Orange and Almond Sugee Cake

Been meaning to bake this semolina/sugee cake for ages but never quite got over the last sugee cake I ate.  It was  so moist or rather so buttery rich  that  it left a trail of greasiness from the plate  right to your lips! 
Since hubby loves this cake and since it's his 49th birthday I thought why not bake this for tea and was pleasantly surprised by the texture. It was not at all greasy and  I love the grainy feel of the semolina and the almond bits. I'm surely baking this beauty again and now that I have, I can only kick myself for not doing so earlier. 

I tweaked it by omitting the vanilla extract and  added one orange zest and juice to the batter and that I think it  lifted the cake to another level. Ray loved it and we had a nice tea time.

220g salted butter
120g caster sugar
3 tablespoons milk or water
100g semolina (sugee) flour
3 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks
120g caster sugar
80g plain flour (all-purpose flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
120g ground almonds
50g finely chopped almonds (almond nibs)
1 orange zest 
1/4cup orange juice


Cream butter and 120g sugar in a mixer for about one minute at medium
high speed. With the mixer still on, add milk gradually, followed by the
semolina flour. 
Mix till combined. Switch off the mixer and let the mixture
stand for an hour  and half.  This allows the semolina to absorb moisture.

Preheat oven to 180°C.  Line the  tin ( I used 7in)  with greaseproof paper.

Beat eggs and egg yolks in a mixer till frothy. Add 120g sugar gradually
and beat at medium high speed for a full five minutes till pale-coloured.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt. Add ground and chopped almonds. Mix
well and set aside.

Add half the egg mixture to the butter mixture. Fold gently till almost
combined. 
Then add half the flour mixture to the butter mixture and fold.
Add remaining egg mixture and flour mixture alternately. Fold till all
ingredients are combined. Do not overmix.
Pour mixture into cake tin and smoothen the surface with a spatula.

Bake for 45 minutes. If the top of the cake starts to burn, remove the cake
from the oven after 35 minutes, cover the top of the cake with aluminium
foil, then bake for another 10 minutes.   Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes before removing it from the tin.

Enjoy...jue
Recipe taken form here.

carriage cake

Made this carriage cake for my two nieces. They were ecstatic when they saw the cake, while I sighed a huge relief that I got it done for them.

This is a two tier  fondant cake, the bottom is a banana chocolate cake and the top, a Neapolitan cake.  The photographer (my son) apparently failed to capture the lone  fondant figures on the sides,  Pluto and hello kitty. 

jue

chicken floss bun.

Made these buns for snack. 

 taken from Alex Goh's bread book

A
480g bread flour
120g plain flour
110g sugar
10g salt
20g milk powder
4tsp instant yeast


B
1 egg
300ml water


C
60g butter


In a mixer, with a hook attachment,mix all the ingredients in A in a big bowl
Add B and knead it to form a dough. Now add C and continue kneading till the dough is smooth.
Oil a big bowl and place the dough, covering with a tea towel. Let it prove for about an hour.
Punch the dough down and divide dough into 60g portion and roll into a balls and let it rest for 10 min.

Heat oven to 180 deg cel. Bake for 20 min until buns are golden color. Remove and set aside to cool.  Spread some mayonnaise on each bun and sprinkle floss on it.

Enjoy.....jue

wheat free cocoa brownies...da-da-da-daaaaaah

Yesterday Ray and I spent a nice evening at the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, listening to Beethoven's Symphony No 5 & 6. under Claus Peter Flor, the conductor.
Being my first time, I anxiously got to my seat and scanned around the dimly lit theater.

As soon as  the conductor walked in, he bowed  and with his wand  instructed  the iconic opening of the four  famous notes ('da-da-da-daaaaah') which instantly made my head nodding along....mind you I'm  not a classical buff  and  got Van Gogh's ear for music, but that four notes I know!

Simply amazing, just at awe by the sheer magic and energy that vibrated the place.  
Pity no photographs were allowed,  I would have probably blinded the violinist on the front row,  I would snap away the beautifully lighted dome ceiling. Sigh.

Let's bake.

This is by far one of the best brownies.... and it's wheat free. I took a chance with this recipe by adding almond meal as substitute for flour and it came off perfectly moist and yummy. Best eaten chilled.


