A Foodie's Worst Nightmare

The bright lights in the fresh section of the supermarket are almost blinding. There were not enough produce to filter the otherwise bearable fluorescent rays.

My heart sunk looking at the empty bread aisle. I humoured myself, “Good thing I know how to bake my own bread.” But even that is virtually useless if there is no power.

Moving on to the bottled water section and the tale was pretty much the same. What’s left in the shelves are luxury European sparkling water brands. I’m in no mood to splurge nor to celebrate.

Spam and canned corned beef, much maligned products in this society, suddenly became popular.

Aisle after “essentials” aisle tell the same story.

But it’s not all bad news. Take heart my foodie mates. Bulbs of fennel and bunches of rhubarb are still on hand. Get your MasterChef’s hat on and dazzle us!

The Great Deluge of 2011

I have seen something else under the sun:

The race is not to the swift
or the battle to the strong,
nor does food come to the wise
or wealth to the brilliant
or favor to the learned;
but time and chance happen to them all. - Ecclesiastes 9:11

With a heart full of gratitude I am writing today. In the midst of the great deluge the city I love, Brisbane, is experiencing my family has been left unscathed. We’ve remained dry. Clean water is still running from the tap. And our power was never cut, not even for a few seconds.

Spare a thought though for those who are less fortunate than us, those who have experienced the full brunt of the flood. Despite all the planning and preparations lives were still lost. Uncertainty is what’s awaiting evacuees on their return to their homes, if they still have homes to return to.

How easily did we forget? It was 37 years ago when Brisbane last went under water. The city rebuilt itself like it would never happen again. Seemingly impenetrable million dollar homes started lining the banks of the river only to be swallowed by the water they so desperately want to be close to.

“Time and chance happen to them all,” says the wisest man that ever lived.

By today’s estimate it will take at least two years to recover from this environmental crisis. The city needs all the help it could get. If you are moved to do so please do not hesitate to lend support. Follow the link below:

http://www.qld.gov.au/floods/

Lastly, I would like to acknowledge Patrick Mendoza, a very good friend of mine who’s responsible for all the photos on this post. He and his lovely wife Pilar tried to go to work yesterday only to be halted by all this water. The photos definitely bring home to us what my city is going through.

2 for 2 - Cakes for Eliyah

Loyalty to a fast food chain is the last thing I want to instil on any of my children. But unless we decide to become hermits there is no way we could get away from the constant bombardment of ads coming from these corporations. So, it came as no surprise to me what Eliyah wanted as her cake design for her birthday.

No, it’s not McDonald’s. It’s also not Burger King. It actually is a Philippine brand that has cleverly infiltrated all areas of mass media. Jollibee, the largest food service company in the Philippines, has gone beyond the more traditional forms of advertising to grab a following.

What hooked Eliyah to Jollibee is not the food (she was barely 1 when we last visited one of their stores). It’s the combination of catchy jingles and a kids TV programme that trumped other more well known kids’ shows. Although it has no presence in Australia (yet!), Jollibee still reaches us through the power of YouTube.

Designing the cake proved to be quite a challenge. For starters, my dear Cake Artiste wasn’t so sure about Jollibee’s colour. Is he red or isn’t he? Then there was the weather. It’s the height of summer downunder. The temperature was a wee bit above what the ganache could handle making it very tricky to work with. It was always on the verge of melting (it eventually did but not before the photos). But, being the Artiste that she is she managed to pull this one from somewhere despite it all.

And then she made cake number 2 for Eliyah’s actual birthday.

Cherry’s inspiration came from a book she was recently given (much appreciated Pael and Ada). This would be her first time to use 3D models she made herself as part of the cake décor. She made intricate little boxes of gifts. To top it all she created a model of a teddy bear. I’ll let the photos speak for her talent.

To my dearest daughter Eliyah, the fruit of my prime, happy 2^nd birthday. Be true to your name and grow up with Yahweh as your God. May He bless your every step.

Buchi/Sesame Balls

The Filipino diet is rice-centric. From entrees to desserts, rice in one form or another can be found. Did I say desserts? Especially in desserts… One classic Asian sweet is the sticky rice ball. The Japanese have their mochi. We Filipinos have our buchi.

Growing up I’ve enjoyed this in its purest form. No sesame seeds. No flavours to choose from. The buchi sold in our barrio was simply deep fried sticky rice with a sweet mung bean filling. The buchi might have started as a ball straight out of the pan. But by the time the vendor gets to our place it’s more like a flattened disc. I did not mind. It was still scrummy.

