pReCiouS MoMentS

Announcement

2015-05-13T10:26:00.002+08:00

Recently a blogger posted a blog post about me stealing her recipes.

Here is my explanation on what are the steps that I had taken to ensure that it is in line with her criteria of rephrasing recipes that were taken from her blog.

You can read about it from:

Rumbling Tummy

Warning to Kitchen Tigress - a cyber bully?

2015-05-12T14:27:00.002+08:00

Kitchen Tigress, this is a 2nd warning to you

Remove my photos and your malicious remarks from your blog by today,

12 May 2015.

I am giving you up to 12am Singapore time to do so.

If not, I will have you prosecuted.

Source: Media Literary Council

There is also the offence of criminal defamation under section 499 of the Penal Code. If you write or say something with the intention to harm, or have reason to believe that your words will cause harm to the reputation of the person, you have committed criminal defamation. There are exceptions however: it is not defamation if you are expressing an honest opinion about how the person is conducting his public functions, or about his character in relation to how he is carrying out his public functions. The penalty for criminal defamation is imprisonment for a term which may extend to 2 years, or with a fine.

An ending

2013-01-02T10:40:00.000+08:00

Update: I started blogging once again at Rumbling Tummy. Do visit me and drop by to say hello.

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you are well rested and recharged to welcome the new year.

Decision time. I will be shutting down this 7 years old blog of mine for good. It was a tough decision as Precious Moments had been really close to my heart.

Well in life, we just need to face it.

As mentioned, blogging is still part of me. It allows me to keep connected with others as many friendship were formed through this journey. Thus, I will still continue to blog but will be on another platform.

For those who supported this blog diligently, always letting me know that you are here and stood by me at when I am at my lowest, the comments meant a thousand hugs to me.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much.

I will be leaving this blog open till 23 Jan 2013. After that it will be shut for good.

Hugs
Edith

A break

2012-11-15T09:46:00.000+08:00

Been working really hard for the past 10 odd months and it is time for me to take a break.

I also have been thinking of re-looking into my objective for this blog as I am not sure whether from next year onward, I will omit all my parenting woes and write strictly on tried and tested recipes.

It is hard for me to talk just about food and not my parenting after 7 long years as this was how Precious Moments got started. An outlet for me, as a parent to release bottled up frustration in dealing with the day to day responsibility. I am also getting tired of being judged all the time by readers out there. To understand exactly how I pull through each day, one has to be in my shoes to understand.

If the decision is to just talk about food, then Precious Moments will come to a closure.

After all, be it good or bad, they are part of me and they are all, precious moments in my life. It also represent me a mom and as a wife.

Blogging is still very part of me as it did help me in my learning curve, thus, if I take this route, then a new blog will be born.

All these are just ideas brewing in my mind so I am taking this one month break to give myself some time to see a better and clearer picture moving forward.

In the meantime, have a great Thanksgiving.

Till then, Arriverdeci.

Ban Jiang Kueh

2012-11-10T13:21:00.001+08:00

I am not sure whether I am allergy to something but ever since the weather turned cold, I kept having either a blocked nose or a running nose. Some days, I will just keep on sneezing and some day it was okay.

This morning, I was woken up by a blocked nose. Couldn't go back to sleep as my dearest next to me started snoring.

The first thought that came to mind after I woke up was Ban Jiang Kueh. Crazy as it sounds, but there are mornings that I will crave for something to eat.

Decided not to waste time trying to go back to sleep. I got out of bed and went in search of a recipe. I know I had one tucked away somewhere but I am not going to go through my huge pile of “to do” list early in the morning.

So this is what I found from Simply June.

The result was not what I expected though hubby said it was okay. I also find that the batter was way too thick, thus I added in more water at the last minute.

Overall, this is not what I am looking.

So friends, if you have more any good recipe that you know, hope you can share with me. Thanks.

Have a great weekend.

For my reference, I am noting down the recipe.

What you need:

170g plain flour
100g rice flour
30g corn starch
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
200g water
80g sugar

Method:

Whisk everything together in a bowl. Cling wrapped and chilled for 3 hours.

Grease pan and pour batter.

Cook till crisp on the side.

Cranberry Yogurt Chiffon Cake

2012-11-07T08:43:00.000+08:00

I need much assurance and confidence when baking a chiffon or a sponge cake. My success rate for such is generally quite low. Thus though I love chiffon cakes, you can hardly see me baking it.

But I told myself that this year I need to work on it and hopefully made some improvement.

The year is coming nearly to an end but yet I didn't practice as much as I should have.

With a lovely gift from 最爱的。。。, I found no more excuses for my lack of discipline.

Next year, I promise that you see more chiffon cakes coming out of this kitchen.

I don't know why the exterior is a little damp feel but luckily the texture is good.

As I didn't want to damage the outlook of the cake, I was worried that 6 eggs batter couldn't fit into this and create 5 cupcakes out of it. Will check with IY for the next attempt.

Thanks IY for your thoughtfulness.

Note: Sorry won't be able to share this as the recipe is still being taught.

Egg white cake

2012-11-06T08:03:00.000+08:00

While packing my baking pan drawers, I found this bundt pan that my sister in law helped me to buy while they were back for a holiday two years ago. You guess right, it has been a white elephant in my drawer for TWO WHOLE years! Back then, the baking supply shop in Bt Timah that stock a wide variety of bundt pans wasn't in operation yet and that was why I asked her. One thing for sure, it wasn't an impulsive purchase though.

I just love the heavy feel of this baking pan and the sharp lines that it create speaks volume of a good quality pan.

Anyway, am trying to clear my pantry and fridge. Had so much leftover egg white that I was wondering how else I can use them quickly besides baking macaroons which I am sure these will be super liked by son.

Found this on the cyberworld and it looks really pretty. The crust contrasting with the inner texture of the cake.

It is soft but I think it is good if we pair it off with some fruit frosting.

Source: Nami Nami

What you need:

180g egg whites
250g castor sugar (set aside 2 tbsp)
160g plain flour
27g potato starch
1 tsp baking powder
100g melted butter

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 deg.

Whisk the egg white till foamy and add in the 2 tbsp of sugar. Whisk till stiff peak.

Sift plain flour, potato starch and baking powder.

Add the remaining sugar to the flour mixture.

Fold in the flour mixture into the egg white mixture.

Lastly fold in the melted butter.

Pour batter into the greased mould and bake for 30 - 40 mins or till golden brown.

Otah Bun

2012-11-05T11:25:00.001+08:00

I was craving for something savoury last week. Chwee Kueh came to mind but I was just too lazy to either drive to our popular haunt to buy or even to prepare it myself. Then I started to crave for Otah. Yes, this is manageable as I got hubby to drive me to Jln Kayu (the parking there is a nightmare these days). After trying so many manufacturers, this one is still our favourite.

I am beginning to think that this snack will be the best way to train my little girl in eating spicy food.

With Otah Bun in mind with the remaining sticks, I went on to look for a straight forward bread recipe. Too impatient to wait for double the proofing time thus this straight dough method will be the most ideal.

I have got this book for years but never really attempt on any of it. So perfect opportunity now.

A little crazy to have Otah bread for breakfast as it is a little hard on the stomache in the early morning but what the heck, life is short.

