My kids were nagging me. They were hungry after school (they always are). I didn't have time to cook earlier as I was preoccupied tidying up and cleaning ( a bit more than usual) due to a scheduled house inspection earlier on. Now I had to whipped up something real fast . Dd wanted me to cook her spaghetti marinara as I had told her that I just bought a lovely seafood mix of mussels, prawns, calamari and white fish pieces for just under $10/kg at Woolies.
Recipe for this: Oil (EVOO /cooking oil), spaghetti, 1 kg ready mix seafood, 1 jar Leggos pasta sauce (I usually have a jar or 2 of this in the cupboard).
Heat pan. Add oil, add pasta sauce. Add some water/stock and reduce. Add the seafood mix. Cook at low to medium heat. Wallah ! Spaghetti Marinara. Don't hate me purists (ie the people who cook from scratch)! The kids loved it and I made it in 2 batches.
Showing posts with label Cooking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cooking. Show all posts
November 26, 2008
June 29, 2008
Semolina Cake
I made a semolina & lemon syrup cake today- right after I came back from cycling- (ouch! my legs still hurts). I thought I'd do something with the semolina I bought ages ago when I wanted to try to make them. This cake does not contain wheat flour whatsoever, only semolina, grounded almonds, butter and sugar. (Good heavens, didn't think that was possible). Thought I'll do some baking as school is out and I have been requested to bake a chocolate cake for a picnic in the park this week. Hopefully, I still remember how to bake one !
December 01, 2007
Cooking away...
[You can see I'm in cooking mode by looking at how many entries I have bout cooking. ]
Mum called earlier this week and she proclaimed happily that my sister had given a glowing report on me, a good cook, doing housework nonstop and looking after the kids. She said I cooked a delicious roast chicken for her. I guess that did the trick. I wonder if my mum will be pleased if I made some cakes, muffins and brownies during sis's stay.
I tried some recipes from Delia's How to Cook Book two and three earlier this week. I tried fast-roast chicken with tarragon and lemons recipe. It was good but didn't turn out as I expected mainly coz dh had decided that day that he will get a fresh chicken weighing 3kg instead of the usual 1kg plus size and I don't think chickens > 2kg are suitable for fast roasting. I also tried her stir fried chicken in lime and coconut but this recipe is a bit too simple for an Asian dish and left much to be desired. Lastly, I tried the old fashion beef stew which required baking in oven for 4 and half hours. It was a bit salty, probably added too much salt but my sons actually love it and probably might do it again minus the salt.
Now my mind is set on cooking fish and hoping I could find some fresh fish at the supermarket. (They actually had a few flounders which I bought during my sister's stay. My sis cooked it immediately that day. She had earlier asked us whether we eat fish/I cook fish here in Oz). For cooking fish , I love Rick Stein's seafood odyssey DVD and book. Apparently , the programme was made earlier this millenium but travel and discovery channel didn't show it in KL. I'd like to bake a whole fish perhaps instead of fish fillet but have no clue where the fish market is here.
Mum called earlier this week and she proclaimed happily that my sister had given a glowing report on me, a good cook, doing housework nonstop and looking after the kids. She said I cooked a delicious roast chicken for her. I guess that did the trick. I wonder if my mum will be pleased if I made some cakes, muffins and brownies during sis's stay.
I tried some recipes from Delia's How to Cook Book two and three earlier this week. I tried fast-roast chicken with tarragon and lemons recipe. It was good but didn't turn out as I expected mainly coz dh had decided that day that he will get a fresh chicken weighing 3kg instead of the usual 1kg plus size and I don't think chickens > 2kg are suitable for fast roasting. I also tried her stir fried chicken in lime and coconut but this recipe is a bit too simple for an Asian dish and left much to be desired. Lastly, I tried the old fashion beef stew which required baking in oven for 4 and half hours. It was a bit salty, probably added too much salt but my sons actually love it and probably might do it again minus the salt.
Now my mind is set on cooking fish and hoping I could find some fresh fish at the supermarket. (They actually had a few flounders which I bought during my sister's stay. My sis cooked it immediately that day. She had earlier asked us whether we eat fish/I cook fish here in Oz). For cooking fish , I love Rick Stein's seafood odyssey DVD and book. Apparently , the programme was made earlier this millenium but travel and discovery channel didn't show it in KL. I'd like to bake a whole fish perhaps instead of fish fillet but have no clue where the fish market is here.
