easybakes

Mee Bandung Easybakes

2012-05-18T08:26:00.000+08:00

I have not been baking lately with all the stuff going on around me. Just managed to snap this pic. Last night's dinner for the gyus. I plan to try out some chiffon cake this Saturday. It's gonna be another long day as I have to bring that makcik kementot's sister out for her birthday outing. She doesn't want any presents...and no party for her this year.

When I asked her why, she said she's lazy to clean up the house after the party..Cehhh!! bule gitu? Anyways, she just want to spent time with us and if we could kindly buy her movie tickets, it'd be greatly appreciated she said. Eh??/ kata tak nak prezen kan...Ok lah girl, happy birthday to you anyway..may you succeed in life and that you are blessed by Allah always.

Okay peeps, have a good weekend ahead and have a lovely time with your family. I am soooo looking forward to play with my oven again..it's been quite a longggg time..Sigh!

Takyah resepi la ya..dah selalu nah masak this easy peasy dish! See ya!

My thoughts & prayers with you, my friend

2012-05-16T06:52:00.000+08:00

She sat there looking at me, with pain in her eyes, the tears falling softly. The grief so huge & immense that I felt so helpless, wanting to sooth her pain but knowing nothing I could say that could erase the hurt & loss she must have felt, even for a second. I reached out to her..and there we were, hugging tight with tears in our eyes, oblivious to the surrounding stares of curiousity.

I met her again by chance after more than 17 years of us parting ways. She used to be one of my best mates back in my teenage years.I remember her easy going nature & her infectious laughter, always laughing at every silly jokes that I cracked, sometimes with tears running down her cheeks, clutching her aching sides, having laughed so hard. She would always end her laughing hysteria with "Yat..Gosh..you are so hilarious!"..always..everytime.But sadly that wasn't the phrase that greeted me now.

We parted ways when she got married & moved overseas following her hubby.I lost all contact.Heard from another close friend some years back that she's living happily with her other half even though they were not blessed with any kids. Still they were happy, having accepted fate that they were just meant to be together without any offsprings of their own. That was the only news I had, thereafter, no one knows as she had moved to yet another town.

And here I was, listening to her heart as she told me of her loss. 2 years had past but the pain that she felt is still raw & strong. They say time heals all wounds.Does it really?

It was just like any other day. As always, she sent him off at the door & kissed his hand and asked what he'd like to have for dinner. Then out of the blue, nasi minyak orang kahwin, he said with laughter. Why? she asked..curiousity getting the better of her. As a rule, her other half always have sandwiches or pasta, not rice for dinner. Too heavy for his stomach he said. But that day he requested for nasi minyak orang kahwin as he said he suddenly has a longing for it. She could still picture the scene, as clear as day in her mind. She teased him back asking if he wanted to marry another one as suddenly he craved for nasi minyak orang kahwin and he said to her with such love in his eyes & lifting her chin saying..how in the world could he even think of having another woman when Allah has bestowed him the greatest woman of all, his beautiful wife.

She didn't think much of this. She went on her daily routine. She cooked his requested meal. She didn't feel the day any different than any other day except it turned out to be the most different day of all. She lost her other half that same very day. He was involved in an auto accident when some mindless person decided to overtake another vehicle and cut into his path, head on. That other driver lived with some minor injuries but not him. He didn't have a chance to have the last meal he requested...My friend is now a widow.

She went through life on auto pilot the days after his passing and not a single day gone by without her shedding a tear. She slept clutching his last worn shirt every single night, only to be awaken every so often. Her only solace was that her other half's last touch & words to her was of endearment.She still have dreams of him even now, although not as frequent as before. And she always wakes up feeling the lost. How could she not? He was all that she had. There were no offsprings to continue his legacy and for her to be comforted & surrounded in times of loss. When you love someone so much, sharing their joy, laughter, sadness, fears & dreams and to have that taken from you in an instant. No goodbyes...no nothing...

I just cannot encapsulate her loss & pain.Although she has long accepted his departure as takdir, it still does not erase her wounds. I can only pray for you my friend.That you stay strong & that the pain will lessen with time....And that when the time comes for us all to be with our Creator, that you shall be reunited with your life's love. Take care my friend..

Of plants, house rules & swimming sessions

2012-04-28T07:30:00.000+08:00

Salam all..happy weekend :)

I am off & away...before that I'd like to remind you...yes you Dudan..don't forget to water my plants, aite.

I've post some of the plants pics here so that you can be reminded of your chore..alaaa..bukan banyak mana pun..some only, depan rumah jer...hehe

Besides that, these pics serve as documentary proof & bukti sahih that these plants exist prior to my departure. Still segar bugar..especially the pandan plants!

This is my curry plant (exhibit A). 1 batang, cabang dahan ada 14..Daun2 tak tekira banyak dia..never mind...pelan2 nanti aku kira...so if I come back, kaler daun tukar brownish or layu semacam jer..siap!!!!

This is my pandan plant (exhibit B). Since ada 2 pokok pandan rimbun gak, to differentiate, aku namakan pokok pandan ni Pandanus Amaryllifolius or screwpine, nama manja dia. Pon rimbun gak..Batang 2, helaian pandan dia aku dah kira....ada 74. If I come back tinggal 73...siap!!!

This is another of my pandan plant (exhibit C). This one nama dia POndanus Amaryllifolius or screwdriver, nama manja dia. Sama rimbun gak..Batang 3, helaian pandan dia aku dah kira....ada 86. If I come back tinggal 85...siap!!!

This one pulak of my mint plant (exhibit D). Greek legend has it that the mint herb was formed when Persephone discovered that Pluto was in love with a nymph named Minthe. She was so jealous that she turned Minthe into a lowly plant. Pluto was unable to undo the spell, however he did soften it so that the more Minthe was tread upon, the sweeter she smelled. And so the mint plant was born...or so legend states.Betul ke tak lom pasti lagi. Nanti aku tanya Cik Som..or Queenie..muahahha...

Ni close up daun dia..just in case pokok ni kondem coz you-know-who tak siram, at least ada this pic to mengubat lara ku..But before that, if anything happen jugak...siap!!!

This one I don't know the name..but not for makan (exhibit E)..Paling senang nak hidup..Kejap jer dia rimbun sampai berurai2 daun2 dia..many times dah kena trim by Chef cum hairdresser. Ada 5 flowers & 3 baru nak tunas..kalo balik tinggal 4 & 2..siap!!!

Ni close-up sket pic of the bunga..just in case Dudan pikiak nak klentong aku that this is NOT a flowering plant..so before dia bedekkan aku, ni 1 lagi bukti sahih that it IS INDEED a flowering plant..No bedek2 me that this pokok never berbunga okay..

So Dudan, that's your chore..don't forget aite, wait I buy for you singgam. Having said all that, please note that house rules STILL APPLY! regardless ketiadaan the bosses at home. Curfew still ON okay..and no partayyyy tupperware at home arr...if not...siap!!!

Ta ta...nak praktis kuak rentang, kuak rama2..paling tak silent movie..hiakhiakhiak!!! Bye..Doakan I selamat sumernya..ya aminn!

Simple Cranberry Pound Cake

2012-04-27T21:54:00.000+08:00

Pound cake counts as one of my favourite everyday cake. Besides that condense milk pound cake, I also love pound cake with bits of dried fruit & nut thrown in. Originally, the cried cranberries that I used for this cake is meant for that kek lapis, but then nowadays, ada sibuk sket during weekends with the kid's study session that the cranberry kek lapis hanya tinggal mimpi aja.

This cranberry pound cake is fast & easy to make, that's what I like in a cake.Next time I shall try using other type of fruit & see how it goes. On a separate note, it's quite funny watching the reaction of some people here in my office. The time is just round the corner for us to receive another much awaited 'letter' I was just commenting to this colleague that the time is coming soon eh..what with April month ending. She haughtily replied that we shouldn't expect something which we ain't sure we gonna get.She said that she is not like us who keep talking about the said letter :). It is better not to expect anything & if we do get it, then it will be a very pleasant surprise indeed!. Yek eleh!!! I thought dalam hati..cam real jer kan.

