Open-Faced Polenta Tempeh Sandwich

On the day I was due to come back from KL, Adrian text me and asked if I had any request for breakfast. Having sent him home with tempeh and organic polenta from Country Farm Organics, I replied with "tempeh and avocado sandwich with polenta instead of bread" enthusiastically. I wondered if I should tell him about marinating the tempeh and preparing the polenta in advance?

While we were on the way back from airport, Adrian told me he bought a bunch of stuffs and he didn't know what to do with my request. Ahhhh..... It is actually a synergy of two recipes that I posted before:

1. I used the marinate from this TLT sandwich for the tempeh, and served mashed avocado on the side instead of as spread.
   
2. The polenta was made fries-like using this recipe. The Garlic Mayo Spread was excellent as dressing.
   

So there you go: An open-faced Polenta Tempeh Sandwich! The original TLT Sandwich recipe was the reason I fell in love with tempeh. Therefore my liking of this dish might have been skewed. Also, my eldest sister, Shiang Ting, once mentioned her lack of confidence for Adrian's food taste because he always has good words for the foods I cook. Make this and judge for yourself. Adrian and I will definitely be happy to have this for breakfast again and again :)

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

.
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!

Ricotta and Sun-dried Tomatoes Crepe

For three days in a row I was making the same omelet for breakfast: sun-dried tomatoes, rocket leaves and Gruyere cheese. Although Adrian was very happy with the omelet, and claimed to never get bored, I did. So I decided to make something different with the same ingredients - savory crepe.

I prepared the pesto and filling a night before. I'm getting more comfortable with my cooking instinct, i.e. less precise measurement.

Ingredients:
(one big crepe)

Rocket Pesto:

• Rocket leaves
• Garlic cloves
• Parmesan cheese, grated
• Extra virgin olive oil

Start with chopping one clove of garlic. Throw in a big handful of rocket leaves and some grated parmesan cheese to chop. Continue until you get the amount you need. Press it into cake and cover with extra-virgin olive oil. Store in refrigerator.

For the filling:

• Homemade Ricotta cheese
• Water
  
• 5 pieces Sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
• Parmesan cheese, grated

I started thinning about 1/2 cup ricotta cheese with 2 tablespoons of water. Stir in sun-dried tomatoes and parmesan cheese to mix. Taste and adjust with sea salt if necessary. Add more ricotta to increase volume.

For the crepe:

• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 4 eggs, slightly beaten
  
• pinch of salt

Option: Gruyere cheese

Mix flour and milk thoroughly. Fold in beaten eggs and salt. Melt enough butter cover a 9" skillet. Pour the batter over and swirl the pan to cover the bottom. Fry until the bottom is nicely browned and top sets. Transfer to serving plate.
Spread top with ricotta filling and slices of Gruyere cheese. Fold crepe into half. Serve with ground black pepper and pesto sauce.

Dill and Buttermilk Biscuit with Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese

My first attempt of this recipe was almost disastrous. I added only half of the required flour and didn't listen to my gut feeling. It was too late when I saw how the batter had gone flat after 5 minutes in the oven. I literally squatted in front of the oven and watched for the next 15 minutes as it continued to bake. Even Adrian knew something was amiss-ed. It ended looking like a jigsaw puzzle/ world map/ deformed pizza. Nevertheless it smelled really good. Adrian took a small piece of it and proclaimed "WOW!". So I decided to let it be.

It would have been the envy of breakfast club with a pretty looking fried egg. Anyway I'm glad I didn't throw the now-deformed biscuit away. It was really good. The credit must go to the sharp cheddar, which was the best I've bought so far (it came buy-one-free-one, too! Go get it now at Paragon's Gourmet Market.)

I also came to learn a new trick frying egg: wait for the egg white to set and pour in a couple tablespoon of water to the skillet. Cover so the yolk steams and set to your liking.

