ugly food

I have embarked on an odyssey of making ugly delicious food for a little while(stay tuned for green smoothies!) Sunday I had made crockpot split-pea soup.  I was a bit disappointed in it, so I didn't post about it.  I saved the leftovers for another day.  Today was the day, it was cold and rainy(finally!) so I busted out the leftovers and thought...well, I definitely need to make it better this time around.
Sunday I didn't have any carrots when I threw the soup into the slow cooker, so I committed a cardinal sin of aromatic omission.  I correct this by added some cubed sautéed carrots, heavy cream and a healthy fingerful of extra sharp cheddar cheese at the end.  The result was astounding.
Serve with toast rye bread(Jewish style, not Russian)
this can be made dairy free by substituting non-dairy sour cream and non-dairy cheese and omitting the butter.  Forego the bread for a gluten free meal!



Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup
1lb. dried split peas

ugly lookin thing...

6cups chicken stock
6 slices of bacon cut small and fried crispy, set aside
one red onion diced
two stalks of celery chopped
three garlic cloves minced
one large carrot or two normal, diced
half of a fuji apple chopped

Aussie Cheddar I use all the time

in the bacon grease, saute the onion, celery and carrots until soft, then add the garlic for about 2min
add all the ingredients to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 5-6 hours.
When it's ready to eat, stir in some salt, pepper and two tablespoons or so of heavy cream or sour cream and a tablespoon of butter.
serve with shredded cheddar cheese and rye bread

this week in food

so this Sunday I made an AMAZING Cheddar Ale soup with Irish Soda Bread....but I totally forgot to take pictures....I know sorry.  But I included the recipe at the end...because I did remember to take photos of some other foods I ate and made this week!

seriously...how can you resist locally grown perfectly ripe strawberries in February!!! 

 I went to the wet market on Wednesday and visited a fruit stand that I often go to, and the proprietor offered me a strawberry.  It was heaven.  The best strawberry I have had since I did U-Pick when I was thirteen years old.  I bought not a few, and took them home to serve to my friends Domé and Susie(and Susie's boy Jared) that came over that evening to visit me.  I whipped up some slightly sweetened cream and added some Belgian caramelized biscuits to the fray. MMMmm!

Pomelos are like fortresses

At the market I also bought two Pomelos.  Pomelos seem to be in season because they are crazy cheap and sweet right now.  I took my beauties home and began to hack away at the rind and pith of one.  I think I understand what it is like to try and lay siege to a U-Boat now.  Getting to the fruit in these tanks is no easy task, and then you are confronted by the worlds biggest pips! The pith and skin in Pomelos cannot be eaten or tolerated like in an orange, it is far more bitter, so you have to extract the citrus from within the membrane area, it's a lot of work - but such a lovely reward.

So Today I invited some friends over to play Wii and relax.  I decided that, like all my guests I wanted to treat them.  So I scanned the internet for inspiration.  I have to admit...I'm not an amazing baker.  But I did want to see what the big fuss back home was all about.  So I dipped my toe into the swimming pool of Cupcake-dom.
Cherry Coke Cupcakes

The Players

 So I used the core of my recipe from here, but inspiration and ideas from a few different recipes.  One recipe recommended using Kool Kola extract, I wish I could get my hands on some easily, but I couldn't. So I used vanilla extract instead.
1 1/2 cups flour
3 Tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 granulated sugar
1/2 cup or 113g unsalted butter
1 egg
1/2 buttermilk
3/4 cup coke(not diet)
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract(if you can substitute Kool Kola extract, you can find it online)
3 cups of coke
one can of cherry pie filling
1 cup of heavy whipping cream
4 tablespoons of powdered sugar
3/4 cup of powdered sugar
maraschino cherries for garnish
Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt together, set aside.
combine the buttermilk, coke and vanilla - set aside - don't worry if it looks curdled
cream butter and sugar, add the egg
alternately add the flour mixture and coke mixture - in four turns.
scoop into cupcake liners - bake 18-20min at 350F or 175C.
take out and cool
While the cupcakes are baking take 3 cups of coke and slowly reduce it to 1 cup of coke.
after the cupcakes are cool, use a paring knife to cut cone shaped holes in the tops of the cup cakes
then prick the tops with a toothpick around their edges
gently spoon some of the boiled down coke into the holes tilting and pouring a little at a time(note, don't soak the cupcakes, just moisten and give them more of a coke flavor, then with a tiny spoon fit 1-3 cherries in the wells that you cut with the paring knife, however many will fit
make a glaze by taking 2 Tablespoons of the remaining reduced coke mixture and add it to 3/4 cup of powdered sugar, let it sit to thicken a few minutes - then drizzle on top of the cupcakes.
add the 4 tablespoons of powdered sugar to the whipping cream and whip with an electric mixer until stiff
count out how many maraschino cherries are needed and rinse them well with clean water(otherwise they will drizzle red all over your whipped cream)
with a piping bag or a plastic bag with a hole cut in the corner pipe the whipped cream onto the cupcakes, top with a lovely maraschino cherry and enjoy.
They were moist, and kinda crazy delicious.  I would have liked a stronger coke flavor, but I didn't have that lovely Kola extract.  These are pretty, but a lot of work.  I think I will stick to dinners, and sloppy desserts.

