Boxing, Unboxing & Cooking

Steamed Egg With Minced Pork & Stir-fried Potato

We have taken to eating at home more.  Missed simple home cooking.  We had these last night. :) 

CNY is around the corner.  The festive holiday will be starting tomorrow.  Don't need to wake at 7am for the next 9 days.  Happiness to the max!  I am looking forward to the sleeping in and lazing around more than the festivity of it.  Lols... 

Not much CNY atmosphere this year.  Didn't even bother to put up any CNY deco at home.  Most of it has already been boxed up months ago in preparation of moving which has been delayed. :p  Too lazy to dig them out. 

Same goes for the kitchen utensils.  All boxed, and then unboxed cause we simply missed home cooked food. :p

I Made Apple Strudels (Yippee!)

I made this late last night.  Apple Strudels.  Actually it was early this morning at about 12:30am, right after we got home from crashing The Fernandez's valentine's dinner at Enzo... hehe.  Went over to join them after my dance thingy.  Need a drink anyway.

The Apple Strudels turned out rather nicely (my personal view la... :p).  I had some for breakfast this morning.  It would be perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  Unfortunately, we do not have any at home and ice cream for breakfast?  I would be every kid's favourite somebody! Lols...

Packed some for two girlfriends too whom I met up for tea this afternoon and decorated the silver box with a maroon ribbon and a cut out card. ;)  I think they look cute.  And here's the recipe I promised them that I would share:

Ingredients:
500g filo pastry, thawed if frozen (actually, the standard box is more than enough)
Icing sugar for dusting

For the filling:
1kg cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced
115g fresh white breadcrumbs
150g granulated sugar
1tsp cinnamon powder
75g raisins
Finely  grated rind of 1 lemon
115g unsalted butter, melted

1) Preheat the oven to 180deg Celsius.  To make the filling, place the sliced apples in a large mixing bowl.  Add the breadcrumbs, sugar, cinnamon, raisins and grated lemon rind and mix well.  Melt the butter in a small pan, then stir it in to the mixture.

2) Lay a sheet of filo pastry on a lightly floured work surface and brush with a little melted butter.  Place another sheet on top and brush with melted butter as before.  Continue stacking the sheets and brushing with the butter until there are four or five layers in all.

3) Spoon the filling into the centre of the pastry, leaving a 2.5cm/1inch border all round.  Fold in the two shorter sides, then roll up from one long side, Swiss-roll style (I did it parcel style).  Place the strudel on a lightly buttered baking sheet, seam side down.  Brush the pastry with the remaining melted butter.  Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until golden.

4) Remove the strudel from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.  Dust with icing sugar before cutting into slices for serving.

Extra notes:
I used only about 5 apples, approximately 750g and the filling can make more than one loaf of Apple Strudels.  So reduce the ingredient accordingly if you wish to make only one loaf.

Difficulty rate: 4/10 (easy)


Have fun!

Fried Rice (with corns)

In lieu of all the money spent on shopping for Chinese New Year, a gf of mine, Florence, who was here last Wed to learn how to apply fake lashes, suggested that we have fried rice for dinner instead (save $$) and she will bring over the can of luncheon meat which she wanted to eat very much yet not able to cook them cause she is not allowed to do any 'heavy' cooking in the kitchen of her landlord.  Lols...

Coincidentally, I have some leftover rice in the fridge and so, we had fried rice, with a twist - the corns.  :)  Those corns were also from her which she bought from Cameron Highlands over the past weekend.  I totally forgotten about it until I opened the fridge for the rice.  :p Cleaned it up and tossed them into the rice cooker steamer while I cooked a little extra rice.  

Ingredients
Some cooked rice (qty depends on your requirement)
Mixed beans
Onions (because I've them in my kitchen)
Few eggs beaten (add dash of salt & pepper to taste)
Soy sauce (quantity to taste)
Luncheon meat cut to mini cubes

Methods

1) Heat a little oil in wok.  Pour in beaten egg and turn the wok to spread.  Cook until firm underneath, then break it up (like scramble eggs like that).  Remove from wok and set aside.

2) Add a little oil to earlier wok.  Saute onion till fragrant.  Add luncheon meat & mixed beans.  Stir fry till cooked.  Remove from wok and set aside.

