Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Egg Tarts.. my version

I have wanting to try the egg tarts recipe since last year but never get the chance to do it. Finally one night when my kids were already sleeping..at 10.30pm.. I decided I want to bake the egg tarts.. thought that I had all the ingredients at home but turned out there were one or two ingredients that I didn't have at that time.. but.. I decided to be adventurous ( kunun..) and try to use other things to replace them..

Here is the recipe that I used (my version of course..)

Ingredients

1 cup icing sugar
3 cups flour
1 cup butter
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla essence

Filling:

3/4 cup water
4 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup condensed milk

DIRECTIONS
1. In a medium bowl, mix together the icing sugar and flour. Mix in butter with a fork or fingers until it is in small crumbs.

2. Mix in the egg and vanilla until the mixture forms a dough. The texture should be slightly moist. Add more butter if it is too dry, or more flour, if the dough seems greasy.

3. Shape dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, and press the balls into tart molds ( I just used a cupcake baking tin) so that it covers the bottom, and goes up higher than the sides. Use fork to shape the edges.
4. Preheat the oven to 180C.

5. Combine the filling ingredients and strain the filling through a sieve. Fill the tart shells.

6. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown, and the filling is puffed up a little bit.

The result... tadaaa...





No the best looking ones.. but still taste yummy hehehehe... I can save up to RM10 with this recipe... since I think the egg tarts are sold at RM1.20 each in the bakery :)

Monday, October 20, 2008

Simple Chocolate Cupcakes

Elo...elo... anybody here??? I know, I know... so long no see recipes here... so sorry been busy that I didn't have time to test try kinam some simple recipes...

My eldest's birthday was on the 13th October, I wanted to order a cake from the bakery but she insisted that I bake a chocolate cake for her and she will help to decorate. Sooo... I decided to bake a chocolate cupcakes for her to decorate and bring them to schools to share with her classmates.

The recipes..

Ingredients
125gm unsalted butter
125gm Castor sugar
125gm self-raising flour
2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
80gm chocolate chips

Method:
1. Mix the butter and castor sugar until fluffy
2. Then add the flour and cocoa powder slowly until all done and mixed together.
3. Add in the eggs and vanilla essence and mix.
4. Mix in the chocolate chips.
5. Pour into cupcakes or muffin baking tray (lined with cupcakes cups or papers) until 2/3 full.
6. Bake at 180C for 20-25min.

CHOCOLATE ICING
Ingredients :
250g margarine
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 can (397g) condensed milk

Method :
1. Beat margarine with cocoa powder till well blended.
2. Gradually add the condensed milk and stir till smooth.
3. Ready to use.


Isn't it easy peasy? Here are some photoes of the cupcakes

Here's how they look like after they were out from the oven

Here's a peek of what's going on inside the cupcake

And here are the the cupcakes decorated by the birthday girl, ready to be shared with her classmates and she is sooo proud with the deco... as long as she is happy and her classmates enjoyed the cupcakes, that's all matter to me :) .

Friday, September 26, 2008

My Version of : Kueh Lapis Kacang Hijau Berkoko a.k.a Cocoa & Mung Bean Layer Cake



Easy to prepare and cook!. I have been thinking of cooking this Kuih Lapis Kacang Hijau eversince I saw the kuih lapis made by Fabmom. But I dont want to buy many kinds of flour like stated in the recipe tried by Fabmom... so by try and error.. here is my version of the kuih lapis kacang hijau. I didnt want to use any food colouring, so I am using natural colouring and flavour hehehehe.

Ingredients A:
1 cup flour
1 tbsp rice flour
1 tbsp corn flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups coconut white milk (santan
1/2 tsp salt

Ingredient B
1 cup mung bean, boiled to soften and blended in a blender/food processor

Ingredient C
1/2 tbsp cocoa powder, dissolve in 1/4 cup of warm water


Methods:
1. Mix all ingredients A and sieve to make sure all are mixed well and smooth batter.
2. Divide into 2 portions
3. Mix in the blended mung bean into one portion and the cocoa mixture in the other portion.
4. Heat up the steamer ( I just use a wok with cover) and grease (with bit of cooking oil) the container you are going to use for cooking the batter. I just use a grease baking tin.
5. Pour in half of portion of the cocoa batter and steam for 3 min ( depends on how thick the layer is, the thicker the layer the longer the time needed to steam).
6. Then pour in half of the mung bean batter and steam for 3 min.
7. Repeat until all batter finish up.
8. Cool and slice according to your preference.


note: easier to slice with a grease(with cooking oil) knife

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Guess what's sexy about my name?

I have no recipe to post today.. so while blog hopping.. suddenly am in the blogthings website.. and the random quiz gave me this quiz... hahahaha

So just for fun here's what it says about my name




What's Sexy About Your Name



You are sexy because you are very dreamy. You are often lost in a lush fantasy.

You are a sincere and devoted partner. You are attracted to troubled souls.



You will do anything for the person you love, and in the bedroom, you aim to please.

Once you fall for someone, you're hooked. You give all of yourself to make the relationship work.



Of all the types, you're the most likely to have a secret fantasy life.

And for you, your fantasy life can be more real than your actual life at times.



Dare to find out what's sexy about your name? hahahaha..
Though I think I know how the quiz selects for description hehehe
Have fun..



