summertime tagliarini

115g/4oz pinenuts
juice and zest of 2 lemons
 a large bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked, half finely chopped and half left whole
215ml/7½fl oz extra virgin olive oil
150g/5½oz Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, plus extra for shaving
50g/1¾oz pecorino cheese, freshly grated
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
500g/1lb 2oz good-quality tagliarini or tagliatelle

1) Smash up half of the pinenuts to a paste, then put it into a big heatproof bowl with the rest of the whole pinenuts, the lemon juice and zest, the finely chopped parsley and the extra virgin olive oil.

2) Stir and add the Parmesan and pecorino. What you should have now is a reasonably thick sauce, which you should think of more as a dressing, so taste it and think about how the different flavours are coming through. I want you to balance the flavours so you end up with something quite zingy because, as the sauce heats up and the cheese melts, the flavour of the lemon will calm down a lot. Season with some freshly ground black pepper. Taste it and if you think you haven’t got the balance right, simply add a little more oil and Parmesan.

3) Put a large pot of salted water on to boil for your pasta. Sit the sauce bowl on top of the pan while the water’s heating up – this will take the chill out of the sauce and warm it through slightly. When the water starts to boil, remove the bowl and add your pasta to the water. Cook it according to the packet instructions then drain in a colander, reserving a little of the cooking water.

4) Toss the pasta with the sauce and a little of the reserved cooking water to help loosen it up a bit. The heat from the pasta will melt the cheese, allowing all the lovely sauce to coat it. If you find the sauce is too thick then add a little more water. It’s not supposed to be claggy, thick and miserable, but incredibly silky, fresh and fragrant. Have one last taste to balance the flavours, and serve with a little extra Parmesan shaved over the top and a sprinkle of parsley leaves. Eat immediately.

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Chilled Mango Cheesecake

For the woman who deserves nothing lesser than second best :)


Chilled Mango Cheesecake


Ingredients:

Base:
50gm digestive biscuit crumbs
50gm oreo biscuit crumbs (I used digestive biscuit crumbs for everything)
40gm melted butter

Filling:
200gm cream cheese
1 tbsp rum (or almond essence)
1 tbsp lemon juice
55gm sugar
200g mango puree
1 tbsp gelatin
3 tbsp boiling water
200ml whipping cream (whipped)
2 tbsp icing sugar
1 mango (cubed)

Mango puree topping:
100gm mango puree
2 tsp gelatin
3 tbsp boiling water

Method:

1. Toss cake base ingredients into melted butter and press firmly on to base of cake pan. Chill in the fridge for use later.

2. Whip whipping cream with 2 tbsp icing sugar till about 70% stiff or mousse state, keep chilled.

3. Dissolve gelatine powder in 3 tbsp boiling water. Keep warm but not hot for use later.

4. Cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice and rum together till smooth and creamy.

5. Add the warm gelatin solution to mango puree and blend well.

6. Stir mango mixture into cheese mixture and combine till well mixed. Blend in the whipped cream. Stir in the cube mango pieces (optional).

7. Pour cheese mixture onto cake base and chill for at least an hour.

8. Dissolve gelatin powder with 2 tbsp boiling water and stir this into mango puree. Pour topping gently onto chilled cheesecake.

Chill for at least 3 hours before serving.

happy birthday mum :)

credits to do what i like :)

Broccoli Drizzled with Indian-Spiced Yogurt

10 oz broccoli crowns (about 2 small), broken into florets
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
2/3 tsp each: cumin seeds, fennel seeds
Seeds from 2 cardamom pods
1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt
Zest and juice of 1/3 lemon
Kosher salt and black pepper


1) In large pot of boiling, salted water, add broccoli. Cook 4 minutes. Drain well.

2) Heat oil in large skillet over medium high. Add broccoli. Cook, stirring, 5 minutes or until lightly charred. Transfer to platter.

3) Meanwhile, in small skillet over medium high, toast cumin, fennel and cardamom until browned and fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes. Grind in spice/coffee grinder or in mortar using pestle.

4) Stir 3/4 of cumin mixture into yogurt along with lemon juice and zest. Season with salt and pepper.

5) Drizzle broccoli with spiced yogurt. Sprinkle with remaining cumin mixture.

Alternatively, visit: cheap healthy good

Olive vegetable with lime fried rice

Another one of jo's inventions :)

Olive vegetable with lime fried rice (Serves 6)

(This was obviously not the picture of the rice I had but is rather more for visual purposes.)

Ingredients:

chopped garlic
chopped onion
3 cups rice
pepper
180g olive vegetable (available at any groceries)
300g minced meat
raisins
pine nuts (I omitted this but was told that this could have given an added flavour to the rice)
chopped spring onion
lettuce (in small streaks) (optional)
lime (optional but highly recommended)

Steps:

1) Prepare the white rice. When it has been cooked, cool the rice and add in some pepper to bring flavours to the rice.

