Spinach Pesto

So being a working dog owner makes cooking a little more difficult. I don't have the hours to study recipes, compare versions, hunt around Chinatown and Little Korea for ingredients, and then start cooking at 3 in the afternoon. The good news is that now I get paid to not write my dissertation. The other good news is that I have fortuitously made not one, not two, but THREE girlfriend-approved dinners this week in only 20-30 minutes each. This was made possible in large part by my new Oster blender-&-food-processor-in-one. Here's last night's Fortuitous Dinner, made with ingredients I found in my fridge:

Spinach Pesto

1/2 pound of baby spinach (it was about to become compost if we didn't eat it soon!)
1 generous squeeze of concentrated garlic mush in a tube (makes life so easy, kind of compares to fresh cloves)
tsp. or so of basil (we just had dried in our cabinet)
1/3 C. or so Parmesan cheese
a little drizzle of olive oil.
hot spaghettis
cooked shrimp, chicken, tofu--whatever you like

I used my food processor to chop the spinach to smithereens with a little olive oil to help the process. Mix in the basil, cheese, garlic. Toss pesto with hot spaghetti and top with protein source of choice. Garnish with fresh diced tomatoes. Oh my! That was EASY! (Then I said this little prayer: please don't let me turn into a less-skilled, more misanthropic version of Rachel Ray.)

Coconut cake

By the time I finished making and frosting two cakes for my birthday, I was disgusted with cake. Nevertheless, I managed to eat a lot of it. Here's the coconut cake I made, adapted from this article from the Dallas Morning News website.

First the cake itself:

2/3 C. unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/3 C. sugar
2 C. all-purpose flour
2 2/3 tsp. baking powder
pinch kosher salt
2 1/2 T. whole milk
1/4 C. Coconut milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
6 large egg whites at room temperature

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter three 9-inch cake pans, then line each with a parchment round. Butter the paper and dust the pans with flour; knock out excess.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt to blend. In a small bowl, stir together the milk, coconut milk until smooth. Add the flour mixture, alternating with the milk mixture, starting and ending with the flour mixture. After each addition, mix at low speed just to combine the ingredients. Stir in the vanilla.

Beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter until evenly blended. Divide the cake batter evenly among the prepared cake pans.

Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cakes comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then unmold onto wire racks to cool completely.

Then the frosting between the layers:

1 1/2 C. Heavy whipping cream
2 T. dried, powdered non-fat milk (optional)

Whip the whipping cream and milk powder with the electric mixer until it forms stiff peaks. You can also put in a little almond or vanilla extract.

Then the outside frosting:

1/2 C. Water
1 C. Sugar
2 large egg whites
1/4 tsp. white vinegar
2 to 3 C. unsweetened coconut flakes

Stir sugar into water to dissolve it. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil and cook without stirring for 3 minutes. Then boil for 5 to 10 minutes more, stirring often, until the syrup has thickened and will form itself into a thread about 2 inches long when poured from a spoon back into the pot. Set the syrup aside.

Beat egg whites and vinegar in a large bowl with a mixer at high speed until they are bright white and shiny. While beating at high speed, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the egg whites to blend them into a fluffy white icing, 4 to 5 minutes.

Ice the cake and sprinkle liberally with coconut flakes.

Black Forest Cake, or I missed my own birthday

I started a new job this week--and I love it!--but my first day of work was also my birthday. My sweetie asked me the night before if I was excited about turning 30, but all I could think about was what I was going to wear on my first day on the job. My new boss and a my office-mate and the woman from HR who handled my hire all surprised me with a little party, including Magnolia cupcakes--delicious! It was sweet. Between that and the health insurance, I'm a real happy camper.

At any rate, I'm going to celebrate this weekend, instead, with two cakes. One that I've made before: black forest cake; and one that I haven't: coconut cake. I might make some pulut hitam as a back-up, just in case, and for the vegans/gluten-allergic people who might come by. I'm also planning to make cappuccinos, lattes, regular coffee, tea, etc. If you're reading my blog, chances are you know where I live (or at least how to find out!) so stop on by this Sunday at 3, OK?

Black Forest Cake (adapted from "Valinda's" Black Forest Cake II on Allrecipes.com.

"The cake itself"

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk, you can use 1 1/2 C. plain yogurt OR 1 C. minus 1 1/2 T. of regular milk plus 1 T. lemon juice or vinegar (to sour the milk))

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line the bottoms of two 8 inch round pans with parchment paper circles. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and 1 teaspoon salt. Set aside.

Cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Beat in flour mixture, alternating with buttermilk (or your substitution), until combined. Pour into 2 round 8 inch pans.

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool completely. Remove paper from the cakes. Cut each layer in half, horizontally, making 4 layers total. I've heard you can do this with a piece of string or dental floss.

