Blogging by Mail 2 - All the way from France

This package got me relatively excited.

It was sitting on my desk when I came home from school today and it didn't take me long to realise who it was from.

The french words were a dead give-away! I knew it had to be from dear Flo of Bliss In The Kitchen, my BBM2 sender. She had emailed me a couple of weeks ago to ask what I might want from France and this sweet dear sent me a whole bunch of lovely goodies! Check them out:



Plenty of tea (La Bonne Verveine), chestnut spreads (La Creme de Marrons de l' Ardeche), Strawberry with Provins rose petals preserve (La Coufiture de Fraise aux petales de roses de Provins), Chamomile tea and Valrhona chocolate, and last but not least, her homemade Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Biscottis.

Can you imagine the big smile on my face? It certainly made my day. Considering that I had a long day at school and was feeling extremely exhausted. Somehow, this package cheered me up so. I loved her biscottis and couldn't stop eating it. I had to quickly put it in a jar and keep it away, lest I finish it too quick. I'm so gonna have it with coffee first thing tomorrow morning. Thanks so much Flo! They're really gorgeous... love the chocolate bits. Yes, I'm such a chocoholic.

Here's how the biscottis look like:



They're really huge! But I'm not complaining... Cos that means I get to eat more of it. =p



Ahhh... the chestnut spread! I've always heard about these and have yet to find some in Singapore so I was pleased to find it in the package. I'll definitely try these soon and let you guys know how it tastes like. Yummy...



VALRHONA. It just had to be it. These french chocolate make me go weak in the knees. I fell in love with valrhona ever since I tried it at some dessert place. It was some molten chocolate cake I had I think. And it was made with Valrhona. Anyway I'm not going to gobble down this bar anytime soon. Plan to save it for another time. Maybe when I feel like indulging. After all, it's not everyday that I get Valrhona chocolates in the mail. Oh Flo, really, thank you so much!

There you have it... Flo's Blogging By Mail package all the way from France, to Singapore. Amazing huh? I've never visited the place before but I would have you know that it's one of the cities I do hope to go to one day. I want to enrol into Le Cordon Bleu or the French Culinary Institute and take up a degree in patisserie. That's just how crazy I am about baking! But first I must save up. And learn the french language. Well I actually studied it for 4 months once, but i've since forgotten how to use it. haha but i do intend to take it up again. When I do, Flo, I'll definitely practise my French by writing French emails to you. hahaa.. or maybe write some posts in French!

And... that's a wrap! Until next time, au revoir!

P.S. Head to Samantha's (The Samantha Files) for the round-up of the second edition of Blogging By Mail and if you want to sign up for the next one, you can do so at Cathy's (My Little Kitchen).

Four dishes, one baker, twelve hours, and then some.

Here's a slice of brownie for you, my beloved readers.

Okay okay, i know you can't taste it or smell it, but well you could always imagine!

Terribly sorry for the lack of posts. Been a busy bee as usual.

And... especially since I volunteered to cater food for a mini-event hosted by Amplify on Saturday. It was for about 40pax and I spent the entire friday night/saturday morning churning out 4 dishes, here's the menu:

1. Brownies
2. Onde Onde
3. Kueh Salat
4. Croquettes

Now now, ain't I crazy? To attempt all four by myself in one night? It was tiring - try standing for 12 hours straight in the kitchen, slaving over the hot stove, oven etc. hahaa almost suicidal no?

But I must say, it's been a real experience. Have never cooked so much at one shot for so many people. It was a true test of my skills and endurance and I'm so glad I passed!

Everyone loved the food... no complaints whatsoever. Isn't that great? It was certainly telling of my culinary skills. :)

Anyway here's some photos for you, it might give you a better idea of what food i churned out! enjoy... (P.S., recipes at the bottom):


mashing up sweet potatoes for my Onde Onde


Gula Melaka (brown sugar) to fill the Onde Onde


Here's how you stuff the dough with gula melaka in the centre


There you go: an onde onde all rolled up!


