Ti Pomme D'amour

Petit Pain Au Chocolat!

2010-10-17T03:12:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you feel like eating Croissant au Chocolat and it's sunday and you don't feel like going out, and you have puff pastry in your freezer and some left-over cooking chocolate?

Well...you do your own Pain au chocolat!!! Woohooo...

YES! This is how we do it! lol... Ok, this is just another one of my "a little bit of this, a little bit of that" recipe, so there is no actual measurement involved in this one! lol... Just do as you please! ;)

Ingredients:

Puff Pastry (I only had 2 sheets left...)
Cooking chocolate...or chocolate spread I guess would do it!
Sugar
Egg yolk

Step 1: Melt chocolate and sugar!

Step 2: Cut your pastry sheets in the size you want... I made a sheet into 3 parts! They're ok-size for me! I guess usually when they sell it, it's bigger than that :)

Step 3: Spread your melted chocolate on the pastry sheet

I didnt have enough melted chocolate, so I used one with cadbury bars... lol..improvising!:D I guess, any of your favourite chocolate bars would work! :D

Step 4: Roll the sheet up!

Step 5: Preheat oven to 180 deg! Line your pastry on baking paper, ready for the oven! Egg wash these babies!

Step 6: Pop in the oven for about 20minutes...

And watch it blow up!

Step 7: Take out of the oven! Eat up accompanied with a cup of tea !! Yumsi Dumsi! Careful though, very hot :)

Note: I had both the one with melted chocolat and the one with the chocolate bar... I much preferred the one with my melted chocolat, just because I guess the chocolate bars were not melted enuf, and it was too bulky (??) in my mouth! lol... But all up to u though! :) u cud do a mix of both! :D

Bon Apetit! :)

The Last Days of Summer

2010-09-18T10:01:00.000-07:00

Temperatures are cooling a bit and the first sienna-coloured leaves are starting to appear on trees...what does this mean? That these are the very last days of Summer and that it's high time you light up that final barbecue of the season! ;)

Here's a simple and relatively quick recipe that you can make in advance and serve hot or cold as a lovely side-dish to the juicy grilled burgers, chicken, sausages, lamb and skewers sitting comfortably on the barbie. Ratatouille keeps well and is a definite way to get those 5-a-day. I like serving them piping hot with meat on the first day, and the next day serving it at room temperature with lots of crusty bread! Hmmm...tuck in guys!

Ratatouille

* Aubergine

* Zucchini

* Peppers - I prefer using red or orange because they taste sweeter than the green ones

* Canned chopped tomatoes

* Onion

* Garlic - crushed or pureed

* Salt, pepper

* Balsamic vinegar

* Basilic leaves, thyme or any herbs that you like

1. Wash the veg, cut them into half length-wise and dice them into medium-sized chunks.

2. Heat up your pot, pan or utensil. Add a good glug of olive oil and let it heat up. Add the garlic, onions and let it sweat. Once they've started browning, add the aubergines first as they take longer to cook. Once it starts softening, add the rest of the veg and cook for 5-10 minutes.

3. When the veg start colouring a bit, splash a decent amount of balsamic vinegar (I think it adds a nice tangy kick to the flavours). Add the tinned tomatoes and season with salt, pepper and herbs.

4. Turn down the heat, cover and let it simmer until 3/4 of the tomato juices have evaporated. Serve, kick back and imagine that you're in Provence...

Bon appetit!

Life is short, Eat!

Fierce chicken wings eating skills

2010-09-12T14:31:00.000-07:00

Hello hello. Anyone still read this blog?

Here's one random super short update. I saw this video earlier and I was actually impressed, go figure, -___- but I never knew that people could eat chicken wings like this. Anyway, I thought i'd share it over here.

You know,when you're eating chicken wings, and there's some meat that remains stuck on the bone, such a waste, right? Here's a nifty little trick so you can now nomnom without wasting any of that precious meat:

Now you can go show off your fierce chicken wing eating skills xD

Bakerella's Brookies!

2010-07-26T03:02:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to try this recipe for a while now, but every time I took the courage to get to the kitchen and start baking, I realised that there were missing ingredients. Again today, while I was having a look in my pantry, there was almost no flour!! Thank god, the BF was on his way and I made him do a little detour to the supermarket! :)

So this recipe was taken from the very wonderful and inspiring Bakerella! She calls it "Brookies", because it's kind of a mixture of Cookies and Brownies! Ingenious, eh? :) Click here for the original recipe!

I didnt exactly use the same measurements as she did...here's what I used...

Ingredients:

2 cups of Flour
2 tbsp Baking Powder
150grms Butter Softened
250grms Sugar
3 Eggs
1 tbsp Vanilla
A lot of M&Ms...I didnt weigh them, and I dont think it really matters anyway :p lol...

Step 1:
Sift Flour/ Baking Power and set aside

Step 2:
Combine Butter/ Sugar with mixer (Or hand...depending on whether u're feeling like u can do it :p Im lazy :p)
Once this is done, add the eggs one at a time.

Step 3: Add Vanilla and mix. Then, add Flour+Baking Powder to the combination.

Step 4: Stir in the Choc Chips! I used M&Ms but as you can see from Bakerella's recipe, you can use anything from nuts to caramel bits ;p

Step 5: Spread it out in a pan. Make sure u butter the pan first (I didnt...and it got all stuck in there :S ) so its easier to remove later on.

Step 6: Bake in the Oven! I started out at 250deg for around 20minutes, then I reduced it to 200 for another 10 minutes, because it was starting to burn!! Lol :p I guess you'll just have to check and make sure! :p

Step 7: Cut, Serve and Eat! ;)

Savory crepes

2010-07-24T07:11:00.000-07:00

Saturday’s lunch was savory crepes with creamy mushroom and ham. Mr. boyfriend was craving for crepes for a few days now. So just thought I’d throw away my laziness for today and make him some crepes.

Ingredients for the crepes

100g plain flour
Pinch of salt
1 egg
300ml milk
Oil

Method

1. Sift the flour and salt into bowl and make a well in the centre. Break in the egg and beat well with a wooden spoon. Gradually beat in the milk, drawing in the flour from the sides to make a smooth batter.

2. Heat a little oil in an 18 cm heavy-based frying pan, running it around the bse and sides of the pan, until hot. Pour off any surplus.

3. Pour in just enough batter to thinly coat the base of the pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes until golden brown. Turn or toss and cook the other side until golden.

4. Transfer the pancake to a plate and keep warm. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Ingredients for the filling

1 tablespoon butter
½ onion, finely chopped
1 ½ cups mushrooms, thinly sliced
6 slices of chicken ham, shredded
½ cup grated Swiss cheese
¼ cup heavy cream
Salt
Pepper

Method

1. Saute the chopped onion in the butter until soft
2. Add the mushrooms and cook for 1 minute.
3. Lower the heat and add the shredded ham.
4. Pour in the heavy cream and cook until the mixture thickens. This usually takes around 5-7 minutes.

