More than Words

Poached Eggs on Halloumi Cheese Salad

2012-01-31T05:42:00.000+08:00

There is something about Nigella that just calls out to me. Her way of talking about food, writing about food and just how she enjoys it. I spotted this recipe on her app and was excited about it straight away. We are having warm summer nights and salads just seem to be enough for dinner these days.

Oozing egg yolks on squeaky cheese is such a lovely combination. Why didn't I think of it before? No dressing needed, just a squeeze of lemon juice.

Poached Eggs on Halloumi Cheese Salad(Serves 3)
4 free range eggs room temperature
250 grams halloumi cheese sliced

4-5 cups of salad greens
1 lebanese cucumber
1 capsicum
cherry tomatoes
mint leaves if you like

squeeze of lemon

Using a cold pan, pan fry halloumi cheese. In a shallow pan, add water and bring it to boil. Add a tablespoon of vinegar swirl it gently. Pop an egg in a bowl first, then gently pour it into the boiling swirling water. I like to spoon some of the egg white to cover the egg yolk.

Mean while, assemble salad, put cheese on top. Pop poached egg on top of salads. Repeat to poached eggs. Squeeze of lemon to finish the dish.

Mango Chicken and Spiced Pilaf

2012-01-29T05:22:00.000+08:00

Mangos are in season again. Alas, I didn't use fresh mango in this dish. I used mango chutney! I'm on a mission to clear out some of my jars of sauces in the fridge. You see, I get bored with my meals easily, hence I like a lot of variety. Most weeks, we have 1 rice dish, 1 or 2 salads, sometimes wraps, soup noodles, different ways of using vietnamese rice paper or even a pastry dish. The more variety the better!

Which means I can get over zealous, forgetting that I have only used a 1/4 of a particular sauce or chutney in the fridge before getting another one. So for the past week or so, I have been doing a clear out to make sure that I don't waste any more sauces.

So with a jar of mango chutney at hand, I decided to marinate some chicken breast with it and some curry powder. Simple but effective. Who would have thought, 3 ingredients what it took to make a simple pan fried chicken breast more special? And since I was looking for a shortcut, I sauté some vegetables in my rice cooker, added in rice and water and tadah, a savoury rice dish was cooked.

I made this in 20 minutes which was pretty good I think. Good for our "it has finally hit us summer weather"

Mango Chicken and Spiced Pilaf (serves 4)
2 chicken breast- sliced horizontally to make 4 pieces
1/2 cup of mango chutney
2 tablespoon of curry powder
dash of cumin powder

Spiced Pilaf
2 cups of basmatic rice
1 small onion chopped
2 bay leaves
1 cup of peas
1 large capsicum chopped
1 carrot chopped
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp of turmeric
dash of cumin

Marinate chicken with chutney, cumin and curry powder for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, saute onions, all spices, capsicum, carrot and peas in rice cooker. Then add rice and water. Cook till rice cooker says done!

In between, heat grill pan till hot. Oil pan and pan fried chicken till done. Serve with rice and more veges.

Spiced Guacamole

2012-01-26T05:10:00.000+08:00

There is something about dips that is so drool worthy. Its all about texture isn't it. A crispy flat bread or cracker, topped with a soft tasty savoury dip makes a world of a difference. I brought this to a gathering and it was a hit. Surprise surprise, all commented that it was the hit of chill and spice that they enjoyed.

One of my all time favourite dip, other than hummus, it would be guacamole. There is just something about avocado that I love I think. I remembered my mother told me that I probably would not like avocado (something that she liked!). The rebellious side of me decided that well, I will try it and prove her wrong. Yes, I was a teenager then.

One thing about avocado is that it is high in fat- even though they are the good fat. It is still reasonable to eat this in moderation of course. I think it is a highly nutritious snack and a little go a long way.

My secret? I added cumin to it. Not so much a secret hey? Hope you like this as much as my friends did.

Spiced Guacamole (serves a party!)
4 avocado mashed
1/4 lemon juice
1/2 small red onion chopped finely
1 tomato chopped finely
2 chili padi
1 tablespoon of cumin
2 tablespoons of light sour cream
salt and pepper

Mashed avocado with some lemon juice. Using a spoon, fold in tomatoes. If you like raw onions, include the finely chopped onions. However, i cooked them a little in a pan to cut out that rawness. Add in chill padi, cumin and seasoning. Taste and adjust. Serve with crackers or vege sticks.

Spicy Milk Chicken

2012-01-24T05:48:00.001+08:00

It felt like Christmas/New Year last week and here we are celebrating CHINESE NEW YEAR!! We are not back with our immediate families this year so it doesn't feel too festive to us. However, the celebration is in our hearts.

This dish is my little experimentation of using curry leaves and spices. It was inspired by a recipe called "Spicy Buttermilk Chicken" but the recipe itself does not call for buttermilk! I play around with the ingredients and came up with this. It's a fairly light dish, and I wouldn't call it a curry per say. However, the curry leaves made it so fragrant.

The other thing I like is the generous use of dried shrimps. Makes a world of a difference I say!

I know this isn't particularly a festive dish, but I hope it is a good one to try it out with your relatives and friends during this wonderful season.

Happy Chinese New Year!! Gong Xi Fai Cai! May this Dragon year brings lots of prosperity and joy!

Spicy Milk Chicken (Serves 4)
600 grams of chicken thigh pieces chopped
1 tablespoon of margarine
4-5 stalks of curry leaves
handful-maybe around 30 grams of dried shrimps

2 chili padi
1 normal big chill
3-4 shallots
small piece of ginger
1 generous tablespoon of garlic

100 ml of evaporated milk
100 ml of water

Chopped chili padi, shallots, ginger and garlic. Heat 1 tablespoon of margarine and cool chopped ingredients, together with dried shrimps and curry leaves. Then brown chicken in pan. Add in evaporated milk and some water (not all, add gradually in case it became too wet). Season and serve with rice.

Walnut Red Bean Cookies

2012-01-19T05:48:00.000+08:00

I know. Here am I still blogging about what I did for Christmas (and the left overs) and Chinese New Year is just around the corner. Again, this year, we are celebrating it in Perth with Hubby's extended family members and it is just NOT the same without the festive feel around us.

While many bloggers have already started blogging about their CNY bakes, I have only just began. This recipe comes from Patisie Chong, a well known cook back in Singapore/Malaysia. I love how unique some of her cookies are and this one is no different.

Bite into one, and you will find red bean paste. You can also use lotus paste but I couldn't find any in our local stores. Probably because it isn't moon cake festive. However, I think red bean suits CNY more yeah?

Walnut Red Bean Cookies (Makes around 10)
200 grams plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
130 grams margarine
70 grams icing sugar
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk

Decoration
60 grams of walnuts
1 egg yolk whisked

Filling
80 grams of lotus seed paste

Preheat oven to 180C and lined a baking tray.

Knead all ingredients (other than decoration and filling) till it become soft dough.
Measure filling into 8 grams balls. Wrap dough around it. Brush with yolk and decorate with a small piece of walnut. Bake for around 20 minutes.

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!! May the Dragon Year bring you closer to your wishes!!

Christmas Cake Chocolate Balls

2012-01-16T05:40:00.000+08:00

What do you do with leftover Christmas cake? I blogged about my hazelnut Christmas Cake last week and due to the massive amount of cake I baked, we had a few slices left. Christmas cake keep well and it would last forever in the fridge really. However, I was looking at a recipe for rum balls and thought, hey, I could probably make a version of it using christmas cake rather than cookie crumbs or store-bought chocolate cake!

I did not add rum, but you could if you have some. I used some milk to moisten the mixture instead. Then I rolled in with some chocolate sprinkles. I would have used nuts, but I realised my granulated nuts wasn't fine enough. However, I am sure you could rolled it in some cocoa powder to make it truffle like or even some coloured sprinkles!

I love to see my friends reactions when they bite into these. They were probably expecting rum balls and on first bite, they realised it was filled with kalua soaked fruit!!! They taste better after resting a day in the fridge.

Christmas Cake Chocolate Balls
Any quantity of cake you have left
around 2-3 tablespoon of milk or more if mixture appears dry. You can add rum or any liquor
chocolate sprinkles or cocoa powder

Crumble cake. Then moist it with milk. Using clean hands, roll it up into little balls and rolled it on a plate of sprinkles or cocoa powder. Rest in fridge for an hour or two or even overnight before serving.

Curried Egg Celery Salad

2012-01-12T05:31:00.000+08:00

One of the first dish that my mother taught me was egg sandwiches. She taught me how to peel eggs, mashed them and mixed them up with creamy mayo seasoned with salt and pepper.

When I was in university, a uni mate looked at me in amazement when I asked her what was curried egg. You see, she was having some and I asked what it was. I had a taste and was hooked. Who would have thought that mixing some curry powder to a simple egg mayo would change the dish?

I could never find or could anyone tell me where does curried egg come from? Is it an Aussie thing? Nevertheless, it is a good light meal for a quick dinner. I paired it with some crunchy celery for that added texture.

Curried Egg Celery Salad
4 eggs hardboiled
2 tablespoon of low fat mayo
1 tsp of curry powder
salt and pepper
few stalks of celery (from the heart of celery) chopped

Mashed eggs and mix it with mayo, curry powder, seasoning and celery. Serve with some salad leaves, cherry tomatoes and avocado for a light meal or in between fluffy bread. I had some stuffed capsicum with tuna and couscous.

Indonesian Spicy Roast Chicken

2012-01-10T05:21:00.000+08:00

I'm not quite sure why this is Indonesian? Perhaps my indonesian friends could let me know why? But I see this recipe as rather interesting. It really is a curry baked chicken!! I was attracted to it because the paste was made exactly the way when we could make a curry but only we pour the sauce over the chicken and roast it!

All I could think of was, slow cooked chicken in rich coconut curry sauce. That is bound to be a winner! And indeed it is. I know it is summer now but eating chicken this way with some rice or simple salad is such a comfort.

Indonesian Spicy Roast Chicken (Serves 4)
8 chicken drumsticks with skin and fat trimmed

125 ml coconut cream
3 pieces of kaffir lime leaves
1 tablespoon of oil
salt

Spices (blended)
3 chili padis
2 dried chili soaked in warm water
1 whole knob of garlic
5 shallots
1/2 cm size piece of turmeric or I used 2 tablespoon of turmeric powder
a 3 cm piece of galangal
3 candle nuts
2 tablespoon of curry powder

Preheat Oven to 200 C>

Place blended ingredients in a pot. Cook till fragrant. Add in coconut milk and some salt. Taste and season accordingly. Cook all ingredients till thick. Then pour it on to chicken. Bake for around 30-40 minutes.

Hazelnut Cranberry Christmas Fruit Cake

2012-01-08T07:03:00.001+08:00

Oops! I am a few weeks late with posting this cake. Nevertheless, it is never too early to prepare for 2012's christmas right? Well, I sure wish I will be more organised this year.

Truth be told, I have not made a Christmas Fruit cake in years. The last time I made it, I had the patience to soak the fruits in DOM or brandy if you have any in October. Then, I baked the cake in November and stored it in the fridge, patiently brushing the cake with liquor every week to ensure that it is a booze filled cake by the time it was Christmas time.

I did not know how I found such patience!

As this year, we get to celebrate Christmas in Perth, I thought I should make something. Getting into the baking mode, I found a hazelnut Christmas cake recipe from Taste.com. I adapted a few things, including adding in cranberries and using Kalua instead of Frangelico (I simply did not have it in my kitchen).

The result was a rich, fruit filled cake. Even though the recipe called for a 9 inch cake tin (Or around 22 cm), I found that there was enough batter to make 10 more mini cakes! It was certainly a very generous recipe. I am sure you could even use your muffin tin if you do not have one of those mini loaf tin like mine.

Bite into a rich, juicy fruit cake with the crunch of hazelnuts..yum. I want Christmas again!

Hazelnut Cranberry Christmas Fruit Cake
500 grams of mixed fruit
100 grams of glade cherries
400 grams of cranberries
1 cup of Kalua or Frangelico

250 grams butter
1 cup of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of mango marmalade or lime if you have any
6 eggs lightly whisked
150 grams of crushed hazelnuts, toasted
2 cups of plain flour
1 cup of self raising
1/4 cup of cocoa powder
2 tablespoon of kalua, extra

Soak fruits in 1 cup of kalua overnight.

Preheat oven to 150C. Line a 9 inch cake tin and oiled a muffin tray or mini loaf tray.

Beat butter and sugar together. Add eggs, and marmalade. Add in all the fruits. Fold in both flours and cocoa powder. Finally fold in hazelnuts.

Spoon in cake tins. Bake for around 1 hr for the mini loaf/muffin, and 1.5 to 2 hours for the cake. Test with a skewer (that if it comes out clean). Remove from oven and cool slightly before brushing it ith extra kalua or frangelico. COver with foil and set in pan to cool completely.

Gogo's Lamb Curry

2012-01-05T07:08:00.000+08:00

Indian food is very pricey in Perth. There are of course, some hits and misses as well. On the occasion that we do have Indian food, we aim to go to the reputable ones such as Gogo's, Two Fat Indians and would you believe.. the tiny indian place just a 10 minutes walk from where we are!

Earlier in the year, I spotted a recipe that Chef GoGo has generously shared with readers of the Sunday Times (News). I kept that paper and said I would attempt it. It looked relatively simple, and the usual doubts crossed my mind... like why would a chef want to share his recipe with others?

However, hubby and I agreed that it is better than the Lamb Curry 2 that I made early last year. It is a keeper of a recipe. I love how simple the blends of spices are as well. The only thing was that I could not justify having 100 ml of oil so I reduced that to 1 tablespoon. Also, I added some cauliflower for a one pot dish. Will be making this again!

GoGo's Lamb Curry (serves 4-6)
700 grams of lamb pieces (I used a small shoulder)
2 onions chopped
4 chopped roma tomatoes
50 grams chopped garlic
50 grams chopped ginger
1 tablespoon of oil
2 tablespoon of chill powder
2 tablespoon of coriander powder
2 tablespoon of cumin
1 tablespoon of turmeric
1/2 tsp salt
120 ml of coconut milk

Optional- half a head of cauliflower

Heat oil and sauté onions. Add meat with ginger, garlic and salt. Sweat till juices come out. Add spices and lower heat. Simmer for at least 45 minutes (I cooked mine for 1 hr+ and the meat was tender as!).

Add finely chopped tomatoes and cook for last 15 minutes. Add coconut milk at the last minute. Serve with hot rice.

Thai Inspired Chicken Cashew Salad

2012-01-02T08:17:00.000+08:00

Did you have a great new year celebration? We had a quiet one and as I am typing, we are painting our kitchen! Oh the joys of public holidays.

I thought I will start the new year by having a salad dish. Hey, after all the indulging, the best we could do is to enjoy our salads!

The real reason of course, is that summer in Perth is finally hitting us. Meals are getting quicker in the kitchen as we want lighter dishes. While I know my granny will probably give me the evil eye for not having the traditional meal for dinner, I find that salads can be very interesting and dynamic.

Take this Thai inspired chicken salad for instance. It has some rice vermicelli, which means it still provide us with some carbs, but not the usual larger amount of course. Chicken for protein and a generous amount of salad, rocket, and herbs. The dressing is made by whisking fish sauce, chill padi, lemon juice and just a tiny bit of sugar. I jazzed it up further by adding some toasted cashew nuts. It's so quick and easy and no fuss!

Hubby also love the lack of washing up (1 salad bowl and 2 plates!).

I am sure there I have more salads to share with you.

Thai Inspired Chicken Cashew Salad (Serves 4)
2 chicken breast cut horizontally to create 4 pieces)

250 grams of mixed salad leaves
1 small bunch of basil
1 small bunch of mint
1 capsicum sliced
1 lebanese cucumber sliced

50 grams of rice vermicelli soaked in boiling water, drained and snipped in shorter lengths
handful of toasted cashews.

Dressing
2 chili padi chopped finely
1/4 cup of fish sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 lemon juice

Marinate chicken with some lemon juice and salt/pepper for 10 minutes. Heat grill pan up and grill chicken till done on both sides. Cool slightly and slice thinly.

Mean while, whisk all dressings together.

Assemble salad by placing salad leaves, capsicum and cucumber and herbs together. Toss rice vermicelli through. Place chicken on top and sprinkle cashew nuts all over. Toss through dressing and serve.

Happy New Year!

2011-12-30T14:40:00.000+08:00

The best thing about the new year is that we get to review our goals and blessings and set new one for the new year.

I have been quiet for the past week, taking the time to enjoy our families and just being with each other (and working!). It allowed my mind to be still for just a while, to think back and to set new goals for the next year.

Last year, I wrote about the life highlights and cooking/baking enjoyments. I spoke about some of my goals for the year of 2011. It struck me that this is a good space to re look at these goals and reflect the growth that occurs in many ways. Time seem to just fly by so quickly, more so when I started working and life responsibilities set in. Life should not just slip by and every year should be treasured. What else is a better way than to set life growth goals and grow in them!

and counting every single blessings that God has provided. In the midst of challenges in the year, He knows what we cannot handle and can. This account is a true reflection that even through the midst of dark times, there are still so much joy.

Highlights of 2011

We started building our home sweet home!

We attended one of my best buddies' wedding.

We celebrated our 2nd year wedding anniversary! We went to the fabulous Greenhouse restaurant and also spent a few days in Denmark, Western Australia.

We went to busselton and was at the Micheal Buble's concert.
We headed to Melbourne with a few friends.

I took up boxing, zumba, body balance and pump classes, which resulted in a stronger, healthier, better coordination (those who know me know that I trip when I walk!) and a happier daphne. I found muscles!
I am learning and still trying to relax obsession of the weighing scale and just learn to love who I am more.
I achieved another milestone in the area that I am working in. Developing and leading a team has made me more humble as a clinician than ever before.
I have a fringe! :)

Cooking and Baking Highlights?

I made curries!!!!

I learned how to roast a chicken.

I made kueh.

And a french dessert.

Hot Cross Buns

Did try to look at some chocolate chip cookie recipes...

