Taste Drive: Magic Pandas Heat and Eat Meals

I love Wonton soup and am often disappointed with the ones served in Chinese Fast Food joints here. So when I saw Magic Pandas Heat & Eat Wonton Soup in the freezer of our local Asian grocery, I could not resist buying one to try. It’s wonderful and true to instruction, you just heat and eat (in practice- of course, you have to wait until it’s cool down a bit so it does not scorch you tongue).

I have been a big fan of this Magic Pandas' little bowl of soup for sometimes and I thought I should explore their other Heat & Eat meals so I bought Frozen Chick Noodles and BBQ Pork Fried Rice to try. The following is my verdict:

Wonton Soup
As I said early on, this is my favourite. You just loosen the lid and pop the bowl in the microwave for 7-8 minutes as instructed and voila – you get a beautiful bowl of Wonton soup.

I heat mine for 7 minutes. I put the plastic bowl in my ceramic bowl so that it is easy to get the soup out from the oven. The plastic bowl tends to soften and you might burn yourself if not careful.. The flavor is quite right but some people might like to add 2 tablespoons of water to the soup.

Don’t worry about 2 or 3 thin pieces of BBQ pork, each wonton is packed full with yummy pork filling. Very good value for money at around $5 (prices vary between stores).

Chicken Fried Noodles
The instruction says 4-5 minutes in the microwave, stir and then heat for another 1-2 minutes.

You will find it very difficult to stir the noodles in a tightly packed bowl. What I suggest is to transfer the whole frozen content into a bigger bowl and cover with microwave lid or cling film and you might need more than 2 or 3 minutes after stirring and turning because it’s chicken – it needs to be piping hot.

Although it is a bit more expensive than the soup, it is loaded with chicken. This one is also good although it’s not my ‘go to’ dish.

BBQ Pork Fried Rice
I had very high expectation for this dish – what could go wrong with fried rice. What a disappointment! It is too salty and the rice does not hold its grain. You will need to transfer the content to bigger container as well to heat and will also need a little bit more time heating. I don’t know what to say more about this dish. Maybe rice would do better in a pouch so the moisture could be retained when heated.

All of the above are available from Asian groceries and Pak n Save.

Simple Pleasures – Cuddling a Cat

You all know that cuddling your kitty or puppy is a simple cure for stress. Does cuddling simple cat make it a square of simple-ness?

We suspect that Spike, our recently adopted cat, might be a little bit on a simple side. He knows how to get out of the house through the cat door but has never figured out how to get in the same way and he’s been living with us for nearly a year now.

Anyway, this cat is doting on Bob and vice versa. They can sit like this on a warm day for a long period of time. Hopefully, if Bob strokes him often enough some logic might rub off on Spike and we can get him to come in the house through the cat door like Bonnie and Pipi do.

Coffee Swiss Roll

The sponge itself is similar to the Old Style Swiss Roll that I posted last year here  but I just add a teaspoon of espresso (you can make this with your espresso machine or dissolve 1 teaspoon of instant coffee granules with 1 teaspoon of hot water) to the batter.

Now for the coffee flavour filling – you can do it 2 ways:

Coffee Caramel Sauce and Whipped Cream
¼ cup brown sugar
30 grams butter
A pinch of salt
¼ cup cream + 2 tablespoons
1 teaspoon espresso coffee
¾ cup cream, whipped

Place the first 4 ingredients in a saucepan over medium low heat and stir gently until sugar has all dissolves and the sauce thickens Leave to cool down a bit before adding coffee. Stir to combine and set aside until cool down to room temperature.

Unroll the sponge and spread the sauce evenly (you will have leftover sauce that you can refrigerate and keep for a few days) then spread whipped cream on top. Roll the sponge back up – slice and serve.


Coffee Butter Cream
70 grams butter
120 grams icing sugar
1 teaspoon espresso coffee (completely cool)

Beat the butter and icing together until light and fluffy – add espresso coffee and beat a little bit more to combine. Unroll the sponge and spread the cream. Roll the sponge back up – slice and serve.

Simple Pleasures – Simple Food

This summer is really warm and we have had it early. The warmth ripens the fruits and we enjoy plenty of strawberries and cherries. I tend to buy my cherries after Christmas though as they are cheaper and much sweeter.

