Simply About Life

Homemade Matcha "Green Tea" Ice Cream

2011-02-28T03:02:00.000+08:00

It's been a hot summer day over here and I've been making tons of homemade ice cream since I got my ice cream maker. The store bought kind just doesn't taste the same anymore and the different flavours that you can come up with is endless.

Today's flavour is Green Tea. A long time ago when green tea ice cream was all the rage, we went out to buy some and it came in this transparent container looking very yummy with it's swirls of green tea. One spoonful later and a very sour face it had to be the most awful tasting ice cream I had ever tried. So I thought perhaps it's gone off or something but it was and from that moment I have never bought any. I still ate it at the Japanese restaurants but the store bought kind just wasn't the same. I still loved the ice cream but I had to make my own someday.

And I have! My very own green tea ice cream.
Just added a few teaspoons of Japanese green tea to some creme anglaise and ta da...... ice cream!

Well I couldn't have done it without my fav Christmas pressie that I got last Christmas. I've been experimenting since that time and I'll post some soon. I was tempted to make some avocado ice cream but I ate it before it made it to the machine!

Challenge #1: Ready, Set, Blog Post

2010-09-20T03:20:00.003+08:00

Foodbuzz is all about foodies and it's a food lover's community which has launched a food blogging contest called Project Food Blog and they're looking for the next Food Blog Star and I have decided to give it a go and enter it.

What is Project Food Blog? This contest will consist of a series of 10 weekly challenges with contestants being systematically eliminated after each round. The challenges are set out to encourage us to go further and beyond in our foodie adventures and the winner will receive a $10,000 grand prize. So far there have been over 1800 entries and this very first challenge only 400 will move onto the next challenge. So here's Challenge#1....

Challenge #1: Ready, Set, Blog! What defines you as a food blogger and why you think you have what it takes to be the next food blog star?

Where has the time gone? I've been blogging since... oh I have to check this again, um since... March 2010 says my profile. I started out blogging for fun and to try to get back into writing or at least some form note taking to account for the things that I've been up to up until now with being a stay-at-home mum and looking after my three kids and trying to deal with different tastes and varying appetites during all hours of the day.

My biggest foodie critics.

I having an active almost 2 year old who eats just about everything all except peas, which he would pick up from his plate and flick over all areas of the house. I don't think he registers them as food and will hide them all over the house if he could. He seems to take alot of joy out of aiming them at our dear old cat, Sakura but lucky without any fatal shots. I have another son who eats anything with cheese, ham and his favourite .... chicken wings at all times of the day and almost nothing else. A very fussy eater but I'm hoping that will change someday so I try very hard to offer him different foods to tempt his taste buds. And lastly I have a daughter who grew out of her almost all meat diet to being an adventurous eater daring to try out new dishes and now loves her vegies. When she was younger and before she started school she was a very good eater with all her food and wasn't fussy at all... that was until she started school and that all changed when they were given cooked meals at lunch. She was a smart little cookie when delegating who would get her vegies and everything else she didn't like. I guess eating vegetables wasn't the "in" thing at kindergarten but I'm glad it's all changed. So with these three people at home I have the task of trying to get them to eat a balanced meal and I try my best to serve up my style of homecooking. It's a mix of what the kids like to eat and what the adults like to eat, sometimes I have to compromise with a smuggled vegetable and spices here and there but it all seems to work.

The food.

My blog is about the food we love to eat, some favourites and some new creations I've stumbled upon that just work well but all of them are foodie adventures that I want to share with anyone who loves food and family. My food is about trying to make a meal that's simple, good and quick to make. They are easy to follow not too complicated, some that have been handed to me from my grandmother... a treasured secret to share and some that have been family staples that have gotten us through the week. I'm always looking out for something to try out or something that evokes a foodie moment from when I first realised my love for good food. I guess you could say food in our family is always about comfort and that's the best kind of food. A meal that is shared and one that gives you that warm "comfy" feeling inside....like all homecooking from a mum's kitchen. As a mum the best compliments are the smiles from the people you love and hearty request for "Mum, can you make this again. I can eat this all the time." or the best compliment so far is from the almost 2 year old... "More?"

The best compliment...
just a little bit "more" and a quick snooze!

I'm not a trained chef or cook but it's been more of an "on the job" sort of training with a lot of trials and errors.... split gravy, burnt casseroles, smoking volcano cakes and many more misadventures which have lead me down this path. What has kept me going is my passion for food and passing it on to my kids with the hope that they will learn about good food, the love of creating meal and the known pleasure that a shared meal amongst family and friends are one of the simplest and most rewarding feeling a foodie adventurer can have.

one month.....

2010-09-17T00:45:00.000+08:00

It's been a while but I'm back... had a bit of a blogging dry spell. I've been cooking and taking photos but putting all down to draft. There's lots to catch up with over the next few days so I hope that these photos will do for now.

Blueberry Snow Skin Mooncake with Chocolate and Strawberry Filling

2010-08-17T01:42:00.001+08:00

Mooncake season is here and I've always like those little golden pillows of lotus paste and pandan paste and red bean paste. Until a few years ago you could only find two or three traditional types of mooncakes but now you can find all sorts of new Snow Skin mooncakes or otherwise known as Ping Pi Mooncake. They are completely different from eating the traditional ones as they are usually eaten chilled and the texture of the skin is soft and chewy and much like lo mai chi or mochi. And instead of having just the plain filling with a salted egg you can now have fruity fillings like strawberry, banana, blueberry, pandan and even durian!

So this Mid Autumn Festival or Mooncake Festival I've decided to give it a try and make my own Snow Skin Mooncakes and I guess the hardness thing to come up with is what type of filling to put in it.

Blueberry Snow Skin Mooncake with Chocolate and Strawberry Filling! This is my first attempt at making this.... a very messy but rewarding job.

It was a little tricky getting the mooncakes out of the mould but it turned out ok.

The main ingredient: Glutinous Rice Flour, Rice Flour and Lotus Paste. There are so many moulds to choose from with different patterns.