5. Adjust the seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste
6. Place a spoonful of the mushroom/ham preparation on each crepe and roll over.
7. Arrange the crepes in a baking dish and top with grated Swiss cheese.

8. Bake just until cheese melts. Serve warm.

Bon appétit!

Gummy Bear

2010-07-23T15:52:00.000-07:00

Haribo Gummy Bears

Cute gelatin based rubbery textured confectioneries similar to jelly babies, shaped in the form of little bears in 5 flavours: raspberry (red); orange (orange); strawberry (green); pineapple (colourless); and lemon (yellow)

I'm actually not a big big fan of Gummy bears, but how cool is this Gummy Bear art:

"Chandelier," 2005, 45"X21"X21", gummi bears, beads, monofilament, plastic, metal and light bulbs. (via)

"Constellation of Tartrazine" 2008, 40"X40"X22", gummi bears and paint on acrylic dome. (via)

Each Candelier is made of 5,000 hand-strung gummi bears. One takes over two months to complete. (via)

World’s Largest Gummy Bear. Topping the scales at 5 pounds, this mammoth mass of sugar comes in a variety of flavors and is the equivalent of 1,400 regular sized gummy bears. (via)

Oh,i'm a gummy bear yes,i'm a gummy bear

Oh i'm a yummy tummy funny lucky gummy bear

Weird Green Gummy Bear on crack

Ba ba bidubidubi yum yum,Ba ba bidubidubi yum yum,

Ba ba bidubidubi yum yum three times you can bite me

gummy gummy gummy gummy gummibear

Badia

2010-07-22T11:38:00.000-07:00

Super random post. Maybe it's because of the cold weather, but I have this really really bad craving for hot plump oily badias tonight. And don't forget the satini. So typically Mauritian, yummmmmmmz

Ingredients

225g gram flour (besan)
2 large onions finely sliced
1 green chilli finely chopped

2 tsp chopped coriander leaves

1/2 tsp cumin seeds coarsely crushed

1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric powder (saffran)
1 tsp baking powder
1 pinch salt

Vegetable oil for frying

Preparation

1. In a mixing bowl, mix the gram flour, chilli powder, turmeric, powder baking powder and salt. Then add in the cumin seeds, onion, chilli an coriander leaves. Mix mix mix.

2.Add just enough water to make a think batter

3.Drop heaped spoonfuls of the mixture in hot oil, and deepfry until golden brown. Drain and serve hot

4. Life is short, eat eat eat :)

Mamie Kloune - Badia song

Koster manger, guetter la main briler, ala li la so so

badia mo larguer, ki oulé ti badia gro badia, manger mama

Donne mwa 5 roupies badia

5 roupies Badia

Donne mwa 5 roupies badia

Mette so sa sa, mette so sa sa, mette so sa sa satini

(3X)

Mwa mo ti ale dan Port Louis, mone finn joine Jovani

li ti pe mange roti ek so madame ki appel Cindy.

Ti ena Dadie, ti ena mawsie, ti ena Chachi, ti ena Didie

Zotte tou finn reuni en famille

Donne mwa 5 roupies badia, (badia)

Donne mwa 5 roupies badia (donne mwa lotte la)

5 roupies badia (badia)

Donne mwa 5 roupies badia

Mette so sa sa, mette so sa sa, mette so sa sa satini

(3X)

Donne mwa 5 roupies badia,

Donne mwa 5 roupies badia

5 roupies badia

Donne mwa 5 roupies badia,

Mette so sa sa, mette so sa sa, mette so sa sa satini

(3X)

Sweety ki pe rode briani, Marie Claire ti pe envie mange mine bouilli.

So piti dir macaroni, pou lé cou bel bel dibruit

Ti ena Dadie, ti ena mawsie, ti ena Chachi, ti ena Didie

Zotte tou finn reuni en famille

Donne mwa 5 roupies badia, (badia)

Donne mwa 5 roupies badia (donne mwa lotte la)

5 roupies badia (badia)

Donne mwa 5 roupies badia,

Mette so sa sa, mette so sa sa, mette so sa sa satini

(3X)

(Aller guetter guetter guet mo la malle couma rempli mama prend,

ki ouler 2roupies, 5 roupies, tou modele ena papa,

satini rouge satini vert)

Mette so sa sa, mette so sa sa, mette so sa sa satini

(3X)

Partout dan quatre coin la rue va trouve marchand dhall pourri

Ici ti pe vand ti pourri, lotte coter ti pe vand channa pourri

Ti ena mamie, ti ena papi, ti ena piti, ti ena Charlie, ti ena Chungli

Mo dir tou viniiiiiiii

Donne mwa 5 roupies badia, (badia)

Donne mwa 5 roupies Badia (donne mwa lotte la)

5 roupies badia (badia)

Donne mwa 5 roupies badia,

Aller papi, aller mamie, aller dadie, aller mawsie, aller didi

Ala, la finn fini

Chicken Piiiiie

2010-07-17T21:18:00.000-07:00

Hello readers! Sorry for my MIA!! You see, ever since I came back from my 3-weeks vacation, I have been pretty darn lazy to cook or bake!! I had friends over for lunch yesterday and it was time to get out of my cooking rut :)

I made them chicken pie because it is something that can be prepared well in advance. Plus, it's pretty easy to put together. Let's get straight to the recipe, shall we?

Ingredients (serves 6-7 people)

The Filling

40g butter + 2 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp plain flour
6 skinless chicken breast (about 1.5 kg), diced into small cubes
About 680 ml chicken stock or a mix of chicken stock + milk
1 large green onion, diced
1 regular-sized can of button mushrooms, sliced
227 ml (1 regular size container) double or single or thickened cream
2 cups frozen (or fresh) mixed veggies -- carrots, peas, beans, corn
Salt and pepper to taste

The topping

1 packet of ready made puff pastry (those that needs to be rolled). You can substitute puff pastry with mashed potatoes or mashed sweet potatoes.

Method

Chicken filling: Add a little oil to a saucepan. Add in the chicken, diced onion, sliced mushrooms and mixed veggies. Season with some salt and pepper and cook until the chicken is ready. Set aside.

White sauce: Melt butter + olive oil in another saucepan over low heat. Whisk in the flour. Add the chicken stock or milk a little at a time, mixing to a smooth paste. Stir gently until it starts thickening. Add the cream and carry on cooking for a few more minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

You can make the chicken filling and white sauce in advance.

When you are ready to bake (the next day or hours later), preheat the oven to 200 C.

Mix the chicken mixture to the white sauce and place in a baking dish.

Roll out your puff pastry and spread over.

Make a few slashes in the pastry for the steam to escape.

Dip a pastry brush into some milk and paint to glaze lightly.

Bake for about 20-30 minutes or until you get a nice gold pastry! Serve warm.

Pizza in a cone

2010-07-04T04:57:00.000-07:00

The Pizzacone

Nino tweeted about this strange little pizza reinvention this morning. The concept is pretty simple: your choice of stuffing and melted cheese in a crispy conical shaped crust. Pizza, conveniently shaped to eat on the run.

