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Sunday 20 June 2021

Danish Elderflower Pancakes - Hyldeblomst Pandekager

 

Makes 6 pancakes

Ingredients:

6 stalks of elderflowers

Pancake batter:
1. 125g flour or white whole wheat flour (1 cup)
2. 250 ml skimmed fresh milk (1 cup)
3. 3 eggs
4. 3 TBS sugar or elderflower cordial
5. 1/2 tsp vanilla powder (optional)
6. 1 TBS cooking oil or combination of butter and cooking oil for frying

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, add flour, vanilla powder and sugar.

2. Add milk, eggs and elderflower cordial and mix well with a whisk or a handmixer.

3. Let it rest for 30 minutes in the fridge if possible.

4. Look through the elderflowers that you picked and shake them off the insects.

5. Heat pan with oil under medium heat (no. 5 or 6 on my stove).

5. Dip one elderflower at a time into the pancake batter and place it on the pan.

6. Continue until the pan is full. If you wish to make a pancake per stalk of elderflower, don't overcrowd the pan.

7. When the pancake turns golden, flip over and fry the other side until golden.

8. Serve with maple syrup and berries if desired :-)

Additional Information:

Daddy FECS mentioned that elderflowers can be made into pancakes. A friend's mom made this for them when he was a child. After making elderflower cordial for a few years, we made this for the first time today. It was a success. Daddy FECS it tasted just like he had it as a child. Today we ate it with maple syrup. They ate all up, with one left that we saved for the play date at a friend's place that afternoon.

This morning we went to pick the elderflowers just 5 minutes from where we live to make the pancakes. We made a double batch. I added also one teaspoon of brewer's yeast for more nutrition and one teaspoon of ground flaxseeds.

References:



Picking elderflowers 5 minutes from where we live with Baby FECS.


Here are the elderflowers we picked.

Close-up of a stalk of elderflower

Heat pan on medium heat (no. 6 on my stove)

Dip each stalk into the pancake batter


Place a stalk of dipped elderflower into the pan

Fill up the pan, but if you wish to make a pancake per stalk of elderflower, don't overcrowd the pan.


Cut off the stem

All stems cut :-)

Flip over to the other side once it turns golden (some of them turned to brown here)

Remove excess oil using paper towel

Also remove oil on the top side of the pancakes.

Now it's done :-)




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Sunday 13 June 2021

Japanese Fried Chicken

 


Ingredients:

1. 1 kg chicken wings
2. 3 TBS soy sauce
3. 1 TBS Japanese sake 
4. 1 tsp ginger grated
5. 1 clove garlic minced 
6. 1 egg (optional)
7. 1/4 cup potato starch or corn starch
8. Cooking oil

Directions:

1. Marinade the chicken with soy sauce, ginger, garlic and sake and set aside for an hour in the fridge.

2. Add in an egg and mix well.

3. Coat with potato starch or corn starch.

4. In a pot, add cooking oil to one inch high and heat pot.

5. First fry chicken on medium heat (no. 5 or 6 on my stove) until golden on both sides in batches. The fire should not be too hot, as you will burn the chicken. To test the temperature, drop a little piece into the oil. It should bubble and float up. Don't overcrowd the chicken pieces. 

6. Remove and place on kitchen towel to remove excess oil.

7. Then fry them again on higher heat to get it crispy (no. 7 or 8 on my stove). The second time is usually for a short time than the first fry. This is called double frying. Dish out onto kitchen towel to remove excess oil.

Additional Information:

I prefer potato starch over corn starch, and I also added whole-wheat flour to make it more nutritious. It will still be crispy, albeit a little different texture more like KFC's chicken, if you add whole wheat flour to coat the chicken. I also sprinkle a little salt to the potato starch, but it is not necessary.

If you don't have Japanese sake, you can substitute it with Chinese rice wine or dry sherry. 

To test the temperature, drop a little piece into the oil. It should bubble and float up. This dish is a picnic dish as it apparently stay delicious when it is cold.

Adding egg gives the chicken a nice golden yellow color.

References:


Marinade with soy sauce, grated ginger and minced garlic and refrigerate for an hour

Coat chicken with white whole wheat flour.

Fry until golden.


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Tuesday 8 June 2021

Reflection on the Goals of First Half Year 2021...



It’s June. Half a year has passed...

As I reflected over the goals I have set for myself during our family time on New Year’s Eve, one of it is to be a more encouraging mom and wife, in order to build my kids up, to build my hubby up and to build my family up, and I haven’t done so well. Very often I get upset. I get fluttered. I am not considerate and not creating peace at home.

This morning, the kids woke up earlier than me. This means I won’t be able to read the Bible (and there are many days like that).

Our Little FECS said to me, “Mommy, it’s better that you go and read the Bible first. It’s important that you spend time with God first. You are sweeter and nicer after you have spend quiet time with God. The day goes better. I can take care of little sister.”

