Know your apples

Stumble upon this, found it very interesting.
So here it is, toremind my self next time when i wanna bake with apples.

Bake a batch of cookies last sunday.
But didnt take any photo of it.
Its the 1st few recipe that me & Cat bake when we started out
baking in our sec school days.
Recipe is still as good, so is all the memories when baking them.
I even went out to get the flour i used last time,
which i don't use nowadays,
so that i can get the taste back.

http://www.foodsubs.com/Apples.html

Cheesy Bacon Biscuit

This is the first time i made savory biscuit.
When i came across this combination few weeks back.
It actually 'feels' weird to me.
Having cheese as part of the ingredient was still ok,
but we're talking about BACON!!!
Bacon in a biscuit.
How weird can that be?

After a few weeks,
i was revisting some of the blog i visir regularly,
when i see this recipe again.....
I look thru the ingredient list, try to imagine how it would come out.
It still bothers me that i'm making biscuit with cheese n bacon it in.
Not to say that the price for these 2 beloved commodities
are price highly here.
I went on to get the 2 main ingredient,
and head back home to try out the recipe.

I didnt follow the recipe to a T.
It called for good matured cheese.
I'm afraid that the cheesy-ness will overpower,
and my whole family will not eat it.
So i bought a mild chedder instead.
That, ends up to be a huge mistake.
Should have stick to a matured chedder.
Cos after cooking, the cheesy-ness was all gone...
All its left with, was a light tint of cheese,
a little saltiness from the bacon.
It was enough for me,
but apparently, my entire family thinks its too BLAND...
Yes, even my mum, who hates BACON.

Cheesy Bacon Biscuit

1. 150g bacon (try to use those with lesser fat)
2. 260g Plan Flour
3. 18g Baking Powder
4. 1/2 tsp Salt
5. 1/4 caynne pepper (i didnt have so substitute with crushed black pepper)
6. 75g unsalted butter (plus a pinch of salt)
7. 250g mild chedder (use a strong one for better taste)
8. 250ml milk

Procedure
1. Fry up the bacon on the pan till crisp,
using a knife, chop it into small bits (this is the difficult part, if u use streaky bacon with alot of fats like i did, u'll have a hard time trying to cut thru the fats)
2. Grate the cheese with a grater.
3. Using a pastry cutter, combine the flour, baking powder, salt & pepper till crumbly.
4. Stir in grated cheese & bacon.
5. Add the milk and combined to form dough.
6. Transfer to a floured surface, knead the dough 4times, DO NOT OVERKNEAD.
7. Roll out dough to 1cm thickness with a floured rolling pin.
8. Cut into shape with 2cm cutter or with knife into triangle (as i did here)
9. Bake in 200c preheated oven for 15min or till edges are golden brown.

Afternote:
The biscuit taste better straight out from oven, slightly crispy.
The next day, it have loses all its crispiness.
Si i smear some cream cheese on it to eat it with.
Due to the fact htat i use mild chedder, the cheese taste was very light.
Didnt think we enjoy savory biscuit very much,
so i still think bacon are better off with pasta, mushroom & pizza!!!

Herb Chicken w Sundried Tomatoes Wrap

Back in action after a good 10days short trip to Melbourne & surround.
Actually i was back on the 14th, night.
I took another week of rest, for my mind... haha..

It was a good trip.
Many first time was spend there.
The scenery AMAZING, sky so blue i didnt know it exist.....
Enjoyed the relaxed schedule that i had plan for me & darling.
We went mostly as per i have planned,
except that we miss out 1 attraction in Cape Otway.
Partly due to us, sleeping in late on our first sleep in the camper.
So much so for reminiscing....
I already am missing the pasta we had in mornington,
the cool breeze, the empty places that we get to have it for ourselves etc etc.....

Enough of lazing & holiday mood.
So i decided to tempt myself into my baking/cooking mood once more.
I went down to Tanglin Market Place.... hahaha
Where else to start me all over, other then a good fabulous market!

So i bought many stuff there, spend a good 1hr in the supermarket,
casually shopping around for the anything that jumps at me.
I bought plenty of cheese, sundried tomatoes, flour, granola etc......

So my first project was actually Cheesy Bacon Biscuit which i did on Tuesday.
But then didnt have 'inspiration' to take photo.
So i waited till today morning then take.
But, i was so excited bout my delicious wrap, i decided to blog bout that first..

