I have something to say..

to all who have been here since the last time i updated,...please accept my sincere apologies for the long absence...
a belated eid mubarak to all my muslim correspondence, a big heartflet thanks to all well wishers and please please forgive me for not posting yr Hari Raya Cards, messages and shout-outs here...not forgetting the awards...will slowly rummage through and try to post them here...thank u so so very very much for the kind thoughts and messages...

Was terribly busy with work and chores and i'm filled up to my brim...with schedules, cholesterol-laden food and gaseous drinks in which i have failed miserably to avoid...

However,...my little blog of comfort shall not be left abandoned for long...or that will spell the end of me...

will be back, in which, i WILL try,..after 14th Nov...(i think)..

so please do not 'leave' me for other kitchens....

do continue to drop by to say hi and i hope to come back with 'glory' after this...hehe...



PS - i'm serious - don't forget me ...

What's the mood?

This is what I'm feeling right now.....

Banana SpringRoll with Hot Mango Salsa

Initially wanted to make some popiah but when I saw the bananas hanging helplessly in my kitchen, I decided to save their lifespan..by giving it a twist..
As for the salsa, I saw something like that on TV once, but I concocted one of my own to suit my taste and to prevent myself from having to go out for more groceries again..

Again,...trust my taste...*wink*

The way to eat this?..Cut the springroll in half(diagonally) and scoop some salsa with it and aim right into yr mouth. Enjoy!

Banana SpringRolls

Some bananas
SpringRoll skin

Depending on the size of your bananas,..err...I mean..THE bananas..(hehe)..u may want to halve them if it's too big. Wrap a piece with the SpringRoll skin,just like u would for a Popiah. Seal the edges with cornflour solution. (I double wrap mine using 2 pieces of skin, wrapping one at a time)
Deepfry in hot oil till golden brown. Drain and set aside.

When cool, drizzle with some melted chocolate and finish with a dust of icing sugar.
Dead easy.



Hot Mango Salsa

1 ripe mango - cubed
1 green apple - cubed
1 bird's eye chilli - deseeded and chopped REALLY fine
1 stalk of green onion - chopped fine
1/2 red capsicum - diced
1 tbsp of ginger juice
juice of 1 lemon
a sprig of mint - chopped fine

Combine the above ingredients in a bowl and mix really well, but try not to mash up the mangoes brutally. Serve with the banana springrolls.

Mee Betawi

Have been eating rice for Iftar lately and so, would like to try some noodles. Mee Betawi...said to originate from the old Batavia..but then again,..no one knows for sure...but what is certain, is its robust gravy, exploding with flavour..

Ingredients

Yellow Noodles - blanched
Bean Sprouts - blanched
Spinach Greens / Chye Sim - blanched
Red Capsicum - thinly sliced - blanched
Beancurd / Tofu - cubed and deep fried
Pickled Green Chillies
Fried Shallots

Gravy

Blend :
5 onions
6 cloves of garlic
2 inch ginger
2 inch galangal
15 birds eye chillies
2 red chillies
2 green chillies
2 cubes of beef granules
3 tbsp rempah soto (Soto spices)

1 cinnamon bark
2 star anise
2 cardamoms
1 stalk of lemongrass - bruised
2 pcs of bay leaves
2 tbsp tomato sauce
2/3 cup of soy sauce (kicap manis)
2 tbsp of oyster sauce
1 tbsp of ground black pepper
salt and sugar to taste
10 cups water or more
500g fatty unlean beef (tetel)
500g beef - cut into thick cubes

Heat abt 1 cup of oil in wok and saute the cinnamon bark, star anise and cardamoms, followed by the ground ingredients till cooked and fragrant. Add in the bruised lemongrass and bayleaves.Add in the tomato, soy, oyster sauce and black pepper. Season with salt and sugar. Add in the water. Dump in the meat and under medium heat, cook gravy until meat is tender.

To serve, place noodles and sprouts in a bowl. Spoon gravy over and complete it with the veggie, capsicum, beancurd, fried shallots and pickled green chillies.

