (thus, the name 'floss')
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 piece of galangal
- 3 shallots, chopped finely
- pinch of salt
- pinch of sugar (to taste)
- 1 stalk lemon grass, whacked
- 1 bay leaf
- 150 cc coconut milk
- banana leaves for wrapping (optional)

How:
- Cook soaked rice with low heat (do not need any extra water at this point), for about 20 minutes. It should be half cooked by then.
- Pour coconut milk into rice mixture. Turn up the heat a little bit and let it come to boil. Turn the heat back to medium low. Stir ocassionaly until rice soak up all the liquid.
- Cover and cook until it's done - about another 20 minutes.
- Grind coriander, cumin, galangal, shallots, sugar and salt to paste. Fry in little oil.
- Toss in chicken, bay leaf, lemon grass, coconut milk to pan. Stir and cook filling until it's only slightly damp.

There are many ways in shaping this dish. The 'best-professional' looking ones, and I believe the most used method in Indonesian kitchen is to use rectangular shape cookie cutter kind of mold. It was specially made for this, but basically a rectangular cookie cutter. Press 2 tbsp of rice to base of mold, pack it up, fill with 2 tsp of filling. Top with another 2 tbsp of rice. I only did this version..total of ...ONE time! I lost my cool by the third one. Too tedious.

Another way is to use big baking sheet/ pan, same idea, but just making bigger slab at once. Then cut it up to smaller rectangular. I use very slender baking pan/mold - 3x9x2. It's designed for stacked layered cake. But I found it perfect for this purpose too. Then, cut to 1.5x2 rectangular (after trimming the side). Dip knife to water between slicing/cutting to prevent stickiness. Oh, and also, when shaping/molding/patting rice mixture to pan, it helps to dip fingertips lightly to oil first, to prevent messy stickiness.

Some fancy places roll it up - sushi roll style. Come to think of it, probably the easiest method of all, huh? But it's just one of those things I insist to 'preserve', lemper should be rectangular. :)

Quick notes about photos: in up coming entries, there will be some that will have multiple unneccasary shots. Testing out some tips for taking better food photos. Love looking at good photographs - enjoy strolling to galleries that house photography stuff. A good audience, that I am. Completely helpless with camera and doubt that I will be anything great with it in near future - just like gardening. That said, I do want to take better food pictures. So, after some whining and all, a dear friend sent me three mock-up of 'mini studio.' Thank you, Magnus!! He tried to give me some pointers in words but my mind just draw a blank (45 degrees to where?!) Which is very oxymoron, considering that I make my living by imagining things. So, he sent me sketches/images!!!

Still not very comfortable yet, but I absolutely start to see how it can be.....extra frustrating!!! :) Nawh, getting there, getting there. Any easy tips are always welcome.

Vegetable Lasagna

2008-08-20T07:24:00.000-07:00

Cleaning the fridge day happens when I can't stand all the randomness any more or simply have nothing better to do. With notepad in hand, I'd make notes on all these randoms stuff - 1 semi-wrinkled zucchini, 2 small tomatoes, etc etc. Things like that. Then hopefully come up with couple ideas for them - super nice if it does not involve a special trip to store to get extra ingredients kind of idea.

This afternoon, gather enough ingredients to whip up vegetarian lasagna. Actually enough to make a small pan for the two of us and 2 single servings - would be nice if I have rectangular pan, but got to do with round tins I have in pantry. Send the 2 single servings to our across the street neighbor. Yeap, I keep sending stuff that way, just so that I have 5 mile long tab on him and will get free help/ expertise when we move to our next abode. ;)

I have to post the tin version too, just because 1. it is cuter 2. melted cheese in larger portion does not look so appealing (dear husband says 'Look can be deceiving, and this is absolutely it') 3. trying different light source in taking photos

What:
- whole wheat lasagna, cook to al dente
- 2 tbsp butter/ olive oil
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 cup of milk (more if you like more saucy type of filling)
- 2 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 zucchini, sliced thin lengthwise
- 1 small box of spinach, drained well
- 1/4 cup red onions, chopped coarsely
- 1/2 cup of olives, chopped coarsely
- 1 tomato, chopped coarsely
- 1 cup of mushrooms, chopped
- fresh basil leaves, tear to small pieces or chopped
- fresh parsley leaves, chopped
- pinch of garlic powder
- pinch of nutmeg
- pinch of oregano
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded (optional)

How:
- Make quick roux by heating up butter/oil in pot. Sprinkle in flour, stir for a bit. Pour in milk. Whisk and break any lumps.
- Stir in chopped spinach, red onions and mushrooms. Cook for couple minutes.
- Toss in fresh herbs, nutmeg, garlic powder, salt pepper and oregano. Stir and let cook for few more minutes.
- Turn off heat. Stir in tomatoes, olives.
- Assemble lasagna by spreading very thin filling mixture on the bottom of the pan. Layer with lasagna sheets. Scoop 1/3 of spinach mixture on top of lasagna. Arrange zucchini slices on top of mixture. Then spread ricotta cheese on top of zucchini. Top again with lasagna sheets. Repeat for 3 layers. On the top layer, after spreading ricotta cheese, sprinkle with some part skim mozzarella cheese.
- Bake in 350 preheated oven for about 20 minutes, until top are golden brown.

Corn Fritters/ Perkedel Jagung

2008-08-18T18:11:00.000-07:00

Oh, how do I even describe these fritters? I could eat the entire plate of it!! I had to alter the recipe a little from the original family recipe. In original recipe, there is no adding flour as thickening/binding agent. Just grated corn and spices. The taste and flavor of the corn just heavenly and very light in texture. To be able to do that, the recipe calls for older corn - hmm..does it even make sense? It's fresh corn, but not like being picked two days ago fresh. With drier kernels of aged/ older corn, the grated pulp binds better with other ingredients.

With summer young fresh corn, once grated, it gets so watery that I have to add rice flour to thicken it up to right texture. It is still delicious, just tad short of flavor and texture (denser, due to the flour.)

What:
- 4 corns, grate
- 4 shallots, cut paperthin
- 2 green onions, cut paperthin or chopped finely
- 1 medium size potato, boiled and mashed
- salt and pepper
- 1/4 cup of rice flour
- 1 eggs, lightly beaten
- 4 bird eyes chillies, chopped finely (optional)

How:
- Mix all ingredients together (except for egg). Add egg only as much as needed, to help the binding. This weekend, I only add about 2 tbsp of egg mixture, because the batter was pretty liquidy as is. Other time, I added the entire egg. It's just something you got to eye-ball.
- Heat oil in pan. Carefully drop spoonful of batter to hot oil. Fry until golden brown.

Pandan Crepe Filled with Sweet Coconut/ Dadar Pandan Kelapa Inti

2008-08-18T11:40:00.001-07:00

I was contemplating dessert idea for our weekend party. It was humid hot day/night and we have a super delicious tub of ice-cream in the freezer and we thought, it'd be a nice touch to end the night. Then Vik started to mention cendol/es campur/ ice kacang (Indo/Malay cold drinks usually scented with pandan leaves). Long story short, I started to dig through pantry, decided to make klepon (pandan glutinous rice flour balls) - then ... here is the part when I will sound like a cheap host. Making klepon will involve 'sacrificing' my last bag of palm sugar cones I got from Indonesia. These (the palm sugar) are just not the same with those sold in stores here. Locally made and has distinct depth of flavor and taste. Yeah, I can get somewhat protective over special ingredients like this.

