What to Cook?

Deciding what to cook is not only an exercise in frustration at times, but these days, it is a privilege for many. This week's column looks not only at highs and lows of meal planning, but it also asks how all of us can rethink meal planning given the current world food crisis: "I don’t want to sound overly nostalgic, I know that often the “good ole’ days” were also “hard ole’ days” But perhaps the time has come for us to think of meal planning in a different way because if we are not careful, the ability to feed ourselves will have nothing to do with wants and desires as our constraints will be money, health and availability." Click here to read the rest of the column. And for an interesting read, you might like to check out Tea's post: No Words.

This particular dish featured here today is Fried (sauteed Bora & Shrimp) Bora is also know an yard-long beans or snake beans. It is one of my go-to dishes when I'm wondering "what to cook". Click here for the recipe.

My dear friend Zuzana of Zlamushka's Spicy Kitchen is hosting yet another unique event, Tried & Tasted. I was honoured and just a little nervous :) when she asked that Tastes Like Home be the first blog to be Tried & Tasted. I'm excited to see your creations and interpretations. Please do not hesitate to email me for any of the recipes you'd like to try. If you have questions about the ingredients or about substitutions, I'd be more than happy to answer.

This week I'd like to thank Madhavi, Swati & Vege Yum for bestowing the Yummy Blog Award on Tastes Like Home. Thanks to Roopa of Kitchen Treats for creating this award. Now, I'm supposed to pass this award on to 5 blogs but let me tell you, I had a really difficult time picking just 5 blogs so I picked 6. I thought that since I was awarded the award 3 times I could present the award at least once more than stipulated. Truth be told, I want to give it to everyone! However, I know that the blog love will be passed on just as in pay it forward. So here are my picks.

Lori-Lynn of Taste With the Eyes - the name of this blog says it all;
Sig of Live to Eat - whether she's at home cooking, dining out or travelling abroad, she never neglects those of us who are food-porn lovers :);
Peter of Kalofagas - this man can turn some tricks in the kitchen;
Suganya of Tasty Palettes - I've already threatened to invite myself over to her house;
Marie of Proud Italian Cook - this is homemade gourmet cooking at its best
Coffee of The Spice Cafe - this woman could feed me anything and I'd eat it, even if I didn't want to.

And finally, when I saw this Orange-Lemon Cake last week on Patricia's blog, I could not resist. All I could think of was a big cup of tea and a warm slice of this cake. You've got to try it. The recipe can be found here.

Squeeze & Suck, Slice & Dice or Total Body Commitment?

Take your mind out of the gutter! I am asking how you eat your mangoes! That's what this week's column is all about, the methods some of us employ when eating ripe mangoes. Read and tell me which of those techniques you employ when devouring a succulent mango, known in Hindu Mythology as the "Food of the Gods."

This week I am not going to tempt you with Mango Milkshake with Ice Cream, Stuffed Chicken with Mango Guacamole, Mango Souffle, Mango Salsa, Mango Chicken with Red Peppers or Blackbean, mango, Lime & Cilantro Salsa. But you click on the links and surrender to the temptation. I'm only presenting mangoes in the next best way I enjoy them, as a sorbet. I used David Lebovitz's recipe from The Perfect Scoop. You can also check out and send all your mango creations to Chris of Melle Cotte's Cinco de Mango event. So whether you make a mango mousse, margarita, martini, custard, cake, curry or chutney enjoy the mango season!

Elle & Ben, thank you both for the Excellent Blog award, I am chuffed. Will wear it proudly on the blog soon.

"I find it unnerving to see how stubbornly people -mainly women- stick to the idea that a male child is superior to a female child." Want to know what this quotation is all about? You'll have to read Bee's post this week at Forgive Me My Nonsense..."

Sometimes love means hard work

The subject of this week's column was steeped in hard work and an education. As you already know by now, the Caribbean is made up of a large Chinese population with Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica having the largest populations. Well, in Guyana, we have a pastry called Chinese cake (yeah, remember I told you about our practical way of naming things). I love Chinese cake and it one of the things I miss not having, well, unless I make it myself thanks to a friend who shared her family recipe with me.

