Balut

Places and times of transition are imbued with a sense of trepidation and magic.  In literature, misty marshes and bogs often provide the setting for mysterious events, betwixt as they are between land and water.  The blurry light of dusk and dawn are portentous times where possibilities abound.  Clear-cut notions are safe and reassuring, like primary colours.  Meanwhile, a haze of ambiguity hovers around the margins of times, places, and ideas.  Some find this uncertainty ominous and unsettling, while others find it electrifying.

So much of what we eat is neatly packaged, both literally and metaphorically.  The divorce of plastic-wrapped supermarket food from its natural farmyard or forest state has been oft written about.  Many people also expect, even subconsciously, that food stay within certain parameters.  For example, carrots should be orange; tomatoes, red; and bananas curved, not straight.  Eggs should have brown shells, and any speck of blood within should be fastidiously picked out.

Balut, or fertilised duck eggs, are a "transition" food.  They contain a semi-formed duckling nestled within the yolk.  Neither egg in the Western sense, nor entirely duck.  Billy (cloudcontrol) had enticed me to a recent Melbourne food blogger meetup with the prospect of homemade bo kho and just casually dropped in that we would be having a balut starter.  Also known as hot vit lon in Vietnam, these eggs are enjoyed across Asia, but particularly in the Philippines as a snack after a night of drinking.  A sense of foreboding came over me as I gave in and googled "balut" late one night.  When does an egg become a duck?  At what point does eating an egg become eating meat?  Could I really eat such a thing - feathers, beak, gizzards, and all?

Eggs were purveyed from three corners of Melbourne - Springvale, Footscray, and Richmond.  Buyers were advised to find "middle stage" eggs.  I have seen these large white eggs before in Asian grocers, neatly stacked in trays and stamped with a red Chinese character, but had no idea what was lurking inside, curled and dormant.  Each egg was marked with an S, F, or R to denote its origin, and they were boiled for around 15 minutes.

About fifteen pairs of eyes - some dancing with curiosity, some wide with anticipation, some squeezed half-shut in terror - watched Billy as he brought a silver spoon down on the hollow end of an egg.  A veined membrane was revealed, and he sprinkled it with salt and pepper   Delicately he dipped his spoon in, brought out a creamy, quivering morsel, ate, and declared it good.  The spell was broken.  Round the table, bloggers and their friends tucked in, and the overwhelming mood was one of surprise, that fertilised duck eggs were actually yummy.

Moi?  Well, on preparing for this event, I talked to my dad, who has eaten balut (along with duck tongues, chicken's feet - I could go on).  He advised me it was just like a hard-boiled egg.  Phew, I thought - until I remembered the only three things in the world I cannot abide are offal, blue cheese, and hard-boiled eggs.  Their farty aroma and rubbery texture makes me retch.  I did have to walk away from the balut feast a few times and take a few gulps of fresh air.  But I did try some, and was amazed to find I liked it.  The yolk is extra creamy - perhaps being fertilised, it has kicked into being a placenta-like powerhouse of nutrients.  But the best was the broth that came off the top of the inner membrane.  Like the most piquant, balanced fish sauce, it was a revelation and absolutely divine.  I challenge anyone to try a spoonful and not agree.

Anh of A Food Lover's Journey, who is originally from Vietnam, talked about how, growing up, "egg" meant balut.  There was an awareness of the life cycle of the chicken or duck.  We have lost that in the West, at least among most city-dwellers.  In many situations where roosters and hens are not kept artificially separated, I imagine that it would be accepted that an egg gathered from the garden may be at any stage from unfertilised to ready-to-hatch.  I respect so much those food traditions that embrace the natural life cycle and habits of a bird, and see balut as a delicious bonus to an otherwise everyday food - the egg.

Fabulous things happen when foodies get invited to a pot luck.  Warming bo kho, fabulous fried noodles, crisp Vietnamese coleslaw, tangy Thai salad, and a luscious coconut, banana, and tapioca dessert.  (My canh recipe here.)  It was a perfect autumnal afternoon, and we whiled away the afternoon in Tammi's cosy backyard, in the glow of a warm fire and to the sounds of chickens gently clucking.

As I drank my wine and chatted with friends, both new and old (hi Daniela!), something was simmering within me.  In the balut battle between Footscray, Richmond and Springvale, Footscray got fried!  Our eggs sucked - they were old and had no tasty broth.  Our pride was poached!  Our coddled cred was crushed!  I vow to avenge my fair suburb in the upcoming blind banh mi battle.  Stay tuned!

Read about #balutfest at Celeste's Berry Travels.  I'll add more links if and when people post about the event :)

Chicken and Orzo Salad

I love salads, LOVE them. Especially for lunch. I think what's so great about a salad is that there are about a bazillion different ways to make them, and more often then not it's going to come out delicious. They're fresh, healthy (usually), and I always feel so good about eating one. So when I was at Williams Sonoma (my home away from home), I couldn't resist coming home with this book.

If you're a salad lover, go buy this book, seriously. I plan on making every single recipe out of it. I have fun just flipping through it. The best part about it is that every salad is fairly simple with ingredients that can be found at a normal grocery store. They also look wonderfully healthy and full of great flavor.

