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Monday, June 30, 2008

I Found My Moment Of Rest





Life had been pretty hectic for me lately…busy with baking after work, weekends will be worse – marketing to be done and more cooking and baking, especially when the Piggies are back home with us :) )) ( not complaining ) I ENJOYED those cooking and baking moments and seeing Piggies slurping down those food and desserts!




Today is Monday and I dread going to office on Monday….BUT life is such, we have to keep on going no matter how much we dread it. As usual, I will be busy preparing my lunch to take to work in the kitchen and rushing through to get myself ready for work . I can feel something inside me looking for that moment of rest……



While waiting for him this morning, I took the clothes out to dry in the garden. After finishing the job, normally I will rush back into the house to hurry Daddy coz I do not want to be late for work. BUT this morning, I paused for a moment to look around my small garden and behold I saw my athriums aka “ naughty boy” in blooms again. Guess what… I ran inside the house and took out the digital cam and started clicking away.

For once, I am not in a hurry to rush to work…(“,) coz I know that when I reached home later in the evening, I won’t be able to capture the mood and the scenario would not be the same. I will not have the time to PAUSE for a moment…Daddy expects dinner to be served early…hmmph


I realized that the roses are blooming too. Buds this morning but later in the afternoon it will starts to blossom. I smiled gleefully and really, I felt so good the whole morning and what a nice way to start the morning. Beautiful flowers to cheer me and put me in the right mood before I started the day work.

It's true, in the midst of our daily hustle and bustle, our flurry of daily activities, rushing here and there, we tend to forget to pause for a moment and see LIFE .... as it is...steady and continuous, ongoing and faithful... just like my plants ,unaffected by us. Looking at them this morning has renewed my strength for the day :)


If I had not taken a moment to pause and looked around the garden , I would have let this beautiful sight slipped through . And I found my moment of rest this morning in this buds :)))




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Durians.....





Yay…the local durians are in season now. The King of all fruits….the strong aromatic fragrance of durians really give people the kicks…you either love it or hate it :) but as for my family ,WE absolutely , completely and utterly LOVE IT!!!!

I understand there won’t be a boom this season due to the raining season lately. So it will be pricey this season . Ernest brought over some for us last Friday …haha so kind of him (“,) So we had durians for supper. The flesh was thick and the taste was fantastic..bitterish sweet and I gave it a rating of 4.5/5.

I trained my Piggies to eat durians from young . Now, this fruit has become their favourite :) . It is rich in protein which is good for the brains . The younger generation should eat more and the older generation should reduce the intake. Haha…Daddy won’t like to hear this (“,) coz it is his favourite.

As for me, I will savour one fruit from each species , that’s it. I can control my diet…good citizen..can’t be bribed nor tempted *winks ** Health to me is important , so for my age , I have to take extra care in my diet.
nice golden color....bitterish sweet...YUMMZ




Some choose durians by looking at their thorns, some will shake the fruit to see if they are ripe enough and some will smell the end part of the durian to see if it is ripe. Haha...there are many ways to choose durians. But for me, I know nuts about it. I only know how to eat...I can't even open a durian...haha

this is another type... bitterish sweet too
but it has got oomph

The next round of durian feast, I will steal some to make durian ice-cream and durian cream puffs..........just the thought of it is enough to make me yearn for more durians (",)


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Sunday, June 29, 2008

A Fruit Flan For Piggy Gal's Birthday

I took a day off just to make this cake , in time for Piggy gal’s birthday. After the disastrous cake making adventure of mine , the night before , I finally managed to get this fruit flan ready for her birthday. Wheew… thank God it came out nice. Custard was good and the sponge base was soft and fluffy ( the other time it was compact ) Yup, practice makes perfect :)

Time flies, my baby gal is now two decades old….haha BUT no matter how old she may be, she will always be my big baby and she will have a big space in my heart. Momsie loves this Piggy gal very very much. She is not only my daughter but she is also my best friend and my confidante.

