Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Favourites

Lately I haven't had much time to cook or bake, let alone post anything. So, I just thought I'd share some favourites:

I could listen to this over and over and over again...

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Variations on takeout. Two of the cutest kids I have ever met.
Laos 2008.

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Something I've been craving for almost a year now:

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And last, but not least with picnic season coming up I'd really like one of these please!
Hot food on a picnic you ask? Just try it!

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Breakfast for a rainy day

I have a thing for rainy mornings in general and this one in particular. Waking up early just agrees with me somehow. We had a lovely breakfast of baked pears with hazelnut crumble served with greek yogurt and whipped cottage cheese, followed by a healthy dose of Bugs Bunny. Never mind the rain, the sweet smell of cinnamon makes everything better. This is shaping up to be a wonderful day. For you see, this is not a usual Saturday for me. On every other Saturday but this one, you'd find me studying Spanish grammar, running errands, having long conversations with my favourite vendors at the farmer's market, cooking up a storm in the kitchen, and cleaning out my nest. You know, getting ready for a relaxing Sunday. But today is different. I have no intention of studying, cleaning or cooking as I already finished my cooking for the weekend last night. The theme is the Iberian Peninsula, that means braised squid with chorizo and sherry in a roasted garlic and sweet tomato sauce, followed by some Pasteis de Nata, picked up from the bakery.
Right now I'm off for some Dim Sum, this documentary, and later a guitar class.
Have a wonderful weekend my friends!

Spiced honey baked pears with hazelnut crumble

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Ingredients:

For the baked pears:

4 ripe, but firm pears, peeled, cored and cut into wedges
pinch of ground cinnamon
pinch of ground cardamom
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1/3 cup orange juice
2 tbsp honey

For the crumble:

3o g rolled oats
20 g chopped hazelnuts
15 g brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
40 g butter, melted
Yogurt or cottage cheese to serve

Preheat oven to 325 F.
For the pear mixture, simmer all ingredients in a pan until pears are soft, but not mushy and the liquid has almost evaporated. Pour mixture into a buttered oven proof dish.
For the crumble mix all ingredients by hand making sure to coat all dry ingredients with melted butter. Scatter crumble over pear mixture, bake until golden about 15 minutes.
Serve warm with yogurt.
Recipe adapted from GT magazine.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Chocolate salami

There are only a handful of things I'm willing to share. Most of these things have to do with food in some capacity. If it were up to me I'd gleefully share all my meals with loved ones (select ones at that), as I truly believe that entertainment should be a natural and pleasurable part of every one's existence. I like to define a theme, then let it run through the entire occasion. Even if I don't have the right set or props. Say, like nowadays. All my meals are concocted with much love and attention, custom tailored to each recipient's individual preferences. But try as I might, there are always some "glitches" here and there, like this one time, at band camp... I kid, I kid.
Long story short, I love to share my food. And my music. As well as my thoughts on matters of national concern. There's nothing I love more than a substantial, healthy argument.
What I'm not willing to share are my clothes ( just ask my girls:)), my books and the juiciest of bits and pics of my personal life. This is probably why I'm no friend of most types of social media. I do however enjoy my lil'old blog:)
So back to what I do like to share, here's a recipe from the archives: chocolate salami. The last time I had choco salami I was on a train heading to the Black Sea, with a bunch of friends, a backpack and a really old, crappy tent. Back then I thought that trip was somewhat of a disaster, but looking back I have to say it has changed my life to the core. For the better, of course. And I'm still reaping the benefits. See? No juicy stuff here!
Compared to that old version, this recipe has seen some major tweaking and is a summary of a bunch of different versions I found on the world wide web. So, without further ado here it goes:

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Chocolate Salami

Ingredients:

40 g unsalted butter
100 g bittersweet chocolate
35 g icing sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
40 g condensed milk
100 g butter biscuits (such as Leibniz)
20 g flaked almonds
20 g shredded coconut
40 g dried sour cherries
40 g pistachios
20 g blackberry cordial
25 g dessert wine
cocoa powder

Melt chocolate with butter over a pot of boiling water. Let it cool a little.In another bowl crush biscuits into small pieces, not crumbs. Add almonds, coconut, sour cherries and pistachios. Mix. Add cordial and dessert wine. Mix well and set aside. Take your melted chocolate, add icing sugar, egg yolk, vanilla and condensed milk. Place back over the pot of boiling water and cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly. Add to biscuit mixture. Mix well. Let it cool. Shape into a salami shape using some aluminum foil.
Let it set for a few hours in the fridge. Remove foil and roll salami in cocoa powder. Slice and serve. Perfect picnic fare!

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