Upside-down Peach Heart Cakelettes

This morning while I was taking a shower, my earring fell out of my ear and before I could pick it up, it rolled into the hole leaving me gaping. My immediate reaction (after I've realised what had happened) was that I felt like crying. It was just so hopeless. I have just witnessed my favourite earring, a golden star earring which I got when I got my ears pierced 15 years ago, roll... into a hole and get lost forever. Who knows where the pipe leads to? Sewage. Along with ALL the other junk that goes down that way. It's lost. LOST. 

After getting dressed and saving the other half of the earring, I just kept saying to myself. Look, this is a lesson for you to learn to let go. Yeah it has sentimental significance, but come on, it's only an earring. My only gold earring you mean. It's not life and death. You've still got the other half of the pair. What use is one earring, like I'm going to wear just one side of it. This is a chance for you to learn to let.... go.... Let go of attachments to material, let go of attachments to the value, your perceived value of it. Things come and go, it's life, get over it. 

Eventually after having breakfast and complaining to mum about me losing my earring (and of course me getting told off for not being careful, and why was I wearring earrings while I'm showering anyway?), I thought I started to accept the fact that that's what's happened, and this was karma's way of punishing me for whatever bad things I have done. Of course I felt a tiny bit better after breakfast, come one, sustainance fuels. But later on I decided, who was I fooling, I was sad that I lost my earring. So I complained to my brother. 

Or course, big brother being the ever caring and ever busy-body person he is, at first yelled (well, exclaimed) that why was I wearing my earrings while I'm showering?! Then he physically got up from his breakfast and ran to peer down the hole which the pipe from the bathtub leads to. Yeah, water, grass, black bits. But he suggested that I went to flush down some water down the hole incase it's still stuck somewhere in the pipe, and he held a net under the other end of the pipe and try catching the earring if it was still there. Without holding much hope, I did as I was told. And yeah, told you, no earring, it's probably lost to the abyss. So, giving up, I went back to my computer, deciding to crack on with my studies.

But big brother didn't want to give up. He scrounged for his torch, then went to shine it down the hole in the bathtub. Lo and behold, there! I can see it! Golden and it's tangled within hair. Ugh, gross, but WHAT?! It's still there?! So there a sparkle of hope was ignited, we began our mission of extracting my little wee golden earring out from the pipe. Thank god for once that there's hair down the pipe... After ages of manipulation, borrowing of neighbour's suck pump thing (don't know what you call it, but it's the thing that de-clogs pipes through suction), yelling from one end 'has it come out yet?', 'nope, all there is is water, and some scungy stuff', loads of effort of flushing water down the hole with force, periods of 'maybe we should just leave the net here and wait for it to eventually come out some day... ... it finally, finally, came! Oh wow, gold has fallen into the net! Stopppp flushing water down!! I see it I see it! 

I was actually super surprised that I retrieved my earring. What an evolution of emotions throughout that hour. And I thought, this incident taught me something really important. It's really simple. NEVER give up. If it's something worth fighting for, something worth the effort for, something that means so much, keep trying. Try and try and try until you have exhausted all means, and only then if it doesn't work, accept the fact that you have to let go. It applies to all sorts of things really. Relationships, work, a small task, a massive project. If you try hard enough, you'll begin to see that sparkle of light, of hope, which will really guide you through. If you don't try at all, hope is forever diminished. 

Now this recipe. Sometimes we just need to go out and buy a silicon heart-shaped mould. It makes our food look so much more exciting. Baking is so much about giving and sharing. I'm sure most bakers would agree that baking is a way to show that you love and care for somebody. Now with a heart-shaped mould, it really more strongly emphasises this love we're giving. It makes the food look pretty (and yay more exciting food photography too!). And if you're giving it to someone special, a little more effort goes a long way. Get your hands on some pretty boxes and vibrant craft paper and dress up the little gifts! Whoever you're giving it too will be impressed.

The cake itself is an olive oil sponge, incredibly moist, soft and flavourful.

Upside-down Peach Heart Cakelettes

Makes about 18 individual cakelettes, depending on the size of your tins

1 Peach

30g butter, melted

Raw sugar

Olive oil Sponge cake

150g wholewheat flour

1/4 tsp salt

5 eggs, separated

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

3/4 cup blended raw sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

1/2 cup dessert wine or fruit juice

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1. Slice the peach up into segments. Into the mould, spoon about 1/2 tbsp butter and sprinkle in about 1/4 tsp sugar. Lay three segments of peaches on the bottom of the mould. Set aside for later use.

2. To prepare the cake, preheat your oven to 180C. 

3. Sift together flour and salt, then set aside.

4. Beat the egg whites until frothy. Add in the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add half the sugar and beat until stiff. Set aside.