November 26, 2007
In the name of science
Dd had obtained a recipe sheet for igneous rock lollies from her science teacher so she could do it at home with me. I had to buy one of the ingredients so when I was ready one fine morning, I mixed them in a pot to dissolve them and boil. Dd disappeared to her room to watch her fave TV program so I was left to carry on the science experiment on my own. When the mixture was ready , I had to add a bit of baking powder to half of the mix, then pour onto the baking tray. Dd had finished watching Pokemon by now and had come back to the kitchen to resume the science experiment with me. The lolly mixtures supposedly had similarities with real life volcanic lava and pumice... (Gosh, I wished my science classes at my old secondary school were as interesting as dd's).
This morning I thought I'll try some crispy waffles instead. I had bought an electric beater and waffle maker so am experimenting with some recipes all in the name of science (home science that is).. Plus this is the only way to get dd to eat some decent food too.
This morning I thought I'll try some crispy waffles instead. I had bought an electric beater and waffle maker so am experimenting with some recipes all in the name of science (home science that is).. Plus this is the only way to get dd to eat some decent food too.
November 24, 2007
Roast Chicken
I didn't get to bake any cakes when my sis was staying over. She was in shopping mode and I had to drive her almost everyday to the mall so she could get something on her shopping list. On the weekends , we drove her to the tourist attractions and theme parks, what have you.
I only managed to cook a special roast chicken on the night of her departure. She was commenting on the day that she had gone to SIL mother's house for our niece's b'day party and SIL had made a tasty roast chicken by smothering lee kum kee oyster sauce all over the bird. I had to frown and say "Hey, that's not roast chicken , that's asian chicken". I asked sis if she made roast chicken before and she said she always marinated chicken with all kind of sauces for her bbqs but nope, technically no roast chicken in the very sense of the word. (Incidentally she almost finished my previously unopened and unused lee kum kee oyster sauce during her stay). By golly, we had borrowed cooking books by Delia Smith from the local library, the author of whom, sis claims she had learnt the correct cooking techniques from (ie via Delia's cooking shows when sis was just newly wed and living in London in the late 90's) .
So I volunteered to show her how to cook the real mccoy/original roast chicken to her. It just needs some olive oil , garlic and some herbs and wallah! Roast chicken. (No sauces necessary!). Sis made some crunchy roast potatoes and I added some spinach on the side.
To my pleasant surprise (lol), sis said the roast chicken was the highlight of her stay, apparently beating her photo session with the dashing Robin at Movie World. (Batman gave her a piercing cold look as batmans do). She probably forgotten that we had had lunch with a friend who had cooked an insanely tantalising and heavenly sumptuous Afghan spread for us with pilao rice (divine!) , Afghani bread stuffed with spinach (double divine!), kebab burgers and lamb stew(triple!), a week prior. And what about the talk by Michael Palin, hmm.. I had a lil cold then, otherwise I would have leaped up and queued for his autograph during Q&A sessions like some people did, after which, there was no point in queuing later as it was so dang looong. (*sob*).
I only managed to cook a special roast chicken on the night of her departure. She was commenting on the day that she had gone to SIL mother's house for our niece's b'day party and SIL had made a tasty roast chicken by smothering lee kum kee oyster sauce all over the bird. I had to frown and say "Hey, that's not roast chicken , that's asian chicken". I asked sis if she made roast chicken before and she said she always marinated chicken with all kind of sauces for her bbqs but nope, technically no roast chicken in the very sense of the word. (Incidentally she almost finished my previously unopened and unused lee kum kee oyster sauce during her stay). By golly, we had borrowed cooking books by Delia Smith from the local library, the author of whom, sis claims she had learnt the correct cooking techniques from (ie via Delia's cooking shows when sis was just newly wed and living in London in the late 90's) .
So I volunteered to show her how to cook the real mccoy/original roast chicken to her. It just needs some olive oil , garlic and some herbs and wallah! Roast chicken. (No sauces necessary!). Sis made some crunchy roast potatoes and I added some spinach on the side.
To my pleasant surprise (lol), sis said the roast chicken was the highlight of her stay, apparently beating her photo session with the dashing Robin at Movie World. (Batman gave her a piercing cold look as batmans do). She probably forgotten that we had had lunch with a friend who had cooked an insanely tantalising and heavenly sumptuous Afghan spread for us with pilao rice (divine!) , Afghani bread stuffed with spinach (double divine!), kebab burgers and lamb stew(triple!), a week prior. And what about the talk by Michael Palin, hmm.. I had a lil cold then, otherwise I would have leaped up and queued for his autograph during Q&A sessions like some people did, after which, there was no point in queuing later as it was so dang looong. (*sob*).
