Maple Sugar Iced Tea

It's still early spring but we are having a summer-like weather. Today the temperature will go as high as 80 degrees. I'm just starting my vegetable garden and staying outside clearing the yard of winter debris in this hot weather makes me exhausted and I get dehydrated quickly. But it's the perfect time to make gallons of sweet iced tea. Not just any iced tea but similar to the one served in restaurants in the Philippines, I think in the late 70s or maybe early 80s, called Butterfly iced tea. The iced tea was so popular the people who owned the restaurant and the drink started selling concentrate in gallon jugs at the supermarkets. But the drink disappeared just like that, never to be heard of again, it's a mystery. I read that somebody interviewed the owners who for some reason would not even talk about the ice tea and its demise. Odd.

Anyway, I have been making an iced tea drink that tastes similar to the Butterfly iced tea. The not-so-secret ingredient is maple extract. The flavor becomes unique when combined with the juice of the Philippine lime, calamansi, although lemon juice is equally wonderful with the maple flavor. Maple sugar is sold at most grocery stores but it is super expensive and maple flavoring is available at King Arthur Flour online and catalog.

A year ago I discovered an unopened jar of maple syrup that has expired. I don't really understand why it has an expiration date, it's sugar syrup, why should it go bad. Instead of throwing it away I boiled the syrup down, dried the crystals, broke them into large chunks, and that's what I use together with raw sugar to sweeten the iced tea. Yum. I could finish a gallon of this stuff in a day.:-)

Maple Sugar Iced Tea
makes approximately 4 cups
3 English breakfast tea bags
2 cups boiling water
maple sugar or syrup, to taste
raw sugar (demerara), to taste
juice of 1 lemon, strained
1 cup ice cold water
1½ cups ice

• Brew tea in boiling water. Discard bags. Add maple syrup or sugar and raw sugar until dissolved. Add the juice, water, and ice. Enjoy.

MellowBakers Bagels

Although I love homemade bagels I was a bit reluctant to bake them for the MellowBakers. I have the option to skip it but after reading Paul's post I changed my mind; his bagels are very pretty and nicely golden brown [my bagels always come out anemic]. And I'm glad I did because I love the flavor and chew of Hamelman's bagels. They are as good as BBA's but the procedure has an added step of leaving the boiled doughs in ice water before baking. I'll be honest, I omitted this step because I find the 3-minute ice bath too long and what's the reason for it when the bagels are going immediately into the oven anyway.

Aside from looking like vampire bagels, they are thinner and have larger holes than what you normally buy from the stores and I found out from Paul that this is Montreal style and the fat ones with almost no holes are New York style. I never knew that. Thanks Paul. I don't have any preference as long as the bagel is yummy and chewy....and these are yummy and chewy....and really nice with grated young Gouda cheese mixed with chopped roasted sweet yellow or red bell pepper (pimiento) and a tablespoon of mayonnaise.

If anybody wants to try making these bagels here is the recipe.

Brunswick Stew

The 2010 April Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Wolf of Wolf’s Den. She chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make Brunswick Stew. Wolf chose recipes for her challenge from The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook by Matt Lee and Ted Lee, and from the Callaway, Virginia Ruritan Club.

Brunswick Stew is a classic Southern stew that has various meats and vegetables slowly simmered until thick enough a spoon will be able to stand up in the middle without falling over. Brunswick County, Virginians claim they invented the stew in 1828 when Dr. Creed Haskins of the Virginia state legislature asked for a special squirrel stew from a camp cook, Jimmy Matthews, to feed people attending a political rally. Brunswick, Georgia residents claim theirs is the original. The earlier stew had ingredients of game, usually squirrel, and corn, and simmered in large iron pots over open fire. Nowadays it's made with chicken or a combination of several meats such as rabbit, beef, and pork. The vegetables are onions, corn, and tomatoes, and many recipes have lima or butter beans, peas, and maybe okra.

I have lived here in Virginia for 18 years but never had Brunswick Stew so I was enthusiastic and eager to try it. We were given 2 recipe choices, a long one and a shortened version which has precooked variety of meats. I chose the shortened one because I already have in the freezer precooked chicken, turkey, and a mystery bird that I mistakenly bought from the Korean grocery a week before the recipe challenge was announced. The label on the package said fowl which I didn't notice when I picked it up. I was looking for the smallest chicken and it was small at just over a pound. I realized my mistake when I got home and boiled it anyway with some seasonings and vegetables. I removed the bones and froze the meat and its broth for later use. The bird, which could be a game hen but not the same as Cornish hens as it didn't look like one, is very lean with very white breast meat and very dark thin tough legs. Probably the reason I kept it instead of returning it to the store is it was destined to be made into Brunswick stew. And it was a good mistake too because the fowl's slight gamey flavor, definitely stronger than chicken, was a fantastic addition to the medley of flavors of turkey, chicken, ham, crumbled fried bacon, onions, Yukon gold potatoes, carrots, baby lima beans, tomatoes, sweet corn, and herbs [I used fresh thyme, sage, marjoram, and bay leaves] which I bundled in a piece of cheesecloth together with a few black peppercorns and 2 ripe jalapeño chilis for a little kick. The very yummy stew was simmered for more than 2 hours in a combination of chicken and fowl broth and a small amount of fresh tomato juice until very very thick. I love the stew alone, with sliced white bread, or with freshly baked flaky buttery biscuits. I will definitely make this stew again with other meat combination such as rabbit and veal. Thank you Wolf for choosing this awesome stew for April 2010 Daring Cooks challenge.

This is the recipe I used (I omitted the tablespoon of sugar):
2½ pounds total diced stewed chicken, turkey, and ham, with broth
3 medium diced potatoes
2 medium ripe crushed tomatoes
2 medium diced onions
3 cups corn kernels
1½ cups frozen baby lima beans
2 carrots, diced
4 strips crumbled bacon
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon sugar
salt and pepper
fresh tomato juice

• In large stock pot or Dutch oven, mix all ingredients until bubbly and hot. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add tomato juice as desired. Cook until all vegetables are tender and stew has thickened. Serve hot with flaky biscuits or corn bread.

