Garden Project

It’s official. I’m a weather jinx. Everytime I mention how glorious a day had been, the next day will be plagued with gray cloud. I’ve been out running a lot of errands lately. That included a trip to Bunnings, every Aussies favourite hardware store, to pick up some plants for the garden yesterday. I was extremely happy to find some coriander plants for the vegetable patch. An annual plant, it’s one of the most used herbs in this house. If it grows well, I’ll be able to pick it anytime whenever it’s available!

Parts of the garden are badly neglected. Some plants are dying from the wrangling of other crawling plants. Dead plants yanked from the soil have yet to be replaced with new ones. Soil that have become dry and undrainable. As the daughter of a former landscaper and agriculturist, I’m ashamed to say that I have no inherited talent for that side of the business.

So at Bunnings, I picked up a few plants, including a beautiful one called Snow in Summer which has beautiful little white flowers. The plot that I was working on is not huge. However, the ground has always been covered with an assortment of bricks which I found ugly. Furthermore, it was invaded by endless mint plants that never want to die. It was just growing at the wrong place by the tap and at a rapid pace too; so fast that before you can say ‘fresh‘ after tearing it out from the ground, it comes back again.

This is what the small plot looks like before, minus the mints.

It doesn’t seem like a heavy job, needing only to remove all the bricks, pull out every root of the mints, loosen up the soil, compacting it, cut up a piece of weed mat before laying it with a couple of tiles (which I found in the shed). I think that the soil might not be very well-drained but I’ll mix it up with some different soil when I have the time.

Well. Not really an easy task. But ….two hours and almost missing lunch later, here is what it looks like.

There will be a few little touch-ups, like getting another plant to put beside the Snow in Summer and some ground cover for the bare area. The rest of the plants in the tray will be going to another part of the garden. More on that later.

October 30, 2008 | gardening

I Love ….. #1

1. Amy Butler
2. Vampire-infested little red riding hood
3. Little vintage lamp
4. The Christmas tree that can stay up for as long as I care
5. Galbraith & Paul’s Medium Drum Pendant lamps
6. Buttoned black scarf

October 30, 2008 | ilove

Espresso Mascarpone Mousse

The heat is a sure sign that winter has finally taken a retreat. Everything is growing in the garden and no efforts go unrewarded. The fact that I gave the rose bushes a brutal pruning in winter and some fertilizing in early spring saw the shootings of new branches, disease-free leaves and gorgeous, blooming petals. The only disappointment this spring is the lack of growth from the tulips and daffodil bulbs that I left in the ground since last year. I was hoping that it would bloom since the bulbs are already in the ground; no worry over late planting or incorrect storing temperature in the shed. The same bulbs produced flowers two years in consecutive. By right, it shouldn’t be shy of blooming brightly and courageously as it did last year. It was so anti-climax to have seen new shoots, long and tall, coming out from the ground, short of stems to encourage growth. The stunted shoots are still in the ground, mocking at my failure to groom a good crop this year. On a better note, the vegetable garden is growing exceptionally well and we can’t wait to receive the first harvest!

Sometimes, the most peculiar place can come up with the most wonderful stuff. I’m not about to reveal where but I was at a certain weekend-only, small sports club last week and bought a slice of home-made fruit cake. It was the most delectable little thang I’ve eaten this season. So good that I bought another slice when I went back there in the late afternoon. Turns out, the fruit cake was soaked in alcohol for one year before they made it available for purchase. It was really, really delicious.

A warmer weather also means a change in the cooking. Nobody should be subjected to slavery in the kitchen with an oven turned to 200 degrees when the heat from outside is hot enough to burn skins in a matter of minutes.

I found this recipe, Espresso Mascarpone Mousse, in the same magazine that gave me the chicken & coriander dumplings. It’s an idiot-proof recipe that can be done in less than half an hour. In less than 2 hours after refrigeration, it’s ready to be eaten. That’s what we need on any given warm and lazy day.

Espresso Mascarpone Mousse

makes 4
(October 2002, Super Food Ideas)

1/4 cup boiling water
1 tablespoon instant coffee
250g tub mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon gelatine
1/2 cup cream, whipped

1. Combine half the water with coffee, stirring until dissolved.
2. Place coffee mixture, mascarpone and sugar into a large bowl. Beat together until creamy.
3. Dissolve gelatine in remaining hot water by whisking with a fork. Beat into creamed mixture. Fold in cream.
4. Spoon mixture into 1/2-cup capacity ramekins. Refrigerate until set. Decorate with a spoonful of whipped cream and a few chocolate-coated coffee beans if desired.