This is the very first salad in the book and it's delicious. Shredded chicken, orzo, grape tomatoes...but the best part was the dressing. It's so easy, pesto and vinegar, why haven't I thought of that before? It was such a filling salad and was packed with the perfect balance of flavors. A little tip on pesto, if you're going to buy it, buy the plastic tubs found in the refrigerator section. The jars that sit on the shelf tend to lose most of that strong basil flavor.

Chicken and Orzo Salad
William Sonoma Salads

Ingredients

2/3 cup pesto
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar (I used garlic flavored rice vinegar)
salt and pepper
3 tablespoon olive oil (I didn't even add it and it was fine)
3/4 lbs orzo pasta
2 1/2 cups cooked shredded chicken (this is where rotisserie chickens come in handy)
1/2 lb halved cherry tomatoes
6 oz baby spinach

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the pesto, vinegar, 1/4 tsp salt, and a pinch of pepper. Gradually whisk in the oil until smooth.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons of salt and the orzo. Cook, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking until the pasta is al dente, according to the package directions. Drain rinse under cold running water, and drain again. Add the orzo to the vinaigrette and toss to coat evenly.

3. Add the chicken, tomatoes and spinach to the orzo and toss gently to combine, the serve.

Dim Sum @ 李白 Li Bai

Low and Slow Cooked Pork

i just can't seem to get enough pork lately...what's up with that ?

this delicious hunk of pork shoulder could not be easier. i know i love my pig in the slow cooker, but this really is a true pork lovers pork. plain and simple. roasted in the oven low temp...long time.

i first saw the idea/recipe HERE. many thanks to Niki and her Grand Daddy Gene. her recipe is a little bit more involved with the roast and the whole basting thing. definitely sounds really tasty-good and delicious. i'll have to try the whole recipe some time, but so far i've done this twice and i think the roast is just perfect as is without anything extra....then the left overs are like a blank canvas waiting for new ideas through the week.

let's see if i can remember these involved instructions...
i just had this for dinner and i think i'm in
a PORK COMA...OINK !

in a nut shell...SALT AND PEPPER A PORK SHOULDER...STICK IT IN THE OVEN FAT SIDE UP AT 225 DEGREES FOR 8 HOURS...DONE

for a few more details read below...
buy 1 pork shoulder...i like the one with the large covering of skin and fat
preheat oven to 225 degrees
cover a roasting pan or cookie sheet with tinfoil...double is good for easy clean-up
slice 1 large onion and make a base for the roast...optional
with a sharp knife (skin is tough) jab about 6 holes and shove in some peeled garlic cloves
salt and pepper the whole shoulder
i sprinkled a bit of cumin on the second time around-optional
rest the shoulder on the bed of onions as shown in photo...FAT SIDE UP
put in in the oven and WALK AWAY for 8 hours

THAT'S IT...DONE

slice down the crusty skin and peel back to reveal your "fall off the bone" delicious pork meat ready for anything...BBQ sauce, teriyaki, shredding, tacos, paninis or like i said...straight out of the oven. it's hard not to just start eating it right then and there...no salt, no pepper...just hand to mouth...hand to mouth...hand to mouth...
please try this sometime. it's a no-brainer, inexpensive and goes a long way.

Phu Vinh

Phu Vinh is tucked under the eaves of Footscray Market, on Hopkins St.  It had never caught my eye. However, after reading rave reviews from penny aka jeroxie and Food Floozy, the sparkle on its gold noodle bowl caught my eye one market trip and we had to stop in.

I always love it when the menu is small, maybe 12 things at most, rather than a colossus of "Chicken with Black Bean/Satay/Mongolian/Garlic", repeated ad nauseam for all manner of meats.  It makes me think that the establishment has carefully selected a few dishes which it knows it does well.  Phu Vinh has a simple menu, just 2 pages, and a few of its dishes are displayed in bright, colourful pictures on the walls.  All the signs were there for a great little find.

Spring rolls, $9

Some spring rolls to start.  At first glance, these did look fairly big for Vietnamese spring rolls, which are normally quite thin (and therefore, extra crispy) when compared to their Chinese counterparts.  I was quite miffed to find only four or so small leaves of iceberg lettuce, rather than the quarter-head many restaurants are generous enough to provide you with.  Only European mint was offered, but I put this aside as me being a bit of a know-it-all, so enamored am I with my latest discovery (mixed bunch of three types of mint for 80 cents!)  Shrugging, I dipped my skimpily-clad spring roll into the nuoc mam cham.

Quelle horreur!  It was sweet chilli sauce!!!  What an insult!  The spring rolls were yucky too, mealy and unflavoursome.  Phu Vinh was starting to look very tarnished.

Dry rice noodle with separate soup (#4), $9

Next was this dish of rice noodles topped with shredded pork, calamari, prawn, quail's egg, vegies, and a large cracker.  A tasty chicken broth was served separately.  The rice noodles were thick, yet almost translucent, with a wonderfully toothsome texture.  They could almost have restored Phu Vinh's lustre if not for... more sweet chilli sauce!  It killed the dish for me.  However, if you are a sweet chilli fiend, you are probably thinking by now, "What's she on about?  That Phu Vinh has the Midas touch!"

Special Broken Rice, $9

Where has com tam been my whole life?  Phu Vinh's version was not so memorable, though.  The bi (shredded pork skin) was a little too chewy.  Although the pork chop and banh trung (steamed meatloaf) were tasty, I found them overly sweet.  This did come with nuoc mam cham.  Perhaps the bottle of sweet chilli had run out.

