Tea

It was a huge effort to put together E's afternoon tea. The baking frenzy started 3 days before. Thankfully most of the bakes turned out quite decent, so I thought I should put down the recipes I used here for future reference...

1. Japanese Souffle Cheesecake

Recipe: http://justonecookbook.com/recipes/japanese-cheesecake/

Modifications: I used 5 eggs instead of 6 as the husband said it was too eggy the first time round

2. Crepe Pancakes

Recipe: http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/CREPES-5303

Notes: ensure that the pan is super hot before starting out; the first crepe is usually a disaster.

Fillings: Fresh Strawberries, fresh bananas, nutella, honey, cheese, anything!

3. Mini scones with/without raisins

Recipe: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4622/classic-scones-with-jam-and-clotted-cream

Notes: Heat milk first before adding lemon juice! Always bake and serve fresh the same day.

4. Chocolate Brownies

Recipe: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chocolate-recipes/bloomin-brilliant-brownies

Notes: Use good quality chocolate (green & black's) and good quality pure cocoa powder

5. Banana Walnut Cake

Recipe: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/700633/banana-and-walnut-cake

Notes: Roast Walnuts first, I only used 100g, also probably better to chop the ones inside the cake up. Also use overripe bananas or the taste will not be as strong/sweet

The whole works, including the sandwiches which my mummy lovingly prepared (egg mayo & watercress; honey roasted ham and cheese)

Baking success, yay! Next time I can try the cupcakes as well but wasn't brave enough this time so they were store-bought from Lola's (buy 9 get 3 free) and Candy Cakes (9 for £7.50, mini-sized)and oh-so-yummy!

The Salmon Challenge

Background: When David visited in June, he went to Billingsgate market one morning and bought 7kg worth of salmon, all in fillets and vacuum-packed. While the gesture was kinda sweet because I love fish, it turned out to be TOO MUCH fish. We gave quite a lot to J&S but the entire freezer was till stuffed with fish. That is not really a problem, except that I have a frozen freezer, which makes it impossible to take things out once you put them in... and it's been a problem awaiting a fix for a long time now. The landlord and I finally managed to get our act together and finally the engineers are coming to replace the freezer door on Thursday, and in order to do that they need the entire fridge and freezer to be defrosted and switched off for a day...

#1: Fish Pie

Inspired by Luyi's attempt something like 6 months ago, here are the things that went into the pie:

• 800g salmon (supposed to mix with Haddock but i didnt have any Haddock and A LOT of salmon), sliced into bite sized pieces
• 1 lemon
• c.900g mashed potato
• c.200ml single cream
• parsley (leaves only), chopped
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 carrot
• 4 eggs, hardboiled and sliced
• butter, for the oven tray
• single cream, 300ml, to ensure that the pie stays moist underneath the crispy potato top.

#2 Salmon Clay-Pot Rice

The other thing that I did as a quick fix for lunch today, was to make salmon clay-pot rice without the claypot. Pan fried a fillet and cooked rice in the rice cooker in the meantime. When the rice was cooked, I added sesame oil, soy sauce, pepper, chilli oil, a little bit of sambal chilli paste, small cut-up pieces of ba kwa (because they have expired and I was clearing out the kitchen cupboards today...), added in the deboned salmon in slices, and set the rice cooker to cook again.

At the end I added some chives and pork floss (also from the cupboard clear-out, this packet had no expiry date...)

This was the result, it was yummy-delicious!

There is yet more Salmon in the freezer, and I only have about 3 days left. Considering that the Fish Pie is gonna last me a good 3 days, I'm not sure what else to do!!! Help!