Special Melting Moments

Today is a activities-filled day! At the repeated request of my boy, he wanted to take the train from our place to Changi Airport... nothing special if you are not staying in the farthest north of Singapore. I didn't really timed the journey, but I think it took at least 1.5 hours including the feeder service from my house to the MRT station. The return trip was another train and super long bus trip back from Changi Airport back home. Really a B.M.W. (bus.mrt.walk) day! Although it was pretty tiring, I really cherish and love these moments. Our conversation whilst in the sky train:-

Me: Are you happy today?

Zakris: I am happy!

Zakris: Mummy, are you happy?

Me: I'm happy because you are happy :-))

Zakris: Why?

Me: B'cos I love you <3<3<3>

I thought I would be too tired to do any baking today, but my energy level went up when I reached home. So here's another recipe which I'm trying from Agnes Chang's I Can Bake.... Special Melting Moments. Another easy and no-fuss (i.e. no mixer required) recipe which yield yummy & very delicate morsels. And these are made especially special because my darling helps with the mixing and piping :-))

Special Melting Moments

Recipe adapted from Agnes Chang's I Can Bake

Ingredients/ Method:

200g butter

80g icing sugar, sifted

1 tsp vanilla essence

1/4 tsp salt

120g self-raising flour, sifted

120g corn flour, sifted

1. Cream butter, icing sugar, vanilla essence and salt using spatula till just combined.

2. Add self-raising flour, corn flour and mix into soft dough.

3. Spoon mixture into a piping bag fitted with a big star nozzle. Pipe onto a greased baking tray to form into the shape of rosette.

4. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 170 deg C for 15 - 20 mins till light golden brown.

5. Cool on rack, sprinkle some icing sugar on top if desired.

6. Store in air tight tin before serving.

Note:

1. I reduced the icing sugar to 60g, sweetness is just nice for me.

2. As usual, I used my favourite pure vanilla bean paste.

3. I baked the cookies at 15 mins.

4. I sprinkled snow powder on some of the cookies but I think they look and taste better without them.

5. The next time I baked, I may want to add a bit of red cherries to make these cookies look brighter and cheery.

(Updated 23.1.2011: My relatives tried these but they don't fancy this cookies. General comment is that it's very salty. To omit salt or use unsalted butter the next time if I'm trying this recipe again.)

Melting Moments dusted with snow powder.

I'm submitting this to Aspiring Bakers #3: My Favourite CNY Cookie, hosted by j3ss kitch3n.

Daisy Mocha Cookies

Another CNY cookies that I made today - Daisy Mocha Cookies, the first recipe that I tried from Agnes Chang "I Can Bake" cookbook. Personally I'm not a cookie-person, and usually I don't pay much attention to the cookie section of any cookbooks. If you were to notice, I hardly bake cookies but during this CNY season, it seems that I'm going to bake more cookies than ever ;-))

The recipe is very easy to prepare, and only require a mixing bowl and spatula.

Daisy Mocha Cookies
Recipe adapted from Agnes Chang "I Can Bake"

Ingredients/ Method:
(A) 250g butter
120g castor sugar
1 egg yolk
1 1/2tsp coffee paste

(B) 420g plain flour, sifted
60g chocolate rice

Decoration: Some chocolate chips

1) Put all ingredients A into a mixing bowl and cream till well combined.
2) Mix in ingredients B and form into a firm pliable dough.
3) Place the dough in between 2 layers of grease-proof paper and roll it to 3mm thick.
4) Cut with daisy-shaped cookie cutter and arrange the shapes on a greased baking tray. Decorate each centre with a chocolate chip.
5) Bake in pre-heated oven at 180 deg C for about 15 - 20 mins, till lightly brown. Leave to cool before storing.

Note:
1) I reduced the sugar to 100g and level of sweetness is just right for me.
2) I replaced the coffee paste with 1 1/2tsp hot water and 2tsp nescafe granules, as I didn't want to buy the coffee paste which I know I will hardly use.
3) Work on a small portion of dough at a time, and put the remaining dough in the fridge. It's much easier to work with the dough when they are just out of the fridge.

Verdict: The cookies are crunchy & crispy, the coffee taste is mild and not over-powering. For a non-cookie person, I don't mind eating them at all. T prefers this over the Sugi cookies.

I'm also submitting this to Aspiring Bakers #3: My Favourite CNY Cookies hosted by j3ss kitch3n.

Nutella banana squares

The last thing I did in 2010 and first thing in 2011 is this nutella banana squares.... nothing elaborate and in fact a recipe which I tried before. Except that previously i baked in a muffin cup and it had a streusel topping, I decided to make mine in squares and slather lots of nutella and put on a cheery-red raspberry :)) Baking the banana cake was a breeze but I did have a tough time cutting up them in squares of 4cmx4cm as the nutella kept sticking on the knife. In the end, it was so messy that the last 2 pieces of squares was almost beyond recognition ;0

*P.S. The main reason for baking this was because of the very riped mini bananas sitting in my kitchen, and screaming to be eaten or else to be fed to the bin!

