Ghibli Week 4: Howl's Moving Castle Breakfast

This post we're going on an adventure to the countryside to find a magical, roaming castle! Howl's Moving Castle (ハウルの動く城) was released in 2004 and like Kiki's Delivery Service, was also based on a novel by accomplished fantasy writer, the late Diana Wynne Jones. 

(source) You'd never think this was a children's movie.

In this movie there's one scene associated with food that, if you ask people who've watched it, will spring to mind almost immediately. Admittedly, I only asked 3 people so my survey population is severely lacking but the point still stands. For people who've yet to watch this film, the scene I'm talking about is when the main character, Sophie, is making breakfast and bullying Calcifer into helping. This scene also gave rise to a great insult: 'May all your bacon burn.'

(source) The animation even makes eating eggshells look delicious

All I need now is a smart talking fire demon.

Bit of a cop out, since this isn't a recipe, but who can argue with bacon? The biggest issue for me was trying to get bacon that looked exactly like the one in the movie. Originally, I planned to use pork belly and cut that into a thick slice, then prep it with a dry rub of salt and spices; but I couldn't find pork belly that was thick enough so I was forced to use my back up plan: buy it from the store. The regular bacon rashers weren't exactly what I was looking for, I think most bacon is cut into the separate sections e.g. shortcut vs streaky, and I was determined to find bacon that stretched the length of the frypan. Luckily for me, I found the 'premium' section of bacon, and the many choices available, but you really can't go wrong whichever you pick. So it's pretty easy to recreate this dish; just fry two pieces of the bacon, then add four eggs and fry until your desired doneness. If you want a more authentic movie experience, you can serve it with a thick slice of sourdough, a chunk of cheese and a bowl of what I think is tea. Either way, you'll really bring home the bacon. 

Bacon

More bacon

Best bacon (it's about the length of my hand plus forearm)

It's very hard to find an angle that doesn't make it look like an...ahem.

omnomnomnom

Happy slothing!!

xx

Ghibli Week 3: Kiki's Herring and Pumpkin Pot Pie and Bread

This post we're up in the clouds, but first we've got some deliveries to make! Kiki's Delivery Service (魔女の宅急便) was released in 1989 and was based on the novel of the same name. If you haven't seen it yet, give the soundtrack a listen; I'm especially fond of Rouge no Dengon (listen to it here). So the thing I most remember about this movie, was the bread. 

(source) One day I'll make bread like that...

My track record with yeast recipes is not great, to be honest, but I've kept at it! I've got a bread-maker somewhere, a long since past gift or impulse buy (I forget), and the household went through a phase of having fresh bread; and let me tell you, there may be a lot of things better than waking up to the smell of freshly baked bread, but it's definitely up there. And man, oh man, eating freshly baked bread? So good. I like my bread crusty but not overly so, with fluffy insides that are perfect for soaking up melted butter or margarine or olive oil with spicy, crunchy dukkah or tart balsamic vinegar or runny honey or warm, gooey peanut butter...sigh.

Back on track, this recipe calls for a lot of kneading (it needs to be kneaded hehe) so don't forget to stretch! True story; when I made this, I ended up pulling my forearm muscles so you've been warned. I've covered the technique before, but a quick refresher: push the dough away with the heel of your palm, fold it over, turn dough 90 degrees, repeat. Unfortunately there aren't that many process photos, because I thought this would be a complete write off. I also found this dough to be quite sticky and ended up adding roughly two extra tablespoons of flour. Science disclaimer! Not a food scientist, not a professional chef, never went to culinary school, recipe books and the internet are my sources of information and I think Play School may have covered this once? Baker's flour has a higher percentage of gluten than your everyday run of the mill plain flour, which gives bread a more elastic dough. This, when combined with the yeast's formation of carbon dioxide, traps the gas in the dough and causes it to rise. It also creates a better crust versus regular flour. Science over.

The bane of my baking existence.

Photo courtesy of dad sloth. 

Yooooooooooo. Dust them with flour before baking for that artisan look.

We love our bread, we love our butter, but most of all, we love each other.

It's a pretty dense bun, but it's great sliced and toasted.

