No-stir granola

If you ever make granola yourself, you know the drill, stir the hot mix every 10 minutes during the entire baking time. It's not difficult but a bit fiddly. So far, I have resorted to the stove-up method, gently toast the granola mix in a large wok and stir as you go along.

That's until I saw what Alexandra shared with her granola. She recommended lower oven temperature and no stirring. No Stirring, now that's a culinary revelation. Why haven't I thought of that? And I tried it today and it worked brilliantly. This method now will be my only method to make granola. Thank you, Alexdanra's Kitchen.

No-stir sheet pan granola
adapted from Coconut oil granola from Alexandra's kitchen

2 cups of jumbo oat flakes
3 cups of mixed nuts and seeds
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 cup of dried fruit to add after baking (optional)

Preheat the oven to 140C/fan. Line a large sheet pan with a baking parchment.

Mix all dry ingredients (oat, nuts/seeds and salt) in a large bowl. In a pyrex jug, gently warm up the maple syrup and oil together (I use microwave). Drizzle the warm liquid into the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly.

Tip the mixture unto a sheet pan covered with parchment paper. Even out the mixture across the sheet pan and press gently with a rubber spatula. Bake the granola at 140C for 40 minutes. Turn the sheet pan half way if you want. When the toasting is done,  you will see the mixture pull away from the edge of sheet pan. Take the granola out of the oven and let cool completely in the pan.

Gently break up the granola into clusters for storage.

My favorite savory pie/tart crust

For a long time, C&Z's olive oil pie crust was my go-to recipe for any savory pie/tart. The dough is very easy to work with and it gives a good and tasty pie crust. If I want to nitpick, the texture can be quite hard if it's not rolled out thin enough and it's not flaky at all.

Then I discovered Nick Malgieri's olive oil dough. This is a game changer for me. The original recipe uses olive oil but also adds eggs and baking powder. And the latter two ingredients definitely give the subtle impression of flakiness in the final baked product. However, I did find the original two-egg recipe too rich to my taste so I reduce the eggs down to one and add some water instead. This is now my favorite savory pie/tart crust. It's a breeze to work with and the taste is excellent. We are never tired of it. I've tried both olive oil and melted butter versions. Both work equally well.

My favorite savory pie crust

- 1 1/2 cup plain flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian herb (optional)
- 1/4 vegetable oil or melted butter
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 egg
- You also need a rolling pin and piece of parchment paper (big enough to cover your chosen bakeware comfortably)

Mix all dried ingredients (flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and dried herb if using) in a mixing bowl. In a measuring jug, combine oil (or butter), water and 1 egg. The total amount of liquid should be 3/4 cup. Gently mix the liquid part together with a fork. Pour the liquid into the flour mixture. Use a rubber spatula to combine. The dough should be fairly easy to come together as a ball. If it seems a bit wet, add some flour to adjust the consistency, one tablespoon at a time. As soon as the dough is formed and not sticky, tip it out onto a parchment paper for rolling.

Flour the parchment paper, rolling pin and the dough lightly. Roll the dough out to fit your chosen bakeware. This recipe is enough for a 25-cm pie dish with some pastry scrape. I like to roll out to cover a 32cm x 25cm sheet pan (roughly 13in x 9in) for a large tart. I like to fit the whole parchment and the crust unto a sheet pan (or pie dish). This makes clean up so much easier and no crust even stuck on the pie dish!

The pie/tart crust can be filled immediately with toppings. If I use it for a quiche, I usually blind bake it first before I add the fillings.

To make the courgette tart as shown above, spread the unbaked tart shell with ricotta (mixed with thyme, lemon zest and a pinch of salt) or garlic&herb goat cheese. Arrange on top thin courgette slices which have been lightly salted and blotted dried previously overlapping by half. Bake the tart at 180C for 50 minutes.

I make - Rugelach

Yes, I know, it's near the end of Spring and heading towards summer, but I only found time now to try Rugelach out. Rugelach is Jewish cookie typically eaten during December Hanukkah time, even though nowadays shops sell them all year round. I was first introduced by my friend in Manhattan who kindly offered me a box(!) of these delicious pastry while I visited her one Autumn. I could tell straightaway that it's going to be a very good thing because the smell of butter, sugar and dried fruits just permeated through the box while sitting in its carrier bag. Ever since that moment, I've marked Rugelach on my wish list to make! And that was years ago.