Pork and prawn soup with rice noodle (#1), $9

One sip of this clear, hot broth though, and Phu Vinh was starting to shine again.  A slurpworthy soup, filled with those same fabulous clear rice noodles, and topped with excellent cooked pork, pork mince, quail's egg, and garlic chives.  A forgettable calamari and prawn were promptly forgotten as I returned to polish the whole bowl off.  Delicious.

 
I loved watching the chef in the kitchen - he was so efficient and fastidious.  I don't mean to bag a small, family business, but the spring rolls did suck.  Some of the other dishes were just too sweet for my palate.  The noodles are delicious, though, and I've since tried their egg noodles, which are also great.  A suspicious-looking box did lead me to ask if they do indeed hand-make their noodles, as has been reported, but they told me they do not.  Perhaps they once did.  Go and try the noodle dishes, but leave #4 unless you are a sweet chilli nut.  They are out there - I once worked with a woman who would have toast with peanut butter and... sweet chilli sauce.

Phu Vinh

93 Hopkins St, Footscray (map)

Phone: 9689 8719

Hours: 9.00am - 9.00pm, 7 days

Strawberry Bundt Cake With Lemon Glaze

I always feel a bit like a cheater whenever I make something out of a boxed mix, especially cake. I mean, c'mon, we all do it, but I always feel that little voice in the back of my head squealing "you could be making this from scratch you lazy bum!"

That's why I'm grateful for recipes like this. It's been completely dolled up as a lovely homemade strawberry cake, swimming in sweet lemon glaze, just begging to be soaked up and licked off the plate. No one needs to know that it took about two minutes to mix up and cost about five dollars. It can be our little secret.

Strawberry Bundt Cake with Lemon Glaze
By Recipezaar

Ingredients

Cake
1 (18 1/4 ounce) box strawberry cake mix (Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup water
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons sour cream (heaping tablespoons)
2/3 cup strawberry (either fresh strawberries pulsed a few times with food processor or strawberry pie filling drained w)
1 dash cooking spray (Bakers Joy works best)

Lemon Glaze
1 3/4 cups powdered confectioners' sugar (or 2 cups if thicker texture desired)
5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray Bundt or tube pan with Bakers Joy (or spray two 8" pans with cooking spray to make layer cake).

2.Blend together cake mix, oil, water, eggs, and sour cream in large bowl on low speed for 1 minute then medium high speed for 2 minutes.

3.Pulse strawberries a few times until chopped (be careful not to puree them) then stir those into batter by hand then pour batter into Bundt pan (or round pans).

4.Bake for 35-40 minutes for bundt pan until done (bake 30 min for round pans). Remove from oven & let cool in pans on wire rack for 15 minutes before removing from pan.

5.Cool completely then glaze by combining the powdered sugar & lemon juice - whisk together until creamy then drizzle over top and sides of cake.

Anthony Boutard on What Makes Fruit Great?

One of the best presentations I got to attend at the International Association of Culinary Professionals conference in Portland last month was a conversation between chef and cookbook author Deborah Madison and farmer Anthony Boutard of Ayers Creek Farm. Ayers Creek Farm is an organic farm located in Gaston, Oregon in the Wapato Valley 10 miles west of Beaverton and 40 miles from the ocean. The theme was fruit and I learned so much! Here are a just a few highlights from the discussion:

Deborah Madison asked, "What makes fruit great?"

• Boutard said, in some ways it's hard to say because everyone's palate is different; for example some people love tart marionberries, some people hate them.

• According to Boutard, the best fruit has acidity upfront. Acid and tannins in fruit are complex and cannot be simply duplicated by adding lemon juice. Sweetness on the other hand is not very complex.

• Shipped fruit seems like it loses acidity (another reason to buy local).

• The best way to get shoppers to warm up to fruit with high acid, is to give samples to their kids. Kids love acidity!

• Some fruit are best suited to wide temperature variation, such as melons and plums that want hot days and cool nights. Different plums grow in different parts of the country. In California there are lots of Japanese plums and in Oregon more European plums.

• Cellared fruit takes on different characteristics. It won't have the same texture, it may not be crisp, but the flavor can be amazing. Boutard said the best apple he ever ate was a russet apple in Switzerland, it had been cellared for many months and was mealy, but complex and delicious.

• Grapes with seeds have more flavor and nutritional value. Boutard calls grapes "celibate" or "fecund" instead of seedless or seeded. A little sex helps sell! Grapes with seeds don't last as long as seedless varieties but the seeds are worth eating too. You can't eat Concord grape seeds but other grape seeds have a spicy flavor that balances the sweetness of the fruit.

• Picking fruit takes real skill. For example, some fruit needs to be watered the night before picking, such as raspberries, other fruit like plums will split if watered when already ripe. Boutard has been working with the same Oaxacan family for years because they understand how to pick fruit.

• Systemic pesticides and fungicides cannot be washed off fruit. Boutard chooses to grow fruit that is well-suited to the environment and can be grown organically rather than fight mother nature.

• Machine picked fruit is not as fully ripe because it is picked using beaters.

• The best way to judge the quality of most fruit, is to smell it. Don't look at the size. The first batch of fruit often has more pectin in it that the subsequent crops.

