CHOCOLATE MUD CAKES

calling all chocolate lovers...

CHOCOLATE MUD CUPCAKES !!!

with an easy peezy chocolate glaze.

and a few spicy pecans thrown in for good measure. you know, i wonder where that saying originated from..."a little more for good measure"...measure of what exactly?...

MY SANITY?...if a few more of anything could keep me sane, then i'm all for it.

these cupcakes are great. as a matter of fact, this type of cake is my new favorite. i think it's because of the melted chocolate and butter added to the batter. it definitely adds to the moist factor. i have made a white chocolate mud cake (whole cake) a few times and LOVED it. it's so dense just a small piece will do and it makes such a good base for decorating. i even thought of making petite fours and making each one all cute and pretty, but lost the erge as soon as i had it. soon. BUT this time i though i'd try cupcakes. the texture is unlike a regular cupcake. a little less flakey-a little more crumbly. i think if i had pulled them out just a few minutes before, they would have been more like the dense white cake version i was thinking of. don't get me wrong...these are killer good.

i really recommend the glaze as well. it's so easy and it holds up so well. i was able to individually wrap each cupcake in a baggie. the glaze is so nice and smooth that it didn't stick all over the place like a normal frosting would. yet, the glaze is still soft to the bite, it doesn't harden like a shell.

CHOCOLATE MUD CUPCAKES

300g dark chocolate

300g unsalted butter

5 eggs

125 caster sugar

115g self-rising flour

preheat oven to 160 celsius

place 14-16 paper muffin cups in tin

in a med. bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water, melt the choc. and butter together, stirring well so as not to seize up on the sides. when melted remove and let cool a little as you prep.

beat the eggs and sugar together in a large bowl untill pale and thick. fold in the flour and then stir in the melted chocolate mixture untill well blended. (i used a mixer for the whole process)

spoon the mixture into the cups and bake for 15 minutes. the cupcakes should be soft and gooey in texture and appearance. i left mine in just a bit longer, being my 1st time and all, and they came out great...just a bit more puffed. maybe less gooey. remove from the oven and let cool befor glazing or frosting.

EASY PEEZY CHOCOLATE GLAZE

1 c. chocolate chips

1 can condensed milk (14oz.)

1 tsp vanilla

melt the choc. and con. milk together. i like the double boiler method

add the vanilla and stir well....DONE!

pour or spoon over what ever you are glazing...works magnificently with BUNDTS. i used it here on this quintuple choc. cake

you can even use a few coatings if you like it thick. i did on the cupcakes...and as i said, i doesn't harden to the bite, but it does dry and make easy to handle or cover it need be.

Turkey and Gorgonzola Gnocchi

Please forgive the completely underwhelming picture of this dish. I contemplated whether or not to even share it since the picture is so lame, but it tasted so good that I just had to!

I love gnocchi, so does every else in my family, my kids call them pillows! I found this recipe in a Racheal Ray cookbook, and it actually calls for ground beef, but regardless of the fact that turkey is less fattening, I think the tenderness of the turkey paired better with the soft pillows! I also didn't have fresh sage, so I just used ground and it was delicious.

Definitely try this, it's a family pleaser!

Turkey and Gorgonzola Gnocchi
Adapted from Racheal Ray's Big Orange Book

Ingredients

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound ground turkey
salt and pepper
1 large onion chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock
10 fresh sage leaves, chopped or 1 teaspoon ground sage
1 cup crumbled Gorgonzola
1 (12-16 oz) package gnocchi, fresh or frozen
a handful of fresh parsley, chopped

Directions
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat for the pasta.

2. While the water is coming to a boil, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the turkey, season with salt and pepper, and cook until it is very well browned, about 5 minutes, breaking it up into bite-sized crumbles with a wooden spoon.

3. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and soften for 5 minutes; adjust the salt and pepper, add the wine to the pan, and stir for 1 minute. Stir in the stock and sage, then add the Gorgonzola. Reduce the heat to low.

4. Salt the boiling water well and add the gnocchi. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until they float, then drain well and add to the skillet with the beef and cheese. Toss to combine. Top with the chopped parsley.

