i want you!

kitchenAid stand mixer
u see that machine up there?
how i wish i can have one...

baking-unlimited.com

takde koje betul aku ni. asik dok try resipi itu dan ini. pantang weekend or public holiday, mesti meroyan nak buat something kat dapor. last saturday i tried to make chicken pie, dapat recipe ni dari kak ngah. sungguh aku tak percaya aku telah berjaya membuat my own homemade pie! dulu juz tau makan pie yang mak buat. best sgt bila kita buat apa2, the kids makan & kata sedap. sometimes siap exaggerate dgn pujian yang melambong2. :) thx for the recipe kak ngah ku sayang..

baking moms out there, here's the recipe..

-chicken pie-

ingredients:
2 3/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup cold water

Flour+salt+butter buat dgn hujung jari. campurkan air& uli. kalau lembek, tambah tepung. then canai tapi tak payah tebal sgt.

inti :

burger ayam ramly 1/2 pack

potatoes abt 2-3 biji

mushroom 1/2 can

1) letak burger on pan, keluarkan minyak & dishout minyak

2) squeeze limau nipis, then onions, serbuk rempah kari sikit, then potatoes n mushroom.

3) bila da masak tutup api

4) before put in to pastry, gaul telur n tabur flour into the inti so that dia melekat.

Makes abt 10 pies of 3x3 inch aluminium box.

Bake in preheat 200c (15-20 min)

polkadots

people call it 'apam polka dot' or 'apam dot dot'. i prefer the polka dots bcoz dot dot sounds kinky. i've been eying on the little tiny cuties and been wanting to make them. and finally, i made them! the process is not so easy. the batter is thick and sticky. making the dots was quite challenging due to it's mini size and the batter's texture. but i really enjoyed making the apams. got the recipe from myresipi.com, upon recommendation from a good friend of mine.

the batter, the piping bags and the colorful outcome

awwww... ain't it cute?

if any of you baking moms out there feels like trying, here's the recipe :)

apam polka dots

bahan-bahan ( 45 biji Cup Sederhana Besar )

* 3 biji telur

* 200 gm (1 cup) gula halus (boleh kurangkan jika tak suka manis)

* 150gm (< 2/3 cup) fresh milk. Boleh juga ganti dgn susu sejat/evaporated.

* 275 gm (2 3/4 cup) tepung gandum*

* 3 sudu teh baking powder* (diayak bersama tepung gandum)

* 1 sudu teh ovallete

* 1 sudu teh esen vanilla

* Pewarna

* Filling : blueberry, sekaya, strawberry, jem, peanut butter, coklat, orange filling atau apa2 je

secukupnya (masukkan ke dalam piping bag)

cara-cara:

1. Pukul telur dan gula hingga kembang dgn kelajuan maxima selama 10 minit.

Masukkan susu BERSELANGSELI dengan tepung sedikit demi sedikit sambil pukul perlahan

dengan mixer.

Tambah esen vanilla & Ovallette, pukul lagi sehingga sebati dan nampak adunan akan berubah

texture menjadi gebu.

Bahagikan adunan kepada beberapa bahagian, titiskan pewarna mengikut citarasa.

2. Masukkan setiap warna ke dalam piping bag (atau beg plastik yang bersih).

3. Picitkan sedikit adunan ke dalam mangkuk kertas yang telah disusun didalam acuan lompang.

4. Picitkan filling secukupnya.

5. Picitkan lagi adunan sehingga ¾ penuh. Kemudian dot dot kan dengan warna pilihan.

6. Kukus didalam kukusan yang telah dipanaskan selama 10-15 minit

7. Jangan buka api besar semasa mengukus. Nanti merekah. Bungkus tutup kukus dgn kain biar air tak jatuh pd apam.

feeling velvety

i've tried a few recipes i got from the internet but in my opinion, Laura's recipe is the best. the cake texture is so soft & velvety. simply simply irresistible! i made some rv cupcakes for my mak yesterday, and she loves them!

here's the recipe..

red velvet cupcakes

ingredients:
1 1/4 all purpose flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
60 g unsalted butter (room temp)
3/4 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup buttermilk (3/4 fresh milk + 3/4 tbsp apple cider)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp red food colouring

1. preheat oven to 180c.
2. in a small bowl, mix together flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda & salt. put aside.
3. in a mixer bowl, cream together butter & sugar. add egg & vanilla & mix until creamy.
4. slow the mixer speed, add 1/2 of the dry ingredients. then add the buttermilk. mix until well combined. then add the remaining 1/2 of both dry ingredients. DON'T overmix.
5. use rubber spatula to mix the red food colouring into the batter.
6. use ice cream scoop to scoop the batter evenly in your baking pan/cupcake cups.
bake for 18-22 minutes.
let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

creamcheese frosting:
4 oz creamcheese
4 oz butter (room temp)
1 oz icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. mix all ingredients and beat until smooth & creamy.
2. frost the cupcakes with little spatula or using a piping bag.
let cool in the fridge for about 10-15 minutes to set a little before serving.

