2013 Christmas eve dinner

Starter

Bang bang prawns with celeriac remoulade

Main

Roast beef 

(Unfortunately venison ran out this year when we got to the shop

 Venison steak with Rosemary and Dried Cherries)

Green bean with pancetta, caramelised shallots and chestnuts

Buttered carrots in Tarragon sauce

Potato gratin with creme fraiche

Dessert

Italy Inspired Christmas cake

Are you ready?

The big day is less than 24 hours. Are you ready?

Things are much simpler for a household of two, even though surprises still manage to find us. I've planned to have venison for Christmas eve dinner but it was ran out more than a week ago on the day we went. Didn't realize that venison is still so popular in this country. We got a nice piece of beef instead. You can't go wrong with a proper roast beef.

As for my holiday chemistry, well, I made my first ever batch of mince pies this year. Even though they all came out in a variety of shapes (my ever so infamous lacking of dexterity!), they are so far the most delicious mince pies I've ever tasted in this country. Let me tell you how this kitchen experiment went.

First, I made my own mincemeat following Nigella's recipe. Very easy, very tasty, yielding just the right amount for a small household. Also, no animal fat was used. Not that I am against, it's just I already got enough from the pie crust. Speaking of pie crust, I used my mom's homemade puff pastry. Yes, mince pies in puff pastry. You should try it. It lightens the texture (sadly not calories, but who's counting/thinking that in December?) and is a nice change from the usual shortcrust pastry (pate brisee). As a last minute whim, I decided to add some frangipane in my mince pies (1 egg + 45 g each of ground almond, butter, and sugar). Oh boy oh boy, do I need to tell you how wonderful it tasted? Citrus laced and brandy doused dried fruit surrounded by almond cream on top of flaky pastry. Very Christmassy and very very good. I will have to work on my shaping next year. Yes, there will be a return of homemade mince pies in 2014. Just you watch.

With 2013 coming to an end, I want to thank you for stopping by here this year and I wish you all a happy Christmas/holiday and a prosperous 2014 to come.

Cookies and Peace

Can I tell you a secret? My annual holidays start today! Three weeks of precious time just for myself and everything I love. Hooray!

In fact, I've gotten into the holiday spirit right from the beginning of December. I made cookies! I am not a cookie person. In my entire baking life, I can just count with one hand the number of times I made cookies. Since this December, I've baked cookies almost twice a week (hey, I only do small batches)! It all started from here. I have not sampled enough cookies to call this the best but that's what hubby calls it too. It's indeed pretty good, hard to stop, in fact. I've tried a few variations on my own but I must concede to the fact that the plain, uncomplicated and original remains the best.

And speaking of cookies, doesn't this brief moment about World Peace Cookies warm your heart? This is by no means diminishing true hardship some of you are going through right now. "What does she know?" I can hear some of you thinking. Indeed, it takes more than just good will (and cookies) to solve many problems in life. But sometimes it is also good to remember not to lose sight of the forest among all the turmoil. Taking a break with a nice piece of cookie works for me. Perhaps try it sometimes?

Make peace with others, if you could, whichever way you choose. Or even better, make peace with yourself. Stop beating yourself around. Work with what you've got or born with. It's not just for appearance but for inside too.

More festivity, less fighting. I wish you a warm and peaceful December.

Now excuse me for I need to whip up a batch of World Peace Cookies.

To K

A wise man, a good husband, a doting father and a hard working employee.

A friend whom I'll regret all my life that I have no chance to meet.

Dear K, I will miss your calm temper and firm attitude for everything right. How you managed to be never short of words of wisdom will now remain a mystery forever to me, or at least until the time we meet again. I never told you this but I am so glad that I got to know you during our not too long online encounter.

Rest in peace.

Are you still there?

I still am.

Yes, I know it's been a while. I have our new house to blame. So many things to do (and we still have an embarrassing amount of boxes scattered over three floors), so many contractors to chase (arrggh!), so much demand from work (yes, I am still employed) and yes, so little time (don't we all).

We stopped going to the gym for three months. I have to say I don't regret it, although I was missing the gym at the end of October. We are now back to the gym routine. Muscles are sore but the spirits are good.

Our new house has solar panels fitted. Today we received our first payment from the government for the energy we generated. It actually covers two thirds of our electricity bill for the past three months. We have had a pretty good summer and autumn this year in terms of sun light but still. Thank you, Mr Cameron.

On the slightly down side, we are learning how to insulate windows and doors better. All our windows and patio doors have double glazing. Because of the sheer number of window panes (quite a lot), the house does not seem to keep the heat well. Especially for the lounge where one side is all french windows, it looks lovely in summer but now gets very cold in winter. We've put weather strippings on all windows. That seems to cut down the draft for most windows. There are some windows which have no covering (blinds or curtains). Those may need some insulation enhancement. I am learning quite a lot by goolging. For example, you can put on secondary glazing film which is quite economical and effective. Another way is to put reflective foil behind each radiator. That sounds like a good idea. In fact, I am thinking about using kitchen foil to see whether it works. I also came across an Eco way to insulate windows with bubble wraps! That surely sounds a lot of fun. Not only it lets the light through, but also it seems to stop the heat passing too quickly.

You see, that's why I have been absent here. All for the good causes.

Keep warm, my friend.

Where have I been all these years?

Yes, that's how I feel after I made my own no-churn ice cream.

First off, I am a self professed ice cream nut. There is almost always a box of ice cream in my freezer. Everywhere I go, I have to try the local ice cream, even though it may be the most unimaginative vanilla (hey, that's why vanilla is a classic!). It's not that it had never occurred to me to make my own. But you know what it means: an expensive machine to take my precious kitchen storage space or plenty of elbow grease, time and will power to whip by hands. And that's what stopped me from making my own until this week.

Ever since I came across Nigella Lawson's recipe, it's been on my mind. "How can it be so simple, no more than 5 minutes?" I thought. "The ice cream must taste gritty full of ice crystals" I tried to brain wash myself not doing it. I am on the cautious and reserved side, you see, as I know what it means once I find out the other wise. So I decided to wait.

As it turned out, the internet is not short of success stories. To my surprise, almost everyone who tried has confirms this incredulously simple method and comments on the texture no different from the store bought. With almost endless possibilities of flavor combination, oh yeah, I am sold.

For my first attempt, I adapted Nigella's recipe to make chocolate ice cream.

No-churn chocolate ice cream

- 300 ml double cream
- 175 grams condensed milk
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder (increase to 4 tablespoons next time)
- 2 tablespoons Bailey's Hazelnut flavor

In a mixing bowl, put all the liquids in. Sift in the cocoa powder. Use a hand held mixture to whip the whole mixture until it forms soft peaks. Pour the mixture into a container and freeze for at least 6 years. Take the container out of the freezer to sit at room temperature (18-20C) for 20 minutes before serving.

Yes, it's that simple and it's unfairly delicious.

Here are a few variations I want to try next:

Amaretto and cherry gelato

Peach and ginger ice cream

Green tea ice cream

Pistachio ice cream

What's yours?

