It is fun

I always enjoys having friends over. Perhaps it is my personality or perhaps it is as a homemaker and getting friends over is hard as most of them are working in the day.

NH and I are both bloggers and after one meet up, we became friends. It reminded me so much of penpals when we were young. Then, we don't have the cyber world and go through letters to make friends.

Now it is so much easier and faster I should say. NH enjoyed baking too. In fact, I think she is crazier than me.

I marveled her energy as she has two young kids in tow and maidless too. Perhaps it is the same passion that drawn us together.

Somehow, I feel comfortable chatting with her about everything under the sun especially when it comes to baking. I love her nature too and somehow the chemistry between us just clicked.

Geesh, I hope she felt the same way as me. hehehe. Anyway, I invited her to come over to bake some cakes for her daughter's farewell treats to her teachers (yes, they are moving out of here).

I am glad that the gathering is possible as I will be leaving in three days' time and she will be out of Singapore by the time I come home.

I proposed a vegetarian cupcake recipe that I somehow couldn't get it right.

The centre is always wet and it sure takes a long time to bake. I am glad to say that we finally get this right. Though NH didn't quite like it but my hubby said it is good. For me, I think I will work on this Easy Bake Chocolate cake further.



What you need:

396g plain flour
270g sugar
36g cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cup water
3/4 cup oil
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Sift dry ingridents.

Add in the liquid and whisk batter till light.

Pour into muffin pan and bake for 30 mins.

**********

As little C is allergy to Chocolate, we wanted to bake Oreo Butter Cake but I realised that I didn't have yoghurt. So we decided to try a White cupcake instead.

Since I have never baked a white cake before. Wrong move to add in Almond Extract as kids generally dislike the taste and smell of almond. The cake is soft and fluffy.

Will I try this again, perhaps but will definitely change the flavour.



I had a really enjoyable afternoon with NH and her kids. Hey let's do this again when you are home for holiday.

Bon Vogage NH. Keep in touch.

White cupcakes Recipe: 125 best cupcake

What you need:

132g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
148g castor sugar
57g unsalted butter, room temp
2 egg whites
1 tsp almon extract
2/3 cup buttermilk

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degree.

Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy.

Add egg whites one at a time, beating well each addition.

Mix in almond extract.

Beat in flour and buttermilk alternatively. 3: 2

Scoop batter into pan and bake for 20 - 25 mins.

Cool on rack

Biscuits?

PW, CY and I were talking about coming together to bake a cake as we all love to eat and bake. Set the date, and being me the hopelessly forgetful one, I got the date wrong and promised my kids for an outing. Plenty of apologies and then we set another date. This time round, I made sure I bold it in RED with the date and day! Unfortunately, CY's mom was sick and need to be hospitalised. PW and I decided to go ahead. This morning, I received a sms to say that PW's boyfriend is ill and she is sending him to the doctor. Guess, we have to postpone our little bake a cake session but I was already itching to bake and thus remembered last weekend article. I quickly cut out the recipe. You see, I am still searching for THE recipe that matches my favourite scones. Okay for some, this is known as biscuits and for some this is called scones. When I was young, I read about such item in story books. Thus when I was backpacking in UK in my mid 20s and chanced about a café that offered scones and clotted cream on the menu, I was determined to try it. Back then, I wasn't impressed by it at all. In fact, I didn't like it at all. Many years later, when I was in my early 30s, a colleague offered this to me. I had my scepticism at first but I didn’t want to be rude so I took a bite. Gosh, it was so good that I wish I had more. I soon found out where he bought it from and since then, it was no turning back. I love it to bits. It has a buttery and yet light feels to it. So far, to those who know about this little shop along Beach Road totally agree with me that it is really good. My search begins for a recipe that matches my "ideal" scones but to date, I have yet to find one. Thus when I read about Dan Lepard's Rich Scones featured in the Sunday Times, I thought he might have the answer. Though the scone is light and "tall", it didn't match my expectation. It lacks the buttery flavour despite me using a top grade one. Perhaps 50g is a little too little to achieve the taste. Next time round, I think I will increase the butter. Not all is wasted though because this recipe does yield that kind of texture that I was looking for. Verdict: The next day test, it is dry. I will try to modify this in my next round of adventure. What you need: 225g plain flour 3 tsp baking powder 50g unsalted butter, softened 2 tbsp castor sugar 1 egg 50ml milk, cold 25ml double cream cold 1 egg lightly beaten with a little milk for glazing a small pinch of salt Method Preheat oven to 220˚C Sift flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add sugar and then rub in the butter until a crumbly texture forms. Set aside. Beat egg, milk and cream together and mix with the flour mixture. Knead very lightly to form a dough. DO NOT OVER DO IT. Place the dough on a floured surface and shape to form a 2 cm thick disk. Cut it with a round cutter and place it on a lined pan. Brush with egg wash and bake for 10 – 12 min or until golden brown. Cool on rack. Serve with either jam or cream.

