Heritage Potatoes and colourful crisps

The most amazing and beautiful crisps you've ever seen?



Those beautiful and tasty crisps were made of these jewellery-like heritage potatoes harvested in my vegetable garden.


I started to grow these funny colour potatoes as an experiment last year because I wanted to write an article about Scottish heritage potatoes. The result was great! Not only that lots of delicious potatoes were harvested, my article was published both on a Chinese newspaper in the UK and in Taiwan. Someone told me that I even caused a small stir in Taiwan because after the article, people started looking for red and blue potatoes from their local supermarkets (and got frustrated, of course. )

Anyway, it is definitely worth growing your own potatoes, as it is one of the easiest vegetables to grow and they taste so much better than those available from the supermarkets.


Home-made Crisps

Ingredients

Potatoes, thinly sliced to 1-2mm (use a mandoline to achieve the best result) .
A lot of vegetable oil for deep frying.

Method

1. Heat oil in a deep-fryer to 185C. Fry potato slices in small batches. Once they start turning golden, remove and drain on paper towels. Continue until all of the slices are fried.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 130C.
3. Spread the crisps out evenly on a baking tray. Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
4. Leave the crisps to cool on the tray before putting them in a container. The crisps will stay crispy up to 3 days.

Highland Burgundy. They are definitely my favorite! Their firmness and sweetness make them ideal for roast potatoes or crunchy crisps.

Blue Salad.

They were first grown in Scotland in 1900s. They are purple when raw and will turn blue once cooked. The texture is quite fluffy. Great for making scary-looking blue mash or gnocchi.


Blue crisps.

"Normal" Crisps made from Charlotte potatoes.

Mr. Potato Man

Meet the Mr. Potato Man!!! ^_^~





Actually, this is a funny shape potato (Blue Salad) I just dug up from my vegetable garden today.
We just couldn't stop laughing when looking at it. Therefore, we decided to have a wee play with it and took some photos before it became our dinner.

I can't wait to eat you, Mr. Potato man.

It's so cute!!

Blackberry Jelly (served with custard)

Last Autumn, we picked tons of blackberries from the woods, made them into jam and my kids loved it. Since then, Melony and Glen have never forgotten to check the blackberry bushes everyday when we walked through the woods to our house after picking them up from school. Last Thursday, Melony and Glen cheered with joy on finding lots of blackberries that have changed their colour to glossy luscious dark purple. They couldn't wait to fill their empty lunch boxes again with wild blackberries. Eventually they walked home with a content smile.

Hand picked wild blackberries. This time, they wanted to turn the blackberries into jelly.

Blackberry Jelly

(Serves 4)

Ingredients

400g Blackberries

300 cc water

Juice of half a lemon

1 tbsp honey

2 tbsp sugar

5 leaves of leaf gelatine

Method

1. Soak the gelatine in cold water until soft. Meanwhile, put all the other ingredients in a pan and bring to the boil. Continue to simmer the blackberry mix for about 5 minutes until the blackberries soften.

2. Push the mix through a sieve to get rid of the blackberry seeds, add gelatine and stir until all the gelatine has dissolved. Leave the mix to cool down a bit before pouring it into the jelly moulds.

3. Chill the jelly in the fridge for more than 5 hours before serving.

Melony and Glen gave me a hand in the kitchen.

Blackberry jelly best served with chilled custard.

Yum...

Breakfast for my toddlers

Does it look too good for kids to eat? :P

I woke up in a funny mood this morning and decided to make my children's breakfast look as serious as French cuisines. Gary thought I was insane. Ha~ha!

A part of it was actually my mate's fault because she wouldn't be quiet about her wonderful experience of eating in a 3 Michelin stars restaurant in Edinburgh when she came to our house yesterday. I was so jealous! Maybe Gary will take me there for my birthday if he does read my blog. :P

Cranberry and ginger shortbread

It's time to embrace the Christmas spirit and warm the house up with cheerful Christmas atmosphere by doing some home baking. My 3 year old son Glen promised our dearest old neighbour Nev that he would make something special for him this Christmas. Nobody took it seriously, but Glen did.^^

Therefore, Glen and I made a batch of delicious Cranberry and ginger shortbread and gave away to our neighbours with our best wishes.

