My Cherry Tomatoes

I grew them from hybrid seeds.... So scrumptious cant wait for them to ripen!!

Ham and Cheese Scrolls

I made this using the Asian Bread Recipe.... Yummy lots of cheese and ham... I think there may be a few with Vegemite and cheese too!

Greek Lemon Yogurt Loaf Cake

Hmmm... its been some time since i made this cake. I got the recipe from my fave magazine Super Food Ideas. It contains all the good healthy stuff; yogurt, almonds.... at least healthier than some of my other attempts....

Oreos Butter Cake

I have got oreos cookies monsters in this house!! So i thought with the ample supply of cookies why not make a Oreos themed cake. I found this recipe in My Kitchen:My Laboratory I knew i just had to give it a go!!

ChocMint CupCakes

Hmmm when i saw this a few weeks back, i knew i just had to give it a go.... the recipe comes from Yochana....

I modified it a little and made it cupcakes instead.....

Lamington Slices

Hmmm the left half is the actual lamington slices... The right half is the actual sponge in the slices... for some reason i like better....

Pita Bread

This is pita bread!! I got the recipe from the big book of bread. Looks good doesn't it??

Chap Choy (Stewed Vegetables)

Hmmm... this is usually served on the 1st day of CNY in my family... But we do have this quite often.










Ingredients:
10 dried flower mushrooms (Hua ku), soaked overnight
A handful of Dried Lily buds, soaked and knotted
A handful of Dried black fungus, soaked and cleaned
3 sticks of dried bean curb sticks
8 Tau Pok
A handful of Fatt Choy (I prefer tang hoon)
1 can straw mushrooms
1 can button mushrooms
Tim Chok (A flat type of dried bean curd)
Cabbage, cut into 2 inch squares

Pounded ingredients:
6 shallots
4 garlic
Tau Cheo (Bean Paste)

Method:

1. Lightly fry tim chok. Remove and set aside.
2. Add onion and garlic. Fry until fragrant.
3. Add Mushroom. Fry for 10 minutes. Add pounded ingredients.
4. Add water and simmer for 3 hours. Or if using a pressure cooker.... pressure cook for 20 minutes.
5. Add lily buds, tim chok, tau pok and mushrooms.
6. Lastly add black fungus, fatt choy/tang hoon and cabbage.
7. Simmer until cabbage is cooked.
   

Lo Mai Kai

My childhood favorite snack... I didn't realize i could use a pressure cooker the first time round.... so i attempted steaming it... It does smell great especially with a bamboo steam!! But the pressure is is much faster.... especially for lazy me!!










Ingredients:
30g Glutinous Rice, Soaked in water for 1 hour
30g dried mushrooms, soaked and sliced
60g chicken meat, sliced
1 chinese sausage

Marinate for rice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp oil
2 tsp pepper
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/4 tsp dark soy sauce

Marinate for meat and mushroom
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp cornflour
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp oyster sauce
1/4 tsp dark soy sauce
1/2 tbsp tbsp oil
1/2 tbsp ginger juice

Method:

1. Marinate the ingredients for at least one hour.
2. Divide 1 portion of meat ingredients and a few slices of chinese sausages into a heat friendly bowl. Top with rice.
   

Pressure cooker version
Place trivet into pressure cooker with a bowl of water. Arrange the bowls. bring to boil on medium flame. Presuure cook for 10 mins.

Steamer version:
there is not much to it. Just have a wok, place a steaming rack or bamboo steamer. Arrange the bowls in the steamer. Cover. Steam until rice is cooked. About 40 minutes. Depends on the size of your wok or steamer.

Cheesecake (Recipe for 2 trays)

Tray size: 9” x 6” x 1”

Base
320g Digestive Biscuits
160g melted butter

Method

1. Crush biscuits and stir in melted butter (melted butter must be warm only)
2. Line tray with aluminum foil.
3. Spread the crushed biscuits and level it before pressing it down.
4. Chill in the freezer for 15 mins or until needed.
   

