An opportunity

If you have noticed, I usually don't name any commercial product in my blog but for this particular event, I thought that it might be interesting for my fellow bloggers/readers to take up the challenge.

After all, it is food related and it allows you to share a fun filled day with your family as well.

You might be wondering what am I talking about? Well, some weeks ago, I was invited to attend this Great Singapore Cook Off! After talking to the organiser, I thought it will be a good opportunity to extend this invitation to my fellow bloggers/readers.

For those who are not heading out for a short getaway, this is a good event to have fun and able to spend time with your family.

Not been to Sentosa for a long time? Wondering what is new beside the casino and amusement park, hop over to the revamped Sentosa. You will be surprised at how much Sentosa have changed.



The organiser has lined up lots of activities that enticed both young and old keen bakers.

Taking place around the live filming of the Great Singapore Cook Off, SIS Sugar will be laying out lots of great activities for you including:

• Icing demonstrations for moms and kids to try their hands at mixing and decorating with icing, with prizes for creativity!

• Cupcake decoration contest

• Sugar trivia game for the whole family

• Sampling of nostalgic treats

• Candy giveaways

• Live performances of the SIS Jingle Jam Contest

So hurry, bookmark this special day on 7th & 8th of August, 10am – 4pm in your diary for a fun-filled family day at Palawan Beach, Sentosa!

If you think a Cook off is not your cup of tea, perhaps besides food blogging, you might want to try your hand at this.

As most of you are so creative and talented, you might want to see how far you can achieve by coming up with a nice jingle.



The price of $S1,000 cash is really attractive.

Imagine with this money, you can finally buy your favourite kitchen gadget that you have been eyeing.

You can find more information on :

http://www.facebook.com/pages/SIS-Jingle-Jam/140079169351525?ref=ts

Have fun and best of luck.

My poor mom

Mom rang this morning and asked me a very strange question.

You see, despite numerous visits to both Chinese and Western doctors. She is still having this nagging fever. As she is going away for a holiday soon, she needs to recover fast and built her strength back desperately.

Thus she bought some antelope's horn (羚羊) as it is known to disperse the "heatiness" in the body.

What is strange was that she rang me and asked me how to prepare this drink! Hey she is supposed to be my cooking guru! What is happening? Then I realised that she is getting old and somehow she is losing some part of her memory.

I put down the phone with a saddened heart. Just last night, I was telling my better half that my mom is aging fast and I wanted to throw her a 70th birthday party next year. She is not only getting old but she is also losing her hearing. Her health is really weak.

Even though she is mobile and has no major illnesses. It pains me to see her like that as she can't really enjoy her old age with fun. Her lungs are so fragile that the slightest change of diet, a day of overdone activity or a change of weather will snowballed into weeks of bed rest and medication and sometime even hospitalisation.

Thus she is constantly reminding us to take care of ourselves. Not when we are old but rather now. She believed that she has over exerted herself when she was young and thus resulted in this.

Anyway, weekend is here and I am really happy. No more same activity that we have been doing for the last couple of months. It was beginning to bores the hell out of our kids. I am glad that it is finally over, at least for now. I will talk about this 3 months later.

These few days, I have nothing inspiring in the kitchen as I was busy with my Cupcake Fantasies project for this weekend.

The weather was really good. Despite wet but it was cool. I love it if I am not working on fondant. Unfortunately I was. It is nerve wrecking when working on fondant on a wet day. I am praying hard that it will set solid.

With that completed and praying hard. I was able to focus on my next project.

A pan fried radish cake aka carrot cake, Asian style, better known as Chai Tau Kuay.



I saw this program on TV about how a husband tried teaching his wife for the last ten years on how to prepare this dish at their stall. He failed and thus it was the reason why they were on air. A chef stood in and took over the teaching progress so that she can acquire this skill and take over their char tau kuay stall. The morale of that story was that the husband was also nagging at her and thus she was totally “switched off” when he was teaching her. Thus she never learnt the skill from her husband whereas the chef was very encouraging and motivating.

I guess, I really learnt something from this program. Being a mom, we are always nagging at our kids. Have we ever learnt to listen? Especially now that my dear son is into his teens, I will have to make a conscientious effort to LISTEN. I must learn to give him a chance to explain, I listen and then explain.

Inspired by this story, I went and bought a radish. Yes mom's radish cake (dim sum style) is good and well loved but this time, I wanted to tried a different type of radish cake.