3) Heat a little oil in wok and toss the rice over high heat for about 2 minutes.

4) Mix in all the cooked ingredients ('scrambled' eggs & luncheon meat) and sprinkle with soy sauce.  Continue tossing over high heat for few minutes.  Ready to serve. :)

On the side, I fried extra eggs (hor pau dan = purse egg) to spread on top of the fried rice so that it look more presentable... :p  Yes, presentation is important in my kitchen.  Lols...  As for the corn, had it rolled in butter and sprinkled with a little salt before serving.  Another satisfying simple dinner!

Tips: Besides luncheon meat, you can use Chinese Sausages or Charsiew (BBQ pork) or shrimps or chicken.  In fact, anything at all.  I would usually just cook with what I can find in the kitchen.  Treat it as clearing out all the food stock :p

And yes, we managed the lashes too with full make up.  Hahaha... And now, she says she wanna attempt the lashes and make-up for work next day.  I hope her colleagues wouldn't think it's Halloween. Hahahaha....

Potato Chicken + Cordycep Soup

I cooked these for dinner last week, and the kitchen was closed after that.  Inspiration-less.  Lols...  Picture above was just a simple chicken dish cooked with potato = Potato Chicken.  Nothing much to this post.  Just something to share. ;)

Ingredients:

Some chicken cut into pieces

Some potato cut into cubes

Some oyster sauce + some dark soy sauce + a little sesame oil + cornflour + little water

Chopped some garlic

A little chinese wine

Methods:

1) Heat wok with a little oil.

2) Saute some chopped garlic till fragrant.

3) Add in the cut chicken pieces and cook for a minute or so.

4) Add in the cubed potato.

5) Drizzled in the sauce mixture.

6) Cook on high heat for a short while till boiling.

7) Reduce heat to low and cover with wok's lid to simmer for while.  Hmm... approx. 10minutes.

8) Remember to stir it every now and then to prevent burn.

9) Last but not least, drizzled in some chinese wine, off the fire, ready to serve. :)

For simple chinese cooking, I usually just go with 'a little' of this, or 'some of that'.  Not sure of the exact amount.  Hahaha... simply only.  Go with the 'feel'... hahaha...  Luckily it turned out pretty yummy. :p

Boiled Chicken Cordyceps soup too.  I remembered grandpa used to boil cordyceps soup for me when I was young for I was an asthmatic + coughfy child.  So I thought this should be good for us too since both of us have been experiencing coughing spell since the recovering of the nasty cold.  Though these are just some cheap cordyceps, well, it's better than none at all... :p  I bought the herbs off the supermarket shelf.  Pre-packed.  Easy peasy! ;)

1) First, scald the kampung chicken (village chicken, small black ones) for awhile in a pot of boiling water.  This is to rid the raw stench (smell) and 'remaining blood' so that the soup we boil later would turned out clear and not choky.  

2) Then, put the scalded chicken into the slow cooker, throw in the herbs (washed) and filled up the pot with water (normal temperature), amount as indicated on the packaging of the herbs.

3) Set cooker to 'high'.  When boiled, switched to 'low' and let it cook for 3-4 hours.  Ready to serve.

4) Salt are optional :)  

  

Besides Kampung Chicken, you can boiled with lean pork meat, normal chicken, or any other meat you prefer (or no meat at all).  I chose Kampung chicken cause I was told they are good for health.  In what ways, I don't know.  Probably less chemicals.  Hahaha....

Tips:

If you are working, you can use the 'auto timer' adapter to boil soup.  You know those plug which you can set when to turn on or off?  Just set your slow cooker on 'low' and your 'auto timer' to on for 4-5 hours. By time you get home from work, you'll have hot yummy nourishing soup waiting for you at home!  :)  So what I usually does is, I'll set the adapter to on at 10am and off at 3pm.  Then on again at 6:30pm for half an hour so that the soup would be hot at dinner time :).  You get what I mean?

These are the expensive cordyceps.  The cheap ones are plummer, rounder and whiter.  Hmm... go zoom in on my soup picture.  You might be able to see some.. lols..

Medicinal uses of Cordyceps:

Replenishes energy, alleviates cough (bingo!), expels phlegm (bingo!), relieves lower back pain and aching joints.

