E g g s

All  About  Eggs

The eggs of fish, birds are used in cooking; however hen's eggs are mostly used in cookery. They are often eaten raw too.

Fresh Hen's Eggs

Eggs are very nutritious.  Dietetically, the fresh egg is almost a complete food. It contains, fats, proteins, vitamins-A, B, D and also iron, mineral salt-magnesium, calcium, sodium. And potassium.  (New Larousse Gastronomique)

Composition  Of  An  Average Egg

                 Weight              Water            Albumen         Fats         Salts       Calories                                 

 

Shell                         7 g.                         

White                     35 g.                 30 g.              4.5 g.            0 g.          0.25 g.        10 g.   

                                                                                   

Yolk                        18 g.                  9 g.              2.9 g.          5.7 g.          0.25 g.        63 g.

Whole egg              60 g.                 39 g.              7.4 g.          5.7 g.          0.50 g.        73 g.

 

(From the tables of  M. Alquier)

The composition of the egg varies with the breed of the hens and its diet – the latter also influences the flavour of the egg.

The best eggs come from free-range hens, which eat the right proportion of grain and vegetable matter.

Soft boiled eggs, poached eggs, are easily digested unless served with a heavy garnish such as liver, mushrooms etc.

Beautiful Soft Fried Egg
It is easy to digest

          Fried eggs are fairly digestible
          if they are not over browned in cooking it.

Crusty Edges Fried Egg
It is not easy to digest

I think I learn more about Eggs.
This topic I dedicated to my youngest daughter Susan.
 
 Hope you like it Sue and Enjoy!





Omelettes and scrambled eggs are not easy to digest, even without garnishes.

Flat Omelette
Omelette a la Paysanne

Recipe: Omelet a la Paysanne Susy's style
Cook sliced of one potato in butter and half cup of sliced celery.  Add in some       chopped parsley and chives
In a bowl beat 2 eggs lightly, add in the
cooked vegetables, mix and add in salt and pepper
In a pan, cook the egg mixture over medium heat for two minutes, then flip it over and cook for another 2 minutes.  Serve hot.

Hard-boiled eggs, take longer to digest.


You can take 3 eggs per week; however, you must be careful that a lot of dishes contain eggs, it has to be counted as well.  I think three eggs a week per person is reasonable enough.
I do use a lot of eggs in my cooking, but they are the dishes that I don't cook daily.  A lot more dishes that contain more eggs- quiches, custards, cakes etc

My Cooking With Eggs

Brioches Stuffed with Vegetables, Chicken and

Beef Mousse

Mini Stuffed Brioches

Lapis Legit-Spekkoek

(Indonesian Layer Cake)

Paris Breast

Cream Patisserie Filling

Last but not least, it is about the freshness of the eggs.  How do we know if eggs are fresh?

Left to Right

To test the freshness of an egg, plunge it into a 12per cent solution of salted water.
1.  A fresh egg falls at once to the bottom
2. An egg 2 days old floats midway
3. An egg 4 days old rises to the surface.
4.  2- weeks old egg floats on top
(New Larousse Gastronomique)


Until Next Post
Susy

Christmas In July

Norwegian  Christmas  Bread

We do not have Christmas in July, but I am interested in doing the Norwegian Christmas Bread from the recipe book that I have - Cooking the Norwegian Way,  by Sylvia Munsen.

This year I celebrate Christmas in July by baking the Christmas Bread, and the recipe is straightforward to follow.  Hopefully, I could share and catch up with my family sometime soon.

Christmas bread Norwegian style is a fruity bread delicious for breakfast. It makes beautiful toast too.

This sweet bread is a part of my program about posting sweets dishes from Java and beyond.  East and West.

Step by Step How to Do

The Recipe:

Christmas Bread

(Norwegian Style)

Makes: 1

Norwegian Christmas Bread
with my simple decoration

1tablespoon active dry yeast

½ tablespoon sugar
A ¼ cup of warm water
1cup milk
¼ cup shortening
A ¼ cup of sugar
1teaspoon salt
1teaspoon cardamom seeds
3¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup candied red and green cherries
Or assorted candied fruits, cut in thirds
½ cup raisins
¼ cup blanched almonds, finely chopped
Additional all-purpose flour (1cup)