Am I successful? It sure didn’t taste like store bought but it was good enough to fill our tummy with another serving.

Recipe modified from Asian Delights

What you need:

250g rice flour, sifted
1.5 cup water
1/4 tsp salt

A
600g radish (shred very thinnly)- I use manual but you can shred it by mandolin.
1/2 cup water
3/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp ground black pepper

Method

Mix rice flour, water and salt to form a watery batter.

Put A into a wok and cook over low heat for 15 mins until radish is soften and liquid evaporates.

Pour in the batter and mix thoroughly with the radish with a wooden spoon. Cook for around 3 mins till thicken.

Transfer into a greased 8" pan and steam over rapid heat for 45 mins.

Removed and cool. (best to consume the next day).


What you need:

Steamed Radish cake
Perserved prickles (chai po)
Minced garlic
Fish sauce
Sweet black sauce
Eggs (beaten)

Method

Diced radish cake into small cubes.

Heat wok till very hot, add in oil and add radish cubes. Stir fry gently. Push aside or remove if wok is too small.

Add oil, sautee the garlic and chai po. Add in radish cake.

A dash of fish sauce, sweet black sauce and mix thoroughy with the radish cake.

Spread them out and pour in beaten egg.

Pan fried till egg is cooked.

Served hot.

Second home

My hubby reached home just after midnight on Friday and then early this morning he is gone again. Though it is just for a day trip, I really pity the poor chap. The airport is like now his second home. LOLz.

I am glad he knows that he needs to spent time with his family. That is something I find comforting. At least he understands that though the job is important but family is equally important.

So I need to do my job as a wife and support him all the way. Looking at his new found white hairs in just a few short months is enough to tell me that he is working hard for the family.

Though tough to hold the forth alone most of the time, I am not going to give up. I am going to put in my best effort.

That goes the same with bread making. After all, the kids love it so much and that is enough for me to keep trying.

This time round, I used the same sweet bread recipe but I added on some blueberries and topped it off with cheese. Sounded strange? Well, I have a packet of blueberries that wasn't that sweet and my little one wasn't that keen to eat it raw. Cheese was because it is an all time favourite for them. So I married them both and this is what it becomes. Strange?





Verdict: This is such a nice recipe. Fluffy and soft, just like commercial bread but no preservative for sure.

Do try it.

Source: Magic Bread

What you need:

A
100g bread flour
70g boiling water

B
300g bread flour
100g plain flour
80g sugar
6g salt
20g milk powder
9g instant yeast

C
175g cold water
60g cold eggs

D
60g butter

Method

Add the boiling water from A into flour and mix well to form dough. Cover and set aside to cool. Chill in fridge for at least 12 hours. (I tried out a dough that was left 3 days later and it still works).

Mix B untill well blended. Add in C and knead to form a rough dough. Add in A and continue to knead till incorporated.

Add in D and knead till it is elastic.

Let it proof for 40 mins.

Divide the dough into required weight and mould it to required shape with your favourite fillings. Let it rest for another 10 min and bake at 180 deg for 10 - 15 mins.

Home sweet home

After nearly 2 weeks of absence, we are so happy to have our Boss back. As the saying goes, absences make the heart grows fonder.

I can really feel the children's happy mood in the house which is very comforting. I guess they got tired of mom's nagging and strict discipline.

I bought a book sometime back. Reading from reviews, it seems that it has many workable recipes. I don't know about you but for me, some recipe books look pretty but the recipes are either vague, or not doable. Thus these days, I am very selective when buying books.

I haven't been baking any bread since the day I blew the motor of my kitchen aid. The technician told my hubby that this model's motor is not as good as the bigger version. Thus we have to be careful when we are using it, take care not to overwork it or set it to high speed.

To overcome this paranoid feeling, I picked a recipe from my new book. As my kids love Cheese bread, a standard order whenever we visit a bakery. I thought I will try to replicate that at home.

I have already prepared the starter dough a day earlier, after I incorporated all the ingredients except the butter, I realised that I over knead the dough. I should have added the butter and then do a thorough knead. By then, the dough was really sticky. I tried the test, it seems doable but I didn't have much confidence.

After 40 mins, my dough still doesn't look as if it is waking up. By then, I realised that my kids are having their taekwondo friendly match tonight. I have to leave the house. I was thinking to myself, I have nothing to loose. I heat up the oven a little, turned it off and dump the whole bowl into it before I leave the house.

