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.

Rainbow Cuppies

Help my fren did one batch for his gf last month.
Loved the colors when you bite into it... awesome-ness~

It was a long weekend here in Sg.
There's not much activity that we have plan for the PH.
So while Chun is fiddling away on his PINK sony viao laptop.
I gather the ingredient & tried to make the cuppies.

Wanted to try another cupcake recipe i found online,
but am abit skeptical bout the taste.
So in the end still use back my same old trusted recipe by Nigella Lawson.

Why i loved her recipe?
For its simplicity, no frail ingredient & method.
As well as the fact that it yield exactly 12 cuppies nicely,
nothing more, nothing less.
Its a small batch, nice enough to feed my small family of 6.

I remember the last time i did it with my fren, Loon.
The cuppies color didnt come out as plan.
It cant show the different layers from the outside of the paper lining.
So this time i tried another method.
Just purely topping & topping up the colored batter
without trying to smooth out the previous layer beneath.

The layering are still not as nice as it could get,
but its definately more obvious this time round, showing all the 5 colors in layers.
The yummilicious index is still the same as ever.

the colorful batter

the aftermath mess



chun insist on taking this pic