Frog & Pumpkin Porridge

This is one of Rey's favourite weekend lunch that I always prepared for him either on Saturday or Sunday. The method is more or less the same but then I will rotate on the ingredients depend on what he prefer during that week. Our "little master" will tell me what he wants for the day before we headed for marketing. Today's menu might sounds a bit "yucky" to some of you because of the use of "Fresh Frog". But in Asian country like Singapore, Frog porridge is very commonly found in most household where the elderly will choose it to cook porridge for kids.

Since Rey is a picky eater who don't really eat meat or vegetable on it's own. We have to work on ways to get things into his mouth, so the most easier way that both me and my mum will do is to put everything into the porridge and serve it to him as one dish meal. This is a very nutritious porridge which consists of his favourite pumpkin and potato.

Ingredients: (Serves 2)
3 Pieces of Pork Ribs
1 Fresh Frog(田鸡), skin removed
60g of Pumpkin, without skin
1 Medium Potato, cut into quarters
Some Red Dates & Wolfberries
1/2 Cup Uncooked Rice
600ml - 800ml Water

Method:
1. Pre-wash the rice and soak with some water for about 30 minutes, this is enable the rice to soften and cook faster.
2. Wash and clean the pork ribs and fresh frog then blanch them in boiling water for a about 3 minutes, rinse and set aside.
3. Next bring about 600ml of water to boil then add in the pork rib, frog meat, potato cubes, red dates and wolfberries and let it bring to boil again then simmer for about 15 minutes over low heat.
4. Add in the rice(drained well 1st) and pumpkin(don't cut into small pieces, leave it as it is) let it simmer accordingly until the rice is done to your liking.
5. Season it with some salt and sesame oil if you prefer then serve.


My boy love the pumpkin to be mashed together in the porridge and serve with the soft cooked potato. Usually I cooked this dish with Cod fish but for a change today, I replace the Cod fish with fresh frog meat.

Note:
a) I bought the fresh frog from the wet market which is already without the skin.
b) I use a small claypot to cook the porridge because we love that smooth texture compare to the normal pot.

Banana & Passion Fruit Chiffon Cake

Em... this should be the last Chiffon Cake recipe that I going to post for the time being even though I still have a few on the list to try out :p Since my mum love the combination of Passion Fruit with Banana, I decided to bake this for her over the weekend together with some of her favourite Banana & Passion Fruit Jam.

The cake is full or banana aroma while baking in the oven and the taste is great! It has the combination of "Sweet" from the banana and "Sour as well as the crunch" from the passion fruit juice and it's seeds. We really love this combi especially when it is served together with the extra Banana & Passion fruit Jam. As you can see from the photo, I even topped extra banana slices on top of the batter to give that extra taste.

Ingredients:
80g Ripe Banana, mashed
1 Ripe Passion Fruit
Rind of 1 Lemon, optional
3 Large Egg Yolks
20g Caster Sugar
50ml Olive Oil
80g Top Flour/Cake Flour
8 Thin Slices of Banana, optional
4 Large Egg Whites
40g Caster Sugar

Method:
1. Mashed the ripe banana with a fork in a bowl then stir in the lemon rind, passion fruit juice and pulp. Mix well and set aside.
2. Separate the egg yolks and white into two separate bowls. (carefully do not leave any trace of egg yolk in the egg whites mixture)
3. Use a balloon whisk to whisk the egg yolks and 20g of caster sugar(add in 2 separate additions) till thick and sticky.
4. Slowly drizzle in the oil while continue to whisk at the same time till the mixture is well combined.
5. Add the sifted flour mixture into the egg mixture and continue to whisk till the flour is fully incorporated into the batter.
6. Next stir in the banana mixture using the balloon whisk till combined.
7. Preheat the oven to 180 degree.
8. Beat egg whites and 1/3 of the caster sugar with an electric mixer until mixture becomes frothy and foamy. Then add in another 1/3 of the sugar and continue to beat on medium speed until almost soft peaks form then add in the last 1/3 of the sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. 9. Add the beaten egg whites into the egg yolk batter in 3 separate additions, with the 1st addition using the balloon whisk to incorporate it into the yolk mixture till combine without trace of whites.
10. Next fold in the 2nd and 3rd addition of whites using the balloon whisk in a gentle manner in order not to knock off the air in the whites, just fold till no trace of egg whites and the mixture are well combined.
11. Before pouring the mixture to the pan, use a spatula to give a final stir to make sure there is no flour or egg whites mixture at the bottom of the mixing bowl.
12. Lift up the bowl to height, then pour the mixture into the pan and tap the pan 2 - 3 times on a table top to get rid of any trapped air bubbles in the batter.
13. Arrange the banana slices on top of the batter and baked the cake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or when the surfaces turns golden brown. (I baked on the 2nd lower shelf of my built in oven using upper and lower heat function. You can insert a skewer into the centre and test if it comes out clean)
14. Remove from the oven and invert the pan immediately and let it rest on top of a cup. Let it cool completely before unmould.(refer to the picture below on how to invert the pan over a cup to cool down)
15. To remove the cake from the pan, run a thin-bladed knife (i use a small rubber spatula) around the inside of the pan and the center core.
16. Release the cake and run the knife/spatula along the base of the pan to remove the cake.
17. Cut into serving size and serve with a cup of tea or coffee.


