Foodwhirl

Lucky Koi Mango Pudding

The word Koi comes from Japanese, simply meaning “Carp”. Koi fish the most powerful Feng Shui symbol, symbolizing wealth, harmony & happiness.. It is said that placing a picture of the Koi fish in your home, your dreams will come true.

Review: Stonefire Naan (plus ideas for use!)

  I’ve always loved naan, the Indian flatbread.  It’s so versatile.  I’m sure there are recipes out there to make your own, but I’m not really one for making my own bread, particularly when you can get good bread at the market.  The lovely people at Stonefire flatbreads sent me some samples to try* and we really enjoyed them, so I’m sharing a quick review of them here. W…

Sweet Tomato Basil Bisque

It’s the dead of winter, but I am craving tomatoes. I have a full-on tomato jones going. Best way to fix that is with this tomato soup, made more fanciful by calling it bisque. A bisque (say it bisk) is a rich, smooth, creamy soup often made with shellfish, and thickened with said shellfish including the pulverized shells. Well, this one is rich, creamy, and has a roux to thicken it, but is sans shellfish. From t…

Winchester Sun Pumpkin Pie

This comes from the excellent book, “Southern Pies: A Gracious Plenty of Pie Recipes, from Lemon Chess to Chocolate Pecan,” by Nancie McDermott, a North Carolina cookbook author who has gathered up 60+ recipes for every type of Southern pie you can imagine. Any book sporting the phrase, “a gracious plenty” automatically wins the competition for my eyeballs. From the original site: In my life, pumpkin pi…

Puff Pastry Recipe

Puff Pastry Snack! From the original site: I know that the traditional way of using puff pastry is to make it from scratch, and I used to quite enjoy the process, but in due course of time, I discovered this easily available option, at a very reasonable price. I therefore, choose to save my energy and time. The recipe that follows is inspired by a recipe I had come across on an IPad Baking App- Asparagus and Prosc…

Tamales!

Tamales are a special treat reserved only for three holidays in Latin households – Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year’s Eve. Tamales are delicious and are also surprisingly cheap and easy to make as well. Every country and family has their own version of tamales. Because my husband is from El Salvador, my version is typical of tamales found in El Salvador. I like to fill my tamales with gree…

Quesadilla Salvadorena

Salvadoran quesadilla refers to a type of pound cake, not a hot cheesy filled tortilla. Quesadilla, in El Salvador, refers to a fluffy and moist pound cake that is made with a cheese called queso fresco. Parmesan cheese is the closest American counterpart to this cheese and works great in Quesadilla. Give this pound cake a try if you are looking for something sweet and new to try! From the original site: In El…

Dark Chocolate Caramel Shortbread

This shortbread {non traditional} topped with a salted butter caramel sauce, then slathered with melted dark chocolate. The result? GOOD DELICIOUS COOKIES! From the original site: “Can I have another squaaaaaaare pleeeeeeease?” You know the cookies are good if that’s what you hear literally reverberating through the house; even better if it’s the call from the dieting diva square after square!

Top cupcakes with fondant (valentine’s version)

Snowman Pancakes

It rarely snows in southern California, so we have to get our wintery groove on some other way. Snowman Pancakes seem like a great way! These would be wonderful as Christmas breakfast, or any day. From the original site: Snowman Pancakes are charming, whimsical and perfect for wintery days or Christmas breakfast. Who can resist?