Life is too short, eat desserts!

Poached Eggs

2011-04-18T05:46:00.000-07:00

I'm a sucker for eggs. They are the best thing on earth that's why I heart brunch the most. But most importantly the eggs have to be runny.

Eating brunch everyday at a restaurant is too expensive. Imagine paying 15-30 bucks a day just for breakfast. I would actually but managed to convince myself that it's an added luxury that shouldn't be excessively indulged in.

But anyway that doesnt stop someone from making their own version of brunch at home.

As shown below: I've tried 2 new methods of poaching them compared to the messier version where I just dumped them into simmering water.

Method 1: Use a metal ring placed in a pan of simmering water. Crack and egg in it and cook for 2min. I prefer this method over the next one because it's easier to gauge the correct consistency of the yolk.

Method 2: Place a microwavable film in a bowl and oil the insides. Drop and egg into it and tie the film. Drop the entire film into a saucepan of simmering water and cook 2-3 min. This is a less messy way to cook the egg but I couldnt tell when the yolk was just ready. But anyway, it managed to turn out the way I like so yepp!

YAY

Tarts tarts tarts

2011-04-10T04:47:00.000-07:00

I know Chinese New year was more than a month ago but I’m proud of the tart crust I made so here it is! It's buttery, flaky and melts in your mouth.

I remember thinking pretty hard about what dessert to make for Chinese new year. Someone even suggested making an ang bao or orange fondant cake but nahhhh. I believe in “Only using fondant when you really need too” or else your effort is gonna be wasted within seconds when the knife touches the surface of the cake.

So as to create that “CNY mood, I included mandarin oranges as one of the fruits but I sliced and candied it instead to give it the desired shine.

Choo Choo Train

2011-03-18T09:11:00.000-07:00

I never knew art could be so much fun. Besides the usual painting, drawing, shading, there’s also sculpturing, water painting, glass painting, molding stuff, carving figures etc. There’s like never ending things you could do or come up with, with your own sense of creativity and imagination.

Honestly as a kid I wasn't that obsessed over art. Maybe because my painting plain sucks. Haha but art, design and technology or home economics were like the only subjects I knew could get an A all semester. Haha but as I grew older, I believe that those pretty things you see in everyday life just don't appear pretty by nature, it’s those delicate hands behind the scene that craft them into that perfect object. And ultimately, there’s a price to pay for it all.

Store bough fondant is good to look at but disgusting to eat. Knowing this fact, it’s always good to have the best of both worlds. Thus Marshmallow fondant (MMF) has always been my go to recipe whenever I make customized cakes. Nevertheless, people still peel away the layers away and savour the cake instead, which is not at all surprising considering the MASSIVE sugar content that goes into making those. It’s no wonder they can be kept for so long without going bad.

I’ve been working on my craft skills after this fondant obsession has gotten into me. I believe this obsession is going to go a longgg way. Now besides the taste, texture, smell of the cake, there’s an additional appearance component that you are going to be judged for.

This particular cake was already well thought off by the customer.

She wanted a train cake and a carriage full of milk bottles. The perfect beginning to start off. The cake was a chocolate cake rich and moist enough to enjoy but not too soft to collapse under the weight of the fondant. Filling was swiss meringue buttercream. Enough said, here’s a picture of the completed cake.

Top view:

Front view:

Figurine of the older brother alex with his black leather jacket and cap and blue jeans.

Front carriage:

Back carriage:

Other figurine was for the younger baby brother Fynn- the reason for the cake was to celebrate his 1 mth!

This cake took an entire day to complete. The process was tiring because I had to redo the fondant covering twice because it cracked and I couldn't stand how ugly it looked under the light.

The rest of it is history.

Gumpaste!

2011-03-15T08:33:00.000-07:00

HELLOO EVERYONE,

I'm back again after abandoning this blog for a couple of weeks. CRIES! I think no one visits my blog anymore... hahah. Anyway, I had a good pep talk to myself- rather lame but yeah and the conclusion would be to reach my 2011 goal of blogging at least once every week and to bake something every week.

I think the only excuse I could give for my "missing in action" will be too busy. Busy for what reason- I don't know. I just find that whatever time I have left will be reserved for kitchen action (at least for this period of time). And yes to all you peeps who have asked me to take care of myself, I really did ( or perhaps tried to).

Weeks ago ( 1 month ago minus 4 days to be exact), I sprained my foot. What I thought was a minor sprained turned out to be a fracture in my fifth metatarsal. Anyway I'm praying that my foot gets healed soon enough. 4 more days to its one moniversary! Haha but I'm still as stubborn as ever- Been baking, standing for hours, walking all the way to phoon huat just because the night before I thought of the long list of things I should buy or must buy... Ridiculous to some but worth it all. Furthermore, I believe that bakers go through more hardship than what is called a fractured foot.

Blog posts with all words are just plain boring. I shall add a picture of something that will light up your day. Hhaaa I hope you have seen this cuz it's something I have been longing for for the longest time ever and finalllyyy it's mine ;)

Tada! To the tools that make all things perfect! I will devour you.

Happy New Year 2011!

2011-01-10T04:59:00.000-08:00

Haha. Honestly, I haven quite fully recovered from the fun since Christmas.. All that fireworks, Baking, Carnival, Sleepovers, Chilling, Shopping, Binging, movie marathons, drama marathons... But I realise if I don't post the huge backlog of bakes during Christmas, it's gonna be CNY in no time.

Anyway bear with me..

Cookies.. the standard during every Christmas. I made gingerbread cookies using all these tools and cutters unfortunately I didn't take pictures of the final product.

Next up, my all time fav fruit cake. Haha This time people complained the portion shrank.

This was my virgin attempt at baking log cakes. Haha Could tell that they were quite deformed and the cake cracked at the corners...

This was my 5th attempt (below). Didn't have a pic of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th one.. All I could remember was one had strawberry filling, the other matcha filling and the 4th one was a flourless swiss roll ( I would have liked this one better if it was a component of a cake but definitely not for a swiss roll because it is unable to stand the weight of the ganache pressing on it)

6th attempt: Chocolate swiss roll with dark cherries and chocolate meringue buttercream ;)

7th Swiss Roll:

8th Swiss Roll: with sparkling silver freckles

9th: The reason for the additional log on the top was because the swiss roll looked smaller than the other one I made. Nevertheless, I think it made the cake look nicer.

10th Cake!! This was for a mega party of 30. I wanted to include a gingerbread house masterpiece into the picture but due to time constraints, I had to do without ;[. The same cake as above just with additional varlhona crunchy pearl balls and Krispie Christmas tree and a snow floor.

The tree so chocolatey, I wish I could bite off it.

Last but not least, a SWISS- NO cake. Made from pure love, joy, peace and patience- a brownie cake with chocolate mousse and ganache.

That's my little story to tell this Christmas. What's yours ;)

Merry Christmas!!

2010-12-25T06:29:00.000-08:00

GOSH. I'm finally back. Today marks the end of my 12 day of baking madness. It's madness everywhere. When I think of chocolate, my stomach instantly feels queasy. For 12 days, I have been running around Singapore buying ingredients, cake boards/boxes, testing out log cakes, sketching designs, taking photos and buying Christmas presents. Fortunately, with the help of my new red sexy helper, I have surviveddd the storm
.

The song below basically summarizes how particularly naughty or nice I am this Christmas. Anyway I just wanna wish everyone a very blessed Merry Christmas :))

On the first day of Christmas,

my kitchen aid said to me,

ONE litre of whipping cream

On the Second day of Christmas,

my kitchen aid said to me

TWO disaster logcakes,

and ONE litre of whipping cream

On the third day of Christmas,

my kitchen aid said to me

THREE times 2 trips to phoon huat,

TWO disaster logcakes,

and ONE litre of whipping cream

On the fourth day of Christmas,

my kitchen aid said to me

FOUR packets of flour,

THREE times 2 trips to phoon huat,

TWO disaster logcakes,

and ONE litre of whipping cream

On the fifth day of Christmas,

my kitchen aid said to me

FIVE pounds of chocolate,

FOUR packets of flour,

THREE times 2 trips to phoon huat,

TWO disaster logcakes,

and ONE litre of whipping cream

On the SIX day of Christmas,

my kitchen aid said to me

SIX batches of meringue buttercream,

FIVE pounds of chocolate,

FOUR packets of flour,

THREE times 2 trips to phoon huat,

TWO disaster logcakes,

and ONE litre of whipping cream

On the Seven day of Christmas,

my kitchen aid said to me

SEVEN edible Christmas tress

SIX batches of meringue buttercream,

FIVE pounds of chocolate,

FOUR packets of flour,

THREE times 2 trips to phoon huat,

TWO disaster logcakes,

and ONE litre of whipping cream

On the EIGHT day of Christmas,

my kitchen aid said to me

EIGHT mini fruit cakes

SEVEN edible Christmas tress

SIX batches of meringue buttercream,

FIVE pounds of chocolate,

FOUR packets of flour,

THREE times 2 trips to phoon huat,

TWO disaster logcakes,

and ONE litre of whipping cream

On the Nineth day of Christmas,

my kitchen aid said to me

NINE log cakes baking

EIGHT mini fruit cakes

SEVEN edible Christmas tress

SIX batches of meringue buttercream,

FIVE pounds of chocolate,

FOUR packets of flour,

THREE times 2 trips to phoon huat,

TWO disaster logcakes,

and ONE litre of whipping cream

On the Tenth day of Christmas,

my kitchen aid said to me

TEN blocks of unsalted butter

NINE log cakes baking

EIGHT mini fruit cakes

SEVEN edible Christmas tress

SIX batches of meringue buttercream,

FIVE pounds of chocolate,

FOUR packets of flour,

THREE times 2 trips to phoon huat,

TWO disaster logcakes,

and ONE litre of whipping cream

On the Eleventh day of Christmas,

my kitchen aid said to me

ELEVEN cakes in total

TEN blocks of unsalted butter

NINE log cakes baking

EIGHT mini fruit cakes

SEVEN edible Christmas tress

SIX batches of meringue buttercream,

FIVE pounds of chocolate,

FOUR packets of flour,

THREE times 2 trips to phoon huat,

TWO disaster logcakes,

and ONE litre of whipping cream

On the Twelfth day of Christmas,

my kitchen aid said to me

TWELVE days of baking

ELEVEN cakes in total

TEN blocks of unsalted butter

NINE log cakes baking

EIGHT mini fruit cakes

SEVEN edible Christmas tress

SIX batches of meringue buttercream,

FIVE pounds of chocolate,

FOUR packets of flour,

THREE times 2 trips to phoon huat,

TWO disaster logcakes,

and ONE litre of whipping cream

Dec's the season to be jolly!

