Showing posts from 2009

Choux Pastry

December 20, 2009
I've been wanting to try my hands on... choux pastry ....at the same time... was a little ' apprehensive ' that it may not turn out well as I expected...Watching Laura Calder on TV, making her various 'French' pastry ie choux pastry, chocolate eclair etc... she made everything seems so 'easy'...manage to write down her recipe... but still I was holding back....afraid that it might not ' puff '... Coincidently... the very same weekend...in the West Australian Saturday newspaper .... there was this article on one French Pastry chef living in Perth ~Emmanuelle Mollois... gave out his version of choux pastry (recipe below)... literally.. 'pulled' myself together (including my courage ... before it decided to chicken out on me again!!)...and the result was ~tremendously puffed... and I was chuffed!!! 120g plain flour - sifted 90g butter 200ml milk 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon sugar 3 eggs In a saucepan, mix milk, butter, salt and s


raspberry eton mess

December 12, 2009
Miss E has been asking me..." Mom, when are you going to publish my raspberry eton mess?.. Its been awhile since I made them ..." Yes... sweetie, your mom has been 'sleeping on her job'!! I meant to publish this much earlier but somehow ... kind of miss my 'attention'...sorry my dearest dessert queen... promise to do better next time... made and decorated by Miss E... isn't she creative? like her mom...hahaha 225g fresh or frozen raspberries 1/4 cup caster sugar 450g strawberries 150ml thick cream 150ml Greek yoghurt 4 meringue nests Place raspberries and sugar in a saucepan over low heat for 5 minutes until the juices strat to flow, then leave to cool. Transfer to a food processor and puree until smooth. Pass through the sieve, discarding the solids. Place strawberries in a bowl with the puree raspberries, cream, yoghurt and the meringue. Fold everything together until combine. Spoon into 4 glasses and serve immediately. ~delicio


Prawn Fritters or Cucur Udang

December 11, 2009
Prawn Fritters... they are so yum to have in the afternoon with kopi O (Malaysian local coffee..)... my mum would serve the prawn fritters with peanut sauce (just like satay sauce)... Prawn fritters sold in the food stall has lost its 'identity' over the years.... there are less prawns used, more flour.... 2 cups of Plain flour 400g fresh prawns - roughly chopped 30 cooked prawns - de-vein and shelled 1/2 cup of fresh chives - chopped 2 handful of beansprout 1 teaspoon of tumeric powder salt Sweet Chilli sauce to serve Mix everything in a mixing bowl... add water adequately to make a smooth batter. Shallow fry in a large frying pan using canola oil. Drop in 2 serving spoonful of the batter into the hot frying pan... top with the cooked prawn. Turn the fritters over once the bottom side is cooked and golden brown in colour. Repeat with the other side... Serve with sweet chilli sauce.


Moroccan Apricot Chicken

December 09, 2009
Couscous again!!! my kids will be sighing... eventhough I tried to explain to them ...it's pasta.. that comes in different shapes... nobody buys the idea... its just like parmesan or blue cheese... you have to acquire the taste and the smell!! in my kids' case... the shape... fussypots .. They'll finish their dinner .. no doubt...but later they'll be ranscaking the pantry for other so called 'REAL FOOD' according to the two fussypots ... 4 chicken breast - trimmed 1 brown onion - thinly sliced 3 garlic - crushed 1 canned diced tomatoes 1 canned chickpeas 1 cup chicken stock 1 cup dried apricot - sliced 2 tablespoon honey 1 tablespoon tomato paste 1 tablespoon moroccan seasoning Using 1 tablespoon olive oil, heat up the frying pan and cook the chicken for 2 minutes on each side or until slightly brown. Transfer to a plate. Saute onion until soft. Add garlic and seasoning, stir until fragrant. Add honey and tomato paste. Then stir in the diced


teriyaki beef noodle salad

December 07, 2009
Summer is officially here....The sun rises earlier and earlier... it was almost 'hot' by 11 am and all it takes was 2 hours for my washing to be bone dry on the washing line ... Australian sun can be harsh...My kitchen will be less 'smoking' during these long hot summer days... Nothing beats the nice cool crisps salad on any hot days..yummm.... 300g beef steak - marinate with teriyaki sauce overnight packet salad a packet of thin Hokkien noodle (yellow noodle) Pan fry the beef steak and cut into thin strips. Cook the noodle as per packet instruction. Mix all the ingredients in a salad bowl. salt to taste.


