sarnies

just to give you some idea of what makcik kantin prepared  for lunch boxes.

lemon & herb grilled chicken with salad in sub

 cheese salad in sub

 leftover bbq lamb & salad in baguette

rice salad

the idea for today's lunch came from my cousin, suzie who was stirfying nasi goreng for her family's dinner. i just wanted something simple for my lunch and there's some leftover rice from last nite's dinner. so i ended up making rice salad.

heat  olive oil in the pan, fry 2 cloves garlic, add in sliced mushrooms, diced capsicum, prawns ( i used cooked prawns),  season with salt and pepper, then add in the rice and mix. garnish with rocket salad.

  

my cousin Di called this nasi ulam.. yes Nasi Ulam Omputh. 

eton mess on pavlova

2 weekends ago, i planned to bake eton mess cupcakes, to use up the berries in fridge before they turn bad. asked the other half to get meringue at the supermarket. dah beli meringue lupa pulak icing sugar dah habis.  there was a tub of whipping cream in the fridge, so i ended up making eton mess served on meringue - my version of pavlova.

the above pics have actually been posted on my other blog but i just realised that i've not posted the Eton Mess recipe on this blog.

its one of the easiest and quickest dessert to make. ingredients are fresh/frozen berries ( i normally use fresh strawberries and raspberries) , meringue and  whipping/double cream. cut the berries into halves or quarters, sprinkle some sugar,  add few tablespoons of orange juice. whip the cream until stiff, crush the meringue & add into the cream and then mix the berries in with the juices and serve.

you can substitute the berries with diced peaches (skin removed) and mangoes.

Bits from the fridge

yesterday afternoon i was kinda running out of idea what to cook for lunch. as usual, i want something quick but tasty.  i  opened the fridge and found some leftover spaghetti from last wednesday's pasta day  and cooked frozen prawns.

so all i did was put the pasta and frozen prawns in a bowl of hot water and toss, then mix soft cheese into the pasta, add prawns, season with salt and pepper and garnish with sliced tomatoes & rocket salad..all that done in 5 minutes!

thanks oya for suggesting the name for this simple dish. i would just call it leftover salad.  

nasi ayam

pagi tadi buka fb, tengok my niece tagged me a photo of  marinated chicken for nasi ayam;  terus teringat dah lama tak masak nasi ayam for dinner. so i took out the chicken from the freezer, defrost and marinate. that was at around noon.

as usual, i dont like to spend too much time in the kitchen so my dishes are fairly easy and quick to make.

the chicken - i learned how to make "ayam jeruk" from my other half.  the chicken has to be marinated in advance; preferably overnite hence the term "ayam jeruk".  i marinate with lots of kicap manis (we use kicap kipas udang), lots of sugar, grated ginger and garlic.  deep fry the chicken pieces  but if you are health concious, then grill or bake. i'm not bothered..save the soy sauce for later

the soup - kalau rajin, rebus the bony parts of the chicken to make chicken stock which you can use to boil the rice as well.  hari ni hari malas. so i just fried some garlic, pour some water, add chopped carrots, brocolli, mushrooms, bit of black pepper and 1 chicken stock cube. boleh add spring onion or celery; i didnt have any so i skipped that. 

the chilli sauce - normally kamar would make the sauce but today i just made an easy one - mix a teaspoon of sambal belacan (we keep a bottle of sambal in the fridge) with sweet chilly sauce, add some sugar and vinegar. stir to dissolve the sugar..

the kicap sauce - heat a tablespoon of oil used to fry the chicken, fry chopped garlic and add in the sauce, let it simmer for a bit.

the salad - just use whatever you have in the fridge. i used green salad, cucumber, capsicum, tomatoes. for the dressing, dissolve sugar & salt in  vinegar, add a bit of ground black pepper.  

 the rice - heat 2 tbsp margarine/soft butter in rice cooker pot on the stove. fry  1/2 thinly sliced onion, rempah kasar - cardamom, star anise, cinnamon, add in the washed/cleaned rice, pour water and add in 1 cube chicken stock. then put the pot back into the rice cooker and leave to cook.

choc fudge cupcakes

i made these for big missy's best friend's birthday party. Lauren's parents have taken them and few others to a water park for the afternoon and later on they are having a BBQ birthday party; tracy has bought halal chicken & burgers for big missy.

as usual, i just used house brand (tesco) ingredients and stork butter - dah mahal sikit sekarang, the 1kg tub used to cost £1.50 now dah naik £1.90.

 i sprinkled sugar strands over the frosting to cover some imperfection and used cake toppers.. cant remember where i got them from.

for the cuppies

ingredients

125g lightly salted butter (softened)

100g light muscovado sugar

2 eggs

100g self raising flour

50g cocoa powder



method

line 12 section bun tray with paper cake cases

put all ingredients in a bowl and beat with a hand held electric whisk for about a  minute until light and creamy

divide the cake mixture evenly between the paper cases

bake in preheated oven 180 deg C/350F/Gas mark 4, for 20  inutes or until risen and just firm to the touch

transfer to wire rack

spread with frostling over the top of cakes while still warm

for choc fudge frosting (enough for 12 cucpakes)

ingredients

100g plain or milk chocolate (chopped)

2 tbsp milk

50g unsalted butter

75g icing sugar (sifted)

method
put chocolate, milk and butter in a small heavy based sauce pan/milk pan and heat gently, stirring until the chocolate and butter have melted
remove from heat and stir in icing until smooth
spread the frosting over the top of cupcakes while still warm