Cashew Nuts Cookies

Cashew Nuts Cookies

2/3 cup butter, softened
½ cup caster sugar
1 egg yolk
1½ cup flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
1 tin (397g) condensed milk
1 cup toasted cashew nuts, finely chopped
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup dessicated coconut
1 egg



1. Beat the butter and caster sugar for 5 minutes until creamy, add the egg yolk and beat well.

2. Fold in the flour and baking powder into the mixture, mix well then press into the base of a 28cm x 24cm baking tin lined with parchment paper.

3. Combine condensed milk, cashew nuts, vanilla essence, dessicated coconut and egg, mix well and pour over the prepared base.

4. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes in a 180°C preheated oven. Remove from from oven to cool down to room temperature.

5. Cut into small slices and you can sprinkle the top with icing sugar if you wish.

Sfiria

The Sfiria is a favorite dish of North African country like Algieria and Morocco. I tweak the original recipe by adding nutmeg instead of cinnamon, chopped mixed coriander and parsley.








SFIRIA
Adapted from Mme: Louisa Bouksani "Gastronomie Algerienne"

1 medium chicken
600 g stale bread
1 egg
1 cup milk or water
1 onion, chopped
100 gm cheese, grated
1 tsp cinnamon or nutmeg
4 tablespoons oil
1 tin chickpeas
1 L chicken stock or water
salt and pepper to taste
coriander and parsley, chopped


1. Fry chicken pieces in oil with chopped onion, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Then cover chicken with chicken stock or water if you don't have.

2. Boil and simmer for 1 hour or until chicken is cook and tender. Add the chickpeas at the last minute of cooking if using the tin chickpeas.

3. Prepare the stuffing by soaking stale bread in milk. Remove and drain well.

4. Transfer the drained bread in a bowl. Add grated cheese, chopped coriander and parsley, salt and pepper and egg. Mix well until combined with hands.

5. Form the dumpling into ball or flat ball. Deep fry the dumplings until slightly brown. Drain in a kitchen paper

6. Finally, put these balls in the chicken sauce. Boil at low heat for ten minutes or you can serve the dumplings on the side of the serving plate to absorb the sauce.

Lemon tart

Finally I managed to make my first pastry , as I dreaded this to make like the breads. It looks very laborious to make but it's not. I have a lot of lemons and I don't want it just to go to waste what with the recessions going around the world. I usually buy lemons for making the vinaigrette for the salad and for marinades. Since it's for Christmas, I decide to go through with my tart for a change.

As what Rachel's said, this lemon tart is really light and creamy, and not quite as heavy and intense as other lemon tart you can find, but wonderfully fresh and tasty----YUM!.





I don't have a removable base tart pan, so I used my glass pie plate instead. Upon handling the baked pastry it breaks, so the outcome of it was not pretty. It's also gave me a hard time in removing the whole tart into a serving plate. The shots I have with this lemon tart is not so clear as maybe its the effect of the light and I also have to learn a lot about photography.



Lemon Tart
adapted from Rachel's Food for Living

FOR THE PASTRY
175 g flour
⅛ tsp salt
100 g butter (chilled)
25 g sugar
1 egg, divided

FOR THE FILLING
3 eggs
125 g granulated sugar
Juice and zest of 2 lemons
100 ml double cream


1. First make the pastry, which can be done a day in advance of filling and serving. Sieve the flour and salt into a large bowl. Cut the butter into small cubes and rub into the flour until the mixture is like crumbs. Add the sugar and gently mix in with a fork. Drizzle in the egg yolk and lightly stir it into the mixture with a knife until the mixture sticks. If the mixture does not come together, add 1-2 teaspoons of water. Roll out the pastry into a round about 2cm thick, then cover and chill for at least 45 minutes in the fridge.

2. Preheat the oven to 190°C(375°F). Grease a 23cm(9in) shallow tart tin with a removable base with a little butter.

3. When you are ready to roll out the pastry, remove it from the fridge. Place the pastry between two sheets of the cling film, which should be larger than your tart tin. Using the rolling pin, roll out the pastry until it's about ⅛in thick and large enough to line the base and sides of the prepared tin. Make sure to keep it round, if the tin is round, and large enough to line the base and sides of the tin. Remove the top layer of the film and place the pastry upside down (cling film facing up)in the tart tin. Presss into the edges, cling film still attached and, using your thumb, 'cut' teh pastry on the edge of the tin to give a neat finish. Remove the cling film and pop the pastry in the freezer for at least 10 minutes.