Chocolate Banana Custard Pie

2010-08-08T16:48:00.000+08:00

With everyone having their own favourite things to eat for dessert. I wanted to combine all of them together and this is what I came up with. I have been wanting to make a banana cream pie so I use that for inspiration when I came up with this creation.

Chocolate for Tristan, Custard for hubby and Ashley and bananas for Jacob.

CHocolate + Custard + Bananas = Chocolate Banana Custard Pie!

I combined all the flavours but still tried to keep them separate and instead of mashing the banana to make it into a real banana custard I laid a layer of sliced bananas on the bottom of the pie and laid a layer on top of the custard. It went pretty well and hubby thought I had mashed them but the older kids asked me why I had put mushrooms in the custard. They didn't realise that it was bananas and I couldn't believe they had thought I had put mushrooms in their custard pie....really!

Chocolate Banana Custard Pie

1 cup plain flour

80 g butter

1 egg

2tbsp sugar

1/3 cup custard powder

1/4 cup sugar

2 cups milk

3 bananas

100g dark chocolate

1tbsp plain yogurt

1. Using a mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar and butter and rub together until they look like breadcrumbs. Add the egg and knead it until it forms a smooth dough. If it gets a bit sticky just add a bit more flour.

2. Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a 23cm pie dish and roll out the dough to fit the pie dish. You can place a layer of greaseproof paper and some beans or rice onto the pie dough and bake for 10 mins. Remove and set aside.

3. Using a medium saucepan, pour in the milk and mix in the custard powder and sugar. Stir it continuously and bring to a simmer. Keep stirring so that the custard doesn't stick to the saucepan and remove once the custard is very thick. Leave the custard to cool down for about 10 mins.

4. Slice 2 bananas into thin slices and then place a layer onto the pie crust. Pour the custard over the bananas and then slice the remaining banana and lay them on top of the custard layer.

5. Gently melt the dark chocolate and when it has melted add the yogurt and stir until combined. Using a spoon to gently drizzle the chocolate over the pie. Put the pie in the fridge to cool down for about 2 hours before serving.

Alfabeto Pasta Soup

2010-08-05T14:13:00.000+08:00

It's a perfect day for soup. A cool, overcast sky and the rains just waiting to fall. A bowl of soup is what is going to keep us warm for lunch.

Some tomato, chicken stock and lots and lots of alfabeto pasta and we have a bowl of alfabeto soup. Would you like to have some soup?

Alfabeto Pasta Soup

1 1/2 cup Alfabeto pasta

1 large tomato, roughly chopped

300g chicken breast, thinly diced

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

410g tomato puree

1.5 L chicken stock

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp sweet paprika

1 1/2 tsp sugar

50 g butter

salt and pepper to taste

1. Finely chop the onion and garlic. Add them to a saucepan of melted butter. Stir until soften and then add the chicken. Add the basil and paprika and stir until the chicken is cooked.

2. Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, chicken stock and sugar and gently stir. Add the pasta and bring it to the boil. Keep stirring, reduce the heat and gently simmer for about 8 mins. If you need to add more liquid just add a bit more water. The soup should be nice and thick more like a meal than a soup. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Apple Pie

2010-08-05T01:29:00.000+08:00

We were invited over for dinner at a friend's place and I always love to bring over something as a little thank you gift. I just love making pies. Apples pies are my favourite ones to make. Apple filling piled up high and sweet shortcrust pastry with a huge dollop of vanilla ice cream.

I had actually planned to make this apple pie just the family but when hubby told me about our dinner invitation I immediately thought of saving this pie to share with our friends.

Apple Pie

180 g butter, cold

2 cups plain flour

2 egg yolks

1/4 cup icing sugar

2-3 tbsp cold water

1 tbsp milk

Filling

10-12 medium granny smith apples

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup sultanas

1. Using a mixing bowl, add flour, icing sugar and cold butter. Rub in the butter until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolks and the water and combine until it forms a dough. If the dough is sticky just add some more flour.

2. Knead it on a lightly floured surface until it is smooth. Divide the dough into half and roll out the dough to place on a greased 23cm pie dish. I would sometimes just flatten portions of dough on my hand and just roughly cover the pie dish. It gives it a rustic look and I sometimes do it this way to save on rolling out the dough. Set aside the remaining dough and pie dish in the fridge.

3. Filling

Peel the apples and cut them into thick slices. I found this really great apple cutter at Ikea and it just cuts the apple into perfect slices and cores the apple at the same time. Put the apple slices into a sauce pan. Add the sugar and sultanas and heat the pan over med/high heat and constantly stir so that the sugar does not burn. I don't usually add water as I find it makes the pie to watery. You have to constantly stir the apples and you will see that the moisture will come out of the apple and then you will have to cook the apples until the sauce thickens and reduces. Set it aside to cool and when it has cooled down continue with the pie making.

4. Preheat the oven to 180C. Take out the pie dish and remaining dough. Fill the pie dish with the apple filling. Roll out the remaining dough to form a cover for the pie. Seal the edges and poke a few holes with a fork. I usually have some dough left over so I would normally use it to decorate the pie. Brush over the pie with the milk and sprinkle the pie with some cinnamon and sugar. Bake for 30mins or until the pie is golden brown.

Spring Onion Dumplings

2010-07-26T17:22:00.000+08:00

Over the weekend I woke up in a sneezing frenzy in the early hours of morning. It was just getting bright with the sun waking up and I just couldn't get back to sleep. Too much restless tossing and turning and I had to get out of bed. Now I don't really get up that early if it can be helped but at 4.40am I found myself completely awake. What should I do? Hhmmm maybe I should make something for breakfast?

It was an early start but I got myself into the kitchen and put my apron on... "cooking mode" switched ON. So having this cold wasn't too bad I did felt some how energised with the cold medication and I was ready to get creative in the kitchen.

