Something to spruce up the recipe folder

With all the recipes available online, I have bits of paper stuck in my recipe folder, between the pages of cookbooks and magazines, and in random places all over the house (I know this because I always find one or two when I decide to declutter). I think part of my problem--aside from general untidiness--is that printing off a recipe from a website seems so ... disposable. After all, I can always print out another copy, right?

Well, no. First of all, finding the exact recipe again is a feat in itself unless I remember where I got it from. Second, I make annotations on my recipes, and by the time I have the entire thing just right, there are scribbles everywhere. And chocolate skid marks. And oil stains. And god knows what else...

So I stumbled onto Smilebox, which helps create good looking recipe sheets that I won't be (quite so) tempted to toss about willy-nilly. Go try it. It's fun.

Champorado

One of my favourite home-made Filipino desserts is champorado. I'm not sure how this dish got its name, but in English I call it "chocolate rice". Which is pretty much what it is. (I suppose you can call it chocolate rice pudding.)

As a child, I loved the ritual of adding sugar to my bowl of champorado, followed by swirls of milk. My dad used to form our initials when he poured milk ... kind of like coffee art, but low-tech. *lol* I used to make swirls and curls and sometimes I'd try to fit more than one milky initial into my bowl, usually with disastrous effects. I used to love my champorado drenched in milk, but as I grew up, my taste buds adjusted themselves and now I very rarely add milk anymore--yes, even when we used top-notch cocoa and ended up with a very dark result (see below).

In the past few weeks, Mum has been coming over to help out with the new babies--yes, I had twins!--and what better time to absorb all her cooking shortcuts and tips? Yesterday she talked me through how to make this delicious concoction that even Rob, who usually declines chocolate fare--much to my delight since it means I won't have to share my dessert--has at least two helpings whenever champorado is being served.

The timing couldn't be better. Cupping a steaming bowl of champorado, inhaling its delicious aroma, and taking that first spoonful of chocolatey goodness ... what a delightful way to beat the winter chill.

Champorado
1 cup glutinous rice
5 cups water
2 tbsp (heaped) cocoa
2-3 squares cooking chocolate or tablea (optional)
3-4 tbsp (heaped) sugar
milk

1. Put rice and water in a medium sized saucepan. Cover and place on high heat.
2. Mix cocoa and sugar in a small bowl. Add hot water to dissolve, and remove lumps. Stir mixture into the saucepan using a wooden spoon.
   
3. Add chocolate squares into the saucepan and stir.
4. When the water boils, reduce the heat to simmer. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is plump.
5. Add milk and extra sugar to taste just before serving.

Cooking tips
- The darker the cocoa, the more sugar and milk you'll need. You don't need to use high-quality cocoa. My mum uses the no-name brand and no one has ever complained about the quality of her champorado.
- Don't skip step 2 or the chocolate will be lumpy.
- The cocoa can be substituted entirely with chocolate squares or tablea (or vice versa), but it may affect the texture of the champorado. You may need to experiment a bit to get the quantities right.

This recipe is usually good enough for about 4 people, but if you love this dessert and haven't had it in a while then 2 people can probably go through the entire recipe within 24 hours. Rob and I fairly inhaled it in one sitting. The picture above shows what was left after we were done. Yes, after one sitting.

Damper with spinach dip

Last weekend, I went to a friend's housewarming party. I had originally planned on bringing a homemade pavlova, which I've never attempted before, but being pregnant, I decided to go with a tried-and-tested dish that wouldn't tax my brain. I decided to bring some oven-roasted tomatoes and damper with spinach dip.

I chose the damper and dip mainly because I knew that most of the guests would either be international students or immigrants, and probably wouldn't have come across it before. When I SMS-ed the friend who invited me to the party and told her I was bringing damper, she replied, "What's damper?"

Which brought me back to the first time Mum brought one home. (Of course, I'm not talking about authentic damper. I'm sure Mum bought her bread from the local bakery--hardly conducive to authentic outback cooking. Pedants need not protest!) She put it in the oven, and when it came out, we feasted on bread and butter with homemade hot chocolate (literally--my aunt made them from the fruit of her own cocoa tree in Manila and sent the chocolate tablets to us) while watching a footy match. Such a simple yet delicious way to laze about on a winter evening.

