Eat.Live.Recipes

Weekend Herb Blogging #286

2011-06-06T19:44:00.000-07:00

This round we are hosting Weekend Herb Blogging! Let's get the ball rolling with our very own entry. A simple salad dressing which you can tweak to your own liking.

Here are the items needed.

Juice of one lemon or calamansi.
Apple cider vinegar
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper
and a glass bottle to shake things up.

Add equal parts of juice and olive oil into the glass bottle. And half portion of apple cider vinegar.
Add in salt and pepper to taste.

It will look something like this. Options for you to add different juices or even fruits or herbs to it. I especially like it with different fresh herbs, depends on what is the main course that is served alongside.

Shake it up and the dressing is ready to use! (or tweak)

It will look milky like this! I prefer the calamansi version. Add in some zest to spike things up a little. Goes especially well with butterhead and tomatoes.

And now for the rest of the entries.

Beetroot Chutney

Rinku from Cooking in Westchester serves us this delightful beetroot chutney. An explosive mix of flavours is sure to get the appetite going. And a tip on how to get your roasted beetroot sweet and buttery.

Sparkling Rose Cocktail

Cindy from Cinzia shares with us this magical drink which is perfect for the summer. Elder syrup, soda water and mint is my favourite mixture. It is so versatile. I love it with chandonnay and now, with this sharing from Cindy, I have yet added another wonderful cocktail to my list! Thank you Cindy!

Leek and Oyster Mushroom Tart

Our very own Haalo from cookalmostanything shares with us the use of leek and oyster mushroom to create this wonderful tart. This rich and flavourful tart is sure to make any weekend afternoon gathering a buzz!

Lemon Cheesecake Macaroons

Sue from You can do it at home shows us the secret of making these delicious macaroons and combining it with a ultimate tasting filling... Lemon cheesecake! What a delight to have with the uplifting spirits of the citrus and creamy, buttery taste of the cream cheese. So tempting!

Crostini with oven roasted cherry tomatoes

Simona from Briciole pairs the wonderful sweetness of the roasted cherry tomatoes with a freshly baked crostini. A simple quick serving recipe that packs a delicious punch.

Forty Clove ChickPeas and Brocolli

Janet from My Taste Space presents to us a highly nutritious and easy to make recipe in chickpeas and brocolli. The flavours brought together by the garlic and lemon-y sauce will certainly appeal to the palate of all ages. A great way to get your kids to take their greens perhaps? :)

And that's a wrap!

Weekend Herb Blogging #282: Tomato Eggplant Pasta

2011-05-04T06:39:00.000-07:00

This entry is written for WHB #282. Astrid from Paulchens Foodblog is hosting for this round.

Yet another simple to put together recipe from our resident chef Clement!

Ingredients (as shown in photo)

Spaghetti (cooked and left to cool)
Anchovies
Eggplant
Black Olives
Capers
Tomato
Parsley
Grated Parmesan
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

Steps
1. Cut eggplant into strips, about the length of match sticks.

2. Cut tomato into halves, remove seeds and dice.

3. Slice olives, cross-wise.

4. Heat up some olive oil in a frying pan. Add in salt and pepper. Melt a good knob of butter as the oil warms.

5. Add one strip of anchovy in and mash it up.

6. Add eggplant strips, sliced olives and capers. Fry it up a little bit.

7. Add in cooked spaghetti. And finally the diced tomatoes when the pasta warms through.

8. Serve in a plate. Sprinkle a good handful of grated parmesan and garnish with parsley.

And we are done! Suggest that the pasta is served with a slice of lemon. The marriage of flavours from the anchovy, olives and capers together with the eggplant and tomatoes is simply divine. Simple ingredients that provides a myraid of flavours. And it's wholesome food, prepared in under 5 minutes.

Enjoy!

WHB#270: Eggplant Dip

2011-02-13T16:24:00.000-08:00

Lynne from Cafe Lynnylu is hosting this edition of Weekend Herb Blogging and this week, we bring you the awesome Eggplant Dip!

You will need:

1 medium sized eggplant
olive oil
salt & pepper
lime
parsley

And that's it. Simple and nice.

Steps:

1. Using a fork, make holes in the eggplant. Check out the video below for 'live' demonstration.

2. Bake in oven, at 250 deg C for about 20 mins. And this is what you should see at the end of the baking.

3. Cut the baked eggplant open, and using a spoon, remove all contents and place in bowl.

The soft flesh should yield easily. Use all of them, seeds and all!

4. Add in juice of 2 limes, chopped parsley, olive oil, salt and pepper. Using a fork, mash up.

5. Serve on toast or as a dip! This will taste great will a sunny-side up for breakfast or use as an healthy alternative to whipped potatoes on your mains.

Enjoy!

WHB#269: Homemade Lemongrass Tea

2011-02-06T06:21:00.000-08:00

Janet from Taste Space is hosting this edition of Weekend Herb Blogging .

And this week we are bringing together a crowd favourite... Lemongrass Tea! Clement has added a twist to it by adding real tea which really escentuates the lemony flavours of the lemongrass and a very refreshing, delightful drink on a hot, sunny day.

Lemongrass is belived to have antiseptic effects, especially good for a sore throat.

You will need:

10 stalks lemongrass
English breakfast tea (10 teabags)
rock honey, 500grams (as seen in picture)
Water (5litres)

Steps:

- Bruise lemongrass by hitting it with a blunt object. Cut sections of about 1/3 of total length. (ie. one stalk will yield 3 sections.

- Put 5 litres of water to boil in a large pot with the sections of lemongrasss and teabags, at high heat for an hour.

-Add rock honey, stir to dissolve and take pot off heat.

- Leave to cool and infuse for at least 3 hours. Best left in the fridge overnight.

- Serve cold.

WHB#268 Balsamic Strawberries Crumble

2011-01-30T06:59:00.000-08:00

Astrid from Paulchens Foodblog is hosting this edition of Weekend Herb Blogging and we have a nice and simple dessert for you!

Chinese New Year is just round the corner for us in Singapore and time to serve out these little treasures in the reunion dinners! And again Chef Clement strikes again with a simple yet delightful treat!

You will need:

Plain flour

Cold butter

Pinch of salt

Caster sugar

Strawberries, quartered

Here is a video for the cooking steps, followed by the text. Enjoy.

Steps:

Rub butter into plain flour till crumble bits are formed. Slowly add in extra flour if texture is not consistent.

Add a little salt to taste.

Toss balsamic, a little sugar with the cut strawberries.

Cover with crumble bits. DO NOT pack crumble bits. Leave loose.

Bake in 200 deg C for 5 mins.

Serve hot.

WHB#267: Chick Pea Hummus

2011-01-23T01:20:00.000-08:00

Min from Honest Vanilla is hosting Weekend Herb Blogging for the first time! Let's welcome her!

This week, Clement and I present.... Chick Pea Hummus!

You will need:
Chickpeas (soaked overnight) or 1 can of chickpeas
chilli flakes
pinch of parsley
lemon juice
olive oil
salt & pepper

Method:

Steam the chickpeas till tender.

Put steamed chickpeas in a blender and blend till smooth. Add a little hot water (or chicken stock) if paste is too dense.

Add chilli flakes, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. (Parsely is optional, but adds another dimension to the taste)

Spoon on top of pita bread, toast and serve!

Yet another simple and nutritious recipe brought to you by our resident chef.

The hummus can be used as a substitute for whipped/mashed potatoes. It taste really great with roasted chicken.

WHB #266: Tomato, Onion, Pesto Toast

2011-01-16T07:25:00.000-08:00

This entry is written for Weekend Herb Blogging #266. This week's version is hosted by Cinzia from Cindystar.

This week we are back again with Chef Clement and a simple, straight-forward and definitely healthy recipe for a quick bite.

You will need:

(for pesto)
Fresh basil (use sweet basil) 200g
Pine nuts 50g
dash of salt and pepper
olive oil
grated parmesan 50 g

(the rest)
fresh onion rings
sliced fresh tomatoes
light cream cheese
toasted multi-grain bread
slice of cheese (if desired)

Blend basil, pine nuts and enough olive oil to just cover the herb and nuts.
Add grated parmesan cheese. Top up olive oil if desired.
Add salt and pepper to taste.

Lightly toast sliced multi-grain bread.
Spread pesto on top. For a hearty flavour, mix cream cheese with pesto before spreading it on the bread.
Layer with sliced onion rings and tomato slices.
Garnish with whole sweet basil leaves.

Enjoy this as a light meal. This combination will probably go well with cheddar cheese slice, bacon, ham or even a sunny-side up!

WHB#265: Poached Pear & Apricot in Red Wine

2011-01-08T17:53:00.000-08:00

This post is written for Weekend Herb Blogging #265, hosted by Haalo who had been driving this marvellous concept. And 2011 is the 5th year of WHB! I missed out the last post of 2010 on 20 Dec, but nevertheless, here we go.

But before we start, let me introduce to you a good friend of mine. Someone whom I met through my journey of food. Kinda surreal but we 'knew' each other way back, when I was still in college and taking baby steps in my culinary adventures. At that time I was intrigued by his style of cooking, never did I expect to meet the man in person when I was invited for a tasting at his restaurant and so there we go our friendship blossomed. :)

Executive Chef Clement Ronald Ng

We will be combining our effort to share our passion in food and WHB is our first step. You can read more about Clement here.

Poached Pear & Apricot in Red Wine

This is a special recipe from Chef Clement. And I have to tell you, it is AWESOME.

