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)