5. Beat the egg yolks, remaining half of the sugar and vanilla until pale and thick. Beat in the wine/juice and oil, pouring in a steady stream until they are well incorporated.

6. Gently fold in the flour mixture. Then fold in the egg whites in thirds. 

7. Pour the cake mixture in the moulds and bake for 10 minutes, then lower the heat to 160C and bake for another 10-15 minutes until golden. Turn off the oven and cover the cakes with an oiled baking paper and leave the cakes in the oven to cool slowly for 15 minutes. This gradual cooling prevents the cakes from collapsing. Remove from oven and allow cakes to cool in their moulds for 10 minutes before turning them out, running your knife around the edges of the mould to free them first. 

8. Cool slightly and serve, or cool completely and package nicely to be given away. 

Tiramisu-esque cake

8am wake up, go to the bathroom, drink some warm water, do my 20 minute stretches, read the newspaper, shower, eat breakfast, get ready for uni. That's my morning routine. It's the fourth week into my academic year and I feel like I've been here for months. My days are long, I'm stuck in front of my computer all day, reading articles after scientific articles, searching for that light, that spark that goes 'Yup! This is it woman! You found me!' I'm so close. So close to defining my Masters project. And i tell ya, resilience pays off. When I first started searching for a topic, the only way to start was the obvious 'where on earth do I start?' I felt that it was such an impossible task to find a topic that's novel, and on top of that, my ambitious self demands me to find a topic that is significant, that contributes to society AND that I'm passionate enough about that I can spend one year dwelling on it. But the best advice anyone could give was read, just read, doesn't matter what, just read. And read I did. But something else I should add too. Don't read blindly. Pause and reflect. Pause and re-surface to re-connect with the world around. What is the world up to these days? What are people into? What would our ancestors say about the world today?

I'm passionate about dietary practices and folk remedies - those practices that have passed down generation after generation for hundreds and even thousands of years - especially Chinese dietary advices and Chinese medicine. There is such a wealth of knowledge and wisdom in these practices. They've had people experimenting and testing them out for centuries and they've survived the test of time to be passed down to us. Yet most people these days do not believe in them, preferring to trust in science. I am studying science. I can tell you, yes there are so many amazing things science has done. Science has come such a long way over these past few centuries. But compared to ancient practices, science is but an infant. There is this thing about scientist, the urge of every scientist to discover something new, be it a novel gene, or a magic bullet for curing cancer. It is nobel to have these ambitions. But personally, I think we shouldn't rush to discover something new before we've learnt from existing knowledge. And this wealthy mine of knowledge and wisdom has large been left neglected as scientists dig elsewhere.

Take the concept of nutrition. Most advice these days focus on telling you what fibre or vitamins or omega-3 fatty acids you should be eating, what saturated fats, refined carbohydrates you shouldn't be eating. The world of nutrition has become so focused on the nutrients that they've forgotten about food itself. This sort of thinking is downward. Because we don't just eat singular nutrients. We eat food containing many many types of nutrients. We eat many types of food. Nutrition is so focused on discovering good nutrients and their benefits (which is not a problem. But) it's forgotten that each individual is different. We all have different lifestyles and habits. We all have different needs at different times. Yes, say... an orange is good because it contains lots of vitamin C. Yes, we all need vitamin C, but if we're not deficient in vitamin C, it's not particularly 'good' for us. But for someone with scurvy, orange is very good for them, because they need it. And also, if you just take vitamin C tablets, the effect might be lost. Why? Because an orange isn't just made of vitamin C. There are hundreds of other compounds in there. Ones that probably haven't even been discovered. Maybe the effect of vitamin C is dependent on those other compounds. Otherwise why would nature make an orange? Why doesn't nature just make vitamin C tablets?

Oh by the way, I'm hoping that my Masters project will be on grapefruit (or maybe orange) and how the bitter compounds are affected by processing. Why? Because bitter compounds (flavonoids and limonoids) have been shown to have anticancer and cardio-protective effects.  I know... it's a bit contradictory that I'm singling out bitter compounds to study. Like, how did epidemiologists know that it is those bitter compounds that lead to decreased risk of cardiovascular diseases? Yes, bitter compounds have shown to elicit antioxidant, radical scavenging properties, but this happens only in the petri dish and what happens in the human body, when there are millliioooooons of other compounds around? But hey, I actually have back-up. Traditional Chinese medicine, which dates back THOUSANDS of years mentioned that bitter foods are good for heart. I guess I'm just making the most of what I have? I'm trying to make my little contribution and nudge science that bit further in its long long long long long (x10000000000) way to go? And anyway, my thinking is that those bitter compounds play a part in the larger picture of food that gives its beneficial effects. Gosh... trying to justify myself... On a side note, I'm actually rather enjoying this whole research thing. Never ever thought i would, but as long as I don't lose track of what my values and beliefs are, and try to integrate them into my research, it's not too bad. At times I'm even like... PhD doesn't sound too bad either. Dr... Lol no I won't go there just yet.

