the germans were in town last week... old classmates of mine while i was in the little dreamy university city of tübingen some nearly 5 yrs ago... d is often in town for his research collaboration and c is here to visit him! even though i've been here longer than d, i am quite embarrassed to admit that he has a better knowledge of all things fun and exciting in the twin-cities than i do. they suggested trying out the minneapolis restaurant week fanfare which ran till the leap day of 29th Feb... the foodie in me was hyped up with curiosity!
i left the decision to d & c as to which restaurant to pick... but i ought to have anticipated that d who has a nose for good food would at times pick something quite posh and extravagant... we sped through the minneapolis downtown skyway during friday's after-work madness to the Cosmos...
déjà vu... it hadn't occured to me when the name of the restarant was mentioned, that we were actually dining at the place where i had a rather formal dinner nearly 3 yrs ago... quite uncanny; the experience was utterly awkward and i experienced my first ID check in this country for ordering an alcoholic beverage. the same waiter, with the stout and somewhat condescending demeanour was assigned to our table.
i generally like good food without the fuss... or more appropriately, without the snobbery attached... but this was to be a 'high-brow' dining experience. i felt inadequate in all sense; a little under-dressed for the chic venue, particularly with my black rucksack and layers of jacket to fight the wintry wind. faux-pas galore, ooops.
they were eager to get us served with drinks. i ordered some sparkling pear juice while d had some belgium beer, and c was happy with her pelligrino wasser, after what i remembered as a frustrating exchange with the waiter. the thing about dinning at such posh places, as i've come to appreciate, is that you should assume they would have everything under the sky... literally... so asking what they might have as alternative beverages to their alcoholic selection could appear a little insulting to them... also, let them make a fuss about your drinks, even if it is welches' sparkling pear because, it may just be true that "it is not cold enough!" and thus require an ice bath within the champagne chilling bucket! i suppose, they practice their own dinning philosophy within their 'cosmos'...
we ordered the Cosmos Restaurant Week Menu, and for 30 US dollars, we got a splendid 3 course selection:
First Course
Cosmos Lettuce Blend from the Chefs Garden in Huron Ohio Roasted Shallot Banyuls VinaigretteSecond Course
Choose OneConfit of Chilean Sea Bass
Cauliflower, Shaved Parmesan Basil, Caper Berries, Olives, Tomato Water
or
Minnesota Grass Fed Ribeye
Blue Cheese Potato Gratin, Green Peppercorn Spring Onion, Truffle Pommes PailleDessert
Chocolate Gâteau$30 per person, tax and gratuity not included
while d indulged in the ribeye, c and i savoured the Confit of Chilean Sea Bass that was served atop lightly mashed Cauliflower, Shaved Parmesan Basil, Caper Berries, Olives, and topped with a drizzle of Tomato Water. a first bite sent my taste-buds into heaven... the light but subtle blending of white fish, tomato water, buttery cauliflower mash and the occasional zingy tones from the capers and olives, with a little sprinkling of parmesan flavours fused into a delightful gastronomic experience!
yuuuummmm mmmmmm mmmm mmm.
the entree was amazing... and everything else paled in comparison; even the chocolate gâteau, which i found a little too rich and heavy...
if my previous visit to Cosmos was a little awkward, the Pan Seared Wild Acres Duck Breast served with Butternut Squash Flan, Granny Smith Apple, Glogg Demi, Raisins that i ordered might have a little to do with it. searing isn't how i'd imagine duck ought to be prepared... but that's just me; i prefer it crispy on the outside and tender within. but if there's an entree i'd recommend the chefs at Cosmos to consider listing on their regular dinner menu, it would be the sea-bass with it's eclectic pairing of flavours.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Cosmos, at the Graves 601 Hotel
601 First Avenue North, Minneapolis MN 55403, Tel: 612-677-1100
Cons -- $$$$ (pricey) / condescending waiter(s)
Pros -- good small selection of entrees prepared with high standards / a classy bar next to restaurant / meals served by well-mannered chefs; a delightful respite from the condescending waiter(s).
many years ago, when my dormie, Stefanie, in UWCAC, was talking about baking a carrot-cake one saturday, i remember looking at her kinda confused. the only 'carrot-cake' i knew then was this yummy asian version of grated radish mixed with rice flour, steamed in large cubes, and then fried and served savoury... Stefanie is Italian (or German-Italian) and it was really unlikely that she's tried the type of carrot-cake i grew up enjoying... but she was real certain of making it! so i watched her in the student-house kitchen grating carrots and dumping it into a gooey mix and coaxing the stuff into the heated oven. it was as she said, carrot cake! and it was yum.
during the many years i've spent in the UK, i've always enjoyed my nibbles of carrot-cake but without the super-sweet icing on top... unless it had cream-cheese 'frosting' like the way the organic deli, across from where i once lived as a student with two other flatmates, would make and sell it... but i've never attempted to bake one myself. the closest i got to was finding and printing out a recipe. that was nearly 5 years ago.
a few days ago i finally decided i would try it out so i could bring it to the Thanksgiving get-together at the Boeffs... i always like to bring something whenever i am a guest (mainly as an excuse to procrastinate!). but when i studied the recipe, the amount of sugars called for was a little more than alarming! being a totally non-devout recipe-follower anyway, i took the liberty of modifying it based on what i thought was sound... while keeping the cinnamony-spicey holiday season warmth of what the cake symbolized intact... and am glad to discover that not only was the cake edible, it was well-liked by a nearly 3-yr old toddler who insisted on having her cake, eating it! and asking for a second helping! wow. little did i know what the magic of carrots in a cake entailed!
so here's the recipe a la yours truly... =)
carrot cake
- 2 & 3/4 cups of grated carrots (3 large carrots)
- 1 tin of pineapple purée (syrup drained off)
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup of raisins (optional)
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup brown / castor sugar
- 2 & 1/4 cups of plain/cake flour (sifted)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 & 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 2 to 3 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves OR allspice
- 1/4 tsp salt
*) if you don't live in the US where ovens and stoves are always on auto-pilot, pre-heat oven to 350°F OR 180°C
**) line a cake tin (e.g. 9-12'') with parchment paper; grease and flour the sides
1) mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl
2) blend in vegetable oil into a smooth paste
3) beat in eggs individually
4) mix in pineapple purée and carrots
*) heat oven to 350°F OR 180°C if it's not already preheated
5) pour mixture into lined/greased cake tin
6) bake in the middle of the oven for about 30-45mins, until tester slides cleanly out.
7) remove and allow to cool for about 5 mins
8) remove cake from tin to cool completely before frosting, if desired.
cream cheese 'frosting'
- 14-16 oz. organic light cream-cheese or quark
- 1 (&1/2 if you prefer a sweeter frosting) cup extra-fine raw sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
1) beat cream cheese until soft and light
2) blend in vanilla
3) blend in sugar
4) 'frost' the cake when it is cool and decorate with edible festive sprinklers etc. if desired.
serve with tea, coffee or wine... or just dig in... =) enjoy!
... now i just need to find a decent recipe for madeleines... hmmmmmm.
i had no idea how these fluttery things with slimey-looking younglings get inside my apartment when there's a wire gauze over all windows... except perhaps through the slits in the window wherein the air-conditioner (A/C) was installed over summer... darn those wretched creatures! i had to part with my beloved sacks of rice... rice of all sorts; wild, sweet, brown, and my baking stuff... evil little things!
may i also mention that the said window with the A/C also enticed a frequent visitor with a bushy tail particularly when it storms... and more annoyingly this visitor has a penchant for gnawing at the gauze outside the storm window next to the one containing the A/C. it's partly my fault for having the storm window drawn up occasionally for the fresh breeze, because the protective (?!?) gauze has suffered 3 chewing destructions and consequent replacements... and i believe that the visitor actually came in one evening and decided that it wasn't going to be finding any food and scampered out again. i've never had negative thoughts of grey squirrels until i met them in person... they are pesky.
anyways... back to the pantry! i've been swatting and exterminating them moths and emptying my food cupboard... and putting whatever could be salvaged in a box... clearing away these invaders will be my new chore! baaaah... and i will have to live with an empty cupboard for a while... sob.
the weather has begun to turn pretty hot lately... and while i've installed my hand-me-down air-con... i have only used it once. it is LOUD and i am hoping the filter i've order from amazon.com will arrive soon...
speaking of THE weather, it has affected my appetite these days... and i am feeling less hungry than i usually am (hmm?!). it's amazing how the heat makes you slightly anorexic... and the winter chill makes you crave for lovely sweet and warm things. so while i am somewhat peckish... i often find myself nibbling instead of making proper meals like i often do...
guess it's time to explore finger food....
if you are like me, and maybe even if you are not like me, you might love a bit of Carr's table water crackers with some prima donna artisan cheese! and if you are in the mood for more epicurian explorations, try some Dalmatian Fig jam with that combination... it's delectably... good!
my new caffeine craze is Starbucks' double-shot... i know, i know... it's most terrible... i actually have to admit i am quite particular about my coffee preferences... i have a fondness for good coffee... and Starbucks' rank pretty highly on my list of cuppas...
