I feel a certain calmness these days that I haven’t felt in a long while. Is it that the air seems crisper and fresher? I’ll admit, I’m more aware these days that I’m getting older. I’ve adopted that sing-song voice when I talk to friends’ kids. The guy behind the counter at the local liquor store has long since forgotten to ask me for ID. Face cream, not ice-cream, is now an important daily ritual.

Of course, I still love ice-cream, but am becoming increasingly conscious of the need to eat healthily. My heart still beats faster for butter but I’ve also found new things to be excited about. Not forgetting my foray into the world of black bean brownies, I’ve become equally excited about Celine’s chickpea ‘blondies’. The fact that a combination as unusual as strawberry jam, tahini and chickpeas can be delicious and as an added bonus, healthy and vegan, is what I find so interesting.

In the spirit of the vegan recipes and wholesome eating, I’m including a beautiful vegan-friendly tofu and sesame dish, adapted from a chicken recipe by Harumi Kurihara from her book, Harumi’s Japanese Cooking. I’m a big fan of cucumber, and happily eat it with most things (especially in sandwiches). If you happen to dislike cucumber, you can easily replace it with any other vegetable, such as shredded cabbage, carrot, beansprouts etc. This dish is wonderful as an appetiser, or can be served with rice or soba noodles as the main event.

You can find the recipe for chickpea ‘blondies’ here.

Tofu salad with sesame sauce :
(serves 4, or 2 hungry people)

50g spring onion (scallions), finely shredded
200g cucumber (or a mixture of your favourite vegetables)
250g firm tofu, cut into strips or cubes
50g green beans, blanched and refreshed
1/4 bunch coriander, leaves picked and roughly chopped or torn

for the sesame sauce :
1/4 cup (50ml) chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
4 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons caster sugar
1/2 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, lightly toasted
1 small red chilli, finely chopped
2 teaspoons ginger, finely chopped
2 teaspoons garlic, finely chopped

Cut the cucumber in half, remove the seeds with a spoon, and slice the remaining flesh into batons. Combine the cucumber and remaining ingredients in a bowl.

Mix all the ingredients for the sesame sauce in a separate bowl, the pour it over the tofu and cucumber. Toss well, adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, and serve.

(PS: I’m dedicating this recipe to a good friend in Alaska, who kindly reads my blog every now and then, and somehow manages to comment occasionally even though he doesn’t have much interest in baking. There you go W., I’ve got a savoury recipe for you to try!)

It is on days like these when I’m on my 8th shift of the week, that I start to wonder about my sanity. Why do I do this to myself? Why did I pick this particular line of work, with which to bring home the bacon? Because, you know, haha, with the amount of money I’m earning, the bacon ain’t all that great! Why did I choose to work in a kitchen that feels like a furnace? Why am I working with someone who is obsessed with putting the Arctic Monkeys on repeat? Loudly.

I was thinking all these things as I drifted past the front desk of the restaurant, when the Sommelier called out, “You made a grown woman cry!”.

Hmm? What? (What have I done now?)

“A customer tonight said that the blueberry dish she had was the most amazing dessert she had ever eaten, and that it even brought a tear to her eye.”

Really? I mean, it’s not my dessert. I just work for the Pastry Chef, but to hear a compliment like that, in a place where you don’t often get feedback; it parted the grey cloud in my head like a certain bearded man had, the Red Sea. That, and the “best souffle ever” comment I got from another table that evening, left me practically skipping out the kitchen door when it was time to go home.

Ah yes, that’s why I do it. Maybe I’m not so insane afterall. Maybe all I need is the occasional reminder, that I cook because I love to feed people. Even if it’s for people I don’t know. My family have always been non-touchy-feely people. Most things, we said through food. Through the act of having a meal together. Through cooking a meal or paying for one. Food is one of the most pleasurable necessities in life, and I think we sometimes forget it, when we are worrying about being too fat or not thin enough, or whatever else that screws up rational thought.

So despite the stinking hot weather outside and the lethargy I was feeling, it was with many of the above things in my mind, that I completed January’s Daring Bakers Challenge.

This month’s challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

I opted to try the savoury tuile recipe instead, because it was a recipe by Thomas Keller, that I’ve always wanted to try. Instead of making cornets as stated in the recipe below, I decided to shape them as tacos, and fill them with crab, avocado and a spicy tomato salsa. A lovely light Summer treat. Perfect perhaps, with a tall glass of bubbly.

