Salt

Yesterday while we discovered downtown Newburyport, MA, I stumbled upon Grand Trunk Imports selling specialty imported food and wine.. YUMS! We spent some time there and ended picking up a few yummy items to stock my always full pantry.
Among my “loot” where these 2 salt; Hickory Smoked Salt and Red Clay Salt. They weren’t cheap since a container of the specialty salt cost about twice the price of a big container of plain ol’ table salt. However, I can’t help getting some to try. I love trying out various food, and when it’s a couple dollars..I usually would not hesitate to purchase it.
So guys…..I need some help and ideas to use these 2 salts, maximizing its flavors………..  Recipes..Ideas..please? Some help guys?

Simply June 

Taco Dinner

  I’m not a Taco expert so I wouldn’t necessary know the difference between a good, great or bad Taco. I enjoy eating Tacos but do not eat it often as I can be quite picky about my beef. I bought this Casa Fiesta Taco Seasoning Mix from the grocer for about a dollar as part of my quick week night meal plan. Instead of the regular ground beef, I use ground pork. The mix was easy to use. All I did was brown the meat, add the seasoning and water and cook it for about 20 minutes or less overall. In no time, the husband and I was having a little “Taco Party” in front of the telly.

I bought some tortillas, shredded some lettuce, cut up some tomato, brought out the cheese (Mexican blend) and salsa! I prepped the stuff while I was cooking the ground meat and dinner was ready in no time! it was a perfect quick and delicious meal for 2-3 people. I thought the taco seasoning was good and the taco meat was better than Taco Bell’s. I did however added twice as much water as instructed on the back of the packaging, =)

 

This won’t be the end of my Taco dinner! I will perhaps stock up a couple packets of this seasoning on my next grocery run! Spare lots of napkins to eat the tacos as it does get a little messy. A couple bottles of icy cold beer to wash the tacos down would be good too!

Udon & Plum Wine

That was a quick, delicious meal for a lazy dinner! I bought a couple packets of Udon Instant Noodles from the local grocery store the other day and cooked them for dinner. I added some fishcakes, shrimp and baby bok choy into the noodles to make it a more “complete” meal. The best part of that meal was enjoying a glass of my favorite wine; Japanese Plum Wine.

Let me just do a brief intro of the Udon Noodles first. If' you're not familiar with Udon; it is a thick Japanese wheat noodle often served in a light broth. This is widely served in Japanese restaurants or you can get instant ones which aren’t bad at all. The ones I got were Myojo Udon noodles, and this brand is quite readily available in many grocery stores! It’s just like cooking any instant noodles and by adding a few ingredients of your own, it brings the instant Udon up a notch. =) I’ve not tried any other brands, and I don’t see a reason to try other brands coz I’m happy with this one! =)

 

So, dinner that night was totally Japanese. I opened my bottle of favorite wine. Choya Umeshu (Plum Wine) is available at most liquor store and does cost a bit. Well, it cost more than what I usually pay for a bottle of wine. I bought this bottle (750ml) of plum wine for $18 (excluding tax). The wine is sweet, slightly sour with hints of sour plum. It also comes with about wine infused green plums. If you’ve not had this wine before, it’s sweetness can be compared to a sweet Riesling or Muscat, I guess. It’s definitely one of my favorite wine and something I would order at a Japanese restaurant. Try it, I think if you like sweet wine, you’ll enjoy this Plum Wine! If you don’t, I’ll gladly finish it for you!!

Mmmmmm…..writing about it makes me want to pour myself and enjoy another glass of yummy plum wine. =)

My First Ebelskiver / Abelskiver Pan!

I’ve been itching to get an Ebelskiver / Abelskiver pan for the longest time but it usually cost more than what I’m willing to spend especially since it’s not a kitchen necessity. These pans cost about $20 plus and up and are usually made of heavy cast iron.

