My Favorite Version of Mushroom Soup

An all time favorite with both my kids (and a number of my friends too ). And I am more than happy to make this soup once a week as its packed with nutrition, vitamin Bs and dietary fibre.  It's tasty, quick and easy to make (under 30 minutes if you've got a handheld blender) and a whole load of fun for my daughter  (who'd don her chef costume and help with the cutting of the mushrooms (with a plastic knife of course)).

So what would you need for an earthy, thick and grainy mushroom soup that's packed with goodies:-

250 g fresh white button mushrooms, sliced

250 g fresh swiss brown mushrooms, sliced

100 g fresh shitake mushrooms, sliced

1 medium size onion, finely chopped

1 small potato (or 100 g cubed potato)

1 tablespoon salted butter

750-800 ml of chicken broth

2 bay leaves

A pinch of thyme ( dried or fresh is fine)

Salt and black pepper to taste
Grated nutmeg

250 ml Thick Cream

Parsley and croutons for garnishing

(Serves 5-6)

Swiss brown mushrooms, white button mushrooms, half a large onion and  potato

Clockwise from 12 o'clock : Black pepper, nutmeg, dried fresh thyme, bay leaves

A 4 year old who'd provide some kitchen assistance

What do you do with the ingredients?

1. Sautee the finely chopped onions in a tablespoon or more of butter until onions are soft and translucent.
2.  Throw in the sliced mushrooms and cubed potatoes and continue to sautee for about 2-3 minutes.
3.  Pour in the chicken broth and the 2 bay leaves and simmer for about 10-15 minutes
4. Season with salt and black pepper and a a pinch of thyme (for those who insist on some kind of quantification, i would say less than 1/8 of a teaspoon of thyme)
5. Remove bay leaves and blend with your handheld blender until fine or to the consistency desired
6. Taste and add more salt and pepper to your liking.
7. Grate some nutmeg in and taste again (do not over do the nutmeg - just less than a pinch will do)
8. Reheat gently, turn off the fire and pour in a half cup of cream (or slightly more depending on how creamy you like your soup).
9. Serve in bowls and garnish with some cream, croutons and parsley for that "finished" look (illustrated below)

Flavors of the earth in a bowl... Enjoy!!

Shepherd's Pie .. the kind with vegies in it

How do you get kids (and ahem [*cough cough*], certain adults too) to eat these vegetables?

EXHIBIT A : Colon friendly fibre which would do your doctor proud

You disguise it!  ... In a meaty shepherd's pie with creamy mash potatoes - the stuff that men and kids can live on indefinitely. Some stealth is sometimes justified for the greater good ;P

EXHIBIT B : The shepherd's pie for the serving

So how do we get from Exhibit A (the sliced vegies above) to Exhibit B (the meaty carbo concoction that will have your kids and your man begging for more) without raising too much of a suspicion?

First, we'll roast it and and then roughly chop it up beyond recognition.

Sprinkle some sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and some oil over the vegies and roast it for about 15 minutes in the oven at 180 degrees celsius

Add caption

I used a pair of kitchen scissors to quickly chop up the roasted vegies

The shepherd's pie is relatively easy and quick to prepare with some planning and multi-tasking involved. While the vegies were roasting in the oven, I boiled the potatoes on the stove while cooking my meat filling.  Halfway through simmering the meat filling, I added the chopped up, roasted vegies and cooked for a further 5 minutes. This is when you adjust the seasoning of salt, black pepper and the moisture level to your liking.

Lay the meat filling with the incorporated vegies out on an oven dish.. the great thing about aubergines and zucchini is that they just disappear into the dish.  

Time to attend to the potatoes, which should be fork tender by now.

I usually just drain the potatoes, throw them into my cake mixer with the milk, butter, salt and pepper and process. It's fluffy, mashed potatoes within 3 minutes.

Layer the mash potatoes onto pie filling

Use a fork to create those lines and sprinkle with some mozzarella (and parmesan if you wish) and pop it into the oven for 10-15 minutes at 180 degrees celsius or until it nicely browned.

Ingredients used for this dish:

To roast and then chop 

1 brinjal or aubergine

1 celery stick

1 carrot

(zucchini would be good too but I didn't have it on hand this time around to replace the celery - in fact you can put any vegies you want. Caveat - avoid strong smelling, difficult to camouflage stuff like cabbage, brocolli which may just alter the taste of the pie filling )

Time : 15 minutes at 180 degrees celsius with circulation fan on

The Meat filling:

350 g of minced beef/ lamb

300 g of ready made tomato pasta sauce or ragu sauce (those bottled tomato pasta sauce are a great convenience - you can use napoletana, mushroom, basilico  and so on)

2 bay leaves

1 whole fresh tomato, quartered

Sautee the mince meat in some oil together with the bay leaves and quartered tomatoes. Throw in the pasta sauce and allow to simmer. Incorporate the abovementioned roasted vegies. Season to taste.

