Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango and the most beautiful weather Philly has ever known

Spring is here! Not officially, but today it was 72 degrees here in Philly. People are out in shorts and sunglasses, tank tops and flip-flops, and huge smiles. The sun and grass are fantastic. I snuck away some rice from home over break and have been waiting to try this recipe ever since.
Logically, rice should be able to cook just like pasta or boba. However, know ahead of time that this is not the case; rice takes a lot longer to cook and has different rules.

Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango is a delicious and sunny dessert (although, from personal experience, I can say it also works well as dinner). The recipe is Thai, and it is fantastically simple and great for sharing.

Here are the directions, loosely based off of the recipe from Thai Table. You will need:

~ About a cup of rice
~ A mango
~ Half a can of coconut milk
~ Water
~ 3 tablespoons of sugar
~ salt

Put the rice in a handy dandy microwavable bowl, and pour the coconut milk, sugar, and salt on top of it. Microwave it on high for 3 minutes, take out and stir, then add enough water so that there is a about 3/4 inch on top. Stir again and let sit for about 2 minutes. Microwave on high for 2 more minutes. Repeat this process until the rice is tender, and all of water is absorbed. Serve the rice hot next to a cut mango. For tips on cutting mango see this about.com post.

Sprinkle salt and sugar on top of the rice and Omnom! Everyone enjoy the incredible weather!

Custard Diary: Tapioca Pudding

Wow. So, this blog was derailed for awhile... however, I think enough things have been moved around that we are back in business.
How is everyone!? Is anyone on spring break and such?

Alright, so one idea with which I have been playing is custards. While home for break I found tapioca pearls and decided that tapioca pudding was the way to go.

Now, the reason that this is the first entry of the Custard Diary is that custard can be hard enough on the stove; the microwave adds an new twist. The problem is to not let the egg cook too much.

Anywho, here's what you need for the recipe (taken somewhat from the box of Bascom's tapioca pearls):

1/4 cup of tapioca pearls
3/2 cup of milk
dash of vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar
dash of salt
dash of cinnamon
1 egg

First, beat the eggs until the whites are completely broken/liquified. Mix in everything but the pearls. Proceed to cook for 1 minute on high and then stir. Repeat this 5 more times or until some eggs bits separate. Then strain out the cooked egg and add the tapioca. Cook on 1 minute for high and stir for 3 more times or until the tapioca is tender. Cool in the refridgerator and serve.

So now for the future revisions for this recipe. This recipe will leave you with a good custard, but will not leave you with a smooth custard. Possible changes would be to add a little bit of lemon juice or vinegar to keep the egg from coagulating. Also, you could potentially add the egg at the end and stir it in then.

anyway, Omnom!

Smoothies!!!

A blender should be used for, if nothing else, smoothies (cheers, Valerie). Now, smoothies and I go way back. My household went through about seven years during which making fresh fruit smoothies was a twice a day occurrence. Our blender and a pack of bananas also traveled with us on vacation all over the country. Therefore, it is only fitting that my first blender post should be about smoothies.

By smoothies, though, I do not mean ice cream or sorbet with a couple cuts of fruit. No, by my definition that would be a milkshake or a freeze. There is a reason that smoothies are marketed as healthy things, even if a lot of the time the commercial versions are not. In a very simple form smoothies are healthy.

So for this post I have three smoothie recipes: the classic apple, banana, carrot, and orange, the mango lassi, and the (ok, a little less healthy, but great for after workouts) chocolate banana smoothie.

Apple, Banana, Carrot, and Orange (or the ABC ..O)

• 2 medium sized carrots washed or peeled with the ends removed
• 1 sweeter apple like a fuji
• 1 banana
• about 1/2 cup of plain yogurt
• about 3/4 cup of orange juice

The instructions for smoothies is really part of their beauty: put everything in the blender, put on the cap, blend until liquefied. If you live in a place like a dorm where the walls are practically nonexistent, try putting a thick blanket or towel around the base of the blender to muffle the sound somewhat.

