boxing day 2016

kj is so sweet

im on a le creuset craze now and i lamented to hubs that we do not have a teapot! how do i make tea?

kj says " zhe yang xi huan le creuset, mai le creuset lah"

awwwww....isnt he sweet!

he says "always le creuset le creuset "-_-'''

but he said it so kindly and lovingly that i am taking it positively.

i have been shopping (online/ at home) and kids are all ears even when they are doing their things! dang!
it is a topic of discussion with hubs so kj knows what is my current interest. *shy*

quick and simple meal for lunch today, while mummy shop a wee bit boxing day!

who can resist ? right?!?!

i did the fried rice on the le creuset skillet but it got a little messy so i quickly transfer into my old tefal.

baked beans with tomato!

cooked in the skillet 26cm and transfer into the flower casserole to serve :D

i missed the date of winter solstice this year! when i got to know , it was on that morning! when i came home from work, i ransacked the fridge and find that i have all kinds of flour except glutinuous rice flour. :(

kj mentioned about tang yuen a couple of times and i reminded myself to do it this morning.

red bean dessert was cooked in my new toy in the kitchen, noxxa pressure cooker!
i soaked the red bean for a couple of hours, until it got puffy, and cooked for 30mins in the pressure cooker.
it wasnt soft and mushy as expected.
i still need to experiment further.

previously i would cook my beans in my slow cooker, and without needing to soak the beans, they come out perfectly soft and thick.

if any of you come across any blogs on the pressure cooker, do drop me a msg!
many thanks

anchor butter

if you are into Good Health,

use Anchor Butter.

for everything, baking or cooking

it is grass-fed butter

we are lucky Anchor Butter can be commonly found in our grocery stores ;)

although it is almost double the price of Buttercup.

buttercup 250g RM5
Anchor 227g RM8

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/grass-fed-butter/#axzz35u99RjjZ

http://www.foodrenegade.com/where-find-butter-from-grassfed-cows/

http://thedelicioustruth.blogspot.com/2008/07/real-butter.html

http://authoritynutrition.com/grass-fed-butter-superfood-for-the-heart/

smooth homemade yogurt

I am proud to announce that i have mastered how to make yogurt, the no frills way!

and i will be sharing it here.

if you do not follow my instructions closely, u will sometimes succeed, or if you succeed, you will get gritty yogurt like i used to get :p

i never knew that i could make a completely smooth yogurt.

i thought homemade yogurt is ugly and gritty sometimes.

imagine what we have been consuming prior to this ;)

when it gets too gritty, we throw away sometimes. HEHE

 smooth aren't they?

pardon my lousy camera

soooo smooth and creamy! :D

let me rant a little but before i spill the methods :p

I've had a yogurt maker given by my dear friends, but i do not need to use it anymore now.

remember i said no-frill method?

i read that we can add some milk powder to thicken the yogurt. well, not anymore now, i don't need them.

i used to make them in the thermomix because it has temperature control, but not anymore, i don't need to make using the thermomix.

our thermomix is a heavy work horse in our kitchen so it is good if i can let it rest for a while ;P

ok,here goes!

how to make yogurt successfully!

1 tbs sugar

1L fresh milk/ UHT milk

1tbs yogurt starter (plain yogurt)

1. heat up the milk in a pot. make sure u stand there and wait till bubbles forming at the sides. once u see bubbles forming, and if bubbles begin to form in the middle of the pot. off the fire.

do not over boil.

2. cool the milk, until it is warm to dip your finger in. (takes about an hour? depending on the environment/weather)

3. transfer the milk into glass jar / high heat plastic container. Stir in the sugar (food for the microbes ) and yogurt starter.

4. set aside. put in a quiet corner, warmest part of the kitchen. or if my oven is not in-use, i'll put it inside the oven.

5. after 12 hours, or less if it is a hot day, check if it has set. store in fridge.

DONE!

i used to boil my yogurt on stove and do other things , busy mums like me need to multi-task :p but too bad, to get thick smooth yogurt, i need to hang around the stove and check on the milk ;)

best to make yogurt at night.

incubate at night where there is less activity in the kitchen.

okay, now if you want to make cheese yogurt, (yum! i add it into salads /make dips)

pour the yogurt into a cloth strainer before refrigerating,

position a bowl / container to collect the whey at the bottom.

you can still strain after refrigeration but maybe it would take a longer time to separate.

