Mile-High Scones

I've forgotten that baking is therapeutic until I made my best scones yet yesterday. Now I'm ready to go back into the kitchen.

My regular scone recipe makes good scones but the smell of bicarb bothers me although most people don't detect the bicarb like I do. The bicarb also gives my scones a tell-tale yellowish tint. I sniffed very hard at the scone I ate in London, pushing it into my nostrils and really couldn't smell any unpleasant baking agents. So yesterday, when I suddenly wanted to eat scones (I've never met a person who doesn't like scones, never),  instead of my regular scone recipe, I used Jessie's (Yi's housemother in her foundation homestay year) recipe which uses self-raising flour and no bicarb. I'd tried Jessie's recipe once without very satisfactory success so for many years I never used the recipe again.

Some people learn the hard way and I'm one of them. I pushed my tray of scones into the oven and saw that the temperature dial was at 150 C, much too low for scones which need a hot oven temp of 220 C. The right thing to do was to take the tray out immediately and wait for the oven to heat to 220 C. But I'm an impatient person and I needed to pick my boy up from school and I didn't trust my helper with my baking so I just let the scones bake. Of course I wasted the whole batch because they turned out like stones, baked hard and golden outside before they can even rise. I baked another batch. This time I not only had the heat right, I also added extra baking powder and butter, just in case.

The scones that came out of the oven were a lovely sight, all Louboutins and Blahniks, as high as the sky. I was almost embarassed by their showiness (the scones I mean). Lesson: mistakes can lead to success.

This is THE recipe I'll be using from now on.

My scones rose more than twice as high and were soft, with no hint of baking agents. These were leftovers from yesterday afternoon and still good 24 hours later even without re-heating.

When cutting scones, be careful not to touch the sides because the dough will stick together and the pressed side (right side in the pic) won't rise as high as it should. So even if your recipe is good but your cutting sucks, the scones won't be the killer-heels type. Make sure you use a sharp metal cutter that's higher than the thickness of your dough and cut the scone quickly in one move.

Jessie's Scones, Improved

3 1/2 cups self-raising flour*, sifted with the baking powder

1/2 t double action baking powder
1/4 t bicarb of soda (optional)

1 T caster sugar (optional)

50g cold unsalted butter (increased from 20 g), cut into small bits

1 egg, beaten

3/4 cup + 2 T fresh milk

a pinch of salt

1/2 t vanilla (optional)

Serve with: a good jam or preserves and clotted cream or if not available, heavy cream

           
*For tasty, delicious-smelling scones, the flour must be of good quality and fresh. The flour we get here is usually not very fresh. (sorry, amount was mistakenly first posted as 2 1/2 cups)

1. Oven at 220 C, grease a flat baking tray. If in cold weather, heat the tray up in the oven.

2. Put all the dry ingredients into a large bowl stirring well to mix. You can also put them into a food processor. Using your fingertips only, rub in the butter lightly until the mixture is coarse and loose, breadcrumbs-like.

3. Dig a well in the middle of the ingredients, add the beaten egg, vanilla and milk and use a butter knife to stir and mix well quickly.

4. Gather the dough (should be quite wet) and put it on a lightly-floured work surface and knead lightly, 5 to 6 times until it comes together.

5. Pat the dough out into a flat disc of about 3/4-1"/2-2.5 cm thick and use a cookie cutter (2.5 "/6.5 cm diameter is nice) to cut. You can gather the bits of dough and roll it out to cut more scones.

6. Place scones (be careful you don't touch the sides) on the tray close to each other, brush milk or cream on top and bake10-12 min. Watching scones rise is a joy!

7. Serve warm with clotted cream or whipped heavy cream and home-made jam or a good store-bought preserves.

Durian Roti Jala

 Durians are everywhere! It's hardest to loose weight during durian season. I always tell myself that durians are available twice a year only so I eat all I can (last weekend, one whole durian to myself) and to hell with the guilt (and belly). Of course, by bedtime I usually lie regretfully as my tummy sticks out like K2.

I just think that lacy roti jala (net pancake) is such a clever, pretty improvement over regular crepes. Roti jala is an under-rated pancake that really should be more featured by our local chefs. I'm sure there are many more unexplored ways to serve roti jala. Roti jala jelly roll, roti jala with ice cream, roti jala as a decorative base for a steak or with a heap of seafood curry. 