Cheddar Ale Soup
I modified this recipe, with ideas and inspiration I gathered from the internet, Food Network and my own tastes.  I found that the bitey richness of the soup was complimented extremely well with the light sweetness of the soda bread.  This is a great winter meal, and let me say, that if by some miracle you have leftovers, both taste even better the next day!

6 slices of thick cut bacon cut small and cooked till crispy
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 large leeks, halved sliced thin
1 large fat carrot, or two normal ones, diced
2 healthy sized celery stalks, diced
3 cloves of garlic smashed and roughly chopped
2 large par-boiled potatoes
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 cups of pale ale
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups chicken stock
375g shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese - I used Beqa Strong&Bitey(a lovely Australian brand)
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

retain a few tablespoons of the bacon to cook the veggies, melt the butter with the bacon fat and toss in the leeks, carrot, and celery; cook until tender
add the garlic, cook for another minute or so
add the flour, make a creamy roux
add one cup of the ale, reduce out the alcohol
when the roux begins to thicken add the other cup of ale
reduce just enough to see the base thicken a tiny bit
add the chicken stock
heat through until it begins to simmer
add the milk and cream, heat through until simmering
add the potatoes
one handful at a time add the cheddar, otherwise it will clump
once all the cheese is incorporated I added the remaining 1/2 cup of ale at the bottom of the bottle
season with salt and pepper
serve with the bacon sprinkled on top, and Irish Soda Bread on the side

I am sorry but in my late Sunday hunger I completely forgot to photograph this meal.  Next time I guess.
But it was seriously a beautiful meal, very photogenic.

year of the dragon

singing K and dancing to Super Junior's "Sorry, Sorry"

so for those of you that don't know....I live in Shenzhen, the 4th largest city in China, it is in Guangdong Province and my apartment overlooks Shenzhen Bay and across the water is Hong Kong SAR.

