a new name

just as spring has been showing us more and more signs of new life, so i have decided that i might re-name this blog. it came to me quite suddenly that i needed a change, and what better two words to use in this cookery blog than the two ingredients that have influenced my tastebuds and evoke so many memories of my childhood: chervil and miso.

chervil; because my Belgian grandmother would cook the most delicate yet flavorsome soup with it, and so, incidentally, does my mom-in-law. yet only now do i realize that not so many people are that familiar with it, so i ll be posting that recipe very soon.

miso; because my Japanese grandmother would make us this miso-soup on special occasions, especially at New Year, with roasted o-mochi (rice-cakes) and this was called o-zoni (i believe in the Kansai area where we grew up, the New Year o-zoni was often made with miso, but in the Kanto area more to the north, it would be made with suimono, which is more of a clear dashi-broth... must look that one up). i can t remember quite why, but my grandparents always enjoyed a western-style breakfast: thick toast with butter, jam, a boiled egg and black tea, so having a Japanese style breakfast like the o-zoni was certainly a treat.

so, chervil & miso, two taste sensations among many, but very important to me.

this weekend, i tried my hand at making some mousses and jellies. must admit, it didn t quite work as i expected, so will be tweaking.

here s my attempt at making a milk matcha (green tea) jelly:

INGREDIENTS:

300 ml milk
300 ml water
100 ml cream
5 tbsps sweetened matcha powder, or the same amount of normal matcha powder
and sugar to taste, but don t make it too sweet (i would suggest max 3 tbsps)
2 gelatin leaves (total 6gr)

METHOD:

1. soak the gelatin leaves in cold water until softened
2. heat the milk, water and cream to boiling point
3. add the matcha powder (and sugar, if using) and mix well
4. squeeze the water out of the softened gelatin, and add to the warm milk matcha mixture, stir until completely dissolved
5. leave to cool a little before pouring into ramekins or any kind of pretty little cups
6. cover with clingfilm (which i forgot to do, result: wrinkly skin) and refrigerate until set

i served this with a little rose-syrup which i thought went pretty well with the slight bitterness of the green tea.

not quite perfect, but getting there... next up, as promised, chervil soup to celebrate spring and the re-naming of this blog.