~ Wholemeal Banana Cake

Taken from:
Happyhomebaking

Description:
Banana cake~

Ingredients:

70g unsalted butter, softened
30g brown sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
200 g mashed banana (2 large bananas)
1 tsp vanilla extract

45g wholemeal flour
135g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
Sliced banana

Granulated sugar

Directions

1) Sift together plain flour, baking powder and baking soda, set aside.
2) Whisk butter and sugar at low speed till the mixture turns pale and fluffy.
3) Dribble in beaten egg while whisking at low speed. (Add a little flour to the mixture if it appears to curdle.)
4) Stir in mashed banana and vanilla extract with a spatula.
5) Fold in wholemeal flour and the flour mixture and mix with spatula.
6) Spoon mixture into a greased and lined 3" x 7" loaf pan, and smooth the surface with the spatula.
7) Arrange banana slices on top and sprinkle with sugar.
8) Bake in a preheated oven at 180 deg for 45 mins or until skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. (Cover the top with foil if it start to get overly brown before the baking time is up.) Stand cake in pan for 5 min, unmold and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Remarks:
Despite occupying a small fraction of dry components, the wholewheat flour in the batter presented a distinctive nutty flavour, and this is without compromising much moisture in the cake. Since I didn't want to open another 500 g packet of wholewheat flour for just 45 g, I substituted with flour, which probably made the cake not as crumbly as that of what the source described.

While preparing the batter, I realised that the step to use flour to prevent curdling doesn't make sense. If the batter curdles, an emulsifying agent like milk should be added, is it not? Even so with my doubts, I continued using flour as instructed so any defect in the end-product is linked to the recipe and not my indiscriminate use of substitutions. Smart eh? =x

My acuity didn't last long when I placed the banana slices at the bottom of the pan instead of on top of the batter. What exactly was I thinking of then? An upside-down banana cake? That wasn't my intention, for I don't believe that the small number of mushy banana slices could hold the weight of the cake, and indeed, I was right. The cake around the banana was soggy too. (mouse over the pictures at top and bottom of this paragraph for comments from the horses' mouths)

I had baked the cake in a round bundt pan too:

The taste of bananas didn't stand out and it felt as though I was consuming a butter cake with minimal sweetness. I had to drizzle lemon glaze (milk, lemon juice and enough icing sugar to make a paste) over the cake to make it more palatable. Nevertheless, the cake being soft and and cake-like certainly hit me as a surprise.

Well all in all the cake wasn't impressive at all. And fortunately, it's not my fault this time!

~ Beetroot and Plum Salad

Tossed some pickled beetroot cubes, plum wedges, whole cherry tomatoes, sliced olives, grated carrot and torn lettuce together to yield this pretty roseate salad this morning! =) Fortunately, it didn't give me gas during the day.

Yesterday, I picked up a sample for ZA's new foundation which comes in 8 different shades to suit nearly all Asian skin colours. I haven't really tried it yet, but I'm impressed at the design and packaging a sample pack:

There's even a mini square sponge that comes with the sample!

Oh ya, I bet you can't find such signs anywhere in the world except for Singapore:

~ Sweet Breakfast Couscous

Taken from:
Wheatfoods.org

Description:
Sweet milky couscous with raisins and carrots~

Ingredients:

3/4 C milk

3 tbsp raisins (or 1 small pack 42.5g) 

1/2 C couscous

1/2 carrot, grated

Honey (optional)

Directions

1) Heat up milk with raisins, and pour over couscous in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap for 5 min, and fluff couscous with a fork.
2) Toss with carrots, and drizzle with honey.

Remarks:
When I first got my hands on a packet of couscous, I was at a loss.. what should I do with 500 g of couscous before the grains start betraying the fine print (dd/mm/yy) on the package? Apart from assembling salads, what else? I'm sure most of my Asian counterparts would be scratching their heads like I did. 

Never fear, the internet is here! The first few pages of search for "couscous recipes" would most probably compound to your headache like it did for me. I wanted a change from the usual savoury aspect of couscous, and one that would be apt for breakfast. So I tried some key words and wa-lah, I found what I needed - breakfast couscous!