SHOCKING, you'd say!
well... they do pretty good coffees... at a price of course... it's a lifestyle commodity. and they are not bashful about it. well, at least in some parts of the world, e.g. hippy edinburgh, they do fair-trade coffee in their Starbucks' store, which makes it less terrible for spending that much on coffee because you are supporting fair-trade.
double?! yes double. and milky... it's got to be!
what about your cuppa tea?! you protest?
yes i totally agree... it's sacrilege!
don't get me wrong... i LOVE my tea... i find it soothing and comforting... and gentle... nothing beats a cuppa tea... well, most of the time...
because you see, coffee does the trick to keep me buzzing... particularly if i have to stay up or keep awake, as i am currently trying to...
it's a terrible addiction, but while it manifests, you ought not to compromise quality... that is if you can help it! =C)
but i know my brother will disagree... i once tried to introduce him to good Illy and LavAzza coffees and the french press... but alas... he still prefers instant Nescafé...
spending a full week in a state of peachtree streets and more peachtree streets wasn't really something i was looking forward to. the annual Society for Neuroscience Conference was scheduled there a month earlier than usual because the venue at New Orleans wouldn't be able to hold the meeting for a long long time... it's rather sad really, how slow the rebuilding process is yonder.
unlike the meeting held in D.C. last year... i didn't get to have fun with my brother and lianne nor visit the numerous museums in the rather european-like city... but what i lost in direct family bonding, i gained in meeting old classmates & friends from germany and getting to know my colleagues, aka "Smelly Boys", a little better... ahem.
Atlanta is quite a big city... home to CNN, Coca-Cola, the humongous Georgia World Congress Center where many of us (20,000 or more) plodded through its nearly 4-5 football fields acres of space... (great workout for the keen)... and lots of peachtrees (perhaps in the countryside)? i am not crazy about the city-planning and landscaping in Atlanta, nor parts of the twincities ... and perhaps this is so in every part of the world... where some of the architecture and landscapes just ain't terribly charming...
in any case, i got to hear some fascinating talks ranging from the biology of cascades of molecular processes implicated to be involved in e.g. learning, to abstract modelling of cognitive control theories and what it is that higher visual areas might be doing and the many aspects of the brain we have yet fully understood... some research labs are doing amazing inter-disciplinary work at different levels of investigation; from electrophysiology, to functional imaging, to genetic-targetting and patient-post-mortem histological studies... this is really exciting stuff because very few institutes can enjoy the privileges of achieving such collaboration within their walls. i also presented my work (in progress) in trying to relate brain signals to movement parameters to some interested fellow researchers and was really glad i didn't have to find a rabbit burrow to hide... i suspect, though, that the fame of a senior author on my poster might be the reason why people came... but it was nice to hear some of their suggestions and positive feedback.
the Smelly Boys highlighted something amusing about these poster presentations and made me view this whole conference thingy more like a social event in some bizarre way for the younger generation... for they seem 'besotted' with a particular swedish female researcher/graduate-student and many people were quite enthusiastic about the evening socials! they also noticed a propensity of males visiting my poster... hmm... honestly, i have more romantic ideas of meeting a guy than at a poster presentation in a scientific conference... ?!?! maybe there's a new wave of hippy charming researchers in the younger generation! ha. or perhaps, it's always been like this... for generations!
in any case, i got to do some none-conference things... like visiting the HIGH art museum and saw some gorgeous paintings and sketches from the Louvre in Paris in the new exhibitions and hear some lovely live french accordian music and jazz in the museum's piazza... i also saw the male version of da vinci's 'mona lisa', raphael's Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione...
i wandered about some of the modern pieces on exhibit and had some fun capturing the light in the spirally rotunda in the museum... so much so, i missed nearly all of Frank Gehry's talk at the Conference because it took forever to get to the congress center and mainly because i got the time wrong... though i was utterly gutted and annoyed with myself, i discovered that i didn't miss much, apparently, since i've watched the pbs.org documentary on Gehry's work... and he didn't really try to bridge his talk about his work as an architect with the discussion on its implications and influence on research in brain-sciences or vice-versa but i suppose the interviewer did try to engage him into the discussion at the end, if only for a short while... nonetheless i admire his creativity, his quest and striving to be different and strong admist criticisms, and there's much to learn from this quirky personality; that talent can be latent and like many things, require the right environmental nurturing to blossom... also it's good to multi-task least you become obssessed with just one idea... sigh... i would have liked to pen a question regarding the lack of windows in buildings in usa but i suspect he might retaliate saying that his buildings are an exception to that observation?! 
i also went on the CNN visitor's tour... and discovered how harry potter's invisible cloak works on the screen... some clever but simple optical illusion with the use of chroma... and how news readers look seemingly confident with what they say without looking at their notes... i wish i asked why they keep bombaring their viewers with scenes of terror! oh well. thankfully i don't have cable telly.
interestingly, what atlanta lacks in apparent architectural charm... she kinda makes up with a pocket of very good restaurants... within the mid-town area where claire and i stayed is a foodie paradise with some very european-like enterprise... much to my delight!
tucked away in a quiet corner along a street within the vicinity of Georgia Institute of Technology is a little understated art-nouveau resto named TOAST... simple modern decor complimented by fresh creativity in its menu, this delightful little place provides a splendid venue for the opportunity to toast to life's simple pleasure of enjoying a meal with friends in a non-pompous casual setting.
--- the rissoto with sundried tomatoes and basil was a delightful treat!
Toast Restaurant
817 West Peachtree St.
Suite E-125
Atlanta, Ga. 30308
there was another restaurant that caught my attention while wandering about one night with the Smelly Boys... it is a converted terrace building with a large patio for outdoor seating overflowing from the bar, generous glass walls allow privy peeks into the resto from the street and what you glimpse is a charming atmosphere of classy dinning experience. ecco was on my mind all week but i didn't have the luck to sample what its simple stylish grandeur promised... the queues were long and waiting for nearly 2 hours for a table wasn't something we could sensibly tolerate after a long day at the conference... of course we could have been a little more organised with advance booking... nonetheless it is definitely a place one ought not to miss exploring if you should find yourself yonder in mid-town atlanta... particularly the exhibition kitchen... hmmm.
ecco
40 7th Street
Atlanta, Georgia 30308
but we didn't suffer our disappointment too long... for a few blocks away from ecco was a charming resto next to its cheese and wine store, just like the little stores along the streets of medieval european cities... a rare sight in usa, although perhaps not quite so in new york city. ENO, imbues the very essence of mediterranean and european atmosphere... we had a glass of wine each at the bar while waiting and the cheese and wine store caught my eye... i sneaked in and soaked in its european ambience with delight... the sales assistant was intrigued but polite. i inquired if they were closed for the day and if i might just have a peak... at the cheeses... and the wines and well, actually just the decor... and commented how much it reminded me of europe... and he agreed that it is rather rare a place on their side of the world.
dinner at ENO was well worth the wait... i had a lovely dish of ATLANTIC SALMON FILLET GRILLED IN GRAPE LEAVES WITH FIG PUREE AND PRESERVED LEMON, SPRING VEGETABLE COUSCOUS and the flavours were fascinating... tangible to a rather pleasantly surprising awakening... oooh. i've never had salmon in that form... and it was a delightful combination of subtle fig sweetness with a tinge of savoury from the grape leaves and just the right citrus-tanginess of the fresh and gorgeous couscous...
one of the Smelly Boys (EK) had the SEARED DUCK BREAST WITH SUMMER PEAS CARMELIZED CIPPOLINI ONIONS AND FOIE GRAS STUFFED MORELS and i had a nibble taster... and was pining in my conscious awake dreams for more... the duck was deliciously crispy on the outside but juicey and tender on its flesh... and such succulence was complemented with the beautiful peas, onions and mushrooms... the handmade pasta dish that VC had was awesome too... and so was the lambchop that AM enjoyed...
and that wasn't just it... the desserts were equally something to rave about... for the LAVENDER INFUSED PANNA COTTA with georgian peaches (i think they substituted with plums that night!), a lavender tuile and lavender honey was something i couldn't refuse... even though there were so many other delectable choices... chocolate truffle torte, pistachio ice cream... oooh it's just difficult... but i did not regret it a bit... i love lavender and panna cotta! and the idea of marrying the two things i love in a dessert is utterly splendid... my taste buds were on a high... oooh yeah.
i highly recommend the ENO dinning experience for their wonderful food creations and for their professionality; the chef personally introduces his new dishes of the season and is out there in the company of diners, helping the other staff at the tables too... and the staff are all impeccable in their professional conduct and yet laid-back... but of course a good dining company makes the whole experience something enjoyable too... bring a few of your foodie friends along!!!
ENO and Barrelman
800 Peachtree Street
Atlanta, Georgia
30308
although the food experience was awesome, the chilly wintry air of the twin cities is a lovely welcome after a week in muggy soggy atlanta. and the remaining fall colours are really quite a cheer... nonetheless i know i'll have snippets of fond memories whenever i hear the song...
