Old cycles and new

Many of you will know that I have very recently quit a job I had held for nearly 12 years. It was time to go and look for new adventures, but the decision was not easy. Cleaning up my inbox this morning though, I found this old email forward.

I think Paulo Coelho summarizes, better than I ever could, my situation, and also gives me a fresh burst of hope and gumption for the coming days and months. Haven't we all gone though relationships that died, ventures that inexplicably failed, losses we couldn't bear or explain? Or long moments when we freeze, hesitating before taking the next step, embracing the change that waits just around the corner from where we live. Those are the times in our lives when the message, simply, is: Move on, move on, it's time.

Closing Cycles
by Paulo Coelho

One always has to know when a stage comes to an end.

If we insist on staying longer than the necessary time, we lose the happiness and the meaning of the other stages we have to go through. Closing cycles, shutting doors, ending chapters – whatever name we give it, what matters is to leave in the past the moments of life that have finished.

Did you lose your job? Has a loving relationship come to an end? Did you leave your parents’ house? Gone to live abroad? Has a long-lasting friendship ended all of a sudden?

You can spend a long time wondering why this has happened. You can tell yourself you won’t take another step until you find out why certain things that were so important and so solid in your life have turned into dust, just like that.

But such an attitude will be awfully stressing for everyone involved: your parents, your husband or wife, your friends, your children, your sister, everyone will be finishing chapters, turning over new leaves, getting on with life, and they will all feel bad seeing you at a standstill.

None of us can be in the present and the past at the same time, not even when we try to understand the things that happen to us. What has passed will not return: we cannot for ever be children, late adolescents, sons that feel guilt or rancor towards our parents, lovers who day and night relive an affair with someone who has gone away and has not the least intention of coming back.

Things pass, and the best we can do is to let them really go away.

That is why it is so important (however painful it may be!) to destroy souvenirs, move, give lots of things away to orphanages, sell or donate the books you have at home. Everything in this visible world is a manifestation of the invisible world, of what is going on in our hearts – and getting rid of certain memories also means making some room for other memories to take their place.

Let things go. Release them. Detach yourself from them. Nobody plays this life with marked cards, so sometimes we win and sometimes we lose. Do not expect anything in return, do not expect your efforts to be appreciated, your genius to be discovered, your love to be understood. Stop turning on your emotional television to watch the same program over and over again, the one that shows how much you suffered from a certain loss: that is only poisoning you, nothing else.

Nothing is more dangerous than not accepting love relationships that are broken off, work that is promised but there is no starting date, decisions that are always put off waiting for the “ideal moment.” Before a new chapter is begun, the old one has to be finished: tell yourself that what has passed will never come back. Remember that there was a time when you could live without that thing or that person – nothing is irreplaceable, a habit is not a need. This may sound so obvious, it may even be difficult, but it is very important.

Closing cycles. Not because of pride, incapacity or arrogance, but simply because that no longer fits your life. Shut the door, change the record, clean the house, shake off the dust.

Stop being who you were, and change into who you are.

Random Hong Kong image #1 - The meat shop

Typical roadside shop selling airdried pressed duck and chickens and Chinese sausages (often fatty pork, duck, or a combination of pork and duck) plus roasted goose, duck, pork and chicken -- does roaring business on the eve of the Lunar New Year.

A salad for summer

I love vibrant colors, especially in food, and with summer approaching I am again inspired to create technicolor salads, moving beyond romaines and arugulas into combinations of corn and beans, coriander and tomatoes and lime.

Sweet corn, black beans and tomato salad

Boil 2 or 3 ears of shucked fresh sweet corn in water that's been lightly salted and sugared. Let cool, slice off the kernels. Combine with a 15-oz can of kidney or blackbeans (drained), some chopped red onion, two handfuls of plum or cherry tomatoes (sliced), the zest of 1 or 2 limes and a few tablespoons of chopped coriander (but really, who's measuring? I just toss in as much as makes the salad look pretty).

Make a simple dressing using a teaspoonful of lime juice, 3 or 4 teaspoons of good olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, a sprinkling of brown sugar, one bruised clove of garlic and a bit of chopped red onion--pour into a screwtop bottle (or Tupperware container) and shake. Toss the salad, making sure every bit of the dressing is evenly distributed, and voila! A lively, aromatic, quintessentially hot-weather salad is served.

