Deepavali Cookies

Finally found the time to upload my cookies, I made for Deepavali. I really like the melting moments cookies, really melts in the mouth.

I had some cereal that my kids refuse to eat so they ended up in my cookie recipe.

Meet Ms Sun

I bought this mould sometime ago and decided to use it during Deepavali. Got a recipe for making clear and white agar agar and went about doing it. Initially was quite difficult cos the small portions set faster. But well the end result was all worth it. I couldn't do the mouth cos the indent was inwards. So I could only pour colored agar agar after the whole thing has set. I didn't have time, so just left it.

Rose crackers anyone?

Been meaning to try my hand at this for a very long time. Also bcos my hubby likes this. Didn't know it's called Kueh Rose, until I tried to search online. After getting a few recipes and selecting the easier version I got all my things out and started. But the only flaw is that I got only 1 mould instead of two. I was not sure if I will be doing this often so didn't want to risk 'wasting' money. I must say that the first one was easy as anything. But than on, the next few turned out to be disasters and had to throw away the batter. These are my best ones.



It took me more than an hour to do at least about 30 nice ones. Hmm......I doubt if I wanna ever do this again! It is quite tedious and tiring. Sorry about the bad photography. But I was having a bad back from standing so long to finish this mess that I started that I just snapped a few shots. Didn't bother to check if it turned out fine..........hehehe (Really was quite exhausted. Maybe becos I did this after after work)

Well at least the verdict from my hubby made it all worthwhile. He is one who loves to comment. He said it tasted nice except for the shape of some. Maybe I should ask him to do it next time yah!

Prawn Balls!!!

I did this last weekend, only managed to download the photos now. It looks alot like the japanese takoyaki (not sure of spelling) balls. Only different version. I actually used a premix, just add water and mix till you get the right consistency. Since I had some prawns sitting in my freezer, decided to throw them in as well. I just LURVVVV prawns. They are so nice and tasty. Of course, they are not so healthy especially when cooking with the heads. So much cholesterol. But hey! Who cares, right. Can you ever say no to them. You live only once so might as well enjoy.

The batter

Being cooked

Making it crisp

Served with chilli sauce

Technically it is a prawn ball. Okay, I bluffed. Well I couldn't get them into nice balls then, so after the bottom is cooked I tranfer them to a flat pan to cook the top making it crispy. I have seen a seller doing like this in IMM, but they were selling cute thingies (can't remember their name now) made from waffle batter. You can add cheese, chocolate or kaya inside. Once the round side is cooked, he uses another flat sided pan to cover and flips them over. So this idea popped in my head, and I just applied it with what I had. It was nice and crisp. But must eat warm, not so nice when eaten cold.

The verdict: Tasted great with chilli sauce. Should have added some finely chopped onions and garlic.

Homemade breakfast today

I was rushing for work, but still managed to steal some time to make breakfast. I had some leftover chicken ham and decided to make a sandwich. Sorry cannot upload pics yet.

Ham-Wich

2 Slices square ham
4 Slices of bread
Mozarella Cheese (or any sliced cheese)
Butter
Chilli Sauce
Mustard Sauce
1 Egg
Pepper
Salt

1. Fry the ham lightly in some butter on a flat pan.
2. Prepare 2 slices of bread by squeezing some mustard and chilli sauce. Lay some cheese.
3. Beat an egg, season with salt and pepper.
4. Once the ham slices are cooked, quickly transfer them to the bread slice. Use the remaining two slices and sandwich them. You should have 2 sets of Ham-wich.
5. Now dip 1 set in egg and using the same fry-pan add some butter. Lightly fry/toast the bread till the egg is cooked. I like mine brown and buttery!
6. Repeat the other set. Once done cut them into triangles! Walah! Ham-wich is ready.

The verdict: Real Nice! for a homemade breakfast. Best when eaten warm.

My Elder Rascal

This is my eldest, but he is no angel either at times. He drives me up the wall with his impending stubborness. I am really gonna have a tuff time dealing with it. With both of them combined even Power Rangers cannot help me. *Laughs* He was very cute as a baby, now is just plain notorious. Hehehehe.........hey but that's what children are like right.

