thecattylife - up close and personal to all things... edible » Recipes

matcha cherry swirl ice cream: guest post by Meeta from What’s For Lunch Honey?

catty — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 08:30:37 +0000

While I’m away sunning myself on the gorgeous island of Santorini, my friends from far and wide have chipped in to help keep you hungry little readers occupied. Meeta, author of the stunning blog What’s For Lunch Honey?, knows me far too well. She’s gone and combined matcha and ice cream and cherries and created the deliriously amazing matcha cherry swirl ice cream!

Read on to enjoy Meeta’s blog post

*****

I actually started this post differently, but see something happened last Friday that made me change the bulk of it.

Twitter is a waste of time, I am not going to deny it! But boy, do I and many of my dear friends spend an enormous amount of time on this sweet waste. While in front of the scenes we laugh and joke about so many things that move us, the really juicy stuff happens behind the scenes via Direct Message (DM). No do not even think for a moment I am going to tell anyone what that stuff is!

Then you make a mistake and send a DM meant for her eyes only, through an oversight, to her! When you realize, it’s too late and all you can do is hit your head hard on the table and wish the floor would rip open and swallow you.

But then Catty is cool! I let out a sigh of relief that it was her that received that DM and no one else. It led to a lot of giggles, emails and more DMs and while I already knew she was cool, I began to realize that there’s more. I really like her.

We’ve met in London, albeit for a short time but it was enough to get the right vibes and Twitter kept our discussions alive. A wrong DM to the wrong person, made things go the right way for us and now we are really enjoying getting to know each other on a different level. I hope to visit London in November again. There will be many highlights during this visit for sure, one of them will most definitely be getting together with Catty and having more time for face to face giggles and some juicy talk. In the meantime we have Twitter and a lot of off the record DMing behind the scenes

I am really excited to be here at The Catty Life and sharing a recipe with Catty’s favorite ingredient – Matcha. She loves matcha flavors so much that she invited all of us to take part in her Matcha Madness a little while back. As I got her DM regarding the event – I was fairly sure what I wanted to do for her. See Catty enjoys ice cream a lot. In particular soft serves and so I thought I’d treat her to two of her favorite things. While this is not really a soft serve, the texture of the ice cream is deliciously smooth and creamy. My favorite part is of course the cherries that have with poached in sugar and spice and add a lovely fruity highlight to the entire matcha experience. Be sure to use a good quality matcha powder and adjust the taste according to your own personal intensity. Mine is a concentrate high quality powder and a small amount goes a long way.

I hope Catty likes and you enjoy.

Matcha cherry swirl ice cream
4 egg yolks 100 grams sugar 250mL heavy cream 250mL whole milk 2 teaspoon matcha powder, or more depending on personal taste 250 grams cherries, pitted and halved 1 vanilla bean 60 grams sugar
In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until pale, thick and creamy. Place a saucepan on medium heat and add milk and cream. Bring the mixture to boiling point but to not let it boil. Whisk in the matcha powder. Slowly pour the hot cream mixture into the egg yolks mixture and stir to combine. Pour the whole mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the cream coats the back of a wooden spoon. At this point you should have a thick custard-like sauce. Remove from the heat and let cool completely, refrigerate until cold, or overnight. In the meantime prepare the cherries by combining them with the sugar, vanilla seeds and bean in a small saucepan. Cook over medium low heat until the cherries are slightly and release their natural juices. Set aside to cool completely. Process the custard according to your ice cream maker manufacturer’s instructions. Towards the last couple churns pour in the cooled cherries and give it a couple of swirls. Pour the soft ice cream into a freezer safe container until it reaches your preferred consistency.
Shared dessert.

a taste of Egypt: return to relaxation (and some courgettes, chick peas and hummus)

catty — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 08:22:54 +0000

It’s been four long weeks since we’ve come back from our amazing little break to Egypt and I’m onto the last phase of Qype’s Word on the Beach competition (have you voted for me?!). We’re supposed to talk about what we brought back from the trip and aside from a couple of gallons of the Red Sea (I blame my snorkel. It had holes in it) I didn’t really bring anything else back. But like, you can vote for me anywayz!

Although, having said that, this portion of the competition is called “return to relaxation”, appropriate given that on my last steamy evening in Egypt, I booked myself in for a massage and honey, I think it was more about what I didn’t bring back because that masseuse of mine? She rubbed my troubles away…

“… I arrive promptly for my 5pm slot and am ready to be playdoughed into oblivion. My masseuse is introduced to me. She’s about four feet tall and two centimeters wide, I shit you not, and I’m wondering if I’m even going to feel a purr. I’m not allowed a camera in the spa, mainly because women of all shapes and sizes and ages are wandering around topless and I’d say all (except for the orange-tanned fake-breasted bottle-blonde stripper girl) would object violently to my taking of photographs.

