'not clever' noodles

literally translated to BM as Mee Bodoh. is there such thing as Mee Bodoh or Mee Cerdik? i call it Mee Bodoh cos i dont have to think how to make it. everything goes into the wok and not even 10 minutes later, its all done! the omputih would call it Stir Fry Noodles,

we went grocery shopping today and as usual, i bought 2 packets of egg noodles (we normally eat noodles or pasta at mid week) and 1 packet of 'stir fry vege'; Tesco is having an offer on noodles and stir fry vege - 3 packets for £2.50.  and since i wasnt in the mood to cook any kind of rice dishes, we agreed to have Mee Bodoh for dinner.

ingredients 

• fresh egg noodles
• stir fry vege packet (bean sprouts/taugeh, finely sliced green cabbage, carrot in thin strips
• 2 cloves garlic
• fish balls (sliced)
• soy sauce (kicap manis)
• oyster sauce
• sweet chilly sauce
• fresh red chilly (chopped) with soy sauce & bit of vinegar - optional   

method

• fry  garlic, put in sliced fish balls, dashes of soy sauce, oyster sauce and sweet chilly sauce
• put the egg noodles and vege and mix.
• thats it.. all done!

kuih bakar pandan

this is one of the very few kueh melayu that i know how to make, apart from sagu gula melaka, bronok sagu (sagu with kelapa parut)  & ondeh2 or buah melaka and popiah if you consider that as kueh melayu.

my hubby's niece who's studying in Sheffield gave me the recipe - she got it from the web and i had been using it since. its dead easy - every ingredient is measured using cup, not grams or ounces and the recipe never failed me!

i've not made this for a while, today i thought of making to give to a family friend whose mom looks after my little one few afternoons a week. my friend's children call this 'kueh aunt bessie' cos they look like aunt bessie's yorkshire pudding. an earlier conversation with my 4 y.o.
me: "adik, nanti hantar kueh kat wan".
4 y.o :  " i cant hear you.. i dont understand what you are saying".
me: "you send the kueh to wan's house"
4 y.o:  "what is kueh?"
me: "kueh is like cake but it looks like yorkshire pudding"
finally  she said "aaahhh...". she tried a bit but she didnt like it..so unlike her elder sister.

ingredients :

• 1 cup evaporated milk (susu cair)
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1 cup coconut milk (santan pekat)
• 1 cup plain flour
• 3 eggs - beaten
• 2 tbsp custard powder
• 1 tsp pandan paste
• roasted sesame seeds (bijan) - optional  

method :

• put all ingredients in a big bowl, mix till smooth & lump free.
• what i did was - i sieved  the mixture into a jug and pour into greased muffin tray, 3/4 full. the mix can make up to 21 muffin sized kueh. sprinkle  a bit of sesame seeds on top.

•  bake in oven gas 4 or 180 deg C for 45 minutes.

beef noodles

i simply call it mee/kuay teow sup, but the recipe is based on vietnamese beef noodles.

we've had rice for few days in a row and last nite, i just felt like ordering dominos pizza since they are having 2 for 1 offer. but my other half suggested beef noodles, well we normally have pasta or noodles midweek. we didnt have any beef in the freezer, just lamb cuts, so we had vietnamese style lamb noodles instead. this is the way i normally cook it.

ingredients

beef/lamb cuts

1/2 onion - thinly sliced

few cloves  garlic - chopped

thumb size ginger - sliced

3 cardamoms (buah pelaga) 

1 cinnamon stick (kulit kayu manis)

3 star anise (bunga lawang)

juice from 1/2 lemon

1 tbsp fish sauce

fish cake/fish tofu/fish balls - sliced

for garnishing - spring onion, sliced chillies in soy sauce (kicap manis) & vinegar/lemon juice, fried onion (bawang goreng), bean sprout (taugeh).

method

boil  the beef/lamb cuts and let it simmer (i dont have a pressure cooker) until the meat becomes tender. remove the meat from the stock and slice thinly. dont throw away the stock!

heat dash of oil in the same pot and fry the onion till soft, add in the garlic, ginger and the spices. then add in the stock, lemon juice, fish sauce, salt and pepper to taste.

then put in the sliced meat, sliced fish tofu/fish ball into the stock and let it boil for a bit.