2010-12-11T03:20:00.000-08:00

Yay! It's the Christmas season yet again! How time flies. The only thing difference between this year and last is I'm working now and the only time left to bake is from 8pm till morning. Still that's not a valid excuse for not baking cuz I'll always remember Christmas as a season to give, share and spread the joy :))) With so much things to do and Christmas being a mere 1+ week away, where should I even start. Hahaa plus I've

been so busy baking people's birthday cakes/ anniversary cakes/ and testing out new recipes that time is a major issue. All I want for Christmas is MORE TIME PLEASE!! xxx

Anyway day one of Dec was my Pastor's birthday. What a good day to start the festive season! Decided to bless him with a fondant cake moulded in the shape of a bible. This is my fourth fondant cake up to date and I'm already greatly head over heels with the process of "playing" with it. Taste wise I'm not such a huge fan because I find them too sweet.

Beneath the word of truth lies a rich fudge chocolate cake with layers of thick chocolate frosting. As for the design of the book, I ~~Stole~~ borrowed an ancient looking book from my DaD's library as a guide.

The little index you see sticking out of the book were glued on using the magical transparent mirror gel. The wonders of the gel which I only discovered as I accidentally opened the fridge. It sticks well. Much better than buttercream. The drape looking cloth hanging from the cross can be learnt from here. However, I used chopsticks in place of the dowel rods.

and there you go. A cake where my pastor describes as " people who literally eat the word of God". Be blessed on this very Christmas season..

More bakes for December. Stay tune.

Dark Chocolate Brownie Cake

2010-12-01T05:32:00.000-08:00

My friend shared with me this awesome brownie recipe he made while he was studying overseas and wanted me to recreate this for his Dad's birthday. I said yes. It's always an honour to bake for someone else other than yourself.

BUT sadly enough, it didn't turn out the way I would have liked it to be. The frosting was so uneven that I had to cover it up with cocoa dust. And after much thought, I decided it was only fair to message my friend telling him about the hideous looking cake. [ That was past midnight ] DESPERATE means.. He replied by saying that as long as the cake taste good it should be fine ;) SO the very next morning, I tried to salvage the cake by adding some colored cherries...

Overall, it was a very nice, rich and moist brownie. He said that his family loved it and would like another. Yayyeee! Anyway, I managed to taste some of the little scraps of crumbs left here and there and I loved it too. ! Definitely my kind of dessert and also a keeper recipe just have to do something about the decoration portion... Here it goes ;)

Shaun's Brownie:

200g butter

200g Dark Chocolate (I used Green and Black's Organic dark choc- ultimate love ;)))) The better the choc, the better the taste of the browniee...

3 medium eggs

250g caster sugar -2 ¼ cups

112g plain flour – sieved - 1 cup

125g walnuts – coarsely chopped

½ tsp salt

½ tsp vanilla essence

Method

1. Preheat oven to gas mark 4/ 170°C/ 350°F. Line the baking tin with baking parchment.

2. Melt the butter and chocolate together by placing a bowl over simmering water until

melted, or in a microwave.

3. Using an electric mixer, beat together the eggs and sugar for approximately 2-3

minutes until pale. Add the melted chocolate and mix well until blended.

4. Add the flour, salt, chopped nuts and vanilla essence to the mixture and stir until all

ingredients are incorporated and there are no lumps.

5. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 35 minutes. The top will look cracked and flaky

– this is normal.

6. Leave to cool, then lift out from the tin and cut into squares, or serve straight from the

oven if preferred hot.

[[To my baker friends: Any tips on how to apply a smooth layer of frosting on the top of the cake? I've tried various recipes but somehow still can't obtain that smooth shiny finish and yet taste soft and silky.. ]]

Happy Blogger Food Event

2010-11-29T07:31:00.000-08:00

Wheee! My first ever blogger's outing (not counting the Cook and Feed with Love Event- which I appeared and said bye after like a few mins sadly!). It's always fun to chill out, get to know one another, play ice breakers and FOOD is definitely a tool used to bind people together. It makes the atmosphere less tense and the best part is you get your mouth busy as well.

Anyway, thanks to Jane , we had a spacious and cosy function room for us to congregate at. The gathering was potluck style. Oh how I miss those days where we used to cook in our apartments and bring our bakes/cook to Edmund's apartment and mess up his entire kitchen... This time round, I offered to bring a savory dish. Haha! For a change ;) Later in the post, I'll tell you what gave me that inspiration ;>

For now, sit back and gawk at the gawk worthy food prepared by my fellow lovely bloggers ;)

From top left:

Jane's- Walnut blondies
Jo's- Chicken Drumlets
Doris's- Cheese Macaroni
Eelin's- Cointreau Chocolate CupCake

Edith's- Blueberry Muffins and banana hazelnut cake

ZY's- Crispy Choc Chip cookies and Hawaiian pizza pie

(My)- Potato Salad

Doris's- Konniyaku Jelly

Judy's- Sambal Prawn Sandwiches

Everything were too yummy! Thanks all for the wonderful dishes. It was awesome knowing you guys better ;)

Check out more interesting food blog posts at:

Christine - Yummy Koh
Doris - Tested & Tasted
Edith - Precious Moments
Jane - Passionate About Baking
Josephine - Sugar & Everything Nice
Judy - A Busy Gran's Kitchen
Zhuoyuan - Baking Library
Eelin - The Batter Baker

Ok, the inspiration for my potato dish comes from the cooking event organized by my company a few weeks ago. The recipe is by Mervyn from Cookyn with Mervyn and the sauce is basically for a pasta dish. Instead of Spaghetti, I substituted it with potatoes which is more potluck friendly. ( imagine bring a plate of spaghetti to a party- OMG it's gonna be awfully cold)

Ingredients:

3 cups laksa leaves (plucked without any stalks)

3 large red chilis, roughly chopped

5 cloves garlic

200g roasted cashew nuts, unsalted

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon fish sauce

5-6 tablespoons olive oil

--> Blend everything together

As for the potatoes, I boiled them, cubed them, sauteed them, seasoned them with a little salt and pepper and added in the magic laksa paste ;)

Enjoy!!

3 Tier Waterfall Birthday Cake

2010-11-17T05:39:00.000-08:00

Baked specially for the boyfriend. It took just one phone convo and this idea of a waterfall cake became an actual product. Few months ago, we were talking about holidays, beaches, sea sports blah blah ( something towards the travelling theme) and then suddenly the bf challenged me to make a waterfall cake and then he ended with " just kidding". My first reaction was " don't be funny" but then as the days went by, I took it quite seriously and then I decided that that was the cake I was gonna create for his birthday.

Now to think about it, that cake actually suited him pretty well. Peacefulness, calmness, pureness, innocence. It screamed: " give me a break from studying". The effort was worth it all, although it took many days of preparation. The best gift in return is definitely seeing the smile on people's faces as they consume the cake. Days of late night, fatigue, time spent all take back seat.

Planning on a sheet. As you can see, the chinese foolscap paper was put into good use after many years.

It was suppose to be a 2 tier cake but I made an extra 3 inch cake so it just went on top for extra height. First 2 tiers were cheesecake and the bottom tier was a red velvet and cream cheese cake. The waterfall is vanilla buttercream- tinted with shades of blue to give that water effect. Grey boulders are edible and made from fondant. I got the different shades of grey by partially folding the black gel into the fondant. (Add more white fondant if you did not get your shades the first time round- it's just basically try and error). Flowers are gumpaste, rocks are rock looking chocolates haa, starfish are fondant tinted with respective colours and lastly the sand is brown sugar.

Made with lots of love

xoxo

The Chronicles Of the Macawrongs return

2010-11-08T06:04:00.000-08:00

If someone were to ask me what was the most memorable dessert I ever baked- Honestly, the word macaron just pops out without a doubt. I dream about macarons as much as I eat them till the extent that when I make them, I feel like murdering them. My friend once thought I was severely insane when I told her I had a nightmare AGAIN and this time I dreamt that I cracked 6 eggs ( in preparation for the aging process) only to find that there was absolutely NO egg white, only the yolk for every egg I cracked.

Anyway, my church e-cafe had a huge food sale to raise some funds for the big christmas carnival coming up in December. I did 10-11 batches of Macarons and 1 batch of white chocolate blondies. Of all the 11 batches of Macarons I did, I think about 8 didn't turn out the way I wished it had been. 8 more failed attempts added to the Macawrong list, raising the total to 12 failures out of 21 attempts. WOW. It's almost a gamble...50-50% chance of getting it right. And honestly, I didn't know what went wrong this time- I realy don't. Everything proceeded like previously (successful attempts) only this time, I did them when it was raining cats and dogs. I can only guess that humidity played a huge factor because when I inspected the whites, they didn't seem as gluey as before ( prolly less moisture evaporated) and also they didn't whip to their fullest potential.

The following pictures you will see why!

Different colored macarons (above) with some severely depressed shells and some showed signs of a "bad temper day"

These pink ones below were one of the better batches. Wait till you see the other 2 at the bottom.

Now now now... They look like cookies don't they.

and my fav shape among them all. I call these the cute yo-yo cookies. They look like tops that can spin.

Since they were so cute, I made a peanut butter and jelly filling specially for them. and Uhm they taste pretty dang good I must say...

The macarons assembled on a big tray and ready to be separated and packed into the many boxes.

Orange Macarons with Chocolate Orange Ganache

Chocolate Macarons with Chocolate Ganache

Pink Macarons with White Rose Chocolate Ganache

Green Macarons with Peppermint Chocolate Ganache

Brown Macarons with Bailey Infused Chocolate Ganache

Light Brown Macarons with Hazelnut Ganache

Some of the remaining ones were filled with P&J.

Scheduled to bake macarons for this week's e-cafe again. Lord, I pray they turn out good.

Reuben's 1st Birthday- Present Fondant Cake

2010-10-31T05:27:00.000-07:00

Things start to get pretteeyy interesting when you see things from a 3D perspective. Hardest part of the whole process though is when your cake takes a different form from how you originally envision that “perfect cake” of yours. With no professional cert in baking or such, my mind sometimes stores an overwhelming number of questions that I wished could be answered spot on. While accountants have their calculators, I wish someone invented a bakelator to solve all my pressing questions. Anyway the flaws on all my cake, haha I wish you (receivers) didn’t notice them because I had a fun time covering them up. ;) WHoopss It’s the thought that counts right?

Hah Moving on to a whole different story- the story of little Reuben turning one. Exciting much. I always wondered what it’s like to be a kid again. All the toys, Barbie dolls, play house, teddy bears, polly pocket ( oh those were like my ultimate fav) and even talking to my soft toys. OH Gosh, I still remember creating a bus out of 2 chairs, a blanket and many pillows. I laid my softies on the “bus” 2 by 2, gave them personalized name tags and I made them call me teacher. Most memorable was all the candies, gummies and sweets I consumed ( I was a fat child then, if you knew me). My mummy told me that when she tried to cut down the portion of food I took, I said “ if I can’t eat, what’s the point of living” hahahahahaa.. That is hilarious. I was prolly 12-ish or maybe younger?

Anyway inspired by the sweetness of the universe and the innocence of being a child again, I present to you Reuben's birthday cake.

