It's Springtime Downunder...

Springtime! Beloved of many, especially the home gardeners, when the mild weather is here and sky is blue; and when everywhere around us is the sweetness and fragrance of flowering plants and trees. Even our potted wisteria in the veranda just couldn’t wait to show off its mauve and white flowers and throws its perfume around. Today, as if on cue, it has burst open many of its flowering buds to welcome the first day of spring in Australia.

This old fashioned bread pudding recipe to make at home.

As I watched the final stages of a popular cooking show which attracted a large following across the country, competitors were plating up dishes with the help of mentors from fine dining restaurants not only to impress the judges but bringing their collective culinary skills to a different level. The competitors were no longer satisfied of cooking a simple dessert, they conjured up more exotic creations using all manner of fancy ingredients and all generously laced with a variety of spices and liqueur.
For a lot of us watching the show, it's far beyond our means to duplicate the dish at home. I do not mind fine dining whereas food portions are smaller but more visually appealing and unless it rises to its occasion, I would rather eat simply. Instead I have a yearning for a simpler time when dessert was made from a few common kitchen ingredients. This bread pudding recipe, from an old English neighbour is absolutely incredible and simple to make.

Bread Pudding
Ingredients:

2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups stale bread, torn into small pieces (Brioche works best)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Directions:

1. In a saucepan, over medium heat, heat milk just until film forms over top. Combine butter and milk, stirring until butter is melted. Cool to lukewarm.
2. Combine sugar, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Beat mixture for 3 minute. Slowly add milk mixture.
3. Place bread in a lightly greased 1 1/2 quart casserole.
4. Sprinkle with raisins if desired. Pour batter on top of bread.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes or until set. Serve warm.

What have the Welsh Leek and the Chinese Leek held in common?

The answer is leek has played a symbolic significant in their respective cultures. More so with the Welsh, since the middle of the 16th century, leek had been recognised as the emblem of Wales. Its association with Wales can in fact be traced back to the battle of Heathfield in 633 AD, when St. David, the principal patron of Wales persuaded his countrymen to distinguish themselves from their Saxon foes by wearing a leek in their caps. Thereafter it became the national symbol of Wales, and it is still worn by Welshmen on this day. As for the Chinese, leek is included in the traditional Chinese New Year food where each and every food in the list is a symbol of prosperity, good luck, health and long life for everyone at the table, either by its appearance or the pronunciation of its name. Don’t ask me why it is included in the list but I have held a long suspicion that it has gained its position through a language pun, the word for leek having the same sound as "count" in Chinese. Together with other good food to begin a new year, what is most appropriate than lets the counting of good blessing begins.

Although I am unable to buy Chinese leeks which have thicker leaves with a milder flavour and sweeten when cooked, I often replace it with Welsh leeks which are easily available in the supermarkets or stalls. Leeks are delicious in soups, quiche, pies, stir fries and pasta sauces. Always wash them before using them taking care to rinse any soil that may be lodged near the leaves.

Homemade Preserved Lemons love Thick Skinned...

Now that I have acquired my first tagine, I could hardly wait for my homemade preserved lemons to mature and soften enough to be used for the many Moroccan and Middle Eastern recipes that call for preserved lemons, lemons that have been pickled in salt and their own juices. Although it’s possible to buy preserved lemons at Middle Eastern shops here in Sydney making preserved lemons couldn't be easier and they taste far fresher than anything you can buy. It's quite easy to do, though it takes at least one and a half month for the maturation process before the lemons are ready to use.

Ingredients
Lemons
Sea Salt, 1 dessertspoon of salt per lemon, plus one for the jar
Freshly squeezed lemon juice



Method
Scrub the lemons clean with a kitchen brush and dry with paper towel. Cut into quarters but do not cut all the way in order to keep the lemon attached at the base. Pry open the lemons, and sprinkling each quarter with salt as you add and pack the lemons to the jar. Press right down on the lemons to squeeze as much juice out. If the lemons aren’t too juicy, add more freshly-squeezed lemon juice until they are fully immersed. Top with a couple tablespoons of salt.I have placed a porcelain Chinese tea cup on top of the lemons to press and keep them under the lemon juice when the lid is put on the jar. Leave at room temperature for a couple days. Turn the jar upside down occasionally. Put in refrigerator and let sit, again turning upside down occasionally, for at least 6 to 8 weeks, until lemon rinds soften.

