Chinese Tea Eggs for Easter Monday

If you're looking for something to do on the last day of Easter, try these fun, family-friendly, healthy, and attractive tea eggs.

After seeing a post on TasteSpotting, I decided on a whim to make Chinese tea eggs for our family lunch on Easter Sunday. Though appropriate for an everyday snack, these tea eggs are novel enough (in New Zealand!), and decorative enough, to be perfect for this eggy Anglo holiday.* (Their spiderweb design would also make them great for Halloween, but one season at a time.)

The many recipes I saw online agreed largely on the spices I should use, but had a large variation in cooking times. These ranged from pre-boiling the eggs for 2 minutes and simmering for 20, to pre-boiling for 20 and simmering for several hours. So, instead of anxiously fretting about which recipe was 'right', I figured that it probably did not matter too much how long I cooked them for.

The method for making tea eggs is to hard boil eggs, crack the shell with the back of a teaspoon, return to simmer with black tea, star anise, cinnamon, szechuan peppercorns, soy sauce, tangerine or mandarin zest, and a bit of sugar, and leave to steep overnight to develop dark, intricate patterns over the hard boiled eggs.

As it was getting towards bed time on Saturday night already, I made a start.

Chinese Tea Eggs

Ingredients:

4 - 6 eggs (I started making four, before realizing I had miscounted potential lunch attendees and hastily boiling up another - which in the end was not required.)

2 star anise pods
2 T black tea (I used ginger infused tea)
2 T gluten-free tamari (or, if you can, 1T soy sauce and 1T dark soy sauce, which will probably give a deeper flavour)
1 T black peppercorns (or szechuan peppercorns if you have them)
1 t brown sugar
1/2 t cinnamon (or a whole piece of cinnamon bark if you have one)
tangerine or mandarin zest (which I didn't have, so I left out)


Method:

Place eggs in a small to medium pot, and cover with cold water.

Bring to the boil and simmer for up to ten minutes.

Retaining boiling water, remove eggs and rinse under cold water, until cool enough to handle. Don't skip this step, especially if you're about to hand the eggs over to young children to crack!

With the back of a teaspoon, crack the shells of the eggs, without removing the shell - this will create your spiderweb patterns on the eggs.

Return the eggs to the water, with the other ingredients, and simmer for about an hour. Watch to make sure your pot doesn't boil dry, though - add more water if necessary.

Remove from the heat, cover, and let steep overnight, or for as many hours as you can allow.

Eat cold by itself or with your condiment of choice. These have a very mild, savoury flavour.

We served the tea eggs as part of a delicious lunch spread that my mum, sister, and I pulled together with little to no planning, including inventing a recipe for corn and oat patties - yum!




I didn't actually write down the recipe - we were really just throwing stuff in until it felt right. They contained: a (~400g) can of creamed corn; 2 eggs; about a teaspoon of baking powder; about a quarter cup of corn meal, and probably about one and a half cups of oat flour - I ground two cups of rolled oats, then used not quite all of that. Also pepper and salt. The 'batter' was quite wet and soft, and we spooned it into the frypan, but once fried the bottom was crispy and held together.

I love taking picture's with the back yard in the background. Oh the childhood memories!