Note: utensils and containers must all be clean, without oil.

keep the whey in the fridge.

can use it to make cakes/cookies, add into smoothies and etc.

how to use whey, and this

yogurt whey nutrition

yogurt > greek yogurt > yogurt cheese (if you strain further)

i make my yogurt at night, next morning i strain it and go to work.

by lunch time i'll get yogurt cheese.

if u want greek yogurt, u can pour a little whey back into it and stir.

 never fails!

keep a few spoonfuls of the yogurt so that it could be used as a starter for the next batch.

some claim that u can't recycle too many times. some shared that we can. i don't know, I've recycled 3 times, will experiment further.

how to select UHT milk

UHT milk!

we always have UHT milk as back up in our kitchen.

sometimes we can be lazy and not get fresh milk from supermarket so at least we still have continuous supply of milk.

*kj is still not quite keen on drinking nut milk neat*

read the label.

ingredients: fresh milk and nothing else.

no additives.

if you check out the label of Dutch lady for example. it says emulsifiers.

or solidified milk something like that. that means it came from milk powder.

ingredient: fresh cow's milk

it also made me think, what if they omit the other ingredients?

since now everyone is getting smarter, we are reading the labels. so how do we know if they are printing the truth?

right?

thermomix tzatziki cucumber yogurt dip

tzatziki sauce - greek cucumber yogurt dip

tastes good!

whiz this to make patty

Mc Cormick

im suppose to attach the recipe here,

because sharing is caring :)

but I'm just too lazy. since the photos have been kept here for years,

i shall just post them.

Chrysanthemum tea

brew your own chrysanthemum tea.

look at my face you'll know i dont drink those boxed chrysanthemum tea. :p

Chrysanthemum tea acts as a natural coolant and has been talked about in the ancient Chinese medicinal science.  A person will benefit a lot by having Chrysanthemum tea every day.

From Bewell

Cool anger, anxiety, stress and more with chrysanthemum tea. Source

arent they beautiful?

get a big pot, fill with water and boil.

meanwhile, soak and rinse the flower a couple of times to get rid of sand and dirt.

i managed to fish out one BEE amongst them.

when the water is boiling, drop the flowers into the pot.
simmer for a few minutes , until the water turns yellow and fragrant.
stir in some rock sugar.
i omit the sugar.

KJ prefers it with some sugar of course.

adding too much flowers will make the tea bitter.

i prefer to make the drink thick, and dilute with water later on.

i prepared this drink when i was pregnant earlier on.

so i did not drink, although the smell was really tempting.

the fragrance of the flower and the tea. mmmmhhh

the benefits are aplenty, really.

i wouldnt know if i did not google.

can be used for heat rash, aid digestion, blood pressure, improved visions and etc.

　Incidentally, do not think white chrysanthemum flowers and great talent for the top grade, the truth is the opposite, the original flowers smaller, more ugly appearance, color and pan-old yellow is the top grade. Source

seriously, I'm not a pro. and i dont have a regular Herb shop so i'll just trust them.

each time i walk in, i'll ask for the top grades no doubt.

Granulated Mushroom Bouillon

 granulated mushroom bouillon

100% vegetarian

extracted from 100% wild mushroom.

natural seasoning?

i have no idea.

but yeah, we are using this in our kitchen.

i hardly use this seasoning powder.

i either have the dish bland or i'd use my own chicken/beef/pork stocks.

im those type who is also sceptical in using oyster sauce.

im a minimalist.

i either cook with fresh produce, or none at all.

so sometimes my food might come out unflavourful, but atleast i know they are healthy :p

so yes, chef leong is the one using this.

if u add this to your noodle, my goodness, it tastes exactly like your store bought instant noodle!

