Pizza Dough, with love

Portobello, field and white button mushrooms in garlic, plenty of mozzarella, simple bechamel sauce base and sprinkled with alfalfa sprouts


Sorry for being stupendously late, yet again. I don't know why but I can't seem to arrange a time to just sit down and write an entry. I'd like to think that I have too many social activities on my hand that distracts me from cyber world. But alas, I was just procrastinating and reading recipes online, one after another, and another, and another.

As usual, I was trawling about my favorite food websites Tastespotting and Foodgawker when I saw a deluge of peanut butter pies, with the captions all ending with "for Mikey". And it wasn't long before I found the root entry that resulted in all the pies being made and posted everywhere.

When I first read it, I felt a sense of helplessness for Jennie. It was flat out depressing. Then, I began reading the entries of the people who made and posted the recipe, entries of people who knew her personally, entries of people who didn't know her personally, entries of people who wanted to give her the emotional support that she needs. I want to do it too! She needs it! She deserves it. My condolences and my heart goes out to Jennie. Stay strong, live strong, love strong. I didn't make the pie, but I reckon a couple like them needs no pie. The message that she wants to share has already made it's impact. I may not have a pie for Mikey, but I have my pizzas for Mikey.

And then I felt a pang of fear in my very own heart. It was a heavy sinking feeling, from my heart, to my gut, and probably even sank to the peripheries of my toes.

I'm so far away from home, from the people whom I love dearly, and from the people who love me dearly. Too far, just too far. Whoever said Perth is near to Singapore is lying. In times like these, even an adjacent room which I can't access is too far, much less an entire Indian Ocean.

That night, I skyped my family, and I teared. I don't want to be so far away! I silently screamed. I heard their voices, and I hear familiarity, comfort, warmth, love. I want to hear their voices everyday, yelling at me, telling me what to do, nagging at me, snapping at me, with the knowledge that in an Asian culture, all these are expressions of love. I foolishly hated every moment of those situations, and I still do. But when it's no longer available, I find myself longing for it.

The line that really hit me hard was when she said "I haven't made it in a while, and I've had it on my to-do list for a while now.

I kept telling myself I would make it for him tomorrow."

It resonated with me, because my inspiration and my motivation to cook comes from the people around me. It's my personal expression. I cook, I feed, I love. It's how I love people, it's how I give my love, and it's how I want to love.


Mussels and scallops with onions, tomato base and fresh basil leaves

My family has been asking me to cook/bake many things. Many many things. My Dad's pretty chill and doesn't request, but I know he'd love a good hot piping bowl of instant noodles, can of beer, and some good ol cheddar sausages. Or for more finesse, a good roast pork with crackling. My Mom has a major sweet tooth, major pastry tooth, major laksa tooth, major bread tooth and requests for them. I probably inherited my food cravings propensity from her. My sister loves pretty and yummy and indulgent pastries, good ol Sunday brunch menu items, and requests for anything that tastes yummy. And many times, I just postponed what they craved, for what I wanted to experiment. They enjoyed it nonetheless, and I enjoyed the process of it.


Turkey ham with spinach, mozzarella and blackberry jam. My favorite. The crunchy, the chewy, the cold, the hot, the savory, the sweet

But looking back, I wished I made more of what THEY wanted.

I now want to share a recipe that I've made twice now. Jamie Oliver's Pizza Dough recipe. I'm pretty sure any pizza dough would work just as well since my untrained tongue can't really tell much difference. But I know the toppings are the ones that I can manipulate and make a world of a difference. But the reason why I want to share this recipe is because this recipe holds a special place in my heart. This really got me from enjoying cooking, straight to Loving cooking. Of the 3 meals I made in Singapore for my family in the Winter holidays of 2011, I remembered this meal the best because my family loved it to bits. BITS. Which made me love this to bits. Which made me love making this for others to bits.

The above 3 pictures were the pizza I made for my family. There was supposed to be a 4th pizza, which was Honey lemon basil cream cheese with white peach and blueberries, but I unfortunately burnt the crust. Drats. It was such a good combination!

