.: G6 Plus 2 :.

So, the cousins will meet again this weekend. This time at Bukit Tinggi over a hearty BBQ.

Looking forward to that!

.: Recap :.

I've noticed that I've been blogging less and less of late. From a regular stream of approximately 15ish to 20ish blogpost a month, reduced to a shameful single digit.

Again, it's not that I do not have the time, but the juggle between work and other leisures means that some things that I love to do have to take the backseat, for the time being that it.

I have also put my baking completely on-hold, as I focus more on whipping up new Chinese dishes. I am proud to say that I have successfully emulated Lemon Chicken, Marmite Chicken & Taw Yew Bak (Soya Sauce Pork) with part help from googled recipe, but it was heavily modified to ingredient in hand as well as whatever foodish instinct I have.

I had revisited Project Scribe again i.e. clearing more junks of paper in my house and doing up so long overdue-ed filing. So not my forte. I just hate filing coz I don't believe that I'm a very neat person to begin with.

I have also been allocating more times to my reading i.e. in sheer determination to achieve my #52booksin52weeks target. I have another 18 books left, so if I continue the pace, I may be able to complete by end Nov. BIG IF. I have at least another 4 purchased books lined up begging to be read, plus the endless supply of library books. Also, am considering to drop by the Subang Jaya Book Exchange that is held weekly in a community hall nearby. Will see how that goes.

My camera has also taken the backseat, and the only recent snaps I took is the day trip to Sekinchan over the long Raya weekends.

Pinterest have became my biggest vice, as I addictively pin down ideas that I wish-to-do-in-the-near-future. But we all know that the near future isn't that near, or even unlikely to happen. But I am proud to say that out of the stuff that I have pinned, I have tried at least 5% of it. Hey, it's a start! Will find time (if ever) to post the DIY's I did - which are DIY tree branch decor for my living room, photo frame collage for my living room, 3D papercraft art for my study/reading room.

As for Project Wallaby, it will be on-hold again, given that the opportunity we had is unlikely to crystalise.

Again, there's much achieved for this year, for it has indeed been eventful. There's plenty more to do til year end, but whatever it is, I am thankful for the blessing that God has showered me (and us) throughout the year! :)

.: Cupcakes Galore :.

This weblink I discovered while daily-surfing for inspirations on Pinterest caught my attention. Shall put on my baking apron & give this a try to see if it's as good as it claims to be!

Ming Makes Cupcakes

.: Birthday Party For 5 :.

Mummy's birthday falls on 18th of March. Yes, I know, this is a long overdue-ed post, but as the saying goes, better late then never!

I decided to invite the parental & the sibling over for a homecooked meal.

As I was feeling a tad bit adventurous from my boring but safe *yawn* western cuisine, I decided to take my rudimentary culinary skill a notch up and go for a Greek themed meal instead.

Some pics I took of the meal I prepared that day.

Lemon & marinated grilled chicken; sausages; bread & vege sticks with dips

Salsa dip & ranch dip

Refreshing lemon mint mocktail & some red wine to go with the food

.: All American Breakfast :.

I am not usually a breakfast sort of person. Under normal circumstances, I can do without a breakfast (I know, not healthy and all, as breakfast is afterall the most important meal of the day). It's just that, because I am not a morning person, I am never up on time, hence, it's always a mad sprint from waking up to getting out of the door. I only visit the kitchen for a glass of water (too rush to even make myself a cup of milo).

But I do love a hearty breakfast nonetheless.

And my favourite, hands down, has got to be an all american breakfast.

So, one (it's gotta be a weekend) morning aeons ago (I finally got the time to look at my pics), I decided to whip myself some breakfast.

And, here's what I have conjured up.

I'll let the pics do most of the talking

Kath's version of an all american breakfast

Breakfast for two

Sauteed swiss brown mushroom in butter & garlic, homemade hash brown, rosemary focacia (from Ben's Independent Grocer, Publika), pork sausage (from S'wine deli, Publika), crispy fried bacon & scrambled eggs with homemade gravlax.

Heart-shaped pancakes with maple syrups & a bowl of fresh mixed fruits.



 Note : I have got to improve on my photography skills (or lack thereof). Disappointed with myself for the lousy shots.

.: Pok Brothers :.

The Husband and I decided to sacrifice our usual Saturday morning sleep-ins to check out the recently launched Pok Brother’s Gourmessa – their retail mart.

