Andy's Wedding Gift

I am so rusty at painting but the significance of me being able to sketch and paint again overshadows the quality of the work. Andy and I have gotten married a couple of months ago and I promised I would "make" my wedding gift to him. Ended up painting an abstract with only 2 discernible figures - a huge fish, and a family. I want it put up in the baby's room, if we ever do have one of our own or we adopt, it doesnt matter.

I love you little fish, happy wedding.

I dream in yoga

I have not been painting for awhile. I miss it and it because I remembered how it used to me happy - today (that Andy's gone) I had some alone time to do a couple of sketches.

I found myself drawing some figures of women in yogi poses. It happens to be Shane's birthday so I have decided to dedicate the 1st sketch to her and calling it "Tree Pose" - this still lacks color, but I need another round to do that. I also think I need to fix the figure of the woman show right now as she seems a little bit anorexic. I saw some really cool art that looked like postcards or wallpaper in the 70s which I soooo love, so maybe will color it this way...it's sort of a practice run as well for the 3 canvasses I have for Andy. The idea is to make a happy painting we can eventually hang in the baby's room if and when we ever have one.

Skateboarding pictures

Andy gave me a cool camera for my birthday and I have not been able to use it much. The few times I have used it I realized I like taking photos of people - I really want to take photos of people wherein they know I take their photo but I am too shy to ask because the question is specific, "please dont smile and just look at the camera" The photos posted here are also one of my favorites, I Like taking pictures of odd things put in one frame - these were taken in a skateboarding competition we went to in abu Dhabi. We watched, we're old geezers who can only ride longboards.

Tiger Prawns with Garlic

Ok, so now I am no longer strictly vegetarian. For the sake of harmony and peaceful eating, I have (through Andy's request) began to eat seafood again (won over by the argument that most fish is virtually free-range and scallops have no pain sensors).

I don't look for it, but I do enjoy eating sashimi, shrimps and scallops. I went to dinner with friends in a Japanese restaurant called Zuma (Moustafa, I know you thought it was appetizers, haha) and they served some grilled Tiger Prawns. It looked relatively easy to do so I made some for Andy.

Really easy - all you need to do is

* de- vein the tiger prawn and slide in the middle (so it looks like a butterfly)

* take out the shell if the head but not the inside

* put in boiling water (water should be boiling already), for 15secs (yup this quick)

* sautee garlic, onions and mushrooms in olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

* pan fry the shrimps in high heat (for about 45 secs) on both sides

* top with the sauted mushroom and garlic mix

Elise's French Courgette Tart

One of my best girlfriends here in Dubai is Elise - she's french, has small feet and is a really good cook. One of our favorite dishes that she whips up is her french tarte. I particularly like the courgette tart with tomatoes - she's shown me how to do it, and tonight she went over the house and we cooked some dinner for Andy and Georgenes (who is Brazilian and only eats meat, well not this time).

Neither Elise nor I have the patience to make the pastry - so we bought a ready made one. For tonight, we also substituted Rouqefort cheese with gorgonzala (I like smelly cheese)

French Courgette-Tomato Tart

* 1 courgette, sliced

* 2 eggs beaten together with 1/2 cup fresh cream

* season with pepper, salt and spices

* top with tomatoe slices

* french pastry (not puff) for the base

* 150 grams smelly cheese (we used gorgonzola)

Beat the eggs with the fresh cream, salt, pepper and whatever spices you like. Place the sliced courgette at the bottom of the pan. Pour in mixture. Top with the cheese then the tomato slices.

Nico's Prosciutto Bread (Modified)

A lot of my friends have gone into cooking - and one of the discussions I had with Shane and Nico was how difficult (it seemed) to make bread. Between us three - Shiang and I like to cook and bake, but Nico was the only one who was super into bread and actually had a lot of experience on it. He gave me two recipes and told me to try the prosciutto as a start. I was very scared that I would mess up as bread is a very simple recipe fo flour, water, yeast and salt - and most often than not, unexperienced bakers get them wrong - - -> so I opted to try it for the sake of trying instead of baking it for a meal for say Andy and myself.