1. Soften raisins by putting them in a small amount of hot water.  Prepare cherries by shaking them in a bag with a little flour.  Set cherries and raisins aside.
2. In a glass of measuring cup, dissolve yeast and add in a ½ tablespoon of sugar in ¼ cup warm water.
3. In a saucepan, scald the milk.  Stir in shortening and let cool for 15 minutes
4. When milk and shortening have cooled, pour it in a big mixing bowl.
5. Add a ¼ cup of sugar, salt and ground cardamom seeds to milk and shortening, and mix.
6. Stir in one-cup flour. Then add candied fruit, raisin, and chopped almonds, mixing well.
7. Stir in the remaining flour a halved cup at the time.
8. Turn dough out on floured board and knead well.  Use as much remaining flour as it takes to produce a springy, elastic texture.  Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a damp cloth.
9. Put the dough in a warm place (about8o°).  Let the dough rise until double.  Punch down and let rise until double again.
10. Punch down and knead well.  Form a round loaf, and place it on a cookie sheet.  Cover with a damp cloth and let rise.
11. Preheat the oven to 350°.  Bake the loaf for about 35 minutes.  (Top should be golden brown)

The original recipe makes two loaves: double all quantities.


I think it worked out very well, the bread is soft, and it looks good too.

Susy

Sweets

Javanese  Sweets

WAJIK

Most sweets that you can get in Java are made out of glutinous rice, mixed with coconut sugar or cane sugar (white sugar) and coconut milk.  This wajik is one of them.  In my older post, I shared the recipe of wajik merah jambu or pink wajik.   It is made of glutinous rice, with white sugar, pink colouring and coconut milk, and it's sliced diagonally to serve.  Sweets are served for snacking with black tea.

The brownish wajik is the traditional one.  The shape is the same with the pink wajik, but the ingredients are slightly different. It is the dark coconut sugar content that makes the colour become brownish and has a distinctive taste that the wajik is wajik.  It is delightful and delish.

A slice of traditional wajik

(sweet Javanese style)

My presentation of wajik is not the same; however it has the same flavour.  It is a diagonal shape with desiccated coconut topping. It is so delicious, but high in calories, so if you are on a diet, you should not have too much of it.

Wajik Susy's Style

Recipe

Microwave Cooking

Wajik

Ingredients:

1 cup glutinous rice soak in a cup of water for 1 hour

1 cup of coconut milk

1 cup grated dark palm sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

Method

Place the rice in a pot, add in the coconut milk, uncovered and cook in a microwave for 9-10 minutes

(this is only a guide as microwaves are not all the same, one more powerful than others)

Take it out, stir it well, add in the sugar, then stir it again to combine

Cover the pot, put it back in the microwave and cook it for 8 minutes

Take it out, remix it, this time the rice should be, keep it aside to cool.

When it is cold, time for shaping.

Place the rice on a flat plate, shape into round or square and smooth the top.  Use a clean plastic gladwrap to press and smoothing the top of the wajik to avoid stickiness.

Leave it until completely cold then sliced into diagonals.

To serve: serve with black tea.

Shaping the wajik

Line your hand with glad wrap to prevent the rice

stick on your fingers

A slice of the traditional  'wajik.'

It has been good preparing wajik the sweet dish from Java,  as promised.  I am looking forward to doing other sweets dishes from other countries.

Stay Tuned

Susy

Quick Fix

Lazy  Days  -   Leftover  Days

There are days that we all have no time to cook, or won't bother to do any complicated preparation of cooking.  Have a break from it all?  Well, at least!

It is a good idea to cook dishes that are suitable for freezing.   Freeze some of it while you can enjoy the meal on that day.  But if you want to cook, do it with these methods; sauteing, stir-fry, grilling those preparing only take about ten minutes or even less.

Having left over for dinner is alright too, some dishes taste better for the next day, such as pasta dishes. Other meals: casseroles and soups are easy to reheat, and cold meats that you can serve them with salads.

I do have rests from cooking, and I can use my times for something else.  These dishes are examples what we had for a quick fix, - pictured.

The Quick Fix Dishes

Vegetables and Chicken Stir-fry

Sauteed Turmeric Chicken

Mie Hun - Stir Fry Formichelli Noodles

Baso-Meat Balls in Clear Soup
Javanese Style

Cold Meat, Salad and
Potted Herbs Bread

Spaghetti and Meat Balls
in Italian Sauce

I will post sweets treat from Java and beyond soon.
Stay Tuned
Susy

The Queen of Winter

Red   Ruby  Radicchio


There are not many lettuces, no vegetables, and most of the herbs are sleeping.  It is cold and winter time.  But I love the faithful plant - radicchio, the queen of winter.  It is red and robust.  It's there most of the time, and during winter it shows off the gorgeous red ruby colour.   Lamb lettuce, which has delicate leaves, is growing slowly.  It is a perfect combination of the radicchio because of the contrast - texture and flavours.  Together, they make a refreshing winter salad.
A few photos shots in my backyard today:

Radicchio,  French Sorrels and Lamb Lettuce

Other mix vegetables that I could make from this patch is a Mesclun Salad; the bitterness of the radicchio, mixed with the subtle taste of lamb lettuce, and sour taste of the French Sorrel, make lovely combinations of the three.