Abit of the background first, Pok Brothers started off as a general store business in the heart of PJ way back in 1963. From it’s humble beginning as a family-owned business, it has grown and have become one of the leading frozen food companies in Malaysia.

The HQ is located in Glenmarie, Shah Alam, but they have distribution centers at a couple of places such as Penang, Johor, Langkawi & Pahang.

Most of Pok Brothers’ frozen products are imported from countries such as US, Europe, Australia & New Zealand. This includes products such as canned food, pastas, seafood, meat, cheese, etc.

If you are at their warehouse, you will notice the delivery trucks come to pick up the products, and from there, you can see where most of your favourite restaurants gets their supplies from.

Before this, Pok Brothers did not have a retail mart, but they do entertain walk-in customers. The walk-in customer will then pick from their products booklet of the items they want, and they will retrieve it from the big freezer. There are plenty of walk in customers and on the one occasion that we went together earlier in the year, we saw a couple of customers making their purchases.

I suppose that Pok Brothers have seen the potential in the retail market & hence decided to extend a part of their warehouse to a small retail outlet.

The trip that Saturday was worthwhile, as we have made a couple of purchases (which means spending more money, which is not good). We got ourselves some turkey & beef cold cuts (which are 10% off during this promo period). Then we got ourselves some regular cheddar cheese slices, which is prices pretty decently as well. Oh and we succumbed to the buy-3-frozen-pizza-and-get-a-free-freezer-bag trick (sigh!). The blueberry & apple puffs are delish as were the croissants that The Husband purchased in his previous visit without me.

Oh and if you are looking for bottled capers & olives, they have aplenty for a very decent price as well.

My colleague mentioned that the fresh milk is going for RM5 or RM6 for a two packs 1 liter carton. But the catch is that the expiry for this milk is within the next month or some.

Frozen lamb, frozen turkey, frozen salmon (cheap, cheap, cheap!) is worth checking out. If you’re feeding a big family, they do sell big cans of tomato paste, dried pasta, etc.

Pok Brothers Sdn Bhd

2, Jalan U1/24

Hicom-Glenmarie Industrial Park

40150 Shah Alam

Selangor Darul Ehsan

Malaysia

.: Key Must-Have Ingredients In The Kitchen :.

I love cooking. Actually, I love trying new recipes, tweaking them til my tastebuds agreeable and I am almost 84.56938% satisfied (I can never be 100% satisfied, coz I just a perfectionist that way). It’s truly a sense of satisfaction. A male colleague of mine mentioned that in this time, women don’t really cook anymore. Well, I beg to differ for a know plenty of friends my age who knows how to whip up excellent dishes & bakes. But then again, there are a couple whose “culinary skills” are limited to instant noodles & boiling water. -.-

When I drive back from my workplace to home, I will have a hundred thoughts running thru my head – and one of which is – what to cook for tonight’s dinner/tomorrow’s lunch. It’s a way of distressing as I get to, in my jumbled up mind, mix and match whatever ingredients I have left in my kitchen and hope to successfully assemble a satisfactory dish for the day!

There are a couple of key ingredients which I love to keep at home, and because they are so flexible, I can just pretty much conjure up a dish in no time using these few ingredients from your pantry.

Eggs

They can be fried and added to the top of your fried rice or fried noodle dish. Hard-boiled – and make into egg sandwich or act as fillers into potato salad. Soft-boiled – think egg purgatory! *drools* Scrambled – excellent with just salt & pepper or add some onions & chilly and you have yourself a simple omelet. If you are just feeling really, really lazy, add and egg to your favorite instant noodle & slurp all the way to yumminess! Even to bake, about 95% of the recipe requires for eggs. So it’s no wonder that I have at least half a dozen eggs in my fridge at any one time!

Pasta

Forget rice, pasta is the new black! Aside from spaghetti Bolognese, carbonara or oglio, you can fuse your paste (namely spaghetti) with our lip-smacking Asian flavors. I lost track of the times I have made Tom Yum pasta (still an all time favourite with The Husband), add it into your curry chicken and you got yourself some curry noodles or stir fry it ala mee mamak style. I have been using spaghetti & angel hair for my Malacca Nyonya Laksa and have never looked back since. Fancy a salad? Throw in a can of tuna (the tuna minus the can I mean) and some spiral pasta with your leafy greens and you got yourself a wholesome meal-in-one!

