Morocan Tuna Quinoa Salad

I developed this obsession with quinoa while I was in Boston, love the texture, the way it 'pops' in your mouth and its unique fragrance. Plus, it's also got a lot more protein and a lot less carbs than other grains so it's a win-win staple for people who want to lose weight (i.e. me)

Morocan Tuna Quinoa Salad.
To be honest, I know nothing about Morocan food, but the tin of tuna (yes I ate canned tuna), labelled "Morocan seasoning" had a picture of tomatoes, coriander and cumin seeds on the front so I just added a few of those ingredients to enhance the flavor.

Ingredients:

1/2 C Quinoa
1 C Water
1/2 ripe Avocado (diced)
1/4 ripe Tomato (diced)
1 Tin Tuna (either Morocan seasoned or plain in spring water)
1 tsp Whole cumin seeds
1 tsp Ground  coriander seeds
2 Cloves Garlic (minced)
1 Tbs Olive oil
2 tsp Lemon juice or balsamic vinegar (or both)
1/4 Finely sliced Fennel
Coriander leaves

1. Soak the quinoa in cold water for 5 minutes, rinse thoroughly, then bring to boil with the water. Allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes, then remove from heat and allow the grains to absorb the rest of the steam.
2. In a pan, gently toast the cumin seeds and coriander seeds, add the olive oil and minced garlic and fry briefly until garlic is cooked. Allow to cool and add the lemon juice. 
3. Combine all other ingredients and mix with the quinoa and dressing.

Simple, healthy and yet still tasty :)

Pumpkin Spice Latte

There is one thing missing in my kitchen - a household essential in America, but almost impossible to find in Australia. When I was in Boston, one of the first things my roommates bought was a hot pink coffee percolator. The only other time I’ve ever seen such an apparatus was in a fancy hotel room. 

So this thing basically sucks up water, heats it until it’s almost boiling then releases it into a container fitted with a controlled drip nozzle. The container is lined with a sheet of filter paper over which, ground coffee is added. The end result: A jug full of hot diluted coffee – a bit like a long black.

For the first two months, I absolutely hated the stuff. So whenever I wanted to grab a cup of coffee (at least once a day), I had to walk all the way to the nearest Starbucks (which, in America is never really that far). Starbucks in America is quite different to Australian branches. For one, their drinks menu is constantly changing. 

It was mid-September when my roommate first introduced me to her favorite “Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte”. Pumpkin is really common in fall/autumn, and this drink is based on an American classic - pumpkin pies. Being an Australian, this was a novelty I just had to try. To be honest, I wasn’t particularly keen on ordering anything other than my usual “small cap one sugar” and I’m not a huge fan of pumpkin, but was an exception. 

From that day on, every time I went to Starbucks, I either had a Pumpkin Spice Latte, or tried one of their new flavors hoping that it would be just as good.

Sadly as my semester abroad ended, so did my love affair with this drink.

But surely, it’s not impossible to replicate.

I looked everywhere for canned pumpkin puree, and didn’t give up until the manager at my local woollies actually told me off “Pumpkins don’t come in cans, we’re not in America”.  So I had no choice but to make everything from scratch.

Ingredients:

1 C Pumpkin cubed

½ C Heavy cream

1 C Milk

1 Tbs Brown sugar

¼ tsp Ground ginger

¼ tsp Ground cloves

¼ tsp All spice

¼ tsp Ground cinnamon
pinch of salt

2 Tbs Good quality freshly ground coffee beans

½ C Boiling water

1.       In a pot, simmer the pumpkin with the heavy cream, milk, sugar, salt and spices until pumpkin is soft and falls apart.

2.       Cool the pumpkin mixture and blend until smooth. Push mixture through a fine sieve.

3.       Add the ground coffee and boiling water to a coffee plunger and allow it to brew for up to 5 minutes.

4.       Plunge the coffee.

5.       Reheat the sieved pumpkin mixture until frothy and foamy.

6.       Pour half of the coffee and half of the pumpkin mixture into a mug; serve with whipped cream, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Serves 2.

