29th Ramadhan

First picture - entourage baru a few hours sampai, so chief cook (MIL) tak dibenarkan masak lagi. But she unpacked her made-in-KL sambal belacan, sambal tempoyak ikan bilis and karipaps! that victoria sponge cake is easy to make - 110 grams butter beat with 110 grams sugar, slowly add 2 eggs, then 110 grams flour. add esen. bake in 2 greased sandwich pan 190 deg for 20-25 mins. Wow- i dah hafal!!! i put strawberry jam in between and dust with icing sugar. can prepare in less than 1/2 hour if your butter dah lembut.


The 2nd picture was the result of me saying "okay Mak, hari ni Mak nak masak apa-apa, masaklah..." so the result is - tak muat meja!! Saya langsung tak masuk dapur :) The other 2 pictures were taken just this evening along Oxford Road. Deserted on a saturday afternoon. I love the autumn colours, so I thought I'd share it with you guys. OH, and it's confirmed we are raya-ing on monday, so tomorrow will be last buka puasa this Ramadhan.
Selamat Hari raya to you all!



 

Mee Jawa Malindo

We had mee jawa yesday. Everything the maid masak kat rumah di gelar "Malindo" coz she's Indon and usually masak Malaysian, esp Trg, dishes. Tapi since this is memang mee jawa, tak payah lah Malindo kot...

The pix doesn't look as good as it tasted. Guess I shoulda taken the pix of the mee without the kuah, that was more appetising looking. Don't ask me how to make the kuah, but there were prawns, chicken strips, boiled egg, and mee hoon for me, mee kuning for the rest of them. No togeh for me either. Then of course, the sprinkly green things (whatever they are, daun bawang mebe?) and bawang goreng and the little baby limau for squeezing.

I also took a pix of the goreng pisang we had but it didn't turn out well. Looked worse than the mee jawa pix, so I left it out, in the interest of not making everyone else sick ;o)

Anyone nak post gambar raya cookies they made? Kalau tak, nanti I'll post gambar the raya cookies I bought pulak! Ha ha ha!

My buka @ Chillis BSC

Since I don't cook, I thought I'd post pix of the food I had for buka.

Today we went to Chillis. I had the grilled salmon with garlic and herbs stuff on it, with rice (not so crazy about the rice coz it was berempah semacam) and steamed veggies. Very healthy food for once. Unfortunately we were too starved and I forgot to take a pix of that. But I didn't forget to take a pix of the dessert.

So for those of you yg rindu kat hi and mighty pie from Chillis... here's the pix! Twas yummy in the tummy...

23rd ramadhan

Today we had bubur with help-yourself-extras plus a little bit of chicken meat from yesterday's roast. Quite a refreshing change. Ikan bilis was the ones yg lindek bawak :)

Found recipe for that pasta in a '3-ingredient book' - tapi dia ngelat - they don't count pepper/salt/oil as ingredients. quite easy - prepare pasta in usual way. Heat 2/3 cup of olive (supposed to be garlic-infused oil so i hentam letak garlic sikit), diced pieces of capsicum (actually it's supposed to be red chili - none in the fridge so capsicum will do) , season with pepper/salt (i added black pepper) then mix it into the pasta. Nice when hot. 

22nd Ramadhan

Today being saturday and the fact that I've submitted my report yesterday, I went on a cooking spree. Roast chicken - it's been de-legged but nonetheless.... easy one - clean chicken, sapu with garam and pepper (go under the skin) - inside put in 1/2 lemon and 1/2 garlic - (seketul besar tu slice horizontally with skin on) , bake in preheated oven, on a rack on a pan around 180 - 200, put a piece of foil on top to cover. after about 30 - 45 mins depending on chicken size, remove foil, coat with honey, put under grill sekejap. We all kerjakan sampai tinggal tulang and it's really a no-fuss-chicken-roast.
AND.... guess what???? First time buat laksa kelantan. tapi tak cukup ulam - tak kisahlah. others can correct me if i'm wrong - rebus ikan (i found mackerel at the market today) with asam jawa, let cool. prepare kuah - blend bawang merah, lada hitam, halia, serai. boil santan in the air rebus ikan + asam jawa, add the blended stuff and ikan, stir, boil. garam, belacan, cili. Ulam can do with bunga kantan, kacang panjang etc.

And then - apple cake. scrumptious. Fun for the kids too - they helped in preparing. Took us less than 1/2 hour to prepare just in time for buka puasa, then had it for dessert.

Apple cake (Betty Crocker’s) 14/10/06 .