Chicken

Now, I suppose it’s obvious that chicken is probably the most flexible meat. It can be cooked western style (think rosemary/ thyme/ lemon/ bacon/ grill), Chinese style (think tong kua/ wine/ ginger/ steam), Malay and/or Indian style (think curry/ rendang chicken!). Our personal favourite is grilling it with salt & pepper (and trust me, that’s all you need for a mouth-watering meal!). Best part is, with the carcass, we can boil it into soup (think ABC soup! Yummers) and as a treat for The Husband  - chicken porridge! (I don’t personally fancy porridge) Mince chicken can be made into sui kow with wanton wrappers or add 1 : 1 portion of onions with eggs and binders and you got yourself a home made delish chicken burger patty to be grilled. Add some honey/marmite/plum sauce to some chicken chunk & stir-fry and you will get a nice Chinese dish to impress your in-laws (or out-laws?). The list is definitely endless and some chicken in the freezer can really come in handy! 

For a novice in the kitchen, who want to start experimenting in the kitchen, I strongly suggest to have these three basic ingredients in your kitchen. Then, ladies, in your kitchen, you can have - in the words of Bon Jovi – one wild night! Cooking of course! :)

.: Milkshake Factory, Kuala Lumpur :.

The milkshake that brings all the boys (and girls) down KL’s yard is having a promotion all for the month of April to July!

Yipyiphooray! :)

Ground Floor, Crown Regency Hotel, Jalan P.Ramlee, 50250. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

.: Whipped :.

I love to see whipping cream being whipped by the mixer until it becomes… er… whipped cream. I watch with amazement on how it can turn from liquid into white fluffy mass. Yesterday, I was reminded of how I miss baking. Oh, indeed the joy of baking!

.: Kath's Lil Kitchen Helper :.

One of the greatest inventions for those on the go but wants to come home to a warm home-cooked meal. Am I pleased to introduce you to La Gourmet 2.5L Thermal Wonder Cooker! (Sounds like I’m doing a commercial or something! hehe!)

I have been telling The Husband a couple of months back that we need to get ourselves a thermal cooker. It was difficult to explain the concept of thermal cooking to him and he conveniently thought that it’s the same as slow cooker (which is not!). And again, like most of the things I tell him, it falls unto deaf ears, and in the end, completely forgotten. Tsk,tsk,tsk….

But thank goodness for Moms! I told my mom the other day (only once, mind you, whereas I have repeatedly told The Husband for like umpteenth times!) of my need, and she happily sourced for me the best bargain price and in the end got one for me at only RM99! Yippiedeedoo! :)

Anyways, The Husband was still skeptical when he saw this thingamajiggy. He was very doubtful that something can be boiled in the fire for 10 mins and then left to cook in the thermal. Oh, man of little faith. I guess it’s up to me to proof him otherwise.

So I took half of a kampong chicken, throw in some dried scallop, dried mushroom, wolfberry (kei chi), dried longans & red dates (the latter two for sweetness) into the inner pot. Add salt to taste.

Bring the inner pot with water filled to about 80% of the pot to boil. It takes about 15 mins or so. Then lift the inner pot from the fire (be careful as the pot will be very very hot) and place it in the outer pot. Close the lid, and that’s it. Wait for 8 hours and the soup’s ready to be served. Mind you, it will still be delightfully warm! I on the other hand, took a step further to reboil the soup, at left it in the pot for another 8 hours. Hence, in total, 16 hours. I believe that it gives the soup much more flavour than just only the first step, but it’s all down to individual preference. Anyhows, the first step suffices for a good bowl of soup!

I am loving this! And so is The (skeptical) Husband who, like a typical chinaman, enjoys his warm bowl of tong (soup). I believe that one can use this to cook soup, stew, porridge and even tong sui. Eyeing a recipe on pandan tau fu fa, if only I can figure out what GDL is!

Only complain is that I wished my mom got us a bigger one. I know, I know, there’s just the two of us, why would I need a bigger one you would ask? I just love to cook in volumes; for own consumptions as well as for family & friends and tho 2.5L is good enough for the both of us, it is not enough for say 4 people or more. And oh ya, can it just not also come in more fashionable colour such as bright red or pink? Just sayin'.

.: Eat, Drink & Be Merry :.