So what should I cook for breakfast this morning? A stable item on the breakfast menu has always been something with eggs so it was scrambled eggs with ham and cheese. The kids would like that. Next thing up was bread, nice thickly sliced bread and just so right for french toast. I make it simple with nothing much but some eggs and sugar and it always turns out well but I think it has to do with the type of bread you use. I buy this Japanese cut English bread from this local bakery called Strawberry Cake House and it is the best here in Kota Kinabalu. I don't know what they put in it but even my family from Sydney love it.

With the french toast and scrambled eggs down I still had time to make something else for breakfast as it was only 5.30am. Okay what would it be? Dumplings! I knew I had some spring onions in the veg keeper back in the fridge. A bit of chopped spring onions in the dough and some in the filling and that should be fine for breakfast dumpings.

Spring Onion Dumplings

1 1/3 cup plain flour

3 tbsp cold water

6 tbsp hot water

2 tbsp spring onions, finely chopped

Filling

200 g chicken mince

2 tbsp spring onions, finely chopped

1 tsp rice wine

2 tsp light soy sauce

1/2 tsp sesame seed oil

1 tsp corn flour

pinch of black pepper

1 tsp chicken stock powder

small onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp ginger, finely grated

1. Using a mixing bowl, add the flour and gradually mix in the hot and cold water. Combine well until it forms a dough. It might need some additional flour if the dough is too sticky. Knead the dough until it becomes smooth and let it rest while you make the filling.

2. In another bowl, add all the ingredients for the filling and mix until it is all combined. Set it aside.

3. Roll out the dough onto a floured surface and roll it into a rope and divide into 1 inch portions. Using a rolling pin, roll the portions into a roughly 10 cm circle. Repeat with all the dough.

4. Place about 1 tsp of filling into the dough and seal the edges and gently fold the edges. Place them standing up on a plate and set aside for frying.

5.Using a wok, heat up about 2-3 tbsp of oil and arrange the dumplings standing up so that the base will brown. Once the bottom of the dumplings have browned, add water till it reaches halfway up the dumplings, cover and boil off the water. You might have to cook the dumplings in 2 batches but just repeat the frying and boiling process. Serve with garlic soy sauce.

The "Other" Cocoa Powder.....Black Cocoa Powder/Black Onyx Cocoa Powder

2010-07-21T01:57:00.000+08:00

I've been searching for some inspiration to get me back into a cooking mood and I think I've found it in the "other" cocoa powder.... Black Cocoa Powder or otherwise known as Black Onyx Cocoa Powder. It's super dark, really dark and almost black or charcoal like in colour and gives that something special when you're making that super rich chocolate cake or a real chocolatey double chocolate cookie.

Black Cocoa/Black Onyx Cocoa Powder and Dutch Cocoa Powder in the background

I was doing some shopping at our local baking shop looking around for some cocoa powder and I came across this small packet of black cocoa powder. I had never heard of it before but then it occurred to me that this was the secret to the famous dark rich almost black colour to the "Oreo" cookies that the kids love to eat.... I always wondered how they got it so dark and now I knew how.

I found out that there are actually three types of cocoa powder; natural, dutch and black onyx. It all comes down to how they process the cocoa bean and how they treat it with alkali to neutralise the natural bittersweet taste in the cocoa powder. In the natural cocoa powder there is no alkali use to process the beans and the taste is much stronger and bittersweet. This flavour of the cocoa is usually used in the traditional Mexican dishes and baking where the taste is more intense and acidic. Dutch cocoa powder is usually used in things like chocolate drinks and it is processed using an alkali, giving it a milder taste but less bitter and it is more reddish in colour. Black cocoa powder is processed to the extreme with alkali and this gives it that almost black colour. It has an intense cocoa flavour but it has less cocoa fat in it so it can be drier when used so it is often recommended to use a 50/50 mixture of black and dutch cocoa to give it more fat content so that when you use it for baking it doesn't get too dry.... interesting!

Anyway I thought I'd give it a try today by baking some Chocolate Chip Cookies and transform them into Super Rich Chocolate Chip Cookies with a bit of help from my new discovery, the Black Cocoa Powder! I used as recommended a 50/50 mixture of the black and dutch cocoa powder and it produced a really intense black chocolate brown colour. I must admit I was a little startled by the colour when I was mixing it in and I was happy I didn't try to use just the black cocoa powder on it's own. Could you imagine how intense the colour would have been! .... It's is pretty surprising when you take it out of the packet because it actually looks like charcoal dust but it looks and smells like regular cocoa powder just the colour is something to get use to.

Super Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

150 g butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tbsp black cocoa powder
1 1/2 tbsp dutch cocoa powder
1 1/2 cup plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
150 g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

1. Cream the butter, sugar and egg. Add both the cocoa powders and mix until smooth.
2. Roughly chop up the dark chocolate into small pieces and add them into the mix. The colour is really intense when you mix it into the mixture and it almost looks like mud.
3. Sift the flour and baking powder together and add it gradually into the mixture to form a dough.
4. Preheat the oven to 180C. Using a dinner spoon, scoop out half a spoonful onto a baking tray and allow for room to spread. Bake for 12 mins and allow to cool. It can be a bit difficult to see if the biscuit is baked because of the intense colour but it will eventually cool and harden.

World Cup ... 4 more years to go.

2010-07-13T14:09:00.000+08:00

We cheered, we cried, we booed, we rejoiced and we ate! The FIFA World Cup is finally over and although none of my favourite teams didn't win, we all had a good time watching the game.

Australia got out early in the game. England left too but not without trying. Holland came so close..... Another 4 more years to go and we'll be up again at the midnight hour watching with anticipation for the game to begin again.

Pizza Swirls

2010-07-08T00:30:00.000+08:00

I was talking to my mum last night about ideas for school snacks and she was telling me about these great mini pizza snacks that she's been buying at the local bakery. They're not your ordinary mini pizzas but little swirls of pizza and they come in all sorts of fillings. Apparently they are so popular that they sell out by 10 am and if you want to guarantee getting some you have to place an order.

Can you imagine that, all sold out by 10 am? .... When mum told that I just knew I had to make them for the kids and I'm sure they would be a hit too.