.

Monday, September 22, 2008

What??!! What did my handbag says about me????

Okay, just fun.. nothing to do with recipes or food... I read Kadusmama's blog today about what her handbag says about her... So here what my handbags say about me hahahahaha..



What Your Handbag Says About You



You tend to be relaxed throughout the day. You are naturally at peace.



You are a low maintenance person. You can adapt to a variety of situations.



You are a very creative person. Your life tends to be a whirlwind, but you always seem to pull it together.



You are practical and down to earth. You tend to be a rather reserved and quiet person.



So did my handbag describe me well? How about you? Try it and find out yourself hehehehe

Tat Nenas- Pineapple Tart



This is the old recipe I tried last year... if lab papa and the wifey can remember... I did bring some of these tarts to work and let our "food tasting gang" sampled some of it :). It is very soft and tasty pineapple tart... just ask lab papa hahahaha. You can use the recipe for your Raya cookies :).

Ingredient
250g butter
50 g icing sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
35g milk powder
375 g flour (this is an estimate, add as much as you needed, as long as it is easy to shape or mould)
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 tsp yellow food colouring
pineapple filling ( can be bought from supermarket or baking supplies shops)

Method:

1.Mix well butter and icing sugar.
2.Add in egg, mix well.
3. Pour in the vanilla essence and yellow colouring. Mix well
4. Add in the milk powder and half of the flour. Knead slowly. Add more flour until the dough does not stick to fingers.
5. Mould or shape according to whatever shapes you like with the pineapple filling in the middle.
6. Brush some egg yolk on the top of the cookies
7. Bake for 15min 180C.

Nice and simple but taste very nice..

Friday, September 19, 2008

Magic Peanut Butter Middles



This is a simple recipe but taste very yummy provided you like peanut butter :). But very sweet though, you might want to reduce the sugar in the filling if you do not like sweet cookies. My DD like it very much, I think because she loves peanut butter hehehehe

Ingredients
200g flour
40 g cocoa powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
100 g white sugar
110 g packed brown sugar
115 g butter,softened
65 g peanut butter (crunchy)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg

filling
90 g icing sugar
195 g peanut butter (creamy)

Method:
1. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder until well mix.
2. In bowl mixer, cream butter, peanut butter,white sugar and brown sugar until fluffy. Add vanilla essence and egg. Mix in the dry ingredients to the butter mixture.
3. For Filling: Mix peanut butter with icing sugar until well blended.
4. The cookie dough should be easy to mould with your fingers. Take 1 tbsp of the cookie dough and flatten it with your fingers. Fill in with 1 tsp of the filling and cover completely. Flatten the dough and place on baking tray ( remember to place them about 1-2cm apart )
5. Bake at 190C for 9 minutes.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Murtabak Maggie



Ingredients;
2 packet of instant noodle (Maggie Mee!)
3 eggs
1 onion
1 red chili
oil to fry
salt to taste

Methods:
1. Slice the onion and chili.
2. Boil the instant noodle until cooked ( not too soft) and remove the noodle from the water.
3. Beat the eggs until fluffy and add in a pinch of salt.
4. Add in all the ingredients into the beaten egg ( the noodle, sliced onion and chili and the instant noodle flavour packet /perasa maggie). Mix well.
5. Heat up the pan /wok and cook the instant noodle mixture with little bit of oil ( like cooking pancake). Cook each side until golden colour.
6. Serve while hot with some chili sauce.

Hahahahaha... i think I got this recipe from Maggie's website... long time ago but never tried it. Maybe one of these days hehehehe... Let me know if you have tried it.... some people said it tastes very yummy.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Simple Fruit Cake


  • 1 cup butter
  • 2 cups golden raisins and sultanas mix
  • 2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/4 cups white sugar
  • 4 eggs

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven at 15oC. Wash and dry raisins and sultanas mix.
  2. Grease and line cake tin with grease paper.
  3. Sift all purpose flour and baking powder together. Add in the sugar and the salt.
  4. Beat in the eggs with the flour mixture, one egg at a time. Mix well.
  5. Beat in the butter until creamy and fluffy.
  6. Add in the dried fruits and mix well with a spoon.
  7. Turn batter into prepared cake tin, filling 2/3 full and spread batter evenly. Tap the cake tin on the work surface to pop any air bubbles.
  8. Bake 70-80mins. To test whether the cake is done, poke a skewer or a toothpick near the centre of the cake after baking for 1 hour. If it comes out clean, the cake is done.
  9. Remove from oven. Allow to stand for about 5-1omins before turning the cake out on a wire rack to cool.
Simple right? The one I baked taste a bit dry but it tastes much better after a day or two. You can add any dried fruits you like and probably with some lemon's rind.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Tag : Household Chores that I really hate



Woohooo.. a long postponed tag from kadusmama... hehehehe. Oklah... I'll do it now!

Rules
All you need to do is list down the household chores you hate and why you hate it. Then copy the image provide and tag as many people as you want! Add your blogs link to the domesticated divas linky love and leave a comment at Stripe and Yellow to be added to the master list and you're done.

Actually I don't do house chores now as my maid does all (hehehehe....) so I am listing those chores that I dont like before I have a maid :). Kadusmama has listed all the chores I hate... I guess most people hate the same house chores.

