Happy Times

Steamed Eggs With Milk

2010-06-10T15:36:00.005+08:00

If you are a fan of pudding, then you will like this dessert! It is so simple to prepare, and it tastes great! I found this excellent site for this recipe. Thanks, Christine!

Ingredients:
3 things only!
2 eggs
50g sugar (I personally find that 50g of sugar is a bit sweet for me. I'll reduce it to 30g to 40g for a less sweeter taste)
250ml milk

Method:

Beat the egg with fork. Warm the milk in microwave or stove. Just heat it slightly, don't boil it.
Add the warm milk with the beaten egg, add sugar and mix well. It is not necessary to sieve the mixture. Just use the spoon to scoop away the bubbles on the surface of the mixture.
Cover the bowl with aluminum foil. Put the bowl in the pan/pot with hot water, use medium fire to steam for 10-12 minutes. By the 5th minute, open the lid of the pan/pot to release the steam, then cover it and continue to steam.
Serve while warm.

The texture is smooth, just like tou fu fah. The recipe serves 2-3 persons but I finished it all by myself. It is so irresistible!

Look At Me In Action at Borneo International Marathon 2010

2010-05-17T16:32:00.003+08:00

A photo of me in action, trying to run hard to achieve my running goal. heheh. Photo captured by photographer on duty at the roadside and published to the official website. Thanks !
http://www.borneomarathon.com/Gallery/Borneo_International_Marathon_2010/photo1658.htm

Borneo International Marathon on 2 May 2010

2010-05-04T10:36:00.035+08:00

Beginning of this year, I decided to join my colleagues in running 10KM in the Borneo International Marathon (BIM) on 2 May 2010. This is the third year BIM being organized, but it is my first participation. I have friends who hook on running marathon after they joined the first BIM 2 years ago. To prepare myself for the 10KM run, and thanks Sifu CY for his consultation, I went for 2-3 times per week of running training at Likas Sports Complex. The training also helped me to conquered Mt Kinabalu in mid March as I managed to build my stamina. However, after the climb, I suffered from knee pain on my left knee for more than 2 weeks. Whenever I ran, i could feel the sharp pain on my left knee. I could not run at all! It was devastating. To make it worst, I bought a new pair of genuinely branded sport shoes. Never bought such an expensive shoes. At the time, I decided to give up in running BIM. The alternate plan is to bring along my digital camera, stroll along & take photos instead. Luckily the pain went away in less than 2 weeks prior to race day. I managed to run+walk for 7KM in one of my training sessions. Hooray! I was confident to complete the race within the time limit of 2 hours.

A total of 8 runners in my office who joined the event. 6 of us (Jefri, Jenny, Alan, Ricky, Walter & I) in 10KM category. All first timers. CY in half marathon (21KM) and Ulai "the iron lady" in full marathon (42KM). Fuyooh! 2 days before the race day, Sifu CY emailed to all of us for few words of advices. Here it goes:

Dear All,
Rather then keep repeating ^_^, better i just email, less then 48 hours to go
1. Sleep alot tonight, tomorrow night you will be most likely 'worried' 'scared' 'excited' to sleep
2. Pin your race number(front/back) tonite, set aside your shoe, socks, jersey, fav underware, watches
3. Tie your timing chips to your shoes tonite
3. Dont eat anything new, dont use anything new
4. Have a plan and stick to it
5. Take one last look at your starting time and race course
6. You dont need to wear extra clothing at Stadium, the hot spot lights are on from 3.30am to keep you warm
7. Warm up, walk a few laps
8. Dont go crazy at the first 2km , stick to the plan, let all the headless chickens run full speed first
9. SMILE for the cameras, you dont want people tag you on face book looking at your shoes or watch
10. Drink at water stations
11. SMILE and look forward at the finish line, you might want to buy the photo :)
12. Have Fun!!!!

And Ulai added on with this:
ENJOY THE RUN, THE PEOPLE & THE SCENERIES!!!! ALL THE BEST!!! BE DUMB & JUST RUN!!!

Huh!? Like that one? Ok la. Anyway, thanks both!

On 2 May 2010, I woke up at 4:15AM to get ready myself. I had a nice hot Milo cereal and chocolate peanut butter flavour of Power Bar as my breakfast. I took 4 tablets of Nu Skin Pharmanexaccel as my energy booster. I car pool with Jenny & Alan to Likas Sports Complex. We arrived there before 5:30AM, it was still dark. We met CY & Frankie at the Start Line who were getting ready for the half marathon run. We managed to witness the start of half marathon and cheered our friends who joined in this category.

Fresh looks before the run:

Start/Finish Line

By 5:50AM, all 10KM runners were asked to gather behind the Start Line. Group of us still chatting & joking even when started to counting down. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 - GO! It was so crowded that we couldn't really run at all. We had to walk slowly. After we passed the Start Line, then only we could start running. All 6 of us group together while running and still joked along the way. By the time we ran 1.5KM+, near the Likas roundabout, the 4 boys started to prove they are physically much more fitter than gals. They were way ahead of us. Jenny was behind me. I noticed that I could run non-stop for more than 2KM, which I have never tried that during training. hehe. So I kept running and running. And of course walked also la. In fact walked more than ran. hehe. Well, I was a rookie mah.

10KM route map

The stretch of road at Tanjung Lipas was expected the most dreadful part of my 10KM run . However, thanks for the nice sea view, it did not seem that bad at all. I quite enjoy ed running in the middle road whereby normal days we only get to drive on it. And when it came to busy junctions or roundabouts, there were policemen stationed there to control the traffic and you could cross the roads in style :P

By the time I entered the KK City roundabout, I felt happy because the U-turn was not far away. We were given a ring band when we made the U-turn. I had no idea what it is for. I thought running a 10KM can also get a free gift like this. I almost wanted to ask the volunteer who gave away the ring band to hand me the next one in PINK instead of BLACK. hehe. But I didn't ask la. So pai-seh. I accepted the black one he gave to me and put on my right hand. And continued to run. At one of the drinking stations, I wanted to take a cup of 100Plus but I took the plain water cup instead. Taste so plain. I took a sip and be the litter bug in KK City, threw the cup away at the road side legally. Hey, that seems to be part of the fun running a marathon. hehe.