Ebelskiver is actually a Danish pastry which tasted like pancakes and comes in almost a ball shape. They are sometimes filled with jam or other ingredients and are served with a dusting of powdered sugar. Best eaten warm! I had it once more than 10 years ago, and I enjoyed it. The dusting of powdered sugar does get a little messy though. =)

I came so close to getting one at Williams Sonoma the other day only to be told by the cashier to pay $48 (plus tax). Yes, I got over excited and saw the wrong price. The Ebelskiver recipe book was $12, the pan 4 times more! I guess I got a little excited there and then. And feeling rather embarrassed, I told the cashier I did not want it anymore and scurried out of the store.

A few days later, I was determined to get myself a Ebelskiver pan well within my budget and went shopping on Amazon.com. I found one for about $12 and with another stuff that I bought, shipping was free! =) It came a few days later and boy was I thrilled to get it in the mail! It felt like X’mas again somehow.

I’ve yet to use it but it won’t be long before I churn out some yummy Ebelskiver for breakfast! I think I could even make Takoyaki with my Ebelskiver pan. Takoyaki is a round Japanese dumpling with almost pancake like texture filled with yummy octopus pieces and topped with different kind of sauce. Another yummy delight!! =) Anyone’s got a yummy Ebelskiver or Takoyaki recipe for me to try out???

If you’re hunting for a Ebelskiver pan, check out the one I got from Amazon.com. I’m not sure if it’s good, but for $12 it’s a steal!! =)

Zico (Natural Coconut Water)

Hubby and I first saw this Zico natural coconut water on TV on either the Food Network Channel or the Travel or Discovery Channel. It was a TV program about the next new food product or something like that. What caught our attention was the way the guy on TV (at the trade show) trying to cut open a coconut and let the show attendees taste the difference between a fresh coconut and Zico’s Coconut Water. We were laughing our heads off at the way the guy sort of struggled to open the coconut..Hehe!

Apparently, Zico is all pure coconut water. No preservatives. And it seems Coca Cola has invested some money into the company/product who actually gets their supply of fresh coconut from Amacoco and now owned by Pepsico. Go figure! =) Read article HERE.

Anyways, back to Zico. Hubby and I saw the product at an Indian Grocery Store a week later and decided to give it a dry. We paid about $1.40 or so for it. It came in a tetrapack and reading the back of the package, the only ingredient is only coconut water.

We tried it. It’s not bad. Very mild tasting. I thought I tasted a funny aftertaste. Somehow, it tasted like old coconut water and not those fresh young ones which are way more refreshing. It might be the type of coconut used that give the coconut water a little different taste than what I’m accustomed to. I assume they used Brazilian coconuts since they are after all manufactured in Brazil. I found an entry in Wikipedia which confirms my suspicion: “Coconuts from various parts of the world also differ in taste. For example, Indian coconuts tend to be sweet while Brazilian coconuts have a mild taste and Bangladeshi coconuts (due to the soil composition) have extremely sweet water and flesh with a very slight salty aftertaste similar to the Indian.”

It is indeed nice that there isn’t other preservatives or additives in the drink unlike many of the packaged coconut drink out there. In the mean time, I will still stick to fresh coconut water…at least those packaged in its original shell or husk. The best coconut water are those from the Pandan Coconut which are more commonly available in Malaysia. The water is fragrant, naturally sweet, the flesh is soft and almost gelatinous. It’s just the perfect thirst quencher in a hot weather! Yums!!

Well, get a packet of Zico and let me know what you think of it. =)

Delimas Curry Laksa (Curry Mee)

I forgot if I bought this packet of Delimas Curry Laksa paste from an online merchant or from a retail store in Flushing, NY. I appreciate the availability of such product overseas and definitely welcome the convenience of being able to prepare a Malaysian dish quickly at home. It surely saves precious time from searching for a reliable recipe to scouting all the exotic ingredients needed to prepare the the dish and in this case the fragrant curry broth.