SORRY I've blabbed on so much about science. I can't help it. It's what I've been and will be breathing and living all day, all night, all week, all YEAR. I'm so sad that it's taken my baking and blogging time away from me! I've only baked TWICE in this past month. TWICE. What is this atrocity? All I've cooked is fried egg and (made) sandwiches... which incidentally involved slicing two slices of bread, slapping on some jam and peanut butter. BAm. Guys. I wouldn't be alive without my mum. Like, seriously. Without her cooking all those delicious and healthy meals, I'd just be eating plain bread and store bought muesli bars. Sad sad situation. OR, I'd be mean to my equally sad looking bank account and buying $9 paninis everyday (yum, but so not worth the money). And soon, I'll be sculling coffee by the gallons.

Anyway, this cake was one I whipped up for my friend who requested it for his birthday! I didn't actually plan out what i was gonna make. I pretty much just went with the flow. Scrounged around the kitchen for ingredients and bashed them all together to create this beauty. Obviously it took longer that it should because I silly-ly (hehe) chose not to follow a recipe for the cream cheese-cream bit. I was going to buy savoiardi biscuits to layer them in because my friend requested tiramisu. BUT oh my god, I can't believe it, they stopped selling them at both my local supermarkets! (More atrocity). But I just made a sponge to substitute the 'cakey' bit, because it'd take less time than to make lady fingers. For the coffee drizzling, I omitted the alcohol because they wanted it to be an alcohol-free party, but if you sloshed in some Kahlua of Baileys, it'd kick the awesome level for this cake up. And one more thing, since I couldn't make it to his birthday party (sadface), I didn't get to try the cake NOR take photos of the insides of the cake. I'm sorry, you'll just have to make do with the exterior. I was told that everybody loved the cake though (yay!)!

Tiramisu-esque Cake

Serves 10

Sponge cake

Recipe from Wholefood Baking by Jude Blereau

4 eggs

1/2 cup blended raw sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 cup minus 1 tbsp (120g) wholemeal flour

40g butter, melted and cooled, placed in a bowl

Cream cheese filling

250g cream cheese, softened

200ml cream

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 tbsp really strong coffee

1 tbsp Kahlua or Baileys or Tia Maria (optional)

1/4 cup blended raw sugar

150g dark chocolate, melted

Coffee drizzle

1/3 cup strong coffee

1 tsp raw sugar

Chocolate decoration

About 50g dark chocolate, melted

Extra chocolate for shaving

For the cake

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line base of 8 inch round cake tin. 

2. Whisk together eggs and sugar using a stand mixer until very thick, pale, creamy and tripled in volume. As Jude says, the mixture is thick enough 'when you can lift the beaters and the mixture falls back into the bowl in a ribbon that rests on the surface for about 10 seconds'. Add in the vanilla and whisk until just incorporated.

3. Sift 1/3 of the flour onto the egg mixture and fold in very gently until just incorporated. Add in the remaining flour in two additions, folding really gently. 

4. Add about 1 cup of batter to the melted butter and mix until incorporated. Gently fold this back into the egg mixture. Transfer to tin and bake for 20 minutes until folden and the cake springs back when lightly touched. Leave the cake in the oven and the oven door ajar so the cake can cool slowly. This prevents the cake from collapsing. 

For the cream cheese filling

5. Beat the cream cheese and cream together until well mixed. Continue beating so the mixture becomes more light and fluffy. Add in the rest of the ingredients and beat until mixture is smooth. Reserve about 1/2 cup. Beat the cooled melted chocolate into the rest of the cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate before use.

Assembling the cake

6. Once the cake is cooled, cut the cake into three layers. Using a brush, spread the coffee drizzle onto every surface of the cake. 

7. To assemble, spread on about 1/3 of the chocolate cream cheese lavishly. Layer on the sponge and repeat. Cap on the final sponge layer. Spread the remaining 1/3 chocolate cream cheese on to cover the cake. The reserved cream cheese mixture should more or less be of a pouring consistency. Carefully pour it over the cake. This will give a smooth finish. Refrigerate until the icing has set.

8. Using a spoon, or a piping bag, drizzle on the melted chocolate in your desired fashion. The chocolate will solidify quickly once it hits the cold cake. Shave some extra chocolate on top. Refrigerate the cake.

