quickie kuih mueh.

kuih (plural: kuih mueh): local, traditional-style cakes and morsels that use native ingredients and are generally sweet, occasionally savoury, and sometimes both. typical main ingredients are some form of glutinous rice, coconut, and gula melaka (palm sugar). you can find them anywhere there is food; in kl, there is food everywhere.

i had more than my share of different kuihs, not all of them photographed as they were more important as food than as models. here are some of the ones that didn't get gobbled down straightaway.

after our dinner, miss boo took me to a market area of kampung baru, where she bought me putu bambu, very similar to the filipino puto bumbong, which are also steamed in pieces of bamboo. small lengths of bamboo are cut down, and a dryish glutinous rice flour mixture is packed into them. they are placed upright onto a special steamer. once they are done, they are pushed out of the bamboo length, topped with fresh coconut and gula melaka, and the process is repeated endlessly into the night. these were lighter in flavour and texture than the filipino version (mainly because the pinoy version adds ube, or purple mountain yam), but just as delicious.

pulut inti is a cute little pyramid of steamed glutinous rice, topped with a mound of coconut and gula melaka. the thing that sets it apart from the rest is the unique shape, and the fairly equal ratio of coconut to sugar to rice.

pulut udang is similar to the pinoy suman, in that it is glutinous rice steamed in banana leaf, but it contains a sweet-savoury filling of chopped dried prawn or anchovy, mixed with a bit of sugar. a little odd, but tasty combination.

my favourite of all of them, however, would have to be the kuih ketayap--a small pandan flavoured crêpe wrapped around a gula melaka and coconut filling. there's something about the moist, spongy pancake in contrast with the nutty, sweet interior that i really enjoyed. if anyone has a recipe for this, send it my way!

i have more photos...somewhere....will have to add them on as i come across them....

marmite love.

i still have some kl-related posts to do, but i just wanted to thank miss judith for sending me a bottle of the limited-edition marmite with champagne. anthony says it's got a touch of that you've-got-chocolate-in-my-vodka gainsbourg/birkin pairing about it; i'm more than inclined to agree.

i have yet to taste it. my brain says this should be the best thing ever, but i wonder if the combination might be such a freakishly amazing idea that the actuality might'n't live up to my expectations.

kind of like baby charlotte here. love mom and dad, but the resulting offspring? an interesting combination to be sure, but it has taken some time to truly appreciate her. which i wholeheartedly do.

marmite with champagne, i am prepared!

a little pick(le)-me-up in kl.

nothing in kl got the chamorros and guambats amongst us in a pickle as much as coming across this preserved fruit stall in one of the many (many) shopping centres, which had a glorious array of tropical and not-so-tropical fruit pickles and preserves. many of us have childhood memories of going to the local mom and pops stores or snack stands and instead of picking up penny candy or sodas, our money would go to plastic sandwich bags filled with sliced green or semi-ripe papaya, green mango, or daigo (daikon radish), in a sweet pickling vinegar liberally seasoned with chopped fierce and fiery boonie peppers (bird chiles). this would often be the second breakfast on the bus to school, the mid-morning merienda, or afternoon snack. the scent of vinegar and chile would linger on our fingers and breath, not to mention our lunchboxes and schoolbags because this was pre-ziplock days....

all it took was one whiff of that pungent vinegar scent to lure us in. it was difficult to decide what to pick, without getting overloaded: there was the familiar green mango, yellow mango, and papaya, the unfamiliar-as-a-pickled-substance green grapes, yellow peach and surinam cherries, and the purely unfamiliar salak (snake fruit) and asam kelubi. luckily, we could pick our mix at whim, and return the day.

also available were a variety of rojak sauces and salty, sweet, spicy, stinky concoctions to dip the fruit in: salt and sugar, salt and sugar and chili, salt and sugar and chili and shrimp paste. we didn't have these as kids, which is a shame. i didn't get a chance to sample anything too whiffy, but there's always hope for next time.

21 fruits store
sungei wang plaza
jalan bukit bintang
kl

market in kl.

well of course i had to go to a market. i went to imbi market, which i had read about on boo's blog, and in the inaugural issue of time out kl, in an article written by eating asia's scribe, robyn eckhardt. our hotel provided complimentary breakfasts (pretty good as far as hotel buffets go), so unfortunately, i didn't go to sample the famed hainan coffee and roti kahwin, just to poke around a bit to see what kinds of fruits and veg were on offer, maybe peek into the wet market (or maybe not), and check out the stalls.

1. imbi market melons, 2. imbi market starfruit, 3. imbi market herbs, 4. imbi market mangoes

1. imbi market steamed rice cakes, 2. imbi market snacks pushcart, 3. imbi market mutton man, 4. imbi market dried seafood

i was v. tempted to bring back some of the beautiful dried seafood on offer--cuttlefish, oysters, and scallops of every size--but knew that cute but pesky US customs dog would sniff it out. i think, though, with a little experimentation i might be able to recreate the bursting bulbs of smoked garlic, which were offered up in various stalls. don't know exactly what i'd do with it besides a smokin' (literally) pot of tau ew bak, a thick, soy sauce based stew like hawaiian shoyu chicken, only with giant, glistening chunks of pork. mmmmm. so not halal.

temptation gave in when i saw the sisters crispy popiah stall. popiah are the regional version of the filipino lumpia sariwa, a savoury rice or wheat flour crepe painted with a sweetish-soy and bean sauce, then filled with fresh vegetables, yam or turnip noodles, prawns, and whatever else to the maker's choosing. i'm not sure why the sisters' version is so lauded, but i wonder if it is the 'crispy' in the name that is unusual; their popiah had a generous amount of batter bits that were indeed very crispy and added lovely texture to the wrap. count me as one of the many fans.

i think my favourite vendor, though, was mr. wong, the owner of the chinese pastry stall (name temporarily escapes me, but i'll have a rummage for the card). an earnest and engaging young man, his father and uncle had popular shop in chinatown on petaling street, but he moved the four-generations-old business to the market when his uncle retired. when he saw me taking photos, he showed me his own digital camera, filled with photos of him making the pineapple jam that filled many of the flaky crusted pastries in his case. it takes him four to five hours just to peel the pineapples, never mind cutting and cooking them down in a giant cauldron. one jam making session makes just enough for four days' worth of sweets, so on top of his duties at the stall, he must go through the day-long process for the jam alone, at least twice a week. it is worth it--the fresh flavour of the pineapple still evident under the caramelization, just a tiny bit tart and not too sweet.

although all the pineapple jam filled pastries were lovely (the one with salted egg yolk and jam was especially interesting), i think his top creation would be the mini-egg custard tarts. the crust is impressively flaky, with a silky, light egginess within; you can easily eat one or two in seconds flat.

or three.

dinner in KL.

i have just returned from a rather whirlwind trip to kuala lumpur; or, rather, have just almost recovered from return--spent all of saturday from dawn to pre-dawn sunday in transit. as i was there for a conference, i didn't really have time to explore KL properly, nor did i get to try all the food that i wanted, but not for lack of trying.

i did get to meet with the fabulous boo_licious and her equally fabulous boo_liciousman on my first proper night there, but unfortunately the trials of travel, weak appetite, and the suprisingly effective words of paul mckenna made me lackluster company. i hope to one day return in better form and as a better guest. miss boo so kindly took me out of the touristy pocket i was trapped in for most of my stay, and into kampung baru, the oldest residential area in kl, a historically preserved area where modern development is strictly regulated. we went to CT Garden (CT Roses) for my first taste of nasi lemak. nasi lemak translates to 'rice in cream': white long grained rice cooked with rich coconut milk, which is scooped out, topped with sambal and a quarter of a hard boiled egg, then wrapped in banana leaf. it is eaten as is, or with any number of side dishes. it is a cheap, filling breakfast staple--but can be found throughout the day and is especially popular as post-club grub--and is said to be the (unofficial) national dish of malaysia.

i let miss boo pick out the accompanying dishes, which were chicken livers and cow's lung (paru) marinated in soy sauce, lemongrass, and chilis then grilled, brown squid (dried cuttlefish which has been rehydrated) sautéed in a chili sauce, fried tempeh with ikan bilis and peanuts, fried chicken, and otak-otak, a blend of fish and chili paste grilled in a palm leaf. everything was very tasty and fresh, and i particularly enjoyed the otak-otak, which had the consistency of a firm mousse, and although made from mackerel and liberally spiced, was not overly assertive in any one flavour. also, the fried tempeh might be my favourite preparation of this soybean product, both complex in flavour and crunchiness.

but truly the standouts for me were the lovely company, and the view of the sultan sulaiman sports club, and the petronas towers beyond.

seriously, it's an advertiser's dream. nasi lemak: 60 sens, grilled cow's lung: RM 2, view from the outdoor dining area: priceless.

*

KL in reality sort of daft punk'd any idea i had of it, but i don't think i even barely scratched the surface. i've been gone for just over 24 hours and already itching to return. jumpa lagi, KL, next time i'll be better prepared for you....


**

special thanks to MamaBok for facilitating the boo_licious/banana meetup. terima kasi!

malaysia, truly asia.

i'm going to kuala lumpur in a week or so; i've read dozens of malaysian food blogs, but pretty much nothing else. any suggestions? i'll be there for five days.

nutter

weekend treats for you to try: maple-glazed pecans, adapted from a "tartine" recipe. very lightly sweet, and salty too, which makes them v. addictive. so easy, cheaper and fresher than the stuff you can buy prepackaged.

spiced herby almonds, also adapted from another "tartine" recipe. the ingredients are the more or less the same, the quantities just a suggestion, experimentation mandatory. the main diff in both these recipes is that i used a microwave for ease, convenience, and to appease said microwave of its reheating leftovers doldrums. the only problem in this is that i have no idea of how to tell you when the nuts are done. if you smell something burning, that's means they are really, really...done. times given in the recipes below are for a 1200w microwave, for nuts that are extra toasty, but not burnt. if you feel this is a far too foolish method (i don't blame you), roast them on a lined cookie sheet in a conventional oven at 400˚F for six to eight minutes, stirring occasionally.

*

vaguely related: friends from japan arrived, bearing large quantities of roasted chestnuts. usually a highlight on their own, but made more fun with a little plastic doohickey that scores the chestnuts for easy access. how fun is that? very, i say. :sigh:

maple glazed pecans adapted from a "tartine" cookbook recipe

2 tbsp corn syrup
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp white sugar
1 tsp sea salt
3-4 cups of raw, shelled pecans

mix all ingredients well. microwave in a glass or ceramic dish, one or two cups at a time, on "high" for one minute. stir well. return to microwave for one minute. stir again. return to microwave for another 30 seconds to a minute, keeping a close nose for signs of burning. cool completely, stirring occasionally to break up the sticking pieces. cool completely. if they aren't crunchy enough or are too sticky for you, return 'em to the microwave for another minute zap.

spiced almonds adapted from a "tartine" cookbook recipe

a couple sprigs of thyme
a small stalk of rosemary
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp corn syrup
3-4 cups of raw almonds

strip the leaves off the rosemary stalk. finely mince the thyme and rosemary. in a large bowl, mix all ingredients well. microwave in a glass or ceramic dish, one or two cups at a time, on "high" for one minute. stir well. return to microwave for one minute. stir again. return to microwave for another 30 seconds to a minute, keeping a close nose for signs of burning. cool completely, stirring occasionally to break up the sticking pieces. cool completely. if they aren't crunchy enough for you, return 'em to the microwave for another minute zap.

bounty, cagey.

deposited at my front doorstep the other day: a giant carton of cherry tomatoes and bittermelon. whooo! what to do, what to do.

*

also deposited: a bunch of eggs. i have to laugh whenever i buy those cage-free, free-range, battery-free, antibiotic-free, donovan-listening eggs at the market. i have a few friends with errant chickens, which are empirically without cage and battery, conforming to every stereotype about the bird you may have ever thought: they cross the road to get to the other side, they run around even with their heads cut off (srsly? so freakin' weird), and are as free as. no one is actually sure where they've come from--probably another yard in the neighbourhood--but no one comes around to claim them, and certainly none of my friends actually feed them. they know how to fend for themselves, surely.

i don't really know all that much about chickens, but i was under some assumption that eggs were usually dropped in a nest or at least in a sheltered area and roughly in the same area. however, the eggs pictured above are much like all the ones collected from various folk: randomly deposited on window sills, doorsteps, flowerpots, but mostly in driveways--coral rock, conrete, brick, dirt, clay....they seem to like the open expanse and playing chicken (! ha) with the cars coming in or out. the ones out of the way are mostly left alone, because of uncertainty of age, although some folk are partial to penoy, which are fertilized eggs which fail to hatch. personally, i think it's an open invitation for snakes (leaving eggs around the yard, not the penoy per se). the driveway ones are collected and distributed for consumption. i haven't really participated in the handouts because, well, i as a lifelong storebought egg consumer, am still a bit suspect of the driveway eggs. sure they are collected pretty quickly, but temperatures reach 80˚F or more by mid-morning regularly, and i'm not the one collecting the eggs. i know i should get over it, so i've started to get my share, but only for hard boiling purposes until i am more comfortable with the idea (i'm not worried about salmonella, but i figure a cracked/bad egg is easier to deal with once boiled).

i'm sure i wouldn't be so cagey if someone told me these had come from their lovely little farm with the red barn and the cow named bessie, i should be thrilled i'm getting fresh and free ones from the lovely little subdivision with the concrete house and the car named camry.

*

almost speaking of snakes, i came home from manila at 5am, opened up the bedroom door to find a snake slithering underneath the bed. after a little bit of a freak out, i went looking for it, to find...nothing. so after a few days of careful peering and not reaching into handbags too hastily, i was happy to find one of the dogs inadvertently stepping on what i originally thought was an electrical cord but turned out to be an irate and desperate snake. mostly dead (yay dog! although she is traumatized from the incident), so it was finished off with a whack of a nine iron. before animal rights folks get after me, i have to point out that the brown tree snake is non-native to the island, invasive, and has decimated the native bird population. "ecological disaster" is not too strong a phrase. so, although i find my golf club whacking ways troubling, i also think it's necessary. the thing is...the dead snake is not same one seen slithering under the bed. #$%^.

market macaron merienda.

one of my favourite stalls in salcedo market is la cuisine francaise, which sells a very nice assortment of homemade french specialties like patés, quiches, apple tartine, pissaladiere, some lovely stews, ratatouille, and some kicking lasagne (not french, but darned good). i generally skip the majority of their baked goods because there are so many other bakeries around, but this time i picked up these absolutely ginormous macarons, one of the almond, and a chocolate one. i used to have a steady date with the macarons at bizu, but lately they haven't been up to par--always a little stale, a little sad, and the taste of some of the flavours seems to have changed. i had my doubts about the market macarons--at a little more than six inches in diameter, they are about 5 times the size of an average macaron, and maybe ten times the weight. whatwhatwhat?! robyn had a photo of maison du chocolat's version of a large macaron, which she called "the monster that eats babies" one; if that's the case, then these are the universe in which the monsters roam.

the flavour of both were excellent--not too sweet, real almond flavour coming through the almond one with a marzipan overtone, the chocolate one was a little malty, with not-overpowering ganache within. the outside had a much thicker crust than your average macaron, and the innard of the cookie was soft, almost bready. i've made macarons before, but i can't imagine that the batter i used for the small ones would turn out like these in larger scale. it seems like perhaps there is more flour or something stabilizing the meringue. if you look at the photo below, maybe you can see what i mean...?

does that look like an average macaron to you? it almost seems like a cross between a macaron and the savoiardi/ladyfingers i made for the strawberry charlotte. lighter, slightly spongy, but with that nice meringue crust and a bit of chew. if anyone has any pointers/suggestions on how to make the monster macarons, please let me know!

impromptu visit.

when will this monsoon season ever end? i was about to go mad with the sound of horrid rain, day in, day out...so i hopped on a plane, bound for manila, just for the weekend. even though it was overcast there really wasn't any rain to speak of (stupid or otherwise), but there was a nice cooling breeze. perfect for a stroll through saturday's salcedo market, again. just some scenes from the village:

katuray and bagbagkong, edible flowers


caimito (star apple), lanzones, chico, sampalok (tamarind), and bananas


cotton candy floss vendor


"dirty" ice cream


barbecued pusit (squid), hito (catfish) and bangus (milkfish), pork


roasting chestnuts


guess we know what fidel's up to these days.

happy new year!

hello! did you have a good new year? mine was sort of _____. it was actually quite a good day even though i had to go to work; but, i didn't get to celebrate, and my dinner sort of sucked. boo. i hope it's not a foreshadowing of the year to come. i wasn't able to cook anything special for the lunar new year, but did manage these tea eggs during the last half of a project runway mini-marathon. simple snack tastiness + high fashion drama = excellent evening in the banana household. :sigh:

tea eggs are a popular asian street food, prepared by simmering boiled eggs in a tea, soy sauce and spice mix. the marbling comes from a light cracking of the shell, and a long simmer time. surprisingly, even after a couple hours in the hot bath, the egg white does not become super-rubbery, and the yolk remains creamy. the flavour of the tea and spices permeates, but in a subtle way. i can't say i notice the spices all that much, but the smokiness of the tea and the light touch of salt enhance the flavour of the otherwise everyday egg. if this egg were a metaphor for how the rest of the year will be, i would say that it would be solid, sunny, with a touch of erratic glamour. i'll take it! and happy new year to you all.


tea eggs

6-8 eggs
water, enough to cover eggs

1 tsp salt
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 teabags (i used oolong)
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
black peppercorns
2 long strips of orange peel, with most (or all) of the white pith removed

place eggs in saucepan with water. bring to a boil. turn off heat, leave eggs in pan for 10 minutes. remove eggs from pan (save water), tap them with the back of a spoon to crack the shells, keeping the shells intact.

return eggs in water with tea, soy sauce, peel, and spices. add more water to just cover the eggs if necessary. bring back to a boil, then simmer for two hours. or, do this step in a rice cooker; after the boil, set the rice cooker to "warm" position, and leave the eggs for two hours. peel one egg as a test. if the colour isn't dark enough, leave the eggs in the simmering mix for longer, or store the (unshelled) eggs immersed in the liquid in the fridge overnight.

strawberry double cheesecake.

mamabok's request was cheesecake, here is cheesecake. two, in fact: a "rare" japanese cheesecake with puréed strawberries sandwiched between two halves of a baked japanese cheesecake, inspired by lydia's beautiful double happiness cheesecake.

both varieties employed are more commonly found in japan than the heavy new york-style cake, hence the "japanese" moniker. "rare" is just an allusion to the fact that is uncooked (as in a rare steak), just yogurt, cream cheese, strawberries and sugar set with a little bit of gelatin. i adapted a recipe from about.com for this. the baked cheesecake contains less than half the cream cheese of your average american style cake, and has a soft, silky, fluffy texture from whipped egg whites. it is because of this that it is sometimes known as a cheesecake soufflé (or soufflé cheesecake). i modded betty shimabukuro's recipe, as i actually encountered the same problems she did when trying other recipes on the web. no matter, this one turned out fine.


strawberry double cheesecake

"rare" layer:

1 package/8oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup yogurt-plain, vanilla or strawberry-flavoured, your choice
1- 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen (thawed) strawberries, puréed
1/3 cup sugar, more if the strawberries aren't sweet
2 tbsps lemon juice
1 packet/1 tbsp powder gelatin
1/4 cup water

mix gelatin and water in a small container, set aside. put gelatin mixture into microwave and heat for about a minute. dump softened cream cheese, yogurt, fruit, sugar, lemon juice, and gelatin; mix well. pour the filling into an 8" cake pan lined with plastic wrap; spread evenly. refrigerate for a minimum of 3 hours or overnight.


baked layer:

1 package/8oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs, separated
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoonfuls lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

preheat oven to 325˚F . place a parchment round on the bottom of an 8-inch round cake pan or springform pan.

beat cream cheese and cream together. add egg yolks, cornstarch, lemon juice, and half the sugar until smooth. beat egg whites in a separate bowl until foamy with a hand mixer. add remaining sugar and cream of tartar, beating until soft peaks form. slowly fold beaten egg whites into cream-cheese mixture, until thoroughly combined. pour into cake pan and smooth the surface. place cake pan into a larger roasting pan and place in lower rack of oven. pour enough boiling water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the side of the cake pan. bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until cake has pulled away from the pan, and a pick inserted into the center comes out clean.

cool in the pan on a rack (it will deflate), then unmold cheesecake. refrigerate for at least three hours. once cooled, carefully cut the cake in half horizontally so you have two layers. unmold the rare cheesecake and place it on top of one layer. spread a layer of strawberry jam or cut fruit, if you want. top with second baked cheesecake layer. since the baked cheesecake will have shrunk a bit, a little trimming of the middle layer will be necessary. you can serve it immediately, but i prefer to cover the cake with plastic wrap, and refrigerate so that the layers "settle"a bit.

rochers.

rochers: meringue and toasted silvered almonds in big crispy-on-the-outside, fluffy-on-the-inside-mounds. a recipe from the tartine bakery cookbook, from the tartine bakery in san francisco, ca.

miss craftapalooza suggested meringues with cream for my strawberry glut, but there was something about these that beckoned. probably the toasty loveliness of slivered almonds that don't just dot the meringue, but create a virtual haystack within--no nibble shall be nutless, i tell you. the original recipe says it makes 30 small cookies, i managed to eke out a dozen of these giganto versions. piping is recommended, even though the almond pieces will clog the tip; also, results can be unbecoming. just stick to heaping teaspoonfuls (or tablespoonfuls) and you should get something similar to a favourite golden wrapped confection. eaten out of hand, or coarsely crushed over sliced strawberries and cream, these are big rock cookie mountains i'll take over the candy version, any day.

napoleon and charlotte.

if i was a cartoon-drawing kind of gal, i would have a comic strip involving a couple named napoleon and charlotte....

per miss deborah's request: a strawberry napoleon, made with puff pastry, a grand marnier-laced vanilla bean pastry cream, and sliced fresh strawberry. adapted from yet another ludo lefebvre recipe. the most noteworthy thing about it was the absolute ease of making this, as almost everything must be done well in advance, and each component (while time consuming) is pretty easy to make. the second most noteworthy thing: it was the first time i had made puff pastry. huzzah! another thing to cross off my list! and--i am so not pulling your leg, your finger, your nothin' on this--it was insanely not difficult to do at all. i'm not saying i did a stellar job on the matter (will i ever get the hang of rolling dough out evenly? maybe there are speed bumps on my table), but even a 50% effort yields a pastry that is 150% better than your average supermarket puff pastry dough. i always thought the puff was difficult as when i'd use the frozen stuff, it would shrink too much, be too greasy, and brown unevenly; this worked like it should. anyway, i reckon that once i get the hang of it, it deserves a post of its own. the pastry cream was one of the easiest pastry cream recipes i've tried, and one of the tastiest. chef lefebvre's version included whole vanilla beans and a generous glug of bourbon--i doubled the vanilla and substituted orange-flavoured liqueur for the bourbon. this was a little runnier than i had hoped (i blame the booze), so i'll either cut down on the amount of booze, or cook the pastry cream a little longer for a firmer product.

napoleons have never been my favourite because usually the pastry is a little stale, or the pastry cream too sweet; also, arrgh, no matter how genteel you are, they are very messy to eat. this one was as fresh as it was going to get, with delicate, flaky pastry, a lightly sweetened, flavoured cream, and of course, the bounty of perfectly ripe strawberries. and yes, still a freakin' mess to eat.

and miss susan's suggestion: a strawberry charlotte, a delightful name for a cake if there ever was one. this one was made with a base and white picket fence of ladyfingers/savoiardi, filled with an amaretto-laced bavarian cream and topped with fruit. another first, making those ladyfingers, which are cookies made with a sponge cake batter, often in the shape of fat...fingers. ladyfingers! seriously, i'm built like a peasant, but even my manhands are more delicate than this. however, the cake seems not to be the least bit bothered, with billowy clouds of silky cream and vibrant berries all wrapped up in a fluffy pink-sashed party dress. again, the ladyfinger recipe from pierre herme was actually not difficult, and yes, my 50% maxim still applies. a little more practice, and maybe i can get those stubby fingers to look a lot more ladylike.

the bavarian cream was simply the ludo vanilla bean pastry cream--this time flavoured with amaretto liqueur--folded into copious amounts of whipped cream, and stabilized with a tiny bit of gelatin. plonked on top are endless amounts of sliced strawberries, but not so endless that i don't have more berry delights forthcoming....

falafel + hummus.

if i was a cartoon-drawing kind of gal, i would have a comic strip involving a couple named falafel and hummus. i'm not sure what they'd be, or what they'd be doing, but one of them would certainly be ballsy and the other one kinda wet. anyway

i love the first photo in susan's post, it makes me hungry everytime i see it. falafel, a sort of middle eastern ground chickpea or fava bean non-meat meatball, is one of those things that is relatively easy to make, but something i don't think about doing. there seems to be endless variations on the basic recipe, but i tend to like ones that are a little crunchy on the outside, creamy and a little spicy on the inside. like susan, i used an epicurious recipe, but adapted it slightly so there would be a little more flavour and maybe cook up a little quicker, as i had intended on grilling them as small patties. you know, like healthy? harrrrgh. about two seconds after pulling the grill out, i changed my mind and decided to fry them after all. the result was a zingy little number that was lightly crunchy on the outside, creamy on the inside. they fried up super-fast, so they did not become oily or greasy, so i don't feel so bad about not grilling them. the extra spices and herbs meant that these falafel were actually quite tasty on their own--so much so they never made it to their pita sandwich destination.

the hummus (hummous, houmous, who? moose?) is another adaptation of a recipe from "a year in my kitchen" by skye gyngell (like the beetroot purée). in fact, the spices and herbs are almost identical to the beet recipe, but with chickpeas as a base, the texture and flavour are still quite different. my version also has almost the same ingredients as the falafel recipe, so frankly, they aren't really that much different from each other (hey, i see my cartoon's backstory shaping up!). they are okay paired together, but as they taste nearly the same, you'll probably want to add other contrasting and complementing flavours and textures to the plate. ms. gyngell does not like to refer to this as hummus as it has so much more flavour; i absolutely agree, but 'hummus' sounds sooo much better than 'chickpea paste', so perhaps i'll just leave it as that.

falafel adapted from "my favorite falafel" recipe on epicurious

3 cups cooked chickpeas, drained
1/2 bunch flat leafed parsley, finely chopped
1/2 bunch coriander/cilantro, finely chopped
4-5 green onions, finely chopped
1 teaspoonful salt
1 teaspoonful cayenne pepper
3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled

1 teaspoonful roasted spice mix (see beetroot purée recipe)

1 teaspoonful baking powder
4-6 tablespoons flour

vegetable oil for frying

dump all the ingredients except the baking powder and flour into a food processor. process until blended, but still somewhat chunky.

