Quince Paste (Membrillo)

Driving through the South Australian countryside I spotted a quince tree bowed down with fruit and decided to grab several of the bulbous, yellow orbs and make quince paste. Having never made quince paste before, but enjoyed it many times with cheese, I had little idea of the process involved and figured it couldn’t be that hard.  After a bit of research I learned that the skill and technique required was minimal, however the time dedication was fairly excessive.  The final result, although labor intensive, was and is delicious and if you are a fan of the sweet, ruby red jelly then this should definitely be on your to-do-list.  I used four quinces, which has left me with enough quince paste to last a year and (if prepared correctly) will store for that long wrapped in cling film in the cupboard.

Ingredients:

• 4 large quinces
• approx 1 kg (2.2 lb) sugar (total weight should be equal to cooked pulp)
• water
• cheese platter and crackers to serve

Method:

To begin, wash, peel and core the quinces. Roughly chop and place in a heavy based saucepan. If you have some muslin cloth on hand, place the skins and core in the cloth and tie to form a bag. Place bag in saucepan. (I did not have any muslin, therefore did not use the skins and cores. It still turned out great.)

Add enough water to cover half way up the fruit and boil, covered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until fruit is very soft.  Remove muslin bag and blend fruit until smooth.

Weigh the fruit pulp and combine equal quantities of the pulp and sugar to a clean saucepan. You should have around 1 kg (2.2 lb) of fruit, therefore you would add 1 kg of sugar.

Cook, stirring over low heat until the sugar dissolves.  Continue to cook over a low flame, stirring every 5-10 minutes until the paste is very thick and a deep, ruby red colour.  At this stage a wooden spoon drawn through the paste will leave a distinct trail.  This will take approximately 1 1/2 hours.  Transfer the paste to a baking tray lined with greased baking paper and smooth out.

The next step is to dry out the paste, which will leave you with a firm, moisture free final product.  You have several options to dry out the paste.  If you have a fan forced oven you can turn the fan on with no temperature set and leave the paste in the oven over night.  You could also set your oven to a low temperature, approximately 90°C (190°F) and leave the mixture in for several hours.  Or leave in the sun for several hours, or an airing cabinet for a few days. Whichever method you choose the paste should be firm once cooled and not too moist or sticky. If you find it is still sticky, you can dry it for longer. Slice the dried quince paste into squares, wrap in cling film or baking paper and cling film and store in the fridge or cupboard until needed (it will last at least a year). Serve as an accompaniment to cheese on a platter or melt down and add to cakes and tarts.

-alex

Fat Fish Cantina Grille, San Diego

Before graduation, all of the seniors from the Claremont Colleges head down to Mission Beach for a week on the water. While there we mostly cooked, but Alex and I took a break from the kitchen one evening to hit Fat Fish. Upon being seated outside, we were informed that the happy hour prices and specials advertised on the website (and on the phone when we called for a reservation) were only available at the bar- since we wanted pictures with natural light, we opted to skip the deals. The house chips and salsa came out promptly, and salsa was fresh and flavorful, with a bit of a kick. Alex decided to start with the Tequila-Lobster Bisque, which is a house specialty- we were pleasantly surprised by this dish, which came topped with a freshly baked puff pastry that paired wonderfully with the creamy soup. This soup is a must for any Fat Fish visit. The Perfecto Organico margaritas (organic el ultimo blanco, cointreau, fresh lime juice, agave) were a point of contention for us- I found it perfectly fine, although definitely not as good as the ones we make at home, but Alex thought it was borderline undrinkable. Granted, they came with a barely-salted rim and were a bit watered down, so maybe Alex is right on that count…next came the entrees. Fat Fish does not offer vegetarian beans, which was a bit of a shock for a Mexican restaurant in San Diego, so that was an immediate disappointment for me. However, the chicken fajitas were good, and the chicken and veggies developed a delicious caramelization the longer they stayed on the skillet. Alex thoroughly enjoyed his shrimp taco, and we both loved the chewy tortillas. All in all, Fat Fish is worth a go if you’re looking for sit down Mexican food near Mission Beach, but don’t expect it to beat the numerous taco stands that have made SD famous.

