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So who's going to the Word Camp Philippines 2008?

kokegulper — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 05:42:56 +0000

I am. At least that what I intend to when I registered for this first ever WordCamp event in the Philippines!

The date, September 6, 2008 happen to be around the weeks I am officially on vacation! And the venue? Well College of St. Benilde in Taft Avenue is just an LRT away from where I lived before!

Really amazing how the very persuasive Usual Suspects and the Mindanao Bloggers came to organize this event!

And of course this WordCamp Philippines would not be possible without the following sponsors

So register na!

Gluten Free Menu Plan - July 21, 2008

Kate — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:30:32 +0000

So last week I joined the Menu Swappers. And I blew it. LOL. I didn't really follow my menu (explanation to follow) and I ended up at the grocery store withOUT my list! ACK! Thus... no plan following and a weird grocery list ensued.

Remember when your mom (and others) told you NOT to grocery shop when you were hungry?

Mmm Hmm. They were so right!

And boy, howdy, do I have the grocery receipt to show you how right they are!

I did manage to make the meals I planned for:

Monday (Honey-Mustard-Wasabi Grilled Chicken Sandwiches)

Tuesday (Chile-spiced flank steak and saffron rice)

Thursday (Korean BBQ Short Ribs) (And Ginger, that post is coming this week! I promise!)

And from the idea list, I made Fresh Mushroom Pizza with Garlic. MMM! (Although my love asked where the meat was, of course! LOL)

However, I scored an awesome deal on some fresh salmon ($8/pound!) and fresh halibut ($9/pound!) which are great deals... and I couldn't resist. We LOVE fresh fish. And while it didn't help my grocery budget, I promised to balance it out this week. (Bring on the rice and beans, babee!) I made fresh salmon burgers (oh-so-good!) and the next night we had halibut fish-and-chips with honey vinegar. Dang! They were good! And.. so good that I forgot to take a picture. (Sorry!)

Now you all see why this menu planning thing is hard for me. LOL.

Anyway, here is the "plan" (a word in quotations to indict that I shall follow it loosely. LOL): This week's Gluten Free Menu Plan is hosted by Asparagus Thin. (Thank you for hosting!)

Monday: Curried Shrimp with Pineapple Vietnamese Salad Bowls with Shrimp and Pineapple

Tuesday: Teriyaki Pork Chops

Wednesday: Smoked BBQ Pulled Pork (no gym classes that day...LOL - I can stay home with the smoker!)

Thursday: Baked spaghetti

Friday: Pitas, Grilled Chicken with Cucumber Sauce

Ideas: Ack.. pretty much the same as last week. To be honest... I'm not happy with the Thursday nor Friday plan (ruh roh), but I know that I have the ingredients to make those things on hand. Hopefully, that will spare me the frightening shopping trip again.

I can't wait to read everyone else's menus. I need some inspiration!

Happy Gluten Free Eating, All!
-Kate

PS. If you are wondering what the donation links are all about, please read this post.

ROUND-UP: Eating with the Seasons - July

Maninas — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:21:20 +0000

It's time for the round-up of Eating with the Seasons - JULY!

Many thanks to everyone who took part in the first installment of this new blogging event. I really enjoyed reading your entries.

I grew up looking forward to first tomatoes, sweet-smelling melons, refreshing watermelons, and I still do! No wonder as July is fantastic here in the Northern Hemisphere! Such bounty! Here we have a treasure-basket of fruits: fragrant apricots, delicious mangos, melon, watermelon, and not to mention cherries, blueberries and strawberries! And the veg? In July, we have some of my very favourite vegetables: aubergines, corn, courgette and tomatoes! But read on, and see for your self! Explore, and enjoy!

Fruit

Apricots

Apricot & Almond Delight ~ Sireesha of Mom's Recipies (Paris, France)

It is now summer in Paris and the grocery stores are filled with the aroma of delicious and fresh apricots, says Sireesha. Her Apricot and Almond Delight is a naturally healthy nutritious smoothie, 'perfectly fit for a natural sunny day'.

Blueberries

Blueberry Lassi ~ Lata of La Gourmet Chef (USA)

What's a summer without blueberries? They are my current obsession! If you're looking for something to quench your thirst on a hot summer day, make this simple and refreshing lassi!

Cherries

Cherry Clafouti ~ Lisa of Lisa's Kitchen (London, Ontario, Canada)

Cherries? Summer? Pudding? - Simply irresistible.

Mango

Mango lassi ~ Mythreyee of Paajaka Recipes (California, USA)

Mythreyee makes a gorgeous mango lassi. I love the beautiful gentle orangey-yellow hue of the drink.

Mango Pickle ~ Radhika of Tickling Palates (Chennai, India)

In India, mango is probably the national fruit. Its season is drawing to an end, and Radhika makes a lovely pickle to preserve it for eating during the rest of the year. She even shares two methods for making it.

Instant Mango Pickle ~ Trupti of Recipe Center (USA)

And here we have a third recipe for making mango pickle, thanks to Trupti!

Melon

Honeydew Melon and Cantaloupe Soup ~ Trupti of Recipe Center (USA)

Trupti's makes a chilled, refreshing Honeydew Melon and Cantaloupe Soup, with an intriguing finish of mint/coriander and a touch of freshly ground pepper.