9. Serve the cake chilled.  

Banana Berry Cakes (Gluten Free)

Life has been a complete whirlpool these past 6 weeks. The trip to Asia: Malaysia/Hong Kong/China has been eventful to say the least and since touching ground on NZ soil two thursdays ago I've been swept into a nice little storm called Masters. Wow. So, I do apologise for my lengthy absence from the blog, rest assured that I have not forgotten or abandoned it and you dear readers! I've just been trying to sort life out, catch up with friends, organize (still) a schedule for my studies, and *I know this is probably not the best time for it, but I'm super excited, and don't judge!* learn how to knit. 

So, first thing first, trip to Asia. Was a collection of family, food, stories, drama, hellos, goodbyes, laughter, tears, exhaustion, transport, toilets, beds, flights, reminders, hugs, history, future, shopping, learning, life. If I could stuff all my experiences into a ball, it'd be a very colourful and dense ball containing the whole spectrum of colour intermingling with one another. Oh it was rich, yeah. But it was to be expected, our trip back home in 3 years and considering that our last trip was so rushed we didn't have time to meet all the people we wanted to. 

Malaysian heat has been turned up several notches since the last time we were there, causing draught and water rationing! I've always been able to withstand it, but this time, ah it was hot, so very hot. I told everyone that the moment you sit down, your bum starts to sweat. And you constantly feel like showering. AC was your best friend. 

Traffic was as horrendous as ever. People run reds as they please and especially during the Chinese New Year period, a trip down to visit grandma which would normally take 2 hours took us 5. But despite all the difficulties and hardship, seeing the people, my relatives made it all worthwhile. Of course, not being the one driving makes a big difference. My dad was such a champ driving us everywhere. All that patience while driving, he deserves medals. And hugs. 

It's always such an experience when you reunite with someone you haven't seen in years. Especially for us who live so far away, we really do savour every precious little second of it. It really is a cocktail of emotion for us, seeing cousins that we used to play with when we were little and how much they've grown and progressed in life; and also seeing cousins that were babies or weren't even born when we left, all grown up now. I do feel a sense of regret that those cousins we don't have that tight bond with due to our lack of time spent together. But such is our fate in life and we can only do the best we can to build relationships across oceans and nations. 

The trip to China/Hong Kong was definitely a huge eye-opener. China was spacious, vast, neat, clean and orderly, a big contrast to the crowded, fast-paced and very colourful Hong Kong. Like our other visits in Malaysia, we're yet again embraced by the generosity of family and friends who offered their rooms/houses for us during our stay. Things in China weren't cheap, unless you know where to go. I loved their MRT, it was so convenient! Overhead, a female voice reminds people to look after children and respect elderlies, and I was pretty surprised that people actually give up their seats whenever they see someone old board the train. Everything was oversized there, the roads, the buildings, the parks, the malls. I don't think there's anything I can complain about. Except their toilets. Long drops just aren't my thing. And I probably spent record time in this rural toilet, where the walls were only about 1m high and there are no doors. AND... you pee into a drain and 'flush' with a pail of water that sits by the toilet. People HAVE CONVERSATIONS in there. Definitely a one of a kind experience. 

Hong Kong was very fast paced. The escalators go at running speed and even the traffic lights feature running man instead of stationary or walking man. I found that neighbours and people you encounter 'at home' were extremely friendly and hospitable. However if you wanna ask for direction or help on the street to some stranger or bus driver, mean mode is switched on to the max. But it was still such a great experience. I LOVED THEIR EGGTARTS. So damn good. The ones we had were freshly made at this little kitchen by the stall in the wet market and were so cheap! 2.50HK dollar which means about 40 NZ cents each! I wish we'd stayed there longer, just for the egg tarts. The nightlife in HK was amazing. Neon lights flashing, heavy traffic, row after row of shops and stalls selling food, bags, socks, phone accessories, everything! Though since I wasn't used to the crowd, it got a bit tiring at the end of the night trying to meander through the stream after stream of people. 

Now these muffins. I have to admit, I haven't touched the oven in over six weeks until tonight, when I made some fig muffins with my mum with the over-abundance of figs we were given! As I've mentioned, I've sort of hit the ground running ever since we got back, sorting out my postgraduate studies. So this recipe is from the archives, and it was one that I planned to share for a rather special red and green occasion. But, yet again, I was away and busy that period! *No excuse really... I know...* But here it is, special occasion or not, these muffins are rather good. They are super healthy for you, with all the goodness from the almond, bananas, berries, spices and eggs. Really, you are getting your fibre, your vitamins, minerals and your protein from this! And those of you who are gluten intolerant, here's a treat! They are super moist because of the bananas, but drizzling on some honey just makes it go that one step further. Oh and ignore the plums by the way... I was trying to add some colour into the picture... little polka dots of plums, so cute! So try it out, have it with a cuppa. Your morning tea is sorted :)

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Banana Berry Cake (Gluten Free)

Recipe adapted from At the table with Fee

Makes 12 little cakes

3 cups almond meal

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon powder

1/2 tsp five spice

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Pinch of salt

1 cup blueberries (frozen or fresh)

1 tbsp blended raw sugar

2-3 ripe bananas, mashed

1/4 cup natural yoghurt or soy milk

3 tbsp honey 

3 free range eggs

1 tsp vanilla essence

Preheat oven to 180C. Line a 12-hole muffin tray with paper cups.

