Cafe World Challenge Week 36

Another delicious dish was made this week, I opted to make a nontraditional Tempura Udon, a westernized version with eastern flavours.

'TEMPURA UDON'

Traditionally Udon is served with a dashi, soy sauce and mirin broth. Since I didn't have dashi or mirin and really didn't want to go out and buy ingredients again that I'd hardly use so I opted for a different type of broth. My eldest son is also sensitive to certain seafood ingredients so I would prefer to avoid anything that could upset his tummy.

Since I've never made Tempura before and am not very good at deep frying, I bought a Tempura mix for the shrimp topping the Udon soup. I also thought that the traditional recipes lacked vegetables and as I was making the soup as a main dish, I added some.

Udon - Jen style

Broth:

1 Tbsp hoisin sauce
3 1/2 Tbsp tamari soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp fresh ginger chopped
2 cloves garlic
3 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
2 1/2 Tbsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp sugar

In a blender puree the broth ingredients till smooth.

1 package (200g) Udon noodles (I used instant)
2 tsp olive oil
About 4 oz shitake mushrooms, stems removed and cut in thirds.
1/4 lb (125 g) snow peas, ends trimmed
1 tsp tamari soy sauce
1 bunch (6) green onions chopped
fresh cilantro to garnish

Cook Udon noodles according to package instructions. Mine asked for 1/2 litre water and this served as the basis for the broth.

In a frying pan, heat oil on high and add mushrooms, sauteing for 2 minutes. Add snow peas and tamari and stir-fry for a further 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add green onions.

Add vegetables and broth ingredients to cooked noodles and water. Heat through. Serve with a sprinkling of cilantro and tempura shrimp.


This recipe produces a very flavourful broth, dilute further with water to your taste. Any of the broth ingredients can be removed according to your likes/ dislikes.
I personally didn't like the idea of my nice crispy tempura floating on soup and getting mushy, so I just took the photo and plated them separately. I like this meal because my husband and I can have the shrimp which we love and keep it separate from the soup, so my sons just eat the soup and still get a full meal and avoid what they can't eat.

Up Next: I've been looking at recipes for Escargot, I thought I'd look for some at the store and make it for my husband. Otherwise I'm making Philly cheesesteak tonight, Yum!!!

Progress:  64/83

Disclaimer: Image owned by Zynga. This site is not owned by Zynga. This site is not the owner of the intellectual property

Executive Curl

As part of the Canadian Naval Centenial celebrations, the executive curl has been reintroduced to naval officer's uniforms. My husband is particularly happy about this change. I heard about this change weeks before it came into effect and he ordered new shoulder boards and sent his mess dress uniform away for the alteration. His usual tailor is in Victoria, BC, which is on the other side of the country, so it usually takes a few weeks to send out and get back, but at present the wait time is higher because the whole navy is trying to get their uniforms altered. So Jenny to the rescue. My husband ordered the new braid and I had to alter his "Service Dress" tunic within a few days, so that he had the "New Look" for all his speaking engagements and parades for Veterans week. Little did I know he went full monty on me and ordered the expensive GOLD braid (as opposed to the gold coloured braid he had previously). I need to have a little chat with him...maybe that $90/yard cashmere could be justified somehow, since he just spent $175 on just the braid for his tunic. Surely that much for a whole jacket is not unreasonable!!! (wink, wink)

So anyway, back to the sewing task. I did a little experimenting with the little bit extra and found that I needed to use a fine needle (I used a size 70 machine embroidery needle), else the machine punched holes in the gold. I really expected it would've been harder to sew, but it was not too bad. I'm not sure of the actual content, only that it is partly real gold. Since I did work in the gold industry, I found this use very interesting...but knowing that gold is very malleable and pliable, it isn't too surprising though.

It actually took longer to carefully open out the lining and sleeves and remove the previous braid than it took to sew it all back up again. One very hepful tip I got from the tailor...the measurement between the stripes was exactly the same as a cable tie (zip-strap), and she actually sent one with the order. So I didn't have to carefully measure or pin. I just laid the sleeve flat, placed the cable tie snugly against the adjacent braid and then the new braid against the cable tie and sewed carefully. Brilliant!!! The cable tie was also the same height as the braid so it was very easy.

The new gold braid with executive curl on top, the bottom two stripes are still the old coloured braid. In person you can really see the difference, the gold shines beautifully. Before the curl came back, the top stripe was the same as the bottom two.

A close up of the completed sleeve braid. I admit that the real gold does look mighty fine.

Peter wearing his tunic with his new executive curl braid. He's happy and I'm happy that he's happy, and boy he looks good in that uniform.

