Ribbon And Circus

Beef Rendang

2012-02-29T23:34:00.002+08:00

Rendang always reminds me of home. Of my mom. She makes terrific rendang, you named it; beef rendang, duck rendang, cockle rendang with snake beans, chicken rendang with maman/pegaga (some kind of kampung herbs).. I just love all of her rendangs. My husband claims her mom's rendang is the best. I'm not going to argue about it. We all grew up with mom's cooking. :P (my mom's is still the best.. :P -Let's just pretend I never said that)

Whenever I asked my mom for a recipe, she would go on and on, telling me the list of ingredients needed without the exact measurement and way of doing it. She has everything inside her head and she just threw everything inside her stew pot. Campak-campak. I know how to cook her version of rendang. Mine-the taste is somehow different. Her way of doing it probably just the same as your mom's or like the rest of rendang recipes available on Google. The only different would be her air tangan a.k.a a magic touch. Sob. I miss her.

Frankly, I never cook rendang before I was married. I just helped my mom making them (and eat'em of course) during Eid festival. That's all I did until last year. Last year marked the first year we had to prepare everything on our own. From A to Z. Thank God for Google (TGFG).

There are plenty of rendang variations out there. You just have to choose them wisely. Cik Mat Gebu has quite a number of rendang recipes and mine here is based on his Nyonya Rendang-slight variation on the spices. Tastewise, finger licking good! I love his rendang recipes. My taste buds kindda agree with it, it's idiot proof and it almost has the same taste as my mom's. Almost. Sob.

Someday, when he grows up, Adam will say that his mom's rendang is the best in the world. Hopefully. Err..on second thought, I don't want that to happen so quickly :p Please don't grow up so fast my little one...

Thai Sticky Rice with Mango

2012-02-27T17:45:00.003+08:00

Nope..I didn't get the chance to watch the Academy Awards live show this morning..no live telecast whatsoever..citt.. FYi, we cut our cable tv last year, since we've got "no time" to watch the whole thing. Who watches the whole thing anyway? I only watched food and travel channels..if time was on my side. Oh I miss BBC Lifestyle channel.

I wanted to catch the live streaming show on the net at first. But naah, I'm not that Oscar freak fan who need to watch the whole show. I'll wait for the highlight show on Wednesday or ~~try to catch it on Youtube.~~

As predicted, Meryl Streep won Best Actress for her role in Iron Lady. I'm so gonna watch Iron Lady again and looking forward to watch The Help, The Artist and My Week with Marilyn. Must watch..must watch.

Anyway, I made this dessert last week. Mango seems to be on sale everywhere. $5 for six honey mangoes! Crazy! It's so hot and sunny here. A prefect weather for mango to set fruit and for us to have this dessert. We had this as dessert 2 days in a row and loved it to the max!! Hurry! Whip this dessert up while the sweet mango season is still in town.

The recipe is adapted from Indochine Kitchen.

And the winner is.... Pocky Chocolate Cage

2012-02-26T00:29:00.001+08:00

Two more days left to the Academy Awards. I'm all excited. Have you watched any of the nominated films yet? I have watched The Descendants, Iron Lady and Midnight in Paris. I wanna watch My week with Marilyn but no chance.. ~~blom sempat nak melanun..he he~~

I'm not sure whether you will share the sentiment as me, but Meryl Streep deserves her long awaited Oscar this year.(Even though she has won two Oscars previously) Her role in Iron Lady is simply stunning. Michelle William should win but naah, not this year babe.. he he The Descendants should win Best Picture while my handsome man, Clooney should win Best Actor.

I'm so gonna lepak on my old cushion sofa and watch the show this Monday morning. I know it's a boring ceremony..I can tweet while watching that. There'll be a live telecast on Channel Five and Billy Chrystal will be back as a host. Arggh..I want Eddie Murphy or Ellen! BTW, do you know that Kodak theather is no longer referred to as such..Kodak lost it naming rights due to its bankruptcy...Pity.

Anyway..enough with the Oscar. I gain nothing..just an entertainment. Let's talk about this dessert. The original name is Milkado Cage. I used Pocky sticks, instead of Milkado, thus the name change.

Anyone craving for chocolaty, velvety and scrumptiously sweet dessert? If so, you should whip this up. Yerp, this dessert is a bit of work, but trust me.. you'll satisfy with the end result. I halved the recipe and got 4 glasses out of it.

The dessert consists of 3 parts; the upper banana mousse, the bottom chocolate cream and the Pocky cage. The best way to eat this dessert is by 'dipping' the Pocky sticks with both layer. Nyum!

Beef Soup

2012-02-19T16:05:00.000+08:00

What is the best food when you are sick and don't feel like eating? This is it. Hearty hot soup with crusty white loaf slices. I like eating it warm, garnishes with some fried shallots and chopped spring onions.

ADABI soup spices powder. Power.

No, I didn't put any of those into the pot. Swear.

That white, crusty loaf is made with my new bread maker. Yes, we finally own a bread maker. Call me a cheater, but I'm starting to fall in love with my new toy. No more kneading :P

Image from here

Adam Bakes: Blueberry Banana Muffins

2012-02-17T06:43:00.001+08:00

Today, out of the blue, Adam asked me for a birthday cake. His birthday is apparently months away.

"It's February, and your birthday is on July", followed with that "Month of the Year" song, hoping he would get me. He asked me to stop singing and continued asking for cake. I guess he was asking for a cake, instead of a birthday cake.

"Okay, I'll bake you one if you agree to help me bake it". He screamed for joy and started running back and forth between the living hall and kitchen. So I got my phone and went through my bookmarked list.

I decided to make muffins, instead of a real cake. He doesn't know that.....yet.:P Technically, I'm still sick...and I'm not in mood to clean up a big mess. Hi hi

I quickly gathered a punnet of blueberries, some ripe bananas, and eggs and put them on the table. Then I asked Adam to peel the banana skins and mashed it. He did, but minutes later, his focus turned to the eggs. He wanted to beat the eggs. And before he starts to repeat himself, I cracked an egg and let him beat it. He was so happy to do it.

After finish with that, I asked him to slowly pour the eggs, followed with all core ingredients onto the dry ingredients bowl. No single spill, whatsover. :D He helped me arranged the muffin cases, and he pointed on each hole every time I pour the batter in. Yep, I did it. I couldn't stand the coughing so I had to rush things a bit he he

Tomorrow, these muffins will be his breakfast and packed to school as his morning snack. :D I used Leslie Durso's Blueberry and Banana Muffins's recipe. I got 6 muffins and a small loaf out of it.

Muffins are easy. Within an hour, Adam got his "cake". :)

Psst..that is his favorite bus.. He plays with it almost everyday..

Tuesday-Prince William Cake?

2012-02-14T22:11:00.000+08:00

This is not a true cake. It is more like a chocolate crunch. Except that mine is less crunchy. I know I shouldn't replace digestive biscuits with crackers (silly), but being a lazybum myself, I did. Malas pegi kedai. It almost turned to chocolate fudge, but the mixed nuts did some excellent recovering job.

The recipe for the cake is based on Ijan's of Blog Resipi's. This cake is also known as Hedgehog Slice (Australia), Chocolate Fridge Cake (UK) and the latest is Prince William Chocolate Biscuit Cake. Read here, here, and here if you don't know why. Here, on our side of the world, the cake is popularly known as Kek Batik, or Batik Cake. All of them share about the same recipe, egg or eggless.

Chocolate Batik Cake Recipe
(Adapted from BlogResipi)

What you'll need:

200 gm digestive biscuits or marie
100 gm butter
250-300 gm milk chocolate
200 gm / 1/2 tin condensed milk
80 gm pistachio (or any kind of your liking)
80 gm almonds, roasted
80 gm walnut, roasted

Way to do it:
1. Using double boiling technique, melt the chocolate, butter and condensed milk. Mix well.

2. In another bowl, crash the biscuits and mix with all the ready nuts.

3.Pour the chocolate mixture into the bowl with biscuits and nuts. Mix well.

4.Place a baking paper in a mould (or you can use a detachable mould as well). Pour the mixture into ready mould.

5.Keep in fridge for several hours until the chocolate sets. This will make sure the cake is gonna be easy to cut.

Check out this Kek Batik photo from Eating Asia site. It simply reminds me on why it's called Kek Batik in the first place.

I wanted to write more, but the cough syrup I took just now is about to kick in. Both mommy and son are still coughing and sneezing like mad. Please pray for us. :)

Psst..He surprised me with these two books last week. *Big Grin*

Tuesday-Chicken Fried Rice with Leftover

2012-02-07T17:29:00.000+08:00

So what did I do with yesterday leftover chicken and rice? I made Chicken Fried Rice. I wanted to make it wild hot at first. But alas, I changed my mind.

Spicy food makes me want to double my plates plus I need to come up with something unspicy for the little guy after that. Even though he sometimes likes to dunk his roti pratha with fish curry, chugs down some water, and continues doing so until the pratha gone. hehe

The best thing about fried rice is, you could throw anything except brick and wood, inside. So this step by step is just a guide.

Chicken Fried Rice with Leftover

Ingredients:

Lefover chicken and rice

green peas/any desired veges
1 red onion, diced
Garlic powder

Turmeric powder
Light Soy Sauce
Oyster sauce
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

1. Shred the chicken leftover into pieces.

2. Sauteed some diced red onions until it turn brown.

3. Throw in the pull apart chicken. Sprinkle some garlic and turmeric powder, and some veges if you want.

4. Stir-fry the rice. Add the soy sauce, salt, pepper and oyster sauce and combine everything thoroughly.

5. Garnish it with fried eggs, fried red shallots or just anything..

Hainanese Chicken Rice

2012-02-06T19:19:00.000+08:00

For tonight dinner I made Hainanese chicken rice. A regular dish I made almost every weekday. Even though I am a bit sick of chicken, as there have been few too many chicken over the weekend that are going nowhere fast, but I had to.

Why chicken rice? You see I'd to cook while Adam is away for his playschool. Or I don't get to cook at all. I have so many things I want to do in that short period of time. That is the time where I get to go for a jog. That is the time where I get to leisurely browse some books in the library or trying out new recipes. And that is the only time where I get to play with my lens.

...and that explains the chicken rice. Simple and quick. I can do several other things while boiling the chicken. Laundry, mopping, cleaning, take a shower, and even catch Ellen or Dr. OZ on TV, beside those listed things I mentioned in the previous para. It spelled E.A.S.Y even though it's chicken and I am sick of it. I'll try to subs it with fish..we'll see how.

Above is Adam's plate. Believe it or not, he finished the whole plate. :D

PS: I'm not sure where my writing is going as the 3 hours break is almost over.. :P

PPS: The recipe is taken from Steamy Kitchen.

Random

2012-02-02T12:00:00.001+08:00

I recently reorganized my computer folders and look what I found..old photos. Err, not so old. They're just some unpublished photos from last year.

Quail eggs

Red Shallots and Garlic

Salted Fish

Durian from Ayah's Dusun

Fresh Fig

smoked whole duck

Davy Jones? :P

Homemade Prosperity Burger

2012-01-27T22:52:00.000+08:00

For me, Prosperity Burger is the most anticipated burger ever invented by McDonald. Being one of the time-limited, regionalized item on menu, the burger is only available throughout Chinese New Year season. I don't think the burger'll survive if they were put as a regular on menu.

I've never heard of anyone saying no to this burger. The tastiness of the oblong juicy beef patties, slathered with hot black pepper sauce and onion slices in between those soft sesame bun. My oh my, yummy. During my uni years, I used to be one of the earliest to grab the burger on its very first day of seasonal arrival. Those were the days- big appetite, big pocket, and one big me.

Well, not anymore. This year, I only had one Prosperity burger so far T_T Even though McDonald is just a block or even better, a click away, I still don't know what's taken me so long to order one. Ntah. Then, the idea of making them myself hit me. Why not?