meringue lemon curd

December 05, 2009
Browsing through my new cookbook, Mr H Jr wanted to try... to make this dessert. And since I have all the ingredients needed... plus the lemoncurd... I was ecstatic!!.... that my teenage - stuck with computer in his room -son wanted to make some dessert!!! woohoo!!! Wish that he would be out doing something else more... rather than glued to his computer!! sigh..... We tried using meringue recipe from Ms Janelle's book but somehow it did not turn out well... its a bit chewy and moist... so its best to adopt the meringue from Donna Hay.... The rest as follows: Drop the meringue onto a greased baking tray... using a small teaspoon to make a indentation at at the top. Reduce the oven temperature to 100C and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or more until the meringue is dry to touch.... Spoon a small amount of lemon curd into the indentation and top with raspberry. Tip: to have a 'drier' meringue... bake longer.....


Debbie's Remedy

December 04, 2009
Debbie made this 'concoction' drink last winter. As she had just returned from her European Summer holiday and was having a 'tingly' throat ... she made this and brought to work... and I had the pleasure of 'tasting' her remedy. It was soothing .... and the ginger quickly warmed up my tummy!! Good for winter and must remember to have this warm ginger drink every winter... and since I am having a 'sniffle'... could do with a cuppa!!! a handful of red dates 4 or 5 honey dates 2 inches of ginger - thinly sliced some rock sugar 4 or 5 chinese rice bowls of water Everything in a slow cooker, and cook for 4 hours on LOW. Adjust the rock sugar to the level of 'sweetness' to your liking.


Chicken, Mushroom, Sundried Tomato Quiche

December 02, 2009
Its quite easy to make if shortcrust pastry is within reach in the freezer .... Easy... Lazy meal .... 1 cup cooked chicken - shredded 1/3 cup sundried tomato - thinly sliced 200g mushroom - sliced few fresh basil leaves 2 shortcrust pastry - partially thawed 1/2 cup cooking cream 8 eggs 1/2 cup parmesan cheese salt and pepper Pre heat the oven to 200C. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Using the springform quiche or tart dish, cut up the shortcrust pastry to fit. Refrigerate for 20 minutes. Blind bake the pie casing for 10 minutes then carefully remove the beans and continue to bake for another 10 minutes. In a jug, mix the eggs, parmesan cheese, cream, salt and pepper. Cook the mushroom for 4 minutes, then add cooked chicken, sundried tomatoes and shredded fresh basil leave. Arrange the mushroom mix in the pie casing, pour in the egg mix carefully...not to over spill. Bake at 180C for another 40-45 minutes ..... Note: I cooked mini quiches for the kids l


Ikan Masak Asam Kicap/ Fish in Sweet Tamarind Sauce

November 30, 2009
When we were young.....mom often cooked this nice and simple dish, ... Since there were so many of us, she would use ikan kembung (equivalent to Aussie Trevally), and deep fry the fish for the day's meal to eat with sambal belacan ....and any leftover, she'd cook this simple yet nice Masak Asam Kicap for the our next meal... We never appreciate simple meal like this when we were kids... hmm...sigh... whole fish - marinade with tumeric and salt 2 tablespoon of asam jawa paste (tamarind) 1 brown onion - thinly sliced 1 inch ginger - julliene kicap manis/ sweet soy sauce Oil for deep frying the fish Clean the fish and pat dry with kitchen towel. Season the fish with tumeric and salt. Set aside. Heat some oil in a wok...sufficient to deep fry the fish until golden in colour. Drain the oil and leave about 2 tablespoon in the wok. Saute the ginger until slightly golden brown, then add sliced onion. Saute until the onion is soft. Add the tamarind juice (add water) and


