Chorizo Frittata

I always find that when I can't come up with something for dinner, like tonight, a good ole' and quick frittata always saves the day.

An egg based dish, the frittata is enhanced with ingredients such as meat, cheese, vegies or even pasta.  I found potato and pumpkin, chorizo and potato or potato with parsley and a good dose of garlic as some of my favorite combinations.  Frittatas can be made on the cook-top in a deep non-stick frying pan or baked in the oven in a round cake pan.

The beauty with frittatas is that they can be served straight out of the oven with a nice green salad or cold straight out of the fridge the next day alongside some more green salad.  Frittatas go down just as nicely for dinner as they do the next day for breakfast.  It is a nice hardy dish, filled with high-quality protein that provides sustained energy to get you through the day.

Chorizo Frittata

2 large potatoes, diced, cooked and fried
3 chorizo sausages, sliced and fried
2 carrots, peeled, diced and cooked
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
½ cup (125mL) milk
8 eggs, lightly whisked
Salt and ground black pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 23cm round cake pan and line with non-stick baking paper.

Steam the potatoes and carrots.  Three-quarter fry the onion and chorizos, then add the cooked potatoes and carrots and fry until the added vegies get a slightly browned look.

Whisk the milk and eggs together, then season with salt and pepper.  Combine with the fried ingredients, mix together and pour into prepared cake pan.

Bake for 25 minutes and then turn the oven up to 210°C and bake for a further 5-10 minutes until the top of the frittata gets a golden brown appearance. Turn onto a wire rack to cool.  Cut into wedges and serve with a green salad.

Just pulled out of the oven.

With a simple green salad.

Betty Crocker's Rocky Road Bars

On a whim I purchased a Betty Crocker chocolate cake mix to find out that it doesn't come with the frosting as many other pre-packed cake mixes do.  Great what do I do with a slab of cake? 

Not to be disappointed for long, I was intrigued by the Rocky Road Bars the rear of the pack advertised.  With curiosity and some drooling I looked it up on the Betty Crocker website.

Here's what happened:

Doesn't it just look yum?

Oh my and was it delicious and gooey and fudgy.

Not complicated to make at all, especially since we are using pre-packed cake mix, here's the recipe with all of 8 ingredients.

Rocky Road Bars

1 Betty Crocker SuperMoist milk chocolate cake mix
110g butter, melted
0.25C water
0.25C brown sugar
1 egg
3C miniature marshmallows
50g small M&Ms
1/3C Betty Crocker Rich & Creamy chocolate frosting

Method

Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees celsius.  Line a 20 x 20 cm square baking tray with baking paper.

Combine cake mix, butter, water, brown sugar and egg in a large bowl and stir well.  Pour into pan and spread evenly.  Bake in oven for 20 minutes.

Sprinkle marshmallows and bake a further 15 minutes, then add the M&Ms.

Microwave the frosting for 10 seconds and drizzle on the bars.  Cool for one hour and slice bars into 16 pieces.

As you can see we were very generous with our servings.

For more delightful Betty Crocker recipes check out the website www.bettycroker.com.  There are some amazing dessert recipes that just have to be tested.

The Sun's Romance (Romanta Soarelui)

I am Romanian by birth with the language skills of an 11 year old which was the age that I left the country for Down Under Oz.

During a recent visit, my brother gave me a poetry book in Romanian and said something like this: "You want to learn Romanian, use this to get you started".  So I flicked through the book and realised how limited my language skills were.  I always knew my limitations, I just really didn't need to have it so obviously presented.  As I was reading the poetry, I found myself completely incapable of translating.

I figured the best way to expand my Romanian is to attempt to translate the poems into English.  As you might imagine that is no easy feat.  The two languages are articulated in opposite ways, making literal translation impossible.  Another challenge is what sounds good and makes sense in telling a poetic story in Romanian, most certainly does not sound good nor poetic in English.