We don't normally have pizza for lunch but I was pretty sure the kids would love a surprise when they open up their lunch boxes to find some pizza swirls. Pepperoni and cheese filling! I knew I had some wholemeal bread dough in the cupboard so instead of making bread today I used it to make the base of the pizza. Rolled it out into a rectangular shape and topped it off with some tomato puree, beef pepperoni, cheddar cheese and rolled it back up like a swiss roll. I then carefully cut it into slices and laid it out on a sprinkling of cornmeal.

Oh the kids absolutely loved it! They must have though ...Wow, mum is actually encouraging us to eat pizza at school and for lunch too!!! I really don't mind as long as it's from home and I know it's healthy. I'm thinking of making a ham and chicken pizza swirl for next week's school menu!

Mango Lo Mai Chi (Mango Glutinous Rice Balls)

2010-07-03T23:18:00.000+08:00

As some of you already know I'm a little bit of a World Cup fan and I'm very pleased to say that Holland won in their Brazil vs Holland game. So hooray for Holland!!! Now who will be the winner of the Argentine vs Germany game tonight?.....

Let celebrate the win with these yummy chilled Mango Glutinous Rice Balls or otherwise known as Lo Mai Chi. They are these little soft balls of glutinous rice covered with a nice coating of dessicated coconut and hidden within it is a piece of sweet mango.

Mango Lo Mai Chi

2 ripe firm mangoes ( I used manila mangoes)
2 tbsp rice flour
220 g glutinous rice flour
110 g sugar
200 ml coconut milk
desiccated coconut for coating

1. Peel the skin of the mangoes and cut the mango into small cubes about 2cm. Place the mangoes into the fridge to chill.
2. Combine the rice flour, glutinous flour, sugar and coconut milk in a bowl. Stir until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is smooth.
3. Prepare a shallow plate for steaming with some oil to coat the plate so that the mixture does not stick. Pour the mixture into the plate.
4. Use a wok for steaming the glutinous mixture. Pour enough water in the wok for steaming and place a steaming tray in the wok. Cover the wok and bring the water to a boil. When the water is boiling, place the shallow plate into the wok and steam for about 30 mins. To test when the mixture is cooked, use a wooden satay stick or a chopstick and place it into the dough and if it doesn't stick to the chopstick then it is ready.
5. Remove the plate when the dough is cooked and let it rest for about 10 mins.
6. Prepare about 1/2 cup of desiccated coconut into a plate for coating. You will need more but just gradually add more when required. Using a spatula, scoop out about 1 1/2 tsbp of the dough and using plastic oiled gloves, gently roll the dough into a ball and flatten with your fingers it out into a 6-8 cm circle. The dough can be very sticky and hot so that is why you need to use oiled plastic gloves so that it does stick.
7. Place 1 piece of the chilled mango into the centre of the dough and carefully pinch together the edges and mold it into a ball. Roll the glutinous rice ball into the desiccated coconut and place it onto a piece of greaseproof paper or a cupcake paper. Repeat the steps and place all the Lo Mai Chi into a container and chill in the fridge and it will be ready once it has cooled down.

Quick Proofing Yeast Dough ,,,,,, in the Microwave!!

2010-06-29T07:44:00.000+08:00

The other day I did some experimenting in the kitchen again while making some cinnamon rolls. I wanted to see if I could try to quicken the time spent proofing the yeast dough so that it would double in size but with less than a fraction of time then the usual hour.

Whenever I make anything which involves using dry active yeast I know I will have to leave it in a warm place for about an hour or an hour and a half to let it raise and double it's size. In the past I've heated up the oven to about 180C for about 3 minutes and turned off the heat to enable the oven to generate enough heat just to get it warm so that I use that warmth for my proofing. Having placed the dough in an enamel mixing bowl I would use a damp towel and leave my dough in the oven for about an hour and it would double it's size. It works without a hitch and I've always found that this method is the best for me but I wanted to see if I could some how make that time shorter. Less time proofing and the faster I could turn out whatever I was baking.

Getting back to basics whenever I make anything with yeast is to check if the yeast is still active. If it's going to work or not is the most important thing when you make bread. Now I'm not an expert at making bread but I know if the yeast is not working out than the bread is just not going to raise and you won't get that yummy fluffy soft bread. So for starters I've always put in one teaspoon of sugar whenever I proof my yeast with warm water and I've found that it always works.

Mixing and kneading just works the dough before you leave it to rest and final proofing or final fermentation to let it raise and double it's bulk. This is the part that takes the longest and this is what I wanted to see if I could fasten the time. So my experiment takes place here:

How to quicken the time for the yeast dough to proof?

So I proofed my yeast till it was foamy and mixed it in with the bread flour and after a good 10 minutes of kneading I was ready to proof the dough. And how did I do this .... the microwave of course! Yes, the microwave..... I know not the most traditional method of proofing but it can generate quick bursts of heat and it actually works.

How do you Microwave proof dough?

Okay this is how it works. I placed the dough in an ungreased microwave proof casserole dish (Corningware casserole in my experiment), uncovered and microwaved it for 3 minutes at low heat. Then I left it to rest for 3 minutes and microwaved it again for 3 minutes at low heat. I let it rest this time for 6-8 minutes but placed a cover over the dough..... and guess what happened it actually doubled in size! It worked and in roughly less than 20 minutes I managed to proof the yeast dough with the microwave and this would have normally taken me an hour.

I'm not sure if this works for all types of bread but give it try and see what happens.

Pizza Time

2010-06-26T21:44:00.000+08:00

This is a post from my other blog This side of the island.

It's been a pretty gloomy sort of day today, dark clouds cover the sky and predictable afternoon down pour of rain. It rains and it rains. No, I'm not complaining about it at all, I actually love the rain.

It's one of the better times of the year when the afternoons and nights are cooler and you can huddle up in bed and sleep in the cool breeze. This time of the year is a nice time to just stay at home and curl up with a good book or just lazy about in front of the tv and watch a movie. It's the closest thing to a season, apart from the all year round of summer that we have and I suppose you could call it our tropical "winter".