Should have picked up the cylinder shape Gula Aren (just another palm sugar stuff) from grocery store last week. So, next option on the list. It has to be dessert with pandan, cause I love the scent. Husband says 'Something that you can eat with ice-cream will be good, yes?' Though people rarely eat these pandan crepe with ice-cream, but it's possible and completely doable.

First response I got from guests was 'Eww..?? Green food?!' :) But really, who would say no the the earthy fresh smell of pandan and rich creamy sweetness of shredded coconut flakes simmered in palm sugar? We had one leftover and Vik ate it next morning.

What:
For the crepe:
- 200 gr all purpose flour
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tbsp of sugar
- pinch of salt
- 300 ml coconut milk
- 2 drops of pandan extract or about 25 ml of fresh juice/extract
(I use bottled extract but fresh pandan leaves' extract is completely fine; it's a preferred method actually. Chopped up the leaves, either run it through food processor with few tbsp of hot, or pound it with mortar and pestle, strain the extract)

For the filling:
- 1 pandan leaf, tied to a knot
- 3-4 cups shredded coconut
- 150 gr palm sugar (brown sugar is okay)
- 50 ml thin coconut milk (just thin out canned coconut milk with water. It's absolutely okay to skip the thinning part, it'll just make the filling creamier)
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- pinch of salt

How:
- Make the filling by mixing and cooking all the ingredients together. Stir, make sure flakes are well coated with palm sugar. Filling is done when there is almost no liquid left. Just slighly damp.
- Mix all the crepe ingredients together, whisk. I don't strain it, but my mom and grandmas do, to make sure there is no lumps and stuff.
- Heat a non-stick pan. When hot, pour about 1/4 cup of mixture to pan and tilt the pan so that the mixture coat/spread evenly on the pan. I usually mess up my first one (too thick, not even, too thin, too this or that), but once you get a grip of it (the tilting and such), it's super easy.
- When crepe is set, put about two tbsp of filling to the center, and fold it to a roll shape.

Note: There are couple ways of finishing this up. Make all the crepe and stack them up. Then fill/stuff them all at once. Or, as the crepe sets (still on the pan), fill, and fold. I am accustomed to the latter, so that's what I did. There is also no need of extra oil/butter to the non-stick pan, (it IS afterall a non-stick pan) but also the coconut milk in the crepe batter has enough fat/oil content in it that the crepe should just slide out very easily.

The recipe yields 16. It could have been 20, there was some batter left. But I guess I was over zealous in piling up the stuffing :)

Indonesian Street Fares

2008-08-15T19:36:00.000-07:00

Sooo..I am known with my random excuses for throwing a party. This weekend, Indonesia's Independence day on the 17th - friends get together is in order. On top of that, we bought a bright orange pendant light, Canada finally won few medals (AFTER Indonesia won theirs!!), scored a nice work gig, our very good friend just found out that she is pregnant - see...all these events worth celebrating, yes?

We had lontong & sate kacang (rice rolls and satay with peanut sauce), kroket (croquettes), lemper (sticky rice with chicken floss), risoles (risole), perkedel jagung (corn fritters) and the cold rolls. Dessert was dadar pandan isi inti kelapa (pandan crepe filled with shredded coconut). Recipes will follow, one at a time. Or I'd feel as if I am reliving the food again - and I am still stuffed from last night!

Anyway, the menu is pretty much street hawkers 'traditional' food (for the exception of Vietnamese rolls, it was made by special request); food easily found on stalls along the road or push cart on the street. Eat there standing or sitting on the bench. Or, take home in banana leaves (lined with newspaper or brown waxed paper), or tiny clear plastic bag. Park the car, roll down the window, call out the order. Else, you would hear familiar sounds outside the comfort of home (sounds made out from hitting stick to bowl, bell, spatula to pot, or as simple as the name of food being shout out loud by the vendors 'SATE SATE'), which then involves running out from house in flipflops, wave frantically signaling the person. Mmmhhmmhhmmhh.

To keep the theme, everybody had to eat on banana leaves (placed over plate). They got a kick of it and less soaking, scrubbing dishes for me - just quick rinse!! (Lazy host that I am!). I was tempted to go all out and just do it 'pincuk' style - banana leaves made into a somewhat lope sided cone shape, secured with toothpick on one side. Eat it by holding the boat on your palm. Utensils? Pair of sate skewers. Vik was terrified. White sofa, white table, white rugs, white chairs. :)

'Steamed' Chicken Rice

2008-08-12T06:40:00.001-07:00

This is my 'fake' but 'fool proof' chicken steamed rice dish that even my mom started to fix in her own kitchen. I seriously believe that she secretly adore all these shortcuts-modified recipes. She just doesn't want to admit it!!

Nasi Ayam - Chicken Rice is usually consist of white rice (cooked and steamed in chicken fat *oh, yum*, ginger, etc, etc) topped with delicious tender chicken cuts on it. But basically, it's all white. Back in hometown though, this 'not-white' version is just another stepchild of Chicken Rice.

In Malaysia, from what I've seen, it shares some resemblance to their ClayPot Chicken Rice. But anyhoo, the beauty of S.E.Asia living/ culinary is that everybody sort of have their own version of something. This recipe here is a spin-off duplicate of the one that I LOVE from my hometown. Street-hawker style. The texture of the rice is somewhere between the usual steamed rice and glutinous rice, sans its stickiness. Very fragrant and hearty.

I don't have a slight clue nor nosy enough to ask the vendor dude (which I usually do) about the process of making this particular chicken rice. But my grandma is forever known with her chicken rice. So, I did learn/ watch the other type (white ones) of chicken rice being prepared. The cooking method for the chicken itself is tedious as it is. Then, come the rice. Parboil the rice to certain way, then continue the cooking process by steaming it.

I adore the art of cooking and wholeheartedly believe that the old way of cooking is an art itself - one can be easily lost if not preserved. The thought, the labor involved - of love, of time, of earnest. So yes, though I diligently jot down step to step on how to fix chicken rice at its most authentic (at least, I think it is) and traditional way, I simply just do not have the patience nor the time. Like most of us these days.

I have a feeling that I will have to come back with new post one day for better measurement. To get the right consistency of this chicken rice - it takes some experiment. Also, different rice brands and origins, seem to have their own character. I use Thai Jasmine Rice - even that, there are dozens different brands out there. I think (?) there is somesort of unwritten rule about not peeking on your rice while cooking it. But, hah, in this recipe, peek and stir anytime - I lift the lid at least three time to make sure it gets to the right texture.

Also, I tend to use wings for this recipe - it just makes the rice so flavorful. With very minimal food science knowledge under my sleeve, I still believe (want to believe) there must be some serious explanation of why wings are better in this dish!! All the skins' flavor melting to the dish?! Or, simply some quirky personal taste that I developed along the years.