See those gummies sticking out.. They were suppose to paint a picture of a present box overflowing with gummies and sweets and the drapes hanging down were supposed to be the interior box lining ( I had a nightmare handling those) and of cuz a generous amount of M&Ms decked the bottom of the cake. Mmhh M&Ms always make a cake look happy! Best moments were when the birthday baby couldn't stop wanting to touch the cake when taking a photo. Heheee

Alright, what great timing. 8.30pm. TIME TO DO some online shopping. Muahahhaa

Salmon with a Cheesy Spinach topping and Pea Puree

2010-10-27T06:18:00.000-07:00

Straying away from the sweeter side of life and moving on to the savoury:

Another hectic week has passed. This time it was back to the books. My entire week was spent prepping for my French elementary exam. (OK, I may have exaggerated a little) so lets say maybe half the week or 2/7 of the week?

It consisted of 5 sections- 1) QCM ( What they call MCQ hahaha), 2) Fill in the blanks with the different verb expressions, 3) Fill in your particulars, 4) Write a letter to a fellow correspondence, Oral component - 3 parts. One was listening to the tape about a person and their particulars, second was a person giving directions to 10 places and you have to name them in order ( Seriously at the end of this section where there was a blank to fill up the address the person was heading to : I just wrote " Je ne comprends pas- which means I don't understand) and lastly oral ( you read a passage and also converse with your friend like how you do in daily life) haha.

I had to constantly console myself that this is only Elementary. Anyway on a happier note- I cooked salmon for dinner. Fish is like the best thing to eat for an everyday meal. You see: it is rich in protein, high in Omega 3 fatty acids, good for complexion, healthy, good for the memory and brain and to top it all- I am 100% and 1 in love with it. So if you see me ordering fish ( like 99% of the time that sometimes my friends mistake me for not eating meat) instead of chicken, beef, pork etcc it's not that I don't like meat, it's just that I prefer fish.

I've watched way too much top chef seasons that one day it just got hold of me and I somehow decided to make a pea puree with something. Something like what?? was the question. How about fish.....

So here's a Pan seared Salmon with Cheesy Spinach and a pea puree underneath all that fat, juicy abundant goodness.

Ingredients:

Salmon

One salmon fillet ( Bought one first to test)

pepper and salt( to taste)

1) Heat a pan with olive oil till hot

2) Season fillet with pepper and salt on both sides

3) Sear salmon 2 min on each sides ( mine wasn't too thick but if you're using thicker salmon, maybe can fry 1 min longer)

4) Baked at 160 until cooked ( took me about 10 mins)

Pea Puree

1 cup peas

2-3 tbsp ( or more) chicken stock

1 clove garlic

1 tbsp oil

salt (to taste)

1) Boil peas till cooked.

2) Put drained peas, chicken stock, garlic, oil and salt into food processor and process until smooth paste

3) Taste and add more salt/ chicken stock if desired

4) I passed the entire mixture through a mesh to get a smoother texture.

Cheesy Spinach Topping

This was honestly the best part because I just mix everything according to how happy I was at that particular time.... That's the advantage of cooking over baking. You get to add, mix and add, mix. Everything is practically trial and error. Baking on the other hand is precise. You don't try to reduce something because it can severely alter how your final product would turn out. (Ehs, they have a formulae for calculating the proportions of one ingredient to another. They call this the baker's percentage) If you're interested you can go read up more on it. Wayne Gisslen- Professional Baking is a pretty comprehensive book which I would recommend. ok ok the recipe goes:

-One portion of spinach ( Erm it's just a bundle of spinach that is wrapped nicely at the supermart)

-2 slices cheese ( My cheddar and pepperyjack were finished so I had to make do with the kraft cheese ;[ )

Cayenne pepper ( Optional but I added a little of this to give that little spice to the dish- what was lacking in the ordinary cheese.. Alternatively, you could buy those cheese with a little pepper/ spice if you prefer or just ignore that all if you don't like it spicy)

-1-2 tbsp chicken stock

- 1 tbsp oil

1) Fry spinach with oil. Add chicken stock and let simmer a little till soft.

2) Add in cheese ( I realise the more cheese you add, the nicer the taste haha so it's really up to you )

Layering:

Pea puree on the bottom, half of the spinach went on top of it, followed by the salmon and then garnished with more spinach. You could serve with mash potatoes or whatever sides you fancy but I was in a hurry that day, so it was a pretty simple dish.

What I would have done differently the next time:

Omit the pea puree. It was good but somehow it didn't complement the entire dish. I suspect it was because of the threesome thing. In addition, cheesey spinach took away all the goodness that I was unable to solely enjoy the goodness of the pea puree ;[

But nevertheless, the family enjoyed it. ;)) YAYS.

Jac's Mexican Birthday

2010-10-23T08:22:00.000-07:00

Basically the colors green, red and white surrounded the birthday theme. Dressed in our Mexican colors and hats, we were ready to rock the boat of Marina South Pier. The boat was rocking non stop that I couldn't help but feel dizzy at times, but the party was so happening that my sickness was long gone.

I never made a jelly cake for someone's birthday before. Firstly, Je n'aime pas les gâteaux de la gelée. Secondly, it can be whipped up in minutes- trop facile. Haha. But this was an exception. It was a special occasion for a girl who loves jelly, wishes for a jelly cake and actually has preferences over what she likes in the cake. So alors voici! A cake moulded to your desires Jac!

Presenting Strawberry and rose flavoured jelly cake with Pearls and Celery yeeeeww. ( Erm yes, celery- a veg I would never touch even if you gave me $50.)

I call this J's Jelly Cake:

Ingredients:

1 Jelly packet
Some pearls
Lots and lots of celery cut into cubes and strips for decoration ( or you can use other kinds of fruits)
Some strawberry flavouring
Red coloring

1) Cook the jelly according to the instructions on the packet. Add in whatever flavouring you desire
2) Throw in your ingredients and mix into jelly
3) Pour into Jelly mould ( I use a jelly pan for this one)
4) Leave it in the fridge to set and then unmold

Don't ask me why that combi. I just couldnt forget the day my friend told me how she wished she had a cake made of jelly filled with "crunchy celery that makes you go mmmhhh when you bite into it". Best part was she said " celery has negative calories so munching on calories requires energy thus you are actually consuming negative calories."

I practically lol. Just to test her theory, I googled "celery has negative calories" and a bunch of articles popped up. I guess there sure are some like minded people. But hey celery has 6 calories and you actually burn more calories chewing and digesting it. Haha Same goes for carrots and cabbage. ( Maybe I should add that into the cake as well). Ok, this is getting retarded but anyway if you like jelly or if you're in search for something sweet, here's a healthier alternative, supposely.

HAPPY GRADUATION!

2010-10-14T07:03:00.000-07:00

Inspired by Cake Boss many times over, I decided to boldly venture into that specific area of cake decorating. One of the reasons why I prefer baking cakes to cookies or cupcakes is simply the decorating portion. Cakes have a bigger surface area to decorate which makes it all the more fun and satisfying when you sit back and relax after a days' hard work and admire the beauty of your creation. All said, things can however take a 360 deg turn when one small mistake can reap a demoralizing outcome. The fact is still that you can discard an ugly decorated cookie and still have more backups but you can't throw away a cake that is floppily decorated and still hope for plan B [ that's unless you bake 5 more cakes ].

Anyway, I've always admired people with the innate talent to carve a certain shape out of somewhere and transform it into an amazing artpiece. Like wow, that is so impressive. It doesn't take much for me to be impressed really. Just present me a wonderfully plated dish and I'll go ga ga over it. Watch top chef: just desserts or the new season of top chef and be prepared to be swept off your feet. Plus the last challenge was held in Singapore. What an honour. Chicken Rice is our Hamburger LOLLLL. Hahaaa

Enough said... Few weeks ago, my clique decided to take our graduation photos [ after many weeks since our convocation ceremony]. At the same time, I had this brilliant idea hidden at the back of my mind of making fondant that just needed to be let out. What better time to execute this. I was immediately drawn to the idea of a graduation cake. It wasn't much of a surprise cuz I was practically too excited and told everyone about it. Hah!

Took quite abit of research online to extract the necessary info needed to make my fondant. I decided against store bought fondant since there were numerous complains about it tasting disgusting and plus I wanted to experience the process of making and playing with my own "playdough" thus went aheaad with the MMF- Marshmallow fondant.

Recipe adapted from Cake Journal. There are other blogs with pretty good tips and tricks. Some of my fav are Peggy Weaver's Baking Corner and Wilton's main site which has everything summarised neatly. They also show you the proportion of MMF to make for a given cake size. Only problem with the fondant is it's super difficult to get the desired color. I mixed like a million colors together hoping that some nice color will pop up of nowhere. The blackk took like forever to knead into that color. Even so, it didn't turn out pure black. I guess primary colors like red, black need a substantial amount of coloring and kneading. Anyway I think you could do chocolate fondant to get the black colour faster... That's what I read somewhere.. Will try it out next time.. As for now, I'm happy to entertain myself and revive my childhood days with the edible dough.

Ingredients

1 bag of white marshmallows (8 oz)
Water (2 tbsp)
Icing sugar sifted (1 to 2 pounds)
Crisco
Heatproof bowl
Spoon
Sift
Food colors or cocoa powder

Steps
1) Put the marshmallows in a heatproof bowl and add the water. Put the bowl in the microwave oven and heat it for approx. 2 mins. until the marshmallows puff up.

2)Stir the marshmallows until they get smooth. This is the time where you can add your chosen food color/cocoa powder or give it flavour.

3)Now add the icing sugar and stir the mixture with a well greased spoon. Keep adding icing sugar until it looks like a dough. Turn out the “dough” on a greased work board and with your hands greased with Crisco start kneading the marshmallow fondant. Keep adding a little icing sugar at a time until it is not sticky anymore. If you are not using the marshmallow fondant straight away then rub a bit of Crisco on it and wrap it in cling-film and seal it in a airthight bag.

Moist Banana Cake

2010-10-07T08:16:00.000-07:00

Banana cakes are what I call a simple and easy to whip up dessert that is maybe less sinful compared to the other rich, buttercream laden cakes. Best thing about it, is it requires little cleaning up and is mess free. Good way to use up overly ripe bananas too.

Anyway it has been almost 2 weeks since I last got my hands dirty and almost 2 weeks since I started work AGAIN. "Welcome to glamorous working life", was what everyone has been telling me. Sarcastic or not, I'm certain this is only the beginning. For me, mental tiredness is worse than physical tiredness. It is severe enough to make me immobile for 2 weeks. Yes you heard it. All I want to do when I reach home is sleep. I hope things get better though.

Nevertheless, nothing is more rewarding than being back to my original lifestyle as I attempt to work those muscles, crockery, beater, flour.... into whipping up a banana cake fit for breakfast the very next day.. Sure things have been quite quiet lately without all that fuzz and buzz in the kitchen. The baker is back!!!!!