Sift together all the dry ingredients until well incorporated. Stir in the blueberries. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients until smooth. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined. Divide the batter into the 12 holes. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden and skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven and leave in muffin tray to cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan and cooling on a wire rack.

[Happy Chinese New Year!] Chinese Peanut Cookies

Chinese new year is the most important festival of the year. This celebration traditionally lasts for 15 days. Each day has its own meaning and designated activities. During new year's eve, families usually gather to have the reunion dinner 团圆饭. On new year's day, everybody dresses up in red, the auspicious colour. Everybody wishes each other good luck, health and fortune. Some households follow a vegetarian diet on this day as abstaining from meat is believed to ensure good health and luck for the rest of the year. For my household, my grandmother always makes rendang curry, served with bamboo glutinous coconut rice called pulut. Friends and families will visit and be served this dish. 

The second day of new year is when the chinese pray to their ancestors and gods. The chinese people emphasises a lot on remembering and respecting our roots. After all, without them, there will not be us. Without their enormous wisdom and hard work, we will not live such prosperous lives. On the third, fourth and sixth to tenth days, the chinese visits their relatives and friends. As chinese tradition goes, we usually visit the father's side of the family first, then the mother's side of the family. Though tradition dictates that on the fifth day of new year we should stay home to welcome the God of Wealth and restrain from visiting anyone as it will bring bad luck, due to constraints with time, our family does not follow this tradition. Furthermore, many young people of the working class usually has to resume work, therefore this tradition has been more or less neglected. 

On the seventh day of new year, everyone is being wished happy birthday, as it is the birthday of human beings! On the eighth day, we pray to the God of Heaven, 天公; and on the ninth to the Jade Emperor, 玉王大帝. As chinese believe in the importance of give and take, the tenth to twelfth days we invite relatives and friends over for meals. On the thirteenth day, after the enormous feasts we cleanse our systems by eating congee and choy sum. Then on the fourteenth day, preparations for the Lantern Festival, which falls on the fifteenth day are made. 

Since migrating to New Zealand, many of these traditions have been neglected. This year, the year of the horse, my year of birth, I've been lucky enough to spend it in my home country, Malaysia! It certainly is a welcomed change to the quietness in New Zealand. As there are so much visiting and entertaining of guests, naturally there must also be lots of food. In Malaysia, the culture is to bring along mandarins, good luck due to their sweetness and vibrant colour, as well as some form of new year snack. At each household, there will also be a huge array of cookies and snacks to offer to the guests. Eating sweets symbolizes a sweet welcome to the new year. This crunchy, nutty, yet short peanut cookie with perfectly balanced sweet and saltiness is my favourite new year snack, along with pineapple tarts. In chinese culture, peanuts represent bloom, growth, prosperity and wealth, due to its name (花生). Beware though, these peanut cookies are really addictive! Be sure to drink some chrysanthemum tea to counter the heatiness of these morsels. 

Chinese Peanut Cookies

Makes 2 trays

300g peanuts

150g raw sugar, blended

250g flour

1 tsp salt

200ml olive oil

1 egg

Lightly roast the peanuts until fragrant and light golden. Let it cool, then remove the skin and grind until fine. Preheat the oven to 200C. Mix the ground peanuts with sugar, flour and salt. Add in the oil and mix well to form a dough. Roll into teaspoon sized balls, place on paper lined tray and press down to flatten slightly. Glaze with the beaten egg. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden. Remove from oven and let the cookies cool on the tray for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Plum tarts

So yeah... I kinda went a bit crazy on the photographing front. Took about 50 photos of these tarts and had a hard time narrowing it down to ten to post here. But I'm sure you guys don't mind the photo spam. I mean, half the people come here probably just to get their dose of food porn right? So feast your eyes away! These tarts definitely are pretty to look at and I really do insist that you try making them so you can feast on them too. The plums loosen up in the heat and release their juices, which entangle with the sugar and butter to yield this rich, tarty, sweet filling. The tanginess of the plums work so well with the pastry. It definitely gives it that extra edge than say if it were a one note sweet fruit... boring... yeah. Although the pastry did turn out really delicate and crumbles in your hands, I think it really is a good pairing - the sharpness of the fruit with the gentle caressing crumbly case. Complimentary right? You can eat it with a spoon.

