MAYBAHAY

Cheesecake Pops-A Daring Bakers Challenge

2008-04-27T09:17:00.011+10:00

I was still feeling a bit dejected from stuffing up last month's Daring Baker challenge when I saw Elle and Deborah's April dare. It promisingly looked delicious and fun- Cheesecake Pops. I've never had these before, let alone attempted making them.
The pops looked like the perfect treat to take to our favourite twins' fourth birthday party. The do was to be held over the ANZAC long-weekend which means I get an extra day of playing around lest things don't work out the first time around. I need not have worried. These were actually quite easy to make.

Basically, one makes a baked cheesecake, let this firm up, scoop balls out of the cake, freeze the pops and then dip them in chocolate and then decorate. See, doesn't that sound easy? I made less than the specified quantity in the original recipe but this recipe seems quite amenable to adjustments. I wasn't very strict with the measurements and ratios but the cheesecake turned out beautifully light (for a cheesecake anyway. None of that dense texture which I don't particulary enjoy) and yet firm. Instead of using 5 tubs of cream cheese, I only used 3. I used 3 eggs (instead of 5), 1 egg yolk (instead of 2) and 1 cup of sugar (instead of 2). These quantities produced 25 pops.

Oh and I baked the cheesecake for 70minutes, instead of the recommended 35-40mins. I used a spring-form tin, wrapped in three layers of foil to avoid water getting in. I have to say, this is the very first successful cheesecake I have made, no cracks- the top was as smooth as a bub's bottom.

The recipe also calls for scooping out balls of cheesecake but I decided to slice up the cake into cubes. Less wasteage and mess that way, I reckon. The cheesecake morsels were coated in white and dark chocolate from either end of the luxury spectrum. The 250g of white chocolate was a cheap and cheerful, store home-brand. The dark chocolate was Couverture. They were what I had in the cupboard, not really because there was some well-thought out reasoning behind the choices. Curiously, both kinds of chocolate turned out very well after melting them with a tablespoon of shortening. They formed sweet, crunchy shells over the frozen cheesecake cubes.

As for decorating, the pops, no sophisticated bling on mine. Just a sprinkling of colours from rainbow choc chips, butterfly shapes and hundreds-and-thousands.

The pops were a hit at the party! It wasn't a particularly warm day and they held up well on the wooden craft sticks I used. These just make such cute nibbles for the little ones but the taste was much appreciated by the grown-ups. Thanks for a fun challenge Elle and Deborah.

Here is the original recipe from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey by Jill O'Connor.

Cheesecake Pops

Makes 30 – 40 Pops

5 8-oz. packages cream cheese at room temperature

2 cups sugar

¼ cup all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

5 large eggs

2 egg yolks

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

¼ cup heavy cream

Boiling water as needed

Thirty to forty 8-inch lollipop sticks

1 pound chocolate, finely chopped – you can use all one kind or half and half of dark, milk, or white (Alternately, you can use 1 pound of flavored coatings, also known as summer coating, confectionary coating or wafer chocolate – candy supply stores carry colors, as well as the three kinds of chocolate.)

2 tablespoons vegetable shortening

(Note: White chocolate is harder to use this way, but not impossible)

Assorted decorations such as chopped nuts, colored jimmies, crushed peppermints, mini chocolate chips, sanding sugars, dragees) - Optional

Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Set some water to boil.

In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and salt until smooth. If using a mixer, mix on low speed. Add the whole eggs and the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well (but still at low speed) after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and cream.

Grease a 10-inch cake pan (not a springform pan), and pour the batter into the cake pan. Place the pan in a larger roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with the boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake until the cheesecake is firm and slightly golden on top, 35 to 45 minutes.

Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and cool to room temperature. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very cold, at least 3 hours or up to overnight.

When the cheesecake is cold and very firm, scoop the cheesecake into 2-ounce balls and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Carefully insert a lollipop stick into each cheesecake ball. Freeze the cheesecake pops, uncovered, until very hard, at least 1 – 2 hours.

When the cheesecake pops are frozen and ready for dipping, prepare the chocolate. In the top of a double boiler, set over simmering water, or in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, heat half the chocolate and half the shortening, stirring often, until chocolate is melted and chocolate and shortening are combined. Stir until completely smooth. Do not heat the chocolate too much or your chocolate will lose it’s shine after it has dried. Save the rest of the chocolate and shortening for later dipping, or use another type of chocolate for variety.

Alternately, you can microwave the same amount of chocolate coating pieces on high at 30 second intervals, stirring until smooth.

Quickly dip a frozen cheesecake pop in the melted chocolate, swirling quickly to coat it completely. Shake off any excess into the melted chocolate. If you like, you can now roll the pops quickly in optional decorations. You can also drizzle them with a contrasting color of melted chocolate (dark chocolate drizzled over milk chocolate or white chocolate over dark chocolate, etc.) Place the pop on a clean parchment paper-lined baking sheet to set. Repeat with remaining pops, melting more chocolate and shortening (or confectionary chocolate pieces) as needed.

Refrigerate the pops for up to 24 hours, until ready to serve.

Mixed Vegetable Bhaji

2008-04-14T13:24:00.003+10:00

Onion Bhajis are quite popular as a snack or appetiser item in the UK. Like most Indian dishes that could be found in the west, I'm not really sure about the authenticity of the recipes used but they taste great :-)
I am taking more liberty with the bhaji, adding more vegetables in the mix to make these crisp, mildly-spiced fritters. I hope my Indian friends won't mind...
These are best made with chickpea flour (gram flour, chana besan). I suppose plain flour could be substituted but one would miss out on the sublte, nutty, chick pea flavour.

Mixed Vegetable Bhaji

2 cups chickpea flour
1 cup thinly sliced brown onion
1 cup julienned sweet potato
1/2 cup julienned zucchini
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric
salt
cold water
oil for frying

1 tsp mint leaves, chopped finely
1/2 cup natural yogurt

In a bowl, mix together the flour and spices. Add the vegetables and mix well. If the batter is too dry, add some cold water, a tablespoon at a time. You do not want a runny batter, it should be thick enough to make patties out of.
Season with salt. Take a tablespoon of the batter at a time, form into balls and flatten with your palms to form patties.

Heat up the oil and deep-fry the patties until crisp. Let the fritters sit on paper towels prior to serving.

In a small bowl, pour the mint leaves into the yogurt and stir. Serve the bhajis with this dip.

Blue-Eye Cod with Cherry Tomato Stew

2008-04-08T14:40:00.008+10:00

Fish. I just don't cook it enough. I love it but my creativity with fish usually stops at baked salmon. Having found a fish I love will definitely change this, though. Blue-eye cod (Trevalla) is firm, delicately-flavoured and just lends itself to so many ways of preparing.

Blue-eyes are huge for eating fish. The four cutlets I picked up from the fish monger weighed almost 1.6kilos. That's 400g of succulent fish meat in the photo above. I'd normally stay away from large fish as I haven't really got the knack for preparing them. Tuna and swordfish seem to always turn out too dry, obviously from overcooking. However, Blue eye was easy to get perfectly crisp on the outside yet moist and tender on the inside.

I was going to prepare this simply fried with a bit of tartare sauce on the side but the husband came home with an interesting loot after a fishing trip on the river. No, he didn't manage to bag a decent catch (the bream were too small and had to be tossed back in) but his fishing buddies sent him home with a bucket of beautiful, juicy cherry tomatoes and a few fresh bay leaves from their garden. These went nicely into a ratatouille-style vegetable stew that beautifully-complemented the fish.

Blue-Eye Cod with Cherry Tomato Stew
serves four

olive oil
1 fennel bulb, sliced thinly
1 medium brown onion, sliced
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 c very ripe cherry tomatoes, chopped finely
4 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar
3 bay leaves, torn
1 yellow capsicum, sliced thinly
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 Tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

2 x 400g Blue-eye cutlets
1/2 Tbsp tumeric (optional)
1/2 c flour
salt and pepper

To prepare the vegetables, heat up the olive oil in the pan and toss in the fennel and onions.
Cook until soft. Add the garlic, chopped tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, sugar. Mix around until the tomatoes are soft. Throw in the bay leaf and cover with the heat on low. Simmer until the sauce has thickened up.
In the last few minutes of cooking, add the capsicum and cherry tomatoes. Mix around until thoroughly heated up. Do not let the tomatoes get overcooked. Season with salt and pepper and keep warm.

In the meantime, lightly dredge the fish cutlets in a mix of flour, tumeric (if using), salt and pepper. Fry on both sides until golden and the outsides are crisp.

Serve with the tomatoes and capsicum stew. Garnish with flat-leaf parsley.

Lamb Shank and Lentil Stew

2008-04-02T12:47:00.006+11:00

Old friends from Zurich were on a flying visit to Sydney last week and we were lucky enough that they had time to pop over for dinner. Aaahh, it was good to reminisce.
Over some lovely wine and soft candle light, we talked about cushy jobs and corporate jollies, drinking Weissbier and getting gas, ski trips and some cranky swish Swiss, dwarves (don't ask!) and weddings. Which are all in the past.

As if on cue, one of the four-year olds in the next room screams which brought all three sets of parents running. Nothing serious, it was just your run-of-the mill pre-schooler fight on whose turn it was with the Hula hoop/Charlie and Lola book/kitchen knife. And just like that, we were jolted back to the present. Beer-brain has been replaced by nappy-brain. Mortgages, jobs, kiddy tantrums, petrol prices....
Yet, everyone is happy and content. Which is what counts.

When I found out that my friends were visiting, I got concious of the fact that I am several kilos heavier than when they saw me last. The vain person in me wanted to make it out as though it was the new look I was going for- you know, the curvy Nigella Lawson-sort of domestic goddess...'Dahhling, let me pop one more of those gorgeous deep-fried chocolate eclairs in my mouth'
Seriously, I just wanted to give my friends a taste of a flavourful, rustic, home-cooked meal that they must be missing while travelling. Nigella's creations, though mostly 'celery-challenged' (as one journalist puts it), are downright comforting and would fit the bill nicely.
One of the things I made for the night was adapted from Nigella Lawson's Aromatic Lamb-Shank Stew recipe.
I thought the use of soy sauce in a (non-Asian) stew was a bit dubious but I loved the resulting flavour. I also had some Chermoula on hand and adding it packed a bit more complex punch.

Lamb Shank and Lentil Stew

olive oil
6 pcs lamb shanks
1/2 c finely chopped onion
1tsp minced garlic
1tsp minced ginger
1Tbsp Turmeric
1 Tbsp chermoula
1 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbsp Marsala wine
1 Tbsp soy sauce
3 Tbsp honey
water
1/2 c lentils (I used split mung bean)
salt and pepper to taste

Heat up some olive oil in a dutch oven/cocotte and brown the lamb shanks. Take the lamb shanks out and drain on absorbent paper.
In the same oil, cook the onion and garlic until soft. Then add the ginger, tumeric, chermoula and cinnamon. Stir around for a minute or so but do not let the spices burn. Add the Marsala and soy sauce and stir until it starts bubbling up. Stir in the honey.
Put the lamb shanks back in the pot and then cover in cold water (around 4 cups).
Let it get to boil and then turn the heat down to low. Simmer covered for approx 1 hour, or until the meat is tender.
Add the lentils and simmer uncovered for a further 20mins. Season with salt and pepper.

*I like to cook this stew in advance and then skim off the fat after it has been sitting in the fridge overnight. The flavours develop better upon re-heating.

** I served this with spinach rice. I sauteed the spinach in butter and cardamom and mixed in some cooked rice then topped with almond slivers. Next time, I will go back to serving this with polenta. I prefer something a bit 'more bland' as a backdrop for the various flavours.

DB March Challenge- Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake

2008-03-30T22:42:00.005+11:00

It's that time of the month again when the Daring Bakers unleash their creative audacity to interpret a single recipe in a thousand and one ways. Our March host is Morven of Food Art and Random Thoughts, who has chosen Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake recipe. Dorie Greenspan is supposed to be somewhat of a baking legend in the US and the fact that we were challenged with one of her well-known recipes excited my fellow Daring Bakers who were already familiar with her books (I'm not one of them). The recipe for this challenge comes from this book.
The recipe was straighforward enough- the batter calling for cake flour,butter, buttermilk/milk, egg whites and sugar. The original version had the sponge and Swiss meringue butter cream icing flavoured with lemon. The cake was to be assembled in four layers with raspberry jam and buttercream sandwiched in between and then finished off with a coating of sweet dessicated coconut. Morven gave us a lot of leeway for presenting our own version, with the only proviso that it remains a layer cake.
When I first saw the recipe, I got quite excited as I imagined ending up with a giant white lamington (me heart lamingtons) . Now THAT would be a party cake. Unfortunately, my version turned out to be a deflated kill-joy, definitely in no mood to party :-(

Because of the coconut, I decided to go with an all-tropical flavour. I substitued lime for lemon and I used the last of the mango and lime jam I made around Christmas time.

Apart from going with the different flavours, I followed the recipe to a T and kept in mind all the other DB'er tips, using low-protein flour (for biscuits and cakes), whipped the egg whites prior to mixing with the buttermilk, etc. As soon as the batter was ready, I already had my doubts. There was just not going to be enough to fill two 9-inch pans. I plowed along nevertheless, pouring the batter into one pan and hoping that it would rise enough for me to get two layers out of one cake.

Alas, 35 minutes into the cooking time and it was still looking stodgy. I gave it another 10 minutes and a knife came out clean when I insterted in the middle of the cake so I took the cake out. The cake just fealt heavy and dense when I turned it out onto a rack to cool. Oh dear.

I tried to not think about the cake and got on with making the buttercream. Ahhh, that's more like it. Just as the recipe promised- fluffy, smooth and shiny. It was delicious with lime juice swirled through it. Woohoo!

When it came time to assemble the cake, it became more apparent that this was a disaster. Slicing thru the cake to get two layers, I realised that it was undercooked, it had the texture of fudge in the middle. I knew that the crumb was supposed to be tight but not like this. This was on the eve of Easter and I had a million other things to make for my son's Christening the following day and there really was no time to sulk . So, I dress the little party cake up by filling up the two slices with jam and buttercream (again, yum!) , slathering on some more buttercream on the outside and lightly showering the cake with dessicated coconut. I topped it with a chick and a couple of Easter eggs, put it in the fridge and out of my mind.

The following day, I let the cake sit out at room temperature for a couple of hours before cutting into it. Despite that, it still felt heavy as I cut thru it. I'm ashamed to say that I didn't even taste it. The texture was so unappealing to me that I wanted to bin it straight away. A couple of aunts ate a few bites and said that it was 'ok, the subtle lime flavour was nice'. I wasn't convinced. No photos of the slices either. I am not sure where it all went wrong but I will attempt this again when I have a bit more time. I am determined to bake my party cake and eat it, too.

Despite my failure in this challenge, I am happy to say that most of my fellow Daring Bakers had much fun and success in making their party cakes. You will be drooling over some of the combinations-I promise! So go out there and ogle out everyone's party cake. ' Til next month!

Prawn and Green Mango Salad

2008-03-26T10:09:00.008+11:00

Here I am desperately clinging on to summer and what better way to defy the seasons than by enjoying the last of the harvest? Sadly, ripe mangos have again pretty much disappeared from the fruit shops but I was lucky enough to stumble upon some cooking mangos.

