Zen Mama

Homemade fruit crumble is always a favorite in our household. Over the years, I've tried and adapted different recipes. But the basic recipe I use for the crumble topping (below) is a combination of a crisp/crumble topping and it gives a crispy/crunchy texture. For the fruit filling, I change it depending on what type of fruit I have. Mixed Red Fruit and Pear Crumble INGREDIENTS:  CRUMBLE TOPPING: 1 cup oatmeal (not instant) 1 cup all purpose flour 1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar (vergoise) 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon (adjust to your taste) 1 teaspoon nutmeg (adjust to your taste) 125 grams cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces A teaspoon of orange flower water (optional) FILLING: - About 6 cups of fruit in small pieces. - Variations: Pear/Apple/Dried Cherry: you can use 4 very ripe pears and about 3 tart apples (granny smith) and add a handful of dried cherries. You can also add raisins or dried cranberries. Instead of apples, ...

This time it was my turn to choose a dish, and my co-cooking mamas asked me to find a Moroccan recipe--knowing that my mother-in-law is half Moroccan. Having experienced my mother-in-law's authentic homestyle cooking, it was pretty clear to me what dish I had to choose for this challenge. A Tagine would be too simple... It had to be something we wouldn't cook just any day. So I chose the ultimate special occasion dish: a Moroccan couscous. But I didn't ask for my mother in law's recipe. It's a rule of mine never to compete with her cooking. In French/Moroccan hubby's eyes (or tummy) his mother's couscous is the best -- full stop. And I must say, no restaurants we've tried together have ever served a better couscous than hubby's mummy-- ma belle mère. I cook by starting with a basic recipe, and then adjusting the elements for my preferred taste, texture, appearance and smell. So, I researched many recipes to find one that seemed to resemble the ...

The past week has been miserably cold, with temperatures dropping down to -9 degrees Celsius. After living in sub tropical Hong Kong for 16 years, my body has long forgotten that I was born in the Windy City of Chicago, where we grew accustomed to temps way colder than that! Today, it was only -2 but we had our first snowfall of the winter season... A whole 2 inches (laughable by Chicago standards) which the kids were all excite about. So we got all dressed in our ski wear and went up to our rooftop to try to build snowmen. After sweeping up most of the snow on our rooftop terrace, we had enough snow to build this mini snowman.

January 30th would've been my Dad's birthday. This time of year always evokes memories of him. He used to lead the Hip Sing Association lion dance troupe in the Argyle area of Chicago. I still remember him teaching the twenty and thirty something year old Chinese guys how to do the dance while he played the big drum. My brother and I would be on the sidelines watching every move with glee. Then on the usually freezing day of the performance, we would get all wrapped up in our winter snow gear and follow the lion dance parade around all the Chinese businesses in the neighbourhood until our toes couldn't take the cold anymore. So every time I see a lion dance around Chinese New Year, a wave of memories come flashing back into my head. We took Alexandre and Jean Michel to see the lion dance parade at the Hotel de Ville in Paris last weekend, and I was impressed by the thousands of people who were there to see it, and even more amazed at the number of Chinese associations wh...

Boeuf Bourguignon (Beef Stew in Red Wine) adapted from Julia Child's recipe Well, it's hit zero degrees in Paris today, and as I knew I wouldn't spend too much time outside, I decided to make a nice, heartwarming stew to warm up everyone's tummies this evening. One of the French stews I have always wanted to master is Boeuf Bourguignon. It's similar to a beef stew that my Dad used to make when I was a kid, except the Chinese version didn't include a bottle of red wine! Dad's version included such Chinese flavors as oyster sauce and star anise. I like to cook by taste, which I often find emanates from memories of flavors and aromas tasted. So I decided to add one star anise to my boeuf bourguignon, and found that it delicately spices up the carrots and the beef in a slightly sweet way. It can be overpowering, so I tossed it in the pot only halfway through the cooking. As Julia writes in her book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking , there are more wa...