Potato cake, adzuki spread and weird energy for runners

Baked Potato Cake with Pickled Herrings in Mustard Sauce

Today's Food Diary

Breakfast: Rolled oats with banana, toasted coconut and sunflower seeds

Lunch: Baked potato cake with picked herrings in mustard sauce

Dinner: Adzuki and spinach spread on wholemeal sourdough

Baking/sweets: 3 choco-oat cookies (using frozen dough from yesterday)

The baked garlicky potato cake with chunks of mushy potatoes was comforting. It went well with the tangy pickled herrings. Dinner was a simple spread made with coarsely pureed adzuki beans, spinach, crème fraiche and generous amount of paprika. The combination worked quite well. Garlic would have been a nice touch though.

 

Today's Favourite Photos

Source: The Food Pornographer  (View photo policy)

Today's Favourite Blog

care2: 7 Weird Energizing Foods Runners Swear By

The title got my attention. I am a runner, and weird is always interesting. Most of the energy boosting foods mentioned in the article are a bit unusual: beetroot juice, coconut water, salted potatoes and rice balls, hard candy, tart cherry juice, pickle juice and chocolate milk.

The suggestion is that salted fingerling potatoes or hard candy be stuffed in the pocket for consumption during the race. I didn’t know it was a good idea to eat while running. 

Pickle juice is a popular energy booster in Russia, not for running but for fixing hangovers. Perhaps the other 6 items could be effective for hangover as well.

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Recently Added Recipes

Kyrgyz Plov

Spinach in Blue Cheese Sauce with Fusilli

Savoury Polenta

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Kyrgyz plov, choco-oat cookie & kouign amman

Kyrgyz Plov

Today's Food Diary

Breakfast: Rolled oats with kiwi fruit and linseed

Lunch: Kyrgyz Plov

Dinner: Mixed vege and soy bean soup with sourdough flatbread

Baking/sweets: choco-oat cookies

The Kyrgyz Plov is made with rice, meat and carrots. It is a surprisingly tasty dish made with just a few core ingredients. Carrots are usually not used to make plov, other than in Central Asia. The Pakistani pulau has meat and is heavy on spices, the Spanish paella includes seafood while the Italian pilota has meat incorporated into a rice risotto. Its interesting that they all have similar sounding names, similar origin or simply lack of creativity when it came to naming dishes.

The choco-oat cookies were made by modifying the 3-ingredient oatmeal cookie recipe. I substituted some of the sugar with golden syrup and chocolate chips, and part of the oatmeal with normal flour. Now it became a 6-ingredient cookie. It was quite delicious but probably not good enough to post a recipe! The 3-ingredient oatmeal cookie recipe has consistently been the most popular recipe on my recipe site.

Today's Favourite Photo

Source: Almost Bourdain (View photo policy)

Nice vibrant colors

Today's Favourite Blog

david lebovitz

Thanks to the blog I know now what kouign amman is. I have never seen nor heard of these pastries, they are probably banned by the diabetics and cardiology association in many countries! The ingredient list to make kouign amman includes 2 cups flour, 1 cup sugar and ½ cup butter. More sugar is required for dusting/rolling out the pastry and more butter is required for brushing.

On closer look it is not that bad. In comparison, to make shortbread, more butter and less sugar is required for the same amount of flour. The difference is that kouign amman is sponsored by dentists and shortbread is sponsored by cardiologists:)

In spite of what I have written I would love to try kouign amman.

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Recently Added Recipes

Kyrgyz Plov       

Spinach in Blue Cheese Sauce with Fusilli

Savoury Polenta

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Blue Cheese, fried quail and organic humans

Spinach in Blue Cheese Sauce with Fusilli

Today's Food Diary

Breakfast: Missed

Lunch: Spinach and blue cheese sauce with fusilli

Dinner: Adzuki in tomato sauce with sourdough flatbread

Baking/sweets/snacks: Small bit of chocolate, small amount of oat sweets, spiced adzuki

       

The spinach and blue cheese combination worked well, it was the first time I tried it. The dish was ready in about 10-15 minutes, and packed with flavour and nutrition. The soft ripened blue cheese had an intense flavour. I used it with restraint otherwise the dish would become spinach flavoured blue cheese with pasta! Probably not such a bad idea!