"Georgia, Georgia,
The whole day through
Just an old sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mind" ...
this weekend just gone saw me doing NO research-related work (considering how late i get back usually during the week) ! YIPPEEE!!!! instead, i did laundry, tried to rent a car but was told i couldn't until the official license arrived... nonetheless i attempted to go shoe-hunting on saturday but was unsuccessful... it seems that online-shopping might be the next best solution... come sunday... i shamelessly slept the whole of it... only to crawl out of bed when the day was nearly over... it seems that my body has won the battle on sunday. for the last week i have been enduring some slimey bug in my system which aroused an unwarranted appearance of annoyingly painful Cranker-sores on my tongue; truly awful. and the only consolation, if any, is that i actually spoke with a more obvious 'british' accent when these crankers manifest themselves. while i've attempted to drown my system with fluids... i remained feeling quite ill... perhaps it is the spores of autumn, perhaps it's stress... (yes the stupid conference poster stress!)
anyways... i felt a lot better after the whole lot of sleep! sleep is a miraculous cure! and to celebrate that 'feeling-better', i decided to go find some ingredients and make some crêpes for dinner... afterall, one has to eat and i just welcomed home a wee but lovely professional non-stick pan, which calls for a celebratory act of actually putting it into use!
while i am not indulging in cuisine-recipes here... because there are so many excellent, professional-looking and entertaining foodblogs out there (e.g. C&Z or TTL) and overacuppa just isn't quite as profi... there is still the random occasion of my foody-indulgence...
and i must admit that the sporadic creation of savoury crêpes filled with finely chopped honey-cured ham, parsely, thinly sliced celery, chestnut mushrooms, and generously sprinkled fresh parmesan cheese to glue all the goodness together, were delightfully complemented with homemade barely water, which DSD kindly reminded me to have to feel better!
i should be on my way to full recovery... hopefully!
once in a while, i succumb to the lure of distractions... big and small. often, this lack of self-restraint re-surfaces just about the time i finish something wretchedly exhausting... no prizes for guessing the recent ordeal horribus.
friday... the deadline... for weeks on end i had been staying up late and returning over the weekends to run series of number-crunching, hours by day and night... the poor computers suffered as much RAM as i did... and i am beginning to notice the symptoms of burning out; the very idea of programming rekindles the ever familiar: "i hate-programming" sulk... and it takes me forever to do something seemingly straightforward.
yet, the sloth-like pace in stringing together bizarre mathematical syntax metamorphosizes, in an instant, into sprightliness when there's the excuse to engage in, for example, conversations over a cocktail, browsing in B&N just around the corner from my apartment, cleaning and tidying the apartment, or trying out new recipes... anything... anything to get away from programming!!!
and so i joined a couple of my colleages for a drink at an uptown bar-restaurant after work on friday; they didn't have much difficulty coaxing me this time, like they usually do... and i ordered a B52 -- a concoction of Baileys Irish Cream, Grand Marnier, and Kahlua, served layered like a pudding (or sometimes, mixed over the rocks)... it was actually not on the cocktail list... ooops... but i have my way to what's real yuuum... although on hindsight, i should perhaps have tried something new... my other favourite cocktails are Piña Colada and the Singapore Sling... well, i suppose there's something i am patriotic about! ha.
then, i made my way home from uptown by bus, and via Barnes&Nobles... i count myself lucky to live very near 2 bookstores (the other being the HalfPriceBookstore with a lot of great bargains on used books)... but of course... this proximity comes with a price... a literal one! so, along came these new friends...
in the hope that they will inspire me to get started, with the bones of my thesis, even if the draft will be crappy. i also found a copy of Secret of the Senses which included works of some eminent scientists i have recently heard in the Presidential symposium... and others whose renowed names i happen to recognise! fascinating stuff.
then, i found myself trying to rekindle the taste of a decadent chocolatey pear cake-tart... 
i must say, i am intrigued by how taste-buds link our conscious eating experiences into some form of stored memory... because they get replaced nearly every week or month!
and i made the zabaglione sauce for tiramisu, which i completed this morning... i am bringing the dessert for the farewell party on monday evening! yes... and i have a lot of liquor-infused coffee left from the "pick-me-up" affair... which i need use up... hmmm.
as if that wasn't enough fun... i just made myself a surprisingly beautiful shrimp-bisque... inspired by a recipe from the Soup book i bought myself the other day... it is gorgeous with Carr's cheese-melts, which lucy gave me to bring back to usa... because, lovely british crackers are so hard to come by... oooooh.... yums.
can there be enough distractions in a day?! nope nope nope...
labour day in the US is adamantly not on the 1st of May... and since i couldn't get away from my work-misery and the twin-cities over the long weekend (my escape plan to NY didn't materialise... maybe next time!) ... i decided to bring the party into my wee apartment instead... well, it's just a wee little dinner get-together with a few of my colleague-friends. but it meant i could kinda say 'thank-you' to one of them who's been very kind with letting me use his car to practice driving... and also an excuse to watch "The Fiddler On The Roof" with some company... and it gave them the opportunity to taste some asian-homecooking... well, almost!
those who have actually seen me messing about in a/the kitchen will realise how dyslexic i am in following recipes... whether it is pure dyslexia or pure obstination in following 'orders' or that i don't always have everything i need... i tend to exercise quite a lot of creative license in my cooking... just because. well, call it a genetic disposition! but i quite like this rather non-conformist drive in me, particularly in the kitchen... =C) ...
"cooking without a recipeWhile some people like the 'certainty' that comes from following an exact recipe, others rarely bother with them. [...] This does not always mean that [those latter people] are particularly experienced cooks -- it may be that they have an instinct for what might go with what. A feeling for their food. They may also have read or heard that x is good with y, or vaguely remember something they once ate and enjoyed. Whatever sort of cook you are -- or want to be -- there is nothing quite so rewarding as following your instincts and finding that they pay off.
" (Nigel Slater, APPETITE, pg 34-35)
i often browse through recipe books to find inspiration, or gain them through my mummy's cooking, or by learning from what other people do, or quite simply from trial-and-error... and from really screwing things up! but hey.... it's really not a big deal. at least i don't think so... some people get really stressed out about screwing up... and in some ways, jeopardise the enjoyment that goes with the whole affair...
i think it is fun to have people helping you with your messing-about-in-the-kitchen; especially those who have a penchant for all things foodie... this hands-on activity is also a good way to prepare your 'guests' for what they will be eating! haha...
apart from the braised pork and tofu stew which i served with steamed rice (cooked on top of the gas-stove) and garlic-stir-fried broccoli, i thought it would be fun to include a version of vietnamese spring-rolls as appetiser which i got the guys interested into making two rolls for everyone... while i made the whipped-mascarpone-cream for the layered fruit-compote and amaretti-mascarpone dessert (shown in the top left picture)... and tried to fit all the goodness into a red-wine glass for each of us! we all had a lot of fun... so much so that we didn't really snap any pictures; busy preparing, busy keeping everyone occupied with something (so much to the extend of handing one of them my english-chinese/chinese-english dictionary so that he could try to say something in mandarin! it was hilarious...) busy eating, busy enjoying the silly but otherwise 'intellectually-stimulating' exchanges of food-talk.. and i am glad they found the food edible!
i so much enjoyed cooking for/with my friends that i got even more inspired to try new 'recipes'... and subconsciously, i picked out 2 cookbooks (pictured left) from Barnes&Nobles on tuesday... and i am so chuffed with my purchase! i've always wanted a book that would tell me about different herbs and spices and how they have been traditionally used, prepared, combined, and also what they are good with... and i've always loved a good hearty soup! particularly ruth's soups... and so any inspiring ideas for soup-brewing and herby or spicey endeavours are indeed gems to be sought!
in fact, i was so excited by the many different things i could do with my favourite cilantro/corriander herb, which i make a point to get regularly... that i tried the corriander chutney recipe, modifying it only ever so slightly by adding a touch of sweet japanese mirin... and i am guessing that this would be splendid with seafood, and grilled meats... complementing the meat or grains with a subtly spiced but sweet experience and something i could bring along to the bbq-party this coming sunday!
oh... i can't wait to try other herb-spice concoctions... and make me a warm soup real soon!
this was the result of having a packet of fresh soft Philadelphia cheese that was crying to be used yesterday... i attempted to follow the blueberry cheesecake recipe offered on the cardboard carton but had to modify it because a) i didn't have any sour-cream and didn't want to go to LUNDs to get it, b) i couldn't bring myself to make the biscuity base from scratch because it was nearly 10pm and c) i found a box of ready-made mini tartlet crusts on my kitchen shelf which i have been saving for a random treat...
this is my sketchy recipe, concocted on the spot... so perhaps there's something else which might be missing... oops!
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 packet of (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
- 1 wee tub of Danone French Vanilla jogurt
- 1 large free-range brown egg
- 1 teaspoon of bourbon vanilla essence
- approximately 1/2 cup of frozen blueberries, thawed, strained and pureed
- a handful of thinly chopped almond slices
after mixing the soft cheese and jogurt, mix in the egg (the whole thing) and the vanilla essence. you ought to end up with a nice smooth creamy thick emulsion. dullop about a spoonful of the mixture to each empty tartlet crust that has been hibernating on a flat baking sheet, just enough to fill not-quite to its brim. then using a pair of chopsticks (if you will!) add a little lump of the pureed blueberry into the middle of the creamy filling of each tartlet. sprinkle or artistically place a few almond slices on the top and bake in a preheated oven (to 350degF / approximately 200degC, methinks!) until the cheesy filling looks just golden brown or that the crust is golden brown (approx. 20mins perhaps!). remove from the heat and let the wee tartlets cool and breathe... chill (for about 2-3 hours) before serving... over-a-cuppa... of course! haha.