Curry Laksa or more commonly known as Curry Mee to the folks in Penang, Malaysia is a spicy noodle soup where yellow noodles and/or thin vermicelli rice noodles are used. The soup is a watery yet fragrant coconut curry broth. You will find shrimp, chicken, dried tofu, cockles, coagulated pig’s blood and mint leaves in a bowl of Curry Mee.

Hubby is quite a fan of Curry Mee, while I almost never really had one. The sigh of blanched cockles and coagulated pig’s blood just steer me away from ordering one. I guess I could always ask the cook not to put those in my bowl of Curry Mee!

Anyway, preparing the Curry Mee broth from the Delimas Curry Laksa paste was easy. Just add a can of coconut milk, let it boil for a few minutes and you get the broth! And then, all I needed to do was to poach some chicken meat, boil some eggs, blanched some bean sprouts, boil and peel some shrimp and cut up some dried tofu.

Dinner was ready in 30 minutes or less. The instruction on the back of the package says it serves 6 people. I think it only serves about 4. I thought it was good….but it’s really hard for me to judge this as I almost never really had it before. Hubby thought something might be missing but said it was pretty good overall. Hubby actually loved it so much, he couldn’t get enough of it and had 2 helpings! We were both very much satiated! Hubby even brought it to work for lunch. This was the first as he usually doesn’t like to bring soupy stuff to work. =) I guess that proves that the noodle soup gained his approval! =) 

Next time, I would need to have a bowl of Curry Mee when I go back home or try one at the Malaysian Restaurant in town. This would give me a better chance to judge the instant paste and see how good it is. =)

I got the instant paste for about $3 I think. I was not able to find this brand online but feel free to check out another brand; Tean’s  Curry Mee.

The Different Types Of Cream

I subscribe to a few cooking/food magazines and do not pay a single cent for them. In attempts to keep my miles from expiring, I use part of my mileage accumulated to subscribe to some magazines and at the same time refrain my airline miles from disappearing completely! =)

I came across many interesting reads and recipes from these “free” magazines and thought, why don’t I start sharing some of what I’ve read here! I came across an article on Saveur.Com magazine (Issue #126 - Jan/Feb 2010 publication) called “Cream Of The Crop” discussing the various cream we often find in the grocery stores. I often see Crème fraîche in recipes and now I know what it is and how it would taste like. I hope these information will also be helpful to you as well! =)

Photo by Todd Coleman, borrowed from Saveur.Com

The following information are all extracted from Saveur.Com (Issue #126) titled “Cream of The Crop” by Katie Robbins:

1. Heavy whipping cream, also called whipping or heavy cream, is great for shrimp bisque and other hot dishes, where its 36 to 40 percent butterfat prevents it from curdling. Since it whips up fast into a stiff foam, it's also ideal for topping desserts like chocolate cream pie.

2. Light whipping cream is also good for finishing soups and whipping, but because it contains less butterfat (between 30 and 36 percent), it has a lighter, looser texture than heavy cream.

3. Light cream, also called table cream, can contain anywhere between 18 and 30 percent butterfat. Though too light for whipping, it's delicious drizzled over desserts like blackberry slump.

4. Half-and-half, a homogenized blend of milk and cream, contains between 10.5 and 18 percent butterfat. Richer than milk but not as thick as cream, it's perfect for making pie fillings, as well as adding body to sauces, like the one for crabs and spaghetti, where cream would bind them too tightly.

5. Clotted cream is the result of cooking nonhomogenized milk until a blanket of cream forms on top. With a minimum of 55 percent butterfat, this richest of creams is as thick as whipped butter, with a slightly toasted flavor. Delicious spread on biscuits, it can be found at most specialty food stores.

6. Double cream is British-style heavy cream, which—at 48 percent butterfat—makes for a thick, sweet dessert topping. Look for it where clotted cream is available, and whip it gently by hand, as it easily separates into butterfat and buttermilk.

