Celebrity Chef Rohani Jelani cooking with Zespri Kiwi Fruits

Two weeks ago, I received a facebook message from Yan of “Eat your heart out” saying that she had passed my email address to a lady called Hazel and she would be writing to me to invite me to Zespri kiwi fruits event where we would learn all about their products. When I received the email from Hazel, I did not think twice and confirmed my attendance. Know why? Because it was being held in this scenic and serene place called Bayan Indah. I have heard positive comments from many friends about their culinary learning experiences there, in the midst of a beautiful garden setting.

Furthermore, I knew I would get to meet Celebrity Chef Rohani Jelani and see her in action, how cool is that? Sure, I was so pleased to go even though I knew I would have a hard time finding the place with my poor sense of direction. I was right, I could not locate the place on my GPS and when I looked at the address and the location map provided, I got lost already! LOL!

Finally the day of the event arrived, and I woke up 7.00am to get prepared to head out at 8:00  am. The event was to start at 10.00am. I knew what you must be thinking, why two hours?  For those who know me, they would know why. That’s because I give myself enough time to get lost and find my way back to the destination. True enough, I did it again! I landed in a small kampung up the hill with very narrow road where there was access for one car only at a time. When I was at the top of the hill reaching the last house, it was a dead end road. AIYOH! I found that I was stranded! There was hardly enough place to turn the car around. I was saying to myself "Say Lor!" (Die!)

OH MY GOODNESS! I was thinking, I can forget about going to the event. How am I going to go back down the hill and make it there on time? Suddenly, one young Malay gentleman came out of his house. I told him I could not turn my car around and asked if he knew where Bayan Indah is situated. I showed him the map and he said he knew the  way to the place. He was so kind to help me turn my car around and even lead me to the door step of my destination.  If only the world has more kind souls like him, it would be so much a better place to live in. It is a comfort to know there are still lots of kind people around. 

Now, guess what? I was the first one to arrive. Later the rest of the attendees arrived. There were people from the media, including magazines and several other food bloggers. We were then each offered a Zespri kiwi smoothie as a welcome drink.

The kiwi smoothies were delicious and I could not help but take another.

After all the guests arrived, we were asked to sit back and relax and get ready to hear all about Zespri system, their products.

An informative presentation given by 

the Marketing Manager (SEA), Miss Judy Lee of Zespri 

And a talk about the goodness of kiwi fruits by Dietician, Miss Ng Yee Voon 

For example I learned that when we eat fruits we want to choose those that have the highest nutrition density index and kiwi fruit is on the top of the chart. 

Ten Fabulous Facts About Kiwifruit

1.            Kiwifruit are the nutrition powerhouses of fruit

            

Kiwifruit consistently rank at the top of fruit in nutrition density models which tell us exactly how nutritious food are. That means you get more vitamins and minerals per gram, and per calorie, of kiwifruit than most other fruit.

2.            Kiwifruit are rich in vitamin C

            

While everyone always think of oranges for vitamin C they should think kiwifruit. In fact there is twice as much vitamin C in kiwifruit as there are in oranges. So much in fact you only need one kiwifruit each day to get the amount recommended for your daily intake (RDA).

3.            Other vitamins that kiwifruit are especially high in (compared to other fruit) are

            

Vitamin E

Its quite unusual for a low fat food, let alone fruit to be a good source of vitamin E (well known for its heart health and antioxidant properties) - but kiwifruit is a great low fat natural source of vitamin E

Folic Acid

A natural source of folic acid which is needed to prevent neural defects in babies (you need folic acid both before and during pregnancy) as well as brain and cognitive development in children and cardiovascular disease. Everyone needs to have enough in their diet. In fact folic acid is so important many countries are considering adding Folic Acid to flour to ensure we get enough.

Potassium

It has about the same levels as bananas but only half the calories - making kiwifruit an excellent low sodium, increased potassium source - potentially beneficial in the maintenance of blood pressure and for heart health.