The couscous presented with the richness of milk, and this was followed by a sweet touch  the raisins and carrots. Pretty much like oatmeal, what bliss~<3.

Since I was in the mood for food-whoring today, I made an effort to adorn my breakfast.

Wouldn't you stay for dessert mi lovely?

~ Almond Biscuit Thins

Taken from:
Ellie's Kitchen Wench

Description:
Thin crispy cookies with almonds~

Ingredients:

100 g caster sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
150 g flour
75 g whole almonds

Directions

1) Beat sugar and egg till thick, creamy and pale. Stir in vanilla extract.
2) Add the flour and almonds and mix till well combined to get a dough.
3) Divide and shape dough into 2 logs. Place on a well-greased baking tin.
4) Bake in preheated oven at 170 deg for 20 - 25 min or till lightly coloured, firm to the touch and cooked through. Remove from the oven and completely cool down.
5) Using a serrated knife, slice the logs diagonally into 3mm thick slices. Place the slices in a single layer on a baking tray and bake for 15 - 20 mins at 140 deg, or till they are golden and crisp. Cool before storage.

Remarks:
It's my habit to just jot down the gist of each recipe, omitting loads of steps and using illegible shorthand language, and this holds true for this recipe too. After mixing in the flour and almonds, I was literally in a state of wonderment, thinking how the recipe owner managed to handle such a wet and sticky dough without oil or more flour. So without further-ado, I reached out for the vegetable oil to oil my hands, and shaped my wet dough into two amorphic logs.

As I sit back after placing the logs in the oven and review the site where the recipe originated from, I found the reason for my blunder experienced previously: "3) Turn the mixture onto a lightly floured surface and knead till smooth." Oh dear, I had unknowingly filtered this important information out! 

Heart-racing, I went to take a look at the two petite (still amorphic though) logs basking in the moderately-heated oven, looking ever so innocent and chaste as any dough should be. *sigh* These biscuits would probably deal a great blow to my ego (battered and hurt by unkind remarks over and over again) again.

Fortunately, the cookies weren't that bad. Crunchy, sweet with a slight touch of almonds. The only qualms I have with them was that they tasted just like sugar cookies and couldn't be sliced to my desired thinness. It was quite tough to slice the logs diagonally since the crust of each log became too crusty to be sliced through easily, so I had opted the easier way out by slicing them vertically and thickly. Not so wafer-thin now! Those thicker ones were tough as rocks, but the thin ones were fantastic! I shall make a mental note to not over-bake the logs till golden-brown.

These biscotti-like biscuits make a great of accompaniment to hi-tea. Fill up a jar of them..

.. and soon, you'll be left with none:

Dad came home with a enchanting pack of artisan chocolates from Jewels. I really love their presentation:

And innovation in coming up with Chinese New Year-related versions of sweets (wintermelon seed rocher and orangette): 

I haven't really tried them since I was too saturated with my biscuits. I'm not sure if we share the same sentiments, but they sure seemed enticing to me.

~ Spicy Baked Breaded Chicken Fillets

Taken from:
-

Description:
Chicken fillets with a coat of crunch and spice~

Ingredients:

2 pieces of wholewheat bread

1 tsp chilli flakes

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

300 g chicken fillets (approximately 7 pieces)

1/2 C flour

1 egg 

Oil

Directions

1) Dry bread in the oven at 100 deg for 10 - 15 min each on both sides. Cool bread slices.
2) Place bread into a ziplock bag, squeeze out the air before sealing, and crumble with a rolling pin. Season with chilli flakes, salt and pepper.
3) Dry chicken fillet on kitchen towel, coat in flour and dip in egg. Coat the fillet with the breadcrumbs, and arrange onto a well-greased baking tin.
4) Bake at 200 deg for 35 - 40 min, or till browned.

Remarks:
"Oven-frying" is a better way to save calories, and spare yourself from harmful radicals caused by overheated oil. In this instance, chicken fillets are coated sequentially in flour, egg and seasoned bread crumbs, and then baked in an oven with minimal oil (relatively to deep-frying) to achieve a gastronomical dining experience. As you sink your teeth into each fillet, the tender white meat of chicken that lies below the crunchy coat of seasoned bread crumbs bursts with flavours, leaving you spellbound to its splendor.. Oh alright, I'm just being too dramatic.

