2013 is at the Door

So, I'm coming home soon! I didn't expect to be so casual about it, but I suppose I'm getting used to it. This time, when I asked my mother what she'd like me to bring back, there was no polite waffling about. She had a list.

I've been getting started on my Christmas shopping. At one point I was in the ABC Shop, a Very Dangerous Place, all the DVD box sets for various favourite shows lined up, price tags cunningly hidden on the back. I resolutely turned away - and immediately locked eyes on the Doctor Who shelves. The ones with the price tags proudly displayed on the front, because the DVD sets were discounted to less than two-thirds of the regular price. 

It was a well-planned ambush. I picked up Season 2 of the new series, justifying it as a Christmas present to myself, because it contained my very favourite episodes which I was sure to re-watch over and over again, and in no way was a squandering of hard-earned cash on frivolities. As I conveyed my new property towards the cashier, I turned back briefly to Season 1 and said - not out loud, that would be weird - I said, "I'll be back for you." Yes, The End of the World and Dalek would be mine. They would be mine someday, to rewind over every single frame, but for now I would bide my time.

Incidentally, the cashier was so not helpful. "You got a real bargain there, luv!" she exclaimed, as she scanned the barcode. "Wouldn't you like to get the rest of them? Bit rare, for the price to be down this much."

I got it home and watched everything. Twice. (For the commentary, you see.)

So anyway! People have been asking me for wishlists. I find wishlists to be rather troublesome things these days, honestly. After that awful Christmas which I spent by myself, even the mere company of those I love has become a blessing. It's hard to write a wishlist, because if I list the things I'd like to have, it would be endless, while the list of things I need is empty.

I do acknowledge that wishlists are useful for gauging the sort of things a person likes. Preferences change after all - last Christmas, my brother fancied the gift I got for my mother (Planet Earth, narrated by David Attenborough) and largely ignored what I had picked out specially for him. If that is the case, perhaps a list of my preferences would be more helpful?

I like blue, green and burgundy, and I prefer silver to gold. I eschew most cosmetics, but I like perfume and nail polish. I like cookies and scones and bread and cakes, and I like making them. I love both tea and coffee, but especially tea. I like sharks - oh come on, that's obvious. I like spiders, and badgers, and elephants and parrots and dinosaurs. Cats are alright, I guess. I like robots of various types. I like science fiction. As you can see from some previous paragraphs, I acquired a fondness for Doctor Who, particularly David Tennant's tenure. Actually, I'm inclined to watch anything with Mr. Tennant in it, even if they are otherwise contrary to my tastes. The same goes for Stephen Fry - gosh, have I mentioned that I love QI? I do, I really do! It's like the most interesting trivia contest in the world!

I'm a huge nerd! I love my bacteria! I love the periodic table! I love π, I love φ, Pythagoras' theorem, the elegance of DNA replication, Occam's razor, the oceans, the sky when it's about to rain, Mount Fuji, skyscrapers, suspension bridges, the Moon, the whole world and all its sights and sounds, boomdeyada boomdeyada!

Sorry, got carried away there.

See, this is why I can't write wishlists.

Australian Pizza

It's a type of pizza topping. A pizza topping with bacon and eggs.

So... How precisely do bacon and eggs relate to being Australian? Is it meant to be a breakfast pizza?

I'm just all kinds of culinarily confused right now.

ON A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT NOTE! This is the best chocolate cookie recipe. Hands down. Although I do recommend using 1-2 tablespoons of dough per cookie, otherwise they will be unreasonably big. You don't want to spoil your dinner, do you? Of course you don't.

Recipe: Honey Wheat Bread

This bread is easy to make and also delicious, especially when toasted and served with butter. It's very soft on the inside and just a touch sweet.

Honey Wheat Bread
Adapted from this recipe and multiple other sources. 

Ingredients (for 1 large loaf)

2 tbs dark brown sugar
2 tbs boiling water
1 1/4 cup warm water
2 tbs butter, margarine or vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1 3/4 cups bread flour
Extra 1 cup bread flour
1 cup plain white or wholemeal flour
1 tbs cocoa powder
2 tsp instant yeast (or 7g active dry yeast)
1 tsp salt
Ground oatmeal, semolina or cornmeal for dusting

Dissolve dark brown sugar in boiling water. Combine with warm water, oil and honey; stir well. Mix in bread flour. Sprinkle cocoa, yeast and salt on top. Mix with a wooden spoon until well-combined. Leave to sit in a warm place for 15 minutes.

Gradually add plain and extra bread flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough is soft and just slightly sticky.  Place on a lightly-floured countertop and knead for 5 minutes. Place in a lightly-greased bowl. Lightly brush or spray the top of the dough with oil, cover with cling wrap and leave either in a warm place for 30 minutes, or in the refrigerator overnight, until the dough has doubled in size.

Place dough ball onto a lightly greased countertop and roll out evenly using a rolling pin. Fold over the top edge and roll the dough tightly. Pinch the seam closed. The roll should be about 8-9 inches long to fit into the loaf pan; flatten any excess dough on either end, pull them up to create two flat sides and pinch the seams.

Roll the loaf in ground oatmeal. Place in a lightly-greased loaf pan. Leave to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes, until the dough has risen to about an inch above the rim of the pan.

Preheat oven to 180°C. Place dough in oven and bake for 35-40 minutes. Remove from pan, place loaf on its side on a wire rack and cool for 5 minutes. Tip loaf over to the other side and allow to cool completely.