Either way, I was game and up for the challenge.  I selected a poem that seemed interesting enough from the 20% I could actually translate without a dictionary and started one line at a time.  Of course by the end of the first verse, it was all "gobbledegook" and by the second absolutely made no sense.  Through perseverance and sheer stubbornness on my part I started fudging it, cut lines out that I had no idea what the poet was trying to convey and ended with something that seemed reasonable.  Maybe not to your liking but not bad for a first try.

This was the outcome with my interference:

The Sun's Romance

by Mihail Sadoveanu

I soar,

I stretch,

I set

And disappear,

Yet my sunset's still arisen...

Forever solitary as daylight's vagabond

I am eternally unique and infinitely exposed.

With a giant magic wand, 

I give ...

Rivers reptilian life,

Seas their phosphorescent look,
Distant mountains, troops of gorillas,

And coastline trees, enviable positions.

I give...

Dried fig trees new fruit

Bronze statues humanness 

And on marble-lined pedestals commanding gestures,
That Kings' shall forever command.

But when I set

And the heat struggles in the cup of the rising cold

I shall throw new seeds into old patterns
And listen to Perpetuation hum amongst the chaos.

For a giggle, here's the literal translation of the first verse:

The Romance of the Sun
by Mihail Sadoveanu

East,
I'm tall,
Down
And then disappear,
And my sunset is still arise...
Are homeless day forever solitary -
Portrait unique and eternal, infinite exposed.

And for the Romanian's who are curious about it, here's the original version and if you want to shed light on it, feel free to comment.  Am widely open to it.

Romanta Soarelui
by Mihail Sadoveanu

Rasar,
Ma-nalt,
Cobor,
Si-apoi dispar,
Si-apusul meu e totusi rasarit...
Sunt vagabondul zilei de-a pururi solitar
Portret unic si vesnic, expus in infinit.

Cu magica-mi bagheta uriase -

Stapina hotaririlor eterne -

Destept maturatorii albelor orase

Si-adorm intirziatii negrelor taverne...

Dau fluviilor gratii de reptile,

Dau marilor priviri fosforescente,

Iar muntilor din zare, aspecte de gorile,

Si brazilor, pe coaste, pozitii indecente.

Dau fructe noi smochinilor uscati,

Dau bronzului figura omeneasca,

Iar Regilor -

Pe socluri de marmura-nsirati -
Poruncitoare gesturi, ca-n veci sa porunceasca.

Iar cind cobor,

Cind calda-nfiorare

Se zbate-n cupa recelui repaos,
Azvirl saminta noua in vechile tipare

Si-ascult Perpetuarea cum fredoneaza-n haos!...

Marshmallow Painting

Together with my daughter, we spend enormous amounts of time painting, painting and some more painting.  Not an artist myself, I ran out of ideas and looked for inspiration on You Tube where I came across marshmallow painting.

Not unlike potato painting, which Trini has done before, marshmallow painting comes with an added bonus.  Mummy buys a pack of marshmallow of which half is used for painting and the other half for eating.

Trini's got the painting and eating marshies down pat.

Using Crayola's Washable Kids Paint (comes in a pack of 10 pots) and a disposable plate, pour a dollop of the chosen colours and place a marshmallow on top of each colour.

On a sheet of paper, guide the child to pick up a paint loaded marshmallow and stamp away on paper.  Keep changing marshmallows till the paper has a kaleidoscopic effect.

Trini's solo marshie stamping.

Trini and mummy marshie artwork.

Let it dry and either hang it on an art wall or frame it in one of Ikea's child friendly frames (look for Nyttja which comes in several bright colours with durable plastic instead of glass, keeping the kiddies safe).

Trini loving the marshie stamping and even more
the marshie eating.

NB: make sure the child doesn't eat the painted marshmallow.  I gave Trini a small plate with 3 marshies on them so she can indulge as well as paint with them.