This fruity , light and crumbly biscuit can be a good replacement for gingerbread biscuit if you find gingerbread biscuit too heavy .

Ingredients (Make about 50 of 3cm diameter biscuits )


350g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
250g Butter, at room temperature
50g caster sugar
100g dried cranberries
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 fine salt


Methods

1.Mix all the dry ingredients well in a large bowl. Cut the butter into cubes and mix all the ingredients together by using your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour. As the mixture turns to crumbs, press it gently to form a dough.
2.Shape the dough into a long tube. Wrap it up with cling film and place it in the fridge to chill for at least two hours.
3. Before baking, unwrap the cling film and cut the dough into 1cm slices. Place them on a non- stick baking tray.
4. Preheat the oven to 180c /gas 4 and bake the biscuits for 12 minutes. Remove from the oven but do not remove the biscuits from the tray until the biscuits are cool.


材料:
350g 中筋或低筋麵粉
250g 奶油 (使用前放置室溫軟化)
50g 白砂糖
100g 蔓越莓乾
一茶匙薑粉 一茶匙肉桂粉 半茶匙香草精 半茶匙細鹽

作法:
1.將乾燥的材料先在大碗中用湯匙攪拌混合, 奶油切丁放入大碗中,用指尖微搓的方式將奶油與麵粉混合搓揉成黃豆大小顆粒狀. 在輕輕地按壓讓麵糰成型.
2. 將麵糰捏滾成長條狀.再用保鮮膜包起放進冰箱冷藏至少兩小時.
3.待麵糰變硬後從冰箱取出,拆開保鮮膜將麵糰切成約一公分厚的片狀.整齊地排放在防沾烤盤上.
4.烤箱預熱 180C, 將餅乾送入烤箱烘烤12分鐘即可.
5.從烤箱取出烤盤後,須等待餅乾放涼後才從烤盤取下哦!




Slicing the dough.

It smells so nice! I can't wait to try it!

It makes a great Christmas gift as well. *_^~

Cranberry and orange chutney

This seasonal chutney makes a great gift and it goes well with any meat or cheese.

As Christmas comes nearer, I get busier with all the preserves and biscuits making for my close friends and family. Luckily, I have two little helpers, Melony and Glen (my kids). They enjoy all the meaturing, mixing and stirring food making processes. It's nice to see the smiles on their faces when they talk about the coming of Christmas.

Cranberry and orange chutney

Ingredients (makes two 1/2 litre jars.)

350g fresh cranberries
1 large bramley apple ,chopped into small chunks.
3 shallots, sliced.
20g fresh ginger, grated.
Zest and juice of 1 orange.
50g sultanas and raisins
1 tbsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp ground allspice
1 tsp sea salt
120 cc cider vinegar
250g light brown sugar


Methods
1. Place all the ingredients in a large sauce pan. Gently heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves.
Reduce heat once it starts to boil. Continue to simmer, uncovered, for about 30 minutes until the mixture has thickened and no watery juice remains.
2.Spoon the chutney into sterilised jars and seal . Store the chutney in a cool, dark place. The chutney will keep for up to 6 months.

All in one pan.

Jewellery like cranberries.

Mix, heat and stir.

In beautiful ruby colour and delicious.

Chicken and ginger glutinous rice

The comforting aroma from cooking this dish, not only warmed up my stomach, but warmed up my heart as well.

Before I tried to cook this dish, I couldn't even remember when I last have it. Must be when I was still in Taiwan, when I was still very young , twenty something maybe..
The thought of making this dish myself, has brought back a lot of happy childhood memories too. I remember that my aunt used to cook this dish to welcome us when me and my family went all the way from Taipei to her house in Kaohsiung. She preferred using chicken pieces with bones to make it. And us kids just couldn't wait to dig in to the sticky rice, searching for the juicy chicken.

But here I prefer chicken breasts because breasts are easier to handle, also less worry about bones stuck in the throat. ^^II

Chicken and ginger glutinous rice

Ingredients (serve 4)

4 chicken breasts, cubed.
50g ginger, shredded.
600g glutinous rice, washed.
50ml black sesame oil
150ml cooking rice wine or sake
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 chicken stock cube
1 tsp salt to taste
1 fresh chili , shredded to garnish.