And dabbled in some ice cream making!

It has been a blast of a year.

Goals for 2012

Attempt to make creme brûlée again. First, I have to locate some butane for my torch!
Definitely more ice-cream making. I have my eyes on making vanilla bean ice cream and rum and raisin!
Embrace my roots and make more home styled asian dishes.
Be kinder to myself, to praise the Lord for creating us and loving my body.
Continue with my gym workouts (haha, I know you are thinking I have broken the last goal already but it is to be healthier!). Being stronger and tone within.
Working hard in being even another step closer to our dreams.
On top of respecting my husband, but also to speak kinder and be more generous with my words.
Enjoy the process of moving into our new home.
To pray more.

Wishing you a HAPPY NEW YEAR. Whatever your goals were, or challenges you went through, it's time to take a deep breathe and move forward! May this year will take you greater heights or grow as a person within greater than before.

Christmas Cinnamon Cranberries and Walnut Muffins

2011-12-23T06:35:00.000+08:00

How time has flown by and we are onto Christmas already!! Are you ready for it yet? I don't feel that I am!

I find these muffins a real easy treat to make. It's good to bring to last minute gatherings that you have been invited for this festive season. I love experimenting with olive oil and this recipe uses just that. It gave my kitchen a very festive feel when it is out from the oven.

The best thing about these? I really like the sprinkle of brown sugar and walnuts as a topping. It makes them just a tad more special.

Oh my, I still have so many treats that I want to make! Looks like these posts would have to be for after Christmas (or maybe a New Year treat?).

Nevertheless, I'm hoping that you are having a fantastic Christmas this year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Christmas Cinnamon Cranberries and Walnut Muffins (Makes 12)
200 grams cranberries
300 grams self raising flour
100 grams brown sugar
80 grams walnuts or half a cup
2 tsp ground ginger
1 giant tablespoon of ground cinnamon
185 ml butter milk
80 ml of olive oil
1 egg

1 tablespoon of brown sugar
2-3 handful of crushed walnuts

Preheat oven to 180C. Place wrappers on tray or muffin tin.

Combine flour, cranberries, all spices and walnuts in a bowl. Whisk oil, egg and buttermilk together. Pour into well of dry ingredients. Fold through. Spoon into wrappers/muffin tray.

Combine remaining brown sugar and walnuts. Sprinkle some on each muffin. bake for 20 minutes.

Gingerbread Cookies

2011-12-20T07:20:00.001+08:00

I can assure you that usually I am very organised. I love things being in order and I love to plan ahead. In fact, all our meals are planned way in advanced for the week.

When it comes to baking however, I seem to rely on the "I feel like baking" mode. That has it advantages of course, but it means I usually do not have every single ingredient or tools I need in my kitchen. Take these gingerbread cookies for instance. You may have known them as Gingerbread MEN. However, somehow, in my cookie cutter collection I do not have a gingerbread man cutter!!

I recall that d from Daily Affairs gave me a set of Christmas cutters before. I look through them..Nope.. No men. Oh well, but they are gorgeous. With bells, christmas tree, stars, snowflake..etc. I thought oh well, I shall turn them into gingerbread cookies instead. Did I mention that I have nothing to decorate the cookies with except for icing sugar?

My decorating skills isn't the best but I have to say that a drizzle of icing does make a difference. One thing I like about this recipe is that it is not overly sweet. They are slightly crunchy with a chewiness to them.

I'm not usually a fan of ginger-things related but even I am getting into the mood thanks to hubby. Oh and I think I'm finally back to the baking Christmas mode.

Hopefully, with more prepared ingredients!

Gingerbread Cookies
125 grams butter
90 grams brown sugar
120 ml golden syrup
325 grams plain flour
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon of ground ginger
1 tsp of ground cinnamon

Icing
1 egg white
1/2 cup of pure icing sugar

Preaheat Oven to 180C. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.

Beat butter, sugar and golden syrup. Fold in egg yolk then flour, ground ginger and cinnamon. Fold it through well. Then using hands, knead it till it becomes smooth.

On a floured surface and rolling pin, roll dough out. Using christmas cutters-or if you are better organised than myself, use a gingerbread man cutter. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Ice them and eat!

Kueh Talam

2011-12-18T09:06:00.000+08:00

I am not afraid to embrace my Chinese heritage. I left home when I was 16 years old but still have fond memories of where I grew up in. Many of my memories are with my granny who adores bringing me out to try different chinese food. Almond milk dessert and different kuehs are just a few of the many that we would have on our Chinatown trips.

Looking back when I was in my late teens/early twenties, I probably did not embrace my culture as much as I should have. I went through a phrase where I wanted steaks and pork chops, instead of chicken rice and herbal soups. Fries please but not my stir fry veges.

Slowly but surely, I realised what I have missed. Living away from my parents and grandmother make me appreciate them even more. And where I am from and the rich different cultures that we are exposed to.

I had fun making this Kueh. While it is not Cantonese-more like Nonya, it is one of my favourite one to have as a child. I love the coconut cream and the pandan flavour in this. It is probably one of my most successful kueh other than Ondeh Ondeh. The only regret is that my green layer seems thicker than my white one! Alas, I only used Pandan extract but hey...whatever it takes.

Kueh Talam

Green Layer
60 grams rice flour
20 grams tapicoa flour
20 mung bean flour
150 grams sugar
125 ml of water + few tsp of pandan extract (or 125 pandan water)
250 water
1/2 tsp alkaline water (I mixed water with bicarb soda)

White Layer
30 grams rice flour
30 grams mung bean flour
250 ml coconut cream
1/4 tsp salt

Green Layer- Combine rice flour, tapioca flour and mung bean flour in a double boil pot (glass bowl on top of saucepan). Mix sugar with it.

In a jug, mix all wet ingredients together. Slowly mix it with dry ingredients till smooth. Cook it for around 15 minutes till the mixture thickens.

Pour into a 6 by 6 square tin and steam it for 20 minutes.

White layer- combine rice and mung bean flour. Add salt. Pour coconut cream and cook in double boiler for 5-10 minutes till thickens. When the green layer is down, pour on top of tray. Steam for another 20 minutes.

Cool and cut in pieces.

Smoked Salmon and Chorizo Basil Frittata

2011-12-15T07:24:00.000+08:00

Weak nights are usually a mad rush for the both of us. Usually I would arrive home first, slapping on something on the stove or oven before rushing to the gym or to other appointments. On average, we have dinner 3-4 nights a week after 9pm.

Friends usually ask why would I still want to cook or prepare a meal if we are always in such tight rush for time. The main reason is because I love the control of what gets cooked and eaten. That way, I can add little dairy, little oil or other fat whenever I want. Recently, I have been trying to get both of us eating less processed food and carbs, which means preparing meals at home is a necessity.

It's not that difficult when one planned out weekly meals. I try to predict what my schedule is like for the next week so I can adjust and plan meals accordingly. For instance, most Thursday nights are wrap or egg nights. Pretty much no cooking and food can be eaten in a flash after a shower when I come home from gym. During winter, we had soup nearly every Monday night. Simply because I can pop it into my thermal cooker or even a slow cooker to simmer away before I come home at 10pm for a quick feed (but not too filling) before resting.

As the weather warms up, I find myself eating more easy to prepare salads. It's usually a 10 min prepare job with little fuss. I paired some greens with a easy to bake frittata and think it's such a fulfilling meal. think eggs baked with ingredients! Think of the lack of washing up to do later on!!

Smoked Salmon and Chorizo Basil Frittata (Serves 4)
8 eggs
100 grams smoked salmon
1 chorzo sliced thinnly
1/2 cup of soy milk
1 cup of basil leaves

Sizzle chorizo on cold to hot over proof pan. Meanwhile, whisk eggs with milk. Pour egg mixture into pan. Top with smoked salmon and basil leaves. Bake for 20 minutes in 180 C till eggs become set. Serve with green salad.

Pan Fried Tempeh with Chili Anchovies

2011-12-13T08:38:00.001+08:00

I have always wanted to try tempeh-a soy product but never had the guts to do so. Finally, I decided to give it a go after spotting some in our of our local oriental stores.

To be very honest, I do not think I am a fan of the taste of it- though I do like the texture. Maybe it's the way I cooked it. I paired it with some lovely chilli anchovies which made it nicer but I am not sure if I will give it another go.

It has a slight nutty but strong after taste. I think the chill and peanuts does mask the flavour well.

Have you tried tempeh before? How did you cook it?

Pan Fried Tempeh with Chilli Peanut Anchovies (serves 4)
100 grams Tempeh sliced and pan fried
1 cup of fried anchovies
2 chilli chopped
1/2 cup of peanuts
some chopped chives

Roast peanuts in pan. Add chill and some oil. Toss anchovies and chives through it. Top it on tempeh. Serve with rice.

Cream Cheese Butter Bean Bake

2011-12-11T09:26:00.000+08:00

It's nearly here!! Christmas that is. It seems that for the past few years, we have not been home (Perth) for Christmas. It was Europe in 2009, and hubby's home country (KL) in 2010. For 2011, we will be having a quiet one with our extended family and friends in Perth. It will probably be the least prepared Christmas for us given both of us will be working through it.

I stumble across this idea by looking food apps. I took the butter bean bake idea and themed it with some chives and onion cream cheese topped with bread crumbs. I think it is a good idea to theme it with a roast dish, or even some pan fried chicken. I am always on the lookout for good side recipes and I do think this will help.

Cream Cheese Butter Bean Bake (serves 4)
1 can of butter beans slightly mashed with fork
50 grams cream cheese
1 sprig of rosemary chopped leaves
1 cup of bread crumbs fresh if you have any
few tablespoon of milk
seasoning

Mash butter beans with milk if needed. Mix cream cheese through the butter beans. Season. Place in an oven proof dish. Sprinkle breadcrumbs and rosemary over it and spray it with oil. Bake for 20 minutes.

Pork Chops with Baked Apples

2011-12-08T06:48:00.000+08:00

Sometimes, the simplest combination of ingredients is what works. Nothing too fussy, but just pork, apples and a roasting tray. I mentioned before that I have an unjustified fear of combining fruits and savoury dishes together. In my head, it just doesn't make sense. I like savoury savoury and sweet sweet. Looking back, it could be what I was used to as a child- where our food is really simple. Plain rice with two dishes, sometimes three. I never knew savoury rice even existed.

Pork chops in my household were those that resembled what was cooked at the local food court. The greasy delicious fried pork chops with heaps of grilled onions. In fact, that was how I knew western food- usually greasy and appealing to my young tastebuds.

One thing I love about this dish is that it is really dead easy AND little mess. Everything in a roasting tray. How good is that? I did serve mine with some lightly fried asparagus on salad leaves. The only comment is that the apples are still crunchy which is fine by us, but if you want it softer, you may want to cook it first before adding the pork. It's a good lazy Sunday night dinner.

Pork Chops with Baked Apples (serves 4) adapted from Taste.
4 lean pork chops trimmed
3 apples peeled, cored and sliced.
1 stalk of rosemary -leaves chopped
seasoning salt and pepper

Pan fried pork till cooked on the outside. Probably around 2 minutes on each side. Preheat Oven 180 C. Toss apple with some oil and rosemary. Lined on roasting tray. Place pork on top of apples. Cook it in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Season.

Coconut Quinoa Basil Chicken Salad

2011-12-05T06:12:00.000+08:00

Quinoa must be the new wonder food. It's appearing world wide, in various restaurants and food blogs. I tasted it first at the Greenhouse in Perth City. It was sooo awesome. Seriously filling and I love its nutty taste. Packed fill with protein, I knew this would be fantastic to have in my meals.

Personally, I love the red quinoa better- it just seem to have more of a nutty flavour. I cooked it with some coconut milk and water. Tossed it with salad leaves, basil and mint. Topped with grilled chicken and tadah, a perfect spring salad for dinner.

I did toss some fish sauce through it, but really, with the coconut milk infused quinoa, there isn't a need. It taste even better the next day for lunch.

Coconut Quinoa Basil Chicken Salad
1 cup of red quinoa
1 cup of water
1 cup of coconut milk

2 chicken breast- cut in half, season with olive oil and salt.
3 cups of salad leaves
1 bunch of mint
1 bunch of basil
1 red capsicum diced

2 tablespoon of fish sauce, 1/2 tsp of sugar and 1/4 cup of lemon juice
few red chilli chopped

Cook quinoa with water and coconut.

Grill chicken breast. Set aside. Toss everything with veges, chills and sauce. Serve!

Pandan, Rose and Vanilla Steam Rice Cake

2011-12-02T06:51:00.000+08:00

I have been trying to experiment and make kuehs (Nonya Desserts) lately. It has been on my mind to master some of them at least. Previously, I have tried making Ondehs Ondehs, and of course the Bubur Pulut Hitam. It just seems like such a challenge, but I do miss having them. It's like a piece of home at home.

Making them also made me appreciate the simplicity of just heading out to the shops to grab a few of the kuehs for afternoon tea back in SG or KL. The challenge in making these kuehs is the lack of availability of fresh pandan leaves- often, I could only purchase it frozen and tasteless. I use pandan paste as a substitute but it really isn't the same.

One of the kuehs that most children like is the 9 layer cake. I love to peel each layer and eat it slowly. Recently, I came across a similar recipe but uses rose water instead. In fact, it has 3 distinct flavours, using vanilla and pandan as well.

The final result was "ok". I'm not sure why it feels a little thick or not as "smooth". maybe I have added in too much flour. I would also add more rose water (adjusted recipe below)

Back to the kitchen for more testing!

Pandan Rose, and Vanilla 9 Layer Steam Rice Cake from "Little Nonya"
600 grams rice flour
5 tbsp of tapioca flour
450 grams sugar
750 ml coconut milk
1800 ml water

1/4 tablespoon of rose water + few drops of red colouring
1 tsp of pandan paste
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine flours, sugar and water. Add coconut milk and water till batter is form. Separate into 3 bowls.

Add vanilla extract to one. Pandan paste to another, and rose water + red colouring in the 3rd.

Pour pink layer first in 9 inch by 9 inch tray. Steam for 5 minutes. Followed by white layer then green. Repeat each layer, steaming each for 5 minutes. Leave to cool before cutting it up.

Creamy Chicken and Egg Pie

2011-11-29T08:02:00.002+08:00

I realised, it was 10 years ago since I made this pie. I can still remember, hubby and I were housemates then. We weren't even dating. There were a few of us in this big shared house and we took turns to cook.

Yes, we survived. From chicken wing dings (some frozen chicken crumbed chicken wings), massive amounts of instant noodles, odd concoctions of soups and stir fries, oven baked fish and chips.. yes..those were the days.

Did I mentioned that it was in that kitchen that I produced my rock hard rock cakes.

It was also around that period of time, that I made this pie. I recall that hubby's (who wasn't even my boyfriend then!) brother came over to visit. I thought that a pie could be just something different and a nice change for all. Maybe I was trying to impress them subconsciously. But it was better than all the odd concoctions and pre packaged stir fry sauces. It turned out ok and it was all gone.

I thought I would shelve that recipe.....

and there it was, 10 years later All shelved up. but just as good. The surprise is when you cut the pie and take a bite of the creamy chicken and that egg. It hits you.

Creamy Chicken and Egg Pie
1 shortcrust pastry
1 puff pastry

500 grams of chicken thighs, trimmed and diced
1 capsicum diced
1 onion diced
1 tablespoon of garlic
200 grams of lean bacon diced
2 eggs hard boiled and quartered
1 cup of soy milk/milk
2 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of flour
1 tablespoon of djon mustard
1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup of sherry

Blind Baked shortcuts pastry in 180 C oven for 20 minutes. If you can, line a piece of baking paper and put some rice/dried beans on it when blind baking.

Mean while, brown chicken. Once done, set aside. Heat butter and melt. Whisk in flour till it is slightly golden. Then pour in milk, whisking it till it becomes thick. Add in mustard and cheese. Simmer for 5 minutes, adding some water if needed to water it down. Then toss in all veges and finally chicken.

Spoon mixture to short crust pastry (removing the baking paper and beans).Scatter egg randomly on pie. Top with puff pastry, poking a few holes at the top. Brush with egg. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve with side salad

Bubur Pulut Hitam (Black Sticky Rice Dessert)

2011-11-27T08:20:00.001+08:00

Black food is good food. Growing up in humid Singapore, I was a tad confused on why people like having warm and hot desserts on a hot day? Well, it's abit like having ice-cream on a cold and raining day isn't it? They just seem to complement each other.

Bubur Pulut Hitam is a favourite dessert for many- including my hubby. It's really like a black rice pudding. Thick and creamy with a dash of coconut cream. What not to love? I am a fan of the texture of it once it is slow cooked for many hours. Part of the Nonya Cuisine, it seems to always warm our hearts and soul when I have this bowl of sweet dessert.

I found out that it is rich in fibre- hence the reason why it takes so long to be broken down and cooked. More reason for me to have it, even though it is probably very high in carbs. I can argue, however, that it does not consist of that much sugar or other nasty stuff like butter.

And so the little argument in my head continues...

Bubur Pulut Hitam (Black Sticky Rice Dessert)
3 cups of black glutinous rice
10 cups of water
2-3 stalks of pandan leaves if you have it. Tied in a bunch
10 grams of dried logans washed
around 50-100grams of rock sugar

wash and soak rice overnight or 3-4 hours. Then bring it to boil with the quantity of water and panda leaves. After around 10-15 mins, bring it to a simmer and add the logans. Add sugar after another 15 minutes. If you have a thermal pot, use it at this point and cook it for another 4-5 hours if you can. If you are using the stove top, remember to give it a good stir once every 15 minutes. Simmer it using low fire/heat. Taste and adjust accordingly. Some people have cooked it in 2-3 hours but I never found mine creamy enough with that amount of time. in fact, if I used my thermal cooker to leave it overnight, or slow cooker, that tends to work even better.

Serve with a dash of coconut cream.

