Not A Food Blog

Moving

2009-10-06T20:35:00.000+13:00

Already??

Ah-yup. I think the only reason I tried Blogger/Blogspot, and attempted submitting things to Tastespotting/Foodgawker, is that despite my whole 'newp, not a food blogger, newp' thing, for some reason I had one foot in and one foot out, or however that goes. Now that I've realised that, I'm just going to do what makes me comfortable and happy and relaxed, and that includes remembering that my audience is really just my friends and family, and switching back to Livejournal, a platform I'm really at ease using. I'm not a food blogger; who cares if I switch back to LJ :P

I really doubt anyone is interested in following me, but Mom and Dad and whoever else is here from Facebook and who will know about the change next time I post anyway haha, I am now here:

http://notafoodblog.livejournal.com/

Adios!

Apple chips

2009-10-06T15:15:00.002+13:00

This is a backlog entry.

Food doesn't have to be involved, complicated, or time/energy-consuming to be pretty or delicious.

Fruit/vegetable chips are probably old hat to experienced cooks, but I was and still am a newbie, and when I first saw pictures of fruit chips people were making, I just went "wow!" It just did not occur to me to prepare my fruits or veggies that way, and so I eagerly made my own attempt at them.

Safe to say, I LOVE eating them; they're crisp, light, airy, and just delicious. It almost seems not worth the bother though, because I can hardly stop myself from finishing the lot in one sitting! I'm hard-pressed to guilt myself into restraint when it's just one apple.... ;)

Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 100C or 212F.
- Core 1 or more apples, and slice lengthwise on a mandolin. I do this so that a lot of the chips come out whole, instead of with a hole in the center all the way through.
- Either slice into a bowl that already has some water with lemon juice or salt in it, or mix the slices through lightly salted water after slicing so that they don't brown. This might not be a problem if you have enough space to put all the apple slices in the oven immediately, but I usually have to do it in several batches.
- Arrange slices in a single layer over a lined baking sheet/tray, and sprinkle with sugar if you like.
- Bake for an hour or until crisp, turning trays occasionally. Remove gently and immediately onto a cooling rack. They may be a wee bit soft right out of the oven but should crisp up after a few seconds on the cooling rack. If they remain soft after about a minute, put the soft ones back in the oven for a few more minutes until they crisp up like the others.

Mini-lamingtons

2009-10-06T08:14:00.004+13:00

Note: This is a backlog post.

Sometimes good things come out of silly mistakes.

I hadn't set out to make "mini" anything. As usual, I was thinking about what I could do on the weekend, and if there was anything I should do. It hit me that I'd been living in New Zealand for the last 7 years, and I had yet to do something that was iconically Kiwi. I was absolutely not going to attempt the pavlova, because I have never done meringue and I wasn't about to make my first attempt at meringue a whole cake of it! However, I'd had lamingtons at a potluck flatwarming earlier this year, for the first time ever since coming to New Zealand, if you can believe it. It was gorgeous, large squares of sponge cake in chocolate ganache and coated with shredded coconut.

[I know someone's going to think it: yes, Kiwis and Aussies debate about the origins of both the pavlova and the lamington. I don't know the foods' actual origins *laughs*]

So I set out to make lamingtons according to the instructions of this recipe from AllRecipes (a website which I loooove for its resources, and especially its features to automatically convert from US to Metric and to automatically recalculate ingredients based on the number of servings.) 24 servings seemed like too much, though, so I decided to halve it.

Here's where things (or rather, I) got a bit dumb. I don't know how, but I got it into my head that a 9X9 cake pan would tooooootally work for half the ingredients, for a full-height cake. Oh dear. Of course, it didn't, and I wound up with a cake that was only an inch high. Oops. After wringing my hands a little bit, I figured that I had two options: 1) make lamingtons in inch-sized cubes, or 2) make 'sandwiches' by cutting out 2x2 pieces of cake and sandwiching them together with a layer of jam before icing them.

I decided I could probably try both ways, starting with the mini version, and if that didn't work out I could switch to the sandwich version. In the end I liked the mini version so much I decided to stick with that; well that and I was having a lot of trouble with the icing and decided not to press my luck with the larger, sandwich version, heh. There was also something about the petiteness of the finished mini-lamingtons that I adored; they just look so dainty and cute.