The bread turned out to be wonderful!!!! I made the dough this afternoon, headed for dinner with a friend and when I returned back home I popped it in the oven. It's funny tasting bread at 12midnight but man it ROCKED! I ommitted the lard in favor for butter and sundried tomatoes instead of bacon. I think it should have been baked longer(I turned it over to late for the other side), but it ended up moist ( a bit too moist I think becauase of too much sundried tomatoes - I should have put 175g because sundried tomatoes I used was soaked in olive oil and added oil to the bread).

Nico's recipe is below!

Mix the dough - Hand MethodIn a large bowl, whisk together the flour, honey, pepper, yeast. Then whisk in the salt. This prevents the salt from killing the yeast. Add the water and lard and stir with a wooden spoon or your hand until the flour is moisted.Empty your dough onto a counter and knead it for 10 minutes or until it is very elastic and jumps back when you pressed with a fingertip. If it is very sticky, knead in a little flour (that is after 10 minutes. it IS very sticky to start with).Dust the dough lightly with flour and cover with a plastic wrap. Allow it to relax for 20 minutes.Shape the dough and let it rise.Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter. if it's not already on the counter. Roll it into a 18-inch long rope. Shape it into a ring, overlapping ends by 2 inches and press lightly to seal them. The ring will be about 7 inches in diameter and 1 1/4 inches high, with a 3-inch hole in the center.Set the bread on a parchment and cover it with a large container or oiled plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise until almost double about 1 hour. It will be almost 9 inches across by 1 1/2 inches high, and when it is pressed gently with a fingertip the depression will slowly fill in.Preheat the ovento 450 F 1 hour before baking Have an oven shelf at the lowest level and place a baking stone or baking sheet on it and a cast iron skiller or sheet pan on the floor of the oven before pre heating.Glaze and bake the breadShortly before baking, brush the dough all over with melted bacon fat or butter. Do not slash the dough. Peel the dough from parchment and put it on to the baking stone or baking sheet. Toss 1/2 cup ice cubes into the pan beneath and immediately close the door. (This is to build vapor). Bake for 20 minutes. Turn down the heat to 400F and continue baking for 10-15 minutes. or until the bread is deep golden brown. Halfway through baking with a heavy pancake turner, lift the bread and set it directly on the stone, turning it around as you do so for even baking. When the bread is baked, turn off the oven prop the door slightly ajar and leave the bread in the oven for 5 minutes.Glaze and cool the bread.Remove the bread from the oven and transfer it to a wire rack. Brush with another coat of melted bacon or butter and cool completely. The texture of this bread is most appealing when torn rather than cut.

Nico's note: I have few of all the gears mentioned. I put just one layer of butter. I got just a wire rack that I cover in foil paper to put the bread on. I do preheat but just 10 minutes to reach temperature. I tried the vapor thingy but my oven is not hermetic. Anyway even with all these technical deficiencies it turned out damn good. Due to the size of my oven and proximity to the heating element, I got to cook it to a very dark color to cook it through. I will try a little less this time!!!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

I picked up the recipe from the Food Network website, and boy was it yummy. It was Lama's birthday and I decided to make it for her as a gift. The secret as you will read in the recipe is sifting all the dry ingredients well (I did so 3 times) -> I didnt make variations such as changing it to whole wheat flour, as if I've never baked a cupcake before I find it best not to change the recipe first until I taste it.

The icing was also a bit too buttery and less cheesy for my taste, so I think I need to put more creamcheese next time. This is my favorite cupcake (I've ever made)!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/red-velvet-cupcakes-with-cream-cheese-frosting-recipe/index.html

Artichoke Pesto Bagel

We like eating in this restaurant called CIRCLES in Dubai. The selling point of it is that it serves dough made in NYC for their bagels. The concoctions are yummy but I figured I could make them - so we ordered some frozen bagels and took them home. Mabel came over tonight and I made some Pesto inspired bagels...basil was so expensive in the store I ended up just buying the ready made ones and mixed the artichokes.