When I came home, I was surprised that the dough actually proof so nicely. Quickly took my shower and started my baking process.

Then another blunder, I greased a pan that was way too small for so many buns. I was too lazy to wash another pan as it was getting late. I just squeezed in all the dough into a small pan. Perhaps that explains why my bread didn't cook well. The centre portion was still uncooked. Luckily, the rest was edible.

The bread was just in time to feed my hungry children after a night of intense "fighting". The texture was really fluffy and soft and my family love it.

I will definitely attempt this again but with a bigger pan size next time and making sure that I read my recipe at least twice before starting.

Pardon the poor lighting as it was already midnight by the time I am done.

Never say die

Well I failed twice and I told myself that I am not giving up. Maybe I will be third time lucky. After all, this dessert was so well loved by me that I actually had this practically every day while I was holidaying.

Thus I know that I got to keep trying till I get it. With a never die spirit, I went about doing my third try today because I wanted to shake off that sleepy mode that I have been experiencing since after the World Cup for I knew I already had given my body the deserved rest. Somehow, I still feel sleepy and I have been crawling back to bed at whatever chance I had. Neglecting the fact that I have projects to accomplish and it needs to get it done by these few days. Thus, I just got to push myself to do something.

My inner brain is stimulating the outer brain or the other way round. I finally, am in the kitchen and not on my bed.

Darn, I have forgotten to buy plain fresh milk as my children only love chocolate fresh milk. Thanks to their dad who introduced it to them. Now they got hooked to it and refused to compromise at all.



This time round, my milk was boiling hot, when it reached 85 deg.

I waited for it to set and praying that this time it works.

Good sign



but not for long ....



It still didn't have that bean curd texture but chocolate with ginger is superb. Yum yum.



What you need:
1 serving

3 tsp ginger juice
125ml milk
1 heaped tsp sugar

Method

Put ginger juice into a 6oz ramekin

Bring the milk and sugar to a boil, turn off the heat. Check temperature to a 85 deg. If don't have thermometer, leave milk to cool down in the pot for 10 sec after boil).

Pour milk from 6 inches above bowl.

Let the curd set for 10 mins.

Enjoy warm or chilled

A slow week

Since after the World Cup, I spent the next few days recuperating from my lack of beauty sleep. Was it age or what, I don't seems to be getting enough. All I wanted to do is to climb back into bed despite that I have my projects to do. I just can't find the inspiration. Boy, I am so tired and I am also getting panicky because by hook or by crook, I need to get those done.

But in the midst of all my drowsiness, I was craving for something Oreoish. Cheese cake? Nah, that is too fattening as I have already had plans to do something healthy. I plan to go for walks since I can't run because of my slipped disc. My love handle is getting from bad to worse and I do need to look good by November. Do I still have time to slack some more?

I must be finding myself one thousand and one reasons not to exercise and I am sure hubby totally agrees with my laziness. If I am as persistent as him, as hardworking as him, gosh, I believe I should have an awesome body. Unfortunately I have neither.

Anyway, I am thinking about Oreo a lot lately. Since I didn't want a cheese cake, I decided to bake some Oreo Butter Cookies. You might be thinking, what nonsense I am talking. Oreo is already a cookie! Well, it is because I was captivated by the picture of a recipe book! hahha

See for yourself. Aren't they pretty?



Recipe source: 100 ways - homemade cookies 孟老师

What you need:

60g oreo cookie (with cream removed)
70g unsalted butter
45g icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
35g egg whites
150g plain flour
10g corn flour
1/2 tsp baking powder

Method

Break oreo into small bits.

Cream butter and icing sugar till soft and fluffly.

Add in vanilla essence. Mix well.

Add in egg white and with high speed, beat till they form a nice smooth batter.

Pour in all the flour, baking powder, corn flour and mix to form a dough.

Add in oreo bits and mix till well.

Spread onto a plastic sheet and roll it up to form a round tube.

Chill in fridge for 3 hours.

Cut thinnly and baked at 180 degree for 10 mins or till golden brown.

Yea TGIF

Since son is having his inter-class soccer tournament today, I decided not to let the kids go for the taekwondo lesson tonight. I also think that little one is having so much problems waking up these past few mornings that I really think she should have an early night as Saturday is a long day for both of them.

