Rosewater panna cotta

So it turns out rice pudding isn't super photogenic, and I can't even get some gorgeous purplish poached pears to make it look good!Either that, or I also fail at plating and presentation. So instead, I get to show off my first attempt at panna cotta!I decided to go with rosewater because it was a flavour that I had in mind. My main concern was getting the wobbliness just right and of course, making sure it set properly. In addition, I had to figure out what the best mould would be for it - so I went with a whisky glass that came with a bottle of Scotch that my flatmates had.Luckily enough, I had some dried flower petals already, but I was unprepared for a sauce. I had an idea to plate with a red sauce, and I've previously done this with rosewater pomegranate in my Virtual Valentine, which I'd then garnish with mint as a hint of green. However, there being no pomegranates available, I do admit to cheating and buying some pomegranate molasses, and quince and rose jelly, melting those together and making a pseudo sauce - which managed to mimic the shiny bejewelled effect of pomegranate arils anyway!Plus I think it worked out better that way as it made it soooo pretty. And it was the right amount of wobbly, but I'd definitely add a little less gelatin just to ensure the texture is smooth and creamy.I'd almost make this a book cover called "Reine's Kitchen" if it was that tiny bit even more perfect - there are little bits of slightly broken panna cotta side which I tried to hide, having never demoulded a panna cotta before (especially as I haven't made one previously?). I am one dish closer to claiming I know how to cook!I should attempt some even more challenging dishes, but I do have to look after my budget a bit so there may be a hiatus on my creative cooking. And yes, I know, I don't need to break the bank to do epic dishes like these. This one was cheap as! (except for the bit where I cheated haha)

Reine's cooking adventures part 2

I love mussels, so when I found some at another seafood store, I was YES PLEASE. I didn't even know how much to get, so I started with 250g. Turns out this is about 11-12 mussels, and never enough! However when I was reading up on how to cook them, I also grabbed a baguette and butter as a side.I had found a few different liquids suggested, and ended up choosing water first, with some butter. I did make one afterwards with white wine, but funnily enough I preferred the one with water.

When I stumbled across zucchini flowers, wow, I was so filled with creative inspiration that I HAD to buy them. So expensive, but so fantastic that I couldn't resist. I had eaten stuffed flowers at two restaurants, which was not only very appealing, but also very tasty. My favourite was when they were stuffed with crab meat. MMmmmmm!

So, since I didn't want to overdo anything that would kill my budget, I decided I'd make a herb and cheese stuffing instead. So, I bought some ricotta, avocado, goat curd, chives, parsley, pepitas and sunflower seeds. I chopped and toasted the seeds before mixing them in. Cleaning the flowers was tricky at first, but then I learned how to handle them and managed to clean and stuff efficiently.

I also always need protein in my meals, so I opted for salmon as my accompaniment. It was only after I plated just the flowers and the salmon that I filled in the middle with leftover salad, to make it look complete.

It was so pretty and tasty, I declared myself amazing at cooking! And presentation.