A cookie game-changer

microbiome misunderstandings, a malt-lover's dream

the luxury of simple desserts, in today’s review of the new Bao

A bit wordy today—chalk it up to either nostalgia as I prepare to move back to Singapore, trying to soak up every last detail in a scarcity mindset, or it’s PMS. Either way, here’s to exciting weeks ahead, wherever you may be.

Food news of the week:

I was reacquainted with the beefy-rich yet delicate pho broth at Cay Tre, which also serves some wonderfully jiggly, sweet pork belly. Skip the many Italian, French and Spanish options on Dean Street for weekday lunch/dinner there instead. Next, I’ve been experimenting with using demerara sugar in my tahini blondies, of which the cream cheese-filled version remains my favourite, and still makes for a foolproof, unique birthday gift that you can whip up in literally 20 minutes (including bake time). Replacing a quarter cup of the sugar in the recipe for the coarser sugar results in a chewier blondie with even crispier edges. Yum.

Science of the week:

I recently completed a unique microbiome course, and in one part they had the gut microbiome (population of gut bacteria) of well-known author Michael Pollan’s compared to that of researchers at the University of Colorado. Pollan is known for writing the Omnivore’s Dilemma and eats plenty of vegetables and not too much meat. They found that his microbiome was enriched with a genus called Prevotella, which also happens to prevalent in AIDS patients. This just goes to show that the presence of specific bacteria doesn’t tell a full story on its own. It’s the overall balance of lifestyle factors, use of antibiotics, stress levels and genetic factors that paint a more detailed picture.

Insight of the week:

Celebrated my beautiful friend Stas’ birthday at the Four Seasons spa over the weekend. I’m a huge, huge fan of deep tissue massages or tui na, some of my favourites in London that are worth your money being Thai Kosai and the massage parlour at The Ned. When asked to pick an infused scent during the experience, it occurred to me then that I wasn’t able to differentiate between the benefits associated with varying scents, like how eucalyptus is meant for clarifying and uplifting, and vanilla and rose are for reducing anxiety and promoting self-care. These scents bind to our nose receptors and go straight to your limbic system, which are involved in emotion and memory, to induce these effects. Ylang ylang, the one I chose, is meant to promote feelings of joy or euphoria while inducing a sense of calm. It worked– I felt as high as a kite…

Recipe of the week:

I extract my journalling in the blogpost for this recipe, during the depths of Covid-19:

“It feels good to settle into routine in another country. The air is clean and fresh here, the experiences full. There are so many things that I easily take for granted on a daily basis, like walking in the public gardens nearby, or having access to clean water and delicious food at any moment. As much as I love the UK, Germany is beautiful, quaint and interesting in its own ways. Some things I’ve really been enjoying have been:

• Grocery shopping in Germany. There’s always high-quality food at decent prices, even at the more ‘upmarket’ stores.

• Evening reading with a drink

• Of course, the bakeries here. Nussecken and Rosinenschnecken are a couple of my favourites, alongside the classic franzbrötchen”

How poetic. I really lived another life back then, and I do miss some of those German bakes. The original recipe I wrote up uses brown sugar and olive oil, the latter of which has a more interesting depth of flavour. They’re less crisp around the edges and more of a dense, fudgy cookie, whereas these are slightly lighter with its use of the classic duo- butter and white sugar. Try and use that natural, grainy, unsweetened peanut butter; the processed stuff would work well too but try and make sure it’s unsweetened. White sugar may be replaced with cane sugar and brown sugar, but you will end up with a less texturally complex cookie that’s also less chewy overall. Finally, as with all good chocolate chip cookie recipes, coarsely chopping the chocolate will make for a more pleasurable eating experience, and the unevenly sized pockets of melted chocolate on a craggy white surface are a visual wonder to behold.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (makes 6 medium cookies, can be scaled up as needed)

Ingredients

60g (1/3 cup) butter, unsalted

1 tsp fine salt

140g white sugar

1 egg

70g (1/4 cup) peanut butter (I used smooth, but you can use crunchy)

130g (1 cup) all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

80g (almost a whole bar) milk or dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

Coarse salt (such as Maldon) for sprinkling

Directions

Preheat your oven to 180C (350F) and line a baking tray with parchment paper. In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter on high heat for 30 seconds, or until melted fully. Let that cool for 2 minutes. Then tip the melted butter into a larger bowl, add the sugar and salt, and mix well with a whisk. Add the egg and whisk that in well too.