Mango Lassi

• 2 mangoes, peeled and pitted
  
• sugar to taste
• about 1 cup plain yogurt
• milk or water until desired thickness
• cardamom (if you have any) to taste
  

Those of you who read this blog often know I really dislike adding sugar to things, but when you are dealing with plain yogurt it's sometimes necessary. So...yep, put it all in the blender and go.


Chocolate and Bananananana

• 1 banana
• 1 packet of hot chocolate mix
• 1 cup of milk
• some ice cubes if it's warm enough...it was 19 degrees today, so no ice cubes.

Blender!

Anyone else have favorite smoothies?
Omnom! and yay for blenders!

Philly Foods: Square 1682

It's Restaurant Week here in Philadelphia. Some of the people in my dorm and I went out for brunch at Square 1682, a new restaurant on 17th street. The Restaurant Week "deal" was two courses: either breakfast or lunch course and a dessert. I use the sarcasm of quotation marks because the only person who saved money on the Restaurant Week offer was the girl who got the steak. So, get the steak or don't get the deal.




I got the Poached Eggs with Truffle
Oil "atop brioche toast, wild mushrooms, and guanciale sauce." I didn't know what guanciale was, so I have looked it up: Guanciale is bacon from a pigs cheek. Yum. Actually, the dish was really good (especially the bites with all the truffle oil). It was in the plainest of terms, good bread with a poached egg and the typically delicious mushrooms in butter and some herbs, chopped bacon, cream sauce, and parsley. Oh and of course truffle oil. How could one complain?



My dining compatriots enjoyed the French Toast with bananas, pecans, and good old Pennsylvanian maple syrup, the blackened chicken sandwich with bacon, pesto aioli, pepper jack cheese and house-made fingerling potato chips (pictured), and the Texas Longhorn burger with blue cheese. From what I heard, all dishes were highly satisfying. After some sneaking of potato chips, I can personally vouch for their deliciousness.




Next up, dessert. Chocolate tart with ginger and orange ganache. Reportedly very good but very, very chocolatey. Others had apple tart with cinnamon ice cream. Also, said to be sensational, but the ice cream is for cinnamon lovers only. I then had the vanilla ice cream cream puff with caramel and pecans. It was very nice. The caramel was warm, but freezing on the ice cream, and the puff was crispy in just the right places.





Overall, the consensus was that the brunch wasn't bad. However, it was far from sensational. If we had the choice to try somewhere new, we probably would. If you are looking for a solidly vogue and stylish place with food certain to be good with decent presentation, then head on over to Square 1682.







SQUARE 1682
121 South 17th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Tel: 215.563.5008


Omnom!

Has anyone else tried some memorable meals during Restaurant Week?

Gajar Ka Halwa (and India)

I'm back! India was fascinating, beautiful. The food was delicious, not actually that spicy, and replete with butter. French cuisine has nothing on that of the Indians. Also, Valerie, I'm glad you got to drink chai. Go to India and you will consume gallons just from casual visits. I was staying with my friend's family members (and in India it seems as if everyone's a family member), so I didn't get too many photos of food. However, what I took, I'll post as I get them from my friend.

While maybe not providing many food photos, India did offer many ideas for Mini and Micro. For instance, the first dessert I had while in India was Gajar Ka Halwa. According to my friend, "halwa" applies to anything (usually a dessert) that is small bits, like a porridge . Gajar Ka Halwa uses carrot strips as these small pieces. Like most Indian desserts the basis is milk, butter, sugar, nuts, and cardamom.

Now as a caveat that the idea of making an Indian dish, something fairly revered, in the microwave is highly unorthodox. One can reheat in the microwave, but cooking in the microwave? near heresy.

Alright, so roughly off the recipe found at India Food Forever, I have put together a pretty decent Gajar KaHalwa recipe.
For two to three servings, you will need:
- two carrots
- a handful of pistachios, shelled, and cut up
- a handful of raisins
- pat of butter about 1"x1"x3/8"
- two tablespoons of sugar/to taste
- 4-6 cardamom seed pods
- milk enough to cover the carrots

First, soak the raisins in water, set them to the side for about 20 minutes. Now, after you peel the carrots, you're supposed to grate them. However, being with a grater in college, I got to cut up the carrots. If you're also in this position try to cut them very thinly; the thinner the slices the more delicate and flavorful the dessert will be.

