cinnamon macarons

From the time I first heard and read about them, to the time when I finally started making them, these elegant French macarons have always fascinated me. I still remember how disappointed I was with the first batch of sticky and cracked macarons I made. I have since relied on my favorite technique, the Italian method, which involved boiling sugar syrup. This technique makes a stable meringue which, for me, makes the mixture much easier to handle.

I made two batches, cinnamon and amaretto flavors, for my husband on Valentine's Day. These cinnamon macarons turned out quite good, sprinkled with an extra dose of Vietnamese cinnamon on top. We like to eat them without any filling but every now and then, I also like to spread them with any tart jam we have in the fridge or Nutella.

CINNAMON MACARONS

250 g 10x powdered sugar

250 g almond flour

250 g granulated sugar

50 g water

187 g eggwhites

1-2 teaspoons ground cinnamon or cinnamon extract

orange food coloring paste or powder

Combine powdered sugar and almond flour. Sift twice. Set aside. Combine granulated sugar and water. Using a candy thermometer, simmer to soft ball stage (220 degrees). When the sugar syrup almost reaches soft boil stage, whip the eggwhites to soft peaks using an electric mixer. While mixer is running, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the whipped eggwhites and continue to beat until very fluffy, stiff and stable enough to hold the peaks. Run a rubber spatula or knife into the icing and lift to test and see. Fold in the almond flour & powdered sugar mixture a little at a time to the beaten eggwhites until well incorporated. At this point, add the cinnamon and the coloring. Continue to fold and whip the mixture until it reaches the consistency of a thick batter. The mixture should flow slowly and spread very slightly. Be careful not to overmix or the shapes will become flat and irregular. Use an icing bag with a round tip to pipe the mixture to a parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with extra cinnamon if desired. Allow to rest for the tops to dry for about 30 minutes before baking. Bake for 18-20 minutes at 280 degrees F or until macarons are set. Cool slightly on the parchment paper before peeling off and transfering to a wire cooling rack.

chickpea salad & chicken rice curry

I didn't hesitate to try this fresh and colorful salad as soon as I saw the idea online. The colorful vegetables were enough to brighten my day. I was browsing my favorite website, Tastespotting, for dinner ideas when I found this. From what I learned, this salad is very popular in Israel where it's served as a side salad with everything from sandwiches to main dish meals. It had diced English cucumbers, canned chickpeas, chopped red onions, diced tomatoes and diced yellow peppers. For the dressing, just combine and whisk together red wine vinegar, salt, pepper and a little sugar. I made the salad ahead so the flavors will have enough time to blend together while it chills in the refrigerator.

Aside from the salad, I also found an idea for a chicken and rice dish that looks so exotic and different. I was so inspired that I tried making them both for dinner. The chicken rice curry was so easy to make in the electric rice cooker. This was the first time I used the rice cooker to cook something other than just plain rice and it worked great. The rice curry was so full of flavor that we couldn't stop raving about it. It may be too rich for some but we like full flavors in our meals so this was just perfect for our taste. Thanks to Appon Thai, one of my favorite foodblogs which was my source for the idea and recipe for this chicken rice curry. Letting global flavors meet, I served the colorful salad with the rice dish instead of cucumber and tomato slices as suggested. The salad went well with the chicken rice curry. The ginger dressing or dip for the curry was also important to complete the meal.

tikoy (Chinese sweet steamed cake)

(1) the steamed and cooked tikoy ready to wrap and refrigerate (2) tikoy is easier to slice when it's cold (3) the slices dipped in beaten egg (4) pan fried tikoy ready to eat and enjoy.

(1) my weekend breakfast...warm tikoy slices (2) my husband found a sweeter way to enjoy tikoy...with maple syrup...and I have to agree, it was good.

Chinese New Year starts on Valentine's Day this year. I will always associate tikoy with this big event which is celebrated with colorful festivities every year at Manila's huge Chinatown in Binondo. By now, most of the food stores there must be selling this popular steamed rice cake. They are usually round in shape and packaged in bright red boxes. It's traditional to give away and eat this especially during the Chinese New Year season for it's believed to bring good luck. I have many Chinese-Filipino friends and have met a few more when I worked as a garment designer for a retail chain in Manila. We used to have generous suppliers who would start distributing tikoy at the office about this time. We also grew up eating them as my parents used to buy and receive them as gifts. For many weeks we would have boxes of tikoy in the refrigerator, ready to slice and cook. Tikoy is one snack food that I remember well from my childhood so I was very delighted when my cousin found this tikoy recipe online and shared it with me to try.