** We have telepathy minds , winks ** Her most famous line : "Eh, how you know wan ? " And I will always reply : " Don't think ...when I am around you "
Fruit Flan

I so love the colors of these fruits..... it adds sparks to my life
and speed the saliva glands into fast motion
the final product after hours of hard work
none can compared with the love put
into this cake
He has taken my place in her heart..... I hope she has a
space for me still in her heart ;) :) :)

Shout out to Piggy gal : I hope you had a wonderful birthday with us.
(all your loves one with you.) I sure do love having you back home
for your birthday!!!



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Friday, June 27, 2008

Happy 20th Birthday Piggy Gal

I took a day off just to make this cake , in time for Piggy gal’s birthday. After the disastrous cake making adventure of mine , the night before , I finally managed to get this fruit flan ready for her birthday. Wheew… thank God it came out nice. Custard was good and the sponge base was soft and fluffy ( the other time it was compact ) Yup, practice makes perfect :)

Time flies, my baby gal is now two decades old….haha BUT no matter how old she may be, she will always be my big baby and she will have a big space in my heart. Momsie loves this Piggy gal very very much. She is not only my daughter but she is also my best friend and my confidante.

** We have telepathy minds , winks ** Her most famous line : "Eh, how you know wan ? " And I will always reply : " Don't think ...when I am around you "
Fruit Flan

I so love the colors of these fruits..... it adds sparks to my life
and speed the saliva glands into fast motion
the final product after hours of hard work
none can compared with the love put
into this cake
He has taken my place in her heart..... I hope she has a
space for me still in her heart ;) :) :)

Shout out to Piggy gal : I hope you had a wonderful birthday with us.
(all your loves one with you.) I sure do love having you back home
for your birthday!!!



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When Chocolate Ganache Slides Off.....

The last few days were filled with baking and baking and baking non-stop. Not that I have orders from customers but busy trying out nice recipes…keekeek… now that government servants can work part-time…..hmmmm maybe I should go into this cake business earlier than planned * just toying with the idea :)))))))) **

Piggy gal’s 20th birthday is just around the corner, so I thought I will bake a Chocolate Banana Cake for her. She loves anything chocolatey and strawberries are her favourites so that’s it. Chocolate Banana Cake it is!


It was hard work and I started preparing it on Thursday night itself. Getting all the ingredients ready , I started out with the sponge base. I was delighted when the sponge cake came out soft and fluffy. So next, I prepared the chocolate ganache and let it cooled down while I sliced the cake into 3 layers.

Next , I proceeded with the heavy cream and whipped till it became stiff . I was delighted when everything came out nice. I left the whipped cream in the fridge while I sliced up some banana as fillings. Squeezed some lemon juice over the sliced banana was fun. The fresh lemon fragrance filled the room and it really helped to keep me awake ( it was almost 1am ) . Tired I was, but I had to carry on to finish the cake before I can go to bed.

Now, came the most interesting part….assembling the cake. Due to my tiredness , I had overlooked something very important which spelled DISASTER later . It had never happened before in my cake making adventure :(

I set to assembled the cake, first , I placed the bottom layer on cooling rack , applied the whipped cream on it , then placed the sliced banana on the cream , top up some more cream. Repeated the same process till I have finished all the layers. Covered the cake with the extra cream. It took me almost half an hour to do that coz I have to make sure that the surface is even and nicer plastered with the cream. Well , becoz I was so tired and my brain had gone into hibernation, I guess , I poured the chocolate ganache over the cake . To my delight , the cake was covered with a nice smooth shimmering layer of chocolatey goodness.

My Piggy gal would surely love this sinfully rich chocolatey goodness. I bought some very sweet, BIG imported strawberries from Jusco . Without waiting for the chocolate to set I proceeded to decorate the top with those BIG BIG red luscious fruits . I managed to take some pictures of the cake before DISASTER struck.

