A Balkan Cafe

A few minutes before my acupuncture appointment, I decided to step in at the Balkan Cafe here in Chicago to have a light snack.  I did not know what to expect as I knew next to nothing about Balkan food.  I knew however that it is not a country, and it spans a group of countries close to the Baltic Sea.  Now I know that I was wrong! 

The word Balkan refers to southeastern Europe, surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea.  Atleast now, I will always remember two countries that are part of that region:

1) Turkey.  I will remember this because I had a jolting mini-cup of Turkish coffee.  It pairs well with #2.
2) Bosnia.  I had my first taste of Hurmica, as it says in the menu.  But as I googled about it, like many other ethnic food, it has another name.  It is also called Hurmice (pronounced hoor-me-se).  It is a traditional Bosnian dessert where a cookie dough is baked then soaked in sweet syrup.

Sadly, this cafe has closed out permanently when I passed by during the weekend.

No More Ice Cream For Me

Buh-bye ice cream. But I am not going to miss you.

Avocado ice cream used to be one of my favorites.

Other than the fact that cow's milk and its related products make my tummy topsy turvy, I realize it was weird for humans to drink the milk of cows.  I know, it does not sound outright weird.  Besides, the human race has been doing this since the agricultural era.  But come to think of it -- We are the only species who drink the milk of another species!

Earlier this year, I came across a documentary that speaks of the same concept.  I know the internet is filled with false claims, but why not look it up and draw your own conclusions later on?  If there is only one documentary you are willing to sit through with, I suggest you see Forks Over Knives which I originally saw in Netflix; but you can watch it for free in Films For Action here.

I went through a certain phase in my life when I questioned the food I eat.  It all started with a slight interest in yoga, and a related book I bought on a whim (and was on sale) at the local bookstore.  Ofcourse, I did not turn into a vegetarian overnight, but I attempted to slowly work my way into it.  I read about veganism (no animal products at all), but I gave up when it meant I cannot have my patis anymore.  The most extreme is raw veganism.  It is an excellent lifestyle but it was all the more too restrictive for my own taste.

The process turned out to be more complicated than I thought.  I was not worried about lacking protein.  Contrary to popular belief, meat is not the best and only source of protein.  I developed a digestive problem.  Prior to this decision to change my diet, I already know I do not digest corn thoroughly.  When I started to eat more tofu, nuts, lentils, and beans, I think I aggravated my condition.  For weeks, anything I ate gave me IBS symptoms.  IBS stands for Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

I read one book after another. I watched documentaries and talks.  It was a wonderful ride learning about the food we eat, the truth that the food industry is hiding from us, our growing health problems and its economic implications.  I must admit I also got confused with all these materials.

Taking into consideration my love for food and baking, I have finally realized what works for me.  It's very simple, actually.  This four-minute talk from TED Talks is short and inspiring.

Food journalist Michael Pollan sums it up the best -- "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants."  I have yet to finish his book, The Omnivore's Dilemma.  But his most popular one is Food Rules: An Eater's Manual.  These are my favorite lines:

"Don't eat anything your great grandmother wouldn't recognize as food."  <--  Brilliant!  Doesn't that help make our lives a little bit less complicated?

"Don't eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk."  <-- Well, I don't eat cereals anymore.  I find that I end up feeling hungry again after an hour.  It must be the sugar.

"Don't eat anything that won't eventually rot."  <-- He restated this in a radio interview at NPR.  Everyone had a good laugh about how he talked about Twinkies and another supermarket item (like a little cream-filled mini chocolate cake of sorts).

I am also a big tea drinker.  And I drink soda occasionally.  I try to eat like my Filipino ancestors used to eat in the islands, mostly plants and fish.  They make lechon and stewed meat on special occasions.  This makes a lot of sense to me.  I guess the answer has always been obvious, I just had to look back and shun the commercialism that the West has been teaching the rest of the world.

So, no more ice cream for me. Unless it's made of plant-based milk.

Looks Like Mamon

Not bad, huh? I finally bought baking molds specifically for mamon!  I took a break from my green tea-flavored baked goodies and decided to go back to basics today.  These are Cheese Mamon.  Mamon is a Filipino sponge cake known for its fluted shape. In my generation, we usually just buy these in Goldilocks Bakeshop.  I used vegan tapioca cheese so my tummy won't complain.  Recipe from another blogger here.

Buckwheat All The Way

Part of my effort to reduce my gluten intake is to bake with buckwheat. Gluten is developed when wheat flour mixes with liquid. But despite the name, buckwheat is not wheat.

I made blueberry pancakes before with both wheat flour and buckwheat flour as most recipes in the internet.  But when I found this post on Yeasted Buckwheat Pancakes -- hailed as the best gluten-free pancake recipe ever -- I just had to try it!

The addition of yeast, and allowing to let it ferment overnight intrigued me a lot.  So here they are, fluffy as promised, thanks to the yeast plus a little more help from the baking soda added in the end.  Buckwheat is a little heavy and dense when baked, which is precisely why it is usually blended with wheat flour.

The common wheat flour pancake can be tasteless on its own, thereby we top them with maple syrup and butter. Buckwheat pancakes, however, can be a little bitter. But that's not a bad thing.  Buckwheat is prized for its own flavor -- just like soba noodles are appreciated for its own flavor -- which is also why the Japanese eat them with no sauce.  It is served with a dipping sauce.  Dipping sauce versus sauce.  There's a difference.

