Sunday, March 23, 2008
Have A Very Happy Easter Day!
Wishing one and all ..... may this Easter season give you new beginnings and blessings!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Seder Meal
This is the second time I have prepared this meal for the family on Maundy Thursday to celebrate the Passover meal which was and is still being traditionally celebrated by the Jewish community. As it is the season of Lent, I try to share with the family some of the Faith traditions and hopefully we learn to deepen our Faith and knowledge in the process.
We shared the reading from the Bible and as we ate the meal, I explained the symbolism of each items in the meal.
You may want to refer to this link for more information .....
http://www.catholicculture.org/liturgicalyear/activities/view.cfm?id=1038
We shared the reading from the Bible and as we ate the meal, I explained the symbolism of each items in the meal.
You may want to refer to this link for more information .....
http://www.catholicculture.org/liturgicalyear/activities/view.cfm?id=1038
Butterfly Cookies
Baked and decorated these butterfly cookies for dd's classmates to celebrate Easter. The recipe was gotten from the Straits Times shared by Sylvia Kang for Mind Your Body. The recipe is true to what the article suggested .... High in flavour, low in sugar :-)
Ingredients:
100 g unsalted butter, soften
50 g icing sugar
150 g plain flour
100 g corn flour
2 pinches of salt
orange zest, finely chopped
lemon zest, finely chopped
6 tbsp UHT milk
Method:
Pre-heat oven to 175 degree C.
Cream butter and icing sugar together till light and creamy.
Fold in the rest of the ingredients and mix well till a dough is formed.
Cling wrapped the dough and place in the fridge for about an hour.
Roll the dough out between two pieces of cling wrap to about 3 mm thin with a rolling pin.
Cut out the desired butterfly shapes and place them on the silicon paper lining the cookie sheets.
Bake them for about 20 minutes.
Cool the cookies completely before decorating them with colored icing.
Colored Icing for decorating cookies.
1 no. egg white, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1 to 2 tsp lemon juice
Stir all the above ingredients till well blended.
Divide the icing into different portions and add in a drop of food coloring.
Ingredients:100 g unsalted butter, soften
50 g icing sugar
150 g plain flour
100 g corn flour
2 pinches of salt
orange zest, finely chopped
lemon zest, finely chopped
6 tbsp UHT milk
Method:
Pre-heat oven to 175 degree C.
Cream butter and icing sugar together till light and creamy.
Fold in the rest of the ingredients and mix well till a dough is formed.
Cling wrapped the dough and place in the fridge for about an hour.
Roll the dough out between two pieces of cling wrap to about 3 mm thin with a rolling pin.
Cut out the desired butterfly shapes and place them on the silicon paper lining the cookie sheets.
Bake them for about 20 minutes.
Cool the cookies completely before decorating them with colored icing.
Colored Icing for decorating cookies.
1 no. egg white, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1 to 2 tsp lemon juice
Stir all the above ingredients till well blended.
Divide the icing into different portions and add in a drop of food coloring.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
MeMe 2
I've been tagged by two fellow bloggers to do this.
1. Name one person who made you laugh last night?
My ds J
2. What were you doing at 0800?
I just woke up and looked at the clock.
3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago?
I was up dating my bloggie.
4. What happened to you in 2006?
I started this bloggie.
5. What was the last thing you said out loud?
Urggggg .....
6. How many beverages did you have today?
So far .... one cup of coffee and 2 cups of plain water.
7. What color is your hairbrush?
Black.
8. What was the last thing you paid for?
Roti Prata for last night's dinner.
9. Where were you last night?
Having dinner with ds A and dh at a coffee shop near my house.
10. What color is your front door?
Brown.
11. Where do you keep your change?
In my wallet.
12. What’s the weather like today?
Fair and cloudy on a Sunday morning.
13. What’s the best ice-cream flavor?
Ben & Jerry's Strawberry.
14. What excites you?
Food pictures.
15. Do you want to cut your hair?
Yes.
16. Are you over the age of 25?
Yes.
