'Ono Kine Grindz

IMBB27 + SHF20: The Roundup

So here goes my first attempt -- second if you count Virtual Vacation which was held earlier this year and co-hosted with Alan at ma'ona -- at hosting a World Wide Blogging event.  Thanks to those of you who participated.  There were just a shade under 20 entries and I don't know if it is because this event wasn't heavily publicized, if people don't actually make their way to my blog, or if the theme wasn't to anyone's real liking.  On with the show, shall we?

Entries are listed according to the date/time they were received:

  Name: deccanheffalump
  Blog: The Cook's Cottage
  Post: Soy phirnee
  Location: Pune, Maharashtra, India
 

  Name: babe_kl
  Blog: Babe in the City - KL
  Post: Fresh milk curd with
  ginger
  Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

  Name: Ulrike
  Blog: Küchenlatein
  Post: Quark with fruits &
   soybeans
  Location: Germany (?)

  Name: Libby
  Blog: Curiosity Cabinet
  Post: Double soy chocolate chip
  cookies
  Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA

  Name: Krithika
  Blog: Manpasand...From my
  kitchen to yours
  Post: Aloo matar parantha
  Location: USA

OK folks...those are the first 5.  I'll continue with the roundup tomorrow.  Hopefully more entries will come in!

Update: 6/28  I am really sorry that the roundup has not continued as planned and to those of you who had posted links on my reminder post and have sent me e-mails with your links, I have received your entries.  Thank you so much for taking the time to participate. 

That said, I am feeling under the weather right now so I have not really been online to complete the round up.  Please accept my apologies.  I will do everything possible to get the round up completed by Friday, 6/30.  Thank you all for being patient.

Update: 7/01 I am feeling much better today after sleeping through most of the last 2 days.  I finally have enough strength to sit here at the computer and to continue the roundup.  Again, thank you to all that participated.  Now, for a few more entries.

  Name: Indira
  Blog: Mahanandi
  Post: Soymilk skin (Fresh Yuba)
  ~ Savory & Sweet
  Location: Ohio, USA

  Indira gives us two recipes today
  the first is a potato curry round
  wrapped in fresh yuba while the
  second is a soymilk halwa made
  with fresh dates and coconut.

  Name: Jennifer
  Blog: Taste Everything Once
  Post: Tofu Orange Crème Brulée
  Location: Spokane, WA, USA
 

  Name: Marc
  Blog: Mental Masala
  Post: Soy Trilogy
  Location: Berkeley, CA, USA
 

  The first dish in the trilogy is
  represented by the dish in the
  photo above.  It's a creamy tofu
  sauce (shira ae).  The next dish
  is here -- a bowl of miso soup.

  And finally, the last dish is made
  by topping some silken tofu with
  sliced and sautéed mushrooms.
 
 

  Name: Stéphane
  Blog: Passion Fusion
  Post 1: Entrée salée, tofu,
  betterave et fraises aux
  Herbes de Provence

  Post 2: Cubes de cake de tofu
  à l'eucalyptus et au miel,
  dulce de leche de soja
  Location: France (?)
  I wish I could read French!

  Name: Haalo
  Blog: Cook (almost) Anything at
  Least Once
  Post 1: Blueberry, honey
  and silken tofu whip

  Post 2: Miso soup with silken
  tofu, shiitake mushrooms and
  spring onions
  Location: Melbourne, Australia
 

Update: 7/09  Sorry folks, but I'm still not done with the roundup (as well as so many of my posts!).  Work has been really hectic and recovering from illness doesn't make it any better.  I'm posting a few entries tonight and will finish posting the remainder tomorrow.  To everyone who participated, please accept my sincere apologies for the unexpected and the  unanticipated delays.

  Name: Sam
  Blog: Sweet Pleasure : plaisir
   sucré
  Post: Soy Minimalism
  Location: Vancouver, Canada

  Name: Nic
  Blog: Baking Sheet
  Post: Cookies and cream vegan
  ice cream
  Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA

  Name: Kate
  Blog: Veggie Friendly
  Post: Vanilla soy sago pudding
  Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia
 

  Name: Cathy
  Blog: My Little Kitchen
  Post: Blueberry muffins
  Location: Gaithersburg, MD, USA
 

  Cathy also made a very refreshing
  banana and blueberry smoothie
  using soy yogurt based on a recipe
  from Everyday Food.
 

  Name: Anthony
  Blog: Spiceblog
  Post: Mabo Tofu
  Location: Perth, Western Australia
 

IMBB27 SHF20

IMBB27 + SHF20 = The Joy of Soy

June is upon us and that means new editions of two of food blogdom's most prestigious online cooking memes -- Is My Blog Burning? and Sugar High Fridays.