to serve, put the kuay tiaw/egg noodles (mee) into the bowl and pour the soup, and sprinkle the garnishes. i didnt have bawang goreng & taugeh, so we made do with spring onion & chillies.

strawberry & vanilla cream sponge

this is actually a bit of a twist from victoria sandwich. the original vic sandwich is just 2 vanilla sponge cakes sandwiched with strawberry jam; the best & easiest vic sandwich was Mary Berry's recipe. but yesterday, for my other half's belated birthday celebration, i wanted  to make it a bit special...recipe taken from bbcgoodfood.com

INGREDIENTS

• 175g unsalted butter , softened
• 175g golden caster sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 175g self-raising flour

FILLING AND TOPPING

• 4 tbsp strawberry jam
• 284ml carton double cream or whipping cream
• 2 tbsp icing sugar , sifted
• 1 vanilla pod , seeds scraped out or 1 tsp vanilla extract
• pink or red coloured granulated sugar (usually found in tubs with mixed cake decorations in most supermarkets) 

METHOD

1. Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter and base line two 18cm sandwich tins. Beat all the cake ingredients together in a large bowl until smooth. Divide between the tins and level out. Bake for 20-25 minutes until they are well risen and spring back when lightly pressed. Leave to cool in the tins for 5 minutes then turn out onto a rack and peel away the paper. Cool completely.
2. Spread the jam onto the base of one sponge. Lightly whip the cream with the icing sugar and vanilla seeds and spread half of it over the top of the jam. Sandwich the other sponge on top. Spread the remaining cream over the top with a palette knife.
3. Make a heart shape in the centre of the cake by making a cone with some greaseproof paper, pouring in the sugar, snipping off the tip and using like a pen.

my notes :

1. i used the normal caster sugar as there's no golden ones left in the pantry 
2. for the filling and topping, i used whipping cream & vanilla extract - vanilla pod is soooo expensive!.

HAVE A SLICE!!!

brocolli pesto pasta

today is my other half's birthday, meant to bake him a cake last nite for him to bring to work this morning but somehow my baking mood went down the drain..so he bought Dominos Pizza for his workmates today (and they said thats a good idea)..

i was teaching all day, finished at 5pm and got home at 6pm so no time to cook fancy meals. looked into the pantry and fridge and i ended up making 2 types of pasta dish -  tagliatelle in white sauce (cream + smoked salmon + grated cheddar & parmesan) for the little one cos she doesnt eat anything 'spicy' and not really adventurous with food and for the grown ups, i tried a new recipe - brocolli pesto pasta,  which i found online (bbcgoodfood).  big missy had both.

birthday boy said the brocolli pesto pasta was nice & different & refreshing.



Ingredients

• 400g penne , farfalle or conchiglie pasta 
• 250g broccoli , cut into florets
• 1 garlic clove , peeled
• 1 large lemon
• ½ tsp dried chilli flakes
• 3 tbsp pine nuts
• 5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tbsp Parmesan (or vegetarian alternative), grated

Method

1. Tip the pasta into a largepan of boiling salted water and cookaccording to pack instructions. Meanwhile,bring a smaller pan of salted water to theboil, add the broccoli and boil for 4 minutes.
2. Drain the broccoliand return it to the pan. Lightly mash thebroccoli with a potato masher or fork.Finely grate the garlic and zest the lemon,then mix into the broccoli with the chilliflakes and pine nuts. Cut the lemon in halfand keep for later.
3. Drain the pasta andreturn it to the pan. Stir in the broccolipesto and squeeze over the juice of1⁄2 lemon. Pour in the olive oil andgenerously season with salt and pepper.Spoon in the grated Parmesan, toss thepasta well and serve.