Either the brain was still hibernating or suffered brain freeze , I forgot the most important fact. I should have allowed the chocolate ganache to set in the fridge first before moving the cake to a cake base I bought. As I was about to move the cake , the half set chocolate ganache layer slided off the cake surface ( due to the weight of the BIG BIG fruits ) and the whole cake was in a mess.

My brain was jolted out of slumberland and tears just rolled down. Oh….there was nothing I could do but watched helplessly as the whole cake turned into the most ugly looking thing. All I did was muttering in shock….ohh…ohhhh ……....

I was so mad with myself .... I dumped the ugly cake into a big container and chucked it into the fridge. Cleaned up everything and it was nearly 3am.

I went to bed with the worst heartache ever....tossing and turning and muttering to myself... "I should have dumped the beautiful cake in the fridge and moved it to the cake base the next morning " Why..Why...Why???? So many reasons.... the chocolate was not properly set, the strawberries too heavy..... ** the main reason - I WAS TOO TIRED !!!!!

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*** I took emergency leave the next day to bake another cake for Piggy gal's birthday...can?


Wednesday, June 25, 2008

What Is In My Bento ?

This is what I prepared early in the morning for my lunch today. Easy to prepare and yummz :) I decided to bring my own lunch from home coz lately I seems to be having headaches after taking food from the office canteen. Some colleagues told me , it could be the ajinamoto added to the food that could be causing me the headache. Hmmmm..could be that or some spices that doesn’t agree with me.

Well, lunch today was good….the fish was just cooked , making the flesh smooth and sweet…haha I sliced up some cucumber and tomato as salad to go with the fish. The aromatic ‘sambal belacan’ or prawn paste with chillies really spiced up the whole dish Awww… after that , a cuppa of hot green tea to shimmy down…. so comforting to the almost bloated tummy (“,)

yummilious fried fish stuffed with 'sambal belacan'


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Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Cutie Bear-Bear @ 6mths Old

Aihh….finally managed to steal a snap of this cutie pie of mine. Yeah..this is Bear-Bear at six months old. She just can’t sit still and she loves to sit under our dining table at every meal time…waiting for crumbs to drop off the table I guess. She is so adorable. At times , she will poke her head between Daddy's and Momsie’s chair to show her presence.

I truly thank God for her presence in the house coz the house will be too quiet without her antics and pranks. She brings Joy to us with her passionate nature. She hugs and kisses us when we come home from work…..even my piggies doesn’t hug and kiss us like she does….(“,) heehee

Whenever I sit on my green sofa, she will jump on my lap and position her butt nicely on my lap and then put her paws on my chest and reach out to kiss me all over my face like she has every right to do that. One day, I will video tape that act of hers and post up on my blog. Precious moments like that will be etched in my memory for ever .

my precious cutie pie..Bear-Bear
@ 6months old



Monday, June 23, 2008

Gloriously Soft & Fluffy Cream Cheese Buns

Each time I write about my bread making adventures, my heart flutters with excitement. Bear with me, its kinda cool to be able to make perfect buns without using a bread machine..okay, and witnessing the transformation from a shaggy mess to a smoother, elastic piece of perfection. It needs more perseverance and a lot more imagination – it’s not easy outsmarting bread dough .

Last Saturday nite, we had cream cheese buns( shaped them into small buns instead of making them into a loaf ) for supper ;) These buns were made by my nephew ( who has developed interest in baking under the influence of his ' fanatic bun making aunt' ). I guess he is good in making buns by now (“,)

Now, he can sit back, relax, and give himself 100% to experiencing this piece of magic that he created with his own hands. :) :) ;)

Cream Cheese Buns and Sweet Green Beans Soupy for a mid-nite feast….what say U? :) The taste of Sweet Green Beans Soupy is much more luxurious then its simplicity belies

Plain ,simple sweet Green Beans Soupy
comes with the fragrant smell of aromatic pandan
Mmmmm.....I took my first sip, and
let its delicious-ness shimmy down my throat

the rich golden browning
adds ooomph to the flavor of the buns

the gloriously soft and fluffy buns
leaves the maker contented :)


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Saturday, June 21, 2008

Steamed Moist Chocolate Cake



WoOt….can’t believe I bought a pack of cherries from Tesco ! But what am I to do with these lovely cherries? Cherry Tarts ? Or as deco for my steamed moist chocolate cake :) :) :) Sh…shhh , yea.. you are right…it adds colors to my slice of sinfully moist and dense chocolatey cake…heehee..