Florida Key lime pie

November 28, 2009
Sharing with you ....of our first harvest of the Tahitian Limes....from our backyard... The gorgeous Tahitian Limes... Since the 'harvest' was quite good... I decided to try 'key lime' pie among other things... First tasted the key lime pie when I was in KL few years back... baked by another wonderful friend, Sylvia....hence I started to rummage through my folders and... voila!! found the recipe for Key Lime Pie from an old 'Better Homes and Garden' magazine... But for the crust... I use my trusted sweet pastry ...works all the time.... And for the filling:... 5 egg yolks 395ml sweetened condensed milk 100 ml lime juice or more Topping 200 ml whipping cream 3 tablespoon of caster sugar zest of lime Preheat the oven to 180C. In a bowl...whisk egg yolks and slowly add in the condensed milk followed by lime juice. Add more lime juice if required as the filling should be tangy. Pour the mixture into the prebaked pie shell. Bake for 15 mins, and


Auntie Melinda's Chap Chai/ Chinese Mix vegetables

November 27, 2009
I was introduced to this lovely vegetarian dish by Melinda ... I was 'hooked' eversince... it was like an addiction... can't get enough... So whenever we were in KL, and having one of our many get-togethers, my dear Melinda , will surely have this chap-chai on the table... I will indulge... not only second helping but many helpings...in other words... just pig-out !!... And if Mr H were to cook chap-chai , here in Perth, surely, will have to cook in a big pot, then we'll freeze some, and only both of us will chow down the chap chai .... kids were not too keen.... chinese cabbage - sliced thickly 2 bulbs of garlic - use whole 2 cubes of 'Foo Yee' - mix with sugar black fungus - sliced thickly Foo chook - dried beancurd skins Dried lily flowers - knotted soo hoon - soaked gingko nuts chinese mushrooms - soaked and thickly sliced In a large pot, saute the garlic. Add the Foo Yee mix then chinese cabbage, the stalk first... then add the rest. K


Beef Dhalca / Beef and Lentils Curry

November 25, 2009
This is the Northern Dhalca .... Dhalca means Dhal Campur or loosely translate - one pot meal of beef, lentils and vegetables. This is my mom's recipe... which is as usual agak-agak (approximation ) ...She would cook this Dhalca in one big pot and we would savour the dhalca for few days.... the 'mushier' the Dhalca ... the better it tastes!! It goes well with Roti Canai too ... 700g gravy beef - diced 1 cup of yellow dhal - soaked overnight 4 tablespoon of meat curry powder 300g of french beans or long beans - cut into 2 cm long 2 carrots - cut into thick strips aubergine 4 potatoes - quartered 1 brown onion garlic and ginger - pounded 3 asam keping (tamarind slice) 1 cinnamon stick 400 ml coconut milk Saute the onion, cinnamon stick, garlic and ginger until fragrant. Add the curry powder and then beef. Cook for awhile. Add about 1 cup of water followed by dhal, asam keping , potatoes and carrots. Transfer into a slow cooker and cook on low for 6 h


Janelle's Quick Pizza dough

November 23, 2009
We have graduated from using lebanese bread as our pizza base to using the real pizza dough. As much as we love and adore Reinhart's dough ... but with Janelle's, we can have pizza anytime... its quicker and need not proof the dough overnight!!! 2 cups of plain flour 1 sachet of dried yeast - 7g 2 tablespoon of olive oil 80g finely grated of parmesan 1/2 teaspoon of sugar a pinch of salt 3/4 cup of warm water Sieve the plain flour into a large bowl. Mix the yeast, warm water, sugar, salt and olive oil in a jug. Pour the yeast mix into the flour and mix well. Knead until smooth approx 8 minutes if you are using bread maker or dough hook (Kenwood etc). Half the dough and roll it out into a pizza pan. If deep pan pizza is desired... then leave it to rise for 45 minutes... Spread your topping and bake at 220C for 15-20 minutes or until the base is cooked and the cheese melted... Tip : if you are a first timer using pizza stone (in the oven and without the


