jue's kitchen

Kesari

2012-02-10T17:44:00.000+08:00

My quick and instant fail proof dessert. Kesari.
My family's fav, in fact, you'd stand a slim chance for seconds!

This dessert uses semolina or also known as sugee, which is the gritty coarse particles of wheat left after flour has been bolted. This is a tricky one, the ratio of water to semolina is a tough one, too much of water, you get a mushy blob and too little, you'll end up with a tough dough!
The best is 2c semolina : 3c liquid.
Takes me a good 10 minutes, of course I need to have all the ingredients measured and lined up in a conveyor belt, so to speak, ready at hand!

You would need:

2cups of semolina
1/2 cup of raisins

1/2 cup of roasted chopped cashew nuts
3 cloves

1 cardamom (seeds only)
1 cup of milk
2 cups of water

pinch of salt
1 cup sugar
2 tbs ghee.
Yellow colouring- optional
More ghee

In a pan toast dry semolina for 5min in low fire. Stir continuously. Remove and set aside.
In another pan put 2 tbs of ghee on a low fire. Add the cardamon seeds and the clove. Add the nuts and raisins later on when the nuts turn brown. Do not let the raisins fry too much. Carefully pour the milk or water in. Let it come to a gentle boil. Make sure the fire is at low.
Add salt, sugar and colouring. Keep mixing. I suggest you use your mitten now. It will bubble like a volcanic lava!
Now carefully add the semolina by slowly drizzling into the boiling liquid, but stirring vigorously till all the semolina are added. Keep stirring until mixture bubbles and began to dry up. Remove from the heat.
Get a square dish tray and pour mixture, levelling it all around. Add a tsp of ghee to smooth the surface. Let it cool. Cut into squares.

I like mine piping hot, but it's best served at room temperature. Try not to put it in the fridge, it dries up pretty fast and you'd end up with a tough and bland texture. Cover the casery with a cling film. Best eaten immediately.
Do try. Jue.

Savory corn Bread

2012-02-08T02:04:00.000+08:00

I seem to be on a bread making mode these past week and this spree brought me to this corn bread which I reckon would be a nice change for breakfast.

Anyway, this savory corn bread is not of the ordinary sort, with the absence of flour and yeast that one would normally expect in a bread. Given that, the texture is dense and cakey, much like a quiche filling. I liked it and it really teamed up well with the meatball curry I made.

1 cup cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup of corn
spring onion
red chili - chopped fine

In a bowl mix the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, all the wet ones, mixing well as you add the corn mixture. Give the batter a good stir.
Pour mixture, which is a bit runny into a pan ( I used a loaf pan) and bake in a preheated oven, 190 deg cel for 45 min.

Gently remove bread. Cut into slices. Best eaten warm with gravy or curry of your choice. A generous spread of butter worked well too.
modified from here

Enjoy.....Jue

Sugee biscuit

2012-02-05T17:38:00.002+08:00

Mum would ALWAYS bake these sugee biscuit without fail every Christmas when I was growing and I would always cringe with bewilderment why she'd loyally stick by it.
I, the other hand just hated this cookie!

Slowly these sugee biscuit bowed out from the scene when she got sick and lost her interest in baking shortly before she died, and that was the last time I saw or heard of it until recently, a good 25 years later, husband asked me, " how about baking some sugee biscuit?".

"You're kidding right?" me jumping out the couch!

"No ma, we need a break from your bread" the boys echoed.

So off I went getting it done. Before I could kick up a fuss, it's done. Ha, was too simple and quick. Probably that's why she made it!

2c plain flour -sifted

1c sugee or otherwise known as semolina flour.

3/4c icing sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Ghee

mix flour, sugee, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl.

Add enough ghee and knead it to a pliable dough.

Pinch a small dough and roll it, flattening it gently.

Bake in a preheated oven, 180 deg cel for about 8-10 min. Cool it in a rack.

When no one was looking, I took one.....nope, still dislike it! hey, go ahead and try, you might like it.
Enjoy.... no not being funny!
jue

Rye Bread

2012-02-01T18:59:00.005+08:00

I've never tasted anything rye...nope! So when I came across this bread, why not? I asked myself and jumped on it.
I did some reading on this bread, mostly with the sourdough method, which was a bit daunting for me but I opt to use instant yeast...for now at least before I seriously think on venturing about starting a sourdough!
The bread wasn't bad at all, infect I loved it so much that I declared it my staple for breakfast.

