Thursday- The Good Wife vs Glee

Okay, call me slow, lembab, etc..but I still haven't had  a chance to catch Glee season 2 yet. My HD is currently full with "The Good Wife" season 1 + 2 episodes, plus 4 megasized favorite movies, which I like to keep it there for a while, in case I wanna watch it again and again.. you know.. and I don't think I'm going to delete my favorite The Good Wife series at the moment..

So hang on there Glee.. I'm going to d/load you once I'm finished and fully contented with Alicia Florrick gorgeous apartment..he he [How I wished I have a kitchen like hers]

Credit to House of Ficek for the pictures

I love G-Paltrow btw.. she's cool kan?

Tuesday-Poached Pear in Cage

Here's another excellent dessert recipe I made yesterday. There are 3 reasons why I baked this dessert. First: I have three untouchable pears left in my fridge, no ones seem interested to finish them off. Secondly: the lattice pattern and thirdly; the whole idea about poached pear.I looooovvvveeee 'cooked/baked-fruit' as dessert. The combination from fruit aromas mixed with the spices i.e cinnamon and cloves are just heaven..Same goes to this cage puff. BigDaddyO loved it so much and requested me to do another batch of it. he he insyaAllah =p

These puffs were rather less elegant than the one I saw on the internet, [one of mine got a big hole at the back], but trust me, no one will care once they take a bite. he he Google on 'pear in a cage' and you'll end up with few photos on how these puffs should look like..  My puffs are made by amateurish home chef je =p 

Poached Pear in Cage 

{Recipe is inspired and taken from Sprinkle Bakes's Honeyed Pear in Puff Pastry..TQ =D}

Yield: 2 medium sized puff

• 4 small pears-I used 2 pears
• 1 sheet of ready made puff pastry dough, thawed
• 4 cups water-half
• 2 cups sugar-half
• 1 cup honey-I used golden syrup
• 1/2 lemon-omit
• 1 vanilla bean, seeded with hull reserved
• 3 sticks of cinnamon-1 stick
• 6-8 whole cloves-omit

1. Peel pears and core from the bottom. 
2. In a medium saucepan, combine the 4 cups water, 2 cups sugar and 1 cup honey. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. When the sugar has melted, add the pears, vanilla seeds and hull, 1/2 lemon, cinnamon and cloves. Simmer pears until they are fork tender. This can take 20-40 minutes, depending on the ripeness of your pears. 
3. Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
4. When the pears are soft, remove them from the pot and allow them to cool slightly. Discard solid pieces from saucepan.
5. Cut 2 medium size of puff pastry in square. about the same size as your pear.
6. Put the pear on the puff pastry [bottom layer]
7. As for the top layer, make several cuts just like below lattice pattern, and stretched it a lil bit, be careful not to tear it, [or you'll end up like mine-the big hole huhu] and put it on top of the pear. secure both end with fork or your hands. 
8. Baked it for 15-20 mins or until the puff pastry turns golden brown. Serve with ice-cream. 

lattice pattern

                                             

Adam cooks on Monday..err..Friday he he

Alas, I'm few days late, but I still wanna squeezed this week "Adam cooks on Monday [ACOM]" today.. Adam and I went to the library last Monday, had our lunch outside, and by the time we were finally home, we both were so tired from the long walk. [Mommy was the one who got tired the most actually, had to carry him around after he tired to walk himself =p] So no cooking mooking on Monday. 

As usual, Adam did the easiest part only, and this time he got to sieve the dry ingredients. I helped him pour the ingredients on the sieve and let him kacau2 with a spoon. Memang mengacau pun after that.. he really kacau me by asking me to carry him around, messing the floor with the butter, sepah2kan my bowls and pots, and nearly tumpahkan tepung yg dah disieve tu.. err..err.. "I'd got to bring him out of my kitchen.." Switched on the TV, luckily Mickey Mouse Clubhouse was on it, and he got excited & left Mommy by herself in the kitchen, with all the 'great' mess T_T 

No baking-making-caking after this..I'll let him spread the Peanut-Butter-Jelly instead. =P I should choose recipe with less preparation time and steps sepatutnya.. Obviously, I'm dealing with a 20 months toddler, who couldn't stand still even for a minute! And ade je new things that will catch his interest.. tu nak pegang, ini nak masuk mulut.. =p 

So here's my version of Steamed Zebra Cake. Mine is a bit hideous, isn't it. The taste is there, but there's no zebra stripes whatsoever inside.. Outside, adelah selai dua stripes.. =P And I forgot to tap the cake pan before I put it in the steamer, so there you go, uneven-rocky-mountainous top cake .. isk isk.