My onde onde, after cooking and coating them with grated coconut

These onde onde are amazing, and I love the fact that they have that orange glow. Used the same recipe I came across while watching 'The Cook, His Food and The Dishy Nyonyas' on Arts Central eons ago. I like this recipe; it's very easy to follow.


Pouring lots of coconut milk - this is for the top green custard-like layer for my kueh salat


Steamed glutinous rice - this makes up the bottom layer of the kueh


A sea of green - you can only see the top layer of my kueh salat in this shot


My kueh salat - the 2 layers are quite distinct here

It was my first attempt at making kueh salat, a typical nonya snack and I'm so glad I pulled it off! I do admit it's a bit tricky, making the top layer especially! But i love how it turned out. It's one of my most favourite kuehs and I'm delighted that I can now make my own anytime...


mashing up potatoes for my croquettes

YES, most of my time was spent mashing up these potatoes for my croquettes. There were 2 kg worth of potatoes mind you! My arms felt so strong after. haha. Check out my previous croquette post for the recipe and step by step photos. Here's the completed croquettes, post frying.



There was plenty of filling left over so I rushed out to buy some 'popiah' (spring roll) skins to wrap the stuff in. I can't bear to be wasteful!


Looks good eh? well it tastes even better.

So there you have it, my first attempt at 'catering', alone. The kitchen was in such a big mess after! But well, i managed to clean everything up.

Would I do this again? Yes I would, but I guess I would start in the morning so that I can end by the night, next time. But right now, time to hit the books again... can't compromise my studies can i? hahaa... till next time then!

Kueh Salat

Bottom layer:
400g glutinous rice
200ml thick coconut milk with 100ml water
2-3 pandan leaves
some blue food colouring
a pinch of salt

Top layer:
6 eggs
800 ml thick coconut milk
200g rice flour
320g sugar
50 ml pandan juice
some green food colouring
a pinch of salt

Method:

Bottom Layer:
1. Soak glutinous rice for 2-3 hours. Drain.
2. Steam the rice on pandan leaves with a pinch of salt for 15-20 minutes or till tender.
3. Remove from heat and add in coconut milk. Mix well with a wooden chopstick.
4. Then sprinkle some blue food colouring all over the rice (optional).
3. Transfer back to heat and steam for 10 minutes further or till cooked.
4. Lay a banana leaf on the bottom of an 8 inch square tray. Place steamed rice in the tray and press down firmly with a banana leaf on top to compact it.
5. Return to steamer and steam for another 5 minutes. The bottom layer has to be hot when the top layer is poured on.

Top Layer:
1. Beat eggs in a mixing bowl lightly with a fork. Mix in the rice flour. Strain.
2. Cook coconut milk, pandan juice, sugar, salt and green food colouring over low heat. Keep stirring and add in the egg mixture. Stir continuously over low heat, until mixture thickens.
3. Pour the yellow mixture over the steamed glutinous rice in the steamer slowly. Steam for 15-20 minutes or until set
4. Cool the kueh before cutting.

*Note, i didn't have banana leaves, so I used normal grease proof paper instead. works fine.

__________________________________________________

Onde Onde

Dough:
350g glutinous rice flour
250g sweet potatoes
3 tbsp pandan juice
1/2 tsp salt
2 & 1/2 tbsp water

Other ingredients:
200g gula melaka
1 grated coconut

Method:
1. Cut the gula melaka into small pieces.
2. Cook and mash sweet potatoes.
3. Sieve glutinous flour into a large bowl.
4. Add the mashed sweet potatoes and pandan jice.
5. Mix well and knead into dough
6. Form dough into marble sized balls.
7. Make a hole in the center and fill withe some pieces of gula melaka
8. Make it into a small ball
9. Boil water and put the boils in to boil
10. Take the balls out when they float to the surface
11. Add salt to the grated coconut and mix well
12. Roll the cooked glutinous balls over grated coconut and serve

Cailler Chocolates

I used to be quite the chocoholic.

Okay, who am I kidding.

I still AM one.

But my taste for chocolate has evolved. Hmmm... is that the right way to put it? I don't know! However, I have an affinity for dark chocolate especially.

