QUEEN VICTORIA'S BUTTERNUT SQUASH- FLAVOURED MUFFINS

 by: MisS VictoriA DaviD

Cherishing my own country of birth means yearning for appetising delicacies and flavoursome desserts. Last time I was craving for “Puto” (Steamed Rice Cake), the idea of creating my own version just suddenly came into my mind. Moreover, it was even more compelled and supplemented when I bought a whole Butternut Squash.

In cold months, the use of our kitchen oven in the cooking process offers extra warmth which keeps us very snug indoors and also, provides satisfying dishes. What a heavenly feeling to have both! That is why for the past months, I have preferred more the oven cooking process eventhough it takes extra time.

Main Ingredients:

• Prepared Butternut Squash mixture
• 3 tbsps. of Rice Powder (Ground Rice)
• 2 tbsps. of Oat Flakes
• ½ cup of Grated Cheese
• 1 tsp. of Clear Honey
• 1 medium-sized Egg; beaten
• a pinch of Salt and Ground Spice

Butternut Squash Ingredients:

• Half (Lengthwise) of Butternut Squash
• ½ cup of Grated Cheese
• a stalk of Spring Onion; diagonally cut
• 2 tbsps. of Extra Virgin Oil
• a pinch of Mixed Herbs
• a dash of Ground Pepper

Butternut Squash Cooking Procedure:

1. Wash very well the whole Butternut Squash, then dry it with a clean cloth.
2. Place it on the chopping board and use a chef's knife to divide it into 2 halves. Keep the other half in the fridge for future use.
3. Once divided, use a metal spoon to scoop off seeds and scrape out the stringy pulp.
4. Preheat the oven to 190ºC under Bake Mode (electric).
5. Turn over the butternut squash and make a few penetrating vertical lines (an inch) by simply stabbing it with a knife. Turn over it again and do the same (Be careful and avoid hitting your fingers). Set it aside for awhile.
6. Roll-out a substantial sheet of foil or a length more than enough to envelope the butternut squash.
7. Lay the butternut squash in the centre of the foil (pulp side facing you). Garnish it with grated cheese and spring onion followed by sprinkling of mixed herbs and ground pepper. Then, surge it with Extra Virgin Oil.
8. Finally, seal it by twisting the open borders of the foil and just make sure that there are no open edges. If it is not totally sealed, it will decelerate the cooking process.
9. In a baking tray, place the well sealed butternut squash and then, stick it in the preheated oven.
10. Bake for 60 minutes but check after 40-minute to see if the pulp has softened. If it is, take it out of the oven entirely, then switch off the oven.
11. Unseal the borders/edges of the foil and leave it to cool down for 15 minutes.
12. When it has cooled off, use a metal spoon to scoop off the cooked fleshy pulp and place in a deep bowl. Avoid scraping off the outer skin, if possible. 

You now have a pre-cooked Butternut Squash and a bowl of fleshy pulp. The next final step await for you is easier and less complex. What a (butter) nutty!

Main Cooking Procedure:

1. In a saucepan, combine the pre-cooked Butternut Squash fleshy pulp; rice powder (ground rice) and grated cheese. Mix all well.
2. Make a well, then add the clear honey and beaten egg. Beat all well using an electric beater or a metal fork.
3. Once well blended, add the remaining ingredients (salt and ground spice). Mix again until all well blended. Set it aside for awhile.
4. Prepare your electric Food Steamer and fill the boiler pan/base with water up to its maximum water level. Set it aside for awhile.
5. Prepare the steaming barrels/trays, then arrange in each tray loosely (half an inch apart) the silicone muffin cases.
6. Mix again your prepared main mixture in the saucepan (Step 3), then use a metal spoon to fill-in each muffin case. Make sure to distribute evenly the mixture into the muffin cases. 
7. Cover, turn on the food steamer and set its timer at 45 minutes. In 30-minute time, test for its consistency by inserting a toothpick into a muffin and if it comes out clean, you can now soon enjoy your Butternut Squash Flavoured Muffins.
8. On the other hand, if the toothpick comes out moist you must steam the muffins for 15 minutes more.
9. When you are satisfied with the consistency and the outcome, remove one by one the muffins and arrange them on a plate.

