For the little girl... who has requested, repeatedly for several days now, chocolate ice cream with chocolate chips in it.
This recipe was given to me by an e-friend, who gave me permission to share...
1/2 cup chocolate milk
1/2 cup condensed milk
1/3 cup Dutch style cocoa
300 ml heavy 40% cream
3 to 5 tablespoons mini chocolate chips
Stir together the chocolate milk, condensed milk and cocoa until thoroughly mixed. Chill for a couple of hours.
Whip the cream until stiff peaks. Fold in the chocolate-milk mixture.
Pour
into prepared container (about 1 liter capacity). Freeze for 1 to 2
hours, until sides begin to freeze but center is still a bit liquid-y.
Stir the mixture then fold in chocolate chips. Freeze until solid.
The
little girl obviously loved her ice cream. It was delicious, although I
found it a tad a bit on the sweet side. It's a little sweeter,
particularly the end-note, than my go-to homemade chocolate ice cream, but it is darker and has a more complex chocolate-y taste, maybe due to chocolate milk component.
In any case, the little girl pronounced me her (kitchen) hero once again!
My first attempt to make homemade butter was a flop. I used my
KitchenAid stand mixer (it was really messy) and actually saw the
buttermilk separate but thought that the liquid was too little so I kept
going. Big mistake. The buttermilk reincorporated in the butter and I
ended up with something NOT butter! It spoiled overnight.
I did not want to try again!
But then I saw this video...
And I raced to the nearest supermarket and a 500ml bottle of water. I still had some fresh cream in the fridge and started "culturing" the cream, because I wanted cultured butter. I
followed the instructions in the book Kitchen Creamery, page 55-56)
After
24 hours, I poured 250 ml of cultured cream in the (clean) water
bottle. Then I shook the bottle for about 10 to 15 minutes (no way I
could do it in a minute, the guy in the video has serious muscle, I have
serious fat). About 3 minutes into shaking, I started to doubt myself
(the little girl told me I looked really funny); it seemed that there
was no activity within the bottle even as I shook it as hard as I could
(which was nowhere near the guy in the video!). I changed tactics and
started smacking the bottle against the kitchen table to dislodge the
contents which seemed to be sticking to the inside wall of the bottle.
After a while I heard sloshing!!!! And I could see a solid mass
separated from what looked like milk. I drained the (real) buttermilk.
After
most of the buttermilk was drained (and I realize that the small
opening of the water bottle was actually ideal for draining!), there was
a definite mass of butter!
I cut the bottle open and reveled in my success!
I poured the butter into a fine mesh sieve to drain for a couple of minutes.
I wished I could get the bits of butter stuck to the sides of bottle out.
I
used a coffee filter to pat the butter dry then moved it to a bowl for
washing. I washed 7 times until the water looked clear.
The third washing shows that the water was still very cloudy.
The seventh wash where the water was rather clear.
I
drained the water from the final washing and dried the butter with
another coffee filter. Then I mixed in a pinch of Himalayan pink salt.
We
had a taste of the butter smeared on a piece of bread... and I promptly
promised never to buy butter (for eating) again! It was honestly the
best butter I have ever tasted!
And I am perfectly
happy with this water bottle technique. It yields about half a cup of
butter, which suits us just fine. We are not really lovers of butter so
a very small batch is ok. Especially since the butter has to be
consumed within a week (fresh cream, no preservatives!). I seriously
doubt we could finish a large amount of butter anyway (plus it's not
really healthy to consume copious amounts of butter!)
A week later...
We finished the first batch of homemade butter in less than a week. And I'd been wanting to make another batch.
I
got everything from the store a couple of days before... I even bought
bottled water (just for the bottle, mind you!) The first step? Culturing the cream.
To my dismay, I discovered that someone took MY
bottled water, drank the water, then threw the bottle away! @#!$#%$^%^ Hmpf. I didn't mind the water being gone, but I needed the bottle! Now what
was I going to use? I couldn't go out of the house to buy bottle water again (not practical to waste gasoline just for a bottle!) so I checked all the cupboards and found a plastic
tea/water bottle that I got as a gift last Christmas. Well, I was
rather desperate and that was all I could find... so that was it.
So
I went to work and shook... it took longer (about 8 more minutes)
than the disposable water bottle but it was still doable. So I guess I
will be using this from now on - at least I don't have to keep buy
bottled water (and not for the water but for the container!) This particular bottle has a big opening but it also has a smaller one so it was actually perfect... drain the buttermilk through the small spout, open the lid and scrape everything into a sieve! I can get even the smaller bits stuck to the sides of the bottle.
This time I drained my butter directly in the sieve, without a coffee filter.