Today's Favourite Photo

Source: the hungry cow (View photo policy)

The pork belly is leaning a bit, the peanuts seem lost and lonely but complaints aside I would be more than happy to dig into it!

Today's Favourite Blog

cinnamon pig

cinnamon pig has a very simple and delicious sounding recipe for nyonya-style deep fried quail. The recipe has four ingredients plus oil for deep frying. All that is required is to marinate the quail in curry powder and yogurt for at least 4 hours, then deep fry until golden brown and delicious.

The simplicity of this dish blows me away. To understand better I compared with other vaguely similar dishes. Deep fried chicken ala KFC is battered. Tandoori comes closest since the meat is marinated in yogurt and spices and baked, not deep fried.

Today’s Random Ramblings: Organic Humans

The USDA has been asked to decide if organic means outdoors. Should chicken only be considered organic if it is allowed to roam freely, in open space? For how long should the chicken roam freely during the day and over what area? Very difficult questions to answer, the USDA has a difficult task at hand. Here’s my very insightful perspective to this debate! Humans were 'organic' long time ago. We didn't spend as much of our time indoors in front of the TV or computer (like right now) and probably didn't eat so much processed food. We have changed and it is called evolution. And its a good thing. I am just wondering whether evolution in the animal world should be accepted. Right now evolved animals (ala factory chicken) is considered inferior to organic chicken, on the other hand we have evolved and its viewed positively.

I really don’t know what my point it, I am having a difficult time trying to understand this…I can imagine what the USDA is going through to figure out an acceptable response. I am glad I don't work for USDA.

Jan 28, 2011: Adzuki, Bocuse d'Or and Chocolates

Spiced adzuki beans and rice

Today's Food Diary

Breakfast: Wholemeal toast with boiled egg

Lunch: Spiced adzuki beans and rice 

Dinner: Pasta with spinach sauce

Baking/sweets: Sweet adzuki bean paste (experiment), chocolate shortbread cookies

                                          

What kind of beans does a cannibal like? Human beings of course!

I bought adzuki beans for the first time. Interesting taste, though its too early to give my critical view on adzuki’s. The dish in the photo looks quite red, the beans received a liberal dose of paprika.

Chocolate chip shortbread

The chocolate shortbread cookies I made this afternoon were not short, instead they were crunchy and bit tough. The dough was a bit dry/crumbly so I added golden syrup. How clever of me! The cookies may look innocent in the photo but those innocent looking things could cause serious damage to your teeth if you were not careful. On a positive note I made only 6 cookies, and happily ate all of them! There is no such thing as a bad cookie, correct?

Today's Favourite Photo

Source: facebook (View photo policy)

Winning dish from the Bocuse d'Or

Today's Favourite Blog

david lebovitz

Blog post about artisanal chocolatiers. What I found particularly interesting were the discussions relating to artisanal chocolatiers, and the discussions took place in the comments section. Here’s my 2 cents worth on this issue . Many years ago I did restructuring advisory for a chocolatier located in a small island in the middle of nowhere! In spite of small size and remote location the factory had good prospects (restructuring was due to management issues, not quality/market related). These days with rising cocoa prices, more focus on fair trade, ecological products etc the chances of survival for small scale operators is higher I think. There is a larger number of customers willing to pay a higher price for higher quality sustainable products. The world is changing, in a good way. Long long time ago there was mainly relatively smaller chocolatiers, then the bigger ones came giving the smaller ones a hard time. Now with fair trade etc the smaller ones are coming back in force while the bigger ones continue to get bigger. For us it means more choices.