You will need:
Packham Pear (Peakham Pear)
Honey
Sugar
Red Wine (Shiraz/ Cabernet Sauvignon)
cloves
cinnamon
orange zest
dried apricots

Method:

1. Skin pears, core the pear from the bottom, leaving the stem. The idea is so that the red wine can be absorbed both ways, from the outside and the inside. Put them into a heavy bottom saucepan.

2. Add red wine, enough of it to cover the pears. Pick a strong wine like a shiraz and cab sav.

3. Add honey and sugar. Add enough to make it sweeter than you intend it to be. The sweetness will drop as the pear soaks in the liquid.

4. Boil the pears in the wine, sugar and honey mixture. Add cloves, cinnamon, orange zest and dried apricots. This should take about 20 mins. A good test is to use a cake tester, stick it into the pear. A nicely cooked pear should stick to the cake tester and be easily taken out of the pan. It should slowly slide off the cake tester. And that's your perfectly cooked pear.

5. Let the mixture cool. Put the pears and apricots into a container and leave it sealed for at least a month.

You can re-use the red wine mixture if you are doing the pears in batches. The explosion of flavours for the pears and apricots will literally blow you (and your guests, if you are generous enough to share) away. Serve with vanilla ice-cream.

Enjoy.

Weekend Herb Blogging #263 - Round-Up

2010-12-15T01:24:00.000-08:00

This week we play host to Weekend Herb Blogging. Been a crazy week with all the technology stuff failing on me. Missing emails and crashing firmware... lucky enough the WHB entries were all retained. (or were they?) Hmm...

First up we have Brii Valsorda - Garda lake -Italy, with her lovely Lussekatter - St Lucia Buns

Very interesting custom in Scandinavia. I always love the story behind our (traditional food fare). Simple to make and must be very tasty from the looks of it! Why not bring a taste of Scandinavia (and tradition) to your home this Christmas?

Next up is Haalo with Black Lentils and Speck Crostini.

Flavourful lentils paired with speck (what's this? Read Haalo's entry!) is definitely a great match! I love the suggestion of having an layer of goat cheese. Definitely will taste awesome.

Cinzia from Cindystar has a Sparkling Happy Holidays cocktail to tickle our palate as we welcome the festive season!

Cindy included an interesting write up on promengranate and included a quick recipe to this drink. Promengranate happens to be my favourite fruit of 2010... and I will cheers to that.... with this sparkling cocktail!

Anh from A food lover's journey, Melbourne, Australia, brought to us Poached stone fruits with jasmine and chrysamthemum flowers.

Colourful and I believe totally flavourful with all the fruits and flowers combined together. Love the cheerful outlook that this drink brings and I am sure the fruity and floral essence will perk up your day too!

Yasmeen Healthnut from Ohio, USA brings to us Cranberry Upma.

Yasmeen shares her insights on cranberries and some of her favourite dishes and variations of how to prepare the berry! Very enlightening indeed! A South Indian dish with cranberries? There you go! Fusion at it's Christmas best.

And last but not least, Janet from Toronto, Canada present to us, African Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew.

African cuisine with a touch of creativity! Janet shares some tips in whipping this unique dish.

Peach Mousse with Chocolate Crumple

2010-08-09T07:18:00.000-07:00

This was part of the round-up for WHB last week and I thought it was really interesting. And since a get-together BBQ was happening, I decided that I should contribute to desserts!

The recipe was adapted from Cindystar.

Ingredients:

Serves 8/10 cups:

1 kg peach/apricots (since peaches and apricots are very pricey here in Singapore, I substituted it with canned peaches. Will use half fresh/half canned fruits the next time round.)
70 g butter
70 g sugar

for the crumble:

100 g finely chopped dark chocolate (use at least 70% cocoa. I used a 74% one for the extra bitterness)
100 g finely chopped naturally baked almonds. Pecans would be great too.
100 g soft butter (salted)
90 g flour
50 g caster sugar
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

- Drain the canned peaches and put them in a large pan with butter and sugar. Cook about 20 minutes until the butter and sugar melts into a thick syrup on low heat. Set aside some for garnishing and blend the remaining. Let cool and store in the fridge. Add a teaspoon of brandy or cointreau (orange liquer) for the extra kick.

- Mix butter with flour, almonds, sugar and cocoa powder. Use only the tips of your fingers while mixing. The trick is NOT to melt the butter. I used a block of chocolate. Use a chopper to finely chop the chocolate by hand. Do not use a electric chopper. It will melt the block because of the heat. Add chocolate, mix well and let the mixture in the refrigerator to harden.

- Coarsely spread the mixture on a baking tray (lined with parchment paper) and bake at 150° for about 30/45 minutes. Set your oven on fan mode if you can. Crumble halfway through baking with a fork. Continue baking till the crumble is dry. Take care not to burn the crumble.
- Divide peach cream into cups, cover with the crumble and garnish with a slice of peach.

CSN Stores give away!

2010-08-03T09:46:00.000-07:00

CSN Stores contacted me about hosting a give away on my blog!

I first noticed CSN Stores when I started visiting other blogs and I am pleased to tell you that someone here is going to win a $50 gift certificate for anything from dinnerware, to cork flooring, to slipcovers and diaper bags!! With over 200 online stores to choose from, you will definitely find something to spend your one-time-use CSN $50 gift certificate on!!

As many of you would know, I am a sucker for good dinnerware. I believe eating is a wholesome experience and what's better than to be able to serve your wonderful food and fabulous wares?

From dutch ovens,

to magnificent glasswares,

I am sure you will find the ideal cookware that you need. The voucher can also be used in other sites which sells many many things which you would find useful!

This offer is for addresses in US and Canada only as CSN stores only ships FREE to these two countries. However, Singaporeans you should be able to use VPost! Or get your friends who are in these countries to help you with your purchases! It is a saving on top of savings!

All you have got to do is to email me at @huan and tell me how you are going to use the voucher. A ballot will be conducted and the winner will be announced at this space! Closing date: 25 August 2010

WHB#244: Truffles

2010-08-01T07:39:00.000-07:00

We are back for WHB! Laurie from Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska is the host for this week's Weekend Herb Blogging. And this week I will discover the magic of the diamond of fungi - Truffles!

Black Truffles [Source]

Had been fascinated by truffles ever since the first time I tasted it at a local restaurant. It was a risotto with truffles generously shaved over it. The host of WHB, Haalo has a very enticing recipe a truffle risotto here. It is a pity that it is hardly available here in Singapore, and I am on a active hunt to bring it in with help from family and friends overseas.

My passion for food always brings me to researching about ingredients. (hey, I am an engineer by training. gotta go down to details.ha.) Note: A not so appetising fact about the prized fungi follows. Skip the next paragraph if you do not want to risk the way you look at truffles again.

*Potential Appetite Spoiler*

Truffle Flavour: The musky aroma of black truffles comes from androstenone. Androstenone is a steroid that is present in the male underarm sweat and in the saliva of boars (to prompt a mating response from sows). Some people find androstenone repulsive while others are more tolerant of it.

*End of Potential Appetite Spoiler*

Truffles are basically subterranean mass of dense tissue with stiff structures and a earthy flavour. Raw white truffles are more pungent than black ones and are slightly garlicky, but their flavour is fleeting and is wiped out by too much heat. That is why truffles are usually served finely shaved (I want a truffle shaver!!!) onto hot food, like pasta or risottos at the table (plus what a visual sight!). This is to allow them to be slightly warmed and their flavour don't get dissipated before they reach your mouth!.

Truffle flavoured oil carries from a mild (white truffle oil) to rich (black truffle oil) and complex, mushroom-like flavour. It can be drizzled over carpaccio, scrambled eggs or plain pasta. Rich stuff like cream, butter or heavy cheeses goes great with the sh'room. Oh yah, of course, foie gras too, served on toasted bread with shavings of black truffles. Heavenly.

Truffle shavings on egg [Source]

Some tips on the usage of truffle:

Truffle season varies. For the best quality, use them in their respective season. For white truffles, spring (mid Feb to end May) and autumn (mid Sept to end Dec) are best while summer (May to end Oct) and winter (Jan to end Mar) are ideal for black truffles. Apparently different season brings out different tastes in the truffles. I won't know. Hadn't had a chance to taste all four types.

Truffles only grows in very specific conditions. The right climate, the right soil and the right host tree. Truffles forms a mutually beneficial relationship with its host tree, with both supplying each other with the essential material for growth. Read more on the internet, it is interesting. The pH level of the soil needs to be at 7 and only in uncontaminated soil that truffles will grow well to maturity. A great indicator of the extreme organic food? I am more attached to it already!

Truffles are great on their own! Do not boil, parboil, steam or marinate it. You will spoil the taste (and waste your money.) Canned truffles are (I really have no other choice) alternative. You should avoid cooking or freezing white truffles. And it does not goes well with seafood. Main gist: eat it raw.

Or, if you are feeling extravagrant, make truffle butter and stuffed in under chicken skin and bake it. It is heavenly. You can use other mushrooms like porcini too.

Red wines go best with truffles. Go for medium to full bodied reds to complement the woody fungi. White wine may be too acidic and wash out your palette.

A good sized truffle (30-50grammes) will go a long way.

Black Truffle [Source]

I really hope I can get my hands on some truffles soon!

*As truffles are not readily available in Singapore, pictures used are from other sites. Sources are all quoted at the bottom of the photos.*

Weekend Herb Blogging #243 - Round-Up

2010-07-26T06:49:00.000-07:00

Here is a round-up for our little summer party on Eat Read Live - Recipes!

