On the move!

So it's August. 5 months ago, nearly to the day, I looked like this


Now, however, we're moving, and so I look like this:



I'm starting my DPhil at the Oriental Institute of Oxford University in October, so we're moving to a new house up there. And though I am sad to say good bye to the wonderful Turkish groceries and Chinese supermarkets, not to mention Borough Market, I have two things, apart from the excitement of beginning of my impending course, to console me: firstly, it only takes a little over an hour on the train direct to London from Oxford, and it will be even easier for me to go to Southall to attend Gurdwara as well as shop and eat than it was from my home in Rotherhithe, and secondly, there are some fantastic markets in Oxford! Plus Oxford is a small city with lots of great countryside locations for produce etc nearby. So I predict that Liam and I will be out and about quite a lot.

In other words...though actually I didn't do it justice with adequate posts etc, London is an amazing place to shop and eat, Oxford will give me an opportunity to bring you a snippet of a different facet of British culinary life, as well as giving me still enough chance to get some more London into these pages. So stay tuned!

the secret weapon: (peanut butter) cream cheese icing

Summertime, sort of perversely is always high gear baking time for me because my brother, my husband, my mother-in-law and two sisters-in-law all have birthdays between May and September. So lately I've been making a lot of developments in my celebration cake making. This year was especially important because my sister-in-law graduated from Medical School ON her birthday (the cake, with marzipan diploma, is pictured here)! In any case, when my brother's birthday rolled around, I didn't just want to make him the dark chocolate cake with cream cheese icing that is his favourite, I wanted to do something a bit special. And it then it came to me. Peanut butter.

At first I wasn't sure whether it was a good idea. Having made my cream cheese icing, I took a bit and added some peanut butter as an experiment. What I created was so extraordinarily good that I woke my husband up to taste it. And now you can make it too. Below is the recipe for cream cheese icing and then the method of how to make it into peanut butter cream cheese icing. On my brother's cake I iced with the plain cream cheese and used the peanut butter cream cheese icing as a filling between the two layers of dark chocolate cake (for the recipe, see my Hard Kaur Chocolate Cake). This worked extremely well. I wouldn't recommend icing and filling a cake with peanut butter icing unless you are a real fan, but it would be an extremely good icing to top a chocolate, banana or snickerdoodle cup cake with!

INGREDIENTS

1 cup Milk
¼ cup all purpose flour
8 oz. Unsalted butter
1 cup superfine granulated sugar
pinch salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
200g Philadelphia cream cheese
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 large jar smooth, no sugar-added, natural peanut butter (adding method below...don't worry...you don't add the whole thing...unless you want to.)

METHOD

1. Quickly whisk together 4 tbsps of the milk with the flour. The slurry will be somewhat thick so whisk thoroughly to make it smooth. Press out any lumps with a flexible spatula, if necessary.
2. Whisk in the rest of the milk and transfer the mixture to a 2 quart heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring to a simmer for about 30 seconds over medium heat, whisking the whole time.
3. Remove the pan from the stove and place plastic wrap directly against the milk’s surface. (This is the best method to prevent a skin from forming). Cool to room temperature.
4. Combine the butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix at a medium to high speed for 5 minutes.
5. Pour the cooled milk-and-flour mixture into the bowl and beat for another 5 minutes, or longer, as needed to achieve a spreadable consistency.
6. Add the cream cheese 100g at a time and blend into the mixture thoroughly.
7. Add the lemon juice. This will give the cream cheese icing a lighter, zestier taste.

You can stop here, if what you want is cream cheese icing, and this is a non-traditional recipe for cream cheese icing that is essentially a buttercream with cream cheese added. This means that it is much much more stable than your average cream cheese icing which has a tendency to melt if you so much as think a warm thought.

If you are making a layer cake, take one third of the icing you have made aside to make the peanut butter cream cheese filling. If you are making cupcakes and want to make the entire batch of icing into peanut butter cream cheese icing, follow the method with the whole lot of icing.

Transfer your desired quantity of icing into a new bowl and for every 7 tbsp generous tbsp of cream cheese icing, add 2 tbsp of peanut butter. Of course if you find this too rich or too light you can adjust accordingly, but that's the ratio that I recommend.

You will love it. :)

Cantucci: the little biscuits that love you back

Cantucci are the ultimate foodie friend: traditionally to be eaten as an accompaniment to a glass of Vin Santo , a delicious Italian desert wine from Tuscany, these biscotti-like almond cookies, though petite, are also big enough to serve well with a cup of tea or coffee, biscotti style. They are very easy to make...even if you do not have any electrical kitchen equipment at all you can mix them up by hand with a spoon or fork without difficulty, and their flavour is spectacular. I sometimes add a touch of orange flower water for a more exotic, fragrant element that goes very well with tea. And one more bonus: no added fat!

This recipe is one I adapted from an Italian site when I was making these as thank you gifts for people who helped at our wedding. Vin Santo and cantucci have a particular story attached to them in our love story, so it kind of made sense. In the end we had so many left that my husband ended up taking them with him to Italy as a sweetener for his colleagues in the Milan office. I must admit, I was a bit nervous about giving Italian cookies I had made to Italians, but these more than passed the test. In fact the boss there made him an honorary Italian! If that's not a recommendation, I don't know what is!