My notes :

• i used tagliatelle cos i ran out of penne or fusilli.  spaghetti works just as well for this recipe
• i didnt use pine nuts cos i dont have any,  but i added in 1 tsp of Sacla Green Pesto. the basic green pesto sauce is made using pine nuts, basil, garlic and olive oil; so i guess brocolli is an alternative to basil and it tastes just as nice, if not better.

sunday breakfast

we only have cooked breakfast at weekends, usually on sunday mornings. why not on saturdays? because sometimes we're in a hurry to go out on saturday mornings for grocery shopping or for other chores or sometimes drive out of notts but we stay in most sundays. weekdays - we only have coffee in the mornings, milo for the big missy & cereal for little one.

this is our usual sunday breakfast spread, kenyang sampai lunch time..

other half's breakfast - toasted breakfast muffin with egg, baked beans, mushrooms and mini sausages

mine - i dont particularly like breakfast muffin but i love waffles (this one is belgian waffle)

the big missy isnt fussy except that she doesnt eat eggs but she will eat french toast. the little one's breakfast is either cereal or fruit salad with yogurt or pancake or waffle or bread with butter & jam.

kek pisang pasar malam

my other half's favourite omputih cake is banana walnut and his favourite melayu cake is kek pisang ala pasar malam; you know the long rectangular gebu loaf  they sell at pasar tani or pasar malam or in our case, to be exact, the stall outside Giant Taman Permata in Ulu Klang. i searched high and low on the internet for the recipe and took the risk in trying this particular recipe (on http://www.jintanmanis.com/)  which i thot should be the one, just by looking at the measurement - semua sukat guna cawan & use oil instead of butter which could possibly mean its a traditional recipe. and true enough..it taste just like the kek pisang that i used to eat when i was young and the one we got at pasar malam..

Ingredients

2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate soda
1 cup caster sugar
3 small over-ripe bananas - mashed ( i sometimes buy over-ripe bananas or buy good ones & leave to ripen in fruit bowl)
1/2 cup cooking oil (can use vege oil or corn oil)
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 eggs

method

1. oven 180 deg C
2. sieve the flour, bicarb soda & baking powder into a bowl
3. in another bowl, beat the eggs and sugar  till fluffy, add in essence & mashed bananas and beat further.
4. add in flour and oil and mix and pour into mould.
5. bake for 40 minutes.

i've not used any other recipe for kek pisang since...

Braised Lamb with Mixed Vege

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braising

I remember going to Chinese seafood restaurants with my family when I was small and it always amazes me how food could be cooked in a different variety of ways.

This Braised Lamb with Mixed Vege dish, although not seafood, is influenced by the Chinese style of cooking (not truly authentic but according to my style at the very least, anyway).

Of late I like to use a lot of garlic - not so much for health reasons but maybe because it adds that sweet fragrance to the food.

Oh, one thing about my recipes: measurement according to wants and taste unless I specifically put it in.

Ingredients:

Mixed Lamb cuts
4 to 5 fairly large cloves of garlic crushed with pestle (anak lesung) - do not pulverise
1 onion (red or normal - cut into 4)
1 inch ginger sliced into thin pieces
snow peas or any similar flat bean
1 large carrot - sliced into thin round pieces
brocolli - cut into smaller trees (more like bushes)
dried mushroom - soften with boiling water (15-30 min or more) and get rid of muck sticking to it. I like the stems, but get rid of the bottom part - it's quite hard.
osyter sauce - depending on how much ingredients you've got - usually about 5 tbsp
vegetable oil - about 2 tbsp
sesame oil - a dash or two
black pepper to taste
1 tsp sugar

Method:
Heat the wok on high heat, put in the oil and then the garlic.
Stir a bit until fragrant (not brown) then add the lamb and ginger. Cook until slightly brown.
Add mushroom and about 2 tbsp oyster sauce, stir and cover for about a minute.
Add about 1/4 cup water. Cover and braise on medium heatfor about 15-20 minutes.

Add carrots, brocolli, peas and onion in that order so that it doesn't overcook.
Add rest of the oyster sauce, sesame oil and pepper.
Add another 1/4 cup water, stir and cover for another 5-10 minutes or until tender.

Meat is best served hot.

Hope this turns out well for you as it did for me. Enjoysss!!!

marbled coffee cuppies

i only had 2 hours of teaching today and finished at 12noon, took the 12/30pm bus and fetched the little missy from preschool. when i was on the bus, i planned my dinner menu - i took out the lamb cuts this morning so we shall have lamb stew. stopped at the bakery to get freshly baked dinner rolls.

when i got home, i just felt like baking cakes..but there were only 2 eggs left in the egg basket, so i searched for recipes which only need 2 eggs and here goes...

ready for the oven

after 20 minutes..

recipe will follow suit

pineapple upside down cake

this is my sister in law's favourite and i will make it again when she comes to visit in the summer.

the recipe was taken from Nigella Express cookbook. of all Nigella's cookbooks, this book is my favourite because :-

1. the recipes are simple, easy and quick to make; hence 'express'.i dont like to spend too much time in the kitchen; one hour is the most that i can stay in the kitchen at any one time.