The Chinese cake we make is essentially a pastry-cake that's made with 2 types of pastries and a sweet filling of black-eyed-peas-paste. I'll let you read all about making it here.

As you can see it is still warm with the filling soft and sweet, I was anxious and excited, I couldn't wait. :)

Here the cake has cooled and the filling solidifies.

I have been scouring the internet trying to come up with the original dish that it is inspired from and through my own efforts and in communication with Tigerfish, it is apparent that our Chinese cake is similar in nature to the Chinese mooncake. When you check out the link, you will see how many varieties of mooncakes there are and how they differ from region to region. Ours as you can see looks more like this and the one at the bottom here.

I love mine with peanut punch.

In the Guyanese-Chinese adaption, black-eye-bean paste was substituted for the much loved red-bean paste. My friend Bee over at Rasa Malaysia has some red-bean-paste recipes that you should check out.

Chinese New Year will be celebrated on Thursday, February, 7, so I'd like to wish my fellow country people a happy new year and also to all of my friends celebrating the holidays, especially those that read this blog.

Be sure to check out Jaden at Steamy Kitchen for the feast she's planning. She already has some recipes posted that you can try.

I am sending my Chinese Cake over to another good friend of mine, Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook for her event My Legume Love Affair.

If any of you adventurous ones out there would like the recipe for the Chinese cake, please email me.

A note on last week's post on golden apples, in Jamaica it is also called June plums, thanks Chennette & Ann and Maya alerted me that it is also called hog plums. Each day, there is something to learn.

Over at Forgive Me My Nonsense... this week, I weep for my country.

Have a good week everyone.

Golden Apple Love

This was one of those weeks I drew a blank as to what to write about. I set about making some stewed guavas, you know, to get the creative juices flowing. Nothing. Nada. Then I went to work, first day of the semester and in chatting with a colleague, inspiration struck. You'll have to click here to read how it all unfolded and to learn more about this fruit we call golden apple.

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. And if you need anything, you know what you have to do. Email me.

On the mark, set, eat!

What?! Snow in the Caribbean? (lol)

"The Christmas holidays are brutal, they are not for the weak or faint-hearted. Christmas is for the fittest, the strongest and the bravest. You have to possess certain qualities in order to survive, and still have the energy needed for January 2 when you return to work. You need to be an organizer, a shopper, an entertainer and oh, a cook.... And, if we’re not careful, the holidays can take the joy out of cooking even for those of us who love to cook." Click here to read the rest of the column in which I outline a plan for tackling the big meal most of us are going to have this year.

It’s a very flexible plan and can be adjusted to suit your needs and circumstances.

I’ve been busy in the kitchen these past weeks experimenting and remaking some things as I suggest in my column. Experimenting like this is a way to avoid being frustrated on the day itself just in case a dish I’m trying for the first time does not come out right. Today, I’m sharing those dishes with you.

Let me start by drawing your attention to the photograph at the top of this post - pumpkin fritters. There is more than one version of this dish, the one above can be eaten as a savoury dish with a hint of sweetness or it can be eaten as a sweet when dusted with powdered sugar. Be warned, once you start popping these little beauties into your mouth, there is no stopping until all are gone.

I like any dessert with apples and apple pie is one of my favourites. So I thought that I’d experiment by making small individual apple pies, you know, so each guest would feel oh so special with their own little pie. While the thought is a lovely one, don't bother making these if you're having more than 6 people over because it's time consuming; especially if you want to do like I did (inspired by Martha Stewert) and cut out pretty little patterns to cover the pie. Save this dramatic presentation for a smaller gathering, or if you find someone you can designate to be the pie-making person.

Next, it was time to channel two of my favourite chefs in the kitchen. Both of these recipes I've tried before and they have not failed me and more importantly, they never fail to impress.

This is Tyler Florence’s Scallop Potato Gratin. The recipe is here.

And this here is Jamie Oliver's Baked Onions. Click here for the recipe.

Welcome to my table.