This cake recipe was actually a muffin recipe but I didn't want to go through all that fuzz of filling up the muffin cups one by one so I just dumped them all into a rec loaf pan and in it goes into the oven. I like this recipe because it is moist and doesn't have butter. Although butter is like the air we breathe- the quintessential ingredient for cakes, it's always good to stray away from them once in awhile. Note the word once.. I halfed the recipe as there wasn't enough bananas to go around. That makes about 8-10 slices. The full recipe below should yield twice that amount.

Banana Cake ( Fills 2 rec pan)- about 16-20 slices

1.5 cups all purpose flour, sifted
1 tsp baking soda, sifted
1 tsp baking powder, sifted
1/2 tsp salt
3 big bananas, mashed
3/4 cup white sugar ( I use a mixture of brown and white)
1 egg lightly beaten
1/3 cup oil or butter melted ( I use oil ;) )
1/4 cup walnuts ( Optional)

1) Preheat oven to 375F ( 190C)
2) In a large bowl, mix flour, baking soda and baking powder and salt.
3) In another bowl, beat bananas, white sugar, egg and oil till well combined.
4) Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture until just moistened ( don't want to overfold if not cake would be hard).
5) Add walnuts ( optional)
6) Bake for about 30 min or when toothpick inserted comes out clean.

VIOLA! More to come I promise.

Green and White Theme Wedding Shoot

2010-09-24T08:20:00.000-07:00

I am overwhelmed by activities that the word tired, fatigue are just words to describe a "normal" day. Simply exhausted. Just exhausted. A couple of days ago, a rash developed on my wrist. I told someone that it might be due to me kneading dough for an extensive period of time. He then continued by saying " maybe you're allergic to baking". oh anyway haha I was not kneading bread dough, if I told you what I was trying to make, you'll probably Laugh your heads off. But anyway, I tried popiah skin.. It was not even close to a teeny bit of success. If I use a race as an analogy, I would be the racer, the popiah- the shoes and lets say 1/10 into the race, I fell cuz the shoes were too tight for me. Ok anyway you get the point.. The process of it all was pretty hilarious. I knead and I knead and I knead but the end product wasn't just elastic and smooth as it should be. We tried cooking it on a pan but it wouldn't stick. It didn't take quite long for as to decide on buying the popiah skin thereafter.. Thank goodness the manicure was off...

and Yes reason why I'm so busy these few days is I just needed to do a little of everything before the Big day not the Wedding haha( I wish) but work!. Imagine not being in the kitchen in the morning, afternoon. A disaster- no, I call that a catastrophe.

So I had the privilege to bake for a wedding shoot for Chere Wedding & Parties for advertisement purposes. They wanted a dessert table to be included as part of their decor. Theme was green and white. That was a neat combination of colors. Honestly, I never thought any colors would have blended as well as black and pink ( ok I'm being biased) but this was elegant and refreshing. Reminds me of picnic-ing in a lush field with poppy flowers and lots of trees. What a breath of fresh air.

What dessert do you think of when you think of green. Mint was the first thing that came to my mind. Haha good o'l days. When I think back.. Mint Ice Cream was the subject of interest when me and my bf first met.. Other flavours include Pandan, Kiwi, Avocado, Green Tea. etcc

First up we have Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Mint Cream Cheese Frosting with a couple of pearl drops for added elegance.

Pandan Flavoured Meringues: It took very long for the egg whites to dry out in the oven and the white batch turned out slightly burnt, leaving the Pandan ones. But good thing there was enough in that particular lot.

Green Tea Genoise Cake with red bean filling and cream. Topping at the top as you can see was abit watery, infact very compared to the last one I attempted for Liz's birthday. Didn't whip white chocolate layer long enough!! :[ Anyway, I had to patch up the what seemed to be a disaster mess by applying some make up to it... Dust of some of the choc layer and sprinkle some green tea powder and we were good to go.

and lastly, my fav of them all- white chocolate Blondie with a hell generous dash of cranberries and raisins. CRAZINS I call them because the fruits are so craziliciously delicious.

Here's how the photoshoot went.

Photo courtesy of Chere Weddings. You can find more photos at their mainpage ;)

I have a helluva backlog of food pictures and I'm gonna post them all up when I'm done with the macaron battle.

Goodbye cupcakes, Hello Macarons

2010-09-06T09:30:00.000-07:00

Haha Oh my Oh my! I have a sudden obsession with Macarons. J’aime beaucoup les Macarons. Les Macarons, c’est un pur delice!! Read an article about the time line of popular desserts that span the century. 1970s- Jell Molds, 1980s/1990s- Frozen Yogurt (with a spillover effect to the 20^th century) and for the past decade- Cupcakes. NOW it’s time to give way to the “In” dessert of the century = The Mighty French Macarons. The sweet, fussy yet elegant looking piece of cookie can come in all sorts of colors and flavours. And to top it all, it can be mixed and match with different fillings. I love baking cakes and cupcakes but as of last week, I think I found my new love of the season and I’m head over heels over it.

Anyway, I wanted to see whether my 4^th attempt ( as seen in my previous Macaron post) was a fluke so I tested Batch 5 ( Chocolate) ,6 (Green) ,7 ( Red) in my oven today and I’m glad to say they have survived the storm. C'est Excellent ! Très bien !

Batch 5: Chocolate Macarons with chocolate Ganache

Batch 6: Green Macarons with Bailey Chocolate Cream

Batch 7: Pink Macarons with rose white chocolate ganache

Chocolate Macaron (adapted from Annie Eats)

Ingredients:
For the macarons:
110 gm blanched slivered almonds
200 gm minus 2 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar
2 tbsp. cocoa powder (Dutch-process preferred)
100 gm egg whites (from about 3 eggs), aged at room temperature for 12-24 hours
50 gm granulated sugar

Steps: Are the same for the basic Macarons. Just that food process cocoa powder with confectioner's sugar and almonds and sieve together...

Bailey Chocolate Cream (Adapted from Sunshine's Kitchen) - This has gotta be my fav filling for macarons. Love how the mint chocolate Bailey blends in so well with the cruchy yet chewy macarons the next day. Ahhh I'm in heaven.

Ingredients:

150m sweet cream
30ml baileys
100 g chocolate (milk or black)

Step: Boil cream and Baileys, then pour into a bowl with crushed chocolate. Mix and leave to cool.

Anyway, I had quite some fun playing with the macarons and snapping away. My camera loves them too. hah

This was suppose to look like a tree but I didn't have enough greeen.

Rose

In these 3 batches, I did a couple of experiments and I'm gonna share some findings (ooohh seems like we're gonna have a class session):

1) To see whether resting the Macarons for a longer period of time = nicer feet or nicer looking Macarons

Verdict: I left The chocolate batch to sit for more than 2 hours ( Did the batch in the morning, went out for lunch and continued after lunch). They were pretty decent but some how it didn’t look as elegant and smooth looking as the Green batch which was left to sit for only 1 hr. So I guess it’s not how long you put the Macarons to rest but you need to take into consideration other factors too. But definitely you need to put the Macarons long enough for a skin to be develop ( does not stick to hand when touched). I found that my table in the living room was most conducive for resting the Macs J

2) To see whether the addition of (non) powder food coloring would affect how the Macs turn out.

Verdict: I remember on my first attempt, I added in coloring and thought that could have been a possibility when the Macs didn’t turn out like I had expected it to (The coloring I use is Wilton’s food coloring- It’s does not thin icing as the packet says but the ingredients has a little corn syrup added to it so obviously it wasn’t non liquid). For Batch 7, I wanted a much deeper red color so I added more coloring compared to Batch 1. The batch turned out extremely fine. So I guess using Wilton’s coloring is still pretty acceptable ;)

3) Bubbles on the Macs:

After piping the Macs on the template, there were some bubbles on some of the Macs so I cheated by using my fingers to prick it and then smooth it back ( You can use a toothpick if you’re not as lazy as me).

4) Leave The Macs on the baking paper to cool entirely before removing;

Once I was itchy fingers and tried to remove them before they cooled and the bottom layer totally separated from its body. Non, non, non.

Lastly, I just gotta tell share with you something SEVERELY stupid I did or me being muddleheaded on my part. It didn’t click to me why my macarons were taking such a long time to bake in the oven before they obediently dislodge themselves from the baking sheet until YESTERDAY when I conveniently asked Shad to help me set the temperature of the oven to 150 and then when I checked, I was like” why did you set it so low” and then he said “ you wanted 150C right?” and then I looked again and OMGGG my eyes popped out and I finally woke up from my 4 days of senses and realised that all the while I had been baking my macs at 110C ( The mark btw 100 and 120). Oh geezs. Oh well.. Anyway I adjusted the oven to the correct temperature this time and it took abt 15-20 min (depending on size) which was the average time to bake macarons. Now I realise how sillyy I was..

Future Challenges ( OKAYYY this really sounds like writing a report)

-To create better tasting fillings. I realise that white chocolate is so much harder to handle then their fellow chocolate counterpart since it is so soft and everytime I work with it, something is bound to go wrong somewhere.

- To practise on my piping skills. As you can see in the pictures, the macarons come in all shape and sizes even though I use a template.

-Buy nice boxes to store the macarons and decorate them (Not really a challenge but I’ll just write it here since looks matter as much as taste)

Alright that's all for now. I just had a long day today with batches 8,9, 10. I will tell you more about how some batches of macarons committed suicide in the oven.

The Adventures of Macarons

2010-09-02T03:04:00.000-07:00

I’ve finally hopped on the Macarons bandwagon. Those elegant little sweets that come in a variety of colors is not only pleasing to look at, it taste great. Some say they are way too sweet haha but I love it. Especially hazelnut, rose infused,matcha and orange chocolate ones. Those tiny things cost about $1-$2 and sometimes $3 for the more premium ones. I’ve always wondered why they were so expensive but I guess the time and effort taken to make those as well as the many attempts are enough to justify the cost even though the ingredients are not that expensive.

I’ve read countless of macarons entries time and again but just no motivation to attempt my very own. Why make them when you can enjoy the goodness of them outside. Anyway anyway, with much thought, I’ve decided to stray from my usual baking of cakes, cookies and cupcakes and see what so special about macarons that render its cost and make it such a suitable gifts from birthdays as well as parties etc…

There’s basically 2 ways of doing Macarons- The French way and the Italian way. They usually say that Italian Macarons are more reliable and have less chances of failure but involves boiling syrup to a certain temperature and adding them to the egg whites. Oh boy- temperature, boiling, sugar- another reason to stray away from making Macarons. In the end I decided to go with the French method which obviously seems less intimidating than the Italian.

If you google or type Macarons on foodgawker/tastespotting, you'll see blog load of entries on them. Too much information overload but the trick to making macarons is learning from people's experiences and then attempting them yourself. Knowing this wasn't an easy thing to deal with, I loaded myself with tips, hints, methods and what to do/ what not to do from the bakersphere. But after actually attempting them myself, I realise that the theory aspect is not sufficient to garner success. Practise like they always say makes perfect is actually more realistic in the sense that you need to take into consideration climate, humidity, establishing a personal relationship with your oven (hahaha do take care of them and they'll take care of you in return), temperature and PATIENCE is definitely a Key ingredients to success.

