Banana Walnut Loaf Cake

This is what I call "accidental success".

I drove into a petrol kiosk and while waiting for my bill to be ready, I wandered around. A very dangerous thing to do really. Most of the time, I ended up buying things that I don't really quite need.

So anyway, I saw a bunch of bananas, hanging wasted on the shelves. Looking blackish yellow, fully ripen, about to fall off its own fingers, I had to do something. I took it to the counter and bought it home, with NO single idea why I did what I did, and what am I to do with this bunch of bananas!

Looking at its fast deteriorating state, I gathered I have only one day to act before it joins the rest of the trash. So I scrambled for recipes for the best ever Banana Walnut cake,... or Bread... or Muffins... or something... anything.

I chanced upon Food 4 Tots, scrutinized the recipes to bits, and decided this shall be it!

What do you know!? It is mind-blowingly good!

Everyone, and I mean, everyone, loves it. It takes a strong strong man (or, woman) to resist another slice. It is soft, moist, fragrant and not overly sweet! In fact, the sweetness comes through only after a few bites. Nuttily crunchy, the walnuts add a different dimension to the soft moist texture. And the smell of baked bananas in the house quite simply drive you bananas!

Have this with tea or coffee on a lazy Sunday afternoon with your other half. Sit and watch the world goes by or watch your brood tear your living room apart, and be grateful for your spouse. Spouses always look calmer than you, don't they?

Am I blessed or what?

So anyway, I doubled the portion and baked two loaves. No regrets except I should have made more!

Here's what you'd need (2 loaves portion):

* 120gm unsalted butter
* 150gm sugar (original recipe calls for 160gm)
* 2 eggs (room temperature; lightly beaten)
* 260gm plain flour
* 1 tsp baking soda
* 1/2 tsp baking powder
* 1/4 tsp salt (original recipe calls for 1/2tsp salt)
* 160gm yogurt (I used Yoplait Vanilla Yogurt)
* 4 bananas (fully ripen. I used about 260gm total)
* Handful of walnuts (I dry-fry them in a pan before chopping them; I have no toaster. Sob.)

This is what I did:

1. Line the base of the baking tins with grease-proof paper and lightly grease the sides of the tins.

2. In a mixer, cream butter and add sugar gradually in 2-3 batches. Make sure it is well combined before each addition.

3. Add in egg little by little. Beat till creamy.

4. Add in salt and mix well.

5. Mash bananas with a fork and add into mixture. Mix well gently.

6. Sift together the dry ingredients: Flour, Baking Soda and Baking Powder

7. Add in 1/3 flour mixture and mix well, followed by yogurt and mix well.

8. Add in remaning flour. Use a spatula to fold into mixture till you do not see any more traces of flour. Be careful not to over stir the batter. Once flour is incorporated, STOP.

9. Add in chopped walnuts and mix well.

10. Pour into baking tins. Give it a slight knock to release air bubbles, and even out the mixture accordingly.

11. Bake in pre-heated oven at 180degC for 50-60 minutes, till golden brown and thoroughly cooked. Check doneness with a toothpick.

12. Remove it from oven and let it cool slightly in the tin for 5-10mins.

13. Remove cakes from tins and serve warm with a cuppa coffee.


Psst psst... I was so inspired, I made these for Sons' Teachers' Day celebrations. Boys were mightily proud to bring them to school. I replaced walnuts with chocolate chips and baked them muffin style. Reduce baking time to 40mins. Watch the muffins as it goes... Happy Teachers' Day!

Pizza

What do you do on days when you are lazy, tired, cranky, over-worked and consequently, brain dead?

When the boys refuse you any rest or moment of solitude, neither do they understand you are only human, nor, I strongly suspect, do they care. You can only blame it on their young, immature minds. In moments like this, I remind myself, I shall graciously give them 30 years each before they come close to appreciating my plight.

My good Lord God bless me.

So, I thought to occupy them with fixing their own dinner. I brought them to the Supermarket, and have them choose the ingredients they'd like for their first-ever self-baked pizza! That's exactly right. I made them make a list and we headed out. Of course, it's only wise of me to give them options and not open-ended choices! Either A or B,... and C or D... and so we went in search for their grocery list.