And then yesterday, we got our usual slip without any letter in sight. Oh well..I said, if ada rezeki adalah lah kan..kalo tak der, hentak2 kaki, tarik2 tudung, menangais cam mak dara dalam citer kassim selamat pun tak dapat punya. So......imagine my surprise, when this colleague yg cakap she tak mengharap dapat that letter & that she mencebik pasal we all tak habis2 talk about the letter came to me with muka merah padam menahan sebak ker marah ke & exclaimed to me..."Yat..Yat..eh...NO letter la????eh how come no letter arr? We are suppose to get what....this is April month! no letter...no letter..did YOU get THE LETTER??" dia tanya aku sambil tangan dia meramas2 slip yg dia dapat without the accompanying letter tu.

Muahahhahaha....mana lah aku tak terketawa tengok her reaction? khakahkah..kata tak expect the letter pong? sekarang ni her reaction lagi with muka merah padam & tangan meramas2 geram..hahahaha...Aku cam nak cakap jer.."eh..I thought you are not expecting anything? you perli us yg terkinja2 bertanya pasal surat?" hahaha..anyway, now I know lah..saper yg diam2 lepu in this office tapi menggelapu nak kan that letter sebenarnya!..Pegang rezeki la kawan..tu baru afdholl kan...

Ok..sebelum I kena debik with this colleague, go and try the cake if you have the time okay..This is one of the cake that I like, with the lembut texture & sedap taste..okay friends..have a great weekend ahead!

Ingredients

180 gm good quality butter

220 gm self raising flour or (all purpose flour added with 1 tspn bkg powder, sifted 3x)

100 ml fresh milk

140 gm sugar

2 large eggs

1 tspn vanilla essence

50 gm dried cranberries - coat with flour

almond slices for top

Method

Heat oven to 175C.

Line base of 8"x3.5"x3.5" loaf pan with parchment paper & grease with butter.

Beat butter & sugar till white, light & fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time & continue beating.

Add vanilla essense.

Reduce speed & add in flour, coated cranberries & milk, alternating the additions. Mix well.

Pour into prepared pan. Top batter with almond slices & bake at 175C for about 45-55mins. Test with skewer when done.

Cool onto a wire rack.

Source CMG

Mee Soto Ayam, No attitude really!

2012-04-26T20:55:00.000+08:00

Sometimes, when you cook dishes without any specific recipe, 'main campak-campak' like the Malay saying, the dish could turned out simply delicious! I am not 'fanning' myself but this mee soto ayam that I made is one of the days that my 'main campak-campak' dish turned out to more than up the mark according to the discerning taste of one makcik kementot.

And that begedil , fulamak!! terangkat vontot babe makan, coz it wasn't me who made them .. ahakss!! Those were courtesy of my MIL, she had kindly packed a tub full of semi fried begedil & freeze them so that we could have those begedils again in times like this.

Talking about begedil, I read online sometime back that there's this stall in one famous food centre, manned by a husband & wife team. The sold mee rebus & mee soto, including the famous bagedil. It was stated that & I quote "No amount of money can buy you a bagedil separately!" If you were to patronise this stall, besides not being allowed to buy just the bagedil on it's own and if you do buy their mee rebus or mee soto, you are only allowed to buy ONE (1) begedil only, you also have to tahan the attitude of the seller. Attitude problem ka makcik? hehe...People have been complaining but they still patronise the stall as the dishes sold there are very delicious or so they said.

To me, delicious or not, you have to be nice to your customers, after all, they are paying for your food. No doubt they are bound to be some customers from hell, demanding this & that...but if you can't fulfill their 'unreasonable' request, whatever they may be, just tell them so nicely. No need to snap at your customers or give them dirty exasperated looks.

One more attitude that I cannot tahan is when the seller just couldn't be bothered to acknowledge your presence when you stand in front of their stall waiting for them to lift up their head to acknowledge you so that you could place your order. I always feel 'serba salah' if they buat bodoh and continue doing whatever they were doing at the time. Should I just place my order? She was in the midst of preparing someone's order & it seems rude to me to just place my order. Macam main sondol aja kan.. At the very least, even if she didn't want to look at the customer as she's busy preparing the food, she could just nicely.." yes..what's your order?" at least you'll know that's your cue la kan...

But the most important of all, to me is cleanliness! I'm sure you've heard of horror stories on the state of some coffee shop or food centres kitchens. With the wet & messy kitchen floor, cockcroaches/rodents here here & there...urrrghhhh...don't get me started. That's why sometimes, I feel I'd be better off making the dishes for my loved ones from scratch. At least I know the food is prepared in a clean kitchen & with dashes of love thrown in as extras..free of charge! And you don't have to worry if there's any spit or sweat thrown in for good measure..muahahaha..

Cream Cheese Neopolitan

2012-04-24T15:58:00.000+08:00

This is gonna be a short & sweet post. After the breast cancer translation saga from my previous post, I decided to put in the translated version of this recipe taken from CMG.God knows what else that translation thingy gonna spew if I were to still have it..hehe..

So here's the recipe below if you are keen to try. Frankly , I couldn't quite recall the taste of this cream cheese neopolitan cake as I baked it some time ago.As usual, the kids yang gasak the cake. Originally, the recipe calls for a roll cake but as I'd forgotten to check on the cake after the oven had finished doing it's job....... the cake was left a tad too long on in the oven. So rather then risk a broken roll, I decided to just divide the cake into 2, slather cream cheese in between...and voila...a cream cheese layer it had become.

Source: CMG (Thanks!)
Published: Jelita mag 2012

Ingredients (Cake)
155 gram tepung optima ( I used Super Fine flour)
3 biji telur gred A (3 large eggs)
35 gram mentega, cair dan sejukkan (35gm butter, melted & cooled)
30 ml susu segar (30ml fresh milk)
1 camca teh esen vanilla (1 tspn vanilla essence)
1/4 camca teh pewarna makanan unggu violet (1/4 tspn violet food colouring)
1/2 camca teh pewarna makanan merah jambu (1/2 tspn orange food colouring)

Ingredients (Cream cheese)
180 gram cream cheese (180gm cream cheese)
50 gram mentega (50gm butter)
1/2 camca teh lemon jus (1/2 tspn juice of lemon)
Sedikit parutan kulit lemon (some lemon rind)
Gula aising secukup rasa, diayak (anggaran 1 - 2 camca besar) (approximately 1-2 Tblspn icing sugar, sifted)
I added some strawberry paste (Thanks Naz of (Cuteoven small kitchen) for the tip!)

Cara (Method)
Panaskan oven pada suhu 180C, alas tin berukkuran 11 inci x 11 inci x 1 inci dengan kertas minyak, biar lebih sedikit agar senang untuk mengalihkan kek nanti. Ketepikan. (Heat oven to 180C. Place overhanging baking paper in a 11" x 11' pan & grease well)

Masukkan tepung optima, telur dan air kedalam mangkuk adunan, putar perlahan hingga semua sebati, kemudian tinggikan kelajuan dan putar hingga kembang ( 7 - 8 minit). (Place flour, eggs & milk in your mixing bowl & mix at low speed until incorporated. Then increase speed & mix till light & fluffy for abt 7-8 minutes)

Tuang mentega cair dan gaul rata dengan spatula. Bagi adunan kepada 3 bahagian dan warna kan unggu, merah jambu dan satu lagi biar tanpa warna.(Pour melted butter & mix with spatula. Divide into 3 portion. Leave 1 plain & mix the other 2 portions with violet & orange food colouring each)

Sudukan berselang seli tapi agak berselerakkan pada dulang pembakar. Ratakan dan lorek sedikit dengan chostick. Bakar 20 - 25 minit. Keluarkan dan sejuk atas jaringa, Boleh sapu krim cheese tadi atasnya dan gulung kemas, simpan dalam peti sejuk 30 minit sebelum dipotong dan hidangkan.(Place spoonfuls of batter at random, level & marble it. Bake for 20-25 mins. When cake is baked, cool onto a wire rack. Place cream cheese on top of cake & roll, or divide cake into 2, place cream cheese in between. Slice & serve)

Cream cheese

Satukan semua bahan untuk krim cheese dalam mangkuk adunan, putar hingga sebati dan putar lagi hingga kembang dan keputihan, boleh digunakan untuk menggulung kek tadi. (Mix all the ingredients in a mixer & beat well till incorporated.)

Note:

I slice the cake into half & spread the strawberry flavoured cream cheese - made them into layer cake instead of roll cake :)

Lost in translation

2012-04-21T14:14:00.000+08:00

What the...?

No wonder I receive emails asking for translation..muahahah..I thought the google translate works..but with this, I guessed not la..ada kah patut? (translation "there should I?")