What:
- 1 1/2 cup rice
- 1 cup chicken broth (as start, then I added another 1/4 cup as it cooks)
- 4 whole wings (separate the wings, drummettes and tips - give them good whacked, basically cracking the bones)
- 3 tsp of grated ginger (depends on personal taste)
- 4 cloves of garlic (again, we love garlic)
- 6 dried chillies (optional, soak in water and let plumped)
- 4 dried chinese mushroom, soaked and chopped coarsely
- 8 button mushrooms, chopped coarsely
- pinch of sugar or, my preference, sweet soy sauce
- pinch of black pepper
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- green onions, for garnish

How:
- Heat pot with 2 tsp vegetable oil. Toss in ginger, garlic and chilies. Stir.
- Add in mushrooms. Stir. Add oyster, hoisin, soy, pepper and 1 tbsp of sesame oil. Stir.
- Toss in wings. Cook for a little bit, let it brown on the outside.
- Add in rice. Mix it well with everything.
- Pour in the broth. It should just barely cover the rice (at this moment).
- Cover with lid - heat should be in medium. Check after about 10 minutes. (I actually stir and fluff it). Broth should be all soaked up by now. Pour in extra broth and the 1 tbsp sesame oil.
- Check again after 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and just let it rest for few minutes. Pick the wings out and shred. Discard the bones and return the meat to the pot. Stir. Note: Rice should not at all be lumpy and soft. Neither fluffy like Biryani rice. Sorry!! It's such vague description, will absolutely post better one next time.
- I like to mold the rice in bowl - just like the the street hawkers do it. Usually in some red bowl, fill it up, pat and even down the rice, plop it onto a plate. Oh, some fried onions on top!!! Ooohhh.

edited** Nasi Tim Ayam - that's the correct name for this dish, not just Nasi Ayam. Thanks to Mochacholata Rita. :)

Mussels in Garlic - Fermented Beans Sauce

2008-08-11T11:35:00.000-07:00

Mussels is one of Vik's favorite dishes. This is also the only thing he actually knows how to cook. One time as he watched while I was preparing and fixing mussels (with simple sauce of wine and herbs) - he triumphantly declared that he'd be the one making mussels from then on. No kidding. He did proudly invite friends over to taste his 'fine cooking'!!!

Somehow I have an impression of many people are unsure about cooking mussels on their own, an intimidating cooking ingredient, perhaps? But let's just say if my husband can do it, anybody else can! :) Terrific athlete, technology savvy, but he is a complete loss when it comes to kitchen and home-improvement projects.

Few quick important notes though, if the shells are already open (before cooking it) - toss it away. It's dead! :) Make sure the shells are clean, run it under cold water, rinse, and sometimes light scrub is needed to remove the beards. When cooking process is done and some shells remain closed, discard these mussels.

What:
- 3 lbs mussels
- 5 cloves garlic (we like it very garlicky, use less to get milder taste/smell), chopped coarsely
- 3 shallots, chopped coarsely
- 1/2 spanish onions, cut to rings
- 2 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
- 2 stalk green onions, chopped coarsely
- 2 tbsp fermented black beans
- 1 bay leaf
- few dash of chinese cooking wine
- salt and pepper
- 3 cup of broth (water is fine too, but I like to use either low sodium broth or coconut juice)

How:
- Heat 2 tbsp butter (oil is fine too) in wok/ pot. Toss in garlic, shallots, onions, red pepper, bay leaft. Stir and cook until onions are translucent.
- Add in black beans. Stir. Salt and pepper.
- Toss in mussels. Stir and mix mussels with everything else thoroughly. Stir in green onions.
- Pour broth and cooking wine in. Cover wok/pot tightly.
- Mussels are cooked when they are popped open.

When cooking it Asian style - we eat it with steamed rice. Otherwise (beer, wine, tomato sauce/marinara, and such), scooped up the broth/ sauce with good French bread. Yum yum!!

Beef with Lemon Grass

2008-08-10T19:40:00.000-07:00

I have this one lonely stalk of lemon grass in my fridge. The thought of making some fruit juice and use the stalk as stirring stick came to my mind. When I visited Indonesia after haven't been for so long, the first place my aunt took me was this Balinese Restaurant and when the drinks came out, each glass had this gigantic lemon grass stalk in the glass (which is very small compared to the stalk, really). Seen celery stalk, umbrella stick, what not, but never lemongrass stalk! I was skeptical on its functionality until I took a sip of the juice and it has a very faint refreshing lemon grass taste to it.

Anyway, I only have bananas and dragonfruit in my kitchen. So, no fruit juice. That was just me daydreaming of cool refreshing tropical juice! ;) This beef dish is really super easy. I don't marinate the beef for very long; being it so thinly sliced.

What:
- 1 lbs flank steak, cut thinly across the grain
- 1 stalk lemon grass, thinly slice the roots part, tough stalk removed
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 inch ginger, grated
- 1/2 small onion, cut to thick slices
- 1/4 cup nuoc nam (fish sauce)
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 8 dried chillies (soaked and once plumped up, cut to half - optional)
- 1 tbsp palm sugar
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- splash of water
- dash of black pepper

How:
- Toss together beef, black pepper, lime juice and some of the grated garlic. I just let it stand for about 20 minutes.
- Heat wok with 1 tbsp oil. Toss in garlic, ginger, onion and chillies. Stir until onions are translucent.
- Put wok into medium high heat. Toss in beef, stir quickly. When beef is halfway cooked (about 2 minutes), low the heat to medium.
- Add the rest of ingredients. Let it come to quick boil (beef should be cooked by then).
Note: The way I make it has very watery thin gravy; for thicker gravy, just mix small amount of cornstarch with water, add it at the end, and let it come to quick boil.

Chicken and Shrimp Pad Thai

2008-08-07T16:37:00.001-07:00

I love noodles dishes. I guess being Asian, it's hard not to love noodles. Our bread and butter, yes? At first, Vik was not much into noodles - once in a while, but not at all close to my sudden craving for wok-fried noodles. Until he visited Asia that is - Medan is the highlight, he literally could eat noodles for every meals. Yeap, the abundant varieties and they are just delicious ! Yum!.

Though I can make any noodles as often as I wish, it's just not the same. Largely, it is due to the wok and gas burner, or even better, coal type of stove (the name escapes me). My grandpa was super awesome when it comes to these type of wok frying: open fire, flames shooting up from the side of wok. Oh my! The beauty of having outdoor/ wet kitchen is Asia.

I've been to Thailand couple times but couldn't remember seeing Pad Thai - hawker style. Maybe I was too young, all I remembered was the fun festive night market. Upon conversation with this one gal, her description of hawker style Pad Thai in Thailand reminds me of wok fried noodles back in Medan. It should be on drier side - nothing too oily or gravy-iesh.

Most of the ingredients for making Pad Thai are staple in my kitchen - fish sauce, tamarind, rice stick noodles, sprouts. Except for tofu. Vik is not big fans of tofu - unless I 'hide' it somewhere in the dish. I LOVE TOFU. So, coming home from work, I grabbed a pack of extra firm tofu from store.

There are couple techniques on how to go about frying/cooking up Pad Thai. The dump and fry all of them sorta way - typical hawker style, I think. They don't have the time to do things in batches, do they. Or, cooking it in batches - fry up tofu, prepare scrambled eggs first.