We are what we choose

"Jeff, one day you'll understand that it's harder to be kind than clever."

"Cleverness is a gift, kindness is a choice. Gifts are easy -- they're given after all. Choices can be hard. You can seduce yourself with your gifts if you're not careful, and if you do, it'll probably be to the detriment of your choices."

From Jeff Bezos, as delivered to the Class of 2010 Baccalaureate, Princeton University

Almond milk two ways

This YouTube clip is mind blowing. Almond milk in 3 minutes? Yep, it is possible. I just made some almond butter tonight. Almond milk here I come!

Traditional method of making almond milk

- 1 cup of raw almonds, soaked in water overnight
- 4 cups of drinking water
- pinch of salt
- vanilla extract (optional)
- 4 stoned dates (optional)
- a straining bag or cheese cloth lined mesh strainer
- a decent blender

Drain the soaked almonds. Put almonds, drinking water, salt, vanilla extract and dates in a blender. Start blending until it becomes creamy. Pour the almond milk into a straining bag. Gently squeeze almond milk out. Enjoy.

Three-Minute Almond Milk (or Almond Milk On Demand)

- 2 tablespoons of almond butter
- 2-4 cups of drinking water (vary the amount of water to suit your taste)
- pinch of salt
- vanilla extract
- dates

Blend everything up and drink! No straining necessary.

Now that's what I call magic almond milk.

Note added on 19/09: 2 tablespoons of almond water to 2 cups of water makes a rather thin almond milk to my taste. I understand that it won't be fair to compare almond milk to the rich taste of cow milk. To make it taste richer, I added another tablespoon of almond butter to my milk. Now that's better.

One step at a time

One and half month without phone and internet, life was actually not too bad. In fact, I quite enjoyed my evenings with books and chatting to Mom and Dad. I finished two very good books, one fiction, The Shack, and one factual, The Natural. I am usually not really into religion theme but I really enjoy reading The Shack. Although it has an unmissable religious undertone (or overtone), I see it more a book about human relationship. It's thought provoking. I want to read it again.The Natural is about Clinton presidency which took place at the time when I was still in the States. It's kind of like walking into the memory lane while reading the book as I remember quite a lot of the snippets of news events in the book. However, it's a very deep and personal look at Clinton presidency. Very sharp and to the point analysis. I have to say that it changed my views about Clinton.

Today, we got both phone and internet installed. So much for the widely advertised 30mb per second, my foot. We barely reach over just 1mbps. Very disappointed.  The engineer said it may take one day to stabilize the installation. Well, let's see whether it's another sales tactic.

In any way, I am back to the civilized word, or sort of. One at a time.

A Love Embraced

Stories like this do happen in life, even if not so often. But when it does, it just melts your heart.

Many more happy days to Gay and Mark.

A dala drawn by you

I mentioned that I have been busy packing this month.

There are certain things I always keep, photos. Remember those days when photos had to be taken with roll films and developed by specialists? Funny that now at the digital photo age, I end up with far less physical photos than before (I guess that was the idea?). Anyhow, I found photos during my first day of graduate school, me and my classmates during and after classes, first time back to Taiwan after many years in the States with my beloved grand parents who are now long gone (I miss them dearly). I noticed that most of the time I was smiling when I went through the old photos. I guess it's a good thing. They stay.

On the other hand, I also thew away many things rather ruthlessly, transparencies from my Ph.D defense, numerous research articles read and shipped across the ocean, first job offer letter, official work permit issue letter, permanent residency letter and City Hall appointment letter for our wedding ceremony. It's like watching my life at fast speed. I did feel something inside when I threw away those things. But hey, they are not truly gone. They are with me. What I am now is made from those. Of course they are with me, permanently.

In the middle of the paper mountain, I found a hand drawing on a yellow post-it note. It was a red Swedish Dala horse, stuck on a research paper mailed from Sweden by my then boyfriend (now master of this house). The paper was sent because I requested or it was considered important for my work. I am no longer sure. I do remember the time that we were separated by the Atlantics and neither of us was sure how to converge. Look where we are now. Would you have thought of that? This drawing may not be by Van Gogh but was created just for me. And that means the whole world to me. For the time being, I am keeping this red Dala.

Too good to give away

We've packing for three weeks. There are four of adults in this packing exercise.

There is still a lot to empty or pack up.

The kitchen corner just seems endless. We just discovered a forgotten high up cupboard which was probably opened less than five times during the past 10 years. More plates, water glasses, bakeware and kitchen appliances. Except for a set of cutlery which means something to us, the rest will go to the charity.

To empty the freezer, I made a big clafoutis with raspberries and blueberries which were sitting in the freezer for some time. We devoured half of it after dinner.

It's too good to skip.

Not as shiny as gold

But it's our Tin anniversary today. Happy anniversary, darling.

We've got ourselves a big present this year, a new house. We've worked very hard for it, financially, physically and mentally. Our July so far is mostly boxing up the old stuff in the evenings, driving to the new place and unloading them. And oh boy, how did we manage to pile up so many things in this small house?

Packing and (hopefully) soon unpacking in the next month aside, we really love our new house. We saw it first on paper with a 2D drawing and followed it from the stage when the new foundation was just laid, week by week, to its final completion. My favorite feature is the oak staircase with a big long window running from the top to ground floor on the side. Sometimes I just stand at the bottom of the staircase, looking up and out of the windows into blue sky, in awe, feeling content.

Professionally this year has shown to be fruitful for me. I just came back from another collaboration meeting, doing a one woman show. It still amazes me to know that people seek my advice and do what I suggest, after being in this business for more a decade. I am a fortunate one, I know.

Perseverance, especially perseverance in believing yourself, is not a sexy word but a good one to remember, as it will see you through many ups and downs. If you are also in the transition period of your life, best wishes to you.

July 2013 notes

There are a few things falling into place this year for me. I am extremely happy and grateful at the same time. If I had moved a few years back, if I had not changed my attitude to match the prospect, I would not have these good things at all this year.

Life, is what you make of it. Really.

Mon coeur qui bat

My beating heart.

It's only too often that I am reminded how fortunate I am here where I am today. I should not take it for granted but sometimes the dark side of me got a little bit carried away. I know what I have is really special, at least to me. Therefore, I am really grateful for anyone who tolerates me regardless.

La Vie En Rose by Patricia Kaas

Et dès que je l’aperçois

Alors je sens en moi

Mon coeur qui bat

----------------------------

And from the things that I sense,

Now I can feel within me

My heart that beats.

I adore - Tahini yogurt sauce

I am very addicted to this sauce recently. Since I got myself a jar of Lebanese Tahini a month ago, I must have made this sauce three or four times. It goes on almost everything. Superbly with roasted veggies (aubergines and sweet peppers are my favorites), as a party dip, sandwich condiment, or on grilled meat. Everyone who tastes this sauce loves it immediately. Looks like my initial worry of Tahini sitting for too long on the shelf is unwarranted after all.