Pan-Fried Fish Fillet with Black Bean Sauce

This dish is inspired by a recipe from A Taste of Singapore cookbook and my desperate need to know what to do with two large white fish fillets I had in the freezer. 

Deep in flavour the fish was accompanied by vegetable fried rice and sambal kankong (water spinach wok fried with chilli paste).

Pleased to report that nothing was left and my 3 year old girl enjoyed it just as much.

Pan-Fried Fish Fillet with Black Bean Sauce (Serves 4)

2 large white fish fillets
2 T black bean sauce
1 T oyster sauce
2 tsp minced ginger
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp sugar
0.5 tsp ground black pepper
2 T oil
4 T cooking white wine vinegar

Method

Combine all the ingredients, except the fish, to create the black bean sauce.  Pour into a large & deep frying pan and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the fish and simmer for 10 minutes consistently spooning the sauce over it.  Gently turn over so as not to break the fillets and simmer for a further 10 minutes or until the fish is cooked.  This will give the fish a slightly crispy flavour.

Serve with fried rice, your choice of Asian greens and a crisp sauvignon blanc.

Tip: If you find the flavour too deep then add a cup of water to the sauce to thin it out.

3D Jigsaw Puzzle by MEGA Puzzles

On a recent shopping trip with Trinity, I came across Mega Puzzles' latest jigsaw puzzle design.  With the patent pending the latest jigsaw design is a combination of 2D and 3D technology.  Intrigued by the concept I swiftly paid SGD$30 and bought Minnie Mouse following Trini's selection.

With only 250 pieces at a moderate level of difficulty, Trini and I set off with the background which was the flat 2D part of the puzzle.  Once finished the puzzle was glued on both sides in order to make it solid.

The pieces from the 3D section, being Minnie's face and her gloved hands, were then punched out from the cardboard.  Each piece has several numbered tabs which needed to be folded, along with the overall piece that required to be folded where marked.

It didn't take long to realise that the 3D section of the puzzle required dexterity, a little bit of strength, manual manipulation and an organised approach to the construction.

Each pre-folded piece needed to be arranged in the order shown by the strip number and then each tab had a corresponding tab number.  This indicated how the pieces were to join one another. Tabs were then matched with their corresponding number and held together with joining clips.

L: Joining clips keeping Minnie's face together
R: Minnie's completed face

Completing Minnie's face was quite fiddly but immensely satisfying once I saw the end result.  The gloved hands were quicker and easier to put together.

Once finished the 3D images were attached to the 2D flat puzzle with more clips by matching the numbers for correct positioning and voila a ready made piece, perfect for framing without glass.

A totally fun jigsaw puzzle, the downside is that it can only be made once.  The flat puzzle must be glued in order to be able to attach the 3D section to it.

Would I do another one?  Definitely.  I love my jigsaw puzzles and I sure appreciate new concepts and designs in puzzling.

An angled photo to illustrate Minnie's
protruding face and hands.

The completed puzzle and Trini sneaking into the photo.

German Potato Soup

Fellow cook, Jenny Filips, posted this very yummy soup on Facebook's Homemade Recipes Group.  Immediately I made it and devoured it with my daughter.  Less than a fortnight later, I made it again and this time promptly demolished it with my husband, brother and daughter.

A quick and easy soup, it's thick, flavoursome and filling.  Jenny's recipe calls for bacon but since I didn't have any I used two chorizo sausages instead.

German Potato Soup

1 T margarine
2 onions, peeled & diced
2 chorizo sausages
2 T flour
1 L chicken stock
4 large potatoes, peeled & cubed
2 T freshly chopped parsley

Method

Heat margarine in large saucepan, add the onion and cook till softened.

Remove saucepan from heat and stir in the flour until all combined. Return to heat and slowly add the stock stirring continuously.

Add potatoes and parsley, bring to boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.

