0058 - Multicultural Homemade Chicken Pizza

Personally, my idea of enjoying pizza is on a picnic, on a beautiful sunny day.


-Updates soon-

0057 - Traditionally Kiwi; Afghan Biscuits

Don't ask me why a traditional Kiwi biscuit has such a politcally sensitive name.

No one seems to be able to come up with any reason.

The first time Matt tried to bake these biscuits, it was a roaring failure. I am not kidding. He was so disheartened by the failure that it took him a month before he tried to impress me with his baking skills again.

So he had another go on it, on this recent Sunday. Needless to say, nothing like a failure to spur you to do better than before :) Now that it is a roaring success, he planned on baking more off them. Of course he will. Since Aidilfitri is nearing, AND, I am adamant on filling the house with cookies, biscuits, chocolates and cakes even though there's no one coming over to feed on them. It is my (meek) personal attempt to make it more festive, and Matt's attempt to "celebrate" the festivity with me. Having said that, this traditional Kiwi biscuit is going down into my books of traditional biscuit which will be a must for future & every Aidilfitri.

Afterall, if Matt & myself are going to share our lives together, food will definitely have to be taken into account.



At the request of Zakiah, and my personal urgent reasons, here's the recipe.

Ingredients:
Biscuits
200gm butter, softened
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 cups plain Kellogs cornflakes, crushed

Chocolate Icing
1 cup icing sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
3 tbsp water
Pecans, optional
*this can be substituted to your preference

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
   
2. Lightly grease your baking tray and line the bottom with baking paper.

Method:
Biscuits

1. Cream the butter & sugar until light & fluffy.
2. Sift flour & cocoa separately.
3. Stir the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture.
4. Fold in the cornflakes.
5. Spoon mounds of mixture onto tray.
6. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until biscuits are browned & firm to the touch.
7. Remove from oven & cool it on the wire rack .
   

Icing

1. Combine the icing sugar well with the cocoa powder.
2. Add water & mix well until the mixture is free of lumps and of a creamy consistency.
3. Spoon a little icing on the cooled biscuits & decorate with Pecans.

You can choose to exercise your tastebud in the sinful indulgent immediately, OR, leave the whole biscuit to cool at room temperature before placing them in an airtight container. We left the container in the fridge and prefer eating it cold instead. However, we do notice that when we leave it at room temperature, the biscuit becomes a little bit more chewy, and according to Matt,

"Mmmm... yum."

0056 - Grilled Beef w/ Vegetables

What happens when this Kiwi fella conquers the kitchen?
What happens when this Kiwi feels the need for variety in his dishes?



From 0042 Grilled Beef with Potato & Bak-Choy (served with Chili Vinegrette Sauce) to 0049 Grilled Beef with Potato & Orange, now you have Grilled Beef w/ Vegetables. And by vegetables, it's Potatoes, Mushrooms & Zuchinis :)



Oh... I always love that Chili Vinegrette Sauce combi.

0055 - Marshmallow Brownie

From this:


To this:


It wasn't a roaring success, but it wasn't a failure either. But it certainly didn't whet my appetite enough as I might have gone overboard with the marshmallows. Next test-drive, it'll be better, and I'll let you in on it :)

0054 - Striped Cheesecake

On second look, this cake feels like ice-cream. Yum.

THIS, to me would be the best-tasting cake I've baked to date & I hope to be able to do it again with better success.

Only problem? Manual whisking is not exactly an exciting activity.

0053 - Banana Cake

"This is one of your best cakes to date."

I'm sure Matt was just trying to be polite.

0052 - Blueberry Cake

Baking a Blueberry Cake has always been a dream of mine. One wintery August day of 2009, that dream came true.
I love blueberries.

Ingredients:
1 cup + 1 tsp all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
115gm butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla essence
2 large eggs
2 cups (or box of 500gm) blueberries, rinsed and drained (if using frozen blueberries, thaw and drain first)
1 tsp lemon juice
powdered sugar for dusting

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
   
2. Lightly grease a 24cm springform circular pan and line the bottom with baking paper.

Method:

1. Combine 1 cup of flour with baking powder and set aside.
2. Beat the butter really well before adding the sugar and vanilla. Continu beating until light and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until well blended.
   