Chores that I HATE!!!!!


Sweeping and the floor ~ Especially when you penat-penat sweep and then suddenly somebody came in and walk with the shoes on or leave things around in the living room...

Tidying kids toys ~ Sometimes when my maid is not around, I have to clean up after the kids' mess... but after a while, I will give up and just let the floor messy with all the toys. Now my 13 months old toddler is so rajin, she will clean up anything on the floor ( if not too heavy for her to lift) and throw them all in the playpen... but if she is in the playpen... all the toys in playpen will be thrown out on the floor pula..

Cleaning up after cooking ~ I like cooking but I hate cleaning up after cooking or baking hehehehe..

Cleaning the bathroom/toilet- I dont like scrubbing on the tiles.. very tiringlah..

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I think all my bloggie friends have been tagged with this tag... so anybody want to do this.. you are most welcome :)

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Tag... taggie...



I was tagged by Zanie today... so here am I completing this very easy peasy tag :). Thanks zanie. So here is a wish to all my muslim friends... "Tetap Bersinar Selama Ramadan". Have a blessed Ramadan month to you all.

So here is the instruction for this tag

Dibuat oleh: antownholic.blogspot.com, reskitrianto.blogspot.com, bashrie.blogspot.com,juzzyouandme.blogspot.com, sweethoney, sofiaroxy, darleeluv, a gift fRoM hEaRt, a gift from azza, sejenak bersamaku, cherita dapur, Was Will Always Me, Riezanie2u.blogspot.com, ibu-ayah-xtvt.blogspot.com, delicioushalalcake.blogspot.com, http://homebakery-leeza.blogspot.com/, http://riezanie2u.blogspot.com, A Recipe A Week


Arahan nya…

Copy the picture above and post it on your blog. Then list down 5 of your friends ( can be more if you want) whom you want to pass this tag and do not forget to leave a message in their blog informing them to come to your blog and collect the tag.

Lastly, add your website URL in the list above.

I am going to tag my fellow bloggie friends

1. Lab Papa
2. Rin Chan
3. FabMom

only 3 names.. but nevermind maybe their list will be longer hehehehhe
Selamat menjalankan tugas semoga kita akan terus bersinar hingga ke akhirnya...

Monday, August 25, 2008

Jemput-jemput Kacang Hijau?

I wanted to cook the Kuih Rengas a.k.a Kuih Kacang Hijau a.k.a Mung Bean Traditional Cake (one of my favourite kuih in the world hehehehe), but I didnt have time to do it. So I made a "jemput-jemput kacang hijau" instead hahahaha.. easy, simple and ready to eat in a jifty.

The Recipe


Ingredients

1 cup Kacang hijau (Mung Bean) boiled until soft with palm sugar /white sugar ( to your preferred taste)

1/2 cup Flour

Water (just enough to get the right consistency)

2 tbsp Sugar

a pinch of salt

Oil for frying

Method:


1. Mixed all ingredients (add just enough flour and water to get slightly thicker than the condensed milk consistency, I just estimated mine, didnt actually measured properly) just enough for batter to be able to drop easily from the mixing spoon.

2. Heat oil in a pan or wok over medium heat. Keep the heat on low.

3. Drop a tablespoonful of batter mixture in the pan/wok and fry until golden brown on both side of the "kuih"/cake

4. Serve while still hot.

Easy right? Taste yummy too.

.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Sweet Potato Donut a.k.a Kuih Keria-My Version

I have read Whimsi's blog and Fabmom's blog on their Kuih Keria projects and have been thinking of making them too. The last time I made this kuih was probably back in my secondary school years hehehehehe.

I have changed the recipe a little bit... just to see if it works... Well, it did! The kuih if eaten when it is still warm ( that is served immediately after cooking it), is very-very nice.. it is a little bit crispy on the outside but soft in the inside...very nice... Does not taste the same after it has been cooled down though... so eat while it is warm. The sugar coating is normally done by rolling this kuih in melted sugar until the sugar crystallized around them. But as for me, I don't like too much sugar.... if I coat it in sugar, I would have removed them before eating anyway, so in this recipe, I just sprinkled some caster sugar just for extra sweet taste.


The recipe I used ( I don't really measure them, I just estimate :) ):


300g sweet potatoes

1/2 cup plain flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Oil for frying

Caster sugar for sprinkling


Method

1. Scrub sweet potatoes clean under running water. Place in a pan and cover with a generous amount of water. Add a pinch of salt. Boil until tender.

2. Remove sweet potatoes from water and leave to cool.

2. When cool enough to handle, peel the skins. Mash sweet potatoes until free from lumps. Pick out any tough fibres and discard.

3. Sift flour and baking powder together and add to mashed sweet potatoes, kneading lightly until smooth.

4. Divide dough into small portions and roll into smooth balls. Flatten the balls slightly and make a hole through the centre of each one with the floured handle of a wooden spoon. With your fingers, lightly pat the edges around the hole for a nice, smooth 'donut' finish. Repeat until dough is used up.

5. Heat oil in a pan or wok over medium heat. Keeping the heat on low, fry the donuts until golden brown on both sides. Drain on absorbent paper.

