Spring April-May 2010

Many things remain the same from last spring except:

• Moss phlox is missing in action. I trimmed them all the way back last year in the fear that once dried, the needle leaves might be sharp and hurt Baby Martini. Its spot is currently occupied by a succulent recently transplanted from the deck planter (to make room for more herbs next to the kitchen this year.
• Cranesbill geranium kind of died last year. I planted an annual afterward but its spot is taken over by forget-me-not this spring.
• Mistake from "the early years"; we followed the instruction on the bag to space the bulbs but didn't realize this type (Darwin?) of tulips don't multiply much and they stay tall. I managed to move some along the border to group next to the forget-me-not. They look less awkward this year.
• This brings up another issue. Popsicle tulips (around the Japanese maple, bloom is gone) multiply every year so it gets really crowded around the J maple. Have to thin them out this year or next.

See full picture here.

Lamb's Ears

Photo date: April 2, 2010

For those who don't have a green thumb, I'll recommend to try planting Lamb's Ears. They are indestructible! Just keep coming back! The first year I planted one lamb's ear, I was really concern because it didn't grow much. Just when I wonder if it would come back the next year, it came back STRONG, lots of them! The bees LOVE their pinkish purple flowers.

I don't mind having lots of Lamb's Ears, as long as they don't take over my tiny front garden. I really enjoy stroking the silvery green leaves. They are so soft, it's really like patting a baby animal.

By the way, the picture was taken when the lamb's ears just started to grow after the long winter. That's why they look so tiny. With so many new plants tightly packed, I really don't know what to do with them once they grow bigger. Maybe I can divide them when I have chance. They are so hardy under full sun or part shade, I probably don't need to worry when will be a good time to separate them. :-p

Mysterious purple flowers

Picture was taken on April 2, 2010.

I was scratching my head when I saw this plant. Don't remember when I planted it but it for sure looks too pretty to be weed. It took me a while to realize that it's one of the mums I planted last fall. Why does it bloom now (early spring)?

Spring May 2009

Picture was taken last May.

• Light purple at front are moss phlox.
• Next to moss phlox are cat mints, super invasive!
• Blue are forget-me-not.
• The big bushy perennial at the back is bleeding heart.
• Purple on the right are grape hyacinths.

This is the most lively time of the year for our front garden. All the blooms after this are of "quieter" colors - white, muted purple and pink (hydrangeas).

Creme brulee

I'm so glad that Baby Martini might have grown out of the egg allergy. Creme brulee! soufflé! tira misu (ok, not this one yet)! Mama is going to show you what Mama is capable of!!

It has been a long time since I last made creme brulee. The recipe I use is from Michael Smith's "Chef At Home", one of my favorite cooking shows on Food Network Canada.

Use the best ingredients available to you when you make the original flavor of creme brulee. There are only few ingredients: cream and/or milk, egg yolks, sugar, vanilla and a pinch of salt. Any mediocre component will greatly impede quality of the end result. In Chef Smith's recipe he uses vanilla extract; however, he demonstrated more than once in his show on preparing home-made vanilla extract. This leads me to believe the flavor should be just as pungent.

Ingredients:
Please refer to this recipe. I used 1:1 in cream:milk ratio. Also, I used a vanilla pod instead of 1 tbsp vanilla extract.

Notes: (lots of notes!)
Armed with scribble of instructions quickly copied to a scrap paper and my memory of all the creme brulee making I've seen/read, my process actually deviated from the instruction.