Happy holiday!

Happy eventS

Before I start blogging about my bakes & such in 2011, I want to complete this post about the happy eventS that happened in 2010.....

My Madagascar Vanilla Beans - one whole packet of fresh vanilla beans! ..... and

One big bottle of Nielsen-Massey Pure Vanilla Bean Paste - 944ml! ......


...... I think these are going to last me for many good years of baking!

However, the anxiety of waiting and happiness of receiving these vanilla bean (paste) does not beat seeing my dearest sis, who's residing in States, once again! Now, I'm looking forward to my trip to visit her this year ;-))

02102010 - These were cute little wedding cupcakes that I made and received positive feedbacks, there were some "ohhs" and "wows" .....

.... but what made me much happier is that my youngest brother has finally tied the knot!! I believe my mum would be the happiest at wherever she is now ;-))

To end our year 2010, we had dinner at Tims Restaurant & Cafe - a no-fuss place that served good food ....

From left to right: Cream of Asparagus with roasted almond, Chicken caesar salad, Oyster rockafellas

Fish & Chips

NZ Ribeye topped with sauteed pacific clam with black pepper sauce

Grilled lobster & panseared cajun spiced salmon fillet with basil cream sauce

Desserts: Blueberry cheesecake & strawberry ice-cream

I'm counting my blessings to be surrounded by many loved ones and good friends. Of course, there were many other happy, not-so-happy, ups&downs in 2010, but with a beginning of new year 2011, the goods will be remembered & the bad be bygones, everything will be refreshed. I'm wishing EVERYONE a very happy, healthy and smooth sailing year ahead! Cheers o(oO)o

Colours

I hope this post can add colours to my blog, to my life and yours as well!

What went into the colour-happy pot: red apple, granny smith, banana, sweet tangerine, nata de coco, blueberry, and of course plain yougurt to make a simple fruit salad on Boxing Day.

Aspiring bakers #2: Xmas cupcakes

This post is jumping queue and ahead of a few posts which have been kept in the inbox for months. The only reason is that there's a deadline for submission to Aspiring Bakers #2. I'm keeping this post very short, but nevertheless would like to wish everyone a

Merry Christmas and enjoy the joy the festive seasons bring you! Cheers <3<3<3

These decorated xmas cupcakes are all handcrafted as gifts for my colleagues. I used steamed chocolate cake recipe, but instead of steaming it, I baked them for about 20 mins at 180 degC.

These are very simply decorated with store bought figurines and dusted with snow powder, using the same recipe as above.

Special guest appearance

Today I have a special guest appearance on my blog, and that's my pa. Of course, he's not writing it (and unlikely to read this post unless I get it translated to Chinese). My pa is in his mid-60s and has not been working for more than ten years, I think. Sometimes I do hope to 'retire' so early but most of the times I can see the boredom and loneliness in him, and can't help but think that early retirement is actually not a good thing afterall. With our government just announcing the retirement age to be pushed from 62 to 65, and the eventual 68, Singaporeans have to be working/ slogging throughout their lifetime! The only probable benefits would be financial security (i.e. when children do not take care parents anymore) and mental alertness (i.e. the age of dementia patients are getting younger) for us.

These days, my dear old pa is helping us to fetch Zakris from the childcare centre every evening, and on some Saturdays, he will bring Zakris to take train rides or just walk around. I hope these activities had keep him active and bring him joy.

There are many things which I remembered about my pa - I would cry when he goes to work; he used to drive a lorry and the whole family of six will squeeze into it (can't imagine how we did it?); he was very good with carpentry and made some of the furnitures in our old house; he could speak thai because most of his workers were thais; we would go to 7-11 in the night to buy loaf of bread; he would drive me to the school even though the school was within walking distance; days when I have ECA on Sat morning, we would go to the Malay stall at the foodcentre for nasi-lemak and teh tarik before heading to school; he let me play with his hair; he will "lock" us in the room for an hour to do self-study & homework everyday; I can't remember when he started cooking for us , but he sure can cook; he took great care of my mum when she was ill; etc.

Just today, after not cooking for a very long period of time, he decided to cook dinner. Originally he wanted to cook preserved vegetables with duck soup, but I requested him to do a braised duck instead. I remembered that on his very attempt to cook braised duck many years ago, it turned out so good that the taste still lingers in my head! Of course, I took this opportunity to learn the ropes and jot down how it is being done. It still tasted as yummy!

Ingredients/ Method:

1 fresh duck (bought from supermarket, cost around $13+)

2 cloves garlic

1 stick cinnamon

3 star anise

2 tsp five spice powder

7 slices ginger (each abt 3mm thick)

5 tbsp dark sauce (Tiger brand, top quality dark saucce. This has thicker consistency, and less saltish)

3 tsp salt

**The quantity of ingredients are eye-estimated cos my dad don't measure them.

1) Boil 1L (or enough to cover more than half of the duck) of water in a wok. When boiled, put the duck into the wok and blanch it, about 3 to 5 minutes. The purpose is to remove the "duck" smell. Discard the water. Set the duck aside.