My way of preparing Tahini yogurt sauce is based on Yotam Ottolenghi's recipe. Ottolenghi is a fabulous chef and a genius in creating vegetable dishes which makes every carnivore drool. He has a column in Guardian which I follow faithfully. I highly recommend anyone to start from there before deciding buying his books. And you won't regret buying his books as they are truly wonderful.

Tahini yogurt sauce
adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi (scroll down to Honey Roasted Carrots recipe)

- 3 tablespoons of Tahini
- 1 clove of garlic, finely grated
- 1 cup of Greek yogurt
- Juice from one medium lemon
- 1/4 teaspoon of coarse sea salt

Stir everything in a bowl until fully mixed. This sauce benefits resting for 30 minutes in the fridge but can be used straight away.

My 1-2-3 vinaigrette

Summer is here. We've had a week of straight sunshine. Unapologetic, full on. Based on the forecast, it looks like the trend will continue for at least another week. Happy!

Tonight we had smoked salmon and cream cheese on crispbread. With that, I prepared a quick salad of grated carrots and courgettes drizzled with a classic French salad dressing. I call it 1-2-3 vinaigrette to represent the required amount of three key elements in vinaigrette, mustard, vinegar and oil. Not only does it represent my preferred ratio of ingredients, but also it's easy to remember. No more trial and error!

My 1-2-3 vinaigrette

- 1 part of Dijon mustard
- 2 parts of vinegar (Sherry vinegar is my favorite but any vinegar or citrus juice would work)
- 3 parts of olive oil
- 1 part of minced shallot
- pinch of sugar
- salt and pepper to taste

A part can be your choice of measure. A teaspoon, tablespoon, 1/4 cup or a capful. It's up to you. The key is to keep the ratio constant with a fixed volume measure.

Mix/Shake everything into a nice emulsion in a jar, bowl or plate and dress your favorite salad options.

My favorite salad combo is to dress shredded carrots and corn kernels with this vinaigrette. Shredded courgette/beets, radishes, fresh salad leaves and halved cherry tomatoes are nice additions too.

What's your favorite salad combo?

I make - Chicken Adobo with balsamic vinegar

Yes, balsamic vinegar. Actually it's balsamic vinegar glaze purchased online. Please don't scream.

In most Adobo recipes chicken is cooked with skin on. Nowadays I like to first grill chicken skin separately in an un-oiled non-stick pan until most of the chicken fat is released from the skin. Save the chicken fat for later use and add the degreased chicken skin to the intended dish. By doing that, I get to have the best of both worlds (well, hopefully). My guests can also decide for themselves whether to eat the skin or not, or like me, munching just a few bites gingerly.

Chicken Adobo

- 6 chicken thighs about 500 g, skin separated from the meat (optional step. Please refer to the instructions)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 cloves of garlic, lightly crushed with skin on (or off)
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoon of whole black peppercorns
- 4 green onions (optional)
- 1 tsp dried chilli powder (optional)
- boiling water
- 1/4 cup vinegar (I used balsamic vinegar glaze)
- brown sugar to taste

If you want to cook Adobo with the skin on, you can skip the first step. Otherwise, in a un-oiled pan, grill the chicken skin on medium-high heat until most fat is rendered. It will take about 15 minutes or so. Don't rush this process by using high heat, otherwise you may end up with burnt chicken skin with not much fat out. All good things take time. Be patient. When you see your pan is fully covered in yellow chicken fat and the chicken skin is nicely golden brown, it's time to stop. Save the rendered chicken fat for later use. Scoop out the crispy chicken skin and set aside.

Take a cooking vessel which can stand acid, put in chicken thighs, crispy skin, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves, black peppercorns, green onions and chilli powder. Add the boiling water just enough to submerge most chicken flesh. Bring the pot to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat to very low, simmer the chicken pieces for 45 minutes.

After 45 minutes, the chicken should be quite tender. This is time to add vinegar. Bring the pot back to a boil. Simmer the pot uncovered for another 15-20 minutes until the cooking liquid is much reduced. Because of the chicken skin, the sauce should also look delectably shiny and slightly sticky (thanks to all the gelatin in the skin).  Taste at this stage, use brown sugar to tune your preferred balance between sourness and sweetness. You may also want to adjust with salt as well.

Serve with plain rice.

Dîner chez moi 18-24 May

Saturday - Crispy chicken and roasted cherry tomatoes, Three cheese and potato pie

Sunday - Burger patties, Mac and cheese, steamed broccoli

Monday - Stuffed tomatoes and grilled fish

Tuesday - Sausage and mushroom filled pasta

Wednesday - Chicken Adobo, steamed rice, garlic sauteed greens

Thursday - Sausage and mushroom filled pasta

White Chocolate, Cacao Nibs and Sour Cherries Blondies

I love making blondies. For me, they are just like big giant cookies without going through the trouble to roll each one out individually. Also, I can fool myself that I can enjoy bird-bite size each time. It's just that I am a serial bird-bite muncher...

I particularly like the combination of sour cherries and chocolate. This time I think I got the ratio right because the other discerning eater (finally) gave me the nod tonight!

White Chocolate, Cacao Nibs and Sour Cherries Blondies

- 1 large egg
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 100 g salted butter, room temperature
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup oat bran or old-fashioned rolled oat (can be replaced by 1/4 cup of flour)
- 50 g dried sour cherries (about 1/3 cup)
- 1/4 cup cacao nibs (or dark/milk chocolate chips)
- 50 g white chocolate, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped pecan nuts

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Beat the egg and brown sugar until well incorporated . Add in the softened butter and beat the mixture until light and fluffy.

Mix in all the rest ingredients with a hand-held mixer, except flour and pecan nuts.

Switch to a rubber spatula, fold in the flour and pecan nuts. Make sure there is no dry flour visible to the eye. If the mixture appears a bit dry, add a teaspoon of milk at a time.

Scrape the mixture to a lined square tin (20x20cm). Even the mixture in a tin with a rubber spatula. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the edges of the blondies start to get golden brown. Perform the toothpick test. If the toothpick comes out clean, it's ready.

Rest the blondies in the same pan for 20 minutes before cooling it on the rack.

Crispy Courgette Sticks

A new way of enjoying an old favorite. It's crunchy, it's juicy, it's savory and it tastes this natural vegetable sweetness after roasting. Courgette has never tasted so good. That's how much I liked it.

Crispy Courgette Sticks

- 2 medium sized Courgettes, cut into sticks about your index finger dimension
- 2-3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour (or gram/chickpea flour)
- 2 teaspoons of Schwartz Perfect Shake Season-All powder (or Italian mixed dried herbs mixed with garlic and onion powder)
- 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder, optional
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1/4 cup of panko (Japanese styled bread crumb)
- Olive oil

Preheat the oven at 200C.

In a large bowl, put in courgette sticks and dust flour on top. Shake the courgette sticks in a large bowl so that the flour is evenly distributed around the courgettes. Adjust the flour so that each stick has a thin coating of flour.

In the same bowl, sprinkle on your choice of herby seasoning (such as Season-all powder), chili powder (if using) and salt. Shake the bowl again until the seasoning is evenly distributed.