This bread didn't rise as much as I expected but when I sliced it, I was pretty happy to see a good airy texture and some nice pockets. Best eaten warm with a nice spread of butter. Adapted from Alex Goh, the world of bread.
A
200g bread flour
50g rye flour
25g whole meal four
10g sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp instant yeast

B
1 tsp honey
170 cold water

C
10g butter

I used a mixer to knead. Pour B in the mixer bowl and add A. Knead to form a dough, then add the butter and continue kneading until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10min.
Cover the dough in a kitchen towel and let it rest for about 45 min.

It's up to you to divide the dough to two or leave it as one loaf. I suggest you oil your hands first before kneading and molding it to a ball, letting it rest for 10 min.

Flatten the dough to an oval shape and put in on a prepared pan to rest further, about 40 min. Dust some rye flour on top. Cover with tea towel.

Make three slits on the top and bake bread in a preheated oven. 200 deg cel for 25-30 min, depending on your oven. Cool bread before cutting.

Rye Bread....Take two

Fennel Seed rye bread.

No, not quite done with rye yet! A small variation with a big difference.

This is a 50% rye bread, with 12 -14 hour proofing time. A totally different texture, very dense very compact with a strong earthy taste...perhaps the fennel was a wee bit overpowering for me.
Taste great, but don't take my word, you may differ in your taste.
For the recipe go to Breadtopia.

I shall be back with more rye ...soon.
Enjoy....Jue

panettone

2012-01-22T02:30:00.001+08:00

When I first read about this Italian bread, I was quite eager to give it a try, and boy was it well worth the wait (about 4 hours!)
The bread came out fantastically soft, moist with an elegant citrus flavor just like a fruitcake.

There are few notes to remember before you begin.

The dough is extremely sticky, I suggest you use a bread machine to knead, not to worry the dough will behave after a good knead!

Do not knead the dough roughly once you have added the mix fruit cos over kneading it at this point will cause the fruit to release too much sugar into the dough, slowing the rise.
Lightly oil the pan (5in) and use baking sheet that's 3in wider than the depth of the pan to create a collar, see pic below.

recipe from Alex Goh, the world of bread

For the sponge dough -starter

1 tsp yeast

120ml water

210g bread flour

For the fruit mix

1oog golden raisins or mix fruits

40g orange peel
25g cherries

2 tbs rum

zest of 1/2 orange and 1tbs juice

For the dough

90g bread flour

3g salt

50g sugar
10g milk powder
1 egg
60g butter

For the sponge dough, mix all the ingredients with a wooden spatula and let it to rest for about 3 hours. I did it in my bread machine basin.
Meanwhile, in another large bowl, add the fruit mix ingredients and let it sit. I suggest you take a long bath and perhaps a facial to follow.

Add the dough ingredients, except the butter into the bread machine and set your machine to the dough setting and press start. Add the butter 2 minutes later. When the dough looks well knead and smooth, add the fruit mix and let it knead for another 2 minute. Press stop and let it rest for 15 min.
Remove the dough from the basin and knead it gently with your hand.
Put the dough in the prepared panettone pan and let it rise for an hour. Another hour to kill...a good book or something on telly!
Brush the bread with some egg wash and bake in a preheated oven - 175 deg cel. for 40 min. Remove the bread and let it cool. Done.
Happy baking...Jue

Almond madeleines

2012-01-19T16:20:00.002+08:00

My neck hurts and my eyeballs are about to drop of its socket...I saw that coming and I stubbornly sat through and watched the entire season of Downton Abbey...no regrets!

I love Dame Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess, she just cracks me up with her witty remarks and her expressive face when she has to deal with Mrs. Crawley!

....and my almond madeleines, love them.

94g all-purpose flour
3 tbs almond meal
pinch of salt
67g caster sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
57g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Mix together the flour and almond meal. Set aside.
Beat the sugar and eggs together until pale, thick and light, 2 to 3 minutes.Add the salt.

With a rubber spatula, very gently fold in the dry ingredients, followed by the melted butter.

Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the batter and refrigerate it for at least 3 hours, or for up to 2 days. This long chill period will help the batter form the hump that is characteristic of madeleines.

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Butter Madeleine molds and dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess.

