KREATIV BLOGGER AWARD - THANK YOU ELIN

I had such a sweet surprise today. It was from Elin of Elinluv's Tidbits Corner. She gave me this lovely award and for that I thank you Elin. :) Elin has such a lovely blog. It is a repository for all kinds of amazing recipes and having been through most of her posts I have come to realize that she is also one awesome Bun Lady! If ever you're in need of a bun, sweet or savoury, Elin has it. And loads more!

I'm very happy to receive this award for 2 reasons. For one, it is the first 'award' given to me by a fellow food blogger and secondly it's good to know that my blog's existence is worth some kind of an award :-)

This food blog started out as a little something for myself, to past my time and strangely enough as a 'tangible' extension of my imagination, my thoughts and my self-centred fantasies. It was my playground. However, over time it has grown to become an obligation and almost a duty. So there have been times that I have wanted to call it a day. I began to weigh its worth against my time spent and the effort I put in. In other words I no longer felt that I was doing this completely for myself. It was no longer an indulgence.

This blog has become a responsibility because it involves others, like you and members of my family. I should have known that if one chooses to play on a public playground one cannot expect to play alone without being affected and without affecting others. I realize that I was not 'retiring' into a virtual world as I foolishly thought I was when I first started blogging but that I was, in fact, 'starting out' each time I post a post and that I would in the end deal with very real people although I meet and see no one at all. It's creepy sometimes, whimsical at other times but mostly it's a tad confusing.

Giving up this blog isn't as easy as I thought it would be because it grows on you, like an extra limb and for the moment I'm stuck with it. That's the creepy part. At other times it provides a convenient platform that allows me to be quirky and silly up to a point. It allows me to be creative in more ways than one so I do get enjoyment out of it, obviously. That's the whimsy part. But most of all I am still not quite sure whether it's 'good' or 'bad' for me, my husband and my children as a whole. Or rather how much good is it? Or how much time or how much less time is good? Needless to say that is the confusing part :)

But until I find the perfect formula for the Greatest Happiness, until I can figure out the worth of blogging, and only until I do, I'll keep this blog the new factor that I'll have to deal with in my life's equation - for the time being.

Thank you for the award Elin. That certainly gives me a lovely reason to keep going.

And like reality this virtual award comes with rules and conditions. And they are...........

1. You must thank the person who has given you the award.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who has nominated you for the award.
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
5. Nominate 7 other Kreativ bloggers.
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on the blogs you have nominated to let them know they have been nominated.

Seven facts about me.....

1. Green is my favourite colour for now. My preference changes over the years.

2. Like Elin, if you leave me in the household department the rest of the world does not exist. My greatest weaknesses are plates, bowls, cookware, table cloths, decorative items, quilts, fabric, paintings, flowers, colours and 'British India'.

3. I enjoy most the company of kind, quirky and funny people.

4. I love islands.

5. I enjoy reading tremendously.

6. I cook most of our meals because I think eating out too much is not healthy.

7. When I do eat out I look forward to the company rather than the food.

My fellow bloggers that I am going to pass on this award to are............

Terri of Hunger Hunger for being one of my first communicating blogger friends, for her opinionated opinions, her wonderful life stories and food stories.

Denise of Chicky Egg who is cute and funny and who sometimes comes up with the most wonderfully creative and hilarious recipe instructions.

Tracie Moo of Bittersweet for her youthful enthusiasm in baking with or without her mom.

Marija of Palachinka for her stunning photography and her kindness in helping me learn to watermark my photos.

Lorraine of Ganache Ganache for her passion in cake decorating and her latest creatively hilarious swimming trunk cake.

Ninette of Big, Bold, Beautiful Food for her beautiful blog and her amazing creativity with food powders on her latest post Daring Cooks July 2009 Challenge

And last but never least my eldest daughter Juli of Joyluck Kitchen for her amazing energy and enthusiasm for life, her family and cooking and her lovely fusion food blog.

