窩心的食物

2014年已過了幾天，身體仍有點不適，大部分時間都處於遊魂狀態，連續多天失眠。昨午終於抱著也有點傷風的弟弟，一起狠狠地睡到幾小時。

醒後像行屍走肉般，在家行來行去不知要自己想要甚麼，過一會才發覺很肚餓，很想吃點comfort food.

Comfort food，我會譯作窩心的食物，那是暖和身體和精神的美點。

從書櫃找來Rachel Khoo的小小巴黎廚房食譜，做了Croque Madame Muffins. 

Croque Madame Muffins不是甚麼深奧的法式料理，它只是芝士火腿三文治烘底（其法文名為Croque Monsieur)個friend。這點心做法很簡單，那像小禮帽的外層，其實是切了邊的白方包，順著muffin pan的形狀壓成。每個muffin內，我放了碎火腿，一只蛋，蛋上再放兩湯匙由牛奶，牛油，麪粉，豆蔻粉，胡椒，和鹽做成的白醬，再撒上一點芝士。焗20分鐘，6個Croque Madame Muffins便完成。我沒有加入食譜原有的芥茉醬，因為6個我吃不掉，一定要找細袁生們幫手，所以順應了他們的口味。如果想做到半生熟蛋，焗15分鐘已足夠。

整個製作過程大概45分鐘，用小焗爐也可做到。

吃下一個熱熱的小禮帽，身體暖和了，感覺好了一大半。

有興趣可看這youtube，參考Rachel Khoo在Little Paris Kitchen的示範。（我覺得她很可愛。）

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muRLOLmkEjc

炒飯

今晚跟奶奶慶祝生日，謝菲跟我一起炒飯。

謝菲從旁指導，我炒呀呀，汗開始流，妝開始溶，但人越炒越起勁。


飯要炒得好，先決條件是有體能，以及要有氣勢。對住那一大窩的飯，絕不能怯！

看我多有氣勢？Hohohohoho!!

Non stop bread baking

Can you imagine I bake bread for my family almost everyday this week?

Glazed sweet bread rolls

They ate my bread during breakfast and snack, am still not tired with it.  

Jamie Oliver stated in a bread recipe that dough kneading is therapeutic.  I couldn't agree more!  You won't think much when you knead except focusing on that lovely dough.

See the creation I made!!  =)

Chocolate sweet bread rolls

Soft sweet bread roll

The boys were sick these two days.  They just had no appetite.  That's why I baked the sweet bread for them.

Linus helped me out to knead the dough, while Lucas was busy on drawing dinosaurs and sea reptiles. Linus made his own one which was stuffed with many chocolate chips.  However, he didn't take a bite at the end of the day.  In opposite, Lucas was the fan of my bread!

Daddy was late from work last night, he was surprised to see the bread when he arrived home.  They were freshly baked, the warmth and soft texture of the bread was the big indulgence to him after the long day.

The below is the recipe I used.  Just an additional note, to enhance the softness of the buns, I substitute all purpose flour to 2/3 bread flour and 1/3 cake flour

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/best-basic-sweet-bread/

甜品

我是一個對食不太有慾望的人，所以，對於食的要求也不是太高。總是覺得吃了下去能充饑便可以了，非常biological！（但是，如果食物下了大量味精，我會受不了。。。這，在香港，其實算不算要求高？）

有時，我見到妹及表妹興奮地談那裏有好吃甜品，我會呆在那兒，像從火星來的。我就是不明白她們為何如此興奮。

當我跟妹妹說我不喜歡吃甜品時，她嚇了一大跳。然後她問哪為何我常常弄甜品？當然是因為我喜歡的人愛吃罷。（如果你吃過我做的甜品，証明你是我的好朋友，如果還沒有，証明你是我的好朋友，但timing不合，日後有機會。不過，不能保証好味啊！）不過，每次做完一份甜品，我只會吃一點試味。

在Discovery Lifestyle and Living的烹飪節目，見到那些星級廚師，（尤其是法國藍帶那些，不是做份子料理那些），對食物有一種不能言喻的熱情。他們抱起一盆紅紅紫紫的雜莓會傻笑起來。當他們將食材處理，混合，烹調時，像在畫一幅色彩繽紛的油畫。就是這種passion，令他們成為一個出色的廚師。

我又想，我對吃沒有那種passion,我所煮出來的會完美，會感動到人嗎？

Lovely coffee cream cake

I have made this smily coffee cream cake in this quiet Saturday.  We could foresee the streets and shopping malls would be crowded with tourists and people who were too enthusiastic for a pre CNY shopping, therefore we decided to stay home and ordered pizza delivery.