I also pan roasted some chicken breasts marinated with olive oil, mustard and soy sauce for 'Mabel and Andy's bagels. For me, I just put greens and some sliced artichokes on top and just ate half a bagel because it gets too heavy - you can save the top for another meal. We ended dinner with some natural yogurt mixed with some honey, bananas and strawberries .which I froze about 2 hours before dinner. I topped it with brown molasses, a crushed walnut. Yummy!

Pesto Artichoke Spread

1/2 cup artichoke hearts, chopped

12 cup pesto sauce

* mix, add salt and pepper to taste

* spread 2 tbsp of the pesto artichoke spread on bottom bagel

* Slice pan fried chicken, put on top, add cheese if needed

* Serve with any type of bagel (I served it with sundried tomato-bagels)

Baked Spinach!

I havent been cooking as much lately, since I was out in Delhi for 5 days, back to Dubai and travelling again. After that I get a stomach flu and am down for 2 days. I was inspired to cook when I got better - Andy still got hungry after eating the baked spinach (it was a little bit light) but enjoyed on another dinner (when Simon was over) the tofu steak with teriyaki sauce.

Not posting the baked spinach recipe because it was too light and not enough for a meal. What I will post though is the salad I invented - "Blanched Potato and string bean salad" I accidentally half cooked the potato (the outer was fully cooked and soft, the inner core was still hard)

Ive been reading this book called "The Tao of Health, Sex and happiness" which talks about a variety of things related to Tao philoshopy - one part has an intensive explanation on nutrition and the value of eating things raw. So this partly cooked salad is cooked just right so its not too hard to eat, but retaining all its nutritional values!

Blanched Potato and string bean salad

* 1 red skinned potatoe (bring water to a boil and wait 10 min until potato is 1/2 cooked)

* 2 cups thin string beans, cooked for about 1-2 mins, then washed with cold water

* chopped green onions to sprinkle

* Dressing, mix:

1/4 cup olive oil, 1 tbsp finely chopped sun dried tomatoes +

1 tbsp dijon mustard, 1 tsp kikoman, 1 tsp brown rice vinegar

Pan Fried Goat Cheese Salad

We had friends over again tonight, this time Dave a Kiwi friend of ours and his girlfriend Caroline. I didnt have much time tonight as Andy and I wanted to squeeze in one of our crazy-fast workouts and I was tired (and attempting to even go out after) so we wanted to make something simple. Andy and I ate this salad at the Bice restaurant here at Hilton, Dubai and I decided I could make it. The goat cheese is so savoury that I think you can just serve a slice shared between two people (dont slice it too thin or else the cheese melts).

Luckily Caroline loved goat cheese and Dave, well he likes to eat anything!

We also served some veggie burgers, but that was easy because we just bought Amy's veggie burgers with spinach leaves and sundried tomatoes.

Orange Vinaigrette

1 shallot, chopped and sauted in 1 tbsp olive oil

3/4 cup orange juice, bring to a boil until stick - then mix with

1/3 cup olive oil

1 tsp dijon mustard

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 1/2 tbsp vinegar (I use brown rice vinegar)

Pan Fried Goat Cheese

* coat sliced goat cheese logs in whole wheat flour (about 1/3 inch in thickness)

* then dip in egg (beaten + 1tbbsp water) - then finally dip into this mixture

* mix 1/3 cup finely grounded almonds + 1/3 cup bread crumbs + 1/2tsp salt and pepper

Place over salad greens (I like spinach leaves), cherry tomatoes, strawberries and salt and pepper!

The other photo is sundried tomatoes and feta cheese scrambled eggs - Andy cooked this for breakkie and it was so yummy! No recipe required, just beat some eggs and milk, season with salt and pepper then mix in feta cheese and sundried tomatoes! yum!

Asianized Risotto

Andy and I had friends over for the evening. He had made a special request for me to re-do the Walnut Miso Soba recipe because he liked it so much.