By the time I reached Jesselton Point, that stretch of road was smelly because of the rubbish in the sea water. I had to run fast to pass that area. The traffic started to queue up and I had to cross the junction by running fast else I would be cursed by the drivers who were stuck in the traffic jam! On my way running back to the Likas Stadium, the long stretch of Tanjung Lipat became the most dreadful part one more time again. It was about 7AM+, the sun rise up in the sky. It was hot & sunny. The sea view and the misty Mount Kinabalu view is simply awesome. How I wish I had my digicam with me to capture that nice view! Towards the junction at The Peak, I met a familiar face who ran in opposite direction. It was Ulai! She looked fit and steady. We hi-5 & cheered each other up. She had covered more than half of her full marathon at that time. Bravo! There were certain part of the routes I was running alone. I had this feeling. It was the same bad & lonely feeling when I climbed the Mount Kinabalu in March. I felt demotivated. Somehow I told myself I need to run fast to catch up with those in front of me so that I have running partners. haha.

I crossed the Finish Line at about 7:25AM. At the Finish Line, we supposed to swap the ring band for the medal. Oh! That's what the ring band is for. Now I know. Haha. My 10KM run took about 1 hour 25 mins, which meet my target of completing the run within 2 hours limit. Not bad, right? Hehe.

KKIPC 10KM runners with their "medals"

Taste of glory:

Post run happy faces:

My achievement:

For more info about the BIM, check out its official website. I was never into sports even when I was younger. However, this year, within a time span of 1.5 months, I climbed Mount Kinabalu and completed a 10KM run. Not bad at all. And I feel grrrrrrrrrrrreat!

Journey to Conquer Mount Kinabalu : The Climb

2010-04-05T16:14:00.055+08:00

This is the Mesilau trail to Laban Rata. Hmm... looks challenging. Can we make it?

My climb pass

16 March 2010
This is the BIG DAY!!! After the buffet breakfast at the Mesilau restaurant, we proceed to the Mesilau Operation Room, where we bought the strong & steady walking stick at RM5 each. We paid porter service, 1kg @ RM9. My backpack is 7kg, so cost R63. Worth it! I had another backpack at 3kg+, which contained water, food, medicine. I am not going to carry 10kg of backpack to the peak. No way man.

The starting point:

Our guides cum porters. The one in red shirt, Jack, is a cute guy :P

We hired 3 guides for our group. They gave us a short briefing before we departed. By 8:30AM, we started our journey. The beginning of the journey is staircase all the way up. After 10-15 minutes climb uphill, I started to feel out of breath. By then I remembered the advice given by my dear friends - Ulai, Lorna, Jefri, CY - they told me : "Walk at your own pace. Go slow. Take your time. Don't rush!" ... So i started to slow down. And I felt much better after a while. I didn't even feel the time past after I walked for over an hour. We met other group of climbers. I started to enjoy my climb, appreciate the nature around me. Amazed by the fantastic view in front of my eyes.

When we started to enter the forest, I noticed that I was on my own, as each of us has different stamina. Some walked faster and some walked slower. I was alone in the forest for 1-2KM. The trail was clear. I was not scared. I told myself to enjoy every steps because that could be the the one and only time I climbed Mt Kinabalu. So I better enjoyed myself. I didn't really feel tired or hungry at all after walking for 1-2 hours. I saw beautiful waterfall, bridge and some pretty plants in the forest.

Some nice scenes & plants along the Mesilau trail :

cute little T-shaped fern

Pither plant...

I met David along the way. We accompanied each other for the rest of the journey until we reached Laban Rata. I enjoy his company as we both like to take photographs and it was nice to have someone to chat with for such a long walk. Some of the photos I took along the way when i walked together with David:

My climb buddy, David Goh

This is the place where we had our packed lunch provided by Sutera Sanctuary - sandwiches, hard boiled egg, apple & 500ml mineral water.

boh lat...

This is where the Mesilau Trail meets the Timpohon Trail and share the same trail all the way up to Laban Rata

Porter service @ RM9 per kg

Wah!

I hate this long stretch of yellow road... they seem never ending.

I think towards the last few hundreds meters towards Laban Rata, I started to feel tired and sleepy. I couldn't wait to arrive at Laban Rata, to eat my dinner, take my bath and get some sleep. It was a long day. I literally dragged myself walked uphill and finally there it is: Laban Rata! This is the place where limited accommodations are provided for climbers to stay overnight before embarking the journey to the summit trail. That's why climbing Mt. Kinabalu requires 6 months advance booking. I reached Laban Rata at abount 5PM. Dinner was served at Laban Rata Resthouse, buffet style. The food was not bad at all. We stayed at Gunting Lagadan Hut, which was located 10 minutes further up from Laban Rata Resthouse. After the buffet dinner, I was really tired. Luckily Tan Ca volunteered to carry my backpack and led me to Gunting Lagadan Hut.

Laban Rata Resthouse

Gunting Lagadan Hut is just a wooden hut, with common bathrooms, toilets, kitchen and a number of rooms. Each room has 4 beds. I shared room with Ming Pei, Kenny and Yann. There was hot shower in the bathrooms but we need to take turn to enjoy the hot shower. If someone is taking the hot shower, then next bathroom may not have hot water or even no water at all. After the bath, we stayed in the room for chit-chat. MP told me that before she came to KK, our old friend visited her and shared his climbing experience with her. He climbed Mt. Kinabalu before he had the car accident and he now has no second chance to climb again. So he hoped MP would be able to make it to the peak. We also talked about an old friend who passed away last year. It was very sad and I still get emotional when we talked about this. After the chit-chat, we went to sleep. I was not sure whether I really manage to sleep at all.

The tired looking aunties at Gunting Lagadan Hut...