A Final Thought:

This week, and especially on Remembrance Day, we remember the sacrifices of our veterans. Where we are today is a reflection of their service and sacrifice. I encourage you to wear a poppy, to engage with our veterans, and to attend a Remembrance Day ceremony near you.
On the 11th day of the 11th month at the 11th hour, we stop and remain silent for two minutes to think about our veterans. It’s a short two minutes, but it’s long enough to reflect on the great country we live in, the freedom to live as we do, and our courageous veterans who helped make it that way.


It’s the least we can do.

Cafe World Challenge Week 35

This week's cake really didn't turn out well, but the kids had an influence in the design and making and they seem to like it.

I'll keep the post short, as I've just watched Megamind in 3D with my son and the 3D thing seems to hurt my eyes after a while. Very cool movie, by the way, LOVED the music.

ANGEL FRUIT CAKE

To be honest there was nothing angelic about this cake. My kids were begging to use the food colour we had bought for making cookies, so I attempted a type of rainbow cake. They went a little crazy with the green colour and it turned out quite darker than I'd planned. I was thinking pastel shades and it turned out quite differently. I also got the bottom and top a little too crispy, as I was using a silly silicone pan and I forgot to adjust the cooking time accordingly.

So lessons learnt:

1. Rainbow cake = not so pretty
2. Angel food cake and silicone pan = bad idea
3. Go out and buy a proper pan.
4. A recipe that requires 11 egg whites should not get !#$%^'ed  up

I think the recipe was good, I used Joy Of Cooking again. Just user error again.

Have a laugh at this silly thing:

Next Up: I'm thinking I'll try Tempura Udon, I love Tempura, but have never made it myself, although I'm NOT keen on deep frying.

Progress: 63/83

Disclaimer: Image owned by Zynga. This site is not owned by Zynga. This site is not the owner of the intellectual property

Cafe World Challenge Week 34

He won!!!! Our mayor got elected for his third term and I am now relaxing after the hectic campaign and an awesome victory.
This is also a busy weekend with both Halloween and a Ball my husband and I are attending out of town. I've had a lovely day getting my hair done, having lunch with hubbie and buying some va-va voom shoes (the blue ones) for the ball. If I remember I'll post a pic from the ball and the kid's cute halloween outfits next week.

Back to cooking, I completed two dishes: the Crackling "Peking" Duck and Chicken Pot Pie.

CRACKLING "PEKING" DUCK

You'll notice the scare quotes around Peking, that is because this version isn't exactly Peking Duck, according to Joy Of Cooking, where the recipe was found, "with its crispy, lacquered-looking skin, this is similar to the famous Pekin duck but requires much less time and effort."

Real Peking Duck have ducks specially raised for the dish and have air blown between the skin and fat to separate. They are also hung while cooked in a special oven. Real more in this Wikipedia entry.

For those that have the Joy Of Cooking cookbook, I used the recipe for Chinese Roast Duck, found on pg 448 of my 75th anniversary edition. I cannot find a recipe online the same as the one I used, but I'll give a brief outline, otherwise go buy the book or get it from the library.

Chinese Roast Duck:
Bring a pan of water with soy sauce and honey to the boil. Place duck in solution for 1 minute, ensuring to coat the whole duck. Remove, pat dry and place on a rack over a baking sheet, uncovered in the the fridge overnight. This dries it out.
The roasting process takes place on a V-rack over a roasting pan. Roast at 425 F for 20 min, turn over and roast again for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, reduce heat to 350 F. Prick duck skin all over, careful not to pierce the meat. Brush the duck with a mixture containing: orange juice, rice vinegar, soy sauce, honey and 5-spice powder.
Roast again for 20 minutes, turn over and brush again. Repeat twice more turning, brushing and roasting.
Let rest and serve.

The mixture really gives the duck a fantastic flavour and the skin is crispy and the dish was overall very delicious. It was a huge hit, especially hubbie loved it....he'd turned down duck the night before in a great Quebec city restaurant, because I'd warned him I'd be making it. He said it was worth it.

CHICKEN POT PIE

I made this one the night before the election with the intent that the family could eat the leftovers when I was working election day and night. They ended up having cereal....silly boys, but thank goodness they had good pizza and pasta at the victory party later that night so they got some decent food in and I then didn't need to cook the next day when I was super tired. My James seemed to really like it as he requested it for breakfast and wanted some for school and told his teachers about it. He was really disappointed when it was done, I should make it again soon.

