Grilled Pear And Cream

I'm never buying pears in a package again because I eat them at a rate of 0.25/day, and the rate decreases when the pears start to soften. I like Bartlett/Williams (both names work), but only if they're light green and hard. Once they start to get watery and mushy (a.k.a more and more like a Chinese pear), I lose interest.

What to do with softened pears?! Again, my pancake maker delicious-fies food. It's like a function. Stick in input. Pancake maker evaluates it. Delicious output.

let pancake_maker (food: 'a) : betterfood =
 Somemagic.heat food

(for Ocaml).

Anyway, I grilled a pear, sloshed some Half & Half on it, and poured in a lot of cereal. Yay! Creamy dessert!

Rainbow Marshmallow Treats

I don't think that my sister deserves these treats because she hasn't exactly been a good girl recently, even though I'm home and she said that she'd be nice when I'm home. She's still bratty, still yells at my mum, and still refuses to eat her vegetables and protein. Nevertheless, we ended up making some cereal marshmallow treats because she had found a recipe on the back of a cereal box. The Fruity Pebbles cereal box (Yes, Pebbles is italicised, but Fruity is not). Fruit Pebbles are basically cornflakes coated in sugar and bright colouring. I'm quite mesmerised by the bright purple and green, especially.

Since we only had half the box of cereal left, we used 4 tbsp of butter and five blue marshmallow Peeps as the "marshmallow" component. My sister doesn't like marshmallow Peeps as much as the cylindrical marshmallows, so this was a great way to use up the marshmallows from March.

1. Melt 4 tbsp butter for 20 seconds in microwave (honestly, we could've used oil for this)

2. Cut marshmallow Peeps and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir. Microwave again. Stir. Microwave again. Stir. See above image.

3. Pour in about 2-3 cups of cereal and stick the mixture into a plastic container. I don't understand why there would be any need for non-stick spray/greasing the pan or parchment/wax paper lining. Even if you used an empty tissue box, I'm sure the marshmallow treats wouldn't stick too badly.

Feed to people who care about bright, rainbow-coloured treats.

Kashi GoLean Crunch! Oatmeal.

Because I don't have a fridge in my room, I also don't have any milk in my room. So, I can't actually have cereal with milk, which is kind of sad because I do love cereal and milk together [next year, my fridge will be filled with milk, chocolate, fruit, tofu, and vegetables].

I didn't feel like eating dry cereal, or cereal with cold water, so I decided to have hot water [yes, I have an electric kettle!] with the Kashi GoLean Crunch! cereal that usually is super sweet and... crunchy... [and reminds me of popcorn].

To my amazement, after absorbing a whole cup of water, the cereal swelled! It tasted like oatmeal mixed with some brown rice, with a really fibrous texture. It was still extremely sweet and had that Kashi company flavour. It was quite a nice change, and I think I like it better than I like normal Kashi cereal.

In this case, why is there even Kashi oatmeal out there? It makes so much sense to just buy a lot of cereal...and watch it puff and cook into oatmeal, instantly. JUST ADD WATER! [Wow, I'm turning into a college kid!]

What?! Cheesecake?!

Yes! Cheesecake! With tofu! The recipe is at the bottom of this post! [I haven't posted a recipe in a LONG time... a whole semester, right?]

I had a problem. I wanted to make cheesecake because BV likes cheesecake. However, I have never used sour cream or heavy cream or whipped cream or dairy products like that in my cooking before, so... I felt scared using them. Okay, I've used whipped cream before, but that was at least 5 or 6 years ago, and that was whipped cream used as... whipped cream.

On the other hand, I squeezed a piece of tofu. [haha. weak joke...]...I mean, on the other hand, I know very well how tofu works. I can make food with tofu.

BV hates tofu but I used it anyway...

The first cheesecake turned out tasting like tofu, because I had used approximately 20 ounces of tofu in it... along with some cranberry juice, because, why not? I also threw in some corn starch to keep it from falling apart, although I'm not sure whether it's necessary.

It looks like cheesecake, right?

Or, it looks like stained bacteria cultures...