Baked Morrocan Chicken with Rice

November 20, 2009
I can imagine everyone's face when browsing through the ingredients and found that this recipe uses apricot jam ....well ... we were sceptical too... and it turned out to be a lovely dish to try... 2 cups of long grain rice 800g of chicken thigh fillets - cut into 3 cm pieces 1 onion chopped 1 chopped garlic 1/2 cup of frozen peas 1 large tomato - chopped 1/2 cup apricot jam 3 tablespoon Moroccan seasoning 2 1/2 cup of chicken stock (Maggi or Campbells) 1/4 lemon juice Marinate the chicken with apricot jam, seasoning, salt and garlic. In a baking dish (deep Correlle or equivalent), add the rice, top up with chopped onion, peas, lemon juice and tomato. Pour in the chicken stock.... arrange the chickens on top. Bake uncovered at 220C for 40 minutes or until the chicken and rice is cooked.


Green Curry Chicken

November 18, 2009
Another easy meal to prepare, rather than prepare the green curry paste from scratch, I just use the bought paste from supermarket. This a lovely dish. You can substitute chicken with prawns.. 700g chicken breast - thinly sliced 3 tablespoon of green curry paste 400ml coconut milk 1 brown onion - thinly sliced 2 cup of cauliflower florets 1 lime 3 tablespoon of fish sauce. Saute the onion and the chicken. Add in the green curry paste. Cook until fragrant. Add in coconut milk. Squeeze in lime juice and fish sauce. Finally add in cauliflower. Serve with steam rice.


Aussie beef pie

November 16, 2009
Our 'love affair' with pies... pot pies, crusty pies, Aussie pies, sweet pies, savoury pies.. you name it we love it.... 2 years since I purchased one of my fave electrical gadgets~ my Sunbeam pie maker... its so unbelievably easy to make pies.... To create the filling...as the Aussie would say it 'No worries, mate' .... just add meat with any bottle ready spices like vindaloo, or satay or plain like the photo below.... not only kids love it... adults as well... adore these golden crusty pie....Yum!! 500g thinly strips of beef - coat with 1 tablespoon of plain flour 1 brown onion - diced salt and pepper 1/4 cup of tasty cheese 1 sheet of puff pastry 1 sheet of shortcrust pastry Saute the onion until soft. Add the beef and stir for 5 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper. Mix in tasty cheese. Cut up the puff pastry and the shortcrust pastry accordingly.... shortcrust for base and puff for top. Place the shortcrust pastry in a piemaker, fill in the b


Strawberry, Passionfruit Pavlova

November 14, 2009
Need I say no more about Miss E lovely dessert??..... To make pavlova.... 4 egg white 3/4 cup of caster sugar 3/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar or 1 teaspoon of white vinegar 2 tablespoon of cornflour Pre heat the oven to 180C. Draw a circle on a baking paper with a pencil. Turn paper over. In a mixer, beat the egg whites until fluffy, add cream of tartar(if using otherwise add the vinegar when you are about to add cornflour)). Add sugar 1 tablespoon at a time by the count of every 30 seconds... until sugar dissolves. Keep on beating the egg white until stiff and glossy... Spread the mix onto the circle.. and try to heave the side up....to resemble a 'wall'. Put in the oven and lower the oven temperature to 120C and bake for approximately...1hour 20 minutes. The pavlova should be dry to touch once its ready. Leave it to cool completely in the oven. Cream: 300ml whipping cream and 1 tablespoon of caster sugar....whip until peak.... Spread the cream on the pavlova


miso soup udon with tuna

November 13, 2009
Nice easy meal to prepare.... 1 sachet bonito powder 3 tablespoon miso paste 6 cups of water 1 tablespon wakame Udon - cook according to packet Vegetables - steam julienne carrots and bok choy. Tuna - can tuna in springwater. Add bonito. miso paste and wakame into a boiling pot of water....Assemble all in a bowl and serve hot.... Note: can't recall the source...sorry.....


