i'm calling this gnocchi

...although I doubt any true blue Italian will acknowledge it as such. From what I have seen and read, gnocchi are dumplings made from potato or ricotta and flour which are boiled and served with a pasta sauce. Gnocchi usually are in tiny oblong shapes and slightly flattened with a fork. However, I have seen many gnocchi with the fork imprint ( too time consuming i guess!) They can be considered a type of pasta dish.

What i did was to use pumpkin and besan flour instead. And rather than the rectangular oblong shape, i formed ballls. Muatard and sage is a pretty common flavour pairing that works so I used that for the sauce.

The 1st time I made this recipe, which was sort of a create as you go thingy, I quickly note down the quantities I used as the combination absolutely work. ( 1st thought after taking a bite: "must make again"). And went I wanted to make it again, I just could not locate where I wrote it down! I thought all was lost until I found it hidden in a mess of red inked scribbles in one of my notebook. I don' t usually follow recipes closely, especially savory ones, bot the texture of this gnocchi like thingy was totally spot on and hence I knew I needed to be have more precise measurements.

the dumpling was:
300g pumpkin, microwave/steamed/boiled
40g besan flour, sifted
-combine all and chill foe easier handlling
-bring a pot of water to a rolliing boil,
-use a teaspoon to scoop out mixture and form ball shapes before boiling them in the water
-they are done when they float to the surface.

the sauce was:
about 1.5 -2 tbsp mustard
about 10 sage leaves, chiffoned
about 2tsp apple cider vinergar
some of the leftover boiling liquid
-combine all the above over heat and keep stirring till slighlt reduced
-toss in the dumplings, reduce heat, and stir occasionally till sauce reach resired thickness ( careful not to destroy the dumpling!)

gnocchi eaten alongsidesmoked fish with herby vegetables plus a white bean blondie cake

Project Runway season 9, before the finale

Anya should have gone home last night. The 3 pieces she showed were really blah, and the gown was so amateurishly made. Colour palate was very typical Caribbean. I have seen tropical influenced style done 10x better. I really hope she doesn't win. Judeges liked her 1st dress but I thought it rilied too much on the print, which was so "ah lian".

Then there is Josh, the gimmicky one. His collection remind me of Versace done badly. It feels like he purposely create retarded looking shapes just so its different and thus the judges can't sent him home because well, "at least its different".

Victor had the strongest 3 pieces, that was pretty obvious. Over the last few challenges, I felt he was easily miles ahead of all the rest. Though his aesthetics isn't exactly groundbreaking, His clothes are always pretty, expensive looking and very much what woman want. Plus, he sure knows how to sew, his clothes are always well made. He can blend mainstream fashion with some high-end stuff.
Again, judges loved his zipper skirt first look but I don't like it. Its a personal thing I guess. I don't like zippers on clothes unless its a hoodie/biker jacket.Haven't seen any interpretation of it that works and come across as somewahat tacky. I can see why the judges did not like the leather jacket over the flowy gown(3rd look). Both pieces are very detailed outfits and them together can be abit overwhelming and remove from the intricacies of either pieces. But I have seen it done successfully. It was by a Japanese designer ( not American/Europe based) who had an entire collection og leather jacets on top of soft girlie dresses and gowns.
I hope he decides to change the hairstyling of the models though, don't quite fancy the mullet thing he gave them.

Kimberly came into prominence with that sleeveless gold metalic blouse she made for Nina. and then after that it has been pretty much downhill. But I thought she showed some good design in these 3 pieces.
Firstly I thought she used colour more tastefully than Josh. Josh tend to use colour to shock. She does the sexy urban getto look without turning into baby Phat, which was what Kyane West recent collection became. 1st look was cool, and the acessorizing was acceptely over the top in my opinion. 2nd look well, i'm abivalent towards it. Hated it when it came out, but then I kind of grew to like it with the crazy proportions. 3rd look was just gorgeous.

That's my take on PRs9, base on everything shown thus far, Victor should win. PLEASE DONT LET IT BE ANYA OR JOSH.

Aloo Chaas

I was craving some potatoes. At the same time, I was also bored of common potato preparations. Baked potatoes, roasted potatoes ( how arw they diffrent from baked potatoes anyway?), mashed potatoes, potato hash, potato pancakes blah blah blah...so I was browing the net looking at potato recipes and saw this. I have actually by passed this recipe numerous times. But I was desperate for a potatoes!. So I made it. It was grreeaattt. Slighlyt tangy, very hearty, not too creamy.

450g potatoes, aboutt 2 inch pieces and placed in a bowl of water.
2 dried red chiles, seeded and placed in hot water
8-10g cilantro
1/4 tsp garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 cup nutrisoy milk + 1 tbsp vinegar ("buttermilk")
300g frozen spinach, softened

-blend cilantro, and chiles together. cook them
-add the garlic powder.
-add drained potatoes, turmeric and water from the chiles. simmer till potatoes are fairly tender. ( most of the water shlould be gone)
-stir in spinach and cook a little longer
-stir in buttermilk when about to serve
-inhale this scrumptious dish slowly ( u won't be able to) all by youeself.

my Basic Pancake batter

consist of:
40g atta
50g besan
10g oat bran
baking soda and powder
3 egg whites peaked
about 1 cup water
-combine flour, baking soda and powder and water. mix well
-fold in peaked egg whites
-cook using a 1/4 cup scoop.
-note:these spancake cooks up really quickly!

puffy fluffy chewy yummy pancakes..


.

The pancakes were devoured with some maple syrup, turkey ham, a herbed cream cheese scramble and a rosemary+curry leaf cauliflower spinach fry...

and finished off with a pumpkin souffle snack cake.

meal entirety:

Victoria Sponge Cake

Victoria Sponge Cake is really nothing more than just jam between 2 layer of sponge. Strawberry jam is used in the traditional cake but I used cherry. My jar of cherry jam has been sitting on the counter top for months and I finally have a good use for it.