7. Sour cream, made by adding mesophilic lactic acid bacteria to light cream (which thicken and sour it), lends tang to dishes like chicken paprikash. Mixing it with a sprinkling of flour before adding it to hot dishes keeps it from curdling.

8. Crème fraîche (the phrase is French for fresh cream) was traditionally made by letting cream sour at room temperature. At 30 to 40 percent butterfat, it's richer than sour cream and, thus, better able to withstand high temperatures, making it ideal for dishes like rabbit in mustard sauce.

Instant Paella!

I fell in love with Paella when I first had it in Barcelona. For the next few days in Barcelona, we managed to get some of this lovely Spanish cuisine for dinner each day!

Paella is basically short grain rice cooked with meat, vegetables and or seafood. Saffron; the world’s most expensive spice (by weight) is used in cooking this delicious rice dish! When in Rome, I came across this package of instant Paella by FIRMA ITALIA for about Euro 2 (I think) and scooped out one packet to try when I got back to the US.

Hubby was (and has been) asking me when I was going to make the instant Paella I bought from Italy. It’s been more than 2 months since I got it and I finally made them last night. Since we had some yummy Sushi buffet for lunch, I decided to cook something simple at home. Instant Paella it is. It wasn’t that instant or cheap after the stuff I added to it. I guess it’s still cheaper than eating out!! =)

The package said it serves 2. But knowing our eating capabilities, I knew right off that it would not be enough for the 2 of us. On top of Saffron (Yes, I added a pinch of Saffron threads to my Paella)…hence making it expensive!! I added a few cut up squid tubes, large shrimp, frozen vegetables and cooked rice (which I added towards the end).

Instruction on the back (in 6-8 different languages) said to cook the Paella for 15 minutes. That wasn’t enough as my rice was still hard. I also had to add more liquid than instructed as the rice was absorbing the liquid away yet still giving me uncooked rice. Perhaps it’s all due to the extra ingredients I added to the Paella!

The result….it’s not bad for an instant Paella. I was expecting the Paella so be a little more fishy, more “seafoody” (if that’s a word at all!) flavor. Definitely not was flavorful coz this is just the plain Paella I guess? But if you’re craving for some quick fix Paella, this is a decent product to have in the pantry!! =) Next time you see this in the store, grab one to try!

Tofu Noodle (Tofu Shirataki)

 While hubby and I were shopping for food at H-Mart, we came across many food sample stands. One of them was giving out tofu noodle samples called “Tofu Shirataki”. We’re at first reluctant to try it as it did not look quite appetizing but it sure sounded different that we decided to give it a try.And we got sucked in and got 2 packets of the noodles for $0.99 each packet. I’ve actually seen these noodles being sold at many Asian stores but have never thought to try it.

Tofu noodle is made from tofu (obviously), yam starch and water. It apparently is vegan, low carb, no cholesterol, no sugar and is gluten free. This noodle would be a great pasta/noodle substitute and it comes in 3 different sizes; angel hair, fettuccini and spaghetti (which is what we got).

Each packet of noodle (already cooked) is packed in water and serves 1-2 people (I cooked 2 packets for hubby and I). The noodles when drained somehow looked like cooked ramen noodles. I made cooked some soup (with vegetables, dumplings and fish cake) to go with the tofu noodles. All I did was drained the noodles, quickly reheat it in the microwave and pour hot soup over it. And serve it immediately!! The noodles has a little bite to it, not those al-dente kind of bite though. It’s got this springy bite that ordinary noodles or pasta does not have. The noodles itself is quite flavorless, but when eaten with hot soup it’s actually pretty good. The instruction on the back also suggest to stir fry the noodles. Maybe next time, I’ll try a stir fry tofu noodles! Look for the tofu noodles at the refrigerated aisle (where they sell noodles or tofu) at your local Asian grocery store. The noodles are not supposed to be frozen, so when you get some..just keep it in your refrigerator!