Same deal with the herring and pumpkin pot pie, no process photos. I actually didn't use herring (and I'm not quite sure what kind of fish it is) so technically it's just a fish and pumpkin pot pie. To-may-to, to-mah-to. The fish, I found in the freezer and there were just three, sad, sorry looking fillets that I cut into ten pieces and scattered throughout the pie. Poor dad sloth didn't even realise there was fish in the pie until we told him later.

 I used Japanese pumpkin because I find it to be sweeter than other types, but I'm sure butternut or grey pumpkins would work as well. The base of this pie is a white, or bechamel, sauce. It's basically flour, butter or margarine, and milk. I don't actually have a recipe for this; if I want a thicker sauce, I add more flour,less milk and if it's thinner, I add less flour and more milk. You kind of get the hang of it after a while because it's all about proportions, but it's easy pie! Tips: be mindful not to burn the flour and add the milk little by little to make sure you get a nice, smooth consistency! It's a super impressive but low effort sauce that goes well with a lot of dishes, and you can make it richer by adding other stuff like stock or cream or cheese. Don't forget to season it as well; salt and pepper go a long way to making it tasty, and I like to add ground nutmeg for extra flavour. I also used store-bought puff pastry to save time and effort. One day I will make a laminated dough, but that day is not today. Laminated doughs kind of scare me as well; you have to use an entire pat of butter, and that's too much butter for one person.

(source) The original! I used it as a reference picture for the fish on top.

Pretty close, if I do say so myself! Mama sloth helped on the crimping of the crust. Can you tell which one's hers? Hint: it's the pretty looking ones. Those weird indents are knife marks (literally made by stabbing the pie) so the insides will cook.

The movie version..

And mine! 

Creamy and delicious and deceptively hearty

Ghibli Week 2: Ponyo Ramen

This post we go underwater to 崖の上のポニョ (Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea)! Released in 2008, it's vaguely based on Han Christian Andersen's story of 'The Little Mermaid'. Now with this one, it's a bit of a cop out because it's not reaaaally a recipe per se. It's throwing delicious things into a bowl then eating them. So without further ado, I give you Ponyo's Ramen!

(Source) The original..

And the copy!

Nomnom noodles

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM

This one's pretty easy, soft-boil or hard-boil an egg, wait until it's cooled down so you can touch it without burning yourself then shell it. Thinly slice some spring onions/scallions, and get the ham ready. To get a thicker slice than usual, I got mine as a cut-off from the local deli then sliced it to resemble the ham from the movie. Noodles and flavouring into a bowl, then pour over boiling water and cover.for ~3 minutes. Once the noodles have softened and look more noodley, then assemble! That's one half of the egg, two slices of ham and a handful of chopped spring onion. And that's about it really, hope you'll tune in for my next post!


Happy slothing!!
xx

Ghibli Week 1: Profitotoroles

Let's get this week kicked off! Today we visit the towering trees of Japan to seek out a friendly neighbour...have you guessed it yet? It's となりのトトロ (My Neighbour Totoro) time!! This is arguably the most well known of all Hayao Miyazaki's work, and Totoro himself is part of the Studio Ghibli logo and as well known in Japan as Winnie-the-Pooh is to the UK. My Neighbour Totoro was released in 1988 and it's dazzled adults and children alike since then. It's one of my favourite movies, and I'm not afraid to admit I've got a Totoro plush in my room. 

(source) aaaaah he's so cute 

Something I've always been fascinated by is food art, and you'd be hard pressed to find a country that does it better than Japan. So is it any wonder that they've even made profiteroles or cream puffs in the shape of Totoro? This place is the only officially recognised seller of Totoro cream puffs so you know they're good. It's one of the places that I want to see when I eventually visit Japan, but for now you can read more about them here! 

Now these are something I've made before, but I decided to try and imitate the store's puffs. Overall with this recipe...I think I could've done better presentation wise. It's one of those where the equipment you use really has an impact on the quality of the finished product, so I think there'll be some piping bags in my near future. However taste wise: it's crisp but not buttery, and even a day old, they're not soggy so that's a plus in my book. Warning: go no further if you can't stomach a beloved character being consumed.

Crazy eyes. They know what's coming.

