Monday, May 2, 2011

QUAIL EGG FRITTERS / PAKODAS


Ingredients:
Quail eggs ... 12
Gram flour ..... 5-6 tbsps.
Salt .......... to taste
Baking soda ... a pinch
Ajwain/carom seeds ... 1/8 tsp. ( optional)

To marinate:
Garlic paste ... 1 tsp.
Lime juice or vinegar ... 1 tbsp.
Salt ..... to taste
Red chilli powder ... 1/4 tsp.( or less)
Garam masala ........ 1/2 tsp.
Turmeric powder ... 1/8 tsp.
Oil .... to fry

Method:


1. Boil the quail eggs and peel them.

2. Mix the ingredients for the marination and marinate the eggs. Set them aside for at least 1 hour.

3. Saute them in a shallow pan with a little oil.
4. Mix the gram flour with baking soda, salt, ajwain. Make a thick batter adding water.

5. Heat oil in a pan and dip the prepared eggs in the batter and deep fry them to a crispy golden brown colour.
6. Serve hot with any sauce of your choice.

Chicken, Fennel, and Artichoke Fricassee



Continuing to be inspired by all of the spring recipes popping up everywhere, this dish here certainly caught my attention.  The crispy chicken, sauteed fennel and roasted artichokes were such delightful combinations for this dish.


 I know we're supposed to choose the healthier white meat option but I really don't think the dish would have been flavored so richly and aromatically if I had used boring chicken breasts.  The enticing crispiness of the chicken browning up on the stove top is just wrong but - oh, so right.  This is a definite do-again.  This dish is so full of delicious scents and beautiful spring colors, easy to prepare, and feeds a large group.  




I often go to the "Pioneer Woman" blog when I am overwhelmed with the homeschooling world we have chosen.  

I  immediately identify with Pioneer Women's  "homeschool" anecdotes.  I love her tongue-in-cheek approach to this very demanding of roles.  I gleen inspiration from her on days when I am scratching my head and seriously asking myself "why, Why, WHY?" did we choose this homeschooling path.  

We are crawling along to the end of our school year with all of the typical "burn-out" sentiments of our friends who attend public and private schools.  Taking long walks with my husband is definitely therapeutic.  On weekends, we leash up an always eager Chester and take off towards the nearby lake.  We walk along this gorgeous wall bursting with honeysuckle and become intoxicated with the heady perfumed air.  



Now that our children are called "teens", it is wonderful that they can "weigh in" on our schooling decisions with opinions and wishes of their own.  They have classes in a small private school here in Texas where they take their science and math courses with groups of other kids. 

However, when we hit a rare day when we truly "homeschool" and the day is filled with deeper conversations, rich documentaries, and quiet study for hours, that is when they tell me how much they appreciate our decision.  

They understand the importance of working in groups, volunteering by giving presentations at the museum, answering to the deadlines of teachers.  "Yes, Mom, stop trying to socialize us. We're over-socialized!  Can't we just have a few more days of  "down time?" is often the request I am asked.  


It saddens me to see that their world has become a hectic frenzy of deadlines, exams, packed social schedules, and concerns about grades.  That is the reality of our world though, isn't it?  Yes, it is.




I can mostly offer comfort in family dishes relished, time shared at the table exploring world happenings, and musings about the many "what-ifs" of the future. 


As we all watch the events unfold this week, from the merriment and festivities of the Royal Wedding in London, to the dramatic killing of a man deemed to be responsible for attacks on our country, we wonder and reflect on the emotive images and sounds that we hear this week.


However, as Patrick and I take our long walks around our home, in one of the most diversely populated cities we have seen outside of NYC, what we see around us is a universal human desire for time spent together, enjoyment of beauty through nature, and yearning for a better world for our children.  It never fails to utterly amaze me when I watch the myriad of international families living in our neighborhood interact with their children.  







Playfulness, Joy, Hope, and Love are the common threads of sentiment that I see.  Am I mistaken?  Watch any family interacting with their children.  Is that not love personified?  



Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds), cut into 10 pieces (Snippets Notes: I chose all thighs and legs)
Course salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 fennel bulb, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch wedges, 1/4 cup fronds reserved
1 can (15 oz) water-packed whole artichokes, drained
1 small red onion, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
1 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
3 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 425ยบ.  Season chicken with 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper.  Heat oil in a large ovenproof skillet over high heat until hot but not smoking.  Brown chicken on all sides, 8 to 10 min.  Transfer to a plate.  Pour off all but 1 TBS fat.  Reduce heat to medium-high.  Brown fennel wedges, artichokes, and onion in skillet, stirring occasionally, 2 to 3 min. (Breathe in this incredible aroma!)