[Notes]
1. The best friend gave me some lilac mini-sized cupcake moulds last year which I think is a good portion (approximately 1/3-cup instead of 1/2-cup capacity). That means I get to serve 8 instead of 4.
2. I used glace cherries instead of coffee beans. You can even add shaved chocolate. Be creative!

October 28, 2008 | food

The Chicken Tells The Cheese …..

So, I was chatting on MSN with the best friend who just came back from a Turkey-Germany-Prague trip (which by the way, looks absolutely gorgeous from the photos). While waiting for her loooooooooooooooooooooooong storytelling in between her disconnection and office work, I thought I should make a quick food post.

It’s true that cooking is a form of therapy. When I want to think, I’ll choose elaborative recipes that require time and effort to prepare. But there are also times when I want nice food quickly. When I saw these two recipes last week (plus one of my own; one on TV and the other from an old magazine, I didn’t hesitate.

CHICKEN & CORIANDER DUMPLINGS
(makes 30 mini-dumplings)

1 bunch coriander (plus 2 coriander roots), washed and dried
500g chicken mince
1/4 cup oyster sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
400ml can coconut cream

1. Roughly chop coriander leaves and 2 of the roots. Blend in a food processor with mince, sauces and garlic until smooth.
2. With the motor running, add coconut cream through chute in a thin stream. Process until well combined.
3. Spoon mixture into greased mini-muffin tins. Bake in a preheat, moderate oven (180°C) for 25 to 30 minutes or until firm to the touch and pulling away from the sides of tin.

(from Super Food Ideas, October 2002)

SPINACH & MUSHROOM GNOCCHI

500g gnocchi
1 heapful of spinach
1 tablepoon of butter
1/2 tablespoon of olive oil
5 huge button mushrooms (or small ones. Not fuss about the amount. You can add as little or as much as you want. You can also substitute it with other mushrooms)

1. Prepared the gnocchi to the packet’s instruction. While the gnocchi is cooking, blanch the spinach in boiling water for 30 seconds. Set the spinach aside. Gnocchi shouldn’t take too long to cook so set it aside too.

2. Heat up the pan to a medium heat. Add the butter and oil into the pan. When the butter melts, add in the mushrooms and cook till slightly soft. Add the blanched spinach and stir well for a minute or two. Then add in the gnocchi and stir through. Season it to your liking with salt and pepper.

3. Serve it up with the chicken & coriande dumplings.

[Notes]
1. I had two muffin trays; a small one and a big one. I was lazy and decided to filled up the big tray. Not a good idea because the thicker it is, the longer it takes to cook. If you have mini trays, all is well. If you have a normal-sized tray, fill it halfway instead.
2. If you did what I’ve done and the chicken dumplings are not browning nicely when the time is up, give it another 10 minutes before assessing again. If it’s still not satisfying, remove the dumplings from the tray, put it on a tray with baking sheet or aluminium foil and continue baking it for another 8 to 10 minutes. Just continue checking on it to make sure it doesn’t dry out.
3. Try not to cook the gnocchi too early as it will ’starch up’ and make your gnocchi sticks together. If this happens, quickly runs it through, in a strainer, with boiling water a couple of minutes before you add into the pan with the mushroom and spinach.


CHEESE STICKS

2 frozen puff pastries
a heapful of cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese (or your favourite melting cheese)
2 pinches of salt

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C. Let the pastries thaw slightly in room temperature.
2. Separate your cheeses into two portions.
3. Put a pastry on a chopping board. Sprinkle a generous amount of the cheeses and a pinch of salt all over one side of the puff pastry.
4. Layer the second pastry on top of the cheese-filled pastry. Using a rolling pin, flatten the pastries to ensure that they stick together and don’t come off easily. Place the pastry onto a slightly greased tray.
5. Put the remaining cheeses and salt onto the top layer. Using a knife, gently cut into stick shapes. A slight indentation will do. You can cut through properly after it comes out from the oven anyway.
6. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until it’s golden.
7. Remove from oven and cool slightly. Cut into sticks if you haven’t already. Enjoy!

And in case you are wondering, the chicken tells the cheese, “stick it!”

October 20, 2008 | food

Royally Yours

Royally Yours

I’m not sure why I’ve gone & done this. Initially designed for the use on something else, I decided that it will not suitable. I like the yellow motif which I think will looks nice as a fabric. Unfortunately, I don’t have the money or the time to expand on this idea.

Frankly, it’s quite a time-consuming task that ate up half my weekend. The dog is giving me this, “walk me please” look and the garden needs some attention. So, I’m not going to work on it anymore and instead made it available for free download as vector illustration.

The download has moved to Yi+Jee website.

October 12, 2008 | art

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