'The true cook is the perfect blend, the only perfect blend, of artist and philosopher. He knows his worth: he holds in his palm the happiness of mankind, the welfare of generations yet unborn.'

Saturday 31 January 2015

Green tea ice cream... sort of!

Too sweet!
One of the nice things about living in Asia is easy access to green tea desserts. They have always been popular here in Hong Kong, but in the past few years vendors selling green tea soft serve ice cream have popped up everywhere in the city. You will see very long queues at these places paying pretty steep prices (US$5?) for a cone of green tea ice cream.

For a matcha addict like myself, it's nice to be able to slurp on matcha ice cream while hanging out, but they are invariably TOO sweet and rather stingy on the amount of matcha they put in. I want more green tea! (Well, some of my friends actually think they're matcha enough, but not for me!) Much better, then, to whip up your own icy matcha dessert! Since not everyone has an ice cream machine, I'm opting for a parfait which is in essence whipped egg yolks folded with whipped cream - similar to the Italian semifreddo. It is then frozen and usually sliced for serving. This frozen dessert is very popular in the UK and France but rarer in the US, where 'parfait' means some kind of layered dessert. This version as a pure, unadulterated matcha flavour unhindered by excessive sugar. It can be served as it is or as a component of plated desserts.

Friday 30 January 2015

I'm back!


If any of you happen to still be following this blog, I sincerely apologise for the prolonged neglect... I know it's been donkey's years since I attended to the blog... but I had a excuse reason! Last year I was focusing on finishing my doctoral degree in music in Cincinnati, Ohio and I just had to cramp all my coursework and recital in that year. I still cooked a bit but somehow my mental focus just wasn't there to update the blog.

In July, I left Cincinnati after five years of study back to Hong Kong. I never expected to miss the place as much as I would, but above all it's the people I met there that I miss the most. Life has to go on, but the people and the events that I met and experienced in Cincinnati will always stay with me wherever I go.

Have you ever wondered why my blog is called 'Food Locker'? The profile picture you see is an actual locker at the university where I used to put baked goods for friends. I would text them if I'd baked something, and they would go fetch the sweets - yes, they did know the code!
 


My office as a teaching assistant... not focusing on my job!

My health hasn't been great, either. Ever since coming back to Hong Kong I have been almost constantly ill with some ongoing issues. BUT I decided it's time to for a fresh start and not to remain idle! Sorry to have missed your comments and messages for so long - I'm back!



My piano studio
The beautiful Greek Orthodox Church where I was organist