Instead I invited a long time friend, VA and CL over for dinner. As CL can't make it tonight, it will be just a small affair.

Since my June break, I haven't meet up with any friends as I was so busy with the kids and the new helper.

I am actually glad that I am having some social life tonight.

So let's feast.

Once again, my Beef Rendang as I was yearning for spicy food. Am glad that VA likes it too.



As the kids couldn't take spicy, I prepared a Pumpkin with minced pork for them. I used my mom's bean paste for this dish. Never failed to tantalise our taste buds. My son hates pumpkin but when it comes to this dish, he will help himself one serving after another.



Since we haven't taken this really nice Cold Tofu with Peanut dressing for a long time, I think this will blend well with the spicy rendang on the menu.



I am actually surprised that now my little girl takes to century eggs. She likes it so much that she was asking for more tofu to go with it.

Of course, there will always be vegetables on the dinning table. This time, a simple Stir fry luffa with egg. I still can't master how my mom does it. Hers comes with a soft and runny eggs whereas mine is far from close.



For dessert, another item that we haven't eaten for a long time and that is Matcha Jelly.



I twisted the recipe from the previous. So which one you prefer? Do drop me a line if you ever try it.

Now let's finish up the dinner with a nice bottle of wine, shall we?

Source: Didally.com
Cold Tofu with Peanut Butter Sauce Dressing

What you need:

1 packet silky tofu
1 century egg (diced or cut into wedges)
2 tbsp pork floss
1 tbsp creamy peanut butter
sesame oil
½ tbsp light soy sauce
½ cup of hot water (Do not add all in)
spring onion for garnish (optional)

Method:

Remove tofu from container and wash it clean under slow running water. Drain well and place it on a plate. Chill it in the refrigerator. You can prepare this half an hour ahead.

To prepare the dressing, mix peanut butter sauce with hot water, pour it bit by bit and stir until the desired consistency.

Add light soy sauce and a dash of sesame oil to the peanut butter mixture. season according to your preferred taste.

Pour the peanut butter dressing over the tofu, topped with pork floss and century egg. Garnish with chopped spring onions and serve.

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

Beef Rendang

What you need

chicken parts (I used 3 tighs and 3 breast)
168ml coconut milk
3 tbsp sugar
salt

1 cup oil

Blend:
(A)
300g small onions
150g garlic
3 candlenuts
1" tumeric
2 slices galangal
1/2" belachan (toasted)

(B)
3 tbsp chilli paste (I mixed 3 tbsp chilli powder with a little water)
1 tbsp coriander seed powder
1 tsp fennel
1 tsp ground cumin
2 pcs tumeric leaves
4 stalks lemongrass

Method

Heat oil and stir fry A & B and sugar till fragrant.

Add chicken and salt and stir till chicken is cooked.

Add in coconut milk and continue to stir till chicken is well coated and sauce thickens.

Remove and serve hot.

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

Matcha Jelly

What you need

13g Agar Agar Powder (flower brand)
200g sugar
900ml water
300ml evaporated milk (carnation brand)
1 tbsp green tea powder (macha)

Method

Mixed sugar with agar agar powder until will mixed

Add water to the mixture. Bring to boil under high fire.

Add green tea powder. Stir until sugar dissolve, strain through the finest filter you can find and then put it aside to cool down.

Once it slightly cool, add in evaporated milk. Then sieve it again, put them into prepared tray to cool. Once set, chill it in the fridge.

As easy as ABC

Have you eaten a cake without eggs? Well, I never. Since I was craving for chocolate and this recipe fitted both criteria I had today.

Initially wanted to bake some chocolate tart but somehow I changed my mind as today I am having a lazy day. Both kids are coming home late and I have the whole morning and early afternoon by myself. Furthermore, the weather had been great. Cool and wet, nice enough to be in bed but I must fulfil my role as a mother. I need to mark my girl's assessment homework!

Time really flies, with the short work week, weekend is near approaching. This weekend, we will be spending one without daddy and tomorrow, I am having some friends over for dinner. So I guess time will pass by even faster.

Okay, now back to my bake. Since I had such good result from the two previous recipes that I tried from Bakewise, I might as well try my third, Shirley's Crazy Cake. This cake is supposed to be a super easy, moist, tender and yet eggless chocolate cake. Well described Shirley, it is indeed so but I took a longer route as I don't want to risk my cake not evenly beat up. I’ve done it in the mixer and then transfer into baking pan.

