Too-tired-to-think oven baked trout

Has it ever happened to you, being so tired, you couldn't think of what to make for dinner, so you eat oatmeal instead?

Yes, me too... *sigh*....

Functioning on half a brain lately due to my love for making these babies, I haven't had much time to do the other thing I like so much: cooking. Shame...

So a couple of days ago, when a bunch of lovely trout filets caught my eyes, I knew I couldn't resist and that no matter what happened that night, I was going to cook.

Here comes the best part: the quick marinade of, seriously, random things I picked out from the fridge that made sense at the time...  And it turned out great!!!!!! So here is how it all went down:

Too-tired-to-think oven baked trout:

Oven at 400*F. Line a baking pan with foil, then parchment paper, so you have no cleaning up to do afterward.

Pull out the big mixing bowl, and toss in there:

• About 1 to 2 Tbsp of olive oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar.
• A couple of splashes of balsamic reduction
• A chunk of wasabi
• A squeeze of oyster sauce
• A few splashes of lemon juice
• A few grinds of black pepper
• A pinch of turmeric powder (because it is good for your health, read here!)
• Sea salt to taste
• A few cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped.

Whisk it all together. Drench the filets of trout in the mix, and be generous! Place them in the baking pan. pour the rest of the marinade on top, and bake for about 20 minutes or so. Ta-da, done!

Look at that yummy flesh... Hmm... it was delicious! And the yellow spots? That's the turmeric doing its healthy things for ya! ;)

Eat! Relax for half an hour or so. Now go do the other things that you have to get done. Good luck!!! :)

Lactose-free *KBAM!* fruit mix gelato

There are many happy moments in life. From big moments like becoming a home owner, to medium moments like getting a discount on a great pair of shoes, to little moments like eating ice cream on a sunny day, or any day for that matter (I'm easily amuse, what can I say...)

Then there are sad moments...  From losing someone you love, to seeing a baby bird with a clipped wing, to hearing someone say: "Oh... no ice cream for me, I'm lactose intolerant..."

In those lactose related moments, I always feel a little bad that I'd be enjoying my cone of ice cream in the person's face. So the other day, while pondering about such matters, I wondered why they don't make lactose-free ice cream, or at least gelato, since gelato is made with milk and there is definitely lactose-free milk. Maybe the demand isn't high enough?

Whatever the reason may be, I've got a recipe for you if you are in a rut with milk... KBAM! Actually, that  just stands for Kiwi, Banana, Avocado, Mango and the ! is really just my excitement expressed in writing. LOL!!!

Lactose-free *KBAM!* fruit gelato

(makes about 3-4 cups) 
 
Fruit mixture

• 1 Ataulfo mango, ripe, chopped
  
• 5 kiwis, chopped (3 for the blending and 2 for added chunks)
  
• 1 avocado, ripe, chopped
  
• 1 medium banana, ripe, chopped
  
• a splash of lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1-3 tbsp milk (to make the blending easier on your machine, lactose-free in this case)

Blend everything except for 2 kiwis, in a blender. Place in fridge to cool for a few hours. Put the rest of the chopped kiwi in the freezer.

Custard

• 2 eggs, whole
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/3 - 1/2 cups sugar (depend on how sweet u like it)
• 1 cup milk 2% (lactose-free in this case)

Whisk eggs and sugar together until blended. Add milk and stir well. Put mixture into a pot over low heat, cook and stir constantly until mixture is a custard (check that it coats the back of the spoon) Remove and cool completely.

Mix custard and fruit thoroughly, then cool again in the fridge for at least a couple of hours or over night. Then churn in ice cream maker as according to manufacturer's  instruction.  At the last 5 minutes of churning, throw in the frozen kiwi chunks.

Freeze your ice cream until ready to enjoy.

The result is a creamy, fruity, satisfying concoction that won't be stomach-stabbing. The best part for me in all this is to hear: "I was perfectly fine after eating it!!!!"

I will be trying out other flavors soon, so keep an eye out! Let's get together to save lactose intolerant people, one spoon of gelato at a time ;)

P.S: Here is a peek into my latest cakes :D You may also check them out on my Flickr page here!!!!

pI love you!

I'm not really a "pie person", but I adore the smell of baking pies in the house. There is something so loving and cozy about the fragrant spices and the steamy bubbly filling that makes me want to hug someone special.

