Easy Savoury Almond Flour Bread for the No-Carb Dieter

So, what do you do when you're on a carb free diet but you have a craving for bread? I have an easy solution. Make your own bread using almond flour/ ground almond! Although the consistency is not like artisan bread, it is equally satisfying and it is very tasty. The texture is closer to the texture of zucchini or banana breads. I got this recipe from The Bombshell Diet here but modified it slightly by adding an additional egg (because I used 'kampung' eggs which were slightly smaller and the batter was really dry with 3 eggs)

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups Almond Flour/Meal
1/4 cup Ground Flax Seed
1/4 tsp Salt
1 1/2 Baking Soda
4 eggs (3 if large)
1 tbsp Honey
1 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

Method
1. Preheat oven to 300°F and use grease a 6.5 x 4" pan.
2. Combine the almond flour, flax seed, salt and baking soda in a large bowl.
3. In a separate medium bowl, whisk the eggs, and then add honey and apple cider vinegar.
4. Stir the wet ingredients into dry and mix only until combined.
5. Pour batter into a 6.5" x 4" loaf pan pan and bake for about 25-30 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.

I used it as a carb-substitude for my uncle when we had beef bourguignon the other day but my cousin sister said it was good even on its own. I will strongly suggest that you slice it up and toast it so you get the wonderful aroma from the almond. If you want to have it for breakfast, you can spread butter on it and toast it - it is absolutely yummy! And because it has flaxseed, it is very good for you too.

“If you’re afraid of butter, use cream.” ~ Julia Child

“I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate”. I can resonate with that, for I didn't learn to cook until I was about 32, after my visit to Italy. Before that, I was nothing but a kitchen helper. Truly an inspiration, Julia Child's determination in learning to cook and believing in herself is fascinating to me. Julia believed that you should not let fear deter you from cooking. And by the way, I also believe that food can sense fear, they have an instinct too (loony bin talk). So the next time you pick up that whisk or that pan, do not tell yourself "it's not going to turn out good", because the food knows it and it will bully you if you're not brave enough.

I am so glad that every time my friends come across a food or Julia Child quote, they will share it with me on my Facebook wall. How blessed am I, to be associated with good, hearty food! I know I have done well if you see any articles or quotes on food and you immediately think of me. For I want to inspire my friends to step into their kitchens and grab that knife.... to chop onions.

Recently, my artsy friend from way back when (primary school, mind you) sent me a parcel. Ally is our artistic, talented friend who makes the BEST handicraft in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD. If you see articles on food and think of me, I see articles on craft and I think of her. She also shares the beautiful items that she makes with the rest of the world, by owning an Etsy shop called Aruricards. I go crazy when I look at the stuff she makes; how can anyone make such pretty things? Well, Ally does. She's got good taste, that one. The fact that she's a working mom with two boys, and can still find the time for her hobbies prove how much passion she has for this. And she made me a quite few things (which I love), one of which was an apron with a Julia Child quote!!!


Can you imagine our anxiety when the parcel she had sent 'tak sampai-sampai' to my house?! Oh my, we were gonna die of hypertension. When it finally arrived, we heaved a sigh of relief and thanked the postman for being 20 hari lambat! I swear I would have gone to the pejabat pos to kill the postman if he telan my goodies. Look at those pretty sticker seals?



I'm not sure how she made this from scratch. It was an 'alpha' version according to her, but to me, it is THE apron. Definitely no alpha nor beta version. Sewn on the most organic-looking material and hand-printed with my favourite quote, this is the cutest apron ever. Don't be jealous of me, ya?

 Tell me how not to fall in love with these labels? I cannot bear to give any away, seriously. You'd better be a really good friend for me to accompany these labels on your cake box or cookie jar. And the namecard is just awesome giler.
 

 This book also came in the parcel- the recipes I have yet to try but the photos in them will bring out the hidden domestic goddess in any one of us.

No amount of cakes or cookies will equal the amount of love that came in this parcel. Thank you, Ally!

