19th June

It was never my annual activity to celebrate events like Father's Day, let alone to cook its dishes. Not because I don't love my father, but I never could understand the value of those events. Although I still remain not celebrating Father's Day, this year I decided to make my own choice of Father's Day dessert, Pavlova. In the end, the only person who enjoyed the desert was not my father, but my cousin instead.

Pavlova is basically a meringue based dessert with fruit toppings. The crunch on the surface and the marshmallowy texture inside makes me crave for more. Not to mention the different flavors of the toppings.. Pavlova is not a doubt my absolute fave.

Pavlova

Ingredients:

6 egg whites (room temperature)

1 cup superfine sugar

2 tsp corn flour

pinch of baking powder

2 tsp vanilla essence

1 tsp white vinegar

200 ml whipping cream

pinch of salt

a selection of tropical fruits

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 170ºC. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Draw a 18cm circle on the paper.

2. Whisk the eggs using your mixer  on medium speed until soft peaks are formed. Gradually add the sugar on high speed until the egg whites turn into stiff peaks. 

3. Sprinkle over corn flour, baking powder, vinegar, salt and vanilla essence. Beat until all the sugar is dissolved. To tell if the sugar is dissolved, rub the foam with your fingers. If it feels gritty, then beat again for a few minutes. 

4. Mould the mixture within the circle. Place it in the oven for about 45 minutes.

5. Turn off the oven, leave the pavlova to cool. 

6. Add the cream on the surface. Decorate the pavlova with the selection of fruits.

Berries!

I have never loved eating berries until my Canadian interchange partner asked me to pick (and eat) blackberries from her grandparents' garden. Since then, I could never resist not buying packets, even very little packets of any berries, particularly blackberries from a fruit grocery.

This morning I craved for berries and went to a fruit grocery to buy 4 packets of different berries -- strawberries, cherries, blueberries and blackberries. Since I hate cooking using the oven, what immediately comes to my mind was making a summer pudding.

Summer Fruit Pudding

Ingredients

150g strawberries

150g blackberries

150g cherries

150g blueberries

4 - 5 medium sliced white bread from a large loaf

1/3 cup honey

2 soufflé molds (or any other small molds)

Directions

1. Reserve a few of each berries on a paper towel. Place remaining berries and honey in a saucepan, heat for about 5 minutes.

2. Strain the berries from the juice and set aside. 

3. Trim the bread to fit the mold, dip into the syrup thoroughly and then place into the mold.

4. Fill the bread lined mold with the berries. Place another piece of bread on top.

5. Weigh down in the fridge for about an hour.

6. Turn over and unmold the pudding, serve with fresh berries and the berry syrup. 

Many a times people ask whether I like sweet or savory better. I have a favorite under each of the titles, and my favorite savory dish is Salt and Pepper Prawns (which happens to have various kinds). My ultimate fave would be the simplest one, which may be seen in pubs. Juicy little shrimps, coated with crunchy corn flour, and mayonnaise dipping and a squeeze of lemon juice for extra flavor, what more can you ask for?

Salt and Pepper Prawns
Ingredients
± 100 g of large shrimps (head removed)
1/3 cup of corn flour 
± a tsp of sea salt
± 2 tsp of ground black pepper
± 2 tsp of dried rosemary
± 2 tsp of chili powder
1/2 stick of butter
4-5 tbsp of oil of your choice
(optional) a squeeze of lemon juice
(optional) ± 3 tbsp mayonnaise


Preparation
1. Mix well corn flour, salt, ground black pepper, rosemary and chili powder in a bowl with a whisk. 
2. Coat the shrimps evenly with the mixture. Shake off any excess.
3. Melt the butter in a wok, and then add the oil. Heat over medium-high heat for about 15 seconds.
4. Cook the shrimps in batches for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the shrimps become pink and cooked through.
5. Serve the shrimps with a squeeze of lemon juice and mayonnaise for dipping.

Secret Ingredient

Living in Indonesia which has only two seasons -- hot and very hot -- makes me crave for a glass of lemonade almost every time. But unfortunately the only successful afternoon to produce a juicy lemonade was yesterday. Nothing can be better than a lemonade in a hot, humid day in May. I've always loved that balance of sweet and sour in a lemonade, makes me realize how perfect the day is.  Plus, the extra lemon zest sinking below the lemonade oozes the lemony scent to the drink. Only wished I had mint leaves added to it.

Secret Ingredient

Lemonade

1 cup of sugar

1 cup of water in room temperature

Zest of a one lemon 

1 cup of lemon juice

Mint leaves

± 1-2 cups of cold water

± an inch of ginger root

1 Make simple syrup by heating the sugar, water, lemon zest and ginger in a saucepan until the sugar is dissolved completely. Do not reduce the sugar to caramel.

2 While the sugar is dissolving, use a juicer to extract the juice from 4 to 6 lemons, enough for one cup of juice.

3  Add 1 - 2 cups of cold water, more or less to the desired strength. Refrigerate 30 to 40 minutes. If the lemonade is a little sweet for your taste, add a little more straight lemon juice to it.

4. Serve with ice, sliced lemons and mint leaves.