The first first type of frosting: between the layers

1/2 cup kirschwasser (this is a clear, cherry-flavored liqueur available at most liquor stores in the suburbs or in Park Slope. The bodega on the corner might not have it. You can substitute cherry juice or even grape juice.)
1/2 cup butter
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon strong brewed coffee
2 (14 ounce) cans pitted Bing cherries, drained

In a medium bowl, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add confectioners sugar, pinch of salt, and coffee; beat until smooth. If the consistency is too thick, add a couple teaspoons of cherry juice or milk. Spread first layer of cake with 1/3 of the filling. Top with 1/3 of the cherries. Repeat with the remaining layers.

The outside of the cake

2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon kirschwasser
1 ounce semisweet chocolate

In a clean bowl, whip the cream to stiff peaks. Beat in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1 tablespoon kirshwasser. Frost top and sides of cake. Sprinkle with chocolate curls made by using a potato peeler on semisweet baking chocolate. I like to decorate the outside with some whole bing cherries reserved from 2 cans. Fresh cherries would be pretty, too but a pit might hurt someone's teeth if they are unprepared for it.

Mortar and Pestle--what an invention!

I'm still unemployed at the moment, and A. has been off to work ALL day, EVERY day since I quit my job. It's me, the dog, and the cat rattling around in our apartment. Technically, this is supposed to be dissertation time, but I can't get out of the kitchen! I've been experimenting with dishes I've already made, seeing if I can make them better, and I've got a few new recipes to try out. So, I redid the vegetable tart (originally posted Sept. 8), and it came out MUCH better. So much better that A. agreed that I could serve it if ever my vegetarian friends come over for dinner.

I also went to Chinatown and bought my own Thai-style mortar and pestle FINALLY. I used it to make laksa, and the results are so vastly improved that A. said I could make it for her Singaporean friends. Heavens! I am improving my leaps and bounds. So, disregard the post of Sept. 24, though I will leave it up, and do this instead (if you have a mortar and pestle):

Rempah (rempah is a shrimp paste):

10 Chillies
some dried prawns
2 slices lemon grass
15 slices blue ginger
10 shallots
2 T. belachan
1 T. turmeric

Put everything but the turmeric in your mortar, and with a circular, not-too-forceful motion, grind it in to a paste. When it's all paste-like, stir in the turmeric. This is ingredient #1 for the rest of the recipe.

Now I'm guilty of that thing that drives me nuts in A.'s mom's emails--she doesn't put how *much* of the ingredients to put it. Well, sometimes it's not that important; if you hate bean sprouts, don't put them in, if you LOVE bean sprouts put a bunch in. Either way. I've consistently neglected to put the shredded cucumber on top, but A. hasn't complained about it. OK, onward!

Rempah (see above)
2 C. water (or shrimp stock, which you can make from the heads and shells of the boiled prawns)
2 cans of coconut milk
1 lb. Prawns or shrimp - peeled and boiled
Fishballs - boiled
A handful of mung bean sprouts - boiled
Beehoon (rice vermicelli) boiled and rinsed in cold water
Cucumber (for garnishing) - shredded
Laksa leaf (daun kesom) - wash and shred

Stir fry the rempah, adding a little sprinkle of water now and then to prevent burning. When the rempah is very fragrant (after a few minutes) add the rest of the water (or stock). Stir over medium-low heat. Pour in the coconut milk, stir and simmer. When hot, add the boiled prawns and fishballs. In the menatime, put your boiled and rinsed noodles into three to four big bowls. To serve, ladle the laksa over the noodles, garnish with sprouts, cucumber, and laksa leaves. Serve with chopsticks and a big spoon.

Knocking my own socks off--chocolate torte

Just in time for Passover--a flourless chocolate torte that I love. A. was not so crazy about this recipe, but I'm going to have to go ahead and recommend it anyway because I'm so pleased with it myself. Having just quit my job under horrid circumstances, I needed a chocolate fix quick, and so I turned to Stephanie Jaworski on the the Joy of Baking website. I love her biscotti recipes, so I turned to her help with my emotional and culinary crisis this week. This torte did not let me down in my time of need. I made a few small changes to suit what I had on hand. Stephanie J.'s recipe calls for an optional ganache, but I didn't have enough chocolate on hand to do that.

1 C. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
9 oz. bittersweet baking chocolate, chopped into small pieces
6 eggs, separated
1 C. white sugar, divided
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar (substitute: 3/4 tsp. vinegar)

First, separate your eggs--yolks in one bowl, whites in another--and set them on the counter to warm to room temperature.

Chop up your butter and chocolate. Using a double boiler, melt together the chocolate and butter together. Or, if you don't have a double boiler (like me) put a few inches of water in a big pot and your butter and chocolate in a smaller sauce pan, and put that sauce pan into your big pot. It's a little ad hoc, but my chocolate did not burn.

