Toad in the hole …. Done Steve’s way!

May 29, 2010 by shalimar

toad in the hole

I was telling an American friend that I I did not have to cook the crew’s meal that day as we were all given the day off after the boss left. But I did mention that we had a very interesting dinner: TOAD IN THE HOLE… Toad in the hole, what?

His reaction was exactly how I reacted upon hearing those words 25 years ago. When we arrived in Greece, in 1984, we were sent to an English school and there I have learned a few things about the British culture, from the habits afternoon teas and their odd sounding food like spotted dick and toad in the hole.

I was out of the boat and sent a message to Stephen to defrost the bangers. How I got those bangers is story to tell. My weekly shopping routine ended us up in the different area near Whole Foods…the organic store in the US. Not much having time left before I need to go back to the boat and cook lunch, we decided to shop there.

So I gave Stephen things to grab and put Selina at the meat section to order what I needed. Little did I know she bought some bangers.

lifeguard house

I told Stephen maybe I will make a full English breakfast but by the time I made it back to the boat it was almost lunch. I egged him to do some bangers and mash.

I showed him where the potatoes were but then I heard him opening cupboards that I checked on him if he needed something else.

Flour… flour on bangers and mash? Then he asked for a baking dish. Oh dear… certainly he was up to something. Then came out the eggs and milk.

He had a wicked grin on face and said, Toad in the hole…

Oh my , been ages I have not eaten one. I was watching him prepare our dinner when he actually ordered me to help and do the gravy. Onion gravy, there he goes chopping and frying onions while I prepared the gravy and when it was almost ready to pull it out from the oven, my cook “ordered” me to set the table.

Toad in the hole as Delia Smith said , “’is a simply wonderful creation from the humble origins of British cooking.”

batter

Here is how he cooked it as he said:

Toad in the hole batter…. Done steve’s way!

Put some plain flour in a mixing bowl.
Make a hollow in the middle and break two eggs into it.
Break up the egg yolk first then mix the beaten egg into the flour to make a dough… If it is runny, add some more flour, if it is still powdery then add another egg.
Then add milk until you get a smooth creamy batter.
Put the mix in a cool place, or even the fridge.

While doing the above, prick the sausages and place them under the grill to brown off and drive out some of the fat.

Then turn the oven to maximum heat and place a suitable metal baking tin into the oven with some oil or butter in it. Wait until the oil is smoking hot, and remove the tin from the oven.
Immediately pour in the batter and place the sausages in it too. Return to the oven as quickly as possible. Reduce oven temperature setting to about 220 centigrade.
It will usually take about 20 – 30 minutes to cook… Wait until the batter has finished rising and is golden brown.
Try to avoid opening the oven too often and loosing the heat.

Remove from oven when done and don’t forget to serve with Bisto gravy!

It’s the temperature shock that is important for the batter to rise. The batter is exactly the same as a Yorkshire pudding. Add salt to the mix to taste… I don’t but I don’t like salty food.

It was yummy yum indeed, thank you Stephen for all the great times in the galley, the times I dragged you walking and for partly writing this piece…

breakfast at the inn at tilton place

May 25, 2010 by shalimar

blue potato fritatta

There was something beautiful about the name , “Jensen Beach”.
I first heard about the place from my ex-captain when he attended a wedding there last year and it stuck in my mind since then…. Jensen Beach.

I know it’s just north of West Palm. A couple of friends have moved there with the boat they are working on and they have been telling about the area and that I must visit.

Since we did not know what was going to happen with us aboard the boat, whether we were crossing the Atlantic or not, it was a bit hard to plan. Then we were told our bosses were coming to Ft. Lauderdale and yet nothing was sure.

But I still told my friend to look for a place to stay. When I got an email about the place, I could see the inn is a small place. Only 8 rooms and it’s a B & B and it’s a 107 year old family owned house.

jensen beach a boy and his dog

The two and half hour drive from Ft. Lauderdale , was well worth it when I opened the room. Sleigh bed, luxurious blankets and huge memory foam pillows. It was not the typical inns I have seen in the US, but rather something I would expect in the UK, except of course for the ceiling fan, the shutters and the wooden floors which are light and airy. A typical old Floridian house.

I have never slept fitfully for so long and when I woke up I noticed that the wall of room is a beautiful shade of dark blue and the front door leads to the garden.