Notes

The original recipe called for caramel colour to be used for darkening the bread. Apparently, browning essence also works well. I used dark brown sugar because that was what I had in my kitchen; the result was a light-brown loaf.

Recipe: Lemon Curd Tart

The minute I saw the Orange Curd Tart recipe in the Coles magazine, I knew I had to try it. However, before my procrastinating self could get around to it, my co-supervisor's lemon tree started producing fruit at an alarming rate. He brought in bags and bags of them to work, and I thought it unfair not to at least attempt doing something with them.

The first I tried was a lemon-flavoured modification of this cake, which turned out surprisingly well, considering that I ran out of ground nuts and had to add extra semolina instead. Spurred by this success, I decided to modify a recipe which I had never tried before.

It didn't go too badly either!

Lemon Curd Tart
Adapted from this recipe from the Coles winter magazine for 2012

Ingredients

Shortcrust pastry
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/3 cup caster sugar
125 g unsalted butter, diced or grated
1 egg yolk
2-3 tbs ice water

Filling
4 eggs
3/4 cup cream
1/4 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice, strained
1/4 cup pineapple juice, strained
2 tsp lemon zest, finely grated

Candied lemons
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 large lemon, thinly sliced

Mix flour, sugar and butter. Pulse with a food processor or rub with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add egg yolk and just enough water to form a soft dough. Shape dough into a disc, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Place dough on a well-floured surface. Roll out dough until about 3 mm thick. Carefully lift up dough and ease into a 23 cm x 3 cm round loose-based tart pan. Gently press pastry into pan. Trim edges with a knife (set trimmed dough aside; see additional notes). Refrigerate for another 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 180°C. Prick the base and sides of the dough with a fork. Line pastry with baking paper and fill with rice, beans or pie weights. Blind bake for 15 minutes, then remove baking paper and weights and bake for a further 10-15 minutes, until the pastry is lightly golden. Remove from oven and cool.

In a large bowl, mix all the filling ingredients. Whisk with an electric mixer until combined and a little frothy. Pour into tart shell and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the top of the filling is lightly browned.

Meanwhile, prepare the candied lemons. Mix water and sugar; stir gently over low heat until the sugar is fully dissolved. Bring to the boil and simmer for 3 minutes until the syrup has thickened. Add lemon slices and simmer for a further 5 minutes, until the slices are soft and have shrunk a little. Remove from heat.

Arrange lemon slices on top of tart and serve with syrup on the side.

Additional notes

The lemon version I made was still fairly sweet, so I would recommend halving the sugar in the filling when preparing an orange tart.

You can use the leftover pastry to make shortbread! Shape the dough into a rectangle and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Cut into fingers, prick on both sides with a fork dust with a little caster sugar. Bake in the 180°C oven for 30 minutes, until the shortbread starts to brown around the edges. Allow to cool completely before consuming (this is the most difficult step).

Update XXXI: Beef...Stew

It's a Homestar Runner reference.

To update since the last time (and also to fill in the gaps between entries a little), I have several new recipes which I'll write up eventually. Things are progressing at work, and naturally leading to more work. I have a new appreciation for yoghurt. Also, Magnum Infinity.

Everyone should know about Gangnam Style by now, so I'm not going to comment on it beyond the fact that there's a shop about forty minutes up the road which carries those wedge-heeled canvas shoes.

Meanwhile, Stephen Fry!

Earthquake Lounge

Blogger, why did you have to change the layout? Why?

Whinge finished. I'm sitting in a departure lounge in Kansai Airport. Every now and then an aeroplane lands, and the whole place shakes. It's like there's an earthquake every five minutes.

I've been in Japan for the past two weeks, first for a conference and then a short holiday. Japan is an interesting country. It's true, when they say that Japanese are extremely polite. It's not just the bowing and the greetings, but also the extreme care everyone takes to keep public spaces clean, and to keep services as efficient as possible.

I also understand why so many expatriates, in spite of living in Japan for some time, are unable to speak the language fluently. It is so easy to get by without understanding Japanese, because almost everyone is willing to accommodate a helpless foreigner. (Although I did learn to read katakana and hiragana before coming here - I didn't fancy being completely helpless!)

I loved the regions in the Kansai region I visited, especially Kyoto. I wish I had spent more time there. Tokyo wasn't bad, but I found I preferred the areas which had an old-fashioned feel, such Asakusa and the Imperial Palace gardens, rather than modern districts like Shibuya, Ginza and Akihabara. Maybe I just like temples and nature. Less than a day into my stay in Kyoto and it already felt like home.

I did get to see Mt. Fuji with my own eyes (and camera), and felt all the more privileged when I was later told that it is hard to see the mountain at this time of the year, since it tends to be covered up by clouds. I did indeed see Mt. Fuji covered up by clouds later in the day - it completely disappears from view. Amazing that such a large mountain can vanish just like that .

Anyway, photos may be forthcoming at some point. For now, I'll enjoy this shaking room.

Jetsettin'

Flying off to a country where you can't even speak the language has to be the craziest, most daring thing you could ever do. It's already been a huge adventure, and we haven't even left yet. (Ahh, visas, will there ever come a time when I won't hate you...?)

Oh, I don't think anything bad will happen, per se. It's just going to be something I've flat-out never done before, because I like to plan everything out, and there are just some things you can't plan sometimes.

Hmm, I haven't really said anything clear, have I? Forgive me, but my mind is in a strange place.