Numi Puerh Tea

I have become a puerh pusher. Anyone who takes so much as a whiff from my cup, ends up buying their own. I discovered puerh tea a few years ago at a wonderful tea shop, Modern Tea, run by tea expert Alice Cravens, (now sadly closed). It was served in the traditional manner in a tiny tea pot with tea broken from a cake of puerh. Not long after I purchases some loose puerh tea from Tillerman Tea in Napa. But it's the perfect-for-sampling Numi Tea tea bags that have made me go pro.

Puerh is a fermented and aged green tea that has many of the characteristics of black tea and more antioxidants than either black or green tea. It is dark and malty with rich flavor that can handle a splash of milk. Up until recently it was almost impossible to find high quality puerh tea bags. Normally I buy all my tea loose leaf, bulk, never in bags, but Numi Tea is making some fabulous puerh tea blends, available in bags. They use whole leaf tea, not dust. The convenience of tea bags has worked well for me because I am usually just drinking one cup and I often take a few bags in my purse and my suitcase.

Back in January I participated in Numi's Puerh Challenge. I didn't drink three cups a day because it's just too much caffeine for me. But I quickly added to my stash buying boxes of Magnolia Puerh and Emperor's Puerh to my favorite the Chocolate version. The Numi Chocolate Puerh tea is a blend of all organic ingredients--puerh tea, cocoa powder, vanilla, Theo chocolate cocoa nibs, rooibos, orange peel, nutmeg and cinnamon. It is such a treat! It has lovely spicy notes that pair with the mild chocolate and rich tea.

For a more delicate tea I like the floral Magnolia blend which has green tea and magnolia flowers along with the puerh. The Emperor's version is pure puerh, nothing else added. It is the most robust with toasty rich flavor, great when you feel like you want a cup of coffee. The only version I'm not crazy about is the Mint Puerh, but to each his own. Numi also sells puerh in a brick and in bulk, which is probably what I will end up purchasing next. The advantage to the brick is that a small amount of tea can be used again and again, to make up to 4 cups of tea.

Puerh is considered a very healthy tea, potentially strengthening your immune system and reducing the risk of heart attack. Other studies show tea can reduce cholesterol and triglycerides and lower blood pressure. I would love to tell you I lost weight drinking this tea, but I don't think I did. But it absolutely gets me going in the morning on those days when I need a little extra boost and the different varieties seem to fit my mood at different times of the day.

Chocolate Bundles with Chocolate Sauce

This dessert totally reminds me of my daughter. She is as girly as a four year old girl can be. She once told me that she didn't need makeup because her face is still too fancy! She loves to twirl in pink fluffy skirts and pretty shoes. The best day of her life is when she gets her hair done or nails painted. And her favorite Disney princess is...all of them!


So the reason this dessert reminds me of her is because it's what I would consider a "fancy" dessert. Buttery puff pastry wrapped around oozy chocolate and peanut butter in a shape that resembles a little handbag. It's then adorned in whipped cream, chocolate ganache and strawberries. As Fancy Nancy would say, Magnifique!


But, here's the real kicker to these precious little treats, they take about five minutes to make, and require only a few simple ingredients. There is no trick to them, no intricate technique or unattainable ingredient. In fact, I kind of just threw them together, I was in a hurry! The perfect dessert, good enough for all of us princesses!

Chocolate Bundles with Chocolate Sauce
By Paula Deen

Ingredients

For the bundles:
•1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
•2 eggs
•1 teaspoon whipping cream
•8 chocolate drops (recommended: Hershey's kisses)
•8 miniature chocolate candy bars (I used Reeses mini cups)
For the chocolate sauce:
•1/2 cup heavy cream
•4 ounces milk chocolate, broken into small pieces
•Sweetened whipped cream, optional
•Fresh strawberries, sliced, for garnish
•Mint sprigs, for garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

For the bundles:
Allow the puff pastry to thaw, covered, for 30 minutes at room temperature. When it is pliable, unfold puff pastry and cut the sheet into 4 squares

Beat the eggs and cream together to create an egg wash. Brush the entire surface of each pastry square with egg wash. In the center of each pastry square, place 2 chocolate drops and 2 miniature candy bars. Pull the corners of each square up around the chocolate, and twist the top of the dough clockwise to complete the "bundle." Brush the exteriors of the chocolate bundles with more egg wash.


Place the bundles on the cookie sheet. Bake for about 35 minutes, until golden brown.

For the chocolate sauce:
In a small saucepan bring the heavy cream to a boil. Place the chocolate pieces in a bowl and pour hot cream over the top. Whisk until the sauce is smooth.


Puddle the chocolate sauce on each plate and place a bundle on top. Top with whipped cream and additional chocolate sauce, if desired. Serve the bundles garnished with strawberry slices and mint sprigs.

I made these to share with my foodie friends Alissa and Sara. In return Sara shared with us her delicious pasta with sage and browned butter. Alissa brought along an incredible watermelon salsa, both dishes I could not keep my fork out of! Be sure to keep an eye on their blogs for the recipes!

Roast Beef Finger Sandwiches with Herb Cream

Don't let the simple look of these little sandwiches fool you, they pack a powerful punch!

About two years ago, when my little food blog was but an infant and I wasn't sure if I was going to catch the food blogging bug or not, I posted this appetizer recipe. I had gotten the idea from a Cooking Light magazine, and they were so good that for the past two years I've never completely gotten them out of my head.