All in all, a great Easter lunch!

~~~

* with the exception of a pack of lindt peanut butter eggs a month or so before Easter, we haven't bought any Easter eggs this year. This is only because after that first packet, we couldn't find any more of those delicious delicious peanut butter eggs.

Vegan Dark Chocolate Mousse

Vegan Chocolate Mousse - with what I call "midnight snack" lighting... ^_^



One of my favourite time wasters fillers is to browse through TasteSpotting, 'starring' recipes that I want to adapt or try to make. Recently, there was a yummy-looking post for chocolate mousse made with silken tofu. Despite an interest in vegan cooking, I'd never really used silken tofu in desserts before. I usually use firm tofu in stir fries, and once used silken tofu in place of paneer in a curry, but never as a dairy alternative in desserts...

The recipe looked easy, was described as decadent and 'you would never know there's tofu in it', and would meet my recent craving for dessert, but with fewer unnecessary calories... However, it must be warned that this is not for the mild sweet tooth - this is probably the richest chocolate mousse I have ever had in the sense of chocolatey sweetness. You could tone it down a notch by leaving out some of the additional cocoa and sugar, and I don't think it would suffer for it. I served mine with banana, which actually cut through the sweetness!

The recipe I was following is here. I made a few minor adaptations to the recipe to suit what I had on hand, and translated to metric. Here's my version:



Spoon full of chocolate...



Vegan Dark Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients

300g silken tofu
100g dark chocolate (I used 80% - check chocolate is dairy free)
1/4 c cocoa powder
1/4 c water
1 Tbsp rice milk (or other non dairy milk)
2 Tbsp butterscotch schnapps*
1/2 c sugar


* actually I assume this is vegan! The prenzel website doesn't say (link). I used this instead of port or brandy, so use whatever you are comfortable with.


Instructions

Blend silken tofu in a food processor or blender until completely smooth.

In a bowl on top of a pot of barely simmering water, mix chocolate, cocoa, water, milk, and schnapps, and stir until the chocolate has completely melted.

Remove from heat and add the sugar. Mix until smooth and sugar has dissolved.

Pour or spoon into serving bowls, and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

Serve with your choice of chopped fruit, vegan cream, as is, or whatever tickles your fancy.

Try not to fall into a sugar coma :)

A Journey in Waffles

Waffles. Love 'em or hate 'em... Just kidding, I'm not going to start off like that, though my personal waffle history is one of both love and hate.

My family was never a waffle family. Waffles seem to be a particularly American thing: wikipedia support this view. For cooked breakfasts, we would have varieties on pancakes. Thin crepes with lemon juice and brown sugar, golden syrup or treacle, or, occasionally, maple syrup. Pikelets with butter, honey, or whipped cream and jam. The closest we had to waffles as children would have been from the Dutch side my my family: Stroopwafels, or "stroopies" as we called them. And they're not really waffles - they're biscuits.

I was first exposed to waffles as a teenager, when after sleeping over at a friend’s house she pulled out a waffle iron and whipped up a batch. I was fascinated by the waffle-making contraption, and it's fancy pattern (Scandinavian heart shaped waffles, from memory). They seemed easier and so much more exciting than pancakes. But not having waffles in my blood, I soon forgot about their exotic allure.

Flash forward about ten years, when I bought a 3-in-1 toasted sandwich maker, waffle iron, and grill. I only needed a toastie-maker, but this one was cheap! And multi-functional! I eventually remembered my initial excitement for waffles, and though disappointed that my waffle iron was in the relatively boring Belgian style, I decided to try to make waffles for myself.

I chose a recipe from the instruction manual: there were a few, but the one I chose was of an unleavened 'thin and crispy' variety. It looked simple, a good place to start. The recipe included cream. That made it sound fancy, and 'special'. But, I found it bland in texture, and far too rich and heavy in fat for my tastes. I should have expected it - I could never eat cream without feeling ill. Entirely unimpressed, I packed the waffle-iron plates away and stuck to toasted sandwiches.

Flash forward again - perhaps 5 years and a switch to gluten-free - to this week. I was flipping through the Healthy Food Guide looking for menu plan ideas, and came across a recipe for gluten-free waffles. The idea lingered in my mind: Waffles! I made them for brunch the next day.

As with my first cream-laden attempt, I should have known by looking at this recipe that they would be no good. My limited experience with gluten-free flour blends should have tipped me off to the idea that three ingredients alone - white rice flour, water/milk, and salt - would not make a good waffle. I thought at least that a waffle recipe should have eggs or baking powder in it - but I’ve never successfully made waffles, so how would I know?

As soon as I stirred the mix, I knew it was a mistake. The batter was pure white, as starchy mixes are, and the texture was too smooth. I persevered, but what came out of the waffle-maker was a thick, solid, unappetising gum. I ate it. Why? I was hungry, and my very last effort had gone into making those waffles. It was my penance for not recognising a bad recipe. I hate to waste food.