Now, scatter the panko into the courgette bowl. Shake the bowl again. The amount of panko specified here is enough to create a crunch for the final product but not intended to cover the courgette sticks completely. Drizzle the olive oil in a thin stream and a circular motion into the bowl, about 2 seconds. Yes, shake the bowl again for the last time. Transfer the panko-coated courgette sticks onto a baking tray lined by parchment paper.

Bake at 200C for 30 minutes. Enjoy immediately.

Dîner chez moi 11-17 May

Saturday - Grilled steak pizza with golden onion slices, mushrooms and red bell pepper, Caramel apple tart

Sunday - Smoked salmon open sandwich, radish and tomato salad

Monday - Roast trout with caper tomato sauce, pan grilled flattened baby potatoes

Tuesday - Turkey kebab, rice and beans

Wednesday - Pancetta and tomato pasta

Thursday - Turkey kebab, rice and beans

Recent culinary highlights

With the increasing temperature and daylight, I am enjoying more and more in the kitchen (when I get time). These days I am very into savory tart making. I feel more comfortable now in tart/pie crust making. And I discovered that if you roll out the pie crust on a large piece of parchment paper, just transfer the whole lot, paper and dough, to your pie dish and tuck the dough along with the parchment gently to fit around the intended pie dish. Yes, the pie/tart is baked directly on the parchment which sits in a pie dish. So easy, no more messy transportation of a fully rolled out dough and no more pie crust cracking up here and there. The clean-up is a doddle!

Here are other things I've made and am thinking when to make it again.

• The secret of creating a shiny top for brownies from Scientifically Sweet: both pretty and yummy. The method does work! Isn't it beautiful?
  
• Roasted broccoli and prawn cooked by Amateur Gourmet (originally from Melissa Clark): a truly wonderful dish. How an oven can create such a nice texture and taste for two very different ingredients still puzzles me. The seasoning is flexible, though. The key is the cooking method. I used minced garlic, dry chili flakes, thyme, salt and olive oil. Heaven.
• Smoked Salmon Smørrebrød: Man, try this asap! Wonderfully tasty and embarrassingly easy to prepare. The horseradish cream is a must. I used Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, skipped the mashed potato and oomphed up with a teaspoon of Dijon mustard. I did wish I had pumpernickel bread to go with it but Turkish flatbread went down equally well.
• Tarte a la tomate: I am in love and I have a picture to prove it. I used feta and a little bit grated cheddar. Worked out surprisingly well.
  
• Pea and ricotta cheese from Rachel Eats: Rachel is a Londoner living in Rome. I have been a faithful reader of her blog since I discovered it about a year ago. Her recipes are rarely complicated and usually contain just a few ingredients (always in season) to prepare. Let the quality of produce speaks for itself, authentically Italian. This is no exception.

A very good cake indeed

My life has become very hectic this year. Three very on going projects and one very interesting personal one, and that's only professional work I am talking about. I am not sure it has made me more efficient and worried that it actually has the opposite effect. I am feeling tired constantly and my body aches even with gentle exercise now. I should not overload myself with work but hey, life does not always go as planned or wished.

My physical and sometimes mental fatigue even prevents me from doing simple things I love at home, like baking our weekend breakfast cake. I am missing it. I miss eating different cakes every weekend and I miss the fulfillment and contentment which also comes from completing a series of actions, searching for a recipe, sourcing its required ingredients, getting busy in the kitchen and finally cutting into the first piece. Total self indulgence, I admit.

Last night I baked our weekend breakfast cake, the first after many weeks of pause. When I took a first bite this morning, I felt a sensation running up and down my body as if my body recognized my own baking. No kidding. It was very brief but also very real. I smiled. This is a very good cake indeed.

Dorset apple cake (originally by Lesley Waters)

- 450g apples which hold its shape after baking (I use Granny Smith), about 3 small
- juice of ½ lemon
- 200g butter, room temperature
- 230g golden caster sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 350g all-purpose flour
- 3 tsp baking powder
- demerara sugar and almond flakes , to sprinkle

Heat oven to 200C. Butter and line a rectangular baking tin (approx 27cm x 20cm) with parchment paper.

Peel, core and thinly slice the apples then squeeze the lemon juice over. Microwave for two minutes. Set to one side.

Place the butter, caster sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour and baking powder into a large bowl and mix well until smooth. Mix in the apple slices. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking tin. Sprinkle over the demerara sugar and almond flakes.

Bake for 45-50 mins until golden and springy to the touch. Leave to cool for 10 mins, then turn out of tin and remove paper. Cut into bars or squares.

Dîner chez moi -27 April to 3 May

Saturday - Korean spicy pork stir-fry, brocolli florets with garlic, brown basmati pilaf

Sunday - Chicken stew with bell peppers and artichokes, buttered macaroni

Monday - Pancetta and pea pasta

Tuesday - Coconut and mustard prawn curry, Dal Makhani, brown basmati rice

Wednesday - Grilled haddock, spinach and brown basmati gratin

Thursday - Chicken stew with bell peppers and artichokes, buttered macaroni

Friday - wild card

We have landed in: Spring!

Or summer?

Today I decided to skip gym and scientific work. I just want to stroll around town in a long waited sunny, breezy and warm afternoon (temperature is double digits and high teens, people!). I feel the need to soak up as much solar energy as possible after such a long and cold winter. Everyone is smiling on the streets, in parks and around stores. I think they feel what I feel today.

I really enjoyed my afternoon today.

Dîner chez moi -13-19 April

Yes, my friend, we appear to have gone just a little bit stars-and-stripes this week with our menu.

Saturday - Red onion burger on sesame buns, oven baked potato wedges, chopped salad of coriander, red cos lettuce and radishes

Sunday - Maxican pulled pork (Carnitas) sandwiches, carrot salad with Dijon shallot dressing

Monday - Seeded fish fingers, chopped salad with coriander, cucumber, tomatoes and red onion dices

Tuesday - Quiche Lorraine

Wednesday - Linguine alle vongole bianco

Thursday - Mexican pulled pork sandwiches (if there is anything left from Sunday!)

The pleasure of white food

There is an undeniable comfort which I find in all white food (or called nursery food by some). I grew up with congee, cooked with water (no stock, thank you very much) and simply dressed with pork floss or sometimes mixed in with a lightly beaten egg with dashes of soy sauce (heaven!). It could be any meal of a day, served under all conditions and eaten at a family table or curled up on the sofa. During my childhood, I was also fed with white toasts topped with peanut butter and jelly or butter and strawberry jam, countless times. Then I moved on to porridge when I reached my late teen. Cooked with milk by my mom but now I prefer it simply with water.

I still enjoy all these food, perhaps even more so now. Not only do they bring me back to a time when a world can be carefree and uncomplicated, but also I now appreciate more of so-called plain food. That's what growing old (sometimes known as maturing) does to me. I used to mistakenly assume complication as sophistication but now I enjoy simply being simplistic, comfortably. White food, unadorned, sometimes is the best way to appreciate the true flavor of food. As I layer flavoring upon layer, I notice how its taste transforms and develops. I guess it's a bit like people.