4.             Kiwifruit are a good source of the carotenoid lutein

            

Kiwifruit has not only one of the highest concentrations of lutein in fruits - but the lutein in kiwifruit has recently been shown to be really highly bioaccessible (better than from vegetables) and so it is bio-available - meaning it can actually do good things such as help to prevent age related deterioration of eye-sight.

5.            Kiwifruit are naturally high in antioxidants (e.g. polyphenols, carotenoids) and other potentially beneficial phytochemicals including some unique enzymes

            

Eating kiwifruit is a sure way to get your daily intake of antioxidants to help fight the damage cause by free radicals and oxidative stress.

6.            Kiwifruit can help improve the function of your immune system

            

Natural protection from daily challenges helping you to ward off the effects of stress, inflammation and attack from bacteria and viruses. Recent and ongoing trials have shown kiwifruit to be highly effective at beneficially modulating the immune system.

Next, we were prompted to buy the best quality and now that I know Zespri system ensures that all ZESPRI products are grown with the best orchard management techniques possible and very stringent in quality control of the fruits, I will probably buy Zespri kiwi over others. 

If you are interested to know more about Zespri kiwifruits, do head over to their website to read all about it. I do not mind making this testimonial to the brand. They have a high commitment to the best possible product and that product is a very healthy food.

Oh, and apparently Zespri is holding a contest for Malaysians to come up with creative recipes using their kiwifruits as the main ingredient. Last day of submission of entries is 24th September 2012, so put on your thinking cap and let your creative juice flows. Who knows?  You might be one of the 5 lucky winners to receive Zespri premiums worth more than RM 100.00.

You may contact Hazel (hazel@world.com.my) or Adrian (adrian@world.com.my) if you want to know more about the  competition.

After understanding all about Zespri kiwi , it was time to have some fun. We all headed to the Bayan Indah's kitchen. As soon as we reached the dining area beside the kitchen, we were greeted with beautiful and yummy kiwi cupcakes and lovely table settings and two shiny stainless steel poles. 

Kiwi fruits were used as the center piece.

Before Chef Rohani does her cooking demo, there was a pole dancing performance. 

When the instructor asked the audience to try, everyone was so shy to even go near the pole. So yours truly, went and tried it out to break the ice. The rest followed. Trust me, it was not easy, especially for an old lady. If you want to see me in action, you can head over to Sonia of “Nasi Lemak Lover” to see it. She took a great shot of me flying off the pole! (Just kidding). I should warn you, you might be very disappointed by what you will see. Haiyah, what do you expect from an old lady doing the pole dance ha? LOL!

Then came the most interesting part of the event, the cooking demo by Chef Rohani, showing us various methods of cutting the kiwi fruits before the hands-on session of cooking three of her recipes using Zespri Kiwi Fruits. 

Demo by Chef Rohani showed different ways of cutting kiwi

I will let my photos speak to you from here on.

Our station is No.3 and there were four of us me, Sonia of "Nasi Lemak Lover", Swee San of  "The Sweetspots" and Eveyln of "Missyblurkit" preparing four dishes:

kiwi fruit platter

Spicy Zespri kiwifruit, glass noodle and chicken salad
Swee San is the one who did most of the work on this dish

Nyonya style asam fish curry with Zespri kiwifruit wedges
Sonia and I cooked this together

Zespri kiwifruit pastries with yoghurt cream and kiwi jam
Eveyln did most of the work for the jam

Everyone did their own plating for the dessert and this is what I did for mine

The most fun part was that we all enjoyed ourselves cooking up the dishes and they tasted awesome!

and of course we had to have a group photo for the album

and for me, I must have one shot with the Celebrity Chef Rohani
for my album

Check this video out and see how much fun we had!

THINK OUT OF THE SHELL - Join the Pastry Challenge

Do you know that the egg is one of the most versatile super ingredients for both cooking and baking? Eggs have been a staple of diets all over the world, and likely are as old as history itself. Their popularity can be explained by being a readily renewable source of protein. They were easy to produce, readily available in most climates, not to mention they came in their own nice packaging design. Two years ago when I was not this preoccupied with cooking or baking, I used to cook a lot of egg dishes, especially when my mum and my Quay Lo were not at home. I knew the basic techniques of scrambling, poaching, frying, boiling and making omelettes and I am able to rustle up a meal in minutes! Of all the techniques, I find that poaching a perfect egg is still the most challenging. I have eaten a lot of not perfectly poached eggs. More infuriating, I still fail to get a perfectly poached egg in all attempts but I am getting better. A perfectly cooked egg on a plate with almost anything is still a joy to look at and to enjoy.

