Beet Hash Browns

Ingredients:

• 2 small sweet potato, shredded
  
• 2 small raw beetroot, peeled and shredded
  
• 1/2 small red onion, minced
  
• Tarragon and rosemary, leaves only
  
• salt and pepper

This is incredibly easy to put together and make. I used sweet potatoes for this hash brown but you can use potatoes if you prefer to. I started with washing and peeling two smallish beetroots. I dislike peeling but beetroot skins were surprisingly easy to work with. Normally I don't peel the potatoes, do so if you may. Having a grater is a blessing to get these root vegetables into shape.

I then piled the beetroot and sweet potatoes into a mixing bowl, topping them with tarragon and rosemary leaves, minced onions and quite generous pinch of salt and black pepper. Then I worked my fingers in to toss and massage these fellas.

The frying part was uncertain because I wasn't sure if they were going to stick together in one whole piece. Some pressing and fiddling with the back of a turner helped. You can fry everything in one pan making them into a flat cake, or divide the mixture into two flat cakes, as I did. Cook one side over medium heat until the bottom is browned. Spread more butter or oil over the top of the cake and then flip the cake to brown the other side. Serve is as a side with some sunny-side up, Mango Salsa and sour cream.

With no surprise, Adrian dug into the Mango Salsa and Sunny-side up, first. He liked the Mango Salsa, no surprise there. He then cautiously moved on to the Beet Hash Brown. "HUH! This is good. I don't know about beets in general but I like this one." BINGO! After a while he burst out laughing and commented how typical it was of me to make things he disliked and make it my mission to change his perception. "That's so you". In my defense, I just like making good healthy yummy foods for my lover.

Mango and Avocado Salsa

Nook Thanyaporn has mango trees growing around her house. It's mango season and she has more produce than she and her family can stomach. So she brought me 6 of them, still green. I gave away three and wrapped the other three with towel, and stored them in the kitchen cabinet. I was told to wait for a few days.

5 days in the closet and still no sign of ripening. I patiently await. Two weeks and the mangoes still look suspiciously premature. By this time, not only has Nook's family eaten whatever left of their harvest, but people whom I gave the mangoes to, too, had enjoyed the sweetness from these homegrown fruits. I was told my kitchen is not as warm. Hmmm....

16 days after first received and TA TAA!!! Not uniformly yellow but I could smell the sweetness nonetheless. First mango was used in an impromptu mixed fruit salad - not much to rave about. Since they were gifts from friend I felt they deserve better. Dessert? Mango lassi? Sticky rice?

For some reason Adrian craved for avocado coconut milk shake the other day and bought more than needed for a one-time fling. I decided to put two together and make a Mango Salsa. It's easy to put together and refreshing to serve in many way. In any case I know Adrian would definitely approve of the sweet tartness of the salsa. This would at least keep him happy and more opened to the Beet Hash Brown that came with it on breakfast table.

And it did.

Ingredients:

• 1 mango, diced
• 1 avocado, diced
• 4 cherry tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon cilantro leaves, chopped
• salt and black pepper to taste
  

Mix all the ingredients together, toss to coat well. Adjust and season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Roasted Beet Molten Chocolate Cake

I finally found a molten chocolate cake recipe with gooey center. I first did it one week ago, while George was visiting. Unfortunately I didn't manage to turn it out from the ramekin. I told George "I vouched to keep making this until I get it right". Tonight, again, I revisited the same recipe. With a twist - I added roasted beet puree to the batter.

Pinnada gave me a big bag full of beet roots the other day. I love beet roots. Its sweetness is good raw, steamed, roasted, in any which way. Beetroot is one of those that has been long used for medicinal purposes, especially priced in its stimulating effects on liver detoxification process. It's crimson-purple color, brought about by the pigment betacyanin, is reported to be a powerful cancer fighting agent. Beetroot fiber also helps to promote healthy bowel function and cholesterol level. Its betacyanin and fiber are known to be responsible for its role in preventing colon cancer. Many health advisers recommend consumption of beet juice to increase level of antioxidant enzymes and number of special white blood cells. This has been shown to successfully inhibit nitrosamine (a cancer causing compound) in patients with stomach cancer.