• I didn't remember that Michael clearly specified that "the caramel will harden" after you pour the milk and cream in it. When I poured caramel into the milk/vanilla mixture (yes, I got it wrong, too), I heard caramel turning into hard sugar lump, like lava cooled down in the water. My brain just went blank. "How can I make freaking mistake like this?" I told myself. So I quickly scooped out sugar with a slotted spatula then started again. This time I kept the milk mixture in low heat while preparing caramel, then poured caramel in the milk mixture. I think I'll do so from now on unless someone convinces me not to.
• The end result yields more than 6 ramekins. Do I happen to have smaller ramekins or is it because the water in caramel wasn't reduced enough? (I did use less water than recommended to begin with, in case there was too much liquid)
• "Preheat oven to 325 degrees"...is this for a normal oven or a convection oven? I used "auto" setting on our convection oven so the temperature was automatically adjusted to 275F. My theory is it's better to use lower temperature for a creamier, more smooth texture. Still, I want to know.
• I covered the custard with foil during the cooking process. Combined with the low cooking temperature, it took about 50 minutes in the oven for the custard to set properly. And the texture was still on the soft side (a bit too runny).
• Last but not the least, I am getting unsatisfied with the mini torch but still don't feel comfortable to use a "regular" torch (from hardware store) in the house. I tried broil once and it didn't turn out well. Tough choice.

Verdict:
Really creamy and delicious. Too sweet if we finish one serving at once. I will need to reduce the sugar/caramel next time.
After knowing how simple to make creme brulee taste good (really, it's all about ingredients and patience), I don't think we'll order it when we dine out.

Braised pork shoulder

Picture of braised pork shoulder

It's time to do some braising with our almighty Staub cast iron pot!

TQ is so tired of my cooking with root beer (I'd love to use coke but it's caffeinated) so I try to come out w/ different sauce for braising pork shoulder. Unlike many other recipes, mine doesn't call for (lots of) vinegar.

Ingredients:
Pork shoulder (2 lb this time), onions, green onions, garlic, chives (for garnish), wine, rice vinegar, Chinese fermented black bean sauce, sugar, sesame oil, olive oil

Process:

• Heat the pot with sesame oil and olive oil
• Brown all sides of pork shoulder. Remove the meat from the pot to rest.
• Sautee onions, garlic and green onions in the same pot, deglaze with cooking wine and rice vinegar. Scrap gently to get all the goodies off the pot.
• Meat back to the pot, pour in the sauce mix (which is composed of wine, rice vinegar, Chinese fermented black bean sauce, sugar, sesame oil), cover the lid. Cook in the oven at 325F for 2 hours or until the meat is cooked thoroughly and tender.
• Garnish with chives and serve

Notes:

• The meat should be able to be separated by a fork with little resistance
• Lots of onions & garlic to boost up the flavor
• Taste the sauce mix before you add in. With a tight lid the liquid shouldn't reduce much
• There's probably no need to caramelize the onions since they will be after 2 hours of cooking
• I'll add more liquid last time, maybe 1" in the pot to begin. It was too dry when it first came out of oven. I had to remove the meat then "thin" the sauce with a bit of water.

Final verdict:
It is unanimous: DO IT AGAIN!

Banana compote orange juice reduction

We have ridiculous amount of bananas in the kitchen now so we have to come out with creative ways to eat them. I would love to call it banana flambee but I can't. I didn't set my kitchen on fire. No, I mean, I didn't ignite the rum.

Ingredients:
Bananas, sugar, butter, orange juice and (golden/dark) rum.

Process:

• Bananas halved & cut in big chunks
• Caramelize sugar (about 2 tbsp) in non-stick pan
• Add butter (it browns quickly at this stage)
• Add bananas, quickly flip them to coat the caramel
• Deglaze with rum. Remove bananas out of the pan soon after the alcohol is burned off so they don't become mushy
• Add orange juice to the same pan, scrape the goodies off the pan. Reduce oj until it becomes syrupy. (Be patient, it will get there)

Serve it with our equally surplus frozen cheesecake (made it originally for a party which got canceled at the last minute). Drizzle with the oj reduction.

Verdict:
I made two batches. Was planning to freeze the 2nd batch but it was almost gone after breakfast (served it w pancakes). I suppose I can use up the rest of the bananas by making more banana compote.