The end of the journey and a good luck to all P6s

My girl ended her English tuition this week. A sigh of relief for me but surprisingly she has a hint of sadness. Already she is asking me to sign her up for another. I told her that we will do so by year end or next year.

This little one is strange? Most kids dislike having tuition don't they?

After a year with this agency, my girl is still as lost as before. She has difficulty doing her comprehension as well as composition. I actually added another course of creative writing - composition for her in July with another agency. Now at least, she is happily coming to tell me that she passed.

I seriously have no complaints waiting for her outside the tuition centre if it delivers result and boost up my little one's confidence in handling the subject. Unfortunately, this one doesn’t work for her.

She used to do badly for Maths. Ever since I started her on tuition, her confidence level in dealing with the subject improved. She no longer feels afraid to attempt questions.

Most importantly, I love to see her joy on her face each time she announced that she done well or passed on her topical tests. That matters the most to us. Of course if she gets an A, it will be a bonus but for now, a pass is already a big achievement.

The next following two weeks will be on our own. I am going to see how much help I can render to her to at least help her through to this exam.

I don’t recall it was so tough coaching my son on these subjects 5 years ago. Things have definitely becoming more challenging and though kids these days are smarter than us but with a gap of 5 years, does one’s intelligence advances that greatly?

Anyway, these two days, my girl is requesting for packed food for her recess as they are not allowed to loiter in the canteen due to the P6 having their PSLE.

So I am making for her the magical rolls that I spotted in Happy Home Baking. This no knead cinnamon roll originated from Pioneer Woman. Ree gave a comprehensive step by step instruction. (Please hop over to hers to check it out).

I did chill it as I needed to bring my girl for her class. I only started rolling it out after I got home. When I told my hubby I am making No Knead Cinnamon Rolls, he immediately requested for pecans. My family love this nuts and I always try to have a pack ready.



So Cinnamon Rolls with Pecan it shall be, and what better way to do it with no kneading. It was really easy to assemble. Just be sure to flour the surface and your hands. While the second proofing is in process, I went on to take my dinner and got the tray into the oven after I am done with my meal.

The smell is of course heavenly, I couldn’t wait for it to be out of the oven.

Hot, fluffy and yummy!

Next round I will double the cinnamon sugar as we like it a little more wet and a little sweet since I didn't have any frosting on it.

In the meantime, if you are a cinnamon roll fan, you just got to try this one. I am not kidding it is really easy and yummy.

Verdict: It is still soft the next day.

Source: Pioneer Woman

What you need:

Dough:

1 cup milk
50g (1/4 cup) brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tsp Instant yeast
250g (2 cups) + 30g (1/4 cup) plain flour
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt

Fillings:

1 tbsp cinnamon powder (I will increase it to 2.5)
50g brown sugar (I will increase it to 150g)
50g unsalted butter (melted)

Method:

Mix milk, sugar and vegetable oil in a pan. Scald (heat until just before boiling) the mixture. Leave to cool for 45mins ~ 1 hour.

Place 250g plain flour and instant yeast in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the above mixture. Stir with a spatula until the mixture comes together to form a thick batter. (If using Active Dry Yeast, sprinkle the yeast into the mixture and let it sit for a minute before adding it to the plain flour.) Cover and let the batter sit for at least 1 hour.

Add in the remaining 30g flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir until the mixture comes together.

Either go ahead to make the rolls or cover and leave to chill in fridge over night or until needed. If left to chill, check the dough and punch it down by folding with a spatula if the dough rises almost to the rim of the mixing bowl. (Note: dough will be more firm and easier to work with if left to chill in fridge).

When ready to make the rolls, mix ground cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl.

Dust the work surface freely with flour. Dust the top and bottom of dough with flour.

Roll out the dough into a rectangular shape. Then roll out as thin as possible. Dust the dough and work surface with flour when necessary.

Brush the rolled out dough with melted butter. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture evenly over the surface.
Start from the opposite end of the dough, roll the dough neatly in a line towards you. Roll as tightly as possible. Dust fingers with flour if the dough feels sticky. Pinch the seams to seal.

Cut into 1 inch thick slices and arrange on baking pan lined with parchment paper (or greased with butter). Place the rolls close together so that they are almost touching.

Cover and leave to rise for 30mins (1 hour if dough was left to chill over night) or until the rolls double in size. (Note: the rolls can be left to chill in the fridge over night and bake them the next morning. If rolls have doubled in size, bake them right away. Otherwise leave to sit on counter until double in size before baking.)

Bake in preheated oven at 180 ºC for 20mins until golden brown.

My turn - bonding time

Mommy rang yesterday to ask me to give her some ingredients for her to test out a recipe as she didn’t want to just buy all those and used them once and throw away the rest.

Instead of packing it into small container for her, I told her to come over and make it instead.

While waiting for my mom to come over, I got into my macaron making mood.

After my rather successful attempts, my kids were already requesting for different flavours but I am still nervous and didn't promise them much.

I took the recipe from I  Macarons by Hisako Ogita. I recalled that j3ss kitch3n mentioned that she liked this recipe and through the blogger party that I organised sometime back in my home, I actually tasted and liked it.

Unfortunately, for me, these didn’t turn out well. In fact, despite pulsing it in the processor twice and sifting it twice (a night mare), the result was more disappointing.



Though I still get my "feets" but instead of having a shiny smooth top, I'd gotten “nipples” effect. Actually I needed to tone down my oven heat as my first batch got brown rather quickly and bake these longer for it to crisp up.

The over night texture also wasn’t chewy as my last two batches. Even pairing it off with my cousin’s home made low sugar blueberry jam, I still finds it very sweet and it was not chewy. So could it be my macaronage problem again?

Haiz.....

Now back to my mother and child bonding time.

Mom finally arrived and we got into the act quickly while dad and hubby were yakking away. The recipe, Pumpkin Pancake that mom brought along was incomplete.

Strangely, the ingredients she asked for was not for this recipe! LOLz.... it was meant for another recipe that she said she will try it another day.

So Pumpkin Cake it shall be, while we followed the recipe to the T, somehow the dough needed some moisture to come together.



We decided to add some water to it to bind it. Mom took a step further while pan frying these babies. She added water to steam/fry it just like those shanghai dumpling, before browning it as she is afraid that the dough won’t cook thorough.

The texture is chewy and crisp if you eat it hot. Told mom to reduce the red bean paste (store bought) since it is much sweeter. Overall, this is a keeper.



We really like it and she is already thinking of preparing this for her weekly line dance classmates.

I really enjoyed the morning session with her. It is so nice to make something together with mommy.

My parents stayed for lunch and mom also guided me to make a good wholesome pot of Old cucumber soup. Her magic touch to that pot of soup is just magical, somehow it tasted so much better even my kids commented on it.

What a wonderful Sunday.



Pumpkin Pancakes (yield 8 pcs)

What you need:

90g pumpkin, skinned and dice
1 tsp oil
1 tbsp sugar (if you used store bought red bean paste, I suggest you omit)
90g glutinuous rice
2 tbsp rice flour
56g water (adjust accordingly)

80g red bean paste (if store bought, I suggest reduce by half @ 5g each pancake)

Method:

Steam and mashed pumpkin while hot.

