Today's Bread : Wholewheat

Wholewheat Bread
Fresh out of the oven (and ugly as usual)
Ready for final proofing

Just mixed

Strawberries and Cream Swiss Roll

Strawberries and Cream Swiss Roll

Bought a crate of strawberries and decided to make a Strawberries and Cream Swiss Roll for tea. I'm getting back into a swiss roll trip though I wish I had better knife skills as I create a disaster each time I try to slice them. Or I should sharpen my knives, but I cannot bear the sound sharpening them makes, days like this I wish the knife-sharpening guy who used to do the rounds in the neighbourhood in my childhood still exists...

Kept some for the Hub and for once he was actually quite positive about it. Said the sponge and cream were very good, but that I'd need more strawberries. He's not the one having to roll it up.

Rolled up and left to cool

The sponge is like for the nutella swiss roll that I usually make and the cream filling is basically mascarpone and whipped cream with sugar and a touch of some liquor.

The main photo was of the swiss roll as it was freshly prepared (and badly sliced). The cream needed to be chilled for at least 2 hours in the fridge. I forgot to take a picture when it came out of the fridge later so that'll have to do. I've taken a photo as I was filling the roll with the cream and strawberries but it didn't turn out.

South Indian-style Curry Crabs

South Indian-style Curry Crabs

I defrosted the 2 remaining blue flower crabs today to make space for a bit of gelato in the tiny freezer and had to cook them. Decided to make South Indian-style Curry Crabs, albeit a lower-fat version than what I usually do. I've been binging non-stop lately and it's only going to get worse. This whole week I have lunch appointments almost every day and add them to playdates in the afternoons (= afternoon tea snacks) and I'll look like the Michelin mascot by Summer.

At the PTA meeting today, I found myself with 2 new assignments all as usual linked to food. I hope I remember the schedule as I am trying to do many things at the same time and am starting to lose track of everything. Just realised that I've yet to file our Italian taxes and then I'll have to deal with the French ones. I need a drink.

I'm posting my normal recipe for the curry crabs below, though the sauce in my picture looks weak because it contained no rice flour and had low-fat yoghurt instead of roasted grated coconut and coconut milk. I still had a finger-licking time with them, but it lacked a bit of depth. Why don't I have one of those super metabolic rates?

South Indian-style Curry Crabs :

2 Blue Flower Crabs (cleaned and chopped into pieces)

Rice flour (to coat the crabs)

1 piece Ginger (julienned or minced)

4-5 Shallots (diced)

1/2 Tsp Mustard seeds

1 Cinnamon stick

2 whole Cloves

2 Cardamom pods

1/2 Tsp ground Turmeric

2 Tbsp ground Coriander

1 Tsp ground Chilli

1/2 - 1 Tsp ground Black Pepper

Salt to taste

1 fresh Green Chilli or Thai Chilli

1 Tomato (diced)

A handful of Curry leaves

2 Tbsp roasted grated Coconut

180ml Coconut Milk

Coat the crab in some rice flour. Heat up a little oil in a wok. When it's hot, stir-fry the crabs in them. They do not need to be cooked through, remove them when they turn red. Set aside.

Add more oil into the wok and fry the ginger and shallots till fragrant.

Add the whole and ground dry spices to roast. At this point, it is possible to just continue from here or remove the spices, cool them a little before grinding them into a rough paste to be returned to the oil.

Add the chilli, tomatoes and curry leaves.

Return the crabs to the wok. Mix well.

Stir in the roasted coconut followed by the coconut milk.

It's a dry curry so there normally wouldn't be alot of sauce. Best eaten with the fingers.

Easy Rye Bread

Rye Bread

CH invited a few mums to her house for coffee one morning and she served us this lovely bread that she made herself. I saw her taking the (wet) dough out of the fridge and just dumping bits onto an oven tray to be baked into nice crusty buns. What happened to the kneading and proofing?

I haven't worked that method out yet and decided to stick to what I already know. Bought rye bread flour from Lidl and made a loaf of rye bread today.

Ugly loaf

With good ole live yeast, warm water, salt, the rye bread flour and a few hours of leavening and a little proofing. Bread wasn't pretty since I didn't even bother to knead or shape it, was sliced badly, but it didn't taste bad. The Teenager ate half the loaf in a few minutes. I need to work on my bread as MIL will be here for a month and she needs to eat bread everyday.