Its a simple tortilla wrap,
with herb chicken i marinated the night before,
tuscan salad tossed with olive & lemon,
a rew leftover bacon from the biscuit,
and lastly, chun's new love, sun dried tomatoes.

I told him i had bought sundried before,
but then, he didnt like it.
Just cos he tried it in a nice pasta dish in mornington,
he suddenly thinks "sundried tomatoes very nice hor??"...
Isnt it amazing, how important the manner it is to introduce new food to ppl,
much less children.
That we have to inttroduce it in a manner that they like / favor.
This is something i ought to remember,
incase i wanna introduce more fruits/veg to my future children.

Anyway, so i make an effort to marinate the chicken fillet
the night before with some herbs, olive oil & a dash of soy sauce.
In the morning, i just toss the salad with the dressing,
warm up the tortilla, fry the bacon, assemble, top with up plenty of cheese & WALA~
Nice & filling breakkie!
I love making stuff for chun to eat,
seeing him enjoy the food i make, there's such great satisfaction.
I told him, my perfect life shall be like Bree's in Desperate Housewives.
Baking, cooking 3 meals a day, taking care of homey stuff, (minus the cleaning part) lol...

Herb Chicken with Sundried Tomatoes Wrap
(Makes 2)

Ingredients
1. 2 pieces chicken fillet
(marinated night before with mixed herbs, olive oil, soy sauce)
2. 2 pieces rasher bacon
3. Handfuls of Tuscan salad leaves
4. Few sundried tomatoes
5. Cheese for topping (i use mixture of red chedder & mozarella)

Procedure
1. Marinate the chicken fillet overnight for best result.
2. Fry the chicken fillet till cooked on med fire, approximately 10mins.
3. Meanwhile, warm up the tortilla in the oven as directed.
4. Toss the salads leaves with olive & lemon mixture (1part lemon to 3parts oil).
5. After the fillet is cooked, fry up the rasher bacon till crisp.
6. Arrange fillet, bacon, sundried tomatoes & cheese topping on tortilla on a baking tray.
(Dun put the salad in as i do, later the leaves will be cooked)
7. Baked the wrap on med hot, 180C oven for 4mins, til cheese is melted.
8. Before serving, top with salad leaves & fold the tortilla in.

Pandan Chiffon Cake 2

Tried another Pandan Chiffon Recipe on Wednesday & Thursday.
This time round, it's perfect!
The texture is perfect, the taste perfect,
even on the 2nd day, its still taste perfect!

The first i tried, i'm using recipe from here.
The chiffon then was slightly underbake, i think,
cos it had a denser bottom half and a airy light top half.
The recipe i tried this time, was from a recipe that
i bought titled "Chiffon Cake is Done" by Kevin Chai.
The entire book have nothing else but purely chiffon recipe.

Most of the recipe calls for equal number of egg yolk-white ratio,
which i like cos i dun have to waste any.
The ingredient called for are simple & always avail in my stockie.

This time, i didn use pandan essence.
Instead i use freshly blended pandan leaves for the smell & taste.
I use 1 screwpine leaf, washed, then put in blender with 2tbsp of water,
blend away like mad, till the mixture is fine enough.
Go through the liquid with a cloth sieve.
I also reduce the amount of sugar, cos mummy comment that its a tad sweet to her liking.
I adjusted the recipe to bake with my 16cm tube cake tin.
The petite size which gives me 6 generous slices is perfect for my family.
We could finish the cake in just one morning!

I did one trial cake on Wednesday night.
The cake was gobbled up by me, mum, chun & my maid 10min just out of oven.
Nothing was left, except the crumbs!! lol..
No picture was being taken, cos there's simply no time for it..
Out of oven, slice (even when its still hot), & EATEN...
everyone was particulary hungry, esp mum,
cos she hasn't had her dinner...
My maid still ask me "why never take photo ar?"
So i told her, "this one just try only"... hahaha..

The next day, after chun went out for his appointment.
I start to make another chiffon.
Its really easy to prepare the batter & bake all under an hour.
This is definately gng into my staple recipe corner.
Gng to bake one to bring to my grandma house this sunday!