beggar's chooks

November 11, 2009
It has been awhile since Mr H cooked this dish.... the beggar chicken can be steamed or baked as below.... 1 whole chicken all kind of fungi - champignon, straw mushroom, chinese mushroom water chestnut sesame oil chopped garlic salt and pepper Mix them all in a bowl (except the chicken of course!!).....Washed and pat dry the chicken, stuff the chicken's cavity with the stuffing... Wrap with aluminium foil then with dough. Bake for 2 hours at 200C. For the dough: Mix flour and water and roll out into a pastry enough to wrap the whole chicken The ' treasure ' within


Chilli Crab

November 09, 2009
The yummy blue swimmers are here.... they are lovely, fleshy and sweet.. I'd be on the lookout for these crabs comes every summer... The prices per/kg has increased over the years... from $8.99/kg about 4 years ago to $15.99/kg !!! very pricey... We could sit for hours savouring .....crunching and eating every last bit of the sweet fleshy crabs!! crabs - cut into two tomato sauce chilli sauce egg - beaten spring onion fresh corainder leaves Saute the onion, add in sauces. Simmer for a while. Add in crab. Cover and cook until crab is cooked. Last pour the beaten egg in and stir. Salt to taste. Note : measurement of the sauces - 'agak-agak' (approximate)......according to the number of crabs.


cucur kodok ikan bilis/dried anchovies fritters

November 07, 2009
One can enjoy these fritters...either for breakfast or tea-time.... 1 bowl of ikan bilis (dried anchovies from Asian grocer) - soaked and roughly 'blend' 1 brown onion - thinly sliced 1 dried chilli - cut into thin strips salt chilli powder tumeric 2 cups of plain flour Oil for deep frying Mix all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add water and mix into a thick paste... Heat up the oil in a wok.... and fry until golden brown. Serve with chilli sauce.


chicken tarragon pot pies

November 06, 2009
I guess one could tell that we love our pies... come in any shape or taste... we just love pies... 750g chicken breast - cut into 3cm 250g button mushroom - sliced 1/4 tarragon - chopped (alternative : 2 teaspoon dried tarragon) 1 bunch spring onion - cut into 1 cm 50g butter 2 tablespoon cornflour 1 cup water or chicken stock salt to taste 1 sheet puff pastry Saute the onion in the melted butter in a saucepan. Add chicken and stir until it is slightly cooked. Add mushroom to the pan. Leave it for 5 minutes, then add in taragon leaves, chicken stock. Add the corn flour with a 2 tablespoon of water... mix it well. Pour the cornflour mix into the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Leave it aside to cool. Grease 4 ramekins, divide equally. Cover the top with puff pastry and bake at 180C for 30 minutes or until golden brown.


Asam Laksa Utara

November 04, 2009
Laksa ( rice flour noodles in thick fish soup ) will not taste the same without ginger flower or Bunga Kantan ...I have been looking high and lo, either in the Wanneroo market or at the Asian grocer... but to no avail, until recently, Mrs Red Hat found the frozen ginger flower near her place in the city... bless her for the discovery.... hip-hip Hooray.....yay!!!!... Fresh ginger flower could easily be found in the Eastern States especially Queensland, somehow the frozen ginger flower was imported from Penang.....hmmm food for thought.. 1 kg fish fillets - Ling fish fillet is used in this recipe. 1 can of mackerel in tomato sauce belacan 10 dried chilli - soaked and grounded... use more chilli for extra ummph!! 1 brown onion - blend together with the cooked fish ..separate the bone to flesh 5 asam keping 1 cup of daun kesom or vietnamese mint 2 stalk of lemongrass 1 ginger flower or bunga kantan Laksa Noodle - soak if using the dried noodles Garnishing ~ cucumber, ch


banana bread

October 31, 2009
I was frantically looking for the banana bread recipe (100% fool proof) given to me by Norbi... no luck... the mind just went blankety-blank .... luckily I found an altenative from Ms Janelle, and decided to try her version of banana bread... not bad at all.... but I must keep on trying to look for Norbi's recipe... 4 ripe bananas - mashed 4 tablespoon of golden syrup (or honey) 1 cup sugar 1 eggs 2 cup of self raising flour a pinch of salt Mashed banana in a mixing bowl then add syrup, sugar and stir in. Add egg, sifted flour and salt. Lightly mix until combine. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake @ 180C for 40 minutes or until the skewer comes out clean. Serve warm or toast it and enjoy it with butter......