Malay Style Curry Chicken

2011-11-24T06:33:00.000+08:00

Many years ago, someone asked if I knew how to make curry chicken from scratch. She meant blending spices together to create our own pastes rather than relying on store bought ones. My short answer then was no. I even thought, who would want to make their own pastes these days given there are so many good store bought ones?

But I learned.

I learned that making our own pastes means more control in understanding what goes into our food. It forces me to find out what is a candlenut. It made me more savvy in tasting-it's a continuous process of blending and tasting till the right balance occurs.

Even reading recipe books can be tricky. Again, one cannot forget to keep tasting to make sure it is right.

I wish I could tell the person that she is right. Making curry is a test of skill and patience. It's one that an asian cook should at least trip to attempt it. It's a classic. Just like my delay in making roast chicken, this is n o difference. It pushes me out of my comfort zone.

But that's what ~~personal~~ kitchen skills' growth is about isn't it. The quest to learn and extend ourselves.

I took this recipe from "A taste of Malaysia" written by Patsie Chong. Adapted a few things and yum! Malay Style Curry Chicken.

Malay Style Curry Chicken
600 grams chicken thigh with bones in pieces
4 potatoes chopped
200 grams coconut cream

To be blended
8-10 shallots
1 head of garlic
2 candle nuts

Seasoning
5 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp sambal balacan paste (or you can use chill paste)
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp coriander powder
3 stalks of lemonongrass
6 stalks of curry leaves
1/2 cup of water
salt if needed

Saute blended ingredients and seasoning in a deep pot. If you like, you could use some oil to sauté it. I didn't. Add in chicken and potatoes. Coat the paste on chicken well. Pour water. You may need a little more if it seems dry. Boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes till chicken is well cooked. Stir in coconut cream. Taste and season with salt if needed. Serve with rice.

Banana Waffles with Sesame Honey Walnuts

2011-11-21T06:16:00.000+08:00

The little luxuries in life. More recently, we added bananas to the list. With bananas dropping in price to around $6/kg, it is slightly more affordable.

I mashed one banana into the waffle batter. To be honest, I wished I could have mashed two! But alas, we are still rationing the use of bananas (does that sound ridiculous?!?!). Maybe when the weather gets warmer and supply is more plentiful, I can be more generous.

What I love, however, was roasting some walnuts with a drizzle of honey and sesame seeds. Crisp walnuts with a light sweetness and fragrance from the sesame. We shared 4 waffles between us and skipped lunch that day. Totally worth it.

Banana Waffles with Sesame Honey Walnuts (4 Waffles)
1eggs
1 cups of soy milk
1/2 cup plain flour
1/4 cup of instant oats
2 tsp of baking powder
1/2 cup of cranberries
1 tablespoon of honey
1/4 tsp salt
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
3 tablespoon of oil
1 mashed banana

1 cup of walnuts
2 tablespoon of honey
1 tsp sesame

Whisk eggs,banana, oil, honey and milk together. In a dry bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder, cranberries, chocolate and sugar. Fold wet into dry. Preheat waffle iron. Spoon and cook! Meanwhile, hit pan and toast walnuts. Drizzle honey and sesame. Once it becomes slight brown. remove pan from heat. EAT waffles with walnuts!

Stir Fry Garlic Sprouts with Tofu

2011-11-18T07:05:00.000+08:00

There was a time where cooking chinese vegetables as a side dish consist of oyster sauce bak choy, or kai lan. Then I ventured out and started frying broccoli. Then cabbage, then asparagus, mushrooms..so forth.

Thank goodness my eyes started to see other vegetables available in our farmers market. I have grown to experiment and use other kind of vegetables in Chinese cooking. If not, our side dishes were getting a tad too boring. Further, I need to tell you and prove to my parents and grandparents that we are indeed eating our vegetables..... even though we have left home years ago.

One of my favourite is garlic sprouts. It stays fresher in the fridge for a longer period of time and has a nice crunch to it. Recently, I paired it with some tofu and realised how nice both texture goes together. Firm and soft tofu together with garlic sprouts. Quick fry of everything in 10 minutes and side dish done.

Or it could be a main dish itself.

Stir Fry Garlic Sprouts with Tofu
1 bunch of garlic sprouts, washed and chopped in desired length
1 tablespoon of garlic
1 5 spice tofu sliced
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
2 tablespoon of hua tiao jiu

Saute garlic. Add garlic sprouts. You may need 1/4 cup of water then to prevent veges from drying out. Simmer and add tofu and other sauces. Toss around for 5 minutes. Serve with hot rice.

Two Way Pizzas- Spicy Chorizo and Cherry Tomatoes + Smoked Trout with Horseradish and Avocado

2011-11-15T06:50:00.001+08:00

It has been ages since we made some pizzas at home. Pizzas are not as unhealthy as what people usually think of- unless of course, it is filled with heaps of cheese and not enough protein or vegetables. I'm a big fan of making them at home as I can control how much per ingredient I am using. It's also a great back up recipe to use when travelling with mates. I recall how much fun we had making mini pizzas together with a few friends.

Hubby suggested using chorizo- now, that isn't exactly the healthiest. But one can control the amount of fat but cooking it in a pan till all the fat render out. Then use it as a topping. This version uses mango chutney as a base sauce and feta cheese.

The other one was slightly more my kind of pizza. Pieces of smoked trout with avocado, rocket and feta. Yum!

Spicy Chorizo and Cherry Tomatoes Pizza
1 pizza base- home made or store bought
1 chorizo sliced
1/2 punnet of cherry tomatoes chopped half
2 tablespoon of spicy mango chutney
1/4 cup of cheddar cheese
few cubes of feta cheese

Pre heat oven at 200C. Spread chutney on pizza base and add some cheddar cheese. Place cooked and rendered fat chorizo on it. Sprinkle cherry tomatoes and feta cheese. Bake for 20 minutes.

Smoked Trout with Horseradish, Rocket and Avocado Pizza
50 grams of smoked trout
1 tablespoon of horseradish sauce
1/2 avocado
few cubes of feta
1/4 cup of cheddar
rocket leaves
pizza base

Spread horseradish on pizza base. Sprinkle smoked trout, cheddar and feta on it. Bake for 20 mins. Once done, place avocado and rocket leaves on top. Serve.

Mini Chocolate Yogurt Snack Cakes

2011-11-13T10:27:00.001+08:00

As I move around different work locations, I'm back with the team that does the most awesome morning teas. It's a once a week event, organised to help the hunger pangs from hitting us when we have a few meetings scheduled back to back.

This time round, I looked through my bookmarked recipes and found the perfect one. Perfect? I define it as easy, quick and looks delish.

It has no butter, but remained moist. I reduced the amount of oil in this and had around 185 grams of dark chocolates melted. Well, I rather calories come from good dark chocolate than butter! It yielded around 12 mini cakes. Don't be fooled by the word yogurt, I think it is quite a rich cake. Zap it in the microwave for a few seconds for the gooey moist insides.

Thanks guys for being great bloggers i.e. Piggy's Cooking Journal and for sharing the love.

Mini Chocolate Yogurt Snack Cakes (12 mini cakes)
185 grams of dark chocolate. I used Lindt
less than 1/2 cup of oil. I used olive
1/2 cup greek yogurt
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup of flour
1 1/2 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 cup of slivered almonds
1/2 cup of dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 180 C. Lined muffin tray with papers or like me, just place pretty cups on a cookie tray.

Simmer water in a saucepan. Place a glass bowl on top of the simmering saucepan and place chopped up chocolate there. Met with 1/4 cup of oil. Remove from heat when melted

In a large jug, whisk remaining oil, yogurt, sugar, eggs and vanilla.

Bowl- whisk flour, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the middle, pour wet into dry. Fold. Add almonds and cranberries. Fold. Spoon into muffin papers.

Bake for 20-25 minutes till set in the middle. Cool and eat.

Sending my love to Aspiring Bakes #13 Cupcakes hosted by Min's Blog this month.

Easy Beef and Brocollini Soba Noodle Salad

2011-11-10T07:07:00.000+08:00

I know it will come a time, where I have to graduate from making soups to salads. After all, the weather is warming up lovely and salads are such a nice fresh way to enjoy summer no?

I spotted this recipe from Taste. Looking at it for inspiration, I made our own noodle dressing- with sesame seed dressing + sweet chill + sesame seeds. It provided a nutty sweetness to the beef salad. This is also my first time using Brocollini. A thin long version of broccoli. It's almost like a cross between broccoli and kai lan!

so i'm slowly getting into groove into creating more salads. Summer here we come!

Easy Beef and Brocollini Soba Noodle Salad
250 packet of soba noodles
1 bunch of brocollini trimmed
100 grams of baby spinach leaves
1 carrot shredded
1 cup of cashew nuts toasted
300 grams of beef sizzled

Dressing
3 tablespoon of roasted sesame dressing (can be found at local oriental stores)
2 tablespoon of sweet chill
3 tablespoons of mirin
1 tablespoon of sesame seeds

Cook noodles till nearly done and throw in brocollini. Cook for 3 mins. Drain and rinse with cold water. Mean while sizzle steak and cut in small pieces. Toss noodles, all salad veges and beef in a big bowl.

Whisk dressing together. Pour dressing over it and mix it up. Crunch it up with cashews. Serve

Galette De Trois

2011-11-07T07:51:00.001+08:00

We are very blessed with friends from everywhere. More so, when a special couple was introduced to us when they first shifted from New Zealand to Perth without knowing anybody. This couple is French and are one of the most funny and gorgeous people I know. So we met up, and we all clicked and a friendship was established.

It was her who cooked us a wonderful french dinner one evening, complete with entrees and dessert. Nothing but good hospitality from this couple. We learned so much about their culture, how proud they are of their heritage but so accepting of differences. Then the night turned and she presented us with this lovely ending of a dessert- Galette De Trois.

He told us a folklore story from French. A coin or trinket is usually hidden in it, and the person who found it is the "king" he/she gets to wear a crown through the night. Oh, and he even taught us how to pronounced it right. ;P

It was light and crispy with a delicious creamy filling in the middle. It's very very addictive.

They have since moved to Adel. But we are still in contact! And so I attempted to make this at home. To thank them for teaching us and being our friends!!

ps-sorry for my little attempt to draw a flower on the pastry! obviously i need more practise!!

Galette De Trois

2 puff pastry
1/2 cup of almond meal
113 grams of butter
1/3 cup of castor sugar
1 vanilla bean split and scrapped
2 eggs

1 egg

Pre heat oven at 180C. Beat butter and sugar till creamy. Add eggs, and beat well. Fold in vanilla and almond meal.

Using a 9 inch pan as a stencil, cut a round from both puff pastries. Spoon almond and butter paste into the middle of the pastry. Even it out as much as you can. Brush sides with the extra egg. Put the pastry onto of it and press to seal. Brush with egg and poke a few holes at the side- or like me, trying to draw a flower with a knife! Bake for 25 minutes till golden brown.

Creamy Coconut Almond Sweet Potato Soup

2011-11-04T07:34:00.000+08:00

It's amazing how a few new ingredients can make a boring old soup more interesting. Adding peanut butter to soup was Joanne's Eat Well with Other's great idea. I took that, and used almond paste + almonds instead to jazz up the soup.

I came across almond paste after a stint of trying to be healthy and avoiding peanut butter-mainly for nutritious reasons. I mean, every calorie count so why swallow something when it isn't good for my body? I will never be anti peanut butter though, I like those stuff too much to dislike it. However, if I have a choice, I would choose almond paste over peanut butter. Almond paste has a fresh nutty aroma that I enjoy with crackers/toast/salads and now...soup!

I have always though that sweet potatoes goes very well with coconut milk. It reminds me a lot of thai cooking I think. Somehow, the combination makes a very creamy and heart warming soup. Perfect for those who wants something warm for winter, and for our sometimes chilling nights in spring.

Creamy Coconut Almond Sweet Potato Soup (serves 6-8)
1 kg of sweet potato peeled and chopped
125 ml of coconut milk
2 tablespoon of almond paste
2 red chilis chopped
1 ltre chicken stock
250 ml of water
handful of almonds
1 tablespoon of garlic

Saute garlic and sweet potato in deep pot. Add in almond paste and almonds. Add a little water if too dry. Then, add chill. Toss everything for 5 mins before adding stock and water. Pour and simmer for 20 mins. Blitz it through. Pour back into pot. Season and add coconut milk. Serve with cracked pepper.

Crispy Roast Potatoes

2011-11-01T06:06:00.001+08:00

How many times did we have soggy roast potatoes? I tried tossing them in oil first before putting it into a very hot oven, I tried mixing it up with other veges- a bigger no no! One would think that potatoes are easier to roast than chicken no?

This time, I did research! Yup. Like a determined student preparing for her thesis. I read up. From Jamie Oliver to Donna Hay ... and cooking websites. This method seems to be the one with the most success. I think I didn't do too badly except..just except. I forgot to turn them.

which means, the potatoes are HALF crispy. Ha.

It's ok..more to prac for next time.

Crispy Roasted Potatoes
4 potatoes chopped
2 tablespoon of oil
salt

Boil potatoes till just done. Drain. Return to pot with lid. SHAKE it HARD.

Meanwhile, preheat oven 180C. pour 2 tablespoon of oil into a baking tray enough to just fit the potatoes. When the oven is preheated. put the tray in the oven for 5 minutes.

Take the tray out, toss potatoes through with the oil. Put the tray back in the oven. TURN the potatoes at the 15 minutes mark. Serve with a sprinkle of salt.

Happy Birthday!

2011-10-30T23:41:00.000+08:00

Happy birthday to blog, happy birthday to blog, happy birthday to bloogggggggggg, HAPPY Birthday to BLoG!

and me ;)

Thank you so much for participating in my little blog giveaway. It's really nice to have met friends around the world who encourage and continue to read my adventures in the kitchen, life and marriage. It's my little way of saying Thank You for leaving me your kind comments and readership.

Congratulations to goodbag#1 winner- Janine. What a great blog she runs. Thank you for leaving me a message so I can find your blog!

To my goodiebag#2 winner- Little Corner of Mine! I rubbed my hands in glee when I saw your name pulled out of my very sophisticated lucky draw method. Thanks for all the inspiration and kind words!!

So how did I celebrate my birthday? Technically, it is still my birthday! It didn't start off at a very good note- but like life, things happen. I served at creche in church in the morning, so I was surrounded by the naughtiest and the cutest kids in church. They lined up to get oreos from me. How cute! One cannot have a bad day after that.

I did however, managed to try the Queen of Hearts Morning tea at KOKO Black yesterday. They serve St Ali's coffee in PERTH!

and I have to have one more photo of hubby and I...

So here's to more blog posts to come!!

Roasted Chicken with Herb and Lemon Stuffing

2011-10-26T06:49:00.001+08:00

I'm not sure if I can hold my head up high as I write this. I could feel my cheeks slightly flushed with embarrassment. It's true. I have never attempted roasting a chicken since I started cooking years ago. It's one of those tasks that seems huge and too much work to me. I think I used to assume that anything that takes more than 30 minutes to cook must be hard.

I started reading up on how to roast a chicken and was surprised to learn that it's really... all in my head. The preparation work may take a tad longer than what I am used to, but having a fresh roasted chook in our humble kitchen is pretty amazing. More like a sense of achievement (ha ha, yes i know, simple things amazes me). The crisp skin, moist meat and addictive stuffing.. argh.. why haven't I discover this little secret before?

But you will not laugh at me... will you?

Roasted Chicken with Herb and Lemon Stuffing (serves around 5-6)
1.6kg of organic free range chicken
2 tablespoon of olive oil
sprinkle of salt

Stuffing
3 cups of a day old multigrain breadcrumbs
a tablespoon of margarine
2 tablespoon of mixed herbs
1 tsp of lemon zest
1 tablespoon of garlic
half an onion sautéed

wash and pat chicken dry. Trim any fat that you can see. Preheat oven at 200C.

Combine stuffing together. Spoon stuffing into chicken cavity. Tie legs together. Brush or using your hands, oiled chicken. Sprinkle generous amount of salt on chicken. Roast it for 1 hr till golden brown. Serve with crisp potatoes and veges.

UPDATE: Don't forget the blog giveaway!!! It ends TOMORROW (28th of Oct)!

Banana Bread

2011-10-23T07:22:00.001+08:00

I wonder who is the genius who invented banana bread? It's like great excuse for us to have cake for breakfast!!!! While I am aware that banana bread is healthier- with no butter usually and made with milk and oil, it tastes awesome toasted as well. Genius I say!

I'm excited when I see bananas for sure at a slightly more decent price. Yup. Excited over simple bananas. Well, it was selling for AU$15 a kg and some places even at $18/kg at its peak. For the past few months, bananas are a TREAT.

Due to good weather, bananas are finally more affordable, going at around $6/kg for the past few weeks. It was nice, just being able to afford a bunch of bananas rather than just 1 or 2.

Now, you would think that we would be generous and share this bake with our friends-like we usually do. Hubby turned around and said, let's savour this one for ourselves..it's not a big loaf plus we haven't had any for ages! Well said I think.. it fridged really well too- just require a handy toaster to heat it up again for an awesome treat.

Banana Bread -Donna Hay
1 2/3 cup of plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup of castor sugar
1/3 cup of brown Sugar
1 tsp of ground cinnamon
1 tsp of vanilla extract

2 eggs
1/2 cup of oil
5 mashed bananas (I was greedy)

Preheat Oven 160C

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl or jar, whisk and combine all liquid ingredients. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet one. Folod till well combined. Spoon into lined bread loaf tin. Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon- make swirls if you like with a fork. Bake for 40-45 mins.

Classic Meat Loaf with Glaze

2011-10-19T06:33:00.000+08:00

There is something special about meat loaf. I feel that it is really under rated these days. People tend to associate meat loaf with it being boring food.

My first memory of meat loaf was when I watched American TV. You know, the scene when the mother says "it's dinner time! We are having meat loaf" and the kids making faces. Perhaps, growing up in Singapore, I have been so blessed with having traditional Chinese food, that I just thought that those poor American kids having to suffer through dinner!