Cardoons with Bechamel - Cook Almost Anything

Haalo from Australia shares with us this not very commonly used member of the artichoke family - the cardoons! What a great name, especially useful to ~~con~~ encourage your kids to have their vegetables. A great alternative to the useful mashed/baked potatoes to go with your Sunday pork/chicken roast.

Herbed Cheese Sticks - Everything Herbed

Ela from the Phillipines shares with us the very unique (and tasty) version of cheese sticks.... with herbs! Coupled with a lemongrass drink, this is sure to be a knock-out for a snack or pre-dinner bite.

Mediterranean cous cous stuffed heirloom tomatoes - Mele Cotte

Chris from Atlanta (USA) shares with us a variety of the super tomatoes! Heirloom tomatoes. It is not available in this part of Asia for us and definitely a "wow" for me when I first saw the photos. Great stuff!

Lemon Balm Tea - Kits Chow

Christine from Vancouver, Canada shares with us the soothing properties (and her gardening experience) of the Lemon Balm. Fantastic member of the family, Christine also included tips on how to use them to aroma-tise the house! Do you know that lemon is one of the most expensive herb to squeeze essential oils out of? I say, why use the oil when you can plant it yourself and use it like Christine!

Ethiopian Lentil Stew & Ethiopian Green Beans and Potatoes - Eats Well with Others

Joanne from NYC shares with us her close-shave experience of her day and the continued inspiration to have natural foods. Her Ethiopian dishes here looks packed to the brim with tastes and flavours while staying au naturel!

Strawberry Custard Tart - Eat.Read.Live

My very own entry after a couple of months break. Strawberries, don't you just love them?

Strawberry Custard Tart

2010-07-25T07:51:00.000-07:00

It's WHB #243 and we are super honoured to be hosting this edition of Weekend Herb Blogging. Here's a quick summary of the rules, if you are always cooking, why not share the knowledge with the rest of the community? It's a rewarding experience. :)

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Inspired by the challenge to bake a wedding cake for a close friend's wedding, wifey and I were on a strawberry rampage for a while. We came upon this delightful recipe from a friend's website and decided to give it a shot! And oh man, do we love it, that we repeated the recipe (which we seldom do, we like varieties in our food.) again the following weekend!

We love our strawberries. Japanese ones are the best quality, shape, colour but pricey. And the American ones, especially those with long stems are good and sweet, especially in June. But they don't make good presentation material as they come in all shapes and sizes.
Thus, we prefer the Korean versions as they are mainly of the same size and with very nice rounded crowns which make them easy to process and set.

We used a 9-inch pie dish for this recipe.

Shortcrust Pastry

150g plain flour
60g salted cold butter, cubed
2-3 tbsp cold water
100g dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa)

Custard

1 egg
2 egg yolks
200ml milk
100ml cream
2 tbsp honey (I used manuka honey, very distinctive taste)
30g sugar
1tbsp corn starch

Use as many strawberries as you can fit as topping.

Using your fingertips, rub the cubes of butter into the flour. You should get yellow pellets, taking care not the melt the butter. Add the cold water a little at a time and mix by hand to form a ball. Wrap in clingfilm (to keep the moisture in) and chill in the fridge for at least 20mins.
Preheat oven to 190C
Roll out pastry to fit into pie dish. Pierce pastry base with fork. Bake for 20mins until the pastry is dry and golden brown, making sure it's cooked through. Let cool.
Melt dark chocolate and spread evenly over the base of cooked pastry.
Whisk egg, cornflour and egg yolks together and make a smooth mixture with no lumps.
Heat milk, cream, honey and sugar in a pan until boiling point. (Add vanilla essence if desired. We used Madagascar vanilla bourbon in ours)
Remove from heat, and add a little of the milk mixture to the egg mixture, a little at a time, while whisking the combined mixtures continuously.
After combining both mixtures, return to pan and gently heat until mixture thickens, be careful not to burn the mixture.
Transfer to a bowl, cover with clingfilm and let cool. Whisk in a little milk or cream if the custard becomes too stiff.
Spread custard over the tart base and top with strawberries. Brush over some jam to glaze. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to set.

Note: Do not keep assembled pie with custard for more than 6 hours as the crust tend to become soggy. Finish the tart within 3 days. Trust me, it won't survive that long.

Weekend Herb Blogging #243

2010-07-19T22:43:00.000-07:00

Had taken a hiatus from posting (but definitely not cooking) for a good three months now due to other commitments. So I am extremely honoured to be given the opportunity to kick-start the posting again by hosting the upcoming Weekend Herb Blogging (19-25 July) and a big thank you to Haalo for letting us to have the chance to be the potluck blog this week showcasing the dishes from around the globe. The rules are simple, check out the details here.

WHB #224 Round-Up

2010-03-14T18:55:00.000-07:00

Interesting weekend with loads to do and look forward to in the following week. I hope the weekend was as eventful to all of you as it had for us. The Pancakes celebrat(ing) our first year anniversary, in stages and how apt that we are hosting our first WHB. (It was a coincidence, totally not planned.) We love food. And that's the best celebration of life (and our union).

~~------------------------------------------------~~

And now to start our pot-luck party from around the world. The #224 one.

Sri Lankan Pineapple Curry, Maninas: Food Matters

Maninas, a Croatian from UK shares with us the wonders of putting together curry leaves and pineapples. The marriage of the flavours is oooh-so-tempting!

Steamed Hairy Gourd with Meat Stuffing, teczcape - an escape to food

tigerfish, US weaves magic with the highly versatile hairy gourd (mother) after a 3-year hiatus (of the vegetable) from the kitchen.

Turmeric Zucchini, Cindystar

Cinzia of Lake Garda, Italy introduces the marvels of turmeric and uses it in a very simple recipe that yields a great tasting munchie.

Jerusalem Artichoke and Parsley Risotto, Allotment 2 Kitchen

Mangocheeks from West Scotland shares the different uses of Jerusalem Artichoke (a type of sunflower) and a very nice risotto recipe.

Stir-fry Cauliflower, Sumadhura

Kiran of Lowell,Massachusetts turns a page from mama's cookbook. The easy, quick stir-fry way to serve the very lovely cauliflower while preserving the nutritious value of it!

Stir-fried Shrimps and Pepper, Kits Chow

Christine of Vancouver, Canada tested out her new wok with this very classic chinese recipe which marries the freshness of the sea (prawns) and the peppery greens.

Citrus Dust, KitchenButterfly

Oz, of the Netherlands announces the magical enchantments of the Citrus Dust. A great way to convert your citrus harvest to a sprinkle of magic that can be used almost anywhere!

Pesto Fish, Kitchen Slave

First time participant of WHB, Cynthia, from Vancouver, Canada was short on ingredients to cook what she planned but exhibited her creativity and whipped out an impromptu dish using what she found in the fridge!

Kumquat-curd filled cakes with kumquat whipped cream, Mele Cotte

Chris of Atlanta Georgia shares these wonderful cakes that packs a citrus surprise! A great alternative to the regular citrus family that we are so used to.

Duhkha, briiblog

Brii from Lake Garda, Italy toasts a nice nutty mix that can be used extensively, in salads, vegetable dishes and I suspect that will taste great on its own!

Herb-crusted King Oyster Mushroom, Cook Almost Anything

Haalo from Australia, the great manager of the WHB series, turned inspiration when dining out into a great treat in the kitchen. These wonderful slices of royalty will sure come great on their own as a snack or as a side!

Mushroom Risotto with Pine Nuts, Eat.Read.Recipes

And my very own entry for this week's WHB shares my personal fascination of the pine nuts.

And that's is for our round up. Host for WHB#225 - March 15th to March 21st will be Yasmeen from Healthnut Send your posts to YasmeenHealthnut AT gmail DOT com

Weekend Herb Blogging - Mushroom Risotto with Pine Nuts

2010-03-12T23:47:00.000-08:00

It's WHB #224 and WE are hosting this edition of Weekend Herb Blogging. Here's a quick summary of the rules, if you are interested in this weekly activity. I am immensely excited as the entries for this week comes flowing in.

Focus of this week will be the pine nuts. Pine nuts comes from the seeds of various species of pine trees, generally in Mexico, southwestern US and Europe with Spain and Italy the world's top producers. A single pine cone contains hundreds of seeds but the cones needs to be heated to open and loosen the nuts. Thereafter the hull protecting each individual nuts must to cracked open to obtain the individual nuts which explains the high cost of pine nuts. (It sells for SGD5-7 per 100grams here in Singapore.)

Aren't they beautiful? Pine nuts contain 24 grams of protein for every 100 grams and provide one of the most protein among nuts or seeds. They are also an excellent source of vitamins B1 and B3, and trace metals such as manganese, copper, magnesium, potassium etc... They are believed to help produce a strong and healthy heartbeat, lower blood pressure and improve blood flow.

Taste-wise, the pine nuts releases a buttery taste when bitten into with a hint of spice, which taste very like thyme. The nutty aroma follows as the nut is chewed further into. They can be taken raw as snacks or added to salads or rice dishes to provide volume or supplement protein intake. Roasting pine nuts prior to topping meat dishes will greatly intensify their flavour.

I used pine nuts in my risotto and viola! It added crunch and texture to the creamy risotto and added depth to the taste!

Mushrooom Risotto with Pine Nuts.