140 grams butter 
250 grams sugar
65 grams, unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, cold
65 grams almond meal or  all-purpose flour
75 grams walnut- chopped
some white chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325°F.
Line the bottom and sides of an 8×8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.

Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a large glass bowl and put it in the microwave.  Set it at 30 second a couple of times until the butter is melted.  

Stir from time to time until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth and hot.
set aside  until the mixture is only warm, not hot. 

Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the almond meal/flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. 

Stir in the nuts, if using. Spread evenly in the lined pan.  I sprinkled some white chocolate chips, just for fun.
Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, about 30 min.  Let cool completely on a rack. (I go further and throw mine in the fridge or freezer for a while; it’s the only way I can get them to cut with clean lines.)
Makes 16 squares.

Enjoy...jue
recipe from smitten kitchen

Chicken Piccata

Lunch was Chicken Piccata with mash and  salad. A simple and quick meal we enjoyed. I made some mushroom-brown sauce to go with.

2 split (1 whole) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and  ground black pepper
1/2 cup  rice flour
 1 extra-large egg
1/2 tablespoon water
3/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumb- homemade 
oil

Place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of plastic bag and pound out to 1/4-inch thick. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.

Mix the flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in a shallow plate. 

In a second plate, beat the egg and 1/2 tablespoon of water together. 

Place the bread crumbs on a third plate. (I will post how I made this soon)

Dip each chicken breast first in the flour, shake off the excess, and then dip in the egg and bread crumb mixtures.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large non stick pan over medium to medium-low heat. 
Add the chicken breast and cook  until browned.

For the sauce

1 finely chopped garlic and onion
3 button mushroom - sliced thinly
Butter
2tbs flour
1/2 c chicken stock
3 tbs milk
salt & pepper to taste 

Over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and then add the finely chopped garlic and onion, saute till light brown. Add the mushroom. Remove the sauteed mix into a bowl.
Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and 2 tbs of flour, stir till it changes colour. 
Add  chicken stock and the fried mushroom mix. Add seasonings.

Boil about 2 minutes. Add the milk and off the heat. Serve 1 chicken breast on each plate. Spoon on the sauce and serve with some mash and salad.

Baci di Dama Cookies

This Italian cookie which is also known as Lady's Kisses is a perfect treat for those who are looking for a wheat free bite . The first time I came across this  recipe, I was really delighted,  bookmarked it and ever since then it's been like a bee in my bonnet. 

Wow this cookie is such a treat. It's super fast and easy to prepare. Best of all I can freeze the dough and bake them any time. I hate the pic.

taken from here 

140g ground hazelnuts

140g rice flour (or all-purpose flour)

100g unsalted butter, at room temperature

100g sugar

pinch of salt

55g bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped - melted

 

 Mix the ground nuts to a bowl and add the rice flour (if using all-purpose flour, sift it in). Cut the butter into pieces then add the butter, sugar, and salt to the dry ingredients. Use your hands to mix all the ingredients.  The dough should be very smooth and hold together. If not, knead it until it does.

Divide the dough into three equal pieces and roll each piece until it’s 3/4-inch (2cm) round. Try to get them as smooth as possible, with no cracks.Or break it to smaller logs.

Chill the dough logs until firm on a small baking sheet  lined with plastic wrap for 2 hrs.

Preheat oven to 325ºF (160ºC) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Working with one length of dough at a time, keeping the others in the refrigerator or freezer, cut off equal-sized, roll the dough to the size of a marble, trying to keep them as similar in size as possible. (as shown.) Finish the rest.

 Bake the cookies for 10 to 14 minutes, rotating the baking sheets in the oven midway during cooking, until the tops are lightly golden brown. Let the cookies cool completely.

 Dollop  chocolate on the bottom of one cookie and take another cookie, and sandwich the two halves together.

Once filled, set the Baci di Dama sideways on a wire cooling rack until the chocolate is firm.

Storage: The cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week. We finished ours in 10min!

Enjoy...jue

Coconut macaroon 2

 

I'm so addicted to  Coconut macaroons  that I  almost gobbled the whole batch, ignoring a weak  voice inside me to stop and  look away. 
Talk about resolutions! At least I'm not feeling guilty since I didn't make one. But then...guilty for munching all of it.

The first time I made this I used sugar, it was great but I came across an easier method using condensed milk, wow, really delicious. A keeper definitely.