So without tasting or knowing exactly what that was, I concluded that meat loaf must be tasteless and boring.

Not till I started experimenting with mince meat that I realised how interesting meat loaves are. First up, they are EASY! super duper easy. And then, it's really no fuss! Exactly how I like my food to be. And budget friendly. Very budget friendly when one was a student, and the other just started working. Oh talk about memories.

More recently, I came across Matt Preston's version of meat loaf. Now, a chef talking about meat loaf? I need to sit up and read up. He included in oats in his version in place of breadcrumbs. "Low GI idea, I like it already" I thought. The glazing idea will keep the loaf moist as well.

I substituted some glaze ingredients from what I have in the fridge and it turned out terrific as well.

Classic Meat Loaf with Glaze

600 grams of lean beef mince
1 onion chopped finely
1 tablespoon of garlic minced
1 cup of rolled oats
1 large egg
1 cup of soy milk

Glaze
1/2 cup of tomato sauce/ketchup.
2 tablespoon of Worcestershire Sauce
2 tablespoon of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of mustard- I used spicy seeded but Dijon is the best)
Salt

Preheat oven to 180 C.

Combine mince, onion and garlic. Fold in oats. Then add egg and milk. Just combine, don't over stir it. I pressed mine in a lined loaf tin but you could do it on baking tray form into a loaf shape. Roast for 30 minutes first.

Meantime, put glaze ingredients in a saucepan. Simmer for a few minutes till combined and looks syrupy. Pour 2/3s of the glaze on meatloaf after 30 minutes. Return back to the oven for another 30 minutes.

Re glaze when meatloaf is done. Rest for 5 minutes and serve with a sprinkle of salt.

Slow Cooked Lamb Shank Soup

2011-10-16T09:20:00.003+08:00

Spring is here!!!

But it hasn't stopped me from making soups.

I know. It's slightly weird. But that's how we describe Perth's weather too. It's weird. Like last Sunday, we had a hail storm at 6am in the morning. I mean, that really doesn't describe spring is it?

So I think I can get away with my soup fascination.

Having found some really fresh lamb shanks and I thought, why not make it a slow cooked lamb shank soup. It's hearty and a one pot dish altogether. Slow cooked, it's really full of flavour and better even on the next day or two.

And so I reveal why i love soups so much- it's usually healthy, it's one pot which means less work..and it can continue to cook while I'm in the gym. OR i can make a quick soups which will be dinner on the table in 30 minutes.

Gotta love soups!

Although I do have a few salad ideas now that the weather is warming up!

Slow Cooked Lamb Shank Soup
1 lamb shank- trimmed
200 grams of lean bacon diced

1 red onion diced
2 carrots diced
1 small bunch of celery diced
1 green and red capsicum diced
1 small sweet potato diced
4 little chili padi diced

1 ltre of beef stock
1 cup of water
250 grams of mixed lentils/soup pack lentils

Wash and soak lentils overnight or the whole day. Drain.

Saute onion and chili. Brown lamb shank. Remove from pot. Saute bacon till brown. Add in all lentils. Stir till it is warm through. Add stock and boil for 20 minutes. Add in all veges and lamb shank. Simmer and cook for 3 hours till meat is tender and soup is rich and thick. Simmer for another 10 minutes with more water if needed. Lamb meat should be tender and easily fall from the bone. Slice lamb meat, remove bone and return to pot. Serve hot with some Parmesan cheese.

Remember to enter for my giveaway! ;)

3 Eggs DOM Pork Stir Fry

2011-10-12T05:32:00.000+08:00

They say that ideas appear at the most unexpected time. If you see that I have been relatively quiet lately, that was because we travelled back to Singapore and KL to spend some time with our families. Since we arrived back on a Sunday evening, I had to rummage the pantry, freezer and fridge for some tucker till I do my proper grocery shopping!

We bought some fresh eggs so that was one ingredient. I found a century egg and a duck salted egg in my pantry . I knew I had some pork in the freezer. Using those ingredients, some soy and DOM for its sweetness and taste, it became a dish.

I had some fresh spring onions on hand because that was what my local market had (not alot of variety! but it could do!). To my surprised, they added a bite of freshness to the dish.

Oh hindsight, it actually looked like the dark version of stir fry carrot cake! ;p

So ideas that occur the most unexpected time can be terrific too. What fantastic dishes have you created when you were short of time/ingredients?

3 Eggs DOM Pork Stir Fry
200 grams of pork fillet sliced
2 chicken eggs
1 salted duck egg diced
1 century egg diced
2 tablespoon of light soy sauce
1/4 cup of DOM or dry sherry
1 tsp of sesame oil
1 tsp of garlic

3-4 stalks of spring onion chopped

Fry garlic till fragrant. Add pork and cook till nearly brown. Add the salted duck and century egg. Toss throughly. Add soy, sesame and DOM. When it starts to boil, add chicken eggs. Fry everything together for another few more minutes and serve with chopped spring onions, rice and veges.

Don't forget my blog giveaway!

Happy Birthday Blog!

2011-10-09T16:53:00.000+08:00

Happy belated birthday, blog (it was supposed to be in September..)!!

A little blink of an eye and this blog is seven years old. Yes, you read it right. I have never celebrated the "birth" of this blog-simply because it has been a constant in my life for the past 7 years. So much so that, I forgot when I started it.

I recall that I started writing after a bad break up. It was suffocating. I had to write a Honours thesis and found my thoughts drifting to painful memories. So I wrote all my feelings into this space, to free up my emotions for the write up of my thesis. It was therapeutic. Then I started baking in the wee hours of the morning to relieve stress. And started writing about it.

And it got addictive.

In all these years, this blog has seen me post about my food adventures and life. Later, I completed my doctoral thesis and blogged about it. I found love again, got married and there it was-with many people around the world celebrated with us.

So I thought for this year, I really should say thank you blog. For its existence and for people who followed bits and pieces of my journey.

October is also my birthday month. Therefore, I have prepared two goodie bags for you to celebrate this special month. This will be a lucky draw for two lucky readers from wherever you are in the world.

goodie bag #1
weekend cooking is often more fun. Relaxation produces better food I say! So I thought someone could benefit from this + a set of chopsticks, lunch bag and a little note holder.

goodie bag #2
You can't get much Aussie than having lamb! I appreciate this meat more since cooking in Australia. Here, I have also included in a wine carrier, pasta measurer and a small note holder.

If you would like a gift to celebrate October, leave a comment here. Oh, and like my Facebook page. I have decided to share more details about our kitchen and food in Perth on this page. After you liked it, leave another comment which will give you an additional ticket to the draw. And if you share this post on your blog, leave me another comment to give you another entry.

This giveaway will end on the 28th of October. I will announce the winners on the 30th of Oct.

huge thank you to everyone for your support! ;) here's to many more years to come!

Chewy Oatmeal and Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-10-06T07:16:00.000+08:00

I'm itching to bake some cookies. For a long time now, I have not come across a cookie recipe that makes me want to make it. I need the "please please please make me" kind of photos and recipe that catches my eye.

Till I read Dwiana's blog. The first recipe I spotted was chewy oatmeal! Ah, I love my oatmeal cookies, especially with a mug of hot chocolate or coffee. Usually I make mine with olive oil but thought I could give this butter version a good as well.

Making cookies are often not as easy as what it seems. They can be temperamental. More so than baking cakes I think. But there is a sort of satisfaction one can have that it is not easily found cooking or baking other dishes.

One mistake I made with these- is that I should have pressed them down to a flatter disc. I think this would have resulted in a slightly nicer looking cookie. Nevertheless, it did deliver what it says it would. It's chewy with a lovely texture. I love the hint of cinnamon that goes with it.

Chewy Oatmeal and Chocolate Chip Cookies (makes around 40 cookies)
1 cup of butter
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
3/4 cup of brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup of plain flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp of cinnamon
3 cups of rolled oats
1 cup of chocolate chip

Preheat Oven 180C

Beat butter and both sugars till well combined. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix till combined.

Fold in flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Then add oats and chocolate. Spoon teaspoons onto prepared baking tray. Press the dough slightly to flatten. Bake for around 10-15 minutes (Dwiana's require 10 minutes), cool complete.

Spicy Bean Paste Tofu and Pork Mince/ A version of Mapo Tofu

2011-10-03T07:43:00.000+08:00

A simple humble jar of Soya Bean Paste (Tau Cheo) seats in my fridge. Before chatting with my girlfriend from KL/Singapore, I would have never guessed there are so many ways of using this sauce. Together, I have used this paste to create at least 4 dinners (which means 4 lunches too!).

Most people would have heard of Mapo Tofu. This is pretty much it except I did not add any sichuan chili to it or black beans to it. It's just as simple and quick to cook though and I certainly enjoyed the slight saltiness/nutty taste to it.

I'm pretty amazed by how versatile this sauce is. I wished I would have discovered it earlier! Still, it's never too late than ever is it??

Spicy Bean Paste Tofu and Pork Mince/ A version of Mapo Tofu
500 grams of soft tofu
250 grams of pork mince
2 chili padi chopped
1 red onion diced
1 generous tablespoon of garlic
3 tablespoon of tao cheo sauce
1 tablespoon of dark soya sauce
pepper
1/4 cup of water if needed

Saute onion, garlic and chili. Cook pork mince. When it is done, add tofu and bean sauce. Cook and simmer for around 10 minutes, adding water if needed. Season with dark soya sauce and pepper. Serve with rice and vegetables.

Spicy Chorizo Tomato with Fresh Mussels

2011-09-28T06:56:00.001+08:00

What do you cook for a friend who you haven't been in contact for some time? Top it off with limited cooking time knocking off work before she arrives? I chose fresh seafood- spotting some mussels at our local seafood store.

I have often associated mussels with university life. The late-night-1am-I-want-a-feed-and-where-else-is-open-in-Perth? sort of food. Chili mussels with greasy oily garlic bread and pizzas at a
"Open till late" doggy place was what we ate mostly.

It really wasn't that doggy, it's still operating after that many number of years. Possibly survived by the number of night owl students who enjoy the hit of chili in the dead of the night.

Cleaning mussels wasn't too big a drama as well. Soaking it with fresh water for 20 minutes or so, then I pulled the beard off closer to the end of the shell rather than the opening. I scrubbed each shell with a little dish scrub buds and it was clean and shiny in a breeze. Keeping it fresh was another story, we placed a damped dish cloth over the bowl, emptying the water (Probably from the mussels) at the end of each day. Even so, I discarded any that have been opened in the process. From buying to cooking them- that was 4 days. I probably wouldn't leave it as long next time.

I learned that mussels isn't doggy. It can be classy too. Pairing with some spicy chorizo, fresh tomatoes, plenty of chopped celery and carrots, the sauce was delicious! I wish I had some bread to dipped into this rather than just pasta.

I had a smile when she asked for second helpings.

Spicy Chorizo Tomato with Fresh Mussels (Serves 6)
1 spanish chorizo sliced
1 tablespoon of garlic
1 onion diced
2 cans of diced tomatoes
4 fresh tomatoes
1 chili padi
1/2 bunch of celery diced
2 carrots peeled and diced
1 kg of cleaned mussels
300 grams of cooked pasta

Saute chorizo till cooked. Add garlic and onions and cooked till soft. When ready, pour in the cans of tomatoes and fresh tomatoes. Give it a good stir. Add 1/2 cup of water if needed. Toss in all the veges and seasoned. Simmer for around 15 minutes till vegetables are well cooked. Then, add in the fresh mussels. Cover the pot. Cook for a further 5-10 minutes till mussels are opened and cooked. Toss through pasta and serve

Pear and Coconut Almond Tart

2011-09-23T06:32:00.001+08:00

Tarts are also associated with lovely crust and filling. I picked up this quick and easy recipe recently in a recently Donna Hay magazine. It isn't one of Donna's recipes- but in the advertisement section for pears! A quick glance shows that the base of this consists of a healthy dose of almond meal.

I thought about it for a few minutes and wonder how it would taste like with some coconut in it as well. The result is a thin base tart with the sweetness of pear in it. The cinnamon is certainly a very nice touch. Coconut added some texture to it.

The tart in the photos look dry but it didn't taste like it. I had it with a small scoop of vanilla ice-cream. It was satisfying.

Pear and Coconut Almond Tart
90 grams of butter
1/2 cup of brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp of vanilla extract
3/4 cup of almond meal
1/4 cup of desiccated coconut
1/4 tsp of baking powder
2 tsp of lemon rind
2 pears peeled cored and quartered
1/4 cup of golden syrup for brushing

Preheat Oven to 160C. Process butter and sugar in the food processor. Add eggs, vanilla, almond meal, coconut, baking powder, lemond rind and process til combined. Pour mixture into prepared fluted tart tin. Press pear quarters to the mixture. Bake for 40 minutes or till set. Brush with golden syrup and allow to cool in tin. Serve with cream or ice-cream if desired.

Creamy Corn and Chicken Pasta

2011-09-20T06:20:00.000+08:00

Joanne from Eat Well with Others made Pasta with Fresh Corn Pesto recently. What an idea I say! So using that as an inspiration, I made a version of it on the stove top. Instead of blitzing it with the food processor, I used creamed corn instead. I took Joanne's advice, and used fresh corn. Amazingly good stuff. While I love a packet of frozen corn in the freezer for emergency situations, fresh is always best isn't it?

I had some dill left over from making the fritters, and decided to add some of that to it instead. And everyone knows about my addiction to chili. So in that goes. For protein, it was chicken.

Did it remind you of something?

Almost like a pasta version of chicken sweet corn soup! Ha!

Nevertheless, it made a simple and "whatever in the pantry" meal. Certainly, this has the creaminess without the added cream or fat.

Cream Corn and Chicken Pasta (Serves 4)
250 grams of spaghetti cooked in salted boiling water
2 cans of cream corn
1 tablespoon of garlic
1 corn with kennels removed
1 cup of water
1/2 cup of fresh dill
1 chicken breast thinly sliced
Parmesan cheese

Saute garlic will fragrant. Add cream corn and stir throughly. Add fresh corn kennels and 1/2 cup of the water. Simmer till corn is cooked. Quickly add chicken and dill and cook through. Add the remaining water if needed. Toss spag through it. Serve with cracked black pepper and parmesan cheese.

Haloumi and Pea Fritters with Smoked Trout

2011-09-16T06:53:00.000+08:00

Happy Friday!!! Fridays are usually a funny day for me. I'm looking forward to the weekend, but somehow, slightly reluctant to cook. It's feels like "Yay! I should be able to enjoy and take time out to cook" but ended up with "hurry up! it's the weekend!"

Although I have to confess, sometimes, it feels like that through the week.

There are some Fridays, where I go real simple. Like plain grilled salmon with salad on the side. Or a grilled steak with some veges. All these doesn't take me more than a 15-20 mins to cook up.

But sometimes, I get bored. Flipping through Donna Hay magaines, I came across a recipe grating haloumi and using it as a base for fritters. It's pretty much savoury pancakes for dinner. Brilliant idea.

Best of all, less brain cells to kill with the thinking of "what's for dinner!"

Haloumi and Pea Fritters with Smoked Trout (enough for 4)

1 cup of plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1/2 cup of buttermilk
1/2 cup chopped dill
1 tsp of lemon rind
2.5 cups of frozen peas
120 grams grated haloumi
seasoning
250 grams of smoked trout
1 lebanese cucumber- using a peeler, peel thin slices.

Combine flour, baking powder, egg, buttermilk, dill, lemon rind, peas, haloumi and seasoning. Stir till well combined.

Heat pan with some oil. Cook 2 tablespoons at each time, 3-5 mins on each side. Place smoked trout and cucumber slices on top. Serve with some sour cream or attack if desire.

Ants' Nest Cake/Kuih Sarang Semut

2011-09-13T06:12:00.000+08:00

A childhood delight, this cake was seen frequently at bakeries when I was growing up. However, as the years go by, Ants Nest cake/Honeycomb Cake is not easily found on streets.

The name itself is intriguing. I'm guessing, it's called Ants Nest as the little bubbles/holes resembles one. While the other name of this is "honeycomb" it is more like a rich caramel cake. Oh, backed by the ever favourite used of condensed milk!

This recipe is the reason why I bought Adam Liew's Two Asian Kitchens recipe book. I was so excited that I found a recipe AND it looks easy for me to follow.

The result is a soft and moist cake. The caramel hits me at every bite. It's seriously addictive.

Ants' Nest Cake

220 grams castor sugar
85 butter softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs at room temperature
125 ml condensed milk
150 grams plain flour
1/2 tsp of bicarb soda

Put the sugar in a saucepan over gentle heat. Swirl it ocassionally till it melts into a dark sexy looking caramel. Then lower heat further and add 250 ml of water. Stand back when you do this as it will split. Stir till no lumps remain. Set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 170C. Line and grease a 18cm round cake pan.

Cream butter and vanilla.

In another bowl, whisk eggs well. Then add eggs, condensed milk and caramel to the creamed butter. Whisk to combine.

Add flour and bicarb. Whisk it to combine.

Pour batter into cake tin. Bake for 50 mins or so till cake becomes springy in the centre when you touch it. Leave it to cool in tin, then run knife around the edge before turning it out.

Easy Jap Chae (Korean Sweet Potato Glass Noodles)

2011-09-10T09:12:00.000+08:00

Oh I'm such a big fan of these chewy springy sweet potato noodles. I made these in year 2008 when I was testing Jaden's cookbook. That was a fantastic recipe by the way! One thing have changed is that due to the growing population of Koreans in Australia, it's so much easier to grab a packet of the noodles now! and cheap! Cost me AU$2 instead of AU$8 when I first bought them!

I have since adapted a few things- pretty much to suit our taste buds, and my love for chili. I had some pork mince at hand (From the sausage rolls!), so I decided to pop that through as well.

It's so simple as well. A quick after work 20 minutes meal!