(adapted from Jamie Oliver's basic risotto recipe)

You will need: (Serves 2)

400ml chicken stock
40g unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 stalk celery finely chopped
1 small onion finely chopped
handful pine nuts
2 portobello mushrooms, diced
125g risotto rice
1 glass white wine
salt, grounded black pepper
40g freshly grated parmesan cheese

1. Melt butter in oilve oil. Soften the onion, garlic and celery in the pan with the oil and melted butter on low heat.

2. Add in the rice when the vegetables soften and lightly fry, on medium heat. Keep stirring. Once the rice looks transluscent, add the wine.

3. Once the wine had cooked into the grains, turn down the heat to low to prevent overcooking the grains on the surface with the center still hard. Add in the first ladle of stock together with a good pinch of salt. Continue stirring to massage the starch out of the risotto. Add stock ladle by ladle while stirring making sure each ladle of stock is absorbed before adding the next.

4. Cooked till the risotto is soft but with a slight bite when bitten into. (If you run out of stock before this stage, just add hot water.)

5. Stir in the diced mushrooms, stir to mix well.

6. Turn off heat and add in shredded cheese and pine nuts. Mix well. Cover the pot/pan. The risotto will turn super creamy in the next couple of minutes.

7. Serve as soon as possible.

Announcing - Weekend Herb Blogging #224 Hosting

2010-03-08T21:40:00.000-08:00

What an exciting week! This week eat.read.live will be hosting the Weekend Herb Blogging and a big thank you to Haalo for letting us to have the chance to be the potluck blog this week showcasing the dishes from around the globe. The rules are simple, check out the details here.

Weekend Herb Blogging - Mandarin Orange Muffins with walnuts

2010-03-06T00:59:00.000-08:00

Been a busy week in the kitchen as I am taking a sabbatical from work. So back to Weekend Herb Blogging to share some of my adventures... from the cooking pit. Susan from The Well-Seasoned Cook is hosting this edition of Weekend Herb Blogging. Here's a quick summary of the rules, if you are interested in this weekly activity.

One of the must-have for the Lunar New Year (Chinese New Year) is mandarin oranges. It stands for prosperity and luck and we have to bring a pair when we go visiting during the festive period. It didn't help when the oranges are sold in cartons of 12, 18 or 24 depending on their sizes. Papa being his usual generous self bought us the carton that had 24 of the fruit. Needless to say, at the end of the festive period (14days) we still have about 20 of the mandarin oranges lying around.

Mandarin oranges belong to the citrus group and contains the usual goodness from that family. High in vitamin C and the skins full of flavour. These fruits are gorgeous, their thin skins make them easy to peel, and the juice taste great if you decide to pass it through the juicer.

Well, something had to be done to use up the oranges and they came in the form of muffins!

You will need (make 1 dozen)
(recipe modified from Martha Stewart's)

115g unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 & 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 mandarin oranges, peeled, segments cut into bite-size
1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped.
3/4 cups sugar (more if desired, I like it less sweet)
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 190 deg cel. Mix flour, baking powder and salt.

2. Coat thinly cut segments of mandarin orange with flour. (Prevents them from sinking to bottom during baking)

3. Beat butter and sugar till fluffy. Add in eggs, one at a time until combined. Add in vanilla.

4. Set mixer to low speed and add in flour mixture (from step 1). Add in milk, beating until just combined. Do not over mix.

5. Fold in mandarin orange segments and walnuts.

6. Scoop batter into a standard 12-cup muffin pan. Sprinkle mixture of sugar and nutmeg on top of the muffin batter.

7. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through until muffins are golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean. (It takes 20-30mins).

8. Transfer pan to cool for about 10 minutes. Turn muffins on their sides in the muffin cup and let cool. Best served warm.

Weekend Herb Blogging: Red Dates Tea

2010-02-21T05:37:00.000-08:00

Chinese New Year had been a busy round of spring cleaning and visiting. After one week of hiatus from WHB, the Pancakes are back again! Cinzia from Cindystar is hosting this edition of Weekend Herb Blogging and this week's feature will be none other than red dates!

Dates contain easily digested carbohydrates with a high sugar content of 60%. They are also an excellent source of fiber and trace elements like copper, potassium, manganese, magnesium, iron and phosphorus. Dates are often served with milk in the Middle East to make it a complete meal and they are also served alone or in desserts.

Dates are usually harvested in late autumn and early winter, but they store quite well and is available all year round. The dates used here are from China, and dried version is usually used by the Chinese in soups and nourishing desserts.

The extra large fruit you see, comparatively with the rest in the bowl, was brought back from Xi'an by my parents late last year when they went for a trip there. They are amazingly sweet, especially after adding them to a soup.

Red Dates Tea is considered nourishing and because of the colour (ruby-red) it is considered good luck to drink it, especially during this festive season (Lunar New Year).

Apart from red dates, dried honey dates and dried longans were used to add sweetness and give a much mellow taste to the whole drink.

You will need:

50 dried red dates
3 -5 dried honey dates
3 dried longans (large) / 8 dried longans (small)
1 large knob of ginger, smashed
8 cups water
1 medium piece rock sugar

Simply but water to boil and add all ingredients to it. Put over low heat overnight and viola! I used a slow cooker here.

The longer the brewing time, the more ruby red the tea will be. The larger dates were cut up to release the flavours to the water. A more direct way to make this drink is to boil a kettle of water (3/4 full) and once the water is boiling, throw in all the ingredients to make the water level up to the 'full' mark. Leave it overnight or place under low heat.

Serve warm or chilled.

Weekend Herb Blogging - Pineapple Roll Cookies

2010-02-07T09:07:00.000-08:00

Simona from Briciole is hosting this edition of Weekend Herb Blogging. The rules for taking part can be found here.

As promised, this week's entry will be on pineapples. It's Chinese New Year (Lunar New Year) or CNY and it's pastry and snacks time! My favourite CNY delight has got to be pineapple tarts.

Pineapple tarts comes in many forms. The tarts, with cookies and pineapple jam on top is the more common type. There is also the pineapple rolls and pineapple roll cookies where the pineapple is enclosed by a buttery roll. My favourite go to be the pineapple roll cookies.

The pineapple is a tropical fruit with a rather unique taste of apple, strawberry and peach mixed together as some would claim. The pineapple is an excellent source of vitamin C and some forms of vitamin B. Unknown to many, pineapple also contains the trace mineral manganese, an important cofactor in certain enzymes production.

One trick to keep pineapple fresh and retain its taste and juiciness, is to store them in air-tight containers with some of its juice in the refrigerator.

This is not the typical type of jam used on breads. The pineapple jam used here is dry, instead of jello like. This recipe is adapted from a cooking class that I attended with my wife.

Pineapple Jam

You will need:

4 small pineapples (honey pineapple)
1 large Sarawak pineapple
50g cane rock sugar - to give the jam a nice brown colour
150g caster sugar
50g sugar
salt
2-3 cloves + 1 small piece of star anise (to be removed after 10 mins of cooking.)

1. Grate the honey pineapples, including the core.
2. Chop the Sarawak pineapple finely. This will provide the fibre.
3. Drain off pineapple juices, DO NOT squeeze off the juices. You will probably need 2 hours. You will need the pineapples to be really dry. Use the drained juice as a drink or make a cocktail!
4. Add all ingredients into a pot.
5. Cook on low heat until syrupy and slightly brown. Stir at least once every 15mins to prevent sugars from burning.
6. You will notice that the pineapple will change to a dark yellow colour as it cooks.
7. Remove cloves and anise. Cool in room temperature.
8. Store in fridge. If cooked properly, this jam can be stored for up to a year in the fridge.

Take note that no water should be allowed into the mixture as it spoils the jam.

Butter Cookie Dough (courtesy of a friend's mum)

You will need :

60g Salted Butter
65g Unsalted butter
160g plain flour
1 egg yolk
12g milk powder
25g caster sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla essense
1/8 tsp vanillin powder

1. Mix the butter and sugar. Add in egg yolk
2. Slowly mix in flour, milk powder, vanilla essense and vanillin.
3. Roll out dough and put in the pineapple jam.
4. Brush with egg yolk wash.
5. Bake at 180C till golden brown.

Enjoy!

Weekend Herb Blogging - Wolfberries with NaiBai

2010-01-31T07:56:00.000-08:00

Rachel from The Crispy Cook is hosting this edition of Weekend Herb Blogging. The rules for taking part can be found here.

Wolfberries also known as 枸杞 had been used in China for centuries. It is also known as the Chinese wolfberries or Chinese Boxthorn. Wolfberries claimed medicinal properties includes liver protection, improving the eyesight and increase longevity. They are also known to strengthen weak legs.

Wolfberries had been used in teas, soups, tonic brews, stew, wine and also eaten like raisins. In Singapore, the dried wolfberries are most common and can be easily purchased at Chinese medicinal stores. It is also relatively cheap.

The dish here uses dried wolfberries stir-fried with 乃白 (nai bai), a kind of seasonal vegetable commonly available in this region. Cheap and nutritious, this dish can be found on the reunion dinners during the Chinese Lunar New Year.

You will need: (serves 2 to 4)

Handful of dried wolfberries
500g nai bai
garlic

Soak wolfberries in warm water for half hour. Drain and set aside.
Brown chopped garlic.
Add the vegetables and stir-fry.
Just before serving, add in the wolfberries.

Weekend Herb Blogging - Yusheng (Raw Fish Salad)

2010-01-24T07:28:00.000-08:00

This week's Weekend Herb Blogging#217 will be hosted by Anna of Anna's Cool Finds. The rules for taking part can be found here.