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Tart with Cherry Brandy Jelly

Masterchef is back on!
Masterchef has to be my favorite cooking show. I love being surprised by what people can cook when put on the spot. It inspires me to be creative with my cooking, which, in my house, is very much appreciated.
So the first recipe I tried to imitate from this season was Audra's Dark Chocolate Raspberry Tart with Cherry Port Jelly, which was apparently a hit (or people just felt obliged to say so) at my friend's 21st last night.



It was hard to find some of the ingredients like borage flowers and cherry port, but I managed to find substitutes in the form of rose petals and cherry brandy (which sets you back about $25 at liquorland).
Be careful of the cherry brandy - it actually tastes just like the Panadol cough syrup.
I tweaked the recipe a little to reduce the amount of fat and enhance the texture. Audra herself said on the show that she would have liked to add an egg yolk to the tart.
So this is what I ended up doing:

Pastry

1 2/3 C Plain flour Pinch salt
4 Tbs Confectioner's sugar
2 Tbs Cocoa powder
140g Unsalted cold butter, chopped
6 Tbs Iced water

 

Ganache filling

200g Lindt dark chocolate, 70% cocoa solids
200g Cadbury cooking dark chocolate, 45% cocoa solids
50g White chocolate 1C Heavy Cream 2 Tbs Butter 
2 Egg Yolks 
 

Cherry Brandy Jelly

375ml Cherry Brandy
Packet of Port jelly mix (sets 450mL)1/4C Crushed frozen raspberries
 

Raspberry puree

125g Frozen raspberries
4 Tbs Confectioner's sugar
1 tsp Glucose

Decorations

300ml Thickened cream
2 Tbs Sugar
1 Vanilla bean, seeds scraped
125g Fresh Raspberries
100g White chocolate
Pinch of Salt
Spun/pulled sugar

1. In a food processor, pulse the flour, salt, sugar and cocoa powder until evenly mixed. 
2. Add the cold butter and continue to pulse until butter is finely chopped
3. Drizzle in the iced water one tablespoon at a time until the dough starts to bind.
4. Form into a rough ball, cover and chill for 20 minutes.

 

     5. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.  

     6. Meanwhile, in a double boiler, heat the cream and butter until steamy

     7. Turn down the heat and add the chocolate, stir until it reaches a smooth and even consistency.

     8. Beat in egg yolks until glossy. Reserve the chocolate mixture in the double boiler until required.

     9. Roll out the pastry between two layers of baking paper to a 3mm thickness.

    10. Carefully transfer the pastry to a fluted tart tin and press the dough firmly into the creases. 

    11. Cover with baking paper and weigh down with baking beads. Chill for another 20 minutes. 

    12. For the jelly, bring the cherry brandy to the boil on medium low heat for 5 minutes.

    13. Remove from heat and stir in the packet of jelly mix until dissolved.

    14. Add the frozen raspberries, and reserve until required.

     15. Blind bake the pastry crust in the oven for 10 minutes. 

     16. For the raspberry puree, gently heat the frozen raspberries, the sugar and glucose until the raspberries have disintegrated.

     17. Strain the raspberry mixture and chill.

     18. Remove baking beads from the pastry and return to the oven for another 10 minutes or until the pie crust is dry and golden brown on the edges.

     19. When the pie crust has cooled, pour in the chocolate mixture and spread evenly. Chill for 10 minutes or until set. 

     20. Pour the jelly mixture over the chocolate and return to the refrigerator until semi set. 

   

     21. Decorate with raspberries and refrigerate until ready to serve.

  

     22. For the salted caramelised white chocolate brittle, melt the white chocolate and salt on high heat over a stove.

    

     23. Continue to stir until the liquid thickens and turns golden brown.

     24. Pour between two layers of baking paper and roll into a thin sheet.

      25. Crush into small pieces (or crack into bite size pieces).

     26. Whip the Cream with sugar and vanilla bean seeds.

     27. Serve tart with a drizzle of the raspberry puree, vanilla bean cream, a sprinkle of the caramelised white chocolate brittle and spun sugar

I made a mini one for my sister with the left over components

Unfortunately I don't have a photo of the finished product, because I assembled it at my friend's house and forgot that I had a camera in my bag (also forgot where I put my bag...)