I learn that, eggs part is always tricky when one has smaller work. Adding eggs at the end (which that's how it should be done), while using smaller wok, risking the noodle getting covered/ sticky goey with eggs mixture. Cause there is not enough working space in wok to work up/scramble the eggs before mixing it with noodles. Some people may like slightly egg-coated noodles, but .... hm....

So, might as well prepare the eggs part first (if using smaller work), and set it aside and add it at the end of cooking process. My wok is about 15" and at that, I am just fixing it up for two people, so I just dump and fry. :)

What:
- 250 gram rice stick noodles (soak or slightly cook according to package, it should be slightly hard and not thoroughly cooked) - I also use thinner version of rice stick, instead of the flat thicker version served in most places. Just because that's all I have in the pantry.
- tofu, cut to squares
- handful of shrimps, shelled and deveined
- 1/2 chicken breast, slice
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 shallots, minced
- 1/4 cup fish sauce
- 3 tbsp tamarind juice (either from canned juice or soak tamarind in hot water)
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 4 tbsp palm sugar
- 2 tbsp sambal ulek (or sriracha hot sauce, optional)
- 2 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional - we love ours very spicy hot, so adjust to taste)
- 2 stalk green onions (or chives) chopped to 1 inch lengths.
- 1-2 handful of fresh bean sprouts
- cupful of broccolis (optional, I just happen to have 1 small crown of it in fridge) chopped up to its florets
- crushed peanuts

How:
- Mix together fish sauce, tamarind juice, lime juice, palm sugar, sambal ulek together. Set aside.
- Heat 2 tbsp of oil in the wok. Make sure it's hot before tossing in cut up tofu. Fry until golden. Push to the side of wok. Toss in shallots, garlic and crushed red pepper. Stir.
- Add chicken. When chicken is half cooked, splash some water to wok and add in noodles. Stir.
- Add in the liquid mixture to wok. Stir and mix thoroughly.
- Toss in broccolis and green onions. Stir.
- Push noodles to the side of wok and add shrimps to center of of wok.
- When shrimps are almost cooked, mix noodles to shrimp. Toss together.
- Last, make a well (or push noodles to the side) and add whipped up eggs to center of wok. Let it set for a while, then scramble it. It is matter of preference here, I like the eggs on chunkier side, so I let it set first before 'separating' it out. For smaller 'crumblier' egg bits, scramble it right away.
- Serve with crushed peanuts on top (and some coriander - I don't have any of them at the moment)

Oven Baked Spicy Chicken

2008-08-05T19:34:00.000-07:00

Another lazy easy recipe. Literally cut everything up, dash of this and that, wrapped in foil, and bake. It's a 'no work, no pain' version of grilled Indonesian chicken with spiced sweet soy. I like to make dinner like this when work is piling, yet I still want to make home-cooked meal, without having to spend too much time preparing. It's comforting, sliding the pan to the oven, leave it in there while taking a shower or finish up some chores or catching up with the husband - and when the aroma starts to creep out from the oven; just heavenly.

What:
- Chicken (I use 4 thighs but any mix is fine), seasoned with pepper and salt
- 2 small tomatoes, quatered
- 1 onions, quartered
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped coarsely
- 3 shallots, chopped coarsely
- 2 bird eyes chillies, slit or chopped coarsely
- 2 tsp sambal ulek (optional)
- 1/4 cup sweet soy sauce
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- dash of fish sauce (shrimp paste if possible)
- pineapple chunks (optional, I just have some pineapple in fridge)

How:
- Mix everything (except chicken and pineapple).
- Make an aluminum foil pouch, or just use regular baking dish, put in chicken.
- Arrange pinapple chunks to the side of chicken.
- Pour spices/sauce on top of chicken. Wrap foil loosely. If using baking dish, wrap/tent with foil too.
- Bake in 350 degree oven. Time depends on size of chicken. Vik likes very soft, falling off the bone chicken, so I bake it for about 1 hour. The last 5 minute of cooking, open the foil pouch and put it under broil.
- Serve with hot jasmine rice and steamed vegetables Indonesian style. Mmmm!!!!

Siu Mai and Green Onion Pancake

2008-08-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

Had a friend over to 'inspect' our balcony and to give me some ideas about so called urban garden. Beside my poor photography skill, my gardening skill is not that great either - when cactus dies on me, I know I am not cut for any gardening. But I do want some herbs and such, just not brave enough to start them.

Then we decided to have some afternoon snacks with minted cold iced tea. So after quick peek to fridge, she spotted a pack of dumplings wrappers that I just got day before and suggested some siumai. Once the package is opened, I found out how thick the wrap is. I tend to pick up different brand once in a while, just to test it out and this time is maybe the thickest one ever. My mom or grandma would say something like 'You could have just made it from scracth and be consistent in its thickness.' If only.

So we were doing some prep work, dragging my stools so I can reach to the top shelf of my kitchen cabinet - only to realize I don't have my bamboo steamer. Used it as container/serving dish for pot luck dinner few months ago and it's still at friend's house. So, thick dumpling skins and no steamer. We then opted to pan-fry it like gyoza.

To pair it up, thin onion pancake (crepe) filled with carmelized onions and mushrooms.

Siu Mai
- 10 wrappers
- 5 shrimps, chopped coarsely
- 5 shrimps, minced
- 1/4 cup ground chicken (or pork)
- 2 shiitake mushroom, finely chopped
- dash of chinese cooking wine
- dash of sesame oil
- pinch of five spice powder
- 1 garlic, minced
- garlic, grated
- soy sauce
- 1/4 tsp of rice flour/ corn starch
- carrots, diced to tiny cubes.

How:
- Mix all ingredients together in a bowl (except wrappers and carrots).
- Make a very loose fist of left hand (as in making a letter C), place one wrapper on top of fist, over the hollow part. Push wrapper down a little bit to fit the hollow of fist.
- Put 1 tbs of filling onto it. Slowly (or quickly) shape it to sio may shape, with the help of spoon on top to pack it down. Top it with carrot cube.
- Traditionally, steam it in bamboo steamer, with layer of napa cabbage underneath it. But we have to pan fry it, by putting a touch of oil to the pan, once the bottom part is browned, pour a little bit water to the pan. Cover. It will steam through very quickly, 10 minutes top.

I wish I could describe better on shaping these open top basket like dumplings. Maybe, I should draw them up? Hmm. We sort of forgot about the siu may while it was pan fried, by the time we lift the lid to pour the water, the bottom side of the dumplings started to brown towards super crispy almost burn stage. It doesn't prevent us from chowing all ten of them down.

Green onion pancake/ crepe - was decided at last minute. Basically just rice flour, water, chopped up green onions, salt and pepper, whisk. It resembles thinner version of breakfast pancake batter, like crepe batter. Heat up some oil, pour pancake batter, tilt the pan so batter coat the pan nicely. Only flip when one side starts having golden brown specks. We fill it with caramelized sweet onions and mushroom.

Mix up a quick dipping sauce: hot sauce, touch of chili oil, hoisin and sesame oil.