17 March 2010
We woke up at 1:30AM to get ready ourselves for the summit climb. We started the journey at 2:45AM. Most of us "wrapped" ourselves up with layers of clothing, masks, gloves etc. But less than 10 min from the start of the hike, I started to feel hot & sweaty. I wore 4 layers of tops and 2 layers of pants! It was a long walk in the middle of the night. My RM11.90 headlamp did a brilliant job in the dark. The wind breaker and 2 layers of gloves I borrowed from Ulai & Lorn proven to be so helpful. The wind was very strong. I walked 1 footstep by footstep. I looked up and saw the sky filled with stars. They looked so pretty and seemed reachable! When I looked back, I saw the lights from the Kundasang town. So tiny. And yes, we were standing at almost 4,000m high in the mountain. From far, I could see the lights in KK. Awesome. It was dark, very strong wind. I kept looking down on my own footstep and kept walking. Whenever I felt tired, I refused to sit down and rest. I just stood there, paused, caught my breath, then resume walking. I also refused to look up and see the trail of torch lights from far, as it is kind of demotivate me if I see there is still such a long way to go. So I kept looking down, just pay attention on my RM4.50 "kampung adidas" followed the white rope leading me to way. The wind was so strong that I was "pushed" by the wind twice. Whenever the wind blew, I slowed down.

Towards the last few hundreds meter to Low's Peak, it gets much harder to climb. I was actually climbed with my 2 hands & 2 feets, cannot really walked at all. It was tough. I met Uncle Ee, his headlamp has run out of batteries, so he followed me instead. For every few footsteps, I needed to stop and catch my breath as the oxygen level in high mountain is much lesser. Whenever I stopped, I turned back and shine the headlamp light for Uncle Ee to see his way. Finally, at 5:35AM, we reached the summit of Low's Peak, at 4095,2m. We found a spot to sit down and rest. The peak has limited space as it's very rocky. A lot of rocks there and a lot of climbers too. Later on, we saw the other group members all arrived at the peak. It was very cold. My kept shivering. We sat there & waited for the sun rise. I had tears in my eyes. I was tired, cold, so tough for me to climb to the peak and it was also tears of joy as finally i made it.

By 6:05AM, we witness the sun rise. The sky has a beautiful ray of blue light. I have seen nothing like this. The sea of clouds was so beautiful, it always stuck in my mind now. The view is simply awesome, so undescribable unless you see it for yourself. I was amazed by the beautiful scenery right in front of my eyes.

The RM4.50 Kampung Adidas rubber shoes which helped me to conquer the Mount Kinabalu. Love it !

By 7AM+, we descended to Gunting Lagadan Hut to pack our bags and went to Laban Rata Resthouse for lunch. We started to descend from Laban Rata at 11AM and arrived Kinabalu Park HQ at 3PM. We used the Timpohon trail when going downhill. So for this trip we covered both the trails of Mount Kinabalu. Timpohon trail is 2KM shorter than Mesilau trail and less scenic. It is mostly wooden staircases to go all the way up to Laban Rata. I didn't take any photos at all during descended as our group could not wait to go home. After we arrived at Kinabalu Park HQ, we had late lunch at the Balsam Cafe. My legs were so sore. We chartered 2 taxi and arrived KK around 6:30PM. By the time I arrived home, I soaked my feet in nice warm water, rubbed lots of Counter Pain muscle cream before i went to bed to have a good rest.

More photos taken from Low's Peak:

My tired look when arrived at Timpohon Gate:

18 March 2010
When I woke up in the morning, I noticed that I had slight sunburn on my cheeks. So I made facial appointment to rescue my face. The rest of the group members went for White Water Rafting at Padas River. Wow! They are like ironmen and ironwomen. After the climb and now water rafting? They spent 1 whole day for the rafting. I met them for a late dinner at Kampung Air at 10PM together with Hai Chuan and wife.

19 March 2010
The group supposed to go for island hopping before they flew back to KL, Singapore and Penang. But they were all too tired for it. Some decided to stay back at the lodge to rest. Some went out for shopping. I met up with them at Handicraft Market. And we had a surprise visit from Yee Peng, who came to KK for a 1-day business trip. What an coincident! It was like a mini Jit Sin reunion at KK that day.

Marina Club @ Sutera Harbour

After they checked out from the lodge, I fetched David, Tan Ca, Ming Pei and Suki to the airports. We dropped by Sutera Harbour for a quick tour at Marina Club. We spent about half an hour for photo taking there. Then proceed to KKIA to send Suki and the rest at T2. I spent the whole afternoon accompany them at T2. We had lunch together and sent them off by 5PM. This trip has been so wonderful and meaningful for me. Thank you all - Kenny, Yann, Ming Pei, David, Tan Ca, Chin How, May May, Mayjean, Siok Yen, Suki, Fiona, Uncle Ee, Paul and Mei Lan, for sharing this unforgettable experience with me.

My achievements ...

Climb again? Sure yes!

Journey to Conquer Mount Kinabalu : Pre-Climb

2010-03-24T11:25:00.040+08:00

This year marks the 12th year I live in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Even though I live so near but I have never climbed it before until recently. My schoolmate Kenny invited me to join his group to climb the mountain. Total of 14 of us, 6 of us were schoolmates. We didn't really know each other back in high school days. We only get to know each other better via Facebook recently. This is almost 20 years after high school! I want to blog about this fantastic experience as remembrance.

13 March 2010

All the group members arrived in KK at night. Most of them flew from KL, except for Fiona from Singapore and Ming Pei from Penang. I went to Terminal 2 twice to fetch 2 rounds of them.

14 March 2010

On 14 March 2010, we went to Kundasang and stayed overnight at Kinabalu Pine Resort, which I have never been there for more than 10 years. Surprisingly the resort is quite well maintained. The landscaping is nicely done and the room is quite comfortable.

Kinabalu Pine Resort

Kundasang fruit market

Jalan-jalan, cari makan... (craved for chicken wings)

View of Mount Kinabalu from Kundasang town center

View of Mount Kinabalu during sunset... the red circle shows Laban Rata at 3,273m. This is the place where we need to stay overnight before we hike to the summit of Low's Peak.

And the place actually looks like this .... The yellow roof is Laban Rata Resthouse.

At night, we had a fun & crazy night. We had ice-breaking session, self intro and get to know each other better. The highlight of the night is we had a closed door (and windows too) card playing with $$ involved. You know what I'm talking about! We played the card game called "In Between", which is an easy game to play. The biggest contributors of the night were Ming Pei, Tan Ca & David Goh. Never mind la, they can afford. hehehe...

