August | 2008 | Desperately Seeking Crab

Archive for August, 2008

Permies!!

Posted in Australia, Ex-pat Experiences, Miscellaneous/Quirky, tagged Australian Permanent Residence, immigration, Permies on August 30, 2008| 5 Comments »

OMG!!! After years of dealing with the Australian immigration, we have now been granted Permanent Resident (“Permie”) status!!! It has taken nearly 8 months since we applied for it and after 3 different visas prior to this and thousands of dollars later, we have the right and privilege to come and go freely from this beautiful country!! I really can sympathize with people who immigrate to any country now and can understand why there are so many illegal immigrants. It hasn’t been easy, that’s for sure. Going through this process has been one of the most trying, frustrating, hair-ripping, financially-draining things we have had to do but it was worth it in the end. I just don’t know why they make you suffer so much before you get your prize…especially since Australia NEEDS more people. The thing I am grateful for the most is that I can now get access to great medical care for free, if I need it although most people (including us) have private health insurance as well to cover extras. Still, it is something that I hope that Americans will have access to some day. The U.S. being the only industrialized nation without the right to free medical care is sad to me.

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The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Posted in American, Cookies/Biscuits, Dessert, Ex-pat Experiences, tagged baking, cadbury, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chips, cookies, nestle, toll-house on August 27, 2008| 6 Comments »

Recently, an American friend in Sydney told me that she had just made chocolate chip cookies. That statement suddenly made me craving to make homemade warm chocolate chip cookies (which taste superior to anything bought in a store or cafe).

The problem with store-bought stuff is that the ingredient list is filled with crap that you can’t pronounce and the ingredients for really good cookies should all be natural to taste heavenly. Unless you have time to melt beautiful 70% + couverture and then pipe them into chocolate chips, or to chop them into small pieces, a bag of Nestlé Toll House or Cadbury chips should do fine. Toll-House is a household name in the U.S. but I find their chips a little bit on the sweet side but I think that their recipe for chocolate chip cookies is really one of the all-time best and foolproof. I like adding chopped walnuts for extra indulgence. Just make sure that you are prepared to eat about four DOZEN cookies (even more if you make them small)!

No, Nestle hasn’t paid me any cash to write and boast about them. It’s just something I felt like sharing with people who didn’t grow up with this recipe like I did and want to do some baking this weekend (especially during the winter to warm up the house!)

For me, making homemade chocolate chip cookies is what I feel makes my childhood uniquely American…just like having homemade Jelly Cakes or Lamingtons may be to an Australian child. What cookie / biscuit reminds you of your childhood?

Original Nestlé Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies

RECIPE:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened OR 225 grams butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or macadamia nuts are best!)

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

PAN COOKIE VARIATION: Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Prepare dough as above. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Makes 4 dozen bars.

SLICE AND BAKE COOKIE VARIATION:
PREPARE dough as above. Divide in half; wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Shape each half into 15-inch log; wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.* Preheat oven to 375° F. Cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices; place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

* May be stored in refrigerator for up to 1 week or in freezer for up to 8 weeks.

FOR HIGH ALTITUDE BAKING (5,200 feet): Increase flour to 2 1/2 cups. Add 2 teaspoons water with flour and reduce both granulated sugar and brown sugar to 2/3 cup each. Bake drop cookies for 8 to 10 minutes and pan cookie for 17 to 19 minutes.

Happy Baking!

: Raw cookie dough

Ready to be baked

: Baking in the oven

The finished cookies cooling on a rack...yum!

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The Omnivore’s Hundred

Posted in Food Quiz, Miscellaneous/Quirky, tagged andrew wheeler, Food Quiz, meme, omnivore's hundred on August 24, 2008| Leave a Comment »

The Omnivore’s Hundred

Here’s a chance for a little interactivity for all the bloggers out there. Below is a list of 100 things that Andrew Wheeler, co-contributor of Very Good Taste blog in the UK thinks that every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life. The list includes fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food – but a good omnivore should really try it all. Don’t worry if you haven’t, mind you; neither have I, though I’ll be sure to work on it.

Here’s what to do:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

I was surprised that I am only missing 24 items – not bad for someone who isn’t an offal or “strongly tasting meat” fan. I think my multi-cultural upbringing and friends helped me to eat many of these things. The mixture of foods are quite interesting – from the gourmet and ridiculously luxurious to the more mundane and downright strange. It was fun taking this quiz. Tell me what you would eat or not and whether you have a good story for any food items here!

♥ Indicates that I LOVE it!