Bad Waffles



The offending waffles. I won't replicate the recipe here, for obvious reasons. While it's great that the Healthy Food Guide are starting to recognise and cater for people who eat gluten-free, I have given them honest feedback on this specific recipe.

Luckily, the internet is a wonderful resource for gluten-free eating, and a quick search brought up more options that looked much more promising. This morning I rolled up my sleeves, put on a my flour-dusted apron, and got to the business of making a decent waffle.

I settled on a recipe from Gluten Free Cooking School. I needed a recipe using flours that I had in my pantry, and though many good gluten-free recipes I see from the US contain sorghum and teff flour, I have never seen these in New Zealand. I follow the Gluten Free Cooking School blog, so I trusted that this recipe would be pretty good. Also, it looked right.



Good Waffles



Here is a link to the original recipe: Gluten Free Waffles. Despite having all the ingredients in general, I didn't quite have the right amounts, so tinkered with the recipe to suit: mostly the flour mix used. My version is published below.

If you have access to 'fancy' flours, you could also try these tempting recipes:

Gluten-free Girl's Waffles
Cinnamon Mochi Waffles on the Daily Dietribe


Gluten Free Waffles

Makes about 7 waffles.


Gluten Free Flour Mix

1 part brown rice flour
1 part ground millet
1 part white rice flour
2 parts corn starch
1 part fine cornmeal
2 parts soy flour
1 part masa de mais (masa harina)

If you treat each 'part' as a quarter cup, you will have about a half-cup more flour mix than you need for this recipe.

Gluten Free Cooking School's original all-purpose flour blend is here, if you prefer. As I only had 1/4 cup of brown rice flour, the ground millet and white rice flour were added as substitutes. Cornmeal substituted some of the corn starch (cornflour in NZ), just in case the white rice flour had increased the starch content too much. I assumed that my masa de mais (for corn tortillas) was masa harina, but you never know.


Ingredients

1 3/4 cups gluten free flour mix
1 Tbsp* gluten free baking powder
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

3 eggs
1 1/2 cups dairy or non-dairy milk
70 g butter, melted*
1/2 cup canola oil

Canola oil spray, for waffle iron.

* In New Zealand, a tablespoon is 15ml, though I understand that elsewhere it is 20ml. I don't think it matters in this case.

* The original recipe called for 230 g butter, and no oil. I only had 70 g butter, and when used oil to top-up I realised that this is a LOT of fat: feel free to use much less butter and/or oil to taste. I would recommend perhaps 1/2 cup / 100 g fat if you want a tasty but slightly lighter version. Also, I am constantly using this butter converter, because butter should be measured in grams, not tablespoons or sticks or cups, thankyouverymuch!


Instructions

Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Whisk eggs until frothy, and mix in milk.

Add melted butter and oil slowly and whisk.

Add wet ingredients to dry, and mix until large lumps are gone.

Heat waffle iron, and spray with a bit of canola oil to prevent sticking.

Pour about a half cup of batter into the waffle iron (adapt to size of iron).

Cook to the instructions of your waffle iron, or by instinct if you prefer.


When cooked, serve hot with your choice of delicious toppings. I had mine with banana and maple syrup, and a bit of cinnamon sugar. They were divine - soft, fluffy, tasty, crispy on the outside.


Topped Waffles




Fluffy Waffles



As this recipe made heaps of waffles, I froze some for Ron. You know - 'ron - Later'on - Well my dad used to say this and I alwasy thought it was hilarious, and apparently still do.

To freeze waffles, cool first on a wire rack, separate each waffle with a piece of wax paper, and freeze in freezer bags. Apparently, these heat well in the toaster for a super-quick breakfast.


Waffles for 'Ron




Holey Waffles




Waffles to Freeze



And on that note, stay safe, well, and happy. In New Zealand, we're still reeling from the February 22 quake in Christchurch, so our thoughts are with those in Japan and the Pacific affected by yesterday's 8.9 earthquake and subsequent tsunamis.

Recipe Rescue: Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake Crumble

Not wanting to waste the lemon and poppy seed fail cake, I thought of options for rescuing the cake. Due to the incredibly crumbly nature of the cake, I thought that it would make a suitable crumble topping - with the addition of a bunch of sugar, that is.

I made an apple and rhubarb crumble with repurposed lemon and poppy seed cake topping.

I bake crumbles in individual serves. It takes no extra effort (except for the dishes-doer; but that's not me!), it makes it easier to control portion sizes (it's SO easy to grab a second helping from a large crumble...), and it's really quite satisfying to eat a crumble straight out of the oven dish (wrapped in a tea towel to avoid burnination).


Apple and rhubarb in single-serve baking dishes


For each serve of crumble, I used a slice of cake about an inch thick, and an abundantly heaped dessert spoon on brown sugar. The cake contained almonds and plenty of lemony flavour, so I didn't think any additional spices were required.


Cake and sugar