I've had a busy morning. First to school to make a short presentation on my experience as a volunteer with the elderly (for 5 years when I was still in Singapore) for Action Week, followed by a quick trip to P's to pick up the (best) chicken curry that she kindly and specially cooked for Baby Boy (but of course the rest of us will be eating it too). After which I joined 11 other women for an Italian-speaking lunch at Ca' del Rio in Casinalbo. It was tiring trying to speak Italian for 2 hours and now I'm having a headache and my tongue's all rolled up.

P's Chicken Curry

Finally, I picked up Armand's classmate LM for a playdate and have just finished making them a picnic (the English girl wanted a Marmite and Ham Toast which made my day since I love Marmite myself!). It's a warm day and they are all jumping in the trampoline.

Sometime this week, CT will finally reveal his famous Pork Ribs recipe in our very first Cookery Club lesson. Yes, I've just started a Cookery Club with a few members and he has offered to inaugurate the club by being the first to start. Love the guy, but not really sure now that it's a good idea since he would be a hard act to follow and we would all feel inferior when it's our turn to do the lessons.

Tofu al Ragu ed all' Arrabbiata

Tofu al Ragu ed all' Arrabbiata

I bought both firm and silken tofu at Reggio Emilia last Friday and decided to make myself the Italian version of our famous MaPo Tofu : Tofu al Ragu ed all' Arrabbiata. They married really well and even Baby Girl loved it.

I had the firm tofu sliced into rectangular pieces and then grilled them without any fat on a non-stick frying pan.

In the frying pan

I had leftover ragu sauce and just heated the grilled tofu in it (with a bit of olive oil, garlic and Thai chilli) for a little while. I liked it so much I cooked another piece of tofu in it.

We had a heaty discussion the other evening with Hub. No, we were not quarrelling (as we usually do over small things), but we were challenging each other over certain perceptions and ideas over his career. Life is rarely peaceful in this household, because we are not a couple who tend to agree with each other - at least not at the beginning of the discussion.

You know the saying "Behind every successful man there is a woman" and I make it a point every year or so to make a point with Hub over his career progression. Do not get me wrong, I am not trying to be ambitious on his behalf, though having given up mine so that he could progress in his, I sometimes do feel that I have a vested stake as a result.

No, I just wanted, in my usually confrontational manner, to challenge him to ask himself if things have been going the way he wanted them to be, whether he knows what he wants, and more importantly, whether he's happy doing what he's doing. I believe that we should try to fulfil our potential in whatever we're doing so as to do the job well, to learn and grow while we're at it - and be happy at the same time.

Hub is not a complicated man and generally knows what he wants, but I still like to shock him a little out of his comfort zones (and thoughts) to see if a different perspective could make him waver in his ideas. It is important sometimes to have a good fight, share and clarify our ideas and thoughts and not just sit in companable silence in front of the TV (not that I usually watch TV with him). Though he thinks that I like being negative. I retort that that's because he's being too positive.

Anyway, we managed to reach a consensus at the end of our discussion and are of the same mind on the subject, so all's well that ends well.

Now we can go back to bickering over the unimportant things in life.

A Leisurely Sunday PTA Picnic

An overworked father taking a nap during the picnic

It rained yesterday so in many people's minds today's PTA picnic at Formigine Park wouldn't take place. Even when the sun appeared late morning Hub didn't want to go, saying that the grass would be wet. I told him that I like to keep a promise so if I've said that I would go, I'd try to do so. Finally we compromised, we had a quick lunch at home (Roast Beef with its roasted vegetables) and then I packed a few snacks and went to the park with the Babies. He went to play golf with the Teenager.

Baked Curry Puffs

It was a little chilly at times but it was nonetheless a nice afternoon. There were about a dozen families who finally turned up and it was a nice number as we got to talk to everyone this way. The kids played while the adults chatted.

Nutella Swiss Roll

I made 2 dozens of curry puffs and a dozen chocolate chip cupcakes. Also Nutella Swissroll only it was eaten up before the picnic. A few families came with the right picnic blanket (that wouldn't give you a wet bum) and made me wish I had one too. I managed to squat KL's :-).