Or you can try this:
Brunswick County, Virginia Brunswick Stew recipe

Montelimar-style Nougat

Here is a treat for you this week: French Nougat. Not just any nougat but Montelimar-style nougat. The place known for this candy was mentioned in George Harrison's/Beatles Savoy Truffle and I have been looking for a recipe for maybe forever. Thank goodness for the internet and now you'll find plenty of similar recipes for Montelimar-style nougat. The recipe I chose to adapt seemed like the most authentic-sounding and I used lavender honey for the honey. I tell you the candies are soooo good. You can't eat just one.

To make the candies I used potato wafer sheets. The rice or potato papers taste and look like communion wafers (host) and are called ostia in Italy (torrone) and in Spain (turron). I love to wrap crunchy almond praline in it and munch on the plain scraps which always remind of Holy Communion. You can purchase the papers here or here.

Montelimar-style Nougat
two sheets rice or potato paper
1½ cups sugar
¾ cup honey
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
¾ cup water
3 egg whites, room temperature
½ teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon brandy
1½ cups whole blanched almonds, toasted
3 tablespoons chopped pistachios
¼ teaspoon salt

• Line a 7 x 11-inch pan with one rice paper and set it aside.
• In a large saucepan, dissolve the sugar, honey, corn syrup, and water, and bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly. Begin to beat the egg whites while the sugar mixture continues cooking. Clip a candy thermometer on the side of the pan and continue cooking without stirring.
• Beat the egg whites on high until stiff, wet peaks form.
• Once the sugar syrup reaches 300°F, pour it very slowly and steadily into the egg whites, whisking them the entire time. Add the lemon zest and continue whisking the hot nougat mixture for 10 minutes, until it cools slightly and thickens.
• Stir the vanilla, brandy, almonds, pistachios, and salt into the nougat and quickly spread it onto the prepared pan. Gently place the second piece of rice paper on top of the nougat and evenly press it into the nougat so that no air bubbles remain.
• Cover the nougat in an airtight container or plastic wrap and allow it to set for 3 to 5 days before cutting into 1-inch squares. Wrap individually in plastic film.

Rustic Bread

Rustic Bread is one of the 3 recipes that we MellowBakers are baking this month of April, 2010. The other 2 are Bagels, and Light Rye Bread.

Jeffrey Hamelman's Rustic Bread recipe is a fairly easy bread to make although it takes 2 days. The first day is for the preferment which is making a stiff dough with flour, water, salt, and a small amount of commercial yeast, leaving it on the kitchen counter for 12 to 16 hours. The next day is pretty much the same, mix bread flour, a little whole rye and whole wheat flour with water, salt, yeast, and the preferment. Bulk fermentation is 2½ hours with two folds after every 50 minutes, then the dough is divided and shaped into rounds [I shaped mine into fat batards] and made to rise for 1½ hours then off they go in a 450°F steamy oven . Easy peasy.

The bread is soft, chewy, and flavorful and I like it even more the next day, but not after that. Well, they didn't last beyond 3 days so no problem there. This could be a regular bread in my house. It's good for sandwiches or dipping into soups or stews.

Pork Belly Sisig

I have made pork belly sisig a few times already and it has become one of my favorite Filipino dishes. Its yummyness factor is way at the top, even Anthony Bordain loved it. Crispy pork is maybe the reason I won't consider being a vegan. I love vegetables as a side dish and tofu in all its forms but it's not fun to eat without meat and poultry dishes. The original pork sisig has a whole pork head but where in the world would I find that? Maybe at the farmer's market? Anyway, I made pork belly confit (bagnet or lechon kawali) and boiled some pork ears together with a few pieces of chicken livers. With lots of fresh calamansi juice I was in spicy hog goodness heaven. 

Pork Belly Sisig 

2 pork ears water 

2 pieces chicken liver 

2 teaspoons sea salt 

1 cup pineapple juice 

1 cup water 

¼ teaspoon whole black peppercorns 

1 tablespoon calamansi or lemon juice 

freshly cooked lechon kawali, homemade or store bought 

1 tablespoon white coconut vinegar 

1 sweet onion, chopped 

sea salt and ground pepper, to taste 

bird's eye chili, chopped, to taste

• Wash the ears well and place in a medium saucepan. Add water to cover and let boil. Drain and discard water. Add the chicken liver, salt, juice, water, and peppercorns. Let come to a boil, cover, and simmer over low-medium heat for 45 minutes.
• Remove pork and liver and discard the boiling liquid. Grill the pork ears until brown and crisp.
• Heat a cast iron skillet to sizzling hot.
• Chop the lechon kawali, pork ears, and liver into small cubes and place in a glass bowl. Add the calamansi or lemon juice, chopped onion, vinegar, salt, pepper, and chilis. Mix well. Place the meat mixture into the sizzling skillet. Serve immediately with calamansi and chilies on the side.

Apple Caramel Turnovers

stewed apples with gooey chewy caramel in flaky buttery crust

I can't remember the last time I ate Mickey D's apple pie turnovers. They are yummy and sweet and I like them even if they are so greasy and very hot they used to burn my tongue. Inspired by those turnovers I stewed some apples in a little sugar and water and baked a few pieces. Maybe I'll deep fry some just to compare the flakiness of the crust. For the filling I added 1 chopped caramel candy on top of the apple filling. The flavor of apples and caramel together is just divine. The apple becomes so soft and the caramel candy gooey, chewy, and sticky. Mmmmm.

Apple Caramel Turnovers
2 apples, peeled, cored, and finely diced
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons sugar
½ tablespoon butter
homemade or store-bought pie crust
caramel candies, chopped

• In a small skillet, cook the apples, water, and sugar until apples are tender but not mushy and the mixture is almost dry. Stir in the butter. Transfer into a small container, cover, and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
• Roll pie crust into a rectangle until of desired thickness. Cut rectangles 8 x 3 inches long and wide. Place a tablespoon of apple filling in the middle of the half part of the rectangles. Top with 1 chopped caramel candy. Fold the other half over and seal the edges.