And my current favourite is Cailler's dark chocolate. What in the world is Cailler? Well I don't think it's available here but I happen to have a very thoughtful aunt who was kind enough to buy back some amazing chocolates from Switzerland when she was holidaying there.



Now this is what i'm talking about.

Noir. Life can't get better than this! Anyway this one she bought has bits of caramelised cocoa beans. Lovely. Man, I think I went on a chocolate high after consuming these chocolates. Erm, no, I didn't finish ALL of them, in case you were wondering. hahaa.. here's a closeup shot of the Cailler Noir:



Check out the cocoa beans!

Geez, what would I do if the human race never discovered the wonders of cocoa beans? We'll be so deprived.

Ahhh that said, I feel like having chocolate fondue all of a sudden! I'm thinking of the awesome icecream ball one served at Haagen Daz. Man! Or I could always drop by Miss Clarity Cafe - yes they have chocolate fondue too! They serve fruits, with some amazing melted chocolate. Shucks, I'm not doing myself any good with all this chocolate talk. I am craving for waffles all of a sudden. I better stop here! Time to dream of food in my sleep... Zzzzz......

Veggies & Fish

Check out that tender flesh above.

Guessed what it is yet?

Easy peasy, no?

It's fish of course. Dory to be specific. One of my favourite fishes.

and here's another of my favourite type of foods:



don't you think the orange and green goes well together? Well, I do!

I love veggies and I love fishies, as you can tell:



okay, enough of my fish/veggie babble...

That combination of fibre and protein was my lunch a couple of days ago. It was lunchtime and I was rather ravenous as usual. Since I was at home, I decided to cook my usual fish and veg fare. For those who think that's boring, I would beg to differ! haha... it really depends how you cook it I guess.

This dory was marinated in dijon mustard, paprika and black pepper. It turned out quite spicy but hey that's the way I like it! The vegetables were kind of impromptu. I opened the fridge and there was some chinese cabbage, carrots and tomatoes. And whatddya know... I chopped them up in quick time and started to stirfry them in the wok... not before adding garlic of course.

I know it seems a bit weird, to pair up grilled fish with vegetables. Not that western and not that asian either eh? I think it's a mix of both. I love western cuisine but sometimes I think that there's just not enough fibre in it. Don't get me wrong, I love my carbs (think bread, pasta, potatoes), but I do think there should be a balance. Okay I hope i make sense! :)

Anyway I've been eating out too often, what with my long hours on campus; that's why I try to take every opportunity I have to cook at home, when I'm actually at home.

Oooo I'm going to help cook some food for a small event next weekend. I can't wait to get started on it. Will post pictures after... Till then, cheerios!

Popovers

my freshly baked breakfast with delicious maple syrup. it can't get any better than this!

A few days ago, I woke up in the morning, feeling very hungry. I was looking forward to breakfast and stepped into the kitchen in hope of finding something delicious in the refridgerator. Okay, that is a habit of mine. Haha, I'm very much of a breakfast person as most of you would know by now. Thing is, sometimes my mum goes to the market early in the morning and buys breakfast; or my dad would bring home food the previous night after his night shift.

Alas, there wasn't anything in the fridge. There wasn't anything appetising. And so, I immediately searched for this popover recipe that Nic of BakingSheet tried a few months ago. I remembered taking note of it and had every intention of baking it for breakfast one of these days. Her popovers were lemon-scented though. I made mine plain. You should know why:



Predictable of me eh? Plain popovers drizzled with chocolate syrup. I also had some with maple syrup.

The thing about popovers is that it looks a bit like muffins but it isn't. It actually tastes like pancakes; well the ingredients used are similar. Mine didn't puff up as much as Nic's:



I guess that's because I forgot to take her advice - she actually poked her popovers halfway through the baking process to let out the steam, thus causing it to be hollow in the middle and crispy on the outside. I'll remember to do that next time.



Anyway, my popovers didn't turn out too bad. Here's how it looks on the inside. I do think popovers make a brilliant breakfast - at least it did the trick for me.