Chocolate Chip Cup Cakes

This was another one of the occasions that the PTA came up with to help the families gather and socialise and this time on an informal basis. The fathers got to meet each other too which is important when you're a veteran expatriate family. Many of the men only get to meet people at work and depend on their wives and children to widen their circle of friends.

Crèpes aux Pommes Caramélisées (au Brandy)

Crèpes aux Pommes Caramélisées

I wanted to do something simple for dessert and looking around the kitchen caught sight of my 2 remaining Fuji apples. Decided to make a few Crèpes aux Pommes Caramélisées (Pancakes with Caramelised Apples). Besides, it would give me another reason to use my apple gadget.

The 3 kids have been unbelievably hyper this morning and it was a relief that inspite of the rain they have decided to go with their father to play golf in the afternoon. For some reason they all like the sport and look forward to playing whenever they could. Maybe I should return to the driving range soon if I do not want to be left out. In any case, Whew! I thought I was going to go crazy...

Crèpes aux Pommes Caramélisées :

The Crèpe :

250g Flour

2 Eggs

A pinch of Salt

500ml Milk

1 Tbsp Oil

A few drops of fleur d'oranger extract, rum etc

The Caramelised Apples :

2 large Apples (peeled, cored and sliced thickly)

25g Butter

2-3 Tbsp Brown Sugar

2 Tbsp Brandy (or more if desired)

Crème fraîche

A touch of ground Cinnamon for icing

Put the flour in a bowl and make a well in the middle. Break the eggs into it. Add the salt and the oil. Slowly stir in the milk, mixing well so that the batter will be smooth. Add the fleur d'oranger extract if desired.

Leave it to rest for at least 40 minutes.

Melt the butter in a frying pan and gently place the apples in it.

Sprinkle the sugar on top of the apples.

When one side of the apples are brown, turn them over.

Add the brandy.

Caramelised apples

When the apples are nicely caramelised, remove them from the frying pan. Set aside on a plate and sprinkle some ground cinnamon over them.

Add some cream to the syrup in the pan to make a little sauce.

Make the crepes by oiling the crepe pan with a little butter and spreading the batter very thinly on it. When one side is ready, flip it in the air or turn it over with the help of a wooden spatula.

To assemble, arrange a few slices of the caramelised apples on top of each crèpe and spoon a little of the sauce over them.

Hub abandoned his diet and had 2 servings...

Low-Fat Beef Curry with Jeera Rice

Low-Fat Beef Curry

It wasn't done on purpose though it should be since we're all in real need of a low-fat everything. But I've always been suspicious of low-fat products, preferring the full taste or none at all. Still, I came across this big pot of low-fat (0,1% fat) yoghurt the other day and wanted to see if it was edible. Since I do not eat yoghurt fresh, I decided to make a curry with it. Allow me to say that the family (especially Hub) loved the low-fat curry, it was therefore a rather successful experiment.

I made the Low-Fat Beef Curry not only with low-fat yoghurt, but also with just a film of peanut oil and low-fat Piemontese beef. Cooking it in my new Le Creuset cocotte helped, I think, and left to the next day to finish cooking, there was almost no fat on the surface of the curry to remove. The meat was very tender and the sauce light and tasty. I will definitely try cooking it this way again. I have adapted my recipe from P's, by the way, simplifying it to suit my laziness and low-fat trip.

All the fat however is with the Jeera Rice since I had a good 20g of butter in it. I would have replaced the butter with magarine if I believed that it's healthier. But I've read somewhere that it's not.

Low-Fat Beef Curry with Jeera Rice :

Low-fat Beef Curry :

800g Piemontese Stewing Beef (big cubes)

A generous slice of fresh Ginger

4-5 Garlic cloves

1 Tsp ground Black Pepper

250ml Low-fat Yoghurt

1 Tsp Vegetable Oil

1 Onion (diced)

2 Bay leaves

1 fresh green Chilli (sliced)

1 Tsp ground Turmeric

1 Tsp ground Cumin

1 Tsp whole Cumin

2 Tsp ground Coriander

1 Tsp ground Chilli

1 Tsp ground Cinnamon

1/4 Tsp ground Cloves

2 Tsp ground Garam Masala

2 Black Cardamoms

2 Green Cardamoms

1 Tsp ground Black Pepper

2 Tsp Salt

4 Cherry Tomatoes (quartered)

Enough hot water to cover the meat

Fresh Coriander leaves for garnishing

Jeera Rice :

2 cups Basmati rice (rinsed and drained)

20g Butter

2 Tsp Salt

2 cups Water

1 Tsp whole Cumin (dry-roasted separately)

Grind the garlic and ginger into a paste. Add the pepper and mix everything into the yoghurt.

