Happy, I am!

Time flies...so fast, it has been 1 month and 2 weeks since I am back.

Busy, busy, busy. Finding a job, doing some touch-up to the flat, buying furnitures and catching up with friends. Also, praying for Pensacola to be blessed with good weather so my hubby can come home soon!

Nutella Tart

Lastly, I would highly recommend a Nutella tart for all Nutella lovers out there. This was also probably the last sweet treat I made in my tiny toaster oven in Pensacola. I am so grateful the oven did not give up on me in this past year. This recipe is from Mandy, a fellow Singaporean whom I did not get a chance to meet up in USA sadly. I wish her much success in her new-found career!

Serimuka-II

Yellow serimuka!
I still have a big bottle of custard powder leftover from making my pineapple tarts, this is absolutely perfect for me! The taste is the same but still I couldnt make it as high as it should be (my stove is still unbalanced, argh).

ban jian kueh

Found a new blog, a new favourite, I tried making ban jian kueh from Aunty Yochana's recipe, it turned out really well. Only thing I would change is decrease the sugar by 20%, I would prefer more peanuts to sugar. Enjoy!

Blueberries season is here!

I couldnt believe my eyes when I saw Target selling 1 pint of blueberries for $0.99. Woohoooo time to dig out blueberries recipes again! Going to hunt down blueberries farm, pluck and eat at the same time. Too excited, I didnt take picture of the end product oops.

Ang Ku Kueh (Green Ku Kueh)

It was a mess that day hah was trying to make it for Alex's birthday which Aunty Tan had kindly invited us to their house to celebrate. But I cant finish it in time, with my dough in 1 bowl and my filling in another, I brought it to Aunty's house. She helped me to finish it! Yeah! She has the mould even, how cool. She had taught me a valuable tip, do not use parchment paper or foil as the kuehs would stick onto them. Thanks a million Aunty! I feel so blessed to know the Tan Family in Kampung Pensacola. I added a few drops of pandan essence in the dough to get the tinge of green in the skin instead of red colour colouring. There are many other recipes out there with coconut milk in the dough, unsure how it affect the taste of the ang ku.
Ang Ku Kueh's recipe from My Kitchen Snippets

On a sidenote, my fave ones are from a shop along Jalan Bukit Merah Blk 146, they have all kind of ang ku kuehs with different fillings, yum.

Tuna tartare

I am using the term loosely, according to Wikipedia, tartare is a preparation of finely chopped raw meat or fish optionally with seasonings and sauces. I did not chop up my tuna, I just put it on top of the salsa-avocado mix, it is 80% avocado and 20% salsa. Love love avocado and tuna! Just wondering how much does tuna cost in Singapore, it costs 12 USD for 450 grams in Pensacola, which make it the most expensive fish we eat here but we just love the taste of fresh tuna.

How not to over-cook my fishy?

Using A1's Thai Sweet and Spicy sauce for steaming a mahi-mahi fillet. Mahi-mahi is one of our fav fish just because it taste like stingray. I still can't grasp the timing to steam my fish properly, I tend to over-cook it, also because the thickness is not uniform etc etc. Just eat lar~

Happy Memorial Day to all~

Milo

We have a tin can of milo which has been there forever so I just google for "milo" and found a Milo Double Chocolate Chips Muffin recipe. I made them bite-size, top it with some chocolate frosting and walnuts. They are yummy but the you can hardly taste the milo though.

Loh Mai Kai

Okay, I cheated a little, I did it without chicken. Recipe is from Aunty Lily.
I promise try to it again with chicken. Hah.

Kuih Sarlat

Ever since watching Little Nyonya, I developed an instant craving for nyonya kueh. What to do in Kampung Pensacola? Make my own loh, what else?
I definitely need to try again, the upper layer is not really as firm as it should be but the taste is definitely there, can be proven by the boys. It looked abit sloppy, heh. The green layer is supposed to be taller, the steaming tray I used was too shallow, so some of the custard over-flow out while I was moving the tray, etc etc...alot of booboos *sigh*
As usual, I used Aunty Lily's Serimuka recipe, I followed the recipe to a T except for the green colouring which I did not have.

