Easy Guacamole (Curtis Stone)

My last Curtis Stone's recipe for this month, inspired by Baby Sumo from Eat your heart out
I wish there are 50 days in a month LOL
Always the same feeling every end of the month :)

Best to eat with corn chips!

 

What you need:

3 ripe avocados, pitted, peeled, and cut into medium dice

1 tomato, seeded and finely diced

1/2 cup finely diced red onion

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1/2 jalapeño chile, seeded and finely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin (I didn't use)

Salt

Sugar (I added)

Corn tortilla chips (to serve)

Method:

1. Gently fold the avocados, tomato, onion, cilantro, lime juice, jalapeño chile, garlic in a large bowl
2. Season to taste with salt. Lay a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the guacamole and refrigerate until ready to serve
3. Serve with corn chips

 

 

This post is for Cook Like A Star,  hosted by Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids, Baby Sumo from Eat your heart out and Grace from Life can be simple

 

 

 

The Magic Potion

A good stuff to share with you all today :)

I found out about this drink from my mum
She was told by a friend whom religiously took this drink on daily basis
And another story she heard that a GP sells this concoction in bottles

They claim that this drink gives benefits to blood sugar, cholesterol and respiratory system
I am not sure how beneficial this drink is, but looking at the ingredients, it's pretty assuring
But still, I needed some confirmation that I googled for more information about it
And I found some
You can view it HERE, HERE and HERE
One of the article above called this drink 'miracle cure'
Now, how good is that? :)

Anyway, it's been awhile since my mum followed her friend's footstep and made this drink too herself. She doesn't want to purchase from the GP I mentioned just now, she's concerned for the possibility of some preservatives added

I can tell you, this drink tastes real good. Dominantly sourish with a hint of some sweetness
Not everybody likes it, though. In the family, it's only my mum and I who enjoy taking it :)
It's advisable to take a tablespoon once a day in the morning before breakfast

My mum diligently take it everyday, most of the times twice a day
I take it, too. But honestly, it's more because I like the taste rather than waiting for good thing happens to me. I consider that as a bonus :)

What you need:

2 lemons, scrub the skin and chop small, skin on
10 large garlic cloves, peel and chop small
100g ginger, peel and chop small
250ml apple cider vinegar
500g honey
750ml water, divided into 3 @250ml

What you need:

1. Blend chopped lemon with 250ml water til smooth
2. Blend chopped garlic with 250ml water til smooth
3. Blend chopped ginger with 250ml water til smooth
4. Put them together in a large pot, add in apple cider vinegar
5. Bring to boil and let simmer over low fire for about 5 minutes, off heat
6. Let cool completely and stir in honey
7. Keep them in glass bottles and chilled in the fridge

Note:
I blend the 3 ingredients separately just to make sure that it's blended real smooth, and also my blender is not big enough :)
If you have large blender and are sure that the mixture can be blended smoothly, go ahead and blend them all at once


My only thought is whether whatever goodness in those ingredients are still there after bringing them to boil and simmering. Wouldn't it be better if taken raw?
I guess it must have been the tolerance needed to take take the mixture raw, especially the garlic! Eeeww...

Well, sometimes you can't think too much, especially regardless to food making process
If you're too particular, especially these days, you'll end up eating nothing LOL
So, in the meantime, until I can find some other updated facts about this drink, there's no harm taking this magic potion!

This post is also linked to the blog hop event, Cook like a Star, organised by Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids, Doreen from my little favourite DIY, hosted by Alvin from Chef and Sommelier, at this post

Bacon & Peas Mac 'n Cheese (Curtis Stone)

This is a dish loved by my kids, of course I have to try! :)

When I read the ingredients, I knew this would be delicious. I was right!

Recipe is from HERE

What you need:

8 slices bacon cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide strips

2 shallots chopped (I used 1 medium size onion)

salt

black pepper freshly ground

2 cloves garlic

2 tbsp  all-purpose flour

3 1/2 cups whole milk (I used 4 cups whole milk)

1 1/2 cups heavy cream (I used 1 cup cream)

1 1/2 cup Gruyère cheese grated

1 1/2 cup Vermont white cheddar cheese grated (I used normal Kraft cheddar cheese)

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

450g penne pasta or gemelli pasta

1 cup shelled fresh English peas (from about 1 pound unshelled English pea pods) (I used frozen)

2 tbsp  chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (I used 1 tsp dried parsley)

3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

2 tbsp  unsalted butter melted

 

Method:

 

1. Cook the bacon in a heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat until golden brown about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels and reserve. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings
2. Add the onions to the bacon drippings. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and sauté until translucent about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute
3. Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir in the flour. Cook the flour for 1 minute stirring constantly