Despite its captivating crimson-purple color and medicinal properties, Adrian is no fan of beet. When he saw me fiddling with the beets this morning, this were his words, "you know my feeling about beets? Don't be offended." He must have forgotten how much he enjoyed the Beetroot Hummus. Anyway, I didn't think he had the slightest idea where these beets were going. I digress.

I successfully inverted the pudding, intact, on to serving plate. That was exciting. It's even more so when I found the center was gooey with melted chocolate. When I brought it to Adrian, I could tell by the look on his face that he was searching for the beets. He took a bite of it, "Mmmm... yum.". A while later, "this is very good. I like the sauce. But where is the beets?" I believed they were being digested in his stomach as he continued his search. What a great way to serve beets to non-believers.

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
  
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 Tablespoons natural cane sugar
• 1 Tablespoon butter
  
• 50 gram 78% bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon roasted beet puree (recipe to follow)
  
• 2 1/2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• small pinch of salt
• Citrus Reduction (Recipe to follow) (option)
  
• Strawberry and kiwi to serve (option)
  
• Vanilla ice cream to serve (option)
  

Roasted Beet Puree

Wrap beets, with one inch of their stems attached, with aluminum foil and bake at 200C for 60 minutes, until the are fork-tender. Blend to a smooth paste. You may strain away the clumps if necessary.

Citrus Reduction

• 1/4 cup grapefruit juice
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 Tablespoon natural cane sugar

Pour ingredients to a saucepan and let it simmer to half of its volume. Chill before use.

Chocolate Cake

1. Preheat oven at 200C. Grease two 4oz ramekins with butter and coat the sides with sugar.
   
2. Melt butter and chocolate over a water-bath.
3. Beat egg and egg yolk with sugar. Fold in melted chocolate and stir to combine.
4. Stir in beet puree, flour and salt to mix.
5. Divide batter into two and spoon over prepared ramekins. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
6. Remove immediately and let it cool for 10 minutes before inverting to individual plates. Serve with fresh fruits, ice cream and citrus reduction.
   

Pesto Cheesecake

I chopped up a bunch of basil and parsley with pecan nuts the other night to make pesto - what a delicious good way to preserving vegetables before they wilt. Cover it with enough olive oil and it just basically sit, fresh as it is, in the corner of refrigerator for a long enough time till I need it again. Usually I would leave out salt and lemon juice until just before using the pesto.

I scaled the recipe down to a 4" x 7" casserole dish, good enough for two persons. You may triple the volume and bake it in a 8" springform pan as you would with ordinary cheesecake. The recipe I found uses breadcrumbs as crust. I used the wheat biscuits left from whatever dessert I last made with. The crust was a tad to the sweet side, which turned out to be an interesting compliment to the savory cream cheese pesto layer. I also threw in some sun dried tomatoes because I was thinking they had been sitting in the fridge for a wee bit too long.

Adrian enjoyed this very much. Initially he was going to save a piece for next day. Then he kept picking at the crumbs. Eventually he devoured what's left of the picking with a cup of coffee.

I guess this dish is meant to be some Italian appetizer to serve over garlic bread or cracker. But why limit my imagination? I just happened to fry up some sunny-side up to supplement the nutritive profile of our Sunday breakfast. OH! Not the forget a bed of fresh from the farm organic lettuces, courtesy of my lovely friend, Pinnada :)

Ingredients:

• 4 pieces wheat biscuits, crushed
• 1 Tablespoon Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 Tablespoon butter, room temperature
• 4oz cream cheese, soften
• 1/3 homemade ricotta cheese
• pinch of salt and cayenne pepper
• sun dried tomatoes, chopped
  
• 1/3 cup homemade pesto
• Pecan nuts

1. Preheat oven at 160C. Lightly grease a 4"x7" casserole dish.
2. Roll together biscuits, Parmesan and butter. Press to the bottom of prepared dish. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, until the crust is lightly browned.
3. Blend together cream cheese and ricotta until smooth and fluffy. Fold in sun dried tomatoes and pesto. Season with salt and cayenne pepper to taste.
   
