"Love is In the Air...!"

Inspired by a friend's blog @ Simply Life (I'll add in his blog if I get permission!), who is going to blog about love n relationships this month since it is Valentines Day... got me thinking!!! Why dont I have a Valentines Day theme too! And my favourite colour is PINK! Perfect perfect perfect!!! *big smiles*

So for the month of February - at least once a week, I'll try to bake/cook something either pink, or in a heart shape! *claps hands* Imagine a heart shaped piece of steak, or a pink loaf of bread! Hahaha jk! I promise it will be eatible! :) Ahhh I'm so excited now! So hopefully you'll stay tuned, and check out what gets created...! :)

By the way, if any of you have great V Day themed food ideas or any cool stories along the theme, do share! :)

See ya all soon!!! :)

Happy Aussie Day!

This officially must be one of the hottest weekends in history... I literally felt like a muffin in an oven! Worst than feeling like a "char siew pau" when I had my facial the last time! Perth is known to have some really hot days, and this weekend was one of them! We reached about 41 degrees yesterday I heard and today was 40 and tomorrow is I think going to be 40 as well! Argg!!!

Anyhow, to celebrate Australia Day we had some friends over and had a BBQ as well as a potbless. Wow there was so much food! We had steak, lamb, kebabs, salads, chicken, noodles etc etc! It was a food galore! It was awesome! :) Fellowship was fantastic, people were great, overall a great Aussie weekend - the way it's meant to be!!!

(Thanks Gerard for taking the photos! See below...)

Tiramisu!

Ahhh!!! As mentioned in a previous post, this is the Tiramisu I made for Ben and Rika's house warming a few weeks ago. This tiramisu has, I must say cleared almost my poor memories of my previous attempts at this decadent dessert! I used Tia Maria and Rum, and man this is such a heavenly combination!

I remember my friend Cheryl once trying to calm me down about not following a recipe totally, she said that things might actually turn out better and we get pleasantly surprised! So true! I was walking in Coles on a Thurs night and wanted to make a certain dessert (forgot what it was now!) then half way decided to make tiramisu instead, because I saw the sponge fingers on display - but couldnt remember the proportions of what we needed. Anyhow, didnt buy enough mascarpone cheese (meant to be about 500g) but I bought only 250g and whipping cream, so decided to instead use 250g of mascarpone and 250ml of cream (whipped separately) and wahhh la! It was great! Not as rich, a little cheaper, and overnight, this dessert tastes even better... no joke! :)

Rice Flour Rolls!

These are the white rice flour rolls that you often get from the Dim sum restaurants. I made these from scratch using water, rice flour, a bit of corn starch and oil - cooked it in the microwave and wah la! They tasted pretty good, really quite authentic!

Drizzled with the hoisin mixture (which basically is hoisin sauce, water and sesame oil) and scattered some toasted sesame seeds, and you have it!

Your authentic rice flour rolls! :)

Mango Mania!

I have been forever wanting to make good mango pudding! I love it, but you don't always manage to taste good ones from the Dim Sum restaurant - they are either not creamy enough or fake tasting, that you know they must have either skimmed on the mango or used the tin version! Fresh is always best!!!

So today was the day for Mango Pudding! I'm going to a friend's house for dinner tonight, so thought it would be a good opportunity as well! Verdict? YUM!!! I haven't drizzled carnation milk on top of the pudding yet, but it will be really nice, and will do so tonight when we eat it! The texture was really smooth and yes I think just the right consistency!

Okay so what were the ingredients? Aeroplane jelly "Mango Mania", carnation milk (but I used cream instead as I didnt have any carnation milk this morning), cold water, and fresh mango!

Truly yummilicious!!!

Pineapple Tarts!