This cake is lovely especially with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Yum.

Verdict: The texture is dense and moist. Tasted very much like a brownie. Goes really well with ice cream.



What you need:

187g plain flour
198g sugar
28g natural cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup cold water or weak coffee if you prefer

Method:

Preheat oven to 177 ˚C.

In a 8 X 8 non stick pan, stir together to blend the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.

Poke 2 small holes and 2 large holes in the dry ingredients with the handle of a wooden spoon.

Fill one small hole with vinegar, another small hole with vanilla and the big hole with canola oil.

Pour in cold water and stir well to blend all of the ingredients until smooth. Need to stir well to develop the gluten to hold the cake together.

Bake for 30 mins or cake is cooked.

Serve either with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Am I crazy?

I am so happy that little one is well enough to be in school. Just last evening, she was still running a temperature.

I remembered when we were young with a fever, mom will always do this "sweat it out" treatment.

After medication, she will ask us to drink a cup of warm water. Then she will cover us with blanket and let us sweat it out (no fan, no air con). She will always be on her round to make sure that while we sweat, we will have a change of clothings regularly. So even though we were sweating, we were always with dry clothes on.

When my son was young and has this nagging fever that simply won't go away, I always bring him to my mom to do this treatment and it always work!

The funny thing is Western doctor will always tell you that you need to keep cool. Donned on light clothing, air con, and blah blah blah.

Thus I am not sure where mom's method derived from. I guess this method will work under strict supervision.

I remembered years ago watching a documentary and this tribe uses nearly the same method to bring down a fever. Instead of just blanket, they actually had this tent with a big pot of boiling water to create hot steam. The patient was wrapped in thick blanket. After a sweat out, the patient felt much better.

This is the same way too, after a sweat out, we always feel much better. Just last week, I adopt the same method and my son was up and running in no time. He too believes in this method as I over heard him telling his sister that she got to sweat it out to feel better. LOLz.

So tell me I am crazy or not but in our family, this method works to bring down a fever.

After taking some medication and a nap, I felt much better. While coaching my girl, I was browsing a book that was due to return tomorrow. (I really hated those irresponsible people who tear pages off a public property – ought to be shot dead).

This, American Pound Cake, is the second recipe that I tested out of Bakewise. I love this book and perhaps I might be even ordering one. (have to weigh between a must have and a nice to have).

Verdict: As what the author claimed, this cake is indeed soft and moist and the crumbs are tight as a pound cake but not super tight.

Note that my cake has some air pockets. Well it is ether I didn't bang the pan hard enough or I didn't sieve the flour well.



What you need:

170g unsalted butter
96g shortening
250g castor sugar
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond essence
1/3 cup canola oil
2 large egg yolks (37g)
5 large eggs (248g)
332g plain flour
45g potato stach
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup heavy cream

Method

Preheat oven to 177 deg. Grease a bundt pan.

Double sieve the flours, potatoe starch, baking powder and salt until very well blended. (if not you will not get a compact crumbs).

Beat the butter to soften and add in the shortening. Beat till light and fluffy.

Add in the sugar and continue beating till the mixture is light.

Beat in the vanilla and almond extracrts. Beat in the oil a little at a time until incorporated. On low speed, blend in the yolks and the the whole eggs, one at a time.

Fold in the flour mixture in the batter. Alternate it with buttermilk. Last fold will be the flour.

On another mixing bowl, whip up the cream till soft peak.

Fold in 1/4 of the cream to the batter. Mixed thoroughly.

Fold in the remaining cream till well blended.

Pour into the pan. Give it a bang to release the air pockets and bake for 45-60 mins till it is cooked.

Home made wholesome

Why sudden urge to make soya milk, after all, it is so easy to just grab a packet from the supermarket. Well, after seeing Table for 2's black soya milk, I just couldn't help but to rekindle some of my childhood.

The last time I drank freshly made soya milk was made by my mom. That was years ago when I was just a tiny girl. I still remember the big tall pot mom used.

When I was young, my mom is always in the kitchen, cooking this and baking that. We always have different cuisines and different snacks to munch on.

As she ages and as we get older, the frequency become lesser and lesser till it is now save on special occasion. Even our fortnightly visits, to save her the hassle of busying herself in the kitchen and over exerting herself, we have take away most of the time.

