Finger Food ichiban!

I'm pretty sure everyone of us like to have finger food when we're enjoying a movie. So, I've decided to write a recipe on a simple finger food recipe which could be done in a jiffy. Here's one interesting food which can be prepared in a short frame of time : Spiced Nutty Popcorn!

Ingredients:
100g(3 1/3 oz) sachet butter-flavoured popping corn
2 tablespoons olive oil
125g(4 oz) blanched almonds
125g(4oz) roasted unsalted cashew nuts
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
1 tablespoon paprika
1/4 cup(100g/3 1/3 oz) grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Prepare popcorn as directed on packet, then distribute between two serving bowls. Heat the oil in a medium pan, add the almonds and cook over moderate heat until lightly toasted. Add cashews, seeds, chilli flakes and paprika and stir over heat for about 1 minute or until aromatic.

2. Remove from heat, add the cheese and sprinkle over the popcorn. Set aside to cool before serving.

*Make up to 1hour in advance if you would like. Preparing this would take at least 20minutes. :) enjoy!

Another soup to come...

Today's soup of the day will be Mushroom Cream soup. It's pretty easy to make since it doesn't take too much time and energy to prepare it. This is one soup which i would love to have when i'm losing out of ideas thinking of what to cook for soup. It's best to go back to the simplest of all. And it's a favourite for many especially mushroom lovers. Try out with assorted mushrooms in it. Cut it into small cubes. It will go great with some garlic bread.Some white wine and cream make it a delight for the palate. Enjoy!^^

Ingredients:
fresh mushroom 250 g/8 oz
3 spring onions (scallions)
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons plain (all purpose) flour
1/2 cp milk 125 ml/4 fl oz
2 1/4 cups vegetable stock (broth) 500 ml/17 fl oz
1/2cup white wine 125 ml/4 fl oz
1/2cup cream 125 ml/4 fl oz
salt
freshly ground white pepper
nutmeg
1 bunch parsley croutons

Directions:
1. Clean the spring onions (scallions) and cut into fine rings. Melt the butter in a large pan and sweat the onions.

2. Rub the mushrooms with tea towel, cut into fine slices san sweat them briefly. Dust with flour and stir in. After about 2 minutes, pour the milk over and stir in carefully to avoid lumps.

3. Add the vegetable stock (broth) and white wine. Simmer for 15 minutes. Puree the soup. Add the cream, bring briefly to the boil again, remove from heat and add grated nutmeg to taste.

4. Wash the parsley and chop finely. Ladle the soup into soup bowls, sprinkle with parsley and serve with croutons.

Tako Tako!

Have you guys tried takoyaki before? I just have to share this delicious japanese snack with you. Takoyaki is a popular japanese dumpling made from batter, octopus, pickled ginger, green onion and konnyaku topped with okonomiyaki sauce, green laver and mayonnaise. It's a fast food snack where it's crispy on the outside while it's mouth-watering fillings are covered in the soft sticky paste. There are different types of fillings that are made available like octopus, prawn, ham& cheese and unagi. I like the taste of the takoyaki and it's a great snack when you're feeling like muching something in your mouth :)

Here's the recipe for takoyaki but i don't know if it'll work 'cuz i've never tried making it before ^^ This is the simplest recipe that i could find.Good luck trying it!

Serving: 50-60balls

Ingredients:
200g chopped boiled octopus
cooking oil
benishoga (pickled ginger) (to taste)
chopped negi (or scallions) (to taste)
tenkasu (or rice crispies) (to taste)

To make the batter:
450cc water
1 piece konbu (kelp), 10cm square
15g powdered katsuo-bushi (shaved dried bonito)
200g flour
2 eggs

Sauce:
commercial takoyaki sauce
or worcestershire sauce
or mayonnaise

Directions - batter
1. Clean the konbu by wiping it lightly with a cloth.
2. Cut the konbu into 2-centimeter-wide partial strips against the grain, but don't cut all the way to the edge -- see illustration.
3. Add the water and konbu to a pot, and cook uncovered over a slow fire.
4. Just before the water starts to boil, remove the konbu from the pot. The liquid should be a light yellowish or greenish color.
5. Add shaved katsuobushi to the water as it starts to boil.
6. After the liquid has been boiling a minute or two, turn off the heat.
7. Quickly remove the shaved katsuobushi from the liquid with a filter or strainer or cloth. Try to remove the katsuobushi while it's still floating on the surface, before it has a chance to sink.
8. Allow the liquid to cool, then add the liquid, flour and eggs to a bowl and mix.

