Avocado and Tempeh Multigrain Salad

I didn't have much expectation for this recipe. I even told Adrian "it's a very simple dinner" when he came home. Hence the pleasant surprise. Adrian thought he could eat this often (by the way I'm making it again tonight upon his consent). It's a plateful of crunch and creaminess thrown together with an intricate taste that vows to please your gastronomical sense.

I added grains to this salad to make it a complete one-bowl dish. I chose to use black quinoa and amaranth seeds. Although I have read about the nutritious benefits of amaranth but its culinary use was new to me. If you are mystically inclined and want to know why this "never-fading flower" was once banished by the Spanish, or what Aztecs did to harness supernatural power from this plant, click here.

Unlike the more commonly available white and sweet quinoa, black quinoa (although this looks more like a mix of black and red to me) is fruity in taste. I have always liked the way it looks when cooked: with a little white, spiral tail. The grain itself is soft and delicate and the tail is crunchy, which creates an interesting texture combination when eating the grain. You can go here to find out why quinoa is called "mother grain".

In case you haven't heard, I love tempeh. so, how can I not throw in some tempeh to this dish knowing that it is sitting and waiting for me in the refrigerator? I was cooking with organic black bean tempeh before. This time it's traditional tempeh made with whole soy beans. I was a little dismayed when Adrian said he didn't think the organic black bean tempeh was great. This non-organic soy beans tempeh, on the other hand, got his approval. I have to admit, this is better than the black bean tempeh. Oh well, guess I can spend less from now: this non-organic tempeh is 3 times cheaper than the organic tempeh.

I like diversity. It shows in my diet. Although there's only two of us at home, I almost always cook at least two dishes (plus a dessert), with more than a handful of vegetables. No wonder I have problem organizing the refrigerator! I digress.

Making a one-bowl dish is atypical of me. I felt uneasy having just one dish to serve. Therefore, I thought I'd throw in some black beans and wheat berry that I reserved from before. Still uncomfortable, I decided to make a cake. I only felt right and comforted once Adrian proclaimed he wanted to learn to cook this.

Multigrain:

• 1/2 cup organic black quinoa, washed and drained
  
• 1/2 cup organic amaranth seeds
• Cooked, frozen black beans
• Cooked, frozen wheat berry

1. Bring quinoa and amaranth seeds and 2 cups of water to boil. Turn the heat to lowest. Add a generous pinch of sea salt. Let it simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. If there's excess water, you may drain the water away.
2. Take enough of cooked grains that you need to serve. Stir in black beans and wheat berry to mix. Set aside.

Peanut Butter Dressing:

• 1/4 cup organic chunky peanut butter
• 1 glove garlic, smashed and chopped
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• zest of 1 lemon
• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  
• sea salt to taste

1. Mix all the ingredients together. Add some hot water to thin out the dressing if necessary.
2. Stir 1/2 the dressing to toss with multigrains. Reserve the rest.

To Assemble Salad:

• !/2 cup Balsamic vinegar
• Tempeh, cubed
• 1 ripe avocado, peeled and cubed
• cherry tomatoes, halved
  
• Feta cheese, crumbled
• White sesame seeds, toasted
  
• Sunflower seeds, toasted
• Parsley, stem removed

1. Bring balsamic vinegar to a gentle simmer. Remove from heat when reduced to half the volume. Set aside to cool.
2. Fry tempeh on both sides till golden brown.
3. Place tomatoes, avocado and tempeh on top of cooked multigrains. Drizzle with peanut butter dressing. Top with feta cheese, white sesame seeds and sunflower seeds. Add balsamic reduction and decorate with parsley leaves to serve.
   

Mexican Pumpkin Burrito

Blogging takes discipline. It's been almost one month since I last posted. I was (and still am) feeling lazy to blog although I haven't stopped cooking since I came back from KL 3 days ago.

Firstly, I was surprised to see the refrigerator stocked with foods and fruits the morning after I came back. Then there, in the kitchen, stood my handsome husband, with knife on one hand, chopping board on the other. He pulled out some mocked crab meat, sun dried tomatoes, rocket pesto (that I made before we left to Oman, which I had forgotten, and astonished to see he had been cooking with while I was away!), eggs, cheese, etc, and made me an omelet! There's also the mixed fruits smoothie that he's very proud of - came with this super awesome date honey that we bought from Oman.