I find these tarts such a joy to eat! :) Pretty little pastry with a tiny scoop of sweetened pineapple filling! Yum!!! Typical chinese new year goodies, they will be everywhere come Feb! But who says we can only eat them during CNY? I think they are nice to eat all the time! *wink*

I used crushed tinned pineapples, a cinnamon stick and a couple of cloves to make the filling. Drain out the liquid from the pineapples, but next time I make it, I will leave a little bit more of the liquid, as by the time you put it in the oven, a lot of the moisture will disappear. Add some caster sugar to taste. And basically simmer and stir it for about an hour till it changes colour (as below) and thickens: (By the way, make the pineapple filling the night before, and then refrigerate it so that it becomes more solid and you can form little pineapple balls)





You know, sometimes I ask myself how can one be so passionate about food??? It is one of the joys given by God! :)

Okay, so pastry time... it was very satisfying to create good pastry... it was strange, it felt good even in its uncooked form... the colour, the texture after it was placed in the fridge for 30mins to chill... I used gloves to rub the butter into the flour/salt/sugar/egg mixture, as otherwise it gets very gluey... o ya you add in about 55ml of iced water, some vanilla essence and a few drops of yellow colour. Trust me, use gloves then you can have a lot more fun with the dough and not worry about getting it into your fingers and nails!

I bought the pineapple tart mould from Singapore for S$1.50! It's very cute and pretty, and make sure you flour the mould a little to ease the cutting of the dough with it!

All in all, it worked out, pretty yummy (o ya egg wash the pastry to get a bit of a shine and browning to it!) - and definitely going to make more again sometime soon! :)

Finished fruits of my labour! :)

(p.s. Stay tuned for my next post on Tiramisu! - waiting for the photos from my friend! :))

Christmas in Singapore!

I'm back! :) I went to Singapore for 10 days... it was just right! I didnt make it past Takashimaya, and only sat the MRT once, but the good thing about being there for not too long is that the damage on the weighing scales wouldnt be as bad! I haven't been to Singapore since March 05, so it was nice to go back and remember how many shops they had, how MUCH food there is, I even wondered if perhaps there was a ratio of 2 people: 1 restaurant! No kidding, there is just so much food! My q is, if so, why are people still on an average small??? Not fair!

It was nice being in Spore, and catching up with family and friends. We had an asian meal at a Hotel for Christmas, in this private function room that had couches and everything! :) It was nice, and yes it was good to be with family and relatives!

Okay food I ate (I forgot to bring my camera most of the times, so didn't get to take many happy snaps - so imagine!):

James and I - sashimi octopus out of James' mouth and I'm holding a tempura - yum!

1. Japanese buffet - I wish we had it in Perth! The usual stuff, but it was nice!!
2. Sausage wrapped with a roti prata
3. Japanese pancake with red bean inside - yum!
4. Beard Papa - cream puffs @ $2 each
5. Okay this one is great! - Green tea Frappaccino from Starbucks! Oh my gosh! This is heavenly................ craving for it at the thought!
6. Xiao Long Pao - the shanghai dumplings with soup inside - I wanna learn how to make this!
7. Herbal duck - yes herbal duck... yum yum!
8. Japanese pancake balls thing, stuffed with prawn or octopus
   

Okay, I ate more than that, but those are the ones worth mentioning! :) The food in Singapore is just so good - and it is everywhere!!! And shopping - I love how they display it by the colour category!

Met up with 2 of my good friends in Singapore (Thanks May and Jieying!) - had a great time, and yeah was so good! Wish you guys here were - or May would probably say, me move back to Singapore!!! :P

May and I :)


Jieying and I :)

Okay, stay tuned for more posts... I'm attempting Pineapple Tarts and Tiramisu tonight!
Till then! :)

Crumbed and Stuffed Chicken!

Ahhh this was tonight's dinner! Crumbed chicken with pancetta, spinach, sundried tomato pesto and cheese! :) I roasted some potatos for the side dish, and to make it complete, sliced up some cucumber! :)

This was fairly yum!!! A bit of work though, because of the assembling, and also because you had to first coat it with flour, then dip it in the egg + milk mixture, then coat it with breadcrumbs, leave it in the fridge for 30mins, then pan fry it each side to get it nice and brown, then place it in the oven for about 10mins or until the chicken is cooked through!

