Best of 2014

This year I've moved to London and I've started culinary school, so I've eaten out a lot more and so I've posted fewer recipes and more reviews.  However, as it's still a cooking blog, in my "Best of 2014" I'm just going to have my favorite recipes.  Yes, these are the best according to me.  Sometimes I look at the page views for different posts and get quite disappointed as the popularity is not proportional to the quality of the recipes.  I mean I personally have to say that all the recipes are good because I'm biased and shameless but.... Well, these recipes are my favorite from this year.

Best Dessert
This soft and moist Plum Cake.
I know, it seems quite simple, but it has mascarpone in the batter and the plums are roasted in the oven and become incredibly sweet and juicy.  Simplicity at its best. 

Spiced Carrot & Mung Bean Salad

You know, I like the idea of moving around and traveling and living in different places, but f*cking hell I hate the act of moving.  I hate packing and throwing things away and putting my things in storage and delivering them and then unpacking and then buying everything I threw away.  I've been doing that for the past four years, moving houses every 4 years. Urgh and the one thing I always have to do when I move into a new place is restock my pantry.  This is  both fun and heartbreaking as it's just a lot of money.  I just go and buy everything at once -- all my spices and my condiments and pulses and it's...so much money. I know it's saving in the long run but in the short run it makes me very sad at the till.  But anyway, with a well stocked pantry I can make wonderful spiced dishes like this!

 

Lentil Shepherd's Pie

Dear Readers, it may come as a surprise, but other than cooking, checking recipes, exploring restaurants, watching cookery videos and reading food-related articles, I've got other hobbies too.  I like sudokus, jigsaw puzzles, bananagrams, Rubik's cubes and things to do with psychology.  But now I've got a new interest - metal detecting. 

Let me take you to the night where I made this Shepherd's Pie.

My dear friend, Nina, invited me over to her house for dinner with her friend, her husband and her son.  Ok, not related, but look at how cute her son is?  That's Miles with his finger dipped in chia seeds.  He's going to be a strong healthy boy.  Forget crackers and peanut butter jelly sandwiches, this kid has chia seed puddings as his snacks.  Cute little Miles.

A Brilliant Lentil Salad

I finished my last exam a week ago - my last ever university exam.  I know, aahh!  Actually, it's been pretty anti-climatic.  I don't technically graduate until late June, so maybe it'll feel different then.  But that explains the lack of posts hah.

Anyway, enough about me.  I really like this lentil salad, it may seem simple but it's brilliant.  The key is to dress the whole thing while it's still hot and letting that flavor infuse - if you can, make it a day in advance and keep it in the fridge - it's even better the next day.

And the herbs! So much herbs!  It makes a difference.  I'm  hopeless with growing plants and all that.  I can't keep any herb plant alive for more than 4 days.  I'm very neglectful, I forget to take care of it.  I remember once in middle school my Science teacher told the class to all get a plant and learn to grow and nurture it - so that we can learn to take care of children in the future.  My mint plant didn't survive for very long....

Pear and Gorgonzola Risotto

Being in university and studying "serious" subjects like Economics and Finance and Management and International Relations, we're all expected to go  into the standard 9-5 office job with a fairly good pay that handles rent and all the rest.  I study Economics and Psychology.  My peers from the former are mostly going into the banking or consulting or all those things that I don't understand despite the last 4 years.  My peers from the latter are mostly going into further education and research and I really wish the best for them in terms of discovering things for the good of humanity.  They'll be truly important. 

I, on the other hand, want to be a chef.  And it's nice to hear other students also deciding to go down the risky route of following their dreams.  I know of someone studying French who's actively involved in the drama society here and is moving down to London to pursue her acting career.  I know of someone else studying Classics who's going into drama school for play directing.  I know of someone studying International Relations who's going to be an opera singer, and also another friend studying International Relations who's going into holistic nutrition.  We'll all be broke but hopefully happy and not addicts.

Roquefort Risotto with Honey and Cacao Nibs

This was quite a particular risotto.  No alcohol (yay for Muslims), no stock - just water, and the onions aren't fried in oil, but rather simmered in milk.  So yes, it's interesting, but what's more interesting is this dinner party I catered for last night. 

Guys, start hiring me. This is my third time catering - 10 people, 4 courses and I had a blast.  Prior to this I had catered for a friends' anniversary dinner and their Valentine's Day dinner, and both occasions were lovely but last night was just fun.  With 10 people, surprisingly it was more casual and relaxed, because instead of having a couple's love and relationship at stake, it was just 10 people having a nice dinner.  Less pressure, more chit chat.