Needless to say, comfort food means different things to different cultures and to different individuals. For one couple of mixed cultures (yours truly), it's mac and cheese. Especially with a weather where Spring still feels like winter and with a workload sometimes felt multiplying by the minute, we relish our mac and cheese gratefully.

Easy Mac and Cheese

This version requires no bechamel sauce. I use curd cheese (of cream cheese like texture) to thicken the sauce up and it provides a lovely tang, very light, to balance the taste of the dish.

- 250 g tubular pasta, cooked, drained and with a cup of pasta cooking water reserved
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 medium onion, minced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- a splash of white wine, optional
- 1 cup of stock
- 1 cup of single cream (or half cream half milk)
- 1 pot of curd cheese* (~227g)
- 1 teaspoon of dry mustard powder
- ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon of grated nutmeg
- pinch of paprika/chilli powder (optional)
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 cup of grated cheddar (or a mixture of easy melting cheeses)
- 1 cup of panko

Heat olive oil in a pan, cook onion and garlic until they are fragrant and onions translucent. If you have some white wine at hand, a generous splash is very nice. Add in stock and cream. Bring the pot back to boil. Add in cooked pasta. If the pasta looks a bit dry, use the reserved pasta cooking water to adjust the moisture content. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for a couple of minutes.

In another bowl, mix together curd cheese, mustard powder, black pepper, nutmeg and paprika/chilli powder. Add in 2/3 cup of grated cheddar. Fold the curd cheese into the pasta mixture. If you are short of time, you can skip the panko and simply cook the pasta on the stove until the sauce thickens lightly. If you have time, adding a layer of cheesy crisp topping is worth a try.

Pour the pasta into a buttered baking dish. Mix the remaining 1/3 cup of cheddar cheese with panko. Scatter on top of the pasta. Bake the pasta at 200C for 20 minutes until the top turns golden and pasta bubbling lively.

Serve with sliced hams, grilled sausages or burgers.

*Curd cheese is a type of fresh cheese which has a texture close to cream cheese but has much lower fat. Use cottage cheese instead if you can't find curd cheese. If using cottage cheese, use a stick blender to puree cottage cheese curds and mix in one egg.

Busy is good

I still feel useful and produce something useful to some people at work.

I am (and still enjoy) learning new things in life.

I feel that I can still set goals and push myself for it.

I have fostered a change in mentality and now I look at my days more optimistically.

Accept and move on seem to work on many aspects in life.

You only get out what you put in, something my academic supervisor told me 17 years ago. Not just in school, also in life. Although I hate to admit it, you were right all along, ADM.

"People, you have six senses! The last one is common! Use it!"---Amen, Michael Ruhlman

I make - Lamb and potato bake

I started to like lamb when I arrived in UK more than a decade ago (gosh!). In my humble opinion, lamb produced in this country is enough to make any Brit proud. It's no more expensive than beef and the meat texture is a lot better (partly due to the animal age) than other four-legged animals. It can take lots of cooking time and the meat itself remains moist and a superior tender texture without becoming stringy. It's a sheer delight to eat.

Lamb and potato bake

adapted from two recipes by Gennaro Contaldo and Sonia Peronaci

For Lamb stew:

1 kg lamb leg meat in big chunks
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp thyme
1 medium carrot, diced
3 ribs of celery, diced
2 onions, diced
5 cloves of garlic, crushed
20 g of salted anchovy fillets from a can
1 glass of white wine
3 tbsps of tomato paste
Water enough to submerge the meat (1-2 cups)
Juice from half lemon

To finish:
1 cup of Petit pois/garden peas
4 par-boiled potatoes, peeled and sliced

Bread crumbs mixed with grated parmasen, chedder and black pepper

Marinade the lamb with chilli flakes, thyme, salt, black pepper and olive oil for 10 minutes while you prepare the vegetables.

In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, grill the lamb chunks all around. As soon as the lamb chunks have produced lightly brown edges, remove the meat from the pan. You may need to do this in several batches depending on the size of the saute pan you've got.

In the same pan, saute the vegetables (carrot, celery, onions and garlic) until vegetables are soft and onions are translucent. Stir in the anchovies. Cook on medium heat until the anchovies disintegrate into the vegetables. At this point, mix in the tomato paste. Cook for a minute or so until you can smell of a slight toasted smell. Deglaze the pan with wine. Bring the pot to a lively boil for a minute.

Pour the vegetable broth base into a cast iron pot, along with the lamb. Add water or stock just enough to submerge the meat. Bring the pot to a boil. Cover the pot, lower the heat to simmer for one hour. Taste, season with salt and pepper. Simmer without lid for 30 minutes.

Lightly oil an oven proof dish, lay a single layer of cooked potato slices. Lightly season with salt and pepper. Scoop in the cooked lamb, petit pois and finish with potato slices on top. Cover the top with a thick layer of cheesy bread crumb. This is optional but does give a nice crunch in the final product.

Bake at 200C for 30 minutes or until the dish is thoroughly heated and the cheesy breadcrumbs have turned golden.

I make - rhubarb and raspberry pudding

I love rhubarb. I admit that at first I was mostly attracted by its pretty pink appearance. Then I discovered how good and fine it tasted. It was love at the first sight and kiss.

Now you can get rhubarb year round, the pretty pink forced rhubarb between December and March and the field grown light green ones for the rest of the year.  My mother-in-law makes the best rhubarb tart in the world. It is a fine way to enjoy rhubarb. I am just not skilled with anything which requires dexterity. Therefore, I often opt for a simpler way to enjoy rhubarb, in pudding. I like to throw in a handful of raspberries in my rhubarb pudding. The addition of raspberries is not only a good match with rhubarb in taste, but also brightens up the color in the end. You could replace it with strawberries or ignore completely.

Rhubarb and raspberry pudding

- a bag of trimmed rhubarb, 400g
- 1/2 - 2/3 cup of water
- 1/3 - 1/2 cup caster sugar
- 1/2 cup frozen or fresh raspberries (or strawberries), optional
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract or rosewater (optional)
- 2 tsp corn starch mixed in 2 tbsp cold water
- whipped cream to serve

Put rhubarb, water, sugar and raspberries in a pot. Bring the pot to boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Taste to adjust the sugar.

If using vanilla or rosewater, add into the pot along with the corn starch slurry. Bring the pot back to boil. Let it boil for one minute. Turn off the heat, pour the pudding to a bowl. Let it cool.

Serve with a dollop of cream on top.

Dîner chez moi -16-22 March

Saturday - Shallot and mushroom quiche, fresh leafy salad

Sunday - Pasta all'amatriciana, grilled courgette slices

Monday - Grilled salmon, chickpea and lemon casserole, ratatouille

Tuesday - Pasta all'amatriciana, grilled courgette slices

Wednesday - Cod in basque style sauce, steamed basmati rice

Thursday - Shallot and mushroom quiche, fresh tomato salad

Donde Voy

I first learned the song from the English version sung by Chyi Yu, a folk song melody combined with a waltz tempo. Marvelous. The original in Spanish was performed by Tish Hinojosa and later by Linda Rondstat, both are wonderful.