Easy Jap Chae (Korean Sweet Potato Glass Noodles)
1 packet of sweet potato noodles
1/2 cup of black fungus soaked in warm water, washed and chopped the hard bits off
1 red onion sliced
1 tablespoon of chopped garlic
200 grams of pork mince
1 carrot shredded
1 capsicum shredded
1 bunch of spring onions, cleaned and chopped to finger lengths
2-3 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of mirin
sesame seeds
dash of pepper

Cook sweet potatoes in boiling pot of water. Drain and rinse with cold water to get the starch out.

Saute garlic and onion till cook. Brown pork mince. Add all the veges and toss well. Add the sauces. Simmer for 5 mins. Add the noodles and fry it. Taste and season accordingly. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and toss again dish up, and sprinkle more sesame seeds.

Pork Apple and Fennel Sausage Rolls

2011-09-07T06:02:00.000+08:00

I always have abit of fear in mixing fruit in savory dishes. I thought my Asian palate might not like it. It's not the first time that I heard wonderful things about apple and pork being together and of course fennel, a spice and pork.

So I gathered my courage and thought I could experiment and make a sausage roll using all three ingredients. I was surprised by the result. The apple just gave it a tinge of juice and sweetness but not too much that it is overpowering. The fennel provided it abit of a hit in taste on your taste buds.

It's super easy, and come to think of it, will be a winner for a cocktail party. Hubby took them to work and toasted them in his grill. He said most people commented the beautiful fragrant and how "real" it smelt.

I didn't even know store bought sausage rolls smelt "fake"?

I feel like I'm tooting my own horn here, but seriously love this and will be doing experimenting with more ways of making sausage rolls again!

Pork Apple and Fennel Sausage Rolls (Makes 24 mini rolls)
2 puff pastry defrosted

500 grams pork mince
1 apple finely chopped or grated
2 tsp of fennel seeds
1 egg
1 cup of bread crumbs (Package or fresh)
salt and pepper

Sesame seeds

Preheat oven 200 C. Line baking trays with baking paper.

Combine mixture together. Cut each puff pastry into half. Place filling in the middle and roll up. You might want to use egg wash to seal the edges. Cut into 6 mini rolls. Place on baking tray. Repeat. Egg wash all the sausage rolls and sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Bake for 25-30 minutes till golden brown!

Spiced Pinenut Couscous

2011-09-04T19:53:00.000+08:00

One of discoveries I had while on the no sugar/sauces diet was how I underused spices previously. My favourite spices at the moment would be curry powder, chili powder, tumeric and cumin.

Making couscous as a side dish one evening together with some lemon roasted chicken, I decided to spice things up a little (ha ha, my pun!) by using most of the spices in the above combination with some pinenuts and vegetables.

I love the yellow tinge of this dish as well. I was told recently that tumeric and cumin has an added benefit of cancer prevention.

Crazily addictive it was!

Spiced Pine nut Couscous (serves 4-5)
1 cup of couscous cooked in water directions on packet

1 zuchinni chopped finely
1 tsp of garlic
1 red onion chopped finely
2-3 chili padi (hehe, i do put chili in pretty much everything)
1 cup of corn kenels
1/4 cup of pine nuts
2 tsp of cumin
2 tsp of tumeric
1/2 tsp of curry powder

Saute garlic, onion and chili. Add zuchinni and corn. Toss in all the spices and coat well. You may need to add 1/4 cup of water if mixture appears too dry. Toss in pine nuts and toast till nice and brown. Mix mixture to couscous. Toss well.

Three Nut Birthday Cake

2011-09-01T06:38:00.000+08:00

What did I do when I completed my 30 day no sugar and sauces challenge? I baked!

It was a friend's birthday and I had the luxury of baking him and a few friends his birthday cake this year. I kept it really simple though and chose a recipe from Belinda Jeffery's Mix and Bake Book. I thought it was interesting as the cake featured a crust and then the filling itself. Upon looking at the ingredients and method of baking, I imagined the cake to have a macaroon like texture which was what it exactly turned out to be.

I drizzled some melted dark lindt chocolate in a zig zag motion (as recommended by Belinda Jefferys), and I have to say it turned out looking terrific!

Three Nut Birthday Cake

Crust
120 grams almond meal
2 1/2 tablespoon of castor sugar
3 1/2 tablespoon of plain flour
75grm cold unsalted butter cut into small chunks

Filling
125g hazelnuts
100 grams pecans
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup of shredded coconut
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1 cup of brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
icing sugar for dusting
200 grams of melted lindt chocolate for decoration.

Pre heat oven to 180C. Line and oil a 20 cm springform cake tin.

Make the crust first- blitz almond meal, sugar, flour into food processor till combined. Add butter and whiz it till it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Press it evently in the cake tin. Fridge it to chill.

Filling- grind hazelnuts, then the pecans in the food processor. Set aside. Place flour and baking powder in medium size bowl. Whisk them together. The add the grounded nuts and coconut. Whisk to combine.

Using an electric beater, mix all the eggs and sugar till fluffy. Pour this mixture to the flour/nut mixture. Fold and combine well. Pour mixture into chilled crust. Shake to even out.

Bake for 40 minutes or so till it is set but soft in the middle. Cool the cake. Loosen it with a butter knife if needed. When ready to serve, dust the top with icing sugar and using melted dark chocolate, drizzle it in a zig zag motion to form the pattern.

Merdeka Open House: Chicken Kapitan

2011-08-28T06:45:00.001+08:00

When my husband and I were still in our dating stage of our relationship, he brought me to visit his family's home town- Malacca. It was a truly amazing experience, standing in the midst of a busy street at Jasin, imaging what it must be like for him growing up, visiting his grandmother, playing with his cousins and eating all the fabulous food one can find there!

Most of hubby's family have since moved to KL. His grandmother passed away sometime ago, but his uncles and my father in law continued to check in their little family home now and then.

As usual, when Babe in KL annouced this year's theme of Merdeka Open House, I asked what he would like me to cook. His response was unusually quiet as he spoke about one of his favourite dishes that his mother used to cook for him and how it reminded him of Malacca.

I could still recall, those days where we could bring in to Australia home made curry pastes. His mother would prepare a few packets of rempah, and in some cases, even curry pastes of Chicken Kapitan. When hubby and I were housemates, I used to look forward to his turn to cook- because he would use his mother's curry pastes!

It makes sense then, when he requested that I make Chicken Kapitan this year. Celebrating where his family comes from when they arrived in Jasin so many years ago, and how his uncles witness their father (My grandfather in law if it makes sense!) build his establishments, allowing the uncles to have the future they have now, and allowing my husband and his generation to build their future. Not forgetting, a big thank you to my mother in law who packed and prepared all those years of chicken kapitan pastes so that hubby (and me!) could have a taste of home.

Chicken Kapitan is a Nonya dish, a chicken in a rich coconut curry gravy. My kitchen was filled with the lovely flavours of lemongrass, belacan and ginger. Ah, I'm slowly loving my quest of cooking curry from scratch this year.

Chicken Kapitan (serves 4-5)
500 grams of chicken thigh (Or you can use 1 kg of chicken drumsticks)
1 tsp oil
5 eschalots diced
270 ml of coconut cream
juice of 1/2 lemon/lime

To be blended or pounded
4 chili padi
3 eschalots
5 cloves of garlic
2.5 cm each of ginger, galangal and tumeric, peeled and sliced
5 candlenuts
2 stalks of lemongrass white part only, chopped finely
1 tsp belacan (dried shrimp paste)

Blend the blended ingredients into a paste. Heat oil in a pan and fry paste for around 5 minutes. Your kitchen will smell so good then! Brown chicken and eschalots. Turn chicken to coat in paste. Add coconut cream with 100 ml of water and cover pan with lid. Boil and them simmer for another 20 minutes or so. Uncover and simmer for another 5-10 minutes. Stir in lemon/lime juice. Serve with hot rice.

Sending my love to this year's event of Merdeka's Day organised by Babe in Kl!

(reminds me.. I should start an event for Singapore National Day next year!)

Soy Bean Paste Chicken Stew

2011-08-26T06:22:00.000+08:00

Ok, so I am fast discovering different ways of using soy bean paste. That's the thing about having a huge jar of it in the fridge, you think of ways to use it! LOL

I'm pretty impressed with this chicken stew though. It's really good with rice, easy to cook and tasty. The best thing about this is the sauce of course.

So I wonder.. how many more dishes I could cook up with soy bean paste?

Soy Bean Paste Chicken Stew (serves 4)
400 grams of chicken thigh diced
1 red onion sliced thinly
1 chilli chopped
1 tablespoon of garlic
2 tablespoon of soy bean paste
1/2 cup of water
2 potatoes diced

Saute garlic, onion and chili. Add soy bean sauce for around 3 minutes. Brown chicken with sauce. Add water and potatoes. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Serve with rice and vegetables.

Roasted Capsium Garlic Pesto Spaghetti

2011-08-24T05:12:00.000+08:00

Using Jamie Oliver's 30 minutes cookbook has inspired me to make sauces for pasta myself. He opened my eyes to the kind of things I could do with my humble food processor. Having a jar of grilled capsicum on hand, I thought it would be pretty cool to blitz everything up and use it as a sauce base.

Further, my hubby bought 15 cans of tuna. Seriously. 15 cans. They were on sale, and it's the kind we like (John West) so he decided to purchase it for "rainy days". Now I like a good tuna sandwich and perhaps a tuna potato cake one day but 15 jars? woah!

So I used it in this pasta as well.

I made this with little intention to blog it, but when I did a taste test, I thought it turned out pretty well. A pasta sauce that is not tomato based or cream based! Pretty cool hey.

Roasted Capsicum Garlic Pesto Spaghetti (serves 4)
500 grams of spaghetti cooked in boiling salted water
3 cans of chili tuna
1 chopped yellow capsicum
1 cup of corn
1 cup of peas

To be blitzed
250 grams of roasted capsicum (You can roast it yourself but I got mine from a jar)
1 tablespoon of garlic
around 80 grams of basil leaves
1 tablespoon of olive oil
salt
3 chili padi chopped

Blitz everything up. Heat pan and blitzed ingredients. Saute all veges first. Toss through tuna for around 5 minutes. Toss pasta though. Serve with some cheese if desired.

Indian Fish Curry

2011-08-20T20:30:00.000+08:00

Whenever I think of having fish, it's either steamed, pan fried or in a curry form. Looking back, I always feel more comfortable having curry fish (or steamed fish) than other versions. Attempting it at home however, is another story.

I spotted this recipe by Betty Saw some time ago from her "Rasa Malaysia" Cookbook. Woah, that cookbook is filled of goodies.

Again, I chose a recipe that I know ingredients can be source here at our markets. I didn't use as much coconut as stated in the recipe. On hindset, I should have ground the ingredients but chopped them finely instead.

I love the tangy, rich taste of this. I used barramundi fillet but am thinking of using snapper next time-a fish which is firmer.

This year, it's my aim to master the art of making curries. While I am not quite there yet, this recipe makes me feel proud that I have stepped out of my comfort zone-and resisted using package sauces! woohoO!

Indian Fish Curry (serves 4)
400 grams Barramundi fillet sliced
100 grams of squid sliced
1 tsp salt
6 tbsp of curry powder mixed with 100 ml water
1 tsp mustard seeds
a few slices of tamarind soaked in few tsp of water. strain pulp
250 ml coconut milk
3 brinjals sliced diagnonally
1/2 can of tomatoes or 3 tomatoes quarted

Ingredients to be grounded (or chopped finely)
4-5 chili padi or 25 dried chillies soaked
around 6 shallots chopped
4 stalks of lemongrass

Rub fish with 1 tsp of salt. Set aside.

Heat some oil in wok or pan. Fry grounded or finely chopped ingredients. Then add curry powder paste and mustard seeds. Fry till fragrant. If mixture appears dry, add some tamarind liquid.

Add curry leaves. Fry for 3-5 more minutes before adding the rest of the tamarind liquid and coconut milk.

When it starts to boil, add the brinjals. Simmer for around 10 minutes. Then add fish, salt and tomatoes. Cook till fish is done. Serve with rice.

Chicken Basil and Carrot Patties

2011-08-16T19:31:00.000+08:00

Being on the no sauce and no sugar diet makes me think out of the box. I learned to use more spices and certainly more herbs. I rely more on the natural ingredient rather than using sauces to enhance it.

I also realised how reliant I was on so many things. From chinese cooking wine to sauces... and I have not baked for a month!

Usually I made these chicken patties with breadcrumbs and sauces. Today, I made them with shredded carrot and basil leaves with egg to bind them. I was seriously surprise by the outcome. It was meaty and juicy.

A hint of sesame and of course, sesame oil again lifts the flavour. Going back to basics does work after all!!

Chicken Basil and Carrot Patties (makes around 8-10)
500 grams chicken mince
1 carrot shredded
1 bunch of basil leaves- probably around 50 grams or so
toasted sesame seeds
1 tsp of sesame oil
1 egg

Bind everything together, fridge for around 20 minutes. Shape them into patties and fry them!

Cross Country Fried Rice Noodles

2011-08-14T08:18:00.000+08:00

Have you ever gone to various restaurants, look at what they have in their menu and wondered if those items indeed exist in their own country? For example, I have seen "Malaysian Fried Noodles" and "Singapore Fried Noodles" in menus.. but none of the Singaporeans or Malaysians I spoke to say they exist in their respective countries.

Besides, I don't recall any other fried noodles named by their respective noodles.. How about a Taiwan Style? or Korean Fried Noodles? Or Japanese Fried Soba? mmm..strange.

Wait, I suppose we can call a roast English Roast? Or Spanish Paella.

Perhaps not that strange afterall.

I was curious though and recall asking a chinese takeaway place what's the difference between Malaysian and Singapore Fried noodles. His reply was that Malaysian Fried noodles has turmeric, and Singapore style fried noodles has curry powder it it.

Oh alright then. Since we are a household of BOTH Singaporean AND Malaysian, I shall use both spices in my fried noodles.

and call them Cross Country Noodles!

The truth is, I was trying to avoid using sauces and I have to be creative in using spices instead. I was actually quite surprised by the results. I prefer this version than using sauces I think. The turmeric and curry powder does lift the flavour of bland rice noodles. It also went very well with squid and a little pork mince.

Cross Country Fried Rice Noodles
200 grams of rice noodles soaked in hot water and drained
100 grams pork mince
300 grams of squid sliced
1 onion sliced
3 chilli padi sliced
1 tablespoon of garlic
2 tablespoon of cumin
1 tablespoon of turmeric
1 tsp of hot curry powder
4-5 cups of sliced cabbage
1 carrot shredded
sesame oil

Fry onions, garlic and chilli till nice and fragrant. Add pork mince and fry till cooked. Add in squid. Toss through spices and all veges. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Toss through noodles. Add some water if needed. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle some sesame oil. Serve hot.

Tuna Corn and Potato Muffins

2011-08-10T10:29:00.000+08:00

I made these little savoury muffins to go with soup one night. It's such a easy quick one that I thought you might find it useful as well. I didn't add any flour to it, so it's really just potatoes and eggs that are holding it together.

It's really adorable holding these little muffins in your hand and dipping it into soup! I am sure it will be a good picnic dish as well or lunch box for school or work.

I took these photos when the muffins were not cooled yet. But once it is, you can peel away the wrapper and eat it as it is. I used chilli tuna (yes, I do like chili in everything!) but I'm thinking some basil leaves will accentuate the flavour as well. Another quick fix, is to use some cheese in it and make it cheesy tuna and corn potato muffins!!! Ah, more to experiment.

Tuna Corn and Potato Muffins (makes around 10)
3 potatoes cooked in hot salted water
2 tins of tuna of your choice
1/3 cup of corn

Season with salt and pepper

2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 cup of soy milk

Preheat oven 180 C. Line muffin tray with muffin cups.
Mash potato with olive oil and soy milk (or normal milk). Then fold in tuna and corn. Season. Spoon mixture into muffin cups. Bake for 25 minutes.

Braised Pan Fried Snapper with Spicy Bean Paste

2011-08-08T05:09:00.000+08:00

Ever since I experimented with Soy Bean Paste, I am in love with it. Chinese cooking is not the same without it anymore. Usually I would say that my must haves in the kitchens are oyster and soy sauce but I'm beginning to feel that this is one of the musts have in a chinese kitchen as well.

I would never recommend it to have it regularly of course- as the amount of salt in there would be quite scary to know. But the occasional use of it in dishes, I presume should be fine.

I nearly hesitated posting this dish as I didn't like the look of the fish head! However, this is my first attempt in braising a fish- usually I would steam a whole fish and pan fried fillets instead. Hubby encouraged me to post it anyway, since I was stepping out of my comfort zone in the kitchen.

The photos are not very well taken- I'm really sorry. I need to find a way to make a whole fish sexy! How do photographers do that???

Nevertheless, it was one way of introducing more fish in our diet. Always a good thing isn't it?

Braised Pan Fried Snapper with Spicy Bean Paste
300 grams of baby snapper cleaned

1 onion sliced
1 knob of ginger sliced
2 chilli chopped
1 tsp of garlic
2 tablespoon of soy bean paste
1/2 cup of water

Lightly salt the snapper. Oil pan and pan fried till cooked with a nice crisp (but not deep fried). When the fish is nearly done. I push it aside, and start frying garlic, ginger and onions till soft. Added the chili, soy bean paste and water. Simmer. I spoon it on the fish and let the fish absorb the flavours for around 4 minutes. Serve warm with rice.

Spiced Potatoes

2011-08-06T09:02:00.000+08:00

I didn't have the chance to research and read up on masala potatoes and decided to do a dry potato curry version of what I think would go well. Since it is not the real masala, I decided to call it spiced potatoes instead.

I really like the dance of flavours that goes in this. It's a quick side dish to make for sure. I used a blend of cumin (oh my favourite spice!), coriander powder, turmeric and curry powder.

So till the next time that I make some real masala potatoes, this will do!

Spiced Potatoes (Serves 2-3)
3 potatoes peeled and diced.

1 tablespoon of oil
1 tablespoon of cumin
1 tsp of curry powder
1 tsp coriander powder
salt
pepper

Cook potatoes in salted water. Drained. Mean while, heat a shallow pan with oil and fry spices till fragrant. Toss in potatoes for around 5 minutes. Serve warm.