I personally like frozen cheesecake, and I think this is due to the fact that the first few times we bought cheesecake in HK [33HKD for a plain Sara Lee cheesecake - that's what I remember], we never followed the "leave cheesecake at room temperature for 20 minutes before eating" instruction. Honestly, frozen cheesecake, with the hard, ice-blockish texture, tastes better than creamy, room temperature cheesecake.

I used Grape-Nuts for the crust, because ever since I found out that every graham cracker at Shoprite has PHO, I've decided to dislike them [yes, I'm biased!! But so are you!]. Maybe Trader Joe's has nicer graham crackers?

I've also decided to dislike Keebler because everything they make [that I know of] is grossly full of HFCS and/or PHO.

So, in my second batch, I gave some leftover batter to my sister who ended up decorating them with candy and sprinkles. It is utterly overkill.

This is the cheesecake I gave BV. I probably shouldn't've told him that there was tofu in it... but I guess he couldn't taste it [except for the "weird texture"] because he didn't say that it tasted tofu-y.

This is the 3rd cheesecake [from the second batch] that I gave to JM, and I decorated it using the leftover icing sugar from the cookies.

Recipe for cheesecake!!!!

Filling:

1. 8 oz cream cheese, cut into chunks [one package. GET FULL-FAT. DON'T GET LOW FAT!!! This isn't because full-fat cream cheese is healthy or anything; it's just because I'm not sure how fat-free cream cheese melts/reacts with my other ingredients...so I suppose you could get fat-free cream cheese if you want.]

2. 10 oz squeezed firm tofu [or 20 oz if you want the tofu taste to be prevalent. By "squeezed", I mean, try get rid of as much of the water as possible. I did this by literally squeezing the tofu, which incidentally mashed the tofu so it was easier to blend.]

3. Blueberry, or 2 tbsp cocoa powder, or whatever flavouring.

4. At least half a cup of orange juice. [Or lemon juice. An acidic juice. The orange juice actually left a tiny bit of orangey taste... although that could've just been my imagination]

5. Around 4 tsp of corn starch [add more if you feel like it. I'm not quite sure how much I had, since I initially had 2 tsp, then during the blending, I added more.

6. 1 cup of confectioner's sugar! [YES!! More if you feel like it.]

Healthy Crust!

1. 2 cups of Grape-Nuts

2. Honey or sugar water [However much you want; if you want a crunchy-tooth-breaking crust, don't use that much water, but if you want a soft crust, add more water until it looks damp!]

Stuff to do!

1. Pulse and shake cereal and sugar/honey/water mixture until you get fine pieces.

2. Press into a 11-inch pan if you want the crust to just fill the bottom. Alternatively, press into a 9-inch pan if you want crust on the sides. I used a 7.5-inch pan and had a lot of crust leftover [hence the mini cheesecakes that my sister studded with sprinkles...]

3. Bake at 350F for 5 minutes. You do NOT need to preheat your oven. That is a waste of heat.

4. Stick everything in the Filling list in a blender, and blend! After a few minutes on Low, you should have something that is uniformly blended and has the consistency of American pudding. If not, make it more pudding-ish, by adding corn starch and/or orange juice. I know "consistency of American pudding" is really hard to define, but it shouldn't be like cookie dough. It also shouldn't be like cake batter. It's more... elegant and poofy than those. Actually, it's sort of gelatinous.

5. Taste it. If it tastes good, cool. If it doesn't taste sour enough, add more orange juice!

6. Pour onto crust and smooth it out.

7. Stick that cheesecake into the oven at 350F for 25 minutes. Leave it in there for another 25 minutes; why not? Use up the remaining heat!!

8. In the meantime, eat the cheesecake filling remaining in the blender. No eggs! No 90% fat! Yay!

9. Take cheesecake out, and let it cool. There really shouldn't be any browning...a tiny bit on the edges is okay, though.

10. When cheesecake is COLD COLD COLD, put it in the fridge/freezer/outside - whatever you prefer.

11. In 12 hours, take out the cheesecake and wipe off the condensation at the top, using a paper towel. Do not use a tissue. I'm not sure why the cheesecakes condensed... I think it's due to the tofu, actually, or perhaps the blueberries [high water content!]. Either way, although it makes the cheesecakes look a bit weird, it's just water after all.

