Pan Seared Salmon

Salmon is delicious with exceptional nutritional value and is rich in omega 3 fatty acids . My Piggies love salmon like I do but Daddy is a no fish man. This orangey hued salmon can be served in variety of ways and I normally baked them with mixed herbs and cheese.Their flesh ranges in color from pink to red to orange . Needlessto say, the price ranges too according to the species. I paid RM39 /kg :)

But , for today dinner, I pan seared them for a change. Rub salmon with a pinch of sea salt and black pepper . Use a non-stick pan, brush with olive oil and on low heat pan seared the salmon till half cooked. Add fresh Italian parsley (chopped coarsely) and fresh thyme –mixed with 1/2 teaspoon of butter and as the salmon is half cooked, spread the herbs on the surface and pan seared it till the fish is juz cooked.

Grate some lemon rind onto the salmon and squeeze some lemon juice over it. Served hot. The fragrance from the buttery herbs added omphhh to the salmon plus the lemon juice gave it a nice tangy taste …. Managed to force Daddy to try some (“,) It sounded not complimentary to my cooking coz I have to forced him to eat :))))))

Pan Seared Salmon

Ingredients:

a piece of salmon slice
a pinch of sea salt
1 tablespoon black pepper crushed coarsely

3 sprigs of fresh italian parsley – chopped coarsely
a few sprigs of fresh thyme – remove stem
1/2 teaspoon of butter – mixed with the above herbs

some lemon rind
some lemon juices

1 tablespoon olive oil for brushing on the non-stick pan

Enjoy!

********

Pumpkin Cake

I have a slice of pumpkin left in the fridge so I can’t wait to try out KWF’s recipe on Pumpkin Cake. It is good for health as it uses olive oil and not butter. I twist the recipe a bit and used natural molasses sugar instead of brown sugar. I have a bottle left in the pantry so might as well use it up coz it might not keep long. I used ground hazelnuts instead of peanuts . Heehee, the color of the cake is much darker and has a nice fragrant too. I am not sure whether it affects the texture of the cake coz I have no opportunity to try out KWF’s Pumpkin Cake …maybe KWF can advise when she comes by to read this post of mine :)) Surprisingly, the texture was a bit kueh-ish and a bit cake –ish so it turned out to be quite nice and I think I will bake again for my Piggies when they are back for their holidays mid September. A good for health cake ,as olive oil and pumpkin are full of good nutrients for our body. I reduced the sugar to 100gm coz taking into consideration pumpkins are sweet in nature thus the sweetness was juz nice for our taste buds. A very very delicious cake indeed! A keeper for sure :)

my bottle of natural molasses sugar - recommended

sugar for cake making

Out cooling on the rack, the pumpkin seeds

are for deco purposes only

As usual, one for the album :)))

Thanks KWF for sharing such a wonderful cake recipe with us.

Click here for recipe


*********

Steamed Cake

I looked through my To-Do-List and found this simple to make cake. Steamed Cake, and it uses olive oil instead of butter and one large egg only. What intrique me most was the olive oil and this was the first time I came across steamed cake using olive oil. Will olive oil be nice ?? As I looked through the ingredients and the method , I knew I had to make this for tomorrow breakfast …:))))

It was the most simplest to do cake and even those who are amateur will be able to do it. The sesame seeds gave the cake a subtle scent and gave it a nice speckles appearance. The only thing to take note is the heat when steaming. It should be on medium flame and do not over steam. The original recipe has a smooth top and not ‘ smiling’ face like mine…shhhh I steamed it on high flame and that’s why the cuppies gave me a big wide smile ( i prefer them smiling )anyway steaming on high will make the cuppies looks like ‘ Huat Kueh ‘ but will not affect the texture .

After frying the sesame seeds, I used a heavy metal spoon and pressed the seeds so that it will be more fragrant when mixed with the flour mixture. One load can make 6 small cuppies..juz nice for Daddy and I. We ate two for supper coz we can’t resist it when it came out of the steamer and kept the rest for breakfast . ….mmmmm yummz :)

Simplest method ever :)

One load can make 6 cuppies

steaming on high will cause the cake to smile

original cake has a smooth top :)

the smiling cuppies still in the steamer

I took some to office for my friend Nan

lucky lady

One for the album

*wink, wink*

Actually showing off to my Piggy boy.

Has my photography skill improved?

Steamed Cake

Ingredients:

130 g superfine flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 large egg

70g caster sugar

1/8 tsp salt

85 ml milk

3 tbsp olive oil

10g black and white sesame

Method:

1) Sift the flour and baking powder together.
2) Stir-fry the sesame in a wok until fragrant. Remove from wok and leave to cool.
3) Whisk the egg, sugar and salt in a large bowl until thicken and the sugar has dissolved
4) Add in milk, stir the mixture until combine, follow by olive oil, mix well
5) Add in the flour mixture. Stir until the flour is fully combined with the egg mixture,

finally add in the sesame
6) Scoop the mixture into 6 cupcakes or 5 muffin cups
7) Steam the cakes for 15 minute on medium flame.

