Living in the Wild World…

Do you believe in the saying, “When it rains, it pours.”? I got my foot injured three weeks ago, which I am still suffering from, to make things worse,  something happened last week, which made me disappointed and frustrated more than any life events possibly could;  my treasured camera died! I started to  doubt why these tragedies keep occurring. It seems as if my monotonous life needed spicing up? Why with the spices I am averse to? Why not with the ones I adore? Because I wouldn’t have known their taste otherwise?

I read in a book that in a natural world the amount of good and evil was fixed, which means if a tragic event happens, then to compensate something good happens. To apply the theory, would it be fair to say that I was devastated by my broken camera, but I will soon be happy to get a better camera? Hmm…. What about this one? Because of my broken camera the guy in the camera service shop will make money and so will the  camera company I will buy my next camera from?

It have been a strange few days without the camera, not having to think about scoring shots of food that I have made and eaten. That certainly saved K from frustration of having to wait in front of food, with hunger, until some shots have been taken, every time we eat something. It has been a torture to him, I guess. Someone’s pleasure means someone else’s suffering. Here you go again!

Since I won’t be able to take photos until either I get my camera fixed or get a new one, I will be going through my old photos and trying to write about them.

This is a lunar NY card I made with photos taken at the ‘Sex and Death’ exhibition at Sydney Botanic Garden and Auckland Winter Garden. I like making my own things whenever I can, especially cards, because they are fun to make and a great way to free your imagination because there are no restrictions or rules.

Out of so many weird looking plants, I was amazed by the number of species, the one that caught my eye the most is the ailien-grandpa looking flower(on the left). Its colourful and seductive look is mesmerising and how they eat insects to survive is quite mind-blowing.

The pitcher plant, so called Saracenia on the right somewhat reminds me of myself devouring rich chocolate mousse cake. But instead of cake, what I have for you today is these two mouth-watering dishes that can make a highlight on BBQs as finger food or entrée.

Spicy Eggplant Mini Cake

This dish was created on a whim wandering in and out of the kitchen on NY’s Eve, trying to make myself useful by offering a helping hand. People were busy trying to get nibbles ready before guests started to arrive, and when I saw a couple of eggplants and a tray of surimi(crab stick) screaming out for a rescue. The idea of seafood croquette came to my head and I started for it, then I didn’t think I could manage to roll it into a countless number of balls and coat them with bread crumbs, what’s worse, fry them. Duh! So the trick of baking came to my rescue and it worked brilliantly.

BBQ Mushroom with Capsicum Salsa

This fresh and healthy looking dish is one of my favourite tapas at a Spanish restaurant, which seems to be the best starter to work up an appetite. It is a nice mixture of fresh capsicum, tomato, a bit of red onion and garlic, with the generous amount of olive oil and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, although the restaurant version simply has capsicum.

I gave this an Asian flavour by putting chilli and coriander, and as it turned out spicier than I planned I put a dollop of mayonnaise on top to serve to smoothe out the chilli flavour, but it could be adapted to different tastes. You could leave out surimi and add minced beef with cheese topping  or even beans or chickpeas with yoghurt on top for a vegetarian option.

Chickpea, spinach, raisin pilaf

It has been either dull or rainy for over a week, which marks another record of unusual Sydney summer weather. The temperature surged up to around 40 degree just the week before, and one day  it dropped to a mid-low 20s overnight. Some say that the bushfires in Victoria is affecting the atmosphere, which leads to wet weather across and around Victoria. The effect of the bushfire is quite severe this year and has put many people in tragic situations , as the death toll reaches almost 200.

To change the subject, I talk with my students about food a lot during class and they response to that with enthusiasm equivalent to mine. The talk of cooking always seems endless and tickles my senses. Honestly, I wasn’t very keen on the cusine from Middle East or North Africa, in which various spices play a major role besides India. While many people pick Moroccan as their favourite flavour, it was only recently when I visited a spice shop called ‘Herbies’ that I got more interested in the cooking of those regions, although I had a pantry full of spices being a foodie on training.   The experience of smelling different spices was amazing and had an soul cleansing effect on me that day.