Tried baking 發糕 too!
Will post my adventure with Mr Fatt later...

the top looks ugly cos i didnt use a sharp knife to seperate it!! I just shake it to release..
If u want a nice looking top, always seperate with a sharp knife in one smooth action, pressing firmly against the cake mould

Cottony soft texture of the Pandan Chiffon, even on the 2nd day

Homemade Yogurt

Initially thought this is a post which i'll never post.
Simply cos the recipe seems to have failed me miserably.
But..... But magic happens sometimes...
And from this experience, i can see that i'm really not a patient person. lol..

I made a batch of yogurt on last tuesday,
taste it on wednesday, & almost threw it away there & then!!
(I already threw away 2 cups of it!)
The yogurt have a very tart taste with an extreme sourish finish to it!
On Thursday, magic happens to the yogurt..
I think it have something to do with the good bacteria fermenting & sleeping....

I recall that the bacteria will be activated at the right temperature, 110F.
Any cooler, it'll be sleeping & not fermenting...
Any warmer, the bacteria will probably die off.
So the gist of making yogurt,
is just a good handy thermometer thats all.

I have do some online research bout the different method of home making yogurt.
I ty 2 differnt incubation method while fermenting the freshly made yogurt.
As of yesterday evening, the 2 sets of yogurt gives almost the same taste to me.
The only different is that one thicken more & the other is slightly more liquid.
I dunio know if its due to the container size that i use to contain the milk,
or its really the method that cause the different in thickness.
I have a feeling that its the container more then anything else.
As smaller container is better warmed throughout due to its small size.
Here's the method that i use, after reading a ton of other method.


Homemade Yogurt
(1 large bottle & 4 small bottles, pictured above)

Ingredient
1. 1.9Liter Whole Milk (cannot be skim / low fat milk)
2. 118ml Good Quality Plain Yogurt (Must have Live Cultures)

Procedure (A) (Small bottle, more firm yogurt)
1. Prepare the incubation for the yogurt.
a) I used my outdoor cooler, put a glass with warm water of 130F in the cooler & close the lid.
We wanna make the environment warm so that the culture can work the new milk.
2. Boil the glass jars that'll be used to ferment the yogurt in boiling water
to kill any bacteria for 10mins.
3. Bring the Milk to a 180F on med fire in a heavy bottom pot,
stirring occasionally to prevent milk from scorching at the bottom.
4. Turn off the heat once it reached 180F,
Allow it to cool to 110F, i put the pot in my sink filled with cold water.
Meanwhile, boil a pot of water & put aside for later use.
5. While cooling the milk, measure the starter yogurt & allow to cool slightly,
at the same time keep a close look of the cooling milk.
If the milk accidently cooled below 110F, heat up the milk slightly.
6. When the temperature is at 110F, scope some warm milk into the boil of starter yogurt,
mix till the starter yogurt is fully combined with the milk with no lumps.
7. Pour the starter yogurt mixture into the warm milk & mix thoroughly,
we wanna ensure that the starter is even spread throughout the mixture.
8. Pour the yogurt mixture into clean jars & closed them finger tips tight.
9. Place the jars into the incubators with glass of 130F warm water to maintain
the temperature inside the incubator.
10. When is the yogurt ready
Incubate the yogurt for 6-8hours, i check the water temperature,
and top up water to 130F after 4hrs as the water have cooled down slightly.
After 6-8hrs, check that the yogurt have thicken but still slightly liquid,
remove from incubator & rest in fridge for 24hrs.
11. After 24hrs, give the yogurt a good stir to stop the fermenting completely

2nd Incubation Method (Big Bottle, slightly more tart & more liquid)
1) I also try the water bath method.
Use a small cooler, line with 3 plastic bag, fill warm water of 130F in the plastic bag,
later, i'll sit my jar of yogurt inside the water bath, with the water level below my jar lids.
2)After the milk is heated up & cooled down,
fill jars with milk yogurt & check that the water temperature in the plastic bag is still 130F.
3) Incubate the yogurt for 4hrs & removed from water bath,
place in fridge & rest for 24hrs.
4) After 24hrs, taste & give the yogurt a good stir to completely stop the fermenting!
5) There'll be a layer of yellowish liquid on top of the ready yogurt,
this is perfectly alright, even commercial yogurt sometimes have that on top.
Can just stir in the yogurt & eat as normal or scope & remove.

Afternote
I got thicker yogurt using the first method,
i didnt know if its the size of the bottle or the method that i used.
The 1st method also produce yogurt less tart.

