All posts tagged: cream

Tofu Tuesday: Tofu and Cream

Meet Cream the bunny. Cream is moving from New Zealand to Japan today and we wish him and his family a safe journey. Last weekend, Cream and his owner, Yoshi came for a play date to meet Tofu and to say goodbye. The Koala and I met Yoshi through The Japanese Art Festival which he runs. Over the years we have become friends, first exhibiting our work and more recently, helping with the design, promotion and running of the event. The Japanese Festival will be sadly missed as Yoshi and family move back to Japan. Tofu hasn’t seen a bunny in about 5 years so this was a very special visit. Tofu was the dominant one but Cream had his sight and therefore the upper hand. Cream also showed us a few binkys (random twisting rabbit jumps) to say he was quite pleased. The bunnies were  curious of each other and Tofu took his time carefully examining Cream’s carry case while Cream explored our house. The Koala even got to hold both bunnies at once. …

Make A Chowder (Salmon Head and Mussel Chowder)

Salmon. I love it raw. I love it cooked. I love it smoked. I love it poached. I love it pan fried. I love it baked. I love it steamed. It is creamy, fishy and super rich. Everything I’ve read says that salmon makes too strong a stock. I’m not afraid of a strong fish stock, but if a strong stock makes you queasy, this recipe is not for you. I’ve wanted to make a chowder for the longest time and a quiet, Autumn weekend at home last month was a good time for it. You can easily spend too much on seafood for a chowder. Sure, it will be delicious, but what about making a delicious chowder using cheaper ingredients? I picked up 2 salmon heads for cheap at my local asian market. Fish heads are usually cheap and I’ve been eyeing these up for a while now, wondering what to do with them. To prepare, make sure the gills are removed – they usually are. Cut the fins off with a pair of …

Taking on the Ultimate Gnocchi

I tried gnocchi for the first time a couple of weekends ago. It was at a restaurant and they weren’t the light pillows of deliciousness that I expected. They were dense and a bit chewy. Thinking I could do better, I was determined to give gnocchi making a go. Pronounced nyo-key and translates to lumps, but may have come from the words nocchio or nocca which mean knot (in wood) or knuckle. Commercial gnocchi look more like fat grubs than knuckles. Gnocchi isn’t familiar to me so I’m not sure if it’s considered a pasta or a dumpling and a quick search online suggests that it might be both. I did a little research and found Cook Almost Anything’s Ultimate Gnocchi article an amazing guide for new gnocchi makers to work with. Apparently, too much flour leads to heavy gnocchi and with the fear of creating chewy bullets, I overcompensated. I made my dough with less flour than suggested. My gnocchi wasn’t so soft it disintegrated in water, but they were really, really light and soft. Is there …

Creamy Tomatoey Chicken

My local Chinese supermarket now offers boneless thigh! I prefer the texture and flavour of thigh over breast meat. Boneless thigh is the same price as breast meat so I guess I’m not going to be buying breast ever again. I cooked up some the chicken for me and the boys*. Some cream, some tomato, some spices like garam masala and curry powder. Whip up some rice and some vege and you got yourself some tasty nutrition. The boys gobbled it all up. * By boys, I’m really referring to men. I don’t have any offspring.