I did things a bit different this time and turned these into finger sandwiches instead of toasts, which is how they originally appear in the recipe. For toppings I used roast beef, Gorgonzola cheese, salami and a mixture arugula and spinach. But what really makes these babies pop is the sauce you use to coat both pieces of bread. It's a very simple mixture of sour cream, mayo, Worcestershire, garlic and herbs, but the taste is so unique and unforgettable, and absolutely perfect for a whole variety of different toppings. I'm already planning on making myself a nice little panini with the stuff tomorrow! These little sandwiches are perfect for parties, baby or bridal showers, or just those quiet moments when your kids are napping. Hope you enjoy!

Finger Sandwiches with Herb Cream
Adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients

1 loaf soft white or sour dough bread
1 package deli thin sliced roast beef (or preferred meat), cut to fit size of sandwich
1 package salami, cut to fit sandwich
1/2 cup Gorgonzola
handful of spinach and arugula

Herb Cream:
2/3 cup fat-free sour cream
2 TB minced fresh chives
2 TB low-fat mayo
1 1/2 TB chopped fresh thyme (I used dried and it was fine)
1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove minced

Directions

Stack bread on top of each other, about four high. Slice in half, and then trim off all crust. To assemble sandwiches, spread herb cream on each slice of bread. Add all ingredients to one slice of bread, and top with the second. Press gently on sandwich and secure with toothpick if desired. The bread will dry out quickly, so keep covered as much as possible until serving.

Mango Cucumber Salad Recipes

Ok here's a crazy idea, one basic salad that can be either sweet or savory. I was trying to think of what to do with some mangoes coming my way from the National Mango Board this week and then I saw a tweet from @SimpleGourmetLA with the idea for a "mojito cucumber, mango and strawberry salad." It occurred to me that both cucumber and mango could go either way--sweet or savory.

I'm always looking for ways to use common ingredients in slightly unexpected ways. Here the twist is using cucumber in a sweet fruit salad and using sweet mango in a savory salad. English cucumber is available year round and does not need to be peeled. It has a very mild flavor and a fine texture without big slippery seeds. Best of all, it has a terrific crunch! I used the most commonly available mango, the Tommy Atkins variety in both salads. It's not a very tropical, luscious or creamy mango, but more of a workhorse, with citrus-like flavor, able and willing to stand up to whatever you demand of it. It's a bit on the firm side so it's particularly good in salads.

For the sweet salad I combined cucumber, mango and strawberries and for the savory version, cucumber, mango and radishes. You might recognize the ingredients from the savory salad as being similar to what you find Mexican street vendors selling. Each salad is flavored with lime, but the sweet salad gets a touch of honey and mint, the savory salad, a pinch of salt and green onion. Both are bursting with juiciness, crunch and Summery flavors and would be great at a picnic. I'd serve the savory salad with grilled fish or chicken. I'd serve the sweet salad with a scoop of sorbet or just a couple of cookies.


Mango, Cucumber, Strawberry SaladServes 4

Ingredients

1 Tommy Atkins mango, peeled, pitted and cut into chunks
1/2 large English cucumber, cut into chunks
1 pint strawberries, trimmed and cut in chunks
Juice of a fresh lime, squeezed
2 teaspoons honey
2 sprigs chopped fresh mint leaves, about 12 leves

Instructions

In a mixing bowl combine the lime and honey and stir until smooth. Add the mango, cucumber, strawberries and mix. Sprinkle with mint and taste for seasoning before serving.


Mango, Cucumber, Radish Salad
Serves 4

Ingredients

1 Tommy Atkins mango, peeled, pitted and cut into chunks
1/2 large English cucumber, cut into chunks
1 bunch radishes, trimmed and cut into chunks
1 green onion, thinly sliced
Juice of a fresh lime, squeezed
Pinch kosher salt

Instructions

In a mixing bowl combine the lime and salt and stir until dissolved. Add the mango, cucumber, radishes and mix. Sprinkle with green onions and taste for seasoning before serving.

Enjoy!

Lost and Found

I can’t tell but I think I lost something. Well, I’m not sure if I ever actually had it, but I’m pretty sure it’s gone now anyway. Maybe I’ll find it. Hell, I hope so. I guess I didn’t know I even wanted it that much until I lost it. I hope I didn’t accidentally throw it away.

When I was a little girl I had Weeble Wobbles. I even had the Weeble Wobble Tree House. Jealous much? I loved them. One day I got one of my Weeble Wobbles caught in the drain of the bathtub. I guess it caused a pretty major issue because I don’t remember ever getting that Weeble Wobble back. Perhaps I underestimated my Weeble Wobble. I didn’t give it credit for its strength and ability to affect change, and for this it left. I lost my Weeble Wobble forever.

There have been quite a few times that I thought I lost money, anywhere from a $1 to a $20 bill. I really wasn’t aware that anything was missing. Maybe I was for a minute, but I would usually assume I spent it on something or another and quickly forgot about the matter. Then, days or weeks later I would find a crumply, dried bill in the dryer. It’s like striking gold! Yes, maybe it was already mine and then I lost it, but forgetting about it, assuming it’s found another home, in some other pocket or some cash register somewhere, and then realizing it never left is very exciting. I took it for granted and then it gave me a second chance. It was testing me and I passed.

