COVID-19 STAY HOME FAMILY BREAD MACHINE CONTEST

Everyone got a few extra free time inside the home and they needed some activities.  So, we tried bread machine Bread Baking Contest. 

And here is the photo journal of the result.

Some pre-bake testing by family contestant.

They dusted out their bread machine that has been hidden away for a long time.

Seems very promising.

The crumb looks pretty good.

More testing.

Troubleshooting. Other testing by other fam contestant.

It's the day!

Sliced and three bags are sent to judges' home.

The verdict was:

#1 is creamy and sweet.  Crumb is fine.

#2 is tart and sweet from raisin; crumb is soft.

#3 is buttery.  Crumb is fine. Bouncy.

And the winner is - #1.  the creamy and sweet.

The winner received Buca Di Beppo's Gift Card.

Polly's Easy Fresh Snap Pea Salad with Peach

Clean a bag of fresh snap peas, some home grown SHISO leaves - chopped.  Remove the ends from the snap peas, then, slice them diagonally.

Slice home grown crispy Chinese peach..  Toss and mix with dressing - white balsamic vinegar and some white vinegar.  Mix to your taste.

Polly's Lactose Free Creamy Flan

I think the last time I made Flan was ... a very long time ago.  I saw our team mates in the KENDO Zoom class reward themselves after the exercises with beautiful creamy flan.  I thought I need to try making that.  After all, I love flan.  But not all Flan.  I had flan at the restaurants.  A few times at a very good restaurants.  After I had it, I regret it.  My lactose intolerance cause an havoc after a good meal.  There is no better way to solve this than to make the Flan yourself at home with Lactose Free Milk.  Problem Solved.

Get 5 3/4 C size Ramekins  or 4 - 1 C size ready

Ingredients for Caramel:

6 Tbsp Sugar and 1/3 C water - heat in sauce pan until caramelized - golden - not brown.

Pouring equally into Ramekins right away.  Coating the bottom of the Ramekins.  Set Aside.

Custard:   Be ready to Bain Marie to bake in oven at 320'F for 40-45 min.

1 large brownie pan or 9x11 cake mould to hold 5 Ramekins and hot water

Enough Boiling water to fill half way up the Ramekins.

In NutriBullet container, add 4 eggs + a pinch of salt + 1/2 C Sugar.

As you know NutriBullet beater container will be upside down with the beater head on the top when you close it.  The sugar you added will be at the bottom.  No worries.  Just close it and shake the closed container back and forth for about 10 times.

Open the beater head.  Add 1-1/2 C of low fat Lactose Free Milk + 1/2 C Heavy Cream.

Close the beater head. 

Process for 4 to 5 sec only.  We do not want to build up with foam.

Preheat Electric countertop convection oven to 325'F. 

Pour the custard mixture equally into Ramekins.

Place the filled Ramekins into 9x11 cake mould pan or large brownie pan that would fit 4 Ramekins. 

Add hot boiling water half way up the Ramekins.

Bake Bain Marie for 40 to 45 min or until the knife inserted comes out clean.

You can also enjoy this without caramelized sugar in the Ramekins.

Because I added Heavy Whip Cream, it foamed a bit even at 4-5 sec processing in the NutriBullet.

The foamy top browned

But the inside is very creamy.  No ugly bubbly holes inside.  This one is without the caramel top.

I almost forgot to give the credit to the recipe idea to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tB55iAo3p2Y

Polly's CHA GIO Wrapper Testing - Photo Journal

I was trying to make CHAGIO - Vietnamese fried spring rolls.  We made it so easily when we lived in S Viet-Nam, but it seems so formidable trying to make it now.  The wrappers seem to be different. The first couple of times I tried, the wrapper looked like a burnt plastic.  They looked scary.  I don't think they really used the rice and tapioca flour.  I think they are foreign chemical - plastic.  I gave it a year of rest.  I retried it this time buying the wrapper that says for the fried spring roll.  Yes, you could easily make them with the Chinese spring roll wrappers, but it's just not the same.  Just for the crab Cha Gio served at one of the hole in the wall eatery in Cholon maybe a good reason to visit S Viet-Nam one of these days.

The results - I like the square Banh Trang ChaGio wrapper.  Does it really matter?

 

 

pre-soaked rice vermicelli in hot boiling water.

Stir fry them all briefly.  Add potato starch roux to coagulate them.  There should be very little liquid.

All the filling ingredients are pre-cooked.

The round one's texture looks so plastic.

Square ones look more 'home made'?

To keep the seems to split open during frying, it maybe a good idea to use a cornstarch roux, paste to dab all around the edge.  Otherwise, during frying, you will be holding onto the spring roll's seam closed until the outer skin is quite browned.

Let them sit to dry.  It is also important that the wrapper skin is quite dry before frying. to keep them from opening up.

To fry, do not let go of the tongue or the chop stick holding the seam closed until quite browned.

The result - I like the square ChaGio wrapper.  The texture looks more real ingredients than the round wrapper.  It's not a very good reason, but the round wrapper seems so plastic like when fried.  Maybe that's the way tapioca behaves in heat.  I need t do it again.  Air dry the rolls longer. than, fry gently maybe better.  Serve with vinegar, lemon juice, chili flakes or other recipes you find in the Internet with lime juice and nuoc mum - fish sauce and chili, etc.