Chocolate Bundt Cake

I made a batch of homemade yogurt on Tuesday.
On Wednesday evening when I tasted it,
i thought it had all gone wrong.
The yogurt was very tart with a strong sour finish.
Anyway, i'll talk bout the yogurt making in another post.

So Yesterday, thinking that i have 2liters worth of yogurt sitting
in the fridge wasting away.
I flip thru my recipe collection with a lookout for something yogurt...
I didnt want to waste the 2l worth of milk..
And i didnt want to have to drink smoothie all the way with them.
Then i came across this beautiful Chocolate Bundt cake recipe,
which i can't recall where or when i took it down.
It calls for the use of a little sour cream.
The ingredient was simple and i have them all..

I recall that sour cream is somehow similiar & interchangeable with yogurt recipe.
And i have also read that straining the yogurt will gives u a thicker version,
somewhat like the geek style yogurt.
So i measured & scope out the yogurt & strain them with a coconut straining cloth,
which i bought to make marmalade.
And while scoping out the yogurt,
i decided to give them another try, see if ther's any changes after sitting for more then 24hrs.
To my suprise!!!!
It was no longer tart with a sourish finish!!
Instead, the whole bottle of yogurt have develope a yogurt-dy taste,
like those commercial store bought plain yogurt.
I was stunned for a second, before i scope out the rest of the 3 small bottles of try them all.
Seems that, all the yogurt have rested well enough,
and the tart sourish taste is no longer there! haha.. Wee....



Chocolate Bundt Cake

Ingredient
90g Plain Flour
28g Cake Flour
46g Valrhona Dutch Processed Cocao Powder
1 1/4tsp Baking Powder
1/4tsp salt
170g Unsalted Butter
180g Castor Sugar
2 large eggs
1tsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Paste
121g Homemade Yogurt (Strain to thicken)

Procedure
1. Preheat oven to 170C with low rack, grease 5" high bundt mould & set aside.
2. Shift flour, cocao powder, baking powder & salt together.
3. In another bowl, beat butter till light, around 2mins on med.
4. Add Sugar into butter & cream till light & creamy, around 4min on med-high.
5. Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping down between the addition on low-med till combined.
6. While mixing, mix vanilla paste & yogurt together.
7. Mix the Flour mixture into the batter in 3 seperate addition,
the yogurt mixture in 2 addition, alternating between the flour & yogurt mixture,
scrape down as n when necessary, on low speed til combined.
8. Pour the mixture into the greased bundt mould leaving 2" on top,
smooth the top & bake for 50mins, till a skewer test comes out clean.
9. Invert the mould & cool.


Afternote:
The cake is chocolately rich yet soft & crumbly,
doesn't have the heaty chocolate after taste after gobbling a slice of it.
The taste is somehow similiar to Peggy's Rich Chocolate cake,
except that this doesnt need chocolate chips & its not moist & not so "thick".
A perfect light tea cake for daint little tea party w a scope of vanilla ice-cream!

Bob's Red Mill Steel Cut Oat

After searching & calling various Cold Storage,
I have finally made it back with a packet of Steel Cut Oat.

The hunt for Steel Cut Oat starts when i'm googling for "healthy breakfast".
Came across so many different variety, so many different brekkie across different culture.
I remember watching a kiddy show on Channel 8,
thats shows sg children having a taste of working farm life in NZ.
The staple breakfast there is homecook oatmeal, with a variety of condiments.
It looks appetizing enough that i wanted to try it.

Then a few weeks back, I came across a article on Simple Bites,
featuring the different types of oats availiable.
And the different ways to cook them.
In particular, i was hook on the Brown Butter Toasted Oatmeal with Roasted Pears.
It's simple shouts "delish" to me..... I knew then i HAVE to get some of that oats.
Thus, the hunt begins....

I googled briefly online "where to buy steel cut oat in singapore".
Results are fairly simple.
"Availiable only where the ang mohs like to market..."
Which means, west side, only can try Holland, Cluny, Guthrie hse..
I pick Cluny & called them,
but they told me they didnt have it, told me to try Tanglin / Great World,
cos they have a larger Bob's Mill variety there...
Called Tanglin Market Place CS & wala!!!!

So tonight, i'm gng to go home, cook up a small batch to try.
I dunno if chun will like the taste of it.
And considering it needs cooking time of 20-30min.
I dun know if the lazy bird in me will wake up just to
prepare that for brekkie on weekdays!!
BUT, i do remember eating oats can help one lose weight,
if thats really true, maybe i will have the determination....