For the takoyaki:
Make a small test batch of 4 or 5 takoyaki at first, to check the consistency of the batter. Add more flour or water as needed.
1. Oil the takoyaki pan.
2. Add pieces of chopped octopus to each cup.
3. Pour in the batter.
4. Add benishoga, negi and tenkasu to taste.
5. Cook the takoyaki pieces until they achieve the desired degree of firmness, turning them over frequently.
6. Remove from the pan and serve with sauce and/or mayonnaise.

Here comes dessert...

I'm going to serve you with Cold Raspberry Souffle.

Ingredients:

300g(10oz.)frozen, thawed and drained, or fresh raspberries(i use strawberries instead since it's easily available in my country than to find raspberries)
1 tablespoon honey
500g(1 lb) low-fat natural yoghurt
2 teaspoons gelatine
2 tablespoons apple juice
2 egg whites
2 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

Combine the raspberries, honey and yoghurt. In a bowl, soften the gelatine in the apple juice and dissolve over hot water or in the microwave for 10seconds. Add to the raspberry mixture.

Beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry, adding the sugar gradually. Fold into the raspberry and spoon into 4-6 small moulds. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

點心; Dim Sum

A cantonese term, dim sum is usually a light meal or brunch eaten in the morning-to-early-afternoon with family or friends. I used to have dim sum meals every week with my family back when i was living with my grandmother. It was enjoyable because you get to share such a nice and enjoyable moment with your family members. It was like a family activity on every sunday morning for our family.

On we go with the introduction of dim sum. Dim sum usually includes buns such as bao, dumpling and rice rolls which contain a range of ingredients including chicken, pork, prawns and vegetarian options. Many dim sum restaurants also offer plates of steamed vegetables, roasted meat, congee porridge and other variety of snacks.People go yum cha when they are having meals in a Chinese teahouse or a dim sum restaurant, and tea is always served along with dim sum.

Dim sum can be cooked by a variety of ways namely steaming and frying and many other methods. The size of the dim sum are usually small and normally served as three or four pieces in one dish. It is customary to order family style, sharing dishes among all members of the dining party. Because of the small portions, people can try a wide variety of food.

Dim sum dishes can be ordered from a menu or sometimes the food is wheeled around on a mobile cart by servers. Dim sum is certainly a favourite breakfast choice for the chinese because people especially the elderly. I feel that dim sum is a really wonderful creation because not only it gives us to taste such great food with great tastes, it also helps to strengthen the relation between the family and friends and will always be one of the best type of food in my list for breakfast. Hope you enjoyed what i wrote on and find it informative.

Main Course for the day

Today's main course would be.......Fish and Chips! It's one of my favourite dish when i'm looking for something simple and easy to cook. It's as simple as snapping your fingers. Here goes the ingredients and directions. Hope you could try it out when you're free to try!

Servings: 6 person

Ingredients:

3 pounds fresh cod fillets (choose thick ones)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup water2 extra large eggs
Vegetable oil

Baked Chips (recipe as follows):
4 large baking potatoes, unpeeled
4 tablespoons good olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves (see note)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Directions:
Lay the cod fillets on a cutting board. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Cut the fillets into 1 1/2-by-3-inch pieces.

In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, lemon zest, cayenne pepper, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Whisk in 1 cup of water and then 2 eggs.

Pour 1/2 inch of oil into a large (12-inch) frying pan and heat it to about 360 degrees. Dip each fillet and allow the excess to drip back. Place carefully into the hot oil. Don't crowd the pieces.

Keep the oil between 360 and 400 degrees. Cook each piece 2 to 3 minutes, until lightly browned and cooked through. Remove to plate lined with a paper towel. Sprinkle with salt and serve hot.

Note: To keep hot for up to 20 minutes, line a baking sheet with paper towels and put the fish into a 200-degree oven.

Scrub the potatoes, cut them in half lengthwise, then cut each half in thirds lengthwise. You'll have 6 long wedges from each potato. Place the potatoes on a sheet pan with the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and rosemary. With clean hands, toss all the ingredients together, making sure the potatoes are covered with oil. Spread the potatoes in a single layer with one cut side down.

Bake the potatoes for 30 to 35 minutes, turning to the other cut side after 20 minutes. Bake until lightly browned, crisp outside and tender inside. Sprinkle with salt.

