We’re off to Nicaragua this week.  I’m meeting Joan from Foodalogue there on the next stop of our virtual culinary tour dubbed as “South of the Border“.  It’s been great fun so far and very rewarding and I can highly recommend you join us!  Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America enjoying a very tropical climate.  Roughly, one quarter of the nation’s population live in the capital city, Managua,  making it the second largest city in Central America.

It’s the food that I’m interested in (of course!) and I find a unique mixture of indigenous and Spanish/Creole cuisine.  I also discover that the food varies from coast to coast.  The Pacific coast emphasises the use of corn and fruits, whilst the Caribbean coast takes a more tropical approach with seafood, coconut and pineapples.  The heat is making me thirsty and I discover a very refreshing chilled pineapple and rice drink.  It quenches my thirst and I find it strangely addictive.  It’s sweet, nutty and I can taste a hint of cinnamon and cloves…

Back in Sydney and the weather is hot.  Crazy hot.  I want to make this just to cool down.  It’s a very simple concoction consisting of pineapple rinds/skins, rice, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and water.   I found a few variations of this drink but all the recipes called for the rice to be boiled until it “split”.  The finished creation had a cloudy colour (from the rice) with a slight “lolly flavour”.  It’s hard to describe but I really enjoyed it.  I decided to style it up a little by adding a few chopped pineapple pieces.  If you feel a little fancy add a splash of Malibu rum and turn this into a tropical cocktail!  Enjoy!

Recipe for Fresco De Piña y Arroz-Chilled Pineapple and Rice drink

• The skin/rind of one pineapple
• 2 cups of sugar
• 1 cup of plain uncooked white rice
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 cloves
• 10 cups of water

1. Place all the ingredients in a large pot, on a medium to high heat and bring to the boil. (be sure to skim off any ’scum’ or impurities that may rise o the surface)
2. Keep cooking the mixture until the rice splits or bursts (about 30-45 mins depending)
3. Allow to cool and strain the mixture into sieve or a cheesecloth .
4. Top with ice and chopped pineapple pieces (optional)

Australian food bloggers are finally being recognised!  The other night,  I had the pleasure of attending the  launch of the very first Australian Food Blog Award category at La Mint restaurant in Darlinghurst, Sydney.  This is a real breakthrough for food bloggers.  The award is being included  by the Australian Association of Food Professionals and is officially sponsored by Australian Pork.  I had a great night mingling with fellow food bloggers and finally got to meet Christie from Fig and Cherry!  (yay!  at last!)

We were given samples of pork to take home in a stylish “cooler bag” a.k.a. an “esky” to us Aussies.  The bag included some rosemary pancetta and some pork loin. There was no way these two items could survive in my fridge and I was keen to get cooking with them!  I decided to keep it simple as I wanted the taste of the pork to really shine.  I decided to lightly fry the pork loin on a char grill pan and cook it off in the oven.  Once it had rested the final step was to drizzle it with a mixture of extra virgin olive oil, fresh oregano, parsley and lime juice.  I wanted to use lemons but I had run out but the lime was actually a nice change and quite refreshing.  I paired the pork with a recipe of mine for “yemista” or stuffed peppers.  This was summer eating at its best!  The pork was sweet, tender and the flavours of the oil and herbs complemented it perfectly.

*No recipe folks.  It’s a simple task of heating your pan on a high heat, searing the pork on both sides and cooking it of in a pre heated 180 deg C oven for about 10-15 mins, depending on the thickness and cut. (For thicker cuts of meat it’s good to use a meat thermometer-we don’t want any pink bits in our pork!)  Make sure you rest it for a good 5-8 mins and serve it with whatever takes your fancy.
A big thank you to Stewart White for hosting the evening and answering all our questions, Helen from Grab Your Fork for notifying everyone and to Liam Silk and Australian Pork for organising a great evening and for the great samples of pork we got to take home.  Now, take a look at this ad-it won’t be officially launching till Feb 1st-but we got a chance to see it on the night.  It’s hilarious!

