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 ~

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'~

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~

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

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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Trying My Hands At Making Souffles ;)

Trying out new recipes can be quite challenging at times. I was surfing and looking around for some new things to bake for the weekend and I came across this beautiful Passionfruit Souffles from a food blog. I felt irresistibly drawn to it. Haha…knowing this crazy baking passion of mine and always wanting to try new things, this will definitely not escape me!!

But the smart me went and changed the ingredient from Passionfruit Puree to Mango Puree and named it Mango Souffles….this spelt disaster and the first try, all went to the dustbin ;0

The mango souffles were slightly burnt on top and the inside was either over baked or underbaked or the temperature was not right or the eggs were not big enough.

Haha….sounded lame right? Well, I gave it another try this afternoon, coz the inner soul is not happy with the result , this time it came out better than the first time. I did a half portion recipe … incase all have to be executed and buried under the pile of rubbish in the bin. Surprisingly all went into my stomach :) The texture was slightly better . I guess I have to do a few times more before it will come out nice.

The icing sugar topping looks like snow avalanche … ^_____+

Gently fold in the meringue to the egg yolk and mango puree mixture

Scoop into 4ozs ramekins to the rim

Bake at moderately hot for 15mins - 20 mins

Sprinkle icing sugar on the top of the souffles for decoration purposes

This need skill.....mine looks like snow avalanche ;)

¼ cup Fruit Puree + 4 egg yolks + Meringue(4 egg whites + 1/4 cup caster sugar = Souffles!

So easy......yet mine came out not satisfactory....need skill for this

** head shaking ** Guess, I have to practice more (",)



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