Farewell

When FC invited me for a gathering two Saturdays ago, I was up in KL and couldn't make it. She mentioned that she is going back to Manila soon and I was just wondering to myself why is she going home so early for Christmas. She generally will leave mid of Dec but I didn't give much thought to it after that, I was so busy there after. Then on Wed, JA called me to tell me that they are giving FC a farewell lunch. I was surprised because FC has been working for this company since she was in her 20s. Is she opting for early retirement? Or is she going to pursue her interest in food as she loves to bakes and cooks. Anyway, we are going to have her favourite Chicken Rice for lunch. I immediately offer to bring a cake. As T will be joining us and JA reminded me that she only takes non dairy cake. I immediately set on the task of locating one that I know will not failed me. When I knew that I am going to attend the luncheon. Straight away I went about crafting out the toppers. I didn't want a cartoon like figurines for an adult this time round. I tried my hand at a more "adult" like figurine instead. It wasn't easy at all. It took me quite some time to make it "decent". Then the weather was making me busy. My toppers started to sweat. I was really worried as I don't have any time to craft out another set. The baking part didn't go smoothly too. My cake was not thoroughly cooked despite me trying to bake it longer, the crust was turning into biscuit like but the centre was still wet. After much emergency rescue, I finally cover the cake and add on the toppers. Praying really hard that the guests and FC will like the cake. I am so thankful to Z for giving me this recipe because it is really yummy despite the huge blunder. I am going to give this another round later for friends who are non dairy taker. FC, have a safe trip home and enjoy your new found freedom. As for dinner, my kids really enjoy Cottage pie. As I am busy doing the sugar toppers, I prepared this really easy dish. I incorporated vegetables and tops it off with lots of cheeses and voila, no more fussy eaters. They just couldn't resist having 2nd or even 3rd helpings.

A day at home

Both kids has no school today. Thus I need to think of ways to keep them away from the computer and TV, I decided to rope them into for my work. Many hands easy job, so we were able to complete it in a jiff of time. NH passed me an ice cream recipe some time back. We are a family of ice cream lovers. We can never do away with ice-cream thus our fridge is always stocked up with ice cream. Initially wanted to make cookies but as we were overwhelmed with the sugar toppers, we decided just stick to ice cream for now. The kids opted for Chocolate Chips Ice Cream, stressing on lots of chocolate chips. How can I refused them especially when it is homemade ones right? This is awesome. Thanks for sharing NH! I hope there are still some left when you visit.

I like it black

I bought a piece of radish thinking that I will prepare my mom's radish cake as I missed it. Then I totally forgotten about it and it was hidden in the deepest part of the vegetable compartment.

Well it is pretty usual for my helper to just ignore it and when it is rotten, she will just dispose of it. She will never make an attempt to remind me as I don't open the fridge daily.