The steps for the dough was pretty straightforward. Mix them all together and let them rise. The only trick here is to ensure that your yeast is alive and working. Just buy a new batch if you haven't used the previous batch for a long time or it wasn't stored in the freezer and has been around for a long time. The recipe itself could have made enough thin crust pizzas for 12 hungry people to eat to a comfortable satiated level.


Hawaiian pizza, with 3 slices of mushrooms experimentally placed at the side.

When I came back to Perth, we threw a pizza party for our small circle of dental classmates and their endeared ones. It was such a lovely gathering, with once again, an outpouring of love


Digging in to our first pizza of the night

Food's good, company's good, always a winning combination.


Me eating a pizza and trying to pull a very very stubborn piece of mozzarella from the pizza

We were also very fortunate to taste the cooking of a chef in training! Here's his creation, which he came up together with his loved one as well..


Salt&pepper chicken with pesto base, mozzarella and crumbled hardboiled egg. And the creators of that brilliant pizza was...


Need I even come up with a caption for this? Picture speaks a thousand words.

Whilst I try and recreate a flavor which my family loved so much.


Turkey ham with raspberry jam, rocket and mozzarella

Always a joy seeing people love the food you make, giving the most sincere smile at that moment because the reflex action simply never lies..


Richard's special. The efforts of a guy who has never cooked anything other than a tuna banana omelette. Pesto, cheese, ham, cheese, mushrooms, cheese. And it tasted so good.

And of course, snucking some dough from the pizza party and making it for our own personal meals (my housemate and I).


Frangipane pizza with strawberries, almond flakes, icing sugar and honey macadamia ice cream.


Spiced apple crumble with walnuts, raisins and mixed berries ice cream

Because we both have a sweet tooth going on.


Pumpkin, eggplant, herbed tomatoes and fetta with mozzarella. Because we both love eggplant and pumpkin.

There are so many other condiments, flavors, textures, pairings and experiments and combinations that are out there to enjoy with something as versatile as a pizza dough that I can only imagine this thread getting longer and longer, and longer, and longer.

And I look forward to seeing the joy on the person's face when I manage to come up with another good combination, because that's the joy I want to spread, the love that I want to share.

I love you, you, and you. =)

July Daring Bakers Challenge - Fresh Frasiers

Jana of Cherry Tea Cakes was our July Daring Bakers’ host and she challenges us to make Fresh Frasiers inspired by recipes written by Elisabeth M. Prueitt and Chad Robertson in the beautiful cookbook Tartine.

Wheeeeee, my first post in a long time! And my first post for Daring Bakers! =D

Ok excitement over. I was SUPER excited about this challenge cause of a few reasons. First, it is my first challenge for DB *omgexcites* and second, its a cake I've never seen, heard nor done before!



So this was my final product. A very simple and ugly Durian Frasier. I made it 2 layers instead of 1 so that I can stuff more durian in it! because I wanted to be, uh, different.

A Frasier is a beautiful layered sponge cake with pastry cream in the middle, with fruits in the middle and exposed. It's SOMEWHAT like a Japanese Strawberry Shortcake, but with pastry cream instead of whipped cream. Omg typing that description just made me tingle in foodcitement.

Having said all those however, I am just immensely disappointed with my photos this month. The cake doesn't look as pretty as the other Daring Bakers'! =( *hangs head down in shame*. I got so much to go in food styling. Sigh!

I was back in lovely Singapore for my winter holidays and man was it enjoyable. Being in Dental school means that my holidays are shortened considerably as compared to other courses so that sucks epicly. We had to return 2 weeks earlier than the rest of the school for lectures and lab work. URGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! On top of that, we had a test on the following Monday after school starts. Yes, 1 week after school starts, and I've got a test AND assignment due. CRIESSS

ANYWAY, I was on a mini baking and cooking frenzy in Singapore. Before I knew it, I had to come back to Perth. So July in Singapore only meant one fruit, and that is The Durian. Omg. People who know me knows my list of loves. And durian is right up there with chocolate. I wanted to make my Durian Frasier WITH chocolate cream on top but I got shot flabbergasted looks. Since I was making the cake for more than just ME, I had to hold my chocolate fingers at bay.

