pReCiouS MoMentS

Yet another left over

2012-02-09T14:24:00.000+08:00

It is not my tradition to buy Nian Gao for Lunar New Year. This sweet sticky cake is not a hot favourite with my kids. I bought one small one just to make the Nian Gao Rolls weeks ago.

Then JY gave me another three, 1 big and two small so now I have so many nian gao left. Then I realised that I bought a yam as well. Now don’t ask me why too for I can’t remember. So back to tradition method, Nian Gao Fritters!

This snack is great when eaten hot as it has a nice crisp to it. I also love the fluffy yam that goes with it. A nice balance to overcome the sweetness of Nian Gao.

Now I am wondering how else to finish off the rest of the Nian Gao. Perhaps I would follow Anncoo's Journal's and just coat it with freshly grated coconut.

Time really flies. Today is a rest day for my daughter and me. No tuition day as I call it.

Today, I read with interest on the topic that was published in the Straits Times.

Basically it boiled down to our Education System. The high demand they wanted from our children thus resulted in Kiasu and kiasi parents (a local term we used for being paranoid)

I attended a workshop held by the school last Friday and I felt so disgusted and left the school.

The expectation from this education system is simply nonsensical. No wonder the kids lost their childhood. No wonder more are seeking psychiatrist’s help.

During my son’s time, we refused to succumb. We let our son have a good childhood by playing. Sad to say, when it comes to my daughter’s turn, we relented. Not because we wanted a top soccer but because her confidence level was greatly affected by the system.

Seeing how she is living her life, I felt so heart pain for her. She basically has no life, yet if I don’t give her that help. She was turning into some one who is insecure. She felt so demoralised when she can’t attempt questions that was given in class!

After giving her that extra help, I have noticed a vast improvement from her attitude towards that particular subject. She is now enjoying it.

Thus I felt so torn.

Personally, it really boils down to our school system – sieving the cream of the crop to become future leaders. I really think this is a heavy price to pay and at the expense of many Singaporeans.

Have you any idea what this so called banding (basic and foundation) will do to these children? Have you ever wonder why the government is building bigger and grander ITE? Have you ever wonder how come so many teachers are quitting their profession and turned into entrepreneurs?

Coincidentally, I just got to know a successful lawyer who is uprooting and heading off to Australia. His reason is that it is just too painful to see his kids going through this education system.

Sad isn’t it?

Left over

2012-02-08T09:02:00.004+08:00

As usual, we have so much left over Mandarin Oranges despite not buying any this year. Each year, half will be left to rot and thrown. I felt so bad. This year, since we are not having guests over, our initial plan was just to buy a small box but we were presented with three boxes instead.

I am not sure whether you experience this. For me, after eating too much of this fruit, I tend to develop sore throat and then follow by a cough.

A tip from a doctor, she advice me to always wash the Mandarin Oranges, it is the chemical on the skin that causes us to have sore throat as we uses our hands to peel the skin and touches the fruits before we pop them into our mouth.

So this year, I did wash all my oranges but unfortunately, after the exchange of oranges, I overlooked this part and now guess what, I am down with sore throat again.

Thus I can't really tell whether the doctor's advice really works or not. Well, I will try this method more diligently next year and let you know the outcome.

My girl loves Mandarin Oranges but she is so daunted by those seeds.

Since I am not feeling chirpy and strong and am definitely not in mood for baking but yet I wanted to prepare something for dessert.

I have some left over Yuzu juice from a dessert I prepared awhile ago and I have packets of Konnyaku Jelly powder. So the quickiest and easiest way is to make Yuzu and Mandarin Orange jello. Bingo!

Many years ago, I made konnyaku jello from scratch. That is konnyaku powder with citric acid. These days, it cost so much to buy a bottle and yet I can't guarantee I will used all up within a time frame so ready made packet is a way to go for me now.

Perfect choice as it really sooth that scratchy throat and best of all, my little princess loves it!

What you need:

1 packet of Konnyaku Jelly Powder
850ml Yuzu juice (I like a firmer texture)
3 tbsp of Yuzu concentrated juice
Mandarin orange segments (remove pits and skin)

Method:

Mixed everything except the fruits and bring to a boil.

Pour into mould and add in mandarin orange.

Set aside to set and chill.

Serve cold.

Last Day Celebration

2012-02-06T09:03:00.003+08:00

Today marks the last day of the Lunar New Year . This year, it is an extremely laid back for us. With hubby off for a week, besides visiting my relatives and meeting up with my college classmates, we basically stay home most of the time.

Anyway, for yesterday's gathering at LS's place, I wanted to try my hand at preparing Yu Sheng as it looks really easy after seeing how my sister prepared it. Also my mom gave me a bag of those ready made condiments that goes with it, so it should be really easy peasy job.

Unfortunately I used the wrong size plate for my mandolin and ended up with thick shreds instead of thin ones. I didn't really have time to explore another option as I had to rush to church.

I used smoked salmon instead of raw as I didn't want to risk food contamination during this period.

Overall, it tasted not that bad except that if the shreds are finer, it would have been better.

To end this festive period, I have gotten another award. Yes, it definitely feel sweet.

Kitchen Flavours actually presented two awards but since I had already done the Libester Award, I will not repeat it again.

Thanks for thinking of me. You definitely make my day.

To carry on, I am following it to the following bloggers. Please do accept this award and forward it to 10 other blogger friends of your choice.

Table for two or more
Small small baker
Honey Bee Sweets
Travelling Foodies
Tasted and Tested
The batter baker
Piggy Journal
Sugar and everything nice
Happy Home Baking
Yummy Bakes

So now girls, go have some fun.

Childhood memory

2012-02-03T15:15:00.000+08:00

As my mom is a home maker, we are blessed to get home cooked food daily.

Soup is compulsory while I was growing up. Not every meal is an elaborate one of course. There will be days, simple and yet delicious are enough to satisfy a hubby and 4 growing kids.

One such dish that I enjoy is Stir fry Luffa with eggs. I tried making this dish sometime back but I bought a bad one. It was dry.

Thus when I saw some really fresh looking luffa available in the wet market, I just bought one home! I guess the colour of the luffa tells its freshnest!

Felt so nice to be receiving a Liebster Blog award from Yummy Bakes. Especially when Liebster actually means favourite or dearest in German. Thanks Chris!

Sure been a long time since I last seen award passing around. A nice gesture to keep fellow bloggers in mind and continue to motivate them further.

Rules for accepting the award:

Thank the person who gave the award and link back to their blog.
- Copy and paste the award to your blog.
- Reveal the 5 blogs you have chosen to award and let them know by commenting on their blog.
- Hope they pass it forward by accepting and awarding it to bloggers they would like to honour.

