I LOVE all Parts of Fennel [Fennel Frond Pesto Recipe]

A trip to the farmer's market energizes me. I can't help, but walk with an extra bounce in my step as I wander from stall to stall. I drool and oogle at the bright vibrant greens that are calling out to me. The orange carrot with its fluffy healthy green glowing hair. Pearly white fennel bulbs that are unmarred along with tall fronds and stalks that scream "I'm healthy and fresh, BUY ME!" I can't help, but gather the carrots, fennel, and a couple heads of organic broccoli. I can't believe the gorgeous loot I obtained without effort.

As soon as I arrived home, I decided to roast the fennel as toppings for our salad. Since we bought organic fennel, I didn't want to waste the fronds and stalks. In the end, my mom used the stalk to make soup and I used the fronds to make pesto. When I googled "What to do with fennel fronds?", I was surprised that I could use it to make pesto. I gathered my ingredients, reached for my food processor, gave all the ingredients a whirl, and a lovely shade of green spread appeared.

A step by step tutorial with the full recipe written at the end.

Gather pistachios.

Grate Parmesan cheese. I got lazy and minced my cheese instead. >.>

Juice half a lemon, wash and rinse the fronds, and roughly chop up 3 garlic cloves.

Dump pistachios, cheese, garlic, salt, and cayenne in food processor.

Give it a whirl until it looks like this.

Put fennel frond in food processor.

With the machine running, drizzle in olive oil and stop it when it resembles a paste.

Use the fresh pesto to make a pesto pasta salad! Yums~

Fennel Frond Pesto
adapted from Recipe Interrupted

Notes: This recipe can easily be substituted to make traditional pesto. Replace 2 cups of fronds with basil and pistachios with pine nuts (This part is optional). For more ideas about what to do with the pesto, read this post.

Ingredients
1/3 cup pistachios, toasted
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 oz Parmesan cheese, grated
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 cups lightly packed frond
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon, juiced

Directions

1. Blend pistachios, garlic, cheese, salt, and cayanne pepper in food processor until mixture is minced.
2. Add fennel into food processor and drizzle in olive oil with the machine running. Stop when the mixture has the consistency of a paste and is spreadable. Add lemon juice to taste. 

Use within a few days. For longer storage, wrap portions of pesto in saran wrap and store in freezer.  

How to shorten the lifespan of your hand mixer. [Castella (Japanese Sponge Cake) Recipe]

We recently acquired a Kitchen-Aid stand mixer at the school I work at. Excited by the new purchase, my coworker and I took it on a test run with our students. We made strawberry thumbprint cookies and egg white cake. I'm pretty sure I wet myself when I used the new tool to dominate the egg whites. It's a beast and I'd do anything to get one into my house. After the near death experience for my hand mixer during the creation of marshmallows, I thought about purchasing a stand mixer. After using and witnessing the speed, power, efficiency, and sexiness of a stand mixer, it's not an "if" anymore. It is a MUST!

Too bad I didn't have a stand mixer in my possession when I was making the castella sponge cake, because the technique this recipe required nearly choked the life out of my hand mixer. The hand mixer was agreeable, felt healthy, and worked well in the beginning, but at the 15 minute mark, the mixer began wheezing. By 20 minutes, it was begging for a break. When 30 minutes hit, the mixer was coughing, grinding it's motor, and running a high fever. Lucky for me, the batter reached the proper consistency before the mixer experienced a heart attack.

Was the near death experience with my mixer worth it? Yes. The cake was chewy and dense with a lovely scent of honey sweetness. It was a tad too sweet for me so I will probably cut down on the honey glaze next time or add matcha powder into the batter to help cut the sweetness. (I did mix some of the leftover batter with matcha powder and I loved the taste of it.)

Kasutera (Castella)
originally from JustHungry

My Notes
(1) Please read recipe completely before beginning.
(2) Please use a stand mixer if you don't want to shorten the lifespan of your hand mixer.
(3) If using a hand mixer, use the largest bowl you can find, the batter will expand considerably. Near the end,  the batter was on the very edge of the bowl and bits of it was sloshing out.
(4) A 8x8 inch dish works fine, you'll have some leftover batter that can be baked in ramekins.
(5) A gallon sized Ziploc bag fits a 8x8 inch cake.