Return chicken to skillet. Add stock.  Transfer to oven.  Braise until cooked through, 18 to 20 min.  Transfer chicken and vegetables to a platter.  Reduce braising liquid over high heat to about 1/3 cup.  Stir in vinegar.  Pour sauce over chicken, and top with fennel fronds and parsley.

Fuck the Royalty.


So yes, while the world was crazy about the Royal UK wedding, I was around Barcelona with my mum and her boyfriend, who came here for the weekend!



I took them to Demasie cafe, and they loved it.




We also visited an haute couture exhibition at Passeig de Gracia, and to the event "Sing for Japan", in wich Eric was involved.



This week I'm really busy... we're leaving next Thursday to Murcia for SOS Festival... I'm so happy and excited about this!! But I'll write a better post before I leave, promise!!

♥!

Menu Plan Monday 5/2-5/8


Monday 
- Fried rice and veggies 

Tuesday 
- Homemade Pizza 

Wednesday 
- Taco Quesadillas (from Lynn's Cooking Adventures, made vegetarian) 

Thursday 
- Grilled cheese with turkey for hubby 

Friday 
- Grill out (chicken and meatless chicken and grilled veggies) 

Sabbath 
- Pasta salad and sandwiches 

Sunday 
- Mother's day plans (?) 






I Could Be Rooting For More Exciting Teams

My San Diego Padres couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat. Their lineup's cumulative batting average yesterday was .211. Not quite Murderers' Row.

I watched my Newcastle team get blanked by Liverpool last night. Ball after ball got launched right into the penalty box by midfielders Joey Barton and Jonas Gutierrez. Nothing. It was as if the strikers weren't even there.

Zzzzzzzzzz.

Confit Artichokes

One of the main reasons that I wanted to come to Barcelona was because of the artichokes. No shit. Forget the food, culture, architecture, beach and the super friendly abuelos who love to knead my daughter's cheeks. The best thing about Barcelona is easily the artichokes. Man they are frickin' everywhere, and cheap! So cheap in fact that you start to lose respect for them after a while. My local market charges one European euro per kilo! That's right, ONE Euro-pean euro. There aren't many things left in this world that you can buy for that sort of money, but in this fine town, artichokes are one of them. 


I was not going to bother putting up this recipe for preserved artichokes as I can't imagine anyone will ever make them, but if anyone does, they will be rewarded with great tongue riches. And that reward will be the reward that continues to reward for weeks. Seriously, these babies are so good, that I guarantee that they will be the best artichokes you've ever had. 


Recipe


4 kilos of baby artichokes
the zest (in strips, white pith removed) and juice of 2 lemons 
1 lemon cut in half and squeezed into a bowl of enough cold water to cover chokes
10 to 20 cloves of garlic (to your preference really) peeled and trimmed 
1 tbsp of fennel seeds (or 1/2 tsp of fennel pollen if you can find it)
sea salt to taste (I used about 2 tsp) 
5 tbsp of good quality red wine vinegar 
5 bay leaves
2 litres of sunflower oil (or really mild olive oil if you want)


                                        
Trim artichokes with the help of this wonderful instructional video, making sure you rub a cut lemon over any yellow bits to stop them from oxidising. You're going to need both the lemons for all of these. And please don't cut off the stalk as per the video, just use a peeler to remove the tough outer layer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlXkci9ZiAM

If you paid attention to the short film, your trimmed artichoke should look like this.


There is no need to remove the hairy choke when they are this small as it is edible when cooked. But if you prefer the waxed look, go right ahead. Place into the acidulated water and then repeat over and over again until all the chokes are bobbing away. It's going to take a while, but if you've come this far, you obviously have nothing better to do anyway.


Drain and pat dry the artichokes and very quickly (to avoid oxidisation) place them into a heavy bottomed saucepan. Sprinkle them with the salt and fennel seeds, toss to coat. Pour in the oil to just cover and then add the remaining ingredients; bay leaves, lemon zest, garlic cloves and vinegar. Stir everything through and put on the hob over a low heat. 



 Cover with some baking paper and put a smaller saucepan lid over to weigh them down. You don't want anything poking above the oil. Now here's the important part. You want these to confit slowly, not to fry, so make sure the flame is low so the oil is burping bubbles rather than simmering.  


Cook for anywhere up until an hour or when a knife slides easily into the flesh. The stalks are usually a good indication of when they are done. Be careful not to overcook because they'll fall apart. But they will still be awesome. 





Allow the oil to cool and then squidge them all into sterilised jars like tiny fat babies.  Cover with the oil and make sure you distribute the garlic cloves evenly because they are great to smear onto toast. 




And here is the finished product. Impressive huh? And as you churn through these, you can use the extra oil to make a killer dressing. To do this, either just add a few more tbsp of vinegar or some more lemon juice to some reserved oil and season. 