Babies & showers

IT'S SPRING. Yes, I thought I should write that in all caps to wake you all up on a lazy Sunday morning. Trees are sprouting little deep red, baby-pink and coral spools of what will be flowers. After the somnolence of winter the birds are back making their usual racket just outside my window. Finally there is sun again and light and HEAT--not yet the sharp true heat of July and August, but enough to go out in short sleeves again.

I am suuuuch a tropical person. My ideal home would be somewhere in the tropics (or subtropics, which is in many ways better because you have some semblance of seasonal change without the extremes of cold.)

A couple weeks ago friends and I hosted a baby shower-slash-barbeque at the Tai Tam Reservoir country park for a friend who's expecting her first baby this May. It drizzled on and off throughout the day, but the food was good, the company fun, and hey, you can't let some dampness get you down. :-)

Oatmeal raisin cookies

Makes 3.5 dozen 3-inch cookies

Position a rack in the upper third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease cookie sheets. Whisk together thoroughly:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Beat on medium speed until well blended:
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1.5 cups packed light or dark brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2.5 teaspoons vanilla

Stir the flour mixture into butter mixture until well blended and smooth. Stir in:
1 cup raisins, chopped
3.5 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

Drop the dough by heaping measuring tablespoonfuls onto the sheets, psacing about 3 inches apart. With lightly greased hands lightly press the cookies down to form 1/2-inch thick rounds. (if necessary wipe off your hands and re-grease to prevent the dough from sticking to them).

Bake until the cookies are lightly browned all over and almost firm when lightly pressed in the center of the top, 6 to 9 minutes. Rotate the sheet halfway through baking for even browning. Remove the sheet to a rack and let stand until the cookies firm slightly, about 2 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool.

Lemon buttermilk pound cake

The weekend's triumph. Oh la la! It looked so perfect coming out of the bundt that I still don't have the heart to cut a slice.

Maybe this weekend I'll bring it to a picnic we're having at Tai Tam Country Park.

Recipe from Nick Maglieri's Perfect Cakes.

Spicy kungpao chicken

For marinade: 1 tablespoon oil, 2 teaspoons soy sauce and 1 teaspoon cornstarch

For the rest:
· 4 tbsp. oil
· 3 tsp. soy sauce
· 2 tsp. cornstarch
· 3 whole boneless chicken breasts, skinned and cut into 1-inch pieces
· 1/2 c. chicken broth
· 1 tsp. ground ginger root
· 1/4 tsp. dried chili pepper
· 1 med. onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
· 1/2 clove garlic, minced
· 1/2 lb. broccoli, cut into 1-inch pieces
· 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
· 1 c. cashews

To marinate chicken:
Mix 1 tablespoon oil, 2 teaspoons soy sauce and 1 teaspoon cornstarch in small bowl. Stir in chicken to coat. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix chicken broth, ginger, 3 teaspoons soy sauce and 2 teaspoons cornstarch. Heat remaining oil in wok. Stir fry chicken and chili pepper over medium heat until chicken is no longer pink. Remove chicken. Stir fry onion, garlic and red bell pepper until onion is tender. Add broccoli and stir fry until tender. Add chicken and broth. Stir fry together until thickened. Add cashews.

Double choco chip cookies

A perrrrfect afternoon snack, with coffee.

Double choco chip cookies
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cocoa powder (or half cocoa powder, half melted baking chocolate)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup butter, softened
1.5 cups white sugar (or use half brown brown and half white)
2 eggs
2 tablespoons vanilla extract 1 or 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (or use M&Ms)1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir into the butter mixture until well blended. Mix in the chocolate chips and walnuts.
3. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. You can also refrigerate before dropping onto sheets. Bake for 7 minutes in the preheated oven, or just until set. Cool slightly on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Banoffee pie

Jaw-achingly sweet but so addictive.