Looking forward to my batch of home made yogurt tonight when i get home!
Hopefully it'll firm up,
hopfully it'll not taste nasty due to use of Meiji Milk, that i dun drink.

Chewy Oat Cookie

Made a batch of Chewy Oat Cookies for brekkie on wednesday night.
Just nice i have an open packet of old-fashion rolled oat in the fridge from my granolar.
I have always like the macadamia nut cookie & oat cookie from Subway.
They're chewy, but a tad too sweet to my liking
to finish the entire cookie by myself.

After some quick research & flipping of my recipe book.
I used one of the recipe i had on hand.



Chewy Oat Cookie

Ingredients (A)
1. 110g walnut, toasted at 170C for 8mins & chopped
2. 170g unsalted butter
3. 150g light brown sugar
4. 1 egg
5. 1 tsp Madagascar vanilla paste
6. 250g old-fashion rolled oats
7. 1 cup any mixed berries or chocolate chips

Ingredients (B)
1. 100g all plain flour, shifted
2. 1/2 tsp baking soda
3. 1/2 tsp salt

Precedure
1. Preheat oven to 170Deg C
2. Beat butter & sugar till light & fluffy
3. Add egg & vanilla paste, beat till combined
4. Mix Ingredient B together lightly in a seperate bowl
5. Combine Ingredient B into sugar batter & beat till combined
6. Mix in the oats & berries
7. I use a tablespoon to scope out the batter & arrange on greased baking sheet 1inch apart,
flatten the dough slightly with thumb & bake in oven for 13mins,
till edges are slightly golden brown but the centre still white.
8. Cookie will be soft when removed from oven,
cool slightly on baking tray before removing to rack for further cooling.

Afternote:
The cookies are not too sweet & very chewy, gng to be a good staple recipe for brekkie.
Makes about 2 large containers of 2inch diameter cookie,
have to half the recipe next time if only baking for my own family.

Jam Drop Cookie w Home made Strawberry Conserve

Darling was on course for the last 2 nights,
so i have plenty of me time to myself.
Wednesday night was spend donning masks,
afterwhich i watch " The haunting of Conneticut".
Weird things started happening......

I was initally whatsappt-ing with Cel.
Then i went to shower so the conversation stop.
Happily putting body lotion while watching the movie on HBO.
Saw the adverts few days back, and i thought it'll be a good show.
15min into the movie, getting a bit scary liao.. the plot building up...
My phone beeped, its the whatsppt tone..
I didnt bother to check cos the part is getting exciting...
Another 2 beeps followed, so i check it out.
Didnt see any new messages on whatsppt.
So i thought to myself, "whatsappt must be having problems again"..
went back to movie.

After 5min pass, whatsapt beep again...
I check immediately, no new messages.... starting to get paranoid..
Another 5 min pass, whatsappt sounded AGAIN!!!!
Check, no new message.... Getting goosebumps..
Ard 10min later, whatsappt beep AGAIN!!!
Seriously getting scared liao,
so i sms darling see if he's coming home soon,
unfortunately, he says not so early.
Damn, so i switch channel,
watch some lame chinese show for 15min,
then go to bed with the lights on...
Miraculously or coincidently,
no more whatsappt beeping sound after i switch channel.. *spooky**

So yesterday, i decided to give movies a miss,
in case i got freak out again..
I knew that there's a spare package of strawberry lying ard,
and it needs to be use up soon..
Therefore, i went ahead to make Jam Drop Cookie,
with fresh home made strawberry jam..
I reduce the amt of sugar called for in my earlier post of Strawberry Jam.
The ingredient listing is pretty simple & easy to make.
I use the recipe here & modified it slightly.



Afternote:
Didnt really like the taste of the drop cookie.
Should have stick to my good old butter cookie recipe!!
Next try, Danish Cookie.

Home made Strawberry Jam!!

The actual reason there's a part 2 for this post,
is actually due to my own laziness.... haha
The jam was made on Sunday night,
ready by monday morning.
But, Monday, Wed & Fri is exercise day for me & chun.
I came home happily, slightly early from work.

Chun reached home earlier then i did.
He's all ready in his exercise attire, even his socks is on!!
So the evening was spend roller-blading, followed by dinner..
By the time we finish eating, there's no sunlight to speak off.
So i have to wait for tuesday before i can take photos.....
That calls for the delay of the photos,
thus the post cant be completed on monday,
BUT i was so excited of my jam,
I can't go w/o posting my adventure.... haha...

