My brother told me that he found some vanilla beans in Gourdo’s, a favorite retail store of ours. As vanilla beans are hard to come by in Manila, I was quite happy to learn he could source some. Bottles and bottles of imitation essence can be found on supermarket shelves there but the aroma of this locally-produced flavoring easily fades once incorporated in batters or drinks. That’s when the idea of making our own extract hit me.

Consulting trusty Mr. Google, I typed in ‘vanilla extract recipe’ on the search bar. Wow. 20 million entries. I settled with one. It called for vodka. Another idea hit me. Vanilla-scented poison. Haha! Just brilliant!

So off to Deira Spice Souk I went, got my precious pods, then to the bottle shop for a liter (oh, make that two) of vodi. It will be a long, two-month wait before I get to do my version of grown-up Vanilla Coke. And another month more to perfume my next batch of ice cream. But hey, patience they say is a virtue. In the meantime, I will pass this recipe on to my brother, dream of pouring this sweet, velvety elixir over a couple of cubes of ice and offering a toast to Bacchus. Dude, you may be the god of wine but we mortals take credit for creating this gorgeous ambrosia.

xxx

Karima

Vanilla Vodka

Makes a liter of infused liquor

Ingredients:

Method:

Sterilize an infusion bottle and pour vodka in it. Immerse the pods in the liquor and leave to infuse in a cool dark place for 8 weeks.

When vodka is ready, remove vanilla pods and strain liquid to remove any impurities. Use the vanilla pods to make extract.

Vanilla Extract

Makes 1 cup of extract

Ingredients:

Method:

Sterilize a mason jar and pour vodka in it. Split the vanilla pods and scrape the caviar inside. Add pods and caviar to the vodka in the mason jar. Make sure the pods are completely immersed in the alcohol. Leave to sit in a cool dark place for 4 weeks.

The word Valentine conjures up images of chocolates, flowers, candlelit dinners and a deluge of red as though the love mountain of Eros erupted to scatter crimson hearts for him to pierce his arrows through.

Well… at least that’s how people in my country respond to the occasion. The confectioneries here take center stage during the month of February. The florists bring out their prized blooms. The restos whip up unforgettable meals. Heck, even houses of ill repute come alive with amazing ‘afternoon delight’ deals (think extended lunch break with bubbly, strawberries and your choice of skin flick)!

Now if open displays of affection come naturally to you, there really is no need to ‘celebrate’ St. Valentine’s Day. Like I come from a family of born huggers and kissers. PDA’s are as commonplace as eating to nourish yourself. But we decided to hop on the bandwagon anyway and come together for special dinner. Ok, it may not really be about making known how much we care about each other. More like unabashedly showing off our love… for food!

Pork liver crostini, grilled rib eye steak, short ribs in black pepper sauce, grilled salmon with lemon and dill, arugula and mixed greens with honey-kalamansi dressing. Sounds like a substantial meal already. Na-uh! There’s still dessert… which I am in charge of.

In honor of the love god himself whose name happens to be an anagram of the most popular flower during Valentine’s, I dove into my Middle Eastern and Indian pantries to put together a rosewater kulfi. Cool and luxurious, heady with the scent of roses, it’s the perfect last course to arrest that ravenous appetite. If my peeps find it cloyingly sweet, I’ve prepared a bottle of good crisp French rosé to refresh the palate with.

Hey Eros! We invite you to join us tonight. There aren’t any hearts for you to aim your arrows at but you are more than welcome to take a stab at the rib eye on the grill. Literally.

Rosewater Kulfi

Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

Method:

Beat the cream until thick peaks form. Keep in the fridge until ready to use.

Blend together the two milks and the rosewater. Stir in the food dye and mix well until uniform in color. Add a bit more if you like it a darker pink. Fold in the cream then pour into individual molds.

Freeze for 4 hours or more. To serve, turn the frozen mold onto a dessert plate. Loosen the kulfi out of the mold by placing over it a hot towel.

