Silverstone

At Silvestone watching Jazeman race. Best of luck!

Tuna Pasta Bake

when the kids are on half term break and mummy works at home, dapor tak berhenti berasap sebab nak kena prepare lunch. but fortunately the kids just eat simple food such as  pizza, chips, pasta, soup.
on Friday I just felt like making tuna pasta bake which big missy likes, but the lil missy not liking tuna wanted cheese & broccoli pasta.

 
I used the recipe from this website. http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/534857/tuna-pasta-bake

1tbsp oil

1 small red onion, peeled and finely chopped

5 medium-sized mushrooms,chopped

150g sweetcorn, canned or frozen

400g can chopped tomatoes

3tbsps tomato puree

300g penne pasta

185g can of tuna fish in sunflower oil, drained

25g pack of ready salted crisps

100g mature Cheddar cheese, grated

900ml flameproof dish

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the onion and cook for 5 minutes over a medium heat, then add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes, until softened. Stir in the sweetcorn, tomatoes and tomato purée and simmer for a few minutes.
2. Meanwhile, stir the pasta into a pan of boiling salted water and cook according to pack instructions, until just tender. Drain, then put it back in the pan. Set the grill to hot.
3. Stir the pasta into the sauce, then break the tuna into large flakes and gently mix in. Spoon into the dish. Crush the crisps in the bag and sprinkle them over the top, with the cheese.
4. Put the dish on a baking tray and grill for about 5 minutes until the cheese has melted and turned golden brown. Serve hot with salad or greens.

Spaghetti meat balls

my kids love pasta and we normally have them at least once a week. this is the simplest & again fuss free meat ball recipe that I found online.

I didn't have to ubahsuai the recipe sebab semua ingredients senang nak cari.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/spaghetti_and_meatballs_69603

simple tomato sauce with lots of flavour is perfect for spaghetti and meatballs. A weeknight classic. This is designed to be a low cost recipe.

Ingredients

For the sauce

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
• 1 x 400g/14oz tin tomatoes
• 500ml/18fl oz vegetable or beef stock (from a cube)
• 400g/14oz dried spaghetti
• salt and pepper

For the meatballs

• 400g/14oz beef mince
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• ½ tsp dried mixed herbs
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Preparation method

1. Heat a large saucepan over a medium heat and add the olive oil. Once hot, add the onion and cook gently without browning for 4-5 minutes, or until softened and translucent. Add the garlic, continue to cook for two minutes until aromatic, then add the dried herbs, tomatoes and stock. Bring the sauce to a simmer, reduce the heat and simmer gently while you make the meatballs.
2. For the meatballs, mix together the mince, garlic and herbs along with a decent pinch of salt and pepper. Using your hands roll into 20 balls.
3. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and add the olive oil. Once hot, fry the meatballs on all sides until nicely coloured, being careful not to burn them. You may need to do this in batches. Transfer to the saucepan holding the sauce.
4. Continue to simmer the sauce for 10 minutes while you cook the spaghetti.
5. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil, add a pinch of salt and cook the spaghetti according to the packet instructions. Once cooked, drain and tip into the saucepan with the meatball sauce. Mix well and serve hot.

Mary Berry's Fast Lasagna

I watched her made this lasagne on telly last weekend, terus teruja nak try sebab memang fast and fuss-free. however with some of the previous recipes, I made  some adjustments to suit the halal haram requirement and to cut short the process further. Work smart ok!

last night I just used Dolmio tomato lasagne sauce instead of making tomato & thyme sauce. saja lah malas nak buat sauce and also there was an offer in Tesco - Dolmio sauce was at half price. 83p for the big 750g bottle. but I think the homemade sauce is better and not as runny.

my verdict : easy to make and taste yummy.. no need to make white béchamel sauce separately like the usual lasagne recipe.

recipe from http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/fastlasagnewithporka_83462

Ingredients

For the ragu and spinach sauce

• 1 tbsp oil
• 450g/1lb pork sausage meat - I replaced with minced meat.
• 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• 2 fat cloves garlic, crushed
• 150g/5oz button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 x 200ml/7fl oz carton full-fat crème fraiche - I used crème fraiche because its easily available in the shops here. but you can use thick double cream if you cant find crème fraiche
• 100g/4oz baby spinach, roughly chopped - I didn't chop the spinach because they tend to soften so easily and kids didn't even notice them..
• salt and freshly ground black pepper 

For the tomato and thyme sauce

• 1 x 400g/1lb can chopped tomatoes
• 2 tbsp sun-dried tomato paste
• 1 tsp demerara sugar
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

For the lasagne

• 6 sheets, about 75g/3oz quick-cook white lasagne or fresh lasagne
• 50g/2oz strong cheddar cheese, grated

 