An awesome idea, or a travesty? Would you try it? Now, while pizza purists might scorn at the idea, I think I would like to give it a try, if not, just for the novelty. It's not really going to replace pizza, but it does sound like fun...........(although I'm the type of person that always ends up with ice cream dripping off the sides and eventually the bottom of my cone -____- loll )

So next time I'm making pizza maybe I'll just cone the dough, and we'll see what gives.

(source: neatorama )
(pictures source: google )

Stuffed Aubergine

2010-07-02T10:45:00.000-07:00

Summer is out in the Northern hemisphere, bright purple aubergines are popping up everywhere from supermarkets to farmer's markets and roadside stalls. After three batches of ratatouille however, I started getting sick and bored of it...and decided to make fancy gourmet burgers instead. But when I looked at the burger mince bowl, another idea popped into my head and decided to improvise instead by mixing the mince and the eggplant...

Ingredients

Aubergine

Minced beef

Sundried tomato - usually found in supermarket jars or from an Italian or similarly-specialised delicatessen

Torn fresh basil and any herbs you can lay your hands on

Red pepper, finely diced

Feta cheese, crumbled

Method

1. Preheat the oven at 200deg. Wash the aubergine and slice in half. Carve out the flesh with the tip of a knife, leaving a small border. Scoop out the flesh with fingers or a teaspoon. It should look like a "boat". Grease an ovenproof dish with some olive oil and brush the insides and outsides of the aubergine with oil.

2. Prepare the mince: mix all the rest of the ingredients, season and add a "binder" to hold everything together. I used an egg but the mixture was too wet and added some cornflour. Two eggs would've made the mixture too eggy (or that's what I thought it would taste like!)

3. Stuff the aubergine halves using a spoon. Drizzle some extra oil on top and bake for 25-30 minutes.

In it goes...

...out it comes.

To check if the meat is cooked, using two spoons, cradle the eggplant and gently tip it to one side and the juices from the meat should run clearly.

Next time, you can also make proper burgers, griddle aubergine slices, add some lettuce and tomato slices, the sauce of your choice (mayo, mustard, ketchup, tabasco, chili..whatever you fancy!) and turn it onto a Mediterranean-style burger! Bon appetit!

And remember...Life is short, Eat!

Curtis Stone's Crispy Cauliflower & Fish Bake

2010-07-02T06:52:00.000-07:00

For dinner tonight, I decided to make Curtis Stone's Cauliflower & Fish Bake. For those who don't know Curtis Stone, he is a celebrity chef from Australia, who is now world widely known :) He's been on Oprah and Ellen and is a hit here, in his several trips for Australia's Masterchef. He is also the new face of Coles Supermarkets, giving out a few of his easy-to-do recipes for under $10.

Curtis Stone

This is the recipe, from the recipe card...

Serves:4

Prep Time: 20mins

Cooking Time: 35mins

Ingredients:

600g Cauliflower, cut into small florets (I was reading "forests" all this time -_-")

2 1/2 cups Milk

Salt & Pepper, to taste

2 tbsp Olive Oil

1 small brown onion, finely chopped

2 small carrots, diced

1 celery stick, diced (I hate celery, so I skipped that one out!)

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

400g pink ling fillets (I reckon you can use any fish, I used Snapper), cut into 3cm chuncks

1 tbsp chopped dill

4 slices of multigrain bread, torn into large chunks

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 220deg conventional/200deg fan forced. Place cauliflower and milk in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Bring to low simmer and cook for 5-7 minutes, until soft. Strain cauliflower and reserve milk. Puree cauliflower in blender until very smooth and thick. Add reserved milk if needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in large frying pan over medium heat and add onion. Cook for 3 minutes until softened. Add carrots, celery and garlic and cook for 5 minutes until tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Add fish, cauliflower puree and dill into the pan with the onion mixture and combine well. Pour into small greased baking dish.

4. Toss bread with 1 tbsp oil. Scatter over fish mixture. Bake on top rack in oven for 20minutes, or until bread is golden brown.

5. Remove from oven and serve. Eat up!

Voila! Bon Apetit! xxx

Have a break, have a GIANT KITKAT

2010-06-17T15:07:00.000-07:00

To spice up the little bloggie, I thought it would be fun to have a new category - Random Epic Foods, just to share random foodie stuff.

To kick this off, here's this post (especially dedicated to our very kitkatoholic Ti Pomme D'amour girl, Kit.)

I was randomly surfing around the other day when I came upon this. One word: Mindblown.
Have a break, have a ~~kitkat~~ GIANT KITKAT......

Now how's that for epic, huh?
(Source)

Les Caprices de Gervais

2010-06-13T20:55:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me also knows I have a super weak soft spot for pastries and I always go all oogly eyed when I see pastry shops, especially if the little pastries look cute. And if I like one pastry shop, I'll want to try everything from them.

I just thought I'd share with you guys some pictures of the pretty little confections that I recently got from one of my latest haunts, Les Caprices de Gervais.

Tarte Amandine (Front) , Moka slice (Right), and

ermmm...somethingcake with meringue?.......I don't remember the name -___- it was delish though (left)

Black Forest Cake, Iced Doughnut

Lemon Meringue Pie, Strawberry Mousse (These 2 are yummy)

Tarte aux Framboises

Pineapple Swiss Roll (This was just so-so)

Mille-Feuille

Black and White cake

It's a pretty lame name I think, but this is my favourite from Les Caprices De Gervais.

Noone gets a bite of this, I eat the whole thing by myself lol

Has anyone else tried any pastries from there? Tell me what are your favourites :)

Les Caprices de Gervais (London Spar foodcourt in Vacoas).

Cherry Clafoutis

2010-06-09T08:56:00.000-07:00

The advantage of living with a French housemate that can actually cook is definitely so so sooo definitely being the guinea pig. You can expect a vast array of desserts like proper tarte tatin (caramelised apple tart), quiches, more tartes, crepes and moelleux au chocolat (moist chocolate cake) for birthday celebrations and come Summer....clafoutis aux cerises. Spongy yet creamy, and bursting of fat juicy cherries....mmmm...

Grandmere Monteret's Clafoutis aux Cerises

700g pitted tinned or fresh cherries with their pits

2 eggs + 2 egg yolks

5 tablespoons (100g) flour

5 tablespoons (100g) sugar

25cl milk

60g butter

1 pinch of salt

1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Flaked almonds

1. Preheat the oven at 180-200 degrees (gas 6-7). Melt the butter. Drain and rinse the tinned cherries. If you're using fresh cherries, wash them and remove the stems, don't remove the pits. This will give the clafoutis more flavour.

2. Whisk the eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla extract with an electric mixer. (Jetter la farine en pluie - I'm a little lost in translation here, help!) Basically add the flour and mix until it becomes thick and creamy. Add the melted butter and milk. Mix.

3. Pour the mixture into a buttered dish, preferably wide and square. Drop the cherries at regular intervals and sprinkle with the almonds. Press gently the almonds with the back of a spoon to "sink" the fruit into the mixture.

