November 10, 2015

Deep Fried Apple Pie

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I never was into McD's apple pie maybe because my tongue got burnt the first time I tried it many many moons ago and I remember it too sweet for my taste.

I didn't know they are now baked instead of deep fried. People who grew up eating the fried version miss the flavor and cooked their own. Serious Eats even bought the baked pies and deep fried them in their kitchen just the way the pies should be.

October 20, 2015

Cherry Sultana Cake

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I first tasted this moist delicious cake over 25 years ago. The cakes which were from Australia came in a sealed tin that you open with a can opener. I remember the cake was chock-full of moist cherries and golden raisins, not cloyingly sweet, and mildly spiked with liqueur. I don't think stores will ever sell this cake where I live; I can't even find them being sold online They are probably no longer sold in tins, I don't know. Thankfully, there are tons of recipes online and I was able to combine them to make my own moist Cherry Sultana Cake.

October 18, 2015

Crunchy Candied Pumpkin and Spiced Pumpkin Coffee Ice Cream

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I see pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere, and most of the food blogs I visit are still gaga over the Starbucks™ Pumpkin Spice Latte. I haven't tried their seasonal drink [I've never set foot in a Starbucks™ in over 20 years.] but I have made the yummy treat a few times before. The recipe is here.

October 16, 2015

Pastillas De Leche

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Pastillas de leche literally means milk bars, pills, or tablets. I'd go with the bars, as in chocolate bars They are teeny tiny, usually less than 1 inch long and ½ inch thick, made with fresh milk, sugar, a little butter, and powdered milk, and optional natural fruit flavoring such as purple yam (ube) and jackfruit. The original candies were made with carabao's (water buffalo) milk which has a higher fat content than cow's milk. I made it a few times before. This time I ended up making 3 batches because the first was a complete fail although I rescued it and made it into milk caramel spread. The second one is plain milk and I added Milo malt drink powder into the third batch.

October 11, 2015

Kouign Amann

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I was binge-watching The Great British Baking Show on Netflix. I love the show (except for the finale). The hosts are funny and entertaining and the baketestants sometimes are too.

One of the "technical" bakes was Kouign amann. None of the bakers knew or even heard of the Breton bread, much less how to pronounce it. I was surprised because I baked this delicious crunchy with caramelized sugar bread almost 8 years ago when I read about it on David Lebovitz's blog. I've never baked it into small muffin size though and don't remember it being flaky or with visible layers like croissants.

The recipe is Paul Hollywood's, one of the two judges on the show. BTW, most of the recipes are posted on PBS website. I like these too but I remember the Kouign amann made with David's recipe tasted better probably because it has more sugar than Paul's.

September 8, 2015

Caramel Apple Butter And Apple Mint Jelly

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Autumn is almost here, I can already smell it. It's time to make apple butter, jam, and jelly when a wide variety of apples are available in farmer's markets (or grocery stores that sell local produce). Caramel apple butter sounds really good when I heard about it. It really is and with a little sea salt it tastes fantastic. I added a few sprigs of fresh spearmint from my garden while cooking the jelly. I love its subtle flavor. So good.

August 31, 2015

Snow Skin Mooncake

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I have been trying for a few years now to find or make the toasted glutinous rice for snow skin mooncake without any success. I finally decided to cook the dough/skin on the stove and it actually works. The skin is soft and easy to use. I don't really mind the additional step. The mooncakes are great but I still prefer the baked ones because of their soft cake-y shells.


August 27, 2015

Crispy Sauerkraut Fritters

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At last, after 1 month of waiting, my lacto fermented sauerkraut is ready and it is delicious, crunchy, and sour. I rarely eat sauerkraut and never knew homemade could be so yummy. Adding it into crispy fritters with smoked sausage and bacon makes it extra scrumptious. Although I might have lost some of the lacto fermentation beneficial nutrients, the fritters are worth the loss. They are crispy and tangy, and with the honey mustard sauce, they're quite addicting. I could easily scarf down half a dozen, maybe more, in one sitting.

August 23, 2015

Golden Syrup

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the recipe for the dark thick syrup in the middle is provided below

Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival is 35 days from today, on September 27, 2015, which means plenty of time to make delicious mooncakes. I use Lyle's Golden Syrup which is too expensive, about $7.00 for an 11-ounce jar, so I looked online for homemade golden syrup so I can make lots of mooncakes. Golden syrup is an invert sugar syrup that needs acid to prevent crystallization.


August 13, 2015

Sourdough Barley Bread

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I borrowed from our library a German cookbook titled NEW GERMAN COOKING by Jeremy and Jessica Nolen, published in January 2015. I was not planning to cook German food; I was just curious and because I love reading cookbooks. Two recipes caught my eye: Crispy Sauerkraut Fritters and Sourdough Barley Bread. My sauerkraut still needs a week to ferment, so bread it is. I'll make the fritters next week. The store-bought sauerkraut won't do.

 
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