(Note:If you don't have fresh rosemary, these chips are delicious with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic.)

p/s: if you can't find cod, i would recommend dory fish. remember to clear off the black line of the dory fish if you don't the fish will taste awful :) i personally like to deep fry the fish. it's up to you actually. trying something new is always a challenge :) enjoy your meal!

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival

Mid-autumn festival is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, around the time of the autumn equinox. Usually, for us here we usually have a gathering with family members, have dinner and enjoy the night with drinks(usually chinese tea but some have wine) and mooncakes while appreciating the beautiful moon that night.

I ripped this off from a website on chinese festivals regarding this festival. "This day was also considered a harvest festival since fruits, vegetables and grain had been harvested by this time and food was abundant. With delinquent accounts settled prior to the festival , it was a time for relaxation and celebration. Food offerings were placed on an altar set up in the courtyard. Apples, pears, peaches, grapes, pomegranates , melons, oranges and pomelos might be seen. Special foods for the festival included moon cakes, cooked taro, edible snails from the taro patches or rice paddies cooked with sweet basil, and water caltrope, a type of water chestnut resembling black buffalo horns. Some people insisted that cooked taro be included because at the time of creation, taro was the first food discovered at night in the moonlight. Of all these foods, it could not be omitted from the Mid-Autumn Festival."

A little history on the mid-autumn festival goes like this. In the Zhou Dynasty(1066 B.C.-221 B.C.), people hold ceremonies to greet winter and worship the moon whenever the Mid-Autumn Festival sets in. It becomes very prevalent in the Tang Dynasty(618-907 A.D.) that people enjoy and worship the full moon. In the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279 A.D.), however, people send round moon cakes to their relatives as gifts in expression of their best wishes of family reunion. When it becomes dark, they look up at the full silver moon or go sightseeing on lakes to celebrate the festival. Since the Ming (1368-1644 A.D. ) and Qing Dynasties (1644-1911A.D.), the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival celebration becomes unprecedented popular.

Together with the celebration there appear some special customs in different parts of the country, such as burning incense, planting Mid-Autumn trees, lighting lanterns on towers and fire dragon dances. However, the custom of playing under the moon is not so popular as it used to be nowadays, but it is not less popular to enjoy the bright silver moon. Whenever the festival sets in, people will look up at the full silver moon, drinking wine to celebrate their happy life or thinking of their relatives and friends far from home, and extending all of their best wishes to them.

I'm pretty excited for tonight's celebration at my friend's house. There would be a small number of us but it will be exciting with all the lanterns lighted, the food being served, the laughters in the air filled with the joyous mood of the mid-autumn festival. I hope that you will too enjoy this festival if you ever have the chance to celebrate it.

Caesar Salad

It's a simple dish that could be done within a short time and you can just live with it for dinner! A favourite dish of mine and here's the recipe that i wish to share:

Servings: 2 - 4 servings

Description:
* Use only good-quality Spanish or Portuguese anchovies in your dressing. Anchovy paste may be substituted (approximately two inches squeezed from the tube will provide the equivalent taste of one anchovy fillet).
** Fresh lemon juice is essential. Some chefs squeeze the lemon through a cheesecloth to ensure that only the juice ends up in the salad. If you are careful to keep the lemon seeds out of the salad, a simple squeeze will do.

Ingredients:
1/2 to 3/4 cup croutons (see directions below)
1 coddled egg (see directions below)
1 to 2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic (1 to 2 medium cloves with inner green germ removed)
1 anchovy fillet, mashed*
Pinch of salt 2 tablespoons (1/2 lemon) freshly squeezed lemon juice**
3 drops Worcestershire sauce
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) freshly grated Parmesan cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano), divided
1 head Romaine lettuce, hearts and tender leaves only
Coarsely ground black pepper

Directions:
To make croutons: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Trim the crust from day-old peasant-style bread (Italian or French bread) and dice into 3/4-inch cubes. Toss with enough olive oil to coat, but not drench. Sprinkle lightly with salt and spread out on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake approximately 10 to 15 minutes or until just golden brown. Halfway through the baking time, give the pan a shake to make sure the croutons toast evenly. Remove from oven and completely cool croutons. Store in an airtight container.