As I was told there was a complimentary breakfast, oh and oh, a proper kettle. So here is the best part of the stay and I have let my friend write about it…

raspberry scones

When you think of the breakfast part of an American “Bed and Breakfast”, what images come to mind? Typical pancake house fare of pork products and eggs, coffee, toast and orange juice? All tasty, mind you, especially if prepared by a cook with a bit of care about them.

What if a different image came to mind?

Orange juice, yes, freshly squeezed just seconds before being placed on the table; organic teas, prepared in the English style, hand packed in “proper” tea bags; raspberry scones, piping hot from the oven, flaky and light with seemingly a thousand layers of buttery pastry and just the right balance of sweet and tart from the natural raspberry puree; and poached nectarines in a superbly light brown sugar syrup, subtly sweet, firm but not crunchy; finally, a blue potato fritatta – yes, wonderfully earthy tasting, deep indigo-blue heirloom potatoes surrounded by delicate and frothy eggs and a touch of cheese, served in a personal cast iron skillet, complete with a linen napkin secured to the handle with butcher’s twine to prevent accidental branding of your palm.

Yes indeed it was of the best breakfast I ever had in the US. And the innkeeper herself, Katie made it for us. Katie said I could always come in for fresh tea, heavens, that exactly I wanted to hear as I love their organic tea very much and while walking around the properly, Bella, the dog followed me everywhere.

Jensen Beach is located in Florida’s Treasure Coast, a name she got, as number of Spanish galleons were wrecked off the coast in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Inn at Tilton Inn
3350 North Indian River Drive
Jensen Beach
FL 34957
USA

info@InnAtTiltonPlace.com

More photos of Jensen Beach and Stuart here…

One of the memorable breakfast was I had was in Norway … read more… click here

MITseaAH’s Apple Pie

May 19, 2010 by shalimar

IMG_0334

It all started asking Stephen suggestions what to bake. Of all crew mates he is pretty much involved with food ideas what to feed to the crew. Perhaps because he loves food and cooking himself and loves to try any food.

One day he simply said APPLE PIE. Oh dear it has been ages I have not baked apple pie and my most trusted recipe is at home. I found some recipes at Martha Stewart Living cookbook and at Bon Appetit, but I also checked what BBC food has to offer.

Hmm the crew does not seem to trust an american recipe so at the end found this recipe for the filling:

700 g bramley
80 – 125 g soft brown sugar
grated rind of orange
1 tsp mix spice
1 tbsp plain sifted flour
25 g butter

Except of course I did not use bramley. I only had macintosh and some granny smiths.
Somehow they turned out fine. I used the mandolin so the apples are thinly sliced.

And to add a bit of more twist I grated nutmeg and lemon rinds too.

IMG_0061

For the crust, I used the one from Bon Appetit cook book

1 1/2 c all purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c unsalted butter
4 tbsp iced water

Mix the flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter and use the food processor by using turn on and off until powdered. Blend ice water to gather the dough then chill.

The best part of this apple pie issue on our boat was whether I should do my custard or as the British suggested I should buy Bird’s custard.

Well the captain suggested I should make my own and do the Bird’s custard to compare. Easy…. they sell the custard at Publix (for non US readers its the supermarket chain in Florida, USA).

But then the whole apple pie idea went further more about the crust. The captain , Axel, suggested that I should try putting cheddar on it. This really horrified the Brits.

Cheddar on the apple pie!!!

Quelle horreur!

As he explained its like eating Thai food, sweet and sour.

The day I made the pie, it was one of our crew mate’s last weekend with us. The boys went to North Miami for biking. I was so excited for them to come back and devour the pie that I even was sending mms photos to Stephen so they could hurry up.

The biggest joy of all, seeing their faces happy. Since then I have been making the pie whenever I have time and always with the Birds custard. I was the only one who dared eating it with cheddar cheese.

This post is for my dearest crew mates aboard SY Mitseaah, who made life less lonelier, to Axel who believed in me that I can feed his crew well…

but mostly to Stephen …. who patiently pushed my shopping cart and who have memorised every aisle in Publix above all, also my constant food inspiration.

new york city

The boat is now in Long Island , NY while the my ex crew mates are scattered everywhere. But I know time will come we will meet up and reminisce our past aboard this boat.

I am now writing here in South of France and now craving for a slice of apple pie.

a birthday celebration… lemon pancake cake

May 2, 2010 by shalimar

IMG_0611

For weeks I racked up ideas what cake it should be… …. he does not like frosting so there goes the wicked chocolate cake I had in mind layered with cream frosting.I even dreaded about what if we did an Atlantic crossing then the birthday would be at the open seas, what if it would be bumpy? Should I pre bake and freeze it?

