OLIVE OIL CAKE

Olive oil. Grapes. Olive oil. 5 eggs. Olive oil. Grapes? Seedless? Olive oil?

Never have I been so hesitant to make a cake until I watched French Food at Home and scribbled down this olive oil cake recipe. It sounded strange to make a cake from a very strong flavoured oil and even more so to drop whole grapes into the batter and make them pretend to be olives?!?


But it looked good. So when Laura Calda flashed her little winsome smile and cocked her head at me telling me how good it was I told her I might give it a try. But it was weeks before I finally made it.

However, instead of buying seedless grapes I had bought grapes with seeds in instead (silly me). That set the whole venture back by 2 whole days as I sat debating with myself. Shall I or shall I not go get seedless grapes? Or shall I use the grapes with seeds? Shall I or shall I not go get seedless grapes? Small mind, Big decisions.

But if you only knew how hot it has been here...which is SCORCHING.....you'll know why I hesitate even to put my foot beyond the door. It's so hot I thought I felt my brain fizzle.

That's why on most days I spend a lot of my time debating on non-issues as the rest of the world hurtles by. Obama gets a Nobel Peace Prize, Padang folks struggle to resume life, Thinkers think, a naval ship gets a short circuit and burns up/down, MCA has a leadership issue while my mind tinkers feebly.


Finally I pulled the bag of grapes out from the refrigerator the way Nigella pulls things out from hers. With a cunning look.

Let there be seeds. They'll just have to pick at them, meaning the people who are going to eat the cake. And so the olive oil cake, with the grapes pretending to be olives, was born.

Let there be seeds.


The cake was indeed good. It was very moist and light with a delicate scent of oranges and lemons. The grapes as it turned out did not look like olives after all. As it baked, the grapes lost some of their colour and turned out looking slightly sickly.

And no wonder Laura had suggested that some of the grapes be dropped into the batter half way through the baking. Which I did.

But when I turned the cake out and cut it, I began to wonder where the grapes had all gone. I could swear I put quite a fair bit in. At least 10 of them. But one thing was for sure. They all sank to the bottom. Well they were all pretty big and heavy so perhaps I should have used smaller ones.


But, nevertheless, the cake was really lovely..... and did I say that it was moist and light with a wonderful citrus flavour?

And the fact that it had olive oil in it made me feel better than if there had been butter. Better than butter. Almost.

The recipe...................


3/4 cup olive oil (I used extra virgin)
3/4 cup castor sugar
1 cup flour
5 eggs, separated
zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange
some red grapes (I used about 10 or 12)

Preheat oven 350 or 180. Prepare a 9 inch or 8 inch spring form pan, greased and floured.

Beat yolks and sugar until light. Add the zests and then the flour. Mix in the flour until there are no lumps. Add olive oil and stir until well combined to a smooth batter.

Beat egg whites with a whisk until soft peaks form.

Fold in the egg whites into the flour-egg yolk mixture, a little at first, to loosen the mixture. Then add in the rest of the egg whites and fold in with a spatula gently so that not too much air is lost.

Pour batter into prepared pan and drop in half of the red grapes and halfway through baking drop in the rest of the grapes. Bake from the beginning for 35 or 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

As soon as the cake comes out of the oven brush it with olive oil and sprinkle some brown sugar on top. Let the cake rest for about 10 minutes before turning out. Serve.

PRAWN AND FISHBALL RICE VERMICELLI SOUP

Nothing like a good wholesome chicken stock to make a good soup with. So with 3 chicken carcasses that I roasted in the oven until they browned, 1 large onion, 1 head of garlic, a carrot and 2 celery stalks cut into chunks, some water and a large pot I came up with about 5 cups of lovely golden clear broth that was full of flavour.

Then I made this simple noodle soup the next day.


I might also mention that I made the fish balls too but since I avoided using lye water as one of the ingredients, because lye water is toxic, my fish balls, although full of flavour, were lacking in the bounce department. But it didn't matter to me as long as everything was homemade and safe. And good.


Making up the soup the next day was a breeze because there cannot be anything easier than making a clear noodle soup. It is simple, pure and refreshing yet so full of flavour.


