More Japanese

A tofu salad with avocado and tomatoes with a very yummy wasabi dressing!

Did you know that avocados are the world's most nutritious food?

Journey to Japan

Tonight my friend L. and I made a very yummy meal! I tried Japanese food for the first time! SOOOOOOOOO good! It is Unami! (Delicious)

We made Spicy Edamame. Edamames are rich in protein, minerals, calcium and vitamin B1. The chili peppers made it quite spicy, but the soy sauce dressing helped to tone down the spice a bit.

The highlight of the meal was Asian Gazpacho with cilantro pesto. Wow. Whoever thought that vegetables could taste this amazing? I've been reading about Japanese and was delighted to discover their philosophy of food.... one of the things that they value is to try to bring out the natural flavours of the food. So there were no spices added to this chilled raw soup, just vegetables. The cilantro pesto was to die for. I think I will have to make this over and over and over again

We discovered Daikon which is a very large radish. Very good too with a bit of a kick! this salad was made with Daikon, Watercress and walnuts and really complimented the meal.

The main course was chicken presoaked in Saki and then steamed with bok choi, then served with a bit of lime. This was also very good and again, the flavours of the food come through very nicely.

I'm really fascinated now by Japanese food philosophy..... I think about how much I love Moroccan food and how so many spices are used that you can't distinguish any one particular flavour. And that is lovely. But Japanese food is different, it uses combinations that naturally highlight each flavour!

Oh I'm excited that I've branched out to a new region!

Pokemon Cupcakes

We decided to tackle fondant icing. This time it went a whole lot better than the first time. Although I think I need to experiment with new recipes in order to get a smoother paste. In my quick fondant research, I discovered that many claim that glycerin is a must have for fondant icing.

While I am not up to speed with the Pokemon Craze, I am proud of my first cupcake design without using a book! Instead, K. and I used pictures from Pokemon websites to create Pikachu, Piplup and Psyduck.

Piplup, Pikachu and Psyduck Pokemon Cupcakes

Piplup was the only character we did not make from fondant. Instead, we used marshmallows, melted icing, a Tim bit and sprinkles.

Middle Eastern Dinner!

K. and I spent about 8 hours on friday cooking and eating and baking! It was the most relaxing wonderful day in a long time! How wonderful to have another kindred spirit who desires to learn how to cook. She has inspired me to try cooking Japanese food (I have bought the ingredients so stay tuned!)

We made Cacik. Each Middle Eastern culture seems to have their own traditional version of a cucumber and yoghurt side dish that helps to cool the other spices of the meal. This one had parsley in it and was very very good.

K. is wonderfully talented at speaking in an Indian accent and made up the story of Baba Ganoush. So we decided that our day of cooking would not be right unless we cook Baba Ganoush. It was my first time cooking eggplant which was surprisingly easy despite that I burnt my fingers while peeling it!

We also made Haldi Dahi ka Shorba (Turmeric yogurt soup) which was quite unique! it had yoghurt, chili powder, turmeric and a few other ingredients. And then the topping was cumin seeds, black mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds which added quite the flavour to the meal!

All in all it was a good meal with good memories!

Peanut, Peanut Butter (and Jam!)

Through my work at the church, I have come to know a wonderful family. We hang out so much that I am starting to feel like we are family! GLD often leaves random phone messages on my cell phone, often with the song of the day. He left one with "the candy man song" in my head on Thursday.... and it wasn't until K (my new unofficially "adopted" younger sister!) and I made cupcakes that evening that the song FINALLY exited my head. Unfortunately, it was replaced by another equally annoying song!

K hung out at my place for a couple of nights and she and I got quite excited about baking and cooking together! After discovering our mutual love of peanut butter, we baked peanut butter and jelly cupcakes. And all that I could think of was the Raffi song that teaches kids how to make PB&J sandwiches.

I have to admit that these cupcakes blur my definition of cupcakes. They follow some of the rules, but break the others. Alas, even I referred to them as "muffins" (though I chalk that up to tiredness). Still, I think they are more cupcake than muffin (but muffin enough that they make a healthy breakfast!).

The Definition of a Cupcake

For the youth camping trip, I made S'more cupcakes and Hot chocolate cupcakes. I was attempted to deny these scrumptious treats from anyone who referred to them as "muffins". I was completely mortified at the suggestion that muffins and cupcakes are the same thing. I still have not recovered from this abominable mistake. So I have decided to explain what exactly makes a cupcake a cupcake. I am in debt to Gail Wagman in her book "Cupcakes Galore" for this description.

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Origins
For the time being, let's set the record straight. Just what is a cupcake? And what isn't? Webster's Dictionary defines a cupcake as follows: a small cake baked in a cuplike mold. This definition just about sums it up - no more, no less - leaving a great deal of room for interpretation, creativity and perhaps a little confusion.

A Cupcake with any other Name...
A cupcake is undeniably a "little cake", but all "little cakes" aren't necessarily cupcakes. Unless they are made in a cup-sized mold. And fit the criteria of a "cake," let's say, as opposed to a muffin, which can be made in a cup-sized mold but is basically a quick bread not a cake. And then again, some cupcake recipes are "quick" but the result is not to be mistaken for a muffin. And does a cupcake require icing to conform to the appellation? Iconographically speaking, I would say yes since the festive character of the beast certainly lends itself to a little "dressing up for the occasion," but it would really be too bad to add anything other than powdered sugar or a little glaze to some of [cupcakes].

A number of sources refer to the origin of the humble cupcake as a "cup cake", in other words, a 1 (cup butter)-2 (cups sugar)-3(cups flour)-4(eggs) cake, which can certainly be made into cupcakes (provided that you add a little flavouring, a substantial dose of imagination, some yummy frosting, and a decoration or two) but as anyone who has ever made a cake will know what is commonly known as a pound cake and no one is mistaking it for a cupcake.

So, if you stick to [this] definition, you can't go wrong. Just remember the three cardinal rules:

1. Cupcakes should be pretty
2. Cupcakes should taste good.
3. Cupcakes should be fun.
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In addition to this description, I would like to add a few differences between muffins and cupcakes that i have discovered:

- eggs are folded in one at a time with cupcakes, but with muffins can be added all at once
- there are more eggs in cupcakes than in muffins
- you alternate adding the dry ingredients and milk to the wet ingredients mixture with cupcakes, where as with muffins you just mix the wet and dry together
- cupcakes you stir until the ingredients are well mixed; muffin mix is stirred just until it is completely moist (overstirring with muffins will actually effect their ability to rise).

So now you know the definition of a cupcake. May the cupcake always be called by its rightful name.