The burger itself consist of four parts; the bun, beef patties, shredded onions and the most important part- the black pepper sauce. I decided to used Kokken69's bun recipe and I made them a day ahead. It didn't beat McD's sesame bun, obviously, but mine were pretty good :P Shirley's bun recipe yields soft and fluffy bun, but the taste is kinda sweet for a burger bun.(I had no choice. So far, her recipe is the only recipe that works best for me)

As for the beef patties, I decided to used my own recipe, which is not that good. I should have used Ramsay's, as Kak Paty did, here. Her patty looks great. Anyway, the sauce saved those poor patties. The recipe is from Kak Ayu of Curlybabe's Satistisfaction. :D (TQ kak Ayu..boleh bukak branch nih :P)

At the end of the day, two Prosperity Burgers served on the table. I made one gigantic Prosperity Burger for Husband and a Double Prosperity Burger for myself. Burrrrrrrp.

Tuesday: Express Chicken Biryani (Encore)

2012-01-24T17:57:00.001+08:00

Remember my Chicken Briyani here? I cooked it again last week. It didn't come out as good as the last time I made it. I'd to substitute the basmathi rice with plain rice. He he I'm just too lazy to go out and buy them.

This time, the taste went from good to just so-so. Ok my fault. I should have bought that basmathi rice. Think again, this would be the last time I'll cook Briyani using ADABI powder. Any suggestions for Briyani instant mix I should try? Beside Shan's, since I can't seem to find that brand here.CC-Ijan :)

Still, with the 'so-so' taste, Husband ate it with no comment. :D

Sunday- Prune Layer Cake

2012-01-22T11:51:00.001+08:00

I'm going to keep this short. We're going to my MIL house any minutes now. :P I would like to wish all my blogosphere friends who celebrate Chinese New Year a Gong Xi Fa Cai. Let's welcome the Dragon year with this Prune Layer Cake.

A crooked layers cake to be exact :P he he

Prune Layer Cake
(Adapted from Bisous A Toi)
Note: I doubled the ingredients and used 8x8 baking tin.

Ingredients
(A)
250g butter
80g condense milk
1 tsp mix spice
1/2 tsp vanilla powder (I added vanilla extract too)
80g golden syrup

(B)
15 egg yolk
3 egg white
120g castor sugar
80g superfine or HK flour
1 tbsp ovallete
20 ml cold water

(C)
a few drop of yellow colouring
150g pitted prunes (I used 250g hehhe)
Melted butter

Directions

1.Greased a 8x8x3 pan.. preheat oven 180C

2. Whisk A on high speed for abt 7mins or till thick and creamy.. put it aside

3. In another bowl.. Whisk B on medium speed for 10mins or till thick and fluffy

4. Add butter mixture (A) into egg mixture (B) and continue to whisk till well blended

5. Add in yellow colouring

6. Separate batter into 10 portions... abt 90g each layer

7. Spread a portion of batter evenly into pan

8. Tilt pan left and right to level batter or use back of ur spoon. Grill for 5 minutes or until golden.

9. Remove from oven and press cake layer to remove excess air. Brush layer with melted butter and spread another portion of batter over the cooked layer, tilt pan to level batter and arrange flattened prunes onto batter. Grill for 5 minutes or until golden.

10. Alternate step 8 and 9 until batter is finished.

11. Bake last layer using upper and lower heat for a further

10mins .. (use aluminium foil to cover the top so as to prevent the top fm turning to dark)

Thursday: Trish Boyle's Plainly Perfect Pound Cake

2012-01-19T15:59:00.003+08:00

You might ask, why another pound cake recipe? For me, pound cakes are perfect for any event and they feed the crowd easily. They are quick to fix, no rolling, no decorations, no frosting, and whatnot. Easy.

I recently spent few hours on the net, looking for a pound cake recipe. My way of doing 'research' is by browsing through Pinterest, Foodgawker, online magz, and even Google Images. You see..I love feeding my eyes with appealing food photos which also give me some much needed inspirations later. Frankly, most of the recipes I tried were triggered from those delicious-looking photos.:)

Back to the pound cake, none of the photos on the net are convincing enough for me try, not until I landed on Shirley of Kokken69's. Her beautifully captured pound cake makes me starstruck. I could see the fine texture which almost looks like a souffle..and that has brought me to bookmark her recipe and the rest is history :) Alas, my cake doesn't has the same fine texture like hers. Hmm..

The cake is moist and I love the crispy upper crust. I didn't line my baking tin since I'm out of baking sheet. :P Thus, the brown bottom layer and the messy sides. Luckily the cake came out from the tin easily. I baked this cake last night at 10PM. I fell asleep halfway through the baking time...he he and I burnt the upper crust of the cake..:P

Sis Rima of Bisous a Toi said that the cake tastes better than Sicilian Orange Cake. Oh yeah..I had to agree with that ;) It might be the next viral!

Plainly Perfect Pound Cake

(Adapted from Kokken69-Trish Boyle's The Cake Book)Receipe :
200g Plain flour
1/4 tsp Baking powder
1/4 tsp Salt
227g Unsalted butter (softened)
250g castor sugar (I reduced this to 200g)
4 Large eggs
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 tsp grated orange zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
80ml Heavy cream

Method :
1. Preheat oven to 170C.
2. Sift flour with baking powder and salt and set aside.
3. Cream butter in a mixer at medium high speed until creamy (about 2 mins). Add sugar gradually and continue beating for 4 mins until light and fluffy.
4. Reduce the mixing speed of the mixer to low and add eggs one at a time mixing until well mixed.
5. Add the citrus zest and vanilla extract.
6. Add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating it with cream (added in 2 additions).
7. Pour into 2 lined 3"x 7" pound cake mold and bake for 60-70 mins or until the cake turns brown and a testing skewer comes out clean. (Trish Boyle had baked this at 162C but I had to use a slightly higher oven temperature to ensure that the cake is cooked through without dense uncooked spots)

Kueh Rose a.k.a Honeycomb Cookies

2012-01-18T17:01:00.000+08:00

I grew up calling these pretty snack Kuih Rose. The name came after the rosette brass mould used in making this cookie. Some people called them Kuih loyang. I still called them Kuih Rose even if they come in star-shaped.. :P

It's five more days till the Chinese New Year, and shops are selling these cookies since Christmas. We bought Kuih Kapit/Love letter cookies last week and the whole container was gone literally minutes after that. You see, both cookies are Husband and Adam's favorite snack. It's crunchy and full with coconut cream aroma. No wonder they can easily eat the whole container in one go. Alas, I'm not a big fan of these cookies as those duos. Deep fried food are not my thing :P

Instead of buying another container of Kuih Kapit/Kuih Rose, I decided to make them. I just re-fill the container with my homemade Kuih Rose. In fact, I had to use another container to fill up the cookies. Great.. The quantity is double compared to shop-bought's. Now, both Adam and Husband can enjoy munching it forever.:D

BTW, what do you guys call these kuih?

Kuih Rose/Honeycomb Cookies

(Adapted from A Table For Two- TQ Bill!)

Ingredients

400 ml coconut milk

200 gram all-purpose flour

200 gram rice flour

2 large eggs

170 gram sugar

200ml water

1/2 tsp salt

Oil for deep frying (I used vegetable oil)

Method

1. Add coconut milk, eggs, sugar, water and salt in a mixing bowl and mix until well combined and all sugar are dissolved.

2. Sift and all all-purpose flour and rice flour into the mixture. Whisk until well combined with no lumps. If is too thick, add one tablespoon of water at a time until the mixture resembling of a pancake batter.

3. Heat up oil in a wok/saucepan on medium heat.

Tips: dip a wooden chopstick into the hot oil, if the chopstick is bubbling up, it is ready.

4. Preheat brass moulds in the hot oil, about 2-3 minutes.(The moulds have to be hot enough for batter to cling on them)

5. CAUTIOUS: Dip hot mould into batter for 10 seconds. Make sure batter coats only the bottom and sides of mould, never over the top.

6. Slowly lift it up and dip mould back in hot oil. Shake to release from mould and fry until golden brown on both sides.

7. Take it out from hot oil, and let it cool over paper towel to soak up all the oil.

8. Repeat until all batter is used up. Store in air-tight containers.

Adam Bakes: C is for Cookies

2012-01-17T12:00:00.001+08:00

C is for cookie, that's good enough for me..

C is for cookie, that's good enough for me

C is for cookie, that's good enough for me.

Oh cookie, cookie, cookie starts with C.

Adam kept putting Cookie Monster song on repeat while we baked this cookies...

I love baking with Adam. Of course, minus the kitchen mess he'd made after that. He can now understands instructions better. He poured the ingredients, which I've prepared earlier, by himself. He screamed his lungs out if I tried to hold his hands. he he and he can scoop the batter and put it on the baking trays neatly.. all by himself... Yeay..

The first tray was gone minutes after it cooled down. He munched it while watching that cookies monster's clip. Again and again. Huh.

That night, I slept with that songs playing in my head. Ok..creepy... C is for Creepy.

Update (Jan 18):

Chocolate Chippers

Adapted from The Treat Truck Baking Book by Kim Ima

Makes 11/2 to 3 dozen cookies, depending on how big you make them

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup firmly packed dark Brown Sugar

3/8 cup white sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt- I put 1/2 spoon only..

1 to 11/2 cups semisweet or milk choc chips- I added more..

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F (176-178 C)

2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix well

3. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt

4. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, mixing well as you go. Stir in the chocolate chips

5. Scoop the dough into round drops (big or little, you decide!) with a spoon or ice cream scoop and place them 2 inches apart on a baking sheet

6. Bake for 9 to 12 mins, or longer as needed or desired. Remember that the cookies will continue to bake a bit after they come out of the oven. If you like them soft or crispy, you may vary the time accordingly. (RC: I love crispy cookies, so I baked them for 12 mins)

7 let the cookies cool 9if you can resist!) before moving them from the baking sheet.

Thursday: Comforting Cottage Pie

2012-01-13T00:11:00.000+08:00

How can you not love a good cottage pie? A fabulous quick-fix meal that will satisfy your palate and fill up your tummy. The recipe is loosely adapted from Rachel Ray's 30-mins Shepherd's Pie.

The difference between Cottage Pie and Shepherd Pie is the meat used. Cottage pie uses beef while Shepherd Pie uses lamb or mutton. Shepherd..Sheep..got it? he he Anyway, Adam ate twice. Husband loves it too. That can only mean one thing. The dish will make a comeback any time in the near future. :)

Comforting Cottage Pie

Loosely adapted from: Rachel Ray's 30-mins Shepherd's Pie )

Served 3-4
Note:

Ingredients
5 medium sized potatoes, such as russet, peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons ~~sour cream or~~ softened cream cheese
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup cream, ~~for a lighter version substitute vegetable or chicken broth~~
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
1 3/4 pounds ground beef ~~or ground lamb~~
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
RC: I added 3 stalks of celery-chopped
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup beef stock or broth
~~2 teaspoons Worcestershire, eyeball it~~
I used Oyster sauce
~~1/2 cup frozen peas, a couple of handfuls~~
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions

1. Boil potatoes in salted water until tender, about 12 minutes.
2. Drain potatoes and pour them into a bowl.
3. Combine cream cheese, egg yolk and cream.
4. Add the cream mixture into potatoes and mash until potatoes are
almost smooth.(I added 2,3 spoons of flour, to thicken the
mash)
5. While potatoes boil, preheat a large skillet over medium high
heat.
6. Add oil to hot pan with beef. Season meat with salt and pepper.
7. Brown and crumble meat for 3 or 4 minutes.
8. Add chopped carrot and onion to the meat.
9. Cook veggies with meat 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
10.In a second small skillet over medium heat cook butter and flour
together 2 minutes. Whisk in broth and oyster sauce. Thicken
gravy 1 minute. Add gravy to meat and vegetables.
11. Preheat oven to high.
12. Fill a small rectangular casserole with meat and vegetable
mixture.
13. Spoon potatoes over meat evenly.
14. Top potatoes with paprika and baked until potatoes are evenly
browned. Top casserole dish with chopped parsley and serve.

