French Vanilla and Pineapples

My mother-in-law was very happy to receive the flower basket shawl yesterday. She kept telling her daughters that 'Ah Soh', that's what she calls me which means daughter-in-law, made her a shawl, shaped like a bat (a bat?), which according to her, will bring good luck. I would rather she thinks that it looks like a butterfly but whatever. It's still CNY so everything you say has to be very auspicious.

Today, I went back to work and am I glad. To tell you the truth, the festivities stressed me out quite a bit. My sisters-in-law and their families came to my house everyday starting from the day before the New Year, that is 6 days in a row. To me, that's a tad too much but being the daughter-in-law, I'm not suppose to express any opinion in the household.

Instead of trying to take a better picture of the FBS (I'll do it this weekend in good light), I worked on the Ab Fab yesterday afternoon. 72 stitches for 4 repeats of the scallop pattern plus 2 garter stitch both sides. Here's one colour repeat. I was a bit apprehensive about the colour sequence, notice the darker colours 'pooling' at both ends? Then I thought, what the heck, que sera sera, whatever will be, will be. I'm going to stop worrying this every minute and knit on. And just what is French Vanilla suppose to taste like?

I forgot to mention earlier that my cousin brought with them goodies from my mum, yummy homemade pineapple tarts! There are many dialects in Chinese and hence there are different rhymes and different auspicious food. Pineapple tarts are what's lucky for us back in Singapore. Pineapple sounds like 'Prosperity Comes'.

This is the only thing I can make other than rock buns that I learned from Home Economics in secondary school. Click here for the recipe:

For the jam:
2 kg pineapple (peeled, cored and shredded)
500 g white sugar (adjust to taste)

For the dough:
500 g plain flour, sifted
250 g butter
dash of salt
2 egg yolks
cold water

Prepare the pineapple jam – Mix pineapple and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer until mixture thickens. Remember to stir frequently to avoid burning the jam. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Prepare the dough - Rub butter into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolks and/or cold water and knead until a soft dough is formed.

Roll out the dough to about 0.5 cm thick and cut out with fluted pastry cutter, diameter about 4.5 cm. Top the pastry with a dollop of pineapple jam in the centre. Brush with egg yolk if desired.

Bake in preheated oven at 180°C for about 20-25 min.

Comments

[claudia]

Not express any opinion? Ouch. Hopefully you haven't bitten through your tongue yet.

;-)

[Grauwal]

The FBS looks somehow like a bat, your MIL is right. As long as it brings luck, I am all for it.

[lyn]

I nearly snorted coffee through my nose when I read what your MIL said about your beautiful FBS :-) As long as she likes it and thinks bats will bring her luck!

[Margene]

Can't wait to see FBS. Glad your m-i-l liked it, too. Take care and relax now that it's over.

[Robbyn]

Ooooh - Those pineapple tarts look SO good and here I am, trying to lose weight... It's not fair, I tell you :)

[mrspilkington]

siow chin, you are hilarious. i'm supposed to be an "opinion-free" daughter-in-law too. :-) so glad she liked the FBS, that was a wonderful gift. thanks for the recipe! sweets go well with that french vanilla confection of a shawl.

[Tracy]

Bless all MIL's in this world, they just know what to say don't they! Ab Fab looks wonderful, as do those scrummy pinapple tarts.

[Agnes]

Aahhh ... the pineapple tarts look delicious! BTW, I asked Husband why vanilla was always called "French Vanilla" ... and he had absolutely no idea. Maybe your husband does! Or anyone reading this who knows, please enlighten me. As far as he and I know, there is no vanilla grown in France ... and the best vanilla plants are grown far away from that country.

[Kimberli]

Oh bless you for being able to bite that tounge of yours! I swear that's why my last BF ended it..out of fear that I wouldn't be able to be the "proper Korean woman" in his life...which makes sense since I'm Scottish-English-Holland/Dutch-French-and-American Indian... [grin]
And as for having family drop by every day for 6 days...again -- you are a great great woman!

Thanks for the recipe! I'll have to translate it into cups and teaspoons and give it a whirl!

[Kerstin]

"I would rather she thinks that it looks like a butterfly but whatever. It's still CNY so everything you say has to be very auspicious."

Siow Chin, this line of yours is brilliant! Thanks for the laugh. French vanilla is made with a custard base. The egg yolks make the ice cream a creamy yellow. Your Ab Fab is beautiful and those cookies look scrumptious!

[Laura Y]

Hi SiowChin, this post of yours is real funny. I guess bottomline, your Mil likes it and that's what matters. Your ab Fab looks great. It's making me get itchy hands to try...:) Happy New Year.

[Norma]

Fantastic shawl for the old bat...I mean, did I say that out loud? ! Those pineapple tarts look so mouth-wateringly delicious! :-)

[Eilene]

Those pineapple tarts look very decadant!

Your shawl is so beautiful. It look so soft & cuddly1

[Lolly]

I love the fluffiness of your AbFab. Your bat story made me laugh out loud... Very funny!

Hope you are having a nice week!

[lori]

yum! those look delish! As does the abFab

[Erika]

Oh, the pineapple tarts are one of my favorite treats during Chinese New Year! It was wonderful meeting you and your wonderful little family (your daughters are so adorable!) and meeting Marjorie too. Thanks for showing me around Cheer Wool.

[Emy]

I loved pineapple tarts too! But have yet to try bake them yet...until we move into our new apartment.

Thanks for reminding me of the FBS. Will need to get back to it after my current project. :)

[yasmin yeong]

Will someone please tell me how to store baked pineapple tarts? I stored them in the air tight container and after a few days - it kind of soften and did not taste as nice as fresh from oven? Can anyone out there help?