Vanilla - Mother Knows Best

Yes she does… my lovely Mum has pointed out a mistake I made in this post

In it I stated that VANILLA ESSENCE was a cheap, synthetic pretender to the real thing. It’s not. 

Vanilla essence is a dilute form of vanilla extract. It is still 100% natural vanilla and a quick read of the label will confirm this. If the product contains synthetic vanilla, that will be stated on the label. It will usually be called “vanillan”. Vanillan can be derived from the sap of certain conifers, or made in the lab from a coal derivitaive.

I hope you find THIS INFORMATION useful.

Purists will  insist on using either the whole bean, but a good quality extract or paste is an excellent substitute. General opinion seems to be that if you want to use vanilla essence instead  of the more concentrated extract; use twice as much as the recipe states.

Thank you Mum, the research was fun and it’s always great to get feedback

T-Bone # Horseradish Butter & Salad

 

photo courtesy of PDPhoto.org

T-Bone steak has to be our favourite. I think it’s the combination of meat cooked on the bone (always so much tastier) and the fact you get the piece of fillet and the porterhouse - all in the one steak!

We don’t have it very often; mainly because we just don’t eat such large amounts of meat anymore, but when we do, I absolutely enjoy every mouthful

Nothing fancy about the meal. A nice big t-bone gets char-grilled and served with a blob of blended together horseradish and butter, salt and freshly-ground pepper. A simple green salad dressed with home-made dressing accompanies.

I don’t have a photo of the actual meal - but here is my dressing recipe and a lovely photo just to whet your appetite

HONEY AND DIJON MUSTARD DRESSING

• 1 cup of sunflower or light olive oil ( I know - I’m the only person in the known universe who doesn’t much like extra-virgin olive oil in their salad…)
• 1/2 a cup of vinegar. I used Champagne vinegar because I had some. Champagne vinegar is quite delicious, try it if you get the chance.
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon of honey
• 1 rounded teaspoon of Dijon mustard

Put everything into a clean screw-top jar or bottle and give it a very good shake. The mustard will help emulsify the oil and vinegar. Use what you need and then store in the fridge.

Egg Free/ Nut Free/ Dairy Free Vanilla Cupcakes

Some of you will be familiar with my recipe for allergen-free/vegan chocolate cupcakes. You can find the recipe HERE. Well, my client requested vanilla allergen-free cupcakes topped with blue ‘buttercream” this week, so I set to work perfecting the recipe.

This is the result:

Some things that I did that I believe helped achieve this great result:

• using a little baking powder AS WELL as self-raising powder. Just to give the SR flour a little extra boost
• using vinegar instead of lemon juice
• using rice milk. Just me, but I think  soy milk can be a little assertive in cakes. Flavoured rice/soy milk can be used if you like. I believe you can get vanilla and chocolate flavour
• I used a top-quality vanilla paste for flavouring. Vanilla extract would be a good alternative. Vanilla essence is very cheap, but it is a synthetic product and the flavour cannot compare with  real vanilla pod products. I did a search and  got this stock photo HERE, so I could show you the beautiful insides of a vanilla pod. You just split the pod with a sharp knife. Scrape out the seeds and away you go. The pod itself is full of flavour and can be used, even when the seeds are gone. People put them in their chai tea, when they are heating milk for desserts ( just throw in the pod along with the milk) and they are also just delightful when used to scent and flavour sugar for baking. All you do is pop your new or used vanilla pod in the sugar canister and voila!the most beautiful vanilla sugar for all your desserts, cookies, cakes and shortbreads.

I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE vanilla!

The flavour of the little cakies is very acceptable, especially if you are used to consuming allergen-free, modified cakes etc. I could taste the rice milk, which was quite pleasant. .

Here is the vanilla cupcakes recipe I used. I welcome your comments and suggestions

DAIRY FREE/ NUT FREE/ EGG FREE VANILLA CUPCAKES

• 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar. I used rice vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups rice or soy milk. I used rice milk
• 2 1/4 cups of self-raising flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda ( bicarb soda)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 a cup of neutral seed or vegetable oil. I used sunflower
• either 1 teaspoon of vanilla paste or 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract or the scraped seeds from 1 vanilla pod

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F

Line your cupcake pans with paper liners.

Add the vinegar & oil to the rice milk.

Put everything else into the mixer bowl.

Pour over the oil/milk/vinegar liquid.

Set the mixer to low and beat just long enough to combine everything.

Set the mixer to medium speed and whisk for 1 minutes, stopping halfway through to scrape down the bowl.

Fill the liners 2/3rd’s full of cake mixture and put into the oven for 15-20 minutes.

It’s a tough call - everyone’s oven is different The cakes are ready when you gently put your finger onto the top of one and it springs back instead of leaving a dent or sinking…

Leave them in the pans for a couple of minutes and then transfer to a rack to cool.