Recipe:

1 can condensed chicken broth (10 oz)
About 1 1/2 cups sliced carrot
1 1/2 cups diced red potato (I think it was 2 or 3)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups white mushrooms quartered
1 onion chopped
1 cup frozen peas
1/3 cup flour
2 1/2 cups cooked diced chicken, 2 large breasts
1 defrosted unbaked piecrust/ puff pastry enough for a 10 inch piecrust

Preheat oven to 425F
Combine broth, 1 cup water and carrots and potatoes in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer on low for about 10 minutes.
Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat and saute onions and mushrooms until softened. Add to broth mixture. Add peas.
To thicken: whisk together flour with equal amount of water (1/3 cup) to form a paste. Whisk into vegetables. Turn up heat to medium high and bring to a boil. Add chicken.
Roll out piecrust on a floured surface. Roll it out to overhang the pie-dish using. I used a 10 inch pie-dish.
Transfer chicken and veg mixture to the pie-dish. Place crust over filling, trim and flute edge. Cut a hole in centre using a cookie cutter. (I used a cute pie crust cutter set, featuring Fall designs..my son chose the pumpkin for this pie)
Bake until filling is bubbly and the crust browned, about 20 minutes.

I had some leftover pie dough, so I like to roll it out, put some blobs of my favourite jam and fold it over and voila, a dessert too.

CAFE WORLD COOKBOOK ADDITIONS

I unlocked Caramel Corn after the Halloween catering event, so that will be added to my master list.

Up Next: I need some sweetness, so Angel Fruit Cake it will be.

Progress: 62/83

Disclaimer: Image owned by Zynga. This site is not owned by Zynga. This site is not the owner of the intellectual property

Cafe World Challenge Week 33

This is my last week of campaign volunteering, so this time next week I'll either be a woman of leisure again or have a job, but between you and me I think I'd like to have a little leisure time for a while.

This week I turned a boring regular meal into one of the new Cafe World meals, In Flight Meal. At the beginning of the week I had a grandiose idea to select various real airline's meals and serve them this week, kind of a best of what the different airlines offer, but my husband was away and I totally ran out energy, so I just tried to copy the graphic from the game.

IN FLIGHT MEAL

During my research into airline meals, I found this website, AirlineMeals.net, it shows actual photos people have taken of their meals and rate them etc. I was interesting having a look at the airline fare from around the world. I actually quite like airline food and especially look forward to South African Airways flights into South Africa, as they usually have some local cuisine that I sample before I arrive home. The only problem I have with airline/airport eating is that I tend to eat too much as you fill time waiting by sitting in a restaurant at the airport and then you get food immediately when you take off and you have your meals at strange times.

This week's meal has no recipe, I copied the game graphic by serving steak, steamed veg, salad, bread roll, juice and a packaged dessert.

 Up next: I have duck in the fridge ready for making Chinese Roast duck, which will be similar to Peking Duck, I don't have the ability to make Peking Duck in my kitchen so this will be close enough.

Progress: 60/82



Disclaimer: Image owned by Zynga. This site is not owned by Zynga. This site is not the owner of the intellectual property

American Sewing Expo Visit

I attended the American Sewing Expo in Novi, Michigan on September 25th. It is only about 45 minutes from my house, so I had a fun day away from the family and came back with a few goodies. I've never been to a sewing event like this before, so I was like a kid in a candy store. I didn't attend any of the seminars, but will be doing something next year, since it was my 1st year I wanted to take in everything and figure out how long it took to work my way through the booths. After my shopping, I started making a jean bag in the deconstruction zone, but soon realised the Pattern Review Natural Fibres fashion show was starting, so rushed off to that. Some very impressive entries.

 

My shopping haul:

Underneath: my partially completed jean bag
top left: Kathy Ruddy's 3 ways to learn CD - Swing & Pleated Yoke Jackets
Fray check....it was cheaper than at my local store & you never know I might need it??
top right: Fashion in Harmony - Acute Angle Blouse pattern
Bottom left: silk cuts at $8/yd, they were selling like wildfire. I got a black necktie silk with leaf detail (1 3/4 yrds) and lime green silk dupioni (1 1/8 yrds). Close up photo below.
Bottom right: my new darling, KAI sewing shears. My husband thinks I'm mad the way I delight in its use. Oh well....you girls get it right???
Not pictured: a teflon iron sole plate

Not bought: a royal blue 100% cashmere from Haberman fabrics that was screaming to be a coat, but alas the $90/yrd price tag would have put my husband in the hospital. But at least now I know that Haberman's is very close to Detroit Zoo of which we are members and visit often, so I think next zoo visit mommy can drop off the guys and go browse.