I know you usually have risotto as a main, but the Walnut Miso Soba was going to be the strat of the night - but I was juste excited to try cooking it so I decided I'd serve a little of it with some protein for the meat eaters since the soba was vegan. I researched a bit and it seems the secret to it is a) good arbori rice or risotto rice; b) giving it time to slowly simmer, adding broth slowly.

I made a variation and
* used Dashi broth instead of vegetable broth
* reduced the amount of cheese
* poured some sesame oil instead of olive oil
* cooked it for 1hr and 45mins
* red wine instead of white

* reduced the amount of butter to 1/2

* added 1/2 cup brown rice

The results were amazing - right consistency, enough taste. It also tasted lighter (but still yummy) than most risottos because it didnt have heavy cream in it. Because it had wild bron rice in it, it was also much more chewy. I actually just served 1/2 cup to each person with some chicken teriyaki and cold tofu (for Rita who was vegetarian too) and they were pretty satisfied.

The cupcakes were less than stellar - I had put a solid hershey kisses inside it, and it did not melt. My idea was it would be like a cupcake souffle, haha...it was a tasty (but not yummy looking one.

Mushroom Risotto
1.5 cups Arbori
1/2 cups wild brown rice
7 cups Dashi soup
1 cup chopped green onions
1 cup thinly sliced portobello or shitake mushrooms
1/2 parmesan cheese (grated)
1/2 red wine
1/8 cup sesame oil

1//2 cup butter
salt & pepper to taste

* 1 tbsp chopped garlic
* 1 tbsp chopped onions

* cook in sesame oil the chopped garlic and onions
* add in mushrooms and green onions
* add in rice
* stir in the red wine then the butter (it will melt on its own)
* add 1 1/2 cups of the broth at a time
* when the rice absorbs the broth, pour 1 1/2 cups more and so on
* when almost done, stir in the red wine

Not posting the chocolate cupcake recipe, will still need to perfect it!

Walnut Miso Soba Noodles

I don't feel really well today (low sodium due to dehydration, another story!) so I decided to stay home and not gym with Andy (side note: really best to do yoga in the mornings, so glad I managed parts of the primary series atleast)* Andy loves Japanese, so I made a try at some healthy soba.

I had to research how to cook soba because the last time I made it, it turned sticky and starchy.
The soba sauce was fairly simple and I'm glad I was able to buy really nice red miso paste in the Korean store last week.

SOBA
* recommendation is around 150-200grams (uncooked) for 2 persons
* boil water, without salt or oil
* drop little by little the soba and stir
* cook for about 5-7 minutes
* strain with cool water until starchiness comes off swirling it around the strainer with your hands . * I washed this off again with water and mixed with a little sesame oil before mixing the sauce

Walnut miso sauce
* 1/2 cup walnuts
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 2 tbsp red miso paste
*1/4 cup hot water

TOP with:
* shredded nori
* mushrooms sauteed in garlic
* blanched asparagus tips
* optional (for Andy) -
stir fried in sesame oil, garlic, 1 tbsp kikoman + 1 tbsp mirin (chopped chicken breast)
* sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds

Japanese: Okonomiyaki and Tofu Steak

I in general like pancakes - specially savoury Korean and Japanese pancakes which I learned to eat in Thailand. Since I finally found an Asian store here in Dubai that sold the basic ingredients (dashi, mirin, Kikoman, etc) for Japanese cooking I decided to try Okonomiyaki ("as you like") and a new version of tofu steak. Andy liked this meal.

The Okonomiyaki was really pretty simple, mix:

1 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cups dashi water (1/2 tsp dashi powder + 3/4 cups water)

1 egg

1 cup shredded cabbage

1 cup shredded leeks

1 cup slice mushrooms

* mix all dry ingredients then water, last is the eggs

* fry in sesame oil
* top with fried seaweed, slivered almonds, sesame seeds

* also served it with 3 types of sauce

- japanese mayo, teriyaki sauce or mirin mixed with kikoman

Tofu steak

* firm tofu with bread crumbs

* pan fried in sesame oil

* topped with fried seaweed, green onions, and teriyaki sauce

Mabel's Dinner

I had Mabel over for dinner this weekend - instead of our usual foray into JBR. Mabel and I have been friends since we were 9 years old and have by some miracle (and effort) kept in touch despite moves in schools and ultimately countries...until we met here again in Dubai.