________________________________________

Popovers

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
melted unsalted butter for brushing the popoever pan

Method:
1. Sift together flour and salt.
2. Whish together eggs and milk in a small bowl.
3. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture, and mix the batter till smooth.
4. In a preheated 450 Fahrenheit / 240 degree celcius oven, heat a six-cup popover pan or six 2/3 cup custard cups for 5 minutes, or until it is hot.
5. Brush the cups with melted butter and fill them half full with the batter.
6. Bake the popovers in the middle of the 450 Fahrenheit oven for 20 minutes and then reduce the heat to 375 Fahrenheit / 190 degree celcius and bake the popvers for another 20 minutes or until they are golden broan and crisp.

Makes 6 popovers

Gourmet
January 1991
Epicurious.com

Cooking lunch for Grace

I know I haven't been posting as regularly but I can't help it because I'm so swarmed with school work and what not. There's so little time to do what I want, and that includes baking and cooking!

But I seized the chance to cook for Grace when she came over to my place to study that day.

As you can see from the above, she looks happy with the lunch I cooked just for her!



Here's a candid shot of her enjoying the food.

Well she did like what I whipped up. So that's a good sign I hope? haha.



Here's a closer shot of the lunch I cooked: Grilled Dory Fillet with Buttered Potatoes and Scrambled Eggs. It isn't much, but it's not too bad, considering that I did it impromptu. Didn't follow any recipe, just went with my culinary instincts!

And of course, I won't be known as the baker who cooks, if i don't bake my signature brownies for my guest eh?



There's no better dessert than freshly baked chocolate brownies with bananas, and drizzled with chocolate syrup. How's that for an end to a home cooked lunch?



Grace liked the brownies, as you can see. What's there not to like about anything chocolate?



Couldn't resist taking a last shot of the brownies.

Ahhhh I love baking!... and cooking. what would I do without a kitchen? What would I do without friends I can bake and cook for! This is the life. I know it's crazy to be whipping up something in the kitchen when I should be glued to my books. But hey, we gotta destress ya? And my way of destressing is being in the kitchen, messing it up, and coming up with culinary delights.

That said... it's time for me to go back to my assignments! Will post more after I meet my deadlines! Till then...
________________________________________

*A few of you requested for the brownie recipe I used. It's actually a Hershey's recipe I tried years ago and have stuck with ever since. It's reliable and oh-so-delish. Hope you guys like it! Here's the recipe:
________________________________________

Hershey's Best Brownies

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa or HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Cocoa
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped nuts(optional)

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 13x9x2-inch baking pan.
2. Place butter in large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at HIGH (100%) 2 to 2-1/2 minutes or until melted. Stir in sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well with spoon after each addition. Add cocoa; beat until well blended. Add flour, baking powder and salt; beat well. Stir in nuts, if desired. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Frost if desired. Cut into bars. About 36 brownies.

_________________________________________

Chippy's British Take-away

If you know me well enough, you should know how inclined I am towards all things British.

So you could figure out my excitement when I passed by this little eatery called 'Chippy' at Far East Plaza's Level One a few days ago. I noticed it from afar, because of the huge British flag pasted all over their shop.

Well, it turned out that it was indeed a lovely surprise when I looked at their menu. Two particular items caught my eye: and here's the first one:



That's Beer Battered Fish, all 12 pieces of it. No i didn't actually count them. The portion size was stated on their signboard. It costs only $4.45. Now, that's quite reasonable I think. Here's the Cheesy Curry Chicken ($3.45), which also came with a cheese dip:



Pardon my poor photo quality. Didn't bring my Canon digicam so I had to make do with my Nokia.

I do think that the food served was really worth it. By the time I was done, I felt so stuffed. Thank God I was sharing the food with a friend. And it helped that I had kickboxing class after... so I didn't feel too guilty. haha...