Well we did not leave for a crossing but then it hit me if he loves pancakes , crepes I mean then I would build a tower of pancakes.
How will it hold? I was already looking at options like nutella spread in between and glaze it with ganache.

When he was in England I went to the supermarket alone, which by the way, made the fishmonger noticed. While emptying the cart at the till I was browsing the April Martha Stewart Living magazine … and there it was pancake cake with lemon curd mousse.

I just found the perfect cake!!!
steve

Well when he came back I somehow still asked him what cake would he like… just in case he wished for something else.
At the end I decided on this but I panicked a bit! I never ever made a lemon curd. I was almost tempted to go to Whole Foods and buy a bottled one.
The day before the birthday I was away from Ft Lauderdale but I came back early to prepare things in advance. Monday is hectic day, with the crew meals and other things to do I wonder when I would have time to do other things.

So I prepared the batter and the lemon curd mousse. The recipe calls for Meyer lemon which I could not find at Publix. I was about to call all chefs I know to help me out but I thought maybe just use the regular lemons and add a bit more of sugar to sweeten it.

While preparing everything I needed my phone did not stop ringing. My ex crew mates were having dinner together and wanted me to join them. I could not stop what I was doing and promised them as soon I was done I would join them. That very night the rain would not just stop. Luckily the boys were tired from their trip in Ocala that they did not come to the galley and asked what I was doing.

To be safe in case this cake would fail, I made another cake , a pound cake which I planned to layer with whipped cream and fresh raspberries.

IMG_0644

Monday , April 19th our mate Stephen turned 21+ years old… while I was busy assembling the cake ( the recipe called for 15 layers) with lemon mousse in between each layer, I could see the mousse was too watery. I added more cream to lessen the lemony taste. The tower of crepes was about to collapse when Dickie , our engineer came to my rescue. He immediately stuck these long cocktail toothpicks to hold the cake. Phew almost a disaster.

I knew I still have enough time before serving it so I decided to put in the freezer to stop the mousse running all over the cake.
It somehow worked.

Afternoon tea break came and I took the cake out. I must have been so excited that I forgot to put the candles on the top.
But it did not matter, he loved it…. and the crew enjoyed it too.

It was all gone by the end of the day and I served the layered pound cake the following day.

Happy Birthday Stephen.

I used Stephen pancake recipe for this instead of Martha Stewart recipe is here

For the lemon curd which I thought is difficult the recipe as follows.

Makes about 3 3/4 cups
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (from one 1/4-ounce envelope)
1 tablespoon cold water
4 large eggs plus 6 large yolks
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons finely grated Meyer lemon zest (from 2 lemons), plus 3/4 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice (from 5 to 6 lemons)
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup heavy cream, whipped
Directions

Sprinkle gelatin over water; let stand until softened, about 5 minutes.
Whisk together eggs and yolks in a heavy small saucepan. Whisk in sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
Cook, whisking constantly, over medium-low heat, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, 8 to 10 minutes.
Remove pan from heat; add gelatin, stirring constantly, until gelatin dissolves and mixture is slightly cool. Add butter, a few pieces at a time, stirring after each addition, until smooth.
Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl, pressing with a rubber spatula to remove as much curd as possible; discard any undissolved bits of gelatin and egg.
Press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto surface of curd to prevent a skin from forming, and refrigerate until set, at least 2 hours or overnight. Stir curd, and gently fold in whipped cream.
Refrigerate for 1 hour. Stir before using.

A hike and unexpected bbq treat – St John’s US Virgin Islands

April 12, 2010 by shalimar

IMG_9747

Best food and best meals are not from the Michelin studded stars restaurants. Although I have dined in fine restaurants, maybe it be in Aspen, Zurich, Athens, London, Oslo, most of my memorable meals are from the beaches of Lombok, back streets of the old city of Athens, food stalls in Singapore, small tratorria in Genoa and elsewhere.

But to be honest most of the memorable meals are either shared with friends or some unexpected places…. That brings me back to St John’s , US Virgin Islands.

We were just finishing our trip with the boss when I wrote in my facebook status “St Thomas, Virgin Islands.” Within an hour I received an email from a chef I used to work with saying…. “ Where in St Thomas, am at Haven Grande”

I just went out and there it was on our starboard side. As soon I had I had free time I went and looked for Jeff.