• Place turnovers on a baking sheet. With the tip of a knife, make 2 small slits on top of each turnover. Bake in a 425°F oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Pie crust recipe is here.

Egg and Mushrooms In A Cup

This is my version of oeufs en cocotte, the soft, creamy, and delicious eggs baked or poached in small pots or ramekins called cocottes. I don't have those mini cast iron or ceramic pots so I cooked the eggs in my small glass coffee cups because my ramekins are presently occupied. The coffee cups are a bit tall which I found out is better because they hold more yummy sauteed mushrooms. I also didn't bake them as it's easier and faster to poach them in a saucepan directly on the stove and there is no need to heat up the oven.

There are many versions of this egg dish. Some have bacon, cream, and/or cheese and some recipes don't have anything but 2 eggs in a buttered ramekin, but you can use whatever fancies you. I prefer the eggs with button mushrooms simply sauteed in extra virgin olive oil with shallots and seasoned with sea salt and a little minced parsley. The cooked mushrooms are layered alternately with a spoonful of crème fraîche before topping with an egg and poaching in gently simmering water. I love it with slightly sweet toasted brioche fingers which you can use to poke the egg to reveal the pretty runny yolk. I don't mind having this often for breakfast, brunch, and yes, for dinner too.

Oeufs en Cocotte
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or butter
2 large shallots, sliced
20 pieces button mushrooms, sliced
1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
a pinch of ground white pepper
2 teaspoons minced flat-leaf parsley
crème fraîche
4 eggs
sea salt

• In a skillet, heat oil or butter and saute shallots and mushrooms over high heat until mushrooms are golden. Turn off heat and stir in salt, pepper, and 1 teaspoon parsley.
• Divide mixture into 8 portions. Spoon one portion on the bottom of a ramekin, add a tablespoon of cream, repeat one more time. Crack one egg on top of each filled ramekin and sprinkle with a little sea salt.
• Bake in a bain marie in a preheated 350°F oven until the tops are set but yolks are still runny, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining parsley. Serve with croutons or toasted brioche fingers.

so simple to make yet so satisfying

To make homemade crème fraîche: In a small jar, stir 1 tablespoon buttermilk into 1 cup heavy cream. Cover the jar and leave on the kitchen counter for 24 hours or until the mixture has set. Refrigerate immediately. This will keep for 2 weeks in the refrigerator. This is very good as topping for baked potatoes or sweet potatoes.

Peter Reinhart's Biscuits

One of the enriched baking powder breads in Peter Reinhart's baking book Artisan Breads Every Day is biscuits which he calls The Best Biscuits Ever, and I agree with him. The recipe is so rich with a whole cup of heavy cream and half a cup of butter in less than 2 cups of flour. It's richer than any biscuits and scones I have ever baked. They are very flaky and truly delicious but if you are health conscious, buttermilk is a good substitute for the cream and will still be very yummy.

The Best Biscuits Ever
adapted from Artisan Bread Every Day by Peter Reinhart

½ cup unsalted butter
1¾ cups all-purpose flour, sifted (I used 2 cups)
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon kosher salt
extra all-purpose flour for dusting
1 cup very cold heavy cream mixed with 2 tablespoons lemon juice or cider vinegar

• Leave the butter in the freezer for 30 minutes until firm. In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, and salt. Using the large holes of a grater, grate the butter directly onto the flour. Mix with a spoon or spatula and add the cream.

Fresh Spring Rolls

Fried or fresh spring roll is perhaps the food Filipinos are most identified with. Our lumpia wrapper, made with just 2 ingredients, flour and water, in my opinion is the best spring roll wrapper. Because it is very thin it becomes crispy when fried and so light when used as wrapper for vegetable fresh spring rolls.

I made fresh spring rolls with tofu and chickpeas instead of the usual prawns and pork. Because I heart tofu I'm not the least bit surprised that I love this vegan version. I don't eat eat tofu every day but I don't mind having it once a week.

Fresh Spring Rolls
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
½ cup onion, sliced thin
1 cup fried tofu, coarsely chopped
1 vegetable cube
3 tablespoons water
1 teaspoons sea salt, or to taste
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup green beans, julienned
1 cup cabbage, shredded
1 cup carrots, julienned
1 cup sweet potato or jicama, julienned
1 cup cooked garbanzos (chickpeas)
¼ cup chopped roasted peanuts, optional
curly green lettuce
store bought lumpia wrapper
brown sauce
minced garlic

• In a wok or large sauce pan, heat the oil and stir fry garlic and onion for 2 minutes or until onion is translucent. Add the vegetable cube and 1 tablespoon water and stir until cube has dissolved. Add the rest of the vegetables except garbanzos and lettuce.. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender. Add the garbanzos and stir until garbanzos are heated through. Transfer into a bowl and let cool slightly.
  
• Separate the wrappers and steam one at a time over simmering water or in the microwave oven covered with wet towel until soft, about 20 seconds. Lay a lettuce leaf in the middle of the wrapper leaving a few inches off the bottom. Spoon vegetable filling on top of the lettuce, and sprinkle with a teaspoon of peanuts if using. Fold the bottom of the wrapper over the bottom of the lettuce and wrap one side over the filling. Wrap the other side to cover completely, leaving the top exposed. Serve with brown sauce and minced garlic.

Brown Sauce
½ cup sugar
1½ cups water
1½ tablespoons soy sauce
1½ tablespoons cornflour

• Caramelize the sugar in a medium stainless steel saucepan. In a small container, mix soy sauce, cornflour and a little of the water until cornflour is dissolved. Add to the rest of the water. When the sugar has caramelized to a slightly dark brown color, add the water mixture; it will bubble. Let it come to a simmer over medium heat, stirring and scraping the hard sugar constantly until the mixture becomes clear. Transfer into a gravy boat or serving container.