Nothing is better than baking in such a lazy day.  This is a very simple cake which was made by coffee flavor sponge cake, adorned with freshly whipped cream and chocolate chips.   


There would be two more days to Linus's birthday, but we just couldn't wait to sing happy birthday song to him before we cut this homemade funny cake.


Hope such sweet memory would imprint in the kids' mind!

Mezzi Rigatoni

After What French Women Know, written by Debra Ollivier, I would love to explore the French culture deeper, then I selected French Women in All Seasons by Mireille Guiliano.


I did not know French Women in All Seasons is a book with recipes of many seasonal dishes, as I hadn't read the book description carefully before I clicked the button at Kindle online bookstore.  It surprised me when I found them out.


Based on the book, I know how to cook shallots and fennels with pasta, the two ingredients I had never used before.  I have tried them for the lunch for my kids today.  I made Mezzi Rigatoni with steak, and I added garlic, shallots, fennels, mushrooms and thymes into the pasta.


My two boys prefer Chinese and Japanese cuisines more but they could still clean up their plate today. , they said mezzi rigatoni were tunnels.

Christmas is all around

This is my first time making gingerbread cookies.


I have made around two dozens.  Many had been eaten up right after coming out from the oven by the three boys.  Others were 'decorated' by Lucas and Linus, and then the toppings (decorating gel/ icing and sprinkles) were licked up by the boys immediately, leaving the messy cookies on a plate.


These are six of my creations.  Since I am not a very experienced cook, I did not make the icing and decoration from the scratch, I bought the ready-to-use products from a supermarket.

I had made Christmas cookies last year but they were not gingerbread.  In this year, I was wondering why I didn't think about making this festive snack with ginger, then I searched for recipes on website, from www.allrecipes.com to some local blog, then I found one from a blogger called Kiki: http://kikitam16.mysinablog.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=386108


I had modified the recipe a bit since I didn't have some ingredients.  For example, I use grated ginger to replace ground ginger.


My kids and Jeff loved the cookies a lot.  They had wolfed all down within two days.  I should bake another 2 dozens for the approaching Christmas!

Hello Kitty壽司飯

小朋友們近日不太有胃口，媽媽我又要想點新菜式°

這天到了City Super,又見到那個可愛的Hello Kitty壽司飯模°我每次經過總看它一眼，心思思想帶回家，但HK$189真的有點貴，又怕很難使用°　終於，在弟弟附和之下，我們買了這可愛的模具回家°

今午的午餐豐富得很，這Hello Kitty壽司飯內有甜蛋，牛肉，新鮮粟米，三文魚籽，紫菜等°雖然兩位小B最終不是吃很多，但也告訴我這個Kitty很美味！

我想這個飯除了小朋友外，女孩子們也喜歡！

Hello Kitty Sushi Rice

愛上煮飯

自從我們「膳食部」進行改革 - 在我不用上班的日子,寶寶的午飯由我主理,寶寶比以前吃多了! 很喜歡這種親力親為的感覺!

其實我的廚藝並不精湛,又只會到超市買餸,煮飯的「年資」不超過兩年, 現在還是學習階段, 每次煮飯都食譜不離手° 我家的三位袁生對我很好, 就算煮得不太完美也照單全收!

我會繼續努力!

鮮蝦烏冬

日式海鮮意粉定食

蒜蓉雞肉墨魚麪

 

和式秋刀魚定食

雞柳香菇義式貓耳麪

A full time housewife

Already a week of helper-less life (again, just had one in May this year).  There will be 1 1/2 weeks coming.


