Where in the World are the Weys?

During our honeymoon last year, B and I took a macaron making class! It was TONS of fun (especially the part of all of other mom's and housewives trying to speak to us in fr-english), and we learned a trick or two that came in really handy!

This past long Memorial day weekend, B opted for a baking date with moi! (how could I resist), so we could revive our macaron making skills. We used the recipe from "I heart Macarons" (a lovely christmas gift from MLC!) and added the nitfy tips we learned in Paris. All it takes to make the biscuits are five ingredients: almond flour, sugar, egg whites, and some creativity!

The batch pictures here are a batch of fraise (strawberry) roonies, and we later made a matcha batch of roonies which were AWESOME. We managed to learn a thing or two even from making our first batch, and now we are hooked.... on seeing those little feeeet grow on the biscuits! I literally jumped for joy every time.

Here are a few pointers:

• Whip the egg whites to the appropriate stiffness - otherwise, you'll end up with flatttttttt biscuits. Not cool.
• After you have piped the batter, whack the pan a couple of times to flatten the batter. Not only does this rid the biscuit of air (you do not want air - this is what makes the biscuit sink after baking), but it helps make the biscuit nice and round.
• Allow the batter to age in air - this creates a film of skin on the biscuit. Once it is dry to the touch, it is ready for baking (typically about 30 minutes in dry conditions).
• While baking, rotate the pan halfway during baking time. This also releases steam from the oven, which may make your biscuit sink.

 

We'll keep you posted (har har) on all of our other roonie adventures! What flavor should we make next?

I like to round out our weekends with a comforting home-cooked meal. It's usually something fun, something pretty easy, and something light. Case in point, this Sunday evening, the chilly weather and miles of walking from Bay to Breakers (more about that on another post) inspired a piping hot bowl of soup.

One of my favorites is a simple minestrone. Every time I make it, it's a little bit different, but that's one of the things I like about the recipe - it's really versatile. Tonight, leeks were in the mix (instead of onion, for its cleansing properties), brocollini (leftover from last week's grocery run), cannellini beans (they're so smooth and delicious), and the basic trio of carrots-celery-tomato. Throw in a few basil leaves for freshness, italian sausage for flavor, and some parmaggiano for richness, and that's it!

I like to chop up some extra basil for the brightness of color - sprinkled in right before we eat. I usually make B a side of boiled pasta, which he throws into the soup to help fill him up.

Veggies, vitamins, and warmth. My idea of winding down the weekend.
(tonight, soup was served with a simple side of ripe slicer tomatoes and good mozzarella! mMm!)

Here's the recipe, in case you want to try it for yourself!

Minestrone Medley
adapted multiple times over

1 leek, white parts sliced
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
3 celery stalks, sliced
1 bunch of brocollini, sliced to size
1/2 can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 cluster tomatoes, sliced to size
2 italian sausages, or protein of choice, sliced (chicken works great too!)
3 stalks of basil (about 12 leaves worth), sliced into strips
(other options are cabbage or spinach)
Vegetable or chicken broth, about 4 cups
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil
Parmaggiano Reggiano, grated

Short pasta (bow ties, penne, macaroni), if you feel like more filling

1. Heat up olive oil in your soup pot and saute the italian sausages until brown. Saute the leek until clear, and then add carrots and celery to soften them up.

2. Add broth to the pot so that all ingredients are submerged. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes.

3. Lower heat and add brocollini, beans, tomatoes and half of the basil. I usually add these later because they don't take as long to cook and you don't want them too mushy. Simmer for another 20 minutes. If you are using pasta, boil your pasta to liking (I usually do it slightly less than al dente, since it gets soft in the soup) so you can add it to the soup later.

4. Taste your soup and if needed, add salt and pepper.

5. Spoon into large bowls (add pasta), sprinkle remaining basil, and parmaggiano.reggiano, to finish dressing the soup.

6. Slurp. MMm!

Ah Easter. Whether it be a signal that it's Spring time, or a reminder to give thanks for all of the wonder in my life, it is definitely an important marker in the year. When I was a school girl, I would always look forward to the dark chocolate Lindt rabbit waiting for me at my desk - mummy's gesture of love, and also fuel for the studying!