The Mashed Potato Topping

Mash the following

550 g of boiled and cooked russet potatoes

100 g of fresh milk 

A dollop of butter

Salt and pepper to taste

The Assembly of the Dish

Lay out your pie filling in an oven-proof dish. Remember to remove your bay leaves before putting on your mash potato layering

For sprinkling during baking:

Grated mozzarella cheese and a pinch of grated nutmeg seed

(Tip : Adjust the moisture level of the pie filling by adding more tomato sauce, making sure there is some gravy in it. Same goes for the mashed potatoes, add more milk or cream if necessary for the right amount of moisture. You don't want your pie to dry out during the baking process.)

  

Pesto Bread

How would you like to make a journey of gastronomical indulgence, spiritual discovery and self examination around the world from Italy, across India all the way to Bali, Indonesia? That's what American author Elizabeth Gilbert did in her memoirs "Eat, Pray and Love", a book which I was reading the 2nd time through before attempting to watch the movie. (That's me - I like to read the novel before watching any novel-based movie, even if that means re-reading the book. The same happened for the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S Lewis - I'd read all 7 books when I was about 10. But when the first book was adapted to the big screen some years back, I found myself scrambling to re-read the books 25 over years later. Let's just put it to individual "quirkiness" and leave it at that :)

Anywayz... halfway through the book while following Elizabeth through her journey across Italy where she learnt a new language, got acquainted with a young Italian stud and savored the best and also simplest of Italian foods, I had this craving for pesto. Without further thought, I googled "pesto bread" on my I-Pad. . .and chanced upon this wonderful blog by Chuck and Angela with the most delicious looking breads www.thekneadforbread.com


I realised that I had all the ingredients required. There were "how to" step by step instructions which were easy to follow- http://www.thekneadforbread.com/2009/11/08/pesto-bread/.

3 hours later, behold the home-made pesto bread. I omitted the parmesan in the recipe as i figured that it might be a little strong tasting for my kids.

The bread was perfect - crusty on the outside and soft and savoury on the inside

My home smelled heavenly with the scent of herby, freshly-made bread. I resumed my reading with a cup of tea and a slice of hot-from-the-oven pesto bread in hand. It was completely a different experience the 2nd time around!

Fish Head Bee Hoon or Fish Head Rice Vermicelli

One of my favourite hawker dishes! It's basically a bowl of vermicelli rice noodles cooked in a savory broth and topped off with pieces of deep fried fish fillet or chunks of deep fried fish head. What gives the broth a piquant sourish-sweetish type flavor which leaves one wanting for more after the last drop of broth is spent, is the combined use of  fresh ginger slices, tomato wedges and slivers of chinese pickled/salted mustard green in the cooking of the soup.  The dish is usually finished off with freshly chopped cilantro and some garlic oil/sesame seed oil for that extra aroma. Simply delightful!

This is how I like my bowl of fish head bee hoon - Loaded with deep fried fish
and generously garnished with fried garlic bits!

My only grouse with hawkers is that they tend to load up on the carbos (lots of noodles) and pay sparse attention to most everything else. My inner female loves me some vegies and there never seems to be enough to go around. I'd be happy to pay for extra tomatoes, more spring onions, more chopped cilantro .. the list continues. And oh, definitely more deep fried fish chunks! But there seems to be this serious expectation gap between one and these said hawkers over the word "extra".

Inevitably this led to a fish head bee hoon "diyah" (do-it-yourself-at-home) mission on a Sunday morning (must say it did take me almost the whole morning to get it ready in time for lunch).  Keeping in mind the taste I'd like to arrive at, I basically cook instinctively - adding, subtracting and tasting as I go along. Hence, I don't have exact measurements of the stuff that goes into the meal. However, I firmly believe you cannot go wrong when you use fresh, quality ingredients, and sufficient amounts of it in preparing your meal.

I started off by making sure I had some good, fresh chicken stock made from simmering chicken and chicken bones in a stock pot (chicken stock cubes just will not do for the kids).

Good old fashion chicken stock with a knob of ginger in it

Next I prepared some tomato wedges, ginger slices, a bunch of 1 inch-long spring onions lengths, sprigs of cilantro leaves, fresh tofu cubes and finely sliced pickled chinese mustard greens. Must not forget the home made fried garlic bits in garlic oil which can be pre-prepared (Garlic oil is a kitchen staple as far as I am concerned - ever ready to be used as garnishing for many a dish) and the chinese wine

.

That little jar of oil towards the bottom right corner is the garlic oil with fried garlic bits in it
- something I keep perpetually handy in the kitchen

Next I salted and then coated about 3 kgs of kurau and garoupa fish head chunks and fish fillets with a mixture of plain wheat flour, corn flour and rice flour. The addition of corn flour and rice flour gives the fish pieces a longer lasting crispiness when fried. 

Deep-fried fish fillet and fish head which is still juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside

Once all the preparation of ingredients is completed, we can embark on the "assembly" of the fish head bee hoon which entailed the following steps :

1) In a saucepan, sautee some ginger slices in a tspn of oil and a dash of sesame seed oil

2) When the sauteed ginger starts giving off the loveliest fresh aroma, ladle the chicken broth into the pan. 