So for some it's not the best time of the year, especially when it can cause flash floods and all outdoor afternoon activities are cancelled. No swimming for the kids in the afternoon or walks along the beach to watch the sunsets. It's time for the indoor stuff!

Indoor stuff.... to keep the kids busy today, I got them to make dinner. Yes, it was my night off from the dungeon in the kitchen (only kidding I love to cook) and time to put my kids to work. And so tonight Ashley and Tristan were set loose in the kitchen to make pizzas from scratch for dinner. Right from making the pizza dough, rolling it and making their version of pizza.

Rolling out the dough....

They both had a go at making their own pizza.... a few nibbles at the cheese by Tristan.

Pepperoni & Ham Pizzas!!! Our little food stylist was fast asleep during the pizza making!

Chocolate Custard Ice Cream

2010-06-23T23:03:00.000+08:00

I did a little custard experimenting with my adventures in the kitchen today. Thought I'd try and make a quick ice cream with what I had on hand.... custard powder, milk, sugar and cocoa powder. All the ingredients I needed for an experimental go at making chocolate ice cream.

Now I wasn't too sure how this would turn out so I only made a small batch, just a little over half a litre. I guess a little can go a long way if it taste good tonight.

I've looking through some of the ice cream posts on Foodbuzz lately and I have to say that an ice cream maker is way up high on my wish list. I saw a few makers when I was in Sydney and didn't really think much about buying any, but oh now I wish I did. Can you imagine being able to whip a batch of any flavour of ice cream within an hour or so. Any flavour... vanilla, mango, banana, just mix in any fruit of the season and you have got yourself some seriously yummy ice cream.

Well, here's my spin on my ice cream making skills ....without the ice cream maker.
... all ready for the England match tonight!

Chocolate Custard Ice Cream

570 ml full cream milk

2 1/2 tbsp custard powder

2 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder

5-6 tbsp sugar, to taste

1. Using a saucepan, combine all the ingredients and mix throughly until it is smooth. Constantly stir the custard and heat it over medium heat until the mixture has thicken. Remove from the heat and set it aside until it cools.

2. Place the custard into a container and stir it. Put the container into the freezer and stir it again in the next hour. Repeat this again for the next 2 hours. The constant stirring will prevent it becoming too hard. It should be ready to serve after about 3-4 hours in the freezer.

Jacob and Tristan enjoying their ice cream.

Father's Day Treat

2010-06-21T00:52:00.001+08:00

This Father's Day I thought I'd treat hubby to his choice of dessert and so I asked him what he wanted me to make for him..... Cheesecake! Well, I had to perfect cheesecake recipe I wanted to try out and this was that special occasion for it.

I found this Oreo and Yoghurt Baby Cheesecakes recipe posted by Denise @ Quickies On The Dinner Table. She made this delicious and oh so yummy treat for her son's 12th birthday and I've been wanting to make it ever since I saw it on Foodbuzz.

So thank you Denise for making our dessert time a special treat. We ate it all and planning on making another batch real soon.... This was Jacob's first time eating chocolate cookies and he had a real blast eating some of the remaining Oreos....Oreo crumbles and everything!

The Big Football Bite

2010-06-19T22:26:00.001+08:00

I'm struggling to keep up with all the matches and keep in tune with my fav teams Holland, Australia and England. I think I need nourishment and plenty of it to keep my cheering lungs strong for the matches tonight. Holland vs Japan followed by Australia vs Ghana.

It's a long night and I've planned it well with a supply of meaty Hamburgers with a choice of beef patties or chicken patties all on a crusty bun. It's got to big enough and filling for hubby and enough choices for those fussy eaters who like to a variety of patties and fillings. I made my own hamburger buns with a good crusty Italian bun recipe courtesy of What's Cookin' Italian Style Cuisine , a beef pattie, freshly cut tomato, homemade BBQ sauce and we are ready for GOALS!!!

Juicy Beef Hamburger

300 g beef mince

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 clove of garlic, crushed and finely chopped

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp basil

1 egg

1/2 cup of fresh breadcrumbs

2 tbsp homemade BBQ (tomato sauce, worcestershire sauce, coriander, cayenne pepper, paprika)

salt and ground black pepper

plain flour for coating

Tender Chicken Hamburgers

300 g chicken thigh fillets, minced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, crushed and finely chopped
1/2 tsp thyme
1 egg
1/2 cup of fresh breadcrumbs
2 tbsp homemade BBQ (tomato sauce, worcestershire sauce, coriander, cayenne pepper, paprika)
salt and ground black pepper
plain flour for coating

1. Using separate mixing bowls for each mixture, combine all the ingredients. Divide the mixture into quarters and shape it into balls.

2. Roll the balls into the flour and flatten them out into patties and place them on a plate. Refrigerate the patties until they are ready to served.

3. Heat about 1-2 tbsp of oil in a sauce pan and cook the patties, alternating each side until cooked. Serve on an Italian bun or any hamburger bun with freshly cut tomato, sauted onions and a splash of BBQ sauce.

Teddies at the Footy

2010-06-16T00:05:00.002+08:00

I know that you wouldn't normally find Teddies at the Footy but this World Cup they had first row seats at our place while we watched an earlier game, New Zealand vs Slovakia. I'm happy to say that both teams played well and had a draw at the game, 1-1.

As you can see my inspiration for the past few days has been the FIFA World Cup and my little Gingerbread Bears have been turned into football playing bears. I really wanted to do some icing and have them in our favourite teams; England, Australia and Holland but I thought about it again and it would have been too much work and too much of a sugar overload.

My football playing Gingerbread Bears!!!

I've posted my Gingerbread recipe before but I've added a bit of mixed spice to this one.

Gingerbread

125 g butter, soften

1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1 egg yolk

2 1/2 cup plain flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

4 tsp ground ginger

1/2 cup golden syrup

1/2 tsp mixed spice

Preheat oven to 180C.