Affordable Korean Meal @ Home

During our visit to H-Mart grocery store, we spotted some yummy pre-marinated meat (pork, chicken and beef), Korean style. You know those kind of meat you would order at a Korean BBQ, cost you easily $12 -$25 (depending on choice of meat and how pricey the place is) per plate and that’s usually enough for 1 person.

It has been a while since hubby and I had some good ol’ Korean BBQ…so we decided to pick a choice of pre-marinated meat and cook it ourselves at the comfort of our home. The pre-marinated meat are all pre-packaged individual containers and sold by their weight. Different meat and cuts are priced differently with Beef Short Ribs (Kalbi) being the most expensive. We got a container of pre-marinated pork sliced butt @ $3.99 per lb. For a little more than $5, we got plenty of meat more than enough for the 2 of us. We bought some romaine lettuce to wrap the meat in and a Korean Fish Cake @ $3.99 to try.

We took out our griddle which we’ve used many times to “grill” meat indoors. I cooked some rice,  prepared some vegetables, made some sauce and we’re ready to start cooking!!

 

The pork was so so yummy! Very flavorful (and well marinated), tender and definitely very affordable! We wrapped the cooked pork in a piece of romaine lettuce, over some rice, a dap of homemade sauce and some green onions. Our whole dinner cost us less than $12 and that includes a bottle of beer each!! =) Hubby even had a Korean lunch to take to work the next day!

We will surely go back for their pre-marinated meat. Perhaps we will try other cuts/meat next time. I can’t wait for the next time we have a Korean BBQ party perhaps? This host won’t need to do much cooking this time! Haha!

H-Mart @ Burlington, MA

HEAVEN! We found out that this little piece of food (grocery) heaven just opened in Burlington, MA (about 15-20 minutes outside Boston). H-Mart is a large Asian grocery store specializing in Korean groceries and carry a good range of Chinese, Japanese, Southeast Asian as well as Indian food stuff!

We’ve heard about H-Mart opening a branch just outside Boston early this year but never heard a single thing about its grand opening and thought that with the economy doing not so well, they might have cancelled the plan. We soon found out that they’ve indeed arrived in Burlington, MA and actually just opened their doors sometime in September.

Hubby and I drove to H-Mart over the weekend. Parking was big, but still not enough to hold the many shoppers who throng the store. You got to literally fight for parking in the lot and also fight your way through the grocery aisles. It was quite packed!

The prices were surprisingly very reasonable if not very competitive! Yay, this is definitely to my advantage. There’s a corner filled with a delectable variety of Korean side dishes such as KimChi. The fresh seafood aisle was awesome; lots of varieties (fish, shellfish, etc) to choose from, cheap, clean and FRESH! The vegetable and fruit corner was pretty impressive too. A case of those luscious Korean Pears are about $22.99. I’m so going to get a case of that during my next visit!! They even had a corner selling some appliances, cookware and other household items.

Oh yeah, there were even a bakery and food court which offers Korean, Japanese and Indian food in this grocery store. The only drawback of the food court, seating is limited. But I heard the food is great!

H-Mart is open from 8am – 9pm everyday. My friends suggest to go early to avoid the crowds. The building is not quite visible from the main street. It is however in the same area as the Market Basket in Burlington, the H-mart is located behind that Market Basket. I think you have to personally visit H-Mart to see how impressive this grocery store is.

Check out H-Mart’s Burlington, MA location HERE.

Nashoba Valley Winery

We stumbled upon this winery while trying to look for a flea market in Bolton last Sunday. It was truly a pleasant find and we were glad that we decided to stop by and see what they offer. The winery had some kind of festival that day, and it was jam packed with people!

Nashoba Valley Winery is a hilltop orchard located in Bolton, MA. This family owned business not only offers a winery (& brewery), but also an orchard as well as a restaurant. The winery specializes in fruit wines made in their state-of-the-art wine making and distillation facility. The orchard offers pick-your-own peaches, plums and assorted apples. We went there just to experience the wine tasting which was very reasonable at $4 per 5 wine tasting. With that $4, you go home with a fancy looking wine glass with their name/logo engraved on it. Not bad at all, this is cheaper than getting a glass of wine at a restaurant! =P. Between the 3 of us, we sampled more about 10-12 different kind of wines . Some we really love, some we don’t care for.