more Sorry, Sorry dancing

On the second day of Spring Festival, or Lunar New Year I found myself in Hong Kong visiting friends, singing karaoke, meeting new friends and eating Filipino food.  PS I did sing some AWESOME k-pop songs. Then I watched fireworks....now I have actually been on the Mall in DC for Fourth of July and these Fireworks in Hong Kong definitely gave them a run for their money...they were not as beautifully coordinated, but they sheer number and length of the show was impressive.  That being said, I will be completely satisfied if I don't see or hear another firework excluding a few short hours on the Fourth of July for the rest of my life.  My apartments rest on what used to be water, that's right I'm living seven stories up from landfill.  With waterfronts on either side, it makes for fireworks on both sides for about three weeks, before during and after Chinese New Year.  And these aren't the piddling little things your older cousin would drive to the Indian Reservation or Wyoming to buy.  These things are serious business, I am pretty sure that there is a huge factory for weapons grade fireworks in my province and everyone knows someone that works there - and they all come to my water front area with ample concrete embankments to launch it all over the water on.  Needless to say we haven't been sleeping well lately.
The Chinese Zodiac follows a twelve year rotation, you probably learned what year you were when you were in your early teens by going to a Chinese restaurant and reading the education paper placemat that told you which years were which.  If you were like me, you were teased mercilessly by your younger brothers for being the year of the Rat, or Mouse in Chinese(even though Rats and Mice are from completely different genus, in standard Chinese speech they are the same...so I prefer Mouse, because mice aren't ever known for cannibalism...unlike Rats) something about Mice: it is the most prominent and first position in the Chinese zodiac, mice are clever, inquisitive, witty, imaginative, talkative, charming, and motivated by challenge.  Mice can be aggressive and honest to a fault(my family definitely knows about this).  Mice are known for good health(definitely not true for me). Mice get along well with Ox, Dragon, Monkey, and Snake, can also be alright with Tiger, Dog, Boar or another Mouse - don't get along or avoid Horse, Rooster and Sheep.  I am a Wood Mouse, so I am not as confident on the surface as I appear and I have a perpetual fear of failing, and I enjoy being surrounded by friends and family, and luckily the feeling is mutual(this seems especially true, although I know I can annoy family.) According to the calendar, Water Dragon is supposed to be a good year for weak Wood Rats - but for my personal weak Wood(yang) Rat status, I won't actually see luck completely in my favor until my mid 40s or so.  
Enough about me though, this year is the year of the Water Dragon, a very auspicious year to be born.  Dragon is the mightiest sign and characterized by ambition and dominance.  Hence many, many Chinese people are trying to have children this year, a baby boom means the price of natal and post-natal care is on average double or triple the price for a normal year.  In Chinese culture, women don't leave home or do much for a month after the birth(limited showering, exercising, stress in general), so the use of "post-natal" nurses for in-home care is very common and this year, in high demand, so the price goes up.  My friend Doménica has Chinese roommates that are a married couple and they are pregnant for the Dragon year.  Anyways, this year is a big deal in the zodiac calendar.
It's kind of a big deal for me too, finish my Chinese program, travel with my sister, get a job in China hopefully that doesn't involve teaching English.  Here's to the year of the Water Dragon!

christmas dinner

this year I wanted to make something interesting and different for Christmas dinner.
I decided on pheasant.  I have never roasted pheasant before and it was an interesting experiment.  They took a bit longer than most internet recipes said it would to cook through.  But they were delicious and flavorful.
We were having Christmas dinner at my sister's rented house near their university so space was a little limited, and lacking a dishwasher - so we ate off Christmas paper plates and enjoyed ourselves a very lovely holiday dinner and then opened presents.
I got a Doctor Who pen, Top Gear t-shirt, and Hollister sweats that I bought for myself.
Mostly though I received donations for my trip to Europe this summer.

I listed everything I made - except green beans....because all I did was steam those and put butter, salt and pepper on them.
and because I didn't take photos, I honestly can't recall what I made for dessert.

Roasted Pheasant
pheasant is a very lean game bird with low fat(although one of my birds seemed to have quite a few yucky fat deposits) so when roasting in hopes that they won't dry out they are often covered in bacon, and since bacon makes everything better - that is exactly what I did.
3 pheasants, gizzards etc removed
1 orange
fresh thyme
chopped onion
rough chopped carrot
bacon to cover(I bought a whole pound but didn't use it all)

slice and juice the orange, then cute again and divide the rind equally between the birds, stuff them into the cavities with sprigs of thyme, onion and carrot. lay the bacon all over the bird, cutting it to fit everywhere.
roast breast side up at 500F 20min, remove the bacon strips and cook for another 40-50min until the juices run clear. Be careful not to overcook because they are much leaner and drier than other birds.

Roasted Ham with Grapefruit Brown Sugar Glaze
since we were already having pheasant I found the smallest ham that I could.  My Dad was a little wary of just having pheasant(doesn't like change or experimentation too much) so to humor him and my Mom I did a Christmas ham(ham is more common in the US for Christmas than Turkey, as we had Turkey only a few weeks prior at Thanksgiving and have been eating leftover turkey sandwiches ever since).
My ham, like most bought at a typical grocer around Christmas was already fully cooked, so I just needed to heat it and glaze it - I decided to heat it very slowly(mostly at 200F)with whole grapefruit slices to really infuse the flavor. If you have a pot roast pan, this is the best way - or a slow cooker large enough.  I had neither so I covered ham with a tall stock pot in a pyrex baking dish placed on a half sheet.
1 cup firmly pack brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 tsp dried mustard
1/8 tsp cinnamon
5 Tablespoons Grapefruit Juice
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
3 Tablespoons water
mix altogether, drizzle on the ham with maybe an hour left, cover again
drizzle and baste the ham again with 15min left and uncover, turn up the heat to 350 and the last 5min turn on the broiler to make the glaze nice and crisp

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

my Dad loves brussel sprouts, and if you haven't had a fried or roasted sprout - these are not your mother's boiled mushy mess.
1-2lbs fresh brussel sprouts
fresh rosemary chopped
olive oil
salt and white pepper
wash, trim and halve the sprouts.
toss on a half sheet pan with olive oil and seasonings
roast at 375 stirring occasionally for 20min or so - until they start to get crispy and caramelized.