I think it turned out alright for my first ever chocolate tart, but the chocolate was just a tad bitter for my liking, I'd probably just use the 45% cocoa mass chocolate instead of a mixture of the 45% and the 70% next time.

Can't help but feel disappointing though because the Masterchef judges loved this tart so much that they gave an apron to Audra right after they tasted it. So either my tart is no where near as good as the one that she made (quite possible, but I can't imagine it being too much worse) or the judges were just putting on a show...

The Crumpet Shop

When I was in Seattle, I stayed at a hostel near Pike Place Market, a hub for fresh food and produce, famous restaurants overlooking a beautiful sea scape that faces the snow-capped Olympic mountains. Seeing as I was only there for a few days, I made myself a promise to try as many things as I could, which meant eating at a different restaurant every meal. Across the street from my hostel, there was a cute cafe called "The Crumpet Shop". I'm usually not a huge fan of (Golden) crumpets, but it was raining that day and the smell of freshly ground coffee was very enticing.

The cafe/dining area itself isn't very large, a huge area of floor space is occupied by the large industrial oven used to mass produce crumpets.

The glass divider allows all the customers to watch as they make individual orders according to the customer's preferences.

The cafe was really cozy and full of regular customers. I kind of felt like one of them (although I think my camera gave it away...)

I ended up ordering a fresh crumpet topped with stewed raspberries and cream cheese, which was by far the most amazing thing I'd eaten in Seattle.

Stewed Raspberry and Cream Cheese Crumpet

It was so good that I ended up going back there for breakfast the next day... and the next.

Maple Butter, Roasted Walnuts and Cream Cheese Crumpet

I just couldn't believe I'd never eaten a real crumpet before this.

The Crumpet Shop
(206) 682-1598

1503 1st Avenue  Seattle,
WA 98101, United States

Ratings:

Atmosphere: 8
Service: N/A
Food: 8
Price/ Value: 9

Overall:8



A few days ago my sister bought a packet of Golden Crumpets. I won't complain about it, but it just doesn't compare to what I had in Seattle.
So after a bit of research and a LOT of tweaking around, I managed to develop a pretty good recipe for soft, slightly bready, slightly chewy and fluffy crumpets.

You will need:

Crumpet:
7g Dry Yeast
2C Lukewarm Milk (divided into 2)
2tsp Sugar
2C Plain Flour
1tsp Cream of Tartar
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Baking Soda

1. Before you start, lightly grease 4 metal round moulds.
2. For the crumpet, dissolve the yeast and sugar in 1C of lukewarm milk and let it stand for 15 minutes in a warm place until foamy.
3. Sift the flour and cream of tartar together and combine with the yeast mixture.
4. Mix with a whisk until all lumps have been removed, then beat for 2 minutes. Cover and let it rest in a warm area for 2 hours.

 

     5.  Add a pinch of salt to the mixture and beat for a minute. Then cover and rest for 15 minutes.
     6.  Dissolve the baking soda into the remainder of the milk and mix well into the batter.
     7.  Place rings on an oiled pan and pour about 1/3C of the mixture into each ring. (Adjust according to the size of your mould and the desired thickness approx 1cm of your crumpets.)

     8.  Cook over low heat until the top of the crumpet has set, about 5 minutes, then remove mould and cook the reverse side for 1 minute (if desired).

 
Topping:
Anything you like, but I used
100g Cream Cheese
1/4C Confectioner's Sugar
1 Tbs Butter
Crushed Frozen Raspberries

1. Beat butter and cream cheese in an electric mixer until soft and fluffy.
2. Add confectioner's sugar and continue to beat until evenly combined.
3. Serve on hot crumpet and sprinkle on crushed raspberries.

Ok so it's no where near as good as the ones in Seattle. But definitely a lot better than store bought :)
Enjoy!