2. it was a birthday present from my 2 girls (with daddy's money of course)

Ingredients

• butter for greasing
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 6 slices pineapple from a 425g can + 3 tbsp of the juice
• 11 glaze cherries
• 100g flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp bicarbonate soda
• 100g soft butter
• 100g caster sugar
• 2 eggs

Method

1. preheat oven to 200deg C/gas mark 6
2. butter a 20cm diameter cake tin
3. sprinkle 2 tbsp sugar on top of buttered base, then arrange pineapple slices to make a circular pattern
4. fill each pineapple ring with glace cherry and put one in each of the space between
5. put flour, baking powder, bicarb soda, butter, caster sugar and eggs into food processor and blitz till smooth
6. pour in 3 tbsp juice to thin a little
7. pour the mixture over cherry/pineapple ring. spread it out gently, enough to cover.
8. bake for 30 minutes, then ease around the edges, turn it upside down.

the recipe is also available online, on Nigella's website. http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/pineapple-upside-down-cake-51

berries cheesecake gateau

i made this cake in summer 2007, when berries are seasonal fruits (berries are available throughout the year these days..)

INGREDIENTS

225g/9 oz self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

200g/8oz caster sugar

200g/9 oz butter, softened

4 large eggs

2tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp milk

FOR ICING & DECORATION

400g/14 oz medium fat soft cheese (i just used tesco/sainsbury's soft cheese, you can use philly cheese)

grated zest of 2 limes and juice of 1

100g/4oz icing sugar

200g/8 oz blueberries (or any seasonal fruits)

METHOD

1. preheat oven to 180deg C/gas 4/fan oven 160 deg C, butter and line base of deep 7"/18cm cake tin
2. put flour, baking powder, butter, eggs and vanilla into large bowl and beat with electric mixer on low speed until everything is mixed together. increase speed and whisk for 2 minutes, stir in the milk
3. spoon the mix into tin and level the top
4. bake the cake for 50-60 minutes. cool and split into 3 layers
5. beat the cheese until soft, then beat in lime zest and juice and icing sugar.
6. sandwich the cakes back together with 2/3 of the cheese mix and spread the rest on top
7. arrange blueberries in tight circles around top of the cake

MY NOTE:

1. i didnt have a deep cake tin at that time, so i used 2 sandwich tins. but baking time need to be cut down to about 35 minutes only.
2. i 'sandwiched' some fresh berries with the cream and arrange some on top to make it really colourful and yummy too.

then made just blueberry cheescake gateau for raya 2007 which fell in october. the other kuih raya except chocolate cake. were 'imported' from malaysia...

blueberry soured cream cake

this was the first and last time i made this cake, not that we didnt like it but i think the kids just prefer good ole chocolate cake/cupcakes and we adults prefer victoria sandwich cake and my other half likes banana walnut cake or kek pisang pasar malam style..(these will appear in future posts).

this look & taste nice though..i got the recipe from 101 cakes & bakes goodfood series; also available online from bbcgoodfood.com

Ingredients

CAKE

• 175g soft butter
• 175g golden caster sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 225g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 142ml carton soured cream
• 3 x 125g punnets blueberries

CHEESECAKE FROSTING

1. 200g tub Philadelphia cheese
2. 100g

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to fan160C/conventional 180C/gas 4
2. butter and line the base of a loose-based 22cm round caketin with non-stick baking paper (can use normal sandwich tins)
3. Put the butter, sugar, eggs,flour, baking powder and vanilla in a bowl. Beat with a wooden spoon for 2-3minutes, or with a hand electricbeater for 1-2 minutes, until lighter in colour and wellmixed. Beat in 4 tbsp soured cream, then stir in half  the blueberries with a large spoon.
4. Tip the mixture into the tinand spread it level. Bake for 50minutes until it is risen, feelsfirm to the touch and springs back when lightly pressed.
5. Cool for 10 minutes, then takeout of the tin and peel off the paper or lining. Leave to finish cooling on a wire rack.
6. To make the frosting, beat the soft cheese with the icing sugar and the remaining soured cream in a bowl until smooth and creamy. Spread over the top of the cooledcake (don't be impatient as the frosting will melt if the cake is too warm) and scatter with the remaining blueberries.
7. The cake will keep in the fridge for a couple of  days. Bring it to room temperature for about an hour before serving.