Admittedly this one's a bit dark. Sorry kids!

Now this recipe calls for choux pastry, which can be quite daunting to make. Practice makes perfect and once you get the hang of it, you'll be whipping out profiteroles and eclairs like no one's business. At first glance, the recipe is simple (famous last words). Butter and water in a pan, stir in flour then add eggs. Okay, so what could go wrong? One, your flour could burn, rendering the entire thing useless. Two, your flour mixture could be too hot and actually cook your eggs, resulting in some kind of scrambled disaster. Three, and this one's the most common, your profiteroles don't rise. In perspective, this isn't a big deal because you can plump them up with whatever filling you like, but there's something incredibly disappointing when you look at those flat pastry pancakes instead of golden mounds of joy.

Quick science lesson! (Disclaimer: I am not a food scientist nor have I ever studied food science; everything I've learnt is from reading recipes til my eyes cross, watching cooking shows and internet. So much internet.) I've touched on this before in my previous post about the scones, so it's kind of the same principle. The crust traps the steam which is formed when the water evaporates, resulting in the characteristic puff appearance. Okay, science over.

So solutions: number one, keep an eye on the roux (the flour and butter mix) and use a low heat; number two, make sure you cool the mixture down. A bit vague, I know, but my go-to standard is body temperature (so you can touch it without it burning you). Thirdly, add the egg little by little, don't dump it all in at once. Try not to add more than maybe two tablespoons at a time, and make sure the mixture is beaten really well before adding more egg. Fourthly, preheat your oven really well  for at least 15-20 minutes before you plan to put them in. You can also make them crispier by lowering the heat, slitting them open with a sharp knife (be careful of the steam!) and baking them for a bit longer which will help to dry out the insides.

Mmm delicious watery butter

Off the heat immediately and chuck the flour in and beat it, beat it, beat it. 

You get killer arm muscles.

Adding the egg bit by bit, looks ridiculous

But gradually...

It becomes great.

Boom. Choux pastry. #winning

When it comes to the making of, you can be fancy and do it almost like a pear like shape so he gets a head and body, but I was having enough difficulty squeezing it out from the plastic bag onto the greased paper to bother with that. I went with the vague oval approach for the bodies, then with the remaining dough in another bag, I piped a little 'u'-ish shape for the ears. So this is a really dumb story and I probably shouldn't be telling you this but I tried using baking paper for the pastry bag, which usually works for things. Looking back, I probably folded it wrong but live and learn! Anyway, I made this cone shape thing, then realised I had no way of keeping it closed; so at first I used sticky tape. Didn't work because, well, it's baking paper. Then I decided to staple it shut. It looked legit, so I was like yeah, this'll work. It didn't.

My cone of shame

Using a freezer bag, you've got pretty much no control where your puffs go hence the terrible use of space.

Not the nicest I've ever made.

Dampen your finger with water and squash them into submission.

Decoration wise, go nuts. Easiest way is probably going to the shops and getting pre-made icing eyes (I'm pretty sure they exist) or alternatively get those icing pens from the supermarket and draw on faces. If you've got a bit of time to spare, you can also make them out of white chocolate and dark chocolate or Nutella for the details. I melted down some white chocolate blocks and piped them into circular shapes and put them into the fridge, then when they were hardened, got some Nutella on a toothpick and drew in pupils. Back into the fridge until I needed to use them, then drew on the nose with Nutella and melted the back of the white chocolate eye with a fingertip. I've got really warm hands though, so it might be easier to use a knife that's been sitting in hot water and is wiped dry before using. I filled them with a mixture of custard and cream from their base, then sat them in a cupcake liner, but presentation's completely up to you!

If you have any that aren't up to scratch, eat them.

Look at that lopsided Totoro. He's just accepted his fate.

Introducing....GHIBLI WEEK

This is something I've been wanting to do for a while now, but I wanted a way to document it. And now I have one! Studio Ghibli's movies have some of the best animated food I've ever seen, I could go on and on about it, but I'll let the pictures do the talking.

(source) Whaaat

(source) Whaaaaaat

(source) Whaaaaaaaaaat

(source) Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat

(source) Me too, No Face...me too....