So yes, give it a go! The original recipe was for one 11-inch tart. But hmmm multiple little ones versus one large one? More is more? Yup, totally in this case. With the little ones, you get a higher pastry to fruit ratio in each bite than with one big one, which is win in my books! So go! Start baking. You have no excuses. You don't need any fancy equipment. Your hands are your mixer. If you don't have a weighing machine, rejoice! Because you don't need one. If you don't have tart cases, worry not, just use a cake tin. Or make little galettes. Or a big one, like this. If you don't have a rolling pin, worry not! Use your hands. You don't even need to use a wine bottle as substitute (which by the way did its job like a boss when my sister and I were baking with my cousin!). You don't even need a bowl to mix the ingredients in. The author of the recipe mixed her pastry straight in the tray. Ok, I think you get the point now, so here's the recipe!

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Plum tarts

Recipe adapted from Amanda Hesser

Serves 8

Pastry

3/4 cups wholewheat flour

3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp blended vanilla raw sugar

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup canola or rice bran oil

2 tbsp whole milk or soy milk

Coconut essence

Filling

About 4 plums, pitted and thickly sliced

2 tbsp all purpose flour

1/2 blended vanilla raw sugar

2 tbsp butter, cold

Preheat your oven to 200C. Grease your tart cases.

To prepare the pastry, sift together the flours, salt and sugar. Sift it three times to ensure uniform distribution of salt. Alternatively, stir it with a whisk. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oils, milk and coconut essence, then pour into flour mixture and stir together with a fork until just combined. Take care not to over work. Next, transfer the pastry into the tart cases or tart pan and press onto the base and the sides with your fingers. The pastry should be about half a cm thick. 

For the filling, mix together the flour and sugar then using the tips of your fingers, rub in the butter until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. 

Line the plums on the pastry in whatever pattern you wish. Sprinkle over the butter crumb mixture. It will seem like an excessive amount of butter crumb mixture but it's ok. If you're making little tarts, I suggest putting all the tarts in a tray, then putting the tray in the oven, for easier handling. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until golden. If you're making a large tart, bake for about 35-40 minutes. Take care when you're removing the tarts from the oven as they are hot and bubbly. Rest and cool before serving. 

Serving suggestion: with a dollop of natural yoghurt. Yum!

Pasta with a twist! - Spicy strawberry, tomato and oregano

I've had a massive craving for pasta just before we went on the cruise and it lasted for about two months. Reason? I've been watching too many of the videos by The Chiappa Sisters (GO WATCH THEM IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY). They make pasta look so easy to make. 100g of flour and 1 egg with a pinch of salt. Stir in the egg in the flour volcano, knead, rest, roll. Ah... then the door of pasta is opened to you. Anything from luscious ribbons of fresh pasta paired with a drizzle of olive oil with a generous grating of parmessan to delicate little farfalle bows covered with creamy cheese and spinach are now within your reach... The thought of it just makes you salivate.

And now, after a month of food fest, you'd think that pasta craving would go away. NEVAAAHHH. Since my house does not hold any double zero flour, unfortunately I have not been able to make any fresh pasta...*cue sadface*. But luckily we do have the next best thing, dried packet pasta! And since I always like to spice things up a bit, and possibly go overboard with the ingredients list, I didn't just settle for a simple say olive oil + cheese + thyme pasta, although that would be lovely. 

As much as I'd like to claim this idea for myself, I do need to give credit to none other than Mr. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (what a last name) from River Cottage! In that episode of River Cottage To the Core, Hugh made a savoury strawberry salsa. With the abundance of strawberries that this season offers us, I thought, why not give it a try? Now, savoury strawberries... Why does it work? Well if you think about it, tomato is technically a fruit and it works like magic in savoury dishes. Strawberries, like tomatoes, have a lot in common. Firstly, they're both red, and guys don't underestimate this factor. Secondly, they're both sweet. Thirdly, when cooked, they release a wonderful tanginess (which sometimes may or may not work in other dishes *cough* like this strawberry mochi). 

So, addressing my cravings for pasta and my curiosity about savoury strawberries, the spicy savoury strawberry pasta was thus born. The sauce was basically inspired by ingredients I had in my fridge - giant tomatoes, quarter of a capsicum (alliteration yay!), crunchy snow peas, baby carrots, strawberries! And since the oregano bush kinda took over a huge patch in my garden, what other herbs to use than it! And of course, red wine, olive oil, chilli, garlic, cheese, salt and loads of pepper for added flavour. And believe it or not, this was only the second time I cooked with red wine. Last week I made a similar pasta dish with my friend Sam, and she glugged in red wine to the bubbling tomato sauce. It was yummy. So this pasta sauce met the same fate. And just a side note, like baking with chocolate, you wanna cook with red wine that you'd drink, not some cheap stuff coz the end result would also be cheap tasting. Makes sense right? Good + good =  amazing. Bad + good = mediocre. And you definitely want amazing pasta!