Personal verdict:
I think the soup does help with the coughing.  We cough lesser and almost recovering :)

Domestication Starts Today - I made dinner, doggie treats & chilled with Ruby!

My 'be more domesticated' resolution for the year already been kick started today!  Not only did I made dinner, I baked two trays of doggies treats too from a recipe Evie shared on her blog. :) Though mine didn't turned out quite as nice as those she made, it was ok (I think) *total satisfaction still*.  Hehehe...

Sometime ago, when Sunshine was sick, I made some mixed vege soup with rice for her and the husband went, "Sigh...sometimes, it is better to be a dog than a husband.  At least the dog gets ABC soup!"  hehehe....

As I was driving home from work this evening, I decided to make dinner tonight.  Afterall, the poor husband caught my virus and was resting at home.  Nothing elaborate (I always have the tendency to overcooked for two), just ABC soup and a simple steamed chicken drumstick with chinese sausage dish drizzled with a little chinese wine.  It was good and he enjoyed it.  :)  No picture though.  Totally forgotten about it. :p  My bad.

When he was almost done with his dinner, I asked... "So, being a husband is not that bad after all huh now that he still gets the soup?"  He just laughed.  Hehehehe...

After dinner, we took a drive out to meet up with Aunty Ruby who is in town for holiday cause her little resort is in monsoon season now.  Yeah, THAT obnoxious Aunty Ruby of Ruby's Resort in Cherating... my favourite resort. :) Big Cow was there too and we had such great time. Though it was just a short meet up, we shared plenty of laughters from plain craps to politics! Hahaha...  

Another Friday ended perfectly and I simply love a day like this. :)



ABC Soup = carrot + potato + tomato + onions + peppercorn + chicken stock

New Running Routine, Banana Cake and Choc Chips + An Impromptu Visit

It's 10:30am now and I am feeling so... SLEEPY.  Have been waking up 6:30am both yesterday and today for a morning run/walk with a friend who is staying nearby.  Very semangat hor (motivated)?  Felt that way too... no choice la... have to push myself a little or I'll never make an effort.   I think having a training buddy does make a whole lot of difference.  It makes running/walking fun!  I actually look forward to it despite of those ungodly hours.  Anyone who knows me can second that I am never an early bird.  You can have the worms. :) The only thing about this whole new routine is, I just need to train myself to hit the bed earlier. 

I had a great afternoon yesterday when a very good friend whom I haven't met for a while decided to pop by for a visit and hang-out a little.  Was it 4 months ago since we last met?  Hmm.. about there la...  Seriously, nothing beats an afternoon like this - great company, enlightening conversation, freshly baked treats, aroma of coffee lingering in the air (I think I imagined this one out)... ahhh... heavenly!  Yea, co-incidentally, I baked more Banana Cake with Choc Chips yesterday cause I wanna get rid the bunch of leftover bananas that was still sitting on my kitchen top and that, explains the 'freshly baked treats'!  One step into the kitchen, my girlfriend went... "Wah... u baked these? You became so 'yun liong suk tak' (homely) already...".  And I replied... "Yeah, since Sunday" hehehehe... crazy girl.  I gave a loaf to her to take home for her family too.

I thought yesterday's batch turned out rather weird.  The colour & texture were a little off-ish.  But everyone  seems to love it and that 'everyone' includes a non-banana lover, a sweet-toothless person and my husband who actually whacked three quarter of  a loaf for supper which I actually reserved for a friend. o.O  It must be good then.   But then again, the husband's review cannot be counted as one cause he is suppose to whack anything I served with a big smile + encouraging words, even if it tasted toxic.  It is in the contract of our marriage. :p

Anyway, if you wish to attempt this cake at home, here are the ingredients you may need:-

5 ripe bananas, mashed (add a drop of banana essence into it)

125gm of butter (soften)

300gm of castor sugar (I used only 150gm cause I added choc chips)

2 eggs (lightly beaten)

150gm of flour + 1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda + 1 pinch of salt (sieve together)

35ml of milk

Choc chips (quantity as you pleased :p)

(1) Creamed butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
(2) Add beaten eggs a little at a time into mixture.
(3) Next, add in mashed banana.
(4) After that, fold in sifted flour and milk alternately.
(5) Throw in choc chips and mix.
(6) Pour batter into loaf pans.  Half filled.
(7) Leave in preheated oven to bake for 30minutes at 175deg celcious.
(8) Once baked, turn out the cake and leave to cool on wired rack.