*Note: This is a shortcut version of a traditional kulfi, where the milk and sugar are boiled together and reduced until thickened. I used condensed milk to slash down prep time. Since rosewater is actually a clear liquid, I decided to tint the cream with a bit of food dye.

For many years, vanilla has given me comfort. When I used to work in Dubai, I’d bake a batch of simple, un-iced vanilla cupcakes on Sunday mornings (the week there begins on Sunday), then take them to an office that pretty much devours me the entire day and leaves me for dead. But as soon as I return home, I could still smell the vanilla that had been trapped in my kitchen since my departure that morning. That alone wipes away the stresses of my day. When I’m not baking, I light vanilla candles. I normally don’t run out of them.

It was only early this year that I decided to pick up something new to go with my usual vanilla tealights from Ikea. They were bigger, heavier votives in glass, dark chocolate in color and gave off the sweetest scent of apples that had been cloaked in cinnamon.

I have since moved back to Manila. No Ikea candles here. The closest I can get to replicating that wonderful perfume is by cranking up that oven and making some good ol’ apple pies. Remembering that I seriously dislike doing the dishes, I’m making them strictly hand-held.

So with the apples, brown sugar and cinnamon bubbling away inside the oven, as expected I caught a waft of something decidedly familiar. Oh the memories resurrecting! Cliche as it may sound, I am wrapped in some serious fuzz right now.

xxx

Karima

Apple Empanadas

Makes 8 pies
Pie Crust recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

Pie Crust

Pie Filling

Method:

Pie Crust

Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a bowl. Using a pastry cutter, cut cold butter and shortening into the flour mixture. If you don’t have a pastry cutter, use the tips of your fingers and working quickly, rub butter and shortening into the flour until it resembles coarse crumbs.

Sprinkle ice water evenly over mixture, a tablespoon at a time. Using a fork, toss until the flour is evenly moistened and the dough begins to clean the sides of the bowl. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured board and with floured hands, shape dough into 2 small disks and wrap each in cling wrap. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour or overnight.

Assembly

On a lightly floured work surface, roll 1 disk of dough to 1/8 inch thick. With a biscuit cutter, cut dough into 5-inch rounds. Whisk the egg and water lightly and with a pastry brush, sweep egg wash on one side of the dough.

Peel and core apples. Dice into 1/2-inch pieces. Toss together with lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon and flour in a large bowl. Spoon filling into the center of each dough round, leaving about half an inch border all around. Fold into a half-moon and using a pie crimper (or a fork), seal the edges of the pie. Poke a few holes on top with the tines of a fork for steam to escape during baking. Brush a final sweep of egg wash. This will give the pies a glossy finish. Refrigerate empanadas while the oven is preheating.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celcius. Line baking sheets with foil to catch any juices. Bake empanadas until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Our Sunday mornings aren’t usually lazy and relaxed. We don’t get to snuggle under the covers until midday like most people do. We consume the entire week preparing for this day – lots of scribbling and bouncing of ideas. Saturdays are reserved for trips to organic markets, local IKEA retailers or landscaping shops.

Food blogging has never been this difficult.

It’s 7 AM and I’m peeling myself off of the bed. The first thing I need to do is open the living room curtains. There’s no sun. Think it’s going to rain again. Darn! The weather has been like this for months now – overcast in the morning, rainy in the afternoon. How can the weather be so uncooperative on the day of our shoot? But it’s early, there is still hope. So let’s crank up the espresso machine and get on with the mise en place.

Today we’re set to shoot a variation of our mom’s corn soup. I remember when we were still little she would cook this soup during a cold rainy day. It was simple, delicious and hearty. There’s nothing like mom’s cooking. You can just feel the love rubbing your back with every slurp… keeping you all warm and fuzzy. But she seldom cooks right now ever since we took over the kitchen and stuffed it with gadgets she can hardly operate.