Attempt 1:

FAILED terribly. Those fussy little #@#@#@ things.. Somehow I added in the coloring and sugar too fast before the whites became frosty that the whole mixture turned watery. I knew then that it was an instant failure. But I just decided to go ahead with the resting and baking to see whether a miracle would turn out. Haha FAT HOPE!

Attempt 2:

Everything went well. The mixture was white and glossy and looked thick but when I added in the almond/icing sugar mixture, I probably overfolded it since I was having trouble handling the sticky mess. When piped onto the tray, the macarons looked flat. When baked, they cracked on the top and the feet was absolutely no where to be found for most of them. For those that had feet, they protruded sideways. Faints.

à Overmixed/fold, did not allow macarons to rest long enough before baking.

à Cracked shells and volcano looking macarons – Must have got carried away with the folding.

à Feet protruding sideways- due to oven temperature being too hot ( try to put it on lower rack)

They used to say leave macarons to the professionals because just 3 seconds of overbeating could ruin the entire batter. BS*. I say setting your mind on making macarons is similar to a journey through a long dark cave. There’s no U turn or short cuts to it but after seeing that bright shining light at the end of the journey, you will heave a huge sigh of relief. So I’ve decided to BATTLE the pastry of evil all the way. FIGHTIN!

I usually do up a little research before attempting something. If you ask me what I think about macarons before. Pretty, Sweet, Colorful is what I could only think of. Read blog post after blog post about many bakers scary attempt with Macarons and the term “Macaronage”- What on earth is that?!.

Anyway after those 2 faithful attempts, I raise my hands in surrender that Macaronage is something to dread about when it comes to Macarons. Baking is truly a science. Nevertheless, with all the wrongs I had done to the Macarons, it was time to attempt it again. The thing with Macarons is that they are so tiny BUT extremely cute that you just can’t resist perfecting the recipe until you get it…. Like really get it. They differ so much from baking cakes. You can’t bake the SAME cake 4 days in a row ( I mean you could) but I would probably get even worse nightmares after that.

3rd Attempt:

Same problem as the 2nd attempt. I should probably SHOOT myself for overfolding. I have this tendency to do things in excess which is sometimes really not so good. ARGH it was a matter of 2-3 extra folds ;[[[ and the batter TRANSFORMED into a watery mess AGAIN. In addition, most of the macarons could not be taken off the parchment paper. Many said to pour water and let the paper sit for a few seconds. I tried doing that but somehow the macarons probably bathed itself for too long that they became soggy. Anyway there was no visible feet. SO Lets just say I was HAPPY to throw the whole batch away again.

Attempt- 4

In order to battle evil, it was time to be fully equipped with the necessary equipments. Bought a silicon baking paper and found that it was much easier to remove the macarons compared to the parchment paper. This time, I made sure I did't overbeat the egg whites and overfold. Also the macarons were left to dry on the counter for a longer period of time.

VERDICT: SUCCESSFUL. Words can’t describe how happy I was when I saw those feet protruding at 6mins in the oven. [ Too eager to know the results of the 4^th batch of Macarons, I actually stood beside the oven and never took my eyes of them]

Oh yay! A macaron is never a macaron without those gorgeous feet.

All packed and ready to be delivered to the person who first inspired me to make them ( because she was just so crazy over rose macarons).

There are basically plenty of websites to read for tips and tricks. Here are some of them- MACTWEETS, Tartelette, Pierre Hermes , David Lebovitz etc.. I haven had the time to try those recipes there as I'm only a Macaron newbie but I foresee much more attempts to come. There's still a long way to go ;)

This recipe was adapted from Notsohumblepie. Many thanks xxx. Lots of tricks to making macarons as well as graphs/charts and a video to help along the way.

120g almond meal
200g powdered sugar
100g egg whites
30-35g granulated sugar
food coloring gel

Line 2-3 heavy gauge aluminum baking sheets with parchment or silicone liners. Prep a piping bag with a round tip (I use a Ateco #11 for most of my macs, though I'll occasionally use a #804 for larger macarons).

Weigh out almond meal and powdered sugar and sift together to remove any clumps. (If you own a food processor, I highly recommend blending the ingredients and then sifting.)

Weigh out the egg whites into a large mixing bowl (stainless steel or copper), if you're using stainless feel free to add a pinch of salt, 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar or couple drops of lemon juice to help strengthen the whites. If you're using copper you need not and should not add any additional acid

Weigh out the granulated sugar.

Begin beating the eggs on low speed. What you're doing here is unraveling the egg white's proteins (these are what will capture the air bubbles you whisk in), they're bundled up and you need to gently unwind them. A light touch does this far better than scrambling them on high speed. Once the egg whites are very foamy, begin sprinkling in the sugar as you beat. Increase the speed to medium, if necessary, and beat the meringue to stiff glossy peaks. (If they start looking grainy, clumpy or dry... uh... you've gone too far.)

Add the food coloring (for the full recipe it usually takes 2-4 drops of gel, for a half batch 1-2 drops does the trick) and mix.

Add about 1/4 of the almond/sugar mixture and fold in until no streaks remain. Continue to add the almond mixture in quarters, folding until you reach the proper batter.

Pour the batter into your prepared piping bag and pipe rows of batter onto the baking sheets, giving them space to spread.

Tap the pan on the counter to bring up any air bubbles and quickly pop them with a toothpick.

Allow the cookies to rest on a level surface for 30-60 minutes. Until they are no longer tacky to a light touch. If you have problems with burst shells, you may need to allow them to rest longer or double stack your baking sheets to provided better insulation from the bottom.

While they rest, place an oven rack in the lower 3rd of your oven and preheat to 275-310°F (I've had the most success with about 285-290°F).

Bake the cookies for 16-20 minutes.

Remove the cookies from the sheet soon after removing from the oven. If they're very sticky you may need to allow them to cool a little but ideally they'll have good bottoms and you can lift them right off the paper immediately.

Once cool they're ready to fill.

Will try making Macarons this weekend again and I’ll tell you whether my 4^th attempt was fluke.

To top it all, this macaron adventure had indeed gave me nightmare 3 consecutive nights in a row (plus I dreamt of them again last night) making it 4. Shad told me to “get a life”. How can I when baking is my life and all I think when I wake up from bed is “What to bake/cook” today.

I guessed they really pwed me.

But success always comes after failure so don’t give up.. MACAWRONGS will ultimately be Macarons one day. I wish anyone who decides to try this all the best J Ok I’ll stop here. Ate 10 sweets while writing this entry when I was supposed to be restraining from them .

Aglio Olio with juicy Pork Balls

2010-08-27T10:32:00.000-07:00

I woke up with skies overcast. Soon after a heavy downpour followed. What a great morning actually to sleep in and laze around in bed but the bf was coming over for lunch. We had this convo the night before. He said let's eat at the hawker near your house... easier. I, on the other hand had a better idea.. to whip up something special as a surprise. I probably did that countless times that it ain''t such a surprise after all.

Anyway, I was rummaging through the freezer to look for my frozen yogurt for breakfast ( yes, I crave it to the extent that I resorted to putting our normal yogurt in a cup in the freezer so it'd become some sort of frozen dessert the very next day) when I saw minced pork and a packet of mixed veg. Ah hah. Makes me think of juicy meatballs with a thick teriyaki glaze. My only recollection of meatballs were those from Ikea accompanied by a measly slab of creamy sauce.. and everytime I would feel like punching the guy who said " 30c extra for more sauce".

Making these porkballs were more of mixing everything up and trial and error. I had no clue what to put inside so I just went along with my feelings. Minced pork, mixed veg and then I saw prawns so I decided to food process the prawns along with the pork. Added in some teriyaki sauce as marinade.. Open the fridge to search for more stuff I could add to the amazing balls and hmm thought I'll add some sesame oil as well. and hmm how about some onions too,,... and oh yes oh yes breadcrumbs and an egg :)) Concocting stuff and playing around with my food is what describes me best.

Anyway, ultimately they turned out pretty well I must say. I was satisfied with the outcome and I'm gonna bookmark this in my recipe book.

PORK MEAT BALLS

Ingredients:

-minced pork ( all I could find. But using minced beef should taste nicer)

- about 6-7 prawns deveined

-1 onion

-mixed veg ( I used carrots and peas)

-2-3 tbsp of teriyaki sauce ( or even more)

-2 tbsp sesame oil

-sugar

-salt (to taste)

-pepper

- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs

-1 egg

-cornstarch

Blend prawns, minced pork, onion in a food processor to form a paste. Add teriyaki sauce, sugar, salt , pepper, sesame oil and blend

Add pepper, breadcrumbs and cornstarch and mix well. Leave to marinade for awhile. Lightly beat an egg.

Heat some oil in a frying pan. Roll meatballs into balls and dip into egg and pan fry till brown.

For the glaze ontop:

- teriyaki sauce

-cornstach dissolved in a little water

Heat teriyaki sauce. Add cornstarch mixture and heat until sauce thickens. Pour over meatballs =]]] and ENJOY.

We had some Aglio Olio to go along with the porkballs as well. Simple, cheap, easy to do yet satisfying. Many a times I prefer plain pasta cooked with olive oil to those heavy cream laden ones. This is a simple dish to whip up at home. All it takes is for the pasta to be cooked al dente and you have it going your way.

Ingredients

-speghetti

-dried chilli

-garlic slices

-salt/pepper ( to taste)

- olive oil

Boil a pot of water in a saucepan. Add salt. When water boils, add pasta and cook till al dente.

In the meantime, fry garlic slices, chilli in olive oil till garlic slightly browns. Set aside. Toss pasta into oil when cooked. Add pepper and salt and season till desired.

A series of event avalanche

2010-08-23T09:28:00.000-07:00

My past week has been great. I'm constantly reminded of God's love and faithfulness and the song everlasting God which has been playing again and again.

[Strength will rise as we wait upon the lord].
Remembering God's promise for our lives
I promise to live each new day for his glory ;)

so so, this is gonna be a lengthy pic post.
First off,

Miss Macarons has indeed returned from Abu Dhabi. I was elated. We spent 2 Consecutive Sundays decking the malls of Singapore and helping our very own economy. Somehow we just ended up buying the weirdest stuff we would ever buy in our entire life. Last week's theme was travel. This week there was this huge sports fair at Suntec ( Hah our fav destination), advertising for the magazine SHAPE. Whoo!

We came home with tada! A pink exercising ball. Viola matches well with the theme of my room.

and next off, it's all about party party and more parties. Who doesn't love parties. It's all about the Food, Fellowship and Fun. Main organizers were me and Shad. We wanted to do a graduation party for all those who had already graduated, are graduating or lame crashes. Ultimately, we wanted a gathering just to see and catchup with one another again. It helped so much that my friends were kind enough to bring food if not dinner would probably be pure desserts ( but then again wouldn't that be nice) hahs!

