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.

Keyboard batik

My brown linen pants were inadvertently tarnished when I tried to bleach our bathtub.  With the leftover dye, I dyed an old batik I had created, but never bothered to finish.  Voila.. keyboard batik.

Anchovies

Yesterday we found the most wonderful little shop in Santa Monica that specializes in Italian imports.  I purchased my first can of salted anchovies.  As I opened the can, I smelled the smell of the ocean.  I could picture seagulls flying overhead.  At first glance, these anchovies are much bigger than what I'm used to in the 2oz tins.  They are also less salty if they are left to soak in water for thirty minutes prior to using.  I have read that the anchovy taste is quite strong, but I don't think there is a huge difference.  A discernible difference, but not a huge difference.

anchovies from sicily

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.