Cafe World Challenge Week 32

I actually made some good progress this week, knocking off a Stuffed Turkey....Happy Thanksgiving Canadians...and two fantasy theme dishes. I'm still working everyday, but hubbie took most of the week off and thanks to turkey leftovers the week wasn't as hectic. I'm working on our mayor's re-election campaign, so this routine will come to an end after election day in 10 days. Then I'd better start job-searching again, but I'm really missing my "home-time", but at least now I seem to really take advantage of any time I have at home, no more wasted hours.

SAVOURY STUFFED TURKEY

A few weeks ago I stumbled upon a recipe for ham and mushroom stuffing and I set it aside for our thanksgiving meal.

Ham and mushroom stuffing:

12oz/375g smoked ham
1lb/500g white mushrooms
5tbsp butter
1 1/3 cups minced celery
1/2 cup minced shallots
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch ground clove
1 turkey liver, minced
1/4 cup dry sherry
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1 tbsp fresh thyme
6 cups cubed bread (1/2 inch/1cm)
1 egg
1/2 cup chicken stock

In a food processor, mince ham and set aside.
Finely chop half the mushrooms and slice the rest. Set aside.
In a skillet, melt 3 tbsp butter over medium heat and add celery, shallots, salt, pepper, nutmeg and cloves. Fry until celery is softened. Add finely chopped mushrooms, liver and sherry, cooking until mushrooms are wilted and mixture is moist, but no liquid remains. Mix with ham.
In the skillet, melt remaining 2 tbsp butter and fry sliced mushrooms over high heat until lightly browned. Add to ham mixture, with parsley and thyme. Mix well. Fold in bread. Beat egg with stock and mix into stuffing.
Stuff turkey with stuffing and place remainder in a covered casserole dish. Cook extra stuffing in oven with turkey during last 45 minutes.

I basted my turkey with a mix of melted butter and sherry during the cooking and made a gravy using the remaining pan juices, flour and my homemade chicken stock. Once again, excuse the messy looking turkey photo, my husband turned the turkey over and tried to start carving before I'd taken the pretty picture.

VAMPIRE STAKED STEAK

I didn't want to serve a steak with plain old ketchup, which would give the right "blood" look. So I opted to make my own ketchup. Its very tasty, much better than store bought stuff and doesn't have the artificial ingredients listed in some ketchup varieties.

I found the recipe on the blog Once Upon a Plate, I've made a number of her recipes now and just love the beautiful images.

My ketchup was sweetened with honey, but she lists various other options. I also used the whey from the natural yogurt, which is funny, because I usually use that very same technique, but discard the whey liquid and use the thickened yogurt for desserts or I love to use the thickened plain yogurt for breakfast with a little maple syrup mixed in.

MYSTICAL PIZZA

Since I started this challenge, I've always had this one at the back of my mind and imagined a pizza sized cookie with icing decorations. So that's what I did!!!

I was making a batch of plain sugar cookies (recipe to follow) and used an upturned bowl to cut out the large cookie. It took considerably longer than normal to bake, I think it was in there for about 25 minutes, but it worked pretty well, I also made it a little thicker as I didn't want the bigger cookie breaking apart.
I made up a batch of royal icing, using meringue powder, icing sugar and water and spread that on the cooled cookie. When the icing had hardened, I painted the green swirly bits and the red outline with food colouring and used various coloured icings to make the border and "stars". I also thought it needed a little sparkle, some "pixie dust" and sprinkled some decorating sugar in places. I think it came out pretty well compared to the game version (above), although my sons desperately wanted to add dinosaur sprinkles.

I made a big batch of the cookie dough, cut out the cookies and froze them between layers over parchment paper on a tray in my freezer. When I want to make cookies again, I just lift a parchment layer and bake from frozen, it works brilliantly and the kids get to have cookies to decorate in no time. Also check out their efforts below the mystical pizza, we have such fun decorating cookies and I just LOVE cleaning up sprinkles for a few days, its amazing how far they travel.

Sugar cookies

1 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

With an electric beater, beat butter, and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add flour and beat till well blended.

Divide dough as needed and roll out on a floured board (flour hands & rolling pin too) to about 1/8 inch (3mm) thick. Cut out cookie shapes and repeat until all dough is used. Bake on a parchment lined baking tray at 300 F for 15 minutes. Transfer to cooling rack and let cool completely before icing and decorating.

Cafe World Cookbook Additions

The limited time items are still here so I'll them to my list now, they are In-Flight Meal and Red Burrito. I'm not unlocking the catering order items so they will not be added to my list now.

Up Next:  Mmm, I haven't planned my next week's meals yet, so we'll just wait and see.

Progress: 59/82

Disclaimer: Image owned by Zynga. This site is not owned by Zynga. This site is not the owner of the intellectual property