12. These cheesecakes taste good for at least 3-4 days. In the freezer, they last much longer [well...duh.]

13. The cheesecake is actually relatively healthy...

A Mangoes Into A Bar...

As I was chauffeuring the food from the car into the kitchen, I realised that "mangoes" is actually "man goes".

Even though I've never found the "a *insert something* goes into the bar and..." jokes hilarious [or even remotely amusing], I figured "A mangoes into a bar..." to be pretty chill since a "bar" can mean a granola bar. Or an ice cream bar.

This actually reminds me of this granola bar wrapper that KT had one day during Study. It was an apple cereal bar and it said "An apple walks into a bar..." in the literal sense.

However, my version is cooler since "mangoes" has a double meaning :D

And my blog welcomes puns. :) I'm actually submitting this to www.somuchpun.com and hopefully it gets displayed.

I made those mango granola bars in May 2009, before I had this blog. They were the first and only time I had made granola bars, and they actually turned out better than the Nature Valley trail mix bars. Just saying :P

My first meal at Penn

I know that I should've updated this a LONG time ago [read: April] but I was so caught up in school and stuff... plus, the quality isn't great, due to the fact that I was using my camera phone, which does not have flash. On the other hand, my camera phone has served me really well, and is the most useful function on my phone. Honest. [I don't use text messaging]. So, for the Penn Preview Day, we all had lunch at the 1925 Commons place. I'm definitely going to be blogging about this cafeteria a LOT during the next... wow... four years [unless I get expelled or drop out or something...] so this post technically shouldn't be a big deal. It was a Friday, and the garlic bread/toast was really crunchy.

These are vegan wraps, filled with lettuce, tomato, onion, and tofu. The grilled tofu wasn't that great in my opinion, and the wrap itself was really dry. And bland. I suppose this is the cliche "diet" or "vegetarian" dish. It was sorta mediocre... I don't mind eating it, but its lack of flavour is rather disappointing.

The chocolate cookie was dry. I like chewy, soft cookies, so I can't really vouch for them... I suppose those who like dry, crispy cookies would like these, though. I also learned that I don't like pretzel Goldfish crackers. The tortilla chips, were very crunchy and aesthetically pleasing. I wonder if they actually make these from scratch?

Okay. The marshmallow and rice cereal square is amazing! As you have noticed...I ate at least three of them. [I actually ate more than that. This reminds me of a day two summers ago, when I ate at least 10 packets of Kellogg's Rice Krispie Treats. In one day. Yes, I was obsessed that one day. I've yet to do such a thing again...] They were soft and gooey, and NOT stale, even though they'd been sitting there for ages...[trust me, stale marshmallow squares, like the ones at Borders, are dry. And not sticky. And lack the marshmallow texture]. These ones were really moist and I could literally "sink" my teeth into them and have them stuck there perpetually... except that sugar is polar and my saliva is polar.

I don't think anyone knows what I'm talking about when I mention the pizza crust from the Pizza Hut pizza [mini, cut into 4 pieces] at Penrith Plaza in 1999, or 2000. However, if you consume the pizza crust at 1920 Commons... you get a nearly identical taste. And texture. And smell. Oh nostalgia...This would be the only reason I'm going to be consuming pizza at Penn. Well, the topping was nice, too :), but the crust was a reminder of childhood. Which is ironic, since I haven't had "American" Pizza Hut pizza, ever.

The best cereal as of this moment.

Is. Nature's Path Flax Plus Flakes. I am serious. I used to love cornflakes until I realised that the major brands sell them with HFCS and a ton of sugar.
As of this moment, I can live on Nature Path's cereal, for a year. Maybe a year and a day. The good thing is that for each 110 Calories, I get 4g of protein. I know I can get about 12g for 110 Calories of yoghurt [the good plain kind, NOT the fake sweetened-with-5-different-sugars-and-stabilised-with-gelatine] ... there isn't "crunchy" yoghurt in the world yet. There's crunchy cheese [and I long to try it], but no crunchy yoghurt... yet...

I don't base my adulation of food solely on its protein content. Just saying, this flax cereal rocks.