Eggs, along with flour, are almost always present in most baking recipes. Patisserri chefs come to know all there is to know about eggs as they are so important to their finished product. We home "chefs" need to know at least the basics. You will probably have to know how to differentiate old eggs and fresh ones as that can affect the outcome in baking. (Hint: fresh eggs are not always the best as some recipes call for slight older eggs.) It is also important to know the techniques of separating eggs as many recipes call for one, or the other, or both in differing quantity and used differentlly in the same recipe. I gathered the following tips from various articles I’ve read about eggs and I would like to share them with you.

To know an approximate age of an egg, you need a bowl of cold water. This is what you have to do. Gently drop the egg into the bowl of water. It

is about three to six days old when it sinks to the bottom and stays there. If...

it sinks, but floats at an angle, it's more than a week old. If..

it sinks, but then stands on end, it is about two weeks old.

Finally, if it floats, it's too old and should be discarded.

For a test just to see if the eggs are all right to use, dissolve 2 tablespoons salt in 2 cups cold water, then put the egg in the water. If it sinks, it's good; if it floats, it's too old.

It is also good to know various methods of separating eggs if you love to bake because lots of recipes call for this:

1. Crack the eggs on a flat surface so that it will break more evenly and no small pieces of egg shell will get into the eggs when you open the egg shell.

2. Use cold eggs because the yolk and the white separates more easily. If the recipe calls for room temperature egg, separate it first and let it come to room temperature.

3. Use the 3 bowls method. Crack egg in the first bowl and pour the egg yolk onto our fingers and let the white run through them into the bowl. The yolk goes into the second bowl. Pour the white collected in the first bowl into the third bowl. Continue this process till all required eggs are separated. In that way, if any egg yolk should break on you, you will not spoil the whole batch of egg whites you have collected before it.

4. Place a dessert plate and 2 bowls next to each other. Crack the egg into the dessert plate. Use a well washed and rinsed empty plastic bottle (such as a mineral water bottle). Squeeze the bottle, pushing most of the air out of it, and still squeezing, place the mouth of the bottle near the egg yolk. Release your hand and the egg yolk will be sucked into the bottle while the egg white remains. Pour the egg yolk into the first bowl and empty the white on the plate into the second bowl. (it is almost magic how this works).

Since I am on the subject of eggs, I would like to share with you the launch of the cookbook “Thinking Out Of The Shell – Volume II”  in conjunction with the Nutriplus Pastry Challenge. How about joining in the fun? Participants will get to meet featured professional bakers in the cookbook and learn some tips from them, as well as each other.

I am excited about this event as I am with the chef that heads up the group that is responsible for organizing it for the sponsor Nutriplus. I am helping them to get the word out for a very fun event that I am looking forward to. I hope all of you will join me.

If you are one of the shortlisted contestants, you will get a chance to show off your baking skill and your delicious bake. On top of that, you will stand a chance to win attractive prizes.

It is so simple to submit your entry. Click on the picture to go to get the online application form and submit your entry. 

Terms & Conditions

The competition is open to all Malaysians aged 18 and above.

Eight entries shall be selected from all submissions for participation in the contest. 

Submissions shall be judged based on originality and creativity. To enter, contestants must complete this Registration Form.

There is no entry fee. Only one entry may be submitted per person.

The competition will take place at AEON One Utama (formerly known as JUSCO) from October 27th to October 31st, 2012.

The contest is intended for amateur and home bakers only. Professional bakers or those who earn a portion of their livelihood from baking or cooking may not participate. Employees of Lay Hong Berhad, AEON, and any or all organising parties may not participate in this contest.

