The Tale of the Mochi Factory Nightmare

The Tale of the Mochi Factory Nightmare

Location: My own home
Time: Lost forever.

My recollection of that night is rather blurry. I remember coming home after a day of volunteering and Kay coming back from college that same night. Other than that, the details are lost. Let me tell you. It was a rough night. I slaved for hours (literally). I started around 5:30 P.M. and worked until 7 P.M. Had a relaxing dinner with the family. Returned home where JSB ordered me to continue working. Kay came home around 10 PM and said she wanted to go out and grab a bite, because she didn't have dinner yet. JSB made a deal with Kay: we would accompany her to dinner if she worked at JSB's mochi mill. At one point, my eyes began to tear up, my fingers started aching, and I was starting to doze off in the kitchen. From what I recall, I didn't get to crawl into bed until 4 AM??

The worst part:

The next day when we were suppose to have fun, I had to help her deliver the goods. *sends DEATH GLARES to JSB*

Subplot:
This was JSB's project. It was a creative twist on the traditional mochi. Combining the smooth, sweet, and velvety ganache with the chewy texture of mochi was brilliant. There were 3 flavors: dark chocolate, white chocolate, and green tea (MY IDEA!). Her idea is similar to Betelnut's mochi, which is filled with Kahlua dark chocolate, milk chocolate Grand Marnier and white chocolate Amaretto. I find JSB's colored mochi much more interesting than the white cornstarch that Betelnut uses.

Since JSB is secretive about her recipes, I cannot share the love. However, I'll gladly show you the steps.

Dust the working surface with powder. We used cocoa powder, matcha, and cornstarch.

 *Click picture to enlarge*

  *Click picture to enlarge*

This is a two step process. The first process is covering the mochi in the powder and flattening it. When it's at the desired thickness, cut into squares. Covering your hands and both sides of the mochi with powder prevents the mochi from sticking to you.

 *Click picture to enlarge*

The next process is dropping chocolate ganache onto each square. Followed by lots of pinching.

Finished packages for delivery.  Yes, the packaging looks horrible, but it works. We made over 300 mochi that night.

Green tea mochi -- Close up. Why the chocolate cap? I used so much matcha powder that it was too bitter. The dark chocolate helped cut the bitterness. Besides, it looks much more attractive this way. Tiny moss balls. hahaha.

 *Click picture to enlarge*

Kids, this is what happens when you try to revive a harden white chocolate mochi. JSB *thought* she was being oh-so-smart by steaming the mochi to soften it. Instead, it died...it's guts leaked out like a cracked egg.

Kids + Ice Cream

I groggily dragged myself out of bed. I stumbled down the hallway into the kitchen to eat a quick breakfast even though I'm already running 5 minutes behind schedule. I need the energy. I have kids I need to mentor when I get to work. I quickly get dressed, grab my bag, and run out the door to the bus stop. It's empty. The only thing I can do is wait. I see a bus in the distance coming towards me. I get on, arrive at the stop near the school, and hustle down the hill. When I get there, I don't see any of my lovely kids running around or hear any laughter or screams. Hrm, how odd. Oh well. I opened the door to the school. oh...the office lights are off. What's going on? Surprise, surprise. The classroom is locked. This sucks. I woke up early to a closed school for some unknown reason.

Pretty =)

What does that have to do with ice cream? Nothing at all. I needed to write out what happened to me this morning.

The ice cream concoction was an experiment. A mixture of leftover heavy cream from making truffles, egg, and milk. For the flavoring, I used Ribena Blackcurrent syrup. This experiment seemed like a great idea, but the result was not what I anticipated. The texture did not resemble ice cream. It was gummy and syrupy.

All I can say, enjoy the pictures.

How to...open a durian with your hands.

What is a durian?

Durian.

A durian has a hard outer shell with many sharp spikes and have approximately 5 pods per fruit that's filled with 1 to 3 seeds per pod. A soft, creamy, and sweet flesh surrounds the brown seed. The durian is known for its distinct scent. To the fans, the durian has a sweet fragrant aroma, but to the unfamiliar, it has the scent of a gas leak.
Some are taught to open a durian with a knife, but a knife isn't necessary.

All you need are your handy dandy fingers. Before I begin, here are some important notes:

• The riper the durian, the easier to open.
• This method takes practice to perfect.
• Good luck and have fun =)

Note: I apologize for the poor quality of the photos. Knowing me, I will probably update the photos when we get another durian.

Can you find the line?

First, take a good look at the durian.
Select a pod and look for the spikes that are going in opposite directions.

Aha! Open sesame!

You have found the "secret" opening.

Oooh yeaaaah. Let me see your insides.

Pull on the area and you'll find the durian slowly opening up.

Mmmmm. Yums.

Spoon out the flesh.

Enjoy~

Brownie FAIL part 3.

I don't know why my brownies continue to fail me. The last couple of times I've made it, they either turned into a cake or a cookie. This time was no exception. A wonderful (not really) cake was born. whoooo *note: scarcasm*

Here:

Here:

and Here:

Kill me now~ so I can stop obsessing over brownies. (please)

Gluten-Free Girl by Shauna James Ahern

I finally read Gluten-Free girl by Shauna James Ahern. I thought I would enjoy the book, but it wasn't captivating. I was bored. It felt repetitive. And if you're looking for recipes, don't bother. (There are only a few.)