Prawn Noodle, if marajuk

2012-04-20T13:27:00.000+08:00

One quiet night, I made this delicioso prawn noodle all by myself in the kitchen. The bedroom doors were closed tight. I guessed nobody wanted dinner. Well...never mind. If you merajuk with me though it's no fault of mine, well...whatever la. When people merajuk, the house became very quiet. Except for the klentang-klentung of the kuali no other sounds could be heard.

If not, this house can be pretty noisy, what with everybody wanting to habaq their day's events all at the same time. I can be pretty loud too especially when I'm excited..hehe..but not that kind of excitement la, okay..jangan pikiran dok terbayang 2 bulans mari or yg merepek meraban, taw..what I mean is the 'clean' excited version ;)

Have you heard the expression, talking with the hands? Well..I am that kind of person, when amongst family members or close kaki, the more excited I become, the more exaggerated my hand movements will be..that's just me..unlike dude, who is a more calm & compose guy..cakap teratur, cool & maintain jer.. unlike the wifey..many times jugak la, the wifey dapat se-das dua teguran macam ni "ermmm..shhh..shh...relax..calm down woman! (sambil member ketawa sinis tgk bini dia makin eksited bercerita) Don't you think potong steam kalo tengah syiok bercerita, kena tegur cam tu..tak ker terbantut perasaan?)

Eh..actually I wanted to tell the story about somebody merajuk kan..accidentally tercerita pasal aku plak..Ok..as I was saying, somebody merajuk after having his opinion shot down not too gently (dah opinion tu not right, so harus kena shot down kan..) but then in hindsight, I shouldn't have shot it down with a M-16, patut I tepis2 manja dulukan..but then being me..too ekcited to voice my opinion plak, tak terfikir ada orang tu amik hati..(err..ingat orang jantan ni keras, tak der hati..muahhahaha..sekali tak..ahaksss, ada gak perasaan)

Anyway, since orang merajuk, I just served dude and myself a bowl of prawn noodle..Dude, always wanting the kids to have dinner together everytime we got the chance wanted to call them to the table, but I told him, no need la, somebody merajuk, so no need to call for dinner la..takper la biar la kuah prawn noodle tu sejuk gitu jer dalam periuk, it's okay la if they all don't wanna eat..aku cakap..(eh..bunyi macam aku plak yg merajuk ek..muahhahah). So to compromise & to please the wifey also by not shooting down her opinion, this was what dude did..

He made some exaggerated sounds with the fork beating against the bowl & exclaimed loud enuff for orang merajuk to dengar albeit the closed door. "GOSH!! This PRAWN NOODLE is soooooooooo SEDAP!" SEDAP!!!...emmmmm...SEDAP!!!..all the while making funny faces at me..hahahah..terketawa aku tgk muka dude, tebiat agaknya orang tua ni!

True enuff, secepat kilat bunyi pintu terbukak. Merebut to the kitchen to see betul ke ada their fav prawn noodle. Masa ni aku rilek jer, still maintain makan dengan sopan nya, wlpn nak ketawa jugak tgk orang merajuk tercari2 ada lagi tak prawn noodle or really cuma buat santapan untuk boss & assistant boss aja..
"err...er...any noodle for us mom?" budak merajuk tanya sambil senyum kamben gurun.." I thot U merajuk, don't want dinner, so kira nak makan la? aku tanya.."Of course la nak!" member bilang dengan tak malunya....."Cannot merajuk long with you whattttt...rugiiiiiii..hehehe"

"Love you, mom! I never merajuk with you kan, only abang, so can I get extra.." somebody bisik to me..Sure..aku cakap..extra sawi ok...sebelum member abis cakap..hahaha...dah udang ration sorang dua..yg dalam pic tu bedek jer..for photo shoot :) mana bule makan banyak udang..cholesterol kan..tul tak?

Moral of the story:

Orang merajuk akan rugi prawn noodle
Orang tak merajuk akan untung extra sawi

Sekian...

Apam Indon, another APAM

2012-04-18T21:56:00.000+08:00

Hello & salam :)

Another variety of apam called Apam Indon. Tastewise is a bit similar to the apam mekar. Texture is soft & gebu. What's that I hear in the background ek? ada someone snickering ek, that this household asyik nak meng-Apam aja..hahaha..saper tu ek?? Snickering2 pun, kalo aku hulur se-tub, ko nak tak, dear?nak kan.. ahaksss!

Anyway, saw this Apam Indo at Azlita's place & since then I saw quite a number of people have tried her version. I am no exception, except that instead of using chocolate for the bottom & top layer, I used pandan paste instead. Rasanya? rasanya tetap maintain babe!

Actually, lately ni ada jer sangkak whenever I want to start posting. Whilst typing, surely there will be someone nudging for my attention..and the funny thing is some of the things that they ask for, aku really dunno where they are..Dah bukan aku yang punya, howdehek would I know kan.. Bukan aku yang simpan pong barang korang..and I've already reminded you guys, i don't touch your stuff unless benda tu bersepah kat luar or unless aku cuci baju & you all degil takmo clear the pockets, so whatever coins & notes, chief laundrette jumpa dalam pocket, kira halal, chief laundrette yang punya..alah...bukan banyak mana pong! paling2 bule beli roti breakfast, you all jugak yg makan kan..heheh..so next time, clear the pockets before dumping the clothes in the washer aite?

Ok, that's it for today..till we meet again..when...I dunno la..hopefully sooner than later la..Kalo lama2 sangat, kadam terus la ni blog!Eh..before kadam tu..nak kena post dulu step by step buat apam dot2 filling tu..kalo tak pengsan kena kejar keliling dusun arr dengan cik 'kak' tu..muahhahaha!

APAM INDON
By: Blackmore Forum Cari
Rujukan : Azlita

5 iji telur
1 sudu kecil ovalette
1 sudu kecil esen vanilla
300 gm tepung gandum
300 gm gula halus
250 ml susu segar atau santan~ ita guna santan
1/2 sudu kecil baking powder
sedikit garam
pewarna
Panaskan kukusan.Untuk mengelakkan air menitik ke atas kek, balut penutup dgn sehelai kain.
Sediakan loyang ukuran 9 inc
Oleskan dengan minyak dan alas dasar loyang dengan baking paper

Ayakkan tepung bersama baking powder.
Campurkan garam ke dalam susu.
Putar telur dan ovalette pd kelajuan tinggi hingga kembang.
Masukkan gula sedikit demi sedikit. Kemudian masukkan esen vanilla.
Kurangkan kelajuan mixer. Masukkan tepung gandum sedikit demi sedikit berselang seli dgn susu.
Bahagikan adunan kpd 3 bahagian. Masukkan perwarna yg disukai.

Masukkan adunan adunan pertama ke dlm acuan. Kukus selama lebih kurang 10 minit atau smpai bhgn atas tu tak melekat.
Ulangi kaedah yang sama untuk lapisan yang ke2 dan ke 3
Adunan yang terakhir hendaklah dikukus selama 30 ~ 40 minit atau sehingga apam masak sempurna

Apam Polka Dot, The Story

2012-04-11T21:03:00.000+08:00

Made these apam polka dots for the kids' study session. I tell you those kids can really eat, especially if it involves apam with nutella filling. I only made a batch coz besides apam, I also made a pot of mee bandung & some fruit cocktail for them to eat as well..What do you know..I put 8 apam polka dot with nutella filling on a plate, for so called for starters while the kids were revising and I kid you not..under 5 minutes, all 8 apam were gone, shared between 2 girls. Only bits of the paper cups, all scrunched up were left on the plate!

So, being the kind hearted aunt, I put another 4 on the same plate..haizzz..how long you think those apams lasted? I asked them if they did have any breakfast at home that morning. I thought the answer is gonna be NO, since all the apam polka dot, licin in such a short time. But then they told me they already had breakfast before coming over. One had nasi lemak, the other had prata telur x 2! I guessed it's either the apam polka dot that I made is seriously sedap gilos, or these budak2 ada pelihara cacing kerawit dalam perut arr!

Actually kan, they reminded me of myself when I was a teenager, makanla banyak mana pun, tetap sekeping badan refuse to naik. Check kat doctor, takder plak cacing dalam perut, nak cakap makan tak baca bismillah, but then these kids siap dengan baca doa makan sambil usap2 muka penuh syahdu..tak taw plak sambil usap muka or lap air lioq..that I dunno!