So the mention of durian induces 2 extreme responses. Either the OMGILOVEIT or the OMGIHATEIT. Some weird people in the world think it's too pungent and disgusting. (I'm kidding! =P) Personally I'd bottle the fragrance and spray it everywhere in my house. There's something about durian that sends my nose into overdrive, my soul into excitement, and my salivary glands into active secretion. The creamy rich thick delicious fruit has the texture of puree.

Sigh. I weep with forlorn desire.

To be honest, the cake is not much, really. It's all about celebrating the durian, and my short time in Singapore. I should have cut and taken a picture of the slice perhaps it'll be better. But you know.... Circumstances.... I ended up eating the cake directly with a fork. Well, I was sharing with family alright! They don't mind fork marks! I hope..

Recipe for the Chiffon Cake


1 cup + 2 tablespoons (270 ml) (51⁄2 oz/155 gm) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (4 gm) baking powder
3/4 cups (180 ml) (6 oz /170 gm) sugar
1/2 teaspoon (21⁄2 ml) (11⁄2 gm) salt, preferably kosher

1/4 cup (2 fl oz/60 ml) vegetable oil
3 large egg yolks
1⁄3 cup + 1 tablespoon (3.17 fl oz/95 ml) water
1 teaspoon (5 ml) pure vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon (33⁄4 ml) (3 gm) lemon zest, grated
5 large egg whites
1⁄4 teaspoon (11⁄4 ml) (1 gm) cream of tartar


Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to moderate 325°F (160°C/gas mark 3).

2. Line the bottom of an 8-inch (20 cm) spring form pan with parchment paper. Do not grease the
sides of the pan.

3. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour and baking powder. Add in all but 3 tablespoons (45
ml.) of sugar, and all of the salt. Stir to combine.

4. In a small bowl combine the oil, egg yolks, water, vanilla and lemon zest. Whisk thoroughly.

5. Combine with the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly for about one minute, or until very smooth.

6. Put the egg whites into a stand mixer, and beat on medium speed using a whisk attachment on a
medium speed, until frothy. Add cream of tartar and beat on a medium speed until the whites hold soft peaks. Slowly add the remaining sugar and beat on a medium-high speed until the whites hold firm and form shiny peaks.


7. Using a grease free rubber spatula, scoop about 1⁄3 of the whites into the yolk mixture and fold in gently. Gently fold in the remaining whites just until combined.


8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.


9. Removed the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack.

10. To unmold, run a knife around the sides to loosen the cake from the pan and remove the spring form
sides. Invert the cake and peel off the parchment paper. Refrigerate for up to four days.

Let me say that this chiffon recipe is a KEEPER! Really. I've never smiled so much, for so long, after eating a sponge. It's.... Just sheer beauty. The fluff, the flavor, the caramelized crumb, the fluff, the fragrance. lovessss

For the filling, I mixed in copious amounts of durian flesh and a cup of whipped cream to lighten the mixture. Then I also made a simple syrup of 2 tablespoon sugar to 2 tablespoon water to brush over the sponge layers to keep them moist and excited. The assembling is pretty straightforward, as I smeared durian flesh all around the sides and spread my durian filling in the middle.



Oh what I would give to have even a mouthful of that cake right now. Should've taken more pictures. Drats. NOT a good first post, at all. Pretty, it definitely isn't. But as a vehicle for the best fruit (no its not healthy, unlike other fruits. this is Calorific with a capital C.) in the world, damn that was a fine one.

Carious: Honey Cinnamon Toasted Muesli

OMG I AM SOOOO SORRRRYYYY!!!!!