Spoon the batter into the molds, almost to the top. It's a bit tricky carrying these individual little molds to the tray, some don't behave well and tend to tilt to one side, causing the batter to ooze down and creating a mess!
Bake madeleines for 11 to 13 minutes, or until they are golden and the tops spring back when touched.
Remove the molds from the oven and release the madeleines. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool.
Makes 10 large.
adapted from here

Enjoy...jue

Wholemeal garlic n rosemary focaccia

2012-01-14T10:27:00.000+08:00

I love focaccia bread and gave it a nice switch-up by adding some wholemeal flour... hmm, a great twist in texture it was! The garlic adds a nice flavor to this bread.

Simply replace 1 cup of bread flour to wholemeal flour.

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

1 ½ cups (12fl oz/375ml) warm water (40 to 45ºC/105 to 115ºF)

½ cup (4fl oz/125ml) olive oil, plus more for greasing

1 ½ teaspoons table salt

4 to 4 ¼ cups (20-21 ½ oz/625-670g) flour plus more if needed – I used 630g total

3-4 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves

freshly ground black pepper

4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

I used my bread machine to knead the dough. Feel free to knead by hand.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater, sprinkle the yeast and a pinch of the sugar over ½ cup (4fl oz/125ml) of the water and stir to dissolve.

Let stand at room temperature until foamy, about 10 minutes.

Add the remaining 1 cup (8fl oz/250ml) water and the remaining sugar, ¼ cup (2fl oz/60ml) of the olive oil, the table salt and 1 cup (5oz/155g) of the flour.

Beat on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute.

Add 1 cup (5oz/155g) of the flour, reduce the speed to medium-low and beat for 2 minutes.

Switch to the dough hook. On low speed, beat in the remaining flour, ½ cup (2 ½ oz/75g) at a time, until a soft, shaggy dough forms that starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.

I added about 1 tsp of ground pepper and 1 tsp of mix dry herbs.

Knead on low speed, adding flour 1 tablespoon at a time if the dough sticks, until moist, soft and slightly sticky, about 6 minutes. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap and let rest for 20 minutes.

Line a heavy rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and brush the paper lightly with olive oil. Turn the dough out onto the prepared sheet. With oiled fingers, press and flatten the dough into an oval 2.5cm/1 inch thick. Cover loosely with oiled plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. It will be at least 2 inches thick.

With your fingertips, make deep indentations 2.5cm/1 inch apart all over the surface of the dough, almost to the bottom of the pan. Drizzle with the remaining ¼ cup (2fl oz/60ml) olive oil. Let rise at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 220ºC/425ºF

Sprinkle the bread with the rosemary leaves, pepper and grated Parmesan. Drizzle some olive oil over the bread. Place the pan and bake until the bread is lightly browned, 20 minutes. Check the bottom and, if the bread is pale, bake for a few minutes more. Slide the bread onto a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature, cut into squares or wedges. Enjoy...jue

Watermelon, Feta And Black Olive Salad

2012-01-07T19:15:00.001+08:00

I hate the hot season. It made it's unwelcome entry this week...a crazy 35 deg. Celsius here in Kuala Lumpur!!
It's just impossible to get any work done outdoors except for laundry of course , the clothes are so crisp, you can eat em!
I do miss the rain badly, but I don't see that coming anytime soon!
Meanwhile here's something to cool myself, a nice plate of watermelon salad.
Recipe taken from here and slightly adapted from Forever Summer With Nigella

1 small red onion
juice of 2 lime
About 300g watermelon
2 tbs feta
Handful parsley leaves - chopped rough
Mint leaves - I omitted

olive oil
4 pitted black olives
dash of pepper

Cut the red onion to thin slice and and put in a small bowl to steep with the lime juice, to diminish their rasp, about 5 min.
Cut the watermelon into bite-able chunks.
Cut the feta into similar sized pieces and put them both into a large, wide shallow bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix gently. Refrigerate salad. Serve Cold.
Enjoy...jue

Linzer Tart

2012-01-03T00:52:00.002+08:00

I was at the bookstore today and as usual picked a couple of interesting cookbooks and did the worst unforgivable thing, (no, not you think) I put it back on the shelf and left.
It was the hardest thing I did, cos one tiny irritating voice drummed my head to remind me that I have a cupboard full of poor dusty untouched books that I've hardly flipped.

