Stuffed Poblano Peppers

At the Korean grocery store, I found small poblano peppers for extremely cheap.  I paid around $1 for six of them.  I've wanted to make stuffed peppers for ages, but really couldn't justify paying $3 for two peppers at the grocery store.

I also had four ears of corn that needed to be cooked as soon as possible.  Hmm...

Stuffed Poblano Pepers
Makes at least two servings

6 medium poblano peppers (I used smaller peppers and have about 3 cups of mixture leftover, so more, larger peppers would probably be the way to go)
1 cup cooked corn (fresh is best)
1 cup cooked rice (I used brown basmati)
1/4 cup shredded cheese (the generic Mexican blend works)
1 cup fresh pico de gallo 
2-3 tablespoons sour cream

Preheat your oven to 350.

Cook your rice until it's just slightly undercooked and set aside to cool.

Cut off the top of the peppers carefully, remove seeds and membranes and set aside, saving the tops.  Be smarter than I was and wear gloves.  The oil in these peppers is killer.  I may or may not have ended up doing a dance in the kitchen because of the oil.
 
Mix the rice, corn, pico de gallo, cheese and sour cream together until combined.  You want just enough moisture to make it stick together.

Stuff the peppers, put the tops back on and put them on a very lightly greased baking sheet.

Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes.  Larger peppers will need more time.

Broil for about 10 minutes to get the peppers browned on the outside.  I imagine this could be done over a flame and it'd taste even better.

To serve, I cut them open, put a tiny bit more cheese and sour cream on top of the rice and corn mixture.

I loved these, which really says something, because I'm not a huge pepper fan.  They're slightly spicy from being cooked in the peppers, but it's nothing major.  Just be sure to get all the pepper seeds out or you'll be in for a surprise.

I have an obscene amount of the filling left.  I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do with it, but it's too good to waste.  Also, I saved the rest of the corn and the corn cobs to make a corn soup one of these days when I get unlazy.

One of these days, I'll charge the battery on my good camera and actually make a lightbox so I have better pictures, I swear.

Coconut Pandan Sago Pudding

After hitting up Lotte Plaza to replenish my noodle supply and finding sago and pandan extract, I decided to make something out of it.  Since I have zero idea on where to find palm sugar for a reasonable price, I tried to do something similar to gula meleka (sago pearls with a palm sugar sauce and coconut milk).

Sago is fairly similar to tapioca.  It's often seen in pearl form, like tapioca.   I imagine you could easily do this with tapioca pearls.  The store I go to carries it in several flavours and I chose "Fresh", which I imagine is actually "Plain". 

Pandan, or screwpine, is often used in Southeast Asian cooking.  It is known for it's green colour (Though most juices/extracts have added dyes.  Check your ingredients if you're sensitive to them!) and it's unique taste.  It tastes slightly floral, not overpowering like rose extracts, with vague pine and citrus overtones.  I know, it sounds horrific, but it really is a lovely taste.  My first experience with it was with Ca Rem #1 ice cream in Seattle.  This was also my first experience with durian, but I'd rather not relive that one.

Cooked sago:

Excuse my much loved cheesecloth.  My Ikea colander has fairly large holes and I really didn't want to risk it.

Now to use the pandan and coconut.

Erm... I don't remember pandan being quite that colour or that smell, but okay.


Hm... a little watery, so I added some cornstarch mixed with pandan juice.


The finished product:

It may not look all that appetizing, but it is unbelievably good, if I do say so myself.  I am very pleased with the outcome.  This was my first attempt at cooking with sago or pandan.  I see a lot of experimenting in my future.

Coconut Pandan Sago
4 servings

250g (8.8oz package) sago pearls
1/3 cup of coconut milk (do not buy light coconut milk, all they do is add water)
3-4 tablespoons pandan extract (I think my "extract" was closer to juice.  I'd use significantly less paste and mix it with water to make the juice.)
3-4 tablespoons of sugar (depending on how sweet you like things)

In a good sized pot, bring water to a boil and slowly drop the sago pearls in, stirring to make sure they don't clump up.  Boil for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Rinse the sago in cool water and drain.

Over low heal,  add the coconut milk, pandan juice and sugar into the large pot (hey, less dishes to wash, right?).  Add the sago back in and stir.

Pour sago into bowls and let cool.  Like tapioca, it's good both warm and cold, though while cold, it seems to hold it's shape incredibly well and can be put into molds.

If it looks thin, that's okay. It'll set when it's chilled and it's good soupy too. I added cornstarch to mine and that was a horrible mistake.

This is not the most healthy dessert, but it tastes like heaven on a hot summer day.  It's very rich, so smaller portions are generally better.

I Can't Bake Cookies

No, really.  I cannot make cookies to save my life.  I've made dozens of types, different doughs, different proportions, different everything.

The last ridiculously bad set of cookies was chocolate-raspberry-pecan rugelach.  Rugelach dough is a pain.  It's sticky and oily.  There was so much oil in the dough that I'm surprised I didn't have a heart attack just handling it.  But all was well.  I managed to get it to behave long enough to get the filling in and get it onto the silicone mat.

And then it went wrong.

I noticed it smelled kind of funny. Not bad funny, just a little off.  When I peeked, I noticed the filling had kind of ran. 

Okay, not "kind of".  All over.  The chocolate had melted everywhere, making pools all over the the silicone mat (I've never been so thankful for that stupid mat!). 

The dough however?  Flawless.  Absolutely flawless.  Best dough I've never made.  Perfect texture, taste, crispy and soft at the same time... mmm.   Next time, I'll leave the chocolate out.  Or maybe just the entire filling.

This is one in the long line of cookie failures.

Imagine my surprise when I made these lovely Brown Butter Buttons and they turned out well.  Of course, there had to be a mishap.

While browning butter for the first time, I got to relearn the fact that just because oil is still does not mean it is not, in fact, hot.  What happens with oil when you add something with a high alcohol content to it like, oh, almond extract?  I just about jumped out of my skin.

The picture is horrible, but that's what happens in a dark room with a crappy phone camera.  This picture does not do these cookies justice.  They are amazing.  They are crunchy and sandy (in a good way!) and melty in a good way.  So fantastic.