Going Crackers Mid-Week! :) Whole Wheat Raisin Rosemary Pepita Crackers

Hors d'oeuvres have always a pathetic interest for me; they remind me of one's childhood that one goes through wondering what the next course is going to be like - and during the rest of the menu one wishes one had eaten more of the hors d'oeuvres.

~ Hector Hugh Munro

So it's Wednesday, and I haven't blogged all week. Or all of last week for that matter. If you'd wanted to look for me, you would likely find me on Instagram, I'm there - every single day :). Taking photos with the handphone and posting them is an instant act, it's extremely easy and there's no need to write words, many words to describe your post. No wonder it's addictive. Maybe I'm just getting lazier with this blog, who knows? 

Unfortunately, if you don't have an iDevice to play around with, you'll have to keep on missing me until I come on here again and we can hang out and stuff. Yes, life's a bit unfair like that.

And why did I bother even mentioning Instagram (IG) for those of you who aren't interested or don't really care for it? Because this recipe - Whole Wheat Raisin Rosemary Pepita Crackers - was inspired by one of my pals on IG called @thebobbycaudle. Okay, his real name's probably just Bobby Caudle without the 'the', but that I'm not totally sure. What I'm sure about though is that one of his delicious food posts made me run straight to the kitchen to create these amazing crackers!

Clockwise from top left: Nigella seeds, rosemary, raisins and pepitas

There are many ardent food-lovers lurking on IG, and honestly, they, we, okay... I, tend to post up many, many meals that we've seen, made and consumed on a daily basis. Taking out a phone in a restaurant or public place and hovering it over your plate for a shot is a far less embarassing process than taking out a hefty SLR camera to do the same thing, you know? I do most of my 'hovering' at home and even have a colorful breakfast series up on IG where I post my daily morning meals. Check it out at @divabreakfasts if you're interested ;).

Anyway, Mr. Bobby Caudle had prepared an hors d'oeuvres platter using these savory-sweet Trader Joe's Raisin Rosemary Crisps and by the time he finished describing the ingredients on the box to me (yes, I shamelessly asked!), I knew exactly what to do. 

If you wish you could eat more whole foods without breaking your budget, these homemade crackers are for you. I've promised some friends that I'll post up the recipe and I’m finally dishing it out. When you think about the typical cracker, they're usually thin and salty so the key to good, crisp crackers is to make 'em really thin! And not too salty, if you're thinking healthy as well. You can substitute the flours in the recipe below with gluten-free flours, you simply need to experiment and play around with the measurements a little. I've also used olive oil in place of butter, it contributes to the crispness of the crackers, plus you can snack on these babies with less (much less) guilt.

The original Trader Joe's crisps also contained flaxseeds and sunflower seeds but I had neither and therefore substituted them with pumpkin seeds and Nigella seeds, which have an onion-y flavor. You can get the latter at many Indian food or spice stores, they're commonly known as blackseeds. You can experiment with other spices and seeds... right this very moment cumin and garlic just popped into my mind!

From the way everyone at home appreciatively munched on these, I would say this homemade cracker recipe will satisfy even the pickiest cracker eater. They have interesting flavors that blend well together, they're not bland, not too salty and not too sweet either. Just nice... Served with something creamy like goat's cheese or Brie, they become just that bit naughtier, and a whole lot nicer!

Whole Wheat Raisin Rosemary Pepita Crackers
Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 tablespoon Nigella seeds (blackseeds)
2 tablespoons raisins, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
1 cup water
2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds (pepitas), coarsely chopped

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Combine the whole wheat flour, plain flour, rosemary, raisins, Nigella seeds, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Add the olive oil and using a fork, mix the oil thoroughly into the dry mixture until it looks like large crumbs.

2. Add the water in 3 batches to adjust the dough consistency. Mix well until combined and dough forms, but only as long as necessary for the most tender crackers. Dough should be firm but not sticky when you form it into a ball. Add small amounts of whole wheat flour as necessary to adjust to this texture.

3. If you have a pasta machine, divide the dough into 4 portions and roll into thin, flat sheets. I usually go up to the second or third last setting on the machine. If it’s too thin, the dough will tear easily.

4. If you don’t have a pasta machine, don’t fret because you can roll these by hand! Use parchment paper, a lightly greased cookie sheet or a non-stick silicone baking mat. Roll each of the divided dough to your desired thinness right out on the paper, sheet or mat after flouring it lightly.

5. After the dough sheets are rolled out, sprinkle the chopped pumpkin seeds over each sheet and gently roll over the sheets again with a pastry roller to press the seeds in (no, do not put these through the pasta machine again!).

6. Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife and cut the dough into squares or triangles, about 1 1/2 inches each. If you want all beautifully square crackers, you can trim the edges square. (Note: be sure not to cut your silicone mat).

7. Bake the crackers, one sheet at a time, until crisp and browned, 8 to 10 minutes. If some of the thinner crackers on the edges brown too quickly, remove them and return the remaining crackers to the oven to finish baking. These crackers bake quickly, so watch them closely – even 30 seconds can turn them from golden brown to toast! To make them extra crispy, I turn them over after 8 minutes and bake them for another 2 minutes in the oven.