Add oil and sugar. Mixed well.

Add in rice flour and 45g of the glutinous rice flour in the pumpkin mashed and blended together.

Add in the remaining glutinous rice flour and water and knead till it form a dough.

Divide into 8 portions.

Divide red bean into 8 portions.

Wrap the pumpkin dough with the red bean paste and roll into a ball and then flatten.

Heat up the frying pan. Add a little oil and pan fry the pancake till golden brown.

Add a little water to steam fry it till the pancake changes colour. Flip and do the same again.

Fry till all the moisture are dry.

Serve hot.

Note: you can turned this into a savoury dish by adding minced pork and mushrooms.

The heat is on

This year, my kids are starting their final year exam really early. This mom is of course totally clueless on the reason why. I have decided that I will let nature takes it course and will not pressurise my kids.

Last night while talking to our architect, he mentioned that he really pity his daughter who is taking her PSLE this year. He said she practically has no life now.

This conversation strikes me as he brought up an example of her daughter's tutor who holds a PhD, single and totally a boring conversationist.

Not that I am expecting a PhD from my kids but the word Single, Boring dig deep down into my soul.

I know some my of friends who are now trying to cramp as many tuition classes during this period, in hope that any last minute pointers can be ingrain in those tiny brains to prepare them for the THE day.

With the recent news that our Education Minister shared with us, I really hope that he will sit down and relook at our kids' lives.

I read with interest on a Forum page that someone mentioned about our education cost. Frankly I whole heartedly agree with him. That S$11 school fees is just a delusion.

We need to take into consideration the costly tuition fees. Taking myself as an example, just alone on my daughter, her monthly tuition fee based on once a week, 4 times a month, already totalled up to S$540.00 (on three subjects). This amount compared to many of my friends out there is considered peanut. They told me that for them, it easily add up to at S$1000+ per month per child!

I was told that if I want my kid to do well with Chinese and English Composition. I need to drill her to memorise idioms and passages. Do I want to do that? Tough.

I seriously hope that this minister is not just all talk no action.

Okay enough of my ramblings.

Here I leave you with this Almond Flavoured Milk Kanten that I done for my family using the last remaining leftover.

For this recipe I tried twice. As it is my first time using agar agar strand, I wasn’t sure how long I need to boil to dissolve. I only realised that I done a bad job after the Kanten set.



I think the second attempt is much better, well at least hubby said it is nicer.

Sorry too lazy to add any fruit toppings as we are rushing out.

If you like almond, try this.



What you need:

14g kanten (agar agar strand)
8 tbsp sugar
6 tbsp evaporated milk
2 cup water
1 tbsp of pure almond essence

canned fruits of your choice

Method

Soak kanten or agar agar strand in plenty of water overnight.

Squeeze water out of the kanten, break it into smaller pieces.

Add into 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Lower heat and let it simmer till kanten dissolved.

Put in the sugar and almond extract. Stir till dissolved.

Add evaporate milk and mix evenly.

Strain into the jelly mould. Set aside to cool and then chill.

Serve with your choice of fruit toppings.

Taking the plunge once again

I remembered I had done macaroons baking three or four times in when the macaroon craze was on. Strangely, I never document those recipes here. So I am doing it now for record purpose.

Seriously don’t know what I was thinking back then and I also hung up my apron on that since.

Lately, my son had been bugging me again to bake those for him. Actually he had two requests, one is macaroons and the other is meringue pie.

Since we have been making ice cream regularly, I always have egg whites in the fridge or even freezer.

So excuses no more since our relationship seems to be improving after that “throw out” incident. I think he is making effort to correct himself. Also he is now putting in more effort into his studies. His mannerism also had improved.

As a reward, I will fulfil his wish. (terrible me right?)

With abundant egg whites, I tried out two recipes this time round and I will document the recipes that I used.

The first recipe I chose was by The Sweet Spot, for after seeing Table for 2 or more. I was motivated.

I am used to making Italian Buttercream so doing that syrup progress didn’t taunt me that much, except that I have a problem getting the temperature right as my candy thermometer is those huge type. With little liquid it is hard to test the temperature, I tilt the pot to do so this amount.

Either I need to buy a different one or I will double the portion the next round.

My first batch of macaroons with lemon curd butter cream turned out a little browner as I was afraid it won’t be cooked.



My second batch was pretty! And of course I am happy. I should have added more lime zest or sprinkle some before baking as it can’t be seen at all!



Next I tried The Batter Baker’s as hers was an easy method. Unfortunately, I suspect I didn’t whisk the egg white to full volume as I was having trouble incorporating the almond meal to the meringue. So here is another one with nutella fillings.



Nevertheless I am happy how these turned out. Will definitely explore further on different recipes. So if you have a nice recipe that you would like to share with me, I thank you.

My young man working hard for his reward.



Macaroons with lemon curd buttercream

What you need:
Almond mixture
200g (100g) almond meal
200g (100g) icing sugar
74g (37g) egg white (from 2 (1) Grade A egg)
Small pinch of salt

Meringue
74g (37g) egg white (from 2 (1) Grade A egg)
200g (100g) sugar
50g (25g) water

Method

Pulse almond meal with icing sugar in blender/mill and sift once.

Mix almond mixture with 37gm egg white and salt. Set aside.

Cook sugar and water until it reaches 118 ºC.

When the syrup reaches 105 ºC , beat egg white until medium peaks.

When syrup reaches 118 ºC , pour it into egg whites with beaters running on low speed.

Beat meringue until stiff and glossy (mine was all slacky, but glossy)

Stir 1/3 of meringue into almond mixture.

Pour almond mixture into meringue and fold (not stir) until batter is able to fall without trace after a count to 10.

Place batter into a piping bag with a plain 1cm nozzle. Pipe dollops of batter onto a lined baking

Preheat oven to 150 ºC (fan off).

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

Macaroons with nutella

What you need:

40g almond meal
60g icing sugar
30g egg whites, aged for almost 48 hours
1/4 tsp egg white powder (optional)
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
10g caster sugar

Method

Blitz almond meal and icing sugar in a food processor till as fine as possible.

Sift, and discard any remaining chinks in the sieve.

In a separate mixing bowl, combine egg whites, egg white powder and cream of tartar. Whisk till peaks are soft.
Gradually add caster sugar, whisking till peaks are just stiff.

Fold the almond/sugar mixture in 3-4 batches into the meringue.

Stop folding when the mixture is glossy and flows like magma, and any peaks settle in 10 seconds.

Pour mixture into a piping bag and pipe 3cm circles on a silicone mat or parchment paper.

Rap the pan a few times so that the mixture settles into smooth circles.

Ignore the piped circles for 45-60 min, till the circles are matte and the skins are no longer tacky when touched.

Bake at 140*C for 12-15 min till the feet no longer look wet.
Let the macs cool in the pan (to continue cooking and setting the base).

When cool, lift the macs off and you should almost not have to clean the mat/paper.

Fill the macs with nutella or your favourite chocolate, melted with some butter or cream to get a spreadable consistency.

Wastage no more

For myself as a keen baker, I usually ended throwing ingredients that were half used. I seriously hated myself for that. I wish I can find like minded friends who lived nearby when such occasion happens.

