baby rambutan

pinkberry, finally!

stel — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 05:30:47 +0000

the long awaited pinkberry has opened its doors…
the first and last time we had pinkberry was two years ago when we visited family in California. there were long lines, in a chic and tony suburb of LA, and my brother said we might bump into a celebrity or two (did not ).

with the red mango open in Boston, and another branch opening soon nearby again, i think we’ll be able to satiate our tangy frozen yogurt desires, anytime we want. *sigh*

a reward for my shopping companion

pinkberry
94 Derby St 209, Hingham, MA 02043
Derby St.–ok i can’t bear to say it but it’s at the *gulp* Derby Street–Shoppes

ShareThis

bread and butter pudding with raspberries; and S.O.S please

stel — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 18:53:39 +0000

or, properly, S. M. B. R. save my baby rambutan.
the month of August is almost gone and i haven’t written a word here. vacation, yes, we were away for a short while, but also it seems my heart isn’t here, or quite up to it…
i’ve been checking in almost daily though, and the past two days were quite anxiety-ridden due to baby rambutan having disappeared. i pestered the hosting center and they could not figure it out. late yesterday it finally came back up online and they had no idea what caused the glitch.
needless to say i have to think about how to preserve everything i’ve written here. i imagined all sorts of scenarios and died a thousand deaths, so to speak, from the anxiety.
i’ve decided that it’s not worth it…i’ve got to do something. my baby deserves better.

to banish the stress here’s a comforting pudding–very much like “baby” food, but i mean that in a good way. one mouthful of the custardy-milky-bready pudding, it almost made me feel young again.

butter (for the dish)
4 tablespoons ( 1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 large baguette, cut in 1/2-inch-thick slices
1 1/2 cups (2 pints) fresh raspberries
3 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
Grated rind of 1 lemon
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Confectioners’ sugar (for sprinkling)

1. Butter a shallow 2-quart baking dish. Butter the bread slices on one side. Arrange them buttered-sides-up in overlapping layers in the baking dish, tucking half the raspberries between the slices. Scatter the remaining raspberries on top.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and lemon rind. Stir in the cream, milk, and vanilla. Pour the mixture evenly over the bread. Press the bread down into the custard with the back of a spoon. Cover and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes or up to 1 day.

3. Set the oven at 350 degrees.

4. Set the baking dish in a roasting pan. Pour about 1 inch of hot (not boiling) water into the roasting pan. Bake the pudding for 50 to 55 minutes or until it is lightly browned and almost set. It should quiver very slightly in the center.

5. Remove the pans from the oven and lift out the baking dish. Let it cool for at least 15 minutes to let the custard set (it will continue to cook a little).

6. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar and serve warm or cold.

–from the Boston Globe Food Section, July 28, 2010

ShareThis

tom yum goong, shrimp in sour broth

stel — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:36:20 +0000

through some strange, twisted logic, we crave hot, hot-as-in-super spicy, and hot-as-in-boiling -just-out-of-the-pot-hot, soup.

Thai-style shrimp in sour broth (tom yum goong, or as husband says it, “yum tom”).
start out with an excellent chicken broth base and layer on the ingredients that make this dish sing:
galanga root, lemon grass, wild lime leaves, bird chilies; and then adding the fish sauce, lime juice, shrimp, straw mushrooms, and cilantro leaves, just before serving.
makes you sweat, promise. (oh, and we made sure the kids had an alternative dish, that night!)
(from “Authentic Recipes from Thailand,” Periplus Publishing, 2004.)
off for some R&R in a “foreign land”

ShareThis

the heat is on

stel — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 18:30:50 +0000

are you hot?
because i am.
sizzling hot. humid. hazy weather, wilting weather.
the kind where you just sit, and sweat pours out of everywhere, even your eyelids.
heat so hot, you start sweating right out of the shower.
yeah that kind of hot.
i don’t mind it at all, because it makes me feel like… like… like…i’m “home.” makes me feel right at home.
and now there’s another reason to feel like you’re still home.