17. Do you talk a lot?
No, I'm rather reticent.
18. Do you watch the O.C.?
Not any more.
19. Do you know anyone named Steven?
Yes.
20. Do you make up your own words?
No.
21. Are you a jealous person?
No.
22. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘A’.
Angela.
23. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘K’.
Katherine.
24. Who’s the first person on your received call list?
I do not have such a list.
25. What does the last text message you received say?
"How are you?"
26. Do you chew on your straw?
No.
27. Do you have curly hair?
No.
28. Where’s the next place you’re going to?
St .Anne's Church for Mass.
29. Who’s the rudest person in your life?
I can't recall.
30. What was the last thing you ate?
Hotcakes sausage for breakfast this morning.
31. Will you get married in the future?
I have been booked for life :-)
32. What’s the best movie you’ve seen in the past 2 weeks?
I haven't been to the movies for ages. Watching from mysoju.com counts?
33. Is there anyone you like right now?
Like my friends.
34. When was the last time you did the dishes?
This morning.
35. Are you currently depressed?
No.
36. Did you cry today?
No.
37. Why did you answer and post this?
rei & kwf ...my blogger friends tagged me.
38. Tag 5 people who would do this survey.
Since the blogs that I usually read have already been tagged, I'll just tag 3 persons.
http://aimummy.blogspot.com/2008/03/nurse-cookies.html
http://jthorge.blogspot.com/
http://feedmyworld-sri.blogspot.com/
1. Name one person who made you laugh last night?
My ds J
2. What were you doing at 0800?
I just woke up and looked at the clock.
3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago?
I was up dating my bloggie.
4. What happened to you in 2006?
I started this bloggie.
5. What was the last thing you said out loud?
Urggggg .....
6. How many beverages did you have today?
So far .... one cup of coffee and 2 cups of plain water.
7. What color is your hairbrush?
Black.
8. What was the last thing you paid for?
Roti Prata for last night's dinner.
9. Where were you last night?
Having dinner with ds A and dh at a coffee shop near my house.
10. What color is your front door?
Brown.
11. Where do you keep your change?
In my wallet.
12. What’s the weather like today?
Fair and cloudy on a Sunday morning.
13. What’s the best ice-cream flavor?
Ben & Jerry's Strawberry.
14. What excites you?
Food pictures.
15. Do you want to cut your hair?
Yes.
16. Are you over the age of 25?
Yes.
17. Do you talk a lot?
No, I'm rather reticent.
18. Do you watch the O.C.?
Not any more.
19. Do you know anyone named Steven?
Yes.
20. Do you make up your own words?
No.
21. Are you a jealous person?
No.
22. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘A’.
Angela.
23. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘K’.
Katherine.
24. Who’s the first person on your received call list?
I do not have such a list.
25. What does the last text message you received say?
"How are you?"
26. Do you chew on your straw?
No.
27. Do you have curly hair?
No.
28. Where’s the next place you’re going to?
St .Anne's Church for Mass.
29. Who’s the rudest person in your life?
I can't recall.
30. What was the last thing you ate?
Hotcakes sausage for breakfast this morning.
31. Will you get married in the future?
I have been booked for life :-)
32. What’s the best movie you’ve seen in the past 2 weeks?
I haven't been to the movies for ages. Watching from mysoju.com counts?
33. Is there anyone you like right now?
Like my friends.
34. When was the last time you did the dishes?
This morning.
35. Are you currently depressed?
No.
36. Did you cry today?
No.
37. Why did you answer and post this?
rei & kwf ...my blogger friends tagged me.
38. Tag 5 people who would do this survey.
Since the blogs that I usually read have already been tagged, I'll just tag 3 persons.
http://aimummy.blogspot.com/2008/03/nurse-cookies.html
http://jthorge.blogspot.com/
http://feedmyworld-sri.blogspot.com/
Chocolate Sourcream Loaf
I noticed that when a cake uses sourcream as one of the ingredients, the cake tends to have a rather moist interior. So here I adapted the recipe for the Chocolate Loaf using the previous recipe of the Lavender Loaf. I have no regrets as the chocolate loaf turned out to be moist. I even topped a slice of the cake with lemon glaze and lemon zest when eating it. This gave the chocolate slice a zing to the tangy taste of the lemon glaze.
