Banana and Walnut Bread

Ever bought bananas and didn't get to eat them before they ripen too quickly? No fear. This recipe is perfect in this situation. Banana and walnut bread. Perfect for your breakkie and a total treat. Alternatively, it'll make a nice little (ok, not so little considering how filling it is!) snack. And if you like the smell of bread baking in the oven as much as I do, you'll enjoy this recipe. Hassle-free (read as no dough kneading required!). How good is that?! :) Enjoy!

Banana and Walnut Bread Ingredients:

1. 2C self-raising flour
2. 3 ripe bananas, mashed
3. 2 eggs, beaten
4. 3/4C milk
   
5. 1t cinnamon powder
6. 1/2t vanilla essence
7. 1t baking soda
8. 70g brown sugar
9. 80g walnuts, chopped
10. 25g seeds

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven at 180C.
   
2. Sift the flour and baking soda and mix well with the sugar. Add in the cinnamon powder and combine.
3. Create a well in the centre of the flour mixture and add in the eggs, milk, vanilla essence and the bananas and mix well.
4. Grease a loaf tin and pour the batter into the loaf tin.
5. Bake the batter for approximately 45mins (or until skewer comes out clean).
6. Cool the bread on a wire rack and slice when cooled.

Hint: You can also add in sultanas/raisins if you wish. You can also reduce recipe to use 2 bananas (won't have such a strong banana taste) but increase the milk to 1C.

Enjoy! :)

Bacon, Cheese and Chive Scones

The buttermilk comes in 600ml packs. Much more than I need for the raisin scones. So what can I do with the remaining buttermilk? Well, I can freeze it. Or I can make more scones! :) So I decided to tweak the recipe and make a savoury scone. Never tried a savoury scone before and thought that this is as good a time as any! The result? It's delicious! Try it for yourself! :)



Bacon, Cheese and Chive Scones

Ingredients:

• 2C self raising flour
• 1T baking powder
• 300ml buttermilk
• 1t castor sugar
• 1Tof salt
• 80g cold butter, diced
• 400g of diced bacon, cooked
• 1 bunch of choves, finely chopped (about 3/4 C)
• 100g of shredded cheddar cheese
  
• a handful of plain flour

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven at 200C.
2. Sift the self raising flour well. Add in the sugar, baking powder and salt and mix well.
3. Add in butter to the flour mixture. Rub flour mixture and butter till the texture becomes "breadcrumb"-ly.
4. Add in the bacon, chives and cheese, and mix well.
   
5. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and pour in the milk. Mix well. The dough will be very gooey/sticky at this point. Do NOT add more flour as it's meant to stay gooey/sticky!
   
6. Place the dough on a slightly floured surface. Pat it into shape (note: do NOT knead) and use a floured roller to flatten the dough.
   
7. If you have a scone cutter, use that to cut the dough into scones (do NOT twist the cutter). If you don't have a cutter like me, just oil a knife and cut the dough into pieces. I got 8 pieces out of my dough.
8. Place the dough on a piece of baking sheet close together, sprinkle the top lightly with flour and bake for about 25mins. To check, there'll be a slightly hollow sound when you tap on the top of the scone when it is done.
9. Serve with some scrambled eggs and sausage! Yummy while hot!! :)

Raisin Scones

I had my first taste of scones over 10 years back. To be honest, can't say that I was a fan of it. That scone (and the ones I had after that) was too dry and hard for my liking. So I thought that it's just one of those things that I didn't really care for! However, this changed about a month or so back, when I got to try a lovely scone that was really soft/fluffy. It was really nice! Decided to try and see if I could make one myself that's soft/fluffy as well (pity the place that I had the lovely scone was too far out to get my scones on a regular basis). Did some research, and put together bits and pieces of information from several scone recipes. The result?? Success!! Soft/fluffy scones that stayed good the next day! Yay! Scones anytime (almost) I want them!! *beam*

Raisin Scones

Ingredients:

• 2C self raising flour
• 1T baking powder
• 1C buttermilk
• 2T castor sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 80g cold butter, diced
• 100g sultanas
• a handful of plain flour

Served with

• Whipped/clotted cream
• Jam
• Icing sugar (optional)
  

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven at 200C.
2. Sift the self raising flour well. Add in the sugar, baking powder and salt and mix well.
3. Add in butter to the flour mixture. Rub flour mixture and butter till the texture becomes "breadcrumb"-ly. Add in the sultanas and mix evenly.
   
4. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and pour in the milk. Mix well. The dough will be very gooey/sticky at this point. Do NOT add more flour as it's meant to stay gooey/sticky!
   