The recipe I used is based on Dorie Greenspan's version (you can never go wrong with Dorie!). And, yes, the result is utterly buttery deliciousness one could ever hope to create at home. This makes me think of S again and her kindness. I hope you are well.

Rugelach with two fillings

For the dough:

- 100 g cream cheese, room temperature
- 200 g salted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup of plain flour
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 tablespoons of sugar
- Round pie dish or cake tin of 25cm diameter
- egg wash (one egg mixed with dash of water)

Marmalade filling:

- 2-3 tablespoons of marmalade at the consistency of easy spreading
- handful of dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup toasted pecan nuts, finely chopped
- cinnamon sugar (1 tablespoon sugar mixed with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder)

Nutella filling:

- 2-3 tablespoons of nutella
- handful of dark chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup toasted pecan nuts, finely chopped
- cinnamon sugar (1 tablespoon sugar mixed with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder)

Beat cream cheese and butter in a bowl until light and fluffy. Mix in flour, vanilla and sugar. Stir to combine to form a dough. Scrape the (sticky!) dough out of the bowl, dust some flour around if it's too sticky and quickly form a ball. Wrap it with the cling film and rest the dough in the fridge for at least one hour.

When you are ready to work with the dough, take it out of the fridge. Cut two big pieces of parchment paper (large enough to cover your sheet pan). Slice the dough in half horizontally (like a bagel). Wrap one half back with the cling film and put back to the fridge while you work the other one. Take one parchment paper, scatter some flour on top and generously flour the rolling pin and the dough (top and bottom). Rotate the dough by turning the parchment paper 90 degrees during rolling to help make a circle. Your aim is to roll out the dough into a big round shape, with a thickness of 0.3cm. Mark a perfect circle with a round pie dish on the dough and cut along the circle with a knife. Save the pastry scrapes.

Spread the marmalade onto the first pastry circle, leaving a border of 2-cm unfilled. Scatter cranberries, chopped pecan pieces and cinnamon sugar (you may not need to use all sugar). Now cut the circle into 16 triangles (think of pizza wedges). Starting at the base of each triangle, roll tightly the dough up so that each cookie becomes a little crescent. Arrange the roll-ups on one lined baking sheet, and refrigerate for one hour.

Repeat the same process with the other piece of pastry and fill with nutella.

Preheat the oven at 180C. Brush the chilled rugelach with egg wash and bake them for 20-25 minutes. Rotate the sheet pan 180 degree half way through the baking time. Cool them completely on a wire rack and enjoy.

One of the kind

Freddie Mercury, how can you not admire (and for me, love) someone who gave it all in? A Great Pretender maybe, but who isn't? With time, most of us have protective shells grown around us, even if some of us are smart enough to avoid the bad crowd. True talent is like fire in an active volcano, you know it when you see it. There is no way to hide it.

Yes he is flamboyant, outrageous, uncontrollable and perhaps some find offensive, but he is also exuberant, indomitable, innovative and pushing the boundaries. He's a first-rate composer, a spirited performer and a mysterious person of contradictions. That last bit matters nothing to me. I could enjoy his music as much with my eyes closed.  A rock star who loves opera, I found that out from the Documentary, A Great Pretender. That's why he wrote songs for Montserrat Caballé with whom he held highest esteem. Barcelona was born, what a groundbreaking and unforgettable album. It was the first time a rock star performing alongside with an opera singer. And it's truly magical. It feels powerful and yet so harmonious. The melodies are energetic, elegant and simply beautiful. It's my favorite.

Look beyond the exterior, if you could. Listen to his music with eyes closed, if you would. Let the unstoppable energy and sheer joy of his work flow through your inner self. I hope you would then appreciate Freddie's so much zest for life and truly one of the kind, inimitable talent, Freddie Mercury, the world is richer and less boring because of you. Thank you.