Ice as you desire. My dairy-free frosting recipe for the cupcakes can be found HERE 

Vietnamese Mixed Meat Rolls

 

Porky meats, pate, coriander, carrot shreds, cucumber, fresh chilli and nuoc cham  fill  delicious crusty, crackly crust, French-style rolls from the Vietnamese sandwich shop.

They cost $3-$4 each and are worth every cent - just delicious.

Depending on where you go, you might have the choice of chicken instead of pork, or different combinations of meats. The added veggies, herbs and nuoc cham sauce are standard.

Myf went and fetched these ones. I was busy working on my essay on the weekend and it was just the ticket for lunch. They had been “generous” with the chilli, so I’m glad she brought me a bottle of soy milk to have with it

They are called Banh Mi in Vietnamese, and the wonderful bread rolls they use are a legacy of French influence in Vietnam. I expect that influence extends to the pate too. You can read more about Banh Mi HERE

Oh, we just love them! Try one if you get the chance

Hint For A Fragrant Linen Closet

 

My lovely mum came over on the weekend to help me organise my linen closet.

 She know’s how it’s been a bit hard for me to keep up with all the things I want to do at home lately. Work and uni take up a lot of time

I love linen. My bed is a very special place. I always love a lie-in, although nowadays my bad back means I’m usually a bit achy by 9am at the latest and have to get up.

Anyway, mum brought 4 packs of concentrated fabric softener with her. The packs went onto the shelves, next to the linen when we were done. Not on the linen - just on the shelf. We used about 4 of the “tuff-packs” of fabric softener concentrate.

The scent is beautiful. Just like clean washing!

BTW friends - this was a long overdue cleanout: we took 5 garbage bags full of linen to the Salvation Army shop. All perfectly good, but things that I was forced to admit I just don’t use anymore… not my colour, liked it once;don’t anymore, linen for single beds we don’t have, jacquard quilt covers I discovered I hated the feel of  That sort of thing.

 

J’aime Jamie’s Potato & Salmon Salad…

Not a huge Jamie Oliver fan but this meal caught my attention and I knew I wanted to make it - soon.

Well, I saw it on TV last night, and made it for dinner tonight Happy days!

You’ve got a bed of baby spinach and other salad, whatever you fancy really.

On the top goes an oil and vinegar dressed pile of baby potatoes, boiled in their skins. I added half a bunch of fresh dill, some finely chopped red onion and salt & pepper ( Jamie added capers) It is important to dress the spuds while they are still warm. They will take-up more of the dressing if you do.

Jamie used smoked salmon. I used fresh salmon cutlets, poached and then de-boned and flaked. The fish went on top of the potatoes.

I used horseradish from a jar mixed with sour cream, salt and pepper for my final dressing. The James-meister used fresh horseradish and creme fraiche .

Next time I think I might use smoked salmon. Those cutlets have so many bones. I was petrified of leaving one in and having someone choke on it. Specifically me…

The salad was lovely to eat. A  beautiful marriage of flavours. Dill, potato, salmon, all perfect together, and I loved the perky horseradish cream with it.

 Absolutely loverly jubberly

 

Chocolate Cupcakes # Rosie-Pink Buttercream

Thispost is for Michelle. She left a lovely comment about my cupcakes and requested the recipe for the chocolate ones. Well, this is one recipe I use. i think it’s special. the buttermilk makes the cakes light and lovely, and oil instead of butter improves the keeping qualities and lightens the mix. Don’t worry if you don’t have buttermilk. Sour some fresh milk with a couple of teaspoons of white vinegar or lemon juice.

• 100g cocoa - don’t use sweetened drinking chocolate, use Bourneville at the least, or a luxe one like Valhrona if you can afford it
• 300g self-raising flour
• 200g caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4’s of a cup warm, not hot water
• 3/4’s of a cup buttermilk or sour milk
• 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or vanilla paste or the scraped seeds from 1 vanilla pod

Now, I am dreadful with weights and measure *blush* so, if the batter is too thin add some more flour, bit by bit. if it’s thick, add some more milk or water. The batter should be soft like very melty ice-cream.

Line your cupcake pan with paper liners.

Heat the oven to 170C

Put all the ingredients into the bowl of your mixer.

Mix on low speed until the ingredients are combined.

Increase the speed to medium and mix for 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure it’s all mixed in.

Spoon the mix into the paper cases. You want them to be about 2/3′rd full.

Bake for about 20 minutes. When you lightly press the top with your finger-tip it will spring back (the cake will spring back - not your finger…). If it sinks in a little and feels soft - give the cakes another couple of minutes.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

When they are cold you can ice/frost them with your favourite topping.

This is the basic buttercream I use.

Beat about 100g of unsalted butter until it is very soft and almost white in colour. Turn off the mixer and add 4 cups of icing sugar and 1/4 cup milk. Start the mixer on low, increasing the speed as the sugar gets incorporated into the butter.

