2022 Boxing Day Dinner

I've fallen back in love with Thai food again. The Thai red curry paste is such a flavor bomb, good for many things.

Thai Red Curry with Prawns

Plain Basmati Rice

Buche de Noel 2022

2022 Christmas Day Dinner

No turkey this Christmas. We tried Waitrose prepared pork belly this year. Really good and made my life so much easier. Will try again next year.

Starter

Terrine de Sanglier

Main

Roast pork belly with apple sauce

Brussel sprouts and Chestnuts

Pigs in the Blanket

Cranberry and Marsala Sauce

Dessert

Buche de Noel 2022

2022 Christmas Eve Dinner

I roasted carrots with beef this time. What a revelation. The carrots are sweet and tender after 60 minutes. Highly irresistible.

2022 Christmas Eve Dinner

Starter

Smoked salmon with lemon

Main

Roast Rib of Beef with jus

Pigs in blankets

Brussel sprouts, chestnuts and bacon

Roasted carrots

Cheese platter

Comte, Bleu d'affinois and goat's cheese

Dessert

Bûche de Noël 2022

I make - Gluten Free Bûche de Noël 2022

Bûche de Noël 2022

For the cake
4 large eggs, whites separated from the yolks
100 g sugar, split into 75 g and 25 g
1/4 tsp cream of tartar powder or vinegar
1 tsp corn starch
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsps oil
40 g gluten-free flour
40 g cocoa powder

20 g ground almond (optional)
1/4 tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp baking powder

2-4 tbsps bodywarm water/milk/cream 

For the filling
90 ml double cream
75 g icing sugar, sifted 
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp instant coffee granules dissolved in 2 tbsp cream, cooled
150 g mascarpone cheese


For the ganache frosting
200 g dark chocolate, in chunks
25-30 g unsalted butter (12.2023 not needed)
150 ml whipping or double cream
1-2 tbsps of honey
1-2 turns of sea salt grinder (or tiny pinch of sea salt)

Preheat the oven at 180C. Grease a large baking tray (mine is 38cm x 26 cm) and line a parchment paper on top.

To make the cake, beat egg yolks with 25 g of sugar, salt and vanilla until light and fluffy. Pour in the oil and beat again. Sift in flour, cocoa powder, xanthan gum and baking powder. Beat until everything is well combined. Drizzle in 1 tablespoon of warm liquid a time and mix. Continue with more liquid until the mixture reaches yogurt like consistency.

In another bowl, combine egg whites, cream of tartar (or vinegar) and cornstarch. Beat until hard peak is formed and add the sugar in 3 rounds. It may take 3-5 minutes depending on your mixer.

Scoop 1/4 of the whipped egg white into the yolk bowl. Stir vigorously to mix well. Then pour the yolk mixture to the egg white bowl. Fold gently to incorporate the whipped egg white thoroughly.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking tray and spread evenly with an offset spatula. Bake at 180C for 10-12 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean. Don't overbake as the cake breaks more easily when rolling.

Remove the cake from the oven. Dust icing sugar on top of the cake (no need to let it cool), then line a large piece of baking parchment on top with excess on both short ends. Put on your oven gloves and flip the tray upside down onto the bench top. Peel away carefully the baking parchment (the one used for baking in the oven) from the cake. Make pleats (fold a few times) on one short end of the baking parchment on the bottom (the one you put on after baking) up until the edge of the cake. Then start rolling the cake with the parchment in. The pleats serve a role to encourage the roulade shape. Leave the rolled cake on the side to cool for 30 minutes.

During this time, make the filling by beating all ingredients together until it's light and fluffy.

When the cake is completely cooled, unroll the cake and spread the coffee filling on top. Smooth over evenly to the cake roll and start making the swiss roll shape with the help of the bottom parchment paper. When the rolling is done, chill the rolled cake before frosting.