Jan 27, 2011: Beef, sale and sundae

Thai red curry beef

Today's Food Diary

Breakfast: Rolled oats with sultanas, toasted coconut and linseed

Lunch: Thai red beef curry and rice

Dinner: Wholemeal bread with blue cheese and jam

Baking/sweets: Wholemeal bread (experiment)

                                          

The beef was excellent. All components that make a nice meal were present, some of it in abundance - tender beef, rich creamy sauce, aromatic rice, great company and good atmosphere. If I was forced to be critical, the only thing I would pick on was the crunchy bamboo shoots. I like them tender, with the slightest of crunch.

The wholemeal bread was made with baking powder and apple cider vinegar. It was moist and delicious. Next time I will bake two loaves, one with vinegar, one without, and see if vinegar makes a difference.

Today's Favourite Photo

Source: pikelet & pie (View photo policy)

It’s a sundae, not ice cream sundae, not a sweet sundae, not pikelet sundae, not pie sundae, its Korean sundae, or blood sausage. You wouldn’t want to make a mistake if you are a vegetarian or don’t like blood sausage. 

Today's Favourite Blog

All Day I Dream About Food

A post about an upcoming online bake sale on Jan 31, to raise funds for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in their fight against leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's Disease and myeloma. The bake sale is for a good cause, and I also find the approach interesting. I had never heard of online bake sale before. Yes I know, I have been in hibernation. It works as follows. Participating bakers announce the items on offer and the minimum bid is US$15. The highest bidder donates the funds to charity and the participating baker sends the items to the winning bidder. I presume it is more practical and cost effective if both the buyer and seller are based in the US.

Jan 26, 2011: Zucchini, margarine and pork

Pasta with zucchini capsicum sauce

Today's Food Diary

Breakfast: Rolled oats with sultanas, toasted coconut and linseed

Lunch: Pasta with zucchini capsicum sauce

Dinner: Blackbean and carrot soup with sourdough croutons

Baking/sweets: Sourdough bread

The crème fraiche based zucchini capsicum sauce was rich and creamy, nice comfort food for a beautiful tropical winter day. It is tropical conditions indoors, and arctic conditions outdoors, sunny, clear blue sky, and snow!

The soup I had for dinner was lightly spiced with Chinese 5-spice, slightly thickened with rolled oats and finished with a small dollop of crème fraiche. The blackbean and carrot combination was satisfactory, addition of crème fraiche helped it score a few additional and much needed points. The blackbean and carrot combination is nutritious, but lagging a bit on the taste factor.

Today's Favourite Photo

Source: Sparklette

Bak kwa - pork jerky. 

Today's Random Rambling: Butter or Margarine

Yesterday I bought a large slab of margarine. I only recently started using margarine for baking, not exclusively of course. I don’t mind using margarine when the fat is not expected to play a lead role, but only a supporting role. I would avoid using margarine for shortbread cookie.

The two main issues I have with margarine is flavour, and its manufactured in a chemistry lab. The margarine I bought yesterday (Milda by Unilever) has an impressive nutritional profile. 100 grams margarine has 80 grams fat, out of which saturated fats is 32 grams, omega-3 is 3 grams and omega-6 is 15 grams. So the healthy omegas account for a whopping quarter of the total fat content.

There is plenty of debate on health effects of butter and margarine. After extensive research my conclusion is that both margarine and butter have pros and cons. In moderation both are perfectly fine. Good margarine brings omegas to the  party, perhaps along with a small amount of other unwanted guests, perhaps, I am not sure. Of course not all margarine is created equal, some are perhaps best used as engine lubricant.

Today's Favourite Blog

Eat Well With Others

Great pork and black eyed pea chilli recipe, great story that takes you on a journey starting from the aisles of the lecture theatre, stopping at a sushi bar on Superbowl Sunday and finally the recipe that is expected to earn the chef a Valentine’s Day dinner at a Michelin rated restaurant. Photos of the prized dish are presented during the journey to whet your appetite.