8. Remove the crackers from the oven and cool on the pan or on a rack; they cool quickly. They will crisp up as they cool and stay crisp for many days, but are best stored in airtight containers.

Crispy Spiral Garlicky Mustard and Rosemary Murukku

It's unrealistic to live your life within such strict parameters.
~ David Sedaris

It's safe to say that this blog leans towards the sweet more than savory side of things. However, despite still baking desserts and sweet breads regularly in my kitchen, I have produced nothing that I truly wanted to post up here. Uninspired baking, I call these wasted sessions. So imagine my surprise when an exciting recipe idea suddenly popped up in my head that was not sweet (and therefore not my forte) but the exact opposite - savory.

I had been wanting to try my hand at making the spicy Indian snack, Murukku, for a while but the thought had been withheld by my lack of a press or a sev maker used to churn out perfect murukku spirals. That is, until I stumbled across a YouTube video showing that it can all in fact be done...solely by hand! Of course, my first attempts at twisting the pliable rice flour dough are not very pretty but at least there is some semblance to the murukkus made by the pros in Indian kitchens across the globe! 

Now, flavor-wise was where I had purposely decided to make it un-Indian. My tastebuds had experienced a sensorial shift recently when a friend gifted me with a substantial packet of crispy, floury tidbits from her travels abroad. The snack was so addictive that I really wanted to recreate it once I ran out of the stuff (which didn't take very long - less than two days). I  tried to dissect the flavor profile and deduced that the snack must've contained a healthy dose of mustard and garlic because no one in the house wanted me to smother them with my enthusiastic kisses even long after the packet had run empty...

So, when the murukku-without-a-press video came along, I immediately knew I wanted to incorporate mustard and garlic in the soft dough and dispense with the traditional Indian spices. I also wanted to utilize my latest fresh herb, rosemary - sown by my mama, of course, and passed over to me so it doesn't wilt and die off at the seedling stage. (To all of you with green fingers, I envy your gift!)

My thriving rosemary plant, photo taken from Instagram (@divababu)

Along this process, there were several other things I discovered:

• my handling and twisting of the dough was genuinely as pathetic as it looked in the video. That's okay though, I'm not into beating myself up over nothing and will probably get better with practice.
• when I got tired of the twisting and turning, I made simple snake-like spirals but these unfortunately didn't remain crisp for very long after cooling. Perhaps the dough was still too moist inside, I must investigate this further.
• this spiral snack does double-duty as the perfect fashion accessory. The fact that you can munch on them in between photoshoots make them extra-covetable. Yep, there will never be any skinny girls on my set!

These are best consumed right after they've cooled down and are still crisp. The flavors meld really well together that the exact combo could be adapted to other cracker recipes as well. The murukku tasted incredibly cheesy, a pleasant surprise, while texture-wise they are very similar to thin breadsticks. Once I figure out how to make them stay crisp when stored in an airtight package or container, I'll be packing them to be presented as gifts over the festive season!

Crispy Spiral Garlicky Mustard and Rosemary Murukku
Makes: 16 spirals (2-inch)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp finely chopped Rosemary leaves
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup rice flour
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
ground pepper, to taste
2-3 tablespoons extra rice flour, to add if dough is too sticky
oil, for deep frying

Method:

1. In a medium mixing bowl, add all ingredients except the extra rice flour and oil and mix well with a spatula.

2. Knead to form a soft dough using your hands. If dough is still too moist and sticky, add rice flour a tablespoon at a time and knead in.

3. Place a plastic bottle cap on a napkin or serviette. The napkin prevents the dough from sticking to the working surface. Form small balls with the dough and twist out each one into a spiral rope around the bottle cap (please refer to the video above).

Note: The thinner the ropes, the crispier will be the murukku.

4. Heat oil on medium high heat in a pan. Carefully lift the napkin to turn the spirals onto your palm and gently lower into the hot oil. Do this slowly or you will be sad if any of the hot oil lands on your skin :).

5. Fry as many spirals as will fit into the pan without overlapping each other. Once they turn light golden, flip them over and fry other side until light golden. (about 3 minutes each side)

6. Remove spirals from oil onto a paper-towel lined plate. Cool completely before eating. Store in an airtight container or ziploc bag at room temperature. Good for consumption up to a week.

Blackberry Bread Pudding with Bamboo Charcoal Bread and Poached Pear, and Giveaway Winner!

Here's a slightly alien-looking bread pudding I made. Alien not in the way of flavors, but in the type of bread used. It's greyish-black and made with bamboo charcoal powder. The bakeries sell these breads here, they come as sliced loaves, burger or hot dog buns. Bamboo charcoal is supposedly good for health, as it helps clean up toxins in our body. If you can get past the psychological hurdle of eating this healthy version of 200-day-old bread, there really isn't any difference in taste to regular bread. It's just like eating Century Egg...easy once you've prepared yourself mentally, that is :-).