To prepare the frosting, heat the cream on low heat until small bubbles arise from the sides. Put in chopped chocolate, butter, honey and salt so that they melt in the warm cream. When everything is melted, let the mixture cool to room temperature. Whip the cooled chocolate ganache for a couple of minutes before icing. Decorate as desired.

Tasting note: The cake body is light and fluffy with great elasticity. No breakage of the cake roll this time! The coffee filling is lovely. The frosting is of the right consistency and taste. Will use this formula in the future. 

I make - Gluten Free Mince Pies 2022

Making mince pies always gets me into the festive mood. Homemade ones are really the best.

Gluten Free Mince Pies 2022

Homemade mincemeat adapted from Nigella Lawson's mincemeat with fresh cranberries

- 60 ml Marsala wine
- 75 g soft dark brown sugar
- 300 g fresh/frozen cranberries
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- 120 grams raisins
- 60 grams dried sour cherries
- finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange
- 25 ml Amaretto
- 3 drops almond extract
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons honey

Pie pastry for 12 muffin-size tins (with some scraps):

- 120 g rice flour*
- 60 g cornstarch*
- 40 g ground almond
- 3/4 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2-3 tablespoons caster sugar
- 110 g butter, cut into 1-cm cubes
- 1 egg

- 1 tbsp vodka (or just enough to bring the dough together)

Frangipane topping:

- 75 g butter, melted
- 75 g sugar
- 75 g ground almond
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp almond (or almond) extract
- almond flakes to decorate the top (optional)

Note: The butter, sugar and ground almond can increase to 100 g each if more frangipane is required. There is no need to increase the egg or the almond extract.

First, make the mincemeat. Put everything in a pot except the last four ingredients (Amaretto, almond extract, vanilla and honey). Bring the pot to boil and reduce the heat to low. Cook with the lid on for the first 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to ensure everything well mixed. Remove the lid and cook for another 10 minutes or until all liquid has been absorbed. Crush the fresh cranberries gently with the back of the stirring spoon. Remove from the heat and allow to cool a while before adding the Amaretto, almond extract, vanilla extract and honey. Stir well with a wooden spoon to mash the mixture down into a paste.  Spoon the mincemeat into sterilised jars and, once cool, store in the fridge for up to two weeks.

To make the pie crust, mix ingredients from rice flour to sugar in a bowl. Put diced butter in the same flour bowl and rub in the butter pieces with fingertips until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Crack the egg into the mixture and mix it in with a fork or chopsticks. Drizzle in some vodka to bring the dough together. Depending on the condition of the day, you may need more or less than the liquid specified. If you can squeeze two pieces of dough together without breaking, it's ready. 

Chill the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (longer the better). When it's ready to bake, preheat the oven to 200C. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll the dough out with a thickness of 0.3 cm (about a pound coin thick). Cut into 10-cm circles and press into the muffin hole to line the mould. The dough is enough to cover a 12-muffin tin. I find it helpful to lay a strip of 15-20cm baking paper on the bottom of each muffin holes and place the dough on top of it. It makes removing piping hot mince pies out a lot easier.

Mix all frangipane ingredients in a bowl. Put a scant tablespoon of mincemeat into each muffin hole and fill the pie to the brim of the crust with frangipane filling. Finally scatter some almond flakes on top.

Bake at 200C for 20-25 minutes. Rotate half way through. Enjoy.

*You can use same amount of gluten free flour in place of rice flour and cornstarch combined.

*Sadly I no longer tolerate oats. If you can, substitute 30 g of oat flour for the flour.

I make - Coconut Flour Mochi

This has to be the recipe of most surprise for me to make ever. I didn't know what to expect, except that I have all ingredients at hand and my desire to eat mochi quickly. The wonder of Internet led me to this video showing how quickly I can make mochi and eat it! The result is exactly as shown, warm, chewy and quick. Just fabulous.