It has been SO LONG hey. I've had tests, after tests, after tests, after tests and I just couldn't find the time to write up a decent post. Furthermore, my hands haven't been making any good looking food either nor are my hands taking decent photos. Gah!

But but but, its the last day of school for the semester!

*throws confetti in the air in jubilation!*

But but but, my semester exams are in a week's time!

*pathetically picks up the confetti on the floor*

I got 4 theory papers this time and I completed my practical drilling exam a couple of days ago. Hopefully the tutors will be lenient....

Anyway, before I go back to incessant mugging and cramming, I'd just like to share this BEAUTIFUL recipe with you.



Yes. Honey Cinnamon Toasted Muesli. My 4 favorite words every morning. Because it is that awesome. Like That awesome. *raises my stocky hands way above my head*

THAT awesome.

My housemate and I eat muesli every morning for breakfast. Low GI and stuff like that. Blahblah. But we really love the nuts ad dried fruits aspect of muesli, and how it doesn't turn our bowl of milk into semi bubble tea sweetness like other sweetened cereals do. We've been trying every single brand there is on the shelves for muesli for almost a year now and that really makes us the experts in muesli buying. We love our muesli toasted, with nuts and some dried fruits, not overly sweet, with cinnamon, no coconut flakes, and with cinnamon. Yes I said cinnamon twice. So far the brands that we really like are Carmen's, Uncle Toby's and Harvest Mill. But only Carmen's have cinnamon and in only 2 ranges - a pure nuts range and a deluxe range. =\

We bought this box of plain rolled oats for breakfast and it was pretty tasteless. The oats were good but the taste is just... Just........ X_X

The inspiration to turn the oats into muesli came when I was doing my usual thingamajig. I was surfing one of my favorite blogs - Evan's Kitchen Ramblings when I chanced upon the muesli she made. And I was like. Ooooo oats. Oooo cinnamon. OOOOOoo honey. OOOOOO I've got everything in the pantry! And thus I convinced my housemate to embark on this mission.

And man was it good. It was SO good. It was TOO good. We were eating it while stirring, eating it while baking, eating it while baking again, eating it while cooling down, and eating it while storing and packing, and eating it while photographing it, and eating it after we packed, and eating it and eating it and eating it.......

I didn't take the step by step photos cause my hands were busy nicking muesli but it's pretty straightforward as well.



The fragrance this beauty emnated was just so intoxicating. The whole house smelled like honey and cinnamon for a couple of days and frankly, I think some company should bottle this fragrance and sell it. Along with durian fragrance of course but that's a topic for another blog post.

I shan't bother reposting the recipe because I'm lazy it's nicely written on Evan's blog. Essentially its 3 cups of rolled oats (NOT QUICK COOKING ONE) smothered with a mixture of 1/2 tablespoon of cinnamon, 1/2 cup of honey, 2 tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt and roasted at 150 deg for approximately 45 minutes until everything is golden brown and very toasty. We didn't have a lot of nuts so we just threw in whatever we had. Some of our nuts were bordering on burnt but we both thought that gave it a good dimension. The roasted nutty fragrance that is just so good.

Funniest part was that we were even reluctant to share it. It's just THAT good. And my housemate and I were even planning to just buy the raw ingredients and toast our own muesli from now on. No more commercial muesli!

Pressure points and top tips! (from trial and error) =D

1) Do not toast the dried fruits with the nuts and oats mixture. Leave the fruits out and only add them after the muesli has been toasted and cooled down. The dried fruits will burn easily and that does not lend a good flavor to the muesli at all.

2) Make sure all the oats and nuts are coated with the honey mixture. Come on, be fair and give everyone lil piece a fair go.

3) Stir the mixture every 15 minutes while it is toasting so that the muesli browns evenly. My oven tends to burn things that are in contact with the tray so I lowered the temperature and increased the roasting time a little.



I can't wait till the next time we roast our own muesli again... As my housemate puts it "I can't wait to wake up tomorrow morning".