Sometimes I have a very precious thing that I will lend to someone or leave with someone: my favorite cookbook, signed by the author, or my baking stone, given to me as a Christmas gift from someone special, a really good pair of jeans, or just some Tupperware I sent someone home with food in at some point. I always assume this thing will find its way back to me though it may take weeks or years. More often than not this is the case. The risk however, in the approach of if you love something set it free, is that it very may well find happiness, its home elsewhere.

The most extreme case of this was one of my more personal photography books that I sent to a magazine I respected and wanted to shoot for. The protocol is to send it back once it has been viewed. I never got it back. That was 8 years ago. Sad but a reality nonetheless. I like to think the world opens up a notch when that thing and the person or place that it has found and vice versa have found each other. I figure that whoever saw my book was so impressed and touched by it that they wanted, or needed, to keep it. I like to think it sits on their coffee table and has been oohed and ahhed over by many people over the years. That it has inspired. It still loves me, in its way. But I was merely a vehicle to allow it to move on to its true role, its real place in this world. I was sad for a while. We will never forget each other. But such is life.

Something so crazy just happened while I have been writing this. Remember the thing I thought I lost, that maybe I threw away? I found it! Interestingly, it never went anywhere. It was in the same place the entire time. I just couldn’t see it. It was right behind the milk, of course. I probably should have been confident that it didn’t disappear. I think there’s even a possibility that I was a little bit nervous to find it. Maybe it had diminished. Or grown. Maybe it went bad. Maybe I wouldn’t want it anymore. But there it was, right behind that silly milk, the same as before. I never know, I may consume it too quickly, it may go bad, or hell, it could hide behind that pesky milk again. But I’m relieved to know that I didn’t lose it, or worse, callously throw it away.

The recipe I am sharing with you here is one my Grandmother, Janie, made for my dad decades ago back in Roanoke, Va. It is also a recipe my dad often made for me slightly fewer decades ago back in Richmond. I never met Janie, though we came frustratingly close. She died right before I was born. Perhaps because of all the stories I’ve heard about her, the pictures, and obviously the existence of my dad, to me she is the thing I lost but never had. But in a way, I get to find her again when I make her recipes. And when I look in the mirror.

Lima Beans in Cream & Butter

Serves 4 to 6

• 16 ounces dried Lima beans
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 – 2 1/2 tablespoons butter
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Soak the beans overnight and leave them in the soaking water. Cook the Lima beans in boiling salted water for a good hour or so, until the beans are tender.
Drain well. Add the cream and butter. Taste and add salt and pepper as desired. Heat thoroughly. Serve hot.
 

Cafe Lalibela

Café Lalibela seems to be the "starter restaurant" for Ethiopian cuisine.  The conversation usually goes something like this:

Person A: "Have you tried Awash/African Town/Harambe/Abesha/Dinknesh Lucy?"
Person B: "No, but I've been to Lalibela."

I'm not sure what it is.  It's probably the most appealing to middle class sensibilities, I guess, with nice decor and less of a cafeteria feel than some of the other Ethiopian restaurants.  But hey, who am I to judge - I popped my Ethio cherry there.  My friends and I went a long time ago and did enjoy it, but we all migrated to African Town on badass Nicholson St.  If we were going to be brutally honest, it was probably more about the cred than any superiority of African Town's food.  Sometimes, though, you just want a bit of tablecloth action, and because having dinner with K is such a rare treat, I decided Lalibela was the place for us.

After a few sips of frosty Ethiopian brews, we chose the vegetarian combination and the doro wat, a traditional celebratory dish of chicken and hard-boiled eggs, slow-cooked in berbere and niter kibbeh.  The owner took our order but very sadly informed us there was only one piece of deliciously sour, dimpled injera bread left.  With sad smiles, we accepted rice with our meal along with the lone piece.  A few minutes later, he rushed past our table to the door, and as we looked up, he exclaimed, "Going to find you more bread!"  Indeed, he returned with a plastic bag full of injera - from whence I know not, as all the bakeries were closed at that hour.  What a legend!!!

Vegetarian combination ($12) and Doro wot ($12)

The food is served in the traditional manner, in that a large platter is lined with injera bread and your choices dolloped on top.  You eat from the outside in, tearing off small pieces and using them almost like tongs to pinch a mouthful of hearty stew, before popping the whole morsel in your mouth.  From left to right, we have ater kik wot, a mild yellow split pea dal; atakilt wot, sautéed cabbage, cauliflower, and carrot; hot misir wot, spicy lentil stew cooked with berbere; shiro, chick pea flour cooked with berbere; mild misir wot, brown lentils cooked in gentle spices; and the star of the show - doro wat, chicken cooked to melting tenderness, in a sauce of berbere and onions, rendered unctuous through hours of long, slow cooking.  The meat fell from the drumstick like soft, fat petals.  Each dish was delicious, the flavours discrete, and just the right amount of chilli to keep it interesting.

Have you ever gone out with a group of people - perhaps new colleagues or some sort of committee you are on - and there's that kind of uncomfortable rattling of the menus where you all wonder if you know each other well enough to say, "Hey, let's share a few things?"  That's one lovely thing about Ethiopian food - it really encourages sharing.  The great thing about Lalibela is that they are not shy about serving their food in the traditional manner on a communal platter.  I do love food traditions where you share food in this way, both figuratively and literally.  By necessity, you must sit closer together, and you develop a kind of subconscious harmony where your hands never collide over the same tasty morsel.  When the meal ends, you have shared more than just food.

