Exploring the World of Cornmeal

…. and the art of DSLR photography are basically the two things that have been occupying my mind for the last couple of weeks. Before that was smoked paprika, though I haven’t shared any recipes with it yet. I’d been baking up a storm of cookies and biscottis during the absence of a camera. Not having a camera, I should admit, had somehow taken away my enthusiasm for cooking, to be more precise, the creative and artistic cooking, because I didn’t have to worry about how the food looked, without a camera to record it. The only person who had benefited from my hibernation period was “K” since he didn’t have to sit at the table watching dinner getting cold while it being photographed.   Now that I’ve got a new camera which does more amazing tricks, there will be more nights of cold dinner in the days, months or years to come. *sorry*

Last week I cooked “Polenta” at home for the first time and I was very satisfied with how it turned out. I had initially planed to make ‘Polenta pancake with grilled fruit’ for breakfast before I was offered fruit salad by my generous flatmate. So I passed on breakfast and moved on to the option of savoury cheese and basil polenta. It was the best polenta dish I had ever tasted, and will probably be until I try one in the real land of polenta, Italy.

To accompany the fabulous polenta was grilled salt pepper prawn with watercress salad, which turned out to be a great combo all together. Bitterness of the radish and watercress is well-rounded in the sweetness of the pear and honey dressing.

<Cheese Basil Polenta with Grilled Prawns and Watercress Salad>

I think ‘K’ and I got through the amount of prawns that one would over a month. Behind the scene, we had a big plate full of grilled prawns both shelled and unshelled for the hope of getting well-needed calcium for my injured foot. We ended up overeating everything and couldn’t move afterwards. That’s one of the problems of my cooking; it’s so addictive that the moment you lay a finger on any of my food, you will have a lifetime spell cast upon your tongue and be enslaved to my cooking.

Grilled Cheese Basil Polenta, delizioso!

The polenta was fairly easy to cook as you will soon find out, yet, the taste was so comforting and satisfying. I don’t see why I shouldn’t be cooking it every night, at least once a week. It would make a healthy and exotic alternative to bread or chips, served with any main dish of meat or seafood.

<Grilled Cheese Basil Polenta>

Ingredients: serves 2

3 cups (750ml) water
1 cup (170g) instant polenta
60g butter, chopped
½ cup (40g) finely grated parmesan
sea salt and cracked black pepper
½ cup basil leaves
2 cups (200g) grated mozzarella – can be reduced by half or substitute for extra 1/2 cup of parmesan
olive oil, for brushing

Method

Place the water in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to the boil. Gradually whisk in the polenta and cook, stirring, for 2–3 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat and stir through the butter, parmesan, salt and pepper. Pour half of the polenta into a 20cm-square tin lined with non-stick baking paper and spread to smooth. Top with the basil, mozzarella and remaining polenta. Refrigerate for 45 minutes or until set. Cut into squares and brush with oil. Heat a char-grill pan or barbecue over high heat. Cook until golden and the cheese has melted.

<Watercress Salad>

Ingredients: serves 2

a bunch of watercress, sprigs picked
two red radishes, sliced
1 pear, sliced
avocado (optional)
walnuts (optional)

Dressing

1 glove of garlic (just give a couple stabs and put in the whole glove to infuse the flavour into the dressing )
2 tsp Dijon mustard
3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbs lemon juice
1 Tbs white wine vinegar
2 tsp honey

Banana Pineapple Bread

Just a quick post today as a response to a recipe request….  of this incredibly moist and delicious bread.
This recipe is a make-over of  traditional banana bread, giving it a fruitier flavour as well as an interesting look.

I baked two loves; one to keep, the other to take to school. It quickly disappeared in the matter of second in the class. It was given ***** out of 5, so it must have been good. Being asked for a recipe would be one of the moments that make sacrificing the growing arm you get from all the whisking worthwhile.

So for this recipe I put extra teaspoon of cinnamon and even sprinkled some over the topping of banana and nuts because I’m crazy about cinnamon.

This recipe will definitely go to my to-do-again list. I’m not very keen on bananas, especially eating them by themselves. It probably has to do with the myth that they give you constipation unless eaten with milk, which I heard as a child. Of course, it’s a bull***. Bananas have many health benefits, and I know for a fact that a banana diet is a big hit among Japanese women. But for me, I’ve got to have them with cream, yogurt or any kind of dairy product, or cinnamon.