This wonderful macaroons are from Ina garten. 

I halved the measure and got almost 20 macaroons.  I refrigerate the batch for 30 min before baking and that helped.

14 oz sweetened shredded coconut 

14 oz sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 egg white at room temperature

1/4 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees C.

Combine the coconut, condensed milk, and vanilla in a large bowl.

Whip the egg whites and salt on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer until they make medium-firm peaks. 

Fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture gently

Drop the batter onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper using  a small ice cream scoop. 

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and serve.

Happy baking...jue

Nasi Lemak

I grew up eating nasi lemak, in fact I still remember one particular stall near my house, this not so petite makcik's small banana leaf parcel  can surely pack a punch. I  particularly love the cockles sambal (cockles cooked in chili gravy)  and would grab one  quickly before I catch the bus to school.

This is a fairly easy dish to prepare, a wee bit time consuming though.  I cook it quite so often for lunch and it's one of my family's favourite . This  dish is a medley of  slices of cucumber and hard boiled egg served with   warm aromatic  coconut cream rice  and the choice of your sambal. Normally its anchovies sambal but they can be substituted with prawns, cockles or squid.

Coconut cream rice

4 cups of rice - washed
4 cups of water
1 cup fresh coconut cream
*1in ginger - sliced
*2 pine screw leaves ( pandan leaves)
*2 stick of lemon grass - bruised
 1 tsp salt

Put all the above in your rice cooker and press on. Done.
Discard * when the rice is cooked.

Prawn Sambal

2 big onion sliced and sauteed and set aside
1 kilo of prawns - shelled and deveined
1 tbs tamarind - add a little water and dilute, remove the seeds
salt


Blend this ingredients together:
20 dry chillies or 10 fresh red chillies
1 large ripe tomato
1 onion
6 garlic
1in garlic
1 small piece of turmeric
2 lemon grass - cut fine
1in shrimp paste

Remove all seeds from the dried/fresh chillies so that the sambal will not be too hot.
Boil the chili for a two minutes, drain the water.  Omit this if fresh chillies are used.
Add the ingredients in some water (just enough to cover the ingredients) into the blender and grind till fine.

Put some oil into a  pot, add the chili mixture and stir well till it changes colour. This would take about 30 minutes in a medium heat. Remember to stir it often.
Add tamarind juice. Cook until the chili mixture turns a little dark red. Then add  the prawns and the onions.
Lastly, add salt and sugar to taste.
And we are done.

Condiments
6 hard boiled eggs
Sliced cucumber - seeds removed
Fried peanuts - optional

Serve as suggested.
Enjoy....jue

What a day in the kitchen

Yesterday was definately not a good baking day for me. Nothing came out as it should be. The last time I made Chocolate Banana cake,  I got raving praises from every one, even from my critic. Riding high on that note I decided to bake the same cake for an occasion, measuring and mixing like a pro that I am.

I pulled up a chair and sat in front of the oven ( I've never done that before, usually it's a quick peek now and then and I'm gone) but now I just wanted to see the cake rise ... and it never did.
I switched the heat dial from upper to lower and vice verse...still nothing. Minutes before the timer was up the cake was not browning as it should. 
Yes, I checked the oven temperature.
Yes, the cake was in the middle rack.
The cake  was so dense and a little undone at the bottom. This is too depressing to recount the moment. Hubby, yes the critic had a field day pointing out my mistakes.
I quietly dumped it in the bin.

As if that was not enough, I prepared lunch, minced lamb with curry powder. A dish that I made a trillion times.  I repeat, a trillion times. I don't think  I need to recount this disastrous train wreak. It's like all cosmic kitchen hell broke loose. The dish was totally ruined. I had to threaten my son so good that if he ever opened his mouth and snitched me out, oh man he's a goner.
We had no lunch.
Yes this too ended up in the bin.

Okay since I have nothing to post today, here are the cakes I made last week.,
Rum fruitcake.

Orange fruitcake

Bowing out in style.
Enjoy and have a good cooking day.....jue

Wheat free Lemon madeleines

I am seriously addicted to these plump madeleines. Unfortunately for me,  for some reason, I have stopped eating anything made from wheat flour!! 
I know this is absolutely absurd  and crazy. I can't began to tell you how I have missed baking and eating all my favorite bites, and worst of all, keeping up with this blog.