4. Slowly add the flour mixture, beating until smooth.
   
5. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.
6. Combine the berries with the remaining teaspoon of flour and the lemon juice in a bowl.
7. Spoon the berry mixture randomly over the batter.
8. Bake on middle rack in oven for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
   
9. Remove from oven and let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
   
10. Carefully slide a thin knife around the edges of the cake to release it from the pan. Transfer the cake to a platter, berry side up.
    
11. Dust the cake with powdered sugar before serving.

The next mission after this will be a Blueberry Cheesecake or, a Mixed Berry Cheesecake. Do share what your turn out is like if you've done this before.

0051 - Marble Cake

Marble Cake is one of the more "famous" cakes within my family especially with my aunt & my cousin always being the "chief" in baking heaps of them for us all. I always thought it was such a cumbersome cake to bake. It wasn't till I tried making it myself. Now that I know better, I'll be happy to bake these on any given day, come rain or shine.

Ingredients:
200gm butter, softened
1cup caster sugar
1tsp vanilla essence
3 eggs
2cups self-raising flour
1/2cup milk, reserve 2tbs of this
1tbs cocoa powder

Preparation:

1. Pre-heat the oven at 180C.
2. Prepare a lightly greased 24cm diameter springfoam pan & line with baking paper.
   

Method:

1. Beat the butter, sugar & vanilla until pale & creamy.
2. Add 1 egg at a time & beat really well.
   
3. Sift 1/2 of the flour & stir in the milk.
4. Repeat step 3 with the remaining flour and milk until well combined.
   
5. Divide the batter into 2.
6. Combine cocoa powder into the 2nd batter mixture & add the reserved milk.
7. Stir well.
8. Place alternate spoonfuls of the 2 mixtures into the prepared pan, tapping the base of the pan on a flat surface to settle the mixture.
   
9. Use a spoon or a knife to gently swirl the batters together to create a marble effect.
   
10. Tap the base of the pan on a flat surface to smooth the surface.
    
11. Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
    
12. Remove from oven and set aside in pan for 5 minutes.
    
13. Let it cool completely before serving. Or, keep it in an airtight container - not in the fridge though.
    

As always, with cakes like these, I prefer indulging in mine slightly warm to the touch.

0050 - Ramadan 2009

For all Muslims, may you have a blessed & better Ramadan, Insya'Allah!

0049 - Grilled Beef with Potato & Orange

After Matt's success on Grilled Beef with Potato & Bak-Choy (served with Chili Vinegrette Sauce) in Entry 0042, he gave it a go again, substituting the Bak-Choy with an Orange.



Unlike the first one, I'm afraid this wasn't my favourite. I prefer my orange on the side. Of course, beef & potato? You can never go wrong :)

0048 - Homemade Cheeseburger

Have you ever had one of those very random moments where your stomach craves for a Cheeseburger? I've been having those moments eversince I came to Brisbane in February.




With all the key ingredients ready, Matt whipped up our first ever Homemade Cheeseburger. It was really good, for me especially, since my favourite fast-food chain, MacDonald's is not Halal, in Brisbane. So this, was as close as it gets to satisfy my cravings :) But it's a little bit more special, coz I know it's homemade and you can never get anything outside as close as this. Even more so, when he added his own homemade (more like EXPERIMENTAL) sauce to go with it!



Because this meal was specially prepared by Matt, other than the ingredients captured above, I have no idea how you can go about making the beef patties. I'm sorry guys. You might have to work a little bit harder and surf the net (or look in one of your recipe books) for the "How-To". Whatever it is, do share if you get round to it :)

0047 - Marie Fudge Cake

It was really good (& sinful) the first round that I made it again within a week. The above image was from the 1st attempt. Our 2nd go at it to include pecans. Next time, I'll take on Matt's suggestion and try a different biscuit. The best part about this dessert, it's bakeless :)

Ingredients
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup milo
125ml boiling water
170gm butter - cut into large chunks
200gm sweetened condensed milk
110gm white granulated sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
250g (1 packet) Marie biscuits

Note:

1. You may adjust the amount of milo and cocoa powder to your taste, for example 1/2 cup milo + 1/2 cup cocoa powder :)
   
2. You may opt to sub the biscuits for something else to your preference... although, I have yet to try any other biscuits.
3. For fun's sake, I actually added leftover Pecans the 2nd time I made it & it turned out pretty good too.

