Ginger Walnut Chocolate Blondies

This is proof that Im stubborn. This is proof that I believe in myself. This is proof that Ill keep trying. This is proof that I have a sweet tooth that just wont quit. This is proof that I want to throw the entire kitchen sink into an 8-inch square pan.

I once had a real problem with Blondie Brownies. The main problem the big, embarrassing elephant in the room was simple: I couldnt make a good Blondie to save my life. Ive failed with so many greasy Blondie messes.

It was alwaysBrunette (brownie) for life.

But I LOVE Blondie Brownies. LOVE with my heart. Blondie Brownies are like chocolate chip cookies, in bar form. Adding chocolate and walnuts is a natural and highly advised choice.

Because well enough is never enough lets add all sorts of goodness to our Blondies!

Toasted walnuts. Sweet and spicy candied ginger. Oooh so good vanilla beans. Ground ginger powder and coarse sea salt.

The basis ! of every good Blondie: brown sugar! Light or dark brown sugar. Choose your adventure.

Butter is a big deal too!

Butter is usually a big deal around these parts.

This is the part where youre probably going to want to grab a spoon.

But reach for a baking pan instead.

These Blondie Brownies are everything they should be! Chewy, buttery, crisp and golden around the edges. I love how the ginger flavor acts with the butter and nuts. Candied ginger adds just a hint of spice.

These are the good life. Be stubborn. Get Blondies right.

Ginger Walnut Chocolate Blondies

makes 9 brownies

recipe adapted from Simply Recipes

Print this Recipe!

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract plus scrapings from 1 vanilla bean (or 2 teaspoons extract)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking! powder< /p>

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup chopped candied ginger pieces

1/3 cup dark chocolate chunks

handful toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch square baking sheet. Line with parchment paper, leaving two flaps hanging over the edges of the pan. Grease and flour the parchment paper. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together melted butter and sugar. Mixture will be grainy. Thats ok.

Whisk in egg and beat by hand until mixture is slightly pale, about 2 minutes. Whisk in vanilla extract and bean.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, and salt. Add all at once to the butter and sugar mixture. Stir until just incorporated. Mixture will be fairly thick. Fold in ginger, chocolate and walnuts, reserving some of each to top the brownies before baking.

Spread batter into prepared pan. Top with remaining ginger, chocolate, and walnuts. Bake for 20 to 27 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center of the brownies comes out clean. Brownies will be golden brown.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before removing from the pan and slicing into 9 pieces. Brownies will keep, well wrapped at room temperature, for up to 4 days.

Anthony Bourdain and Nigella Lawson team up to host new show

Tarragon-flavored fava bean and green pea tartine recipe

Fava Beans

These days, I am cooking with fava beans and green peas, and every other green vegetable that speaks spring and glorifies the first produce of the growing season.

How much I love this time of year!

If I could, Id pack *it* tight in a box, so that Id have these beautiful mellow days handy for the warmer months to come. I am not looking forward to the toasty days of summer. In reality, I am more of a spring kind of girl, when the weather stays gentle and nothing is extreme.

So the greens.

Since Ive been able to find fresh fava beans and peas this season, I have added them in everything I could imagine. They are dancing in salads and pasta dishes.

And in the tartines I frequently enjoy for lunch, or as a mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack.

These lunches get me really excited to rush into the kitchen.

I keep the kitchen windows by the sink open to let grass-scented air and the melody of singing birds sneak in; the counter is rendered messy with always too much produce brought from the market. And often, the result is a tartine like this one to feed me.

Happily.

Tarragon-flavored fava bean and green pea tartine recipe

While the recipe for this tartine is really simple, it requires care in choosing the best ingedients you can find. I wanted the color and delicate flavor of fresh fava bean and peas to stand out next to the nicest piece of soft goat cheese I could find. The tartine is finished with crunchy sweet cherry tomatoes, finely shaved Parmesan cheese and lightly toasted chia seeds, for extra crunch.

I could not help but have two, with slices of smoked salmon, and a green salad on the side.

Dlicieusement printanier ! (Deliciously springy!)