As I tasted the foods cooked by my loved one I was overwhelmed by a sense of joy and happiness, which was contradicted by a sense of loss: like a mother who just realized her child is no longer her baby. LOL. You know that ain't gonna happen. He will soon realize what he did was mere child's play. WAHAHAHA!

We were discussing about dinner. Adrian mentioned a pumpkin taco recipe that he saw (somebody has been doing his homework). I couldn't find anything good from the internet, and hence decided to piece together bits and puzzles from different sources.

I started by putting pumpkin, orange chili pepper and red bell pepper into the oven for roasting. Remember to check on the chili pepper. I pulled mine out on the late side and it turned out a little burnt. I was going to use Jalapeno pepper but couldn't find them at Central Silom. I blame it on the red-shirt protest, which forces the Gourmet Market in Paragon to close (for weeks now!) I seriously need them to dissolve so I can get back to my normal grocery shopping. Anyway, this orange chili pepper was the only pepper available other than Thai chili and green chili. It's actually quite hot. I chose to remove the seeds to keep the hotness low.

One complaint I have about being, and cooking vegetarian: too much chopping. Since this "project" is the brainchild of Adrian, I made him did the hardest part: onions. I wish I had video-taped his teary eyes.

Adrian did the chopping and mashing of the guacamole. We used orange chili pepper (with seeds) and a green sweet pepper for taste. The roasted pumpkin seeds added an excellent touch to the taste and texture.

It happened that George was coming for a game of chess. "Is there enough food for George?" asked the chess maestro's protege - Adrian Cox. OF COURSE, and it's always more fun to cook for more people (no more than 4 at a time though).

As I laid the foods down on the table, I announced we were going to compete and make our own best burrito with the ingredients available: flour tortilla, guacamole, sour cream, rocket leaves, tomatoes, pumpkin seeds, cheddar cheese, roasted spiced pumpkin, roasted spiced red bell pepper, and red kidney beans and corn mix.

The touch of white sesame seeds was something I learned from May-Kay Dee in Khao San. You can cook the red bell pepper without roasting; it's a request from Adrian that I dutifully complied. We weren't sure how long it would take to cook the dried black beans, hence the use of canned beans. The corns though were fresh from the cob.

Adrian looking proud of his burrito that which he wouldn't have its photo taken. George took the contest seriously. I was mostly teasing and laughing at Adrian.


George's vs mine.

Adrian refused to let me take a picture of his burrito. For reason you can think of. It was a very close call between George's and mine. I think mine looked pretty but I have to give it to George because he's our guest :p Prize? George got to finish the last bite of everything! I thought I had made too much for three persons, but turned out everyone had rather good appetite this day. Hurray for Mexican!

Happy eating people.

A good meal is never complete without dessert. For something quick and easy, I made pudding using this Dark Chocolate and Peanut Butter Pudding recipe from my first post. Instead of chocolate, I used organic black sesame paste. It was surprisingly better than I thought it would be - it's delicious and taste healthy. I thought of Tam as I made this because she was begging for some the last time I made it for Adrian.

Ingredients:

(serve 3)

For the Veggie Filling:

• 2 roasted red bell pepper, skins and seeds removed, julienne
  
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• Sea salt to taste

1. Saute onions and red bell pepper with a pinch of salt. Add spices and cook until well coated and fragrant.
2. Keep warm in the oven at 100C.

For the Pumpkin Filling:

• 1/2 roasted pumpkin
• 1 Tablespoon cumin
• 1 Tablespoon chili powder
• White sesame seeds
  
• 1 roasted orange chili pepper, seeds removed and chopped
• Sea salt to taste
• 1 can organic red kidney bean
• 1 corn, niblet only
  

1. Scoop pumpkin out and mash to a smooth consistency. Saute pumpkin, with the remaining ingredients until it becomes golden in color. Taste and adjust with sea salt. Sprinkle with white sesame seeds.
   