They were ELATED! Shouting and talking really loudly in the Supermarket. I was rather embarrassed frankly. People must be looking at them and wandered if they had never been shopping / to a supermarket / out of house even (yes, that's the extend of my embarrassment).

Am I glad I survive the 'little excursion'.

After all the dicing and chopping and grating, these are their creations.

Son1's Creation

And I must say, I am very proud of them. Considering this is their first attempt (well, not so for Son1 who has done this with me before Son2 came along. But he has no recollection! Good grief), I thought they really did a very fine job.

These pizzas do look very professional, don't they?! The best  of this? The cheese! They topped it up real crazy.

Son2's... Green is his favorite colour

Would I do this again? Absolutely!! There is nothing more satisfying for them than to fix their own favorite things and pizza is one of them. Soon I'd be teaching them how to steam an egg, fry a instant roti prata, bake their own cupcakes.

Slowly but surely.

Before that, they must learn to be civilized in public. Quite literally.

Bechamel Sauce (bay-sher-mel)

Otherwise known as the Mother of All Sauce, bechamel sauce is really a breeze to prepare and it's soooooooooo versatile, you can add it to almost anything as a base.

Using equal portion of butter to flour and cook it with milk, it's easily done in less than 10mins. Son1 likes it on its own with his spaghetti, turning it instantly to his version of 'carbonara spaghetti'.

Just throw in loadful of fried bacon and mushroom, some salt for seasoning and a meal is served.

Son2,... like I said, prefers Oriental.

Quite coincidentally, Man likes this version of white sauce Carbonara too. Of course we all know there's more to carbonara than this. But hey, really, who cares to differ? As long as the diners are happy, the chef is too.

Here's what you'd need:

* 2 tbsp butter (heaps, about 30gm, salted / unsalted no matter)
* 2 tbsp plain flour
* 2 cups milk
* Salt to taste

This is what I did:

1. In a heated pan, heat up butter till melted. Using a wooden spoon, lightly spread butter to a wider circle.

2. Add in flour and cook the mixture over low fire. Stirring constantly.

3. Add in milk and continue to cook and stir gently till sauce thickens. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Sauce is done at this point! You may now add to any pasta / lasagne tomato sauce or as a base to your pizza... and continue your other cooking.

If however you are proceeding to cook Son1's version of Carbonara,...

4. Add in sliced mushrooms midway through step 3. Do not add in all the milk here as yet! Let mixture slow simmer and cook the mushrooms, stirring and adding more milk as you go till mushrooms are cooked and sauce thickens.

5. Add in pre-fried bacons. You may add in some mixed herbs... dried or fresh as you fancy. Salt and pepper to taste.

6. Throw in cooked and drained pasta. Toss to combine and serve immediately.

Beef Brisket & Tendons Stew

Heavenly. Pure heavenly.

I a d o r e beef! Ever told you that? Sometimes I feel as though I can eat a cow all by myself. Carnivore, I am truly!

Beef brisket and tendons... oh man! Not the most tender of all meat but once well cooked, it is amazing! So I jumped into the wagon when I saw them at the supermarket. Beef brisket is relatively easy to find. But tendons!? No no... I only found it at Huber at Dempsey. And a pack of barely 4 stripes is S$8.00. Guess not too expensive I hope (didn't do a price comparison as yet... I came I saw and I bought.)

I slow cooked them to PERFECTION!... Serve them with rice, or if you wish, over a bowl of noodles.

Thought this dish will help to boost immunity a bit. Build up some bull's strength with a strong dose of minerals and iron! Coz you know, my kids have been unwell for this month. You know how these 'little' people get sick as though they are playing relay!

Man loved it. I thought the tendons were too... mmm... well done. I would prefer it a little harder and chewy, but he likes it this way, soft, tender and really jelly-like. Oh well, whatever that makes him happy.

As the Chinese would love it, cook this stew with daikon (else know as "white carrot" / radish), and carrot. I used really minimal seasoning. After taking his first bite, Man proclaimed, "... Wow! Nice!! But you missed out two spices."... Gasp! Indeed I intentionally left out two spices here. How did he know! (and I cooked this while he was at work!)