Later in the night I received a text from one of the girl's mom, requesting that I make a tub full of these apam polka dot (or dotless) for her son, coz her daughter having been given some apam by me to bring home, 'generously' gave only 1 piece to her abang for celah gigi & she just refused to give any more coz she has declared that apam polka dot as her favourite. Kesian si abang cuma dapat 1, after much begging his sis still takmo bagi one more. So si abang gigit2 belen2 apam yg melekat kat paper cup tu..hahaha...

Teruk la this girl..even after her abang stated that he is going off to be enlisted in the army next week & may not get to have this apam, she still munch whatever apam she has left with gusto..merataplah si abang cakap adek pelokek tai* idong masin, nak lari pi cari batu belah batu bertangkup, still masih tak dapat..so si abang wlpn dah cukup umur nak masuk army, pi ngadu ngan si mummy, asking his mummy to text me to order 1 tub full of apam before his NS stint..so tu lah pasal, this coming sat, I will be making tubs full of apam, kesian plak kalo si abang lari cari batu & penyek kempunan tak dapat makan apam polka dot ni...haizzz kids!

Ingredients

3 cold eggs

275 gm all purpose flour

200gm castor sugar

150ml fresh milk

3 tspn baking powder

1 tspn ovallete

Filling of your choice ~ I used nutella

Colour of your choice

Method

Mix all ingredients (except food colouring) & filling in an electric mixer & mix well for 6-8 minutes.

Divide batter into portions with additions of food colourings of your choice

Put them in separate piping bag

Arrange papercups in cup holders & heat up steamer.

Pipe in batter into paper cups fill in with filling of your choice & cover it with batter.

You can either dot the top of the batter or marble them up ~ your choice

Steam in preheated steamer on low heat for about 10-15 mins until done.
If you steam them in medium or high heat, you'll get a 'blossomed' apam instead like some of mine in pics :)

Zebra Pudding

2012-04-09T16:23:00.000+08:00

Hi

Before I post further, this zebra pudding I made a week ago coz it's been quite some time that I've made any pudding for the household. Gave some to my mom & passed her some in a small container to pass on to my sis. So..what can I say about this zebra pudding..except that it's yummy indeed! Coz my sis called me up soon after she had a taste & asked for the recipe.Sorry sis, I couldn't post it earlier coz you know la the situation at the moment kan..? So..sedap right, this pudding? I append the recipe below which I got from Yasa Boga recipe book so that you can try & make some.Don't forget to use quality chocolate okay, it makes a difference & really sis.., this zebra pudding recipe is simple & nice to boot! Try to make some, aite? And when you returned my container tu...ahem! letak la apa2 yg patut..haha..

I've been on hiatus as some may notice..Sometimes, it's just tough to juggle being a WM, nowadays I'm stressed at the office with all the hullabaloo and sometimes it kinda get carried forward to the homefront. Try as I might to switch off the bad mood at the office like a light..but sometimes it kinda 'follow' you along until your home..sheeshh..hate it when that happens!

And to make matter worse, there's a slight issue with my health. Nothing so serious for the GP to sent me to a specialist yet, but still..the issue is there..Crappy things sometimes happen in twos or threes..guess I just have to 'deal' with it..or better yet..I think I need a HOLIDAY!! Yess!! that's what I think I need, don't you think? Sipping iced cola, relaxing somewhere having a spa or two....somewhere where there's no phone signal..away from everything..hmm...let me think where..

So next few weeks if I don't update, that means I am already somewhere sipping that iced cola or that I've decided to close down this space...not that it hasn't crossed my mind!

Till then..ta! Take care of yr health peeps!

Ingredients

7gm agar2 powder ( I used 9gm)
600ml milk
125g sugar
2 egg yolks, briefly whisked
2 egg whites
75gm dark cooking chocolate (melted) I used Valrhona choc

Method

In a medium pot. combine agar2 powder & milk. Stir until agar2 powder has dissolved. Stirring constantly, cook mixture over low heat & bring to boil. Add sugar & stir until dissolved.

Place whisked egg yolks in a bowl. Add a ladleful of agr2 mixture to egg yolks & whisk briefly until combined. Return to pot agar2 mixture & stir until combined. Return to boil while stirring all the time. remove from heat & set aside.

In a clean & drymixing bowl, whisk egg whites with an electric mixture at high speed until stiff peaks form & mixture is doubled in volume, Lower speed and ladle agar2 mixture into egg white mixture gradually & whisk until combined & warm.

Transfer about half portion of whisked mixture into a separate bowl. Add melted chocolate to this portion & mix well.

Ladle plain & chocolate agar2 mixture alternately right into centred of a prepared mould until mixture is used up. Allow mixture to spread out in mould on it's own without stirinh. Leave to cool, then chill to set.

Source: Yasa Boga Agar2 creative chilled dessert

No....this is not the pudding...this is the zebra cake :)

Almond Fudge Topped Shortbread, yummy!

2012-03-29T16:51:00.000+08:00

Hello all..

How have y'all been? I wanted to post this almond fudge topped shortbread which was inspired by my friend in N.Z on Tuesday or the latest yesterday but something just happenned, something beyond my control..Sigh! How I wish I could let it all out here but I think the timing is still not right yet.Anyway, let me talk about this yummy treat.

Anie made her mouth watering chocolate dipped shortbread recently & wanted to do the same but I thought I'd try something slightly different just to entice the boys. So I topped the shortbread with Valrhona choc ganache with generously scattered toasted almond slices. The outcome....not a single bars left..all eaten by the boys (young & old ;) ) as well as moi...hehe..really yummy, I loike!

You know something embarrassingly funny happen yesterday. I was blog hopping finding new recipes as well as simultaneously commenting my kawas2's blog for the yummy dishes. At the same time I was hooked up on my ipod listening to music whilst typing comments. I think kan, I accidentally opened up 2 comment box at a time and I got confused when typing the comments for the food.

Part ni aku tulis Melayu okay sebab sgtla malu kalo that person datang my blog & baca apa I tulis..hahaha..Aku ada pi blog pompuan omputeh yg terkenal jugak la..I tengok dia ada buat sesuatu (tak leh tulis apa, nanti dia tahu)..abeh tu ada sorang kawan tu buat sesuatu kuih menggunkan roti..so aku ada sedap tulis comment dalam bahasa melayu mengatakan waduhhh sodap arr ni kuih yg gunakan roti, blablabla..panjang gak aku merepek pasai roti..hahaha..bila aku dah post tu comment, aku tengok, apsal plak ada tulisan yg comment tu akan visibleafter blog owner's approval..eh??? aku bilang..eh apsal lak ek? selalu takda..so bila aku check balik kan...................

Halamakkkkk...comment box kawan Melayu aku lagi kosong tak bertulis..muahhahaha..aku pi tulis potpet2 ckp Melayu kat blog omputeh tu kahkahkahkah!! err..terus aku jadik malus..tak jadi nak teruskan comment kat blog kawan tu..and aku terus tutup computer..tak taw lah member omputeh tu paham ker tak apa aku merepek kat comment box dia....sebab kalo dia translate pakai google pong musti byk words tak der meaning sebab ko taw lah, bila merepek ckp melayu, byk words short form atau spelling lain2..aduhaiii kelakar seram arr..harap2 dia tak click link aku & tanya aku balik apa yg aku merepek..hahah..

So next time, no more bukak blog macam perakus nak tgk all the good food sekali harung..padan muka aku..haha..so bottomline kalo buat 3 keje dlm satu masa, it is so not advsisable..pada aku lah...korang tak...hahahah...ok..selamat hari khamis!

Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups All Purpose Flour

210g dark chocolate (I used Valrhona)
150ml whip cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
Sliced almonds, toasted*

Instructions
Heat oven to 180C. prepare 8" pan with parchment & grease lightly.
Beat butter, powdered sugar and salt in large bowl with electric mixer until fluffy.
Add flour; mix well. Press with spatula or back of a spoon evenly in prepared pan.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned.

heat whip cream in a bowl over simmering hot water until just before boiling. Add cooking chocolate stir gently over low heat, stirring constantly until mmelted. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla essence. Spread evenly over shortbread.
Garnish with almonds; press down firmly. Chill 3 hours or until firm. Cut into bars.

*To toast almonds: Place almonds in dry nonstick skillet; cook over medium heat, shaking pan until nuts are lightly browned. - I did it in a toaster for a few minutes only.

Seriously sedap this shortbread..thanks Anie for the inspiration. Original recipe adapted from eaglebrand.

