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Senin, 30 Maret 2009

Roasted Potatoes, Onions and Garlic


A while ago I bought a box of Lipton's Vegetable Flavored Dip and Soup Mix. I had a coupon, so I bought it, with no idea what I was going to do with it. It's an impulse I've stopped fighting a long time ago! Anyway, needing a side dish for our chicken, I thought that perhaps the soup mix would be a nice little coating for the potatoes, so I threw in some garlic and onions, and it turned out delicious. Even the smell coming from the oven was heavenly, it has a very strong and sharp taste, but not too much that your kids won't like it. You could really make this kind of dish about a million different ways, that's what I love about roasted veggies.

Ingredients

4-5 red potatoes diced
1 onion, cut in half and then slice 1/2 inch thick
4-5 garlic cloves, roughly minced
1 packet preferred soup or dip mix
2-3 teaspoons olive oil
3-4 tablespoons water

Directions

Preheat oven to 400. Combine potatoes, onions, and garlic in 8 x 8 pan. Coat with olive oil and toss with dip mix. Pour water into bottom of pan to help steam potatoes. Roast for 8-10 minutes, or until veggies are fork tender. Serve hot.

Minggu, 29 Maret 2009

Satsuma Shochu & Dining Bar ......... Sumiyaki Specialist


Satsuma Shochu Dining Bar belongs to the same group as Shunjuu which I have added to my food diary some time ago. So sumiyaki is also the specialty in Satsuma. The dining bar is located right outside Gallery Hotel along Saiboo Street (at the tail end of Mohamad Sultan Road near to the Havelock Road side).

The first floor of the eatery is the bar area where a couple of friends can chill out over shochu or sake and have some finger food. Right above the bar on the upper floor, is the main dining area. Our gathering of 15 people get to sit in the "private" dining area that allow us to look through a glass window where the sumiyaki chef grill our food. I was late for the dinner and was "punished" to sit at this end of the table where I can feel the warmth of the charcoal behind my back. The "private" dining area is not so much private as it is just separated from the main dining area with many wooden stilts just to serve as a isolation barrier. So you can see and hear people out there and they can do the same.

Here's some of the food that we ate and I liked;

Tori Kawa, Chicken Skin ($4) - It may not be the healthiest dish but to some it's the best part of the grilled/fried chicken.

Hotate to Ebi no Bekon Maki, Scallop and Prawn rolled with Bacon ($10) - Bacon is one nasty ingredient to add to scallop and prawn. The fats really makes everything on this skewer more fragrant.


Tebasaki, Chicken Wing ($6)

Shitake Nikuzume, Mushroom stuff with minced chicken ($6)

Kuro Buta Kubi, Black Pork Neck ($9) - One of the best part of the pork's meat that I liked to be grilled and eaten.


Salmon Bekon, Salmon rolled with Bacon ($9) - Adding the bacon again ....... Isn't pork lard a critical parameter for a winning formula?

Foie Gras, Goose Liver ($13) - Like Shunjuu's this is my favourite, lightly salted and then grilled The foie gras is still juicy and soft on the inside.



Okonomiyaki, Savory Pancake ($6) - HY ordered this and it's taste just like the Okonomiyaki but presented as balls on skewers rather than pancakes.



There are plenty of shochu to choose from. Let the waitress recommend the best shochu to go with your food.

Satsuma serves similar food items as Shunjuu, only that Shunjuu offers alresco dining along the Singapore river. If Satsum is full house just walk over to Shunjuu or vice versa.

Cost : about S$35 per person

Address : 1 Nanson Road, The Gallery Hotel, #01-01

Tel : +65 62353565

Opening Hours : Mon~Thu 1200-1430, Sun~Thu 1800-2300, Fri~Sat 1800-0100

Country : Singapore

中岜鲁联发水晶包 Tiong Bahru Lien Fa Shui Jing Bao, "Crystal" Dumpling @ Alexandra Village

When I was still small, and when my grand parents were still alive, my aunties (from my paternal side of the family) like to takeaway food in "喂猪 feed the pigs" portion (our own endearing term for bringing for in large portions) and bring them home. That's how I grow to like to enjoy food. It's part of my upbringing.

I recall that one of these aunties, who's a bus driver, (and still driving the bus that pass by my house everyday) bringing home the 水晶包 "Crystal" Dumpling from the same Tiong Bahru stall. This was when Lien Fa was still located in the old Tiong Bahru Market. Ever since the old market was renovated for a few years, 联发 Lien Fa shifted out of the Tiong Bahru area to Alexandra Village.