I read somewhere that lumpia wrapper is made with equal parts flour and water. The mixture is brushed thinly on a moderately warm skillet and more of the mixture is brushed on until it is thin enough and cooked just until the edges are dry. I tried making with just half a cup each but it was a FAIL, not epic but still a fail. Some parts were too thick and the edges were too thin. I was just curious and now I know it's not that easy to make flour lumpia wrapper.

This post is for a weekly gallery of food photography, Pinoy style, hosted by Spices.

Hot Cross Buns! Hot Cross Buns!

I joined a new baking group, the Mellow Bakers created by Yumarama Paul and as the name suggests, the baking will be at a more relaxed pace which is just perfect. We will be baking breads from BREAD by Jeffrey Hamelman.

The first bread chosen for the group is Traditional English Hot Cross Buns. Hard to believe but I have never baked nor eaten a hot cross bun, traditional or otherwise. For real.

The recipe is simple and straightforward. Assemble all the ingredients, mix, let rise, shape, bake, and in less than 4 hours you will enjoy munching on delicious, soft, and slightly sweet hot buns studded with currants. The only thing I had a teensy bit problem with was piping the paste on top of the unbaked buns. The paste, made with a combination of flour, oil, and water has a slight slimy consistency and the ends are difficult to break off. It creates a curly tail and sticks to everything making the tips of the crosses untidy. I practiced first on a plate as there was a lot of paste to spare, which I already halved BTW, but as the photo of the baked buns shows, the lines are crooked and the thickness is not uniform. I had to smooth out the curly ends with slightly wet fingertips. It's not a big deal really but next time I'll omit the oil and just mix flour and water until the paste is pipeable. Although I like the syrup for added sweetness, it made everything sticky. I was constantly washing my hands while taking photos and also while eating. I remedied the sticky mess by putting the bun in a 325° F oven to dry out the syrup resulting in a sugar coating that is oh so good. I will surely make these again but with these minor changes; the recipe is a keeper.

I used cute tiny currants and candied lemon peels

practice did not make perfect crosses

soft, sweet, fruity, citrusy, and yummy

Come join and bake with us. Click on the Mellow Baker link above or on the left side bar logo. You can view a recipe based on Hamelman's here.

Eggplant Relleno

Grilled Asian eggplant is one of my favorite vegetables because of its smokey flavor. I usually prepare grilled eggplants and chopped tomato salad with ginger juice and sea salt dressing. It is also delicious simply dipped in beaten egg and pan-fried, Tortang Talong in Flipino. Yesterday I wanted to make egg plant relleno stuffed with vegetables and ground pork but the pork was frozen solid and I didn't want to wait for it to defrost so I used chopped puffed tofu. The result is a very yummy and healthier stuffed eggplants and I didn't notice the absence of pork. I think it tastes even better without because the smokiness of the eggplant is more pronounced. I love it.

Eggplant Relleno

3 Asian eggplants

3 tablespoons light olive oil

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

½ cup chopped onion

½ cup chopped sweet red, yellow, or orange bell pepper

1 tomato, chopped

4 pieces puffed tofu squares, chopped

1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste

pinch of ground black pepper

2 eggs, well beaten and mixed with a pinch of sea salt

• Wash the eggplants, trim the top and leave stems on. Prick all over with the tip of a paring knife. Char the skin of the eggplants directly on the stove fire. Wrap in aluminum foil and leave to cool. When cooled, remove the skin and discard. Transfer eggplants into a plate and flatten. Set aside.
• Heat 1½ tablespoons oil in a skillet and stir fry garlic and onion. Cook until onion is soft, add pepper and tomatoes, stir fry for 2 minutes. Add tofu, salt, and pepper and stir fry for 2 minutes. Transfer into a plate and divide into 3 portions. Wipe the skillet with a piece of paper towel. Heat 1 tablespoon of the remaining oil on medium heat. Place one tofu portion on the skillet, shape it into an oval the size of the eggplant, pour 2 tablespoons of the beaten egg all over the filling and top with one eggplant dipped in beaten egg. Fry for 2 minutes, flip and fry the other side for 1 minute or until light brown. Repeat with the remaining eggplants, adding more oil if necessary. 

Daring Cooks: Risotto

coconut milk and orange risotto pudding with kabocha squash

The 2010 March Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Eleanor of MelbournefoodGeek and Jess of Jessthebaker. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make risotto.

Knowing the only person in my house who will eat risotto is me, I had to prepare one that I will definitely want to eat and write about for my very first Daring Cooks challenge. Revisiting and being inspired by this yummy recipe I cooked a sweet risotto with just 6 ingredients added to the rice: coconut milk, milk, water, sugar, orange peels, and a pinch of salt. I like that it is easier to cook because the arborio rice is preboiled in plain water before adding both milk. The rice is tender and creamy but not mushy nor gummy and the flavor combination of coconut milk and orange essence is simply delightful. The kabocha squash which is boiled separately in coconut milk, water, and sugar is the 'icing' on the pudding. Each serving is drizzled with a little coconut milk and sprinkled with orange zest.

Coconut Risotto Pudding
a quarter of a kabocha squash
2 cups coconut milk
1 cup whole milk
6 tablespoons sugar
1 large orange
½ cup arborio rice
water
a pinch of sea salt

• Cut kabocha lengthwise into 1 inch thick pieces and cook gently with ¾ cup coconut milk and ½ cup water until fork tender, turning once, about 15 minutes. 
• Put 1¼ cups of water and the rice in a medium saucepan . With a vegetable peeler, remove the zest of half of the orange and add to the saucepan.Turn the heat on high and let the mixture come to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan and simmer for 12 minutes or until rice is almost cooked. Add 1 cup coconut milk, milk, sugar, and salt and cook over medium heat while constantly stirring until the rice is tender, about 12 minutes. The pudding should be creamy and not soupy. Remove the orange zest and discard.
• Slice the cooked kabocha. Zest the remaining orange half with a zester. Spoon the risotto pudding into individual bowls, top with a few slices of kabocha. Sprinkle with orange zest and drizzle coconut milk on top. Serve with extra kabocha pieces on the side.