Spinach Pinwheel

2008-08-01T07:30:00.000-07:00

Beside the thick dumplings skin in the fridge, there is also a thawing box of puff pastry that I was planning to use for making quick breakfast 'danish' the next day. Just slap some preserves on it or chopped ham and eggs filling. Yum! But well, we ended up using it as another addition to our siomai and green onions crepe duo.

What:
- 1 sheet of store bought puff pastry (10x10)
- 1/2 box of frozen spinach, thawed and squeeze all the water out
- pinch of nutmeg
- 1/2 cup sharp cheddar, grated
- 3-4 basil, cut into confetti
- 1/4 cup of parmesan
- red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup of sour cream (optional)
- 1 egg beaten
- sweet paprika

How:
- Mix spinach, nutmeg, cheddar, parmesan, basil, red pepper flakes, sour cream and 1/2 portion of beaten egg, stir well.
- Lay pastry on parchment paper, spread filling on top of pastry. Roll. Wrap rolled pastry with parchment paper. Slide it back to freezer for about 10 minutes.
- Take pastry out, cut into 1" thick pinwheel. Place on baking sheet (wheel side up), brush with eggwash and sprinkle with sweet paprika.
- Bake in 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes or golden brown.

Butter Chicken - Murgh Makhani

2008-07-31T20:06:00.000-07:00

The well known butter chicken dish. Surprisingly, I have never had this dish until we moved to Toronto. Had Chicken Tikka Masala million times, but not Butter Chicken. Similar but not the same. First time trying Butter Chicken, the only difference I could tell was Chicken Tikka Masala uses chunks of chicken breast, while Butter Chicken (the one I tried the first time and still my favorite's style) uses boned chicken breast and thighs.

Google and wikipedia frenzy, all the way to befriended restaurant staffs: I find this type of thing as very intriguing. So far, the newsflash seems to be that Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani) is the original version from Punjab, while Chicken Tikka Masala is a spin-off 'invented' by Brits. Both dish call for very well marinated chicken, 'roasted' in tandoori oven, however one is skewered chunks of chicken breast, the other is the entire bird (like Rotisserie Chicken, perhaps?) Makhani sauce has almonds in it and sometimes cream, while Butter Chicken, no almonds (though there are at least 2 places that serve it with almond slivers), and always involve some type of cream.

On top of all that, it seems that there are many variations of each dish. Some places serve very smooth thick creamy version, some has some little bites of tomatoes/onions to it. This is one recipe that I can safely say is very fun to try and doctor it to your own version.

Instead of almond/ cashew butter, I use few teaspoon of ground almond - does not make the dish any lighter per se, because the typical almon/cashew butter used in this recipe is pretty much almonds being grinded to smooth paste. I just happen to have ground almond and not the butter (neither feeling up to grinding it to paste) It doesn't alter the taste, just the texture; not as smooth or creamy.

Chicken:
- 1 chicken breast (I would have used thighs, drumsticks and chicken breast combination, but all I had in freezer was chicken breast)
- 1/2 cup yogurt
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1/4 tbsp turmeric powder
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 inch ginger, grated
- 1 tsp of sweet paprika
- 1/2 tbsp of hot chili powder (optional, or add to taste)
- 1 tsp of jaggery, crushed finely (or sugar)
- salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp of lime juice

How:
- Mix all the ingredients (except chicken) to make a paste. Slather on top of chicken. Make sure all chicken pieces are coated by spice paste.
- Marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours; over night preferably.
- Wrap chicken in aluminum foil and bake in preheated oven, 350 degrees. Baking time depends on size. Test by piercing tip of knife through thickest part of chicken, when juice runs out clear, chicken is cooked. Once cooked, switch to broil setting to get the brownish a little charred chicken. It will only take couple minutes.
- Let chicken rest before cutting. Cut to desired size.

Sauce/Gravy:
- 2 tbsp butter
- pinch of hing/ asafoetida
- 3 tbsp tomato paste (or substitute with 1 small can of whole tomatoes/chopped tomatoes)
- 3 cloves
- 5 cm cinnamon stick
- 1 small onions, grated or chopped very finely
- 1 tbsp garlic, grated
- 1 tbsp ginger, grated
- 1 jalapenos, chopped (optional)
- 1/2 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp hot chili powder (optinal)
- 2 or 3 tbsp ground almond
- 2 cups of water (or chicken broth)
- 1/2 cup of yogurt
- 1 tbsp fenugreek leaves/ methi leaves

How:
- Heat butter in pot. Add the pinch of hing.
- Toss in onions, garlic, ginger, jalapenos, cloves, and cinnamon stick. Stir until onions are translucent.
- Add ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, paprika and chili powder. Stir well.
- Add tomato paste and ground almond. Stir. Some oil should start to separate.
- Low heat to medium low, add in yogurt. Stir and mix thoroughly.
- Pour in chicken broth/ water. Let it thicken.
- Add chicken to simmering sauce and let it warm through.
- Sprinkle fenugreek leaves into pot, let it simmer for a while.

Delicious with basmati rice (while cooking the rice, try to add some cumin seeds, cloves and pinch of salt to it) and naan. If there is leftover, I cut it up to smaller chunks and use it as filling to pita bread.

Salmon Baked in Parchment Paper

2008-07-29T20:44:00.001-07:00

There are easy dishes. Then there are lazy dishes. This recipe here is both easy and lazy dish category, for sure. Just throw everything in parchment pouch, slide it in oven. No mess, no pan to wash, neither baking sheet. If accustomed with slicing things without cutting board, then no board to wash.

What:
- 500-600 gr ( 1/2 lbs) salmon
- 4 shiitake mushroom, sliced
- 1 inch ginger, julienne, cut into thin strips
- 2 cloves garlic, cut to thin slices
- 1 jalapenos, julienne
- 1 tbsp black beans sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp honey
- salt & pepper
- dash of sesame oil
- dash of vegetable oil/ canola oil
- dash of rice wine vinegar

How:
- Lie a piece of parchment paper on baking sheet. Make sure it's big enough to wrap the salmon and enough to be folded.
- Score the skin of salmon. Seasoned with salt and pepper.
- Scatter few pieces of mushroom on the paper; reserve some aside. Put the salmon on top of it.
- Mix the rest of ingredients in a bowl. Pour on top of salmon. Try to tuck in few pieces of ginger and garlic inside the score mark.
- Put the reserved mushroom slices on top of salmon.
- Wrap the parchment paper, but lifting one end to meet the other end. Fold at least two times. Do the same with the side. Fold down the edges, just to make sure the pouch is all sealed up.
- Slide it in to preheated 350 degree oven. Depending on size, it'll cook very quickly. Mine is done in 20 minutes.
- Once taken out from oven, just let it rest for couple minutes. Bring it with table, all in parchment paper.
Note: Some baby bokchoy is nice addition to the pouch, or as matter of fact, any vegetables. It can be easily made to one pouch meal.

Debras and Aloo Dish

2008-07-27T07:46:00.000-07:00

We were watching Vik's cousin's (Pankti's) wedding DVDs and there was this one part in what I believe, is Griha Shanti, a pre-wedding ritual, and there was lunch being served to family and guests. I was pointing at Dhokla (one of my favorite snacks!) while Vik was more interested in this Aloo dish. The actual dish name escapes me; I was thinking Dum Aloo, hm..will have to confirm it with mom in law. :)

I happen to have 1/2 bag of new potatoes from our camping meal. So, there we go.