Now back to Earth, the whole wheat bread crumbs added a robust taste to the chicken and yes, the fillets were really crunchy as I've described earlier on. However, I felt that the chicken fillet should have been marinated in some sauce before being coated and baked, as the meat was pretty bland. It just felt like all the flavours were concentrated on the exterior coat, and the interior meat was just.. chicken-y.

I find it interesting to see that various ways of food presentation can invoke different feelings. I would always try to make my food as appetizing as possible, but today, it seemed that I have taken a picture which didn't make me feel too anxious to have my chicken. Definitely not for the faint-hearted:

Does the next picture do kindness to your eyes more?

~ Oregano Tomato Pasta

Taken from:
-

Description:
Fast and quick dinner fix~

Ingredients:

2 tsp oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic

3 small tomatoes, chopped

170 g tomato paste 

150 g golden mushroom

200 ml chicken broth (1/4 11 g cube in 200 ml water)

1 tbsp dried oregano

Pepper and salt
200 g wholewheat pasta, cooked till al dente

Directions

1) Heat up oil in a saucepan and sauteed onion and garlic till slightly browned. Add in oregano flakes.
2) Stir in tomatoes, paste and mushroom. Heat till bubbly.
3) Stir in chicken broth, bring to boil and simmer for 5 min. Season with pepper and salt.
4) Serve over pasta.

Remarks:
As stated, fast and quick! I found the sauce really sweet, but I'm not very sure if the can of tomato paste was the reason for it. Usually I see recipes putting just one or two tbsp of tomato paste, but I added the whole can so that I didn't have to keep any of the extra. Because of this, the sauce was really really thick, do thin down with some water if you like.

I garnished my pasta with some sliced olives, and paired it with spicy baked breaded chicken:

I would recommend cutting up the chicken fillet for easy and refined dining, unless you have a knife on hand or that you do not mind eating as boorishly as I do. =p

~ Limpets Stroganoff

Taken from:
Allrecipes.com

Description:
Rich stroganoff with chewy limpets and mushrooms~

Ingredients:

110 g fettucine, cooked till al dente
1 1/2 tbsp butter
1 small onion
200 g limpets, cut into chunks or sliced
50 g golden mushrooms
3/4 C chicken broth (1/4 11g stock cube in 180 ml water)
3/4 C milk
1 1/2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1) Melt butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add onion, and cook, stirring until softened. Turn the heat up to medium-high, and add limpets and golden mushroom. Cook until the limpets are browned. Remove to a bowl, and set aside.
2) In the same skillet, stir in chicken broth, being sure to stir in any browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil, and cook until the mixture has reduced by 1/3. Reduce heat to low, and return the mushrooms and onion to the skillet.
3) Remove the pan from the heat, stir together the milk and flour; then blend into the mushrooms. Return the skillet to the burner, and continue cooking over low heat, just until the sauce thickens. Stir in the parsley, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
4) Serve over cooked fettuccine.

Remarks:
I didn't know that I am allergic to limpets, which gave me very bad hives! I had to get a steroid and antihistamine jab from the doctor (a whopping $91 dollars in total), and fortunately that cleared my rashes really quick. I did a quick search on the net and found out that according to Auckland Allergy Clinic, limpets have heat-stable allergens which are released only when cooked. Well, no everyone gets such seafood allergies. What luck, how can I enjoy my abalone and escargots now?

Oh ya, back to the dish, it's really good and appetising.. Even Mum, after stuffing herself with 6 slices of bread, found it delectable. Since I had reduced my chicken broth to less than what the recipe called for, the sauce was just sufficient to coat each fettucine strand but not drench the whole dish in creamy goodness. Give this quick entree a try, but substitute the limpets with something else that doesn't produce heat-stable allergens =x

~ Assorted Fried Vermicelli

No this isn't any traditional Chinese New Year dish, I just felt like having bee hoon today! Just tossed everything into the wok and stir-fried them with loads of condiments and love!

Ingredients used:  vermicelli, China wongbok, dried shiitake mushrooms, ham, garlic, carrot, fish cake, sotong balls, soysauce, chicken stock, pepper.