Enough with the drama and start chopping the onions! After doing all the needed prep work, the pan heats the oil and butter. The pork belly and bacon are thrown in. The first time you hear the pork fat sizzling, it is like listening to Joe Satriani’s fingers gracefully weaving notes with his guitar. Enter garlic and onions. The pungent fragrance released from these aromats tells you there’s magic happening in that hot pan. When the cooking is almost done, my sister Karima prepares the props for the shoot. She irons the table napkins, wipes clean the dishes, sets up the table… you know, very domestic stuff. But she’s my food stylist and art director as I am not that good with composition. The food is ready, the props are laid out and the camera is mounted on the tripod. The shooting begins.

A hundred clicks later, we’re absolutely knackered. We’re excited to post the photos in this blog hoping Tastespotting or Foodgawker will accept our entries. This is a good weekly accomplishment. We’re very happy and we think we deserve a pat on our backs. And the best part of it all? Eating every ounce of that dish we prepared today! That’s happiness. That’s my kind of Sunday mornings.

Jon

Grilled Corn Soup

Ingredients

• 1/4 kg medium shrimps, heads separated
• 5 cups water
• 2 ears of corn with husk
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 100 g pork belly chopped
• 2 bacon strips
• 1 onion bulb chopped
• 2 medium sized ripe tomatoes chopped
• 3 garlic cloves chopped
• salt and pepper
• 3-4 sprigs cilantro (optional)
• sauteed peeled shrimps (optional)

Method

Make the shrimp stock by boiling all the shrimp heads in 5 cups of water. Reduce until stock is about 3 cups. If you have a potato masher start squeezing out the yummy juices out of those heads. You know you’re in good shape when you see an orange film on top of the stock. Peel the remaining bodies.

Meanwhile, soak the corn in water for about 10 minutes. The wet husk prevents it from burning easily and helps steam the corn. Place the corn on a high heat grill, turning the cob every so often to cook evenly. Grill the corn until the husk is well charred to induce that smoky aroma. Peel the husk off and grate the kernels. You may chop the kernels further if you don’t want them chunky.

In a sauce pan over medium heat, heat the butter and oil. Render the fat of the pork belly and bacon for 7-10 minutes. Throw in the onions, garlic and tomatoes and saute until onion is translucent. Pour in the stock and corn. Let it simmer for 10 minutes. Season to taste. Serve hot and top it with cilantro and sauteed shrimps, if desired.

We’ve heard it all before – boy loves girl. Boy is rich (langit); girl is poor (putik). Boy’s mom is a high society monster (impyerno) who promises to ruin girl’s life if she does not leave her son alone. All too familiar? This is a classic recipe in Philippine movies. It has been used countless times already but we never get tired of watching movies with the same plot over and over again. Movie producers are able to rake in millions by making flicks like these! Not only do we love watching beautiful actors weep, scream, walk soaking wet under the pouring rain, we also get that ultimate high when there’s some bitch-slapping every 15 minutes.

In the end, the crying stops. So does the rain. It’s a bright sunny day when boy meets with girl again. The mom looks on from afar flashing her a big disarming smile – the seal of approval. Everything is OK now. Moviegoers can walk out with a glimmer of hope that one day they might just find the John Lloyd Cruz (or Tirso Cruz III, depending on the age bracket) they’ve been looking for.

The principle of opposites has been used in many ways  – yin and yang, beauty and the beast, May-December affair, naughty and nice. In cooking, the same principle can also be applied – sweet and sour, hot and cold, crunchy and smooth. The list goes on. The contrasting qualities of elements introduce an interesting vibe to the whole experience.

In this recipe, I used two ingredients with opposing characteristics – bacon and tofu. Bacon is a salty flavorful thin sheet of cured meat that is generally considered unhealthy because of its high calorie, high saturated fat content. Tofu, on the other hand, is bland but absorbs most of the flavors you mix with it. It is widely accepted as a meat substitute eaten by health buffs (think veggie meat). The combination of the two can be likened to an upscale tokwa’t baboy… which you can certainly serve to your future Mama without fear of being ostracized. Send me a note when you get her nod of approval.