Steamed Zebra Cake {Recipe taken from Rima Bisous A Toi-Thanks!!!}

Yield: 8 pieces [I did half butter only]

Ingredients
(A)

• 8 eggs
• 250g sugar
• 1 tbsp emulsifier
• 1/2 tsp salt

(B)

• 250g flour
• 50g milk powder

(C)

• 50g butter, melted
• 50g fresh milk

(D)

• 75g margarine, melted - I used butter
• 2 tbsp instant coffee mix with a little hot water
• 1 tbsp mocca paste - I used mocca latte paste

1. Heat steamer.. greased a 24cm round pan.
2. Beat ingredients A until thick and fluffy.
3. Add in sifted B.
4. Mix well. Weigh and divide batter into two equal part.
5. Add C to one part, mix well, set aside.
6. Add D to another part, mix well, set aside.
7. Pour plain and mocca batter alternately till finish
8. Steam on medium high fire for abt an hr or till set
9. Remove from pan, slice into pieces. Serve.

Tuesday- Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes {CCC}

I baked a dozen of chocolate coconut cupcakes[CCC] this morning. EARLY this morning. Lately, I've went to bed earlier than I usually had and woke up in the wee wee hours of the morning. 

Tired, perhaps. Or over-ate. =P 

While some people despise the taste of coconut in their food especially desserts like cake, candy or ice-cream, I'm on the other hand, love most food with coconut flavor. Especially those Raya cookies with coconut flakes inside, kuih ketayap, and who can forget the delectable Bounty chocolate bar. :D

Same goes for this cupcake, I love the taste combo even though the chocolate flavor somehow overpowering the coconut's a little bit.Just a lil bit. Maybe I should reduce the cocoa powder to 3 tbsp. Anyway, it's edible hehe. So long Mr. Tong Sam Pah. I spread some cream cheese [left-over from the pumpkin roll] as the cupcakes topping and sprinkled them with toasted coconut flakes. Luckily, the imbalanced taste of chocolate-coconut was saved by the sweet & creamy cream cheese topping and coconut-aroma flakes. :D BigDaddyO'haven't give his take on this cupcakes yet. I packed two for him to munch in his office. 

Anyway, here's the recipe. Give this recipe a try, will you? hehe

Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes [CCC] 

{ Recipe taken from Sweet Paul}

Yield: 12 large cupcakes

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup plain flour
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut
• 4 tablespoons good quality cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Beat butter and sugar until pale.
3. Add eggs, one at a time. Mix well.
4. Add flour, coconut, cocoa and baking powder.
5. Mix well.
6. Pour the batter into a 12 cup buttered cupcake tin.
7. Place in oven and bake for 12-15 minutes.
8. Cool on a wire rack.
9. Spread topping and sprinkle with toasted coconut flakes. 

Tasty Thursday- Chocolate Soufflé

It's rainy and grey outside. Waking up early to such weather was utterly bliss. I took few minutes to tuck Adam with his blanket, and went straight to do my morning routine in-you-know-where. 

So, what's for breakfast? Chocolate soufflé! Seriously?

Before everyone wakes up [and start to bug me =P], I heated up the oven and quickly gathered the ingredients. You see, I'd bookmarked this souffle recipe few months ago, and finally got my mojo call last night.  Honestly, I've been thinking and dreaming about it lately..Simply couldn't hold the urge of putting the rich chocolaty taste on my taste buds..nyum nyum..[red flag mode dah nak dekat pun =p]

On the other note, people always said that it's hard to make soufflé.. I'd been hesitating to make them due to this reason too..But since Masterchef Whitney Miller made the art of making soufflé looked easy..[plus yummy], I vowed to take the soufflé challenge myself.. After done with the saucing and whisking, I popped both ramekins into the oven, and I thought to myself, that's it..it was pretty easy to make soufflé.. Both of them rose beautifully in the oven and the top of these soufflés fell shortly after I took them out of oven, leaving slightly crisp tops which hide the rich gooey interior. 

So yes, it's true..I made these lovelies for breakfast instead of dinner desserts.. thee..why not? Who said we can't have dessert for breakfast…=P The texture was so puffy and I felt like eating cotton with chocolate flavors =P To me, it was among the best comfort-food dessert I've ever tasted. 

BigDaddyO had his before he went to work..

One thing I've noticed about this soufflé recipe, though, is that granulated sugar coated inside the ramekins. It somehow get scooped together with the soufflé and it gave that rough sugary grain texture inside your mouth. Make sure you used very fine granulated sugar for the coating to avoid this. 