kesyukuran

bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

betapa aku bersyukur kepadaMu ya Allah di atas segala ujianMu yang memberikan aku keinsafan. aku panjatkan segala puji-pujian ke atasMu dan aku bersyukur kepadaMu ya Allah di atas segala rahmat dan rezeki yang Kau turunkan, menjawab segala doaku, memberikan aku kebahagiaan, kesihatan dan ketenangan. Kau turunkan cahaya, Kau turunkan hujan dan Kau turunkan keberkatan di muka bumi ini untuk semua hambaMu mendapat manfaat.

.....syukur alhamdulillah

deewali 2011

nope, i didn't celebrate deewali but it was a public holiday and my mode button for baking and cooking turned on again. boy! i'm crazy. i spent a lot of time in the kitchen yesterday. i made pancakes for breakfast. the recipe that i tried was so good! my kids loved them. we had them with maple syrup, strawberry jam and chocolate syrup. my kids sprayed some whipped cream on their pancakes, they love whipped cream up to an extent where they will spray it straight into their mouths!

i love pancakes!!

i cooked lunch. i'm in process of improving my skills of cooking malay dish. masak asam a.k.a asam pedas is our old time favorite lauk. so yesterday was my 2nd trial of making masam asam. almost there... with a little bit of improvising, i think i'll make the best masak asam in my taman perumahan (cewah!! perasan!).

jenak masak asam, sweet sour chicken & fried spinach.

a meal is never complete without desserts. well, that's what i think because i can't resist desserts. i love them (and that explains why fat keeps on piling up inside of me, gulp!). anyway, i made oreo ice cream cake for dessert. thx for the recipe, laura.. this is a good and simple recipe. the taste, out of this world!! ok lah, maybe i'm a little bit exaggerating here. the taste is good and i want to share the recipe with all of you baking moms out there.

smooth texture. milky and sweet. irresistible.

oreo ice cream cake recipe:

ingredients
1 pint vanilla ice cream (i prefer nestle's bcoz of the milkiness)
1/2 cup caramel sauce (i omit this bcoz it's too sweet. u can half the quantity if u want)
1/2 cup chocolate syrup
1 large pack oreo cookies
1/2 cup walnut syrup (optional)

preparation
1. take ice cream out of freezer and leave at room temp for 10-15 minutes
2. line a pan with parchment paper.
3. line the inner edge & the bottom of the pan with oreo halves.
4. place the rest of the oreo in a zip lock bag & smash them with a rolling pin until the oreo
become coarse crumbs.
5. in a large bowl, mix together ice cream, caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, walnuts and oreo
crumbs (reserve 1/4 of the crumbs for the topping). mix everything together well to combine
and pour the mixture to the pan. top the cake with the reserved crumbs.
6. place the cake in the freezer for 6 hours (i freeze my cake overnight to make sure it sets well).

ten years

21st october 2001

that day... the day that brought an ultimate joy into my life. the day that made me become a brand new person. the day when my better half & i were united as one. that day was a happy ending of my own fairytale..

...and that day was the beginning of my journey in life. the journey with many happiness, laughter and joy. challenges, tears and pain are never being borne alone since that day. i am always being accompanied, being loved, and being taken care of. and the journey keeps on continuing for as long as we shall live, together..

21st october 2011

thank you my love for giving me you

pressure pressure pressure!!

stress mode is so ON rite now! i feel like punching someone's face!!

16 october 2011

happy birthday, me!! thank you so much to all family, relatives and friends that wished me. thanx mak for baking the most yummilicious moist chocolate cake. thanx to my siblings; kak long, k.ila @ blossom, jerd for singing 'happy bday to you' at Sri Tanjong last sunday. kak long, thx so much for the unexpected at all bday gift! you're so sweet!! thanx jerd, andy, and my staffs; nana, irwan, & othman for celebrating my belated b'day yesterday.. hugss!!

i made pretzels

wow! unbelievable but true. my 1st attempt of making homemade pretzels and caramel sauce sort of succeeded. sort of... because the pretzels texture & taste can't beat auntie anne's pretzels (my favourite!) but i think with a few more attempts and some modifications and alterations here & there to the recipe, i think it's soon (entah bila agaknya??) gonna be perfect (ye la tu... perasan lebih..). want the recipe? try it, impress yourself and your kids (ni kes syok sendiri la ni...).

ingredients:

1 ½ cups of Water (warm)
1 Tbsp of Sugar
1 ½ tsp of Salt
1 package of Dry Yeast
2 Tbsp of melted Butter
4 ½ to 5 cups of All Purpose Flour

6 cups of Water
½ cup of Baking Soda

Egg Wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp of water)
Kosher Salt or sugar for topping

1) In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, add the water, sugar and salt, stir to mix and sprinkle the yeast on top. Let it sit for about 5 minutes or until the yeast begins to foam.