Off hand, here are the five favourite blogs that I would to share this award with:

1. Do What I Like - a blog that I first looked up to for cake baking. Her recipes never fail.
2. Bisous À Toi - a great blog as well as a great food stylist.
3. Kokken 69 - a flair in balancing simple and yet elegant styling.
4. Frozen Wings - for always coming up with new ideas and a great inspiration for me.
5. Cuisine Paradise. Making homecooked meal look simple and yet delicious.

Of course there are more than 5 blogs that are my favourite! Don't be sad for you are not forgotten.

Change of weather

2012-02-02T11:11:00.000+08:00

Once a week, we will have either Fried Rice or Bee Hoon Soup for lunch.

Personally, I love Fried Rice. I love the fact that it is easy to put together. Over the years, I am proud to say that I had learnt how to fry a good plate of Fried Rice. So let me present to you our lunch for today. Lup Cheong Fried Rice 腊肠抄饭.

Recently I was told that Fried Rice is actually classified as "heaty" food. Since it is starting to get really humid with the change in weather and topped off with consuming so much Lunar New Year goodies such as Bak Kwa. The Chinese believe we need to balance the yin and yang elements in our body.

Son also started his trice a week soccer training, I also noticed that not only is he really tanned now, he also looks heaty. His lips are constantly red and swollen. As usual, it takes so much effort just to coax him to drink plain water.

Thus I have been boiling herbal tea for the family. Saw fresh cane in the market and brew Fresh Cane and water chestnut Drink （馬蹄竹蔗）for us all.

I usually get the seller to shorten the cane for me so that it is fits nicely into a pot. Cane are really strong and needed a strong and sharp cleaver to do the job.

This drink can ease off the heatiness of our body and we love having it chilled.

What you need:
For 3 serving

2 stick of fresh cane
15 pcs fresh water chestnut
black sugar

Method

Brush and clean water chestnut well.

Chop the cane into shorter stick. Slit them.

Add 1.5 litre of water.

Boil for 1/2 hour and add black sugar (according to your sweetness level)

Serve either warm or chilled.

I am improving

2012-02-01T21:50:00.000+08:00

Last night, my son started his nonsense again. I guess I had forgotten my promise to myself that I will not let him torture me again.

Sometime I think he did it on purpose especially knowing that his dad is not around.

I was really upset when hubby called. I willed myself not to talk about son to hubby. I chose to change topic and talk about something happier, I refused to let my son’s issue came between us.

After a night of rest, I am a little happier today. Despite helper kept bringing up that suicide incident, I was still able to keep my mood up today. I refused to let myself get sucked into it.

While waiting for my girl to be done with school, I met another mom. She was sharing with me her pain in raising her 18 years old son. In my heart, I was getting the “oh no”, for from her description, hers is so much identical to mine. Haizz…. I need to get myself mentally prepared for another 3-4 such painful years.

Came home and wanted to bake something. With so much egg white left from the output of our ice cream making and making CNY goodies, I just had to clear them off slowly.

Well actually it was WY that reminded me I had this book and it sure been a long time since I attempt more recipes from it. All bookmarked but no action.

As most of my baking tins are already packed, I had to make do with those that are available. So using Chwee Kueh mould, I turned them into cute little Vanilla Financiers and Green Tea Financiers.

As usual, green tea isn’t my little one’s favourite, she prefers the vanilla.

Verdict: The vanilla is more moist than the green tea flavour but the taste of green tea is good. Perhaps I will decrease the flour ratio with green tea powder next round.

I am so glad it is mid week. Today starts my first lesson in Pilates and it was fun. Thanks to AL for babysitting and feeding my girl after her tuition.

A close shave

2012-01-30T17:49:00.005+08:00

I have been extremely busy. After baking the first round of cookies for my mom, I didn't get a chance to bake the second round till the eve of Lunar New Year.

I was busy throwing or giving stuff away the last couple of days before Lunar New Year.

Things were all over the place and the system that I set down was all messed up. Barbies and their accessories were all messed up. Lego were all over the place. Board games' parts were misplaced. All were conveniently being packed and stored, ready for the move. I was freaking out!

Unused toys finally found new owners and I am glad that it brought smiles.

.... okay enough of toys drama .... let’s move on to my bake...

as I mentioned earlier, I only found time to bake on the eve of Lunar New Year.

As I still have pineapple jam left and already I had given away the first round of tart making, a good excuse to experiment with more recipes.

For this one, I had chosen Zu's Pineapple Tart (Closed tart with clove). I believe I had made these before but somehow I can't recall which year.

Verdict: Hubby and JY love this version. For me, I find it a little sweet. I must remember to omit the icing sugar the next round.

Next was supposedly to be Dragon cookies. I had baked these before but thinking that this year will be Dragon year, it might be a good idea to have these as Lunar New Year goodies. Unfortunately, things didn't work out.

I had the same problem as last time even though I used another recipe. Piping is near impossible. As I was getting really tired, I decided just to roll them into balls and flatten it.

Verdict: Taste wise, freshly baked, it tasted like Kueh Bangkit without the fragrant of coconut. As it matured, it tasted better. I will attempt this cookie until I find a recipe that allows easy piping.

Didn't had a chance to post or rather too lazy to take any pictures earlier on till now ....

as I wanted to pen down my feelings for today.

As I was checking on my emails, I heard a loud scream. Didn't give much thought to it as this place is popular for school kids to do their adventure treasure hunt or orientation events as it is near Kallang River.

About half hour or less, my helper informed me that there are many people downstairs and the police had cordoned off the car park.

The tape was circle round with my car parked inside. Out of curiosity, I walked to the other end of the corridor and looked down, saw a red patch just 2 feet away from my car. Yes, directly behind my car boot!

Luckily today I decided to park a little away from the curb!

I hesitated for a moment, for I don't know whether I should move my car or not. Also the fear of seeing blood (I have blood phobia).

Finally I summed up my courage, went down stair, gave my particular to the police and without even checking my car, I drove off and parked in the furthest lot that I can find.

The feeling is really creepy.

Undeniable, a sigh of relief as there wasn't a body bag there so she might not be dead, a further sigh of relief that she didn't land on my car!

I seriously hope she is not badly hurt. Will I get nightmares tonight I really don't know but knowing it was that close, bring shudders.

Update: Was told that her face was injured. I pray she will pull through.

Dragon Cookies
Source: Baking Made Easy (Agnes Chang)

What you need:

120g butter
120g castor sugar
3 egg yolks
360g corn flour
a little red colouring(for the eyes)
5 tbsp milk (I added this)

Method

Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy.

Add egg yolks and beat till incorporated.