Pickled Beetroot

I had some organic beetroot in the fridge, and decided to pickle them so they last longer. Such a waste to throw them out! We all know that beetroot is good for us, but the taste is sometimes too 'earthy' for our liking. I like to pickle it so it's slightly sweet and sour, and I can eat it like a snack (so sedap like "jeruk" you know). You can also throw some into your salad, and btw they work really well with cheese.

I don't use the canning method but I did sterilise the jar by washing it in warm, soapy water, rinsing it afterwards and heating it in the oven for 5 minutes (about 160 degrees). All you need is a little bit of sugar and red wine or white wine vinegar. I used red wine vinegar because that was what I had.

Method (adapted from Delia Online) :-
1. Wrap beetroot with aluminum foil and bake it in the oven at 190 degree celcius for 3 hours or until it feels soft when you pierce it with a fork or skewer. Take it out of the oven to cool. Once it is cool, remove the skin and slice the beetroot thinly (about 5-8cm thick). Arrange the beetroot in the jar.
2. Simmer enough red wine vinegar to cover the beetroot in the jar, with some sugar to taste.
3. Pour simmering vinegar into the jar, to cover the beetroot. Cover tightly.

I left it in the fridge for two days before I took it out to snack :-) It doesn't need too long to mature. These will keep as long as the beetroot is immersed in the vinegar.

What is going to happen to the coffee machine fund?

I have collected enough funds to buy a tiny coffee machine for my kitchen, and enough money to fund the free coffee for my guests at the little kitchen for the next few months. Many people have asked me what I would do with the fund next. Buy a swanky, rolls-royce-of-all-mixers-kitchen-aid? Oh, just the thought of it! But honestly, I didn't think I needed one yet. So I stopped thinking about what to do with the fund, I knew the answer would come when I was ready for it.

For all Malaysians who are reading this post, we've just had our 13th General Election in the country. Thank you all for voting, and for the young ones out there, don't forget to register to vote! I attended a few talks, volunteered as a polling agent, and felt truly joyful for being part of this election. As a Malaysian, I feel that I have never cared much about politics, nor the future of my country much...until this time. Because I felt more involved this time, my curiosity got the better of me and I started reading about elections, democracy, politicians (Mahatma Gandhi in particular), even teared up when I watched a video of Bapa Malaysia. I wonder how some politicians can persevere and fight for their people even if it means going to prison and in extremity, being assassinated. To me, to be of service to people who are in need is a commendable act of heroism.

On giving back to the community, I remember having a conversation with a friend a few years back. We talked about donations. And he said, "How many people actually donate because they care about the people in need? or do they actually donate because they want to feel good about themselves?". That topic has lingered on my mind till today. What does it really mean to be of service to others?

When the results of the elections were announced, there were of course a lot of emotions from everyone who became involved in the affairs of our much loved country with this election. That made me even more curious about politics, so I surfed the net to read about political histories in other nations. I then came across some interesting quotes from various great people. One such quote was by Abbe Pierre,  quote Wikipedia "a French Catholic priest, member of the Resistance during World War II, and deputy of the Popular Republican Movement (MRP). In 1949, he founded the Emmaus movement, which has the goal of helping poor and homeless people and refugees."

 "What I would say to the young men and women who are beset by hopelessness and doubt is that they should go and see what is being done on the ground to fight poverty, not like going to the zoo but to take action, to open their hearts and their consciences." ~ Abbe Pierre

And so the bulb in my head lit up! (all that talk about "untuk rakyat" and about the less privileged during the "ceramah" did something to me)

I am not Mother Teresa, nor Gandhi. Nor the Wakil Rakyat or Menteri who could serve his/her people. But I have a little fund jar which could be put to use for others who need it. I will use this money to buy books, make cupcakes, crayons, shoes, donate to the homes, there's so much I could do with it. And with this, I also hope to raise awareness amongst people who visit my kitchen by telling them a little bit more about the organisation the money will go to. I have done some research on some of these organisations and have started writing to them to understand how I can be of help.

