Seaweed And Sesame Thins

Me, being the adventurous and needless to say, I search, I see, I bake, I eat , type of person could not resist this recipe which I chanced to stumble upon. By Gina Choong, Seaweed and Sesame Thins…quite challenging…the crispness depends on one skill I guess. Heehee…I failed when it comes to this kind of skill…making it as thin as possible and the oven temperature has to be adjusted to your own oven . My oven must have acted on me coz of the uneven browning. Need to check the oven temperature :P Quick to blame the oven when it was my fault..haha I admit defeat when it comes to making this type of thins :))

Mine were not crispy in the center ( too thick ) and only the edges were crispy. So I have to perfect it by making this snack more often. Easy to prepare and if it is done in the correct thinness then this is a wonderful snack with lots of seaweed and sesame. Light and crispy !!! Click here to see the actual thins . Original recipe by Gina Choong. What a vast difference !!! Heehee.... :p

simple to make batter...takes a few seconds to whip up

seaweed and black and white sesame seeds

be careful when doing this... make sure the batter is spread out thin and even

Sorry, I didn't do justice to the recipe.

Click here for the original recipe

* Thanks Gina Choong for sharing such a wonderful snack*

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Cempedak Fritters

Wow… a gigantic one…. ‘ cempedak ’ is in season now and I couldn’t resist buying one when I saw this beauty in our usual durian stall. This aromatic fruit is my favourite especially if eaten chilled. The fleshy pulp is so sweet and oooh…you can guess what I had in mind to do with this sweet juicy aromatic fruit…yessss…..cempedak ice cream :)))))))

Of course I did not make ice cream out of this juicy sweet fruit but was quite tempted. We ate it fresh and the left over I make fritters for supper (",) but alas I made my own batter which turned out a disaster coz it became soft and not crispy . Was too lazy to dig out the recipe for a crispy batter . But the whole plate of cempedak fritters was emptied by the Piggies ( they must be very hungry…I guessed ) The seed can be eaten if it is cooked through. Normally the hot oil would have cooked the seed during the frying process.

Frankly speaking, it is best eaten fresh…honey sweet and juicy and the taste is similar to jackfruit with a hint of durian. Asians will normally love this fruit !

This beauty costs RM7.50 ..honey sweet and juicy

fleshy and juicy pulp..luscious

cempedak fritters.. the whole plate of fritters was emptied in secs by the hungry Piggies
even though it was not crispy like the one sold :))))

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Quote of the day

I believe that my children are a gift of God –
the hope of a new tomorrow
I believe that immeasurable possibilities lie
slumbering in each son and daughter.
I believe that God has planned a perfect
plan for their future, and that His love
shall always surround them

~ Robert Schuller~

Layered Chocolate Cake With Banana Cream Filling

This was what Piggy boy wanted to eat for his weekend homecoming last week. Layered Chocolate Cake with Banana Cream Filling. His wish was my command…..so I set out to make this cake last Friday, so that he could have the whole weekend to feast on it .

Making this cake used to be quite tiring but now I can make it in 2 hours . Getting quite pro now heehee juz kidding (“,) As long as my Piggies eat all that I make ,I don’t mind working till I dropped dead. Baking and cooking are passions in me that will not sizzle out till my last breath. Wow..very strongly phrased :))))

I used Dralion recipe for the moist chocolate cake and when it cools down , slice the cake into two layers , whipped some heavy cream till stiff and apply on the layered cake and arranged the sliced banana on top of the whipped cream. Cover the sliced bananas with some cream. Place the 2nd layer on top of the fillings and frost the cake with chocolate ganache. Leave in the fridge for the chocolate ganache to set. Tada… I have a nice cake done in 2 hours . Normally I will make this cake for birthdays only but since he fancy eating it, Momsie hasn’t got the heart to say No to him…^___^ . Thus my Friday night was spent just making this sinfully luscious item..appeasing to Piggy boy.

