Another Day, Another Bread August 12, 2007

I’ve been spending quite a lot of money for bread from Japanese bakery, Provence at Holland Village. I thought I could save some if I can ever made bread close (repeat, close) to what they make. So, when I saw this recipe, I was excited to try it. I turned out more cake-y than bread-y, maybe because cake flour is used and it’s not as soft as it claim. The first time I tried it, I thought maybe because I missed some steps or didn’t proof the bread enough. So, I tried again. The result was as disappointing. Nevertheless, here’s a picture of it.

Guess, I’ll still be spending money at Provence. Provence, here I come. Save those black sesame puffy pastry bread for me and of course, the blueberry cheese buns too.

Vanila Pods August 12, 2007

I finally bought vanilla pods after hearing and seeing so much of it on TV and in blogs. I saw it at Phoon Huat and bought it without having any idea what to do with it, and it has been sitting in the freezer for a month or so. And when I saw the vanilla cream recipe for a fruit tart ..Bingo! I knew that was the recipe I’ve got to try. I’ve been wanting to try fruit tart and it cream looks wonderfully yummy.

The result was fantastic. The vanilla cream is so yummy and the smell of fresh vanilla is just so amazing. And knowing that it’s a light cream, ie just a little butter, makes it even better. And one thing lead to another. With vanilla cream, I knew only fresh fruits would do, so I bought a punnet of fresh raspberry. The result ….. a beautiful creation. I’ll surely make this again especially to a gathering. Invite me, and I’ll bring this fresh vanilla cream fruit tart with me.

Recipe for vanilla cream
500ml whole milk
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out
a generous pinch of salt
4 tablespoons of cornstarch
110g sugar
2 large eggs
40g butter, cut in small cubes

Cheese Buns April 14, 2007

Made these tonight. The choice is limitless on what you can put into these sweet bread dough. However, I’ve got a mental block tonight and so, it ended with shaved cheddar cheese. Anyway, it’s the first time I try to recipe. The bread is wonderfully soft.

This photo is taken using Sonny’s new lens. Cool eh?

Ingredients

A)
480 gm bread flour
120 gm plain flour
110 gm castor sugar
20 gm milk powder
4 tsp instant yeast

(B)
1 egg
300 ml cold water
(C)
60 gm unsalted butter
10 gm salt

Cinnamon Buns March 23, 2007

I almost gave up. The dough didn’t seem to rise as much as I expected it to be. I kept the dough for almost 24 hours in the fridge and it didn’t seems to improve and it was too getting too late to bake anyway. Need to nurse Rico too. But before I chuck them into the bin, I took a small piece and baked it in the bread toaster, just to see what happens. The dough, believe it or not, rised and was quite fluffy. So, what the heck, I’ll just sprinkle cinnamon and butter and bake them anyway. Whoa la ……. I got a batch of beautiful cinnamon buns! Taste fantastic. Who need the overly sweet ones from Cinnabon anymore?

Ingredients

2 cups of milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup sugar

1 sachet of dry active yeast

4 1/2 cups of flour

Cinnamon powder + sugar for dusting
Melted butter

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 tablespoon salt

Verdict : Heavenly when fresh from the oven. Bun is soft even after a day. What can be better than a warm bun with a cup of coffee. Hmmm ………….

Watermelon & grass jelly March 21, 2007

This is so refresingly new.  Great for a hot day, but it rained today. Oh well, it’s still nice on a cool day.

Going Bananas March 21, 2007

My quest for steamed cakes continues with steamed banana cake. Again, I searched the internet and found a recipe for steamed banana cake at Food Network. Someone has tried it before and said that it tasted good, so, I tried it, feeling confident after the successful steamed chocolate cake.

I would say, the cake turns out alright, not fantastic and more like a bread than a cake. So, if I have had set my expectation that it would be a bread, I suppose I would be more thrilled.

And then, what do I do with the leftover banana? This time, I want a real banana cake. Again, I found a well reviewed banana cake at Yochana’s Cake Delight. This time, the cake is really yummy and complete with decoration on top. It’s moist, the way I like it. The only set back is, it takes so long to bake, more than an hour for me!