So, end result! It's a pretty summery red dish which screams, 'STOP! ...And eat me!' It's got loads of texture from the crunchy snow peas and baby carrots. It's got a kick from the chilli, which you can definitely tone down if you can't take spice, but spiciness is part of the fun in eating. It's got deep umami flavours from the cheese and red wine. The oregano sings and freshens up the dish. And the star, the strawberry definitely shines, especially with that extra cracking of pepper. Give it a try! If you do, Instagram or Facebook it with #thevanillahub and I'll check it out! 

Also, if you like my posts so far, like me on Facebook too!

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Spicy strawberry, tomato and oregano pasta

Serves 2

2 handfuls of pasta (I used elbow pasta)*

1/2 pot of boiling water in a fairly big pot
Salt

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

1 large tomato, with 4/5 diced up, save 1/5 finely sliced for decoration

1 baby carrot, diced really finely

1/4 capsicum, diced

4 medium sized strawberries, finely diced

 4 large snow peas, diced 

1 strawberry, sliced for decoration

Chilli flakes

Handful of fresh oregano leaves (basil would work too) + extra for garnish

Red wine, about half a cup

Olive oil

Parmessan

Salt and pepper

Boil a pot of water. Once the water has boiled, drop in a generous pinch of salt and your pasta.** 

Meanwhile, prepare your sauce. Drizzle oil in a pan and once the pan is hot, drop in the garlic. Stir until it starts to turn golden then put in the 4/5 of tomato, carrot, capsicum and 4 strawberries. Let it bubble away until the tomatoes and strawberries start to break down. Add in the snow peas, chilli flakes, oregano and red wine. Stir it a bit and let it sit on medium heat until the sauce thickens. The sauce should have a dropping consistency, not too runny, but not completely thick. If you do overcook it, just slush in some more red wine and let it reduce. Season your sauce with salt and pepper. Trust me, LOADS of pepper makes this dish, since strawberry and pepper love each other. 
Transfer your al dente (still retains a bite) pasta into the saucepan. Stir so each pasta is covered with sauce. Grate in the parmessan and stir to mix. 

Now plate up! Decorate with tomato and strawberry slices. Garnish with oregano, grate more parmessan and crack more pepper on top. Serve. 

*I'm a fairly small eater, so this much is enough. But if you love your pasta like my friend Sam feel free to double the portions! You can always save the leftovers for the next day!
**To make sure you don't over-cook the pasta, you can choose to start cooking it half-way through the sauce-cooking process. Pasta should take about 12 minutes to cook, but taste-testing it helps. Remember, DO NOT put oil in the pot that you're cooking your pasta!! The oil layer will prevent the water from boiling and hence the pasta from cooking properly.

Strawberry Mochi and Twenty-fourteen New Year's Resolutions!

I feel like the obligatory new year's post is called for. 2014. A new year. A new start. Goodness people, I'm turning twenty-four this year. TWENTY FOUR. That's nearly half-way through my twenties. Yet I feel like besides snapping a few photos and baking a few cakes, I haven't really accomplished much in life. I went out for dinner with a few friends two nights ago, and a friend of a friend has apparently just bought a house. WHAT? Who does that at twenty-three/four? I feel so damn good sitting there haha, barely employed, barely knowing what I'm doing the next day, yet alone what I'm doing for my career!

Anyways, I'm trying not to let that get to me. Everyone has their own lives and their own achievements, albeit how insignificant. Some people take longer to figure out what they want right? It doesn't matter how much money one earns or what job they do. What matters most is that one is content with what they have. Set goals and sure, aim for the stars, but don't forget the little things in life that are important.

~

So, new year's resolution. I usually have an over-crowded list, but this year I think I should keep it simple and achievable.

1. Relationships. Put more effort into nurturing relationships - family, friends, boyfriend, new friends. I'm not naturally good at making friends or just talking to people in general, so I tend to shy away and keep to my comfort zone. I'm also the most lazy person in terms of staying in touch with friends - bad bad very very bad. So, this year it has to change!

2. Health. Diet and exercise! And sleep! I've always had a fairly healthy diet, so the main thing this year is exercise. No more excuses, it's time to get the ball rolling. Sleep better! Though in this day and age sleeping early would counter my first resolution since most people live a night life.... I'll try my best!

3. Career and education. Work my butt off and get a frikin tip top A in my masters! Also, while doing that, maybe get a part time job related to what I'm studying? Food scientist might not be my first choice as a career, but it's related to it, so it's a good place to start!

4. Creativity. Brush up on my photography and baking skills. Keep up with my blogging. I think at least once a week is fair.