Coconut Flour Mochi

30 g Coconut flour
22 g Psyllium husk powder
20 g sweetener or sugar
225 g water or other types of liquid
tiny pinch of salt

Mix everything together and stir together to make a paste. Leave the dough to rest for 10-15 minutes. 

Divide the dough into 3 pieces if using filling, 6 if eating plain. You can fry the filled dough on a lightly oiled pan until both sides turn golden. Alternatively, you can also microwave the plain dough.

My reflections on 2022

It's been a long while since I wrote. I hope all of you are warm and well, ready for the end of the year holidays.

Just a week before we officially celebrate the birth of Jesus, Constitution day in Taiwan, or my niece's birthday, 2022 has gone in a flash. So many things have happened. Mostly satisfactory and for sure I am grateful for everything.  

Let me start with the only thing which bothered me. My boss put forward a promotion plan back in November for me as well as my colleague for the same title. Spoiler first, we both got the promotion. Knowing how much effort and time I've put in and in the end we both promoted to the same position leaves a unpleasant taste in my mouth. Why working extra time at nights and during weekends if in the end it seems making no difference? The hurtful point is that I actually delivered on the tasks I'm given (more than one person can reasonably handle, may I add) whereas the other colleague for sure has not produced as much and shown much leadership. So perhaps my boss weighted group harmony more than individual achievement? I can't blame him on that but this action has curtailed my motivation to work extra time. I even thought about contacting head hunters. That's how much hurt I've felt.

Ironically, a few weeks later (after being told about the promotion result) my boss told me that I've selected to be in a project management role, not by him but by others in charge. A step up on the ladder, yes, a huge boost in my moral and confidence, absolutely! I feel my hard work and my ability to deliver have finally being seen and recognized. So I now very much look forward to 2023, with new challenges and new projects on the horizon. We leave a trail where we go. It's true.

Next year my mini group will grow from 2 to 4! Being a group leader is certainly an interesting and humble experience for me. Knowing that I may be part of someone's professional experience is quite scary and refreshing. It makes me want to be a better scientist. Both of my group members are hard working, smart and with lots of self drives. I am very lucky to have them.

I visited home in November first time in 3 years. It's incredible to see how a tiny little virus stops the world from running its usual. Everyone is well but my parents are undoubtedly aging. I have to say that the thought of moving back has surfaced more than usual these days.

The funny thing is that my 9-yr old niece wants to talk to me weekly. I don't how long it would last. I am flattered that she wants to talk to a last-century person. Ha!

So that's my 2022. I talked mostly about work as this is something important for me. I am still surrounded by people I care. Lucky to be so lucky.

Nancy Pelosi

Thank you, Mrs Pelosi. Taiwan has been suppressed and excluded from the international stage as long as I remember and in 2022 you shared the spotlight with us making the world see and hear who we are. I am forever grateful.

Lost, but found!

I recently got my step counter. Yes I know it's so last decade but I am really into it. Two weeks on I lost it!! On the morning I was due to meet my friend, I clipped it onto my belt loop thinking that I was going to clock in thousands of steps today. Of course the day went by fast as usual. By the time I remembered to check my step count. It's GONE! Gone! How can I lose it only after two week?! I was gutted. Really annoyed by myself. I knew it's prone to be dislodged but usually I caught it by the sound. But not this time.

Next day getting driven to work, what's this thing at the back of my seat? It's my step counter!! My Step Counter is back!! Super happy knowing that I didn't lose it after all. Well, I did lose it as soon as I got out of the car yesterday. No matter. I am soooo pleased that it's now back with me.

Muuuaaaah!

Happy Jubilee!

I make - Corn Tortilla

First time making corn tortilla for tacos tonight. Worked out marvelously. 

Corn tortilla

1 cup pre-cooked corn meal such as PAN (I used white corn version)
2 tsp ground flaxseeds
1/2 tsp salt
1 ~ 1 1/4 cup water

Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. Stir in water 1/4 cup at a time to the flour bowl. Knead the dough a few times when most of the water is in. I find a gloved or wet hand helpful. Depending on where you live, you may need more or less of the specified water. Your aim is to obtain one cohesive and nonsticky dough ball. Rest the dough for 30 minutes.