Strawberries

Strawberry Jam with Betty Crocker's Crescent Rolls ~ JZ of Tasty treats (USA)

I promptly fell in love with these adorable crescent rolls! Aren't they gorgeous? I bet they taste amazing, too!

Watermelon

Grilled Watermelon Salad ~ Trupti of Recipe Center (USA)

Trupti's second recipe is a creative fruit salad with grilled watermelon.

Vegetables

Aubergine

Punjabi Baigan Bharta (Indian Aubergine Pate) ~ Maninas of Maninas: Food Matters (UK)

... in which I don't burn my home down, but conquer my fears and make a delicious Punjabi Baigan Bharta (Indian Aubergine Pate).

Bell peppers

Red and yellow bell pepper soup ~ Divya of Dil Se (LA, California, USA)

Divya serves this beautifully hued pepper soup with homemade garlic bread. - A wonderful combination!

Corn

Grilled Makka Cholam/Corn ~ Srimathi (foody.guru) of Few Minute Wonders (San Diego, CA, USA)

Corn on the cob, grilled and basted with butter, flavoured with chili and lime. What a fantastic idea! :)

Courgettes

Tangy Courgette Couscous ~ Beth of Jam and Clotted Cream (Cornwall, UK)

Yeay the courgettes are in season! Why not take this lovely tangy, lemony courgette and feta couscous with you for lunch? This is exactly what Beth did. A perfect summery combination of flavours..

Tomatoes

Tomato chutney & Mint chutney ~ Mallika of Quick Indian Cooking (London, UK)

Indian chutneys are condiments that are made fresh, and are usually not fermented, and the simplest recipes that demand top notch quality are best attempted when the ingredients are in season', vouches Mallika. So now is the perfect time for making these vibrant tomato and mint chutneys, when the flavours of tomato and mint are at their best. Enjoy!

____________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting!

I'll see you soon for the next installment of Eating with the Seasons: AUGUST!

Gluten-Free: Honey, Mustard and Wasabi Grilled Chicken Sandwiches

Kate — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:00:03 +0000

Gluten-Free: Honey, Mustard and Wasabi Grilled Chicken Sandwich, originally uploaded by Kate Chan.

Wahoo! A menu plan meal photographed and ready to go. It was good too. I hope the rest of my plans turn out well. I'm using up the last of everything in the fridge, etc this week. And this chicken sandwich was a perfect hit after an hour of a Body-Step class that just about killed me. I don't know what the hell I was thinking joining a Step Class. I have no rhythm and my friends *KNOW* I can't dance to save my soul. At least I try, right?

Thankfully, I'm little better at grilling chicken then I am at Step Class. A teeny touch of heat combined with honey-mustard and a perfectly grilled chicken breast makes for the perfect sandwich. Eat it along side some fresh or grilled vegetables and some fresh blueberries mixed with low fat yogurt and you have the perfect, easy summer meal. Add five glasses of water and a few "what the hell was I thinking" moments and you have the perfect, easy after-Step-Class-Hell dinner too.

The grilling sauce for the chicken is easy. Most grilling sauces are. I love the zip of dijon mustard with something sweet (like a ginger preserve or apricot jam too!). This time I added a good squirt of prepared wasabi (a green, hot Japanese condiment often served with sushi - much like horseradish, only a different kind of heat).

While you can adjust the heat with the amount of wasabi you use, I strongly suggest that you make it relatively hot as the flavor will become more mild during grilling. You can also reserve some of the dressing to use on the sandwich wraps. We used a little bit of the dressing mixed with a tiny amount of mayo as the spread on the bread because the mayo cut the heat down a bit too. (My love preferred it full on SPICY too.)

Gluten-Free Honey, Mustard and Dijon Grilled Chicken Sandwiches
Makes 2 Sandwiches
Ingredients:
1/2 prepared mock lavash bread cut into two pieces
2 chicken breasts, rinsed and patted dry
olive oil (for drizzling)
salt/pepper to taste
1/3 cup dijon mustard
1/4 cup honey or agave
1 Tablespoon prepared wasabi paste (or more, to taste)
1 Tablespoon mayonnaise
fresh clover sprouts
fresh tomato slices
piquillo peppers

Directions:

Flatten the chicken breasts between two sheets of plastic wrap (or in a plastic bag) until you have an even thickness (about 1/2"). Drizzle the chicken breasts (both sides) with olive oil and sprinkle with salt/pepper.
Preheat your grill or grill pan.
Mix together honey, mustard and wasabi. Taste and adjust heat/wasabi per your taste.
Reserve a couple tablespoons for sandwich dressing. Mix this with the mayonnaise (1 Tablespoon or more as per your taste) and set aside.
Generously brush the sauce on to the chicken breasts.
Grill sauce side down for 4-6 minutes until golden AND generous brush on the sauce to the other side of the chicken breast.
Flip the chicken and grill until golden. Apply the sauce one last time.
Remove chicken from grill when the juices run clear and/or the breasts have an internal temperature of 160F.
Make your sandwiches! Grilled chicken, mayo/mustard dressing/sauce, fresh clover sprouts, fresh tomato slices, piquillo peppers, etc.