It’s been a while since I’ve updated my blog on the recipes that I have tried & tested.

I have a couple of pics stored in my DSLR, but the lazy bone in me has grown so big than it was before that I… well, I am just plain lazy (I am too lazy to even come out with an excuse for my laziness)

Anyways, I suppose the post-worthy recipes would include

1)      Leg of lamb – a simple marinate-and-roast recipe that I have tried over the Chinese New Year. The family loved it. The friends were impressed that I manage to conjure up something like that (tho it’s really pretty simple – just marinate & roast). Will find time to post it, I hope.

2)      With the leftover lamb meat from the above 1), I whipped up a very simple yet satisfying Mexican dish - fajitas. Really simple to prepare – the meat & some cutting up of the sides. Easy peasy! Again, will find time to post the recipe up!

This weekend, I am gonna try some Greek cuisine (and a lil bit of mix in between) .

Starters would be a selection of dips together with pita bread, focaccia bread (that we got from Ben’s General Grocer in Publika), carrot stick, cucumber stick, celery stick, blanched broccoli & nachos

Mains would be grilled yogurt and mint chicken served with tzatziki sauce and some pork sausages (again, got that from Ben’s General Grocer)

And since it’s my mom’s birthday, I got her a jumbo cupcake from Bisou (many thanks to TimeoutKL for the complimentary jumbo cupcake!)

So hopefully this weekend cookout would look like this :

Taken from my Eat, Drink & Be Merry Pinterest board

.: Moonblushed Tomotoes :.

Simple recipe to make a great substitute of the very expensive sun-dried tomatoes. Great in flavor, lovely in aglio-oglio, salads, sandwiches and many more...

• 500g (about 24) on-the-vine cherry or other baby tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons Maldon salt or 1 teaspoon table salt
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme/dried mixed herbs
• 2 x 15ml tablespoons olive oil

Method: -

1.Preheat the oven to 220°C/gas mark 7.

2.Cut the tomatoes in half and sit them cut side up in an ovenproof dish. Sprinkle with the salt, sugar, thyme and olive oil.

3.Put them in the oven, and immediately turn it off. Leave the tomatoes in the oven overnight or for a day without opening the door.

.: Egg Sandwiches :.

Humble as it may sound, I just love having egg sandwiches.

The egg sandwich has got to be one of the simplest & easiest dishes to prepare – you can even get the kids to do it!

The basic egg sandwich would involve eggs (duh!) and a slice of bread.

The eggs can be hard-boiled or fried or poached or scrambled. For bread, you can do a simple plain white or slices of baguette or toasted wholemeal bread, whatever combo that tickles your fancy.

So last night, on the way home, I thought of making some sandwiches for breakfast. We have a couple of leeks laying in the fridge, so I thought it would be great to experiment making some leek & egg sandwiches (or egg & leek sandwiches, whichever way you wanna call it). I read somewhere that leeks make a great alternative to onions albeit a less pungent one and can be eaten raw (honestly, I didn’t know that before). So while the husband put four eggs into a pot of boiling water, I took about 4 inches of leeks (from the root/bottom) and chopped it into tiny bits. Once the eggs was done and the shells peeled, I took out a mixing bowl and mashed the eggs (but not too much as I love my egg sandwiches with a lil more bite into it – but then again, its really personal preference) together with the chopped leeks. I added about a tablespoon and the half of mayonnaise (yogurt would be a great alternative too) & throw in a dash of dried mixed herbs (fresh herbs such as thyme, parsley or dill would be much better, but I have neither of those on hand, so I just have to make do with what I have). Of course, I season with a pinch of salt and a dash of black pepper. Mix the entire ingredient in the mixing bowl well.

For the bread, I used some Massimo bread, toasted on my pan (coz I don’t have a bread toaster or an oven toaster).

I spread a generous amount of eggs mixture onto a slice of toasted bread, top it up with a couple slices of moon-blushed tomatoes and voila, it’s ready to be eaten for supper.

As for the rest, I didn’t bother with toasting the bread and after packing it, I left it in the fridge. Today, I woke up with lovely cold egg sandwiches for breakfast. Yummers! What a way to start the day huh? :)

.: My Day Today :.

It has been an eventful day.

Took part in Nuffnang's Malaysia's First Ever MasterChef Blogger competition. The 20 bloggers that took part were put to two task.