Source: The world of Bread

What you need:

A
480g bread flour
120g plain flour
110g sugar
10g salt
20g milk powder
15g instant yeast

B
1 egg
291g cold water

C
60g butter

1 egg, beaten (for glazing)

Method:

Combine A thoroughly and add in B. Knead till full incorporated.

Add C and knead till elastic.

Proof for 45 min or double in volume.

Punch down and weight approx 60g of dough.

Wrap the otah and let it proof for 10 mins.

Brush egg wash.

Baked at 180 deg for 10 - 15 mins.

Dark Chocolate Chip Cookie

2012-11-04T16:41:00.004+08:00

I doubt it is because of the rain that I am feeling cold in my own home. The second half of the year is beginning to feel like autumn!

Both hubby and I are homebody people. We dislike going to the malls. In fact, we like to rot at home being a couch potatoes catching up on CSI, Criminal Minds and AFC.

One trailer from AFC was The Best Thing I Ever that Rocco DiSpirito was raving on and on about was the Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies from a reputable bakery in NY. From the way the celebrity described it. It will be a mistake not to eat it.

Perhaps you have read about my unpleasant trip to NY two years ago. Was stuck in a blizzard and didn't really have a chance to explore New York fully. The only day trip that we had ended up really nasty that left me with a bad impression of New Yorkers and the place.

Then again, I have many friends who enjoyed it and thus I would definitely want to go back again, perhaps not in Winter season. Unfortunately hubby has far more interesting destination in mind and want to venture those in future. So I guess I won't have much chance going back again.

Since I won’t have a chance in this city in the near future, I decided to try my luck on the cyberworld and guess what I found. A copycat recipe as what the author mentioned.

These cookies came out just in time for son to come home from his Confirmation Camp.

Thanks My Baking Addiction, my chocolate fans at home all gave a double thumbs up for it! They couldn't resist biting it while still warm.

What I find is that when eaten hot, it is still crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. The texture then changed after it is completely cooled so I am not really sure this is the closest to the original. If you like intense chocolate cookies, these are definitely your type of tea.

Nevertheless, now I must find somewhere to hide it before it is all gone before the weekend ended.

What you need:

240g cold butter
200g castor sugar
2 eggs
45g dark cocoa powder
329g plain flour
1/4 tsp coarse salt
1 tsp baking powder
442g semi sweet chocolate chip

Method:

Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy.

Add in egg one at a time.

Mixed in the cocoa powder till well combined

Sift in plain flour, baking powder and salt. Mixed to form a dough.

Add in chocolate chip and mixed thoroughly.

Using a big ice cream scoop, scoop the dough and space them 2 - 3 " apart.

Baked at 180 deg for 10 - 15 mins.

Devil Food Chocolate Cake

2012-11-01T08:34:00.000+08:00

We left with two more months for 2012. My girl was just commenting that this year passes by really quickly. I guess when your days are jammed packed with activities, time goes by more quickly.

In a blink of an eye, we already lived here for 6 months. Fast isn't it?

Today I invited a bunch of mommies from my girl's kinder time to come by for breakfast as most of them haven’t been here before. I can't believe that I had known them for 7 years already.

Actually time isn't the factor for friendship. I have learnt that chemistry does. For some, even if you know them for a long time yet you feel that don't really know them truly. For others, chemistry just hits in and it just fitted well as if you have been long time friend. Am I confusing?

Anyway, I wanted to bake some cakes as well as some savoury items for our breakfast yak but as some couldn’t make it, I decided not to prepare too much.

Here are some new recipes that I attempted.

First on the list was Chocolate loaf cheesecake. I chose this because it has lots of cheeses. Unfortunately, the taste didn’t really come through well and the chocolate was weak as well.

Note: This cake surprisingly tasted so much better the next day. Won't mind baking this again.

Next was a cake I had intended to bake for a long time. It has a strange name and very interesting method of preparing for this one. It is called Seckill Chocolate Cake. Sounds cruel? I am always on a constant look out for new baking method.

I might have over baked on this one but what I like is that it yields a very nice tall cake. In fact, this will be my tallest cake attempt. I didn’t follow the ganache recipe as provided but used my own.

I will retry this one once I have time. I believe it will produce a nice texture if I haven’t over baked it.

Overall, my guests love this. Perhaps the ganache saved the cake.

Last on the list was Devil Food Chocolate Cake. I believe I had baked such cake before and it was good as well.

For this one, the texture was good but the height was disappointing as I didn't read her instruction properly. I will definitely try again on this one but either double or triple the portion when I used a 7" pan. I think using the recipe and bake it in a 6” pan will be good for a small family.

It definitely went well with the cream cheese frosting I must say. I didn’t follow the recipe for the cream cheese as I used my discretion.

Overall, my mommy guests and little guests all enjoyed the cakes.

I just so love impromptu decision as it makes it more fun and exciting. Last minute, we decided that we should go pick up our kids and have lunch at my place. The kids had such great time that they decided to meet up again after church to have dinner together.

Boy, don’t I love last minute decision. It makes it so exciting and fun. Not only the mommies had a blast, I am sure those little ones too.

Thanks for a wonderful day.

Chocolate Loaf Cheesecake
adapted from Cheesecake Mania by Kevin Chai

What you need:

150g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cocoa powder
3 eggs
150g castor sugar
100g butter
200g cream cheese
30g chocolate
20g grated cheddar cheese

Method

Grease and lined a 4X8" loaf pan. Preheat oven to 180 deg.

Melt butter, cream cheese and chocolate over a double boiler. Beat till it is smooth. Set aside to cool.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa powder together. Set aside.

Whisk eggs and sugar well.

Add in sifted ingredients and mixed till well blended.

Add cream cheese mixture to the batter and blended till fully incorporated.

Pour into pan and sprinkle grated cheddar cheese over it.

Bake for 40 mins or till golden brown.

****************************

Seckill Chocolate Cake
Source: 《美味糕点新主张》by 薛纪娟) and Simply Love 2 bake

What you need:

Chocolate Chiffon Cake

50g vegetable oil
80g milk
15g cocoa powder
100g bittersweet chocolate
90g egg yolk (approx 6 eggs @ 63g)
180g egg white
120g castor sugar
75g cake flour (sifted)

Chocolate Ganache

150g dairy whipping cream/ heavy cream
120g bittersweet chocolate
12g butter

Method:

Greased and lined 2 X 6” round baking pan. Preheat oven to 150 ºC.

Bring oil and milk to a gentle boil, remove from heat and add in cocoa powder. Mix well and add chocolate and mix till chocolate melted.

Add egg yolks, one at a time, mix till well blended.

Beat egg white till foamy, add sugar in 3 additions, and beat till soft peak (70-80%) (7-8分发) (When lifted, the tip of the meringue has soft and small bend).

Take 1/3 of the meringue to mix with the chocolate mixture using a rubber spatula till 80% incorporated (need not mix till fully incorporated). Fold in 1/3 of flour gently, mix till just incorporated. Fold in remaining meringue and flour alternatively to form even chocolate batter.

Divide batter into 2 pans. Baked @ 150 ºC for 20 mins and @ 175C ºC for the last 10-15 mins.