2. Keep warm in the oven.
3. Use the same pan to cook together red kidney beans and corn niblet. Taste and season with sea salt.
4. Keep warm in the oven.

To Assemble:

• Arugula leaves
• Sharp white Cheddar cheese, grated
• 8 cherry tomatoes, diced
• Guacamole
• Sour cream (lemon juice + Cream)
• Toasted pumpkin seeds
  
• Flour tortilla
  

1. Wrap tortilla with aluminum foil and warm in the oven at 180C for 10 minutes.
2. Make your own burrito using all the ingredients above!
   

Monster Cookies

Last night we went over to Sandra and Nico's new house in Ari for a housewarming-cum-Christmas party. The party was aptly themed "Bring your own food". How convenient. There's also the gift exchange, which was a real challenge for me. For days I was harassing friends for ideas. Some of the suggestions I got included: toiletries, photo frame, towel.... non of which was very inspiring. Most importantly, non of which was gift I personally want to receive.

Eventually in the morning of our big night, Nuk showed me the picture of her gift through Yahoo Messenger: two baskets of large eggs. Let me re-frame that: two baskets of large eggs with double yolks. Go figure. Anyway I guessed it's not illegal to bring food item. So I decided instead of buying a hamper, why not bake some cookies? I did a pretty good job with my first batch of cookies for Yim's birthday. I think.

After some reading, I got the idea that cookies basically come from the same batter. You can add whatever you want for that extra personal touch. I found this recipe recipe for kids that uses multi-colored MnM's chocolate candy. I made some changes to suit the adult taste: dark chocolate in the peanut butter cookies for half the guilty sugar rush; and pecan nuts and Mars bar niblet to make up for the lack of sugar rush in the aforementioned recipe. Redundant. I know.

These recipes make 3 dozens cookies each. I baked a dozen each because the box can't fit more than that. Lame. I know. But hey! Look I put a ribbon over the box!

Adrian and I were leaving early and we got to pick our gifts before everyone else. I got a Calvin and Hobbe's from Sandra. MY FAVORITE! This is probably one of the best "lucky draw" gifts I've ever get. Adrian got a Starbuck's card from Gate. What else can a coffee addict ask for? Sandra later text me and said that whoever got my cookies shared them with everyone: "it was a hit!"

Ingredients:
(make 2 dozens)

For the Peanut Butter cookies:

• 1/4 cup butter, soften at room temperature
• 1/4 cup organic creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup unrefined white sugar
• 1/4 cup natural brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup unprocessed all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
  
• sea salt

For the Mars Bar Cookies:

• 1/2 cup butter, soften at room temperature
• 1/4 cup unrefined white sugar
• 1/4 cup natural brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup unprocessed all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 Mars Bar,
  
• 1/4 cup pecan, chopped
• sea salt
  

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line baking parchment over a baking tray.
   
2. Cream together butter (peanut butter) and sugar. Whisk in egg and vanilla extract. Set aside.
3. Sift flour, salt and baking soda in a separate bowl.
   
4. Fold flour mixture into butter mixture. Add fillings.
5. Transfer batter to baking parchment one tablespoon at a time. Sprinkle with sea salt. Bake for 15 - 18 minutes.
   

No Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Square

I adapted the recipe from this site. The dark chocolate chips didn't melt to a spreadable consistency. I added splash of whole milk to thin it out. Adrian was surprised when I told him the chocolate topping was made from the chocolate chips. Once he ate a couple of them because we ran out of chocolate and he had this craving to quench. He thought they were bad. I tasted the melted chocolate and decided to add maple syrup to make it "taste like high quality chocolate" as Adrian later testified.

We loved this Peanut Butter Squares. It's one of those desserts that we can't stop having more, and wish they never run out: we had 6 of out of the 10 squares; that's how much we loved it. I have this bag of digestive biscuits that I bought long time ago thinking I would use them to make a cheesecake that I once fell in love with. Anyway it hasn't happened and it's the only thing that remotely resembles graham crackers, hence the use of it. The biscuit crumbs add just the right touch of texture to the peanut butter layer. You may add more, or some chopped peanut butter, for more crunch.