4. Nest, 'blind bake' the pastry case. Blind baking is a way of partially cooking a pastry case before adding its filling. Line the pastry with greaseproof paper when cold (leaving plenty to come up the sides), fill with baking beans or dried pulses (you can use this over and over), and bake for 15-20 minutes in the oven, until the pastry feels dry. Remove the paper and beans, brush with a little egg white and return to oven and put to one side while you prepare the filling.

5. Lower the heat 9or heat to this temperature if filling the case the next day) to 120°C(250°F).

6. To make the filling, place the eggs and sugar in a medium-sized bowl and, using the electric mixer, whisk until pale and creamy (about 10 minutes). You can also do this in a food processor. Add the lemon juice and zest and mix for another 5 minutes, then pour in the cream and mix for a further 5 minutes. Carefully pour the filling has just set in the center.

7. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for about 10 minutes before removing the tart from the tin and transferring to a plate or cake stand. When it's cool, dredge icing sugar over the top, and cut into slices and serve.

Roast Chicken and Roasted Potato with Garlic and Sea Salt

Since this will be my first post for Christmas, although it's quite late(belated)let me take this moment to wish you all a happy holiday! I hope and pray that this coming year brings us all peace, stability, and personal fulfillment. Many blessings....

My Christmas Eve is not the same as I used to have while still back home in Philippines. Last night along with my eldest son, we spend it with my fellow Filipinos. This year it's held at Karen Lao's residence. Kids and adults alike enjoyed the get-together party as there's a lot of fun and games; newspaper dance, basagan ng itlog(breaking of the egg),banana eating and lots more. It's only during get-together party that you will find a pure Pinoy foods, with the likes of asado, sisig, fried lumpia, kinilaw, Papait, puto, kutchinta, buko salad and a lot more. In between the fun there's the gift giving for the kids and adults.Before midnight strike we headed home and my son was tired and past sleeping in the car way back home. Before me and my husband settle for the night we creep to our son's room to put their presents and still make them believe that its Santa Claus who gave them the gift. Christmas is not just gift giving, family reunion, but the true meaning of it is the celebration of the day baby JESUS is born.

I prepared a roast chicken and roasted potato for dinner last night. Everyone has their own way in roasting their celebratory birds. This one is delicious, it has a crispy golden skin, soft white meat, and a hint of lemon in the juices. Accompanied my chicken is the roast potato with garlic and sea salt. Crisp, crunchy, and brown on the outside and fluffy on the inside. These are everything a roast potato should be. You can tweak it for a change with herbs, such as rosemary or sage leaves or a pinches of paprika. garam masala or tikka masala.


Roasted Chicken in Olive oil

1 kg chicken
1 lemon
1 onion, quartered
fresh parsley, coriander, thyme or rosemary
4 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper



1. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice over the chicken. Finely chop the herbs and mix with a little of the olive oil. Gently knead and prise the skin away from the chicken meat and use the herbs to stuff the gap between the skin.

2. Using your hands, rub the remaining olive oil into the skin of the chicken and the cavity,then season generously with salt and pepper. Set aside for 30-40 minutes to marinade.

3. Preheat the oven to to 220°C.

4. Place the squeezed lemon halves in the cavity along with the quartered onion. Alternatively, for an attractive garnish, place the lemon halves in the roasting tin alongside the bird.

5. Cook for 1 hour or until chicken is browned and the juices run clear when a skewer is inserted into the thick area of the bird.







Roast Potatoes with Garlic and Sea Salt


10 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and quartered
4 Tbsp olive oil
1 head garlic, separated into cloves
sea salt



1. Preheat oven to 220°C.

2. Measure the oil into a large roasting pan and place in the oven to get hot.

3. Cook the potatoes in a pan of boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and cool under cold water. Dry them well, using a kitchen towel.