above, Red Mango in the Philippines (Megamall).
my brothers, oldest and youngest, made sure i “enjoyed”–as much as could possibly be enjoyed, under the prevailing circumstances–my visit home. and in May, when temperatures were constantly in the mid to upper ’90’s F., it was imperative to be an expert on where to find cooling things to drink and eat. my best memory of that is the green tea frozen yogurt with mangoes and strawberries that my younger bro got for me…

and now there’s no need for me to mope, and sulk and be “homesick” for it…
they’ve opened a branch in Boston: fairly new (November 2009), it is the first in Massachusetts, the only one in New England. (pinkberry opening soon too! stay tuned…)
i dragged my family out on the thunderstormy Sunday within the week of my return…sort of a cheer-up-and-welcome-back-to-the-fold food trip.

back here in Boston, sorry no green tea but there’s pomegranate and tangomonium (click here for a complete menu).

with blackberries, raspberries, strawberries and pineapple. i didn’t pick mango, because there is nothing to compare with Philippine mangoes.
you can betcha, i’m coming back here to get my fruit and frozen yogurt fix as often as possible.

red mango
334 Massachusetts Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
(857) 366-4116
(Symphony stop on the Green line)

ShareThis

room to roam

stel — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 17:58:04 +0000

my blog is about to turn 6 years old!
i can’t really fathom how time just zoomed by…i only know that i’m keen on trying to slow everything down. (my kids for sure are on the opposite track, wanting to speed it up and grow up and have their own adventures.)
i don’t do it often but sometimes when searching for old recipes here at home at baby rambutan, i catch a glimpse of my old blog posts and cringe at my writing. i’m even tempted to edit or altogether replace most of them! but of course that would be cheating, even though the primary reason i started writing was to just explore and ponder my own life, for myself alone. but i guess putting it out there, out where?–in public, in the virtual world, exposed my writing to the public eye….
it’s been a roller-coaster journey. i think that’s the best way to describe it, and i would not turn back anymore. i started out with a free service provider but it sure felt cramped in there; with the help of a good friend i transferred to a server with unlimited web hosting and that was the ticket to freedom. room to ponder, room to roam. no regrets! advanced happy blog anniversary, baby rambutan.

ShareThis

Lowell Folk Festival

stel — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 05:17:53 +0000

it’s not too late, there’s one more day to enjoy this truly amazing entertaining event….

music all around you…(this is a wonderful reggae band)

“voice singing”

belly dancing…

free stuff (iced DD dark roast coffee), among others

and food everywhere!

ShareThis

chocolate raspberry layer cake

stel — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 18:07:16 +0000

it was his 75th birthday yesterday. we siblings decided to celebrate his life and cook some of his favorite foods.
i thought i’d make him a birthday cake. daddy loved chocolate cake, and my three kids all honored his memory with big slices of melt-in-their-mouths deep dark chocolate cake layered with rich chocolate ganache and raspberry jam.

“to live in the hearts of those we leave behind is not to die…”
recipe, from Bon Appetit, June 2010, follows:
ingredients
Cake:
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
3/4 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs

Chocolate ganache and raspberry topping:
18 ounces bittersweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), chopped
2 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream
6 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam, stirred to loosen, divided
2 6-ounce containers fresh raspberries
Powdered sugar

Special equipment: 2 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides
preparation
For cake:

Position racks in top and bottom third of oven; preheat to 350°F. Coat two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides with nonstick spray. Line bottoms with parchment paper rounds; spray rounds. Sift flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into large bowl; whisk to blend and form well in center. Whisk 1 cup water, buttermilk, oil, and eggs in medium bowl to blend. Pour wet ingredients into well in dry ingredients; whisk just to blend. Divide cake batter between prepared pans (about 3 cups each).

Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. (If cakes form domes, place kitchen towel atop hot cakes, then press gently with palm of hand to level.) Cool completely in pans on cooling racks. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover cakes in pans and let stand at room temperature.