So to be fair to all my poor books, I've randomly picked two books and am going to bake everything in it. I hope to finish these two books in no time... so I can get my hands on the book I left behind. Recipe taken from Alex Goh Irresistible Pastry.

To start, I baked Linzer Tart. A pretty quick tart to prepare. I over baked it a bit, but it didn't matter one bit to Hubby, he simply loved it... here's the proof of it.

150g butter
100g icing sugar
1 egg
1/2 lemon zest
250g flour
100g ground almond
pinch of cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the filling I used some raspberry jam. I suggest you gently simmer the jam to reduce the water, else it tend to leak when you cut the pastry. I love the thick gooey texture.

Mix the butter and sugar till creamy, then add the egg, zest and vanilla extract. Continue beating as you add the flour and almond meal. Use your fingers and knead it gently. Flatten the dough and wrap in a cling wrap. Let it rest in the fridge for 30 min.

Roll the dough in between two film of cling wrap, gently place it on a 8 in pie dish. save some dough for the top. Pour jam all over the pie, not too much though!

Dough the balance dough and cut into strips and place them on top of the filling to form a lattice pattern.
Bake at 190 deg.cel. for 30 min. Remove the tart and let it cool.
enjoy....jue

Basic homemade salad dressing

2012-01-01T20:06:00.000+08:00

I make my own salad dressing. Yes I do. People pause a sec when I tell them!
Why not, it takes me barely a minute to prepare this yummy dressing and it saves me tons of money purchasing the high sodium bottles from the stores. Believe me, once you've tasted your own dressing, you'd never again walk through that aisle.
Some points to keep before you begin:

Keep the oil to (acid) vinegar ratio at about 3:1. This is not an absolute rule but preferable.
If you want a smooth consistency in which the oil and vinegar do not separate you may use an emulsifier. Dijon mustard works the deal.
Add lots of flavors like onion, garlic, spices, sea salt, herbs, and honey.
For simplicity use pint-sized jars for easy dump, shake, and serve salad

1 1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup raw apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoons Dijon mustard
generous pinch of sea salt and black pepper
1 teaspoons dried mixed herbs
1 tbs honey or brown sugar

Put all ingredients in a jar with a screw-top lid. Cover jar and shake vigorously to blend well. Chill dressing overnight. Shake well before using. This keeps well for 3 weeks, but no worries, it finishes in two days.
Enjoy...jue

Chocolate pinwheels

2011-12-26T17:59:00.000+08:00

I'm really glad December is chugging behind, it's my least favourite month and the end of one turbulent year!! I truly look forward for some peace and some time to organise my chaotic life, if that's not too much to ask!
Okay, back to the blog.... this pinwheel biscuit sets a nice crunchy mood to move on.

125g butter
140g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
220g flour
1oz cocoa powder
Place butter and sugar in a bowl and mix till creamy with the vanilla extract. Add the egg and continue mixing.
Divide the mixture into two equal portion. Add 125g flour into one portion and mix to combine. Add cocoa powder and the remainder of the flour and mix into the next portion.
Roll out each portion to a rectangle. Place the chocolate sheet on top of the butter sheet and roll tightly. Wrap the roll in a cling wrap and refrigerate for one hour.
Cut the roll into slices and place them in a prepared tray and bake for 12 min in 180 deg cel oven.
Cool cookies on a wire rack. Enjoy...jue

chocolate madeleines

2011-12-16T00:34:00.002+08:00

I can't get enough of these madeleines.

taken from here
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted (for coating madeleine pans)
85g bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
85g butter, cut into small pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 extra large eggs*, at room temperature
65g superfine sugar
70g all-purpose flour, sifted
¼ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 175ºC. Coat the insides of madeleine pan with melted butter and dust with some flour.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl, stirring every 30 seconds until melted. Add vanilla extract and combine.

Beat the eggs until frothy. Add the sugar and mix until mixture is very thick and pale (about 5 minutes). The mixture should hold a slowly dissolving ribbon when the beater is lifted.

In a separate bowl, combine flour and salt. Add to the egg mixture in three stages, mixing well on low speed after each addition. Mixture should be smooth. Pour the chocolate mixture into the batter and mix well.