Pandan Marble Bread

2012-03-26T16:53:00.000+08:00

Salam to all

Happy Monday peeps! So how was your weekend? Buzy? Buzy eating, shopping, baking or cleaning the kitchen? hehe..just like our dear friend in N.Z.Frankly it was a bit of all the above for moi. As usual on a Saturday, the kids would come for their study session, only this time round I asked them to come an hour earlier as we planned to go to Jacob Ballas in the late afternoon and I need to also buy some pots that were on sale.

Woke up pretty early & made some Pandan Marble buns which I saw @ CMG's. The bread turned out soft and the pandan taste was pretty nice too. As the kids prefer sugar on top of the buns, I sprinkled some damarera sugar instead of sesame seeds like the original recipe.

That was Saturday..my Sunday was spent baking some 'ehem' & also cleaning my kitchen. As Ive bought some pots, a small pan & a 'spiffy' electric kettle, I decided to clean the kitchen, especially the cabinet area where I wanted to put the newly bought stuff. Well...I was cleaning & scrubbing the stove, then I move on to the cabinet top, the sink, the fridge..and on..and on..I even went on to re-packed & re-shuffle the stuff in the pantry & threw away a bag full of expired stuff when God knows when..geeeezzz..I felt so guilty. But then I was quite in a happy mood too seeing my kitchen nice & sparkling clean with the dining table free of any stuff.

Someone was commenting that I should just do bit by bit as it was a working day the next day..but then kan..when you are on a roll, sudah jugak nak stop :) In the end, it was like 90% done by night time with another 10% left undone. This 10% is cleaning the wall tiles..I was quite knackered already by then & gave up cleaning the tiles. I shall 'threatened' or 'bribed' (depending on my mood for the boys to do it for me..but then kan, kitchen is my area, nanti dia orang hancai bocai clean & not up to par, I sendiri yg akan fedup..hmm..lets see la come this weekend..I hope o get it done by then.

Okay peeps, here;s wishing everyone happy working on a Monday..hopefully no crazy sh*t for me here in the office..Ta..

Resepi source: CMG

BAHAN-BAHANNYA
200 gram tepung roti (high protein flour)
50 gram tepung gandum
20 gram susu tepung
125 ml air
3o gram telur (pecahan 1 biji telur, pukul sedikit dan timbang)
60 gram gula halus
8 gram instant yeast
1 camca teh pandan paste
1/2 camca teh bread improver
1/2 camca teh bread softener
1/4 camca teh garam
40 gram mentega
Bijan untuk ditabur atas roti
2 camca besar tepung roti (jika perlu)

CARA MEMBUATNYA

UNTUK DOH :- Satukan semua bahan2 di atas kecuali mentega, paste pandan dan 2 camca besar tepung roti. Gaul rata hingga menjadi doh. Tambah mentega dan terus menguli sehingga mendapat doh yang lembut dan kenyal. Jika melekat, tabur sedikit tepung roti. Bulat2kan doh, letak dalam bekas besar dan tutup dengan plastik bersih, perap 1 jam. KAEDAH LAIN :- Satukan semua bahan untuk doh dalam Bread Maker, kecuali 2 camca besar tepung roti dan pandan paste, pilih setting untuk "doh" dan tekan "on". Tunggu hingga siap.

UNTUK ROTI :- Keluarkan doh tadi, tabur sedikit tepung atas meja kerja. Letak doh dan tumbuk untuk membuang udara. Kemudian bahagikan kepada 2 bahagian yang sama saiz. Amabil 1 bahagian dan letak pandan paste, uli hingga rata, jika melekat, tambah tepung sedikit dari 2 camca besar tepung roti tadi. Kemudian bagi dua lagi adunan hijau tadi. Adunan tanpa warna pun dibagi kepada 2 bahagian juga.
Ambil 1 bahagian hijau dan 1 bahagian yang kosong, gelek menjadi panjang kurang lebih 30 cm setiap satu. Lilitkan menjadi seakan2 tali, seperti dalam gambar. Kerat kepada 8 bahagian sama besar. Ambil setiap bahagian dan bulat2 kan, Susun dalam bekas yang telah dilenser dengan sedikit mentega. Buat hingga siap. Lakukan kaedah yang sama untuk baki adunan..
Perap roti tadi selama 45 minit atau hingga naik sekali ganda dan memenuhi bekas. Sapu telur (baki dari 30 gram tadi) dan tabur bijan atas roti tadi. Bakar selama 20 - 25 minit dalam oven yang telah dipanaskan pada suhu 190C. Sejukkan sepenuhnya atas jaringan.

Golden Kiwi Pudding

2012-03-23T21:56:00.000+08:00

Hi

There were some leftovers golden kiwis in the fridge and I thought as it's been quite a while since I last made pudding, why not try to make some like the strawberry pudding that I've made before?

Tapikan, as the golden kiwis have been sitting for quite a length of time in the fridge, you knowlah, some parts of the fruit dah overly riped & a bit tender to the touch. I was thinking if the sliced kiwis would be supple enough to 'stand' on it's own. Since not all could be used, I think I'd better just make half batch of the actual recipe.

This was the strawberry pudding that I hoped the golden kiwis one would turned out like, the strawberries were fresher & the colour nice & bright. But some days some things just don't turn out like what you hoped. I guessed for an overly riped fruit, it creates more juice than normal & since I didn;t do some adaptation to the amount of liquid, the pudding turned out a bit soggy.

Tatse wise it's okay la, but I am not too happy with the texture. Thank goodness I made just half batch of the original recipe, so that way I only got to finish jut a few pieces of the pudding.

So now that Friday is here, you know how happy I am today. After a 'meltdown' @ the office yesterday, (err..no need to say here la as I know someone from the office has chanced upon my SPACE here & still pretended as if I didn't know..HA!AS IF!), I couldn't pour out my hear here..sheeeshhh!, I will go home today & start my baking therapy.. The kids will be @ my place again today & they have requested spaghetti for lunch, some more sausage bread, friend chicken & some fruits for their makan2..Aku pikir kan, sometimes leh fokai melayan kerenah makan2 budak2 ni..tapi tak per la..asalkan they are happy to eat what I prepared, I don;t care much for the money & effort put in for them every weekend.. Kasi makan budak2 ni pahala beb! Tol tak? With that said, have a great weekend & ta for now! cheers!

Recipe for STRAWBERRY PUDDING (PLS adapt with whatever fruits you desired)

Strawberry Pudding ~ Yat easybakes
7g agar2 powder
100ml water (i used 200ml)
150-175 g sugar (depending on sweetness/sour of strawberries)
300g strawberries blended ( i used 200g- thats all I have)
250ml plain yoghurt ( I used greek yoghurt)
1-2 drops of red colouring
3 egg whites
5 strawberries, sliced

In a medium pot, combine agar2 powder & water. Stir until agar2 powder dissolves.
Stirring constantly cook mixture over low heat & bring to boil. Add sugar & stir until dissolve.
Add blended strawberries, yoghurt & food colouring while stirring all the time. remove from heat & set aside.
In a clean & dry mixing bowl, whisk egg whites with an electric mixer at high speed until stiff peak & mixture doubled in volume, Lower speed & ladle agar2 mixture into egg white mixture gradually & whisk until warm.
Arrange strawberries slices in mould & fill moulds with combined mixture. Leave to cool & then chill to set. * Note that you have to work fast as the mixture set pretty quickly, so quickly pour into moulds when the mixture is still warm - so I suggest aranging those slices of strawberries first before hand)
Unmould, then garnish as desired & serve chilled.

Strawberry Filling Layer Cake

2012-03-21T21:39:00.000+08:00

Told ya that I will be having strawberry filling this & that this week, didn't I? So bear with me, aite :)
This time round is the strawberry filling layer cake. Pretty easy peasy cake to bake & then just slather the strawberry filling in between. I just love the paper cuppies, aren't they nice?? courtesy of?? guess who? and I shall err..I shall eat one of this cake for the winner..ahakss!

A word of coution for myself though, when slathering the strawberry filling..jangan sesuka hati menepek tebal itew filling coz the cake is already sweet, so with the mekap tabal for the filling, ada a tad too sweet la this cake! So next time round, I will either mekap tipis the strawberry filling or lessen the amount of sugar in the cake mixture so that it will go well with the filling.

Ok..so that's it for now..I have to go think of menu to cook for the weekend as the kids will be starting their study group at my place this Saturday after a week long break for the school holidays. Need to think of fruits & kuih for them too. Already I have request for that sausage buns yg memang tak jelak2 budak2 ni telan..adehhh..so see you peeps around..have a great midweek!