4. Carefully place the potatoes and unpeeled garlic cloves in the hot oil in the roasting pan. Turn them around to coat them evenly with the oil. Sprinkle with the sea salt and return to the oven.

5. Roast for 30-40 minutes until the potatoes are nicely browned with crispy egdes. Turn the potatoes twice during cooking.

White Yeast Bread

I was hesitant to make bread as I never get successful in making one. I really don't know what have gone wrong or maybe it's the way how I knead it or over mixing it. But I have to conquer it to keep on making until I have the right dough and beautiful outcome. With this bread recipe, finally I managed to have it come out perfect and this is the second time I made with this recipe. The first try I wasn't able to take a picture of it as my husband immediately tried it right after I put out from the oven. This time, I warned him not to touch it before I get a picture of it.





But well, he still can't resist and thank goodness I made individual rolls instead of making 2 loaves. Brushing of the risen dough with egg wash, makes the bread golden brown and shinny. You can omit the egg wash and just sprinkle with little water and dust with the flour instead, like what I did in my first trial.






White Yeast Bread
Adapted from Rachel Allen, Bake (Collins)

2 tsp caster sugar
425ml warm water
2.5 tsp dried Yeast, or 20g fresh yeast
750g strong white flour, plus extra for dusting
2 tsp Salt
40g Butter, or 4 tbsp olive oil
vegetable oil, for greasing
1 Eggs, beaten
poppy or Sesame seeds, for the top of the loaf (optional)


Method

1. In a measuring jug, mix the sugar with 150ml of the warm water and yeast and let stand in a warm place for five minutes, or until frothy. If using fast-acting yeast, there is no need to let the mixture stand.

2. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Rub in the butter and make a well in the centre. (If using olive oil instead of butter, pour the olive oil into the remaining water.) Pour in the yeast mixture and most of the remaining water (and the olive oil, if using). Mix to a loose dough, adding the remaining water if needed, plus extra if necessary.

3. Knead for about ten minutes or until the dough is smooth and springy to the touch. (If kneading in an electric food mixer with a dough hook, five minutes is usually long enough.) Put the dough in a large oiled bowl. Cover the top tightly with cling film and place somewhere warm to rise until doubled in size. This may take up to two or even three hours.

4. Preheat the oven to 220C/gas 7.

5. When the dough has more than doubled in size, knock back and knead again for 2–3 minutes. Leave to relax for ten minutes before you begin to shape the bread.

6. Shape the bread into loaves or rolls, transfer to a baking tray and cover with a clean tea towel. Allow to rise again in a warm place for 20–30 minutes, until the shaped dough has again doubled in size. When fully risen, it should leave a dent when you gently press the dough with your finger.

7. Gently (as the bread is full of air at this point and therefore very fragile) brush with egg wash and sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds (if using), or dust lightly with flour for a rustic-looking loaf.

8. Bake in the oven for 10–15 minutes for rolls or 30–45 minutes for a loaf, depending on its size. Turn the heat down to 200C/gas 6 after 15 minutes for the remaining cooking time. When cooked, the bread should sound hollow when tapped on the base. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Cook’s note: Slow rising gives bread an amazing texture and flavour, if you have the time I would recommend trying it. Use cold water instead of warm water and at step 3, leave the dough to rise in a cool place (or fridge) overnight. Then, when the dough is shaped (step 6), leave to rise again for eight hours in a cool place.

Pear and Chocolate Sponge

I baked this last 2 weeks ago but just slip out of my mind to post this. This Pear and Chocolate Sponge is a real feelgood pudding. Pears and chocolate go perfectly together and with its hot chocolate drizzle, this is ideal for entertaining.






Pear and Chocolate Sponge

Ingredients:
100g margarine or butter
100g caster sugar
100g self-rising flour
5 ml Baking powder
2 medium eggs
25g cocoa powder
2 ripe pears
50g plain chocolate
50 ml double cream


1. Preheat oven to 180 °C.

2. Place margarine, caster sugar, flour, baking powder, eggs and cocoa into a bowl with 15ml ( 1 Tbsp) water. Mix with an electric mixer until light and creamy.