Five spice powder and star anise. I am not a fan. I didn't think any dish will taste any better or different with them. I would much prefer the Italian herbs. And ahem, this is where Man and I are different. Mars and Venus. Having said that, feel free to add them if you wish.

Anyhow, this stew scores my 9/10, only coz I don't think anything can be a perfect 10.

Here's what you'd need

* Beef Brisket (about 500gm)
* Beef Tendon (about 300gm)
* Daikon (cut to chunks)
* Carrot (cut to chunks)
* Onion (cut to chunks)
* Garlic (4 pcs, whole)
* Bay leaves (3-4 stalks)
* 5 teaspoons soy sauce
* 2 teaspoons sesame oil
* 5 teaspoons water
* 1 small pc of rock sugar

This is what I did:

1. In a pot of hot boiling water, blanch beef tendon for 5-10 minutes to remove all scums and grease. Rinse thoroughly and set aside.

2. Prepare another pot of hot boiling water, blanch beef brisket for 5-10 minutes too. Rinse thoroughly and set aside.

3. In a pan/wok, heat up some oil. Fry the bay leaves, and onion slightly. Add in carrots and continue to stir lightly.

4. Add in brisket and tendon and brown them slightly (try to line them on one single layer, do not overcrowd the pan.)

5. In the meantime, prepare the bowl of seasoning mixture by mixing soy sauce, sesame oil, and water together.

6. Pour into the browning beef and carrots, and add more water (enough to cover the beef). Let it simmer.

(At this point, I have to separate the beef and carrots. The beef will go into the slow cooker for more intensive cookout; while the carrots may luxuriate patiently in my magic pot cooker and wait for mr cow's return.)

7. Beef. Take them out piece by piece into the slow cooker. Remove the liquid from the pan and pour into the beef. Just enough to cover beef will do (be sure to keep some for the carrots. If there's not enough, don't fret, just add more water to make up). Add in the rock sugar into the slow cooker. Set it on High for at least 3 hours.

8. Carrots and all the other cast, go to the magic pot cooker, with some liquid. Heat up the pot and keep it to magic pot and let it self cook till cow is ready (if you do not have one of these magic pots, which you should, any pot will do. You just have to simmer the carrots slightly longer here to cook them well).

9. Check intermittently to make sure that the water in the slow cooker does not dry out. If it does, again, don't fret. Simply replenish.

10. At the end of the 3 hours and if you are satisfied with the tenderness of the beef, pour all beef and liquid into the pot of carrot and marry them!

11. Heat up slightly to fuse them together. Taste and add more seasoning at this point if you'd like (I didn't need to). Serve with rice.

Psst psst... 
* Rock sugar is said to soften and tenderize the beef.

Best part of a meal...

... is the fellowship, not the food.

"Better is a dry morsel with peace and contentment, than a feast with strife." (Proverbs 17:1)

An epitome of fellowship. A table of laughter and hearty conversation where every member gathers at the end of the day. While the food nourishes the body, the fellowship nourishes the soul. Is not a table of humor, thanksgiving and grace better than a meal of riches and delicacies with contention and discord?

Boys have learned they are to come to the table to bless and be blessed. Only the best behavior is welcomed here; not tears nor arguments, whines nor complains.

Save for Son3 who's relatively new to the table, Son1 & 2 have learned their lessons well. Both having been banished and barred from the table. Son3 is learning the ropes real neat. I sure hope he soon acquire the skill of diplomacy at my table. Till then, I will have some more years of mess and mishap to bear with.

It should not be long before the table is truly a civilized one, I hope.

My latest loots

There are serious moments that I deeply regretted my school days. I swear I should have paid more attention during Chinese lesson.

Though I cannot read these bakery books well, I'm taken by its beautiful pictures and the detailed photos. Carol is one of the best teachers I have come across. Very precise, very comprehensive. I have learnt a lot from her, and still is. In fact, she is now in my blog list.