I just had to take a pic of this.  This dais was carefully arranged with traditional instruments and coffee ceremony implements - a little shrine to the home country.  Yet from above, a Western Bulldogs souvenir poster looks on.  You just know you're in Footscray, on so many levels.

Café Lalibela
91 Irving St, Footscray (map)
Phone: 9687 0300
Fully licensed

What I Used To Do.

Caroline, a friend of mine from back in Atlanta once told me, “You’re a sponge for one.” While it may sound strange as it’s seemingly out of context, and pretty random sounding, I understood perfectly. Although I have been rich with friends and friendships throughout my life, I have pretty consistently concentrated on one major friendship at a time. And I would always put the majority of my energy and stock into that friend, even to the detriment of romances running concurrently. I don’t think this quality made Caroline very happy at the time because she felt shut out. I don’t blame her. I was putting all of my friendship eggs into another basket.

My main bestest friend throughout almost all of my "adult" life, Paz, and I grew up together. In collusion we attended middle school, high school, college, and then moved to Atlanta. We planned to go to college together – in Ohio, mind you. We were dorm-mates there. We returned to Richmond together for vacations, holidays, lived in Mexico together, she videotaped my dad’s wedding, and even moved in with my boyfriend and me after college when I went to Atlanta. And in a different time and house in Atlanta, every Tuesday night, we watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer and then got all dressed up together before we went and worked the door at a bar where our dj friends performed. I felt badly for our various boyfriends over the years as we were almost like a package deal.

Don’t get me wrong, we also fought like Scotsmen, but Paz was my family. I would throw myself in front of a train for her.

Another thing to point out: while Paz has been very prominent and consistent, there have been quite a few other friends for which I was sponge for one-ing throughout my life. My mom tells me I was exhibiting that tendency from a very early age.

About 8 years ago I moved to Los Angeles, and – without going into too much detail because it’s irrelevant now - although Paz and I were falling apart at the seams, I think my move was the nail in our coffin. We didn’t speak or see one another for over 5 years. Until recently.

Interestingly, not long ago I had a watershed realization: in the past 5 years, slowly but surely, I am no longer a sponge for one. Not at all. In this big, scary, massively populated city I have found a wealth and abundance of friends, all very close, all very special and important. Everyone may play different roles at different moments but no one stands above anyone else.

Maybe some of this is a result of moving here without Paz - the result of being thrust into anonymity and having to swim without those puffy arm things. But I still could have just found my one super friend again, right? Now I have super friends. Together, they are my network, my team. I feel overwhelmingly fortunate to have every single one of them.

And the awesome-est thing? As mentioned above, Paz and I have recently reconnected. We literally ran into each other on the street late last Summer while I was in Richmond – on her birthday actually. Since then we have seen one another when we can, on whichever coast one of us happens to be on at any point; we email, we text, and we have phone conversations that last hours at a time. We talk about boys (men now, I suppose), our insecurities, our dogs, food, and all of our old private jokes and language have relevance again. It’s wonderful.

The recipe I’m sharing with you here is one that originated in some form from Paz’s mom, who is from the Dominican Republic. Paz has been making this dish on her own, with her own touches, since even before our food co-op in college. She has always referred to it as her world famous recipe. Even then.

I hope she can visit me out here again sometime soon. I want her to meet all of my friends and I know they are dying to meet her.

Although it may seem more of a hearty, Winter dish, I beg to differ. The cilantro brightens it right on up and ushers it gracefully into Spring.

This is her recipe verbatim. However, I have added my two cents in italics.

Paz’s World Famous Rice and Beans

Serves 6

 

1 can each kidney, black and white beans (drained)

1 can of diced tomatoes (for fun, try the ones with green chilies in them)

1 small onion, diced (I used a Vidalia)

1 green, red, or gold bell pepper, diced (I used a red pepper. Green peppers make me want to drive off of a cliff)

1 heaping tbsp of ground cumin

1 tbsp of Italian herbs (I used fresh thyme, oregano & marjoram from my garden)

¼ tsp of cayenne pepper (optional) (I, personally used a lot more heat, more like 3/4 tsp. Chile de Arbol would be a beautiful addition as well))

1 small bay leaf

Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

4-5 cloves of fresh garlic finely chopped

1 handful of fresh cilantro coarsely chopped

In a large pot, stir in beans, tomatoes, cumin, Italian herbs, cayenne and bay leaf over med-low heat. Stir until it begins to bubble, then turn the heat down to the lowest simmer ever (so it doesn’t burn). In a frying pan, sauté onion and green pepper in extra virgin olive oil until the onions become translucent and the peppers are softly browned*. Add them to the pot of beans. Add the finely chopped garlic (raw) to the beans. Slow cook beans for 45 min to one hour stirring occasionally. Add cilantro and cook in for the very last 10-15 minutes.

Serve with rice and sour cream (optional, however very good if you accidentally added too much cayenne).

*I would sauté the onion & pepper in the pot, first then add everything else. The ingredients marry better and you have fewer dishes to do.