Ingredients
8 whole "large" (55g) eggs
300g (10.5 oz) raw cane sugar (In a pinch, use regular granulated sugar), plus a little extra sugar for sprinkling
200g (7 oz) all-purpose or bread flour (not cake flour), sift twice
100cc (about 1/2 cup, or 3.5 fluid oz) milk
4 TBSP honey, plus one extra TBSP. for the top

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C / 340°F, or 150°C / 300°F if you're using a convection oven.
2. Cut the parchment paper so that it's large enough to fit the bottom and sides of the cake pan with a little excess. Fold it in until it completely covers the bottom and sides, leaving a little hanging over. (To make it stick to the pan, smear a little butter or shortening on the pan first.) Sprinkle a little sugar over the bottom, on top of the paper.
3. Fill the pot with water and bring to a boil, then turn off the heat.
4. Mix together the milk and 4 tablespoons of honey. It helps if you warm it up for a few seconds in the microwave.
5. Break the eggs into the bowl and whisk. Add the sugar. Start whisking this while holding the bowl over the pot of hot water. As soon as the mixture feels lukewarm to the touch, take it off the water and continue whisking. If it cools down again, put it back on the hot pot of water to warm it up. To get the best texture, whisk mixture on lowest setting; it took me around 35 minutes on the lowest setting. If using a stand mixer, take the bowl and whisk by hand while it warms up above the pot. Once mixture is warm, return it to the stand and whisk on low until cool, then return it back to pot. 
6. Continue this process until the batter is thick and forms soft peaks when you lift up the whisk. Final test: write initials on surface with whisk and the batter should hold it long enough to be read before it disappears. 
7. Whisk in the milk and honey mixture. Add the flour a tablespoon at a time, beating on lowest setting until there are no pockets of flour (you can also mix this part by hand).
8. Pour the batter to the very top of the pan. Bake in oven for approximately 45 to 50 minutes. Check by sticking a knife or toothpick in middle. If it comes out clean, it's done. 
9. Five minutes before cake is done, mix together the 1 tablespoon of honey and a water, to make a glaze. Warm it up in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds. 
10. As soon as the cake is out of the oven, brush the top with the honey-water glaze.
11. When it's cool enough to handle but still warm (about 15 minutes), lift it out of the pan, paper and all, and put into a plastic bag. Seal the bag and put into the refrigerator, for at least several hours. This step is critical to ensure the kasutera has a moist texture. If you let it cool to room temperature before putting it in the plastic bag, it will end up a bit dry.
12. To serve, use a very sharp knife to make clean cuts. Use only one cutting motion for each side of the cake. Do not use a sawing motion if you don't want an ugly edge to your cake. 

The reason for why I go to baseball games. [How to make Roasted Garlic]

Garlic is my best friend. I love it in chunks, minced, whole, and even dried. Who cares?! Let me have garlic breath. I remember the first time I went to a baseball game with my dad and sisters and I didn't care much for the game. The best part of the day was when he took me to the $5 garlic fries booth and I was sold to the garlic devil. From that moment on, my favorite part of going to the ballpark was buying garlic fries not rooting for my team. Team spirit fail.

Then one day when I was out with my boyfriend for happy hour, I stumbled into another delicious garlic concoction that has been missing from my life: roasted garlic. Wow. Roasted garlic smeared onto a crispy baguette is simply divine. After I finished my happy hour snack, I promised myself that I needed to make some for myself in the future.

Roasted Garlic

Roasted Garlic

Note: I know most recipes ask you to take a whole garlic bulb, hack off the top, drizzle it with oil, wrap it in foil, and then dump it in the oven. However, I didn't want to use a whole bulb, which is why I suggested the use of garlic cloves. 

Ingredients

garlic

olive oil

salt, optional

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Take garlic cloves and cut off the top or bottom end. 
3. Take a sheet of foil, put the cloves in the middle, and coat it in olive oil. 
4. Wrap the garlic and pop it in the oven for 30 to 45 minutes. [To save on my electric bill, I often bake this along with roasted vegetables.]
5. Carefully unwrap the package and squeeze the roasted garlic out of the papery skin. It should slip right out. If desired, sprinkle it with salt.