2) Add the flour and butter and turn the mixer to low and mix until everything is combined. Turn the speed up to medium and mix for about 5 to 7 minutes or until you have a smooth dough.

3) Brush the bottom and sides of a bowl with some vegetable oil and put the dough in the oiled bowl. Cover with wet towel or cling wrapper and let it rise in a warm spot (in your microwave pun boleh) for about 1 hour.

4) Preheat your oven to 230c, lay 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and brush some vegetable oil on the parchment paper.

5) Add the water and baking soda to a roasting pan and set the roasting pan over a burner and turn the heat on to medium and let the water come to a rolling boil, meanwhile form the pretzels.

6) Once the dough has risen, cut it into 12 equal pieces, roll each piece into a rope and make a U shape, then press the ends of the rope at the bottom of the U shape and pinch the ends. Place your shaped pretzels onto the oiled parchment paper line baking sheets.

7) Carefully place the pretzels into the boiling water for 30 seconds one at a time, remove from the boiling water using a flat spatula and put them back on the oiled parchment paper lined baking sheets. Continue to cook all of them and then brush them with the egg wash and sprinkle each one with a little kosher salt or sugar.

8) Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until deeply golden brown.

well, yeah looks like it needs a lot of effort. uneasy steps i should admit but i had fun making those pretzels.

sunday @home

my little dimples, weef weef is not well. his mood swings from left to right, top to bottom. so we've decided to spend our sunday at home. i love spending my weekends at home now. and i love to spend loads of time in my kitchen doing one experiment after another.. *i used to hate stepping foot into my kitchen bcoz of very poor housekeeping by my ex-maid. but my new maid, a very clean lady takes good care and maintain my kitchen very well now.. so i enjoy cooking and baking in a clean, non sticky and hygiene kitchen*

for breakfast, i made serabai. can u believe it? i dare myself to try make it. well, it was my 1st attempt & the experiment didn't turn out well. u r supposed to eat serabai with its own kuah serawa (like pengat durian/pisang) but i didn't have durian/pisang at home so i substitute them with butter, jam & chocolate spread. (entah apa2 entah! lebih baik buat pancake je kan lebih senang & sesuai. pfffttt!!). so as a conclusion, i prefer the normal pancake. haziq didn't like the serabai i made as well. he juz had 1 (unfinished) and said, "mama, apesal this pancake tak sedap eh?" sheeesh!!!

look at that rascal's face! the 'hmmm-tak-sedap-aaaa' face!

anyway.. for lunch i cooked ayam masak merah, steamed siakap & fried vege. i bought the chicken from the chicken processing shop so it was so fresh & tastes gooooood! the siakap was ok lah, juz got it from the market but not that fresh. want the steamed siakap recipe? easy peasy..


thai style steamed siakap

ingredients:
1 ekor siakap - basuh & lumur dengan air asam utk buang hanyir
2" halia - hiris halus
5 ulas bawang putih - hiris halus
1 btg serai - hiris2
1-2 biji tomato - potong dadu
1 sdB oyster sos - campur air & gula sikit
1-2 biji limau nipis - perah jus dia
daun sup

1. gaul ikan dengan garam. tabur2 kan halia, bawang putih & serai. steam for 25 minutes.
2. taburkan tomato & curah oyster sos mix. continue to steam for 5 minutes.
3. curah jus limau. cuba rasa masam manis masin. tambah apa yg patut. continue to steam for 3 minutes.
4. tutup api & tabur2 kan daun sup.

try it. it's lazat & healthy.

for dinner we just had bread & finish off lunch leftovers. haziq asked for red velvet cupcakes but it was nite time already when he asked & we had to go out to shop for some groceries. *if u notice, haziq ni memang kuat makan. very demanding & choosy. a die hard fan of desserts, like me..*
ok lah, the next time i make red velvet cupcakes for haziq, i'll post an entry about it and share with u the recipe. traaaa...

moon halo 09.10.11

i didn't witness this with my own eyes but, wow!! subhanallah...