15 March 2010
After breakfast we went to Kinabalu National Park for the mountain climb registration. We spent about 45 minutes to walk around the park.

"Take nothing but photographs. Leave nothing but footprints."

Later on, we hopped on the taxis and went to Mesilau Nature Resort, where we stayed 1 night before the climb.

Surprisingly the lunch served at Mesilau restaurant was not bad at all. The setting is very comfortable too.

After lunch, the guys went cuckoo again ...

4-big-head models :D

That night, we checked in Bishop Head's Hostel. That day was free & easy for everyone, before the big day came.

Both Yann & Ming Pei have great potential as models :)

At night, we had a warm & delicious steamboat at the Mesilau restaurant. It was a very cold night. Only 12 degree celsius when we had our dinner at 7PM! I am sure that night the temperature fell below 10 degree celsius when we slept. It was so cold that I woke up few time . At one time I couldn't stand the cold, I digged out my turtle neck sweater from my backpack, wore it and continue to sleep. I didn't really sleep well that night partly because I was anxious for the next day.

Steamboat dinner at Mesilau. It was a cold night.

Chinese New Year Cookies - a mother & son teamwork

2010-03-24T09:10:00.022+08:00

This is a long overdue post... i know. I have been very busy lately. Just completed a "big mission" last week, which I will blog about it next. Back to this topic. During this year Chinese New Year, Jaden's primary school organised a CNY celebration, whereby there were lion dance performances, traditional dance performance as well as tea party (potluck) at each class. The school warned that NO junk food is allowed. But on that day, there were still some big yellow packs of keropok on the desks. Haha Even the parents don't really follow instructions, huh? In order to make my son proud (at the same time to show off my baking skill, aiseh!), I decided to bake Horlicks Doggies Cookies for this occasion. This was my nth attempt, so I was quite confident that it would be done quickly & yet still tasted great. Here is my result:

Not bad, right? I followed the instructions where I first found the recipe. I made 48 cookies but Jaden's class has 45 students. Oh no! They wouldn't have enough to eat. hmm... At the end, I found this empty container with the 福 sticker and all cookies nicely fitted inside it. Wow! Aren't they just look adorable? The thing is for those doggies with the nose pointed out, they nose was cramped and distorted a bit. Next time (if ever I bake again) I should put pointed nose inward (which means round nose). Taste wise, they are good. Oh ya, another thing is, thanks to my assistant - Jaden Lee - we managed to complete the whole baking process within 1 hour time. Jaden helped me to decorate the cookies, especially the ears, & noses. Good job. On that day, we saw a lot of food placed on teacher's desk. So much food - fried meehon, fried noodles, junk food, packet drinks (4 stacks of them!), sausages, peanuts, biscuits, puddings, cookies, etc. And here came our masterpiece - The Doggies Cookies, standing proudly in the corner. Even though the serving quantity is limited, but I think we are probably one of the most hardworking team to bring homemade food. Jaden was very happy. He was very proud that he could share the cookies with his friends that he helped making.

First Bake of Year 2010 - Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake

2010-01-30T17:47:00.015+08:00

Welcome year 2010! I stopped baking & blogging since school holidays in Nov 2009. Lazy! Haha. Mainly due to I was busy holidaying during Nov & Dec. And when the year started, gosh, I was never been so busy before. This is mainly due to both my boys study at new schools this year - Caden in nursery class at Yuk Yu Kindergarten and Jaden is in Primary 1 at SJK(C) Chung Hwa Likas. Just sending & fetching them to/from schools, to beat the traffic jam itself is a challenging job. On top of that, I was not fully recovered from my cough/flu since Dec 2009. Very, very busy & tiring. Finally last weekend I managed to find some time in a Sunday afternoon. This cake has been in my top of the "must try out" list. I tried to look for Hershey cocoa powder in KK but could not find it until i went to Singapore during X'mas and managed to buy 1 box from there. However, after my Singapore trip, my friend told me that can buy it at Merdeka Supermarket. And it costs slightly cheaper than Singapore Dollars. Sigh! Anyway, I gave it a try and it turned out to be one of my favourite cakes!

It's so moist that I need to double layer the cup cakes.

See how moist the cake is!

I tried the cup cake version. Let's look at the ingredients & steps:

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar (I put 1-3/4 cups. Still very sweet for me. Next time should reduce to 1.5 cups only)
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING(recipe follows)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F or 180°C. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING. 10 to 12 servings.

VARIATIONS:
ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.

THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.

BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.

CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.

"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING (I omitted this part coz i think the cake is sweet enough.)

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

Homemade Snack Bars

2009-11-14T23:51:00.008+08:00

Food 4 Tots is one of my favourites blogs. The blogger shares some simple-to-follow recipes and suitable for kids. And the photos taken are great! I really learn a lot for this blog. Thank you very much, Food 4 Tots! The 1st recipe I tried out from this blog is the "Homemade Snack Bars" - simple ingredients and straight forward methods. No electrical mixer, no oven, minor cleaning up! And yet taste good and healthy!

(From Food 4 Tots)
Ingredients:

40g rolled oats
40g sunflower seeds
40g pumpkin seeds
Handful of black and white sesame seeds
3-4 tbsp clear running honey

Methods:

Heat up the pan.
Put the black and white sesame seeds in a non-stick and dry fry (without oil) over a medium-low heat until they are fragrant. Set aside.
Dry fry the oats for 3 mins. Turn the oats occasionally to make sure they cook evenly.
Add the sunflower and pumpkin seeds and dry fry for another 2 minutes or until light golden. Take care – the pumpkin seeds may pop a little!
Return the roasted black and white sesame seeds to the pan and dry fry for ½ min.
Take the pan off the heat. Stir in the honey – it will sizzle at first but keep stirring until the oats and seeds are coated. Allow to cool slightly.
Line a 20cm x 10cm baking tin with greaseproof paper.
Spread the mixture evenly on the paper and line another one on top of the mixture.
Use a presser (or chopping board) to apply pressure to the mixture.
Chill for at least 1 hour, or until solid. Turn it out of the tin and peel off the greaseproof paper. If you have problem to peel off the paper, leave it at room temperature for 1 min and try again. Cut into bars.
Keep it in an air-tight container and store in the fridge. Best to be consumed within a week.

