Pan-fried Asparagus Roll

Why the silence? My cousin asked. She apparently, has been checking on me. Someone missed me! How sweet is that feeling.

Anyway, I am here still. The only reason why the stillness is because my Apple died on me again! Waaaaaaaa... :"( Tragic.

I have been experimenting some new dishes. Been taking photos and labeling them diligently. But they've all vanished along with my Apple. Can't imagine my heartbreak. Can't salvage. Must re-do. How helpless! I never learn, I suppose. I didn't backup since the last crash. Waaaaaaaaaaah :""(

Before I wallow any further into self pity, let me begin. This is one of those dishes I recreated. Didn't know if it will work but it turned out superb! No kidding you. Just a simple Hock Kee frozen Belly Sukiyaki, with a pack of asparagus and enoki mushroom. Roll them. Pan fry them. Make your favorite sauce and drizzle over them.

I can't wait to serve this when we next host a dinner. Yippie!!

NB: The belly sukiyaki has no seasoning and neither does the vegetable nor mushroom. So use the best sauce you can find. I used my favorite Kikkoman Soy Sauce with honey and lemon juice, with slight dash of garlic pepper. With a little oil, fry garlic till fragrant, pour soy sauce in and boil slightly. Drizzle over pan fried rolls. Serve.

Maki Rice Roll

Son2: Mommy, why does the sun go down at night, and the moon comes out?

Smartie Me: Well, because the sun is up since the morning, and will go back home at night, and the moon will come out because he's been home the whole day. (Reminding myself he's only 3.)

Son2: Then why is the sun up since morning and the moon stay at home?

A little stumbled Me: Well, because the sun wants to go home already. So, it's now the moon's turn to come out.

Son2: Why is it the moon's turn now?

Gaining posture me: Well, you see, they take turn. Just like you and Kor Kor, you guys take turn to hold the ball, right? (He nods his head)... Ya, so, sun and moon take turn too.

Son2: Why are they just like Kor Kor and I?

Losing it Me, mumbling to myself: Sigh,... it's starting all over again... (laughing to myself)...

Son2: What is starting all over again? Why is it starting all over again? Mommy, who were you talking to? Why are you laughing?... ...

Surrendered Me: Oh never mind...

Son2 pressing on: Why never mind?

I reminded myself, right there right then, to cherish these Whys. They are special. And they probably happened only once in a person's lifetime, where they honestly can't stop asking WHY? No amount of explanation will make them stop. So, it really doesn't matter what you replied...

4 years ago, exasperated with Son1's Whys, I broke into the rhyme "Because the sky is so high and the bird sh*t in your eyes."

Son1: Why did the bird shit in my eyes? And why is the sky so high?

Felt like hanging myself.


Since the beginning of this year, I have been tearing my hair out because Son1's been dirtying my b-r-a-n-d n-e-w car. He has to eat his lunch in there while we make our way daily to pick Son2 from his Nursery. Couldn't think of anything that can be a breeze for him to handle in a moving, shaky car. Not to mention the smell of food in the car, is the grains of rice or strand of noodles he will leave behind!!! Yuks!

Till we went to a Jap restaurant over one weekend, and I saw the answer right in front of me! Sushi Maki!!! I stormed right into the supermarket and bought a pack of seaweed and bamboo mat, and sushi we rolled! (Smartie me. Applause.)

So what goes in there? Not Jap rice actually. Muahahahaha... I cooked my usual rice with slightly more water to make it slightly sticky, and wrap with any of the boys' favorite dish. As long as the dish is drained dry, it'll not be a problem to wrap. So far, I have done salmon, minced pork, diced carrots, french beans, asparagus, luncheon meat, ground beef. Not bad at all. Boys are always happy when they see this in their lunch boxes, and they always finish their maki rolls. Best of all, no rice grains on my car mat!

What else can I possibly ask for.

Fire Engine Cake

The long stretch of blog inactivity belied a hurried & intensive search on how-to-make/bake a Fire Engine Cake for my beloved Son2's 3rd birthday. Can't believe it took me so long to gather enough courage to try this. No choice. Literally, 'me and my big mouth'. I promised him, and I MUST, I HAVE TO, deliver.

Man kindly suggested for me to "just order one lah". Tempting. But No, I reminded myself. I baked a Strawberry Cheesecake for Son1. And Son2 had since requested for a Fire Engine Cake.

Gosh!... am I thankful that Son3 hasn't spoken his first word yet.

Images conjured in my little head... Frosting colours will be simply Red, White and Brown... or Black... or maybe a little Blue... Oreo cookies for wheels,.. oh and sirens...

I thought with some remaining batter, I can try to add in a Police Car. Afterall, police work with firemen all the time right? ... Or perhaps, a simple all-white ambulance will be just fine too.

That's when it gets really complicated. Decided to just keep it simple. Fire Engine will be it! No more, no less.

Turned out a rather pinkish Fire Engine. Really, at the sight of it, no one quite care.

