Mango Coconut Cream Agar

Mangoes galore!

And from all over the world!

We are seeing a great variety from Thailand, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Australia and a whole lot of local ones... cheap too!

I've made the juices, cheesecakes, toppings, jams, relish, salads, chutneys, froyos .... and still looking for new things to make with them.

Then I remembered this deliciously easy and refreshing dessert ... Sissi's recipe for Light Coconut Cream with Canned Peaches. Go check it out.

I suppose I could label this under the "Revamped" category. I'd wanted to make this in the original form (really, I did) and got distracted by this bunch of ripening mangoes in the basket and thought .... why not put them out of their misery... it's a very humane process called "fruitanasia". They won't last too long in this weather and stuffing them in my stuffed up fridge isn't doing the fridge any good. So, stuff it! We're having Mango Coconut Cream Agar for dessert!

Agar makes a different texture from gelatine so I wouldn't suggest that as a substitute. Of course it might turn out an interesting dessert all on its own. I might experiment a little and let you know in a later post .... maybe.

Meanwhile ....

INGREDIENTS

200 ml milk

200 ml coconut milk

4 tbs sugar

1/2 tsp agar powder

1 medium-sized ripe mango (about 250 g uncut weight)

METHOD

Remove peel and seed of mango. Puree 3/4 of the flesh in a food processor with a little milk until smooth. (I had about 1/2 cup pureed flesh). Cut remaining flesh into slivers or cubes ... your preference. Set that aside.

Place milk, coconut milk, sugar and agar powder into a pot.

Stir over medium heat until sugar and agar have dissolved.

Stir in pureed mango and turn the heat off. Mix well.

Pour into moulds or cups.

Refrigerate until firm, about 1 - 2 hours, depending on how big your moulds are.

Serve with mango slivers or cubes.

Happy Father's Day

Father: (Fat-her ... whoops, I mean, Fa-ther): n

~ The physically strong, silent or not-so silent male person in the family. I'm saying physically strong since I believe women are mentally and emotionally stronger. Ok, so I'm biased. I'm a woman (in case you don't know by now), I'm allowed to take the side of my own gender.

~ It doesn't matter whether you're the biological father, surprise father, posthumous father (not that you'll care much about this post anyway), non-biological father (inlaw, adoptive, foster, cuckolded, etc). As long as at some point in your life, you've been one and have taken the responsibility of being a good one at that ... umm, except for the surprised and posthumous ones of course ... hehe.

Have a happy day!

I understand that this may not be celebrated on the same day in other parts of the world. So to those that had it earlier, Happy Belated Fathers' Day, the ones celebrating later, Happy Fathers' Day in advance!

To those who have lost their fathers, cherish those lovely memories of the times you've had together.

Have a great weekend!

(And a not-so-private message to dear ol' dad)

I love you, Dad!

I know I'm a difficult daughter and terribly stubborn but these genes are from you and mum. Not my fault. :D

Guest Gripe by Other Half

People, here's a twist to my usual posts.

An opinionated one from the other half.

The half who once claimed he's a simple man with simple tastes. (He'd got himself a simple girl/woman/old lady.) I was relieved when I'd met him since I couldn't cook to save my life. Mother inlaw never bugged me about that flaw and she's a great cook herself ... feeding and spoiling me rotten.

To cut a long story short, now that I've learnt to cook and bake, he's the one getting spoilt. Of course, there were the initial periods when he was the guinea oink and was so sweet, pretending not to gag at whatever he ate. Today, he's a changed man. He will critique "mostly" outside foods knowing full well that if he complains too much about yours truly's stuff, he would end up with the apron around his thickening waistline.

Well, here he is folks, the man of usually very few words speaking his mind ......

Rather than one to go .. Mmmm! Yes, Mon ami, magnifique! .. "truffle infused butter suffused saffron scallop squares!" .. or something similar, I have always been a regular "eat to live" non-foodie. But ever since my cute other half became a food blogger I may have been unconsciously paying more attention to food flavors. Today my latent inner food critic kicked in with a vengeance.

Distracted by shopping with a usually calm cool niece on an unusually fast and furious visit, Ping bought the first food item she came across and brought it home for my late lunch. It was a rather small but hugely expensive .. 'designer' burger. My expectations were high. After all, even I can grill a half decent burger.

The very ordinary packaging foreshadowed a gloomy outcome .. the bun had more than a hint of being past its best. This consideration was backed by a faint and very peculiar sour note to the overgenerous sprinkling of sesame seeds. Their aged softness added next to no textural advantage. All this conspired with the pretentious, scratch-made, excessively vinegary tomato catsup to throw any chance of a chefy flavor balance totally out of whack. Oh .. the ultra lean patty not only had a breadcrumb extender, it had way too much of it. Despite real assurances on the menu, the patty wasn't really grilled. It did not taste smoky .. fake liquid or otherwise. The crisps .. were not. It wasn't really horrid, but it wasn't even average either.