4. Bake for 45 minutes. Serve warm or cold with a dollop of creme fraiche.

Note: You can also use other tinned fruit to make clafoutis: pears, peaches, prunes, quetsches, any fruit!

Anyways...remember that Life is short, Eat!

Easy Peasy Chocolate Souffle

2010-06-02T04:12:00.000-07:00

Souffle, literally "blown up" or "puffed up", is seemingly one of the trickiest things to make but the real secret isn't that hard - it only takes 5 minutes and a really good electric mixer.

Chocolate Souffle

For about 4-6 ramekins, depending on their size

200g dark chocolate, chopped - at least 70%

150g butter cubed

6 eggs

150g-175g sugar, depends on your sweet tooth

125g plain flour, sifted

1. Heat the oven at 180c/gas mark 4. Butter the ramekins. Melt the chocolate and butter. Beat the eggs with sugar until light and fluffy. Fold in the flour, mix gently. Fold in the chocolate mix. Bake for 8-12 minutes.

Slightly crusty on the outside....

...sinfully gooey and light on the inside.

Life is short. Eat!

Chocolate Baileys Cheesecake

2010-05-19T03:46:00.000-07:00

Decadent desserts....two little words that can make your ears perk up at the sound of it, swoon at the sight and drool for more at the taste. 'Nuff said, just don't count the calorie content!

Chocolate Baileys Cheesecake

Base

75g butter

225g chocolate digestives, crushed

Filling

225g dark chocolate - at least 50% cocoa

400g soft cheese Kraft Philadelphia style (luckily low fat doesn't change the taste)

100g sugar (reducing the amount will make the cheesecake bitter because of the alcohol)

4 large or 3 medium eggs

284ml double cream (I used sour cream)

5 tbsp Baileys (can also be replaced with Kahlua or Tia Maria)

Topping

Creme fraiche

Baileys

Cocoa powder for dusting

1. Oil the base of an ovenproof dish. Use preferably something large and flat rather than small and deep, I had trouble lifting the cheesecake out of the dish for the picture! Melt the butter in a pan or in the microwave, stir in the crushed biscuits. Press the mixture into the dish with the back of a spoon and chill while making the filling.

2. Preheat the oven at 160 degrees (140 for fan ovens, gas 3). Melt the chocolate. Beat the soft cheese and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add 1 egg at a time but don't overbeat. On low speed, add the rest of the ingredients - chocolate, cream, Baileys.

3. Pour on the base and bake for 55 min to 1h until set. Don't worry if the cake cracks. Test by touching the surface which should be shiny and a bit wobbly and darker in the centre. Loosen the sides and leave to cool. Chill overnight.

4. The next day: the cheesecake will have moistened in the fridge by now. Serve with creme fraiche, dusted with cocoa powder and extra Baileys on top. Now take a spoonful and close your eyes.....!

Life is short. Eat!

Creamy Potato Bake & Chives...

2010-05-15T23:29:00.000-07:00

Tell me now...Who in the world doesn't like Potatoes? Seriously now! This might not be the prettiest dish I've put on a plate, but I can assure you it's one of the yummiest, if you're like me, a big fan of potatoes! :) This dish will take 5 minutes to prepare, but a long 1hr in the oven! So, don't be fooled by the easiness of this dish, because it takes soooo long to cook! lol. Take my advice... prepare early or you'll starve to death before this gets ready! lol

Here are the things you will need...

Serving for 6:
300ml Cream
1.5 kgs potatoes peeled and thinly sliced
1 bunch of chives
1 1/2 cup of grated cheese
1 tablespoon of mustard
1 cup parmesan (or more, as you want.)

Mix everything together and place in an oven-safe dish...

Cover your dish with Aluminium foil, make sure it's sealed properly. If you dont seal the dish properly, like I did...It will take longer to bake! Learning from my own mistakes here! lol.

And...THAT IS ALL! lol :p

Wait for 45minutes, and then remove the Al-Foil and let it bake for another 15 minutes until potatoes are soft and golden.

Taaa-daaaaaaaa... eat to your heart's content! ;)

Treat for the cookie monsters

2010-05-11T09:25:00.000-07:00

Everybody loves cookies and has a favorite cookie recipe that brings back fond memories. Sometimes as a comfort food when all you want is something to cozy up to on the couch with a steaming cup of coffee. At other times, cookies would just be the perfect remedy for when you're in need of a "pick me up".

Last weekend I baked some cookies. There is no easier recipe than this one and trust me, this cookie’s a winner! The recipe is quick and easy and the best part is you can get very creative and add whatever ingredients you like in the cookie dough; chopped nuts, raisins, chocolate chips, grated coconut, dried berries… Almost everything works with this cookie batter.

I made 2 flavor variations for this cookie recipe: chocolate chunks for the chocoholic and raisin and chopped almonds for a healthier version. Gotta please everyone in the house, eh? :p

This is the recipe for the basic cookie dough.

Ingredients:

170g butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 ½ cups self-raising flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180˚C and line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until smoothly blended.
3. Then add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix well.
4. Beat in the flour, baking powder and salt and mix until a soft batter is formed. At this point, you can add your favorite ingredients like chocolate chips, nuts… etc.
If you intend to make more than one cookie flavor variation, divide your cookie dough in separate bowls and then mix in the additional ingredients you have chosen. I chose chocolate chunks on one side and raisin and chopped almonds on the other side.

Chocolate chunks cookie dough

Raisin and nuts cookie dough

5. Place small spoonfuls of the mixture onto the baking trays, allowing room for spreading.

6. Bake the cookies for about 15-20 minutes or until golden.
7. Transfer on a wire rack and cool for a few minutes.

Makes 5 dozen cookies

What I can say about these cookies is that they are very addictive. Just crisp enough on the edges and gooey in the centre, they are a luxurious treat for the senses.

And for a delightful cookie ‘n’ cream treat...

... ice-cream sandwiched between two cookies is a perfect concoction for bliss!

5 minutes and a Banana...

2010-05-09T09:12:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you have some too-ripe-bananas to eat? You either make "Tarte Banane", or if you are a lazy bum like me, you make 'Gato Banane', which it just plain banana balls (?lol)! :) As a kid, I remember going through the bags of nice cakes we received from neighbours and friends during the Divali Festival and looking for that one banana cake that was in there. hihi... This will only take 5 minutes, and is oh so easy and yummy :D

What you need...

- Bananas! (It doesnt really need to be super ripe, it just cant be green...I think :p)
- Flour (I'd say 1/4 a cup of flour for each banana you use, really depending on the size of the fruit of course.
- Sugar to taste

Step 1: Crush the bananas with a fork.

Step 2: Add the flour and sugar to the mashed bananas.

It should somewhat look like the image below...

Step 3: Take small scoops and fry until golden. This usually calls for deep frying.. But I try to save oil as much a I can..

Step 4: Sprinkle some sugar on top. Eat when still hot and crunchy :)

Hmmm... Life is short, Eat!

