Plane Date

Planes and Ice-cream

I like planes.  I don't always care to ride in them, and I don't know random facts about a 747.   I do, however, like watching them.  I find them intriguing.  It blows my mind how humans are able to fly in the air with these things.

Besides being amazed at the ability of flight, I also like to imagine where a plane is going or what the people are thinking that are in the plane.  I like to imagine what vacations are heading to or family they are going to visit.  Sometimes when I am inside a plane, I imagine someone wondering the same things about me.

When I was an SM, the island was incredibly tiny.  We could pretty much get right up to the fence of the runway and watch planes take-off.  Unfortunately, because it was such a small island, planes rarely landed.  A couple times I was able to just stare and watch a plane take-off.  Since we've been in Taiwan, we've gone to a couple parks and watched the planes land in the middle of the city.  I thought those experiences were great, but now, I know how silly that was.  This last Wednesday Zach took me on a date to watch planes, and our new location was phenomenal.  We were right up against the fence.  The first plane that landed was, my guess, a Boeing 777.  It came in really slow and as it was almost there, I actually felt a little scared.  We were right in front of it, and it looked like it was going to land right on us.  As it flew over us, I nearly fell over from the wind and exhaust.  It was as impressive as watching a whale breach, which I haven't seen in it's entirety, but I imagine they are similar.

Someone asked me shortly before leaving for our date, "What exactly do you do when you watch planes?"  "Just watch them.  I like having something simple to watch and let the conversation flow."  We didn't take any pictures of our date, but if we had, they would have looked something like these pictures.

After we were finished staring and gazing at planes, we headed home for a special Coldstone treat.  I absolutely LOVE Coldstone.  Unfortunately, all the Coldstones in Taiwan have Asian flavors.  Yeah, they still have some staple flavors like vanilla, cheesecake, and sweet cream, but they also have rose, green tea, and earl gray.  Gross.  Needless to say, we don't frequent Coldstone as much as I would like to.  For the date, I decided to make our own Coldstone.  We were each given a list of items (all of which were available in our home), and we created our own creation.  Delicious! 

This was Zach's creation cookie dough, sprinkles, and whipped cream.

Mine was ridiculous.  I had cake pieces, pie crusts, caramel, sprinkles, and whipped cream. 

Knoefla and Spaetzle Soup

         Knoefla                     &                  Spaetzle    

One of my favorite meals in the winter is knoefla or spaetzle; two very similar soups.  Knoefla is typically made with potatoes and dumplings.  Whereas spaetzle has carrots, celery, and you use a spaetzle press to make it.  Unfortunately, I don't have a spaetzle press.  Therefore, the soups look quite similar to one another. 

Since this is a German recipe, the only way to truly make it is to not follow a recipe.  You just kinda have to learn how to make it.  I'll try my best to give measurements for the soup.

Knoefla/Spaetzle

First, cut up some onions.  Put them in a little water and boil them until they're pretty transparent.  

Next, cut up some potatoes. The more you cut, the more soup you'll make.  You can determine how much soup you want to make. 

Once the onions are translucent, add the potatoes to the mixture.  Cook the onions and potatoes slowly. 

Then, make your dough.  You can make it so it's quite wet, or you can make it a little more stiff.  This time I made it more stick, and I used a scissors to cut it into little chunks.  

To make the dough, add egg(s), flour, salt, water, and a little baking powder. 

Cut the dough in small pieces into a boiling pot of water. 

Add the dumplings to the potatoes and onions. Add salt, other seasonings, and cream.  

 

If you're making spaetzle, add carrots and celery.  

Mmmm....

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

It's frigid in Taipei.  Even though baking sounds like a great way to warm up the house, I feel like I don't have the will-power to get up from my warm, cozy spot on the couch to do anything.  It can easily drop down to 40 degrees in our house.  Brrrr....  One of the most important things I learned while living in the Marshall Islands for a year.... I don't like cold weather.

Well last Friday evening, despite the cold, I decided to make some bread.  In the summer when the humidity is out of control, I think about making bread.  I find myself saying, "I'll make it in the winter."  Well, the winter comes and goes and very little bread making happens.  Currently, I have 1 week left before I start my next grad. class.  So, I've decided to do all those "winter" things.

Mixture of cinnamon, sugar, melted butter, soymilk, warm water, and yeast.

 Add flour and knead the dough for a few minutes.

 Let the dough rise until doubled. 

This is how I cook when it's cold: layers of sweaters, scarf, and apron. 

 Roll out the dough into a rectangle.

 Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.  (I used more cinnamon and sugar than the recipe called for).

 Roll up the dough like you're rolling up cinnamon rolls. 

Let the dough rise in the pan for about 30 minutes.  

Enjoy!