6. Sprinkle some caster sugar on donuts or coat with melted sugar ( depend on your preference). Serve soon after making.


Note: Make sure the oil is kept at medium heat, just enough to make the donuts sizzle upon contact with oil. Frying in too high temperature will make the donut skin "blistered appearance"


Thursday, August 14, 2008

Tag: The '5'

I think this is the last tag that I owed from my blogger friends. This one is from lab papa...(again)

Question 1: What were you doing 5 years ago?
Moved to our present house

Question 2: What were the 5 things on your to do list today?
1. Check my emails
2. Check out if the caterer did their job
3. Sent and Pick up daughter to and fro school
4. Eat a lot of food and even tapau some home
5. Meeting with some big shots hehehehhe

Question 3: What are 5 snacks that you enjoy?
1. Kerepek pisang
2. chocolate
3. yogurt
4. pisang goreng
5. kuih rengas

Question 4: What are 5 things that you would do if you were a billionaire?
1. Pay all my debts
2. Buy houses and lands
3. Travel with my family - vacation
4. Invest on something like with Jue (check out Jue's blog) hehehehe
5. Saving for my old years and for my children's education and insurance

Question 5: What are 5 jobs you've had?
1. researcher
2. a housewife and mom
3. .....
4. .....
5. .....


Now I would like to tag
Fabmom
Whimsi
Jue


the problem is... I still not sleepy.. but I am so tired..... watudu? maybe I will try the acupunture tips to help me, something I learnt long long time ago from an acupunturist.

Tag- 7 facts about me

I am tired but I still can't sleep... so I'll do another tag, hopefully will help me to fall asleep hehehhe.

Fabmom tagged me recently and just have the chance to do the tag. She didnt give the rules in her blog so I went to Fabmom's original tagger (just plain Sharon) to copy the rules.

Here’s the rules:
A. List these rules on your blog.
B. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog.
C. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

7 facts about me:

One: I love my family too much :-)
Two: I love recipes but not neccesarily will try them.
Three: I enjoy traveling with my loved ones
Four: I love doing handicrafts but I dont have much time to do them.
Five: I wish I have time and money to attend cooking and baking classes
Six: I like to shop alone
Seven: I will try my best to honour what I have vowed or promised to do, the best I can

I dont have 7 persons to tag... so I'll just list out those I know ...I would like to now tag:

Lab papa
Hombidai
Rin-chan
Whimsi
Kadusmama

Tag -One Word Meme

Arrrgh.. a very long postponed tag from lab papa... almost forgotten about it.. I have to dig in lab papa's blog to get it hehehehehe..

I am so so so tired today and something else bothering me so to clear out my "stress" b4 I go to sleep...hopefully I can sleep well, have been having difficulty sleeping these few days.



So here goes my answers:

1.Where is your cell phone? ~ handbag
2. Your significant other? ~ ex-fiance ;-)
3. Your hair? ~ black
4. Your mother? ~ heaven
5. Your father? ~ kampung
6. Your favorite thing? ~ recipes
7. Your dream last night? ~ sad
8 Your favorite drink? ~ cocoa
9. Your dream/goal? ~ happy
10. The room you're in? ~ living
11. Your hobby? ~ many
12. Your fear? ~ aracnida
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? ~ family
14. What you're not? ~ hipocrite
15. Muffins? ~ blueberry
16. One of your wish list items? ~ Traveling
17. Where you grew up? Sabah
18. The last thing you did? ~ typing
19. What are you wearing? ~ black
20. Favorite Gadget? ~ notebook
21. Your pets? None
22. Your computer? ~ Acer6292
23. Your mood? ~ Tired
24. Missing someone? ~ yup
25. Your car? ~ CRV
26. Something you're not wearing? ~ shoes
27. Favorite store? ~ none
28. Like someone? ~ yes
29. Your favorite color? ~ cream
30. When is the last time you laughed? ~ today
31. Last time you cried? ~ saturday

I want to tag Whimsi and Fabmom... if they have not received this tag yet. Have fun gals.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Chocolate Mugcake (5 minutes recipe )

I received this recipe through email the other day.. Thanks to AlunisSkyWalker for the email :)

A extremely simple recipe.. those working in the office or lab, bring all the ingredients and try making this using the microwave oven ( hahahahaha). For those who have microwave oven at home... do try this... you will have a Chocolate Cupcake in 5 minutes. No need to go out and buy choc cake when you are craving for one in the middle of the night :)

Ingredients:

· 4 Tablespoons cake flour
· 4 Tablespoons sugar
· 2 Tablespoons cocoa
· 1 Egg
· 3 Tablespoons milk
· 3 Tablespoons oil
· Mug and spoon

Methods:
1. Flour
2. Sugar
3. cocoa
4. Mix
5. Add in 1 egg
6. Mix
7. Add in Milk and Oil
8. Mix well
9. Microwave for 3min (high power)
10. Wait until it stops rising and set in the mug
11. Tip content out of mug into saucer and enjoy!