Saffron Risotto (Risotto alla Milanese)

Give an Italian saffron and the first response is saffron risotto (risotto alla milanese).  That was my response at least, after my friend gave me saffron from Lebanon.

Risotto alla Milanese is a beautiful risotto with saffron and parmesan.  It's a classic. 

Remember, the key to any good risotto is lots of stirring.  They're not hard to make, it just takes time and care.  In the winter it's actually not bad to be hovering over a stove stirring a pot with the steam in your face.  My clothes still smell of saffron - I think it's wonderful.  It's like smelling of gold. 

 Credits to Qi, who took the photos and gave me the saffron.

Spiced Beetroot and Coconut Rice

Going into my Indian friend's house is the most thrilling experience for my olfactory system.  There is apparently a misconception that Indian households reek of curry -- no, no, Saanya's flat is heavenly.   It's not a greasy unhealthy smell, it smells of the most beautiful concoction of spices.

Have you seen an Indian household's spice rack?  Saanya's was actually a bit special.  See, Saanya loves nutella.  Can you imagine how many different spices an Indian household has?  Can you imagine all of them stored in nutella jars?  It's an impressive collection. 

So staying at Saanya's house was pretty awesome.  Her mother made me this coconut beetroot dish that I fell in love with.  I tried searching it online and somehow ended up with this beetroot rice dish and I added coconut to it and it's not bad at all.  I added grated coconut but try it with some shredded coconut or coconut chips.

I've made this twice.  First time was better, second time I just winged it with the spices and..well, the balance wasn't right. 

Breakfast Berry Banana Spelt Salad

Spelt, farro, barley -- they all look awfully similar to each other.   I'd say they're even interchangeable. 

Isn't this pretty?  A pretty plate of food is the way to start the day, guys.  It's weird, I'm normally the type that wakes up minutes before my alarm, feeling fully energized, before 9 in the morning.  But lately I've devolved back into my teenage state and mornings have not been too nice.  I still wake up before 9, but with the alarm.  I feel better after about 10 minutes, but I don't usually need 10 minutes.  It's weird.  Maybe it's the different environment, the different diet.  Different diet - my trousers have been getting so tight, who knew there'd be so many nice things to eat in Germany?  Well, gaining weight or not, a nice whole grain breakfast with pretty colors is surely the way to start a day for anybody. 

Carrot Saffron Risotto with Carrot Chips and Toasted Almonds

Another dinner party. Yes, this is what I do at university.  This is what my planner is filled with - 3, 4 dinner parties a week.  What do you do at university?

I like dishes that have different textural components to it.  So this has soft velvety risotto that you eat against the crunchy carrot chips and almond flakes :) 

Do you like the way it looks?  I'm trying, Masterchef is inspirational.  Speaking of which I'm like 4 episodes behind, I'm so scared that by the time I"ll have time for Masterchef they will have deleted them off iPlayer.

I'd also like to share with you some useful advice: when you can't find a cork screw, as you might often do, and you find yourself facing a bottle of wine.  Worry not, there are ways.

Coathanger? No.  Doesn't work.

Get a wooden spoon, bang on the cork and you can push the cork down.  It may be dangerous.  Actually, don't take my advice.  I don't want you to hurt yourself.  Just get a cork screw.  It's worth the investment. 

It took ages to open up that bottle of wine for the risotto. 


Ingredients
Carrot Chips
Carrots
Olive oil
Salt

Risotto
1 small white onion, finely chopped
2-3 medium carrots, finely chopped
1/2 glass white wine
400g arborio rice/barley
1 tsp ground saffron
2L Vegetable stock

Toasted almonds

Method
for the carrot chips:
Preheat oven to 180C.

Peel the carrots, and holding them lengthwise, shave into thin strips with your vegetable peeler.  Toss with olive oil and salt.

Put the strips in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Do not let them overlap and bake for about 5-10 minutes, until just starting to brown.  Don't worry if they seem slightly soggy, they'll dry up a bit more once they are out of the oven. 

for the risotto:
Make the risotto by frying the onions and carrots in a bit of olive oil until softened but not browned.  Add your rice and toss, make sure everything is coated.  Add your wine and cook until evaporated.  Continue stirring until the wine evaporates (ie the rice is dry) then add a ladle-full of stock.

Stir until all the stock is evaporated and then add another ladle-full.  Continue this process for about 40 minutes, you may not need all the stock.  Taste the rice/barley to see if it's up to your standard (note: barley will always remain a bit al dente).  Stir in the saffron. 

Serve with carrot chips and toasted almonds. 

Vegetarian Haggis Filo Loaf

I'm not discriminate towards different cuisines.  I don't believe there's a bad cuisine.  Yes, there are some I prefer more than others, but it's unfair and just rude to disrespect a particular cuisine.  Including the Scottish one.