Milo Toast

 Milo and sweetened condensed milk on toasted bread

As a child [up to my 20s], my favorite breakfast drink was Milo malted chocolate powder mixed in ice cold milk. I started drinking coffee in my late twenties and haven't had Milo since. I occasionaly drink Nesquick hot chocolate and sometimes add a little in my coffee, not often because it makes my coffee sweet and I prefer unsweetened coffee.

I read in several Filipino blogs a restaurant in the Philippines that serves Milo Toast, a toasted brown bread topped with dry Milo and a drizzling of sweetened condensed milk. It's a popular breakfast food in Singapore and other Asian cities. I used to eat dry Milo or Ovaltine from a cup. I got the habit from my older sister who was a very picky eater. She was forced by my mother to eat dry Ovaltine because she couldn't stand the combination of Ovaltine/Milo and milk, it made her nauseous. While I didn't have problem with food of any kind, I followed my sister's lead and discovered eating dry Ovaltine or Milo was better as a snack than a drink.

I can't remember the last time we had Milo in the house, maybe more than 20 years ago. We always have Horlicks or Carnation malted milk and Nesquick which doesn't have malt. So I went to the grocery store and bought a small tin of Milo, toasted 2 slices of white bread, topped one with Nesquick and the other with Milo. The Milo won hands down because of two things, flavor and texture. Milo is malted and has granular consistency which is sort of crunchy and I love its tendency to stick to the roof of my mouth. I know I'm weird. And now I'm totally hooked. OMG! Very yummy. Very sweet. Very addicting.

To make Milo Toast: Toast slices of white or whole wheat bread, drizzle all over with sweetened condensed milk, spread Milo on toast, drizzle with more milk. You may also butter the bread before drizzling with milk but I prefer it without. Enjoy the toasts with sunny-side-up fried egg/s and a large mug of coffee or combination coffee and tea with sweetened condensed milk. 

Lasang Pinoy, Sundays: Seafood

LaPis Sundays, a gallery of food photography, Pinoy style, is hosted by SpiCes and Feisty Cook

I prepared the salmon a la Bistek Tagalog (beefsteak) seasoned with calamansi or lemon juice and soy sauce, and served on a bed of sauteed sweet onions

Fried Salmon Steaks and Onions
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large sweet onion, sliced into rings
a large pinch of sea salt
2 pounds salmon steaks
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons calamansi or lemon juice
¼ teaspoon salt
ground black pepper, to taste

• Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a nonstick skillet, sprinkle with a pinch of salt, and cook the onion over medium heat until soft and slightly browned. Transfer into a serving plate, cover to keep warm, and set aside.
• Pat dry the salmon and coat both sides of the steaks with a mixture of 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, ¼ teaspoon each salt and ground black pepper. In the same skillet, heat the remaining oil and fry the salmon over medium-high heat until cooked. Spread the onion on the platter. Lay the cooked fish on top of the onion. Heat the remaining soy sauce and lemon juice in the same skillet and pour all over the fish. Serve immediately.

Triple Malt Chocolate Cupcakes

I love thick and yummy chocolate malted milkshake. This cupcake is as delicious and has lots of malted milk flavor but won't give you brain freeze. I baked these as gift to a neighbor who last month twice, maybe three times, plowed 2 feet of snow on our cul-de-sac without any compensation. He even helped shovel our driveway once. He does it every year when it snows heavily because he is a nice person. He and his brother-in-law own a snow clearing business and he knows that cul-de-sacs are the last to be plowed, if at all. I gave him and his wife this cake and also baked for them a large loaf of Potato, Cheddar, and Chive Torpedo.

Triple Malt Chocolate Cupcakes

makes about 30 cupcakes
2 cups malted milk powder
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¾ teaspoon baking soda
3 large eggs
1 1/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups whole milk
1 recipe Vanilla Malt Frosting
coarsely chopped malted milk balls

• Heat the oven to 350°F. Line three 12-muffin pans with paper liners. Set aside.
• Combine malted milk powder, flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl, and whisk to aerate and break up any lumps. Set aside.
• Combine eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla in a separate large bowl, and whisk until combined and smooth. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, and whisk until just incorporated. Add ½ of the milk, and whisk until smooth. Continue with remaining flour mixture and milk, alternating between each and whisking until all ingredients are just incorporated and smooth.
• Fill cupcake papers 2/3 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 25 minutes.
• Remove pans from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool for about 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pans and let cool completely on the wire rack. Frost tops of cupcakes with Vanilla Malt Frosting and sprinkle with chopped malted milk balls.

Vanilla Malt Frosting

3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups powdered sugar
¾ cup malted milk powder
½ cup milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

• Combine butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, and beat on low speed until sugar is incorporated. Increase speed to medium high and beat until mixture is light and whipped, about 3 minutes.
• Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle. Add remaining ingredients and return to low speed until ingredients are incorporated. Increase speed to medium high and continue whipping until frosting is evenly combined and light, about 3 minutes.

Recipe adapted from here.

I made this as the original layer cake one and a half years ago. If you are making layer cake, click on the recipe source for baking time. Here is the photo of the layer cake.

a treat that both children and adults will love

I got the malted milk powder from here. You can use either Carnation or Horlicks which are available from the grocery stores but the cake won't be as malty.

Movies I Love

It's been almost one year since I wrote about movies on DVD that I have seen. The movies I watched the past eight months were mostly foreign language and indies. I am not boycotting Hollywood-produced movies but there are only a handful that are worth watching and The Hurt Locker is the only one that I love and think is Oscar worthy. You can bet I am not rooting tonight for the recent blockbuster that has been retitled SMURFAHONTAS by smart alecky types. Not that I will be watching the Oscars anyway; I do not enjoy any award shows because they look like episodes of the Lifestyles of the Vain and Vapid.^__^

The foreign-language movies that I have watched over and over on DVD and streaming from Netflix are Japanese, Korean, Thai, and Chinese. Korean and Thai movies are my latest addiction.

