I am torn

Since the day that my boy gotten back his results, his dad has been giving him so many pep talks but seriously I really don't know how much that little one retained. He once was an accomplisher and suddenly he seems to be on ground level. Perhaps the reality struck and my hubby now realised that doing PSLE is not that easy. Anyway, I have now joined the bandwagon of having tutors now, feeding those blood suckers who charge S$50/hour and a minimum of 2 hours. In the past, tutors make up for no show lessons. Now the parents have to do that if the child is sick. We have to give another day for the replacement. Good money for these people as their terms is COD. Sometime I wonder whether there is a loop hole in this system. I doubt tutors are being taxed! For the future of my kid, I really have no choice. Now my little daughter is coaxing me to give her a tutor. Can you believe it? She thinks it is playground time. Anyway, now that I have a Maths tutor for him, I am still toying with having a Science tutor as well. The saddest part is that he is swimming around borderline pass for all three subjects. Should I be concern or should I give me another chance to proof himself. Boy I am torn. Was getting a little tension so I decided to cook something he likes. My kids love Western food much more than Asian. Having my helper's cooking for the last week or so, I guess it is enough. Despite all the coaching, she still has not made the mark yet. Haiz... I did a Prawn Tempura, Mushroom Tempura as well as Carrot Tempura to go with my bowl of Udon. I couldn’t believe that my boy finished up his big bowl of Udon. I guess it must be nice. My tempura didn't look appetising at all thus I still need improvement on it.

High Tea my way

Today is C’s birthday. Usually for our birthday celebrations, either we have it in the cafe or restaurant and then followed by clubbing. This time round, we decided to do something different.

Have a high tea in my little house since none ever visited, it will be nice to have them over. Though I don't have fine China bone to serve my tea or fancy cake stand to hold my cakes, I am sure my buddies wouldn't mind drinking coffee or tea out of coffee mugs.

Since it is a high tea style, I need to provide varieties. It is tough to bake small portion and yet offer varieties. But I was very keen to try out many and that really spurs me on.

This Banana Cake was shared by a flickr member and had received really good review. As usual, it has been on my KIV file for a long time and finally I tried it.



The verdict: Very good. Nice and fluffy. Definitely a keeper.

What you need:

125g butter
175g sugar
2 eggs
234g mashed bananas
1 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp boiling milk
1 tsp baking power
225g plain flour

Method:

Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy.

Add eggs one at a time.

Mixed in mashed bananas.

Add baking solda that has been dissolved in hot milk.

Lastly mix in sifted flour and baking powder.

Baked in a 20cm pan on 180 degree for 40 mins.

The mixture will product around 18 standard cupcakes at 180 degree for 18 - 20 mins.

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This Lemon Curd Muffin is from Sweet & Simple Bake Challenge for this month.

Since I won't be able to bake it closer to date. I might as well have it now. Partly also I didn't want to miss this month challenge as I gave it a miss last round.

I always love Rosie and Marie's recipe. It is so simple and if you are looking for a quick fix for tea. Go for this one.



I didn't sugar coat it as I was afraid that it might be too sweet.

The verdict: I love the tang. The lemon curd went really well with the muffin. Mine is a little dry but I strongly believed that I overbaked it a little.

What you need:
Makes 12 Muffins

200g/7oz self-raising flour
100g/3½ oz golden caster sugar
1 large egg
75ml/3fl oz sunflower oil
150ml/5fl oz milk
½ tsp vanilla extract
60ml/12 tsp lemon curd

For the sugar coating:

60ml/4 tbsp lemon curd
50g/2oz golden caster sugar

Method:

Heat the oven to 190oC/375oF/gas 5. Line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper cases.

Sieve the flour into a bowl and stir in the sugar.

In a large jug mix together the egg, sunflower oil, milk and vanilla extract using a fork.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir gently together until just combined.

Put a teaspoon of mixture in the base of each paper case.

Top with 1 tsp lemon curd. Top with the rest of the muffin mixture.

Bake for 10-15 minutes until risen and firm.

For the sugar coating, microwave the lemon curd on high for 1 minute until melted.

Put the sugar into a shallow bowl.

Brush on top of each muffin and dip the tops of each one in sugar to coat the tops.

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

I haven't been baking tarts for a long long time. I bought some really good quality tart tins some time back and finally my white elephant is being put to good use.