I decided to cook her something special for dinner. Inspired by Tastespotting and eventually Shane's tries at some recipes I chose to make some Pumpkin Spinach Feta Salad (the same salad Mabel and I like eating at a restaurant here called Circles), then That Zuchinni Cupcakes for main, Andy cooked steak as well. We finished off with some Decaf Latte and the Raspberry Lemon cupcakes. I did a variation and blended frozen raspberries with yogurt to make a sauce on top of it. Andy found the lemon rinds annoying...I think I cut it too thickly (the recipe called Zest, and well I put rind). I found the chewiness quite interesting though.

Spinach Feta Salad

600 grams unseeded pumpkin - cooked at 200 C oven for 45 mins each side if thick

* baste with 2 tsp honey + 1 tbsp olive oil (or as needed)

Toss with:

a bed of 4 cups baby spinach leaves

1/2 cup quartered feta cheese

75 grams sundried tomatoes

toasted pine nuts

Dressing

4 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp mustard

pepper and salt to taste

Here are the links of the other recipes

That Zuchinni Cupcake

http://culinerapy.blogspot.com/2009/06/i-am-niece-of-bob-synes.html

Raspberry Lemon tart

http://www.joyofbaking.com/muffins/CherryRicottaMuffins.html

Khao Soi!

I'm totally in love with Thai food as I just said - I'm not a big fan of thai curries though except for one, called Khao Soi. This is a spicy Northern Thai dish and is usually not served in a lot of Thai restaurants in Bangkok (although they have it in Central Foodloft). It's a soupy-dish with egg noodles, topped with crispy egg noodles, an egg, and served to taste with chilli flakes or oil and pickled cabbages. It is usually served as well with chicken - in some cases a whole drumstick, for this recipe I halved it. 1/2 part made with chicken for Andy and 1/2 made from some faux chicken meat from the Korean store.

I brought some Khao Soi mix from Bangkok and I just cooked it based on that. Also substituted the cabbages for dill pickles, which was surprisingly good. * Will need to research what khao soi mix is made up of, but for now this is what I can share. Ended up with too little sauce, next time should add more.

CHOP

* 3 cloves garlic

* 1/2 white onion

COOK in hot water

* 1/2 carrot

* 2 red potatoes

* 8 oz egg noodles (serves 2-3)

SLICE

* 2 chicken breasts

Heat wok, and stir in 1 tbsp coconut oil or 2 tbsp olive oil with garlic and white onion. Toss in the chicken or faux meat, and add cooked carrot and potatoes. Add a mix of 1 packet khao soi spices + 2 cups coconut milk. Simmer for about 20mins and add 2 more cups water. Serve the sauce with egg noodles and top with crunchy egg noodles (or any crunchy noodles). Also can be eaten with pickled cabbage, 1/2 cooked hard boiled egg and with chilli to taste.

Peewee's Pad Thai

I'm a huge fan of Thai cuisine - the beauty of the tastes (always contrasting) is something that I have always enjoyed. I particularly like the fact that all the ingredients are fresh, cheap and simple. One favorite of mine is Pad Thai - these are basically stir-fried noodles with either tofu, shrimp or chicken and mixed with some fish-sauce, lemon juice and chilli.

I realized the secret to making good pad thai was this = a HOT wok and really good fish sauce!