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For the past 2 years I've been making my Christmas presents and this year is no exception so when Zuzana at Burntmouth.com announced her event: A spoonful of Christmas, I was excited. My gift basket this year is going to be made up of chutneys, jams, spice rubs and flavoured salts and sugars among other things. Here are the flavoured salts I've made so far. They can be used as finishing salts or as seasoning salts.

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Finally, my good friend Bee of Jugalbandi and I are co-authoring a new blog, Forgive Me My Nonsense... We invite you to come visit and share your thoughts with us, and feel free to add us to your blog rolls and feeds. So you're probably wondering what this blog is all about. I'm not going to tell you, find out for yourself, go on, click here. :)

Please email me if you need any of the recipes in this post.

Time for Conkies

"According to the A-Z of Barbadian Heritage, the Ghanaian “kenkey” is probably the origin of the local word, conkie. In Ghana, Kenkey refers to similarly prepared corn meal dishes." That excerpt is taken from this week's column that looks at this dish that is made throughout the Caribbean.

On Friday, November 30th, Barbados will be celebrating 41 years of Independence from British rule and one of the foods often made and eaten around this time is conkie! Prior to its independence, the eating of conkies in Barbados was associated with November 5th – Guy Fawkes night.

The primary ingredients are pumpkin, cornmeal, sweet potatoes and coconut along with spices etc. It's a sweet dish and can be eaten at any meal or as a snack. Labour intensive because of the grating, the gift of a conkie is highly prized.

Conkie mixture

I enjoy making the foods of my adopted home and learning about them. So for this Independence I made conkies for the first time. Feedback from my Bajan friends has been very positive.

Conkie before steaming

Cooked conkie

Here is a step-by-step slide demo how to make conkies. If you cannot get banana leaves where you are this mixture can be placed in ramekins and steamed. Click here and I'll send you the recipe.

This is also my entry to Meeta's Monthly Mingle, the theme being, Traditional Feasts.

Happy Independence Barbados!

Feasting at Festivals

This week, Hindus throughout the world will be celebrating Diwali, the festival of lights, and that includes us here in the Caribbean where Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago and Suriname are home to the largest populations of Caribbean Hindus and Muslims. Hindu and Muslim religious holidays are therefore, national holidays.

Growing up in a multicultural society with people of various races and religions helps one to gain insights that some people go a lifetime without glimpsing. Coming from a bi-racial family, I often had a front-row seat to the cultural heritage of both my parents. Click here to read the column and some of my memories of celebrating these holidays.

The tradition of celebrating, for example, Diwali, is thought to have been brought to Guyana in 1853 by the first set of indentured labourers from India.

Though I'm neither Hindu nor Muslim, I miss celebrating these holidays with my family and friends. Today, I thought I’d share with you some of the foods of these religious holidays that I look forward to having and miss dearly. I want to sincerely thank my cousin, Doris for guiding me through the process, long distance, of making parsad; my aunt Betty for showing me how to make her version of parsad and roat; my cousin-in-law, Shireen for the step by step demo of making vermicelli cake; and my friend, Safie for sharing her mitai (kurma) recipe with me. I hope that I did justice to all your teachings and look forward to getting better.

Typical veg meal on religious holiday

Curried potatoes (aloo curry)

Sauteed pumpkin (fried pumpkin)

Sauteed spinach and channa

Split-peas dhal

Parsad (parched flour, ghee, sugar, water, milk, cardamom and raisins)

Parsad is what we call this dish, if you recognise it by another name based on the ingredients or look, can you let me know? Thanks.

Roat (flour, ghee, sugar, milk and raisins)

Again, if you recognise this sweet by another name, please share it with me.

Mitai (Kurma)

Vermicelli cake

Happy Diwali! And email me for any of the recipes.

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By now, many of you may have heard or seen the Click event being hosted by the tireless duo at Jugalbandi, Bee & Jai. Based on all that I’ve read and seen, I’d say that the first event was a tremendous success and that this event will get stronger and bigger as time goes by.

