Artisan breads - making the perfect loaf

I just love those wholemeal, multi-grained breads. I've tried so many commercial types which i suspect do not use enuff of the real, good stuff!

So it's refreshing to read of bakers in Malaysia starting to make & sell artisan bread. One was in Jln Ipoh, KL...wee bit too far for me, and to day in The Star (14 Nov, Business section) is one nearer to home - Artisan Touch!

They even have an online ordering service by CookieJar
They also run bread classes

Focaccia to bake

This focaccia looks so yummy.. Think i'll try my hand at this again. I have not been baking for a long time.

Time to rekindle the baker in me!

Party food - easy, healthy, tasty!

Alternative party food!

 Last nite's NY Eve 2012 Party MENU @Kafe Muzium (National Textile Museum, KL)

• SALAD
• 3 types of salad leaves from Jusco 1U - crispy lettuce, butterhead, frill iceberg (RM2.99 per bunch, can last for a week if u wash, drain & keep in tight container)
• red cabbage (shredred/sliced), raisins, can of drained pineapple, blanched broccoli
• 1 pkt Japanese dressing, first round, then 1 pkt  Balsamic dressing & last round - EVOO & a squeeze of orange : we just keep re-filling it but changed the dressing each time.. It blended well.. all oil based, not creamy. Even had some the next morning for breakfast. Keeps well.
• FRUIT SALAD (Latifah's recipe) - mango, honey melon, grapes in yoghurt
• BREAD - French village (RM3.90) / Alpine grain (RM3.80) from La Boheme, Jusco 1U - preferably lightly toasted with 3 toppings (can top with salad too):  
• Garlic butter - finely chopped garlic, chillie flakes, AgroMas Mushroom powder, real butter
• Dried prawn sambal (mom's recipe) - onion, garlic, chilli paste, dried prawns, asam jawa
• Seafood mayo (Ayam brand) ... went on the wild side & used a few processed items to speed things up ;)
• ROASTED CHICKEN in lemon - from the cafe's chef
• CHILLI CON CARNE - minced beef with red broad beans (from the cafe)
• TUNA SPINACH BAKE (from my recipe collection)
• CAKE - Carrot cake with cream cheese topping, Oats & Prune layer cake (8 eggs!)
• LIGHT FRUIT PUNCH
• FRUITS - langsat, pulasan, mangosteen
• GREEN TEA

For way too long, Malaysians have this standard menu of too oily fried meehoon  & too rich chicken curry for parties. Sorry, but Oh so boring!  (not to mention - Unhealthy). And a separate menu for kids - fried chicken & nuggets, french fries and sausages - food i won't even feed my dog!  No wonder so many obese kids amongst obese parents :(

Here's my tried & tested suggestions (i wont say 'recipe' because its a no brainer, just throw it together) for any party.

It's simple, just understand the concept behind it & remember :

• ACTUAL food (organic is optional), ie. food from nature's plants NOT the man's processing plants
• APPEALING to the eyes - it is said, we eat from our eyes, long before we put it into our mouth. Colours (natural sources). I once saw a rainbow layer cake that is soo intense with artificial colouring, layer by layer of red syrup colour, deep blue, bright green...Another version was subtler (tinge of colour only- very pastel) yet it was classier & more appetising to me. Salads must have a combination of colours ,besides the green leaves - add cherrie tomatoes, dark / red grapes, yellow capsicum, cubed canned pineapple, blanched brocoli & nuts for texture, purple shredded cabbage.
• EASY to prepare, just cut & keep in tight containers. Guests can DIY and entertain themselves and share food stories.
• VEGGIES. Of course there r those those die-hard 'i dont eat veggie' types but it's just becos their childhood experience with veg was negative. Entice them with attractive dishes, and when he sees others enjoying, he will try. I myself is a non-veggie eater. Why? Dad is a meat man & i hate those old-style taugeh with long roots that tickle my throat. So i actually spend time pulling out taugeh strands from my cha koay teaw! (Now, thank god for short, rootless Ipoh taugeh, i started eating it again, even love it in certain dishes - its ALL about presentation, marketing). At a fashion show, i add somw japanese cucumber & carrot sticks to the menu, and hey..it all disappeared..even the fried popiah was still left over.. Sign of changing attitudes to food which we must continue to ENCOURAGE!
• RAW, BLANCHED, STEAMED - Raw salad leaves should be as dry as possible , after washing. How? Shake out as much excess water. place in a container and add lid loosely, leaving a small gap. Then overturn & start shaking. You's be surprise how much water is still there. Them close lid tightly & put in the fridge to refresh & stay fresh. Blanching - timing is important & amt of water. Add a little salt to the water to raise the boiling point. Too much water drains away the nutrients. Water should be boiling before u throw in the veg. Once it turn colour, switch off fire & drain. Add a little cold water to stop cooking, if necessary. Slice thinner if u want a quick steam. All must be of equal thickness.
• CARBOHYDRATES, STARCHES, OILS - in moderation is fine. Be creative, innovative! Boiled potatoes  mixed with yoghurt instead of cream. Serve sweet potatoes instead of ordinary potatoes. Sweet potatoes r sweeter & have lower GI, so will feel fuller for longer, as compared to potatoes. The different colours - purple, orange, light yellow would add appeal. Steam, instead of boil in their skin to retain more of their goodness. Pasta should be served with a touch of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) and chlli flakes (chillie padi) & garlic for that more Malaysian flavour, also known as 'olio' in Italian . No creamy alfredo or boring bolognaise. I sometimes add some light soy sauce (see yau) and black pepper & EVOO, and a little lime / orange juice freshly squeezed!
• FUN should be the order of the day in parties! Less hassle, more time for hosting..