3. Peel,core and slice the pears. Grease and line a 8 in round cake tin and arrange the pear slices on the bottom. Top with the cake mix. Level then cook for 30-35 minutes until the cake springs back when lightly touched.

4. Turn out onto a serving plate.To make the drizzle, break up the chocolate. Place in a small saucepan with the cream. Gently melt, then spoon over the slices of the warm cake.

Thin - Crust Pizza

Sunday is Pizza day for us. Yesterday we have chillies and herbs with 3 cheese pizza and cheese and tomato pizza. Actually the topping depends on what we have. Like tuna with corn, vegetable, seafood, minced beef and just the sauce alone with a little drizzle of cheese.






It is essential to proof the dough for 24 hours, to develop its nice texture,and most importantly its unique flavor. I have tried a lot of pizza dough recipe, and alas this is the one that we found to be tasty and really crispy and thinly crust.








Thin - Crust Pizza

3½ cups all- purpose flour
¾ cup warm water
1 T vegetable oil
1½ t active dry yeast
1½ t sugar
1 t salt


1. In an electric stand mixer, fitted with dough hook, add the water, oil, yeast, salt and sugar. Mix thoroughly until yeast has dissolved. Add the flour and mix on low speed until all of the flour and water have mixed and a stiff dough ball forms about 3 minutes. Stop mixing as soon as the dough ball forms as this type of dough should not be kneaded.

2. Place the dough ball into a large bowl and cover tightly with cling wrap. Let the dough rise for 24 hours in refrigerator before using.

3. Tip the dough out onto a floured surface. Using a heavy rolling pin, roll the dough out very thinly and form into circle fit to cover the pizza tray. Lift the dough into floured pizza tray and trim out the excess hanging on the edge by using the rolling pin. Prick the dough with a fork to prevent air bubbles forming in the crust.

4. Pre-cook the crust in the oven for 4 minutes before spreading the sauce and adding the topping. Add the sauce, shredded mozzarella cheese or any choice of topping you prefer.

5. Bake in a preheated oven 500°F for 10 - 15 minutes. Bake on the lowest rack and rotating the pan half way through to cook it evenly until brown and crisp.

Fried Sesame Ball

Making this Sesame balls make me recall my college days when I get to have this in Ongpin. You can fine this kind only in the chinese restaurant. Here, in the village I live there's a chinese restaurant but they don't make any of this kind or dimsums. If you don't like too sweet, you can reduce it to 130g (although its not that sweet, just a medium sweet) and frying this balls is very tricky. Oil is too hot it will have a burn golden ball and the inside is still gooey, if the oil is just slightly hot, your ball will be absorbing and drench with oil. You have to have a trial frying to have the correct temperature for this or if you have a candy thermometer then do use of it until it register 170°. Happy eating my friends!








Fried Sesame Ball

300 g plain flour
150 g sugar
30 g shortening
1 egg
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
50 ml water
1/4 tsp baking soda
sesame seeds, for coating



1. Sift flour, baking soda and baking powder.

2. Add shortening, sugar, egg and water till turns to a dough. Rest it for 30 minutes.

3. Roll into small ball and coat with sesame seeds and deep fry in 170°. Drain in a colander or in a kitchen paper. Serve warm or cool and store in a tight container to retain its crispiness.

Karantita (Algerian Chickpea Pie),Kalentika, Grantéta,Garentéta

This is a kind of algerian savoury BIG MAC, though, its not from the McDonald.It is possible to find the Kalentika good in all areas of large cities Algerian. By vocation, Karantika dish is simple and cheap. It is sold, preferably hot in sandwich shops or street vendors who stop in front of schools, markets, businesses or public places. karantita is an old traditional algerian sandwiches since second world war. At first I'm curious on how it really looks like as they translate it to English as pie, and the taste as well. My husband was craving for this and he have to call his big sister on how to make it. It's an instant hit, it's addicting and taste very nice. We are having this every Friday and I don't just fill it in my bread but eat it with rice.






Karantita

2 cups chickpea flour (gram flour)
4 cups water
½ cup corn oil
1 T salt
¼ t black pepper
1 t cumin powder
¼ t caraway powder
1 T brewed or light soy sauce
1 egg, beaten


1. Combine the flour, salt, black pepper, cumin, caraway, egg, oil and soy sauce in a bowl or food processor. Add the water little by little until everything is well mixed and obtain a liquid mixture.