Pour or pipe the batter into the madeleine pan, filling them ¾ full. Place the pan on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Madeleines are done when the tops spring back lightly when touched. Cool it and gently lift the madeleines out.
Enjoy...jue

grisini

2011-12-06T17:56:00.002+08:00

Joel's last day of high school today. How time flew. It felt like yesterday when we'd hop on the train and rush to his kindergarten during the morning rush hour with Tim... to hear him complaining endlessly about the horrible Milo drink they'd serve during break time and his endless quest for cartoons... Ah, the good times.

Now he's all ready for his driving license and styling his hair.
One thing that'll never change, the sweet son that he is.

We'll I can't be very enthusiastic about this bread sticks though! Just can't get the dough to stay stretched long enough through the baking process. All I got was some short and stumpy grissini. I will have to try this again.

Jue

Oat chocolate chip cookie and I won

2011-12-01T00:23:00.001+08:00

Back to chocolates...to cookies again. That's right, chocolate chip cookies again.
Revenge time...for snubbing my lime cookies. This time I'm gonna see if a twist on my evil plan would work..I'm adding some oatmeal in it.

We munched away while playing Scrabbles that night. I won with a seven letter word and that didn't go well with the all time champ...husband!

taken from here
1 cup + 2 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup raisins - I omitted this
1/2 cup chocolate chips
10 tbsp butter - about 150g
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg - I used 2 medium size eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees cel.
In one bowl, whisk all the dry ingredients together. ( the flour, cinnamon baking powder, baking soda, and salt.)

In another bowl, cream the butter until fluffy. I love doing this.
Add the brown sugar and continue beating. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until thoroughly mixed.
Add the flour mixture until just combined. Then add the oats and the chocolate chips and continue to mix until everything is evenly distributed.

I kept the dough in the fridge for about 30 min. Scoop a teaspoon of dough and line them in a prepared tray. Bake for 12 minutes. Allow cookies to cool before transferring on a wired rack
Enjoy...jue

Lime cookie and all alone

2011-11-30T23:35:00.000+08:00

School is shut till January and I can foresee myself baking non-stop with whatever chocolate.

anything less... I'm eating it ...all alone, not even husband to my rescue... like these poor lime cookies I made last week. My boy's didn't even bother opening the jar! Uh!

I suppose there's nothing to shout about this cookie but it's alright. I like it, the cookies are soft and the lime leaves a nice tangy taste after every bite.

125g butter
170g brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
185g flour sifted with 3/4 tsp of baking powder
90g rolled oats
45g desiccated coconut
2 tsp lime zest
2 tbs lime juice

Place all the above ingredients in food processor and process till well combined. I kept the dough in the fridge for about an hour and that firmed the dough a bit.
Drop heap teaspoon of dough on a prepared sheet and bake for 15 min in a preheated oven of for 15 min at 180 degree Celsius till light brown.
Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.
Enjoy...Jue

disney fondant figures and rainy days

2011-11-15T22:53:00.000+08:00

Nothing inspirational to write. Just enjoying the rain daily.

Modelled some Disney fondant figures...unfortunately rainy days are really a bad time to play with fondant, they tend to be sooo sticky.

Enjoy....jue

a wish ...choc n coffee chip cookie

2011-11-01T22:16:00.002+08:00

I've been hoping so much for a miracle, least something short of a miracle.
Just a wishful thinking on my part that it would come.

In the meanwhile these little cookies made my day...

I've reduced a shocking amount of sugar from this recipe and saved myself an aftermath of sugar rush! 180g butter

200g brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 tsp salt
200g flour sifted with 3/4 tsp bicarbonate soda
25g cocoa powder
1 cup walnuts - chopped
175g chocolate with coffee chips

Beat butter and sugar till creamy. Add in the egg, followed by some extract and salt. Lastly the rest of the ingredients.

Mix gently combining all the ingredients. Refrigerate the dough for about an hour.

Line the cookie tray with non-stick parchment paper. Drop a teaspoons of dough onto the tray, allowing room for spreading.

Bake in a preheated oven for 15 min at 180 degree Celsius. Enjoy...jue

Chocolate Chips madeleine

2011-09-09T17:57:00.002+08:00

I was fascinated when I saw these lovely seashell moulds and was quite determine to bake these beauties.
I found this beautiful lemon Madeleine recipe but caved in to pressures from certain quarters who insisted on adding chocolate chips.
Perhaps I shall quietly bake some with lemon when the boys are at school.