We’re off to El Salvador this week!  Joan from Foodalogue is hosting her Culinary Tour that takes us “South of The Border“.  Head on over there and join us in this virtual culinary feast.  This week proved quite challenging as I was running out of time but I still managed to come up with something sweet and delicious.  El Salvador literally translates as “Republic of the Savior”.  It’s the smallest and most densely populated country in Central America.  I’m going to be a little “cheeky” and lazy here and ask you all to head on over to read Val’s very informative and detailed post on her visit to El Salvador.  She’s done a fantastic job in covering the country’s past history, traditions and serves up her take on papusas.

The one thing that kept coming up in my research for recipes was corn.  El Salvador is probably best known for its papusas-a corn tortilla often stuffed with cheese and or meat. They even have a “National Papusa Day” celebrating this legendary food! However,  I wanted to utilise corn in a sweet way and I was instantly hooked when I saw this recipe for el atol de elote.  El Atol de Elote” is a dessert/drink made of ground corn, cinnamon and milk. It’s thick, sweet, and it has cinnamon so it has to be good!  I wan’t sure how this was going to turn out as I’ve never made anything sweet using fresh corn.  And boy this dessert did not disappoint!  It was creamy, sweet and very addictive.  Fresh corn kernels was puréed then added to a mixture of milk, sugar and cinnamon sticks.  I added my own touch here by adding a good splash of vanilla extract.  I know this is not traditional but I couldn’t help myself.  It thickened nicely on the stove and filled my apartment with a sweet, mesmerising aroma.  I urge you to try it!  It’s become my new favourite!

RECIPE FOR EL ATOL DE ELOTE

(Adapted from Saveur.  Recipe can be found here)

• 3 ears of corn
• 2 1/2 cups of milk
• 3/4 cup of caster sugar
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• a pinch of salt
• a “splash” of good quality vanilla extract

1. Cut the kernels from the corn and transfer them to a food processor.  (Discard the cobs)  Add half a cup of milk and puree till you achieve a smooth consistency (about 2 mins).
2. Transfer the corn puree to a heavy based saucepan and add the remaining ingredients.
3. Let the mixture boil over a medium to high heat whilst stirring constantly.
4. Reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for about 10-15 mins continuing to stir he whole time.
5. Once the mixture has thickened allow it to cool slightly.  (You can even allow it to cool down till it becomes warm).
6. Serve in a glass or bowl and garnish with some ground cinnamon.

“Hola!”…we’re going to Mexico!  The lovely Joan from Foodalogue is hosting her annual “culinary tour around the world” and she’s inviting us to join her on this 13 week extravaganza.  The theme this time is “South of the Border”.  First stop, Mexico.  Click on the badge to the right and get the full details of our itinerary.  I urge you all to join us on this virtual culinary tour.

When I saw that Mexico was the first place on our tour my mind went straight to Margaritas!  Maybe it’s a little clichéd but this cocktail is the perfect cooling blend of tequila, triple sec and lime.  In fact, limes feature quite heavily in the dish I prepared today.  I also wanted it to be colourful because I have always associated Mexico with strong vibrant colours of orange, green, yellow and red.  It was quite a challenge trying to find a dish to recreate that didn’t require a lot of “specialty” spices and ingredients.  I kept it simple and did prawn tacos and served it up with a kohlrabi slaw. The prawn or shrimp tacos are  a specialty of the Baja California region.  And I’m proud to say I made the tortillas myself!  I had initially planned on making corn tortillas but couldn’t locate any masa so I opted to make flour tortillas instead.  Surfing Youtube one night, I somehow found myself looking at a recipe for flour tortillas provided by producer/director Robert Rodriguez. The video is quite edgy and I got very hungry watching it.  The recipe called for a combination of butter and lard.  Lard is not something I have never cooked with before and needless to say I will not be using it again. It was a little “strong” for my liking.  It worked well in the tortillas but next time I plan on using butter as my only fat.

I also made a kohlrabi slaw.  A vegetable that I am enjoying using more and more around the kitchen.  I combined the kohlrabi with shredded red cabbage and sliced banana chillies.  I couldn’t forget the guacamole but opted instead to make a “chunky” version of it, combining thick pieces of chopped avocado with lime juice, chili, coriander and salt.  I also played my “salsa cards” different too.  Again, I went with a chunky, cherry kumato salsa mixed with chopped coriander, chopped red onions and lime juice.  And I’m still not finished with the limes yet!  My prawns were marinated in a mixture of lime juice, a little olive oil, ground cumin, coriander and chili.  Assembling the soft tacos was fun and I loved the whole combination of flavours.   Joan, thanks for letting me join the our,  experiment a little and learn a lot in the process.