Don't get me wrong, I think she's a great writer. However, if you follow her blog already, this book will bore you. Parts of the book are cut/pasted from the blog. yes. I am being serious.

Bottom line:
If you're looking for recipes, stick to her blog.
If you're new to gluten-free girl, read the book to get to know her, then head to the blog for recipes.
If you already follow her blog, don't read the book.

P.S. I admire her as an individual--her positive spirit and creativity when it comes to adapting recipes to be gluten-free. She is also an amazing photographer and writer.

Yahoooo! Tiramisu Success!

Tiramisu.

Remember the last Tiramisu I made, everyone raved about it. To me, it was a failure, because I wanted to produce a flawless creation on my first attempt. (Can you tell that I'm a perfectionist?) I was disappointed and it was driving me nuts that I messed up. Since I didn't want to inadvertently commit murder by clogging my family's arteries, I waited a couple of weeks before I attempted Tiramisu version 2.0.

This time around, the tiramisu looked gorgeous with the silky smooth mascarpone filling.

 Filling.

Despite my success with the filling, I made a minor error. I was stingy with the coffee syrup so the sponge cake wasn't soaked all the way through =( Wahhh.

Om nom nom nom.

Tiramisu

From Wolfgang Puck

Ingredients
Ladyfingers:

• 6 eggs, separated1/4 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup
• 1 cup cake flour, sifted
• Melted butter, for brushing pan

Mascarpone Cream:

• 6 egg yolks
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup Marsala (I used 2 Tbsp dark rum, in place of both marsala and brandy.)
• 1/4 cup brandy
• 2 pounds mascarpone cheese

Espresso Syrup:

• 1 cup espresso, hot
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice (I omitted lemon juice)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup grated bittersweet chocolate

Directions

Ladyfingers:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter a 12 by 16-inch baking tray. Line with parchment paper and brush again with butter.

In a mixing bowl, whip the egg yolks with 1/4 cup sugar until ribbony and light in color. Reserve. In another mixing bowl, whip the egg whites to soft peaks. Slowly add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and continue to whip to medium peaks. Sift the flour again. With a rubber spatula, fold half of the flour mixture into the yolk mixture. Fold in 1/2 of the egg white mixture. Then fold in the remaining 1/2 flour mixture. Lastly, fold in the remaining 1/2 egg white mixture. Pour the batter into prepared baking tray and with an offset spatula, carefully spreading the batter to fill the tray. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until done and golden in color. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature. Use as needed. This can be made up to 2 weeks in advanced, wrapped in plastic wrap and foil and stored in the freezer.

Mascarpone Cream:

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. Add the Marsala and brandy. Place over a double-boiler and cook until mixture reaches 160 degrees F. Continue to cook mixture for another 5 minutes, until the mixture resembles a thick paste (this is a sabayon). Remove from the double-boiler and cool mixture over ice bath, until room temperature. Whip the mascarpone cheese to soft peaks. Fold into the cooled sabayon until well incorporated. Use as layers in the tiramisu or as needed. Can be made up to 4 hours ahead.

Espresso Syrup:

Brew fresh espresso. To 1 cup of hot espresso, add the brown sugar, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Stir until dissolved.

Assembly:

Divide the sheet of ladyfinger into 2 (8 by 10-inch) sheets. Divide espresso syrup into 2 portions. Divide the mascarpone cream into 3 portions. To assemble. spread the first portion of the mascarpone cream at the bottom of a deep (8 by 10-inch) mold topped with 1 sheet of ladyfinger. Pour 1 portion of espresso syrup on to layer of ladyfinger until soaked. Repeat process. Lastly, top with the remaining mascarpone cream and cover with grated chocolate. Cover mold and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

A Taste of Cranberries

When I was younger, I thought cranberries referred to the red pureed jelly that appeared every Thanksgiving. Then I was introduced to the dark intense red juice that was tangy and sweet. Another year, our family upgraded our cranberry sauce where actual chunks of cranberries were visible. This was seriously confusing for me. What are cranberries suppose to look like and taste? It didn't help that a couple of years later, my aunt gave me a packet of dried cranberries. I asked my mom what cranberries looked like. She didn't know. Talk about frustration.

As the years passed, I began to notice packages of fresh cranberries at supermarkets. Finally, this year, I decided to have some fun with them. I used the cranberries in an apple and cranberry crisp. Wow. The sour tang of the cranberries complimented the sweet fuji apples. The crispy sweet crust pulled everything together. Next year, I'm going have to make this again to celebrate autumn.

 Apple Cranberry Crisp.

I used my default recipe by Joy of Baking. The only thing I changed was substituting the apples with 1 16oz bag of cranberries, 2-3 fuji apples, and a whole lotta sugar.

Oooh, condensed milk.

The next morning, I drizzled some condensed milk to help soften the sour bite. The condensed milk added an extra layer of creamy sweetness that complimented the crisp well. I've been thinking that next time, I should drizzle some caramel on top. Mmmm....I can't wait.

The final verdict: JSB and I loved it. However, our parents found the crisp too sour and poor K (my other sis) missed out.

 

Food styling. Fail.