2) In a frying pan, pour out a small dose of the olive oil from the canned vegetable and add more vegetable oil if its not enough. Fry the garlic til it turns golden brown before adding in the onion into the pan. Be sure that it is on low fire.

3) Add the meat into the mixture till its fully cooked, add in the cooked rice and the olives. Add in the raisins, pine nuts and stir until the rice is properly mixed.

(No salt or soy sauce should be needed since the olive would give be salty enough :) )

4) Next, stir in the spring onion. You would be able to smell the fragrance almost immediately, on top of the nice visuals.

5) Before serving, garnish with as much lettuce as you want and squeeze lime juice onto each small portions of rice. It is sure to whet your appetite. Serve hot.

Orange Date Muffins & Chocolate Muffins

There's been a muffin craze recently! What better ways to destress than to bake? Looking at the ingredients I had at home, it was an impromptu decision one evening to bake them. Unfortunately, my mum warned me that it's not easy baking quality muffins(moist and soft). I had several friends who tried the muffins said they were a little hard and dry.

Orange Date Muffins:

1 cup (130 grams) all-purpose flour
1 cup (130 grams) whole wheat flour
2/3 cup (140 grams) light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1/3 cup (80 ml) fresh orange juice
2/3 cup (160 ml) buttermilk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 tablespoons (57 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2/3 cup (90 grams) chopped dates
2/3 cup (60 grams) walnuts, coarsely chopped

(I substituted almond grains for the nuts though)
Garnish: (optional)
Granulated white sugar

Steps:

1) Preheat oven to 205 deg C. Place rack in the middle of the oven. Butter well or spray, with a non stick vegetable spray, 12 muffin tins (or line with paper liners).

Ingredients for the day

2) In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, and orange zest.

3) In a separate bowl, mix together the orange juice, buttermilk, egg, vanilla extract, and melted and cooled butter.

Wet mixture for the orange date muffins

4) Add the milk and egg mixture to the flour mixture. Stir just until combined. Fold in the dates and walnuts. Do not over mix the batter or the muffins will be tough when baked.

5) Evenly divide the mixture among the 12 muffins cups and sprinkle each muffin with a little sugar, if desired. Place in the oven and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until very lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool.

Makes 12 regular-sized muffins.




Chocolate Muffins:

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups (230 grams) all-purpose flour
2/3 cup (60 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups (265 grams) light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (170 grams) milk or semisweet chocolate chips (I used dark chocolates since I myself am a fan of dark chocolate)
Chocolate Fudge Frosting: (optional)
4 ounces (12 grams) unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup (150 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cups (1600 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Steps:

1) Preheat oven to 190 deg C. Position rack in center of oven. Butter, or line with paper liners, 12 muffin tins (or line with paper liners).

2) In a large measuring cup or bowl whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla extract.

Wet mixture for the choc muffins

3) In another large bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the chocolate chips. With a rubber spatula fold the wet ingredients, along with the melted butter, into the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are combined. Do not over mix the batter or tough muffins will result.

4) Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter (the muffin cups will be full), using two spoons or an ice cream scoop. Place in the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for about 5 minutes before removing from pan.

Setting them aside into the muffin tray

5) Chocolate Frosting: Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

6) In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy (about 1 minute). Add the sugar and beat until it is light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the chocolate and beat on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until frosting is smooth and glossy (about 2 -3 minutes). Spread a little frosting on each muffin with a knife or offset spatula.

Makes 12 regular sized muffins.

I didn't actually have buttermilk so I googled on how to prepare it from scratch. It's relatively easy actually. Place a tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup, add enough milk to bring the liquid up to the one-cup line. I added 2 drops of buttermilk essence to the mixture as well but I guess this is optional.

blackiee

Japanese Cotton Soft Cheesecake

So i got introduced to this website by jo and it was suggested that we bake this cake for Eva :) Frankly, risky for bday cake for a first attempt since i wont be able to know the taste until the birthday girl tries it herself.

Japanese Cotton Soft Cheesecake!

Ingredients:
140gm icing sugar
6 egg whites
6 egg yolks
1/4 tsp cream of tartar (I substituted it with vanilla extract)
50gm butter
250gm cream cheese
100ml fresh milk
1 tbsp lemon juice (I also added in 1/2 lemon rind )
60gm cake flour
20gm cornflour
1/4 tsp. salt (I'm not too sure where this came in under the steps! )


Method :
1. Melt cream cheese, butter and milk over a double boiler. Cool the mixture. Fold in the flour, cornflour, egg yolks, lemon juice, lemon rind and mix well.

2. Whisk egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy. Add in the sugar and whisk until soft peaks form.

3. Add the cream cheese mixture to the egg white mixture and mix well. Pour into a 9-inch round springform pan (Lightly grease and line the bottom and sides of the pan with greaseproof baking paper or parchment paper).

4. Bake cheesecake in a water bath for 1 hours 10 minutes or until set and golden brown at 160 DC.

credits: Momster's Cuppie Corner