Gluten Free Menu Swap July 14

Kate — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 02:48:53 +0000

I posted our dinner last night today too.
We had pizza!
Fresh tomato, basil and mozzarella pizza.
You can find the recipe here.

And now... on to

Since our household is just made up of two adults (and a dog)... (so far!), we tend to live and cook on the whim of our taste buds. This is great - for now. But once in a while, it makes for late dinners and indecisiveness between us both. And it sometimes mean we toss out quite a sad amount of spoiled food because we shop without a plan. Since Natalie (Gluten Free Mommy) came out with this GF Menu Swap, I've been a lurker. But I've also been inspired.

So lately I've been writing these menus (privately), but I only write them for four days at a time. I guess I'm so accustomed to playing dinner by ear and time slips away from us that I can't think of what to make for dinner five days out. I'm not sure how you are started organizing your menus (have you always done this?) but here's what I did to start:

I made a list of all of the perishable food items I have on hand. (I call them my "Use 'em or Lose 'em List.)
I then listed out all of the staples I have in the freezer - mostly meats, etc.
Then I thought about all the recipes/flavors we've been wanting to try and...
...a list of entree ideas is born.
Once I have this list, I see what groceries I need and try to pare my list down from there.

Since my plan only includes 4 days, I also list a bunch of ideas for the fifth day and beyond. I never know if we are going to skip around on the meal chart or maybe the fifth day meal happens because I didn't get the store (or the next plan written!) in time.

I've been trying to time my shopping trips for Thursday-Sunday because that is when the local Farmer's Market is open. We've had the most delicious roast beets, fresh spinach, incredible blueberries, honey, tasty bee pollen, etc. And our Farmer's Market has a couple local butchers, oyster farms, mushroom farm, fresh eggs, and salmon. Oh yes, it is so worth buying my staples there when we can.

On my "Meal Plan" chart (which is taped ever-so-ungracefully to the kitchen cabinet door), I also list a score of ideas for snacks or small meals if we chose to deviate or have an impromtu meal with friends. (If friends come over, I just pull one of the items off this list to accommodate more people.)

I am no expert here - but I will attempt to share one plan. I don't guarantee that I can keep this up (especially when the school year kicks off). But for now, however, I will make valiant efforts to keep my 4 day plans going. Even if I don't end up sharing them online.

Here's this week's menu plan:

Monday:

Honey Mustard & Wasabi Grilled Chicken Sandwiches
Grilled Fruit (Peaches and Apricots), Blueberries and Yogurt

Tuesday:

Spiced-Grilled Flank Steak
Roasted Beet-Rice Salad

Wednesday:

Curried Shrimp-Pineapple Kebabs
Summer Risotto

Thursday:

Korean Short Ribs
Leaf Wraps with (GF) Miso paste (a la Korean BBQ)
Cold potato salad

Friday: (The IDEA list)

Hummus/Pita
Pork Kebabs
Dolma
Ginger-Spiked Pork Chops
Mung Bean Pancakes
Carne Asada
Mushroom Pizza
Arepa Sandwiches
Salmon Pasta Salad (Inspired by the BBQ Pasta Salad Throw Down!)
Chimichurri Grilled Meat
Spam Musubi

Thank you, Natalie, for organizing the Gluten Free Menu Swaps. It's SUCH a great idea! Even for those of us lurkers. You've really inspired me to get organized!

-Kate

BBQ Round-Up - Get out the stretchy pants!

Kate — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 22:40:13 +0000

The virtual BBQ party has left me with enough recipes and ideas to make it through every BBQ that crops up this summer. Seriously - you guys are amazing! Check out the goodies everyone brought! Oh, I love it!

The food filled many a virtual picnic table, although I think I'll have to stay seated for a little while after grazing. The BBQ was a great way to get back in to the swing of blog posting after our family left. It's taken me a little bit to get my mind organized and back on track. I tend to get absorbed in the commotion of the crowd of eight for some strange reason.

We had a lovely visit (even during the two days of plastic-wrapped windows for house painting!). And now it's back to life... and adoption "autobiographical sketches" and such. (My goodness! If you have ever written an adoption autobiography, you know what kind of a typing-marathon we are involved in!)

But back to the BBQ. Food. It is, after all, why we are all a community and what brings people together. Family. Friends. We bond by food, regardless of culture. And the gluten-free world is bonded by food so very much more! We become bolder with our food choices and definitely with our questions/answers about in public. Like when I'm shopping and reading labels and people ask me what I'm reading for or they get excited if they know what I'm talking about when I ask if something is gluten-free. The smiles of recognition that covers our faces when we find a food-buddy.

Oh, how I wish this BBQ wasn't just a virtual one! I wish my house could hold you all. (I think 10 might be our max, however. LOL) I know we could all spend hours together sharing stories, laughing, and eating with reckless abandon (thus my stretchy-pants comment above). Wouldn't that be wonderful?

I think so too!

So here is what everyone brought to the BBQ online. (Please try not to drool on your screens. It's rather unsightly for the next computer-user, ya know.)

A = Carrie (Ginger-Lemon Girl) brought an Apple-Mint Salad. I don't know how she knew to kick off a Pacific Northwest BBQ with apples, but she called that one right. I love mint in things (surprising even myself, to be honest) so I can't wait to try this. Oh, the million varieties of apples + mint? I'm in!