The best part by a long way .. was the perfect little pickle. Crisp, tangy yet sweet, delicious. Until and unless Arlo Guthrie rewrites "The Significance of the Pickle", we aren't going back to that joint. Which pretty much means, never. All I'll say is that it was in Bangsar.

I have religiously avoided critiquing food as I totally understand that one man's foie gras can be another's puke inducer. This should be the last of my food critiques, unless some other commercial offering is again as totally undeserving of its premium price .. as this gilded gherkin.

(Ping's 2 cents: He's right, you know. Can't blame him for griping. I would too. The packaging was such a let down ... a plastic take away box ... burger, salad and soggy fries all crammed in. You'd think the cost of the burger would have covered at least a half-decent 2 package deal to prevent soggy buns. Yeekh. Even the cheap fast food joints with flattened, cardboardy tasting patties have better packaging.)

PS: Check out Arlo Guthrie's "Significance of the Pickle" also known as "The Motorcycle Song". It's a very entertaining song!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmCwvvwpPAo

Simple Shrimp Pasta

[Thank you everyone for helping get this to Foodbuzz Top 9]

Another quickie dish with a quickie pic.

Normally I'd add in some squid rings and some mussels if I can find some fresh ones in the market .... a seafood pasta. But not this time.

This could get all hoity-toity if you dress it up a little and do the pasta twirl on a fancy plate and call it "Pasta al Frutti di Mare" or "Spaghetti Aglio Olio e Frutti di Mare" or something of the sort, but I've unhoity-toity it to save some time.

Today, it's got to be quick. So, today, it's plain ol' Shrimp Pasta, or in all hoity-toityness ... "Pasta Piccante di Gamberetti". (Italian speaking folks ... did I get that right?)

(I am a little behind in my postings as well as visits to all your lovely posts. I shall slowly, but surely, make my way through them all. Also, I usually make it a point to reply to every single comment made on all of my posts, guest posts included. I definitely will reply to everyone soon once I'm fully recovered from my bleary state and have tuned my very tired being to regular mode. Oh, and in case anyone is interested, things are better now. Thank you all for your well wishes and concern and of course, all the help with the guest posts.)

So, in the meantime, you find out what a half-zonked person eats.

Pasta is actually one of my many comfort foods. Hey, I need the carbs for energy.

I can't think straight, I can't write straight, I can't spell stagriht (eek), I'm gonna shut up and eat.

INGREDIENTS

(Note: This recipe is for 2 - 3 people. Adjust amounts to suit your taste.)

half a garlic bulb (not clove, bulb), finely chopped

10 - 12 medium prawns / shrimp, shelled

1 medium-sized fennel bulb, sliced (I looove fennel, don't you just love fennel?)

chilly flakes (I used about 1 tbs)

2 - 3 tbs grapeseed / olive oil

1 small bunch of coriander, chopped

salt, to taste

prepared spaghetti for 2 - 3 people (al dente)

METHOD

Heat oil in a wok or deep frying pan.

Stir in garlic, chilly flakes and shrimp.

Give it a quick stir (you don't want to burn the chilly flakes, otherwise you'll get a slight bitter flavor and also to not overcook the shrimp) and add in the fennel. Stir fry until fennel is lightly translucent.

(If you want to be a little more refined, remove the shrimp when it's just cooked and set aside. I couldn't be bothered.)

Toss in the prepared pasta and chopped coriander.

Turn off the heat and mix well.

Add in salt to taste.

Add more chilly flakes if you like it spicy.

Guest Post: Elisabeth's Chocolate-Peanut Butter Pudding

Oh YUM!

Two of my very favorite ingredients! Hmm ... come to think of it, I have not many that I dislike. Maybe it might be easier to just say that FOOD is my favorite ingredient! ... as long as there's no durian in it. Yup, must always put that clause in, in case someone accidently slips in some. :D

I'll definitely be making this soon. It sounds simple enough for me not to mess up and sooooo delicious!

Here's introducing Elisabeth of Food and Thrift Finds ... wait a minute, what am I saying?! There really isn't a need to introduce Elisabeth. She's well known in the food blog world. She's the one who's always the first to give her support to a newbie blogger and have continued to be a great friend. Yeah, that's the one ... you know her. She's blog-sitting for me while I run off again for a short while. Thank you, dear friend.

A pro in her field with a big heart. Need I say more?