While your chocolate is melting, beat the egg yolks with 1/2 C of sugar for about 5 minutes until it's smooth and light yellow. Add the vanilla and keep beating. Stephanie says to use the paddle attachment on your beater, but I don't have one. Regular beaters did me just fine. Beat in the melted chocolate.

Now, clean your beaters, or get out new ones. In a clean bowl with clean beaters, beat the egg whites until foamy, then add the cream of tartar. Cream of tartar is very acidic, which is what your egg whites need to get really fluffy. I can't find it at my grocery store, so I just use three times as much vinegar to get the same effect. Sprinkle the remaining sugar in a little at a time. Stephanie says here to use a whisk attachment, but I don't have one of those, either. Again, regular beaters seemed OK enough.

Gently fold the egg whites mixture into the chocolate mixture. Don't overmix--use a spatula or wooden spoon.

Pour the torte batter into a greased, parchment-papered cheesecake pan. Bake for 50 - 60 minutes in a 350 degree oven. It will rise up during baking, but when you take it out it will collapse in the middle. A. didn't like the way it looks, but I figured I'm eating it, not hanging it on my wall. As far as tortes go, mine was pretty attractive.

Ma Po Tofu

This recipe is based on the chef's notes from Shiok Restaurant. I adapted it to U.S. measurements and the ingredients I could get here in NYC. Also, the Shiok chef uses beef, but A. likes ma po tofu with pork, so that's what I used. The Shiok chef recommends substituting minced fried tofu for the meat if you want a vegetarian dish.

1 package firm tofu (12 or 16 ounces) cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 pound of ground pork
1 and 1/2 T. Chili bean paste
3 T. Sesame oil
2 T. Fermented black beans
6 to 10 Whole red chilies
1/2 C. Chicken stock or vegetable stock
1 pinch Sugar
1 Tsp. Light soy sauce (this refers to the color of the soy sauce, not the American, low-sodium stuff; dark and light soy sauces taste different and look a little different. A. says that dark and light soy sauces are set on the table with sliced chilies in them, and light soy sauce is also used in cooking--like in this recipe).
2 Tsp. Cornstarch mixed with 1 T. cold water
2 T. chopped scallions for garnish

Heat a wok on high heat. When it's nice and hot, add the oil. Add the ground pork and stir-fry for about a minute on high heat. With a spatula, move the beef to one side of the wok so the oil can drain back into the middle of the wok.

Turn the heat down to medium. Add the chili bean paste and stir-fry for 30 seconds. The oil should turn red. Add the fermented black beans and red chilies, and stir-fry for another 30 seconds.

Add the chicken or vegetable stock and stir it in. Then gently add the tofu to the liquid. Don't stir-fry this too much or the tofu could break apart. Add the sugar and light soy sauce. Turn the heat down and simmer the mixture for about 5 minutes.

Depending on how thick the sauce is at this stage, stir in some of the cornstarch and water mixture and turn up the heat to medium. The sauce should start to thicken. Add more of the mixture and cook till the sauce has the consistency slightly more runny than tomato ketchup. It should cling to the tofu nicely.

Serve in a warm bowl with steamed rice on the side.

Thai Iced Tea

While I was shopping today in "Little Indonesia" (Bayard St. and Mott St.), I found a 1-pound bag of "Thai Tea Leaves." I had been half-heartedly looking for Thai red tea leaves for some time, so that I could make Thai iced tea--one of my very favorite beverages EVER--at home. When I got home at opened up the bag, I was immediately transported back to my childhood when my father (who was in the Air Force) brought me home a doll from Thailand that was stuffed with red tea leaves. Now I wonder if I like Thai tea because it smells like that doll, or if I liked my doll so much because it smelled so delicious. That led to this circular conversation with my girlfriend (who is profoundly silly at times):

A: Ask me why you like Thai iced tea.
M: Why do I like Thai iced tea so much?
A: Because reminds you of your favorite childhood doll.
M: Oh.
A: Ask me why you liked your doll so much.
M: OK. Why did I like my doll so much?
A: Because it smells like delicious Thai tea.
M: Oh.
A: Ask me why you like Thai iced tea so much...

And so on and so forth. The gentleman at the store (who sometimes gives me tamarind candies for free) said: "At the restaurant they charge $2.95 for just one cup of this. You buy my bag of tea for $5 and you get 30 cups!" Indeed!

2/3 C. Thai red tea leaves
2 C. Water
1/2 C. Sugar (I use less, but it's supposed to be a really sweet drink)
Sweetened condensed milk or evaporated milk or rice milk (I use SCM)

Boil your water, then brew your tea nice and strong. Strain the tea leaves, add your sugar, and let the tea chill in the fridge. When cold serve it over iced with your milk product of choice layered on top.