Ingredients:
(makes 10 squares)

• 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup natural chunky peanut butter
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups digestive biscuits, crushed
• 1/4 tablespoon natural chunky peanut butter
  
• 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips
• 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
• splash of whole milk

1. Line a 4" x 6" baking pan with aluminium foil with overhang around the sides.
2. With a electric mixer, blend together together sugar, butter, peanut butter, and vanilla. Fold in biscuit crumbs and press the peanut butter mixture over the bottom of prepared pan.
3. Place a heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of boiling water. Melt chocolate chips and peanut butter to a spreadable consistency. Add whole milk and maple syrup if needed.
4. Pour chocolate mixture to top the peanut butter layer. Let sit in refrigerator for 1 hour or until chocolate is set.
5. Use the aluminium foil to lift the entire bar out of the pan. Remove the aluminium foil and cut bar into 10 squares. Return to refrigerator for another 2 hours before serving.
   

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Torte

For days Adrian was craving for peanut butter and Nutella. I thought I would make a Thanksgiving dessert with peanut butter and chocolate that will "wow" him. And so I decided to make this cheesecake torte with combination of a peanut butter mousse filling and Oreo crust. Unfortunately he told me he thought Oreo was disgusting. Granted Oreo isn't the best food in the world. Neither is it the most healthy thing on the supermarket shelf. But is Nutella? So I decided to go ahead with my plan and vouched to make him begging for more.

Thrice during the making of this torte I encountered ingredients problem: first, the springform pan was broken. Then I forgot to buy Oreo - the single most important ingredient for the crust. For the first time in my life I was thankful for 7-11. The next day when it was ready for the chocolate ganache, I ran out of cream. My foodie Indian neighbor came to rescue. If I were the least superstitious, I may have given up on this recipe. However the taste testing during the making told me to never turn back. At first glance this recipe may seem time consuming and overwhelming. However it is really easy and fun to make.

I used to bake cheesecakes, nothing else but cheesecakes, lots and lots of them. It's been years since I made them. This torte is most likely the best cheesecake I've ever made. After having a slice of it, Adrian and I looked at each other: we both knew the other person wanted more. Adrian even asked what happened if he finished the whole cake. I wouldn't have allowed that to happen without having a share of it, I said.

This recipe is unlikely to make it to the "top healthy foods you must eat before you die" list. It's a Thanksgiving treat for the fat boy/ girl in all of us.

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 32 Oreo cookies, finely processed into crumbs
• 5 1/3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• Small pinch of salt

1. Preheat the oven to 150C. Lightly grease a 9" springform pan.
2. Mix cookies crumbs with melted butter and salt. Toss to blend well.
3. Press the crust mixture into the base and side of springform pan. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove and set aside.
   

For the crunch:

• 1 1/4 cups salted peanuts, finely chopped, divided (for the filling, crunch and topping)
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
• 2 tsp. natural cane sugar
• 1/2 tsp. espresso powder
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• Dash of ground nutmeg

1. Mix 1/2 cup chopped peanuts, chocolate chips, sugar, espresso powder, cinnamon and nutmeg together and set aside.
   

For the torte filling:

• 2 cups cream
• 1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 12 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups natural creamy peanut butter
  
• 2 tbsp. whole milk

1. Beat cream with sugar until medium peak is form. Keep it in refrigerator until ready to sue.
2. Beat soften cream cheese until smooth. Add peanut butter, milk and 1/4 cup chopped peanuts. Beat to combine.
   
3. Using a spatula, fold in 1/4 chilled cream mixture to lighten the mousse. Then add the crunch and the rest of the cream mixture to the cream cheese mixture. Mix well with spatula.
4. Pour this mousse over the crust. Mounding and smoothing the top with the back of a spoon. Keep it in refrigerator for overnight (or at least 4 hours). Keep it covered once it's firm.
   

For the ganache topping:
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Put chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over the saucepan. Let the chocolate soften and just beginning to melt. Remove from heat.
2. Bring the cream to a boil.
3. Gently fold cream to the melted chocolate. Using a spatula, swirl to blend until the ganache is smooth.
4. Pour the ganache over the torte, smoothing with a metal spoon. Sprinkle the top with the remaining chopped peanut butter. Let it chill for at least 20 minutes or until the ganache is firm. Remove from the springform pan and keep in refrigerator until ready to serve.
   