IMG_9746

Jeff and I worked together for a short while long way back 2007. We went all over Bahamas with the boat and whenever I had free time, would help Jeff in the galley cleaning up. Jeff was always up by 6am to bake and start breakfast without a break work until dinner done.

I asked Jeff if he could take a day off the next day to hang out with me. After travelling with crew, I just needed to go away from everyone else and since Jeff been based there for a while he would make a perfect companion.

jeff

As planned we met at 9am at the dock and took a taxi to Red Hook where we would take a ferry to St John’s.

While on the ferry Jeff and I caught up with our lives, last year we were exactly on the same route except he was 24 hours ahead as they left Monaco heading to Venice and we left France for Amalfi. When Jeff managed to find an off, I was already on a long weekend in Florence, so we never saw each other in the Mediterranean.

Few months later however we managed to meet in Ft Lauderdale and he in few days after, was on his way to Puerto Rico then St. Thomas.

Since Jeff has spent time hiking St John’s he looked for a trail that he has not been yet. With a little help from the they suggested we start our hike at the Annenberg sugar estate ruins then to Leinster Bay (great place for snorkelling) , uphill hike to Johnny Trail that would lead us to Coral Bay which was around 2 miles, but would take us at least 2 hrs to hike. Well a bit longer as we spent time marvelling the sweeping view of the bay .

At the start of the trail we saw a turtle as we walked towards Watermelon Bay. But above the bay where there were ruins which was a old guard house, the marvellous Watermelon Bay was just so engrossing. Further up the trail where we found another ruin of a house, you can see the British Virgin Islands across Sir Francis Drake strait.

IMG_9740

Johnny Trail after few mins turned out to be so steep that I felt if I did not lean forward I would roll back to the bottom, while Jeff was already far ahead he stopped and waited for me maybe wondering if I could make it.

Coral Bay was at the end of the hike and we stopped at Skinny Legs for drinks but the food there did not make the chef hungry at all…. After waiting for the bus for ages, island time of course we finally made it back to Cruz Bay. We followed our nose to this little yellow bbq shack along the main road opposite the post office.

Jeff and I had our bbq that tasted one of the best I have ever tasted. I asked J what was the name of the place since there was no sign or whatsoever.

I started asking the old man who was doing the bbq and he thought I was asking for the recipe.. the name of the place is Uncle Joe’s.

The place has few tables and Jeff kept asking me if I was alright eating in a shack. It was certainly one of the best meal I ever had…….

While I was hiking with Jeff, the boys, Dane and Stephen took their bikes out and were also at St John’s. The last three photos of the gallery are courtesy of Stephen (left), his favourite photo of tamarind tree and Dane who has now left our boat and gone back to South Africa.

A Pancake Feast

March 29, 2010 by shalimar

IMG_1982

Ghene Snowdon…. “oh dear me. Sha, take a photo before passing it to your crewmates. That way you have something to blog about”

This post is long overdue, today is already Palm Sunday and next week is Easter.. this pancake story started at the beginning of the Lent when Stephen, our British mate, came to the galley asking me ,”Do you know whats on today? “
I wondered what would make our Tuesday special other than going from our day to day routine work. Well he said Pancake day, thought he just wanted pancakes then it hit me beginning of the Lent, Shrove Tuesday.

Luckily I have lived in UK before and understood the British culture, rather long before I lived in UK, I already been influenced by my British teachers at school and by my dear friends.

Shrove Tuesday was last February 16th , the beginning of the 40 days Lenten period
When meat, butter, eggs or milk are forbidden. So what to do with these foods before the fasting? With a little addition needed like flour, hence pancakes.

Shrove Tuesday is rather known as Fat Tuesday in the US, whereas in the Orthodox world where I partly grow up, Clean Monday, the day before that is a big holiday that involves flying kites and feasting as Tuesday is the beginning of the fasting period….

But what makes this post interesting is I posted this on my Facebook that caused rather a stir whether which pancakes is better, the thin crepe like I did or rather what Stephen asked or the hefty ones the American make in which my another Briitsh friend who grew up in Greece said I should have served octopus. Yes octopus that’s how we start our Lent season in Greece, feast on seafood.

IMG_0106

Here are some interesting comments on my Facebook wall about this pancake debate.