1 ½ cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
3 cups chopped tart apples (3 medium)
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts
Cream cheese frosting (pg 111) if desired

Heat oven to 350.grease bottom and sides of rectangular pans, 13x9x2 inches, or 2 round pans, 8x1 ½ or 9x1 ½ inches, with Shortening, lightly flour
beat sugar, oil, eggs – low speed 30 seconds or till blended
add remaining ingredients expect carrot, nuts n frosting – beat low speed 1 min.
stir in carrots and nuts
put in pan
bake rectangle 40 – 45 mins, rounds 30 – 35 mins
cool rectangles in pan on wire racks; cool rounds 10 mins, rmove to wire rack. Cool completely 1 hour
apply frosting if desired 

autumn colours

Leaves are starting to change colour now.. lovely.
Tried making puding jagung - 2 questions (1) is the surface supposed to be smooth or not - mine was like Mars surface (2) why jagung tak lekat - i had no corn in cream, so used corn in salt water. And - finally found recipe for chewy and thick choc chip cookies. i'll post it once i type it out.



Sheen, I hope you don't mind that I put the choc chip cookie recipe here... senang nak cari nanti. http://www.sunset.com/sunset/Premium/Food/1995/12-Dec/Cookies1295/ChocChip1295.html#1

Thick, Soft, and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Cooking time: About 7 minutes per pan
Prep time: About 10 minutes
Makes: About 18 cookies1

1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1/4 lb.) butter or margarine, at room temperature
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
1 package (6 oz.) or 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

1. Mix flour, baking soda, and salt.
2. Beat butter, sugar, and vanilla with a mixer on medium speed until well blended. Beat in egg, mixing well. Add flour mixture, and beat slowly to incorporate, then beat to blend well. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.
3. Drop batter in 2-tablespoon portions about 2 inches apart on baking sheets.
4. Bake in a 400° oven until edges of cookies are brown but an area about 1 inch wide in the center is still pale, 6 to 7 minutes. If using 2 pans in 1 oven, switch positions at half-time.
5. Let cookies cool on pan about 5 minutes, then transfer to racks with a spatula. Serve warm or cool. Store airtight up to 8 hours, or freeze for longer storage.

Per cookie: 160 cal., 46% (73 cal.) from fat; 1.7 g protein; 8.1 g fat (4.8 g sat.); 22 g carbo.; 124 mg sodium; 26 mg chol.

18th ramadhan

epal with rojak sauce - easy and very yummy (tak ada jambulah...). And possible the best dish - BUDU with ikan bakar! some vegetarian sandwiches from department lunch and finally, lepat pisang without the daun pisang!


 

16 and 17th Ramadhan

Gtote's marble pudding for sunday, lasagna today. 

Curried Carrot Soup ala Lynn Roffey

Sheen – here’s my contribution to your 5 ingredient or less recipe. Easy to make especially if you have a hand blender, and nutritious. Don’t know whether appropriate for bulan puasa, but definitely will heat you up in winter.

Ingredients:

1 lb/600 grams carrots – peeled and cut up into sticks – doesn’t really matter which shape, just need to cut up so that cepat sikit masak. Or buy prepackaged cut-up carrots lagi senang.
2 cans vegetable or chicken broth (about 30 ounces or ..75 liter total)
1 medium bawang besar coarsely chopped
2 ulas bawang putih, coarsely chopped
Curry powder to taste (I guna half pack serbuk kari daging Adabi – this makes it really hot, which I like – so ikut suka seleralah).

Cara:

Panaskan sikit minyak, goreng bawang besar and bawang puteh sampai lembut, tapi jangan garing. Masukkan serbuk kari, tumis sikit (if too dry, add a little broth). Masukkan cut carrots, saute a few minutes on medium heat. Masukkan broth, bring to boil, then simmer 30 minutes. Cool slightly and blend. Kalau pakai hand blender, can blend directly in the pot. Otherwise, blend in a few batches in a regular blender. Garnish with what ever you like when serving – bawang goreng or kucai or sour cream.

Kalau pakai half a pack of curry powder, sure berpeluh bila makan.

Lynn, 8 Oct 2006

15th Ramadhan

We (Ami and us) had a scrumptious Indian meal just now - Tandoori chicken, pompadum + mango chutney + raitha (?spelling), fish curry, fried eggplants... siap try masala vadai which turned out fairly okay. The yellow drink you see is mango lassi - Mira's attempt .... sodap....

Tandoori chicken was from Chef Wan's book, fish curry was an attempt to follow Jamie Oliver's curry sauce, vadai came from our recipe book, lassi was from Hanieliza's website.  

Lala's Decadent Chocolate Chunk Cheesecake

Before I lose it, I'd better paste it here, so senang nak cari later. Kalau ada orang dah try buat, please post a pix. Lala's cake recipe goes like this...

18 OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, crushed (about 1-1/2 cups)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
3 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream
3 eggs
12 squares (1-1/2 pkg. [8 squares each]) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate, divided
1/2 cup whipping cream

PREHEAT oven to 350°F/180C if using a 9-in. silver springform pan (or to 325°F if using a 9-in. dark nonstick springform pan.) Combine crumbs and butter. Press firmly onto bottom of pan.

BEAT cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add sour cream; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating on low speed after each addition just until blended. Chop 8 of the squares of chocolate; stir into batter. Pour over crust.