Anyway I borrowed some books from NLB during lunch on monday.
Didnt know they have a teeny winny section on canning & food preservation.
Pop by during lunch time to grab the 3 books.
Some were books that i'm looking forward to purchasing
but havent done so, cos i still have outstanding orders which were not here yet.
Since they were availiable, decided to borrowed & read thru first.

Alot of these canning & preservation books does not
comes with many colorful pages of beautiful pictures like recipe books.
Instead, i realise they have drawing as illustration,
or even just plain description with texts.
A bit disappointed with none pictured books.
So probably will not get those.

Many canning books / even internet have said not to
reduce the sugar portion in the recipe.
As sugar is one of the main ingredient that helps to preserve food,
if we do intend to keep it for a longer shelf life.
If we're just making & using it straight away,
we dun even need to go thru the water-boiling canning method.
We can simply cook & refrigerate & use it within 3-4weeks safely.
So if that's the case, we can alter the sugar ratio more flexibly.

In singapore, with the abundance of most types of fruits / veg all yr round.
Canning & food preservation will not have a big impact on our lives.
Since we have to import all the food that we eat.
It doesnt matter really that much, food prices are already high to begin with!

Enough rumbling, I started making the strawberry jam at 10pm on Sunday night!
After a few rounds of Bingo with my family, which i lose $3 btw..
I choose a relatively easy recipe that didnt require pectin.

Home Made Strawberry Jam
Ingredients
1. 3cups sliced strawberry
2. 1 cup sugar
3. 2 tbsp lemon juice (i use freshly squeeze cos i have spare lemon lying ard,
but its advisable to get those canned / bottled lemon juice for their stability)

Instruction
1. Put the jars into a soup pot & bring to vigorious boil, covering jar with at least 2' water.
2. Put all the ingredient into a non-reactive pan.
3. Melt the sugar on low heat, once sugar melted,
switch to med-high heat, keep stirring to prevent burnt strawberries til gelling stage is reached.
4. The cooking process take approximately 18min for my 3 cups sliced berries,
cooking time will varies slightly from strawberries water content, types of pan used.
5. The strawberry mixture will bubble & foam quite alot.
6. To test for gelling stage, use either a candy thermometer maintained at 220C or,
put a few drops of the hot mixture on a frozen plate, rest it for 30sec,
if it cools down to a gel-like stage, the mixture is ready,
if the mixture is still runny like water, continue to boil down the mixture & test again.
7. For my batch, i cook them for approximately 20min before
i have success with the plate test.
8. While cooking the strawbeery mixture, my jar & lids are soak in the hot water
to sterilise.
9. When the mixture is ready, fish out jar & lids with thongs.
10. Ladle the mixture into jar, leaving 1/4' headspace from the top of jam to lid,
usually this is the bottom of the screw band of the jar.
11. Make sure that the rims of the jar are clean to ensure proper sealing later.
12. Tighten band to finger tip tightness, not excessively tight,
air needs to escape from the jam during hot water canning period.
13. Lower the jar into soup pot with hot water, ensure that the jar is covered
at least 2' from top with water. Bring to vigorious boil & start timing for 10min.
14. Remove the jar & leave to cool for 12-24hrs before checking for seal.
15. To check for seal, press the middle button, it should be convex & not move at all.
16. If it does move, it means that it is not probably sealed, but the content can still be eaten.
Just refrigerate it immediately & consume content within 3-4weeks!
17. I have made approximately 300g of strawberry jam worth with above recipe.
The 2 bottles that i go thru with the hot water canning method sealed,
1 bottle sealed just 15min after taking out from the hot water,
the other bottle, when i check out the next morning, it was sealed too.
So i have no idea what time did the button pop for bottle no. 2.


Afternote:
The jam did set properly, its not excessivly runny,
i could use it to spread my bread as per conventional store bought jam.
But i feel that the jam is a tad too sweet to my liking.
For my next batch jam, i'll probably adjust the sugar ratio slightly.
Since im making it for home consumption purely,
and with the little jam that i made,
my family cld finish it within a month safely.
So unless im intending to give it as gift,
I'll continue to lower the sugar ratio and try it out.

Canning Fever~

Haven been runing with Canning fever recently after reading Simple Bites.
Didnt know that making jams/jelly can be soooo easy peasy.
The procedure are relatively easy & ingredient easy to find
except for recipe that calls for pectin.