But honestly, I do think that the quality of the food I had was pretty good. The fish was delightful and didn't have a fishy smell. They even had battered chips to go along. Brilliant. The chicken was spicy but the highlight was of course the cheese dip. Oh yes, you can ask for varying spiciness for the chicken. I didn't really taste any curry.. it was really more towards spices. I'll definitely go back there... I want to try their 15 cm cheese sausage with caramelised onions, oh and also, their fried mars bars. Sounds intriguing eh? Well you won't know till you taste it.

Just one downside though... there isn't much space to sit and eat. It was pretty weird sitting right in front of the shop, chomping down the food. Most people just order take away. Well yes, their shop is named Chippy's British Take-away after all. Man do I miss British food! London... wait for me... i'll be there really soon. I can only hope and pray...

'Li Bai' Mooncakes

'Li Bai' mooncakes from Sheraton Towers Hotel Singapore.

A few days ago, dad brought home this box.

I don't need to state explicitly its contents, do i?

It should be obvious enough... after all, the moon is shining soo brightly~

haha... yes, mooncakes it was...



ALL 4 of them. The traditional baked ones... with lotus paste and single yolk.

There's something about mooncakes that's just so nostalgic.

I remember when i was younger, I looked forward to the Mooncake Festival. That marks the start of mooncake eating and lantern burning. wait, no, I wasn't that destructive. The lanterns were beautiful - those candle lit ones. Even if they did burn, they burnt by accident. I do however, recall burning leaves. Okay all you environmentalists, please don't panic... they were dried dead leaves.

Enough about burning. This festival is all about mooncakes. Now, there's many stories surrounding mooncakes. Some involves this 'Chang Er' lady who supposedly flew to the moon after drinking her husband's elixir of life. Yes, she became a permanent resident on the moon. She probably beat Neil Armstrong to it. Well we never know... since there wasn't any flag there when he landed.

Other stories include how people hid messages in the mooncakes as a means of communication during war. Whatever it is, I'm just glad mooncakes exist. The look darn good and the ones my dad brought home tasted really yummy:




For those who don't know what goes into mooncakes, well here's a lowdown...

That orange core which you see there is actually egg yolk. not just any egg yolk, but salted ones. They add a rather savoury taste which blends well with the lotus paste's sweet undertones. I have not tried making my own mooncakes - hopefully I can learn from someone soon.

These days, there are also more contemporary mooncakes available. Some include ice-cream mooncakes, oreo, chocolate, strawberry and liquer mooncakes. It seems that nothing is ever impossible when it comes to food experimentation. I do like the snow skinned ones too. But haven't gotten a chance to eat some good ones these year. Snow skinned ones are best eaten cold.. and i think they're made using a different flour for its outer layer.

Anyway, sunday is the 'official' day where the festival begins. And somehow i don't know why, but the moon is really big and round during this time. freaky huh? well i guess maybe it's astronomy too. There's also an ancient myth that if you point your fingers at the moon, you're ears will get cut off. Haha... imagine the crap people used to believe.

Oh well... it might not have been crap to them.... as always, different cultures and races have different beliefs and legends. That's what makes our world so interesting. I love the diversity of it all. That's why I'm going to major in Sociology. Yes yes, and I'm so going to take modules under sociology of food. Ah huh... there is such thing as food sociology. okay, that's just so me, isn't it? What can I say... food is my passion after all!

Deliciously addictive Peanut Butter Cookies

Finally. After a month of not baking, I just had to do something. I felt something was missing. I missed the smell of freshly baked cookies and the satisfaction of baking a batch of good brownies and so on.

So during the weekend, I sneaked away from my books and went to bake something quick and easy - Peanut butter cookies.

I know I did bake some a few months back but this time, I used a different recipe, one which required refridgeration. I thought it was pretty interesting and thus, gave it a go.

The end result was rather yummy - that is, if you love peanut butter as much as i do. I love the crumbly texture. It can be quite heavy (imagine how much butter goes in!) but I guess it was a timely bake, because I ran a half marathon (21.1km) two days ago and these cookies were perfect before and after runs... gave me all the energy I needed.

Oh and if you were wondering how to get the stripey indentations, well this might explain it better:



that's right.. all you need is a fork! cool huh?