Chili Con Carne

2010-05-07T11:02:00.000-07:00

One can always count on drab depressing weather in London. Despite the fact that it's supposed to be spring right now, massive grey clouds are the only view from the window - but luckily such sad weather also calls for a bowl of hot steamy comfort food.....

Ingredients
Onion finely chopped
Crushed garlic
Orange or red pepper de-seeded and diced
Minced beef
Cumin
Paprika
Salt
Nando's Peri Peri sauce
Tinned chopped tomatoes
Tinned red beans

1. Heat some oil, add the garlic and onions, and let them fry a bit. Add the beef. When the beef is half cooked and the juices start to run, add the diced peppers.

2. When the beef is nearly cooked through, add the beans, tomatoes and season to your liking with the spices and the peri sauce. Turn down the heat and let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes or until the tomato juice has evaporated. It's ready!

3. Serve with rice, bread or fajita wraps and a generous dollop of sour cream, salsa or guacamole - or all three!

I had mine with guacamole and ciabatta sliced into dippers. The creaminess of the guac' complements the hot chili.

For a quick and easy guacamole recipe, blitz 2 avocados, 1 small chopped tomato, finely chopped onion, lemon juice, tabasco (or peri-peri sauce) and salt in a food processor. Lemon juice tends to "cook" the avocado so to prevent the guacamole from turning brown in the fridge, push the stone of the avocado into the guac' and let it sit there. For some unknown reason, it seems that it prevents the guac' from browning. You can also finish the rest of the guacamole with Doritos! Enjoy!

Life is Short. Eat!

Home-made spring rolls

2010-05-06T02:45:00.000-07:00

Spring rolls are wonderful appetizers and among my all time favorites. A few years ago, I learned to make my own spring rolls at home. Don’t be fooled by the simple elegance of those delightful rolls. As long as you have the wrappers, spring rolls are surprisingly easy and quick to make.

What is great about those snacks is that you can be the master of your own creations, filling the spring roll wrapper with any combination of delicious fare.

Let me share with you my recipe for spring rolls:

Makes about 25 rolls (depending on the size of the wrappers)

I used rice papers as my spring roll wrappers. Rice papers are circular, thin, brittle and opaque.

You can also use regular spring roll pastry. If so, just ignore step 2 in the preparation below.

INGREDIENTS:

2/3 lb ground chicken
1/3 lb canned crabmeat
1 medium (2/3 Cup) onion, minced and squeezed gently to remove excess liquid
1 cup grated carrots
1 1/2 oz (50 g) bean thread vermicelli, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes, drained and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
6 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes, drained and diced
Coriander, chopped
2 tbsp fish sauce, adjust to taste
1/4 tsp salt, adjust to taste
3/4 tsp ground black pepper, adjust to taste
1 egg, lightly beaten
Vegetable oil for frying

METHOD:

1. In a large bowl, combine the chicken, crabmeat, onion, grated carrots, vermicelli, mushrooms, coriander, fish sauce, salt, and black pepper. Using a fork, gently mix all the ingredients until well blended. Then add the beaten egg and toss to coat.

2. To make the rolls… fill a shallow plate with warm water. Submerge the rice wrapper for a few seconds, just to soften it, one at a time. Be careful not to oversoak or the rice paper will start to disintegrate.

3. Spoon 1 heaping tbsp of the filling on the bottom third of the wrapper. Using your fingers, press the filling gently and shape into a small cylindrical shape.

Lift the bottom edge over the filling, and then fold in both sides.

Roll into a small cylinder. Place the seam side down.

It is important to apply a little pressure, as you roll, to ensure that the spring roll is firm and tight. Also, do not stack the rolls. Cover lightly with plastic wrap to prevent from drying and continue to make the rolls with the remaining filling and rice papers in this way.

4. In a wok or a large skillet, heat 2 inches of vegetable oil. Test the temperature by carefully placing a spring roll in it. If the oil foams but not too vigorously upon contact, it is hot enough. Add the rolls without crowding, and fry until crisp and golden brown.

5. Remove the spring rolls with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Serve the spring rolls with dipping sauce and chili.

Bon appetit!

Spicy baked beans and tuna corn patties

2010-05-04T23:07:00.002-07:00

I’m not a huge fan of baked beans in tomato sauce. Last year, during the H1N1 flu season, my friend gave me a big scare when he started to stock up on canned food — Singapore was on Red alert then – he told me to do the same. So I ended up stocking on canned foods such as tuna, sardine, fruits and baked beans! LOL. I now have 2-3 cans of baked beans in the cupboard which I have to consume before their expiry date (actually they only expire next year).

I made some Spicy baked beans and tuna corn patties during the weekend after being inspired by this recipe.

Ingredients (make 5 palm-sized patties)

1 can (normal size) baked beans or chickpeas or garbanzo beans *
1 tbsp of chili powder (add more if you want it more spicy!)
1 egg-lighted beaten
1 -2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp of sesame oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup frozen or canned or fresh corn kernels
1 can tuna flakes (in oil or brine)
Some oil to pan-fry

* Chickpeas is recommended.

Step 1: Wash the beans in cold water to get rid of the tomato sauce, then add all the ingredients. I added a good amount of extra hot chilli (x2 of what you see). I am a huge fan of spicy food!

Step 2: Add the frozen corn and mash everything using your hand.

Step 3: Shape with hands and pan-fry both sides for around 3 minutes per side.

My first batch didn’t hold together as they were too soft … So I added some extra flour.

Attempt number 2 was pretty good

Success!

Best served while still very hot (because it will be crispy on the outside). Serve with ketchup or mayo.

To be honest, I thought the tuna and baked beans combi didn’t quite blend well together. They were edible, though not the best patties around. I am going to use chickpeas next time! And maybe do without the tuna.

Spinach and ricotta cannelloni

2010-05-01T01:21:00.000-07:00

Last year I made spinach and ricotta cannelloni for the first time. Well I used instant cannelloni shells (i.e no need to pre-boil them) and all I had to do was prepare the filling (which in that case was spinach and ricotta + cottage cheese) as well as the tomato and the white sauce layer. It takes certainly much more effort to make cannelloni than lasagna as you have to individually fill the small pasta tubes. If you are the lazy chef, you could use instant tomato sauce :) Saves you a bit of time eh!

You can experiment with different fillings such as beef, chicken & spinach or even pumpkin & chicken! Have you ate cannelloni before? If so, what was the filling?

The following recipe is adapted from Jamie Oliver’s awesome spinach and ricotta cannelloni.

Ingredients used (serves 5-6)

2 knobs of butter
Olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
A large handful of fresh marjoram or oregano, roughly chopped – I used 1 to 1.5 tsp of dried oregano
¼ of a nutmeg, grated – I used 1 to 1.5 tsp dried nutmeg
8 large handfuls of spinach, thoroughly washed – I used 5 packets of china baby spinach with stalks removed.
A handful of fresh basil, stalks chopped, leaves ripped
2 x 400g tins of good-quality plum tomatoes, chopped – I used Hunts stewed & diced tomatoes. You can also make your favourite tomato sauce!
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 pinches of sugar
400g crumbly ricotta cheese – I used 250g ricotta cheese + 250g low fat cottage cheese
2 handfuls of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
16 cannelloni tubes (if you end up having extra filling, you could always use lasagna sheets)
200g mozzarella, broken up

For the white sauce

1 x 500ml tub of crème fraîche
3 anchovies, finely chopped
2 handfuls of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Note: I made my own white sauce version i.e white bechamel sauce using butter, flour, milk, salt, pepper, cheddar cheese and nutmeg powder.