Divide the dough into 6 pieces. Flatten each piece and roll out to a circle of 16-cm. It's easier to do that between two sheets of cling film or baking paper. The dough will be thin. Dry roast each tortilla in a skillet on medium heat until it starts to puff. Remove the tortilla to a plate. Cover with a tea towel when you roast the next. 

08 May 2022

It must be true: the more miserable I am, the more prolific this blog is. There are longer and longer pauses here. Not that I don't have anything to write. Quite the contrary. It's really the time I need to write which is lacking. If you happen to stumble over here, no news is good news. Really.

What's been happening in my life? Well, did I tell you that I flunk my endoscopy exam? Flunking is really what I feel because I've tried so hard to be meticulously gluten free. I even made myself believe that I was fully healed. But no, according to the results, damages are still there. After reviewing my cupboard again and compare the symptoms pop up with food eaten at the time, I hate to admit that it may be oats. OATS! One of my favorite foods and an ingredient which makes gluten free baking more tolerable. I really start to think that it's God's intention to punish my gluttony. What more do I have to let go? Knock on wood, my eczema has stayed put since I stayed away from oats. I won't find out until my next endoscopy whether oats is the reason. Please let oats be the reason, as painful as it may be. I don't want to waste more NHS resources and I want to free my mind of food damaging my health. 

I bought some flower bulbs from a sale at Homebase yesterday. Today, I planted begonia, anemones and dahlia in as many pots as I can find. Summer awaits.

I stand with Ukraine

 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-60506682

I am so sad and angry about the war. I don't know what to do. I can just donate. I feel so useless.

29 Jan 2022

The first month is almost gone. Can you believe it? I was told that when you start to feel time flying past like a shooting star, it's a firm sign of aging. Well, perhaps there is something true there.

Workwise, things continue to flourish. Got my biggest raise ever in life (double digits). Only 6 months in, it was a truly nice surprise. I thought there must be a mistake somewhere when I first saw it but I was eventually convinced by the pay cheque. Wow, not in a million years would I imagine this kind of treatment. Thank YOU!

And my last endoscopy results came back. It's not good. My guts are not healing and there must still be gluten hidden somewhere. This is so frustrating. I've done my best to switch to gluten free and I don't even try to cheat. Fair to say that I have rewired my brain more successfully than actual practice. So back to square one. What have I missed? While preparing dinner yesterday, it dawned on me, hondashi powder from Ajinomoto. I realized that I haven't thought about checking its ingredients ever. And of course, my worst suspicion was confirmed. I made the decision based on one chinese and one English posts, both showing the actual ingredients on the pack of the package. Both listed maltose, hydrolyzed wheat protein and yeast extract. Maltose is for sure from wheat/barley. I feel so stupid. Need to check my other stock cubes. Yeast extract is a mysterious thing. It can come from beer making by product which is of course full of gluten. 

I am disappointed and really gutted that I didn't realize sooner. Overall I feel fine even though my few finger tips continue to peel (it used to be 10). I had naively thought it's just the small annoyance. No, it's my body sending signals something not right. Need to be more diligent.

Updated: Asda's own brand vegetarian stock cubes carry May Contain warning about gluten. arrhhh...

I watched - A Star is Born

Happy New Year to you, my friends.

On the first day of 2022, I finished the movie, A Star is Born (2018). Ok, I was very late to appreciate the movie and in fact had been lukewarm until now. Wow, what a brilliant and refreshing remake of the original from 1937. And Cooper and Lady Gaga are just wonderful in the movie, very believable and compelling acting. And the songs are as mesmerizing for a story with which I feel deeply connected. 

Last couple of days before I return to work. I miss my movies and drama series.