http://thecocoanut.wanzafran.com The mind eats what the mouth is thinking Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:56:20 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en photo courtesy of Cece A little more than a month ago, a friend and I made the trip to Brunswick Street Fitzroy. Inner-city Melburnians invest a lot of emotional attachment on this part-yuppie, part-grungy strip, and lately there has been this love-hate relationship over the inevitable gentrification of this café-studded street. ... http://thecocoanut.wanzafran.com/2008/bad-luck-bakery/ (This article first appeared in the politically-flavoured kampunghouse during my hibernation from The Cocoanut. It seems more appropriate to feature it here among the many other musings on food.) Sambal terung (eggplant) has got to be one of my favorite Malaysian dishes, the savory smoky sambal piggybacking on the velvety creamy ... http://thecocoanut.wanzafran.com/2008/the-engineers-approach-to-sambal-eggplant/ The Cocoanut has been in hibernation for almost half a year now, brought about by the overwhelming problem of spam comments. I have never been quite as well-versed with technology as I should be, so my response to the pesky influx of spam was simply, to retreat. Now that the spam ... http://thecocoanut.wanzafran.com/2008/back-to-basics/ My competence as a cook was called into question today when my lasagna went awry. I've always been a bit fearful of dishes with layers, whether its baklava, potato gratin or sponge layer cakes. If you screw up one layer, chances are the other three layers won't come out too ... http://thecocoanut.wanzafran.com/2008/the-tragic-lasagna/ I'm currently reading Trading Up, a book by Michael J. Silverstein and Neil Fiske from the Boston Consulting Group on how companies create demand for new luxury goods, from chocolate, grocery items, cars, fashion, which are within reach of the aspiring middle classes. The rapidly burgeoning gourmet food industry is ... http://thecocoanut.wanzafran.com/2008/how-many-different-olive-oils-do-you-have/ As I sit here I take time to ponder how different life would've been had I not given in to temptation and finished the ten remaining cookies from the batch I made last night. There would be no consequences to worry about, no rush to go to the gym to ... http://thecocoanut.wanzafran.com/2008/the-devil-crumbles-like-cookie/ What is it with me and dips? My continuing fixation with dips naturally leads to guacamole, which I think sits up there alongside hummus, tzatziki and possibly peanut satay dip as the all-star players of the global dip team (if such a team exists). I, like most Malaysians got my ... http://thecocoanut.wanzafran.com/2008/going-ga-ga-over-guacamole/ One of life's greatest pleasures lies in the simple act of dipping. Whether it's strawberries dunked in chocolate or hot salty chips into mayo, there's an exquisitely comforting feeling in witnessing a body of food being extracted from a pool of viscous dip, the thick emulsion clinging on to dear ... http://thecocoanut.wanzafran.com/2008/easy-hummus-and-spicy-lentil-dip/ I'm not a big fan of mustard on its own, but when partnered with honey, I'm haplessly addicted to the intense savory flavor that develops. To replicate the pleasure of restaurant dining at home, I usually take the easy way out and purchase one of those pre-mixed supermarket marinades. To ... http://thecocoanut.wanzafran.com/2008/honey-mustard-herb-marinade/ After my first attempt in bread making, I was left yearning to bake another loaf, one that I could truly be proud of, not one whose existence I had to justify by using my inexperience as an excuse. For some reason, I wanted this bread to evoke memories of ... http://thecocoanut.wanzafran.com/2008/simple-milk-bread/