Late Fall in Seoul

2012-01-10T23:15:00.000+08:00

As always, I apologize for being incredibly slack with the updates. Since we got back from Seoul, I have been in such a rush to complete the macarons tower and few baking orders for my sister's engagement.

Then came the so called new year celebration which I usually don't celebrate. On the eve of 2012, all of us including our close relatives gathered at my parent's house for a pot luck dinner. This year, my dad insisted on having a hotpot instead the usual BBQ. I don't know what's going on with him. Part of his healthy diet resolution I guess. :D

The peak event of the night was to watch the fireworks display. FYI, my parents house is quite near with the A Famosa Resort. They usually launch a spectacular fireworks to ring in the New Year at midnight. According to my sister, we could view the fireworks at home. We waited, ate, waited, ate, and I fell asleep right before the fireworks started. Great...

Okay, let's talk Seoul.

They say the best time to visit Seoul are during the fall. That is when the country is turning red, orange, yellow, purple and brown. Too bad, the trees were only seen in red shades and almost naked when we were there. Except for the ones that remain green through winter. It was freaking cold then. The lowest temperature was -9deg. Brr.. On the day we went back to SG, the snow began to fall. We were already on the plane by then. ceh

Since the flight incident, Adam refused to do anything except playing with his toys and iPad. He didn't care to eat or drink his milk. He also had restless sleeps at night and taking him for a shower was...a pain.

I don't want to sound bitter..but handling a little toddler literally 24/7 is a bit tiring. I was beginning to think that the whole trip was a bad idea...but, towards the end of our trip, he began to enjoy himself and overall he was good as gold. I really thank to those who left comments on my first Seoul post here. It lifted me up. Thank you..

Adam caught a cold on second day. Luckily, he didn't make any fuss when I wanted to wipe his nose. Runny nose and rosy cheeks. See that cement mixer truck he's holding above? We made a deal with the little guy. "Wear you gears, and mommy'll buy you toys".

Bad deal.

He agreed to wear the hood....Only... I should have known better.

On the fourth day, Husband's colleague invited us for an authentic Korean Temple dinner at Sanchon. It's located in the back alley of Insadong and 100% vegetarian. A minute after the appetizer served, a Korean lady started to perform a Korean folk dance for almost half an hour. Interesting...and loud..err.. FYI, a Temple food is simple food which focused on preserving the authentic taste of the main ingredients. So less seasoning and spices are used in preparing the dishes.

I love the Hanok architecture and the interior design of the place. It feel so warm and cozy inside. We were served with assorted vegetables dishes including kimchis and whatnots. Haha.. I don't have much time to google the food names. There were more than 10 kimchis served.

As for the photo, we could only snap the appetizers, then our little guy started to whine about getting out from that place. He he I had to quickly dig my bowl and entertain him after that. Despite that, Sanchon did give me a truly unique dining experience with a great taste of Korea. That was the only Korean dining we've ever encountered. The rest of the restaurants we went after that were either Middle East, Italian or the fast food.

Before we left that Sanchon, Husband's colleague told Adam to wear his cap and jacket as it was really freezing outside. and just like that, Adam agreed to wear his cap and put on the second jacket. Confetti.

Anyway, we stayed at Myeong-Dong area. Cafes, restaurants, street food, bakeries, you-name-it, everything are just distant away. I ordered Caramel Machiato almost everyday. Crazy. The weather is so freaking cold and a dose of ~~sugared~~ caffeine is a must have every time we went out.

Myeong Dong is a shopping district; from high class branded stuffs like LV, segala-mak-nenek-brand-I-dont-wear etc down to Uniqlo, Zara, H&M, etc, and to the street labels.

The shopping crowd was crazy during nights and weekend. I don't bother sardine-ing myself with them. I went shopping right after the lunch break. The crowds are quite calm during that hour. There were sales at H&M, Zara, and few local boutiques but no size fit the giant me :( I can only shop bag and hats. Pity. Some people said you have to shop in Itaewon area for American/UK sizes. Unfortunately, we don't have time to explore the area.

I'm not that disappointed anyway..Pottery, dining wares and baking stuffs excite me more. I bought few dining wares and potteries at Namdaemun Market and Insadong.

If you plan to visit Myeong-Dong, the closest halal restaurant is just at the back of Ibis Hotel lobby. There's an Arab-Pakistan restaurant called Saffron and the food is good. We dined in once and tapau twice. So AliaaRoslan, take note eh..he he There's also a RotiBoy shop nearby. I'm not sure when was the last time I ate Rotiboy. I had 2 buns in one go. Blame the weather and the Rotiboy itself.

On the fifth day, we dined again with Husband's colleague and this time he brought us to Kervan in Itaewon. There are lots of Halal restaurants in this area, and most of them served Middle-East food.

The next day we went to Lotte World early in the morning, just to beat the crowd. It's a theme park with all kind of rides for people of different ages. Too bad, there are limited activities for kids at Adam's age. He had a bad flu during that day anyway. So every answer I've got from him was a NO, or a head shake. He even refused to ride his favorite carousel ride.

We went to Gyeongbok Palace a day before we went back. We choose to walk from our hotel in Myeong-Dong, instead of taking a cab. We strolled along those small shop alleys, had a stop at Insadong and continued to walk to Gyeongbok Palace. I bought a pair of Mickey Mouse gloves at Namdaemun Market a day before that and Adam agreed to wear on them. Confetti. He finally wore everything.

Above: Insadong area

Above: Gyeongbok Palace. It was so windy and cold. We saw the guard changing ceremony.

At Bukchon Hanok village

Doors at Bukchon Hanok Village.

Bukchon Hanok Village is a Korean traditional village with a long history located between Gyeongbok Palace, Changdeok Palace and Jongmyo Royal Shrine. The traditional village is composed of lots of alleys and is preserved to show a 600-year-old urban environment.-Wiki

Had a coffee break at local cafe in Bukchon Hanok Village.

Above:Strolling along the Cheonggyecheon Stream. I was alone, and busy snapping around with my camera. Suddenly, a local Korean girl came up to me, and asked if she could help me take a photo of myself. Aww..The local here are so friendly..

Seoul gave me different kind of experiences compared to Europe trip I had two years ago. I fell in love with the people. Seoulites are so helpful and friendly. I really wish some local people here are more like them. Grr..

The city is quite clean compared to some Europe countries I've been. [I was a little put offed by Amsterdam and Paris. It is one of the dirtiest, most crowded, unpleasant cities I've ever been so far..ade je bau urine and dog poop kat celah2 alley.. cit.] Seoul might not be on the list of the most beautiful cities, but Seoul has everything travelers are hoping for. A four season city, exotic cuisines, warm-hearted people, rich cultures and historical places to explore and it's only 6 hours away from here. I'll definitely return to Korea. Definitely.

East meets West Macarons Tower/Sireh Junjung for my sister engagement

2011-12-22T13:10:00.000+08:00

My sister got engaged last weekend! Yippee!! :D

I made this macarons tower as her Sireh Junjung. For those who don't know, Sireh Junjung is a must have gift in every hantaran gifts in Malay wedding/engagement. The traditional Sireh Junjung usually consists of sireh leaves and flowers, aesthetically arranged in a decorated tray. So instead of the same o same o sireh junjung, I decided to fusion it with macarons tower. My dad loves the fusion idea and called it East meets West Sireh Junjung :)

The macarons tower consists of two parts. The bottom part was pinned with Sireh leaves, I folded it to make it looked like a pineapple skin (sort of). The upper part was the macarons part and I arranged arrays of mini roses of beige and pink in colors in between two parts.Oh how I wish I have detailed pictures of this tower to show you.

I think the macarons arrangement on the tower was a bit loose. Time wasn't on my side. Sigh. I was so busy in the kitchen, I didn't have extra time to fix the mac tower...and the saddest part is... I didn't get to snap any photos from my camera. tsk tsk. double sigh.

These photo were taken by my soon to be my bro-inlaw, Azfar. Thank you, STBMBIL. he he

My sister, Dya and her fiancé, Azfar.

Hantaran gifts from our side. My sister did her hantaran gifts all by herself. The macarons tower was my gift to her.

Hantarans gifts from both sides.

Salam mitak restu dari my mom.

My parents and my sis.

Isn't she lovely?

Both families.

The engagement dais. More like a wedding dais if you asked me. hihi My sister did this by herself.

My sister, Dya. She's taken guys. ;p

Congratulations Dayah & Azfar!!

Hodugwaja-Cheonan Walnut Cakes

2011-12-12T11:29:00.000+08:00

To be honest, I don't know much about this cake. All I know is that this little snack is Cheonan`s trademark walnut-flavored cake known as Hodugwaja. (Note: Cheonan is a city located in the northeast corner of South Chungcheong, a province of South Korea-Wikipedia).

This small cake has the size and shape of a walnut. The filling consists of red bean paste (if I'm not mistaken) and a small slice of walnut. Hubby's distributor bought a box of this cake for us while they were visiting their clients in Cheonan.

To me, the dough part tastes like a Malay Bahulu. :)

Believe it or not, this is the only Korean snack we brought home huhu I was planning to buy rice cakes and whatnots.. but.. one restless little soul called Adam wasn't keen on taking a break. He didn't want us to make any stop at all. He he ikutkan aje..

Anyway, thank you very much to those who left comments on my previous post. I'll write more on that on my next entry. he he We did had fun, despite all those little 'challenges' caused by Adam..and sometimes me.. =P I still have a bunch of photos, waiting to be resized. Just hold on.

Seoul: It's about Adam.

2011-12-01T07:06:00.001+08:00

Yep, you read it right. We're in Seoul rite now. It's a business trip cum holiday. Business for Husband, pleasure for both Adam and I..lol

There's nothing like holiday, at first. The journey from Changi to Incheon was rough. It was a midnight flight and Adam was a first timer. Duh..I should've had an early vision for the upcoming event, but I didn't. Where did my instinct go? Half an hour into the flight, Adam's temperature started to build up. The temp reading was 39.4. It made me anxious a lil bit. Be cool, I reminded myself. It must be the sweater. He must be hot, since the air was a bit stuffy in our area. Adam being Adam, sigh.. he refused to let the sweater off. I just let him be.

Second hour on the flight, he threw up. I felt irritated as I cleaned it up. I should have had rip that sweater earlier. Still blaming the sweater. We took another half an hour to persuade him into changing into new clothes. Luckily, we bring spare clothes. And the thermometer.

We changed him, rinsed off the dirty clothes, asked plastic bag for it, and few minutes after that, he threw up on us, and continued to do so for the next hour. It was a puking saga. I felt helpless and sad, as I watching him squeezing his tummy muscles out for nothing. He was REALLY sick and I couldn't do anything. The wafting smell was bad at that moment. We ignored the complaining passenger and continued to do our job as a parent. Adam needs us. He was having a motion sickness, indeed.

Luckily (again), our seats were located right next to the toilet. We ended up staying at the toilet area, and it was a war zone for us. We had him sit without shirt and let him puked whenever he wanted. Poor boy, pity him. I really felt helpless. I was at the end of the rope when I took out my Minyak Cap Kapak Oitment,dropped a few on tissues paper, and let him smelled it. Alhamdulillah, it helped him a bit. I should have bring his own oitment on board next time. We wrapped him with the airline blanket and I let my husband hold him. He slept on his daddy's shoulder for almost an hour. Mind you, he's 14kg toddler, and what my husband did amazed me. I holded him for mere minutes(when Husband took his turn to eat), and I started aching here and there.