Like this week, I opened a can of evaporated milk to make something and then the remaining will end up throwing it into the bin a few days later. Waste!

For my helper, her peeps will be the coconut milk. She will leave a few tablespoons in the pack and leave it in the fridge till I get angry and chunk it into the bin. Another wastage.

To set a good example of wastage no more, I decided to research on recipes so that I can finish up the remaining evaporated milk.

One way is to use it to make longan tofu dessert which I plan to do it later. That recipe only needed a few tablespoon, so I went on to find one that at least I can used up half a can or more.



A Chocolate Pudding! Absolutely delicious! It actually reminded me of those days that I was staying in Germany. Of course, back then, it was fresh milk that my friend used. I recall that I would have pudding every night if I request. Simply love it! Especially when it is made with vanilla sugar and a dash of cinnamon sugar. Yum.

I used my favourite Valrhona cocoa powder for this pudding and if you are a pudding lover like me and don’t like wastage, try this!



What you need:
Yield 2 servings

168g evaporated milk
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp good quality cocoa powder
3 tbsp sugar

1/8 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water

Method

Mix evaporated milk and water in a pot.

Mix cocoa powder with sugar and add into the milk mixture.

Bring to boil, stirring it to dissolve the sugar and cocoa powder.

Mix cornstarch with water to form a smooth paste. Once cocoa mixture boils, add in the corn paste and whisk till it incorporated.

Continue to stir mixture till it thickens. Do the finger test on the spoon to see whether pudding is ready.

Pour into serving bowl.

Serve chilled

dual colours

I promised my classmates that I will bake something for class tomorrow. Initially I wanted to bake a chocolate cake but I was way too lazy to frost it. Also it might be too messy to serve as I witnessed last week, the table space just wasn’t enough to create movement.

Upon seeing In Love with Durian’s American vanilla cupcake which she strongly recommended, I decided to try it.

The cuppies rose beautifully and it was really easy to put together. I really love the texture.

I just need to fine tune the batter to have that flat pretty top as hers.

After A's advice, I decided to so a simple Lemon Curd Butter Cream for the vanilla cupcake.



Baking one batch of cuppies is not enough for my class of 35. So I baked a second batch. This time I chose Chocolate Cupcake from Roger Pizey's book.

Unfortunately, the instruction was not clear as one component of the ingredients just don't make sense. How can we add melted chocolate to water? It will seize!

So I actually replace the water with whipping cream. The cakes didn’t rise as pretty as my vanilla cupcakes and because I didn’t know how much to fill, it actually over flowed. Taste wise, thanks to the good quality chocolate, it did compensate for the looks.



Now let’s hope my classmates don’t mind being my guinea pigs.

Oh, btw any idea how can one get in contact with book author to seek clarification on the recipe? Hope someone can share.

American Vanilla Cupcake
Make 13 standard size

What you need:

110g cake flour
80g plain flour
1 level tbsp of baking powder
175g castor sugar
½ level teaspoon of salt
115g butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs (about 65gm each weight with shell)
100g full cream milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Preheat oven to 170ºC normal oven or 160ºC fan oven.

Line cupcake pans with paper liners and set aside.

Sift flours and baking powder. Add sugar and salt. Whisk to blend.

Whisk full cream milk, eggs and vanilla extract into a bowl or measuring jug.

Add butter to the flour mixture and mix on lowest speed until mixture resembles bread crumbs consistency. Stop the mixer.
Note: this whisking process will take less then a minute only!

Pour in milk mixture and whisk on lowest speed until just combined.

Increase the mixer speed to 2 and continue to whisk until smooth and slightly fluffy (less then a minute).

Remember to scrape the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula to ensure that everything is mixed thoroughly.

Careful not to over whisk the batter!

Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about 1/2 full.

Bake at preheated oven for about 25- 27 minutes or untill the surface just slightly brown and cooked.

Transfer cupcake pan to a wire rack and let it sit for 1 minute. Carefully remove cupcake from its pan and cool on wire rack.

Once cupcakes have cooled, frost tops of each cupcake with your favorite frosting.

Serve at room temperature.

******

Chocolate Cupcake (Roger Pizey)

What you need:

90g unsalted butter, softened
220g soft brown sugar (I will reduce this to 200g next time)
2 eggs
40g ground almonds
100g self raising flour, sifted
2 tsp cocoa powder
60g 70% dark chocolate
160ml water (I used whipping cream)

Method

Preheat oven to 180 deg.

Whisk together the butter and sugar till creamy.

Add in eggs, and beat well.

Add in ground almonds, flour and cocoa powder.

Melt the chocolate over bain marie.

Add to the rest of the mixture and blend together. (now I wonder where the water comes in).

Fill the muffn case with 3/4 full batter.

Bake for 20 mins or till cooked.

Phew it went away

Last night, I woke up at 2am with a splitting headache. Actually I should have seen it coming. Before bedtime, I already felt the tension building round my neck.

My daughter's chiropractor taught me how to massage my daughter to relieve the tension on her neck. So I applied the same method on myself. I was trying so hard not to wake my hubby as he was suffering from jet lag and really needed that beauty sleep.

Finally managed to go back to sleep around 3ish but need to get up at 6am to send my girl to school. Luckily it was just a light drizzle and it makes the morning really crisp and fresh. Due to the bad night, I fell back into slumber easily.

Didn't wake up till 11am!!! and I was really happy because the pain was gone! yea! And I was surprised that hubby was still sleeping! Poor man, he must be really tired from this work trip.

As for my pain, I seriously hate this pain as there are days it will linger and makes my life so miserable so now I am happy to know how to deal with it if it hits me again.

Okay, dinner time. We had Terry's Chicken Stew. This dish can easily become a one dish meal as you can put in more vegetable.

Overall, we like it.



I also done a pot of Watercress with pork soup as watercress was on offer. With last night dessert that is supposedly to be heaty, this is a good balance.



I also show my helper how this soup should be done. The last time, the vegetable was still green and she claimed that it was taught to her by my mom. Luckily my mom is not around, if not, she will definitely get mad. hahaha.

What you need

500g pork ribs or lean pork or pork muscle
3 litre water
400g watercress, washed well, roots cut off
1 tsp salt 3 - 4 honey dates

Method

Blanch pork and drain.

Boil water in a large pot.

Add pork and honey dates. Cover with lid and lower fire.

Simmer for 3 hours until pork is tender.

Add watercress and continue to simmer for another 1 hour.

Add salt to taste.

Catching up

Ever since our kids no longer attend the same tuition session, I haven't been seeing D. She is busy and I am too. After I dropped off my girl, I will do errands around that area.

So on Thursday it was a special day as she is free and I am too.

We did catch up and am happy that finally she is doing things that she wanted all along. I wish her success.

She offered some home grown managoes as she said were very sweet. I, without hesitation, took up the offer as immediately, I was thinking about my sour pomelo that I brought for Mooncake Festival.

So here is my Mango & Pomelo Dessert (楊枝甘露) done my way. Simple and easy.



Indeed the mangoes were really sweet and it blended so well with the sour pomelo. My kids were fighting to have more. Unfortunately we only had one mango left. Guess I need to buy more.