I still have durian flesh from the last season and I have to eat them up to make way for this season's durian. Durian keeps very well in airtight containers in the freezer. With all those holes in the jala pancakes, the filling shouldn't be too squishy so I decided to just mash the durian lightly and not add the cream to it. It's less work too because I don't need to drag the machine out to whisk the cream. Saves cream too. I also wanted to taste the durian so I didn't blend them into a sludge. Eaten with some heavy cream, the jala pancakes were SO good. Instead of heavy cream, thick coconut milk will be just as good or even better.

Durian makes anything good.

 

Durian Roti Jala

  

The Pancakes (about 12):

1 cup cake flour, sifted

3/4 cup thin coconut milk or fresh milk

3 pandan leaves*, blended or processed but not too finely

1/2 to 1 T caster sugar (or omit sugar totally, I did)

1 large egg

pinch of salt

1 T butter, melted & cooled

*use flavoring if unavailable

1.Mix the pandan with the milk and knead through to get the flavor and color of the pandan into the milk. Strain through a fine muslin sieve & discard the pandan.

2. Put everything into a bowl and mix well with a whisk. Leave aside for at least 1/2 hour or in the fridge for upto 12 hours. Take batter out from fridge at least 15 minutes before frying. Depending on the flour used, you may have to adjust the consistency of the batter by adding more milk or flour.

The Filling:

1 cup durian flesh, mash lightly with a fork & chilled

To drizzle:

1/2 to 1 cup heavy cream or fresh thick coconut milk

1. Lightly oil your frying pan with some butter and fry the pancakes as shown here. After each pancake is done, spoon some durian flesh on one side of the pancake and roll it up. Continue until all the pancakes are rolled.

2. To serve, you can whisk the cream until it's stiff or just pour it over the pancakes.

Tate Modern London

London was better on my second visit because it was sunny and warm. Within 3 days however, I had to grab a sweater and a scarf before leaving the house. It was odd that an hour away in the Med the weather was hot and sunny. While walking on Westminster Bridge, the wind whipped us along and it started to rain even though the sun was out too. I was expecting snow too. What crazy weather Londoners have to put up with.

The London Millenuim Footpath is a more beautiful and enjoyable walk across the RIver Thames than the other bridges because it's a pedestrian-only bridge.  The bridge links the area near St Paul's Cathedral to the Tate Modern across the RiverThames.

Nice isn't it, kind of like the glass pyramid in The Louvre, modern juxtapositioned against ancient.

Art ('The Kiss' by Rodin)

 

Artsy (I'm sure you know this painting. To see it in person was a 'wow' moment for me although surrealism is not my favorite art)

Artsy brilliance--do you see it?

Fartsy (If I cut a blank canvas, will you buy it?)

Fartsy (I just don't get it)

Fartsy


Do you get it?

I get this one. It's "I've got nothing to wear!"

 We spent an interesting 3-hour stroll through the Tate Modern. There are about 4 floors of artsy things and famous paintings. A fantastic art museum, Tate is free but you are encouraged to donate. I highly recommend this place. The National Gallery at Trafalgar Square is another fantastic museum although I was there just briefly. Many famous art work and paintings are kept there and it's free entrance too. London's choices of art and history museums are as good as France's and Italy's.

Save Vui Kong

When I was in Form 5, I was part of a 3-girl debating team. One of the standard topics was 'Should The Death Penalty Be Abolished?' I was always against the death penalty. But now I'm not sure. Some of the murders and horrific cruelty that humans inflict on others make me think that there are people who deserve to be hanged. My stint in the debate team? It was short-lived; we lost the semis to a Form 4 team. Enough to turn me away from wanting to be a lawyer.

But this is not about me at 17. This is about a boy who was 18 when he was caught 4 years ago in Singapore with 47 gm (about 1 tablespoonful) of heroin, hard drug. The punishment is death, to be carried out anytime after 26th August 2010. 

As I read his story, I struggled to keep my emotions. Vui Kong was raised by a single mother in poverty. His mom became depressive and Vui Kong left school after Primary 4 (grade 4) to work. He said that he wanted the money for his mom's medical expenses. This is not a hard-core drug runner. He had a hard life. He was 18, young and misguided. Look at his photos here,  read about him and read about his case. He's just an under-priviledged , uneducated boy who grew up very poor in a broken home. We all had a much better  childhood and opportunities than he did. I believe that he has learnt his lesson. The Singapore Law Minister has said to the press that they do not want to let him off as a warning to others. Death penalty as a deterrant  is cruel, especially if the offender is young and has a strong case for reform. The case should be judged on its own. When Vui Kong was found guilty, the presiding judge felt that it was too harsh to charge the 18-year old boy under a law that carried the death penalty and asked the prosecutor to charge him under a different section of the law that carried life imprisonment. The prosecutor refused and the boy was sentenced.