Marinate the beef cubes for at least an hour.

In a heavy-bottom pot on medium-low heat, spread a thin film of oil on the surface and add the onions, whole and ground dry spices and bay leaves.

When they are roasted, add the chilli followed by the beef (and its marinade).

Cook for a few minutes till you can smell the garlic cooking, then add the tomatoes. Stir well with a wooden or silicon spoon.

Add the salt and hot water. Cover and simmer for an hour if cooking the curry over 2 days. Cook for another 2 hours on the second day.

If serving on the same day, simmer the curry for 3 hours or till the meat is very tender.

Garnish with fresh coriander leaves before serving.

Jeera Rice

To prepare the jeera rice, melt the butter in the pot and gently fry the rice in it. Add the salt and water, cover the pot and cook for 5 minutes*** on medium heat.

Lower the heat to the lowest and cook it till the water is almost entirely absorbed.

Add the roasted cumin seeds, cover the pot and cook for another 5 minutes.

Turn off the heat (do not open the lid) and let the rice finish cooking in its own steam till it's time to serve the rice. Fluff up the rice with a fork and mix the jeera seeds properly at the same time. Grains should be whole and separate and just cooked.

***All time mentioned is approximative as I do it by sight, have no exact idea how much time it took me to cook this rice.

Retail Therapy

My new 24-cm Le Creuset Cocotte

It was a nice morning and P and I zoomed off to Fidenza Outlet Village with the hope of buying P's first set of top quality European kitchenware.

Adrenaline pumped high and P's face turned white as I zoomed at my usual 135Km/h on the highway (just a bit above the speed limit - usually shouldn't qualify for a speeding ticket with that), and we arrived as planned for the outlet village's opening at 10am.

We headed straight out for the Le Creuset boutique where P's eye was caught by a beautiful cream 35-cm oval cocotte (lucky folks out there in Hyderabad who would soon be treated to a good biryani) which cost a small fortune. Then she turned around and saw something shiny - steamer and pot - followed by a lovely round grill (boy, I want one too!). I hope that her dear Hub was ready for the damage to his bank account, but boy, we agreed that the journey back to the car with those bags and bags of kitchenware was orgasmic and exhilarating. We felt a bit like those heroines in Sex and The City.

We also went to do some damage in the Lagostina boutique for some good-quality and well-designed Italian stainless steel kitchenware. Those shopping bags we had to bring to the car first as 2 pairs of hands were all that we had.

La céramique collection

I got some Ferrari polo shirts for the Teenager and GF Ferré swimwear for Baby Girl and managed to exchange my damaged 24-cm Le Creuset cocotte for a new one - as it was under a life-time warranty. Also bought another set of ceramic pots among other things, it being difficult to walk out of the boutique empty-handed when you were on a shopping high.

Cute, isn't it?

If the bags were not so heavy we would have swung them in our euphoria, but as it was, they were weighted. And of course we couldn't risk dropping them. But P finally understood the meaning of retail therapy and my fondness for it and it was great to have someone understand you for once.

We went to Reggio Emilia for lunch at a Chinese restaurant (P's treat) and I had a good dose of my favourite pig's blood and intestines to replenish my iron.

She should have had some of my dish as once again she lost some colour as we drove back. But I am sure that her joy this afternoon as she unpacks her spoils would make her forget all of that and I'm already trying to imagine how nicely those safran rice or curry dishes would look in her new cream cocotte.

Meanwhile I am now off to cook a Beef Curry in my new red one, it will be for tomorrow's dinner, but curry often tastes best when prepared a little in advance. I have to sweeten my own Hub for the day when our credit card bill arrives. He doesn't yet fully understand the meaning of retail therapy.