Chocolate Zucchini Muffin with Peanut Butter Topping

I'm thinking of the one zucchini in the refrigerator. I know I will not be cooking for the next few days. For the little experience I have with zucchini, they decline pretty quickly. So what should I do with it? Do I watch and document its decomposing like what people do on Youtube for rabbit?

Luckily, I don't have to. If you just google "zucchini" you'll find thousands other (westerners) cooks who share one thing in common: getting rid of zucchini before the summer ends. And they all resort to baking - muffin, cake, cupcake, bread -, eventually. Speaking of confused identity: is it a dessert or savory?

I digress. It seems zucchini provides good moisture for the batter: rich, deep and dark with chocolate in this recipe. I love how the muffins come out with melty, oozy chocolate chips. the use of coconut oil gives it a hint of richness, moisture, and flavor that hits your nose before you take a bite, and permeates your house as these bake. Oh! How I love baking with coconut oil!

You don't even need food processor or blender for this - I did it with ease using my own hands. The ingredients below make 3 large muffins. You can double the portion to make 12 standard muffins or 6 large. Another tip I learned from the baker of Cocoa Island: refrigerate the batter overnight.

As I waited for the muffins to cool (after baking), I googled and found a Peanut Butter Topping from Recipezaar . I thought it would compliment the muffin, and helped to kill time. My impatience paid off: if I were a zucchini, this is the way I want to go. I love the Peanut Butter Topping so much I kept "tasting" it despite having consulted Adrian for approval, despite having brushed my teeth. I even decided to store the couple tablespoons extra in case I "need" it (for breakfast toast?).

Ingredients:
(3 large muffins)

For the Muffins

• 120mL brown sugar
  
• 30mL melted butter
• 60mL coconut oil
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
  
• 1/3 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 40mL buttermilk (1 tbs lemon juice + 1 cup milk; let sit 10 min)
• 1 cup zucchini, grated
• 1/3 cup unsweetened chocolate chip
• 2/3 unbleached flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• pinch of salt
• 2/3 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 teaspoon all-spice
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder

1. In a large bowl, mix together brown sugar, melted butter and coconut oil. Stir in egg. Add vanilla extract, buttermilk, grated zucchini and chocolate chips. Fold to combine.
2. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, salt, soda, all-spice and cinnamon. Make a hole in the middle and gently fold in zucchini mixture. Using a spatula, mix to just combined.

(either let it sit overnight or proceed as below)

3. Remove batter from the fridge and let sit in room temperature. Preheat oven to 175C. Lightly grease muffin pan.
4. Spoon batter over the muffin pan. Let baked in the center of the oven for 35 minutes.
5. Let the muffins cool and prepare the topping (optional)

For Peanut Butter Topping (optional)

• 1/2 cup butter (softened at room temperature)
• 1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoon buttermilk
• 1 teaspoons pure vanilla essence

1. Cream butter and sugar together
2. Add half the powdered sugar and blend well.
3. Pour in milk and vanilla.
4. Add the other half of sugar.
   
5. Blend until smooth.
   
6. Spread over muffin top to serve.
   

Banana Pancake with Coconut Syrup Peanut Butter

I came across a Peanut Butter Boy who has this obsession with, surprise! PEANUT BUTTER. I took his Banana Pancake and Maple Peanut Butter Recipe with a few adaptations and didn't skip any of the optional steps. The result: it's obscene but REAL GOOD!! It was such a winner that it "kind of" removed my disgust for the Banana Peanut Butter Omelet on its website...... Plus, I found out "someone's" childhood addiction of runny egg (boiled for exactly 3.5 minutes!) scrambled with jam and peanut butter for breakfast......hmmm......
The recipe makes an awful lots of pancakes. I went ahead with the volume and kept the remaining batter in refrigerator. It should keep good for 7 days. I can't wait to experiment with different toppings for our next servings.

Ingredients:
*Makes 12-15 (3″) pancakes.