I went home with a bottle of After Dessert Peach Wine @ $11.25….YUMS!! Apparently, you can also taste their home brewed beer for FREE! I only found out about this after googling this winery for more information. For $6 (or $7), you can do a tour of the winery and that will also give you a chance to sample some of their wines. Check out their list of wines, spirits and beer.

This winery is now bookmarked in my list of things to do in Massachusetts! Maybe I could get some friends to try the restaurant one of this days. =) Or drive up to the winery with the husband to enjoy more wine tasting and the gorgeous hilltop view.

Jalebi

After reading Archana’s FB status that she made some Jalebi, I found myself grabbing a container of Jalebi in an Indian Store a few days after! Perhaps, I’ll attempt to make it one day? I love Jalebi, though it’s not something that I will eat everyday. I’ll get diabetic at the end of the week, if I were to eat it all day long for 7 days!!

Jalebi is an Indian sweet made from a bright orange fried batter than soaked in lots of thick sugary syrup. Hence, it’s super sweet (and super yummy!!). In Malaysia, we usually see plenty of this sweet during the Festival Of Lights (Diwali/Deepavali) season. I’m always looking forward to a friend’s or neighbor’s open house during that time to munch on the delectable sweets!

I got my supply of Jalebi and other Indian groceries/spices here at Global Flavors in Nashua, NH.

Green (Vege) Curry Anyone?

I probably have mentioned time and over again that I like trying new stuff. I like to be able to expand my palate and try the different kind of stuff out there!  If it’s good, I’ll take more… if it’s not to my palate, at least I can say that I’ve tried it once! =) Well, I lied…there are some limitations to my “taste adventures” ..no insects or innards, please.

I was at a Southeast East Asian market recently and saw some green golf-ball size eggplants, more commonly known as Thai Eggplants. These skin of the eggplants when cooked, turn brown (and the flesh turns soft) just like the regular eggplants. And since I have a can of Maesri brand green curry paste at home, I decided to get the eggplants and make some kind of curry with it! I’ve never used this brand nor have I made Thai green curry before this. So I decided to follow the instruction on the back of the can and used some eggplants, okra, tomatoes, lemongrass and some basil leaves to make a pot of Thai Green (Vege) Curry. The verdict of the Maesri brand green curry paste was YUM! I don’t need to add seasoning of any sorts to the curry as the paste was already well seasoned. All I did was add water and coconut milk per instructions. I will definitely get this brand again if I were to cook another hot of Thai Green Curry! =)

Blueberries Are In season!

I was craving for some donuts and recalled those yummy strawberry donuts at Parlee Farms. I decided to head there and check out their farm stand. Since it’s blueberries and raspberries season, I bet they will have some sort of fresh donuts made from their berries!

I was right, they indeed had some blueberry donuts for $1.50 @ 5 pcs. They might not look that appetizing being bluish in color, but they were surely tasty. Too bad those donuts have been sitting out for a while and not piping hot! The donuts which were lightly dusted with sugar were nonetheless yummy, soft, filled with blueberries and not overly sweet!

After making a 10 minutes drive there, I could not just leave with a bag of donuts. I shopped at their farm stand and got a fresh loaf of blueberry bread (made from the farm’s blueberries) @ $3.75. I then spotted some nectarines so fresh I couldn't’ resist to get a few. The nectarines are $1.99/lb and I got about 1-1/2lbs worth. The nectarines were so red, so plump and bruise free, they looked like apples! Even hubby thought they were apples! =pLook out for some nectarine upside down cake in my next post!

Apple Pear??