Methods

1. Wash the rice in a large bowl, cover the rice with water and leave it for 2 hour.
2.Heat black sesame oil in a large wok, fry the ginger until it's dry . Stir in the chicken and brown the surface slightly.
3.Add rice wine, soy sauce, chicken cube and salt. Bring it to boil before adding the rice.
4.Drain the rice and add it to the wok. Keep stir frying the rice until all the grains are coated in the sauce and become translucent.
5. Dish out the mixture in a large bowl. Steam the rice for 30 minutes in a steamer. You can also use the "quick cook " function on the rice cooker to cook it. But remember to add 100ml water to the mixture before you switch on the rice cooker .
6. Garnish it with ginger and chili before serving.



Black sesame oil is availbe at chinese supermarket. Unlike sesame oil or toasted sesame oil which are both made from white sesame, black sesame oil is made from "black sesame". It has deeper colour ,and stronger , slightly smoky flavor.


麻油雞糯米飯
材料:
雞腿肉或雞胸肉500g 老薑50g 長糯米三杯(約 600g ) 黑麻油50cc 米酒 150cc 醬油一湯匙 雞粉一茶匙 鹽一茶匙(可視個人口味調整)( 水100cc 用電子鍋煮的話)

做法:
1.將糯米洗淨泡水兩小時備用.
2. 老薑切成細絲, 雞肉切丁, 黑麻油放進大鍋裡加熱, 先將老薑放進熱油裡爆香至微焦,再將雞肉放入鍋中拌炒至微焦, 再加入米酒,醬油,雞粉與鹽.一起煮滾後,將瀝乾的糯米一起放入大鍋中跟所有材料拌炒約五分鐘,米粒成半透明後熄火.
3.將做法2.的半熟米飯倒入煮飯鍋中. 放進蒸籠或是電鍋中蒸約30分即可.用電子鍋烹調的話,需再鍋裡加入100cc水,用"煮飯"功能將糯米煮熟即可.

Home made blackberry jam

Melony made these for her school charity event.

Writtings on the label:
I picked the blackberries from the woods and made them into jam with some help from my mummy!



Wild blackberries in the woods near where we live.

These delicious blackberries were wonderful gift from nature.

Let's start making jam!

ingredients :

500g blackberries, 37og jam sugar , juice and zest of a lemon,

fresh grated ginger 10g .

Method:

Place all the ingredients in a large saucepan , heat gently and simmer for about 30 minutes until the berries are soften and sauce is reduced. pour the jam in sterilized clean jars. Allow the jam to cool before put the lids on.

Well done, Melony! ^_^~


It goes perfectly with ice cream! *_^

黑莓果醬:

材料:黑莓500g ,蔗糖370g 一顆檸檬的碎皮與檸檬汁, 薑末 10g

做法: 材料全放進鍋子裡,開小火慢慢地攪拌,讓砂糖自然融化不燒焦. 用小火慢熬約1小時,縮減掉1/3之一的湯汁時,就算大功告成了.這時要趁熱裝進消毒過的容器裡密封保存.可放六個月以上!*_^~

Spicy yellow tomato and chorizo soup

This tasty soup brings some sunshine to the chilly days.

From all the tomatoes that I grew this year, I have more yellow tomatoes than red ones. These yellow tomatoes ripen quickly and taste even sweeter than the red. They look fabulous in the salad too.

Yellow tomato once was very expensive in Taiwan because people believed that it helped to lose weight until some research shows that red tomatoes do exactly the same job as the yellow ones. However, most people now are still willing to pay more for it due to its beautiful golden colour.

On diet or not, this soup will definitely warm you up without adding too much calories. *_^


Ingredients

3 tbsp Olive oil
1 medium Onion, chopped.
1 carrot, peeled and chopped.
2 stick Celery, chopped.
2 slices bacon , finely diced.
100g chorizo , diced.
700g ripe Tomatoes, diced
1 red chili, finely chopped.
2 bay leaves
1 tsp Sugar
1000cc chicken stock (or water with chicken cube)
salt and pepper to taste

Method

1.Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Stir fry the onion . celery ,carrot,
bacon and chorizo for 10 minutes .
2. Stir in the tomatoes and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the rest of the
ingredients. As long as it starts to boil. turn to medium heat , put the lid
on the pan and continue to cook for 30-40 minutes.