TIKOY

2 1/2 cups glutinous rice flour (available in most Asian groceries)

1 cup sugar

1 3/4 cups water

Combine and mix all the ingredients well using an electric mixer or wire whisk. Line a 8" or 9" round pan or glass dish with foil then brush the foil well with oil or coat evenly with non-stick spray. This is an important step which I missed the first time so the tikoy stuck to the non-stick foil I used. Steam for 40 minutes up to an hour depending on the thickness of the rice cake. It will look set and feel firm when it's fully cooked. Cool then seal in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. Slice then dip in beaten egg. Pan fry in a little canola oil over medium heat. Serve warm.

2010 is the Year of the Tiger

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

lumpiang sariwa (fresh springroll)

lumpiang sariwa with dried shrimps (above)

lumpiang sariwa with pork strips (above)

(1) rinsed & soaked "hibe" or dried shrimps and annatto juice. Annatto seeds and dried shrimps are both available in Asian markets (2) chopped fresh cilantro (3) pan-fried diced sweet and yukon gold potatoes (4) thinly sliced green beans, cabbage and onion (5) browning the pork strips in the wok (6) blanched vegetables were combined together.

There are many variations of the lumpia or springroll in the Philippines. Perhaps the most popular are the crispy fried springrolls that are served in most Asian restaurants. Even with the fresh kind, there are a few variations, and this is just one of them. It has been years since I made this type of lumpia or springroll. Although they're usually served wrapped or rolled in a fresh springroll wrapper, it's also acceptable to serve them without the wrapper. Minus the wrapper, we call them "lumpiang hubad" or "naked springroll". In Manila, we get fresh wrappers straight from the guy who makes them at the local market. The wrappers are made with a simple flour and water mixture and are similar to very thin crepes. This recipe calls for a mix of fresh vegetables cooked with either pork and/or dried shrimps although the dried shrimps add a distinctive flavor. They can be salty so it's best to rinse them. Pan fried diced potato and sweet potato are also important in the dish. The jicama strips provide the crunchy texture. With my husband's shrimp allergy, I had to make this in two batches. The first batch was cooked with pork and the second, with the dried shrimps. One unusual ingredient we like to use for this dish is achuete, achiote or annatto seeds. The seeds, which give the dish a deep yellow orange color, are sold in Asian markets as a natural food coloring. They have to be soaked in hot water, then strained before using. The unusual flavors of this vegetable dish come from a combination of peanut butter or ground peanuts, rinsed and soaked dried shrimps, cilantro and annatto juice. It's also served with a sauce made with minced garlic, ground roasted peanuts, soy sauce, water, sugar, salt and pepper then thickened slightly with cornstarch. I would say this Filipino vegetable dish is quite different from most Asian stir fry dishes we're familiar with.

LUMPIANG SARIWA

canola or vegetable oil
1/2 lb. pork, thinly sliced in strips (optional)
2 tbsps. dried shimps or hibe, rinsed and soaked in water (optional)
2 tbsps. garlic, minced
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2-3 tbsps. natural style peanut butter
1/4 cup ground roasted peanuts
2 tbsps. annatto or achuete seeds, soaked then strained
1 cup thinly sliced green beans, blanched
2 cups thinly sliced cabbage, blanched
1/2 cup julienned singkamas or jicama (optional)
2 small potatoes, diced and pan-fried
1 small sweet potato, diced and pan-fried
salt and pepper to taste

Combine the peanut butter and annatto juice and mix well. Set aside. If using pork, cook the pork strips in a little oil over medium heat until well browned. Drain and set aside. Cook the garlic and onions in a little canola oil in the same pan. Add the annatto juice and peanut butter mixture. Drain the shrimps before adding. Thin with a little water if mixture is too thick. Stir in the blanched vegetables followed by the pan-fried potatoes and jicama. Sprinkle the cilantro and ground peanuts. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with some green leaf lettuce leaves and the sauce (below). The green leaf lettuce leaves may take the place of the fresh springroll wrapper.

FRESH LUMPIA SAUCE

2 cups water
2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons white or brown sugar
finely minced garlic, about 2 tablespoons
1/4 cup ground roasted peanuts
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with water

Combine the water, sugar, soy sauce, garlic and peanuts. Simmer over medium heat for a few minutes. Stir in the the cornstarch mixture. Serve with the fresh lumpia.

weekend food discovery

Shown above are two kinds of German sausages and Italian sausage, coiled in the center.