Pancakes:
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup cottage cheese with pinch of salt (I used ricotta)
3 eggs
2 bananas, divided

Optional:

Blueberries (I used raspberries)
1/4 cup mini dark-chocolate chips
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
Mix the chips and walnuts together in a small bowl

Coconut Syrup Peanut Butter:
1 cup creamy natural peanut butter (I prefer chunky)
1T Coconut syrup (PB Boy uses Maple syrup + 1Tablespoon of sugar)

1. To make pancake batter blend oats, cottage cheese, eggs and 1 banana in a blender until smooth and creamy. Slice remaining banana into thin slices and set aside.

2. To make peanut butter spread, pour coconut syrup and peanut butter into a jar and stir until well mixed.

3. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat with a splash of butter. Place about 1/4 cup of batter in each spot and flatten with the back of a spoon. Place 3 slices of banana in each pancake along with raspberries and optional ingredients. Cook for about 1-2 minutes. Once the top starts to set, flip and cook for an additional minute.

4. Spread peanut butter spread on top. I finished it with a very generous dash of maple syrup. YUM!!

*Storing: The batter will keep in the fridge for about 7 days. When you remove it from the fridge, it will be much thicker due the temperature and oat absorption. Add milk, 2T at a time, to achieve desired batter consistency.

The easiest food blog

Pee Wee recently turned me on to this amazing website called Taste Spotting. I fell in love with it the instant I saw the many tantalizing food pictures! What a great website; it's a collection of recipes from food blogs all over the world. How convenient!

One of the pictures that caught my eyes was this savory baked zucchini cupcake. It has a rather intriguing name - That Zucchini. It uses thick zucchini coins as cupcake base, mounded with spinach-raisin-almond mix. It took a while to take a liking of its complexity. It's an interesting dish that would do wonder for entertainment. The only thing I would change is to chop up the raisins. You got to really make sure there is raisin in every bite; it could be rather bland without the raisins. If you have time, read also the story the writer wrote on the history of the recipe and how the name That Zucchini came about.

If you knew me, you would have known that I am not a rice person. My lab partner in university used to comment that I was the most non-asian Asian person he knew. The first question (almost) everyone would ask is "what about bread/ noodle/ pasta?" Well, I love bread. Not a big fan of noodle nor pasta. Too starchy for my liking. "So it's the starch?" No. Because I love potatoes.

When Adrian came back from Prague, the very first thing I wanted to do was to cook. I knew he must have missed my cooking. And so I immediately put that into action the next morning with a Roasted Garlic Potatoes in Thyme and Butter. You will never go wrong with garlic. And with a hint of lemon juice, this herb roasted potatoes were a hit when paired with Smoked Salmon Frittata.

My father used to make this baked potato boat that I really liked. The picture of the Pesto Baked Potatoes reminded me of those days when my father would take out the convection oven and make a whole bunch of baked potato stuffed with luncheon meats (yeap, those were the carnivorous days). The potatoes didn't look anything like those in the recipe. But heck! They taste real good. I added some uncalled-for blue cheese to the stuffing as I remembered a double-cheese potato that I once made. My version of the Baked Pesto Double Cheese Potato got an instant YES from Adrian. He even remarked how I changed his taste for potatoes. Now, that's a real testimonial.

I also tried two of the sweet dishes: a French Toast and a Brownies. Although the French Toast was actually savory.
It's called the Savory Parmesan French Toast. Adrian had a hard time figuring the French Toast out - he kept waiting to taste "French Toast". If you know what I mean. He even added maple syrup to it. To be fair, it was good. I guess it would help not to get caught up with the name. What about changing it to something like.....Savory Parmesan Toast......not very creative, am I?


There also the brownies made of two of the best things in the world: Nutella and peanut butter. I gave some to my Korean friend, Sandra, who accompanied me to watch a German opera at the Thailand Cultural Center. She reported the next morning that the brownies were a success with her kids. Good! There was a pigeon stranded at our porch after a storm. Adrian fed it with some brownies and it wouldn't stop eating. Even birds can't resist the goodness of Nutella and Peanut Butter. The brownies were moist and soft. My only complaint is it didn't do justice to the hazelnut-ty taste of Nutella.