I was introduced to chilli con carne (same thing I think) by a friend in NZ and absolutely loved it. Over the years I have introduced this dish to others and received compliments, though no dinner dates at Michelin rated restaurants, or any restaurant. I just realized I have been shortchanged. My version is a lot less sophisticated, probably barely good enough for a hamburger date at McD’s.

Jan 25, 2011: Sushi, chicken, and more chicken

Fusilli with tomato sauce

Today's Food Diary

Breakfast: Polenta porridge with banana and strawberry jam

Lunch: Sushi

Dinner: Pasta with tomato sauce, blackbean onion soup

Baking/sweets: small piece of chocolate, small amount of rolled oats and raisins

Unfortunately I didn’t get the chance to take a photo of the sushi. The sushi selection comprised of salmon, prawn, egg and vege’s, accompanied by miso soup. Only two criticisms. The salmon sushi was slightly big for one mouthful but it didn’t fall apart when I took two bites. And the wasabi was a bit mild, I prefer wasabi’s with more kick.

Dinner was quick and easy, made using pasta sauce from yesterday.

Today's Random Rambling: Chicken Please

I feel really left out, I didn’t have chicken today. A number of blogs today featured chicken recipes. This seems a bit unusual since chicken is usually not the most popular protein. And then suddenly there is a plethora of chicken blogs. This didn’t happen last Tuesday so chicken is not associated with Tuesdays. Maybe 25^th of each month? Or maybe its got something to do with the stars?

Eat tori’s blog title “I feel like chicken tonight”, is followed by the following: “Really? Seriously. Does anyone ever say that? Lamb, yes. Steak, certainly. But a craving for chicken? Does anyone ever really feel like chicken?”

To answer eat tori, usually no, today yes.

And guess which protein is featured in my favourite blog today?

Today's Favourite Blog

My Carolina Kitchen

This is my favourite today not because of chicken but the unusual recipe for chicken country captain ("ccc"), a southern classic.  CCC's line up of ingredients features curry powder, tomatoes, white wine, brandy and raisins. In case you were wondering, southern refers to US, not some part or parts of Asia. 

The dish is aptly named ccc since the captain must have traveled places, picking up flavours along the way and combining it at the end of the journey.

I have never tried curry powder matched with two alcohols, and finished with raisins, not in one dish anyway. I am sure it works fine, but it won’t be entering my pipeline as yet.

Today's Favourite Photo

Source: Camemberu

Jan 24, 2011: Liver, Mississippi mud pie and greens

Liver and smoked sausage fried rice

Today's Food Diary

Breakfast: Rolled oats with kiwifruit and linseed

Lunch: Liver and smoked sausage fried rice

Dinner: Wholemeal sourdough with pasta sauce

Baking/sweets: Oat sweets, frozen banana with milk and yogurt

After discovering the wonderful liver and smoked sausage combination with the parfait, I decided to try a similar combination with rice this time. It was quite nice and the flavours were much milder because of the rice. I still prefer the parfait because of the more concentrated flavour, but perhaps I may have a different view another day.

Dinner was simple. I made a ton of pasta sauce with tomato, carrot, onion, spices and aromatics and froze most of it in ice cube trays. Now I have ready to use pasta sauce, pizza sauce and flavour enhancer for other dishes. Pasta sauce freezes quite well, and unfreezes just as easily!

A confession: I did something which might sound perhaps a bit strange, I am a bit unsure myself. You will notice that there is a page called ‘death row meal plan’ (top right hand side). Perhaps a distasteful choice of name, I will try to think of something more palatable.

Today's Favourite Blog

The Amateur Gourmet

Mississippi mud pie demystified! Being not from the US, mississippi mud pie is an unknown complicated sounding treat until I read this post. Not so complicated to put together and there is plenty of room for creativity. This gives me some ideas on eating ice cream and cookies more creatively!