2/3 cup (94g) all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
½ cup (100g) caster sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
6 tablespoons (84g/¾ stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
75g dark chocolate chopped - I used 65g

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Beat the sugar and eggs together on medium-high speed until pale and light for about 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the vanilla. With a rubber spatula, very gently fold in the dry ingredients, followed by the melted butter and chocolate chips.

Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the batter and refrigerate it for at least 3 hours, or for up to 2 days. This longmadeleine chill period will help the batter form the hump that is characteristic of Madeleine.

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.
Butter 10 madeleine molds, as shown above, aren't they pretty.
Dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Make sure all the groves are well buttered.

Spoon the batter into the molds, DO NOT fill each one almost to the top. Don't worry about spreading the batter evenly, the oven's heat will take care of that.
Place each mould gently on a baking sheet. .

Bake large madeleines for 11 to 13 minutes or until they are golden and the tops spring back when touched. The moulds tends to tilt to one side and spill out, so I opened the oven and alligned them, while baking.
Remove the moulds from the oven and release the madeleines from the molds while its still hot. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool to just warm or to room temperature.

If you have more batter, bake the next batch(es), making certain that you cool, then properly prepare the moulds before baking.
Makes 12 large.
Aren't they lovely...they taste yum too. Enjoy while they are still hot. Try it...Jue

fondant bride n groom cake topper

2011-08-16T19:21:00.005+08:00

Took me forever to finish modelling this couple...loved every minute of it though. Trully a good stress buster.
Look out for my next ..coming soon.
Enjoy...Jue

homemade crunchy muesli

2011-08-15T20:16:00.001+08:00

I'm usually contended having a cuppa and wholemeal toast with crunchy peanut butter spread for breakfast. That blissfull union took its bow finally and now I'm freshly out of choices for breakfast.

Whilst the noble idea of preheating the oven and baking muffins or stacking some pancakes are not present in me, I came across this fab idea of making my own muesli.
After ransacking the pantry, I got some interesting ingredients to build my cereal.

2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup sunflower seed
1/2 cup flax seed
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup shredded Hawaiian coconut
3 tbs brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs honey
1/3 cup water
*1 cup raisins or any dried fruits you have

Heat the oven to 180 degrees C.

Line a large cookie sheet with baking paper.In a large mixing bowl, stir together the oats, nuts, seeds, coconut, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the oil, honey and water. Toss until well combined. Spread the mixture evenly on a cookie sheet.
Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring every 10 minutes to keep it from sticking. Do not over stir as it would break the crisp oats.
Let it cool and stir in the fruit. Store in an airtight container.
Serve with milk, yogurt or/and fruit.

Fell free to use whatever you have. You may add some wheat germ or breakfast oats or some melted butter instead of olive oil. You may vary the amount of sugar/honey and oil/butter you wish to add to your own taste.Try it and you'll never pick a store bought box again...you get to choose how sweet you want it and it's much cheaper too! Jue

Date n Orange Muffins...and good friends

2011-08-11T23:29:00.002+08:00

I forced myself to bake something calming to fix my lousy day...and it worked.
Sigh, I had a long day at the hospital...one of my many post op checkups.

One of my dear friend, Oli was diagnosed with cancer and SF, who's been suffering from pains in all her joints...really sad.
What I admire most is the cheerful disposition they portray, a quality which I sorely lack given my condition. Truly I am ashamed for lamenting at my lot!
Let's be grateful for today... with date n orange muffins.
Trully it is delicious.

taken and adapted from here
the dry
1cup (130 grams) all-purpose flour

1 cup (130 grams) whole wheat flour
2/3 cup (140 grams) light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder - I used 1 1/2 tsp
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

the wet
1 tablespoon grated orange zest - I used orange peel - chopped
1/3 cup (80 ml) fresh orange juice
2/3 cup (160 ml) buttermilk - I used milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten - I used 2
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 tablespoons (57 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2/3 cup (90 grams) chopped dates

Preheat oven to 205 degrees. Butter 12 muffin paper liners

In a large mixing bowl, prepare the dry ingredients, combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, and orange peel.