A partial list of Oggi's Movie Awards winners :

Ink USA, independent filmmakers. This is a wonderful good versus evil Sci-fi/fantasy movie about a man and his estranged little daughter who was abducted in her sleep by an incubus-in-training, Ink. In the real world the girl is on a hospital bed in a coma but in another dimension she is traveling with Ink. The incubi who give nightmares are the evil and the good are the storytellers who give nice pleasant dreams to people while they are asleep at night. The storytellers try to save the girl from dying helped by a blind pathfinder who can change a series of events. Of course, the good wins in the end that will lead to Ink's ultimate redemption. This impressive indie movie was made with a tiny budget of $250,000.00. It was downloaded for free 400,000 times and I just wish those people give at least a dollar to the producers so they can make another excellent movie outside the influence of Hollywood. Here is a video of my favorite scene in the movie:

Death Trance Japan. Sci-fi/fantasy set in a post apocalyptic world with warriors, ninjas, zombie ninjas and vampires, a cute but creepy little girl, ginormous weapons, plenty of weird characters, and lots of fight scenes. The warrior, played by my fave Tak Sakaguchi, stole a coffin from a monastery in order to release the goddess of destruction trapped inside it. His main reason is to fight the mother of all fights. Other people want the coffin for different reasons. Some think it has treasures and one lone guy hopes it will grant his wishes. This guy is played by the half Japanese son of Steven Seagal. I love his character, he carries a large bazooka and a raggedy doll attached to his belt and he has thick, think Angelina, pink-glossed lips. There is a not-so-subtle, in fact it's in your face sexual tones in the form of the katana that belonged to the monastery. It has a phallus-shaped handle that throbs when it 'feels' the deserving one is ready for the ultimate fight.The fight between the warrior and the goddess is so weird it's really awesome.

Tak Sakaguchi and his katana Kentaro Seagal and his bazooka

Thirst Korea. A Catholic priest turned into a vampire through blood transfusion.

Chocolate Thailand. Martial arts, drama, action, little bit of comedy
.

Tom Yum Goong Thailand. Martial arts, drama, action, a little bit of comedy

These Thai movies have food as their titles but they are not anywhere in the movies except for the brief appearance of M&Ms in Chocolate. They have several things in common, most notably the Thai crime bosses, the yakuza, and the transgenders called the third sex in Thailand and in the Philippines. They are very much a part of society and embraced by both countries. Check out Sidney's photo essay on Gay Boxing in the Philippines.

The Hurt Locker USA. Deserves to win the Oscars in all the categories it is nominated in

Creamy White Bread

pain de mie, soft fine-crumbed thin-crust sandwich loaf

I was very disappointed with the 100% whole wheat sandwich loaf in the recently finished The Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge. Earlier this week I baked one loaf of 100% WW bread which is a lot more moist, soft, and most important, edible. However, I am a white bread lover and I can't eat WW bread every day, I just can't. 100% whole wheat bread is not for me. There, I said it. *I hope the food police doesn't come and arrest me* ^_^

And so I'm back to baking my favorite creamy white bread; it is very soft and yummy. I used my new 9 x 4-inch Pullman bread pan with lid which is made here in the USA of recycled steel and has non-stick ridged surface for easy release of bread. I have two similar pans that were made in China. They were very cheap but also cheaply made. The non-stick is fake and I had to line the pans with parchment paper EACH AND EVERY TIME I use them. The surface has now developed some rust, I can't use them anymore, not even as planters. When the USA-made pans in the smaller size became available, I immediately got one and am very happy with it. If you are interested in the pan, check out my amazon store by clicking on the myStore tab. I highly recommend it specially for fine-crumbed pain de mie. The following white bread recipe can also be baked in a regular 9 x 4-inch loaf pan and it will still be delicious.

Creamy White Bread
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons heavy cream, room temperature
2 tablespoons light olive oil
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
3¼ cups bread flour
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
¼ cup nonfat dry milk powder

• In the bowl of a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, put the ingredients in the order listed. Mix on low speed for 1 minute, continue mixing on medium-low for 1 more minute. Knead by hand for 3 to 4 minutes until smooth.
• Transfer dough into an oiled bowl, cover tightly with plastic film and leave to rise for 1 hour.
• Lightly grease the pan and lid. Remove the risen dough from bowl and knead lightly to remove air bubbles. Flatten into an oval, roll tightly, and ease into the pan. Cover tightly with plastic film and let rise for 45 minutes or until the dough has risen to half inch below the lip of the pan. Slide the lid on and bake in a preheated 350° F oven for 20 minutes. With gloved hands, remove the lid and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes.
• Remove immediately from the pan and let cool on a wire rack for 1 hour before slicing.

the whitest creamiest yummiest white bread

Callos

I have seen and eaten several versions of Callos, a Filipino-Spanish tripe and chickpea stew. Some have beef or pork trotters and others have cubed potatoes. The first time I cooked callos I was put off by the smell of the boiling tripe. My mom told me to boil the tripe for 2 minutes, rinse, then boil in fresh water until tender. It really made a difference and eliminated the strong odor of the tripe.

This recipe is my favorite because it doesn't have pig's feet but has ham as an added ingredient. It is seasoned with sweet smoked Spanish pimenton and bay leaves. The stew is very yummy with either rice or crusty country bread and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Callos
2 pounds honeycomb tripe
water
¼ cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup chopped onion
1 small red bell pepper, diced
1 cup sliced Spanish Chorizo
1 pound ham, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons Spanish smoked pimenton (paprika)
2 large tomatoes, skinned and chopped
1 cup white wine
2 bay leaves
1 sprig thyme, optional
a pinch of crushed dried red pepper
salt and ground black pepper, to taste
3 cups cooked chickpeas

• Clean and boil the tripe for 2 minutes, drain and rinse tripe very well. Put back the tripe in the pot, add water to cover, and boil until fork tender, adding more water when needed. Remove the tripe and reserve broth. When cool enough to handle, cut tripe into 1 x 2 inch pieces. Set aside. 
• In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the oil and saute garlic, onion, and red pepper until onion is soft. Add the rest of the ingredients except chickpeas and 2 cups of reserved broth and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and thyme, add the chickpeas and simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Transfer into a large serving dish.