Smoked Fish Pie

October 30, 2009
This is a fabulous meal.... especially when the aniseeds and leeks are in season.... one could buy both in market for less than $3 each. And the leek photographed below is only half the size.... 600g white fish fillet 300g smoked fish... I am using Smoked salmon 1 leek (or half in my case) ~ thinly sliced 1 aniseed or 2 baby aniseeds ~ thinly sliced 2 tablespoon plain flour 1 1/2 cup fish stock 1/2 cup cooking cream 1/2 lemon juice 2 tablespoon horseradish cream... alternative dijon mustard pepper 2 sheets puff pastry 1 egg lightly beaten Preheat the oven to 200C. Line a baking paper on a baking tray. Spray some oil. Cut up the puff pastry at least 5cm bigger than the ramekins used. Place it on the baking tray and brush with the egg wash and sprinkle some pepper and salt. Baked until the pastry puffed up. Cool on a rack. Heat up a large pot with 2 tablespoon of olive oil, Add leek and aniseed and stir until the vegetables softened. Add plain flour and coat it well.


Jacket Potatoes

October 28, 2009
Love the spuds....... Large potatoes sour cream rashers - cut into strips chives - finely chopped tasty cheese Choose quite a sizeable potatoes, make a X marking on the potatoes with knife. Coat with a little bit of olive oil, wrap with aluminium foil. And bake at 200C for at least 40 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Unwrap the aluminium foil, and push in the potatoes where the X marking was... Option: either fill up with cheese and back under the grill to melt the cheese or just serve with sour cream and chives with rashers....


Rempah Kari Ikan or Fish Curry Mix

October 26, 2009
Those were the days when my mother and her mother would used the freshly grounded spices to make fish curry...it tasted so good.... this is my version, after a quick lesson from my sister.... To make fresh rempah (spice) for the fish curry... ground all the ingredients.... 6 tablespoon of coriander seeds 2 tablespoon of cumin 1 tablspoon of fennel agak-agak... tumeric powder and chilli powder Then blend together with red onion and garlic... and tumis or saute until fragrant.... The rest of the steps ...follow fish curry published on 1st July 2009


Lemon Cheesecake

October 24, 2009
Did I mention that Miss E loves to make dessert that is rich in taste as well as rich in calories? Yes.. she loves to 'torture' her parents who tried their hardest to have a slimmer waisteline...hahaha! hmmmmm 250g digestive biscuit - crushed in the food processor 125g butter - melted 250g packet cream cheese 395g can sweet condensed milk 2 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind 1/3 cup lemon juice 1 teaspoon gelatine or agar-agar powder 1 tablespoon water Line base of 20cm springform tin with foil or baking paper Add butter to the processed biscuits until combined. Press biscuit mixture evenly over the base and the side of the pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes until firm. Beat cream cheese in a small bowl with electric mixer until smooth. Beat in condensed milk, rind and juice; beat until smooth. Sprinkle gelatine over the water in a small heat proof jug. Stand jug in a small saucepan of simmering water. Stir until the gelatine dissolves. Cool for 5 minutes. Sti


Beef Kheema

October 21, 2009
A nice dish to go with savoury rice. Serve with papadum and tomato chutney.... 700g mince beef 2 tablespoon cumin seed- grounded 2 tablespoon coriander seed - grounded 3 potatoes - cut into 2cm cubes 1 teaspoon of chilli powder 1 onion - chopped Heat up the wok with 2 tablespoon of canola oil and saute the onion until soft. Add the grounded spice. Keep stirring until fragrant. Add mince beef, and lastly add precooked potatoes. Season with salt and pepper.