Believe it or not, the answer to my question came with the general elections and now it is officially named - at least for the next few months whilst I'm running my open kitchen. And we will start with our kids.

My sister told me to stand for elections in Tebrau during GE14 (she started calling me YB). That was truly hilarious. But THIS, is achievable!

So.....just how little is Wie's Little Kitchen?

I call my kitchen "Wie's Little Kitchen" for a reason -it IS a little kitchen. Une petite cuisine! My entire kitchen is roughly 2.5m by 1.7m. How cute is that? It is a humble kitchen with minimal, almost non-existent pantry and limited cabinets for storage. Not that I'm complaining because for one or two people, this kitchen is big enough. In fact, I have recently opened up my kitchen for up to six guests. This space that I have doesn't stop me from cooking for six happy diners.

Every time my friends come over for meals, I surprise them with the amount of dishes I can cook in this tiny kitchen. Very often, they ask me..."How? How did you cook all these food? Did you pack it from the restaurant downstairs? Tell me you did!". And then I bring out the cake from the fridge, or the pint of homemade ice-cream from my freezer and they gasp. Impossible, they say. 

The security guard at my apartment block always see me with bags and bags of groceries. One day he asked me, "Ah moi, you masak ah? Boleh masak ke studio apartment kecik macam ni?" (translates as, "Miss, do you cook? Can you cook in this small studio apartment?")

It is actually quite possible. So today, I'm going to introduce to you all that I have in my kitchen. Of course if you have more space and utilities, it's always a bonus. But to tell you the truth this kitchen is a working kitchen, regardless of the space. And if I can cook, so could you. I think I should start a series of videos to show you how I make this tiny space work!

I have used my wide angle lens to capture these pictures because it's the only way I can make my kitchen look bigger than it actually is. Here is my kitchen. And breakfast counter. And working counter (for rolling out doughs, decorating cupcakes & birthday cakes, assembling food, etc). It's also where the girls sit down to have their drinks when they come over. It's my house-plant's home too. The sink is here. The hood and hob is here. The water filter, coffee machine, cabinets, fridge, oven, washing machine, dryer. It's packed, as you can see.  It looks messy to some because I have things all over this limited space and cannot store everything in my cabinets. But I have done my best to make it work! I spend most of my time at home here, in this part of my studio apartment. Here's "where all the delicious magic happens", as quoted by my childhood friend.

This is the main stove I have at home. It's an induction cooker that came with the apartment.

And for caramelising sugar, or heating up milk, cooking soft boiled eggs or really, whenever I need to have better control over the heat, I have this hotplate cum mini steamboat pot for two. Because the induction cooker's heat is mostly controlled by frequency, this trusty hotplate comes in really handy.

 I used to have a mini toaster oven which I have given to my niece due to the lack of storage space at my place. Because I sometimes want to roast chickens or bake more cupcakes to sell, I have upgraded to this 40 liter oven. My mini toaster oven was great, I could bake macarons, cakes, you name it. But it just wasn't big enough for when I cook for six. So this 'giant' is here to stay.

 And here is my 1.1m tall fridge. It is a little dwarf of a fridge but all it takes is some storage containers from IKEA and you will be fascinated by how much it can accommodate.

 Because I need an extendable dining table, some chairs and extra storage space for my pots and pans, here's additional space behind my main door (at the entrance to my apartment).

Magic happens when you want it to, you're not restricted by one induction cooker or a single kettle. All you need is a little imagination and a lot of desire to want to make it happen! If Wie can cook in this little kitchen, so can you!

My love affair with Italy, and how it all started...

About 3 years ago, I decided to go on a solo trip to Italy - to learn to cook. I didn't know anything about Italy- the food, the language, the culture; yet something about this country fascinated me. So I took off with this book given to me by Debbie ( :-* babe) and found myself in Fontana del Papa - a beautiful, gorgeous, words-cannot-describe heaven on earth in Tolfa, about an hour from Rome.