The butter was washed 7 times... the first wash - very cloudy -
The final wash (I specifically prepared a separate container) - really clear! -
Then we had merienda! Hot pandesal with fresh cultured butter slathered on!
Ok, I'm finally admitting it... the truth is, I've been trying to
have a healthier breakfast habit. I usually have rice, a fried egg and
some processed meat but hubby has been nagging me to eat healthier (and
join him at the gym, but no!). For now I'm trying the healthy
breakfast... so here's another one... oatmeal-based once again...
The oatmeal layer is a half-cooked 1:1 oatmeal and low fat milk concoction. Just mix together 1/2 cup each of whole oats and 1/2 cup low fat milk. Heat gently until the mixture becomes paste-like. Cool completely before assembling.
I
vary the toppings (or layers - Greek-style yogurt and fruit are perfect!) and for this particular one, it's a
chocolate pudding. Okay, not really that healthy considering the heavy
cream but baby steps! baby steps! (I promise to experiment with a
yogurt pudding or something... but my problem with yogurt is that it is
too tangy and I end up using quite a bit of sugar, which is not
healthy either!) Besides, this chocolate pudding is so easy (it's no cook and one bowl, to boot) I really
couldn't resist!
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp cocoa powder
60 grams bittersweet 62% chocolate
15 grams lightly salted butter (optional)
1/2 tsp vanilla in rum
Heat
the cream, in the microwave, until nearly boiling (but do not boil). A glass, micro-safe measuring cup is perfect for this.
Stir in the cocoa powder, chocolate and butter; stir until everything is
melted and smooth. Add the vanilla in rum. (Cool slightly.) Pour over the oatmeal
layer and chill overnight. If desired, garnish with chocolate curls. Enjoy the next morning!
(I'm not a fan of oatmeal, but I like this concoction!)
The three of us ate this for breakfast... the little girl loved the pudding, the oatmeal, however, is another story.
I like my chilli con carne with more meat than beans. However, when
it is meant as a dip, I like it with lots and lots of beans! And
cheese!!!
My
recipe is a variation of my mom's; to be more accurate, it is a short
cut of my mom's recipe. My mom used to make it, beginning a couple of
days before, with raw beans! Uh... not me! Canned beans are perfectly
fine! For this particular chilli con carne dip, the baked beans in
tomato sauce (I like Ayam brand! they even have a light version) is
perfect! Just drain the extra sauce (don't rinse, since the sweet-ish
sauce completes the spiciness of the dish.
250 grams ground meat (pork, beef, chicken or a mix)
1 cup baked beans, drained
1 small onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup diced tomatoes, with liquids
2 tablespoons tomato paste, optional
1 to 2 pieces siling labuyo or hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon Hungarian paprika
salt and pepper, to taste
pizza cheese mix (mozzarella, parmesan and cheddar mix), coarsely grated
Saute
the onions and garlic. Add the ground meat and stir-fry until the meat
is almost done. Add the drained beans, diced tomatoes, tomato paste
(this is to help thicken the mix faster but optional) and the spices
(feel free to adjust the spices according to personal taste). Stir
gently so that the beans don't get crushed. If the mixture is too thick,
add water gradually. The dish should be thick but not soupy. Simmer a
few minutes for the flavors to meld.
Spoon into a bowl and
sprinkle a generous/hefty amount of mixed cheese. Zap with a torch (or
broil a couple of minutes) to melt the cheese. Serve immediately!
with nachos, of course!
We served this to hubby's Thursday group and they were a big hit!
I
remember that it was favorite diet food - cucumber salad - a couple of decades
ago when we were college students. As college bud S says, back in those days
we thought we were fat, but now we realize we may have been chunky but
we were (definitely) not fat.
Anyway, I was killing time at the
supermarket the other day and I saw organic Japanese cucumbers! I
immediately thought of hubby and how much he liked the Japanese
cucumbers we had a couple of weeks ago. I also remember how much I liked cucumbers and suddenly I had a craving for it.
The salad begins, of course, with Japanese cucumbers. A pack contained 3 pieces.
My
mom told me that cucumbers needed preparation otherwise it would exude
water and ruin the dish. I assume that the preparation applied to all
cucumbers, even the Japanese ones, so after peeling strips of skin then slicing the cucumbers into
not-so-thin slices, I tossed them with sea salt. The salted cucumbers sat for about 10
minutes (after which a significant amount of liquid was out, then I rinse them, drained them for another 10 minutes then patted the pieces dry with (a lot of) kitchen
towels! Chill in the refrigerator while the dressing is being
prepared
Toss
the dressing with the cucumbers. A side note here - I find that too
much dressing tends to overpower the cucumbers so I add the dressing
gradually. I usually have leftover dressing.