** shout out to Piggy Boy: “Hey darlin, this cake is the payment in advance for the facelift of my blog banner and kamsahamida for taking your time to do it for me. Love you Piggies lotz…”

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Sweet & Juicy Nectarines

Buying fruits for my Piggies is not an easy task. At times I just don’t know what to get for them , fruits that can last a week , fruits that can stand the hot weather , fruits that are nice and easy to peel.. Bananas will ripe easily so that is out of the question. Grapes must be seedless and easy to peel type and they prefer to eat it cold so this is also out of the question. They don’t like apples so this is out too. Guava has to be seedless too but we understand that the farmers sprayed a lot of pesticide on them so can’t eat too often. Haizz…definitely not an easy task when it comes to buying fruits for them. They love mangoes but they like them cold from the fridge so it makes choosing fruits for them darn hard for Momsie. Fruits that can last the hot weather and at the same time nice to eat and easy for them to peel….huh…I wish I can create my own fruit to suit their desire. God, please give me a magic wand and I shall not wish for anything more! The first thing I would do is to wave the magic wand for an "invisible FRIDGE" for them in their room and that will solve the problem. Any fruits will do then! (“,) No more headache for Momsie ! No fridge allowed in hostel room :( so making living in hostel room sucks in this part of the world.

I sighted these lovely nectarines at Tesco Hypemart. I bought 2 packs :) coz they look so luscious ! A pack of tens cost RM8.99. Well….a bit pricey though ( small in size ) but it was worth it coz Piggies told me that they were sweet and juicy. Daddy and I do pamper them LOTZ and we will give them the BEST that we could afford…our DOLLARS and TIME and our LOVE for them is UNCONDITIONAL :)))))))

sweet ,juicy and succulent nectarines

checking out for any bad ones (",)

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Scallion Pancakes

Would you believe it , if I tell you that I woke up at 4.50am this morning just to prepare this Scallion Pancakes for our breakfast? :) Yea, I did just that. I couldn’t believe myself too, that I actually woke up that early just to prepare this pancake for breakfast. And the time taken to take photos of the whole process of making this pancake hmmm….. Daddy will lecture me on this when he reads this post of mine later. “ Crazy ” he would say, but since he had a share in eating , I guess his lips will be sealed after tucking in those warm pancakes and a cuppa of hot Nescafe !!!

I dumped the flour into the food processor and have the dough done in 5 minutes. While I go about doing my morning chores, I leave it to rest for 30 minutes . Easy to make BUT one thing to remember is that it is best eaten when it is still hot. I took it to the office and it became a bit chewy. This was the first time I tried out this recipe. Crispy on the outside and soft inside when it is straight out of the griddle. Taste wise , not bad coz the scallions gave it a nice fragrance. To be eaten with chili sauce as recommended by the sharer of this recipe. :) Can’t remember where I took this recipe from. Thanks anyway to that someone who shared this recipe on the net. Heehee….another item off my To-Do list ! I went to office feeling happy and my colleagues all wondered WHY...only I know WHY and you too :)))))

Roll dough into a semblance of a log

Divide equally into 5 pieces

Roll into 6" round, brush with oil/shortening on surface
Sprinkle liberally kosher salt and plenty of scallions on surface

Pick one end and roll it into a tight cigar

Twist dough around itself

Form a spiral and press down

Roll out into 7" round, 1/8" thick

Excuse the shape...I am a newbie (",)

Guess I am not fully awake YET...

Yummz... I stole a piece to taste,
crispy on the outside when it is hot

Scallion Pancakes

Ingredients:

2 cups of all-purpose flour

1/2 cup of warm water, plus some extra

3 scallions, thinly sliced

kosher salt

vegetable oil or vegetable shortening (shortening will give you a slightly flakier pancake).