2. Set aside for 2 hours, stirring the mixture from time to time in order to prevent sedimentation.

3. Generously butter the pyrex dish. Pour the liquid and bake in the preheated oven 375°F for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until top becomes golden.

4. Slice and serve on bread with harissa paste.

Rainbow Crystal Cookies

before bake in the oven


I brought this cookies for Stepping Stone's Toddler Group christmas party today. It's doesn't look like crystal as I forgot to coat the ball dough into sugar before putting in the oven, and it didn't rise much as expected. The outcome still came out deli to eat. You can mix and match the color to your preference.With regards to ghee, if you can't get hold of it just use butter instead. Got this recipe in Aunty Yochana and you can see far more better and beautiful photos she have with this cookies.



Rainbow Crystal Cookies

100 g butter, soften
60 g ghee or shortening
80 g sugar
50 g egg
250 g plain flour
30 g custard powder
1/4 t salt
1 t baking powder
1 T powder milk
60 g ground almonds
pink and orange food coloring


1. Cream butter, ghee, sugar and salt together till light and creamy.

2. Add in the beaten egg and the rest of the dry ingredients except for the coloring and mix well into a dough.

3. Divide dough into 3 parts. Leave one part plain, the second part color it pink and the other part color it orange.

4. Put the three part together and pinch into small balls. Roll it round, toss in sugar to coat and place it in small papercups.

5. Bake at preheated oven 160°C for about 20 minutes, or till crispy and cooked.

Greek lamb, Onion and Canelleni Bean Stew

This rich stew becomes more delicious if made a day or two in advance.


Greek Lamb, Onion and Cannelloni Bean Stew

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Kg lamb,cut into cubes
700 g baby onion or large onions, peeled and cut into quarters
6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tins cooked cannelloni or butter beans
2 bay leaves
sprig of thyme
450 ml lamb or chicken stock
salt and pepper
2 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh parsley (optional)


1. Heat the olive oil in a medium frying pan. Toss the meat, onions and garlic in the hot pan in batches until golden, then transfer to a medium-large ovenproof casserole.

2. Drain the beans and add to the casserole with the bay leaves and thyme. Pour in the stock, to come about halfway up the meat, and add some salt and pepper.

3. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1-1/2 hours, either on a low hob or in the oven preheated to 160°C, until all the ingredients are tender and juicy. Taste the stew - it may need more seasoning. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.

Balloons

"Balloons" are like a doughnuts, soft and a little bit airy inside. When I saw this in Rachel Allen's Book "Rachel's Food for Living, It make me go back to my childhood days when I was still living in Jolo and my mom often buy the palikambing in the coffee shop beside our store for merienda. Palikambing is more heavier, thicker than this balloon. And its usually mixed with mashed banana. I tried the plain and with banana, the outcome is still same with the plain its just that it have a different flavour and texture and colour . My kids loves it with or without the sugar coating. This one is very simple and quick to make.






Balloons

140 g plain flour
2-4 tsp sugar, plus
25g for tossing
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
200 ml milk

1. Heat a deep pan with oil. Place all the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk to mix. Add the milk gradually, whisking all the time until you have a thicker batter.
2. When the oil is hot in the deep pan, take a dessertspoonful of the mixture and push it gently using another spoon, so that it drops in a round ball into the oil. Repeat with the remaining batter.
3. Fry until deep golden, about 4-5 minutes, turning over halfway through cooking. Remove wth a slotted spoon, drain on kitchen paper and toss in the caster sugar or you can add some cinnamon to the sugar for different flavor, and serve warm.

Chicken, Olive & Chickpea Stew

A dish with characteristically North African flavors; sweet spices, chickpeas, lemon, and green olives blend together to make a meltingly delicious stew. Serve with couscous to soak up the juices or with rice. This one-pot supper dish releases its wonderful fragrances as soon as you lift the lid. If you like a paler stew,use 1 tsp turmeric instead of 2 tsp.