This is the first time I'm using pancetta... hmmm... I think I may go for bacon next time, because I could hardly feel or taste the effects of the pancetta... however, I think bacon may be a little too strong....

I'm not sure if my picture does justice to the chicken, but it was quite a satisfying meal!

Do have a go when inspiration hits you! :)

'Tis the Season to be Jolly!!!

8 Days to go before Christmas!!!

I love this time of the year! :) The cheer, the festivity, the relaxed atmosphere, the christmas carols, just everything about December! I wish December lasted a little longer than a month... :) Anyway, so I had big plans to bake, and maybe even do a Christmas cake... but with 8 days to go, none of it has happened :( - There will be always be the hope for Christmas 2007.

However, we had a christmas dinner for the YAs, and Janice and I were placed in charge of catering dinner for 60 young adults!!! It was a huge task, at times seemed too large and a mountain too high to climb, but we had so much fun, and Janice is absolutely amazing with her decorations and food ideas! So we had heaps of fun!!!

Thank you to all the wonderful people who helped us out! :) Couldnt have done it without you! :)

Incase I don't see or speak to you guys soon, just want to...
wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a very blessed 2007!!!
May 2007 be an even better year for you, with more dreams coming true and success in everything you do! :)

Thanks for reading my blog - may 2007 bring even more food and cooking inspiration!!! :)

Check out the photos below.........

The beginning of the feast for the night....

Another view of the food... :)

The yummy ham Eulynn roasted....

The turkey I roasted... not exactly the best shot but thank God it worked out well.
Did you know turkey porridge is extremely yummy??? :)

The summer berry trifle that I made! :)
(check out the cool food labels that Janice made!!!)

Perfect Mini Fruit tarts!

Heyhey!!! Yes I know, it has been so long since I last blogged! I just realised there were NO entries in November! I have been pretty busy, didn't bake all that much actually, on reflection. But promise there will be a few more entries coming up! Okay for the first time ever, I made proper custard.... this is called pastry cream, and it was really good! But I want to modify it next time... I'll post the recipe below and write little notes at the bottom on how I would modify it. It was really delicious, a little bit too sweet (which is why i would suggest the following modications), I used real vanilla instead of the essence... it was a pastry cream hence if you want it a little firmer, you prob should add in more cornstarch. But this certainly beats the box custard! So try it sometime! :) No, I didn't make the shortcrust pastry - bought the mini tarts (Pampus) brand - follow instructions, real simple and totally yummy! I brushed some gelatine over the top of the fruit.

Perfect summer treat especially when chilled!!! :)

2 cups half-and-half (mixture of milk and cream)
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated white sugar
A pinch of salt (1/8 tsp.)
5 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons cornstarch
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Heat the half-and-half, 6 tablespoons of the sugar, and salt in a saucepan until the mixture simmers. Stir occasionally to dissolve sugar.

2. Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks in a bowl until smooth. Whisk in the remaining sugar (2 tablespoons) with the egg yolks. Whisk the mixture for about about 15 seconds. Whisk in the cornstarch and keep whisking for about 30 seconds.

3. When the half-and-half mixture is simmering, gradually add the the hot milk/cream mixture to the egg yolks, only a little at a time. Return the mixture to the pan and simmer until the mixture is thick and shiny, about 30 seconds. Turn off the heat and whisk in the butter and vanilla. If you prefer a smooth pastry cream, strain the mixture through a sieve. Refrigerate the pastry cream for at least 3 hours, until it is cold. You can keep it for two days!

Source: http://kokonuggetyumyum.blogspot.com/2005/05/biggest-disappointment-ever-strawberry.html#111638886260095363

*Liz's modifications: Here is what I would suggest for next time - mind you, I havent tried this modified version, just some thoughts I had after tasting it - it is fairly sweet, so I would cut down the sugar by 1/3. I would perhaps add in an extra tablespoon of the cornstarch*