No choco rabbit this year, instead, we opened the Easter season with fresh strawberry cupcakes! It's definitely not summer yet, as the strawberries were still a bit tart, but nothing that some good 'ol vanilla cupcake batter could not handle.

So here they are! They'll be a perfect way to bring in the summah summah time too!

Strawberry Cupcakes

Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter (at room temperature always)
1 large egg
6 ounces Dannon® All Natural Vanilla Lowfat Yogurt (or any other fruit flavor of yogurt)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup fresh strawberries, diced

Strawberry Frosting
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
2 fresh strawberries, about 2 Tbsp. mashed

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners. With an electric hand mixer, beat the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the egg, Dannon® All Natural Vanilla Lowfat Yogurt and vanilla, blending until smooth.

2. Measure the dry ingredients into the bowl and blend, then fold in the strawberries.

3. Divide the mixture equally between the 12 paper-lined cupcake cups or mini cupcake cups (makes about 36 minis!) To portion them out perfectly for minis, I used a 1/2 tbsp measure spoon (like the pretty one pictured that my dear friend gave me for christmas!) 

4. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. (tip: unlike most cupcake batters, this one is really sticky, so be sure the toothpick is really dry! don't worry, they will moisten up over the next few hours because that's just how yogurt batter works!)

5. Beat together butter, powdered sugar, and mashed strawberry in medium-size bowl until creamy and smooth. (tip: drain out any strawberry juice if you can, since this makes the frosting much too watery! i learned this the hard way!) Chill frosting for 15 minutes or until thick. Frost cupcakes with a spatula (or make into buttercream flowers, as pictures :)).

6. As always - transfer - to your mouth. :)

As we ring in the year of the Tiger, here is wishing all of our loved ones much good fortune and prosperity this year! We know this year can only be great, with all of you to share it with!

Gingerbread, you say? Isn't that for the holidays? Well, the holiday season is definitely over, but I'm still wearing gloves, we still have our heater on, and hoo-boy, I've been making good use of my rainboots. Winter is still in full force here, so it compelled me to warm up our bellies with some gingerbread bites that I missed making in December. In Chinese culture, ginger is hot chi for your body, so that when it's cold out, your body will still be in balance! Hooray!

Now I've never tried blogging a recipe before, so here goes. Apologies that I cannot annotate each photo - maybe posterous will bring that to us soon :)

Gingerbread cupbites with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting (adapted from Barefoot Contessa)

Ingredients

1/4 cup dark rum or water
1/2 cup golden raisins (you can use regular raisins too, since I had those on hand)
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup unsulfured molasses
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (I use a mix of whole wheat flour too!)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup minced dried crystallized ginger (not in syrup)
6 pieces dried crystallized ginger (not in syrup), sliced in half, for decoration

For the frosting:

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon orange zest (I like lots of orange flavor, so feel free to use a bit more)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.
2. Place the rum and raisins in a small pan, cover, and heat until the rum boils. Turn off the heat and set aside.
   
3. Place the butter and molasses in another small pan and bring to a boil over medium heat (or use a nifty Pyrex measuring cup in the microwave for easy clean-up!). Pour the mixture into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cool for 5 minutes, then mix in the sour cream and orange zest.
4. Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt together into a small bowl. Mix with your hand until combined. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the molasses mixture and mix only until smooth. Drain the raisins and add them and the crystallized ginger to the mixture with a spatula.
5. Divide the batter among the muffin pan (1 rounded standard ice cream scoop per cup is the right amount). Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan.
6. For the frosting, mix the cream cheese, butter, orange zest and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until just combined. Add the sugar and mix until smooth.
7. When the cupcakes are cool, frost them generously and garnish with a slice of crystallized ginger.

Don't worry if they do not rise much, that is the whole wheat flour at work. They are still moist and deliciously spicy! If you want to feel more cak-ey, and less bread-ey, then stick with the all-purpose white flour. Ah, holiday denial. Ah, diet on hold yet again. Hope they bring you as much yummies as they brought us!