So today I humble myself before God to ask for his help to achieve my goal to be a loving mom and wife. Give me your perspective  O God, I can’t do it with my own strength. I shouldn’t give up on my goal and God in His loving kindness would not forget it. If I come near to me, He will come near to me. Thank you God for your wisdom. God’s forgiveness is new every morning.

“But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.” - James 3:18 
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Friday 4 June 2021

More Nutritious & Healthier Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

Adapted from Tasty

Makes 9 cookies

Ingredients:

1. 130g sugar consisting of 100g brown sugar and 30g white sugar
2. 85g butter and 30g olive oil
3. 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
4. 110g white whole wheat flour (1 cup)
5. 1 tsp vanilla powder
6. 1/2 tsp Nescafe decaf coffee powder
7. 1/2 tsp baking soda
8. 1/2 tsp cornstarch
9. 110g chocolate chips (2/3 cup) containing a mixture of dark, light and white chocolate chips
10. 130g chopped walnuts (1/3 cup)

Directions:

1. In a separate bowl, mix white whole wheat flour, vanilla powder, Nescafe coffee powder, corn starch and baking soda and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, beat brown sugar, white sugar, butter and olive oil by hand or with a hand-mixer until combined and creamy.

3. Add in the egg and egg yolk and mix to just combined. Don't over-beat.

4. Mix in the dry ingredients until combined. I like to use a sift to sift the flour mixture in.

5. Add chocolate chips and chopped walnuts and mix well with a spatula.

6. Refrigerate the dough for an hour or overnight.

7. Use a trigger-release ice-cream scoop to form 9 cookies on a baking tray laid with a baking sheet.

8. Bake at 175 degree Celsius for 12 - 14 minutes or until golden on the edges. Take them out when they are just barely starting to turn brown and still look doughy. The middle will still be soft. 

9. Let them sit on the baking tray for 2 minutes before removing to cooling rack.

Additional Information:

I have made the original chewy chocolate chip cookies without substituting anything. This version is one that substituted some of the butter with olive oil, and lessened the  sugar content by 20%. It tasted good (not cakey) according to Little FECS, however not as chewy as the original recipe, but soft and tasty., a compromise between achieving chewy cookies and keeping them slightly healthier.

Below is the link to my chewy chocolate chip cookies that contain more sugar and butter




https://www.momontimeout.com/giant-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies_28/

https://www.bobsredmill.com/blog/baking-101/how-to-make-chewy-cookies/

https://bakerbettie.com/the-science-of-the-chocolate-chip-cookie/

https://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/30254/difference-in-cookie-texture-if-we-use-melted-vs-softened-butter

https://www.purewow.com/food/how-to-keep-cookies-soft

https://www.seriouseats.com/cookie-science-how-do-eggs-affect-my-cookies

https://www.mytastednk.com/o/chokolade-sm%C3%A5kager-som-lidl-49285057.html

https://www.lidl.dk/p/bake-off-kager-og-soedt/triple-chocolate-chip-cookie/p34119

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U80aSRBAAY0

This is the white whole wheat flour I use. It can be bought from Føtex Supermarket for 23.95 DKK. 

Add 100g of brown sugar. In Danish it is called Farin sukker.

Add 30g of granulated sugar.

Add 30g of olive oil.

Add 80g of softened butter.

Mix until combined by hand or mixer.

Add an egg and an egg yolk.

Mix until combined by hand or hand-mixer. Don't over-beat.

In a separate bowl, add 110g of white whole wheat flour.

Add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda.

Add 3/4 teaspoon of cornstarch. Don't forget 1 teaspoon of vanilla powder and 1/2 teaspoon of Nescafe decaf coffee powder too (not in picture).

Mix in the flour. I like to sift it into the cookie dough, but it is probably not so necessary.

Combine the wet ingredients and the dry flour ingredients.

Now the dough is done :-)

Add chocolate chips anywhere between 50-130g as desired. I usually add 110g of a mixture of white, milk and dark chocolate chips.

Add 50-130g of desired nuts. They are so nutritious and make the cookies more nutritious. It also provide a nice crunch. We like chopped walnuts. We usually add 110-130g of walnuts.

Mix well.

Refrigerate the cookie dough for an hour. This prevent over-spreading when the cookie is being baked in the oven.

Scoop into 9 large balls. I like to use trigger-release ice-cream scoop, but using a spoon will do too.

You can decorate it with a few chocolate chips on each dough ball if you wish (optional)

Bake in the oven for 175 degree celsius for 12-14 minutes until the edges are golden, but still soft and moist in the middle.

Take them out and let cool. You will notice that they are still very soft. They will harden as they cool.

Now it's done :-)

A cross-section view :-)



The chocolate chips on the cookies are still melted on this picture. I was too impatient to take a picture :-P
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