Fold in cornflour and mixed till dough is formed.

Pipe into dragon shape with a star tip.

Dot eyes with red colouring.

Baked at 180 degrees till light brown.

*************
Pineapple Closed Tart with clove

What you need:

500g butter, softened
700g plain flour
100g milk powder
100g icing sugar (next time i will omit this)
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
2 yolks
cloves for decorating

Method

Cream butter and eggs till creamy and light

Add flour, salt and milk powder into butter mixture, mix it till all the ingredients are well incorporated

Shape dough into a big ball, wrap and let it rest for 15min or more in the refrigerator

Shape the dough to your liking and top or fill with pineapple jam

Bake in a preheated oven at 170C for about 10-15mins or till the sides turn golden brown

Revisit

2012-01-26T21:03:00.008+08:00

Actually I have been slowly cleaning up my blog for the past weeks. I realised that many of my old blog posts were all misaligned.

As you know, I lost my data twice within these 6 years of blogging and thus my recipe index was not in proper order. I guess it is also time for me to revisit some recipes that I enjoyed.

Since we are in the midst of Lunar New Year celebration, I decided to prepare my mom's braised mushrooms. Mom's does it so well that even my new brother in law is using it as a bench mark for his new wife. Tough.

So if you are a mushroom lover, I guarantee you that you will definitely love this dish.

With the heavy diet we had the last few days, I think 斋菜 will be a good change for our palette.

Okay now let’s continue to enjoy the bonding time with family and friends.

I am submitting the above to Aspiring Bakers #15: Auspicious Dishes for CNY (January 2012) hosted by Wen of Wen's Delight.

Mom's Braised Mushrooms
What you need

400g mushroom (wash and remove steam, soak over night in hot water)
dried oyster (soak about 10 mins and clean)
4 X 5 inches spare ribs
4 tbsp cornflour
8 - 9 tbsp ginger juice
4 tbsp oil
1 1/2 litre of water
1 tsp light soya sauce
Oyster sauce to taste

Method

Marinate mushrooms with cornflour, ginger juice, oil. Set aside for 10 mins

Put mushrooms and water and boil for 1 hour.

Marinate oysters with light soya sauce and a few drops of oil.

When the mushroom has softened, add oysters and spare ribs to mushroom stew after it has been cooked for 1/2 hour.

Turned down heat to low and slowly simmer for an hour till spare rib has soften.

Seasoned with oyster sauce and salt.

Note: you can put in Fatt Choy only the last 5 mins of cooking.

新年快乐，恭喜发财

2012-01-23T22:31:00.036+08:00

祝大家新年快乐, 万事如意.

Due to all our hectic schedules, it is tough to see one another often. Take for example my uncles and aunties and first cousins. I only get a chance to see them during special occassions. Thus I looked forward to Lunar New Year because we finally get to catch up.

For friends too, like my college classmates, we only meet up once a year. Actually we tried to meet other times but with kids' school, tuitions, and extra cirrculum, getting together is really tough.

Ever since my paternal grandma passed on, my dad and uncles take turn to host the gathering.

This year, it is my 4th uncle's turn. The last we were there was two years ago when my first cousin got married.

Though ours is not a huge family, having pot luck becomes the norm now since all of us had grown up and have our own family. This idea eased the burden of the elders having to cook up a storm for the whole entire clan.

Thus for my contribution, this year, I had Fried Nian Gao Rolls, something that I longed to do and finally done it. Was pleased to know that it was a big hit at the party.

Next I also tried Fruit Spring Rolls. It is something special. I think next time I will get pineapple instead of replacing it with blue jam, for I got injured and got a burnt on my finger due the oil splattering.

Yes what a day to have my finger burnt. BTW, I am submitting the above to Aspiring Bakers #15: Auspicious Dishes for CNY (January 2012) hosted by Wen of Wen's Delight.

I also prepared Roast Pork. as well. The taste was good this time round but because of the huge slab of meat. I didn’t manage to crisp it. I will take the advice from my uncle for my next attempt. (sorry no picture)

Thanks to hubby for lugging back a bigger Happy Call Pan for me. You are an angel! Smuack.

I celebrate my 46th birthday today as well. A special treat from my little 10 years old. She actually baked me muffins for my birthday! I was totally amazed by her capability.

The muffins turned out awesome, soft and fluffy. Definitely warmed my heart by her effort.

Thank you baby!

Fruits Spring Roll
Source: Auspicious Delicacies of CNY by Squall Chin

What you need:

8 pcs spring roll skin
4 small bananas sliced into half lengthwise
pineapple (chopped)
Marshmallows (I used mini ones)

Method

Set banana, pineapples and marshmallow in the centre of the spring roll skin.

Roll up as in popiah method.

Heat oil and deep fry till golden brown.

****************
Fried Nian Gao Roll

What you need:

Yam, cut into lengthwise strip. Steam.
Sweet Potatoes, cut into lengthwise strip. Steam.
Nian gao, cut into lengthwise strip
Spring Roll Skin (small)

Method

Set the yam, sweet potato and nian gao.

Wrap tight with the spring roll skin.

Deep fried till golden brown.

Serve.

Taking over

2012-01-20T22:58:00.004+08:00

Since I took over the kitchen, cooking three meals a day, I found that I am practically getting surprises every single day. Expired food that are waiting to be thrown out. Food that left in less than one single portion, also waiting to get thrown out. Frozen food that are kept in mini portions but don't know how long ago.

Geesh, I have been throwing food away and I felt so sinful.

Also thinking that I lack dish cloths, I brought more and guess what, I have 5 dish cloths hanging around and yet today I found that my helper "open" a new one again.

Haiz.... I think from today onwards, I better take over the responsibility in the kitchen.

Okay I have to be happy and these are what I churned out these past few days.

Sweet and Sour Prawns

I hardly buy prawns because somehow my helper can't cook prawns well. She is always deep frying prawns fritters. If she attempts others, the prawns always tasted as if it is not fresh, even if I buy it in the morning and have it cook in the night.

I always wonder why because her dad is a fisherman, so cooking seafood should not be an issue, right?

This dish reminded of my mom's cooking. Stir fry pork fillet with assorted mushrooms. I love straw mushrooms!

Hubby bought me a bigger size Happy call pan while he was in Korea. He wasn't able to buy the Ocher Deeper Pan as it was out of stock but he got me this version which is pretty similar to the brown one, only 5mm difference in dept.

I am happy because it matches the colour of the smaller one!

and this is what I churned out. Marmite Chicken Wings. I will definitely cooked this again!

Okay, I had been packing and my baking taken a back seat. I got to start the last round no matter what by tomorrow.

So stay tuned.