Filipinos have an affinity for green, sour, under-ripe but crunchy mangos. They are usually simply sliced, dipped in salt or bagoong (shrimp paste) and enjoyed with puckered lips. The more sour they are, the better. Little did I know, though, that Filipinos didn't have the monopoly on the pleasures of this masochistic snacking. Trying to introduce green mangos to an Indian friend a while back, she said 'Oh yeah, we love those back home dipped in salt and chili'. A Kenyan friend declared, 'Hmm, delicious with salt and sugar'.

These days, green mangos are available not only in the Asian shops but at most green grocers in Sydney. Then I came across this Thai recipe for enjoying them with prawns. Bingo! It could only be a winner...

Prawn and Green Mango Salad

300g cooked prawns (shelled, tail left on)

1 cup julienned cooking mangos (the flesh should still be firm and green or very pale yellow)

2 stalks spring onions, sliced

2 red birds-eye chillis, finely chopped

2 Tbs chopped coriander leaves

2 Tbsp chopped mint leaves

3 c salad greens

Dressing

1/4 c water

3 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp minced ginger

2 Tbsp fish sauce

juice from 1 lime

dash of sesame oil

To prepare the dressing, simmer the water, sugar and ginger on low heat until the sugar has melted. When the mixture has cooled down, add the fish sauce, lime juice and sesame oil.

Assemble the salad by mixing together the salad leaves, coriander, mint, spring onion and chillis. Top with the mangos and prawns. Drizzle the dressing over and enjoy!

Garlicky Tarragon Chicken Goujons

2008-03-12T08:28:00.004+11:00

Let's not kid ourselves.. this is just chicken nuggets! Pardon my attempt at pretence, I only wanted to distance this from what everyone now accepts as chicken nuggets. Those 'gems' made of ground-up unnameable chicken parts and peppered with 'E' flavourings and preservatives have scarily become staple offerings as part of 'children's menus'. Why? It is so easy to batter up some real pieces of chicken and bake them in the oven, there's really no excuse to enjoy anything other than home-made chicken nuggets.

Here's my version. I used tarragon as I realised that I simply have not cooked much using this herb. It really is lovely with chicken but I think, it works best as part of a creamy sauce. Nevertheless, it still added an interesting dimension to a simple mid-week dish. Serve with a simple green salad.

Garlicky Tarragon Chicken Goujons

400g chicken tenderloins (sliced up chicken breast can be substituted)

2Tbsp sour cream

2 Tbsp chopped up tarragon

1 c garlic croutons (for crumbing)

Oil for frying

In a bowl, marinate the chicken pieces in the sour cream for a couple of hours.

Make the croutons by baking cubes of stale bread, tossed in oil and garlic, in an oven until dry and crunchy. When cool, roughly grind up into crumbs by running a rolling pin over it a few times. Mix the tarragon leaves in with the crumbs.

Coat the chicken pieces in the crumb and herb mixture. Fry in oil until golden. These can also be cooked in a 200deg C oven for approximately 20mins or until golden brown.

Chunky Smoked Salmon dip

2008-02-27T21:19:00.005+11:00

Oh how I've missed posting and interacting with you my bloggy mates. I can't say I am back with a vengeance, for I am still time-poor and barely hanging on to my sanity just to keep the machinations of housekeeping going while holding down a paid full-time job.

I just thought I had better post some of the things I've made recently (or not so recently) before I forget the recipes.

Smoked salmon. Ah! I love this stuff. I made a dip to take to a friend's baby shower and couple of the ladies asked for the recipe. So, here goes...

Chunky Smoked Salmon dip

200g smoked salmon
1 baby fennel bulb
2 Tbsp creme fraiche
2 Tbsp chopped dill
1 Tbsp finely chopped spring onion
salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste

Roughly shred the smoked salmon into small pieces. Chop the fennel bulb into very fine cubes, you'll need approx. 1/2 a cup.

Mix the creme fraiche, dill spring onions and salt and pepper well.
Add the smoked salmon and fennel and very carefully toss together.

*The richness of the salmon is great with the fresh, crisp and slightly sweet bits of fennel. I served this with some store-bought crackers (baked with bits of caramelised onion) but this would also be lovely with thin pieces of white bread toast.

Lemon Meringue Pie-January Daring Bakers Challenge

2008-01-28T21:10:00.000+11:00

Lemon Meringue Pie (LMP) IS my favourite dessert. I will have it anytime, everytime if its on the menu. So when Jen, the Canadian Baker announced this month's Daring Baker challenge, I had to haul myself out of blogging semi-retirement and bake myself one of my beloved pie.

Weird how I have never attempted to make this myself. I guess I've been of the mind that if a good one could be had very easily, then why bother. LMPs are a staple at Sydney coffee shops and I am very easily pleased. If it's tangy and the meringue has a hint of a crunch, I would be appreciative.

Unfortunately, with all that's going on at home, I didn't get the chance to plan making my LMP out too well. I made it for a little get-together with friends for the Australia Day weekend. I was hoping to make tartlets and pipe the meringue on but I had to resort to just making a large pie and slather the meringue on top hoping this 'free-styling' would at least make the grade.

This pie was a bit tricky as I couldn't make it the night before the barbecue for fear of ending up with a soggy crust. As things panned out the morning of the party, I was still stirring the curd as my guests stood at the door. Oh well. Pile the curd on to the base. Have a little drink and nibbles with guests while waiting for filling to cool down. Whip up the meringue. With another glass of Chardy on hand, chat over the whirring of the stand mixer. Slap the meringue onto the crust with a palette knife (while trying to look competent in front of friends). Bung that pie into the oven. Have another drink and wish for the best....

A sad meringue. That's what I ended up with. It was so sad that it wept.
A few other Daring Bakers seemed to have had this problem. Despite following the suggestion of spreading the meringue right to the crust edge, I didn't escape the little pool of syrup that's been the bane of my fellow Daring Bakers. As for the taste? The crust was OK. It was biscuity but it would have been nice to have something a little bit more buttery, almost short-bread like. The filling was deliciously tart. The balance of sweet and sour was to my liking but there was something wrong with the consistency. It didn't cut smooth when I sliced the pie. Perhaps the 1.5 hours it sat in the fridge after baking just wasn't enough to set it properly. The meringue was well... meringue. I didn't get the crunch on the edges which I love from the LMP coffee-shop versions but my meringue top browned a little too quickly.

All in all, this pie was OK and I enjoyed the experience (albeit hurried and distracted) of making it. I would be trying other recipes, though, and try and get a better consistency for the filling.

Sorry for the lack of photos and for the poor quality of the only one I have. I had guests to entertain and by the time for dessert came around, my hands were already a little bit shaky from one glass of wine too many ;-)

Go and enjoy all the other LMPs out there by the Daring Bakers...

Hooroo!

Lemon Meringue Pie
(from "Wanda's Pie in the Sky" by Wanda Beaver)

Makes one 10-inch (25 cm) pie

For the Crust:
3/4 cup (180 mL) cold butter; cut into ½-inch (1.2 cm) pieces
2 cups (475 mL) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (60 mL) granulated sugar
1/4 tsp (1.2 mL) salt
1/3 cup (80 mL) ice water

For the Filling:
2 cups (475 mL) water
1 cup (240 mL) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (120 mL) cornstarch
5 egg yolks, beaten
1/4 cup (60 mL) butter
3/4 cup (180 mL) fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon zest
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract

For the Meringue:
5 egg whites, room temperature
1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) cream of tartar
1/4 tsp (1.2 mL) salt
1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) vanilla extract
3/4 cup (180 mL) granulated sugar

To Make the Crust:
Make sure all ingredients are as cold as possible. Using a food processor or pastry cutter and a large bowl, combine the butter, flour, sugar and salt.Process or cut in until the mixture resembles coarse meal and begins to clump together. Sprinkle with water, let rest 30 seconds and then either process very briefly or cut in with about 15 strokes of the pastry cutter, just until the dough begins to stick together and come away from the sides of the bowl. Turn onto a lightly floured work surface and press together to form a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 20 minutes.

Allow the dough to warm slightly to room temperature if it is too hard to roll. On a lightly floured board (or countertop) roll the disk to a thickness of 1/8 inch (.3 cm). Cut a circle about 2 inches (5 cm) larger than the pie plate and transfer the pastry into the plate by folding it in half or by rolling it onto the rolling pin. Turn the pastry under, leaving an edge that hangs over the plate about 1/2 inch (1.2 cm). Flute decoratively. Chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line the crust with foil and fill with metal pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden. Cool completely before filling.

To Make the Filling:
Bring the water to a boil in a large, heavy saucepan. Remove from the heat and let rest 5 minutes. Whisk the sugar and cornstarch together. Add the mixture gradually to the hot water, whisking until completely incorporated. Return to the heat and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. The mixture will be very thick. Add about 1 cup (240 mL) of the hot mixture to the beaten egg yolks, whisking until smooth. Whisking vigorously, add the warmed yolks to the pot and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in butter until incorporated. Add the lemon juice, zest and vanilla, stirring until combined. Pour into the prepared crust. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming on the surface, and cool to room temperature.

To Make the Meringue:
Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Using an electric mixer beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar, salt and vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Add the sugar gradually, beating until it forms stiff, glossy peaks. Pile onto the cooled pie, bringing the meringue all the way over to the edge of the crust to seal it completely. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden. Cool on a rack. Serve within 6 hours to avoid a soggy crust.

Daring Bakers Extra Challenge: Free-Style Lemon Tartlets
(from "Ripe for Dessert" by David Lebovitz)

Prepare the recipe as above but complete the following steps:

To roll out tartlet dough, slice the dough into 6 pieces. On lightly floured surface, roll each circle of dough into a 5 inch disk. Stack the disks, separated by pieces of plastic wrap, on a plate, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

To bake the dough, position rack in oven to the centre of oven and preheat to 350ºF (180ºC). Place the disks of dough, evenly spaced, on a baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown. Cool completely.

To finish tartlets, first place oven rack in the upper third of the oven and increase heat to 425ºF. Divide the lemon filling equally among the disks, mounding it in the centre and leaving a 1-inch border all the way around. Spoon the meringue decoratively over each tartlet, right to the edges, in dramatic swirling peaks.

Return tartlets to oven and bake for about 5 minutes, until the meringue is golden brown.

Waving not Drowning

2008-01-20T09:19:00.000+11:00

Despite the lull in posts, I am still here. Dear Sweet Margot of Coffee and Vanilla noticed my absence and I have been amiss in failing to warn my lovely bloggy friends of the (unintended) break.Here I am popping my head up to say a quick hi. All is well, though I have been very emotional about trying to cope with the new routine the new year has brought in.

After 13 months of spending almost all of my waking hours with my two angels, we are preparing for my return to full time work. The kids are now at daycare a few hours each day, five days a week to get them used to it. After a week and a half, there are still tears from the little boy at drop- off and of course, I am a mess by the time I get back to the car.While they are out of the house, I am busy with speaking to resource agencies trying to line up a suitable contract for myself. We are also busy preparing for my in-laws' arrival. Hubby has been busy renovating our guest accomodation and I am looking around for things to fit the flat out with.

I am still cooking! Just have even less time now to take photos and write about it. I am terribly missing my favourite blogs and seeing what everyone is up to. Rest assured, I will be back to see what you wonderful foodies have been up to. I will also be scouring your sites for quick and easy meals for my family.
Keep on cooking!

XO

Sweet Potato and Raisin Muffins

2008-01-09T22:21:00.001+11:00

More healthy stuff. You have been warned. And this is the worst kind - eggless, butterless and no cow's milk. Shock, horror with an extra gasp for good measure!

There was a time when I used to chide a friend whenever she ordered a 'decaf-lite-soymilk cappucino'. A 'triple-no-fun' I used to refer to her beverage of choice. My, how my tune has changed. Well, when it comes to the matter of health (especially of my kids), I would like to think that I have reasonably learned to compromise, but not on taste. Decaf coffee (there are some good blends out there) I've had to accept since I started getting heart palpitations even when David Beckham is not on the television screen. Then my gorgeous little boy was found to be allergic to eggs and dairy. My heart went out to the poor little mite, envisioning his lifetime deprived of calorie-laden, rich and creamy treats. But that's just me and my tendency for drama. Firstly, he is expected to grow out of his allergies. And in the meantime, I can try and be creative with the 'treats' I make at home so he can also enjoy them.

Enter my 'triple-no-fun' muffins. Made with mashed sweet potatoes,part-wholemeal flour, olive oil and soymilk, these are good for everday guilt-free munching. They turned out absolutely moist but light and springy to the touch. The texture turned out better than my normal muffins which have a tendency to fall into crumbs when eaten. These are not overly sweet, with minimum sugar enhanced by the natural sweetness of the raisins and sweet potato.
As the ads say, 'Try them and you might be pleasantly surprised' :-)

I am sending this over to this week's edition of Weekend Herb Blogging hosted by Vani of Batasari. It was fun finding another use for sweet potato, which I normally only use roasted in salads. Varieties of this humble root crop has been cultivated in the Americas for thousands of years and is now popular in most parst of the world especially south east Asia and Polynesia.
Being a reliable and relatively easy crop to grow, it has become a staple in many cultures. Nutritionally, it is high in fiber, vitamins (Vit A specifically), minerals and is low in sodium.

Sweet Potato and Raisin Muffins
makes 12

1 c wholemeal flour
3/4 c self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 c castor sugar
2 tsp cinnamon powder
1 c raisins/ sultanas
3/4 c pureed sweet potato (steam potato pieces and then whizz in a food processor)
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 c soy milk

Preheat oven to 180deg Celsius.

Sift together the wholemeal flour, self-raising flour and baking powder. Add the sugar and cinnamon, mixing to combine ingredients well. Add the raisins and mix to ensure that the fruit pieces are dredged in flour.

In a bowl, mix together the sweet potato puree, olive oil and soy milk.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix but do not overdo it.

Spoon the mixture onto muffin trays lined with muffin paper cups. Bake for 20 mins or until an inserted skewer comes off clean.

Pan Fried Snapper and Asian Slaw

2008-01-07T22:18:00.001+11:00

The Holiday Season has finally sneaked out the back door, leaving lots of fun memories of great company and indulgent eating. Unfortunately, as it does every year, it has managed to leave some memento, most of it evident around my midriff.

New Year's resolutions? I won't even go there but as the new year brought warm days, it's been a lot easier to eat light and fresh.

I love this cabbage salad for the colour and the crispy tang of the dressing.

Pan Fried Snapper and Asian Slaw
serves 2

2x 150g red snapper fillets
1Tbsp plain flour
1/2 Tbsp corn flour
salt and pepper

1 c shredded Wong Bok (Napa cabbage)
1 c shredded red cabbage
1/2 c julienned crunchy vegetables (I used carrots and red beets)
1 Tbsp finely chopped spring onions
handful of fried noodles , or use nuts for crunch instead of the noodles
1 Tsp toasted sesame seeds

salad dressing

1/2 c olive oil
3 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
3 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp fish sauce
juice from 1/2 lime
1 Tbsp sesame oil

Make the salad dressing ahead by combining the olive oil, vinegar and sugar in a saucepan. Heat until the sugar is dissolved. Let it cool. Add the fish sauce, lime juice, and sesame oil and mix well.