Double Espresso Roll Cake

Coffee flavored cake called Mocha cake is a favorite in the Philippines. It is sold at bakeshops as a round layer, sheet, or Swiss roll cakes and often served at birthday parties. These are chiffon, very soft, and spongy cakes unlike American-style jelly roll cakes. I love this not too sweet Filipino version that I adapted from this recipe, and for intense coffee flavor I used freshly brewed coffee plus espresso powder.

Double Espresso Roll Cake
1 cup sifted flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup sugar
½ tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon espresso powder
¼ cup light olive or grapeseed oil
6 tablespoons hot brewed espresso coffee
4 egg yolks
4 egg whites
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
¼ cup sugar

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper.
• In a bowl of standing mixer, combine flour, salt, ½ cup sugar, baking powder, and espresso powder. Make a well in the center and pour in oil and hot coffee. With the paddle attachment, beat mixture on medium low for 3 minutes. Continue mixing, adding egg yolks one at a time, blending well after each addition, until thoroughly mixed. Transfer into another bowl and set aside.
• Wash the bowl very well and wipe dry, or use another bowl. Put in the egg whites and cream of tartar. Beat with wire whisk attachment at medium speed until frothy. Gradually add the ¼ cup sugar, beating until mixture is stiff and glossy. 
• With rubber spatula, gently fold one fourth of beaten egg whites into batter, scraping bottom of bowl, until lightly blended. Gently fold the batter into the rest of the beaten egg white. Pour evenly into the prepared pan and smooth top with an offset spatula. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. 
• Turn the cake out on a towel lightly sprinkled with powdered sugar. Peel off the parchment paper. Starting from the narrow side, roll the still warm cake with the towel and leave on a wire rack to cool completely. Unroll the cake and transfer onto a parchment paper. Spread with a thin layer of Espresso Buttercream Frosting and reroll the cake, frost the outside of the roll. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before slicing. Keep leftover slices in the refrigerator or freezer.

Espresso Buttercream Frosting
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon salt
½ cup brewed espresso coffee
11 tablespoons plus 1 tablespoon sugar
12 tablespoons butter, cut into 1 tablespoon pieces and softened
1 tablespoon espresso powder

• Put egg whites and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer with the wire whisk attachment.
• Stir together brewed coffee and 11 tablespoons sugar in a  heavy saucepan until sugar is dissolved, then bring to a boil over moderate heat, without stirring, brushing any sugar crystals down side of pan with a pastry brush dipped in water.
• When syrup reaches a boil, start beating egg whites at medium-high speed until frothy, then gradually add remaining tablespoon sugar and espresso powder and beat at medium speed until whites just hold soft peaks. Do not beat again until sugar syrup is ready.
• Meanwhile, attach candy thermometer on the saucepan and continue boiling until syrup registers 238°F. Immediately remove from heat and with mixer at high speed, slowly pour hot syrup in a thin stream down side of bowl into whites, beating constantly. Beat, scraping down side of bowl with a rubber spatula, until meringue is cool to the touch, about 10 minutes. It is important that meringue is properly cooled before proceeding. With mixer at medium speed, gradually add butter 1 piece at a time, beating well after each addition until incorporated. Continue beating until buttercream is smooth. Mixture may look curdled before all of the butter is added but will come back together by the time beating is finished.

 

Roasted Onion And Asiago Miche: BBAC#43

Woohoo! Stick a fork in me. I'm done! Here it is, ta-da

the last bread in The Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge #43: Roasted Onion And Asiago Miche.

First, thank you Nicole for creating this challenge, XOXO. I learned a ton from baking 43 breads, found out what works, and discovered new favorites and appreciation for sourdough starter. Lately I have been using my wild yeast starter for almost all the yeast breads I bake outside of this challenge. I truly enjoyed this virtual baker's apprentice experience.

Now, about the bread. I halved the recipe because it is just too large for me to handle. It took 3 days to make this beautiful loaf. First day was for making a wet sourdough sponge which I mixed very late in the evening and left it on the kitchen counter overnight in order to avoid putting it in the refrigerator. The next morning it had grown and ready to be made into the dough. I loved the feel of the dough which was elastic, soft, and silky smooth like a baby's bottom. I did 3 stretch-and-folds within 1½ hours, total fermentation was 2 hours. It was then shaped into a boule, placed on a piece of parchment, sprayed with oil, covered with plastic wrap, then made to rest overnight in the refrigerator.

The next day, the ginormous 11-inch wide miche with lots of air pockets was made to de-chill *is that a word?* for 2 hours on the kitchen counter. The top was oiled, dimpled all over, then sprinkled with more cheese and the roasted onion, and baked for 35 minutes. The bread is very pretty on the outside but the crumb although soft and moist is not open as described in the book. The large holes that were supposed to be in between the dimpled sections were missing. The bread is flavorful but not as awesome as my other favorite breads in the book, which is a surprise.

Having said that I will give this bread another chance, it has so much potential. Maybe I'll increase the amount of scallions and chives because their flavors seem to disappear in the bread or try another kind of cheese. I will probably let the dough rest more than 30 minutes after dimpling because this step deflated the miche which might have contributed to the tight crumb.

Rating:
flavor 4
texture 4
visual appeal 5
ease of preparation 5
performance 4
worth 5
Total: 27
Average: 4.5

My top 10 favorite breads in the challenge

1. Casatiello
2. Pain à l'Ancienne
3. Pizza Napoletana
   
4. Potato, Cheddar, And Chive Torpedoes
5. Italian Bread
   
6. Portuguese Sweet Bread
7. Vienna Bread
   
8. Kaiser Rolls
9. Multigrain Bread Extraordinaire
10. Bagels
    

Lasang Pinoy Sundays: Rolled

tamagoyaki, a sweet Japanese rolled omelet

LpaisSundays, a gallery of food photography, Pinoy style, is hosted by SpiCes and Feisty Cook.