We also have a lot of tomatoes as well, a variety to choose and pick to your liking. I like the acid free Romanos. They are brilliant on crosstini style bread but some people might like a bit sweeter and tangier cherry tomatoes and that is fine. I make my crostini from stale bread sticks – I buy mine from Baker’s Delight. As they are preservative free, they are good eaten fresh for only a couple of days (but best on the first day – so yummy, crispy outside and soft on the inside.) On the third day I slice them up – thick and thin. The thin ones are good for crostini. Have them buttered and baked in moderate oven for around 10 minutes (or less) and serve them with cheddar and tomato slices. A bit of cracked black pepper on top and voila – you have wonderful, simple light lunch. Add a few slices of ham, chorizo and other cured meat with a bit of olives and you will have a chacuterie dish. Simple yet sophisticated!

Note: Google Search function on bolgspot.com has been broken for several weeks now but I have fixed the problem with Search Direct – this will enable my dear readers to search for the recipes again.

Simple Pleasures – Dogwalk at the Beach

We joined a Christmas Eve dogwalk at Kariotahi Beach again this year. It’s only 20 minutes drive from our home. There were about 30+ dogs running free on the beach. Some people told me that two years ago there were nearly a hundred dogs – must have been an awesome sight.

Bonnie seems to be the fattest and slowest dog among them. She doesn’t care – she is featured in the Rotary Club 2014 calendar and they are not. Jealous much?

Guest Post: Cavena French Bread

This is a guest post from our aunt Olive in Canada:

Adding cooked Cavena oats (also called Cavenua Nuda or naked oats, it is a hull-less oat grain.  It was developed in Manitoba Canada) to a traditional French bread recipe results in a delicious loaf of bread that you just can't stop eating.  2 ½ cups water & 1 cup Cavena Oats, brought to the boil, then reduce heat to medium for about 35 minutes provides 2 cups cooked oats.


Due to lack of counter space in my kitchen I mix in a bread machine but cook it in the oven. Those 2 loaves were made using the quantities on the right hand side of the recipe ingredients. I also substituted 1/3 of the all purpose flour for whole wheat flour but that is my choice.  The 3 teaspoons of dried yeast equal about 14 grams. I buy a jar of bread machine yeast not envelopes so I had to convert.  It surprises me that the recipe does not use any sugar & even though it has no fat it stays moist......maybe that's because it gets eaten so fast.   Our measuring cups equal 8 fluid ozs & our teaspoons equal about 5ml.
 
2 cups             warm water                                      1 ½ cups
2                     packages of quick rising yeast        3  tsp
1 1/2 tsp         salt                                                  1 1/8 tsp
5 cups            all-purpose flour                             3 ¾ cups
1 cup              cooked  Cavena oats                       ¾ cup
1 egg white

Cook the Cavena oats according to directions, but allow to cool in an additional 1/4 cup of water.

In a large bowl add yeast to warm water and allow to get frothy, about 2 minutes. Add flour and oats, (drain off any water that didn't absorb into the oats while cooling) knead until firm and elastic in appearance, about 3 minutes in a mixer, or 8-10 minutes by hand. Allow to rise in a greased and covered bowl for one hour or until doubled. OR: Mix in bread machine.

Punch dough down and divide in half. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and roll or stretch into a large rectangle. Roll up and pinch to seal. Place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper sealed side down, and lightly score the top of the loaf. Brush with egg white and place into a 375F oven for 20 minutes, brush again with egg white and cook for an additional 15-20 minutes.

Note: In New Zealand naked oats can be found from on-line and specialty stores such as Millmore Downs  and Huckleberry Farms.

Simple Pleasures – Magnolia Little Gem

This holiday season for us was very low key. I didn’t even put up the old Christmas tree although we exchanged gifts (could not forgo this part:). No pressure thinking up menu, queuing up to buy that last punnet of strawberries or being a kitchen slave. We didn’t stuff our faces senseless either – we just relaxed, laid back and enjoy simple pleasures around us.

We enjoy simple stuff that we can easily find without stretching too far just like a single stem of Magnolia flower from one of the trees in colourful vase – our magnolias are Little Gem. We have three of the plants to screen one side of the driveway. We chose them because they will not grow too fast or too big. They have enchanting flowers and glossy leaves with copper matt underside that are nice to look at when not in bloom. They have been producing flowers since young. Magnolia flowers smell sweet but gentle. When I put one in the vase, it lasts for a couple of days and I get a nice whiff every time I walk pass.

However complicated 2014 might be for some, be positive and enjoy many nice simple things around you. Happy New Year!