- priya

house chips and salsa

chips, salsa and the highly-debated margaritas

Tequila-Lobster Bisque

Shrimp and Fish Taco Platter

Chicken Fajitas

Basic Buttermilk Scones

Being back on the family farm for a couple of weeks has given me the opportunity to get cooking again. As usual, my mother has bought a new contraption for the kitchen.  This new piece of machinery is called a Thermomix and one of its many talents is making butter from cream in about 3 minutes. So, after making butter I was left with 3/4 of a cup of butter milk and no idea what to use it for. After searching several recipes, I stumbled across these simple scones and knew that the mother and her British heritage would be kept happy.

Ingredients

• 2 cups self-raising flour
• 1 Tbsp caster sugar
• pinch salt
• 60g (2oz) chilled butter, roughly chopped
• 3/4 cup buttermilk (can be bought from the supermarket, or made – add one Tbsp of white vinegar or lemon juice to a measuring cup, fill to one cup with milk, let stand for 5 minutes)
• extra milk or buttermilk for brushing
• raspberry jam and whipped cream or chilled butter to serve

Method:

Preheat oven to 220°C (430°F). Line a baking tray with baking paper. Position oven rack in top third of oven.  Sift flour, sugar and salt into a bowl.

Add butter. Using fingertips, rub butter into flour mixture until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Make a well in center of mixture. Pour in buttermilk.  Using a flat-bladed knife, stir until sticky dough forms.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and knead gently until just smooth, only several presses.

Using a lightly floured rolling pin, gently roll out to 2cm (1/4 inch) thickness.

With a 6cm (2.5″) pastry cutter, cut out scones.  Press leftover dough together and repeat to make approx 12 scones.

Place scones, just touching, on prepared tray. Brush with milk / buttermilk.

Bake for 12 – 15 minutes in pre-heated oven until golden and hollow when tapped on bottom. Serve as preferred.

tip – don’t overwork the dough at any time as your scones will not rise to great heights

-alex

Baking powder, baking soda and living without self-raising flour

This morning I baked scones, which are easy enough, however I did meet a few hurdles along the way.  My main issue was the lack of self-raising flour in the kitchen, I had plenty of all purpose flour, but no self-raising. A quick Google search informed me that if you combine two teaspoons of baking powder to every one cup of plain, all purpose flour, hey presto – you have self-raising flour.  The next step was searching my mum’s kitchen for baking powder, none of that, but plenty of baking soda.  Another quick Google search and I found that you can make your own baking powder, through a combination of cream of tartar and baking soda. A few ingredients later and I was on the way to making scones, with some extra knowledge to boot. I won’t be buying self-raising flour or baking soda any more, that’s for sure.

Plain, all purpose flour –> Self-raising flour

• 2 tsp baking powder sifted into one cup plain flour

Cream of tartar & Baking soda –> Baking powder

• 2 tsp cream of tartar and one tsp of baking soda sifted together

-alex

Tutti Mangia, Claremont CA

Over the weekend Priya graduated from University and as a celebration / farewell dinner (as I am now back in Aus), Priya and I went to Tutti Mangia. Having eaten here once before and enjoying the Osso Bucco I had eaten immensely, expectations were high. Needless to say, Tutti Mangia did not disappoint, however there were some low points.  We started off with a crisp Sonoma Valley Sav Blanc, which accompanied the meal well.  Our starters were both delicious, however my grilled octopus took the cake and was the best meal of the night. The octopus was melt in your mouth tender and the rustic Puttanesca accompanied the protein magnificently.  Priya’s roasted beet and burricotta plate was simple and delicious.  For the mains I had pheasant and wild mushroom ragu pasta with Priya having, as always, a mushroom risotto. My pheasant was unctuous and moreish, however Priya’s risotto was lacking seasoning and didn’t have the earthy mushroom funk necessary of a risotto ai funghi.  By far the most disappointing part of the meal were the desserts, or to be more precise, Priya’s dessert. Against my recommendations Priya went for a quintessential French dish (in an Italian restaurant no less) Crème Brûlée. This Crème Brûlée wasn’t traditional either, it was salted caramel and failed to impress on every level. The custard was barely a custard and the brûlée on top was neither crisp nor thick, providing no textural balance to the dish. It still baffles me that an Italian restaurant would serve Crème Brûlée and one that was so bad to boot. OK, enough with the Crème Brûlée, I had a Tiramisu, which was simple and tasty, however both plates were left unfinished.  All in all Tutti Mangia was a successful dinner, if not an expensive one, nevertheless if I go again I will leave without dessert and instead venture somewhere else for a sweet treat.