Thanks D! Wish I can share this with you. :)

What you need

1kg mango (without the seed)
300g pomelo (removed seeds and skin, break them into tiny pieces)
1 carton of mango juice

Method

Cut the mango into cubes leaving 300g to liquify.

Put the 300g mango into a blender and add in half carton of mango juice. Blend.

Mix the mango cubes, pomelo and mango juice.

Chill and serve cold.

no kneading?

I managed to borrow a book from the library that teaches us to make bread without any kneading.

Of course I am curious because I am never good at kneading. Besides following Richard Bertinet’s trusted bread recipes and his method of kneading. The rest of the recipes cannot be adapted that well. Thus I still need to attend or see a demo how bread is being kneaded properly. Anyone wants to show me?

With my girl at home because it is PSLE Oral, I have some spare energy to proceed on with a new recipe that required no kneading.

This method sounded so easy but is really time consuming and seriously need to plan way ahead.

I started doing the first proof which I can’t deny was really easy. Then I left it in the pot for it to ferment. At this stage still no problem.

The challenges came when the second stage kicks in. First I wasn’t sure whether putting the sticky wet batter on a tea cloth was really ideal. So I left it in a floured bowl to proof.

Let me tell you, it is a big huge mistake. I should really have followed the instruction.

I had problem getting it to double, so I left it to proof much longer than the required 1 – 2 hours. Okay, finally it doubled in volume.

Next, getting it into the heated pot was another challenge since now I had the dough inside the bowl and it got stuck to it.

Was trying so hard not to deflat the dough.

The bread turned out nicely isn't it?



The taste is not too bad, and the texture looks fairly okay?



but ...... I had hell getting it off the pot. It got STUCK!!!!! Since I didn't want to damage my pot by scraping it with a metal spatula, but a silicone one just couldn't do the job. In the end, this is the best I can savage.

haiz....



This is not the end.... the hardest will be cleaning this pot.

Will I try again, definitely yes! This time I won't act smart anymore. LOLz.

Enjoy your weekend!

Souce: My Bread (Jim Lahey)

What you need:

400g bread flour
8g salt
1g instant yeast
300g cool water (55-65 degree F)
additional flour for dusting

Method

In a pot with lid, stir together the flour, salt and yeast.

Add water and using a wooden spoon mix until you have a wet and sicky dough. Approx 30 sec.

Cover the pot and let it sit in room temperature until the surface is dotted with bubbles and the dough is more than doubled in size. (12 - 18 hours). - slow fermentation is the key to flavour.

Next, generously dust the work surface with flour, with a scraper, scrape the dough onto the work surface.

Using lightly floured hands, lift the edges of the dough in toward the center. Nudge and tuck in the edges of the dough to make it round.

Place a tea towel on the work surface and generously dust the cloth with cornmeal or flour or wheat bran.

Use your hand to gently lift the dough onto the towel. Seam side down.

If the dough is tacky, dust the top lightly with bran or flour.

Fold the ends of the towel loosely over the dough to cover it and place it in a warm spot to rise for 1 - 2 hours.

The dough is ready when it is almost doubled. Gently poke it with our finger, making an indentation. If should hold the impression. If not, let it rise for another 15 mins.

Half an hour before the end of the second proofing, preheat the oven to 240 ºC , at the lowest rack. Place a 5 quart heavy pot in the center of the rack.

Using pot holder, carefully remove the preheated pot from the oven and uncover it. Unfold the tea towel, lightly dust the dough with flour or bran, life up the dough, and quickly but gently invert into the pot, seam side up (BE CAREFUL OF THE HOT POT).

Cover and bake for 30 mins.

Remove the lid and continue to bake for another 15 - 30 mins until the crust is brown.

Using a spatula and carefully lift the bread of the the port and place it on rack to cool.

it just flew by

Usually when my hubby is not home, the days crawl so slowly. Surprisingly, this week really flew by so quickly. I still nag at the big one to study but he is a little more responsive and had control his shouting back attitude.

Hubby on the other hand also made attempt to call home daily. This brought much happy note to the household as we took turns to update him.

With exam nearing, of course, tension is also building but I think we should be doing okay.

This morning, I offered to send son to school because my little one is off school due to PSLE Oral. On my way back, I stopped by the wet market and I found something that I longed for quite some time. mmmm... I think I am so focus on getting what I want, I don't really observe others. This time, I noticed!

I also decided to cook dinner tonight even though we were coming home late. After last night dinner, which was totally disastrous, I just wanted something that is low in salt. No matter how many times I told the helper to be light handed on seasoning, this advice never gets registered. Really annoying.

So here is what I whipped out in 45 mins. Not too bad right?

It is the clam that I spotted. JM cooked this twice and posted on FB and that makes me drool because I enjoyed such stuff.

Took the opportunity to cook Vongole and gosh it is really delicious.



Knowing that my kiddos won’t appreciate this, I make them Pasta E Cavolfiore, a recipe that I found in a library book.

Because I changed the method of cooking the pasta and added mushroom in as well. I had added a little more than requirement stock so it turned out a little watery but let me tell you, the taste is really good. I shall redo this again the next time and will adjust the stock required.



Okay I am going to finish that bottle of white wine tonight. I am sure I will sleep like a baby later.

Enjoy your weekend!

Source: Gino's Pasta (Ginao D'acampo)

Pasta E Cavolfior
Serve 4

What you need:

5 tbsp olive oil
1 large white onion, peeled and finely chopped
250g mushroom, slice thinning (I added in this)
250g cauliflower florets, roughly chopped
1.8 litres of chicken stock
300g shell pasta
3 eggs
100g grated paramesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Method

Heat the oil and fry the onion for 3 - 5 mins till soft and golden.

Add in mushroom. Sautee.

Add in cauliflower and sautee for another 2 mins.

Pour in the stock, lower the heat and simmer fo 15 mins with lid half on.

Remove the lid, season with salt and pepper and add the pasta.

Continue to cook, uncovered over a low heat for about 8 mins until the pasta is al dente, stirring every 2 mins.

Remove from heat and crack in the eggs and mix everything together for 30 secs to thicken the broth.

Add parmesan cheese, stir and serve immediately

A disappointment

This morning, the plan was that UL and I go for a morning walk at the beach. Unfortunately it rained. Haiz…. It is hard to date UL for she is very busy with her schedules. So it is a rare chance that we can finally do this morning walk. Too bad it rained.

With plan ruined, I went to buy my eggs instead. Afterall, it is on the way home after dropping my girl off. Yes I buy my eggs by trays which ended up cheaper than getting it from the supermarket.

Coincidentally, my last housing and present are all near egg suppliers. Maybe the gentleman up there knows that I am crazy over baking.

Anyway, this egg supplier doesn’t just sell eggs. The shop is also like a mini mart. This morning, I saw some really nice yam. I love yam that is powdery and he guaranteed me that it is.

I remembered browsing through a dessert recipe book and this is what captivated me. Now do they have a proper name rather than just Yam and Sago?



The seller is correct, the yam is really nice. I love it. I shall chill some for my dessert tonight.

So I shall talk no further as I need to prepare the kitchen for my sister and her friends to come over for a charity bake. Very last last minute request but I like such impromptu action. That is if I have nothing to do.

I am so happy that this week seems to end quickly.