By the way, how can someone be so gorgeous like Monica Bellucci?

My blueberry dream

For me, blueberry is quintessential American. I don't know why and it's probably a personal bias. My first time of tasting blueberry was when I was in the States. When it's in season, not only is it deliciously sweet, but also it gives off its distinctively floral undertone. Very elegant. Many blueberry containing baked goods on the market contain additional blueberry flavoring. I am not evangelical about using flavoring. When a good quality of flavoring is used in moderation, it definitely enhances the final products. Unfortunately, most blueberry items I taste out there usually have so much flavoring added (to disguise the lower quality of blueberries especially when out of season) that the delicate blueberry taste is lost.

During the past five years, I can spot fresh blueberries more and more frequently in UK supermarkets. Depending on the time of the year, it can come from Eastern Europe or Southern Europe. And to my delight, its quality is really good. I have several varieties available to me, ranging from broad bean size to pearl size, all delicious nonetheless. One of my favorite ways to enjoy blueberry is blueberry cake (hubby calls it Big Blueberry Muffin as it is the only way to eat blueberries. Bless him). I think I have come up with a keeper recipe. One thing I learned from baking blueberry cake in its all incarnations, as much as I adore blueberry, it's not a good idea to pack a whole load into baking goods. This is because the extra moisture held by the berries inevitably turn the baking goods into a sorry soggy state. And nobody likes a soggy cake. Therefore, I only use blueberries in moderation (isn't it true for anything in life) in this recipe and enjoy the balance and contrast taste between juicy berries and tender cake crumb in every bite. I especially like the extra crunch from the demerara sugar and almond flakes. As with almost all baking goods, tasting it slightly warm with a cup of tea is heaven to me.

My blueberry cake, adapted from Dan Lepard's all-purpose butter cake

- 125 g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 200 g light brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 4 eggs
- 250 g sour cream
- 300 g all-purpose flour
- 25 g ground almond / jumbo oats (optional)
- 2 tsps baking powder
- 100 g fresh blueberries
- 1-2 tbsp demerara sugar
- almond flakes

Preheat the oven to 200C.

In a large bow, beat the butter, brown sugar, vanilla extract and salt until light and fluffy.

Add in the eggs, one at a time, until well incorporated. Mix in sour cream.

Sift in flour, oat and baking powder into the butter mixture. Incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet mixture with the lowest possible number of strokes.

Pour half of the batter into a lined cake tin. Mix in the blueberries with the remaining half of the batter. Pour all into the cake tin. Sprinkle the demerara sugar on top of the batter and decorate with the almond flakes.

Bake in the oven at 200C for 50 minutes. Test the cake with a toothpick in the end. If the toothpick comes out with wet batter on, increase the baking time by 5 minutes as a block, until the inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Dîner chez moi - 2-8 March

Saturday - Porchetta, potato boulangere, green beans and mushrooms with caramelized shallots

Sunday - Porchetta sandwich, garlic, basil and caper dressing, mixed salad leaves

Monday - Baked white fish, basmati rice, green beans braised in kinpira sauce

Tuesday - Chinese salted chicken roast, stir-fry Chinese cabbage with fresh shitaki mushroom

Wednesday - Salmon with caper and red pepper, buttered pasta

Thursday - Chinese salted chicken roast, Chinse cabbage, steamed rice

I make - Grilled salmon with tagliatelle in tarragon cream

This is one very delicious plate of pasta.

Grilled salmon with tagliatelle in tarragon cream sauce (adapted from FoodWishes)

- 4 green onions or 1 leek, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 cup creme fraiche*, single cream or cream cheese mixed with milk
- 1/2 tsp dried tarragon leaves
- 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
- Salmon steak cut in thin slices
- 1 tsp cajun spice
- 150 g dried egg tagliatelle (for two people), cooked and drained
- freshly squeezed lemon juice

Heat one skillet with one tablespoon of oil. Gently cook the green onions and garlic for two minutes. Deglaze the pan with white wine. Let the wine cook until the liquid almost evaporates. Add in cream cheese and milk. Cook gently for two minutes. Stir the cream cheese to help it melt into the sauce. While the sauce starts to bubble from the edge of the pan, stir in the tarragon and mustard. Mix well. keep the heat at the lowest setting.

Heat another skillet. Lightly dust the salmon with cajun spice. Grill the fish until it starts to flake. Season with sea salt. Remove the fish from the pan.

Mix drained pasta with the tarragon cream. Plate up the pasta and dot the salmon slices on the top. Squirt the lemon juice liberally right before you eat. It's lovely.

*I even made this dish with Greek yogurt once. Although the result is good, the sauce tastes a bit grainy and not as smooth as creme fraiche/cream/cream cheese ones. I think I will stick with true cream in the future.

Orange almond cake

I am always looking for a good citrus cake recipe as it is our weekend brunch staple. Michel Roux's recipe, which has a higher egg/flour ratio, is distinctly different from my favorite one. I was intrigued.

This recipe tastes more airy than Dan Lepard's butter cake (Dan's version is by no means dense). The texture is lighter, however not in terms of calories. Since my first attempt, I have tried substituting double cream and rum with plain yogurt. Works out marvelously.

Orange almond cake (adapted from Michel Roux's Lemon Drizzle Cake)

- 140 g plain flour

- 1 tsp baking powder
- 50 g butter, melted
- 3 medium eggs
- pinch of salt
- 125 g white sugar
- zest from two lemons (I used orange extract)
- 75 g double cream
- 40 ml rum (can be replaced with milk)
- 2 tsp rum to brush on the baked cake (optional)
- Lemon drizzle: (I skipped this step and simply scattered almond flakes on top)
   - 40 g powder sugar
   - juice from ½ lemon

Preheat oven at 200C.

Beat together eggs, salt, sugar and lemon zest for 20 seconds. Whisk in double cream until combined.

Sift in flour and baking powder. Gently fold in for 30 seconds. Add in rum. Mix in melted butter. Do not overwork the dough.

Pour the batter into a lined 20-cm round cake tin (or a loaf one). Bake at 200C for 10 minutes and reduce to 190 for another 30-35 minutes. The total baking time is 40-45 minutes. Rotate the cake tin half way through to ensure even baking. Perform the toothpick test on the cake starting at 40 minutes.

Optional steps: brush 2 tsp rum on top of the baked cake. Drizzle lemon icing on top of the cake. Put back to the oven at 240C for 20 seconds.

Oatmeal blondies

This is inspired by Nigel Slater's white chocolate and cherry blondies. Highly irresistible moments after coming out of the oven, slightly warm, when you have a freshly brewed tea waiting on the side already.

Oatmeal blondies

- 125 g unsalted butter, room temperature

- 1/2 tsp sea salt

- 2/3 cup light brown sugar

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 1 egg

- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder (optional)
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick-cooking)

- 50 g dark chocolate chips

- 1/2-1 cup dried cherries

- whole pecan halves

Preheat oven to 175C. Line a 20-cm square baking pan with non-stick baking paper, leaving a 5-cm overhang on both slides.