4. Gradually whisk in the milk and cream. Bring the sauce to a simmer over medium heat about 10 minutes

5. Reduce the heat to medium-low and gradually add the gruyere and cheddar cheese, stirring to blend

6. Meanwhile bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the pasta in the boiling salted water for 8 minutes stirring often to prevent it from sticking. Add the peas and continue boiling until the pasta is tender but still very firm to the bite and the peas are bright green and crisp-tender about 1 minute. Drain the pasta and peas

7. Stir the bacon into the cheese sauce

8. Stir the pasta and peas into the cheese sauce. The sauce will look loose but will continue to thicken once the pasta is added. If the sauce begins to thicken too much add more milk or cream to thin it to the desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper

9. Butter casserole dish. Transfer the pasta to the buttered casserole dishes

10. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese

11. Preheat the broiler. In a small mixing bowl toss the breadcrumbs with the melted butter to coat well. Add in dried parsley and mix well. Season with salt and sprinkle the breadcrumbs evenly over the pasta

12. Broil until the topping is golden brown watching closely about 2 minutes

13. Let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes before serving

This post is for Cook Like A Star,  hosted by Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids, Baby Sumo from Eat your heart out and Grace from Life can be simple

 

KL Selangor MFF - Petaling Street Lohanguo Longan Drink Copycat

This dessert is really really refreshing
Super cold on real hot day, so good!

The recipe is pretty simple, but you have to be patient, it takes hours before you can enjoy this dessert to the fullest :)

Recipe is from Wendy's site

What you need:

300g wintermelon
300g rock sugar (I used honey rock sugar)
3 lohanguo
100g dark longan flesh
2L water

Method:

1. Scrub the wintermelon skin, deseed and cut into large chunks, skin on
2. Add in to the water and bring to boil, then simmer for 2 hours, lid on
3. Crack lohankuo and add in to the wintermelon mixture, together with rock sugar, simmer for another one hour
4. Strain, put dark longan flesh into the strained infusion and simmer for 10 minutes, off the heat
5. Let cool
6. Take a bowl of ice cubes and spoon over some of the cooled longan infusion, let it melt before you enjoy the dessert

*As advised by Wendy, I boiled again the strained remnants with 2L water and I had my lohanguo drink for my sore throat cos ate too much durian pengat I made the other day LOL

This dessert is real sweet. Even after the ice melted completely, I still found it too sweet
Perhaps the next time I make this again, I'll reduce the amount of rock sugar used
But in that way, it wouldn't be the same as those sold in Petaling Street I guess :)

This post is for Malaysian Food Fest KL Selangor Month hosted by Shannon of Just as Delish

Fried Rice (Curtis Stone)

So simple and yet so yummy :)
Fried rice indeed can't go wrong :)

I guess just like us, Curtis Stone loves fried rice, too LOL
Recipe is from HERE

What you need:

1 1/2 cup uncooked rice, cook as directed

4 tbsp canola oil, divided

2 large eggs, beaten to blend

4 small carrots (about 4 ounces (115g) total), peeled and finely diced (I grated)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup thinly sliced green onions (spring onion)

80ml reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

Method:

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of canola oil in a large wok over medium-high heat
2. Add the eggs and stir with a fork for about 30 seconds or until just cooked
3. Remove the eggs from the wok and set aside on a plate
4. Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of canola oil in the wok over medium-high heat
5. Add the carrots to the wok and stir fry for 2 minutes
6. Add the cold rice and stir fry for 2 minutes or until heated through
7. Season with salt and pepper
8. Stir in the eggs and 3/4 of the green onions
9. Add the soy sauce and sesame oil and continue to stir fry for 1 minute
10. Transfer the rice to a bowl and sprinkle with the remaining green onions

Here I added some fishcakes as requested by my kids, I stir fried just before adding in the carrots

This post is for Cook Like A Star,  hosted by Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids, Baby Sumo from Eat your heart out and Grace from Life can be simple

Durian Pengat

I LOVE DURIAN! And so is my family (except my kids)

I remember, long time ago when I was still teenager, my dad bought a lot of durian we had a feast and I had too much till all came out at the end of everything! And the best part is, the next day I still craved for more LOL

Another time, recently somewhere in 2011, I had quite a lot of durian and I ended up with a very severe throat inflammation I had high fever for 4 days! And it's really high, between 38.5 to 39.8 consistenly!

Still, I love durian :)
But since the throat inflammation incident, I somehow feel that my throat is more sensitive to any heaty stuff, in particular durian! :(

So, when Aspiring Bakers announced the theme for this month, Tropical Spiky Month, hosted by Mimi from MiMi Bakery House, I was like.. oh dear, hopefully I can contribute at least one, cos for me, it's impossible to make without eating them LOL Yeah...greedy me :))

I wanted to bake durian mousse cake, durian crepes, durian cream puff, durian cendol, durian egg tart, durian ice cream, oh to name just a few!
But in the end, I only can choose one, and I chose durian pengat, the simplest of all LOL
Also out of my curiousity at the same time, to taste how good this is

Oh my, this is heaven!
One scoop and that's it - you just can't stop! Especially when it's chilled!