Method

In a large saucepan, put it on a high heat and add your butter, a drizzle of olive oil, one of the sliced garlic cloves, a handful of marjoram or oregano (or dried oregano) and the grated nutmeg. By the time the pan is hot the garlic should be soft. Put as much spinach as will fit into the pan. Keep turning it over; it will wilt quickly so you will be able to keep adding more spinach until it’s all in. Moisture will cook out of the spinach, which is fine. By cooking it this way you don’t lose any of the nutrients that you would if boiling it in water. After 5 minutes, put the spinach into a large bowl and leave to cool.
Place the pan back on the heat, add a little olive oil, the other clove of sliced garlic, your basil stalks and the tomatoes. Then fill one of the empty tomato tins with cold water and add this too. If using stewed tomatoes, do not add this extra water. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down, add a pinch of salt and pepper and the sugar, and simmer for about 10 minutes, until you get a loose tomato sauce consistency. Then take the pan off the heat and add the basil leaves.
By now the spinach will have cooled down, so squeeze any excess liquid out of it and pour this back into the bowl. Finely chop the spinach and put it back into the bowl. Mix it with the liquid, add the ricotta (or ricotta + cottage cheese) and a handful of the Parmesan.
Squeeze the mixture into the cannelloni. You can use a piping bag to do that if you want. I used a small spoon.
Pour the tomato sauce into your ovenproof dish and lay the cannelloni on top.
To make the white sauce, mix together the crème fraîche, anchovies and the 2 handfuls of Parmesan with a little salt and pepper, then loosen with a little water.
Spoon in the white sauce over the cannelloni. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan and the mozzarella pieces, and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes until golden and bubbling.
Serve hot!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

2010-04-30T01:24:00.000-07:00

This is my first attempt at baking pineapple upside down cake. I saw the recipe on Nigella’s website last night and I thought I’d give it a go. It was a fairly easy cake to make although at some point, I must admit I was anxious to flip it onto the serving plate. What if the cake got stuck to the tin?? But surprise surprise! The inverting process went well and the cake was easily released with no sticking whatsoever – no fuss, no bother and no dialing 911!

I was extremely pleased with the end result. =)

This is the original recipe from Nigella.

Serving Size: Serves 8

INGREDIENTS

Butter for greasing
2 x 15ml tablespoons sugar
6 slices pineapple from a 425g can, plus 3 x 15ml tablespoons of the juice
11 glacé cherries, approx. 75g total weight
100g flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
100g soft butter
100g caster sugar
2 eggs

METHOD

1.Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6. Butter a tarte Tatin tin (24cm wide at the top and 20cm diameter at the bottom) or use a 23cm cake tin (neither loose-bottomed nor springform).
2.Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of sugar on top of the buttered base, and then arrange the pineapple slices to make a circular pattern.
3.Fill each pineapple ring with a glacé cherry.
4.Put the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, butter, caster sugar and eggs into a food processor and run the motor until the batter is smooth. Then pour in the 3 tablespoons of pineapple juice to thin the batter a little.
5.Pour this mixture carefully over the cherry-studded pineapple rings; it will only just cover it, so spread it out gently.
6.Bake for 30 minutes or until a cake tester or wooden skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
7.Let the cake cool for 5 minutes, then ease a sharp knife around the edge of the tin, place a serving dish on top and, with one deft – ha! – move, turn it upside-down.

Arranging the pineapple rings and cherries

Cake batter covering the pineapples and cherries

*Take a bite*

Mmmmm... The juicy and sticky pineapple gives way to an incredibly buttery, tender crumb.

If you like pineapples, this upside down cake should definitely go on your to-do list!

Happy weekend everyone! And remember... life is short... E.A.T!

Childhood Memories...

2010-04-28T20:33:00.000-07:00

There are some dishes that take you back to your childhood. The stressless and free life we once used to have...until we become adults, and ruin everything! This particular dessert ( I'm not sure if it's one... or is it a snack? O.o) is definitely one of them to me. I remember times when my grandmother used to make it for us for chinese new year. The crunchiness of the outer texture combined together with the glutinous rice makes this dish an amazing experience in your mouth. This recipe is actually a re-blog,which I posted a while ago now on my blog.

For the Hakkas, this dessert is called "Tien Nien Neh" (If someone has the exact spelling for this, please send it to me! lol :p). For Mauritians, "Gato Zinzeli". And for the rest of the world... let's see...probably "Glutinous Sweet Potato Balls" (?? LOL).

This is quite a simple recipe, but is ohhh sooo yummy :D

This recipe calls for...
500g Glutinous Flour
500g Sweet Potatoes
Around 3-4 tablespoon of Sugar (To taste of course)
Sesame Seed

Step 1:
Peel and boil the sweet potatoes.
Then, mash the sweet potatoes and add the glutinous flour to make a dough.
Then, roll in into little balls
And roll the balls in sesame seed
It should then look like the picture below...

Step 2:
Deep Fry until golden in colour.

Step 3:
Leave to rest for a few minutes, also to allow the oil to drain.

The best way to eat this is when it's still hot and crispy - with a cup of "guilt-free" chinese tea of your choice...
Keep in an air-tight container if you want to store them away.

What's your favourite childhood dish? :)

Appearances Can Be Deceiving

2010-04-28T04:51:00.000-07:00

Don't judge the gunk til you've tried it. Seriously. I'm not exactly a fan of sticky, glutinous stuff, especially rice. So when I first heard of and saw risotto, I was pretty apprehensive, my brows furrowed and my stomach refused access to that gloopy mass. My second encounter with risotto however, was a baby step towards change - not that I could refuse to eat it anyway as I looked on in despair whilst the host loaded my plate. As I toyed around with the food on my plate, I figured I had two options:

1. Eat

2. Eat

I didn't want to come across as rude so I took a deep breath and shoved a forkful in my mouth...hmm....and that ladies and gentleman, is when I discovered that like people and books, don't judge food by its appearance. Gloopy, bland and whiteish as it may appear, the taste however was major ooomph! The creaminess of the rice and the grainy texture was just....W.O.W, not to mention the soft buttery taste of the onions and the whiff of wine and herbs *sigh* Bliss handed over on a plate....

Antonio Carluccio's Basic Risotto Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients

350g arborio rice

1 onion finely chopped

1.5-2L of chicken, beef, fish or vegetable stock

Olive oil

50g Butter

Freshly grated parmesan

1. Heat the oil with half the butter, add the onion and cook until softened. Meanwhile heat the stock in another pan and keep it on a low simmer - or just boil water in the kettle, pour into a bowl or jug , dump the stock cube and stir.