In a large bowl, beat butter, sea salt, brown sugar and vanilla extract until well incorporated. Mix in the egg and beat the mixture until light and fluffy.

Sift flour and baking powder into the butter mixture. Stir to combine. Mix in oats, chocolate chips and cherries. Use a rubber spatula to mix everything thoroughly and gently. Scrape the mixture out onto the baking pan. Even the top with your rubber spatula. Some patience is required. Finally, decorate the top with pecan halves. Press the pecan halves slightly into the mixture.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool in pan 30 minutes. Using overhang, transfer blondie (still on paper) to a wire rack to cool completely.

Dîner chez moi - 23 February - 1 March

Saturday - Murgh Mahkani/butter chicken, mustard seed spinach, basmati rice

Sunday - David Libovitz's Shakshuka, crusty baguettes

Monday - Baked cod filet, basmati rice with peas and caramelized onion

Tuesday - Pasta Amatriciana, blanched green beans

Wednesday - Smoked salmon quiche

Thursday - Murgh Mahkani, basmati rice

Dîner chez moi - 16-22 February

Saturday: broth baked potatoes, pan fried cauliflowers, grilled pork and leek sausages

Sunday: Saffron risotto, grilled sausages

Monday: Lemon rice, tender broccoli sprouts, baked plaice

Tuesday: Potatoes Boulangère, grilled pork cutlet

Wednesday: Leek and salmon pasta

Thursday: Vegetable pilaf, grilled pork cutlet

My Valentine

Albany, New York, this seemingly remote and cold place in upstate New York, I almost made it my home.

I had flown in the night before for a job interview on a budget airline where I had to sit facing other passengers like in a bus. On the night of arrival, I had a dinner with my potential supervisor. I had no illusion that the interview started already at the dinner table. But I also felt so grown up. That was the first time that someone else in the world wanted to discuss professional matters with me! It was a daunting meal but I managed to maintain a calm voice and to rein back my supercharged heart beat. I even had a good night sleep before the official big day.

To be honest, the actual interview day went a bit blurred for me. All I could remember was that it went very well, so well that I was on the adrenalin high most of the time. I had good discussions with people I met. I found people friendly and sincere. I like my potential supervisor, a knowledgeable and very easy-going person, someone I thought I would have no problem working with. The job matched perfectly with what I had in mind and my profession. I just hoped that they would look beyond the fact that I was just finishing my graduate school and like me to be in a team.

During lunch break, I was taken to a nearby Italian restaurant. I remember how busy that small trattoria was during lunch time, how me and the other person had to be seated at a small table (or at the bar?) in a crammed space and how we both almost had to shout in order to hear one another. Quickly glancing through the menu, I ordered spinach and sausage penne. It was a cold January day but I was quickly warmed up by my hearty dish. The hardiness of spinach and the boldness of grilled sausage, both ingredients standing fiercely in their corners became incredibly mellowed up when dressed in the lightly creamed sauce. I thought it was the most wonderful thing I had ever tasted.

That was 12 years ago. How time flies.

Yes, I did get the offer and they even increased the sign-up bonus for me (you could call that beginner's luck). The prospect was good, the American dream, whatever it means and brings, how many people have chased and still follow. Any rational being thinking straight with a clear brain would stay and sign on the dotted line on the spot as soon as the contract arrives. But my heart was somewhere else, not in Albany, nor in America. It was across the Atlantic.

For the first time in my life, I followed my heart, and I have not looked back since.

But I did take the spinach and sausage pasta with me.

Spinach and sausage pasta

- 250-300 g baby spinach, blanched, squeezed dry
- 4 links of sausages, chopped into big chunks
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 150 g chestnut mushroom, quartered
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- pinch of dry chilli powder/flakes
- 1 leek, minced
- 1/2 cup whole milk (and some stock if the sauce seems dry to you)
- 1/4 cup creme fraiche/single cream
- your favorite pasta shape, cooked and drained
- salt and pepper to taste

Heat a non-stick pan and grill sausage chunks until they are golden brown. Remove from the pan.

In the same pan, put in oil and mushrooms. Saute for a couple of minutes and add in garlic and dry chilli flakes. Remove mushroom from the pan.

Now cook leek in the same pan. Cover the pan occasionally with a lid so that the mixture is steamed cooked. When the leek becomes soft (but not colored), add in milk. Cook the leek sauce on medium heat until it is reduced by a third. Add in creme fraiche or cream, cook for one minute. Return all the cooked sausage chunks and mushrooms back to the pan. Stir to combine the flavor. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the pasta and spinach to the leek sauce. Bring the heat up to let the flavor mingle for a couple of minutes.

Serve two people gladly.

Happy Valentine's.

What I didn't know about Canola oil

Canola oil stands for "Canadian oil, low acid".

It is produced by grinding a particular strain of rapeseeds of low erucic acid (i.e. Food grade rapeseed or Rapeseed 00). The health impact of erucic acid  is under debate. Although once banned in North America and European Union, it is now generally regarded as safe to human.

Its saturated fat content (7%) is half of what's in olive oil.

It is the same as Rapeseed oil sold in UK.

The taste of rapeseed oil is reported to be bland, unpleasant and like rancid walnut and smells cabbagey.

Rapeseeds are now used as a source of biofuel and the particular strain (i.e. industrial rapeseed) needs to have erucic acid to produce functional biofuel.

Dîner chez moi - 2-8 February

Saturday - Truffled Mac and Cheese, cold ham slices, French tomato salad

Sunday - Chicken meatballs stuffed with mozzarella, pasta in tomato sauce

Monday - Salmon and leek fettuccine

Tuesday - Chicken meatballs in sweet sour sauce, steamed rice

Wednesday - Mushroom risotto with grilled courgette slices

Thursday - Glam Mac and Cheese

Friday - Roast chicken legs

Pizza of our home

Who doesn't like pizza? It's a highly adaptable dish. It's simple, comforting and deeply savory. I guess that's why it's loved almost all over the world. I started to play with yeast last year. I now have a stand-up mixer and the machine can muscle out pizza dough in no time. Strangely, I still prefer the taste from a no-knead recipe. And that's what I have been using, a no-knead pizza dough recipe. No machine nor  muscles required.

Pizza dough (adapted from Jim Lahey's no knead pizza dough)

- 500 g bread/strong flour (I use 350 g white + 150 g wholemeal)
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1/4 teaspoon diastatic malt flour/powder (optional)
- 2 teaspoons sea salt (less if using table salt)
- 350 g lukewarm water (around body temperature)
- 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil

Mix everything thoroughly except oil in a big bowl  until the dough looks like a rugged mass. Pour 1 tablespoon of oil into the dough and dip your fingers into the oil. Lift the dough out of the bowl and shape into a boule. It takes a few rounds of folding and tucking underneath. If the dough sticks to your fingers, pour in another tablespoon of oil. The aim here is not to reach a smooth, shiny and non-sticky stage but just to form a ball. A couple of minutes would suffice.