Now.. go enjoy your Chocolate Mugcake with your favourite hot drink ;-). Pretty simple recipe right. As variation, you should be able to make more and microwave in a paper cup maybe and get many-many chocolate cupcakes ;)

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Steamed Bun



My first attempt of making Steamed Bun. The result... no bad oooh. I didnt have any other fillings and I was too lazy to make red bean (tausa) filling or any other fillings, so I just open a can of "kaya" or coconut jam and used it as the filling.
The recipe and ingredients are quite simple and easy to do actually, it just needed a long time waiting for the dough to rise.
Here is the recipe I tried:

What you'll need to make 24 buns:

Starter:
1 tbsp active dry yeast
1 tsp white sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup warm water

Dough:
1/2 cup warm water or milk
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp white sugar
1 tbsp vegetable or peanut oil

Finish-up & cooking:
Steamer (I just used my wok as my steamer)
Parchment paper
Paper towel

Methods
1. In your mixing bowl, mix the water and flour from the "starter" stage, then sprinkle the yeast and sugar on top. (The water should be about 40C to make a good environment for the yeast.) Leave it for around 15-30 minutes.

2. Stir in the remaining water/milk (I used milk), flour, salt, sugar, and oil. Mix it into dough. Flour your work surface, turn the dough onto it, and knead it until it's smooth. Then grease a bowl lightly, return the doughball to the bowl, roll it around to coat the ball with grease, cover it, and let it stand for 2.5 - 3 hours or until has tripled in size.

3.Punch down the dough with the back of your fist, and then knead it for five minutes. Then put half of the dough back in the bowl and cover it again, and pull off bits of the dough you still have out and shape them into spheres (You can also add any fillings you prefer). You can put these on squares of parchment paper, to make them easier to handle later. You should end up with about a dozen rolls, unless you feel like varying the sizes. Take out the other half of the dough and do the same thing. Then cover the rolls - a deep pan will do, as will a "tent" made out of plastic wrap and four tall glasses - and let them rise for another half hour (I just covered with clean towels).

4. Take the basket out of your steamer and bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Place some buns, still on their paper, in the basket, leaving an inch between them. Place the basket in the steamer, put a paper towel over the top, and put the lid on over that. (This will prevent condensation from dripping back down on the buns and creating blisters. I didnt cover mine). Steam them over simmering water for 15 minutes, or until they are firm. Take them out and serve

There you go, easy right? Just need a long time to prepare though but very-very nice steamed buns :) .

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Charity Time!



Fund Raising... not for me aaah.

Didnt do anything interesting this week, just the normal everyday things hehehe...

I baked some cakes yesterday to be given to the Fund Raising Bazaar organized by SIB Kg Piasau Church's Women Group. The picture showed just some of the cakes, sliced and packed ready to be despatched hehehehe. The bazaar is held today in Kg Piasau Kota Belud.

Anybody up to support Fund Raising Food Bazaar in Kota Belud... you are most welcome. There are going to be lots of food hehehehe... It starts at 10am to 6pm today 2nd August 2008 at Kg Piasau ( In front of ABC Enterprise, to Janet and Whimsi's info... it's in front of Jimmy's house hehehhehe). I wont be there though.. I just ask my SIL to come to my house yesterday to pick up the cakes for sale today.

I wont be getting any returns from the sales... so dont ask me to "belanja' you hhehehe...it is just a donation from me :) to the women's group.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Selingan........ My First Cloth Diaper!








You must be wondering whether you are in the wrong blog.. why suddenly a cloth diaper in a recipe blog? Hahahahaha... sorry about that.
I have been wanting to sew my own fitted cloth diaper for my daughter ... so finally I did it! The pictures above show my first cloth diaper, measured, cut and sewn all by myself.
What do you think of it? Not so nice.. but I think I will get better after a few cloth diapers... I think (hehehehehe...). The top picture is my almost 1 year old daughter wearing the cloth diaper mommy has sewn.
The materials.. I just bought a meter of cotton fabric with Winnie the Pooh print ( so difficult to find good fabric with cartoon pictures in Kota Kinabalu, anybody know where to find them? Please let me know.... I tried Segama and Sinsuran... the only fabric I found is the RM2.50 per meter thin cotton fabric. Maybe I should wait for the KAMDAR and Globe Silk Store in 1Borneo to open ;-) ). The inner layer, I use soft fleece cloth and sewn 6 layers of an old napkin cloth diaper as the soaker.
My big dream..... is to make my own cloth diaper and put my own brand on it and make money out of it ;-).
In the meantime... any parents interested to buy cheaper cloth diapers please check out this website http://cutietots.littlecrackers.com/ . Lets reduce the use of disposable diapers and save cost and the environment. Hehehehehe
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Monday, July 21, 2008

Moist Choc Cake





Hi all...

Have not been able to update my blog... I have not tried any new recipe either. First, my streamyx went A.W.O.L. then during weekend, my computer decided that it needed re-installing of the operating system.. :).

I baked Moist Chocholate Cake ( recipe posted previously) and used different icing to cover. The amount of chocolate rice was not enough.. well.. my helper (DD) ate more of it than the amount sprinkled on the cake hehehehehe. Did the icing and choc rice at night.. so I just did it in a rush... my dear helper refused to go to sleep without finishing the icing..hahahaha. It is very easy.... for even for an amatuer baker like me :).
Try it during weekends probably for tea time treat :).

The Chocolate Icing Recipe

Ingredients

50g butter, softened
1 cup icing sugar, sieved
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp boiling water

Method
1. Cream both butter and icing sugar until creamy and smooth
2. Add cocoa powder and boiling water, beat again until smooth and creamy.