Not too bad huh!? I'm proud of myself. As I hope they will too. It really took a novice baker like me a lot of time to research, study, plan and try. *a little pat of my shoulder*

This is what you'd need:

Cake (one loaf tin)
85gm Self-Raising Flour
70gm Plain Flour
150gm Sugar
115gm Butter (softened)
2 eggs
1/2 cup Milk
1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence

Frosting
250gm Cream Cheese (I used Philadelphia)
60gm Butter (softened)
120gm Icing Sugar

Red Colour: Strawberry Emulco and Red food colouring
Brown Colour: Chocolate Paste
White Colour: Original, ie no colouring

This is what I did:

Cake
1. Sift the two flours together and set aside.

2. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter. Add in sugar gradually, continue to beat till light and fluffy. Add in egg one at a time, and beat till well incorporated.

3. Add in the Flour in 3 additions. Alternating with the Milk & Vanilla Essence mixture. Continue to beat till well blended.

4. Pour in a well-greased (or lined) loaf tin. Bake at 170degC for 45min to an hour. You may need to tent the cake towards the end of the baking time to prevent burning the cake top.

5. Check doneness with a skewer. Remove slightly cooled cake from the loaf tin and let it cool completely before chilling in the fridge for at least 3 hrs. (I left it overnight. I find cake that's chilled easier to slice and to work with.)

Frosting
1. Cream the Cream cheese with butter.

2. Add in icing sugar and continue to beat till light and fluffy.

3. Portion out accordingly -- in 3 portions, and add in the colouring as required.

On how to assemble and frost. Look no further. This was my tutorial. Naturally, I tweaked it a little. Have Fun!

Quiche Lorraine

I Loooooooooove quiche with a capital L.

I remember when I was pregnant with Son1, I had this longing for Quiche Lorraine from Delifrance. Promptly during tea time at 4pm, I will head downstairs from my office, get a quiche and chomp it down. So good. So fulfilling. So satisfied.

Now that my numbers have multiplied, there is NO way I can buy quiche daily for my brood. In any case, if you can bake it yourself effortlessly, why bother to buy?

Man who has never tried a single quiche says my quiche is good! *curtsey* So, next mission,... Mushroom Onion, Vegetarian Quiche, Spinach Mushroom, quiche and more quiche...

Here's what you'd need:

* Shortcrust pastry (you can use puff pastry too)
* Ham (I used honey baked ham)
* Bacon
* Onion (1/2 will do)
* 8 tbsp Whipping Cream (I used Emborg)
* 3 eggs

This is what I did:

1. Cut the ham into square slices. Slice bacon into 1-inch thick.

2. Dice onions.

3. In a pan with a little oil, saute the bacon till brown and crispy. Add in the onions and ham. Fry till cooked.

4. Dish up and set aside.

5. Line your greased pie tray with thawed shortcrust pastry sheet. With a fork, lightly poke at the pastry sheet. (Do not poke through!).

6. Pour in the ham filling.

7. In a clean bowl, beat eggs and whipping cream lightly till blended. Add into tray of ham filling.

8. Bake at 170degC for 30mins till egg custard is set.

9. Let it sit and cool for about 10mins before removing quiche from tray. Serve warm with a cuppa!

Slow-cooked Braised Beef Cheeks

Ooh la la...

How I love cows!! Beef cheeks, once well cooked are so teeeeender you can practically eat it with your spoon! Its aroma... ooohhh... simply heavenly. (Ok, I gathered my photo here looks really bad. The rather sophisticated dish looks... erm... like... mmm... chap cai... muahahaha... but looks isn't everything!)

I slow cooked it in my ever-good slow cooker for about 2 hours before transferring it to my CorningWare. Some people prefer to use the oven to slow bake, that's fine too. Have your butcher help to clean up the cheeks and remove the fats or skin. Marinate a day before cooking, so here we go!

Here's what you need:
* Beef Cheeks (I bought 2 slabs; about 500gm total)
* Stalks of Celery (cut to chunks)
* 1 whole Carrot (peeled, cut to chunks)
* 1 whole Onion (cut to chunks)
* 1/2 a round Cabbage
* Spices (I used Masterfoods Garlic Pepper, Mixed Herbs)
* 4-5 Bay Leaves
* Pinch of Salt
* Baking Soda (pinch)

This is what I did:

1. Marinate beef cheeks with salt. Followed by a generous amount of spices. I like to marinate too with a pinch of baking soda. Rub rub rub,... pinch the cheeks! Leave it in fridge for at least 3 hours or like me, overnight.

2. In a pan with hot oil, seal the cheeks with the bay leaves, onions, carrots and celery. Add bits of water, and transfer the beef into the slow cooker. Add just enough water to cover the beef.

3. Slow cook for 2 - 3 hours. In the meantime, go get a life!

4. Test the beef by poking a fork into it. It should be tender; the fork should be able to poke through with ease. Otherwise, cook for another while longer.