Tarragon-flavored fava bean and green pea tartine recipe

I wanted to also let you know about two book events I will be at over the coming week.

On Friday June 8th, I have the extreme pleasure to be doing a book signing at Havens Kitchen in NYC. The vent starts at 5, until 7 PM.

And on Thursday June 14th, I will be at Porter Square Books in Cambridge (in MA) where I will be doing a joined talk/book signing with Marjorie Williams, author of the beautiful the second edition of Markets of Par! is ( event starts at 7 PM).

I hope I will be able to meet some of you, either in NYC, or in Cambridge!

Tarragon-flavored-fava bean and green pea tartine recipe

For 4 tartines

You need:

• Sea salt and pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and halved
• 3/4 cup (100 g) cooked green peas*
• 3/4 cup (100 g) cooked fava beans*
• Juice of 1/2 lime
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped tarragon
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped chives + more to top
• 4 slices of country bread (I used maple-flavored oat GF bread)
• 3.5 oz (100 g) Petit Billy goat cheese, or another quality soft goat cheese
• 12 multicolored cherry tomatoes, halved
• Shaved Parmesan, to taste
• Dry toasted chia seeds**

*I blanch uncooked green peas for 1 minute before transferring to a ice water bath. Same for the fava beans. Then I peel them.

**I toast them in a frying pan (no oil) for 1 minute. They become crunchy.

Steps:

In a mortar, add sea salt and pepper. Add the cumin and garlic and crush into a paste.

Add 1/3 of the fava beans and peas, and add a little of the lime juice. Crush into a coarse paste. Continue with adding 1 tablespoon of oil. Then add the rest of the vegetables and lime juice and oil. Crush until you have a texture you like (it is not perfect looking and its good this way). Stir in the fresh herbs.

Toast the slices of bread.

Spread the goat cheese and then top with the mashed greens.

Add the cherry tomatoes and top with shaved Parmesan and chia seeds, and more chives.

Waku Waku @ Mid Valley

Unveiled this week at Mid Valley, Waku Waku is a fun, carefree Japanese eatery that might exasperate purists while exhilarating everyone else.

Sure, there's edamame, unagi kabayaki and tori karaage on the menu, but skip the safe stuff and see what Waku Waku calls its house-special 'Nasi Lemak Jepun.'

Sticky, coconut-infused rice, topped with a wobbly egg and served with veggies in a hot pot.

The speedy, smiley service team (which absolutely deserves the highest praise) helps customers stir it all up for a carb-fanatic's dream come fragrantly true.

The rice is partnered with savory sambal, darkly stewed chicken, delicately spicy prawns, anchovies, peanuts and pickled radish. All for RM12.90++, it's well worth battling traffic in and out of Mid Valley.

Gotta love this 'Kuey Teow Jepun' too, with a soft-boiled egg that's nothing short of perfect.

Costing RM9.90++, it's a steaming-hot sensation, sufficient for two to share.

Our only sorrow: not even sake is served at Waku Waku. Sobriety can be a curse.

Somehow, after a somewhat aimless ten-minute walk, we found ourselves on level six of The Gardens Hotel, where all-day dining restaurant The Sprea! d was by then emptied of patrons.

Martini Bianco, Extra Dry and Rosso, with olives for nibbling.

Waku Waku,

Level 3, Mid Valley City, Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-2284-1172

SF In A Day

10th April

We had only one day to visit the city before we left for Monterey. The weather was wet and cold but that didn't dampen our joy at being in SF, HUb, my daughter and I, just like two years ago when we were together in Amsterdam, Delft and Rome. There is an advantage to being the first born. You were there when your parents were young (and energetic), and when you are an adult, they are at their youngest compared to how they will be with your younger siblings when your siblings are adults. I hope that makes sense.









Of course we ended up in a restaurant in Chinatown. It was that or John's Grill, or some other chain restaurants. I didn't do my homework and didn't have a wanted list of restaurants. CY came to join us, and she would only eat Chinese, so off we went to a large dim sum restaurant.
