Preparation

1. Break each bisuits into quarters, set aside.
2. Line the base and two long sides of a 23cm x 9cm x 7cm deep loaf tin (or other cake tin with similar capacity) with baking paper. Lightly grease the inside of the tin so the paper sticks to the tin, extending the paper about 5cm above edge of tin. Don't forget to grease & line both short sides with baking paper as well.

Baking

1. Slowly add boiling water to milo and cocoa in a heavy based saucepan, stirring vigorously until it is smooth.
2. Add butter, sweetened condensed milk, sugar, lightly beaten eggs and vanilla to the saucepan.
3. Place over moderate heat and cook, stirring all the time with a whisk or a spoon - give & take 10minutes lah until you feel the bottom starts to thicken.
4. Turn heat down to low, and continue to cook, stirring without stopping, for about another 20 minutes, or until a thick custard forms.
5. Transfer the thick custard to a large mixing bowl, add quartered biscuits.
6. Mix until all the biscuits are coated with the custard.
7. Transfer mixture into the prepared tin.
8. Press down firmly so there are no air pockets in the mixture. You might want to consider banging the tin (either on a table, or anywhere) a couple of times to settle the mixture.
   
9. Fold the paper extensions over the top and press down to even the surface.
10. Let it cool to the touch in room temperature.
11. Cover with cling film and place into the refrigerator to chill for at least 4 hours, or preferably overnight.
12. When the cake is firm, use the paper extension as handle to pull the cake out of the tin (you might need to loosen the paper from the sides of the tin first by sliding a knife between the paper lining and the sides of the tin). My boyfriend cheated and put it over the electric stove for a few seconds. HaHa!
13. Slice and serve and Enjoy!

Taste? Fudgy chilled cake :) Do share once you've made it!

0046 - Marbled Cheese Brownie

This bake tempts even my mum who is not a fan of chocolate.
Best served chilled.
Chewy.
Yum.

0045 - Tomato Soup with Mexican Sausage

I love soup <3.

0044 - Chocolate Self-Saucing Pudding

Surely, this looks really good, even to those who aren't Chocoholics.

0043 - Grilled Chicken & Mushroom

Here's another one of Matt's random creation - Grilled Chicken & Mushroom with Steamed Rice (served with the leftover Marinade Suace made for the Chicken/Mushroom)



Bloody good as well!

0042 - Grilled Beef with Potato & Bak-Choy

This is Matt's Grilled Beef with Potato & Bak-Choy (served with Chili Vinegrette Sauce).



It was so good, 1 serving wasn't enough for me.

0041 - Food back Home

It is still months away - 4 months to be exact - before I go back home for a break. The only reason I am going home, is that I've got a 12-month ticket which I thought should be put to better use. Anyway, the point is, I know what I want to eat when I go back. Typically, I will say, "I want to eat everything!" but possible or not, only time will tell right? So I am making this very important list, now :)

Not in order of preference:-

1. Nasi Lemak at Changi Point
2. Nasi Lemak at Adam Road
3. Hainanese Chicken Rice - location, to-be-detemined. Suggestions?
4. Sup Tulang at home by my Mum
5. Mee Kuah Mamak at either Eunos or Arab St
6. Roti John at either Eunos or Simpang
7. Roti John Special at Simpang
8. Chicken Wings at Simpang
9. Seafood Spread in Johore Bahru - ikan pari, sambal sotong, kangkung, etc.
10. Laksa by my Aunt
11. Asam Pedas Ikan Tongkol or Ikan Merah by my Mum
12. Asam Pedas Ayam by my Mum
13. Lemak Ayam Chili Padi by my Mum
14. Sambal Sotong, Sambal Ayam by my Mum
15. Sambal Goreng Pengantin by my Mum
16. Cocktail Ice-Jelly by my Mum
17. Serunding & Kuah Lemak - hopefully on Hari Raya Haji
18. Mee Soto by my Mum
19. Mee Bandung by my Mum
20. Mee Soup by my Mum
21. Fishball Noodle (Dry) at Banquet & Tampines (some neighbourhood place I can't remember)
22. Kway Teow Beef/Ayam/Seafood anywhere
23. Western Hot Plate dishes at Kembangan
    

It's always possible for mum to cook all of the above when she comes here in September, but the possibility of Sambal is out of the question because of the fiery-hot dried chili Australia imports.