And here I am at a crossroad... but then there's always a way around.
I substituted flour  with ground almond  and made some fabulous madeleines. These taste much better than the ones with wheat flour.

3 large eggs, at room temperature

133g granulated sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

175g almond meal OR plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

finely grated zest of 1 lemon

125g unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature

In a bowl, whip the eggs, granulated sugar, and salt for 5 minutes until frothy and thickened.

Sift the flour and baking powder over the egg mixture and fold in using a rubber spatula.

Add the lemon zest to the cooled butter, then dribble the butter into the batter, a few spoonfuls at a time, while simultaneously folding to incorporate the butter. Fold just until all the butter is incorporated.

Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  I usually leave it

 overnight.
To bake the madeleines, preheat the oven to 220°C.
Brush the indentations of a madeleine mold with extra melted butter.

Dust with flour, tap off any excess.

Plop enough batter in the centre of each indentation with enough batter which you think will fill it by 3/4’s. Do not spread it.

Bake for 8-9 minutes or until the cakes just feel set. While the cakes are baking, make a glaze in a small mixing bowl by stirring together the icing sugar, lemon juice, and water until smooth.

Remove from the oven and tilt the madeleines out onto a cooling rack. Let cool completely.
Makes 24 cookies

Enjoy...jue

Chocolate crinkles

My daughter Kate wanted something or anything with snow...
Yeah, that sort of worked  out explaining  that we are in the equator with no snow ever coming her way...not anytime.
Then she  suggested we  visit her uncle in Oregon.
That's not gonna work out.

The closest I can think of  is this chocolate crinkles covered with "snow" and she was happy when she  got powdered sugar all over mouth.
I wish I  am satisfied  so  easily with simple things.
Enjoy...jue

for the recipe visit simple recipe.

Miso Soup

I seem to have a lot of "must do" recipes in my draft, some dating back from 2009!  One of it is this, miso soup.

I had some trouble finding the dashi soup stock and  benito flackes. I know it's lined somewhere in a Japanese food section shelves, but until I get it  I added some of my favourite ingredients to make up.
Here's my take on this soup.

• 3 cups anchovies soup stock 
• 1 block tofu
• 3-4 tbs miso paste 
• mushroom
• chopped green onion
• medium size prawns
• dried sea weeds
• squids

Put  soup stock  in a pan and bring to a boil.
Add prawns and squids.
Cut tofu into small cubes and add them to the soup. Simmer the tofu for a few minutes on low heat. Add the sea weeds and mushroom.
Scoop out some soup stock from the pan and dissolve miso in it. Gradually return the miso mixture in the soup. Stir the soup gently. Off the heat and add chopped green onion.

Enjoy...Jue

Payasam

One of my best cold dessert would definitely be Payasam, an Indian dessert made with mung bean.  I've been enjoying this dessert served warm but I was told otherwise and omg this chilled dessert took a three hundred and sixty degree turn!
This creamy texture has some mouthwatering goodies floating, some crunchy, soft and sweet.

About 10 strands of vermicelli or angle hair
2 tbs sago
1 cup mung bean

2 cup water
1 cup fresh milk
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1/4 cup cashew nuts- chopped
1/4 cup golden raisins
2 tbs ghee
2 pods of cardamon - use the seeds only

Boil mung bean until well cooked, strain and set aside.
In a pot, over a low heat, put ghee,cardamon seeds,nuts and raisins.Add the vermicelli and sago. Watch the heat as the raisins burns easily.
Add all the liquids, salt and sugar, stir well. Add the cooked bean.
If if it's too thick, add some water. Let it come to a boil and remove from heat.
Serve warm but I strongly suggest you cool it down and put the pot in the freezer for about an hour.
Now you're ready for an amazing dessert.
Happy cooking....jue

Oatmeal chocolate chip cookie

Today's mum's 5th years of passing...
She loved baking...
And I love it too cos she loved it...

Chocolate chip cookie is ONE cookie that I always crave. Nothing beats the crunch melting in your mouth...but the  thought of the extra calories really spoils the moment.
I made a resolution to eat healthily and  to cut down as much calories as possible, mind you it's not an easy task.

This time I made some healthy changes and dressed up my chocolate chip cookie  so I can now continue  enjoying my bite without the guilty.  I tweaked the recipe a little by cutting down the amount of sugar and added some oat flour with the usual flour.