November 03, 2007
Kitchen Gadgets
Dh was outstation for most of this week so I was cooking western to appease my kids appetite. I cooked black pepper steaks and lamb chop with mint sauce . It didn't really turn out as I had hoped. The recipe said fry the steak a few minutes on each side for rare , add a few more minutes for medium and more for well done. It didn't happen like that. I was cooking on my really old tefal pan and I was wondering was it time to buy new pans? My mint sauce didn't happen either as my made in china knife was soo blunt . So I went to the mall to get the knife that you can rock from left to right , right to left to slice up fresh herbs (what's it call? I saw Nigella use it once). I found one in a shop that specialise in kitchenware. It was originally $19.95 but reduced to $11.95. I used the herb slicer yesterday to slice fresh dill and oregano for scallops with dill butter sauce and spaghetti marinara. My kids loved the seafood , I would have to do this more often.
I was also looking out for some new pans. I scouted Myers dept store for Tefal pans but could not find any. Even though they had 30% off kitchen utensils, the branded pans were insanely priced from $119-$199 per item. I didn't know the price of cookware could be so dear!
I was scouting again one day and suddenly by chance I found a Breville cast iron cookware that had red price tags on them. One griddle pan had be reduced from $139 to $83. The color was being discontinued. It was my fave color ie light blue so I thought I would get it. They gave an additional 30% so I only paid $58 which was a bargain I thought for cast iron cookware. So now how and what do I use the pan for?
I was also looking out for some new pans. I scouted Myers dept store for Tefal pans but could not find any. Even though they had 30% off kitchen utensils, the branded pans were insanely priced from $119-$199 per item. I didn't know the price of cookware could be so dear!
I was scouting again one day and suddenly by chance I found a Breville cast iron cookware that had red price tags on them. One griddle pan had be reduced from $139 to $83. The color was being discontinued. It was my fave color ie light blue so I thought I would get it. They gave an additional 30% so I only paid $58 which was a bargain I thought for cast iron cookware. So now how and what do I use the pan for?
October 15, 2007
Eid Gathering
I cooked for a lil Eid gathering on Sunday. Dh's M'sian friends and their family wanted to come over for the obligatory ziarah/visiting. So lazy me had to cook some food for them. It was all a last minute affair. Dh had to go out in the morning as I've decided to make barbecue seafood as we could not get any meat from the muslim butchers as they weren't open on Eid weekend. Dh took the whole morning getting the stuff so when he came back , we had only a couple of hours to stick the seafood on the skewers . Initially , I wanted to marinade the prawns but dh bought cooked prawns instead of uncooked , as per my instruction. So I made a last ditch attempt dill sauce (which didn't have any dill in it) and a sweet chilli sauce to go with the bbq . I also made some prawn salad and salad nicoise to accompany it. Plus there was some beef rendang which I made a day earlier (it took 4 hours to make) and ketupat nasi and lemang courtesy of Nona/flora food co.
The guests came at the alloted time and were ready to eat while we were still figuring out where to put the electric bbq thingy. They soon ate to their hearts content and were really bowled over with the bbq seafood and beef rendang. One lady guest actually came over to me when I was busy in the kitchen to extract the dill sauce recipe from me. She took me by surprise and I only repeated the general ingredients of the sauce that I could retrieve from my memory. There was about 90% butter in the sauce so I think it is more appropriate to call it butter sauce and I used coriander leaves instead of dill.
My friends ie the postgrad and her single housemates also came by later and they also liked the spread (or what was left of it). They also wanted the recipe for the dill /butter sauce which I gave willingly from a cookbook, and the beef rendang recipe. I can't really remember recipe for the latter as it sort of evaporated like the coconut milk (which is one of the main ingredient required), just as soon as I finished cooking it. Each year I have to phone my mum to jog my memory a bit of the specialised Eid cuisine and some of the ingredients are not easily obtainable like fresh galangal and tumeric leaves so I have to improvise the recipe according to what is available.
All in all, the gathering was sort of a success . Dh was very pleased that his friends went back home contented. I'm sorry I can't cook for his friends more often though. I'm naturally born lazy lol.
The guests came at the alloted time and were ready to eat while we were still figuring out where to put the electric bbq thingy. They soon ate to their hearts content and were really bowled over with the bbq seafood and beef rendang. One lady guest actually came over to me when I was busy in the kitchen to extract the dill sauce recipe from me. She took me by surprise and I only repeated the general ingredients of the sauce that I could retrieve from my memory. There was about 90% butter in the sauce so I think it is more appropriate to call it butter sauce and I used coriander leaves instead of dill.
