apophenia

Not dead yet.

I got promoted at work. I know, right? It kicks in 1st February, but the paperwork is all signed and dated, and I'm still considering the mess I've got myself into. It's more responsibility and less thanks and hopefully a few less 60 hour weeks per year. Oh, and an on-call rotation. I just hope they don't make me start wearing shoes, but it is exciting.

It also means I get to work a day shift again. I'll miss my nights at work, but I've also learned a few things about working nights. No matter how hard you try, you end up eating way more junk food. After a while, no matter how cool your friends are, they'll stop calling you about going out because they feel like they're bothering you. You catch yourself speaking with a french accent at inappropriate times. You hate UPS even more now, because they wake you up at 2pm.

With a french accent.

PAX East is coming up. (That's the Penny Arcade Expo, in Boston.) Obligatory: If you're considering going, register soon. I'm all set to go and waiting for my assignment, hotel booked, airfare bought, sweaters stocked up. If you know good places to hang out in near Hynes Hall in Boston, I'd love to hear.

Nothing much changes. I'm better with unix. My apartment is a mess. I dress better, probably. I'm sort of a responsible adult, sometimes. I made up the thing about the french accent, my french is awful. It's actually a british accent.

So really, what do you do with an employee who is un-trustworthy, can't be trained, fumbles anything mildly complicated, and has a terrible attitude?

And where did I leave that spike-pit?

I've been thinking a lot about patience and . . . how to put it . . . how one looks at the world. I've a coworker who is just a few years younger than me, but often seems far younger in terms of outlook and, well, patience.

The contrast makes me think of how I engineered the attitude and outlook I hold now. What does it really take to learn that situations that inconvenience you personally aren't personal attacks? That viewing the world in the negative often means you see far less of the positive? And finally, that the surface of a problem is not the problem. There's so much lying beneath the surface, even in the simplest of situations.

I can remember when I was pretty similar to this. For an example, I could understand that someone else's mistake was a mistake and not an effort to ruin my day or make my life difficult, but I didn't much act like I understood it. With this point of view, a driver failing to signal before turning is clearly trying to murder me. I mean, what the fuck.

I know another person to whom a simple request to quiet down or change subjects is a personal attack along the lines of "hey, so could you maybe stop having fun forever and maybe drop dead while you're at it?"

It just seems so alien to me now. So much easier to accept that accidents and miscalculations happen, and to come up with a new plan. Simpler to accept a moment of disappointment in order to more quickly get back to happier times. I don't know. It just seems almost insupportable. I don't even know how to live that way anymore.

O most terrible and awesome intarbutts,

Can haz projekt. Is look for awesome online shops located in Canada and Australia for wacky semi-international seeeeeeekrit santa thingy.

Is it can be poast tiem nao plz?

kthxbai <3

Translation:

I can totally google a bunch of Canadian and Australian online stores, but I get a lot of placeholder sites and listings I'm not totally sure I trust and don't look that awesome anyway. Local knowledge and experience seems best.

If you know some rad online stores in Canada and Australia, or even US online stores that were surprisingly easy to deal with when buying from another country, it'd be really good to know. I'd like to avoid big shipping costs and long customs delays for my secret santa folks.

Thanks a zillion million. I love you guys.

Yesterday, I watched 1am happen twice. It's not that I haven't stayed up for the time change before, it's just that this is the first time I've gotten paid for it. Bonus: Was at work ten hours and still had work left over.

Today? Today I arrived at work just before midnight, left around 1:45pm. I've been in this job for about nine months, I just got in my new hire orientation today. Yeah, I know.

There's a customer in Europe who tends to run into very interesting (read horrible and complicated) problems frequently, and has essentially adopted me as their engineer. They've had a slow-motion explosion over the past two weeks I've been working on, and it just hit critical mass today. This turned into a situation where I was jogging from orientation to my desk during breaks so I could check in with sales and the customer and logistics managers and my boss and hardware analysts and . . . then run flat out back to the conference room a few minutes late. Again.

I think I just about got everything covered by the time the UK went to bed.

I should note - the more this company enables my workaholic streak, the more I love it. This is probably bad. Also, it seems I was awake long enough that I can't sleep now. There are many words for this, all offensive.

I think I know what I wanna do when I grow up, but I wanna sleep on it first. Next step until then: develop a life outside of work again. Eesh.