Today's Favourite Photo

Source:tinyurbankitchen

Jan 23, 2011: Simplicity, candy thermometer and pies

Flatbread with broiled potatoes, zucchini and onions

Today's Food Diary

Breakfast: Missed

Lunch: Flatbread with broiled potatoes, zucchini and onions
Dinner: Pasta with blackbean, carrot and onion tomato sauce

Baking/sweets: Gingerbread carrot scones

Flatbread and potato was a bit heavy on carb but very delicious. The salty crispy flatbread and soft creamy potatoes was irresistible. It didn’t need much else. Sometimes simple combinations work so well, I just need to remember these.

The gingerbread carrot scone was fluffy and nice. I like using joghurt and other fermented milk, the fizz makes it much fluffier. There wasn’t much carrot flavour, which is probably a good thing. What the carrots did do is make the scones healthy and beautiful. After all we eat with our eyes first!

Today's Favourite Blog

Being Suzy Homemaker

Excellent tips on making salted caramel. There is no shortage of recipes and tips available but the best way to learn is to do it yourself and learn from mistakes. Personally I have never made any mistakes with salted caramel, I haven’t made it yet! When I do make it I will take careful note of Suzy’s 5 tips. Number 1 is candy thermometer – and I thought I could estimate and be fine! My mum never uses candy thermometer but I guess I am not my mum!

Today's Favourite Photo

Source: Love Big Bake Often

Jan 22, 2011: Pizza, good priorities & bad apples

Smoked sausage pizza

Today's Food Diary

Breakfast: Rolled oats with kiwifruit and linseed

Lunch: Smoked sausage pizza

Dinner: Chickpea, carrot and polenta stew

Baking/sweets: beer bread, oat sweets, baked pita crisps, experiments with oat, syrup and jam bars

The pizza may look normal but an important part, perhaps the most important part, was not normal. Notice anything usual? With the dough? If you did notice, congratulations, you have supernatural powers.

The dough was made with baking powder instead of yeast. Bet you didn’t notice that! I used baking powder because I was short on time, and there is no harm experimenting. After all famous dishes like tarte tatin were created because of time constraints and experimentation. I suspect that my baking powder pizza base will not reach such heights. 

The pizza base lacked chewiness and fluffiness, but it was quite nice. I will definitely have it again, though it won’t replace the regular pizza dough recipe.

The dinner stew had a myriad of flavours – tomato puree, curry powder, hoisin sauce, thai sweet chili sauce and apple cider vinegar. Sometimes I am in the mood of throwing in different flavours. I used much restraint, and it worked quite well. I did make adjustments as the stew was stewing.

Today's Favourite Blog

Russian Season

I liked Russian Season’s blog for two reasons, both equally important:

1. Priorities: due to budget blowout, Russian Season said “No more expensive foods until the end of the month”. But there was a budget and time for cookies. Perhaps cookies are not the most expensive item, nevertheless it got the attention it deserved! Polenta cookies are awesome, which take me to the second reason.

2. I have been baking a lot with polenta recently. Russian Season tested a Lemon Polenta Apricot Cookie, which sounds delicious. I made lemon cookies sometime back and loved it. Lemon and polenta should be a good couple. I will definitely try but I would substitute apricot for either figs, raisins or bananas, or leave it out altogether

Today's Random Rambling

An apple a day will keep the doctor, but not if you eat many seeds. Apple and cherry seeds contain cyanide. However a lot needs to be consumed for it to be fatal. If someone enjoys eating large quantities of apple or cherry seeds, that person probably has other bigger problems!

The Huffington Post article mentions other everyday items such as:

Tomatoes: avoid eating large quantities of stem and leaves. Focus on tomatoes instead, they are tastier

Rhubarb: avoid eating large quantities of leaves, they are probably not tasty

Potatoes: avoid potatoes with a greenish tinge

Nutmeg: don’t avoid large quantities. Nutmeg is a hallucinogenic. Just 0.2oz could lead to convulsions, 0.3 oz to seizures and a whole one will lead to "nutmeg psychosis", which includes a sense of impending doom. Avoid them or not, that’s your choice

Almonds and cassava: avoid eating the bitter variety. The sweet variety is tastier and easier to find. 