RECIPE FOR FLOUR TORTILLAS

(Adapted from Robert Rodriguez)

• 2 cups of plain flour
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1/2 tsp of baking powder
• 30 grams of lard
• 30 grams of butter
• 3/4 cup of hot to lukewarm water

1. Place all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly.
2. Mix the lard and butter through the flour with your fingers until it is all blended through and the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs
3. Slowly add your water incorporating into the mixture until you have a lovely elastic dough.
4. Pinch pieces of dough until you end up with 8-9 golf sized pieces.
5. Rest for 20 mins and then roll out into thin round circles.
6. Cook on a hot flat grill or pan-about 8-10 seconds.  Once you see the tortillas puffing up, turn them over and cook  the other side for the same time.
7. Place on a kitchen towel lined basket as you cook to keep them warm

RECIPE FOR PRAWNS

• 125 grams of  green, deveined, shelled, prawns (with tails intact)
• 1 tsp of ground cumin
• 1 tsp of ground coriander
• 1 tsp of ground chillies (more if you prefer it hotter)
• juice of 1 lime
• a splash of olive oil

1. Combine the prawns with all the ingredients in a non reactive bowl and let it marinate for about half an hour
2. Cook on a barbecue, hot plate or pan for approx 5 mins or until the prawns turn a pinkish colour.

RECIPE FOR KOHLRABI SLAW

• 1 head of kohlrabi peeled and shredded
• 1/4 of a head of purple cabbage finely shredded
• 1 banana chili finely sliced
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 handful of finely chopped coriander

Combine all the ingredients and set aside

Serve immediately with kumato and avocado salsas and add fillings to soft tortillas according to your liking.   Coriander rice and black beans are great side dishes too.  And don’t forget the Margaritas!!!

Ok. It’s hot. Bloody hot!   “Ζεστη” as we say in Greek.  (And I’m sweating like a mad Greek!)  I want something that will cool me down and calm me down.  It’s fierce out there!  And it will be the same tomorrow apparently.

For a bit of comfort and childhood nostalgia I’m making my own “pops”.  Nothing beats a bit of Greek yoghurt and summer berries blended together and frozen.  I made it.  I know exactly what goes into it.  I know it’s good for me.  There are so many different berries you can use to make these.  In this case I used strawberries.  Leave it overnight and enjoy it the next day.  Come on.  You know you want to.

RECIPE FOR YOGHURT AND BERRY POPS

(makes 8-10 depending on the size of your ice cream mould.  N.B. you can buy these “ice cream pop” moulds from any of the major shopping stores. I picked mine up from IKEA).

• 1 punnet or 250 grams of your favourite berries (I used strawberries)
• 2 tbsp of caster sugar
• juice of half a lemon or lime
• 1 small tub of natural, thick Greek yoghurt
• 3 tbsps of honey

1. Place your berries, sugar and juice in a non reactive container and mix well.  Place in the refrigerator for at least two hours.
2. Remove the macerated berries from the fridge  and place in a blender or food processor along with their juice and the honey and  mix well.  Add this to the Greek yoghurt, give it another quick mix and place mixture into ice cream moulds. Freeze for a minimum of 4-5 or overnight.
3. Once set and frozen, dip the outside mould into a glass of warm tap water for about 10 seconds.  This allows them to be removed a little easier.

Serve immediately and enjoy!  (Acting like a kid is optional)

In this post I wanted to highlight the food we enjoyed whilst we stayed at The Four Seasons.  A sort of general “overview”.  It really helps when you travel with like minded people as everyone was willing to try bits of everything!  For research of course!   One of my friends felt hungry before dinner and wanted to order a pizza from room service.  To be very honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect but boy did we get the “golden treatment”.  The food arrived and the waiter proceeded to lay our table, setting up individual place settings, pouring water, prepping the napkins, cutlery, flowers and organising the pizza!  It was a real spectacle!  (I’ve ordered room service in many hotels over the years and it was nothing like this! ).  It feels funny to describe it in such an excited manner but it truly was marvelous how this guy worked!  An alfresco dinner/snack (by the infinity pool) before drinks and dinner!  Bring it on!