Bang the cake on tabletop once it is out from the oven and invert to cool the cake. Loosen the side with a small knife and unmould after the cake has cool down completely.

Place cool cake on wire rack with a tray/bowl underneath and pour chocolate ganache on the centre of the cake, use both hands to hold the wire rack and swirl to let the ganache cover the whole cake.

Chill for at least 30 mins or until the ganache is set before serving.

Chocolate ganache

Heat cream till bubbles at the side, remove and pour into chocolate. Let it sit for a few mins and stir till chocolate melts.

Add in butter and stir till it is glossy.

***********************

Devil Food Chocolate Cake
Source: Bisous A Toi

What you need:

135g plain flour

26g cocoa powder

¾ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

98g castor sugar

½ cup brown sugar

65g butter

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

¼ cup buttermilk

½ cup warm water

Method:

Sift plain flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Cream sugars and butter till light and fluffy.

Add in egg.

Alternate flour and buttermilk mixture into 3 and 2 portion respectively into the batter.

Divide into 2 portion and bake at 170 ºC for 30 mins.

Cream Cheese Frosting

200g cream cheese

100g butter

150g icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp lemon juice

Method:

Sift icing sugar into the above ingredients and beat till light and fluffy.

Done by love

2012-10-30T21:51:00.001+08:00

My little 10 years old is showing keen interest in the kitchen. Few nights ago, she saw me watching a cooking demo on You Tube and she got really interested and spent the next few nights watching the whole series.

In fact, last night she told me that she intend to cook for us today. Thus we woke up early and went to the market and supermarket to put together this meal.

It took her ages to prepare and seeing her painstakingly and so intense in putting together this dinner, marvel us.

Despite a very late dinner, with her brother being her sous chef and helper as supervision, this meal was finally presented on the table.

She was a little over ambition and soon lost the patience as her brother was complaining that he is hungry but nevertheless, though incomplete but this meal is definitely far better than any 5 stars.

Don't you agree?

Source: Ochikeron

Omurice

Healthy Pan-Fried Minced Cutlet (Menchi Katsu)

Our love dinner done by my two little angels, this dinner was eaten with such pleasure and warm fuzzy feeling.

We were so proud of these two kids, from now onwards, I no longer need to worry about putting food on the table.

Fish paste omelette roll

2012-10-23T19:20:00.000+08:00

My mom used to complain that she is tired of thinking up the menu daily. I can't blame her as she has to cook two main meals a day.

During her era she doesn't have the internet as inspiration. I am blessed in a way that I have many friends who love to bake and cook and they are my inspiration! Thanks gals!

I have tried buying fish paste at the supermarket before and I hated it. When we were young, mom will travel all the way to Chinatown wet market to get 西刀鱼肉 which is my favourite. I remembered those are really fresh and there is always a queue for it.

While checking out my facebook, I saw someone posted this fish paste omelette roll and it looks yummy. Since my kids love omelette, I decided to give this a try from the usual uninspiring recipe that we always used. Thanks to AL who pointed out to me where I can get some decent fish paste.

My girl had fun helping out frying the omelette and dicing the onions and chillies.

Indeed a nice change from the boring omelette that I used to prepare for the family.

Next on the list was an impromptu decision to do a steam dish. My family is not really tuned to eating much steamed food (only have to blame myself) but I am glad that they were happily lapping up this Steamed Pork Patties with pickle vegetable 冬菜 !

Sorry for the poor lighting as it was getting dark by the time I finished cooking.

Am really exciting as my little one will be done with her exam by tomorrow! Yes, time to start planning fun activities to do.

Roti Prata

2012-10-21T11:23:00.000+08:00

Though hubby was home this weekend but we were unable to really do something fun as a family as it is the last weekend that little one can spent the time doing last minute revision as well as getting composed.

Even though we spent time at home, we didn't really do full force revision as I didn't want her to be stressed out after all, there were lots of extra time from tuition this week as well.

Thus we rest and relax in between and doing things that were relaxing. Like making Roti Prata and cooking Ipoh Hor Fun which my little girl has been requesting.

Actually I spent the last few nights watching YouTube on lots of How To. One video caught my attention was How to flip a Roti Prata taken from ieatishootipost. Dr Tay is really comprehensive and the instruction was detailed and with a video that I finds interesting. Yes I am a visual person. Words lost me most of the time.

So I went about gathering all the necessary ingredients. Of course not the 25kg flour that he lugged home. I substituted it with his recommendation.

Anyway, I don’t know what got into me but I somehow read the instruction wrongly. Geesh, didn’t I say comprehensive and yet I made this blunder. Of course I have to be blamed because I was way too eager to start off. You see, my kiddos love Roti Prata! I remembered my son ate this for the WHOLE year during his primary school days.

It is also this dish that he started picking up spicy food.

Now it is my girl’s turn. She won’t touch anything spicy except those curries that come with Roti Prata.

Every Halloween, we will make a trip down to our favourite Roti Prata place after our trick or treat. It is quite funny walking into the restaurant with those hideous make up and getting all the stares on my kiddos. Anyway, this year, we won’t be able to do it as little one is having her tuition. Pity but I guess we will have to move on from here.

So here I present you my home made Roti Prata with store bought Mutton Curry that is available near my place. Actually I wasn't happy with the outcome last night and done another batch right after.

Overall, I was able to achieve the crispy exterior except it is rather bland but once dipped with curry, it makes up for it. After trying twice, my conclusion is that you got to stretch the dough really thin. I was pretty clumsy with the flipping method and thus opted for the second recommendation that was the lay and stretch method. Try to stretch it as much as possible and paying attention to the rim of the dough as tendency of leaving a thick "rim" if overlooked. This will results in a dough like texture on the prata. Personally I find that it helps with more oil so that it won't break that easily.

Will I consider this a success? Yes! Next one I will try the tenderly version.

Thanks Dr Tay for all your hard work in researching!

And as for dinner, we had Ipoh Hor Fun. This dish definitely brought back fond memories of my childhood days living in the East. Its sure been a long time since I last prepared this one dish meal. The last time I cooked this was way back in 2005! Gosh! that was long time ago.

Even though it is one of my favourite but I don't know why I hardly cooked this at home.

I guess it must be good for my girl finished her dinner first! (for she usually the last to finish). Guess I should cook this more often from now on.

Ipoh Hor Fun

What you need:
Serve: 5

2 packet Hor Fun (rice noodle)
4 chicken breast or tigh (steamed and shred)
chicken broth (I prepared it with two chicken breasts, four carcasses)

3/4 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp light soya sauce
1 tbsp dark soya sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce

pepper
2 tbsp potato starch
Chye Sim

Braised Mushroom

Method:

Steam your chicken. Keep the juice from the chicken. (I find this more flavourful than cooking it in the broth)

Bring chicken broth, fish sauce, soya sauce, the juice from the steaming and pepper to a boil. Adjust the flavour to your liking. Depending on how dark you prefer, add your dark soya sauce accordingly. (Reserve two ladles full of stock for braising the mushroom).

After getting the taste right, mix the potato starch with water and slowly pour into your sauce, stirring constantly.

The broth will thickens. I didn't like mine to be so starchy, so tune accordingly.

Cook your noodle, pour the sauce over it and add the shredded chicken and vegetable

Serve with a dash of sambal chilli if you prefer it hot.