A
60g melted butter
60g castor sugar
60g AP flour
3 large eggs
1/2 Tbspn ovallete
1/2 tspn baking powder
a few drops of rose essence/vanilla (I used vanilla)
some red food colouring

B
Strawberry jam (I used strawberry filling - store bought)
8" x 11" pan

Method
In a stand mixwer mix ingredients A except the melted butter at high speed for abt 7-10 minutes until the batter is creamy & fluffy.
Add melted butter & fold mixture with a spatula, mixing well.
Take 2 Tbspn of batter & mix with some red colouring to be used for marble effect later.
Grease pan & place a baking sheet in the pan
Pour the mixture in the pan & smooth top. Take the 2 Tbspn of batter that has been mixed with the red colouring & put it inpiping bad. Snip off tip & marble the batter.
Baked at a preheated oven of 170C for abt 20 minutes

When the cake is baked, cool on a wire rack.
Slice cake into half & spread the strawberry filling in between.
Slice cake & ready to serve

Source: Adapted from : Ena lovely kitchen

Pa Amb Tomaquet..nyam, nyam, it's easy!

2012-03-20T21:34:00.000+08:00

Pa amb tomàquet (Catalan for "bread with tomato") is a typical Catalonian food, in fact an everyday food. It is simple to make & is tasty to boot. Well, I've been meaning to make this simple food asap, in fact I was itching to do it as soon as I got the stuff from babe, but I thought for this kind of food, I really need the time to enjoy it & last Sunday was the day. I was up & about very early & after settling the kitchen & the laundry, I decided to go make this Pa amb tomàquet & enjoy it with my cuppa, and boy was I happy! It was simply heavenly!

The basic concept is this, you take bread, slice it half & you toast/grill it, then you rub it with a clove of garlic, You then take half of a ripe juicy fresh tomato & rub it onto the bread, making sure it's soaked with tomato juice.Then you drizzle on some olive oil, sprinkle some salt (I used sea salt flakes sparingly) & you're done with the ever famous simple yet very delicious, Barca dish, the pa amb tomàquet!

I am so, so loving this the pa amb tomàquet & as babe said, it's so easy to get hooked on it! Thanks babe for introducing me to wonderful Catalan everyday food, now, I shall have pa amp tomàquet come every weekend..tan fácil de hacer y deliciosa! Muchas gracias, babe!

Ingredients:
4 slices thick goodcrusty Italian bread or 4 slices French bread ( I used Ciabatta)
1 ripe juicy tomato , halved
1 clove garlic , halved
olive oil , to taste
sea salt flakes

Directions:
Grill or toast bread slices.
Rub grilled bread with garlic halves, then rub tomato halves into bread; really mash them on there- the idea here is to soak the bread tops with the tomato juices.
Discard tomatoes.
Drizzle bread with good olive oil to taste, then sprinkle with some sea salt.
Serve hot.
Now you're in heaven!

Easy peasy & so delicioso!

Recipe source : here

Strawberry Finger Buns

2012-03-19T21:35:00.000+08:00

I know I said I wasn't planning to bake any more bread as I've reached the quota :). However, after having just bought the 4 mini loaves pan from KC, I got the perfect excuse to bake some more bread. Furthermore the strawberry filling that I have in the fridge is coming to its expiration real soon, so bear with me if this week's post will consist of strawberry filling this & that..hehe.

This strawberry finger buns recipe was adapted from the blueberry finger buns recipe which I saw at Kak Nor's. She gave a very detailed recipe which she got from a few sources. Everytime water roux is used in a bread recipe, the outcome is always fantastic. Soft & gebu..just like my cheeks..muahhahahahaha!

Actually instead of finger buns, I shall call this bread, arm buns, coz the loaves are so much bigger than the finger buns. Since 1 family member is missing, I had 2 loaves & gave 1 each to the boys. Now you know why my cheeks are as per what I mentioned..kahkahkah..but mind you, I didn't eat both loaves of strawberry buns in one go la, I had it for lunch and another one just before dinner time. That is all...really..promise..hehe!

doh:
380gm tepung high protein (tpg roti)
3 sudu besar susu tepung
80gm gula castor
3 sudu kecil yis segera
1 bj telur A
100ml air
100gm water roux
1/2 sudu kecil garam
30gm butter
30gm shortening

topping:
blueberry filling (diblend halus)

Bread machine method:

Masukkan bahan cecair kedalam BM spt air dan telur. Kocokkan sket dgn garfu.
Masukkan kesemua bahan2 lain kecuali butter dan shortening.
Pastikan gula dan yis diletakkan di penjuru berasingan dari garam ini kerana gula akan lebih mengaktifkan yis manakala garam pula mengurangkan/mematikan yis.
Tekan suis on pd BM dan bila doh dah mula membentuk bulat masukkan butter dan shortening.
Biarkan proses menguli hingga selesai.
Utk menghasilkan doh yg lebih lembut, ulangi proses menguli utk 2 kali.
Setelah selesai proses menguli, biarkan doh naik 2x ganda.
Bahagikan doh kepada 20 atau 22 bj dan bulat2kan.
Rehatkan lebih kurang 15 minit.
Ambil sebiji doh dan canai nipis.
Gulung doh dan gelek2 sket hingga doh membentuk jejari lebih kurang 4 atau 5 in panjang.
Susunatur kedalam loyang pembakar yg dah disapukan butter.
Buat hingga habis dan biarkan doh naik lagi 2x ganda.
Spraykan sedikit air keatas doh supaya permukaan doh tak terlalu kering masa proses membakar.
Picitkan blueberry filling yg dah diblend atau kastard keatas doh yg dah naik.
Bakar doh dgn kepanasan oven 180 -190C lebih kurang 20 - 25 min atau sehingga masak.
Sapukan sedikit butter ke atas roti yg dah dikeluarkan dr oven (utk mengilatkan permukaan roti)

I am sooo lazy to translate to English, please use the translate widget found in my blog, or else, please give me a shout & I will translate it for you. Have a wonderful week ahead. Ciao!

The missing days & Tintin's 9th birthday

2012-03-18T19:33:00.000+08:00

Hi

It's been about a week of hiatus. Simply bcoz I was buzy to the max. Just when dude is not around, things that require his presence seem to sprout out of the blue..Sigh! but thank goodness, he will be coming home soon ..if not, very susah without him around :(

Now dun get me wrong, I'm not some helpless WM that simply cannot function without dude around ....no...no...it's just that some things just need him to do..my central water heater has gone kaput yet again & this time I mean really kaput.

So, trying to be the mvgyver, I unscrewed that huge thingy that is in the common bathroom in an attempt to bring down that hanging mother of a central heater. I huffed & I puffed, but still that thing refused to loosen from the main hook. I've drained out what balance water in that storage tank and even with the 2 dudans' help, we just couldn't figure out how to bring that darn thing down. Sigh!..so, dude, if you are reading this, hehe..just know that kaput heater thingy is waiting for ya ;)

BTW, if you have the time there, please visit that shop that sells all those cheap ceramic ware..alaaa..beside that smelly shop la..and try ok, to get some nice ceramic plates for me..You shd know now, why I insist on putting that empty boston bag in your luggage..haha..so remember, aite?

So for now, I'd like to post some pics of my fav niece's 9th bday party last week. It was such a blast. My youngest bro brought along some gadget, digital turntable, disco lights for her partayy..so partayyy we did! It was so much fun with our close families around. Since I didn't have to bake her bday cake this year, I got to enjoy the time there longer, since Friday night. We helped make the crazy looking piñata just for fun, and filled it with candies & some coins. The kids had fun trying to grab the most candies & coins.

We cooked tons of food with my mom being the chief cook & I ever brought my electric steamer to bake some apam mekar that is the birthday girl's favourite. Made some super fudgy brownies which were a hot with the kids. really, they just couldn't stop grabbing one after another..in the end only a few pieces left on the plate for the other guests :)

See...more food..and this is excluding the bbq stuff which I had forgotten to take the pics!

But the most fun stuff was the games played by both the kids & adults. I was in stitches from all their antics. Mind you..it was the adults that were more enthusiastic and competitive for the games. Ha..ha..the things they do..kahkahkah..you just had to be there to see the hilarious acts

The party didn't end till 2a.m when we last played bingo! no pics for that though..coz you know why? I fell asleep on my bingo card albeit all the noise..hmm..I knew I could have won that 32" TV! Sigh!