The whole experience has taught us lot of things. First, bring spares clothes for everyone. I ended up like a zombie with puke smell after we landed. Secondly, expect all the worst nightmares before you fly with you little one (s). Bring every single thing needed. Google it. Since we just discovered (the hard way), that Adam is prone to motion sickness, we will have to find some anti-nausea med before we fly home. (So far, it's hard to find pharmacy that sell 'everything under the roof' here) .

All the crappy things about stewardess and passengers with kids won't help you were nonsense in our case. The SIA stewardess assisted us from A to Z. She helped me cleaned up the mess, covering our seat, drying up Adam's clothes, and she even sprayed some air freshener to clear up the smell, at our request. She keep asking me "are you okay, do you need anything?" (My face read HELP ME all the time, probably..ha ha ) Thank you SIA stewardesses. The chief crew even asked whether we wanted any medical help on board. We wanted to pursue it at first, but after everything was clear, we decided not to. There was another mother with kids (eight kids to be exact) on board, and she asked me what happened and how am I doing.. she was on her way to the toilet and remember our war zone? When I was back in my seat, the nice lady came near me and offered me a Panadol syrup for Adam. There's still love and concern in this world. Alhamdulilah. The stewardess gave me the tablet one earlier, and it was hard to get Adam to chew them. Since Adam was sleeping at that time, I told her we'll get it from her if we need it. She's a mother to eight kids, no wonder she bring everything on board.. she must have learnt a lot. :D

Last but not least, both parents should be cool with the whole situation. I know I'm not. I was the one with the helpless, sad and irritated feeling at the whole things, the whole time. My husband, on the other hand, is a great man with high patience and passion. Thank God for that. He had to take care not only Adam but ME. Yep.. I know.. silly me..I'm so gonna have to master on self-control more.. isk isk Bottom line..We are very lucky to have him as a husband and daddy, respectively. :)

Anyway, Adam is not having fun, at the moment. He keep throwing tantrum here and there. Everything is new to him..We went for a walk yesterday, and the cold weather was indeed cold. Adam being Adam (again), refused to wear his thermal clothing. He keep screaming at me. Ouch. (And my patience is thinning..oh sabar sabar..) No cap, no gloves, no scarf, no ear puffs, no stroller's rain cover. He wants to wear his long john, jacket and hood only. That's after a loooooong struggle with him. I'm totally blank and I have no ideas on how to persuade him into wearing his cap and gloves. Oh please pour me some tips, or we have no holiday at all. =P

Si Restless Adam

2011-11-28T22:30:00.001+08:00

Thursday- Caramelized Onion & Mushroom Tart

2011-11-24T20:09:00.038+08:00

My husband is always a karipap man, not much of a cake person. I guess he has a thing with savory side of kuih muih, compared to me, who is always on the sweet side. But I always ignored him, and keep on baking sweet stuffs. haha

Yesterday morning, he'd asked me to stop (or slow down? can't remember) making those sweetilicious. How dare he said something like that, it hurts my inner baking soul. ;p He asked me to make more of 'his type of kuih muih'. I.e. goreng pisang with crunchy batter, karipap, jemput2 (pakoras), roti canai, cucur badak, epok2, popia, karipap, karipap, karipap ;p. Bottom line, those kuih muih with 'tepung' since he loves munching those crusty dough.

Those kuih are so common, and some are not blog-worthy ;p I sighed and start Googling on something different than karipap. (Ok, you can start count the word karipap now). I landed with this yummy looking mushroom tart. The taste is unbelievably SEDAP. +1000 points for the great combination of mushroom, caramelized onion, parsley and butter. We both love it. Never mind, let him win today. I'll bake my type of brownies tomorrow ;P Who's the cook&baker anyway?

Caramelized Onion & Mushroom Tart

(Recipe is loosely adapted from BBCGoodFood's Mushroom Tartlets)

Serving: 4

Ingredients:

375g block all-butter puff pastry (RC Note:I used Borg's, Kawan and Gardenia's are just too buttery for me..)

flour, for dusting

25g butter

300g mixed wild mushrooms or just one type, cleaned and sliced

25g Parmesan (or vegetarian alternative), finely grated

small handful parsley leaves, chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 red onion, chopped (RC Note: I added this)
1 egg, beaten

Method:

Roll the pastry out on a floured surface and cut out to desired shapes. (RC Note: Blind bake them first to avoid soggy)

Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Heat a large frying pan until hot, then add the butter and fry the onion until it nearly caramelized then add in mushroom. Sauteed until there is no liquid left in the pan. Season, then take off the heat and mix mushrooms with the Parmesan, parsley and garlic.

Score a 1cm border around the edge of each tart, then spoon the filling into the centre circle. Brush the edge with beaten egg, then bake the tarts for 20 mins until puffed up and golden. Serve immediately.

Black and White Wednesday- Fig Tart

2011-11-22T16:33:00.000+08:00

The tart shell recipe is taken from Ijan of Blogresepi while the custard is from Evan's Kitchen Ramblings' creme patisserie, which is adapted from Donna Hay's Modern Classics 2.

This is just a quick note to let you know that I'm still here, alive. I'm busy with packing and planning for our holiday trip. Yeay@holiday..Boo@packing..

I've been a bit under the weather lately and the fridge seems to be my BFF, at the moment. Trust me, I hate this new symbiotic relationship I'm having with my fridge (not to forget, the weighing scale). Why is it so hard to lose weight? *staring at above photo* Hmm..I know.

As for the fig tart, I won't repeat it. Ever. Don't get me wrong, I love the shell and the creme patisserie, but I hate the whole combination taste. Weird. The first bite was my last. I should've had try Sis Muna Mahdzar Fadaaq's Baked Figs with Ricotta Walnut and Maple Syrup instead.

I love browsing at fig tarts/figs photos out there. The main reason why I made this tart at the first place ;) Too bad, it didn't turn out quite like those delicious photos..

The Black and White Wednesday is inspired from The Well-Seasoned Cook's Black and White Wednesday-A weekly Culinary Photo Event.

Wordless Wednesday- Chocolate Tart with Peach Topping

2011-11-16T10:30:00.000+08:00

Who gets the last slice?

You can get the recipe from my previous entry here.

On Family and Food IV

2011-11-14T08:40:00.001+08:00

We spent the long weekend in my hometown. The Eid weekend. Raya Haji was still a Raya Haji to us, nothing fancy like the real Raya. The same ritual of Raya food feast and morning pray. No new cloth etc. We didn't do any qurban this year, but my my Andak's family did. They chose to qurban one big buffalo and I got a small chunk out of it. Alhamdulilah. For me, buffalo meat tastes better than beef. I love them in kurma.

Adam, as usual, being frappy all the time, chasing his grandma chickens around, and being chased by his aunties after that. Good news. My mom is a grandma to nine Boer's babies this year. Bad news. We didn't get to check out the newborns. I bet they're all adorably cute.

We got back in Singapore on Wednesday, with a loaded trunk of goodies. My mom homegrown's, of course. Kaffir lime leaves, the blue ginger, curry leaves, stalks of lemongrass, pandan leaves, more and more.....those which cost $ for me to buy here, and free to my mom. I wish I could plant those in pots. Dream on.

Anyway, here's some photos of food I made from my mom's homegrown.

Kampung eggs. I love half-boiled of them. I cooked some as masak lemak kuning, for Adam.

Masak Lemak Kuning with eggs, garnishes with turmeric leaves.

Prawn sambal with petai. Make sure you listerine your mouth twice or more after you eat petai.

Petai.

and my mom's rendang itik (duck rendang). She cooked it. I bought the itik only. he he

Husband is away again. Sigh. It's 8:30 am. I had to wake Adam up for his playgroup class. He'll be a bit mamai

and hopefully I get to persuade him for a bath... without tricks.

Oh my. Here's come my routine without him.

Thursday- Lemon Curd

2011-11-03T15:35:00.000+08:00

The recipe is taken from my Lemon Cream Tart entry here.

I'm eating it now with buttered toast..

Be jealous =P

Wordless Wednesday- Express Chicken Briyani

2011-11-02T10:51:00.002+08:00

Recipe as per told by Miss ADABI Briyani Powder :D

Tuesday- Lemon Cream Tart

2011-11-01T18:08:00.000+08:00

Lemon curd. Why is it so hard to make one? The step by step instructions were quite clear, so where did I go wrong? My first attempt was a BIG mess. It was overly sweet, too tangy and gloppy. Yuck. Followed by another failure with dreadful curdling. Sigh. I missed the right thickness (by few stirs only) as Adam was ~~shouting~~ calling for me. Why did he always call me during critical times? Should I blame him for my tragic lemon curd? ;p

Of course, giving up was never part of me lol, I tried again for the third time. I chose to follow Little Teochew's Easy Lemon Curd recipe since the word 'Easy' on the title is quite convincing. Instead of cooking it as a stovetop custard, I turned to ban Marie method and did the stirring thingy during wee hours of the morning, so nobody (read: both men) can disturb me. Voila, I got a bowl of lemon curd... and it suits my palate perfectly. Bonus. The combination of eggs, lemon, butter and sugar finally gave in to a smooth and silky curd. Phew~

Back to my first intention, it's time to make lemon tart. So I whipped 100ml of heavy cream and fold a dollop of lemon curd to it. Yummy. As for the crust, I loosely followed Ijan of Blogresepi's recipe. I've halved the flour and subs it with ground almond. (Thanks Ijan! I did try the original recipe tho, 2 thumbs up for it!)

According to Ju of Little Teochew, the curd will last for a week in a fridge, and 2 months in the freezer. I've a bowl of it in my fridge now, and Im thinking of eating it buttered toast, scones, maybe turn a portion of it as a lemon cake, a cupcake filling, a cake topping and many more things. Yeah, it's overwhelming, but for now, let me just enjoy a slice of lemon tart with my little man :)

Lemon Curd Recipe

(adapted from Little Teochew's Easy Lemon Curd)

- 50 to 60g unsalted butter (more butter will make it smoother, but at the same time, fattier too ... you decide)

- 200 to 225g sugar (depending how sweet or tart you like it)

- 2 eggs

- 2 egg yolks

- 120ml fresh lemon juice (RC Note: 100ml will do)

- 1 tsp grated lemon zest, or more if you like (depending on how strong you want the flavour of lemon)(RC Note: I put 1/2 tsp only)

1. In a large bowl, whisk all the ingredients except the butter*. Mix well. Place the bowl over a bain-marie** (water bath) and stir constantly. The mixture may look curdled, but it will smooth out as it cooks.

* If you want a more subtle taste of lemon, do not add the zest at this stage. Set aside with the butter.

2. Once the mixture thickens - it should leave a path on the back of a spoon - turn off the flame and add butter in 2 or 3 additions. If you have not added in your lemon zest, add it in now and stir to mix well.

3. Allow the curd to cool slightly before transferring to a clean jar or bowl. Make sure it is covered to prevent a skin from forming. Chill in the refrigerator. The curd will thicken further as it cools.

Lemon Cream recipe

100ml heavy cream-whipped

A dollop of lemon curd.

Fold a dollop of lemon curd into whipped cream. Ready to use.

Tart crust recipe (adapted from Blogresepi's recipe)

Monday-The Classic Songs

2011-10-31T06:48:00.002+08:00

I spent half of my Sunday in the kitchen, making Spiral Karipaps and Jellies. Those are made for my MIL's birthday celebration at my SIL house. I really took my time while preparing the food.. And listening to the classics while doing so was very relaxing. I was trapped in my own world for few hours. A blissfull hours indeed.

Switched on my iPod, and P. Ramlee's voice quavered into the whole kitchen:

Getaran jiwa

Melanda hatiku

Tersusun nada

Irama dan lagu..

Next, Saloma and P.Ramlee's version of Begawan Solo:

Bengawan Solo

Riwayatmu ini

Sedari dulu jadi

Perhatian insani..

