The Company of Garlic
June 27th, 2005
Over the weekend, there was much to celebrate. Like a friends birthday where there was a feast to be shared. When I speak of feasting, I imagine platters of juicy lamb and chicken, fresh breads, crispy salads and other tasty morsels. And because I am lucky enough to have friends from many cultural backgrounds, it means that anytime there is a celebration, the spread will feel like I have jumped on a jet plane somewhere far away.
On Sunday afternoon, the jet plane took me to a place where big bowls housed tangy tabouli. Fresh parsely, with tomato, onions and wheat, all in a tangy lemon dressing. I could have just eaten the salad with the soft flat bread, and capsicum and hummos dips at the other end of the long table. But infront of me, there were also platters of lamb shish kebabs, chicken and other meats, freshly cooked on a coal heated grill. All of which were soon on my plate next to a heaped spoonful of tabouli and salads.
My favourite which is well known by the wonderful hostess is the garlic infused dip called toume. Very much like aioli, it is a standard addition to any Lebanese style bbq. Made of garlic and olive oil, it is robust because of thickness and creaminess of the mixture. It goes well with chicken, or even as a spread on flat bread, toasted and crisp, it is a garlic lover’s concept of heaven.
This time my friends Mother had her jar of toume on the table, and I was even more lucky to get a package on my way home. A package of grilled chicken packed in foil, and next to it, a round jar of the creamy, fluffy toume.
May’s Magnificent Toume
two - three heads of garlic (aged garlic which is soft when squeezed with your finger tips. Young garlic will cause the toume to expire quickly)
In a food processor, blitz 2 -3 heads of aged garlic. Using the funnel component of the processor gradually pour the olive oil into the garlic mixture, making sure it forms a thick creamy ‘dollop’ type consistancy. Add lemon juice so that it tastes tangy. Followed by salt and pepper to taste.
May’s Tips: If the mixture comes out watery or has a wasabi type hotness, add 1/2 - 1 medium raw peeled and grated potato and continue to blitz. This will thicken the toume and balance out the pungency. If refrigerated in an airtight container, it will keep for a week or two.
Mochalicious Baby!
June 26th, 2005
This may have to be the last post about cakes for a while. Making cupcakes two weekends in a row has left me on a cake batter high - and while this may be a good thing, trust that even I, cake-maker-addict needs some space. It’s for the best you see. A little time-out allows things to be re-evaluated, I can start seeing other food groups and I’m sure when I am reunited with my sifter and cake trays I will have found a new appreciation for them.
But before I bid the cakely crumb of a chocolate cupcake adieu, let me tell you about this dead easy mocha frosting. It took me 15 minutes to prepare, and it covered the faces of 24 happy cupcakes, which in turn made a party of people happy too. Aaah mocha icing, with your bittersweet under tones, you still make a sweet tooth something to be cherished.
For the cake component I used the fail-proof cupcake recipe of this and this* post. I substituted a heaped tablespoon of self raising flour for a heaped tablespoon of Dutch-processed cocoa powder for the chocolate-y flavour. For the icing component, I decided to make a basic butter icing, as opposed to butter cream from last week. This made for a simpler and less rich cupcake result. Sugar high still guaranteed.
Dead Easy Mocha Icing
- 4 tablespoon of unsalted butter (at room temperature)
- 2 cups of icing sugar (aka confectioners sugar)
- 1 tablespoon of good quality cocoa
- 2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 4 -5 tablespoons of cold espresso coffee
Cream the butter, until soft and pale yellow in colour. This is an important step as it sets the foundations for a creamy and spreadable icing. Sift icing sugar and cocoa gradually, allowing the mixture to combine well, still using an electric beater. It will be dry, and will not resemble icing at this stage.
Add the vanilla extract and continue mixing. Add the coffee gradually until the mixture reaches a thick, creamy and spreadable consistency. Make sure to add tablespoon at a time to prevent the icing from splitting.
Decorate cupcakes. Serve and Enjoy!
*Click on link to view cupcake recipe
Roboppy’s French Revolution
June 21st, 2005
As a child, when my Mother would make french toast; she referred to it as Bombay toast. Funny how names change according to region, not that we were in Mumbai at the time, but it may have something to do with her living in Colombo, Sri Lanka before moving to Sydney. It was pretty much the same thing; day old bread soaked in a milky-egg batter and pan fried.
This morning I did the same; with a slice of cobb loaf, soaked in a cinnamon-milk-egg mixture and cooked in a pan. This time I added some tangy dark cherry yoghurt to counter the sweetness of Canadian maple syrup. The kinda syrup available at the local supermarket, but this time a little more special because it’s direct from Canada, courtesy of my good friend Ryan.
My humble serving of French toast does not compare to the feast that Roboppy had however. The girl knows good breakfast when she sees it!
Sticky Adventures: Saturday
June 19th, 2005
After the delivery it was off to Passionflower to meet Bowb of Raging Yoghurt for the very first time. After a few months of comment conversation it was great to meet the person behind all the roving food adventures. And lucky for me, this involved pancakes and sticky rice ice cream, a visit to a Chinese butcher where there was a glistening stickiness caught in motion from a piece of hanging pork. When I pointed this out to Bowb, she asked if it was a good or a bad thing; and well the way the sweet drop clung mid fall was definitely a good thing!
