Yoohoo... Where are you?

This post is inspired by Lady Iron Chef! Calling all my old and new readers.. and of course whoever to chance upon this blog. I haven't seen you around? Where have all the comments gone? Please do not be shy and leave me a comment to encourage me to bring more informative posts to you. I love to see you here again. Introduce yourself! Come on.. ;)

Here's my little profile:
I am Sherene. Or most call me SheR. I am currently living in Croatia, Rijeka (the third largest city in Croatia). London was once my home for some 3 odd years. And it was the town that gave me my dreams, inspirations, hope and love. I was a baker, chef and patissiere. Now, I'm taking another break before heading home to Singapore for a Pastry position. Over the past 3 years (coming September), this blog has followed my ups and downs in Chef-hood. If you asked me what job would I love to do for the rest of my life, I would say Pastry. The plating of beautiful desserts with endless possibilities of creating new combinations and textures is the most rewarding!!

An Inspired Creation: Pineapple Jam Cake

I found the pack of frozen canned pineapple cubes and I thought of cooking them into a jam as usual. When the jam was finally cooked, I just couldn't be bothered to get on with making the pastry dough for Pineapple Tarts. Adapting my Pound Cake recipe as usual (which works wonders for any fruit-based cake) without any other flavouring besides a few dashes of vanilla essence.

After that, I wondered if I should make it into a tin cake or muffins? I chose the latter since it was easier. Making Muffins using cake batter just rounds up the flavour of the cake in a cup. I spooned half the batter into each cup, then a dollop of Pineapple Jam (since I did not want burnt Jam on top of the cake) and topped it off with more batter.

When the muffins were done, I simply drizzled the Pineapple Syrup reduction (remember the syrup from the canned Pineapples can be reduced and then frozen for future uses!) on each cake to make a sticky gooey and flavourful Pineapple Jam Cake.

Result: I reduced the quantity of sugar in the actual cake batter because I knew the final product will be rather sweet and I was right. Served hot or cold, this cake is spells P-I-N-E-A-P-P-L-E! Very light texture and yet the hidden jam lent enough flavour to the overall cake. I would love to add a little lemon next time perhaps as stock syrup to brush the tops of each muffin.

That's all. Hope you'll try it out too!

Thai Pineapple Fried Rice is not from Thailand?

According to reliable sources (an overseas Singaporean who lives in Bangkok, Thailand), the famous Pineapple Fried Rice which is sometimes called Thai Pineapple Rice does not originate from Thailand. It seems to be a Singaporean invention. Oh well, I'm not complaining since I LOVE this dish.

Want to know what's in it? The usual cooked Jasmine Rice and then stir fried in a spicy and sourish Pineapple spice mix, together with pieces of chicken and of course chunks of Pineapple! To garnish this dish, chopped chillies, fried shallots and sometimes pork floss (very Singaporean invention) are added. Can you imagine a wonderful mixture of sour, spices and sweetness?

I'm going to cook mine today less the Pineapple bits since I used them for my Pineapple Cake few days ago. So I'll be back to post some pictures of the Cake and the Rice (if there's any left!). Stay tuned!

Premium Bananas!

Looking for bananas in the box? Wait, that's a cat! A fat one indeed.

Just another filler post, so not in the mood to blog. Yeah.. blame the weather.

Food Fun: Mini Olive Tree

We were at a craft fair in Istria yesterday and Mr M captured one of the art pieces. The little olive tree was nestled in a pot made using typical Istrian method (achieved by stacking stones to make a structure).

It looked really cute but I think the tree will grow out of the pot pretty soon (it's a tree,yeah!).

Speaking of Olive trees, it's a pretty common sight to see rows of them in this part of Croatia. Croatia has a long history of cultivating Olive trees for the fruits and the oil. A dear friend of mine living on island Hvar does her own every year. Not enough to sell commercially so I didn't really get a chance to buy it from her!

I'm not really an expert into Olive Oils but I have discovered the flavour differences in the Italian Olive Oils that my mum used to buy in Singapore and the Croatian varieties which are not available elsewhere in the world. How different? The Italian oil tends to remind me of oil (yeah stupid description but let me finish). Having a slight lemony aroma (for the lack of a better word) when it is heated. On the other hand, Croatian oil is very olivey (Ha.. I invented the word). It reminds me very much of the Olive fruits that the oil is extracted from. It is great for drizzling on salads such as Salad Nicoise (as it contains Olives) without having to add the fruits. Oh. I'm not really a fan of the Olive fruit. So I appreciate the absence of it in my food.

One short note to end this post, in MG, Olive Oil goes well with Chocolate and Sea Salt.