What you need:

Yam, peeled and steamed. Cut into cubes.
1/4 cup sago
1 block of gula melaka, chopped finely
Water

Method:

In a pot of boiling water, add in sago and cook for approx 20 mins. Once it turned transparent, drain and blanched over cold water.

In a pot, melt gula melaka with 1/2 cup water till the gula melted. Remove half.

Add in yam and enough water to cover and bring to a boil.

If you find that it is not sweet enough, you can slowly adjust the sweetness with the other half melted gula melaka.

Lastly add in the cooked sago and stir till well mixed.

Add evaporated milk before serving

I love you

Having a girl is so much different from having a boy.

My girl started telling me "I love you" by the time she understood the meaning behind it.

There isn't a day that went by without her hugs and kisses and these three beautiful words.

Whenever she is free, she will draw a card to tell us that or sometime even a little note tugged under your pillow. Once, just before his travel, my hubby found a note inside his suitcase. It definitely brightened up one's life.

Last Monday, my princess cried till she sleeps. As a mother, it is definitely heart pain seeing this.

The next day, while having dinner, my son chided his sister for being a cry baby. I took the opportunity to ask him, "don't you miss your daddy too?"

Guess what was his reply? "nope"

I guess this is how teens behave during this period, totally detach from the family. I once remembered my sister telling us that friends are more important than family!

These days, it is hard to hug son as well. He is like a stiff board. Whatever it is, that didn’t deter us from hugging and kissing him as well. The more I need to tell him I love him very much.

So how many of us really tell your love ones such endearing words?

Well, besides these, another way to show my love for her is that I made her favourite. Egg tarts!



Initially she wanted those with the chocolate inside but due to my poor time planning, I totally forgotten about it. I also make the crust way too thick.

Personally I still like the previous one that I had done.

Guess I need to make another batch real soon.

The haze is back!

The haze is back! and the humidity is terrible. After spending a day out, I was totally burnt out.

So far, the week is going on smoothly. I still repeat like a parrot as far as son is concerned. The good news is that he didn't shout back.

The past two nights, my girl has been sleeping with me. I still hear her grinds her teeth so the chiropractic treatment is not really working as yet. Then again, to be fair, we only went for three treatments. We shall see how it goes as it sure didn’t come cheap.

The first session (1 hour) was S$90 and the subsequent treatment was S$55.00 (approx ½ hour) but when I went for our 3rd treatment, it only lasted for 20mins! I need to keep in mind to ask whether there is a time frame.

Tomorrow will be my last three lessons with this parenting course. I am sure I will miss my classmates for they are such a fun group to hang out with.

So I baked something and share with these ladies. Oh by the way, I think sour cream is out of stock. I checked into two supermarkets and don't seems to see it on the shelf.

Luckily I still have one tub in the fridge and went ahead to make our favourite Banana Cake. This time round, I used grounded almond as I already used up my grounded hazelnut.

Let's hope the ladies will enjoy this.



What you need:

200g bananas, mashed or puree
150g unsalted butter
230g castor sugar
50g ground hazelnuts or almond
2 eggs, lightly beaten
175g plain flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
133g sour cream

Method

Greased and lined a 18X7X8 cm deep loaf tin.

Preheat oven to 170 degree c.

Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy.

Add in ground hazelnuts and followed by eggs.

Sift in the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder and mix well together.

Mix in the sour cream and finally add in the bananas.

Pour into pan and bake for 20 mins.

Making it up -

My son had been on a strict diet for the last one month as he was preparing for his Taekwondo competition.

From this experience, we can see how determine he was especially when we saw him resisting all his favourite food. I am actually quite surprised by his self control.

After two years break, because of the PSLE as well as adapting to Secondary school life, we are really pleased that he done us proud with a Gold Medal for this competition.



While I was shopping for my moon cake supplies, I finally remember to buy my coffee oil so I better put it to good use.

My hubby and son love chewy chocolate chip cookies whereas my girl favours the crunchy type.

Most of the time, I will go for the chewy ones as mommy, the baker doesn’t have strong teeth to take those crunch.

To make up, I also tried out a new recipe, Almost famous Amos cookie that was shared some time back by S in a forum and had been in my KIV file for a longest time.



I also made snow skin with durian lotus paste moon cakes as well as snow skin cranberries lotus paste moon cakes for him as a make up for he didn't touch any of those that I made the other weeks. He only watched at the side lines, while we ate. Cruel aren’t we?



Good job my boy!

A pity that the moon though is round wasn’t really bright as at this moment, there is a heavy haze blanketing Singapore. So no picture folks but I hope to capture this beauty next year.

Enough said, let me wish everyone 中秋节快乐.

Now I better focus on the forthcoming exam, thinking about it already make me stress.

Finally

Today is a very productive day.

Brought the kids for a swim as it sure been a long time we last went to the pool. After lunch, brought my girl for her second round of chiropratic treatment. Then we make our way to Geylang to buy more low sugar white lotus seed paste because I need to made some moonies for my son.

Now we are relaxing at home with a wonderful cool afternoon. A pity that the sun is hiding, if not it would have been perfect. Sipping a cup of tea and browsing at recipe books are the best enjoyment I love.

Talking about recipes, recently Kokken shared a really interesting recipe and looking at her awesome picture, I knew straight I need to attempt on that. After all, I am very confident with her recipe as hers never fail me.

Out I went seeking for this Nagaimo (山药/淮山)(Huai San). I didn't have much luck with the some of the supermarkets that is nearby. Upon S's suggestion, finally I went to NTUC Finest and true enough, I saw it.

I guess this is seasonal produce. For I also saw the Japanese version on sale which is thicker and of course the price is four times more than that one I paid for.

This is my first time seeing fresh Nagaimo (淮山). My mom always uses the dried version which I am familiar with to make soup. The difference between Burdock and Nagaimo (淮山) is that Burdock is thinner and Nagaimo is thicker. Burdock is also known as 牛蒡.

So here is my attempt on Nagaimo Soy Pudding.



I wasn't sure how many serving S's recipe yield so I actually double the portion and gotten 2 servings. Since my family of 5, it is obviously not enough. I set off again cooking another double portion.

In my mind, a pudding is wobbly and soft. This one is actually quite firm, more like agar agar. The taste of Nagaimo is there but I have no issue with it, I find it nice.

I should have done a test taste before setting the pudding as I actually used a reduce sugar soy milk thus, hubby found it rather bland. Luckily the maple syrup saved the day!

The kids weren't keen so I ended up having to clear their servings. I have in mind another version but am not sure how this will turn out. So stay tuned.

A failure or a success?

With the humid weather, my newly brought bananas were getting ripe too quickly that it was dropping off from the stem.

I had no choice but to bake a cake using bananas. I didn't want to bake our favourite banana cakes. I wanted to try something new.

Since I needed to use up quite a fair bit of bananas at one go, I was looking at one recipe that got me interested. It didn't say 2 or 3 banana, it needed 350g of bananas! And with the reviews, it was supposedly to be good.

I was already running late as I was just back from my girl's tuition. I was tired so I needed to get the cake done quickly before dinner time. Thus, without really reading through the recipe thoroughly, I went into action.

With much regrets, it was blunder after blunder. First the gula melaka didn't chop finely enough for it to cream nicely with the butter.