Anyway my undying spirit swore to make a come back - immediately the next day. You'd think I'd stick to the core of the recipe. Tsk, tsk, tsk. I decided to substitute the flour with 1/2 cup wholemeal, double the amount of baking powder and added an extra splash of cream to the batter.

As it turned out, with the correct shape and form, Adrian proclaimed "It's all good and delicious, but I prefer the messed up one." What do you know? Accidents make geniuses.

With sun-dried tomato scrambled egg.

Ingredients:

(makes 6 bun-sized or 12 cookies-sized)

For the Biscuit

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
• 2 oz coarsely grated extra-sharp Cheddar
  
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• 1 cup buttermilk (1 TB lemon juice + 1 C milk)
  

1. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Add the grated butter and mix until coated in flour.
2. Add the dill and the buttermilk until you get a sticky dough. Line a baking sheet with baking paper and preheat oven to 200C.
3. Spoon 6 mounds (or 12 for cookies-sized) of dough about 2 inches apart onto an ungreased large baking sheet. Brush with melter butter.
4. Bake until puffed and pale golden, 15 to 20 minutes (or less if you make it into cookies-sized).

For the Cream Cheese:

• 1 box cream cheese
  
• juice from 1/2 lemon
• 15 capers
  
• 1 tbs chopped dill
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Mix the cream cheese with the lemon juice, capers and dill, add salt and pepper to taste.

To serve:

1. Slice biscuit into halves.
2. Spread cream cheese over the inside of biscuits.
3. Put rocket salad on top of cream cheese, followed by smoked salmon and fried egg. Top with the other halve of biscuit.
   

Fig with Goat Cheese and Almond

What a simple, straight forward and yet elegant way of making appetizer. The flavors of figs, tangy goat cheese, salty almonds, sweet honey, and balsamic vinegar contrast to make these a delicious and very pretty appetizer. Serve it as it is or over a bed of rocket.

Ingredients:
4 figs (dried or fresh)
Goat cheese, crumbled
Almonds, whole or sliced
Balsamic Vinegar
Honey

1. Preheat oven to high
2. Carefully cut a cross over the dried fig to make pocket space, making sure the bottom remains intact. Stuff crumbled goat cheese to the pocket space. Top it with almonds. *if using fresh fig, cut fig into half, top with cheese and press almond onto cheese to push cheese into the fig.
   
3. Broil in oven until cheese melt and almonds turn golden brown.
4. Drizzle with balsamic and honey to serve.
   

Tangy Lentil Bake served with Red Cabbage Apple sauce, and Roasted Pumpkin with (unknown leaves) Salad

A student came back from a holiday break in Chiang Mai. Today was her first day back to the studio and she was eager to introduce me to her daughter and friend. She thought finally they get to meet the teacher she has been raving about *blush*. I said to her, with an apologetic smile, "I'm not teaching this week". And her daughter and friend will only be in Bangkok this week. Oops....

I have a good reason for that though: our favorite Queen of Back Bends - Paddy McGrath - is leading a series of morning practice based on her YogaPad series at Yoga Elements this entire week. I had, due to some reasons, been missing Paddy for the last couple of times she was in Bangkok. I missed her "stickman" and "chicken arms".

For some weird reason, the image of a red cabbage came into my vision as I was watching Paddy in her Downward Facing Dog rugby-hooligan style. Could be the purple she was wearing? By the way, why is red cabbage red cabbage when it actually is purple? Anyway that gave me idea for dinner - Lentil Bake served with Red Cabbage and Apple sauce.

As I ran my mind tasting and matching the few salad recipes that I could remember with the Lentil Bake, roasted pumpking sprung to the tip of my tongue. I love how they have different variety of pumpkins: Japanese, golden, Thai...etc. Although most of the time I let my wallet decides instead of the flavor. This time, I was attracted to the vibrant orange of Golden Pumpkin.