Or blitz a couple of artichokes (and some of the garlic cloves) in a food processor, add a little red wine vinegar to taste, and while the engine is running, slowly drizzle a couple of cups of the oil until you've got a creamy smooth dressing.  You can go even further and make mayo using the steps above, but adding a couple of egg yolks at the start. We used to serve this at The Easton with chargrilled lamb cutlets or fish. 



I Supported Fred Thompson

I am so totally screwed. (Can Global Warming pinpoint exactly where you live?)

Tea Time Baby Time


What do I know about baby showers? Nothing. Just a vague idea, really.
They are not an English thing.  But I wanted  to celebrate. Daughter No 2 is expecting a baby girl in about 5 weeks and excitement is mounting.

the piece de resistance!

baby badem ลŸekeri/sugared almond
There were so many friends I wanted to invite but reason - and size of sitting room - prevailed and we were about 22: mostly her friends but also some of mine, those who had a close connection with her. So it was a mixed group, Turkish and English, young and old, family and friends.



I made squidgy lemon-ginger cake, this time with soft dried apricots which made it beautifully moist:
squidgy lemon-ginger cake

joan's chocolate chip cookies

A Bakewell Tart with a cutout teddy bear shape:
bakewell tart
And these cupcakes:



 This was a new recipe from BBC Good Food's website - Romantic rose cupcakes but decorated with sprinkles and strawberries. I normally love this website but this particular recipe wasn't very successful: way too much butter and that icing with white chocolate, icing sugar and yet more butter was sickly. But the finished cupcakes looked pretty and tasted all right. It's just that I won't be making them again. 

My daughter's mother-in-law is a fabulous traditional Turkish cook and among her many specialities are dolma and bรถrek.She even makes her own yufka/filo pastry from scratch! She came bearing great tepsi or trays of both, the sight of which calmed my palpitations: now I knew we would have more than enough to eat!
Unfortunately there was no chance to photograph them which is a pity as just then, the guests started to arrive: so what with the doorbell ringing, telephones both home and mobile too with friends asking for last minute directions, parking spaces ... it was all pretty hectic and the moment for photography eluded me.
 Daughter No 1 employed her well-honed organizational skills and led us through various games on a baby theme starting with Guess the Girth of the Mom-to-be, followed by a light-hearted quiz based on the father-to-be's answers that she had elicited beforehand. And then a special Pass the Parcel where each layer of paper contained a challenge eg name 3 famous babies!
But the grand finale was the baby cake that I had ordered from a novelty cake-making bakery arkadaลŸ pasta & รงiรงek (tel: 0216 449 4950) just round the corner from here in Fenerbahรงe:
chocolate filled with cherries: it was perfect complete with edible bib, booties, and dummy!

Mixed Monday :)

Hello Monday, hello my wild readers, hello e-world!
It is first Monday in May 2011, also my favorite day.

I've done second IELTS test last Saturday and it was good.
I also got something i really want for long, long time sleep, yes i slept so long yesterday, this morning too.
And today, i got the chicken dance and silly eyes what i missed for long.

alter-ego
Well, yesterday I've been busy with make-up thingy, wh
y? Idk why honestly, i just sat down in front of mirror and started touched powder on my face. Do you know what happened?
then this is what happened. Alter-ego! yuhuuu.
Ditha says, "that picture shows you before and after." hahaha.
It is two sides of me actually, when i feel so sexy, i will look like the left side, while i feel so spoiled i will look like the right side. then its all me, myself, my mood.
Can you see the difference between two sides of me in that picture?

fashion's life
To be honest, I really miss my time in lookbook.nu but unfortunately my lovely Sebey (my canon digital camera) is broken because my naughty cat made it fallen from my desk. After that Sebey was totally dead, i cant turn her on even for one second. aaah :( As a result, I can't posting any pict of my style again, for uncertain time.


However, at the same time, I've got some cute clothes
and skirts, what unlucky I am i can't express my happiness in fashion, although I'm not good either in fashion. At least i always look good in my daily appearance. hahaha. Now, im looking for some hairpiece like british women wear in The Royal Wedding and I also looking for bold rings to catching attention to my hand. Do you have any recommendation?

The Royal Wedding
Talking about The Royal Wedding which is very hot recently is very exciting. Many women felt broken heart because their prince charming was married with a modern socialita girl, Chaterine Elizabeth Middleton. Whilst, me prefer pay attention for Prince Harry, who is very cool and careless to what people say. As usual, i say, he is a lovely bad guy. But i really disappointed why he chooses Chelsy as his gf? Is there no more beautiful girl left? hahaha.


Anyway, about the wedding, it went like fairytale's wedding, wasnt it? I love when they said "I will..." and when they were in the carriage went to Buckingham Pallace and say hi to everyone. Also my favorite moment (i bet everyone's favorites) was when they're kissing. uuuuh, so short by the way! hahaha.