Ingredients
500g bread flour
300g sugar
250g unpeeled almonds, crushed. (I suggest pounding the whole almonds in a mortar and pestle to give a variety of sizes, some whole, some broken some totally crushed...it adds to the texture and flavour of the cantucci. Alternatively you can use a food processor but be careful to only break them up, not pulverise them! If you wish you can swap out 50g of the almonds for pistachios or hazelnuts but I wouldn't recommend swapping out more as you will lose that cantucci flavour)
50g Pine nuts
5 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
grated peel of one lemon
cookie sheet
baking parchment

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180 C (360 F)
2. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
3. Add the nuts and blend through.
4. Add the grated lemon zest and eggs and mix until you achieve a ball of golden dough. I recommend using your hands to knead everything together in the last stage.
5. On a clean, flour dusted surface, turn out the dough and shape into a 3cm wide roll as long as your baking sheet. You may need to make two rolls of 3cm each in order to fit everything on the sheet.
6. cover cookie sheet with parchment and put the roll(s) on the sheet. Flatten the rolls lightly with your hand.
7. Bake for 30 mins, then remove from oven.
8. slice the roll into 1cm slices, cutting diagonally.
9. Spread the slices out on their sides on the cookie sheet. You are unlikely to have much space between them but try to separate them a little if you can. Bake in oven at 150 C (300 F) for a further 15 mins, then turn the slices over and bake for another 15 minutes.

Store in an air-tight jar to keep them moisture-free and ready for dunking.

Italian Love Cake

Why is it an Italian Love Cake? Something about musky rosemary, itself a symbol of love, combined with the dark sweetness of italian forest honey and crowned with a seemingly innocent cover of vanilla bean buttercream make this a decidedly romantic, but not sticky bite. This is not a trashy love affair. It's a satisfying kiss.

Italian Love Cake

Yield: one 9 inch layer cake (three cakes and filling…or 2 larger layers and filling)

INGREDIENTS

For the filling:
1 oz. All-purpose flour
1/2 cup Milk
4 oz. unsalted butter
1 tsp Vanilla extract
¼ cup Marscapone cheese
3/4 cup superfine sugar
2 tbsp dark Italian forest honey or chestnut honey
2 tsp dark rum

Whipped cream:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
¼ cup superfine granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract.

For the cake:
1 ¾ cups All-purpose flour
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
¾ cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 eggs separated
2 cups superfine granulated sugar, divided
8 oz unsalted butter
2 sprigs rosemary

METHOD:

1. To make the filling, quickly whisk together 4 tbsps of the milk with the flour. The slurry will be somewhat thick, so whisk thoroughly to make it smooth. Press out any lumps with a flexible spatula if necessary.
2. Whisk in the rest of the milk and transfer to a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium hear, whisking constantly. Once bubbles that burp steam form, remove the pot from the heat and continue to stir for another 30 seconds.
3. Cover the milk mixture with plastic wrap pressed directly against the surface. Cool for 15 to 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile combine the ingredients for the whipped cream in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a wire whip attachment and whip on medium to high speed and soft peak. The whipped cream can be made in advance if you prefer.
5. At the same time, combine the butter, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on high for up to 5 mins.
6. Add the milk mixture and continue to beat on high speed until the filling is smooth, another 5 mins. Beat in the marscapone 1 tbsp at a time and add the honey and rum. Add the whipped cream 1 tbsp at a time until you reach a consistency you like. Some people like fluffier fillings…some people like them denser!
7. Preheat the oven to 335F and place the rack in the middle position. Line the bottoms of three 9 inch round pans with parchment.
8. Measure the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt into one bowl, and the milk and vanilla into a separate bowl. Whisk each to combine.
9. In the standing mixer fitted with the wire whip attachment, beat the egg whites on high speed to a stiff peak. Drizzle in 1 cup of sugar while the mixer is running. Scoop the meringue into a large bowl and set aside.
10. Lightly wipe the mixer bowl and replace the wire whip with the paddle attachment Cream the butter with the remaining 1 cup of sugar on low speed.
11. Add the egg yolks one at a time. Scrape the sides of the bowl all the way to the bottom using a flexible spatula and mix on low speed until the ingredients are thoroughly combined. Tear off the rosemary leaves, rip and add to the batter.
12. Alternatively add the dry and wet ingredients about a quarter at a time without pausing between additions.
13. Stop the mixer and gently fold the meringue into the batter with a flexible spatula. Pour the mixture evenly into the prepared pans and bake for 27 to 30 minutes, or until the cake bounces back when lightly pressed and a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
14. Cool the cakes for 2 minutes, then run an offset spatula around the edges and invert the cakes onto a flat surface. They will be very fragile so handle with care.
15. Once the cakes have cooled, assemble the cake filling between each layer.

Then ice with the recipe below.

Old-Fashioned Vanilla Bean Buttercream

INGREDIENTS

1 cup Milk
¼ cup all purpose flour
8 oz. Unsalted butter
1 cup superfine granulated sugar
pinch salt
2 ½ tsp vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean

METHOD

1. Quickly whisk together 4 tbsps of the milk with the flour. The slurry will be somewhat thick so whisk thoroughly to make it smooth. Press out any lumps with a flexible spatula, if necessary.
2. Whisk in the rest of the milk and transfer the mixture to a 2 quart heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring to a simmer for about 30 seconds over medium heat, whisking the whole time.
3. Remove the pan from the stove and place plastic wrap directly against the milk’s surface. (This is the best method to prevent a skin from forming). Cool to room temperature.
4. Combine the butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix at a medium to high speed for 5 minutes. Scrape the contents of the vanilla bean into the mixture.
5. Pour the cooled milk-and-flour mixture into the bowl and beat for another 5 minutes, or longer, as needed to achieve a spreadable consistency.

Then ice the cake!! Decorate with sprigs of rosemary.

Smoky/Salty/Sweet Salad

A great salad when you want something crispy, salty and sweet in with your leaves but don't want a tonne of heavy stuff. Keeping it light and healthy, I spiced up some gorgeous greens with a little crisp fried prosciutto and grilled red onions, (the amazing)smoked salt and a dusting of coriander leaves. You could add some green peas or beans to make it really spring-y but I didn't have any to hand!