Source: Audrey Tan

What you need:

12 chicken wings
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp Marmite or Bovril
3 tbsp oyster sauce
3 tbsp honey
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

Method:

Heat pan. Set to low heat.

Add chicken wings.

Cook for 3 mins, flip over and continue 3 mins. Turning it often to avoid burnt.

Age is catching up

2012-01-17T18:02:00.003+08:00

It is nearly three weeks the kids started school. Everything is falling into routine.

Son is behaving well. Thanks to my brother in law and sister who came down to give him a pep talk. It seems that it is working. Son is also adjusting to being in the upper secondary school too. Initially he complains that it feels hot wearing long pants. Now he is complaining that there is too much homework. You see, throughout this 8 years of education, he never had issues with homework. Either it is not done or he spent less than half hour on it. Now he is facing reality and I hope he will realised that his holiday mode as a student is over. This is the real world.

Daughter is enjoying school. She is coping well socially and am not really hurt by nasty remarks easily now. I am happy that she is able to fend off bullies too and opening her heart to me.

So everything is really looking positive. Yea!

With 4 days to go for us to celebrate Lunar New Year. I spent the whole of yesterday baking away.

So here is the first line up. Pineapple Tarts! How can we do without it right? Saying the name already felt auspicious.

This year, I attempt on Lekker's recipe but I got disrupted by anonymous phone calls. Was awaken by someone calling after midnight not uttering a sound and then in the morning, twice again but the final call was someone with an Indonesian accent. With a tired and disrupted mind, I made a mistake of adding a whole egg instead of just egg yolk. Darn!

Not too sure whether this altered the texture but luckily it didn't turn out bad. Also my new cutter wasn't good. Pretty to look at but it doesn't cut clean and resulted in my not so round cookie. Haiz.....

What you need:

340g plain flour
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp icing sugar
250g butter, cubed
1 egg yolk
25ml cold water
½ tsp vanilla essence
1 beaten egg, glazing

Method:

Sift flour, salt and mix sugar into a mixing bowl.

Rub in butter till mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Beat in the egg yolk and add cold water and essence. Mix well to form a dough.

Place in plastic bag and chill for 30 mins.

Roll pastry out on a lightly floured table top and cut out with tart cutters.

Fill each piece with the pineapple jam.

Glaze with beaten egg.

Bake at 180 ºC for 15 mins.

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

Next on the list is yet another attempt on Alan Ooi's Fried Green Pea cookies which all of us loved. I grind my own friend green pea flour and should have done it more finely so that it is easier to cut through.

Recipe can be found here.

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

I also baked a batch of Nori Cookies. My family love seaweeds since hubby just brought home some seaweed bits from Korea. Unfortunately, the taste didn't come through as much as I wanted but the overall cookie is nicer according to hubby.

I took this recipe from David Lebovitz and obviously I don’t know what eur de sel aux algues is. Perhaps with that, the taste will be more distinct? I did modify it a little by adding sesame seeds to give it some aroma. Well,I will further investigate on this when I have time.

What you need:

90g unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoon fleur de sel aux algues, plus additional for sprinkling the cookies
110g icing sugar
1 large egg yolk
1½ tablespoons olive oil
155g plain flour

Method:

Mix the butter and fleur de sel aux algues together until smooth. Beat in the icing, then the egg yolk.

Add the olive oil and flour and beat until smooth.

Roll the dough into two logs, each about 8-inch (20 cm) long. Wrap each in plastic and chill until firm enough to slice, about 1 hour.

To bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 300F (150C). Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper then slice the cookies on the scant side of ¼-inch (½cm) thick. Place them evenly-spaced on the prepared baking sheet.

Sprinkle a couple of grains of seaweed salt over the top of each cookie (I didn't do this).

Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until slightly-firm.

Cool before serving.

Storage: The cookies are best the day they’re made, but can be stored overnight in an airtight container. The dough can be chilled for up to 5 days, or frozen for 2 months.

Verdict: A nice cookie but I will make it even smaller to become bite size. This cookies spread.

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

Many years ago, my Vegetarian aunt offered Seaweed chips as her Lunar New Year goodies and since it is so easy to assemble. Why not?

It didn't turn out the way I wanted. My mom said I rolled too tightly. So folks if you are doing this. Roll loosely okay.

I might want to try the sesame version later. That is if I still have the time and stamina.

Okay folks, that is all for today. My neck is aching and my shoulders are sore now. Haiz... must be old age.

Going to be a busy week

2012-01-16T17:05:00.000+08:00

This week starts a busy hectic for the whole of 2012.

Firstly, my daughter is embarking on her compulsory CCA in school. Though she knows how to swim (taught by her dad), she needs to go through formal training to attain her certification. Actually I am not sure how useful these certificates will be for her in the future.

Then it also starts with all the tuition going full blast. Actually I had a very interesting conversation with SC over the weekend. A new friend I got to know via E.

As much as I am not in favour of letting my kids going for tuitions but I did it. Reason was not so much for academic achievement but rather for self confidence.

You see, my girl is not on the mid range learning scales. We accepted the fact that she might be slow in learning but starting from late P2, I can see that she is very timid in attempting her homework. She has a fear of making mistakes.

After a year with several tuition agencies, we noticed a sense of triumph from her. Out of the 4 tuition classes she attended, she shows improvement in her creative writing and especially her Maths.

She is now a much happier child. These days, I can see the drive and motivation she gets from these subjects.

Anyway, I told her that she can stops all these classes if she feels that she cannot cope with it and this is what she said : "Mom, I can do it."

As for my son, he is already very much an independent kid. I no longer need to ferry him to and fro from school.

Now what have I been up to today? I wanted to start my cookie baking but then I realised that I ran out of some ingredients and had to do a trip down to the supermarket.

With us taking an early dinner tonight, I decided to hold on to my cookie baking and to focus on our dinner.

Been procrastinating for nearly a month I think on this recipe. I love Char Siew and the only stall that I patronise now is from Toa Payoh. His char siew is lean and juicy.

As for my experiment with this recipe using Happy Call Pan, I think this is relatively an easy recipe. As long as you gave enough time for the marinade, this won't go wrong.

Also I used a very lean pork fillet for this. Should have opted for more fatty ones.