A quick shower and off we went to enjoy drinks and dinner at “Lan Tania” restaurant. The resort actually has two restaurants.  The other is called “Pla Pla” and it’s located near the beach.  It has a selection of fresh seafood, salads and snacks and provides a more casual dining atmosphere.   “Lan Tania” is located at the very top of the resort more than 100 metres above the beach.  We sat at the adjoining bar/lounge to enjoy sunset drinks.  This for me, was another one of those “always remember” moments.  The sunset had bathed the surrounding hillsides and sky in the most glorious shade of orange/gold.  Sipping on my cocktail I thought “it truly can’t get better than this”.  It was peaceful.  Serene. Magical.

Whilst enjoying our drinks, the executive chef, Matt Coates dropped by for a quick chat.  Matt pointed out some of the speciatlies of their Thai/Italian menu (no..not fusion!).  I was intrigued about where they sourced the Buffalo Mozzarella.  He explained they got it from the mainland and that there was a fully fledged industry making it in Thailand!  I had no idea.  We chatted briefly about Thailand, life on Koh Samui, food and New Zealand…his native country.  Matt’s rich experience includes working his way through a few of the top restaurants in Sydney before heading over to South East Asia and finally settling on Koh Samui.   A  really great guy and a very down to earth individual.

We finally settled on the terrace to enjoy a dinner on a very balmy Samui evening.  As I explained the menu offers a selection of Thai and Italian specialties.  After nearly a week of enjoying fish sauce and chillies I was ready for “pomodoro and basilico”.  I was seriously craving olive oil!  We mixed and matched items from the menu.  We enjoyed antipasto plates consisting of mozzarella, Parma ham, tomato and grissini.  I enjoyed a homemade spinach and ricotta ravioli with a cherry tomato sauce and pesto.  There was also pan fried sea bass with skordalia with grilled fennel and olives.  It was all cooked to perfection.  All washed down with wine (I seriously can’t remember where it was from!).  The thing that surprised all of us was the cost.  For a luxurious, high end resort the prices were reasonable.  For a starter, a main, glass of wine, and shared desserts it came to approx $60-70 AUD per person.

My camera struggled in the dim candle light to capture images of all the food so I apologise for that.  Just trust me when I say the food was delicious.  We finished off the night with some mango sticky rice.  I still managed to sneak in that Thai classic!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little insight into one of the world’s most luxurious resorts.  It was certainly an experience I won’t forget in quite a while.  I’ll be back over the next few days with some more recipes.

My first post for 2010 will be about something I did last year.  I had this planned for a few months ago but after all the “technical” difficulties I experienced I thought best to wait till the new year.  Back in September when I vacationed in Koh Samui, I was also very privileged to stay at The Four Seasons Resort for a few days.  It was a quick stay but one that will live with me forever.  As I previously explained, my last holiday was about relaxing, eating food and practicing my photography skills.  The Four Seasons Resort in Koh Samui definitely provided this opportunity and more!  This place reeks of LUXURY with a capital “L” and it exceeded my expectations on every level.  It may be big but the experience was intimate on every level.  From the moment you walk in, you are greeted with the glorious vista of the Gulf of Siam.  I nearly wet my pants!….Yes, the excitement was that strong!  It’s as if you are automatically transported to another universe.

The resort itself is situated on a tropical hillside where the “rainforest meets the sea“.  There are 60 one bedroom villas and 14 one -to- five private residences if you require more space and privacy. Each villa has its own alfresco living space and its own infinity pool! Can I say that it’s very hard to return to civilisation and not have access to your own infinity pool?  They’re very easy to get used to.  And the biggest selling point for me is that you get your own espresso machine!  (I’m sold on that alone!).  The decorations are best described as “Tropical Thai”….a term I made up.  Lots of chocolate woods, emerald green and jade blues.