Cheers,
Ketty Tressianah xoxo

Now The Theory WIll Be Tested

... is Al Qaida really a loose network of cells, or was there a single mind behind the whole thing?

Job well done, Mr. President. His decision to increase our presence in Afghanistan over the objections of members of his own party took courage and has paid off, big time.

Spice-crumbed Pouting Fillets with Cumin Minted Peas



I was watching Jamie's Fish Supper (part of Channel 4's The Big Fish Fight) on youtube, and he was introducing new fishes in the British waters that are less popular and known than our usual salmon and cod. I've always supported getting these 'unwanted' fishes, not just because they are a much more sustainable option that's better for the environment, but because they are a lot cheaper, and also because they do taste fantastic. I've tried mackerel and sardines, but there are some fishes that I've never heard of until this show, one of which is the pouting.

Pouting fillets (skin side down, skin side up)

"Pouting is a totally underrated fish. It's way up there quality-wise and is buttery, flaky juicy and delicious, not to mention a wonderful carrier of flavours. It's from the same family as cod so makes a great alternative to its overfished cousin." Jamie believes that if more people start asking for this at the supermarkets' fish counters, these big supermarket giants will start to see a demand for these 'lesser fishes' and start stocking them, reducing the pressure on the overfished favourites. And I think it's working. Because, guess what I saw when I went to Tesco's? (:

Like Jamie, I breadcrumbed my pouting fillets, but tossed in some chilli and spices too, and also made cumin minted peas and baked spicy sweet potato chips (not pictured, because my timing was off, so they weren't ready by the time the fish was done). This is (sustainable) fish and chips with an Indian twist!

Spice-crumbed Pouting with Cumin Minted Peas
serves 2
Ingredients
For the fish
2 pouting fillets
2-3 tbsp plain flour
1 egg, beaten
about 3/4 cup breadcrumbs (I used stale sourdough bread, dried in the oven, then crushed in a ziplock bag)
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
pinch of turmeric
sea salt, white pepper
2-3 tbsp ghee/coconut oil (for frying)

For the peas
1 cup frozen peas (I tried this with fresh peas again. AMAZING.)
2 heaped tbsp butter (yes. that's the key to yummy peas, according to marco pierre white)
1/2 tsp cumin
handful of chopped mint leaves
sea salt, black pepper

For the sweet potato chips

Method
1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees celsius.
2. Mix the breadcrumbs with the chilli, cumin, garlic, and turmeric.
3. Prep your fish fillets in this order: season, then coat with flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs.

I originally wanted to bake them

4. Over medium high heat, add the oil, and when it's hot, add the fish fillets. Don't be nosy and poke around! Just leave it there till the bottom gets golden and crisp about 5-6 min, before flipping carefully to cook for another 2 min, lowering the heat. Set aside, tented with foil.
5. Add some water to the pan, and throw in the butter to create an emulsion.

I love watching butter foam.

6. Add the peas with the seasoning, cook for 3-4 min, before adding in the mint. Drain, serve.


Start to finish took only about 15-20 min!

The chips though, take about 45 min... so yes, learn from my mistake ): either start them early, or well, deep fry them (in loads of healthy saturated fat, like coconut oil or ghee or lard).

I had my modified fish and chips with malt vinegar sprinkled over of course, and some Indian mint raita instead of tartare sauce.


Verdict: Moist flaky flesh, definitely comparable to cod! I really liked the texture of the fish, and although not exactly full of flavour, the fish carried the flavours of the spices well. Yum. As for the peas, do try adding the cumin and mint, they really bring out the sweetness of the peas, and of course, you must add the butter, butter makes everything better (:

Doa untuk Ain

Kenapa ain takleh tahan diri ain?
Ain kene sabar kan?
Tuhan pasti tunjuk jalan untuk Ain.
Ain kene percaya qada' dan qadar kan.
Kdg2 ain rasa mcm nk sgt hilang ingatan supaya
Ain leh lupa semua kenangan pahit yg Ain lalui.
Tapi Ain tahu semua itu mustahil.
Ain kene kuat kan?
Ain tau semua ni susah untuk Ain
tapi Ain cuba sedaya upaya ain.

Ayah suruh Ain g intervw tu
sume org suruh. Try je dulu.
Dapat tak dpt lain cite.
Ya Allah, permudahkan aku membuat keputusan.
Beri aku kekuatan menghadapi semua ini.
Amin...

AWARD - 18 ( FOOD FUN FREAK )



Bloggers Greetings / Award.

This is from my lovely friend Sammy of - FOOD FUN FREAK

Friends, Sammy is a proud owner of many blogs, where she shares many things on varied subjects for all the age groups.

Thank you Sammy for this beautiful gesture and award that you have honoured me with.

Your daughter Anshika is a cute little angel. I will surely visit the site and vote for her. Best wishes and love to her.