Banana Pineapple Bread

A few weeks ago I baked a chocolate banana swirl cake, which was another twist to the conventional recipe, but I’ll tell you that this is definitely the winner. Banana and pineapple go perfectly together. I’ve been having this for breakfast for the last few days, and it keeps me going right up until lunchtime without feeling peckish as I usually do. So I guess banana diet works! OR it might be because of the extra slice I end up eating not being able to resist the yummy thing and reaching for more and more.

Yield: 2 loaves

Ingredients:

3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon - *2 tsp
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
2 cups sugar – *½ cup
1 cup oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 medium bananas)
1 cup crushed pineapple, well drained
*1/3 cup toasted walnuts or pecans, chopped

* is my own variation

Instructions:

1. In large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

2. In another mixing bowl, beat together oil, sugar and the eggs, then vanilla and beat until well mixed.

3. Pour wet ingredients into bowl of dry ingredients and add banana (leave 1/2 cup, mixed with 1 tsp cinnamon for topping), and stir until moistened. Don’t overbeat.

4. Pour batter into two greased and floured loaf pans *(use smaller loaf pans — 6×3-inch, or use several mini loaf pans). Pour the leftover banana over the batter and sprinkle the nuts.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 – 50 minutes or until loaves test done.

Note: * Since I didn’t have small loaf pan I used the normal 20×10 loaf pan and I made one

Cheesy Night

I’ve just finished my last book; the only benefit that I’m getting from my foot injury is to get more time to read; books or other blogs. I was sitting out on the balcony by myself, reading, in the company of a cheese board and two bottles of red wine, one Aussie red of Italian variety ‘Barbera’ from the Wine Week event and imported Italian red ‘Illuminati Riparosso’ recommended by my local bottle shop. I just wanted to compare those two (of course, I didn’t drink them all by myself) They both had a nice balance of fruit and structure with very soft tannins, which makes them perfect wine to drink with cheese, anti-pesto or pasta dishes. If I have to choose one, I’d probably go for Illuminati for its deeper finish.

from the balcony

We think we pick books we read, but that night I wondered if a book falls into our hands for a purpose. Or rather, we interpret what’s written in the book to fit our own situation as does the same film leave different impressions on different people.

One of the things in the book to which I related myself is that I am not the only weird one who continuously seeks adventures, trying different things and still keeps risking getting disappointed.

Sexual repetition depressed women, Nathan thought, whereas sexual repetition gratified men. Ditto Indian food: men found a curry they liked and ordered it every time. Women, having found one, kept risking disappointment by trying other things on the menu. …..Have the pasanda – you like the pasanda. But no, she’d do something insane. I think I’ll try the Keema Genghis. And then see? See? I don’t know why you can’t stick with what you know you like. Because it’s anti-life, she said. That was her handiest reduction, for life or anti-life ——–

Exploring and discovering different flavours is such an exciting experience, and having the same food twice, unless it’s really really good, seems a waste of time. Life is too short for that. I feel a lack of time whenever I realise how much you can do with food.

My greatest interest at the moment  is choosing the right camera. I’ve kind of graduated from a digital point and shoot camera; I pushed as far as I could with my little camera, and now I’d like to get into the DSLR world. It’s a big step in many ways,  price wise, technique wise, etc. I’m still deciding on which camera to get. The more research you do, the more confused you get; it’s a tough one especially when you are on a limited budget. I might have to go ahead with the first choice I made, but we’ll see what ends up in my hands. Hopefully, I will be snapping with a new upgraded camera next week. *excited & nervous*

As the night fell and clouds gathered, I started reaching for more cheese. God, I love cheese! Cheese, wine and music. What more would you dare to ask for?

Ah, by the way, I came across a great website on cheese, which covers almost every cheese products available in Australia. http://cheese.cookalmostanything.com I’ll be going back to it for the next few weeks, trying to get my hands on the cheese mentioned on the site. Hmm, now I feel like some creamy blue cheese on fennel bread with quince paste. Ciao.

I’ll leave some cheesy photos for you to enjoy while I munch on REALLY cheese. This is a cheese platter I had at a cafe attached to a cheese factory in Kaimai. It was a pretty generous serving compared to what you would normally get in a place in the city.

Since we were the last to order, the chef threw in some extra for us to try, which was blue cheese with manuka honey on baguette, very Kiwi, I reckon.

Among the nice assortments of dried fruit and nuts, what I particularly liked was the almonds coated with mixed spices, which freshened up the palate between cheeses .

I quite liked the French style washed rind brie, though, it had quite milder flavour than what would be expected from a washed rind range.