Verdict : Very yummy, difficult to stop at just 1 piece. Banana on the topping is very sweet and soft after baked. So, don’t skip toppings, they’re not just for show.

Phad Thai March 16, 2007

 

 

The first time I ever made phad thai was a disaster. The noodles were all sticky and it turned out almost like a pancake instead. When I cooked this last weekend, it was kinda impromtu because I happened to have kuay teow, bean sprouts and bean curds in the fridge.

 

And since I have not tried it since learning this dish at a Thai cooking class I attended with Sonny, I thought I’d give it a go. Turned out quite good, but I over-cooked the beansprout a little. Would be better a bit crunchy. Will attempt this again soon.

 

Verdict :  Smells like the real thing in Bangkok and quite tasty.  Beansprouts should be left crunchy or even raw.

Chwee Kueh (Steamed rice cakes with pickled radish) March 15, 2007

I only thought of making chwee kueh after 4th Uncle mentioned that he’s now making and selling chwee kueh. He wasn’t very specific in his recipe and so, I looked up the internet and found this tried-and-tested recipe by a blogger. Went to Phoon Huat and found these small chwee kueh mould. I would have just make a giant chwee kueh in a bigger plate but what’s chwee kueh if they’re not small and cute, as I’ve always remembered it.

 

I remember eating chwee kueh since kindergarten days. Mom would pass me a pack of chwee kueh for break when I was in Dawning Kindergarten which is just next door to our “old” house in BP. However, I remember chwee kueh in BP to have some kind of red sweet sauce which is unlike the way it’s served in Singapore.

So, this is my healthier version of chwee kueh. I understand now why the chai por is always so oily. I’ve already put quite a lot of oil (by my standard) but it’s still quite dry. But taste wise, it’s still quite tasty despite the chai por not swimming in oil. This way, you can have more chai por with the rice cake.

Had 3 pieces for breakfast this morning. Feels good especially after a tiring night tending to Rico as he’s still running a fever.

Recipe :

180g rice flour

25g corn flour

800ml water

2tbsp oil

pinch of salt

Instruction

1. In a pot, combine 400ml water, oil and salt.  Bring to almost boiling point
2. In another bowl. combine rice flour, corn flour and remaining 400ml water.  Mix well.  Make sure there are no lumps
3. Pour flour mixture into the hot water and mix well.  Mixture will thicken
4. Scoop thicken flour into chwee kueh moulds and steam for about 10-15 mins
5. Cool down and remove kueh from the moulds
6. Serve with pickled radish (chai por)

Nasi Lemak March 15, 2007

It’s almost the end of the week and the fridge is almost empty. Searched the fridge to see what to cook for dinner. There’s some leftover coconut cream and decided to make a simple nasi lemak. I’ve made this before and I like the taste. It reminds me of nasi lemak in KL, especially those that I’ve been having last year when I travel up to KL a lot for work. In KL, it’s called Nasi Lemak Kukus.

Simple and delicious.

Sigh …. maybe because I ate too much of the sambal ikan bilis, Rico had diarrhea today. Got to cut down on my spicy food intake. Poor boy suffers because of mommy’s cravings.

Nasi Lemak

1 cup rice,  use 2/3 of water as you would normally cook your rice

2 shallots

1 inch of ginger

2-3 pandan leaves

1/2 teaspoon fenugreek

pinch of salt

2tbs of concentrated coconut milk

Put everything in a rice cooker and cook as you would cook rice.  I like my rice a little harder, so I would use 2/3 of water

Serve with boiled eggs, fresh cucumber, toasted peanuts and sambal ikan bilis.  My sambal recipe isn’t great, really, so, look elsewhere for the sambal recipe.

Rico’s Lunch March 15, 2007

Rico’s running a temperature today after his prenevar immunisation jab yesterday.  Poor boy, but thankfully, his appetite has not really been affected.  His yaya (nanny) cooked his porridge today and for the first time added a small piece of broccoli, besides the usual meat, carrot and a small piece of

sweet potato. He seems to enjoy it. I hope he grows up to be a healthy eater.

The porridge is actually yummy.