My family love soya milk. In fact, hubby used to pack home two big packets each time he goes out to buy breakfast on weekends. Since we moved here, we have yet to find a store that sells decent soya milk.

Thus I really longed for something that is so wholesome, so pure and so wonderfully delicious. A cup of real good soya milk is really a nice way to start the day.

Actually I wanted to make this last week. I couldn't believe it when I cannot find soya bean in the supermarket. Either the purchaser is not doing their job or the sales representative is overworked.

Finally I found soya bean in another supermarket last weekend. I grabbed two big packets instead of one. No harm because I uses soya bean when making soup stock.

Instead of just making 500ml with all fuss, I might as well make it a litre. I am sure my little princess will be the first to drink at least 500ml.

I soak the bean last night, and this morning, my princess is down with a fever. I too was having a flu. Rested the whole morning but I was still feeling shitty. Since the bean has been soaked, I have no choice but to proceed on to prepare the soya bean milk.

It wasn't as difficult as I have expected, only that I find limited strength in extracting the milk.

Hubby was just in time to taste the first glass of soya bean milk before he heads off to the airport.

Verdict: He said the soya taste is not present. Perhaps it was the second round of extraction as I have reserved the first extraction to make tofu. Next round, I will do FULL strength.

Nevertheless, the kids love it.



What you need:

200g soy beans
1000ml water + 1000ml water
Pandan leaves (4 - 5)
Sugar to taste

Method:

Soak soy beans overnight. Discard soaking water.

Put all the beans into a blender with 1000ml water. Blend until very fine, for about 2 minutes. (I divide this into two because my blender couldn't take it all)

Pour blended beans into a muslin bag and using your hand to press to extract milk.

Repeat blending process with another 1000ml water, and extract milk.

*** You can Choose to combine 1st and 2nd extract together. I find that using just the second extract, the soy taste is not strong. Thus for further, I will just both the 1st and 2nd extract.

Put extracted milk into a pot/saucepan and put in a pandan leaf(stripped and tied into a knot).

On medium heat, bring it to a boil.

Be very careful and watch the pot carefully. The milk overflows easily when it’s boiling.

Season with regular white sugar.

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

With the first pressing from the soya milk, I also turned this lovely thick cream into Home Made Egg Tofu. This is my first attempt and I am delighted with the outcome.

Next time, I can create my own signature tofu. Hahahha.



Thanks Wendy for sharing these two delicioius recipes.

What you need:

375ml egg (from 6 large eggs)(lightly beaten)
1/3 tsp salt
500ml unsweetened thick soy milk (from 1st pressing)
1 tsp corn starch + 1 Tbsp water

Method:

Break eggs and lightly beat with salt. Leave aside. Let the salt further break down the egg whites.

Put corn starch and water into a big bowl. Stir.

Bring thick soy milk to a boil and pour over cornstarch mixture. Stir. Let it cool down to warm.

Prepare your steamer, bring water to a boil.

Place a piece of cling wrap into an 8" square Pyrex dish, you can use regular aluminium or stainless steel pans). For easier handling, wet the dish before putting in the cling wrap, make sure there isn't any gap.

When soy milk has become warm, using a strainer, pour in beaten eggs. Stir well.

Steam over LOW heat with lid tighly closed for 30 minutes.

The test with a giveaway

This little project has been brewing in the pot for approx 2 weeks. Thanks to Wendy of Table for 2 who highlighted me on this challenge.

You see, I missed out her blog post when I was out of town and I am glad that she informed me about this. Somehow, I just couldn't find time to go to the supermarket to get the milk as we drinks fresh milk and that didn't work as proven before.

Actually I was eager to find the right method and the perfect recipe for Ginger Milk Curd but with Table for 2's give away, it was even a bigger motivation factor to try it again so soon. Though I have no such luck on such events, but hey, who knows right? I might be the next lucky gal.

The experiment started with me extracting the ginger juice. This time round, I pour it immediately into the serving cup.

Next I actually re-boiled the milk many times because I couldn’t get the 85˚C as stated. By the last time, I gave up. I tested the milk at 75˚C when I poured into the ginger juice.

I was hoping for a miracle when I put in the spoon as a challenge to see whether my project is successful. I was delighted to see that my spoon didn’t sink. Thus for a moment, I thought I did it.