B = Rachel (The Crispy Cook) made a Broccoli Salad a la Grecque. This recipe looks delicious! She included feta cheese which adds a nice saltiness and zing to salads. I love feta or bleu cheese crumbled on our grilled potatoes in the summer, so I think this salad is right up my alley!

C = Natalie (Gluten Free Mommy) showed up with a scrumptious Cherry Clafouti which had me roaming around the kitchen saying "Clafouti" with a million different trills and intonations. I love her tips about pitting cherries with a straw... sure beats what I've been doing this summer with a paring knife! LOL

D = Mary Frances (Gluten Free Cooking School) did a little research and made some Diabolically Deviled Eggs. While she wasn't a fan of her new pimento-cheese deviled eggs, there were takers at her house!

E = And for any of you deviled egg purists out there, no worries! Melanie (The GlutiGirls) brought some Deviled Eggs of her own. I was happy to see that I'm not the only one who pondered the idea of the Tupperware containers for Deviled Eggs.

Seeing both Mary France and Melanie make Deviled Eggs, it made me think we had a bit of a Tyler Florence Throw-Down, Gluten-Free style happening at the BBQ too!

F = Ginger (GF in GF and FL), bless her heart, kept it clean and brought some Freakin' Awesome Tropical Chicken that Jen (From DelphiForums) dreamed up. I don't have a picture to share of the dish, but I do have this lovely pilfered photo of Ginger & her cute kidlet, Jeffery! (Happy Belated Birthday, Jeffery!) (Read Gingers BEAUTIFUL post to her son on his birthday too.)

G = Lynn (GF Gastronaut) submitted a delectable recipe for Guacamole. (Sorry to have seen it late, Lynn!) I love avocadoes and a good fresh guacamole. This is a perfect treat! Bring on the chip bowl, gang! :)

H = Heather (GF Vegan Baby) brought some refreshing Honey Rooibos Tea and some Happiness Cookies. The tea looks delicious (especially today as I sit in the sun typing up the Round Up!).

I = A little more from the archives: Ice Cream Sandwiches would certainly go over well!

J = Jacie (Gluten Free Wiggs) made "Jacie's Gruyere Apple Pie", OH MY! That sounds so rich and delicious too.

K = Umm.. Kale? Kiwi? Ketchup? (Hey... some government agency used to think it counted as a vegetable for school kids! LOL)

L = Thomas (GFCF Experience) posted a great recipe for his "LIttle Grandma's Swedish Cookies". Growing up in Minnesota (semi-Scandinavia), I am quite familiar with the type of delicious cookie he posted. I can't wait to try his GF version!

M = Karen (Gluten Free Sox) made Memphis-style Ribs that literally had me craving ribs as I read her description of the tender meat easily falling off the bone. The spice list looks wonderful. Yet another "make these before the winter rainy season hits again" recipe for us! That's for sure!

N = Cheryl (Gluten Free Goodness) made her Nana's Skillet Bread. Oh, I love skillet breads! It's the perfect BBQ accompaniment to those ribs that Karen made.

O = Gaile (Fidgety Budgy) created an Oregon Pasta Salad with cherry tomatoes, gherkins, and salmon. YUM!

P = Jenny (Your Sugar and Spice) made a different kind of Pasta Salad with avocado (love avocado!), tuna, and tomatoes.

Yet another Throw-Down, Gluten-free style!

Q = Lauren (Celiac Teen) made a Quinoa side dish that looks tasty. I like that she cooked the quinoa in veggie broth. I love the flavor and texture of quinoa - it helps me make up for missing out on couscous which we used to eat frequently before the land of Celiac entered our lives.

R = Cassandra (Delightfully Gluten Free) made Rhubarb and Strawberry Crisp. If you have never tried rhubarb, I highly suggest this recipe as a beginning point. Rhubarb has a great tart falvor that combines beautifully with strawberries. And in a crisp? Forget about it! You won't know what hit you but you WILL run off in search of a scoop of vanilla ice cream to eat along side it all!

S = Vicky recommended that we all try this Sun-Dried Tomato and Pesto Torta from Epicurious. It sure looks good. She said that they use this on Teff Wraps, etc and make the best BLT sandwiches as well with this as a basis. I think it's a definite party recipe for us to try out. It looks beautiful!

T = Kay (Gluten Free Kay) delighted my eyes with this cute little Tomato Pie. To be honest, tomatoes are relatively new back in our diets (it's a texture thing... what can I say?). But I love the taste of fresh tomatoes on our sandwich wraps or pizza/flats with basil and mozzarella. I think I will have to give this recipe a whirl with some delicious heirloom tomatoes from the local farmer's market. (I'm not as green-thumbed as sweet Kay. But boy, do my dandelions grow well! LOL)

U = Sarah (Everyday GF) made some Upside-Down Cupcakes to appeal to the masses. I love this idea too. Mini upside-down cupcakes? Sure easier on our diets than having a huge cake sitting around the house!

V = Vittoria (Deliciously Gluten Free) made a Very Berry Cake that looks to die for too. My love is not big on sweets, but on berries? Berries in a cake? He's all over it.