Put the carrots in a bowl and pour the milk over it, OR, you can add some milk and some sweetened condensed milk (though, you may want to skimp on the sugar later). Microwave the carrots on high for 5 minutes or until the carrots are completely tender. Add the sugar, raisins, and pistachios. Microwave the mixture for another 2 minutes.

Crush the cardamom pods with the flat of a knife and add them to the bowl. Mix and let sit for about 10-15 minutes or until the flavor is as intense as desired. Take out the cardamom and drain any excess milk. If the carrots are still hot then add the butter and sugar to taste. Otherwise microwave and then add. Serve warm and omnom!!!

Oh! for Christmas I got a blender, so will be looking into recipes for that. Any ideas?

India!?

Hey everyone.

Sorry I have not been updating, but at the moment I am in India! Internet has been kind of hard to find. However, I will be back and ready for updates in about a week. I hope everyone's winter breaks are going well. Have there been any to-die-for foods this season?

Chris

Mac and Cheese: The first interfamilial stove verse microwave cook off

Two amateur chefs will enter the kitchen; only one will leave victorious; both will leave with kick-ass mac and cheese.

The Competitors: -Chris "The Microwave Magician" - Tom "The Stove Sorcerer"

The Game: Mac and Cheese

The Ingredients: Whatever necessary, that's right "playing by the jungle rules"



Tom "The Stove Sorcerer": Knowing that my sister would go with microwave noodles and sauce, I knew that the quality of my noodles would be what set my mac and cheese apart. I also knew that having a constant flame under my sauce would allow me to combine more spices and cheeses for a more interesting taste. First, I heated milk and heavy whipping cream in a small pot over medium heat...stirring it...ever so gently... round and round the whisk would go...creating a vortex of delectability. I added two type of cheese: New York Extra Sharp Cheddar and Wisconsin Classic Cheddar.

I added a few, I don't even know how many, teaspoons of cornstarch. I find the best way to cook noodles is to: 1) Bring 4-6 quarts of water to a rolling boil. Add salt to taste, if desired. 2) Add contents of package to boiling water. Stir gently. 3)Return to a boil. For authentic "al dente" pasta, boil uncovered, sitrring occasionally for 8 minuted. For more tender pasta, boil an additional 1 minute. 4) Remove from heat. Drain well. 5) Serve immediately with your favorite Barilla sauce. (Chris' note: if that step seems a little out of place, it is because all of these steps were stolen straigh from Barilla's pasta box.)

I then put pasta in the bowl, poured sauce on top, grated some more Wisconsin Cheddar on top. Then I added my secret ingredients: mustard powder and paprika. For those of you recreating this recipe, add the mustard and paprika when you add the cheese to sauce. Enjoy.


Chris "The Microwave Magician": Tom loves spices, so I decided to keep my mac and cheese simple. First, put the raw pasta (about a pint's worth) in a microwavable bowl. For the cream sauce, microwave about a cup of milk until it is near boiling (2 to three minutes), then add three teaspoons of cornstarch and stir until it is dissolved. Add a grated mix of Wisconsin and New York Sharp Cheddars and Dubliner's cheese and stir the mixture until the cheeses were mostly melted. Then, microwave the mixture for about another minute and stir everything again. Pour the mixture on top of the noodles. The mixture needs to cover the noodles or else they won't cook all the way.

Microwave on high for 5 minutes then stir the noodles and sauce and microwave again for 5 more minutes. If after 10 minutes, the noodles are still too firm, let them sit for about 3 minutes and check again. If still too firm then cook for a minute and check again. But a caveat! Do NOT put them in for another 5 minutes, once noodles start to cook they can overcook really easily.

Top with some grated extra cheese. Omnom!

Taste Test: The mother was then given a blind taste test of the two mac and cheeses. Unfortunately before she even tasted them she knew which was which...so no actual verdict was reached. She critiqued both and offered no real controversy for this post...alas... However, my brother and I determined that both stove and microwave versions of macaroni and cheese work and that both are truly kick ass.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! (and congrats to all of you who finished exams finals!!! yayyy!)