Last’s month’s theme was eggs and you can have a look here at the entries and here for the winners in the various categories. A generous and very creative woman, Sunita of Sunita’s world was the overall winner. Congrats my friend.

This month, the theme is noodles and I am honoured to be asked to join the esteemed panel of judges for this month’s event. Read the details of the event. For info on this month’s theme and how to submit your entries, click here.

I’m excited to see your entries so click away!

Gimme Plantains & Friendship Breads

When many people think about Caribbean food, plantains quickly come to mind. While you can't blame them because we do eat a lot of plantains in these parts, we're much more than plantains, but that's for another column and another post :) Often when plantains are thought of in the Caribbean-food context, it is usually as fried ripe plantains. However, there are so many other ways that we prepare and eat plantains.

In my column this week, I share some of the plantain dishes I enjoy the most and also a new spice-paste combo for sauteed green plantains that I learnt from here. Thanks Sailu. Click here to read the column.

If you'd like to learn more about the plantain and the plantain versus the banana, then Jugalbandi is the place to go. This week they had an insightful and informative post about the plantain.

Asha of Foodie's hope also has profiled some interesting plantain recipes this past week.

Without further ado, I present some plantain treats for you. If you'd like the recipe to any of these dishes, please do not hesitate to email me.

Plantain chips

Plantain Foo-Foo

(Foo-foo/fu-fu is an African dish: made by boiling and pounding startchy root vegetables and making them into balls to be eaten with stews or in soups. Plantains are also made into foo-foo though strictly speaking it is not a root vegetable though we think of it as a ground provision)

Foo-foo with stewed beef

Boiled ripe plantains with herb butter

Fried ripe plantains (very ripe)

Boiled green plantains sauteed with a mustard-coconut-ginger-chili paste

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And now for more fun stuff. Over two weeks ago, a lovely lady by the name of Suganya of Tasty Palettes fame, emailed asking me if I'd like to receive one the Amish Friendship-Bread starter that's been making its rounds all over the USA (that I know of so far). I enthusiastically responded, "yes!" So, here are some of the things I made with my starter after feeding it and sharing it with my friends.

First up - a Currant bread (which is more like a type of sweet bread)

Second - A Tipsy bread (tipsy because the grounded fruits that I used to make this bread have been macerating and marinating in rum for a year!)

Finally, I made the no-knead bread with the starter.

I found the dough to be a lot more sticky and difficult to handle because of the additional liquid. Nevertheless, the bread came out great as you can see. I got the same crust, but the texture was different, not as airy and holey as the original no-knead bread and what was particularly interesting is that the bread had a slight sourdough-taste to it. That, definitely comes from the starter.

Nuts for Coconuts

As some of you may know, I don’t really have a sweet tooth ;) Heaven knows I’ve said that often enough when commenting on your various sweet posts but hey, that does not prevent me from appreciating all those decadent goodies you make. In the strictest sense of the word I don’t have a sweet tooth. However, when it comes to any sweet made with coconut, I’m weak :) so coconut bread (aka sweet bread), coconut drops, coconut buns, coconut ice cream, salara… I’m there.

For sometime now, I’ve found it difficult to buy any of these things commercially made and the reason lies in the main ingredient – coconut. I’ve often found that there is usually not enough coconut or that all the moisture has been squeezed out of it thereby making the baked good dry and flavourless. All you get is the dry husk. Click here for the column if you’d like to read more about my love of all things coconut including the milk, the water and the jelly.

My favourite way to have sweet bread is with a cup of tea or a glass of ice-cold mauby or ginger beer.

Click here and I'll send you the recipe for the salara and or sweet bread. Here are the steps for making the salara.

When it comes to eating salara, I like to unfurl the roll and eat each layer by itself getting direct contact with the filling.

I’d be happy to send you the recipe for both or either of these goodies, just click here. And you can click here for the column.

Finally, my friend, Pat of Pat’s food blog bestowed upon me one of the nicest awards I have received and guess what? It’s the Nice Matters award! Thank you dear Pat. I am chuffed and honoured.