4 Tbsp olive oil
1 whole chicken or 4 chicken breast
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp coriander seeds, crushed
4 pods green cardamons, lightly crushed
240 ml chicken stock or water
1 lemon juice
1 tin garbanzos or chickpeas, drained and rinsed
12 pitted green olives
salt and pepper to taste



1. Heat 2 tablespoon of the oil in a large pan and brown the chicken pieces on both sides. Remove and set aside.

2. Heat the remaining oil and sauté the onions and garlic for 2 minutes until softened but not browned. Add in the turmeric, cumin, coriander and cardamon and cook gently for 1 minute. Stir in the stock, juice, chickpeas and chicken.

3. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 40-50 minutes or until chicken is tender. Add the olives 10 minutes before the end of cooking.

4. Season with salt and pepper.

Egg-Free Raisin Scones

Traditionally, scones were part of an elegant tea-time spread with jam and whipped cream or with clotted cream along with Earl Grey tea. Scones are easy to make and quick to bake. To be at their very best they should be freshly baked and served warm. Follow this simple recipe, put the kettle on and enjoy simply the best cream tea ever. Piled high with cream and jam, scones become the most luxurious, tempting teatime treat imaginable. This recipe is good for those who are allergic with egg and nuts. I will also add the dairy and gluten free recipes.





Raisin Scone (egg & nut free)

225 g self-rising flour plus extra for dusting
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
30 g sugar
45 g butter plus extra for greasing
30 g raisins or sultanas
120 ml milk
2-3 tbsp cream or milk to glaze

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Grease a baking sheet or line it with parchment paper.
2. Sift together into a medium-sized bowl the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix in the sugar.
3. Cut up the butter and rub it into the dry mixture until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the raisins.
4. Add three quarter of the milk and mix it quickly with a knife. Add the remaining milk, only if it is needed, to mix to a soft dough. Do not over mix as this will make the scones tough.
5. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured area and pat or roll out 2cm thick.
6. Cut out the scones with a 5cm floured cutter. Gather up any trimmings, roll into a ball, and cut more scones.
7. Place the scones on the baking sheet and brush the tops with milk and dust with flour.
8. Bake near the top of the oven for 10m - 20 minutes or until the scones have risen, are lightly browned on top, and the bases sound hollow when tapped. Cool on a wire rack.

TIP:
1. If you like the scone with a soft crust, cover them with a clean tea towel for one minute after removing from the oven.
2. There's no need to slice the scones. Simply pull each scone apart at the natural break in the middle.


Dairy free Scones

Follow the recipe above, but replace the butter with an equal quantity of firm non-dairy spread( the soft ones have too much water in them); and the milk or cream with the same quantity of soya equivalent.


Gluten Free

Follow the recipe above, using the following ingredients:
60 ml black tea
30 g raisins
225 g gluten-free self-rising flour
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp xantham gum
30 g sugar
45 g butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
50 ml milk
2-3 tbsp cream or milk to glaze

Gluten-free flour can be slightly drier and absorb more water, so make the following alterations. First soak the raisins on the black tea for at least 30 minutes. Add the xantham gum with the dry ingredients in step 2. Drain the raisins and add to the rubbed-in mixture in step 3. Add the beaten egg before the milk in step 4.

American Pancake

Its been a while that I haven't made hot cakes. I remember when we were young, we often have this for snack. It's very easy that I task my son to mix and whisk the batter. He loves to help me out at the kitchen. It's good for them to learn the basic cooking at young age.





American Pancakes

125 g plain flour
pinch of salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp caster sugar
1 L egg, beaten
200 ml milk
nut-free vegetable oil for frying

to serve
maple or golden syrup
handful of berries (optional)
lemon wedges (optional)

1 Sift the flour with the salt, baking powder, and sugar.

2 Make a well on the center, add the egg and half the milk and whisk (but do not over mix) to form a smooth, creamy batter. Stir in the remaining milk.

3 Heat a little oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. pour off the excess. Add enough batter to the pan to make a pancake about 5in in diameter, and cook until bubbles appear underneath, about 1-1/2 minutes. Flip over with a palette knife and quickly cook the other side. Slide it out onto a plate and keep warm while you cook the remainder. Heat the pan with a little more oil between each pancake. If you have a big pan, you could cook 2 - 3 pancake at a time.