Recipe (adapted from The Malaysian Weekly Oct 2000 issue)

TUNA SPINACH BAKE

1/2 cm slice of a block of real butter, not margarine that are processed & mostly made of hydrogenated oil, a no no!
1 large onion, chopped coarsely
2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
300 gm (2 bunches) baby spinach leaves - pluck leaves & break stems into half length (of course remove roots!)
425 gm (1 can)  flaked tuna in brine ..oops I used only 1 can that's 185g . OK, wah.. Just less fishy! Remember to press out the juice or else it will be too soggy

180ml evaporated milk  -  but i used HL Low fat milk 200ml small carton.. too much? so i added 1 more egg
3 eggs + 1 egg (too offset too much milk),  lightly beaten
90 g grated cheddar cheese   - i used sliced black pepper Bega cheese... not so good an idea as u will see afterwards..
30 gm dry breadcrumbs
Sprinkle of pepper to taste. No need salt due to brine in tuna flakes. Flakes r cheaper but chunks (more expensive sometimes) can do also, just mash them up

1. On very slower heat, heat butter in a pan (preferably with heat bottom to control heat or else butter will burn) and lightly fry onions & garlic. Or u could add butter, onion & garlic, then turn on the heat slowly to fry. Then add spinach. Looks alot but when it wilts and cooks, it'll be a fraction of the amount.Cook about a min, stirring to ensure all r cooked.
2. Scoop out into two small pie pans or but all in a large pie dish (glass would be nice for presentation to encourage people to try.
3. Sprinkle the drained tuna. I mistakenly added just a little tuna (1 can separated into 2 pans). I mixed the milk into the beaten eggs, stir & pouring into the two pans. 
4. Because i'm baking on at a time, i added the cheese slices (tore and spread it on top) 3 slices per pan. Then sprinkle the breadcrumbs 15gm or more. 
5. Then bake in a hot oven 180 degrees middle tray (small oven). If bigger oven put on the top tray. The idea was not only to cook the mixture but salso to brown the top crust. Keep checking. I tried different levels in the oven. Dangerous to keep tranferring the disk - hot cheese burns!
6. Made another mistake! Breadcrumbs didnt brown, instead burned slightly. So what went wrong?  Aiyah.. too smart. Should not have used sliced cheese.  Was supposed to mix the grated cheese with dry breadcrumbs and then sprinkle over the mixture. When it is hot, the oil in the cheese will 'fry' the breadcrumbs, so get a golden brown crust.  So, damage control? Half way through the cooking, i chopped the sliced cheese as best i can & open the oven door to sprinkle on the top!
7. Bake for 40 mins or until it browns slightly. Remove to cool
8. For 2nd pan, tried chopping the extra cheese & mix with dry breadcrumbs and again sprinkle on the 2nd dish. Put in the oven & turn the dial for another 40min a& crossed my fingers.

As i was late for my dinner party, i took a quick shower while the 2nd dish was baking. Came out just in time to stop the oven before it burned the crust.