This is a very refreshing tea-snack which is full of light lemon fragrant, tint of sour from the passion fruit and crunch from it's seeds. If you love banana cake, you should give this a try. It's definitely low fat version compare to the normal banana butter cake that we used to have :p

Ham & Cheese Chiffon Cake

This weekend task we experiment with Chiffon cake recipe again, but this time we tried making a savoury one instead of the usual sweet chiffon cake. I have read a Cheesy Chiffon Cake recipe from Kitchen Corner and it really draws my attention as I love anything that comes with melted cheese in it. Grace, who is the owner of Kitchen Corner has a wide collection of Chiffon Cake recipes that you might want to check it up if you are keen in trying different version of chiffon cakes.

For today's venture, we are making Ham & Cheese Chiffon Cake. As you can see from the picture, our little baker is keen in joining the process too...... He helps me to prepare some of the ingredients and whisking the egg yoke mixture while I prepare the weighing of some ingredients.

Our little Rey still come out with his very own copy of the Ingredients List which he helps mummy to keep track on the ingredients used and added. Although I want to try the cheesy chiffon cake idea from Grace's blog but I didn't use her recipe, instead I stick to my Sweet Potato Chiffon Cake Recipe and replace the ingredients with Ham and Shredded Mozella Cheese.

Ingredients:
80g Shredded Mozella Cheese
2 Slices of Breakfast Ham, cut in small slices
3 Large Egg Yolks
30g Caster Sugar
50ml Olive Oil
40ml Water
80g Top Flour/Cake Flour
Pinch of Salt
4 Large Egg Whites
30g Caster Sugar

Method:
1. Cut the ham into small bite size, then preheat the pan with some oil and pan-fry it for about 1 minute till fragrant, removed and drained well on kitchen paper towel.
2. Separate the egg yolks and white into two separate bowls. (carefully do not leave any trace of egg yolk in the egg whites mixture)
3. Use a balloon whisk to whisk the egg yolks and 30g of caster sugar(add in 3 separate additions) till thick and sticky.
4. Slowly drizzle in the oil while continue to whisk at the same time then follow by the water till the mixture is well combined.
5. Add the sifted flour mixture into the egg mixture and continue to whisk till the flour is fully incorporated into the batter.
6. Next stir in the cooked ham and shredded cheese using the whisk till combined.
7. Preheat the oven to 180 degree.
8. Beat egg whites and 1/3 of the caster sugar with an electric mixer until mixture becomes frothy and foamy. Then add in another 1/3 of the sugar and continue to beat on medium speed until almost soft peaks form then add in the last 1/3 of the sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. 9. Add the beaten egg whites into the egg yolk batter in 3 separate additions, with the 1st addition using the balloon whisk to incorporate it into the yolk mixture till combine without trace of whites.
10. Next fold in the 2nd and 3rd addition of whites using the balloon whisk in a gentle manner in order not to knock off the air in the while, just fold till no trace of egg whites and the mixture are well combined.
11. Before pouring the mixture to the pan, use a spatula to give a final stir to make sure there is no flour or egg whites mixture at the bottom of the mixing bowl.
12. Lift up the bowl to height, then pour the mixture into the pan and tap the pan 2 - 3 times on a table top to get rid of any trapped air bubbles in the batter.
13. Baked the cake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or when the surfaces turns golden brown. (I baked on the 2nd lower shelf of my built in oven using upper and lower heat function. You can insert a skewer into the centre and test if it comes out clean)
14. Remove from the oven and invert the pan immediately and let it rest on top of a cup. Let it cool completely before unmould.(refer to the picture below on how to invert the pan over a cup to cool down)
15. To remove the cake from the pan, run a thin-bladed knife (i use a small rubber spatula) around the inside of the pan and the center core.
16. Release the cake and run the knife/spatula along the base of the pan to remove the cake.
17. Cut into serving size and serve with a cup of tea or coffee.

Note:
a) For this recipe, I didn't greased the tin even though I used the same recipe and method from the Sweet potato and Durian Chocolate Chiffon cake. I notice that the batter did claim up higher compare to the previous two and the outer layout of the crust are brownish as well.