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
2. For the ragu and spinach sauce, heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan, add the sausage meat and brown over a high heat until golden, breaking up the meat with two wooden spoons.
3. Add chilli, garlic and mushrooms and fry for a few minutes. Stir in the créme frâiche and spinach.
4. Bring to the boil for a couple of minutes, season well and set aside.
5. For the tomato sauce, measure all the ingredients into a jug and season well.
6. Divide the ragu sauce into thirds and spoon one third into the base of an oven-proof dish.
7. Spoon one third of the tomato sauce on top and arrange half the pasta sheets over it. Repeat using two more layers of ragu and tomato sauce and one of pasta.
8. Sprinkle over the grated cheese.
9. Place in the oven for about 20-30 minutes or until golden brown, bubbling around the edges and the pasta is tender.

Glowing Face/Seri Muka

its been a very very long time since I last wrote in this blog;  one of the reasons is - its been ages since I last tried a new recipe but the main reason is I've been a lazy bum!...

yesterday, for the first time in my entire life, I tried making Kuih Serimuka. I found this recipe which my fb friend,  a beautiful lady named Puyah (her real name is Fauziah), shared it on her wall.  Puyah is a  friend of my cousin Cik Kinah, whom I knew since I was a teenager way back in the old days in Kelate. the recipe originates from a food blog called Amie's Little kitchen.

I love kuih serimuka but I've always been  intimidated by the lengthy process and not  sure whether the recipe would produce the serimuka yg lemak berkerim. I set such a high standard; it has to be like the one made by my mom or my granny. and to make it worse, since I got married more than 16 years ago, I've never  had any other serimuka except made by Abang Yeb, my brother in law or his late wife arwah kak wan. they make the bestest serimuka ever  and we are spoilt by their superb quality kuih muih melayu.

having looked at the recipe that Puyah posted on fb, my instinct was its do-able and looks good and I should give it a try and guess what?? i'm so pleased with myself! good texture, lovely taste, pulut & topping lembut dan lemak. my encik suami said sedap & pass piawaian serimuka keluarga wan. ada jugak comment sikit - tambah garam sikit je lagi so that lemak sikit.  I sent some to my friend Sani & June and this morning Sani said the serimuka tu sedap, cuma  tambah gula sikit je. but to be honest, semalam I was 20g short of caster sugar..

I had to make it in 2 batches sebab my periuk kukus is small. I have a big steamer but its really really big and malas nak keluarkan from the store. Since the small steamer cannot fit the 8" diameter cake tin, I used a serving bowl instead, hence the shape,  tak kisah lah, janji ada rasa & rupa serimuka. even after one day, the pulut and topping still lembut. my kids especially the big missy likes the kuih. so the verdict  is - BOLEH BUAT LAGI !!

note : yesterday I only made half the adunan sebab  first time buat. what if it doesn't turn out nice, then it would be binned!  

Recipe from Amie's blog (from http://salamisimon1.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/resepi-seri-muka-yang-paling-sedap.html)

Lapisan Bawah:600 gram beras pulut - basuh (rendam sekurang-kurang 3 jam sehingga beras pulut kembang jika anda ingin mengukusnya) dan toskan
100 ml santan
500 ml air
1 sudu teh garam
3 sudu makan minyak masak

Lapisan Kepala:
6 biji telur
400 gula kastor
4 sudu makan tepung beras
4 sudu makan tepung gandum
3 cawan santan pekat
1/4 sudu teh garam 
pewarna hijau epal (1 cm kulit kayu manis + 1 sudu teh jintan + 4 helai daun pandan ditumbuk lumat, bubuh dalam santan dan tapis - tambahkan 4 helai daun pandan kepada 7 helai)

my note : I didn't use daun pandan or colouring hijau because I don't have any of those. I used 1/2 tsp pandan colouring/esen which was "imported" from Malaysia.

Cara:
1. Didihkan air kukusan.
2. Sementara itu, sediakan Lapisan Bawah. Satukan semua bahan, tanak hingga hampir kering. Masukkan ke dalam loyang 10" x 10", tekan hingga padat. Kukus semula selama 20 minit. (my note : I put a layer of cling film in the bowl sebelum masukan pulut, so that senang nak keluarkan bila semua dah masak nanti)
3. Pukul telur hingga hancur, satukan dengan santan, gula dan kedua-dua jenis tepung, kacau rata.
4. Bubuh pewarna dan garam, gaul sebati dan tapis. Jerang di atas api sederhana, dan kacau hingga naik wap.
5. Tuangkan ke atas Lapisan Bawah, dan kukus lagi selama 30 minit.
6. Sejukkan sebelum dipotong.

LLAP

There are those few who inpire so many to do greater things....

Live long and prosper sums it all up.

https://mobile.twitter.com/AstroTerry/status/571700996360970241/photo/1