Savory tuile/cornet :
(from The French Laundry Cookbook by Thomas Keller)

65 grams plain flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt (= 2/3 teaspoon table salt)
114 grams unsalted butter, softened but still cool to the touch
2 large egg whites, cold
2 tablespoons black sesame seeds

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the softened butter until it is completely smooth and mayonnaise-like in texture. Using a stiff spatula or spoon, beat the egg whites into the dry ingredients until completely incorporated and smooth. Whisk in the softened butter by thirds, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary and whisking until the batter is creamy and without any lumps. Transfer the batter to a smaller container, as it will be easier to work with.

Preheat the oven to 200′C.

Make a 4-inch hollow circular stencil. Place Silpat on the counter. Place the stencil in one corner of the sheet and, holding the stencil flat against the Silpat, scoop some of the batter onto the back of an offset spatula and spread it in an even layer over the stencil. Then run the spatula over the entire stencil to remove any excess batter. After baking the first batch of cornets, you will be able to judge the correct thickness. You may need a little more or less batter to adjust the thickness of the cornets.

There should not be any holes in the batter. Lift the stencil and repeat the process to make as many rounds as you have molds or to fill the Silpat, leaving about 1 1/2 inches between the cornets. Sprinkle each cornet with a pinch of black sesame seeds.

Place the Silpat on a heavy baking sheet and bake for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the batter is set and you see it rippling from the heat. The cornets may have browned in some areas, but they will not be evenly browned at this point.

Open the oven door and place the baking sheet on the door. This will help keep the cornets warm as you roll them and prevent them from becoming too stiff to roll. Flip a cornet over on the sheet pan, sesame seed side down and place 4-1/2 inch cornet mold at the bottom of the round.

Fold the bottom of the cornet and around the mold; it should remain on the sheet pan as you roll. Leave the cornet wrapped around the mold and continue to roll the cornets around molds; as you proceed, arrange the rolled cornets, seams side down, on the sheet pan so they lean against each other, to prevent from rolling.

When all the cornets are rolled, return them to the oven shelf, close the door, and bake for an additional 3 to 4 minutes to set the seams and color the cornets a golden brown. If the color is uneven, stand the cornets on end for a minute or so more, until the color is even. Remove the cornets from the oven and allow to cool just slightly, 30 seconds or so. Gently remove the cornets from the molds and cool for several minutes on paper towels. Remove the Silpat from the baking sheet, wipe the excess butter from it, and allow it to cool down before spreading the next batch. Store the cornets for up to 2 days (for maximum flavor) in an airtight container.

Recently, it occured to me that I seem to have some weird connection with P words.

-I have a ‘thing’ for certain words. Pony, for example.

-A good friend of mine from high school used to call me Penfold (from Danger Mouse). Apparently I look like Penfold!

-My sister and I grew up reading (but never watching) the Flumps. I had a homemade version of Pootle which I loved to death (his, not mine). B calls me Pootle sometimes. Apparently I also look like Pootle. If you combine Penfold and Pootle, you get Poofold! Hopefully I don’t look like anything called Poofold.

-I also love Pastry. Drape anything in pastry and I’ll probably eat it. Except Poofold. Inspired by Matt’s Partridge Pasties, I made Pastie versions of our curried chicken and Potato Pie dinner the other day. It was a Pleasant Pow! to the tastebuds.

-Thanks to B, I am now addicted to watching English Premier League football. That doesn’t quite start with P but I can make it : Penglish Premier Pleague Pootball!

Ok, that’s enough silliness now…

Creme fraiche pastry :
(This is my favourite standby pastry. It’s quick and easy to put together, and the end result is wonderfully tender, flaky and flavoursome. If you don’t have creme fraiche, sour cream works just as well (although it has to be said, cooking with creme fraiche is a pleasure unto itself). The recipe comes from Christine Manfield’s book, Spice. Use it for pithivier-style pies (she has a five-spice duck and shiitake mushroom pie in her book) or pasties. She doesn’t recommend it for use as a tart case because of how short the pastry is).

125g cold unsalted butter
200g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
125g creme fraiche

Chill bowl and blade of a food processor in refrigerator. Chop butter into chunks and, while still cold, blend with flour and salt in food processor until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add creme fraiche and pulse until just incorporated. Don’t overwork dough at thisstage or pastry will be difficult to handle with rolling. Form pastry into a ball by hand, then wrap in plastic film and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Roll and cut pastry as required. Keep pastry as cool as possible when working with it – you may need to return it to the refrigerator as you roll and cut.

To bake, preheat oven to 220′C and bake until golden.