... because i wanted to share it with my colleagues at the office/lab, i had made a promise to myself (a while ago when i discovered about it, and whenever i can help it) not to forget one of them who is allergic to wheat which is the main ingredient of the mini tartlet crusts... and since i had some creamy mixture left, AND! a box of scottish Walkers Oatcakes, which are wheat-free, i attempted to make a small portion of crust-base using my hand-me-down bric-a-brac ceramic japanese tea-cups as containers because i don't have any tartlet moulds...
carefully crushing a wee sub-pack of the oatcakes (maybe there were 5 oatcakes in there?) in a small ziploc with a wooden spatula, i added about 2 teaspoonsful honey and approximately a wee knob of unsalted butter of thickness 2x the size of my thumb (maybe?)... but it looked and felt rather grainy still after adding the honey and butter so i dumped the mixture into my small nifty Braun food-processor to blend it and that did the trick. i layered each of my wee teacups with a little sheet of aluminium foil and then pressed the blended crumb-mix to the inner sides to make a crumb-base 'container' for the creamy filling... then i repeated what i did before wrt the filling and bake these 4 other random wheat-free versions of the tartlets while i cleared up the mess in the kitchen!
the idea of using the little ceramic teacups seemed to work fine... and everyone at work seemed to like the randomness too... and best of all, just as i was vexing about it because of my hay-fever symptoms, i have been trying to avoid diary products in the hope that i might feel a little bit more alive, i used up my cream-cheese! phew.
what will you do to have something like that??? and you are far from where it originates?
i say, make it from scratch! my mummy used to say, if you are not bothered by the effort of making your meal, you will have something to eat... i say, in addition to that, if you can tolerate delayed gratification... you'll most likely enjoy a lovely meal... harha.
i've been wondering how Tabouleh is made since the sys admin brought it as a contribution for the lab potluck some months ago... i've had it once or twice before at wine-nights, when it was served with flat pitta breads or crackers, and i see it being sold at the local supermarkets... but i didn't really know what went into it except that i gathered it might be similar to couscous salads that i enjoy a lot and concoct my own versions too.
i didn't know that Tabouleh originated from Lebanon... or so it is said. my only encounter with Lebanese food was many many years ago when i first visited uncle Albert and auntie Helena in Adelaide... it was one dinner meal that they took wee me to and i was truly intrigued... i've not had any since but i hope to do so again some day... for middle eastern food has a very unique assortment of flavours that are perculiarly fascinating to my taste-buds.
i love food with a myriad of flavours, both strongly or subtlely spiced or aromatized... but that doesn't mean i don't appreciate the more bland and plain things of life... i am just partial to interesting combination of flavours, either because i can taste some of the different bits of things that go into the whole or that i enjoy the global essence of it... i have had to learn that not everyone appreciates food the way i do... it just depends on whether you are a 'super-taster' ( an unfortunate misnomer for those who do not appreciate myriad combinations of flavours and prefer their foods plain) or not, or somewhere in between, or both...
tabouleh... that which is spiced... is made with bulgur wheat or cracked wheat and mixed as a salad with chopped fresh juicey tomatoes, cucumbers, lots of finely chopped parsley, fresh mint, spring-onions or shallots, and carressed with olive oil and awakened by some sprightly lemon juice, sea-salt, and freshly grounded pepper. my version was adapted along the lines of those listed (off the top of my head) ingredients and i had the great satisfaction of seeing the outcome of chopping, as well as enjoying a lovely home-made version of taboleh salad with some lovely warm fajita pancakes... (btw, a splash of soya sauce or a dash of chopped dried chillies made it even more interesting!)
... and especially enjoyable after a long day of sedated chair-warming eyes-damaging activity that involves lots of number-crunching!
i got to host the first of the occassional 'traditional' wine-tasting nights this year at my apartment on friday evening after work... what that entails really is that people will come to taste some bottles of wine that the established group of side-ways wannabes had acquired before i appeared here and whatever that the new crowd of people might fancy and since it's at my humble abode, i decided to invite people i like too instead of just mingling with only the 'elite' crowd of side-ways wannabes...
and of course... i couldn't resist making mulled wine too for it is the perfect season for the lovely drink! ... and chipping in 2 very lovely bottles of wine: a 2003 Riesling i found at the wine-store near my place and a 2002 bottle of red Zinfandel from the Napa Valley, California, a gift i received for xmas... why people think i know my wines or appreciate them is complete mystery to me... i hardly drink and only with a meal or something to nibble with... unlike what my brother seems to think (a closet alcoholic, which i vehemently protest!)... i like to think i am better acquainted with wine than he is (hee!)... and i think it's a good thing to be able to appreciate good wine and to find one you enjoy... yup... indeed... i would like to be learned in every way! in any case, i do find it a little odd i should be receiving so many gifts of wine... is this a very american thing?!
and to think hosting wine night is a good way to make use of the wine.... oh no no no... i still have about 8 bottles of potentially very good or mediocre wines hibernating on the shelf...
in any case, of the 5 types of reds we tried here are the ones i would recommend:
- Black Chicken from Robert Biale Vineyards, a 2002 Napa Valley Zinfandel (California, USA): this is by far the best among those we tried... only people who've lived in europe will appreciate the richness of its smooth and deep fruity tones and the strength of its fullness which the locals described as 'peppery' given their usual 'diluted' alcoholic beverages here cf. the continental european standard. the seemingly frivolous name is a code that derives from the occasional party lines requesting for a bottle of the family's wine from the barrels in the farm barn!
- Calico Red from the Bergevin Lane Vineyards, a 2003 Columbian Valley Red Wine (Walla Walla, Washington State, USA): of all the other reds from Washington state we tried this is my favourite although not quite as good as the Black Chicken. nonetheless, it has a smooth taste with a fruity flavouring but is a lighter red.
i also tried my Franz Reh 2003 Riesling (Rheinhessen, Germany) which was lovely... flavourful tones of walnut and fruits and it has a sweet crispiness to it. i tend to prefer Rieslings over any other types of wine... for it is delicately sweet and would go well with most food and even spicey dishes if you must... i usually choose a Kabinett for it is not as dry and if you are like me, you would also appreciate a light and fruity white French wine, a 2003 Sancerre from the Le Manoir Vineyards!
but of course, you must must must have mulled wine in winter... it's just all you need to keep warm at parties! =C)
i should have known that hosting wine-night wasn't the way to reduce the number of wines i've been receiving as gifts... for i have been given more wine! so there, if you think you need more bottles of wine in your cellar or in your collection... throw a wine-tasting party or offer your place for the occasion (as i did) and have someone else organise it! don't forget to have lots of different types of cheese (cheddar, guyere, halvarti, gouda, goat's cheese, brie, etc..) and crackers for they go very well with alcohol and could even help you enjoy the wine better!
this was my contribution to today's lab pot-luck buffet... the vegetarian version (front) was a much preferred option (cf the smoked salmon version at the back)... the baked mushroom filling did the trick, i suppose...
aren't they pretty little things, the cookies? they were one of the highlights of the xmas party that i tagged along during my NY visit... it was a rather hilarious evening that saw me segment a dead and roasted chicken (not with quite the same level of gentle carefulness as i had to render in neuroanatomy practical class some years ago but the result was edible nonetheless!), witness with trepidation the seemingly-harmless (?!) 'harrassment' of an infant akin to brute-machiavellian tactics (some adults have the tendency to think kids as toys... a little traumatizing for the onlooker), saw lots of silly picture snapping next to a little xmas tree... being mused by people exchanging/barter-trading their xmas gifts received from a random xmas gift-exchange... and being reminded of the coolest motto:
"Dance as though no one is watching you,
love as though you have never been hurt before,
sing as though no one can hear you,
live as though heaven is on earth.
?Souza?"
... what was your x'mas like?
there are probably more things swirling in my mind than i could properly digest and share it with sensibility... but i feel the spasmic urge of a bit of verbal diarrhoea...
i am still suffering my sleepless nights thanks to the loud snoring of my neighbour?! which i think is worth the whiney mention since snoring is a sign of a health problem that people usually don't look into for it CAN BE a rather awkward thing to talk about... i've bought green coloured soft spongy ear plugs that you squeeze to insert into your ear and let them expand within the canal to assume their noise-blocking role... but the pressure is uncomfortable... either i'll have to learn to get used to the perpetual unpleasant rhythm or i get myself totally exhausted through work or chores (neither is a healthy thing) and sleep through it... maybe i need to carpet the wooden floors...
anyways...
work has been stressful... frustrating... one waits for this busy boss for his approval on things and meanwhile one needs to remain busy. sometimes all this waiting makes everything seem meaningless. instant gratification... if only you can get that to manifest more easily in science... physical work is often more satisfying in my opinion... but no one noticed that the previously filthy microwave-oven in the lab library is looking squeeky clean... sigh.
and
i can't seem to find a decent loaf of bread here! everything is FORTIFIED with something... and the centre bits of the bread is an airy fluff of insubstantial stuff... if the brits are criticised by the continental europeans for not having good bread... the americans have lousy ones. sorry if it seems harsh... can't help being honest... now, i am on the quest for quality bread... and i got these wonderful cookbooks (Apetite by Nigel Slater -- one book i highly recommend for the kitchen... if i only owned my own kitchen! Slater's cooking philosophy is one which all of us should aspire to have... and Breads (The Good Cook Series) by Time Life) out from the neighbourhood library the evening i gleefully joined and thought i really should try to make my own bread... but the first attempt on sunday was an utter disaster... i was in a terrible mood... cooking can be so influenced by the mind and soul... amazing. and so i tried it again the night after... it's still not quite what i'm craving for... so i'll have to try again... sigh.
sigh...
when things get a little down... i often find solace in a cuppa... a good cuppa...
but even then...
people here have been finding me a little peculiar... for i add fresh milk into my mug/cup before i pour hot tea... and they don't understand why this ritual is more 'proper' nor why it should taste sweeter that way... but it does... and here is one fun instructional guide on how to enjoy a good cuppa tea! (click on the animation!)
now... i feel a little less miserable... ahhh the wonders of catharsis!
it's a chilly (<10degC) but beautiful day here in St. Paul and the freshness of the air cajoled a trip i'd been wanting to do for a while which didn't quite materialise on the weekend that f was here because it was miserably wet and cold... and then there were other distractions... like having to return stained(!!!) stainless steel cutlery from IKEA and also to replace them with something better since i very much want to dine at home too; promised attendence at colleague's party; and of course, work! ahem. yes. i think work is a terrible sort of distraction for better things in life like going to the farmers market! hee!!
there are a few farmers markets in the twin cities and my colleague brought me to one in Minneapolis once during my first week(s) here that was located near the busy highway (or freeway?!)... i was naturally thrilled since that was something familiar; like markets in asia and in continental europe. and i love the fact that you can chat to the farmers who actually grew your potatoes and leafy greens and ask them how they'd recommend you prepare certain bulbs, roots, stems etc... i recall that there were also lovely fresh flowers for sale and a tea-stall where i picked up a few free samples, much to my delight! that Farmers Market in Minneapolis is by far the largest i've seen here and it reminds me a lot of Viktualien Markt in Munich except without the quaint medieval charm of the Bavarian city. however, it is quite a distance to get to without a car.
i decided to visit the downtown St. Paul farmers market instead since it is a single bus ride from my doorstep and it is also open on sundays!
St. Paul's Farmers Market is a good-sized market with some over 20 stalls show-casing their weekly fresh produce. there were noticeable amounts of squash and pumkins about this week... beautiful autumn flower wreaths and bouquets which i was very tempted to treat myself to but didn't in the end... the lady at a homemade chocolate sauce stall offered me samples but i didn't buy any even though she said that one sort of truffles might appeal to my dark-chocolate preference...
what i did get in the end are some free-range chicken tenders and mince and this wonderful array of edibles...
clockwise from top left: hot red thai chillis (which are more than i really need for the whole year!), locally produced apples -- cortland & fireside ranges, locally havested honey -- basswood and fall wildflower infused, chinese broccoli (one of my favourite veggies), sweet potatoes, yellow potatoes and little onions...
i'm going to have a feast this week! =C)
just like my obsession with blueberries... i am also very fond of lavender... i used to think it's an old-women's thing but that impression never really stuck for long... i love lavender for it's scent, for it's soothing properties and for the fact that it looks so pretty, as a herb plant and flower... i once remarked to a friend i refer to as 'happy claire' (because she's so bubbly and makes everyone smile) that i'd love to lie in a field of lavender in provence and she looked concerned. she responded that maybe i won't really want to do that because there will be lots of wasps and bees when lavender blossoms.... sigh...
i guess if i can't fall asleep in fields of lavender, i could bathe myself in its essence... thus, shower gel/bath salts/body-creams/soaps that have lavendula oils and/or dried lavender flower petals have a special place in my wee bathroom... i also have a little pillow filled with dried lavender flowers which i could heat up to help ease sore muscles or simply aid sleeping... i also once kept this recipe for lavender ice-cream in hope that i might someday have an ice-cream maker to try it... i still have it in my silly recipe collection!
and when DSD blogged about lavender cookies the other day... i thought "i want some too!"... and hunted for a recipe which i unwittingly modified so slightly as i tried to follow it last week...
i used dried lavender buds i purchased from a very hippie-tea-house in glasgow many months ago for tea-brewing and shipped it over here... and i also found this lovely lavender infused syrup which i substituted for the light corn syrup in the recipe and very casually added some to the cookie-dough mix too!... i didn't know what i'll do with corn syrup apart from using it in this recipe so i decided to splurg on something i know i will use regularly (e.g. for my tea-consumption) instead...
here is my modified version of Linda's lovely recipe for lavender tea cookies:
for the cookie dough:
- 1 tablespoon dried culinary lavender flowers -- grind with pestle in motar, or crush with a wooden spoon in a bowl.
- approximately 225g unsalted butter -- leave it to cool to room temperature
- approximately 125g brown raw cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 tablesppon Sonoma Syrup Co.'s Lavender Infused Simple Syrup
- 450g all purpose / plain flour
- a tiny pinch of salt
cream butter, sugar, vanilla extract, lemon juice and then the bruised lavender together in a bowl before adding flour and salt to form a soft dough. gently roll the cookie dough into a long sausage form with your hands and wrap it in plastic (cling film etc.) and compress it as tightly as you can in its sausage shape and tie a knot on both ends of the 'sausage'. then lay it on a flat plate or tray and refrigerate until firm. i left it over a day hibernating in the cold.
when ready, preheat the oven to 165degC (or 325degF). on a flat board, unroll the plastic film from cookie dough sausage and slice ~1/2-cm thick discs and place them on a cookie baking sheet(s). bake until they are lightly browned on their edges and remove them to cool on a wire rack before applying the lavender frosting, if desired.
for the lavender frosting:
- 225g icing sugar
- 2 tablespoons of dried culinary lavender flowers
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 tablespoon Lavender Infused syrup (Sonoma Syrup Co.)
combine and toss the icing sugar and lavender flowers in a ziploc bag and leave them to get acquainted with each other for at least a day, preferrably longer...
then sift out the lavender flowers with a fine seive and leave the lavender aside in a container for use to brew a cuppa lavender tea instead of discarding them so soon. to the scented icing sugar, add the rest of the ingredients to form a frosty white spreadable mixture and spread it over the cooled cookies...
i didn't frost all my cookies since i quite like them less sweet but the frosting actually enhances the lavender-taste.... however, i found that the cookies looked boring with the white covering so i tried to give them some identity by carving out patterns on the frosting... (just so i can spend more time in the warmth of the kitchen!)
so there... it's not too difficult really... and they smell and taste lovely... lavender-ly!
it is freaking cold here today.... about 5degC but feels like 2degC or lower... made worse by the fact that i can't quite turn the heating on since the management is only just preparing the boilers... and we have a freeze warning of sub-zero temperatures over the next few hours till about 8am on sat...
brrrrrr... this is autumn?! i suppose i shouldn't be complaining... elsewhere in central america, hurricane Stan brought quite a lot more misery and there's an earthquake in parkistan/kashmir... i wonder what has led to the series of hurricanes and natural calamities... seems rather odd... maybe we humans have done too many wrongs...
i must have been mad to cycle in this chill today!!! well, it is finally dry after days of monsoon-like rain coupled by what they call t-storms.... wet as anything! and when it's dry you've got to enjoy it... although perhaps it would have been more enjoyable some 10degC warmer... at least i didn't have to wait in the cold for the bus or the lightrail...
cold days like such, i think of ruth and her soups... i know she'd be making some if i could only visit her at portobello beach... and i know it would taste yum... sadly i could only attempt to mimic her lovely soup concoctions with the help of my newly acquired kitchen gadget (which i've been contemplating for weeks and weeks...!). it seemed to work! and i'll have to learn to make more exciting soups than this random one with whatever that i could find in the veggie drawer and these bread-like dumpling that i thought was what resembled something i once had in germany (and you can get the mix for such at the supermarkets here):
ingredients:
(makes about 2 large servings!)
- half a small cauliflower, cut into florets
- 2 or 3 carrots, cut into small chunks
- about 3 stalks of celery, cut into small chunks
- 1 white onion, chopped
- a few sprigs of corriander, chopped coarsely
- soup stock -- for the lack of authentic homemade soup stock at hand i succumbed to using a processed cube of soup stock
- little bread-dumplings made from matzo meal (apparently a Jewish tradition which i didn't know before!) seasoned with a little soya sauce instead of salt
add the veggies and the soup stock in a pot with just enough water to cover the veggies (if you do have some homemade stock, add enough just to cover the veggies and leave out the water or top up with water if you don't have enough) and bring to a boil before simmering for a bit until they become soft. remove pot from heat and blend the mixture with a blender until you get your desired consistency. bring the pot back to the stove and add the bread dumplings and simmer for some 5-10 minutes.
serve with a generous sprinkle of chopped corriander and some crackers or some lovely bread and butter!
the people at the lab here have a nibbly-tid-bit of a habit... which is quite apt if you are studying the functions of the brain... afterall... your brain uses up quite a bit of your energy even if you are 'just' thinking hard about it...
yesterday morning i contributed my homemade brownies (my mad attempt at testing out the gas oven in my wee apartment and feeling inanely brave enough to do it without a measuring scale/jar! -- i figured that 1 tablespoon is approximately 14.125g and if you do the proportioning adequately... you could more or less get a decent brownie mixture together!) to the 'grazing lawn' -- a wee bit of a desk space next to the network printer that is geographically placed so that everyone will somehow pass by it during the day and it is also where edible treats are placed -- only to discover it being completely devoured long before noon... utterly scary.
the brownie-baking vote of confidence is *overwhelming* but i still quite like to have a wee piece of my own treat! hmmm...
it's so sunny today... and this evening's party at my supervisor (D) and his wife (J)'s home was marvellously filled with scrumptious food... D and J are such great chefs... i need to pester them for recipes soon.
the various people that form the research group come from different departments and such gatherings are rather rare but fun... we mingled in their lovely garden, catch up with news etc. and watched the little toddler of one of our colleagues play with her newly acquired toys...
i do enjoy getting my taste palette on a high... and i am always amazed by the flavourful experiences at D and J's place...
our appetiser was a platter of knackerbrot mit a gorgeous mushroom-bread-like pate and fresh peppers and a sprig of parsley.
the main course was made up of a few dishes:
- lightly baked salmon that was coated with a beautiful green 'butter of Montpellier' that is made up of a variety of herbs, capers and olive oil which D actually prepared by himself!
- roasted peppers, aubergines and courgettes.
- a medley of beans, pulses/dhal, corriander and chickpeas...
- and a salad of romaine, peppers and olives, which is accompanied by a splendid dressing.
there was pudding too, sweets and drinks thereafter... lots and lots and lots.
D and J's home is a wonderful place... quirky in its humbleness but really cosy... the conservatory extends from the dinning room and looks out to the garden... there we chatted to one another, trying not to meader into work-conversations for it's a social evening afterall but everyone kept asking me that question...! in any case, natter natter we did... and gooble gooble, too, we did... and soon it was actually getting late even though the night still seems light. summer is indeed here...
on our way out, we spotted a huge rowing oar in his study with his initials engraved among others... i didn't know he competed in the punting in Cambridge when he was a student there eons ago and knocked his opponents off! (sounds vaguely like what they do in T?bingen!) and i learnt he actually ran a proper marathon when he was a lot younger... isn't that remarkable?! wow.
while cycling home, i reflected on how it's really nice to have a supervisor who's treats you like 'family'... i hope i will arrive at the same time as him flying to Minneapolis from the west coast... otherwise, next week's going to be our last meeting until a year or so later... help!
i did manage to get away from the flat afterall... after the whole blasting of water from the firemen... and sussing out the fault (some electrical fuse for the whole building's electrical supply somehow overloaded and the heat burnt through and melted some wires and casing... still smells dangerously bad in the corridor but at least it is fixed now) and them contacting the power supplier to come sort out the mess... i was given assurance that it would be okay to leave... so i made my way to the farmers market as i had intended... and tried to catch what was left of the day...
tucked behind the Edinburgh Castle, on Castle Terrace, the market presents to the visitor a whole array of choices... organic meats, organic veggies, organic wines, hand-woven woollen jumpers from the sheep's wool from someone's own farm... organic bread just baked in the morning... superb quality cheese and lush strawberries... hand made jams and soaps! i wonder why i never go to the farmers market... that's where you can get some of the best quality produce... check out the producers' list here
given the uncertainty of the electrical supply... i refrained from getting anything that needed refrigeration... so i limited my shopping to a lovely loaf of sour bread from Henderson's, a wee packet of shortbread from them too and a box of huge strawberries (from someone's farm -- i can't remember whose now) to bring to my dinner hosts tonight... and i couldn't resist trying a bit of roasted hog and stuffing in a bun from Reiver Country... (my apologies to the vegetarians out there!)
hmm... definitely not quite the same ambience as the fresh market places in the continent... which is more frequent and has a stronger feeling of locality (or perhaps the 'country-sided authenticity' that you don't get here)... but i still like it... it's nice to know that 'fresh' markets still exist apart from supermarkets...
i will definitely try to go again next weekend... for i am serious about getting some lovely fresh produce next time... and hopefully, there won't be another flat crisis to delay the trip again! (you must be thinking... she's such a frau...)
i don't know how i became obsessed with them... they were hardly available when i was a wee lassie in singapore... but given how wonderfully rich in anti-oxidants and how lovely they taste... and how beautifully blue they are, who really cares?
blueberries are my all-time favourite of all berries... i don't care much for strawberries, nor raspberries nor blackberries, or gooseberries... but the blues...
according to my new "fresh" food magazine, which i picked up by chance when i tried to get some change to buy some stamps from the automated machine, blueberries rank top in their Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity among fruits and veggies, i.e. super high in anti-oxidants... these molecules help neutralise free-radicals (chemicals that often lead to cell-degeneration when found in access... and this process, termed as oxidative stress, is linked to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's).
i was also amazed to find out that these little berries are good for you in more than one great way! apart from the protective influence of the variety of anti-oxidants that 1) help strengthen collagen, 2) help improve vision (via increased production of retinal -- the precursor to visual pigment; by filtering harmful ultra-violet light via carotenoid-induced pigment growth in the lens and macular of the eye) and 3) help in preventing the formation of leaky capillaries, blueberries are also found to be both anti-inflammatory and anti-clotting.
thus, they are not only great for keeping you looking younger, helping you keep your vision clearer, they also help improve your blood circulation and help reduce your risk of having cardiovascular problems. and as if that weren't good enough, they also have naturally occuring acids that appear to help prevent cervical cancer and protect the womb... and have i already mentioned that they are also said to have antiseptic and antibacterial properties?
my golly... i will never run out of reasons to gobble them now! heee.
and to indulge in my blueberry-lust... i baked a lovely blueberry tart from the blueberry bliss i brought home (and froze) the other day... and i dedicate this to stella who requested it but i am unable to ship it to HK before it all disappeared! ooops.
unlike some of my friends who feel loads better after some retail therapy... i often find that more depressing... it's just the curse of a nomadic existence you see... i try not to own too many things if i can help it.
nothing seems to be able to calm my nerves these days apart from spending more time preparing food, especially if it requires more effort than usual...
i made fried bee-hoon (rice-vermicelle) a la grand-aunty's style the other day... i made so much that i had to eat it for lunch and dinner over 3 days...
i also tried to make curry puffs... i miss them... i remember making them in home-economics... but i made so much curry that i had to make gigantic puffs... thank goodness for ready-rolled-out puff-pastry! those incredible puffs lasted about a week...
i created from randomness another courgette quiche last weekend for dinner with ruth and tammy before we headed to the ceilidh... oh my last ceilidh for moons... sob.
i don't know what else i cooked... but i didn't have much left on my shelf in the fridge this morning... one egg and some soya-milk to which i added flour and a bit of honey to make some pancake mixture for breakfast today... it was yummy with maple syrup.
i went for my weekly food/grocery shopping today... i miss the fresh market that is open 4 times a week in the mornings in quaint little T?bingen... but i never manage to make it to the Farmer's market here at Castle terrace... i am planning to go next saturday and scoop up some fresh scrumptious produce... which will be good fun. i heard that the Farmer's markets in London are really good but i doubt i will stay too long when i pop down at the end of the month... the only one i've been to is the one at Notting Hill many years ago and it's also where i bumped into my old chemistry classmate (at uwc) from japan... she looked just the same!
anyways... apart from the joy of finding some exciting if not tempting ingredients you might be able to make some use of... there's also the contemplation of what to do with them while you browse over various recipe-books to find some inspiration...
i suppose you might have gathered... the dishes i sometimes concoct are quite, well, adventurous... but that's the best part of it, i suppose...
and so another year was added on sunday... i won't bore you all by recounting the past 26 years of my silly and rather nomadic existence... except to say, the journey goes on and the fossicking continues...
thank you all
for your kind thoughts and wishes
cards, flowers and phone calls
big hugs and kisses...
over the weekend, i had the privilege of enjoying the company of a few close friends (who were invited to a little evening of nibbilies and cocktail-like fun...) over a lovely sangria which i made for the first time...
[the sangria concoction: mix together in a large bowl or jug a bottle of fruity red wine with a packet of red grape juice; the juice of 3 oranges and add the pulp too; 5 tablespoons of brown sugar; chopped pieces of apples, pears and kiwi or whatever fruit that takes your fancy; include thin slices of a lime for a little more sprightliness... serve with some ice cubes and a slice of lime or a wee sprig of fresh mint as decoration etc...]
with some of us attempting to make sushi and cocktails or rather pinacoladas! 
we also had an 'ambient' acoustic waterfall --> which required us to save the flat from a persistent leak trickling from the kitchen ceiling on sunday morning...
before heading down to the botanical gardens where cheeky squirrels thrive and red poppies are just starting to open up their eyes
...at the garden cafe, f and i spent some time sipping tea with ruth and her grandparents and later, having dinner at her place near the sea...
"On my way home I walked along the wall with the dog behind me. My shoes were squeaking all the way. There were white salt marks where they were already beginning to dry. The sun was starting to come through the mist and it was not going to rain after all. I looked back and saw the sun coming out. The water was so white and so full of bouncing light that I could see nothing at all. It made me want to close my eyes and sneeze. When I looked into the shadows under the trees it was so dark that I could see nothing there either. When you're small you know nothing. I know the sea is like a piece of silver paper in the sun. I can see people walking along the seafront with ice-cream cones. I can hear the bells and I am not afraid of being German or Irish, or anywhere in between. Maybe your country is only a place you make up in your mind. Something you dream about and sing about. Maybe it's not a place on the map at all, but just a story full of people you meet and places you visit, full of books and films you've been to. I'm not afraid of being homesick and having no language to live in. I don't have to be like everyone else. I'm walking on the wall and nobody can stop me." (Hamilton, 2003:295, taken from "The Speckled People")
i know i've quoted this passage before... but i'm quoting it again... because it helps me feel a little less nomadic.
Ndebele is a name of a tribe in africa... but in edinburgh, it is a lovely african cafe not far from where i live... and a popular place for people to hang out... this evening, ruth and i met there and caught up over a bowl of scrumptious butternut, sundried tomato and hot pepper soup each, which was served with lovely corn bread... i was a little early and had a little snap snap fun while enjoying my cuppa rooibosch tea with honey.
the ambience of the place is simply created by reusing various things: from woven sacks layered to cover the ceiling to second-hand wooden furniture to hand-painted walls with afro-patterns... it certainly has an organic feel to it...
apart from serving really yummy african-styled dishes, sweets and gorgeous sandwiches, the cafe always exhibit works by artists who paint, draw or capture scenes from the African lands... and this evening, we were eyed by elephants, one water-buffalo and a leopard while drinking our soups... and they eavesdropped while we chatted about random things... (including politics... and my chronic nomadic existence... sigh)
i've been suffering yummy-food-withdrawal symptoms since returning from NY... just like i did when i returned from my visit back to singapore... you see (or perhaps you don't unless you are there and sampled some of the food i tried)... even takeaways in NY boast great taste quality and are actually slightly cheaper than they cost in Edinburgh (which on top of the price difference, they also don't taste terribly authentic, which is why i rarely eat out in asian/chinese restos)... i think my enthusiasm with how efficient and tasty takeaways are really amused my hosts... it must be such a norm... such lucky peeps!
you won't believe it but you can get really authentic "Mee-pok tah" (i.e. cooked flat-egg-noodles served dry with sesame oil and magical sauce seasoning (magical because i still haven't quite figure it out what it actually consists of), garnished with sliced and minced pork and spring onions and a separate bowl of soup) in NY's Chinatown... boy was i chuffed (i had to snap a pic for remembrance!)... i didn't even know how deprived i've been... oh the joys of re-discovering food you grew up eating... jubilation!
i also tried this Primadeli curry pre-mix thingy that my brother has been raving about... i didn't even know it exists! i've been relying on Asian Home Gourmet in times of desperate home-food cravings... which seems rather authentic but perhaps not quite as good as prima-taste?! darn... one fine day... i'd love to actually learn the proper recipes to all the fantastic scrumptious delectable cuisine of asia... that way... i'll get to enjoy them wherever i might be!
right now... i am still reliant on my random sprees of cooking creativity and my sketchy food memories in re-creating some tastes of home... sometimes it does get close enough... sometimes i end up with interesting fusion dishes... sometimes they end up in the bin... ! oh well... heee.
ahh... it's so hard to get motivated sometimes... you almost need to want to eat something particular to be able to conjure some enthusiasm and then try to accommodate the idea based on what ingredients you have or can possibly find...
well, last weekend i decided that feeling sorry for myself is rubbish... and i should try to re-create some of the dishes i miss... with this new-found inspiration, i went food shopping... i brought home some nice ingredients from the asian and local supermarkets: some frozen raw large tiger prawns (something i hardly get because it's rather dear), a few new saucy sauces, chinese vegies and fresh tofu among other things...
with some of the exciting ingredients, i made Chicken Rice with the help of Asian Home Gourmet's Hainanese Chicken Rice ground spices which did the job quite well... but i don't have the nice ginger dip nor the chilli sauce which i should try to find out how they are prepared... anyone out there who knows the secret, please please share!!! i simply adore chicken rice...
yesterday, i prepared some mangetout with the lovely prawns and tofu by stir-fying them in a lovely sticky eggy sauce and had that with rice... i was surprised it actually worked but i was so hungry i forgot to take a wee picture of it as proof. oh well.
today... i was ransacking my food cupboard for inspiration and discovered that i do have a bottle of Orient Laksa sauce (spicy shrimpy paste for a noodle-y curry dish that is well-known in Penang. Malaysia and well-loved in Singapore too!)... it was screaming "use-me" when i found it... so i'll try to fix something up with that... it's good that i also have some fried beancurd (tau-pok) and more prawnies... and some thick rice noodles and coconut milk that i can use... how exciting... lala lalala... let's see how it'll turn out! (fingers crossed!)
[UPDATE: a little later...]
it was a coincidence that N had also prepared something from home... chicken in a spicey (read 'lethal') Mexican sauce... and offered me some to try in exchange for a taste of my silly concoction... boy was it formidable... this stuff is much hotter than the hottest green vindaloo curry i've tasted (i.e. London city's Kahn's) but it's rather interesting... the spiciness doesn't manifest itself with your first bite... it comes only slowly... the taste itself is subtle and earthy... and has a tinge of 'tomatoey' flavour even though she didn't add any tomatoes... really intriguing... and very incredible... it worked a good sweat out of me! 
i later pestered N to show me her WMD... lethal chillies... my golly... they can be found in huge sizes... but don't be fooled, it's the little ones that are the most powerful... ha.
... having had the hot vorspeise... the laksa tasted sweet and mild... with particular sprightliness when you get a bit of the cilantro/corriander... absolutely divine...
how will i ever cope without these pre-mixed/prepared pastes and spices?! hmmmm.
i was rather smittened by the courgette quiche i had at the Guggenheim Cafe last week... i was tasting it in my dreams: the goats cheese and zucchini... alas i don't really know of any quiche recipes and the only few attempts (2 perhaps?!) i had in making one was with f's company and his recipe book's guidance...
but i do remember the packet of pastry dough i bought sometime ago that's been hibernating in the freezer... and i reckoned that perhaps i could concoct something of the cheesy filling... (this optimism usually surfaces when yours truly is in one of her silly creative moods...)
so i defrosted the dough... went out to the vegetable store near the bike co-op (had a tyre-puncture to fix!) to get some nice looking courgettes and some soft cheeses ... i got a little packet of Boursin with garlic and a tub of Emmentaler cream (my first time seeing this sort of thing) that was meant to be used for fondu! i found some fresh buttoncup mushrooms too and a few shallots... and a box of eggs.
i rolled some of the dough out on a flat work space dusted with some flour and with the help of a drinking glass that was long and slender enough (we don't have a rolling pin!) and laid it in my old little baking tin (i think it's an 8/10-inch tin) with a removable bottom (tricky fun) and had some of it over-flowing the sides of the tin. then i pre-heated the oven to about 200degC.
in my creative mood i had forgotten to keep track of how much of each ingredient i used... quite typical of me, quite unlike Chocolate and Zucchini's Clotilde who makes lovely treats and knows just what goes into them! oopsie.
anyways, in a lovely cream-coloured country bowl, i mixed 2 eggs, all the creams i bought, some flour (i think it was about 100-120g) and some milk (i think it was about 150-200ml) whisking it to a smooth-ish consistency. the mixture was thick enough but still runny.
then i layered the sliced courgettes (i used only one courgette) in the dough form and added some cheese mixture and did the same with the mushrooms (about 4) added more mixture and repeated with the courgettes for the last time. then i added some lightly browned shallots which i had sliced and quickly browned in some vegetable oil in a little pan... trying to hide most of them beneath the larger chunks of courgettes so they won't burn in the oven...
i had to bake it for quite a long time until the cheese mixture seemed firm enough and the pastry is cooked... i think it was sitting for almost an hour (possibly more) in the middle of the pre-heated oven... but it turned out really lovely, much to my own amusement... =c)
i mentioned about trying out the Banoffi pie recipe i found recently... i've done so, it worked... but i haven't got round to posting about it... or uploading my pictures... but msn-search and google have been directing a few of you here (wow!)... sorry about the delay and the disappointment... i'll get it on the blog soon... when all this madness is over...
the required glass arrived at the optician's and i am glad to have my broken lens replaced and to received an additional eye-check from the opthamologist/founder of JackBrown eyecare and that really was a great reassurance... i am glad to have found a local friendly optician and to be able to see properly again! the staff who helped with the final fittings actually liked the old bronzey frame i have been using for the last 7-8 years! which kinda made me think maybe there's a reason why i haven't been able find another frame to replace it for the longest time...
i was so happy to be able to see the world properly again that i even popped into the rather extravagent (but a really nice place to go for pampering yourself with foodie-treats) Valvona & Crolla's new VinCaff? which is just around the corner from the eyecare, the new bus-station and JohnLewis; it is located in what is envisioned to become a posh pedestrian zone that is flanked by the likes of Harvey Nichols and other branded mechandise stores... great for window-shoppers like me... i've not been into this new cafe place... and thought i'd pop in to get a sandwich and pick up some chocolatey treats...
i found some Rococo Bee Bars of organic white chocolate with cardamons and plain dark chocolate with lavender... they come in a little box with 6 little thin co-joined rectangular slabs each with a bee form in the centre -- i suppose hence the name. they are really good... and i suppose i should send in my confessions of my silly obsessions... just so i might get a box of chocolates from them in the post someday...
i should pop into V&C's elm-row store sometime soon... i like its quaintness more than the new cafe's sleekness... the rustique-qualities appeal more to a scruffy me... someday i shall write about all the nice cafes here... someday i will get my edibles corner more up-to-date!
anyways... i should get back to work... or get into bed!
ps... dreamy me thinks of finding a part-time post in V&C to get some foodie experience... *dreamy-bubble POPs!*
i made an effort to cook a 'special' dinner yesterday -- something out of the ordinare because usually, after a long day (mulling and debugging and trying to get organised etc)... all you really want is something simple and comforting... and easy to make!
yesterday A and ruth and i had the fun of consuming some glutinous rice that was beautifully garnished with roasted salted peanuts, caramelized shallots, corriander and spring onions. we also had fried rice noodle-sticks with chinese mushrooms, stems of chinese spinach and julienned omelette, with stir-fried ginger and pepper prawnies on the side...
afterwhich, we had a threesome janosh cuppa while indulging in some air-flown pineapple tartlets and sesame paste sweet dumplings cooked in peppermint tea for dessert... we were stuffed full for a change... and i was delirious that the glutinous rice turned out edible... for i've not made the dish for a really long time!
ahh... i should really dig out old recipes and cook something special every week... hmmm.
went to the Chinese New Year's party organised by the local asian students with XY and her mum who's here to visit and 2 Scottish coursemates of hers... it's been ages since i've been to one of such gatherings... different generations of students have their different styles of organisation, entertainment and choice of restaurants... tonight's dinner menu was nothing for raving about (although i had to my delight 2 tasty giant prawns and lots of Cantonese-style steamed seabass fish!), there was no lion-dance like in those good ole days, nor fun interactive games.... nonetheless, i appreciated the gathering of people with common roots... and the respite from having to cook tonight! heee.
minority ethnic festivities are such non-events here... and that really makes celebrating terribly trying... i miss the colour and noise that often accompany Spring Festival... with fire crackers being banned even in asia these days... it must be quite a different atmosphere too, especially for those older generations who grew up with that New Year's crackling! i miss all things special that are consumed particularly at this time of the year... the preparations... the visiting... the treats...
it's Lunar New Year's eve tommorow... and i'll be missing reunion dinner for the 10th year... the steamboat at home in singapore will be taken out from its box and used for what europeans might call the asian fondu... actually, i think the swiss fondu pot, being a lot bigger, might work well... hmm... after dinner, mum will be choosing pots of plants from her garden that look pretty to take them indoors and perhaps papa might do up some calligraphic couplets for the main doorway...
i've not really got a new set of clothes that i'll wear on New Year's like how i usually do when i was growing up yonder... (i do have a lovely 2-piece corduroy set from Laura Ashley =c), which i got at the post-xmas sale in singapore, but i won't wear it on wed... i hope to take it to the conference in NY! mummy sent a set of summery wear the other day but it's still too cold out there...) but i'll put on an ethnic top instead... make some asian dishes for dinner with A and perhaps ruth might be around too...
ahh... i should pick up some mandarins/tangerines and some flowers for the flat! hmm flowers!!! =C)
darn... i don't have any more of mummy's incredible kuey lapis cake that's synonymous with Chinese New Year...
i did have a huge piece which i carried with me flying back to europe... i made it last over the whole of january being quite a good squirrel i am... but it's all gone! ... those lovely little flat-squarish-stripey pieces are really truly hard to resist... some people call it the asian tiramisu... but i fear that name isn't quite so befitting; it's more than just a 'pick-me-up'!... this cake is really too special... and all the Lunar New Year's visitors are so fortunate to receive some of those stripey pieces as treats! the best way to go about consuming such divine creations is to eat them layer by layer... and know that each layer is made with wholesome goodness... and a lot of love! =C)
i feel the draft seeping through the large bedroom window under which my wee little desk sits overlooking the shared garden... it is rather unfortunate that the set of windows is not double-glazed (but such is the state of old windows in old stone buildings)... at least the flat is still alot warmer than the loft and we get to control the gas heating. i am wrapped up in a wooly mixed stone-blue jumper and my new pinky-peach-burgundy floral-woven wooly scarf that mummy gave me recently is coiled round my neck... i've just re-filled tiger-ente with hot water and place it under my duvet to warm up my bed... i nearly strangled it to death hugging it tight as i tried to finish reading a journal article... i take ages to read anything... (except for the rare occasions when i find myself completely engrossed in the adventures of a (non-academic) book when i then feel the need to finish reading asap... i think such events have only ever occurred less than 10 times so you can just about imagine how miserably slow i plough through written words... sometimes i think i might be visually dyslexic).
i also very nearly burnt my dinner today... it seemed so cold outside with the random hailing i decided not to step out of the building to pick up the few bits and pieces i could do to colour my meal even when i didn't have much left in the fridge or freezer to make something to eat... but i managed to salvage the half-used sweet potato and found some frozen 'Bird'sEye' cod fillet which i decided to leave to cook in the oven while i let myself get distracted by other things... the baked sweet potatoes peppered with oregano and drizzled with olive oil tasted lovely even though some were slightly burnt crisp! oh well... c'est ma vie...
heee... i am joining in this interesting project called "1000 recipes" set up by Santos... and am really quite excited... especially since i've some thoughts of making my wee 'edibles' category into something more than just a wee category... more soon... i hope!
Frauke, my ex-neighbour from the flat below where i used to live in T?bingen is here to spend new-year's and we made our way to Blackford hill with some lovely mulled wine to welcome the new year...
little did we know how time-confused we were until we were almost at the foot of the hill... the view of the clock tower of a chapel on the way alerted us to our temporal folly and reminded yours truly that she's still living by continental German time... we were terribly early.... an hour to be precise... so we had to keep warm in the windy dark night and hoped that other people would arrive soon to avoid looking stupid or too eager.
but our patience was rewarded by some beautiful fireworks shooting upwards from the 7 hills surrounding Edinburgh... but it was all too brief!
here are some fragments of flying colours i managed to capture...
you'll just have to trust me that it looked far more spectacular than these wee little fragments!
it's been quite a while since i had some Kn?del -- German potato dumplings, and since the last wee packet of Pfanni dried Kn?del mix was about to expire (or it actually kinda just did!) i decided to have Kn?del for dinner today with the idea of using the packet of wild mushrooms i found at the supermarket today...
compared to creating them from raw potatoes, it is easy to make Kn?del with a pack of ready-mix Pfanni by adding some cold water to rehydrate the powdery potatoey-mix and then forming them into round balls with your palms and then lowering them slowly into the a pot of boiling water... scatter some salt into the bubbling pool and leave them to simmer for some 20 minutes before fishing them out!
i love potato dumplings... they are rather bizarre a creation really, but they go well with saucey sauces and even curries. i made something rather simple with the splendid wild mushrooms, which i added to the fragrant garlic sizzling in the olive oil within the hot pan. then i mixed in a whole wee container of cr?me fra?che and a handful of coarsely chopped corriander (my favourite herb!) and a wee gentle dash of freshly crushed mixed pepper corns... followed by a handful of grated Swiss Gruyere cheese (hmmmm) and a quick sprinkle of kikoman soya sauce!
then all you do is to scoop some of the creamy sauce next to the Kn?del and enjoy the fusion of flavours... yummmm
i got myself a lunch box from Susie's Diner just off the George-Sq campus after braving the windy tunneling wind. the spanish omelette and roasted veggie-mix consisting of lovely chunks of pumpkin, courgettes, button-cup mushrooms and peppers in a tomatoey sauce is a welcome delight for a weekend's (+ today's a bank holiday!) hardwork. i've just sent my report draft to my supervisor and we'll meet in about an hour's time to chat... half the battle's nearly done....
wed's is moving flat day and i shall rejoice in the change activity: from sedentary staring into the pc screen and conjuring up words, figures, numbers, ideas blah blah... i will actually witness physical work achieving intended goals before my eyes. i love manual work for the fact that you see the results of your work. there's nothing better than that these days. and then i shall celebrate my move by barring my new flatmates from entering the bathroom while i enjoy a much deprived bath-experience.... rah-hahaha (*evil grin*)
and then while i settle into new place, i've to clean the old, finish a manuscript, plan for the first few tutorial sessions --- all in 5-6 days! the women of today's world are such mad multi-taskers aren't they simply amaaaazing?! 2 weekends ahead i will collapse into a coma/hibernation. you've been forewarned.
....kindly excuse me while i gobble up the rest of my lunch...
if you haven't met this wonderful herb before, you ought to find it and say hello, even better, add it to your next salad or sandwich meal.... it's gorgeous. strong peppery in taste, it brings extra flavour to any simple combination of tomatoes, mozarella, or even chunks of pears and cheese with a generous drizzle of olive oil. moreover, its ancient medicinal value makes its contribution to any meal a delightful treat!
[picture taken from dtbrownseeds.co.uk]
Chocolate & Zucchini is going to be another food inspiration companion.... mmmmm
i just found this spicey blog... it's going to help inspire me when i run out of ideas of what to cook... the author must really be a Dune-fan...
yesterday evening, i was trying to soothe my headache... and ended up concocting a somewhat soothing but strange tea-cordial mix.... got carried away... as you will soon realise.
started with a Twinnings Lotus Green Tea bag which got too strong in my wee cup so i transferred into my tumbler and added more hot water to dilute the tannic effect.... added a spoon of sugar... and then spotted the bag of "Apfel-Zitronen-Tee" (apple-lemon-tea) which Sabine left behind and added a heapful of it into the tea-sieve and lowered into the tea-bath... and then i thought i should just finish up the "Winter berry Cordial" that Ruth brought over last winter -- which tastes abit like mulled-wine or kinderpunch -- since the weather is rather wintry at the moment... stormy and all.... but the broth kind of tasted a bit too acidic... so i then added a Twinnings Camomile and Honey Tea bag in attempt to neutralise the solution a little... and actually... it tastes quite interesting... and a bit of Green & Black's White Chocolate with vanilla bourbon to nibble... and i thought i was feeling a lot better. ... gosh... trust me to do a tea-cocktail. ... maybe i'll come up with other more palatable tea-cocktail recipes another day... this one is totally random. try it at your own risk. :cx
this morning as i was doing the dishes, i realised i could have just taken a paracetamol... but to be honest, i feel better after a restful sleep... or was it the tea?