My roomies and I used to have Singapore fried noodles and beef ho fun delivered to our apartment on frozen nights in Canada and I miss those dishes but this plate of Singapore fried noodles was so bad it spoilt the whole meal for me.



Dim sum in the US is about USD2.50 and up per basket, inexpensive compared to many Asian cities especially since the portion is big.

Giveaway: Win a Pair of Grand Stand Ticket to Super GT 2012 Round 3 worth RM100 each!

I can smell smoke and perfume getting nearer from Sepang! What do I mean by that?

It was this coming weekend where we will be having the Round 3 Super GT 2012 Series Race at our Sepang International Circuit.

Beauty Race Queen Greeting you

Super cars and Original GT500 cars on display at the cockpit for your to take photo and admire them.

You can get to see what is the happenings and attractions at the location by checking out this article. Aside from that the first night is so many parties going ON. All the ticket holders are invited for this event where you can rave whole night.

Party all night long!

If you havent got your ticket, check them out atwww.supergt.com.myorwww.ticketcharge.com.mywhile stock last!

OR

WIN it from me!

So how to win a Pair of Grandstand Ticket to Super GT 2012 Round 3?

This is what you going to win.

You will get 2 Grandstand Tickets worth RM100 x 2

A LIMITED EDITION SUPER GT TOUCH AND GO CARD for use in the location as they are going cashless.

You can attend all the party above!

Its very simple, just follow a few steps below:-

1) ClickLIKEon my Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/foodpoi

2) ClickLIKEon SuperGT Malaysia Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/SuperGT.my

3) Copy & paste this into your Facebook wall: I want to win a pair of Super GT 2012 Round 3 Grandstand tickets from http://www.foodpoi.com

4. Remember to tag my Facebook page @email2me at the status above and 3 winners will be announced on Friday, which is the day before the event.

This giveaway is courtesy ofJPM Motorsport&Super GT Malaysia!

Get your ticket now fromwww.supergt.com.myorwww.ticketcharge.com.mywhile it last!

Ms. Jazz Explores: My Espresso Lab, Solaris Dutamas

Coffee culture has been blooming of late, especially in the area of solaris dutamas, you will find many cafes that has a strong focuses on coffees, e.g. Bens, The red Beanbag, coffee culture etc. Though My Espresso Lab is also serving coffee, they position themselves differently, with main focuses in selling different coffee blend to retailers and wholesalers. And customizing accordance to customer preference whilst beans are being source from all over the world, Brazil, Columbia and Kenya just to name a few

Having to earn certifications by the Specialty Coffee Association, these guys are skilled barristas which churn up a cuppa within minutes. We were told that for those who wishes to learn the art of making a good coffee, courses are available, and depending whether you wish to learn for home use, or professional level (costing approx RM1500+/course), you will be charged differently. Check out their website www.myespressolab.com for more information.

Oooo.. i spy farmhouse milk, only the top range milk can produce the best foam, and Farmhouse is one of the best we've got in KL.

and the barrista did it with such ease

Oh hi Crazieapple! Long time no see! We should catch up sometime you know, sister... :D

p.s. i havent seen her in the longest time though we stayed together

Latte (RM10) house blendfor takeaways

My verdict for the coffee? Excellent smooth foam and temperature, visually appealing,but unfortunately the bean lacks coffee aroma and tasted quite weak and milky. Callings for double shot of espresso on next visit for sure.

P.S.S Read from eatdrinkkl (whoelse!) that there's another branch opening in Gardens, Midvalley. Hooray to that, they must have done something right.

myespressoLAB Coffee Roaster

D1-G4-6, Solaris Dutamas,

Jalan Duta Kiara,

50480 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: +603-6211-0662

http://myespressolab.com/

On the side note, i've been bursting to tell, can i can i? I have witheld this little piece of information for the longest time, and people whom known me would know that i cant hold on secrets for long, especially exciting secrets such as this.

So here it is, SILVER SPOON is going to open in publika soon!! YAY! :) :) :) I really am excited and we are working our ass off trying to meet the opening date. I'm looking forward to everyone's support! Keep tuned and fingers crossed hehe.

Look out for this hoarding!