~ Frosted Cranberry Orange Cut-out Cookies

Modified from:
Allrecipes

Ingredients:
225 g butter, softened
125 g icing sugar
310 g cake flour 
3 tbsp milk
0.5 tsp vanilla essence
0.5 tsp orange essence
2 tbsp chopped dried cranberries
1.5 tbsp orange rind

125 g icing sugar
2 tbsp orange juice
0.5 tsp vanilla essence
0.25 tsp orange essence

Steps:
1) Cream butter with sugar.
2) Mix in milk, essences, cranberries and orange rind.
3) Fold in the flour, 1/3 at a time. Add till a pliable dough is formed.
4) Roll into desired thickness and bake at 170 deg C to brown, approximately 10 min for 1.5"x1.5"x0.25" cookies. 
5) Combine icing sugar, orange juice and essences to form a smooth liquid and frost cooled cookies.

Remarks:
I couldn't form the dough after dumping in all the flour, so I added more till I could get a pliable dough. Think it took like another 150-200 g of cake flour to get it right! Probably some people might want to freeze the dough instead of adding more flour, but since I'm lazy, I'll just add more flour to save the hassle of freezing my dough. This step somehow didn't thwart the cookies which turned out crispy on the outside and slightly cake-like on the inside. Here's a tip: To prevent the cookies from spreading, I put my cut-outs in the fridge before baking and used cool baking trays.

The cookies themselves aren't really sweet, since icing sugar is used. With the frosting, things just got sweeter and livelier (that's what I think). And one can't really go wrong with the combination of cranberries and orange isn't it? They complement each other on their appearance and taste, yummy! 

The adorable shape makes each cookie more appealing doesn't it? I got the Doraemon cookie cutter (review) on Ebay at USD $2.65, or alternatively, you can get one here at $7.50.

~ Strawberry Milkshake

Taken from:
Tiffany's! 

Ingredients (serves 2):
200g strawberries
1/2 C milk
4 tsp sweetener (I used lactulose =x)
1/2 C ice

Remarks: 
Blend all together for a refreshing strawberry juice! Yes juice, not milkshake! I could barely taste the milk =( Perhaps a substitution with creamer and less ice to save the drink?

For those who are clueless to what lactulose is, it is a laxative that is really sweet. It is not absorbed by the body and helps to retain water in the bowels, therefore softening the stools. Very good for the slightly-constipated me!

"I'm a good strawberry-shaped fishy, and I'm too adorable to be eaten!"

~ Cheesy Broccoli Oatmeal Soup

Taken from:
Tiffany's! 


Ingredients (serves 2):
240 g broccoli, chopped and steamed
1 tomato, chopped and steamed
1/4 to 1/2 C instant oats
1 C milk
1-2 slices processed cheese

Directions: 
1) Place broccoli, tomato, oats and milk into a pot and bring to boil. Simmer for 5-10 min.
2) Blend till smooth or to desired texture.
3) Pour into bowls and garnish with cheese. Serve hot.


Remarks: 
Ahh I lost the pictures!!!


After the completion of my final year project (FYP), I seem to regain my interest in destroying Mum's kitchen =p  

Here's to good health, and no more FYP!

~ Crimson Oil-Free Mushroom Soup (with Collagen)

Taken from:
Tiffany's! 


Ingredients (serves 1-2):
1 small tomato, cut into chunks
1 carrot, cut into chunks
1/4 red capsicum, cut into chunks
150 g oyster mushrooms
2 tbsp pasta sauce
1 tbsp collagen powder
1 tsp chopped green onions/scallions

Directions: 
1) Place tomato and carrot chunks into a pot and add sufficient water to cover them. Bring to boil and simmer for 10 min, or till carrots are soft.
2) Add in red capsicum and mushroom, to cook for 5 min.
3) Stir in pasta sauce, collagen powder and green onions, and simmer till bubbly. 
4) Season with salt and pepper if desired, and serve.


Remarks: 
Ahh I lost the pictures!!!


Oh dear, this soup gave my olfactory system the jimjams when the pungency of the oyster mushroom clashed head-on with the sharp smell of the red capsicum. Eww what a horrendous malodorous smell! The pasta sauce was truly a saviour, melding the two adversaries together, and the soup turned out pretty awesome! For my palate, that is. =) 

The mushrooms lent an interesting chewiness, the carrots a sweet goodness, the capsicums a stimulatory kick, the tomatoes a tangy zing, the pasta sauce an Italian flavour and the green onions an Asian slant. An excellent medley of ingredients for a healthy crimson soup!

For those who like a faster way of doing things, dump all the veggies into the pot and boil away! The reason for having step 2 is to prevent the red capsicum and mushroom from becoming too mushy to add texture, and also to limit the amount of water (based on volume) added in step 1. 

Regarding the addition of collagen powder, the collagen powder advocates will either 1) nod their heads in approval or 2) gawk in horror, depending on how they see it. Boosting the soup with collagen gets a pat on the back, but stirring vitamin C-fortified gelatin into hot steaming soup turns the table around. Oh well, that's why adding the collagen powder is optional (if you happen to have it).

~ Thick Easy Oil-free Mushroom Soup

Taken from:
Tiffany's! 

Ingredients (serves 2-3):
200 g portobello mushrooms, 1/4 chopped into chunks, rest sliced
50 g oyster mushrooms
6 tbsp + 6 tbsp water (180 ml total)
2 tbsp flour
6 tbsp + 2 tbsp low fat-milk (120 ml total)
1 tsp soy sauce

Directions: 
1) Boil diced mushrooms in 6 tbsp water for 5 - 10 min in a pot. Remove mushrooms and set aside.
2) Add in the rest of the mushrooms and remaining water, boil and simmer till mushrooms are soft, around 15 min.
3) Increase heat, stir in 2 tbsp flour, and mix well to cook. Break up any large lumps with the back of a spoon.
4) Mix in 6 tbsp milk and soy sauce, and cook till bubbly. Simmer for 5 - 10 min and stir constantly to prevent burning of milk.
5) Pour the mixture into a blender and blend to desired consistency.
6) Return the soup into the pot, and rinse out residual soup from the blender with 2 tbsp of milk. Add in diced mushrooms and cook till bubbly.
7) Season with salt and pepper if desired before serving.
OR
1) Boil all mushrooms in 12 tbsp water for 15 min.
2) Mix in 2 tbsp of flour and cook till pasty.
3) Stir in 8 tbsp of milk and 1 tsp soy sauce, and simmer for 5 - 10 min.
4) Blend the soup till desired consistency, and serve with salt and pepper.

Remarks: 
Ahh I lost the pictures!!!

Attributed to the generous serving of mushrooms, the resultant soup was extremely thick, and some watering down with water/milk might do some good. Avoid over-blending and use chunky mushrooms, as the mushrooms got sort of mushy for my soup. Feel free to experiment with any type of mushroom. I might exclude the soy sauce next time around, which proved to be too overpowering. After slurping the last drop, I found the soup surprising filling - good for an afternoon lunch!