Brown Sugar Fig Cake

I strongly encourage everyone to make this, especially if you are lazy or short of time but want something sweet and easy and yet will win the crowd. It is its simplicity, fool-proof recipe that makes this a keeper. I wanted to give away the leftover but changed my mind when Adrian frowned and scoffed in disbelief.

There's a lot of room to play with the recipe. You can substitute figs with raisins or other dried fruits, or not use any at all. I don't have white flour, hence the use of rye flour with flaxseed and ground almond. It might have been a nightmare dessert if I had used rye flour only.

I served this cake with homemade raspberry jam (it took a mere 15 minutes to make) and fresh blueberry. I imagine fresh cream and custard will be just as good.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup virgin coconut oil
• 1 cup natural brown sugar
• 1 egg
  
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (white vinegar + milk)
• 1/2 cup organic rye flour
• 1/2 cup ground flaxseed
• 1/2 cup ground almond
  
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla essence
• 2 dried figs, chopped

1. Preheat oven at 150C. Grease a 7 x 7 baking dish.
   
2. Put all the ingredients, except figs, in the order given in one big mixing bowl.
   
3. Mix together with a electric blender for 3 minutes. Stir in figs.
4. Pour over prepared baking dish. Bake at 150C for 35- 40 minutes. Serve with fresh fruits/ jam/ cream.
   

Revisit Georgraphy Class

Last November when I came back to Bangkok from Singapore, a Irish man came to my class. I didn't pay much attention to him more than I would to any first-timer to my class. At the end of the practice this man came and introduced himself as Grant. We chatted a little bit, and he invited me to teach at where he lived. "Muscat". Sure, I'll go. He had a look at my face and offered "it's in Oman." Great. Whatever. I'll go anywhere in the world. HAHA!

So that's how the story unfold. I had absolutely no clue where Oman, or Muscat was. Neither did many people I talked to. So, here it is, once and for all - it's neighboring Saudi Arabia and UAE. The next question is: what the heck am I going to do there? Well, my cooking skill is not yet Gordon Ramsey or Jamie Olivier famous, but I have Yoga. "To who?" Good question. According to Grant, he felt he had benefited much from Yoga. He's an old man (his own words), who wished to contribute something to the Yoga community in Muscat, however small. And that's what he does, aside from his full time job with the highway company, - to bring good Yoga teachers (*ahem*) to Muscat. "I've been to all the big and small yoga studios in Bangkok and you are the only person I approached." *AHEM*

We have been in talk through emails for a few months since. Adrian did not hesitate to make it clear that he's coming with me, and so he is. This is indeed a great opportunity - we probably would never think of visiting Oman if it's not for this offer. A well-traveled friend of ours, Bill, showed us beautiful pictures he took in Oman, and from what little we gathered, it's a jewel tucked in the middle east. How exciting! Think about this: 2 days of teaching, 5 days of sightseeing! WOOHOO!!

We'll be back to Bangkok for Songkran, on the 13th and 14th May, after which we fly to Kuala Lumpur to fulfill the promise I gave to my parents - I skipped Chinese New Year Reunion, and negotiated with my mother to go back in April during Thai New Year when Yoga Elements Studio will be closed. Apart from the two-day rest stop in between Muscat and KL, I'm going to be away from home for three weeks. That means time to clean out the fridge.

I had two eggs, some greens, a few connoisseur-grade French cheeses, some homemade condiments, and a piece of puff pastry sheet. Here's what I put together:

1. Pinto beans + Cheddar cheese + spring onions = Refried beans
2. Rocket leaves + cherry tomatoes + Feta cheese + lettuce + olive oil + balsamic vinegar = salad
3. Put together 1 + 2 + sunny-side up + Portobello mushroom = Vegetarian Big Breakfast

I thought the Portobello mushroom looks rather like a piece of steak

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For some reason unbeknown to me, the pastry didn't hold up the filling very well. A big chunk of the cheeses was lost during baking. Still good though.

Breakfast is not complete without something sweet in this house. I divided the puff pastry sheet into two for Sweet Baked Turnovers:

1. Homemade mulberry jam + "strong cheese" + almond
2. Dried figs + blue cheese

Bon Appetite!

Figs with Almonds and Cranberries

I asked Adrian if he'd like to have Vegan Coconut Chocolate Pudding or something Ethiopian for dessert. I didn't think he'd choose the latter given his preference for western sweets. A good round up for our first Ethiopian night though.