"Gambar fenomena fenomena lingkaran 22 degree lunar halo paling indah pada 9/ 10/ 2011. Mesti ramai yang dah melihat fenomena ni pada malam tu. Lingkaran yang mengelilingi bulan seperti cincin ni dinamakan 22 degree lunar halo. Ia terjadi apabila terdapat awan sirus yang mengandungi kristal ais, pantulan cahaya dari bulan membiaskan cahaya tersebut lalu terjadilah fenomena ini."
- http://www.melvister.com

u all suka soft cookies??

kalau korang suka soft cookies, cuba try recipe ni. kesedapan tahap menjilat tapak tangan! rasa dia kan, kat keliling crispy tapi kat tengah chunky/chewy. chocolate chips tak kisah pakai apa cap pun but i use hersheys brand. bila kunyah tu... mmmmmm, sungguh chocolaty. cinnamon tu sikit je, tak obvious sangat rasa dia. reason guna cinnamon is to make the chocolate taste more intense. sekali try buat mesti nak buat lagi berkali2. tak percaya? cer cuba...

2 1/4 cups All purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
7 tbsp unsalted butter (room temp)
2 tbsp vegetable shortening (room temp)
3/4 cups caster sugar
3/4 cups brown sugar
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

Preps:
1. Preheat oven to 190c
2. Combine together flour, salt, baking soda & cinnamon
3. In a mixer bowl, cream together butter, shortening and both sugars
4. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix until well combined
5. Scrape down sides of bowl to make sure everything is mixed well
6. Add the dry ingredients & mix to combine
7. Add choc chips & mix to distribute through the batter
8. Use a small ice cream scoop, drop the dough 2" apart onto a baking tray
Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly golden brown around the edges
Cool for 5 minutes on the baking tray before u remove onto wire rack

this recipe is my haziq's favourite. i'll bake half or 1/4 of the batter and keep the balance of the batter in the fridge so that i can easily bake fresh anytime haziq wants somemore cookies bila2 dia teragak nak makan. cuba tau.. :)

last weekend

hoi hai.. last weekend we brought our kids to kl. saje lepak2 sebab dah lama tak keluar from melaka. kids dah bosan asik dok rumah masa weekend. so kitorang gi lepak area damansara. best ada ikea. nak ke mana2 pun senang tak pyh drive sebab kat bawah2 hotel tu ada macam2.

view from our hotel room. biasanya we all dpt bilik yg nampak view ikea.
tak best sgt view from this room sbb nampak bumbung je banyak.


in the room the kids main psp & ipad sementara nak tunggu mama & papa siap


nyum nyum.. best rupa2nya tutti frutti. self service frozen yogurt shop..
the kids excited gila sbb boleh tuang sendiri their yogurt


tengok lah dak haziq dan aksi2 terlampau nya itu!! mat over sungguh...


bye2 fun weekend in kl. time to go back home...

jom buat carrot cake

hi all.. been ages since i last share my story with u people. well, there's nothing much to say actually. been doing the normal daily routine. nothing out of this world. weekdays, macam biasa lah. bangun pagi gosok gigi cuci muka mandi pakai baju *tweet* masa cikgu muzik kat sekolah dulu ajar, dia tak mention : 'mandi'. apa lah punya cikgu. kita mestilah mandi lepas gosok gigi & cuci muka. well anyway, then hantar mukhriz to school. then off to office. the same thing happens everyday monday to friday.

so weekends, kalau takde benda nak buat, i juz rest at home with the family. since my new maid is not so good at cooking (boleh lah tahan tapi tak lah sedap sgt..), i normally choose to cook and ask her to do other stuffs like laundry, ironing etc etc. i prefer to be chef alone in the kitchen. i'm not a pro but ok lah.. besides preparing lunch, i like to try out new recipes for desserts. nyumm nyumm... last weekend i tried new recipe for carrotcake. sedap jugak that recipe. u wanna try it? very easy peasy.


MOIST CARROT CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

1 1/4 cup & 1 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg (i didnt put this haritu sbb takde)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla essence
1 tsp grated orange zest (ni pun i didnt put sbb takde orange plk kat fridge masa tu.. hmmm)
1 1/2 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup raisin (ni i didnt put sbb takut the kids tak suka)

1. preheat oven to 180c
2. in a bowl, toss together raisins, carrots and 1 tbsp flour
3. in a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients until well combined
4. then add in the carrot & raisin. mix until incorporated
5. pour the batter in a baking pan (jangan lupa sapu butter & alas parchment paper dulu)
6. bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

for the frosting:
4 oz cream cheese (room temperature)
4 oz butter (room temperature)
1 oz icing sugar

1. beat all ingredients until creamy and thick
2. then frost the cake. tapi kena make sure cake betul2 cool off tau, kalau tak cair bair frosting tu jadi mcm castard.

ok u alls. try yang ni dulu. nanti kalau ada masa lapang, i'll share some other recipes in my top list. selamat mencuba.. oxox W.