W = M-Elle (Cooking, UnCooking) made Watermelon Salsa! Seriously, I can't wait until we find some good watermelon. I really want to try this recipe out. I think I'm intrigued by the flavor combinations and think it would be delicious on a taco salad made with chicken too. Man, I hope the watermelons start looking good soon! (They are a bit behind this year due to weather.)

X= Me! (Gluten Free Gobsmacked). I made some XXX Cookies. The XXX standing for Powdered Sugar - no worries! Nothing inappropriate. The dough is easy to work with and rather versatile. And India Tree makes some beautiful decorating candies, sugars and vegetable, all-natural food colorings for those of you who can/do use organic. (On a side note, I am amused by the number of XXX google hits that recipe got. Ah, the naive-side of me that thought they were all looking for sugar cookie recipes. LOL I know better now!)

Y = Steve (Gluten Free Steve) had the brilliant idea of bringing a Yummy Caprese Salad. This salad is easy to make and very fresh and delicious. The layers of mozzarella and tomato are delicious - even for me, a self-proclaimed tomato-newbie. Give it a whirl too! You be glad you tried this recipe too.

Z = I haven't as yet posted a recipe for this, we make Zagablione (Here's a picture of the Strawberry one we made and here's a picture of a plain zagablione with fruit on top). There are a couple easy recipes online. You can find the basics of the strawberry recipe here. (Recipes should call for 1 egg yolk, 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 tablespoon marsala or grand marnier per person. Some call for much more (too much, IMHO) liquor which causes the zagablione to have a strong flavor and not set up as nicely.)

Okay - who's hosting the next BBQ or party?

And is it just me, or are you guys thinking that a whole GF Community wouldn't be such a bad place to vacation together either? Boy, that would be NICE!

I'll be back soon with some new recipes for summer.. and am working my Menu Planning to be able to join the Monday Menu Planners occasionally. As of right now, I plan 4 days at a time. Not quite ready for the prime-time showing of you organized bloggers. LOL I'm working on it though!

Happy July and Gluten-Free BBQing and Eating to all!
-Kate

Cooking a hated vegetable dangerously

Maninas — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 22:34:52 +0000

Image: Wikipedia Commons

Cooking a hated vegetable dangerously. This is what the Significant Someone would say if he saw me now. But my policy is: the one who is not here doesn't get a say in what's for dinner. So I do it my way. Or rather Madhur's way. Dangerously cooking a plum purple aubergine on an open gas fire! Praying I don't burn the house down (I suddenly remember that I was born a Catholic). Making baigan bharta, the Punjabi dish of aubergines, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, onions and chilies. Flavoured with a generous sprinkle of coriander. Yum!

Apart from the danger element, simplicity is the name of the game. Simple spicing and flavour, but utterly delectable results. This is my second try at it. I've got to admit that I didn't have the nerve to cook it properly the first time around. Yes, I copped out, and baked it in the oven on high heat. And that was fine, but it didn't have that characteristic charred taste. Still very nice, if you don't have a gas hob.

And the danger? It really is not half as bad as it sounds. The first time I cooked this, I watched it like a hawk, but after I realised I wasn't going to burn my home down, I relaxed. Still, be watchful and careful if you cook it on the gas hob.

This is my entry for my event Eating with the Seasons - July. Aubergines are in season in Britain at the moment. Enjoy them!

Beautiful flower, isn't it.

Image: Aubergine flower (Wikipedia Commons)

Baigan Bharta - Indian Aubergine Pate

SOURCE: Madhur Jaffrey’s ‘Flavours of India', my wording

PREPARATION TIME: 5 min

COOKING TIME: about 20 - 30 min

CUISINE: Indian (Punjabi)

SERVES: 3 - 4 as a side dish

INGREDIENTS:

1 aubergine

1 tbsp vegetable oil or ghee

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 medium onion

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

2 cm peeled and finely grated fresh ginger

3 green chilies

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (I tend to leave it out)

1/2 can plum tomatoes

1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

3 - 4 tbsp finely chopped coriander

METHOD:

1. Wash your aubergine and wipe it clean. Remove the stem, and prick it with a knife a few times. Now this step is vital. If you fail to do this, you may have a hot and dangerous aubergine bomb exploding all over your kitchen!

2. Place the aubergine on top of a burning gas flame, and cook moving around until charred. Or simply bake it in the oven until soft to touch. Leave to cool, and then peel.

3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in the pan until it starts sizzling when you dip a wooden spoon into it. Then throw in the cumin seeds. Let them sizzle for a few seconds, and when they've released their lovely warm aroma, add the onions.

4. When they turn golden, add the garlic, ginger and green chilies. Fry for two minutes until the ginger and garlic mellow a little.

5. Add the tomatoes and cayenne if using it, and season with salt. Cook the tarka (the tomato and onion mixture here) until it becomes shiny dark orange and the oil starts oozing out.

6. Now add the chopped aubergine and cook for about 5 minutes until the vegetables come together. You can do this for a bit longer if you wish.

7. Add the fresh coriander, stir and remove from heat.

I sometimes add a touch of garam masala at the end.

Serve it with any Indian meal, or even as a dip at parties, or a delicious spread on crusty bread.