4. Pour evenly over biscuit crust. Sprinkle with pecan nuts. Bake for 45 - 60 minutes - center should move just slightly when shaken.
5. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Loosen the edges with knife and transfer to individual serving plates.
   

Two-way Cantaloupe

Nook Thanyaporn brought a cantaloupe to me. It's fresh from her friend's farm in Chiangmai. As much as I could see and smell, it's a very nice looking and sweet smelling cantaloupe. Why didn't she want it? "I only eat cantaloupe with Parma ham." Ah huh.... Lucky me she didn't think of making her own parma ham salad because it was a real good cantaloupe.

Cantaloupe with Feta Salad

Adrian first thought it was weird: it's a mix of cantaloupe, strawberries and pomegranate, but not like the fruit salad that he was expecting. I told him to think about the Bulgarian Salad he so liked at Crepe & Cos. "Now that makes sense". And it started to grow on him since.

Ingredients:

• cantaloupe, chopped
• strawberries, chopped
• Pomegranate seeds
• Feta cheese, crumbled
• Red onion, chopped
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste

Toss everything together and chill 30 minutes before serving.

Broiled Cantaloupe with Mint Honey Glaze
I'm not sure if Adrian approved of this. I liked it quite a bit, especially the sweet juice collected at the pit. the soft tenderness also reminded me of a delicious winter melon soup that my grandmother used to make.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cantaloupe, seeds and pits removed
  
• mint leaves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon Honey

Turn the oven to highest (broil). Mix honey and mint leaves together. Drizzle over cantaloupe. Put to top rack and broil for 2 minutes, or until the glaze run.

Chocolate Meringue Strawberry Mascarpone

We have kind of fallen into big-lunch-no-dinner trend these days. Or, to be more precise, it's fruit salad or dessert in place of dinner meal. Since I am still in the meringue-chase, it only seems natural to make one more. Although this recipe resembles this previous Chocolate Meringue Cake post. I just had to make it because it looks so beautiful on this website. Instead of using whipped cream as filling, I mixed in with homemade mascarpone, which Adrian has fallen in love with.

This was actually the second time I made this cake. I wasn't happy with my previous attitude - I was being paranoid (I still don't know what to expect from meringue) and impatient. Hence I didn't blog about it. But it tasted so delicious that it deserves a space in my blog.

Adrian liked it even more the second time. He enjoyed the brownie-like chocolate cake layer, and the not-over-the-top sweet mascarpone filling. I just really like how I had the chocolate drizzled around it, and that it looked very beautiful.

Ingredients:
(4" x 6" casserole dish)
Chocolate cake layer

• 50g butter
• 1/3 cup cane sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• small pinch of salt
• 1 1/4 Tablespoon cocoa powder
• 45ml milk

1. Preheat oven at 160C. Grease a 4" x 6" casserole pan.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder. Set aside.
3. Beat butter until creamy. Add sugar and beat till fluffy. Add egg yolk and vanilla extract to beat.
4. Stir flour mixture into butter mixture. Fold in milk. Pour and layer over prepared pan. Set aside.
   

Meringue layer

• 1 egg white
• 1/3 cup powdered cane sugar
• 1/4 cup flaked almonds

1. Start beating egg white at low speed until soft peaks form.
   
2. Add sugar, one tablespoon at a time, until hard peaks form.
3. Spoon over chocolate cake layer. Sprinkle with flaked almonds.
4. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the meringue is crispy on the outside.
   

Mascarpone layer

• 1/3 homemade mascarpone
• 100mL fresh cream
• 1 - 2 tablespoons powdered cane sugar
• 100 gram strawberries, chopped, reserve 2 for garnish

1. Pour cream and sugar to a bowl and keep in freezer, together with beater attachments, for 5 minutes.
2. Beat cream to form stiff peaks. Fold in chopped strawberries and mascarpone.