I was having an early lunch recently in the Alexandra Village Food Center and was glad that I'm lucky enough to catch them still opened. 联发 Lien Fa usually starts business at 9am and will close when everything is sold out. I was there slightly earlier than 12 noon and there's still some remnants for me. The red bean flavour is already sold out. The lady at the stall front advised me to call before hand next time as you may not get the flavours you want.

Here you'll see the savoury flavour on the left the yam filled ones on the right. So do you see why it's called 水晶包 "Crystal" Dumpling now? The skin of this dumpling is made so transparent that you can see what filling is wrapped inside. This finger food finds its origins in Guangzhou, China where red bean and lotus seed paste are commonly used as the filling.


The filling inside the original flavour, savoury 水晶包 "crystal" dumpling. There's the crunchy chestnut with radish and small morsels of meat in there.


Lien Fa's stall front in the Alexandra Village Food Center.


Address : Blk 120 #01-10 Bukit Merah Lane 1, Alexandra Village Food Center

Opening hours : Mon~Sun 9am till dumplings are sold out.

Tel : 62745561

Country : Singapore

刘家记 Liu Jia Ji Nasi Lemak from Alexandra Village


Nasi Lemak literally means rice cooked in coconut milk. This is a typical foof that originates from Malaysia. Singapore has a good proportion of Malay population. This makes Nasi Lemak also a common food in the country. Although Nasi Lemak is typically a Malay food, some Chinese manage to cook it well and made a decent livelihood out of it. The Nasi Lemak from Liu Jia Ji belongs to this category.

The boss of Liu Jia Ji operates his business following the OMO process. OMO is One Man Operation. The food items that comes in the Nasi Lemak set are all cooked to order. If you're at the stall, you'll observe that the boss fries the eggs and drumsticks even while he's taking your order. This ensures that you still get the hot and fresh food.

Here you see my order of the Spicy Chicken Meal (S$3). This includes a sausage (sausage is a replacement for luncheon meat that was previouly provided), a drumstick a sunny side up and some fried ikan bilis (fried anchovies). I ask to have some curry to drench the Nai Lemak. The drumstick is the highlight here. It's a "finger lick'in good" standard.


Liu Jia Ji stall front .........


There are several variety of Nasi Lemak sets that Liu Jia Ji serves to cater for dfferent taste.


Address : Blk 120, Bukit Merak Lane 1, #01-13 (Alexandra Village Food Center) - stall is facing some motor workshops that specialiss in car tyres.

Country : Singapore

Sabtu, 28 Maret 2009

Chicken with Mushrooms and Green Onions


The thing about trying to eat healthy is that you tend to eat a lot of the same things, like chicken. And let's be honest, a boneless, skinless chicken breast can get boring FAST if you don't have good ways to prepare it. I was really happy with this recipe. It was like chicken Parmesan, with a twist (and minus the Parmesan!). I think the best part about it (besides the Italian breading) is that the base of the sauce is made with tomato paste, which is such a concentrated and rich flavor. I love it. I'm going to post the recipe as I found it, but I will tell you that when I make this again, I will probably cut the chicken broth down to one cup instead of two. It was still very good, but I would have liked the sauce to be a bit thicker, and I didn't have the time to let it reduce like I wanted. Definitely try this one though, it's very yummy.


Chicken with Mushrooms and Green Onions


Found in Weight Watchers 20 Minute Recipes magazine

Ingredients

2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
4 teaspoons Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 8 ounce package mushrooms, sliced
4 green onions, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl, and stir with a whisk. Set aside.

2. Sprinkle chicken evenly with breadcrumbs. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add chicken, and cook 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until lightly browned. Add mushrooms and broth mixture; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 7 to 8 minutes until chicken is done. Sprinkle with green onions.

Serves 4: one serving is one chicken breast and 1/3 cup mushroom sauce

Per Serving: 260 cal, 4.9g fat, 44.1g prot, 9.2g carb, 2.2g fiber, 99mg chol, 2.6mg iron

Points per Serving: 5

Kamis, 26 Maret 2009

pumpkin, carrot, prunes..."muffins on the move"

so what ? !...i cheated...so what...
alright...i used a carrot cake box mix, BUT it was for expiremental reasons...really.
AND the expirement turned out yummy...and i'd do it again.
PUMPKIN, CARROT, PRUNE MUFFINS
makes 14-16 muffins
1 box carrot cake mix
1 15oz can pumpkin puree
1/2 c. prune puree (baby food)
2 egg whites
2 carrots grated (6-8 oz.)
12-15 prunes (lrg dice)
preheat 350
mix well all except prunes, carrots
stir in prunes and carrots
fill muffin cups almost overflowing (they don't rise)
(i had them mounded with peaks)
bake for 45-55min.?..toothpick test should work, but come out moist
i will write more about these, but i gotta tell ya....they are really surprizingly gooood !

