Beautiful Nut milk with Cereal

25/11/2020

Let’s talk about nutmilks. Fresh, creamy, served with the right cereal and a handful of fresh berries – that’s one of my favourite breakfasts (or breakfast for dinner to keep it interesting!)

Replace the milks

Nut milk is a delicious alternative for those who can’t tolerate dairy, or simply a more easily digestible option for all! When we first learned how easy it is to make almond and cashew milk at home, our world was changed. A whole other planet: rich, tasty, and satisfying.

Nut milk is an easy dairy-free milk substitute, made with nuts and water. It’s perfect for pouring over cereal, using it in smoothies, or even adding to your coffee! It takes your morning routine (other than having kombucha) to a whole new level!

If you ask me, homemade nuts milk tastes way better than store-bought nuts milk. I think you’ll agree once you taste it– homemade is the best! In fact, you probably won’t be able to go back to a store brand after you see how good it tastes, and how easy it is to make ( we will share with you the step-by-step recipes on the next post).

Benefits of Nut Milk

Nut milk is a great dairy-free alternative to cow’s milk. It is easy to digest, can reduce bloating, and therefore an alternative for those who lactose intolerant or sensitive to dairy. Nut milk has fewer calories (roughly 60 kcal per 1 cup compared to 80 kcal per 1 cup of skim milk) and carbohydrates (1 g of carbs compared to 12 g of carbs in cow’s milk) than cow’s milk.

Nut milk also contains heart-healthy poly- and monounsaturated fats and is also free from saturated fat, trans fats and dietary cholesterol, unlike cow’s milk. While almond milk is a good source of nutrients, it is not a good source of protein and calcium, as is cow’s milk. But don’t let that stop you! There are plenty of plant-based protein and calcium sources that can supply you with an adequate amount of protein in your diet. (based on nourishbynutition)

Why Homemade Nut Milk?

There are a few benefits to buying ready-made nut milk at your local store. It’s definitely more convenient and the product you’ll find there is probably fortified with essential nutrients. So why should you even bother making your own? It’s simple:

No weird, unwanted ingredients
Contains more fibre and nuts
Less plastic that goes to waste
Use the pulp to make granola, smoothies, crusts or body scrubs
No weird, unwanted ingredients
Much cheaper than store-bought
You can make your own flavours

The store-bought variety to be overly sweet (although there are unsweetened, they’re hard to find). Now you know the benefit of these nut milk, thus wait for next week for the step-by-step guide on making the nut milk.

xoxo, Joe

Occasion / RECIPES

Homemade Doughnut with Peach Jam Filling

20/11/2020

We have been thinking of different ways to enjoy homemade peach jam, and we decide to make some homemade doughnut with peach jam filling rather than just bread and jam. These jam-filled doughnuts are what coffee break dreams are made of. They are soft pillows with a super-easy cream filling. The yeast doughnuts are deep-fried to perfection and then the filling is piped inside for a delightful treat.

Type of doughnut

There are many kinds of a doughnut, from cake to twisted. This time we are going to make yeast doughnuts -they are made from a lightly sweetened yeasted dough that is deep-fried. These doughnuts possess a tender exterior and a fluffy interior. There was a much-heated debate about how doughnuts got the hole in the centre. Some say it was a nod to the steering wheel of a ship, others say it was to avoid undercooking the centre. For us, we are going to make a whole round doughnut and filled them up with jam.

How to make Yeast Doughnut?

Mix the dough
The yeasted dough needs more intense mixing to build the structure. Generally, yeasted doughnut dough should be mixed on low speed until the dough comes together, then mixed on medium speed to strengthen gluten strands. The dough is not mixed as intensely as brioche—the whole process will take only a few minutes—but much like brioche dough, yeasted doughnut doughs can be quite sticky and can require oiled hands or a sprinkling of flour before handling.

Let it Rise
This tidbit doesn’t apply to cake doughnut batters, but when yeast is involved, it’s really important to allow for enough rise time. Generally, this means 1 to 2 hours of bulk fermentation (letting the entire dough rise) and about 30 minutes after shaping.

For us instead of using warm water to mix the dough, use room temperature water and refrigerate the dough immediately after mixing. Under refrigeration, the dough continues to rise, just much more slowly. This means you can mix the dough up to 12 hours ahead, let it rise slowly overnight, and wake up ready to fry in the morning.

Shape the doughnut
You could flatten the dough and cut it out with a doughnut cutter. For us, we divide the dough into equal parts and round them into balls. When you transfer the dough to the oil, do so carefully: It’s easy to accidentally squish the hole shut or stretch the doughnut into an oblong shape.