I love peaches unfortunately D didn't like tart and peach. Luckily the rest of the ladies sang praises for this one. This time round, I used Dorie's recipe and it yields a light and biscuit like crust.

Besides finding the dough hard to managed as it is so soft and I didn't do really a good job.

My tart ended up with thick crust but because it is so buttery, my guests and I love this Peach Tart.

I used my trusted Creme Patissiere from VW.



Lastly, we can't have a birthday celebration with a cake right? I baked C a Serikaya Cake as she loves it very much the last time.



Sorry gal, no time to frost as I was caught up by a long phone call. Well so much rich food, we just got to wash it down with a cup of good Honey Vanilla Chamonile Tea or a glass of ice cold Lemongrass tea.

I totally agree with WY that this drink is indeed refreshing, it is also very good for killing cancer cells.



Now Ms C, Happy Birthday! Forever young.

Are we aging

Very soon, we will be done with a good half year of 2009. Looking back from my daughter's first day of school, I am amazed how quickly time goes by.

She had just completed her first "serious" test! Unbelievable! T and I always talked about raising kids and being the more experienced one, she always tell me to enjoy them while they were young. I truly agree with her.

Despite the nagging, I do enjoy them a lot. Blessed with them was the best gift I ever get.

They are cheeky, loving and unbelievable sweet and sometime even sensible!

Now, that my son is about to enter his puberty stage in life. Each day, I am listening out when he will “crack” his voice, checking out his face for his FIRST pimple and feeling for his "Adam apple". Geesh, I think I am more excited than him. LOLz.

Seeing them grow also seeing myself age. Hubby was pointing out my white hair just the other day. Pigmentation seems to be covering up my face. Age spots are appearing on my body like the time - so quickly.

Now, MB who has 30 years old kid said she looks like 35. I am going to envy her when I see her next.

Should I go for face lift, skin derma and bleach? .. a new me will definitely a welcome gift for me to hit the mid 40s milestone.

Anyway, enough of my daydream... I should get back to work.

I still have yet to complete some assignments for Cupcake Fantasies and I will be busy for the next three evenings before we hit weekend and then we will be off for a short vacation with my family, sister's (yes we enjoy travelling together) and this time round, mommy dearest is joining us as well.

I have been holding on a recipe that I meant to try it out. In fact, I have been holding MANY recipes that I wanted to try.

Far too many that they have to go into a BOX!. I was thinking to myself that perhaps I should stop looking at recipes elsewhere and the library and start working on that pile. If not, it will just go up getting thicker and thicker.

Since I will never going to get an attic, I reckoned that I better do something about it. My study corner is soon turning into a dumpster.

Now, this recipe was shared by a blogger who took it from Food & Travel (which I tweaked alittle) and it is also pretty similar to what Sweet & Simple Bake's April Challenge which I missed.

The method is really new to me and I like the straight forward method. For those who refrain from baking because of all those washing, this is the recipe for you.

This vanilla cakelet is dense, moist yet soft. It tasted more like butter cake.



What you need:

180g butter, room temperature
200g casotr sugar
225g self raising flour, sifted
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 cup milk
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Preheat oven to 170 degrees.

Mix all ingredients into a mixing bowl and beat on low speed till well combined. Increased speed and beat till batter becomes smooth.

Spoon batter into pan till 2/3 full.

Bake for 20 mins till light brown.

Allow to cool.

Down and out

I realised that it is more than a week that I last step into this little corner of mine. Sorry for the alarm to those who dropped by.

Thanks so much for some who left notes and even a long distance call asking about my well being. From the bottom of my heart, I truly appreciate the nice gestures.

I meant no intention to keep it private. Just that I was at a crossroad as to whether to continue blogging or just give up everything and perhaps start to learn to play mahjong.

My heart and mind just got confused and lost the sense of direction in life. Anyway, with reassurance and encouragements, I am bouncing back into life once again.

I don’t know how many of you out there are like me. There are moments in life that you felt that everything is not worth going for and it is such a struggle to hold on to it.

Being a homemaker sometime we are being put into spots where we questioned our self worth.

Are we really living on a plush and cushiony life? Was it assumed that we are living in a “well” and become less knowledgeable and that we are oblivious to the world surrounding us?

Or are we looking for undue stress as stay home mommy should have none unless we asked for it. Maybe a homemaker’s job is a thankless job. It is our responsibility to balance finance, internal affairs, health care, childcare and etc. There isn’t bonus, annual leave and don’t talk to me about sick leave. LOLz.