For chocolate ganache and raspberry topping:

Place chopped chocolate in medium bowl. Bring cream just to boil in heavy medium saucepan. Pour over chocolate. Let stand 1 minute, then stir until ganache is melted and smooth. Transfer 1 1/4 cups ganache to small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ganache is thick enough to spread, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour. Let remaining ganache stand at room temperature to cool until barely lukewarm.

Place rack inside rimmed baking sheet. Carefully run knife around pan edges to release cakes. Invert 1 cake layer onto cardboard round or bottom of 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Peel off parchment paper. Place cake layer on round on prepared rack. Spread 3 tablespoons jam over top. Spoon dollops of chilled ganache over, then spread evenly. Invert second cake layer onto another cardboard round or tart pan bottom. Peel off parchment paper. Carefully slide cake off round and onto frosted cake layer on rack. Spread remaining 3 tablespoons raspberry jam over top of second cake layer. Pour half of barely lukewarm ganache over cake, spreading over sides to cover. Freeze until ganache sets, about 30 minutes. Pour remaining ganache over cake, allowing to drip down sides and spreading over sides if needed for even coverage and to smooth edges. Freeze to set ganache, about 30 minutes. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover with cake dome and refrigerate. Let stand at room temperature 2 hours before continuing.

Arrange raspberries in concentric circles atop cake. Sift powdered sugar lightly over raspberries and serve.

Test-kitchen tip:

A two-step process ensures a picture-perfect dessert. First, a thin layer of ganache is spread over the cake and chilled briefly to set (this is called a crumb coat). Another layer of ganache is then poured over the cake, which gives the treat a smooth finish.

ShareThis

summer eats

stel — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:24:23 +0000

one hot day in July, when i was feeling sluggishly sloth-y, and not feeling like doing any cooking, let alone moving at all…the urge to eat this moved me greatly.

i should have this memorized by now! from Delia Smith’s Summer Collection, i added extra of everything (garlic, chili, anchovies, basil, capers, tomatoes, olives), used thin spaghetti and added a can of solid white tuna in olive oil.
all strong, punchy flavors, over pasta: somehow it just worked on a hot summer day.

and then on to more summer eats! i have three kids at home, very hungry and constantly checking out the fridge and checking in on mom at the kitchen–so i tend to be preparing quick and easy dishes, such as this bbq chicken a la Bacolod Inasal, a style of grilling marinated chicken.
i had heard about it a lot, and finally got to try it at a chain restaurant in the Mall of Asia, by the seaside Roxas Boulevard, Manila.
i used a recipe mostly based on Chef Pauline Gorriceta-Banusing’s via the Inquirer.Net. i added lemongrass stalks (as suggested by several recipes i found in other sites) and marinated the minimum 30 minutes (more than that and the chicken meat will get “de-natured”).

the special technique is the butter-calamansi-atsuete (annatto seed, used as a vibrant colorant) basting sauce. (i could not bear to use margarine, which is the original recipe).
i was nervous about using all that vinegar, with no soy sauce to soften all that acidic kick.

but it was a hit, yet i’ve decided i will use chicken leg quarters instead of whole chickens–i used baby “young chickens”–because the breast meat dried out. NO MORE BREAST MEAT.

highly recommended with achara as side dish…

achara of green papaya plus:not-so-secret formula here.

recipe for Chef Pauline’s chicken inasal follows…

Chicken Inasal (italics are my substitutions/alterations)

1 whole dressed chicken, sliced into quarters, or 8 pieces chicken drumsticks or thighs
1 c native cane vinegar
1 bottle (about 1 1/3 cups) 7-up
1 thumb-sized ginger, minced
6-8 stalks of lemon grass, trimmed, cut into fine strips, smashed with flattened knife/cleaver
6 pcs calamansi
2 tbsp rock salt
2 tsp pepper

For basting sauce:
1/4 c cooking oil
2 tbsp butter
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp achuete seeds
2 pcs calamansi

Marinate chicken in mixture of vinegar, 7-Up, ginger, lemongrass, calamansi juice, salt and pepper for at least one hour, or overnight in refrigerator.