Monday, July 14, 2008

Chocolate Donut with mashed potato

Doesn't look very nice right, but taste delicious... with a little bit crunchy on the outside but soft in the inside... plus the chocolate taste!

Ingredients

· 1 egg
· 1/2 cup sugar
· 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate
· 1 tablespoon shortening
· 1/2 cup mashed potatoes
· 1/3 cup milk
· 1.75 cup sifted all purpose flour
· 3 teaspoons baking powder
· 1/2 teaspoon salt
· fat for deep frying

Method
1. Beat egg until light and beat in sugar.
2. Melt chocolate and shortening together, add to sugar mixture.
3. Add potatoes and milk.
4. Combine flour, baking powder and salt.
5. Add dry ingredients to batter, adding just enough to make a dough that can be handled.
6. Chill dough
7. Roll out dough on floured board; cut with doughnut cutter.
8. Fry (a couple at a time) until browned on both sides, turning once.
9. Transfer to paper towels or brown paper bags to drain.
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*****
Note:
As usual I don't glaze my donuts. You can glaze them using the glazing method mentioned in the previous donut recipe. :)

Friday, July 11, 2008

Chicken Rice- My version



The very simple way of cooking and preparing Chicken Rice @ Nasi Ayam. Save money and cook your own Chicken Rice hehehehe....


Ingredients & Methods
**********************************
CHICKEN

Chicken portions
Oyster sauce
Concentrated chicken stock
Oil for frying

Method
1. Mix all the ingredients together and marinate for at least 1/2 hour.
2. Microwave marinated chicken until chicken is almost cooked.
3. Fry the chicken until dark brown colour.

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

RICE

2 cups (rice cooker's measuring cup) rice, washed.
4 cups (rice cooker's measuring cup) water
2 tbs concentrated chicken stock
2 garlic, smashed
2 inches ginger, sliced
¼ onion ( small size), sliced

Method:
1. Mixed all ingredients in a rice cooker and cook the rice.

**********************************
CHILI SAUCE

Red chilies, seed removed.
Garlic, sliced
Lime juice or vinegar
salt
sugar
water

Method
1. Blend the chilies and garlic with a small amount of water (with a blender)
2. Heat up the chilies mixture in a pan until simmering.
3. Add in lime juice/vinegar, salt and sugar and let the mixture simmers until the sauce thickens.



That's all folk!. Just serve your rice and chicken in a plate with some sliced cucumber and pour in a little bit of the chili sauce on the chicken or you can serve the chili sauce separately in a small saucer.


Enjoy your Chicken Rice! :)

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Selingan - Dumplings Anyone?

I haven't got time to update any recipe yet.. so in the meantime... enjoy my fake dumplings hehehehe....










Nope.. not real dumplings.. they are just a handicraft that I sew for my daughter. I got the materials and measurements from a DIY kit. All I did were measured them, cut them, and sew them.

See.. I told you, I can do handicraft or make gifts hehehehehe... but these cannot be eaten ok. :)

Monday, July 7, 2008

My Version of Warung Burger



Aha! I just remembered these photos when lab papa posted his warung burger in his blog.
I wanted so much to eat warung style burger last Friday but when I thought about the way they make burgers in the stall near my place, how small and overcooked the burger patties were... I just had to cook and prepare my own burgers....

So here they were... so nice and juicy and satisfying!

I grilled the burger patties instead of frying them.. so the patties were still juicy, yummy, yummy for our tummies hahahahaha


Kadus mama asked me to write down the recipe.... so here's for my blogger friend Kadus Mama :)
This is for one burger.. if you want to make more, then add the amount appropriately.


Ingredients

1 burger bun
2 burger "Ramly" patties
1 egg
cabbage - sliced thinly
Tomato chili sauce
Cheddar cheese slices
Mayonaise ( if like.. I dont :) )

Method
1. Grill the burger patties until they cooked (dont overcooked! )
2. Whisk / beat the egg and cook like a scrambled egg.
3. Cut the bun into two and spread some margarine or butter on the cut sides.
4. Brown the sides with margarine on a hot pan.
5. Arrange the ingredients on the warmed bun - cheese first, burger patty 1,tomato chili sauce, egg, some sliced cabbage, burger patty 2, chili sauce and then cheese. To have a delicious taste of cheese... make sure the patties are still hot :)

You can arrange them anyway you like actually......

Good luck!

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Selingan- Matryoshka Dolls



Just as a 'selingan'- nothing to do with recipes hehehehe

Here is a Matryoshka Dolls a.k.a Russian Stacking/Nested Doll a.k.a Babushka doll..
I have looking for these dolls around Kota Kinabalu (didn't really go around KK and look hehehe.... ) because my eldest has been fascinated with them since she watches the Higgly Town Heroes.
Here they are... At last, found it!. I bought them at 1Borneo a few weeks ago. I think they look cute and my eldest adores them :).
To know more about these dolls..check out the Wiki :) (click here)
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Thursday, July 3, 2008

Express Donut a.k.a. Cake Donut



Hi there!

My daughter likes to eat donut but most of the time I don't have a lot of time to spare to cook donuts for her as you probably know the original donuts normally take hours to prepare as it uses yeast. I didn't glaze the donuts I made because I don't like them to be too sweet, even without the glaze (that's why they don't look shiny), the donuts taste sweet enough for me.