Wild rice fish jambalaya

October 19, 2009
Lovely crunchy taste of the wild rice... and very easy to cook. The only problem is... to get the wild rice! Some supermarket may stock up ... but then ... wild rice is imported from Canada ... it can be quite costly ... 450g white fish - skinned and deboned and cut 3cm 1 brown onion - chopped 2 garlic- crushed 1 red capsicum - chopped into 2cm 1 green capsicum - chopped into 2 cm 1 tablespoon taco seasoning 1 can diced tomato 1 1/2 cup wild rice mix 150g rashers - chopped 1 3/4 cup of stock. coriander leaves to garnish. Heat up the wok and spray some oil. Saute onion, rashers and garlic until soft. Add taco seasoning and capsicums. Stir for awhile. Then add the stock and diced tomatoes. Season to taste. Mix everything into the rice cooker. Add fish the last 10 minutes before the complete cooking time. ~sfi tip 1 : for stock... boil the fish bones and skins, Season with salt and pepper or use the commercial chicken stock . tip 2 : If ready mixed wild rice mix is


tomato salsa

October 16, 2009
The last dish to compliment my Mexican meal week.... 1 ripe tomato - chopped 1/4 cup of chopped coriander leaves 2 tablespoon lemon juice salt Mix all the ingredients and season with salt. Tip: add corn kernels and a little bit of sweet chilli sauce the complete Mexican Meal....


Chunky Chilli Con Carne

October 12, 2009
This is a lovely Mexican Meal... 'Old el De Paso' Chilli Con Carne sachet is not needed here... Next... I'll be posting guacamole (Wednesday) and tomato salsa(Friday)... 800g gravy beef - cut into 2cm 2 tablespoon of cumin - grounded 2 teaspoon of coriander seeds - grounded 1 teaspoon of chilli powder 1 brown onion - chopped 2 garlic - crushed 1 bottle of pasta sauce 1 cup of water 1 can of red beans 1 can of 4 mix beans Cooked the beef in a frying pan till slightly brown (to seal the juice). Put aside in a plate. Saute the onion and garlic until soft. Add the grounded spice and cook for further 5 minutes or until fragrant. Return beef to the frying pan. Add te pasta sauce and water. Bring to boil. Then transfer to slow cooker and cook for at least 2 hours on high or until beef is tender. Add the beans in the last 30 minutes. Serve with corn chips, guacamole, sour cream and tomato salsa.


Baked Chicken with Kalamatta Olives

October 09, 2009
Easy and tasty dish... before we welcome the hot summer months ....I would be mad to even start the oven !! Imagine... the outside temperature can be in the high 30s or sometimes in the 40s!!! and here we are cooking using the oven... no way! Not only the food will be cooked...we'll be cooked as well!!! 4 chicken breast 1/4 cup of flour 1 can diced tomato 1/2 cup of kalamata olives 1 brown onion - chopped 50g butter 2 tablespoon of chopped parsley Place the flour in the zip lock bag, add salt and pepper. Shake the bag. Place the flour in a plate and coat the chicken breasts. Shake the access flour. Heat up butter in a frying pan. Cook the chicken breast till it just turn golden brown. Place the chicken breasts in a casserole dish. Using the same frying pan, saute the onion until soft. Add the diced tomato. Season to taste. Pour the tomato mix into the dish, cover and bake at 180C for 30 minutes. Add the kalamata olives the last 5 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve w


Chilli Brinjal

October 07, 2009
A simple dish... enjoyed by Mr H and I... The kids? They were not so keen on this meal...as there is no ' meat ' for my carnivore, Mr H Jr and for the petite Miss E - she's allergic to brinjals... she'll ended up with 'Angelina Jolie's' pouty lips!! 3 garlic chopped 1 red chilli - chopped 2 medium size aubergines or brinjal - cut into chunky pieces oyster sauce soy sauce Saute the garlic until fragrant, then add in brinjals and sauces. Cook until slightly mushy. Season to taste. Lastly add in chilli.