Ribena Marble Cheesecake (non-baked)

2009-11-13T14:05:00.012+08:00

When I first tried to do the non-baked Oreo Cheesecake, i failed to whip the cream. So I am quite phobia when it comes to preparing cake with whipped creams. When I found this non-baked cheesecake recipe from Happy Home Baking and Loving Baking, I know I must give it a try. The recipe seems simple. The comments I received from my friends who tried it, they simply love it!

(From Happy Home Baking)

Ingredients
Crust:
150g digestive biscuits, finely crushed (I used Marie Biscuits instead coz don't have digestive biscuits at home)
60g butter, melted

Filling:
100ml water
20g (2 tablespoons) gelatin granules/powder
250g cream cheese, soften at room temperature
75g caster sugar
250ml natural plain yogurt
75ml Ribena blackcurrant juice cordial

Topping: (i omitted this. You can refer to Loving Baking who tried the topping.)
100ml water
2 teaspoons gelatin granules/powder
80ml Ribena blackcurrant juice cordial

Method:

Crust:

Line the sides of a 20cm round pan with aluminium foil (which extends out 2-3 cm at the side of the pan for easily lifting after the cake is chilled), set aside.
To make the crust, combine crushed digestive biscuits and melted butter together in a mixing bowl.
With the back of a spoon, press the biscuit crumbs onto the base of the prepared pan. To ensure the crust is even, use the base of a flat-bottom glass to press down the crumbs.
Chill in the freezer compartment for at least 1 hour.

Filling:

Measure water into a bowl and sprinkle in the gelatin (without stirring with a spoon). Set aside to allow the gelatin grains to swell (10 mins) before setting the bowl over a pot of simmering hot water. Swelling will make the granules melt much easier & faster.
Stir with a spoon and once the gelatin melts, remove the bowl from the pot and set aside to cool to room temperature.
Beat the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth (either using electric mixer or hand whisk also can).
Add in the gelatin solution and yogurt, beat till the mixture turns smooth.
Divide mixture evenly into two bowls (about 1 cup each).
Add 75ml of Ribena into one of the bowls and mix well with a spatula.
Spoon the two mixtures in alternate blobs into the chilled crust, i.e. Spoon one blob of coloured mixture (with ribena) onto the crust, then spoon one white mixture blob beside it, followed by the coloured mixture and so one. Just alternate the mixtures.
Smooth the surface and use a knife (hold vertically) and swirl through the mixtures to create the marble effect.
Refrigerate until set.

Topping:

Measure water into a bowl and sprinkle in the gelatin. Set aside to allow the gelatin grains to swell (10 mins) before setting the bowl over a pot of simmering hot water. Stir with a spoon and once the gelatin melts, remove bowl from the pot and stir in 80ml of Ribena. Set aside to cool. It is important to allow the cheesecake to set before pouring the jelly topping. Also, when pouring the jelly topping, do be gently. If possible, spoon the jelly mixture. This it to prevent the pressure of the jelly mixture from "eroding" your cheescake. In which, you might end up with floating bits of cheese.
When completely cooled, pour mixture over the cheesecake and chill for several hours or overnight until set.

Woof! Woof!

2009-11-11T15:21:00.011+08:00

Last Friday I took a day off to attend Jaden's graduation ceremony in the morning and busy baking in the afternoon for Caden's playschool concert on last Sunday. There was a pot luck after the concert. I promised to bring the Horlicks Doggies Cookies on that day. Since this was the second attempt, I was confident that I would baked nice doggies cookies this time.

Unfortunately, things went wrong. I over-baked the 1st batch of cookies, about 30 of them. The cookies were burnt and cracked, as if the doggies put on masks like Zorro. They looked awful. I had to throw away the whole 1st batch. I monitored closely while baking 2nd batch, luckily it was ok, but only less than 20 pieces of them. Why over-baked? I suspect I stored the choc chips in the fridge, and they are burnt faster than room temperature choc chips while in oven. Not sure.

I decided to go for 3rd attempt to bake more cookies on Sat night. But before that, I baked a cheese sponge cake using the Buffalo Smart Cooker, since this can yield a high successful rate. Then I moved on with the Doggies Cookies. 1st batch ok. While 2nd batch, I ran out of baking papers! Left with 2 thin stripes only. I had to place the cookies near to each other, and brushed some butter on the tray for those cookies without baking papers. Luckily all cookies were nicely baked. What a busy night. I didn't even have time to go for dinner. Let's see my hard work :

Hope you like these cookies. Woof woof!

Cola Chicken

2009-11-03T16:14:00.010+08:00

Last night I prepared simple dishes for dinner: 1) Chicken & corn soup, 2) Cola Chicken, 3) stir-fry mix vegetables. Thanks Ohbin for the Cola Chicken recipe. My kids finished all their meals in a record breaking time, without having me to scream at them to finish their meals.

(From Ohbin)

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (I used 6 chicken wings)
Cola 1 can (i used half can only I only used 6 chicken wings)
Anister 2 pieces
Cooking wine 1T
Soy sauce 2T
Dark soy sauce 2T
Onion, ginger & garlic

Method:

Rinse chicken in hot water. Put oil in wok/pan, fry onion, garlic & ginger until fragrant.
Put in chicken and fry. Pour Cola in.
Stew the chicken with low heat, until gravy is thicken and ready to serve.

What Can My Kids Do For Me?

2009-11-01T00:35:00.022+08:00

- Protect me with their kungfu fighting skills.

(errr... this one not really protect me la. More on protecting his precious lantern.)

- Help to wash the plates after dinner.
(even though I need to wash for second time to make sure all clean).

- Help to wash my car.
(errr.. with their pants!!! Wow, butt-naked free car wash, anyone?)

- Surprise me with their creativity or skills.

(Actually he does not know how to play piano. But he knows how to pretend he knows how to play.)

- Make me laugh with their funny faces.

They are my Superheros!

Family Portrait II

2009-10-31T23:22:00.012+08:00

This time is Caden's masterpieces:

So cute, huh? Without the teacher's caption, I don't think I can understand his drawing at all.
And this one:

Huh!? "The Mummy", "King Kong", "Hancock" ???
Uh-Oh! I think he watched too many movies on HBO. May be it's time to unsubcribe the Movie Package on Astro.