sprinkle in the baking powder and 4 tablespoons of flour then pulse. check to see if the mixture holds together but isn't too sticky--if it's still sticky, add more flour.

transfer to an airtight container, and refrigerate overnight.

form the mixture into small semi-compact balls; i use a 2 oz. cookie scoop.

heat about 2-3 inches of oil to 375 degrees in a pot, fry a ball to test. add a little flour if the ball falls apart. fry 4-6 balls at once for a couple of minutes on each side, or until golden brown.


hummus adapted from "a year in my kitchen" by skye gyngell

3 cups cooked chick peas, drained
3-4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 large green or red chili pepper, depending on your preference (i like jalapeño in this)
1 bunch coriander/cilantro, chopped
1 bunch mint, leaves only
1/2 bunch flat leafed parsley, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
1 heaping tablespoonful of tahini

1 teaspoonful roasted spice mix (see beetroot purée recipe)
50 ml olive oil
salt and pepper* to taste

dump everything into a food processor or blender, process until relatively smooth (a few chunks are nice). adjust seasoning, add salt and pepper to taste.

spicy beetroot purée

beetroot purée, adapted from one of my favourite cookbooks, "a year in my kitchen" by skye gyngell. i've been trying to eat a lot more veggies, and one of my favourites is roasted beets, which are sweet, somewhat corn-y tasting, and just a gorgeous violent deep shade of purply red. all you need to do to roast them is to scrub 'em down, chuck them into a pan, drizzle some olive oil on top, cover with foil and bake them in a preheated 400˚F for about 45 minutes to an hour, until they can be pierced with a knife. i usually just eat them peeled, with a little salt and pepper, but sometimes when i've got a few left over, i play around with gyngell's recipe for a puréed spread/dip, flavoured with garlic, olive oil, fragrant spices, and tons of green herbs. the effect is not unlike a über-hummus, all sweet, silky yet spicy and just a little rough--a nice addition to any mezze plate, a vivid side dish, or even just an eye-opening spread on toast. i don't know what it is that makes people dislike beets, but maybe this recipe will change some people's mind.

beetroot purée adapted from "a year in my kitchen" by skye gyngell

3 large beets, roasted, cooled and peeled (see above) note--you can do this with canned beets (drained thoroughly), but the colour will not be quite as nice
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 large bunch of coriander/cilantro, roughly chopped
1 large handful of mint leaves, roughly chopped
1 glug of olive oil
1 tablespoonful roasted spice mix* (see below; you can always use ground spices for this if you don't want to deal)
1/2-1 teaspoonful of cayenne pepper
balsamic vinegar to taste
1 small container of greek yogurt (optional)
salt

add the beets, garlic, herbs, spices, and olive oil in a food processor or blender. pulse/blend until a smoothly puréed. add greek yogurt if you want a super smoothy, then add balsamic vinegar and salt to taste.

*roasted spice mix

1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
25g coriander seeds
25g cumin seeds
25g fennel seeds
25g fenugreek seeds
2 cardamon pods
1-2 star anise

place a frying pan over low heat. once a clear smoke rises from the pan, add spices. stir frequently, being careful not to let them burn. when the seeds begin to pop, take them off the heat, and grind to a fine powder in a spice mill or mortar and pestle.

surprise delivery.

s just brought over a case of super-sweet strawberries from korea, about 4 pounds' worth. any baking/dessert requests?

purple pretty

purple cauliflower, which gets its lovely colour from the presence of anthocyanin, which is also responsible for the colour in red cabbage, red wine, apples, and the distinctive deep loveliness of blood oranges.

when deep-fried, the colour changes to a gorgeous bluey-purple, not unlike dame elizabeth taylor's eyes. the flavour of the cauliflower becomes quite sweet and nutty. also like i imagine the ex-mrs. fortensky to be. not to taste.

makes a great sandwich. i'm sure the ex-mrs. hilton wilding todd fisher burton burton warner has a cook or chef who does, too.