Chickpea, spinach, raisin pilaf

I came across this recipe and played around a bit and came up with my version. I hope you enjoy my version. ;-D It reminds a lot of Moroccan couscous dishes and Italian equivalent of rish dishes except for the different spices. “plov” or “polaf” is often considered to be one of the oldest preparations of rice which has Persian or Turkic roots. One of the earliest literary references to Pilau can be found in the histories of Alexander the Great when describing the hospitality of an Eastern Iranian provine( probably the birthplace of Alexander’s wife Roxana and geographically in modern Afghanistan).  It was known to have been served to Alexander the Great upon his capture of the Sogdian capital of Marakanda (modern Samarkand). Alexander’s army brought it back to Macedonia and spread it throughout Eastern Europe.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 225g (8 oz) basmati rice
• 400g cooked chickpeas
• 1/2 cup cooked English spinach, drained and chopped
• 1 onion
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 1 tsp ground carmadon
• 1 tsp cinnamon stick, bruised
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp grated fresh root ginger
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• 50g (2 oz) raisins
• 750ml  vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp salt
• 50g (2 oz) cashew nuts, toasted
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
• pepper
• fresh coriander sprigs, to garnish

Method

1. Wash the rice in a sieve under cold running water until it runs clear; set aside.
2. Dry-fry the whole spices  for about 2 minutes until they start to pop and release their aroma.
3. Peel and finely chop the onion. Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the onion, garlic, ginger and ground spices and fry for 10 minutes until the vegetables are golden. Add the dry-fried spice mixture to the pan with the rice and stir-fry for 1 minute until all the rice grains are glossy.
4. Add the chick peas, spinach, raisins, stock, lemon juice and salt to the pan. Bring to the boil, stir once and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Simmer over a low heat for 10 minutes, then take off the heat and leave undisturbed for 5 minutes.
5. Fork through the cashew nuts and coriander. Check the seasoning and serve at once, garnished with fresh coriander sprigs.

Serving Suggestion

• Personally I enjoyed a generous dollop of plain yoghurt with this vegetarian meal.

Variations

You can replace spinach with other vegetables such as carrots, zuchini, potatoes or peas for a vegetarian meal. Or you can toss through with any cooked meat of your choice.

Oatmeal Raisin Cinnamon Muffin

Here’s the book I’ve been reading recently. It started off dry and too descriptive, but is getting more exciting. The main character gets stranded on a traffic island near a motorway for days, badly injured after his car plunge over a road barrier. At first getting rescued by passing cars seemed all simple and easy, but things turn out very different, making him realise how urban infrastructures and technology isolate people, not only physically, but also emotionally, and how much people are neglected in this modern world.

We are turning ourselves into an island in the end, I wonder, with the selfishness and expectations from others that would distance us from each other, without us even realising.

This book coincided with the accident that had my foot twisted, so that made following the stories of his physical as well as mental challenges seem quite appropriate. When you are hurt and restricted in physical activities , you feel frustrated and vulnerable, and find yourself relying on others. You can easily put blame on others for what is happening or has happened to you, but the real question is “how much can others actually help you?” It all, in the end, comes down to how much you trust yourself and how resilient you are psychologically to be able to get through the difficulties you might face along the way.

My injury is stopping me from doing a lot of things I enjoy doing at the moment. There has been quiet fights inside me and I’m learning to compromise and give up certain physical pleasures, but at the same time, I get to do things I would not do otherwise, such as taking time and reading, so it hasn’t been all bad.

Reading this book somehow reminded me of the short film called “Mankind is No Island”, which I showed to my students and got quite good reactions, and it is about the isolation and neglect of human beings. I was impressed by the way it was filmed and edited, quite clever.

Oatmeal Raisin Cinnamon Muffins

I’ve been having this cinnamon frenzy lately and baked this muffins twice in a week, with lots of cinnamon! This healthy muffins are so moist, I wonder if oatmeal has something to do with it, and its sweetness comes from raisins, actually sultanas, which I used for this recipe, so it’s also guilt free. The second time, I added 1/3 cup of dark chocolate bits for extra excitement and it worked well.

Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup quick oats – I ground rolled oats
1 cup buttermilk – if you don’t have it on hand, add 1 tsp lemon into 1 cup of milk and let it stand for 5 mins.
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raisins or sultanas
1 teaspoon cinnamon and extra to sprinkle over the baked muffins

Instructions:

1. Combine oats and buttermilk in a small bowl. (Allow to stand for a few minutes while you mix the rest of your muffins.)

2. In a medium-sized bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, stirring to mix.

3. In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar. Add egg, mixing well. Add milk/oats mixture and mix well. Add the dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. Fold in raisins.

4. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups and bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until muffins test done.

* I doubled the recipe and made 18 bigger muffins the second time.

So moist, So delicious, healthy and satisfying! What a way to start the morning!