The villas are equipped with all the latest mod cons, luxurious cotton sheets and amazing bathroom products.  Again, I can’t stress enough about all the “intimate” touches that are provided.  Insect repellent for those pesky mosquitoes, bottles of water by the bed, stems of Thai orchids adorn bath towels and there’s an ipod dock, should you wish to listen to your own tunes.   The biggest stand out for me personally has to be the staff who work at the Four Season Resort in Koh Samui.  Everywhere we went we were greeted with the traditional Thai “wai”.  Nothing was ever a problem and it’s almost like everything was done for us before we even thought about doing it!  (odd I know…but true!)

Getting around the resort involves the use of golf buggies.  It’s a very unique feature of this resort.  As it’s built on a hill it’s very difficult to get around without them.  You call up wherever you are and within minutes the buggy and your personal driver arrive and take you to your desired location within the resort.   In order to minimise noise the drivers communicate with a two way earpiece.

Apart from swimming and doing beach activities The Four Seasons has a gym, a yoga pavilion, a library and a spa offering an array of holistic remedies and massages.  There really is no shortage of activities.  Or you may choose to do nothing at all.

The resort has two beaches.  One is designated as a “quiet” beach should you wish to switch off entirely in private.  There is also a  25 metre infinity pool  that blends with the waters of the private bay. As soon as we arrive deck chairs are organised for us in the sand,  beach towels are laid out and ice cold water and cool peppermint scented face towels are delivered to us.  Man I could easily get used to this!  Some of our group head off for a swim, others lay in the hammock to completely unwind and I just ponder about how lucky I am!  (This is why I’m always grateful).  Over the next few days I’ll cover some of the drinking and eating aspects of the resort.  Stay tuned for more…

Four Seasons Resort-Koh Samui Thailand

219 Moo 5

Angthong, Koh Samui

Surat Thani 84140

Thailand

No rants.  No public speeches.  No resolutions.  Just a simple Thank You!    As I get older, I learn to be grateful for what I have.  Enjoy your celebrations and Happy 2010!

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I just wanted to wish everyone all the best for the holiday season.  Thank you again to everyone who passes by here.  This year I was inspired to look at Christmas from a dark/light perspective.  Borrowing on holiday traditions from around the world I shot these images as a sort of Xmas tribute.  There’s a bit of eggnog.  Some fruit mince pies and a  plum pudding with a brandy custard!  Keep cooking and keep eating…

Well it finally arrived!  Along with my usual monthly subscriptions I found a book that will hopefully set out to change a few lives. After placing my order a few weeks ago I finally received the BloggerAid Cook Book.  Wow!  The end result is as professional and beautiful as I hoped it would be.  Skimming through the various recipes I see I have a busy time ahead of me!  My “secret’ souvlaki recipe is included (not so secret anymore!) along with meals to cover any time of the day.

For those of you who are not familiar with what I’m talking about, this cook book came about because a bunch of people cared.  I specifically am talking about Val from More Than Burnt Toast and Giz from Equal Opportunity Kitchen.  They cared about hunger and specifically how this affects children living in third world countries.  Early in 2009 they set up an online social network for food bloggers and got the ball rolling on setting up this project.  Here we are many months later and the cook book is now a reality. What an effort!  I urge you all to add this book to your collection.  100% of all the monies raised from the sale of this cook book will be donated to the School Meals Program of the United Nations World Food Programme.

Apart from contributing a recipe I also helped shoot the front cover.  It was a great opportunity to be involved on another level.  I would also like to send out a very big thank you to Deeba from Passionate about Baking for adding her extra touches to the final cover and for coming up with the original concept.  Everyone was a valuable link in the chain.  I can also remember many times communicating with Giz at very unusual hours…thank god that I suffer jetlag! LOL!  There is also one other person I would like to mention.  The little girl who is holding the globe in her hands, my “hand model”, is a very wise six year old who jumped at the chance to  get involved.  She’s very dear to me. Her name is “Missy” and I remember trying to get that shot.   She had just finished dancing lessons and we did about 30 takes before we got it right!  She’s very excited the book is out and will be featuring it in her show and tell class before school finishes for the year.

Do yourselves a favour folks.  See the picture of the BloggerAid cook book on the top right of my blog?  Click on the link and order one today.  You won’t be disappointed.

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