Summer Cake Parade

Mango Lime Cheesecake (unbaked)

I feel a chill through my bone sitting out on a balcony in the evening, as the  season of abundant mangos is giving way to the season of pears, figs , quince, mushrooms, nuts and lots of root vegetables such as parsnips, fennel and celeriac. So I decided to make something to drag out the last perfume of  summer by baking this.

You’d make a big mistake if you dismissed this recipe as just an ordinary cheesecake. There are four things that make cake far better than others.

1. Baking free, therefore, hassle free, Quick n Easy!

2. Egg free (Is it good? Cholesterol free? Just leave it at that for now)

3. Yoghurt added, therefore healthy and light

4. Healthy almond crumble base, no ordinary biscuit, therefore, low-carb

5. Can be eaten slightly frozen, taste a bit like gelato ice cream, perfect for summer days

Does the list sound convincing enough to read on?

It have never occurred to me to peel mangos with a peeler before. It was so handy-dandy.

Mango Lime Cheesecake (Unbaked)
Adapted from A Daily Obsession

250 g Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
60g sugar – increase the amount up to 120 depending how sweet tooth you have, but since it’s a healthy cake there’s no point doing that

1 1/2 cup mango puree
200 ml mango yoghurt – or heavy cream for creamier taste
100 ml heavy cream, whipped

1 cup  Arnotts Wheat Shreds
1/2 cup almond meal
50g butter, melted

1 1/2 T gelatine powder
60 ml water

juice and zest of 1 lime

Method

1.Process the biscuits into crumbs and mix with almond meal. Add butter and mix well, then press it into the base of a 22 cm/8 1/2″ round springform pan. Bake at 180′c for 10 mins. Cool it before pouring in the mouse.

*If you want the simple way out, just get some sponge cake and line it to 1 cm thick.

2.Whip cream cheese and sugar in your machine until light and fluffy.

3.Mix mango puree (keep 3 T for glaze) and yoghurt with a metal spoon until well-blended and fold into (2).

4.Mix gelatin powder and water in a small metal cup and set this over a pot of boiling water (double boil it) until the gelatine dissolves. Let it cool and mix it well into above mango mixture. Leave this mixture in the fridge while you do the next step. This will help set the mousse later.

5. Whip the cream until stiff and fold it into the mango mixture until well-blended. Finally, whisk the mango mixture and the gelatine syrup quickly into a mousse. Let it set in the fridge.

Other Ingredients:
mango slices and mint leaves for garnishing
2 t gelatine powder
2 T water
3 T (~30 ml) mango puree

6. Slice some mangoes for garnishing. Make a glaze by mixing gelatine powder with 2 T water and double-boil it until gelatine dissolves. Add the mango puree and mix well. Pour glaze (keep 1 T for the sliced mangoes) onto the top of the set cake, decorate the cake with the mango slices and spoon retained mango glaze over them. Put cake back into fridge to chill.

7. Keep cake chilled until ready to serve. That’s it!

I kept the cake in the freezer, sliced, and left each slice to thaw for 10-20 mins before eating. I couldn’t tell if I was eating ice cream or cake, a bit of both I guess. It definately cooled down my hot(?) body, hot hot? or hot, hot? The latter. *Cheeky *

Pineapple Layered Coconut Cake with Passionfruit frosting

This is  a real geeky photo.

I often take pictures in the morning before I head off to work in case I don’t have time for my food shots in the afternoon. I would do anything to get my shot with natural lighting. One Friday morning I hurriedly took a picture of the cake, which I was to take to school that day, so I couldn’t be bothered about the settings and just grabbed the toys at my arms reach and a plastic knife for a laugh. I hope George Lucas might come across this photo and offer me a fortune.

Enjoy this summery, fruity dessert with nice champaign!

Ingredients (serves

• 125g butter, softened
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1 large lemon, rind finely grated
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 cups self-raising flour, sifted
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup desiccated coconut

· Pineapple Cream Layer

• 400g can pineapple
• 200 ml heavy cream, whipped
• 1 lemon, rind finely grated

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 6cm deep, 9cm x 19cm (base) loaf pan or 22 cm springform pan. Line base and sides with baking paper, allowing a 2cm overhang at both long ends.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat butter until light and fluffy. Add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until sugar is dissolved. Add lemon rind and half the egg. Beat well. Add remaining egg and beat until well combined.
3. Using a large metal spoon, gently stir flour, milk and coconut into butter mixture (do not over-mix). Spoon mixture into prepared loaf pan. Smooth surface. Bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow cake to cool for 10 minutes in pan. Lift onto a wire rack to cool completely.
4. Make lemon icing: Sift icing sugar into a bowl. Add sour cream and lemon rind. Stir until well combined. Pour icing over cake. Allow to set. Serve.