Unlike me,  my boys were pretty bumped when they saw the cookie covered with oatmeal, obviously they were not  into the  healthy crap I've been  tyring to lure them... 
That's their lost cos this is one of the best oatmeal cookie I've ever had  in a while. 

225 g unsalted butter

1  cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 cup oat flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup brown sugar, packed

2 eggs (large), lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 Tbsp water

1 1/2 cups bitter-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup shredded coconut

3 cups rolled oats

Place  butter in a  saucepan. Heat on medium. Melt the butter, whisking so that the butter melts evenly. Continue to cook the butter. As it cooks, the butter will foam up, and then the foam will subside.

Whisk frequently to check underneath the bubbly surface. At some point, browned bits will form at the bottom of the pan. Watch carefully, it's easy for the butter to go from browned to burnt.
When the browned bits begin to form, remove the pan from the heat. Pour the melted butter, with the browned bits, into a glass or metal bowl. Allow to cool a bit while you prepare the other ingredients.
  
Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, and cinnamon together in a large bowl.
 
Preheat oven to 175°C.  Place the browned butter (along with the browned bits) in a mixer bowl. Add the brown sugar. Beat on medium high speed for about 3 minutes, until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla. Beat for three more minutes on medium speed until smooth and light.
Using a wooden spoon, stir the flour mixture into the butter sugar egg mixture. Stir in 2 Tbsp water .
Stir in the chocolate chips, and the pecans and shredded coconut. Stir in the oatmeal. Up to this point you can make the dough up to a day and a half ahead and store in the refrigerator
Butter two large cookie sheets, or line them with  parchment paper. Spoon out heaping tablespoon of cookie dough and lay them on the cookie sheet.

Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 10 minutes, or until they are just brown around the edges, but still soft in the centre. They will firm up as they cool.  recipe fr simple recipes

Enjoy...jue

Cinnamon tea ring

I made this ring bread the night before and baked it this morning, perfect with my morning coffee and continuing with my book. 
To make this please refer below to my cinnamon roll post.
Brush the roll with beaten egg and bake at 180 deg. ce. for 30-40min.

Enjoy...jue

home made pizza

I like watching Chef John's Food wishes video recipes, he whips up some good dishes and one of his pizza recipe got me deleting my pizza delivery off my phone! My family simply love this  quick and not costing a hole in your pocket home made pizza.

I made two large square pizza for dinner.
Ready to go to the oven.

Here are the ingredients that I used.
Chopped onion, tomatoes, shitake mushroom, black olives, tomato sauce, seasonings, olive oil and cheese.

 and mince pork. I sauteed it with some chopped onions, seasoning and curry powder.

Bake at 180 deg cel for 20 min. Enjoy your pizza and don't  forget to check out his video here.
Enjoy...jue

mocha brownie....irony of a pill

I've been  coughing my head off for the past week without realising that the culprit was the tablet I've been popping... yes, the infamous statin pills!
My surgeon put me on Simvastatin two weeks ago despite  the side effects but given my medical history we didn't  have a choice. The cough was so bad that I hardly winked my eyes throughout the night and suffered thru the day. I've stopped the tablet for now and am feeling a whole lot better.

I was one of those who hated popping pills, just the though of it would make my stomach go weak....I remember when I was little, I would hide my pills so cleverly and dispose it without mum ever suspecting any foul play. Later, when I got  married and 'unfortunately' for me, hubby was always one step ahead of my evil plan and would sit with me until he sees it going down my poor throat. Cruel man.

Life has taught me a good joke...you don't mess around with your pills, else they'll come after you with a vengeance.

Now I'm on cardiprin for life, oh not forgetting the statin....Life's cruelest irony!

OK. let's bake....mocha brownies in my condition?  I know, I've gone mad but it definately worth another cough! Somehow coffee and chocolate just does wonders!