Don't you just hate it when they don't sell the thing that you want on the day you need it? That's how I felt when I couldn't get arugula. I distinctly remember they had it just two days ago (although they were labeled as rocket). And how convenient that they should have fresh rosemary and marjoram when I'm not needing them!! Anyway I bought a box of mixed greens that kind of resemble arugula/ rocket. Someone should talk to somebody about the importance of labeling in English for the sake of the under-educated self-proclaimed cook. Oh! and proper shelfing too.

Enough of my whining.

For Lentil Bake
I chose red lentil but green would work just fine. I also added some chopped parsley and oregano that still linger in the refrigerator after one week. The last time I made this dish, I also added sauteed mushroom to the bottom of baking dish before pouring the lentil mixture over. If you don't fancy spices, you can omit the coriander/ cumin/ paprika. This dish is good on itself but I really like the hint of sweet cinnamon that the Red Cabbage and Apple sauce impart onto the tanginess of lentil bake. Adrian and I like it sour. Feel free to reduce the amount of lemon juice/ zest called for.

Ingredients:

(serves 2)
1Cup lentils, rinsed
1/2 large red onion, chopped
1 glove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon each of ground coriander, cumin, paprika (or 1 teaspoon of any one of these)
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
500mL Water (divided)
1/2 Tablespoon fresh herbs (eg. parsely/ oregano/ thyme leaves/ marjoram)
vegetable stock (I used 1/2 Tablespoon miso paste)
50g grated cheddar cheese
Handful of white sesame seeds (pine nuts are good, too)
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 200C.
2. Saute onions with a pinch of salt. Add in garlic when onions turn translucent. Saute until fragrant. (If using: add coriander, cumin and paprika. Fry for another minute)
   
3. Stir in rinsed lentil and fry for 2 minutes. Whisk in 1/4 C of water and stir. Pour in lemon juice and zest. Add another 1/4 Cup of water and let it simmer.
   
4. Mix in vegetable stock/ miso paste. Continue to add water 1/4 Cup at a time until the lentils are cooked, about 20 - 30 minutes. It took me about 1 cup of water.
5. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and melt in 2/3 of cheddar. If you are using herbs, add them in now.
6. Pour over baking dish. Top with the remaing cheddar cheese and sprinkle with white sesame seeds. Bake at 200C for 30 minutes.

Red Cabbage and Apple Sauce
Below is from the original recipe I found in VegBox. I added nutmeg and replaced brown sugar with a handful of raisins. You want to make sure there's enough raisin for every bite of the sauce or it can be very bland.
Ingredients:
1/4 medium size red cabbage, slice thinly
1/2 large apple, grated
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 cup water

1. Saute red cabbage with a little bit of oil and stir for 5 minutes (add raisin if you are using).
   
2. Add cinnamon, sugar (omit it if using raisin), apple and water. Keep stirring for another 5 minutes or until most water evaporated.

Roasted Pumpkin with Arugula Salad

So I made a few changes to the original recipe: I replaced arugula with some greens that Adrian said were rhubarb but were not because apparently rhubarb leaves are inedible. I also used shaved Romano cheese in place of Parmesan. The sharp cheese more than made up for the lack of unique peppery arugula. By the way, the pumpkin skin is also edible and rather sweet.




Ingredients:
(serve 2)
1/4 medium pumpkin, cut into wedges.
1/2 medium shallot, sliced thinly
2 Tablespoon extravirgin olive oil
1Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/3 Tablespoon brown sugar
Salt, cayenne pepper

1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/3 teaspoon honey
2 Tablespoon Extravirgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 bunch aurgula, washed and trimmed
Handful of pine nuts
1 ounce Parmesan, shaved

1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar,sugar, salt and cayenne pepper. Toss in pumpkin wedges and shallots.
3. Wrap with aluminium foil and bake covered for 20 minutes.
   
4. Unwrap the foil and bake uncovered for another 30 minutes.
5. Whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.
   
6. Toss arugula with 1/3 of the honey vinaigrette.
7. Spread arugula on a plate. Arrange pumpkin wedges and shallots on top. Sprinkle with pine nuts and top with shaved parmesan. Drizzle the remaining honey vinaigrette over the plate.