What:
- about 25 small new potatoes, halved
- pinch of hing (asafoetida)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 1 chillies, chopped finely
- 1/2 cup onions, chopped
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 to 1 tsp hot chili powder (we like it very hot and spicy, adjust to taste)
- 2 tbsp yogurt (make sure it's very thick kind of yogurt)
- salt

How:
- Heat oil in pot. Add pinch of hing. Toss in onions, garlic, ginger, chillies. Fry until soft.
- Add all spices (except yogurt and potatoes). Stir.
- Add in tomato paste. Stir and fry until oil separated.
- Add potatoes to pot and stir until it is well coated with spices. Add in salt. Fry/cook for about 5 minutes.
- Add in yogurt. Stir thoroughly.
- Pour about 1 cup of water. Lower heat to medium low, cover. Stir occasionally. When fork can be inserted easily through potatoes, dish is ready.

Debras
It is really just a version of simple rotlis (wheat flour, water and salt), mixed with chopped up spinach, finely chopped green chilies, some yogurt, and masala (ground coriander and turmeric powder.)

Beef Stroganoff

2008-07-25T18:57:00.000-07:00

Another dish that has many variation in ingredients and way of serving - as it 'migrates' (originated in Russia) and being brought into and served in different part of the world.

I would rather serve it with wide egg-noodles, but I have these few different pasta; cup of this, cup of that. It bugs me when I have these kind of random bits tucked inside my pantry. Hence, excuse the mix of different looking pasta. :)

What:
- tenderloin, cut into strips, seasoned with salt and pepper
- salt and pepper
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 1 garlic, minced
- 4 oz buttom mushrooms, sliced rather thickly
- 1/2 cup beef broth
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 tbsp mustard
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tbsp dill, chopped
- 3 cups short pasta/ egg noodles, cooked and toss in little butter

How:
- Heat olive oil in pan. Toss in beef strips. Just let it brown quickly, 1 minute per side. Don't overcook.
- Put cooked beef aside.
- Melt butter in the same pan, scrape al the brown bits. Toss in shallots and garlic. Fry until shallots soft.
- Add mushrooms. Saute until mushroom get soft and brownish.
- Pour in beef broth, let it simmer for a while.
- Stir in sour cream and mustard. Toss beef strips. Simmer until meat is heated through.
- Add paprika and dill. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Make a well in the pasta pile, and top it with beef and sauce.

Asian Style Short Ribs

2008-07-23T19:46:00.000-07:00

There is this restaurant in Lville that we frequented when we still lived there. Always always ordered their BBQ Ribs. It's a Chinese restaurant, so supposedly, this is kinda Chinese BBQ Ribs, yeah? But then, any other places we find such ribs, usually Korean joints. So, Asian Style Short Ribs it is.

Make this so often that I just absentmindedly mix the ingredients together. The ratio of each ingredients is pretty much adjustable to taste though, I may say. Those simple 'dressings/marinade' that one can taste along while whipping it up. If you like it sweeter, hit more honey. We like tons garlic and ginger.

What:
- garlic, minced
- ginger, grated
- soy sauce
- honey
- sesame oil
- rice wine vinegar
- brown sugar
- pepper
- scallions

How:
- Mix all the ingredients (except the ribs) in a bowl. Whisk well.
- Put the ribs to the marinade. Make sure all ribs are nicely covered with marinade. Cover.
- Let it marinade for at least 4 hours in the fridge.
- Heat grill, or pan. Cook ribs until it has some crisp and char. Try not to flip the ribs too often. Just flip once, when one side is nicely grilled, flip to the other side.
- Garnish with chopped scallions.

Note:
- Grill is the preferred method. Though honestly, the only time I bother to start up grill, clean and scrub the grill, etc, is when I cook this in massive amounts for party. Otherwise, I just heat my pan in high heat (it has to be sizzling hot to get the charred effect), and pretend that it is a grill.

Do not overcrowd the pan. I have a big pan that fits 5-6 ribs comfortably at once, thus I only have to do two rounds of 'grilling.' If few more time of cooking needed (smaller pan), lower the heat between cooking (when transfering the cooked ribs to putting in fresh ones to pan). The high heat will char/ burn the next round very quickly.

Quick Lunch Salad

2008-07-22T14:56:00.000-07:00

What:
- 1/2 head romaine lettuce, chopped
- olives, pitted
- 1/2 cucumber, sliced
- 1 tomatoes, chopped
- 2 eggs, boiled, sliced
- 1 chicken breast, pan-seared. Once cooked, let rest for couple minutes before cutting.

Dressings, whisk together:
- 1/2 cup yogurt or sour cream or mayo (I don't like too creamy mayo kind of salad dressings, so I use yogurt instead, or mix between yogurt and sour cream, but mayo is fine too)
- 1 tbs honey
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 1/2 lemon, squeezed out the juice
- 1 teaspoon hot mustard
- salt and pepper

How:
- Toss, toss, toss..

Camping: Peach Coffee Cake

2008-07-21T20:02:00.000-07:00

Very easy coffee-cake and have never met anybody who doesn't like it! Original recipe called for apricot preserve as filling, but any preserves can be used. I have one jar of peach preserves that Vik thinks it's too chunky and tart to use as spread. So I thought it'd be perfect to use it for this recipe.

I can't remember the magazine where I get this recipe from. I just have a copied version of it, but vaguely, I think it's Southern Living or magazine along that line.

Instead of original 13x9x2 baking dish, which I don't have, I usually use round 10 inches, or two loaf pans. My mom even tried it on muffin cups. Below is the 'full' size recipe, but for the camping weekend, I just made half recipe that yield 2 small loaf pans.

What:
- 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking pwder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 jar preserves (try not to use jelly or smooth type jam)

Topping:
Mix together:
- 1/3 cup butter, softened
- 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 cups flaked coconut

How:
- Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in bowl. Set aside.
- Beat cream cheese, butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Add milk and vanilla, mix well.
- Add flour mixture to creamed mixture. Beat until just moistened. Don't overbeat.
- Spread half batter into greased baking dish (I like to line mine with parchment paper).
- Carefully spread filling/ preserves over batter. Spread remaining batter on top of preserves.
- Bake at 350 until golden brown, about 35-40 minutes. Or less if using smaller pan.
- Take cake out from oven. Spoon topping over the cake. Gently press down the topping. Broil for 1-2 minutes until topping turn golden brown.

Camping: Fruit Mix

2008-07-21T18:08:00.000-07:00

Very simple basic fruit mix. Here, I use green and red grapes, strawberry, cantaloupe, and kiwi. Any combination will do, but since I won't be serving it right away, I avoid using fruits that tend to turn mushy and/or change color overtime.

Drizzle some honey, toss, and store in 'chilled' tupperware. The night before, I squeeze some lime juice to ice cube tray and let it freeze. Just before packing to cooler, toss in the lime juice 'ice-cube' to container.

Along with this, I also make some almond pudding (which I forgot to take pictures of) - just those almond pudding from the box. Cube them up, put them in separate container. Chilled. Mix to fruit cocktail just before eating/serving.