And for each one of you that reads this blog, this award is passed on to you. It's so nice of you everyweek to take time to stop by my blog and leave a kind word. Thank you so very much. Hugs.

No-Knead To Worry

I’ve never been a cool or popular person. At school, I was the quiet student content to be invisible, bury my head in my books and make 1 or 2 very good friends. As I grew into adulthood, I found that I was always late, if ever, in getting on the band-wagon of any trend or anything popular, hence it is now, almost 2 months shy of a year, that I made the much talked, discussed and blogged about No-Knead bread that was brought to us by Mark Bittman, the New York Times’ The Minimalist.

But this post and column is about a lot more than the No-Knead bread, it is about me journeying on an emotional safari and discovering things about my cooking self. I’ve found that I can be over confident, impatient, self-doubting, resolute and yet humble enough to learn lessons. You’ll have to click here for the column to read more and see how these traits manifest themselves.

So, what have I been making that caused this emotional outpouring? Guava jam, guava cheese and for the first time, the vaunted No-Knead bread. Easy, right? Click here and tell me that you don’t see yourself in someway in this column.

The jam and cheese process starts by first peeling and slicing ripe guavas.

Then boiling them and rubbing and pushing the soft pulp through a sieve.

After a little over an hour and a half, one has jam

A little over two hours later and you have guava cheese.

And finally, the bread; there has been enough waxing and waning about this bread and nothing new that I can add to make it more alluring. Here’s what I will say, if you like a crusty, artisan, chewy bread, then this is it. This is the bread for you. It was so good the first time that I made it again the very next day!

Eating the guava jam with this bread was bliss with so many experiences - the crunch of the crust, the chewiness of the texture, the aromatic fruity sweetness of the jam that sunk into the pockets of the bread. Life never tasted so good.

You can click here for the recipe or log on to Jim Lahey’s Sullivan Street Bakery for the recipe and more.

If you haven’t tried making the bread yet, no-knead to worry, you can wait for a year like I did and then try it :))

A trio of pastries

In Guyana, when we talk about pastry, we mean the rich short crust pastry dough that's converted with fillings to make some melt-in-your mouth delicious-can't-just-have-one pinetarts, patties and cheese rolls. The filling for the patties are a variety, you can have ground meat, ground chicken or vegetables. Each filling is sauteed and seasoned with fresh herbs, salt & pepper.

Pinetarts are sweet, flavourful pineapple jam that's encased in a perfect triangular casing of pastry.

Cheese rolls are made with a sharp cheddar cheese that's seasoned with salt, hot pepper, grated onions and mustard, all mixed into a paste. A heaping tablespoon is lined along the edge and rolled, encasing the paste. Brushed with an eggwash and baked in a 350 degrees F oven for 20 - 25 minutes and I swear that you will want to eat these things everyday! :) No kidding.

Look at this picture, tell me you are not moved by those layers and tell me you can't imagine the joy in your mouth :)

This trio of pastries is the subject of this week's column. Come with me as I take a trip down memory lane and go into the kitchen to recreate these beauties. Click here.

This recipe for a rich short curst pastry dough is fool-proof and I highly recommend it. Click here and I'll send you the recipe(s) for the patties, pine tarts or cheese rolls.

Since I was going to be baking and I was into pastry mode, I thought that'd make some phyllo cups and fill them with whatever I like. So I made a sweet and a savoury filling.

Sauteed chicken tenders with tomatoes and onions filled one set of cups and another set were filled with some slow and low cooked Granny Smith apples with brown sugar and spiced with cinnamon and all spice.

Don't forget that you can read the column here. Also, Latha of The Yum blog has asked me to remind everyone of the event she is hosting - Festival Cooking Series. Just click on the links to get there.

Soursop Ice Cream & Coconut Drops

Here in the Caribbean, we have a delicious fruit that’s flavorful with an intoxicating aroma that we call soursop, in Spanish guanabana and other South American countries, graviola. Click here for other names and places where it can be found. Soursop is used to make a variety of desserts, such as a flan as created by my Brazilian friend, Valentina of Trem Bom and beverages like punches, drinks and milk shakes. I also have friends who just like to eat the de-seeded pulp with condensed milk. One of my favourite ways to have it is in a homemade ice cream. And that is exactly what I made for my entry to Meeta’s Monthly Mingle, the theme being, Scream for Ice Cream.