I found this recipe to cook donut in much shorter time and the most important thing for me is my daughter loves them very-very much! The donuts are soft but please don't compare them with the Big Apple or Dunkin Donuts etc., this is an express donut recipe.. remember? :)



Work plan


60 mins preparation
30 mins frying




Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1.5 Tsb shortening at room temperature
2 cups of sifted flour
2 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
oil ( for frying)





Glaze
1/4 cup boiling water or 1/4 cup hot coffee
pinch of salt
1 cup icing sugar





Method


1. In a medium bowl, slightly beat 1 egg.
2. add sugar to egg and beat until incorporated
3. Add butter and beat until smooth
4. Add milk and mix well.
5. Add flour, baking powder and salt. Mixed well.
6. Cover and chill dough until stiff enough to roll out with rolling pin.
7. Roll out dough on a floured surface with rolling pin to 1/3" thick. Let rise for 5-10min.
8. Cut out donuts with a donut cutter.
9. Combine the ingredients for glaze and set aside.
10. Fry donuts until golden brown.
11. Glaze the fried donut with the sugar mixture and cool on a wire racks.





Tips:


Add more flour, If your dough is not stiff enough to roll out with a rolling pin.


You can use a clean smooth bottle ( or others) instead, if you don't have a rolling pin.


If you don't have a donut cutter, you can just make a ball of dough, flatten it a bit and make a hole in the middle it or you can also use rims of drinking glasses or bottle covers ( different sizes of course, big one to cut the shape and small one to make a hole in the middle).




This is the donut cutter I use. A cheap plastic one which you can buy from the supermarket for RM1.90. This makes mini donuts. For bigger donuts, you can buy a bigger mould which costs about RM2.50.






Monday, June 30, 2008

Hasty Chocolate Pudding

I tried this simple and easy chocolate pudding. Taste very smooth, chocolaty and sweet. If you don't like sweet pudding, you can reduce the amount of sugar in this recipe. I found it too sweet for me so the next time I would reduce the sugar quantity. It is an easy recipe and fixed in a jiffy as it is using a microwave to cook. If you don't have a microwave, you can simply use the conventional method.. use your stove to heat up the pudding mixture :-).

Work plan
5min preparation
10min cooking

Servings: serves 4


Ingredients

100 g white sugar
30 g unsweetened cocoa powder
25 g cornstarch
475 ml milk
10 ml vanilla extract


Method

  1. In a microwave-safe bowl, whisk together the sugar, cocoa and cornstarch. Whisk in milk a little at a time so the mixture does not have any dry lumps.
  2. Place in the microwave, and cook for 3 minutes on high. Stir, then cook at 1 minute intervals, stirring between cooking times for 2 to 4 minutes, or until shiny and thick. Stir in vanilla.
  3. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming, and chill in the refrigerator. Serve cold.

I keep my pudding in small tubs ( see pictures above) and keep them in the refrigerator. The tubs have their own covers so I don't have to use any plastic wrap anymore.





Saturday, June 28, 2008

Tag 15Q&A

I was tagged by KadusMama a week ago (if I'm not mistaken) and then by Lab Papa just a few hours ago hehehehe.. Luckily I have not done the tag yet....

RULES:1. Add your blog/s to the list. Feel free to add all your other blogs. It's okay if you only post these questions in one blog as long as you answer them.
2. Get back to ME {refers to YEN} and I'll add your blogs to the master list here! Yup, another linking thingy but this one has 15 questions and you get to enjoy answering them too!
3. Tag as many friends online you know. But you don't need to be tagged in order to join.

QUESTIONS:
1. When you buy a greetings card, are the words or the picture more important to you?
* I will browse for the picture and wordings, but normally the wordings will make the final decision.

2. What's your favorite kind of cake?
* Moist Chocolate Cake..

3. Do you ever make gifts for people, if so what, or do you buy them?
* I like to make gifts for people, including cards... only if I have time to do them though... if not.. I just buy them lah.

4. What's your favorite holiday?
* Any holiday is my favourite, as long as I can spend it with my loved ones

5.Are you going on holiday this year? If so, where?
*Not sure yet... maybe not.

6. What was the best party you've ever been to?
* To tell the truth, I don't like party hehehehehe

7. If you are married, describe your wedding. If not, what would your ideal wedding be like?
* My wedding was quite special. It happened on Friday (most ppl got married on the weekends :) ) and instead of we go to church, it was done at home and the pastor came to the house to deliver the wedding blessings and prayers :)

8. What's the most romantic thing that's ever happened to you?
* When my ex-bf and me were chatting in the middle of the night.... suddenly we realized that we were surrounded by a few orang asli children tumpang mendengar our stories hahahahaha ( We were at the orang asli kg in Slim River at that time)

9. What's your favorite girl's name?
* My daughters' names.. both mean happy/happiness

10. What's your favorite boy's name?
* I don't know yet... if God suddenly want to bless me with a baby boy then the baby boy's name is my favourite boy's name hehehehe

11. Which celebrity would you like a dream date with?
* Ehm... I don't really fancy any celebrity.

12. Which female celebrity do you find beautiful?
* Angelina Jolie

13. Which male celebrity do you think is attractive?
* Emm.... I can't think of anyone

14. What is your best character trait
*Can keep secret.... provided you tell me not to tell anybody in advance ( so that I know it is a secret hehehehehe)