We're getting ready to take off to spend Halloween with my best friend from HS and her family for Halloween. I'm very excited! I hope you all have a wonderful and safe Halloween weekend!!

LEMON ALMOND BUNDT CAKE

WHEN IN DOUBT.... ....BUNDT !

bundts are a beautiful thing. you really can't go wrong with a bundt. everyone loves a good bundt. i think slicing them is the most fun, actually watching someone else slice it is even more fun...no one can decide if they should cut the premarked divisions or go outside the lines and divy up the cake evenly. bundt lovers out there know what i'm talkin' about. right?
even a bad bundt can be impressive with a tasty ganache poured all over dripping down the sides. or just go for the classic, and toss a little powdered sugar on and around and let the flavor of the cake speak for itself.
i liken the good ol' bundt to a favorite pair of jeans...you can dress 'em up or dress 'em down, but you're always gauranteed a good time and a sure fit.
i found this beauty at CAFENILSON.com while flipping through the pages at foodgawker. this one caught my eye because of the texture, and i LOVE anything that has almond flour in it. although mine turned out looking quite a bit different texture wise...i was very pleased with the finished product. a lite cakey texture(i thought it would be more dense from the almond flour) with just a hint of lemon. actually it turned out just like a good ol' bundt should...classic, understated delicious and moist.

LEMON ALMOND BUNDT CAKE
with many thanks to CAFENILSON.com

Ingredients:
zest of 3 lemons
3 tbs lemon juice
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup ground almonds or almond flour...(i used ground blanched almonds i purchase ready-ground)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup sour cream
3 eggs, room temperature
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Prepare a 12-cup bundt pan by spraying with nonstick baking spray and then sprinkling with flour.
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl (flour, ground almonds, baking powder, baking soda and salt) and set aside. In another bowl, combine zest, lemon juice, sour cream, and vanilla. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar at medium speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, scraping and mixing after each addition.
Reduce to low speed then add about one-third of flour mixture, followed by half of sour cream mixture, mixing until just incorporated after each addition. Repeat with the remaining mixtures and continue mixing until well combined. Pour into prepared bundt pan.
Bake until top is golden brown and wooden skewer or toothpick inserted into center comes out with no crumbs attached, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from oven and leave in pan for 10 minutes then invert onto wire rack and cool.

Note: You can add a lemon glaze to the pan while it is cooling by mixing 1/3 cup lemon juice with 3 tbs confectioner’s sugar and pouring it over the cake.
MY NOTE...i did not do this particular glaze, i opted for powdered sugar. i think this glaze sounds a bit too juicy/runny. it would probabaly be delicious if eaten right away, but in my experience this runny of a glaze doesn't sit well. i have made glazes like this much thicker(more powdered sugar) and it holds up well for days..almost seals it.

14. Fishlips Sushi Truck

10/28/09

Well, you all knew I had to do it eventually. I have been postponing this for far too long. And to be honest, I would have pushed it to yet another day had there been any other truck nearby that I had not yet hit. Not the case. So it was me and the Fishlips staring each other down.
 

The menu is mostly in “sets” of rolls and a few sushi items. On the suggestion of the man taking my order I selected the “Crunchy Set” with a couple of pieces of Unagi ($8.35). As you can see, quantity-wise it was a gracious plenty.

A couple of things here: Number one, I have already expressed my diffidence with regards to consuming raw fish served from a moving vehicle. Second, it is somewhat difficult to eat sushi “on the go”. I found myself sitting on a cement block, in the sunshine and wind, trying to work with mixing the soy sauce, from packets, with the wasabi in a corner of the plastic tray, chopsticks, etc. It reminded me of the day I realized that peanuts are actually a really bad idea for road trip snacks. You end up getting peanut skins and crumblies all over your front, they require two hands, and leave a big pile of shells to deal with. Then all the salt makes you thirsty, so you drink a ton of water, and have to pull over 23 times to pee. But it seemed like a good idea at the time. Such was the situation with the sushi on the sidewalk. I did, however, enjoy staring at this billboard while I ate.