Ingredients
1 can condensed milk about 400g
3 large bananas
One packet digestive cookies (eg McVities)
Half-pint of double cream, or whipping cream
2 tbsp butter or margarine

Crush the biscuits in a ziplock or any plastic bag with a rolling pin until reduced to crumbs. Gently melt butter in a saucepan. Mix butter with the crumbs until they start to bind together, and transfer to a round Pyrex dish. Pat down with a spoon or your fingers. Make sure entire base of dish is covered. Allow to set in the fridge.

Boil can of condensed milk -- unopened! -- for 2 hours and make sure can is entirely submerged in the water. Allow can to cool down and when cool enough to handle, open carefully. Spoon the toffee from the can onto the biscuit base of the Pyrex dish. Refrigerate again.

Slice the bananas and arrange them decoratively on top of the toffee. Whip the cream until peaking, then fold on top and smooth out. Dust with chocolate powder for effect. Keep in the fridge until needed, covered with clingfilm.

Pinoy-style chicken macaroni salad

When I make this in Hong Kong, I usually omit the pineapple -- I like to make it more tart than in the usual version we make at home.

Ingredients
· 250 g. of elbow or salad macaroni
· 2 cups mayonnaise
· 1/2 kilo of chicken breast
· 1 celery stalk, diced
· 2 tbsp minced red onion
· 2 hardboiled eggs chopped
· 1 cup (or more) of drained crushed pineapple (15 oz can) - optional
· ¼ cup sweet pickle relish
· 1 cup diced or shredded cheese
· 1/2 cup chopped carrot (1 small carrot, maybe boiled)
· a handful or two of raisins
· salt, white pepper, bit of sugar

1. Drain the pineapples and pickle relish. Reserve some of the juices in case you need to season the mayonnaise later.

2. Boil chicken breast in salted water, then drain and chop. Reserve liquid

3. Bring chicken liquid to a boil, cook pasta till al dente.

4. In a big bowl, combine all ingredients except the pasta and mayonnaise.

5. Add about a cup of mayonnaise, salt, pepper and sugar. Toss until well blended.

6. Add another cup of mayonnaise, toss to blend then taste. Add more salt, pepper and/or sugar.

Chill, in a covered container, for several hours. Before serving, you can add a few more tbsps of mayo to moisten, and maybe a bit more salt and pepper to taste as the macaroni would have absorbed most of the saltiness.

Chocolate cream pie

Always a bestseller at parties. I get asked to make this loads of times!

For crust:
1 1/2 cups chocolate wafer crumbs (eg Nabisco chocolate wafers)
5 tbsp melted unsalted butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar

For filling
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
4 large egg yolks
3 cups whole milk
5 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla

For topping
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp sugar

Make crust: Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Stir together crumbs, butter, and sugar and press on bottom and up side of a 9-inch (1 quart) pie plate and bake about 15 minutes, until crisp. Cool on a rack.

Make filling: Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, salt, and yolks in a 3-quart heavy saucepan until combined well, then add milk in a stream, whisking. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, whisking, then reduce heat and simmer, whisking, 1 minute (filling will be thick).Force filling through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, then whisk in chocolates, butter, and vanilla. Cover surface of filling with a buttered round of wax paper and cool completely, about 2 hours. Spoon filling into crust and chill pie, loosely covered, at least 6 hours.

Make topping: Just before serving, beat cream with sugar in a bowl using an electric mixer until it just holds stiff peaks, then spoon on top of pie. Make sure cream, bowl and beaters are very cold--refrigerate a few minutes if necessary.Pie can be chilled up to 1 day without the topping.

Banana muffins

Rack in center of oven. Preheat to 375 F. Grease a 12-muffin pan or line with paper cups.

Whisk together thoroughly:
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup wheat flour / wheat bran
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

Stir in: 2/3 cup coarsely chopped pecans, hazelnuts or walnuts

Whisk together in a large bowl:
1 large egg
¾ packed light brown sugar
1 1/3 cup mashed ripe banana (2 to 3)
6 tbsp veg oil
1 tsp vanilla

Add the flour mixture and mix together with a few light strokes just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Do not overmix; the batter should not be smooth.

Pour batter into muffin cups and bake until a toothpick inserted in one of the muffins comes out clean, about 18 min. Let cool for 2 to 3 minutes before removing from pan.

