A Thankful Heart Is A Happy Heart

 It was about eight years ago, I learnt to make these Strawberry Heart Jelly cheesecakes from a talented PA culinary instructor, Valerie Kong. Since then, I get many requests to make these non baked cheesecakes whenever I am asked to bring a cake. These Jelly Hearts always bring smiles to those who receive them. They are so pretty. When making it as a gift, I like to cut the cake into individual pieces and line with silver cases.

Strawberry Jelly Hearts is quite simple to make. Many bloggers have made and blogged about it.
I will not post the recipe here because I believe Valerie Kong is still teaching them. You can search for the recipe on google easily.

A Thankful Heart Is A Happy Heart

A happy heart makes the face cheerful but heartache crushes the spirit.
Proverbs 15:13

Hallelu-Yah

In Jamie's 30 minutes meal season 1 episode 18, Jamie prepares a Kinda Sausage Cassoulet, a warm broccoli salad and a meringue dessert, all in under 30 minutes.  I am just a home cook, so I am not giving this a challenge and stress over messy kitchen or worse still, maybe a cut finger.

I am going to take my sweet time to cook just the main dish, Kinda Sausage Cassoulet and my own mash.
I am in my kitchen. Nothing is mise en place. My sausages, leeks and herbs are in the fridge. The garlic, onions, olive oil are all within reach. The ciabatta is on the kitchen top. The bottle of passata, my baking tray and mini food processor are hidden in the kitchen cupboards. The music is on, playing my favourite Andrew Lloyd Webber's famous hit 'The Music Of The Night'. I glance at the time, and wonder how long will I take to cook this delicious Kinda Sausage Cassoulet.

Kinda Sausage Cassoulet
Jamie's 30 Minute Meals

Ingredients
4 rashers of smoked streaky bacon
1 1/2 red onions (1 big yellow onion)
a few sprigs of fresh rosemary
1/2 small bunch of fresh sage
3 fresh bay leaves(dried)
2 leeks
4000g good  quality chipolata sausages (530g of pork sausage and chicken chipolata)
3-4 thick slices of bread (1 small loaf of ciabatta)
2 cloves of garlic
1 x 680g jar of passata
1 x 390g carton of butter beans (450g)
1 x 390g carton of haricot beans (did not add)

Method

• Slice 4 rashers of bacon about 1 cm thick and add to a sturdy roasting tray with a few lugs of olive oil. Put over a high heat. 
• Halve, peel and slice 1 1/2 red onions.
• Pick the rosemary and most of the sage leaves and sprinkle into the tray with the bay leaves, keeping a few sage sprigs back for later.

• Trim the leeks and peel back the outer leaves. Cut down the length of the leeks, then wash away any grit and finely slice. Add the leeks and onions to the tray with a few splashes of boiled water, stir, then leave to soften.
• Lay the sausages in another roasting tray, drizzle and rub a little olive oil over them, then put under the grill to cook for 8 minutes. Stir your vegetables.(grill on stove top)
• Tear the slices of bread into large chunks and put into a food processor with a pinch of salt and pepper, 1/2 of the reserved sprigs of sage, 2 cloves of garlic and a good drizzle of olive oil. Pulse until you have fairly even, coarse breadcrumbs.(I did this before cooking)

• Stir the passata and the beans and their juices into the tray of vegetables.
• Tale the sausages out of the oven.(stove top)
• Sprinkle half the breadcrumbs from the food processor over the veg and beans.
• Lay the sausages dark side down and sprinkle over the rest of the breadcrumbs.
• Pick the rest of the sage leaves, drizzle with olive oil and scatter on top.

• Put the roasting tray into the oven on the middle shelf for around 4 minutes, or until the breadcrumbs are crisp and golden.(200C 12 minutes)

Who Is Like God?
Sunday Sermon

What Our Praise of God Should Be?
Hallelu Yah,  Praise the Lord
Our God is all encompassing. We are to praise Him endlessly everywhere. In Psalm 113, the servants of God exalt Him and praise His name. God's beauty and glory is above all nation. He humbles himself to be like man in the form of Jesus. He cares for us, the poor and needy, He answers our prayers. He is ever present with His people. He even makes the barren women fertile. That's how great a God he is. Blessed be Your name.


Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD, you his servants; praise the name of the LORD. Let the name of the LORD be praised, both now and forevermore. From the rising of the sun to the place it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised. The LORD is exalted over all the nations, his glory above the heavens. Who is like the LORD our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes, with the princes of his people. He settles the childless woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the LORD. Psalm 113

Receiving A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken

Fourteen  years ago, when I first watch him on TV, I was attracted to his young boyish look.  Mr James Trevor Oliver aka Jamie Oliver was then a young lad in his 20s. His first TV cooking show, The Naked Chef got me hooked to his 'real food for real occasion' and his 'strip food down to its bare essentials' philosophy and techniques.

Today, I am still watching his cooking shows, new and old. I am still hooked on Jamie Oliver, not his look( horrors, he is growing sideways) but his cooking. Thanks to Jamie Oliver, I am more cautious of processed food and learn to prepare food from scratch using the freshest available ingredients.  I  also know many useful kitchen tricks and tips from him too.
Here is a dish by Jamie, from his cookbook Jamie's Dinners. When doing this dish, you will understand Jamie's philosophy of stripping food down to its bare essentials. This dish Crispy Chicken with Basil and Sweet Tomatoes will prove that you didn't need to dress up ingredients or buy a load of fancy gadgets to make something really tasty.

Crispy Chicken with Sweet Tomatoes
Recipe and pictorial instructions here

5-10 minutes to get everything into the baking tray

After 1 1/2 hour in oven

Crispy skin chicken, sweet soft tomatoes. Don't forget to squeeze out the garlic before serving
Tip: To bake to crispy skin, do not have any ingredients on the chicken. Everything has to be below and tucked at sides to fill in any gaps in the tray.

Wholesome family dinner

You can have it with salad, mashed potatoes or rice. For me, I like it with just the gravy,tomatoes and garlic.

Tender meat that just fall away from the bone. Thank you, Jamie.

Thanksgiving

I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. Psalm 69:30

Everyday reflect and be thankful for all that God has given us. Why should we praise our great God with thanksgiving?  He has given us a kingdom that cannot fade, but kept in heaven for us

Hebrews 12:28-29
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire."

Make A Joyful Noise Unto The Lord

This lousy picture doesn't say much about these tart shells. I admit, it was a badly taken one from my iPhone.  But I am eager to share with you my new favorite tart shell recipe. So crisp and flaky, so easy to make.  Butter,water and sugar is heated in the oven/stovetop and flour is added and then stirred until smooth, that's it!!!  No rolling pin and no baking beans needed.  Perhaps you have already known this recipe, French Pastry Dough from David Lebovitz  He learnt this from a French lady, Paule Caillat of Promenades Gourmandes. Read on and be amazed by this method of making French pastry.

French Pastry Dough
23cm (9 inch) tart tin

90g in salted butter, cut into pieces
1 tbsp of vegetable oil (canola oil)
3 tbsp of water
1 tbsp of sugar
1/8 tsp of salt
150g flour

Method

• Preheat oven to 210C. In a medium size ovenproof bowl, such as a Pyrex bowl, combine the butter,oil,water,sugar and salt. ( I used a baking tin)
• Place the bowl in an oven for 15 minutes until the butter is bubbling and starts to brown just around the edges. ( mine didn't turn brown, could be due to higher water content)

• When done, remove the bowl from oven ( and be careful, since the bowl will be hot and the mixture might sputter a bit), dump the flour and stir it in quickly until it comes together and forms a ball which pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

• Transfer the dough to a 9 in(23cm) tart mould with a removable bottom spread it in a bit with a spatula.