Piggy boy requested for chocolate fudge cake but, being the adventurous me, I wanted to try something different. So, hence I found this beautiful steamed moist chocolate cake from Kitchen Capers Forum and thanks Dralion for sharing this recipe.

When Piggy boy came back, I showed him the cake and you can see from his expression how delighted he was :) :) Momsie, specially made this cake for him the nite before.

Happy is the Momsie who blessed her children with homecooked food and sinful chocolatey dessert (",)


Steamed Moist Chocolate Cake
Soft, moist and dense chocolatey cake

cherries as deco makes the cake looks
even more luscious and tempting (",)



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Thursday, June 19, 2008

In Remembrance Of A Wonderful Woman, My Mom


"Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on the snow,
I am the sun on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken,in the morning's hush,
I am the soft uplifting rush of quiet birds in circled flight,
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I did not die."
~Author Unknown~


To My Most Beloved Mom,

I could not let today pass without saying how much I miss you. Friend, Aunty ,Sister, Wife, Mother, Grandma…... you were all things to many people and much beloved by any who were privileged enough to know you. I could tell you anything , be it joyful or sad, and you would never judge me . . .you were always ready to listen. Oh…how I miss your smile and your brave spirit in battling with your illness. Not a word of complaint from you and yet in your pain and sufferings ,you prayed silently for your husband ,children and grandchildren, that we may all have good health , joy and happiness. Your unselfish and caring nature had made you a beautiful woman.

At your table there was always room for one more, just like your heart . . . it also knew no bounds, there was always room for one more in there as well. There are times when I can feel you around me and I know you’re watching over me still.

If this post finds its way through to the divine radar…your daughter ,me , sends you a big hug. Mom, I miss you each and every day, and always will . . . till we meet again in our Father’s mansion. I LOVE YOU MOM and always will
!

love,
the daughter you love, ME<3 div="div">
6/19/2008

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Yoghurt-y Buns Craze


Mmmmmmm….it’s goooood . The combination of flavor and texture is just amazing , a picture is worth a thousand words :) No doubt, this looks like a yoghurt-y fair. First, Yoghurt-y ice cream and now yoghurt-y buns....heehee simply becoz I bought a pack of 6 of this 135ml fruit flavored yoghurt. Don’t worry about the calories..it’s good for health ! Needless to say, I used them for making yoghurt-y buns for breakfast and supper… I baked them to feed my Piggies…freshly baked buns with a cuppa of hot drink , has now become the family’s supper snack. Thumbs up :) :)

I don’t think I will ever stop making this wonderfully, simple to make and delicious soft buns!



The best compliment I received last weekend and
it inspired me further in my bun making adventure

Piggy gal: Mom, wow ..your buns are getting better n better
It is so soft and fluffy.......yummy

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Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Pork-Ribs Curry

I cooked this dish, Pork Ribs Curry , for Daddy’s Day …pork ribs are the family’s favourite , be it steamed or cooked in curry. It has been quite a while since the last time I cooked curry. So I googled for Amy Beh’s pork ribs curry. It turned out not too spicy and just nice for the family.


saute till the fragrance wafts up
The scent is out of this world ;P

This was delicious…the meat , soft and juicy , still attached to the bones,
the fragrant curry gravy absorbed into the potatoes and ribs
is enough to whet up your appetite :)

Click here for recipe

by Amy Beh

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Sunday, June 15, 2008

Happy Father's Day


HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

TO MY OWN DAD
&
MY PIGGIES' DADDY

Fathers Are Wonderful People

Fathers are wonderful people
Too little understood,
And we do not sing their praises
As often as we should...