The Singapore government is notoriously strict about drugs, as is the Malaysian government. However, the President of Singapore has the power to grant clemency in special cases. Vui Kong's first appeal for clemency was turned down a few weeks ago. His second and final appeal is to be handed in before 26th August. I beg you to help save him by signing the petition. He deserves another chance.

Sign the petition here NOW.

Some Of What We ate In London

Here's some of what we ate in London. Not exhaustive of course since we lost some of our photos.


A delicious breakfast cooked by my friend, NS. I miss his soups.


I enjoyed the steak n kidney pie in my first London pub but this pub, next to the Garrick Theatre where we watched ALL The Fun AT The Fair, served pretty bad food based on the bangers and mash.

How did I find All The Fun At The Fair? Well, I sort of remember David Essex but my daughter doesn't and 15 minutes into the show she turned to me and said "Sri Insan (her high school) can do this!", slid down her seat, and slept.



The nachos were okay but how hard is it to not fix up a good nacho anyway.


A pork sandwich at Borough Market. Smelt so good. It was a windy and wet day and all that smoke and smell warmed us up. This was good but would've been better if we didn't add the applesauce which was sweet.


This Caribbean curry was 8 pounds, if I'm not wrong. I couldn't resist it, the whole Borough Market smelt of curry and I hadn't had curry for months. It was okay.


I'm not sure what this was but it was good, smooth and creamy.


While Yi went for Korean with her friend Effie, I was invited to a Chinese meal in Joy King Lau, Chinatown by friends Trevor & Janet. All three of us were watching our waistlines so I think Trevor ordered well. So many people have said the food in Chinatown's as good as (some say better, but I would not go that far) Hong Kong's and I agree.


Blanched kailan with oyster sauce, simple but so yummy.


An excellent dish of crispy fried noodles with seafood.




Ice cream from Amorino, excellent. Isn't that a beautifully crafted ice cream?


A rocket and lobster sandwich from Pret A Manger, a simple, affordable no-frills chain coffeeshop-restaurant.


I've wanted to try cornish pasty for a long time. I think pasties are the giant original version of our Malaysian curry puff.


The beef and stilton pasty. Verdict: something I'll eat only if I'm down in the coal mines.


This was really delicious, stewed beef brisket and noodles in a wonderfully flavorful, tasty soup. NS' wife recommended Wong Kei, a Hong Kong-style restaurant that's been around for a long time.



Roasted duck noodles. Not as good as the beef noodles. I think these bowls of noodles were about 4.50 to 5 pounds each, very inexpensive for such delicious food.


When I get a little tired of food (which is seldom), I usually settle for a good BLT. This was okay, not as good as the one I had in Hong Kong years ago.


Now this was the worst risotto, no, make that the worst dish I've tried. It was soupy instead of wet, the rice wasn't right, there was so much lemon juice it tasted acidic and the dish just wasn't tasty. Yi couldn't eat half of this. The restaurant was called Concerto, on the left side of the road as you walk from Fortnum & Mason towards Piccadilly Circus. We waited 45 minutes for these two dishes even though we reminded the waiter.


We passed by a Laduree after leaving Notting Hill, I can't remember where we were. We had 5, gobbled them before we realized we needed to take a photo. They were expensive (about 2 pounds EACH) and by the time we got to Selfridges (I think) and saw Pierre Herme's macarons, we were able to walk away with just a bit of reluctance. Sometimes I wonder, if macarons aren't so expensive or colorful and pretty, would they still be a hit? The definition of macarons should be: Macarons are an over-rated over-priced French confectionary made desirable because they are colorful
and unaffordabe in large amounts.


This was really, really delicious. I think it was at, gosh, what's the departmental store after Selfridges, the one that's not as high end?


Hub called and told us we must eat at the Chinese restaurant next to the Kensington exit. Although we weren't hungry, we went anyway because our meal appointments were packed and there was no other chance to eat there.


It was good, but I've had better. Prices were very reasonable.


"Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find."