Braised mushroom

2 ladles of chicken stock

10 mushrooms (soaked, and sliced thinly)

1 piece of pork skin

Light Soya sauce

Dark soya sauce

Oyster sauce

Pepper

Method:

Put the above into a pot. Fill with another cup of water and bring it to a boil.

Season with soya sauce, dark soya sauce and oyster sauce to your liking. Add pepper.

Slowly simmer for ½ hour till mushroom is soft.

*****************************
Source: ieatishootipost (please refer to Dr Tay's site for full demo on flipping the prata and as well as comprehensive understanding on how to make a good prata)

Crispy Roti Prata

What you need:

600g Plain Flour

300ml Water

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp Oil

1 egg

Method:

Mix liquid and whisk them well together.

Add in dry ingredients and mixed well.

Sit for 20 mins.

Knead for 10 min with 5 min interval on speed 2 in KA. Repeat cycle if you wanted a softer dough.

Divide dough into balls (100g) each, making sure there isn’t any crack or fold lines.

Oil the dough generously before placing them into a container to proof for 8 hours or more.

After proofing, place balled dough into a well oiled table top. Flatten with your palm and do the lay and pull stretch method until you reached a very fine membrane looking dough. Oil generously throughout process, making sure the rim of the dough is thinned out.

Once you reached that texture, fold the dough. (pls see Dr Tay’s video).

Heat frying pan with oil and pan fry till crisp.

Serve with your favourite curry.

Mochi Pancake

2012-10-18T18:54:00.001+08:00

Son came home yesterday to announce that he flunked three subjects. Seeing how he worked for it, I am not surprised with this result. Naturally, I am disappointed because he is capable of much better results but he is just not motivated to work for it. Till yesterday, he is still clueless what he wanted in life or what is his inspiration. Was it that I was engrossed dealing with his ADHD that I overlooked to teach him inspiration and dreams?

Today, his VP talked to him and he told me that he is actually worried that he might not be able to get promoted. As his mom, I suddenly felt a tinge of joy that he realised by now that not every time is play time. There are moments in life that you got to be dead serious.

Now I can only surrender son totally to HIM and pray that all will be well and a chance for son to show his potential. He is already asking for tuition and I am really surprised.

Today will be the last home bound day for my girl. I am glad that she took it quite positively despite all the extra tuitions and revision that she done. At least, she has tried her best effort and that is the most important. Whatever results that she attained no longer matters to us.

Having said that, I wished that the school will hold the exam earlier than later, it is hard to have the big one playing and the small one having to study but I am glad that my little one did try her best to hold her attention.

When exam spread out into 3 weeks, it is really tough. She seems to be studying all the time. Lucky for me, this little one is really easy to motivate and sensible for her age. She is able to sit all by herself to do her revision without me worrying whether she is focusing or playing. I am truly blessed that I have a balance between these two kids.

The weather has been awesome as well. Though wet but not terribly humid.

These 4 days, girl and I enjoyed each other's company tremendously. I will rope her in our meal preparation and baking during her study break so that she can de-stress and I think she enjoyed it for last night, girl requested that we made breakfast together this morning.

I took out a mochi pancake recipe that I have been keeping and waiting for opportunity to make. We sure had fun making these. Instead of making them in a pan, we turned them into balls in my Ebleskiver pan that VA's hubby gave me during his trip here.

Now we are off to some shopping before yet another tuition.

I am praying hard that he will mature in time for his “O” level next year.

Source: Adapted from LaFuma

What you need:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup mochiko (sweet rice flour)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon grated orange zest

Method:

Whisk together the flours, granulated sugar, baking powder, allspice, and salt in a large bowl.

Separate the egg whites into a medium-size bowl, and the yolks into a small bowl. Whisk the egg yolks with the milk, oil, and orange zest.

Stir the milk mixture into the the flour mixture until just combined.

Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer on high speed until stiff, but not dry, peaks form. (When the beaters are lifted, the egg whites should hold a firm peak that droops slightly at the top.)

Put about a third of the beaten egg whites on top of the batter. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter. (Slice down through the center of the mixtures with a rubber spatula, then pull the spatula up along the side of the bowl and over the top, gently incorporating the beaten egg whites with the batter. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the process until the egg whites have been incorporated.)

Add the rest of the egg whites and gently fold them in until no white streaks remain, taking care not to deflate the batter too much. Use the batter right away.

Preheat a pan medium heat and add in a little butter or oil.

Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the batter into the greased pan and let it cook. Flip over the ball and continue cooking till the dough is done and golden.

Serve with chocolate sauce or maple syrup.

Stir fry pork with salted vegetable

2012-10-17T08:31:00.001+08:00

These days, it is really difficult to have mommy's home cooked food. As she ages, cooking for the family takes a toll on her health. Thus, our gathering are normally pot luck style or store bought.

Well, she deserves a break. After all, she has been cooking for the family for 30 years or so.

Of course, my kids misses her home made soup but I am now trying to live up to that expectation. Still have lots to improve on though. Call me a slow learner, as I started cooking seriously once I become a home maker and to date, I still have not master that 够火 taste. Anyway, enough of that soup talk.

Besides making soup, mom excel in cooking and baking too. There are so many dishes that cling onto my childhood memories. One of them is Stir fry pork with salted vegetable.

A simple dish but yet so satisfying. Even my help who doesn't take leftover kept it for herself the next day.

What you need:

Pork fillet, cut into thin strip
Salted vegetable (soaked in water to reduce saltiness)
Chillies, cut into thin strip
minced garlic
soya sauce
sesame oil
pepper
Corn flour

Method:

Soaked salted vegetable to the level of saltiness that you like. For me, I soak it for 2 - 3 hours. Squeeze dry. Cut into strip.

Marinate pork with soya sauce, sesame oil, pepper and corn flour.

Heat up wok till hot, put in salted vegetable and dry fry for a min or two. Remove.

Add oil and stir fry garlic till fragrant.

Add in pork and stir fry.

Add in salted vegetable and mixed well.

Add a little water and bring to a boil.

Add in chillies (I add in last as I am afraid the chillies is spicy for my girl but you can add in together with the salted vegetable.)

Season to taste.

Serve with jasmine rice.

Coffee and Ricotta Marbled Cake

2012-10-16T20:51:00.004+08:00

I have known VZ many years ago during my party days. Time seems to stand still for her as she still looks bloody gorgeous after all these years! God is definitely very very kind to her. In fact, she never age at all.

Love that beautiful smile and bubbly personality of hers that never failed to brighten up my day with her around.

The last when she was in town, we didn't have a chance to meet up but I am glad that this time round, we did.

Since she has a bottomless tummy, this spread is prepared specially for her.

An interesting recipe that I found on a book that I loaned from the library, I immediately taken to it as I have everything on hand this week. Very interesting baking method as well. Glad that VZ likes this Coffee and Ricotta Marbled cake.

The perks of having friends that bake, I can always tap on to their inspiration. Like this The Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookie that GL from Flour Away posted on her facebook. Haiz.... every now and then, someone will proclaim that they found the best ever chocolate chip cookie. For me, it is up to you to judge whether this is the final "The best ever chocolate chip cookie" or not.

