Goal for the Weekend

No tacos after booze.


(Goal was successful, more or less. My costume sucked--as in, I had none, really. I will try to assemble a REAL one for next year... or perhaps for Wednesday.)

Chef Panda: Homemade pumpkin pie

Made two pumpkin pies--my favourite--nearly from scratch today. Admittedly, purchased the graham crackers pre-made.

Best thing of doing it this way: low cal substitutions!


1 medium sugar pumpkin makes enough pumpkin puree for 2 pumpkin pies


Graham cracker crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Crush low cal / low-fat graham crackers--enough for 3 cups of crumbs. Use 1 & 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs per pie crust. Blend each 1 1/2 cup crumb portion with 3.5 tablespoons low-cal / low-fat plain yogurt. Add in 2 tablespoons brown sugar.

I did not add the cocoa powder as the recipe recommended, but turned out just fine as is. Also increased the amount of yogurt used.


Spread the graham, yogurt mix into pie pan. Bake for 5 minutes. Take out & let cool waiting for the pumpkin filling.


Pumpkin filling: Oven is still at 350. I tried cutting a raw pumpkin and had a hell of a time. Instead, pierce pumpkin a few times, stick it into the oven at 350 degrees F for about 40 minutes. It will be much easier to cut then. Take out and let cool. Cut into pieces, remove seeds, and remove flesh. If you find the insides are still hard, just stick the cut up pieces into the microwave for a few minutes. Need to get the pumpkin flesh into a puree-able consistency.

Again, I altered the recipe a bit.

Up the oven temp to 400 degrees. Mix 2 1/2 cups of pumpkin puree, 1 1/2 tbsps. "pumpkin spice" (or 1 tsp. of nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon), 3/4 cups honey, 3/4 cup skim milk, 1/4 cup whipping cream, 2 whole eggs and 2 egg whites, and 1 tsp. salt.

Pour into the graham cracker crust! It will be quite runny but never fear! It will cook up well.


The edges of my crust burned a bit, but I don't mind carcinogens :P. To avoid this, just cover the edges with a little foil.

Anyway, this is THE BEST PUMPKIN PIE EVER! So much better than canned purees and healthier too!

Chef Panda: Cornish Game Hen

I made a game hen. Yay.

This incredibly easy and delicious game hen was made sort-of using this recipe. But I'm not really one for following recipes as I really loathe measuring things. To me, that's only really necessary when baking pastries and the such.

Anyway, here's what I did:

Ingredients:

• 1 cornish game hen
• rosemary, fresh or dried
• 1/2 large lemon, cut into 2 pieces
  
• 1 head of garlic, cut into thick slices (thick to prevent burning)
  
• salt & pepper
• few tablespoons of olive oil
• few tablespoons of white wine
• few tablespoons of chicken broth
• (carrots, optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
   
2. Rinse off game hen and arrange in baking pan. Pour olive oil over game hen. Use enough olive oil to cover the hen and have a nice sheen on the bottom of the pan. Rub salt, pepper, and rosemary over hen. Place thick garlic slices on and around game hen, making sure there is olive oil on the garlic. Leave a few pieces of garlic for the body cavity (eww). Squeeze one quarter of the lemon over game hen and rub it in.
   
3. Stuff a quarter of the lemon, the rest of the garlic, and a good amount of rosemary inside the body cavity (eww).
4. Stick that bird in the oven for 25 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, in a bowl mix together the white wine and chicken broth with some pepper. Leave aside. My mixture came out to be about 3/4 cup but if you like sauces, add some more to the mixture for the gravy.
   
6. (ADDITIONAL CARROTS: 15 minutes or so into the cook time, I placed my 2 chopped carrots around the bird and stuck it back in the oven)
7. After the 25 minutes, reduce oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the hen from the oven and pour the chicken broth & wine mixture over the bird. Use a brush and brush some of the juices that have run to the bottom of the pan over the bird.
8. Stick that bird in the oven for another 25 minutes at reduced temperature.
   
9. Check for any pinkness after 25 or so minutes. If done, change the oven setting to BROIL. Broil on a high temp for 3-5 minutes to get a good brown skin on the bird.You might also want to flip the bird to get the skin on the bottom also crisp. No one likes mushy poultry skin.
   
10. Remove bird from oven & place in serving dish (with carrots, if you chose to make the carrots).
11. Pour the juices & garlic left in the pan into a sauce pan on the burner. Burn on high to evaporate most of the moisture yielding a really nice white wine reduction gravy. Took about 5 minutes for the amount of wine/broth mixture I used.
    
12. Serve hen and carrots with gravy.

It turned out excellent despite my having to partially microwave defrost my hen. Unlike most poultry that tends to get dry, this hen was tender and cooked perfectly throughout! I'm definitely making this again.

Remember, cook times will vary depending on your appliances so just be sure to check for pinkness.

Lotus Root Soup

I have been having huge cravings for lotus root soup! I wish one of the restaurants here made it--of course, it probably would not be as good as Mom's. I was searching for recipes online and while it's pretty easy to make, it is rather time consuming. I'm an impatient cook. I want everything done within an hour from start, max.

This recipe is most remniscent of my mom's, I believe. I don't think it's necessary to have a slow cooker--just heat with a regular pot on low for a few hours to get a good pork stock as the base. Any old cheap cut of pork with the bone-in will do, but spare rib is most popular.

Anyhoo, I'll be back in Toronto in a few weeks with all the lotus root soup I can eat!

Prada Sfumata? Nine West?

Nine West's take on Prada. Though these are kind of a poor imitation, must say nine west is upping the ante.

Here is the real Sfumata by Prada. It's really a lovely shoe!

Was out shoe shopping Friday after work since I realized my simple black pumps were getting pretty beat up--beyond repair. It's a pity; I really like them! The style is just perfect (slightly conical heel, slight platform, a rounded but still angular toe). All the details make it far more interesting than your usual run-o'-the-mill black pump. Being that I hate work shoes more than anyone, the fact that I found that nice pair of black pumps with details that exalt its status beyond that of a mere work-shoe (and yet is still work-appropriate!), well, let's just say it's a real loss.

/End mourning the shoes.

Jamaica - Photolog

Richie, my travel buddy, has his own huge catalog of photos. I will share any good ones once he gets his uploaded.