Preparation:

Start off by making your dough. I do it in a food processor because it is easier but you could just as easily do it by hand. Start off by adding 1/2 cup of warm water to the flour and incorporating well. Gradually add water in teaspoon increments until the dough is pliable and easily comes off the sides of the bowl. You want the dough to be just barely sticky, but not rock-hard. Cover with a damp tea towel and let sit for 30 minutes so the dough can relax.

Next, roll the dough out with your hands into a semblance of a log, and divide into 5 pieces. Take one piece out and cover what you're not using. Roll it out into a round about 6 or 7” across, then brush with oil or shortening, sprinkle liberally with kosher salt and plenty of scallions (the more, the better!). Pick up one end of the round and begin rolling it into a tight little cigar.

Pinch the ends of the cigar to seal them, and then twist the dough around itself until it forms a spiral. Press this down.

Roll this out again into 7” round. Don't go too thin, otherwise all the layers will smoosh together. 1/8" thickness should do. Heat up a non-stick or cast iron pan on medium heat, and add enough oil to generously cover the bottom of the pan. Oil = crispiness, which is what we want. Don't skimp!

When the oil is hot enough so that a small piece of dough starts sizzling immediately after being added, throw in one of your pancakes. Cook for about 3 - 4 minutes a side, turning over when it's golden brown.

Drain the cooked pancake on a paper towel, and slice into wedges when you're ready to serve. These are great by themselves, but you can also mix up a little sauce of soy sauce, rice vinegar and ginger if you'd like.

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Homemade Beef Burgers

Ahhh…homemade beef burgers!!!! Yay…I still have about 500 gm of beef in the freezer so I set about making my own beef burgers inspired by Uncle Burger’s Sizzling Beef Burgers :))) Since it was a Saturday morning and having woke up late we missed our usual morning breakfast so Dad and Momsie had brunch instead. And we had wholemeal pita bread with homemade beef burgers for brunch.

I took out the beef and have it minced in the food processor . To 

my delight , I just have to add in the slice of white bread, black pepper and chopped big onions and one egg into the food processor and pulse it for a few seconds. Tadaa… in just a few minutes I had a huge portion of nicely minced beef mixture. Haha that’s the beauty of having a food processor at home…make things easy.

I bought the wholemeal pita bread from the supermart...will try to do my own next round , haha it is in my to-do list of course! :)

It tasted so good that I could not help blogging about it…it was finger licking good and I had two helpings (",) with the added extras. Fresh onion rings , lettuce , tomatoes and a slice of cheddar cheese with the right dressings makes the whole package of healthy eating. The beef burgers were juicy and every mouthful was …one word H-E-A-V-E-N-L-Y good. And the best part it was homemade and no PRESERVATIVE!!!

It was yummilicious good that I am going to make this for my Piggies when they come back next weekend. They missed all this nice home cooking food .My piggies, for the time being just drool what Daddy and I had for brunch (",)

And a cuppa of hot green tea after those yummilicious burgers ......wow fantastic !!!

Homemade Beef Burgers

Ingredients:

(A)500 gms of minced beef
1 big chopped big onion
1 slice of white bread – cut into small pieces
1 egg
1 tsp of ground black pepper
1 tsp of Italian Herbs
salt to taste

(B) 1 tbsp of oyster sauce
a pinch of ground black pepper
(mixed the above together with 3 tbsp of water)
1 tbsp of butter

(C) a few leaves of lettuce
slices of tomatoes
slices of cheddar cheese
2 big onion cut into rings
mayonaise and chilli sauce for dressing

Method:

Put the cut beef into the food processor and processed the beef coarsely. Add in the rest of ingredients (A) into the food processor and pulse a few seconds. Take out and rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Shape into burgers sized and pan seared it till they are cooked. Add in (B) mixture when the burgers are almost cooked and add a pat of butter on top to give it a nice buttery fragrant to the burgers. Take out and put aside. Cut the pita bread into half. Filled it with a piece of the cooked beef burger and add (C) for garnishing.

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