Buchi’s popularity in the Philippines reached new heights when it formed part of Chowking’s (a well-known Chinese fast-food chain in the Philippines) menu. They serve the more traditional Chinese version of sesame coated balls filled with lotus cream/paste. If memory serves me right I think they also have ube (purple yam) flavoured buchi.

I find making buchi almost effortless. The most difficult part is making perfectly round balls hence my buchis are more rustic looking.

The filling is almost optional. My kids prefer them sans the filling. The recipe below is for sweet mung bean. But if you prefer a quicker version use canned lotus seed paste found in most Asian stores.

This is best eaten hot served with your favourite tea.

Buchi/Sesame Seed Puffs

Sweet Mung Bean Paste Filling

1/2 cup softened mung bean

1/2 cup caster sugar

Dough

3 cups glutinous rice powder

2/3 cup caster sugar

1 cup water

Sesame seeds

Oil for deep frying

Filling:

1. Mix the softened mung bean and the sugar together.

Dough:

1. Mix all the ingredients together to make the dough.

2. Divide dough into 20 equal pieces. You can go smaller or larger if you prefer.

3. Flatten each piece of dough into a circle.

4. Place a portion of the filling in the centre. Gather the edges of the dough to enclose the filling.

5. Roll into a ball and coat the outside with sesame seeds.

6. Heat oil for deep frying (medium heat). Deep fry the balls for approximately 5 minutes or until golden brown.

7. Serve hot with your favourite tea.

9 Cakes for Eliana's 8th

My wife has warned me about posting more entries about cakes. She’s afraid I might alienate some of you who regularly read my posts. It’s becoming too cake-centric of late. I can’t help it. August to December is a season of milestones in my household. And there’s no better way to celebrate them than with Cherry’s exquisite creations.

At the risk of sounding too pompous about my family I reckon Cherry does a wonderful job. She’s only been at it for less than a year without any formal training beforehand. Talk about being a natural. I’m so proud of her and her sublime edible works of art.

So, even though this blog’s raison de tre is not cakes here’s another cake entry for you.

Eliana, who we lovingly call Chichay, recently celebrated her 8^th birthday.

To mark the occasion Cherry made not one, not two but 9 cakes. The first set of 8, which she affectionately called Eliana’s Storyboard cake, we shared on her actual birthday. Each mini-cake has a story to tell. Each represents a year in her life.

Inspired by one of Eliana’s toys Cherry brilliantly constructed a two-tiered Littlest Petshop cake for Eliana’s party with her friends. The onset of the warm weather has proven to be a challenge in putting this one together but again she managed to pull it off seemingly effortlessly.

Like the meaning of your name you are indeed an “answer from God” Eliana. My prayer is that you will live your life as such. God bless your every step…

The Best is Yet to Come

Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? For thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this. Ecclesiastes 7:10 KJV

I look to the past but I’m not nostalgic about it. Surely the early years were good but I do not yearn to go back. I focus on what is now and what lies ahead. The best is yet to come indeed…and we have God to thank for that…and everything else.

As cliché as it may sound I can honestly say to you my dearest Cherry Bel I love you more today than ever before but not as much as tomorrow...

Happy anniversary sweetheart…

San Churro Classic Spanish Hot Chocolate

You’ve probably noticed that my recent posts have got nothing to do with what I have been cooking. Please forgive me. Uninspired is probably not the right term but it is something akin to it. But very soon, I promise, I’ll be back in the kitchen to try out some new recipes to add to my repertoire.

In the meantime, this post is to thank good friends of mine from the west coast for gifting me with hot chocolate mix from San Churro. Thank you Doms & Dei! Love it!

A recipe on how to make a classic Spanish hot chocolate is printed on the very stylish looking can it came in. Follow it to the dot and you get a thick and rich chocolate drink. The only thing missing???? The churros!

San Churro has got a branch in the Sunshine Coast (which is a couple of hours drive from where we live). I have a better chance of visiting it in NSW or WA in the near future. No plans to head up the coast any time soon.

Just in case you can’t read the recipe in the photo I’ve re-printed it below:

How to Make Classic Spanish Hot Chocolate

1 cup milk

2 heaped scoops (approximately 40 grams) of Classic Spanish Chocolate powder

1. Heat up the milk in a saucepan.

2. When milk is warm add the chocolate powder and stir continuously over low heat until mixture thickens. DO NOT BOIL.

The Cake Artiste

I am so proud of my dear wife I can’t help but post photos of her recent creations.

Cake Artiste is what she is.

See for yourselves.