Each contestant must submit a recipe with an attached picture as registration material. All entries must be submitted with any AEON receipt for the purchase of any NutriPlus product, as proof of purchase. This is only valid for purchases made after September 2012 and before the 21st of October 2012.

All recipes must include the use of NutriPlus Eggs. Creators of entries that are selected to advance to the competition shall be notified of the schedule one week before the 27th of October.

Each baked product must be made from scratch. Baking equipment will be provided by the organiser. Pre-made store-bought ingredients are prohibited, though home-made ingredients are acceptable. All ingredients required for recipes must be classified and confirmed for acceptance prior to the competition.

NutriPlus reserves the right to improve, enhanced, recreate and distribute submitted recipes as part of promotional programs. Due credit shall be given to the creators of all recipes used for this purpose.

The winner and runner up of the contest is entitled to one prize each only.

The decision of the judges are final and cannot be disputed. All rights for judgement go to NutriPlus.

The organisers and NutriPlus reserve the right to alter the conditions of the competition without prior notice.

If you are shortlisted, you will be featured in “Think Out Of The Shell” Facebook Page. Imagine the exposure you will get. This will definitely bring traffic to your blog if you have one.  

Not sure what kind of recipe to submit for the challenge?

Here is an example. For this challenge, Nutriplus eggs must be one of the ingredients.

Savory galette

This recipe was featured on Asian Food Channel (Official) 

facebook page on 17 September 2012

Crust ingredients:

1 ½ cups all purpose flour

Dash of salt

6 tbs chilled butter

1 Nutriplus jumbo egg

1 -2  tbs cold water

Ingredients for fillings:

40 g Parmesan, grated

40 g Gorgonzola, sliced

350 g spinach, drained

1/2 cup celery

1 medium onion, sliced

200 g Parmesan roasted mushrooms

1 roasted red capsicum, cut

1 head roasted garlic, sliced

1/2  Nutriplus egg, lightly beaten for glaze

Method:

Place flour and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Cut in the cold butter and mix with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Drizzle ice water into the bowl and continue to mix ingredients with your fingertips. Turn out the dough onto your work surface and gather the dough into a ball. Wrap the ball with a plastic film and flatten the dough into a thick round. Chill in the fridge for at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 200C/400F. Roll out the dough between two pieces of parchment paper to form a 15-inch circle. Sprinkle half of Parmesan and Gorgonzola in the center, leaving 2-3 inches border all around. Then mound the spinach, roasted mushrooms, roasted capsicum and roasted garlic, onions and celery on top of the cheeses.

Fold the border up and over the filling to form a rim, pleating as necessary. Now sprinkle the remaining Parmesan and Gorgonzola over the vegetables. Brush egg glaze over the rim.

Bake the galette until the crust is nicely golden brown, about 30-35 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Slide onto a serving platter and serve hot or at room temperature.

Round pie with square puff pastry

My Quay Lo often said he is a square peg in a round hole living in Malaysia. However, he said he learned a lot about the Asian culture over the years. For example, he loves Chinese, Malay and Indian food. He used to eat our local spicy fare,, sometimes even exceeding my own threshold for the heat,, but now, though he still loves it, his system is not so tolerant as it once was. He has also observed how, in our culture, a hundred conversations can go on at the same time in a gathering, and that we don't mean to be rude or exclude him. Now, when he wants to be  heard, he just speaks the loudest. He observes that it isn't often that he feels the need to be the loudest and still believes that it is far better to simply remain silent and listen. Though he has learned to use some common phrases in Cantonese, like, “Hai Lor” (Right) or “MM goy lay ah” (Thank you), even those he uses only based on the situation.

I remember once we were in a taxi in Singapore and the driver was a Chinese old uncle and spoke very little English. 
Listen to the conversation between my Quay Lo and him:

Old Uncle: “Today, hot ar?”

My Quay Lo : “Hai Lor.” (Right).

Old Uncle was so impressed and asked : You speak Chinese?”

My Quay Lo: “Siu, siu, ngor kay tai tai kow ngor.”  (A little, my wife taught me).