So, this is the beginning of my second week on the graveyard shift. I volunteered to work Memorial Day, so I have the building all to myself for seven hours two nights in a row.

It's not as scary as it sounds. It's actually a pretty nice time to recharge my introvert side. When I'm not on my own, I'm on a really awesome team that happens to be 75% Enforcers, so there is definitely hilarity and support. Seriously, I love my job like crazy.

Unfortunately, I think I caught whatever nasty thing's been going around. My head feels funky and my sinuses feel distinctly . . . unnatural. I am drinking something that contains 100% of my RDA of . . . well, basically everything, so we'll see how long this lasts.

I'm also finally becoming a responsible adult and catching up on bills and things I've needed for some time. Ben and I went on a mini-shopping spree at Bed Bath & Beyond earlier, and we picked up a set of red on red sheets with an absurd threadcount that we are referring to as the "bordello sheets" and they are amazing. We stopped just short of picking up this set. The photo does not do it justice. It seriously looks like they skinned 30 loligoths to make it. If it wasn't so pretty on a bed I would want to wear it. I think there is a certain kind of madness involved in wishing to purchase a DKNY bedding set, but seriously, after I touched that set everything else felt like burlap. This set is The Sex. I'll be picking it up a few pieces at a time over the course of the summer, I think. The comforter is the most ridiculously expensive piece, and it's nearly June for crying out loud.

Speaking of, PAX time is coming. My responsibilities are a bit different this year, and the planning is a bit different this year, so I'm not as involved this early on. That will likely change when my area starts really coming together next month. What I've heard so far is insanely exciting. I also just got the PAX '07 DVD set, I've caught sight of myself twice and I really want PAX to be now. Except for the part where I'm probably sick right now and we kinda aren't ready, but . . . man, that was a great week. I can't wait.

Oh, right. I've been bullied into signing up with Twitter. You can find my updates at the previous link. I find I'm pretty busy lately, so Twitter's been a good thing for me as I can update it with more frequency and less guilt than LJ. Weekends may see more updates to LJ.

I've been working at Isilon for a month now.

I still have no idea what I do for a living.

At least it's fun!

I take too much responsibility for the things that happen to me.

I have determined that the most entertaining way to flirt is to wait til the target is in a meeting and then send scandalous text messages. I think I win when the target blushes and/or is rendered helpless by giggling.

It is possible I am a terrible person.

dear facebook apps,

hate you. die.

love,
petfish

p.s. in a fire.

Ah got mah hurr did. The kind of haircut that makes me think I ought to go out on the town soon and destroy some men. Unfortunately, I can't seem to get a picture of it with my cameraphone that does it any justice. Also, I think I talked the stylist into going to PAX.

I have a new job, thanks to omg_teh_funnay. I finally get to develop my unix skills! I'm excited.

PAX is swinging into gear. It looks like I'll have a handful of responsibilities this year - I know what I'm doing, but I'm still waiting on details about what to expect. It's gonna be very fun.

I wanted sushi today, but I was thwarted. Sigh.

Chocolate-Covered Caramelized Matzoh Crunch
Makes approximately 30 pieces of candy


This recipe is adapted from Marcy Goldman of Betterbaking.com, whose latest book is A Passion For Baking. It's super-simple and requires no fancy thermometer, equipment, or ingredients. If you can't get matzoh, use plain crackers such as saltines instead and omit the additional salt in the recipe. For passover or vegans, Marcy advises that it works well with margarine.


4 to 6 sheets unsalted matzohs
1 cup (230g) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 cup (215g) firmly-packed light brown sugar
big pinch of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (160g) semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup (80g) toasted sliced almonds (optional)


1. Line a rimmed baking sheet (approximately 11 x 17", 28 x 42cm) completely with foil, making sure the foil goes up and over the edges. Cover the foil with a sheet of parchment paper.

Preheat the oven to 375F (190C).

2. Line the bottom of the sheet with matzoh, breaking extra pieces as necessary to fill in any spaces.

3. In a 3-4 quart (3-4l) heavy duty saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar together, and cook over medium heat, stirring, until the butter is melted and the mixture is beginning to boil. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, add vanilla, and pour over matzoh, spreading with a heatproof spatula.