Note: Usually I takes them out when they turn golden brown.  To test if it is thoroughly baked, poke a toothpicks thru it.  If the toothpick comes out covered in batter, then you need to leave it in the oven a little longer.  If the toothpick comes out clean, then your cake is done!  Oh yeah, remember to preheat your oven at least 20 minutes before putting in your batter ok.  :) 

Happy trying.  Why not make this your little project for this weekend and update me on the outcome! :)  I  would love to hear from you. :)

Tiramisu

My first attempt at Tiramisu.  I think it is a bit too soggy.  Haven't tasted it yet though.  Got a little impatient last night while I was making it.  Should have beaten the mixture a tad longer.

It supposed to turn out looking like this after slicing.  Since mine kinda soggy, we will probably just dig in straight.  Should taste not too far off. ;)

Lesson learnt:- Patience, patience and more patience.

Spinach, Ham & Mushroom Lasagna

Attempted this recipe for dinner today - Spinach, Ham & Mushroom Lasagna. 

And it turned out looking like this. I thought it looks pretty alright though a little different from the picture in the recipe book. The verdict...

Outlook: 5/10

Harrison said it doesn't look yummy.  I asked him is it because it look like a pile of shit?  He said ya.  I told him restaurant's lasagna also look like a pile of shit like this what... -.-

Taste: 9/10

He finished all two portions and licked the plate squeaky clean (that's all that's left.  I made 4 portions and alone, I wallop 2 portions myself before he came home :p). Need to say more?

According to the food taster, he said this one is much much much yummier than the previous one I made.  Well, he loves spinach.  Love mushrooms  & ham too.  So basically it is everything that he loves. How can it not be much much much yummier?  

Will be having some friends over tomorrow for some chilling out session.  Since I still have some leftover ingredients for lasagna, maybe I'll just make another loaf for them.  Also, just completed a tiramisu and it is now left to refrigerate overnight in the fridge.  Will see how this one turn out tomorrow. ;) *keeping fingers crossed*

Oi-Sam Breakfast

Sunday night

The wife told the husband that she will be making breakfast tomorrow morning. The husband asked, "Breakfast? What breakfast you making?". The wife replied, "Oi sam breakfast". 'Oi-sam' means love in cantonese.

Monday morning

The wife woke up half hour earlier to prepare breakfast. When the husband finally came down for breakfast, one look at his breakfast he went... "Wah... how come got love love one???". The wife said... "I told you it is an 'oi-sam' breakfast mah..."

I cut out those heart shape bread with a cookie cutter, buttered them a little and have them toasted lightly...

Something Simple

Our dinner last night. Something similar to what we used to order at the no longer exist jap restaurant. Harrison said it was 80% close. Good enough.

***

Deep fried premarinated chicken fillet (salt, pepper, Lea Perrins) coated with cream cracker crumbs, sitting on a bed of healthy serving of greens, drizzled with dressing of olive oil + apple cider vinegar, and topped with a spoonful of mashed radish (those found with tempura). Kautim.

***

Another yummilicious satisfying meal!

Lasagna Frenzy

I had a craving for lasagna on Wednesday and since I was feeling a little hardworking, I decided to try make just that today (since Alina & Gerry can do it, I am sure I can too...).

***

After breakfast with my other half, off I went to Cold Storage for the ingredients. It was a good choice to head there as I managed to get everything I needed not to mention a little something extra that I dont need. That something extra is, dunno how, I managed to kick my little toe right into the wheel of my shopping trolley while queuing up at the cashier which resulted in a pretty bad swelling & blue black and now I have to walk with a limp. Sigh... that's beside the point.

***

Anyway, back to my lasagna. It was in fact pretty simple to make. Though mine didnt turn out as I've expected it to be, it tasted alright. I made two kind of lasagna; a chicken lasagna and a tuna lasagna, and decorated the plate with a healthy serving of caesar salad with crouton and mashed potato.