Assembly

• mint leaves
• dark chocolate
• butter
  

1. Melt butter and chocolate together over waterbath (or microwave).
   
2. Slice chocolate meringue into 4 quarters. Place one quarter, chocolate side up, to one serving plate. Pile it up with some mascarpone filling. Sandwich it with another quarter, meringue side up. Top it with a spoonful of mascarpone filling and decorate with fresh strawberry and mint leaves. Repeat with the other quarters.
3. Drizzle with melted chocolate to serve.
   

Molten Chocolate Cake

This is the second time I made the same mistake with this dessert. I meant to bake a chocolate dessert with a warm melty chocolate center. I think I might have used the same recipe both times, too. And Adrian thought I have good memory.

Mistake aside, I was very proud and happy with this dessert. It rose up pretty nicely and slid out of the ramekin easily. Most importantly, I managed to dress it up looking restaurant pro! I hardly ever go for ice cream for my aversion for cold stuffs - until I saw my friend, Pinnada's, crepe post on Facebook. I just had to get Adrian to buy a tub of vanilla ice cream for this.

Ingredients:
(make two 3/4 cups)

• 56 gram unsalted butter, chopped
• 80 gram 85% dark chocolate, break into pieces
  
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 small eggs, separated
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla essence
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 200C.
   
2. Butter two ramekin and sprinkle the sides with powdered sugar (just blend and process the normal sugar!).
3. Melt chocolate and butter in a hot waterbath.
4. Beat egg yolks and sugar until thick, pale and fluffy. Stir in vanilla to blend. Fold in melted chocolate.
5. Beat egg whites on low till foamy. Add lemon juice and beat to soft peaks. Add sugar and beat to firm peaks.
6. Using a spatula, gently fold egg white mixture over chocolate mixture, until just incorporated.
7. Divide batter into two, filling 3/4 of each ramekin. Bake at 200C for 10 - 15 minutes. The top edges will set but the center still jiggly and wet.
   
8. Remove immediately. Let rest for a minute or two. Invert into serving plate. Serve with vanilla ice cream, fresh fruits and mint leave.
   

Potato Pizza

There has been rumor of unrest due to the recent political turmoil in Thailand. Among some of the many "advises" we heard was to stock up on foods. Regardless of the basis of the "advise" we did so to complete our kitchen needs anyway. I told Adrian he could pick anything he liked. I wasn't surprised when he put bitter gourd into the basket. For whatever reason I took okra - probably thinking of remaking the Ethiopian dish. Anyway as the demonstration and blood splash (literally) went on in Bangkok city, I didn't get to use this two ingredients that I rarely buy.

Until last Monday night. I boiled a large potato to make the aforementioned Ethiopian dish with okra for Adrian. Delicious aside, I was left with a big bowl of unused boiled cubed potatoes. Finally I thought I would use it tonight. After much contemplation, I decided to use it as pizza crust and combine it with this recipe so that I could use up the leftover roasted bell peppers, too.

It turned out to be a much welcome idea. Adrian thinks this would be really good for a warm hearty breakfast, topped with fried eggs. I thought so but given what I have planned for tomorrow breakfast, this dish would come too heavy, even for us breakfast people.

Ingredients
(makes one 9" pizza)

Potato crust:

• 1 large potato, cubed
• pinch of sea salt
• chillies flakes
• 1 tablespoon flour
• pure sesame oil
  

1. Boil potato cubes with a generous pinch of salt till tender. Remove from water and get rid of excess water.
2. Transfer potato cubes to a bowl. Mash them with salt, and chillies flakes. Stir in flour to blend.
3. Press mashed potatoes to the bottom of baking pan. Bake at 250C for 15 minutes.
4. Remove from oven, brush the top with pure sesame oil. Bake for another 10 minutes.
5. Bring the pan to top deck and broil for 3 - 4 minutes, until the crust is crisp.