~ Rooibos Chickpea Couscous

Taken from:
Alive.com

Description:
Rooibos tea-infused couscous with a Mediterranean touch~

Ingredients:

1/2 C (100g) couscous

125 ml hot Rooibos green tea

1/2 can (15.5 oz) garbanzo beans, drained

1/2 C chopped tomatoes
5 olives, pitted and sliced

1 tbsp chopped parsley

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp lemon zest

Salt and pepper

Directions

1) Pour green tea over couscous and let it stand for 5 min. Or make according to package instructions, replacing water with tea. Fluff with a fork.
2) Mix parsley, oil, lemon juice and zest together. Incorporate gently into the couscous. Season with salt and pepper.
3) Combine the rest of the ingredients and add to the couscous. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Remarks:
To tell the truth, I can't taste the Rooibos tea in my couscous, which was overpowering with lemon and olive oil. The tea can be substituted with plain water if one doesn't have it, or get creative with other teas or stock or what have you. This is my first attempt at whipping something culinary with the Rooibos tea that I've purchased quite some time ago.

Rooibos tea has this slight tinge of sweetness and is suitable for most people (pregnant women, infants alike) as it is caffeine-free and low in tannins. It possesses high antioxidant levels (not as much as green tea though) and minerals, as well as immune-modulating and chemopreventive effect. Do take note that there are different types of Rooibos tea - green and red aka fermented type. I've used the green one, but as I've mentioned before, get creative with anything you have on hand; after all, the sky's the limit (and hence the bluish background of my images.

Back to the dish itself, the addition of chickpeas seemed like a bonus to me, for they imparted a nutty salty flavour that complements the couscous. The chopped tomatoes and sliced olives livened up the dish with their contrasting colours, as well as giving it a Mediterranean slant.

I tried stirring in lettuce, but I didn't really fancy it as much as without:

~ Hummus and Salad Wrap

Taken from:
Mediterrasian.com

Description:
Healthy bread wrap with hummus and vegetable fillings~

Ingredients:

2 slices wholewheat bread

1/2 tomato, chopped

1 lettuce leaf, shredded

1 slice processed cheese

Directions

1) Flatten bread between two pieces of clingfilm with a pin roller.
2) Spread equal amounts of hummus in a horizontal line down the middle of each flat bread.
3) Arrange the cheese, lettuce and tomato on top of the hummus.
4) Roll up and cut each wrap in half to serve.

Remarks:
Hummus has been proposed as a healthier alternative over certain foods. In this case, it has replaced the butter that is usually spread onto wraps to impart moisture and taste. For comparable amount calories, hummus provides a greater variety of nutrients relative to butter. I particularly like its taste with the cheese and tomatoes. Kudos to those who advocate hummus in wraps!

Look, hummus has even been used as a pizza sauce!

~ Chye Sim Carrot Juice

Taken from:
Soyquickmilk.com

Description:
Antioxidant-rich juice~

Ingredients:

80 g of chye sim

1 orange

1 carrot

1 sprig of parsley

Dash of lemon juice

Directions:

1) Juice all together.

Remarks:
A mere search on Yahoo would yield a plethora of recipes for vegetable juices. But so far, those that I've tried doesn't taste that fantastic. Like most vegetable juices, this one tasted like puke to me, ew.


What exactly is the secret to making a good veggie juice?

~ Hummus

Taken from:
S & W

Description:
A classic Middle Eastern staple that is rich in fibre and antioxidants~

Ingredients:

1/2 can (15.5 oz) garbanzo beans, drained

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 1/2 tbsp roasted sesame seeds or sesame oil

2 1/2 tbsp water
Pinch of salt

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling (optional)
Parsley, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1) Puree all except the EVOO and salt together. Adjust to desired consistency with water and also taste with salt.
2) Drizzle with EVOO, garnish with parsley and serve with warmed bread. Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 1 week (reference 1 and 2).

Remarks:
I love hummus! Provided its a Middle-Eastern-restaurant-made hummus. This is my 2nd time making hummus (finally with a blender) but it didn't replicate the taste that got me hooked. Too sourish? Too bland? Too dry? I have no idea. Maybe I should get myself accustomed to eating homecooked ones.

