Friday, October 30, 2009

Almond-Mandarin Macaroons

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

All text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007 - 2009. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Badam Burfi | Home-Made Almond Fudge

Saturday, 17th October was Diwali, the festival of lights!! We were lucky this year not only to lay our lands on diyas - earthenware lamps, but also on some sparklers. The latter are usually hard to come by here, and I have found that they were not even sold at Asian stores. This year, however, my local Indian grocer was truly well stocked!! He even had Murtis of Ganesha and Lakshmi for puja - delightful!!

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Vegetarian Vietnamese Pho & Dessert Wontons

The October 2009 Daring Cooks’ challenge was brought to us by Jaden of the blog Steamy Kitchen. The recipes are from her new cookbook, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook.

Great recipes!! Made this tonight for family and friends who are visiting!! Both did very well. Photos follow in a few days:)

Thanks Jaden for these lovely recipes.

All text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007 - 2009. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Announcing: Visit Malaysia via A.W.E.D.

Durian (Durio Zibethinus) by Hoola Van Nooten (fl 1863-1885), ca. 1863

This month my blog hosts A.W.E.D. This event created is the creation of fellow blogger DK. You can find DK @ Chef In You where you will also see the background to this event, you can stop by and sample the cuisine of over half a dozen countries, and see past and future hosts for A.W.E.D.

This October, A.W.E.D will visit Malaysia. The beauty of Malaysian cuisine is that it has something for everyone. It not only reflects the diverse population of the country, it also borrows across cultures making much of everyday food multi-ethnic. The local Malaysian food is deeply influenced by food cooked in Indian, Chinese, and Thai homes. Broadly there are five identifiable cuisine types found in Malaysia: Malay, Malaysian Indian, Malaysian Chinese, Mamak, and Nyonya. Rice, vegetables, fish, meats, and fruits make the staples of Malaysian cuisine. A rich and aromatic Indian style spice paste called a Rempah tends to define most dishes. A Rempah can be prepared fresh or can be bought dried. It is sauteed in oil in the first phase of cooking.

I invite all food bloggers and food lovers out there to join me this month in celebrating Malaysian cuisine. Create and post your favourite and/or most delicious recipe that features a Malaysian recipe. The dish can be spicy, savoury, or sweet, but it must be embedded in Mayalsian cooking.

Email the entry to me at: annarasa@gmail.com along with your name, name of your blog, name of your entry, the url link to your entry, and a short description of your creation. You can share any facts you have learnt about the recipe of your choice, your ideas, and thoughts about it and if you like its history. Let us know if this is the first time you decided to give try cooking Malaysian food! The possibilities are endless. I do have one request though. This is a vegetarian blog, and so I would be happy to welcome all vegetarian recipes.

Now for a few rules regarding A.W.E.D. Malaysia:
  • This event runs from 12th October 2009 - 12th November 2009.
  • You can send in as many entries as you like to this event.
  • You can send in recipes that you might have submitted to other events also.
  • Any recipes from your archives can be accepted ONLY if they are updated and re posted especially for this event. Please do not send in links to an old post.
  • Non-bloggers are welcome to join in. Just send in your recipe to me with a photograph if you have one and all details mentioned above, and I will add it to the round-up.
  • If you would like your foodie colleagues and friends to know where you are located, you can add your City, Country to your entry. This is entirely your choice.
  • It would be lovely if your entry is accompanied with a photograph. Preferred size of photograph: 350 pixels wide.
  • As mentioned above, do describe your creation - just a couple lines telling us about the recipe you have chosen to enter into A.W.E.D. Malaysia this month.
  • And don't forget to link your entry this announcement and to DK's blog @ Chef In You.
  • The badge for A.W.E.D Malaysia is the the Durian, which is considered to be the 'King of Fruits' in Malaysia. Show it off on to your post.

So what are all you foodies out there waiting for? Let's get started - we are off to Malaysia this month:)

All text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007 - 2009. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Baked Vol-au-Vent - Daring Bakers September

The September 2009 Daring Bakers' Challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.