The salad makes a great compliment to the Mushroom sandwich a la Giet. :)



If you eat meat, you can't argue with it.

If you don't, I suggest using shavings of salty pecorino to compliment the sweet red onions.

Ingredients:
Red and green salad leaves (e.g. romaine, gem, lollo rosso, oakleaf)
Watercress
Coriander (Cilantro) leaves
One medium red onion
100 to 150g thinly sliced prosciutto (don't use really great prosciutto...it'd be a waste. Storebrand packets are ideal)
Olive oil
Danish Smoked Salt (available in Whole Foods and other similar shops)
Black Pepper
Lemon juice

Method
Turn the grill on and slice the onion thinly while it's heating up. Put the onion on some foil, sprinkle with smoked salt and drizzle with olive oil, then place in the oven to grill. The idea here is to end up with sweet soft onions with crispy bits, so just check on them every 5 minutes or so.

Put your washed leaves in a large bowl and set aside.

Put 1 tbsp of olive oil into a frying pan and heat. Roughly tear the prosciutto and put into the pan to fry. Fry on medium to high heat until the prosciutto is just browning and crisping up. The pan may smoke so put the oven fan on or open a window.

Remove from the heat when ready.

Roughly chop the coriander. Once the onions are ready put these, still warm, over the salad leaves, then adding the prosciutto and the pan juices. Sprinkle over the coriander leaves, and add a squeeze of lemon and twist of black pepper. No need to add any more oil!

Photo credit: Liam C Giet

Portabello Mushroom Sandwich a la Giet!

Remembering the fantastic roast vegetable wraps I used to have as my regular lunch at Harvard's Dudley House, I had an ambition of making a grilled mushroom sandwich, as an alternative to our lovely tomato sandwich staple. But I never seemed to get around to it, until today! The result was a crisp goat's cheese toast topped with meaty, juicy portabello mushrooms, herbs and a basil dressing. We had it with the smoky/salty/sweet salad, and felt like royalty.

It's called "a la Giet" because it combines all of my fiance Liam's favourite things in one place...mushrooms (particularly since they are fried in butter), cheese, fried sage and my home made pesto too (recipe for that forthcoming). They aren't the most waist conscious of dinner plans, but they are vegetarian, and very tasty. If you want to make a lower fat version, grill the mushrooms instead of frying and drizzle with olive oil when they are done: as long as the mushrooms are fresh they will be juicy and fabulous.

I used a walnut bread from Pain Quotidien, which was a great compliment to the slightly smoky sweetness of the portabello, but you could experiment with rye or raisin or whatever you have to hand!

Ingredients:
4 Portabello Mushroom caps
Tarragon leaves (roughly chopped)
Sage leaves, one bunch.
Good quality unsalted butter
Soft, light goat's cheese.
Fleur de Sel or Malden Salt
4 slices of robust bread.
Pesto sauce (home-made is best)
Juice of one lemon
Olive oil
Black pepper.

Method

Turn the oven on grill and allow to heat while you wash the mushrooms and herbs and slice the bread.

Put a large frying pan onto a medium heat, and put the bread in to the dry frying pan when hot. I still believe that this method makes the best toast because you have a lot more control. When the bread is just becoming brown, take it off the heat and put to one side. Now put a pat of butter into the frying pan, and allow to foam. Add a small handful of sage leaves and fry in the butter until crispy. Put aside, with the butter they were cooked in, in a small bowl.

Spread the toasts generously with the soft goat's cheese. Put the toasts into the oven under the grill.




Put another pat of butter into the frying pan over a medium heat, and allowing the butter to foam, add the portabellos, placing them on their backs (the rounded side). Sprinkle with salt and half of the chopped tarragon. Once one side of the mushrooms have gotten cooked and soft, turn them over. It's possible you may need to add a little more butter at this point.





Check the toasts. Once the cheese is just bubbling and getting brown remove from the oven and put on a large plate.

Once the mushrooms are cooked, place one on each cheesy toast...I'm not sure whether cap up or down is better...you be the judge! Don't forget to pour the juices over too. :)

Put 1 1/2 tbsp of pesto into a small bowl, and add the juice of one lemon, and a tbsp or two of boiling water. Blend to make a sauce, then drizzle over the mushroom toasts.





Sprinkle the rest of the tarragon, a pinch of fleur de sel and some black pepper on, and garnish with the fried sage.



Then eat with wild abandon.

Photo Credit: Liam C. Giet

London...is the place for me!

I've been back in London for about 9 months: now splitting my time between a position as Development Manager at Illuminate Productions and International Beauty Editor at Derek Loves Shopping.com,plus I've been writing more on Perfume outside of DLS at Perfume Critic.com

I've rediscovered recipes I haven't used in 6 years or more, now that I'm back in their native soil, and I am coming up with new ones! And I have a great partner in crime through it all, and lots of reason to improve: I'm getting married next year!

Returning from living in Singapore has been a bit of a shock to the system in some ways. I miss my Kopi-C, idli, cendol, bbq stingray... and of course...kuei kuei...

But London is where I grew up and I love it here...the joys of kent strawberries, milk delivery (we just organised ours), cheese(!) from Neal's Yard and coffee from Monmouth Coffee, french pastries and AN OVEN(!!!) plus: you can get anything in London, and while I miss those bits and pieces (though I have found decent te and kopi c and otah otah), being able to get Middle-eastern, Greek, Moroccan, Italian and other european groceries plus a bigger variety of fresh ingredients (although sadly minus the dragon fruit, mangosteen, jackfruit and all...) is wonderful. I get my Indian food in the best place possible: Gurdwara. Good solid vegetarian punjabi food filled with the Guru's grace and the sangat's love. I still need to find a place for idli though...