Let's say, my son is going to go crazy over these again as he loves cookies with chocolate chip.

Another recipe from GL's inspiration was the Thick Chewy Oatmeal Cookies. This one is me that will go crazy with as I always love such combination. I omitted the nuts as my girl doesn't like it.

Preparing these two recipes also created a great bonding moments with my girl. She is now getting quite an expert in weighing ingredients out and identifying them as well. She even can tell the difference between baking powder and baking soda and not add them blindly to the flour.

Though I know that ZY has sweet tooth but just in case, her taste bud changed for the day, I added in a savoury one. Surprisingly, she also liked this Cheddar Cheese with Dill Muffin.

Personally I felt I should have added either more cheese or salt to it. Overall texture is still soft though.

I had an awesome afternoon with ZY. I wish her success in her new job as well as fulfilling her dream. Hugs to you my dear friend and see you soon.

Despite a wonderful day, I also experienced a heart ache. I chipped my induction cooker! Don't ask me how it happened for I am clueless but as helper was cleaning up, she wiped off that chip from the cooker. Is it a quality issue with this brand?

Then I spent whatever time I had today to troubleshoot a wireless problem with my computer. After getting a sore back, I finally managed to get it up and running again for girl to complete her e learning for the day.

So overall, today is still good. Trying not to think of my chipped induction cooker though ... ouch.

Source: Dan Lepard

Coffee and Ricotta Marbled Cake

What you need:

2 tbsp ground coffee
125g unsalted butter, softened
200g caster sugar
200g plain flour
150g ricotta
2 large eggs
2½ tsp baking powder
25ml Marsala or dark rum

Method:

Line the base and sides of a 17cm long loaf tin or similar with non-stick baking paper and heat the oven to 180 ºC.

Put the coffee in a cup, stir in 25ml of boiling water and leave to infuse for 10 minutes.

Beat the butter and sugar until soft and light, then measure the flour into a small bowl, spoon about a quarter in with the butter mixture and beat until smooth.

Beat in the ricotta, then the eggs, one at a time.

Sift in the baking powder and the remaining flour, and beat lightly.

Divide the mixture in half and beat the coffee through one half and the Marsala through the other.

Spoon the mixture in alternate blobs into the tin, tap the tin firmly on the worktop to knock out any air bubbles, swirl the batter gently with a skewer and bake for 50-60 minutes.

********************

Source: Savoury Sweet Life

The BEST Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yield : 48 pcs

What you need:

230g salted butter, softened

100g sugar

280g brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

347g plain flour

¾ tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1½ tsp baking powder

340g semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method:

Preheat oven to 180ºC. Lined baking sheet.

Cream butter, sugar, and brown sugar until it is nice and fluffy.

Add both eggs and vanilla and beat for an additional 2 minutes.

Sift baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flour and add into cookie batter. Beat till fully incorporated.

Finally add chocolate chips until well distributed. The cookie batter should be somewhat thick.

Drop about 2 tablespoons of dough or use a medium cookie scoop and plop the batter onto a baking sheet.

Bake for 12-14 minutes until the edges are nice and golden brown.

Remove from heat and allow the cookies to stay on the cookie sheet for an additional 2 minutes.

Transfer to cooling rack to cool further.

Store in airtight container.

*******************************

Source: Smitten Kitchen

Thick Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

Yield : 24 pcs

What you need:

115g butter, softened
125g light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
½ tsp vanilla extract
95g plain flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp salt

120g rolled oats
120g raisins
65g walnuts, chopped (optional)

Method:

Preheat oven to 175°C.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth.

In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. Stir this into the butter/sugar mixture.

Stir in the oats, raisins and walnuts, if using them.

Chill the dough and then scoop it onto a sheet.

Bake them for 10 to 12 minutes.

Let them sit on the hot baking sheet for five minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool.

*********************

Cheddar Cheese Muffins

What you need:

250g plain flour
1 tbsp castor sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
60g salted butter, melted
1 tbsp chopped fresh dill
200g Cheddar cheese,cut small cube

Method

Preheat oven to 190 deg. Grease a muffin tray.

Stir and toss the flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.

Whisk together the egg, milk, melted butter and herb until smooth.

Add in cheese and whisk till mixed well.

Add to the dry ingredients and stir just till blended.

Scoop into tray till 3/4 and bake for 20 mins or till golden brown.

Cool in tin for a 3 mins and remove .

Serve with either butter or cream.

Onion Tart

2012-10-14T15:00:00.000+08:00

Ever since son is done with his exam, he is basically living in either his bed or on the couch!

I am sure, by now, you know what is that magnetic force is, that actually glued my hyper-active son to be able to sit down for hours! It is that damn PHONE and his PSP!

Yes, these days, kids evolved around gadgets so much into their life that they can't live without them! They lacked the social skill, they lacked the communication skill and they lacked all skills that deal with human!

The standard of communication got lost in the lingo that me, this generation finds it hard to comprehend. They don’t seem to be able to form thoughts and feelings into one proper sentence anymore.

Though my son loves to read, his English was never powerful! He doesn’t even know that you need to begin with Capital letter after a Full Stop! Unbelievable isn’t it?

One might question, why in the first place I provided those gadgets! I was once told off by a “so called good friend” that if I deprived my child from material stuff, he will end up stealing!

To date, I still stood firm my belief whether a wants and needs for my child. I refused to supply my kids with the latest gadgets or material things. I need to teach my child the values rather than succumb to peers’ influence.

Well, to cut long story short, the phone was intended for communication between him and me. Unfortunately, with the advance technology, it is hard to find a basic phone with the standard phone subscription. Thus the list of promises NOT TO DO was signed on the dotted line.

Then again, the phrase "promises are meant to broken" exists in son's dictionary and that becomes a challenge.

As for the PSP, it was a gift by my sister to reward him for doing well in his PSLE. Luckily, this was only available during school holiday and now after exam.

Enough said, I am really tired of dealing with this. He better pray that he won't exceed his sms quota this month, if not, it will leave me with no alternative but to have his phone grounded again!

Since I can't get my son off those couch, I managed to get my hubby and girl to help me with lunch today. Girl was helping me with the crust pastry while hubby was grating the cheese.

I had wanted to bake an Onion Tart for the longest time. I was totally blown away by SY's onion tart that she bought to my house last year. Unfortunately I didn't manage to get her recipe and thus I lifted one off the internet.

My girl and I love it! It was sweet and tasty. The gruyere cheese really blends very well with this recipe. I like the crust too.

Next was the Smoked Salmon Quiche. The smoked salmon was a gift from LT's NZ trip. Didn't really know how else to eat it and thus I turned it into a Smoked Salmon Quiche. After all, I never attempt on Quiche before.

KW also came by to give me some plants and I invited him for lunch.

Seems like the boys all preferred the Smoked Salmon Quiche! Personally, I think I can still improved on this. Son commented a little salt will be perfect.

Overall, we had a very filling lunch and all of us are happy and guess what, my little one is so proud of herself for helping to prepare lunch.

Milo Agar Agar

2012-10-11T16:40:00.003+08:00

I slept really badly last night. Somewhere in the neighbourhood, a dog was barking way into the night. I guess hubby by now is used to such barks but for me, I am still coping with it.

