Peach-nectarine tarts

If pears and nectarines are among your favorite fruits plus if you also love tarts, here's a recipe for you. And you don’t even need a tart pan for this double-fruit dessert because the crust is simply folded up over the peaches and nectarines before baking. White peaches won't work as well in this tart because of their delicate texture.

Peach-Nectarine Tart

Ingredients
Parchment paper
Vegetable cooking spray
3/4 pound peeled nectarines, sliced
3/4 pound peeled peaches, sliced
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup peach preserves
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 (15-oz.) package refrigerated piecrusts
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 large egg
1 tablespoon sugar
Sweet Cream Topping (optional)


Preparation
1. Line baking sheet with parchment paper; coat parchment paper with cooking spray.
2. Preheat oven to 350°. Stir together nectarines, peaches, and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Let stand 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Unroll piecrust on prepared baking sheet. Roll into a 12-inch circle.
4. Drain fruit mixture, reserving liquid. Toss nectarines and peaches in flour.
5. Mound nectarines and peaches in center of piecrust, leaving a 3-inch border. Fold piecrust border up and over fruit, pleating as you go, leaving an opening about 5 inches wide in center.
6. Stir together egg and 1 Tbsp. water. Brush piecrust with egg mixture, and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp. sugar.
7. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until filling is bubbly and crust is golden. Carefully transfer tart on parchment paper to a wire rack; cool 20 minutes.
8. Meanwhile, bring reserved nectarine-peach liquid to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Boil 1 to 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Let cool slightly. Brush or drizzle 1 to 2 Tbsp. hot nectarine-peach liquid over exposed fruit in center of tart. Serve immediately with remaining nectarine-peach syrup, and, if desired, Sweet Cream Topping.


Source: Southern Living

How to Make Strawberry Jam

If you would like to try making a fruit jam, here is a series of three videos on how to make strawberry jam the old-fashioned way. It looks easy enough. Try it!

Pay attention to the videos. You'll pick up some tips on the whys and wherefores.

Meals in Minutes - Jamie Oliver's 50 quick meals

Jamie Oliver's Meals in Minutes: A Revolutionary Approach to Cooking Good Food Fast
By Jamie Oliver
Publisher: Hyperion

I'M too busy. It's too expensive. I don't know how.

These are the three excuses he gets, according to Jamie, when he asks people why they don't cook at home.

Meals in Minutes is Jamie's book in which he shares 50 meals for you to put on the table: meaty ones, vegetarian meals, quick pastas and desserts, curries and others - meals that you could have thought impossible in a short amount of time.

You will find each recipe on one page which makes the book really user-friendly - no need for flipping back and forth. Most of the meals in this book come complete with a starter, main course and dessert.

If you have watched Jamie's cooking tv shows, you would have noticed that he cooks his dishes simultaneously so expect the recipes on this book to be not the conventional recipe that you are used to.

Besides the gorgeous pictures, you will also find useful basic tips and suggestions such as his list of essential kitchen equipment. According to Jamie, without some of them, you won't be able to work fast enough. The ones you will need are the food processor, the blender, and the microwave oven.

Meals in Minutes (meant for the US market) is actually the equivalent of the British version, 30-Minute Meals.

Happy cooking!

Lemon Curd Tart

Here is a video on how to make lemon curd tarts..

Ingredients: Dough 500g flour 300g butter 200g fine sugar 4 egg yolks 1 whole egg Lemon curd 300g sugar
300g butter
9 egg yolks
6 whole eggs
juice of 7 lemons

Fastest and Safe method to thawing meats

Meat from the freezer can take a long time to thaw especially when it is a big chunk of it. Tests and experiments conducted in labs have found that hot water is the quickest and safe way in thawing meats.

Frozen steaks and other compact cuts can be thawed in as little as 10 minutes, without compromising their quality, and with very little effort. All you need is hot water.

More information can be obtained here, A hot-water bath for thawing meats (New York Times)

Cute Easter Cookies

Easter is coming up this Sunday, April 24. Why not spread some holiday cheer by bringing your neighbors, friends and loved ones some fun, delicious homemade Easter cookies?