Followed by renditions of Bengawan Solo, sang by various artist in many languages. One of them is a lullaby-esque version of Begawan Solo, performed by Siti Nurhaliza and Noh Hujan. Definitely my favorite.

After done with those food, we packed and left home for the party. (and Begawan Solo kept playing in my head for the rest of the day. He he)

Happy Birthday, Mak. :D Semuga pjg umur and bahgia slalu...

Another well-spent weekend. How was your's?

Thursday- One-Pot Chinese Chicken Rice

2011-10-27T06:42:00.000+08:00

1. Being a mom to an active toddler with picky palate is tiring. The struggle of feeding him never seem to end, and sometime I'm exhausted with worry. :/ I read somewhere, that a child will eat when they're hungry. If they don’t eat, they are not hungry. But that doesn't seem to ease my worry. Indeed, I'm a mom.

2. As for the chicken dish, two words describe it best, comforting and delicious. With that, I vowed to make this meal a regular. Besides, who need to cook a fancy stuff when nobody is there to eat it. :/ Husband..cepatlah pulang...

One-Pot Chinese Chicken Rice

(Loosely adapted from Donna Hay's recipe at Lifestyle Food)

Serves 2

Ingredients
3 cups (750ml) chicken stock- I boiled the whole chicken with

ginger and garlic, then used the stock.
6 slices ginger-approx
4 cloves garlic, halved-approx
1 long green chilli, sliced
1½ cups (300g) jasmine rice- 1 pot of rice
4 x 125g chicken thigh fillets, halved- I used whole chicken
4 green onions (scallions), sliced
1 cup coriander (cilantro) leaves-omit
soy sauce, to serve

Method

Place the stock, ginger, garlic and chilli in a deep frying pan over high heat and bring to the boil.
Add the rice and stir once to distribute evenly over the bottom of the pan. When the stock comes back to the boil, add the chicken.
Cover, reduce heat to low and cook for
20 minutes or until the rice has absorbed the stock and the chicken is tender. (RC's Note: I cooked till the rice is ready, then glazed the chicken with a mixture of dark +light soya sauce,honey, oyster sauce and a bit of orange marmalade, and popped it in the oven.-you'll get a crispy skin with this!)
Top the chicken and rice with the onion and coriander and serve with soy sauce.

Black and White Wednesday- Bunashimeji Mushroom

2011-10-26T01:15:00.001+08:00

Bunashimeji Mushroom

"You must grow like a tree, not like a mushroom"

~ Janet Erskine Stuart

The Black and White Wednesday is inspired from The Well-Seasoned Cook's Black and White Wednesday-A weekly Culinary Photo Event.

Tuesday-Zuccotto, a Birthday Treat

2011-10-18T07:44:00.003+08:00

Does one needs a birthday cake on his/her birthday? The answer is no, if you're asking my husband. He's so over on this kindda birthday celebration and whatnot.

So instead of Google-ing for a perfect birthday cake, I opted for a dessert and found this. A Zuccotto. Such an alien name, isn't it? For me, at least. I saw it, for the first time, at foodgawker.com, a picture submitted by Bakedbree.com. Such an elegant dessert with less steps and ingredients. It got me at hello. I knew straight away this would be a great treat for husband's birthday, which is today btw :) Okay, no mushy birthday wishes here yet. I'm not going to parade all your goodness here, darling ;)

Okay back to dessert, where was I? According to Wikipedia, Zuccotto is an Italian dessert with origins in Florence. Zuccotto is a semi-frozen, chilled dessert made with brandy, cake and ice cream. It can be frozen, then thawed before serving. This dessert is traditionally made in a special pumpkin-shaped mold (Zuccotto means "little pumpkin" in Italian). It is widely believed to have been inspired by the dome of Florence's duomo (the city's main cathedral). Others allude to its shape as closely resembling a cardinal's skullcap or zucchetto. Google for more infos and pictures of this dessert, will you?

As for the husband, Happy Birthday. Enjoy your birthday treat.

P/s: Could you please learn how to bake a simple cake? I still want one homemade cake for my upcoming birthday.. =P

Black and White Wednesday: Apple {Logo} Pie-A Tribute to Steve Jobs

2011-10-07T10:14:00.004+08:00

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.

-Steve Jobs-

I learned of Steve Jobs's death from Twitter. To me, he's just the mastermind behind Apple and I used to listen to his brilliant Stanford speech every now and then. Thank you for leaving such an inspiring legacy behind, Steve. The world will miss you..

#R.I.P Steve Jobs...

The Black and White Wednesday is inspired from The Well-Seasoned Cook's Black and White Wednesday-A weekly Culinary Photo Event.

Malaysia’s First Ever Blogger MasterChef : Poached Pear in Cage {Pear Tart}

2011-10-03T21:39:00.000+08:00

Whitney Miller, Julie Goodwin, Adam Liaw, Isabella Bliss, Lucky and Brett. Do these names sound familiar to you? They are all crowned with Masterchef title in the infamous Masterchef aired all around the world. Wait a minute! Malaysia is about to have our own Masterchef soon. I am all excited about it *Happy Dance*

I always love to watch Masterchef. If you read my previous entries, there are two or more recipes adapted from the show. As for the contestant, my vote will always goes to someone with a strong cooking and baking passion like Julie Goodwin. I always want to be part of the cooking show, but with my little Adam by my side and Hubby's hectic travelling schedules, I just couldn't see where should I place my dream at. Besides, I'm still a rookie.

So when Nuffnang announced the "Malaysia's First Ever Blogger Masterchef" contest, I was so thrill about it and said to myself, "let's do this!!". The timeline is short, why not.. There's no harm in trying my luck in this contest too. I heard about the challenge since last month and it took me days to figure out which recipe I should feature for the contest. The light bulb finally arrived today, on the last day of submission. Can you imagine?

MasterChef Malaysia will be launched on 22nd October 2011. Tune in to Astro Ria (Channel 104) to watch MasterChef every Saturday-Wednesday at 9.00pm. Now don't you miss the ultra informational Master Class which will be on every Friday at 9.00pm.

- Official Site URL – http://www.astro.com.my/MasterChef/

- Facebook Page Link- http://www.facebook.com/MasterChefMalaysia

- Twitter Link– www.twitter.com/MasterChefMY

MasterChef is a worldwide phenomenon. A cooking reality show, that although doesn’t allow viewers to vote, has still broken viewership records in US and Australia. MasterChef is a success because not only is Food something we are all very passionate about but the show only allows amateur cooks to compete. Malaysians who love cooking but never had a chance to really showcase their skills and be appreciated, now get the opportunity! Get ready for the MasterChef phenomenon to take over Malaysia on 22nd October 2011!

I don't have a signature dish...(yet..) but I do have a long list of favorite recipes. Since time is not Mom's best friend, I simply chose this Poached Pear in Cage as my favorite recipe.The recipe is adapted from my previous post here. Why I love this recipe so much? I declared it as the most delicious dessert I've ever prepared. The sweet spices aroma of the soft poached pear inside is perfectly blend with the crispy puff outside. I love, love and love this dessert so much!

Click to enlarge the recipe.

{Friday}- Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

2011-09-30T10:54:00.002+08:00

Adam went "Yeay!" after he saw me taking out one of these cuppies from the fridge yesterday. "Ice cream ?" he asked and I replied, "Nope, it's a cupcake in ice cream cone", and he gave me a dazed look. I shouldn't gave him such reply.

The funny thing is, Adam loves to eat his ice cream from the bottom part of the cone. He would bite his cone upward, slowly moves to the ice cream. I, on the other hand, would have to lick the ice cream to prevent it from melting onto Adam's tiny fingers, and at the end of the day, Mommy was the one who had the ice cream most. The same went to this cupcakes. He got the cone and the cake inside (+1 point), and I ended up with the frosting (-1 point).

Nevertheless, it's the best frosting I've ever made. It has just the right sweetness for my palate :) I dipped 2 frosted cuppies with bittersweet chocolate and the rest were frosted with choc-swirl frosting (put 2 frosting flavors together and swirl it).

FYI, I halved the recipe into 12 cuppies, one half is reserved for my small (with big tummies) family and I passed another half to my new-found neighbor :)

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes (Chocolate flavor):
Adapted from Cuppy Cakes's recipe
Yield: 24 ice cream cone cupcakes

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1-1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup butter

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 eggs

1. mix on low speed everything but the eggs

2. beat on high speed for 2 minutes

3. add the eggs, beat on high speed again for 2 minutes

4. pour the batter into ice cream cones

5. leave a good half inch between the batter and the top of the cone

6. bake at 180 deg for about 20 minutes or until cake testers comes out clean

Fluffy White Frosting
Adapted from Vickie recipe at allrecipe.com

Yield: 1 frosting for two layer 8 or 9 inch round cake
(I halved it since I only have 12 cuppies)

1 cup white sugar

1/3 cup water

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

2 egg whites

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a saucepan, stir together the sugar, water and cream of tartar. Cook over medium-high heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is bubbly.

In a medium mixing bowl, whip the egg whites and vanilla to soft peaks. Gradually add the sugar mixture while whipping constantly until stiff peaks form, about 7 to 10 minutes. Frost the cake of your choice.

Black and White Wednesday- Sugar Grains

2011-09-28T10:48:00.002+08:00

“If you are bitter at heart, sugar in the mouth will not help you”

Update: The Black and White Wednesday is inspired from The Well-Seasoned Cook's Black and White Wednesday-A weekly Culinary Photo Event.

Tuesday- Meatballs Spaghetti

2011-09-27T22:37:00.093+08:00

As you guys can see now, I've changed my blog layout.. again.. :D Mind you, this is just a temporary change.. I'm in the mid of tweaking some codes and scripts and hopefully everything will come up as planned.. Ameen.

And as for the meatballs spaghetti, that's our dinner for tonight. I used a Prego canned sauce instead of making one, oh please don't judge. It's O-K to cheat..sometimes.. I said sometimes.. The meatballs are homemade tho.. It's from Ramsay's World Kitchen book. I gave a so-so review about it last time (okay, who am I kidding to gave Ramsay with such rating..). But this time, I've added a lil bit more of garlic (powder) and instead of parsley, I've substituted it with some Italian herbs, and it tastes fine now, more than fine. Should I claim the recipe as mine now?

Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

(as printed in Ramsay's World Kitchen)

(Serves 4-5)

500g good-quality minced beef

1 onion, peeled and very finely chopped

1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped

50g white breadcrumbs

25g manchego (or cheddar), grated

2 tbs chopped flat-leaf parsley, plus extra to finish

sea salt and black pepper

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 tbs olive oil

For the tomato sauce:

2 tbs olive oil

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped

120ml dry white wine

2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes

100ml water

1-2 tbs caster sugar

sea salt and black pepper

To make the meatballs, mix the minced beef, onion, garlic, breadcrumbs, cheese and parsley together in a large bowl until combined. Season well and add the beaten egg to bind, mixing with your hands. Break off a small piece of the mixture, shape into a ball and fry in an oiled pan until cooked, then taste for seasoning. Adjust the seasoning of the uncooked mixture as necessary. With damp hands, shape the mixture into about 16 meatballs, trying not to press them too tightly. Place on a large plate, cover with clingfilm and chill for at least 30 minutes to allow them to firm up.

Meanwhile, make the sauce. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, add the onion and garlic and fry gently until lightly golden. Increase the heat slightly and pour in the wine. Let it bubble until reduced by half, then stir in the chopped tomatoes, water and sugar. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the tomatoes are soft, then remove the pan from the heat.

To cook the meatballs, heat the olive oil in a large, wide pan. Add the chilled meatballs and fry for 5 minutes, turning frequently, until browned all over. Pour the tomato sauce over them and simmer for a further 10-15 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through.

Divide the meatballs and tomato sauce among warm bowls and sprinkle with chopped parsley to serve.