Old uncle was even more impressed and started to speak to him in Cantonese, the whole trip from then on, and my Quay Lo kept saying “Hai Lor, Hai Lor." (Right, Right). When we reached our destination and alighted from the taxi,  he thanked the old uncle in Cantonese, “MM koi lay ar.” (Thank you.) That put a big smile on the old man’s face. As we walked away,  I asked him if he knew what the old uncle was talking about. "Some of it" he replied, "but mostly I had no idea".  So tell me, do you think he is a square peg in a round hole, living here? I don't think so, he fit right in. He is just like my pie, he fits in although not uniformly.  He managed to make the old uncle think that he had a nice conversation with a friendly Quay Lo. Which of course, he had. Maybe it even made the uncle's day.  I guess as long as one accepts their own shape, one will always find a way to fit in. Just don’t let your shape box you in. I did not let the shape of my puff pastry box me in, I went ahead and made the pie anyway.

My Quay Lo said this pie looked like it had been repaired but then I still made a round pie with square puff pastries and, as he testified,  a very delicious one! A little stretch here, and a tuck there, and it seemed to work. Isn't it true that in life we all occasionally have to do that? If we don't have the right shape, no big deal. As my Quay Lo says, humans are the most adaptable creatures on earth. That is a very good principle for the kitchen I think. Quay Lo loves savory pastries. I made this one with a touch of Asian spices and he raved about it. Sometimes the little stretches and tucks we do in life are not as apparent as the patchwork pie pastry, but are more subtle and meaningful like the spices in this pie.

Chicken pot pie

Adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

300gm skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, diced

1/2  cup carrots, diced

½ cup frozen green peas

1 tbs butter

½ cup water

1/2 cup onion, chopped

¼  tsp salt

¼ tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp mustard seeds (pre toast in a dry hot pan for 2 minutes, tossing frequently)

1 tbs garam masala
1/4 tsp ground red chili

1 can creamy chicken soup

2 (9 inch) unbaked puff pastry (I did not have the round puff pastry so I used 9 inch square ones)

Optional: Use 1/4 cup dry white wine instead of water for more flavor or add one tsp fresh lemon

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C.)

Marinate chicken with a dry rub of the garam masala, ground red chili, salt and pepper for 1 hour or more. In a saucepan, add butter. Sauté onions till translucent and soft. Add mustard seed, chicken, carrots, and peas and stir fry till chicken meat becomes somewhat opaque. Add the creamy chicken soup and water and stir in. Bring back to a simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, set aside. Place the chicken mixture in bottom pie crust. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Lost in Time by Nick Davis

Our son, Nick Davis, lovea music at a very young age and he seriously learn to play a guitar when his Dad bought him one for a Christmas present. From then on, nothing can stop him from making music.

When Nick was little, we disciplined him when necessary, but we also encouraged him frequently, and we let him know how proud we are of him as often as we can. We want to let him know we are very proud of him again. 

Today is a big day for him. He had launched his first solo single, "Lost In Time".  We are extremely happy for him to attain another goal in his life. He composed the music and song, play the music and sing it and produced it all by himself. We are very proud of him.

I listened to this song at 3.00 am this morning. I was not only lost in time but lost my mind because when I shared this on my facebook page, I made all kinds of typing error. Instead of typying "3.00am today", I typed "3.00 am last night" and instead of "I love him lots", it became "I lot him lots". I am sure all mothers will understand my feelings and how excited I was.  LOL!

This song will be available in iTune soon and music video will be available shortly. If you like his music, please share it with your friends. I will be very grateful for the support. Hugs to all.

Lost In Time will be Malaysian singersongwriter Nick Davis' first single to be released. With this single, he digs deeper into the human psyche with his music with dark haunting sounds, honest lyrics and a sonically epic ending. Be sure to stay through the end of this video for a little surprise. 

SINGLE COMING OUT ON ITUNES SOON!