It is exhausted to look after two kids and doing housework, but I feel the delicate change of the relationship with my boys.  It is a solid mother and son relationship.  They can feel mommy is truly looking after them.


They love the food I made.  Linus licked the bowl literally in today's lunch.  Now I pay more effort to look after them, I treasure them even more than before.


Last night I bake strawberry soufflés for Jeff and the kids, they kept saying yummy! I swear I cannot have such content and happiness from having a new luxury handbag! 


Frankly, helper-less life isn't that bad.


Will have jobs next week, let see how to manage the time.

Freshly baked strawberry soufflé, as per Jeff's late night order!

Cupcake mania

After playing the cupcake game in iPad, Linus kept asking me to bake cupcakes for him.  I had made a dozen of mini nut cakes with butter cream frosting and lovely sprinkles.  Linus ate two cakes, but only the frosting and sprinkles.  Lucas ate six.  He wolfed down two before I added the topping, another two with the topping, and one of the two I preserved for daddy.

They are the key customers of my bakery business.  How can I be lazy?

Cream of tartar!!!!!!!!!!!!!

跟網上一個recipe做了一個班蘭蛋糕, recipe說要加塔塔粉(cream of tartar). 焗出來的蛋糕很漂亮, 怎知吃起來超級酸, 原來cream of tartar是酸的! 不是檸檬的酸, 是chemical的酸(我聯想到實驗室), 我試了一口塔塔粉, 立刻想吐!
教訓: 1. 儘信recipe不如無recipe! 2. recipe跟男人一樣, 尤其是online結識的, 好多是不可靠!
好嬲!

Jeff & Gloria's restaurant

Linguine with pesto sauce

Shrimp cocktail

Cream & tomato soup

Salome & fish rod Japanese rice

Boule de Neige (almond cookies)

Home made chocolate ice-cream

I felt so satisfied last night.


Jeff and I had made a big fat dinner with our family last night.  We held this party for no specific reasons.  Life is worth to celebrate, isn't it?

My first serious yet silly drawing by corel painter

好像海綿的綠茶海綿蛋糕

這是我全家也愛吃的蛋糕°

海綿蛋糕是我第一種做的蛋糕,在這兩年內我已做了差不多十個°有綠茶味,巧克力味等°

真是熟能生巧,這次焗得十分成功,蛋糕鼓得高高的°在爐外看著麵漿慢慢爬升,香味撲出時,我明白我為甚麼沉迷於這玩意°

「看!蛋糕出世了!」我跟朗朗笑說°

Passion of cooking

I did not know I love cooking until very lately.

A year ago, my cooking skill was limited to scrambled egg.

Then we moved to our new flat, the kitchen was big and nice and there was an oven.  Finally I had my own kitchen, not my mom's or my mom-in-law's or our helpers' kitchen - but MY VERY OWN KITCHEN.

I then started to cook, especially baking.  Once I started, I was addicted in it.

Since I quit my job at the beginning of this month, I bake or cook or make desserts almost twice a week.

I received praise from my family (even my father-in-law who used to be a picky person), my mom was so happy that her daughter finally could use fire to turn food edible.

I am still reading Julie & Julia.  It sounds a bit lame but it does inspire me.  Cooking is a delicious journey of self exploration, and it is also love expressing in an aromatic form.

Sometimes, recipes are my night time reading before bed.

I reminded my ex-bosses (or a suck country manager?  whatever) in the nut company mentioned that if you had passion in market research, you could do market research 24x7.  Sorry that I am not passionate enough in this profession.  I would not save a chunk of data from work and "play" regression at home and feel ecstatic when a beautiful trend line is form. I would not download market research 101 note from the web and read it until the midnight.  I have also never looked forward to get back work on Monday because I could not wait to write an insightful report to impress the client.

I think I had done some good jobs in the previous work, but they did not turn into 'excellent' because I am lack of that kind of passion I mentioned.

However, my point is, I do have the passion of cooking.  You know what, I enjoy eating much more than before, because I understand each delicious dish requires wholeheartedly dedication .

I am going to start a new category "Passion of cooking" in this blog.  I hope you will love it.