First task was an Invention Test, where the 20 bloggers are suppose to create a dish within one hour incorporating the "secret ingredient". Kyo no tema *in Kaga (Iron Chef) tone*..... CHICKEN.

No biggie right, one would think. Chicken has got to be the most versatile ingredient one can use. But under the time pressure and just being in a kitchen that is not yours together with the limited complimentary ingredients, it is not as easy as it sounds. Anyhows, after going thru some options - Sweet & Sour Chicken, Curry Chicken and even Ayam Masak Merah, I made a decision to play safe and go with Grilled Chicken in Lemon Sauce with a bed of sauted vegetables. A dish that, sadly, didn't push me to qualify for the finale as they were looking for something more creative, hence playing safe wasn't exactly a smart move.

Anyways, it was a good and enjoyable experience and I really did had fun! Competition was great and indeed the top 5 deservingly gets to make the cut. Made a new friend - Dharm, do check out his foodblog here! And yeah, I did finally get to learn how to make poached eggs. Have seen it a couple of times on TV, but never really gotten a hand on it until today, where it was part of the second task. The first attempt was terrible, the egg-white came out too runny. But the second attempt was a good (tho nowhere near perfect) poach egg, with the judges : Ryan Khang (from The Cooking House), Azlin Reza (from Astro Ria) & KY (from KYSpeak) nodding their head in approval.

(will share pics once I get a few from others as we didn't lugged our DSLR along)

When all was over, JC was hungry (and grumpy because he was hungry) and we had lunch at Bulldog Pub & Cafe. By the way, the Spotted Dick's custard sauce is absolutely delish! I heart!

I had a terrible headache and was feeling nauseated, probably still have not recovered from my flu early this week or probably from last night's drinking at The Tavern, Guinness Factory (some ICAEW City Group event). So I napped while JC drove to Avalon for us to get a lamp for our home.

Went home after, took a nap and was up for dinner and a yum cha session with my secondary school mates at our favourite Starbucks place in Uptown (we have been meeting here for the past five to six years). It's good to have finally catch up with them after months. We were planning to have our TEN YEARS reunion for SMDJ's 5 Batai 2002. Wow, seriously 10 years have passed since we left highschool. It has been that long, hasn't it? Time flies.......

.: Will I Be The Next MasterChef Blogger? :.

Ok, so I decided to take part in Nuffnang's Malaysia’s First Ever MasterChef Blogger challange. I was actually at first quite reluctant to take part, tho I was very interested. Sure, I have whipped up a couple of dishes in my humble kitchen, fed a mob of more than half-a-dozen people multiple times (without causing much food poisoning after, mind you), but to take part in a competition where there is potentially really good cooks out there, I wasn't too sure. But then again, I thought, what the heck, no harm just trying. And so I did.

The first hurdle was to write a blogpost on why I should be crowned “Malaysia’s First Ever Blogger MasterChef” by writing about my signature dish/recipe.

So I submit my entry here of my Chocolate Molten Lava Cake, and guess what?... I was called to take part in the semi-finals challange this Saturday!

Ok, to be honest, I am a lil estatic and a lil bit nervous all in one. Because, in this semi final round, 20 bloggers will take part in 2 challanges (I have yet to know what those two challenges are! *scary*) and from there, only the top 5 will be selected. The venue will be at The Cooking House, Desa Sri Hartamas, and I wish that I can bring all of you guys to support me, but sadly, I could only invite one guest. So naturally, the man behind such *coff* great *coff* chef gets the lucky chance.

There will be another similiar semi final round next week (8th October) for the remaning 20 bloggers shortlisted and from there, another top 5 will be selected.

The 10 selected bloggers will then have a final cook-off in some shopping mall in KL on the 16th October 2011.