Say What?? You read it right; APPLE PEAR! Hubby and I (as long as it’s not innards of animals) are always into trying new stuff we see from the local grocer. A few days ago, we stumbled upon this Asian Pear looking fruit labeled as Apple Pear. Since it was oh-so big and fresh and cost only $1.49 each, we got one to try just to kill our curiosity.

What was Apple Pear? I googled “Apple Pear” once I got home and found out it was indeed Asian Pear! Although Asian pears are native to China, Korea and Japan, you can now get it in local farms in the US. The best part is, certain farm even offer customers the opportunity to self pick your own fruits!

Apple Pear/Asian Pears are different from those pears (i.e. Bartlett, Anjou, etc)  you often see at most grocer in the US. Asian Pears usually have yellow (or yellow ochre) skin on the outside and is white in the inside. These pears also have higher water content, crisp and is refreshingly sweet. For these reasons, I prefer Asian Pears over the regular pears.

And that was what we had for desserts last night. Along with the Asian Pear, I also served up some grapes and some home made fruit Konnyaku Jelly.PS: If you’re in the Boston area and want to go pear (and other fruit) picking, check out Belkin Family Lookout Farm.

Hup Loong Belacan Chicken

Belacan is made from fermented ground shrimp which are sun dried, compressed then cut into blocks or these days there are also available in powder form. As nasty as it may sound, belacan can be found in many Malaysian (and maybe South East Asian) dishes and surprisingly makes them yummy! You may want to avoid cooking using belacan in tight / confined rooms as it will surely stink up the room /hallway etc. Make sure you have good ventilation when cooking dishes with belacan if you still want your neighbors (if you live abroad) to love you! =P

For dinner a couple nights ago, I went through my pantry and found a packet of Hup Loong Belacan Powder. It has been a long time since I had this Malaysian Nonya dish and I know hubby will love me for serving up some fried chicken!!As this powder is already premixed and almost ready to go, all I did was cutting up some chicken, added a dash of sesame oil and pepper and followed the instructions on the back of the packet. Instead of deep frying the chicken, I shallow fried it using less oil since I cut up my chicken into almost bite size pieces. I served the chicken along with some fried vermicelli (bee hoon); my favorite!!

The verdict on the belacan (fried) chicken; totally awesomeness! Crispy on the outside and moist in the inside. The pungent belacan chicken was so finger licking good!! MMm….. I’m drooling as I’m writing this entry… I want more belacan chicken!!!

Turkish Treats : Badem Ezmesi Tadinda

This will be my first posting on Turkish treats. I’ve the luxury of tasting different Turkish treats, thanks to Seyda who has occasionally introduced me to different Turkish sweets. Prior to this, all I know are Turkish delights, which I love but have over time find it a bit too sweet.

Seyda brought back 2 treats for me after her recent trip to Turkey. She brought back a packet of Ulker Hanimeller- Badem Ezmesi Tadinda. There’s not a sign of English on the front of the packet, but I spotted on the side of the packet, “Cookies With Almond Cream Filling”. And thanks to Google, I found out that “Badem” means Almond in Turkish! I can’t figure out the little white bits of something on the bottom left corner of the packet. Nuts? Cream? Chocolate? Inside this packet are bite size semi soft/crumble cookies with grounded nut filling. When you bite into this cookie, you will be greeted by a strong almond aroma followed by a subtle taste of hazelnut. This is really yummy and surprisingly not overly sweet. I could easily finish the whole packet of this “almondy-hazelnutty” cookies. Yums! Definitely not for someone who dislike or are allergic to nuts! =)  I’m not sure where you could get this cookie, try your nearest Middle Eastern store perhaps or online stores?

Cocoa Powder

I knew I had a can of Hershey’s Cocoa Powder in my pantry somewhere when I ran out of my Ghirardelli Cocoa Powder needed for the Black Magic Cake. I ended up finding a can of Cocoa Powder by the local store instead which conveniently sat in front of my eyes on the pantry shelf. All this while, I thought I had hallucinated myself buying a Hershey Cocoa Powder until I found it tucked in the corner of my pantry while I was rummaging for snacks today.