From the picture, you can see the texture of this savoury Chiffon Cake is kind of different from the normal one. It has a lot of Air-Pocket in between which contain the melted cheese in it. To us, the taste was great especially with the added of ham which make the overall of the cake more fragrant. So if you like Ham & Cheese Bread, maybe you can consider on tying this out.

Dual Fungus Sweet Soup

I have being coughing badly for the past one week which I think might be due to the bad weather or the amount of Durian that I consume during the previous week. So since my lady boss gave me a few packets of freeze dried black fungus. I decided to make this Dual Fungus Sweet Soup for this weekend.

As you can see from the photos, other than the dual fungus, I also added in some Ginkgo nuts, red dates, wolfberries and candidate tangerine which makes it a good and smoothing dessert for cough or cool down the body system from hot weather.

White Fungus(雪耳): tastes slightly sweet and of neutral nature. It benefits the spleen, strengthens the stomach and expel Dryness. It calms the spirit, treats insomnia and is good for the body type that resists beneficial food.

Black Fungus(黑木耳): has a reputation in Chinese herbal medicine for increasing the fluidity of the blood and improving circulation.

Ginkgo nuts(白果): are usually sold dried, or shelled and canned in brine. It is traditional Chinese food that nourishes lung energy and calms wheezing.

Ingredients: (serves 4)
10g Dried White Fungus
5g Dried Black Fungus
20 Fresh Ginkgo Nuts
8 Big Seedless Red Date, cut into halves
1 Tablespoon Wolfberries
1 Candied Tangerine, cut into halves
1 Litre of Water
Some Pandan Leaves
Rock Sugar to taste

Method:
1. Rinse and soaked the two type of fungus separately into two bowls of water till soft. Rinse well to remove any dirt, drained and set aside.
2. Bring the water to boil in a big pot then add in the drained fungus, red dates, ginkgo nut, candied tangerine and pandan leaves and simmer till it boils again.
3. Remove from heat, then transfer the mixture to a slow cooker and cook on auto for about 3 - 4 hrs, depend on the softness of the fungus to your liking. ( I let it cook for about 5 hrs because I like the fungus to be soft and the texture of the soup to be a bit sticky)
4. Add in the wolfberries during the last 1 hours of cooking time.
5. Sweeten it with rock sugar in the last 15 minutes in order to let the sugar melt completed and blend well with the fungus.

Notes:
a) I used the ration of 2: 1 white black to black fungus in portion.
b) I used those vacuum seal packed ginkgo nuts from supermarket.
c) According to my lady boss she told me that her Chinese Physician told her that it's best to consume this dessert early in the morning before breakfast or before noon time. Avoid taking this at night as it might cause clot in the blood vessels.

Bento #28 - Reyon & Buddy

It had being quiet a while since our last bento because Reyon is having a few weeks of mid year school holiday and I am kind of caught up at work so I don't have much time working around with those fancy stuffs. But Shoppingmum's website is a must to visit daily site due to cute and innovative bento for her two kids.

I love her latest design by using this dual cheese strips to cut out various cute figures. You can click on the link to have a better explanation on how she made the stripe cheese. Today our theme is base on my dear son and his favour pooh teddy bear. I use the face cutter and assorted mini food cutter for these design. I used the compartment divider to cut the shape out from the chocolate bun so that it will fix nicely. Next I place the cheese cut outs on top of it and serve the bento with some orange slices and mangosteen. Lastly Rey still use the Alphabets pasta to arrange his name on it.

Recipes for July ~ Month dedicated to the Most Precious Blood

The month of July is dedicated to the Most Precious Blood. (The Feast of the Most Precious Blood, established by Pope Pius IX in 1849, is celebrated each year on the first Sunday of July.) The early Fathers say that the Church was born from the pierced side of Christ, and that the sacraments were brought forth through His Blood.

July 1, Bl. Junipero Serra (New):

• Celebrating Bl. Junipero Serra with California Mission Foods
• Mexican Chocolate Bread Pudding
  

July 3, St. Thomas the Apostle (New):

• Chaldean Coconut Cookies
• Thomasstriezeln
• Grilled Chicken and Rice Salad with Curry-Saffron Dressing for the Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle

July 16, Our Lady of Mount Carmel (New, Trad.):

• Granita di Caffe
• Mystic Monk Coffee
• A Cake for Our Lady of Mount Carmel
• A Brown Scapular Cake
• More Scapular Cakes In Honor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
• Our Lady of Mount Carmel Crown
• Mount Carmel Steamers
  
• Brown Scapular Brownies for Our Lady of Mount Carmel
  

July 22, St. Mary Magdalen (New, Trad.):

• Madeleines for the feast of St. Mary Magdalene
• Magdalenenstriezeln (St. Magdalen Fingers)
  