My friends ie the postgrad and her single housemates also came by later and they also liked the spread (or what was left of it). They also wanted the recipe for the dill /butter sauce which I gave willingly from a cookbook, and the beef rendang recipe. I can't really remember recipe for the latter as it sort of evaporated like the coconut milk (which is one of the main ingredient required), just as soon as I finished cooking it. Each year I have to phone my mum to jog my memory a bit of the specialised Eid cuisine and some of the ingredients are not easily obtainable like fresh galangal and tumeric leaves so I have to improvise the recipe according to what is available.
All in all, the gathering was sort of a success . Dh was very pleased that his friends went back home contented. I'm sorry I can't cook for his friends more often though. I'm naturally born lazy lol.
October 10, 2007
The Art of Baking
These past weeks , I've been attempting to bake cakes. I have this recipe book I bought from Angus and Robertson bookstore called "Cooking, A Commonsense Guide" which is quite good for newbies at baking like me. Baking cakes isn't really my family's tradition. I never can recall my mum baking a cake for us! So naturally, I never felt the urge for baking. We were very much a savoury sort of family anyhow, so the main course was more important for us. Fresh fruits like slices of mangoes and oranges would do fine for dessert. To my mum's credit though, she is a great cook when she cooks for us and dh thinks she is the best cook in the world.
Mum used to make the most outstanding traditional Malay kuih (sweet cakes/desserts/snacks) like kuih talam, seri muka, apam, lompang, currypuff (the pusing/circle type), rosles & kuih cara etc when we were little in London. I 've never tasted anyone's who could make kuih as good as hers from any traders, except from La Cucur where you have to pay a premium price. Unfortunately , mum didn't make much kuih when we came back to KL. I don't think she likes cooking desserts much. She later told us that she had to make the kuih in London for the M'sian VVIP /head of state's and their entourage who came to visit London (probably more so for the LIP( lesser important people) in the entourage).
I digress. Coming back to my baking attempts, I felt compelled to bake something for dd. She sometimes bake cookies etc at her school and she would often inquire or ask me if I could bake her something. I started out baking muffins for her as they were the easiest to make whereas most cookies and cakes I assume would require electric mixers. Yes, I don't own a electric mixer as yet!
Last week , I thought it was high time I tried to bake a chocolate cake. There was a recipe for a chocolate mud cake in the book and it didn't require an electric beater. I had all the ingredients in the pantry so I mixed them up accordingly and pop the cake mix in the oven. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out well. It was on the dry side coz the oven temperature was too high. I had earlier baked a tea cake and 12 mini pizzas at 220 degrees, hence, the oven did not cool down to the required 160 degrees. (So I guess I better made sure I do not bake any pizzas in the oven beforehand next time hmm).
My second attempt yesterday was okay and actually looked and taste fine despite that I put extra chocolate in the mix as half the bar had melt in the midday heat so I could not estimate properly, lol. I am feeling confident that perhaps I could maybe bake a cake for my MIL family when we are back in KL. ( Just perhaps)
My in law's family are totally the opposite of mine. Whereas mum would order tasty kuih raya (eid cookies) from a relative or someone else, MIL and her four daughters used to put in a lot of effort baking for eid celebration and make heaps of cookies and fry heaps of kerepek, (traditional malay flour based crisps equivalent to junk food ) weeks prior. My SILs often attempt to bake different type of cakes which sometimes turn out great or not so great depending on the season, lol. Not only do they make cookies and all, they actually enjoy finishing them off as I noticed that there wasn't any left when I visited them 1 and 2 weeks after Eid, whereas at my mum's place would still have plenty of leftover cookies that could be carried forward to Eid ul Adha.
My friend's used to send me Eid cards and the usual question would be "Dah buat kuih raya?" ("Have you made any Eid cookies yet?) and then the question would later evolve into "Dah beli kuih raya?" ("Have you bought any Eid cookies yet?) or to that effect. Whatever it is, bought or baked, I hope you have a Happy Eid everyone!
Mum used to make the most outstanding traditional Malay kuih (sweet cakes/desserts/snacks) like kuih talam, seri muka, apam, lompang, currypuff (the pusing/circle type), rosles & kuih cara etc when we were little in London. I 've never tasted anyone's who could make kuih as good as hers from any traders, except from La Cucur where you have to pay a premium price. Unfortunately , mum didn't make much kuih when we came back to KL. I don't think she likes cooking desserts much. She later told us that she had to make the kuih in London for the M'sian VVIP /head of state's and their entourage who came to visit London (probably more so for the LIP( lesser important people) in the entourage).
