Low-fat pudding

I know I start a lot of my posts with "A couple weeks ago..." but I've had a busy beginning of the year, and am sorely behind on getting everything on here.

So again, I still start with "A couple weeks ago...". I hosted game night, and thought I'd make a couple desserts.

I know a few of my friends are health conscious, and as a dessert lover, I fully understand this conundrum. I found a good little recipe for low fat pudding, and it also makes me happy that it is vegetarian friendly (read: no gelatin).

I made a little boo boo by not getting the fat free evaporated milk when at the store (I picked up 1% instead), but it still worked out great, and has a full texture when eating, without the full calories of a home made pudding that has cream.

Also, the lactose intolerance factor. Man, life is so sucky sometimes.

My table was covered in board games, so I was lacking space to get some good photos. One of the better images I got, was when I propped up one of my puddings on my game box to get a clearer picture.

What I also like about this recipe is the ease in separating them into 2 fractions, so make a white chocolate and dark chocolate pudding.

Low-Fat Chocolate Pudding (adapted from Food Network)

1/3 cup agave nectar
2 tbsp corn starch
salt
2 12 oz cans evaporated milk, 1%
2 egg whites
1 tbsp + 1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup white chocolate chips
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup milk chocolate chips 

1. In a saucepan, whisk together agave nectar, corn starch and salt. Add evaporated milk and egg whites.
2. Whisk over medium heat until it begins to thicken and bubble. Remove from heat and add 1 tbsp vanilla extract.
3. Pour 1/3 of mixture into a bowl and add remaining vanilla extract and white chocolate chips. Stir until melted and combined.
4. To remaining 2/3 of mixture, add cocoa powder and milk chocolate chips. Stir until melted and combined.
5. Divide milk chocolate pudding into 6 dishes, top with white chocolate pudding.
6. Cover with saran wrap and let set in fridge at least 2 hours.

Shrimp alfredo

My friends have the tendency to like to show up at my house for dinners. That I make.

I don't mind too much. I enjoy it when my friends are over. We chat, play video games, watch movies, and hang out in general.

A couple weekends ago in particular, it was a gorgeous and abnormally warm day. We reached a high of 12C and it was so balmy, I was inclined to go for a walk, even after my morning run. I called my friend up, and we hit the dusty trail. We decided to walk to our other friend's house (the one I ran with in the morning).

We hung out for a couple hours, goofing around with the guitars, youtube videos and a general discussion for the evening plans. It was decided, we would go to the mall to look for Mario Party and extra Wii controllers, pick up some stuff for dinner, and we would head to my house to eat and hang.

I made shrimp alfredo for dinner. Since we were salad-less, I added broccoli and carrots to the pasta, and made some three cheese crab puffs for a side.

I'm not one for alfredo sauces, because of my lactose intolerance, but had an odd hankering for a creamy sauce. Also, a need to use all the 35% cream that's sitting in my fridge.

Dinner turned out delicious. My friends played video games, and we watched Django as well. All in all, a pretty good Saturday night.

Alfredo Sauce

1/4 cup butter
1 cup heavy cream
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 1/2 cup parmesan 

1. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add cream and simmer until it reaches a boil.
2. Add garlic and cheese, whisking until melted and smooth.
3. Pour over pasta and serve.

Barbari bread

The department I work in on campus has a lot of international people. Many of them are from Iran, as is one of my coworkers.

When we have lunches, she often brings barbari bread, and shares it with me as well.

For those who aren't sure what barbari bread is, it's a popular Iranian flatbread often served with a cheese similar to feta.

I've always found barbari bread very interesting, because of how it rips straight, as if the proteins have aligned themselves, for a perfect rip every time.

A few weeks ago, I told my coworker that I was going to try to make it on the weekend. Unfortunately, I never got around to making it, and I let her know it on that following Monday. Funny enough, her and a friend has gone into the city that weekend and picked up the fresh dough from the Iranian store for me. So I brought that home and baked the dough.

Although it was nice of them to buy me the dough, I wasn't quite sure what I was supposed to do with it. Bread requires rising time, and I wasn't sure if the pre-made dough had already gone through the rising stage or not.

I did a bit of research on baking temperatures and times, and decided to go with 375F for 25 minutes.

The pre-made dough was actually two balls (that melded into one big dough ball in my backpack). I separated them and made two pieces of bread on my sprayed cookie sheet.

I punched the dough down and stretched it out to fill the pan. After, I ran my fingers vertically along the bread to form the straight edge ridges that the bread seemingly perfectly rips along. With a sprinkle of sesame seeds on top, I popped those into the oven.

I forgot to get a before and after pictures of both of my flatbreads, so I pieced together a before of one and an after of the other.

I'm going to try to make the barbari bread again, because I want to try to make the dough myself. The issue with the pre-made dough was that I wasn't sure what stage the dough was at, and it didn't turn out quite the way I thought.