Apom- Indian Coconut Pancakes

2011-08-03T06:02:00.001+08:00

A traditional Sunday for hubby, his brother and parents, would be a trip down to the local Indian shop for a hearty breakfast of Thosai and Apoms. If I have to choose, I would say Thosai is my favourite. I love the thin pancakes and the condiments that come with it (dahl, coconut and usually a spicy curry gravy). My mother in law's favourite item would be Apom. My hubby would usually order both.

My mother in law gave me this cute little wok the last time we went back to KL., She said she bought this with the intentional of making apom at home, but given the availability of it in KL, she changed her mind and store it away. Since hubby likes it, would I try making it in Aus? I accepted the challenge.

And challenge it was! Obviously, I couldn't do the diet and make this at the same time, so I started the diet after making this (Always the next day right?). I made the mixture the night before, and made my first apom the next morning. It was certainly an adventure as I wasn't sure if what I was doing was right. I do know that a good apom is thin on the edges with a slight crisp and soft in the centre.After reading up on a few recipes, I experimenting with the batter, this appears to be it.

(First attempt)

I learned that a hot work is the way to go. I didn't need to add any oil as the wok that I have is non stick. One has to swirl the wok very quickly though to make sure the batter coats the sides of the wok. I wasn't sure how much batter should I have and ended up with 20 apoms. Obviously, that lasted us for both lunch and dinner with leftovers to boot!!

You can choose to make a sweet coconut syrup to go with it. Or you can choose to have it with dahl. I made a spiced potato (aka my version of masala potatoes) as hubby wanted something more substantial.

The funny thing was, half way through lunch, he said "dear, this is vegetarian!!!!!!!"

(finally getting the little bubbles right)

I replied: "yes dear. It is!!! and this time round, it was YOUR request to have this."

Apom (Plain hoppers Coconut Pancakes) -makes 20
3 tablespoons of cooked rice
1/2 cup of warm water
1 tsp of yeast

500 grams of rice flour
1/4 cup of sugar
1 tsp of salt
800 grams of coconut milk

Blend cooked rice, warm water and yeast together. Put dry ingredients in a large bowl. Pour blended mixture followed by the coconut milk. Mix well. Glad wrap it and leave it overnight.

Next day, heat your wok till hot! Ladle mixture (2x) into the wok. Swirl it quickly. Cover and cook for around 3-4 minutes. Remove lid and let it cook for another min. Slide on plate. Keep it warm in an oven.

Make coconut condiment by heating up 100 ml of coconut milk with 2-3 tsp of sugar.

Pine Nut Pork Mince and Zucchini Rice Noodles

2011-07-31T11:29:00.001+08:00

I have been suffering for digestive issues for some time now, and last year, I decided to reduce my intake of milk products. Since then, I find a big improvement in reducing the bloat and gluggyness.

This year, I decided to take it one step further and reduce intake of sugar, wheat and vinegar for a month. Just for an experiment to see how I go. I must admit though, that I'm not really good at keeping to it as sugar is EVERYWHERE. I'm so glad I'm not allergic to it! Vinegar pops out in unexpected places as well, such as beef stock. I was also told to avoid soy sauce.

This is my first attempt in making a dish that has no sugar. I pan fried some pork mince with pine nuts which gave it flavour. However, I couldn't resist and put a teaspoon of oyster sauce in that. Oops. Well, it was only day 1! So I could ease myself into it right? I had some lotus root left in my freezer so pan fried that also with garlic and salt. Grated a zucchini and mixed it up with carrot and chilli.

All this together makes this a simplified version of dan dan noodles. It's so simple that I'm going to have to call it... Pine nut Pork mince and Zucchini Rice Noodles. I guess my trick here was to create lots of different texture to make this dish more interesting.

Ps- did you notice the purple little bag at the background? Thanks to Tigerfish for my win on her blog! It's an awesome lunch bag that I have been using daily.

Pine Nut Pork Mince and Zucchini Rice Noodles
200 grams pork mince
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp sesame oil
1/4 cup of pine nuts
1/2 tsp of oyster sauce

Grated zucchini and carrot- 1 each water squeezed from vegetables

Lotus root
garlic
water

200 grams of rice noodles

Boil water, cook rice noodles and drain. Set aside and dish out in bowls. Cook garlic in pan. Fry pork mince till nearly all done. Add sesame oil, salt, pine nuts and oyster sauce. Taste. Serve on noodles.

In a separate pan, hit garlic up and fry lotus root till done. Season with salt and pepper. Dish on bowls.

Then gently heat up zucchini and carrot using same pan. Again, dish on bowl, Mix it all up and serve.

Beef Rendang

2011-07-28T05:21:00.001+08:00

Have you caught the Masterchef fever yet? I have. Every time I watch an episode, I learn something new. According to some newspaper reports, home cook meals have increased by more than 100% following the series. They could even predict what ingredients are more in demand after the show!

Last season's winner Adam Liaw published his first cookbook "Two Asian Kitchens" not long ago. He separated recipes into "old kitchen" and "new kitchen"- concepts that I embrace immediately. Afterall, I'm always trying to learn how to create recipes that my heritage and family taught me but at the same time, love to re create new stuff in my new kitchen from experiences and life.

I picked his rendang recipe to try first. Most people who cooked rendang before would tell me that it is a tedious and long process to get it right. It's a very thick beef coconut spicy stew, cooked so long that the meat is tender and has a melt in your mouth texture.

His ingredients are easy to source in my local oriental and vegetable market- a big bonus because I often find it hard to locate items from cookbooks bought overseas. He made it easy for the Aussie Market!!

I love mixing the toasted coconut at the last 20-30 minutes. It provides the texture that only the rendang can claim king. It tasted better after the next day.

Adam Liaw's Beef Rendang (serves 4-5)
1 tsp oil
600 grams of lean beef chunks. He recommended braising steak as well.
3 stalks of lemongrass
2 kaffir lime leaves shredded
1 tsp sugar
400 ml coconut cream
100 grams grated fresh coconut or 130 grams desiccated coconut if needed.

Base Paste
1 red onion (or 8 eschalots)
6 red hot bird eyes chilies
at least 6 garlic cloves. I added 2 generous tablespoon of minced garlic
3 cm piece of galangal, ginger and tumeric. All peeled and thickly sliced.
2 tsp sea salt flakes

Place all base paste ingredients in a food processor or mortar. Grind to a paste. Heat oil in large saucepan, fry paste for 5 mins or so till fragrant.

Add beef, lemongrass,, eric, kaffir leaves, sugar and toss to coat in mixture. Add coconut cream and around 200 ml water. Simmer for 30 mins. Then uncover and cook for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, toaste coconut till slight brown. Transfer to a mortar and grind it to a paste. This will release the oils. I cheated and just use a pestle to gently press the coconut.

The beef would have been cooking for 1.5 hours. Add the coconut and cook for another 20 minutes or so. Stir often. Taste and adjust seasoning accordingly. Serve with hot rice or coconut rice.

Quick Fix Egg Tarts

2011-07-25T05:00:00.000+08:00

With one piece of puff pastry left in the freezer, I was wondering how can I make use of it. Then Sonia from Nasi Lemak Lover posted her Egg Tart with Puff Pastry and I knew that I have found my answer.

Egg tarts has a special meaning for the two of us. When hubby asked me to be his girl friend, he took me to a lovely quiet spot near a river armed with an egg tart. I was still in university and he just started working. He picked me up after my late classes and told me he was worried that I would be hungry (as I usually am after my classes), hence the egg tart. We were good friends who went for a few dates before that evening and I thought nothing of it. When he did utter the question " I have been thinking, I really enjoy spending time with you and I know you like the time we have together too, so would you be my girlfriend?", I was just slightly surprised.

Two hours of questioning later, I agreed. Most of my friends still give me grieve that I "tortured" him with my questions in our early stages of dating. While I was initially embarrassed, I was glad we clear up some expectations and thoughts early on, which probably helped us prepare our lives together. If you are wondering, these questions were about his future plans, career pathways, religion and beliefs and seriousness about the relationship. My line of thinking was, I'm not going to waste my time if he isn't serious!

Oh fun times indeed. So while I have not yet master the art of making proper egg tarts yet, I managed to surprise hubby with these little treats when he came home late from work one evening.

Quick Fix Egg Tarts (makes 8 mini egg tarts)
1 piece of puff pastry cut into 8 pieces
3 eggs
40 grams of sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp of vinegar

Whisk eggs, sugar, vanilla and vinegar. Strain it twice. Place pastry into muffin or tart tin. Pour egg mixture into casing. Bake in a preheated 180C oven for around 25-30 minutes till golden brown.

Chicken Pea and Celery Soup

2011-07-22T16:38:00.001+08:00

From time to time, I would add a handful of pasta into soups. For this soup, I added around 1/2 cup of orzo in it. I love how you bite into different textures when you drink soup.

Soups are not as boring as one think anymore. For this version, I added abit of parma ham for the flavour and heaps of peas and celery. The hit of chili got to us while we drank this.

You can opt not to blend it but I blended half the soup to have the thicker, creamier flavour. It's a easy, no fail quick dinner!

Chicken Pea and Celery Soup (Serves 4)
50 grams parma ham
2 bird eyes chili chopped
1 red onion sliced
1 500 grams of peas
small bunch of celery chopped
1/2 cup of orzo
ltre of chicken stock
1 chicken breast poached and sliced

Cook parma ham, chili and red onions. Add all the peas and celery tossing it through. Add stock and simmer for around 10 minutes. Blend half the soup and return to pot. Add orzo and cook through. If you have some chicken, stir through and simmer for another 10-15 minutes. Serve with crusty bread.

Happy weekend!

*oops- I did 2 entries in 2 days! Scroll down for my Cheat's version of Beef Pho!!

Cheat's Version Vietnamese Beef Pho

2011-07-21T06:00:00.000+08:00

I'm very appreciative of Vietnamese eateries- especially a small one near where we live. It offers convenient and reasonable priced healthy food. My favourites of course are the Pho and paper rolls.

While this is not the real deal, it provides a quick and tasty alternative. The real deal says that the stock has to be simmered for hours with the right blend of fish sauce, onions, ginger and cinnamon. I cheated by purchasing beef stock. Where I cheated, I saved time by simmering the stock with the above ingredients for 20 minutes or so.

The rest of it is really quick and easy, just blanching the beef with the stock and then it's ready to serve. I thought I was lucky enough to get my hands on some Vietnamese beef balls from our local oriental shop-but I found them a little too tough with small bits of sinew. Not a good match at all. I spotted another brand- frozen though, and might give that a go another time.

Hubby gave me credit for trying to match the "atmosphere" of Vietnamese eateries, seriving my soup with a dish of bean sprouts, basil leaves, lemon and chopped chili. Hey, that's the least I could do with my cheat's version!

Cheat's Version Vietnamese Beef Pho (Serves 2-3)
100 grams of lean beef fillet sliced really thinly
100 grams of Vietnamese beef balls
1 ltre of beef stock
1 cinnamon stick
1 small piece of ginger peeled
1 red onion sliced
2 tablespoon of fish sauce
1 tsp of sugar
1/4 lemon juice

1/4 pack of rice sticks- soaked in warm water for 5 minutes.

Serve with bean sprouts, basil leaves, lemon quarters and chopped fresh chili.

Fry onions till soft. Simmer stock, spices and sauces for 20 mins. Meanwhile cook noodles and set aside in bowls. Taste and season if needed. Cook beef balls in it till done. Then, quickly blanched sliced beef. Ladle the soup on the noodles straight away. Serve hot with all the condiments.

Quick and Simple Pear and Walnut Cake

2011-07-18T05:07:00.000+08:00

It has been a while since I baked some sweets. The main reason is that my current work place does not have a culture of morning teas. Rather, we like to go out for a short walk to a nearby coffee joint to grab a caffeine fix.

So one day, when my manager said we will be having a guest speaker, I asked if I could bring something. I spotted this recipe by Belinda Jefferys- a well known Australian cook and baker. This came from her book Mix and Bake. I am a fan of her recipes because it is as it says in the title- most of them are mix and bake! No fuss and little use of the cake mixer (less to wash! yay!).

I used a bundt tin for this. Unfortunately I did not oil it well and the cake broke while I turned the tin over. Oh well, MORE crumbs for me I say!!

It's a rather moist cake. I love the chunks of pears in this. Best of all, it's an olive oil cake so it's healthy to eat.

Quick and Simple Pear and Walnut Cake
2 cups plain flour
3 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp of mixed spice (you can use nutmeg)
1 tsp bicarb soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup of roasted walnuts
3 eggs
1 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup castor sugar
1/2 cup of light olive oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup water
3 medium size pears peeled, cored and diced into small chunks

optional-icing sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 150C. Oil and flour 26 cm bundt tin.

Whisk flour, spices, bicab soda and salt in a large bowl. Toss nuts through.

Whisk eggs, then add sugars, oil, vanilla and water. Pour wet ingredients to dry. When they are well combined, fold in pears. Spoon into prepared tin.

Bake for 1 hr and 10 mins or so. Cool tin for 10 mins and invert it to the rack. Serve with a dusting of icing sugar if desired.

Chicken and Pistachio Korma

2011-07-15T07:20:00.000+08:00

At the beginning of the year, I said that one of my goals would be to make curry from scratch. I spotted this recipe from Poh's Kitchen and thought it looks really interesting. Korma is an Indian style curry- often served thick like stew.

I love the use of pistachios in this. The nutty flavour of this is a sure winner. I didn't add cream but pour in some coconut cream instead which added another layer of creaminess to it. The other thing I did was to use a mixture of green and red chilis in this. No other reason but to fulfill my cravings for hot and spicy curry on a cold night.

Surprisingly, the curry paste was soo easy to do. Did I mention my food processor? A few blitz and the sauce was done!

Chicken and Pistachio Korma (serves 4)
2 onions sliced
1/2 cup pistachio kernels
4 green chillies
2 red chili padi
1-2 tablespoons of ginger minced + garlic mince
1 tablespoon of coriander powder
dash of white pepper
500 grams of chicken thigh chopped
100 grams of coconut cream
1 cup of water
1 tsp of garam masala powder

Boil onions in one cup of water, drain, cool and puree. Puree pistachios and green chilli, keeping a few nuts aside for garnish.

Heat the oil and add the onions and sauté for four minutes, do not brown. Add ginger and garlic paste. Fry for one minute and stir in coriander and pepper powders. Add pistachio and green chilli paste and cook for about a minute.
Put in the chicken with the salt and mix well. Add a little water (quarter of a cup) and cook gently until done. Add coconut and garam masala. Garnish with pistachio nuts and serve hot.

Thai Salmon Potato Cakes

2011-07-12T05:32:00.000+08:00

By now you know about my love for simple foods. I call making patties food therapy. I love shaping some mash potato with fish and throwing it on the grill plate. I used some thai flavours in this fish cakes adding kaffia lime leaves and fish sauce. Because I like the bite of spring onions, I decided to throw some in as well to the patties.

I deliberately didnt mash the potatoes as much- so that there are some chunks when the cakes are bitten into. I could have probably added some chopped chili to the mixture but I ran out (surprise?!).

The other thing I did was to make a dipping sauce to go with it. Lemon juice, sugar and good dash of fish sauce and chopped chili heated gently did the trick. We were so addicted to this that we kept munching on it. Oh well, at least this is cheap AND health.

Thai Salmon Potato Cakes (serves 2)
2 potatoes boiled cooked and mashed with some soy milk.
1 200 grams tin salmon flaked
2-3 kaffia leaves
2-3 sprigs of spring onion chopped
2 tablespoon of fish sauce
1/4 cup of corn flour
1/4 cup of plain flour
1 egg
seasoning

Combine mixture together. Shape into patties. Pre heat fry pan with oil. Fry patty each side for around 4 minutes. Serve with dipping sauce.

Thai Dipping sauce

1/2 juice of lemon
2 tablespoon of fish sauce
1/2 tsp of sugar
2 chili padi chopped

simmer all ingredients till sugar has dissolved.

Potato and Broccoli Soup

2011-07-10T11:36:00.000+08:00

There are nights where we just want a simple dinner. No rice, no nothing but just soup and toasties. Melted cheese and ham on bread (especially since I can't have too much cheese makes this super appealing to me!) with a bowl of hot simmering soup.

I love thick soups like this. It gives the illusion that cream is added to it but it's really simply potato and broccoli. No fuss soup blended to create such warmth.

I made this soup before heading to the gym for my zumba workout (loveee zumba!) so I wrote a note to hubby asking him to eat first. As I read it now, it says FAT ME instead. DOH! Subconsciously perhaps?

Potato and Broccoli Soup (serves 4)
4 medium size potatoes peeled and chopped
1 onion sliced
1 tablespoon of garlic
2 medium size broccoli chopped
1 ltre chicken stock

Fry onion and garlic. Add in potatos and broccoli. Pour stock in and cook till done. Blend in liquidizer till smooth. Serve with some Parmesan cheese and toasties.

Tau Cheo (Soya Beans) Pork Ribs

2011-07-08T08:00:00.002+08:00

It's not often that we have ribs in our home. I'm usually nervous about the fat content with these babies. A friend recently shared with me this recipe and I just simply could not resist it. It's good old fashion ribs made at home- the Cantonese/Chinese way.

The photos are not really appealing aren't they? It's pretty difficult to make a pile of bones enticing. The taste however, .. mmmmmmmm. You could hear us licking our fingers more often than talking while having dinner that night.

The sauce is made up of soya bean paste-that's the magic to this dish. With the addition of ginger and chili...It's so good with a bowl of rice.

so we conclude- the winner of pork ribs are not bbq ribs anymore in this household. It's getting in touch with our Chinese roots and making it the Tau Cheo Way!

Another conclusion? The best place to eat pork ribs? At home. With all 10 of your fingers.

