#234 Creamy Chicken- Malay style : recipe #150

After about a month of eating simply and less fatty, I decided to cook something rich today. Dayini was skeptical, once she saw the chicken ( She is very picky!!), but at the end lunch , managed to eat two pieces of it and inform my maid that mummy's chicken was soooo good !! . My hubby and Auni ate theirs enthusiastically ... and as usual, Darwish ate his rice with his soup :)

Ingredients:

A- Mix together
1 medium chicken- cleaned, skin and fat removed , cut into pieces
salt and pepper to taste
2-3 tbsp kentucy original flour

Others :
1/2 pkt coconut powder-santan brand, diluted in a cup of water
torch ginger flower ( bunga kantan) -sliced
1 limau kesturi juice - equivalent to juice from 1/8 lemon
water
chicken stock powder
1 dsp sweet soy sauce

B- blended
3 green chillies
1 red chillies
5 shallots
2 garlic
1/2 inch ginger

Steps:
1- fry the chicken pieces till nearly cooked - keep aside
2- heat oil in pan, fry the blended ingredients till fragrant.
3- add in the coconut solution , and chicken. Stir to mix.
4- add in the seasoning ,the torch ginger flower, the kesturi's juice and a little water, simmer for about 10 minutes or until the gravy thickens. Adjust seasoning and dish up

#233 PTEB ECA EXHIBITION

PTEB Japanese club (mainly), Art students and Craft club ( sorry if I missed anything) , held 2 days "open day" at the PTEB hall since yesterday. Today, I managed to drop by and took pictures of some students at the hall . My picture speaks.... MORE PICTURES HERE

#232 A Motivational poem.... Especially for Irni and those who really need some motivations right now....

Things Work Out
By Edgar A. Guest

Because it rains when we wish it wouldn't,
Because men do what they often shouldn't,
Because crops fail, and plans go wrong-
Some of us grumble all day long.
But somehow, in spite of the care and doubt,
It seems at last that things work out.


Because we lose where we hoped to gain,
Because we suffer a little pain,
Because we must work when we'd like to play-
Some of us whimper along life's way.
But somehow, as day always follows the night,
Most of our troubles work out all right.


Because we cannot forever smile,
Because we must trudge in the dust awhile,
Because we think that the way is long-
Some of us whimper that life's all wrong.
But somehow we live and our sky grows bright,
And everything seems to work out all right.


So bend to your trouble and meet your care,
For the clouds must break, and the sky grow fair.
Let the rain come down, as it must and will,
But keep on working and hoping still.
For in spite of the grumblers who stand about,
Somehow, it seems, all things work out.

#231 JUS AND SUKRIN SOLEMNISATION

To the newly wed couple, Congratulations and semoga bahagia hingga ke akhir hayat.... more wedding pictures here

#230 Advanced Congratulatory Message

Somebody is getting married today... to Jus and Hubby to be... Congratulation and Good Luck!

#229 : A Poem.....

The Oceans Shore
By cookie


As I walk along the oceans shore...
The feeling of peace, longing for more...
As I sit upon soft wet sand...
The gentle waves, touch my hand...
This Aura of wonder and tranquility...
Stretching as far as my eyes can see...
Watching the reflections move with the flow.


Feeling the comfort, of its inner glow...
Oh how I wish, this feeling would stay...
As I know I must walk away...
Wish I could leave all the hurt, pain and tears...
Behind me along, with all my fears...
Wouldn't it be nice, if we could leave on that shore...
Feelings that keep in our hearts, ever more...
If I wrote them in the sand, would they be swept away?


By the waves crashing in, Gone on their way...
Leaving us free, of DOUBTS and DESPAIR...
The ocean will handle them, then we won't care...
The ocean can be such a beautiful place...
As our minds wonder in and out of space.


I think that I already know....
We reap whatever we did sow...
I will keep looking, forever more...
But not what I wrote,on that OCEANS SHORE.....

#228: Home made Granola bars: recipe#149

I was teaching my students the benefits of including cereals in their diet. So yesterday I brought to school the different kinds of cereals for them to see. Rolled oats was of the cereals that they have never seen before. We were discussing about how cereals lost their nutrients through processing. Anyway, this morning before I went for my exercise, I made Granola bars and the main ingredient used was Rolled Oats. With this recipe, I made 2 cheese cake pan of granola bars that I cut into 12 bars per pan. In the supermarket, 1 granola bar cost about $1.60.... so I think from now on, I'll make my own... it's so easy!

This recipe is the combination of the many recipes that I "found" in the net, I combined them together to make this version ....