Phoon Huat has it, but they dun call it pectin,
nor is there any instruction for it.
What they have is a small bottle and a chemical name, which i forgot what its called.
When i ask for the instruction to use, they simply told me,
"1kg fruit to 1tbsp", thats all..
I didnt know if it'll work,
i dun wanna have to waste a few punnet of strawberry with that,
considering strawberry isnt exceedingly considered cheap in Sg.

The other more headache problem is the lack of canning supplies in Sg.
Obviously, our major supermarket, NTUC doesn't sells it.
I have check a few baking supplies store,
Pantry Magic sells it, but at a very high price.
I remember getting some jars from Tom & Steffanie before.
Maybe i'm not looking at the right places yet.
But so far, i have seen a small variety only at Sheng siong.
And they are priced from $2.40 onwards for a small 200ml, Bormioli Glass jar.

I wanted to have a hands on the canning process,
hear the lovely "popping" sounds of the can when they seal. hehe
With no pectin on hand, i choose a recipe that can do w/o it.
And the easiest i thought, to start with will be a strawberry jam.

So i tag along with mummy n brother to Sheng siong supermarket.
Searching for the lovely red berries,
began to panick when i see no signs of them...
"Strawberry season over liao meh?"
I remember buying 2 boxes for $10 bucks offer just a few weeks back.
Then in one tiny corner, i saw a small carton of strawberry.
Didnt have much selection,
there was only about 20+ small boxes for me to choose from.
I consider not making them, instead try another fruit.
But then i was so desperate, i just grab 3 boxes.
They cost me close to $12 for 750g of strawberry.
Darling even commented, so expensive to make jam ar...

To be continued~~

More Bananas: Banana Cake

I have leftover bananas from last week.
And this week, the bananas have ripen even more,
to a state of back spot, nope, i should say black patches have appear on the skin.
The bananas are sooooooooo soft,
u dun have to twist it to remove it from the stem,
u just have to touch it, and it'll drop by itself... Magic....

Chun feedback to me that he doesnt really like the walnut
in my previous bake.
He comment that it feels like eating the Post cereal, "Banana Nut Crunch"
So last night, i omitted the beloved walnuts,
and go with a simple Banana Cake.
I like the bananacake that Fourleaf baked, soft, fluffy & banana-y.



Banana Cake Recipe

Ingredients
1. 110g Butter
2. 150g Sugar
3. 225g Self Raising Flour
4. 2 eggs
5. 2-3 extremely riped bananas

Instruction
1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Mash the bananas to desire consistency.
3. Cream the butter and sugar on med speed till light n fluffy.
4. Add in eggs and mixed till combined.
5. Mix mashed bananas & batter together briefly,
add in flour & mix till well combined.
6. Pour into prepared mould and bake for 40mins,
then reduce temp to 150C & bake for another 30min.



Afternote:
I didnt follow the baking time strictly, cos i tested with a toothpick & it came out clean.
However, i realise that the cake is fluffier on the top half,
and denser on hte bottom half.
Don't know if its caused by my underbaking time.
Nonetheless, due to the ripen bananas,
the smell & sweetness of the banana is heavier
as compared to my previous Banana Walnut Muffin
even though less banana is added.
Therefore, the ripeness of the banana does make a huge difference.

Banana Walnut Muffin for breakfast

I am desperately craving for banana nut bake for the loooooongest time.
Sometime back during the Raya sales at Sheng Shiong.
I have gotten a 1kg pack of almond slice, yes... 1kg of it.
And another 500g of walnut to go with it.
I have already use the almond for some other bake,
am reserving the walnut for a concoction of banna + walnut watever...

So yesterday while i'm grabing fruits for office use,
i stumble upon this bunch of digusting fully ripen banana thats selling for only 85cent!
Grab it w/o any hesitation cos I've been wanting to banana shop for the entire week already!

Chun mum have ever told me that if i wanna cook banana,
i should get those short looking ones with the thin thin skin, aka "indian banana".
The ones i got yesterday was not exactly those type.
I knew i got the wrong bananas the moment i peel them open.
The skin was thick, like those Philippines banana.
Nevertheless, i continue my banana adventure.