Soft Buttery Pretzels

2012-03-09T19:01:00.000+08:00

Hola

How's it going guys? I am gonna keep this post pretty short as I have a big partaaayy tmr and the stuff that I need to do starting this very afternoon are endless..so I better get going.

There are lots of recipes for soft pretzels on the net & I just couldn't make up my mind on which one to choose. Almost all recipes calls for the lye water bath or that baking soda solution bath. The reason was so that the colour of the pretzies will turn that nice hue of brown. But for mine, I didn't use the soda solution bath & to me the colour still turned out pretty nice.

As I've never tried baking pretzels before, I just choose 1 recipe which shows quite a yummy looking pretzels since I already promised the boys in da house that I will be making these pretzels for them for breakfast.

Err...where is this story heading arr..goshh I really need to get going..so the bottom line is I didn't really like this recipe that I tried, as the dough was a bit 'pliant'..err..dunno how to describe it actually. It is not hard, as you can still bite into it but some effort is needed jugak la.. So I am not gonna post the recipe... I am gonna find another one & try baking it again until I find that exact texture that I am looking for in a pretzel. Pardon if the storyline today got no kesinambungan aite..ok..have fun & Ta..for now :)

I love the morton sea salt flakes that I used..so sedapp..next..tomarquet, here I come!!!!

Tarta de limón, Best ever Lemon Tart

2012-03-08T21:23:00.000+08:00

Hello

Tarta de limón or the lemon tart. Topped it up with some blackberries..mmmm..heavenly! Cut a slice to bring to work & I had it chilled with my cuppa. So delish, I tell u!, seriously. Told my sis abt this delicioso tarta de limón & she was kinda waiting if I wld say that there's some for her..rite sis? Dun bedek arr..I can read subtext u know..mueheheheh..tapi sorry sis, this week, moi banyakkkk punya bz rabak. No time to drive over..even if you ask one of the kids to come over & self collect, sad to say sis, hanya tinggal sekeping totet jer lagi without the berries, so next time, aite, I'll make one pakai dulang besar nasi ambeng punya, sure enough for everybody :)

I just love the combination of that slightly salty tart base with the tangy lemon cream. And when I bite into it with some of the blackberries, oohhhh..it;s really like manna from heaven..this recipe is definitely a keeper..Nect round, moi gonna make that cream cheese tart pulak...since there's a last kopek box of cream cheese in the fridge. Ok peeps..gotta go & plan the stuff for this weekend. Tons of things to do & bring along..so I'll see u when I see you...Ta..

Ingredients
Crust
190g flour
40g caster sugar
1/4 tsp salt
120g butter
1 egg yolk

To prepare the crust
Sift the flour in a big bowl. Add the salt and sugar in the middle.
Add the cold cubed butter and make a crumble with the dough, using the tips of your fingers.
Make a hole in the middle and add in egg yolk. Work the dough with the tips of your fingers. Make a ball with it and place it in plastic wrap. Put in the fridge for a minimum of 2 to 3 hours, if possible.
Roll dough and place it in greased tart mold. Make little holes with a fork and chill in fridge for at least an hour. Cover with aluminium foil. Bake in the preheated oven at 175°C for about 25-30 mins.
Remove the paper and continue to cook for another 10 till crust is brown.
Remove from the oven and let cool on a cooling rack
Once the crust is cold, fill with lemon cream. Level it and chill in fridge overnight, before serving

Lemon Cream

3/4 cup lemon juice
lemon zest ( i used 3 lemons)
4 eggs
245g castor sugar
250g unslated butter - room temp

Method
Palce sugar in a large bowl
Add zest of lemon
Mix with fingertips
Add the eggs & lemon juice & whisk well
Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water without touching the base
Stir constantly to thicken cream.
When it coats the back of a wooden spoon, remove from heat & cool a bit.
Add pieces of cubed butter tbspn by tbspn
Mix well by hand unter butter is melted, then use a hand mixer to lighten the cream - it may take a few minutes

Come, have a slice with me ;)

Thanks babe & chelle for sharing this wonderful recipe

Doughnut Suria

2012-03-06T22:27:00.000+08:00

I made Doughnut Suria for the kiddos last Saturday. I wanted to make for the kids pumpkin doughnuts initially. Got it all planned since beginning of last week. I didn't have time to go to the supermarket to get the pumpkin, so it was a last minute dash to the nearby fruit stall last Friday, since the kids were due at my place on Saturday. The usual fruit stall got none, so I went to the other fruit stall near the market. There was some customers there & 1 nyonya was busy choosing what else, but the pumpkin. There were 3 halves of pumpkin being displayed & 1 of them has a nice colour to it.

As luck would have it, that nyonya picked that sole lawa pumpkin & was taking her sweet time making up her mind. I was already feeling antsy...somehow I have decided that the very second she put down that pumpkin, I was gonna grabbed it & make payment. So after about 5 minutes hovering behind the nyonya, it just wasn't my lucky day..Shuckkks!! she decided to buy the pumpkin after all! The other 2 leftover pumpkins weren't very nice, one having an off colour & the other one was nice but someone had poked the pumpkins hard at several places & it kinda looked 'benyek' to me..no way, Jose, was I gonna get that one, kan.

Dude, being the ever observant guy, was smiling 'cynically' when I approached him empty handed. "Do you know how you looked hovering behind that nyonya?" he said. "Huh? What??" I asked. "You didn't realised, but you looked as if you wanted to snatch that pumpkin away from the nyonya while she was examining the fruit..hahahaha..it'a wonder that nyonya never felt you breathing down her neck. And you should see yourface when that nyonya decided to buy that fruit in the end" kahkahkah..Oh really arr? hahaha..I didn't realised it of course..but I was actually thinking over & over again..letak la balik..letak la balik oii nyonya, in my mind hahaha..tu yg ter-spilt over to my facial expression agaknya..ahakss.

So that is why I made dounghnuts suria instead. Anyway, after consulting the ever helpful web teacher, I used my BM to uli the dough. The kids just love the doughnuts. They saw me dipping the doughnuts in the melted chocolate & couldn't wait to get their hands on those doughnuts.All the other toppings are ok except for the one with the silver dreggies..saper yg ada gigi besi bolehlah try mucnhing on that one..ahahha..kalo tak sompek gigi nasib arr!

Source: Dear Annie

Originate: Puan Suria Insani of Resipi.Net

Web 'assistant' : The ever helpful Mamafami

Ingredients

(A)

3 cups flour

3 tblsp caster sugar

3 tblsp shortening

3 tblsp milk powder

(B)

200ml lukewarm water

2 tsp instant yeast

20ml water extra - if needed

Method
1) Mix well all the ingredients B.
2) Pour into ingredients A and knead until smooth and shiny.
3) Roll to abt 1/2 thick and cut with a donut cutter.
4) Leave to proof for abt 30 mins or until double in size.
5) Fry on medium heat till golden brown.
6) Coat with sugar.

These chocolate stones are soooo yummy on the doughnuts!

Fruity Braided Bread

2012-03-04T22:07:00.000+08:00

Happy Sunday peeps

I made this fruity braided bread especially for dude bcoz even though I love bread on it's own or with some raisins thrown in, it is a different matter altogether once some other mixed fruits (like cherries, apricot, citrus peels) were thrown in. To me, these mixed fruits go well with that famous hari raya fruit cake instead of in a bread. Dude, however, just fancy this kinda bread, so it wasn't that much of a surprise that he managed to finish off 3/4 of the bread by himself. I'm not complaining, since the other boys also do not quite fancy this bread, we just shared the balanced 1/4 amongst us. Don't get me wrong, okay, I am sure this bread taste great & it's a gd recipe & all but my tekak just doesn't really gel with the other mixed fruits la, I will only stopped at sultanas or raisins.