I think the use of textured soy protein (TVP) helped kept the cake moist. Its ability to absorb moisture is the secret I suppose. The sponge was a little denser than what I expected but still good. Need to gifure out how to allow the cake to rise more.

Taste-wise, delicious. I wanted the cake to last forever. At the start, I ate the cake like a normal person, using my utensil, sticking it into the side of the cake, take a small slice and then place it into my mouth. But then, I felt that the cake would be gone way too quickly. Hence, I spit the two cake layers and ate each layer separately. So now I could savour the cake twice as long. nice.

I sort of followed the measurement from here.
50g chickpea flour
32g atta (pillsbury)
30g grounded TVP (so it resembles flour) (a total of about 5/6 cup flour)
2 tbsp baking powder
150g cauliflower, cooked and mashed
1/2 tsp stevia
3 tbsp almond milk
1tsp vanilla
2 egg whites -peaked
28g cherry jam
-combine everything except for the whites and jam. (may need to add a tiny bit of water)
-fold in the egg white. Batter should be able to hold up its form a little
-transfer to a 7inch pan
-bake at 170degreeC for about 30 minutes. cool
-slice cake in half, spread with jam and place cake back together. eat

splitting the cake for longer enjoyment

eaten with smoked fish kegegee and bonito braised vegetables...

what happens when marshmallow...

...are left in the oven for too long?...

well...

... you get "chao-tar" marshmallow.

Those Black blobs are indeed marshmallow.
At least they once were.

I was craving some sweet and savory potatoes. Thus, I baked some purple sweet potatoes, topped half with black beans and cilantro and the other half with marshmallow.I even used pink, yellow and white marshies for prettiness. I now know that the oven was way too hot when i placed the marshie topped potatoes back in because as you can see, the marshies have tunred to charcoal.

...I still ate everything though. I was very very hungry.
sigh, live and let learn...

Mayonnaise Biscuit

Most of the time, I am a mayonnaise hater. I can't stand mayonnaise as a dipping sauce, bread spread or in manners where its taste and smell is warranted in the dish. However, I do enjoy a good tuna mayo or egg mayo. The typical flavour of mayo is not prominent at all and the mayo contributes to the creaminess texture of a tuna/egg mayo.

Anyway, I had a jar of Mayonnaise in the fridge and I was wondering what to do with it. And then I remembered reading somewhere on the web about biscuits made with mayo instead of butter eons ago. So I went in search for mayo biscuits and then made some. You cannot taste the mayo at all, which is a great thing. The biscuits had a crunchy outering and a slightly softer interior. these biscuits manage to puff up quite a bit the oven which made me happy.

28g chickpea flour
65g atta flour (a total of about 1cup flour)
4 tbsp skim milk
2 tbsp water
alot of baking powder
3 tbsp fat free mayonnaise
salt
-combine all, rest in fridge (it will be easier to handle)
-bake at 200degreeC for about 12minutes (until top is golden)
-these made 7(of un-uniform size) but daddy ate one so I was left with 6.

I had the biscuits with a big bowl of indian spiced seafood soup (shrimp and soft shell crab).

Sweet Potato Cake

This was my interpretation of this. Like I could ever follow a recipe through and through without making the slightest change.
Was good with just the right amount of sweetness. Totally digging the super rich colour thanks to the purple potatoes.
Is it just me or do purple sweet potato have a more starchier texture than its orange counterpart? The cake was really gratifying, one of those very moreish food.

makes 1 18cm round tin
300g purple sweet potato
150g nutrisoy milk
2 egg whites
30g oat flour
sweetener (=40g sugar), i used about <1/2 tsp stevia
-cook potatoes and mash them ( i used a stick blender)
-combine potatoes with 1 white, flour, mik and some baking powder till smooth
-peak the other egg white; fold in
-bake at at 170degreeC for 40-50minutes

Check out the interior!

about to take my 1st bite...

...and a third way through

This cake was eaten with a smoke haddock pie (it was a little too runny; taste was spot on though) and some cauliflower and spinach with anchovy sauces. I started off with the sweet potato cake. then I was like "woah, this is good, better save the best for last". So I proceeded to inhale the fish pie and vegetables before demolishing the rest of the cake!

THE cheesecake...well, almost

Think i almost got it. I am almost there. Very nearly close. Just a bit more tweaking before I achieve the souffle/Japanese-like cheesecake.

Please do not rush the baking process ( a guilty habit I have). It is lightly sweetened and has this sort of melt in your mouth feel when you press your tongue against it. the nest time, I would probly bake a little longer at 160. This recipe yield a 18cm round pan + a 18by10cm pan

300g cream cheese
1/2 cup plain yogurt( ~125g)
100g cauliflower (cooked and pureeed)
11g cornstarch
sugar equivalent to ~1/3 cup sugar ( I usedslightly more than 1/2 tsp stevia)
150g skim milk
3 egg whites -peaked

-combine cream cheese and yogurt(A)
-combine cauliflower, cornstarch and sweetener(B)
-heat milk and add to (B), combine
-add (B) to (A) and mix well
-fold in the peaked whites
-bake at 180degreeC for 15 minutes (use a water bath!)
-then bake at 160degreeC for 20 minutes
-then leaf in oven untouched for 1 hour.

I ate the whole cake ( even the regutangular one!) along with a dilled eggplant&cheese sandwich and a comforting hash of potato, pumpkin and cauliflower cooked with chinese celery (and fresh oregano, but i could not sense it the final product)....and i'm still hungry. bah!