The recipe...............for 2 or 3 persons.

Enough rice vermicelli for 2 or 3 people, soaked in just boiled water until softened and drained in a colander. Keep aside.

2 garlic cloves
2 spring onions, white part sliced
3 cups of good chicken stock, preferably homemade
6 or 7 large prawns
10 or 12 fishballs
some bak choy, washed and seperated
2 T cooking oil
a dash of soy sauce
salt and pepper

Heat up the oil in a medium pot. Saute the garlic and spring onions until fragrant and soft. Add the prawns and fish balls and stir to cook through. It will probably take about 2 to 3 minutes. Add in hot stock and bring the soup to a boil and then simmer . Add the bak choy and simmer only until the bak choy is a lovely bright green. Taste for seasoning and adjust if neccesary. Done.

Serve : Put a serving of the rice noodles in individual bowls and por the hot soup over it to cover the noodles. Top with prawns and fish balls and a few stalks of bak choy in each bowl.

CREAMY MUSHROOM SOUP

I can't quite decide whether I am a cheerful pessimist or a melancholy optimist.

That is how I feel when I make mushroom soup. When satisfaction does not come immediately to my eyes and must be sought by pondering, when the good of the food does not strike me as I'm cooking it or when I'm done cooking it, I think I am a melancholy optimist.


But when I taste a spoonful and it wows me, and I know I have to make it appeal to our sense of sight as well, so that judgment will be reserved, so that our immediate instinct would be to scoop a little to our lips inspite of it being such a drab and dull looking soup. Then, I think, I am a cheerful pessimist.


So perhaps I am both. Both a pessimist and an optimist when I make mushroom soup. Let's face it...it looks so dull and quite unappetizing. But tastes so good. So I'll make it and then I'll plate it in the most opposite manner. Simply because they need each other. Balance after all is key. Wouldn't you agree? ;)


The recipe.............................for 4 - 6 persons.

I did not measure the liquid amounts exactly but a creamy mushroom soup is so easy that if you find it too thin add a little more flour or if you find it too thick add a little more stock. But it should be nice and creamy.


I used a mixture of olive oil and butter because the little door to my conscience inside of my head was opening and closing, opening and closing and it finally opened up completely and I felt this rush of guilt about using too much butter with the heavy cream. Sigh.


1/4 cup olive oil
2 T butter

3 cups slice shitake mushrooms or a mixture of shitake and portabello/buttons
2 shallots ,chopped
4 T plain flour
3 cups chicken broth or stock or a stock cube dissolved in water ( I used stock that I made myself)
1 1/4 cups double cream
salt and pepper
some chopped chives (western chives)

Warm the olive oil and melt the butter in a pan. When just hot enough add the shallots and mushrooms and saute until soft.

Add in the flour and stir in. It will become a thickish mixture. Add in the 3 cups of stock or broth.Stir well. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat. Add the cream and stir on low heat. Do not allow to boil. Add salt and pepper and some chopped chives for flavour.

The mixture will be slightly on the thin side.

Take out half the mixture with a ladle and pour into a blender and swish until the mushrooms are one with the liquid. Pour teh blended soup back into the pot and stir to recombine. You should have a nice creamier soup.

Garnish. Plate optimistically. Serve.

BULL'S EYE CHEESECAKE

I feel detoxed. A few weeks of self exile, away from the comp, and I actually feel cleansed. Perhaps it comes as a close second to a self imposed exile on a remote island in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do, nothing to look at, nothing to think about except for the lapping of the waves against the sand and the breath of the breeze swirling through palm fronds, with a boring sun and moonless nights.

This is the place where I wasn't......





These are the sea creatures that weren't.....


So, you see, it is a fact that, I was on no island but was completely in the middle of Somewhere with a lot of noise, plenty to think about and so much to do.

But I do feel cleansed nevertheless. Comps can be intensely intense, demanding and addictive. It was good to get away and ignore my laptop. Completely. Almost. It was refreshing to live life back in time.

And it was good to get a letter in the mail box this morning. I mean a real letter. Not an email, not a mobile text message, not a virtual image but a real touchable, tangible old fashioned letter/ greeting card and a family photograph from a good friend who is now back in her home in the States.