To coddle egg: Coddling causes the yolk to become slightly thickened and warm. Bring a very fresh egg to room temperature by immersing it in warm water (otherwise it might crack when coddled). Place the egg in a small bowl or mug and pour boiling water around the egg until it is covered. Let stand for exactly 1 minute. Immediately run cold water into the bowl until the egg can be easily handled; set aside.

To make dressing: In a bowl, whisk together the garlic, anchovy, and salt until blended. Whisk in the lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce. Whisk in the coddled egg until the mixture is thick, approximately 1 minute (this enable the lemon juice to "cook" the eggs). Slowly drizzle in the olive oil with one hand while vigorously whisking the mixture with the other. When the dressing is well combined, whisk in 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese.

To assemble salad: Separate the Romaine leaves and discard the coarse outer leaves. Wash, drain, and pat with paper towels or spin dry the remaining leaves. Note: Lettuce should be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to use. Tear into bite-size pieces and set aside. In a large wooden salad bowl, add 1/3 of the dressing and toss with the croutons until well coated. Add the Romaine lettuce pieces and the remaining dressing; toss until coated.

To serve: Divide the salad between two chilled plates and sprinkle each salad with the remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese and coarsely ground pepper. Serve immediately with chilled forks.

For the starter

Okay, here's for the starter of the blog. Introducing the Classic French Onion Soup. Enjoy it~

Ingredients:
1 stick butter (8 Tablespoons)
8 cups onions, thinly sliced
3 Tablespoons flour
3 quarts beef stock /chicken stock
1 Tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 cup brandy
grated Gruyere cheese
grated Parmesan cheese
French bread olive oil

Directions:
Melt the butter in a Dutch oven(2quarts saucepan or soup kettle) and add the onions, stirring constantly. cook for 5-7 minutes, until soft.

In the meantime, cut slices of French bread into 1/2 inch pieces and toast them at 350 degrees in the oven for about 15 minutes--until they are dry crusts.

When the onions are soft, sprinkle them with flour, stir, then add 2 cups of beef stock and stir until the mixture is thickened. Add the remaining stock, stir into 1 Tablespoon of salt, the pepper, and the brandy. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 1/2 hour to an hour. Add the meat glaze and taste for seasoning.

When you're ready to serve, ladle the soup into individual bowls and cover each with a thick handful of Gruyere cheese. Top each with a piece of the toasted bread, which has been drizzled with olive oil. Sprinkle it with the Parmesan, then run them under a broiler for a few minutes and carry out to the table.

The End of infinity

Do As Infinity will dissolve on September 30, 2005.

A fan alone that supports it meanwhile is not done though it was an activity of about six years after it debuts in 1999. And, even if it tells it with the member and STAFF, all gratitudes to the people met can finish being not told.

We will do a separate activity in the future. Tomiko Van will be launching a solo career and Ryo Owatari will continue on with his band 'Missile Innovation.' Please surely expect, and watch the unique activity of its members that will surely surprise everybody.

Thank you very much for assisting in Do As Infinity.

Do As Infinity Van Tomiko and Owatari Ryo Staff everyone

Do As Infinity live notification
Last live decision: Friday, November 25, 2005 Nippon Budoukan

Thank you very much, everybody. We will wait in Nippon Budoukan.
Please come by all means.

Do As Infinity official FC Dive At It

For other information visit:
http://www.d-a-i.com
http://www.avexnet.or.jp/van/

Although this has nothing to do with food, but this band has been an inspiration to me for the past 6 years. The music of DoAsInfinity will live on in the hearts of their fans and those who appreciated their music. It's not easy to say goodbye but at times, there's an end to something great and something greater is awaiting at the end of that road. I wish them good luck and a very big thank you for inspiring me over the past 6 years with your wonderful music that has given me hope and strength to move on in the darkest of the days. Sayonara DoAsInfinity.

Blog just for food lovers

After months of wondering around waiting to further my studies, a simple idea just came through my mind. Why not i start writing on the food that i've been tasting and the journey in searching for the best food around? I love eating. It's just an enjoyment of life. Don't you think so? We eat everyday to fill our stomachs to have the energy to carry on with our daily work. Although i'm still at a young age and i may not have the best taste buds compared to the best food tasters around but i love trying out different kinds of food from different ethnics, culture and countries.

In this blog, i will post about reviews on the restaurants that i've visited, recipes and about my country. I hope this blog will serve as a diary to me and i will be able to share my experience with everyone who reads my blog. Thank you for visiting ^^ please come again