One of the other things I am learning from her -- Chinese! Look at the sample pages. Am I dizzy?! These Chinese characters, like those in our local Chinese dailies that my parents read, never fail to give me headache. A major one in fact. I cannot read them competently, and I am not proud of myself. These are the moments that I wished I had done otherwise in school.

All's not lost yet I tell myself. I have a Primary school boy and 2 other pre-schooling kids in tow... surely I can pick it up from here.

Good grief... or what?!

Simple Meatballs

My mom's dish. My favourite since a little girl. Simple, fuss free, tasty, any child's favorite.

The best about this, you can liberally add in any other vegetables that your (fussy) eaters will not usually eat. Be it diced french beans or sniped spinach. Just make sure you chop it up real mad till it's minced and completely tiny.

Here's what you'd need:

* Pack of minced pork
* Carrot (diced)
* Onion (diced)
* 1 egg
* Soy sauce, sesame oil and pepper
* Corn starch

This is what I did:

1. Season minced pork liberally with soy sauce, sesame oil and pepper

2. Add in diced carrots and onions. Stir to mix.

3. Beat in an egg. Mix to incorporate.

4. Add in one spoon of corn starch. Mix till incorporated. End mixture should be rather thick and somewhat sticky (resembling fish paste; if the end mixture is too dry, meatballs will end up being too tough).

5. In a shallow pot with oil (enough to cover at least half the ball's height), heat up oil on medium fire.

6. With a small teaspoon, scoop minced mixture and shape roughly into a ball, and fry on small fire, till light golden brown.

7. Dish up and drain of oil on kitchen towel. Serve on a dish of lettuce to absorb excess oil.

8. Enjoy! (Realised that the meatballs taste quite good with lingonberry sauce!)

Psst psst... you know you can...
1. add this into simmering baked beans...
2. convert this dish to a Meatball Spaghetti... 

Sky's the limit!

Coffee-Chocolate Bun

Okay, I hand knead this. (Told you! My bread maker died. And I haven't received my KA! *super big hint to you-know-who-you-are*)

Why home baked bread? Choices and varieties bountiful in the Bakery. You are free to pick and mix to everyone's delight. Why sweat and pit your muscle against the unyielding dough? (And you know... you know! I haven't done a single manicure in years! Coz nail polishes and paints are just NOT friendly to food. Ohhhhh how often have I gazed longingly at my tai-tai girlfriends' perfectly manicured hands... sigh...)

Even as I diligently knead the dough with all my might and strength, questions of other I-should-have's floated by. One of which is, I should have AIR CONDITIONED my kitchen! *pant*

Hours of labour yielded 12 unevenly sized buns. I didn't measure each bun's weight and didn't pay much attention to uniformity. That's the beauty of h a n d i c r a f t, I justified (to myself).

I sorta lost it at the tail-end. Patience and time running out! It is 5pm!!! It's been 4 hours since I started at 1pm, and I'm still at bread making. Ought to dump them into oven and start preparing dinner before my brood comes 'vulturing' over my dining table.

Yet again, I did it!! Yeah!! I promptly served 3-dish-1-soup dinner at 6 with a tray of aromatic coffee buns. I made it!!!

Verdict:

Very nice! My dough passed the window pane test (so you can imagine how much muscle I have gained from this work-out; rather, how much calories I have lost). The coffee piping was just right -- right amount of sweetness. In fact if I had baked it a minute or two longer, my coffee piping will be burnt just that little bit and it would be even more perfect. The bun is soft... not fluffy soft, but s o f t.

Area of improvement (singular: area):
* Time management. Gathered if I intend to serve this for tea, I really should start the dough right at mid morning (before lunch). ... Which incidentally means I would have burnt my entire day.

It's this start-pause-start process that is stumbling.

Maybe I should just use my no-knead formula. If only I have a KA at my beck and call. If only...

