Food is Powerful

Food is powerful! Generally people would say "You are what you eat!", but I say "You are what you want to eat!" That explains the state of my mind lately. You see, I was sick two weeks earlier and as I was recovering last week, everything seemed to come back to normal gradually, but one thing that could prove my getting completely well was my craving for food. Food, food, food!



Nothing seemed to be appealing to me the week I was sick, I couldn't bring myself to think about any food. In fact, the thought about food disgusted me. And dessert - the most profound food that would rise my heartbeat everything I look at them in the shop display couldn't seem to do any trick on me. Basically sickness was a total doom, nothing seemed to be desirable, everything was just pure gloominess and horror.



So what came as a remarkable sign that I was once healthy again? My thought about tomyum fried rice and spicy fried noodles! It was so intensely making its way to instant fulfilment. That lured me into taking a long stroll in my warm jacket, against the evening wind, heading to my favorite restaurant and found myself disappointed overseeing the unsupposingly closed premise. "Why on earth it is closed on a Wednesday night and where am I going to eat?".

The same disappointment recurred again on my second attempt two days later, pushing the restaurant door opened only to find staff cleaning up the floor. I almost screamed my head off as it was just 8:30 pm and they were supposed to stay open until 9:30. Hello!!!!!!!!!



Consequently, my recovering soul was looking for a quick replacement and insisting on the next most desirable pursuit. I had to settle on something else since I had turned into a big bubble of hunger and crave and was about to burst any moment then. I had abruptly turned greedy and desperate, two things that have been deprived from my vocabulary due to sickness and too much rests. So what was my next best thing?



Had to be a plate of salmon sashimi and a bowl of Tensaru Soba with tempura! I finally got what I wanted and they tasted just like how I expected them to be! True pleasure, nothing less! The munch into those slices of raw salmon brought back my memory of my most desirable tastebuds. My mind was exclamating "Boy, it tastes like heaven!", "Salmon sashimi is a blessing to the human race", "Life is worth living!". The recurring of these same old lines reminded me of my normal tasting experience........... "I am so back now!". And I couldn't help grin with my messy lips. "Thanks, Big Guy... for I am back!"

Meanwhile I like to thank Lynn of Cafe Lynnylu for hosting DMBLGIT October and giving the opportunity for me to take part once again and win the award. Thanks also to the judges: Asha, Denise, Nicole and Susan! Check out Lynn's DMBLGIT winner page.

A Curious Bag

How is the experience of seeing an ex? Last week on my way back home I was approached by the rep officer of my apartment and she told me that someone tall, fair, and handsome came to look for me and being unsuccessful to get permission to access the building, he finally left a message. Who is it??? I wondered. A short chit-chat later, she handed a small piece of paper with a handwriting that looked like scribbles. Well, it was P, ex from 4 years ago, and funny to say, his handwriting hasn't been improved ever since. The message was asking me to give him a call.



Two hours later we had a phone conversation. A pleasant one. Afterall there wasn't any hatred or unresolved issues left hanging. 4 years was more than enough to get over hiccups of a six-month relationship. We ended the phone nicely just like 2 ordinary friends catching up. Bye friend, take care!

Then something surprised me the following day. The next morning P called and suggested he should take me out for dinner - to a nice place with live music and not far from our areas. I wasn't prepared and had an evening yoga class. So I told him so and he said it was fine since he could stay on at his office for some paperwork and when my class was over he would come to pick me up. I agreed with my mind filled with all this curiosity “What does he want?”



He was on time. There in front of Starbucks dressed in deep blue polo shirt and jeans, he was waiting for me. Awkward enough, as we both walked to the parking lot, he was doing this subtle hand gesture of offering me a bag with a bakery brand on it, Saint E'toile - assumed it must be bread or something. But I was uncertain about accepting cause frankly speaking, he never really did anything like this before when we were together. So I didn't do anything and he did swing that plastic bag to my direction one more time but I was still not taking any action. And there was no affirmation sentence like "This is for you" or "Please accept it" or anything like that. Finally we entered his car, he put the bag beside his seat. And yes, he totally forgot about the whole thing or should I say the offer was never being verbalized.



Along the drive we had enjoyable conversation - about Public Relations, Insurance, and work. Felt it has been so long since the last time I actually had a quality talk to someone in a that intellectual level. And then out of the blue in one of the turns that he made, he claimed that our past breakup was due to all his faults.

Dinner was fine and the conversation topics changed to family, boyfriends, and friends. We openly shared the fact that both our family members had on several occasions asked about each of our whereabouts and wellbeing. Interesting highlight was that he talked about karma and depicted the fact that a one-and-a-half-year relationship he had after our breakup had put him through the situation similar to the one in which he had caused me so much pain and that he had realized how it felt being in my shoes.