For, somehow, Father seems to be
The man who pays the bills,
While Mother binds up little hurts
And nurses all our ills...

And Father struggles daily
To live up to "his image"
As protector and provider
And "hero of the scrimmage"...

And perhaps that is the reason
We sometimes get the notion,
We sometimes get the notion,
To the thing we call emotion,

But if you look inside Dad's heart,
Where no one else can see
You'll find he's sentimental
And as "soft" as he can be...

But he's so busy every day
In the grueling race of life,
He leaves the sentimental stuff
To his partner and his wife...

But Fathers are just wonderful
In a million different ways,
And they merit loving compliments
And accolades of praise,

For the only reason Dad aspires
To fortune and success
Is to make the family proud of him
And to bring them happiness...

And like Our Heavenly Father,
He's a guardian and a guide,
Someone that we can count on
To be always on our side.

~ Helen Steiner Rice ~



**To all daddy bloggers.... Happy Father's Day to You Too!!!**
:) :) :)


Thursday, June 12, 2008

Bun Crazed

Now , that I know how to make bread/buns , I am really smitten at the process and the results - kneading of soft dough, dough mysteriously growing to twice its size, the unbelievably wonderful smell as it bakes . The ghost of its scent lingers everywhere.

The kitchen smelling like a bakery, and, of course, eating warm, delicious, freshly baked bread , I told myself why buy bread ever again? Between work life and personal life, there is still time left over for bread life..ain’t I blessed (“,)

I baked these cutie buns for the 3rd time, I truly enjoyed kneading them and making them into little buns , this time it came out even more soft and fluffy and not burned. Guess, it is practice makes perfect :P

For now, breakfast is these cutie buns :) Took some for my good friend, Nan (heehee she is my tester to whatever I bake )

baked to a heavenly smelling and wonderfully behaved bun

the whole lot is eyes-rolling-backward-into-head good!

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Quote:
"My tongue is smiling."
~ Abigail Trillin~

' Rubies '

Lately, life has been quite mundane, getting up early, bathe, getting ready for office, work,work and work, rushing back to cook …many a time , we have forgotten to be appreciative of the simple things in life .

Life is short and we have to live life as if it is our last and lately, I have learned to be more appreciative of life little pleasures like good food, good wines and good friends and most important , take a pause in what I am doing , to look around my dad’s garden, taking in the beautiful green plants and I discovered to my utmost pleasure, there were these beautiful bugs ,having a jolly good time in my dad’s garden. Helping themselves to the tomato’s leaves. Playing hide and seek with each other…. play and no work…how nice….not a care of the world economy crisis :P

I took out the camera and start clicking away…like baking, photography is one way to remove stress. Couldn’t resist the temptation to capture in frame what they were doing :P

To the farmers, they are pests , but to me, they are like rubies found in treasure hunt :) :) haha… kinda cute seeing them munching away the tomato’s leaves….must be sweet , since they ate almost the whole leave. See to believe…..

Playing hide and seek......play and no work :P

like rubies found in treasure hunt

they found each other at last ....... :)
look , how this pairs is munching on the leave of a tomato plant

Quote:
"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well,
if one has not de-stress well."
~ author unknown~

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Joy Derives From Simple Things In Life

My Dad's Garden gave me joy...........
when I am not baking :) :) :)

Thanksgiving is a time of quiet reflection.....
an annual reminder that God has, again been ever so fatihful.
The solid and simple things of life are brought into clear focus
~ Charles Swindoll~

If we truly want peace in the world, let us begin by
loving one another in our own families.
If we want to spread joy,
we need for every family to have joy.
~ Mother Teresa~

It is the simple things of life that make living worthwhile,
the sweet fundamental things such as love and duty,
work and rest,
and living close to nature.
~ Laura Ingalls Wilder~

Each dawn holds a new hope for a new plan,
making the start of each day the start of a new life.
~ Gina Blair ~