Beef Stew

October 05, 2009
Eventhough we are into the second month of spring.... the weather can be quite chilly sometimes.... this Beef Stew or Bouef Bournignon (if I get the spelling right!) is an excellent meal to serve with crusty rolls... 1 onion - chopped 3 cloves of garlic - crushed 1 carrots 2 celery stalk - thickly sliced 750g of gravy beef - cut into 3cm cubes 200g button mushroom 8 baby potatoes 1 1/2 tablespoon of tomato paste 1 cup of red sparkling grape juice (or 1 cup of dry red wine) 1/4 cup of beef stock (used Massel - vegetarian) Coat a 2 liter flameproof casserole dish with spray cooking oil; cook beef in batches to seal the juices. Transfer to a plate. In the same dish, saute the onion and garlic until soft. Return beef to the dish with the remaining ingredients, bring to boil. Bake covered @180C for 2 hours. Uncover and bake for another 30 minutes until beef is tender and sauce has thickened. Serve with pasta or crusty bread.


Passionfruit Eton Mess

October 03, 2009
The passionfruits are abundant... from our backyard. We'll be having passionfruit with ice cream, passionfruit with cakes and this is Miss E's Eton Mess ... and with passionfruit too! We freezed some in the small icy poles bags (Malaysian Ice Cream~ small longish plastic bags) for later use.... This is Miss E lovely dessert.... 1/2 cup icing sugar 2 passionfruits, plus extra to serve 1/2 cup pure cream 1 cup thick Greek yoghurt 1 tsp vanilla essence 6x10g meringue nests, broken into 2 cm chunks 2 bananas sliced Stir half the sugar with 1/4 cup cold water in a pan over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to medium low and simmer, without stirring for 1 minute. Set aside to cool. Stir the passionfruit pulp into the cooled syrup. Set aside. In a large bowl, whip cream to soft peaks with whisk or electric beaters. Fold in yoghurt, vanilla essence and the remaining sugar. Fold meringue into yoghurt mixture, then stir in bananas an


Crispy Fried Fish with Red Curry Sauce

October 02, 2009
Having Deep Fried Fish for dinner is a luxury for my kids... I don't often deep fry anything especially fish, as the 'fishy smell' will stick to everything, eventhough you have the ventilation fan on! ... But with this dish... there is no alternative but fry.... 1 whole fish - deep fried 1 brown onion 4 tablespoon of red curry paste fish sauce 1 can Coconut milk 3 thinly sliced kaffir lime leaves In a saucepan, saute the onion with the red curry paste until aromatic. Add kaffir lime leaves, coconut milk and fish sauce with a dash of sugar. Bring to boil, and pour over the fish. Garnish with sprigs of coriander.


Vegetable And Pasta soup

September 30, 2009
Time to watch the diet again after 'chow down' of the glorious festive food! The Vegetable and Pasta Soup is so light and lovely ... to go with crusty bread.... lots of fibre too... 300g cauliflower - cut in florets 1 carrots - chunky cut 1 zucchini - chunky 1 tomato - chunky 1 cup of pasta - any shape 1 onion - chopped 2 garlic - crushed 2 celery stick - chunky cut 1 canned diced tomatoes 1 litre beef stock (water + cube stock) 1 teaspoon dried herb mix seasoning Saute onion and garlic in 2 tablespoon olive oil. Add the chunky cut vegetable with can tomatoes. Stir for few minutes. Add the mixed herb and stock. Bring to boil and add pasta. Season to taste.


Celebrations...

September 29, 2009
We had a 'small get together' for Raya ... last Sunday... The weather was kind to us... the sun was shining with gentle breeze ....It was brilliant!! The bonus for the day was the 'less of the buzzing, annoying flies' .. We were able to dine with comfort in the backyard.... The Spread : Chicken Curry Nasi Kunyit Salad Egg in Yoghurt Sauce Beef Rendang Nasi tomato Prawns in Sweet Chilli Sauce Ayam Percik Coconut Cake and Passionfruit icing Our heartfelt thanks to our friends with their 'Buah Tangan' (our Malaysian customary when visiting, to bring something along eg food, fruits etc)