The taste is not as plain as it looks, trust me!

Recipe is from Edith from Precious Moments. Thank you for this great recipe!

What you need:

175g durian puree
175g durian pulp
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup fresh milk
80g palm sugar (shaved)
4 pandan leaves, knotted

Method:

1. Put milk, palm sugar and pandan leaves in a pot, simmer til sugar melted
2. Add durian pulp and durian puree and simmer gently for 15 minutes
3. Put in 1/2 cup coconut milk
4. When mixture boils, add in the remaining coconut milk and bring back to boil
5. Serve chilled

This post is for Aspiring Bakers #33 (July 2013) - Tropical Spiky Month hosted by Charmaine of MiMi Bakery House

 

 

Oh btw, true enough, I did have sore throat after eating this dessert, and now sore throat is gone and turned to cough >.<

This dessert is too good to miss out!

I guess my throat has zero tolerance towards durian now :(

 

 

Cinnamon French Toast With Berry Sauce (Curtis Stone)

My all time favourite for breakfast!
In fact, it's also Ian's favourite, minus the cinnamon and the berry sauce
He only likes plain french toast drizzled with maple syrup
I'm the only person in the house who enjoys cinnamon, actually. Even DH isn't fancy about it, either. Strange, huh? Something so good, and they don't like it hehe...
So, this breakfast is only for me! :)

 

Recipe is from Curtis Stone, a chef I recently discovered thanks to Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids, through the event Cook Like A Star hosted by her

This month is all about Curtis Stone

Hhmm, I also just found out that he's a kind of cute LOL

 



 

What you need:

6 large eggs

4 1/2-inch-thick slices brioche bread, halved diagonally (I used thick toast, halved)

3 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

To garnish:

1/3 cup crème fraîche (I didn't use)

Assorted fresh berries (I used diced strawberries and blueberries)

For the berry sauce:
170g fresh blueberries

170g fresh raspberries (I used strawberries - diced)

125g fresh blackberries (I didn't use)

180ml sugar

Method:

To prepare the red berry sauce:

1. Combine all the berries and sugar in a blender and puree until smooth
2. Strain the berry puree through a fine sieve, discarding the seeds, and into a small saucepan
3. Place the saucepan over medium-low heat and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring frequently
4. Remove from heat

To prepare the French toast:

1. Using a fork, beat the eggs in a 13x9 baking dish to blend. Place the slices of the bread in the eggs and let stand for 5 minutes, or until the eggs are absorbed, turning the bread slices once
2. Melt the butter on a heavy large griddle pan over medium heat
3. Add the bread slices to the hot pan and cook for about 2 minutes per side, or until golden brown on the outside and heated through
4. Meanwhile, stir the sugar and cinnamon on a large plate; set aside. Immediately place the hot French toast in the cinnamon-sugar and turn to coat completely
5. Divide the French toast among 4 serving plates
6. Top with a dollop of crème fraîche, is using. Spoon the berry puree over the French toast
7. Scatter the fresh berries over and serve immediately

This post is for Cook Like A Star,  hosted by Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids, Baby Sumo from Eat your heart out and Grace from Life can be simple

Below is other great bloggers cooking and baking inspired by Curtis Stone :)

KL Selangor Dry Chilli Pan Mee

I was so upset! I forgot to add in ikan bilis in the noodle!
And it's not only for the photography purpose, I was totally forgotten until the last portion of this yummy noodle! Aaaarrgghhh!
The best part is, I had ikan bilis ready to eat and I didn't even remember it :(

Well, what to do.. The next time I cook this noodle I surely won't forget
And actually, this noodle was already really enjoyable without the ikan bilis
With it added, it's definitely way much better, I can imagine!

The dried chilli paste is the star!

The poached egg is another star one can't miss!

Mix everything, and this super yummy noodles is waiting to be eaten!

Recipe is from Peng's Kitchen

What you need:


For the dried chilli paste:
30g dried chillis, soak til soft
2 fresh large red chillis, deseeded
2 medium sized onions, chopped
5 cloves garlic
30g dried shrimp, soak til soft
4 tbsp. vegetable oil

Method:

1. Blend all ingredients in food processor til smooth. Heat oil in a pan (I used Happy Call pan) over low fire and stir fry the blended mix til dry (it took me 45 minutes)
2. Watch the chilli paste, continue stirring to prevent burning
3. Cool completely and store