Lessons learned :

• Dont adapt recipe too much
• Read the weight measurement closely
• When baking add preparation time, mixing time & baking time to determine delivery time. And if u need to bake twice, add another baking time.all this  + travel time and traffic jams OR ELSE if u will be fashionable late like me & MAKE EVERYONE WORRIED esp. when your phone doesnt work properly (my fault again).. Murphy's Law!

But i was glad, everyone enjoyed the food judging by the food all disappearing! But luckily enough till countdown!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013, EVERYONE!!! 

MAKE IT AWESOME :)

Must try this out - Rose Apple tart

Saw this in http://tikkido.com/node/750

Here are the photos to tempt u to visit their site for the recipe, or until i get to try it out & post my own version of this tart.

What do u think? Yummy & good presentation!

Healthy dessert..is there such a thing?

Yes, according to this blogger and she's got photos, recipes & calorie counts to proof it!

http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/about-2/

Here's a sample of her recipes :

Chocolate Fudge Pie

■1 package silken or firm tofu (such as 12.3 oz Mori-Nu or Mori-Nu lite)
■1 tsp cocoa powder
■1 tsp pure vanilla extract
■2 T nondairy milk
■scant 1/8 tsp salt
■8 to 10 oz chocolate chips (a little over 1 and 1/3c or more)
■2-3 T agave or other sweetener (When I make this just for me, I omit)
■optional: extracts, flavorings, or liqueurs

Melt the chocolate (either on the stove or in the microwave), then throw everything into a food processor and blend until super-smooth. Pour into a pie crust if desired. (I hate pie crust and therefore usually keep it crustless.) Fridge until chilled. This gets firmer and firmer, the longer it sits. (It’s firmer if you use firm tofu and more like mousse pie if you use silken.)

Chocolatecoveredkatie says:
I promise you, everyone will rave about it, and no one will believe it has tofu!!
You truly can make this in just 5 minutes!
Nutritional Info:
■143 calories
■6 grams fat
■2.5 grams protein
■0mg cholesterol

These stats were calculated using 8 slices. Some of my testers say it’s so rich that it should be ten slices… and I say it’s so good that it should be six . (Add about 7 calories per slice for each T of agave used.)

Going ORGANIC ... Justlife

I came to know of justlife through the Climate Change event @ Bukit Jalil recently. I've always been sceptical of these 'organic' kind of shops -- Expensive! .. comes to mind. This view is shared by many, .. but I always remind myself - in order to accept or reject a concept/idea, we should study it, give it a chance for we may learn a thing or two. Either way, we will benefit from the knowledge gained, regardless of whether we decide to follow the path to an organic way of life or NOT!

Having read their magazine, checked out their website, seen their commitment in organizing the Climate Change event,.. maybe there is some thing more to this....

No GMO, fair price to farmers, respect for nature, .. See, read for yourself ... and you decide ...
http://www.justlifeshop.com/pages/about_us.html

Eggless Fudgy Brownies - my way!

Contrary to popular perception, being a vegan does not limit my food choices, but opens up a whole new culinary experience & taste. Having to bake without eggs or butter requires one to be creative & slightly innovative!

I'm always into new food adventures! Sometime ago, I picked up a book published by the Vegan Society of Australia which inspired me to create my 'eggless' fudgy brownies. The book gave suggestions on how to substitute eggs with other ingredients - guess what they are! -- banana, icing sugar, cashew nuts, protein powder, etc.

So, I ventured to create my own version of the brownies shown in the book. Actually, I forgot to bring the book home -- so, 'necessity' being the mother of invention, I devised my own recipe based on logic, feel, look, taste & smell (will explain as I go along).

LOGIC - I started by blending a few minutes (pulsing - ie. push the on button only for a few seconds, off it, & repeat until you get the consistency you want):

100 gm dates (remember to check for seeds/pitts or you are going to break your blade!)
1 small (11cm) banana (peeled, of course!)
30 gm raw cashew nuts
3 tablespoons protein powder (whey & soya based)
50 gm icing sugar (its a mix of refined sugar & corn flour)
2 tablespoons cocoa powder (Van Houten, is dark & good) dissolved in 1/2 cup of warm water

LOOK - It should come out slightly thick & gooey. Its okay if the cashews or dates are a bit coarse.

Heat up your oven to 180 degrees.

Pour mixture into a large bowl. Sift parts of 100 gm of self-raising flour and slowly fold in the mixture. Alternate with tablespoons of olive oil (total 5 tablespoons) and mix well.