Jon

Bacon-Wrapped Tofu

Ingredients:

• 100 g bacon
• 50 g silken tofu sliced into 1 x 2 x 0.5 inch blocks
• 2 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• chili flakes
• salt and pepper

Method:

Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Season the tofu with salt and pepper and pan fry until both sides are brown.

Sprinkle the bacon lightly with cumin and chili flakes. Stack two blocks of tofu and wrap the bacon around it. Do this for all the remaining tofu. Fry the wraps on a pan over medium heat. Turn them when the bacon starts to caramelize.

Serve hot.

Gen-Z’s. The Digital Natives. As expected, most of them are surgically attached to their electronics. iPhone, iTouch, PSP. With these portable friends, they can surf the net, play games, listen to music, take photos, communicate with each other.

You, who were born during the era of black, rotary dial telephones and television sets that came with their own cupboards, cannot comprehend this new breed. You complain that the kids these days don’t anymore go out and enjoy the sun. That they don’t anymore know how to be creative and build things from scratch.

Truth is, you’re old-fashioned and haven’t caught on with technology. And more importantly, you just want to spend a few moments with your children without letting them feel that you’re robbing them of their precious ‘me’ time.

Enter baker’s play dough. What do you know? The idea alone managed to peel my 12-year old off of his Nintendo DS. Mentioned that I invited his fave cousin to join us, he switched from ‘ok, I’ll help you’ to ‘what time are we going to start?.’

It only took us 4 hours from start to finish but in between, it was an uber-fun (albeit messy) affair. The kids kneaded their own dough, cut them into pieces and rolled them into balls. Then came the greasy construction interspersed with the occasional flicks of bacon fat and semi-molten chocolate at each other.

After clearing the table of butter drips and two kids’ faces of meaty slicks and chocolate smears, we admire the towers of bubble rising inside the oven. And noticing their eyes beaming with absolute pride, who says kids these days can’t build anything from scratch? We may have arrived at the age of the Avatar but I’m confident these digital natives will do just fine. Especially with a little help from imaginative Gen-X’ers!

xxx

Karima

Monkey Bread

Makes 6 4-inch breads
Adapted from Chocolatier Magazine, June 1996 Issue

Ingredients:

Dough

Assembly

Bacon and Cheddar

3 tbs unsalted butter, melted
100 gms bacon bits, pan-fried
1/2 cup grated white cheddar
1/2 cup grated red cheddar

Italian Herbs and Garlic

3 tbs unsalted butter, melted
4 tbs dried Italian herb blend
2 tbs chopped fresh garlic

Chocolate Chip

3 tbs unsalted butter, melted
2 oz mini semisweet chocolate chips
2 oz mini white chocolate chips

Method:

Combine yeast and 1/2 tsp sugar in a mixing bowl. Stir in the warm water. Heat the milk, butter and 1/2 cup sugar in a saucepan until the butter melts. Remove from heat and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Let stand until just warm. Whisk in the eggs one at a time into the milk mixture then add the yeast mixture.

Combine 3 cups flour and salt in a separate mixing bowl. Pour over the yeast-egg-milk mixture and stir to form a thick batter. Add the remaining flour, half a cup at a time, to form a soft dough.

Turn out onto a well-floured board and knead until smooth and supple, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle additional flour as necessary to prevent it from sticking to the board.

Transfer to a well-buttered bowl, swiping the dough to get an even slick of butter all over. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and let stand in a warm place for about an hour and a half.

When the dough has doubled in size, coat the inside of tube pans with softened butter. Gently punch down the dough and turn out to a lightly floured board. Divide dough into portions equal to the number of pans you are using (in my case, 6 4-inch mini bundt pans). Then further divide each into smaller pieces and roll into balls.

Assembly:

Dunk the balls in melted butter then roll into the desired flavoring. Drop the dough balls into the pans, making sure they’re evenly distributed. Doesn’t have to be perfect. Just cover spaces as much as possible. It is a good idea though to keep the top surface balanced so that they brown evenly.