In a separate bowl for the wet, mix together the orange juice, milk, eggs, vanilla extract, and melted and cooled butter.
Add the milk and egg mixture to the flour mixture. Stir just until combined. Fold in the dates. (Do not over mix the batter or the muffins will be tough when baked.)
Evenly divide the mixture among the 12 muffins cups. Place in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, or until very lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool.
Makes 12 regular-sized muffins.
Happy baking....Jue

cheese bread

2011-07-30T13:43:00.004+08:00

One good way to get rid of some "not that great" cheese thats been sitting too long in the fridge!
I used two different cheeses in the dough and some cheddar slices on top of the bread. The bread was surprisingly soft with nibs of cheese still intact.
Perhaps I'll bake some cheese sticks next...

A
300g bread flour
80g plain flour
1 tbs sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp instant yeast

B
220ml cold milk
1 egg
30g butter -soft and cut into cubes
1 tsp dried mix herbs

C
50g cheese - cut into cubes

In your bread machine, add B and followed by A.
Set the machine to dough setting and press start. At the end of the dough cycle, remove dough and divide it to two balls. . Place each dough in an oiled bowl and let it sit for ten minutes.
Roll each ball to a rectangular shape. Place some of the cubed cheese and roll it like a Swiss roll. Repeat for the next dough. Place them in a baking dish and let it proof for 45min until double in size.
Preheat oven at 190 deg cel. Bake for 30-35 min till bread appears golden brown. Just before that, place 2 slices of cheddar cheese and bake for another minute or so.
Remove the bread carefully and let it cool.
Enjoy...jue

Black olives and herbs focaccia

2011-07-17T20:38:00.002+08:00

I was thinking if I should be a vegetarian, hmm...given the bold fact that I am hard core meat lover. Even the thought giving up my beef slices cooked in black soy sauce is enough to dampen my endeavor.
My boys gave me two days before I'm seen licking my fingers trying to hide all evidence! I applause their lack of confidence in me. It shows that they know me too well!
Hubby just shook his head!
A slice of this bread is all the comfort I need right now.

Slightly adapted and modified from here
3 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary plus 1 tsp dry mix herbs
2tsp dried yeast
1 teaspoons table salt
1 teaspoon superfine sugar
300ml warm water
1 tablespoon olive oil

Topping:
12-15 black olives, pitted and sliced
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon coarse salt

I am using a bread maker to knead my dough. This is one useful machine I have in the kitchen. Follow the instruction stated in your machine and set it to the dough cycle.

In your bread machine basin add the water and the olive oil, followed by the flour, oregano, yeast, salt and sugar. Press the start button. This would take about thirty min.
Remove the dough at the end of the kneading. I suggest you wet your hand with some oil. Shape the dough into a ball and place into a lightly oiled large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Lightly oil a sheet pan. Turn the dough onto it and press gently to deflate. Shape into an oval about 2cm thick. Lightly brush the dough with olive oil and loosely cover the surface directly with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise again in a warm spot until puffed and almost double, about 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 220°C. Remove the plastic wrap from the dough. Lightly coat your middle 3 fingertips with flour and press into the dough down (but not through) the bottom. Repeat this dimpling all over the dough. Scatter the olive pieces over the surface, pressing them into the dimples. Drizzle the dough evenly with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with the rosemary and the coarse salt.

Bake until the top of the focaccia is golden and browned, 25-30 minutes. Remove from the pan and, using a large metal spatula, transfer the focaccia to a wire rack, drizzle with the remaining ½ tablespoon of olive oil. Serve warm. Enjoy...jue

Madagascar cartoon fondant animals

2011-07-03T12:14:00.003+08:00

I had a great time modelling these Madagascar cartoon fondant figures.

Each of these figures are hand crafted to specific order, if you have something in mind for your cake topper, do e-mail me and I'll be more than happy to model it for you.

Granolla Bars

2011-07-01T17:51:00.001+08:00

My favourite snack in the world....I'm satisfied with these little simple pleasures.

3 1/2 c rolled oats
1c raisins or mix dried fruits
1c nuts and seeds
1/2c honey or more
1 egg - beaten
1/4 c melted butter -cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbs peanut butter

Preheat oven to 190deg.cel. Prepare the baking tray.
In a large mixing bowl mix the oats, dried fruits and nuts.
In another bowl add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
Pour the mixture onto the oats mixture and give it a good mix.
Transfer the mixture into the baking tray and pat it down firmly especially the sides.
Bake for about 30min. Let it cool before cutting it into squares.

I would normally wrap each squares in a cling wrap and leave it in the fridge for my snack later. Enjoy...jue