Gattopardo ....... Sicillian Cuisine that ensnare you

I first heard the Italian name 'Gattopardo' last year when HY and I were learning some Southern Italian dishes in Palate Sensations, and with Gattopardo's executive chef, Lino Sauro. It was a lot of fun learning cooking with Chef Lino. He's funny and his cooking was very intuitive. I learnt from observing him, that recipes serves just as a guide. The finger dipping and licking, the sense of smell and taste is the way to get the right taste. We always recall our experience in Italian cooking with Chef Lino from the way he instruct us to add olive oil. 'Add a little olive oil', we go few drips, 'more!', we go a few drops more, and then he went on to tilt our oil bottle for a few seconds, which made it go 'glurg.... glurg.... glurg'. That's a little olive oil from Lino.

Gattopardo is part of the Garibaldi group of restaurants that serves Southern Italian cuisine. It's got itself a good location at the Fort Canning Hotel and on its Terrace level. The colonial building, also part of Singapore's history, is now under major renovations. Even if the renovations did affect business, the place was almost 80% filled and the restaurant is quite big. Behind the bar counter, at the far end from the entrance, is where Chef Lino and his team work their talents. A refrigerated transparent glass compartment, built integral with the bar counter, is where they display their freshest catch from the gulf of Sorrento and islands of Sicily. Along side the fresh sea food, behind the bar counter, you can see Chef Lino still working pizzas out of the Neopolitan wood fired oven. After having our fill tonight, I already thought that this restaurant is a keeper. It would be better if the service staff gets smoother with their delivery, like remembering our orders.

Here's the food that Gattopardo served to us which was satisfying enough to take that grouchiness out of the crazy work week.

Gattopardo's Bread Dish

Gattopardo's pampering started with their bread dish. While we were waiting for W and J, we tasted the bread sticks that was wonderfully spiced up. One of them was actually spicy hot. The slices of baguette went well with that wonderful bottle of La' Uliva Sicillian Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I was actually teasing HY to sneak a bottle of that stuff back home. The bread dish was so good with the olive oil that we polished off the whole dish and had to get another one when W and J arrived.

Calamari

Crispy Deep Fried Calamari Ring with Red Pepper and Spicy Mayo

For antipasto, we had to order the calamari. The squid rings were thinly battered. When I looked at it, I was sorely disappointed that it had non of the crunchiness that I liked with calamari that is battered with more gusto. However, I was amazed by how, this calamari tasted. It was light, succulent and brought with it, that refreshing and lifting savory taste, even without the spicy mayo dip.

Capesante e Porcini

Broiled Italian Scallops with Dried Porcini Mushroom Cream

This antipasto was the only disappointing dish. However great the porcini mushroom cream was, couldn't hide the blandness in those scallops.

Mozzarella di Bufala e Cuore di Bue

Homemade Buffalo Mozarella Cheese with Italian "Ox Heart" Tomatoes and Fresh Salad.

This was not my cup of tea but W seemed to like Buffalo Mozarella. I ate a third of this dish, and that was enough to make me conclude that I liked this better than the one from Osvaldo. Osvaldo's cheese was bland but Gattopardo's had a better taste to it. That's my two cents from someone who couldn't appreciate this very Italian dish.

Squid Ink Tagliatelle with King Crab and bisque sauce (Not in the regular menu)

Although I know that HY and the rest voted the Fiorentina steak, this was still my best dish of the night. The squid ink tagliatelle was tangy and made till perfect texture. The sweet king crab and the marvelous bisque sauce made this pasta such an enjoyment. The richness of the bisque sauce was controlled well, so much so that I thought it was flavorful and yet lightly textured. I swiped the last strand of tagliatelle while extracting as much of the bisque sauce as I can.

Costata di Manzo alla Fiorentina, 1 kg

1 kg of Char Grilled Cote De Boeuf, Serves 2 pax

I saw the twinkle in J's eyes and the pursing of her mouth when she swallowed the beef and exclaimed that this must be one of the best she had eaten for a while. I thought I heard her say "Moooo" instead in "Mmmm" from the beefy high she derived from the Fiorentina steak. We all felt that it was better than Al Borgo's. The meat was not as tough and I was able to chomp them down. W and HY mentioned that it was as good as Valentinos. I insisted that Inagiku's Wagyu was the best so far.

The meat that's right beside the fats tasted the best like what W told me. Those little potatoes looked cute and taste yummy.

Desserts

We tried the following desserts that was simply an indulgence after the 'pampering'. The tiramisu was good but had lost its novelty to the other 3 desserts. The Baba is a European Cake that can be difficult to find in Singapore and the other 2 are Sicillian desserts.

Top Left : Cannolo Siciliano - Crispy Espresso infused wafer filled with sweet Ricotta cheese

Top Right : Baba - Rum "Baba" Sponge Cake Topped with Fresh Cinnamon Cream

Bottom Left : Cassata - Sicillian Tradition Ricotta Cheese Cake with candied fruits and chocolate bits

Bottom Right : Tiramisu - Signature Marscapone & Espresso tiramisu cake with Sicillian Bitter Chocolate

One can spend as much as a few hundred bucks (if you choose their fresh catch) or below S$80 (if you choose to whack only pizzas). Seems like Gattopardo is flexible to the pocket too and all in a chic ambience that's fitting as a fine diner. I'm gonna try those pizzas only and I don't think they're gonna chase me away for not trying their Sicillian fish.

Fort Canning Hotel

11 Canning Walk

Terrace Level

Singapore

Tel : 6338 5498

Gattopardo's Website