Then I was hit with cramps again. It must be the bad sitting posture I had yesterday while researching on the internet.

Anyway, this morning, we were blessed with awesome weather. A great morning for my boy to do his cross country event in school. Yes, he was among the top 10th and gotten a medal!

For me, I volunteered my service, selling ice popsicle! Nice to be connected once again with these group of mommies and daddies. These days, it is a common sight to see daddies being involved in such events. Awesome isn't it? Some days, I wished my hubby can find time to do so too but unfortunately this is not the case.

I came home slumped, totally drained. Trying to nap but since it is not my habit, I couldn't.

With such fine cooling weather, I decided to make some Milo Agar Agar for my girl. She loves Milo! Always craving for Milo Dinosaur that she will prepare herself.

It sure been a while since I last done jelly. This recipe was tried out way back in 2005. I seriously had no idea whether it came from me or taken from somewhere. If so, I am sorry that I didn't credit you back then and till now I still don't know who is the original.

I'm submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #24 (October 2012): Jellies and Puddings hosted by Charmaine of MiMi Bakery House

What you need:

Chocolate Layer

8g agar agar powder
1¾ cups water
75g sugar
¾ cup Milo powder

Milk Layer

11g agar agar powder
1½ cup water
75g sugar
1 can Full Cream Evaporated Milk
2 tbsp cream

Method

Chocolate Layer

Mix agar agar powder, sugar and milo.

Add in water and bring to a boil, stirring till sugar melted and agar agar powder dissolved. Strain.

Pour mixture into jelly mould (rinsed with water).

Allow to set, then lightly scratch surface with fork.

Milk Layer

Mix agar agar powder and sugar.

Add water and bring to a boil, stirring till sugar melted and agar agar powder dissolved.

Stir in evaporated milk and cream. Strain.

Pour gently over chocolate layer.

Chill till set.

Caramel Croissant Pudding

2012-10-09T17:19:00.002+08:00

Today, son is done with his examination for the year. Looking back, time seriously just flew past in the blink of an eye.

He will very soon embark on a challenging year next and I believe a stressful year for the parents too. I am praying hard now that he will “wake up” from his slumber and give his 100% by then. Was told that by 16, maturity will starts to set in and hopefully he will be more self motivated and able to find his goal in life.

Next year, I predict will be a very tough year for me as well. Son is sitting for his “O” level and daughter is adjusting to Primary 5 life. Was told by all her tutors that they are expecting a tough year and we have to prepare our kids in order for them to be comfortable with PSLE! Yikes!

In fact they are all taking this Nov and Dec to prepare the kids as the difficulty level jumped tremendous from primary 4 to primary 5. All of them frowned upon my year end plan. It is like “you must be kidding to do this?” When we get back, we will have to work doubly hard or more to catch up.

Nevertheless, I am focusing on my girl now. Every encouragement will give her that confidence level to do her best.

Two more weeks to go and we will be free! Yes!

Now let’s me share with you this absolutely delicious dessert that we will be having later. Caramel Croissant Pudding. Believe me it is finger lickin good!

I bet you never see such a flat pudding before, since this is my first time baking such pudding, I didn't know it will deflat upon cooled. I should have used a smaller and deeper baking casserole instead.

Helper and I totally agree that this is delicious. Now I will wait for my man and kids to judge later.

I'm submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #24 (October 2012): Jellies and Puddings hosted by Charmaine of MiMi Bakery House

Source: Modified slightly from Nigella Lawson's

What you need:

10 mini croissant
100g sugar
3 tbsp water
1 cup cream
2 tbsp rum
1 cup milk
3 eggs beaten

Method:

Melt sugar and water and continue to simmer till it turns amber.

Slowly pour in the cream. Stirring constantly till sugar is fully incorporated into the cream.

Add in rum and milk. Stir well.

Add in beaten egg and continue to heat till semi thicken.

Pour into the croissant and let it sit for 10 mins.

Bake in 180 deg for 20 mins or till golden brown.

Sesame oil chicken

2012-10-08T12:26:00.000+08:00

These days, after my breakfast and morning paper, I will turn on my computer to pay bills and check on emails. En route, will hop into Facebook to "kaypoh" what my friends have been up to. Since I am at it, I will start planning our meals for the day.

Today, both kids will be home early. Son is sitting for his second last paper and girl's CCA ended as they prepare for their final year exam.

Lunch is usually a simple affair. One dish meal.

For dinner, tonight we will have chicken that initially meant for my chicken curry. After a quick surf from the internet to get inspiration, I decided on Sesame Oil Chicken.

Remembering sesame can warm the body, I decided this should be the dish for tonight as the sinseh commented that son's feet and hands are cold, an indication that his blood flow is not in healthy range. His advice is to wean off cold drinks. The worst to come was that he will develop tumour in his 50s if he doesn't take care. Geesh.... I totally freak out.

Son being son, he will never heed such advice and mom being mom, will be at her wits' on how to make him stronger. So let's hope this dish will bring some heat back to his body.

Now I am off to search for remedy on how to improve blood circulation diet for him and I will have to put him back into that 田七 diet again.

What you need:

1 kg chicken (I used thighs), chopped to pieces
5 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp peanut oil
15 slices of young ginger, sliced thinly (you may reduce or increase to your liking)
250ml water
1 tbsp dark soya sauce
2 tbsp light soya sauce

salt and pepper to taste

a splash of cognac or DOM (optional)

Method:

Heat both oil till hot. Add in ginger shreds and fry till fragrant.

Add in chicken pieces, and stir fry together with the ginger shreds.

Add in water, both sauces and bring to a boil.

Lower heat and slowly simmer for 20 - 30 mins or until chicken is tender and soft.

Season with salt and pepper.

Serve hot with rice.

You can now add a splash of cognac or DOM which is optional (for confinement, you can increase the sesame oil, ginger and wine).

Lor Mai Kai

2012-10-07T20:28:00.000+08:00

Time flies, looking back, I have been into blogging since 2005 and had organised quite a few bloggers' get together.   I enjoyed tremendously in meeting bloggers that I have been following. It is always nice to put a face to a blog that you have been visiting and broaden up our social circle, especially for homemakers.

The greatest joy is to have like minded people coming together to yak over meals that each prepared. We brought to reality those yummy dishes that we drooled over while we blog hopped, we also share our kitchen experiences and knowledge with each other.

This particular afternoon, the sharing was an eye opener for me. I also get to learn more from others’ parenting journey.  The sharing is immensely enriching. Thank you ladies! Next round, I will definitely organised one for us as well as for our kids.

For this gathering, initially I wanted to cook curry but since I have been cooking curries for my previous parties, I should make some changes.

My little one had been eating Lor Mai Kai from school quite often. She said it is the easiest as she need not have to queue long for her food during recess time.

Since I have not venture into this type of recipe, I decided to give it a go. I am please that I gotten good feedback from it. Next round, I will not be too health conscience about it and add in a little chicken fats. Guess no harm if it is not on a daily diet.

Thanks to YA for bringing home a bottle of this super hot chilli sauce from Sabah. Luckily EN warned us about the potency of this sauce. A very good compliment sauce to my lor mai kai!

Now let me share my lovely scrumptious feast I had this afternoon.