***

We invited some friends over to enjoy it together and had a great time catching up over dinner. We even have dessert after that - Miki's cheesecake courtesy from our guests. Overall, it was good but will be better if the lasagna turned out as I've expected it to be. Hmm... need to perfect it... we concluded that what went wrong was the baking tray i used instead of a just-fit corning ware. I shall attempt again when the Italian wind blow my way again! ;)

******************************************

Someone asked me, how come no recipe. So here you go... please do try it and let me know how to perfect it.

Ingredients

· 250g lasagna sheets, cooked and drained
· 280ml milk
· 1 bay leaf
· 1 onion
· 4-5 white peppercorns, lightly smashed
· 200g chicken fillet, minced
· ½ an onion, chopped
· 170g tomato purée
· ¾ tsp dried basil
· ¾ tsp dried oregano
· 2 tbsp water
· Salt and pepper to taste
· 30g butter
· 25g plain flour
· 2 tbsp grated or shaved Parmesan cheese
· 1 tbsp chopped parsley

Method

(1) Pour milk into a small saucepan. Add bay leaf, onion and peppercorns. Bring to just a boil, then remove from the fire and leave aside.

(2) Put chicken mince in a non-stick saucepan and fry briskly to brown the meat. Add the onion. Toss well and cook until onion turns soft. Stir in tomato purée, basil, oregano and water. Cover the saucepan with a lid and cook over a medium low heat for 8-10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

(3) Melt butter in a clean saucepan. Stir in flour and cook until it turns frothy. Bring saucepan away from the heat and strain in the cooled flavoured milk. Bring the saucepan back to the fire and whisk until the white sauce begins to boil and thicken.

(4) Lightly grease a straight-sided ovenproof dish. Line the base of the dish with one layer of lasagna sheets. Spread on a thin layer of the white sauce. Add a layer of the cooked minced meat. Repeat the layering until all the lasagna sheets and cooked mince are used up, finishing with a layer of lasagna sheets. Sprinkle with Parmesan and parsley. Bake at 190°C for 13-15 minutes.

Another Lazy Meal - 5 minutes cin cai fried rice

I surprised myself yesterday by not leaving the house at all. Very strange by my own standard. I am one of those that always have something to buy or do outside. That's why am always out of the house buying this buying that or doing this doing that...

Due to my current 'laziness' spell, I was too lazy to drive out for food yesterday. So, I just ransacked the fridge to see if I can find any edible food. Lucky for me, I found some leftover rice, mixed beans & eggs and decided to make some fried rice out of it.

Taa daa.... here's my 5 minutes cin cai fried rice!

Here's the recipe to my 5 minutes cin cai fried rice. First, heat up some oil in wok, poured in beaten eggs. Break it up as it is being cooked. Removed from wok and set aside. Add oil, reheat wok and sauteed some slice garlic until fragrant. Add rice and mixed beans. Make sure rice are well coated with oil. Drizzle one table spoon of soy sauce over it and mix well. And finally, throw in the earlier cooked eggs. Stir a bit and it is ready to be served. You must be thinking, does it taste well? Erm... I think it is ok la... edible lor... what you expecting? It is a 5 minutes cin cai fried rice, hehehe...

I Am A Yellow Face Wife (for today only)

I felt like a typical housewife today... you know, those yellowish colour face type of housewife. I served my hubby egg mayo sandwich for breakfast this morning before he left for work. Actually, not that I purposely wake up early to prepare breakfast for him la... just that when I plodded down to the kitchen whipping open the fridge and fetching out the bowl of egg mayo from yesterday FOR myself, he looked at me and I cant not offer him one right?

Wifey: You want egg mayo sandwich for breakfast before you go?

Hubby: Got arr?

Wifey: Yeah...

Hubby: *nodding*

As he is a typical cina-pek, he can't have cold stuff for breakfast. So I have to heat up his egg mayo sandwich first. Thank god for microwave oven. Breakfast is served under 1 minute and that makes me a role model for all wife-kind... come on, can any of you served breakfast under 1 minute? I bet you can! hehehehehe....