But on the second test, the texture failed miserably. It was watery. It looks like milk turned bad.



Here is the brand that I used.



So Wendy, I don’t know whether the temp is the culprit here but I might give it another go a few days later.

A long forgotten toy

I bought this toy years’ ago. Each time I spotted someone preparing this lovely lacy crepe, I will tell myself. "Ahem, mdm it is time for you to use your new toy". Then again, it is just talk and no action from me.

Thinking about the packet of curry rempah that C gave me on Sat, I didn’t know how long it will last in the freezer, so this morning, just before it rained, I went to the wet market and gotten some chicken. After not visiting them for a month or so, when I placed my order, they actually gave me a very strange look. I am really puzzled. Do I grow an extra ear or nose?

I was simply just too lazy to search for my trusted recipe, I decided to go by instinct on the curry. After all, don't try won't know. I am glad that it turned out delicious enough for son to have numerous serving. I am happy that he started to appreciate spicy food, this definitely makes life much easier when cooking.

With the curry in place, now I can precede on to make that lovely lacy crepes, Rot Jala!!

I gave been dying to try this because I have NEVER eaten one before. Plenty of Roti Prata as it is my kids' favourite but never Roti Jala!

Since hubby will be going on a long trip again, I think this is the best time to whip up a spicy dish just for him.

As I was making the crepes, I was worried that there might not be enough. Was so tempted to make another half portion but decided against it. I am glad that I didn’t because it is so filling.

I will definitely do this again for my family.

Now let's enjoy.



I am looking forward to this weekend but am wondering how to entertain my kids on Monday.

What you need:

240g plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup of coconut milk
1 cup of water
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 tsp ghee (optional)

Method:

Sift flour into bowl and add salt.

Stir in beaten eggs and coconut milk, water, evaporated milk and ghee. Beat till smooth and strain.

Heat non stick pan on low heat. Scoop the batter with a roti jala cup and move quickly to the pan and using a circular motion to form a lace pattern. Cook till set.

Continue cooking till batter finished.

When cool, fold crepe into two and roll up.

Serve with your favourite curry.

Note: I didn't like my Roti Jala to be loaded with coconut cream thus I actually subsitute it with water and evaporated milk. If you like you can replaced these with coconut.

Yea I did it!

When I first saw Quinn's Gula Melaka Sago, I knew I just got to have it!

Looking at her dessert, I actually had flashes. It reminded me that this has been on my KIV for months or even years.

Now I remembered why I gotten two packets. Bought the small ones and then later think that the big ones will look better.

I don't know how to cook sago. Besides the Honeydew Sago that I done few days back which took me ages to cook. The last I remembered was when I was still staying in Seletar. It was to become a disaster, luckily mom came on time to my rescue for that attempt.

With a never say die spirit, and after getting advices from kind hearted fellow bloggers. I decided to go for this again. Afterall, I love gula melaka to bits. It is not just being sweet, it has this beautiful aroma that I find it hard to resist.

This time, I used the smaller sago and I doubt the remaining packet of big ones is enough for all.

I was too caught up with chatting on the phone. My timer didn't go off or perhaps I didn't hear it. It became a pot of glue. Luckily I didn't burn my pot!

Dumped it and redo. This time round, I watched carefully. When I saw the end result of tiny crystal balls shinning at me, I knew I got it this time round.

After chilling, this is what I produced. Sago Gula Melaka, can't wait to glide you down my throat. Sedap!

Thanks for all the advices!



What you need:

Sago (4 tbsp per person)
2 knobs Gula Melaka (depending on how sweet you want it)
Evaporated milk (I don't take coconut milk)
Pandan Leaves

Method

Chopped Gula Melaka to bits, add in pandan leaves and 4 tbsp of water. Slowly bring to a simmer. You can add more water if you wanted it more diluted. Stir till gula melaka is melted. Chill it.

Bring a big pot of water to boil. Measured sago according to serving. Put it into the boiling water.

Bring to boil for 10 mins with lid off.

Turn off heat and cover it with a lid for another 5 - 10 mins. If the centre is still white, restart boiling process.

Once cooked (all transparent), pour it into a bowl of cold water. Give it a few stir to loosen up the balls.

Drain with a sieve and another wash to get rid some of the starch.

Spoon to serving bowls and let it set in the fridge.

To serve, pour evaporated milk and gula melaka over it. Serve very cold.