FEEL - If the mixture feels heavy, slowly add a little boiled water & lightly stir. Do not over mix or your brownie will be too dense. It should be shiny & smooth & not too thick.

Line a long 8"x5" cake tin with baking paper slightly oiled. Spoon mixture into the tin. Lightly tap the pan on the table to remove large bubbles in the mixture. Top with pieces of dates & cashew halves.

SMELL - Bake for 20-30 mins. @20 mins or when the cashews look slightly browned, open the oven door & stick a skewer into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean, stop the oven. If not, continue for another5 mins. You should also have a fragrant smell when it's cooked. Too strong a smell means the cocoa is burnt.

When cooked, remove and let it sit for 10 mins. Then remove to a wired rack until its cooled.

Red Banana Muffins (no refined sugar added)

At last, after experimenting with different combinations of ingredients & in different amounts(sometimes edible, sometimes good enough only as paperweight, ha ha...), I finally found a combination I like. Hope you like it too and try it out!

The aim of my 'experiment' was to make muffins with NO refined sugar or artificial flavour added. The sweetness & flavour would have to come from natural sources. I chose to use the red (Jamaican) bananas as it has a strong, distinct taste and suitable for cooking.

Sweetness comes from the ripe banana and lots of raisins. I was surprised to find that many teenagers don't like black raisins. They say that it reminds them of cockcroach droppings! So, I would suggest using golden raisins (not so sweet, though) or other dried fruits. However, I suspect tropical dried fruits like mango, pineapple, Chinese plums, guava, winter melon, etc. are all candied (ie. processed/coated/dried with sugar & other artificial additives & colouring). So, choose wisely!

If you don't have bananas, you could substitute with peeled, chopped yellow apples (NZ Golden Delicious).

This time, I used chapatti (atta) flour instead of imported wholemeal flour because it's easier to find at supermarkets, finer texture and more economical, mixed with an equal portion of plain white flour. For added fiber & nutrition, I added organic hulled millet & organic omega mix (raw sunflower kernels, pumpkin seeds, flax seed & sesame seed) from the health stores.

RED BANANA MUFFINS
1 cup plain flour
1 cup chapatti (atta/wholemeal) flour
2 tablespoon millet
2 tablespoon Omega mix (raw seeds)
1 teaspoon double action baking soda
100gm raisins (black or golden)

Mix the above dry ingredients in a large bowl by hand. Switch on the oven.

50g butter or equivalent dairy spread
2 small eggs lightly beaten
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large red ripe banana, mashed with a fork
some plain boiled water

If your butter is cold, place it into the flour mixture & use a large spoon to cut it into smaller pieces and mash it while combining with the flour. It will be easier if the butter is soft. That's why, whenever I decide to do baking, the first thing I take out of the fridge is the butter & eggs (to leave at room temperature). Then only would I start looking for suitable recipes & assemble my tools & ingredients.

When the mixture is evenly combined, add the eggs a little at a time, constantly stirring & blending. Add the mashed bananas next and olive oil. Mix until you get the right consistency.

What type of consistency? Not too hard but not too watery. Scoop a large tablespoon and tilt the spoon. If it glides slowly down, its ok!. If it drips down too easily (too much banana or egg), add a little flour or millet/seeds. If it still sticks to the spoon and look lumpy, add some milk or water bit by bit. Mix evenly using the 'folding' method, ie. Stir the mixture with your spoon in a wide circle (either clockwise/anti-clockwise) twisting the spoon slightly to turn over the mixture. When you reach the start of your circle, draw down your spoon horizontally and repeat the who action until it's blended well. You could also imagine making a large figure '8' in the mixture. But don't over mix or else you will deflate your muffin!

Sccop a table spoon of the mixture into paper cups. Use plain white /unbleached ones, not the fancy coloured or golds/silver on the outside & white inside. Sometime ago, I did that and the colour leached into the muffin (eek!) and gold/silver turned an odd shade!

It should fill only half or 3/4 of the cup. Top each muffin with a sprinkle of seeds and bake in a heated oven for 25-30 mins of until the top is slightly brown & seeds are lightly toasted (must switch on the oven earlier so that it is the correct temperature, before you put in the muffin)

Makes 12. Needs one large bowl, one spoon, one 6-pc muffin tray, one cup for measurement.

Have fun trying it!
Do let me know your variations to my recipe, if any!

Any healthy recipes to share??