I remember the first time I was offered damper with dip at a dinner party--I didn't quite know what to do! Here was a round, hollowed out piece of bread filled with a soup-like concoction. I soon learned that it was meant for dipping...and I've loved the idea ever since. The recipe I used for the party was given to me by a friend, who served it as a starter when she had me and Rob over for dinner a few years ago. We found it highly addictive and ended up nibbling on leftovers even after dinner and dessert.

The dish was a success at the dinner party! I've had people asking me for the recipe, and word has it that the leftovers almost resulted in a good-natured duel for doggie bags. Can't really ask for a better compliment than that.

Damper with spinach dip
Note that I used a double recipe for the party.
1 damper (or cob loaf)
1 bunch fresh spinach (or frozen spinach)
1 packet of Spring Vegetable soup
600 ml (approx) sour cream
1 brown onion (or French onion dip)

1. Steam the spinach until dark and limp, then shred.
   
2. Saute the onion.
   
3. Cut off the top of the damper and rip out the inside of the loaf.
4. Put all the bread bits on a tray, and crisp in the oven (220°C) for about 5-10 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, heat the sour cream. Add soup mix, onion and spinach.
6. Pour hot dip into the hollow damper.
7. Serve with bread pieces.

Cooking tips
- Lite or low-fat sour cream changes the consistency of the dip.
- If you use French onion dip, don't scrimp. Don't buy Kraft dip--yuck!
- The original recipe included 1 packet of bacon rashers or shaved ham, but I opted for a vegetarian version to ensure most people can eat it. If you use bacon, saute it with the onion.

Unfortunately, I left my camera at home. Since I didn't put the dip and damper together until we were at my friend's place (the dish is best served straight from the oven and stove), I have no pictures to show. You'll just have to make it yourself and see--and taste--for yourself. :-)

Man-catcher brownies

A little Valentine's Day delight for brownie "purists". And if, perchance, you don't catch the man? Well, you get to keep the brownies for yourself!

Will attempt this very, very soon.

Desperately seeking churros

Churros (based on Dean Derhak's recipe)
vegetable oil
1 cup water
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1/4 cup sugar

1. Heat water, margarine and salt to rolling boil in saucepan; stir in flour.
2. Stir vigorously over low heat until mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat.
3. Beat eggs until smooth, then add to saucepan while stirring mixture.
4. Spoon mixture into cake decorators' tube with large star tip (like the kind use to decorate cakes).
5. Squeeze strips of dough into hot oil. Fry 3 or 4 strips at a time until golden brown, turning once.
6. Drain on wire rack.
7. Roll churros in sugar or dump the sugar on the pile of churros.

Right. So the end result didn't exactly match what I had in mind. You'll see from the picture above what churros should look like, more or less. And here's how mine turned out.

Homemade churros con chocolate

My main problem was not having the right equipment. I really needed a larger star tip. Much larger. Not just that, the decorator's tube kept collapsing. In the end, I gave up and used rolled up baking paper (Mum swears by it, but she's had heaps of practice) so my churros looked like soft little worms.

Taste-wise, I found this recipe quite bland. However, this might be partly due to my equipment problems. I read that using the right star tip is essential as it allows the churros to cook evenly all around (rather than being soft and soggy in the middle).

Some Valrhona drinking chocolate rounded off this little experiment and kept me reasonably happy despite the mixed results and massive clean-up afterwards.

Why I bought Ferrero Rocher as back-up

So I had this bright idea of making sugar cookies for Christmas, to be shaped and decorated by KB. How cute! you say.

Well.

First, I don't know how to cream butter. So I doubled the recipe in order to incorporate the not-so-creamy stuff into the hopefully creamier stuff. Didn't work.

Luckily, I have Mum as a freelance consultant. Just go on with the recipe, she says. The flour should put everything back together.

Next, I discovered why I shouldn't attempt double recipes with a freaking hand mixer. Luckily, the dough looked relatively doughy so the effort was worth it.

Five phone calls and one broken plate later, I had everything mixed, bagged and tucked in the freezer. I forgot to double the salt content, but whatever.

Tonight, we will attempt to roll, cut, bake and decorate these suckers. Then, I'm going to recruit the hubby into bagging those babies, ready to be handed out tomorrow night.

Oh god, please let me survive Christmas.