After the man of the house is fully stuffed and shoo-ed out of the house to print more money, I proceeded with the laundries. Washed two loadful of dirty laundries today; 2 loadful cause I separated the light coloured & dark coloured ones, and not because we only do the laundry once a month :p. I also folded two basketful of cleaned laundries and put them back into the wardrobe neat & tidy. This also makes me a role model for all wife-kind. No? Ok, how many of you out there have a neat & tidy wardrobe??? Come on, be truthful, maids' is not counted ok.... hehehe..

I know I've been blogging a lot about food lately... must be because I've a whole blardy week off and I've stocked up a whole blardy week's worth of food & sundries for the supposely 'quarantine' for a whole blardy week. As I said, supposely la.... :p So can't help it lor... what else you expect me to think of if not food? Hehehe... so just bear with me la... I bet there would be much food blogging next week onwards when work starts. Lols... Anyway, these are what I had for lunch this afternoon.

Found some 'lady's finger' in my fridge, washed & cut it up, throw it into the steamer of the rice cooker as I cooked some rice. Then, I opened up a can of sardin, and cooked it over the stove with some onions + extra tomato sauce + little sugar. Took out the lady's fingers 20 minutes later, drizzled some olive oil + soy sauce over it (MIL's style), voila! Lunch is ready... another lazy people's lunch for all the lazy people out there...:p It was really yummy especially the lady's fingers. Healthy & refreshing. As for the sardines, personally, I am not a sardine person... sardine mah sardine lor... I always thought sardine are for cats anyway...

After lunch, I decided to relax a little and watched 'Confession of a Shopaholic' which I bought weeks ago. It was a nice light hearted chick-lit movie and totally entertaining. I like watching brainless entertaining movies like these - The Holidays, Beverly Hill Chi Hua Hua, you know, those kind la... no need to think too much ones... already so little brain cells left, no point killing more... hehehehe... Oh, I also completed my fabric coaster with my mom's sewing machine as I watched tv. Multi tasking, save time. Another trait of a good housewife to be applauded *clap clap*

When the show ended, I figured that the chicken thighs which I took out this morning must have defrosted. I wanted to make roast chicken for dinner tonight but havent quite really thought of what kind of roast chicken to make. So I rubbed some salt & pepper over it. Then I found some garlic in the kitchen and it gave me an idea.

(1) I blended the garlic and had it mixed with some mixed herbs (rosemary + oregano + thyme + basil), olive oil, salt & pepper, and lemon juice.

(2) Then I stuffed the blended mixture under the skin of both the chicken thighs (Jamie Oliver's style) which I've loosen earlier.

(3) Covered the base of the pan with some sliced lemon & garlic and placed the stuffed chicken thighs over it.

(4) Scrubbed and cubed some potatoes and throw it into the pan.

(5) Squeeze some lemon juice and sprinkled some olive oil over the chicken & potatoes.

(6) Covered with clingwrap and throw it back into the fridge to be marinated.

My other half came back two and half hours later and we went for a jog at a park nearby. I preheated the oven at 220 degree celcious before I left for the park. We both had a good run. He ran 3 rounds and me, ran 2 rounds & walked 1 round.. lols... ok also what... must listen to our body mah... cannot over pushed, nanti pengsan susah... the poor husband would have to lug his not exactly small size wife all the way home... we would both ended up pengsan in the end... lols...

When we got home, I took out the chicken from the fridge, removed the clingwrap and throw it into the oven to bake for 20-25 minutes. As it was being baked, yummy aroma filled the air...


When it was out of the oven and ready to be tucked into, it looked like this. Yummy right... ? Being the good yellow face wife (for today only), of course I also prepared some rice for my cina-pek hubby la... the verdict is, he love it. He love this 'Garlic Lemon Roast Chicken ala Redbabe' very much. He walloped his rice, chicken and everything else... ;) hehehehe

So, can get award or not? I cooked, I cleaned, I watched tv, I sewed, I exercised & I blogged too... all in one day. A role model for all wife kind. Shiok sendiri only...! Lols... nevermind la.. it is my blog anyway... can shiok all I want...hehehehe

An Inefficient Day + My Egg Mayo Sandwich Lunch

I felt so unlucky & inefficient today... reason being...

1) Only found the meeting place after circling the area for about 30minutes or more - as i've always pride myself as the bio-gps-navigator, this is totally unacceptable.