Time to fry them
Remember that if the oil is too hot, the doughnuts will brown too quickly and the centre may remain raw. If the oil is too cold, the dough will absorb a large quantity of oil and be greasy upon cooling. The perfect doughnut will be evenly golden brown on both sides and pale in the centre. Use a deep-fry thermometer to test the oil and help regulate the temperature —around 180°C is best. Blot the oil out with several layers of absorbent paper towels on a baking sheet.

Fill and Roll them up
This is where it gets fun: finishing.

For powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, or other sugared doughnuts, remove the doughnuts from the oil and drain as desired. After 30 seconds to 1 minute of cooling, toss the doughnuts in the sugar. If you wait for the doughnuts to cool for too long, the sugar won’t stick to the doughnuts.

Poke a hole with a straw and pipe your jam in!

The best doughnuts are fresh doughnuts. If you’ve ever lived anywhere near a Krispy Kreme, you understand. When that magical light went on, it was absolutely worth it to pull over with a total screech to get at those piping hot doughnuts. But even at room temperature, doughnuts are best the same day. If you must, keep them in airtight containers overnight, and enjoy round two.

Homemade Doughnut with Peach Jam Filling

Ingredients

370g flour
50g Sugar
8g Salt
7g Dry yeast
160g Milk
100g Eggs
70g Unsalted butter

Method

Milk cold milk, egg, yeast and sugar well in a bowl. Then add in salt and flour and combine them well. Rest it for 15 minutes with a cloth over the bowl.
Slowly incorporate the butter cubes and knead well with your hands or in a stand mixer. The dough has to be glossy and smooth.
Cover the bowl with cling film and leave to proof at room temperature for about 2 hours, or until doubled in size. Punch down the dough, then re-cover the bowl. Put in the fridge to chill for 12 – 16 hours or overnight.
The next day, take the dough out of the fridge and cut it into 70g pieces. Shape each piece into smooth, tight bun and place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and dusted with flour. Leave plenty of room between the doughnuts to proof. Cover lightly with cling film and leave for about 2 hours, or until about doubled in size.
Fill it up to the halfway point with vegetable oil. Heat the oil to 165 – 175°C . Carefully remove the doughnuts from the baking tray, take care not to deflate them, and put them into the oil. Fry for 3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Don’t cover with a lid when you turn the doughnuts around. Remove from the oil and place on a tray lined with paper towels. Set aside to cool before filling.
Fill a piping bag with jam. Roll the doughnuts in sugar and pipe a generous amount of jam into each doughnut. Eat them right away or store in an airtight tin. Enjoy.

Occasion / RECIPES

Roasted pumpkin with Pistachio Oil on Thanksgiving

19/11/2020

It has been years since we have a pumpkin dish for our Thanksgiving, Pumpkin Icebox Pie, Pumpkin Mousse and even Thai Pumpkin Soup. We love that this festive fall fruit is so versatile it can be used in almost any dish — including snacks, sides and sweets. This year rather than having the pumpkin as the star on the table we want to create something that is suitable for every mains on the table and we created the Roasted Pumpkin with Pistachio Oil.

This Roasted Pumpkin with Pistachio Oil is perfect as a side for your fish and beef dishes. With the sweet pumpkin and savoury pistachio oil, it balances out your platter from every bite you takes. Of course, it is also a dish perfect for itself.

Oven-roasted pumpkin has always been on the top of my list of winter favourites but we recently found out about a combination which makes this dish even more tempting: pumpkin, pistachios and greek yoghurt! We roasted pumpkin wedges the way we always do and added a little cumin to the olive oil which is very nice with the squash’s sweetness. We whipped salty Greek yoghurt with lots of pistachios and browned olive oil to a thick dip that we served on top of the warm squash. The combination of nutty, sweet and salty aromas is simply brilliant!

Choosing of pumpkin

If you use a thick-skinned squash variety, such as those listed here, there is no need to peel; the skin becomes soft enough to eat. If you use a thinner-skinned squash, such as butternut or honey nut, peel and cut it into 1-inch-thick slices rather than wedges.

Take a photo of your version, send us an email, tag us on Instagram, tweet us, anything. We love to see you trying out our recipe!

xoxo, Joe

Thanksgiving with Roasted pumpkin

For a delicious side dish, roast butternut squash until caramelised and scatter with pistachios to serve.

Ingredients

1 butternut pumpkin, peeled and cut into chunks
2 tbsp olive oil
50 g pistachios, toasted
250g natural yoghurt

Method

Heat the oven to 190C. Put the pumpkin wedges into a large baking tray. Roast for 35-40 minutes, until the pumpkin is soft and golden around the edges.
In a pan, heat the oil till brown, before adding in the chopped pistachio, mix well.
Serve with the yoghurt, pumpkin, pistochio mixture and top with a final drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.