From ScrumPtious-FlaVours - Durian and Strawberry cream puff. Totally to die for.

From Cook with No Books - Orr Nee. One of my all time favourite Teochew dessert.

From 最爱的, this chocolate muffins is intense and delish!

From The Batter Baker - Coconut and Pineapple Cheesecake, after this one, I am now a coconut convert.

From Cosy Bake - Marble Cheese cake - Look pretty and taste good.

Thanks girls giving up your family time and spending the afternoon with me. Also thanks for your generous flowers and gift.

A wonderful afternoon I had. Hope you did too.

Lor Mai Kai (Steamed Chicken Glutinous Rice)

What you need:

1kg chicken (best use chicken thigh, sliced into strips with skin on as it taste better)

Marinating sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsp Shao Xing wine
1 tsp dark soya sauce
2 tsp light soya sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp ginger juice
1 tsp pepper
1 tbsp corn flour

1 kg glutinous rice (washed and soaked overnight)

6 tbsp oil
50g dried mushroom (soaked till soft and sliced into strips)
10 shallots, sliced

3 tsp salt
1 tbsp dark soya sauce
1 1/2 tsp five spice powder (get from medical hall for better quality)

1 litre of water

Garnishing

red chillies
spring onions
fried shallots

Method:

Season chicken with marinating sauce for 1 hour or best overnight (chilled).

Fry sliced shallot with oil till brown and fragrant. Remove but leave a little oil inside the wok.

Add in sliced mushroom and fry till fragrant. Removed

Add in 2 tbsp shallot oil in the wok, and add in soak glutinous rice and mixed in the fried shallots.

Add in salt, dark soya and light soya sauce into the water.

Add in seasoned water into rice and gently mixed till shallots is well distributed. Slowly simmer and kept stirring till water is reduced and rice is semi cooked.

Greased cup with oil and arrange chicken strips and mushroom to cover the base. Next add in the glutinous rice.

Using a gloved hand, firmly pressed the rice to the cups. Make sure it is level.

Steam for 30min or till cooked.

Garnish and serve hot.

Beef Rendang (Rendang Padang)

2012-09-30T20:32:00.000+08:00

I have got no moon cakes to show on this night as we have already eaten all homemade as I blogged about before.

We spent the festival as my family gathered together, this time each of us cooked up a dish or two. Unfortunately we were too busy eating that we didn't manage to capture all the dishes that we prepared.

For me, I cooked Beef Rendang (Rendang Padang) as I was craving for it and dad likes spicy food as well.

After dinner, we proceed on to admire the moon and have our store bought moon cakes that my sisters brought over. It was tooth achingly sweet. Next year, I will plan to make my moon cakes nearer to the festival instead.

The moon was not impressive tonight. Usually it was huge and round but tonight, it is keeping its distance.

We did have fun lighting up candles though.

The next morning, my girl told me that the moon was stunning when she was getting ready for school.

Did we get the date wrong?

What you need:

1/2 kg beef, cut into medium sized pieces
1 turmeric leaf (cut into big pieces)
4 kaffir lime leaves
3 cm thick galangal - bruised
1 stalk of lemon grass
salt to taste
500g chilled coconut milk (you can get from supermarket)
1 cup water (add more if it evaporate quickly before meat turns soft)

Spices to grind

35 chilli padi, deseed (add more if you like it spicy)
12 shallots
3 cloves garic

ginger (half your thumb size)

Method:

Heat wok and add oil (approx 3-4 tsbp).

Fry grinded spices till fragrant.

Add chicken pieces and stir till beef is well coated with spices.

Add in turmeric leaves, kaffir lime leaves, ginger and lemongrass.

Add in coconut milk with water and bring to a boil.

Lower heat and simmer till meat is soft and tender.

Cinnamon Apple Walnut Torte

2012-09-21T21:32:00.002+08:00

I have never been good in this field that is, looking for a good tutor for my kids. Actually I am not even sure how you classified good tutors?

Grade producer or motivation encourager?

For my son's primary education, I went through two Chinese tutors for him before I decided to give up Chinese. Both just couldn't handle my son and both walked out on us on the eve of a test.

Then came Prelim and I was worried when I saw the result. Got another that charged me S$100 per hour and while he was here, he will be texting away or having toilet break (big business) while my son is doing assessment. I tolerated for a few lesson and in the end I told him that I am expecting him to help my son to attain As. I fired him after when he said it takes two hands to clap? If you didn't even put in effort to see whether you can motivate my son further how do you know that my child will not respond?

Then I had another that is constantly on medical leave. So in the end, I should say that my son's PSLE result was 100% son's effort. He could have done better as all the teachers' expected but we have no complains about his aggregate. He did get into the school of our choice.

5 years down the road, for my little one, we had no choice as she was falling behind all her peers and her started feeling insecure. I even got the school special need teacher to examine her but the result was negative. Some how some where, she just couldn't comprehend the syllabus being taught in school.

I blame the inefficient teachers thus I had to outsource as the syllabus is way past what I know during son's time. It is not that I cannot derive the answers but the method in approaching how it is being solved is different.

Anyway, I am glad that I found a Chinese tutor that can motivate my girl and now she is enjoying this subject that was her weakest.

Her English also seems to be slight improvement but unfortunately the class size is so big that the tutor has problem focusing on individual. So I am really not too sure whether I need to seek out another.

As for her Math and Science tutor, this one is totally out. If you are telling me that my girl lacks the foundation or basic, then why are you still pushing her to do past year papers and not helping her to comprehend those topics that you said she lacks?

Now I am on the path once again, seeking help from experienced mom that knows actually what is good and bad tutors.

Let's hope the Ministry will do something about tutors who obviously are out to earn big money and trying to help a child to gain knowledge.

Enough of this housewife's ranting, see what I baked today .... a Cinnamon Apple Walnut Torte. A mouthful isn't it?

Initially I had no plan to join this round of Aspiring Baker as I was busy with my project.

Pause.

Let's have some story time. I bought 5 Granny Smith apples with the intension of making apple pie. The day I wanted to bake it, I found only two remaining so there goes my plan.

I know my girl and I don't like green apples unless they are cooked, hubby is not a big fan of green apple and son is way too lazy to dig into the fruit compartment. Now you tell me where is the missing link? Well, she denied so what can I do with two apples left but to make Cinnamon Apple Walnut Torte. If not, it will go into the bin again (as I said before, for these past few months, I have been throwing food away way too often)

I saw THB is hosting this recipe from Coffee Cakes by Lou Seibert Pappas, and it fitted perfectly to my two green apples! yea no wastage!

I have eaten chocolate torte but not one with fruit base. It tasted like a pudding without sauce. Thus I made some caramel sauce and as girl requested for vanilla ice cream last week, I had some still in the freezer.

So this is how I pair it off.

Will I make this again? ehhh... I doubt so.

I'm submitting this post to :

Aspiring Bakers #23: Desserts On A Plate (September 2012)

What you need:

2 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
36g cake flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
120g roughly chopped walnuts
2 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 tbsp caster sugar

Method:

Preheat the oven to 170 deg. Greased and lined baking pan.

Beat eggs until frothy and beat in brown sugar and vanilla until light.

In another bowl, stir the flour, salt and 1/2 tsp cinnamon to blend. Stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture.