Quick Spring Beetroot Salad

A great salad for these spring days in London: a little sweet, a little salty, fragrant and just plain tasty.

Ingredients:

3 small boiled beetroot, peeled
(you can buy these in lovely vacuum packs with nothing added in for about 70p from Waitrose and other supermarkets)

Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 or 3 sprigs of mint, roughly chopped
2 spring onions
drizzle of Olive oil
pinch of Fleur de Sel

Simply chop the beetroot into bite sized pieces, slice the spring onions diagonally into strips and combine in a bowl with the mint. Squeeze the lemon over the top, add a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of fleur de sel or Maldon Salt.

(photo credit: Liam Giet)

Sweet Fire Pasta Sauce: Roast Sweet Pepper, Garlic and Oregano Arrabiata with Chinese Chilli

Sometimes I just need something hot.



If you don't like spicy food you shouldn't read any further. For those who have a little fire in their belly, this is the pasta sauce for you. You may have tried Arrabiatta sauces in restaurants but trust me, they're not a patch on this one which makes the most of the long, pointed, sweet, red Roma peppers we have been getting in Waitrose lately. With that sweetness, plus the soft caramel of roast garlic, sprigs of fresh oregano and some black chilli oil from Chinatown or See Woo...a standard spicy tomato sauce become a work of art waiting to smother your rotellini (or whichever pasta you choose). Just hot enough and with lots of flavour. It's great for these invigorating early spring days.

Ingredients::

4 Roma red peppers, washed and de-seeded (normal red bell peppers can be used)
2 cans peeled plum tomatoes
1/3 tube tomato paste
olive oil
bunch of fresh oregano
one head of garlic
red wine (see bottom of recipe for non-alcoholic alternatives)
black pepper
good quality salt
1/2 tsp of la jiao you (chinese chilli oil: see picture)

Parmigiano cheese to grate.

Coats pasta for 3 or 2 very hungry people who really like pasta sauce.

Method:

Turn the oven on full blast grill.

Split the peppers so that they lay flat, skin side up, and place on foil. Along side you can put your head of garlic, having lopped off it's very top spiky bits. You can put it right side up or upside down...if it gets too toasty just turn it over.

Place the peppers and garlic in the oven, and roughly chop the oregano, open the tomatoes and cut them (you can just put a knife in the can and cut them while they are still in there.). Go off and read a book or listen to the radio or watch Rome for 10 minutes or until the peppers have gently blackened, blistered tops, turning the garlic over in the meantime if it begins to burn. Don't panic if it does...it's still in its papery skin so it's protected.

Once blackened, retrieve the peppers and garlic and carefully peel the skin of the peppers: it should come off easily, putting the flesh to one side, and chop into rough strips. Squeeze the soft, roasted garlic out of 3 to 4 cloves.



Put about 3 tbsp of olive oil into a deep frying pan (preferably non-stick). Once moderately hot, put about 1 tbsp of the tomato paste into the oil: this is an Italian tomato sauce secret. Fry the past for a few seconds until it is blended with the oil. Then add the peppers, half of the chopped oregano, and the garlic. Fry gently on a medium heat for about a minute, then add a splash or two of red wine. Blend together with a wooden spoon and after about a couple of minutes, add the canned tomato. blending the pepper mixture together with it thoroughly as you heat. Add more red wine, salt and pepper to taste.

(now is a good time to put the pasta into boiling water)

Simmer for 10 minutes: if the sauce looks dry add a bit of red wine (to taste), water or vegetable stock.





Finally add the chilli. Start with a bit less than half a tsp and add to taste. We typically have 1/2 to 1 tsp.

Remove from the heat and blend with your pasta. Tip: I generally put the pasta back in the pot it was boiled in after it has been strained and rinsed, then adding the sauce over it bit by bit until I am happy with the sauce-to-pasta-ratio.

Serve with generous grated parmigiano and sprinkle with the remaining oregano.

and of course...enjoy!



(photo credit: Liam Giet...except for the one below which was taken by me)





Note on vegetarian dishes:

You may have noticed that a lot of my recipes don't contain any meat: this is because I am a veggie fan and rarely eat meat...as a Sikh I try to avoid it. This recipe is vegetarian too; for those who don't eat eggs, there aren't any, and you can replace the red wine with a little balsamic vinegar, some stock and a pinch of sugar if you like, but any alcohol in the wine is cooked off completely in the process of making the dish, hence even I eat it.

Hard Kaur Chocolate Cake: an egg free recipe!

For those who do not or cannot eat eggs, this is perfect. The cake itself is vegan too. But for everybody else: trust me, you don't want to pass this up. It is so chocolate-y it verges on the obscene!

Hard Kaur Chocolate Cake

(with thanks to Reena and Manmeet)

A very intense, dark chocolate cake enhanced by molasses and plenty of vanilla.

This is a vegan recipe that will yield 2 LARGE chocolate cakes in deep 10 inch tins that can be halved, filled and iced. Hard Kaur icing recipe is also below, but you can use any icing you like. Enough for you and 30-40 friends. Makes great cupcakes too.

Equipment:
10” springform pans x 2, 2 large bowls, a whisk, measuring jug, scales, spoons, saucepan

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
3 cup all purp unbleached flour
6 teaspoons baking powder
3 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/4 cup good cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cup plain (unsweetened) soymilk (UHT is fine)
1 1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups treacle
3 cups golden syrup
3 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
6 teaspoons vanilla


Directions
Preheat oven to 180c/ 375F. Spray a the springform pans with non stick cooking spray.