Oh wait, there's more. Fast-food:-

1. MacDonalds
2. Kentucky Fried Chicken
3. Long John Silvers

There's no LJS here and the above 2 are not HALAL :-p

In return, since I have never baked at home, I will bake for my mum & the rest of the family, including the neighbours :)

Now, I'm really hungry...

0040 - If time permits...

If time permits, we will update... coz we've been eating... really well :)

• Matt's Grilled Beef with Potato & Bak-Choy (served with Chili Vinegrette Sauce)
  
• Matt's Grilled Chicken with Steamed Rice (served with the leftover Marinade Suace made for the Chicken)
• Matt's Chocolate Steamed Pudding
• Matt's Tomato Soup with Mexican Sausage
• Hana's Marbled Brownie (with Cream Cheese)
• Hana's Marie Fudge Cake (famously known online as Kek Batik)
• Hana's Fried Chicken Noodles in Oyster Sauce

There are other dishes I made for myself while lunching at home like Beef Soup and Tofu Soup, all eaten with leftover rice from previous dinners. As well as random Fried Rice. But of course, those won't be blogged about... coz I was just toooooo terribly hungry to take photos of. And having said that, not ALL of the above will be blogged about in the next few days. Well, it depends :)

On the menu for tonight's dinner will be Matt's Beef Burgers. I plan on making 1 (or 2) Burger Ramly but I'm not sure whether he'll like it like most Singaporeans & Malaysians do. Heh. Anyway, whether or not he's going to blog about it? Only time will tell.

0039 - Oreo Cheesecake

My first attempt on the Bakeless Oreo Cheesecake is almost a success if it hadn't been toooo creamy. Although, both Matt & Fadli do not have any problems finishing up their slice :) Infact, it was too creamy for me that I had to give mine away to Matt, and of course the wonderful boyfriend willingly finished it for me. That's enough flattery for me. Heh.



There were really lots of recipes available online, including a few that suggests baking in the oven for 22minutes. I was adamant on making this cake without having to use the oven and I succeeded. HaHa.



The original recipe I followed was from Kraft:-
http://www.kraft.com.au/recipes/recipedetail.htm?recipe_id=104153&ctx

But I've altered mine a little bit as I did not have enough cream cheese to begin with. Also, I did not use the block Cream Cheese as suggested but I will try make this cheesecake again with it the next next time. I suspect the reason why my first attempt came out too creamy was because of the combination of the non-block Cream Cheese I paired with the very creamy Sour Cream. But hey, more room for improvement AND as always, improvise ;)

Ingredients
250gm of Oreo Cookies (that's 20 pieces!)
55gm of Melted Butter
250gm of Philadelphia Kraft Cream Cheese (if you're using the block ones, let me know about the outcome!)
1/2cup of Caster Sugar
1cup of Lite Sour Cream
1tsp of Vanilla Essence

1. I crushed the first 12 biscuits really hard, into almost fine pieces. You should use a food processor if you have it.
2. Mix it really well with the melted butter.
3. Spread and press the mixture to the bottom of your baking tray and let it cool in the fridge for 30 minutes.
4. Crush the balance 8 biscuits and put aside.
5. Mix the softened Cream Cheese, Sugar and Vanilla really well before adding the Sour Cream and mix again.
6. Stir in the crushed biscuits.
7. Pour and spread over the refrigerated Oreo base.
8. Cover your baking tray, maybe with a cling wrap and let it refrigerate for about 4-6 hours.

DISCLAIMER
This is not the perfect recipe. Like any other cake recipe, keep trying till you're satisfied with an outcome.

Happy Eating!

:)

0038 - Jemput-Jemput Pisang

It was my first time making Jemput-Jemput Pisang (I'm sorry, but I have no idea what this is called in English) on my own. When I did it with my mum at home, I never cared much for what actually goes into making this, and how much of each ingredients are needed. In fact, when I called my mum to make it 3 weeks ago, she told me,

"I can't tell you exactly how many cups or tbl spoons... You have to do your own agaration."