Carrot-banana cake

Ingredients for cake:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup white sugar
1 cup firmly packed golden brown sugar
4 large eggs
2 cups finely grated carrots (about 1 1/2 large)
1 cup mashed ripe banana
3/4 cup chopped pecans/almonds/walnuts/hazelnuts

Frosting
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Additional ground cinnamon

For cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Sift (it’s important to sift!) first 4 ingredients into medium bowl. Whisk oil, the 2 sugars, and eggs in large bowl until well blended. Mix in dry ingredients. Add carrots, banana and pecans and blend well. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake until tester inserted near center of cake comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cake stand in pan 10 minutes. Turn out cake onto rack and cool.

For frosting:
Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon in medium bowl until smooth. Spread frosting over cake. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and refrigerate.)

Serves 12.

Adapted from epicurious. You can also make this as muffins: Bake 25 minutes at 350. To reduce fat, replace with oil with a cup of applesauce. You can use 1 cup of carrots (about 2 carrots) instead of 1.5, 3 bananas instead of 1, and leave out pineapple and pecans. Feel free to reduce sugar, to taste.

Best brownies

· 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
· 4 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), coarsely chopped
· 3/5 cup all-purpose flour
· ½ teaspoon baking powder
· ¼ teaspoon salt
· 1 ¾ cups sugar
· 2 large eggs
· 1 teaspoon vanilla
· 3 oz walnut pieces, coarsely chopped (3/4 cup)

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan (2 inches deep) and line bottom and sides with wax paper, then butter paper.

Melt butter and chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until smooth.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.

Whisk together sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl, then pour in chocolate mixture, whisking until combined well. Whisk in flour mixture, then stir in walnuts and transfer batter to baking pan.

Bake until top is shiny and set and sides have begun to pull away slightly (a wooden pick or skewer will not come out clean), about 35 minutes, for fudgy brownies; or until wooden pick or skewer comes out clean, 50 minutes to 1 hour total, for cakey brownies.


Cool brownies completely in pan on a rack. Invert onto a cutting board, remove paper, and cut into squares.

Cooled brownies keep, layered between sheets of wax paper, in an airtight container at room temperature 2 days.

Makes 16 (2-inch) squares.

Cook's notes, Feb. 27, 2010
* You can bake brownies as cupcakes. Easy, no mess.
* Reducing sugar to 1 1/4 cup for a less sweet taste.
 

Chocolate espresso cookies

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup (6 oz) semisweet chocolate chips for batter
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces

3 large eggs
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 tbsps finely ground dark-roast coffee beans

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips for final mix (optional)


Preheat oven to 350°F and grease 2 large heavy baking sheets.

In a double boiler or a metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt unsweetened chocolate, 1 cup chocolate chips, and butter, stirring until smooth, and remove top of double boiler or bowl from heat. In a bowl with an electric mixer beat eggs, sugar, and ground coffee on high speed until very thick and pale and mixture forms a ribbon when beaters are lifted, about 3 minutes, and beat in chocolate mixture. Into mixture sift in flour, baking powder, and salt and stir until just combined. Stir in remaining chocolate chips (if using) and walnuts.

Drop batter by heaping tablespoons about 2 inches apart onto baking sheets and bake in batches in middle of oven 8 to 10 minutes, or until puffed and cracked on top. Cool cookies in baking sheets 1 minute and transfer to racks to cool completely.

Makes about 30 cookies.

Can also be baked as brownies: Pour into a pregreased 9" square pyrex pan and bake at 350 for about 25-30 minutes.

Adapted from epicurious

My first-ever pound cake

Happy birthday Mommy! I only wish I was there, so that I can make this cake - my first ever non-carrot loaf, non-banana loaf attempt - for you.

It looks so round, so golden, so perfect I don't even want to eat it!

Pound cakes are ancient. This recipe dates back to 'American Cookery' by Amelia Simmons in 1796.

"POUND CAKE
One pound sugar, one pound butter, one pound flour, one pound or ten eggs, rose water one gill, spices to your taste; watch it well, it will bake in a slow oven in 15 minutes."

But of course modern pounds are much lighter. I made mine based on Nick Malgieri's Orange Poppy Seed Cake from his Perfect Cakes. It's great fun -- after the cake is baked and while it's still hot you prick it all over and pour three-quarters of a cup of orange syrup until all is absorbed.