4. Put the pan in the oven and reduce the heat to 350F (175C) degrees. Bake for 15 minutes. As it bakes, it will bubble up but make sure it's not burning every once in a while. If it is in spots, remove from oven and reduce the heat to 325F (160C), then replace the pan.

5. Remove from oven and immediately cover with chocolate chips. Let stand 5 minutes, then spread with an offset spatula.

6. If you wish, sprinkle with toasted almonds (or another favorite nut, toasted and coarsely-chopped), a sprinkle of flaky sea salt, or roasted cocoa nibs.

Let cool completely, the break into pieces and store in an airtight container until ready to serve. It should keep well for about one week.

Green Tea Raisin Pound Cake
1 cup shortening or butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 1/3 cup almond flour
1 1/2 cup flour
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp green tea powder
1/2 tsp almond extract
pinch of salt
1/4 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350°. Cream together shortening and sugar, and then add in eggs one at a time. Mix in green tea powder and almond extract (the two together gives it more depth of flavor), and then incorporate the almond flour and a pinch of salt. Add the regular flour and baking powder, mix briefly then add in the raisins and finish mixing till smooth, but don’t over mix. Pour and spread into a greased a loaf pan. Bake for 40mins, it should have a crust on top but is still wet in the center (test with skewer). Take a sharp knife and slice it open down the length of the loaf, continue baking for another 10 to 15mins, keep checking for doneness with a skewer.

I am totally going to try this with bittersweet chocolate instead of raisins.

Mascarpone

2 cups heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon tartaric acid

Heat cream in a heavy saucepan to 180 degrees F. over medium-high heat, being careful that it does not scorch. Remove from heat as soon as it comes up to temperature and stir in the tartaric acid. Continue stirring for 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a glass or plastic container and refrigerate for 2 hours. At this point, it should have thickened significantly. Set a sieve over a bowl and line it with a triple thickness of cheesecloth and pour in mascarpone. Let drain for an additional 10 hours in the refrigerator.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, minced
3 cups chopped mushrooms
1 1/2 pounds steak of choice, cut into thin strips (or ground beef)
2-3 tablespoons flour (or cornstarch for gluten free)
3 cups beef consomme (or beef broth)
a splash of Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup tomato puree
1 bay leaf
a few sprigs of thyme (or thyme leaves to taste)
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup sour cream (or Quark cheese or Greek yogurt)
chopped parsley to garnish
1 pound (400 grams) egg noodle pasta, prepared according to package directions

Preparation:

Using a deep saute pan, melt butter.
Saute garlic first, just until golden, then add onions and stir until translucent.
Add mushrooms and season with salt and pepper.
Cover and cook, stirring occasionally until mushrooms are tender and beginning to brown just a little.
Add steak (or ground beef) and toss around, browning a bit.
Add flour and give it a good stir.
Now add consomme, Worcestershire, tomato puree, bay and thyme and season with salt and pepper.
Stir to combine, then cover and cook over low heat about 20-30 minutes.
(Now is a good time to make your pasta)
Add sour cream and stir through.
Remove from heat and serve over pasta, garnished with freshly chopped parsley.

Cashew Butter Chicken: Serves 2

2 Chicken legs, skin off, diced • 1 1/2 tablespoons Cashew Butter • 1/4 cup milk • 2 tablespoons Soy Sauce • 1/2 stalk Lemongrass (or Lemon zest) • 1/4 teaspoon smoked Paprika • Pinch of sugar • 1/4 teaspoon chili powder • Black Pepper • 1 clove Garlic, chopped • Water

1. Combine the sauce ingredients (That’s everything but the Chicken and the Water)

2. Heat a large pan with a little oil, add the Chicken, and cook until almost done.

3. Reduce the heat and the add the sauce. Cook until the Chicken is done.

4. Add water as needed, the sauce reduces quickly.

5. Remove the Lemongrass and serve, with Rice/noodles if you like, but I think it’s best inside a warm Naan bread.

Ginger Milk Tea

Serves 4

3 1/2 cups (840 mL) hot water
4 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 tablespoons loose black tea leaves
1/2 cup (120 mL) milk
1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar

Bring the water and ginger to a boil in a small pot. Once it is boiling, turn off the heat. Stir in tea and cover. Let stand 3 to 5 minutes.

Stir in milk and sugar, and add more sugar if needed to suit your tastebuds. Pour the mixture through a sieve into a large (6-cup) blender, discarding the solids. Blend the mixture until foamy (use caution when blending hot liquids), then pour into mugs. Serve immediately.