Anyway, I got a brilliant idea to do a color test on the 3 different Cocoa Powder I now have in my pantry. It doesn’t surprise me that when I opened the Hershey one, the Cocoa wasn’t as rich as Ghirardelli’s. I almost always use Ghirardelli Chocolates in my baking and will only use other brands when I can’t find what I want. I “finger-tasted” all three cocoa powder, I can’t really tell if there’s a significant difference between 3 of them; they all tasted bitter. =P. The prices were for sure different and I bought all 3 from the same local grocery store. The darkest Cocoa Powder is Ghirardelli (left) @ $4.99 for a 10 oz can. Store Brand (Market Basket) has the lightest Cocoa Powder but cheap @ $1.50 for 8 ox can. And the Hershey Cocoa Powder was the middle guy both in color and price @ $2.50 for 8 oz can. I haven’t done a baking test using each Cocoa Powder to see the end result of the baked product. I should probably do that one day, when I feel like experimenting! As for now, I am going to kinda jump to conclusion that the darker the Cocoa powder, the richer, the more decandent and the darker your Chocolate confection will be? No?

My baker friend Ween @ Love-A-Cupcakes swears by Valrhona Chocolates. I’ve not seen Valrhona chocolate at my local grocery stores or specialty baking stores (coz there’s none near me), but I know you can get them online and they are pricier than Ghirardelli…So,anyone care to send me a little care package of Valrhonas? =).

This cocoa powder talk reminds me our grandpa’s cocoa trees in Malaysia….I wonder if grandpa or my uncle still has or still harvest cocoa beans. I remember how those fermented cocoa looked and smelled like when they were being “tanned” under the sun. It’s truly amazing how those stinky fugly beans can be processed into delicious chocolates!

Read more about Cocoa Powder HERE.

Aunt Sally’s Creole Pralines

The only pralines I’ve ever had are in ice-creams (Yums….I love!!) and pralines by Godiva. Kelvin’s friend, Jolene who visited us after her trip to Louisiana gave us some Aunt Sally’s Creole Pralines; New Orleans’ most famous praline.Praline (pronounced PRAH-LEEN or PRAY-LEEN) was inspired in France and is a sweet confection made from sugar, nuts and vanilla. The early French settlers brought Pralines to Louisiana where pecan nuts are abundant. Check out Wikipedia for more information on Pralines.

Aunt Sally’s Praline came nicely packed in a plastic wrap and in individual boxes.The praline looked like a 2-1/2” – 3” cookie with exorbitant amount of Pecan nuts. Every corner you bite on, there will surely be a piece of pecan! I’m not sure why it’s called “Creole” Pralines though… maybe coz of it’s origin in the South? I’m sure it’s not coz of Creole seasoning used, as Creole seasoning are a mixture of spices and are used in savory dishes in the South. Anyway, Jolene gave us 2 packets of praline; Original Praline and Triple Chocolate Praline. The original praline tasted almost like vanilla fudge, but not as smooth. The sugary sweet candy is slightly chewy and grainy, something I did not expect as I was expecting a crunchy smooth candy. The pecans were also soft. it was overall not bad, and can get pretty addictive! It would have been awesome if the Pecans are a little more toasty and crunchy! The texture and all for the Triple Chocolate Praline was exactly like the Original Praline except you’re hit by the chocolaty taste. This one felt a little weird to me as I was expecting the smooth creamy chocolaty taste of a Godiva or some other chocolate but was also greeted with the same grainy texture.

Original pralines win hands down for sure! Aunt Sally’s Pralines are definitely different from the Godiva’s Pralines. This candy is not for anyone with diabetes or doesn’t have a sweet tooth!

Well, if you’re interested to get yourself from Pralines, check out their online store…no need to fly all the way to New Orleans to get some, though it would be nice to check out the French Quarters in New Orleans! While you’re there, enjoy some Louisiana Crawfish too!! =)