Tau Cheo (Soya Beans) Pork Ribs (serves 4)
Around 700 grams of Pork ribs
1 generous tablespoon of minced garlic
1 onion sliced
1 knob of ginger peeled and sliced
3 chilli padi (You can also use some dry chili)
1 tablespoon of white vinegar
1.5 tablespoon of salted soya bean paste (from oriental stores)
1 cup of water
potato starch or corn flour mixed with a little water

Fry onion garlic, chilli and ginger till nice and fragrant. Brown ribs with the mixture. Then, add in vinegar and the salted soya bean paste. Add 1/2 cup of water first and simmer. Cook for around 45 minutes or so till the meat looks like it is falling off the bone. Taste and if it is too dry add more water. If too watery, add the corn flour/potato starch mixture. Serve with rice and stir fry veges.

Slow Cooked Red Wine Beef Casserole

2011-07-05T06:23:00.000+08:00

There is something about slow cooked food that warms the heart. The meat in your mouth meat combined with the rich taste just seem to fulfill you. There are two big reasons why I love slow cooking 1) it's usually low fat and 2) It could serve as a one pot dish.

One could even argue that this is very similar to my Red Wine Beef and Onion Pies that I posted recently. This slow cooked casserole has more liquid (ie wine) and veges. The pies are thicker and richer in its gravy and certainly not as many ingredients to it. I love having mash potato to this dish- especially with a good squash of garlic to it.

winter love....

Slow Cooked Red Wine Beef Casserole (serves 4)
450 grams of lean beef chunks
2 onions sliced
1.5 cups of red wine (cabernet sauvignon)
3-4 carrots diced roughly
2 cups of button mushrooms stems removed
1 tablespoon of flour
500 ml beef stock

Brown beef in batches. Remove from pot. Cook sliced onions till soft. Add in a tablespoon of flour with the beef. Throw in wine and beef stock. Simmer for 1 hour. Add vegetables and simmer for another 30 minutes. Serve with garlic mashed potatoes.

Steamed Water Chestnut Cake

2011-07-03T10:39:00.000+08:00

When we were travelling in Winter Europe, the one smell that always gets me was roasted chestnut. The hot nutty aroma is difficult to resist.

In Asia, the reverse stands. We love our cooling chestnuts. It's eaten like a fruit even. A sweet dessert, water chestnut cake is usually transparent and crunchy with a jelly like texture to it. It is steamed and then chilled. Very refreshing and light.

I attempted this many years ago with granny. It was a failed attempt. The mixture was wet and runny. I was eating it as a "soup dessert" than it being a jelly!

I spotted what Lena did on her blog and pressed print immediately She made it look so easy! The only difference was, I did a soy milk version as I was curious to see how it turned out. I loved it as it has the creamy texture to it as well. The next time though, I would have to do the non-milk one just to satisfy my goal of making Chinese Water Chestnut cake successfully. Lena's recipe is very accurate so do hop to her blog and have a look.

PS- I rang grandma and told that it was FINALLY successful. She was so excited that she got me to read out what I used so that she could experiment with it. A funny moment happened when I realised I do not have the Cantonese translation for "Custard Powder". Here goes our conversation:

Me: "It's the yellow thingie in the bread that you like to eat..."
Grandma- "huh? butter?" (I forgot she likes butter!!!)
Me: "no no, it's like a yellow thick cream...."
Grandma: "OH! That ........ " (gives a cantonese name to what I presume to be custard powder)
Me: "YA, i think so... sounds like it."
Grandma: "Comes in a tin right?!"
Me: "no leh, in a box here.. but could be a tin there."
Grandma: "ok, i will try"

I'm hoping that was indeed what she meant!!!!

Three Egg Fried Rice

2011-07-01T05:30:00.001+08:00

I was sooo inspired by Mochachocolata-Rita's recent blog post. Her man and her cooked up a storm with this 3 egg fried rice. We still have our expensive century egg (AU$2 for each one!) and of course, free range chicken eggs in the fridge. So off I went to grab some salted duck eggs... and my eyes nearly popped out... $6 for 6 salted duck eggs. Oh why must they be so expensive. When I was growing up, I recall that I could have 1/2 a salted duck egg and plain porridge for lunch. Now, in Australia, salted eggs are a luxury food item? crazy!

Did I just use the "when I was growing up, la da de da" phrase? ARGH!

My version is slightly different from Rita's. I used whatever veges I have on hand, and added heaps of white pepper and some soy in it.

What I love about this dish? You would never know what egg you are biting into.. could it be the salty egg yolk? or the silky century egg? Always a surprise.

Three Egg Fried Rice (Serves 4)
1 salted egg cooked and diced
1 century egg diced
2 eggs
2 cups of cooked and cook rice (preferably cooked the night before)
2 cup of snow peas
2 capsicum diced
2 tablespoon of soya sauce
1 tsp of dark soya sauce
1/4 cup of hua tiao jiu or chinese wine (or sherry)
dashes and dash of white pepper
100 grams of pork mince (marinate with some hua tio jiu, sesame oil and soya sauce)

Heat some oil in a pan. Cook the pork mince through. Add rice and cook till HOT and nearly popping. Toss all the eggs through them and then the veges. Serve with some fried shallots.

Potato and Leek Soup

2011-06-28T06:43:00.000+08:00

Ok, So I hate to admit.. that I have perhaps gone overboard with my weekly soup obsession. Like seriously overboard. How do I know? Out of my 10 outstanding posts, there are only 3 that are NOT soup related.

I'm not sure if that will stop me though. The more I make soups, the more I like it. Maybe.. just maybe, it's my Cantonese heritage mixed up with my years of being in Australia. You know, the nightly clear vege/slow cooked soup paired with main meals turned into weekly thick comforting western style soups?

Am I even making sense?

In 2007, I made a similar soup- it was a much simpler version. This version of potato and leek consists of more vegetables- mainly celery and spring onions. I find that the addition of more veges gave a rounder and richer soup base than just potato and leek. It also has a bit of chunk into it-since I rarely blend my soups to a fine mixture. Usually, I leave out the "end bits" in the pot while I blitz the rest up with my gorgeous blender.

Isn't it always fun to look back at past entries of similar recipes? I started this blog on the 14th of September 2004 and a blink of an eye, it is nearly 7 years. It was a space for me to vent my frustration when I was completing my thesis, and I turned it into food related instead. Over the years, I had the encouragement of bloggers around the world to cook better. Well, I hope I have cooked better ;)

Well, I know it's only June but I can't help but think... my blog will be turning 7 this September. ahh..

Back to the soup. It tasted even better the next day.

Potato and Leek Soup (Serves 4)
1 onion diced
1 tsp of garlic
4-5 medium size potatoes diced
2 leeks sliced
1 small bunch of spring onions
1 small bunch of celery diced
1 ltre of chicken or vegetable stock
200 grams lean bacon diced

Saute bacon first till brown. Remove from pot. Cook onions till soft. Add potatoes. Again, cook till it has this lovely looking crust. Add all the other veges. Cook it down. Add stock and simmer for 20 mins or so till tender. Cool. Blitz everything up. Return to pot. Add most of the bacon bits, leaving some for garnishing. Dish up with cracked pepper.

Spinach Rocket Pesto Salmon Spaghetti

2011-06-25T21:40:00.002+08:00

If you ask me, I prefer olive oil based pasta than creamy ones. Don't get me wrong, creamy pastas has its own place as well, but there is something very addictive about olive oil based pastas. It makes your tongue tingle and want more. The flavours seem to dance on your tongue and it lingers.

My experience in making pesto was.... mmm.. once. It was around 5 years ago, when we decided to grow our very own basil plant. It was very successful and soon we were proud owners of a basil... bush! I wish I have a photo to show you! That was when I tried making pesto. Soon after, winter sets in and the bush dwindle down to nothing. :(

Since then, I have never got back into growing our own vegetables and herbs. One day I am sure we will again!

For this version of pesto, I blended basil, spinach and rocket together with some olive oil and parmesan cheese. Instead of pinenuts, I used some pistachios that I had on hand. I love the herby nutty mixture in the end that went very well with smoked salmon.

I'm also happy with our budget for this meal.

Spinach Rocket Basil Pesto- $4
Smoked Salmon- $4 (On sale! yay!)
Pasta-$1

Total: AU$9

I'm submitting this dish to our monthly budget meals party with Cuisine Paradise. The theme this month is NOODLES! woohoo.

Spinach Rocket Pesto Salmon Spaghetti (Serves 4)
250 grams of Spinach, Rocket and Basil (around 4-5 cups)
2 tsp of grated parmesan cheese
1-2 chili padi diced
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/2 cup of shelled pistachios
100 grams of smoked salmon
500 grams pasta cooked and drained

Blend spinach, chili rocket, basil, cheese, oil and pistachios. Blitz it for 1 min.

Heat a pan up. Sauté the herb/vege mixture. Toss pasta and smoked salmon through. Serve with more cheese.

Macaroni Fishcake Soup

2011-06-22T04:49:00.000+08:00

Here is another of our quick fixes. I tend to have some fish cake or fish roll stuffed in the freezer for "emergency meals". You know, meals when you get home at 8pm and realised that you are staving but have to put something on the table in 20 minutes?

I often associate macaroni with being sick. Now, I associate it with comfort and quick. Warm chicken soup with fish cakes and ham brings it up another notch higher.

It's no fuss food to the max!

Macaroni Fishcake Soup
1 or 2 fish cake sliced

100 grams of ham sliced
200 grams of macaroni
1 ltre chicken stock
chinese veges- such as bak choy or choy sum
spring onions chopped
pepper to season

Boil stock and cook macaroni. Put all veges, sliced fish cake and ham into the pot. Cook for around 5 minutes or so. Serve with spring onions and a sign of relief that dinner is done.

Red Wine Beef Onion Pies

2011-06-19T14:05:00.000+08:00

There is nothing like winter that screams comfort food. Perhaps it's because Perth's winter isn't that harsh. Or maybe I have just grown to appreciate the sound of rain. I certainly prefer cold than hot weather.

The sound of the rain, warmness from a hot chocolate drinks reminds me how simple things in life can bring warmth to the heart.

I really like making pies at home. I'm a texture girl-crispy pastry and hot filling on the inside just hit a good spot in me. This time round, I decided to stew some beef, red wine and onion to make a hearty filling. Oh who could have thought the blend of red wine, beef and onion could make such magic?

I stewed the filling slowly, cooling it down completely before using my ancient pie maker. My pie maker toaster was handed to me when someone I knew left the country. Goodness know how old it is, my guess would be at least 8 to 10 years.

Age does not matter when it comes to wine.. ..and a good pie maker!

Red Wine Beef Onion Pies (Makes around 10)
5 sheets of puff pastry
1 red onion diced
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of flour
1/2 cup of red wine
1/2 cup of beef stock
2-3 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
400 grams of beef chunks

Melt butter/margarine into a pot. Cook onions till very soft. Brown beef. Sprinkle flour over it. Add both red wine and stock into the mixture. Stir to combine. Add Worcestershire sauce. Simmer for around 15 minutes or so. Check, adding liquid if needed. Continue to stew for around 1 hr more, adding mushrooms at the 30 mins mark.

Once filling is done. Taste and season. Cool.

Cut pastry into size. Line pastry onto pie maker. Spoon mixture, pop the pastry top on and cook. Serve with a side salad.

If you do not have a pie maker, try using muffin tins. Preheat Oven to 200C. Bake pies for 15-20 minutes.

Sunshine Chorizo Lentil Soup

2011-06-16T05:12:00.001+08:00

What I love about winter:

1) I get to wear boots
2) I love scarfs
3) Lovely warm jackets
3) Hot chocolate
4) Nice warm throw and heated wheat bags
5) Listening to the rain
6) If you have a gas fire heater or wood heater, the warmth from it!
7) Hot comforting food like stews, casseroles and soups!

Soups certainly bring abit of sunshine in rainy cold wet weather. This soup was inspired by our trip to Denmark, Western Australia. I have always found it funny that there is a "denmark" in down under Aus. It's nothing like Copenhagen Denmark of course. Denmark WA is filled with hikes and scenic views. We are so in love with the serenity of the place.

On our first night there, we went to this "funky" new restaurant and lo and behold, they have soup. All I recall was heaps of veges, lentils and shavings of parmesan on it. At home, I added generous amount of chilis and heaps of veges. It was slowed cooked for around 2 hours so the flavours really did seeped in.

The other thing we discovered was "vinofood". Jams and chutneys made with wine! My favourite is the fig, chardonnay and apply chutney. I paired it with some goats cheese. yum!

I guess this soup brought back abit of the holiday with us to home as well!

Sunshine Chorizo Lentil Soup
250 grams of soup mix lentils (Soaked for 30 minutes)
500 ml of beef stock
500 ml of chicken stock
2 carrots chopped
1 small sweet potato chopped
1 small bunch of celery chopped
1 red onion chopped
1 chorzo chopped
5 chili padis chopped
1 heaped tablespoon of garlic

Heat soup pot. Add chorizo. Fry till it is done. Remove some. Add onions and garlic. Cook till soft. Add lentils and toss for around 2-3 minutes. Add stock. Simmer for 1 hour. Stir. Add veges. Cook for another 30-40 minutes, longer if needed. Season. Serve with parmesan cheese.

Finger Sandwiches

2011-06-14T16:03:00.000+08:00

On a recent road trip, I decided to make some finger sandwiches to take with us. We owned a bread maker machine, so hubby made a lovely fresh love of german rye bread. For the filling, I did a salmon cream cheese salad version and a chicken and celery one.

Initially, I had no intention to post these sandwiches. Afterall, sandwiches are sandwiches. Nothing too tricky or interesting about it. But we really did enjoy the chicken and celery ones and wondered if there are any other sandwich fillings out there that you have come across that are interesting.

For instance, in Australia, I learnt that kids and adults like the following:
- vegemite
- curried egg (mashed egg with curry powder and mayo)
- chicken mayo
- tuna
- ham and cheese (especially if it is toasted!!!)

Personally I love and have experimented
- peanut butter and jelly
- Kaya (a coconut jam)
- nutella and crushed hazelnuts
- smoked salmon with cream cheese and dukka
- roast beef and horseradish cream
- ham and chutney

Can you think of any more varieties?

Jamie Oliver's "Pregnant Jool's Pasta"

2011-06-12T11:50:00.000+08:00

So Jamie Oliver calls this "Pregnant Jool's Pasta". Seems that this is the pasta that she often craved when she was pregnant. Well, no one here is pregnant, I was simply intrigue by his use of sausages in the sauce. One thing I found was that Jamie Oliver seems to be addicted to the use of his food processor in this cookbook. In this dish, everything was blitz up (Including the sausages which was why I was intrigued!). In really saves time in preparation- just that the cleaning up takes longer than what it usually would. I can't wait for a dish washing machine in our next home.

One thing that got me hooked right away was the smell of fennel seeds. Oh, how come nobody told me that fennel seeds smells so good!?

The other (personal) achievement, was that I managed to sneak balsamic vinegar in this dish without hubby noticing. Yes, he dislikes anything vinegar- and thinks that salad should come fresh the way it should be.

I adapted this recipe-adding in more veges instead. I think it worked just as well!

It's meaty, hearty and tasty. That's alot of -ty. See, that book is really winning me over now.

Jamie Oliver's Pregnant Jool's Pasta (Serves a generous 4 portions and more to freeze)
a small bunch of spring onions (around 5)
2 carrots
4 celery stick
4 fresh chili padi (original calls for 2 normal chillis)
400 grams of italian sausages (or good sausages)
1 heaped tsp of fennel seeds
1 tsp of dried mixed herbs (or oregano)
1 heaped tablespoon of garlic
4-5 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
a few springs of basil

500 grams of rigatoni pasta

Cook pasta in salted boiling water. Drain.

Meanwhile, roughly chopped all vegetables. Blitz them in food processor with chilis. Add chopped up sausages, fennel seeds and dried mixed herbs. Keep pulsing till well mixed.

In a hot pan, heat a tablespoon of oil. Add mixture. Fry it up and stir it as you go. Add the pasta to the dish. Toss. Tear basil leaves into the dish. Serve with parmesan.

Chicken and Feta Patties

2011-06-10T05:34:00.001+08:00

There seems to be an assumption that chicken mince makes dry tasteless patties, which isn't always true. Besides, there are other benefits to using chicken mince. It usually contains lower fat than other choices of meat in the market. Most chicken mince I find is made out of chicken breast (unlike beef or lamb where it can be difficult to tell what cut of meat it comes from).

However, if chicken mince is too lean or too dry for your liking, adding cheese may help. My favourite so far, is feta cheese. It add a sharp bite to the patties.

Patties is such a cheap and quick way to add protein to the diet. Shaping it up is fun though- ahh..nothing beats shapping some patties, playing with it like dough (it's adult play doh perhaps?) and throwing it into the pan. mm.. Is this call patty therapy?

I served this with an avocado carrot salad-with sesame dressing. I have finally found a dressing that hubby likes (yes, he does not like dressings or sauces!).

Chicken and Feta Patties (Around 18 patties)
500 grams chicken mince
1 cup of herb bread crumbs (Store bought)
1/2 cup of corn flour
1 egg
1/2 tsp of chili flakes
20 grams of feta crumbed
2 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup of dry sherry

Mix everything together. Marinate for around 20 minutes. Heat a hot pan up with some oil. Shape patty with wet hands. Fry it up! Flip sides every 3-4 minutes.

Check out Tigerfish from Tezscape- An Escape to Food is giving this awesome lunch bag away! Oh, it will certainly jazz up my lunches. Check out how you can win one too.

Sticky Goodness- Pecan Pie Bars

2011-06-07T19:11:00.000+08:00

Oh if there is a dessert I could rave about, it would be sticky pecan pies. I spotted this recipe from Joanne- Eat Well with Others. I couldn't... just couldn't resist making it.

It's sticky, it's sweet and it has nuts! Surely that would have been good for you? Makes all the exercise worthwhile. One thing though, I found that the crust is more biscuit like than pie like. Still, it was hard to stop at one. Best thing is that it is mini bites... so it does not hurt to reach out to have another one.

Check out Joanne's recipe on her blog!