For the minced meat: (modified a little)
500g minced pork, marinade with 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp wine, 1/2 tsp salt, a dash of pepper and 1 tsp cornflour
1 small onion, finely diced
2 cloves of garlic, finely diced
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp dark sweet soya sauce (kecap manis)
3/4 cup chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Heat oil in pan over medium heat, stir fry onion and garlic for a minute or two
2. Add minced meat, stir fry til cooked
3. Add oyster sauce, dark soy sauce and chicken stock into the pan. Continue simmering the sauce until reduced to your preference. Adjust taste with salt & pepper

I used store bought flat noodles for this time. Perhaps the next time I cook this dish I'll try to make homemade noodle :P

To serve :
Top each bowl of cooked noodle with minced meat sauce, dried chilli paste, fried anchovies, poached egg & spring onion. Toss well


This post is for Malaysian Food Fest KL Selangor Month hosted by Shannon of Just as Delish

A Simple Bday Cake - Old Fashioned Marbled Cake With SCS Butter

Time flies. Really fast. My Ian turned 6 on Saturday. Feels like yesterday when he was born...

From a mere 2.85kg little baby, now he's a young boy going to Primary school next year!
Time indeed flies too fast!

Just like the previous years, he had his request for the birthday cake this year
Luckily, his request is considered "normal" :)
Inspired by Polar bakery, he requested for a cake with image on top and the sides coated with chocolate rice
And so predictable what he chose for the image. His love with vehicles, in particular cars. Among too many brands in the toys department, he's still in love with Tomica :)

I chose a simple cake that has been requested by Abby a few weeks ago, marbled cake
So happened I wanted to try this simple recipe, real popular lately among Indonesian home bakers

For this cake this time, I used SCS butter, a creamery and fragrant butter which I always love. In fact most of my bakes are using this brand if butter required
So why the mention this time?
Because the butter I used this time was a gift I received from SCS
They're kind enough to deliver personally a gift hamper for me...

 

The butter cookies and butter cake were real nice. It's gone in the same day, mainly eaten by my kids :)

A big thank you to SCS!

Back to the birthday cake...here's what I ended up with :)

Pic below: A little bit challenging to do the frosting in between the cake :)

Recipe is from a quite well known chef in Indonesia, Pak Sahak Pribadi

What you need:

8 eggs
180g caster sugar
3/4 tsp ovalette
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
225g plain flour
23g cornflour
23g full cream milk powder
150g butter, melted
75g canola oil
2 tsp chocolate paste

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180degC. Grease and flour a rectangle pan (28x15cm) (original recipe used 28cm bundt pan)
2. Sift together plain flour, cornflour, milk powder
3. Mix together butter and oil
4. Beat eggs, sugar, ovalette, vanilla, flour mixture til doubled in volume and thick (about 10 minutes high speed)
5. Add in 1/4 of the batter into the butter mixture and mix well. Pour into the remaining batter and fold in gently
6. Spoon 1/4 of the batter and mix with chocolate paste
7. Pour yellow batter into the prepared pan and spoon chocolate batter all over it
8. Make marble effect with skewer or chopstick
9. Bake for 40 minutes or til skewer comes out clean
10. Remove from oven and the pan immediately

I cut the cake into 4 same size rectangles, crumb coated them with buttercream, pasted the 4 edible images on top of each cake
Coated the sides with chocolate rice, and did some piping at the base, all over each cake
It's pretty simple, except for the piping in between the cakes, hence the not so pretty looking piping LOL

The cake is real tasty. Texture wise, it's like butter cake, pretty compact with real fine texture. The next day it somehow tasted better and turned softer, too
Overall, I was pretty pleased with the result, knowing the method is really straight forward

Ian was happy, as always full of praise, even though I know it's not as great as those he saw at Polar. That's all to make my day :)

Happy birthday my precious Ian. Many many many more cakes to make for u :)
Love love love u XOXO

THB#20 Cranberry-Cashew Orange Coffee Cake

It's better late than never. I thought I would miss this bake again, after I missed the 19th bake (which I will still make cos I love lemony cake)
Fortunately I had the time to bake yesterday :)
My kind of cake, not too sweet after I adjusted the sugar used, and bursting with juicy tart cranberries, at the same time enjoying the crunchiness of the nutty streusel on top
Perfect with a cuppa. Yum!



I followed the recipe, but for sugar reduction I followed Joyce from Kitchen Flavours
Somehow, I find her preference for sweetness is more or less same as mine :)

I used 1/3 sugar for the batter (I used caster sugar). Replaced vanilla extract with orange extract and omitted nuts inside the batter. Reduced cranberries used to 1 cup only
For the streusel, I used 2 tbsps. caster sugar, and replaced pecans with cashews

For full recipe, please view Maria from Box of Stolen Socks
She has chosen to bake this wonderful cake :)


Our 20th bake for The Home Bakers, a baking group where we bake recipes from the book  "Coffee Cakes" by Lou Seibert Pappas, hosted by Joyce from Kitchen Flavours

 

 

Now, I still have time to bake the 21st bake. I'd better make the time soon :)