Sour Cream Coffeecake

This cake is really moist, I never failed to be amazed by the wonders of sour cream. I did this cake in a 9 x 5 loaf pan as the 10 inch pan does not fit my little toaster oven. Ina's orginal recipe does include a glaze but I felt the cake was already sweet and delicious as it is hence I skipped the glaze. Enjoy with a cup of coffee~

Sour Cream Coffee Cake, adapted from Barefoot Contessa Parties!
For the cake:
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sour cream
2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the streusel:
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3/4 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.
Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and sour cream.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Finish stirring with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

For the streusel, place the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and butter in a bowl and pinch together with your fingers until it forms a crumble. Mix in the walnuts, if desired.
Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it out with a knife.
Sprinkle with 3/4 cup streusel. Spoon the rest of the batter in the pan, spread it out, and scatter the remaining streusel on top.
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.
Let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Carefully transfer the cake, streusel side up, onto a serving plate.

Healthy banana muffins

Steamed banana muffins
Another healthy recipe from Lily's blog. To my surprise, Kenny ate most of it, he liked the chewy texture as opposed to the ones which require butter (which I like). He said these tasted like "huat kueh".

Fried carrot/daikon cake~

Recently, I have been on a daikon craze, first I tried Mandy's golden crisp daikon cake, I didnt have time to arrange the cakes to get a decent shot as I was rushing for the potluck.

Next, I tried to fry the daikon cake following Lily's method. The only thing I left out is Kan Sui which I cant find in my town and increased my steaming time to 90 mins. Actually I am not sure when to stop the steaming process so I just played by ear and hoped for the best. Anyhow, we loved it, almost tasted like what we had in hawker center (almost is the key word here). My darling hubby preferred the white fried carrot cake, I supposed I will give that a try.

Week of potlucks

First I had potluck with my wonderful Japanese friends, I always enjoyed a tea session with them whenever and wherever. I cooked curry chicken and fried daikon cake while we had fried rice and very yummy pork ball soup (some kind of Japanese stew) from the other ladies.

I also had an international potluck with a new friend from Spain and an American-mexican, both very friendly and awesome ladies to hang out with. We had potato-egg omelette, which I learnt is a common dish in Spain, it is very fluffy! R cooked beef stew which she must had simmer for hours because the beef is sooo tender. I cooked fried bee hoon, I was racking my brain for what to cook actually but I guess the idea is to let them try our daily dishes, if they didnt like it, at least they tried it. ;) I hoped they enjoyed it. Note the handsome fellow in the picture with his dog, he is so adorable and cheeky. Hah.

A wonderful dinner with new found friends

2 weeks ago while TY and I were at the asian mart, we bumped into a couple who were looking at us, wondering where we were from, we speak Chinese, English and Malay! Hah we didnt even realise we were speaking in all 3 languages! The Tan family had invited us to their house last night for a feast! Happy we were!! There was pisang goreng (I think I ate 10 of them, yum), asam prawns, lo ba and eggs, and sambal kangkong. A special treat -durian ice cream for the boys and mango ice cream for me woohooo. It is indeed a meal made with love! Our compliments and appreciation goes to Aunty! I hope to learn cooking from Aunty haha I must go visit her more often ;) We also made many new friends from Indonesia, the first group of SE Asians we had met in Pensacola actually. Isnt it awesome! Their house is fully furnished, with most of the game consoles, the boys were fighting over the guitar hero, they also have a pool table, 2 huge flat screens...you name it, they have it!

Sweet Home Farm

A 30 mins drive from our house brings us to Sweet Home Farm, a family-run dairy which sell fresh cheese at a very affordable price. They do not use herbicides, pesticides or growth hormones on the farm. Look out for the road-signs or you will easily miss the small hut under the big tree.
Sweet Home Farm
27107 Schoen Road , Elberta, AL 36530
(251) 986-5663
On-farm sales only. Hours 10 am - 5 pm Friday and Saturday

We bought quite a variety of cheeses, not knowing what to do with them after we are sick of eating the cheese with crackers. I tried making my 1st lasagna, I didnt follow any particular recipe, just threw canned tomato sauce on top of the no-boil lasagna noodles, followed by sausages, cheese and more sauce.