The actual food was not that bad, and certainly not scary. I will say that it was superior to that which would be purchased at, say, Ralph’s, but about on par with the sushi served at Bristol Farms. The pieces of sushi were in ball shapes instead of the little rectangles. That was kind of fun. The fish was fresh enough, and the flavors were there, but there is something that happens to the rice in the refrigeration part of everything. That fish needs to hit the rice and jump into my hands, seamlessly, or it just isn’t going to be right.

There is a certain place in the world for sushi available in stores. We have all done it before, and will probably end up doing it again one day. So, as far as that route goes, you will do just fine with Fishlips. And you can say that you lived to tell the tale.

Hey, guess what, y'all? Only eleven more trucks to go! (until I never get into my skinny jeans again)

13. The Grilled Cheese Truck

10/27/09

 By 8:30pm

Yesterday was really windy. It was scary, beautiful windy. It was American Beauty, plastic bags windy. It was also the night The Grilled Cheese Truck FINALLY took it to the streets. After two months of incessant Tweeting (even I was getting crabby about them), they opened their order-here and pick-up-here windows last night at The Brig in Venice. The plan was for them to have a short and sweet maiden voyage, from 8:30-10:15pm, and then make way for Kogi.

The firsts in line (note the avid reader and her PARKA (wind))

I arrived at 8pm (I was supposed to get there at 7:30, but that darned wind knocked out a bunch of traffic and streetlights). It was fun to drive across town at rush hour and encounter the intersection of Sepulveda and Venice without a traffic light (sarcasm). So the leisurely glass of wine with friends before grilled cheese times was cut short. I really hate being late.

About 9:30pm. (Hi Zack!)

Turns out I could have been as late as I wanted. The truck's grill was down and their opening was postponed about an hour and a half, until a part was delivered to get it up and running again. Did I mention the wind? So a very long line formed around the parking lot, people were reading, texting, chatting, their dogs were even co-mingling. Hair was blowing. Some folks got into the communal spirit of the affair. Some people were irritated and left. The line shortened a bit. Chef Dave Danhi’s (of Water Grill fame) partner, Michele Grant helped to placate the hungry hundreds with samples of their tomato and pumpkin soups, tater tots, and caprese grilled cheese sandwich bites. All very tasty and ideal snackables for the brisk evening.

And then, at 10pm, the line began to move and the melting was a go.

Note the "ahhh, our grill is fucked!" scurrying going on in the truck.

 Michele Grant's scramble for happy-time samples for everyone.

At one point, I walked to the non-serving-food side of the truck and bumped into The Brig’s owner, also named Dave. He and chef Dave are buddies. He was getting his complimentary Cheesy Mac and Rib: macaroni and cheese with sharp cheddar, bbq pork and caramelized onions ($7). Wanna hear something cool? He gave me half! I guess I looked all professional with my camera and tripod. Oh, that reminds me, I know I said I was going to solely use my camera phone for this project – being consistent with the whole mobile theme – but this was a night shoot, and I needed to break out the fancy stuff. I digress…

Dog and hair

The menu

The Brig's Dave holding The GCT's Cheesy Mac and Rib.

 

A close-up of the Cheesy Mac and Rib (photo courtesy of the Grilled Cheese Truck)

So here’s the deal. That is a mean grilled cheese! Perfectly grilled, crispety crunchety toastedy bread, and hot gooey beauty inside. The bbq pork was savory yet slightly sweet, and devilishly good. It’s hard not to have a joker-esque smile whilst eating this steaming delight, in a cold parking lot, with a hundred other happy folks (and wind), at 10pm. Watch out LA food truckers, because the GCT is takin’ it to the streets. Danhi has taken his honed chef skills and found a creative and delicious way to share it with the people. And what better cuisine than the cheesy, goodness (and little slices of Americana and nostalgia) of a perfect grilled cheese sandwich. Kudos!