Sift together flours and baking powder and baking soda. When you sift the wholewheat flour you will be left with some bran that will not go through the sieve. You can grind this quickly in a food mixer if you have one, or discard and add a little extra plain flour. I recommend getting as much of the bran in as possible as it is great for the digestive system.

In a saucepan, heat the soymilk on low-medium heat. When it is slightly bubbling, add the cocoa powder and wisk well until it is dissolved. This will give you a thick pudding-like consistency. Remove from heat.

Combine the other liquid ingredients in a bowl and whisk well. You should use an electric whisk for this as mixing up the golden syrup etc is a bit heavy going. Add the cocoa mixture and combine. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well with an electric mixer.

Pour batter into prepared pan, bake at 180 C/ 350 F for about 40 minutes until a toothpick or butter knife comes out clean. Remove from the over, let cool for some time and then carefully turn out onto a rack and allow to cool completely. Then ice!

You can either ice each of the cakes as one layer cakes or cut them in half horizontally (carefully) with a bread knife and make each into a 2 layer cake. If you are feeling particularly ambitious you could make one huge double or quadruple layer cake too.

This cake keeps well and develops its flavour, so you can make it a couple of days in advance and as long as you don’t cut into it, it will stay moist. You can then ice when ready. I wouldn’t make it more than 4 days in advance though. If you are keeping the cakes in advance then refridgerate for freshness.


Icing/filling

The Chocolate icing is egg-less but not Vegan. It is EXTREMELY rich.

Equipment: 1 large bowl, 2 small bowls, electric mixer, spatula.

Ingredients:
¾ stick butter (just under 200g), softened
375g icing sugar
4 tbsp cocoa
1 bar (100g) very dark chocolate (70% cocoa and above)
½ tsp vanilla essence
300ml sour cream

Method:
Place the softened butter in a large bowl.

At the same time break the chocolate into a small bowl and put in a microwave for 30 seconds. After 30 seconds if there are still pieces unmelted, mix with a fork or spoon and put back in the microwave for another 30 seconds and so forth. If you do not have a microwave, melt the chocolate in a water bath on the stove (put the chocolate in a bowl inside a saucepan and fill the saucepan about halfway with water. As the water heats you can stir the chocolate in the bowl as it melts. However you have done it, put the melted chocolate to one side to cool.

Sift together the sugar and the cocoa over the top of the butter. Blend the butter and sugar together a little with a fork, then mix/whisk until creamed and fluffy. This will take about 3 mins with an electric mixer and 10 mins by hand with a fork.

Add the melted dark chcolate and vanilla essence to the butter and sugar mixture and mix well with the electric mixer. Now add 3 tbsps of the sour cream and blend until the mixture is cohesive, rich and soft.

Ice the cake immediately if possible. If you are making the icing more than an hour in advance you should now put it in the fridge. When you are ready to ice remove the icing about 30 mins before you start to soften up.

Take about one quarter of the icing and place in a smaller bowl. Add 3 more tbsp of sour cream to this mixture. This will be the filling between the two cake layers.

Ice and fill the cake. When complete, sprinkle the cake with icing sugar or cocoa powder and refrigerate until you are ready to serve.

New Year Chicken

This is not a Chinese New Year recipe. If you want some of those, I've got them, but this isn't it.

I invented this salt, brown sugar, ginger and white pepper roast chicken on New Years 2006. I small group of friends filed into my place in Cambridge through the New England snow for dinner, wine and the Twilight Zone Marathon.

I love roast chicken. If it's done well it is one of the great treats, and it can be really simple: just some olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and lemon will do very well. This roast chicken preparation creates a golden skin fragrant with ground ginger, a twist of white pepper and a breath of caramel from the brown sugar.

My boyfriend took one bite, stood up and said "Honey. This is the best chicken I have ever eaten".

And no, he wasn't in the doghouse with me at the time.

You will need:

One jar of ground ginger
about 4 to 5 tbsp coarse ground black pepper
3 tsp white pepper
1/2 cup raw brown sugar (soft demerera works best)
3 tsp salt

One lime

One 3 to 4lb chicken. If you want to make a bigger chicken then you will have to increase the mixture above accordingly.

Procedure:

Preheat the oven to 425.

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl and sniff it gently. If you are a pepper lover you may want to add more pepper...it depends on how spicy you want to make it.

Cut the lime in quarters and squeeze the juice over the chicken which you have placed on a roasting tray. If you like a really crispy skin or if the chicken doesn't have much fat on it put a spoon full of olive oil between the skin and the flesh of the chicken breast.

Spoon the dry mix over the skin of the chicken smoothing in as you go. make sure the whole carcass has at least a little of the spice on it, including the underside. Spoon any remaining spice into the cavity.

Put in the oven for 20 mins, then lower the heat. you can pour any juices that have come off over the chicken while you're in there. Cook for a further 30 mins and turn the heat back up for the last 10 to 15 to get a really good crispy skin.

Check the chicken is done by piercing with a skewer. The juices should run clear, with no blood.

Serve with some boiled new potatoes or mashed potatoes, roast parsnips and greens. Kale, with its dark green leaf and slightly bitter flavour is a great compliment to the sweet spicy chicken.

I recommend a white wine with some body to go with this meal: an oaky chardonnay or a rounded sauvignon blanc should do the trick, but a pouilly fousse or other white burgundy is preferable if you can afford it.

Indian Corn Salad

This isn't made with Indian corn. We're talking Indian Indian here rather than AmerIndian. I'm afraid I know nothing about AmerIndian cooking :(.

This salad was born out of my love affair with 2 fabulous New England summer staples: fresh corn and heirloom tomatoes. Mix that together with a burgeoning interest in Ayurvedic medicine that sees me buying my first jar of ghee (and never looking back) and you get Indian Corn Salad. It's a fresh, crunchy, slightly spicy, slightly sweet homage to summer. Great with toast or a bowl of rice, alongside tsatziki, lentil rice and hummous for a summer lunch or just on its own.