Mushroom and Carrots on Radicchio and Mesclun Salad

Beautiful Weeping Crab Apple Tree -  Leafless, But Restful 

What can I say, It is a Celebration of Winter.

Stay Tuned

Susy

R - R - R

Rice  and  Roo  and  Radicchio

I believe that anyone can cook.   I can say that I am a keen cook.  My curiosity about cooking has started since I was a young girl.  I live in Australia now, the opportunity to learn and to explore food and cooking is fantastic. I am not strict in my tradition in terms of cooking because I like to learn more.   I cook a variety of meals for my family, and they are happy enough, and they are very supportive too.

Beautifully Cooked Roo Meat in Brioche

One thing I know, if you are very good at the cooking of your own traditional food, then you can do other cooking. 

I learn about new flavours, textures in food with eagerness.  In fact, I love to experience combining unique flavour with others, I can be very adventurous that way, especially with fruit or vegetables or even meat. This yacon, which has a sweet taste and of crunchy texture, is a new vegetable to me, and I love it.  I make it for acar,  a side salad that is served with rice and other savoury dishes.

Rice, with Roo meat in Javanese curry sauce (bumbu rujak) and

garnished with Acar yacon and carrots

There are a lot of red meats that are available here, beef, goat, lamb-the great Australian lamb, and kangaroo.  Only recently the kangaroo meat is available at the supermarket or Farmer's market.  I tried it and loved it.  It is healthier red meat, has less cholesterol, only you must know how to cook it properly.  I cook the all type of meat for quick sauteing, grilling, and I cooked this Roo meat into an excellent elegant dish- "Roo in Brioche", a French Dish Down Under.  It is suitable for a dinner party.

Roo meat in mousse wrapped in Brioche

Freshly Baked fillet Roo meat in Brioche

Slice Roo meat in Brioche is Served with Mustard Sauce

and Garnished with Lamb Lettuce and Radicchio Salad

It is a delicious dish for Autumn, but also excellent for a light

Winter Dish

Kangaroo meat has a strong flavour.  I put healthy herbs and served it with bitter vegetables- radicchio, creamy mastered sauce, or curies sauce. 

These R and R and R are absolutely Ridgy-didge indeed.

Until Next Post

Susy.

My Second Harvest

Yacon - Apple Of The Earth


Today I harvested the yacon for the second time this year, and the fruits are, sweeter and also crisper. Very healthy food, and we can eat them raw or cooked.

For a fresh salad
Peel, and dice the yacon and add some lemon juice.  It makes a lovely salad, together with other raw vegetables and baby carrots.  Salad dressing for fresh yacon, lemon juice/rind, salt and olive oil.  The mixture can keep in the refrigerator for a few days.

Warm bacon and red cabbage salad, it is a lovely salad that can be served as it is or as a garnished of another dish.  It has a sweet and sour taste with a lot of textures.

A winter salad

Warm Yacon and Red Cabbage Salad

The Preparation and The Plating of Warm Yacon and Red Cabbage Salad

Pan fry the sliced yacon with margarine/butter

for 2 minutes, add 1teaspoon sugar and lemon juice

continue cooking until caramelised.  Add some

spring onions.  Toss, transfer to a plate and keep it aside.

Sauté the shredded red cabbage in butter/margarine for 2 minutes,

then add 1tb water, 1teaspoon sugar, lemon juice, salt to taste

Continue cooking for 3 minutes, do not overcook.  Add in some

chopped spring onion then serve with the cooked yacon

The warm yacon and red cabbage salad garnished with

almonds and chopped flat parsley

Drizzle with olive oil at a serving time if you wish

Other fresh salad of yacon:

Freshly peeled yacon, cut thinly mixed with apples cut the same way and dressed with mayonnaise or Crèm Fraîche is another way to use fresh yacon for a salad.  This is for you Joan, hope you like it.

Yacon may be unfamiliar to some of you, It is not readily available in the shop.

Until Next Time

Susy