4 Serve the pancakes hot with maple or golden syrup with a knob of butter, fruits or lemon wedges to squeeze over.

Tip:
The pancakes are best made fresh so keep them warm on a plate over a pan of gently simmering water while you cook the remainder.

Spinach Omelet

Super SPINACH - rich in iron. I have to prepare something with spinach to make my son eat it. He don't like spinach, maybe because of the after taste it left in your mouth. After all the tricks of telling him he will be like Popeye, to no avail no success. Since he likes egg in any way of cooking, I decided to make it into omelet. Oh what a success. He ate it, sandwich with the croissant.


Spinach Omelet

150 g spinach
2 eggs
salt n pepper to taste


Wilt the spinach; chop. Separate the eggs, whisk the whites until stiff. Add the yolks to the spinach, fold into the whites. Cook in a frying pan.

Lugaw, Congee or Porridge

This is a comfort food for me. For some this maybe a food for the sick. I have plain lugaw since I started my solid food. In Hokkien we call lugaw "Am beh". In my Father's home this is always serve as breakfast as in everyday, no miss. We have it with soysauce, salt, sugar, chokolate (like champorado,but its made of sweetrice), dried salted lapu-lapu, century egg,pork floss (only when somebody went to manila and bring it as pasalubong), soysauce with peanuts or tofu. Plain and simple lugaw. Now I'm married and with kids on my own, I carry on on cooking the lugaw for my children. I guess its because I grew up with eating and its just like a habbit. Do I make sense? hahaha.






Nowadays you can see a lot of snack house having different kinds of lugaw. Of course they are called with different names such as Goto, Arroz Caldo, and etc..... I plan to just make it plain lugaw for dinner but since my son requested something with chicken, I decided to just add it on my plain lugaw.



Basic Plain Porridge

2½ L (10 cups) water or stock
½ t salt
250g short-grain rice, washed and drained
250 ml water

1. Bring water and salt to the boil, then add rice, stirring gently until water returns to the boil. Lower heat and simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. After 20 minutes add another 250 ml (1 cup) water. Towards the end of cooking, when most of the water has evaporated, stir frequently to avoid porridge sticking. Alternatively, cook everything in a rice cooker using the porridge setting.

2. When porridge is soft and mushy, remove from heat and serve.



Chicken Porridge

500 g chicken, steamed
2 tbsp light soy
2 tsp sesame oil
250 ml chicken stock
¼ tsp salt
1 portion hot basic porridge
2 spring onions, finely chopped
2 sprigs coriander leaves



1. Shred the chicken meat or chop into bite-sized pieces.

2. Combine the soy sauce and sesame oil, and sprinkle half over the chicken.

3. Heat the chicken stock and salt and mix with the Basic Porridge. Bring to the boil.

4. Stir in the remaining soy-sesame mixture and chopped chicken (if using shredded chicken, serve in a separate dish or piled on top of rice).

5. Serve immediately in small bowls and garnish with spring onions and coriander leaves.

6. Alternatively, serve the chopped chicken separately from the rice porridge.


Note: An alternative to steaming the chicken is to thinly slice raw chicken and cook it in the rice porridge until done.

Simple and Easy Eating

This week is all about simple, quick and easy to prepare foods. I choose this kind of dishes is because I can prepare it easily without me being in the kitchen for hours. Hopefully, all things gets well with my kids this weekend so i can clean the house and tidy up some mess. And prepare some cakes as I'm craving for something sweet. The roasted Salmon on a bed of glazed balsamic carrots, beans & new potatoes are beautifully complimented by the delicious balsamic-glazed vegetables,this fish recipe both looks and taste special. Use white fish if you prefer rather than of the salmon. With Balsamic vinegar, it tends to make kids not to like it cause of its strong taste. With the other dish - TOFU, I have to cook it before it expire. With the stir-fried tofu; I don't have exact measurement, as most of the dishes i cook is just base on what I have in my pantry and judge by its looks and most of is the taste or with filipino saying its tantya-tantya lang.