Out of habit and hygiene purposes, I had cooked garbanzo beans in water first, so maybe that explained for the lackluster taste. Oh ya, for a smoother finish, add more olive oil, but that is provided that you are sharing the caloric-intake with loads of people. For me, I'll just stick to water and more sesame seeds =)

~ (Failed) Fortune Cookies

Taken from:
Allrecipes

Description:
Seek fortune within a cookie~

Ingredients:
1 egg white 
1/8 tsp vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
1/4 C flour
1/4 C icing sugar
1/2 tsp oil
1 tsp milk 

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 200 deg. Grease a cookie sheet. Write fortunes on strips of paper about 4" long and 1/2" wide.
2) Mix the egg white and vanilla until foamy but not stiff. Sift the flour, salt, and sugar and blend into the egg white mixture. Add in milk and oil.
3) Place tsps of the batter at least 4" apart on one of the prepared cookie sheets. Tilt the sheet to move the batter into round shapes about 3" in diameter. Be careful to make batter as round and even as possible. Do not make too many, because the cookie have to be really hot to form them and once they cool it is too late.
4) Bake for 5 min or until cookie has turned a golden color 1/2" wide around the outer edge of the circle. The center will remain pale. While one sheet is baking, prepare the other.
5) Remove from oven and quickly move cookie with a wide spatula and place upside down on a wooden board. Quickly place the fortune on the cookie, close to the middle and fold the cookie in half. Place the folded edge across the rim of a measuring cup and pull the pointed edges down, one on the inside of the cup and one on the outside. Place folded cookies into the cups of a muffin tin or egg carton to hold their shape until firm.


Remarks:
As stated, it's a failed attempt! There was no successful attempt after 3 tries, how disheartening. All my fortune strips have gone down the drain. Seems like lady luck isn't smiling on me today. Any fortune cookie with good advice for me?

To save myself from further disappointment, I mixed in the egg yolk, added enough flour to make a stiff dough and made drop-cookies which turned out to look like potatoes..

... with hollow bottoms:

~ Sticky Chocolate Oatmeal

Borrowing the concept from sticky chocolate ice cream, this recipe is set to please. Cocoa-infused oatmeal is made creamy with milk, thickened with glutinous rice flour and sweetened with pomegranate mangosteen juice. Nuke it on high for 1 min, stir and nuke for another 1 min for a delectable breakfast. Serve warm or chilled.

~ Nian Gao (Sticky New Year Cake)

The Lunar New Year is here again! This translates to more snacking! Here's one of my favourite treat: Nian Gao! Mum combined glutinous rice flour, brown sugar (we didn't have gula melaka) and water in an attempt to replicate the commercial type:

Here's a pretty ornament that Mum made:

~ Jam-flavoured Chocolate Oatmeal

1/2 C oatmeal, checked.

3/4 C water,checked.

1 tbsp cocoa powder, checked.

1 tsp sweetened condensed milk, checked.

2 tsp sugar-free berry jam, chee.. BERRY JAM?

...

1 sound brain, missing.

10000 tastebuds, happy!

~ Honey Sesame Soba with Semi-Boiled Tamago

Taken from:
Tiffany's

Description:
-

Ingredients:

1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp honey
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp water

60 g soba
Mixed vegetables
1 cold egg1 tbsp sesame seeds

Directions

1) Combine oil, honey, soy sauce and water well. Adjust accordingly to own preference.
2) Boil water and cook soba in minimum water till al dente, according to package instructions. Toss with the dressing in (1) and set aside.
3) Add in the cold egg, and place the vegetables into the same pot on a steaming basket. Cover and steam-blanch the vegetables for 5 min or so depending on the vegetable type.
4) Remove both the vegetables and egg from the heat. Arrange vegetables on the soba, followed by the de-shelled egg. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

Remarks:
Literally everything that was leftover in the fridge was tossed into this salad. I like the rosy hue that was imparted by the beetroot albeit looking slightly on the unnatural side. Taste-wise, it was on the delectable side! Each ingredient was coated in a sweet tangy sauce in addition to its characteristic taste.

Don't forget to have fun with your dish!