Here's what you'll need to make the ice cream.

Ingredients
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup pureed soursop pulp

Method

1. In a medium bowl, using a hand mixer, or whisk, combine milk and sugar until the sugar is dissolved (1 - 2 minutes)
2. Stir in cream and pulp
3. Make ice cream according to your Ice Cream maker instructions.

If you do not have an ice cream maker, click here and here for their marvelous creations and a how-to without an ice cream maker.

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Who does not love coconut? It is one of those fruits that is totally useful, the pulp, the water, the shell, the fibrous outer shelling, everything. From the hard flesh we get milk, cream and oil, the water is refreshing and contains vitamins, the jelly when the coconut is young is tender and a pleasure to eat. The shell is used to make decorative ornaments, buttons and other accessories, the fibrous outer layer was used long ago to make mattresses and I’m sure they are used today in many other ways. The branches of the trees are cut and the leaves de-spine to make pointer brooms (that really do sweep clean). I’m sure that there are many other uses of the coconut and the tree itself.

Caribbean cooking would not be what it is without the coconut. Caribbean life would be something else without the coconut. I’m sure that many of you reading this right now have the same reverence for the coconut.

As I continue to get back to my baking, I find myself turning to the things I used to watch and help my mother bake for us on the weekends. One of those things was the coconut drop. It is so simple to make and so satisfying to eat that I’m sure it will become one of those regular things you make just as it was in my home growing up. If you have children, I’d advise you to make 2 batches, one will definitely not do. :)

You'll need:
1 cup flour
2 cups grated coconut
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
2 oz butter, room temperature
1 egg, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 tsp lemon zest

Equipment

• Baking sheet lined with parchment paper
• Ice cream scoop (regular-sized)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
2. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg
3. In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar with a hand mixer for 2 - 3 minutes
4. Add egg and essence and continue to mix for a minute
5. Add the dry ingredients to the egg-butter-sugar mixture
6. Stir in coconut, raisins and lemon zest
7. Batter should be stiff
8. Using the ice cream scoop, add scoops of mixture onto the lined baking sheet
9. Bake in oven until lightly browned and cooked through, 15 - 20 minutes
10. Yields 9 coconut drops

Notes
You can use a smaller scoop to yield more drops
Use a tablespoon if you do not have a scoop

A Present

No, I did not bake this cake, rather it was a present :) I can't believe I am saying this... I guess not being face to face with people makes you do and say things that you would normally never do. So here goes - the cake is a present because today is my _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . You fill in the blank. A cousin of mine currently visiting turned up at my home yesterday with this delicious present so I thought that instead of showcasing something that I made, I'd share with you a piece of my _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ cake. He baked and frosted it himself, I think that deep down inside, he is a little foodie just like me :) Thank you Yohann!

So, enjoy!

A Cookie & A Coffee Cake

The baking continues...

While doing my daily blog browsing, commenting etc. I came across two blogs with recipes that I thought I'd like to try. The first one was a cookie. The reason I wanted to try it was because it was so simple and the ingredients were in my pantry. The second one, I was attracted to it just by the look of it, I liked the crumbly topping and the purple colour of the fresh cherries embedded in it.

The Peanut butter and jelly cookies, I found at Cooking with Amy. I followed her recipe which can be found here. The only difference was that I used guava jam instead of strawberry jam.



The cookies were peanut-ty rich and great for dipping into milk. If you are a cookie-lover or if peanut butter is your thing, or if you like PB & J (peanut butter & jelly) sandwiches, then this is the cookie for you.

Just as easy to make was Helen's Cherry & Coconut Cake. Here is the recipe. A couple of things to note. Helen used fresh cherries, I used frozen strawberries. As a result, the strawberries lost all of its colour in the baking process, there were little pockets of lilac-colour where the fruit lay. The recipe calls for half teaspoon ground ginger but I used one teaspoon of freshly-grated-ginger. When I make this cake again, I will definitely use fresh fruit instead of frozen I think it will stand up more to the long cooking process and still maintain elements of its originality.