GTG now as I need to clear my kitchen since we went to KC yesterday to look for some pans & tins. In the end, as per the usual, instead of stopping at pans & tins, some other stuff also landed accidentally in my basket. I found something useful (for me at least) & yet to test the gadget. I'll let you know later in my coming post, aite?. Have a good Sunday all :)

Ingredients:

350 g flour
40g sugar
¼ tsp salt
7g yeast
170ml fresh milk
1 egg
45g butter
1 ½ cups of dried fruits (raisins, cranberry, dried cherry)

Glaze (lightly beaten together)

1 egg
1 tbsp fresh milk

Topping

Some almond flakes
1 tbsp of sugar

Combine sifted flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a mixing bowl. Mix well Beat egg in milk, add slowing add it into the flour until it form a soft dough. Mix in butter and continue to beat until the dough is smooth. If at this stage the dough is a bit wet add a tbsp of flour. Add in all the dried fruits and nuts and mix well.
2. Cover mixing bowl with a damp tea towel. Leave aside in a warm place in the kitchen for an hour or until double in size.
3. Remove dough from the mixing bowl onto a lightly floured tabletop. Knead lightly then divide into 3 equal portions. Roll each portion into a strip 30cm long. Lay them side by side then gather the ends of the strips together and weave into a braid. Bring both ends of the braid together and make into a loop. Put it on a greased baking tray and cover with cling film. Let it rise for another 40 minutes until doubled in size.
4. Brush lightly with egg wash and sprinkle with almond flakes and sugar. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degree F for 35-40 minutes or golden brown.

Source: Gert . Thanks dear..

Cinnamon Rolls

2012-03-02T19:14:00.000+08:00

Hello everybodyyyy

How is it going? Happy? harusla happy, aite. what more today is Friday, favourite day of the week besides Saturday :) Before I ramble further, thought I better post this yummy Cinnamon bun recipe. Managed to find the source of the recipe after I diligently scroll my history page one by one. It's a week's worth of history page, mind you. And just as I thought I found the recipe...nope...not the right one as the ingredients differ some. You see I wrote down the recipe to give it a go but didn't write from where i copied it from. So you can imagine my happiness when I hit the jack pot...but it's worth the effort ok..you have to walk the talk..you know what I mean..now, my right eye is twitching slightly, with all that scrolling down the history page.What's the old saying for this twitching of the right eye eh? I think I'll get lucky la..muahahhaha! Anyway, this cinnamon roll is wonderful when served warm with your cup of tea. To me, this rolls are as nice as that CPAB.

I managed to exercise my jaw & facial muscles past 2 days. No...not melantaking arr..but laughing actually. Laughing is a good form of facial exercise. Keeps your mood high, and your spirit light. But word of caution here..do not go overboard with the laughter okay, coz there's an old saying that if you laugh too much, you are bound to work your tear ducts at one time. Or if you laugh way way overboard without rhyme or reason, then that is definitely another catogary la..probably a place has been reserved for you at Buangkok Green or Rambutan Coast. You know some people just have the knack to tell funny stories or sometimes the words they utter/write just give you the tickles, be in a straightforward way or with accidental double, triple entendre...hahaha...makes me laugh again..ok la peeps..have a great fun weekend ahead..Ta!

Dough ingredients
300gm HP flour-Bread flour, please :)
50g butter
1 egg
50g fine sugar
100ml fresh milk/water (room temperature
8g instant yeast
1 tspn salt

Cinnamon filling
2 to 3 tspn cinnamon powder*
60g brown sugar* mix together
20g butter (room temperature)

Method

Mix all ingredients for the dough in the breadmaker & choose the dough setting. Let the machine do it's job for abt 1.5hours.
Remove the dough from the breadmachine, punch out air. Divide into 2 equal portion.
Take 1 portion & with a rolling pin, roll dough into a rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Take
some butter from the filling ingredients & spread generously onto the rolled out dough. Sprinkle
with the cinnamon/sugar mixture.Roll the dough.
Cut the rolled dough abt 4cm each using a pizza cutter. Place into paper cups.
Repeat with the balance dough
Let the cut dough rise to 1.5 its original size
Baked in a preheated oven for about 15-20 mins at 180C

Source: yaniMyr

Batik Arora Cake, the multi-coloured cake

2012-02-29T16:58:00.000+08:00

Now, this is definitely a fun cake to bake. Besides being able to choose the endless colours & flavours that you like, you can also choose to bake this cake in a bundt pan, the usual round or square pan, rectangular pan & I've seen too bloggers using smaller pans to create a mini batik arora cake.

Saturdays are always a great day for me as I can bake to my heart's content. I can bake more than the usual share as the other kids usually bunk at my place from late morning to quite late in the evening for the study & lepak session. Sometimes, it spilled over to supper at our usual hangout. I just love Saturdays :)
Coming back to this Batik Arora cake, I first spotted it at Ady's and since then soooo many bloggers had tried out the recipe with so many shapes & colours. The more I see this cake around, the more I was itching to go & bake it..so last Saturday, baked it, I did!

The minute I took out the batik arora cake from the oven to cool it on the wire rack, the kids were all ansy for me to cut it as they had seen the bowls in the sink with the scrapes of batter in them. I couldn't possibly cut the cake there & then just after removing from the oven right? that's calling for a disaster, so I just let the pretty cake sit nicely amidst calls from the kids to slice it up..heheh..I let them wait for quite a bit and when I slice the cake after it had really cool. You don;t wanna know how fast the slices were gone between the 5 kids fingers + 1 err..not so kid fingers la..Bottomline, I just love looking at the colourful pretty cake and I wouldn't mind baking another one for them in the near future.

Ingredients

250 gm all purpose flour*
2 tspn baking powder* -sifted together
250 gm good quality butter
100 gm castor sugar
1 tspn ovallete (addition)
1/2 cup condensed milk
6 eggs
5 food colourings & flavour of choice

Method

In a stand mixer, beat butter & sugar till white & fluffy
Add condensed milk & continue beating till incorporated
Add in eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition
Lower speed of your mixer, add sifted flour & baking powder (I did in 3 additions)
Add ovallate & beat well
Divide batter into 5 portions with a different colour & essence to each colour

(blueberry essence to blue food colouring)
(mango essence to yellow food colouring)
(strawberry paste to red food colouring)
(pandan paste to green colouring)
(plain for the purple food colouring)..it's up to you really

Grease bundt pan & sprinkle with flour. Tap access flour.
Pre heat oven
Add a scoopful of each colur of the batter into your bundt pan, alternating the colours till all the batter are used up. Bake at 160-180C (depending on your oven for 45mins - 1 hour)
I baked mine using Nordic dark bundt pan at 155C for abt 55 mins
Cool on wire rack

Adapted from : denuanza
Thanks for sharing

Strawberry Marble Bread

2012-02-28T17:05:00.000+08:00

Having said what I wanted to say on Sunday, lets start the week afresh. I've been baking quite a number of bread recipes lately and as they have reached my quota, overshot more like it,.I shall not be making bread for the time being after I've published all the bread recipes that I've made.. I shall be moving on to making tarts. I'll go tart tins shopping this weekend to find some tins to bake. I really love that square tart tins but so far, I've not come across any here.

Anyway, the family loves sweet bread, so I always added extra sugar so that they can choose to just have the bread plain without any spread if they want to as the bread is already sweet on it's own. Ok guys, I have a rather interesting email to reply to and another sorta envelope to expect either this month or next month. I just hope that it's good news for me all around. Till then, ta..

Recipe adapted from Roti Marble Coklat by Ros
Thanks dear.

Ingredient

200 gram bread flour
50 gram all purpose flour
1 Tbsp butter
140 ml fresh milk
1 1/2 tspn instant yeast
2 Tbspn fine sugar ( original recipe indicated that this bread is plain, so I added 3.5 Tbspn of sugar to make a sweet bread instead)
1/2 tspn salt
1 tspn bread improver (omit if you didn't have any)
1 Tbspn cocoa mixed with some water (I changed to strawberry paste)
Egg wash & damarera sugar for sprinkles (I added)

Method

1.Mix all ingredients (except strawberry paste) in a bread maker & choose the dough function.
2.After 1.5 hours, remove the dough from the BM and punch out trapped air from the dough.
3.Divide dough into 3 portions. Mix 1 portion with strawberry paste & knead the dough to ensure that the paste is mixed well & colour incorporated. You may add some more flour if the dough is too sticky.

Method for marbling bread
a) Combined the 2 portions of plain dough & on a lightly floured table, roll dough into rectangle.
b) Knead the strawberry portion dough into a smaller rectangle to fit on top of the plain coloured dough & cover the strawberry dough completely with the plain dough.
c) Using a pizza cutter, divide the rectangular dough into 3strips, ensuring that the cut stops just before the dough ends (do not completely cut the dough into 3 portions, leave the top of the rectangle uncut.)
d) Braid the 3 strips & tucked the end underneath the dough.
e) Place the breaded dough in a greased loaf pan & cover with shrink wrap.
f) Let the dough rise to double in size. Thereafter I glaze the top with egg wash & sprinkle some damarera sugar.
g) Bake at 160C preheated oven for about 25 minutes.