Camera : Canon PowerShot A550
Photographer: Elinluv
Location : My Dad's garden


Monday, June 9, 2008

The Smell Of Good Bread Baking

"The smell of good bread baking, like the sound of lightly flowing water, is indescribable in its evocation of innocence and delight...
[Breadmaking is] one of those almost hypnotic businesses, like a dance from some ancient ceremony. It leaves you filled with one of the world's sweetest smells... there is no chiropractic treatment, no Yoga exercise, no hour of meditation in a music-throbbing chapel that will leave you emptier of bad thoughts than this homely ceremony of making bread."
~ M.F.K. Fisher~


Nugget Salad Buns

:))) haha..this is so good that I made it again, well received by family members...needless to say Piggy gal loves this and she smsed me to tell me that it was still soft the next day!!

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Quote:

"Bread is the warmest, kindest of words.
Write it always witha capital letter, like your own name."
~Russian Cafe Sign ~

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Braised Pork Belly

Braised Pork Belly is Daddy’s favourite. I don’t really want to cook this dish for Daddy coz it is a real artery clogging food. It is the fat in the meat that makes it tastes GOOD! :) I have to prepare this dish the night before so that the flavor will absorbed into the meat and mushrooms. The Hokkien called this dish " Tau Yu Bak "

Braised Pork Belly

Stir-fry " Siew Pak Choy" with garlic


Braised Pork Belly

Ingredients:

2 strips of pork belly – cut into small chunks
10 black chinese mushrooms – soaked till soft and cut into halves
1 cloves of garlic – lightly crushed and leave skins on
1 tsp of white peppercorns – lightly crushed
1 tbsp of black sauce
2 tbsp of oyster sauce
salt to taste
water
thickening – ( cornflour + water )

Method:

In a pot, heat up a tbsp of oil. Add in the crushed garlic, mushroom and the pork belly chunks. Stir fry the meat till the meat is half cooked. By now, the garlic and mushrooms will gives out the most captivating aroma…, add in the white peppercorns, black sauce and oyster sauce . When the ingredients are well blended in with the meat, add in water enough to cover the meat and slowly braised the meat till soft. Remember to constantly stir while cooking so that the meat will not stick to the bottom of the pot and get burnt . Add in the thickening last.

**It taste better if eaten the next day.**


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Quote:

"Happy and successful cooking doesn't rely only on know-how;
it comes from the heart, makes great demands on the palate and
needs enthusiasm and a deep love of food to bring it to life."

~ Georges Blanc, from 'Ma Cuisine des Saisons'~


Friday, June 6, 2008

Beef Patties

Beef patties are easy to prepare and taste awesome . It’s been quite awhile since I made beef patties for dinner. You can guess who will be smiling when he sees beef patties before his eyes …yup, it’s Piggy boy! :))))) and he is the only one in the family who is truly a food critic. Lotz to comment during dinner …and Momsie will be like " what’s next " …...and he goes like this " you should chopped the meat a bit finer , should add in more this…..and should lessen the herbs….etc etc "…and ending with this… " Mommy…....the previous beef patties you made were much better " . The funny thing is he could guess what I am cooking without being in the kitchen. He has got a sharp nose for aromatic food….imagine this , while he is playing the piano, he can shout out to me " Mom, you cooking…..for dinner ???? Great..ain’t he……LOL…..

** I miss my Piggies **

beef patties ...easy to prepare and taste awesome

Dip these beef patties with thai chili sauce...Mmmm
yummY

Beef Patties


Ingredients:

500g minced beef
1 big onions – diced
6-7 bird-eyes chillies – chopped coarsely
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
a few shakes of mixed herbs
1 tsp of freshly ground black pepper
1 tblsp of cooking wine
a dash of salt
1 egg
1 tablespoon of corn flour

Method:

Mixed all the above ingredients together and let it rest for 20 mins .
Shaped into small round patties.
Heat up some oil in a wok. When the oil is hot enough, add in the beef patties and
deep fry the patties in medium heat till cooked. Dish up and serve with dipping sauce….eg thai chilli sauce. YUMMILICIOUS !