The first event, Is My Blog Burning?, was born out of the creative genius of Alberto at Il Forno.  He first proposed the idea, and concept, to a handful of bloggers back in January 2004.  That first event, staged in February of 2004, drew a small (13 entries), but illustrious group of food bloggers -- the roundup listed entries by Pim, Josh, Maki, and Elise among others. 

FACT:  For those of you who don't know, this blog was started in April of 2004 because I wanted to participate in IMBB #3 which was being hosted by my favorite blog (now defunct) Shiokadelicious!. 

The second event which is considered the first "official" spin-off of IMBB?, Sugar High Fridays, was created by Jennifer at the Domestic Goddess.  This was the perfect event for those of us with a sweet tooth and the first event, held in September/October of 2004 was anchored by the participation of Clement, Viv, Zarah Maria and Cathy.

So here we are, right in the midst of a food blogging explosion and I'm hosting not one, but TWO events concurrently.  Thanks go out to Alberto and to Jennifer for allowing me to play host for the month.  And now, here's the good stuff:

Prepare a dish using a soy.  Use soy milk, soy beans, tofu, tempeh or any other soy preparation in your dish.  Since this is a combination IMBB?/SHF event, be creative!  Send me an e-mail with a link to your entry no later than Sunday, June 25th (that means Monday, June 26th for those of you on the other side of the International Date Line).  If you don't have a blog, but would like to participate, send me an e-mail with your recipe, a photo of the dish (if possible) and any information that you would like published with your entry and I will post it for you.

The roundup will be posted on Monday, June 26th (keeping my fingers crossed).  The roundup will also be done automatically if you chose add the following bits of code to your post:

<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/IMBB27" rel="tag">IMBB27</a>

<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/SHF20" rel="tag">SHF20</a>

Have fun!

SHF - Serikaya (Egg Custard)

This month marks the FIRST ANNIVERSARY (or 12th Edition) of Sugar High Fridays, a World Wide blogging event created by Jennifer, at The Domestic Goddess.

The theme this time around is "Cooking up Custard" and the event is being hosted by none other than Elise over at Simply Recipes.  This month's theme was a really difficult one for me because other than custard pies and egg tarts, I really had no idea what to make with custard.  So after looking through my stash of cookbooks, I came upon a recipe in a book I brought back to Hawaii from my recent trip to Singapore.  The book, called "Cook Malaysian" by Lee Sook Ching, listed a recipe for serikaya (egg custard).

Now from what I knew of kaya (is serikaya different?), was that it was more of a jam than a custard and is usually served in kopitiams (coffee shops) on charcoal grilled bread (at least in Singapore).  But after looking over the list of ingredients, and comparing it to the definition of custard listed in Elise's announcement post, I thought I would be OK.  After all, this jam (custard) contains eggs (yolks), (coconut) milk, sugar (lots of it), and other flavorings (pandan).  So I decided to just go for it.  Elise?

I adjusted the recipe that was in the book and simplified the instructions.  This takes quite a bit of time to cook, so plan on having lots of time on your hands before starting to make this.  There was also a recipe in the book that utilizes a microwave, but then it just wouldn't be the same right?

Serikaya (egg custard)

1 1/4 cups coconut cream (approximate)
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar*
2-3 pandan (screwpine) leaves, knotted

Here's the ingredient list in the book:

1 1/2 grated coconuts
4 medium eggs
2 cups sugar
3 pandan (screwpine) leaves

*Start with one cup of sugar, but more can be used.  Use less/more pandan, depending on the level of fragrance you want this to have.

Combine the eggs and sugar in a bowl until well blended and the sugar is completely dissolved.  Add in coconut cream and mix well.  Pour mixture into the top of a double boiler and "steam" uncovered for 1 hour, stirring constantly.  Cover then "steam" for another 2 hours, refilling with boiling water and stirring mixture every 1/2 hour.

After steaming for a combined 3 hours, the mixture should be thick and golden brown.  Add the knotted pandan leaves and allow the mixture to "steam" for another hour without stirring.  Remove knotted pandan leaves and cool before filling into clean, warm bottles to store.

Serve serikaya with pulut tai-tai (glutinous rice cakes) or on toasted bread with thick chunks of butter (as seen above).  I didn't make the pulut tai-tai because I didn't have bunga telang (butterfly pea flowers) to use to color the glutinous rice.

**NOTE**

Water must never be allowed to drip into the serikaya.  Place a cloth inside the double boiler's lid to prevent condensation from forming.

Enjoy!