15. What is your worst habit?
* Procrastination.

The Master's List:1. Me and Mine 2.Creative In Me 3.Little Peanut 4. Pea in a Pod 5. Sugar Magnolias 6. A Life in Bloom 7. Because Life is a Blessing 8. Nita’s Random Thoughts 9. Nita’s Corner 10. Nita’s Ramblings 11. Thomas Web Links 12. Thomas Travel Tales 13. Great Finds and Deals 14. Make Money Online 15. Recipe Collections 16. My Wandering Thoughts 17. Filipino Online Community 18. Famous Lyrics Collections 19. Thomas Digital Services 20. Bohol Paradise 21. PRC Board Exam Results 22. My Paperless Writings 23. As The World Turns 24. My BIG Picture 25. When Silence Speaks 26. Felicity’s Vision 27. Bienvenue `a la Noryfel 28. Inday’s Kitchen 30. My Life 31. My Life in this Wonderful World! 32.Me,Myself+2 33.FunFierceFabulous 34. Supermodel Wannabe 35. kathycot dot com 36. buhaymisis.com 37. Hailey’s Domain 38. Hailey’s Beats and Bits 39. DeCaFFeiNaTeD 40. BaReFooTeD Me 41. Vhiel’s Corner 42. Anything and Everything in Between 43. Designs By Vhiel 44. Can of Thoughts 45. All Things Me 46. Because Life Is Fun 47. Meiyah 48. Mommy Talks. 49. Aggie Shoots. Aggie Scraps. 50. Pink and Brown Diaries. 51. Winding Creek Circle. 52. The Salad Caper. 53. Pinoy MeriendaClassics Atbp 54. Life and Destiny 55. ISL Family 56. D’ Cooking Mudra 57. Pinoy MeriendaClassics Atbp 58. Blessed Chic 59. Dancing With Butterflies 60. Just Let Go 61. Pieces of Me 62. Mind Juice In Full Throttle 63. Petty Ramblings of a Petty Queen 64. The Real Deal 65. My BIG Picture 66. My Happy Place 67. In This Game of Life 68.. We are Family 69. Mommastuff 70. Dancing in Midlife Tune 71. Life is what we make it 72. Sunshine’s Photoblog. 73. A Reality Bite 74. MeiYah 75. Mind Juice In Full Throttle 76. Rosilie: My Blog 77. Mirage As Usual 78. My Sweet Escape 79. Mixed Culture Mama’s Blog 80. Journal of an ethusiastic lab papa 81. A Recipe A Week 82. YOUR BLOG HERE


Who am I going to tag this time... Whimsical!!!! You have been tagged.

Fried Salted Fish


This is just a free advertisement hehehehe. I don't really have to give you the recipe for this dish, because I am sure everybody know how to prepare it... I just want to make you drooling while looking at the picture. Go to the market now, buy some salted fish and cook some for yourself hahahahaha

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Simple Fried Chicken

Hi all... Sorry for not been updating my blog for a week now, I have problem with my internet connection and also I was out-stationed for a few days.

Here's a simple fried chicken recipe. Have a try and I am sure you will like it.. mainly because it is so simple and tastes yummy too.

Ingredients
Chicken pieces ( either wings, drumsticks etc. )
Salt (quantity depending on how salty you want your fried chicken would be)
Chinese 5-spices powder
Corn flour
Oil for frying

I didn't give the exact measurements for the ingredients because they are all depending on your preference... some people prefer more and some might prefer less.. normally I kinda just "agak-agak" (estimate) the quantity.

Method

  1. Mix all the ingredients together and let it marinates for at least 1/2 hour inside the fridge.
  2. Then put the marinated chicken pieces in the microwave and cook for about 4-5 minutes to cook the inside of the chicken.
  3. Heat up the oil and fry the chicken until golden brown.
  4. Put the fried chicken on kitchen towel to remove excess oil.

Tip.
If you don't have any Chinese 5 spices powder, you can replace it with white pepper powder.

Notes
Microwaving the chicken before frying will lessen the frying time and also lesser oil will be absorbed by the chicken pieces.

If you are planning on a BBQ, try microwaving your seasoned chicken pieces before BBQ-ing them... your BBQ chickens will be juicy and cooked in shorter time (so less burnt and charred chicken hehehehe).

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Hinava Tongii


Hinava is a type of cuisine of the KadazanDusun indigenous ethnic group in Sabah, Malaysia. It is a form of salad with pieces of raw fish marinated in citrus juice. Tongii is actually mackerel fish in KadazanDusun language.

Very simple and easy to prepare dish.


Ingredients
200g raw Mackerel (tenggiri) fish flesh
juice of 4-5 lime (enough to cover the fish flesh)
salt to taste
ginger, cut into fine strips
shallot, peeled and slice thinly
chili, cut into fine strips

Method

  1. Wash and then slice the fish flesh thinly.
  2. Add the lime juice and salt. Mix well. Set aside for about 10min, preferably in a refrigerator.
  3. Add ginger, shallots and chili. Mix and serve.
Variations
You can also add dried grated bambangan seed and finely sliced bitter gourd if your like bitter taste.



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