What the Moroccan Tagine and the Cantonese Ceremic Pot have in common?

I am always asking my wife Jo not to add anymore new kitchen utensil or garget to the overcrowded storage cupboard until this Moroccan cookware is irresistible to be missed for a bargain. This latest addition is called “tagine” in Moroccan which refers both the conical shaped cooking pot, and also to the food prepared in it. It is definitely not going to disappear amongst the other utensils in the storage and I can see that it will be put in good use not only as a slow cooking pot but also to be used as a serving dish to present a stunning meal at a dinner party. I think that cooking in a Moroccan tagine is similar to the Chinese ceramic pot (sah pol) that somehow gives the dishes an indescribable ''extra' flavour. I can’t wait to use this tagine and try my hands in cooking Moroccan dishes that usually feature meat or poultry gently simmered with vegetables, olives, preserved lemons, garlic and wonderful spice blends like charmoula as a marinade for my family and friends.

The New American Shopping Experience is here in Sydney

Despite the heavy rain and traffic jams caused by the huge crowds, my wife and I joined the thousands of shoppers to shop at Costco's first Sydney store yesterday. Our new American way of shopping experience started long before we arrived at the store. We were stuck in an one and a half kilometre traffic jam leading to the 14,000-square-metre warehouse store in Auburn; the second to be opened in Australia by the US chain that sells discounted products in bulk to customers who pay a $60 membership fee.
We had read in the papers that their first Melbourne store received a rapturous response from shoppers on their grand opening and we were sort of preparing ourselves for a big turnout at the first Sydney outlet when it opened its doors yesterday. But nothing could have prepared us to this entirely new shopping experience. It was beyond our expectation! Customers had arrived two hours earlier before the opening time at the Sydney store and quickly filled up the 800-capacity car park. When we finally inched our car to our destination, we had to park at the designated overflow car park opposite the store.

We were soon ushered to join the long queue of customers pushing oversized shopping trolleys towards the entrance of the store. Inside this well-lit warehouse, we were taken aback by the pallets stacked three high of variety of products ranging from TV sets to household goods and fresh produces.
Soon I was overwhelmed not by the special opening offers that the crowds were piling into their trolleys but the congestion at the checkouts told me it was time for me to get of there.

Unfortunately, I had to cut short my new shopping experience and decided to head home early and come back another time only if their prices are attractive enough to entice me to shop with them again.

Homemade Noodles with its Political Ingredients...

I sat down intending to enjoy my bowl of homemade noodles and was about to give myself a pat on my shoulder in front of my family for cooking this rustic noodles dish on a cold winter day. But I suddenly realised the credit should go to my late mother who had taught me how to make these noodles. I do not know from whom she had learnt how to make these noodles. If my memory serves me right, she started to incorporate it into our staple food during one of the campaigns where the Singapore government was encouraging its populace to eat more flour when there was a shortage of rice in the regions. I am pretty sure that many Singaporeans of my generation can still remember some of the numerous campaigns that were continuously churned up in the 60s and 70s. Whatever Parliament decided to do, a national conversation about the campaign would last until it was replaced by another new another campaign.
Although my late mother was not a politically savvy person, she had always been a staunch supporter of the People Action Party in her lifetime. She openly supported her Prime Minister and his political party to a fault. She would chide anyone in the family or her neighbours,who dared to be indifferent from her political conviction in her presence. To her, the PAP can do no wrong. Maybe she was right. My family and I still love these homemade noodles regardless of it political origin.

Homemade Noodles Recipe

2 1/2 cups plain flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup warm water
2 Tsp oil
2 cup flour (for dusting)

Combine 2 ½ cup of flour and salt and mix in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre of the flour and add water and oil a little at a time. Mix into soft dough with both hands and knead on a floured surface for about 15 minutes, or until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a bowl and cover with a cling wrap and set aside for about 1 hour to improve on its texture.
Roll out the dough on a floured surface with a rolling pin into 3mm thick sheets. Dust the rolled sheets with flour to prevent sticking. Using a sharp knife cut the floured sheets into strands and dust with plenty of flour. Do not worry if the stands are irregular in its size; that is the trademark of homemade noodles.
Fresh noodles can be used for most noodles recipes and will stay fresh for a week in the refrigerator and can also be frozen for future use.