Anyway I love these cookies. Goes well with a hot cup of cocoa... Mmmm and I tell ya, the aroma of these cookies is to die for. Amazing stuff.

Now, I am itching to bake some cupcakes using the Magnolia Bakery recipe! ahhhh... i can't wait for the weekends... it's now the only time i have to bake. I miss my freedom to bake as and when i can!

___________________________________

Peanut Butter Cookies

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously butter two baking sheets.

2. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together; set aside.

3. In a large bowl of electric mixture combine the melted butter, sugars, peanut butter, egg and vanilla extract. Beat just until well blended. Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until combined.

4. Refrigerate cookies until dough is stiff enough to shape into balls, about 2 hours. Using a tablespoon scoop out dough and with wet hands shape into 1 inch balls. Place 2 inches apart of baking sheet. Using the tines of a fork or a cookie press lightly press on the ball of dough to slightly flatten and make an indentation.

5. Bake until bottoms are golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cookies cool briefly on the pans. Using a wide flexible spatula transfer the warm cookies to a rack to cool.

Makes about 36 cookies.

*Taken from Williams-Sonoma Cookie cookbook.

___________________________________

Charlene's Birthday Bash @ Miss Clarity Cafe

me and my ballotine ... chomp chomp chomp

I told ya.

I warned ya didn't I? About how I just can't keep away from my most favourite cafe.

For those who are sick and tired of hearing me rave about Clarity Cafe; I'm sorry but I hope you understand! Besides, I would never want anyone to miss out on anything this good.

Yes, that's me in that funny looking picture, devouring my chicken ballotine. I might sound like a really boring person now eh? Going back to the same place, eating the same food again and again.

Allow me to defend myself.

This time, I had many others to share in my love for the food at Miss Clarity Cafe:




Now now, can you see dear Jules and Char attacking the ballotine?

Not convinced yet? Check this out:


the one and only ballotine

Well, there was a valid reason why I was back at the cafe again.

Us Amplifiers (people form the Amplify ministry) were celebrating the birthday of our dear friend, someone who goes by the name of Charlene a.k.a. Char.

This time, I shall allow you to continue drooling over your keyboard and not interrupt... enjoy!



Miss Clarity Cafe's Burger special


Pork Piacatta - with fruit compote and parmesan layer



Chicken Gordon Bleu


Breaded Dory Fillet

Hmmm and for those who are curious just how many people were there; here's an idea:



You saw right, we filled up about 3/4 of the place! My goodness, this is the second time we had a birthday celebration here. I do think that this will be a 'ritual' from now on. Wait till Mel has her birthday this coming october! hahaa...

anywayz, Happy Belated Birthday Char! Stay pretty and young always. You go girl!

Girl power rules... can i hear all the girls shout out an 'aye'? :)

I do adore every single person in this lovely ministry which goes by the name of Amplify. I don't know what I'd do without these cool babes! Here's some of us:


Bottom row (left to right): Jules, Char, Me, Joel
Top row (left to right): Thelma, Daphne, Lydia, Dot, Mel, Sylvia

Like I always believe... Good food is best enjoyed with people you love and adore. Love ya all!

PS. Dear readers, I am glad that most of you actually went down to the cafe after reading my posts about the place. I am sure you all enjoyed the food thoroughly. It's really nice to be able to share something nice with the rest of my fellow countrymen. haha. anyway I do frequent the place alot, so if you ever see me, do come up to say hi! I actually met one of you while I was here today. I think your name was Jane. It was lovely meeting you!

And oh yes, people, you know all the good food you've savoured and seen pictured in these posts on Clarity Cafe? It's all cooked by Jonanthan, the extremely gifted chef. Amazing huh? Bravo I say. I really don't know how he manages, especially with the sudden surge in avid fans like me.

food is more than just the sum of all ingredients i would conclude. it includes passion, drive, skill, emotions and patience. i am evermore so inspired to start up my own bakery in the future. That reminds me, I haven't baked since I started Uni. That's very sad. I will have to make up for it real soon... oven, watch out for me...