Roasted Salmon on a Bed of Glazed Balsamic Carrots, Beans & New Potatoes


500g Salmon fillets
200g carrots
200g French beans
400g new potatoes
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
4 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp parsley


- Preheat oven to 200°C. Peel and cut the carrots into batons; top and tail the French beans. Remove the skin of the fish and divide into serving pieces.

- Place the fish on a lightly oiled roasting tin and cook for 10-12 minutes. Cook the potatoes for 15-20 minutes, and drain. Cook the carrots and beans for approximately 8-10 minutes until just tender and drain.

- Place the potatoes,carrots and beans in a large, heavy-based fryingg pan with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Heat gently and toss until glazed.

- Serve the vegetables with the warmed balsamic dressing spooned over the salmon placed on top. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Simple Pasta

This week has been hard for me,that 2 of my boys got sick. Younnes catch a bug that make him really terrible that he hasn't have any appetite,just want me to be on his side all the time. And with Malek, he's teething and with an on and off fever.I never have time to cook nor to do my other chores. So throughout the weekend, just manage to make a quick and easy dish that doesn't require me to spend the extra time in the kitchen.Breakfast time is just sandwich, toast with jam, cereals or porridge (Am Beh).Most of the time I prepare, is for dinner meals. This simple pasta dish is an instant supper bursting with Italian flavour.




Spaghetti Tossed in Lemon Oil with Roasted Cherry Tomato, Black Olive & Basil Topping


350 g Spaghetti
45 ml olive oil
10 cherry tomato
1 clove garlic
1 onion, sliced thinly
1 lemon
16 black olives
1 Tbsp fresh basil
1 Tbsp parmesan cheese


1. Preheat oven to 200 celcius degree. Place the tomatoes on a baking tray with the crushed garlic and 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Cook for 15 minutes.

2. Cook the spaghetti in boiling water for 10-12 minutes until cooked;drain. Toss in the remaining olive oil and lemon juice. Add the roasted tomatoes, torn basil and sliced olives.

3. Serve with grated parmesan.

Oaty-licious

I was browsing in the internet to find an easy cookies with the oats as the main ingredients.Chanced upon the site of happyhomebaking, "Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies". Tried baking, Viola! here it is.I find this cookies yummy and my children loves it as well.

Make a Smilebox recipe

Balik Adobo, Bayan

This is what we have for dinner last night, adobo. Adobo is the national dish of the Philippines, and an all-time favorite. No matter how many dishes you know still you keep on coming back cooking this dish. It is a very easy dish to prepare as you just mix everything and cook it. You can use beef , pork or eggplant or mixed with any meat of your choice. I like to have a lot of sauce, some like it thickened or dry (in which you fry the meat).


CHICKEN ADOBO

1 kg drumstick or chicken pieces
¼ c soy sauce
2 T vinegar
¼ c water
2 T Lea & Perins worcestershire sauce
2 t coarse salt
2 t peppercorn, freshly ground or whole
5-6 cloves garlic, finely minced
1-2 bay leaves


Combine all ingredients in the pot, except the water. Marinate it for at least 30 minutes. Cover chicken to the brim with water. Cook over medium heat until the water-vinegar evaporates (if you want thick sauce) or until the mixture reduced in half. Turn the chicken pieces to cook it evenly.

Options:
You can add potatoes or boiled egg.

QUINCE JAM

My husband came home with this fruit 2 days ago. I ask him what does he call this, as i never seen this before or heard of. He was telling me that when he was young he loves this fruit jam which his mom often made. And he wanted me to make a jam out of it. I was searching and saw this recipe in findon village. This fruit is kinda odd in shape and it has a fragrant smell of lime,pear and apple combination. I find it hard to peel and i need to use my cleaver to cut it into chunks. The flesh turns to light reddish color and the outcome of the color after cooking is dark peach. Its yummy, spread on a buttered toast.




Quince Jam

2 lbs quinces
1-1/2 pints water
2 tbls lemon juice
3 lbs granulated sugar

• peel, core and cut into slices
• in a heavy pan place the fruit slices,water and the lemon juice
• simmer with the lid on until mushy and add more water if it dries up
• add the sugar and stir until dissolved. then boil it rapidly until setting point is reached
• cool and transfer into a sterilized bottle