Peach Tart

..mmm...I got greedy and felt like eating one...so, I scoured for a good recipe and found this one from happybaking, in which I have adjusted to my preference..frankly, I've tried other tarts before but I am only gonna stick to this for the rest of my life!..please...trust my taste..*wink*

Pastry

250g flour
50g ground almond
60g castor sugar
125g butter at room temperature
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Using a wooden spoon, beat butter and sugar until just combined. Add ground almond, egg and flour plus the vanilla. Work into a dough. Do not overknead or pastry won't be flaky. Work into a disc, cover with cling film and chill for abt 30 mins or so.

Roll out pastry to fit an 18 - 20cm tart pan with a removable base. Carefully fit into the greased pan. Neaten the edges. Freeze for abt 20 mins. Poke holes and blind bake in a preheated 180degrees oven for abt 12 mins.Cool completely.



Filling

20g flour
120g ground almonds
100g brown sugar
125g butter at room temperature
1 egg

Beat the above with a balloon whisk until just combined.Set aside



Sliced Peaches - well drained
Icing Sugar - for dusting

Spread filling neatly onto the pastry base. Line with the drained peach slices. Bake in a preheated 170degrees oven for abt 40 mins, depending on yr oven. Check and remove when a cake tester inserted in the centre of the filling comes out clean. Dust with icing sugar.

Thank You

Assalamualaikum.

I'd like to take this opportunity to express my hearfelt thanks to my dearest fellow friends for your kind words and support for me for the last couple of weeks,...

well, as they said,everthing happens for a reason and I should believe that behind every cloud is a silver lining...the sky is at its darkest before dawn,...but as day breaks....the ray of the sun brings new hope and gives new life another chance..
So, thank you again for being such loyal visitors and friends,...I shall continue to finish my Ramadhan and at the same time, spread food on the table..(sounds horny right?..)...**smiling**....and so will u....

a special thank u to the following friends, pls accept my thank u note and paste it on yr blog..

Nur - Cetusan Rasa
Ratna - Kitchen Stories
RRozie17
Katak Ayu
Yummilicious Jun
Aishah Ummiaqil
Ida Sinarrasul
Cik Mat Gebu
Liana
VG
Kak Ummi
S_Shamen
Eyna Muffindummi
DarlingFarah
Edazman
HanaMemories

sorry if I left out anybody..but u know who u are..

Cendol Kilat Ramadhan

Cendol = A sweet cooling dessert
Kilat = Lightning
Ramadhan = Muslim month of fasting

The classic cendol or chendol (say chain - doel)..BUT do u see the relevance of it's name?..Let me explain..its the fasting month, (check)...and I happened to crave for a sweet cooling dessert to break my fast (check)...however, I have no time and I gotta make it in an instance and as fast as lightning (check)...gettit?

Ingredients

Store bought chendol
some boiled and cooled red beans
Palm sugar syrup - u can find one in a convenient ready-to-squeeze bottle
500ml coconut milk - scalded in a pot, with a tsp of salt, and cooled
Some ice cubes/ice shavings

In a tall glass, dump in drained chendol, a tbsp of red beans, 2 tbsp palm sugar syrup, 5 tbsp of coconut milk. Top with some ice shavings or ice cubes.
Chill well b4 serving,not forgetting to stir. Adjust the syrup as per yr liking.

Sardine Vol-au-Vents

Another quick snack. Perfect for days when u don't know what to do with yr leftovers.

Filling

Could be anything. If using sardine, like the one that I made,
just make sure u drain the excess gravy off.

Puff Pastry - I used the store-bought one

Roll out yr thawed puff pastry as according to the instructions on the packaging. Cut out circles of dough with a 7cm round/fluted cutter. Then make enough circles with a 5cm hole cut in the middle. Pile three rings of dough onto a round base.



Adhere the dough with some water. Egg wash the top and bake in a preheated 200degrees oven for abt 15-20 mins or till it's adequately puffed up. Stuff the filling into the holes and serve.

Pear & Raisin Bread Pudding

I am such a fanatic fan of bread puddings. Previously made some minis but this time, I made a custardy one. Love it when it's time to scoop a serving out of the pan.