Chicken and Leek Corn Soup

2011-06-05T09:09:00.000+08:00

A simple chicken soup warms your soul. Hmmm..what if we load up the "simple" soup with leeks, onions and even a handful of orzo? What will that do to our souls? Heat it up real hot perhaps?

We are trying to create a new tradition this winter- a different kind of soup every weekend! I'm not sure how long that would last but I'm enjoying learning about all kinds of soups we can have. Hot simmering soup for winter- with a good dvd some candles perhaps...it could almost passed off as our new candle light dinner...

Almost.

Chicken and Leek Corn Soup
1 chicken breast-poached for 15 minutes till tender. shred.
1 ltre of chicken stock
2 cups of corn kennels
1 leek sliced
1 red onion sliced
1 tablespoon of garlic
2 eggs lightly beaten
spring onions
handful of small pasta of your choice. I used orzo here.

Heat a big pot. Add onions and garlic. Fry up the leeks till tender. Pour chicken stock over it. Simmer. Add corn. Continue to simmer for another 5 minutes. Add orzo and cook till pasta is done. Add in poached shredded chicken. Taste and season. Turn off the heat. Pour eggs. Stir. Ladle and serve with spring onions.

Cranberry Cinnamon Waffles

2011-06-01T23:25:00.000+08:00

I'm a breakfast person. I love having toasted muesli with yogurt, warm oats or poached eggs on bread. I guess, if I really have to wake up, I might as well be greeted with something warm, toasty and delicious.

Hubby and I have all kinds of agreement. One is that if I am in charge of lunches and dinners, then the least he could do is to do breakfast and dessert. I know, it's weird but hey, anything to keep a marriage going right?

He makes a mean coffee. Serious. From our little espresso machine given to us as a wedding gift. He did this without going through a coffee barrister course.

So I guess, on long weekends or on some occasional days.. I give him a break now and then and make him breakfast. You know, the kind that men like. Bacon, eggs (scrambled or fried), sausages....

Or waffles.

I adapted this from Little Corner of mine. I love how she added cranberries and oats to it! For mine, I added a healthy dose of cinnamon and used buttermilk instead. Oh and for a treat..just a few sprinkles of dark choc chip.

Cranberry Cinnamon Waffles (Around 8 waffles)
2 eggs
2 cups of buttermilk
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup of instant oats
4 tsp of baking powder
1 cup of cranberries
1 tablespoon of honey
1/4 tsp salt
2 tablespoon of brown sugar
2 tablespoon of dark choc bits

Whisk eggs, honey and milk together. In a dry bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder, cranberries, chocolate and sugar. Fold wet into dry. Preheat waffle iron. Spoon and cook! EAT!

Zucchini Noodle Slice

2011-05-29T14:31:00.000+08:00

I was reflecting how my palate has changed since leaving Singapore. Sure, I love my spicy food, carb ladden soup noodles and home made delights. Nothing can ever beat that. However, over time, I have learnt how to appreciate quick and easy bake meals, soups and even a meat and veg dish. It's something that my grandmother would have scratch her head and wonder how could we ever feel fulfil with dishes like this? It's not a complete meal if it is not rice, vege, soup and meat.

Worse if I decided to make a vegetarian non chinese dish.

It's a battle of the heritage, but I think it's so much more when we embrace it. I will never erase my Chinese roots, but there is nothing wrong if I sneak in a vege ladden egg slice now and then....

And just add some salmon on some salad leaves to get the horror look off my hubby face when I show him what's for lunch :p

Zucchini and Corn Noodle Slice (Serves 3-4)
80 grams of rice noodles soaked in hot water, drained and snipped into shorter lengths
1 capsicum diced
1 zucchini grated
1 can of corn drained
few stalks of spring onions chopped
1 carrot grated
1 cup of self raising flour
1/2 cup of low fat cheddar cheese
4 eggs
3/4 cup soy or normal milk
2-3 tablespoon of oyster sauce
1/2 tsp of chili powder
salt and pepper

Preheat Oven to 200 C. Line slice pan with baking paper with sides hanging.

Squeeze all liquid out of the zucchini. Mix with carrots, corn spring onions and capsicum. Toss in flour, cheese. Lightly whisky eggs with milk, oyster sauce. Pour liquid into the vegetable mix. Season, including chili powder. Add the noodle mixture. Pour into slice tray and bake for around 25-30 minutes. Serve with side salad.

Sundried Tomato Hummus

2011-05-27T06:08:00.000+08:00

Once a month, I was on morning tea duty, preparing morning tea items for office colleagues. It's our way to thank each other, appreciating each other for the work we put in weekly. This Hummus was my "last" morning tea preparation as I left the position soon after. As I was preparing it, it was bitter sweet- especially since I have many memories there.

Hence, it was important for me to get it right. To make something that everyone could enjoy. While I was blitzing this hummus up, I thought it was abit too tangy for my liking. I mmm and ahhh.. pondering whether to bring this hummus for morning tea. In the end I did it, and to my utmost surprise, everyone liked it and it was finished by the next morning. My colleagues assured me that it wasn't a show but the tangyness was something slightly different from what other dips offered out there.

Well for me, I was just glad they liked it.

Sundried Tomato Hummus
1 can of chickpeas drained
80 grams of semi sundried tomatoes (I used the 97 fat free one)
1/2 lemon squeezed
1/4 cup of olive oil
Season with some salt and cracked pepper.

Blitz everything up. Serve with crackers. ;)

Tomato Basil Soup with Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli

2011-05-24T05:50:00.000+08:00

As the colder weather sets in, I'm making soups weekly. It's a great one pot meal with little mess and fuss. As we like our soups chunky with lots of vegetables in it. It's our way to increase our vegetables intake too. Usually, I make a big pot-enough for a couple of meals which save time.

I recall reading in a magazine or perhaps through browsing a cookbook in a bookstore that we could use store bought fresh lasagne sheets to make ravioli. With that in mind, I decided to give it a go by stuffing ravioli with spinach and ricotta. This helps to bulk our soup up with some carbs.

Amazingly, 8 lasagne sheets produced around 12-14 ravioli. That's heaps for us! I themed this ravioli with a tomato and basil soup. The tangy taste of tomatoes and smooth basil was a hit for us.

Tomato Basil Soup with Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli (Serves 4-5)
1kg of tomatoes diced
1 can of diced tomatoes
few stalks of basil
1 ltre of vegetable stock
500 ml of water
1 onion chopped
4 chili padi chopped
1 tablespoon of garlic

a packet of lasagna sheets- around 8 sheets
1 egg whisked
200 grams ricotta
250 grams spinach
100grams smoked salmon sliced
cracked pepper

Fry garlic, chilli and onion till soft. Add in all tomatoes (including can). Simmer for around 3 minutes. Add stock and half of the water. Simmer.

Meanwhile, prepare ravioli filling. Quick blanched spinach leaves with hot water. Drain and squeeze all remaining water out of it (wait for it to cool down a little). Whisk ricotta till smooth. Combine spinach leaves and cracked pepper with ricotta. Set aside.

Take 1 piece of lasagna sheet, spoon ricotta mixture onto mixture (around 3 or 4 spoonfuls. Brush beaten egg around the mixture. Place another piece of lasagna sheet on top. Lightly press it so it seals. Using a knife or a pizza cutter. Cut them into pieces. Trim if needed. Repeat.

By that time, your soup should be boiling. Tear basil leaves into the soup. Taste and adjust accordingly.
Spoon soup into the blender. Blitz for a few minutes. Returning the mixture to the pot and return to boil.
Quickly add one ravioli to the soup for 2-3 minutes. Remove. Place ravioli into bowls. Repeat and cook ravioli as needed. Around 3-4 raviolis in one bowl is sufficient. Ladle soup onto the raviolis. Serve with basil leaves.

I'm serving this to my friends at Presto Pasta, founded by Ruth from Once Upon a Feast. This week, Trish is hosting from My Slap Kitchen.

Japanese Tofu with Spicy Pork and Egg Budget AU$15

2011-05-22T13:50:00.000+08:00

When the theme for this month's S$20 (or AUS$15) budget meals was announced to be Tofu, I got excited. Afterall, it is a humble ingredient that can be prepared in so many ways.

My favourite tofu, would be the silken egg tofu. The one that comes in a tube. I love to coat it with some cornflour and pan fry it, creating a slight crisp coating on the outside, but soft silky tofu on the inside. I fried up some mince, made an omelette and added the pre prepared tofu on the top.

While it looks messy, it is one of our favourite easy dish to have. The combine texture of crisp, soft, eggy..etc just makes it worthwhile.

I made ribs and lotus soup ( I realised I forgot to purchase some peanuts if not I would have added it there!) to pair with this dish. By boiling it in the morning before we head to work and placing it in the magic cooker, we were delighted to have a hot soup ready for us to drink when we got home in cold weather. A quick and simple bak choy stir fry was also made.

The Pork Ribs and Lotus soup was a bargain- Only $2.60 to make. We picked up some cheap pork bones which happened to be ribs for $3 for a big packet. We divided the packet into threes- So more soups for us! Lotus root was frozen though-nevertheless, it was $2.50 for a big packet (60cents). Enough to for at least another 2-3 meals. I added some dried scallops that was in my freezer which I estimated it to be around $1.

Bak Choy was $1 a bunch

Japanese Tofu with Spicy Pork and Egg was a little more pricey- around $7. On hindsight, probably one tube of tofu was enough but I got too carried away! So total cost of meal = AU$10.60. Not bad for a complete meal for 4.

Japanese Tofu with Spicy Pork and Egg (Serves 4-5)
2 tubes of Japanese Tofu
1 cup of corn flour
oil
200 grams pork mince
1/2 cup of hua tiao jiu
3 tablespoon of soy sauce
2 chili padi chopped
5 eggs
3 tablespoon of milk or soy milk

Slice tofu, coat it with corn flour lightly, shaking excess flour out. Fry tofu in hot pan with some oil. Turn after 2-3 minutes. Remove from pan and place tofu in plate lined with paper towels. Set aside.

Meanwhile, sauté chili padi with pork mince. Add the hua tiao jiu and soy sauce. Cook till mince is done.

Beat eggs with some milk. Pour eggs into pan. Cook till nearly set. Place tofu on the top of the omelette. Serve warm.

Hosted by Ellana from Cusine Paradise, this is my entry to Budget Meals.

Earl Grey Tea Cake

2011-05-20T06:09:00.000+08:00

Are you more of a tea or coffee person? It's really hard for me to choose because I am a fan of both. I like the delicate taste of tea, but love the robust caffeine hit that coffee provides. In terms of tea, I enjoy green tea (especially the one with brown rice), earl grey, english breakfast, jasmine tea..etc. Coffee- My favourite would be cappuccino.

While I would incorporate coffee into bakes, this is the first time I am using tea. Having spot this recipe in the recent Donna Hay Magazine, I couldn't help but give it a go. Once again, I re-adapted it to my liking. I find this cake very moist and easy to eat. Next time, I would have used fresh tea leaves, and soak it into the dates a little longer.

It is a delicate cake that was very popular with my work colleagues. The tea taste was light but it definitely came out strong the next day.

Earl Grey Tea Cake (adapted from Donna Hay Magazine)
1.5 cups of chopped dried dates (original version calls for fresh dates)
1 tsp bicarb soda
1 cup of brewed earl grey tea. I used 2 tea bags.
2 apples peeled and chopped finely
1 1/4 cup of self raising flour
3/4 cup of brown sugar
150 grams butter melted
2 tsp of vanilla extract
4 eggs

Preheat Oven to 180C. Line baking loaf tin with baking paper. PLace dates, bicarb of soda and tea in a bowl. I left the tea bag in the bowl during this time for around 10 minutes.

Using the liquidiser, blend the mixture till smooth. Set aside.

Mix flour, apple and sugar in a bowl till combined. Add in butter, vanilla eggs and date mixture. Mix well. Spoon into loaf tin and bake for 45-50 minutes till cooked when tested with a skewer. Rest and cool before removing from tin.

Roasted Pumpkin Isreali Couscous Salad

2011-05-17T06:06:00.000+08:00

It's only recent that I noticed larger pearl size couscous on the shelves of specialities delis. I have always been a fan of couscous as they are a great side dish-pairing it with a hearty stew or having it as a salad by itself. As a rule of thumb, I like to have a taste of the ingredient before attempting to try it at home. Especially when there was no written instruction on how to prepare it on the packet!!

Often, we have the luxury of tasting it in restaurants and cafe- which often leads me to experiment similar concepts in the humble home kitchen. This helps me to understand how the ingredient should be prepared, and also whether or not we will like it. No point wasting AU$7 on a packet if we are not happy with it. Hubby often joked that he gets a bang in his buck- not just for the meal in a restaurant but it is often my creativity zone when it comes to thinking of what to cook for meals.

Unfortunately, Isreali Couscous is still not very common in eateries yet. No chance to try this interesting ingredient. Hrmph.

Surprise surprise. In a recent picnic with our new french friends, they brought...... a isreali couscous salad!!! Oh how happy I was. Having a chat with her, she told me that all we needed to do was to cook Isreali couscous in a pot of boiling water as we would do with pasta. Easy done!

I love the texture of this pearl couscous and am amazed by how versatile it is. So in a recently bbq gathering, I brought a roasted pumpkin Isreali Couscous salad. I was greeted by the same reaction by our friends "What's this?", "are they little bubble tea bubbles?", "pasta?"

But they agreed that it is a light, fulfilling and healthy dish!

Roasted Pumpkin Isreali Couscous Salad (Made enough to serve 10)
250 grams of Isreali Couscous
around 1 ltre of water
pinch of salt

1kg of butternut pumpkin peeled and chopped
drizzle of honey
4 tomatoes chopped
1 cucumber chopped

3-4 extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon squeezed
1/4 tsp of honey
salt/pepper

Roast pumpkin with drizzle of honey for around 20 minutes.

Meanwhile boil water with some salt. Cook isreali couscous for around 15 minutes or when it is done. Drained and set aside.

Prepare all vegetables. Make dressing by combining olive oil with lemon, honey, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust accordingly. Toss couscous with all veges.

Foo Chuk (Barley, Beancurd and Ginko Nut Dessert)

2011-05-14T19:08:00.003+08:00

Chinese desserts are one of a kind. Depending on different regions and cultures, it can be in a jelly form (agar agar, grass jelly) or perhaps in a soup form. As a child, I did not appreciate soupy desserts. I preferred cakes, jell-o and creamy ice-creams.

As a teenager and later on as a young adult, I grew to like them. In fact, I missed having them. Perhaps it is the case of absence makes your heart grows fonder. I was surrounded by chinese desserts and never once did I missed it. However, since leaving the country and realising how difficult (not to mention expensive) accessing them, it became a treasure hunt.

Many of my childhood weekends was spent sitting in a dessert shop in Chinatown, Singapore, savouring a bowl of black sesame paste or my grandmother's favourite- Almond Paste. This particular bean curd dessert is a family favourite. It's one that my mother or grandmother would made and it would be a big hit. Especially if it is chilled on a hot, humid day.

I often think it is a Godsend that the Internet was created. It allowed me to learn from fellow bloggers on how to make childhood dishes that I often craved. I took lessons from noobcook and Sonia. Not to forget, my grandmother when she was in Perth.

Beancurd Sheets are made from soy beans of course. It can be use in savoury or sweet dishes. I re-hydrated the sheets in normal tepid water for around 15 mins. Ginko Nuts are known to help in memory and general health well being. I usually make a big batch of this and fridge it. It makes a nice, handy dessert!

Foo Chuk (Barley, Beancurd and Ginko Nut Dessert) serve at least 15
200 grams of barley rinsed
200 grams of bean curd sheets
400 grams of ginko nuts (I used one can of ginko nuts)
100 grams of rock sugar
3 ltres of water
few pandan leaves tied in knot
2 eggs beaten

Soak beancurd sheets in water. Set aside. Meanwhile boil 3 ltres of water with barley and pandan leaves. It will take around 10-15 mins. Add bean curd sheets and ginko nuts. Simmer for another 15 mins or so, depending on how soft you like your bean curd. Add rock sugar. Taste to see if it is sweet enough. Turn heat off. Add eggs, gently stirring the pot while doing so. Remove pandan leaves for serving. Chill if desired.

PS- Kitchen Snippets is offering a giftaway! How cute those apron looks! Have a look and visit her blog too. A space full of inspirations!

Jamie Oliver's Trapani Style Rigatoni

2011-05-11T07:00:00.000+08:00

The best thing about Jamie's Oliver 30 minute meals cookbook is that once you get the hanged of it, it's actually really easy to replicate his dishes. It's usually rustic, hence I don't have to worry too much how it looks. Again, I have adapted and tried one of his pasta recipe with great success. I'm beginning to be excited with trying more food from this book now.

I goggled Trapani Style and found out that it represents a city in Sicily. What I like is that it has NO cream but yet it tasted creamy. The almond, fresh cherry tomatoes certainly did the trick. It was very tasty and addictive. I could finish that whole bowl by myself.

You can probably omit the anchovies as I didn't think it gave it any kick-maybe even substitute it with olives if you want it vegetarian. I do love the taste of basil and fresh chili which certainly lifts the dish to another new level.

Silly me bought only 200 grams of cherry tomato and substituted it with a can of diced tomatoes on hand. It did the trick but left me wondering how much sweeter can this get if I used cherry tomatoes all the way.

Jamie Oliver's Trapani Style Rigatoni (Serves 4)
400 grams of Rigatoni
40 grams of parmesan cheese
100 whole blanched almonds
3-4 cloves of garlic
2-3 fresh chili padi
2 large bunches of basil
5-6 anchovy fillets
200 grams cherry tomatoes
1 can of 400 grams diced tomatoes

Cook Rigatoni till nearly done.

Meanwhile, blitzed Parmesan cheese, almonds, garlic and chili till fine. Then add basil, anchovies and cherry tomatoes. When it turned into paste, add a dash of olive oil. Season. Heat a pan up and saute the paste. Add the tin of diced tomatoes. Add some water if it is too dry. Toss pasta through the sauce. Serve warm.