Monday, January 23, 2006

FIVE COOKING CHALLENGES OF 2006

Crazy Gaijin of "Nihon No Ryori" tagged me for this meme...

I must say that I had to think a little before giving my "Five Cooking Challenges Of 2006" as I never tend to set myself a challenge regarding anything, and even when it comes to cooking!

But, thinking about it, I do have a few things I'd like to change, learn or do during the following monthes, so I guess that one can call them "challenges"!!!...


1. To learn more about my own country’s culinary traditions and try more recipes… Switzerland is a rich country with many regional differences whether it concerns the dialects, the mentalities or the food. This diversity is what makes this country so special! Our dishes are rustic, but very tasty. Swiss food could be labelled as “comfort food”, because it’s nourishing and uses a lot of farm products like dairy products, charcuterie, potatoes, flour, etc… We eat simple, humble and regional dishes, but they have a potential healing effect on our souls!!! And that’s exactly what I like about Swiss foods…



2. To try following a recipe entirely without always wanting to change something in it! I can’t cook without adding my own touch to recipes. I continuesly want to change things and I’m never entirely satisfied by the list of ingredients needed or with the methods to apply... It’s a very bad habit as sometimes, certain recipes don’t turn out correctly (no wonder!)! But, generally, I must say that my changes are positive and add a little something to a recipe which might have been bland if I had not modified it!…



3. To buy more tools and pans for my kitchen because I’m missing a few items, especially when it comes to stuff in the baking area. I’d like more cake pans as I tend no never have the right ones and of course, I wouldn’t mind owning more cake-making gadgets… But will my kitchen be big enough if I buy more things? I doubt, as it’s already full now and trying to get out something from a cupboard is an adventure in itself!!!…



4. To make my own French “pains au chocolat” or “croissants”. I love to make bread and bake, but I can never gather enough courage in order to make those two bakery classics! And it’s not because I’m afraid of the challenge, but more because this challenge is not adapted to my tiny kitchen!!! I just simply lack working surfaces since I can only use the side of the sink, the vitroceramic cooker (the best invention ever when you kitchen is as big as a sardine tin!) and a few centimeters of my small table… But, I guess that if I organize myself well enough, I could bake those two yummy breakfast goods!



5. To test new Nyonya (Peranakan) kuih recipes. Kuihs (kueh or kue) are types of sweet or savory bite-sized “cakes” from Malaysia, Indonesia or Singapore. I love them so much that I could eat them at any time and all the time! Unfortunately, before I can try more of them,I’ll have to buy myself a book about kuihs…


Now it's my turn to tag the following bloggers:
Susan of "Foodie Farmgirl"
Glutton Rabbit of "Pearl Of The Orient"
Boolicious of "Masak Masak"
Ivonne of "Cream Puffs In Venice"
Angela of "A Spoonful Of Sugar"

(AOC -Pic by www.swissinfo.org)
(The Silver Spoon -Pic by www.silverspoon.co.uk)
(Cake Pan -Pic by http://easycookin.com)
(Pain Au Chocolate -Pic by www.beatties.co.uk)
(Kuih Lapis -Pic by www.karangkraf.com)

11 comments:

  1. What a coincidence, making croissant is one of my challenges for 2006 too! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Rosa, ton excuse de petite cuisine ne marche pas!! La mienne n'est pas très grande non plus et pourtant je n'arrête pas.. mais j'ai un truc: un plan de travail de 60x50cm IKEA que je pose sur ma table de salle à manger ou n'importe où et c'est là que j'étale, je façonne, etc.. va voir là
    http://sandrakavital.blogspot.com/2006/01/la-gourmandise-de-marie-antoinette.html
    en cliquant sur le diaporama, à la 7ème photo tu verras de quoi je parle!! C'est super comme truc et ça se nettoie et range facilement.. alors, c'est pour quand les croissants??

    ReplyDelete
  3. Piggy: Funny that we have the same challenge for 2006! It seems that with bloggers ideas get passed telepathically from person to person...

    Avital: Merci pour la remise en place, he, he, he!!! Peut-être bien que c'est ma "bonne" excuse pour ne pas trop mettre ma main dans la pâte et me retrouver dans le pétrin jusqu'au cou ;-))))...
    Et bien, quand j'en aurai la possibilité, je regarderai ce qu'Ikea a de bien à offrir. Mais avant cela, je crois que j'en ferais bien avant car tu m'as stimulée!...

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think it's a good thing that you always add your own touches to recipes. It really makes them your own and then they're unique. I need to work on improvising recipes. I always get nervous when I don't follow the rules exactly. But I'm getting better!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi From Our Kitchen,

    Thanks for the comment and for passing by!
    Yes, I do agree with you. Adding your own touch to dishes makes them unique as you put your mark on them. In this way, a recipe will always taste different as, eventhough you use the same one as your neighbour's, yours will never taste exactly the same; it's like a trademark!
    Don't stress while cooking and have lots of fun experimenting!...

    Cheers,
    Rosa

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wonderful list, Rosa!

    I especially like your challenge to yourself to bake croissants and to buy more baking utensils. I support you 100%!

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is a wonderful list and I've enjoyed reading it.

    I look forward to reading what you blog about your challenges, likethe Swiss foods.

    Since I'm new to cooking, I follow instructions to the letter. I'm can't add my own method, yet. I hope to continue to develop my own style soon.

    I love the photo of the cake pan. Beautiful! I, too, need more baking tools and pans. Today, my sister bought me two nice baking pans, which was very nice of her to do so. I suspect she got tired of hearing lament that I needed them. ;-)

    How wonderful to be able to make your own crossaints! I, too, suffer from lack of space in my kitchen, by the way.

    I'd love to see your Malaysian cakes. The one in the photo looks exquisite.

    Thanks for sharing your goals with us.

    Paz

    ReplyDelete
  8. Bonjour Rosa, I came across your blog from A spoonful of Sugar's. Nice to know someone foodblogging form Geneva. You're not too far from where I am you know? My blog has not been as Barcelona-brimmed as I like it to be but I'm working at it. Most of my recent posts are more French-focused because I've been spending a lot of my hols lately there. Will check back again time and again.

    Hasta pronto, kel @ Green Olive Tree

    ReplyDelete
  9. oh i forgot to ask you how did you fall in love with nyonya cakes? Have you tried Kueh Lapis? they're the best. I was born in Malaysia you see..
    You can get them in Holland. kel

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Kel,

    You live in Barcelona, right?
    I've already listed your site in my yummy blog section...
    Since I love asian food and liked the Thai desserts I bought at the Asian supermarket, I had the idea to surf a little on the net in order to look for recipes and found out that in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore similar "cakes"/sweets were made. I have a big crush on everything that is "strange" texture-wise, so Nyonya Kuihs are the right thing for me... No, I've never tasted Kueh Lapis, but I'm going to try making that once. I also love Onde Onde. Do you have a good Kueh Lapis to recommend? Here, I've never seen Nyonya Kuihs in stores (I only ate a few Malaysian specialities at a tea place); we only find Thai sweets...
    You are from Malaysia, but are you of Nyonya/Peranakan descent?

    Thanks for passing by,
    Cheers,

    Rosa

    ReplyDelete