With two egg whites, it seems way too little to blend with the thick egg batter.

I almost forgotten about the mashed bananas which I think it was way too much.

Took me quite a while to get it baked and it didn't really rise nicely as I wanted it to be. (oops as I was typing out the recipe, I saw the author changed it to 3/4 instead of 1/4). This could be the reason why my cake didn't rise nicely.

Not looking at its presentation, this Banana Chocolate Cake tasted not too bad. A cross between kueh lapis and fruit cake minus the alcohol of course.

Will I bake this again.... I really don't know.

But I will leave you with the recipe if you are feeling adventurous and wanted to try something new ..... go ahead. Hope you will share your experience with me for it might be me that didn’t make this cake pretty.



Source: Bisous a toi

What you need:

200g unsalted butter
200g palm sugar, chopped FINELY
6 egg yolks
2 egg whites - whisk till stiff peak
200g plain flour
2 tbsp full cream milk powder
1/4 tsp salt
100g dark cooking chocolate - chopped
350g (3 medium-size banana)- mashed
1/4 tbsp double acting baking powder (oops I think I added only 1/4 should be 3/4 tsp)
3 or 4 drops of banana essence
raisins, almonds, cherries or cheese for topping

Method

Preheat oven 175C.. grease pan (two 30x10cm brownie pan)

Cream butter and palm sugar till light and pale in colour

Add in egg yolk one at a time and continue to beat till well incorporated.

Fold in sifted flour, milk powder and double acting powder

Gently fold in stiff egg white and continue to mix till well combined

Add mashed banana and chopped chocolate - stir well

Lastly add banana essence..

Pour batter into baking pan and sprinkle with currants or cherries or almonds or just cheese according to taste

Bake for 35 minutes or till done.

Surprising news

The one week school holiday is coming to an end soon. What did we accomplish?

With the success of my kids' first movie outing on their own, they continued another movie outing again as they wanted to watch Smurf. Actually we are blessed with many cinemas nearby.

I also decided to stop my girl's Tuesday tuition, so by end of this month, she will have one extra day of free and easy per week.

Upon recommendation, I also brought my girl to a chiropractor. Initially, I wanted to solve her Bruxism problem. Then I found out more surprising news. Something that I didn’t even noticed! Her legs are not the same length! It has to do with her pelvis bone. Let's pray that after this treatment, she will improve on her well being.

This will definitely make a big hole in my pocket but I guess what needs to be done has to be done.

Next, I caught up with friends that I haven't seen for months. I felt so sad that one of them is leaving for good but I am happy for her as well for she has finally found love.

So let's me share with you this Ayam Poteh.

V, this is another dish you can try as it goes really well with plain white rice.



What you need:

3tbsp cooking oil
30 shallots, peeled and finely pounded
15 clove garlic, peeled and finely pounded
3 tbsp preserved soy bean paste
1kg chicken, cut into pieces
10 dried Chinese mushroom, soaked in water and stemmed
2 cup water
4 large potatoes
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp thick soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Garnish

1 spring coriander leaves

Method:

Sautee the pounded ingredient and soya bean paste till fragrant.

Add in chicken and stir for a while.

Add in mushroom, potatoes, soya sauces and water.

Bring to a boil and slowly simmer till potatoes are cooked.

Season with salt and pepper.

Ooopsy, what is wrong

Something went haywire with my photobucket. Initially I thought I have exceeded the memory restriction. Tried deleting some pictures and yet the problem still couldn't rectify. In fact, my photobucket kept hanging and that is driving me to frustration.

I realised that it is not only my August 2011 posts that got affected, a good 200+ pictures are gone and that spanned out into 5 months. How am I going to do it? I seriously don't have the time, energy and the patience.

Anyway, I am not going to act on this. I just hope that it is some technical problem over in Photobucket. So pardon me if you can't view the pictures, thank God that the recipes are not affected.

I had a packet of left over lotus seed paste that F gave me so this will be a good chance to practise my baked moon cake.

I chose E's joie Walnut Mooncake because I wanted to use those walnut that hubby brought back from Korea. It is smaller and paler than those that I usually buy. I think the usual ones that I used are from China.



Walnuts are also known as brain food. It is much healthier than peanuts and it is also one of my favourite nuts. If it could be easier, I would have turned them into Walnut Cream but the work involved is just too much right now.

The set back about this recipe is that you need to rest the dough overnight. So if you are those that like to work fast and yield result quickly, this recipe is definitely not the one.

After chilling the dough overnight, it needs to thaw a little for easy handling. The dough is a little sticky so I had work quickly.

My little one was of great help. She was waiting the dough while I do the wrapping. I am so happy that she is interested in baking so we managed to get everything quickly into the oven.

Now let us present to you our very first Baked “moon cake”. Actually my daughter was wondering why these are called moon cake because there wasn’t any imprint on it she commented.



Verdict: This yield a really nice texture, it actually reminds me of pineapple tart. LOLz. With the crunch and flavour from the walnut that blended really well with the lotus seed paste. Will try this pastry with pineapple jam next time.



The next round, I will be more generous and used the WHOLE nut but I guess I will either need a little more skill to ease the lotus seed paste round it or reduce the paste instead if not, I will end up with a gigantic big.

So are you ready for Mooncake Festival? It is on Monday and most likely I will do a last batch this Sunday so that my son gets to eat them.

What you need:

A)
50g icing sugar
50g shortening
220g salted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

B)
1 egg

C)
380g plain flour
26g custard powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

Method :

Cream (A) together till slight white and well mixed.

Gradually add in egg and mix well.

Sift (C) together and add into mixture and form a dough. Do not knead.

Leave the dough in a plastic bag or cling wrap and leave in the fridge overnight or for a few days.

Weigh out the skin to 20g and 20g filling

Wrap lotus paste in the skin and decorate with Walnut

Apply egg wash and bake at 160ºC for 10 mins.

Bring out and leave to cool for 10 mins.

Apply egg wash again and bake for another 15 mins.

Letting go a little ....

Just a few days ago, I came to know that a nephew of a friend went missing. Then today, I read with sadness a child from my son's school got punched and died.

Are the parents not giving enough love and concern that resulted in such situation? Or are we overly pampering our kids that they grew up not taking no for answer?

What is wrong with teens these days?

Over the weekend, my son was also getting out of hand. Not only was he defiance, he also held no respect for me. My hubby was home at that time and he finally witness it all. My hubby generally has got good temperament but you better don't push too hard. Once it is over the limit, his action can be quite extreme.

Son was sent out of the house empty handed. Hubby wanted him to learn that at this age you are still dependable on others for everything. Thus being full of himself and rude is a definitely big NO in our household. As he said, you don’t bite the hands that feed you.

Hubby was worried that if he doesn’t put son in place at his age, he can’t imagine what will happen to us as son gets older.

After many hours of self reflection without any comfort, son finally rang the door bell, asking for permission to come home. With our terms laid out clearly for him, I hope that he will not have such out burst again.

So let’s pray that this one week school holiday will be a blissful one.

E was really sweet to offer two free movie tickets. A perfect timing for my kids as this was planned before the school holidays – a movie treat on their own.

My son started going for movies with his friends when he was in P6 so my daughter was really excited when she knew that she is going for a movie with just her big brother.