These cookies are both cute and delicious and sure to bring a smile to everyone's face. The recipe below is courtesy of Checkcity.com














The Cookies:
# 1 1/2 cups white sugar
# 4 cups all-purpose flour
# 1 teaspoon baking powder
# 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
# 1/2 teaspoon salt
# 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
# 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large bowl, beat 1 egg with 1 cup softened butter or margarine until light and fluffy. At low speed with an electric mixer, add 1/2 cup sour cream and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Add the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. Mix until well combined, using hands if necessary. Cover dough and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Remove dough from the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Roll chilled dough out on a lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch thick. Cut dough into egg shapes or any kind of festive shapes you'd like. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 10 to 12 minutes.

The Glaze:
# 1 cup confectioners' sugar
# 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
# 2 tablespoons water
# 10 drops food coloring

Stir confectioners' sugar, corn syrup, and water together. Place small amount of glaze into different small cups and add desired food coloring to each cup slowly until you've achieved your desired colors. This glaze must be stirred each time you use it. If it is not stirred before each use it will dry with a mottled look instead of a solid color.

Deliver with Love

If you make egg shaped cookies, delivering them in a clean, empty egg carton adds a cute touch!

Happy Easter!

Cape Breton Pork Pies

I remember reading about pork pies not having pork inside so how did it get its name?

There is no pork in a pork pie - indeed, there is no meat at all. Pork Pies are tender little morsels of short bread tart, date and maple icing according to Pondside which the recipe below is borrowed from. Incidentally, Pondside is today Blogger's Blog of Note. Congrats, Pondsite!

Pork Pie Shells
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons icing sugar
1 cup butter, softened


Filling
2 1/4 cups chopped pitted dates
1 cup water
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Icing
1/4 cup butter
2 1/4 cups icing sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon maple extract
Directions


Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
Pork Pie shells: Sift together flour and 2 tablespoons icing sugar in a bowl. Cut in 1 cup butter; knead until well blended. Form dough into 3/4 inch balls. Press into 1 1/2 inch tart cups into the bottom and up the sides, forming a shell.
Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Let shells cool in the pan. Using a knife, gently loosen and remove shells from pan.


Filling: Combine dates, water, brown sugar, and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook gently for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly and mashing dates as they cook. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Allow mixture to cool before spooning into tart shells.


Icing: Cream 1/4 cup butter in a small bowl with an electric mixer. Gradually add 1 cup of the sugar, continuing to mix. Add the milk, the remaining 1 1/4 cups sugar, and maple extract. Beat until smooth. Icing should be thick enough to pipe. Use a pastry bag with a small round or star-shaped tip. Pipe a swirl of icing on each tart. If you don't have a pastry bag, use a small plastic zip-lock bag and cut a tiny hole in a corner.


These will freeze well.

Moroccan recipes

If you like Moroccan food and would like to try cooking it, here is a site that will interest you..Moroccan Recipes

Claypot Chicken Rice

Yet another popular dish in Ipoh is Claypot Chicken Rice. This one-pot rice meal dish is also found elsewhere in foodcourts around the country.

The pot arrives at the table piping hot, and once the lid is lifted, you would be hit with the aroma of the chicken and its sauce, dried fish and Chinese sausages sending those salivary glands into overdrive.


Recipe

500g (2 pieces) chicken whole leg

marinade

¼ tsp dark soy sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce

¼ tsp ground white pepper

1 tbsp ginger juice

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp cornflour

½ tsp salt

300g long grain rice

420ml water

sauce (mixed together)

1 tbsp oyster sauce

½ tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tbsp hot water

1 tsp sesame oil

½ Chinese sausage (lap cheong), sliced

2 pieces salted fish (optional)

chopped spring onions for garnishing

Cut chicken into smaller pieces. Combine the marinade ingredients and marinate chicken in it for one hour in the refrigerator.

Wash the rice in several changes of water and place into a claypot with 420ml water. Cook, covered, over medium heat, until water is almost absorbed. Add the chicken with its marinade, the Chinese sausage and salted fish (if using), over the rice, and drizzle in about two tablespoons of the sauce. Lower the heat and cook, covered, until rice and chicken are cooked, about 10-15 minutes. Flake rice, cover lid and cook for a further five minutes. Remove from heat and top with spring onions. Serve immediately.