The government isn’t helping much too to boost our morale as we don’t get to enjoy privileges as well as those who work! Are we not contributing to the society too by raising the “leaders” of our future?

I am glad that I got it out of my chest and am happy that the black clouds have blown past and I am seeing sunshine.

Anyway, I am feeling a lot better now. Looking back, keeping blog alive sometime can be quite challenging and when you are down, you just lost the momentum to pen your thoughts.

Now with my classes and Cupcake Fantasies picking up where it was left off before my ops and I have less time by the computer and also as this year is a critical year for my son, I needed him to feel more of my presence than before. Nevertheless, I am itching for a home baked cake and Zu's Vanilla Sponge Cake from Quick n Easy Treats definitely gives me a kick into the sunshine day.

I paired this with a bottle of Lemon Curd that R gave me. It was truly yummy. Thanks gals!



This cake is delicious but I still can't figure out why mine shrunked and became a little grumpy.

What you need:

(A)
150g cake flour/superfine flour
1/2 tsp (2g) baking powder
1/4 tsp (1g) salt
10g milk powder

(B)
60g cooking oil
50g water
4 (75g) yolks
80g castor sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

(C)
4 (150g) whites
90g castor sugar (original 100g)
1/4 tsp (1g) cream of tartar

Method

Bake in a preheated oven 180C, greased and lined a 9" round cake pan.

Sift ingredients (A) and put it aside

Whisk yolks and sugar till it turns lemon color

Add oil, water and vanilla and mix till well blended

Add ingredients (A) and mix it slowly till it forms a smooth batter

Whisk (C) till stiff

Fold in 1/3 of egg white mixture into egg yolk mixture and gently stir, then fold in the remaining egg white mixture and mix well gently

Pour batter into a lined pan and bake for 35-40 mins or till it springs back when touched

Once cooked, removed from oven and invert the cake on the wire rack until completed cooled

Removed from mould and decorate it

Lots of greens

Very often, I hear that kids don't like their greens and the mommies will have a hard time giving it to them. I am thankful that my kids love their greens and fruits so I don't have to crack my brain to think of tricks to make them have enough of it.

When my first born was still a baby, our GP said to me how your kids behave is how you train them. It is just like a hard disk, it will turn out what program you load in.

Till this date, this advice still sticks to me. I always tell my kids that we are blessed to have food on our table and we must be thankful. Thus, whatever set on the table, my kids will have to eat it.

In my house rule, there isn't such word like "I don't like". There is always the first time. Of course, they do try their act of throwing up or giving you a "kill me if you have to" look. But hey, they don't try they won't know whether they can get away with it.

I might sound cruel but once I make my daughter swallow back what she has vomited out. From then onwards, I got no such nonsense from her. I guess she also know that mommy meant business when she said, eat.

Thus I feel very sad when my friends told me that they have problem giving greens to their kids or the kids' diets do not consist of vegetable. Perhaps it is the mother's protection that resulted in this? I really don't know. Anyway, I saw Jo's Carrot and Raisin Cupcake and I just knew that I have to try it.

It is not only loaded with vegetable and fruits but the spice that I love. Cinnamon! I simply can't say no to this one.



Verdict: Indeed soft and moist.

What you need:

180g all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
180g butter
145g brown sugar
4 eggs
150g carrot, grated
100g raisins, soaked in 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Grated lemon rind from 1 lemon

Method:

Prepare muffin pan with paper cups. Preheat oven to 170 degC.

Sift all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon powder into a mixing bowl. Set aside.

Cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy on high speed.

Reduce speed and beat in eggs one at a time, making sure it is incorporated before the next addition.

Add in grated carrot, raisins, lemon rind and sifter dry ingredients.

Fold using just a wooden spoon carefully to not overmix the batter.

Fill prepared baking cups with mixture. Fill it up to 85% full as it doesn't raise much. (note to myself: fill above the line on the silicone cups).

Bake in preheat oven for 30 minutes until golden brown and skewer inserted into the centre of cupcake comes out clean.

Transfer to wire rack to cool completely before decorating.

Roll away

I love swiss rolls and my favourite is sugar roll by two very reputable bakeries. Some how these days, I feel that the roll either shrunk in size or the price has gone up.