my note :

if you dont have soured cream, use yogurt or double cream (as per my earlier note in the nigella's old fashioned chocolate cake  recipe)
my mom's petua - if you dont want the fruits to 'sink', roll the fruits  in flour before stirring them into the cake mix.  

old fashioned choc cake

first time i made this was for big missy's 8th birthday and it was fantabulous.. so far, i think this is the best and easiest chocolate cake recipe i've ever used and never failed me..

got the recipe from bbcgoodfood magazine, april 2007 issue

the cake is called Nigella's Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake, named after the voluptuous lady herself. 

ingredients

for the cake

• 200g/8 oz plain flour
• 200g/8 oz caster sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda
• 40g/1 1/2 oz best quality cocoa powder ( i normally use Green & Black organic choc,  Tesco/Sainsbury's house brand cocoa)
• 175g/6 oz soft unsalted butter (i use Stork, no need to wait till it soften)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp real vanilla extract (any brand of vanilla extract will do)
• 150ml/ 1/4 pint sour cream (alternative to sour cream for baking - 1 cup plain yogurt + 1 tsp baking soda or 1 cup double cream + few teaspoons lemon juice

for the icing

• 85g/3 oz unsalted butter
• 175g/6oz best quality dark chocolate broken into pieces ( i normally use baking choc with 70% soild, do not use confectionary chocolate!)
• 300g/10oz icing sugar
• 1 tbsp golden syrup (or honey)
• 125ml/4fl sour cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• sugar flowers (optional)

method

1. take everything out of the fridge so all the ingredients can come to room temperature 
2. heat oven to 180 deg C/fan 160 deg C/gas 4. line and butter 2 x 20cm sandwich tins with greaseproof paper
3. put ALL the cake ingredients in food processor and process until smooth 
4. divide batter into prepared tins and bake for about 35 minutes (start checking at 25 minutes).
5. remove cake tins from oven and put them on wire rack, let cool for 10 minutes before turning out of their tins.  
6. to make icing, melt butter and chocolate in good sized bowl in microwave or suspended over a pan of simmering water.
7. put icing sugar into food processor and blitz.
8. add golden syrup to cooled choc mix, followed by sour cream and vanilla and then pour onto the icing sugar in the food processor
9. spoon 1/3 of icing onto the bottom cake, sit another cake on top. spoon 1/3 on top of cake and spread. spread the sides with remaining icing.

my note :

what i like about making this cake - all ingredients bunked into the food processor and blitz and voila! you get  a smooth & thick batter!

recipe is also available on Nigella's website. http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/old-fashioned-chocolate-cake-119

scrummy yummy carrot cake

my favourite carrot cake recipe, taken from bbc goodfood 101 cakes & bakes (tried & tested recipes); the first book i bought on baking. the recipe is so fool proof, again easy to make. the recipe is also available online from  http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/

Ingredients

• 175g light muscovado sugar
• 175ml sunflower oil
• 3 large eggs , lightly beaten
• 140g grated carrots (about 3 medium)
• 100g raisins
• grated zest of 1 large orange
• 175g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp grated nutmeg (freshly grated will give you the best flavour)

for the frosting

• 175g icing sugar
• 1½-2 tbsp orange juice

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4/fan 160C. Oil and line the base and sides of an 18cm square cake tin with baking parchment. The easiest way to do this is to cut two long strips the width of the tin and put each strip crossways,covering the base and sides of the tin, with a double layer in the base.
2. Tip the sugar into a large mixing bowl, pour in the oil and add the eggs. Lightly mix with a wooden spoon. Stir in the grated carrots, raisins and orange rind.
3. Mix the flour, bicarbonate ofsoda and spices, then sift into thebowl. Lightly mix all theingredients - when everythingis evenly amalgamated stopmixing.The mixture will be fairly softand almost runny.
4. Pour the mixture into theprepared tin and bake for 40-45 minutes, until it feels firmand springy when you press it inthe centre. Cool in the tin for 5minutes, then turn it out, peeloff the paper and cool on a wirerack. (You can freeze the cake atthis point.)
5. Beat together the frostingingredients in a small bowl untilsmooth - you want the icingabout as runny as single cream.Set the cake on a serving plateand boldly drizzle the icing backand forth in diagonal lines overthe top, letting it drip down the sides.

note:

1. muscovado sugar can be substituted with soft brown sugar.
2. i prefer soft cheese frosting to the icing sugar & orange frosting.  