You will need:

Two ears local corn
A selection of Heirloom tomatoes.
heaped tablespoon Ghee
1 to 2 cloves garlic.
up to 1 tsp depending on your preference Cayenne pepper, ground
1/2 tsp Cardamom, ground
fat pinch Jeera/Cumin, ground or whole
1/2 tsp Coriander seed, ground.
Fresh Cilantro/Coriander
Fresh Mint
Fat pinch salt.


For the heirlooms, I don't want to tell you which ones to get or how many because they are completely different sizes and you might be like me and capable of eating 2 pounds of them... Some varieties I like are Black Prince, Cherokee Purple, Pineapple, and Zebra. I'm particularly fond of Cherokee Purples.

Why Ghee? Ghee is a neutral food in Ayurveda, so anyone of any Dosha or Body Disposition can eat it and it has a soothing effect. You can use butter in a pinch but Ghee is better because it doesn't have the milk solids in it, and so it won't burn at high temperatures. If you are in Europe or the States, just seek out any grocery in your local Indian community and they WILL have this...it is a staple.

Method:

Having shucked and washed the corn cobs, use a sharp knife to cut the kernals off the core in slices. Do this over a bowl so that any corn milk that comes out can go into the salad as well.
Cut your tomatoes into small, colorful chunks and try your best not to eat them all while you are cooking!
Smash and chop the garlic.

Heat the ghee in the bottom of a medium sized saucepan. The next part of this recipe is what in Indian cuisine is called "tempering" spices. There'll be more about tempering in other recipes.

you may want to spread the pool of ghee around the bottom of the saucepan a bit. If it doesn't cover, add more.

drop in the spices and allow them to froth and toast for half a minute or so.

Add your corn and mix the ghee through the corn thoroughly. The heat from the ghee and the pot should be sufficient to partially cook the corn, keeping it's fresh crunchiness and slightly astringent taste. Do allow the corn to heat however. If you like your corn well done, you can put in 1/8 cup of water to allow it to steam in the pot.

Once the corn has become a brighter yellow, turn off the heat. Add the raw tomato chunks and salt to taste.

Tear up the fresh herbs and add.

Serving suggestion:

For a snack: Serve in small bowls with toasted pita bread and yoghurt.

Best Tahini Tomato Sandwich

Here's one of my favorite uses of my Tahini Uber Spread

They're something luscious about the combination of even just tomato, tahini and a little salt. the salt contrast with the sweet flavor of summer tomatoes and also brings out the watery freshness in the tomato which in turn contrasts with the slightly sticky tahini mixture. The pistachios and scallions give a delectable crunch and the sprouts and cilantro just crank it all up a bit. This is a great summer sandwich for lunch or a light supper.


2tbsp Tahini Uber Spread with pistachios and scallions
1 large slice whole grain bread or one wrap/lahvash piece
1/2 large tomato sliced thickly
small handful of alfalfa or sunflower sprouts
Roughly chopped chopped cilantro
Pinch of salt
Black Pepper
Extra drizzle of fresh tahini

If you are using sliced bread you may want to toast it.
Spread the tahini spread onto the bread and sprinkle on your cilantro. then arrange your tomato slices on top, sprinkle with salt and pile high with sprouts. grind on some black pepper and drizzle the tahini over the whole. (It anchors the sprouts down :)

On toast or sliced bread it can be a little messy but it's worth it. In a wrap it shouldn't cause you any problems.

One additional variation on this sandwich is to make the sandwich, minus the sprouts and extra tahini, on crisp warm Roti. Roti, the thin daily use Indian bread is available in the fridge section of most Indian groceries, such as Shalimar in Central Sq. ALl you have to do to prepare it is rip off the section that you want (make the whole bread for you and a guest) and heat in a tablepoon of oil in a frying pan. it really only takes a couple of minutes.

A note on healthy eating:

As you may know, although I enjoy meat and fish, i try not to eat them to often as I have ethical feelings on that score. the protein in this sandwich and in any sandwich using the Tahini Uber Spread is an added benefit for vegetarians. Also I try to make all my recipes conducive to following the recommended serving of 5 servings of fruit and vegetables a day. Sometimes you may even find all five in one meal. which means you can eat ice cream for supper. :)

Tahini Uber Spread

Tried and tested, changed and experimented with, my Tahini Uber Spread (I can't find the Umlaut! sorry). At last here is the secret (and satanically simple) recipe for my Tahini Uber Spread that will make you and any other eaters of your sandwiches weak in the knees and with a little extra water and salt added...will make you salad munchers ecstatic. In fact, put it anywhere and people will love you. promise.

4 tbsp Tahini
2 1/2 tbsp Black Vinegar (you can use Balsamic but I recommend Chinese black vinegar...especially Jin Jiang vinegar.)
At least 1 tbsp Chili sauce.
Generous drizzle of sesame oil.
Salt to taste.

One small bowl.

Mix all the ingredients together until you have a reddish brown paste...you may want to add a few drops of water if the mixture is too sticky.

Different vinegars have different strengths and the same goes for chili sauce so taste it...see if there is enough of everything for you. When the balance is right the sauce will absolutely sing in your mouth.

A note about chili sauces:

I have experimented with a variety of different chili sauces. I started with rich and medium hot chipotle sauce designed for barbecues which was very good but somewhat flat in flavor, believe it or not.

Next I tried a good, cheap bottle of mexican chili sauce (ingredients: arbol and habanero chilis, water, salt, vinegar. I love ingredients lists like that) which worked very well...just gave the kick and nothing else...this leads me to believe you could use tabasco if you like but i must say a mexican sauce tends to be a little bit thicker and that's a nice quality in the spread.