Here's sharing with you what I did ......
Ingredients:
240 g plain flour
60 g Varlhona dark chocolate powder
1 tsp baking powder
half tsp baking soda
220 g salted butter (Golden Churn brand)
220 g caster sugar
2 tbsp Irish Cream Bailey
4 eggs, beaten
1 tub sour cream (200 mls)
quarter cup UHT milk
Method:
Pre-heat oven to 180 degree C and line two loaf pans (8"x4"x2").
Sieve the flour,chocolate powder, baking powder and baking soda together.
Beat the eggs and add in the salt and Irish Cream Bailey.
Cream the butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
Add in the sour cream and stir till well mixed.
Add in the flour, egg mixture and milk in three portions and mix till well blended.
Portion the batter into the two loaf pans and bake for 55 minutes or till skewer comes out clean.
Cool loaves on a rack and remove cakes from pan to cool completely.
Drizzle the lemon glaze icing over the cooled loaf and sprinkle some lemon zest on top of the loaf.
Lemon glaze
3 tbsp of lemon juice
3/4 cup icing sugar
Stir the above two ingredients till well blended.
Here's sharing with you what I did ......Ingredients:
240 g plain flour
60 g Varlhona dark chocolate powder
1 tsp baking powder
half tsp baking soda
220 g salted butter (Golden Churn brand)
220 g caster sugar
2 tbsp Irish Cream Bailey
4 eggs, beaten
1 tub sour cream (200 mls)
quarter cup UHT milk
Method:
Pre-heat oven to 180 degree C and line two loaf pans (8"x4"x2").
Sieve the flour,chocolate powder, baking powder and baking soda together.
Beat the eggs and add in the salt and Irish Cream Bailey.
Cream the butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
Add in the sour cream and stir till well mixed.
Add in the flour, egg mixture and milk in three portions and mix till well blended.
Portion the batter into the two loaf pans and bake for 55 minutes or till skewer comes out clean.
Cool loaves on a rack and remove cakes from pan to cool completely.
Drizzle the lemon glaze icing over the cooled loaf and sprinkle some lemon zest on top of the loaf.
Lemon glaze
3 tbsp of lemon juice
3/4 cup icing sugar
Stir the above two ingredients till well blended.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Grilled Chicken In Fish Sauce
This was what I did with my bottle of fish sauce .....
Ingredients:
1 kg chicken parts
3 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp sesame oil
3 dashes of white pepper
1 tbsp chinese wine
Method:
Marinade the chicken parts with all of the above ingredients for at least 2 hours.
Preheat oven at 200 degree C and bake the chicken parts for about 35 minutes or until the chicken skin has a golden brown color.
Drizzle some of the baked gravy on the chicken parts after dishing out the chicken parts on a plate.
Ingredients:
1 kg chicken parts
3 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp sesame oil
3 dashes of white pepper
1 tbsp chinese wine
Method:
Marinade the chicken parts with all of the above ingredients for at least 2 hours.
Preheat oven at 200 degree C and bake the chicken parts for about 35 minutes or until the chicken skin has a golden brown color.
Drizzle some of the baked gravy on the chicken parts after dishing out the chicken parts on a plate.
Stew Pork with Dried Mandarin Orange Peel
Ingredients:
500 g twee bak (with pork skin trimmed away)
1 piece of dried orange peel (broken into smaller pieces)
1 piece star aniseed
1 tsp szechuan peppercorns
2 slices ginger, juliened
2 tbsp corn oil
4 tbsp chinese wine
half tsp salt
1 tbsp light soya sauce
1 tbsp dark soya sauce
1 tbsp sugar
a dash of white pepper
200 mls hot water
Method:
Cut the pork into cubes.