2) In a wok, add all ingredients except duck in 1L of water, and let boil using high heat.

3) When the water is boiled, put in the duck and continue to cook on high heat. If the water does not cover half of the duck, add more water.

4) When the water starts to boil again, cover the wok and turn the heat to low-medium. Cook for 20 mins.

5) Remove the cover and turn the duck over. Continue to cook for 20 mins on low-medium heat.

6) Turn the duck again and continue to cook for 20 mins.

7) Repeat step 6 but cook for 10 mins only.

8) Remove duck from wok. The braised duck is ready to be served.

**The duck would be nicely cooked within 60 mins i.e. you can omit step 7.

If you want it soft and tender, you may follow the cooking time in step 7.

If you want it VERY soft and tender, step 7 should be 20 mins.

**If you want to add braised eggs, cook hard boiled eggs in clear water first and remove shells. Remove the garlic/ spices etc from the dark sauce, and put the eggs in and cook for 10 mins on low-medium heat.

I hope you would enjoy it as much as I do (^,^)

Someday

This post is not related to baking or cooking, but about a book which we had recently borrowed from the library for little Zakris. It's a very short story but so meaningful that I want to journal it here and share with everyone! The title of the book is "Someday" by Alison McGhee and Peter H. Reynolds. Enjoy!

One day I counted your fingers and kissed each one.

One day the first snowflakes fell, and I held you up and watched them melt on your baby skin.

One day we crossed the street, and you held my hand tight.

Then, you were my baby, and now you are my child.

Sometimes, when you sleep, I watch you dream, and I dream too....

That someday you will dive into the cool, clear water of a lake.

Someday you will walk into a deep wood.

Someday your eyes will be filled with a joy so deep that they shine.

Someday you will run so fast and so far your heart will feel like fire.

Someday you will swing high - so high, higher than you ever dared to swing.

Someday you will hear something so sad that you will fold up with sorrow.

Someday you will call a song to the wind, and the wind will carry your song away.

Someday I will stand on this porch and watch your arms waving to me until I no longer see you.

Someday you will look at this house and wonder how something that feels so big can look so small.

Someday you will feel a small weight against your strong back.

Someday I will watch you brushing your child's hair.

Someday, a long time from now, your own hair will glow silver in the sun.

And when that day comes, love, you will remember me.

Pretty in Pink

Hi all, here I am to clear some of the posts again. I'm pretty stumped with writing a post (and sometimes baking) these days. I guess that's partly because my life is generally quite monotonous, and there's not much "exciting" activities on-going, except 2 recent happy events which I'm going to write about them in 2 separate posts. Without my little darling, I would probably die of boredom, literally ;p For sure, this baking hobby has helped me keep my sanity intact, and there's no better words to describe baking as therapeutic. Sadly or fortunately, my work is sort of therapeutic as well, though at the back of mind, I really don't like to work, contradicting isn't it?

Enough of babbling, this is a very simple and small cake baked on a Wednesday night for my aunty Cat. She's hitting XX but undoubtedly young at heart and always have great compassion for everyone!! I think she still looks and behaves the same like 30 years ago...hahaha (Hi aunty Cat, if you are reading this, please don't fly to the ceiling and hit your head.)

My first cake order

A month ago, I'd got my first cake order from my friend, E and for her dear prince Dylan's 4th birthday celebration. When I first started to bake more regularly about 2 years ago and also my blogging journey, I'd never knew that I can bake and decorate a cake, and what's more baking for a friend now. I'm fortunate to have a friend like E who places so much confidence in me as she'd not tried any of my bakes before, and her little gesture became my first-hand experience in doing cake order.

It so happened that Sat 18th Sept 2010 seems to be such an auspicious date, where there were many events on that day - Dylan's birthday celebration, my bro's guo-da-li (过大禮), chalet to celebrate my nephew's birthday. Therefore, i took a day off on Fri to prepare for the chalet's bbq stuff as well as Dylan's cake. Being my usual self, I'm bad with my time-management and spent almost half a day doing nothing, and started to panic when the time started ticking faster and faster. By then, it was almost time to pick up Zak from the school, and I only managed to marinate the chicken wings, and bake the chocolate sponge cake. Eventually I could only continue preparing the cake after our dinner, and by the time I was done with cream and decorating, it was already in the wee hours! Alas with the cake completed, I could finally heave a sigh of relief and have a really good shower before hitting the bed!

The feedback I'd received from E is most encouraging "Yep very nice.... the nicest cake I ever had.... thanks Esther! Dylan loves it very much and now Davier is asking for one *faint* hahaha...". Once again, I would like to thank E for her encouragement and confidence in me (*-*)

As a side note, I tried this Swiss Meringue Buttercream and I must say that it is really good! Although the steps seem daunting, I was pretty lucky to get it right the first time and couldn't stop licking the cream off my fingers...yummy...I'm a SMB convert for now (",)