I’m led into a room which I’m guessing to be about 8 x 12 feet (like LiLo’s cell!) and it’s pitch black save for the strip of light creeping in under the door. Why? I don’t know. Maybe to eliminate the unnecessary sense of sight so that I can better indulge in the senses of touch and smell and sound.

I lay on the table face down, peeping through the “face hole” (really, is there a more elegant way to put this?) and realise that for the first time ever, I won’t spend the duration of the massage analysing the paint job on the legs of the massage table. Music comes on and I start to relax immediately, the tune a hypnotic opera number reminiscent of the Gregorian chant meets Fragma, arguably the best (or at least my favourite) electro-pop girl group of the 90′s.

So it turns out the tiny four foot tall masseuse has hands the strength of Thor. She kneads powerfully and poetically up and down the full length of my body back and front and for the first time in my life, I receive a stomach massage. Note that me rubbing my belly after a hefty meal does not constitute a massage. At first, I’m not 100% sure if I like the stomach massage, the deep kneading feeling much like a rearrangement of my innards. But somewhere between wondering if my lunch would reappear and if perhaps she’d stimulate some bowel movement (sorry guys!) I start to drift off into a dream where I’m in a magical desert land the scent of musky rose and there’s a gorgeous Egyptian Prince who’s ru-… <Ooooooh hold your horses! G-rated blog, yeah? I’ll save that one for later!>

I snap out of the luscious dream as my little masseuse works her way up to my face – my face! another first – and moves her powerful little fingers in perfect circular motions, stimulating my neglected nerves and damn it feels good.

After an hour of blind pampering, I emerge from the spa into the scorching 6pm heat and meander somehow back to my room. I plop myself onto the bed and just lie. And think. And breathe. And live. Ok, now I’m ready to go home…”

Ok so I was going to just write that little rendition of my massage above and pretty much submit that as my final piece but then you would have been left wondering why the heck is there a photo of some courgette looking dish right up the top of this post?

Well. Things are not always as random as they may appear.

Really, as if I’d let a post slip by sans food. Y’all know me better than that. I did honestly think I was coming back from Egypt empty handed but spending two hours rummaging around the one shop in Sharm eh Sheikh Airport with my stray Egyptian pounds proved fruitful. I managed to pick up the cheapest (circa £2.50), nastiest Egyptian cookbook available…

… and voilà! Introducing my Egyptian courgette and chick pea salad, and a tahini hummus (just for good measure), which I served with a lightly seared tuna steak.

ps. the cookbook isn’t actually all that bad. It’s thin and flimsy and probably has food in it that Pharoahs would have never heard of, but there are some interesting recipes like honey and cardamom ice cream which I can’t wait to try!

Courgette and chick pea salad
4 tablespoons olive oil 3 garlic cloves, sliced 2 onions, sliced 4 large courgettes (zucchini), sliced into rounds, skin on 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 x 400gram can of chick peas (garbanzos), drained 50 grams black olives, pitted and halved Juice of 2 lemons Sea salt and freshly ground pepper 2 handfuls of fresh parsley, chopped
Heat the oil in a wide, heavy pan and sweat (brown) the garlic and onions for a few minutes. Add the courgettes, cayenne pepper and chick peas. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes, then remove lid and continue to cook for a further 5 minutes or until the courgettes are quite soft. Add olives, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the parsley just before serving. Can be served warm or at room temperature.
Shared dish.

Tahini hummus
250 grams dried chick peas (garbanzos) or 1 x 400gram can Juice of 1 lemon 2 gloves garlic, sliced Pinch of cayenne pepper 2 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste) Sea salt 1 tablespoon olive oil Pinch of paprika (optional) Chopped fresh parsley for serving (optional)
For dried chick peas, soak overnight in water to cover, drain and then simmer them for 1-2 hours in fresh water. Salt them lightly, cook for another 15 minutes, then drain, reserving a little of the cooking water. If using canned chick peas (which I did, way easier), drain them and reserve a little of the liquid from the can. Put the chick peas into a food processor with 2 tablespoons of their cooking water or liquid from the can. Add the lemon juice, garlic, cayenne and tahini and purée to a smooth, soft cream. Season to taste with salt, then pour into a bowl. When ready to serve, dribble the olive oil over the top and sprinkle with a little paprika and chopped parsley (optional). Serve with fresh warm pita bread or raw vegetables.
Serves 4-6 as a dip.

MATCHA MADNESS RESULTS & 38 awesome cool matcha recipes!

catty — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 09:02:46 +0000

Finally! It seems like a whole life time ago but can you believe it’s only been 10 days since our crazy Matcha Madness came to a close? Well, technically it came to a close but secretly we all know know we’ll never ever be over our matcha love affair!