Unpasteurised honey: even one tablespoon can cause problems

Tuna: has mercury

Cashews: avoid raw cashews. The ‘raw’ cashews readily available are actually steamed so they are fine

Elderberries: Avoid eating unripe, as well as leaves, twigs and seeds

From the practical perspective most of the items would be naturally avoided due to unavailability and poor taste. However it is definitely good to know.

Today's Favourite Photo

Source: pings pickings

Jan 21, 2011: Pickles, cream biscuits & oreos

One Pot Rice and Blackbeans

Today's Food Diary

Breakfast: Toasted wholemeal baking soda bread

Lunch: Savoury polenta with pickled herrings and pickled carrots

Dinner: Rice and blackbeans

Baking/sweets: experiments with milk cookies

The rice and blackbeans I had for dinner was a simple and delicious one pot dish. The dish was ready in about 20 minutes, with minimal effort required. The end result is risotto like, creamy with a rich sauce. I could not really call this risotto since the process for making it was not ‘risotto like’ but the taste and texture was.

The milk cookie experiments went well. Delicious plain cookies. I will include the recipe soon.

Today's Favourite Blog

Lulu’s Sweet Secrets

Lulu shares a sweet secret for a Brazilian cream biscuit called bolachinha de nata. The biscuit is made using cream and eggs instead of butter. The recipe uses about 1kg of flour. It’s the first time I have seen a domestic recipe calling for such an amount. I guess the recipe is for an extended family!

Note: the blog mentions that the biscuits will be very crispy. I presume it refers to cookies (for Americans) and biscuits (for British). 

Today's Favourite Photo

Source: tinyurbankitchen

Four types of oreo cookies. Which one will you choose? I will choose all:)

Jan 20, 2011: Puree, mhemmer & lasagna

Blackbean and carrot puree, grilled zucchini with fried onion and garlic

Today's Food Diary

Breakfast: Missed

Lunch: Sourdough toast, polenta and banana porridge

Dinner: Blackbean and carrot puree, grilled zucchini with fried onion and garlic

Baking/sweets: Wholemeal baking soda bread

Polenta porridge is an interesting alternative to rolled oats and other porridges. It has all the characteristics that you look for in a good porridge – creamy, filling, tasty and quick and easy to prepare. And yellow porridge looks attractive. I had polenta porridge for the first time today, and it certainly won’t be the last.

Lunch was interesting. Blackbeans and carrots were coarsely pureed with milk and seasoned with salt. Blackbean has a distinct taste, unlike beans such as chickpeas which are more neutral tasting, relatively speaking. I liked the puree, but I guess it is not everyones cup of tea. The combination with zucchini and fried onions and garlic worked well. Fried onions and garlic helped bring all the components together, adding much needed crunch and flavour boost, otherwise the dish would have been b&b - bland and boring. A small amount of garnish can make such a big difference to a dish.

Today's Favourite Blog

dinners & dreams

It is always nice to learn about new foods, especially food from exotic countries. Thanks to dinners & dreams for the mhemmer recipe. Mhemmer is a Moroccan egg omelette, similar to a frittata. It comprises of eggs, obviously, along with mashed potatoes, peas, carrots and a few aromatics. Mhemmer is baked like a cake. Couple of weeks ago I had Spanish omelette prepared by a Spaniard. It had potatoes and cured meat. A very tasty combination. Eggs and potatoes go well together, and I am sure mhemmer is a star in Morocco.

Today's Favourite Photo

Source: My Madison Bistro

 

Jan 19, 2011: Polenta logs, michelin madness & tijgerbrood

Asian inspired polenta with vegetables and soy beans

Today's Food Diary

Breakfast: Rolled oats with banana and linseed

Lunch: Asian inspired polenta with vegetables and soy beans

Dinner: Broccoli and pasta soup

Baking/sweets: Polenta cookie logs, golden syrup shortbread (experiment)

The Asian inspired polenta had a range of flavours including soy sauce, mustard seeds and turmeric. It was unusual but nice, however I need to refine the recipe further before posting.