Camping: Lemon Bars

2008-07-21T17:34:00.000-07:00

Lemon Bars
What:
Crust:
- 2 stick unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups flour
- pinch of salt
- 1 tsp grated lemon zest

Filling:
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp condensed milk
- 2 tbs grated lemon zest
- 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 cup flour

How:
- Beat butter and sugar until light and creamy.
- In low speed, mix in flour and salt, just until everything is well incorporated.
- Form dough to ball with hand. Take out from mixing bowl.
- Flatten dough to round disk and press into 9x13x2 baking pan.
- Build 1/2 inches around the edge. Chill for 15 minutes in fridge.
- While crust is in fridge, make the filling by whisking together all the ingredients.
- Bake the crust in preheated 325 F oven for about 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Take out from oven and let cool on counter.
- Pour filling. Bake for another 30-35 minutes. Cut to triangles or squares. Dust with confectioners sugar.

Note:
- When grating lemon zest, use very light hand and don't over do it, the white part of lemon peel has bitter taste.
- This recipe has been altered (combination of Barefoot Contessa and Paula Deen) and ratio of sugar is very less compared to original recipes. I like very lemony, tart bars. When mixing the filing (don't add the eggs yet), just dip a spoon/ finger and give it a taste. Add more sugar if it's too tart. Mixing some orange peel and orange juice also will lessen the tartness of lemon.
- I don't have 13x9x2 pan, so I have used anything from 10-12' tart pan, mini muffin tin, 4x10x2 pans (to make layered cakes).

Mexican Wedding Cookies

2008-07-21T17:23:00.000-07:00

Another very easy cookies to make.

Most of the time when I make these cookies, I shape it to crescent shape. It looks more delicate, just like the texture and taste of the cookies. Though there are times that I just roll it into balls, especially if I have to make dozen dozen batch of it. Or, experiment with different shape, oval, etc.

I was hoping to make crescent shape today, but somehow (I wonder if it's the heat in kitchen, from all day grilling and baking) the dough, as I roll it, goes soft pretty quickly, which make it harder to shape to crescent. So, round shape it is. :)

These cookies remind me of 'kue salju' ('snow cookies') we used to have while growing up. I wasn't particularly fond of it - too sweet and what a mess, eating 'em, sticky sugary powder. Mexican wedding cookies is not as dense as kue salju and has little crunch to it, from its coarsely chopped pecans.

What:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup confectioner sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup chopped pecans

How:
- Beat butter and sugar until smooth and creamy.
- Add in vanilla.
- At low speed, gradually add flour. Once well combined, mix pecans in the dough with spatula.
- Shape dough to balls and prefereably, into crescent shape. Or, it can be pressed into oval or round shape.
- Bake in preheated 350F oven for 10-15 minutes, or until the bottom of cookies golden brown. Cookies will bake very quickly.
- Once cooled, dust more confectioner sugar on top of it. I like to dust only very little before storing it. Then, dust more just before serving.

Note:
The dough will have very creamy soft consistency/ texture, hence, make the rolling somewhat tricky. I found that especially in very hot day, even when the dough stays in its shape, the heat from my hand soften the dough more as I roll it. I guess if it becomes really hard to work with, try to put it in fridge for few minutes.

Camping : Quiche.

2008-07-18T11:44:00.000-07:00

Finally we got the chance to go camping this year!! :)

We decided that the big meals will be typical camping meals - of course, one of the fun things going camping is all those meals over firepit, grill, and such. Surely though, 'I' have to cook/bake something!! Everybody kinda give in with that thoughts already, dessert and sweet stuff, sure. As long as I don't try to drag the entire kitchen with me. Heehee.

Plus, we are the only one that has next to zero camping equipment. The few camping things we took with us from KY were the tent and 1 sleeping bag. So, I feel like we have to contribute in something, yes? Since everything else will be borrowed from everyone else' stuff. :D

So..Light quiche and cold cucumber salad as Friday night meal. Few nibbles: Lemon Bars and Mexican Wedding Cookies. Peach Coffee-cake. Lemon Blueberry sponge cake. And fruit cocktail with almond pudding.

Quiche
What:
- 1 pie shell (store bought or home-made)
- 2 eggs
- handful of freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tbs parsley, chopped
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 cup half and half
- 1 1/2 cup milk
- pinch of nutmeg
- salt and pepper
- 1 box of spinach
- broccolis, chopped/ cut to small florets
- 1 carrots, shred
- 1/2 onion, cut to thin rings (optional)

How:
- Whisk together cheese, parsley, oregano, milk, half and half, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Give it a taste (whether need extra cheese, etc), before adding eggs to it. Mix in eggs, whisk.
- Bake empty pie shell in preheated oven for about 10-15 minutes.
- Heat 2 tbs olive oil in pan and cook onions until it caramelizes. Let cool for a little bit.
- Assemble quiche by pouring caramelized onions to the shell. Spread it thinly to cover the base of shell.
- Scatter the spinach, then broccoli, shredded carrots, to fill up the quiche shell.
- Gently pour the liquid ingredients on top of vegetables. Add some shredded swiss on top of it.
- Slide it back to oven and bake for about 15 minutes, or until the eggs/liquid part is set.

Note:
Typical quiche is richer, denser and creamier, due to more eggs, cheese (swiss/gruyere) and using whole milk and/or cream. Very tempted to make it that way, but imagining that we'd be eating burgers, sausages, chicken, peameal bacon, eggs breakfast for the next two days camping - I thought better and made less guilt quiche. Wishful thinking. We were hungry and exhausted after putting up tent in heavy rain that after we had quiche, we fired up the grill and ate some more!!

Steak with Red Wine Sauce

2008-07-15T18:00:00.000-07:00

There is a little bit of red wine sit in the fridge. I hate anything goes to waste. Vik voted for mussels with red wine; which means we'll have to make a trip to get the mussels. Er! No way!

What:
- sirloin steak
- 2 medium size potatoes, peeled and cut to chunks
- 2 tbsp dill, chopped
- 2 tsp butter
- 1/4 cup half and half, or cream
- 1 cup chicken broth (optional)
- 1 cup red wine
- 2 shallots, chopped
- 1 garlic, minced
- peppercorn
- salt and pepper

How:
- Put potatoes in pan. Fill water just until it covers potatoes. Dash of salt. Cook covered.
- Seasoned steak with salt and pepper.
- Heat 1 tbs olive oil in pan. Place steak to hot pan. Brown one side (2-3 minutes). Flip and brown the other side. Handle steak as little as possible, don't keep flipping, to retain the juice inside the steak.
- Once both sides browned, slide pan (make sure it's oven safe) to oven and let it bake for 6-7 minutes, depending on how thick and also, how do you want it cooked. Rare, med-rare, medium-well, welldone.
- Drained cooked potatoes. Toss in some butter and mashed potatoes. Toss in dill. Pour some half and half/cream. Add few tablespoon of chicken broth. Seasoned to taste.
- Once steak is out from oven. Let it sit on platter for couple seconds, tent with aluminium foil to keep the heat.
- Return pan to stove, under medium heat. Toss in little butter and scrape the bottom of pan to get all the flavorful bits from steak. Toss in shallots, garlic and peppercorn.
- Pour in red wine. Stir. Let it reduces and thicken.
- Pour in chicken broth. Add dash of salt and pepper. Let simmer for a while.