_________________________________________________

Verdict

This is a lovely way of cooking aubergine. Fragrant, and rather fresh tasting. Mildly spiced, so that the flavour of vegetables really come into their own.

_________________________________________________

Other aubergine recipes at Maninas:

Ajvar - aubergine and red pepper relish V

This lovely relish is probably the most popular condiment of the former Yugoslavia.

_________________________________________________

Longing to be with them...

Kate — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 02:58:04 +0000

Longing to be with them..., originally uploaded by Kate Chan.

Well, my in-laws have left and my family is far away. The house that held 8 people and my pup is now just filled with the pup and us again.

Poor guy. He's so bored with just me around the house!

When we were on the beach the other day, I took the pup for a walk. He spent the entire walk looking over his shoulder toward his dad and our 6-year-old niece. To heck with me! Geesh. I couldn't even take his picture (as seen above) because he was too busy watching them play and fly a kite. LOL

After a lovely visit from family, I'm now just picking up the pieces. And reading a million awesome recipes from my GF blogger buddies. OH MY - the BBQ recipes are too die for! I can't wait to try them all! (I will get a BBQ Round Up post done soon.)

For now, forgive me while I catch up. :) I'm reclaiming my dog. LOL

And what am I eating?
Well, we've found a great HUGE Korean market not too far from here where we've stopped in to pick up some new (types of) melons and ingredients. The house has been filled with experimental cooking and comfort foods. I'm munching on turkey sandwiches, Rainier cherries and white peaches (which are best eaten crunchy, like an apple, IMHO).

Tomorrow? I shall play around with pineapple and shrimp. I'm thinking of using the center of the pineapple as skewers for shrimp kabobs... think it will work?

What new foods are you trying this summer?
Do tell! I'm up for an adventure with you too!
-Kate

Daring Bakers do Danish!

eggsonsunday — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 09:00:16 +0000

You may recall that I had to skip the May Daring Baker's challenge, but I was back in the saddle for this June round -- and what a delightful one it was! Kelly of Sass & Veracity and Ben of What’s Cookin’? picked danish!! Which was a fun coincidence -- right before I found out what the challenge was going to be, I said to B "you know, it would be fun to do a yeast bread for one of the DB challenges." Not that the other ones haven't been fun, but I was a little buttercreamed out, and was eager to try a different category of baked good. AND, the day before that, I had said to B "you know, I think I'm going to try making my own laminated dough this summer" -- laminated dough being the kind you layer with butter, then fold over itself again and again to create layers of flaky, buttery pastries...puff pastry is one kind of laminated dough, as is dough for danishes, croissants, etc. So, all this is to say, I did a celebration dance when I read the challenge would be danish!

look at all those lovely, buttery layers

This challenge was also fun for me because "danish" is synonymous with memories of spending time at my grandparent's house, just me alone as the oldest granddaughter, as a child. I used to visit them for a week at a time each summer, and among other fun activities (my grandma taught me how to fish, how to shuffle a deck of cards, how to play Spite and Malice -- yes, she was a real firecracker!) at the end of the week, she used to take me out to breakfast at a diner nearby, where I would always, always order their apple danish. It's such a strong memory for me; anytime I see danish now I always think of her and how special I used to feel spending time with her and my grandfather.

So, the challenge was to make the dough and to make at least one braid, and use the remaining dough for whatever other shapes we wished. Fillings were also completely up to us. Fun!

I made my braid and filled it with some homemade strawberry jam (so predictable, right? Pretty much everything else I've been making lately has had strawberries prominently featured!) The dough was a dream to work with -- it rolled out easily, tasted delicious, and how can you argue with a result as pretty as this braid? I loved the flavoring of vanilla bean, orange zest and cardamom.

For my first attempt at small pastries, I tried pinwheels, filling them with vanilla pastry cream and strawberry jam. Let's just say I was a bit too overzealous in my filling proportions, and to my aggravation, the pinwheels oozed their filling out all over the baking sheet (and popped open while baking - so they turned into Maltese crosses, or First Aid signs, rather than pinwheels.)

pretty pinwheels, but way too much filling

Well, no matter, I thought; I loved this recipe so much that I figured I'd just try again. This time, I spread some vanilla pastry cream down a strip of dough, topped it with the same homemade strawberry jam, and folded the top over the filling.

After I cut, filled and formed these individual danishes, I was somewhat horrified to realize that they look awfully similar to McDonald's apple pies. Yikes. Not my intention. And, notice how much they puffed up! Next time I'll roll the dough a bit thinner. But, oh well, they served the purpose of being an easy-to-eat shape; you can tuck one of these easily into your hand and munch on it single-handedly. I should know; I tested this out before sending the rest of the batch off to B's coworkers!

This is recipe I'll make over and over -- the braid, particularly, is so pretty when it comes out of the oven, and was really quite easy to make. If you plan ahead a bit, it would make a delicious treat for a weekend brunch (which is, actually, exactly what I'm doing this weekend as my parents are visiting!)

Thanks to Kelly and Ben for choosing such a great challenge this month! Be sure to check out what the other Daring Bakers did over on the Daring Baker's Blogroll!