Just last weekend, we were down in Joo Chiat and decided to pick up some durian crepes and puff from this stall that was supposedly to be the very FIRST durian puff stall.

Bought it to my mom's house to celebrate Mother's Day and my sister told me that they used to sell it at S$8.50 for 20 pcs and now it is S$11.00. Personally I don't think it is really that great. Hubby commented it has that burnt taste no the choux puff.

Since today is a non school day, besides busy preparing the kids for the test, I was also itching to bake. The last time I tried making swiss roll was I guess 2 years ago? And it definitely didn’t look like a good one.

This time, I took the same recipe that I failed last week as it was actually meant for roll and not as cake. Perhaps that is the reason why it collapsed.

Thanks Wen & AK for pointing it out to me. Durian season is now in, though not the best timing to have durian, the craving was just too great not to buy some. I stored the leftover durian in my freezer. So bingo, we have our delicious durian rolls within an hour.

My daughter loves it so much that she was literally licking the bowl of durian puree while I was preparing it. Thanks Wen, I did it and it is really delicious.

Head over to Wen's Delight if you needed the complete recipe plus the durian cream to go with this.



Note: Recipe is removed as the instructor is still teaching this cake. Sorry folks.

Chicken Run

Perhaps because of the swine flu, we have been eating alot of chicken lately. We didn't get paranoid because I have complete trust in AVA. It is just that I found the RIGHT stall to buy chicken. At least a decent size at a decent price. I am so sick of people cheating me so since now I know the seller is honest and reliable, he will be my regular chicken supplier. My kids actually prefers white meat than red. Besides minced beef, they are not keen on the rest. I conclude it as being lazy to chew especially my son. Perhaps I have I have to be blamed as I used to double minced red meat for his meals. Anyway, we are having chicken again. This time round, I tried out a nonya dish called Ayam Sioh. I would love to take a spicy recipe as hubby love spicy food but I have to refrain from eating anything with chillies under the doctor's instruction. Spicy food is supposed to trigger my itch, thus I am now monitoring whether this fact is true. The picture from the book looks so delicious and hope mine is to you too. Recipe adapted from Nyonya Specialities What you need: 1.6kg chicken, cut into parts 220g tamarind pulp (mixed with 350ml water, squeezed and strained) Seasoning 3 tbsp ground coriander 10 tbsp sugar 1 tbsp salt 2 tbsp dark soy sauce 1 rounded tsp pepper 170g shallots, finely pounded Method Wash chicken and drain. Combine seasoning ingredients and tamarind water. Add chicken pieces. Leave marinated chicken overnight or at least 10 hours, chilled. transfer chicken with marinade onto a pot and cook for 20 mins over moderate heat. Reduce heat to low and cook for another 20 - 30 min or until chicken is tender. Set aside to cool. Heat some cooking oil and pan fry the chicken pieces. Serve with rice.

Good to know

Recently, my little sister (not that little anymore) seems to show an interest in cooking. It is really comforting to hear that because it will be nice to have a sibling that share the same interest as you. My opportunity to attend classes is low as I need to cater to my kids first. I also need to ensure that hubby will not be travelling during that date. I can't rely on my helper to safe keep my kids as I live on the 16th floor with no window grills. Thus when KL told me that there was a bread making course available near where I lived, I was happy but soon realised that they have already started the course and I wasn't able to attend that too. Saturdays are a jam packed day for me and that course was not ideal too as it spreads to 4 weekends! If not, either hubby or my aunt can help me to babysit. Sometime, I wish I lived near my parents. At least I can "sneak" out for a few hours without worry about my kids’ safety. Well too bad that I don't have that luxury. In the meantime, I will depend on good friends, the cyber world and mommy's recipes. This dish was tried out by my little sister. I called it Basil Chicken and it turned out to be nice.

Poor little one

My daughter has been so stressed up that she woke up at 5ish this morning despite having a late night. Even though I was lying next to her, she was unable to go back to sleep. I sensed that she was worried about her homework, thus we got out of bed and went into the study to do homework at 6am!!!!

Actually the night before, she was already telling us that she won't be able to attend the Taekwondo class on Monday night as she needs to stay fresh the next day for her examination.

Let me tell you, her exam only starts next week!!! To be honest, both hubby and I are not expecting anything from her for this mid year exam. We wanted her to learn at her pace and we haven't really been asking her to do those much dreaded assessment papers.