Two hours later we left the restaurant and he insisted on sending me home. Entering my residence, my mind was trying to settle with a conclusion: "It was a friendly dinner, nothing else!" But there was this very tiny bit of it wondered: “Was it really?” Besides I was still curious about the hand gesture. I couldn't help but wondered: "Did I misread the hand gesture or he really meant to give that bag to me non-verbally and finally forgot about it altogether?"



LEMON TART
Makes 8 tarts

1. Crust
Makes 290 grams
Need: 8 tart cups size top diameter 7cm, bottom 4 cm, height 2.5 cm

Ingredients:
- Cake flour - sift > 125 grams
- Icing sugar > 45 grams
- Ground almond > 18 grams
- Eggs > 30 grams
- Salted butter – soften in room temperature > 75 grams



Method:
- Combine cake flour, icing sugar, and ground almond in a big bowl. Make hollow in the center. Pour in eggs and butter.
- Use hand bring the ingredients into the center and knead until smooth.
- Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 160C.
- Remove dough from fridge, roll out with rolling pin to 2mm thickness.
- Line tart cups with dough and press thoroughly until neat.
- Poke some holes at the bottom with a fork. Set aside.



2. Lemon Filling

Ingredients:
- Whipping cream > 70 grams
- Granulated sugar > 90 grams
- Eggs > 2
- Lemon – grate rind, squeeze juice > 1

Method:
- Preheat oven to 160C.
- Bring 50 grams of whipping cream and 90 grams of sugar to 70C.
- Combine eggs with 20 grams of whipping cream. Add into the preheated whipping cream mixture.
- Sift mixture. Add lemon juice and rind.
- Pour lemon filling into the tart cups until 95% full.
- Bake at 160C for 30 minutes.
- Leave to cool.

Her Favorite Pie

Ran into my pyschiatrist friend's family while I was in the supermarket last weekend. It has been a long while I didn't see them and the occasion of seeing them accidentally was quite a pleasant surprise.

Of course we chatted a little bit while I was queueing at the cashier, especially with my friend's mom and auntie. Interesting conversation about work, daily life, and my baking activities. This family is very familiar with my cakes since I used to bake for them quite regularly while I was visiting. My friend usually asked me to stay for lunch or dinner with his family since his auntie enjoyed cooking a variety of dishes for each meal. And they all taste good. So to show my appreciation, I baked something nice on my following visit.

That reminds me about my conversation with his auntie a few years back. As I was asking her what would be her favorite cake if I was to bake for her. And she answered convincingly: "Lemon pie". Told her I would bake just that if my free occasion arises. And that should be now!

MERINGUE LEMON PIE
Serves 10 persons



Note: Prepare lemon cream 4 hours and crust 1 hour in advanced.

1. Crust

Prepare: 8.5 inch tart mould

Ingredients:
- All purpose flour > 125 grams
- Salt > 1 gram
- Icing sugar > 50 grams
- Almond powder > 18 grams
- Eggs > 28 grams
- Unsalted butter – room temperature > 88 grams

Method:
- Preheat oven to 180°C.
- Mix all ingredients together to form dough.
- Roll crust dough into a 0.3 thickness and press it at the base and sides of the tart mould. Poke some holes on the center.
- Position aluminium foil on top of crust dough. Add beans for weights.
- Bake at 180°C for 20 minutes. Remove aluminium foil and beans and continue baking until crust turns golden brown.
- Cool crust on wire rack.

2. Lemon cream

Ingredients:
- Eggs > 134 grams
- Granulated sugar > 160 grams
- Lemon juice > 100 ml
- Lemon rind > 6 grams
- Unsalted butter – room temperature > 200 grams

Method:
- Combine egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice and rind. Whip moderately until smooth.
- Fold into a saucepan and cook in low heat. Constantly stir until mixture is thick.
- Place in a mixing bowl and cool on ice bath until it reaches 45°C.
- Add butter and whip until smooth.
- Pour into air tight container and refrigerate for 4 hours.



3. Italian meringue

Ingredients:
- Egg whites > 70 grams
- Water > 80 ml
- Granulated sugar > 150 grams

Method:
- Fold lemon cream into the crust and spread evenly with a spatula.
- Place egg whites in the mixing bowl ready to be whipped.
- Mix water and sugar in a saucepan. Cook over low heat and stir until sugar is dissolved. Bring syrup to 117°C.
- While syrup is about 110°C, start whipping egg whites until frothy. At exactly 117°C, pour hot syrup into egg whites while whipping until stiff peaks form. Meringue will look smooth and glossy.
- Fill meringue into a piping bag with a flat piping tip. Pipe on top of lemon cream in zigzag formation.
- Burn meringue with a blow torch.
- Decorate with lemon slices.