Whilst the soup is simmering, fry the chorizos until almost cooked. Remove from frying pan and slice then quarter. Add back to frying pan and continue frying till fully cooked.

When the soup has cooked add the chorizos, stir, season to taste and serve hot.

Nespresso - My new love affair

A year ago I wrote about my love affair with my new iPad.  Since then, it continues to be loved dearly along with all the other digital gadgets in the household.  However, a new love affair began for me when my gorgeous husband purchased an espresso coffee machine whilst I was abroad visiting family.

Let me introduce you to Nespresso's Citiz C110 Shanghai Tang Limited Edition and his trusted friend Aeroccino 3 milk froth device.  My cappuccinos, long blacks and lattes have never been the same.  I also drink decaf now, which in a million years you wouldn't have me do beforehand.  Actually that's more thanks to my cousin, Agi, who introduced me to it whilst visiting her in Hungary.

My beautiful coffee machine and his friend the frother.

Now my husband doesn't do things by halves.  So when he purchased the coffee pods he went all the way.  Acquiring not just this beautiful presentation box filled with all 16 flavours but also a full complement of 250 capsules. 

Tasting and trialling the different flavours has been a divine journey, indulging in blended varieties along with pure blends from Brazil, Colombia and India.  The beauty of each individual pod is that the coffee's aroma and freshness remains sealed until it's been used.  It also means that coffee no longer needs to be one flavour.  We experiment with lattes, cinos, short blacks, long blacks, decaf, strength levels and give ourselves a whole new experience when drinking coffee.  I no longer need to spend $6 for an espresso that may or may not be to my liking (more often than not, it's not to my liking).

So then who is Nespresso?  A wholly owned subsidiary of Nestle, Nespresso launched in 1986 with all of four flavours and two espresso machines.  They've come a long way in flavours with bi-yearly limited editions launched, along with a current complement of 28 machine designs.  With a global presence of 57 countries and 200+ boutique stores, Nespresso is here to stay and continue delighting our coffee addictions.

As I sit here writing having recently indulged my senses with a decaf latte, I wonder if it's too soon to have another one.  Maybe I can sneak another one in.....

Chicken & Mushroom Vol-Au-Vents

There's not much to be said about this recipe other than that my sister has been making these Vol Au Vents for about 21 years.  They are easy, delicious and a family hit every single time. 

Whilst the recipe calls for entree size pastries only, if you have small children you will find that the bite size pastries will be their favorites as they can manage it with their hands and eat it in a couple of bites.  My sister always makes a combination of both entree and bite size and I have no qualms in stealing some small ones, whilst I also indulge in the entree size ones as well.

Chicken & Mushroom Vol Au Vents

36 entree size pastry cases (vol au vents)
800g chicken fillets,sliced as if stir-frying (skin-off)
400g mushrooms, sliced
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
2T tomato paste
110g butter
0.5C plain flour
2C milk
Salt & peeper to taste

Method

Annie preparing the chicken.

Melt 50g butter in a large and deep frying pan that has a lid and saute the onions.  Add the chicken and salt and pepper, then give it a stir.  Turn the heat to low, put the lid on and let it cook until the juices from the chicken evaporate.  Stir occasionally.

Add the mushrooms and tomato paste, stir and put the lid back on.  Let it cook until most of the juice from the mushrooms evaporate.  Ideally the mixture remains slightly moist.  Set aside and make the sauce.

Chicken and mushroom mixture.

On low heat, in a small non-stick saucepan melt the remaining butter and progressively add the flour and mix it together.  Add the milk in quarter cup portions and stir well and keep mixing.  It should be a pasty mixture without any lumps.  If there are any lumps just push the mixture through a sieve.

No lumps.

Add the mixture to the chicken in the frying pan, give a good stir so it's all mixed. 

In a large baking tray place the vol au vents and then with a tablespoon fill the cases evenly.

No fancy brand needed, just the
local Coles is good enough.

Annie filling the cases.