Don’t look at me like I’m crazy because I ain’t the only one obsessed with a certain green powder. Check out the awesome submissions I received and here, in all their glory, I’m sharing with you 38 ~ that’s right, THIRTY-EIGHT ~ original, beautiful and utterly delicious matcha recipes!

Each and every recipe is brilliant in its own right, from a fabulous matcha dacquoise cake to the crazy creative savouries from Recipe Taster and these adorable matcha cake sushi rolls!

But tough as it was, the guys at teapigs and I each had to pick a winner because in case you forgot, winners from this little do here each receives a £25 tin of matcha powder!

So. Without further ado… *drum roll please*…

Green tea ice cream cake by Bertha of Gourmet Baking because guys, ice cream. AND MATCHA. and absolutely stunning.

Matcha and white chocolate panna cotta by Quinn of Quinn’s Baking Diary because “matcha and white chocolate are a winning combination and the lavender flower and vanilla is a nice touch.”

And although it pains me that I can’t give out 38 cans of matcha powder, I totally love all of the recipes which were sent in and want to thank everyone for the effort and support and mainly, to make me not feel like the only statutory wacko for being so in love with matcha.

You Guys Rock.

Check out all the awesome recipes below!

Matcha mochi cake by Wendy of My Buttery Fingers

Green tea chiffon cake by Maria of Scandi Foodie

Cucumber with white jade served with matcha braising liquid and chives by Alessio of Recipe Taster

Green tea cheesecake by Sarah of Sarah Cooks

Matcha mochi with chocolate ganache filling by Kirbie of Kirbie’s Cravings

Soft matcha choc chip cookies by Kirbie of Kirbie’s Cravings

Matcha Elaichi (cardamom) and nutella mascarpone macaroons by Arthi of SoulCurry

Matcha white chocolate by Jen of Dashi Dashi

Matcha green tea oats by Ann of Pig Pig’s Corner

Egg white matcha genoise by Asha of Fork Spoon Knife

Spring green tea shortbread cookies by Kirbie of Kirbie’s Cravings

Green tea and white chocolate cupcakes by Nicette of Chocolate Log Blog

Matcha dacquoise cake by Ken of Hungry Rabbit

Matcha sablé cookies by Su-Yin of Bread et Butter

Matcha choco banana cake by Manne of Tummyrumble

Matcha mont blanc by Yue of Yue’s Handicrafts

Matcha muffins by Kelsey of Happy Yolks

Dango with matcha chocolate fondue by Maria of Scandi Foodie

Green tea butter cookies by Ann of Pig Pig’s Corner

Matcha shortbread cookies by Penny of Jeroxie

Mini pancake stack with matcha whipped cream by Davina of The Sugar Bar

Cod mousseline disk with nigella seeds and matcha foam by Alessio of Recipe Taster

Matcha cake sushi rolls by Heather of Sprinkle Bakes

Soft and chewy matcha cookies by Kirbie of Kirbie’s Cravings

Choc choc matcha cheesecake by Ann of Pig Pig’s Corner

Vegan matcha muffins by Helen of Fuss Free Flavours

Matcha madeleines by Charmaine (if you’d like the recipe, please email Charmaine here

Matcha streusel cake by Maria of Scandi Foodie

Matcha green tea ice cream by Ann of Pig Pig’s Corner

Matcha creme brulee by Emma of The Little Welsh

Matcha poached prawns with light bisque cubes, citrus emulsion by Alessio of Recipe Taster

Gluten free matcha fairy cakes by Sarah of Maison Cupcake

Matcha chocolate and rhubarb marble cake by Nicette of Chocolate Log Blog

Matcha soba by Jen of Dashi Dashi

Matcha soufflé by Manne of Tummyrumble

Matcha pop tarts with sweet red bean filling by Maria of Scandi Foodie

And of course there was my own contribution to the competition, the matcha frappe:

Once again, thank you everyone for all your support! Catty loves you xxx

an ode to Starbucks: me and my own matcha frappe for Matcha Madness Month!

catty — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 11:14:29 +0000

Hello there Martians! Oh wait, you’re not Martians? But you look all green and like… ohhhh you’ve just been eating lots and lots of matcha. I get it.

It is Matcha Madness month afterall!

So we’re now officially half way through our crazy Matcha-do-about-everything month (damn, why didn’t I come up with the earlier?) and things are getting hot in here. We’ve already had a number of submissions and I’m still waiting for a bunch more to hit my inbox because green, my dear, is the new black.

Since everyone’s doing so well with their matcha recipes, I thought I’d better pull my socks up too and squeeze out another of my own.

Back in Sydney, I used to slurp my way through one or two or sometimes more Starbucks matcha frappucinos every single week. I loved it more than anything because honestly? It’s the next best thing to having matcha IV’d straight into my arm. But since leaving the sunny shores of Sydney, I have been more than a little matcha frappé deprived and despite one quick hit in Hong Kong…

… I haven’t had a good matcha frappé in a Very Long Time. I can’t believe it took me this long to do this but hey, better late than never. In the midst of our little summer last week, I decided to take matters into my own little hands and whip me up some matcha frappés!