Shortbread

i had my first taste of shortbread during my years in glasgow from 1986-1991. shortbread is generally associated with and originated from Scotland. even though shortbreads are sold everywhere in england and throughout UK, i never failed to buy scottish made shortbread whenever we're on holidays in bonnie scotland.

History of shortbread

Shortbread is a classic Scottish dessert that consists of three basic ingredients: flour, sugar, and butter. This dessert resulted from medieval biscuit bread, which was a twice-baked, enriched bread roll dusted with sugar and spices and hardened into a hard, dry, sweetened biscuit called a rusk. Eventually, yeast from the original rusk recipe was replaced by butter, which was becoming more of a staple in the British Isles.
Despite the fact that shortbread was prepared during much of the 12th century, the refinement of shortbread was actually accredited to Mary, Queen of Scots in the 16th century. The name of one of the most famous and most traditional forms of shortbread, petticoat tails, were named by Queen Mary. This type of shortbread was baked, cut into triangular wedges, and flavored with caraway seeds. Shortbread is traditionally formed into 3 shapes - Petticoat tails, shortbread rounds (individual round biscuits) and fingers (thick rectangular slab cut into fingers). Shortbread was expensive and reserved as a luxury for special occasions such as Christmas, Hogmanay (Scottish New Year’s Eve), and weddings. In Shetland, it is traditional to break a decorated shortbread cake over the head of a new bride on the entrance of her new house.  - sourced from wikipedia.

Walkers Shortbread is the largest exporter of shortbread  http://www.walkersshortbread.com/home 

these (and the recipe that follows) were from big missy's DT class.

ingredients :

• 200g butter
• 100g caster sugar
• 150g plain flour
• 150g cornflour
• spare caster sugar to sprinkle on top
• optional : 50g chocolate chips/dried fruit

oven temperature : Gas 4/180 deg C

method:

1. preheat oven and grease the baking tray
2. cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy
3. sieve in the flour and cornflour and add chocolate chips. knead thoroughly to form soft dough
4. shape into a large sausage and cut into 12 slices
5. carefully reshape the slices into circles and place on to the baking tray
6. bake for 20-25 minutes until pale golden colour
7. sprinkle with spare sugar

scones

scones are easy to make but to make soft-melt in the mouth scones need some good simple techniques. Paul Hollywood, one of the judges in the Great British Bake Off competition last year gave a few tips on how to make good scones - read this website. http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/paul_hollywoods_scones_70005

Paul is an artisan baker, owns Artisan Bread Co in Kent at south east england, who supplies bread to Harrods. http://www.paulhollywood.com/paul_hollywood_artisan_bread_company2.html

my big missy learned how to make scones at school, in her DT (Design Technology) subject. they not only bake but make some craftwork, woodwork. IT etc throughout the year. she scored A in DT and i was a proud mom. the day she made them at school, there was none left to take home for me to try, so i asked her to make them one sunday morning and they turned out simply soft & fluffy & delicious! since then, she's officially our scone maker..

this is the recipe she got from her DT teacher. 

ingredients :

• 300g self raising flour
• 75g margarine
• 75g caster sugar
• 50g dried fruits (optional)
• 1 egg
• 150ml fresh milk

equipment :

• greased baking tray
• oven temp gas 6/200 deg C

method :

1. preheat oven and prepare baking tray

2. in a jug use a fork to beat egg and milk together

3. sieve the flour into large mixing bowl. rub the margarine into flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs

4. stir in sugar and fruit

5. gradually add 3/4 of liquid (milk & egg) into flour mixture. use table knife to stir together to create firm dough, but not sticky. if its dry, add a bit more liquid.

6. on a lightly floured table/board, knead the mixture lightly to create a smooth surface. (DO NOT OVERWORK THE DOUGH MACAM ULI BUAT ROTI CANAI) .