Initially I was a little jittery but when they were home sound and safe, I felt so proud of them. Finally I can start to let go a little.

While they were gone, I went into my baking mode. Unfortunately, the dough needed to rest overnight. So I make a pint of Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream instead.



Now the pleasure begins…. this is what I call an intense fix of chocolate and peanut butter. It is soooooo good. Yah, I know my son is hating me now because he is still on his diet program. hahahah

Source: Scoop

What you need:

1¼ cup whipping cream
1 cup fresh milk, divided
106g smooth peanut butter
24g cocoa powder
54g castor sugar
72g light corn syrup
1/8 tsp salt
2 tbsp cornstarch
17g milk powder
¼ tsp vanilla
100g bitter sweet chocolate, chopped
½ cup Reese’s cup

Method

Combine cream, ½ cup milk and peanut butter and whisk till smooth.

Add in cocoa powder, sugar, corn syrup and salt.

Cook over med heat, stirring till the mixture begins to steam. DO NOT BOIL.

Combine the remaining milk, cornstarch, milk powder and vanilla and whisk till powder dissolved.

Add cornstarch mixture to cream mixture and bring to a boil over low heat. Stirring constantly till it is smooth. Simmer for 2 mins or till thickened.

Strain.

Ad in chopped chocolate to the custard and whisk till blended.

Transfer to container and chill.

Churn using ice cream machine.

Transfer soft ice cream to the container and stir in the chopped Reese’s Cup.

Freeze.

Responsibility and Independence

Since Sec 1, or might be even Pri 6, my son had already been going for movies with his friends. Each time, my daughter will ask me when will her turn be.

So after CA2 exam, my son was requesting for another movie outing with his friends and I playfully asked him to bring his little sister along. Was pretty surprised that he didn't react negatively. Unfortunately, the plan got cancelled.

With that in mind as the school holiday plan and coincidentally E was offering two free tickets. This is just perfect. So today, I am packing my kids off for a movie treat on their own.

A chance for them to be independent as well as teaching them responsibility. Though I am a little jittery but I guess this is how mommy will feel when their babies leave the nest.

Okay, enough of parenthood, now back to my kitchen ........

I tried once Champagne truffle moon cake that was popular in one of the 5 star hotel. Let me tell you I wasn't impressed with it. After V told me about a supplier near town that sell ready made champagne truffles at S$11.30/14 pcs. I went on to made my own version.

Will let my sister tried it as she is crazy over the reputable one.



The supplier also sell Brandy truffle. So here is my Chocolate mooncake with Brandy Truffles.



Verdict: I don't really fancy white chocolate but the hint of champagne seems stronger than those I ate before. The Brandy ones are really good, I am getting another box!

I hesitate to make Baked mooncakes all these years was because I know that you need a top and bottom heat oven to bake a good one as they required different temperature but seeing my fellow bloggers churning out beautiful ones, I am now tempted to try my hand on baked mooncakes but let's see how I cope this week with kids around.

Now, I am even thinking of ice cream mooncakes.... am I being too greedy? yes... my son is hating me right now because he can only moderate himself to one mooncake a day as he is on a strict diet. After next week when he ends his Taekwondo competition.... I doubt I can see extra moonies in the fridge by then.

BTW, I am submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #11: Mid-Autumn Treats (September 2011) hosted by Happy Home Baking

Source: From M4M forum

What you need:

150g glutinous fried rice flour
200g icing sugar
65g shortening
150g cold drinking water
1 tsp cocoa powder (optional)

Method

Sieve Flour and Icing Sugar

Add shortening

Add water, mix well until it forms a dough

Set dough aside for 20mins

Make the fillings into ball shapes each

Divide dough into small portion

Flatten dough to wrap up the fillings

Seal up dough to enclose filling completely

Press into mould

Skin: 20g
Fillings: 30g

A nice chap

While I was buying my moon cake supplies the other day, a young chap was exchanging recipe with a lady in the shop. I couldn't help but to eavesdrop on them.

Without any paper on hand, I asked for permission to note down his recipe on my palm. I was clutching my "recipe" for dear life as I am prone to forget about it and went to wash my hands upon reaching home.

Got home, and quickly copied it on a piece of paper. He was even nice enough to give me his email. True enough, I missed out one important component and waited for his response.

The first batch I actually threw it away as I over knead the dough and it became hard. The second batch turned up okay but I will leave this recipe for you to decide whether you like it or not.



BTW, I am submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #11: Mid-Autumn Treats (September 2011) hosted by Happy Home Baking

I am also submitting this post to




Green tea Snow skin
What you need:

33g Kou Fen
15g HK flour
50g icing sugar
15g mooncake shortening
25g cold water
3g green tea powder

Method

Steam the HK flour for 15 mins and set aside to cool.

Sieve the HK flour, kou fen, green tea powder and icing sugar together.

Rub in shortening.

Pour cold water into the flour and mix them into a dough. Knead briefly.

Divide dough and wrap fillings.

Dough : 20g
Fillings : 30g

Crazy inflation

From property to basic staples, prices are going up and up. Strangely with lower crude oil prices, petrol prices still remained high. Doesn't need to be smart to figure out why isn’t it?

This year, prices of moon cakes are ridiculously high as well. On my way for some errands, I passed by a mini moon cake fair. Had a brief glance as it was crowded and when I saw the price, my jaw dropped. At S$70 a box of 4 minis, I think this is really expensive. Considering it is not even from a hotel or reputable restaurant.

I think I have been making my own mooncakes for a couple of years already. Thus with the price hike of ready made ones, it doesn't really affect me but I am sure this will spur interest in home made moonies.

I can't recall how much one kilo of white lotus paste I bought last year. Actually we did a bulk order and split among ourselves but I definitely doubt I paid S$22 for one kilo of low sugar white lotus paste.

Anyway, S was really sweet to sms me a supplier in Geylang. Actually I had been buying from them for the past years except last year when we did that bulk purchase.

With low in sugar, it is really good for my family because both my son and hubby enjoyed moon cakes very much.

I reattempt a recipe that I had done many years ago, a hot favourite with my family.

Here is my Chocolate snow skin moon cake with assorted nuts fillings.



Sorry, these days I have problem with my photobucket. It simply refused to upload so only one pathetic picture and being an computer idiot.... I will have to live with it.

BTW, I am submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #11: Mid-Autumn Treats (September 2011) hosted by Happy Home Baking

I am also submitting this post to



Have fun.

What you need for skin:

130ml water
70g castor sugar
50g melted couverture chocolate (bitter/strong)
10g cocoa powder
10g chocolate paste
20g mooncake shortening
60g Kou Fen

Method for skin

Heat water in microwave for about 20 - 30 sec with sugar.

Add in cocoa powder and chocolate paste. Mix well.

Add in melted chocolate.

Blend shortening and kou fen till well mixed.

Add kou fen mixture into chocolate mixture and knead well. Rest the dough for half hour.

Divide dough into required weight and wrap with filling.

Press into mould and chill a little before serving.

Ingredient for the fillings

300g white lotus paste
60g couverture chocolate (melted)
100g toasted assorted nuts

Method

Mix all ingredients together.