I had a couple of desserts I wanted to bake so the day before the party, the kitchen was in a major mess, time felt like a race to me and arh I felt like butter and oil at the end of everything.

Mini Chocolate Tartlets with Strawberry coulis

Sometimes a little tart strawberry coulis helps to balance out the rich sweetness of the chocolate. Beneath the chocolate ganache lays a hidden treasure of pink, basically made from strawberries cooked over low fire with sugar and cornstarch till it forms a thick paste. They look a little too naked I suppose, so lets dress them up more. ...

There goes the piped on chocolate frosting and a little sprinkles to brighten everyone's day.

Cheesecake with raspberry jam glaze anyone??

My only complain about this one is that the jam didn't quite complement the cheesecake.

Chocolate Chip Cookies- A must for every party. Shaped into small bite size cookies, I made enough to last us a fewdays.

and lastly: Angel Cupcakes with Beauty and Brains. What's a cupcake without character - Pretty darn boring I must say. So dress them up and get them ready for the runway and paparazzi.

Made with much love.. xoxo

Chocolate Cherry Ganache Cake

2010-08-03T02:11:00.000-07:00

The best way to show your appreciation to someone is to bake them a cake on their birthday and thank them for being born. Such small actions really mean alot even though it's the thought that ultimately counts.

The surprise worked after all. Even after I foolishly handed my chef the note saying "thank you for your guidance and hope you like the cake" before surprising him with the cake. Guess I was too excited to show him what I wrote in Japanese. Anyway with the help of my buddy in crime, it turned out to be a pleasant surprise after all. Cheers :))) Good things just keep coming.

Here's a black forest inspired chocolate ganache cake. There are 3 layers of cake, 2 layers of chocolate ganache, 2 layers of cream and 2 layers of cherry. Topped with more ganache and the frostings on the side you see are piped on after the ganache has been whipped to a thicken stage. VOILA.

Strawberries as decoration and to give a little color tothe cake. I didn't expect my chocolate mirror to turn out so well this time but it did!!

Sushi with the word fun in it

2010-07-19T22:46:00.000-07:00

wow wow wow.. I've been so busy that I realised I wrote a draft halfway and only to find it still Here after 2 weeks. Ok.. here's the uncompleted draft.. It was so long ago that after I read it I went " ohhh that's what happened a few weeks back" oh really??
<
Had a pretty packed weekend last week. Stuff like that happens when you try to squeeze so many activities and meet ups as possible with that short time frame you have left. Pathetic? maybe.. but I realise it's times like these that you learn how to treasure the people around you more and maximize the quality time you have together, whether long or short.

I started the week with my very first French lesson at Alliance Francaise. There were supposed to be 18 people in total but only 13-15 turned up. Age ranged from 16 and up. The first thing the tutor did was to go around greeting people in French. Apart from the Bonjour word in the long sentence, it was extremely funny seeing the shocked and clueless expressions the students gave in return. But nevertheless, we were all able to converse in simple French at the end of the class. Pronunciation is definitely a challenge heree with all that nasal sound & rrrr grrrr. Sometimes I use chinese han yu pin yin to pronounce words. Never knew mandarin could be so much of a help. It's particularly useful in learning Japanese too. Hhaa I'm secretly in love with the way Japanese people talk. After hearing so much Jap at work everyday, I am motivated enough to dig out my sister's contemporary Japanese textbook and learn some phrases. Hopefully the language barrier will be broken soon enough and I'll be able to communicate with my teacher Chef Matsu San smoothhly.

Inspired by the Chef and people who keep asking me to make my own sushi, I decided to attempt making it again after many years. The last time I remembered making it was more than 5 years ago. My only recollection of the sushi was that it was HARD as rock when I took it outta the fridge. Haha ( I put it in the fridge overnight). So here it goes.

My experience with susshi this time round is not at all a pleasant one.. I wasted half the rice I cooked because of the gooey mess I made while handling the rice. The rice was cold when and it stuck on like adhesive glue onto my hands that I decided that the best solution was to wash them alll off. However, in the end, the portions were just nice for dinner...

Here are the ingredients you need to make your own basic sushi. Technique wise, I'll give the gist of it but it'd help if you learn it from someone more experience or go watch some youtube vids.

First off: you need

-sushi rice (short grain or japonica) (duh) unless you want some normal grainy rice that taste like fried rice in rolls.. Some say calrose rice could be used but I tried it and it's not close to sushi rice at all...
-Sushi su ( a mixture of rice vinegar, sugar and salt). I used this cuz it was easier.. Alternatively you could use your own rice vinegar and mix them with sugar and salt according to proportions.
-seaweed
-japanese cucumber
-avocado
- unagi
-salmon
-jap mayo
-or actually any ingredient you'll like to see in your sushi.. Everyone has different preferences ...
-and most importantly a sushi mat!

I did a couple of sushi that day. First off was the Dragon roll. Consisted of jap cucumber , mayo, unagi and avocado. I cooked 2 servings of rice. ( a measurement of 360ml of rice with 280ml of water). Important to rinse the rice well until water is clean and let soaked for 30 min and then drain. When the rice is cooked, you can embark on your adventure. but first mix the sushi su in the hot rice (to get that sweet taste). Here I did some estimation cuz I didn't know how much exactly to add but it's definately gotta be quite alot to get that sweeter taste... Anyway, I wouldn't say making sushi is easy neither would I say it is difficult but I'll rather use the word fun because it really is. That coming from someone who finds cheap thrills in playing with food is surely not wrong.

First cut out a rectangular seaweed and line it on your sushi mat. Place a handful of rice onto the seaweed and spread out till it covers it. Flip the seaweed over and place your ingredients that you want encase in that glorious sushi of yours and then roll. Can't show you the rolling technique. Best to youtube it..

and then place slices of cut avocado on the top and roll with sushi mat again..

Second: California Maki. My all time fav! Done the same way as the dragon roll just that I added crabmeat instead of unagi inside and coated them with a layer of tobiko!

Tobiko's that awesome flying fish roe that burst into your mouth as you chew on them. I remember I was at the supermarket trying to find some of these. I asked the store assistant where I could get some of this but he looked at me with a puzzled look as if I was some alien from another planet. And then I explained again in simple english where could I get flying fish roe -the one used to coat california maki ( shaped like a small circlee) . At last, there was some response from him but guess where he brought me- to the fish ball section!! and then I saidd noo the one used to make SUSHI. It's orange in colour. Again he responded and brought me to another section- THE CUTTLEFISH BALL section. faints.

Third: Kani sushi. Used to be a big fan of this when I was younger but then I've moved on to the kani mayo version because of the yummy mayo and this I felt had a little too much rice. Left( made by me) Right ( made by Shad) hahaa...

and 2 more:!

Last but not least. a refreshing potato salad topped with spring onion to end the scrumptious dinner.

Bleh with more good things to come, I'll definitely return to make sushi again. So what are you waiting for. Get your hands dirty and whip up your very own sushi.

Tapioca Cake / Kuih Bingka

2010-06-30T08:01:00.000-07:00

I'm infuriated with my internet connection and all the more so, my 3 year Fujitsu is gonna get all the blame for it. But honestly, I think it's on its way to retirement. Well done Fujitsu, you have done me proud for 3 years and now's the time to welcome the new sexy mac. Someone once told me that using the laptop on the bed is equivalent to granting it its death wish. That has been exactly what I did the past 3 years In the DARK and I'm gonna continue till I see sparks fly. Let me tell you why I'm so angry. Yest, I wrote this post and an email and when I clicked publish post and sent, it said ERROR and brought me to the sorry your webpage could not be found nonsense. That happened countless time...I can only pray that this post gets through...

Anyway!! Last weekkie or so was Mummy's birthday. Since she's not a fan of cakes and cream, I decided to bake her a kuih like cake. I recalled how happy she was savoring the tapioca cake at e-cafe, thus the sudden idea ;))

It was quite a disaster actually but it's the thought that counts right :)) Will compensate by baking it a second time round. This time using my aunt's passed on recipe. Anyway, I couldnt find tapioca at the local supermarkets. Managed to find it at the wet market beside my estate. Guess it wasn't really the season. I saw plenty of sweet potatoes though.. Haha tell you a secret. I couldn't really tell the difference btw sweet potato and tapioca. Well they all look so brown and rough.. and I had to ask this kind looking lady buying sweet potatoes where the tapioca was T.T.

and then a series of silly blunders occurred. Of which, I stupidly transferred the entire liquid-like mixture to a Removable based cake tin. I guess I was tooo caught up with my usual cake baking routine that I didn't realise that the liquid had started leaking out of the foil and trickling down the doors of the oven. Haha now's a good time to sit back and have a good laugh over it. Best part was hiding the cake from my mum who came down to the kitchen for a drink. and yeah, I hid it under the sofa. The end.

Completed the set with a handmade card. Thank you paper market for that awesome buy :))

xoxo

Herb and Cheese Crackers for the soul

2010-06-28T07:18:00.000-07:00

It's a brand new week and I feel rejuvenated after a relaxing weekend. Plus I had my happy doze of chocolate from k-ki sweets. :)))) awesome cakes! With such a busy schedule, I have learnt the art of treasuring every possible meetup. Anyway, it's always a joy to seee everyone again. Argh although it sucks to see how free they are.

Crispy Crackers

Made this for a picnic at East Coast Park. We had alot of food going on that day that we attracted plenty of unwanted guests. It was hilarious how we were all fanning our ( each others') food while the other prepared the food. I turned my head in embarrassment as I saw not only a couple of people ( but almost everyone) walking past our direction staring in amazement at what we were doing. An unforgettable picnic indeed.

The cracker is simply plain tortilla wraps ( you can eat them as it is if you want to) oven baked to make them crispy. Toppings are oregano and herbs, some paprika powder and drizzled with a lil olive oil ;) Half of them with cheese and half without.

Tried a sweet version too consisting of cinnamon powder, sugar and maple syrup glaze.

Chocs-a-lot

2010-06-24T09:45:00.000-07:00

There are only 2 things on my mind now - Chocolate Souffle and Chocolate Truffle Cake. If I don't have them this weekend, I'll probably go insane. Working has whipped up a severe case of chocolate hunger in me that if I don't satisfy it immediately, I'll go into depression ( ok, not that kind of depression, but you know what I mean...)

Can't wait for the weekend!! It's fully packed with activities and plus I'm starting French classes soonnnnn.. YAY time to immerse myself with books and homework again. AND PLUS I get to take out my pink stripey 37 degree pencil case that is filled with a whole range of colors of uniball pens. Argh I remember those lec and tut days where we bunch of naughty people would occupy the whole back row and doodle on each other's paper. Oh happy days! Oh happy days. My last sem at NUS could NEVER have been better ;). Plus plus plus I had a bunch of unused S/Us. Wasting stuff is never part of me. So Yeah, who knows what I did with the S/Us =P.