Fillings
9 oz (250g) Philadelphia cream cheese (box packing)
½ tsp vanilla essence
2 ¼ tsp gelatin powder
70g sugar
150 ml boiling water

Method

1. Place gelatin and sugar in a bowl.
2. Pour boiling water into the bowl and stir till gelatin and sugar dissolve completely.Leave aside.
3. Cream the cheese and vanilla at low speed.
4. Add gelatin syrup gradually and cream till smooth.
5. Take the tray with the biscuit base from refrigerator and prick the base with a stick or skewer before pouring in the creamed cheese mixture.
6. Place the trays in the refrigerator (freezer) until the cream cheese firm up.
   

Jelly Topping
W packets Tortally Strawberry Flavour (170g per pack)
600ml hot water (300 ml per pkt)
600 ml cold water from fridge (300 ml per pkt)

Method

1. Dissolve jelly in boiling water then add cold water and stir well.
2. Cool completely before pouring over the cheese filling.
3. Refrigerate until jelly thickens.

Casserole Rice

Think clay pot rice with a clay pot!! Sometimes i mash a cooked salted egg into the rice too.

Ingredients:
300g Deboned chicken, cut into bite size and marinated with sesame oil and soy sauce
2 Chinese Sausage, Sliced
1 Piece Salted Fish, Sliced (Optional)
200g Chye Sim
2 Bowls Rice
3 Tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp Oil

Method:

1. Heat 2 tbsp oil. Stir fry the salted fish and sausage until fragrant. Set aside. Add chicken and stir fry with dark soy sauce. Set aside.
2. Place rice in pot and add 2 1/2 bowls of water. Bring to boil. Just as the rice is about to be cooked pour in the fried ingredients.
3. Let it cook over low heat for 20 minutes. Add Choy Sim. The rice is ready once the vegetable is cooked.
   
4. Serve Hot.

Triple Chocolate Brownies

Yummy brownies. The first recipe i have tried and also the most successful one. Its not too sweet and not too hard. It keeps for days!! If it does not end up in someone stomach 1st.












Ingredients:
250g Dark Chocolate
125g Butter
1 Cup Brown Sugar
3 Eggs
1 Cup Plain Flour, Shifted together with cocoa powder
1/4 Cup Cocoa Powder
1 1/2 Cup fav bits to add into a brownie. (I use walnuts and dark chocolate chips)

Method:

1. Preheat Oven to 160 Degrees.
   
2. Melt Chocolate and butter in a saucepan over gentle heat. Cool Slightly.
   (Mon's method - put chocolate and butter in a microwavable container. Pop it into the microwave for 1 min. Stir. If it has not melted enough, Pop it back in the microwave for 30 seconds)
3. Beat sugar and eggs together until fluffy. Add the chocolate mixture. Slowly fold in the flour mixture.
4. Stir in the fav bits.
5. Spread it on a grease and baking paper lined 20cm baking tin.
6. Bake for 40 to 45 mins. Cool in tin. Cut into squares and serve.

Mum's Beef Stew

The good old days.....

Ingredients:
2 Potatoes
2 Carrots
2 Brown Onions, cut into half
1kg Stewing Beef, Cut into bite size (I use gravy beef or beef shin)
1 tsp Basil (Optional)
Dash of Pepper
Soy Sauce to taste

Method 1:

1. Heat a deep pot with oil. Add Beef. Brown the beef.
2. Add onion, pepper, soy sauce and basil.
3. Add water. Enough to cover the beef.
4. Simmer over low hear.
5. Add potatoes and carrots when the beef is soft.

Method 2:

1. Heat the pressure cooker with oil. Add Beef. Brown the beef.
2. Add onion, pepper, soy sauce and basil.
3. Add water enough water to cover the beef, potatoes and carrots.
   
4. Close the lid of the pressure cooker. Pressure cook for 20 minutes.
   

Asian Style Bread

This is my 2nd attempt at making Asian styled bread.... Meaning they are sweeter than the bread from the rest of the world.... This time the bread is more evenly tanned. The shape looks so much better too. This one is a kind of pizza bread. I got the basic sweet bread recipe from Hugbear.