* prepare all the ingredients before cooking

* make sure you soak the noodles a good one hour or more

* dont overcook the noodles in the wok 2-3 minutes is good

* pre-mix the liquid ingredients before, dont put it one after the other

Pre-mix:

Pad Thai Sauce - mix together and add to noodles

1/4 cup tamarind water

2 tbsp palm or brown sugar

1 tbsp maggi seasong sauce

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tsp soy saauce

Pre-Soak

Noodles - soak in cold water for 1 hour or more, or until soft, fry in oil

8 0z dry rice noodles

FRY

2 tbsp vegetable oil

* I like to use coconut oil

- In order fry - garlic, tofu, noodles, onions, bean sprouts then noodles and sauce

4 cloves garlice

2 eggs beaten

1 cup extra firm tofu

1/2 cup green onions

2 cups mung bean sprouts

* you can add shrimps or chicken too

To taste

2 tsp crushed chilli flakes

1/2 cup roasted peanuts

Toff-Walnut-Kani Salad in Wasabi Dressing

...Losing my temper results to a wasabi- salad creation

Going home today was not the happiest for me - I lost my temper today, got stuck in work, did no yoga or running and was basically TIRED. I had half my mind to just pop in something instant in the microwave then I said "I'm going to cook" to calm me.

Nothing sweet could be concocted in my head in my state of mind and I just wanted something that tastes close to home - Japanese perhaps? Something crunchy and strong tasting to take away the bitter taste in my mouth (and heart perhaps?)

Tofu-Walnuts

* 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

* 3/4 cups firm tofu

* Stir Fry in olive oil until Tofu is firm, golden brown and absorbs the taste of the walnuts

Green Salad at the bottom

* 3 cups mixed green leaves

* Shredded carrrots

* Topped with 6 shredded Kani sticks

Wasabi Dressing

* 1 tsp wasabi powder

* 1 tbsp water

* 1 tbsp dijon mustard

* 1 tbsp mirin sauce

* 3 tsps kikoman soysauce

Top the salad greens with the tofu-walnuts and shredded kani, pour the dressing as needed.

Eaten with a slice or organic 4-grain bread with cheese and sun dried tomatoes - yum.

My heart may be tired - but my stomach is relaxed with this flavourful concoction.

Carrot Zucchini Cupcakes

Inspired by numerous friends who have been journalling their forays into cooking...and a sucker for social networking, I have decided to re-create my own! I started blogging my cupcakes creations but stopped. Tonight, while having a funny tummy (probably a stomach flu) and a little bit tired from eating frozen vegeterian meals from Amy's (although they are good) I took a shot at baking and making dinner that I could enjoy...guilt free!

The mushrooms with the tangy mirin-soysauce combination was good - the bigger the mushrooms and the longer you roast it...the better. The Zucchini Pie was also better than some I tasted because of the chewiness of the quinoa.

The WINNER though was the Carrot-Zuchinni cupcakes! Some people would doubt it would be good (no butter and zuchinni?) but the zuchinni and apple sauce combination actually made it so moist. I think people would a super sweet tooth would like it better with icing (cream cheese mixed with sugar and lime) but that is a little bit too much for me!

Dinner

Baked Quinoa-Pesto-Zuchinni Pie

(a variation from Elise's French Tart and Shane's Vegetarian Salmon Pie)

* 4 tbsps pesto sauce

* 1/2 cup soy milk

* 4 eggs

* 1 cup quinoa

* 1 cup mozarella

* 1/8 tsp sea salt

* 1/8 tsp pepper

* 1 cup zuchinni sliced thinly

COOK FOR 40MINS at 200C

Serve with on the side: Roasted portabello mushrooms for 2 1/2 hours on the side (sprinkled olive oil, mirin and kikoman)!

Dessert

Carrot-Zuchinni Cupcakes with Walnuts (no butter!)

Mix wet ingredients:
* 1 cup soy milk

* 4 eggs

* 1 cup raw sugar (brown)

* 1 cup apple sauce (unsweetened)

* 1 cup canola or sunflower oil

Fold in dry ingredients (Pre-mix together)

* 3 cups whole wheat flour

* 3/4 tsp baking soda

* 3/4 tsp sea salt

* 2 tsp cinnamon powder

* 2 cups grated carrots

* 2 cups grated zucchinni

* 1 cup chopped walnuts

Oil cupcakes pans, cook for 18 mins in 200 C