Dry stuff:
4 1/2 cup rolled oats ( roasted in the oven for 10 minutes at 120C)
1/2 cup icing sugar
1/2 cup egg replacer
1/2 cup walnuts
1 cup sesame seeds
1 cup dried dessicated coconut
1 cup raisins
1 cup rice bubbles
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp salt

Wet stuff:- Put in a bowl heat 1 min in microwave oven
2/3 cup honey
3/4 cup oil

Steps:
In a large bowl combine all the dry stuff, add in the wet stuff.
Grease pan well, then press mixture tightly in the pan . Bake for 15 min at 160C, then another 10 minutes at 120C, leave the pan in the oven to cool off. Cut the granola while it is still warm.... :)

#227 HAPPY BIRTHDAY

#226 Home made beef patties: recipe #148

Dayini hinted to me that she wanted to have burgers for lunch last Friday. I did not want to buy the ready-made burger so I made some some beef patties instead. Dayini ate hers with cheese, Auni had hers with tomato, salad leaves and cheese, while Abang and I had ours with tomato,cucumbers,salad leaves plus the "sauce". The picture above is what I had in my plate:)

Ingredients:
I small bowl minced beef
1/2 tsp mustard
1/2 packet instant soup powder ( campbell's cream of mushroom)
1 dsp Italian herbs
salt to taste ( 1-2tsp)
1 tsp Cumin powder
1 dsp Chili sauce
1 egg ( beaten
1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Steps
In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together and stir to combine.
shape the mixture into balls and flatten it to form "burger-like" shape
heat a grill pan which had been greased with olive oil
place the patties in the pan and cook till done on both sides
serve with your favourite bun , condiments and sauce.

#220 Tuna sambal: recipe #147

I craved for "sambal lauk bekulan" that my grandma's used to make whenever we had leftover "bekulan salai". I didn't not have bekulan salai so I used the canned tuna instead:

Ingredients
1 can tuna chunks
1 shallot- sliced
1 garlic -sliced
1/2 large onion - sliced
1 tbsp dried chili paste
1 tsp tamarind juice
salt, chicken stock powder and sugar to taste

steps:
- Heat oil in pan, add in the shallots and garlic
- add the rest of the ingredients except onion.
- fry for another 3 minutes at medium flame.
- add in the onion. When the onion is soft, adjust seasoning and dish up.

#219: pan bake curried chicken fillets: #recipe#146

I made this dish for lunch. There were some left , which I used as sandwiches filling for dinner.

Marinate:
500g chicken fillets
curry powder
rice vinegar
salt
a little nut-meg powder
Worchestershire sauce

step;
-In a heavy pan, heat a little amount of olive oil
-arrange the chicken fillets evenly in the pan, lower the flame and cover the pan with a lid.
-after a while, turn the chicken fillets to the other side and keep cooking till chicken fillets are done.

#218: Oreo muffins : recipe #145

Dayini's favourite. She ate this for breakfast and brought some to school for her "bata"

Ingredients:
Mix together in a bowl:
2/3 cup sunflower oil
2/3 cup milk
1 tsp salt
1 egg

Dry ingredients:
-1 cup flour ( add if necessary)
-1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

- 1 packet 150g Oreo- break up to large pieces

steps:
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stir well.
Add in the oreo pieces and mix well to combine
put the mixture into muffin pan
bake in a preheated oven at 160 degrees for 15 minutes or until the muffins are cooked.

#217 : pasta shapes and potato salad: recipe #144

A quick fix for breakfast this morning. Auni loved it, Abang brought it for his lunch at school and as usual Dayini, the non-adventurous one, resort to eating the oreo muffins.

Ingredients:
1 bowl pasta shapes
1 bowl potato cubes- boiled in salted water
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1/2 packet instant powder of cream of mushroom soup ( campbell's) + 1/2 cup hot water
pepper, salt and salad herbs.

steps:
- In a pot boiled the mushroom soup, add in the mayonnaise, stir till the mixture thickens.
- In a large bowl, combine the pasta shapes, potato cubes, the mayonnaise mixture and all the seasonings. Adjust the taste and dish up.

#210: Quick fix : Pasta shapes with chicken in creamy sauce

I made this for dinner. I boiled the pasta shapes in salted water and a little oil. For the sauce, I fried garlic pieces in extra virgin olive oil. I added the chicken pieces and once the chicken pieces were nearly cooked, I added the skim milk and an egg yolk. I continuously stirred the mixture till the mixture thickened. I then seasoned the sauce with chicken stock, white pepper powder, cracked black pepper, Italian herbs and sliced spring onion. Good night everyone!

#209: Comfort food.. Hanoi Beef Noodle soup

This dish is considered as the National dish of Vietnam. Typical Vietnamese eat this usually for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The broth was light but full of flavour. To me , the feeling of eating this is like eating chicken porridge when you have a cold, very comforting and fulfilling indeed. I made this for dinner a few days back. I got the recipe from one of the website. I use the google search on " Vietnam beef noodle soup" and listed were a number of sites offering free recipes for grabs. So why not try it?