Apple Dumplings

This is us about halfway into our large box of apples! I'd never had or tried apple dumplings before, so it was fun searching recipes to see all the different ways to try them. I chose this particular recipe because it called for puff pastry, which in my mind is the flakiest, most delicious pastry known to man. We loved these dumplings, they're easy to make, everyone gets their own and they're delicious. Serve these with a side of ice cream and drizzle with caramel!

Apple Dumplings
By Allrecipes

Ingredients

1 (17.5 ounce) package frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 cup white sugar
3/8 cup dry bread crumbs
3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground nutmeg 1 egg, beaten
4 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and halved
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.

2. Roll out each sheet of pastry to measure 12x12 inches. Cut into quarters, to make 8 - 6 inch squares.

3. In a small bowl, combine sugar, bread crumbs, cinnamon and nutmeg. Brush a pastry square with beaten egg. Place 1 tablespoon bread crumb mixture in center. Place one apple half, core side down, over bread crumbs. Top with another tablespoon of mixture. Pull up four corners of pastry and pinch sides together to seal seams completely. Repeat with remaining apples.

4. Brush each dumpling with beaten egg. Place in preheated oven for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and continue baking 25 minutes more, until lightly browned. Let cool completely at room temperature.

5. To make icing, combine confectioners' sugar and vanilla and enough milk to make a drizzling consistency. Drizzle over cooled dumplings. Serve the same day.

I also have to apologize to Barbara at Barbara Bakes for taking so long to post this award. Isn't it pretty! If you haven't checked Barbara out, definitely do, I always look forward to seeing what she's up to in the kitchen!

Part of the award is talking about why you love food blogging. When I first started the food blog I really had no idea where it was going to go, or if I was really even going to do it for very long, but it's really turned into a wonderful hobby. It pushes me to cook things that I never normally would, and I feel like it has made me a better cook and baker in a lot of ways, although I still have a long way to go! But the best part is easily all the great people I've met and the other blogs I get to read. Honestly, with all your amazing food blogs out there, I don't need to buy cookbooks anymore! So I'm just going to hand out this award to all of you for all of your wonderful blogs. Thanks for all you do and keep cooking!

The Perfect Fruit: Book Review

Have you ever noticed how the perfect fruit demands your attention? A run of the mill apple or banana is fine, benign even. But really spectacular fruit grabs you and doesn't let go. I hope everyone has the amazing experience of fresh, intensely flavored, sensual and almost overwhelming experience some day that Chip Brantley had when he first tasted a pluot. It changed his life. No kidding. The Perfect Fruit is his personal and journalistic investigation of this relatively recent stone fruit.

Barely into the first chapter I found myself inexplicably drawn to a local farmers market where I found the aptly named "flavor king." You have to admit, it is an awfully beautiful looking fruit. It tasted even better. Sweet, tangy, juicy, floral and complex.



The season for pluots is pretty much now over, but if you want to read a book about a most unlikely subject that will draw you in, much like a piece of perfect fruit, I wholeheartedly recommend The Perfect Fruit. Brantley covers the breeding, the marketing and flavor of the fruit. The book is well-written, with a strong attention to detail, it covers much of the business related to stone fruit but also the passion that drives fruit breeders to keep working on new hybrids all the time.

I was a bit skeptical about a whole book on pluots. But it's a book filled with interesting characters, almost dynastic families and the forces of nature. I found it fascinating, I hope you will too.

Lunch @ the Royal Phuket Yacht Club, Paravarna in South Phuket

As we were basking in Nai Harn beach for sometime, we saw some menacing dark clouds started to form and approach the beach in double quick time. So its pack up and go time! While we seek solace in the car, we decided to just have a simple lunch in the nearest resort, The Royak Phuket Yacht Club. I wonder if it's the hunger that struck us after swimming and sun bathing, but the food was quite decent. That was quite contrary to the number of people feasting in the restaurant. There was only us and another table when we were about to leave. The menu was not extensive but it has a variety of local thai, some easy western dishes and some salads, more like cafe food actually.

What we really liked about the restaurant was its location. It was located at one end of Nai Harn beach, up on a little rock outcrop, overlooking the whole of Nai Harn beach and Prompthep Cape.