You may choose to coat each dough ball in butter, arrange a layer at the bottom of the pan then sprinkle with desired flavor blend. Repeat layers until dough balls fill three quarters of the pan.

Cover the top with cling wrap and let rise for the second time until doubled in volume. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit 15 minutes before baking.

Bake the breads on the middle rack of the oven for about 20 mins. Halfway through the baking time, lay a sheet of aluminum foil on top of the pans, to completely set the top of the bread and prevent it from over browning. You may check doneness by sticking a wooden toothpick into the center of the bread. It should come out dry.

Let cool on a wire rack then carefully remove bread from pans to cool completely. Enjoy right away or leave some for breakfast the following day, if they’re not gone by then!

Like I mentioned in a previous post, I was going to make mint granita.  Problem was, I couldn’t find mint in the supermarkets.  So I cheated.

Got some Moroccan Mint Tea in the cupboard and I was dying to use the orange blossom water I purchased in Dubai so I figured, “Heck!  Why not?’

All I need now is a gorgeous sunset, a great rooftop dinner setup and a hearty lamb tagine to wolf down… so I can cleanse my palate!

xxx

Karima

Moroccan Mint Tea Granita

Makes about 8 servings

Ingredients:

Method:

Pour water and sugar in a small saucepan and simmer over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool.

Brew the tea bags in 3 cups of boiling water. I used green tea in this recipe but you may substitute with regular mint-infused black tea. Do not leave bags for more than 5 minutes otherwise the tea will become bitter. Mix in the sugar syrup and blend well. Let cool to room temperature then stir in orange blossom water.

Pour into a metal baking pan (the wider and shallower, the better) and stick into the freezer for about an hour. Stir with a fork, scraping the crystals that have formed along the edges of the pan. Return to the freezer and repeat process twice more. Keep in the deep freeze until ready to serve.

Usually, I like tropical storms. You’re trapped indoors; it’s nice and cool; got an excuse to huddle close to another erm…warm body. Perfect ‘bed weather.’

But not when they come with power outage. Like what happened during Typhoon Basyang that ravaged the country last month. No damn electricity for 20 hours. And it was gloomy and gray with howling winds and sheets of rain that brought misery to a whole new level.

Yet we’ve known this for the longest time. There’s no use hurling curses at our local government for failing yet again to address this perennial problem. I promise you, that power will come back. Just stay calm…and eat chocolates.

Yup, I have taken inspiration from misery and turned it into something positive. Kind of like Erebus, the God of Darkness bringing forth Eros, the God of Love. Hey, if I’m already using candles by mid-morning, might as well extract romance out of the whole thing.

Erebus, please accept my offering. I hope these Nipples of Venus delight you.

xxx

Karima

Nipples of Venus

Makes about a dozen

Ingredients:

Method:

In a glass bowl over simmering water, heat cream until hot to the touch. Stir in vanilla extract and immediately add chopped bittersweet chocolate. Let stand for 5 minutes then stir with a wooden spoon. Make sure all chocolate pieces have melted and there are no lumps visible on the ganache. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Once tepid, transfer to the fridge and chill until firm to the touch.

When the ganache is ready, spoon into a pastry bag fitted with 1-cm plain pastry tip and pipe* mounds onto a parchment-lined baking sheet in the shape of chocolate kisses or ‘nipples.’ Return to the fridge for truffles to set.

Meanwhile, melt dark sweet chocolate in a bowl over simmering water. Take the truffles out of the fridge and resting atop a fork, dip into the melted dark chocolate. Shake excess and replace truffle onto the parchment sheet. Repeat with the remaining truffles.

Melt white chocolate in a bowl over simmering water. Take the coated truffles and dip the tip in the melted white chocolate. Return to the parchment sheet and repeat until the truffles have all been ‘tipped.’ Chill until ready to serve.