Very helpful eh? So I went online for a bit of help and there were between 2-5 ways of making it with all sorts of ingredients. Although, flour, bananas and sugar seem to be the only constant ones.

So today, without realising the flour Matt bought couple months ago was actually self-raising flour, I added 1 tsp of baking powder. Even if you're an amateur cook like myself, you don't need baking powder when you hanve self-raising flour. HaHa. But you know what, it turns out alright afterall :)

For all novice/virgin/amateur kitchen individuals like myself, here are my ingredients and how I made it.



Ingredients:
3-4 riped bananas
3/4 cup of sugar
1.5 cup of flour
1 tsp of baking powder (omit this if you are using self-raising flour)
1/2 tsp of vanilla essence (honestly, I wouldn't be too fussed about using this)
cooking oil

Method:

1. Mash all the bananas really well.
2. Add in the sugar & mix well.
3. Add in the baking powder & vanilla essence. Mix well.
4. Add the flour bit by bit as you mix them up. Make sure the end result, they are neither lumpy nor watery.
5. Heat the saucepan with oil & bring it to a low medium when it's ready for cooking.
6. Place 1 tblsp of the mixture slowly into the saucepan.
7. Repeat till you are finished with the mixture.

Best eaten hot. Enjoy!

0037 - Cookie & Tea-Time

On our last day in Wellington, Matt's mum did some baking (see entry 0036) and more, as you can see from the upcoming pictures. It looks good and pretty over here doesn't it? Trust me, they do taste good. And nothing that good food can't bring a family together... even if it's just little cakes and cookies!

I can't bake, only because I have yet to try. But I do feel inspired. Perhaps, I'll get down to it before school reopens next week? You'll know about it when I blog about it. Now, enjoy some pretty pictures :)



Now watch as she holds a cookie in one hand and oggled at the other goodness. I'm sure she's already contemplating her next bite. What an adorable girl Mia is. Just look at those cheeks... :)


Mia grabs the cookie faster than you can say the word cookies!

(all pictures were captured on July 4th, 2009)

0036 - Comfort Food

The site is almost neglected, that I am aware. No thanks to my busy schedule in school last couple months. Of course, it seems like I had more interesting things to yak about on the other blog. Not to forget the other distractions like Twitter, Facebook and blablablabla...

School is due to start in a week and suddenly, I'm getting the feeling (or maybe, inspired?) to update this site again :) Really. I do actually have a few food-tales to yak about from our recent trip back to Matt's hometown in New Zealand. And this entry, is the first of many more to come.



Chocolate Cake made by Matt's mum on our last day in Wellington - Nothing beats the comfort food from home right?

(captured on July 4th, 2009 at 3:58pm NZ time)

0035 - Mexican Sausage with Spinach & Mozarella Baked Pasta

I LOVE THIS ONE.

Trust Matt to constantly satisfy us for dinner that I no longer feel the need to cook anymore. Seriously.

0034 - Pan Fried Potatoes Hana 1.0

Matt: So what are we doing about dinner tonight?
Hana: Well, whatever you fancy.



Matt: But all the meat are in the freezer aren't they?
Hana: Hmmm... why not we go vegetarian tonight?



I experimented by adding only 1 Chili Padi and i think i'll stick with normal Chili the next time round.


We had tartar sauce to keep the Chili taste down but Matt had Iced Coffee with the meal as well; which means he was able to handle the spiciness way better than me. But hey, what's new?

;)

0033 - Hot Soup Hana 3.0

It was raining dogs the past weekend and Matt wasn't doing too well health-wise. So i finally decided to make hot soup for dinner and this time round sans Chili. I am amazed at the amount of chili that i have been cutting back (read: No sambal tumis + No asam pedas = No chili) although there's always a certain amount of chili in ALL of Matt's dishes. But for that particular cold weekend when the boy is not feeling too well... it was a really simple and quick dinner. I think he sulked when he heard there's no chili but we both know Matt's not picky when it comes to whatever is being served for dinner. He thinks a dish without chili is not exciting enough though. Ha-Ha.