And on cold rainy days like these, we can all use some love, hugs and a couple of slices of warm pies. So go call someone you love, tell them that you're coming over in an hour and get in that kitchen!  

Quick apple ginger pie

(makes 1 pie)

• 2 pie shells (1 if you want an open-faced pie)
• 4 medium apples, peel, cored, quartered and sliced
• a small knob of fresh ginger, a little less than an inch or so, minced
• 1 lemon, juiced
• about 1/2 cup sugar (I used half brown and half white)
• about 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
• about 1/2 to 1 tsp ground nutmeg (depending on how much you like the spice) 
• about 1 Tbsp flour
• egg wash, optional (1 egg white and a tsp of water)
• a few pinches of sugar for sprinkles

Heat oven to 375*F

If you are using frozen pie shells (yes... I cheated... LOL) thaw them out on the counter for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the prepared apple slices, ginger, lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and flour together. Put everything into the first pie shell.

Take the second pie shell and drape over the pie. Make a cross in the middle for the steam to escape while the pie bakes. Brush egg wash on top, and sprinkle some sugar on top, liberally.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or so, or until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling.

Now, bring it to that someone and spread the love, one slice at a time.

War is over!!!

No... not that war... I'm sorry (hang head down in shame)... It's just the war between macarons and I.

Today, after the seventh attempt to tackle those sons of b****** cutie pies, I declare peace. A success with shine, dome and feet reigns upon us. The sun even came out to celebrate our victory. I can almost hear the music...

This has been a long and somewhat disastrous voyage, haunting me since last year.  The first time I tried to make macarons, they ended up shine-less, dry and feet-less... *sigh* it was a sad day... Then there were the ones that somehow became amaretti cookies... Then last week, they were just down right hollow, extremely shiny with feet, as if just to piss me off.

Thank goodness I'm so f**king stubborn. I wasn't giving up until I get it right.

So this is it, no more swearing and pulling out my hair at 2am talking to baked egg whites.  No more over-dosing on epic failed cookies with increasing anger after every bite. No more mumbling bad words at people who walk by with tubes of macarons from the cute pastry shops on the Plateau. No more! Yes, I mean it, I might never make macarons again now that it's done. LOL!!!!!

I read a lot on macarons, more than I'd like to remember, and  most people "fold" with delicacy. A few however, beat the crap out of the meringue when mixing in the almond meal. (I would have had to use that if the lucky seventh  failed) Fortunately, this war ended with no violence.

So after reading many awesome bakers and dessert chefs out there (David Lebovitz, Tartelette, A La Cuisine!, etc) this is how it all went down:

Macarons shells 

(makes about 60 shells, so 30 macarons)

• 1 cup almond meal (I ground my own natural almonds, then put it in the oven on a baking sheet with really low temperature to dry it out)
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 100-110 g egg white, left out on the counter loosely covered for at least 24 hrs (about 3-4 egg whites, I actually used the stuff from the box because of so many fails, I didn't want to have all the yolks left over)
• 1/4 cup sugar 
• powder color

Sift the almond meal and powdered sugar together, making sure there are no lumps.

Beat (in a stand mixer or hand-held, with a whisk attachment) the aged egg whites until foamy, then gradually add the 1/4 of sugar. When soft peaks form, add desired color and continue beating until peaks are firm. 

Add the almond meal mix into the meringue, in 3 batches. Fold the mixture delicately to not break the meringue and do a total of not more than 50 times.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Fill a piping bag with a plain tip of 1-2cm or so and pipe equal circles of your desired size (1.5-2 inches is usually the case) Let them sit for 30-60 minutes, until they have formed a skin on top, then bake in a 300F oven for 8-12 minutes depending on the size of the shells.

Cool completely before filling

Quick peanut butter, Nutella & banana liqueur filling

• 1 part peanut butter
• 1 1/2 part nutella
• a few spoons of banana liqueur (I used Austrian  Casali Schokobananen liqueur)

Mix peanut butter and Nutella together and add the liqueur. Fill the macaron shells.

Enjoy!!!!! Because nothing tastes better than victory!

A letter to Spring

Dear Spring,

Sitting here on a Friday night, with a patch on my left eye (don't ask... it's not that interesting really....) I realized that I have been slacking off on the blogging and the cooking, and I have a perfect excuse for it.

Cakes!!! Yes, cake is always a good excuse for anything!

