Three pretty good things: November 28

1. J. and A. 

Kindness from no-longer strangers. Your words mean a world to me. Thank you.

2. Home, after away from home.

 Reminding me how fortunate I am to be able to come back to a place of unceasing caring and love. Thank you, N.

3. Breakfast in pyjamas.

A recent invention from hubby. I have to admit that it's quite good on a lazy Saturday.

I make - Cardamom rice pudding with spiced plums

This version is evolved from these three recipes I came across, with a cooking method most similar to Nigel Slater's. Perfectly warm or cold, depending on the weather and your mood.

Cardamom rice pudding with spiced plums

For rice pudding:
- 1/4 cup long-grain rice
- 500 cc water
- 500 cc milk
- 4-6 green cardamom pods, slightly crushed
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 tbsps sugar (or to taste)
- pinch of salt (no more than 1/8 tsp)

For spiced plums, Anna Del Conte way:
- 1kg plums (roughly 12-16 medium or small sized ones), washed
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 rind strip from a lemon
- 4 crushed black pepper corns
- one spring of rosemary
- 2 cloves
- 1/2 cup caster sugar
- 1 cup red wine
- 1 cup water


To make the rice pudding, put a pot (preferably non-stick) on the stove and put in the rice, milk, water, crushed cardamom pods and vanilla extract. Turn the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil. Once it starts to boil, turn the heat to the lowest setting. Stir occasionally and simmer for 45 minutes with a lid partially open.

After 45 minutes, stir in the sugar and the salt. Taste to adjust the sweetness to your liking. Bring the rice pudding to bubble vigorously again. Once rice pudding looks like molten larva, turn off the heat. Cover the pot and let it rest. The rice pudding will continue to thicken while resting.

To make the spiced plums, put all ingredients snugly in a pot. Adjust the liquid (wine or water, your choice) so that most plums are underneath the liquid. Cover the pot and bring it to a complete boil. Then reduce the heat and cook the plums until they are soft but still retain their shape. Turn off the heat and let the plums sit in the aromatic liquor before serving.

To serve, scoop the rice pudding into dessert bowls and top with the spiced plums.

ps. The stewed plums are good on its own as a light dessert and also excellent with plain yogurt (or vanilla ice cream).

Dîner chez moi - 26 November to 2 December

I notice that I cook more often during colder days. A form of self warming (or healing) process, perhaps? Anyhow, I want to share with you what I plan for tonight and the next few days.

Saturday: Chorizo and cream pasta, sauteed mixed veggies, cardamom rice pudding with spiced plums

Sunday: Corn chowder and grilled cheese/ham sandwich

Monday: Pork and chicken satay, coconut rice and beans

Tuesday: Smoked salmon, buttered baguette slices, chopped salad

Wednesday: Paella

Thursday: Corn chowder and grilled cheese/ham sandwich

Friday: wild card

In Paris, with love

I just came back from a rather enjoyable dinner in Paris. Nope, not for pleasure but for work.

And today I had short but rather morale boosting email exchanges with someone I admire professionally (yes, idolisation is not exclusive for pop stars, you know). Can you imagine how nice and humble it must feel when someone you (secretly) admire for all these years say nice things about you and your work? Have been working on a favorite subject of mine for many years and wondering all along how this person thinks of it, I feel reassured and moved to hear a confirmation from my fellow scientist. It is nearly the end of the year and I cannot possibly ask for a better winter warmer than this.

Thank you, J and A. You are just as wonderful as I had imagined it. I hope our paths would cross again.

Three pretty good things: November 21

1. Masala tea. 

Such an aromatic infusion warming not only the body but the senses. I am still working on my favorite spice combination but at the moment it has fennel seeds, cinnamon barks, green cardamom pods, cloves, black peppercorn and fresh ginger slices. I prefer making my masala tea the whole spice way, meaning no blending all spices into powder. I make my aromatic elixir first by boiling together the whole spices and water, and then steep my tea in this wonderfully warming liquid. Perfect for a cold Sunday afternoon.