Topping and assembly:

It's basically the same as this Roasted Garlic and Bell Pepper Pizza recipe. Instead of roasted tomatoes, I mashed the roasted garlic with sun-dried tomatoes. I also added chillies flakes (blended dried chillies) alongside parsley and basil.

Red Sauce Blintzes

I prepared all the ingredients yesterday. Before we went to bed I told Adrian he'd be in charge of the cooking in the morning. I was very excited and hopeful of this sweet blintz recipe. Think about this: silky smooth lemony mascarpone filling, and tarty raspberry and strawberry sauce. Yummm....

Adrian, too, was ready to take on the role with me breathing down his neck. Unfortunately things didn't turn out as I thought. The batter was too thick - should I have strained it? Has it thickened overnight? Adrian managed to flip up a couple thin crepes but with hole - it didn't help to contain the filling. In the end, we got one good blintz out of 6. I was very disappointed and upset.

I got rid of this batch and whipped up another. Turned up fine this time. I must credit Adrian for being so supportive while I was sulking over a few bad crepes. And he cooked a killer omelet with sun-dried tomatoes, parsley and basil, too! Best he'd ever made, said the he-cook.

Ingredients
(make 6 8.5" crepes)
Raspberry and strawberry jam

• 1/2 cup frozen raspberry
• 1/2 cup frozen strawberry
• 1 tablespoon real maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• lemon juice to taste

Heat berries with maple syrup and sugar to melt. Adjust taste with lemon juice and sugar if needed.

Crepe

• 1/3 cup unbleached all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup almond meal
• 2 teaspoon sugar
• small pinch of sea salt
• 1 small egg, lightly beaten
  
• 2/3 cup whole milk
  
• 1/3 tablespoon virgin coconut oil

1. Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl, and wet ingredients in another. Fold wet ingredients over dry mixture to mix. Add more milk to desired consistency if needed.
   
2. When ready to cook, strain and remove clumps if necessary.
   
3. Coat and heat a 8.5" pan with butter. Pour just enough batter over pan, swirling to coat evenly. Return the excess to the bowl.
   
4. Fry until the top is bubbly. Remove from heat and place over a plate with the fried site up.
5. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Filling

• 1/3 cup Homemade mascarpone
• 1/3 cup fresh whipping cream
  
• 1 - 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• lemon zest
  
• 1 Tablespoons powdered sugar
  

1. Freeze whisk attachment and bowl in the freezer for 5 minutes. Beat the whipping cream until it forms soft peaks. Add sugar, lemon juice and zest to beat to stiff peaks.
   
2. Gently fold the cream mixture into mascarpone to mix. Be careful not to over mix.
   

Assembly

1. Take a few spoonful of mascarpone filling and place it to the center, leaving the edges. Fold the edges as if making a package.
2. Coat and heat a pan with butter. Place blintzes seam site down to fry till browned. Flip and fry the other side.
3. Serve with Raspberry Strawberry Sauce and mint leaves.
   

Blueberry Lemon Shortcake

I came home last night and set out to prepare this recipe that I was tasting in my imagination since afternoon. I had high expectation for this - fresh blueberry maple jam and mascarpone sandwiched in a lemony butter shortcake. YUM~ Took me a mere 15 minutes to turn the fresh blueberries into bottled jam.

The 99BHT blueberries from Central Chitlom Tops Supermarket. Heat it with some maple syrup and lemon juice for fresh jam.

I assigned Adrian for the dough making task. I don't want to point finger, I am not blaming anyone.... BUT.... Look....

Hmmm...... suspicious looking but smell very good. The last thing I said to Adrian before I fell asleep "I smell cake". I suspect he overworked the butter. Or maybe something went wrong with the measurement. The dough didn't hold up. I expected two burger bun looking things that I could slice into halves. Now I had just two flat disks.

Good news is they were super delicious. Mint leaves were a superb compliment. I'm making this again just so I can present them proper. Until then, I'm stashing the recipe aside.

"Oh, you rescued them!" said the culprit, "They look so pretty now." Grrrr.....