Although it wasn't quite the same as the bread my coworker brings in for lunch, it was still good to eat. I cut a few pieces out (as they didn't rip along the lines), and had them with my chickpea curry.

Coconut rum cake

I've been delayed on posting this due to all the seasonal baking I had done for myself and others.

My friend Owen had his birthday in early December, so I thought proper to make him a cake to celebrate.

A few weeks beforehand, I asked him what he would want:

I got quite the interesting answer, although, not anything out of what I would have expected from a rum lover:

Needless to say, I was going to make something very rum-filled.

I really wanted to make a coconut rum cake, but wasn't sure the chocolate would fit in nicely. I opted out of the chocolate, since I had made things with chocolate the weekend before.

I'll admit that I cheated a bit on this cake. I used a box white cake mix as the base, because it was easier than trying to change my white cake recipe to be as coconut-y as I wanted it to be.

The cake has 4 parts to it: the cake, the rum sauce, the coconut glaze, and the toasted coconut topping. It went over quite well too. 

Coconut Rum Cake

cake and topping
1 white cake mix
1/2 cup butter, cubed
1 can coconut milk, reserve remaining for the glaze
3 eggs
2 cup shredded coconut, 1 cup for cake, 1 cup for topping 

syrup
1/4 cup dark rum
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water 

glaze
2 tbsp butter
2 cups powdered sugar
reserve coconut milk 

1. Process 1 cup shredded coconut, and cake mix until finely chopped. Cut in butter until cornmeal textured. Then add the coconut milk and eggs.
2. Bake as directed and let cake cool on a wire rack and poke holes with a fork across the top of the cake.
3. Toast the remaining 1 cup shredded coconut in a 350F oven.
4. While the cake is cooling, bring the syrup ingredients to a boil. Let cool slightly before drizzling syrup over the cake. Let syrup soak for 15-30 minutes.
5. Whisk the butter, powdered sugar, and coconut milk together until runny and smooth.
6. Drizzle over the syrup soaked cake.
7. Top with the toasted coconut.

Lemon poppyseed cake

For the Christmas season, I had a rather large order of meringues. That meant, I had an absurd amount of egg yolks sitting in my fridge slowly wasting away.

What's a girl to do with a dozen egg yolks in her fridge?

The answer: many things. One of those being a lemon poppyseed cake.

Lemon is one of those flavours that I could literally add to anything. And it certainly is a nice addition to this rich delectable cake.

There are 9 egg yolks in this cake, so it's a dense one. You'll want company over to help polish it off, because it's hard to get through more than a small slice, and that's advice coming from a sweets-aholic!

Lemon Poppyseed Cake

2/3 cup sugar
8 egg yolks
1 egg
2 lemons, zested
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup corn starch
salt
1 cup butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup poppy seeds 

1. Beat sugar and eggs until pale and fluffy, ~6 minutes. Beat in lemon zest.
2. Sift in flour, corn starch, and salt. Mix until just combined.
3. Beat in butter and poppy seeds.
4. Pour battery into a greased/lined pan of choice (Springform pan, Bundt pan, Angel Food pan, etc.). Bake at 325Ffor 45 minutes or until cake pulls from sides.

Traveling alone

I am a lone traveler.

When I'm away on my travels, I never get quizzical looks from locals or other travelers on why I am on my own.

When I'm at home, it's quite a different story.

"Why would you go by yourself?"
"Don't you get lonely?"
"What if you get lost or kidnapped?"
"Aren't you scared?"
"You're insane!"

I know my family, friends, and acquaintances are all just worried about my safety (and perhaps my sanity), but there really is something about traveling alone that is highly addicting.

It's like working out. Asking a runner to stop their training would be darn near equivalent to asking them to chop off their arm.

After my first solo adventure, I was on cloud 9 for months. I couldn't believe I had done it, and more so, I couldn't wait to do it again.

The purpose of my post today is to share an article that really rings true with me, and many of my other solo adventurer friends.

Why you should start traveling alone

I came across this article a few days ago, when it was posted, but have been busy trying to formulate my thoughts.

I only have a handful of friends who travel alone like I do. Most of them, I have met while on the road myself. In fact, I just went to Miami (by myself, of course) a few months ago to visit one of my lovely that I met in Amsterdam (again, by myself).

For those who haven't done so, or for those who are too scared to. My advice? Listen to Nike and:

There is no better experience in your life than traveling the world. You only have one life, and the world is your (very large) oyster. Money can always be made later, but traveling is something that will not wait for you.

Keep your mind and heart open, but use your head when you make decisions. You will find that humanity isn't as doomed as you think it is (or maybe that's just me), and that true benevolence and friendship really does exist.