To prepare fish, lightly dredge the fillets with the combined plain flour, corn flour, salt and pepper. Fry in olive oil until cooked through, approx 5 mins on each side.

Toss all the salad vegetables together in a bowl. Add the dressing and mix well. Just before serving, top with the fried noodles and sprinkle some sesame seeds.
Serve with the fish.

Arroz a la Valenciana

2008-01-02T11:12:00.000+11:00

Filipinos love rice. My husband still marvels at the mounds of white rice consumed every time the family gets together for a meal. There really is nothing more filling and satisfying than steamed white rice with a sauced meat dish and some patis on the side.

Apart from the daily steamed staple, rice is also enjoyed in various conconctions, whether it be savoury or sweet. One of my favourite rice dishes is Arroz a la Valenciana or Valenciana, for short. There are also various Latin American versions of this Spanish dish of rice, meat, a tomato base and vegetables but the Filipino interpretation is very much Asian-style with the use of sticky rice, coconut milk and fish sauce.

Valenciana is a dish usuallly made for fiestas in the Philippines- it is truly a special occassion dish, being colourful, rich and very filling. I made this for New Year's Day dinner. I actually hesitated trying to make this as my childhood memories of Valencianas were of perfect creations. Chewy sticky rice, tender meat redolent of rich tomatoes and bay leaves. Those were either made by a great aunt (who used to cook for rich families in Manila) or my late grandfather. Having made this now, the process, I feel is not that complicated but I still have to make this a few times before I get the consistency exactly right. Valencianas are supposed to be crusty on the sides (I remember aunts fighting over the tutong, the blackened, crunchy overcooked bits) and beautifully chewy but moist in the middle.

To further get a Filipino flavour, I searched for banana leaves to line the pots with. The authentic process involves cooking the rice in broth and coconut milk in one pot, stirring until the liquid is absorbed (as in making risotto) and then finishing off the cooking in the pot lined with banana leaves. The fragrance as the rice was steaming in the leaves was beautiful. I also experimented with wrapping individual serves, finished off in the oven instead of the stove top. This is an easier option and the parcels are easier to transport as baon for picnics and can even be thrown on a barbecue for re-heating.

The end result was quite tasty but the rice turned out too soft. I gave in to the temptation to add more water than what was required after seeing that the rice was already quite sticky but still raw in the middle. I did not realise that there was more than enough moisture in the banana leaves to cook the grains to perfection. I have noted this for next time.

I am sharing this at the Lasang Pinoy December edition. The theme being 'Rice to the Challenge', I'm sure Filipino food bloggers worldwide would be in their element. Be sure to check out the round-up by JMom from Cooked from the Heart.

Filipino Style 'Arroz a la Valenciana'
serves 12

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 c sliced chorizo
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped finely
3 medium very ripe tomatoes, chopped finely
1 Tbsp sweet paprika
6 bay leaves
1.5 kg chicken pieces
2 Tbsp fish sauce
4 potatoes, cut into chunks
2.5 c sticky rice (soaked in water for a couple of hours)
1x400g can coconut milk
1c chicken stock
salt and pepper
1 large red pepper, sliced
1 c green peas
boiled egg for garnish (optional)
Banana leaves

Line a pot or deep pan with banana leaves and set aside

Heat oil in a pot and fry the chorizo until brown. Drain on kitchen paper and set aside.
In the same oil, sautée garlic and onion until browned slightly. Add the chopped tomatoes paprika and bay leaves. Mix around and simmer with the lid on until you get a thick sauce, around 5 minutes.

Add the chicken pieces and fish sauce. Mix around until the chicken pieces are slightly cooked. Add the potato, stir and cover to simmer for around 10 minutes.

Drain the sticky rice and add into the pot. Stir until the grains are well coated in the sauce. Add the coconut milk and stock.
On medium heat, keep on stirring until the rice has absorbed all the liquid, approximately 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the cooked chorizo, red pepper and peas then transfer the mix into the banana leaf-lined pot. Further cook on low heat for 30-40minutes until the rice is cooked and very sticky.

If making individual serves, spoon some of the rice onto banana leaves, wrap then tie with twine. Place in a baking tray and cook in a 150deg C oven for 30 minutes.

To serve, garnish with sliced boiled eggs.

Yule Log - A Daring Bakers Challenge

2007-12-22T15:38:00.000+11:00

From our family to yours....
MERRY CHRISTMAS

I am growing to love, love, love these Daring Baker challenges. With trepidation, I joined this daredevil group of breadmakers and cakemakers (amongst other things) in an effort to learn more about the art of baking. Boy, two challenges down and I can't count the number of 'firsts' I have had experienced in trying to meet my challenges.
The December challenge is appropriately a Yule Log or Bûche de Noel. Yes, I asked the same question. Wiki had the answer as usual and informs that a Yule Log is 'a traditional dessert served during the Christmas holidays inFrance and Quebec. As the name indicates, the cake is generally prepared, presented, and garnished so as to look like a log ready for the fire. The traditional bûche is made from a Génoise or other sponge cake, generally baked in a large, shallow jelly roll pan, frosted, rolled to form a cylinder, and frosted again on the outside.'
OK.

The recipe involves making a génoise, Swiss buttercream, marzipan -none of which I have attempted to make before.

The Christmas rush of baking , gift-buying, visiting friends, having friends over etc ., proved to be a blessing. By the time I got around to making ¨the log¨, lots of fabulous and talented Daring Bakers have already made theirs. The DB blog was inundated with tips and tricks which helped immensely. See, this is exactly what I love about the group-it's all about sharing the failures and successes with their creations and allowing everyone to learn in the process.

What with all the Christmas stress and all, I didn't think my nerves could take any more unpleasant surprises so I decided to stick to the recipe to the letter. No exotic flavour for my butter cream, no nuts thrown into the sponge batter, no fancy baubles to decorate the log with. Nevertheless, making this was a lot of fun. My sponge might have been overcooked (though I only baked it for 8mins, as opposed to 10-12mins as stated in the recipe) and the buttercream was runny and perilously split (salvaged by putting in the fridge and whisking by hand additional icing sugar)- the result was absolutely delicious. I have to say that the buttercream was the star in this recipe. I just could not get enough of the coffe and rum laden dream of an icing. This cream will be used in this household again, for sure. Hmm, I can already see it over a mocha chiffon or some dark chocolate cupcakes.

Making the marzipan was also a hoot. It was playdough for grown-up. Sadly, I've never been much good with playdough so I did not attempt to make anything fancy with the marzipan (I left that to my three-year old). I stuck with the humble mushrooms and oh, how I loved the little stumpy ones. They were so cute.

As a final touch, I just added some gum tree leaves and gum nuts for that Australian feel.

Thanks to the Dynamic Duo (and Daring bakers founders) of Ivonne (of Cream Puffs in Venice) and Lis (of La Mia Cucina) for choosing a fabulously festive challenge.

Happy Holidays Everyone!!
XO

Yule Log
(from Perfect Cakes by Nick Malgieri and The Williams-Sonoma Collection: Dessert)

Plain Genoise:

3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
pinch of salt
¾ cup of sugar
½ cup cake flour - spoon flour into dry-measure cup and level off (also known as cake & pastry flour)
¼ cup cornstarch

one (1) 10 x 15 inch jelly-roll pan that has been buttered and lined with parchment paper and then buttered again

1.Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.
2.Half-fill a medium saucepan with water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat so the water is simmering.
3.Whisk the eggs, egg yolks, salt and sugar together in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer. Place over the pan of simmering water and whisk gently until the mixture is just lukewarm, about 100 degrees if you have a thermometer (or test with your finger - it should be warm to the touch).
4.Attach the bowl to the mixer and, with the whisk attachment, whip on medium-high speed until the egg mixture is cooled (touch the outside of the bowl to tell) and tripled in volume. The egg foam will be thick and will form a slowly dissolving ribbon falling back onto the bowl of whipped eggs when the whisk is lifted.
5.While the eggs are whipping, stir together the flour and cornstarch.
6.Sift one-third of the flour mixture over the beaten eggs. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the flour mixture, making sure to scrape all the way to the bottom of the bowl on every pass through the batter to prevent the flour mixture from accumulating there and making lumps. Repeat with another third of the flour mixture and finally with the remainder.
7.Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
8.Bake the genoise for about 10 to 12 minutes. Make sure the cake doesn’t overbake and become too dry or it will not roll properly.
9.While the cake is baking, begin making the buttercream.
10.Once the cake is done (a tester will come out clean and if you press the cake lightly it will spring back), remove it from the oven and let it cool on a rack.

Coffee Buttercream:

4 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
24 tablespoons (3 sticks or 1-1/2 cups) unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
2 tablespoons rum or brandy

1.Whisk the egg whites and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer. Set the bowl over simmering water and whisk gently until the sugar is dissolved and the egg whites are hot.
2.Attach the bowl to the mixer and whip with the whisk on medium speed until cooled. Switch to the paddle and beat in the softened butter and continue beating until the buttercream is smooth. Dissolve the instant coffee in the liquor and beat into the buttercream.

Meringue Mushrooms:

3 large egg whites, at room temperature
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
½ cup (3-1/2 ounces/105 g.) granulated sugar
1/3 cup (1-1/3 ounces/40 g.) icing sugar
Unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting

1.Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Have ready a pastry bag fitted with a small (no. 6) plain tip. In a bowl, using a mixer on medium-low speed, beat together the egg whites and cream of tartar until very foamy. Slowly add the granulated sugar while beating. Increase the speed to high and beat until soft peaks form when the beaters are lifted. Continue until the whites hold stiff, shiny peaks. Sift the icing sugar over the whites and, using a rubber spatula, fold in until well blended.
2.Scoop the mixture into the bag. On one baking sheet, pipe 48 stems, each ½ inch (12 mm.) wide at the base and tapering off to a point at the top, ¾ inch (2 cm.) tall, and spaced about ½ inch (12 mm.) apart. On the other sheet, pipe 48 mounds for the tops, each about 1-1/4 inches (3 cm.) wide and ¾ inch (2 cm.) high, also spaced ½ inch (12 mm.) apart. With a damp fingertip, gently smooth any pointy tips. Dust with cocoa. Reserve the remaining meringue.
3.Bake until dry and firm enough to lift off the paper, 50-55 minutes. Set the pans on the counter and turn the mounds flat side up. With the tip of a knife, carefully make a small hole in the flat side of each mound. Pipe small dabs of the remaining meringue into the holes and insert the stems tip first. Return to the oven until completely dry, about 15 minutes longer. Let cool completely on the sheets.

Marzipan Mushrooms:

8 ounces almond paste
2 cups icing sugar
3 to 5 tablespoons light corn syrup
Cocoa powder

1.To make the marzipan combine the almond paste and 1 cup of the icing sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat with the paddle attachment on low speed until sugar is almost absorbed.
2.Add the remaining 1 cup of sugar and mix until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.
3.Add half the corn syrup, then continue mixing until a bit of the marzipan holds together when squeezed, adding additional corn syrup a little at a time, as necessary: the marzipan in the bowl will still appear crumbly.
4.Transfer the marzipan to a work surface and knead until smooth.
5.Roll one-third of the marzipan into a 6 inches long cylinder and cut into 1-inch lengths.
6.Roll half the lengths into balls. Press the remaining cylindrical lengths (stems) into the balls (caps) to make mushrooms.
7.Smudge with cocoa powder.

Assembling the Yule Log:

1.Run a sharp knife around the edges of the genoise to loosen it from the pan.
2.Turn the genoise layer over (unmolding it from the sheet pan onto a flat surface) and peel away the paper.
3.Carefully invert your genoise onto a fresh piece of parchment paper.
4.Spread with half the coffee buttercream (or whatever filling you’re using).
5.Use the parchment paper to help you roll the cake into a tight cylinder.
6.Transfer back to the baking sheet and refrigerate for several hours.
7.Unwrap the cake. Trim the ends on the diagonal, starting the cuts about 2 inches away from each end.
8.Position the larger cut piece on each log about 2/3 across the top.
9.Cover the log with the reserved buttercream, making sure to curve around the protruding stump.
10.Streak the buttercream with a fork or decorating comb to resemble bark.
11.Transfer the log to a platter and decorate with your mushrooms and whatever other decorations you’ve chosen.

Pippies and Pumpkin Flowers in Coconut Milk

2007-12-19T21:20:00.000+11:00

My family has been putting up with very unimaginative meals of late as I'd been busy preparing goodies for our Christmas give-aways:
Mango and Lime Jam
Atsara
Cinnamon Stars

This is actually the first year that I'm gifting homemade stuff on a large scale. Last year's fudgy brownies and biscuits for the neighbours were whipped up in an afternoon. Not these. Halfway thru, I seriously had to think up friendships and how they (did not) served me in the last year in an effort to shorten the list of recipients. Just kidding!;-)
The jamming and baking did take a lot out of me and I'm still not finished. Another 7 or 8 hampers to put together. Some of those will have these lovely Oreo-style cookies (from Patricia's Technicolor Kitchen) instead of the Cinnamon Stars, for friends who are allergic to nuts. Can't wait to bake and taste those. Now if only I could find the time. Or the energy. Spending too much time in the kitchen and having the kids fall ill totally sapped me of energy and inspiration.

Then, Mum dropped by on the weekend with these:
very pretty Pumpkin flowers from an aunt's garden. Couldn't wait to get my hands on those but the common ways of preparing gourd flowers (stuffed with cheese or in fritters) were not enticing enough.

Another inspiration came from a fellow blogger. Tigerfish' Clam Pasta made me think of Pippies (or Cockles or Surf Clams). The last time I had them were three years ago, on a short visit to Sydney (I was still living in Zurich then) while I was six and a half months pregnant. Hubby and I rented a beach house for a few days with another couple (the girlfriend was eight months pregnant!). The pregnant women suddenly decided that we were in the mood for Pippies and so off we went digging at the closest surf beach within the National Park. Dodging the park ranger (it wasn't exactly legal to gather the clams from the National Park but that's by the by...) and ignoring the eye-rolling by the husbands, two huge ladies had their fill of clams that wonderful sunny afternoon.

Anyhow, despite the long and digressing introduction, combining the Pippies and Pumpkin flowers in a dish was a simple exercise. Sautéed in garlic, onion, ginger and tomatoes, the fresh and clean flavour of the Pippies was not overwhelmed by any strong ingredients. The slight bitterness of the flowers added an interesting dimension to the dish.
I had this with steamed rice but it would also be lovely with some crusty bread for a summer's lunch.

Pippies and Pumpkin Flowers in Coconut Milk
serves 4

1 kg Pippies (or clams)
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp minced ginger
2 medium onions, sliced finely
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1tsp tumeric (optional, I only used for colour)
1 tin coconut milk (400mL)
salt and pepper
15 Pumpkin flowers
5 pcs red chillies*

To prepare the flowers, take out the stamen in the middle and rinse the flowers.

It is best to soak the Pippies in saltwater overnight to get rid of most of the grit.
After soaking, brush the shells in clean cold water.
Steam the Pippies in a large pot with a cup of water. It will only take around 5 minutes for the clams to open up. Drain in a colander, over a bowl to save the cooking juices. Discard any shells that did not open.

In a pan, heat up the oil and sautée the garlic and ginger. When they have coloured a little, add the onion ,tomatoes and tumeric if using. Mix around and cover. Cook until the tomatoes have softened and you have a sauce-like consistency.