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

adapted from Recipegirl

Yield: 10 to 12 servings (1 loaf)

Prep Time: 35 min + rising time

Cook Time: 45 min

This Cinnamon Swirl Bread is delicious sliced up and toasted, and it's equally good when dipped in egg batter for French Toast...

Ingredients:

BREAD:
1 Tablespoon butter
1/2 cup milk  ( I used soymilk)
2 Tablespoons granulated white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 envelope (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees F)
3 cups all-purpose flour, divided + more for surface work
FILLING:
2 Tablespoons butter, softened
2 Tablespoons granulated white sugar
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. In a microwavable up, heat butter and warm milk in short bursts; stir together until butter is melted.
2. In a large bowl, stir sugar, salt and cinnamon. Pour warm butter/milk mixture into the bowl; stir.
3. In a glass measuring cup or small bowl, mix yeast and warm water until yeast is dissolved; pour into the bowl and stir.
4. Mix in 2 1/2 cups flour. Turn out dough onto a floured board (dough will be sticky). Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of flour onto the dough and knead until the dough is soft and smooth (4 to 5 minutes). Add additional sprinkles of flour, if needed.
5. Put dough into a greased bowl; turn the dough over so the top of the dough is greased too. Cover with a clean dish towel and let rise in a warm place for about 60 minutes, or until doubled in size (see tips below...)
6. Punch down the dough in the bowl with your fist. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead for about 1 minute.
7. Roll dough out into a basic rectangular shape. Use a butter knife or your clean fingers to spread 2 Tablespoons softened butter on the surface of the rolled out dough. In a small bowl, mix white sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle this mixture on top of the butter.
8. Roll up dough and form into a loaf. Place into a buttered 5x9-inch bread pan, seam side down. Cover with a clean dish towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
9. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
10. Score risen dough in the pan by cutting 3 slashes diagonally across the top of the loaf with a sharp knife. Bake bread for 35 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Fully baked bread should sound hollow when tapped.
11. Turn out bread and let cool on a wire rack.

Pasta Primavera

I love zucchini.  I believe it's my favorite vegetable.  Unfortunately, zucchini is quite expensive in Taiwan.  I was hankering for some yummy vegetables a couple months ago and decided to splurge on 3 zucchinis.  This recipe was amazing!  It is definitely restaurant worthy.  You can make it as healthier by using less cream.  I did that a couple times, and it still was delicious.  Buon appetito!

Pasta Primavera  
    Recipe adapted from Simply Recipes

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound angel hair pasta or spaghetti  (I used penne pasta)
• 1 small bunch broccoli, about 1 heaping cup of florets
• 1 small zucchini, diced
• 1 small carrot, shredded
• 3 minced garlic cloves
• 3 Roma or other paste tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 12 basil leaves, chopped
• 4 Tbsp. butter
• 1/4 cup chicken broth (I used McKay's vegetable broth for a vegetarian option)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Salt

METHOD

1 Get a large pot of water boiling. Salt it well. It should taste like the sea. Fill a large bowl with ice water. Boil the broccoli for 2 minutes.  Remove and plunge them into the ice water. Once they’re cool, drain in a colander.

If you want, you can boil your pasta in the same pot you boiled the broccoli in, or you can start over and boil new water; I use the same water.

2 In a large sauté pan, heat the butter over medium-high heat. When the butter is hot, add the garlic and zucchini and sauté 1 minute. Add the diced tomatoes and sauté another 2 minutes, stirring often.

3 Pour in the chicken or vegetable broth and turn the heat to high to bring it to a boil. Add the cream and toss in the broccoli you boiled. Stir to combine. Turn the heat down until the cream-chicken broth mixture is just simmering, not boiling.

4 Add parmesan cheese (optional) and stir to combine. If the sauce seems too thick – it should be pretty thick, but not gloppy – add some more chicken broth, cream or water.

5 Boil the pasta. Note: If you are using spaghetti, you will want to start cooking it before you begin sautéing the garlic and zucchini. Angel hair will only need 1-2 minutes to cook, vermicelli or spaghetti can take 8-12 minutes.

As soon as the pasta is done, transfer it with tongs into the sauce and stir to combine. Add the basil now, and taste for salt. Add salt if needed. Grind some black pepper over everything and serve immediately.

Yield: Serves 4.

Happy Birthday Zach!

Every year I try to do something creative and fun for Zach's birthday.  Last year I sent him on an Amazing Race scavenger hunt around Taipei.  I had another teacher help me set it up.  He had to ask his students for help as well.  With each clue, he not only got the next clue, but he also received a birthday present.  Now birthday presents over here in Taiwan aren't exactly what I'm used to.  Birthday gifts I've given include: olives, A&W Root Beer, skittles, combos, etc... I think you get the idea.  Well, the scavenger hunt was fun, but oh so much work.  I needed something that was a little less work this year.