Club Sandwich

The toast was not marshy, with that slight crisp and the ingredients
sandwiched in between were generous

Pad Thai (Thai Fried Vermicelli)

The pad thai was as good as it looked. Everyone was impatiently

waiting to grab at it while I was taking shots of this dish.

Tom Yam Goong (Thai Spicy Seafood Soup)

The tom yam goong was delicious but I would like

it better if they served it more spicy.

Assorted Sate (Satay)

Chicken, pork and beef. The marinating of the meat wasn't as rich

as I would like. The pieces were quite chunky but tender though.

A view from the restaurant at the Royal Phuket Yacht Club

overlooking the Nai Harn beach (one of the best

swimming beaches in Phuket) and the Prompthep Cape.

The Royal Phuket Yacht Club

23/3 Moo 1, Vises Road, Rawai,

Phuket, Thailand

The Royal Phuket Yacht Club Website

Anadama Bread

I'm going to admit a dirty secret to you. I'm not a fan of homemade bread-GASP! I know, I really hope we can all still be friends!

Don't get me wrong, I love a hot buttery slice of homemade bread right out of the oven as much as the next person. But, when it comes to using homemade bread on a regular, day to day basis, mainly sandwiches, I just don't like it. Usually the bread is too dense, or dry, or crumbly. It sits in your esophagus for days since it doesn't seem to absorb any liquid. Not a fan. BUT, a few weeks ago, my friend Kelley had a playgroup involving all sorts of peanut butter sandwiches (emulating the peanut butter place in NY, for those of you that have heard about it). The sandwiches were great, but my favorite part was the soft, nutty and flavorful homemade bread she made it on. So, after hours of begging, crying, pleading and stomping (okay, none of that happened), she gave me the recipe.

It's her dad's recipe and it's delicious! The best part about it is that it makes killer sandwiches. I kid you not, I was just looking for an excuse to make a sandwich every chance I got. It's soft and wholesome and slightly sweet from the molasses. This batch also makes three loaves, and I'm told that it freezes really well, so knock yourself out!

Do any of you have a homemade bread that you love? I've become crazy about baking bread lately, so let me know where the recipe is and I'll try it!

Anadama Bread
By Kelley and her Dad!

Ingredients

1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 cups boiling water
2 tsp salt
1/2 cup molasses
2 cups warm water
2 tsp oil
2 pkges or 2 tbs yeast
5-7 cups flour

Directions

Put oatmeal, corn meal, salt and boiling water in a big bowl, and stir until everything is wet. Wait twenty minutes.

Add molasses, oil and warm water to the bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the top of the mixture. Stir until all the yeast is wet. Add 5 cups of flour to the mix, one at a time, and stir. Add additional flour (probably between 1 and 2 cups) a little at a time until dough sticks together but is not sticky (the dough is still a bit sticky to me, so don't worry too much about that).

Let ball sit for 20-30 minutes. Punch it down and knead it one more time.

Cut ball of dough into thirds, and make a loaf out of each. Place in a greased bread pan and let sit for 30 minutes.

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes

Why do YOU cook, Guy Prince?

Guy Prince is a man with focus. He grills and he smokes and coaxes the best out of food in his own unmistakeable way. Who else would serve squares of bacon as an appetizer at a picnic? There is no mistaking the man, his food or his writing. He's also a true gentleman who never passes up the opportunity to help anyone with their smoking, grilling or meaty dilemmas. His blog is Meathenge and his stunning carnivorous photos will make you insanely hungry.

"Excellent question. For me, when I was a lot younger I found that I could cook better tasting food at home. And since I live and grew up in California, I could sure as hell out grill or out smoke any my local BBQ joints. The deal was sealed."

EASIEST TRUFFLES EVER...

when i say easy...i mean EASY!!!

i've introduced this little fudge recipe secret before and will probably be bringing it up quite a few more times during these next few candy making months. so bear with while i try to come up with some more tasty, interesting and sometime odd flavors, shapes and sizes. BUT, for now, here's a shortcut to impresive truffles.