Here again you are going to have to make any necessary adjustments. Too thin - you need more icing sugar. Too thick (it should be the consistency of soft-serve ice-cream) add a few more drops of milk - slowly, slowly, slowly, it will quickly thin down with the addition of liquid.

The icing should hold it’s shape, especially if you want to pipe it onto the cakes.

When you are happy with the consistency, and it can take a while, trust me, add your flavours and/or colour. Be VERY careful adding colour. Use a drop of colour on the end of a toothpick or satay stick and add it like that until the icing is the colour you want. Too bright a colour isn’t really my thang but, the client has requested bright colours and her wish is my command

Pipe or spread on your icing. The American way is to pile it high. Swirls and mountains of frosting. The English and Australians are more restrained in their icing quantity. It’s all about choice - life’s wonderful like that - your cupcakes, your choice!

Have fun! I hope they turn out beautiful for your  birthday surprise Michelle

Tonkatsu - our favourite Japanese meal…

Tonkatsu is wildly popular in Japan, and rightly so. This set meal consists of  breaded (crumbed) pork , steamed rice, finely shredded raw cabbage and a delish sauce.

I  also include a fried egg sprinkled with seaweed seasoning.

Here is how I make Tonkatsu.

You will need to buy some nice thin pork chops. If they are too thick the crumbs would burn before the meat cooked. Pork leg steak is also perfect for Tonkatsu . Chicken can be substituted for the pork. I bought my pork chops from the Asian grocer. They have a different way of cutting  meat to Australian butchers, and the thinner, fat-free chop suits this dish.

 

Using the usual flour, egg, crumb method, crumb the chops. The most important difference is the use of the Japanese breadcrumb called Panko. This has a coarser crumb, and is light and flaky - perfect for a delicious, crispy coating. Panko is available in some supermarkets, and at Asian markets and grocers.

 

I put the chops in a plastic bag and shake them all about with some plain flour

The excess flour is shaken off and the chops are dipped in well beaten egg. The flour will repel the egg so make sure the whole chop has been dipped and is wet.

Let the excess egg drip off and drop the chop into your dish of Panko. Press the crumbs on well. If there are some bits where the egg isn’t there and the flour is showing through, just put it back into the egg. Shake off any excess crumbs - most important Excess crumbs otherwise fall off when you’re frying the meat and end up as black, burnt bits that will stick to your lovely chop.

If you look at the photo below you can see some white flour bits - this is where I didn’t pay enough attention when I was coating the chop in egg. This is what you want to avoid

Some people like to double-coat their chop with crumbs. This means that after the first lot of crumbing, the chop goes back into the egg, and then back into the crumbs for a second time (no need to do the flour again second-time round).

Put your lovely crumbed chops into the ‘fridge for a while. This chilling will help the crumbs stick to the meat and the end result will be better. I put mine on a cutting board lined with baking paper.

Slice your cabbage very fine. I used Chinese cabbage this time because that is what I had. Any cabbage can be used.

Steam your sushi rice. The shorter, fatter grains of sushi rice seem to suit this dish better than a long grain rice like jasmine or Basmati. I know my rice looks a little “wet”. I think it is my diabolical photo taking again…

Make your Tonkatsu sauce. Usually this sauce is made up of barbecue/steak sauce mixed with some Worchestire sauce, some soy sauce and a 1/2 teaspoon or so of hot English mustard. Well, I didn’t have the Worcheshire or the mustard so I used just the barbecue sauce, some soy sauce and some wasabi mustard instead ( I prefer the version I usually do, but this was fine) Proportions? I would say about 2/3 rd’s of a cup of barbecue sauce, 2 tablespoons each of Worcheshire and soy, and about 2/3 r’s of a teaspoon hot mustard. All subject to taste of course! Test it as you make it I will say that it is easier to use a little food processor ot whisky-stick thing to blend it. The mustard sometimes doesn’t want to amalgamate into the sauce.

Cook the chops in a couple of cm’s of oil; canola, peanut, something like that. They can be deep fried, and that is probably the more traditional method.

Drain them well and cut into serving pieces.

Drain the cabbage very well.

Each person gets a pile of cabbage, a mound of steamed rice, some pork pieces and access to the sauce.

Seems complicated? It’s not really. Trust me. I hate a lot of fussing around dinner time. Mess and bother make me tired… I do this step-by-step, cleaning up as I go and it’s really worth it - it’s a lovely meal, and a family favourite that makes everyone so happy when I make it

Beautiful Daughter on a Beautiful New Kitchen Floor

Remember how monty was laying a new floor in the kitchen?

I am so delighted with it. I just love to sweep it with my new microfibre broom/mop thing…

Well here’s a photo of it.

That’s my gorgeous dumpling of a daughter licking out the cupcake mixing bowl…

iPrimus: All Is Forgiven…

For now anyway.

The internet is purring away and everyone is happy again

I have to take this opportunity to thank a rep from iPrimus who emailed me after seeing my post - it was a very pleasant surprise and went a long way in restoring my faith in the company.

The power of the blog - who would have thought?!