Anyway, this chocolaty soufflé truly has a way to brighten up our morning :D I'm glad I tried it and of course I'm going to whip up types of soufflé [sweet or savoury] after this.. As Julia Child said,

"Learn how to cook -- try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun!"

Stay tune with my next soufflé adventure!! =p

Chocolate soufflé {Taken from myrecipes's Individual Chocolate Souffle}

Yield: 2 servings (serving size: 1 soufflé)

Ingredients;

• Cooking spray
• 4 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided-next time I'll used fine granualted sugar..
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Dutch process cocoa-I used unsweetened cocoa powder + a pinch of soda
• 2 tablespoons fat-free milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg white
• 1 teaspoon powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Coat 2 (6-ounce) ramekins with cooking spray; sprinkle each with 3/4 teaspoon granulated sugar.
3. Combine 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, flour, cocoa, and milk in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook 2 minutes, stirring until smooth. Spoon chocolate mixture into a medium bowl; cool 4 minutes. Stir in vanilla.
4. Place egg white in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until soft peaks form. Add remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form (do not overbeat). Gently stir 1/4 of egg white mixture into chocolate mixture; gently fold in remaining egg white mixture. Spoon mixture into prepared dishes. Sharply tap dishes 2 or 3 times to level. Place dishes on a baking sheet; bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until puffy and set. Sprinkle each soufflé with 1/2 teaspoon powdered sugar. Serve immediately.

Sunday- Thai Beef Salad

"A simple yet full of flavors dish.." 

"A-must-try-dish.."

"Oh please please try..hehe"

"Utterly heaven!" 

I love to serve this on my table everyday sampai muak makan haha...tapi for the cholestrol sake, tak boleh la kan..But I'm so so into this so-called salad..isk isk

Oh please forgive me..for praising this dish high..hehe All praises go to the recipe owner-Kimba Kitchen..

Anyway, I'd to adjust the recipe, just to suit whatever I had in my fridge..The dressing is the important part of the salad.. so you can  literally put anything after that..anddd I made this as a side dish, served with plain rice, omelette and fried fish huhu

Thai Beef Salad [Big thanks to Kimba Kitchen]

Yield: I big salad bowl

Serving: 4 persons

Ingredients:

• 80 ml lime juice
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tsp soft brown sugar
• 1 garlic clove, crushed-I used garlic salt
• 1 tbsp finely chopped coriander (cilantro) roots and stems-skipped
• 1 stem lemon grass (white part only), finely chopped
• 2 small red chillies, finely sliced
• 2 x 200g beef eye fillet steaks- I used shabu shabu beef hehe
• 150g mixed salad leaves- I substituted with purple carbage, and roasted red pepper
• 1/2 red onion, cut into thin wedges- Yellow Onion
• 15g coriander (cilantro) leaves- Skipped
• 7g torn mint leaves
• 250g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 Lebanese (short) cucumber, halved lengthways and thinly sliced on the diagonal-Skipped

1. Mix together the lime juice, fish sauce, palm sugar, garlic, chopped coriander, lemon grass and chilli until the sugar has dissolved.
2. Preheat the chargrill plate to medium-high direct heat and cook the steaks for 4 minutes on each side, or until medium. Let the steaks cool, then slice them thinly across the grain.
3. Put the salad leaves, onion, coriander leaves, mint, tomatoes and cucumber in a large bowl, add the beef and dressing, toss them together and serve immediately.

The next morning, I fried the leftover rice and salad and tadaaa..jadik nasik goreng plak ;p 

BTW, have you heard a saying said something like this; "Makanan darat and Laut tak boleh campur, takut mudarat?" anyone know more about this..? I just found out abt it last week.. 

Monday- On Japan Tsunami and Hereafter

I watched Hereafter [film] last Monday and for those who haven't watch it [or trailer] yet, the terrifying tsunami as an opening scene is the only catch to watch that movie. . The scene shows how the heroin struggling in the big tidal wave after being swallowed up in it and how the heroin gasps from near death experience. Its so realistic, scary and sad all at one.. and it made me wonder whether real people can survive such disaster, how would I react if it happens to me or people that I know [nauzubillah].... and questioning whether I live in a safe land or not, etc...

Four days later, North coast Japan was hit with giant tsunami and I felt like having deja vu after I found out the news on TV. Those disaster footages were devastating to watch and it were nothing compared to the movie scene..off course lah kan..The Japanese tsunami was a naturally-occurring event...I kept the news channel on for the rest of the day.. for updates..[Slaluu kena bukak kids channels je]..