BIG secret?!...1 can Eagle Brand Condensed Milk

3 c. chocolate chips

1 t. vanilla

pinch salt

i prefer the double boiler mehtod. melt the chips and condensed milk together 'till smooth. stir alot so that the chocolate won't seize. when everything is melted

stir in the vanilla and salt. this is the time you can add anything you want. spice? heat? nut? craisins? etc...

transfer into a clean bowl/dish at refrigerate for a few hours. this is the same recipe for the easy peasy fudge i love to make, but instead of cutting into squares you just get your hands in there and roll little balls. then immediatly roll in what ever outer coating you chose. nuts are always a good choice (i like toasted almonds) or sprinkles or good ol' cocoa powder. DONE...

i'm not saying these are going to turn out like fancy delicate ganache truffles, but they are pretty darn good and definitely pass as a yummy treat.

Plucky Breeda Lumple

My mother has a way with words. She boasts an impressive vocabulary and an imposing grasp of syntax. More interestingly, my mom has an entire vernacular that she has created over the decades. I hear that this property actually originated with my grandmother. She used to refer to anything that was small or delicate as Breeda.

My mom and her best friend of almost 30 years both refer to one another as Breeda. At Christmas time there were gifts under the tree that were labeled “To Breeda, From Breeda.” My friends sometimes thought they were calling each other “Burrito.” To this day, and forever more, they are The Breedas.

My mom calls me Tweeters, which is fine. Occasionally I become Tweetette. People probably think it has something to do with the whole Twitter thing, but I have been Tweeters for as long as I can remember. When I slouch, she says to me, “Tweeters… SHODLERS.” This is her endearing (and sometimes nerve-racking) way of telling me to hold my SHOULDERS up. When there was lint in my belly button, she called it Miss Belinda. Sleepy crusties in my eye were referred to as yuckadoonies, and whenever I was blue, she called it the nannybooskies. Every night when she tucked me into bed she would say to me, "I love you bigger than the sky."

Instead of swearing in exasperation, she would say things like, “Oh, for garden seed!” or “Mother of Pearl!” If they don’t make sense, just say them out loud in a frustrated way – like if you just stubbed your toe.

My mom also used to name everything we owned. We had an old thrift store couch, upholstered in red velveteen, that she lovingly called John Glenn. She thought it felt like John Glenn’s hair probably did. He always had that perfect crew cut. She had a blue pick-up truck named John John the Nissan, named because the truck’s shade of blue was identical to that of JFK Jr.’s jumper at his father’s funeral.

When she ran her beautiful little café in Richmond, she did all of the cooking and baking. She served scotch eggs, wonderful delicate sweet onion tea sandwiches, café breads, soups and pastries -- to name just a few items. Her food followers were loyal. One day she was making up a batch of scones for the café. Something went terribly awry. They ended up looking like sad, lumpy dough globs. She was literally in the process of walking them to the trash to dump them, when her business partner suggested she go ahead and serve them anyway.

Well whaddaya know, these little foster children of pastry turned out to be a roaring success, and not only in the café: They were named one of Richmond Magazine’s favorite little desserts. She sold out every day.

She called them Lumples.

Mom’s Lumples are simple, classy, subtly sweet and downright adorable. They have an ever so slightly harder exterior and a delicate, crumbly, comforting, forgiving interior. They are warm, nurturing, and, dare I say, a bit maternal. I feel compelled to hold my shodlers up when I eat one.

My favorite of her Lumple varieties, and the one I am sharing with you here, is the Lavender Lumple. We recently prepared a batch of them with one beautiful ripe blackberry inside, and one on top. They are topped with a Meyer lemon glaze.

It’s funny, when I was a littley, I thought her language was charming, funny and normal. Then, from my teens through college, it was, like, so dumb. But not only do I love her for her quirky, plucky little patois, I have inherited it. I still have the nannybooskies when I'm blue. If something is put together poorly, it's chooch. When I stub my toe, I call it Toelio. If my knee hurts, I have Kneasles. I refer to my car as The Storm Trooper (it’s all white and imposing). And everyday, around 6pm, it is wine o’clock.