Heat up a heavy base pot with the oil and fry the ginger slices till fragrant.
Add in the pork and wine and stir- fry for about 3 minutes.
Add in the rest of the seasonings and then the water and let the pot boil for about 5 minutes.
Cover the pot and turn down the heat and simmer the ingredients for about an hour.
Stir the ingredients in between simmering.
When the meat has softened, the dish is ready to be served.
Lavender Loaf
Baked this over last weekend. It has the texture of butter cake with the fragrance of lavender. The loaf tasted even better when a slice of the cake was eaten with the sugar lemon glaze and lemon zest sprinkled over the slice.
Before baking this cake I had prepared lavender sugar and lavender icing sugar about a week in advance. I just sprinkled a tsp of the lavender flowers into each of the red cap cookie plastic bottles which I stored the sugars. This is to allow the lavender fragrance to infuse into the sugars. I used these sugars to bake the loaf and make the icing glaze.
Ingredient:
300 g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
half tsp baking soda
half tsp salt
1 tsp dried lavender flowers
220 g unsalted butter
200 g lavender caster sugar
2 tbsp Irish Cream Bailey
4 eggs, beaten
1 tub sour cream (200 mls)
quarter cup UHT milk
Method:
Pre-heat oven to 180 degree C and line two loaf pans (8"x4"x2").
Sieve the flour, baking powder and baking soda together.
Beat the eggs and add in the salt and Irish Cream Bailey.
Cream the butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
Add in the sour cream and stir till well mixed.
Add in the flour, egg mixture and milk in three portions and mix till well blended.
Stir in the tsp of dried lavender flowers.
Portion the batter into the two loaf pans and bake for 55 minutes or till skewer comes out clean.
Cool loaves on a rack and remove cakes from pan to cool completely.
Drizzle the lemon glaze icing over the cooled loaf and sprinkle some lemon zest on top of the loaf.
Lavender lemon glaze
3 tbsp of lemon juice
3/4 cup lavender icing sugar
Stir the above two ingredients till well blended.
You may want to add a little purple color to make lavender color glaze.
Before baking this cake I had prepared lavender sugar and lavender icing sugar about a week in advance. I just sprinkled a tsp of the lavender flowers into each of the red cap cookie plastic bottles which I stored the sugars. This is to allow the lavender fragrance to infuse into the sugars. I used these sugars to bake the loaf and make the icing glaze.
Ingredient:300 g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
half tsp baking soda
half tsp salt
1 tsp dried lavender flowers
220 g unsalted butter
200 g lavender caster sugar
2 tbsp Irish Cream Bailey
4 eggs, beaten
1 tub sour cream (200 mls)
quarter cup UHT milk
Method:
Pre-heat oven to 180 degree C and line two loaf pans (8"x4"x2").
Sieve the flour, baking powder and baking soda together.
Beat the eggs and add in the salt and Irish Cream Bailey.
Cream the butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
Add in the sour cream and stir till well mixed.
Add in the flour, egg mixture and milk in three portions and mix till well blended.
Stir in the tsp of dried lavender flowers.
Portion the batter into the two loaf pans and bake for 55 minutes or till skewer comes out clean.
Cool loaves on a rack and remove cakes from pan to cool completely.
Drizzle the lemon glaze icing over the cooled loaf and sprinkle some lemon zest on top of the loaf.
Lavender lemon glaze
3 tbsp of lemon juice
3/4 cup lavender icing sugar
Stir the above two ingredients till well blended.
You may want to add a little purple color to make lavender color glaze.
Shrimp Wanton
This is what I depend on when I run out of soup or when I need a dish on no meat days. It's very easy to do. I just need to boil about 500 mls of water and when it boils I'll just dump in the 12 shrimp wantons together with the seasonings provided in the box.. When the wanton wraps become transparent, the dish is done and I'll just add in a teaspoon of sesame oil and sprinkle some fried shallots or fresh green onions. It's actually quite yummy if you don't mind eating frozen shrimps.
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