1. Beat the butter & sugar until light and creamy.

2. Add egg yolk and beat until combined.

3 Sift the dry ingredients and stir into the butter mixture with the golden syrup.

4. Mix into a light dough and knead gently onto a lightly floured surface.

5. To shape the gingerbread you can either roll the dough in between 2 sheets of baking paper or hand shape it. The dough should be roughly 3 - 5mm in thickness for biscuit cutting. For a quicker way to shape the gingerbread I would smooth out a handful into my palm and use a flour biscuit cutter to cut out the shape rather than on the floured surface. The dough can be very sticky so be careful when using the rolled out method and remember the flour the biscuit cutter before you cut. You can use a variety of biscuit cutter so to make it interesting.

6. Bake for 10-12mins or until lightly brown. The gingerbread should be soft and chewy.

The Wholemeal Wonderbread

2010-06-15T00:01:00.001+08:00

So we are now on day 3 of the World Cup and I'm still recovering from that devastating game that Australia played. It wasn't very good but I still have hope for them...... but today is a new day and I'm happy to say that our household are also big supporters of the Netherlands. Why I hear you ask? Well my younger brother was born in Holland so we have been given our support to the Oranje.

And I'm happy to report that they played well and Holland won against Denmark. Yeah!!! We won!!!!

Well, getting back to World Cup snacks I've came across this really great wholemeal bread mix. I didn't make it from scratch myself but it's from this place that's known for it's bread so I hope that counts... good bread.

The kids love it, especially Tristan who doesn't really like any kind of "brown" bread but he was won over by the bread and he actually asked me to make it again. Now that totally won me over.

So anyway I'm just going to share with you my little secret.... It was so easy to make. Just add dry yeast and cold water. I didn't even have to proof the yeast!! It's also very cheap and in terms of buying a 600+g loaf of bread, which would cost you about RM3.40 to RM5.60, this whole pack made two large 600+g loaves.

Although it was easy to make, it hasn't taken away my interest in making bread from scratch. I'll still be experimenting with my bread making ..... successes and flops.

Socceroos Fever.... Aussie Aussie Aussie

2010-06-14T00:36:00.000+08:00

The moment is here: Australia vs Germany at the FIFA World Cup!!!!!

Go Aussie Aussie Aussie!!!!!!

The game starts at our time 2.30am and back in Australia it will start at 4.30am. I'm pretty sure all football fans in Australia are draped in tour national colours of green and gold, flying the Australian flag, fans singing Waltzing Matilda and Advance Australia Fair, all decked out with scarves, replica shirts or just anything to show our pride for our Aussie team.

Getting into the spirit of it all is what we'll be doing over here too. Although I'm miles away in Malaysia I'm still rallying up behind my country and cheering on my team. I know my brothers will be watching them as will many more as luck has been given to our home with the Queen celebrating her birthday so granting Aussie a well deserve day off.

I know it may be a long shot with all expectations for a win by Germany but just wouldn't it be nice for the underdogs, Australia to come in a take it all away with a win! I'm just hoping and praying for that win!

I know for tonight's snack I should have made something more in tune with an Aussie flavour like a good old Aussie Meat Pie, a sausage roll but I've settled for spring rolls. We'll be needing that extra spring in their kick to our win for tonight!

.... whatever the outcome I know Australia will play at their best and that will be all I could ever ask for.

Spring Rolls

300 g chicken fillet

1 packet of spring roll wrappers, small to medium about 50 pcs

5 stalks of coriander, chopped roughly

1/4 cup carrot, finely sliced

1 cup cabbage, finely sliced

1 packet rice vermicelli

1 cup hot water

1 small onion, chopped finely

2 cloves garlic, crushed and roughly chopped

1 tbsp soy sauce, or to taste

1 tbsp fish sauce or to taste

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1 - 2 cups of oil for shallow frying

1. Finely slice the chicken fillet leaving the skin on. Heat up some oil in a wok, add the onion, garlic, chicken, coriander, fish sauce, soy sauce and black pepper. Stir until cooked and add extra fish sauce or soy sauce to taste. Add 1/2 cup water if dry. Remove and set it aside.

2. In a bowl, add the vermicelli and hot water and soak until the noodles have soften. Remove the water. Add the remaining ingredients and stir throughly to coat all the ingredients.

3. Open up the spring roll packet and peel off an individual sheet. Using a dinner spoon, place the filling in the upper corner of the sheet and fold over the top corner followed by the sides and moisten with water the bottom corner before rolling to seal the roll. Repeat and set aside on a plate.

4. Heat the oil in a wok until it is hot enough to fry the rolls. Fry the rolls in batches and turn over to evenly cook. When the rolls are golden, remove and drain over paper towels. They should be crispy and golden, serve with Thai sweet chilli sauce or any sweet chilli sauce.

Snacks for the Big Night!

2010-06-12T23:45:00.003+08:00

So tonight or should I say this morning is the BIG day in our house.

It's ENGLAND vs US!

In a few moments this household is going to be glued to the tv watching the live telecast of the much anticipated game since 1950. The time when the US defeated England in the FIFA World Cup. And today we are going to be watching a rematch in this opening game for Group C at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in a place so far away from their homes. They will be the first teams amongst Slovenia and Algeria and will be fighting to win to make it to the finals of the World Cup. Just who will win?.... My prediction is ......England!!!!

Well, let's just watch the game and enjoy it..... It is after all just a "game"!!! (My hubby won't be pleased to hear that!) But really no matter what the outcome I've prepared the nerves and excitement for today with some snacks... Toasted Cinnamon Roll Chips and Cinnamon Rolls

Toasted Cinnamon Roll Chips

Cinnamon Rolls and some Milo Cinnamon Rolls

I'm a huge fan of cinnamon and I couldn't think of anything better than to make some Cinnamon Rolls for tonight's game and give it a bit of a twist by making some Toasted Cinnamon Roll Chips.

