.: evil jungle prince :.

As I'm a notorious experimenter -- I hate following rules -- I tend to stay clear of baking because baking is such an unforgiving type of endeavor. It requires one to stick with a fairly stiff set of rules, otherwise the result is often complete failure. But at times my cravings get the best of me, I decide to bake and experiment, and on occassion the result is successful. This is one such time.

While at Trader Joe's yesterday, I spotted "cherry and almond scones" for sale. Well, it took all the will power in me to resist them. I knew that if I could successfully pass them up, it would give me the opportunity of making them myself and using the type of ingredients I prefer: healthy ones. That is a short history behind these scones.

I thought what I'd try is no-butter scones. I also used almost no dairy -- only a 1/4 cup of yogurt. The remainder of the creaminess comes from almond milk. The result was a soft and fluffy scone with a slightly crispy exterior -- just what I'd wanted. The interior was not at all dense like your average scone. For posterity, here is the recipe so that I can refer back to it in the future when I make these again.

1. In a mixer, I combined the following ingredients: 2 egg whites, 1/3 cup canola oil, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup almond milk, 1 tsp almond extract, 1 tsp rose water, 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 2 1/4 cup flour.

2. Once mixed, I then mixed in 1/2 cup dried cherries. The mixture was then spooned onto a greased baking sheet and a few roasted almonds placed on the six spooned out scones.

3. These were then baked at 350F for 10-15 mins (mine were in oven for about 14 mins) and then allowed to cool on a rack.

Of course it was tempting to smear them with butter, but that would be cheating! I filled mine with some blueberry preserves and enjoyed them to the fullest.

Posted by Evil Jungle Prince at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Just to shake things up a bit at Evil Jungle Price, I'm adding a new category called Commentary. This is a little alcove for me to slip in non-recipe stuff that is at the same time food-related.

In our bigger-is-better culture, we Americans are often bombarded with television commercials that advertise grotesque food items that are meant to satisfy our society's longing for overdulgence at bargain basement prices. I often think this "do everything to excess" element of our culture springs from our pioneer history, when for so long our families lived with so little. But who knows? In any case, the following video, Taco Town, takes a jab at this aspect of our culinary life and it is really damn funny!

Posted by Evil Jungle Prince at 01:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Today's entry seems to so mundane as to border on the exotic -- yes, no Asian food today, just some piping hot blueberry muffins. Who knew they are were so easy to make?

The remaining frozen blueberries I had, although not top quality to say the least, went to good use after I decided I'd give this recipe my best effort. Lately my sweet tooth has been kicking up a notch or two -- I don't know whether this has anything to do with weather or what?

I was also excited to discover that this recipe worked well without milk; instead I used soy milk and nobody would know the difference. Except of course for some happy cows.

1. First I combined 1 1/4 cup flour, 1/3 cup sugar, 2 tsp baking powder, and 1/4 tsp salt together with 2 eggs (I used whites only), 1 tsp vanilla, 3/4 soy milk, a 1 tsp grated limon rind. While this was mixing, I melted 4 tsp butter and added it after it had cooled down a bit. (Don't add right away our you'll cook the eggs and spoil the batter.)

2. Next I folded in about two handfuls of frozen blueberries with a spoon. I then poured the batter into a greased muffin pan. The only thing left was to bake them in a preheated oven at 400F for about 20-25 mins, leaving to stand for a few minutes before removing.

I loved the fact that these were sweet without being too sweet and the recipe used a minimum of fats. I dislike greasy/oily American sweets so much, and this did not fall into that category at all. The muffins were fluffy and sweet without being heavy or hard to digest. A very yummy treat that smell terrific when they are baking.

Posted by Evil Jungle Prince at 03:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

After getting inspired by a television show on preparing dim sum, I took the plunge tonight and tried making har gow (Chinese shrimp dumplings) for the very first time. The show managed to make me insanely hungry for dumplings so the effort put into this task was secondary to my stomach's need for yummy morsels. This was rather labor intensive but well worth the effort.

1. The pastry skin or wrapper is the labor intensive part. To make mine, I placed two cups of flour in a mixer with 3 tsp tapioca flour, 1 tsp salt, and 2 tsp peanut oil, adding hot water until the dough form a ball. I then allowed the dough to be mixed throughly, allowing it to rest while I prepared my har gow stuffing. (Be sure and cover your dough or it will dry out.)

2. Next I thawed some shrimp, cleaned them, and then dried them on a towel. The shrimp, together with one tin of water chestnuts that had been roughly chopped in a food processor and 1 tsp chopped chives, were then mixed 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp tapioca powder, and 1/2 tsp soy sauce and placed into the refrigerator to chill.

3. Finally, the dough was cut and rolled into small palm-sized balls. Each was rolled out, pressed with a fork around the perimeter, and filled with tsp of the shrimp mixture. The sides were then gathered to the top and the top twisted to seal the har gow. These I steamed for 10 mins in bamboo steamers.

Whew! But might tasty served with a mixture of soy sauce, rice vinegar, chili sauce, and sesame oil -- YUMS.

Posted by Evil Jungle Prince at 06:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

One of my favorite warm drinks is Indian style chai, but not being a fan of American dairy products (due to BGH contamination) I have longed for a good alternative to condensed milk's creamy goodness. Soy milk does not work well with tea due to its chalky consistency, but recently I discovered that almond milk makes for a perfect, super creamy alternative.

1. First I measure out a cup full of almond milk and place this into a small pot, pan, or kettle. To this I add one bag of black tea.

2. Next I grind the following in a mortar coarsely and add it as well: 2 whole cloves, 1 small stick cinnamon , and 2 cardamom pods.

3. Finally I bring the mixture to a boil, watching it continuously so that it does not boil over. I then pour the chai through a strainer.

If you like your chai really sweet (like I sometimes do), I add a spoonful of honey. This makes for a guitless sweet treat any time of the day.

Posted by Evil Jungle Prince at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)