Kohlslaw

purple kohlrabi, daikon, and carrot slaw

Every year I eagerly await spring not just for the burst of colors everywhere but also for the fresh vegetables that I sorely miss during winter. I recently purchased some purple kohlrabi and orange beets. I have cooked white kohlrabi once before, I added it to boiled corned beef in place of cabbage and I liked its mild slightly sweet flavor. This time I made it into an Asian-style slaw with wasabi dressing. The combination of kohlrabi, daikon, carrots, and wasabi makes this kohlslaw the perfect side to the Korean steak cubes I cooked for lunch today. And with steamed Japanese rice and preserved sliced ginger we had a very satisfying meal.

Kohlrabi Slaw
1 large kohlrabi, unpeeled and cut into matchsticks
half a medium daikon, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1 small carrot, cut into matchsticks
1 scallion, thinly sliced
¼ C rice vinegar
3 tsp wasabi powder
2 tsp sugar
1 T soy sauce
1 T good sesame seed oil
1 tsp sea salt

• In a medium bowl, whisk together rice vinegar, wasabi powder, sugar, salt, soy sauce, and sesame seed oil. Add the vegetables and mix to coat well with the dressing. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour before serving.

Note: The vegetables may be shredded as in cabbage slaw, if preferred.

Kohlrabi tastes mild and very similar to daikon and the purple ones have a slightly stronger flavor than the whites, although I love them both. I like it even better uncooked for its crunch and sweetish jicama-like texture.

A Personality Test

I got tagged by gizelle for a personality test and here is the result:



ENTP - The "Originator"

ENTPs are logical, innovative, curious and downright inventive. They see possibilities for improvement everywhere and possess the ability to understand complex concepts. ENTPs are introspective and carefree nonconformists. They often neglect the more common areas of life while pursuing new solutions. ENTPs can be good conversationalists and exciting company.

ENTPs are idea people. Their perceptive abilities cause them to see possibilities everywhere. They get excited and enthusiatic about their ideas, and are able to spread their enthusiasm to others. In this way, they get the support they need to fulfill their visions.

The full description: Portrait of an ENTP

I don't know if I agree with the result completely and not sure if it is accurate although I am quite thrilled to be in the company of Nikola Tesla, Julia Child, and Alfred Hitchcock. I answered the questions as close to my preferrences as possible. In a few of the questions I was somewhat conflicted and took a little bit longer to pick my choice because I sort of felt strongly for both answers. I can't describe it clearly but if you get to answer the questions you'll know what I mean.

I'm tagging the following for this test (if they feel like doing it): Raissa, Ruy, Marvin, Christine, and Dhanggit.

Click here to take the test.

Update: April 14, 2008

I took the Multiple Intelligences test after reading Christine's and here is the result:



I'm an average writer and speaker but I love reading (I consider my books my most cherished possessions) and I enjoy doing crossword puzzles which might explain the high verbal/linguistic category, and of course I love listening to my music. I also used to dabble in painting (not very good at it) and while I'm not great in photography it is one of my favorite hobbies which includes gardening.

Longaniza And Sardines Sandwich

pandesal filled with longaniza, brisling sardines, shallot, red chile, and oregano

My lunch today was inspired by the movie and novel by Laura Esquivel, Like Water For Chocolate. It is a quirky strange dramedy that was released in 1992 but I never was interested to watch it until Raissa recommended it a few weeks ago. I watch a ton of foreign language movies but I usually ignore Spanish and Italian movies because I find them too melodramatic. I finally watched the movie and I enjoyed it a lot. I also borrowed the book from the library and will read it this weekend. The first chapter has the recipe for the Christmas buns which has the most unusual combination of chorizo and canned sardines mixed with oregano, canned serrano chiles, and chopped onion. I made my own sandwich version using Filipino Vigan-style longaniza, brisling sardines in olive oil, shallots, and fresh red chiles. I had the sandwiches, yes I ate two, with pickled green mangoes and tomatoes sprinkled with sea salt. The sandwiches are very good, strange but good. BTW, the book also has a recipe for making matches just in case anybody wants to make and eat them.:-)

Longaniza And Sardines Sandwich
½ pound longaniza, Vigan-style
1 can brisling sardines or Spanish sardines, drained, deboned and cut into chunks
1 small shallot, finely chopped
1 hot red pepper, finely chopped
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
10 pieces pandesal

• In a medium pan over medium heat, boil longaniza and 3 T water, covered, until all the water has evaporated. Remove casings, lower heat and let sausages fry in its own fat. Do not let longaniza get brown.
• While longaniza is frying combine sardines, chopped chiles, onion, and oregano. Coarsely chop the cooked longaniza and add to the sardine mixture, mixing gently. Leave for 30 minutes.
• Slice pandesal and fill with longaniza and sardine mixture. Heat in a 300 degree oven for 12 minutes or until top of pandesal is golden brown. Serve with pickled green mangoes and tomatoes, or salad greens.

Next food inspired by a movie: Adam's Apple Pie from the Danish film Adam's Apples.

Coconut Cupcakes

I'm into coconut these days. Last week I made buco pie layered with custard, it is so rich and yummy it was gone in a matter of days. I have also been curious as to why coconut cake and cupcakes are becoming very popular. I decided to bake some to see what the fuss is about.

I didn't like the recipe in my cupcake cookbook and found Martha Stewart's recipe which really appealed to me. I adapted the recipe using less sugar and very little butter because the recipe also has shredded coconut as well as coconut milk and I thought using all butter would make the cupcakes too rich. I also toasted dried coconut chips instead of fresh. The cupcakes are very very good, they're soft and the taste of coconut is perfect, not too strong nor too weak, and I love the toasted coconut garnish which adds crunch and more flavor to the yummy cupcakes. It's almost like baked puto, IMHO, I really like them. The following recipe for the cupcake is Martha's in its entirety but the White Mountain Frosting which in my opinion is easier to make is from another cookbook. Click on Martha's name for her frosting recipe.

Coconut Cupcakes
adapted from Martha Stewart's recipe
3 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 sticks butter, room temperature
2¼ cups sugar
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup coconut milk
8 large egg whites
1¼ cups shredded fresh coconut
roasted coconut chips, for garnish

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 standard 12-cup muffin pans wit paper liners; set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a bowl of electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the flour, beat until just combined. Transfer mixture to a large bowl; set aside.
• In the clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites on low speed until foamy. With mixer running, gradually add remaining ¼ cup sugar, beat on high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 4 minutes. Do not overbeat. Gently fold a third of the egg white mixture into the butter-flour mixture until combined. Gently fold in remaining egg white mixture; stir in shredded coconut. Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling each with a heaping ¼ cup batter.
• Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until the cupcakes are golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack. Invert cupcakes onto a rack, flip and let cool completely, top sides up. Frost cupcakes, swirling to cover. Cupcakes may be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Garnish with toasted coconut just before serving.

White Mountain Frosting
½ cup sugar
¼ cup light corn syrup
2 tablespoons water
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla

• Mix sugar, corn syrup, and water in a medium saucepan. Cover and heat to rolling boil over medium heat. Uncover and boil rapidly to 242° on candy thermometer. As the mixture boils, beat egg whites in a large bowl just until stiff peaks form. Pour hot syrup very slowly in thin stream into egg whites, beating constantly on medium speed. Add vanilla, beat on high speed until stiff peaks form.

dried coconut chips

love those toasted coconuts