Piglet's Workshop

Tuesday

A Toast to Toast

Check out these amazing toasters from the Toaster Museum! Creative, aren't they? :D

http://www.toastermuseum.com/index.htm

And now I must profess my love for toast. There are so many types of toast, from butter toast to milk toast to red bean toast and whole wheat sandwich toast. I eat toast almost on a daily basis, as it's my staple food for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. My absolute favorite is thick butter/milk toast (with sesame paste topping)!

I even bought a book with 100+ recipes made with toast (100種土司的神奇妙用):
Here are some ways you can enjoy toast: :D

condensed milk/nutella!!

Here's a blog with a post called "Fun with Toast" http://happyhomebaking.blogspot.com/2007/10/fun-with-toast.html.

Here's a restaurant in Asia called TOASTBOX! "http://www.breadtalk.com/toastbox/index.php"

honey toastsomething for breakfast?

One of my favorites:

honey/butter
banana choco toast or banana nutella toast!

eggs in a nest

and of course, the sandwich.

french toast bites

Toast as dessert.......ice cream in toast - WOW!

- Candice =P

Friday

Make bread in a rice cooker!!

Guess what - You DON'T need an expensive bread machine to make bread! Check this video out at 2:43, it's a clip from Yakitate Japan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZlf5RySOsE

My friend Tiffany and I decided to try this amazing recipe out and make some "fluffy fluffy" bread. =) The first step was to convert all the ingredient measurements to a familiar scale:
Here is everything you'll need:
Begin by adding two packets of yeast to lukewarm water and letting it sit for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, combine all the other ingredients, adding butter last.
Yes, that's right, use your hands!
The dough should be relatively the same consistency throughout.
A demonstration of how to knead dough:
Don't pound it, rather apply pressure with the palm of your hand and continuously flip it to ensure even kneading.
Now, the fermenting step - place in the rice cooker for one hour and do not disturb it!
After one hour, close the rice cooker and turn it on! Cook for one hour. This is how it will look:
Flip it over and cook for another hour.
Then flip again, and cook for one last hour. (Yes, this process takes several hours!)

After hours of anticipation, the bread is done! We take it out and.......
CUT IT to see how similar it looks to the "fluffy fluffy" mentioned in Yakitate Japan!HM....it's a bit dry, so did the show exaggerate the bread, or was the recipe inaccurate? Well, we will try again! Next time we'll add a bit of variety by adding green tea, chocolate chips, and whatever else you may desire. :)

- Candice

------------------------------------------------------------

Sunday

Chocolate chip pumpkin bread

Here's a recipe suitable for the season and perfect for pumpkin lovers! Recipe courtesy of my friend Tiffany:

1.5 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup pumpkin
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1.5 cup white sugar
1/3 cup water
2 eggs
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

This was quite a simple recipe. Combine all the ingredients into a bowl and mix well!

------------------------------------------------------------

Yay for Ghirardelli chocolate chips!
Pour the batter into a baking pan of your choice.
Bake for one hour at 350 degrees.
And voila, the finished result:
It was chewy in texture, which reminded me more of a brownie than bread. Tasted great though! This makes a great snack or dessert! =)
- Candice

Tuesday

Fried Mantou Buns and Black Sesame Rice Balls

Here's a very fast and easy recipe for leavening dough for anything that calls for Chinese buns (mantou/饅頭), and a quick look on how to prepare black sesame seeds (hei zhi ma/ 黑芝麻) for desserts.

These recipes are from master chef Angela, of course! Lets begin with the mantou recipe. We add flour and yeast to lukewarm water.

Mix, cover, and let sit for a few minutes. The consistency should look like this:

In a separate bowl, prepare the other dry ingredients.
When the yeast mixture has finished leavening, add to the flour mix.
Angela demonstrates how to knead the dough!

Form a large ball with the dough.
Then roll out the dough onto a flour-covered surface. Make thin cylinders and assemble in layers.
Obtain a steamer. Place your dough onto a piece of paper and then into the steamer.

In process of steaming!
The finished result. Can you guess what animal the first one is supposed to be?

(Rabbit) =P
The next step - fry the buns in a skillet of oil until golden brown. Be careful not to overdo it!
Serve with condensed milk.
Black Sesame Rice Balls

We begin by making the sesame paste. Add sesame seeds, water, and corn syrup to a blender.
Once the mixture is finely ground up, transfer to a pot and heat. Add corn syrup and sugar to taste and for the correct consistency.
Using rice flour and water, we molded some rice balls. These were then dropped into a pot of boiling water - once they float, they are ready!

Serve with the black sesame paste:

- Candice

Souvenirs from Hong Kong: Illusionary Foods

Over the summer, both my friends Tim and Candice went to Hong Kong and kindly brought back some souvenirs for me:

Tim's gift:

My first reaction was to slap him, but then after giving it a double take I realized that this was indeed candy.

Candice's gift:

Isn't it cute?

It's funny how both of them managed to bring me foods that plays tricks on the eyes. I was more than eager to rip them open and see what lies inside-

So far after opening, the package is still determined to keep up its facade:

Each little pack comes with four fluffy pink marshmallow pillows that were actually pretty good quality in taste and texture. Really.