2. Porridge. 

It's been a long time favorite breakfast of mine. I particularly like the British way of preparing and eating porridge. Cook the oatmeal in plain water and top it up with brown sugar when eating. How simple is that! And it tastes just wonderful. A nice variation as recently shown by Nigel Slater is to sprinkle some cinnamon powder and drizzle a little bit cold milk on top of the steaming hot porridge. I have to admit that I have been addicted to this way of eating porridge ever since.

3. Barbara. 

Probably my most admired person in the blogsphere. Such an inspiration. 

Welcome back, again.

Three beautiful things

1. Who can put more elegantly than this:

  from here via C&Z and Modern Hepburn

Life is frighteningly short, terribly unpredictable, but still a very good thing. Make it count.

2. Late nights with crime or detective drama.
Listening to hubby changing his prediction of the prime suspect as a story unfolds, minute by minute.
Priceless. :-)

3. Salmon and green onion quiche.
I know that salmon and leeks are, regarded by many, a marriage made in heaven. It's a pretty good combo, I admit, but I much prefer the salmon and green onion (scallions) combination. For me, the pungency of green onions balances out much better the richness of the fish and the cheese. And there is no pre-cooking required. Just snip up the green onions and scatter them around the fish. Pour in the egg and cheese custard. Bake and be hungry.

A meal shared with strangers

"Some people write stories, others tell jokes, I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. A meal shared with strangers. And I can't think of anything I want to do more."- Nigel Slater

I just have to share with you my favorite food writer, Nigel Slater, who makes cooking simple, fun, experimental, thought provoking, deliciously comforting, fitting to the mood and agreeable to the season. His writing and his presentation style are like his cooking, not intimidating and clear without being bogged down by details. I guess that with something that good, the only you need may just be plain white plate.

I just finished his recent TV series, Nigel Slater's Simple Cooking. He demonstrates how we can approach cooking by thinking about flavor or tasting sensation combination. Some combinations are well known, some giving me this "Eureka" moment and some are more adventurous. I just like every minute of it. It feels like someone has taken me to the cooking wonder land and showed me around. Below are the eight flavor combinations he illustrated, each with 5 or 6 recipes.

1. Sweet and Sour 

2. Surf and Turf 

3. Spicy and Cool

4. Soft and Crisp

5. Sugar and Spice 

6. Born and Bred 

7. Hot and Cold 

8. Weird and Wonderful 

I hope you enjoy it too.

On the roll

In two consecutive days, two of my predictions were confirmed experimentally.

Someone just told me I am on the roll here.

Hello November 2011, I shall remember you with a fond heart.

I bake - My favorite apple cake

How do you celebrate Autumn? For me, I slow roast my meat and stew my fruit on stove. If you visit me during October or November time, most likely I would serve you with hearty tender roast and/or with warm stew fruit generously lathering on top of Greek yoghurt or Mascarpone cheese.

And what could be a better signature fruit than apple when it comes to Autumn? As I mentioned before how much I love apples in general, I certainly like them in my cakes too. I have tried a range of apple cake recipes. They mostly come in two types, one with half-moon shape apple slices and the other with shredded apples. I prefer the shredded version. I like the fact that the shredded apples completely disappear from the cake after baking. When I bite into my cake, I taste its tender crumb and not the two contrasting soft and crunchy texture.  It's a personal thing. But then again, isn't that what life is about, finding things which please you?

My favorite apple cake

- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup of caster sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp of vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup of vegetable oil (or melted butter)
- 2/3 cups of ground almond
- 2 cups of flour
- 1 tbsp of baking powder
- 1/2 tsp mixed spice (or just ground cinnamon)
- 2 apples, peeled and grated (roughly 1 1/2 loosely packed cup), mixed with some lemon juice

Beat the eggs with caster sugar, salt and vanilla until the mixture becomes like thick ribbons. Slowly add in oil in a single stream with the mixer running. Beat in ground almond and mix until no lump visible. Mix in the grated apples.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and mixed spice. Add the flour mixture into the egg mixture. Fold the mixture gently until no more white flour pockets visible. Pour into a paper-lined cake tin.

Bake the mixture at 200C oven for 50 minutes or until it passes the toothpick test.