One of my Little Rascals

I was browsing thru my pictures and came across some really cute ones of my smallest rascal. Oohhh......but he's more than a handful to handle. Sometimes he is my personal trainer. (I need that actually, with Deepavali around the corner, must slim down fast. *Winks*) After he does something wrong and he knows it, you should see his face. He is sooooo angelic that you just break into a laugh. I must remember to capture that one day.

More Baking........

I didn't just stop at baking the butter cake. Been meaning to try out muffins as well. So got another recipe from another contributor and tried it out. I hate to drink milk, especially fresh milk. I have to use in this recipe. "How am I gonna taste it?"



Somehow I put all together and made the batter. But realised that the cup I bought was way too big for a muffin, so I had to reduce the portion. I didn't fill it 3/4 full but only till halfway. Added generous portions of mozarella cheese and chicken ham. They looked delicious. Hehehe.........

The verdict: It's very nice but I found it heavy. Maybe because of the milk. But it's a great recipe. You can always modify it to your liking.

That's all for now. I have a few things to try, but that will have to wait till the weekend.

Hunting for recipes

As usual I was looking through the blogs wooing and aahing at all the creations. I was not looking for anything in particular. Basically something that utilises all my leftover baking stuff. Also my hands were just itching to do something. "I mean baking!"

I came across a butter cake recipe that looked simple enough and I just needed to buy the butter. The recipe was taken from Aunty Yochana (she is so creative, I hope she doesn't mind me mentioning her). I was hunting all over my place for some cake margarine which I never managed to find. I went to IMM, NTUC, Shop n Save and Phoon Huat. Sigh! Cannot find lah. Give up, and buy more butter.

I almost followed the recipe. Why I say that is because, I realised that I have to beat the eggs till soft peaks form. I have never tried them. "Arrgggghh! How? Will my handheld be able to handle the pressure???" Well, there is only one way to find out. I was beating in intervals, cos I don't want to overheat my mixer. "Explode in my face how?" 25 mins have gone. Still no sign of soft peaks. But they were getting there, just that I got too tired and my sons were testing my patience. So just went ahead to fold the 'barely there soft peaks' into the flour mixture.

Tada!!!!

This is how it looks like.

I came across some cute silicone moulds for jelly at Daiso. But it was indicated not to used above 230C. "Hehehee........why don't I try to make little cakes in this?" There was enough batter so I just poured into the moulds and 'PING' another idea. I opened my cupboard, took out my nutella and mixed on top. They were great too.

These silicone things are so cute!. Now I so....... wanna get more of them. They are actually the size of say normal rubberband. When I have the chance to make jellies, will post them too.

Virgin Cuppies Captured

Actually they are not really my firsts. But because I have never captured my earlier trials, these became my first ones on the camera. In a way its acceptable because it was the first time I tried out buttercream icing. It got slightly watery, but after keeping in the fridge they hardened up. Not my best yet. There's still plenty of room for improvement.

The ones more on the right were done by me, sun, moon, spiderweb, etc. The rest I had some help from 'young & enthusiastic' creators. I know it looks childish. But hey! isn't there a kid in us all somewhere??? I was just fooling around, besides I am still in the beginner's stage. ;P

I made these for my BIL's housewarming. It was a very small occassion and I made them just for the kids. At least I received some compliments, which makes my effort worthwhile. I can say this was the turning point for me actually. After this I made up my mind to learn more and experiment more. Of course being a FTWM isn't easy. So time is an issue for me.

Also is the fact that my I have no proper basic equipments to begin with. Hahaha.........but at least I can do some simple baking with what I have for now. So that means I have to go shopping!!!!! (LOL when I have the money lah) Hmmm........I should take a pic of my equipments.

My First Blog Entry

Hi All,

Finally I have decided to create this blog and dedicate it to my kitchen. It is one of my favourite rooms in my home. I can carry out many experiments and create a whole mess, though I have no photos of past disasters or triumphant moments. Now don't let your mind wonder too far. I meant cooking or baking. Well the sad thing is that I have no proper tools to begin with. When I first created my kitchen, baking didn't even cross my mind. Hence an oven was not necessary. But now that I am so into getting my hands dirty with flour, butter, eggs, etc my first mission is to invest in a good oven.

Of course, my next aim is to own a Kitchenaid mixer. I am so in love with it, though never had the chance to operate it. For now, my handy handheld mixer and compact round oven will do. And so my journey begins......