The original recipe uses prunes and raisins. I didn't want to buy them since I figured figs and dried cranberries might well be substitutes. I liked the complex sweet and tartness of the fruit and nut compote. Adrian had this ingenious idea of serving it with dark chocolate. It was a hit.

Ingredients:
(make 2 servings)

• 4 dried figs, chopped
• a handful of whole almond
• a handful of dried cranberries
• 2 whole cloves
• Natural brown sugar
• pinches of ground cinnamon
• 2 TB apple cider vinegar
• 1 Cup water
  

1. In a bowl, soak dried fig in boiling water for 10 - 15 minutes.
2. In a separate bowl, soak whole almonds in boiling water for 30 minutes.
3. Mix together all the ingredients in a saucepan. Bring it to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the sauce has thickened. Stirring frequently.
   

Lemony Ricotta Pancake with Balsamic Fig Jam

I used to do all the cooking by myself. Sometimes I thought it would be nice if Adrian could help me instead of just sitting in front of the computer, then I rationalized I wouldn't have liked it because I would be very bossy about how things should be done - MY WAY -. Ever since he cooked for my birthday, he found new meaning in cooking: there's something satisfying about making your own foods that he enjoys. It, too, surprises me how much I enjoy having my husband, with me, in the kitchen. I am working to suppress my bossiness and express my dominating nature in the least oblivious way possible. It has worked for two months so far.

This was another lazy morning. We woke up rehearsing the languages that we each learning: he spoke to me in Mandarin, I replied in Japanese. It's one of the exercises we vouched to keep in order to develop our brain map. Adrian's Mandarin lesson has covered the verbs for "eat" and "drink", plus a bonus "hungry" from me, and that took us from bed to kitchen.

We had a bit of ricotta left from yesterday's French toast, and there's a jar of self-raising Farina flour that came from a absentminded mistake while I was making pizza dough: it's Farina flour with baking powder and salt. So I decided to make do with the two ingredients: Ricotta Pancake.

I can tell I'm becoming more intuitive with my cooking: I don't have to be looking at recipe as much as I used to; I'm able to concoct dishes based on what I cooked before. This Balsamic Fig Jam, for instance, is a spin-off of Balsamic reduction that I have tried a few times with different fruits and really like.

The jam turned out to be extraordinary, - not your ordinary pancake jam - especially so with sour cream. The pancake too was excellent. I was going to announce the best pancake I've made but Adrian said he got instant ecstasy from the sourdough pancake. It's a close call. This pancake was soft and fluffy while the sourdough pancake was tangy and had a cake-like texture. If I may give them attributes: this one was happy and bouncy; the sourdough pancake was mature and acquired. I found myself nodding my head to a symphony of happy tunes in my head with the fluffy Ricotta pancake.

Note: There was only 1/2 cup ricotta left and so I made up the 1 cup volume with sour cream. Adrian thought fresh strawberries would go very well with the fig jam; you can use other berries or non at all.

Ingredients:(makes two 8" pancakes)

Balsamic Fig Jam:

• Dried figs, chopped
• natural brown sugar
• balsamic vinegar
• ground black pepper
• fresh lemon juice
• sea salt to taste

1. In a saucepan, heat and cook dried figs with just enough boiling water until soft and thick.
   
2. Start adding sugar and balsamic vinegar, one tablespoon at a time, to desired taste.
3. Add a generous pinch of black pepper.
4. Adjust taste with lemon juice and salt. More balsamic or sugar if needed.
5. Set aside or chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.
   

Dry Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup Farina flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 TB natural brown sugar
• Zest of one lemon

Wet Ingredients:

• Homemade ricotta cheese + sour cream - 1 cup
• 1 egg (lightly beaten)
• 2 TB virgin coconut oil
• Pure vanilla extract

Optional:

• Fresh strawberries, sliced
• Sour cream to serve

1. Combine all the dry ingredients, except lemon zest, in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
2. Whisk together wet ingredients in a separate mixing bowl.
3. Stir wet mixture into dry mixture. Add lemon zest and strawberries.
4. Heat a tablespoon of coconut oil over medium heat. Drop half the batter into the pan. Cook until the bottom is set and the top begins to form bubbles.
5. Flip and cook for another 5 minutes or until it's nicely browned.
6. Repeat with the other half batter.
7. Serve with Balsamic fig jam and sour cream.