lemongrass jelly

The description of the recipe goes like this .... simple, fresh and sophisticated. Intrigued, I tried my hands on making since the recipe looks easy and hassle-free enough.

Alas... how wrong! On the first trial, the jelly didn't solidify, so I ended up with bowls of lemongrass liquid after refrigerating them overnight. I guessed it was the water to gelatine ratio that went wrong. I drank them all, refreshing as they were, I was determine to make again.

So on the 2nd trial, I cut down the water and increase the gelatine. Viola! Lemongrass jelly at last.

Lemongrass Jelly

400 ml water
5 packet of lemongrass tea (I got mine from Bangkok on a recent trip there, replace with 1 tbs of chopped lemon grass stems if you are using fresh lemongrass)
3 tsp of gelatine or agar powder
juice of 1/2 lemon
sugar to taste
mint leaves (optional, for decoration)

1. Bring the water to boil, add the lemongrass, stir, reduce heat and let simmer for approx 5-7 mins.
2. Remove from heat and let rest for approx 10 mins.
3. Remove the lemongrass tea leave packet or strain the mixture if you are using fresh lemongrass.
4. Add the gelatine or agar powder and stir until fully resolved.
5. Add the lemon juice and sugar to taste.
6. Pour into jelly mold or any individual container
7. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or until jelly has set.
8. Decorate with mint leaves before serving if desired.

I find the taste a nice twist from conventional jelly flavours, and will probably complement a spicy main course well, but it is slightly flat for my palate. I would probably experiment by adding some crushed mint leaves into the jelly or use the jelly in some fruit salad.

I am submitting this post for Aspiring Baker #20 Asian Dessert Buffet hosted by Moon of Food Playground.

ginger cookies

I started to get anxious closer and closer to my due date.... the date came and gone and I was still having my little one inside. Well, in fact, I AM still having him inside me today...

So, I did a bit of searching online and came across a few recommendation on natural ways to induce labour. Some of them are really 'out' for me e.g. drinking castor oil. But one of them that seems promising is this recipe - Jump Start Your Labor Cookies. If it doesn't work, at least I still get something nice to eat. So here goes:

Labour Inducing Ginger Cookies

2 1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp cinnamon powder

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cloves (I omitted)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cayenne pepper (I replaced with red paprika)

8 tbsp butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar (I cut down to half)

1/3 cup molases (I used black molases)

1/4 cup egg whites (equal to 2 egg whites)

1. Preheat oven at 165 degree C

2. Combine flour, soda, spices and set aside.

3. Cream butter & sugar. Add molasses, then egg whites to creamed butter, mix until combined.

4. Add dry ingredients slowly.

5. Once incorporated, roll dough into 1 inch ball and place onto baking tray.

5. Bake for 8-10 mins.

I also grated a small amount of fresh ginger (about 2 tsp) and added that with its juices (another 2 tsp) into the recipe. Maybe because of the juices, the dough was a bit runny, so I used a spoon to scoop the dough onto the tray instead. I also baked the cookies slightly longer than stated, approx 15 mins.

The cookies were delicious, though slightly on the sweet side even though I already halved the brown sugar. They were crunchy on the edges but slightly on the chewy side in the middle. They turned slightly soft the next day but a toast in the toaster is all it takes to 'perk' the edges back to crunchy state.

I finished the last 3 cookies from the batch this morning and... surprise, surprise... I did start to experience some mild lower abdominal tightening since afternoon, but they are not of very regular intervals and being my 1st pregnancy, I am really not so sure whether it is early labour contraction that I am experiencing or otherwise. I am keeping my fingers crossed...