7. then using your hand press lightly the dough into 1 1/2 cm thick circle (HAVE TO BE THICK, DO NOT USE ROLLING PIN)

8. using floured cutter, cut out as many scones as possible. re-knead and cut out more scones

9. place all scones on baking tray, glaze the tops with remaining egg and milk mixture (DO NOT LET THE EGG/MILK MIX RUN DOWN THE SIDES OF SCONES OR THEY WILL NOT RISE)

10. bake for 15-20 minutes until well risen and golden

 11. place on cooling tray.

12. serve with butter or cream or clotted cream and jam

chocolate peppermint cupcakes

i love them... taste like aero mint chocolate bubbles!! easy to make and simply delicious..made them couple of times and didnt last that long in the cake tin.

this recipe comes from Nigella (the sultry kitchen goddess)'s website.

Ingredients

• 

• 225g self raising flour
• 4 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 225g caster sugar
• 225g unsalted butter
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp mint essence
• 100g plain choc chips

For icing:

• 115g unsalted butter, softened
• 225g icing sugar sieved
• 1 tsp mint essence
• green food colouring
• 100g plain choc chips (or use choc sprinkles)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160 deg. C. Place 18 paper cases into muffin tins
2. In a bowl sieve flour, baking powder and cocoa.
3. Beat butter and sugar together in another bowl. Add eggs one at a time and beat together. Add flour mixture gradually.
4. Stir in the mint essence and choc chips.
5. Spoon mixture into cases and bake for about 25 mins.

To make icing,

1. beat icing sugar and butter in a bowl stir in the mint essence, and just enough food colour to turn the icing mint green.
2. Ice the cooled cupcakes and decorate with choc chips or sprinkles.

Serves: 18

note:

i didnt have to modify anything...well, except for the butter. i'm not really bothered whether i use unsalted butter or lightly salted butter because i always use Stork for baking. i like nigella's recipes simply because they are fuss free and quick to make.

5 a day - not!

in 2006, the government started the campaign of 5 a-day to encourage the people to eat minimum of 5 portions of fruits and vege. "5 A DAY  is based on advice from the World Health Organization, which recommends eating a minimum of 400g of fruit and vegetables a day to lower the risk of serious health problems, such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and obesity" (from NHS website)

i tried to my level best to get  the family to eat lots of fruits and vege daily. their lunch boxes will include fruits; fresh or dried. we bring packed lunches to school/work everyday except fridays - me & other half eat fish n chips and big missy goes for school dinner with her friends. it is quite daunting sometimes, thinking of what to put in their boxes everyday but..my mister likes toasted bagel with soft cheese and missy likes smoked salmon sandwiches.

whats in the box this morning?
for big missy - smoked salmon with french mustard sandwiches, grapes, galaxy cake bar, a packet of nik naks (something like twisties)

for her daddy - plain bagel which he will toast at work, 2 dairy lea cheese triangles, grapes and a packet of snack-a-jack (8% fat rice & corn crackers)

for me? not really bothered..i will grab a butter croissant before class and will be home at lunch time today.

gooey & fudgy choc brownie cake

this one is really damaging & sinful. i made it the first time for my birthday in 2008.

got the recipe from bbc goodfood magazine that i subscribed monthly since 2008. somehow i've not received any magazine since december; after informing them of my change of address..

ingredient

100g butter - block butter will do
175g caster sugar
75g brown or muscovado sugar
125h chocolate (plain or milk) - i prefer dark chocolate
1 tbsp golden syrup - can substitute with honey
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract/essence
100g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp cocoa powder

preparation

1. heat oven to 180 deg C/fan 160 C/gas 4. grease & line 20cm cake tin
2. place butter, caster sugar, brown sugar, chocolate and golden syrup/honey in a pan and melt gently on low heat until it is smooth and lump free
3. remove pan from heat
4. break eggs into bowl and whisk with fork until light and frothy
5. add eggs, vanilla, flour, baking powder and cocoa powder to chocolate mixture and mix thoroughly
6. put the mixture into greased and lined cake tin, place on middle shelf, bake for 25-30 minutes
7. remove and allow to cool for 20-30 minutes before cutting into wedges
8. serve with double cream or ice cream and plenty of fresh fruit