Toni Tiu: There are other kinds of pancakes? This made me curious!
February 16 at 8:37pm ·

Stephen Edwards: with a little coaching she made some good pancakes…
February 16 at 8:52pm ·

Shalimar : Hi toni, the british recipe does not use BAKING POWDER less airy almost like crepe… no sugar as well…
February 16 at 8:56pm ·

Toni Tiu: Oh! So it’s more flat than the American pancakes are?
February 16 at 8:59pm ·

Shalimar: yup you can even just roll it…
February 16 at 9:07pm ·

Nena Wuthrich: I think this is like the Ethiopian bread injera? I miss these! :)
February 16 at 10:15pm ·

Sandy Bartrum: Saffer pancakes…rolled up with dusted cinnamon and suger inside… can be savoury to! yum! must have some saffers on board hun????
February 17 at 12:42am ·

Iska Montero: uy, thanks sa recipe!
February 17 at 1:15am ·

Donna Seneca: Don’t like them even with lemon and sugar to taste.
February 17 at 1:32am ·

Cristina Topham : Excuse me, you say American pancakes like they’re a bad thing? Ummm, from the country that came up with kidney pies and parsley sauce? Or worse yet, Brovil? Gag. American pancakes with Grade B Vermont Maple Syrup = heaven. (and a side of bacon, please!)
February 17 at 1:40am ·

Charl Asuit: I grew up with American pancakes, too. But last night, I made them ‘the way they should be’ – with sugar, lemon and dusting of chocolate powder. Honestly, they weren’t bad.
February 17 at 2:26am ·

Cecile Aquino: Oh so he wants the thin pancakes – almost like crepes. Me personally I want pancakes with more heft in them so it’s American pancakes for me! :)
February 17 at 4:12am ·

Marieta Garbo: ´with a little coaching´, hahaha i like this one…i´ve never known other ways than this..spread it with butter then marmalade, or just plain NUTELLA!!
February 17 at 7:25am ·

Ella Aquino ur spoiling ur crew..let them cook for u for a change..LOL..
February 17 at 9:38am ·

Tara Orlanes What about Scottish pancakes? The Delia one with sugar and lemon is also yummy.
February 17 at 3:50pm ·

Shalimar : I made plain ones and the crew drizzled it with sugar and lemon I also had some with blue berries and chocolates.. I had mine with butter and marmalade.
February 17 at 5:43pm ·

Shalimar : The wayward chef: shhh let him have it the british way … my ex chef I worked with was from vermont and he makes great pancakes with maple syrup….
February 17 at 5:46pm ·

15722_318376576658_554446658_3669340_1529070_n

And Stephen proudly said he coached me how to do great pancakes and here is his recipe which I tweaked a bit and changed the measurements to metric.

½ pint milk
4 oz Flour (plain)
2 eggs
pinch of salt

or

230g all purpose/plain flour
Pinch salt
2 eggs
2½ cups milk
2 tsp melted butter

Sieve the flour into a large baking bowl, add the salt. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the eggs and beat well until smooth and lump free.
Add half the milk and the 2 tsp of butter, beat well. Add the remaining milk and stir.
Leave the batter to rest for 15 minutes.
Lightly grease a pancake pan or frying pan with a little melted butter, heat until very hot and add a ladle of batter to evenly and thinly coat the base of the pan. Cook until set and lightly golden

Ever since that Shrove Tuesday, we now have a weekly pancake treat which the boys look forward to, but our Texan crew is waiting for me to make him the American huge big pancakes… soon perhaps.

IMG_0377

… since Stephen started this, the day he left for UK to take his exams for a captain’s ticket I made him a huge pile of pancakes and we all wished him all the best and good luck for his exams this coming Thursday.
And if he will pass which we are pretty sure he will, I might as well change the title of this post to … “Stephen’s Pancakes”

Good Luck Stephen!!!!

exquisite pleasures… madeleines

February 1, 2010 by shalimar

IMG_9948

I wanted to do something special to mark this special date…. who would have thought that five years ago just around the holidays I was digging for some recipes that I stumbled to a site called Pinoy cook. After exchanging some emails and having sent the web owner (Thank you Sassy) some photos she encouraged me to write. Little did I know after that moment, I would be blogging my culinary experiments and travels since then.

Madeleines came to my mind , not just because of the buttery , lemony taste that bring sheer delights but because I really love the scalloped shaped of these dainty treats.
Also because I have not tackled myself to bake some and with the thought of my moulds just gathering dust, why not challenge myself to bake some to mark my 5th year of my web life.

The moment the French crew mate saw my moulds she immediately knew what I was up to. I have thought madeleines were complicated. I was pretty much surprised how easy they are to bake.
For the recipe I usedDavid Lebovitz’s Lemon Glazed Madeleine.