Saturday- Sizzling Chicken Noodle with Mushroom

2011-09-25T02:56:00.001+08:00

My all-time food court favorite. :)

I was introduced to this hot pan noodles when I was in high school, ate it for the first time at Jaya Jusco's food court in Melaka, and immediately fell in love with it. But since I was schooling away from home, I could only indulged it once in a blue moon. Too bad, if only I knew how to cook this hottie earlier. (If only my mom knows how to cook this too...;p)

A few years later, I had a chance to devour it again at Jaya Jusco's food court, but this time in Kinta city, Ipoh. The sizzling noodles, plus the claypot chicken rice, plus everything were so good and super delicious! After five years+ in Ipoh, I'm proud to say that I had the greatest food escapades evah. (Ipoh is well known as a food heaven, a must visit place for a foodie. Oooh I miss Ipoh. I wish I have a Doraemon's Anywhere Door with me now...

When I started my first job in KL, my first few weeks ~~behind the desk~~ alone in a small rented room were spent on an Internet recipes hunt (The company was still new at that time, and everyone was free to do anything except reading a newspaper LOL). I was a new exec, and eating out on regular basis probably isn't a good idea. It's bad for my purse, my inner foodie spirit and waistline. I was eating the same tapau for lunch and dinner everyday, for god sake (KLCC Cold storage's nasi lemak, mihun everyday?) Nevertheless, the whole thing brought me to Myresipi.com. :) I have learnt the recipe from there, and lots of other recipes as well. CC: Kak Yani of Deco Choco! Thank you kak.. (but the terrible lunching sagas were continued until I was posted to Borneo.. phew~) Now, I can cook my favorite sizzling noodles ~~with both eyes closed~~, anytime, anywhere! ;D

For those who wants to try this recipe, here's the link. Thanks LilydValley for sharing this recipe.

"One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating."-Luciano Pavarotti

Raya Cookies III: Dorie Greenspan's Linzer Sablés

2011-09-23T09:59:00.000+08:00

Fact oh fact:

Sablé is a shortbread-like cookie, a French version of butter cookie.
The recipe is printed in Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours, pages 134-135 [ooohh I love all her cookbooks, it's like having her in the kitchen, baking with me #lol #annoying #twitter]. You can also view the recipe here.
Syawal is almost over, and here I am, still talking about my raya cookies.. sigh Ms. P visited me twice this month, hmm, and I haven't got much time left for puasa 6..
Another weekend is coming, enjoy it, dear readers!

Black and White Wednesday- Rice Pot

2011-09-21T09:36:00.000+08:00

Cutting stalks at noontime. Perspiration drips to the earth. Know you that your bowl of rice each grain from hardship comes?

~Chang Chan-Pao

Raya Cookies II: Nutty Meringue

2011-09-16T20:23:00.000+08:00

These airy crunchy cookies are one of my favorite. A tad on the sweet side to be sure, so next time I won't add as much powdered sugar as stated in the recipe... and as I said previously, I'd returned the recipe book before I could pen down the recipe, so no recipe for this one, for now.

Adam, on the other hand, loves it so much. The repeatable acts of munching and chomping would not stop until I hid the jar from him. What's up with kids and sugar eh? isk

Made with beaten egg whites, I believed these are "RAYA COOKIE OF THE YEAR", apart from the infamous macarons. They seem to be on every table at every house we visited. Well, macarons are expensive to be baked/bought, so people turned to these meringues instead =P With lots of variations, studded with pecan, walnut, raisins, anything under the sky, my favorite would be the one with dark choc chips. They toned down the sweet flavor well. Love it! :) Note to self 2: Meringue and macaron are best flavored with chocolate/anything with bitter flavor.

Oh btw, high five if you made/bought these cookies for raya too *high five* =P

Raya Cookies: White & Dark Chocolate Chips Cookies

2011-09-14T16:54:00.000+08:00

Raya and Cookies? Who started all this cookies trend eh?

.........

Last year, I baked around 8 types of cookies, and none of the jars were successfully emptied. I vowed to bake less this year (down to 5 types), and the same O is about to happen again. I should have learnt my lesson kan.. Okay..may be it's to early for me to pen down my worries, right here, right now. Let's wait until Raya Haji.. =P

........

Do you know that every homemade cookies have their own expiry date? I googled on cookies storage tips, and found Baking 911: A Complete Storage Guide. Read it! I probably have to throw away my meringues. They are about to go bad. Note to self..bake more choc and chips cookies and biscotti. They last like forever... =P

.........

Most of my cookies recipes were taken from the library book and Bisous A Toi. I forgot to snap the recipes (from the book) before I returned it. Isk. More cookies entries coming soon..

Black and White Wednesday: The Bread

2011-09-14T12:40:00.000+08:00

"Old bread is not hard. No bread, that is hard."

Kecoh-Kecoh Raya.

2011-08-31T12:23:00.000+08:00

Eid Mubarak!

Our Raya morning was so kecoh! T_T

How was yours?

Monday- Pistachio Stuffed Dates {First day of Ramadhan 1432}

2011-08-01T17:14:00.002+08:00

It's that time of the year again.. Alhamdulilah..First and foremost, we would like to wish everyone a blessed and smooth Ramadhan. Hopefully we all get the most out of this blessing month. InsyaAllah.. okay ramai2 nyanyi lagu Maher zain InsyaAllah. hihi Deep down, I wish I could slow down my routine this whole month [just a tiny bit] and spend more time with Him instead. InsyaAllah.

Anyway, on a shorter note, I made these stuffed dates minutes ago. A quick and rather cheap alternative to fancy $tore-bought stuffed dates. Since time is not on my side today, I opted for a coarse filling instead of a fine paste filling.

Tastewise? Hmm..I haven't taste mine yet but I bet it would turn out great as the store-bought ones. Ameen *finger-crossed* ;p Slamat berpuasa everyone! :D

On Family and Food III

2011-07-24T08:02:00.002+08:00

Oh my..I've been missing in action for weeks now.. The long awaited mojo still hasn't arrived so far =P I miss you guys.. seriously.. I do hopped into your blog sometimes, but not as much as before... I'm in my 'limbo' kindda world right now.. should I typed sigh now?.. sighed..

Okay..less words, more pics..These are what I've been occupied with in the last few weeks.. ;) I've been taking lots of food photos, and here are some for you guys to drool over ;p eleh..

Eggless Caramel Pudding

Recipe adapted from My Resipi by Firasyira.. It's a keeper. I've been using this recipe for hundreds of times already and it never failed me and the rest of the eaters.

Sticky Caramel Chicken Wings

Our weekly dinner.. Easy: Marinate those wings 5-10 wings with a tablespoon of sweet soy, a tablespoon of oyster sauce and a tablespoon of honey for an hour or overnight. Bake Stirfry or bake them with garlic. Nyum!

Quill Eggs Soup

Err..I don't have the 'right' recipe for this one..but I'll try to upload it if there's a request for it. I love this soup.. It's a perfect sahur dish ;)

Grilled Corn

Adam and I totally hated it. Period. {He he}

Black and White Wednesday- Salted Fish

2011-07-15T22:07:00.000+08:00

I once bumped into a black and white (B&W) recipebook and thought it was the foolish idea ever.. Who's gonna buy or lend a B&W recipebook rite? Before today, I always thought food photos in B&W are just dull and uninviting, but I was wrong.. B&W shots are interesting (not to forget, challenging!) and with a bit of creativity and techniques, it could be as great as the normal colored shots too..

Hmm..Where did I get this idea of B&W food photo anyway? From The Well-Seasoned Cook, which I first learned from My Diverse Kitchen blog :) Thank you guys for opening such door. If you guys, readers, are interested to take part in this photo event, you're welcome to dig more infos on both links.

Psst.. I know it's Friday..but I can't hold this until next Wednesday he he I'm so thrill with this new event.. ;) my foodography mojo is soo back!!

Psst.Psst..I'm still in Malacca.. ;)

Tuesday- Manhattan Cheesecake

2011-06-28T16:25:00.000+08:00

"The king of cheesecake, and every local cafe, restaurant or shop will have this traditional Big Apple classic. You can serve it with a variety of fruit compotes."

~Eric Lanlard, Home Bake

I always have such a hard time choosing cheesecake. Put me in front of a cheesecake display, and I'll go numb. It would take ages to get to the right one, which usually either flavored or topped with fruit, nuts, or drizzled with chocolate. Frankly, I'm not the biggest fan of plain and dull-looking cheesecake, except for this one. This is the one that I like and dislike the most he he Plain, yet so rich and creamy.

Verdict-The base crust is thick and not soggy, which I like. The filling part is creamy and tangy, a cheesecake taste that I always after.. but thumbs down to the soured cream topping..ugh..wished I had a tin of sweet cherries to eat this along with.

Psst..I have not been in a mood to do any blogging-related thing lately. I'm having a writing, cooking and foodographying block..naah 3 in 1.. ;p I'll write, cook and foodograph some more when the mojo is back.. ;)

Psst..Psst..I'm going back to Melaka this weekend and will stay there for 2 weeks!! Yippee!! But before that, since my husband had to fly somewhere during that weeks, I had to settle with MAJOR ironing job first.. isk isk...

Manhattan Cheesecake

{Adapted from Eric Landlard, from Home Bake recipebook}

Serves 10-12

Preparation time:20 minutes+resting and chilling

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

For the base:

75g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing

300g digestive biscuit, crushed

For the filling:

1kg cream cheese (the drier the better)

250g caster sugar

3tsp plain flour

1 tsp vanilla extract

finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

3 large eggs

300ml soured cream

For the topping:

150ml soured cream

1tbsp caster sugar

icing sugar, for dusting

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease the base and side of a 23cm or 9 inch springform cake tin with extra butter, and line the base with baking paper

2. For the base, melt the butter in medium pan and stir it into the biscuit crumbs. Press the mixture into the bottom of prepared tin and bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Cool on the wire rack while preparing for the filling

3. For the filling, increase oven temp to 220C

4. In a mixer fitted the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese at medium low speed until creamy, about 2 mins. Then gradually add the sugar, then the flour. Continue by adding the vanilla and lemon zest and juice, then whisk in the eggs, one at the time. stir in the soured cream until well blended. the batter should be smooth, light and somewhat airy.

5. Pour the filling into the prepared tin. The top should be as smooth as possible. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 mins. Reduce the oven temp to 140C and bake for 25 mins more. if you shake the tin, the filling should have a slight wobble. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake inside the oven with door closed. The cheesecake may get a slight crack on top as it cools.

6. For the topping, combine the soured cream and caster sugar. Spread over the cold cheesecake right to the edges, then refrigerate overnight. Dust with icing before serving.

Friday- Singapore Chicken Laksa {using spaghetti}

2011-06-25T08:21:00.001+08:00

''Most restaurants (and hostesses) that feature pasta provide guests with a large spoon as well as the knife and fork. The fork is used to spear a few strands of spaghetti, the tips are placed against the spoon, which is held on its side, in the left hand, and the fork is twirled, wrapping the spaghetti around itself as it turns. If no spoon is provided, the tips of the fork may be rested against the curve of the plate.'' ''The New Emily Post's Etiquette,'' Elizabeth L. Post, 1975 By CRAIG CLAIBORNE

The above excerpt is from NY Times.com, which highlights the right way of eating spaghetti, using fork and spoon. Instead of fork, I choose to twirl it with a pair of chopstick and Chinese soup spoon this time he he

This chicken Laksa is specially made for Food Pixel Contest by Dario Milano. There's no grand prize, and everybody signed up for critiques and fun! Since the latest contest theme is spaghetti, I'd to substitute the laksa noodles to angle hair spaghetti. FYI, this is not a new thing-read: the subs. We'd been doing this for years already.