5. Spiritual. "Live like you're dying, because you are". In Buddhism, it is said that the most important moment in one's life is death. Death can come anytime and most people are ignorant of that. Every moment of life is lived to prepare for our death and our after life. Live to our fullest, use our time wisely.

~

Now that that's done and dusted, let me tell and show you about the BEST thing about summer, the thing that I look forward to in earnest year after year - BERRY PICKING!! Every year without fail, my family would go berry picking. Well, in particular strawberry or blueberry, we haven't ventured on to other berries yet. Every trip we'd get over-excited and plop too many of those little jewels into our mouths (k, like having too many is possible?) and over-load the trunk of our car with too many container full of them that our ever full fridge is bursting at the seams even more. So, no room for other berries - sad face. But I don't complain! I love staining my fingers blue with the blueberries and red with the strawberries. I love frolicking in the berry bushes, scouting out what I think would be the sweetest and most flavourful bites.

Anywho, this year I went strawberry picking with friends. We got there with the sun shining directly down at us. We didn't have to venture too far into the fields to be stopped by these crimson morsels. The sight of them draws you in and once you're in there's no turning back! Picking and eating and picking and eating, what more can you ask for. I had to exercise self restrain when it came to bringing the berries home though. Only about 1.5kg this year on mum's strict order of no picking too much! Otherwise who knows? I might bring the whole field home.

So, after enjoying loads of fresh, deliciously sweet strawberries, I decided I'd make something of them. I wanted to make something unusual and after flicking through some books I settled on strawberry mochi! Actually.. first I decided to make a normal mochi with strawberry and coconut filling. I chopped the red babies into little pieces, dropped them in a pot with a sprinkle of sugar and cooked until it turned into a sweet bubbly mess. Then I stirred in coconut cream and vanilla essence. The flavours really do pack a punch! I contemplated stopping there and just freezing it to make ice cream. But no, ambitious me took over. I changed my mind and decided to make it a strawberry flavoured mochi skin. So in went the glutinous rice flour, and in went the mixture into a steamer! Now all seems fine until I tasted the mixture. It was too sour. The cooked strawberries with coconut intensified in sourness once it was cooked for some reason. And guys, believe it or not, I spent hours tinkering with that mixture, trying to fix it. First idea (pshhtt more like the gazillionth idea) was to coat the mochi in toasted coconut, since coconut and coconut, it goes? Didn't really work. In the end I had to drive to the nearest Asian mart to buy some peanuts. The nuts got a nice toast, grind and made friends with sesame, sugar and salt. Finally, after filling the strawberry mochi with heap spoonfuls of that, the edge of the sourness was camo-ed, and it actually tasted good! What a way to kickstart the new year baking huh?

Well, some time during that experience it occurred to me that this might be how my 2014 will be spent. Doing masters and a science project will probably require loads of trial and error, repetitions of experiments, tweaking and tinkering. At the end of the day (literally), resilience will pay off!

PS. As I was making up the recipe as I went, the measurements aren't accurate but are more of a guideline.

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Strawberry mochi with peanut filling (GF)

Makes about 50 mochi

Skin

Two handfuls of fresh strawberries, diced

100ml coconut cream

Splash of vanilla essence

1 cup raw sugar, ground

200g glutinous rice flour, sifted

Pinch of salt

Water

Extra glutinous rice flour, lightly toasted

Filling

300g peanuts, toasted and ground

2 handfuls of sesame seeds, toasted

100g raw sugar, roughly ground (to taste)

1 tsp salt

For the mochi skin, place the strawberries and a handful of sugar into a pot and cook until berries are mushed up (no more lumps of berries). Add in the coconut cream and vanilla. Place mixture in a blender and blend until smooth. 

Prepare your steamer and coat a cake tin (or something that fits in your steamer) with oil. While the water is boiling, finish off the skin by adding sugar, rice flour and salt into the liquid mixture. Mix and knead until well incorporated. Add in the water until you get your desired consistency. The mixture should still have a doughy, moist consistency. Drier and harder mixtures will yield harder mochi, while wetter and more runny mixtures will yield softer mochi. It's personal preference what you like, just add water. 

Once the steamer is ready, transfer the mixture into the oiled tin and steam for about 45 minutes. 

To prepare the filling, just mix everything together until well incorporated.

Once the mochi skin is steamed, let it cool before proceeding. 

Place the extra glutinous rice flour in a wide bowl. Drop about 3/4 tablespoonfuls of mochi skin into the rice flour and roll them around to coat. Coat your hands with rice flour and roll the mochi skin into balls, then flatten them. Place teaspoonfuls of peanut filling in the middle of the skins, then wrap them up in whichever shape you wish. Then coat the wrapped mochi with glutinous rice flour. Repeat until all mochi skin is used up.

Enjoy!