Steamed Prawns with Ginger, Soy, Chilli and Garlic

Steamed Prawns with Ginger, Soy, Chilli and Garlic

Hub interrupted my sleep coming home past midnight and I am a little groggy as a result. He had earlier attended the World Premiere of the new Ferrari limited edition 599 GTO, said to be the fastest ever road car to be launched. The launch was held at the prestigious Accademia Militare in Modena. I have lost count of the number of new Ferraris that they have launched since we're here. No wonder Hub is working till late almost every day.

Ferrari 599 GTO

I grilled myself a steak to boost the iron in the blood and then decided on something a little more delicate to finish : Steamed Prawns with Ginger Soy, Chilli and Garlic. It was fast and easy to make as you can see for yourself. And quite healthy if you don't go crazy on the soy sauce.

The invitation

The weather seems quite lovely today and the kids have gone on an excursion with the school to the Centro Fauna Selvatica, a centre where volunteers help injured animals recover in preparation for release into the wild. This is part of the school's coming Action Week programme. Yesterday I attended the action workshop where we explored the role of volunteering and action in the school's curriculum (and by extension in our lives) and next week there will be presentations given by both individuals from the school as well as action organisations outside the school on the theme.

This afternoon the Teenager has a session with his Feuerstein therapist while Baby Girl and I will have our music (piano and flute respectively) lessons. I know that many parents in Singapore force their children to learn music and I myself had fidgeted quite a bit as a girl learning how to play the piano pass ABRSM exams every year for nearly a decade. I told myself that I would spare my children that, but at the same time I am also grateful that I've been made to learn music because it is truly a wonderful skill and I am happy to be able to de-stress by playing a little tune on the piano or be able to pick up the flute relatively easily. The compromise I've made is therefore to make them learn music recreationally, with no exams to sit for. That their standards will suffer I am quite sure, but at least they could hope to enjoy what they are doing and not have to go through the stress that I went through preparing those few pieces for the exams every year. I know, what an enlightened mother you are, Lotus. LOL

A number of new families has arrived at the school this week and I will have to gear up for the round of activities that would allow my mums to be introduced to the rest of the class and be integrated rapidly. I have a full calendar already...and then Hub will celebrate his birthday in less than 2 weeks! If only there are more than 24 hours in a day.

Strawberry Chocolate Cake

Strawberry Chocolate Cake

The Babies spend their time playing outside when the sun is out. As a bad mother, I didn't have the heart to call them in to do any homework. They acted out roles in stories of their own creation, they pushed dolls in prams, they jumped in the trampoline, they played football, they roller-skated, they rode their bikes...They've also taken to having little picnics on their own in the garden. They would ask for a sandwich or toast, a juice box and a muffin.

A slice

They spend alot of their energy this way and would be hungry long before dinnertime. I decided to bake them a quick Strawberry Chocolate Cake with the strawberries that I bought while grocery shopping this morning. Strawberries are starting to turn up everywhere now.

Half-way through filling it

Very simple cake with just 2 layers of chocolate sponge, whipped cream and mascarpone with sugar and a bit of alcohol, fresh strawberries. Not the most interesting cake around - but then baking's not my forte and this home-baked cake is still healthier than the industrially-produced cakes that they sell in the supermarket.

Done

I have a small talk to make for the school's Action Week - but I've not given it much thought yet. Such a long time since I last volunteered or made a presentation. And I do not remember how to use powerpoint anymore. Don't think my computer has the programme either.

Stingray and other Fruit from the Sea

BBQ Sambal Stingray

I have mentioned before that we're back most Saturdays at Aldina's for lunch now that it's Spring. And just before lunch, we would make a trip to the covered market below to buy some fresh fruit, vegetables, bread, cheese and seafood. This very much reversed the relatively simple meals that we had during weekends in Winter and added to the possibility of taking our meals out in the terrace nowadays, we're very much enjoying the Spring.

Fresh raw stingray (cut into 4 pieces)

Yesterday, they were selling stingray (skate) in the covered market. This is rare so we were quite excited about it - only their refusal to peel the fish for us flattened our enthusiasm a little. It was quite scary seeing the stingray in one big piece tail included. But the fishmonger agreed to at least chop it up into 4 pieces so I decided to buy it. It was more expensive than the scampis and yielded less flesh, but well, we've not eaten it for a while now.