Family Portrait

2009-10-29T11:27:00.006+08:00

Jaden's masterpiece :)

Not bad huh?

"Greenie Cake" / "Incredible Hulk Cake"

2009-10-26T10:43:00.015+08:00

My last weekend baking project:

Huh!? What is that? Greed tea cake or pandan cake? No, no, no. Not so ordinary ya.

Fresh from oven:

without flash:

with flash :

When I first look at the cake, it does look odd. For those who tried it, none of them can tell what the green stuff is. This is a Spinach Cheese Cake. Who knows after you eat this cake, can get muscles like Popeye or Incredible Hulk. Haha. Spinach + cheddar cheese = odd combination. But taste great! Oh yes, I am an advanterous person, even in baking. Dare to try out odd recipes

Ingredients:
Spinach (chopped) 100gm
Butter 150gm
Icing sugar 150gm
Eggs 4 nos
Flour 150gm
Corn flour 25gm
Baking powder 0.5 tsp
Cheddar cheese 50gm

Method:

Whisk butter + icing sugar until light and fluffy, then slowly add in eggs one by one.
Next add in sifted flour + corn flour + baking powder + spinach and mix well.
Stir in grated cheddar cheese
Pour into a oblong bread tin (lined & greased)
Bake at 170c for 40 minutes

Tips That May Bring You A Beautiful Life!

2009-10-23T16:02:00.004+08:00

Today my sis forward me a PowerPoint file with some meaningful messages below. Happy reading.

Take a 10-30 minutes walk everyday and while you walk, smile.
Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
When you wake up in the morning, complete the following statement, "My purpose is to .... today."
Live with the 3 E's - Energy, Enthusiasm, Empathy, and the 3 F's - Faith, Family, Friends.
Spend more time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6
Dream more while you are awake.
Try to make at least 3 people smile each day.
Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn, pass all your tests. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
Smile and laugh more. It will keep the energy vampires away.
Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagreements.
Make peace with your past, so it won't mess up the present.
Don't compare your life with others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
Burn the candles, use the nice sheets. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
Forgive everyone for everything.
What other people think of you is none of your business.
Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.
However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will stay in touch.
Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
The best is yet to come.
No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
Do the right thing!
Call your family often.
Each night before you go to bed, complete the following statements: "I am thankful for..." or "Today I accomplished ..."
Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
Enjoy the ride. Remember that this is not Disney World and you certainly don't want a fast pass. Make the most of it and enjoy the ride.

Homemade Char Sau 叉烧

2009-10-21T13:40:00.007+08:00

Last Sat I had my second attempt on Homemade Char Sau using the Buffalo Smart Cooker. During the first attempt few months ago, the taste was ok but the Char Sau looked too MJ (not black enough) since the recipe did not mention putting in dark soy sauce and I followed strictly. But for this second attempt, I put in dark soy sauce and lots of it. And the results look more like Char Sau. Taste wise? I give myself two thumbs up!

What Is This ?

2009-10-19T10:37:00.011+08:00

Take a good look of these pics. Can you tell what this object is?

Floral? Coral?

A ball?

A type of durian?

The answer is ....

This is a tropical fruit available in Sabah called Buah Tarap (or Talap?). This fruit is especially found in Sabah only. It cannot be found in Peninsular Malaysia, and some said not in Sarawak too. It has a strong scent and tastes sweet. I believe this fruit is part of the Jackruit family. I asked around my Sabahan friends for its English names or Chinese names, but no one can tell me the answers.

Pic below shows the fruit is opened. The skin is covered by soft thorn-like spines and the flesh is whitish, somewhat similar to Jackfruit.

Pic below shows the core (on the left) and the seeds (on the right). The seeds are edible after boiling or roasting. I only know about this the next day from Ryn. I had already finished eating the whole Buah Tarap and throw away all the seeds. What a waste!

Tips for Marvelous Muffins

2009-10-17T17:09:00.008+08:00

Found some helpful links in making muffins. If you are a novice baker or like to bake muffins, these tips given are very informative. Please read on :

Raisins & Chocolate Chips Muffins

2009-10-17T15:58:00.005+08:00

After I tried to bake muffin for the first time last week, I found that making muffins is a lot easier than baking cakes. Not only less ingredients to prepare, the methods are much simpler and small serving (usually 6 to 12 muffins) which is just nice for my family size. I think I should focus on baking muffins, instead of trying out fancy cakes since I am still a beginner in baking.

For this week baking experiment, I selected the Raisins & Chocolate Chips Muffins, recipe from Happy Home Baking.

My results:

Look ok!

Taste ok too!

Ingredients:
(makes 8 muffins)
250g plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup raisins
1 egg, beaten
60g unsalted butter, melted
175ml milk
125g caster sugar

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 220°C (I followed one of tips stated in Food 4 Tots, i.e. start off the oven hot at 220°C then turn it down to the right temperature (200°C). This is to achieve the nice looking crunchy top. And it works!)
Melt butter in a saucepan, over low heat, set aside to cool.
Sieve together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a mixing bowl.
Add chocolate chips, raisins and mix with a spatula. Make a well in the centre.
Place egg, melted butter, milk and sugar in another bowl. Mix until thoroughly combined. (To cut down on washing up, I mixed these ingredients into the saucepan which I used to melt the butter).
Pour the liquid mixture into the flour. With the spatula, gently fold all the ingredients to form a wet batter. Just mix until the flour are incorporate into the batter. DO NOT Over mix.
Spoon batter into paper muffin cups. Bake for 20mins until muffins turn golden brown or a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Let cool on a wire rack.

DOM Raisin Cake

2009-10-16T08:51:00.010+08:00

I saw this DOM Raisin Cake recipe from the one of the Buffalo cookware newsletters. Looks like an interesting cake. Since I have a big bottle of DOM liquor, why not give it a try?

My results?

I expected my cake to look similar to this photo shown in the recipe. The cake looks browny with lots of raisins topping.

Freshly baked cake, still in the cooker. Hmm... my cake looks pale. And where are the raisins?