What you need:

500g pork fillet
2½ tbsp Hoisin Sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp soya sauce
1 tbsp rose wine
½ tsp 5 spice powder
¼ tsp salt
pepper

Glaze

1 tbsp dark soya sauce
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp oil

Method

Marinate pork for 2 hours

Heat up the pan for 1 min, place in the pork and some marinate (about 1/2)

Cook the pork with lid close for about 5 mins

Open the lid to manually flip the pork and continue to let it cook with lid close not tight (i.e magnet not closed up)

Slowly cook the charsiew and check now and then (about every 1-2 mins) till the sauce dries up and meat starts to charred. Can add in more sauce to hasten the browning process

TGIF

2012-01-14T11:32:00.001+08:00

Today, I got out of bed with a limp. I had a very bad night as I was woken up by my cramp again. Ever since I had my slipped disc operation, though my back pain is gone but I am plague by the constant cramp.

Last night was a bad one as it goes all the way down to my ankle. It usually only reached my calf. It took me a good one hour to ease the pain and get back to sleep.

Thank God that hubby is back and he took over the responsibility of sending my little one to school.

With a wonderful cool morning, I decided to make some Chocolate Caramel Cream tarts as I am in the stage of pie crust experiment.

We are a chocolate loving family. Though I am the only one that likes Dark Chocolate, we still can come to a compromise when it comes to chocolate.

To welcome hubby home, I made a chocolate caramel tart for him.

Putting the dough together is easier than I imagine. The chocolate custard could have been a little thicker but I got into difficulties making the caramel. I worried that I will burn the sugar, then the splatter of the sugar syrup when I add in the cream. A burn at this point in time is no fun. All went smoothly .... but my caramel seems watery. I boiled it longer hoping that it will thicken but I was no way close.

Plunge it into an ice bath and still it didn't thicken to the stage that I think caramel should be. I wonder why. After chilling, the caramel thickens but when I try to assemble the tart, it starts to bleed even before I had a chance to take a snap shot (as you can see in the picture).

Verdict: We love the chocolatey crust. As for the custard, I think I will reduce the liquid a little more. Need to work on that caramel.

Overall, I am glad that I turned this into tarts rather than pie. Reason because we were able to eat it up real quickly.

Have a good weekend.

Source: Martha Stewart's Pies and Tarts

Rich Chocolate Pie Dough
What you need:

186g plain flour
69g sugar
12g cocoa powder
½ tsp salt
85g cold butter, cubed
3 large egg yolks
½ tsp vanilla
2 tbsp water

Method:

Pulse flour, suar, cocoa and salt till combined.

Add butter and pulise till fine crumbs.

Add yolks and vanilla and pulse till dough is formed.

Shped into a disk

Chill

Fillings
What you need:

109g sugar
25g cornstarch
3/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 cup milk (I will reduce to 2 cups)
129g bitersweet chocolate
4 large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp water
1 1/4 cup heavy cream

Method:

Whisk 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch and salt together. Set aside.

Combine milk and chocolate in a pot and over med heat slowly melt the chocolate.

Whisk 1 cup of hot milk into the cornstarch mixture until smooth. Pour in the remaining mik and bring it to boil. Stir till it thickens.

Whisk egg yolks and slowly drizzle in the hot milk mixture. Keep stirring. Pour into pot and bring it to a boil. Stirring constantly till custard thickens. (spoon test).

Sieve and stir in vanilla. Set aside to cool.

Pour into crust, cover with cling wrap and chill in fridge.

To prepare caramel.

Combine the remaining 1/4 sugar, water and bring to boil till sugar turns amber. Do not stir.

Slowly drizzle in 1/2 cup cream, whisking constantly till smooth. BE CAREFUL splatter.

Place pot in ice bath, stir till cold.

Beat remaining 3/4 cup cream to soft peak. Fold in the caramel.

Spread over pie.

Garnish either with chocolate shavings or cocoa nibs (like what I did).

Note: Because my caramel wasn't thick, I didn't fold into the whipped cream.

The secret of Daim Cake ?

2012-01-12T17:29:00.013+08:00

When I was staying in Seletar, I often go to Ikea Tampines for my dessert fix of Daim Cake.

Since I moved here 3 years ago, I stopped as the place is out of the way and going to the one near town is not possible as parking is an issue over there.

During an appliances hunt last month at the mega hub, we popped over to this eatery. Hubby was so sweet to get me my sugar fix as I had totally forgotten about my soft spot for this cake.

Rekindle my love for it, I can't wait to recreate this at home. Thus today, maximising my time before I sent my girl for tuition, I went about quickly to make this cake. After all, I estimated that I only take 1 hour to get everything done with 15 mins baking time. I reckon that I can complete the whole cake in 45 mins + 15mins of shower time.

Boy, I was wrong. Removing the wrappers already took me a good 10 mins!

Unfortunately, with my ailing memory, I can't recall how it taste like right now.

Thus I am not sure whether this is as close to the one I eaten.

Let's hope my sister can share some light to it …. Er… perhaps not as she is not really into dessert.

Or perhaps if there is still any remaining for hubby who is coming home tonight!

Yea! I am so relieved to know my man is coming home.

Verdict: My sister and her hubby finds it too sweet. Hubby said it is close but not there yet.

If you try it, please let me know how close I am to the real stuff so that I can go back to the drawing board. Thanks.

What you need:

A big bag of Daim
4 tbsp of cream

125g egg whites
40g castor sugar
120g ground almonds
80g icing sugar

Method:

Melt daim over a double boiler till it melted. Remove.

Blend in cream. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 180 deg. Line cookie tray with silicone mat.

Sift ground almonds and icing sugar.

Whisk egg white and sugar till stiff peak.

Fold almond into the egg white.

Spread batter into 3 disc approx 7". Making sure they are even.

Bake for 10 - 15 mins.

Cool slightly and remove.

Assembly.

Put the first dacquoise disk as base.

Spread the Daim mixture.

Add in the second dacquoise.

Spread Daim mixture.

Add the third dacquoise and pour in the remaining Daim mixture.

Chill in fridge.

New Routine

2012-01-11T17:45:00.002+08:00

Starting next week, my girl's life as a student will be jam packed with activities once again. Tuitions, CCAs and homework will take control over her life.

As this year will be her streaming year, I told her that she really needed to work harder than last year. I am happy to see that she is happily motivated. For the past one week, she had been really diligent and had such great attitude towards her goal that she puts me to shame with my lack of motivation.

To make a better role model, I decided that I wanted to take on a new hobby and that is crochet, pilate and hopefully learnt a piece of piano score. Hopefully with these, it will distract me further from my constant pain of seeing my son ruining his life. Yes, I am that helpless now.........

In the blogging world of baking, Alex Goh's recipes books are pretty well received. The success rates of his recipes are good too.

Though I owned his series of books but I never really attempted any of his recipes. Well don't ask me why. Perhaps I am more enticed by the pictures than the actual work.

I had read great reviews on this recipe's success rate but unfortunately, I don't know why I am otherwise.