This is going to be fantastically fruity and citrusy and damp. Too bad I didn't have any poppy seeds.

Today I will not write about food

A rose for our dearest B - It's twilight now, but the sun really will shine tomorrow. You will smile again tomorrow. I promise.

Ate

Chocoholic's Sunday

I once asked a friend, if you had to choose, would you rather give up coffee or chocolate?

To this day, she still hasn't come up with an answer.

Neither have I.
~ ~ ~

The cookies above were inspired by an Epicurious recipe for Mint Chocolate Cookies. "Inspired" because I don't happen to have any sort of mint flavoring in my cupboard, so used vanilla instead. The cookies came out dark, chewy and oh-so-rich. The dough was sticky though - maybe it's time to get an electric mixer.

Happy New Year!

Last week was my eighth Chinese New Year in Hong Kong. In previous years I never paid it much attention; it was merely an exotic holiday that came too close on the heels of Christmas and (to me, the real) New Year to be especially meaningful.

This year was different. Perhaps having acquired my permanent residency in HK made me feel like I belonged here. Or maybe it was the thought that by June I will be temporarily leaving this place, made me appreciate its character and many festivals more. So in the past few days my friends and I trekked to the flower markets, watched the multimillion-dollar fireworks extravaganza over the harbor, gorged ourselves silly on dimsum, Sichuan and Vietnamese food, and admired the decorations around town (various shades of eyepopping red). You can find the complete body of evidence here.

And now a bit of forecast for 2006 for those of us born in the Year of the Horse:

The Horse is the most fiercely independent animal sign, extremely sensitive to others, loves companionship, popular (oh yeah??), hotblooded, impatient (yehhh!) and falls in love too easily (hah!). Your galloping spirit is well suited for the busy year ahead. Run swiftly at the front of the field to capitalise on exciting opportunities when they present themselves – but don’t speed too far ahead of yourself or waste your energy on the latest craze. Sometimes you are too independent for your own good.

Career prospects are especially promising and even though wealth holds little interest for you, finances are favourable so long as you are prudent with spending. Draw comfort and support from the companionship you crave. Both relationships and home life should make you appreciate what's in your own backyard, with some memorable highlights. Despite your roaming nature, curb restless tendencies – your life is active enough and the year is lucky if you accept the support of those closest to you.

And if you're not a Horse, well then check this out.

Classic oatmeal cookies for AJ and Erika

AJ and Erika, these cookies are for you -- I will eat them in your name! I baked them over the weekend and unlike the ones I made for you over the holidays, these didn't soften overnight. They are as crisp and crunchy as can be. Perhaps because Hong Kong is much less humid than Manila?

Recipe: Classic oatmeal cookies from Joy of Cooking

New Year chocolate carrot cake

Temperatures dropped below 10 C in Hong Kong in the past couple of days. People were walking around in serious-looking coats and jackets, the hotpot restaurants were full, and it was even more difficult to get out of bed. After living here for more than seven years I thought I'd adapted pretty well to the cooler months. But still, January is a bit of a pain. The skies are often gray, the weather damp and the tempo of the workplace is perceptibly slower--like everyone's just waiting for the Lunar New Year to kick in, and with it another holiday!

The weekend passed in a blur. With less than four months to go before I leave my current job, there was a lot to think about involving my lease, travel plans, storage for my things, etc.

So I decided to cook while sorting things out in my head. Two dozen raisin oatmeal cookies, a dozen miniature carrot muffins, and a chocolate carrot loaf were the result. They were all delicious, and yours truly is gaining totally unnecessary pounds!

The muffins and cookies followed basic recipes from Joy of Cooking; the loaf was adapted from a chocolate and parsnip loaf recipe from Liz Franklin's Quick Breads. The original recipe and called for 3 eggs, canola oil, a half cup of chocolate chips, and grated parsnip. I reduced the eggs to 2 and replaced the chocolate chips with cocoa powder. I also used carrots since I didn't have parsnips, and corn oil as I don't use canola.

The result was a moist, not too sweet, beautifully textured and cocoa-ey loaf with just the right density and fewer calories. I love the way the brilliant strands of carrot show up in the finished loaf. Yum!