I digress. Coming back to my baking attempts, I felt compelled to bake something for dd. She sometimes bake cookies etc at her school and she would often inquire or ask me if I could bake her something. I started out baking muffins for her as they were the easiest to make whereas most cookies and cakes I assume would require electric mixers. Yes, I don't own a electric mixer as yet!
Last week , I thought it was high time I tried to bake a chocolate cake. There was a recipe for a chocolate mud cake in the book and it didn't require an electric beater. I had all the ingredients in the pantry so I mixed them up accordingly and pop the cake mix in the oven. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out well. It was on the dry side coz the oven temperature was too high. I had earlier baked a tea cake and 12 mini pizzas at 220 degrees, hence, the oven did not cool down to the required 160 degrees. (So I guess I better made sure I do not bake any pizzas in the oven beforehand next time hmm).
My second attempt yesterday was okay and actually looked and taste fine despite that I put extra chocolate in the mix as half the bar had melt in the midday heat so I could not estimate properly, lol. I am feeling confident that perhaps I could maybe bake a cake for my MIL family when we are back in KL. ( Just perhaps)
My in law's family are totally the opposite of mine. Whereas mum would order tasty kuih raya (eid cookies) from a relative or someone else, MIL and her four daughters used to put in a lot of effort baking for eid celebration and make heaps of cookies and fry heaps of kerepek, (traditional malay flour based crisps equivalent to junk food ) weeks prior. My SILs often attempt to bake different type of cakes which sometimes turn out great or not so great depending on the season, lol. Not only do they make cookies and all, they actually enjoy finishing them off as I noticed that there wasn't any left when I visited them 1 and 2 weeks after Eid, whereas at my mum's place would still have plenty of leftover cookies that could be carried forward to Eid ul Adha.
My friend's used to send me Eid cards and the usual question would be "Dah buat kuih raya?" ("Have you made any Eid cookies yet?) and then the question would later evolve into "Dah beli kuih raya?" ("Have you bought any Eid cookies yet?) or to that effect. Whatever it is, bought or baked, I hope you have a Happy Eid everyone!
June 11, 2007
Cooking for the fussy eater
My dear daughter is a fussy eater. She does not like to see any onion in her food. Nor does she like chilli ridden food. In short , she barely eats Asian inspired food whereas her dad likes hotter and chilli based food. Her brothers Ds looooves fried chicken wing or anything chicken related and toddler son loves prawns, carrots and cheese sticks. Sometimes I cook a myriad of dishes for dinner just to meet all their preferences. (Gone are the simple meals of yesteryears where everyone eats whatever mom cooks or else!) Sometimes I'm press for time and only cook rice, chicken and sambal dishes for dinner catered for dh and the boys. They are willing candidates to finish the food but dd barely touches her food. She will opt for bread, fruits and cereal instead.
I have to be really innovative to make her eat more. Thankfully, she eats a hearty breakfast every morning so I don't have to worry about her energy level during the day. Lately, I tried some new things . Things that she would like usually made from flour or bake or grill. I made bread and butter pudding two or three times. The pitiful first version was a cross between b&b pudding and the Malay bengkang. Surprisingly, her dad came back and tried it and actually thought I bought it from the shop. I made another one and followed a recipe somewhat. They gobbled it all up with ice cream/custard. I made cekodok ie fried banana batter/fritters. I made some mini muffins from scratch and dd and ds loved them. I also made a simple roast chicken last night (one of my specialty). Dd and the boys love roast chicken and ate it all up. Tonight I made burgers from scratch. I asked dh to get some mince meat and breadcrumbs so that I could make homemade burger patties. It turned out well and they ate it happily. Hey, I'm happy when they're happy, full and contented. Teehee.
I have to be really innovative to make her eat more. Thankfully, she eats a hearty breakfast every morning so I don't have to worry about her energy level during the day. Lately, I tried some new things . Things that she would like usually made from flour or bake or grill. I made bread and butter pudding two or three times. The pitiful first version was a cross between b&b pudding and the Malay bengkang. Surprisingly, her dad came back and tried it and actually thought I bought it from the shop. I made another one and followed a recipe somewhat. They gobbled it all up with ice cream/custard. I made cekodok ie fried banana batter/fritters. I made some mini muffins from scratch and dd and ds loved them. I also made a simple roast chicken last night (one of my specialty). Dd and the boys love roast chicken and ate it all up. Tonight I made burgers from scratch. I asked dh to get some mince meat and breadcrumbs so that I could make homemade burger patties. It turned out well and they ate it happily. Hey, I'm happy when they're happy, full and contented. Teehee.
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