After take the cake out from the cooker, my cake looks like this ...
Brown sugar & raisins, where are you?

Cut the cake and see most raisins "sink" to the bottom of the cake. Texture of the cake looks not fluffy enough. It looks like a steamed cake texture rather than a baked cake.
How wonderful that I can use the Smart Cooker to "bake" cake which comes with a "steamed cake" texture. Haiya...

Definately not 100% successful cake. Border pass only. I personally do not really like it because of the texture. But it does come with a strong DOM aroma and can taste the DOM while eat the cake too. Anyway, my colleagues still thought it was a nice cake. Some of them thought it was a steamed cake! I will try to bake this cake again (since the big bottle of DOM still sits in my kitchen cabinet). I will make sure I beat the mixture long enough to get fluffy & smooth texture.

Ingredients:
Butter 250g
Brown sugar 100g
Self raising flour 250g
Eggs 5
Baking powder 1/2 tsp
DOM 150ml
Raisins 150g (soak overnight with DOM. I used 3 boxes of Ligo raisin.)

Methods:

Whisk the butter and brown sugar until mixture is even, light and fluffy.
Slowly add in eggs, one by one.
Add in baking powder and continue to beat until even.
Pour the soaked raisin into the mixture. Stir evenly.
Apply some butter on the inner pot of the Smart Cooker, pour in the cake mixture, select the "Cake" function (the cooker by default set the baking time as 45 minutes).

Healthy Tips:
Raisin is good for rectum's health improvement. It contains fiber and tartaric acid, which can accelerate human's excreta passing through the rectum. Meanwhile reduce contamination in the intestines.

Chocolate Walnut Muffins

2009-10-15T13:43:00.022+08:00

I found some muffins recipes from other blogs and think that muffins should be simple to make and the small serving is just nice for my family size. After shortlisted few recipes, I chose the "Chocolate Walnut Muffins" from Grace Kitchen Corner as my first ever homemade muffins. Furthermore, I have a pack of walnuts came all the way from Ireland :D It was given by my sister-in-law who came back to KK for holidays recently.

During preparation, I was confident that my first ever muffins would be VERY OK and the kids would love them. Simple job. After I put in the baking powder, I noticed that the mixture became very thick. Then I realised that actually I put in the WRONG amount of baking powder. The recipe asks for 1 TEASPOON of baking powder and I put in 1 TABLESPOON instead. OMG!!! Straight away my confidence level dropped to zero. I was wondering whether I should continue on to send the mixture to oven or thrown to the rubbish bin. Then I decided to safe my stupid mistake by putting in more milk. I did not even measure how much milk that I put it. I just poured and stopped when the mixtures became not so thick.

What is the used of baking powder? According to Wikipedia, "Baking powder is a dry chemical leavening agent used to increase the volume and lighten the texture of baked goods such as muffins, cakes, scones and North American biscuits." Oh no! Increase the volume, huh!?

My results?

Hey, not so bad looking, huh? Not only they look OK, they taste good also. I guess the Irish walnuts do make wonders. My boys finished 4 muffins and I gave away 2 for my part-time maid. What an experience and a lesson well learnt too. In future I MUST READ THE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY.

Recipes from Grace Kitchen Corner:
(to make 6 muffins)
Unsalted butter 50g
Caster Sugar 70g
Egg 1
Plain flour 85g (sieved plain flour, cocoa powder & baking powder)
Cocoa Powder 15g
Baking Powder 1 tsp
Pinch of Salt
Milk 60g
Walnut 60g (toasted and chopped)

Method:

Beat the butter with sugar until light & pale in color.
Add in egg then pinch of salt, beat until well combine.
Add half of the milk and half of the flour. Using a hand whisk mix until well combine.
Add in remaining milk and flour and mix well.
Combine walnut with the mixture. Fill the muffins cups. Bake at 170c preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Clumsy Novice Bakar In Action

2009-10-15T13:08:00.013+08:00

What happen when a clumsy novice learns how to bake?

She does not really know how to operate her new toy (a brand new oven).

She burnt her finger *ouch!* when tried to take the freshly baked cake out from the super hot oven. See the after effect:

She read the instructions wrongly. Supposed to put in 1 TEASPOON (tsp) of baking powder, she put in 1 TABLESPOON (tbsp) instead.
The cake was over baked and burnt!
Oh, and the worst part is - putting on weight!!!

I am sure the list will go on as I continue in the journey of baking :O

Chocolate Fondant

2009-10-15T09:36:00.018+08:00

This is the cake similar to the Chocolate Moist Cake sells in Fish & Co. The cake should be served while freshly baked from oven, with slight crunchy top & once you cut cake, the choc inside not fully cook and melts. Best serve with a scoop of ice cream. Hot cake + cold ice cream = YUMMY!

However I did not get the crunchy top. My friend who gave me the recipe commented that next time I should try to put higher temperature in the oven. So next time I will try to put 220c instead of 200c in the oven. Also, I will try to look for better quality chocolate. This recipe is truly for chocoholics like me.

Ingredients: (to make 4 ramekins)
100g butter
100g dark chocolate
100g plain flour
3 eggs
75g caster sugar

A similar recipe is available in one of my recipe books with the title "Baking 1 Step At A Time". The book's recipe is sweeter. I followed the earlier recipe instead of this one but I followed the methods stated in the book because it shows step-by-step instructions in photos, which is great for beginner like me.
Ingredients:
125g butter
125g chocolate
50g self raising flour
4 eggs
125 sugar

Method (as stated in the book "Baking 1 Step At A Time")

Melt butter and chocolate over low heat. Once the mixture is smooth, remove from heat.
Beat eggs with castor sugar until fluffy.
Pour melted butter+choc over the eggs and mix lightly using a ballon whisk.
Add flour in 3 lots, mix with spatula between each addition.
Fill up 4 ramekins.Bake at 220c for around 12 minutes or till the top layer of the cake is harden.

Notes:

Shake 1 ramekin while still in oven, the centre should barely wobble. Cooking time will depend on size and thickness of dishes.
Can prepare this dessert in advance. Cover each filled ramekin in cling film and place in fridge until ready to cook. Remove cling film when ready to bake and can be baked straight from fridge.