2. When the onion has softened, add the rice and stir with a wooden spoon so that the rice grains are coated in oil and butter, and start to become translucent.

3. Start adding the sock by ladlefuls. Don't add too much or the rice will drown . Keep stirring until the rice absorbs all of the stock. Keep stirring and stirring until all the liquid is absorbed. Continue adding 1 ladle of stock at a time until the rice is cooked after 20-25 minutes. It should be al dente. A good risotto should have a creamy consistency, Italians call this all'onda or "wavy".

4. When the rice is ready, stir in the remaining butter and the parmesan. Let the risotto to stand for a couple of minutes until it absorbs the rest of the liquid. Serve straightaway.

My Twist on Carluccio's recipe - Bacon and Dolcelatte Risotto

Cooking for just 1 requires about 75g-100g of uncooked arborio rice. I used about 200g for two meals. My take on Step 3 is that it doesn't matter in the beginning because the rice will absorb absolutely all of the stock. I added 2 ladles of stock, 1 large glass of white wine (around 125-150ml), then one more ladle of stock and kept stirring, thereafter repeating the "1 ladle at a time + stir" method. The first time I cooked risotto, I skipped out on the wine bit and it did lack something so do add wine for more flavour and tanginess.

Also, don't worry if you don't use up all of the stock. It seems like the organic arborio rice that I used cooked a little faster, it cooked in 15 minutes and required only about 600ml of stock. I seasoned with black pepper and herbs about halfway through the cooking time and added the bacon and dolcelatte at the very end. I did think of adding parmesan but that would've been tastebud overkill!

Note about the wine: According to my research using Google, it's best to use a wine that you enjoy drinking because really, it's no use adding a wine that you don't like to something you're going to eat, right? I used a Sauvignon Blanc because it's apparently one of the easiest wines to cook with. Some others apparently require temperature control and not all alcohol evaporates with cooking. Some residual alcohol will remain in your dish depending on what type of wine it is as well as the cooking time and the cooking method.

Bon Appetit!

Life is short. Eat!

Down the Milkylane

2010-04-26T09:38:00.000-07:00

The franchise Ola Milkylane opened its doors to the Mauritian public at Trianon Shopping Park in January this year. A well established South African brand, it claims to be devoted to making icecream an 'experience'. Last Friday Angele and I decided to go there for a mini dessert party.

Ambience

It's open, relaxed and colourful. I like.

Quick Menu Overview

The menu looks so drool-worthy, and you'e incredibly spoilt for choice. There is a really wide range of desserts, including cheesecake, muffins, brownies, banana splits, and so many different variations of iceream spinners, waffles, pancakes, icecream sundaes, hot drinks and milkshakes.

We were quite a bit surprised to see savoury items (savoury pancakes, waffles and cheese griddles) on the menu as well because we had originally thought that Milkylane served sweet stuff only. So Angele and I decided to try the Cheese and Salsa pancake before attacking dessert.

Lunch is here

Cheese and Salsa pancake

The pancakes were light and airy, as pancakes should be. They were actually pretty good, although not really mind-blowing.

Want to know what we had for dessert afterwards?....Well, nothing. We didnt have dessert in the end, more like, we couldn't. I blame these:

Soda floats

Coke and Sprite, topped with Ola Soft and Cream (Regular)

We ordered these as drinks, and as hard as it is to believe, these little monsters fill you up so much. We could hardly get up afterwards lol. The topping is absolutely delicious, and although the soda's taste is slightly altered it's still good.

Remember Creme Soda? The acid-green soda that used to be sold in Mauritius so many years ago?

Well, they have it on the Milkylane menu. As soon as I saw that I immediately went into 'OMG I WANT' mode. But it turns out that it's only on the menu, and not actually being served. So disappointing. I really wonder why it was discontinued. There are so many memories of my childhood in that one can of green fizzy soda.

Anyway, we got some doughnuts for the road. Not really Krispy Kremes (which are the best ones I've had till date), but they are some of the best ones I've eaten in Mauritius anyway, so thumbs up :)

I want to go back to Milkylane again sometime soon to try its cheesecake and sundaes. Have you been there yet? What did you eat? And how was it?

Old Fashioned Chocolate Cakey Muffin

2010-04-25T23:43:00.000-07:00

This recipe is adapted from Nigella's old fashioned chocolate cake, which I baked not too long ago for my husband's birthday. I was pleased with how the cake turned out - I like the texture and the fact that it is ridiculously simple to put together! All you have to do is place the ingredients into the food processor!

Yesterday, I turned this one fashioned cake into an old fashioned chocolate cakey muffin :) I made it a little bit healthier by replacing most of the butter with applesauce and reducing the amount of sugar. Recipe is at the bottom.

I made a lemon cakey muffin batter before the chocolate batter.

I topped some of the chocolate muffins with a toasted pecan nut. Toasted pecan nuts taste so good!

And some topped with Kit Kat.

Old Fashioned Chocolate Cakey Muffins

Ingredients (makes 9 muffins)

200g plain flour
140g caster sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
40g best-quality cocoa
1/2 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
50g unsalted butter + 120g applesauce (or 50g butter + 125g unsalted butter if you are not using applesauce)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
150ml non-fat yoghurt or low-fat sour cream

Method

Take everything out of the fridge so that all the ingredients can come to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180°C and line muffin tins.
Now all you have to do is put all the cake ingredients – flour, sugar, baking powder and bicarb, cocoa, chocolate chips, butter, eggs, vanilla and sour cream – into a food processor and process until you have a smooth, thick batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tins and top with toppings of your choice (pecan nut, chocolate chips, kitkat etc.).
Bake for about 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Note: If you have a 12 cup muffin tin and only bake 9 muffins, pour water into the other 3 cups to keep from damaging your tin!

A few tips on storing and freezing muffins

Cool muffins completely before wrapping and freezing. To freeze, wrap securely in foil or freezer wrap, or place in freezer bags. Label all packages with the name of the recipe and the date. Use within the recommended storage time for the best flavor and texture. Baked products should be stored at 0°F or lower. Muffins can be stored frozen for up to 3 months.
Muffins can be thawed completely at room temperature, or heat frozen muffins in the microwave or conventional oven as directed below:
For microwave oven, place unwrapped muffin on napkin, microwave-safe paper towel or plate. Microwave on HIGH about 30 seconds for each muffin.For conventional oven, heat foil-wrapped muffins at 350°F 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the size of the muffins.

Of Food and Memories - G is for Gyoza, now say Ahhhhh!

2010-04-24T06:49:00.000-07:00

I tend to associate a lot of things with memories, including food - or maybe I'm just too greedy hah! One of my fave memories definitely included the years I spent in international school, meeting kids from all over the globe, diving into their culture , improving my English and best of it was without hesitation, the playdates. Whilst the mums played bridge and gin rummy, us kids used to run around until lunchtime came and that always included a taste of their homeland. Throughout these years, my tastebuds were introduced to South African braai (barbecue), Japanese sushi and sashimi, and Filipino halo-halo (shaved ice with milk and fruit and loads of other stuff, kinda like ice kachang) amongst others. The most amazing meals however were at Nicole's, my half-German half-Korean best friend at that time. As kimchi pancakes, kimchi fried rice, bulgogi, japchae, gyoza and bibimbap danced around the place, I cultivated a life-long obsession with Korean food - which culminated in this recent attempt to make the gyoza. So here it goes....

