In Which an Antipodean Treat Helps One to Chill Out – Quite Literally…

Tim Tams… FROZEN Tim Tams…

The summer heat has finally gotten to a number of people.  One friend literally wilted in the heat while waiting for the bus, the victim of dehydration.  Another friend has been suffering from serious nosebleeds and has taken to strapping an ice pack to the back of her head when she goes to work.  A colleague’s blood pressure soared to astronomical heights and had to be taken to a hospital ASAP.  Eep.

Me, I ended up with a bad case of dizziness that literally floored me Thursday last week and ended up feeling poorly a few days ago when the trains broke down and everyone spilled onto the streets to grab buses home.  It has, as far as I know, been the worst summer ever.  (Thank goodness, though, that the rains began to pour last night…)

Lucky for me, I decided to beat the heat and the blues with a two-edged sword - Tim Tams; more specifically frozen Tim Tams.

Arnott’s recently put out an Asia-specific version of these popular Aussie biscuits which are best served chilled in the fridge prior to consumption.  They are, unfortunately, not as good as the proper shipped-from-Down-Under kind as the chocolate is compound and rather waxy.  But, in a pinch as obvious as this, they’ll do - just.

In my personal opinion, these are better frozen rather than just refrigerated.  They taste better that way, the cold minimizes the waxiness of the compound choc, and the biscuits are slightly crunchier.  The Antipodean, who is currently spending a week or so home in NSW, is of the opinion that I should try freezing real Tim Tams next time; it’s what he does in the summer – and, yes: it is substantially better.

He also noted through the screen that I was munching the Tim Tams along with an iced coffee (again, alas, instant; but what the hell…).

“When you get your hands on a packet of real Tim Tams, babe,” he said, “I’ll teach you the Tim Tam Slam.”

“Promise?” I asked as I munched through the third cookie in the tub.

“Promise.”

“Well, kid, you got yourself a deal…”

(But, no: there is no way in hell that you’ll get either of us to try those vile cheese-flavored Tim Tams that are currently the rage in Indonesia.  We have our standards, you know!)

In Which the Supermarket Bakery Steps Up its Game…

Probably won’t bring you good luck, but it tastes pretty good…

Just a quick post!  For most people, the only breads you can get at your average, ordinary supermarket are standard-issue loaves of mass-produced Pullman or “tasty” loaves of cottony white sandwich bread or buns.  Of late, however, supermarkets have been offering better bread choices for customers: the sort that surpass standard-issue loaves in terms of both taste, appearance, and value.

SM Supermarkets, in particular, have begun to offer what the counter-staff refer to as artisan rolls: a selection of filled, shaped breads in assorted flavors.  The Irish Crown, a savory bun made with wheat germ, candied walnuts, and blue cheese is one such example.  They have other savory rolls and sweet buns as well.

In Which 7-11 Swanks Up the Lunch Options…

Your eyes aren’t deceiving you: baby back ribs – at your local 7-11

One’s local convenience store may probably be the worst place from which you could buy something for lunch unless you’re from either Japan or the Philippines.  In this neck of the woods, the convenience stores offer a wealth of satisfying meal options ranging from steamed meat buns (siopao, the local spin on char siu bao), dumplings on rice, ‘silogs (protein + fried rice and an egg [hence 'silog as in tapsilog for a smoked beef combo]), even salads and wraps for the peckish.

But get this: 7-11 Philippines recently started selling meals for seriously hefty appetites.  And by “hefty”, we’re talking about meals featuring tonkatsu pork fillets, baked chicken quarters, and – believe it or not - baby back ribs.

You’d better believe it.

Yes, for P 69.00 (about US$ 1.67 / UK£ 1.10), you get an ample helping of baby back ribs on a bed of achuete (annato) – tinted Java rice with barbecue sauce and mixed veg on the side.  You just pop this into the microwave provided on the 7-11 premises for a minute or so, and you’ve got yourself a solid, satisfying, and fairly tasty meal.

While the ribs aren’t as tender as those from a proper grill, they’re soft enough to be cut with plastic cutlery and are cooked and seasoned quite well.  The barbecue sauce is also pretty good with the right amount of smoky-sweetness and a slightly vinegary tang that adds a welcome sharpness to the pork.  The mixed veg is, alas, nothing to write home about; it’s bland, generic, and would have been improved by a smidgen of butter or margarine.  The Java rice was also pretty standard.

Props to 7-11 for providing such meals, but the convenience store wars have begun to heat up in this part of the world.  Case in point:

Family Mart is here!

Japan’s Family Mart has opened the doors of its first branch in the Philippines and is offering such meal options as hot and cold sandwiches, omelette rice, sushi trays, and o-nigiri!  And so it begins…

 

In Which a Flurry of Green Tea Treats Lands on the Blogger’s Desk…

Green tea is a gorgeous flavor

Some colleagues recently flew over to Japan, ostensibly to enjoy the fleeting, ephemeral beauty of sakura [cherry blossom] viewing season.  (Lucky ducks!)  As a result, I found myself accepting bits and bobs of omiyage (homecoming presents/souvenirs) from their trip to the Land of the Rising Sun – and all of them featured matcha (powdered green tea) as the main flavoring.

By now, you’re all aware that matcha is the finely pulverized green tea used for making green tea lattes and green milk tea drinks; it’s also used to flavor a number of sweet treats from mochi and daifuku (stuffed mochi) to castella (Portuguese-style sponge cake) to French macarons.  Its rather bittersweet and nutty, almost almond-like flavor has made it popular even among those who would rather have something much sweeter as its flavor profile is close enough to that of either coffee or dark chocolate.