Our fun and exciting weekend of food discovery was dampened by the disappointing news that one of our favorite restaurants in town, a very good German restaurant, is now closed for business. It actually came as a shock to us even though we keep hearing that a number of restaurants in our area had closed this past year due to slow business. We never thought this restaurant will join the trend for it was quite a popular place not just with tourists but with locals as well. We will definitely miss their creamy mushroom soup, German potato pancakes, house salad, pork schnitzels, bratwursts and of course, their wheat and dark beers. The good news is, as I was saying earlier, we discovered a new deli in town selling fresh European sausages, cold cuts and other gourmet food products. Aside from the deli, the friendly chef, assisted by his personable wife, can prepare a variety of hot and cold sandwiches and platters to go. We were so delighted to discover this place and vowed to come back very soon for some more of their tasty products. I guess we can very much relate this to the saying, when a door closes, a window opens. In this case, it just happens to be true.

Note: As of now, our favorite German restaurant may have closed but the good thing is, a new one took its place. Along with other changes, the interior has been updated and the menu was revised as well. We've tried it once and so far, we enjoyed the different versions of classic German and European cuisine they offer.

blackened fish fillets

To eat lightier after all the rich food during the past holidays is one of my goals these days. It's not easy to do but it's worth trying. I have only one word to describe this fish fillet dish ~ easy. It was so quick and easy that thawing out the fish took more time than cooking it. We particularly like tilapia fillets but any kind of white fish fillets will work for this. Blackening is a cooking technique used in traditional cajun and creole cuisine. Instead of dipping the fillets in melted butter, I just brushed them generously with olive oil. I used a combination of salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder and yellow cornmeal for the seasonings. The olive oil made the seasonings adhere well to the fish forming a crust. Place them on a greased or foil-lined baking dish then drizzle a little more olive oil on top. Broil the fillets for about 10-15 minutes or until done. I tried to broil them in our toaster oven, which I prefer to use for smaller baking and broiling jobs, and it worked quite well. The yellow cornmeal helped brown the fish topping evenly. Instead of cornmeal, regular breadcrumbs may also be used.

pospas (chicken & rice soup)

When it comes to comforting soups, the Philippines has a lot to offer. They are well integrated in everyday cuisine and they are usually considered as main dishes which can be eaten with rice and vegetables. One of those we like to have on a regular basis, which my mother loved to cook because it was also one of her favorites, is "pospas" or chicken and rice soup. There are many variations but with the same basic flavors of ginger, onions and garlic. The chicken asopao, which my husband tried at La Mallorquina restaurant on our first visit to Puerto Rico, reminded me of this chicken and rice soup version. Still recovering from our seasonal allergies and colds, and with the onset of the lower winter temperatures, this steaming hot soup with chicken and rice was a complete meal by itself. It was exactly what we needed to get us through the cold snap.

POSPAS (CHICKEN and RICE SOUP)

1 whole chicken, cut-up or meaty parts of chicken (I used 6 pcs skinless chicken drumsticks)
thinly sliced fresh ginger (2" piece)
minced fresh garlic (about 2 tbsps.)
1/2 cup thinly sliced onions
1/4 cup jasmine rice (1/2 cup may be used if not using sticky rice)
1/4 cup sticky rice (optional but available in Asian markets)
water or chicken broth
juice of half a lemon
salt and pepper to taste
a few saffron strands (optional)
1 tsp. paprika
chicken bouillon (optional)
fish sauce (optional)

Wash the chicken pieces well and pat dry with papertowels. In a soup pot, pan fry the chicken pieces in about 2-3 tablespoons of canola oil until lightly browned. They don't have to cook thoroughly at this point. Transfer them to a plate as they brown. In the same pot, over medium heat, sautee the ginger until fragrant and slightly toasted. Add the minced garlic and the onions. Cook for a few minutes. Meanwhile, combine the rice, rinse and drain well. Add to the pot and stir for a few minutes. Add the chicken pieces and stir together to combine with the rice. Add about 5 cups of water. Add the saffron strands and paprika. If the soup gets too thick as it simmers, just add some more water. Season with fish sauce (optional), chicken bouillon (optional) salt and pepper. Squeeze half a lemon into the soup. Simmer until rice and chicken are fully cooked. Garnish with sliced green onions. Serve hot with more lemon wedges.

Note: One common version is using chicken broth instead of chicken pieces then adding hard-boiled eggs to the soup at serving time. Lightly toasted minced garlic in oil may also be sprinkled on the soup along with sliced green onions before serving.