Salmon Cakes

2008-07-12T09:44:00.000-07:00

All the four weekends since we got back from our vacation were filled with one thing or another. So, last night we decided to spend most of the Saturday at home, knowing that we are meeting up friends tonight.

Long story short, two friends dropped by to lend me some tools. I was chopping up some onions for chicken black bean soup and curry puff. Of course, I HAD to offer them to stay for brunch with us. It's kinda rude, yeah, if I didn't?

Got to improvise somehow though, cause there won't be enough food (even as light brunch) for the four of us. I have nice fresh salmon fillet, so we thought some salmon cakes will work pretty nicely.

What:
- about 400 gram fresh salmon fillet
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 lemon, sliced
- 1 tbs mayo
- 1 tsp horseradish
- 2 tbs dill, chopped
- juice from the other half of lemon
- 1 small potato, boiled and mashed (optional)
- salt and pepper
- bread crumb

How:
- Cook salmon by putting it inside a pot, fill water just enough to cover the salmon. Toss in bay leaf and sliced lemon. Once cooked, transfer it to cutting board or platter. Let it cool for a while.
- While salmon is cooling, mix the rest of ingredients thoroughly.
- Once salmon cooled, flake the flesh with fork. Then gently fold it to creamy mixture. Do not overmix, or salmon will break up too much. Mix just until the mixture can hold together pretty good.
- Shape it to patties. Depending on size; with 3" patties, we got 6 of them. Dredge it on bread crumb. Arrange patties on parchment paper.
- Put it inside the fridge for 10 minutes to firm it up a little bit, so that it holds nicely when pan-fried or baked.
- Transfer the patties with the parchment paper to baking sheet. Drizzle tiny bit of olive oil to patties.
- Bake in preheated oven at 400F, for 15 minutes or when it's golden brown.

Note:
Use panko (japanese bread crumb) for lighter and crunchier coating. We opted to bake it instead pan fried it. Healthier, I guess. And since we have those puff baking in the oven, we thought might as well bake the cakes too. It just taste as good, the only drawback is that baked version tend to come out less moist. But nobody is complaining. :)

Pan-fried version: Heat oil in pan. Slide patties to the pan. When the bottom side is golden brown, gently flip patties, to fry/brown the other side. Try to flip only once. Less handling/flipping = less chance of patties to break up.

Rotisserie Chicken 4 Ways. Part Four: Chicken Black Bean Soup

2008-07-12T09:43:00.000-07:00

What:
- shredded chicken portion from the rotisserie
- leftover beans from chicken verde
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 1/2 small white onion, chopped
- 1 small tomatoes, chopped
- 1 jalapenos, minced
- 3 cup of chicken broth
- salt and pepper

How:
- Heat 1 tbs olive oil in soup pan. Toss in garlic, onion, tomatoes, jalapenos. Stir until onion turn translucent.
- Add in black beans. Stir.
- Pour chicken broth to the pot. Stir. When it just starts to boil, turn the heat down to low. Either mash the black beans with the back of wooden spoon. Or, using handblender, blend it for couple seconds. The idea is to puree only some of the black beans, not the entire pot of black beans. It should not turn into smooth black bean puree. :)
- Toss in shredded chicken. Stir, and let it come to boil again. Seasoned.
- Garnish with green onions or snip of cilantro.

Chicken Curry Puff

2008-07-12T09:42:00.000-07:00

What:
- puff pastry
- the 1 cup leftover chicken from previous post
- 1 small potatoes, boil and cubed
- 1/2 cup green peas
- pinch of ajwain *
- 1/4 tsp of cumin
- 1/2 tsp coriander
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp hot red chili powder
- 1 jalapenos chilies, minced
- 1/4 cup onions, diced
- 1 tbs yogurt (optional)
- few sprigs of cilantro, chopped.
- salt and pepper
- 1 egg, beaten

How:
- Heat oil in pan, toss in onion, jalapenos, and ajwain.
- When onion is translucent, add chicken and the rest of ingredients to it (except beaten egg).
- Stir, make sure everything is mixed well. With back of wooden spoon, semi-mash the potatoes. Don't mash it so much/hard that it becomes all mushy. Just do it enough to resembles drier chunky mashed potatoes. Seasoned.
- Let it cool for a while.
- Roll out puff pastry. Work quickly so that the butter content in pastry stay cold. We managed to cut out 8 rounds and 1 very odd shape oval triangle. That's how much pastry I have in freezer, so we had to make do. There was enough filling leftover to make maybe another 4.
- Put filling in the center of round cut out. Seal the edge by gently pressing. Scrimp with forks.
- Brush with egg wash. Bake in preheated 350F oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

*ajwain is mostly used in Indian and Middle Eastern dishes. It happens to be in my pantry because some of Vik's favorite Guju dishes call for it. Even with that fact, it is one of those spices that I don't get to use much. So I try to use it whenever I feel it'll work well with the dish.

It almost tastes like caraway, so feel free to use caraway as substitute.

Guacamole and Salsa

2008-07-11T19:52:00.000-07:00

The guacamole and salsa served with Chicken Verde from previous post. It's super easy to make and can be customized to your own liking.

Fresh Guacamole
What:
- 1 avocado
- 1 small tomatoes, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup chopped onions
- 2 jalapenos/ serrano chilies, chopped
- pinch of cumin
- lime juice
- few sprigs of cilantro, chopped
- salt and pepper
- pinch of sugar

How:
- Scooped out and cut avocado into chunks, transfer into a bowl. Mashed with fork until desired consistency. (We like ours chunkier so I did not mash it to very smooth guac)
- Fold in the rest of ingredients. Mix gently. It can be serve immediately, but taste so much better if being refrigerated for couple hours before serving.

Fresh Tomato Salsa
What:
- 2 plum tomatoes, diced
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1 jalapenos, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup white onion, finely chopped
- 1 green onion, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- salt and pepper

How:
- Mix everything together. It can be serve immediately, but taste so much better if being refrigerated for couple hours before serving.
- Vik mixed it up with salsa verde, hence, the watery looking salsa in the picture.

Rotisserie Chicken 4 Ways. Part Three: Pesto Chicken on Flat Bread

2008-07-11T15:46:00.001-07:00

Another easy recipe from Rotisserie chicken 4 ways:

What:
- half portion of chunked up chicken from the Rotisserie chicken
(since I am only making 2 of these, I reserve aside 1 cup of chicken, maybe for some chicken fried rice tomorrow)
- 2 flat bread
- olive oil
- 1 tbsp of pesto
- 1 small tomatoes, chopped
- 1/4 red peppers, chopped
- bunch of parsley, chopped
- 1 tsp of red pepper flakes
- goat cheese

How:
- Drizzle some olive oil on top of flat bread, then spread pesto on top of it.
- Arrange the rest of ingredients on it. Some mozzarella on top is yummy also. So does, fresh basil. But have none of them in fridge, so..
- Bake in preheated oven 350F, 15 minutes or so, just until goat cheese is about to melt and side of flat bread crisp up a touch.