Add the coconut milk and half a cup of the Pippies cooking juices.
Let the sauce boil and simmer until it has thickened a little. Throw in the Pippies in their shell. Turn the heat up until the sauce boils. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the Pumpkin flowers and chillies. Quickly and carefully mix, then turn off the heat.

*I left the chillies whole as I knew I would be sharing these with family who don't care much about spicy dishes. If you love your food with zing, chop up the chillies and add at the same time as the onions and tomatoes.

Creamy Pumpkin Penne with Bacon

2007-12-12T14:48:00.000+11:00

We have seen some dramatic weather in Sydney lately. Warm humid mornings gave in to dramatic lightning storms in the evenings. Hailstones the size of golf balls came raining down upon us on the weekend. Debris everywhere and it looks like there'd be more to come.

The electric storms definitely brought some restlesness in the air or is it just Christmas already making its presence felt? So much running around to do, cooking, visiting and shopping to get out of the way. Would I love Christmas without all these frantic activities? Probably not.
Amidst all the Christmas baking, jamming and cooking that's beein going on, it's good to have some simple fare during the week. This pasta dish fits the bill perfectly. Simple, easy to make and comforting on a stormy night.

Having small children in the house, we always have pureed vegetables in the freezer for adding to pasta sauces, using as a base for soups and to make into simple dips (My daughter is going thru a 'dips' phase. She likes to have something on the side to dunk her pieces of meat and vegetables in). This recipe makes use of puréed pumpkin but I've also made it before with puréed cauliflower (see smaller photo). Both versions have been a hit with the little girl.

To purée vegetables, cut into small cubes and steam until
very soft. Use a masher or hand blender to get a thick mush.

Creamy Pumpkin Penne with Bacon
serves 2

100 g bacon, cut into small pieces

200g Penne or other pasta

25g butter
1Tbsp plain flour
1 c milk
1/2 c grated Cheddar cheese
salt and pepper
1 c pureed pumpkin

1Tbsp chopped parsley

Fry the bacon until browned. Keep warm.

Cook the pasta in a generous amount of salted, boiling water.

In the meantime, melt the butter in a pot. Add the flour, stirring vigorously until a paste forms and comes off the sides of the pot easily.

Slowly add the milk while still stirring with a wire whisk. Cook very gently until smooth and thick but do not let it boil.

Take the pot off the heat, add the grated cheese and mix until all the cheese has melted. Return to heat on low and add the pureed pumpkin while stirring. Heat up until bubbling gently.

Take off the heat and season with salt and pepper.

Strain the cooked pasta and transfer into a bowl. Top with the pumpkin sauce and bacon. Garnish with parsley.

I'm sharing this for Presto Pasta night over at Once Upon a Feast.
This is the first time I've been participating although I've been keeping an eye on the wonderful weekly round up by Ruth for some time now. Be sure to visit!

I, the Maybahay

2007-12-08T17:23:00.000+11:00

The sweet lady behind Dhanggit's kitchen has tagged me for my first meme.
I'm finding it fun reading everyone else's little revelations and finding tidbits that make up the personalities behind the blogs.

Getting on with mine...

What were you cooking/baking 10 years ago?
Lots of vegetables! I was living with a friend who has asthma and allergies, and so had to watch his diet carefully (If you are reading this Anthony Long, let me know where you are. I've been looking everywhere for you!!!!). His Mum would come around every week with a large box full of fruit and vegetables straight from the markets. Curried vegetables were regularly on the menu. The rest were eaten in salads. Unfortunately, we always ended up binning lots of the vegies as neither myself nor my friend had much time to cook. I was enjoying singledom then and was eating out lots.

I didn't bake much then though, I remember the' unfortunate incident of the shattered lemon tart'. I had a beautiful tart made for my housemate's dinner party. One of his guests turned on the electric hob unknowingly while the pyrex tart dish was sitting on it. Apparently there was tart everywhere and no one got to try it...

What were you cooking/baking one year ago?
I was cooking and baking our daily family staples like meat and couscous salads, stir-frys, lots of Thai curries and Indian curries, the occassional brownies and muffins. One of the reasons I decided to start blogging is so I can widen my cooking repertoire a bit.

Five snacks you enjoy:

Me love salt and grease! Yum
1. Bhuja/Bombay mix
2. Seaweed rice crackers
3. Char Siu Bao (Siopao or Barbecue pork buns)
4. Hot Chips
5. Sushi (yes, as a snack!)

Five recipes you know by heart:

1. My very own 'special' fried rice (this dish has seen me through feasts and famines in my life)
2. Kare Kare
3. standard Sunday roast (whether it be chicken, pork, beef or lamb)
4. pancakes
5. Sinigang

Five culinary luxuries you would indulge in if you were a millionaire:

1. Pay someone to clean-up after me so I can cook up a storm everyday with no worries.
2. Go to as many Michelin star -rated restaurants as possible.
3. Set up my own cook book shop/bistro.
4. Set up my own arena to hold 'Iron Chef' style cook-offs in. I get to try all the dishes at the end, of course ;-)
5. Have a cellar of the best Margaux' for my husband.

Five foods you love to cook/bake:

1. Pakbet. I love vegetables and this is a uniquely Filipino way of enjoying them.
2. Stir-fries. The variety can be endless. Experiments hardly ever go wrong.
3. My 'party pork'. Slow-roasted pork belly sitting in a braising liquid (stock, cane sugar, sometimes with anise, fish sauce, etc). Chuck it in a low oven, forget about it for a few hours, serve it on the table and watch your guests devour it.
4. Simple sugar cookies made with my darling little girl.
5. Wickedly fudgy brownies.

Five foods you cannot/will not eat:
1. Any dish made from creatures that could count as a housepet :-(
2. Licorice. I just don't get it.
3. can't think of anything else...
4.
5.

Five favorite culinary toys:

My collection of kitchen gadgets is quite lean. I don't even like food processors.

1. My husband's big set of Wüsthof knives and kitchen utensils. Very sharp knives are safe knives. He got these before we got together. I think it's what sealed the deal for me ;-)
2. can't think of anything else...

Five dishes on your "last meal" menu:

I would like to keep this quite simple

1. soft-boiled egg and toast (I have this almost everyday for breakfast)
2. rocket and parmesan with olive oil and balsamic vinegar
3. crispy roast duck
4. lemon meringue pie
5. gruyere on crackers

Five happy food memories:
1. Weekend meals at my Mum's or an aunt's house. My extended family love to eat and the table is never big enough for the food everyone brings to share. Food tastes best over gossip, laughter, a little bit of fighting, complaints about ailments, plans for the future, etc.
2. As a child in the Philippines, waiting for the street vendor bearing the afternoon's merienda.
After an imposed siesta, we got to enjoy daily treats like fried noodles, sticky rice in coconut milk, different types of rice cakes and spring rolls.
3. Packed picnics by my husband. Alpine mountain and lakeside walks were made the more special by his little parcels of goodies-cheese, crusty bread, cold meats and a few bars of Swiss chocolate.
4. LOTS of cheese and LOTS of wine while on holidays with friends in the south of France.
5. Introducing my children to their first taste of anything. Seeing my kids' expression when they first had ice cream is priceless.

It would be great to get to know more about the other bloggers who inspire me.
Of course, there's no obligation on their part to do this. I am passing this on to:
Margot of Coffee and Vanilla- she's such a prolific poster, has great variety of recipes and beautiful photography.
Veron of Kitchen Musings- her posts are always very informative. And this lady CAN make Macarons!
Kate of Applemint-there's always freshness about her recipes and photographs
Zuzana of Zlamushka's Spicy Kitchen - her recipe collection is so culturally-diverse. And I LOVE spicy food
Patricia of Technicolor Kitchen - this site is a recent discovery for me. The recipes are varied, simple and elegant.

Flambéed Caipirinha Scallops

2007-12-05T14:51:00.000+11:00

Since coming back from holidays, all I could think about are seafood and cocktails. Something clicked and I decided to combine the two!

Caipirinha is a favourite summer drink of mine. I finally found a bottle shop in the city that sells Cachaca and am looking forward to treating friends to a round of the refreshing cocktail one weekend soon. In the meantime, I enjoyed the flavours that go in this drink in an unusual way.

The sauce for this scallop dish is very simple, a mix of lime juice, rind and sugar. A glug of Cachaca is added and set alight (I do love some theatrics in the kitchen from time to time!).

The result is simple but special enough to be part of a festive meal with the closest of your friends. This is not a traditional dish served for a traditional festival but I believe that just getting the chance to sit down for a meal with your nearest and dearest is always worth celebrating.

I am sending this over to Anna of Morsels and Musings for the Festive Food Festival.
Pop on over and enjoy the buffet!

Flambéed Caipirinha Scallops

Serves 2 for a light lunch but if you're feeding the masses, bigger quantities are best made in small batches.
I had the scallops with some tumeric and butter rice but they would also be nice served as an appetizer/finger food, sitting on some lettuce leaves.

300g scallops (roe removed)
a knob of butter
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 Tbsp lime juice
zest from 2 limes
1 Tbsp raw or brown sugar
a dash of Cachaca

chives for garnish

Combine in a cup the lime juice, zest and sugar.
In a skillet/pan, heat up the butter and olive oil. Once the butter is melted, add the lime juice mix.
Swish the skillet around to keep the sugar from burning. Once the sauce has thickened and browned slightly, turn up the heat and toss in the scallops.
Stir-fry for around one minute. Add a dash of Cachaca. If cooking over a gas burner, tilt the pan slightly such that the alcohol catches the flame. Otherwise, light up with a match.
Do not let the scallops overcook. They are best flash-cooked to keep them plump and sweet.

Garnish with chives and extra lime slices.

Tender Potato Bread- A Daring Bakers Challenge

2007-12-01T21:12:00.001+11:00

When I started this blog, I wasn't really sure where I wanted it to lead me. It was simply something to while away the time with while my kids are down for a nap or too engrossed in play to have Mum hovering around. It was a bit of me time while being productive by documenting my recipes in a medium a little more of this era (I still have some recipes saved in floppy discs. It's weird realising that my kids will not even know what those are!)

Three months on and blogging has re-defined my relationship with food and cooking. Where there was before a convenient albeit stagnant marriage, there is now an exciting, growing and inspiring love affair. I am finding fun in my daily ventures in the kitchen knowing that I am later able to share the experience with newfound friends. I try and become more attuned to flavours and savour my food a little bit more lovingly so I can honestly describe my creations in words. I have spiced things up a little bit more by bringing in inspirations from other food blogs and taking advice from the more experienced. Now the love affair has just moved up another notch -each month I will be venturing into unchartered territory all in the name of self-improvement so I can further nourish the passion. I have joined the Daring Bakers. Yep, I will be baking more. And more succesfully, I hope.

The Daring Bakers is a group of food bloggers of varying experiences, blogging on the same day each month about a recipe set by a member as a challenge. The bakers follow the recipe to the letter, apart from some allowed modifications.

I nearly fainted when I saw what was to be my very first Daring Baker challenge: Tender Potato Bread as chosen by Tanna of My Kitchen in Half Cups. I have tried to bake bread maybe two or three times before and the results were average at best. My husband has always blamed the non-success on 'atmospherics'. 'Hmm, it's been quite humid today' or 'Maybe the recipe did not take into account altitude' (this when we were living in a city approx 430m above sea level). Yeast is contentious enough a foe but adding mashed potato to bread dough? What complications would that throw in the mix? Great, my first challenge might end up as my last.

Finding the right day to bake the bread was in itself a challenge. Having read posts of fellow DBers, I got the impression that making this bread is a long process, involving boiling, mashing potatoes and letting it cool, then working a very sticky dough. Can't have kids running around or crying in the background while I grab this one by the horns. Knowing that the family will be holidaying around the time we were scheduled to post didn't leave me much choice though. So, out I went to get my potatoes (Pontiac) and crossed my fingers that the baking stars would align for me. And that they did.

The original recipe called for '4 medium potatoes' which can be quite open to interpretation. Luckily, the more experienced bakers gave an approximate weight to try (between 8oz to 16oz). I used close to 400g of potatoes (approx 14oz) and 1kg of unbleached flour. The resulting dough was very tacky. It also had a very flabby feel that unfortunately resembled my upper arms which have not been in any contact with gym equipment for years. Eeek. I oiled my hands and dug in to knead. Whoa! That dough felt good. Sure it was a bit sticky but it was also 'friendly'. It allowed me to just carress it into shape instead of fighting me back as have previous projects.

At this point, I just had the feeling that things were going to turn out ok. True enough, the tempreature in the house just seemed perfect and the dough doubled in size after a couple of hours of proving. I got the confidence to dare myself and eventually divided the dough into three and shaped them into a foccacia and two loaves.

One of the loaves had a parsley pesto swirled through it and then sprinkled with sesame seeds on top.

The foccacia was drizzled with brown butter and then sprinkled with rocksalt and sage leaves prior to baking.

YUMM-O!
Tanna chose a great recipe. This bread was wonderful. I loved how it was almost 'cakey' but not heavy. The foccacia was cut up into smaller squares and used in miniature salami and rocket sandwiches. The plain loaf tasted great toasted. It toasted nice and crisp outside and moist in the middle. The beautiful holes were perfect for the melting buter. As for the parsley loaf, I intended to have it with soup but we ended up eating the slices on their own.

There, my first challenge done. I am now an official 'Daring Baker'. Hurrah!

I have to say, though, that this bread was really baked by the collective virtual hands of the Daring Bakers. The convivial online exchange of tips and ideas on the DB blog was an inspiration. This group is not only daring but also helpful, fun and friendly. I am already looking forward to the December challenge.
In the meantime, I will be a bit busy checking out everyone else's take on this wonderful recipe.

PS.
The official posting date for the November challenge was supposed to be 26th Nov. Though I made the bread in November, I was not able to post about it until now as I was away on a beach holiday with the family.

Tropical White Chocolate Dessert

2007-11-21T20:42:00.000+11:00

Folks have probably noticed a recurring theme when I blog of things baked and sweet. They are always tales of woe.
Successful dessert-making still eludes me. Might it have to do with the fact that I do not have a sweet tooth? Who knows. Beautiful dessert creations I've seen in books and other blogs constantly inspire and challenge me, though. I am also always on the look-out for something to appease the hubby's major love of sugar. So I persevere...

A kitchen tea was held at my house on the weekend and I had my heart set on making a tart. This was to be a good chance to practice making a crust, rolling it onto the tart pan and avoid shrinkage (which happens to me too often, even when I refrigerate the crust overnight prior to baking!). Anyhow, I find a decent (or so I thought) recipe for White Chocolate Mousse tart. I wanted to put my spin on it so I thought I'd throw in some dessicated coconut in the mix and then top it with mangoes.

The recipe for the filling called for thick cream, white chocolate and condensed milk. I had my reservations right from the start, wondering how the filling was supposed to set. I saw a few other similar recipes for mousse tart on the net which left me assured that mine should set after a four-hour stint in the fridge. Still, come the time when I made it, I actually used a teaspoon of gelatine just to be sure.

Everything was planned out for the day. I would make the crust first thing in the morning. By the time it has cooled down a bit, my filling should also be at room temperature and I could proceed to assembling my lovely dessert. This gives me five hours to let the tart set for a 2PM start.