Throwing food seems to be her habit. Sometime it makes me wonder whether she does that at home. Perhaps it is her culture and definitely not my house practise.

Luck was on my side as I did a spot check and found it. Luckily it was still in good condition. Weighing it, I realised that it fall out of the weight required to make my mom's recipe.

As I just went through a book on Penang food. I decided to prepare Fried Radish Cake instead. It was a huge portion and thus I gave half to JY who just pan fried the Radish Cake. JY’s daughter M finds it too peppery.

Perhaps I used Sarawak Pepper and not the usual store bought ready grind pepper.

I liked mine black and with lots of preserved radish (chai poh).



I am glad that it turned out well and nice and received no negative feedback from kids about the peppery heat.

Recipe adapted from Famous Street food of Penang

What you need:

175g radish, peeled and shredded
2 tbsp cooking oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
500ml water
175g rice flour
1 tbsp tapioca flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp ground white pepper (if you are using Sarawak pepper, reduce this)

Method

Combine rice flour, tapioca flour and water to form a smooth batter, then season with salt, sugar and pepper. Set aside.

Saute the garlic until fragrant and add in shredded radish and stir fry until radish is soft.

Add batter and keep stirring until mixture is thicken.

Remove from heat and pour mixture into greased tin (23cm).

Steam for 30 min in a preheated steamer.

Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Do not cut while it is warm.

Serve either pan fried or as fried radish cake.

I am done

My spring clean mode was turned on and for the past two days, I had been feverishly clearing and repacking the two storerooms. Very often, when I have friends over, they couldn't believe that I actually have a helper at home. This will tell you how messy my little abbot is. Anyway I am glad that the two rooms are now in placed. While taking a break from the housekeeping, I opened up my mails and received something shocking. A fellow forum friend that I befriended passed on, on Monday. I am sure her hubby GP will not joke about such matter. I am so shock and upset as just two weeks ago, we were yakking over tea when she was here for a visit. I was still lamenting that I forgotten to take a picture with her and her family just two days ago. My heart is aching and I just couldn't get over the shock. How fragile life is. I was really feeling down today and with the gloomy weather, it didn't help. I have no inspiration at all and worst my sugar toppers look horribly ugly. Then an angel came along and invited me for lunch. JY is a good cook and we had Mee Jawa for lunch. Dropping my work and having an afternoon off did help me to lift up my spirit. We have to learn to take each day as a blessing. Let’s treasure every day and make it a special one every opportunity we had, for we don’t know what lies ahead of us. PJP, rest in peace. You will be sadly missed.

Are teens getting more difficult?

Remember the Bangkok Kaya Cake that I attempted some months back? Well, it wasn't really that authentic. A was so sweet, she actually tracked down the teacher that teaches this cake in Malaysia. A month ago, I promised A that I will try the recipe that she shared with me and report back my findings. Somehow, I was caught up with so many events that I just couldn't find the time to do it. I remembered initially I wanted to bake it but I spent that evening counselling my niece who is going into her teens. She was staying over for the weekend and somehow was bottling up her anger as my sister had confiscated all ber best loved belongings a week ago. When one is angry, it is basically like a time bomb, waiting to explode. Unfortunately, my kids were the careless ones. I just had to do what I do best. Nag. hahha... Okay not exactly nag but my long winded "counselling". It is potent enough to tire you out. After an hour, I managed to let her see why her parents reacted this way. Telling her that it is not healthy to keep frustration and in this world, there are people who cares and loves her. Making herself a time bomb is very damaging especially to those who crosses her path. In the end, there isn't any win win situation. As my kids were sitting in during this session. I was relatively surprised how much my son had retained those many years of my "nagging" that I have been drumming into his tiny brain. Deep down, I was really happy. At least, my nagging didn't turned to deaf ears. It was also a good teaching ground for my little one as she too is very sensitive to people's comments. Though I had to shelf my baking plans but at the end, I am happy to I finally released that knot inside her. As I will be leaving again for holiday. The sponge base that I kept frozen couldn't wait any longer. Thus, give my lazy bones a good shake up and this is what I have produced. A, this is super good. Sedap. Despite me not taking coconut milk, I find this good. Thanks for sharing. Note: To my fellow readers, I am sorry that I won't be able to share this recipe but if you want to learn it, email for the school that teaches this.