2) On way home, I took a wrong turn which is highly unlikely of me cause I've always been using that road. Finally got back after couple of u-turns.

3) Wanted to buy bread & mayonaise for my egg mayo sandwich but couldnt find a carpark in Danau Desa and the car wash which I always dump my car at whenever there are no carparks is closed.

4) Went over to the other old shoplot, found a carpark, run down to buy a bottle of mayonaise. Only found a huge bottle. Walked over to another mini mart few shops away to look for a smaller bottle. Found none also. Walked back to the earlier shop and enquired for smaller bottle. The attendant point it out to me on the upper shelf. I must've been blind to have not note it in the first place.

5) Got back into the car, drove out of the carpark, only to realise that I've totally forgotten about the bread. What is a sandwich without bread?

6) Drove back to Danau Desa for bread cause I wanted to buy an extra cranberry loaf from that particular bakery. Double parked my car, went down to the shop and asked for one plain loaf and one cranberry loaf. The bakery said, "cranberry loaf not ready yet"... *damn*

Luckily everything is well and orderly back at home when I was preparing for the sandwich. Made some hardboiled eggs, meshed it together with some mayonaise, onions, salt & pepper to taste and throw it into the fridge to chill. It was deliciously cold twenty minutes later. Yummy! At least some consolation for an otherwise bad day.

I think I am suffering from premature aging... my forgetfulness is really getting out of control!!! How arr? Gingko biloba?

Grill Dory Fish

Had this for lunch today. Bought it for RM3/pack (2 pcs per pack) last week when I was at Carrefour. Took it out from the freezer just now, defrosted it in the microwave, slabbed on some Lea Perrins + mixed herbs + pepper + salt + maggi seasoning (basically everything I felt like it), covered the base of the plate with some sliced big onions, placed the fish on it, drizzled some olive oil over it and throw it into the pre-heated oven for 15 minutes. Kautim, lunch is served. Lazy ppl lunch. :p

Orange Cake

This is something I baked the other day. Something different from the usual butter cake. It turned out quite well. Here's the recipe to share:

Ingredients

(A) 250g butter, 200g castor sugar

(B) 5 egg yolks (large), 1/2 tsp orange essence, grated rind of 3 oranges

(C) 240g flour (sifted), 2tsp baking powder (sifted), 1tbsp milk powder (sifted), 100ml orange juice

Method

(1) Cream ingredients A till light & fluffy

(2) Add in egg yolk one by one and continue beating well

(3) Add in orange essence & grated oranged rind. Beat for 1 minute.

(4) Fold in ingredient C and orange juice alternatively.

(5) Pour cake batter into a greased & lightly floured baking tray 25cm tin.

(6) Bake in preheated oven at 180 degree celcious for about 45minutes or until golden brown.

Special Personal Note

(1) I reduced sugar to 100g for 'kurang manis'.

(2) I didn't use any orange essence cause I don't have it at home but it turned out alright.

(3) Since I don't have orange essence, I used about 5 grated rind of oranges.

Have fun & happy trying!

CNY Cookies

I baked some CNY cookies.

Oatmeal cookies baking in the oven.

Oatmeal cookies & almond snaps.

***

The oatmeal cookies is perfect. The almond snaps on the other hand is a little too thick. Better next time. I still need to bake some peanut butter cookies & chocolate chips cookies.

Then we are set for CNY.

I Love Butter

There is this thing about me. I simply love butter. Especially salted ones. I know it's unhealthy but... it's just simply yummy. I love kaya & butter toast (must have thick frozen butter), strawberry jam & butter sandwich or simply butter on hard rolls. And of course butter cakes as well but those that are not too sweet or too oily (which can never be found). So I decided to bake one myself instead using the recipe at http://www.malaysiabest.net/2008/01/31/recipe-butter-cake/.

Nice eh?

All I wanna say is, my cakes turned out beautifully. It is super yummy & the sweetness is just nice. Not too sweet & not too oily. I only used 200gm sugar. Herewith the photos to tantalised your taste buds.

Butter Cupcakes. Cute right?

You must be wondering why everytime I baked, there are cupcakes. Cause, those are leftovers that can't be filled into the baking tray. :) I bet you must be drooling now... quickly go bake one.

Have fun!