This flavorful noodle soup, is made with coconut based sauce that is scented with rempah paste and served with any number of condiments. Sometimes people called curry mee. I knew I could easily ordered this at most of the hawker streets here, but I choose to make it from scratch today. Such a sweet time of headache he he

Anyway, this was my first attempt making Chicken Laksa and the result was not bad at all. The taste is almost the same like hawker-styled Chicken Laksa. My only concern is the sidekick, the chili oil. Perhaps I should put belacan [shrimp paste] next time? *sneeze**sneeze*

Singapore Chicken Laksa Recipe
{Adapted from Almost Bourdain's Curry Laksa}

Serves 6-I halved the recipe tho

Rempah Paste:
20 Asian shallots
10 cloves garlic
10 dried chillies, soaked in warm water
10 fresh red chillies
2 tsp toasted belacan-
3 tbsp dried shrimps, soaked in warm water
6 candlenuts (buah keras)
3 tbsp curry powder

5 tbsp oil
3 stalks lemon grass, bruised
3 sprigs curry leaves- skipped
1 litre chicken stock
1 litre thick coconut milk
salt to taste

Toppings:

Lime, quartered

200 g tofu puffs, cut into halves
300 g bean sprouts, blanched
3 hard boiled eggs, halved
2 pieces fried fish cakes, sliced-skipped
12 large cooked king prawns-I subs it with chicken breast
12 seared fresh scallops-skipped
600 g rice vermicelli noodle (Bee Hoon), blanched- I subs it with angle hair spaghetti

Method

To make Rempah Paste: Mix all ingredients and pound into a paste with mortal and pestle, blender or food processor.

Heat up oil in a soup pot, saute rempah paste, lemon grass and curry leave until fragrant.

Add chicken stock and bring to boil.

Lower heat and leave to simmer for about 10-15 minutes.

Add thick coconut milk and bring to a boil again, stirring all the time to prevent it from curdling.

Add tofu puffs and bring to a boil. Add salt to taste.

To serve: Divide spaghetti and bean sprouts into individual bowls. Spread prawns, scallops, eggs and fish cake on top. Pour curry gravy and tofu puffs over and serve immediately.

Chili oil
{Adapted from RasaMalaysia}

110g chili paste
25g garlic, pounded175ml to 200ml oil
50g dried shrimps, soaked with water-I added
Method

Blender both chili and dried shrimp together until it become fine paste. Saute garlic and chili-dried shrimp paste in oil until the chili disintegrates and oil floats to the surface. (Use this to garnish when serving.)

Sunday- Lovemisu

2011-06-20T11:29:00.001+08:00

Sweets, I feel, are best enjoyed in small doses. Their ability to delight is indirectly proportional to their sizes.

~Shirley, Køkken69, February 2011.

I second that. A small amount of these mini tiramisu hearts are just perfect for a small family like us. These petits fours are made for my other half as a Father's day's special treat. Happy Father's day, BigDaddyO..! We both 'tiramisu heart' you.. hi hi :)

My first encounter with Tiramisu was in 1999. I was in Tronoh at that time. 44 lbs lighter. Single and unavailable. I bought my first Tiramisu at a small corner bakery in JJ Kinta City. The Japanese sounded dessert at that bakery tasted so good, and it was my must-bought cake every time I went to KC, until it was closed few years afterwards. And that's made me turned to Secret Recipe's. Sigh

Ten years later, my first attempt with Tiramisu took place. 22 lbs heavier. Newly wed with 6 months bump. Found myself with a quick Tiramisu recipe from Myresepi, it was a success, even though it was a tad sweet for me. However, it brought me to a new perspective on dessert making. 1. Desserts don't always have to be fruits or jellies. 2. Fancy sounded desserts are not that difficult to make. :) I always made this dessert every now and then since then {esp on special occasion} and varied them in few ways; traditionally or in dainty glass. :)

Anyway, I decided to call these minis, Lovemisu. Sounds cuter.. ;p Tastewise, same like the traditional Tiramisu.. obviously..FYI, the library has doubled the book loan quota until end of July. I was so excited and borrowed few extra books on desserts. Hopefully, I'd time to share few recipes with you guys. Sorry for the long miss appearance.. I was plain busy..err.. with chores. :P

Lovemisu

{Adapted from Tiramisu Hearts, Petits Fours A Fine Selection of Sweet Treats, published by Murdoch Books}

Makes 24

A ready made sponge cakes-2

1 tbs instant coffee powder

60 ml boiling water

2 tbs coffee liquer- I subs it with coffee emulco

100g dark choc, chopped

2tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

Filling

1 large egg

2 tbs icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

150g mascarpone cheese {teringat kisah Cik Som hi hi}

60ml cream, whipped to soft peak

Grease and line the base and side of a 20x30cm baking tin with baking paper. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Cut each cake horizontally into three 8mm layers. Combine coffee, boiling water and liquer in a small bowl. set aside to cool. Brush each of the layers with the coffee mixture.
To make the filling, beat the egg, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl using electric beaters until pale and creamy. Fold in the mascarporne cheese and cream.
Place on layer in the prepared tin and spread with the filling. Top with another layer of sponge. repeat until finish. place in freezer for 40-50 mins or until firm. Use a 4cm heart-shaped cutter to cut out 24 hearts.
Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, ensuring the bowl doesn't touch the water. stir until melted. Pour on prepared tray. spread the thickness of 2mm with spatula. Allow to set, then cut into heart shape using the heart cutter used for the cakes.
Transfer the chocolate hearts and place carefully on top of the petits fours. Refrigerate until needed.

On Family and Food II

2011-06-17T00:35:00.002+08:00

I love taking photos especially on food and of course, Adam. The followings are some photos to feed your eyes.. I'll provide the link for the recipe by request. lol [oh..am I that lazy?]

Mushroom Toast...a must-have-weekend breakfast..

Sticky Caramel Chicken

3 cheese ravioli with cream sauce for the little guy

Mushroom Beef Burger

Chicken Tandoori, Cucumber-Tomato Salad and Rice

Taking his first MRT ride :D

Friday- Heaven Chocolate Tart with Pistachios

2011-06-10T14:41:00.000+08:00

Firstly, I would like to thank you guys for all the get-well-soon wishes, be it from comment or emails. Alhamdulilah, we both are getting better, just a little bit of coughing here and there.

Cik Som, Kak Lili, Kak Yat Easybakes, dari jauh ku pohon maaf he he FYI, I made stuffed crab and it was a bit disaster ha ha thus no photo uploaded =P I really wish I could attend you guys better {read: you readers}. No more 'promises' in the future. I'm so bad at keeping up with it. :( Do I need to arrange a giveaway then? Naah..this is not a promise okay.. =p

Anyway, back to the this rich chocolate tart. The recipe was taken from my previous entry, Heaven Chocolate Tart. To make it different, I sprinkled some crushed pistachios as topping this time. Berterabur. But home-made food are supposed to look rustic right? {lame excuse}

Pistachios remind me of my boarding school days. There were few motivational sessions arranged by our school during our SPM year. In one of the session, we were told by the renowned motivator, I forgot his name duuuh.., that some seeds and nuts are 'brain foods", and he named us few of them including pistachios. We were like, "aah..what's the name again? must get that weird-named nut now.." {Note: Pistachio was not this popular back then} Since that day, most of the student were snacking on that pink-greenish nuts at all time. Besides yellow and black raisins. lol

I wouldn't dare to ask my father to bought me one, since it was quite expensive. Out of nowhere, he bought me one jar eventually. Happy. We were told to take 7 or 5 pistachios and raisins a day and I did it religiously. Not sure whether the nuts helped or not, but I scored my SPM well tho. By the end of the day, nuts or no nuts, one still have to put his/her nose between the pages to score well right?

Anyway, many thanks to Cik Mat Gebu for 'promoting' my blog earlier this week. This humble page of mine was flooded with visitors since then. Thank you for being one of my follower, CMG. You make my day! :)

Tuesday- Hainanese Toast Bread and Soft-Boiled Egg

2011-06-07T16:04:00.000+08:00

Comfort food are best served when you're sick. Be it a cold or a heartsick.

Both Adam and I are sick right now. Down with mild fever, some cough and runny noses. Nothing to be worry about actually. Except that, nightmares await me every time I try to feed Adam his med. Sigh.

On the other hand, these toast and soft-boiled egg are one of my favorite comfort food. I would usually eat this toast more during my non-runny-nose-days albeit the diet regime I'd to obey.

The Hainan bread is so fresh and soft. To me, the best way to eat them is to toast them, and spread them with kaya+butter combo [please don't burn it like mine..hangus..] The other way of eating them best is to dip them [plain] with soft-boiled egg or creamy chicken curry. * Two-thumbs up*

Okay, I need to get back to Adam. He's awake and keep asking me to play with him. I leave you guys with recipe on how to get the perfect soft-boiled egg.

Perfect Soft-Boiled Egg.

{Adapted from Iphone4 Apps-Farm Pride Egg Timer}

1. Place eggs into saucepan and cover with cold water.

2. Begin to boil water on medium heat.

3. Once the water reach boiling point, reduce the heat to simmer.

4. Simmer them for 3.5 minutes.

5. Serve them immediately. :D

{Note: The time stated varies with egg-sizes, large-3.5 minutes, XL-4 minutes, Jumbo size-6 minutes}

Tuesday- When life give you crab..you make?

2011-05-31T07:50:00.000+08:00

What dish would you make out of these crabs?

Not the right size and type for the famous chili crab recipe I've in hands.

Gulai lemak cili padi? Naah.. I'm sick of anything to do with coconut milk.

Dry masala/curry sounds nice, but there's no more curry leaves left in my freezer.

{yes, I freeze them}

Crab cake? Again, not the right size and type of crab.

That's all I can think off. {and write}

Friday- Mini Spiral Tuna Curry Puff.. a.k.a Karipap Tuna Pusing Mini?

2011-05-28T07:01:00.003+08:00

"...nothing is too much trouble if it turns out the way it should."

~Julia Child (My Life in France)

This was my first attempt in making spiral puff or karipap pusing.. I always thought I would never make one since the step by step pictorial, in getting the spiral done, scares me. Note: I have love/hate relationship with anything related to dough. Sometimes it turns out great, sometimes not.

Anyway, this one fell into 'great' category. The dough is crunchy and very soft when you bite it. Almost similar to pau goreng dough, but crunchier. Should it tastes like that? I'm not sure how the original recipe would tastes like tho. I'd to swiped the shortening to butter since I'm out of it..

Anyway, my husband loves it. [psst.. he is a man of few words especially when it comes in complementing my foods.. when he said, "Macam kat kedai", that's means good.. If he eat more and more non-stop,- means great!..he he When he keeps silent and tak tambah2x..-probably means bad.. ;p] Adam loves it too.. he ate 2 pieces of mini karipaps..

Okay, the karipap may seem like over-fried, but trust me it's not. My photos don't give justice to these minis. Thanks to Mat Gebu for the recipe. I'll keep experimenting few other karipap pusing recipes, but for now, I'll stick with his recipe.

If you're looking for a recipe that doesn't take hours and make less mess of the kitchen, this is the one you should try. The end result is satisfying. :)

Tasty Thursday- Sicilian Orange Cake

2011-05-26T10:48:00.000+08:00

This Sicilian Orange Cake is the famous orange cake from the once popular Café Agostini (this cafe has closed on 22 July, 2005) owned by Margie Agostini, in the heart of Sydney ’s suburb for the rich and famous, Woollahra. Customers have often been heard to say that “Margie’s orange cake is to die for”.

I found this recipe on Rick Stein's Mediterranean Escape Cookbook a while ago but was surprised to find out how this recipe was linked to Australia:

Rick Stein: "To be accurate, I suppose this cake should be known as Margie Agostini'sorange cake. It was her signature dish at her greatly missed Caffe Agostini in Woollahra in Sydney. It seemed to me to be just made for Sicilian oranges. The recipe came from an article in the Times by Jill Dupleix, although I had eaten the cake at the cafe a few years earlier and I thought it was amazing. As Jill says, it has to be the richest, moistest, butteriest and yet lightest orange cake in the world."