Moodboard

Moodboard | Autumn Needs

16/11/2020

Are you ready to snuggle in and get cosy for fall? We think fall is my favorite season. We love the color, all of the texture, and oh….the leaves. We love the leaves, don’t you?

Throw over
You can’t beat a cosy throw. I have to bring out the fall colours in throws. Even if I don’t need the throw for warmth here in Singapore, the soft touch, the nubby textures, it all says fall to me, how about you?
Scented Candles
Scented candles are a must-have for me, particularly come fall. Those heavenly fall fragrances conjure up all of the memories, of fall, baking, raking leaves, even a walk in the woods.
Sweater & Socks
Like throw over even it is hot and humid in Singapore, it always cool to put on some sweater and socks especially on the rainy day.
Hot cocoa mix
What could be better on a cold day then some premium hot cocoa?

xoxo, Joe

Credit | All shots used on the mood board via our Pinterest boards.

Healthy Breakfast / RECIPES

Golden Peach Jam

13/11/2020

Making homemade jam is super fun and rewarding. After making Strawberry Jam and Mixed Berry Jam, we want to use a different fruit instead and the goldern peach is our current choice. Peach is one of the fruits that we always love in all season, it is also a perfect fruit for the transition from summer to autumn. Perfectly sweetened and wonderfully spiced jam with just a hint of cinnamon. Golden Peach Jam will last you for the whole year and can also make great gifts to share with friends and family.

One of the best parts about autumn is the abundance of perfectly sweet peaches, which are nearly impossible to find the rest of the year—and all the classic summery dishes you can make with them. The moment we see the stone fruit appear at the farmers’ market, we’re startled into action and compelled to cook and eat it in as many ways as possible this time we use them in our jam.

What Peach to use?

For the recipes we use fresh golden peach, the white peach have a prettier colour but the taste of the jam could never compare to the golden one.

Use ripe peaches. Not overripe, but soft and ready to eat. The skins come off a lot easier.
If the skins don’t easily come off you should blanch the peaches. I show you how to do this below recipe.
You will know that the jam is ready when the mixture is thick enough to leave an open trail behind the spoon.
Because the batch of this jam is so small (2 cups), and because this jam can be refrigerated for up to 4 weeks you don’t really need to seal the jars. It’s really just more of a hassle because 4 weeks is plenty of time to finish every last drop of this sweet goodness!

What to do with Peach Jam?

We love the sweet & spicy combination of fresh peaches and cinnamon, but if you don’t want your jam to be spicy, go ahead and leave the cinnamon out. That way, you can use it as you would any other fruit preserves – on peanut butter sandwiches or dolloped onto morning yoghurt, oatmeal, or overnight oats.

But the spicy jam is really excellent – we urge you to give it a try. We’ve been eating this peach jam on toast all week – the peach flavour is especially delicious with a slather of ricotta or almond butter. It would also be yummy topped onto ice cream or frozen yoghurt, and it would be a fancy, unexpected addition to tacos too!

Store-bought jams and preserves just can’t compare with the taste of the homemade stuff and this peach jam is no exception. Nothing says happiness like biting into a fresh, sweet, juicy peach at the perfect stage of ripeness. This jam manages to capture all that spectacular autumn weather flavour in a jar for eating any time of the year.

xoxo, Joe

Golden Peach Jam

Use this sweet & spicy peach jam on toast, ice cream, or even tacos! It’s a delicious autumn treat.

Ingredients

3 fresh ripe peaches
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 cups white sugar
1 tbsp of butter
1 tsp of cinnamon powder

Method

First, blanch your peaches to remove the skins.
Put your peaches into a pot of boiling water, for 1 minute. No longer.
Then remove from the boiling water, and immediately put them into a cold water bath, for 1 minute. No longer. Do not soak them.
The skins should just peel off. Peel off the skins.
Making the Jam
Then remove the pits, and slice up the peaches.
Place peach slices, cinnamon powder, butter and lemon juice into a heavy-bottomed large pot, over medium-low heat.
Cook for about 15 minutes, until the peaches are soft, and the juices are released.
As the peaches soften, stir frequently, and use your spoon or a potato masher to break them down.
At this point, add your sugar, and stir until dissolved.
On medium-high heat, bring the mixture to a boil, cook for 5 minutes, stirring continuously.
After the 5 minutes, reduce the heat to low-medium (don’t boil the jam, just slow cooking), for another 40-60 minutes. You will know that the jam is ready when the mixture is thick enough to leave a trail behind the spoon.
Remove from heat, and let cool completely before serving.