2PM came and this is how the tart looked:
Ta dah!

Pretty heh?
Problem was, it couldn't be cut up. The filling was not set. A brave friend tried. Swoosh went the filling in every direction. 'Still tastes great', they said. 'We can eat it with a spoon', they tried to console. No, I wouldn't even touch it.
Still, after everyone has left, I didn't have the heart to throw it away.

The following day, my sister invites me to a small pool party at hers. What to bring, what to bring? I decided to scoop the filling out of the tart base. I cut up some mangoes, cubed some left-over madeira cake and threw everything into small tumblers. My sisters' guests enjoyed them, complete with oohs and aahs as they spoon the last of the 'custard' out of the glasses.
Whew!

Now I'm going to be cheeky and still send this over to Cook Sister as my entry for this edition of Waiter, There's Something In My... . This popular food event's them for this month is 'tarts'.
Hey, this dessert started off as a tart. I hope they accept it.....
There might be a reader out there who'd like the idea and know exactly how to fix the non-set filling. I will certainly try it out again and add more gelatine next time.

Tropical White Chocolate Dessert

makes 8 portions

White Choc filling
2 c thick whipping cream
1 tsp gelatine granules
180 g white cooking chocolate, broken into small pieces
390g tin condensed milk
1/2 c toasted dessicated coconut

2 c madeira or pound cake, cut into 1cm cubes
2 c cubes of mangoes
zest from 2 limes
1 kiwi fruit for decoration

To make the cream filling, fill a metal bowl with 150ml of the cream. Sprinkle the gelatine over the cream.
Sit the bowl on top of a slowly-simmering pot of boiling water, stirring until the cream is hot (but do not let it boil). Take the bowl off the heat and add the chopped white chocolate. Whisk until the chocolate has been incorporated. Mix in the condensed milk and dessicated coconut. Let cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, whip the remaining cream until stiff peaks form.
Slowly fold into the white chocolate mixture once it has cooled.

To assemble the dessert, spoon some of the filling into a cup or wine glass. Add a layer of madeira cake and then a layer of mango. Sprinkle zest of lime over the mangos and then top with a slice of kiwi fruit.

Roast Chicken and Vegetable Stuffed Mushrooms

2007-11-19T21:59:00.000+11:00

A low- carb easy option for dinner during the week. These mushrooms were stuffed with left-over chicken and roasted vegetables. Any roasting vegetables would do, eg sweet potatoes, peppers, parsnips, carrots, etc.

Roast Chicken and Vegetable Stuffed Mushrooms
serves 2

2 large flat mushrooms
1/2 c shredded roasted chicken meat
1/2 c pumpkin, cut into 1cm cubes
1 small zucchini, sliced thinly
1/4 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp toasted pine nuts
5 sage leaves
10g butter, cubed
1 Tbsp olive oil
oil spray
salt and pepper to taste

Pre-heat oven to 180deg Celsius.

Carefully remove mushroom stems and chop finely.
In a small roasting pan, toss together the chopped mushroom stems,pumpkin, zuchinni, garlic and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast until vegetables are tender, around 15minutes.

Place mushroom caps on a baking tray greased with the oil spray.
Take the vegetables out of the oven and stuff into the mushrooms.
Top with cubes of butter, sage leaves and pine nuts. Return to the oven and cook for a further 15 minutes or until mushroom is tender.

Zimtsterne (Cinnamon Stars)

2007-11-12T20:28:00.001+11:00

Warning: Do not involve any 2 1/2 year olds in making these biscuits.

I was trying to get into the Christmas spirit early by doing some trial runs on stuff that will go in this year's gift hampers. I thought 'Hmm, why not make some of my beloved 'Zimtsterne', haven't had them since leaving Zurich a couple of years ago and these biscuits definitely make the holidays worth celebrating. Little did I know that after this little practice, I would be tempted to gift tins of Spam instead in order to spare myself the trouble.

My friends at Google offered a few recipes. The main ingredients were consistent enough- egg whites, icing sugar, almond meal. However, the ratios were all over the place as were the baking temperature and durations. So of course, I do the sensible thing and 'fuse' together a few recipes based on those which came with the best-looking photos. I might add that a couple of these recipes were in German. My second mistake. I am still in denial about my suspect command of the language.

Anyhow, I contracted my daughter to be my assistant. Her enthusiasm to help almost melted my heart. The beautiful picture of mother and daughter, side by side in culinary bonding dissipated all too quickly when a cup of icing sugar was knocked off the table. Deep breaths, a broom and some rags, and we were on our way again.

Finally the dough was ready. One recipe actually warned that the dough is quite delicate and that the biscuits are quite messy to make. Major understatement (upon hindsight). So, although the dough looked quite runny, I foolishly tipped it out onto the table for kneading. Before I could even say anything, the little girl dove in there with both hands and started shrieking when she couldn't shake off the sticky mess that covered her up to the elbows. More deep breaths and mentally humming 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' got me thru somehow and after adding flour (which wasn't in any of the recipes), we managed to get a workable dough.
When the biscuits were finally in the oven, my husband, all too aware of all the prep and cleaning a couple of trays of these biscuits entailed, sensitively remarked 'Those biscuits are only like 2Francs ($2.50) a kilo from the shops'. Thanks, honey. You'll have to travel 10,000 miles now though to get to those shops. So hah!

He redeemed himself later on. After one bite of the fluffy and chewy gems that came out of the oven, he gingerly declared 'These are not bad'. Now, anyone who knows my darling boy will recognise this as a compliment of the highest order. Ah, bless his heart.

The biscuits were indeed delicious. The cinnamon and lemon zest are the perfect festive flavours for the nutty meringues.

Ok, maybe I won't be giving out Spams after all.

Cinnamon Stars (or Hearts, or Moons, etc)
makes around 40 biscuits

4 egg whites
a pinch of salt
300g icing sugar, sifted
200g ground almond
200g ground hazelnut *
1 Tbsp lemon zest
2 tsp cinnamon
1Tbsp lemon juice
1/2c to 3/4 c plain flour

Preheat oven to 220deg Celsius.

Whisk egg whites and salt until soft peaks form.

Slowly add the icing sugar and continue whisking until the mixture is quite stiff. Put aside half a cup of the meringue mix.

Add the ground nuts, lemon zest, cinnamon and juice. Carefully incorporate using a palette knife.

Add the flour in small amounts until you get a workable dough.

Turn out onto a floured surface and pat flat to around 8mm thick.

Cut shapes out of the dough using a cookie cutter and transfer biscuits onto a tray lined with baking paper.

Brush the biscuits with the reserved meringue mixture.

Bake in the oven for around 5minutes or until the icing just starts to colour.

The biscuits will be quite soft when they first come out so do not handle.
Leave to cool on the tray.

These will keep in an airtight container for around 2 weeks.

*The biscuits can be made with all ground almond instead of mixing with hazelnut.

Udated 24/12/2007- after experimenting a little bit more with these cookies, here's some tips:

1. Refrigerate the cookies for 30mins before baking. This prevents the
icing from browning too quickly
2. Bake at 150deg C for around 10-12 minutes. The icing stays white.

I do believe my friends would love these and they will certainly make a great addition to any Christmas hamper. I am sending this first batch of cookies over to Zlamushka for the fun 'A Spoonful of Christmas' event she is hosting. Be sure to check out the round up for lovely edible Christmas gift ideas.

WHB#108 - Beef and Pumpkin Stir-fry

2007-11-06T23:22:00.001+11:00

Stir-fries are wonderful as one can be as creative as they wish with them. A change in the marinade flavours, in the combination of vegetables or vary the herbs and you need not make the exact same dish twice.

We do at least one stir-fry a week in our house. This time, it's beef with lots of vegetables , lifted by the sweet, anise flavour of Thai Basil.

Thai Basil (Bai Horapa in Thai) is extensively used in Thai, Vietnamese and Cambodian cuisine for curries, stir-fries and salads. Just like the Meditteranean/Western Sweet Basil, this herb is best used fresh as cooking tends to destroy its flavour. When I buy these from the vegie shop, they always come in trays rather than in small bunches as do the other herbs. Apparently, this type of basil is more often used as a vegetable, rather than herb in Indochine cooking. They are thrown in with seafood, meat or in salads by the handful.

This herb is distinguished by its green leaves but purple stems and buds (which are also edible) . The leaves are smaller than those of Sweet Basil, are more pointy but narrower. They make quite a pretty potted plant. Last summer, I grew Thai Basil in one big pot along with the Sweet and Purple kind. The effect was quite lovely by mid-season.
Here's a picture of Thai Basil from a related article in Wikipedia:

Beef and Pumpkin Stir-Fry

300g Oyster Blade steak, cut into strips
200g pumpkin, cut into small pieces
1 medium red onion
1 bunch green asparagus, cut into 3cm pieces
1 red capsicum, cut into strips
1 c Thai Basil leaves
3 Tsp peanut oil

marinade:
2Tbsp oyster sauce
1Tbsp soy sauce
2Tbsp sugar
1 clove garlic, minced

Mix all the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Marinate the beef strips for at least one hour prior to cooking.

Steam or microwave the pumpkin pieces until tender, then pat dry with paper towels.

Heat up the oil in a wok or large non-stick pan. Toss beef into pan and stir-frequently until well browned and the marinade juices have dried up. Add the pumpkin and onion, stir around for two minutes. Add the asparagus and capsicum and stir around until vegetables are cooked but still crunchy.

Turn off the heat. Add the Thai Basil prior to serving.

Notes:
*I quite liked this as a dry stir-fry. If you like yours 'saucy', double the marinade quantity, thicken with a bit of cornflour and add when the beef is cooked.

*The quantities served two adults and a toddler with a big appetite :-)

I am sharing this over at The Expatriate's Kitchen, who's hosting this week's round of Weekend Herb Blogging. Be sure to check out the round up for interesting ideas on using your favourite herbs, fruits and vegies!

Lasang Pinoy 21- Atsara (Green Papaya Pickle)

2007-10-31T23:24:00.001+11:00

Finally, a chance to join Lasang Pinoy, a food blog event dedicated to Filipino fare. I've been keeping an eye out for the latest round's announcement for the longest time. The anniversary theme 'Cooking for Heroes' inspired me to haul myself out of my sick bed, plied with endless cups of salabat and some serious antibiotics, I get on to work in the kitchen. We are talking about our Philippine national heroes here after all. In my own little way, from the heart of my own little kitchen,I shall honour them.

Admittedly, though, my knowledge of Philippine history is a tad rusty. I can rattle off names considered to be 'heroes' but hardly know their story in detail. General Emilio Aguinaldo's is one name I remember well from childhood visits to Biak na Bato, a series of caves in San Miguel ,Bulacan (where both of my parents were born) which the early revolutionaries against the Spaniards used as a place of refuge. The caves later on served as the headquarters of the Philippine revolutionary government. Emilio Aguinaldo became the president of the First Philippine Republic and continued to fight for Philippine independence through to the American occupation.

Thinking of a dish fit for a revolutionary and statesman, the best I thought I could offer is a bottle of atsara. During the days of the revolution, freshly-cooked meals would have been hard to come by. I imagined that dried meat or fish and the occasional produce foraged from the mountains would have been the staple. At Biak na Bato, one of the bigger caves, from memory, is called Bahay Paniki- for the millions of bats that used to inhabit the structure. I dread to think that barbecued 'panikis' were eaten regularly but they would have been a good source of protein for the freedom-fighters. A sweet, sour and refreshing helping of atsara would have made the fighters' meager meals a lot more enjoyable.

Personally, I believe atsara complements a LOT of dishes. From the humble tuyo (dried salted fish) to the special fiesta dishes like lechon (whole roasted pig) and anything fried in between. This relish of green papaya has many variations. When I researched recipes, I found that some people enjoy them as simple as possible with just papaya and carrots while some throw in pineapple or cabbage in the mix. My atsara is similar to those made by an aunt and what I've had from Bulacan- a mix of papaya, carrots, peppers and raisins.
I made half of the batch for immediate consumption, simply pouring the pickling solution over the vegetables in a jar and then refrigerating. The other half, I will be giving away as gifts so I 'pasteurised' in pickling jars with pop lids.

Atsara

800 g green papaya, grated or julienned
2 medium carrots, grated
1 onion, grated
1 medium red capsicum (pepper), julienned
1 medium green capsicum, julienned
1 c raisins
2 Tbsp salt

Syrup
2 1/2 c white vinegar
2 c sugar
1 inch piece ginger, julienned
2 cloves garlic sliced thinly
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

In a large bowl, mix the grated green papaya with the salt. Cover with cling film and leave in the refrigerator overnight.
Meanwhile, the syrup can be prepared by boiling the vinegar and sugar. When the sugar has dissolved, mix in the ginger, garlic and black pepper and let simmer for a further 5 minutes.

When ready, rinse the papaya well. Squeeze as much of the water out as possible by placing the rinsed papaya in a large piece of muslin and wringing it hard. Mix in the rest of the vegetables.
Put the vegetable mix into sterilized jars. Pour in the syrup and remove bubbles by pushing the vegetables down with the back of a spoon. Put lid on jar.

If for immediate consumption, the jar can be put in the fridge and it should last for a week.

If 'preserving', put the jars in a cauldron of lukewarm water, making sure the water level is around 2cm above the jar lids. Bring to a boil and leave on a rolling boil for around 30minutes. Leave the bottles in the cauldron, with water, until completely cool. The pop lids should be flat, meaning a vacuum has been created. Otherwise, repeat the pasteurisation process. This pasteurised atsara should be good in the jar for a couple of months. Refrigerate upon opening.

*Updated 14 Nov
The batch of atsara was well-received by my first guinea pigs:-)
They will definitely make it to this year's Christmas hamper. I am sending this jar over to Zlamushka to put under her tree, as part of the festive event that is 'A Spoonful of Christmas'.

Banana and Jackfruit Slice (or Turon Saba...sort of)

2007-10-26T22:35:00.000+10:00

Ahh, to feel healthy again and join the land of the living. Some nasty chest infection kept me out of action for a little while and it wasn't fun. Cooking and even eating were too much of an effort.

Now that the batteries are slowly getting recharged, food is again foremost on my mind. Curiously, I have been craving more Filipino food.

I have recently made kare kare, a rich peanut based beef stew, although we were having summer temperatures. As I type, there's some salted grated green papaya in the fridge waiting to be turned into a refreshing batch of relish (atsara/achara). And then there's this. Banana and Jackfruit in pastry. Technically, this is a 'deconstructed' version of one of my favourite Filipino snacks. Turon saging are bananas (saging, usually the saba variety), slivers of jackfruit and a sprinkling of brown sugar wrapped in spring roll pastry and then deep fried. Oooh, I remember when I used to burn my mouth as I bite into a hot turon, straight from the street vendor's wok. I never did learn my lesson- I could not muster the patience to wait for my turon to cool down.

Anyhow, I decided to experiment making a snack with the turon flavours in a form similar to baklava. In the end, I can't really say that this is a 'lower fat' version for all the butter and olive oil I used on the pastry. Not that I was too worried about that, you don't think of those things when trying to recreate childhood memories and sharing them with your own family. Hubby and the little girl loved these sweet and flaky slices. They were even good cold, staying crunchy after an overnight stint in the refrigerator. I could not find fresh jackfruit in the local Asian shop so I had to settle for the tinned variety, in light syrup.