Lumples

My mom prefers using King Arthur flour, raw milk, raw or cultured butter.  Not necessary but she does insist on whole milk; skim or reduced fat milk will make for a "weaker lumple," she says.

7 to 8 lumples

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons baking powder

3 tablespoons sugar

1 egg (slightly beaten)

3/4 cup milk

6 to 7 tablespoons chilled, unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 375

Sift flour, salt, baking powder and sugar together

Cut butter into small pieces and blend (you may use a pastry blender or fork, but Mom uses her hands) into above mixture until consistency of cornmeal (if you are using lavender buds, this is the time to mix in 1 1/2 teaspoons of the buds)

Add egg and milk; mix quickly with fork until just blended

Add blackberries, raspberries, blueberries or strawberries if you want a berry lumple.  My mom usually makes lavender, blueberry lumples and adds only 3 or 4 blueberries to each lumple; she puts in the berries after the lumples are formed and on the cookie sheet)

Bake 15-20 minutes

Meyer lemon glaze:

1/3 cup confectioner's sugar (sifted well)

3 tablespoons of butter at room temperature

juice of a little less than 1/2 of a Meyer lemon

Mix well until smooth-if mixture is too thick add another tablespoon of softened butter.  As soon as lumples come out of oven, put a heaping teaspoon of the glaze on each lumple.  It will self-drizzle because of the heat and meld beautifully with the lumples. 

Mom Tri's Boathouse Wine & Grill @ Kata Beach, Phuket

How can we not visit the Mom Tri's Boat House after we've been pestering Ade for this French-Thai fine dining place in Phuket that she was raving about. The Mom Tri's Boat House is located at Kata beach, facing the Andaman Sea. So, it's definitely a popular place for enjoying dinner and wine with the Andaman sunset. When we were there, all of us had the same observation. We were the only Asians in the restaurant and were among the most under-dressed list, still in our T-shirts, sandals and (almost dried) beach berms.

Our Phuket holiday was so packed with back to back activities like shopping, spa trips and beach bumming that we had to have dinner at 8.30pm, where the sun had long gone,hidden beneath the horizon. To enjoy dinner at Mom Tri's, book a table in the evening for that romantic dinner with that special other half. We were all with our special other halves though, but we all seemed to be way pass that dinner with the sunset thingy and went straight for the food. We were hungry after being beaten up by the Andaman waves at Pansea beach.

Here's some dishes that I thought was good.

Complimentary cheese and vegetable soup

We were all given complimentary soup which went well
with the breads and this cheesy soup went well wth cheesy me.

Deep Fried Seafood Cakes
served with sweet chilli sauce and plum sauce

This thai appetiser seems to be the 'must try' for every meal
we had. It must be the fresh local seafood and the appetizing
sauces that made this dish so appealing.

Rock Lobster Crispy Hebs and Tamarind Sauce
corriander, spring onion and lettuce garnish

Both W and I liked this appetizer. This salad is refreshing
with the tamarind sauce on the greens. The chinks of natural
sweet rock lobster added that contrasting taste.

Grilled Australian lamb chops, vegetable
Provençale rosemary sauce

The lamb chops were by default medium rare and were tasty and
juicy enough. The taste didn't really raised our eye brows though.

Grilled Pork chop Flavoured with
Provençale rosemary sauce, crush potatoes, virgin olive oil

We all thought HY's choice of mains was the best grill on the table. The pork
chop was grilled and went well with the rosemary sauce. Every one of us liked it.

Crêpe with mango and vanilla ice cream

An interesting mix of 3 scoops and ice cream and sherbet
Coconut, Passion Fruit and Chocolate

There's a list of ice cream and sherbets to choose from.

The Boat House was known for their outstanding wine list. So it has to be one of the restaurant to visit for that wine lover.

The service at the restaurant was good and my only regret was not having a big enough appetite to try their Thai main dishes other than the grills that we had.

Cost : About 6800 That baht for 4 people without wine.

Address : Kata Beach, Phuket, Thailand
Tel : +66 76 330 015
Country : Phuket, Thailand
Mom Tri's Boat House Wine & Grill