Source: The Star

Salt-baked Chicken (Yim Kok Kai)

Salt-baked Chicken (Yim Kok Kai) is another famous food in Ipoh. It has its origins in the Hakka community.


Recipe

1 kg organic or free-range chicken, washed and patted dry

marinade

1 tbsp ginger juice

1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine

½ tsp ground white pepper

1 tsp sugar

stuffing

20g codonopsis root (dong sum)

10g angelica root (dong quai)

1 tbsp wolfberries (kei chi)

15g Solomon’s seal (yok chok)

2 pieces greaseproof paper measuring 60x30cm

1 tbsp potato flour, mixed into a gum paste with a little hot water

3.5 kg coarse rock salt

Combine the marinade ingredients; rub or coat chicken with the marinade. Wash the stuffing ingredients and place into the cavity of the bird.

Set the chicken on the two pieces of parchment paper for a double-layer wrap. Fold the paper, overlapping, around the chicken to form a parcel. Seal with the gum paste to form a water-tight parcel.

Place the rock salt into an old wok. Heat salt over medium flame, stirring continuously for five to eight minutes. Make a well in the middle of the hot salt, place the chicken parcel in, and cover completely with salt. Cook, covered with a lid, over low heat for 35 to 40 minutes. Turn chicken over once halfway through the cooking time, making sure no juices spill out. Remove and serve warm.


Source: The Star

Ipoh Hor Fun (Rice Noodles with Chicken)

Mention Ipoh and it is not tin that comes to mind but food. Yes, Ipoh was once famous for tin-mining but now the city is known more for her famous food particularly, the white coffee, hor fun, and bean sprouts-chicken.

Ipoh is a city in the northern state of Perak. It can be accessed by road via the North-South Expressway which will take about two and a half hours, or by KTM shuttle train from KL Sentral.

As Ipoh is so easily accessible, many people from Kuala Lumpur hop over for their famous food fare during weekends.

Kway teow (rice noodles) soup is one of Ipoh’s most famous dishes. In fact, this is Ipoh's signature dishes. The star of this dish is the silky-smooth kway teow, or as the locals call it, hor fun.

Around Ipoh, vendors may serve the hor fun in a clear chicken broth, or a chicken-and-prawn broth. If using chicken broth, garnish with shredded chicken; if using a chicken-and-prawn broth, garnish with shredded chicken and shelled prawns.

Recipe:
(For six servings)

2 chicken carcasses, chopped into pieces

3 litres water

1 tsp white peppercorns, washed and lightly crushed

2 tsp salt, or to taste

5g rock sugar, or to taste

500g prawns, shelled and prawn shells fried in 2 tablespoons cooking oil to make prawn oil

300g chicken fillet

600g rice noodles (kway teow), scalded in hot water, rinsed in cold water and drained

2 cups bean sprouts

50g chives, washed and cut into 3cm lengths

½ cup chopped spring onion sliced red chillies with soy sauce

Scald the chicken carcasses with hot water to clean. Place chicken carcasses, water and peppercorns in a large pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 40 to 60 minutes. Season to taste with salt and rock sugar. Strain stock into a clean pot and discard the carcasses. Use stock to cook prawns and chicken meat.

Place a portion of cooked noodles, bean sprouts and chives in a bowl. Ladle hot stock over and garnish with prawns and chicken meat. Top with spring onion and drizzle prawn oil over before serving with some cut chillies in light soy sauce on the side.


Source: The Star

Thai Style Crab Cakes

What you will need:


6 medium raw shrimp, shelled, washed and deveined

1 teaspoon nam pla (fish sauce)

1 pound fresh lump crab meat, picked over for cartilage

1 egg

1/4 cup chopped scallion

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 fresh chili, preferably Thai, minced

1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 to 3 tablespoons bread crumbs, preferably fresh

About 1/2 cup all-purpose flour for dredging

Peanut or vegetable oil as needed

Lime wedges for serving.