Now, Scottish cuisine has a horrible reputation.  Yes, it is not the best, and at first I was hesitant.  The thing is, unlike Italian cuisine for example, you can't find good stuff everywhere.  In Italy, I find that unless you go to the tourist traps, food ranges from good to you've-just-changed-my-world.

Now, Scottish cuisine, from personal experience, ranges from from one extreme to the other, with the mode towards the left side of the scale.

Haggis is uh.  Well, you know what it is right?  If you don't, let me enlighten you - sheep organs cooked in sheep stomach.   Appetizing, eh? 

It's not that bad.  With a little bit of whisky over it, it's decent.  I don't go crazy for it, but it's not as awful as it sounds.  But then I was introduced to vegetarian haggis. It's essentially oats and beans and veggies with the same spices as a normal haggis.  It's fantastic.  This along with beautifully smoked fish and rich puddings, Scottish cuisine proved its place in my heart.  You can argue that it's not proper Scottish cuisine, but goodness, I'll consider variations and improvements to still be Scottish cuisine.  I gotta give them a chance. 

I've looked at a range of recipes, got some ideas, and wrap the vegetarian haggis up with filo.  Try it out, adjust the seasoning and spices if you want, and tell me what you think :)

Serves 4
Ingredients
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 medium carrot, shredded
1 cup button mushrooms, finely chopped 
1 cup red kidney beans, cooked
1 cup green lentils, cooked
1 cup pinhead oatmeal, soaked for an hour
Soy sauce (to taste)
Freshly ground pepper (to taste)
Filo pastry 
Olive oil

Method
Preheat the oven to 200C.

Sautee the garlic, onions, and all the spices in a pan with some oil until soft, don't let the onions color.
Add the mushrooms and carrots and cook until softened.  Add all the other ingredients (for the oatmeal you can add some of the soaking liquid as well), and check seasoning.  Cook for a couple of more minutes, adding water if dry.

Keep your filo pastry under a damp cloth as you work.  Take one sheet, brush with some olive oil, then lay another one on top. Brush with more olive oil and finally lay the last sheet on top.

Put the filling in the middle and wrap the filling up so it's all closed and you form a loaf.  Brush with some more olive oil on top, and if you wish, an egg wash (1 egg beaten with some water). 

Put on greased and lined baking tray and bake for about 30 minutes or until golden on top. 

Spring Rice Salad

Think Spring.  What time of the year are you thinking of?  I'm thinking March. It's still acceptable to be cold in February, but as we're approaching Easter, I feel like it should be spring.

Now the Scottish weather doesn't agree with me here, but it's okay.  It's Spring Break (and not Easter break as we're all being political correct here), and I'm off to New York tomorrow.

I'd actually much prefer to go back to Italy or somewhere else closer to the equator and beach to get a couple of shades darker - but my sister lives in New York, and you know what, I'm not complaining.  It's still New York.  Though I do prefer London I think. New York, London... ok yea to be fair the last time I was in New York was 5 years ago.  Oh and as I just started doing Happy Belly Reviews, expect some reviews of small local eateries!

Millet, Kale, and Veggie Sausage Salad

Have you ever had Quorn products?  Urgh.  The tofu's alright, but everything else, your mock meats, please.  Westerners do not know how to make mock meats.  Chinese Buddhists have got the mock meats covered.  So many things actually taste like meat.  I don't know how they do it.  I've had mock fish that honestly tasted of the sea, and mock pork that would make the Jews and Muslims cringe.  Blows my mind. 

The Quorn products on the other hand are beyond disappointing.  They're just... tasteless. Flavorless. Bland. Blah.

So I was at a supermarket and it was 3 for £5 -- of course, I should've known, that was a clear sign that they're not selling because they're bad.  Anyway, I bought "steak", "chicken pieces", and "sausages".  The steak was not good.  The chicken pieces were abysmal.  But thankfully, maybe because I tried them last, the sausages weren't too bad.  Still not good enough on their own though -- I had to put them in a stew or in a salad like this one.

You are encouraged to replace the sausages with smoked tofu or real meat or something.

Black Rice Breakfast Porridge

Happy New Year!

Everyone undoubtedly has many new year resolutions revolving around gym sessions and healthier diets.  May they last.  In any case, this is something to help kick start your new lifestyle and assist you in achieving your ambitious goals -- black rice simmered in water with cashews and dates, and then put into a blender.