Place in the oven at 150 degrees to warm them up and slightly brown the cases.

Vol Au Vents ready to go in the oven.

Serve with green salad and
a chilled white wine.

Enjoy.  I sure did and went back for more.

Orange Torte

After several soup recipe posts, I think it's time for a shift to something wickedly sweet.  Mind you this cake is certainly not for the weight conscious.

Made by my grandmother since she was a young lady, this recipe is approximately 80 years old.  Passed down to my sister, she has been baking it for the last 20 years and perfecting it each year. It has become the traditional birthday cake amongst the family and it never lasts beyond the next day.

Whilst time consuming in the preparation and baking, it is certainly worth the effort for those really special events.

Orange Torte

Cake

10 eggs, separated
300g sugar
200g plain flour
Juice of 1 lemon

Orange Cream

280g sugar
2 full eggs
6 egg yolks
2 tsp plain flour
6T milk
2 orange rinds
300g unsalted butter, cut into 1cm cubes

Method

Cake

Preheat oven 160 degrees.  Separate the eggs into two large mixing bowls.  Add the sugar to the yolk and mix until it has a creamy texture.

Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks then gently fold into the egg yolk.  Add the flour and lemon juice, gently fold again.

Beating the egg whites to stiff peaks.

Gently fold the egg whites into the egg yolks.

Add the flour and lemon juice
and gently fold till mixed.

Pour the cake mix into a large non-stick springform baking pan and bake in the preheated oven for about an hour until the top is golden-brown and the wooden skewer comes out clean from the center of the cake.

Golden-brown on top and the wooden skewer is clean.

Orange Cream

Combine all the ingredients and mix until nice and creamy.  Add the orange rind and transfer into a non-stick saucepan.  Cook on low heat and stir constantly.  You will find as it cooks, the cream will rise in the pot.  Keep stirring.  The cream will start reducing and thickening.  The cream is cooked when the consistency is thick.  Put the saucepan into some cold water in the sink to cool it quickly and stir a couple times.

Combine ingredients until creamy.

The reduced and thickened cream.

Place the cubed butter into a mixing bowl and add the cream mixture from the saucepan.  With an electric mixer, beat until all mixed in, fluffy in texture and the colour is light.

Light and fluffy texture of finished cream.

The necessary taste test.

Cut the cake in half horizontally and spread about half the cream on top of the base evenly.  Replace the top half of the cake and evenly spread the cream on top and the sides.  Decorate if preferred with chocolate sprinkles.

We don't fuss with perfection too much.
We just want to eat it...

...but it was Grandma's birthday,
so we made an effort and junior made
sure we did it right.

Serve with a sweet dessert wine.

Enjoy.

Quinoa & Vegetable Soup

My initial attempt was to make a Minestrone Soup which swiftly derailed once I wanted to add bok choy, quinoa seeds, leek and red bell pepper.  It turned out into a lovely and filling Quinoa & Vegetable Soup. 

I love making soups because they truly are food for the soul.  If you don't feel well, have a soup.  If you want a lightweight meal, indulge in soup.  If you have a bunch of vegies that need to be used, make a soup.

On this occasion I wanted to add some bok choy.  They are readily available in my downstairs mini-mart and they are a rich source of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

The quinoa seeds I used are an alternative to rice, barley or couscous.  A native of South America it was once considered the 'Inca's gold'.  Cultivated in Peru, Chile and Bolivia for 5000 years, the quinoa was a staple food for the native Indians.  The Spanish Conquistadors destroyed all the quinoa fields as a way to control the natives.  It became illegal to cultivate quinoa and it was punishable by death.  As you can imagine the cultivation of quinoa all but disappeared until the 1980s when a couple of Americans discovered the concentrated health benefits of quinoa and began cultivating it in Colorado.  Not sure if they are available in supermarkets but I found mine in the health food store.