Rosemary and Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
potato mash is a must for any great American holiday - Christmas is no exception.  Since I was home in the States I was able to use a Kitchen Aid stand mixer, the ultimate device for fluffy lovely mashed potatoes.

2 whole heads of garlic, roasted in the oven - low heat and slow(with the ham)
5lbs of Yukon Gold potatoes, chopped and boiled in salted water until tender and flaky
finely chopped fresh rosemary, quite a bit - maybe 2 Tablespoons worth
lite Sour Cream
butter
salt

drain and dump the potatoes in the drum of the stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
add the softened roasted garlic to be mashed in
add a good 2 tablespoons of butter and about a cup of sour cream
once the potatoes are a nice creamy consistency, toss the rosemary in and salt to taste. server immediately.

the week before Christmas

The week leading up to Christmas, I spent time with people I love.  My family, my friends.  That week I spent the better part of two days with the Young family of Evan, Holly, Kyle and Aiden.  I made them some dinner and we went to the Utah Museum of Natural History.  As many of my friends know, I LOVE dinosaurs! I also love museums, so spending time at this museum with my good friends was a super special experience.
As we slowly made our way through the museum and the little Young boys explored and were distracted, I thought of how blessed I am.  I have friends that whenever I see them, it's like no time has passed, although it really has, it reminds me of my parents and how they are with their really close friends Alain and Donna Balmanno, more on them later :)
The museum proved a wonderful distraction and escape from the cold winter outside and we had a great time discovering the exhibits and dismantling and reassembling the interactive displays especially for curious and inquiring minds.  Kyle asked various questions that we would struggle to answer appropriately, we asked each other questions about the origins and age of the universe.
Anyways, I'm a sucker for museums and this was a great one.  I purchased the required magnets and mug at the end - and found a STEAL of a book - a signed first edition of Hot, Flat and Crowded by Thomas Friedman for half price at the gift shop.   I bought it for my Dad for Christmas.

I made dinner later that night for Holly and Evan and their boys.
Kyle and Aiden(Holly and Evan's boys) have diet restrictions; Kyle, no dairy and Aiden, no dairy or gluten.  This limited me significantly in terms of what to make, but no fear. I figured something simple out.




Wild Rice pilaf with Caramelized Onions and Red Wine Sausage
1 pound or 500g Lundberg Mixed American Rice Pilaf (soak in water for a few hours ahead of time to speed up cooking)
Olive Oil
one large white onion
high quality sausage fresh sausage(not fully cooked already) 1lb or 500g (I used this one)
dry red wine - enough for poaching the sausage and deglazing the pan - 2 cups or so

set the rice to cook in the rice cooker or on the stove(2 parts water to 1 part rice), salt the water.
poach the sausages in water with a healthy splash of red wine and a pinch of salt.
don't boil, just simmer until cooked through and the casings are solid, remove and let cool, after they are cool slice the sausage and set aside
halve the onion and slice, saute in a skillet with olive oil
cook on medium temperature until the onions start to caramelize , then add the sausage to brown and crisp a bit on the edges - add a splash of red wine to deglaze the pan and add some flavor to the onions
when the rice is done, it can be tossed in the frying pan and stir fried a bit to gather some of the flavor from the sausage and onions or it can served with the sausage and onions on the side
it is also good served with soy sour cream

winter lunch

This Saturday I made lunch for my good friend Jessi Judd and her fiance.  I first met Jessi when we were missionaries for our church in Russia.  We lived together and while relations between us weren't alway smooth, she has become one of my closest friends.  She is getting married in a few weeks, and I wanted to make her something delicious for lunch while her and her fiance filled prepared their wedding announcements to be mailed.
I decided to make them a seasonal meal.  Winter in most of the United States, Canada and Temperate Europe means squash, root vegetables, cheeses, fish, grains, pastas, salted/preserved meats and hardy apples.  Especially with carbon footprints to think about, and our own health, I made lunch from as many local ingredients and seasonally available items as possible.  These are hearty dishes that stick to your insides and provide warmth and comfort on chilly winter days.

