Javanese Banana and Bread Pudding

This one here is my Mom's favourite, and to be honest with you I hated it when I was little. The thing is when you live so far away from home you start missing those things that reminds you of home. I started craving for it a few weeks ago when I was talking on the phone with my Mom for our regular weekly catch up. So I thought I really just have to make it even when banana is so expensive.

Unlike traditional bread and butter pudding, this Javanese pudding actually uses coconut milk, so at the end it makes a different consistency. And if you find it looking a little bit like curdled coconut milk, don't worry, that's how it's supposed to be. I also use this 'soft butter bread' from Asian bakery, Bread Top, it's only $3.20, and it has a slight sweetness to it that works so well with the banana and coconut milk.

On my shopping list;

2 ripe bananas, cut into dice size.
1 pack 'soft butter bread'

From the pantry;

2 eggs, beaten.
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 cups coconut milk
1/2 cup sugar

And, let's start cooking;
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
2. Boil coconut milk on medium heat, and add in sugar, keep stirring.
3. Add in banana and cinnamon, cook for about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
4. Tear bread and layer in a baking dish.
5. Add the eggs into coconut milk mixture. Pour the whole liquid into baking dish, let the bread soak up all the liquid for a few minutes.
6. Bake for 30 minutes or until set.

Yummm my apartment smells like home now :) It's sweet and very... Javanese, like very rich and sweet. Hope you like it.

It cost me $6.40 for the bananas (super expensive) and $3.20 for the bread. That make 4 serves, or $2.40 a serve, that's good enough to make me feel home.

Eggplant Stuffed with Mushroom - Julia Child Recipe, Simplified

I might've told you so many times before that I love eggplant.  And I might've told you as well that I love French food. And I loved it so much that my best friends bought me French cook books for my birthday. I got 3 books, and one of them is Julia Child's legendary 'Mastering The Art of French Cooking'.

I love the book and I love the recipes. I mean, they're definitely not easy cooking, but I love how each time I cook it, it surprises me how good the food turns out! You know, like, it's almost unbelievable how good the food is, I keep thinking 'oh my god, I made this?'

Now, this recipe is called Aubergines Farcies Duxelles or eggplant stuffed with mushroom. The recipe is actually quite intricate and time consuming, but it's very cheap to make and it's definitely worth spending some time in the kitchen.

And in my shopping list;

2 medium size eggplants
1 1/2 tablespoon Philadelphia cream cheese
1 medium size brown onion, chop finely.
1 small shallot, chop finely
250gr button mushroom

And from the pantry;

2 tablespoon butter
1 table spoon of thyme (leftover from my Tuna Salad)
salt

Let's get cooking;
1. Cut the eggplant in half, lengthwise. Sprinkle with salt to draw out the bitterness. Leave it for about half an hour, and dry the liquid out with paper towel.
2. At the meantime, mince mushroom finely, use your electric chopper if you want to save some time. Then using a towel or muslin cloth, squeeze all the liquid out, this way the mushroom can perfectly sauté.
3. Melt a tablespoon of butter in a pan until it starts to bubble and sauté mushroom and chopped shallot for about 5 minutes until brown. Set aside in a mixing bowl.
4. Melt the remaining butter and add in chopped onion until brown, but nor caramelized. Mix in with sautéed mushroom. Add in thyme and cream cheese as well. (You can add chopped parsley too)
5. When the eggplant is ready, carve the flesh carefully so it's easier to remove. Place in roasting pan, flesh-side up. Pour around 1 cm hot water into the pan, and place under hot broiler for 15 minutes, or until lightly brown on top and a little softer.
6. Carefully remove the flesh and mix it with the mushroom mix. I used my scissors to cut the eggplant into finer pieces.
7. Place the stuffing back into the eggplant shells, and place in roasting pan. Again pour some hot water into the pan, then bake in pre heated 180 degrees oven for 30 minutes.

You can also put some bread crumbs and gruyere cheese on top and baste with melted butter before baking. But to me it's already rich in flavour, I don't think it's necessary.

That's it! One really decadent dish, I love it! I not only recommend you, I urge you to give it a go!

To make this dish, I only spent; $4 for the eggplant, 40 cents for the onion, 10 cents for the shallots, and $3.20 for the cream cheese (and I only use a little bit of it). That's $7.70 for 2 serve of beautiful French dish.