The end result was very, intensely sweet; perhaps the icing to cake ratio is a lot higher for such little things. Good thing I have a sweet tooth, but it was still just a bit too sweet. Next time I would probably try to use a bit more water in the icing to dilute the sweetness a bit. But I'm just glad that my mistake didn't cause a total disaster!

Flourless Lemon Cake

2009-10-04T22:09:00.006+13:00

Phew! Last post of the day, I promise! As this is a new blog, I wanted to get a little content on it to get it going. To end this posting spree, here's what I baked today. :)

I started this cake as an attempt at this flourless orange cake from Citrus and Candy, but alas, I was stupid and ignored the warnings that regular flour would produce a substandard cake texture. I was all, I don't need no almond flour! Psh! And attempted to make the cake with regular all-purpose flour and some whole wheat flour. The author at Citrus And Candy would describe floured attempts of this cake as 'stodgy'; that's being kind. Mine turned out gluey, gummy, and rubbery. Mmmm! After failing to convince myself that I actually liked it, I binned the whole thing, and... it actually BOUNCED right out of my (admittedly rather full) trash can, I am not even kidding. Rubbery!

As I was determined to produce something nice out of my poor, neglected springform cake pan, I decided to give it another go. This time, I behaved and bought the almond meal. I also made the switch to lemon because... because I like lemons better than oranges. Lemons >>>> oranges. Oh yeah, I went there! ;)

For the most part I followed the recipe to a T, except that instead of using 6 whole eggs, I used 3 whole eggs, and 5 egg whites, and I used 3/4 cup caster sugar instead of a whole cup. Just trying to cut down on the fat/calorie content, and it worked for the cake, yay! The end result is... holy crap, amazing. The OP was accurate in describing the cake as having more of a custard-like texture than a cakelike texture. It really reminded me of the lemon flans I used to make. It's simultaneously dense but light, with bits of lemon scattered in for bursts of flavour... oh man. I am definitely making this one again.

The texture of the boiled lemons was also really fascinating. When I cut open the boiled oranges yesterday, they retained their structure pretty well, and really just seemed like dense, heavier (and wetter!) oranges. The lemons practically lost all their structure on the inside, and the flesh actually looked almost creamy, smooth and yellow and thick. I forgot to have a taste, though; I think it just didn't occur to me to eat a lemon on its own haha. Next time I make this (and I will!) I'll definitely try the pulp.

Finally, a word of caution if you want to replicate this recipe with lemons: boil extra lemons! XD While I was boiling oranges yesterday, one of the fruit got a split in the skin and it really worried me, but in the end all the fruit were completely intact inside. Today, again one of the fruit (this time lemons) got a split in the skin, but I noticed that little bits of lemon flesh were floating out of it into the water. Luckily this was during the first boiling period, and I had extra lemons (primarily for garnishing/props) and tossed another in. Then I refreshed thrice instead of just twice and after the third refresh I boiled for 40 instead of 60 minutes.

Thank goodness I did, because that lemon with the split in the skin? Oh boy. Lemons probably have more fragile membranes around each segment than oranges do, because check this out:

Does that not look sad? Hahaha. It actually was, literally, half-empty by the end of the boiling process. Poor thing. Luckily I had a spare!

Calories per serving: 226.9 if cutting the cake into 8 servings.

Sneaky Blueberry Bran Muffins

2009-10-04T21:37:00.007+13:00

"Sneaky" muffins? What now??

They're sneaky because you wouldn't be able to tell just by looking at these, that they're actually chock-full of healthy wheat bran! They're a result of my attempt to make low-calorie, healthy, and yummy muffins last weekend. The result was so ugly that it really just looked like I had baked vomit! The wheat bran gave the muffins a really unpleasant-looking, mottled texture, and I think the sickly blue-green tint was due somehow to the blueberries.

It really disappointed me because I think that healthier alternatives to sweets/desserts shouldn't have to be the ugly or taste bad. So, yesterday, I was determined to remake them almost exactly the same way, but to disguise the muffins so they looked like 'regular' muffins. How did I achieve that?

Easy. I cheated.