BTW, the movie was pulled out from Japan yesterday.Read here. More footage here.

My deepest sympathy and condolences to the people of Japan..Stay strong..

Saturday- Nutella Swirl Espresso Blondies

I just noticed that I'm writing my 200th post now. 200 posts in a year+? that's just amazing..to me, at least.. I hardly hook to anything nowadays [baca buku pun bila nk tido, pastu boom tertido] and to have something that I can stick my nose onto is just unbelievable. 

Anyway, did you guys celebrate your first blogoversary? Mine was on last month and I let it passed away without any note on it hehe. Never mind, there's always next or next next blogoversary..  =P

Okay..let's move on..Since BigDaddyO is coming home from somewhere tonight, I baked blondies as a welcome home treat for him. 

The original recipe read as Nutella Swirl Blondies, but I added espresso to make the blondies sounds "masculine" hehe It was my first attempt in making it.  A quick fix and the end result is delightful. This blondie is a must have treat for any party and I think I'm gonna baked this for Adam birthday bash [minus the espresso, of course].

It has a dense and chewy texture and on tastewise, the combination of nutella and espresso is just marvelous.. [tak ting tong pening2..] I keep on munching it and it's very addicting..[ate about 5 squares alredi..slap slap..]..this recipe will yield about 16 blondie squares depends on how big you cut it. You get more squares if you cut it small. Totally a keeper recipe and I'm thinking of adding nuts in my next bake..or..or.. substitute nutella with peanut butter..:D

Okay here's the recipe;

Nutella Swirl Blondies [ Big thanks to GingerBread Bagel for this amazing recipe]

Yield: 16 squares or more

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 3 1/2 Tablespoons Nutella

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Lightly grease an 8 by 8 baking pan and set aside.
3. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and kosher salt. Set aside.
4. In a large mixing bowl with the paddle attachment (a handheld mixer works fine) mix together the packed light brown sugar, melted unsalted butter and vanilla extract.
5. Once combined, add in the egg and mix.
6. Slowly add in the dry ingredients until almost combined.
7. Take a spatula and fold the ingredients together.
8. Evenly spread the blondie batter into the baking pan. Measure out the Nutella. Drop the Nutella on top of the blondie batter. Drop the Nutella in three rows. (three drops in each row)
9. Swirl the Nutella up and down. Then back and forth.
10. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
11. Cool and then cut into squares.

Friday- On Yogurt, Flakes and Fruits...

Eat this combination of yogurt, muesli/cornflakes and fruits if you're having trouble doing business no 2 =P

From bottom layer; grapes,strawberry yogurt, cranberries, cornflakes,yogurt and cranberries. 

Wordless Wednesday- Asparagus?

United we stand, together we fall...

I'm tiring of cooking asparagus in the same way, stir fried with soy, garlic and ginger. So far, those flavors are match made in heaven for asparagus, to my palate at least. But I'm getting enough of it..

How do you cook your asparagus? 

Adam cooks on Monday- Strawberry Yogurt Lollies

Strawberries are on sale everywhere, it seems. 

I bought a packet of mine since they looked irresistibly good. In taste, most of them were too sourish and its fruity aromas were almost gone. Slightly sourish strawberry are acceptable, but not this one. They're flown from somewhere somewhere and they're quite bad in taste. I believe food grown as close to home as possible tastes better than food flown in from afar. I will have to stop buying strawberry for a while. {stop buying all those on sale too!} 

Before they all turned bad, I used half of them to make lollies. 

Here's a fairly simple recipe Strawberry Yogurt Lollies Adam and I made. {Adam did his part by pressing the blender button only :P} and he was very proud of it, as always.. 

Ingredients: 

350g fresh strawberris, hulled and sliced

300g thick natural yougrt 

3 tbsp honey

few drop of vanilla extract.

Yields: 10

Serves: 1-10

1. Put all of them in a blender and process until pureed.

2. Pour the mixture into ice moulds and freeze until solid. 

3. to unmould, let them rest on side for a while and take it out. 

I only got to taste the lollies,not ate them, and now I'm tiring of cooking and baking with fruits and vege. We'll see what Adam and I end up cooking next week. :D

Sneak Preview

Singapore Skyline

Saturday-Pumpkin Roll

I bought a small cut of pumpkin last 2 weeks, and the thought of turning it into something were delayed until yesterday. Yeah, I know, I know.. I should had consumed it early. Chef Google said I should had cook it in the first 48 hours.. ;p for the sake of the vits, nutritions, and whatnots..The poor yellow thing was hidden in the deep layers of veges and fruits. starting to dry out and shrivel hehe I completely forgot about it. [Tapi taleh lawan Cik Som for keeping that small tub of mascarpone cheese for nearly 4 years, kan CS? ;p Cheese and vege, not a good comparison.. 