The polenta cookie logs were awesome, crispy, slightly chewy, dense with an intense flavour. It is similar to shortbread but the polenta and golden syrup adds more crunch and a slightly different texture and flavour. Overall a very addictive cookie, and quick and easy to make. The hardest part is waiting, and because the cookies are dense the waiting time is longer. But of course they can be eaten warm! Perhaps I should call these punitions, after the French punishment cookies!

Today's Random Rambling – Michelin Madness?

The Michelin ratings came out yesterday. Congratulations to new entrants to the Michelin club, and to restaurants who have maintained or improved their ratings. For those demoted, try to keep your spirits high.

About a month ago I watched the documentary appropriately called 'Michelin Madness'. A very insightful and interesting documentary about the Michelin star - how it works and its consequences, both good and bad. I was not aware that a leading chef in France committed suicide because of prospects of his restaurant losing its three star rating. The restaurant ended up maintaining its three stars but the owner decided to give up the battle anyway. This is an extreme example of Michelin Madness.

Many restaurants are celebrating now, they will start to see boost in sales. And then pressure may set in to maintain or improve. Lets hope that restaurants see the bigger picture and focus on what they do best – cooking and keeping customers happy.

Today's Favourite Blog

Almost Bourdain

I like learning about new dishes. And thanks to Almost Bourdain, I am now familiar with tijgerbrood, translated to tiger bread.  It is also known as dutch crunch. Its definitely a bread I want to try, but not too keen on making it. The recipe requires many procedures. And the list of ingredients includes croissant which is processed and incorporated into the dough!

Today's Favourite Photo

Source: Sparklette

The dish is called nian gao, a Chinese New Year cake made of glutinous rice and shaped like fish. Its a fish dish that vegetarians can eat!

Jan 18, 2011: parfait, chocolate butter & cranberry cake

Chicken liver and smoked sausage parfait with spicy potatoes

Today's Food Diary

Breakfast: Rolled oats with banana and linseed

Lunch: Chicken liver and smoked sausage parfait with spicy potatoes

Dinner: Tomato and roasted capsicum soup with sourdough toast

Baking/sweets: negligible, almost nothing

The chicken liver and smoked sausage parfait was absolutely delicious, fantastic combination of flavours. I hate to brag, I really do, but I really liked this parfait.

It was a low fat version using oil and milk instead of butter and cream. I haven’t tried parfait made with butter and cream and I can imagine the taste, as well as strain on my arteries! My recipe uses lightly smoked sausage which might partially impart flavours similar to cream and butter. The sausage I used had potato as one of the fillers and this made the parfait creamer, both in terms of taste and texture. You may not get the same result if you use sausage with higher meat content.

Parfait is usually finished off by blitzing to make it silky smooth, cooling, placing in ramekins, topping with butter, refrigerating, waiting and then eating. Too many steps involved after the parfait is cooked, I skipped these steps and took the quicker and shorter pot-to-plate route. I wasn’t going to wait and was quite happy to avoid the extra artery clogging buttering process. And warm parfait is very tasty.

Today's Favourite Blog

Russian Season

A recipe for chocolate butter! Russian Season is my favourite today not for the chocolate butter recipe but the story. Chocolate butter is one of Russian Season's childhood treats. Flavours from our childhood remain with us for a long time, perhaps forever! Sometimes it is something really simple but eating certain foods brings back memories, transporting us back in time. For me eating chocolate caramel slice will bring back memories from NZ, drinking vodka brings memories from CIS countries and eating foie gras ice cream brings back a more recent memory. And then there are some not so good memories. The power of food and drinks. Choose carefully what you eat and drink, and with whom, the food will go through but memories may remain forever!

What food brings back memories for you?

Today's Favourite Photo

Source:  My Madison Bistro

Orange cranberry pound cake