BAKE 45 to 50 min. or until center is almost set. Run knife or metal spatula around side of pan to loosen cake. Cool completely.

CHOP remaining 4 squares of chocolate. Bring cream to simmer in small saucepan on low heat. Remove from heat. Add chocolate; stir until completely melted. Cool slightly. Pour over cheesecake. Refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight. Remove side of pan before serving.

Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.

For the chocolate I use Lindt Excellence 70% Cocoa Dark extra fine.

1 1/2 bars to put in the cheesecake and the remaining 1/2 for the topping. Sour cream pun apa yang ada dekat supermarket.

14th Ramadhan

this is the pulut pagi we were talking about. Now i know why Gtote said not to rendam - bit soft. Would be nicer and sweeter if I had used all nise. Still, 2 out 3 kids liked it, so kira okaylah. 

13 Ramadhan

Sup tulang pakai Zurin's recipe - made last weekend, frozen and today baru makan. Scrumptious.

Never knew that bubur jagung is so easy to make - took me just minutes to put water in the pot, open 2 small cans of corn, rinse, keplok into pot, put a bit of coconut milk (i have that instant block), around 3 tblspn of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 tblspn sagu (have no daun pandan). Kacau2 sikit, left it alone simmering, few minutes dah siap. we ate it warm. Kids loved it. 

12th Ramadhan

Tried Delia's 4-nut brownies, which turned out to be one-nut brownie since tak cukup nuts. Pagi tadi did sagu gula melaka, from our recipe book (dah desperate - running out of easy things to do!) - only 1 out of my 3 food critics liked it. Rita, try pisang goreng (hot) with maple syrup... sodap....


 

11 Ramadhan

Tried this recipe - but somehow i think it does not rise to its name - apam is supposed to kembang, right? Ini pun I ikut petua Mik to leave for few hours. Anyway, made the sambal to eat with the apam... will know the taste in 5 mins when Berbuka time.

Apam cantik manis (mamafami fotopages)

1 ½ eggs – slightly beaten
120 g (4oz) caster sugar
120 mls fizzie drinks (7up, sprite,cream soda)
½ teaspoon vanilla essence
155 g flour
food colouring

1 tblspn sugar
paper cups

get steamer ready
beat eggs till fluffy – add sugar, beat till thick
fold in flour slowly, pour in fizzie drink, add vanilla
set aside 3 tbspn, add food colour
scoop onto paper cups, add coloured mix
add extra caster sugar on top
steam 15 mins.

monday 2nd october

Today am a bit adventurous - naan with "indian spiced fromage frais spread" - got it from the internet. Pengat is easy to do - santan, put it sugar (i used equal amounts of brown and white sugar) boil, put in pisang. Didn't have daun pandan. Some people put sagu to make it thicker.
 

Chinese Cuisine

The 2 members of tkc8084 cawangan manchester had a lovely berbuka yesterday - Ami's sweet and sour cod, hoisin beef with shittake mushroom and steamed veggies!
 

Brownies n kasui

here are 2 easy&tested recipes. They work, believe me.

Brownies (http://rin.fotopages.com/?&page=1)

250g butter 1 1/2 cups sugar 4 eggs 2 tsp vanilla essence 1 cup flour (if using self raising flour, omit baking powder) 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 3/4 cups cocoa 1/2 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven at 180 deg. C. Line a 12 x 10 inch tin with aluminium foil & grease it. Melt butter over low heat. Turn off fire, add sugar & mix well with balloon whisk. Add eggs & vanilla essence, continue mixing. Add flour, baking powder, salt, cocoa & mix well. Add nuts. Pour onto lined tin. Bake for 25- 30 mins.

KUIH KASWI GANDUM (from mamafami / hanieliza fotopages)
Ingredients : Syrup : 5 cups water 5 tablespoons brown sugar 5 tablespoons white sugar Boil all the above ingredient and allow to cool. 2 cups flour 1/2 cup tapioca flour or cornflour 1 teaspoon edible lime (air kapur) freshly grated coconut a pinch of salt
Method : 1. Get the steamer ready. 2. Grease the tray (I used a 6" x 8" tray) with a bit of oil. Then layer it with a piece of plastic. This will make it easier to take out the kuih from the tray. 3. Mix well the syrup with flour, tapioca flour or cornflour and edibe lime. (I pour everything in the blender) 4. Pour it through the strainer and into the tray. 5. Steam for about 30 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting using a plastic knife. 6. Mix the grated coconut with a bit of salt and coat the kuih before

2 more dishes

Attempted apam balik yesterday - found Amy Beh's recipe. First attempt - rupa kureng sikit but the taste is definitely there! A ten-year-old can do it... (actually, a ten-year-old actually did it!). And today it's puteri mandi. Another fun-to-d0-with-your-kids item and requires only tepung pulut, water, santan, gula, garam. And colouring. Less than 10 items - fits my bill.