Monarch Butterfly & Chickpea Salad

Some might wonder how I came up with the name of my blog, Butterfly Garden. There are several stories behind the naming, and the first goes back to my childhood when I was  called ‘Nabi‘  by my uncle. He had a difficulty pronouncing my Korean name correctly, so he chose to call me ‘Nabi’, which sounds quite close to my real name and means ‘butterfly’ in Korean. Coincidentally, I had a fascination with butterflies as a child and I always thought they were the most beautiful creatures on Earth, with their colourful patterns on the wings and the graceful flight  .

Another special memory with butterflies is associated with the book which I read as a teenager and I was deeply moved by. The translated short fiction- ‘Butterfly’ was the title, I think- is a narrative of a caterpillar who goes through hardship, self-doubt and endurance before finally transforming into a beautiful butterfly. Butterflies, unlike other insects, have unusually long larval life, and, looking back now, I might have empathised with the caterpillar on a cold, competitive journey in the pursuit of the beauty and dignity.  She gets pushed around, stood on, by the ruthless crowds of others pointlessly heading in the same direction, only repeating “They say there’s something up there, but I don’t know what.” What frightens and saddens her the most is finding herself doing the same as others, either consciously or unconsciously, but she never forgets what she wants – flying in freedom exhibiting the beauty of her wings.

Life is worth suffering as long as you believe that there is always something wonderful awaiting you at the end of the long, lonely journey.

The moment she takes flight into the sky with her long desired wings wide open, she realises what she’s admired and pursued all along has indeed been inside her, waiting for the right moment.

You see people who work around the clock, not even stopping for a fresh breath of air, only to get ahead of others but, sadly, to end up becoming like others. They make me think about the butterflies in the book and reflect on my own life. All I can do is to keep focusing on my true heart hoping that will lead me in the right direction, no matter how long the journey might take. Who knows? The longer the track, the more interesting things you might see along the way. I’ve never liked the idea of short distance running, I’d rather run a marathon.

You too? If that’s the case,  here I will offer you a meal full of protein and energy, which will make you last until the end of your journey. This chickpea salad is so quick n easy to make – as long as you’ve got dried chickpeas soaked overnight, boiled and kept in the fridge, ready to be thrown into any kind of salad mix you fancy at the time- or just keep some cans of chickpeas handy. Since I’m trying to go off canned food since I’ve got more time on hand, I bought bags of beans and chickpeas last week. So I’m afraid that I might need to warn you about lots of upcoming photos with beans and peas. *WARNING – Stay away from this blog if you have an aversion to protein rich food*

Chickpea Salad with Grape tomato and Capsicum

For the salad:

1.5  cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and cooked for 20-30 mins
1 capsicum, 1 red onion, 1 Lebanese cucumber, sliced
some grape or cherry tomatoes
parsley, coarsely chopped
some iceberg lettuce

*I added some of Borlotti beans on a whim. Try a variety of beans!

For the dressing:

1 garlic, minced
1 Tbs olive oil
1-2 tsp sesame oil – add 1 Tbs of tahini if available
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper to season

This may or may not serve 2 big eaters as a main, but will definatelybe enought for 4 average people as a side salad.

Tofu Haloumi Salad

People tend to associate tofu with Asian cooking, which is natural since tofu was originated in Asia. Nowadays, more and more westerners are turning their attention towards the health benefits of tofu or soy based food. However, how they eat tofu seems to be limited to a few dishes with deep fried bean curd or a bit of tofu floating in miso soup. Tofu, bland on its own, can bore a lot of people who haven’t develop their taste for it. I, on the other hand, growing up on tofu,  have various ways of eating tofu; off the top of my head….

Fresh tofu or egg coated and pan fried tofu garnished with spring onion and toasted seaweed and drizzled with soy sauce

Fried rice with fried crumbly tofu and egg

Fried tofu braised with sweet soy sauce or spicy soy sauce

Tofu and vegetable dumplings

Tofu pancake

Tofu burger patties – try making meat patties mixed with tofu

A variety of soup dishes with either hard or soft tofu

Satay Tofu – my all time favourite

The list goes on…..

Today, looking at a white block of tofu, I thought tofu and haloumi had a lot in common, then the idea of faking haloumi with tofu came to my mind. To copy the saltiness of haloumi, I coasted the nicely cut tofu squres with a reasonable amount of sea salt and left them to get all the water out of the tofu so that it would be nice and firm when cooked, and has the salty taste. I pan fried the tofu slices until golden and crispy and topped each with a bit of brie cheese to give a cheesy flavour to it. Top them on the bed of salad, a good mix of rocket leaves and some grilled eggplant, carrot or any vegies you can get hold of at the time, and drizzle a generous amount of extra olive oil and sprinkle some nuts, pine nuts or sunflower nuts or whatever nuts you have on hand.

I bet you will easily be  fooled by this fake haloumi.