********

Pot Bless Night

My church held a ‘Pot Bless Night’ for a member’s 40th Birthday , last Friday night, so each family were to bring something for the party. I did a bit of snooping here and there and I found out that most members are bringing meat and vege dishes, so I thought maybe I should make something sweet for the younger and older members. :) The pictures below was what I baked for the Pot Bless Party. At the last minute , I added one more dish, my famous ‘Assam Chilli Trotters ‘ :) (I forgot to take a picture of the dish )

I baked some Garlic Buns for the youngster and Steamed Banana Cupcakes for the older generation..heehee needless to say, the later one was more popular with the young and old. I got reviews that the Banana Cuppies were yummy…after the party ended many church friends were asking for the recipe (“,). A member whom I did not mix much became closer and at the end of our conversations , guess what , we enchanged recipes and another member even taught me how to prepare the ‘ Fried Tofu with Thai Chili Sauce ’ …haha what a wonderful and blessed 'Pot Bless Night ' and surprisingly I enjoyed myself so much that I am looking forward to another ‘ Pot Bless Night ’. Hah…now I know that many of our ladies are good cooks…..truly God’s Blessing!

Small cuties - Garlic Buns

Steamed Banana Cupcakes

I regretted that I did not bring my cam with me otherwise I can display here the food that the others brought for the night. Lotz of nice home cooked dishes plus Roast Pork ( the most tasty roast pork I have eaten so far and home roast by the Birthday gal herself ) .

Let me recall what dishes the members brought:

1) Vegetarian Curry
2) Chicken Curry
3) Roast Duck
4) Baked Salted Chicken
5) Roast Pork
6) Assan & Chilli Trotters
7) Fried Pasta
8) Fried Tofu With Thai Chili Sauce
9) Braised Pork Ribs
10) Sit-fry Mixed Vegetables
11) Fried Beehoon
12) Fried Wat Tan Hor ( Koey Teow )
13) Egg Sandwishes
14) Steamed Banana Cupcakes
15) Garlic Buns
16) Watermelon – a big one costs RM25 ( expensive)
17) Pomelos – I enjoyed this very much….juicy and sweet
18) Birthday Cake – Layered Kiwi Sponge – a bit too sweet for me :)

I may have left out some dishes coz I was busy savoring and crapping with the members...the oo and the arr :))) Truly, the party was a success and the warm fellowship among the members further strenghten the relationship. I love the food and the warm friendship ...a wonderful gathering that will become fond memories for me. Food brings people together...how true!

********

Crispy Calamari

Crispy Calamari…this is so sinfully artery clogging!!! And yet temptingly delicious at the same time!!! Deep down, I knew it was bad for us but somehow temptation overpowered thus we ended having this dish for dinner sometime last last week…so yummy ,boy …how could I resist it when I saw this recipe on someone’s blog. Moderation is the keyword here so, no problem cooking this dish once in a while, I guess :))))))

I realized that I have put on some weight lately and all the eating out the past few days had added more to my already rounded figure :(

My US citizen brother came back for a short break last Saturday. So that explained why I have not been posting for some time now. So much to share and yet not enough time to blog about it…haizz…busy entertaining this US guest the whole of last week and I really miz my baking and I have a lot of bun recipes that I need to try out…and now that my US guest had gone back to NJ…I can finally get back to my world of baking (;

This Crispy Calamari is simple to prepare and very very yummilicious. Served as an appetizer or as main dish for dinner or as a side dish for drinkers..heehee. Dip with your favourite chili sauce….wow surely it’s finger licking good!!!

I omitted the cornmeal coz I ran out of cornmeal ( you must have the cornmeal coz it gives the calamari a more crunchy texture )

Crispy Calamari (adapted from Nigella Express)

Ingredient:

1 pound calamari /squid, cleaned, and cut into rings.
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup cornstarch
pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/4 teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
1 cup peanut oil ( I used canola oil )

1. Heat oil to 375 degrees in a small (but hopefully tall) saucepan.
2. In a ziplock storage bag combine cornmeal, cornstarch, and seasonings.
3. Add squid and shake until coated.
4. Working in batches fry the squid. If your squid is small, it could be done in 35-40 seconds. If it is larger, it could take as long as 2 minutes. If you overcook squid it will be rubbery.

*******

Egg Roll With Fish Paste

This is not sushi but it is Egg Roll with fish paste…my mom used to prepare this for us when my siblings and I were still schooling . Easy to prepare and very nutritious for growing children. I have been feeling nostalgic the last few weeks and can’t help thinking of my childhood days and the food my grandma and mom used to make for me ^____*

Recently , I bought a non-stick crepe pan for RM18 from my favourite crockery shop. I have been itching to use it since I bought it , so I thought of this delightful egg rolls which I have not eaten for quite a while. Instead of making crepes for breakfast , I made this rolls as a dish for dinner (“,) Piggy gal loves it!

Just 2 large eggs and some fish paste …simple right?

Egg Roll With Fish Paste

Ingredients:

2 large eggs ( can make 2 rolls )
Some fish paste ( enough to cover the egg crepes )

Dash of salt and pepper

Method:

Beat up the eggs, add salt and pepper to taste. Brush some oil on the non-stick crepe pan and warm up the pan, add half of the beaten egg and let it set. Spread out the fish paste on the surface of the egg crepe while still on the crepe pan and rolled up the egg crepe.

Meanwhile, heat up the steamer. Place the egg rolls on a plate and steam for 10-13 minutes on high. Take out and cut into 1/4 inch length. Served while still hot. Brush on some wasabe if you like. Pungently delicious!

* I am happy with my non-stick crepe pan **

*******