F-odd: Genghis Khan - a sweetie?

A good friend of mine went to Hokkaido and she got the boy a little present.

Genghis Khan may not have been a sweetie but he is now a sweet.

That's right, Genghis Khan Caramel, an "Hokkaido Original", it would seem. Only in Japan indeed.

I gave it blind to the boy, who chewed it thoughtfully and said that it was "earthy... and weirdly meaty with some sweetness? Not unpleasant but definitely not something I would crave."

The friend who gave it to me was so intrigued by the taste, she kept trying them until she finished the whole packet!

I cannot understand this. I put it in my mouth and chewed for a while. First of all, it was quite milky, then for some reason, I tasted very sweet, icky garlicky type marinade, if that makes sense. It was awful. So bad I had to spit it out, dig out a little piece from my teeth and dry heave. Then brush my teeth. I really could not swallow it.

Unsurprisingly besides 2 pieces missing, I still have the whole packet! Anyone want to try one? Let me know and I'll mail you one!

I think you listen carefully, you will hear someone turning over violently in his grave....

Oh the shame...

Its been shameful the way I've been avoiding blogging....

Shameful because I know I've been so sporadic and unregular.

And its not that I don't have anything to say, nor eat, nor blog about but simply because of bad time management and the issue of having my little one going on hunger strike. Talk about a blow to my heart! I tell you that strong willed baby is going to have to get with the eating system soon. Baby cannot subsist on cream cheese and Cheerios alone.

So next post will be a food one, I promise... candy to be specific... a unique taste sensation indeed... Genghis Khan Caramel anyone??

New Year's resolution begins NOW!

To improve on perfection

is to add the last bit of cream cheese from the tub into your Marmite spaghetti.

Do NOT hold back on the black pepper.

Yooo hooooooo

Anyone out there?

I'm not surprised if there's no one reading my blog anymore after my long absences. For anyone who still is, you'll be in for a surprise, a baking project worked!!!

Yes, I had a semi-successful baking project! Mark this on your calendars as it may never happen again!

Oh, it was biscotti. Yup, that hard Italian biscuit that goes perfectly with a cup of tea or coffee at about 11am or 3pm.

I mentioned it casually to my visiting friend and being the very focused person she is (and therefore extremely successful), nagged me about it until one evening after the little had finally gone to sleep, I quickly put it together following this recipe. I omitted (simply because I can NOT follow a recipe... and I didn't have it), the anise extract and the Amaretto. I added sour cherries, chopped dark chocolate and my slightly too roasty almonds.

Result!

Timing wise, it was true to the recipe. Taste wise I think they could have benefited from the Amaretto but otherwise, they were easy to make, came out nearly perfect and were a joy to eat with tea.

Also, the mere fact that I made them myself and didn't ruin them made them taste all the sweeter.

I promise, there are more posts coming!

Spaghetti a la Marmite

Reading Nigella's interview regarding food heroes in this month's Observer Monthly where she lauded Anna Del Conte, I came across the most appealing recipe. A recipe which, in fact, which is made for me. Easy peasy and as easy as ramen, it is touted as a children's recipe. Spaghetti with Marmite!

The recipe is posted verbatim here:

350-380g dried spaghetti
50g unsalted butter
1 tsp Marmite
freshly grated parmesan cheese, for serving

Cook the spaghetti in plenty of boiling salted water. While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a small saucepan and add the Marmite and 1 tablespoon of the pasta water. Mix thoroughly to dissolve, then pour over the drained spaghetti. Serve with plenty of grated parmesan cheese.

So of course I made it the first chance I got but being me and therefore lazy, I omitted the bit where the butter and Marmite is melted together, instead, I bunged it all together after draining the pasta in a hot pan and generously sprinkled cheese all over as well as white pepper. Delish and the ultimate in comfort food.

About the Marmite I used... I had an unopened jar of Guiness Marmite which Umami had kindly given me ages and ages ago. Although it had clearly passed its best before, being unopened, I have no qualms eating it. Its so salty that I would highly doubt something bad had happened to it. Not that I advise other people to do the same but I'm familiar with my tummy (too familiar...) to know what abuse it can take. Now to sit back, relax, eat my Marmite Spag and wait for the cries of EWWWW to pour in...

Fool proof pasta?

A kind friend sent me an Imperia pasta machine for my birthday.

If ever I find the time, I'd love to try it out.

Anyone have a fool-proof recipe and method for me to try out?

I have a bolognese sauce Susan sent me, just need the pasta.

It really needs to be fool-proof as I'm the biggest fool I know.

Birthday Cake

Birthdays should always be celebrated by cake. Something about a birthday with no cake strikes me as a bit sad. Whether it is some store bought thing stuffed full of faux ingredients and sugar or something a bit more refined and decadent, a birthday just isn't a birthday without a cake to cut.

So, having missed out last year, I needed to get one this year and so I thought I would bake one myself.

I know.

Yes, I KNOW!!!

My experiences with baking have been.... challenging to say the (very) least.

But I had no choice. It was either buying one for myself or baking one and I thought baking one sounded a bit less sad!

Chocolate cake being my favorite, I thought I'd try the Black Magic Cake.

So while the babe was having her nap, I got the ingredients out and had the dry ingredients all mixed when she woke up with a vengeance. Crying babe in arm, I quickly threw in the wet ingredients and turned on the mixer much to her distress. I couldn't stop, my chocolate cake was at stake! I undermixed it but had to stop before the wee one went into turbo mode. Slopped the results into two pans and baked for requisite time.

Out came these slightly unevenly lumped cakes.


I debated for the rest of the afternoon regarding how exactly to put the cake together. Was it to be store bought icing or was I going to actually attempt to make some kind of frosting? I wasn't sure due to the whiny nature of the babe.

Finally I found a recipe for which I had all of the ingredients at hand, this chocolate buttercream frosting. So to more tears and screams, I whipped it up. Sadly, I was a bit too free handed with the milk so it was a bit.... melty.

Put together, it looked like... well to be frank, it looked like a big turd.

Thankfully it tasted ok if a bit too moist but then again, I never believe fudginess to be a bad thing.

The stars must have been all aligned beautifully so my turd cake would turn out edible.