Lest we forget what this Royal Selangor Jellyriffic Challenge is all about…
The whole point about this challenge to create 30 different uses for the Royal Selangor Jelly Mould is to raise awareness about breast cancer. Sure, we’ve been having fun making jellies, panna cottas, terrines, steamed cakes and musubi. We want to celebrate life, laughter and humor with our creations.
But we must remember that breast cancer is not something to play around with. As Annie herself learned with her breast cancer scare, if you feel a lump, go get it checked out right away. Over 4000 Malaysian women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, and many will die from this terrible disease.
So today’s creation, a Sago Gula Melaka, is intentionally colored rose pink to highlight again the importance of breast health maintenance and getting regular mammograms when appropriate.
I’d been trying to create a half ice, half jelly concoction for the Royal Selangor Jellyriffic Challenge, but didn’t quite know how to go about it.
The problem was, if I froze the ice portion then made the jelly, the ice portion would be too heavy and cause the jelly to collapse under the weight. If I made the ice portion on the bottom, the jelly portion would be frozen while waiting for the ice portion to freeze. So that wouldn’t work either. Hmm….
Basil Pesto Panna Cotta with Honey Macadamia and Cherry Tomatoes
I was surfing the Saveur magazine site when I came across this recipe for pesto panna cotta. The idea of using basil to create a panna cotta was so intriguing that I immediately bookmarked that page. Normally, I would not consider using basil in a dessert but the recipe looked good and the green color of the panna cotta looked very inviting.
Now, if I could only find some basil here, I would be good to go. Yes, dear readers, it’s really hard to find sweet basil here. Thai basil, on the other hand, is easily found. I was ready to make this and substitute with Thai basil when good fortune smiled on me.
Today’s creation for the Royal Selangor Jellyriffic Challenge is something near and dear to my heart: Spam musubi. Being from Hawaii, I grew up eating these all-in-one meals. We still do make Spam musubi here in Kuching, from time to time, breaking into our supply of Spam that my Mom thankfully brings each time she visits (Spam being substantially cheaper in Hawaii than anywhere else). But we haven’t done it lately, so this challenge is a good excuse to make some again!
Spam Musubi and Ume Musubi
Most musubi are trangle-shaped, like the ones sold at Mana Bu’s musubi shop in Honolulu. We don’t have a triangle-shaped musubi mold, but we do have the Royal Selangor Jelly Mould to shape the musubi! Putting the musubi together couldn’t have been easier.