3) Throw in the pickled/salted vegies and tomato wedges at this stage giving it some 4-5 minutes simmering time to ensure that the flavours are infused into the broth.

4) Next in is the rice vermicelli/noodles/bee hoon and tofu cubes.

5) Season with salt and a dash of fish sauce to suit your taste. Instead of putting evaporated milk from the can like they usually do at the stalls, I used fresh Australian full cream milk instead. If desired, including a tablespoon of chinese wine at this stage is good too.

6) When rice vermicelli is soft enough. Throw in a handful of spring onions and remove from stove immediately.

7) Place in bowls and garnish with the cilantro leaves, fried garlic in oil and the deep fried fish pieces. 

Garnish with cilantro leaves and more spring onions, if desired 

Place the  deep fried fish pieces to sit pretty right on top 

Ready for the eating

Quest for the perfect cheesecake

Perfection, like beauty, lies in the eyes or rather palate of the beholder! Just like 'one man's meat is another's poison' or 'one man's junk is another's treasure' or 'to each, his own' (I'm a stickler for proverbs as you may be able to tell by now - my father would have been proud :P). While commonality brings oneness of mind, differences and diversity makes the world a more interesting place.

And such it is with cheesecakes too. Diversity in palate preferences has given rise to the creation of myriads of cheesecake. Some like their cheesecakes rich, creamy and dense while others prefer the lighter, moist but still creamy versions. And some others are partial to the even lighter and more airy Japanese cheesecakes which has somewhat of a spongelike texture. And I'm only still referring to texture here. What about topping options or flavor choices? What about the hybrids like the chocolate brownie cheesecake or the choc mouse and cheese? The truth is we're spoiled for choice when it comes to cheesecakes. And I for one am grateful for that!

A walk down cheesecake memory lane - in pictures:

The very first cheesecake I made with my little girl. It's a rich, creamy and dense cheesecake topped off with fresh strawberries and blueberries.

This cheesecake is of a lighter texture but still creamy and moist, as I used a combination of sour cream plus philladelphia cheese for the filling

A moist creamy cheesecake with freshly made blueberry sauce and freshly whipped cream . I made this when I had some friends over for a Christmas party.

A chocolate brownie cheesecake for one of the BBQ dinners hosted in my house for some buddies

Vietnamese Beef Pho

It has been some months since I visited the local night market (known commonly as "pasar malam" in my part of the world) . An ever- ready trooper for street food, I enjoy the sights, smells and buzz of the night market every bit as much as I love the finesse, intricacy and richness of fine dining.

Last Sunday, I decided to lug the family to the Taman Tun night market with the intention of (1) exposing my 16-month old to unfamiliar sights and sounds (which is, as I've been duly advised by scores of  childcare literature, most beneficial for the mental development of an infant /todder); (2) re-acclimatizing my 4 year old who's beginning to enjoy the comforts of upmarket al-fresco dining a wee bit too much; and (3) satisfying the old craving (which occasionally presents itself) of "assam laksa by the roadside".

What caught my eye instead was this lovely rack of fresh beef ribs and bones (with just the right amount of meat and cartilage attached to it) being chopped up by the Indian butcher. What leapt to mind was a bowl of piping hot and steaming vietnamese beef pho.

So to cut a long story short, here's that piping hot and steaming vietnamese beef pho which we enjoyed for dinner 3 days later :)

I added prime sirloin strips to the pho - pink perfection just how I like it.

My dear hubby loved it and thought it was a lot of work. The secret to good pho really lies in the broth. And since good broth is the derivation of ample quality ingredients for a wholesome, tasty stock PLUS sufficient simmering time, it really was not that much of work or time tied in the kitchen.

First, I threw the beef and bones in a wok of boiling water for  a few minutes . The parboiled beef/bones is then submerged in a pot of clean cool water to get the broth started. This gets rid of the scum that arises in the parboiling process  which would otherwise cloud the broth.

Next, I grilled some ginger and 3 large onions which I had lightly brushed with oil. This gives further depth to the flavour of the broth. 

Next, I put the above spices and condiments into a muslin bag. They include a cinnamon stick, some coriander seeds, white pepper seeds, fennel seeds, a couple of cardamon pods, a few cloves and a few bits of star anise.  

I dumped all the above plus some rock sugar, a tablespoon of salt and a few dashes of fish sauce into the pot of water with beef/bones in it to begin broth. Simmered  the broth for about 2 hours plus. 

I garnished my bowl of flat rice noodles in piping hot beef broth with a generous sprinkling of finely chopped spring onions and cilantro leaves, threw in some thinly sliced strips of sirloin (which I was careful not to overcook) and prepared the usual side combo of raw bean sprouts, mint and basil leaves with some lemon wedges (a typical accompaniment to this dish). And voila, the vietnamese beef pho is ready to be served.

A Cake for Sharon

25 years is a long time for anything. To commemorate a friendship that has spanned the years as well as geographical continents, here's a cake for Sharon on her birthday!

A fruity pavlova for you, girl!

Hope you enjoy the pix as much as I had making the cake and then eating it :).