Penne with Goat's Cheese and Walnuts

Basically this is a review of a recipe from one of my favourite cook books-Olive magazine's 101 quick fix book...and i've just discovered that all ALL the recipes in the book are on the BBC good food website- it has really dampened my enthusiasm to cook from this book...cos then what shall I blog about??

but so far, all of the dishes i've tried hits the spot..!

and this one is not far off the mark but a word of caution perhaps...the goat's cheese is quite gamey for those who are not used to the taste...in Mandarin, you would say 'yang siao wei' (literal translate: goat's coy smell")...and it's quite intense....i was quite horrified actually when i tried a crumb of the cheese just on its own..."oh no!! do i have to endure this for 4 meals?!!"

thankfully the lemon zest and rocket improved things greatly...! I would recommend a generous sprinkle of salt and black pepper too...!

the best thing about this pasta- it is really quick to put together...and oh, I toasted the walnuts as well and they were darker than I'd have liked but they do taste uncannily like deep fried lard. I can really imagine them in a plate of char kuey teow (fried rice noodles)...perhaps they can be a guilt-free indulgence if u really like ur lard...!

Bargain Strawberries?

Rule number 1: It's not really a bargain if you are not going to use it. (Or if you have to spend 2 hours cleaning and processing it.)
Rule number 2: Don't buy more food than you can (comfortably) carry.

For the last week I have been feeling exceptionally virtuous...thinking that it might not be very long till the return to Singapore, I have been eating and cooking only foodstuffs in my freezer, fridge and pantry and resisting the urge to go to the supermarket/market...(it must be a dietitian's favourite passtime..)

Today I finally used all the fresh produce and most of the canned and dried food...so I decided to make a well deserved trip to the central market...keeping in mind that I was just going to need ingredients for 8 meals (cooking twice- each time 4 portions) and then I can shop more after that..

and I almost, almost made it!!!! I had bought all the ingredients I needed (and some) and was about to walk out of the market when I was accosted by one of the stall holders in the middle section where they put up make shift stalls to sell the produce which wouldn't keep till Tuesday...he thrust a huge black cupboard container of strawberries at me...there were eight 500g punnets inside...and said: "Here, you can have the lot for 5 bucks”
Me: "errrr...."
Stallholder throws in another punnet and said: "Special for u!! Still 5 dollars”

*sigh*

How could I resist??

So that's how I ended up lugging 4.5kg of strawberries home...when I got on the bus, the driver was very excited and asked me what I was going to do with all the strawberries and that strawberries were his favourite fruit...I replied: "They were on special....very special..."
When I disembarked, I gave the driver a punnet and he was so shocked that he stayed put at the bus stop for a good minute, causing quite a pile up in the traffic behind..(one of my favorite books when I was a kid was the 'random acts of kindness' series..)

And because of the strawberries...I had to buy more stuff to make things with them...the first thing which came to mind was jam..but I hardly ever eat jam...so cheesecake it was....got a chunk of cream cheese (by the way, you can get half a kilo of cream cheese for 4 bucks at central market..much cheaper than in the supermarkets..), biscuits and butter for the base..and cream just in case...

So silly!!! I ended spending more time and money on making something that i don't need and wouldn't really want to eat..but perhaps wouldn't mind making just for the fun of it...

so far i haven't made anything with it....maybe I can make Blue Lotus' strawberry liquor with the chinese rose wine that has been sitting around...and perhaps some chocolate dipped strawberries (Did you know that you can inject liquor into the strawberry after the chocolate's hardened?? This i've got to try!! but first need to find a syringe...) in addition to a strawberry cheesecake and some strawberry sauce...

By the way, have I mentioned that I am not an exceptionally big fan of strawberries in the first place??!!

Self control...that's what I really need..

Rose Petal Berry Tiramisu

Rose Petal Berry Tiramisu
Ingredients
3 eggs, separated
250g cream cheese, softened and at room temperature.
25 lady fingers
1 bottle 280g boysenberries in syrup, drained, syrup reserved
½ cup sugar
2 tsp brandy
strawberries for garnish
3 roses, petals removed and washed (make sure they are free from pesticides)
4 squares of white chocolate, shaved with a potato peeler

method:
mash up boysenberries and press through a sieve to remove the seeds.
Set aside.
Add 1 tsp brandy to the reserved boysenberry syrup.
Dip lady fingers in syrup and use half to line a 20 cm square pyrex.

Blend egg yolks + sugar in food processor till combined.
Add 1 tsp brandy, vanilla, boysenberries and cream cheese and processed till combined.
Beat egg whites til stiff.
Fold in egg yolk mixture into egg whites gently.
Pour half of the mixture over the first layer of lady fingers.
Add another layer of lady fingers and finish off with the rest of the cheese cream mixture.

Garnish with rose petals, sliced strawberries and shaved white chocolate.
The fragrance of the rose petals really infused into the cake after a few hours in the fridge…and my girlfriends were all quite happy to be eating flowers..



This is one of the best desserts i have ever made...but might benefit from a firmer structure...the cream doesn't set completely...perhaps i can incorporate some whipped cream into future ones..
it is inspired by a similar tiramisu i had at Sarah's restaurant at Leigh Street a few days ago...
the restaurant is really quite interesting...there's no fixed menu and basically the chef goes to the market, selects the choicest produce and cooks whatever catches his fancy..!!! Minimal waste and something different every time you visit!! What a cool concept yar?? It's vegetarian as well but the food is so good that you wouldn't feel like you are missing out at all....my dining companion loved it so much she did a little jig and proclaimed it's the best food she's eaten in her 6 years in Adelaide!!
More reviews can be found here.