July 25, St. James the Greater (New, Trad.):

• Nacho Stuffed Shells
• Tartelettes de Saint-Jacques à la Mangue
• Coupe Saint-Jacques
  
• Tarta de Santiago (St. James' Cake)
  

July 26, St. Anne (New, Trad.):

• Crème Sainte-Anne (St. Anne's Cream)
• Our Heavenly Grandmother
• St. Anne, "Flowering, Fruitful Rod of Jesse"

July 31, St. Ignatius of Loyola (New, Trad.):

• St. Ignacio's Nachos
  
• Ignacio (Cake for St. Ignatius Day)
• A Feast for St. Ignatius Loyola

Precious Blood of Jesus, save us!
Sanguis Christi, inebria me!

Do you have a favorite Catholic recipe, or food related post, for an upcoming feast or celebration that you would like to share here at Catholic Cuisine? If so, please email the recipe with pictures (if possible) to catholiccuisine[at]gmail[dot]com and we will publish it as a guest post! Thank you!

Celebrating Bl. Junipero Serra with California Mission Foods

The Spanish influence on California and other areas of the Southwest, is still very evident in the culture including the food. The Spanish missionaries who founded the chain of missions in California brought with them their culture and traditions and also adapted them to the products of the new world. In the United States we recognize the July 1 optional memorial of Bl. Junipero Serra, the Spanish Franciscan, who is the Father of the California missions.

In Bess Anderson's California Mission Recipes cookbook, she acquaints readers with the various foods that would have been traditionally prepared and eaten in the missions. The ingredients used were mainly those harvested at the mission or occasionally those brought by ship. The preparations of the food in the missions most often was under the direction of a padre, with the preparation carried out by Indian women of the mission. Anderson indicates that from various records we know the missions had both lean and rich years. There were times, for example, when the daily ration of Father Serra consisted solely of 3 tortilla cakes and wine.

Anderson's book as well as the various mission preservation organizations are sources of traditional mission-style recipes. Enjoy a recipe from the California mission tradition on the feast of Bl. Junipero Serra.

POSOLE
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 T. vegetable oil or lard
1/2 t. black pepper
1/2 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. cloves
1/2 t.cayenne
1-1/2 lbs. pork shoulder, cooked and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 cups canned white or yellow hominy (drained and rinsed)
3-5 cups pork broth, degreased and strained
1 cup canned green chiles (chopped)
2 whole Jalapenos, canned or fresh
salt to taste

Sauté onion and garlic in oil. Add spices, stirring to blend. Add pork, drained and rinsed hominy, pork broth, green chiles and jalapenos. Cook at a simmer, covered, for 45 to 60 minutes or until the meat and hominy are tender. Add more water or broth as needed to keep pork covered in the final minutes of stewing. Remove posole from heat and cool slightly. Degrease the stew. Check to see if salt is needed. Reheat before serving.

BUNELOS
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup shortening
3 cups sifted flour
1 T sugar
1 t salt
fat or oil for deep frying
sugar cinnamon, ground

Beat eggs until light in color and thickened, add milk and melted shortening. Combine the flour, sugar and salt. Sift into egg mixture slowly and blend well, making a soft dough that doesn't stick to hands. Shape into walnut-sized balls and roll on a lightly-floured board into a round-shaped cakes similar to a tortilla. Fry in deep hot fat until golden brown in color - about 3 minutes on each side. Drain well. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Make s 30 bunelos.

LOIN OF PORK WITH WINE
3-4 pounds pork loin
2 T butter
2 onions, sliced
2 medium tomatoes
2 carrots, diced
2 springs parsley 1/2 cup dry white wine
salt and pepper

Brown the pork on all sides in the butter. When brown add the vegetables, wine, and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 2-3 hours or until the meat is tender. Serve on a heated plate. Strain the liquid in the pan over the meat.

PUMPKIN CAKES
1 cup pumpkin mash
1 cup corn meal
1/4 fat.
Gradually add meal to the pumpkin mash, stirring constantly. Then add butter a little at at time. Mix thoroughly, stirring very hard to form a stiff dough. Shape into round flat cakes and bake over a high heat on a well=greased hot griddle for 5 minutes on each side. Serves 4

ICED MEXICAN CHOCOLATE
2 cups milk, scalded
4 T ground coffee
1 cinnamon stick
4 squares unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup sugar
4 cups cold milk
2 t vanilla

Add coffee and cinnamon to the scalded milk. Cover, let stand 5 minutes and strain. Heat chocolate over water, add boiling water, and sugar and cook until smooth and thick. Add the coffee-cinnamon liquid. When ready to serve, blend in the cold milk and vanilla. Serve in tall glasses with crushed ice. Serves 6-8.