As
far as I am concerned, I am perfectly happy with the salad as is. But
hubby likes crabsticks and asked if we had any. We had about 7 pieces
left, so I added them to the salad, and added some dressing as well. Turns out my dressing was just enough with the crabsticks added.
Recipe: Japanese Cucumber and Crabstick Salad with Creamy Sesame Dressing
3 pieces Japanese cucumbers
Sea salt
7 pieces crab sticks (optional)
For the dressing:
3 tablespoons roasted white sesame seeds
2 to 3 tablespoons Japanese mayonnaise
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
½ tablespoon sugar
½ to 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Prepare
the cucumbers by rinsing, peeling, and slicing the cucumbers. Toss
then soak the sliced cucumbers in sea salt for about 10 minutes. Rinse
thoroughly and squeeze any liquid out. Pat dry. Chill in the meantime.
Mix the dressing ingredients together then toss with cucumbers and crabsticks, if using.
Hubby and I went to a baking fair about a month ago and (no surprise
here) we came home with a few finds, one of which was this rectangular
tart pan (with a removable bottom). The first thing I wanted to bake in
it was apple tart!
To
make it easy, I used (1) puff pastry for the crust, (2) mandoline to
slice the apples [2 pieces largish Fujis) and (3) honey, butter and
apple pie spice for the "caramel" [mix together 1/8 cup honey, 1/4 cup
softened butter and 1/4 teaspoon apple pie spice then dot over the
sliced apples arranged in the puff pastry crust].
Leave to bake at 375F for about 30 minutes (or until puff pastry edges turn golden). Serve immediately.
I couldn't get out of cooking dinner. As much as I preferred to eat
out (just to escape the heat)... hubby insisted on having dinner at
home. He was tired of eating out and (he says) he missed my cooking.
So, fine. If I had to cook, I wanted something that was fast... maximum
of 15 minutes on the stove!
3 thin slices of ginger
6 pieces dried shitake mushrooms, rehydrated, stems removed
100 grams cooked, shelled chestnuts
splash of rice wine
water or stock
2 pieces star anise
1 piece siling labuyo (red chili)
light soy sauce, to taste
Rinse
the chicken thighs and remove any excess fat. Slice each thigh into 2
or 3 pieces. Marinate in soy sauce and sesame oil for at least 2 hours
(in the fridge).
Saute ginger then quick fry the chicken
thighs (pour in all the marinade also). Add the rehydrated mushrooms
(slice in half if they are too big) and chestnuts. Splash with a little
rice wine. Add enough water or stock to barely cover everything.
Throw in star anise and chili. Season to taste.
Simmer about 15 minutes or until the chicken is done. Thicken with cornstarch slurry, if desired. Serve over rice.
Summer is in full swing and it is hot, hot, hot! In fact, the
weather bureau has announced a weak El Niño that is likely to exist
until June or July! The heat index is nearing 41 and several areas have
been declared as drought areas, with farmers suffering as their crops
and fields are damaged by the extreme heat and lack of water.
I
have not used the oven in a month! It really is too hot to bake! The
last time I baked, the kitchen felt like a sauna. We don't even cook
long, because even with an exhaust system, it is JUST TOO HOT.
So,
how to cool off? Well, I have been making tons of ice cream... so far,
at least once a week! And I'm learning to appreciate the so-called
ice-box cakes (like this tiramisu), with my next project being a mango
refirgerator cake (if I can find sweet mangoes, that is).
Anyway, because of the heat, I served hubby a cool breakfast...
Of course I made it with my homemade Greek-style yogurt... (I discovered another use for my coffee filter/maker! Definitely takes up less space in the fridge.)
And the wonderful thing about this parfait? No cooking at all! And it's super chilled!
1/2 cup instant whole oats, raw
1/3 cup milk
1/2 to 1 tablespoon chia seeds
3/4 cup Greek-style yogurt
150 to 200 grams frozen berries (or any combination fruit as preferred)
mascarpone cheese, optional
Mix
together the oats, milk and chia seeds. Let stand in the fridge for
about 30 minutes, or until the mixture is thick and goopy.
Using
a parfait glass, or in my case, a short and wide-mouthed
tumbler/drinking glass, spoon a layer of oatmeal at the bottom, top with
yogurt then frozen or fresh berries. Repeat the layering. Chill
overnight, or do as I did (because I made it early in the morning, about
an hour before hubby returned from the gym), stick it in the freezer!
Just before serving, dollop a tablespoon of mascarpone on top. (Hubby
opted out of this.)
Enjoy!!!!
(If
you notice there is no sweetener added to this recipe. Hubby prefers
it that way; he says that he likes his breakfast parfait on the tangy
side. Sweeten according to your preference.)
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