夏天早已遠離,眼看著寒冷的冬天即將來臨. 該是熬一鍋好湯暖暖身子的
時候了.^^~ 湯好不好喝固然很重要,熱量也是要顧好.要不然,一個冬天
下來,又不知道要多長幾斤 肥肉呢!

這個夏天雖然紅番茄一陣慘綠,這些黃番茄因為比較早熟的關係,大多長得
很好,顆顆 金黃飽滿,也比紅番茄香甜多汁. 不過因為收成太多沒辦法馬上
用完,卜媽早已將它們 打成汁放冷凍庫備用.

這道黃番茄香腸辣湯不但滋味好,纖維多,營養豐富外, 因為用了大量番茄
的關係,不要 放太多培根與香腸的話,它的熱量也不高哦!非常適合當作冬
天嘴饞時的消夜或點心.*_^~

黃番茄辣湯:

材料: 洋蔥一顆切碎 , 西洋芹兩支 切碎, 胡蘿蔔一顆 切碎, 培根兩片 切末.
西班牙辣腸切丁(可以用火腿或是臘腸替代) 番茄700g切丁, 紅辣椒一條 切末.
月桂葉兩片, 糖一湯匙, 高湯1000cc , 鹽與胡椒適量.

做法:
用湯鍋熱油,加入番茄以外的蔬菜與肉類炒香, 拌入番茄繼續拌炒五分鐘,加入
剩餘的材料煮至滾. 滾熱後將火侯調到中等,蓋上鍋蓋繼續煮30-40 分鐘即可.

Green tomato and chicken curry

It has been a bad year for growing tomatoes due to the miserable summer. Too much rain, hardly any sunshine. Although my tomato plants did fruit a lot, unfortunately, many of them died before the fruit could turn red. Therefore, I ended up with loads of green tomatoes. =_=II

Maybe, it's not bad to go green. What goes well with red tomatoes may be alright with green ones too. I had no choice but to think positive and try to use them in my cooking.

Thus red tomatoes were replaced by green ones in my chicken vindaloo. To be honest, it's not bad at all! The tangy flavor of green tomatoes does give the dish some extra kick!


Green tomato and chicken curry

Ingredients (serve 4)

4 chicken breasts, cubed.
2 medium potatoes, cubed.
1 large onion, chopped.
4 medium green tomatoes, sliced.
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped.
10g ginger , grated.
1 tsp chili flakes
1 tsp onion seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 tbsp vindaloo powder ( or any kind of curry powder)
1tbsp sugar
2 tbsp vegetable oil
300cc hot water
salt and pepper

Methods

1. Coated the chicken breast cubes with curry powder and leave it marinated in the fridge over night.
2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Stir fry the onion, Garlic, ginger,chili flakes, onion and cumin seeds until the onion goes soft.
3.Stir in the chicken and cook until the chicken is slightly browned. Add the rest of the ingredients , turn to medium heat and cover the pan with the lid . Leave the curry to simmer to about 30 minutes until the meat is tender and potato is soft. season with salt and pepper.



It's not bad to go green.*_^~



綠番茄雞肉咖哩

材料:

雞胸肉四片切塊 馬鈴薯兩顆切塊 洋蔥一顆切碎 番茄或綠番茄四顆切片 蒜頭兩顆切碎

薑10g磨碎 辣椒末一茶匙 洋蔥籽一茶匙(可省略) 小茴香籽一茶匙(可省略) 咖哩粉三湯匙

糖一湯匙 鹽與胡椒適量 水300cc

沙拉油兩湯匙

作法:

1.將雞肉與咖哩粉混合,放在冰箱裡醃漬一晚.
2.起鍋熱油,將洋蔥,蒜頭,薑等香料一起扮炒至洋蔥變軟. 加入雞肉拌炒只微焦,再將剩餘的材料加入,加水蓋鍋悶煮約30分鐘直到雞肉與馬鈴薯變軟為止.

New york cheese cake

I have to say that among all kinds of cheese cakes, New york cheese cake is still my favorite.
It usually contains a lot of soft cheese , so that it tastes really creamy and cheesy. In the past, I sometimes made this cake and gave it away to my former loyal customers at my cafe in Taipei . Some even suggested to me that I should have sold it in my cafe but I never wanted to. I think I preferred sharing it with my friends. Anyway, not only the cake was sweet and delightful, it also reminded me the sweet old days when my dear friends gathered around and enjoyed the food that I cooked in my shop.