One of my favourite root vegetable is the carrot! Carrots are an excellent source of anti-oxidants. I had been told since young that eating carrots promote good vision. (which subsequently led to me inducing that rabbits have great eyesight since they eat carrots) and as I grow older, this story was proven scientifically right! The high level of beta-carotene found in carrots helps protect against the development of senile cataracts.

Carrots are efficient in keeping water content and they tend to keep longer than other vegetables. The attached green tops should be cut off before storage to prevent the leaves from drawing water from the root which will cause the carrot to wilt.

A not-commonly known property of the radish family is that the root contain a good level of vitamin C. As a member of the cruciferous vegetable family, radish has the cancer-protection traits of its cousins (brocolli, cabbage, brussel sprouts...) Cooking destroys radish root's vitamin C content and therefore it is best eaten raw.

As the Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year is approaching, I share with you my favourite festive dish. It is claimed that this dish is crafted by the early immigrants of Singapore and has since found its way around the Chinese community around the globe.

Yusheng (Raw Fish Salad) is a mixture of shredded vegetable roots with pickled condiments. It is believed that by tossing the yusheng, it will bring good fortune and prosperity to the family.

Yusheng (Raw Fish Salad)

1 shredded radish (large)
3 shredded carrots
1 shredded cucumber (to add the coolness and freshness to the dish)

(bought from store)
pickled melon strip
pickled brown melon strip
pickled cucumber
pickled leek strip
pickled yellow melon strip
white sour ginger strip
sweeten lime strip
red sweeten ginger strip

white pepper powder
cinnamon powder
plum sauce
crispy biscuit bits
powdered peanuts
toasted white sesame seeds

The pickled condiments are arranged around the shredded roots, forming a colourful presentation to the dish. The plum sauce is then poured over the shredded roots. White pepper and cinnamon powder is sprinkled over the vegetables and covered by the peanut powder and sesame seeds. The dish is completed by sprinkling of the biscuit bits.

(Raw fish sliced thinly - with lime squeezed over was not added as this variant is for vegetarians.)

Toss to good fortune and prosperity!!!

Weekend Herb Blogging - Arrowroot Chips with Chinese Sausage

2010-01-08T20:38:00.000-08:00

The first round of WHB for 2010 is here! This week's Weekend Herb Blogging#215 will be hosted by Haalo of Cook(almost)AnythingAtLeastOnce. The rules for taking part can be found here.

Mr Pancakes went marketing with his mum, straight after the gastronomical honeymoon trip with Mrs Pancakes. It is always fun to visit the wet markets, you'll never know what you see there.

While Mama was picking out the vegetables, Mr Pancakes saw this intriguing box of roots. Something he had never seen before. They look like water chestnuts, but white.

Upon inquiring the stall owners, this is the famed arrowroot! Mr Pancakes always thought it is a very western country thing. But heyho! One of the dialect groups of China (Teochews)! According to the stall owner, arrowroot chips are eaten during the Lunar New Year and is considered good luck and prosperous to the Teochews and that's why it is a festive dish!

Arrowroot got its name from its usage to treat poison arrow wounds and other poisonous insect bits like the scorpions. Arrowroot is easily digested and has a widely bland taste. It is sometimes used as a diet for those with a bad appetite as the arrowroot starch does not cause nauseousness. Although it is more easily digestible, it contains mainly starch and almost no protein and is not the most nutritious rhizomes available. Arrowroot powder is commonly used in puddings, jellies, cakes and hot sauces.

As the Lunar New Year approaches, the arrowroot will be the staple for more people of this region as we seek into prosperity for the coming Tiger Year.

Arrowroot Chips with Chinese Sausage

You will need: (serves 2 to 4)

6 bulbs of arrowroots, skinned and sliced thickly
1 Chinese Sausage (lak cheong), sliced
Chopped garlic
Salt
Pepper
Cooking oil (Grapeseed oil is great for it's neutral taste)

1. Lightly fry the arrowroot chips in hot oil till almost golden brown. Set aside.

2. Saute chopped garlic and add in sliced chinese sausage. Stir-fry on high heat.

3. Add the fried arrowroot chips. Turn to low heat and cover for 3-5mins. Allow the flavours of the sausage to be infused into the chips.

4. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Serve warm and 'huat' (prosperous) to the New Year!

Weekend Herb Blogging - Seaweed Soup with Beancurd & Mushrooms

2009-12-18T10:09:00.000-08:00

Last round of WHB before the Christmas break. This week's Weekend Herb Blogging#214 will be hosted by Haalo of Cook(almost)AnythingAtLeastOnce. The rules for taking part can be found here.

Mr Pancakes' ancestral roots traces way back to Henghua in Fujian Province in China. The ancient Chinese consider it a delicacy and is served to royalty or guests of honour. Seaweed is used widely in Henghua cuisine and it greatly enhances the taste of the dishes. Unknown to many, seaweed is neither an animal or a plant. It is actually a form of algae. The seaweed used here is the red seaweed or 紫菜 (literally purple vegetable in Chinese) as they are sold in their dried form and are dark purple-black in colour.

Seaweed contains many minerals, virtually all that can be found in the ocean. They are also a good source of calcium, sodium and iodine.

The Seaweed with Beancurd dish here is the vegetarian version. Seaweed, beancurd, mushrooms are the main players in this simple, soupy dish.

Seaweed Soup with Beancurd & Mushrooms

You will need: (serves 4)

3 pieces tofu (beancurd), cut into cubes.
50grams dried seaweed
3 slices of ginger
5 button / shitake mushrooms (diced)
some shredded carrot (1/2 carrot)
diced celery (1 stalk)
1L water
1 1/2 tablespoon cooking oil
pepper to taste

1. Bring water to boil in a pot. In a separate pan, heat up cooking oil. Saute the ginger, diced mushrooms and shredded carrot. Put sauteed ingredients into the boiling pot of water.

2. When water comes back to boil, add beancurd dices to soup. Add in diced celery and seaweed. Bring soup back to a boil. Add pepper to taste and the dish is ready to be served.

Weekend Herb Blogging - Boiled Chinese Yellow Pear with Chinese Almond Dessert

2009-12-11T10:43:00.000-08:00

Mr Pancakes is getting the hang of it and is excited every time WHB comes around. What a great way to share! This week's Weekend Herb Blogging#212 will be hosted by Laurie from Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska. WHB is a weekly food blog event that showcases information and recipes about herbs, vegetables, fruits and other plant ingredients. WHB is organized by Haalo of Cook(almost)AnythingAtLeastOnce. The rules for taking part can be found here.
For this week, Mr Pancakes would like to share a all-Asian cast: Boiled Chinese Pear with Chinese Almond Dessert.

The Chinese Yellow Pear is used here as the main ingredient. A picture of the pear can be seen here, Mr Pancakes is ashamed that he forgot to take a picture of the fruits before cooking them. The yellow Chinese pear has a thin yellow skin. The white flesh is slightly grainy, as compared to the green pears. It is oblong, unlike the Asian (nashi) pear. It is believed that the yellow chinese pear relieves cough and calm wheezing.

Another main part of this dessert the Chinese Almond (杏仁) or apricot seed. There are two types of chinese almond, mainly those from the south (sweet taste) and the north (bitter taste). The Chinese almond seeds from the north is believed to have similar properties to the yellow Chinese pear, they stop cough and 'moisten' the intestines. A mixture of north and south Chinese almond seeds are used here to balance the taste.

A sweet, 'cooling' dessert and apparently to relieve cough and irritation to the throat

Boiled Chinese Yellow Pear with Chinese Almond (炖雪梨)
This is a long time childhood dessert. All kids love sweet stuff! This is a healthy, nutritional dessert and it cleanse the palate nicely, especially after a heavy meal.

You will need: (serves 4)

2 yellow Chinese Pears
50 gram rock sugar
500ml water
8 Chinese red dates (optional)

1. Peel the skins off the pears, core and cut into quarters.
2. Bring water to boil in a pot.
3. Put all ingredients into the pot and cook over low heat for 20 minutes.
4. Serve hot or put into the fridge to chill and serve cold.

Weekend Herb Blogging - Black Beans Pork Rib Soup

2009-12-05T06:56:00.001-08:00

Mr Pancakes is back for more Weekend Herb Blogging action. This week's Weekend Herb Blogging#212 will be hosted by Marillyn from Just Making Noise. WHB is a weekly food blog event that showcases information and recipes about herbs, vegetables, fruits and other plant ingredients. WHB is now organized by Haalo of Cook(almost)AnythingAtLeastOnce. The rules for taking part can be found here.

The feature for this week's entry is Black Beans. They are small, about the size of a pea, oval and a sexy jet black. Their flesh is cream in colour with a sweet and somewhat earthy taste with a soft texture.

Be sure to check out the surface of the beans for any damage or fungal growth before washing them. Some recipes call for black beans to be soaked before cooking, but this particular recipe that Mr Pancakes is sharing here eliminates this step as we prefer the beans to have a bit more crunch in them.

Black beans, like their 'beanie' friends, are a inexpensive source of protein with a very low fat content. They are an excellent source of cholesterol lowering fiber and complex carbohydrates. Also, they are a good source of folic acid.

Black Beans Pork Rib Soup
I simply love this soup. It has a nutty flavour from the black beans and the sweetness from the ribs. Lovely combination. The black soup also adds a little mystique feeling to it. Enjoy chewing up the black beans and washing it down with the soup. Nothing beats a good home-made healthy soup!