Thus, when we heard about her "plan", we were stunned. She is not even 7 yet and she has shown maturity beyond her age. Amazing little one.

To comfort her and to soothe those tensions that she has been getting. I decided to make some muffins for her as she loves my bakes.

In fact, she has been asking me for homemade ice cream but mommy was really too busy with Cupcake Fantasies projects that I just haven't got the mood to do anything more complicated then muffins. hahahah.

This recipe that I got from Wen's Delight is absolutely divine.

The aroma that filled our house was mouth watering. In fact, when I was setting the little muffins on the cooling rack, my little one already plonked herself on the other side of the island and declared that she needed to taste my muffins.

Since I know she enjoyed sharing her food with her besties, I made them into tiny muffins so that she can bring to school tomorrow.

Thanks Wen for sharing this wonderful recipe. Indeed Ultimate Chocolate Muffins!

Note: Due to my hurry, I have left out the chocolate chips for topping. It is soft and yet moist and you are a true chocolate lover, go for these.



What you need:

(A)
170g Self-raising flour
70g Cocoa powder
1/2tsp Baking soda

(B)
150g Chocolate chips
190g sugar

(C)
2 Eggs
240g Buttermilk (if you are using milk - add 8g of lemon juice and top it off with milk to 240g)
120g Melted butter
1tsp Vanilla paste

Method:

Preheat oven at 180 degree C.

Sift (A) into a bowl.

Stir in (B).

Whisk (C) and pour into (1). Mix with a balloon whisk.

Scoop mixture into a muffin cup and top with chocolate chips & any nuts of your choice.

Fill it 2/3 full.

Baked at 180 degree C w/fan for 20mins.

Been busy

I have been really busy for the past weeks. Commitments to Cupcake Fantasies kept me away from blogging. Also I have some guests in town, though I don't need to play tour guide but it is only right to be a good host. What else that Singapore shine except food. Thus I was filling my tummy full each day. Not good for my waist line, especially now that I managed to fit nicely into my dresses. Definitely don't want to ruin it with a rolly polly tummy sticking out. Anyway, my guests had left and I am glad that they had a good time. Since I just completed some of my cupcake projects, I wanted to bake something else rather than my cuppies. Just to get out of the routine. Last week, while doing my grocery shopping, I spotted cream cheese at a good deal and what better way is to have a cheese brownies, right? Cheese and chocolate are both my family's hot favourite. Time for a treat as this weekend is a long one for us being Labour Day. Unfortunately my little prince is down with a fever. Actually it is really my fault for asking him to take a shower when he was still sweating from his ball game and excessive snacking on Japanese crackers. Haizz..... This recipe is shared by AK. I really did a bad job at it as I swirl the brownie batter with the cheese batter too much. Thus you can’t see the marbling effect that it was supposed to be. Nevertheless, we really love the taste. Definitely I am going to redo this again. I have a package of cheddar cheese too and just needed to finish it up to free the space in the fridge. I saw Yochana’s Cheese sticks and decided to try hers. I expected a crunchy and crispier texture but I don’t know why mine is more like a cake like cookie. Perhaps I cut it into hearts shaped rather than a stick form? Could this be the fault? I think this recipe allows more room for extra cheese as I hardly detect the taste. What you need: 40 gm. ground almonds 180 gm. plain flour 80 gm. Kraft Cheddar cheese - grated (I will add more if I ever do it the next round) 1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract Method: Cream butter, salt and sugar until fluffy. Dribble in the beaten eggs gradually. Mix well. Add in vanilla essence, grated cheddar cheese, ground almonds and plain flour. Mix till a dough is formed . It will be a soft dough. Chill the dough for at least 1 hour so that it will be easy to handle. Roll out dough between two pastic sheets and cut into strips of 2 1/2" x 3/4". The dough turns soft very quickly. So I would recommend doing it portion by portion. Brush with egg glaze, grate some cheddar cheese on top of cookies. Bake at 170C for about 15 mins. then lower then temperature to 160C and continue baking till golden brown and crispy. Cool and store. Next, a total disappointed experience. Just like bread, I think I have to just continue to find THE recipe. So far, my sponge cake experiences have been a disaster. Guess it is about time to search for a good teacher to teach me the basic of baking a good sponge cake. Anyone out there? I won’t disclaim the recipe as I really like the texture. I will try it again.