Banana and Turon Slice

2 large bananas, sliced thinly on the diagonal
1 cup sliced jackfruit
5 phyllo pastry sheets
2 Tbsp melted butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp brown sugar
cooking oil spray

Syrup
1 c sugar
1/2 c water
1 Tbsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 180dec C.
Grease a cookie tray with the cooking oil spray.

Cut the phyllo sheets into four and cover with a cloth to prevent from drying out as you work.

Layer 6 sheets of pastry, brushing each thoroughly with the combined butter and oil.
Arrange the slices of banana to cover the top layer. Sprinkle with half of the sugar.

Layer another 8 sheets of greased pastry over the banana. Arrange the slices of jackfruit and sprinkle with the rest of the sugar.

Top with the remaining 6 sheets of greased pastry. Brush the top of the pastry with the remaining butter and oil.

With a very sharp knife, cut into 3 lengthways, but do not cut through the base.

Bake in the oven for around 40minutes.

Meanwhile, stir the syrup ingredients together in a pan over low heat until the mixture boils and the sugar has dissolved. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

When the pastry is cooked, pour the cooled syrup over the hot slice. When cold, cut into squares or diamonds.

Makes approx 12 pieces.

Endive Salad with Honey and Balsamic Onion

2007-10-15T21:59:00.001+10:00

There are days when I feel so rushed off my feet, doing one chore after another, running from one errand to the next or constantly cooking but hardly having time to enjoy the meals, that I have to find ways to enjoy some 'me-time' in the simplest ways.

The other day, while the kids were down for a nap, I made myself a 'me-time' salad. It was the perfect midday wind-down meal -- simple, interesting and quite elegant. It's a 'grown-up' salad.

I've only had Belgian Endive leaves before as 'boats' for dips for appetizer. I remember enjoying the slight bitterness and thinking how it can be the perfect foil for a lot of different flavours.

This salad had a lot of interesting flavours I love- bitterness from the endive, sweetness from the caramelised onion, biting saltiness from the blue cheese and the unique taste of macadamia nuts.

Endive Salad with Honey and Balsamic Onion

1/4 c chopped macadamia nuts
1 medium sized onion, sliced into crescents
1Tbsp olive oil
2Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp honey
250g Belgian Endive
crumbled blue cheese *

Heat up a non-stick pan and add the macadamia nuts. Swish around the pan until golden. Put aside.
Pour the olive oil into the pan and when hot, add the onion slices. Cook until well-caramelised, around 10 mins.
In the meantime, prepare the endive by chopping off around 1/2 cm from the stem end. Using the pointed end of a knife, cut a cone shape around 1cm deep from the stem end. Then, cut the 'bulbs' into halves lengthways. Peel off the leaves. The leaves can be cut into bite size pieces but I left mine as the bulbs were not too big. Arrange on a plate.
When the onion has softened considerably, add the balsamic vinegar and honey. Stir around until it has turned syrupy.
Pour the onion mixture over the endive (I liked it warm but I suppose this can be completely cooled down beforehand).
Sprinkle with macadamias and then top with crumbled blue cheese.

*I used King Island Endeavour Blue, which is similar in style to gorgonzola.

The whole lot was polished off by moi and when the kids got up from their nap, I was ready to greet them with a genuine smile.

I am submitting this recipe as a contribution to Coffee and Vanilla's event to celebrate Vegetarian Awareness Month.
Our Mums were right, vegetables are good for us! Keep an eye out for the round up from Margot. It's bound to have a lot of nutritious and creative recipes for enjoying vegetables.

Spicy Eggplant Relish

2007-10-08T21:46:00.000+10:00

Perhaps it's the indecisive Libran in me but I enjoy my food best when there is a melange of flavours competing for my attention in the same meal. This is why I love antipasto platters, mezze plates and going to Yum C ha.

It is a bonus then when a number of distinctive flavours sing so harmoniously together in the one dish, making every bite magic!
This is one such dish. I came across a recipe for Tunisian Eggplant one time but ended up with a completely different recipe using what ingredients I had at home. This is the result. Well, I should really say this is one version of the result. I have made this dish so many times, using different mixes of spices and I kept getting asked for the recipe. I have alternately used garam masala, chermoula and sometimes just cinnamon and cardamom- depending on what I have handy. Each time, the dish comes out tasty and I think this is all thanks to the humble eggplant. I just love this vegetable for being so accommodating of flavours one chooses to infuse it with. Whether it's just the delicate aroma of olive oil or a hodgepodge of robust spices, eggplants take them equally well.

Eggplants (or aubergines, as they are known in Europe) are from the same family as tomatoes and peppers. Though most of us are most familiar with the glossy, teardrop-shaped, purple-black variety, eggplants also come in striped and white varieties, and in various shapes like the lady's fingers or the perfectly round ones used in Thai cuisine. Eggplants are not particularly high in vitamins but rich in minerals like folate, potassium and also contain compounds which are good antioxidants. The plant has been cultivated for centuries and the fruit (which they are technically) are widely used in Indian and Meditterenean cooking.

This eggplant dish is quite rich in flavours but the freshness is lifted by the addition of mint. This is one useful and popular herb when you think of the products it lends it's flavour to- from toothpaste to room fresheners to mint jellies. Originally used for medicinal purposes, a potted mint is a handy plant to have on the kitchen window sill. It can be used infused in teas, in salads, stir-fries and much more.

I am submitting this recipe as my contribution for the second year anniversary of Weekend Herb Blogging. This fun and informative event has reached yet another milestone and it's such fun to be participating. Don't forget to check out the round-up at Kalyn's Kitchen for fabulous recipes and congratulate Kalyn for starting a one-of-a-kind food blogging event.

*My favourite way to eat this dish is by mopping up the eggplant and juices with cut-up Lebanese or pita bread.

Spicy Eggplant Relish

1 large eggplant (around 400g)
1 red capsicum (sweet pepper, approx 250g)
1 large red onion (approx 250g), cut into crescents
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp minced ginger
1 Tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 Tbsp cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp dry chilli flakes (optional)
1tsp chopped fresh coriander (cilantro) root
1/2c chopped mint leaves
1/2 c chopped coriander leaves
150mL white vinegar
2 Tbsp brown sugar
salt and pepper
sesame seeds for garnishing
3 Tbsp olive oil

Pre-heat oven to 200dec C. Cut eggplant length ways, keeping the stem intact. Halve the red capsicum. Put the the eggplant and capsicum halves on an oiled baking tray, cut-side down. Bake for around 25mins or until soft. When cooled down, scrape the flesh from the eggplant halves. Discard the skin and chop the flesh into very small pieces. Peel the skin off the capsicums and also chop into small pieces.

In a saucepan, heat up the oil and add the onions. Stir around until very very soft, then add the spices (coriander, cumin,cinnamon and chilli flakes). Stir around, making sure they do not stick to the pan. Then add the coriander root, ginger and garlic. Stir for a couple of minutes.

Add the eggplant and capsicum. Stir around to coat with the oil and spices. Add the vinegar and sugar. Let simmer on low heat for around 30 minutes. Stir frequently to avoid sticking to the pan. If the mix seems too dry, add around 100mL of water.
Add half of the coriander leaves and half of the mint leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Leave to cook for a further 5 minutes.

Let cool (I like to serve this at room temperature). Just before serving, mix in the rest of the coriander leaves and mint leaves, reserving some to garnish on top. Sprinkle on some sesame seeds.

Midweek Quickie#2- Pesto-Crusted Salmon

2007-10-04T13:33:00.000+10:00

This is a quick and tasty favourite, not a bad way to get our weekly dose of Omega 3. My little girl loves salmon and usually enjoys this dish with some sweet potato chips (baked in the oven) and broccoli florets.

This time around, I served the fish with some vine-ripened tomatoes which were baked alongside the salmon, and some boiled french beans.

The recipe was adapted from Delia Smith's How to Cook, Book 2. In the original recipe, pecorino cheese was used for the topping. I used the same parmesan that was also in the pesto.

Pesto-Crusted Salmon
serves 2

2 pcs salmon fillets (approx 150g each)
squeeze of lemon juice
2Tbsp basil pesto
2 Tbsp bread crumbs
2 Tbsp grated parmesan
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
oil spray

Pre-heat the oven to 220deg C.
Line a baking tray with foil and lightly spray with oil. Place the salmon fillets on the tray and season with salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Mix the pesto with 1Tbsp of breadcrumbs to form a paste. Spread this over the fish. Sprinkle the remaining breadcrumbs over the pesto paste. Lastly, scatter the parmesan over the breadcrumbs.
Cook the fish in the oven until the topping is golden, around 10minutes.

WTSIM.....Rhubarb and Pineapple Chutney

2007-09-28T11:21:00.000+10:00

With the time I've been spending in the kitchen these days, I only need to be barefoot and pregnant to complete the picture of utter domesticity. Cue: little girl L screams and baby A cries simultaneously. There goes the idea of being pregnant again! At least the barefoot bit is not so improbable given that my shoe fetish has been usurped by produce mania. Now when the urge to shop hits, I come home with a basket full of fruit and vegetables instead of a pair or two of high heels. As is always the case with impulse buys, the loot then stares at me from the kitchen table and I'm left to wonder what to do with it.
It is very timely then that I came across the announcement for the latest round of 'Waiter! There's something in my...' event. The theme of savoury preserves gave me an idea before the pineapple and rhubarb in the fridge start feeling dejected.
That handsome hunk of a pineapple was winking at me at the fruit shop ( I swear!) and had to take it home, ignoring the fact that it made the pram basket drag on the floor from it sheer weight. Then some slender batons of rhubarb beckoned from a corner. Of course I had to pick up a few of these pretty little things. Half of the pineapple was eventually cut up and simply enjoyed. Then my sister comes around bearing gifts- a generous supply of vanilla eclairs from the Lindt coffee shop. The rest of the pineapple got banished to the back of the fridge and I knew that a rhubarb pie just won't get a look-in when these evil (and utterly delicious) eclairs are around.
So I made a chutney. A rhubarb and pineapple chutney. The left-over pineapple and few pieces of rhubarb only made a small bottle, which is a shame. This chutney turned out quite good and I can see such versatile uses for it. I've had it with curry, as a dip for pappadums and used it as a glaze for some oven-baked chicken. I believe it will also go well with cold meats in a sandwich, in place of mayo.

Rhubarb and Pineapple Chutney

200g rhubarb, cut into 1cm pieces
200g pineapple, cut into 1cm chunks
1tsp minced garlic
1tsp minced ginger
1 Tbsp black mustard seeds
150g brown sugar
250mL white vinegar
1tsp salt

Combine all ingredients in a heavy saucepan. Simmer in low heat, stirring frequently until that baby is thick and gooey, around 1hour. Put into a hot sterilised jar.

Can't wait for the WTSIM round-up by Johanna- thepassionatecook. I'm sure it will turn out a lot of delicious ideas to try next time.

HHDD#15 -, Tea for Two (Candied Lemon and Lime Tarts)

2007-09-26T21:11:00.000+10:00

Motherhood, I'm finding, is all about taking in the simple moments and making them really special. Reading books together, singing along to tunes in the car, stopping to pick a flower during our walks-they're all little things that make the days I spend with my two babies precious.
A favourite activity with my little girl these days is to spread out a blanket on the deck and have mock picnics or morning tea. We enjoy pretending to be proper ladies, sipping from tea cups and eating tiny sandwiches or rice crackers. As a treat, we sometimes have proper 'tea' goodies like cupcakes and macaroons. Earlier this week, I made us some special tart-something citrusy to herald the definite arrival of sunshiny days.
This recipe for Candied Lemon and Lime Tarts is Donna Hay's as it appears in marie claire dining. The only change I made was in the size of the tarts. Instead of using 8x10cm tart tins, I made only two in that size. Then I made a large tart in a 20cm tin, to share with friends. The rest went into two muffin holes, producing tarts the perfect size for the little lady's tiny fingers.
For other tart recipes, be sure to watch out for the Hay Hay It's Donna Day#15 Round-up at TriniGourmet. Sarina's elegant Caramelised Onion and Ancovy Tart kicks-off this round of the fun and fabulous event started by the inspiring Barbara. Her blog, winosandfoodies is a treasure trove of information and recipes.
This is my first time submitting an entry to HHDD and I couldn't be more excited.

Candied Lemon and Lime Tarts
(original recipe)

1 quantity sweet shortcrust pastry (also made as per Donna Day's recipe)

filling
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 c lemon juice
1/3 c lime juice
1 c caster (superfine) sugar
2c cream

topping

2c sugar
1 c water
2 lemons, sliced
3 limes, sliced

Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface until it is 3mm thick. Cut pastry to fit eight 10cm deep tart tins. Prick pastry shells with a fork and line each with paper. Fill shells with rice or baking weights and bake in a preheated 200deg C(400deg F) oven for 5 minutes. Remove weights or rice and paper, and return shells to oven for 5 minutes or until pastry is light golden.
To make topping, place sugar and water in a large saucepan over low heat and stir gently until sugar has dissolved. Simmer the sugar syrup for 1 minute. Add lemon and lime slices to the pan in one layer. Cook over very low heat for 20 minutes or until rinds are soft. Do not boil. Place slices on non-stick paper, and allow them to cool and set.
To make filling, combine eggs, lemon and lime juice, sugar and cream. Pour mixture into pastry shells and bake at 160deg C (315deg F) for 10minutes or until filling is beginning to set. Top tarts with slices of candied lemon and lime, and return to the oven. Bake a further 10 minutes or until filling is just set.

The Joy of Eating#1

2007-09-25T21:19:00.000+10:00

Sometimes I wish that I could go back to the time when I first experienced certain tastes.
Not just the ones I enjoyed but even the ones I didn't quite like at first.
I know that I didn't always like cheese but over the 5 or so years that I lived in Switzerland, I must have eaten my weight in cheese (post baby weight, too!). What changed?
I detested vegetables as a child and now I absolutely love them. Looking back, how I wish I had made a diary of foods I ate and liked for each year of my life.

L at 6 months, not sure about her apple and bilberry puree

When I look at my children, I get so excited for them knowing there's a whole new frontier of taste, texture and colour of food they are yet to experience. I just hope they will be blessed with the same joy I get from eating and cooking with loved ones.