I happen to have a jar of buckwheat honey that I recently bought at a German deli.  I bought it out of curiosity.  Alas, what a perfect combination!  Buckwheat all the way!  A little note about buckwheat honey:  You will need to warm it up before serving.  It tends to crystallize in room temperature.

Left:  Buckwheat + water + yeast fermented overnight.
Right:  Buckwheat honey, heated in a ramekin.

Savory Rice Casserole

I had to go to work today; yes, it is a Saturday. Fortunately, simple pleasures motivate me to get up at 5:00am and head out the door -- catered breakfast and lunch! Gratis! For breakfast, they had biscuits and white mushroom gravy, and scrambled eggs. I had to skip the white mushroom gravy because they, most likely, put milk in it. (If you don't already know, I am lactose intolerant.) For lunch, they served salad, chicken parmesan, pasta, and two kinds of sauces: marinara and alfredo. Alfredo sauce! Acck!  I had to skip that too! Strike two. So what did I make for dinner?  My own killer savory white sauce with a vengeance!

What you need

button mushrooms, green peas, carrots (from frozen section in grocery store)
unsweetened almond milk*
tapioca cheddar-style cheese*
creamed raw garlic*
cooked, leftover rice


*Ingredients for the white sauce are described in detail in a previous post here.

How to make it
Preheat the oven 400F. Prepare an oven-safe dish for use later.

In a saucepan, simmer almond milk, cheese, and garlic cream in low heat.  Keep stirring to melt the cheese and meld the flavors.  No need to add salt, cheddar-style cheese is salty enough.  Set aside 3 tablespoons in a small cup.

Add mushrooms, green peas, and carrots.  Continue to simmer in sauce till warmed through.  Add cooked rice and mix into the delicious sauce.

Pour contents into the oven-safe dish and level flat with the spatula.  Pour over some of the sauce that was previously set aside.  Sprinkle some more cheese on top.  Place under broiler and let the top brown and crisp a little for 2 to 3 minutes.

Enjoy while warm!

Lactose-Free White Sauce Superheroes

These three store-bought items are the vital ingredients to my killer savory white sauce:  unsweetened almond milk, Daiya cheddar-style tapioca cheese, and Knoblauch creamed raw garlic.

1. Unsweetened Almond Milk - From what I gather, they make almond milk by roasting almonds and grinding them into a powder.  Then, it is dissolved in water, plus xanthan gum and gellan gum for viscosity or thickness.  I use this for my matcha latte, or cardamom milk tea.  This is a staple in my pantry.
2. Cheddar-Style Tapioca Cheese - I discovered this cheese while dining at a vegan restaurant.  I ordered pizza and I was not able to stop myself from asking the waiter what the cheese was because it suited my taste perfectly.  It is salty, umami, and complex!  I googled through the internet until I found out this brand, Daiya, and immediately, I rushed to the refrigerated vegetarian section of Whole Foods Market for my first bag.  Nowadays, this is the only form of cheese I cook with -- homemade pizza.  I plan to use this in my baking experiments some time.  Tapioca, by the way, is a root crop grown in Asia.  It is mostly tasteless, but is prized for its gelatinous consistency.  I don't know how do turned tapioca into a cheesy delight, but I am very happy and, gasp, delighted!
3. Creamed Raw Garlic - Garlic is close to my heart for many reasons.  But I have never imagined why it would need to be creamed and put in a jar.  But that is just what the Germans probably want to do with their garlic.  I saw this jar in a German deli, so I took one for myself out of curiosity.  It was not until as I write this that Knoblauch is a surname that means garlic.  Duh!  Anyway, I did not expect much from this because I already knew that jarred chopped garlic loose their garlicky essence.  But, my!  This is pleasantly pungent!  It still is garlic -- mess-free!  No smashing, peeling, and chopping needed.

The next post is about how I make my lactose-free white sauce.

Green Tea Mamon on St. Patrick's Day

Having lived in Chicago for 5 years, my St. Patrick's Days were uneventful until today.  I had to wake up at 5am on a Saturday to go to work.  By noon, I made it to my acupuncture appointment.  Like everyone else in the shared room, I had a power nap of about 30 minutes.  I woke up fully recovered to do my food shopping and get home.  However, getting home was a challenge because the trains are jam-packed with rowdy, green-clad people.  Knee-high socks with printed shamrocks.  Neon green leggings.  Green 2-feet tall hats. Fake orange goatie.  Face paintings.  Shamrock-shaped green eye glasses.  You name it!

It was unusually warm today so everyone was dripping in sweat inside the train.  College kids are already boisterous, and they are not even drunk yet!  Some people are annoyed and yelling at each other.  My train got delayed twice due to a man who punched another man, which prompted the train security to contact the police.  I swear I saw blood.  Crazy huh!  I took all these lightly, thanks to the good mood I earned from seeing my acupuncturist.  But the best part is, I was inspired to bake these green tea sponge cakes.

We Filipinos like this particular snack cake called Mamon.  I miss it a lot so I made these with my own twist.  I did not have fluted baking pans so I simply used six 3.5 x 6 inch rectangular disposable aluminum pans.  I used gourmeted's recipe here, but I obviously tweaked it to use matcha (Japanese green tea powder).  I suggest you buy the best butter you could afford because it ups the flavor!  Enjoy!