-alex

Foppiano Savignon Blanc

Polipo alla Griglia – grilled octopus, fingerling potatoes, rustic puttanesca, lemon zest

Barbietole – roasted heirloom beets, fresh burricotta cheese, toasted pistachios, micro greens, aged balsamic, turri herb oil

Campanelle al Fagiano – trumpet pasta, pheasant ragu, wild mushroom

Risotto ai Funghi – wild mushroom risotto, micro greens

Salted Caramel Crème Brûlée

Tiramisu

Rajdhani, Artesia

Rajdhani, located in the heart of Little India in Artesia, is known for having some of the best Indian food in Southern California, thus it came as no surprise when my parents wanted to make the 45 minute trip out when they came to visit me for graduation weekend (yes, I graduated from college! It’s terrifying and traumatic, but also a little exciting, I suppose). The typical Gujarati food at Rajdhani is served thali-style; upon being seated, each diner is given a large silver plate with several smaller bowls for the subjeez of the day. The first few minutes are complete chaos- servers come around with papad (a traditional indian crisp), chutneys, pakoras and fresh tomato salad, but before you can even begin to eat them, another round of servers are descending upon you with dahl and other Indian specialties, all of which are vegetarian. They work so quickly and efficiently that an attempt to grab the papad off your plate may very well cost you a splash of curry to the hand- it’s best to keep clear until the initial service rounds are complete. Every day the subjeez rotate- when we went we were treated to a delicious white bean subjee, potatoes in a thin, flavourful broth and cabbage and small, Indian green beans, which was easily our favourite. Servers also come around every few minutes with piping hot pooris, rotis and rice. Service is attentive and fast- the moment one stops eating, a server is there waiting to see what needs to be refilled. A meal at Rajdhani is truly like a meal at a relative’s home in India- delicious food constantly being forced upon you, in the best way possible. One of my main gripes with living in Claremont for the past four years was the lack of delicious Indian food nearby- for anyone who shares this sentiment, I highly recommend Rajdhani…although it isn’t exactly close, the drive is absolutely worth it.

- priya

empty thali- preparing for the feast

the cabbage subjee at the bottom was my favourite

subjeez of the day included white bean, potato and cabbage

they really do pile plates high!

piping hot gulab jamun

besan halwa

falooda- rose flavoured ice cream topped with basil seeds

Green Street Cafe, Pasadena

I met up with a cousin awhile ago at Green Street Cafe for Sunday brunch. The restaurant is located along a cute side street in downtown Pasadena, and I was surprised to find parking aplenty. It’s no secret that brunch is my least favourite meal (eggs? bacon? bread? no thank you.) but when a restaurant puts a mimosa as large as the one I received at GSC in front of me, it is easy to forget my aversion to brunch. Sadly, the food just wasn’t great. It was passable, however in an area filled with delicious restaurant options, I was surprised to see Green Street Cafe so busy. My southwest pasta (recommended by our waitress) was overrun with corn kernels and under-seasoned chicken, and my cousin’s requested grilled tomatoes came out plain and sliced. The food is not bad by any means, I would just choose basically any other brunch place over Green Street Cafe. I wish I had more good things to say, but at the end of the day, Green Street Cafe simply isn’t worth the price and is a forgettable meal.

- priya

Mimosa

Crab Cake Benedict

Southwest Pasta with Chicken

Crumble topped with Dr. Bob’s Ice Cream