New york cheese cake (20cm cake tin, serve 6-8)

Ingredients

for the base
10 digestive biscuits
80g butter

for the filling

700g full fat soft cheese
220g caster sugar
200g yogurt or sour cream
3 egg
1 egg yolk
80g plain flour
1 zest of a lemon
juice of a lemon
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 tsp fine salt


Method

1.Put the digestive biscuits in a plastic bag and bash it with a rolling pin to make crumbs.
2. Melt the butter by heating it in the microwave for 1 minute. Mix it well with the biscuit crumbs and press the mixture firmly into the base of the tin. Put it in the fridge to chill for 20 minutes.
3.Mix all the ingredients for the filling except the flour until smooth. Stir in the flour slowly and mix well.
4. Pour the mixture into the cake tin. Tap the tin gently to remove the bubbles in the mixture. Bake in a preheated oven (190c ) for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 110c and bake for another
50 minutes until the cake is set.
5. Turn off the heat and leave the cake in the oven for 1 hour to allow the cake cool down slowly.
Remove the cake from the oven and chill in the fridge.
6. decorate with cream and blueberries.


紐約重口味起司蛋糕

嚐過日式起司蛋糕的綿密,英國起司幕斯蛋糕的清爽柔滑,說來說去,我最愛的起司蛋糕還是這一味捧起來沉甸甸,直感厚實,起司香濃的紐約起司蛋糕. 從前在台北時, 偶而心血來潮時,卜媽就會烤一個起司蛋糕來免費招待店裡的老顧客. 也有不少客人建議卜媽乾脆拿它來當招牌出售呢! 不過,因為這個蛋糕雖然做法不難,但是烤起來挺費時的,所以那時還是覺得偶而烤烤與大家分享就好啦! 大家吃的開心,我就很滿足囉! ^^

雖然這個蛋糕是卜媽的拿手之一,但是嫁到英國後,這還是我第一次做這蛋糕給卜爸吃呢! ^^ 因為卜爸通常比較喜歡滑嫩的英式起司蛋糕. 會想做這蛋糕,也是因為上星期由於樂諦上學的種種問題,讓我們夫妻倆每天晚上坐在沙發上發愁.卜爸一煩惱,就會顧不得身材,莫名其妙地突然很想吃點熱量高的垃圾食品來尋求慰籍.卜媽上"等玫瑰"(Waitrose) 網站買菜時,才去上個廁所回來,馬上很眼尖地發現卜爸在購物車裡偷偷地放進了一個紐約起司蛋糕. 仔細一瞧價錢....媽媽咪呀~ 這個什麼裝飾都沒有,超樸素的蛋糕竟然一個賣11磅!雖然Waitrose 的食物真的不錯,但這樣的價格也實在太"高檔"了. 雖然卜媽偶而也會很奢侈地在中國超市買小小一個就要2.5磅的草大福(日本麻糬),但就是覺得把這錢花在起司蛋糕上真的很不甘心. 所以,我還是很明智地把蛋糕刪除,親自做一個愛妻招牌起司蛋糕來安慰一下卜爸囉!

值得一提的是,這個濃厚的起司蛋糕,竟然讓從來不敢吃起司的樂諦也吃的津津有味呢! ^^


材料: (20cm 直徑烤模, 約6-8人份)

蛋糕底:
消化餅十塊 (壓碎) 奶油 80g (加熱融化)

蛋糕本體:
軟起司700g 白砂糖 220g 200g 酸奶油或原味優格 蛋三顆 蛋黃一顆 檸檬皮一顆(切碎)
檸檬汁一顆 香草精 1茶匙 細鹽半茶匙 中筋麵粉 80g

做法:
1.將打碎的消化餅與奶油混合,倒在蛋糕模底部鋪平壓緊.放入冰箱冷藏20分.
2.烤箱預熱好190c , 將除麵粉外的材料混合均勻, 慢慢加入麵粉繼續攪拌混勻.倒入蛋糕模型中,
輕輕敲打模型讓蛋糕液裡的泡泡釋出. 送入烤箱用190c 先烤15分. 烤箱溫度調整為110c 繼續慢烘
50-60分,直倒蛋糕液固定為止.
3. 將烤箱關掉,讓蛋糕在烤箱裡自然降溫,約一小時後取出冷藏. 食用前脫模,用奶油與藍莓裝飾即可.