• Once the tart is cool enough to handle, pat it into the shell with the heel of your hand, and use your fingers to press it up the sides of the tart mold. Reserve a small piece of dough, about the size of a raspberry, for patching any cracks.
• Prick the dough all over with the tines of a fork about ten times, then bake the tart shell in the oven for 15 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown.
• Remove from the oven and if there are any sizable cracks, use the bits of reserved dough to fill in and patch them.
• Let the shell cool before filling.

David Lebovitz says it is best to pinch off a small amount of the reserved dough, roll it gently between your fingers to soften it, then wedge it into the cracks, smoothing it gently with your pinky.

Note: The recipe was made double to fit my 28cm tart tin and two 10 cm tart tins. I did not have any reserved dough. To store tart shells in freezer, wrap them(baked or unbaked) securely in plastic wrap for up to 1 month.

Now, what to fill in this gorgeous tart? This is David Lebovitz all the way, it is his delightful lemon curd! 

Tarte Au Citron
One 9 inch (23cm) tart

Ingredients

125ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
grated zest of one lemon
100g sugar
85g butter, salted or unsalted, cut into bits
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks



Method
Preheat oven to 180C

• In a medium-sized non-reactive saucepan, heat the lemon juice, zest, sugar and butter. Have a mesh strainer nearby.
• In a small bowl, beat together the eggs and the yolks

• When the butter is melted, whisk some of the warm lemon mixture into the eggs, stirring constantly, to warm them. Scrape the warmed eggs back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, to warm them. Scrape the warmed eggs back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and almost begins to bubble around the edges.

• Pour the lemon curd through a strainer directly into the pre-baked tart shell,scraping with a rubber spatula to press it through.
• Smooth the top of the tart and pop it in the oven for 5 minutes, just to set the curd.
• Remove from the oven and let cool before slicing and serving.

David Lebovitz's note: This makes a modest, but very tasty lemony layer. If you want more filling, feel free to double the recipe; any filling that you don't use can be spread on toast, fresh biscuits, or scones.

You could substitute fresh lime juice for the lemon and if you have Meyer lemons, reduce the sugar to 65g. 

Note: This curd was made three times the recipe. 

A Call To Thanksgiving

Psalm 100 is one of my favorite Psalm. God himself is the basis of our thanksgiving.

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

Bearing Fruit In Every Good Work

 Salmon is fast and easy to prepare, so is couscous. This dish makes a light and healthy lunch with a Mediterranean touch. It is also a casual elegant lunch dish to make for friends with little effort. Half an hour before you start cooking, marinate the salmon and prepare the couscous ingredients.
It is trendy to cook in front of your friends, 2 or 3 close ones(heard it somewhere). Moreover cooking can make great conversation.  Any friends would love to help with mixing the couscous, while you grill the salmon.




Grilled Black Pepper Salmon with Carrot Couscous Salad
BBC GoodFood 
Serves 2
2 salmon steaks
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp onion powder (omitted)
Juice from 1 lemon
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano

For Couscous
1 cup couscous (1/2 cup)
1 cup boiling water (1/2 cup boiling chicken stock)
1 tsp unsalted butter (omitted)
1 medium sized carrots, grated
1 large onion, diced finely (small)
2 cloves garlic minced (1 clove)
1 tsp cumin (1/2 tsp)
2 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped finely (1 tbsp)
1 red chilli, sliced finely
1 tbsp freshly grated coconut (1/2 tbsp)
2 tablespoon rasins
1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt

Method

• Combine all the ingredients for salmon marinade.
• Marinate the salmon for minimum 30 minutes.
• Under hot griddle, grill the salmon on both sides until well browned but not charred.
• 'Prepare the couscous salad. Mix the couscous with hot boiling water, 1/2 tsp salt and butter (boiling chicken stock only)
• Mix together and leave aside for 15 minutes
• In a wok, heat the remaining olive oil. Brown the onion, cumin, garlic and chilli. Once the onions are translucent, add in the grated carrots and grated coconut. Cook for a good 5 minutes.
• Tip in the coriander leaves and raisins cooked couscous. Mix all the ingredients until well combined and season with salt (omitted)
• Serve the couscous alongside the grilled salmon.

"So that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God".          Colossians 1:10