I think I may be developing an allergy to cats.

Fuckshit.

Pastry:
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, diced
1/2 cup cream cheese, diced

Filling:
1 tbsp butter
8 oz fresh mushrooms, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped green onion
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a food processor, mix together all the ingredients for the pastry. Form into a ball, wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a non-stick skillet, saute mushrooms and garlic in butter until soft and most of the liquid is evaporated. Add cream, lemon juice, green onion and parsley. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Season to taste.

3. Remove pastry from fridge. It will be a little to soft for rolling, so break off 1" balls, flatten them with the palm of your hand, and press them into the tart tins.

4. Fill each pastry shell with mushroom mixture and bake at 400F for 20 minutes until golden brown.

3 1/4 cups fresh butternut squash, peeled, seeded, grated [reserve 1/4 cup for garnish]
1 large sweet apple, peeled, corded and grated
1 1/2 cups coconut milk, homemade or canned [13.5 oz.]
2 tablespoons agave, optional
½ teaspoon cold pressed pumpkin seed oil or grape seed oil
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch of sea salt, optional
Raw pumpkin seeds for garnish


Wash the butternut squash and apple, set apple aside. Take the butternut squash and carefully cut in half. Use a spoon to remove seeds and fibrous material from the cavity. Reserve seeds for another use. Peel skin with vegetable peeler, then grate into a large bowl, measure 3 cups and a 1/4 cup for garnish.

Carefully cut apple lengthwise in half. Remove core with a melon baller and grate both halves into the same large bowl with the grated squash.

Place grated butternut squash and apple in blender or food processor. Add remaining ingredients to blender/food processor, blend/pulse until smooth and creamy.

To serve, ladle soup into serving bowls. Garnish with reserved grated butternut squash and raw pumpkin seeds.

6 large sweet onions, peeled and thinly sliced.
Olive oil
1/4 teaspoon of sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups each of beef stock and chicken stock
1/2 cup of dry white wine
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon of dry thyme
Salt and pepper
8 slices of toasted French bread
1 1/2 cups of grated Swiss Gruyere with a little grated Parmesan cheese

In a large saucepan, sauté the onions in the olive oil on medium high heat until well browned, but not burned, about 30 minutes. Add the sugar about 10 minutes into the process to help with the carmelization. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add the stock, wine, bay leaf, and thyme. Cover partially and simmer until the flavors are well blended, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Discard the bay leaf. To serve you can either use individual oven-proof soup bowls or one large casserole dish. Ladle the soup into the bowls or casserole dish. Cover with the toast and sprink with cheese. Put into the broiler for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F, or until the cheese bubbles and is slightly browned. Serve immediately.

General Tso's Chicken

1 lb. boneless chicken thighs or breast meat, fat and skin removed
1/3 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
Oil for frying (peanut works best, but corn or canola can also be used)

In a large bowl, thoroughly blend the cornstarch and the eggs. Add chicken cubes and mix well. In either a deep-fryer or a large pot, heat oil to 350 degrees and fry the chicken pieces in small batches until golden and fully cooked throughout. Set aside.

Sauce

In a saucepan, mix the following ingredients:
2 tsp cornstarch
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp sugar (I prefer brown, but white is fine too)
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp minced ginger
freshly ground pepper to taste
1 tbsp crushed red chili pepper
* Note: the heat from the chili peppers comes out as the mixture cooks. You can use more or less depending on your personal taste.

Cook on medium heat until mixture begins to thicken, then add chicken pieces. I like to finish it off on a baking sheet in the oven for five minutes so it caramelizes a bit, but you can serve it at this point if you want to skip that step.

1-1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled or not
2 egg yolks
about 4 Tablespoons roughly chopped cilantro
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced, white and some of the green part
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped--or 3 Tablespoons bell pepper, finely chopped
1 cup grated cheddar, Jack or muenster cheese
salt
about 1 cup bread crumbs (I used plain Panko)
4 Tablespoons oil

Cut the potatoes into small pieces about an inch square. Put them in a steamer and cook for about 20 minutes, or until they are tender. Transfer to a bowl and break them up with a fork. Don't try to make them too smooth, they can be rough textured. Add the egg yolks, cilantro, scallions, pepper, and cheese. Season with salt and shape into patties shaped and sized as you like. Dredge them in the bread crumbs, and press the crumbs into the patties on both sides. Heat the oil in a skillet until hot and cook the patties over medium high heat, until browned on both sides. Serve immediately with the sweet pepper relish.