What I loved about this cake was the crusty topping, that shattered into bits as you cut into it. I have to unashamedly admit that I ate more of the topping than the cake itself. The fresh ginger in it came alive just as you swallowed and the cake was lovingly tender, the lemon zest gave it a fresh light taste with the bits of coconut gently announcing itself.

Banana-Nut Muffins

Since I started blogging, I've not been baking as often as I would like to. Partly this is because I'm guided by whatever the subject of my weekly column is, and also partly because baking needs a lot more attention. It has special needs and is often exacting - in the measuring of ingredients, minutes to mix, beat, whip, knead or fold, and in the temperatures and times it takes to cook.

However, the end result, once all the pampering is done, cannot be beaten - the risen bread, brown and crusty, the cake moist and golden, the muffins, perfect little mounds of deliciousness...

I love to bake. As I said, it's exacting and demanding, but it is exactly for those reasons that baking gives me a bigger high. Don't get me wrong, I love the adventure that cooking brings - doing so by intuition, experimenting, risking flavour combos etc.

I am getting back to my baking, I am going to make time for my baking; for too long it has been neglected. So every now and then you will see me sharing with you a baked good. Today, it is banana-nut muffins, the recipe can be found here.

These muffins were rich and moist. I particularly enjoyed the added textural feel that came from the bananas that were simply mashed with the fork. (You'll understand further when you read the recipe).



I enjoyed my muffin with a cup of tea.



Today's column can be read here.

A Favourite Dessert

I have not started to grade the exam papers sitting in my study but I found the time to patrol blogs and enter an event. (lol) This is my entry to the Monthly Blog Patrol hosted by the lovely Coffee, of The Spice Cafe.

My entry is inspired by the very talented Gattina of Kitchen Unplugged. She recently made a creamy rice pudding with strawberry sauce that had me obsessed and yearning for rice pudding. Besides I was itching to try it with the strawberry sauce.

Here is Gattina's recipe. The recipe is in two parts, for the rice pudding and the other for the strawberry sauce. I created my own recipe for the rice pudding but used her recipe and method for the strawberry sauce though I used frozen strawberries.

Recipe - Rice Pudding

Ingredients

• 1 cup long grain white rice
• 4 cups whole milk
• Condensed milk to sweeten to taste
• 1 small cinnamon stick
• 1/2 vanilla bean, seeded
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup rum (I used Malibu Coconut White Rum)
  

For Strawberry sauce

• 1 pk frozen strawberries, thawed
• A few drops of lemon juice
• Sugar to sweeten sauce to taste

Method - Rice Pudding

1. Soak raisins in rum and set aside
2. Wash rice and strain excess liquid
3. In a heavy-bottomed pot combine milk, rice, cinnamon stick & vanilla bean seeds and bring to boil.
4. Turn heat to very low and let rice cook uncovered (approximately 1 hour)
5. 10 minutes before the rice is finished, sweeten with condensed milk then stir in rum and raisins that have been melding together
6. Set aside to cool
7. When the rice is cool enough you can chill it in the fridge

Method - Strawberry Sauce

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree
   Pour into a container and place in the freezer for 30 minutes before you are ready to serve the dessert
2. At the 15-minute interval, give the sauce a stir and return it to the freezer

There are a variety of ways to serve:

• You can place the rice pudding in individual glasses or bowls and top with strawberry sauce OR
• You can serve it buffet style - rice pudding in a large dish and sauce in a jug for easy pouring/drizzling or the sauce can be put in individual shot glasses.

WARNING: It is dangerously delicious! :)

Hot Cross Buns

In my column this week, I share my challenges of coming up with a recipe for cross buns and even daring to offer my mom (who is a good baker) something that came out of the oven not looking like the cross buns we both knew at all.

Read the column and come share any similar stories you may have. Also, if you'd like my new recipe, the result of which is exhibited above, email me.