 

This summer while at my cousin's house, we started watching Masterchef.  For some reason, I had never watched a cooking show before.  We started watching it with a little skepticism, but soon, we loved it.  Then, the idea came to me...Let's have a Masterchef birthday party.  

Since there was only two of us in the challenge, Zach and I both chose 15 ingredients.  We wrote them down on little pieces of paper and put them in a hat.  We, then, picked 15 ingredients from which we could use for our dessert.  - Oh yeah, this was Masterchef Desserts, because that's how I roll.  We said any normal baking ingredients were freebies like sugar, flour, baking powder, butter, etc...  Some of the things we had on our list of possible ingredients were: cinnamon, passion fruit, cream, lemon, mint (which I wasn't able to find), Digestuve crackers (similar to graham crackers), sprinkles, peanut butter, and mascarpone cheese. 

Zach made a stunning passion fruit pie, and I made a Lucious Lemon 6 Layered Cake.  I'm going to share my amazing recipe.  We both agreed that I won- both presentation and taste.  However, after spending hours in the kitchen, neither of us were too interested in eating loads of sweets at 10:30 P.M.

Here's the Lucious Lemon 6 Layered Cake

 

Recipe from: The Baking Pan

Lemon Layer Cake

Ingredients:

Small amount of vegetable shortening and flour for preparing pans

Lemon Curd:

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

¾ cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons freshly grated lemon zest (about 3 lemons)

½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3 lemons)

1/8 teaspoon salt

6 large egg yolks

Batter:

1½ cups cake flour, sifted

1½ cups all-purpose flour, sifted

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup milk, room temperature

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 tablespoons freshly grated lemon zest (about 2 lemons)

2 cups granulated sugar

5 large egg whites

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

Tip:  Use a citrus zester and citrus juicer for fresh zest and freshly squeezed juice. 

Mascarpone Cheese Frosting:

16 ounces mascarpone cheese

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

¾ cup confectioners’ (powdered) sugar

1½ cups whipping (heavy) cream

Decoration (optional):

Fresh lemon slices

Directions:

Lemon Curd (make in advance):

In a medium heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, combine butter, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and egg yolks.Cook and stir with a spatula until butter is melted and mixture is thickened, about 7 to 10 minutes. Do not allow mixture to boil or the egg yolks will curdle. Remove pan from heat. 

Immediately pour the hot mixture through a fine-mesh sieve to strain out the lemon zest pieces and any bits of egg that may have curdled. Pour into an airtight container and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. The curd will continue to thicken as it cools.

Batter

Preheat oven to 350^o degrees F. Prepare two 9 inch round layer cake pans (I used 3 small pans); lightly grease the pans with shortening and dust with flour. Tip: to make baked cake easier to remove from pan, lightly grease the pan, line with parchment paper, and then lightly grease the top of the parchment paper and dust with flour.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine cake flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, and salt; whisk together to mix.  Set aside. 

In a small mixing bowl, stir the milk and lemon juice together. Set aside. Tip: Don’t worry if the milk appears to curdle. 


In a large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter, lemon zest, and sugar until light and fluffy.

 Tip: To cream, start by placing the butter and lemon zest in the bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed begin by beating the butter and lemon zest about 1 minute until it is smooth and light in color. If creaming by hand with a wooden spoon, use the backside of the spoon and move your arm in a circular motion to spread the butter over the bottom and up the side of the bowl. Move your arm quickly to beat or “whip” the butter.

With the mixer still on medium speed, slowly add the sugar to the butter, either one tablespoon at a time, or in a very slow steady stream, taking from 4 to 8 minutes to add all of the sugar, and beating until the butter and sugar are fully incorporated and the mixture is a light, or pale yellow color, with a fluffy texture. While adding the sugar, stop the mixer occasionally to scrape the mixture off the paddle and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula so the mixture blends evenly.
 

With the mixer on low speed, add about one third of the flour mixture, mix just until the flour is almost completely blended.  Scrape the bowl down, and add about one half of the milk mixture, blending just until mixed. Scrape the bowl down again and continue alternating with the flour mixture and milk mixture, ending with the last portion of the flour, and stirring just until blended. Set aside.

In another large mixing bowl and using clean beaters, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until foamy, add the cream of tartar, and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Using a wisk or large rubber spatula, gently fold about ¼ of the beaten egg whites into the batter to lighten the batter, and then fold the remaining egg whites in.  

      Bake

Spoon the batter into the prepared pans and smooth the surface with the back of a large spoon. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until a long toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and place pans on a cooling rack to cool for 10 to 15 minutes then remove cake from the pans and place the cake on the wire cooling rack to finish cooling.  