Last, but certainly not least I tried Harissa (A wonderful and HOT hot sauce that is paste like and often contains carrot a well. Harissa is originally Tunisian, by the way.). That is my favourite at the moment because i feel the kind of heat and hint of sweetness goes really well with the Tahini.

Other Variations:

One thing that's great to do with this sauce is to add pistachios or raisins or both, or even chopped scallions to it, then blending and spreading on your sandwich bread. it creates a variety in texture which means that the sauce flavor is emphasize and you don't end up with that sticky sensation.

Roseade

It's hot. Terribly hot here in Watertown. So...I have been inspired to invent a pleasant and refreshing tonic to give some relief.

I was inspired by the fresh fragrance of limes and the flavor and simplicity of freshly made (on the premises!) Rose Syrup from Tabrizi Bakery, a marvellous miniature paradise for pastry lovers specializing in Iranian/Persian desserts and sundries. And local too!

ROSEADE

1 tbsp Rose syrup (more if you have a sweet tooth)
2 tbsp lime juice
1 1/4 cups cold filtered water or sparkling water.
Sprig of mint.

Put the syrup and juice in the bottom of a tall glass, fill with water and stir. Add your mint sprig, and ice if you have it. You could even put rose petals in it if you were making a big jug for guests.

Couldn't be simpler...or more delicious.

******************

Thinking about possible uses for this lovely, fragrant concoction I came up with the following...a kind of Middle Eastern spin on the classic crisp Mojito. Mojito part based on a great recipe from Epicurious for the classic cocktail which actually gives decent quantities of mint and batch recipes too. This recipe serves 6-8.

ROSE Mojito

3 cups (packed) fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup rose petals.
6 tablespoons organic sugar
1/4-1/2 cup Rose Syrup, depending on taste.
1/2 cup golden rum
1 cup Cachaca
1/2 cup fresh lime juice

6 cups club soda
6 cups crushed ice
6 lime wedges
Large pitcher

Put some of the mint and rose petals aside for garnish. Put the remaining mint and sugar in the bottom of your pitcher and crush. personally I use the end of a rolling pin since I don't have a "muddler" but if you do...by all means muddle away. Add Rose Syrup, Rum and Lime juice and dissolve the sugar in the mix. Blend well. Some people like to do the mixing in a separate bowl and then strain the mint and whatnot out in true bar fashion but personally i like the herbacious mint leaves...and besides my pitcher has a little strainer thing. Fill pitcher with the club soda and put the crushed ice in glasses for you and your guests, then pour the mojito mixture over the ice and add some mint leaves and rose petals.

enjoy very much but try not to get too drunk. ;)

That Lahvash in the Sky: a guide to Coolidge Sq. staple foods.

Belying the country's location in the Caucasus, at the crossroads between Turkish Russian and Iranian foods, stands the funky little slice of heaven, or rather Lahvash of heaven, that is Armenian food. Armenia is one of the sites put forward as having been the Garden of Eden, after all.

As an indicator of how wonderful, fresh and interesting as well as eclectic this stuff is: I am seriously considering a trip to try it in situ.

See the wonderful full discussion of Armenian food as served in Armenia

here

and tell me you don't feel your mouth watering and the financial burden of the trip to Europe suddenly starting to feel somewhat lighter.

But for now...Let's start with the basics. What is the shape of the Armenian staple diet? What foodstuffs can no self respecting person of Armenian heritage do without? In other words...what are the ubiquitous ingredients in my local Watertown groceries?

So...in just about alphabetical order I have compiled a list of the most COMMON specialist items available and who does which one best, in my H.O.

CokoKrem:

For non-europeans, everyday sweet breakfasts come in the form of pastry (for adults) and cereals loaded with colors and sugar (for children, mostly). Yet when you tell most Americans that in many european countries, Armenia apparently among them, it is considered not just ok, but pretty damned healthy to give your child a piece of fresh toast covered in a generous layer of chocolate hazelneut spread FOR BREAKFAST...the shock can be palpable. The most widely available brand normally is Nutella but not in Little Armenia. There it's the Turkish version, CokoKrem (choKKoKRem) all the way. It comes in stripy white and milk chocolate varieties too.

Feta:

Oh Feta. Odysseus couldn't make a packed lunch without it, and funnily enough on that score the Bulgarian's call their version Sirene. At least three varieties are available in even the most modest grocery in Coolidge Sq., and usually there are enough kinds to satisfy any craving, from the inexpensive (and rather bland) domestic, to the creamy goat-y Bulgarian, on up. Sevan has the widest selection of fetas in the neighborhood sitting in their brine baths ready for fresh slicing.

Labne:

Another white cheese, this time spreadable. It seems that no Armenian grocer's fridge cabinet is complete without at least two brands of Labne. I spread it on thin village bread or Lahvash and crumble dried mint or Zatar on it before folding it over a sliced tomato. It's fresh, creamy and salty and an essential ingredient to good Satziki.

Lahvash:

Don't be fooled by cheap imitations! Accept only the authentic Lahvash: thin and baked in a clay oven!







This staple is used and delighted in from it's birth as a soft thin bread flexible enough to accomodate all manner of fillings, to it's dry state as a yummy crisp cracker. There are in fact a whole host of different kinds of flat bread available in Coolidge corner's bakeries, each one with its own special qualities. If you want a really fresh Lahvash I recommend Sevan bakery, and for a wider selection of breads...try Massis. If you want to try making it all yourself, a dizzying array of grains and flours can be found in Arax.

