Victoria Sponge Cake

For my one month anniversary, I decided to make a British cake since I married a British bloke, . What is more British than a Victoria sponge cake named after Queen Victoria. She enjoyed a slice of sponge cake with her afternoon tea (stated by wikipedia).  Victoria sponge cake is made of two vanilla cakes with cream and strawberry jam in the center.

I followed a recipe from BBC good food website. (This recipe is all in metric units.)  Sadly I haven't figured out my oven so the top layer did not bake entirely so the middle sunk.  However, I think it turned out nicely for my first Victoria sponge cake.

We enjoyed it for dessert, and I've brought most of rest into my office to enjoy.

Kung Pao and Hot and Sour soup

Because my friend, Jen was going to have surgery, a friend organized meals for her family so she wouldn't have to worry.  I signed up for last night.  I decided to make a Chinese meal, but it had to be gluten-free.  So the menu was shrimp fried rice, kung pao chicken and hot and sour soup.  I've made shrimp fried rice before, but I had to search for the recipes for kung pao chicken and the hot and sour soup. Hopefully Jen's family didn't mind being guinea pigs for me. I don't have a recipe for the fried rice. That will have to come at a later time.

Overall, it turned out really well! Next time I want to make both of them spicier. They both could use more of a kick. Instead of changing the servings on the recipe for the kung pao, I just doubled it and followed the recipe as is.  It makes it easier to follow it. I did receive a wonderful message from Jen's family telling me how much they loved the meal. So these two recipes are definitely keepers!

Now, I just need to find a good Chinese take-out place in my town.  Yes, I can cook it, but sometimes you just want to call for Chinese take-out. There's something about eating out of those Chinese take-out boxes.

Apologies

Apologies to any readers following this blog.  I've been a bit busy getting engaged, planning a wedding, and getting married.  Now that I'm settling back into married life, I plan to post regularly to this blog.  So readers, don't lose hope!

oreo brownies

what do you get when you combine oreos with brownies? an oreo brownie! my friend, justdizzy, invited some friends over for a girly night of brownies and bridesmaids, the movie. she made these delicious oreo brownies. the recipe is from lorraine pascale on bbc food. they were fantastic!

enjoy!

Ingredients

• 165g/5½oz butter, plus extra for greasing

• 200g/7oz dark chocolate, grated or finely chopped

• 3 free-range eggs

• 2 free-range egg yolks

• 1 vanilla pod, seeds only (or alternatively 2 tsp vanilla extract)

• 165g/5½ oz soft light brown sugar

• 2 tbsp plain flour

• 1 tbsp cocoa powder

• pinch salt

• 154g/5½oz pack chocolate biscuits, such as Oreos, broken into quarters

• icing sugar, for dusting

Preparation method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Grease a 20cm/8in square baking tin with butter, then line with baking paper with the paper overlapping the sides a little.

2. Melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat. When the butter has melted, remove the pan from the heat and add the grated (or chopped) chocolate. Leave to stand for a few minutes, or until the chocolate melts, and then stir together. Alternatively, you can put the chocolate and butter in a bowl and melt in the microwave in 25-second blasts, stirring well each time.

3. Whisk the eggs, egg yolks and vanilla together in a large bowl until the eggs begin to get light and fluffy. Add the sugar in two additions, whisking between each. Pour it around the side of the egg mix so as not to knock out the air that has been whisked in. Keep whisking until the mixture becomes stiffer. Once the egg mixture is ready, pour the chocolate into it - again around the sides so as not to knock the air out.

4. Add the flour, cocoa powder, salt and a third of the biscuits and stir until fully combined, then pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Scatter the remaining biscuits over the top, pressing them in slightly. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 25–30 minutes. The middle should be very so slightly gooey. Leave the brownies to cool in the tin - the top will sink and crack a little.

5. Pull the brownies out using the overlapping paper and cut into squares. Dust with icing sugar.

high cholestorol

it's a sad day when the doctor tells a foodie that she has high cholesterol. what does that mean? reduce my intake of creamy sauces, butter, fried food, cheese, red meat, cakes, pastries, chocolate, mayonnaise, shall i go on?

i don't eat those items above on a regular basis (despite what you see on this blog) so i'm a bit puzzled why my cholesterol is so high. high cholesterol doesn't run in my family either.

well... i've decided that it's too difficult to do this over the holiday season so i will probably start after the new year.

does this mean the end of this blog? i hope not. it's just another challenge. how to eat good food and stay healthy.

korean keema

i love pakistani keema with the blend of curry spices, and it's an easy dish to make. recently i borrowed nigella lawson's, Kitchen cook book, from a friend, and i found this recipe for korean keema. the component that makes it korean is koh-chu-jang (spicy korean hot pepper paste).

you can double the recipe to make enough for four people or nice leftovers.

Korean Keema

(Serves 2)

150g sushi rice (short grain)

250g turkey mince (or ground beef)

6 thin or 3 fat spring onions, chopped

125g frozen petite pois (peas)

1 tsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp rice wine

2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)

For the sauce:

2 tbsp gochujang

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp rice wine

2 tbsp soy sauce

1. Cook the rice as instructed in a rice cooker.

2. Put a kettle on to boil for the peas later.

3. Whisk together the sauce ingredients, and stir in minced turkey. Leave to steep for about 5 minutes.

4. Heat a wok or heavy-based frying pan. While this is heating up, pour boiling water from the kettle over the frozen peas in a sieve or colander, letting the hot water drain away, thereby defrosting the peas. When the wok/pan is hot, add the oil, then the spring onions. Stir-fry for 3-4 minutes.

5. Add the turkey mince and its sauce, and stir fry for 4-5 minutes until cooked.

6. Add the peas and heat for 2-3 minutes.

7. Serve over rice and with a good scattering of chopped coriander.

sin gluten in spain

i had an expected work trip to barcelona. sadly i wasn't able to partake in the amazing cuisine of the city because my schedule had no wiggle room outside of the exhibition i was there to attend.

after a full day of meeting with exhibitors and being on my feet in two inch heels all day, i headed back to the hotel wanting something decent to eat. i walked downstairs and turned left after leaving the hotel. i came across this cafe, la cafe creme, which was right next door. hm... what kind of cuisine do they serve? doesn't hurt to just check out their menu?

so i walked in and perused their menu. i came across something that said, "carne" (beef in spanish). can't go wrong with beef, right? so i asked for one carne item from the menu. sadly i can't remember the name of this dish. i waited patiently as the young spanish boy prepared my takeway for me.

after paying, i went back up to my hotel room. i peeled open the aluminum foil to see what this was. it reminded me of a stuffed taco filled with a mound of pulled beef. the beef was nicely marinated in a tasty sauce, not too spicy. however, what was most intriguing was the "stuffed taco". it reminded me of a pita, and i believe this "stuffed taco" was gluten free, possibly corn flour based. at that moment i remembered that on the menu it said, "sin gluten" which means without gluten. the beef was wonderfully tender. i savored each bite. now i just wish i could remember what it was called. i have a feeling that i will probably never have this again unless i return to cafe in barcelona.

so if you know, please tell me.