Passionfruit Cream Cheese Frosting 

• 30g butter, softened
• 80g cream cheese, softened and cubed
• 1 1/2 cups icing sugar, sifted
• 2 passionfruits

1. Cream butter, cream cheese and icing sugar together. Don’t over beat the frosting.
2. Fold in pulp from one passion fruit. Mix well.
3. Swirl frosting on cupcakes. To decorate, squeeze some pulp on top.

Next on Butterfly …..“Black Forest+Tiramisu”, which has proved my culinary intrepidity and is considered to be by far the greatest work. Stick around for the masterpiece.

Oyster Mushroom with Fennel and Hazelnut

Oyster Mushroom with Fennel and Hazelnut

It has been a long time since my last pasta entry. I guess pasta is more of wintery comfort food along with Indian curry. There was a hilarious incident during class where when one of Korean students made a comment about pasta saying it was fatty, the passionate Italian student immediately came to the defence of the Italian national dish, throwing his hands in the air (typical Italian body language), all excited. The discussion, which went on for good 20 minutes, gave the whole class a teary laugh and made the poor Korean girl give an official apology for disgracing pasta and the population of Italy. We went back to our lesson, feeling relieved and thankful that it didn’t lead to World War Three. Instead, it gave us an opportunity to taste authentic tuna pasta cooked by the real Italian!!!! It was great and it proved to the girl that Italian can be light and tasty. *myth busted*

I wonder which side I would stand on if there were a war between the two countries. Probably… Italy for food, as I did during the classroom debate.

It reflexs the truth of misrepresented images of Italian food in many Asian countries. Their experience of Italian food makes people believe that all Italian dishes are cheesy, oily and creamy.

I often go to Paddy’s market on weekends to get different varieties of fungi, not button muchrooms, such as oyster, enoki, pine, shitake, etc. I love the flavour and texture of mushrooms, and mushrooms are so great on pizza and pasta.

So now I have oyster mushrroms and it is time to think of the flavour to compliment them. Poking in the fridge to come up with an idea, I spotted Italian cheese, pecorino, which I had had unopened for a month. Seeing the chance, I instantly decided on cheesy flavour and the things you see in the picture are what ended up as the base of my sauce.

I tried a new type of pasta, which I hadn’t used before, really thick feccucine made with semolina. You can alter this recipe to your preference by using different herbs such as sage and cilantro, and by adding a bit of tomato paste and cream to make pink sauce. Don’t be afraid of playing around with any ingredients you have on hand.

To make this lovely flavoursome pasta for 4

any pasta of your choice

for the sauce

300g oyster mushroom
3 shallots, finely sliced
3 clove garlic, minced
2 anchovy fillets, chopped
1 cup dry white wine
1 Tbs butter
3 Tbs olive oil
1/2 c pecorino cheese, grated
1/4 c parsley, chopped
fennel leaves

for the topping

1 bulb fennel, diced
1/3 cup roasted hazelnut, chopped
olive oil
salt, pepper, caynnene pepper to taste (for a zing!)

• Make the topping firstSauté the garlic, fennel and nuts in olive oil until golden brown. Remove from the pan and set aside.
• Make the sauce nowSlice  the oyster mushroom petals if they are too big. Chop any stem or core pieces from the mushroom.Sauté the shallots, anchovy and garlic in olive oil until the shallots just start to turn translucent. Remove from pan and set aside.

  Add some more olive oil to the pan and then the mushrooms. Gently stir them over medium high heat for a few minutes. Add wine, lower heat and cover. Cook for 5 minutes. Remove cover and stir gently over medium heat until the liquid is nearly gone.Stir in the reserved shallot/garlic mixture, parsley, fennel leaves, butter, cheese.

• Cook the pasta in boiling salted water. When cooked, remove a dozen or so of the larger mushroom pieces to a side plate. Then, with tongs, lift the pasta directly into the pan with the mushroom sauce, allowing a little of the pasta water to ride along. Over medium heat, lift and toss the pasta to mix with the sauce (be careful not to break up the mushroom pieces).Serve with the reserved mushroom pieces and a sprinkling of the fennel/garlic topping and, if desired, a stalk or two of chives.

Verdict: It was a nice combination of flavours, but I “whoops-a-daisyed” a bit too much caynenne pepper into the topping, and that overpowered the delicate flavours of fennel and hazelnut, but overrall, it is worth a try, I THINK. I recommend nice rocket salad to go with this.