~Ellie, Almost Bourdain, Aug 16 2009

Hello there. It’s been a little while since my last post, and certainly longer than planned. Well, you do know that I'm a part-time blogger and a full time house-mom-wife right...

Right now, after gone for almost 10 days [it feels like 10 years tho], I'm back with the renowned Sicilian Orange Cake. This is a perfect orange cake. Ask around if you don't believe me. It became a blogosphere phenomenon since 2009, and everyone who tried it, loved it!

I believe no one will say no to this buttery, moist and full with mild aroma of orange citrus cake. It's a simple cake, yet so pleasing.. I had to agree with Ellie excerpt above, it is the richest, moistest, butteriest and yet lightest orange cake in the world..

I came to know this cake from Ellie of Almost Bourdain. Early this week, Ellie decided to leave the blogging world, and I had to admit that I'm quite shock to hear the news. Personally, I'm a big fan of Ellie's blog. Her appetizing photos and inventing recipes were so inspiring. Most of my baking/cooking goodies came from her site, whether it get published here or not. There's more recipes waiting to be tried and her blog would be my online "recipe-book" for years coming. :)

And to be honest, I baked this cake for her, literally. My so-called farewell tribute for her leaving. To Ellie, you'll be missed.. Wish you the best of luck with your life and I hope we get to see you again...soon :)

Sicilian Orange Cake Recipe

(Adapted from Almost Bourdain)

Makes 1 x 22-cm cake, to serve about 8

Ingredients

250 g lightly salted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing

250 g caster sugar

4 medium eggs

1 1/2 tsp finely grated orange zest

250 g self raising flour

85 ml freshly squeezed orange juice

For the icing:

125 g icing sugar

5 tsp freshly squeezed orange juice

Method

Preheat the oven to 170C. Grease and line a 22-cm clip-sided round cake with non-stick baking paper.
Using an electric whisk, cream the butter and sugar together for 4-5 minutes until very pale. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating very well between each one, if necessary adding a spoonful of flour with the last egg to prevent the mixture from curdling. Beat in the orange zest. Add the flour all at once and mix in well, then slowly mix in the orange juice.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer, inserted into the centre of the cake, comes out clean. If it starts to brown too quickly, cover loosely with a sheet of lightly buttered foil.
Leave the cake, in its tin, to cool on a wire rack, then carefully remove the sides and base of the tin and peel off the paper. Put it onto a serving plate.

For the icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and stir in the orange juice until you have a spreadable consistency. Spread it over the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides, and leave to set. Serve cut into slices, and store any leftovers in an airtight container.

Friday- Meatballs with Tomato sauce

2011-05-15T10:17:00.000+08:00

Phew..glad to see my dashboard again..while Blogger was on the freeze thingy yesterday, I don't know about you guys, but I felt like I was cut off from the outside world..and that just make me realized just how obsessed I am with blogging world. Even though I seldom put up a post or drop a comment on your blog, but I checked the headlines from time to time just to catch up with the your update..hi hi

Okay, another recipe from Ramsay's World Kitchen. :D I baked, instead of frying them, which made the outer part less crunchy.. hmm.. tastewise, biasa-biasa je.. ;p My favorite part of this recipe was the tomato sauce. It has a good balance of sweet and sour taste. It yummy-ed {?} the meatball more, and I think I'm gonna stick to this tomato sauce recipe. So yes to the tomato sauce and boohoo to the meatball recipe. He he..

Does anyone else have a good meatball recipes? care to share...?

Tuesday- Roasted Black Pepper Chicken with Plum Sauce {Edited}

2011-05-11T10:06:00.022+08:00

It has become a routine of ours to spent some time in the library once in every week or two. Husband would always browse items from management, career-related and photography sections while Adam browse his on kiddy sections. Sometimes he likes to 'arrange' the book too..bersepah-sepah..In order to avoid that, one of us would pick few books, find a place, sit and read to him- and that's would give some ample time for each of us to browse whatever we like on the shelves.

As for me, most of my borrowed items, so far, are from the cooking books shelves. I'm a sucker for pretty cookbooks, especially if it has appetizing pictures with minimal clear instruction...To me, a good cookbook MUST have pictures for every recipe written inside, unless it's a renowned old cookbook like Julia Child's. A step by step pictures are bonus, but not necessary.

I borrowed Gordon Ramsay's and Martha Stewart's Pies and Tarts this week, and today menu was inspired from Ramsay's roasted duck with plum sauce. I've bookmarked another 4 recipes and can't wait to try it!

Anyway, happy Mother's day to all mom out there.. I bought this lilies for myself..he he..no gift from si dia tu.. ;p okay pe celebrate sorang2x.. ;p

Friday- Opera Cake..finally..

2011-05-05T19:04:00.000+08:00

"Opera Cake is a type of French cake. It is made with layers of almond sponge cake (known as Joconde in French) soaked in coffee syrup, layered with ganache and coffeebuttercream, and covered in a chocolate glaze. According to Larousse Gastronomique "Opéra gateau is an elaborate almond sponge cake with a coffee and chocolate filling and icing."The cake was popularized by the French pâtisserie house Dalloyau." -Wikipedia

It took me forever to cut this cake into a diamond shape slice. Almost a diamond perhaps. {Phew} The most forever about it was making the cake itself actually. Yerp..I did it..I can finally crossed opera cake from my baking list..Hip2x hurray for me..wuhoooooo... *cheeky proud grin*

I whipped the mocha buttercream on Thursday, and thought of assembling the cake on Friday- the same date as the royal wedding day. It would be great to have a special delicacy to mark the royal wedding ceremony rite.. since it was called the wedding of the year, of the century, of a lifetime, blah blah.. But it didn't happened..err my cake I mean.. =/ You wanna know why? You see..I was glued on TV from 3pm, and after 2 hours in front of the screen, I started to feel dizzy and felt like to throw out already. I knew the wedding service would start at 6, but me being me, over-excited blah blah, didn't want to miss watching every single second of the live telecast.. and by the time Will and Kate finally tied a knot, the headache was swirling all my head already. It was terrible. [I used to be a TV junkie during my teen years..what happened to that part of myself..hihi..] So the plan had to be postponed on the next day. Long story short, I created this marvelous cake on Monday. Period. ;p

Well, it's a rich cake, enough said. Layers of almond sponge cake, with mocha buttercream and chocolate ganache in between.. heaven! You could imagine the taste your self he he.. I made an 8x8 inch square cake, too big for our family to consume it at once. I halved it and keep one half in the fridge and the other half on the freezer. We shall finish it by this month he he..

Opera cake
{Recipe adapted from Bisous A Toi..Thanks K Rima!}

Ingredients

200g finely ground almond
100g caster sugar
6 eggs
50g butter, melted
60g all purpose flour
115g egg whites
55g confectioner sugar - i used caster sugar

For the Jaconde:

Preheat oven to 200C.. Prepare two pans (20 x 20 cm), greased and lined with baking paper.
In a large bowl combine ground almond, caster sugar and 3 eggs, beat at high speed for 10 minutes, scraping often.
Add remaining eggs one at a time, continue to beat for another 10 minutes.
Stir in 4 tbsp of almond mixture into melted butter and mix till well combined, set aside.
Add sifted flour to the remaining almond mixture, mix well... put aside
In another bowl, beat egg whites til foamy, add sugar gradually and continue to beat until soft peaks formed.
Take 1/3 of egg white and pour into almond mixture and mix it gently.. pour back almond mixture into the remaining 2/3 egg white mixture and continue to fold in gently.. dont overmix or u might deflate ur egg white..
Divide and spread into prepared pans, bake both pans at once for 20 mins in 175C. Cool completely, remove from pans, discard paper and slice it into total 4 layers.

For Coffee Syrup:
100ml hot brewed espresso - you can of course use 15g of instant coffee with 100ml hot water
100g sugar

Mix all ingredients, stirring until sugar dissolves. Set aside.

For Mocha buttercream:
100g egg whites
200g sugar
300g unsalted butter - cubed and chilled and let it out once u start to whip ur egg white/sugar
1/2 tbsp mocha paste
1tsp coffee oil - u can use coffee essence/flavor if u cant find coffee oil

1. Using double boiler.. heat egg white and sugar till sugar dissolved - use ur thermometer ok.. heat till 65C..
2. Pour egg white mixture into ur mixing bowl and whisk using high speed till mixture turns glossy.. add in cubed butter one at a time and continue to beat till its slightly fluffy.. (buttercream texture)
3. Add in coffee oil, mocha paste and 50ml of coffee syrup into buttercream.. stir till well combined.. set aside

For Chocolate Ganache
200g dark chocolate compound
200g milk chocolate compound - I used a mixture of 70%, 64% and 55%)
75g unsalted butter
250 ml fresh cream - I used double cream

1. Chop the chocolate into small pieces.
2. Heat cream until warm. Remove from heat and pour it over chocolate.. let it sit for 5 mins and stir
3. Add in butter and continue to stir well again.
4. Put it aside till it thickens.
Assembling

There are various way to assemble Opera, you can find many on internet. Heres my version..

Place one sheet of joconde upside down (top of the cake on bottomside).
Brush thoroughly with coffee syrup until moist.
Spread one part of coffee cream evenly over the cake.
Cover with another sheet of joconde, always upside down.
Brush thoroughly with coffee syrup until moist
Cover with thick ganache and cover with another sheet of joconde.
Repeat above steps until all joconde, coffee cream and ganache are stacked completely. Chill for 10 minutes.
Double boil remaining ganache over low heat just until simmer, pour evenly on the top. Chill for another 30mins.
Trim the sides thinly to remove excess cream & ganache to reveal the layers of art and delicacy.

Wednesday- It's my turn to ramble..

2011-04-28T18:05:00.000+08:00

Now that things have calmed down a little bit here, I have at least half an hour to sit down and start writing before Adam wakes up from his nap.

We have arrived home safely on Monday afternoon and I was fully occupied with laundry, stocking up our staples and catching up with my routine life {-chores and chores} since then. I was only away for 4 days, and yet the holiday mood is still swirling around me. I feel like doing nothing these few days. The lazy me just wanna sit back and watch TV back to back.. I did cook and bake somehow, but naaaah.. nothing extraordinary..just the same O, same O..

Take this black pomfret fish for example. I marinated it with chili powder, turmeric, garlic salt and coriander flakes [?] just now.. and placed it back in the fridge. I think I'll fry it and have it with sambal kicap.. nyum nyum [and I think the coriander flakes will burn baby burn by the time I deep fry it..;p] See..the same old dish.. as stated in my menu planner.

Yerp, I planned my menu and that's doesn't mean I'm an organized person. I skipped or repeated my menu sometimes he he I skipped meals that I don't feel like to cook that day..i.e. dalca, asam pedas.. and on the other hand, I keep on repeating the same menu for few days.. butter rice, chicken rice and oyakodon.. We never get tired of it... okay, I know, I know..I need to revise my menu planner.. hi hi I'll cut those high-ambitious-time-consuming-nobody eat-menu out of it..

..ok..where was I? I also baked vanilla cake last night, just to experiment new buttercream recipe I found from the net. The buttercream is super fluffy and I had to say it is the best buttercream recipe so far.. It has the right texture for cake decorating and as I was ready for it, the right nozzle for my intended pattern was MIA. sigh.. I placed the buttercream back into the fridge and sleep. ;p I badly want that 1M nozzle in my palm now..

Anyway, as for the chrysanthemum macs, most of the photos are with my husband. I'll try to upload it soon. InsyaAllah. ;)

Okay enough with the ramblings.. I need to check on that fish..