Sweet Pepper Relish

1 small yellow pepper
1 small red pepper
1/4 small red onion, finely diced
1/2 cup virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons or more balsamic vinegar
salt pepper

Trim the peppers, cut them into thin slices and dice into small even pieces. Combine the peppers, onion oil and vinegar and add salt and pepper to taste. Marinate this for about 2 hours, then drain the oil off (reserving for other purposes, like salad dressing) when you are ready to serve the fritters.

Ingredients

3 tbsp olive oil

500g mince pork/chicken or cubed potatoes for vegetarian filling

2 large onion, finely chopped

2 red capsicum, finely chopped

4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

½ cup roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley

2 tsp fennel seeds, ground

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp hot smoked paprika

2 tsp sweet paprika

1 tbp chopped pickle hot chili pepper (optional)

1 tomato, seeded and finely chopped (optional)

Dough

400g unbleached strong white flour

100g coarse or instant polenta, plus extra for dusting

1/3 cup olive oil

50g unsalted butter, melted

75ml dry white wine

½ tsp castor sugar

Method

For the dough, blend all ingredients with ½ tsp sea salt in a processor until the mixture comes together. Transfer to a board; knead with 3 tablespoons of warm water. Add little more if needed – I don’t need any. You need to be patient since the dough will come together slowly. Cover and rest for 1 hour.

For the filling, heat half of the oil in a large saucepan. Add the meat and brown quickly. Remove and set aside. Add oil to the same pan, add capsicum and onion. Cook for 5-6 mins to soften and start to caramelize. Add garlic, parsley and fennel (and potatoes + tomatoes, if using). Cook for further 10 mins. Return meat to the pan with tomato paste and paprika. Season with salt and pepper.

Divide the dough into 28-30 walnut-sized pieces (or larger if you prefer). Dust the workspace with polenta and roll out each ball until thin and fairly round in shape. Add the filling (1 tsp for each), fold the dough in half and push the edged with a fork to seal. Trim off the excess. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

Preheat the oven to 220C. Sprinkle baking tray with polenta. Place the empanadillas on. Glaze with beaten egg. Bake for 10-15 mins or until golden brown.

80 g easy-cook polenta*
milk
vegetable stock
1 handful chopped sage (optional)
2 tbsp polenta for rolling
16 dice of cheese, Gruyère, Comté etc (about 1 - 1.5 cm)
(alternatively, use diced cooked ham or re-hydrated porcini mushrooms as a filling)
oil for frying
good, home-made tomato sauce for dipping

To prepare the polenta, check the package instructions. Take only half of the stated liquid and use half milk, half stock to make it creamier. (In my case, I would have needed 500 ml liquid for 80 g, so I only used 250 ml, 125 ml stock, 125 ml milk).

Heat the liquid with the polenta, constantly stirring, until you have a thick, gluey paste. In the case of easy-cook, this will take about a minute or two. Polenta has the tendency to spit like lava if left unattended, so the constant stirring is vital! If using, add the chopped sage or other herbs at the end.

LEAVE UNTIL COOL ENOUGH TO HANDLE WITH YOUR BARE HANDS. Plunging the pot in ice-cold water about half-way up the sides and continuing to stir does a world of wonders.

When the polenta has cooled down, take about 1 tbsp full at a time, making small round patties. Sit the cheese cube in the middle, gently roll up on the sides and over the top, squeezing just enough to make the dough slide without the cheese escaping at the other end. Then roll softly, but determinedly between the palms of your flat hands until they're evenly round. If you apply too much force, the dough won't spread evenly, but if you don't show the dough who's boss, it'll get all sloppy and won't keep the cheese in the centre.

The dough will be quite sticky and that's a good thing - if you feel you cannot tame it at all, moisten your hands making sure they're not dripping wet, and roll them in that way. Be sure not to make the dough too wet or there'll be a lot of hot oil splattering about the kitchen and the dough won't hold its shape. Make sure you haven't got any edges of cheese sticking out, or you'll end up with empty dumplings and all the cheese in the pan.