12 slices of white bread - cut into 1-inch squares
3 tbsp of butter - melted
1 cup of raisins
3 pears or granny smith apples - cored, cut into small chunks or sliced
3 cups of milk
1 cup of heavy cream
7 eggs
1 and 1/2 cup of sugar
2 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp of mixed spices of nutmeg and cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
some brown sugar for sprinkling

Arrange bread on a greased 9x13 pan. Alternate with an arrangement of pears/apples and raisins. In a big bowl, whisk eggs and sugar. Add milk and heavy cream. Add vanilla,spices, and salt. Whisk till frothy and pour into the pan through a sieve.Let the bread soak up the wet mixture for abt 5 mins. Sprinkle some brown sugar on top for a crusty caramel touch. Bake in a preheated 180 degrees oven for abt 1 hour, depending on yr oven, or until the custard is cooked. There's no need for a water bath.
Cool completely b4 serving with a dollop of ice cream.

BerryGrape Tartletts

Made these minis after noticing the luscious abundance of champagne grapes available at my heartland mart. Added the strawberries which happened to be in stock in my fridge. I made banana pastry cream as a twist.

Pastry

125g butter
1/4 cup icing sugar
1 egg
180g flour
50g ground almonds

Work out the above ingredients into a dough. Press into a tartlet mould and use a fork to prick holes onto the pastry.
This is to prevent the dough from puffing up during baking. Bake blind in a preheated 180 degrees oven for 15 - 20 mins or till golden brown. Cool on wire rack and remove pastry cases from the moulds. If not using immediately, store them in an airtight container.

Banana Pastry Cream

1 egg
60g sugar
2 tbsp custard powder
100ml banana-flavoured milk
100ml heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

Whisk egg, sugar and custard powder till smooth. Scald the milk and heavy cream in another saucepan . Slowly add to the egg mixture, whisking all the time. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and under low heat, stir continuously till it thickens to a prefered consistency, adding the vanilla along the way. Cool. To set aside, line a cling wrap directly onto the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a crust forming on its surface.

Pipe pastry cream into cooled pastry tarletts.(u may also brush the insides of the pasty tartletts with melted chocolate first - to prevent sogginess) Arrange champagne grapes, strawberries or any prefered fruit of yr choice. Brush with warmed apricot glaze.

For today...

This is exactly what I'm feeling right now...

Cry me a river..

Salam to my beloved blog and bloggers...
I am truly sorry for the long absence..never intended to abandon my haven here but somehow,...things didn't work out the way as we plan...

I hope it's still not too late to wish everyone and myself a joyous Ramadhan..
I understand that I've not been updating much...not because I didn't cook but most of them were re-runs...so there's no need for me to post them in here..

my M.I.L's health is getting worse, altho I hope that she'll pull through..have been busy helping out with her journey to and from the hospital..my days were a total wreck!...nursing her...daily chores...teaching...nursing ...daily chores...teaching...(if u know what I mean)..that does not include the fatigue that is still not evaporating from my mind and body....

and finally,..while on my way to school today, I got involved in an accident!..got hit by a taxi..

Don't ask my how,where and why...because I'm gonna tell u...in my next post..let me rest a bit from my traumatic day..



papaaa...

Award : Beautiful Site

This is truly an honour in which I humbly accept, altho I know a lot of my peers out there are really the more deserving ones. Nontheless, I thank VG again, for this and also, I must say it's beautiful and I highly appreciate it. Thank u, dear!

Food lovers of the World - Unite!

Chilli Crab

My youngest daughter have been asking for this for a long , long time...and so, just to reward her for spending so much time on her Robotics, I finally made these for her...and the rest of the family gobbled up too..!
This recipe is for 4.