In a way, that one event helped shaped my life today. Although it may seem like all I did was cook, I learnt so much more than cooking. At Fontana del Papa, I learned that the best and freshest ingredients are grown locally (better still if it's from your own garden) and food tastes best when it's eaten at the dining table with good company! I still remember this one particular incident. I was reading my book whilst eating my pasta at lunch, when Assuntina walked over and asked me, "You're reading whilst eating?". That suddenly jolted me. I put away my book, because really...I should show respect for the food I'm eating and to enjoy it thoroughly, I have to give it my fullest attention!

A few weeks ago, I wrote to Assuntina because I'd wanted to purchase a recipe book entitled "Fontana del Papa, the past...& the pasta". I thought Assuntina had forgotten all about this unimportant girl from Malaysia, but she did not! And she sent me this precious book that contained the true story of how "Fontana del Papa" became what it has become today, the struggles and tribulations the family had to go through to make it what it is today. Of course having the recipes were excellent too, because so far I only have some of them written in my little book of recipes. And that too, I'm not sure if I got everything right since the cook only spoke in Italian to me! (and body language of course)

It came as a signed copy with BIG HUGS from Assuntina as a gift (she refused my payment) and I was moved to tears. Suddenly the fond memories of the time I spent in Italy all came back and I fell in love with this beautiful place all over again. Lucia, the kind lady who'd taught me to cook once told me, "You will go home and cook very well". She said it in Italian, and I didn't understand it at first...until it was translated for me. I hold that line very close to my heart, and I hope I have not disappointed Lucia. She is such a jovial, happy lady, who enjoys her time in the kitchen so much she sometimes spins and dances by the stove whilst waiting for the water to boil!

I love this picture of us in the kitchen - Assuntina reading a letter (in Italian of course) which I did not understand at all, but could feel the joy, love and warmth when she read it out loud. Such is the spirit, such is the beauty.

Because of that one trip I made on my own to Italy, my love affair with it started. And when I came back to Malaysia, I started cooking and found myself "infected" with Lucia's energy in the kitchen. Hence I talk to the marinated chickens when I place them in the roasting tin, I tell my herbs to grow strong and tall , and I dance a little by the oven when my macarons grow their tiny little 'feet'.

After that trip I started enjoying my time visiting fresh markets each time I visit a new city, I started paying more attention to the food that I eat (or feed others), and I fell in love with Italian coffee! I miss Italy so much, and I suspect it's only because of this cute little place preciously tucked away in Tolfa - Fontana del Papa. 

After my visit to Fontana del Papa, I continued on my solo trip to Rome and Venice and all I can say is, I was already in love.

Lemon Curd Recipe

I mentioned in an earlier post about using real food if possible, when we cook or bake at home. In that post I talked about using real lemons and real butter instead of artificial flavouring because nothing tastes as wholesome as the real thing! Also it's best to have more ingredients which you can pronounce (the likes of 'lemon' and 'butter') in your food rather than some chemical 'whatchamaycallit' essence.

Here's a good recipe for homemade lemon curd adapted from the epicurious website here. It's good for macarons, frosting, scones, you name it. It's so easy to make, I think it is worth skipping the store to make them at home. If you store them in a jam jar, they make great gifts too.

Ingredients

3/4 cup lemon juice (say no to lemon flavouring!)

1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest

1/2 cup to 3/4 cup granulated sugar  (depending on how tart the lemon is)

110 g butter

2 tbsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp salt

4 large egg yolks

Method

Simmer lemon juice, zest, sugar, butter, cornstarch, and salt in a saucepan over moderately high heat, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Lightly beat yolks in a small bowl, then add 1/4 cup lemon mixture, whisking. Add yolk mixture to remaining lemon mixture, then reduce heat to low and cook, whisking constantly, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, then cover surface with plastic wrap and chill until ready to use.

Real simple, real good, real food!

Very honest too.