It was good to see colourful stamps from another country and my name handwritten instead of an official black inked 'stamp' with our name and address printed on the envelopes of bank statements and cell-phone or credit card bills.

It was good to tear open the sealed envelope wondering who the letter was from. It was good to have to scrutinize her handwriting, trying to make out the letters, the words, written in cursive and then wonder if you have lost the ability to read real writing. It was good to know that someone had bothered to lick some stamps and mail a personal letter.

Old times are always described as the 'good ole times' at any point in time. At this point in time the 'good ole times' could be described as the 'good ole real times' as opposed to our present virtual existence which will, one day, in turn, become the 'good ole times' 30 years in the future. I do wonder though how much more virtual could we get. Surprise me.

And speaking of surprises, surprised he was, my Hub, when I made him a birthday cake this year. Yes you read it correctly. 'A birthday cake this year'.


Because I've never baked him one before. Simply because he never did like cakes as in western cakes. But I have converted him over the years and the conversion is now complete. For him to actually like this rich rich bulls eye cheesecake and to say that it tastes just like ice cream is like faith had just found him or vice versa. And finally embedded itself. No questions asked.

I found the recipe at La Table de Nana's beautiful blog. It is a blog you must visit. It will inspire you. Endlessly.


Oh... how I heart cheesecakes.


Here's the recipe............The method for this cake is similar if not exactly the same for the zebra cake that I have made before. The only difference being that this one is chock-full of cheese, cheese and nothing much else but cheese. I do heart cheesecake. And you will too.

32 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond
1/4 tsp salt
4 eggs
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
2 tsp instant coffee powder
3 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup grham cracker crumbs

Adjust rack 1/3 up from bottom. heat the oven at 350 F 170 C. Grease an 8 inch springform cake pan on the bottom and sides well. Wrap the pan in one large piece of foil making sure the foil comes at least 2 inches up the sides of the pan. You will also need a larger pan for a water bath.

Beat the cream cheese in an electric mixer until smooth making sure you scrape the bowl well once in a while to make sure all of the cream cheese is evenly beaten and smooth. Beat in the sour cream and then the extracts. Then add the salt and the eggs one at a time until well incorporated. Keep scraping the occasionally after each addition.

Take the bowl off the machine and divide the mixture equally between 2 bowls. There should be about 3 cups of mixture in each bowl. Stir in the granulated sugar into one bowl and the brown sugar into the other bowl. The mixtures will thin out.

Remove about 1/2 cup of the brown sugar mixture to a small bowl and add in the coffee and cocoa powders. Stir well to mix and then pour it back into the brown sugar mixture and stir to mix well.

You will now have about 4 cups of mixture of each.

Start by pouring one cup ( I used 1/3 cup) of any one of the mixtures into the middle of the prepared pan followed immediately by the alternate mixture to be poured right on top of and in the middle of the previous one and continue to do that until both mixtures are used up (Do not shake the pan to let the batter spread because it will do so on its own). Do go to my zebra cake post if you would like to see the process pictured in stages.

When done place the pan in a larger pan and put it in the oven. While the pan /pans are in the oven slowly and carefully pour hot boiling water into the larger pan being careful not to get any water into the cake mixture. The hot water should come about 1 1/2 inches up the sides of the cake pan. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours. I think mine was ready before that.

When ready remove the cake from the water bath and allow to cool completely in the pan. When cool cover the top with a piece of cling film and refrigerate for at least 8 hours to allow to firm up. (I don't think I waited this long). :))

Remove from refrigerator, and unhitch the springform sides. Place a flat plate over the top of the cake and then flip it over (upside down) and then remove the springform bottom. Sprinkle some cracker crumbs over the base of the cake. The crumbs are just so that the cake does not stick to the serving plate and makes for easier serving.

Place a serving plate over the crumbed cake bottom and flip the cake over, right side up. Decorate with chocolate curls, barks or shreds. Decorate it any way you like.

Cut the cake with a knife dipped in hot water after cutting each slice.

Enjoy this creamy, cheesy almost ice-cream-like cake.


Then you'll know why I heart cheesecakes.