Rest the dough in a bowl. Cover with the plastic wrap. I like to ferment the dough in a microwave to have a constant temperature which is not too cold or warm.

The dough needs to rise for about 5 hours where I live during winter, or until the volume has doubled. You can speed up the fermentation process by increasing the amount of yeast, or slowing it down as in the original recipe. I usually start the dough at noon and go about my business in the afternoon. When I come back in the evening, the dough will be ready for me. That's why I use 1tsp of yeast here. Feel free to adjust the amount of yeast to suit your life style. That's the fun of making yeasted bread.

Flour a work surface and scrape the dough out of the bowl. Divide it into smaller parts as intended to use. Perform the gluten cloak shaping technique. It's a great trick I learned from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes. Shape each portion into a ball. Then for each ball, gently stretch the surface of the dough from top to the bottom on all sides, rotating the ball as you go along (see the video). Rest the dough for another 30 minutes before rolling out. Refrigerate or freeze the unused portions.

Before rolling out the dough, heat the oven at 230C (or as high as you can). Well oil a baking sheet and scatter semolina on top of the oiled baking sheet. This is to prevent pizza sticking to the surface. I like the slightly added crunch and contrasting texture that semolina brings. You can leave it out completely of course. Roll out or stretch a pizza dough to fit the pan. First cover the bare dough surface with tomato sauce (recipe to follow) leaving a border of 1/2 inch outside. Scatter mozzarella cheese all around. Dot Mascarpone cheese on top. You don't need much, 4-6 teaspoons of them for a medium or large pizza would do. It's optional but please try at least once. It changed my pizza world. And finish with your favorite toppings (pepperoni/ham, artichokes and mushrooms are our favorite combo). Straight into the oven for 20-30 minutes depending on your oven temperature.

Tomato sauce for pizza

- 1 tablespoon of olive oil

- 2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

- 400 g tinned tomatoes, roughly chopped 

- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste

- 1 teaspoon sugar

- pinch of chilli flakes

- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

- 1/4 teaspoon dried basil

- salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a soup pot and fry the garlic until slightly golden on the outer edges. Throw in all remaining ingredients. Cook the sauce, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

What money can't buy

Not just Professor's Sandel's clarity and precision on the topic, I think that public discourse indeed should take a more prominent place in our society, in order to remind us the kind of society we want to live in and the future we are heading. Please enjoy the debate about The Role of Money.

I like - Yumprint

It's hard to imagine how and what I was doing before internet came along. How on earth did I search hotels on the other end of the earth, information on anything under the sun without going to a library or knowing somebody who already knew about it?

WORLD WIDE WEB, allow me to pay you my uttermost respect again.

The easy access to information has all the advantages imaginable but it has a downside which I can't get over with, the overflow of information. How do you organize and archive all these information to re-use them again efficiently? Bookmarking with a browser, right, when is the last time that you organize your bookmark lists? It's not that efficient when what you really want is to go back to one particular web post.

Where did I see that before? Is it from Blog A, .com B or .edu C? Even if you remember the site correctly, there is no guarantee that you could find the same post or topic again. Because human memory is notoriously unreliable.

Cue Yumprint.

It all started when I am sick of generating pdfs every time I see something that interest me. I am talking about cooking. Yes, I have a pdf folder which holds recipes I once saw and thought about making it later. I go back to a few of them routinely but I have to say that I have no clues what the rest of pdfs are. I still use recipe books but it's hard to beat google when you just need to type in a couple of ingredients and get a list of all possible recipes which have ever been attempted. Many of my favorite recipes are available online. There must be a better way to organize online information so that I can find things again quickly.

I was with Pinterest for a while. It is a tool to "file" all your favorite links in one place. Although it does work to some extent, it lacks two key functions which I consider important, the ability to annotate/edit any recipe and to upload the ones which are my own creation or from printed materials. You see, I just want one central depository of recipes and I want to annotate those with my own adaptations and thoughts. And I also find it crucial to keep those online links at a more permanent level. Say, if ever a blogger decides to move the site to somewhere else or to remove it completely, your Pinterest pins will no longer be functional.

Yumprint gives me the solutions I was looking for.

It does:

- automatic extraction of a recipe from its original source to a Yumprint file
- allow a user to edit an original recipe and add reviews
- print a pdf (yes!) from your extracted Yumprint recipe for local storage (if you really want)

A really nice feature to have with Yumprint is the full nutritional analysis of a recipe. I use Calorie Count occasionally to scare myself how many calories I am having if I were to cut my cake too big. Calorie Count is another very easy to use website. Simply copy the ingredients from a recipe and paste them into the white box, the detection of ingredient and amount is done automatically. Adjust the serving size and you get a nice nutritional table in the end. My dream would be to attach such table to my recipe. So far, Yumprint indicates suggested Nutritional Points on each recipe. The higher the points, the better the nutritional value it has. This feature is an on-going development. Let's see whether my wish would come true.

This is my Yumprint collection. Maybe I will see you there?

ps. I found this post very helpful, especially the readers' comments. That's how I got to know about Yumprint. Evernote is another hot favorite from the readers, if you are tempted.

And today it came

The temperature has been sub-zero lately and today the snow finally came. Pretending I was walking in Narnia....

Dîner chez moi - 19-25 January

Saturday - Rosemary garlic potato gratin, grilled sausage, garlic chilli broccoli

Sunday - Grilled five-spiced pork cutlet, mixed-veggie stew, steamed rice

Monday - Bell pepper risotto, plaice with caper garlic white wine sauce

Tuesday - Mostly veggie turkey chilli, steamed rice

Wednesday - Cod in tomato sherry sauce, steamed rice

Thursday - Garlic chilli linguine with grilled pork, steamed broccoli

Dîner chez moi - 12-18 January

First, belated happy new year to you. Being back home for almost a week, work has caught up with me. It's nice to feel that my professional opinions are valued and sought. I have to say that I feel quite pleased with how my work has gone for the last few years. I hope the trend continues in the coming year.

My small English kitchen also starts for real this Saturday. Now both of us are back from holidays and work travel (Yes, already!).  My small goal for our 2013 dinning table is to have more vegetable-based main courses and leave meat/protein as a side. I love vegetables but I think it takes a lot more creativity (and planning) to make vegetables the star of the table (not to mention to please a carnivore). It is a challenge I love to take and it is also a way to venture out my cooking comfort zone.

I am not aiming to become meat-less (I love my steak too much) but I want to see whether I (or we) could live by "Mostly veggies" motto. What about you, do you have any food resolution this year?

Saturday - Spinach and ricotta cannelloni, grilled sausages, garlic buttered bread

Sunday - Vegetarian cottage pie, buttered green beans, cold ham slices

Monday - Baked cod with light crust, roasted ratatouille, steamed rice

Tuesday - Broccoli risotto, grilled smokey sausages

Wednesday - same as Saturday

Thursday - same as Sunday

Friday - wild card