Happy Ramadan

Fasting month has started and to celebrate puasa, I made nasi lemak out of brown rice.  I love the smell of Malaysian cooking, and this was no different.  Delicious.

On another note, I made a frozen yogurt, that was very rich and delicious.  I was about to follow David Lebovitz's recipe for Vanilla Frozen Yogurt, but I then realized I was missing a cup of strained Greek yogurt.  I substituted with heavy cream, and voila!  delicious.

2 cups strained Greek full fat yogurt
1 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract - the good stuff - you can really tell if its cheap and bad.

Warm heavy cream w/ sugar until fully dissolved.  Cool.
Fold sugary cream into the yogurt.  Add vanilla extract and stir.
Cool overnight, and freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions.

Pasta all'uovo fatta in casa

Today I decided to endeavor in making handmade pasta with a rolling pin.  I recently purchased the first edition of "The Classic Italian Cookbook" by Marcella Hazan.  Inside, there's an excellent description of how one should make handmade pasta.  On top of that, there's also a paragraph disparaging the use of a pasta machine - a first!

"[Machine made pasta] is truly effortless, but, unfortunately, machine pasta is not really as fine as the handmade kind.  Something happens to its composition as it goes through the steel rollers that gives the dough an ever so slightly slippery texture...these considerations aside, however, machine pasta can be quite good; it is certainly superior to the commercial variety, and it is far better than having no homemade pasta at all."

I decided to try out the technique described in my new cookbook.  It uses a rolling pin to continuously stretch, and knead the pasta dough until it's thin enough to handle.  Furthermore, the pasta is rolled onto itself onto the rolling pin, thus flattening it even more.  The wooden dowel gives the pasta texture.

While reading through chowhound and egullet, I found many remarks of how long it takes to make hand rolled pasta.  However, I found that the process was quite simple - at least compared to how I used to make pasta.  In the past, I used to roll out the pasta into as thin a sheet as I could (which ultimately was too thick), I'd cut each strand out, dry each strand on any hanging surface I could find, and then stretch out each strand to a desired thickness.  Proper hand-rolling is nothing compared to my belaboured multi-hour process.

Before unfurling

Post unfurling

Unfurling

Chicken Broth

I remember when I first started cooking, the simple act of making chicken broth terrified me.  I would stand by the pot, waiting for it to boil and foam, armed with ladle, and ready to skim.  I would constantly go back to the pot, tasty the oily broth and noting the change in taste as the broth simmered through the afternoon.  I made a pot of chicken broth this afternoon, and it seemed like second nature.  It has been years since I first learned how to make a pot of chicken broth, and the terror has lessened.  The only thing I regret was not tasting it as many times as I once did.  At this moment I am wondering if it was over salted.  I hear the clang of a pot hitting the porcelain sink.  My husband is washing my soup pot for me. :)

Lamb Shanks pt 2

The braised lamb shanks recipe has been so far so good.  When browning the shanks, they have yielded surprisingly very little oil.  I'm hoping that will change after the braise.  Here are some pictures of the process so far.

Browned shanks yielding very little fat

Softening vegetables

With the wine, and chicken broth, ready to simmer for hours to come

Lamb Shanks

My husband is out of town for the weekend and that usually means I endeavor in cooking something big and elaborate just so I can say I succeeded at doing it.  Today, I made a stop at Whole Foods at an unusual 9:30PM on a Friday night hoping to avoid the Saturday morning crowds.  To my dismay, the parking lot was full, and as I entered through the sliding doors, a woman in yoga pants brusquely walked past.  I noted to myself that I should try to work on my posture.  At the counter, the lamb is sectioned off like it was in pasture, and I noticed that the shanks were a pricey $6.99/lb.  $6.99?  For the toughest cut of meat below the knees of this very agile creature?  And I need four for my braise?  Really?

Never mind.  Just before reaching the cash, I was seduced by the Ylang Ylang shampoo with extra essential oils, and bought a bottle for $6.99.  $6.99?  Is everything at least $6.99 at Whole Foods?

Tomorrow I'm going to try a traditional braise from Alice Waters' cookbook. I've already salted and peppered and slid that whole mess into the fridge.   I've come a long way since I bought that Wusthof spatula.

Food & Cooking

After working through Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food, I'm ready for more complicated recipes.  I recall when I had worked through a lot of "How to Cook Everything", and found items difficult.  Now they are simple and easy to do, and I often refer to my Mark Bittman cookbook in a bind.  Today I made a classic Swiss Chard Frittata, and I am proud to say that my $40 investment in the Wusthof spatula has paid off in spades.  I flipped the frittata without having to transfer anything onto a dish.  To top it off, partly because of the nonstick nature of my seasoned pan, and partly because of the thin edge of my spatula, I was able to cut the frittata in half and flip each half without so much as breaking the frittata.  I was impressed.

French Country Cooking

I finally got my Elizabeth David cookbook, and it's an interesting read.  I had hoped that it was a bit more story like, but it is firmly a cookbook.  I harkened back to Elizabeth Romer's

The Tuscan Year: Life and Food in an Italian Valley

 and I prefer the qualitative story telling that goes into Romer's book.  I'm looking forward to my "Italian Food" book from Elizabeth David to compare.

One funny thing about my new cookbook is that it is a used book from the 1985 that I think, was an overprint of some kind.  The dust jacket is totally off.  However, with that being said, the book certainly has a lot of character, and I'm not one to complain.  Exciting!

Blinis and Salmon Caviar

Although Blinis take a bit more effort (and preparation) than pancakes, I find them far superior to pancakes. Blinis require the preparation of a "sponge" out of yeast, and yes, for better results, it's best to make the sponge the day before so you can develop delicious yeasty flavours. This morning we had the blinis with Salmon Caviar that Beth had gotten for us a month ago, and we had frozen.

Salmon Caviar freezes beautifully.

Kerrygold Butter is wonderfully spreadable at room temperature.


Buckwheat Flour is gluten free, and has an interesting texture. I used to be very loathe to adding "whole grain" flours to any of my baked goods simply because Whole Wheat flour lent a coarseness, and texture that I did not care for. Buckwheat Flour is a beautiful black/grey colour, and because it is gluten free, it gives an airiness to my baked goods. I am done with Whole Wheat Flour. Hello Buckwheat! I am also going to try Rye flour as well since I've read quite a bit about it.

Next up - corn. Anyone?

Also, I am looking for cooking classes in Guangzhou. Why is it so difficult?