I have been selling cupcakes to a little restaurant downtown and making quite a few cakes as well, so getting home from work means the oven heats up, the fondant starts rolling or the Cuisinart mixer is in over time. Sometimes it's all of the above.

I know for a fact that many cooks/bakers out there, just like me, what makes them most happy is to see the reaction on people's face when u cook/bake for them. Seeing the different emotions people have is like getting an endorphin shot for me. Shocked, ecstatic, amazed, amused, confused. All in a good way mind you. The one thing that always happens with the cakes, is they don't want to cut them LOL!

 A quick Optimus Prime cake for friend 30th birthday. Chocolate cake & strawberry buttercream. 

I didn't have the right colors, so I had to paint over it after, hence the streak :(

Banana cake and Amaretto buttercream. The colors and the little characters on the cake are from the birthday girl sketch book. She's amazing!!!!

For two very lucky birthday girls who have such caring people in their lives. Chocolate cake, Vanilla cake and both with strawberry buttercream.

Left: For 1 of my best friends' 30th birthday, green tea cake & dark chocolate matcha  ganache. 

Right: Baby shower for my soon-to-be niece, chocolate cake and strawberry buttercream.

My happiness goes into overload when afterward, people come to tell me "It not only looks good, it tastes delicious!" My heart literally flutters... Yeah, nerd, I know LOL!

...*Sigh*... I have nothing to complain about. Life is simply yummy and beautiful. The sun is coming out more often. I've switched to a lighter jacket and no longer wear my boots. The birds are getting louder. The squirrel who lives in the tree behind my house seem to appear more often (I don't know where he is hiding his food, but he seems to be carrying something EVERY SINGLE TIME!)

So Spring, will you please come and stay a while? I promise I won't take you for granted. I will enjoy you to the fullest all the while not forgetting how lucky I am compared to thousands and thousands of other people in the world. I won't pout when you need to rain. I will accept you even with the cold breeze that you sometimes bring. I know nothing lasts forever, and you will eventually leave, but I think we will have a great time together.

Your faithful friend, "Tramie"
Waiting for you.

Indian-inspired lentil soup

We all need a little lift from now and then to keep our spirit high. When something goes wrong, we have to remember all the other good people & things that are still there with us, and it may sooth the pain. These are times when we need to keep our heart & tummy warm, because the temperature refuses to collaborate.

I came to making this soup out of literally whatever I had in the house. The only thing that I had to go buy, was the fresh parsley. Let me tell you, tough out the cold bum and run to the store to get it, because it adds a really nice touch.

 Indian-inspired lentil soup (makes about 10 servings)

• a splash of olive oil
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• a couple cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 can of Italian tomatoes, whole
• 2 boxes of chicken broth (about 2L)
• 1 large bunch of curly parsley, washed, stemmed and roughly chopped. And a few for garnish
• about 1 cup of dried lentil, rinsed and picked over
• 1 tsp garam masala powder
• 1 tbsp curry powder (or more depends on your taste)
• Chili flakes if desired
• Lemon, sliced 

Heat oil in a big pot over medium heat, add onions and garlic, cook for a few minutes until fragrant but not burnt. Add the tomatoes & the juice, mash them up in small chunks with a wooden spoon. Then add the chicken broth, leaving about half of a box for thinning the soup later.

Turn heat to maximum, add the parsley and the lentils. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes, or until lentils are soft. Add the masala, curry and chili flakes half way and mix well.

Serve with fresh parsley for garnish, with some freshly ground black pepper, and a small wedge of lemon. It really kicks it up a notch (unfortunately I didn't get the lemon when I made this, boo!)

****I put this soup into individual microwavable containers for lunch, and before taking them to work, I would add a bit of chicken broth, because it thickens up quite a lot

It is Valentine's Day weekend, and I made some cakes for the occasion, for an order. One was a "kitsch" Birthday/Valentines Day theme (yes, "kitsch" was an important part of the order) It was chocolate layer cake with fresh strawberry buttercream.

Yeehaw!!!!! Chocolate layer cake with fresh strawberry butter-cream

And then there were the cute cupcakes *sigh*...

From front to back: Cinnamon "bun" & Orange butter-cream, Double amaretto, Green Tea & Lemon butter-cream, Double Root Beer

I wish you all a wonderful weekend with your Valentine (although I am sure that everyday is Valentine's Day for a lot of you *wink*) Share some soup, share some cupcakes. Most importantly, spread the love!