Ingredients:
Minced Pork
Tinned or fresh kimchi
Chopped scallions
Grated ginger
Soy sauce
Cornflour
Gyoza wraps

1. To make the stuffing: Mix the pork, kimchi, scallions, ginger in a big bowl. Season with soy sauce and pepper. You can also substitute the sauce for salt instead. Add a bit of cornflour to bind the mixture. One or two tablespoonfuls should do the job. Be careful not to add too much cornflour as that will make the stuffing harden too much whilst cooking.

2. The wrapping process: Scatter some flour or cornflour on a plate so that the gyozas won't stick. Take the wrap in one hand, load your teaspoon with the stuffing with the other and drop it at the centre of the wrap. Dip your finger into a bowl of water and wet the circumference. Fold the wrap into half and pinch tightly. Scatter some flour or cornflour in between too. It should look like a half circle.

3. Cooking: Cook the gyoza in a pan of boiling water with a little oil so that it doesn't stick. Boil for around 10-15minutes. Cut one in half to check whether it's cooked. Drain.

4. You can either serve it boiled as it is, or panfry it for about 2-3 minutes on each side. Serve with chilli sauce, soy sauce and extra scallions on the side.

Life is Short. Eat!

Crème de la crème

2010-04-22T01:11:00.000-07:00

You know what they say: sometimes the simplest things are the best, and it doesn’t get any simpler than eggs, milk and sugar.

Crème caramel is one of my favorite desserts. When I was a kid I would always buy those instant ready-mix packets of flan au caramel which just had to be heated with milk and served. At the time it was all good… until I learned how easy peasy it was to prepare the home-made version! And from a few basic ingredients, comes this enjoyable little treat.

Here is the recipe I use to make my crème caramel.

Ingredients:

CUSTARD
3 whole eggs
2 yolks
60g (2 oz) sugar
250ml milk
250ml cream
1 vanilla bean pod

CARAMEL
200g (7 oz) white sugar (or less depending on how sweet you like your dessert)
70ml water

6 small ramekins and a roasting pan.

Preparation:

- Pre-heat the oven to 280F (140C). Line the bottom of the roasting pan with a kitchen paper towel. Set aside.

- Use a sharp knife to split the vanilla pod in half length-ways and scrape out the seeds. Place the seeds and pod into a small saucepan with the milk and cream. Heat gently over a low heat.

- Meanwhile make the caramel by placing sugar and water together in a small, saucepan over a low heat. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring mixture to the boil. Continue to boil, without stirring for 6-8 minutes or until a deep golden color. If sugar crystals start to form up the side of the saucepan you can occasionally brush the sides with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. Pour caramel evenly among 6 ovenproof ramekins. Set aside to cool for several minutes. Transfer ramekins into the paper-lined roasting pan. Set aside.

- In a large bowl whisk together the whole eggs, yolks and 60g sugar. Add the warm milk mixture while gently stirring with the whisk. Be careful not to whisk vigorously as this will cause too many bubbles in the custard.

- Strain the mixture into a pouring jug. Straining will help remove the vanilla pod and any stringy egg bits. Carefully pour mixture over the caramel in the ramekins.

- Pour enough boiling water into the pan to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake in pre-heated oven for 40-45 minutes or until custards are just set and still wobbly. Remove from oven.

- Transfer the ramekins to a baking tray and set aside for 30 minutes to cool then cover the ramekins with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 3 hours or overnight to chill.

- To serve, run a flat-bladed knife around the inside edge of the ramekins and carefully turn custard onto serving plates.

I made this dessert a few times already and just so you know, the caramel part of this dessert can be tricky. Always allow the caramel to cool before adding the custard. I learned this the hard way the first time as I poured in the custard and saw the caramel start to mix with the custard. Oh well, another kitchen disaster for me!

Crème caramel is a delectable dessert to enjoy any time of the day. It’s simple and smooth and while it’s creamy, it’s not overly rich. The custard base is delicately flavored with vanilla beans and the caramel adds a little more sweetness and a pleasant, almost burnt taste to this classic yet decadent dessert.

Voilà! Enjoy :)

Intriguing Sweetness...

2010-04-20T08:45:00.000-07:00

Hello world. *blushes*

Ok. I'm thinking of about a thousand possible things to say to start this post and absolutely nothing feels right when typed out! Hahaha. I guess I'll just have to keep it clean and simple; Welcome to our food blog. It's amazing how great this project feels and I hope you'll enjoy catching up with us as we share our experiences with you, both amazing ones and disastrous ones of course.

Enough of the blah-blahs, let's start this already :) Today, I tried the very weird-looking fruit called "The Dragon Fruit"... Ouhhhh... And no, it doesn't look anything like a dragon. Maybe it might look like a dragon egg? Lol. As far as I know, Dragon Fruits are very expensive. I've seen them selling for around AUS$19.00/kg, and did not at all feel the need to spend so much on a fruit when there are so many other abundant yummy fruits out there that are way cheaper. But of course, I never refuse to taste something new when proposed (except when it has seafood in it..major no no for me..highly allergic :( ) and which also gives me the opportunity to talk a little bit about it.

I have to admit that the outer surface of the fruit is quite appealing. It's very particular, and does not look like any other fruit I know. It's quite pinkish-purplelish lol...Im not too sure what exact color is, but it's pretty!

The flesh inside reminds of the Moon Cakes we have back in Mauritius, or even the Kiwi fruit. But it doesnt even taste close to either one. Let me try to explain it in simple words... Not too sweet, but not sour either. It has an after-taste that some might not enjoy but as you eat more of it, you find a distinct taste of the fruit. It's hard to explain when there is no other fruit that is similar to it, hey? The texture is quite close to the Kiwi fruit I'd say, but with harder flesh. I'm not sure whether it was because it wasn't ripe enough or whether it's just the way it is.

Have you tried the Dragon Fruit before? If you did and thought you had a totally different experience, we'd love to hear from you :) Maybe I'll have to have another try at it at some other point to see whether the one I just had was actually what it's really supposed to be.

Any new fruits you've tasted recently? :) Remember...Life is short, Eat! ;)

--- Edit 26/04/2010 @ 8.44pm
This just in...Pictures from my Tatie...

This is the red flesh Pitaya or Dragon Fruit we've been talking about in the comments section. They're from my auntie Marie Lourde's (the chef of the family btw) back yard. She's from Reunion Island, yes, yet another tiny dot on the big world map - Google it :p Thank you Tatie for the great pics! The fruit weighed 700grams (Big mama, eh? :D) and is very sweet from what Tatie wrote in ;)

Welcome to Ti Pomme D'amour

2010-04-18T17:00:00.000-07:00

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