So without further ado, I give you the Ghibli Week run down (in no particular order):

• The Cat Returns: Strawberry shortcake and Fish Crackers
• Kiki's Delivery Service: Herring and Pumpkin Pot Pie and Bread
• My Neighbour Totoro: Profitotoro
• Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea: Ponyo Ramen
• Spirited Away: Dumplings and Steamed Buns
• Howl's Moving Castle: Bacon and Eggs
• Studio Ghibli Bento

Happy slothing!!

xx

Doh! Nuts!

If you've been living under a rock for the past few days, you probably haven't heard the news that a Krispy Kreme's opened in Perth; donut lovers everywhere rejoiced. Apparently Perth broke the record for most donuts sold on an opening day; not sure if that's something to be proud of, but hey, take what victories you can!

Perth wasn't without quality donuts before Krispy Kreme came (try saying that ten times fast), my favourite donut could be found in a humble stall in Freo Markets. It's called Levi's Donuts and they do some of the best donuts I've ever had. They offer one of three choices: traditional, blackberry and dark chocolate; and man, there's nothing sweeter than sinking your teeth in a steaming hot, fluffy donut. Definitely worth checking out if you're in the markets.

Now when the craving for donuts struck, my solution was simple: make my own. But why go to all that effort of making the dough then frying it when you could've easily just driven to the store, I hear you ask, and I'll answer 'because I can' and honestly, home made trumps store bought. Plus there's something very satisfying about making something that and I quote sloth dad, 'are good as the store ones!'.

awwwww yeeeeeeeeeaahhhh

Cinnamon and sugar: classic combo

Icing sugar and mulberry jam: winning

Jammy innards

 Now this recipe hails from Masterchef Australia (I'm beginning to sense a pattern emerging) from Gary Mehigan (one of the judges if you're unfamiliar with the show). His recipe called for lavender sugar and while I have lavender outside in the garden, I'm not sure it's suitable for human consumption. I also decided to halve the original recipe, but you still make a decent amount depending on how big you intend the donuts to be (mmm mega donut). I also decided to try and be 'health conscious' and substitute margarine for the butter but I mean, you're basically deep frying dough then rolling it in sugar. So. Up to you.

The dough that this recipe makes is quite soft, so I tried to pipe the donuts into the oil. For me, at least, not a good idea although I would've probably had more success if I had used an actual pastry bag and wiped the knife clean between each separation of dough from the bag (hindsight's always 20/20) but I found two spoons do the job well enough. Plus you've got more of a chance of making round ones and not...well, I'll let the picture speak for itself. 

I really should invest in actual piping bags.

A vague quenelle shape

I've affectionately named the long one Bristol Stool 4

The two spoon method is definitely prettier.

This recipe is a bit time consuming so make sure that you set aside some time for it, especially the proving of the yeast and the frying. If you don't have a deep fryer, you can also use a saucepan or (my personal favourite) a wok. Just be mindful of heating the oil to the right temperature; a handy hint is to test it with a chunk of bread. If the bread fries to a golden brown in roughly thirty seconds to a minute, your oil's ready. Alternatively, you can look for a 'shimmer' (it's a bit hard to explain without pictures, but the surface of the oil seems to shimmer as if there's a mirage?) or if you have a bamboo chopstick; when you stick the tip in the oil, bubbles should form around the chopstick (again, hard to explain without pictures). Also between batches, wait for the oil to reheat: the longer they soak in the oil, the more oil they'll absorb. 

Everything you need: try to make sure the yeast is as fresh as possible!

I used a microwave to heat up the milk, sugar and margarine; make sure it's body temperature (you can test it by dropping a bit of milk on your wrist like you'd check a baby's bottle)

If the milk's not hot or too hot, the yeast won't work as well (tricky buggeryboo)

The yeasty, eggy, milky mixture

Looks like absolute rubbish but keep mixing it until...

It should be thick enough to form a ribbon when you lift the whisk

Use the 45 minutes - 1 hour to pamper yourself, you deserve it

The batter pretty much doubles in size, but be careful..

I dropped it on the counter and it deflated a bit

Golden brown and slighty round, don't overcrowd the fryer!