You will need: (serves 3-4)

• ¾ bowl black beans
• 500g pork ribs
• 4 slices ginger
• Water

1. Put a small pot of water to boil. Scald the pork ribs in the boiling water and leave to cook for about 5 minutes. This is to remove the foul taste of the meat.
2. In a medium sized pot, fill up the pot with water to the halfway mark. Put to boil.
3. Add in black beans and leave to cook on low heat for 30 minutes.
4. Add in pork ribs and let simmer for 1 hour. (Add hot water, if necessary, to just cover the ribs and beans.)

Serve hot.

Weekend Herb Blogging - Lotus Rotus with Black Wood Fungi Stir Fry

2009-11-28T23:04:00.000-08:00

The Pancakes are still on a high after last week's post on WHB#210. I am submitting this recipe for this week's Weekend Herb Blogging#211. This week event will be hosted by Lynne from Cafe LynnyLu. WHB is a weekly food blog event that showcases information and recipes about herbs, vegetables, fruits and other plant ingredients. WHB is now organized by Haalo ofCook(almost)AnythingAtLeastOnce. The rules for taking part can be found here. Take part and share! The more the merrier!

This week will be on this simple and yet nutritious recipe.

Lotus roots originate in Asia. It has a white, crisp flesh with a lacy texture and very mild flavour. After cleaning the root of mud, peel and slice it. Put the slices in a box and chill it in the refrigerator. They will make a cool, refreshing snack. The lotus slices can also be candied and serve as sweet treats.

This recipe that I am sharing here is a easy stir-fry, an appertiser from my Mum's recipe book for vegetarians.

Enjoy.

Lotus Rotus with Black Wood Fungi

You will need: (Serves 2-4)

• ½ lotus root (6-8 cm)
• 6 black wood fungus
• 2 slices ginger
• 1 cup water
• cooking oil
• 10 dried sze chuan pepper
• 1 red chilli

For the cold dressing
• ½ cup white / rice vinegar
• 3 tablespoon sugar
• salt
• ¼ cup water
• fish sauce (optional)

This is supposed to be a cold dish entrée but it can be tweaked to be served as a main dish too. Highly nutritious and easy to prepare, this dish will go down well with the busy urbanites.

1. Wash the lotus root and cut into thin slices. Prepare the black wood fungi by removing the tough stem and wash under tap water. Chop up the fungi to 3-5 cm wide.

2. Cook sliced lotus and fungi in boiling water for 3-5minutes. Remove once fungi are slightly softened but still crunchy to bite into. Remove and leave aside to drain off excess water.

3. Heat cooking oil and add in ginger slices. Once ginger slices are browned, add in the cooked lotus slices and fungi. Add 1 cup water and simmer under low heat for 10 minutes.

4. Heat 1 teaspoon of oil on a skillet. Add sze chuan pepper to the hot oil under medium heat. After 10 mins, remove the peppers and keep the oil.

5. Add sliced chilli and sze chuan pepper oil before serving. (Boiled sliced carrots were used as garnish here.)

Variation: Cold Dressing

Dissolve sugar in water. Add vinegar for the tartness and sour taste. Add salt to taste. Adjust taste as desired. Mix well with drained lotus slices and fungi. Chill and serve cold.

Drizzle sze chuan pepper oil all over before serving.

Potato Peeling - Fast Forward

2009-11-23T23:32:00.000-08:00

Super cool way to peel a potato. Keeps the nutrients because it was boiled with the skin intact and it saves time!

Weekend Herb Blogging - Avocado

2009-11-20T08:02:00.000-08:00

I am submitting this recipe into this weeks Weekend Herb Blogging#210. This week event will be hosted by Winnie from Healthy Green Kitchen. WHB is a weekly food blog event that showcases information and recipes about herbs, vegetables, fruits and other plant ingredients. WHB is now organized by Haalo of Cook(almost)AnythingAtLeastOnce. It is such a informative ingredient blogging event, and the Pancakes decided to submit a first time entry and hope that this will be selected. *keeping fingers crossed.*

Anyway, let's begin. Mr Pancakes had always been fascinated by the fruit avocado. It's velvety taste and strange looking skin had intrigued Mr Pancakes since young. As it is expensive (SGD1.65 for a fruit), Mr Pancakes hardly has the chance to really taste it.... until he's 20.

The avocado is also widely known as the alligator pear. It is grown from the fast growing Persea Americana tree. Avocados can contain as much as 20% fat (Haas variant), of which is largely monounsaturated, including oleic acid and linoleic acid. They are also an excellent source of potassium, vitamins B and E.

Gentle pressure should depress ripe avocados slightly. Do not select over-ripe avocados as they have brown, mushy meat and taste weird. Allow avocados to ripen (18 to 24°C) and they can be kept in refrigerators for up to a week, if it has not been sliced. The skin darkens as the fruit ripens. Avocados sell at a range of SGD 1.30 to SGD 2, depending on the season. Peak season is typically in December. *DO NOT try to eat unripe avocados. They taste bitter and leave a horrid aftertaste in your mouth, tongue AND throat.

Avocados contain enzymes that encourage oxidation, thus they tend to brown when exposed to air. Sprinkle with a little lemon juice or vinegar to slow the browning process.

To prepare, use a stainless steel kitchen knife to cut the fruit lengthwise. Gently twist the two halves in opposite directions. (It is like opening a bottle cap.) The seed can be easily removed with a spoon. Using the tip of the knife, go between the fruit and the skin, separating the flesh from the skin. Use a spoon to slide along the inside of the skin if the flesh is too soft to be cut.

Avocados can be consumed on their own, as shakes, in sandwiches and most popularly in the preparation of guacamole. And Mr Pancakes shares here his favourite milkshake of all time, The Avocado Shake.

You will need: (Serves 4)
2 ripe avocados
300 ml cold milk (coconut milk[1], evaporated milk will do too.)
· 50 grams gula Melaka[2] (molasses or honey are adequate substitutes.)
· 2 tablespoons of hot water

1. Grate and dissolve the gula Melaka in the hot water. Leave aside to cool. (You can do this the night before. The syrup can be kept for several days when stored in a dry, clean air-tight jar.

2. Remove skin and pit of avocados. Blend with 200ml of milk.
3. Add half of gula Melaka syrup. Continue to blend until smooth. Top up with milk to achieve desired consistency.
4. In a tall glass or martini glass, pour some gula Melaka syrup to form a thin layer.
5. Top glass with blended avocado.
6. Drizzle with remaining syrup and serve.

*This avocado milkshake tastes best when serve chilled. Do NOT over-blend. Blending heats up your concoction. Add ice-cubes if you desire, bearing in mind it will thin the drink as the ice melts.

[1] Coconut milk gives a very fragrant taste to the drink. But do take note of the fat content. Add evaporated milk for a creamier version.
[2] Commonly known as ‘Palm Sugar’, is made from sugary sap of cut flower buds.

Pairing: Avocados generally go well with nuts as a snack. Serve with citrus fruits like orange and kiwi to balance the oily content of the fruit. Roasted chicken, bacon and ham taste great with avocado slices in sandwiches. Herbs like lemon balm and basil lift the taste of avocados while milk chocolate and fine creamy cheese like Gruyere pair well with avocados as an after-dinner treat.

Lemon Meringue Cake (Part 3)

2009-11-17T07:17:00.000-08:00

The Pancakes were watching Asian Food Channel the other day and saw one of the chefs making a cupcake with lemon curd and meringue on the top, which gave Mrs Pancakes the idea to do it. This will save all the hassle of having to cut the cake into 3 layers, spreading curd in between and giving herself a hell of a headache. To solve the meringue problem (being too spongy and moist in our humid weather), Mr Pancakes suggested Mrs Pancakes could make the hard meringue biscuits to top it off instead, and so Mrs Pancakes was "assigned" to try that for Mr K's birthday lunch.

Armed with the same recipe as Lemon Meringue Cake (Part 1), Mrs Pancakes did her own cupcake version of the lemon (meringue) cupcakes. Due to time constraints, it ended up with no meringue, thus I shall call it lemon curd cupcake. Instead of using a cake tin, this time around, Mrs Pancakes used muffin trays. This was how it turned out:

A little too moist this time. Will do better the next time (hopefully with meringue biscuits) =)

Lemon Meringue Cake (Part 2)

2009-11-16T08:56:00.000-08:00

Undeterred, and despite Mrs Pancakes' Sister commenting that the first cake looked ugly (Ha!), Mrs Pancakes decided to make a second go at the Lemon Meringue Cake. Armed with a new recipe and this time a loaf pan (instead of a round cake pan) in hand, she made her second attempt.

Lemon Meringue Cake 2

Makes 1 loaf cake, serving 12

Cake
2 1/4 cups cake flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups sugar
About 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons finely shredded lemon zest

Lemon curd

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 lemons)

3/4 cup sugar

8 large egg yolks

Meringue
1 cup egg whites (about 8 eggs)

1 cup sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat sugar and 1/2 cup butter until creamy. Crack eggs into a small dish (do not beat) and add vanilla. Add eggs to the butter mixture 1 at a time, scraping down the inside of the bowl as needed. Beat in flour mixture and milk in alternating batches, starting and ending with the flour and making sure each addition is fully incorporated before adding the next. Stir zest into batter.

2. Butter and flour a 5- by 9-in. loaf pan and pour in batter.

3. Bake 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes, then invert cake onto a rack. Remove pan and let cake cool to room temperature, at least 40 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, make lemon curd: In a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan, melt butter with lemon juice over high heat. In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar and yolks. Slowly whisk hot lemon butter into egg mixture, 1/2 cup at a time. Pour mixture back into saucepan and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture is very thick, 5 to 8 minutes.