Reserve a handful of walnuts for the topping. Mix the remaining nuts, apples and cranberries into the batter, spread into the prepared pan.

Bake for 25 mins or until the cake is set and golden brown. Let cool slightly and serve warm.

Caramel Sauce

Heat pan and add in 4 tbsp sugar. Melt till it become golden.

Add in a tbsp of butter and stir till it melts.

Vanilla Ice Cream (Adapted from The Perfect Scoop )

Vanilla Ice Cream

1 cup milk
A pinch of salt
150g sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 cups heavy cream
5 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Method:

Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the milk with a paring knife, then add the bean pod to the milk. Cover, remove from heat, and infuse for one hour.

Set a strainer over the top of the smaller bowl and pour the cream into the bowl.

In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks. Rewarm the milk then gradually pour some of the milk into the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. Scrape the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan.

Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula.

Strain the custard into the heavy cream. Stir over the ice until cool, add the vanilla extract, then refrigerate to chill thoroughly. Preferably overnight.

Remove the vanilla bean and freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Grilled Chicken

2012-09-20T20:43:00.001+08:00

I have to tell myself that from now onwards, I need to work in the morning while my helper cleans. I also need to monitor her closely if I give her those ad hoc cleaning.

Take for instance, on Tuesday, I asked her to clean the study room's shelving. She told me that the job is done when I came home after an errand. Yesterday, while trying to retrieve some files, my hands were coated with dust. Thus I spent the afternoon, watching her clean. Yes literally sat there and watch.

I came to a conclusion that her school paper qualification might not be real. For I doubt with such qualification, how can one not able to do a simple task as to take down the books/files, clean and put it back in the exact order. Her reasoning was that she will forget!

Anyway, I have no time or energy to worry about that. As long as she won't show me a black face when I wanted it to redo, I am closing both eyes.

Also I need to remember not to bake when she is around me. Her constant calling really distract me from my work.

Yes, I can't have best of both worlds. I rather one like this, blur and slow than one that is smart, rude and steal.

After having Chinese food for the last few weeks, I decided to add some variety to our meals. Since I am busy working on my project, I needed a fuss free recipe and able to get dinner done within an hour.

The last BBQ, I had this nice marinate that I took from Jaime Oliver's website. I decided use to that again but instead of BBQing it, I pan grilled it using my HCP.

Am pleased my objective is achieved and dinner was served on time and allowed my kids to start their revision early so that they can go to bed earlier and have some ME time for themselves.

I prepared the marinate sauce a day earlier. You can actually do it and store them in the fridge.

Source: Jaime Oliver

What you need:

4 chicken tighs
1 tbsp cumin powder
2 tbsp fennel seeds
5 cloves
salt (to taste)
pepper
lemon thyme
rosemary
1 orange zest
1 bulb garlic
4 tsp chilli powder
6 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp tomato paste
8 tbsp olive oil
10 bay leaves

Method:

Marinate the chicken and leave it in the fridge for a few hours (to allow the sauce to penetrate into the chicken)

Heat up HCP and grill chicken till brown.

Remove and add the remaining sauce. Put in a little starch slurry to thicken the sauce. Bring to a boil.

Sieve the sauce to remove all the spices. You can season with salt and pepper.

Pour over the grilled chicken. Serve hot and mashed potatoes and salad.

Cream Cheese Bun

2012-09-17T10:00:00.000+08:00

I haven't been cooking or baking these few days. Partly because I have been out shopping and spending time with family members. All the wonderful stuff right? hehehe... actually I don't really enjoy shopping. I shop for necessity these days.

The house modem suddenly broke down. You know how it is like without internet when we are so used to it. So this item was not something that we can procrastinate. Bought a booster but I am now having a hard time getting it to be connected! But at least the internet is now working.

I took the opportunity also to get some clothing for the kids especially the warm ones as they had long outgrown them.

With the exam getting near, I thought this might be a better time to do some shopping (a way to distress) rather than later as I will be scrambling to get the house neat and tidy and all bills paid off before we head off.

Now let's talk about food. While at the mall, after dinner with my parents and sister, we past by a bakery that was famous for their Cream Cheese Bun. Since there wasn't a queue and the tray was just fresh out from the oven, we took the opportunity and bought a few.

My daughter was really cute. She was eagerly waiting for the bun to cool down so that she can eat it. Before she took a bite, she makes a comment: "Mom, what happened to the bun? What it is so small now?"

We had a good laugh over her comments. She just loves to eat.

Anyway, I tasted one this morning, and straight way I didn't like it. I could taste cheap mayo in it!

Thus I decided to bake my own!

My trial wasn’t a smooth one. Cooking the Tang Zhong was not a problem, forgetting to put it into the main dough was!

You see, I panicked after seeing how dry my dough, quickly text my dear friend W who is an expert in baking. While waiting for her to respond, I played the Smart Alec and added milk. Only when I added in did I realised that I actually forgotten my Tang Zhong. Hahaa no wonder it was dry!

Damaged done, and I didn’t want to throw away the dough as it was a double batch. So I added in more flour to make it manageable. The dough raise beautifully and boy am I pleased.

Getting the cream cheese wrapped was not an issue as I have chilled it so it was not too soft to handle. After the final proofing, the cheese actually leaked. Not all though but some. Guess I didn’t close the dough properly.

Using 190ºC, I am not use whether it is too hot for the buns as it browns quickly @ 8 mins. I flipped the buns over and put on another baking tray on it, compressing it a little. Still my buns didn’t turn out flat like those in the bakery, perhaps I should use more pressure but yet I was afraid the cheese will leak even more.

Note: I need to add in approx 3 tsp of cream cheese in order to see more cheese fillings.

Verdict: Overall, I won’t rate my experience as successful but definitely it didn’t get a F for it. Because of my past experience with Tang Zhong, I believe the fault lies in me with this recipe.

Bye bye cream cheese that tasted like cheap mayo!

Source: ScrumPtious-FlaVours

Tangzhong （汤种）:

Ingredient:

50g Bread flour
250g water

Method:

In a mixing bowl mix the flour and water over low fire, keep stirring until it reach 65°C then switch it off.

Use plastic wrap to cover the dough to prevent the top layer dry up and let it cool down before use.

Dough Ingredients:

456g Bread Flour
120g Plain Flour
12g Yeast
60g Sugar
6g Salt
240g fresh milk
60g Egg w/o shell, beaten
144g Tangzhong （汤种）
60g Unsalted Butter

Method:

Put all the ingredients in a mixing bowl except salt and butter and mix well.
Mix to a dough then add in salt and butter and knead to a soft dough.

Take out the dough and shape it round and cover a plastic wrap and let it proof for the 1st time to double in size.

When the dough has proof to double in size divide the dough to 60g each and shape with some raisin into a round shape and proof for the 2nd time for another 15mins 20mins.

Flatten the dough and wrap with cheese filling, put on the baking tray and let it proof for the last time to double size.

Bake at 190°C for 10mins then turn over the bread to the other side and place a tray on top of the bread and bake for another 10mins.

Cream cheese Fillings

Ingredients

250g cream cheese

80g icing sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
Raisin

Method:

Beat cream cheese and icing sugar together till it is smooth.

Add in lemon juice

Chill.