Baked Shells and Cheese
1 pound/450g whole wheat shells(I used organic Delallo Shells no. 91)
300g Smoked Gouda shredded
300g Emmentaler shredded, divided
500ml milk
bacon, chopped (three slices short of 1 lb/450g)
3-4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
3 large leeks, whites only chopped
half a medium yellow onion chopped
1 hardy winter apple chopped small(braeburn, etc)
homemade croutons, or crostini for the topping
preheat oven 350F/175C
set the shells to boil in salted water, once cooked al dente remove from heat, drain, run cold water to prevent further cooking and set aside
fry the bacon in a wide saucepan, once crispy remove to paper towels
in the bacon grease, fry the onion until soft, add the leeks until all are starting to caramelize, remove.
in the same saucepan on low heat melt the butter and add the flour, cook until it starts to froth and bubble.
add the milk, cook slowly until the sauce starts to thicken
add the bacon, onion and leeks to the white sauce
cook a little longer to thicken and marinate the flavors
add the 300g gouda and 250g emmentaler
melt the cheese into the sauce
salt, pepper to taste (fresh ground nutmeg if desired)
toss the sauce, shells and apples together and put in a 9x13 baking dish
top with croutons or crostini crumbled, and the remaining 50g emmentaler cheese
bake for 15-20 minutes till apples are tender and the cheese is melted throughout and on top

Roasted Butternut Squash with Beets
one medium butternut squash
3-5 small/medium beets
1/2 yellow onion
3 large sprigs fresh rosemary(an evergreen herb, you can have this fresh all year round and it is great for seasoning everything from veggies to poultry and fish)
kosher salt
butter or olive oil
pre-heat oven to 400F/200C
peel and chop the beets(at this point you can also par-boil the beets if you prefer a really tender beet, I didn't do this because I love the contrast between the super soft squash and firmer beet)
peel and chop the butternut squash
remove rosemary leaves from the stems and chop finely
chop in rather large chunks the yellow onion
melt enough butter to lightly coat the chopped veggies and toss with salt to taste and the rosemary
roast on a baking tray in the oven for 35-40min until the beets are sufficiently tender, stirring occasionally
turn on the broiler the last 5-7min to get nice coloring and caramelization.
serve with a grapefruit ginger glaze if desired.

Grapefruit Ginger Glaze
juice of one grapefruit(okay, so this is imported....I cheated)
few rosemary leaves
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
3-4 quarter sized pieces of fresh peeled ginger
simmer the ingredients on low heat until thickened slightly
pour over the roasted veggies and toss well

it's that time!

So this week I finally was able to get more things in order for Christmas, which is hilarious because I'm leaving next week to go back to the States for a month which means I'll just get to do it all over again! WOOO! I finally finished decorating the tree, which was a bit of a drama because finding Christmas lights was way more difficult than it was last year.  I also started Christmas baking.  I made two types of cut out cookies; Gingerbread and Sugar.  I used a new Gingerbread recipe...both are not original recipes of my own but they are still really good, and the links are included there.  The only change I made, was that I added a tiny bit of almond extract to the sugar cookies.  Also I converted all the measurements in the Gingerbread recipe to metric because I weigh in all my baking now, it makes my results more consistent and I use fewer dishes, and I am not always searching for pesky missing measuring cups.

That being said, I am really happy with the results now.  I used this frosting for the sugar cookies, I just substituted regular shortening for butter flavored, because it is what I had.  I made a traditional Royal Icing for the Gingerbread men(1 egg white+5.3oz of confectioners sugar) and I added a bit of orange extract, because orange goes so well with gingerbread. The gingerbread men were inspired by mini-gingerbread cookies I saw in Marks&Spencer's over a week ago, they were decorated in a similar fashion and were called Jazzy Trousers, so I hope these Gingery-men enjoy their fancy Christmas outfits :)
I also finally finished decorating the Christmas Tree.  There was a bit of a drama in that department.  I only got to enjoy the decorated tree for a few days before taking off home to the States for Christmas.  But my Dad will be Home Alone(!) for another week and I know he enjoys it.
Christmas isn't just a time for decorating and baking, it is a great time to get to know your neighbors by bringing them treats of the season, and making up for not being neighborly the previous 11 months.  I recommend getting to know your neighbors, mostly because when they know you, they seem to be quieter at night :)