Ingredients

8 crabs - cleaned

To be grounded

40 dried chillies, soaked to soften
5 onions
6 cloves of garlic
2 inches ginger
2 inches galangal/blue ginger
2 tbsp belacan
5 candlenuts
2 stalks of lemongrass

8 cups of water
1/2 cup of tamarind juice
1/2 cup sugar
salt to taste
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup chilli sauce
4 eggs
1/4 cup of corstarch solution (instead of cornflour, I used potato flour)
sprigs of fresh coriander

Heat abt 1 and 1/2 cup of oil in wok. Saute ground ingredients till chilli is cooked and fragrant. Add water, tamarind juice,sugar,tomato and chilli sauce,salt. Cook to a rapid boil. When boiling, add crabs. When cooked, break in the eggs and add the solution. Stir and when gravy has thickened, remove from heat and serve with crusty french bread. Sprinkle with chopped fresh coriander.

Award : A Bear Hug from VG

Thank you beary beary much for the hug , VG,...and for yr info, teddy bears are my no.1 favourite plush toy..and my dearest ones are called Chubby and Russ.

Coconut Crisps

The cookies are refreshing as it is especially when there's nothing in the cookie jar!..and during the hunger pangs in the middle of the nite..
A heartfelt thanks to my dearest mate from downunder, VG..got this from her..u may browse here and just a reminder, the dough may be soft. U may add flour or chill the dough before shaping it..but whatever it may be, this is a good sweet nostalgic taste for me, with the coconut touch..

Brilliante Weblog Award

An award from Aishah. THANK U dear!..but I don't know what is it for..Brilliant?,..well, I do hope I am (at times),..hehe..still, I humbly accept with thanks...

Onde - Onde Labu

Pumpkin Balls with Sweet Stuffing in Shredded Coconut

I had pandan and sweet potato onde-onde. This time, I'm using pumpkin.
Great as a teatime snack.
For this recipe , I get abt 20.

Ingredients

abt 350g pumpkin, boiled, drained and mashed
200g glutinous rice flour
50g tapioca flour
1 tbsp ghee

1 block of gula melaka/palm sugar - slivered

The Coconut



abt 2 cups of grated coconut (without skin)
Steam the coconut with a pandan leaf for a few minutes. Add abt a tsp of salt and mix evenly.

Mix pumpkin flesh, both flour and ghee and work into a nice smooth dough. Add water if it's too dry or add more flour if it's too wet. Make a small ball, thumb a hole in the centre, insert some slivered palm sugar, pinch dough back together and roll back into a ball.



In a pot of boiling water with a knotted pandan leaf, slide the balls and boil them. They will float once they're cooked.



Drain out excess water and immediately dump into the steamed coconut. Roll until it's fully coated. Serve.

Asam Pedas Peranakan

I saw this on tv once and they said it was a Peranakan Style. Ok,...so I decided to give it a try...verdict?..whatever version u may call it..if it's Asam Pedas , it's still finger lickin gooood..

Ingredients

Spanich Mackerel or Red Snapper or any fish of yr choice

Blend the following:

30 dried red chillies - soaked to soften
6 cloves of garlic
2 inches of ginger
1 lemongrass
6 candlenuts (buah keras)
1 tbsp belacan
1 inch of fresh tumeric
3 big onions

a few sprigs of thai basil
1 torch ginger bud (halved) - bunga kantan in Malay (as seen in the picture)
1 brinjal, wedged
4-5 ladies' finger
1 tomato, wedged
a fistful of tamarind, mixed with water to obtain abt 4 cups of juice
salt and sugar to taste

Heat abt 1/2 cup of oil in pot. Saute the ground ingredients till chilli is cooked and fragrant. Take yr time. Add the tamarind juice, add more water for more gravy. When boiling, add ginger bud, thai basil, brinjal, ladies finger, fish and some salt and sugar. When cooked, turn off heat and dump in the tomato wedges. Serve.

Nasi Ayam

Chicken Rice.

Millions of version. You choose one. I choose this cause I cooked this when my husband's family came over to my house for a 'getting-to-know' session 16 years ago...u know what I mean...I was single then and maybe they wanted to know if their future in-law knows how to cook!..well I think they were in for a real treat..

Please browse below for the recipe. Like I said, this is MY version..

The Soup
The Rice
The Chicken
The Veggie (Chap Chye)
The Chilli