While doing this one, somehow I think my hands were stained with oil for the egg whites just couldn't peak up. Three egg whites down the bin. Redo.

That is not the end of it ....... Perhaps I over boiled the milk mixture, perhaps I folded the egg white into the lukewarm cheese batter way too early ...

The cake actually rose beautifully but once out of the oven ……. I guess this cake reflect my exact sentiment right now.

I can't tell when

2012-01-10T10:20:00.003+08:00

Before I had kids, seeing mommies trying to coax their child to eat frightens me.

Just like my GP who told me, babies are like computers, it is YOU who decides what program to load in.

With that "advice", I exposed my kids to all types of food when they reached solid food stage. I was a happy mom during meal time for a good 10 years or so until my son turns teens. It was this time that he become such a picky eater or rather selective eater.

For example, he used to love Granny Smith apples but now he doesn't even look at it. He used to eat whatever is being served. Now he picks and choose.

It is hard to cater to his whims especially when you are cooking for a small family as a whole. When he likes it, he can whacked two cookie jars of chocolate chip cookies within two days! When he doesn't, he won't even entertain you by eating his share!

That is my son for you. Is this normal?

On the other hand, feeding hubby is such a joy. He eats everything! Even bitter gourd! When I know him, his variety of food is pretty limited. Now I am glad he learns to appreciate food. Luckily, my girl takes after her dad. They have good appetite and enjoy food. It is a joy to feed them both.

Now with a bag of Granny Smith in the fridge waiting for no takers, I need to turn them into something before they rot. So Apple Pie from Martha Stewart’s Pie and Tarts it will be.

I love the crust of this pie. It is really nice, buttery and light in the mouth. The fillings could have been a little sweeter though. I used freshly grate nutmeg and boy, it definitely makes the difference.

Will be so perfect with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream.

Now I have to remind myself that I better not buy green apples the next time.

Pate Brisee
What you need:

356g plain flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
240g unsalted butter, cubed
1/4 cup ice water

Method:

Pulse flour, salt and sugar in a food processor.

Add butter and pulse till fine crumbs.

Drizzle in 1/4 cup water. Pulse again till it the dough comes together.

Divide dough into two disc. Chill in fridge till firm.

Roll according to the size of your pie pan.

Chill again for approx 30 mins.

Apple Pie

1 Pate Brisee
1 large egg yolk, for egg wash
1 tbsp heavy cream, for egg wash

3 tbsp plain flour
5 Granny Smith apples (cored, peeled and cubed)
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup castor sugar (I will increase to 1/2 cup)
1 tsp ground cinnamon (I increased this to 1.5 tsp)
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (1 increase by another 1/4 tsp)
a pinch of salt
1 tbsp cold unsalted butter
Coarse sanding sugar (I used fine as I don't have this)

Method:

Preheat oven to 200 deg.

Whisk cream and egg yolk. Set aside.

Toss apples, flour, lemon juice, sugar cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together. Mix well and pour mixture into the chilled pie shell. Piling in the centre and dot mixture with butter.

Roll out the remaining disk of dough.

Brush the bottom crust with egg wash.

Cover the apple with the dough.

Cut slits in top of dough. Tuck and trim the overhangs.

Brush pie with egg wash and sprinkle generously with sanding sugar.

Chill till firm approx 30 mins.

Bake on lowest rack until crust begins to turn light brown. Approx 25 mins.

Reduce heat to 180 deg and further bake till curst is golden brown. Approx 1 hour.

Note: High initial temperature helps the crust set quickly, keeping the crust from becoming soggy.

Reducing the help helps the apples to cook without burning the crust.

Remove pie and cool lightly before removing from pan to cool completely.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

It feels like a wet day

2012-01-09T17:13:00.003+08:00

My Saturday went by quickly. Besides a huge outburst from son screaming and yelling at me and at some point getting physical, nothing much actually happened.

I didn't bake, I didn't go out or even bring my girl for her taekwondo class! I just stay home to rot. hahhaa... actually I stayed home to spend quality time with my girl! and waiting for son to be home by 11:30pm!

There are moments, he thinks he is a big man but unfortunately, he is only 14! So please don’t tell me that this little man here can have NO curfews.

Sunday was a good day. I got tickets from a good friend, LT to watch Courageous, a moving movie about dads and their views about parenthood. Actually we were supposedly to watch it with hubby. It will be really great if my hubby is around but plans always stay fickle when he is concerned.

Ever since, he took on this role, he has been flying around 80% of his time. I am trying to cope with it but with a special teens on hand, it makes life extremely tough.

Anyway, I promised myself that this year, I am going to make myself happier. So I am trying to chin up. Another 4 years more to go ...

On a happier note, I don't know when my girl fell in love with Pandan cake , I don't bake that at home because this mommy here, doesn't like the taste of coconut in cakes. Somehow, this little one tasted it somewhere and had since been asking for it whenever we see it bakeries.

I decided to bake her one. After all, my helper opened up a big box of coconut milk, use a little and left the remaining sitting in the fridge waiting to get thrown out. (she always does that .... arrggh ... so wasteful).

It was a big cake, thus I actually separated it into different baking tins.

My helpers and my girl both like it very much but personally I find it a little sweet (despite cutting down 50g). There isn't any coconut taste to it as compared to the standard. Thus for people who like my hubby loves lemak, this chiffon is definitely not for him. For me, I am fine with the taste.

Texture wise, it is extremely cottony. If you aren't a very coconuty person like me, this pandan cake will be the one.

Verdict from my friend JY and her family: Very good. Coconutty enough but will do better with more pandan flavour. (I think I will follow strictly with the recipe instead of adding in Sugi leaves)

Enjoy!

Source: Terry Tan's

What you need:

60 pandan leaves (I used a combination of pandan leaves and sugi leaves)
¼ cup + 1 tbsp thick coconut milk
7 egg yolks
½ cup vegetable oil
225g cake flour
300g sugar (set aside 3 tbsp)
1½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
8 egg whites
1 tsp cream of tartar

Method:

Preheat oven to 165 ºC . Prepare ungreased 9” chiffon pan.

Snip pandan leaves into short length and blend into grassy pulp. Squeeze for juice to make out 115ml (if not enough, add water)

Mix pandan juice, coconut milk, egg yolks and vegetable oil and whisk until smooth. Set aside.

Sift cake flour and baking powder.

Add 3 tbsp of sugar and salt and whisk well to blend.

Add egg yolk mixture and whisk until smooth.

Beat egg white and cream of tartar on high till soft peaks.

Add in 3 tbsp sugar and beat till stiff peaks.

Fold egg whites into batter in three additions.

Pour batter into pan and bake for 55 – 60 mins.

Invert cake onto rack once cooked. Leave to cool completely before cutting.