 

 

Mascarpone Cheese Frosting

 In a large bowl, combine mascarpone cheese, vanilla, confectioners’ sugar, and whipping cream; use an electric mixer and beat together until mixture is smooth and stiff peaks form, about 2 to 4 minutes. Do not overbeat. Mascarpone frosting should be used immediately, or refrigerate until needed. 

Assembly 

Use a long serrated knife to split each cake layer into 2 horizontal layers.  Place one of the split cake layers on a serving plate; spread 1/3 of the chilled lemon curd (about ½ cup) over the layer leaving about ½ inch border all around. Repeat with the second and third layers. Place the last cake layer on top.

 

Use a spatula to spread Mascarpone Cheese Frosting over top and sides of cake. If desired, reserve about 1½ cups frosting to decorate top using a pastry bag and pastry tip and use a pastry comb around the side of the cake.

Decoration (optional)

Place fresh lemon slices, cut in half, on top of cake.   Cover and refrigerate before serving. Refrigerate leftovers. 

Tip: Serve cake using a pretty cake plate for a delightful presentation.

 

Spanakopita

 

Greece.  It looks so beautiful along the Mediterranean.

I've always wanted to go for the beautiful atmosphere, but in the last few years I've had a longing to go simply for the food.  But until I buy that plane ticket,  I'll bring Greece to my kitchen. A friend of mine used to make these for special occasions.  I loved them!  Unfortunately, she left Taiwan, and so did her yummy treats. 

So, I didn't have spinach.  Instead, I used diguayeah.  When translated, it means sweet potatoe leaves.

 

The recipe tells you to saute the "spinach" in olive oil.  If I were to do it over, I'd put hardly any olive oil in the pan.  I felt like they were a little too greasy.

 

Sauted diguayeah.

I decided to put 1/2 feta and 1/2 crumbled, seasoned tofu.  I made a few with just feta, and I liked the combo of feta and tofu better.  It makes it taste a little lighter, or so I think.

Take a glob of the spinach-feta mixture.

Fold it so it looks like a triangle.

 

Continue folding until you get to the end.  Some people cut off the extra.  I just kept wrapping it.

All ready to bake in the oven.

All baked Spanakopita.

I ate my spanakopitas with a dollop of tsatziki and a falafel. 

Recipe adapted from The Food Network

        Ingredients

• 1/3 cup olive oil  (I wouldn't plan on using much oil.  My pastry sheets were plenty oily.) 
• 2 pounds spinach, washed and drained
• 1 bunch scallions, white and green parts, chopped
• 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 pound feta cheese, crumbled (I used 1/4 pound of feta and 1/4 pound of crumbled, seasoned tofu)
• 1 to 2 eggs, lightly beaten  (I didn't use any eggs.)
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted 
• 1 pound filo pastry sheets

Directions

     Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large saute pan, add half of the spinach and saute until spinach wilts, tossing with tongs, about 2 minutes. Remove spinach and squeeze out excess liquid, then chop roughly. Repeat with remaining spinach, using 1 more tablespoon of olive oil. Pour off any liquid from the pan, and add remaining olive oil. Add scallions and saute until soft, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the spinach to the scallions, along with the parsley, salt and pepper. Cook over low heat for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove from heat to cool. (This part can be done ahead and kept refrigerated).

  
     Stir the feta (I used a mixture of feta and tofu chunks) and as much beaten egg (yet again, I chose not to use eggs) to moisten the cooled spinach mixture. 

       Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush a baking sheet with some of the melted butter.

      Unroll the filo dough on a flat surface and keep it covered with waxed paper and a damp towel so it doesn't dry out and become brittle. Using a sharp knife, cut the filo into 3 by 11 inch strips, and recover with the towel. Use a pastry brush to brush a strip of filo with melted butter. Place a small spoonful of spinach filling 1 inch from the end of the pastry. Fold the end over the filling to form a triangle, then continue to fold up the strip in triangles, like folding up a flag. Continue with remaining strips of dough, placing filled triangles on the baking sheet and keeping them covered with a towel until all are ready to bake.

       Brush the triangles lightly with butter, then bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden and crsip. Serve hot. (These may be frozen before baking, layering waxed paper between layers of triangles to keep them from sticking. Bake frozen triangles an extra 10 minutes.)

       Variation: Butter a 9 by 13 inch baking pan, and spread 6 sheets of filo, brushing each with butter, on the bottom. Spoon the spinach filling over the filo, then cover with 6 more sheets of filo, buttering each sheet.  Score the top 3 sheets with a sharp knife. Bake 40 to 45 minutes, or until top is golden, let stand 15 minutes, then cut into squares and serve warm.