Anyway, I decided to make a pumpkin roll out of it. The recipe was based on Libby Pumpkin Roll@ All Recipe.com.

It was my first attempt in making roll, so please bare with my penyet version hehe the sponge cake should'd been more spongy..but nevertheless, the taste is there, after being paired with the cream cheese filling inside.. ;) 

BTW, my sister is in the town!! :D so this morning, we all plan nak gi Merlion. hahaha I've never been to that particular spot before, even after nearly 7 years commuting SG-KL and staying here. So today I'm going to wear my tourist cap and pose with the legendary statue! ;p 

Happy Sunday!

Friday- When Life gets too much...

When life gets to be too much, I can start to feel a little bit overwhelming. Previously, when I was working, I thought being a stay at home mom would be easy and more relaxing. But I was completely wrong. Cooking, baking, cleaning, washing, gardening, shopping, sewing projects, and the most of all, taking care of the little one. No job in this world is easy. Being a parent is not easy. Being a mom is not easy. Handling a toddler is way more challenging than handling a crying newborn. 

Recently, Adam started to throw things to me and everywhere, banging his head to the wall, refused to play alone, and he wanted to be cling to me 24/7. Ish. He started to whine too.. a long and loud one. And the only thing that could stop him is to carry him around. He is such a baby! Ish. So all of this new behaviors, plus the non-stop chores, made me feel overwhelming. Sigh. And I got teary sometimes. 

So how should I keep up with this. Going to the spa? I don't  have that much fortune to go there everyday. It had to be an everyday things and here's few of it..

1. I find it relaxing to cook and bake. But it had to be in slow down mode. During a quite night. With my favorite songs as background noise in low tune. It would turn out better if the baking result is on my side. not on the dustbin side.
2. Brushing the toilet's bowl helped me ground too. I mean cleaning. I let all those frustrations out while brushing/sweeping/vacuuming the floor hard. It let me slow down, and I feel rejuvenated and refreshed after that.  Knowing that I'd burned my anger and calories out, and my floor is sparkling shine now. 
3. As I'm writing this post, I love the calmness of the surrounding of it, and I get to write without feeling rushed. Blogging is relaxing too. 
4. Probably the most important thing I do to keep it up from getting too much is getting myself out of the house. I didn't get to do it often during weekdays. Blame the weather, off course and to those who contributing to the global warming problem. But  taking a short stroll with Adam would certainly bring joy and keep me sane. 
5. Reading calms me too. But it's hard to not to fall asleep while doing it.  

Those are the little things I do to make it all less stress. I just need some quite time to think and feel rejuvenated. And I'm back to normal me. 

What do you guys do to slow down life and less stress?

On the other note, my daily routine had to be adjusted due to Adam's new 'peel', so starting from today onward, I'll be preparing Adam's lunch early in the morning. Last night, BGO suggested me to prepare Adam's lunch in the morning, so I won't be kelam kabut preparing it at noon, with Adam besides me, whining like forever. Ugh..

He woke me up early, so I could take my own sweet time preparing it. He was right! It's a good move, plus I got to bake early. I turned on the radio, and started to prepare Adam's lunch slowly. It took me an hour and a half to re-heated and served BGO's breakfast- curry mee and prepared Adam's lunch- mini hamburger.. I baked the mini buns and seared the beef patties myself!! :D pardon the bragging, it was my first time baking it actually..huhu mini buns recipe will be shared in next post.. this post is lengthy enough..

The mini buns, fresh from the oven. 

Adam loves to blow candles hehe

More photos of Adam

The Adam.

After finish with the cleaning etc, I brought Adam for a short stroll to the nearest park. I took the camera with me, and taking those snaps brought some joys to me. Another good way to loosen the mind-photographing.

A good mood to start my Friday.. how's your Friday?

Wordless Wednesday- Anakin Slywalker..

On Tyler and JLo..

Did u guys follow this year AI? I'm all for Paul McDonald. :D

I love Steven Tyler and Jlo..For me, both are way better than the previous judges. I fell in love with them when watching them for the first time. Tyler is a funny guy and Jlo is one gorgeous and humble lady.. ;) Salute them ;) 

Enjoy the clip!