Some of my best and most life altering memories are from foreign countries. Swimming in and around water eroded rock crevaces in Southern Portugal, standing new to Big Ben in London, walking the roads of Fo Quang Shan Buddhist monastery in Kaohsiung Taiwan.

These are not experiences we can even come close to imagining in our home towns. The ability to visit other countries to experience their culture, their religion, and mostly their climate, is one of the most humbling and gratifying experiences.

I'll tell you right now, traveling changes you. You might think right now that you're a big deal, you have lots of friends, or that you know your way around a 3 hr driving radius from your city. But leaving your comforts behind will show you just how small you are in the view of the world.

In a sea of people at St Pancras International, you're but one of billions on earth who are trying to make a difference.

You'll see beggars on the street, you'll see the rich and famous. You'll see it all. And if you're like some people I know, you'll be so moved to make a difference, that you'll pack up your life so that you can devote it to others. Or if you're like me, you'll be humbled by the vastness of the world, and vow to see as much of it  as you can before you die.

Please read the article I have linked. And if you are still worried about traveling solo, bring a friend you can count on, and who won't drive you nuts. I'll probably write more about choosing the right travel partner at a later date. All I ask, is that everyone experience this. Even if you're only taking a 4 hour flight. There's nothing better than going somewhere without a familiar soul in sight and learning.

Broiled lobster

I love lobster.

For New Year's Eve, I decided to splurge a little, grab a bag of lobster tails, and make that for dinner.

I haven't made lobster tails before, but I have made lobster. I didn't think it'd be any different, but thought I would broil them rather do a simply boil. 

After cutting the inside of the tails lengthwise, I cracked the tails slightly to allow seasonings. Butter, salt and paprika. Sounds delicious already! The bad boys are ready after 5-10 minutes under the broiler.

I made some couscous and a light salad to go with them. Scrumptious!

I hoep everyone had a great New Year's Eve

Thin mints

A girlfriend and I love thin mints. Like literally. LOVE. If you don't know what thin mints are, I implore you PLEASE, to go find your nearest Girl Scouts/Girl Guides centre and buy a dozen boxes of these amazing cookies.

The box on the right, downright delicious.

When I discovered that they could be homemade and they could be vegan? Heaven.

Needless to say, that was exactly what I set out to do.

Were they exactly like thin mints? Well, no. They are still darn good though. And at least I know what's going in them. AKA., NOT palm oils, vegetable shortenings, high fructose corn syrup, etc.

My thin mints were a bit on the thicker side because my chocolate mixture gooped up and got thicker much faster than anticipated. However, the shortening will help maintain the silky smooth texture and slow down the thickening process. If it does start to get thick again, just heat up the mixture again and stir until smooth before continuing.

Thin Mints

Ritz crackers
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tbsp shortening
1 tsp peppermint extract 

1. In a double boiler, melt together chocolate chips, shortening, and peppermint extract. Let cool slightly.
2. Using a fork, coat each Ritz cracker with the melted chocolate mixture. Let the chocolate drain between the fork tines before setting to cool on parchment or wax paper.
3. Let cool in the refrigerator at least 2 hours.

Snickerdoodles

Back when I was doing my Masters degree, I worked in a lab in the Food Science building. Despite it's name and department, I was the lone regular contributor of the cookie stash. Since moving to a new lab, I haven't been keeping up my post as regularly as I could/should. Whenever I stop by, I am showered with jolly beration of coming empty handed, even by the new members of the lab. To rectify that, I decided to do good by the freshman and asked the new PhD student what his favourite cookies were. His answer? Snickerdoodles.

I had a relatively typical Asian upbringing, so aside from the classic chocolate chip cookie, I really didn't know much else. In recent years, the steep learning curve has taught me a lot, but not enough to know what snickerdoodles were. A quick Google search at home shed new light on one of my favourite guilty snacks.

Cinnamon? Sugar?

Why had I never made these amazing cookies before?

After bringing in these cookies the next time I stopped by, I was once again "appreciated", by the old and new staff.

Snickerdoodles

2 1/2 cup flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon 

1. Cream butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well. Beat in vanilla.
2. Gradually add flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt until just combined.
3. Chill dough for 30+ minutes. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
4. Scoop 1 inch balls and roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
5. Bake on parchment or silpat, 2 inches apart, at 350F for 10 minutes.

Happy New Year!

Hope everyone had a great New Years' Eve! I hosted a party at my house for a few of my friends. More than the expected number showed up, which was a delightful surprise.

There was plenty of food and liquor to go around, more than enough to keep us going until well into the wee hours of the morning.

I had so many overnighters I had to pull out my trusty old pump up air mattress to make room! With 6 extra bodies in my house, we finally quieted down at 5 AM.

I hope 2012 treated you well and that there will only be bigger and better things in the year to come.

Happy 2013!