Multi tasking

It has been 11 months since we moved in here. During that time, I was too sick to supervise the unpacking and placing of house items. I left it to my helper. Knowing that she is definitely not the ideal person to trust to do a good job but I was at her mercy. Now that I am so much stronger, I decided to empty the store room and repack it as it was on the verge of "exploding". I am sure I don't have that much stuff that can call junk. Knowing her just so capable of dumping things, I just couldn't take it longer. I got her to empty the whole room and started to repack it. With this medical histroy, I can't lift heavy stuff. Thus I can only supervise. You might think it is easy but this job is equally tough when this person is like a block of wood and her strength is just not there. Just last week when I saw S helping out my friend to clear a house. I really marvel at her strength. Despite being a lady, her strength is amazing. Come to think about it, this is the only helper that I have gotten that is so "weak". All my past maids are really strong. Today is really jam packed with activities. In between supervising her, deciding what to throw and what stays, doing my sugar toppers and ferrying my kids. I still have the energy to prepare for lunch and then dinner. Mom bought me a packet of mushroom some time back and I decided to have stuffed mushroom instead of having mom's braised mushroom for a change. I am glad that my family loves it and I think I have enough for the day. Good night.

Out of curiousity

Two years ago, when we were in Chiang Mai, we left the country a day earlier for this celebration. We can only see many Thai having fun releasing the lantern up in the sky from a far distance. It looks so peaceful and beautiful. We have planned for yet another Thailand holiday this year end. We wanted so much to participate in this festival. After booking our tickets and hotels, we realised that this time round, Loi Krantong comes much earlier. We were disappointed but can't change the schedule. Today on our way home after the kids' taekwondo, we noticed that the Kallang River was really crowded. Then we realised that today is Loi Krantong. How can we miss this right? Watching couples releasing those lovely flower boats (I have no clue what they call this) and seeing them making a wish brings a sense of peace. In the midst of darkness, these little candles do create a romantic and beautiful ambience. We are glad we didn't miss this after all. Except that it will be nice to light a lantern and see it flows into the darkness.

Lagging

I am lagging behind my blog post. After the little one had her last paper on Friday, I was totally relaxed and feeling lazy. We dined out on that very night to celebrate the kids' hard work over this one month. Didn't help that hubby was feeling a little under the weather and his snoring really affected my beauty sleep. Perhaps we stayed up really late after the Halloween. I was babysitting CY's kids as the parents weren't able to bring their kids for trick and treats. After their dinner gala, they came by to pick them up but of course, none of the kids wanted to go home. Somehow, my house always has this effect on kids. Nice isn't it? Anyway, today I wasn't into mood for anything matter of fact. After the grocery shopping, I wasn't interested in going out anymore. I wasn't interested in baking or reading either. I just become a couch potaote. Drifting off beween AFC, movie and the conversations between my kids and hubby. But I did leave my couch to prepare lunch. We had such a wonderful Aglio Olio in KL that I just wanted to attempt on this again. Of course, mine wasn't as tasty as theirs. So here is my version of Shrimps Aglio Olio. Then I leave my couch again to prepare dinner. Bought some nice fish from the supermarket and decided to have Fish Slice Soup. I love Fish Slice Soup. A tinge of red hot chilli is just awesome. I have yet to find out how they do the stock. Mine didn't turn out like those stalls. Nevertheless, I know that it was a healthy stock with no MSG. Yay. We also like it with a sprinkler of dill over it. It just taste wonderfully fragrant.