All I really did was divide the batter into two before adding the wheat bran to one half. Then I added the wheat bran batter into the muffin cups first, and finished by ladling the smooth batter on top, topping with additional fruit/nuts. And ta-da! Wheat bran hidden away, prevented from spoiling the aesthetics of the muffins. :)

This recipe is a mixture of three different recipes that I basically combined to suit my own tastes and convenience. For example, I used milk instead of yogurt because I'm a milk-and-cereals breakfast person, so I always have milk around but I don't usually have yogurt.

Tastewise, other than the wheat bran, I wouldn't have guessed that these are 'lower-calorie' or 'healthy alternative' muffins, because they are delicious! The taste and smell of the banana does come through a bit though, so if you are really adverse to that, stick with the egg, heh. They're also really filling if you have one and drink a glass of water, due to all the fiber, so they're awesome when I'm feeling really munchy haha. Like most muffins, these freeze really well, too. I like to clingwrap each one individually, toss them in a freezer bag and freeze the lot. When I want one, I just nuke it for about 25 seconds and it's all soft and warm and comforting again. :)

Also, before we get to the recipe, I have to share this because I'm so proud of it haha!

Finally, I have something for a proper background and lighting! It's so DIY *laughs* It's just a cardboard box, white paper card, and baking sheets for light diffusers. Funnily enough, I didn't even know it was called a "light box" till all my friends started going "oh awesome, you made a light box!" I was just like, "hey y'all, check out my... makeshift... photography... tabletop... lighting... thing! :D" I got the instructions from a website kinda like this one here, but not... I can't find the website again *sob*. Don't you just hate when that happens?!

Uh, anyway. Recipe time!

Low-Calorie Blueberry Bran Muffins

Ingredients (makes 12):

- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cornmeal
- 1 cup wheat bran
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup yogurt or milk, non-fat/skim/whatever
- 2/3 large banana or 1 medium banana, mashed, or 1 egg, or 2 egg whites
- 4 tbsp oil (olive/canola/sunflower etc.)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 cup frozen fruit (blueberries, raspberries, etc.)

Instructions:
1) Preheat oven to 200C or 390F.
2) Mix dry ingredients EXCEPT wheat bran. Beat wet ingredients in a separate bowl and then add to dry ingredients. Mix until JUST incorporated; apparently they rise better when not overbeaten. I prefer doing this with a wooden spoon rather than with a mixer.
3) Set aside about half of the batter. Add the wheat bran to one half of the batter and mix to combine.
4) Stir through most of the frozen fruit into the wheat bran batter, setting enough fruit aside to top with later.
5) Spoon the batter with the wheat bran into a buttered/oiled muffin tray or into the paper liners in the muffin tray. Wash the spoons/ladles (or just use clean ones if you have extra) and then add the other half of the batter so that it covers the wheat bran batter. Top with remaining fruit.
6) Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Notes:

- I used cornmeal because I wanted something similar to the Kenny Rogers Corn Muffins. I also added 1/2 cup frozen corn, and quite like the taste, but it's not for everyone so don't mind it. If you don't want/have cornmeal, use 1 1/3 cup flour. In the future I might actually increase the cornflour:flour ratio because I love corn muffins haha.
- Maple syrup instead of sugar because I wanted something with a more intense, sweeter flavour. In my previous attempt I used an equivalent amount of sugar, and it was juuust bordering on not sweet enough. Surprisingly, they don't taste like maple syrup, but the muffins are definitely sweet enough this time around.
- I had no eggs, and plenty of really ripe bananas, which I've read are a good substitute so that's what I did.
- I added sliced almonds... I don't know why. I just liked the idea lol. Do what you like >.>;

Calories per serving: 132 calories. Pretty awesome when you consider that quite a few blueberry muffin recipes have about double that!

Date pops

2009-10-04T17:59:00.008+13:00

Note: I'm going to be posting some "backlog" entries, in which I post stuff that I cooked/baked before I started this blog. It probably won't come all at once; the backlog entries will likely be scattered between "current" entries, and erm... I don't really know why I need to label/tag/separate them into backlog and current entries. I just like categorizing stuff? Don't judge me >.>

I decided to do my backlog, not in chronological order, but starting with a recent project that really gave me that feeling, for the first time, that I was doing something somewhat original. It's probably the one that made me think about starting this blog: date pops.