Detox?

2012-01-04T08:44:00.010+08:00

I have started my apple cider detoxing two nights ago. Definitely a good excuse to do that as I had been over eating during the New Year period. With the Lunar New Year approaching, I really need to detox to make room for Lunar New Year goodies. hahaha....

Whenever I go to IMH, there is this super duper weighing machine that I never failed to check it out and watching my weight increasing steadily is not very fun especially my kids will constantly tease me.

So for tonight's dessert, I make a non bake Tofu Cheesecake with home made berries jam.

I really love the Home Made Berries Jam along with this tofu cheesecake. It definitely adds some flavour to it.

My son who doesn't really like wobbly or creamy dessert didn't reject this. As for my girl, she naturally had her second helpings. I really have to watch this little one. She goes for quantity and not quality. As my hubby's saying with regards to food, what comes what dies. So I am very lucky to have two not fussy eaters at home for this moment.

Am glad that hubby had a taste of it before he goes off.

What you need:

233g strawberries
171g blueberries
120g sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice

Method:

Boil the berries, sugar and lemon juice at medium fire.

Once boil turn to low fire.

Stir constantly all the time. When it starts to boil and bubble form, scoop away the bubbles.

Keep boiling at low fire till the mixture become thickens.

The mixture will be a little runny when hot but will set after it cool off.

Pour the hot jam into sterilised jars. Secure tight leave cool then keep in the fridge.

Notes: need to use a wooden spoon to stir.

A New Begining.

2012-01-03T19:44:00.002+08:00

2012 started off beautifully, we actually made a trip down to the MBS to view fireworks. Far too lazy to lug a big camera, so this was taken off a point and shoot.

Then my naggy cold started acting up again and I couldn't sleep well for the last few days. It got so bad to the stage that I couldn't breathe.

It seems like I am not the only one having this symptom. Some of my friends are also like that. Stuffy nose, and sometime runny cold.

Actually I finally went to the GP after trying cold tablets for a few times. The medication only gives me short term relief.

According to the doc, I am having an allergy because of the weather. Plus I am having a slight temperature. Perhaps that explains why I am feeling a little less energetic.

With the kids back in school, I am finally getting peaceful mornings. Yea! and that allows me to rest.

As hubby is leaving town for a week, I better make my Bak Kwa and let him be the taster before I mass produce.

I tried out two recipes. I was actually disappointed by recipe A as I went around hunting for the red wine dreg with no luck. Luckily mom has some in her fridge. The taste is more like lup cheong (Chinese Sausage) according to my son.

The second recipe, I took it from Tina's kitchen and it turned out beautifully. I modified it a little though.

This is definitely a keeper as it is close to the real McCoy.

I must remember to roll really thinly when I go into my mini “production”.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my reader for staying with me the last one year, taking your precious time to leave me notes of encouragement and motivation. I truly appreciate all your love and concern.

Going forward, I will try to change my perspective as a mother and better manage my expectation and most of all, be kinder to myself.

I hope you will see a happier and a more positive me.

Hopefully in the second quarter of the year, I am able to share more interesting recipes with you all.

God bless.

What you need:

1 kg ground pork

Marinate:

1½ tbsp fish sauce
1½ tbsp soya sauce
160g sugar
1/8 tsp 5 spiced powder
½ tsp cinnamon powder
½ tsp white pepper
1 tbsp oil
2 tbsp rose wine
2 tsp red wine dreg 红糟

Method:

Season ground pork with the marinate and leave in the fridge overnight or at least 4 hours

Place one sheet of baking paper and two dollop of meat on it. Place another sheet of baking paper on it.

Roll as thin as possible.

Heat Happy Call Pan. Place the rolled out meat (with paper) into the pan.

Cover and let it cook for a min.

Remove top paper and flip the meat over, removing the bottom paper as well.

Slowly let it cook, flipping often to avoid charred.

Cook till has a nice glossy finish.

Can't get enough & a birthday

2011-12-29T13:15:00.000+08:00

My sister ordered some Red Velvet Cake from a reputable bakery near my place. Since she fell ill, I had to pick up the cakes for her before it closed for the day during Christmas eve.

She offered to share the smaller cake with me as she doubt she can eat it since she is sick.

She loves the texture as it is light and easy to eat. As I didn't have very good experience with the last Red Velvet Cake recipe that I made, I wonder whether how the texture should be. After tasting this reputable version, I was determined to get the texture next time.

Since today is my hubby’s birthday and seriously I don’t know what else to buy for him after being married to him for 19 years, a simple man he is! So I baked him Red Velvet Cupcakes instead. A chance for me to see whether the recipe I wanted to try will live up to the reputable ones.

I am pleased to say that the texture is nearly close and it went really well with the cream cheese frosting. Everyone agreed that it was good, except that my son is a not a fan of cream cheese had his opted out.

Happy Birthday my dear.

Boxing day

2011-12-26T20:52:00.021+08:00

This year, it was supposedly to be a quiet Christmas for us. In fact, we spent this period looking for appliances and checking out fittings for the new abode.

Last minute, DC decided to have a birthday party for her kid and we were invited for a BBQ.

I am amazed how she can pull though organising it within a day. She even hired a company that organised laser gun combat for the kids and my son had a great time with it.

My girl didn't go for the game as she was busy in another party. H had been organising Christmas parties for nearly 3 years now. Just love her personality and she is a great host but I am sad that her girl will be withdrawing from this school and moving on to another IP school but we promised that we will keep in touch.

As usual, I didn't like to go empty handed to the BBQ so I prepared two cakes for the night.

My first attempt was the Hummingbird Cake. I heard so much about this cake but never attempt on it as there is pineapple in it. Yet I am really curious on its taste.

Though I didn't like pineapple but some how, it tasted good in cakes just like pineapple tarts. Guess cooked pineapple is better than raw pineapples.

Anyway, this cake received tremendous positive comments.

As I prepared a big tub of cream cheese frosting, the next cake I chose a Carrot cake to match it.

Though the cake looked dense but I won't say it is a failed attempt for it tasted really good.

Both cakes received positive feedback. I guess Carrot Cake is more common than Hummingbird Cake, so most want to try Hummingbird cake instead.

Both taken from the same book, Hummingbird Bakery.

Now, I guess you are already planning for your year end party. Perhaps I should to. Invite my family over for a small dinner. I am sure they don't mind the mess in my house.

Well let's see how I managed as I need to complete some orders before I do my countdown.

Have a Blessed Christmas.

A quiet Christmas

2011-12-24T17:23:00.001+08:00

Despite the heavy downpour, we were still out shopping. I have been out these past few days shopping but I wasn't shopping for Christmas but rather appliances for my new abode.