A at 6 months, licking the last of the pumpkin mash

L, at 18 months, enjoys an ice cream cone

Sauteed Chokos with Prawns

2007-09-22T14:03:00.000+10:00

They are not the prettiest of vegetables but chokos once helped sustain a generation during the Depression. In the temperate zones of Australia, the plant is evergreen and can produce abundantly for most part of the year. Apparently, chokos became a staple when times were hard and this humble vegetable was served up in various guises. It was also mainly used to bulk up dishes when traditional ingredients were too scarce or expensive. This,perhaps, is partly responsible for it being seen as an 'old-fashioned' vegetable now. Granted, it's not the tastiest of vegetables either but its very subtle flavour makes it more amenable to the influence of herbs and spices. The choko can be used in curries, stir-fries, mash and even pies.
Interestingly, there was a rumour that went around in Sydney (not sure if this was Australia-wide) that the McDonald's apple pie fillings were actually made from chokos! Of course, the company has went on to refute it. It would also have been improbable given that chokos are normally more expensive than Granny Smith apples.
*Hmm, this gives me a little project- use chokos as pie filling and see how it turns out...*

I actually grew up in the Philippines knowing this vegetable as sayote. Alternate names for it include chayote, christophene and mirliton. This is one of the few vegetables I actually liked as a little girl as there was no bitterness in it at all compared to other greens. Belonging to the gourd family, it has a pretty bland taste similar to cucumber or some melons. My Mum would usually put it in nilaga (literally 'boiled' meat with lots of vegetables like onion, potato, cabbage, carrots, etc) or as a substitute for green papaya in tinola (a gingery soup with chicken and pepper leaves). Mum tells me that the shoots and leaves also make for a popular Filipino dish although I don't recall ever having tried it. I first saw a choko plant soon after we moved to Australia where the hardy vine commonly swamp fences and outhouses. My dad and aunts also started growing chokos in their backyards and there's always too big a harvest for the family to eat. Chokos are most abundant from late summer to early autumn but it is not unusual for vines to fruit for most part of the year especially in warmer climates. A single vine can produce bucketloads of vegetable but you'd be lucky to find neighbours who would actually be glad to partake a share of the harvest. Chokos seem out of favour these days, which is a shame. They are high in fibre and low in calories, an important consideration in food ingredients considering current nutritional concerns.

One of the dishes my Mum makes with chokos (and the only dish I know where this vegetable actually takes centre stage) is a simple sautee with garlic, onion and tomatoes. She would throw in some pork in there or sometimes, prawns. I tried recreating this dish with prawns, to coincide with this week's Weekend Herb Blogging. It is such a great event as it always proves to be a forum for discovering unusual ingredients. Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen started this event. You should check out her fabulous blog which highlights fresh, simple and healthy fare. This week's host is Myriam, owner of the creative apron behind Once Upon a Tart-home to decadent and delicious recipes.

Preparing the choko for cooking is easy. Cut the vegetable in half and then into segments. I use a potato peeler to take the skin and seed off. At this stage, I rinse the segments thoroughly as choko sap is quite slimey and tacky. Then cut up into desired size.

To make 2 servings of this dish, you will need:

1 large choko, cut into bite-size pieces
1 clove garlic, sliced thinly
1 medium red onion, cut into crescents
1 large ripe tomato, chopped
300g prawns, shelled and de-veined
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
salt and pepper

In a wok or fry pan, heat up the oil. Add the garlic and onion and mix around until the onion is transluscent. Add the tomatoes, stir and then cover for two minutes or until very soft and the juices have turned into a thickish sauce.
Add the chokos and let cook until tender. Toss in the prawns and stir around until they turn pink (probably needs only a minute). Season with salt and a generous amount of pepper.

Whitebait Tempura on Eggplant

2007-09-17T21:01:00.000+10:00

Any sensible homemaker will tell you to always have a list when you go out to do your shopping in order to save money, time and avoid unnecessary purchases. Well, I do go to the shops always armed with a list but sticking to it is totally a different matter. Going to the butchers, greengrocers and seafood markets are always a gamble and an adventure. My weekly menus usually go out the window when I see what's on offer. There's always something to tempt, interest, challenge anyone who enjoys cooking.

I was at the seafood shop on the weekend for some prawns when a tray of the cutest, tiniest fish (sorry guys, I guess Nemo beat you at the auditions) caught my eyes. Hmm, it seems almost sick to think of them cute and then have the intention to eat them :-(
Anyhow, I had to forgo the prawns this time in favour of whitebait, which I knew straightaway will be battered crisp and deep-fried. Whitebait refers to the young or fry of various fish species. In Europe (specifically the UK), it refers to young herring while in Australia and New Zealand, it predominantly refers to the young of some species of the Galaxias family. The fish would be on average, around 20-50mm in size and is eaten whole- head, guts and all.
There are strict regulations that apply to whitebait fishing in Australia and NZ to help conservation of native species so that alleviates my guilt a bit for feasting on these cute little creatures.

Whitebait dishes appear on many Australian restaurant menus but I've really only had them deep-fried and served with aioli. I wanted to try them with an Asian slant.

This recipe produced a plateful of fritters, enough for 4 people as a starter.

You will need:

300g whitebait, thoroughly washed and pat-dried
1 large eggplant, cut into 1 cm slices crossways
oil spray
oil for deep frying
a few sprigs of Thai basil

for the batter:
1 1/4 c self-raising flour
1/4 c corn flour
1 1/2 c cold soda water
4 ice cubes

for the sauce:
6 kaffir lime leaves, shredded
1 red chili, sliced thinly
2Tbsp soy sauce
1Tbsp oyster sauce
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 c water
1tsp cornflour dissolved in 2Tbsp water

Preheat oven to 200deg C. Place eggplants on a lined baking tray and slightly coat with oil spray. Bake eggplant in the oven for around 10mins or until tender then set aside.

To make the batter, mix the flours together in a bowl with a generous amount of salt and pepper. Put the soda water in another bowl with the ice cubes. Tip the flour mix into the soda water in one go. Very lighty mix (I did this with a chopstick) leaving some lumps of flour (I believe this gives extra crunch). Drop the whitebait into the bowl and again, only lightly mix. If the batter is too runny, add a bit more self-raising flour.

Get the oil up to heat for deep-frying. Take spoonfuls of the battered whitebait and drop in the oil. Fry until golden.

Meanwhile, make the sauce by mixing all ingredients in a small sauce pan. Slowly bring to the boil and stir until the sauce is slightly thick.

To arrange the dish, take a piece of baked eggplant and drizzle with sauce. Stack 2 or 3 fritters on top. Garnish with a few leaves of Thai basil and enjoy.
Just don't think of Nemo while you eat;-)

Wild Rice and Broad Bean Salad

2007-09-15T22:20:00.000+10:00

Two rice dish posts back to back. This after I made a pact with the husband to go low-carb for a little while to get rid of the love handles that have made our respective midriffs their home over winter. Well, it is Spring and spring being the time for new beginnings is not unlike New Year- sometimes a time for failed resolutions.
To redeem myself somewhat, I try and enjoy my carb quota in the form of healthy(ish), light(ish) salads. This simple salad is defined by two beautiful things- wild rice and broad (fava) beans. I have never prepared a dish using fresh broad beans before. I've always used tinned beans which have always gone in soups. However, Haalo's informative and very well-photographed entry to Weekend Herb Blogging a couple of weeks ago inspired me to make my acquaintance with these underrated gems in a pod. Check out her blog Cook (Almost) Anything at Least Once for practical tips on preparing broad beans and her delectable bruschetta recipe.
As for wild rice, I have always loved it. Used in salads, stuffing or just mixed with plain rice as a side dish, it always makes a statement in a subtle way. It has a nuttiness that complements most ingredients without upstaging them, the firm texture it presents is usually a nice surprise. Wild rice (Zizania palustris L) is not technically classified as rice, although it has been used as grain food since prehistoric times. Wild rice is native to North America and has long been a staple for Native Americans not only as a food item but also as a feature in spiritual ceremonies.
No special methods are required to prepare this grain, cook as you would ordinary white rice. In my dishes, I usually use a proportion of 3 parts white rice, 1 part wild rice and then pop the mix in the rice cooker with water equal the total amount of the combined rice. I do like the wild rice quite firm to the bite as it tastes nuttier that way.

To prepare this salad:

3/4 c white rice
1/4 c wild rice
1 c prepared broad beans
rind from 1 orange
1/4c chopped mint

For the dressing:
4 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp minced garlic
2Tbsp orange juice
2Tbsp Lemon juice
salt and pepper

If using a rice cooker, cook the combined white rice and wild rice in 1 c of water. Alternatively, the combined rice can be cooked pot with 1 c of water. Bring to a rapid boil. Then turn the heat down to low and simmer until all the water has been absorbed. Fluff up the rice with a fork soon after cooking and let cool.

Meanwhile, prepare the dressing by mixing together the oil, garlic and juices.

In a bowl, mix the cooked rice, broad beans, mint and orange rind in a bowl. Pour the dressing in, add some salt and pepper and gently toss. Let sit for about an hour to let the flavours infuse.

This is lovely served with barbecued lamb cutlets.

This is my first entry to Weekend Herb Blogging. Being new to blogging, this is one of the first events I discovered which seem to always have a fabulous line-up. Founded by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen , the weekly offering is always informative and full of delicious dishes. I hope my contribution is up to scratch :-) Check out the rest of the dishes at Monday's round-up in Katerina's Daily Unadventures in Cooking.

'Cheat's' Saffron Risotto with Chorizo

2007-09-10T21:17:00.001+10:00

Yep, it's still cold out there. The calendar says September but the body can't be fooled. It IS craving carbs. Risotto for me is an instinctive choice when hit with such a craving. It can be such a young-family-friendly dish (our little girl LOVES rice), which is always a plus. More often than not, though, I am put off by the ladling and stirring involved as espoused by classic recipes. Don't get me wrong. I am all for the slow lovemaking and caressing of ingredients to produce quality and great tasting fare. These days though, multi-tasking rules my life and cooking for sheer pleasure simply can not come first when my kids are around.

The idea to cook risotto using the absorption method then came up out of necessity. I have been cooking rice with this method ever since I was 8 years old, no fancy rice steamers for this one until recently. So I thought why not try it with risotto. Hmm, I could almost hear the collective gasp of horror. Risotto? No stirring? Oh dear...
To be honest though, my plebeian palate could not detect any difference in this risotto's consistency compared to any other I've had in my life- nothing in terms of creaminess. The rice grains were separate and al-dente. It was good. But as I said- plebeian palate. So what do I know?If you'd like to try it yourself anyway, here's how I did it.

3Tbsp olive oil
1 large clove garlic, sliced thinly
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp saffron, soaked in 1Tbsp hot water
1 1/2c arborio rice
4 c chicken stock
25g butter, chopped into cubes
1/2 c grated parmesan
1 c baby spinach leaves
freshly cracked black pepper

300g chorizo, sliced on the diagonal

*i did not use wine in this recipe*

Heat olive oil in a pot and cook the garlic and onion. Fry until translucent then add the saffron (with the water).
Add the rice and stir until grains are well-coated in oil. Pour in the stock and cook on high until it reaches a rapid boil. Stir to make sure that the rice is not sticking to the bottom of the pot.Turn the heat to low and cover the pot, leaving the lid slightly ajar to let the steam out. Leave to simmer until almost all of the liquid has been absorbed

Meanwhile, fry the chorizos until browned and keep warm while waiting for the risotto to cook.

Back to the risotto...Turn the heat off after around 15minutes. There will still be a thin film of stock. This is ok as it will get absorbed upon stirring. Add the butter and cheese and stir until both have melted. Then add the spinach leaves and stir until just wilted.

Top with the chorizos and sprinkle with black pepper.

I like to serve this with a wedge of lemon. The juice helps to cut through the richness and spiciness of the chorizo.

There you go...
In the 15 minutes that the risotto was cooking, I was able to play another game of 'Snap' with L and sing a couple of nursery rhymes with baby A. That's priceless.

Hearty Lentil and Sausage Soup with Pesto

2007-09-07T23:05:00.000+10:00

I've been had. Got sucked right in along with most Sydneysiders. By the weather, that is. A whole week of blissfully blue skies, mid 20deg C temperatures. Of course I've already put away the thick doona, potted up some blooms, even took the bubs to the beach and stocked up on salad greens. Then brrrrr- the miserably cold and grey days are back.

I should really know by now. Every year it happens. Spring is such a tease, always full of promise but likes to take its time getting here. Not much I can do about the grey so I might as well embrace it. Very well then- the salad menus go back on file and out come the old, tried and tested soup recipes. Yes, they have to be old. Adventurous as I am with food, I like to rely on the familiar when eating for warmth and comfort. You see, I expect a lot from my soups. It may not be fair but I do. My soups not only have to warm but they also have to fill, heal, energise and satisfy. This concoction is one of the hardest-working and ever dependable soups I know.

Lentil soups seem very popular in many cultures. Moroccan harira, Indian dahl and the sausage and lentil combo is apparently 'very Dutch'. My version does not use any herbs while cooking but I like to add a dollop of pesto upon serving.

You will need:

2Tbsp olive oil
100g bacon, chopped
1 clove garlic, sliced thinly
1 medium brown onion, finely chopped
1/2 c cooked chipolata, cut ito small cubes (any sausage of your choice will do, even cubed ham can be used. i just happened to have had left-over chipolatas from the previous night's dinner)
1/2 c chopped fennel bulb
1/2 chopped carrots
400g tin chopped plum tomatoes
1c green lentils (the sort I used did not require pre-soaking, check the label on packaging)
4c bacon stock
freshly cracked black pepper

basil pesto

Heat up the oil in a saucepan and add the bacon. When the bacon is brown and has rendered fat, add the garlic and onion. Stir around until the onion is transluscent. Add the sausage, fennel and carrots and let cook for a couple of minutes. Add the canned tomatoes, cover and leave for two minutes. Add the lentils and bacon stock. Let it simmer on medium heat until the lentil is soft (but not too mushy), around 20mins. Season with black pepper.

Ladle into bowls and top with a teaspoon of basil pesto.
Serves 4.

I am submitting this for the Second Annual Super Soup Challenge hosted by Tami. The photography/food styling in her blog Running with Tweezers are some of the most visually stunning, lip-licking food images I've seen. 'Food Porn' at its best ;-)

Cinnamon-Spiced Beef Phyllo Rolls

2007-09-05T20:40:00.000+10:00

Flicking thru a finger-food recipe book the other day (still dreaming that we can go back to hosting regular cocktail/drinks parties once again-maybe when the kids move out in 20years!), I came across a scrumptious sounding recipe for phyllo pastry pillows filled with beef and dried figs. This presented a mini-mission: adapt the recipe for tonight's dinner.

Ok, that means something filling enough to have with just a bowl of salad for hubby and myself, and healthy and interesting enough for little girl L. As usual, the vegetable components started off as ingredients for baby A's dinner-grated zucchini and sweet potato that I was going to boil and puree.

I also wanted to keep the sweet/savoury combo that was in the original recipe so I used some pitted dates, which I already had in the cupboard, instead of the dried figs.

The result was quite delicious and we found the rolls very more-ish. I can see how the mini versions would be great with drinks. L absolutely loved them and I was pleased that she got her quota of vegies in, albeit with a bit of cheating and disguising.
This recipe makes around 12 x 5-inch rolls.

3Tbsp olive oil
500g lean beef mince
1 clove garlic, minced
1tsp ginger, minced
1 medium onion, chopped finely
1tsp ground cinnamon
1/2c chopped dates
1/2c grated zucchini
1/2c grated sweet potato
Salt and pepper

8 phyllo pastry sheets
cooking oil spray

To make the filling, heat the oil in a pan and add garlic, ginger,onion and cinnamon.
Stir around until the onion becomes transluscent. Add the beef and continue cooking until browned. Stir in the dates, zucchini and sweet potato. Season with salt and pepper. Let cook for a further 2 minutes.
Allow the filling to cool completely before wrapping.

When ready to wrap, preheat the oven to 200deg C and line trays withs baking paper.

Take 2 sheets of phyllo pastry. Spray one with cooking oil spray, top with the second sheet and spray again with oil. Cut crossways into 3 even strips.