5. Place the dough on a slightly floured surface. Pat it into shape (note: do NOT knead) and use a floured roller to flatten the dough. Most recipes I read call for 2-3cm height/depth. I left my dough about 4cm high as I didn't want to compress the dough too much (less i lose that soft/fluffy centre!)
6. If you have a scone cutter, use that to cut the dough into scones (do NOT twist the cutter). If you don't have a cutter like me, just oil a knife and cut the dough into pieces. I got 6 pieces out of my dough.
7. Place the dough on a piece of baking sheet close together and bake for about 20mins. To check, there'll be a hollow sound when you tap on the top of the scone when it is done.
8. Sift some icing sugar on top of the scone. Serve with the whipped/clotted cream and jam! Yummy while hot!! :)

Hint: You can lightly flour the top of the scone dough before baking if you want to avoid/reduce browning the top of the scones. I didn't bother with this since i figured the icing sugar will suffice. It's pretty as can be and adds more sweetness to the scones. Delicious! Enjoy! :)

P.S. You can also omit the raisins and make this into a plain scone. You can also alter the ingredients and make savoury scones with this. I'll post a savoury scone recipe sometime soon. Have fun with this recipe! :)

Decadent Chocolate Brownie

Ever had one of those days when you've a chocolate craving that is so strong that you can't concentrate on anything else? All that is on your mind is getting that chocolate fix. Well, I'm having one of those days. My solution? Time to make my decadent chocolate brownie!!

OK, sounds like alot of work just to get my chocolate fix right? It is actually very simple, and this brownie is so worth the wait. The chocolate-y smell while it is baking in and fresh out of the oven is simply DEVINE!! I'm in seventh heaven... :) Plus, making mine means I control how much sugar I use, and what sort of ingredients I add. Every bit adds up I reckon. This brownie recipe uses cocoa powder in addition to chocolate to impart a stronger flavour, and cocoa powder is lower in fat and sugar content than chocolate if I'm not mistaken! :)

So the next time you're having a chocolate craving, or some unexpected guests visit and you're looking for something to serve them, just whip this up! Hope you like this brownie recipe!

Decadent Chocolate Brownie

Ingredients:

• 125g unsalted butter, melted
• 100g walnuts, chopped
• 125g bittersweet chocolate, melted
• 3 eggs
  
• 100g sugar
• 75g flour
• 35g cocoa powder
• 1/4t baking powder

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven at 180C.
2. Toast the walnuts briefly. (optional)
   
3. Melt the chocolate and butter together. Add sugar to the mixture and combine well.
4. Remove the mixture from the heat and add in the eggs. Whisk to mix well.
5. Using a sift, add the cocoa powder, flour and baking powder to the mixture and mix well.
6. Add in the nuts and mix well.
7. Pour the mixture into a prepared baking pan/tin (ie. oiled to prevent sticking) and stick it into the oven for about 25mins.
8. Serve warm or leave to cool and chill to serve cold.

Enjoy!! :)

Russian Borscht

It's feeling cold and wintry already! Nothing like a nice hot bowl of soup to warm the body up on a cold night. So be ready to see soup being featured more than once!!

This round I'll be sharing with you another one of my favourite soup recipe - The Russian Borscht. Yes, I'm a soup-person, in case you haven't realised it yet! :)

This soup was apparently a poor man's feast (if my brother is to be trusted). Beetroot is the main ingredient here, and imparts a deep red colouring to the soup. Very pretty to say the least! :) For a vegetarian version of this recipe, see the note below.

Russian Borscht

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3 carrots, peeled and grated
• 4 cups of green cabbage, shredded
• 4-5 beetroot, peeled and grated
• 1 stick of celery, diced
• 2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 185g of tomato paste
• 6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 450g beef cubes
• 1L of beef stock (I used reduced salt ones)
• About 800ml of water
• 3 bay leaves
• A handful of peppercorns
• 1t of paprika (I used hot paprika)
• 1T of lemon juice
• Salt to taste
• A dash of pepper
• Sour cream to serve

Method:

1. Add the olive oil to heated pot and saute the garlic and onions.
2. When the onions is softened, add the peppercorns and bay leaves. Add in the beef cubes.
3. When the beef is cooked, add in the carrots.
4. Stir in the beetroot, cabbage and celery to the mixture and saute.
5. Follow with potatoes and the tomato paste and the broth.
6. Bring these to a boil and then simmer on low heat for 20mins.
7. Add the paprika and lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste.
8. Leave the soup to sit for several hours or overnight.
9. Serve with the sour cream.

Note: A vegetarian version of this soup can be made by omitting the beef cubes, and substituting the beef stock and water with 2L of vegetable stock instead. I have made this variation before, and the soup is still very yummy. :)

Rosewater Cupcakes

Not many people I know doesn't like a good cupcake.
It small-ish. Cute. Pretty as can be if you take the trouble to decorate it nicely.
And the taste is eccentuated by the soft, fluffy texture accompanied by a beautiful aroma.
I especially like that first whiff when you open the oven! :)
So, here's a not so common cupcake flavour.

