and stir in 1 tablespoon of the sugar. Set aside.
2 Place remaining sugar, pineapple, vanilla beans, and star anise in a saucepan and bring slowly to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring until mixture is thick, about 15 minutes, then add the pectin mix. Stir over low heat, 2 minutes, then remove from heat. Remove vanilla beans and star anise, then transfer jam to a sterilized glass jar.
Papaya, clove, and lemongrass jam
1 Put pectin in a small bowl and stir in 1 tablespoon of the sugar. Set aside.
2 Place remaining sugar, papaya, lemongrass, lemon juice, and cloves in a saucepan and bring slowly to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring until mixture is thick, about 15 minutes, then add the pectin mix. Stir over low heat, 2 minutes, then remove from heat and transfer to a sterilized glass jar.
Rhubarb and nutmeg jam
1 Put pectin in a small bowl and stir in 1 tablespoon of the sugar. Set aside.
2 Place remaining sugar, rhubarb, and nutmeg in a saucepan and bring slowly to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring until mixture is thick, about 15 minutes, then add the pectin mix. Stir over low heat, 2 minutes, then remove from heat and transfer to a sterilized glass jar.
Balinese tropical muesli
2 cups (200 g) rolled oats
2 medium apples, skin left on, grated
1 cup (200 g) finely diced fresh pineapple
1/4 cup (25 g) desiccated coconut
1/4 cup (40 g) raisins
1/4 cup (40 g) finely diced dried mango
1/4 cup (40 g) finely diced dried soursop or dried papaya
1/4 cup (50 g) finely diced dried apple
3 tablespoons honey
3-3 1/2 cups (750-875 ml) milk
Fresh mango slices to garnish
This muesli makes a nutritionally (and deliciously) complete meal. As almost all the ingredients are soaked overnight, all you'll need to do in the morning is stir and garnish the muesli—and make the coffee.
1 Combine oats, apples, pineapple, coconut, and dried fruits in a large bowl, stirring to mix well. Add the honey and 3 cups (750 ml) of the milk. Mix thoroughly, then cover bowl and refrigerate overnight.
2 In the morning, add more milk as required to achieve the desired consistency; cream or plain yogurt could be added instead of milk if preferred. Serve in glass bowls, garnished with the mango slices. You could also garnish this muesli with orange segments or strawberry slices.
Note: For maximum vitamins, add the fresh apple and pineapple in the morning, before adding extra milk to serve. The dried mango, soursop, or papaya could be replaced with other dried fruits such as apricot and peach.
Tropical smoothies
2 cups (500 ml) chilled skim milk
3/4 cup (185 ml) chilled plain yogurt (see recipe, page 32)
6 1/2 oz (200 g) mango, diced, or 6 1/2 oz (200 g) puréed guava
1 1/2 teaspoons lime juice
4 tablespoons honey
4 ice cubes
Delicious and healthy mixtures of soft tropical fruits, skim milk, yogurt, lime juice, and honey make a great start to the day, and could also be enjoyed as a between-meal snack.
Combine all ingredients in a blender and process at high speed until smooth. Pour into four glasses and serve immediately.
Chinese-style crab and asparagus omelet with vegetable pickle
8 eggs
4 oz (125 g) cooked crabmeat, picked over for any cartilage
1 cup (80 g) finely shredded long white Chinese (napa) cabbage
1/2 small onion, very thinly sliced
4 asparagus spears, thinly sliced
1/2 cup (40 g) finely shredded leek, or scallion (spring onion)
4 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Vegetable pickle
1 cup (250 ml) water
1/2 cup (125 ml) white vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon coarse salt
2/3 cup (75 g) carrot, finely julienned
1/3 cup (60 g) cucumber, skin left on, finely julienned
1/3 cup (45 g) red capsicum, finely julienned
2-3 shallots, thinly sliced
This omelet contains a delicate mixture of crabmeat, Chinese cabbage, and asparagus, with extra flavor coming from a little leek and onion. The secret is to shred or slice all the vegetables very finely, and to cook the omelet over moderate heat so the vegetables are just cooked by the time the egg has set.
1 To prepare the pickle, bring the water, vinegar, sugar, and salt to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Put the prepared vegetables in a bowl and mix well by hand. Pour over the hot vinegar mix and leave to cool, then refrigerate 1-2 hours to chill thoroughly. (If you prefer a more crunchy version of this pickle, allow the vinegar mix to cool before pouring over the vegetables. If liked, you could add 1 shredded large red chili to the vegetables.)
2 To make the omelet, crack the eggs into a large bowl and beat lightly. Stir in the crabmeat, cabbage, onion, asparagus, leek, cornstarch, salt, and pepper, mix well.
3 Heat 1/2 tablespoon oil in a large non-stick skillet. Add half the omelet mixture, spreading it evenly round the pan. Cook over moderate heat, without stirring, until the egg is golden brown underneath and starting to set on top, about 3 minutes. Slide the omelet onto a plate. Add another 1/2 tablespoon oil to the pan and, when hot, reverse the plate to return omelet to the pan, with the cooked side facing up. Cook until done, another 2-3 minutes. Keep warm while repeating the method with the remaining ingredients.
4 Cut each omelet in half and transfer to 4 serving plates. Serve with vegetable pickle, or if liked, the omelet could be