Cinnamon Rolls

7 g dry yeast

1/2 cup of warm water

1 tsp sugar

80g butter, melted

1/2 cup hot milk

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

1 egg

3 3/4 cup plain flour

Filling

3/4 cup sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon

1/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped

3 tbsp Milo for optional topping

50 g butter

1. Using a small bowl, dissolve the sugar and yeast into the warm water. Leave it for about 10 mins or until is becomes foamy. I always find it's better to add a bit of sugar to get the yeast going.

2. Using a larger bowl, combine the hot milk, butter, sugar, egg and salt. Stir it until it is well combined and then add the yeast mixture. Add the flour and mix it until it forms a dough. Add extra dough it is too moist. Knead the dough onto a floured surface for about 8 mins or until it more elastic. Grease the bowl with some oil and place the dough back into it until it becomes doubled, about 1 hour. I would normally turn the oven on at 180C for 3 mins and turn it off and then place the bowl with dough, covering it with a damp cloth and leave it there to proof, but this will only work with a metal bowl!... my mixing bowls are all enamel so this makes it easier.

3. Remove the dough once it has doubled and punch it down on a floured surface. Knead it again for about 5 mins and divide into 2. Roll it out into a rectangle and spread butter over all over it. Mix the sugar, walnuts and cinnamon and sprinkle in onto the butter dough. I added Milo to the other half of the dough just to try it out.

4. Roll up the dough and divide it into 12 equal 1inch slices and arrange them onto a baking tray. I use a 4' x 8' baking tray but you could also use a round baking pan. Sprinkle with some extra sugar on top. Repeat for the other half of the dough and bake them at a preheated 180C oven for about 25mins or until golden brown.

Toasted Cinnamon Roll Chips

6 cinnamon rolls

1. Using a bread knife, slice each cinnamon roll into 1cm slices and arrange them onto a baking tray. Bake them in a preheated 180C oven for about 12 mins or until they a golden and crispy.

I use to love buying this from St. Cinnamon so I was inspired to make them as a snack for the game.

World Cup Fever

2010-06-11T23:58:00.000+08:00

Tonight is the start of the FIFA World Cup and in this household our night time TV has been put on hold for the next 31 days. Yes it's that time again when hubby goes into serious TV mode. You see he's a huge football fan not soccer but FOOTBALL! He's very passionate about his English football club the Tottenham Hotspurs and a huge supporter of the England team since he was a 12 year old at boarding school.

English Premier League isn't in season so now our nights will be filled with the cheers for our favourite teams England and Australia .... or whoever is playing for the day. So to celebrate these upcoming 31 days I'll be concentrating on purely comfort foods to fuel our cheering lungs with and to keep us going for those 31 days.... 31 days ..... that's a long time to be playing football but I'm getting into the spirit of things so here we go with my opening special. A real treat for my hubby whose a meat and potato kind of man... Meatballs and Mash Potato and thrown in to that a good helping of Beef Garlic Sausages! I served the meatballs with the Bangers and Mash recipe and just drizzled the sauce over the meatballs.

Meatballs

300g beef mince

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

2 tbsp homemade spicy BBQ sauce

1/4 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp basil

pinch of cayenne pepper

pinch of ground black pepper & salt

1 egg

1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs

1/2 cup plain flour for coating

1. Using a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients until it is well mixed. Put it in the refrigerator for about 10 mins.

2. Remove the meat mixture from the fridge and using a heaped teaspoon roll it into meatballs. Dip the meatballs into the flour and place on a dish.

3. Heat oil (about 3 tbsp) in a fry pan. Fry the meatballs in batches and drain on a paper towel.

Lamingtons

2010-06-04T04:10:00.000+08:00

Lamingtons were always one of those goodies you would always find at a school bake sale. It's really an Aussie tradition just like the meat pie and pavlovas. I can remember whenever my brother's school had a lamingtion drive our house would be full to the brim with lamingtons. Lamingtons in the cake container, lamingtons in the fridge and lamingtons for later in the deep freeze!

Now a lamington isn't too bad. Actually is a pretty good cake. A little sponge cake dipped in chocolate icing and coated with desiccated coconut. Sometimes even with a layer of cream sandwiched between the sponges. A bit messy to make, especially with it comes to the dipping in the chocolate icing and coating it in the desiccated coconut but that also can be alot of fun part.

The lamington has been around over 100 years and was made in honour of Lord Lamington (Charles Cochrane-Baillie), who served as the Governor of Queensland. It was made accidently when there was nothing to serve to some guest but some leftover sponge cake, and a bit of chocolate icing, and some desiccated coconut. Imagine that!

Lamingtons

125 g butter

3/4 cup caster sugar

3 eggs

2 cups plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla essence

1/2 cup milk

icing

3 cups icing sugar

1 tbsp butter, melted

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/3 cup water

Preheat the oven to 180C.

1. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar using an electric mixer until it is light and creamy. Add the vanilla essence and mix well. Gradually add each egg on at a time and mix well.

2. Sift the flour and baking powder and fold it into the butter mixture using a metal spoon. Alternate this with the milk and mix well.

3. Line a lamington tin (20cm x 30cm) with grease paper. Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for about 25 to 30 mins or until cooked. Leave it to cool and refrigerate for about 2 hours or overnight.

Icing

1. Using a mixing bowl. Sift the icing sugar and cocoa. Add the butter and water and mix well until smooth, and slight runny.

2. Arrange the icing bowl, desiccated coconut in separate bowls. Prepare the cake by cutting it into small rectangles about 24 pcs. Using 2 forks, gently dip the cake into the icing and coat all sides with it. Drain off any excess icing and then roll the cake with the desiccated coconut. Gently pat the coconut onto the cake so that all the side are coated. Place it on a rack or a plate to dry and repeat for the other pieces. The whole process can be pretty messy when you dip the cake into the chocolate icing but the coconut will absorb most of the excess moisture from the icing.

3. When the cakes have been rolled in the coconut, place it in a container and refrigerate to firm it up. It should be ready to serve when it has been cooled for about 2 hours or overnight.