And the prizes at stake are:

GRAND PRIZE (Best MasterChef Blogger) : RM3,000.00 in cash + Panasonic IH Cooker (Model: KY-C227B) worth RM2, 799 + BHPetrol Cash Voucher worth RM 500.00 + Ipad1 (16GB) with WIFI + Masterchef Pendrive (4GB) + Mitten + Nestle Hamper worth RM 300.00

Runner up Prize – (2nd Best MasterChef Blogger) : RM2,000.00 in cash + Panasonic Microwave (Model: NN-GS597) worth RM999 + BHPetrol Cash Voucher worth RM 400 + Ipad1 (16GB) with WIFI + Masterchef Pendrive (4GB) + Mitten + Nestle Hamper worth RM 200.00

8 x Consolation Prize Winners : a BHPPetrol Cash Voucher worth RM 100 + Nestle Hamper worth RM 150.00

The Bonus prize and title of “The Best MasterChef ‘Buzz’ Blogger” will also be awarded to the semi-finalist (Any of the 40 Chosen Bloggers) who creates the MOST buzz, hype & awareness on their social spaces (Twitter, Facebook, blog) about MasterChef Malaysia and this contest during the second phase (between 1-15 October 2011).

Bonus Prize- the Best MasterChef Buzz Blogger: RM1,000.00 Cash + Panasonic Microwave (Model : NN-GS597) worth RM999 + BHPetrol Cash Voucher worth RM 200.00 + Ipad1 (16GB) with WIFI + Masterchef Pendrive (4GB) + Mitten + Nestle Hamper worth RM 150.00

Such great goodies to be won, but if all else fails, at least I will come home with Hong Leong Credit Card merchandise + MasterChef pendrive (4GB) + cooking mittens + T-Shirt.

Now, let's just hope & pray that I don't burn the kitchen down

give food poisoning to the judges

or something to that line.

Wish me luck!

.: Malaysia’s First Ever Blogger MasterChef :.

Ok, so I suppose you guys have heard of (or even follow closely) MasterChef reality series. 


MasterChef is a worldwide phenomenon. A cooking reality show, that although doesn’t allow viewers to vote, has still broken viewership records in US and Australia. MasterChef is a success because not only is FOOD something we are all very passionate about (I know I am) but the show only allows amateur cooks (like you & me) to compete. Malaysians who love cooking but never had a chance to really showcase their skills and be appreciated, now get the opportunity! 


There's the USA MasterChef :

Even Junior MasterChef (aren't they so cute?):

But guess what.... Astro is bringing MasterChef closer to home this October with the debut of MasterChef Malaysia! MasterChef Malaysia will be launched on the 22 October 2011 on Astro Ria (Channel 104). MasterChef TX will be starting on 22 October every Saturday - Wednesday, 9pm while Master Class will be on every Friday, 9pm.


Well, if I were to enter the MasterChef audition to be Malaysia's Next MasterChef, I would whip up my simple, yet pleasurably enjoyable decadent Chocolate Molten Lava Cake. So easy to make with just simple basic ingrediant, yet the impact of the warm chocolate meets the cold vanila ice cream. Heavenly!

The recipe are so simple to follow with only 15 minutes of preparation time & 10 minutes of cooking time.


Ingredients (4 - 5 servings depending on ramekin size):

6 oz. Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate (or use your favorite 70% dark chocolate bar)
6 oz. Butter (diced, room temperature)
3 Eggs
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
1/3 cup Flour
Some butter for the ramekins

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (200C)
2. Melt chocolate on low flame in ala bain-marie (double boiler). When melted, take of flame.
3. Stir into melted chocolate diced butter, until it melts.
4. In another bowl, beat eggs and sugar, until it starts to whiten.
5. Stir in melted chocolate and then the flour.
6. Butter 4-5 individual ramekins generously (you don't want your cake to be stuck if you intend to remove from the ramekin before serving, of course, another alternative is to serve it in the ramekin in itself), and pour in chocolate batter, until slightly about an centimeter from the top (leave a lil space as it will souffle up slightly)
6. Cook for about 10 minutes. You will know it’s done, when it looks cake-like on the top, but as you give it a lil jiggle, it is still wobbly.
7. Tip ramekins upside down onto dessert plates and serve. Use a knife and run along side if you find it difficult to nudge it out.
8. Voilà! Serve immediately with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. Or eat it on it's own, warm from the oven!

Interested to know more? Click below for more details:
Official Site URL – http://www.astro.com.my/MasterChef/
Facebook Page Link- http://www.facebook.com/MasterChefMalaysia
Twitter Link– http://www.blogger.com/www.twitter.com/MasterChefMY

.: Jamie's Food Revolution :.

Launched March 2010: Jamie's Food Revolution campaign is about saving the health of America's next generation (and worldwide alike!). Kids need better food at school and better health prospects.

We need to keep cooking skills alive.

Stand up and be counted - you have the power to make a difference.