The sticky rice excursion continued onto the infamous Lucky Thai Sweets and Video. Nestled behind the other side of Central station it is like a little mirage of many delights. Just as Bowb described many posts ago, there are plastic boxes upon plastic boxes of tasty looking treats. I came away with a trio of sticky rice, one sweet, and two salty-sweet. All sugary, spicy, coconut-y goodness.
When I got to my next rest stop, the plastic box was calling my name. Even after ordering a big pot of tea and zipping shut my bag and focusing on reading, a few minutes later I found myself opening the container while rummaging through my bag for a teaspoon. A girl like me sometimes carries a fork or a spoon for these kind of emergencies, you see. Thank goodness, I could only handle about 4 small spoonfuls of the sticky rice extravaganza. Perhaps it was the meal of pancakes and ice cream before, but the cup of English Breakfast tea was a grateful balance. After some chit chat with The Boy, there was one more stop - a bakery to get some fresh bread. And the choices; a loaf of sourdough, a round cobb loaf and one walnut and cranberry slice - all mine.
And back home, after one more pit stop this time for takeaway chicken burgers for later on, there was the viewing of the Iron Chef, one more cup of tea and a few more nibbles of the coconut and the custard sticky rice. The egg battle was definitely enjoyed, especially when Rokusabro Michiba presented his Snow Capped Delight dish! EoMEoTE eat our hearts out!
Thank you for the pear jam Bowb!
George Street Sydney
T: (02) 9281 8322
Lucky Thai Sweets and Video
Shop 645/ 40-50
Campbell Street, Sydney
T: (02) 9212 4842
Swiss Meringue Butter Cream
June 19th, 2005
The last time I made cupcakes, it was more of an operation of sorts. This time around, it only took an hour to bake and ice two dozen cupcakes - only one flavour of the cake, and only one type of frosting in two colours.
Like most things in life, it is always good to stick to what you know. The same thing goes for making cupcakes, especially when time is running against you. So for this batch of cupcakes; this time a special request from a friend-once removed I decided to stick with Nigella’s fail proof cake recipe. It is a simple recipe, and turns out cupcakes in a matter of minutes. Twenty minutes prep with 15 minutes baking time. Easy!
I repeated the frosting recipe from The Joy of Cooking as the prep wasn’t so complicated as other butter cream recipes I have used before. Perhaps it is the layout of the book, or the fact that it all happens in two distinct phases; baine marie time and butter-meringue cream folding. Easy!
Adapted from The Joy of Cooking by Marion Rombauer Becker and Ethan Becker, the following the recipe is direct from the 1999 edition. For one dozen regular sized cupcakes, you can cut this recipe in half. For the purpose of simplifying things I have divided the recipe into two phases. I used a whisk in Phase One, because I am overly cautious using an electric beater next to a gas stove. A regular whisk did the job well, along with a little extra elbow grease.
I did not have a thermometer handy, so I removed the stainless steel bowl from the simmering pot of water when I saw the egg white mixture forming a crust on the side of the bowl, and then replaced back on pot when it settled back to a good temperature. To colour the frosting I divided the final product into separate bowls, and added a pin drop of the pink and green food colouring.
Swiss Meringue Butter Cream - The Joy of Cooking
This egg white butter cream is the easiest of the classic French butter creams because it does not require cooked syrup. A hand-held electric mixer is necessary; be especially careful to keep the cord away from the burner. Use a stainless-steel bowl, rather than glass or crockery, to ensure that the meringue is adequately heated. Be sure to rinse the stem of the thermometer in the simmering skillet water between readings, to avoid contaminating the egg whites.
Phase One
Whisk together in a large stainless-steel bowl:
4 large egg whites (at room temperature)
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Set the bowl in a wide, deep skillet filled with about 1 inch of simmering water. Make sure the water level is at least as high as the depth of the egg whites in the bowl. Beat the whites on low speed until the mixture reaches 140 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.
Do not stop beating while the bowl is in the skillet, or the egg whites will be overcooked. If you cannot hold the thermometer stem in the egg whites while continuing to beat, remove the bowl from the skillet just to read the thermometer, and then return the bowl to the skillet. Beat on high speed just until the mixture reaches 160 degrees, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove the bowl from the skillet and add:
1 teaspoon vanilla
Beat on high speed for 3 to 5 more minutes, to cool. The mixture should hold glossy peaks.
Phase Two
In another large bowl, beat until creamy, about 30 seconds:
350g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
Beat a large dollop of the meringue into the butter until well combined. Continue to beat in about half of the meringue in large dollops. Scrape the remaining meringue into the mixture and beat until smooth and fluffy.
Beat in:
1 to 2 tablespoons liqueur or colouring (optional)
Yields: 3 to 3 1/2 cups.
Storage: This keeps, refrigerated, for up to 6 days, or frozen for up to 6 months.
The other problem was monitoring the temperature of the simmering water in the pot beneath the steel bowl holding the meringue-cream mixture. This can be easily fixed with the purchase of a cooking-frying thermometer.
The fun part of making a frosting is being able to paint your cakes with the butter cream. For an even result a steady hand while holding the frosted coated spatula and turning the cupcake rather than moving the spatula works well.