About Nick:
Nick Davis is a Malaysian singer-songwriter, musician and actor who is also well known as the frontman of modern rock band, Rosevelt (2010 - present).
Davis was raised in Kuala Lumpur, began his musical career when he formed an acoustic trio under the name of The Snow Symphony. Soon after, he joined the band Rosevelt taking the role of a vocalist and frontman for the band who opened for American alternative rock band Incubus mid 2011, before returning to his solo musical career as a side project performing under his own name.
Davis is known for his dark haunting melody lines and the dynamic movements in his music. Other activities include composing for various local theatre and film productions.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/starlightsocial
Twitter/Instagram: @NickRosevelt

Caution! Do not listen to this song while you are cooking or

baking because you might get lost in time and

have your food burnt. LOL!

 Nick Davis, I give you wings and sky is the limit!

Please click on picture to get the recipe.

Caregivers are not invisible

It is very often that people focus too much on the sickly and forget about the caregivers. A girlfriend once told me that during the time when she was caring for her husband who had terminal cancer, they often had friends and relatives visit to see how her husband was doing. They all showed concern to him and never once did they ask her how she was doing. Everyone of us hopes that we do not need to be a caregiver. In fact, we probably never even think about it, but the truth is we never know. If we should be called to this sad duty, I am sure we would hate to be treated by friends and family as if we were invisible. Please click on the photo below to read an article which may be worth reading about how caregivers suffered themselves for those they loved.

Please click on the photo to read the article

Perhaps this article will make us think that we need to be more sensitive to the caregivers if the need arises. How about asking the caregivers how they are doing and if they need an ear or some help when you visit the sick friend and relative of yours. I was thinking of making a tub of homemade ice cream and bring with me to visit my friends who are caregivers and tell them that I am thinking of them. They have my sympathy for what they are going through.  I am sure a small gesture of support will give them much comfort.

I would like to dedicate this post to all caregivers in the world. Please know that what you give is not your possessions but yourselves and this is life's greatest value.

I have attempted several times to make ice cream with the little ice cream machine I bought last year but the ice cream turned out too icy in all of those attempts and I had given up trying to make my own. Then last week, we ran out of ice cream and my Quay Lo found this recipe which is a super, easy to make, homemade vanilla ice cream recipe without the need to use an ice cream machine. How cool is that? I was ecstatic at the result because it was such a success. It is a delectable, creamy, rich, scrumptiously tasty, irresistable, and rewarding dessert.  I thought I had died and gone to heaven already. (Am I gushing? LOL!)

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream without using a machine

Adapted  from http://www.davidlebovitz.com with slight modification

Make 1 quart tub of ice cream.

Ingredients:

1 cup (250ml) whole milk

a pinch of salt

3/4 cup (130g) sugar (the original recipe is 150g)

2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (the original recipe is 1 vanilla bean)

2 cups (500ml) heavy cream

7 large egg yolks

Method:

1. Heat the heavy cream, milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and set aside. Add the bean pod to the milk. Cover, remove from heat, and infuse for one hour.

2. In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the yolks, whisking beaten egg yolks into the warm milk. Whisk constantly as you pour.

3. Add vanilla beans into the egg yolk and milk mixture. Cook over low heat, stiring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula. Transfer custard in a cold metal container.

4. Remove the vanilla pod from the custard and freeze the custard in your freeze. Remove the custard once every 20 – 30 minutes and re-stir with a spatula around the edges and blending well without allowing much melting. Repeat for at least 10 times. Do not skimp on this as it is the reason you do not need the machine.  

Note: If you refer a less rich ice cream, you may reduce or one or two eggs for a lighter custard. You could also substitute half-and-half (half whole milk and half heavy cream) for using just heavy cream, but the final texture won’t be as rich or as smooth. This all comes down to personal taste. The recipe, as it stands, makes a very rich, unctious and velvety ice cream, much like a rich gelato. You can experiment if you think you want an ice cream that is lighter. You should have no problem not wasting any of it. Just invite some friends to come and try if there are not enough kids and husbands in your house to finish each delicious attempt. Just remember that if you invite others over, they may not want to leave. You know what they say: "You scream, I scream, we all scream for ice cream". LOL!