The minute you have an evenly round dumpling, roll it gently in some polenta so it's fully covered - then set aside while you make the other dumplings.
Heat some oil in a frying pan until it is very hot - it should reach about half-way up the dumplings.

You need to make sure not to overcrowd your pan, or the temperature of the oil will drop too much - the dumplings need to fry rapidly or they risk disintegrating. I fry them in batches of 5 - 6 dumplings in a 28 cm frying pan.
Turn them frequently so they seal quickly and brown evenly - using 2 tbsp, gentle nudges will suffice.
If you see any spots where some cheese is starting to come out, make sure these holes stay on top to prevent the filling from escaping. This usually only happens about half-way through the frying process, so the dumplings will be cooked enough, even if they're lacking colour.

Drain on some kitchen towel and serve while still hot, with the sauce on the side.

Ingredients:
1 lb (500 g) boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 tbsp (15 mL) cornstarch
3 tbsp (45 mL) vegetable oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, julienned
1 clove garlic, minced
1⁄4 C (50 mL) granulated sugar
3 tbsp (45 mL) cider vinegar
1 tsp (5 mL) Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

Dredge chicken in cornstarch.
In a wok, heat oil over medium-high heat until smoking.
Stir-fry chicken until browned on all sides and no longer pink inside; remove to a plate.
Add onion and carrot to the wok and stir-fry for 1 minute.
Add garlic and stir-fry for 1 minute.
Add sugar, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce; stir-fry until sugar begins to color, about 1 minute.
Return chicken to the wok and stir to coat with sauce.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 egg
1 onion, shredded
1 cup shredded apples (I used Fameuse Snow Apples)
3/4 cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon Montreal seasoning
3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl and with a gentle hand, mix together all ingredients EXCEPT the olive oil. Add some additional breadcrumbs if the mixture seems wet. Mold into a loaf and place in a standard loaf pan. Spread the olive oil over the top of the loaf (this keeps the moisture locked in) and place in the oven. Bake for about 40 minutes or until cooked through and the juices run clear. Allow to sit 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

- Soften 125 gr cream cheese and 25 gr butter at room temperature
- Mix them together in a mixing bowl with 50 mL milk
- Incorporate 3 egg yolks
- Sift 30 gr flour, 10 gr corn starch and 1,5 tbsp matcha into the cream cheese mixture. Stir with wooden spoon
- Whisk 3 egg whites with 80 gr granulated sugar till soft peaks form
- Incorporate delicately the whites into the mixture
- Pour the batter into a 7 inch springform tin (lines based with baking paper)
- Bake at 150°C in water bath for 50-60 minutes
- Take out, let cool and sprinkle some matcha on top before serving

Base:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup flour

Topping:
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp melted butter
2 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup raisins

1. For base: cream butter with sugar and blend in flour until crumbly. Press into the bottom of a 8" square baking dish. Bake at 350F for 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

2. For topping: Combine all ingredients and spread over base. Bake and additional 30 minutes.

3. Cool in pan and cut into 16 squares.

280g pork mince
1tbsp olive oil
1 brown onion, diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 slice of prosciutto, cut in small pieces
40g parmesan, grated
50g fresh breadcrumbs
4tbsp parsley, chopped
zest and juice of 1 lemon
salt
1 egg
25g flour
1tbsp olive oil
1 glass white wine
hot water
4 bay leaves torn
lemon slice and bay leaves to garnish

Heat olive in a frying pan and gently fry onion and garlic until softened, being careful not to let the garlic brown. Add prosciutto and cook for another few minutes.
Combine mince, onion and prosciutto mixture, parmesan, breadcrumbs, parsley, lemon zest and salt in a bowl. Add the egg and use your hands to mix together, squeezing it through your fingers.
Roll small amounts of the mixture into balls between the palms of your hands and lay out on a plate.
Heat second tablespoon of olive oil in a non-stick frying pan large enough to take all the meatballs. Fry the meatballs over medium heat for about 10 minutes, shaking them around the pan until brown.
Add the wine and turn up the heat, shaking the pan so the wine distributes itself fairly evenly. Let the alcohol burn off for a few minutes.
Pour in enough hot water to cover the meatballs. Add the lemon juice and torn bay leaves and leave to bubble over a gentle heat until the sauce has reduced by half.
Remove the meatballs with a slotted spoon and place in a serving dish. Spoon over the sauce if desired.