PINWHEEL COOKIES

Don't sweat the small stuff. Do it now. Not tomorrow, not yesterday. Do it now. Just do it. Throw down the glove, take up the gauntlet.

Yes I did all of that except that I did sweat the small stuff.

Because I simply cannot resist pretty things especially when they are swirly and coy like these little cookies. And because I have 5 resident cookie monsters salivating all over the floor, the sofas, the table, the napkins, the keyboard, me. And because there is a wonderful grandma story behind these cookies too. Here at Disgruntled Julie. But I wouldn't have found it if not for La Table de Nana.


So it was a good thing that yesterday was a day blessed with beautiful weather. A cool breeze wafted through the kitchen door, caressed me, hugged me then floated out the front doors but not before leaving her wonderful softness draped around the house. Yesterday is a day that I will remember for a pleasant day of baking and for the winsome sweetness that these pretty pinwheel cookies brought into our lives even if it lasted for just one day. I'll just have to make more and hope for more Breezy days like yesterday.

These cookies can be quite a challenge though because the dough is a soft dough that is not as firm as a cut out cookie dough. It requires chilling and freezing and rolling and layering and rolling up into logs and finally slicing. I was popping my head in and out of the refrigerator before I could finally sit down, relax and wait for the logs of dough to freeze up. I suspect this would be a good cookie to be made in much cooler climes.But nevertheless I made them and am so delighted with the results. I have used other recipes before but none turned out as beautifully as this. I really can't get over how pretty they are. Can you?


Here's the recipe..........

3 cups plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter
1 1/3 cup castor sugar
2 large eggs
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped finely and melted

Sift flour, baking powder and salt. Beat butter until fluffy, add sugar and beat some more till white and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time and beat well. Turn down the speed and mix in flour mixture until combined.

Divide the dough into 2 parts and wrap one half in cling film or plastic bag, shape into a 4 by 4 inch square ...like so....and chill.



Return the other half to mixer and mix in the cooled melted chocolate and mix well. Shape the chocolate dough into a 4 by 4 inch square in cling film or plastic bag and chill with the other half for 30 minutes.

Cut out 4 pieces of parhment paper about 10 by 10 inches square.

Take out the block of chocolate dough and cut it into 4 strips. Return 3 of the strips to the refrigerator. Roll out the 1 strip to about 6 by 7 inches between 2 pieces of parchment paper. Keep aside or preferably in the refrigerator.

Take out the plain butter dough block and divide into 4 strips and roll out one strip to a 6 by 7 inch rectangle in between 2 pieces of parchment paper (keep the remaining strips refrigerated).

Peel off the top pieces of parchment paper from both of the rolled out pieces of dough. Flip the plain dough over the chocolate dough. Peel off the parchment paper from the plain dough. Trim the edges to get a neat rectangle.


Gently by using the aid of bottom parchment paper roll up the layered dough into a nice tight log. Wrap in cling film and freeze the log for 1 hour. Do the same thing for the other 3 sets of plain and chocolate dough and freeze them all for 1 hour.




After 1 hour take them out and roll them back and forth to avoid the logs being flattened on one side and then place them back into the freezer for 3 hours.

Take the logs out after 3 hours, slice, place on a lined baking tray and bake for about 10 to 12 minutes until firm. Cool on a wire rack and sore in an airtight tin. Makes about 60, I think. They're so pretty! :)

TORTILLAS PRONOUNCED TORTEEYAS

I am having a serious case of writer's block here and now. So what shall I say? Shall I tell you about tortillas? Or torteeyas. Yes because that's how they are pronounced. Or shall I tell you about what I did today? Shall I tell you about a marriage I just read about? Or shall I tell you about my life? Shall I tell you about my cat or shall I tell you about a philosophical doctrine of happiness and virtue? Tell me. Tell me.

(Cupping my ear and stretching my neck). I don't hear anything. Oh wait a minute did I hear someone say "Tell me about the marriage you just read about."?

Well....ok...but it's a long story. But a great one. And a funny one. And this is where I read it. Take a peek and read it for yourself for it's a long long story. And by the way, this is where the tortilla slash torteeya recipe came from too.