Delicious, but Ugly Series #1 [Caramelized Rum Bananas and Peanut Butter Toast]

I have come to the conclusion that making food look sexy is not one of my talents. It's no surprise that I have improved since the beginning, but making food look good is tough. I struggle to figure out what I want and often times, I don't KNOW what I want when I photograph a dish. All I know is that the dish tastes good and I want to document the recipe.

Sadly, on some days, my food looks more awful than usual. Thus, this debut: Delicious, but Ugly Series, which begins with Caramelized Rum Bananas and Peanut Butter Toast.

Delicious, but Ugly #1: Rum Bananas, Peanut Butter, and Toast

Caramelized Rum Bananas and Peanut Butter Toast
Serves 1

Ingredients
3 to 4 slices of sourdough baguette
peanut butter
1 TBSP of turbinado sugar
1/2 a banana, cut into thick slices
2 to 3 TBSP dark rum, to taste
cinnamon, optional

Directions

1. Toast sliced sourdough baguette in toaster/toaster oven.
2. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle 1/2 TBSP of sugar in pan and add bananas-- flat side down.
3. When sugar is bubbling and color is showing on banana (check by flipping a slice over), sprinkle the rest of the sugar and flip the rest of the bananas over to caramelize the other side. 
4. When sugar is bubbling again and bananas are caramelized, add the rum (Be careful, the rum will sizzle violently.) and swirl the liquid around in the pan. Once it has stopped sizzling, turn off the heat and coat bananas in the sauce.
5. Take the warmed slices of bread from toaster, spread with peanut butter, and top with the bananas. Optional: Sprinkle with cinnamon. Enjoy~

- SimplyPiee

How to Make Croutons

For reasons unknown, my ability to brainstorm by pen and paper is depressing. I sit at my desk or on the bus and I struggle to formulate my thoughts and sentences. The more effort I put into trying to construct ideas, the more tired I feel. Eventually, I fall asleep.

On the other hand, shove me on a seat in front of the computer, then miraculously my fingers move on its own. No guidance necessary. They effortlessly find their places on the keyboard and dance across until I have typed out all my ideas. Does this happen to anyone else?

My theory is that since I grew up in the computer age, I have trained my brain and hands to work efficiently as a pair when I'm typing thoughts out versus when I write with pen and paper. Because of this weakness, I have always done below average on standardized exams if they have an essay portion. My ability to spell words correctly without spell check is embarrassing. Ugh. This technology age is killing my intelligence. In an attempt to regain some brain cells, I've been reading more and writing in a notebook when I'm traveling.

Luckily for me, making croutons does not require intelligence. All you need is decent hand-and-eye coordination to cut bread into cubes and the ability to read the temperature on the oven in order to create a light crunchy delight.

Note: I enjoy croutons unseasoned and in tiny cubes. Feel free to add herbs or salt to amp up the flavor or making larger sized croutons. With larger sized croutons, you may need to leave the croutons in the oven longer. 

My favorite bread to use is sourdough.

Croutons

Servings: unlimited

Ingredients
Bread, cut into small cubes (approx. 0.5 inch)

Bread knife
Foil/baking sheet

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300°F.
2. Use a bread knife to cut the bread into cubes, approximately 0.5 inches. Cut off the crust if it's a crusty bread like french bread.
3. Place the cubes on a baking sheet or foil in one layer. Let it bake in the oven for 11 to 15 minutes, depending how brown you like your croutons. 

Sick [Coconut Flan Recipe]

I was fighting a bad cold when I updated last week. I finally healed up and was ready to put all my energy into writing a post. Suddenly, I fell ill again with only one 100% healthy day before my next ailment. These bugs that are attempting to kill me shuts down any desire I have to write or bake. Regardless of how much I sleep, I wake up in pain and tired. During the night, I get coughing fits that fills my mouth with phlegm (note: took me awhile to figure out how to spell this word >.> ) With me dealing with every day stress in addition to fighting an illness, inspiration is not in my vocabulary.