Tried out a recipe that i stumble upon online.
The entire procedure seems easy enough with normal everyday ingredients.
The process went well, and fairly quickly.
The batter was kinda to the dry side though.
They were thick and lumpy.
And i realise what was missing, milk.
There's no milk called for as part of the ingredient.
I know milk could yield a softer muffin.
Maybe i'll just give it a try next time, adding milk into the batter.
Oh and i didnt add in any artificial banana essence as well.
Using all real & good ingredient. hmmmm...

The final pdt was a tad dry to my liking,
but the texture did improve on the 2nd morning when i have it for brekkie.
Maybe i'll try adding in a couple or 2 tbsp of milk next time.
I like my banana walnut muffin moist & dense....

The smell of the banana is very very subtle,
due to the omission of the banana essence.
You won't smell those very artificial & sweet banana smell.

One thing to note, i have difficulty focusing when i took photo for the muffin.
I think its partly due to the chopped walnut i sprinkle on top...
I dunno if its my amatuer photo taking skills,
or my brain not functioning well as i'm still sick on doc's prescription last night.


Banana Walnut Muffin

Ingredient
1. 4 very riped bananas, mashed
(preferbaly those short ones with very thin skin)
2. 75g butter, soften
3. 165g castor sugar
4. 1 egg, beaten
5. 1 tsp vanilla extract (i use magadascar bean paste)
6. 1 tsp baking soda
7. Pinch of salt
8. 170g plain flour
9. 100g walnut, chopped & toasted

Procedure
1. Preheat oven to 170deg cel.
2. Mix soften butter into mashed banana.
3. Mix in sugar, egg, vanilla.
4. Sprinkle baking soda & salt over mixture & combined
5. Add flour till just incorporated,
(big lumpy flour is ok, do not overmixed else will end up with tough muffin)
6. Fold in chopped walnut gently with as little stroke as possible
7. Pour mixture into prepared muffin pan til 90% full.
8. Bake for 20-25min til toothpick comes out clean.

Makes 15 regular size muffins

Pandan Chiffon Cake

Am down with a bad throat.
So saw a doctor & was suppose to rest at home......
But......... instead of resting like what the doctor advise.
I succumb to the calling of my pattisier sitting on the kitchen top.....

So, I went ahead to try my first Pandan Chiffon.
I have been browsing thru the internet for some recipe as well as technique.
My mum LOVED Pandan Cake.
And so i thought it would be a good idea if i can teach my maid how to make it,
so that she can always have freshly home made goodness.

I followed the recipe to a tee....
With the exception of freshly squeeze juice of pandan leaf, cos i dun have them.
While my chiffon is happily baking away,
and me clearing the mess i made in the kitchen.
It struck to me while i was keeping the bottle of baking powder..
That I have forgotten to add in the baking powder at all!!!

I make a dash to the oven, and pray hard,
like I used to when i last minute cramp all the info into my brain the night prior to exams,
that my chiffon will still "rise" despite the forgotten baking powder.
Indeed, my prayer didnt fail me, it have RISEN...

The recipe that i used was a whole egg recipe,
as i dun wanna waste any extra yolk.
The result was splendid, the chiffon is soft and tender like it shld.
I may wanna try another recipe with slighty higher ratio of white to yolk next time!
To see if there's a distinct difference.
There's a looooooooooong post online regarding Pandan Chiffon.
I used one of the recipe listed there by Anna Chan.


Pandan Chiffon Cake Recipe

Batch 1
1. 2 egg yolks
2. 15g castor sugar
3. 57g coconut milk
4. 40g top flour
5. 1/4 baking powder (which i forgot to add in)
6. 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
7. 1/4 pandan essence

Batch 2
1. 2 egg white
2. 45g castor sugar
3. 1/5 cream of tar tar

Procedure

1. Preheat to 170deg cel.

Batch 1
2. Mix yolk with sugar till light & creamy (about 8min)
3. Add in coconut milk, vanilla essence, pandan essence & mix till combined
4. Add in shifted flour & baking powder

Batch 2
5. Whisk egg white till foamy
6. Add in cream of tar tar, whisk for another 1min
7. Add in sugar & whisk till stiff peak
8. Combined 1/3 of batter from Batch 2 into Batch 1
9. Fold in the rest of Batch 2 batter into Batch 1 batter
10. Pour into mould & bake for 45min on lower rack, till top is golden brown
11. Invert to cool.. TATA...





*Updated 30/10/10
Made another successful Pandan Chiffon Cake with other recipe.