When ready to cook, heat an indoor grill or charcoal in an outdoor grill to medium. If desired, thread chicken into barbecue sticks. Cook chicken over grill until done, basting frequently with the basting sauce.

To prepare basting sauce:

Heat oil in a saucepan then add butter and salt. Drop in achuete seeds and stir until color is extracted. Remove from heat and add calamansi juice. Use to baste chicken.

ShareThis

Electrolux #splits: a tropical banana split

stel — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:49:20 +0000

Foodbuzz, Electrolux, and Kelly Ripa are doing it again! and i am determined to join in this time, with the Top 9 Takeover banana split theme.

on this day, Foodbuzz Featured Publishers gather together and feature the classic banana split, and for every entry Foodbuzz will donate $50 (up to $5,000!) to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.
here’s the link, if you’d like to help out and donate even more to this crucial cause:
www.kelly-confidential.com/foodbuzz.

i played around with the classic formula though, and made caramelized plantain bananas the centerpiece, with vanilla ice cream, sweetened coconut sport strings (macapuno), fresh sweet mango bits, crushed pineapple, and honey-roasted cashew nuts, in homage to the tropical weather
we’re enjoying right here, now! in Boston, and to my recent impromptu trip to the Philippines….

my tropical style…

the classic, with a recipe for chocolate fudge sauce, here…

ShareThis

Sunday lunch, Penang, Boston

stel — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 02:19:32 +0000

breezy sunny days, not too hot, not too cold, 365 days of the year: don’t i just wish they’d last forever. (note to self: look for place like this to move to, convince all members of family, pack up and leave, pronto!)
barring that, you just enjoy what you have every moment, rain or snow or sleet or shine.

some cute little stuffed toys/monsters.
so on a sunny Sunday afternoon we were able to get the 3 kids out and about to explore a wee bit of town. this is the “SoWa” street market open sundays at the South End neighborhood, Boston, with tents of fresh produce and baked goods and local artists’ works for sale. #1son found something he’d been looking for, an old fashioned flip alarm clock at the flea market area.
then off we went for lunch at one of our favorite spots in town, Penang Restaurant.

our favorite appetizer, hands down: the roti bread–very light and flaky with just the right amount of bite and chewiness–with a luscious but tiny pot of chicken & potato curry. so good, we had to order just one more!
i surprised myself about not having blogged about this before. it was a unanimous vote when we canvassed the kids about where we’d go for a late lunch….

wow oh wow they had oyster omelette and it was pretty close to what i had in Sincerity Restaurant, Binondo Manila…the only thing different was that it didn’t have that chewy rice cake texture but it sure was very tasty, with a spicy sweet chili dip and a generous sprinkling of oysters.

another appetizer, popiah, which we’ve had before is a shrimp, jicama and tofu roll stuffed inside a fresh lumpia wrapper…sort of like fresh lumpiang ubod with a spicy kick from the drizzled sauces on top.

they indulged me some more and let me order kang kung belacan, water spinach with a very spicy shrimp paste stir fry. one more dish that’s so similar to what we eat in the Philippines.

my daughter and i had the same dish, a medley of rice, chicken curry, anchovy and vegetable, and pickles. truly mouth-wateringly-spicy good. we both decided we should have just shared one!
#1son had the Hainanese style steamed chicken, which he normally doesn’t like, but this one he proclaimed was really fine.
i won’t discuss the dishes that we didn’t like….my ma always says, if you can’t say anything good about anything/anyone, don’t say anything….
but i will say this, that i truly am regretful that i didn’t blog about them before, and maybe in some small way influenced how they might have kept the menu intact: there was one beautiful appetizer that they’ve now struck out of the menu, which i tried hard to replicate at home:
i featured it years ago in an online appetizer “party”:

chili stuffed deep fried pork intestines….*sigh*
still, it is one restaurant which we’ll always return to, to relish our favorites, and to just feel smug about, that we have it in Boston.

Penang
685 Washington Street
Boston, MA 02111-1611
(617) 451-6373

ShareThis