Previous Daring Bakers Challenges:
Perfect Party Cake
Cheesecake Pops

Recipes
The Danish dough recipe can be found on Kelly's web site. I used the basic pastry cream recipe in Baking: From My Home to Yours, and made this jam using strawberries.

Nosebleed fellas romped at the Davao Blogger's Party

kokegulper — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 18:55:45 +0000

"Are you going to the party on the 6th floor?" ask the blabbering waiter-cum-elevator man. "Yah!" I said in twanglish, just to brush off his snicker. "Because if you are, you're probably the 12th person on that floor" said the blabbermouth. As if I asked him. Eh ano kung mag tatlo lang kami sa party??!!

I introduced myself to the two ladies on the elevator. No sooner did I know that Leigh (Leigh's Paradise)and Floraine (Introspection) will actually become the founding members of the nosebleed circle. These dashing fellas knew nothing of what others in the parteeh was talking about. I'm absolutely sure I am one of them.

Then I met Ria, of Events by Ria, one of the organizers of this party. " Sign in the logbook and the raffle stubs!" Ok. This looks nice, may raffle pa! Kim Castillo of Southisms, another blog icon, invited us in. Then there is Toto's Bar and the 10 other people inside, the warm atmosphere, cozy place, long table of food, uy kape!, more tables and master Blogie, of Ang Dabawenyo. Blogie is perhaps the only person I "knew" in the place. He was the cousin of my fraternity sis, back in med school. I saw another huge guy about three feet away from me. Must be Dom, of Village Idiot Savant, a literary guru (yup, no need for Palancas), gadget savvy, Noel's writer friend and a happy back patient. We stuck at each other talking nosebleed topics. I even had otorrhea hearing his gadgetry magnificat.

More introductions. Like Migs of Buddy blogs, who was the party's host and a known phone-atic. He actually blog about, you guess, phones. The evidently elusive blog wiz Mr. Ratified keeps his safe distance from us. I have to ask Andrew (Alleba Blog) if he have to pad the ratified rank number (up to 310) so that I can actually get into the list and not in the dust bin. Nope, I was too shy to ask him but got his handshake nonetheless. I hope that will make a hundred leap on my blog ratification!

The nosebleed fellas romps at Toto's Bar, venue of the Davao Bloggers party organized by Team Avatar

The nosebleed fellas then started to talk about so many things, including pornography courtesy of Leigh, UMPCs and open source by Dom, The Film Lovers Group and Readers Circle by Jenny (Eventgineering?), then photography by the new comer Charlz of Dabaw Pinoy. I get to hear about so many things I knew nothing of. My nose is bleeding heavily from information overload off shelf!

The "Lucky Table Clan" just behind our table, where even merrier than all. Bidol of Motorcycle Davao brought in chocs and wine. Ted pardova chipped in a lot of age old wisdom. Bong, the creative net visual artist, is off his chair yelling for "more fun"! Cathy of Catharra and Leah Valle (My Emptied Spaces) joined this table and shared their luck. They all won a really fast mouse.

Still further behind is the net and tech savvy entrepreneurs. Dulce of Dulce Negosyante and Katherine of No Asterisks belong to this netrepreneurs. Red promoted Davao via his free web hosting site Davao Bloggers. Such free sites hosted the blog of the boyfriend searching Lany, "the Drama Queen". Then there's the cool man Iceman, the educator blog prince, I should say. Rodney, a software architect also joined the fun at Toto's Bar.

The party officially started with a welcome remarks from Ria, then raffle, and more raffles of fast mice. Bloggers were forced to introduce themselves and their blogs. Sponsors like Globe telecoms raffled an, I....ay overnight bag!? Lots of foodies and coffee were served FOR FREE! Lachi's and Sugar Munch provided the sweet goodies! Blinque raffled off some prizes! More fast mice.

More plug ins, like the WordCamp Philippines. And the forgetful wordpress t shirt from London. And yeah, DotAStrategy.com shirt from DOTA man himself, Andrew! Jenny won her "light-saber-microphone-cum USB-light-without-software driver" and overnight bag. And so is Leighs "what this-IR- for?" IR port, Charlz' souped up mouse pad. Somebody won a tenpin? bowling ball USB port, .

The carnage went out of Toto's bar because they are closing. Cum'on! So after Jenny filled her overnight bag with foodies, Dom his calamansi fruits, we all head down to some pornish Irish bar call O'Flannigans and then drowned our souls and minds with alcoholic porn and laughter. Right Leigh?

"What is port by the way?" someone asked. To which someone else answered with this: " Whatever excites is porn."

And so with so much fun, laughter, friendship and link love we had during that Davao Blogger's Party, one thing is for sure. We all were pornist because everyone else excites every other nosebleed fellas in the house!

(Check out the post party post of Charlz here and his pornography here. Leigh's shameless promotion of her Bra Leigh's Paradise extended pornographic NO! here. Thanks to Team AVATAR!)

I Click YELLOW

Maninas — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 16:33:37 +0000

... for Bri!

This month's CLICK has a very worthwhile purpose: it is a fundraiser for Briana Brownlow or Bri from Figs with Bri to help pay her cancer treatment medical bills.

For details on how to make a donation, please check Bee and Jai's post HERE, and please do chip in!