5. Transfer lemon curd to a glass or plastic container. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it onto the top of the curd to prevent a skin from forming. Chill until cold, at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.

6. Make meringue: Whisk whites and sugar together in a medium metal bowl. Set over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk constantly until mixture is warm to the touch and sugar feels dissolved, about 2 minutes.

7. Scrape whites into the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk on high speed until light and fluffy and the side of the bowl feels cool to the touch, about 2 minutes.

8. Assemble cake: Preheat broiler, positioning oven rack about 7 in. from the heat source. Using a serrated knife, trim brown exterior from sides and top of cake. Slice cake horizontally into 3 even layers.

9. Place 1 cake layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Spread with half the lemon curd mixture. Repeat with second layer and remaining curd. Top with last layer. Using a spatula, cover the entire cake with the meringue.

10. Broil cake just until top is golden brown, being careful not to burn it, about 1 minute. Using 2 large pancake turners (sliding 1 under each side of cake), transfer cake to a serving plate.

For those who like their cakes more moist and crumbly, this is the cake for you. The lemon curd was not as creamy in comparison to that of the first. Overall, the Pancakes preferred the first recipe. Mrs Pancakes learnt that for beginners, the size of the cake from the bread pan was easier to handle than the one from the round cake pan.

To be continued... Lemon Meringue Cake (Part 3)

Lemon (Meringue?) Cake (Part 1)

2009-11-16T08:24:00.000-08:00

Mr Pancakes wanted to eat lemon meringue cake and so he asked Mrs Pancakes to make one. Thus started the journey of lemon meringue cakes. There were 3 different versions of the cake but till now Mrs Pancakes still isn't satisfied with any of them. However, she(or I) shall share the 3 so far.

First try was a couple of months back, where Mrs Pancakes got a recipe from Martha Stewart's website. As it is the first time she tried to make this cake, she decided to stick by the recipe.

Firstly, the cake!

Makes one 9-inch layer cake

2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
5 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1 cup milk

1 1/4 cups Lemon Curd

2 recipes Meringue

Directions

To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans. Flour pans, tapping out excess; set aside. In a medium bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating to combine after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and the lemon zest. Add the flour mixture, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat until just combined.

Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven, and let stand in pans until cool, about 1 1/2 hours.

Remove cakes from pans. Using a serrated knife, trim tops of cakes. Slice each cake horizontally into 3 layers. Place one layer on a serving platter. Spread with 1/4 cup lemon curd. Top with second layer of cake. Spread with 1/4 cup curd. Repeat with remaining cake and curd, finishing with a layer of cake. Transfer to refrigerator until ready to use, at least 2 hours.

Remove cake from refrigerator. Spread a thin even layer of meringue over sides of cake. Mound the remaining meringue on top of cake. Use a handheld torch to brown meringue.

As the Pancakes did not have a blow torch, Mrs Pancakes tried to blast the cake in the oven to get the meringue brown. However, the meringue did not turn out as she wanted :(

Next, the lemon curd!
The lemon curd was a success as Mr Pancakes loved it! Ha!
Makes about 3 cups
16 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons

Directions
Prepare an ice water bath; set aside.
Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar in a medium heatproof bowl. Add the lemon juice, butter, and lemon zest.
Place over a pan of simmering water and cook, whisking occasionally, until thick, about 15 minutes.
Transfer bowl to ice water bath and let stand, stirring occasionally, until cool. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd. Transfer to refrigerator until completely cold, at least 2 hours and up to overnight.

And lastly, the meringue.

Makes about 12 cups
2 cups sugar
8 large egg whites (1 cup)
3 freshly squeezed lemon juice
Directions

Combine the sugar, egg whites, and lemon juice in the bowl of an electric mixer set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk until sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes.
Transfer bowl to the mixer stand fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium speed for 10 minutes. Increase to high speed and beat until stiff glossy peaks form, 10 to 15 minutes more.

The lemon curd was perfect! However, the cake a tat too sweet and the meringue grew watery very easily in Singapore's humid weather :(
Not completely satisfied with the first cake, Mrs Pancakes decided to make a second one....
Lemon Meringue Cake (Part 2) .. to be continued

Lemon Cake

2009-11-06T04:59:00.000-08:00

Mrs Pancakes was lucky to be able to have a one month holiday visiting a friend who was studying in the US back in December 2006. She remembers a hot cup of latte in Starbucks which was perfect with a delicious slice of lemon cake which she immediately fell in love with.

Since returning to Singapore, Mrs Pancakes has been desperately looking for the same lemon cake in Starbucks. Even when she went to Australia in 2007, she was still trying her luck at the Starbucks in Sydney, but to no avail.

Finally, Mr Pancakes asked her, "Why don't you bake your own lemon cake." And she did.

Lemon Frosted Lemon Cake
Makes one - 9 inch (23 cm) cake.

Choosing lemons: look for ones that are fragrant with brightly colored oily yellow skins. Lemons should be firm, plump, and heavy. Don't buy lemons that have blemishes, soft spots, or are hard and wrinkled.

Lemon Cake Recipe:
1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Zest of 1 large lemon
2 cups (280 grams) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (60 ml) fresh lemon juice

Lemon Frosting:
1 cup (115 grams) confectioners' (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees Celcius) and place rack in the center of the oven. Butter, or spray with a nonstick spray, a 9 inch (23 cm) spring form pan and then line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer) cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy and pale in color (about 3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and then add to the batter along with the lemon juice. Mix only until incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with an offset spatula. Bake about 40 - 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool, then gently remove the sides of the pan.

Lemon Frosting: In a bowl, combine the sifted confectioners' sugar with the 2 tablespoons lemon juice. (You want the icing to be thicker than a glaze but still thin enough that it will just run over the sides of the cake. If not the right consistency add more lemon juice or powdered sugar, accordingly.) Pour the frosting over the top of the cake, allowing the icing to drip down the sides. Let the icing set before covering.

Mrs Pancakes' Muffins!

2009-11-05T08:16:00.000-08:00

After marrying Mr Pancakes, Mrs Pancakes was influenced to do her own cooking. She soon realised she has no talent in cooking main dishes and decided to leave that to Mr Pancakes. However, she could make desserts, and thus decided to leave Mr Pancakes to the main dishes and concentrate on dessert-making (which she loves to eat!). :)

After watching The Martha Stewart Show, and watching the special guest make muffins, it seemed easy enough to attempt. Thus, Mrs Pancakes decided to give it a try.

My first attempt: Blueberry Muffins!

This is the original recipe on the website (click here):

Makes 1 dozen
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees ( 190 degree celcius).

Generously butter a standard 12-cup muffin pan and dust with flour, tapping out excess; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Working over the bowl, toss blueberries in a fine sieve with about 1 1/2 teaspoons flour mixture to lightly coat; set aside the flour mixture and the blueberries.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using a handheld mixer, beat butter and 1 cup sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined. Mix in vanilla.

With the mixer on low speed, add reserved flour mixture, beating until just combined. Add milk, beating until just combined. Do not overmix.

Using a rubber spatula, fold in the blueberries. Divide batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. If desired, in a small bowl, mix together remaining 1/4 cup sugar and nutmeg. Sprinkle sugar mixture on top of muffin batter.

Bake, rotating pan halfway though, until muffins are golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center of one muffin comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool 10 minutes. Turn muffins on their sides in their cups, and let cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

However, after making the muffins, the Pancakes found this recipe too sweet for our liking. Thus, Mrs Pancakes decided to improvise. Instead of the 1 1/4 cups sugar, Mrs Pancakes only slowly reduced to 1 cup (which was still a tad too sweet), then 1/2cup sugar.

Also, 190 degree celcius for our humid temperature resulted in flat and burnt-on-the-top muffins. Mrs Pancakes then tried it out with 160-170 degree oven. It took longer time but the muffins turned out prettier. :)

The good thing about this batter is that we can add anything to it -- chocolate chips, blueberries, raisins, etc. It is a very basic muffin recipe. Mrs Pancakes even further improvised it by adding earl grey tea bags into the milk (heated up) to stand for about 30 mins, thus creating earl grey tea flavoured muffins with blueberries. Worth a try!

Mee Goreng

2009-10-21T07:32:00.000-07:00

Homemade Mee Goreng

You will need:

1 packet of yellow noodles (500g)

1 canned sardines in tomato sauce (274g)

4 large eggs (scrambled)

2 medium sized potatoes

4-6 cloves of garlic (chopped)

2 medium sized yellow onions (cut into half and slice lengthwise)

1 medium sized shallot (cut into half and slice lengthwise)

1 cup frozen mixed vegetables

2 tomatoes

4 tablespoon ketchup

Dark Soy Sauce

Let's rock

Heat up cooking oil in a large wok, medium high heat.

Saute garlic, onions and shallot till soften.

Add yellow noodles and fry well at high heat.

Add dark soy sauce for colour.

Add ketchup and sardines. Crumble up the sardines with the spatula.

Fry noodles well.

Push noodles to one side of the wok.

Add oil, and fry eggs.

Add defrosted mixed vegetables and tomato.

Mix well with noodles.

Turn to medium heat for next 5 mins.

Take off heat and serve.

Optional:

Add sambal chilli.

Cut 2 medium sized potatoes into cubes and add in with garlic, onions and shallots.

Crispy Asparagus and Potato Tart

2009-10-19T07:19:00.000-07:00

Asparagus and Potato Tart

Recipe is modified from that of Jamie Oliver's Recipe available on his website.