I made this for my family awhile back when I cooked them a 3 course dinner. Dinner was a breeze and they were looking forward to Alvin's Drunken Chicken. It was good, but it wasn't what we expected. The broth was too sweet for our taste so next time, I will cut back on the sugar and Miran. Other adjustments include upping the ginger and maybe add some chili for a spicy kick?

My favorite part of the meal was this coconut flan. I enjoyed the subtle flavor of the coconut mingling with the sweet caramel. Gosh darn, the flavor profile was on point. Because I didn't use up all the caramel, I poured the rest on a parchment paper and let it cool so it hardened into sugar shards. (Those were addictive). My only issue with the flan is the texture. It was dense and not creamy. I never tried flan before so I don't know the correct texture, but I know I overcooked it so I'm not surprised if that's the reason for the lack of creaminess.

Coconut Caramel Flan
From Steaming Basics by Orathay Guillamont

Ingredients
Caramel
7 TBSP (105 mL) water
3/4 cup (175 mL) sugar

Flan
4 eggs
6 1/2 TBSP (97 mL) sugar
1 1/3 cup (325 mL) coconut milk
1/2 cup (125 mL) milk

Directions

1. Pour caramel ingredients (water and sugar) in a pot over medium heat and let it boil until it turns into a nice dark brown shade. Swirl pan around to distribute color (DO NOT use a spoon to stir). Once satisfy with color, immediately pour into ramekins.
2. Whisk eggs and sugar together.
3. Add milk and whisk well. Pour into ramekins.
4. Steam for 15 to 20 minutes (or less) depending on the size of your container. When the edges are set and the center is slightly jiggly take it and allow it to cool to room temperature. Once cooled, keep in the refrigerator.
5. Prior to flipping ramekin, run a knife along the sides of  flan to loosen it. Then FLIP! Enjoy~

Soft Fluffy Pretzels

Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel Sticks

My favorite part about baking goodies or feeding loved ones is creating something they truly enjoy. If they don't, I'll improve it and customize it to their taste. For example, I know JSB loves cinnamon and sugar topping, but only if I use granulated sugar. However, my mum and I prefer the crunch from turbinado sugar.When I make baked goods, I make sure to have some with granulated and others with turbinado to satisfy both of my favorite people. =D

Fluffy!~

Luckily, this recipe is easily customizable so that I can also make my boyfriend happy. He could careless for cinnamon & sugar, but he'll go bonkers for chocolate chips. I know he loves pretzels so I decided to make some chocolate chip ones for him too!  I didn't think chocolate chips pretzels would taste that great, but the flavor floored me. The chocolate stayed gooey even after it cooled down. Gosh darn, it was great.

This recipe is one my favorites, because you can easily add flavors and the result is a soft chewy pretzel. What more can I ask for? And if you don't want a full pretzel, cut it into 1 inch pretzel bites or 3 inch sticks. They're great for parties. You have salted or plain ones to dip in mustard or make some cinnamon-sugar coated ones for the those that have a sweet tooth. Heck, add in some chocolate chip pretzels and the guests will die from happiness or raisins for the health conscious...See, there are so many possibilities.

Soft Pretzels
adapted from SugarLaw

Ingredients
1 tsp active dry yeast
pinch of sugar
1/3 cup warm water
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 TBSP white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 TBSP canola oil

3 TBSP baking soda
3 cups hot water

Directions:

1. Dissolve yeast in water and pinch of sugar for 10 minutes.
2. Mix yeast mixture with flour, sugar, salt, and canola oil. Knead until combined, a few minutes. (TOPPING NOTE: If adding raisins or chocolate chips, add in a hand full and knead it into dough)
3. Let the dough rise in a greased bowl until doubled in size, approximately 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 425°F.
5. When dough has risen, pinch into 6 portions and roll into a long strand. Twist into pretzel shape or cut into 1 or 3 inch sized pieces.
6. Dissolve baking soda in boiling water. Stir baking soda until dissolved. Dip Pretzel in mixture for 15 seconds. Sprinkle pretzels with sea salt or cinnamon sugar. 
7. Bake for 8 minutes until browned.