Refreshing and (if you ignore the condensed milk and cream), utterly good for you!

So, what other ideas have been popping up in my inbox for our Matcha Madness competition? How’s about a little sneak peek?

Ok, you totally twisted my arm. Check out:

Green tea chiffon cake by Scandi Foodie
Green tea cheesecake by Sarah Cooks
Matcha choco banana cake by TummyRumble
Mini pancake stack with matcha whipped cream by The Sugar Bar
Matcha streusel cake by Scandi Foodie

All awesomely delicious god I love the kryptonite green

It’s not too late guys, you’ve still got two weeks to get your Matcha Madness submission in for a chance to win teapigs matcha powder worth £25!

Matcha frappe
300mL milk 1 tablespoon condensed milk 2 scoops vanilla ice cream 1 large handful ice cubes 2 teaspoons matcha powder whipped cream for topping chocolate pocky sticks to serve just for fun!
Place the milk, condensed milk, ice cream, ice and matcha powder in a blender and blend until the ice is crushed. Pour into glasses and top with whipped cream and pocky sticks! Serve immediately.
Serves 2.

dedicated to the interwebz and you my readers, the wonderful blueberries in the tart that is my life

catty — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 08:44:48 +0000

Once upon a time there was the interwebz. The interwebz was a funny ol’ thang. It was born in a pin prick of light, a cyberspace baby and it grew and grew and GREW. The interwebz became everything, and though you can’t touch it, you always know it’s there.

It lives and breathes through you and I: a hobby, a way of life, an institution, a religion.

I’d always been a sucker for the interwebz. I remember being in highschool, saving my pennies so that I could buy some skanky old modem. I plugged it into the telephone socket and dialled onto… telnet. I MUD’d and IRC’d and then I mIRC’d which for those of you as ancient as me, you’ll remember the god-given communal sigh of relief we all breathed when mIRC’s interface actually had separate windows.

Oh yeah, Captain Nerd here.

The interwebz gripped me young and it gripped me good. It brought me happiness (because chatting to complete strangers seems to have always brought me joy) and sheer heartbreak (when my dad physically ripped my precious modem from the wall).

I’m sure I could have been institutionalised for my obsession with being online but hey I’ve managed to avoid capture so far although… and Panu will attest to this… when 3G drops out on my blackberry, I start to gnaw on my lip and pick at my nails and fidget with nervous energy because What. If. It. Never. Comes. Back?! WHAT IF I MISS A TWEET?! For realz. I’m actually totally certified insane.

Hi, my name is catty and I am an interwebolic.

Not that being an interwebolic is all bad. Far from it! My relationship with the interwebz has always been nothing if not positive.

The interwebz has taught me and nurtured me and connected me and showed me and laughed with me and dare I say, loved me. It’s given me an avenue to express myself in 140 characters or less, and well, when I have more than 140 characters to express I have my blog and you, all of you crazy awesome readers, the interwebz has brought me you, the wonderful blueberries in the tart that is my life.

I’ve made true friends through the interwebz, I even thought I found true love once but then it turned out to be not so true. It’s all right, interwebz, it wasn’t your fault. The interwebz has brought people into my life. Sometimes for a moment. Sometimes for a day. Sometimes a week. And maybe a life time. Who knows.

Most recently, the interwebz has shared with me the wonder that is Maria, a stunning Finnish girl living in Sydney, creating some of the most awesome traditional Finnish dishes definitely that side of the hemisphere. This here is based on her berry tart recipe and it is delish!

So to all you other interwebolics out there, don’t be ashamed. Be proud, peace out and may y’all live happily ever after.

ps. I was not stoned while writing this post. I think.

Blueberry tart (inspired by Maria’s mamma’s berry tart recipe)
Pastry: 100 grams butter, softened 85 grams caster sugar 1 egg 150 grams plain flour 1 teaspoon baking powder Filling: 500 grams blueberries (or mixed berries) 2 tablespoons corn flour 250mL light sour cream 1 egg 2 teaspoon vanilla extract 70 grams caster sugar
Preheat the oven to 180°C/355°F and grease a 24cm tart/pie/quiche tin. To make the pastry, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy. Whisk in the egg. Mix the baking powder and flour together and add to the egg mixture. Using a wooden spoon, mix all together until you get a sticky dough. Place the dough in the tart tin and flatten against bottom and edge. Set aside. In a bowl, mix the berries with corn flour until they are coated. Spoon onto prepared pastry. Mix together sour cream, egg, vanilla extract and sugar and pour the mixture over the blueberries. Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 30 minutes or until edges are brown and filling has set. Leave to cool. Keep refrigerated. Serve with vanilla ice cream.
Serves 6-8.