Nuts and dried fruit:

It seems as if nuts, seeds and dried, roasted chickpeas and corn are essential eating around here. Dried apricots, dates, and figs of various qualities are offered for baking or enjoyment on their own, and the special flavors of dried mulberries (my friend Anna Sussman's favorite) and sugar coated roast chickpeas can be found at the superb fruit and nut bar at Sevan. For better value on large quantities of raisins and other daily use dried fruits try Massis.

Next to Kay's on Mt. Auburn st. there is a rather large and swanky shop called Fastuchi (it advertizes itself as "an Opera of Nuts") specializing exclusively in nut mixes and fine chocolate. In fact considering how little is in there it is surprising how big the shop is. The spicy sweet mix is good...blending dried cranberries, wasabi peas and roasted corn with mixed salted nuts, but you get the feeling that you could have just picked up the ingredients at Sevan and mixed yourself up a large batch, several days munching, for about the same price as a half pound. Seems like more packaging than substance, if you ask me.

Olives:

Green, black, or the pinkish purple kalamata. I remember the almond stuffed cracked green almonds from London's Green Valley Middle Eastern supermarket with nostalgia, but all the basics can be gotten at any of the groceries at Coolidge Sq., even my beloved oil cured black Moroccans...the bitterest of the lot. I recommend Sevan and Massis, but if you want quantity on a simple kalamata or mix, I have to say that Haymarket's Halal stops are cheaper.

Spices:

Great walls and heaps of them. In every one of the markets here. Each of these little stores puts the spice racks of Haymarket, let alone any supermarket in the greater Boston area to SHAME for mediteranean and middle eastern spices.

The only contenders to any of these shops for these kinds of spices are the spice shop nestled against Christina's Ice cream shop (marvellous, by the way) in Inman Sq., Cambridge (walking distance from Harvard and Central Sq. T on the Red Line, and full of good eateries as well being home of the former Zeitgeist gallery, now renamed "The Lily Pad"), and Zamouri Spices the virtual one stop shop for Morrocan, Turkish and Lebanese Spices, which are pretty much common to Armenian food as well.


Tahini:

What is life without Tahini? Awfully flat if you ask me. A delicious ground sesame butter, available with or without salt, this has become a staple for me just as much as it evidently is for the Armenian community here. Huge jars of the stuff sporting a vast array of origins and labels line the shelves of most every shop around here.

Of course Tahini is an essential ingredient for any hummus worth its salt, but just try it spread on some whole grain bread toast with a bit of honey drizzled over it: it contends with the brioche and my new favorite, Bulgar cereal for the top breakfast prize.

Tahini is a great substitute for peanut butter, and as such I often swap it in for the tablespoon of peanut butter I use in my macaroni and cheese sauce; of course it is also the prime focus of my Tahini Uber Spread and Best Tahini Tomato Sandwich.

The Wheat that Puts You in the Driver's Seat (at breakfast time at least.)

Now that I am in Watertown's Little Armenia I am rediscovering a host of foodstuffs that I haven't seen (or used) since I lived in London and was a frequenter of the Middle Eastern groceries of Edgware Rd. In addition, the fact that I am job seeking means that I am inclined to be both creative and frugal...which is why I am currently having a torrid affair with Bulgar Wheat.

what is Bulgar Wheat? According to the people at Purcell Mountain farms (http://www.purcellmountainfarms.com/)

"Bulgar is man's oldest recorded use of wheat. Bulgur is made by soaking and cooking the whole wheat kernel, drying it and then removing part of the bran and cracking the remaining kernel into small pieces."




That's right. You can soak it for about 45 minutes in some warmish water and you are good to go. But once it's soaked...what do you do with these little tan and white butterflies of grain?

One ingredient, a thousand uses. With a light malty flavour, Bulgar added to tomato salad with some harissa (a bright red chilli and carrot paste that packs a whallop) and oil makes a great punctuation in texture, but my latest discovery in using this delightfully versatile stuff is it's use as a breakfast cereal...a great alternative to oatmeal AND packaged cereal that contains all of the whole grain stuff, can be eaten hot or cold and is extremely low in cost. Plus, and perhaps most importantly, it's yummy as hell.

So far I have been hooked on two ways of eating this high powered little grain in the morning: The first involves taking the presoaked bulgar mixing in a handful of golden or green raisins (the latter being available at most middle eastern groceries)and covering everything with cold milk or soymilk until only the little heads of the sweet golden raisins can be seen.

The other option that I have come upon is to add a teaspoon of sinfully dark molasses to the wheat and then repeat the operation as regards milk until you end up with a coffee coloured and bitterweet liquid for the bulgar to swim about in.

This whole bulgar idea is perfect for people who love oatmeal but don't want a hot breakfast in the summer months. It's pretty filling stuff too, although not heavy, so a little bowl will do 'ya, in most cases.

No added salt, sugar or preservatives. You know exactly what's going in there...to quote a vehicular marketing ploy...it "puts you in the driver's seat".

And with fewer emissions too.

recipes and such.

I just moved to "Little Armenia". This calls for a full review of what the area, located in Watertown's Coolidge Sq./Corner has to offer.

How to get there: Take the Route 71 bus up from Harvard T towards Watertown Sq. (boarding on the lower level every day except Sunday) which will take you right up Mt. Auburn St. past the lovely Mt. Auburn Cemetary. Get off after the Star Market (ignore it completely if you can.) at Bigelow Ave. Walk in the direction of the Bus and you will come upon a fleet of little grocers that will knock your socks off. Closer in to Watertown Sq. are a host of additional delights, with more to be discovered, I think. So stay tuned, I am giving you the low down on the area, spiced with my own recipes (all recipes in this blog are mine unless otherwise stated) inspired by the ingredients and the summer heat.

Enjoy!