Brand new day tmr :)) God is good all the time. He puts a song of praise in this heart of mine.

Ham and Cheese Sandwich

2010-06-23T10:17:00.000-07:00

After watching iron chef, top chef masters, cake boss, Hell's kitchen etcc, I'm not only filled with admiration for the chefs in the kitchen but I also sweat for them. It's pretty amazing how much effort is put into preparing what may seem to be such a simple dish. But many a times, we fail to appreciate what is put forth in front of us.

Anyway, to those that do not already know, I'm currently apprenticing under the awesome Chef Matsu at Matsu, The Gallery Hotel 1 Nanson Road (Formerly known as Shibaken). It's new and it specializes in French and Japanese cuisine. So if you're looking for a peaceful, romantic fine dining meal, don't forget to drop by and VISIT ME. I'll make sure I'll add more stuff to your plate.

It's been 3 fine days since I started work and everyone there is so nice and welcoming. HAHA as for the food. What can I say. It's simply awesome. I'm stuffed with good food everyday, I feel that I should really consider going back to my cereal and fruit diet one day. Although mornings are tiring. Cause that's when your body clock starts to adjust to work but as the day picks up, my whole body feels energized ( it's the same feeling whenever I go shopping and seee something I like). At the end of the day, you crave for more but realize that it has to end. ( and that's when all the shopaholics go home, rest their tired feet and then the next day, they're up and ready to hit the malls yet again).

Anyway, moving on and back to the post:

MELTY HOT AND FLOWY Cheese and all that goodnesss oozing out in just one bite is just what I love to have every breakfast. (Accompanied by a cuppa tea, eggs Florentine or eggs Benedict or any eggs that are poached ) and maybe some dark chocolate to satisfy my sugar craze early in the morning!

It's never too late to discover this gem that has been hiding in the storage, unused for many months. IT works like magic. You just pile a slice of buttered bread ( and I added abit of herbs for that herbyyyy taste), place your favourite ham and slice of cheese and top with tomatoes and smack them with yet another layer of bread and shut the sandwich maker. Wait a few mins and TADAAAAAA breakfast under 5 mins. The first time I used this, I woke up at 4 plus am to start prepping which was TOTALLY uncalled for cause it was so simple to make. Anyway, 1 hr later I made a special hot breakfast delivery to a special someone ;))

on my glamorous Princess Maker. Yes you saw it. It's called PRINCESS! Too bad it isn't red or pink.

Oh and to all who's graduating this July. The Seat number for convocation is out already.. awesomeeeeneyy.

Coffee ButterCream Cake

2010-06-21T09:47:00.000-07:00

Post dedicated to the Best DADDY in the world ;)) HAPPY BELOVED FATHERS' DAY! Hope you like the cake ;))

So here it goes. Dad loves coffeee and cake so why not coffee cake. It's not entirely 100% coffee. Only the buttercream is but I made the coffeee flavour intense- hopefully intense enough to bring out the essence of the cake :))) Anywaysss the sponge cake was the choc cake I did before under the choc mousse cake post. So there I was again on my adventure baking/ decorating and frosting till past midnight. I hope my new neighbours don't think I'm crazy. Maybe we should put curtains in our kitchen and install sound proof kitchen doors. Anyway, I'm 100% for baking at night or in the wee hours of the morning. It's like the whole world stood still and peace emerges from the other side. So if you're nocturnal or experiencing insomnia, whip up your kitchen aid and start working :)) GUARANTEED pleasure.

Cake decorations are made from craft and are non-edible sadly [ at least until I learn how to make fondant :) ]

The rich coffee buttercream. Pure butter= pure pleasure.

Coffeebuttercream

150g unsalted butter, RT

1 tbsp milk ( I added more for the frosting to be smoother)

2 tsp powdered espresso, dissolved in little hot water

250g icing sugar, sifted ( I got turned off by the amount of sugar while weighing, so I added 60g first and it tasted good. Infact it was sweet enough already so I just went with 60)

One thing I'm so not convinced is why do all recipes have 2-3 cups of powdered icing sugar in their frosting. Even in cream cheese frosting for cakes like carrot cake??. That's unbelievably sweet. I need to be enlightened on this.

xoxo. That's all folks!

Tacos

2010-06-19T01:17:00.000-07:00

It's taco day!! Taco brings me many months back where I was still on my so awesome exchange. I still can't believe it's over. Anyway, besides burgers and fries which I got so sick off after my first few weeks, I got to indulge in Mexican food.. The difference was I never got bored of it. Tacos, tortillas,chilli, nachos, chipotle, quesadillas, corn, cheese, salsa, beans omg beansssss.. Being such a huge fan of beans (red bean, green bean), I thought I wouldn't be able to survive those 5 months but boy was I wrong. It was a land of beans. Kidney beans, chickpeas, black beans, chill. Don't see much Mexican restaurants here in Singapore which is pretty saddening but anyway going to Holland V Cha Cha Cha for a meal now and then isn't sucha bad idea after all.

Soo on the menu today we have:

My all time favourite appetizer- deep fried mushrooms

I remember I was doing alot of things at once while frying the mushrooms that I forgot to lower the heat and flip it and honestly, it was a SERIOUS disaster. The first batch of mushrooms turned out like a huge blob of charcoal. Thank goodness for helpers that came to assist at the right time. I tried deep frying portobello and white button mushrooms but as much as I really like the taste of portobello, they just didn't work. The latter was much juicier. Just the way I like. Juicy on the inside and cripsy on the outside. [ JX, I hoped the mushrooms worked for you in the end after dipping it in breadcrumbs :)) ]

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup water

1 egg

whatever spices you like [ I put oregano, some garlic and herb salt, pepper, cayenne pepper ]

breadcrumbs

Mix the top four ingredients together. Dip mushrooms in it to coat and roll them in a generous amount of breadcrumbs and deep fry to see magic.

Filling for Tacos:

Anything yummy goes with tacos. Can be beef, chicken, fish.. It's really up to your own discretion :).

About 350g lean mince beef
1 can black beans, drained
1 large red onion chopped finely
about 1 cup water
garlic
taco seasoning

The taco shells were store bought. I used the Old El Paso brand. Works out to be particularly crispy when baked in the oven. Nice! Plus it comes with taco seasoning and salsa sauce.

Tacos with lettuce, tomatoes and salsa sauce ;)) and ooh we made this tangy grapefruit and lychee ice blended drink to go with it but didn't manage to get a shot of it. Anyway talking about that silly grapefruit , it made me realise how important my right thumb is. Anyway it was while I was handling it that I accidentally slit the inside of my thumb with my LONG NAILS. Yes you heard it. My nails did the damage. What in the world? Without the full functioning of the thumb, everything I do feels weird. Can't wash my hair, can't peel stuff, can't handle salt especially with an open wound and like wow everything just feels wrong.

Tacos are not at all filling so we had 2 rounds of pasta to go alongside the tacos. Made a creamy based pasta as well as a pesto based one. Here are 2 ingredients I look for whenever I order pasta at a restaurant: Zucchini and eggplant! HAHAA. told you I was simple ;)

This pesto based linguine is rather simple to do. Infact, pasta is the easiest to whip up when in a hurry.

Linguine ( or you can use other kinds of pasta as well)

parmesan cheese

sundried tomatoes ( totally love them as well)

zucchini

eggplant

olive oil

salt and pepper ( to taste)

I know you must be wondering what happened to the pine nuts?? I didn't add them in as I had none on hand but they sure go well with pesto based pasta. Arhh at least that's why I eat them for.

Many of them preferred this creamy based one. I'm not a sucker for creamy pasta but I must say this is pretty darn good.. considering the massive amount of cheese I added to it out of experiment. hahaa

This serves 6-8 people:

Linguine ( or other)

18 raw prawns, deshelled and de-veined

2 tbsp butter

olive oil

Portobello/whitebutton mushrooms ( as much as you wish)

Bacon (Fried and cut into small pieces)

Oregano flakes

1 cup cream ( I only had 150ml on hand so I substituted the rest for milk)

Peppery Jack Cheese ( Well, I added a handful.)

and there you have it. Homemade Mexican food and pasta ;)) Stay tune for more random cooking and baking. I have alot ( and I mean a whole lot) of backlog.

Pizza Revelation

2010-06-11T08:39:00.000-07:00

Say goodbye to instant noodles and junk food and waste that calorie on better food. Here comes the Good'Ol pasta and pizza revelation. I always feel that having those 2 in one seating is always a pleasure. I admit I wasn't really a big fan of pizza after those years when I started to lose all my baby fats haha.. Maybe psychological thinking played a part. It could be the case. But fact is, those thick crusted pizzas did not blow me away. Less is more and up till today, I still love those skinny pizzas. I'm in lurvee with them.

Cooking for the family is always a joy. Though yes, getting hard fried on messing up the kitchen is another story. Here comes the birth of vodka and mushroom penne. Sorry I cheated. The Vodka sauce was imported from the states and surprisingly it managed to withstand the long hauled journey from west to east. It came out in one fine piece..

Vodka Penne with mushrooms

Ingredients:

- One bottle of Vodka pasta sauce

- Some white button mushrooms and portobello ( Um yums!. It makes sense now that I talked about mushrooms in my previous post)

- Onions

-Penne

-chilli padi ( optional)

1) Cook Penne in a pot of boiling water till al dente. Drain and set aside. Best to wash with cold water to stop the cooking process

2) Prepare the awesome sauce- First fry onions in some olive oil till soft. Toss in the mushrooms. Add the sauce

3) Scoop desired amount of sauce onto penne and sprinkle with your fav herb and black pepper.. Oh yes I forgot.. I added in some chilli padi to the sauce for extra OoHmmpp and to rise up the heat level.

Forgive the ugly presentation and photos. We were ALL tooo hungry.

Now comes the fun part. Decorating your own pizza! Decorating pizzas are a form of art. It's a time to get creative and creating that pizza you have been dreaming forever. Home made pizzas are great cuz you get to add in the desired ingredients in any amount that pleases you... It sure is satisfying.. TRUST ME! Ok I cheated again. The crust was pre bought from FHA. We had a ton of crust left from that exhibition and something needed to be done to it. Sooooo now you know the fate of that naked crust.

First up: We had The classic hawaiian pizza- with a ton of ham and pineapples.

The tough part about making your own pizza is the crust. Which is a major challenge to some cuz you don't want it too tough, too thick etccc but I skipped this whole step here. But next time, it'd better be the real deal. [ After those pre made crusts are finished ].

1) Sprinkle some olive oil onto the crust.

2) Sprinkle some mozzarella cheese

3) Top with ham and pineapples

4) Finish with more cheese ( I basically covered the whole pizza with cheese). The cheesier the better don't cha agree. We mixed the cheese with cheddar cheese and peppery jack cheese ( for that tinge of kick to it)

5) Bake 15 min ( or until crust turns brown n cheese is melted) 260C.