Are you wondering what is so great about the quinoa?  Firstly, it is high in protein as opposed to rice which is high in carbohydrates.  The quinoa includes all nine essential amino acids which play important roles in metabolism and serve as the building blocks for proteins.  

Whilst possibly thought of as a grain, the quinoa is actually the seed of a plant related to spinach and beets.

Following several research studies it was concluded that a regular intake of quinoa can aid with migraines, prevention of heart attacks, reduce the risk of childhood asthma and reduce risk of type-2 diabetes, to name a few.  For more detailed information: Quinoa Seeds Profile.

The best part about this soup is its cooking simplicity.

Quinoa & Vegetable Soup

1 red onion, peeled and chopped
1 small leek, chopped
0.5 punnet red cherry tomatoes, halved
2 sticks celery, halved lengthways and sliced (I cut them smaller so my little girl can eat them easier)
2 carrots, peeled, halved lengthways and sliced
1 large potato, peeled and chopped into small squares
3 frozen spinach nuggets (or a handful of fresh spinach thinly sliced)
1 small bok choy, sliced (leaves included)
0.5 red bell pepper, sliced and diced
0.25 bunch of parsley, finely chopped
0.5 C quinoa seeds
1.2L stock

Method

Toss all the ingredients in a large soup pot.  Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer for 25 minutes.  Serve with a slice of toast.  Enjoy.

Toss it all in a pot...

...add the stock, boil, simmer and....

...serve.

Top 10 Juices

As we experimented with different juice combinations and largely relied on The Big Book of Juice and Smoothies by Natalie Savona for inspiration, here is a list of our top 10 juices that we found ourselves going back for again and again.  Toss them all in the juice extractor.  It usually makes for two sometimes three depending on preferred serving size.  Just add more or less to suit your needs.

The juices marked with an asterik are extracted from the abovementioned book.

An Oldie but a Goodie

2 apples
2 carrots
2 sticks of celery

Aids with detox, lower cholesterol, immune boost, skin improvement, digestion and diuretic properties that help dispose of excess water in the body.

An Oldie but a Goodie

Beet Basic*

2 beetroots
2 carrots
1 apple
1 orange, peeled
1 stick celery
1.5 cm ginger root

Aids with detoxing, immunity boost, energy lift and skin improvement.  A yummy and terrific all-rounder.

Beet Basic

Carrot Beet

3 carrots
1 beetroot
4 oranges

Load up on vitamin C, boost the immunity and detoxify.

Carrot Beet

Celery Delicacy*

0.5 bunch of celery
4 pears
1.5cm ginger root

A soothing juice that aids with digestion and detoxing.

Celery Delicacy

Grapefruit Zing

2 pink grapefruits
3 carrots
2 apples
1 nashi
1.5 cm ginger root

Packed with vitamin C, detoxifying and aids with digestion, along with lowering cholesterol.

Grapefruit Zing

Nashi Morning

2 large nashi pear
2 carrots
1 fuji apple
2 sticks celery
1.5 cm ginger root

A nice all rounder with extra energy boost and delicious sweet flavour to kick off anyone's morning.

Nashi morning

Nashi Sweetness

1 large nashi pear
2 oranges, peeled
2 fuji apples
2 sticks celery

Aids with detoxing, digestion, skin improvement, lower cholesterol, immunity boost and has diuretic properties that help dispose of excess water in the body.

Nashi Sweetness

Orange Zest

1 pineapples
2 oranges
1.5cm ginger root

Rich in vitamins and minerals the pineapple's alkaline nature is complimentary to the oranges more acidic form.

Orange Zest

Pineapple Basic*

0.5 pineapple, peeled
1 apple
3 carrots
1 stick celery

A full on booster in energy, detox, immunity and digestion. 

Pineapple Basic

Pineapple Yum

0.75 pineapple
2 apples
2 oranges

Aids with digestion, immunity boost, detox and lower cholesterol.

Pineapple Yum