1. Purée shrimp in a food processor (smaller is better) until you have a smooth paste, or chop and mash by hand. Add fish sauce. In a bowl, mix the shrimp purée, crab meat, egg, scallion, cilantro, chili, ginger and salt and pepper; add just enough bread crumbs to stiffen mixture a bit. Refrigerate mixture until you are ready to cook; it will be easier to shape into cakes if you refrigerate it for 30 minutes or more.

2. Season flour with salt and pepper. Film bottom of a large skillet with oil and place over medium-high heat. Shape crab meat mixture into cakes 1 inch thick and as wide as you want. Dredge each in flour, and cook, adjusting heat as necessary and turning once (very gently), until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes a side. Serve with lime wedges.

Yield: 4 servings.


Source: NY Times

Fried Clams in Chilli

Clams (locally called lala) are popular in this part of the world. You can cook them in soup with or without Chinese wine or you can stir-fry them with a few varieties of condiments and ingredients. If you like these mollusc spicy, fry them with chillis or black pepper or simply fry them with garlic and spring onions.
















Here is a recipe for FRIED LALA WITH CHILLI

Ingredients

600g fresh lala

1 clove garlic (smashed)

2.5cm piece of ginger, finely sliced

6 bird’s-eye chillies, finely cut

1 tablespoon fermented black beans (taucheong)

A few drops of light soy sauce

Salt and sugar to taste

A dash of Chinese wine (optional)


Method

Saute the smashed garlic, ginger and bird’s-eye chillies until fragrant.

Add the fermented black beans, light soy sauce, sugar and salt.

Throw in the lala and fry until cooked but not overdone, lest the texture of the flesh be rubbery.

Add a dash of wine (if using).

Dish up and serve hot.


Source: The Star

A Recipe for Health - Pizza Margherita

If you love pizzas, here is a healthful pizza recipe.


This classic pizza — a small amount of mozzarella and a lot of fresh, sliced tomatoes — may inspire other pies in your kitchen. Sometimes I substitute goat cheese for the mozzarella, and sometimes I make this on a yeasted olive oil pastry. So it’s really not a pizza, more like a tart...MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN of the NY Times.

For the garlic olive oil:

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 garlic cloves, halved, green shoots removed, and minced

Combine the oil and garlic in a small, heavy saucepan, and place over medium-low heat. Insert a thermometer, and when the oil reaches 140 degrees, just before the garlic begins to sizzle, remove from the heat and allow to cool. Strain. Refrigerate the oil, and use as directed.

For the pizza:

1/2 batch whole wheat pizza dough

2 tablespoons garlic olive oil (above)

3/4 cup grated mozzarella or crumbled goat cheese

About 2 pounds ripe tomatoes, sliced about 1/4 inch thick (I like to use a mix of mostly red with some yellow and green tomatoes)

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Several fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees, with a pizza stone inside if you have one. Roll or press out the pizza dough to a 12- to 14-inch round. Place on a well floured baker’s peel or an oiled, cornmeal-dusted pizza pan.

2. Gently brush the crust with 1 tablespoon of the garlic olive oil. Sprinkle the mozzarella or the goat cheese over the surface, and top with the tomato slices, overlapping them slightly. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Slide the pizza directly onto the stone from the peel if using one, or place the pizza pan in the oven. Bake until the edges begin to brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, and drizzle the remaining olive oil over the tomatoes. Sprinkle on the basil and serve. Alternately, allow to cool, then sprinkle on the basil and serve.

Yield: One 12- to 14-inch pizza.

Advance preparation: The dough can be made up to three days ahead and held in the refrigerator. The pizza can be served at room temperature.

Martha Rose Shulman can be reached at martha-rose-shulman.com.

101 Simple Salads

Salads are the fastest food to prepare and they are healthful too. Here for you to try them are 101 Simple Salads for the Season.

Hope you are having a wonderful summer!

Scrambled Eggs and Beancurd (Tofu)

Here is another recipe for tofu or beancurd that can go very well with rice or rice porridge.