Many thanks to Bee and Jai for organising this, and to many others who contributed to it.

Strawberry Chocolate Chunk Shortcakes (and a meme)

eggsonsunday — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 09:00:25 +0000

I'm giggling to myself now -- judging from the recipes of late, it would seem that I'm a bit obsessed with strawberries. The first of the local strawberries -- deep red, tiny jewels -- were at the Farmer's Market this past weekend!

I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw them. And they are *delicious* -- sweet, sweet, sweet and so juicy. I wanted to make something that would really let them shine, so I chose to make shortcakes (tied with strawberry rhubarb pie as one of my favorite strawberry desserts.) The delicious factor is bumped up even more by the inclusion of chopped dark chocolate chunks studded throughout the biscuits...please excuse me as I swoon!

But before I talk more about the shortcakes, the talented Jen of Use Real Butter tagged me for a meme, and this one's a good one! Here goes:

What were you doing ten years ago?
I was halfway through my four undergrad years at Cornell. Studying like mad and doing research in a cell biology lab (I was a molecular & cell bio major.)

What are five non-work things on my to-do list for today?
1) figure out where I'm going to put the Mexican Sunflowers I started for the garden. I started them from seed, but they're not looking so hot, so I need to figure out where they'll do best.
2) refill our birdfeeders
3) take a walk, see if I can get some good pictures of the ducklings or goslings at the pond near us
4) read through the new Gourmet magazine sitting on my coffee table
5) file the stack of papers on my desk

What snacks do you enjoy?
1) berries of any kind
2) apple & peanut butter
3) cheese
4) dark chocolate
5) if I'm desperate, a spoonful of peanut butter with some chocolate chips on top.

What would you do if you were a billionaire?
1) buy some land, design and build a "green" house (straw bale walls, rainwater collection etc.), design my own kitchen in said house, build a greenhouse for B, and get some chickens, 2 dogs, and a barn cat or two.
2) promote locally produced, sustainable food practices
3) find a way to contribute usefully to funding cancer research
4) travel around the world, eating my way through different countries
5) I would still blog!

Where have you lived?
1) grew up in CT
2) Ithaca, New York for college
3) Mystic, Connecticut
4) Boston metro area
5) and now back to Ithaca

What jobs have you had?
1) research assistant (bio lab, see above, while in college and right after)
2) IT consultant
3) clinical trial application specialist
4) training manager (educational technology)
5) when I was in high school, I gave flute and trumpet lessons to kids, too.

And I am tagging:
Kristin at The Kitchen Sink
Alison at Penny Thoughts
Lynne at And Then I Do the Dishes
Lori at The Recipe Girl
Kim at A Yankee In a Southern Kitchen

And now...onto those shortcakes!

I first tried adding chocolate chunks to shortcakes back in college, when I was making dinner for some friends. I used mixed berries and mini chocolate chips in the shortcakes, and -- this was the part I was really proud of -- I had a squeeze bottle that I used to drizzle chocolate sauce decoratively over the plate. Very impressive (or so I thought at the time.) :)

Frankly, I think there's not much in this world better than flaky biscuits, flecked with chocolate, sandwiched with juicy, sweet ripe strawberries and softly whipped cream...

I'll be sending these shortcakes over to Cookthink for their Root Source Challenge #17: Strawberries! Can't wait to see what other good recipes come out of it.

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Strawberry Chocolate Chunk Shortcakes

View printable recipe

Ingredients

For the biscuits
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup buttermilk (or, use whole milk and omit the baking soda)
4 ounces dark chocolate, chopped into chunks

more buttermilk and granulated sugar, for sprinkling on top

For the strawberries
1 pound strawberries, sliced
a few spoonfuls of granulated sugar

freshly whipped cream, for garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Slice the strawberries, place them in a bowl, and mix them with a few spoonfuls of sugar (use more or less, depending on how sweet and ripe your strawberries are). Set them aside to macerate while you make the shortcakes.

To make the shortcakes, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Drop in the chunks of cold butter and, using your fingers (my preferred method) or a pastry blender, rub or cut the butter into the flour until there are flakes, pieces the size of coarse meal, and pieces the size of peas. Add the chocolate chunks and toss briefly with your fingers. Now add the buttermilk and stir lightly a few times with a fork to bring the ingredients together into a dough. Use your hand to gently gather the dough in the bowl into a ball, using the side of the bowl to incorporate any dry crumbs.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and pat out into a 1-inch thick rectangle. Use a 3-inch round cutter to cut out biscuits; you should get 6 total (you can gather the scraps and cut out the remaining biscuits you couldn't get out of the first cut.) At this point you can freeze any biscuits you're not going to bake immediately; just put them on a baking sheet, cover with foil, and place in the freezer until frozen. Transfer them to an airtight container, and when you want to bake them, just bake them directly from the freezer - no need to thaw first - but add a few minutes onto the baking time.

Place the biscuits on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the tops of each with a little buttermilk, and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake for 14-17 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and the biscuits are cooked through.

Let the biscuits cool slightly on the sheet before splitting them with a fork or serrated knife. To serve, spoon some of the strawberries with their juices over the bottom half of the biscuit, top with a generous dollop of whipped cream, and place the top half of the biscuit on top.

Serves 6.