I work with a very young woman whose  people are from Thailand and Laos. She's a cook in one of my kitchens so I've been teaching her how to do that while she's sharing her some of her family's recipes with me.

It is so fun. 

Anyway along with durian (YIKES) she has had me try pandan.  I've fallen in love with the crazy green color and the subtle flavor. It's delightful. I have some leaves frozen, waiting to be beaten into paste. 

I also make cakes, or desserts actually, for all my staffs' birthdays. I came across an pandan cake mix at an import grocery. Yeah! I know! The directions weren't in English, but the numbers and pictures were enough for me to figure it out. She had a lovely birthday with a delicious crazy green cake. 

Green Tea Fudge

Then there was the recipe I came across for Green Tea Fudge at Not Quite Nigella. It needed Matcha-powdered green tea. It was amazing! I put that out by the coffee pot at work with a little sign because really, who's going to eat green fudge without being told it's tea? It was a hit! 

Since I had the Matcha in the house I made a Green Tea Rolled Cake for a dinner party last week.  

A basic sponge filled with stabilized whipped cream and a strong green tea syrup to moisten the cake. Again, it was great. I loved how elegant it looked and my guests gobbled it up. 

Here are all the pictures. I've been having fun, but I've not had time to blog about it. 

Do you ever get on a jag? You know an ingredient or a technique you riff on? If so what? I've had meatball and peanut butter phases. How about you?