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding (just not a fan of offal)
7. Cheese fondue ♥
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho ♥ (have been known to search far and wide for a bowl – even in Paris)
13. PB&J (Peanut Butter & Jelly) sandwich (I really hate these – too sweet)
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart ♥ (with extra relish!)
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle ♥
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns ♥ (especially the Shanghainese ones)
20. Pistachio ice cream ♥ (my favourite!)
21. Heirloom tomatoes ♥
22. Fresh wild berries ♥
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper (why?!)
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters ♥
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas (my dear friend Bill’s favourite!)
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl ♥
33. Salted lassi (I always get the sweet plain one but not tasted the salted yet!)
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float ♥
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O ♥ (made them for my 4th of July party here)
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail ♥ (Chinese-style Oxtail soup is a childhood favourite!)
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects (ate it at the end of my entymology class at UCD)
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu (intriguing but not sure I’d risk it)
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut ♥ (has to be hot!)
50. Sea urchin (not a big fan)
51. Prickly pear (taste so…unexciting)
52. Umeboshi – great with some green tea to soothe an upset tummy
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal (yes, I will admit that I occasionally like a fast food meal)
56. Spaetzle ♥
57. Dirty gin martini ♥
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine (looks intriguing but probably couldn’t eat a whole plate)
60. Carob chips (don’t like the texture)
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin (Clay?? But why?!)
64. Currywurst
65. Durian (there are many varieties. I ate one from Borneo that didn’t stink and was bright orange)
66. Frogs’ legs (I really want to though!)
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake ♥
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill (I would if I was lost in the Outback and was desperate)
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie (ate them as a kid, tastes too artificial to me now)
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini ♥
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky (Love the one with lots of almonds)
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant (most recently at the Fat Duck in Bray)
85. Kobe beef (Real Kobe beef from Kobe, Japan? No, haven’t had the $$$. Wagyu “Kobe” grown outside of Japan but marketed as Kobe – YES, many times. I wouldn’t be surprised if many people say yes because they ate Wagyu)
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers (overrated)
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate (I’m not sure…I have had so many great chocolate and it could’ve been one of them)
91. Spam (I’m from Hawaii…every respectful Hawaiian eats Spam)
92. Soft shell crab ♥
93. Rose harissa (I’ve had harissa but I’m unsure what rose harissa is)
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano ♥ (this Mexican co-worker of mine used to sell his mother’s mole, it was the best!)
96. Bagel and lox (with capers and thinly sliced red onions please)
97. Lobster Thermidor (it’s ok but I like my lobster less complicated)
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

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Fabulous Duck Eggs

Posted in Eggs, tagged custard, duck eggs, free range eggs, poached eggs, sriracha on August 23, 2008| 7 Comments »

Walking around at my usual Sunday market, I passed by a stall that sells fresh duck. I wasn’t in the mood to buy duck that day but I saw a little unassuming sign that said, “DUCK EGGS, $5”. My heart skipped a beat but I didn’t grab the chance to buy it. We walked back to the car and I was really regretting it so I ran back and ended up buying two dozen!! They were gorgeous, different colours and natural i.e. with all the poop, feathers and straw on them! As soon as I got home though, I realised that I couldn’t eat two dozen duck eggs so I sent it around to four of my friends.

I always heard that duck eggs make great custards and I now understand why. Unlike chicken eggs, duck eggs have a higher yolk to white proportion. The yolks are beautifully rich and creamy and good yolks are essential in making GREAT custard. I scoured the internet to see if others blogged about duck eggs but was rather disappointed to find so few. Any Chinese person would be familiar with duck eggs because they often use duck eggs for preservation, using them for 1,000 yr. old eggs and sometimes salted eggs.

The first night, we just pan friend them with a touch of oil and I ate it with rice and some fried shallots (like you get in Malaysia/Singapore on noodles) and a squirt of Sriracha – divine! I have also hard boiled them but today, I decided to poach one alongside a regular free-range chicken egg. I tell you, I ate the chicken egg first and I am glad that I did because when I bit into the duck egg, oh man, you just cannot compare the two! The richness and deeply concentrated flavour of the duck egg was so much creamier and tastier.

How are they different? For one, duck eggs are larger than chicken eggs. Not only are the yolks larger, the egg white has a bizarre, almost rubbery texture that I find slightly strange. If you pan fry it, the white sets really quickly but the yolks take a bit longer so it’s better to cook it at a lower heat than you would chicken eggs. Be careful and don’t overindulge on duck eggs as one egg contains twice the amount of cholesterol than chicken eggs. But definitely, if you come across them at any time, they are definitely worth it.

Don’t be scared of quail, duck, goose or even Ostrich eggs! Next time I go to Barcelona, I am going to rent an apartment and cook one of those Ostrich eggs! 🙂

Different Duck Egg Colours - I LOVE the blue one!!

Comparing duck eggs to a chicken egg (far right). You can see the duck eggs are slightly larger and have a more transparent shell. I LOVE the blue eggs!

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My Garden Friends II

Posted in Australia, Birds, Ex-pat Experiences, Garden, Miscellaneous/Quirky, Non-Food, tagged Adelaide Rosella, Crimson Rosella, Garden, Possums, Ring-tailed Possums, Rosellas, Yellow Rosella on August 21, 2008| 1 Comment »

One day, I’ll take a picture of a Ring-tailed Possum. There is a whole colony that lives around here and they let us know it by leaving lovely droppings all over the place – on our fence and near the plants. I just sweep them up and throw them in my plants as fertilizer. These are Aussie Possums – very cute and marsupials. They are not the weird-looking Possums you get in North America. I wonder why they are both called Possums? I once saw one on my fence with a baby on her back…if only I had my camera!! Cute as they are, they wreak havoc to any garden with succulent shoots – oh and yes, they loved my David Austin roses!! Because I hate losing my plants, I have them in pots (they look sad because it’s winter) and they are fully covered by a bird net:

My pots covered in bird netting

Anyway, here is another parrot – the Adelaide Rosella, that was in my garden over the weekend while I was trying to plant bok choy, sweet peas, green onions and peonies. Adelaide Rosellas are a cross between Yellow Rosellas and Crimson Rosellas (bright red & gorgeous). This guy was eating the red berries in the tree next to my fence.