*Note: You may use a large ‘chocolate kiss’ mold, coating it first with melted dark sweet chocolate then piping the ganache into each case. Cover the truffle with more melted chocolate to fully encapsulate the ganache. When firm, tip with melted white chocolate.

Right. We’ve officially entered monsoon season. Three-week intervals of torrential rains. The sun doesn’t have a chance to glare anymore. And when the skies aren’t weeping, the overcast gives rise to torturous humidity. Today, it’s 91%. Approaching Dante’s inferno.

So what do you do? Take cold showers, eat chilled salads, drink lots of water and let shards of cool granita melt away the mugginess.

A Sicillian invention, granita is perfect for those clammy, oppressive afternoons. Especially right after the rains when the soil begins to breathe and releases its sticky, earthy sudor into the air.

Similar to sorbet and a cinch to prepare, it usually takes on the flavor of fruit. Although in caffeine-soaked Italy, coffee proves to be popular as well. So just your preferred liquid, some sugar syrup if needed, a freezer and a fork, you’re already fully equipped to create some jewel-toned ice crystals.

You can make different-flavored batches, freeze them in ice cube trays then pop into ziplocked freezer bags for storing. When you get one of those unannounced visits from friends or family, pulse a few in a food processor and spoon into martini glasses. Voila! A quick and elegant dessert.

Or, you can serve them (especially citrus-perfumed ones) as palate-cleansers in between courses. You will not lack in compliments after guests have had spoonfuls of this refreshing entremet.

So next time the hydrometer hits the roof, I know exactly what to reach for. I’m planning to make three batches this week that will include one coffee and one mint. Did one today using peaches…that will for sure take Dante to Paradiso.

xxx

Karima

Peach Granita

Makes about 8 servings

Ingredients:

Method:

This is the base of all granita flavors I make. Replace the fruit with 3 cups unsweetened liquid and you’re good to go.

Pour water and sugar in a small saucepan and simmer over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool.

Puree peaches and measure three cups. You may use peach juice as a substitute, which will make the granita more icy than using fruit puree. Mix in the sugar syrup and blend well. If you want to brighten the flavor, blend in a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice.

Pour into a metal baking pan (the wider and shallower, the better) and stick into the freezer for about an hour. Stir with a fork, scraping the crystals that have formed along the edges of the pan. Return to the freezer and repeat process twice more. Keep in the deep freeze until ready to serve.

I’ve had a long, beautiful love affair with glass. I still do. The closest of my friends and family know this all too well. When I see glass, I drool.

Clear, colored, smoked, printed — doesn’t matter. I like ‘em all. Well, ok…except ugly ones.

There’s just something so romantic and charmingly old world about glass. The dresser looks uber-stylish when crowded with vintage glass perfume bottles; a simple cake or cheese plate seems more elegant under a clear pastry dome; even the very mundane dishwashing liquid is elevated to supermodel status when decanted into empty olive oil bottles.

Over the years, I have collected different glass items, the largest group of which is my drinkware. I generally prefer drinks presented in their appropriate vessels. Like I wouldn’t want my martini served in a tumbler. No — no no no — no no! There’s my Pyrex collection too — casseroles, mixing bowls, measuring jugs. It’s not so obvious that I like to use my oven, huh?

Then one day I discovered Michael Smith on the telly, a Canadian chef who hosts the cooking show Chef at Home. As the program title suggests, it showcases his very own home with the kitchen as his stage. I fell in love with that pantry of his. Every imaginable spice, liqueur, herb, sauce, grain, nut and chocolate has a place in that room. And each is kept fresh in its own glass mason jar.

Yep, you heard me. GLASS mason jars. They’re my new babies! I can think of a million uses for them: petits pots au chocolat, coddled eggs, pies-in-a-jar, creme brulee, homemade vanilla extract, individual shepherd’s pie, fruit syrups, scented sugars, butterscotch sauce… Right. Drool alert. Excuse me while I fetch a towel!

xx

Karima