The Japanese have gone the extra mile and have added it to everything from traditional sweets to KitKat bars – and, in KitKats, they shine: the bitter-almond flavor keeps the white chocolate coating from tasting too sweet and balances the vanilla tones in the crunchy wafer.

Oreo cakesters, soft-batch cookies, AND a blossomy version of green-tea KitKats…

It’s one of my favorite flavors, so you can just imagine how happy I was to see the following items on my desk:

• Oreo Soft Cookie (sold as Oreo Cakesters in the West) in Matcha Milk - This was very much like a miniature dark chocolate whoopie pie filled with a nutty, creamy matcha latte creme that threw the dusky flavor of the chocolate into high profile.  It’s wonderful for people like myself who love good, strong, flavors that are more bitter than sweet.  However, this Oreo variant isn’t for everyone, I think: a junior colleague took one bite, turned greener than the matcha filling, and tossed it into the trash without bothering to offer the leftover cake to any of the rest of us; we stared at this act of wanton wastefulness and ingratitude in sheer horror, the wasteful little gastronomical Philistine!
• American Soft matcha chocolate-chunk cookie with macadamia nuts - While the cookie itself was a wonted green from the matcha in the dough, the flavor of the tea was overpowered by the chocolate and vanilla.
• Limited Edition [Spring Only] Sakura Matcha KitKat - Now this was lovely: the matcha was balanced out by the cherry-vanilla notes of the sakura extract used to flavor the wafer, so the resulting bittersweetness also had an appealing bit of fruit and blossom to it.  Definitely something to savor slowly together with an iced matcha latte.

It was, to be perfectly honest, like having a little bit of Japan in the heart of the tropics.  :)

In Which the Blogger Turns Strawberries Into a Tempting Dessert…

Mid-season strawberries

Happy Easter, y’all!  I hope everyone had a restful, meaningful (if a tad sweltering) week.

The season for locally-grown strawberries here in the Philippines runs from November to May, so little plastic trays of these beautiful scarlet gems can be found in both supermarkets and in the flat baskets of sidewalk hawkers in many parts of the metropolis.  Due to the somewhat acidic nature of the soil in the northern provinces where the fruit is grown, Filipino strawberries tend to err on the tart side but make for good eating when sprinkled with a bit of sugar – just enough to balance the acidity.

For the most part, however, local strawberries are cooked and sold as jam or preserves.  Recently, though, home cooks and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have been toying with recipes featuring these berries: strawberry biscuit bars, taho (doufu hua – soft, silken tofu in syrup) in strawberry syrup with whole berries, shortcakes, and ice creams. For me, though, the best way to work with these seasonal treats is to use them in various ways for a single dish.

DIY strawberry coulis

I actually got the idea from my mother who said that I needed to use up the cream cheese I had left over from two previous cheesecakes, so why not make another one for Easter?  Plus, the biscuit bins in the dining room needed clearing up, so a cheesecake would give me the opportunity to put the leftover Rich Tea fingers and a lonesome pack of fruit creme sandwiches to good use.  Add a tray of berries from the supermarket and I was good to go.

This particular cheesecake recipe is definitely for strawberry addicts as it features the fruit in several forms in all of its parts: there are strawberry cream sandwich cookies in the crust, the filling is partly flavored with strawberry extract and features Hacienda Macalauan‘s low-fat strawberry yogurt in lieu of sour cream, and the top is drenched and marbled with a fresh strawberry coulis.  If that isn’t strawberry-filled enough for you, I don’t know what is.

Finished product

The end result was a mildly sweet, pleasantly tart and fruity cheesecake with a scrumptious, come-hither fragrance.  The crust was beautifully buttery, malty, and just the right balance of crisp yet crumbly at the same time.  The cream cheese filling was deliciously rich and creamy – so much, in fact, that no one would believe it only had half the fat of my regular recipe due to the fact that the yogurt I used was 98% fat free.

Cheesecake for breakfast?! Yes; yes, PLEASE!

Not only does this make a lovely dessert after a good dinner, but it also doubles as a lovely summer’s morning breakfast when paired with an iced cappucino.  ;)  (Though a cup of English Breakfast, Earl Gray, or even black tea with jasmine would also be lovely.)

Summer Strawberry Cheesecake

• 500 grams cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup strawberry yogurt (best if you use one with fruit mixed into the yogurt)
• 1 cup sugar
• 100 grams Rich Tea biscuits
• approximately 30 grams strawberry creme sandwich cookies (I used Dewberry Strawberries and Cream here)
• 1/4 cup butter, melted + more for greasing the tin
• 300 grams fresh strawberries, hulled
• additional 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon strawberry flavoring
• 2 eggs

Preheat oven to 325 degrees / Gas Mark 3.  Grease a standard-sized cake tin or pie dish; line the bottom with waxed paper.

In a food processor or pulse-matic blender, crush the biscuits and sandwich cookies into fine crumbs.  Mix in the butter until well-incorporated and press the mixture evenly onto the bottom of the prepared tin.  Chill in the refrigerator for 15 – 30 minutes.

Clean out your processor or blender and puree the berries together with 1/4 cup sugar; set aside.

Cream together the cream cheese and 1 cup sugar until fluffy.  Add the vanilla and strawberry flavoring; mix well.  Mix in the strawberry yogurt and eggs until smooth and well-incorporated.  Pour mixture onto the chilled crust, spreading it evenly.  Drizzle over the strawberry puree and run a wooden skewer or butter knife through to give the top a marbled appearance.

Bake for 1 hour.  Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake inside for an additional 30 – 45 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool completely at room temperature.  Chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or, better yet, overnight.

Serves 12.