-_______-

because one day he served a bowl of mee and i was like...huh?why did u use the instant noodle's flavoring i asked.

he says nope, he did not.

he uses the mushroom powder.

i see...

is this a healthier alternative to ajinamoto?

or to the knorrs or maggi cube stocks?

this is debatable

;)

fresh salmon for omega

FRESH SALMON!

bought one whole fish of 4.75kg.

paid RM218.50!

 one slab for lunch today

can even eat as sashimi!

 big mistake.

i thought we were going to pan fry or grill so i asked him to cut this way.

argh.

next time i should ask him to fillet (i think most people fillet since he asked if i want to fillet the fish).

they cut so thick! i had difficulty slicing this slab into 3.

got stuck at the middle bone.

next time, we can de-skin the fish and deep dry it!

oh man! DELICIOUS!!

like keropok, i hope kj would eat it!

all the healthy fats!

alpha omega 3 and what not!

i was told salmon has alpha omega and flaxseed has gamma.

so kj needs all the fatty acids!

and get the bones for bone broth!

i can already imagine all the goodness from the entire fish!

 lazy to take out the grill pan.

so just pan fry on tefal pan.

seasoned with salt and pepper.

i ordered for a medium done!

gah.

chef insisted it was MEDIUM.

-_____-

looks entirely cooked to me.

hehe

anyway, the skin was yummmmmy! although not crunchy like those u get in japanese restaurants, it does not have any fishy taste at all!!!

it was creaaaamy!

well, i freeze the rest.

what to do?

:)

if it wasnt for KJ, we wouldnt get to eat this!

we tumpang-ed !

:D

extra reading:

Is farm-raised salmon as healthy as wild?

edition 8/9/13:

i defrost another bigger slab this morning.

just placed it on a plate on the kitchen counter.

after a few hours, the entire slab was soft.

chef cooked it medium done and they were fabulous!

correction: i should mentioned i bought CHILLED salmon, instead of fresh salmon. to clear some confusion.

green-skinned banana

have u seen green bananas?

oh obviously u have.


but look! it is ripe inside!



the flesh is sweet and soft and it has ripen. albeit still wearing a green skin.

i have never seen this ever before in the west.

living in the east has given me vast tongue-tasting experience.

kek batik or marie biscuit cake

there are many variations of this cake. seriously, u'll have a big headache contemplating which one to follow. so i follow my heart. i adapt from here and there.

recipe 1

recipe 2

recipe 3

INGREDIENTS:
100g milo
25g cocoa powder
125ml boiling water
190g butter
sweetened condensed milk (i do not measure, i pour until the sweetness level is to my liking)
5 eggs, lightly beaten
250g Marie biscuits ( 1 whole packet )

vanilla essence ( i don't remember if i put this )

some recipes stated sugar but i decided to omit it. our sweetness level is quite low ;)



small marie biscuit. RM 2.30/ packet



butter : wood dunn brand! I've never noticed this in the West. some blogs vouched for this butter!

err, we don't have much preference for this. somehow, i still prefer Anchor ;)




Steps:

1. melt the butter in the wok.

2. add in milo, cocoa powder, boiling water and egg into it. stir.

3. pour in sweetened condensed milk.




4. stir until the mixture becomes thick or custard-like.

5. turn off the heat. add in the biscuits. some recipes suggested to break the biscuits into smaller pieces/ halve them but i did not. i threw them in whole. Mix them until all the biscuits are coated.



6. transfer them to a mould and press/compress the batter.

7. cool it and refrigerate it, until like 4-5 hours or so? minimum.



8. bring out from the fridge, over turn the mould and u'll get the cake! slice it and voila!

truly simple eh?

i started goggling for this recipe because there was once when dh took home 6 cans of condensed milk! hence i have to think of ways to get rid of it before it hits the expiry date!

smart right? ;P

our food

strawberry and something juice!

forgot what was the other fruit

he didn't want to eat the strawberry whole fruit so i had to juice it.

i don't quite fancy giving him juices as i prefer him to eat it whole.

chocolate muffin

this is delicious!!!

get this brand!

it was given to me by a colleague.

Marina Beef Balls.

it has beefy smell! tastes beefy!

should be original! unlike some balls which can lack of taste and texture.

am i using the correct terms?

ehee

ultra simple meal!

we eat for the sake of HAVING-TO-EAT.

the shifts are giving me a wee bit of an irregular meal times.