Ho Chiak Penang Food

2009-10-08T15:08:00.031+08:00

Penang is a food paradise. You can find so many different types of hawker food there. Cheap and yet tasty. Let me show you some of the hawker food you can find in Penang.

Assam Laksa 叻沙


Hokkien Mee 福建面


Dry Hokkien Mee 干福建面

Yam Rice 芋头饭 + 猪杂咸菜汤


Kuey Teow Soup 粿条汤

Koay Chap 粿杂

Charcoal fried Char Koay Teow with duck egg 鸭蛋炒粿条

Mee Jawa爪哇面

Mee Rebus 印度面

Wantan mee 云吞面

Lo mee 卤面

Teo Chew Fried Noodles 潮洲炒面

Curry Mee 加哩面

Mee Sua Soup 面线

mi tai mak 米台目

Chu Cheong Fun 猪肠粉

Singapore Popiah 新加坡薄饼　

Popiah 薄饼


Fried Oyster 蠔煎

Cuttlefish with Convolvulus 鱿鱼雍菜

Octopus 八爪鱼

Rojak

Chai Kueh 菜粿

Fried Chai Kueh 煎菜粿　

Apom

Putuh mayong

mua chee 蔴芝

Ice Kacang / ABC 红豆冰


Dessert 四果汤

Desser 清补凉

Cendol

Live Like We're Dying

2009-10-08T11:54:00.008+08:00

Kris Allen is the winner of Season 8 (year 2009) American Idol. He is cute, isn't it? BTW, he is married. His debut album is due out on 17th Nov. His single "Live Like We're Dying" (what a strong song title!) is a up-tempo pop/rock track. I personally like this track very much. I hope he can achieve a huge success in the music industry. Check out the meaningful lyrics. BTW, do you realise we have 86,400 seconds in a day? :)

Lyrics: Live Like We're Dying
Singer: Kris Allen

Sometimes we fall down and can’t get back up
We’re hiding behind skin that’s too tough
How come we don’t say I love you enough
Till it’s to late, it’s not too late

Our hearts are hungry for a food that won’t come
We could make a feast from these crumbs
And we’re all staring down the barrel of a gun
So if your life flashed before you
What would you wish you would’ve done

Yeah… gotta start
Lookin at the hand of the time we’ve been given here
This is all we got and we gotta start pickin it
Every second counts on a clock that’s tickin’
Gotta live like we’re dying

We only got
86 400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or throw it all away
We gotta tell ‘em that we love ‘em
While we got the chance to say
Gotta live like we’re dying

And if your plane fell out of the skies
Who would you call with your last goodbyes
Should be so careful who we live out our lives
So when we long for absolution
There’ll no one on the line

Yeah… gotta start
Lookin at the hand of the time we’ve been given here
This is all we got and we gotta start pickin it
Every second counts on a clock that’s tickin’
Gotta live like we’re dying

We only got
86 400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or throw it all away
We gotta tell ‘em that we love ‘em
While we got the chance to say
Gotta live like we’re dying

Like we’re dying oh - like we’re dying [x2]

We only got
86 400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or throw it all away
We gotta tell ‘em that we love ‘em
While we got the chance to say
Gotta live - like we’re dying

We never know a good thing till it’s gone
You never see a crash until it’s head on
All those people right when we’re dead wrong
You never know a good thing till it’s gone

Yeah… gotta start
Lookin at the hand of the time we’ve been given here
This is all we got and we gotta start livin it
Every second counts on a clock that’s tickin’
Gotta live like we’re dying

We only got
86 400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or throw it all away
We gotta tell ‘em that we love ‘em
While we got the chance to say
Gotta live like we’re dying

Like we’re dying oh - like we’re dying [x2]

We only got
86 400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or throw it all away
We gotta tell ‘em that we love ‘em
While we got the chance to say
Gotta live like we’re dying
Live like we’re dying

Mini Pizza

2009-10-06T14:07:00.011+08:00

I bought 2 mini pizza bases from Consfood and tried out a home made pizzas for the first time.

Ingredients:
Ready made pizza bases
Prego tomata based pasta sauce
Red, yellow & green capsicums
Sausages
Mushrooms
Mozzarella cheese

What did my kids think?

Mommy did not ask them to pose like that :D

Cheese Sponge Cake

2009-10-05T16:26:00.012+08:00

2 weeks ago i baked a Cheese Sponge Cake using the Buffalo Smart Cooker. Simple & straight forward steps. What a big cake! It was quite big serving for a small family like mine. Don't know why my kids refused to eat them *doink* I had to give away half to friends. Next time i should try half all the ingredients and get a smaller cake.

Look at the texture! Soft & spongy. Yummy!

Horlicks Doggies Cookies

2009-10-05T13:00:00.026+08:00

This is my first attempt in baking cookies. I found this recipe from Happy Home Baking (in English) and ohbin (in Chinese). When i first saw the recipe, i think it looks simple and should be manageable for a first timer. It was quite time consuming to do the decoration, especially the eyes (using the tiny little chocolate chips!) Ended up some doggies look horrible, some have missing ears or noses etc. Nevertheless, the cookies taste great. My kids love them. This recipe is great for kids party too. That gonna make me a popular mom

After baked:

Here is the recipe (from Happy Home Baking):

Ingredients:
(makes about 48 cookies)
180g butter, soften at room temperature
80g Horlicks (original flavour)
200g top flour or cake flour
25g corn flour
25g milk powder
100g chocolate chips
some chocolate rice
some Koko Krunch

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 140deg C. Line baking tray with baking paper and set aside.
Sieve top flour, corn flour and milk powder.
Cream butter and Horlicks for about three minutes at low speed. Do not overbeat.
Put in top flour, cornflour and milk powder and beat for about one minute to form dough.
Divide dough into 10g each. Put three chocolate chips into each piece of dough and roll into balls.
Insert two pieces of Koko Krunch to form the 'ears', chocolate rice for the "eyes", and a chocolate chip in the centre for the 'nose'.
Bake at 140 deg C for about 25 minutes. Depending on your oven, it may take another 5 to 10 minutes more for the cookies to be ready.
Leave to cool on wire rack before storing in an airtight container.