#208: Bubur Pedas Sarawak ( Spicy Sarawak's broth) : recipe #143

Yesterday during lunch time, while I was eating my "bata" and SLY was eating her "bata" we were discussing about food that we usually cook during weekends. For me weekends means cooking something that usually take hours to prepare. This morning before My hubby and I went for our outdoor exercise at Shahbandar, we dropped by my parents house and was given 4 packets of "Bumbu Bubur Pedas" , authentic from Kuching , Sarawak. After My exercise I went to the Pasar Borong to buy the fresh ingredients to make this:

Ingredients:
1 bowl of sliced carrots, long beans, young corn and dried banana flower( soak in water& stalk removed)


1 bowl of lemiding ( local fern) , boiled bamboo shoots, cubed potatoes, dried black fungus (soak in water)


1 bowl of sliced and boiled Foo chuk ( bean curd sticks), 1 bowl of santan ( add more if you want ) and sliced tenderloin meat


$1 worth pucuk manis & 2 packets of Bumbu Bubur Pedas with water added

blended ingredients: shallots, garlic, shrimp paste, fresh chilies and dried Prawns
veggies seasonings: green chilies, red chilies, lemon grass, turmeric leaves -sliced

others: salt, chicken stock powder, white pepper powder, oil and more water

Steps:
heat oil in a large pot ( 1 used my 5 litre pot)
add blended ingredients and lemon grass, fry till fragrant.
add in meat
followed by the "hard veggies"
Add the bumbu, pour in 2 bowl of water, simmer
add the coconut milk and seasonings
add the rest of the ingredients one by one, making sure the softest veggies to be added the last
simmer, adjust seasoning and dish up.....

Now the reveal...........
Super yummy bowl of veggies (makes about 30 bowls)

#204: Light Chicken Green curry: recipe #142

Thai food is always yummy, however the curry are usually cooked with coconut cream. That put me off. I have a container of pre-prepared green curry in the fridge, remain untouched for quite sometime. So today, before it reached its' expiry date ( June 2008), I need to used it. The difference between my version with the traditional Thai recipe is that this is the lighter version, good for those health conscious being.

Ingredients:
1/2 chicken ( skin and fats removed- cleaned)
2 shallots-sliced
1 garlic-sliced
1-3 tbsp green curry paste ( depends on how hot you want your curry to be)
fish sauce
chicken stock powder
1 green capsicum- cut into small pieces
2 medium tomatoes- quartered
water
low fat milk
oil

steps:
#1 Heat oil in wok, add in shallots and garlic, fry till fragrant
#2 Add in the chicken pieces, cover wok, lower flame, cooked until chicken is half cooked
#3 add in the curry paste and a little amount of water
#4 add in the capsicum and seasonings
#5 finally add in the tomatoes and milk.
#6 adjust seasoning and dish up.

#203 : Cous-cous with Chicken in tomato sauce: recipe #141

We went grocery shopping at the Supa Save the other day and I bought a box of cous-cous. I have never bought cous-cous before, so I followed the instruction on the packet carefully: Heat butter, add couscous and stir to coat, add stock, bring to a boil, reduce heat to lowest setting, cover and cook. I replaced the butter with extra virgin olive oil and used water and chicken stock instead of stock instead. I cooked the chicken according to the recipe below. My hubby, Auni and I loved it. Dayini refused to eat it, instead she ate the chicken with rice. Similar to cheese and tempe, Cous-Cous taste must be acquired before you loved it. I am a very adventurous when it comes to food as long as the food is of a plant origin. I cannot picture myself eating ostrich or shark. Anyway, heres the recipe for the chicken sauce.

Ingredients
300g boneless chicken pieces - cut into small pieces
2 small cans tomato sauce ( up to you)
garlic-chopped
onion-chopped
extra virgin olive oil
salt
black pepper
cinnamon powder
nutmeg powder
Italian herbs (dry).

steps:
Heat oil in wok
add in the garlic and onion and fry till fragrant
add in the chicken , cover the wok, till chicken juice came out
add in the sauce and the rest of the ingredients.
simmer for about 15-20 minutes
adjust seasoning and dish up

#199: Dry potato curry : recipe#140

Our family loves potato, I have a lot of potato recipes and this is one of them.

Ingredients:
1kg medium potato, peeled, cut into cubes ( preferably 4) - boiled with salted water till nearly cooked (do not overcook the potato)
chicken stock powder
coriander leaves-sliced

A:
4 garlics- sliced
1 inch ginger-sliced
3 green chilies-sliced
1 tsp cumin
extra virgin olive oil

B:
2 cups skim milk
juice from 1 kesturi
1tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp paprika powder
1/2 tsp garam masala

steps:
-Heat little oil in pot, fry A till fragrant
- Add potato and B, stir to combine. Add chicken stock powder
- simmer till the gravy thickens.
- adjust seasoning and dish up
- garnish with coriander leaves

#197 : Jiffy Baked potato : recipe #139

Ingredients:
1 kg potato- peeled if desired- cut into cubes- boiled with 2 tsp salt
fresh rosemary
salt to taste - do not put too much as the potato was already boiled with salt
black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
mozarella cheese- for topping, if you like

Steps:
In a casserole, assemble the boiled potato cubes. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle the top with black pepper , salt and rosemary. Put into the preheated oven until the potatoes brown a bit. Usually I would put grated cheese on top, but unfortunately, I was running out of it.. so this is the least I could do