4 large eggs
4 tablespoons dashi stock
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon mirin
½ teaspoon soy sauce
salt, to taste

• Beat the eggs and the rest of the ingredients very well until as smooth as possible.
  
• Pour about a quarter of the mixture into a well-oiled tamago pan or non-stick skillet and spread as if you are making a crepe. As the mixture cooks, bubbles and sets, roll it and move it to the back of the pan. Brush more oil on the pan and some more of the mixture, making sure to get some under the roll. As it cooks, roll the old roll back to the front of the pan, then again to the back. Repeat until you are out of mixture.
• Remove roll from the pan and roll as you would a sushi roll, squeezing out excess liquid. You can roll it into either a round or rectangular shape and slice it when it has cooled. The slices can be served as is, or as nigiri, atop a mound of rice wrapped in a thin sheet of nori.

Bringhe

I have been making a list of regional Filipino food that I haven't eaten nor cooked before. I'm going to have a sort of my own test kitchen. I'll cook a chosen recipe, judge, improve upon if necessary, and then I'll blog about it.

One of the recipes I have wanted to try is the Pampanga rice dish Bringhe which is in 2 of my Filipino cookbooks. I chose the one from MEMORIES OF PHILIPPINE KITCHENS because it doesn't have chorizo, ham, or prawns. Both books categorize the rice dish as the Filipino version of the Spanish paella and a lot of Filipinos call the dish Philippine paella. Reading through the ingredients and the recipe I honestly think bringhe is closer to the Indian vegetable rice dish brinji than to paella. Aside from the similarity in their names, they also share a few ingredients such as coconut milk, carrot, potato, peas, and turmeric although brinji is heavily seasoned with herbs and spices. Paella doesn't have any of those ingredients save for peas. Since I am not from the region where this dish comes from, I am not going to disagree with its kinship with Paella.

The following recipe from MEMORIES is quite large and you may want to halve it. The 2 things I changed from the procedure: 1) added a tablespoon of sea salt to the chicken broth while it is boiling for a more flavorful chicken meat, then adjusted the amount of fish extract; 2) used 2 pieces of turmeric because the yellow color was too pale. Japanese sticky rice IMO is best for this recipe because the soaking time is only one hour.

I love the finished dish for its simplicity and its very mild flavor. There aren't any strong-flavored ingredients that clash, rather they complement each other. It has a hint of sweetness from the coconut milk and vegetables and the aroma and flavor of the banana leaves is heavenly. Sticky rice and banana leaves are made for each other, with sweet and with savory dishes.
I give this recipe 2 thumbs up.

Bringhe
adapted from MEMORIES OF PHILIPPINE KITCHENS
by Amy Besa And Romy Dorotan

3½ pounds whole chicken
1 large onion, quartered
2 tablespoons light olive or grapeseed oil
3 cloves garlic, sliced

1 medium onion, diced
1 sweet red bell pepper, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1 large potato, peeled and diced
1 one-inch piece fresh turmeric, grated (or 1 teaspoon powdered)
2 cups sticky rice, soaked in water overnight, drained
2 cups coconut milk
4 tablespoons fish sauce, or to taste
frozen banana leaves

• Place the chicken and onion in a large saucepan and add water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the chicken is tender, about 40 minutes. Remove the chicken, strain, and reserve the broth. Set the chicken aside to cool, then remove the meat from the bones and shred it. Set aside.
• Wash the banana leaves with the hottest tap water then wipe dry. Brush a large wok with vegetable oil and line with a double layer of banana leaves. Lightly oil the banana leaves.
• In a large nonstick saute pan over medium heat, warm the oil. Add the garlic, onion,, and bell pepper and saute until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots and potatoes and cook until softened. Add the turmeric and stir for 1 minute. Drain the rice and add to the pan, stirring until thoroughly coated with the oil. Add 1½ cups coconut milk and 1½ cups of the reserved chicken stock, and the fish sauce. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring frequently, until all the liquid is absorbed. Add another ½ cup of coconut milk and ½ cup of chicken broth and continue to stir until the liquid is absorbed. This should take 20 minutes - the rice should be tender but al dente. If the rice isn't cooked through, add more milk and stock. Continue to cook, stirring, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is cooked through. Add the shredded chicken and cook until warmed through, about 3 minutes.
• Fill the prepared wok with the rice mixture, smooth the top, cover with another layer of banana leaf, cover with lid or aluminum foil. Cook over medium heat for 20 minutes, raise the heat to medium-high and continue to cook for another 5 to 10 minutes until a golden brown crust is formed at the bottom. Invert onto a large serving plate, remove the leaves, and serve.

savory sticky rice, yummy

Potato, Cheddar, and Chive Torpedoes: BBAC#42

The Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge #42: Potato, Cheddar, And Chive Torpedoes

Boy, am I grateful to Peter for sharing this bread recipe from one of his former bakers, Tim Decker, because it is simply superb. Just like Potato Rosemary Bread, I love everything about it: the soft somewhat elastic slightly open crumb that is moist and flavorful with a subtle garlic flavor from the chives, the most wonderful chewy dark brown crust, and its aroma, oh yeah. The aroma wafting through the house while baking makes you want to tear at the bread right after it comes out of the oven. Anyway, I made two 25-ounce loaves, each grew really big at 12 inches long, 6½ inches wide, and 3-inches tall. That's a lot of bread!

The recipe is an easy to make same-day bread leavened with both wild (sourdough) and commercial yeasts. Boiled chopped unpeeled potatoes and chives are added to the dough. Slices of sharp cheddar cheese are laid on the dough halves that are shaped into 6 x 8-inch rectangles. The doughs are rolled jelly roll style then shaped into torpedoes, the cheese creating pockets that look nice when the bread is sliced. I used white extra sharp Vermont cheddar cheese, sooo good. I will increase the amount of cheese next time I make these which is going to be very often. I love this bread!

Rating:
flavor 5
texture 5
visual appeal 5
ease of preparation 5
performance 5
worth 5
Total: 30
Average: 5