Delectable bitterness: Stuffed bitter melon

Bitter melon stuffed with seasoned pork mince. It's a very delicate traditional Taiwanese dish. Due to its bitterness, people either love it or hate it.


"Mum, what is 'bitter'? What does it taste like?" my 4 years old daughter Melony asked me yesterday.
" Well, it tastes like tons of stones dropped on your tongue, making your tongue stiff ,and you'll wish you've never tried it. " I said.

Indeed, by our nature, we are more likely attracted to things that taste sweet than bitter. There is an old Chinese saying that " To be the best man, one must endure the bitterest of the bitter." Chinese believe that bitterness is often followed by great joy and sweetness. Therefore, the bitterer it is, the better it's for us. This probably explains why bitter melon is so popular and widely used in oriental cuisine. Truly, bitter melon is extremely good for us due to its high vitamin C and B content.

When I was a kid, I couldn't understand how would anybody enjoy this dish for not only the melon is bitter, the soup is bitter as well. When older, I came to realize that there were slight sweetness and freshness tangled on the back of the throat after the bitter has gone and I started to enjoy it.


Bitter melon stuffed with seasoned pork mince

Ingredients
1 large bitter melon (available in Chinese or Indian supermarkets.)
2 tbsp corn flour

for the stuffing
400g pork mince
3 dried Chinese mushroom (softened and minced)
30g carrot (finely chopped)
1 spring onion (finely chopped)
10g dried shrimps (softened and minced. It's available in Chinese supermarket)
100g fresh tofu (mushed)
1 egg
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp corn flour
1 tbsp shaoxing wine
1 tsp ground white or black pepper
1 tsp chicken powder
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp salt

for the soup

1000c water
2tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice wine
1tbsp mirin
1tsp fish stock powder
1tsp salt


Method

1. Mince and mix all the ingredients for the stuffing except pork mince with a food processor.
2. In a large bowl, mix well the pork and other stuffing ingredients .
3. cut the bitter melon into 4cm long chunks. deseed and ly dust with corn flour.
4. spoon the stuffing into the center of the melon and set aside.
5.In a large pot, bring to boil all the ingredients for the soup. Turn to medium heat and drop the stuffed melon gently into the soup. Cook with lid on for 3o minutes. Serve it with soup or serve it dry with sweet chili sauce.



苦瓜鑲肉 (苦瓜封)

這道台灣小吃,從前在台北時我媽也常常做. 來到英國後,因為超市很難買到大條的苦瓜,因此也只能苦苦思念,看圖解渴. 上周跑了一趟中國超市,意外地買到了一條大苦瓜,立刻就想下手小試一下這道料理.

正宗南部的苦瓜封,絞肉裡都會混合一定比例的魚漿. 在英國連買條新鮮的魚都難,更別想能買到魚漿啦! 所以卜媽靈機一動,就用嫩豆腐來取代魚漿. 沒想到,混著嫩豆腐的餡料吃裡來清爽甘甜,入口即化,效果比魚漿還讚哦! *_^～

材料:
苦瓜一條 太白粉兩湯匙

餡料:
絞肉400g 泡軟切細的香菇三朵 泡軟切細的蝦米10g 切細的胡蘿蔔30g 切細的蔥一根
嫩豆腐100g 蛋一顆
醬油一湯匙 酒一湯匙 太白粉一湯匙 雞粉一茶匙 白胡椒一茶匙 香油一茶匙 鹽半茶匙

湯料:
開水1000cc 醬油2湯匙 酒一湯匙 味霖一湯匙(可用砂糖半湯匙代替) 烹大師堅魚粉一茶匙
鹽一茶匙

做法:
1. 將餡料的材料,除絞肉以外,全放進食物處理機裡打碎拌勻.或是用刀切很細,豆腐搗成泥.
2.將絞肉與做法一混合均勻. 摔打幾下可以讓肉餡更有彈性.
3. 苦瓜切成約四公分的段. 表裡都沾一層薄薄的太白粉.
4.用湯匙將餡料填滿在苦瓜中.湯料煮滾後,滿滿放入鍋中,蓋鍋蓋用中火煮約30分鐘即可.