115g chocolate - break into pieces
50g butter
175g brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tbs instant coffee dissolved in 1 tbs hot water
85g plain flour sift with 1/2 tsp baking powder
55g chopped walnut

Prepare and line 8in square tin
In a bowl place butter and chocolate, microwave till both are melted. Carefully remove and stir till combined. Set aside to cool.
In another bowl cream sugar and eggs. Add the cooled coffee  and  chocolate mixture, stir  to combine.
Fold in flour and nuts and mix well.
Pour mixture in pan and bake 180 deg cel. for 25 min. Do not over bake else brownie will be dry.
Cool and cut into squares. taken from chocolate 100 everyday recipe
Enjoy...jue

Peanut Butter Bun

My family is crazy about peanut butter, sometimes the jar doesn't last a week and I use to wonder why until I saw my boys scooping spoonful of peanut butter and licking them like  a lolly. Even hubby confessed!
When I made this bun they protested for wasting their precious supply but after a bite they gave in and grabbed the second one. Please refer to my sweet dough recipe and follow the method to prepare the dough for the bun from here.

For the filling:
100g peanut butter
50g icing sugar
50g butter

Mix all the above well.

Here comes the  complicating part of shaping this bun.
Take one of the dough ball and flatten it and put a tablespoon of the mixture and wrap it. Roll it flat then roll it up as if you were making Swiss roll.
Cut into two pieces. OK at this point I shall not continue this tedious process. You may leave it looking like a cinnamon roll.
Finish the rest and put on a greased baking tray and leave to prove for 45min.
Brush with egg wash and bake at 190 deg cel. for 15 min.

Serve warm and enjoy....jue

grilled chicken n pork pattie with oats

I'm rambling about the weather again. The day is  blazing hot and bright with clear sky without a speck of cloud, and I spend the day sweating and swearing at the treacherous weather. I would surely cry if I don't see the rain tomorrow!
Despite that we had a nice lunch with this grilled chicken and pork pattie rolled in oats, it's such a treat  that it made up for the hot day.
The oats gave a nice crunch to the  bite and I would certainly make this again given any weather!

I'm giving an estimate measure, so work it out according to your taste.
1\2 kg minced chicken
1/2kg minced pork
salt & pepper
dash of paprika powder or chili powder
dash of garlic powder
finely chopped -  onion, green and red chili
1 cup bread crumbs
2 eggs
some dry herbs

1 egg - egg wash
1 cup of roll oats

In a big bowl add all the above ingredients and give it a good mix with your hand until the mixture is well combined. Take  a hand full of mince, the size of a golf ball and pat it flat gently.
Dip pattie in the egg and drop it in the oats bowl to cover, gently pressing the oats.

In a pan add  a little oil to cover the surface.  Grill the patie until golden brown. Remove and pat it on a kitchen towel to remove excess oil.
Serve with mash and salad.
Enjoy...jue

Chocolate Ice cream pie

The weather's super crazy these past few weeks, standing at 33 deg cel in the afternoons.

My poor potted plants paid the price when I neglected to water them yesterday. It's like I could hear them crying out, "is it so hard Juliana, to remember to water us?  Didn't it even occur to you when you were sipping the cool lemonade?"
Now I'm left with the grim task of clearing their crisp "bodies". This is why I soooo hate gardening and the weather!


Now for something I love...chocolate  pie with some ice cream to go. My boys absolutely love this pie, their favourite  since  they were little.

I normally would crush some Oreo cookies to make the crust but today I was a bit adventurous and  made chocolate pie crust.

1 1/3 cup cake flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup sugar
125g butter - at room temp
2 egg yolks


Cream butter and sugar till creamy. Add the egg and cream well. Mix both the flour and cocoa together then add in three addition, mixing well at each addition.

Gather the dough gently and ball it. Chill for 30 min. I made it a few days ago and put it in the freezer and left if out to soften before rolling the dough.


You may roll the dough to cover the pan but I gently pressed the dough to cover the pan. Prick the base with fork and blind bake it for 15 min.


Now for the filling.
150g fresh milk
150g cream
2 eggs
2 tbs Bailey's Irish cream or brandy - optional
50g good quality chocolate


Gently melt the chopped chocolate and cream. Set aside and let it cool down.
Whisk the egg in another bowl. Pour the cooled chocolate mix with the rest of the ingredient and mix well. Pour filling into shell. Bake for 20 min at 180 deg cel.  Remove from oven and let it cool completely before dolloping your favourite ice cream over the pie. Leave it in the freezer for a couple of hours before digging in.
Enjoy.....jue

Sweet Potato bread

I’m enjoying a well deserved two week break and having an idyllic time, just being free. For a start I'm gonna get up real early and enjoy a nice slow breakfast. A slice of  this freshly baked sweet potato bread and a cuppa seems just perfect.

