Sesame Butter

I'm traveling on this wide wide road. A thick fog blocks my view. I can't see what is ahead. When I look back, the path I traveled by is buried by yet another thick fog.  What is to the left, to the right of me I don't know.  I see a few familiar faces, some laughing, some frowning, some fading away. My hands reach out to them, but all I can grasp in my palms is a few strands of warm air.

I had a dream--a very lonely dream. The chill ran down my spine and expelled all sleepiness away. When I opened my eyes, I told myself, "Angel you need some warm buns and sesame butter." Off I go, tie my messy bundle of hair up, turn on my Ta-tung steamer, pop two frozen buns in it. Fifteen minutes later......a loud ta sound took me back to the kitchen. Within seconds I have two steamy hot buns in my palms. It feels so good to hold something warm after a nightmare. On top of that, I made some sesame butter. It gives the plain buns a nutty kick.

The sesame butter inspiration came from Nami's How to Make Black Sesame Paste. I had no idea sesame paste is as simple as sesame seeds and honey! When I blended the two together, the aroma reminds me of white chocolate. In the back of my head, I feel the two will mix together very well. I measured out some Valrhona white chocolate chips that is just pure cocoa butter and milk.

Sesame Butter
100g black sesame seeds
honey
50g white chocolate

In a food processor or Vitamix, blend sesame seeds on variable-low speed. Start dripping honey drop by drop into the running blades. Add enough honey to get the whole process going. Then turn speed on high to let the sesame oil come out.

While the blender is on high, heat white chocolate on a double boiler or in a microwave.

Turn the food processor off when you get a thick black paste. Pour the sesame paste into melted white chocolate. Use a spoon and blend the two together till all the white chocolate is incorporated.



This goes well with bread, man-tou 饅頭, macaron, or tang-yuan 湯圓. In fact, sesame macaron is now my newest flavor at my macaron pop-up! Thank you all again for the support! I went through 2kg of almond meal and even more powdered sugar. Your sweet feedbacks keep my going and going.

Order now from Chez Ma Cuisine's Facebook Page!

Simple Treat for a Hot Summer Day--Basil Gelato

After making macarons last week I was left with a dozen egg yolks in the fridge. They were begging me to turn them into ice cream. Can I say no?  It's ice cream we're talking about...velvety sweet thing that cool your tongue when you are sweating like a dog!

This basil gelato recipe comes from Saveur. I clipped it after a visit to Hatfield's. It's rare to find herb flavored ice creams in the grocery store, so the only way I can enjoy my favorite herb other than with tomatoes is to make it myself!

Basil Gelato

adapted from Saveur
yields 1 pint

2 cups basil

2 cups milk

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup sugar

4 egg yolks

Put everything into a blender and blend till smooth. Pour into a pot and heat over medium heat until sugar dissolves, 3-5 minutes. Let cool in the fridge over night. Churn in ice cream machine.

If you have a vitamix, simply blend everything for 10 minutes. The motor will give out enough heat to dissolve the sugar. Chill the cream in the fridge over night. Churn in ice cream machine.

No More Excuses but Yes to Shake!

Summer is coming! At least in Los Angeles the sun decided to come back out again! I love to complain about the weather in LA to friends living on the east coast. Like a few days ago when I took out my winter jack cause it was 60 (or 15C) in the day. I had on a scarf and pulled down my boots from the top drawer. What a perfect chance to take out my winter gear again (har har, I miss my President's Day weekend at New York when I had to sleep with woolen socks and long PJ pants).

I like how cold weather gives you the excuse to munch on hot chocolate or warm cookies. You tell yourself your body will burn it off in the cold. But then I give myself the same excuse when the weather gets hot. A smoothie isn't that bad; I'll go out and be active cause it is hot...then I'll burn off the ice cream.

No enough of excuses! I need to curb my sweet tooth period. That way I can taste the world's cuisine before I develop type II diabetes.

If you are like me who love sweets and need it at all times, try this healthy shake made of kale, cashew, date, and cocoa powder. The veggie and cashew fills you up, and the date and cocoa powder kicks up the taste without giving you a sugar hype.

Four ingredients + water to make a healthy shake!

The best part about this shake is that you actually get the real shake consistency! The magic lies in the cashew. The cashew powder thickens the drink, so if you prefer your shake so thick you can barely get it up the straw, then double the cashew from a thin layer to a thicker layer in the blender. I also added a few cacao beans and two spoonfuls of cocoa powder for stronger flavor. After blending the three together on Variation 5 speed for a minute or two, you should get the following result:

Cashew & cacao & chocolate powder

With that as your base, fill your blender up with either date or honey as sweetener and fill the cup with kale.

Kale is such a versatile veggie plus it is super healthy. I've heard about kale chips, salad, stews...My most favorite way is still to blend it up into a shake though. It's too fibery for my liking, and it takes a while to cook down.

What I have at the end of all this hard work, thank you vitamix, is some guilt free shake that will replace my lunch today...if I can stop myself from entering the kitchen.

"I'm no ugly shake!"