Divide into required weight and roll into balls.
Skin ....20g
Filling ....30 gm

An interesting conversation

My son was in cheery mood yesterday. While we were relaxing in the evening just before our dinner, during one of my conversation with my hubby which I can't recall what topic we were talking about, my son butted in and here is goes ...

son: I think you are having menopause
me: ???

son: it hits women between 45 - 55
me: how do you know?

son: I learnt this just now
me: huh must be the sex education from school

son: I learnt it from my tutor (who also teaching him Science)
me; so what are the symptom?

son: you will have bad mood swing etc etc
me: so what must you do?

son: YOU have to be positive!!! always think of the bright side.
me: how to be positive thinking when you are so naughty

son: hey, at least I am not a delinquent. so that is positive!
me : faint

These are the moments when he is not naughty, he can be really hilarious.

These past few days had been really hot. I take showers at least trice a day. Ya, bad for the skin but I just can't stand the stickiness.

Had been longing for a good dose of Cendol! During our last trip to Malacca, though we went for the famous Cendol, I still find that it lacks something that I had long time ago. I think commercialisation does affect the quality of food these days.

Now let me tell you the story behind this Cendol. I like my Cendol with a good dose of soft red bean so I went on to prepare it. Took me 2 days to prepare this pot of red bean! You won't believe it!

Guess what, I ended up throwing the whole pot away. No matter how long I cook the beans, it just won't go soft. I think I took at least 4 hours cooking that!

In the end, my helper said that I should not have put in the sugar that early, I should have waited for the bean to turn soft before adding the sugar. Now she tells me. Well, lesson learnt.

So a fresh pot of red bean was done this morning and now I am a happy bird.


A great way to cool down on a such a humid day.

And cheers to all the Teachers. Happy Teacher's Day.

Finale: Heritage Food Trail

When I was young, my granny used to make a dessert using 鸡屎滕 (pronounced in Cantonese). Actually I don't know why the plant is called such. It is nothing related to being smelly or poo at all. In fact, this plant or herb gives off a very fragrant smell when you give it a rub.

When I was staying in Seletar, I found a creeper giving off a similar smell but my aunt told me that it is not the same plant. I was of course disappointed.

During this Lunar New Year reunion, chit chatting with my aunties and uncles, this dessert was brought up again during the conversation. Boy, seems like all of us misses this dessert. I told my seniors I actually found someone selling this in Toa Payoh. Since it only sell this particular dessert on Satursday and Sunday, I didn't make my way there to get it. Don't ask me why I waited.

So last weekend, I finally get myself out of bed early and when in search. When the lady brings it out to pack, I knew, straightaway, I got it wrong. The plant is correct but the method of making is not the same. For my granny's dessert is greenish in colour and paste like, just like sesame seed paste. Whereas this lady's version is noodle like with ginger and sugar broth. I tasted nothing from what I can remembered.

Now you can guess how disappointed I am. Anyway, the old lady told me that this plant is no longer found in Singapore (yes, blame it on urbanisation). She got her source from Malaysia and it is expensive.

There are so many wonderful dishes being lost. With the global development, somehow what we used to do, eat or play got lost in transit. That is why I started playing this food heritage idea in my head.

I wasn't sure whether I will get warm responses from my fellow bloggers but yet I was keen to find out what other culture/dialect has to offer.

Just like 稀叶 used in a Hakka kueh. (I hope I got the word right) This leaves are no longer sold in Singapore as well. Such a pity isn’t it? Using this leaves gives a natural black hue to the kueh.

Enough said, now let me present to you what my fellow bloggers churned out from their kitchen. Do hop over to the respective blog and read how much this dish meant to them.

Let’s hope we continue in search of all those heritage dishes that our mom or granny had cooked for us and we, in return can teach our kids.

I really appreciate your time and effort in making this event a success.

A very BIG thank you to all that participated.

Roz / Malay
Blog : HomeKreation - Kitchen Corner
Name of the dish/dessert: Kuih Limas aka Tepung Pelita

Edith/Spouse Teochew
Blog : pReCiouS MoMentS
Name of the dish/dessert: Chwee Kueh

Alan/Hokkien
Blog : Travelling Foodies
Name of the dish/dessert: “Zok Bee Png” - 油香糯米饭

Wai Fong/Cantonese
Blog Name: Fong's Kitchen Journal
Name of the dish/dessert: Steamed Minced Pork with Salted Fish

Alan/Hokkien
Blog : Travelling Foodies
Name of the dish/dessert: 焢肉包 (Braised Pork Belly with bun)

Jane/Hokkien
Blog Name: Passionate About Baking
Name of the dish/dessert : Hokkien Alkaline Rice Cake

Shirley/ Hainanese
Blog Name: Kokken69
Name of the dish/dessert : Chicken Pau

Wendy/Cantonese
Blog Name: Table for 2 or more
Name of the dish/dessert : Puppy Duck 狗仔鸭

Ah Tze/ Hokkien
Blog name: Awayofmind
Name of the dish: Penang Hokkien Mee

Quay Po/Cantonese
Blog Name: Quay Po Cooks
Name of the dish/dessert : Ipoh claypot chicken rice

Lena/ Teochew
Blog name: Frozen wings
Name of dish: Bok Choy Soup and Braised Pig's Cheek

Wai Fong/Cantonese
Blog Name: Fong's Kitchen Journal
Name of the dish/dessert: Marrow Green with Vermicelli (大姨妈嫁女）

Wendyywy/Guangxi
Blog Name: Table for 2..... or More
Name of the dish/dessert : Kwong Sai (Guangxi) Stuffed Tofu 广西酿豆腐

Joyce/Nonya
Blog Name : kitchen flavours
Name of Dish : Nyonya Stir-Fried Long Beans with Shrimp Paste

Sharon Chieng/ Foochow
Blog Name: Feats of Feats
Name of the dish/dessert : Ang Chiu Mee Suah

Ann/Cantonese
Blog Name: Anncoo Journal
Name of the dish/dessert: Red Bean Soup 红豆水

Sharon Chieng/ Foochow
Blog Name: Feats of Feasts
Name of the dish/dessert : Stir-Fried Ginger Venison

Agnes / Hakka
Blog Name: Agnes Bakes
Name of dish: Hakka Abacus Beads (客家算盘子）

Wai Fong/Cantonese
Blog Name: Fong's Kitchen Journal
Name of the dish/dessert: Arrowroot Soup

Wai Fong/Cantonese
Blog Name: Fong's Kitchen Journal
Name of the dish/dessert: Braised Pork Trotters with arrowroot and red bean curd paste

Wendy Han/Hokkien
Blog Name: Wen’s Delight
Name of the dish: Fried Beehoon with Canned Stewed Pork Chops

Adeline/Hokkien
Blog Name: Lite Home Bake
Name of the dish/dessert : Steamed Glutinous Rice ~ Hokkien Style

Tina/Hokkien Peranakan
Blog Name: Tina's Kitchen
Name of the dish/dessert : Apom Bokwa

HBS/Hokkien
Blog Name: HoneyBeeSweets
Name of the dish submitting: Hokkien Festive Glutinous Rice

Edith/Cantonese
Blog : pReCiouS MoMentS
Name of the dish/dessert: Ginseng Chicken Soup