This picture makes me think that the bitten one is like the village elder of some strange candy-pop town, and all the others are clustered around him to listen intently. Why is the bitten date pop male? ... I don't know. He just is.

I was trying to think of some use for my leftover dried dates (I don't know why but it never occurred to me to just _eat_ them, tasty little things they are) when I saw this by Give Recipe. I was intrigued since dates are apparently "nature's candy", and the recipe in the link is so dead simple I thought, there is no way I could screw this up. At first I was just going to roll them in chopped nuts and chocolate chips like in the linked post, but then I remembered that I only had large buttons of compound melting chocolate, not cute little chips. Well. I could certainly coat them in chocolate. I'd have to put them on sticks and... heeeeeeyy, this is just like cheesecake pops!

And of course, anything is fantastic when on a stick. :> *nods sagely*

In the end, I decided to forego the chopped nuts as well as the chocolate chip thing, because I'd have to buy the nuts so I thought it'd be nice to keep the cost down. But of COURSE, then I really wanted to redo the whole sprinkles-on-pops thing since my cheesecake pops turned out looking quite messy (and so I'm not sure I will share the pictures on this blog), so... I wound up spending money on the sprinkles haha. I really should've put the ones with the sprinkles more in focus in the pictures, but I was really keen on showing the inside of the pop and somehow that became the focus instead.

Surprisingly, they actually really taste like candy! I attribute that in no small part to the orange zest, it really makes a difference. All in all, easy, delicious, and good for you! (if you don't count the chocolate, but psh, chocolate is awesome.)

Recipe (makes about 17 balls, depending on how large you roll them):
- 40 dried dates
- zest of one orange
-1-2 tbsp of orange juice if necessary

1) Chop dates in a food processor. I don't have one so I chopped them roughly with a knife and then stuck them briefly in a blender.
2) Zest one orange in a bowl, and then add the pulsed/blended dates into the bowl. I always try to zest into the bowl I am mixing in, as a lot of citrus oil sprays when you're zesting, and it adds to the flavour. Note: my zester produces quite fine zest anyway, but the author of Give Recipe apparently had to chop hers, so you might have to too depending on your grater/zester.
3) With your hands, mix the zest through the dates, and you can even kind of knead it until it all comes together. You may need to add a bit of orange juice if it's too dry, but I found that the mixture was just moist and sticky enough; it came together nicely, without pieces of dates crumbling or falling out.
4) Pull out lumps of date mixture, roll into balls, and decorate as you like! Ideas: pistachios, almonds, hazelnuts, sesame seeds, sprinkles, chocolate chips, melted chocolate, etc. you get the idea :)
5) If you want to coat them in melted chocolate: put the chopped chocolate/chocolate buttons/compound chocolate melts into a glass bowl (GLASS! Not plastic, like I tried once... we shall not speak of that....) and microwave on medium or medium-low in 30 second intervals, stirring between intervals, until the chocolate is completely melted. Usually I microwave the chocolate till it's almost all melted, and then stir it until the rest of it goes. Alternatively you can do it the double-boiler way, which I find more bothersome: get a pan of water at a simmer, put a bowl or another pan on top of that, and put the chocolate in the upper bowl. Stir until completely melted. Make sure (in both techniques) that you absolutely do not get any moisture into the chocolate, or it will "freeze" and become a weird texture. Spoon the melted chocolate over the mounted date balls, or dip them in the chocolate, whichever way works for you best. :)

Calories per serving: On average, there are 45 calories in each chocolate-coated date pop. One date is about 21 calories, so that's really not too bad, is it!

Introduction

2009-10-04T15:26:00.005+13:00

Hello all, and welcome to my "not a food blog" food blog! I am Cam, a Chinese Malaysian university student studying in New Zealand, who has recently found a passion for making food (and taking pictures of the results.)

Why is this blog called "Not A Food Blog?"
Strictly speaking, this is a blog, and it's a blog about the food I make, so it should be called a 'food blog', right? However, I don't do proper food bloggy things. I just ramble and take pictures of food in a limited setting. No witty, eloquent stories, no great depth of knowledge and experience to contribute to the community, no lovely, gorgeous atmospheres and settings. It's just somewhere that I can comfortably share my food stuff with friends and family, and whoever happens to stumble across here. Thus, it is Not A Food Blog. :)