 I actually learned this from my flatmate Leah.  She has the most unusual kitchen experiments from scrambled pancakes to jumbo stir-fries.  One thing I witnessed her make a black rice porridge which was blended in a food processor.  The problem is that if you merely cook black rice in water it would still have a bite to it, or perhaps you would need to cook it for a long time.  So if you're in the mood of a comforting thick soup-like porridge, then put it in a blender.  I’ve taken it a bit further by simmering black rice with chopped up dates and cashews in water.  Thanks, Leah.

Spiced Quinoa with Butternut Squash & Pistachios

I went through some of my earlier Happy Belly posts today and it's funny how different they are from the recent ones.  This started out as a proper food blog where every blog post was about the actual dish I made. Then slowly I started linking the food to relevant life anecdotes and next thing you know this somehow turned into a personal diary.

So let's talk about this dish.  It's not my recipe, I got it from Will Cook for Friends.  It's a healthy superfood salad full of protein and healthy fats.  It's, I suppose, inspired by Lebanese flavors, what with the pistachios and coriander.  Oh I should add saffron to it next time.  I love saffron.  Hell, I felt like it was such a splurge buying pistachios (£4 for a small pack), I might as well add saffron to this.  Saffron actually isn't that bad.  It's expensive but you use so little of it every time.  A tiny little box with like half a tbsp of it might cost you £5 but at the same time you only use such a small fraction of it each time that it would last you for quite a while.  These pistachios on the other hand...well this was half a pack right here. 

Ok back to the dish.  It's easy and versatile.  It's a salad, it is by definition just a jumble of ingredients so add what you want.  You can use cheaper nuts and you don't have to add saffron. 

I made this when my friend, Rachel, came for lunch.  I love it when friends come over for lunch.  Guys, don't be afraid to ask, I love cooking for friends, if you're good company, you can invite yourself over for a meal. 

Recipe from Will Cook For Friends
Serves 2
Ingredients
1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup quinoa
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 garlic clove
1/2 cup pistachios, roasted and shelled
1/4 cup fresh coriander, roughly chopped

Method
Preheat oven to 180C.
Toss cubed squash with 1-2 TBSP olive oil, and a large pinch of salt. Spread in an single layer on a foil covered baking sheet, and roast for 15-20 minutes, or until fork tender. Shake or stir the pan once during cooking.

In a small pan over medium heat, saute garlic in 1 TBSP olive oil until golden and fragrant. Rinse the quinoa under cold water, drain, then add to the pan. Add the vegetable broth, coriander, and cumin, and bring to a boil*. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and let cook 12-15 minutes without lifting the lid. Remove from heat, and let stand for another 5 minutes. Remove the lid, and fluff quinoa with a fork.

Stir in chopped cilantro, pistachios, and the squash. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Serve.

Curried Brown Rice Skillet

Just to exacerbate things, my iPhone took a hard blow today and the screen shattered.  It was already cracked, but now a bit of the screen is actually missing.  It's probably somewhere on my kitchen floor.  Yes, it happened while I was making this. 

If you've read my last two blog posts you'd know that I'm currently an emotional wreck.  I really shouldn't be allowed to post on Happy Belly when I'm like this. 

On another note, I got a Twitter account.  I probably should've gotten a Happy Belly one.  I don't have the slightest clue what to do with it.  It's just like a series of status updates isn't it?  I've always felt like my life isn't interesting enough to have a Twitter account.  I've always found people who update their Facebook statuses with meaningless little mundane daily activities incredibly self-absorbed.  I don't even know how it works.  I've decided just to use it to follow people.  I retweeted and replied to one thing about this exhibition.  I don't know what else I can tweet about, I thought I'd be able to tweet about Happy Belly but I don't know how to...do that yet.  You know what else?  It's almost like a popularity contest, isn't it?  Right now I have no one following me which is really upsetting. 

Anyway, this was adapted from Naturally Ella.  It was originally with butternut squash but I didn't have any, so this was a nice staple recipe. 

Serves 2-3 
Recipe adapted from Naturally Ella 
Ingredients
1 onion, diced
1 garlic, minced
1 1/2 tbsp garam masala 
1/2 cup chickpeas
1 cup tinned chopped tomatoes
1 1/4 cup vegetable stock
1/2 cup short grain brown rice

Method
In a cast iron skillet, heat some olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add onion and garlic and fry for 10 minutes until it begins to caramelize.
Add garam masala and rice.  Stir until the rice is all coated with the garam masala.
Add the chickpeas, tomatoes, and stir until tomatoes begin to boil.  About 3-4 minutes. 
Add the stock, bring it to a boil, and turn the heat down.
Leave the rice alone, let it absorb all the liquid, about 45 minutes.
Remove from heat and let it cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Lentil and Carrot Loaf