The pic above, well risen dough ready for the oven, isn't the colour lovely. Freshly baked bread always  cheers up my day and this golden crusted loaf  does the deal. 
Adding the sweet  potato definitely made this bread moist and soft.
I can't stop admiring the lovely colour as I spread the melting butter and each bite truly kept to its ingredients...sweet potato!
For the recipe, please refer to any of my bread recipes and follow its instruction and add the sweet potato.

Have a nice bright day...jue.

basic tomato sauce

I was at a restaurant the other day with my husband and he ordered a plate of roti canai - a local flat bread served with curry, but he wanted his bread with some sugar on the side. The waiter who waited on us was a Myanmar national who found it extremely difficult  to understand R's order despite  R repeating the word sugar in three different languages.

The boy nodded his head and left confidently.  The poor guy  was clueless.
Ten minutes later he brought our order and  R tore a small piece of bread and rolled it in the 'sugar' and put it into his mouth....
What happen next was hilarious...
He spat his food out, his facial expression was like, 'What the...'
Poor R, he gulped his tea down in a wink to wash down the salt! 


Ok,  back to why I'm in this  space.... yes tomatoes.
I love tomatoes,  I use them excessively daily  in  my cooking, be it in curries, chicken, salads and sauces...even when I bake breads.
I love making this handy  sauce so much that I  have it stacked  in the fridge and use them whenever I'm making  pizzas and pastas, which is quite so often.

Oil for frying - about 2 tbs or accordingly

chopped - onion 2 big

                  garlic 5 pips

                 carrot 1 medium
                  celery 1 stalk
                

 Fresh herbs or dried ones - rosemary, thyme - 2 tbs

10 medium size ripe tomatoes - roughly chopped or 2 cans of tomato

1 small tin of tomato paste

salt and pepper to taste.
2 bay leaves

1 cup of water

Heat oil in a pan on medium heat.
Add the chopped onion and garlic, sweat it a minute then add the  carrot and celery. Stir continuously  in a low heat for about 5 min till veg are soft.

Add the rest of the ingredients, giving a quick stir. Make sure the heat is low. Cover the pot and let it simmer 20  min. You can blend it if you want a smooth sauce. Done.
Cool it before storing them in the freezer.

If I want bolognese sauce, then I add some minced meat, about 200g, 2c of stock or water and continue simmering and stirring the sauce for another 30 min.  Add a bit more salt and pepper to taste.
Enjoy...jue

Mocha Panettone

I've been meaning to bake this wonderful bread for so long but....oh the excuses stretches a mile long. Normally I would never procrastinate, I suppose it happens.  
Panettone is a tall sweet Italian bread  filled with candied fruits and orange peel, perfect for breakfast or tea. This bread is usually made with sour dough method but I find it too tedious.
I made this bread a couple of months back and R enjoyed it very much but not a hit with the boys, so  when  I came across this mocha panettone, hey why not.  The boys chomped it down.

I used my bread machine to knead the dough and left it to prove for an hour as usual but the dough couldn't rise to the occasion. So I gave it another 45min.

A
2  tbs instant coffee powder
140 ml milk
1 egg plus 2 egg yolks
B
400g bread flour
1 tbs cocoa powder
1 tsp cinnamon powder
 1/2 tsp salt
6 tbs sugar
6 tbs soft butter
11\2 tsp instant yeast
C
115g chocolate chunks
115g toasted pine nuts -  I used walnuts and chopped it roughly

melted butter for glazing

In your bread basin add A, give a quick mix and add B. Set the machine to dough setting and press start.  I let the dough knead for 15 min and let it to prove for 11\2 hours.

Meanwhile grease a 6" cake pan. Using a  parchment paper that is about 3 in wider that the depth of the pan. Line the pan so that the  excess paper  creates a collar.

Knock down the dough gently and knead it slightly flat. Add C and gently roll the dough to cover it up. Roll it to a ball and place it in the pan. Let it prove for another hour.
Pre heat oven to 200 deg cel.  Pour melted butter on top of the bread.
Bake for 30 min or until it is evenly brown on top.
Remove from the oven and let it cool down in the tin before removing it.
Serve warm.  Taken from the bread machine cookbook
Enjoy...jue