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Quote:
"Cookery is not chemistry. It is an art.
It requires instinct and taste
rather than exact measurements."
~ Marcel Boulestin~

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Savoury Corned Beef In Lettuce Wraps

The hunger-inducing smell reeling me to the dining table. Daddy prepared stir-fry corned beef for dinner….wOOt… such incredibly juicy and soft and so tasty corned beef.

Credit to Daddy for this dish. It tastes just like it smells! One minute you are entranced by this delicious aroma, the next it is exploding in your mouth…especially when you place the corned beef in lettuce wraps …Mmmmmm.. I can set to lick the plate clean because this dish was over the top delicious !! :)

This corned beef dish is easy to prepare, but its taste is much more luxurious then its simplicity belies :)))

** It is not everyday that Daddy cooks…once in a blue moon only (“,) so must dedicate this post to him. *wink, wink , actually I wanna display my photography skills / photoshop skills …:))) **



Savoury Corned Beef In Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

1 can of SWS/Libby’s Corned Beef
1 Big Onions – diced
7-8 Bird-eye chillies - sliced
1 pip of garlic – chopped

Lettuce – wash and drain dry as wraps

Method:

Heat up a non-stick pan, put in the chopped garlic, chillies, and big onions. And stir-fry for 3 mins.
Add in the corned beef and mixed well with the chillies and big onions till you scent the fragrance wafting up. Do not add oil coz the corned beef has its own natural oil. Dish up and served in lettuce wraps.


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Quote:
Food is the most primitive form of comfort.
Sheila Graham

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Apple Puffs

This Momsie is one of a kind , when lurking on people’s blog and upon seeing any recipes that takes her fancy she will not hesitate to explore and try her hands at it. And when she stumbles upon any food blogs which display nice pastries …. her mind will go into full gear. Ingredients will be noted down and studying the steps to prepare the pastries :)

**Her ‘moolahs’ are not spend on clothings but more on INGREDIENTS & BAKING UTENSILS!!!! She is easily tempted and gluttony is the most sinful trait to have in oneself…hahaha… but Momsie just can’t seem to get rid of them. **

Money cannot buy this AWESOME feeling of success in making puff pastries and to experience the deep satisfaction to have contributed something meaningful to my piggies’ bellies!!!

Pastries are artery clogging delicacies :) but to me as long as one does not eat to the point of reaching lipo-coma and fat over-dose , I think it is okay to indulge in pastries stuff . I agree with this “ Moderation is the key in life and living a healthy lifestyle is not about restriction , it's about balance and knowing how to make yourself happy ”. My Piggy boy used to tell me that…haha from a boy who has just reached 17th. Is he matured already ?? (“,)

Since I have so much time lately, I told Ernest, "let’s make puff pastries "and thus we ended up making Apple puffs for supper. Buying ready- to- use puff pastry doesn’t give me the satisfaction so we (Ernest and Momsie ) made our own puff pastry…lotz of work and time consuming no doubt, but worth the trouble when the buttery smell of the freshly baked pastries was enough to make one yearn for more. The pastry came out crisp and buttery. Mmmmmmm….it’s goooood . Making homemade pastry making can be intimidating to both the experienced and novice bakers .Flakiness is the chief attribute of well-made pastry . It's tricky to make, requires practice, precision and just the right touch. Over-stretching the dough will make the pastry shrink.

Verdict of the puff pastry we made : 80% well done. So we need to practice more and I am sure we can handle it. The folding and rolling and folding and rolling will make you think twice but when the result of nice buttery crispy flaks …you will be inspired to make more and I think I am already hooked to it….haha.


Can't wait for it to be baked....will it be flaky and crisp...yup it is!!!

Apple puff sitting on my new dish....nice ???


Btw, do you see the beautiful dish , the apple puff is sitting on , I just bought it last Friday . I bought it just for my photography hobby. (“,) Told you, this is where all my moolah goes :)))))



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