Take one strip and place 2Tbsp of the beef mixture along the bottom of one narrow edge. Roll the end of the pastry over the filling until covered. Fold in the long sides to enclose the beef mixture and continue rolling until your reach the end of the strip.
Repeat the process with the rest of the filling.

Place the rolls on the lined trays and spray lightly with oil. Bake in the oven until golden (around 15 minutes).

Changes I will try next time:
*Add pistachio nuts and chopped mint in the filling.
*Serve with a yogurt dip

Father's Day Breakfast

2007-09-03T09:44:00.000+10:00

I reckon Dads get the short end of the stick when it comes to being properly acknowledged and celebrated with a special day in their honour. For all the hoo-hah, overpriced flowers and elaborate lunches that come with Mothers Day, Father's Day seems to come and go with hardly any fanfare.

So I wanted to fuss a little bit over our favourite man on Father's Day to say thank you (on behalf of L and A) for making bath time so much fun, for having the patience to play the same game over and over (even when Top Gear is on) and for giving the best cuddles ever. I decided to make him Greek tomato fritters for breakfast as a change from our usual toast or bowl of cereal eaten at the break of dawn when our kids get up. Hubby loved the domatokeftedes we were served daily for breakfast during our honeymoon in Santorini. The tasty tomatoes grown on the volcanic soils of the island made these fritters really special.
My version uses Roma tomatoes.

1 1/2c finely chopped Roma tomatoes
1/4 c finely chopped red onion
1 c self-raising flour
2 eggs
1/2c milk
1tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1Tbsp chopped mint
1tsp dried thyme
pepper
olive oil for frying

Beat the eggs into the milk. Add the sifted flour, salt and sugar and mix well. The batter will be quite stiff. Add the tomatoes, onion, herbs and then season with pepper.
Let the mixture stand for an hour.

Pour around 2Tbsp of olive oil into a non-stick pan on medium heat. Ladle some of the batter into the pan . Cook for around 2 minutes or until the underside is brown. Turn the fritter over and cook on the other side. This makes around 4 pancake size fritters.

I served these topped with some baby rocket and crumbled feta cheese.

Spaghetti with Shiitake Muhsrooms

2007-08-27T21:55:00.000+10:00

In a previous life, as an active and very social member of singledom, I liked nothing better than a filling and simple pasta dish to set me up for a night on the town. Some spaghetti and chilli in olive oil or perhaps tagliatelle in burnt butter. Cooked in minutes, wolfed down in front of the hob and you can be out the door for a few 'fortifying' drinks and some serious boogeying.

This is another simple pasta dish that I find very satisfying. I found the original recipe in a book called Quick from Scratch, Herbs and Spices, which is part of a Food and Wine books series. How this book got into my book shelf is a complete mystery to me. It looks old, the pictures of the contributors look dated. I don't remember ever buying it and it's not my husband's either. However, this is one of the most well-used books in my house. It features, surprise, surprise, herbs and spices, timeless recipes that highlight each one and wine recommendations for each dish. So if I borrowed this book from you (and forgot), I owe you an apology and a meal....

Good quality Parmesan or Grana Padano is imperative for this dish. None of that pre-grated stuff will do, I'm afraid.

300g spaghetti
400g shiitake mushroom, stems removed, caps sliced thinly
1/2c chicken stock
1 garlic clove, sliced thinly
4Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 c grated parmesan or grana padano

Cook pasta as per direction and drain. Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the mushrooms until soft. Add the garlic and pepper. Stir around quickly and then add the stock.
Simmer for 2 minutes. Add the spaghetti and chesee into the sauce and toss around.
Season with additional pepper and top with more cheese prior to serving.

White Chocolate and Cranberry Biscuits

2007-08-23T21:24:00.000+10:00

Baking didn't use to hold much appeal to me as I felt the discipline required would leave me feeling the heat of the kitchen. All that strict measuring, weighing, proving, whipping-until -'soft peaks' -form, etc just sounded oh so technical. I love to cook with gay abandon- another pinch of this and that, just throw that in, substitute this for that, oh yes- needs more madeira, brandy, red wine! Taking on that sort of attitude with baking usually means sunken cakes and very weird-tasting biscuits. Until recently, I have left that side of culinary responsibility on my husband as he had more patience and is actually the one with a sweet tooth anyway.

These days, I am slowly discovering the joys of baking. One thing now I know- baking is a lot more fun when there's help from another set of hands, no matter how small they are.

These cookies always turn out lovely and I always get asked for the recipe.
The original recipe was actually for white chocolate and macadamias but since more and more people I know have developed an intolerance for nuts, I have substituted dried cranberries. I also use a bit of condensed milk, which I think makes them more chewy.

250g unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c condensed milk
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 c plain flour
2tsp baking powder
1 1/2 c rolled oats
1 c white chocolate chips
1 1/2 c dried cranberries
a pinch of salt

1. Preheate oven to 180 deg C
2. Cream butter with sugar until pale. Beat in the condensed milk.
3. Lightly whisk the eggs and vanilla together and add to the butter mix.
4. Add in the sifted flour, baking powder and salt. Mix well.
5. Add the cranberries, choc chips and oats. Mix until well-combined.
6. Form gold-sized balls of the dough and place on lined baking trays. Slightly flatten with your fingers.
7. Bake for 10 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and let cool on trays for a few minutes (the biscuits will be very soft when you take them out of the oven).
9. Once firm, the biscuits can be transferred onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

Tangy Lamb Stir-fry

2007-08-22T21:24:00.000+10:00

A family made up of two adults, a toddler and a toothless bub means a supermarket pre-cut slab of roasting lamb is always too big to finish in one meal. Now, the adult male in said family, more often than not, will refuse to eat left-overs unless heavily disguised and passed of as a new creation.

Enter the humble stir-fry. Quick, easy and very forgiving should one choose to 'reincarnate' some left-over roast meat.

For this recipe, one can of course, use fresh strips of lamb. Just brown the meat first in batches and then follow the rest of the recipe.

300g roast lamb, sliced into bite-sized pieces
handful of snow peas (mange-tout)
1/2 c broccoli florets
1/2 c red capsicum (pepper) strips
1/2 bunch spring onions, cut into 3 cm pieces
1Tbsp tamarind paste
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 clove garlic
1 cm piece ginger
1 lemon grass stalk, white part sliced thinly
1 tsp coriander root
1/2 c coriander leaves
3 Tbsp cooking oil

With a mortar and pestle or using a food processor, pound/process the garlic, ginger, lemon grass and coriander root into a paste. Set aside.
In a wok or frying pan, stir the meat around in the oil until heated through.
Add the paste and stir around for a minute. Add the tamarind paste and sugar and mix around until the sauce is sticky. Add the vegetables, turning the heat off while the greens are still crisp.
Sprinkle the coriander leaves over the dish just prior to serving.

Pinakbet (or Pakbet)

2007-08-20T20:43:00.001+10:00

As much as I love Filipino food, I don't regularly cook it. You see, the thing with Filipino food is, it doesn't taste half as good as it should unless shared with someone else who truly appreciates it. My hubby (bless his heart) is not a big fan. Sharing with him a Filipino dish I enjoyed in childhood does not really evoke the finger-licking memories I love to wallow in from time to time. Never mind, we have more than enough shared memories we've created over wedges of Gruyere, merguez sausages and bottles of Margaux to last our lifetime.

Soooo, when Mum calls a Sunday lunch with the extended family, I rub my hands in glee. A chance to cook a Filipino dish and eat another couple (or 20) other dishes my 'mother tastebuds' will enjoy. My Mum and her sisters are all excellent cooks but I'm never intimidated about making a contribution for these lunches as they are always appreciative of whatever I bring.

Pinakbet (or Pakbet) would have to be up there amongst my all-time favourite Filipino dishes, although ironically, it's made up of vegetables I detested as a child. I have to always remind myself how my taste evolved over time whenever there is a battle at dinner time to make my little daughter eat her greens. Perhaps one day, she will learn to love Pinakbet as much as I do now.

There are numerous versions of Pinakbet I have come across. I do not use bagoong, preferring the less pungent flavour of anchovy (yes, there are things more pungent than anchovies, believe it or not!). Serving the bagoong, instead, as a condiment alongside this dish just gives one leeway on how strong a fish flavour they want with each mouthful.

For an 'extended family size' serve (around 10 adults), you will need:

400g pork spare ribs
300g Jap pumkin, cut into cubes
3 pcs lebanese eggplant (the thin long variety), cut into bite-size pieces
10 pieces baby okra
1 bunch snake beans (sitaw), cut into 4cm pieces
1 medium bitter melon (ampalaya), sliced into bite-size pieces
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, sliced finely
5 very ripe tomatoes, chopped (or 400g tinned chopped tomatoes)
4 anchovies in oil, mashed
1/2 c chopped chicharon (pork crackling, pork scratching)
1/2 c water
fish sauce to taste
6Tbsp cooking oil

Boil the pork pieces until tender. Cut into cubes and then shallow fry until brown. Take the pork out of the frying pan and leave around 3 Tbsp of fat.
Sautee the garlic, onion and tomatoes in the fat until soft. Add the anchovies and cooked pork, let simmer for a couple of minutes. Add the water and pumkin. Cover and let simmer for another 10 minutes.
Add the rest of the vegetables and the chicharon. Season with fish sauce. Cover and simmer until the vegetables are soft enough for your liking.
Personally, I take the pot off the heat when the vegetables are still firm to the bite. I always like to leave a bit of 'crunch' on my and snake beans and bitter melon.

Fish Friday

2007-08-19T21:17:00.001+10:00

I tend to experiment a lot with different spices to use with fish. What I have found is that it's difficult to stuff things up if you use a white fish with a mild flavour. For this dish, I used New Zealand hoki fillets (blue grenadier) but any firm white fish will do.
The fried fish was served with a citrusy couscous. To round up the vegetable component of the dish, I added slices of fennel (oranges and fennel are a classic pairing).

Spiced fish:

400g hoki fillets
1/3 c plain flour
1 Tbsp corn flour
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp paprika
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp sumac (optional)
oil for shallow frying

Mix all ingredients, except the sumac, together.
Dredge the fish fillets in the mixture.
Fry until golden then sprinkle with sumac, if using.

Citrusy Couscous (adapted from Australian Women's Weekly)

1 c couscous
1 c water
1 Tbsp butter
1 orange, peeled and sliced
1 small fennel bulb, sliced
1/3 c slivered almonds
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp grated lemon rind
1/3 c mint, torn into small pieces

Brown the almond slivers and set aside.
Boil water in a saucepan and pour in the couscous. Remove from heat and leave for 5 minutes to absorb the water. Put the saucepan back on low heat, fluff up the couscous with a fork and add the butter. Continue mixing with the fork until butter has melted.
Add in the lemon juice, grated lemon rind, fennel and almonds. Toss everything together and sprinkle the mint leaves over the couscous before serving.

Midweek Quickie#1-Glass Noodle Salad

2007-08-16T14:20:00.001+10:00

I've had Asian Noodle Salad in various incarnations and I've always loved them. Flavourful, texture-rich, light yet filling.
This version, as per usual, uses whatever ingredients are handy. Minced meat are a staple in my freezer as they are versatile. I find that minced pork is best when infused with Asian seasoning.

As with any household with young children, 6-8PM in our house are the witching hours. Toddler, tired from an afternoon of acrobatics and bub, fed up from taking too many new experiences in tend to have a short fuse at this time. So, dinner has to be planned, organised and be at the table by 6 to avoid any major tantrums (from me, that is).

I made this dish in separate stages:
2PM-while the kids were down for a nap
I heated up some oil and browned 300g of pork mince. To this I added 3 Tbsp of peanuts, ground into chunks.I seasoned with 1Tbsp soy sauce and 1 tsp of brown sugar. This went in the fridge until ready to use.

4PM-while L watches Peppa Pig and A enjoys some tummy time
I soaked 250g of glass noodles (Chinese vermicelli) as per packet instructions.
Salad dressing was prepared by mixing 1Tbsp lime juice, 1/2tsp tamarind paste, 1Tbsp brown sugar, 2Tsp soy sauce and a splash of sesame oil and fish sauce.
Oh, and I added 1/4tsp mint sauce (Coleman's, as in Mr. Roast Lamb's sidekick). This may seem unusual in an Asian dressing but I had to be resourceful. My potted mint is not faring so well in the cold weather and I still wanted that fresh flavour even if I can't have the leaves in the salad.

5.45PM-while hubby has a 'welcome home' tickle fight with the bubs
Toss the prepared mince, noodles and salad dressing along with 2cups of baby salad greens and carrot matchsticks. I would have added lots of coriander leaves and spring onion if I had any :-(

6PM-Voila! Dinner is served.

Variations I have done in the past for this:
Sauteed the mince in 5-spice instead of seasoning with soy.
Sauteed the mince in ginger,lemon grass and added lime leaves.
I used other crunchy vegies like snow peas, young corn and red capsicum in the salad.

Luscious Golden Vegetable Soup

2007-08-14T13:40:00.000+10:00

The grown-ups in our household do tend to overindulge from time to time so in order to balance things out a bit, we try and have soup for dinner some nights. This was my husband's idea. He seems to be under the false impression that soups are always healthy and low-fat. I do love very tasty things which, unfortunately, usually translates to creamy concoctions when it comes to soups.

This one that I made tonight doesn't seem so bad. The idea came up as I was thinking of something to make for A, who at 6 months, is still limited in his food repertoire. This really is just glorified baby food. Just kidding! At any rate, I am glad A kindly let me experiment with some of his vegetable puree which ended up feeding the rest of the clan.

Before anything else, please know that when I cook, except when making dessert, I do not follow a single recipe and follow a multitude at the same time. I do not like to measure, preferring to taste my cooking as I go along. I constantly read cookbooks and surf the net for inspiration and try and make things from memory, usually putting my own slant on things to use ingredients that are readily available. Measures are all approximate, trust your own instinct when it comes to cooking!

1 c chopped butternut pumpkin
1 c chopped sweet potato
1 c chopped parsnips

Boil above vegetables in 400ml water until very soft. Puree in a blender.
A couple of tablespoons of this was gobbled up by my little man. The rest can go in the soup...

Fry a cup of chopped leeks in 3Tbsp olive oil until transluscent. Add 1/2tsp minced garlic and 1/2tsp minced ginger (I decided to add this as everyone at home has got the sniffles at the moment). Mix around for a minute. Add 1 cup of chicken stock and 1 c bacon stock. Simmer for a couple of minutes. Blitz with a hand blender. Add the pureed vegetables and let simmer until hot.

There really is no reason to separate the boiling/blending of the vegies and leek apart from the fact that the vegies were originally bought and cooked for A, who isn't old enough for oil/onion/salt/pepper yet.

I was surprised by the taste of this soup at there was already lot of creaminess without needing to add the usual topping of sour cream. I have made sweet potato soup and pumpkin soup separately before. However, I think it's the earthiness of the parsnip that ties this together.

I also made some Zucchini floaters (if a bit of crunch on your soup floats your boat, try this!)
The idea of 'floaters' I got from a book called 'Super Soups' by Michael van Straten.
This is how I made my very simple version:
Mix together
1 cup grated zucchini
1 beaten egg
1 c plain flour
salt and pepper to taste.
Take spoonfulls of the mix and fry in olive oil until brown and crunchy.

Ta Dah!!!!