Okay.  I'm pretty much done with my essay.  I have an essay due this Monday, and after weeks, I think I'm done.  I'm not one of those people that can just pull an all-nighter and finish a 2000 word essay in 10 hours.  No, just the idea of it stresses me out.  In fact, I often stress for other people when they do that.  I can't write an essay when the deadline is countable in hours.  There is nothing wrong with writing an essay the day before, if you can do well, good for you.  I just take a long time to write an essay, longer than normal people I think.  If I am somehow able to write an essay the day before, it would be awful.  Badly worded, run-on sentences that are illogical and follow no argument whatsoever.  I'm actually quite worried about my current essay.  Even though I worked really hard on it, it's not great.  See, in secondary school our report cards had two grades for each subject: an effort grade and the actual grade.  What often appeared in my report cards is a high grade for effort, but a lower actual grade.  I don't know if that's a good thing.  That just means I work really hard, but I'm just incompetent, unfortunately.  I was always jealous of those that got high actual grades but low effort grades, because even though you're lazy, you're clever. 

My essay's on food preferences.  We were basically told to write a 2000 word essay focusing on individual differences in one of my Psychology classes.  So, obviously, I'd write it on food. 

Other than the essay, here, let me show you to this delicious lentil loaf.  It's very versatile, you can add different things to it, you can also turn them into lentil patties for delicious veggie burgers. 

Okay, I'm going to go back to my essay.  Reread and edit some more. *sigh*



Ingredients
2 cups lentils
1 cup oats
2 small carrots, shredded
1 onion, finely chopped
2 bay leaves
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 egg + 1 egg white
50g freshly grated parmesan

Method
Preheat oven to 180C and butter and line a loaf tin with parchment paper.
Heat a bit of oil in a pan, add onions and bay leaves.  Fry until onions are translucent. 
Add garlic and shredded carrots, fry for an additional two minutes.  Remove the bay leaves and remove from heat.
Put the oats and 1 cup of lentils in a food processor and process until it's all mashed.  Put in a bowl with the rest of the lentils, the carrot and onion mixture, egg and egg white, and the parmesan.  Season, mix well and pour into prepared tin and bake for an hour or until browned on top. 

Apple and Peanut Butter Polenta

No longer gluten-free!  Don't worry, I know, this is what I had yesterday as my last gluten-free breakfast.  This morning I was overjoyed with my mix-match of all-bran flakes and muesli, and I've had bread with both lunch and dinner. And mid-afternoon snack with some peanut butter because I was really hungry. 

So, for my two-week gluten free challenge:  I've gained 1kg, so I've put on what I lost in my vegan challenge.  The thing is, it really was quite boring and I ate a lot of rice, which I like.  And I ate more than I normally would just because I felt like oh it's a special diet so I can eat as much as I want, like with the vegan diet, and, well, no.  Mousses and other wheat-free desserts weren't off limits and I think that's where it hit me.  Too much chocolate mousse and cheesecake toppings. 

Anyway, so I made this yesterday.  It was a beautiful morning and as I had run out of both quinoa and polenta for breakfast, I thought it'd be a good idea to walk to the big supermarket in my town and do some shopping. 

Mujaddara

This is soo budget-friendly.  Remember how I said I wanted to run for the position of lunch organizer in the psychology society?  Well, if you've been reading my blog you would, and if you haven't- well, basically it's me cooking for these weekly lunches and getting reimbursed for it.  I'm not officially the lunch organizer yet but I've been helping them out the past couple of weeks.  There's a budget obviously.  I can't cook like lobsters in a saffron soup topped with caviar and shaved white truffles.  So, in the search of cheap recipes, I found this.  

Rice and Bean Cakes with Honey Yoghurt

Position: 
Psychology Society's Lunch Organizer
Responsibilities:
This position involves setting up the PsychSoc lunch every Tuesday at 1pm in the foyer of the psychology building. That means setting up the table, buying the food (for which the society will of course reimburse you) and clearing up afterwards.

Cooking for other people and getting reimbursed for it?  Yes, please.  I had started helping out this Tuesday and I made these rice and bean cakes.  Normally for the weekly Psychology lunches it's just bought sandwich bread, hummus, some veggies and cheeses and cold cuts. No, no, if I become the Lunch Organizer I'm bringing proper cooked food.

 I felt so Chinese because the night before I basically cooked a whole bag of rice and there's still some cooked rice in my fridge. I don't know, I feel like every Chinese household has leftover rice in their fridge, ready to be stir-fried.  Anyway, this recipe yields a lot of rice and bean cakes, they're very nice and simple and versatile.  Use other beans or lentils and spice it up if you want.