Drink / RECIPES

Vietnamnese Iced coffee

11/11/2020

We have this Phin Filter seating at our cardboard for years and finally, we decided to get it out for use. Vietnamese coffee is an intensely strong and sweet coffee, that’s sure to dissolve your morning daze and perk you up for the day. Its dark roast coffee and potent condensed milk make this a unique coffee. After trying it, it became one of my favourite coffee.

How to make Vietnamese Coffee?

The Vietnamese coffee was rich, flavorful, sweet and perfect on a cool day, but the method for brewing and serving the coffee is what really impressed us. The coffee was brought out with a layer of condensed milk at the bottom of a small, clear thick glass, with a stainless steel Phin Vietnamese filter sitting on top.

The coffee was already dripping into the glass and mixing in with the condensed milk. When our coffees were done dripping, we stirred them to combine the coffee and condensed milk. You can enjoy them hot or fill the glass full of ice.

Vietnamese coffee filter aka Phin Filter

The Vietnamese coffee filter gives a stronger brew than that of an American drip machine and different than that of a French press, which has a lot of factors, but the metal coffee filter used to brew these is a large part of it.

The “phin” (pronounced like feen), is typically made of three or four parts. Lid; it helps keep the coffee from losing heat or evaporating too much while brewing. The body; container for water and coffee. Filter disk; a simple disk with a handle on top for removal that sits on top of the coffee grounds. This means the main way you control the speed and strength of brew is reduced to water temperature, water volume, coffee volume (and grind size if grinding your own Lastly, the rim or lip – simply the rim around the filter so you can rest it on a glass while brewing.

DO NOT shake the filters or compress the coffee, or the coffee grounds will drop into the holes of the coffee filter and plug up the holes! The result will be that the coffee takes forever to drip, or the grounds may clog the filter entirely. Place the metal filter gently on top of the coffee.

What Vietnamese Coffee we use?

Vietnamese coffee is traditionally made with dark roast coffee and often times mixed with chicory root. Common brands used for this are Trung Nguyen and Cafe Du Monde. We uses Trung Nguyen, glad that we are able to get some at Red Mart. The Vietnamese beans are usually the robusta variety (as opposed to the more common arabica).

Enjoy your Vietnamese hot coffee! To make a Vietnamese iced coffee, pour your coffee over a glassful of ice once it has been brewed and stirred. If you love coffee and have only tried weak, watered-down coffee served over ice, you’re in for a big revelation.

xoxo, Joe

Vietnam coffee

Ingredients

2 tablespoons dark-roast ground coffee (preferably Trung Nguyen Premium Blend or Café Du Monde Coffee with Chicory)
2 tablespoons (scant) sweetened condensed milk

Method

There are two ways to make Vietnamese coffee. The simplest method is to steep coffee grounds in a heatproof container with 2/3 cup boiling water for 4 minutes. Pour through a coffee filter into a heatproof glass.
Or use a metal filter, which we recommend. Bring 1 cup water to a boil. Remove top screen from filter, add coffee, then screw on top screen. Place filter over a heatproof 12-oz. glass or measuring cup.
Pour a splash of the hot water into filter; this will allow the coffee grounds to bloom. When coffee begins to drip through, add enough water to reach top of filter. Place lid on filter and let coffee drip for 4 minutes. If coffee stops dripping sooner, gently loosen screw to relieve pressure.
Stir in condensed milk until blended. Add ice, stir, and serve.

LePlainCanvas

LePlainCanvas

LePlainCanvas

Beautiful Nut milk with Cereal

Homemade Doughnut with Peach Jam Filling

Roasted pumpkin with Pistachio Oil on Thanksgiving

Golden Peach Jam

Vietnamnese Iced coffee

Mini Baked Spring Roll

Huashan 1914 Creative Park

Cranberry & Blueberry Jam

leplaincanvas

INSTAGRAM

TRAVEL GUIDES

RECEPIES

Replace the milks

Benefits of Nut Milk

Why Homemade Nut Milk?

Type of doughnut

How to make Yeast Doughnut?

Homemade Doughnut with Peach Jam Filling

Ingredients

Method

Choosing of pumpkin

Thanksgiving with Roasted pumpkin

Ingredients

Method

What Peach to use?

What to do with Peach Jam?

Golden Peach Jam

Ingredients

Method

How to make Vietnamese Coffee?

Vietnamese coffee filter aka Phin Filter

What Vietnamese Coffee we use?

Vietnam coffee

Ingredients

Method