Pineapple tarts for CNY

I still remember Kenny had to depart for USA on the first day of CNY last year, what luck!
Oh well, this year we are in US and we don't need to give ang bao (yeah!). Kenny knows my all-time fave CNY goodie is PINEAPPLE TARTS! Actually I think most of my friends also know that, especially the MTM gals, the rate I gobbled up pineapple tarts (and mooncakes) never fail to amaze them.

So this entry is dedicated to Kenny's first pineapple tarts' experience.
The pineapples are expensive, USD 2.50 for 1 medium size pineapple. Maybe I should had bought canned ones. The juice was so sweet and delicious, hand squeezed! This picture was taken when he first started, still smiley and energetic.

The dried pulp we got from 2 pineapples, time to start cooking. He cooked it on low heat for around 1-1.5 hrs, we were playing mahjong while he was cooking so we did not track the time.

Rolling the pineapple balls

Ta daaaaa
fresh pineapple tarts... hopefully I can resist them till Ox year arrives.

Not too successful char siew pau?

I found pau mix in my asian mart and hence decided to give char siew pau a go. This is weird because I almost never eat char siew paus back home (because of my dislike of pork). I only eat the tiny ones from Tanjong Rhu's dimsum shop just because it is too yummy to resist.

I got the recipe from Lily, and I have much to improve, on the fillings as well as the dough. My buns turned tough as soon as they cooled to room temperature, Lily said I might have to knead more. Oh well, hopefully it will turn out better the next time. I really need to improve my shaping method too, been looking up on Youtube for help. My buns are just looking like tao sa pau now, round surface, easiest to shape in short.

Shaping a char siew pau

More lemons...

Rocco Dispirto
Isn't he gorgeous! I have to be honest, it is love at first sight when I first saw him on TV, so much so I have to get his cookbook (yah yah I know...Bimbo with capital B).




Salmon with crunchy broccoli & lemon butter
Recipe is adapted from Real Life Recipes- fast flavor for everyday by Rocco Dispirito

11/2 sticks butter
Juice & zest of 3 lemons
4 8-ounce boneless, skinless salmon fillets
Salt & pepper
5 cups of broccoli florets, washed and drie
3 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon

1) Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the butter to the pan. When the butter is just melted, remove 2 tbsp and set aside. Coninue to cook the butter untill it turned deep brown in color, swirl often. Continue swiring to blend and make a smooth sauce.
2) Lay the salmon in the sauce. Cover and simmer gently over medium heat untill salmon is just cooked through, about 7-8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
3) While salmon is poaching, prepare the broccoli.
4) Heat a broiler on high. In a large bowl, toss the broccoli with the remaining 2 tbsp butter. Place broccoli on a foil-covered broiler pan and broil it till golden brown, abt 3-4 mins.
5) Toss the broccoli with the lemon zest and tarragon. arrange on a platter. Spoon about 2/3 of lemon sauce evenly over the vegetables. Lay the salmon on top of broccoli and spoon the remaining sauce over the fish.

A modification to his recipe, I did not broil the broccoli, I put them in microwave for 3 minutes on high. There is a broiler function on the toaster oven but I really doubt as to whether it is working.

Lemony treat

I got the urge to make a sort of lemon pound cake after seeing Mandy's delicious lemon yogurt cake, I made some more changes to her recipe. I do not have Greek yogurt on hand, I substituted with plain yogurt and sour cream. I do not know how to not make the cake crack on the top. Any help is appreciated! Today is a tiring day, I helped to babysit Ayumi while her mom ran some errands. Boy, the little princess sapped all my energy.

Lemon Yogurt Cake

adapted from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa At Home

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 container of 6oz plain yogurt
1/4 cup of sour cream
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 2 lemons)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan or the mini loaf pans.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sour cream, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla.
Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it's all incorporated.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake for about 50 minutes, (if you are using the big loaf pan) about 25-30 minutes (if you are using smaller pans),or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
Meanwhile, cook the 1/4 cup lemon juice and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.
When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool.