Pavlova

Yummy! I think I've missed my calling as a cake decorator...

Christmaslishly

So another Christmas in Prague, unfortunately not a white one (though I'm consoled by the white birthday that I had a fortnight ago!) Top of the list for my initiation of blood and fire into Czech Christmas traditions was making cukrovi -- or Czech Christmas cookies. Intense!


True to form, we had a pretty sweet spread of food to consume over the last couple of days, not including the turkey (in the oven at the time of photographing) and my friend's mum's contributions:



The best though, were the pineapple (and strawberry and cherry) tarts that I made! Okay, so it's a Malaysian Nonya recipe and not very Czech, but oh so yummy!! Yeah!

Pavlova with blueberries

The previously mentioned pavlova...



Gluttons that we are, we ate the whole thing within 24 hours!

Orange sorbet

I'm going through a sorbet making phase at the moment: warm weather, lots of gorgeous fresh fruit at the market each week -- how could you not?


The measurements in this recipe are very much an estimation, because it was one of my "add ingredients until it smells right" experiments...

300ml orange juice
zest of 1 orange
50g white sugar
1/2 cup Kaz (a 6% lemon soft drink)
2 tbsp Cointreau
1/2 tsp ground ginger

Heat the orange juice, orange zest and Kaz until boiling. Add the sugar, Cointreau and ginger, and stir until dissolved. Pour into a shallow pan and allow to cool to room temperature. Place in the freezer, stirring periodically every hour for 4 hours, then allow to freeze overnight (or longer) before serving in chilled glasses (the addition of alcohol lowers the freezing point and thus makes the sorbet more susceptible to rapid melting).

In lieu of the Kaz you could use some other kind of lemon soft drink or the juice of half a lemon, and then increase the amount of sugar you add -- the main reason I used Kaz was because I found a nearly empty bottle of it in the fridge, and wanted some extra tang, AND we didn't have fresh lemons... (my culinary inspiration stems mainly from assembling miscellaneous ingredients or leftovers that I find in the fridge or pantry!!)

Piña Colada Sorbet!

Yummy!



Serves 4

200mL coconut cream
400mL pineapple juice
100mL Malibu
50g white sugar

Heat the pineapple juice and allow to boil for 5 minutes. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved, then the Malibu and coconut cream. Pour into a shallow pan and allow to cool to room temperature. Place in the freezer, stirring periodically every hour for 4 hours, then allow to freeze overnight (or longer) before serving in chilled glasses (the addition of alcohol lowers the freezing point and thus makes the sorbet more susceptible to rapid melting).

The recipe above ended up being quite sweet and pineappley, so next time I might try for a larger amount of cream to really bring out that coconutty flavour. In the end, I suppose it doesn't matter so much about the amounts as the stirring during the freezing process so that large ice crystals don't form and the sorbet texture is achieved.

Banana cake, Genie style

I love to cook, so long as I'm not obligated to cook. Given that I'm a tiny little slip of a thing, the eating of my output can be a bit problematic, which is why living with other people is a very, very good idea for me. Here's this morning's experiment, which turned out to be absolutely delicious. I'm currently munching on slice #3 and it's not even lunch time...



Genie's Kickass Banana Cake

3 bananas
1/2 tablespoon of honey
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of butter

1 cup of raw sugar
1/3 cup of butter

1 egg
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda
a pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups flour


Cut the bananas into pieces and place in a pot with the butter, honey and cinammon in a pot on low heat. Cook until slightly caremlised, stirring to break up the banana pieces (though I personally prefer to have some banana chunks, so I don't stir too much). Allow to cool slightly once ready.

Put the raw sugar (this can be cut down to 3/4 of a cup, if you want) and butter in a large mixing bowl, add the banana mixture and stir. Add the egg, maple syrup, baking soda and salt, mix well (the batter will probably become frothy because of the warm sugar and soda -- don't worry about it). Gradually add the flour, beating well.

Pour into a greased loaf tin and cook at 180° for 45-60 minutes, or until golden brown on top. If the top doesn't appear to browning as quickly as the sides, brush it with a little butter at the 30-minute mark.

Yum!! Most of the time when I cook, they're one hit wonders. I generally just add stuff that I find in the pantry or fridge that seems like a good idea at the time, in ever increasing quantites until the food smells right. It's nice to know that this one will be a multiple hit wonder!

Chocolate and Strawberry Cake

This recipe was taken from some random French cook book -- the mother of the family asked me if I could make a cake for Easter lunch. I quite enjoyed making it, though it pissed me off that she kept interfering -- if you want me to do something, then let me do it MY way!! The chocolate covered strawberries look a bit like poos, don't they? (They were her idea.)

Chocolate Cake Mousseline
5 egg whites
150g chocolate
150g castor sugar
75g butter
40g flour
40g corn starch

Melt the chocolate and butter in a bain marie, then add the sugar. Mix well for 10 minutes, than add little by little the flour and corn starch. Beat the egg whites until stiff white peaks form, then add the chocolate mixture, stirring as little as possible with a wooden spoon. Cook in a moderate oven for 30 - 35 minutes in a well greased tin.

Decorate with whipped cream, fresh strawberries, chocolate covered strawberries, grated chocolate... or whatever you want, if you don't have someone telling you what to decorate with!

I'm Dreaming of...

Portuguese Custard Tarts!! There's a place in Bethlehem, Lisbon, that sells these kick arse sweet little treats and I totally gorged on them last time I was there. I'll be meeting my mum in Lisbon at the start of May, so guess what I'm getting all excited about in the meantime!!



Image courtesy of http://totallyaddictedtotaste.blogspot.com

Tight Arse Tuesday

Nostalgia time...

If I were in Perth on a Tuesday night, it would be prime time for heading out for any number of discount meals, movies and the like, but my all time favourite tight arse Tuesday activity is going to Gelare for half priced waffles... Damn I miss Gelare waffles!!



Image courtesy of http://p.vtourist.com

Killer Chocolate Brownie Recipe

I tried this recipe from Nigel Slater (http://observer.guardian.co.uk/magazine/story/0,,1235755,00.html) the other day and just about thought I had died and gone to a chocolatey heaven.

No nuts, no flavourings, just a 24-carat brownie as dense and fudgy as Glastonbury mud. Whatever else you add is up to you. Serves 12 (or two with the munchies).

300g golden caster sugar
250g butter
250g chocolate (70 per cent cocoa solids)
3 large eggs plus 1 extra egg yolk
60g flour
60g finest quality cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder

You will need a baking tin, about 23cm x 23cm, preferably non-stick, or a small roasting tin.

Set the oven at 180°C/Gas 4. Line the bottom of the baking tin with baking parchment. Put the sugar and butter into the bowl of a food mixer and beat for several minutes till white and fluffy. You can do it by hand if you wish, but you need to keep going until the mixture is really soft and creamy.

Meanwhile, break the chocolate into pieces, set 50g of it aside and melt the rest in a bowl suspended over, but not touching, a pan of simmering water. As soon as the chocolate has melted remove it from the heat. Chop the remaining 50g into gravel-sized pieces.

Break the eggs into a small bowl and beat them lightly with a fork. Sift together the flour, cocoa and baking powder and mix in a pinch of salt. With the food mixer running slowly, introduce the beaten egg a little at a time, speeding up in between additions. Remove the bowl from the mixer to the work surface, then mix in the melted and the chopped chocolate with a large metal spoon. Lastly, fold in the flour and cocoa, gently and firmly, without knocking any of the air out. Scrape the mixture into the prepared cake tin, smooth the top and bake for 30 minutes. The top will have risen slightly and the cake will appear slightly softer in the middle than around the edges.Pierce the centre of the cake with a fork - it should come out sticky, but not with raw mixture attached to it. If it does, then return the brownie to the oven for three more minutes. It is worth remembering that it will solidify a little on cooling, so if it appears a bit wet, don't worry.

Chinese

I went with my French family on a Chinese food shopping spree yesterday and I cooked today for lunch (the first real Chinese food I've had since May -- god, AGES!). Things I've missed about Chinese food without realising it for the last 4 months:

1. The smell and taste and warmth of Chinese tea.

2. The smell of rice cooking by reduction.

3. Bok choy.

4. Meat in a sweet, sticky and caramelised sauce.

5. Soup with rice in it.

All About Food

1. When someone in France says something about "pain perdu" they are not talking about inflicting injury to each of the deserving (literal English) or finding their lost loaf of bread (literal French). They are talking about a tasty concoction made using yesterday's bread, eggs, milk, sugar and cinnamon. The rest of us call it French toast. My family cacked themselves the other day when they asked if I'd heard of pain perdu and I said, something is lost?

2. Baptiste said his first word the other day. (I promise this is food related). Most of his other vocalisations sound like squeaks and squeals when he's happy (he also likes to hit his chest with his fist and shake his head madly if he's really ecstatic) or if he's feeling sorry for himself he goes "mmmmuh mmmmmuh mmmmmuh" and if he's angry/frustrated he makes a slightly more unpleasant squealing sound or a harsh kind of "ah!" sound (which is the exact same sound we make when he's about to touch something he's not supposed to "Ah ah ah!! No Baptiste! Tu ne touche pas!! Don't touch!!" Boy, am I a pro at saying that now). But, I digress. So the kid says his first word. Twice. And has refused to do it since. Amusingly, the rest of us have taken to saying the word randomly at intervals, just in case he decides to do it again. And what was the word? Gateau!!

Paella and Whiskey

I like drinking whiskey straight up. No ice, no mixer, no chaser. The whiskey, the whole whiskey and nothing but the whiskey. I picked up the taste for it last year in China, when:

- Firstly, the tour group I was with in Beijing were provided with tiny, free bottles of (nasty, sharp but effective) whiskey at lunch one day (actually it was a colourless liquid, probably more akin to vodka) and all the other (married) women would have none of it, so of course I was the one to say, sock it to me! (Actually I said, YUM SING).

- Secondly, on the overnight trip I took to the grasslands of Inner Mongolia, we got just a little plastered on the same nasty stuff (actually, even NASTIER -- the stuff I had in Beijing was utterly smooth by comparison), spent the night singing songs and finally retired to our yurts, dreading the moment when our bladders required we make the pitch black journey to the windy, outdoor, communal, squatting toilets.

- And thirdly, in Xian, when a guy I met bought me a double shot of Johnny Walker Black Label (infinitely tastier than either the first or second experience) and I spent the night telling him and his best mate that they had a history going out with idiotic princesses of women and should try to find some girl not satanically warped by the expectations of society and the media.(GOOD LUCK!!)(How I love my soap box of why I hate other women).

BUT!

You know you've been leading far too domestic an existence when you're at a quasi-barbie (quasi because it's happening in France, not Australia and they're making paella not snaggers), have a sip of whiskey on the rocks (and briefly reminisce about the good old days) and immediately become a smidge tipsy. It's neither here nor there really, because the only person spending a great deal of time with me is one year old and won't notice my whiskey breath, and, even better, walks more erratically sober than I do inebriated. (Toddlers, bless). Well, I noticed, nevertheless.

Also, the paella took AGES to cook and wasn't ready by the time Baptiste had to go home for bath and bed, so I hadn't had anything to eat whilst I was drinking (excuses, excuses). Didn't stop me from having another one though, just because I like whiskey and dislike puritan naysayers saying nay about drinking.

So, the score so far:

Whiskey neat: 2
Paella: 0
Child bathed, fed and put to bed: 1
Microwave leftover dinner: 1
Tipsy blog: 1

Sweets in Europe

So today my task was to cut wood. I got to use a special woodcutting machine, so it's not nearly so dickensian as it seems on a first hearing. There was no axe involved, just me to-ing and fro-ing from a pile of uncut wood and pressing a button on the machine, then making a pile of my own, freshly cut wood. Despite all my best efforts, I couldn't engineer an avalanche of uncut wood by plucking a strategic piece from the pile.

The inside of the wood (I think it was birch trees, or at least, used to be) looked like honeycomb. I miss the lollies in Australia. European confectionary (not chocolate, but sweets) is insufficient at best. Oh for Chicos, sour coke bottles, and various things made by the Natural Confectionary Company!

Traitorous Custard Powder

For a long time I thought that when you made custard using custard powder, it was as close as you could get to the real thing without getting the eggs fresh laid from a chicken and growing your own vanilla beans. Tonight I actually looked at the ingredients on the tin and discovered that I've been making VANILLA FLAVOURED CONSTARCH!! [And I'm dubious about the vanilla part ... it's SUPPOSED to be vanilla, but the tin just said "flavouring."]

I'm appalled that some sort of artificial, freeze-dried powder hasn't yet been concocted to simulate eggs, sugar and vanilla. I mean, if they can do it for pavlova (egg white) then why not custard? You've betrayed me for the first and final time, Bird's [so-called] Custard!!

How to Savour Your Chocolate

Image courtesy of www.observatoiredelafranchise.ro/cgi-bin/home

Proud to announce I'm the newest Christmas casual working for the Chocolate Man. This guy imports some of the most divine chocolates and is ever the connoisseur. Tips for your eating pleasure:

1. Chocolate should be consumed at a temperature of 17 - 20 degrees

2. Look at the chocolate - it should be slightly matte, not shiny

3. Smell the chocolate - it should be slightly bitter on the nostril. The higher the cocoa percentage, the sharper the aroma

4. Hold the chocolate between your fingers until it melts slightly, then separate your fingers. The melted chocolate should form a small point on the fingertip, rather than dragging like mozzerella

5. Put part of the chocolate in your mouth and snap it in half - it shoud make a clean, glasslike break when at optiumum eating temperature

6. Put the chocolate on the tongue and let it melt onto the tastebuds

7. When swallowing, allow the chocolate to roll over the tongue so that the entire palatte of flavours can be experienced

8. A good chocolate will have a linger flavour that can last up to 30 minutes if you don't eat or drink anything else. Relish the aftertaste!