I would passionately recommended to eat the Butternut Squash Flavoured Muffins while they are still warmish or fresh from the food steamer. Additionally, you can try glazing its amorphous top either with a teaspoon of caramelised onion chutney or a slither of cranberry sauce. Who knows, with the added piquancy you will end-up eating more than 1 homemade muffin like myself!

QUEEN VICTORIA'S THRICE- COOKED PORK LEG

 by: MisS VictoriA DaviD

I have found that using the electric food steamer was worth the trouble and time as it leaves the meat so tender! 

Main Ingredients:

• Pork Leg; cut into three pieces
• Fresh Ginger, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of Garlic; finely crushed using a garlic press
• 2 tbsps. of Sunflower Oil

Sauce Ingredients:

• 3 tbsps. of Extra Virgin Oil
• 1 tbsp. of Clear Honey
• ¼ tsp. of Cayenne Pepper
• a pinch of Salt
• a pinch of Mixed Herbs
• 1 tsp. of Vegetable Stock Granules

Sauce Preparation:

1. In a deep bowl, combine the extra virgin oil, clear honey and cayenne pepper. Stir well.  
2. Add the salt and vegetable stock granules as additional flavours. Stir all well again.
3.  Once mixed and blended, just set it aside. 

Thrice- Cooking Procedure:

1. Wash and rinse well the fresh pork leg (if frozen, thaw your meat).
2. Prepare the chopping board and use a butcher's knife to divide the pork leg into 3 pieces. Wash again and set aside in the fridge.
3. Prepare your electric FOOD STEAMER and fill the boiler pan/base with water up to its maximum water level.
4. Lay the pieces of pork leg into the rice bowl and then, place it in the steaming barrel/tray (if in case the rice bowl cannot accommodate all of the pieces, use another steaming tray. Just make sure that the piece of meat is placed in the centre so when it's steaming, the dripping juice will funnel down into the rice bowl underneath).
5. Cover, turn on the food steamer and set its timer at 40-60 minutes. Check every 20-30 minutes with the intention of turning each over. Alert your senses apart from maintaining the water level of its base.
6. While waiting, chop the ginger and crush the garlic. Additionally, formulate and make your homemade glazed sauce as well.
7. Prepare your cooking dish and scatter evenly on its base the chopped/crushed main ingredients. Then, seal it by distributing on top the sunflower oil.
8. Ten minutes before the steaming ends, preheat the oven to 160ºC under BAKE MODE (electric).
9. When the pieces of pork leg have been steamed, remove them out of the rice bowl and place them one by one over the arranged ingredients in the cooking dish.
10. Using a silicone pastry brush, coat and cover the pieces all over with the prepared homemade glazed sauce.
11. Subsequently, cover-up your cooking dish with a sheet of foil and seal it by twisting its end sides.
12. Place it in the preheated oven, then bake for 40 minutes. In 20-minute time, turn over and glaze the pieces with the remaining sauce and its own extracted piping hot succulent juice. Be careful not to burn yourself!
13. Once baked, remove the foil and bring the meat to GRILL MODE. I have been using a double-oven cooker with grill for the past months. Thus, when it was time for me to grill the pieces I turned on the grill and set its degree temperature to 3 out of 4 levels.
14. Grill them for 30 minutes and carefully turning over every 15 minutes. If you can spoon-out its extracted juice without burning yourself, do it and spread all over the pieces.
15. Once crispy grilled, take your cooking dish out of the grill. If possible, spoon & glaze again over the pieces its flavoursome jelly-like juice.
16. Leave it to cool down for 3 minutes before cutting the pieces into less choking portions. Alternatively, dish them out of the cooking dish and serve the way they are on the table for you and your 2 more family members to devour.

The benefit of using an electric food steamer in order to tenderise the meat is that it is far better than traditionally boiling it in a saucepan. Why is that? It creates a succulent meat with sitting duck consistency particularly the fat and skin. Moreover, it yields a gelatinous syrup which can be used either as the luscious final liquid for cooking rice or as a savoury broth ingredient for the gravy sauce.

The next time you have plenty of time, try cooking meat this way and who knows, your evasive granny would appreciate its succulence as well!