5. Add in cabbage and boil it slightly till softened. 

5. Serve with rice or mashed potato. Enjoy!

Apple Pie

Why do people think that the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden is an apple tree? No where in the book of Genesis at Creation does it mention it to be an apple tree. In fact, there was no mention about the type of tree, except that it is a "tree of knowledge of good and evil..." (Genesis 2:17)... "... thou shalt not eat of it..."

Yet in all pictorial depiction of the Garden, you see red apples hanging from the Tree, and Adam & Eve, holding an apple. I guess it has something to do with the colour of the fruit. Afterall, a red fruit in the mist of green leaves stands out a lot more than yellow, or paler green,... But do not be mistaken. It wasn't said to be an apple, really.

Anyway... before I go any further into this argument, I baked an apple pie last night following our steamboat dinner. Had steamboat becoz I was lazy to plan, cut, fry, steam and cook... then I thought I was feeling a s-l-i-g-h-t tinge of guilt for taking the easy way out... hahahaha... so decided to make up with a Pie.

Like the Peach Tart, this is such a breeze! With store-bought puff pastry of course *hee hee hee*.

Macerate the apples, dump them all onto the pie tray, cover, slit and bake. All done in less than an hour.

Really neat. Nice.

Here's what you'd need:

* 3 apples (I used Pink Lady)
* 4 tbsp brown sugar
* 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
* Pinch of salt (or lemon juice)
* 2 sheets of Puff Pastry (slightly thawed)


This is what I did:

1. In a clean bowl, macerate diced apples with brown sugar, ground cinnamon and pinch of salt. Set aside and let it stand for at least 20mins. (You will get some brown juice at the end)

2. Generously grease the pie tray. Lay one pastry sheet on it. With a fork, lightly poke it all over.

3. Add in the apples and half of the brown juice. (you may add in all the juice if you wish).

4. Cover the pie with 2nd pastry sheet. Pinch edge to seal.

5. With a knife, lightly slit a X-opening at the middle of the pastry.

6. Egg wash.

7. Bake at 180degC for 20-25mins till puff is golden brown.

8. Let it cool in the tray for at least 10mins to set it before removing the pie.

9. Dust with icing sugar or scoop of ice cream. Serve warm.

Peach Tart

Goodness!

How easy can it get!?! Any self-declared-michelin-inspired chef can do this. In less than 30mins, you can wow your diners! No kidding.

Here's what you'd need:

* Pampas Butter Puff Pastry (from Cold Storage)
* Canned peach
* Egg (for egg wash)
* Icing Sugar (for dusting)


This is what I did:

1. Thaw a sheet of Pampas pastry in the fridge.

2. Slice into 6 rectangles. Place them on a baking paper on the baking tray.

3. On the side, slice the peach into desired size. I sliced them.

4. Lay the peach in the centre of each rectangle.

5. Lightly indent along the border of each rectangle (about a cm inwards; this allows the pastry to puff up).

6. Egg wash the borders lightly.

7. Bake at 180degC for about 20mins till puff is golden brown.

8. Dust with icing sugar and serve. Vanilla ice cream can do too!

Psst psst... of course, go ahead and make your own puff pastry if you'd like. But sorry, this is not the sort of things I do... not yet. Shortcrust pastry maybe I will attempt... but puff pastry... errr... hang on.

Steamed Xiao Bai Cai

Was going to host a dinner for my cousin visiting from the States. With her 3 boys and her man. Wahahahah... so just like me. Imagine the 6 boys gathering together in MY house!?

Oft times, I am glad I have (temporary) amnesia.

"Chinese food", she said. She's sick of ang moh dish. She wants local fares. So, I cooked Chicken Curry (never mind if her husband appreciates the spice), Black Sesame Oil Pork Belly, Sweet & Sour Pork, Creamy Corn Soup, and this ... for the sake of a name, I call it "Steamed Xiao Bai Cai". But really name doesn't do it justice.

Adapted from Wendy. Regrets, my photo didn't capture the green. Sigh. I should set up my DSLR next time. The thought of it... double sigh...

Here's what you'd need:

* Pack of Xiao Bai Cai
* Fish paste
* Wolfberry
* Corn starch
* Garlic
* Chicken Stock powder

This is what I did:

1. Cut xiao bai cai into half, longitudinally.

2. Boil it slightly in water (to soften the stem slightly; be careful not to overcook like me! You'll end up with mustardy veg)

3. Drain and set aside. Dust the stem area with corn starch (to hold the fish paste).

4. With a spoon, scoop fish paste on it. Dot it with wolfberry.

5. Line them up neatly in a round plate. Steam for 10-12mins till fish paste is cooked.

6. Remove from steamer to stop the heating process. Set aside.

7. In a bowl, add 1 tsp of corn starch, 1 tsp of chicken stock powder, and 1 soup spoon of water. Stir to dissolve.

8. In a wok with oil, fry garlic slightly. Add in the stock and stir quickly.

9. Drizzle onto the steamed xiao bai cai. Serve.