Second Pizzza of the day: BBQ Chicken and mushrooms ( I can never leave the mushrooms alone)

-1 skinless chicken breast about 160g

-1/2 cup bbq sauce ( or more if you wish)

-some red onion, sliced thinly

- olive oil

- mozzarella cheese

1) Season chicken with salt and coat chicken with 3 tbsps of bbq sauce and marinade 30 min.

2) Heat oil in pan and cook until meat is tender

3) cut chicken into small cubes and coat with extra 2 tbsp of bbq sauce. Set aside

4) Drizzle dough with olive oil. Spoon some bbq sauce over the dough and spread evenly.

5) Add some cheese. Add diced chicken, onions, mushrooms.

6) Sprinkle more cheese

7) Bake 15min at 260C.

Third pizza: The one and only famous Salami Pizza.

Steps are the same as the hawaiian pizza.Just that use salami instead of ham and ignore the pineapples and again a generous doze of cheese. For certain dishes like pizzas, you don't stinge on cheese. Ok from the picture, the salami is rather obscure, you know the reason... Ooopss maybe too much cheese? . Nah

Last but not least.. Shrimp and red pepper pesto courtesy of Nick from Macheesmo

Shrimp and Red Pepper Pesto Pizza
This is for one 12-15 inch pizza

- 1/2 pound large (16-20 count) shrimp, peeled, deveined, and halfed
- 1 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- Juice from 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 Teaspoon red pepper flake
- 1/4 medium onion, cut into thin strips
- 1/4 red pepper, seeded and cut into strips
- 2 Cups low-moisture mozzarella cheese
- Fresh basil (I left this off because I didn’t have any. It was fine.)
- 2/3 Cup red pepper pesto

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto (Makes about 2 cups)– Clove garlic
- 1 jar (16 ounces) roasted red peppers [ I searched the entire country for roasted red peppers but I couldn't find this damn thing anywhere. Makes me so sad so I just bought my own red peppers and roasted them in the oven. I made sauce outta 2 whole peppers and Gosh it was way too much... One would have been just nice]
- 3 Tablespoons grated Parmesan
- 1 Tablespoon fresh basil
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 Teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 Teaspoon red pepper flakes

More detailed steps can be found from his site.

Overall verdict. Salami> Pesto with prawns> hawaiian > bbq chic. I really loved the red pepper prawn one cuz at least it tasted different from the usual. However nothing beats salami. Seriously nothing. It was a fun and memorable experience playing with food. YES I said it.. Playing with food... What my frens know me best for. My itchy hands. Middle of the pizza was a little soggy. Guess I was overly adventurous with the sauce. However the sides of the crust were perfect and crispy to the T. Now, at least I'm more motivated to make my own pizza crust.Right now I'm craving for pepperoni's triple cheese pizza. THe last time we went there. Holy Molly, we ordered the XXXL and it was enough to fill a cow's stomach.

Anyway, tune in for more cheezy business! xoxo

Mushrooms

2010-06-07T08:13:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite all time ingredient is mushrooms. Although it often plays along side its fellow fleshy friends- chicken, beef, pork, fish etc, I gotta say it's companion role is what makes the overall dish so successful. Believe it or not. It's one of the major ingredients used in various cuisines of the world. Cream of mushroom soup, Grilled portobello mushroom & cheese burger, chicken with mushroom gravy, steak with pepper mushroom gravy, deep fried mushroom, grilled mushroom n zucchini, carborana with mushrooms, pizza with mushrooms and a never ending list..

I remember reading somewhere that washing mushrooms is a no no since it will cause the mushrooms to become mushy and apparently suffer a lost of flavour. Hmm, I agree somewhat because when I do wash them, the mushrooms turn out rather sticky to the touch. I usually rinse them quickly under the tap and dry them off immediately ( Just a habit I guess). Latest updates at Serious eats provides us with a useful guide on how to clean and trim mushrooms.

It's a win win situation for all. Just don't forget to include mushrooms in your next dish ;))

Egg Tarts

2010-06-06T02:18:00.000-07:00

AHhh When I think about Bengawan Solo, I think about their lovely egg tarts, lapis sagu and kueh salut.. Makes me hungryyy all the time. There's something about their tarts that make me wanna go back for more. Although the ones at crystal jade and chinatown are not too bad, I still prefer the non puff pastry kindaa base sold at Bengawan. ;)) or maybe Im just in love with that oval shape tart.

Though I make tarts from scratch, they are usually a far cry from those sold outside. WHY do they look so ugly? hahaa Then I have to constantly remind myself that I am the one doing the baking. Anyway, I'm still in the midst of perfecting the crust. What a better way to start then to attempt egg tarts again. I tried to recall the last time I baked them but I couldn't.. and then I started reading my archives and lo and behold, I did actually bake them once and I believe that I commented on how yucky it looked..

This version of egg tarts are what they call the Hong Kong Egg Tarts adapted from Wendy . It totally melts in your mouth and you usually need a spoon or a fork in order to eat it decently. Makes about 10-12

Pastry
250g plain flour

2 tbsp castor sugar

1 egg yolk

150g cold butter, cubed

Cream the butter with the egg yolk and sugar.
Add in flour. Mix well.
Roll out pastry in between two sheets of plastic into thickness of about 4mm. Stamp out 9–10cm circles of pastry with a pastry cutter.
Lightly press the pastry circles into foil tart cases
Refrigerate the lined foil cases for 2 hours or you could leave them overnight

Filling

150g castor sugar

150ml hot water

250ml milk

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

3 large eggs

1 egg white (From the same egg where the yolk was used in the crust

Melt the sugar in hot water, add milk, salt, vanilla essence. Beat all the eggs lightly and mix in all together.
Sieve egg mixture and pour into the cold tart crust. ( As you see from above, I had alot of filling) I probably had enough to fill another 3 or 4 more tart case.
Bake at 180C for 25 minutes. ( Baked them for longer. My oven went cranky and I believe that one day, it is gonna go on a strike).

Well they look pretty fine don't they. At least, they're one step closer to that beautiful tart you see at the store. ;) The crust is not too sweet which complements the sweeter egg custard filling so that you don't get a sugar overdose in your mouth. Loved it and I hope you do too:))

xoxo

Green Tea snow with Red Bean

2010-05-31T07:28:00.000-07:00

What an eventful day today. Trekking with my fellow gfs at Mount Faber all the way to HortPark then to Kent Ridge Park, to Chinatown for their famous traditional dessert, Yong Tao Fu and to Jalan Sultan Textile centre.

Located at Chinatown ( directly opposite Mac's) is this popular traditional dessert stall called Mei Heong Yuen Desserts that sells superb snow ice. Ok lets say it was a major life saver after such a long walk. Anyway, check out the shavings. It's so "hairy".

My usual: Green tea with red bean. Though it could have been better if the green tea flavour was a little stronger, it was still one of my favourites... Those 2 ingredients put together can never go wrong.. :)) and it isn't too sweet.

Their other flavours: Almond/Sesame, Durian ( was so contemplating btw this and the green tea one), mango, strawberry, lychee, Chendol, Soursop.

They are also famous for their mango pomelo sago. If you're not interested in any of these, they also sell almond paste, sesame paste, peanut paste, ah baling, bak chan, yam cake, chee cheong fun and pastries.

YUMM!!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

2010-05-25T18:48:00.000-07:00

Finally back from THE so awesome yet tiring grad trip to Taiwan. We all thought it was gonna be a form of relaxation after the papers but we probably thought about that TOO early. I was extremely worn out.. that explains the flu bug that hit me the very next day I was back home. Blah. Anyway we managed to climb mountains, persevere through the treacherous jungles of the wild, river hike, shopping and alot more other activities which we made a fool outta ourselves but nevertheless it was a one in all experience in another land with my fellow shoppaholic gfs. Love ya'll alotttttt :))) Still in the process of uploading photos on a very slow laptop. Apologize for the wait.

Better late than never. Weeks back I made a chocolate zucchini cake for my aunt's birthday :)) Your first reaction must be what?? chocolate and zucchini = no no ?? You're right. That was my exact expression when I chanced upon this pretty raved about cake. In actual fact, it's a very popular cake among bakers and yup I've just gotta jump on the bandwagon and find out for myself exactly what the craze is about.

Recipe adapted from here :))

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) butter

1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) vegetable oil

1 3/4 cups (12 1/4 ounces) granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1/2 cup (4 ounces) sour cream or yogurt

2 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour ( I couldnt find this brand so I just used the normal one]

3/4 cup (2 1/4 ounce) Dutch-process cocoa

2 teaspoons espresso powder, optional but tasty

2 cups shredded zucchini (about one 10″ zucchini, about 12 ounces)

1/2 cup (3 ounces) chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly coat a 9″ x 13″ pan with baking spray

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, oil, sugar, vanilla, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Beat in the eggs.

Stir in the sour cream or yogurt alternately with the flour. Then add the cocoa and espresso powder, mixing till smooth. Finally, fold in the zucchini and 1/2 cup chocolate chips.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake for 35 – 40 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and cool on a rack.

They were right after all. The cake was moist all thanks to the zucchini! and there wasn't a slightest bit of the zucchini taste in the cake. It was rich and yummy but I still liked the mousse chocolate cake better since that's like pure chocolate in your mouth :))

xoxo

TAIWAN here I come ;))

2010-05-05T09:15:00.000-07:00

Argh! Wanted to blog a food related post before I leave for my first ever GRAD trip but I've still some unpacked business. RAWR! Too much things to bring and knowing me, I tend to OVERpack alot. Will just have to do something about the heavy luggage.

Anyway Adios for a goood 10 days my beloved friends :)) Updates on my food/travels when I'm back ;)

xoxo love

Summer Loving

2010-04-27T07:14:00.000-07:00

Homework for the week: The magazines + Brochures collected from the FHA fair.

My hobbies are getting really expensive xD. Here's the heels plate I couldn't resist buying from Iwannagohome. If not for my tight budget, I would have probably spent more there. Hah! There's seriously a million and one things in that shop that is calling out for me to be their owner. The pillows!, the placemats, knifes, dessert fork, spoons, plates, tea set, (Check out the teabag holder- it is so cool). I'm currently eyeing this 3 piece matt ceramic jar set and the tree spice jar set. It is so gorgeous and at an even awesome price of $100 over.

The summer holidays are here and I'm always up to ~~mischief~~ some good. Agenda for the coming weeks:

1) Bake more exotic desserts + time to get messy in the kitchen

2) Try making macarons ( in the event of flop, retry it till perfection)

3) Spring clean my room ( THROW out unnecessary papers & books [[ yahh know what I mean ]]

4) Scrapbooking ( with all the resources gathered over the past few days as seen below + alot more which I recently bought hhehee, there's no excuse for nont getting down to work)

5) Make up for all the chocolates & desserts I have been eating by continuing my vigorous exercise schedule

6) Paint house with dad & do up the kitchen shelfs/baking equipment & storage facility