Here she is with such sweet words .........*blush*

I am so thrilled and honored to guest post for my dear friend Ping, whom I had the pleasure of meeting since we both started our food blogs, nearly two years ago... and have been supporting each other throughout the entire time. Ping has a meticulous food blog, and is very specific about her photos...no more than one, or two, and always a specific size...unlike my photos, which vary in sizes, and step-by-step directions when time permits. Ping has an amazing sense of humor, and always has the right thing to say, on any subject given...only in a "lighthearted" way! Her photos are always perfect, and immaculate, her choice of dishes, desserts, and baked goods are "drop dead" gorgeous, and makes you want to see, and get more! She is kind, and caring, and you will feel blessed to have her as a friend...a beautiful friend, indeed!

Thank you Ping for asking me to guest post..."the second time around!"

(* In case anyone's wondering about the "second time around" .... Elisabeth so kindly did a post for me earlier but was coincidentally the same recipe as QuayPoCooks Macaroons. You can see it here and here. How lucky am I?)

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Pudding

created by: Elisabeth

INGREDIENTS

3 cups whole milk

yolks of 5 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2/3 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

5 oz semisweet chocolate

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

Sweetened Whipped Cream, for garnish

METHOD

Whisk sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan, to blend. Gradually, whisk in milk, then egg yolks.

Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and stirring gently, cook for 2 minutes.

Remove from heat, stir in vanilla.

Pour mixture, into a bowl. Add chocolate by breaking it into chunks; add peanut butter. Let stand for a minute, and stir gently together, to combine until well blended.

Carefully spoon pudding into glass goblets, or parfait glasses, smoothing surface of pudding after each

addition.

Place plastic wrap directly over pudding, to keep skin from forming. Refrigerate for at least 2 hrs. or longer.

Garnish with whipped cream, and enjoy!

Happy Mother's Day !

Mother: (Moth-er) : n

~ A female human/animal (we behave like animals too sometimes), who loves unconditionally ..... be it her own family, her partner and her friends (virtual or otherwise).

~ A male human/animal who cares for and loves his children when there is no mother around (for whatever reasons)

(No discrimination here)

Happy Mothers' Day, everyone!

I'm sure we've been mothers sometime in our lives, whether to our own kids, cats, dogs, pets, car (?), food processor (me) and even to our own parents when they get old and infirmed.

Bottom line ... unconditional.

Have a great weekend!

Raspberry Ripple Cheese Tart

I did say I couldn't get myself into the mood to cook nor bake at this point of time but things are starting to look up a little. Also there are certainly no shortage of seriously tempting recipes around to get me going.

This was one of many. And I've also not made a cheesecake for the longest time. My family likes the non-baked ones, which is what I usually do (one day, that will get posted ... one day). The baked cheesecakes have always been a little too rich for me.

But when I saw this on Charles' page @ Five Euro Food, I knew I needed to make this and my tummy actually growled in approval! Definitely a good distraction from my worries for the moment. Not only that, the raspberry coulis, I knew, was going to balance out the richness of the cheesecake, so this was going to be a good one!

I called it a tart coz I'd sort of halved the recipe and it fitted perfectly into my flan pan ... and a couple of teeny tartlet tins. If you'd like the full recipe, please visit Charles, check out the English gentleman, ogle at his food and pics and get that idea of "English people eat only jellied eels and fish and chips" out of your head .... what? Nobody thinks that? Only me? Whoops .... (sorry, old chap) ... I forgot about Chicken Tikka Masala :)

(Please don't hate me).

INGREDIENTS

8 digestive biscuits

40g butter

250 g cream cheese

1/3 cup cream

1 tbs plain flour

80 g sugar

1 egg + 1 egg yolk

1/4 cup raspberry coulis (I used frozen berries pureed with 1 tbs lemon juice)

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180˚C

For the base:

Place biscuits in a food processor. Buzz til you get fine crumbs.

Melt the butter in the microwave and stir into the crumbs. (It should resemble wet sand)

Press into the bottom and sides of a shallow pie tin or in this case, I'd used an 8" tart / flan pan.

Bake for 10 minutes.

Remove and cool.

*Note: I made this a second time without baking the crust first and it also worked fine. I'd placed it in the fridge while I made the filling.

For the filling:

* Here you can use a hand/electric whisk. I'd used my food processor again after cleaning it of the crumbs.

Put in the cream cheese, eggs and flour. Buzz to mix evenly. Use a spatula to scrape the sides and bottom if needed.

Add the sugar and cream. Process until smooth.

Pour mixture into cooled crust.

Drizzle the coulis over the top. (I'd used a chopstick to make the streaks)

Bake for about 30 minutes.

Cool and place in refrigerator for a couple of hours to set a little (this was the hardest to do ... the waiting!)

(Don't ask me how long it keeps for, coz this was gone within 24 hours)