Out & About #672 | Week #32 Quarantine Update Feat. Halloween Cookies

​With cooler weather upon us, it is only natural to drift in the direction of warm, cozy lattes and steaming mugs of cider. Naturally, cold brew production has also lessened, either being substituted with pourovers hot espresso-based beverages or acting to supplement mid-day cookie cravings.
​The opportunity has, in turn, enabled me to try my hand at microfoam art, yet again witnessed with minimal success.

Remnants of the previous week's Oatmeal Bread and Pigs in a Blanket were devoured promptly. A Coconut Cream Einspänner reared its head in response to leftover AROY-D, much to the approval of orangecane.

CoCo was acquired from the location nearest me. New masks were tested by Larry.

Halloween fast approaching, I took upon the mission of obtaining black cocoa powder for undecided creative endeavours. Any previous attempts to locate Dutch press cocoa powder at the local grocer had been in vain; seeing that Amazon seemed even less economically-prudent for the ingredient, I sought out a local wholesaler in the east end of the city.

​McCall's was further from any POI than I could have anticipated. Firmly nestled in a series of brick-and-mortar commercial buildings, which were, interestingly enough, not that far from the paintball destination of nearly two years prior, was their extremely modest side entrance and "parking lot".

​Truth be told, the selection neither fulfilled my checklist nor offered significant savings. I departed without black cocoa and without almond flour, and instead with a box of parchment paper rolls and single Wilton piping bag. Needless to say, I did the math for these items.

Proceeding with more errands eased us into the early afternoon hours. The demand for sustenance led me to Mississauga's very own Koreatown.​

​The hankering for steamed 왕만두s had yet to be satisfied. As the clock struck 11:30 AM, I pulled into the parking lot of Myungdong Kalguksu Shabu Shabu. The transaction then occurred at 11:35 AM, and thereafter we were advised to wait outside. Within ten minutes, we were presented with a neatly-packaged set radiating the most enticing of aromas. There was the option of dining on the makeshift patio, though conditions proved too chilly to be enjoyable.

​Once home, we unveiled the goods: six pieces of Steamed Dumplings, a medium Bossam set, and a large container of Kimchi to go. The restaurant had even included bonus mask straps!

​The meal was everything we could have hoped for, and more. Savoury and peppery yet sweet, and fantastically fermented, Myungdong's kimchi has always succeeded in leaving a strong impression - both figuratively and literally in form of garlic breath. Two small containers accompanied the Bossam set: one predominantly cabbage and the other a radish and carrot blend. Fresh romaine leaves, cucumber sticks, and peeled garlic cloves had been placed in a separate container ssam-making. Finally, lining the bottom of the bossam tray were a handful of luscious green chives, stalks removed. The combination made for intensely pungent albeit incredibly succulent ssam wraps.

​And, as always, one can never go wrong with perfectly plush Steamed Dumplings. Despite the opportunity to gobble down several in one sitting, I resisted the urge and opted to savour them slowly over the course of several meals for maximum gratification.

​During our wait, we had also ventured into the adjacent independent European market. The shelves were lined with unfamiliar products adorned in foreign descriptions. There was but a handful of labels in English. Nonetheless, we agreed on two chocolate bars - similar to the ones tasted in past office sharing sessions () - and a two-pack of two-dollar Tiramisu.
Frankly, the chocolate bars proved tastier than the cakes themselves. Sampled objectively, the layered rectangular desserts were quite delicious as cakes; that said, they bore zero similarities to the Italian signature.

​1) Purple Rice Dessert Soup w/ Red Bean Jelly and Glutinous Rice Balls
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​- all made from scratch, of course.

2) Sweet Potato Bread

Having secured ultra-sweet Japanese yellow yams on sale, it seemed fitting to re-purpose the remainder of the bag once we had consumed our fair share of the slow-roasted specimens. 

​Adapted from Bake for Happy Kids' Potato Bread, I had been betting on the innate sucrose compounds of the sweet potato to foster a frothy reaction, omitting the refined sugar entirely. The results were disappointing, to say in the least, for while the loaves were soft and plush on the day of baking, moisture gradually diminished over the course of 48 hours. The slices no longer stood tall, but rather shrank and shriveled.
I had, in fact, proofed double the amount of yeast required for the project, and ultimately resorted to frozen pizza dough with SPAM slices.

3) Slow-Cooked SPAM Omelette, served alongside blanched kale and purple rice
​4) 雪耳番薯杞子糖水 / Sweet Potato Dessert Soup with Snow Fungus and Goji Berries

5) Pecan Banana French Toast Bake

Constructed in an attempt to restore appeal to my Sweet Potato slices - while simultaneously making use of very ripe bananas - I commenced the weekend by roasting a heaping handful of pecans (inspiration derived from SK). They were then blended until smooth in my ever-trusty food processor and combined with an eggy milk mixture to form the base of the French toast blend.

​Both pans were slightly overbaked, as evident by their blackened surfaces. In spite of this visual hiccup, the layers were actually quite nice when served alongside a cup of joe and golden corn syrup.

​6) Chinese Apple and Pork Soup
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​Tradition recipes tend to rely on pork ribs for this dish, however home cooking is built off the concept of practicality. This can be - and should be - interpreted as using only the ingredients on hand, nixing the need for outsourcing specific components to complete an equation.

7) Tofu Doenjang Soup - made better with soft Chinese tofu!

​8) Halloween Cookies

I love festive holidays. I also love cookies (no surprise there).
​Festive cookie decorations are another story altogether. I tried my best though, having secured black cocoa powder at bulk barn a few days after the fruitless trip to McCall's.

Amongst my top choices are rollout cookies, otherwise referred to as sugar cookies - hold the icing, though. Classic for the Christmas season, SK's formula was adapted to accommodate a dark chocolatey-ness. An attempt at orange-tinted cookies with citrus zest and red food colouring returned questionable, yet nonetheless fragrant.

​Besides the plump, tie-donning black cats, the benevolent Jack Skellington pumpkin design was my favourite.

Wishing all a safe, spooky Halloween!