The crumble came out darker than usual after 15 minutes. It makes sense, considering the topping was already cooked, and the amount of sugar I added.


Darkly done crumble topping


It was tasty, though. Very very good. There was certainly a lot more sugar than required, so for the individual serves I made up for the freezer, I used about half as much sugar. However, there were no complaints, from myself or Neil. The topping was good and crispy, too. I'd never had a lemon flavoured crumble topping before, and it was divine.


This picture makes me drool


I'd even consider making the cake again just for the crumble topping it makes! (Though, regular crumble topping is easier - so perhaps I'd be better working on a crumble mix that isn't a cake first!)

Cookbook Case Study - Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake - Vegetarian Cooking Without

The lemon and poppy seed cake is based upon the same recipe as the gingerbread cake; however, for this flavour I used almond flour and stevia instead of the dates. I'd never cooked with stevia before, and made a trip to a natural health store for supplies. After working out which form of stevia I should buy, I selected and took home pure stevia powder. Opening it up to see what it looked like, I found that the bottle was full to the brim, and some powder sprinkled out over me and the table. I dipped the tip of my finger in the spilt stevia and licked it, aware that it would be sweet. Still, the intensity came somewhat as a shock, with the sweetness so sweet it was almost bitter - like the so-cold-it-burns sensation you sometimes get with ice water. The recipe only calls for 1/4 of a teaspoon, so I suspect the small jar I bought will last some time.

To be honest, I thought this recipe would be easier than the gingerbread cake one. First of all, I wouldn't have to stew dates! I was quite wrong...

The first issues I had were with the lemons. The recipe calls for two lemons. One is zested, and then they are both juiced. From this, you are told to conserve 1/4c of the juice. Well, I was lucky I had another lemon on hand, because I needed three to get 1/4c juice. While my lemons are smaller than store bought lemons, they are very juicy, so I was surprised that two lemons were expected to yield 1/4c. The recipe then instructs you to "remove the pith from the second lemons skin and cut the skin into fine dice". Apart from that last bit sounding like questionable English to my kiwi ears (dice as a noun being unusual in a recipe), I wondered if there was a way of removing the pith from the skin, rather than the skin from the pith.


Lemon juice, and lemon zest in two forms


Finally conquering the lemon, I read the next step several times, trying to find something between blending the different elements of lemon in the food processor, and pouring the mixture into a loaf tin. Nope - nothing. I guessed that all the ingredients were to go in the food processor at the same time.

Right - time to grind the almonds. Where are the almonds? I remember buying them, almost $10 worth. Where are they. Not in here, here, here.... here?... ummmm. I can't find the chestnuts I bought that day, either. I look in the lounge where all my bags are stowed, I look in the bedroom, I look in the spare room, I look in the bathroom (you never know!), I look in the garage... I try to picture the bag of rubbish we put out last night. I consider riding into work to see if I've left a bag of groceries there.

I despair - then I remember thinking about how nuts should be stored, and I looked in the fridge. Oh, that's right - I put them in the fridge. Lost almonds conquered - I pour out some to grind. Well, I think next time I will buy almonds already ground. By the time there are no more large pieces of almond, I have something resembling almond butter. It was okay, I snacked on that while I prepared the rest of the ingredients.


Ground almond...


Finally, all the ingredients in the food processor, I processed. This batter had a really weird texture - really seriously weird. Very thick (perhaps it was my almond-butter consistency almonds?).


Food Processing



Before cooking


When I removed the baked cake from the tin, a piece fell off, which I used as a tester. Unfortunately, I discovered that it was the kind of cake that disintegrated into crumbs as soon as (or before) it's in your mouth. Leaving it to cool for a little while, I hoped it would firm up, but no such luck. I cut the heel off for us to share for dessert, but we both found it a little too dry, much too crumbly, and not flavourful enough. Beeing sugarless and using only a small amount of stevia, it didn't have enough sweetness to complement the lemon flavour, and as a result, I could hardly taste the lemon.


Cake out of the oven



Crumbly cake bits



Sliced cake


I had planned to take the cake to work for a shared morning tea, but since even I didn't like it, I thought that wasn't such a good idea. Also, it would surely fall apart in transit. (Instead, I cut up some celery to take, to go with dip - at least I'll have something savoury.)

Whenever some food doesn't work, I try to come up with a way to rescue it. The gingerbread cake was best with some butter/spread, but that will not be enough for this cake. In fact, I wouldn't like to try to spread anything on it. At least it tasted okay with a generous drizzle of golden syrup; but the texture was still impossible.


Cake no longer sugar-free


So, in the final evaluation: FAIL! I would not make this recipe again.