Here's what you'd need:

Bread Dough:
Part A
40gm warm water
1/2 tsp sugar
1tsp bread flour
1tsp instant yeast (I used 1 1/4 tsp active dry yeast)

Part B
250gm bread flour
45g sugar
1/4tsp salt
95gm chocolate milk
20gm egg yolk (about 2 yolks)
25gm butter

Topping:
40gm butter
40gm icing sugar
45gm plain flour
30g egg (about 2 eggs)
1/2tbsp instant coffee powder (dissolved in 1tsp hot water; I used 3-in-1)
1/2tsp coffee emulco

This is what I did:

Bread Dough:
1. Prepare Part A. Mix water, sugar and flour together to form a watery paste. Sprinkle active dry yeast into it and let it stand for a minute or two till frothy.

2. Start on Part B. Combine bread flour, sugar and salt together in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and add in yeast mixture. Stir to combine.

3. Add in chocolate milk, and egg into mixing bowl. Knead to combine everything.

4. Transfer dough into a lightly floured top. Slowly in add butter in batches, knead till a smooth & elastic dough is formed. Knead till you pass the window pane test.

5. Transfer dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover and let it proof in a warm place for about an hour.

6. Lightly punch back the proofed dough. Remove from bowl onto a lightly floured top and divide dough into 12 portions, shape each dough into a round ball.

7. Arrange onto baking tray lined with baking paper.

8. Cover and let it proof for another 45min - 1 hr till doubled in size.

9. Preheat oven to 190degC.

10. Pipe topping onto proofed dough.

11. Bake in preheated over for 10mins till bun is brown and topping has set.

12. Remove and let it cool completely on a wire rack.

Topping:
1. Somewhere after step 5 above, prepare the topping.

2. Cream butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy.

3. Beat in egg until well combined.

4. Fold in flour, coffee mixture and emulco until well combined.

5. Spoon batter into piping bag and store in fridge for later use. (I use a normal plastic bag and slit a small opening at the base when ready to pipe)

NB:
* Carol is my online tutor on how to knead by hand. Most impressive. Look at her flawless hands!
* For the record, take a look at her video on her How-To-Knead-with-a-KA. *Drool*

Blueberry Muffins

I find blueberries kinda expensive. So whenever the supermarket has a promotion "2 for the price of 1", I would jump at it. And that was what I did.

Then, now what? I stared at the two punnets of blueberries I bought.

Son1 suggested blueberry muffins. Therefore I woke up at 6am the next morning, and dutifully baked them fresh blueberry muffins for breakfast.

Verdict: as always, hugs and kisses. This recipe from Joy of Baking is my favourite. Maybe it's coz of the yogurt, the muffins are always very soft and moist. And it keeps very well for next day too.

Son2 wasn't that enthusiastic though. He's a 'kong ba bao' boy, preferring Chinese fares 95% of the time.

It makes me wonder how and why do two boys born of the same parents, brought up by the same hands, ate the same meal everyday, can have such different preference in food?

Puzzling.

I am now curious what Son3's preference will be. Hmmm...

Here's what you'd need:

*1 1/2 cup plain flour
* 1/2 tbsp baking powder
* 1/4 tsp baking soda
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 70gm butter (softened/melted)
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1 egg
* 3/4 cup plain yogurt
* 1/2 tsp grated lemon peel (or orange peel)
* 3/4 cups blueberries (leaving some for toppings later)

This is what I did:

1. Preheat oven to 190degC.

2. Whisk together the dry ingredients: Flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar together till light and fluffy. Add in egg, and beat till well incorporated. Add in lemon grind and mix well.

4. Beat dry ingredients into (3) in 2 successions, alternating with yogurt in 3 successions, ie. 1/2 of Dry ingredients, mix well. Then 1/3 of yogurt, mix well. Followed by remaining 1/2 dry ingredients, mix well. Another 1/3 of yogurt, mix well, and finally, the remaining of the yogurt.

5. Fold in berries. And scoop into muffin tray lined with muffin paper. Fill it up to 2/3 full coz the muffins will rise in the oven. I like to top the muffins with the remaining blueberries that was set aside -- perhaps 1 or 2 per muffin cup.

6. Sprinkle top with some sugar to give it a light crunch if you like (optional).

7. Bake at 190degC for 25-30mins till golden brown. Check doneness with a toothpick. Lift muffin cups from tray and cool on wire rack. Serve warm.