Ingredients
# 200g soft beancurd
# 100g shelled prawns
# 3 tbsp sesame oil
# 1 tsp chopped garlic
# 1 tbsp shredded ginger
# 2 eggs
# 1 tbsp chopped spring onion
# 1 tbsp chopped red chilli
# 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

Seasoning
# � tsp salt
# � tsp pepper
# Dash of ground black pepper
# � tsp chicken stock granules

Method
Dice beancurd and drain in a plastic colander until all excess water is completely drained.

Heat sesame oil in a wok and saut� ginger and garlic until lightly golden and fragrant. Add prawns and fry until almost cooked.

Crack in the eggs and add seasoning to mix. Scramble the eggs until cooked through.

Tip off the excess water from the beancurd and add it to the eggs. Toss briefly over high heat until cooked through.

Sprinkle in a dash of ground black pepper and add spring onion, chilli and coriander.


Recipe by Amy Beh of The Star

Spicy Savoury Tofu

Tofu is a healthful food but for some people, it can be rather bland. Here is a recipe for spicy savoury tofu to add zest to a meal.

Ingredients
# 2 pieces soft beancurd
# 1 tsp chopped garlic
# 1 tbsp dried shrimps, coarsely chopped
# Some sesame seeds
# 1 tbsp oil
# 1 tsp sesame oil

Sauce ingredients (combined)
# 2 tbsp Thai sweet chilli sauce
# 2 tbsp tomato sauce
# 2 tbsp chilli sauce
# 1 tbsp HP sauce
# 1 tsp fish sauce
# � tsp sugar
# 1� tbsp water

Method
Cut beancurd into small rectangles and dab each piece with paper towels to remove any water.

Leave aside to air for 10-15 minutes. Deep-fry in hot oil over medium heat until golden brown and crispy. Dish out and set aside.

Heat a nonstick saucepan with oil and sesame oil. Saut� garlic and dried shrimps until fragrant. Pour in the sauce ingredients and bring to a quick boil.

Add the prefried beancurd pieces. Toss and fry until well coated with the sauce.

Dish out and sprinkle with sesame seeds.


Recipe by Amy Beh of The Star

Spicy Stuffed Fish

3 hard-tailed scad (cencaru) – (Clean and cut pockets at both sides of the fish.

Marinate the fish with salt and turmeric powder and put aside)

Cooking oil for deep-frying

Grind together:
1/2 grated coconut
10 dried chillies – softened and ground
10 shallots
4 cloves garlic
2 stalks lemongrass
2cm stub galangal
1 tablespoon dried prawns
Salt to taste

Heat the oil in a wok. Fill the pockets at the sides of the fish with the ground paste. Deep-fry the fish, carefully turning it to ensure the filling does not fall out. Fry until it is cooked and a crust forms over the stuffed area. Drain and serve with rice and curry.

Source: The Star

Fried Lady’s Fingers (vegetarian)

500g lady’s fingers – washed and cut into diagonal slices
6 shallots – sliced thinly
6 cloves garlic – chopped
3 dried chillies – broken into 2cm pieces
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 tablespoon vegetarian oyster sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce
Pepper

In a wok, heat the oil and saute the shallots, garlic and dried chillies. When slightly crisp, add the lady’s fingers and the sauces. Add a tablespoon of water, cover and allow to simmer for about two minutes. When the vegetables turn a dark green, season with pepper and serve.

Source: The Star

Egg Curry

Eggs (any number)
1 onion – sliced
1 sprig curry leaves
2 teaspoons fenugreek seeds or halba
1 tablespoon cooking oil
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons fish curry powder
1 tablespoon kurma curry powder
1 cup milk or coconut cream
1 cup water
1 tomato- cut into wedges
2 green chillies – halved and seeded
Coriander leaves – washed and cut into 5cm lengths.

In a pot, heat up the cooking oil and add the fenugreek seeds, onions and curry leaves. Fry until aromatic, then add the curry powders and salt and a little water to form a paste. When the paste leaves the sides of the pot and oil surfaces, add the coconut cream or milk and water and let the curry simmer to a rolling boil. Carefully break the eggs into the curry, starting from the sides of the pot. Reduce the heat and let the eggs cook for about three to five minutes before attempting to stir the curry. Add the tomato, coriander leaves and green chillies, simmer for another minute or two, then serve.

Source: The Star