Berry Tea Konnyaku Jelly

I love experimenting with konnyaku jelly!
Previously, i'd just follow the instructions on the packet and add the artificial flavouring and colouring and sugar.....but i had a big bottle of apple and currant juice leftover from a dinner once..and thought...maybe i could use it as the base...so i added the konnyaku powder to the juice in a pan and then heated it till boiling and then stirred it for 5 more minutes till the bubbles dissipated...(as per the instructions on the packet..)
that batch turned out really well and the friends who tried it couldn't stop raving.

these ones in the picture are made with a base of cranberry, raspberry and strawberry tea...it's from lipton's herbal infusions range and i put the contents of the tea bags into the jelly as well..as i figured they were just bits of dried fruit and rosehip....the flavour was not as intense as i would have preferred but they're indefinitely better than the artificial stuff..i only used 2 teabags for 950ml of liquid...maybe i shld have used a couple more...and perhaps some fruit to zest it up...

Impossible Pie (coconut custard fruit pie) !!

What’s with the name? Basically you just mix everything together, pour it into a pie dish and bake it.
During the cooking process, the batter ‘magically’ separates into three layers, a caramel-ly crisp coconut top, a custardy middle and a pie crust!
I never thought I'd be so impressed. I just prepared this as a back up dessert for a dinner partly and mostly cos I have all the ingredients in the pantry. This recipe is from Jo Seagar’s ‘You shouldn’t have gone to so much trouble darling…” Jo’s philosophy is minimum effort, maximum effect…which I can readily attest to what this recipe is about!!
I’ve modified the recipe somewhat...halving the sugar, using skim milk, reducing the butter slightly, adding some fruit and serving it in smaller portions.

the first picture shows the pie from a small heart shaped pan...


the second one is the pie in a 23 cm pie dish...i added some mango slices as well but it was a bit thin cos i didn't double the recipe...and the crust is not supposed to be so dark ok?? i left the pie too close to the grill element..


Impossible Pie
Fills a 600ml capacity pie dish or 6X 100ml ramekins / Double all quantities for a 23 cm pie dish
Ingredients:

40 g butter, softened (original recipe: 50g)
¼ cup sugar (original recipe: ½ cup)
¼ cup flour
1 cup skim milk
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence OR 1.5 tbs Baileys
½ cup dessicated coconut
icing sugar to dust (optional)
¼ cup diced fruit of choice (I used boysenberries)
method:
in a food processor, mixed butter and sugar until creamy, add eggs then all other ingredients other than fruit and icing sugar.
Mix until a smooth batter.
Pour into a greased pie dish or ramekins. Add fruit.
Bake at 180 degrees for 1 hour or until the top is golden and crusty.

Nutritional analysis:
580kJ 2.5g protein
hey, it’s not too bad…the nutritional profile is similar to eating two slices of bread….

Painless microwave risotto

This is fantastic!! The microwave gourmet (Babara Krafta, not me..) does it again!! Yummy, quick and easy with no worries about burning the risotto and not having to hover over the stove and constantly stir! Much easier than Jamie Oliver’s creamy mushroom risotto I must say…

By the way, this picture was taken on the second day after reheating, topped with strios of roast chicken…the rice looks sort of gluggy..tastewise it’s still great…when the dish is first ready, the grains of rice are perfectly plump, separate and glistening..so please do not use this picture to compare..

Basic Risotto
Serves 6 as a side dish

Ingredients
30 g butter
2 tbs olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
200g Arborio rice
750 ml / 3 cups stock (stock made up from stock powder is fine)
2 tsp sea salt (less if using a stock cube)
freshly ground black pepper
freshly grated parmesan cheese (optional)

method:
1. heat butter and oil in a 25 cm . 10 inch flan or deep pie dish, uncovered at 100% for 90 secs. Add onions and stir to coat. Cook uncovered at 100% for another 3.5 minute. Add rice and stir to coat. Cook uncovered for 3.5 minute.
2. Stir in stock. Cook uncovered at 100% for 8 minutes. Stir well and cook for 8 minutes.
3. Remove from oven. Let stand, uncovered for 4 minutes to let rice absorb remaining liquid, stirring several times. Stir in salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese if desired.

Nutritional analysis per serve:
1610kJ 7G protein

Greek Batter Pie aka Savoury Feta Cheese Cake

While on her honeymoon in Greece recently, a very dear friend got me a Greek recipe calander…and this recipe is from the calander..the name is somewhat ambigious..”Greek Batter Pie”..i wasn’t sure what to expect really…
I made some modifications and loved how it turned out…it’s quite a memorable dish really and I can see myself making it at least a couple more times.….

PS: is it just now or does Danish feta taste like salted egg yolks to anyone else?? In a good way of course..
ahhh...i get it now....if i had used the full cup of oil, perhaps the cake would have turned out more like the batter ala fish and chips????

Greek Batter Pie aka Savoury Feta Cheese Cake
Serves 8

Ingredients
350g self raising flour
a pinch of salt
1 cup skim milk, warmed
3 eggs beaten
½ cup olive oil (originally 1 cup)
250 g feta cheese (I used creamy Danish feta)
120 low fat plain yoghurt

method
preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
Sift the flour twice into a mixing bowl.
Make a well in the middle, add salt and gradually stir in the milk, eggs and olive oil. Crumble the feta by hand and reserve a handful for garnish.
Finally stir in the yoghurt.
The mixture should be similar to a cake batter, add more milk or flour to adjust if necessary.
Line a 8 inch square pan with baking paper. Grease with olive oil spray.
Pour batter into pan and top with reserved feta cheese.
Bake at the bottom of the oven for 15 minutes and then lower to 180 degrees and then bake a further 30- 40 minutes until golden. Serve hot.

Nutritional analysis:
1776kJ, 14 g protein per serve