Easy lazy Portuguese custard tarts

While the crispy puff pastry dances on the tongue , the custard can't wait to melts in the mouth.

At one time, Portuguese custard tarts were all the rage in Taiwan. They were so popular that even hundreds of chain stores and bakeries were selling them , people still needed to queue up for half an hour just to buy a dozen of them. But it only took a couple of years for people to get fed up with them and the whole "Portuguese custard tart " spell to be broken. All of a sudden, many custard tart shops were shut. However, Portuguese custard tart is still widely available at the bakeries in Taiwan these days and it is still one of my favorite dessert.

Although it's not so easy buy Portuguese custard tarts in the UK, it's easy enough to buy ready made puff pastry and custard from the supermarkets and believe me, making
Portuguese custard tarts with these ready made ingredients is easy as pie! Even kids can do it! *_^～

Easy lazy Portuguese custard tarts

Ingredients

500g ready made custard
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
2 tbsp caster sugar
500g Puff Pastry Block
2 tbsp icing sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon (optional)

Method
1. In a large bowl, whisk together custard, eggs , vanilla essence and caster sugar. Set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 180c . Roll out the puff pastry finely and Use a 6cm pastry cutter, cut out circles from the pastry. Press the dough circles into a 12-hole non-stick muffin tin.
3. Place some baking beans on top of the pastry and bake for 5 minutes. Remove the beans. Pour the custard filling into the pastry cup and bake for another 25 minutes until the filling is set.
4. Remove the muffin tin from the oven and dust some icing sugar and cinnamon on the tarts. Place the tin back to the oven and bake for another 5 minutes.


It's so easy that even Melony and Glen can do it.


懶人葡式蛋塔

葡式蛋塔曾經在台灣瘋狂地流行好一陣子,突然間,蛋塔魔咒消失,蛋塔專賣店也倒了好幾家.雖然如此,卜媽還是很難忘記這種外皮香酥,內餡香滑的美味. 在英國要買到葡式蛋塔還真是不容易阿!但是要找到現成的派皮或是蛋黃醬卻超容易.雖然這個簡易懶人版蛋塔,現成的派皮部分終究比不上自己做,或是專賣店蛋塔的香酥;現成的蛋黃醬部分卻一點也不輸現做的蛋黃醬哦!*_^ 總之,美味的程度還是有70分以上,做法也超簡單,連小朋友都能夠輕易完成呢!

材料:
現成的蛋黃醬500g 蛋兩顆 香草精1/2茶匙 砂糖2湯匙 現成派皮500g

做法:
1.將蛋黃醬,蛋與香草精,砂糖拌勻備用. 現成派皮放置室溫軟化後,桿平. 用直徑6cm的模型切出小圈圈. 將圓形的派皮放入烤瑪芬糕的烤盤內(卜媽用的是12格的烤模).
2.烤箱預熱好180c. 在瑪芬模內的派皮上倒進烘培豆(沒有的話可以用乾燥的紅豆或是黃豆代替),烤五分鐘左右取出. 將豆子倒出. 接著倒進蛋黃醬,再送進烤箱內烤25分. 再取出,於蛋塔上灑上糖粉,在次送入烤箱中烤約五分鐘到表面微焦即可.

Harvest 2008.

These were some of the vegetables that I harvested from my garden few days ago. I had a little bit of fun styling them and photograph them .

Sweet and yummy peas. It has been such an enjoyment growing and eating them. I will definitely grow some more next year.


Broad beans. It's so easy to grow those beans because most of the garden pests don't seem to like them. But I'm still not sure what to do with those beans yet.

Mooli, or oriental radish, we often make soup with it or use it in salads. Usually it's white but those I grew had beautiful pink skin. They are called" China Rose", a new variety I guess.

British beetroot(left) and Italian beetroot(right).

The Italian beetroot has beautiful red and white circular pattern. But it doesn't taste as sweet as the British ones.

Cheese and black pepper flat bread

The alluring aroma from baking this bread will make your neighbors so jealous!