Serves 4 as main course or 8 as starter.

You will need:

• 750g potatoes, peeled. 2-3inches diameter.
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 250g asparagus spears, cut to fit pan
• 200g filo pastry (I used frozen ones)
• 100g butter, melted
• 100g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 100g freshly grated Cheddar cheese
• 3 large eggs
• 1 x 200ml cream

Let's rock

Defrost your packet of filo. You will need at least 1hour for this.

Separate the packet (it comes in 375g) into two portions, taking care not to contaminate them. Refrigerate half of it and use it within the next couple of days.

Put the potatoes whole into a pan of salted boiling water and cook for 15-20 minutes. Turn off heat and allow potatoes to continue to cook.

Blanch your asparagus in a separate pan of salted boiling water for 2 minutes, and drain.

Do not overcook. The spears will shrivel after baking.

Preheat the oven to 190°C. Get an ovenproof dish, you can use any different shapes and sizes. Layer the sheets of filo pastry in the dish, brushing melted butter on them as you add each layer. Leave about 2.5cm hang over the edge. Depending on how thick is your filo pastry, you would like to get at least 8-10 layers below. Put a clean, damp tea towel over the top.

Remove the potatoes from the water and mash them with the cheeses. In a separate bowl, mix well the eggs and cream and add them into your mashed potato. Season well with pepper and mix together.

Spread the resulting potato mixture over the filo pastry. Fold up and scrunch the sides together to form a rim. Take your blanched asparagus and line them up across the filling, alternating the direction of which the tips are pointing.

Brush all over with the remaining melted butter and pop into the preheated oven for around 20 minutes, or until golden and crisp. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Taste test

A tad bit too buttery for Mr and Mrs Pancakes. Too creamy for Mr Pancakes II. You may want to go easy on the butter when layering the pastry sheets.

Too starchy! The original recipe calls for 500g potatoes.

Asparagus spears shrivelled after baking. Fine bigger spears if you can. White asparagus will add another dimension to the dish.

Substitute half of the amount of cream with milk for a healthier meal.

Strawberries!

2009-09-10T08:00:00.001-07:00

Mr Pancakes is having some friends over for a Sunday breakfast. Well, an impromptu session and we are all glad that most can make it. (Mr K had to work and Mrs K have to stay home to feed the new-born.)

Mr and Mrs Pancakes trotted down to the supermarket to buy the stuff for tomorrow... A punnet of strawberries was one of the items. Mr Pancakes (as usual) snacked on the strawberries while preparing them for the breakfast tomorrow. POW WOW. Orgasmic. (Almost.) Intense flavour, sweet with a tinge of sour to tickle the taste buds. They are probably in season. One punnet selling at $4.35 at all good NTUC.

BTW, Mr Pancakes added Cointreau and some caster sugar (not that it was necessary for this batch, more to glaze is then to taste it.) The cut-up strawberries are now sitting pretty in the fridge.

Oh yah. Marigold Oat Milk tastes great too. Try it. Selling at $3.50 per 1L carton, S5.95 for two 1L cartons. Worth every penny.

Breakfast at Pancakes'

2009-09-10T07:42:00.001-07:00

"Extraordinary times requires extraordinary actions." And that's what Mr Pancakes and his gang did. We looked out for each other back then and we are still doing the same now. The Dependables convened and did what we set out to do. Mr K, couldn't make it due to work commitments. But nevertheless he called and was truly concerned. (I think I forgot to update him. Hmm...) And so, we had breakfast at the Pancakes' Place. Oh yah, Mr U was supposed to make his official announcement of his annulment of his freedom. Congrats to him.

(Mr Pancakes decided to use bigger font size from this post onwards.)

What a spread! But sadly, Mr Pancakes thought Mrs Pancakes took photos of the carnage (but she didn't!). Pity for our dear readers. But nevertheless, Mrs Pancakes did manage to take some of the dishes on offer that day.

The Breakfast Spread

Poached Eggs

(gamely cooked by Mr and Mrs Sailor)

Back Bacon

Pancakes(!) with Blueberry Maple Sauce

Pan-Pacific Bratwursts

Orange Juice / Guava Juice

Dark Chocolate Croissants

(recipe below)

Grilled Tomatoes with mixed herbs

Strawberries

(see previous post)

Great, hearty breakfast. And Mr Nurse did comment that most of the things were done from scratch. Au Naturel. Superb. That's what REAL cooking is all about.

And Mr Nurse still owe Mr Pancakes some money. :)

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This recipe is by Nigella Lawson. I just love her no frills (and fast) cooking. You can find her recipes on her website [here].

Chocolate Croissants

Only 3 ingredients needed for this. Extra simple.

You will need: 500g ready-rolled puff pastry (I used Sunshine Frozen puff pastry. Can be bought at bigger supermarkets.) 120g of dark chocolate (min. 70% cocoa . I used Cadbury Old Gold Dark Chocolate here) and 1 egg (beaten).

To make:

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C. Roll out the puff pastry to required thickness (0.5cm). And cut into 15 x 15cm squares.

2. Cut each square diagonally to give 2 triangles (they will appear quite small). Put the wider base of the triangle facing you, and the point away from you.

3.Break off small pieces of chocolate (approx. 1cm) to place on the pastry triangles, about 2cm up from the wide end nearest to you.

4. Then carefully roll from that chocolate-loaded end towards the point of the triangle.

5. You should now have something resembling a straight croissant. Seal it slightly with your fingertips and curl it around into a crescent. (You may have problems doing this.)

6. Place the 16 chocolate croissants on a baking tray lined with baking paper. DO NOT butter it. Paint croissants with the beaten egg. Bake for 15 minutes until they are golden and puffy.

If you are having friends over, chuck the croissants into the oven just as your friends arrive. Charm them with the heavenly smell of the croissants baking in the oven.

Note: The puff pastry that I used here is NOT recommended to be re-frozen. Pick a puff pastry that you can re-freeze if you do not want to do so.

Adam Lamb-burp

2009-09-10T07:40:00.000-07:00

Not that Mr Pancakes is the biggest fan of American Idol. Just that the Pancakes were watching Jimmy Kimmel Live! and they were showing this magazine cover of him on Rolling Stone. Had a good laugh before Mr Pancake went into the kitchen to fix up the dish. So yeah, to our AI runner-up, this dish shall be named Lamb-Burp. And this is the first decent lamb dish Mr Pancakes manage to come up with after umpteen tries.

Overdue photo of a quick breakfast whipped up by Mr Pancakes. Enjoy looking at it. If you are lucky, you might be invited to have breakfast with the Pancakes. :)

Anyway, long week for the Pancakes. Mr Pancake had a tournament going on and Mrs Pancakes went to watch all the games, except the final game due to work commitments. Nevertheless, Mr Pancakes appreciates that. Tournament didn't go as planned, combination of injuries and the competitive edge did us in. (Could be age, but nah, none of us will admit to that.) Still, Mr Pancakes is still proud of his team, and is glad to be in there.

Okay, back to the dish. Mr Pancakes adapted this recipe from Chef Ryan Hong of "Chef for Hire". Great Channel 5 TV series. He makes it seem so easy putting 3 dishes together and throwing a mini-party. I like.

On a separate note, Mr Pancakes really think that he needs a new camera to take photos of his culinary adventures. To do justice to the great tasting food he cooks and eats. Or at least make them look appetitising. Ha. GSS now... *Mr Pancake ponders.

-------------------------------------------------

Here goes for Lamb-Burp.(serves 2)

The dish call for:

1) Two fresh lamb foreshank (~650g)

2) Half red onion (medium size)

3) Two cloves of garlic

4) cane sugar

5) black peppercorn (1tsp)

6) 1 bay leaf (ok, spelling error in the picture)

7) red wine

8) chicken stock

Some tweaking from the ingredients Chef Ryan used in the show. He used molasses, which Mr Pancakes didn't have at the point of cooking, but had since got some. Molasses are basically unrefined cane sugar. Get it in it's thick syrup form. Should be better. Mr Pancakes got it in black sugar form. Chef Ryan also used fresh green pepper corns and veal stock, which Mr Pancakes didn't go to a bigger wet market to get (pepper corns) and Mr Pancakes do not take beef, so chicken stock was used instead. And yes, some fresh thyme leaves will do good too.

Directions:

1) In a stock pot / casserole, brown the lamb shanks on all sides under high heat with olive oil.

2) Add in the chopped onions and silvers of garlic.

3) Once the fragrance of onions and garlic is in the air, add in one-third of bottle of red wine.

4) Turn down heat to medium. Add enough chicken stock to cover the lamb shanks.

5) Add in black pepper corns and bay leaves. (you may want to bag them)

6) Add sugar to taste when stock starts to bubble.

7) Turn down heat to low and leave to simmer for 2 to 3 hours. Turning the lamb ocassionally as the liquid boils off.

8) Serve in a deep plate, with the stock. Goes well with boiled potatoes and carrots. Sprinkle freshly chopped thyme (dried ones will do too) before serving.

The meat should slide off the bone very nicely. More garlic and peppercorns should musk the game-y smell of lamb better. But Mr Pancakes is satisfied with the current balance.

The stock turns milky as the simmering progresses. Heavenly taste, a tad too sweet this time round, but Mr Pancakes will settle for it. Fresh thyme would had added that kick to it. Have some fresh bread ready to wipe up the stock. Worth every ounce of calories.

Total Cost: <$20. Enjoy.