Suddenly I was told that I got to get all these done by this weekend as the carpenter needed the dimension before he can start work. So no choice, flood or no flood, I still have to do it. Guess age is really catching up on me or was it out of touch. These errands actually tires me.

With most of the appliances done, I am happy with my effort. I even found the replacement piano that I promised my daughter.

Now I have to slowly start clearing stuff from my pantry. As I have a packet of kinako powder and after seeing Piggy's Journal's Kinako Cookies, I know this packet of soy flour will be the first in line.

Texture is like butter cookie. After a few bites, you can really taste the nutty flavour.

So to all my readers, enjoy your time with all your dear ones.

Merry Christmas.

I am submitting this to Aspiring Bakers #14: Creative Christmas Bakes (December 2011), hosted by Hankerie.

On the way

2011-12-22T22:18:00.002+08:00

After visiting our counsellor in IMH, I decided to swing over to Jln Kayu and visit my favourite Otah stall and prata stall. Some months ago, I got my otah fix in Geylang and was utterly disappointed by the deterrioted quality.

I am so happy that at least the quality in this stall is still the same as before. Was happily munching on it while son went to buy our pratha.

Decided to keep some to make Otah Buns. As I was not ready to make these, I decided to freeze it.

You might be wondering whether I am crazy to make bread in such weather. Well, when you crave for it, I guess even the weather can't stop it.

Here I am, making bread on a wet and cold day. I proof the dough with a steaming hot cloth over it and letting it sit in the microwave. So far, this method never fail me.

I was upset when my helper rebutted me that she is not wrong to boil liang cha in a small medical pot. How can I not tell the difference between liang cha and chinese medicinal herb? Well she still insist that she is right. So what more can I say right?

Because of this while I was kneading my bread, I totally forgotten about the butter.

Luckily it didn't affect the taste too much.

So here is my not so pretty Otah Bun.

Well at least my craving is fix and my son went crazy and ate most of them.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-22T21:57:00.001+08:00

Though this year, we are not having Christmas celebration as my house is currently in a mess, I still prepare Christmas presents for close friends and family members. It is harder and harder to think of a nice gift for them and I seems so lost these days to shop. Lack of practise maybe. I wish they have the same hobby as me and that will make my life simple. hahahah.

Perhaps next year, I will just bake for single one instead or like Mrs Pamela who gives tooth brush. hahaha

Enough said, I am at a lost what to get for my young adult nephew who is very picky. So I decided to bake chocolate chip cookies for him instead. Well at least he can munch on it on his way to HK.

I am glad that my family loves these. The salt actually gives this simple Chocolate Chip Cookie a different dimension.

Definitely a keeper!

Source: The Cookbook chronicles

What you need:

300g unsalted butter, at room temp.
52g granulated sugar
1/2 cup demerara sugar (light brown sugar is fine too)
404g packed, dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
2½ tsp vanilla extract
244g flour
83g 1 tbsp bread flour
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp baking powder
1½ kosher salt (not table salt) + fleur de sel / vanilla salt for sprinkling over cookie dough
504g 70% bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Method

Preheat the oven to 350ºC.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Add the eggs one at a time, and beat well after each addition.

Add the vanilla extract, the flours, the baking soda, baking powder, and salt. On low speed, beat the mixture until the dry ingredients are well-incorporated, about 1 minute.

Stir in the chopped chocolate.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a small ice cream scoop, scoop the dough and place it in the tray. Leaving space for expansion as this will melt into a thin cookie.

Dust the tops of each ball of dough with a tiny bit of fleur de sel or vanilla salt.

Bake for 12 – 13 mins (Do not bake these on the bottom rack in the oven–the high proportion of brown sugar will cause the bottoms to darken too much.) (as I wanted it to crisp more, I baked longer).

At this time, the cookies should have taken on a golden brown color all around the edge, but still look very soft in the center–like hot cookie dough.

Remove the tray from the oven, and allow the cookies to cool directly on the tray for 10 minutes before eating.

Loving myself

2011-12-20T12:49:00.001+08:00

My emotion has been on a roller coaster ride for nearly 8 years.

On Thursday, I had a superb time as we managed to settle many errands in a day. Most importantly, we finally identified a furniture maker! This will help us with substantial savings.

We spent Friday, having tea with Baby G (oops should be Little G now) and JM, then we were off for science tuition. (how boring)

My emotion went downhill after we came home. I burnt my weekend in my own cave. I felt overwhelmed and all alone. I even forgo a family gathering and told my mom that I am unwell.

Those few days were hard to past but I learnt from this experience that my daughter is so sensible. She literally can feel my thoughts and she can sense my pain.

I doubt I can live without her. She is such a God sent angel to me. Her words are so comforting and her presence makes me feel wanted.

After a visit from my sisters, I felt so much better. Yes, I need to be kinder to myself. I need to love myself more. It is easy to say but I will try to make that happen.

Now I am feeling so much better and I hate to see my kids kept eating Peanut Butter with banana sandwiches all the time. So I decided to make Hoddeok (Korean Pancake) again. Actually I made these for my tea with JM the other day using dried yeast, and for this batch I used fresh yeast.

Personally I find the dry yeast dough is much easier to handle then fresh yeast. The latter is very sticky to handle (just like in the video as provided by Frozen Wings).

Texture wise: I think will be nicer if the dough has more sweetness to it and this is best eaten freshly cooked as it gives a crisp skin. Warming it again didn't have the same texture.

Thanks Frozen Wing for sharing this.

What you need:

219g or 1 cup slightly warm water
6 g or 2 tsp instant yeast
28g or 2 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp vegetable oil
276g or 2 cups all purpose flour

Fillings

1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon powder
2 tbsp chopped walnuts

Method:

Pour slightly warm water into a big mixing bowl. Add in the instant yeast, sugar, salt and vegetable oil and mix all together with a hand whisk.

Next add in the flour and continue mixing till all is well incorporated. Leave to proof in the bowl for 1 hour till double its volume.

After an hour, stir the mixture ( it will deflate ) and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, you can prepare your fillings. Just mix all the filling ingredients in a bowl and leave aside.

Flour your working table and remove the dough from the bowl ( from step 3) and divide into 8 portions.

Lightly pat each dough with your palm to flatten it , wrap in fillings , seal tightly and pan fry them in a pan with little oil.

Leave them fry on one side for about 30 seconds and flip over to the side. Once flipped over, use your spatula to flatten the dough and fry till both sides are golden brown, you can then cover and cook for another minute.

Remove from pan. Serve hot. Best eaten fresh.

Note: You can fry these pancakes 2 or 3 at a time .