But wait! What about my tortillas slash torteeyas? Wait don't go. Because tortillas slash torteeyas are ssooooo quick and easy to make. It takes about a minute to cook on each side which is way faster than I can get used to saying torteeyas instead of tortillas. And they are really tasty and soft and easy to roll up or fold.


Did you know that fried tortillas...(roll eyes)...torteeyas...become tacos and rolled torteeyas become burittos? uhuh....discovery of the century.... for me..... I'm not very familiar with Mexican food so tortillas were quite foreign to me..... until now that is. Now I love them and I have many plans for them.

They will definitely replace bread (loaves) because they can be fun to eat, rolled up with whatever leftovers are around, they can be toasted to a crisp and dipped in chillie sauce or salsa as a snack, they can be toasted with cheese in the my oven toaster as a skinny pizza, they can be spread with butter, sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon and toasted and of course they can be turned into burittos, tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas and fajitas.

But wait a minute..what are all those ohs and ahs? Well, I've been doing some research to clear my head too and these are what I have digested. Tortillas are what you see in the pictures on this post.



Burittos are thin flour tortillas rolled up with a filling of meat, refried beans or mexican rice.

A taco is a tortilla fried to a crisp.

Quesadillas are two tortillas sandwiched with cheese and grilled in a pan.

Enchiladas are corn tortillas rolled around a filling (meat, cheese, beans, vegetables, potatoes etc) and covered with chili pepper sauce.

And fajitas are strips of marinated meat, poultry or vegetables,cooked over an open fire and then rolled up in a tortilla.

So tortillas are, in one word, versatile. Like rice. You can eat it with anything and in any way you like. Rolled, folded, sandwiched, fried, baked or grilled. So although a tortilla is not much different from a chapati in look and ingredients, it has however, gone a long way in the ways it is used. More ways than one can ever hope to understand or remember.


And here's the recipe........

2 cups plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp. butter, softened
1/2 warm water

Place flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl and mix. Rub in the butter with your fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs. Pour in the warm water and mix with your hands until it becomes a smooth dough. Divide into 8 balls, place them on a plate and cover with a clean dish cloth and let rest for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes roll each ball into a 6 to 8 inch circle ( the thinner it is the softer it will be and easier it is to wrap or roll when it's cooked).

Grill each piece of pancake in a dry non stick pan for about a minute and a half on each side until the pancake turns white and puffs up a little and develops some light brown brown spots. I liked mine a little pale and dainty looking.

As each one is cooked put on a plate and cover with a dish cloth to keep warm and soft. Serve with whatever filling or curry that you like.

ICE COLD CUCUMBER JUICE

I've been a good girl. Hub's been a good boy. So we haven't been fighting. Even though it's been screaming hot out here in the tropics; when every day is a good day for a short temper. When everyday is a good day to be dense and disgusting clods. When everyday is a good day to bake an egg on the pavement. And call it a meal. When everyday is a good day to be seared and scalded by our shower water. When everyday is a good day to be blinded by a glinting sun. Everyday is simply a good day to be BAD.


But then again....... everyday is a good day. Because my busy bamboo tree is sprouting. Because my sweet lavender and irises are blooming (sort of). Because my camera's battery's fully charged. Because my handphone's not ringing. Because I cracked some really funny jokes. And someone laughed. Because the maids just cleaned the house. Because there's some minted ice cold cucumber juice in the refrigerator...waiting. Because...oh....because it's going to rain!

But do you know what keeps us really good? Ice cold minty cucumber drinks served on a cheery cheery tray. mmmmmhmmm.



Here's the recipe.................

1 cucumber, skinned and cut into chunks
1 lemon, juice squeezed out, seeds removed
2 tbsp sugar,
a few or many mint leaves (optional)
1 cup of ice cold water, more or less

Put everything into a blender and swish. Taste for sweetness and adjust if necessary. Serve chilled and ice cold and with ice cubes on a cheery cheery tray. mmmmmhmmm