Pretzels

2010-05-30T23:58:00.000+08:00

I had this urge today to make pretzels so I thought I'd try to look up the origins of the pretzel. While scrolling down the list of articles, I came across one called the "Lenten Pretzel" by Fr. William Saunders. An interesting read about the origins of the pretzel and it's traditional beginnings as a symbol of faith during Lent.

It was interesting to learn that there is actual documentation describing the pretzel in a manuscript held by the Vatican Library. It was made during times of Lent when it is a time of reflection and pray and a period when you had to refain from eating meat or animal products. The pretzel was basically a bread which Italian monks in the 600s had made to remind everyone of this special time of pray and the shape of the pretzel was to symbolise the crossing of the arms in pray positon. They made them to give out to the faithful and some were also given to children for reciting their prays. And for this they were originally named bracelle, which is Latin for "little arms" and was also know as a pretiola, meaning "little reward" . Eventually the pretzel became very popular and evolved from a soft pretzel to a hard pretzel made more popularly by the Germans, who came to name them bretzel which somehow became the pretzel we know today. Interesting???!!! ... and today just so happens to be The Most Holy Trinity.

So here's my take on the pretzel adapted by a recipe by Christa Rose. I made a few adjustments and baked half of them like a bagel by boiling them first and the other just left to bake. Both were equally soft and buttery and I'll be adding different toppings when I make them again.

Pretzels

1 1/2 cup warm water

4 tsp dry yeast

1 tsp sugar

5 cups plain flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1/4 cup sea salt

1 egg, whisked with 1 tsp water

1. Dissolve the yeast and 1 tsp of sugar in the warm water. Set it aside until it is foamy, about 10 mins.

2. Using a large mixing bowl, add the plain flour, sugar, salt. Pour the yeast mixture and oil into the flour and combine. If it is a bit dry just add some more water and then knead it on a flour surface until is becomes a smooth dough. It should take about 8-10 mins and then place it in an oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and place it in a warm area. Leave the dough to rise until it has doubled, about an hour.

3. Preheat the oven to 180C.

4. When the dough has risen, remove it and punch out the air. Knead it again and divide it into 12 parts. Roll out the each piece into a rope about 40 cm long and twist it into a pretzel shape. This bit might be a bit tricky but I find if you hold both ends in a U shape and just twist it and lay it down it becomes easier and faster to make.

5. Place each pretzel on a baking tray with a greased piece of baking paper. Leave them to rise for about 15 mins. Brush them with a bit of the egg wash and sprinkle with the sea salt. For this recipe I experimented with baking half the batch by boiling it in a pot of hot water, just like a bagel and then brushed it with the egg wash and the other I baked normally. I didn't find any difference between the two methods as they were equally yummy!

Ravioli

2010-05-29T19:25:00.001+08:00

This first time I tasted ravioli was when I was in the 2nd grade at Taipei American School. My best friend Alex would always bring a flask of ravioli for lunch and I think this was the only thing she would bring for lunch. It was the canned type but it tasted really good compared to my sandwiches that I would bring from home. Small little pillows filled with meat and covered with a tomato sauce. I had never tasted anything like this before!

That's me in the yellow dress next to Alex in the blue dress and sitting next to her was my brother. It was my last day at school in Mrs B's class and on the way to our new home in Holland.

Alex was an American and she introduced me to lot of other foods which were strange to me at the time. Tomato soup with ABC noodles, macaroni and cheese, and I can remember for some reason always putting butter on my pasta and rice at her place..... We had alot of fun times, sleep overs and just playing by the pool with our other friend Juliette. So that's Alex where ever you are for introducing me to ravioli all those years ago.

Ravioli

Filling

300 g mince beef

1 small onion, chopped finely

1 clove garlic, chopped finely

2 tbsp parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp sweet basil

Sauce

410 g can tomato puree + 1 can water

1/4 cup dry red wine

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp basil

1 small onion, chopped finely

1 clove garlic, chopped finely

salt & pepper

Pasta

2 eggs

1 1/2 cup flour + 1/2 cup extra

Filling

1. Using a saucepan, heat up some oil and saute the onions and garlic. Remove and add this to the other ingredients in another mixing bowl and refrigerate until the pasta is ready.

Pasta

1. Using a mixing bowl, add the flour and make a well in the centre. Add the two eggs and use a fork to gradually mix the flour and egg together.
2. The dough will be a bit sticky so remove it from the bowl and place on a well floured surface. Add extra flour to the dough and knead it into a firm smooth dough.

Make sure you sprinkle enough flour so that it doesn't stick to the surface.
3. Divide the dough into 2 and taking one piece carefully roll it out until it is thin enough to pass through the widest setting of the pasta maker. Roll the dough through and section the dough into 3 parts and fold them over lapping each other. Roll the dough through the pasta maker again. It should be the smooth and uniform in width.
4. Roll the dough again but at the next setting. It should gradually get thinner. Roll the dough until the 2nd last setting or until it's about 2mm thick. Lay the pasta on a floured surface. Using the blunt edge of a knife mark a line along the middle of the length of the pasta sheet and along the other side making small squares.
5. Take out the filling from the fridge and use about 1/2 a teaspoon and place it in the centre of each square. Cover it with another layer of pasta and using a knife cut squares along the filling. Pinch along the sides to seal and use a fork to gently press along the edges.
6. Use a clean tea towel and spread the finished ravioli to dry while you finish making the rest of them. Transfer the ravioli to a plate and refrigerate until needed. You can also freeze them to use later.
Sauce
1. Using a saucepan, heat some oil and saute the onions and garlic. Add any leftover filling and cook over medium heat. Add in the tomato puree and 1 can of water and stir. Add the wine, herbs . Cover and simmer for about 15 mins. Add the salt and pepper to taste. Cook until the sauce has slightly thicken and set aside.
2. Use a saucepan and fill with 3/4 of water. Bring to the boil and add the ravioli. Cook in batches. The ravioli will float up when it is cooked it should take about 6 mins. Remove and drain the ravioli.
Reheat the sauce and add the ravioli. Serve the ravioli in individual bowls and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.