Rosewater Cupcakes
Makes 12

Ingredients for the cupcakes:

• 2C self-raising flour (SRF), sifted
  
• 150g castor sugar
  
• 125g butter, melted
  
• 175ml milk (i used hi-lo milk)
  
• 3 eggs, beaten
  
• 2T rosewater essence
  
• 1/2t vanilla essence

Method:

1. Preheat oven at 200C. Line a 12 muffin pan (medium sized) with the paper cups.
   
2. Mix together the sifted SRF with the sugar in a large bowl.
   
3. Create a well in the flour mixture and add in the milk, butter, eggs and the essences.
   
4. Mix the batter well until all lumps are removed.
   
5. Scoop the batter into each cup in the muffin pan until it reaches about 3/4 full (works out to about 2T of batter each cup for me).
   
6. Bake for approximately 15mins. To check, a skewer should come out clean when inserted when the cupcakes are ready.
   
7. Transfer to a wire rack to cool while you prepare the icing topping.

Ingredients for icing topping:

• 100g icing sugar
  
• 3T hot water
  
• 1T rosewater essence
  
• a small handful of pistachio slivers, chopped

Method:

1. Mix the water with the essence.
   
2. Add in the icing sugar and stir until it forms a goey paste.
   
3. Drizzle 1t of the icing paste onto the cupcake and sprinkle some of the chopped pistachios on top.
   
4. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.

Hint: The icing sugar sets very quickly. If you finish drizzling the cupcakes before you sprinkle your pistachios, it would've set and wouldn't hold the nuts. So use one hand to drizzle the icing paste and the other to sprinkle the nuts!! :)

Hope you enjoy this cupcake! :)

Hainanese Chicken Rice

The hainanese chicken rice is pretty much a staple sight in the food halls, food courts and the modest "coffee shops" in Malaysia and Singapore. The key to a good chicken rice is obviously moist tender chicken, good chilli sauce (and other sauces) and aromatic chicken rice.

It is actually not that difficult to make a good chicken rice at home. Especially in the modern household where the food processor has replaced the function of the mortar and pestle and all the arm toning work of pounding on the ingredient until you get the desired fine-ness. So go ahead and give it a try! Here's how. Hope you'll enjoy the chicken rice! :)


Hainanese Chicken Rice

Ingredients for the chicken:

• 1 large chicken
• 4-5 stalks of spring onions, sliced into 3" pces
  
• 3" of ginger, sliced
  
• water
• salt to taste

Method for preparing chicken:

1. clean chicken thoroughly and stuff with ginger and spring onions
2. immerse in a deep pot and fill with water (until water's height is an inch above the chicken)
3. bring to a boil and lower the heat to simmer the chicken for 30mins or so, until cooked
4. add salt to the broth to taste
5. remove chicken from the broth immediately once cooked, and run in a cold water bath (stops the cooking process to retain tenderness/moisture)

Ingredients for ginger sauce:

• 4 - 5" of sliced ginger (including ginger used to cook the chicken)
• ladle of chicken broth
• 2 - 3 cloves of minced garlic
• pinch of salt

Method to prepare the ginger sauce:

1. Process the ginger in the food processor
2. add in the minced garlic and broth
3. add the salt and mix well
   

Ingredients for the chilli sauce:

• a bunch of chillis (sorry, i fogot to measure how much)
  
• 1 ladle of the chicken broth from above
  
• 4 - 6 cloves of minced garlic
• 1 - 1.5" of ginger, minced
  
• 1t of sesame oil
• 1/2 a lime juice
  
• pinch of salt

Method to prepare the chilli sauce:

1. use a food processor and process the chilli
2. add in the garlic and ginger, sesame oil, lime juice and the broth
3. add the salt and mix well
   

Ingredients for the chicken rice:

• 3 cups of rice (rice cup, not measuring cup)
  
• sufficient chicken broth from above to cook rice (depends on the type of rice)
  
• 6 - 8 cloves of minced garlic
• 4 cloves of garlic, skin removed
• 2t of sesame oil
  
• 1" of ginger, minced
• chicken fat
• vegetable oil (optional)

Method to prepare the chicken rice:

1. Heat the wok till hot
2. Add in the chicken fat (and veggie oil, if used) and sizzle it.
3. add in the aromatics - minced garlic (stir briefly and then followed by the), minced ginger
4. add in the rice and sesame oil, stir fry briefly to coat rice with the oil and aromatics
5. Transfer the rice to the rice cooker, add in the 4 cloves of garlic and mix well
6. Add in the chicken broth
7. Cook the rice as per usual