I kept one piece for myself and made a spicy BBQ Sambal Stingray with it. The other 3 pieces I cooked for the family the French way : Poached Stingray with Lemon-Butter Sauce.

600g of raw scampis

It was quite a feast as we also had Pan-seared Fresh Sicilian Prawns and Fried Scampi with Garlic-Chilli-Parsley. For dessert, we had juicy strawberries from the south of Italy with whipped cream.

raw Sicilian prawns
Pan-grilled Sicilian Prawns

I didn't make my own sambal for the stingray, using a Thai-style chilli-lime sambal that I bought in Singapore 2 years ago. I marinated the stingray in a bit of salt and ground turmeric before spreading the chilli-lime paste on it. Wrapped it in aluminium foil and cooked it on the BBQ (with the BBQ's cover down) for 20 minutes, turning off the gas and then leaving it on it for another 10 minutes to rest. Squeezed some lemon juice over it before serving and it was delicious.

Before being grilled
Wrapped in aluminium foil

The other stingrays were more complicated to prepare but are more delicate in taste. You have to prepare a liquid for poaching the fish first by bringing to the boil water with a bouquet garni, a lemon wedge, bay leaf and a little fumet de poisson. Once it starts to boil, lower the heat to the very lowest (really small flame, if using electric - turn it off) and gently lower the fish into the liquid. Cover the pot. Depending on the size of the fish, the cooking time should take between 5 and 10 minutes and the water must not be boiling at any time.

Preparing the ingredients for the sauce

At the same time, you prepare the sauce. Melt some butter in a pot and gently fry some onions or shallots and a bit of garlic in it. Then add a bit of the liquid from poaching the fish to it, followed by some crème fraîche. Pour in juice from one lemon and mix well. Keep it warm as you prepare the fish.

Poached Stingray with Lemon-Butter Sauce

Remove the stingray from the poaching liquid. The flesh should slide off the bones easily when you remove it with a knife. Arrange the flesh on a serving plate, sprinkle some fresh pepper and salt and pour the lemon-butter sauce over it. Eat it when it's hot.

No-bake Lime Jelly Mascarpone Cheesecake

No-bake Lime Jelly Mascarpone Cheesecake (the not fully-chilled slice)

The kids wanted to eat jelly. I decided to set aside a bit of it to make a No-bake Lime Jelly Mascarpone Cheesecake. I have a 500ml pot of mascarpone in the fridge as well as an opened packet of digestive biscuits. This looked like a great way to clear up stock.

The dining area

The BBQ

It was almost like Summer yesterday and I busied myself by cleaning the children's slides and toy house, checking the huge trampoline, preparing the roses and cactuses, cleaning the BBQ and garden furniture...The gardeners have passed by 2 days ago to mow the lawn so everything is neat. We even ate dinner outside last evening.

Kid's play area

Didn't last long. It started to rain last night and there was a huge howling windstorm that lasted through the night, only stopping around 10am this morning (but there's still some wind now). Half of the things outside was blown away and one of my cactuses was overturned. Our house stands alone in a big open field - so we're vulnerable to wind storms. The Babies were scared and came to sleep with us - a pity as I usually sleep best when I have a storm brewing outside.

With some fresh and ripe organic kiwis

No-bake Lime Jelly Mascarpone Cheesecake :

The biscuit base :

350-400g Digestive biscuits

125g Butter (melted)

2 Tbsp Sugar or Brown Sugar

The cheesecake filling :

150ml Lime Jelly (slightly cooled)

500ml Mascarpone

125ml Philadelphia cream cheese

3 Tbsp Sugar

Juice of 1 lemon or 2 limes

1 Tsp Vanilla extract

Pulse the digestive biscuits, butter and sugar into crumbs. Using your fingers or a spoon, line a mould with it. While preparing the filling, keep the biscuit base in the fridge.

The biscuit base

Whip the mascarpone, cream cheese, sugar and vanilla extract till creamy and fluffy.

Gently add the lemon juice and cooled lime jelly to the mascarpone mixture. Whisk till the mixtures turns creamy and fluffy again.

Cheesecake is ready to be chilled

Pour onto the biscuit base and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours if not overnight. Decorate with fresh fruit if desired.

We (meaning Baby Girl and I) couldn't wait and took it out after just 2-3 hours and it was still a little soft. But it was yummy anyway :-).