So easy to follow but I suggest do use a good quality of butter.

IMG_9944
The crew could not contain their excitement…. then the French one asked: “Do we have nutella?”

Oh nutella… I told her wait till this boat goes back to France and I will buy her tons of nutella. Hmm, told her to wait, I dashed to make some ganache. Those Valhorna can’t just sit there with out being used.

choc
So I made half of the madeleines dipped in chocolate while the other half I coated them with lemon glaze. Perfect for a wet rainy day here in Florida.
While having tea and dipping the spongy madeleines ,my mind drifted to France…. it was in France I first tasted madeleines.

nice
Nice, France

I feel I had my Proustian moment…

She (Marcel’s mother) sent for one of those squat plump little cakes called “petites madeleines,” which look as though they had been molded in the fluted valve of a scallop shell … I raised to my lips a spoonful of the tea in which I had soaked a morsel of the cake. No sooner had the warm liquid mixed with the crumbs touched my palate than a shudder ran through me and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary thing that was happening to me. An exquisite pleasure invaded my senses …

IMG_0042
Sunrise as we entered Ft Lauderdale, Florida after 4 days of passage from St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands.

So indeed my blog has travelled with my belly… It all started in a cold winter in Yorkshire, UK when I was digging recipes. One website then link after link opened me to the world of web blogs.

And encouraged me much more my passions of finding pleasures on food, photography and kitchen experiments. Other than that, it led to some great friendships and welcoming homes who have hosted me on my travels.

This web site indeed has been a diary of my life, my marriage that ended to the birth of my nephew, this has marked my life in UK, Norway, France , Italy, USA, mostly Greece and to other places I have traveled. As one web friend said this site is: “great photos, yummy food and breath taking locations” (Thank you Ara)

For such day the madeleines indeed are exquisite pleasures to such exquisite life.

a kilo please…

January 17, 2010 by shalimar

st john;s market, antigua

St John’s Market, Antigua, West Indies.

Moments…

December 5, 2009 by shalimar

pizzeria ischia

While we were in the main port of Ischia the crew went out for dinner with the kids…

comforts of home…cassava macapuno cake

November 24, 2009 by shalimar

IMG_9095

Home is where my kitchen is, where I can create what ever I want to try. The kitchen where I would spend hours pouring into cookbooks, or sitting with close friends having a pot of tea and of course some dessert.

I was home for 3 days, two weeks ago. While I was still in London I called my friend in Athens what to shop and asked her if we can make a cassava cake (is it a pie or a cake?)
I was hoping we could do it together but when I opened my door, the aroma of the cake just made me drop my bags. I ran to the kitchen and there inside my oven a dish cassava and macapuno cake was in the process of baking.

Years back this was a dream, able to bake Filipino desserts using cassava and macapuno. The excitement way back then was when someone arrives from the Philippines and bring “illicit food” tucked nicely inside the luggage. However, the Asian stores in Athens are increasing and now able to stock fruits and vegetables, the Greeks never ever heard before.

This recipe is not mine but from a friend who hails from Bacolod. Sadly this time due to short notice she could not drop by at my place to cook for me. Do I sound so spoiled?
When I go back to Athens, I normally would ask her for some food I crave for and I do love watching her peel, chop, cook and I set the table and we catch up with our lives.

IMG_9063

Since Aida had other agenda, it was Bonnie a dear friend who took care of me when I was not well, did all the work. I only tested when it was ready to take the dish out of the oven.

Aida recipe calls for 2 jars of macapuno but I love to tweak recipes to suit my taste. I think by adding 2 jars ,the macapuno overwhelms the cassava. So I had asked Bonnie to add just one.

This recipe is so easy to follow.

1 kl cassava fresh and grated
1 tin condensed milk
1 tin coconut milk
1 bottle of macapuno strings
Mix it all.
Bake in a preheated oven 180C for an hr.

Macapuno is a variety of Philippine coconut palm and the meat inside is like a jelly.

The day after I visited a Greek Egyptian friend together with her husband who hails from Scotland and another dear friend visiting from Sweden, I brought this dessert over. They all asked me what’s a cassava?

I tried to explain that its called yuca etc but still they could not picture it, next time I visit them I will just bring a cassava, easier to explain using a visual aid isn’t it.
But they all enjoyed it.

elliniko

Few days in Athens is not complete without sitting down in one of the cafes for my Greek coffee…. This time I did not have the chance to take photos of the market and eat a lot of Greek food, but this cassava cake made my stay comforting.