I'm a cheese-holic, black pepper -holic and seriously addicted to breads. Therefore, this cheese and black pepper flat bread is pure heaven to me.
In the past, the same kind of bread was available at the bakery near my work in Taipei . It was so crispy and delicious and I just couldn't help snacking it while at work. However, it was a bit disappointing that I haven't found anything like it at the supermarkets or local bakeries in the UK. Thence, whenever I desire this cheesy treat, I'll bake some.




Cheese and black pepper flat bread ( Serve 5)

Ingredients

For the dough
450g plain flour
1 tsp Salt
4g dry yeast
30g fresh yeast (or add another 4g dry yeast)
2g malt extract (available in health food stores. It will add flavor and textur to the bread. )
270cc lukewarm water

For the filling
200g grated Cheddar cheese
100g grated Parmesan cheese
20g black pepper

Method

1. Place the bread ingredients in a large bowl. Mix and knead with mixer for 10 minutes or by hand for about half hour until the dough is elastic and smooth.
2. Cover the bowl with cling film or tea towel and leave it to rest for about 1 hour until the dough has double its size.
3.Divide the dough into 5 balls . Roll the dough flat and use each one of them to wrap up 40g Cheddar cheese and some black pepper .Then roll them out into flat oval shapes .
4.Places them on baking sheets. Leave them to rest for another 30 minutes.
5.Sprinkle the surface with Parmesan cheese and some black pepper. Set the oven to 210c and bake for 10 minutes.
6.Cool on a wire rack after taking them out from the oven.


Fancy a bite?


起司胡椒脆餅

在台灣時,卜媽對於各式的起司就相當著迷.現在到了英國,連Pooh家人對於卜媽這個東方女子的起司症頭也都感到驚嘆! 婆婆從前還說過,從沒看過有人起司可以這樣一大塊直接咬,不夾在麵包裡,也不用放在餅乾上的呢!(大多數的英國人都喜歡用餅乾搭配起司食用,而卜媽則喜歡把起司整個當成豆乾來啃,連臭滋滋的藍起司也不例外. ) 所以, 對於卜媽這個超愛狂嗑起司,灑黑胡椒像是不用錢,看到麵包必吃到撐的人來說,這個香Q脆的起司胡椒餅簡直就是讓人無法自拔的毒藥!

從前每次上班經過公司附近的上城糕餅屋時,總會一時忘記自己還在減肥,著魔似的買兩大片帶到公司.一片自己嗑,另一片讓座位附近的同事們伸手來時也有得吃.要不然,對他們來說實在是太殘忍了.令人訝異的是,原以為這起司胡椒餅是來自歐洲的卜媽,卻無法在歐洲尋得它的蹤跡.想必,這如果不是日本流傳過來的,這應該就是台灣某個天才師傅的創作吧?

總之,這個結合了英國(切達起司),意大利(帕梅山起司)與法國(麵包本體)特色,有如金剛合體的麵包,果然打遍天下無敵手,順利征服了我的心,讓卜媽不管走到哪裡都想到它.好在現在有了攪拌器,也順利地找到做法國麵包必備的老麵與麥芽精.想到它時,就自己動手做吧! *_^~

(五人份~五片)

材料:

麵糰部分
中筋麵粉450g 塩一茶匙 乾麵包酵母4克
老麵30克 (如果用的是自製的老麵則需要用到60克 .老麵的做法請看: 【烘培】恩情老麵與自製老麵 )
麥芽精 2克 (麥芽萃取物,台灣的朋友可以在烘培材料行或網路上買到.英國的朋友可以在健康食品行裡買到)
溫水270CC

餡料:
切達起司200克 帕梅山起司100克 黑胡椒粒20克

做法:
1. 將麵糰的材料混合,用攪拌器或手揉到麵團光滑有彈性( 用手將麵糰撐開時洞洞成鋸齒狀).
2.用布或是保鮮膜將碗蓋起,讓麵糰發酵約一小時直到麵糰膨脹至兩倍大為止.
3.將麵糰切成五等份,滾成球狀. 壓扁包入切碎的切達起司與少許黑楜椒粒.收口朝下桿成扁薄的橢圓形.放在鋪好烤紙的烤盤上繼續發酵30分鐘. 發酵完成後,表面灑上帕梅山起司粉與黑胡椒粒,送入預熱好210c的烤箱烤十分鐘即可.

注意:稍冷後食用避免起司燙口.