I have stood up, have you?

Sign up NOW here!

Also, Jamie's Food Revolution recipes teach basic cooking skills and inspire people to make affordable family meals from scratch at home. Among these recipes are some American classics, which have been tweaked to reduce the salt, fat and total calories, without sacrificing flavor. These recipes can be part of a healthy balanced diet with room for the occasional treat! So put on your apron, pull out your pots and pans, and let's start cooking!

.: Recipe : Simple Strawberry Sponge Cake :.

I manage to get some fresh strawberries at a bargain from my trip up to Cameron Highlands a couple of weeks back, so I decided to make a simple strawberry cake.

The recipe as below:

For cake batter

175g butter*

175g sugar*

175g self-raising flour*

3 large eggs

1 tsp baking powder

 

Whipping cream (I used fresh whipping cream, but you may opt for the easier ready-made one, but I reckon it won't taste as good)

Fresh strawberries, thinly sliced

Strawberry jam (which I also made from scratch & JC loved it so much he have it with vanilla ice cream for the next few days til its gone!)

- Cream the cake batter together.

- Divide the batter equally into two 8" round pans

- Bake at preheated 180C oven for about 20-25 minutes.

- Allow to cool in pan then remove and let cool on a wire rack.

- Begin to assemble by spreading a generous amount of strawberry jam on one of the layer of cake.

- This is followed by a layer of fresh fresh whipped cream and then finished with a layer of fresh strawberries.

 

- Place the second layer of cake on the top, spread some more fresh whipped cream and decorate with more fresh strawberries.

 

- Voila! Enjoy with a freshly brew pot of tea! :)

 

*the magical 6 oz ratio also used in my previous cupcake recipe here. Can't really go wrong with this ratio.

Note that pics above are of the miniature version made with my ramekins as there was some leftovers from the main cake I made. No pics of the main cake tho! :)

 

 

.: Mushroom & Tomato Quiche :.

Presentation can be improved, but the taste is superb. 

Now, I should learn to bake the shortcrust pastry instead of using the ready made Kawanku puff pastry.Tee hee.

Recipe up in a bit.

.: Eggs in Purgatory :.

I am really not sure of the history behind the name of this dish, but what I do know that it is a dish where fresh eggs are cracked (whole) onto a simmering tomato based sauce.

There are plenty of variations of this recipe, from a simple tomato base to a slightly more rich tomato-based sauce that have sliced bell pepper or avocadoes or onions or capers or artichokes or any combinations of those listed. Then of course, you can choose to add complimentary fresh herbs - the basils, the cilantros, whatever tickles your fancy. And lastly, it’s topped with a sprinkle of cheddar or parmesan (or you may even want to flood it with it). Then of course there’s also the method of cooking, some simmering the sauce under a slow fire, while the sauce cooks the egg or baked in the oven in an oven-proof dish.

What did I do?

Well, here is a very heavily modified recipe. Because I reached home at 9pm yesterday. And because I was craving for something with eggs. And because I have some bread left in the fridge. And because I’m cooking for one pax.

Well, here’s to all the because.

Lazy’s Version of Eggs in Purgatory 

1 egg
1 clove of garlic
4 tablespoonful of spaghetti sauce (tomato based of course)
Some chili flakes, salt and pepper to taste
Slices of day old bread


1. Lightly fry some finely chopped garlic with some olive oil in a non stick pan. Turn off the fire. Scoop all of the garlic and place it onto a ramekin. Leave behind the olive oil.
2. Add the spaghetti sauce into the ramekin.
3. Season with chili flakes, salt and pepper. Mix well.
4. Crack the egg into the ramekin.
5. Put it in a steamer and steam for about 4 mins or so, until the egg white solidifies, but don’t overdo it, coz we still want the egg yold runny.
6. Sprinkle some shredded cheddar cheese on the top.
7. Toast the bread on the pan that has the olive oil, it will give the bread a nice crisp with a nice garlicky flavour. (I only did this via the pan coz I don't have an oven toaster with me, and to use the oven for a couple of slices of bread would be wasteful)
8. Use the bread, dip in and enjoy! Yummers!

I enjoyed it so much that I'm going to try it again in a more 'proper' and elaborate manner! I'm thinking canned tomatoes, bell pepper, fresh basil and perhaps free-range eggs. Mmmmmmm..........