Panko Crusted Pork Chops with Creamy Herb Dressing




I know that I completely over do it on my Cooking Light recipes, but I just can't help it, they rarely disappoint. I think what I love the most about Cooking Light is that I never feel like I'm eating "diet food," which is good, because nothing is worse then choking something down that is void of taste and has the texture of cardboard. I also love it because I can eat something like a pork chop that has been breaded, shallow fried, and covered in a white sauce, and still lose weight. I tell you, they have miracle workers up there in Cooking Lightland! This is a FANTASTIC dish, it's a great way to spruce up an ordinary pork chop, it's got tons of flavor and how can you not love a crusty panko breading? Be sure to make the dressing with this recipe, it adds a cool and tangy flavor to the pork chops that you'll love!

Panko Crusted Pork Chops with Creamy Herb Dressing


Found in Cooking Light October 2009 edition

Ingredients

Pork:
2 teaspoons all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 tsp ground red pepper (I just used black)
1 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 large egg white
1/3 cup Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs, really easy to find in the Asian section of your supermarket)
2 (4 oz) boneless center-cut loin pork chops
1 teaspoon canola oil
Cooking Spray

Dressing:
1 tablespoon chopped green onions
1 tablespoon chopped flat leaf parsley
2 tablespoons fat free sour cream
1 tablespoon fat free milk
1 tablespoon reduced fat mayonnaise
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions

1. To prepare pork, preheat oven to 450.

2. Combine first 6 ingredients in a shallow dish. Combine soy sauce and egg white in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Place panko in a shallow dish.

3. Dredge pork in flour mixture; dip in egg mixture. Dredge in panko. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork to pan; cook 1 minute on each side. Place pork on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 450 for 6 minutes, or until done.

4. To prepare dressing, combine onions and the remaining ingredients. Serve dressing with pork.

Serves: 2 (one serving is one pork chop with 2 tablespoons dressing

Per Serving: 268 cal, 9.5g fat, 30g prot, 13.6g carb, 0.7g fiber, 74mg chol, 1.3mg iron, 608mg sod

Points per Serving: 6

Rabu, 25 Maret 2009

healthy carrot-pineapple shoulda been muffins recipe

OK, so i chose the wrong vessel to bake these in. should have been muffins. they definitely taste more breakfast bread/muffin style that a carrot cake. i kinda set out to make a healthy carrot cake, but this is not sweet at all. don't get me wrong...it's all good and tastey, just not really what i was expecting...

as you can see it's loaded with all the right goodies...mucho carrot, pineapple, toasted pecans and raisins, so you really get the flavor from each ingredient.
***i'll be back to add the recipe...i don't think i wrote it down...woops

Selasa, 24 Maret 2009

Madera: Sneak Peek

Chef Peter Rudolph
Pity the poor venture capitalists. Most of their investments end up being a bust. Relegated to the wasteland that is Sand Hill Road, they have nowhere nearby to commiserate over a beer let alone celebrate, on those rare occasions when everything goes according to plan. Well you can stop feeling sorry for them starting April 2nd when Madera at Rosewood Sand Hill opens.

I had the privilege of attending a preview lunch yesterday and got a chance to chat with the Executive Chef Peter Rudolph and Wine Director, Paul Mekis. Their enthusiasm was a joy to behold as were the food and wine pairings. I had mixed feelings about the food at Campton Place under Rudolph. Sometimes it hit the mark other times it missed it completely. But everything I tasted yesterday was spot on.

Oyster
First up, an oak smoked warmed Hog Island sweetwater oyster with cucumber, avocado and fromage blanc. The herbal vegetal flavors played off the barely smoky oyster and was an inspired combination. It was perfect with sparkling wine. Madera will have a Champagne cart and included on it will always be at least one grower produced Champagne.

Octopus
A tender piece of octopus was well seasoned and surrounded by vegetables, a nice contrast from the typical Spanish style plating with potatoes.

Arctic char
Next a take on "surf and turf", smoked arctic char with artichokes, crispy veal sweetbreads topped with tarragon. This was one of Rudolph's signature dishes at Campton Place and it's a keeper.

Farro stew
Rudoph explained his own meal choices have leaned towards more vegetables these days and it was clear from the farro, mushroom and vegetable stew with oak grilled leeks. The chewy farro with the crunch of walnuts was hearty and satisfying and the vegetables and plump mushrooms were fresh and full of flavor. Vegetarians and meat eaters would be happy with this dish, it's by no means an afterthought and might just become a signature dish.

Kurobuta pork
The Kurobuta pork chop from Snake River was brined and grilled over black oak then served with beans, mushrooms and a bread dumpling wrapped in cabbage. The pork chop may have been the best I have ever eaten. Really. It was intensely flavorful and perfectly cooked. It had more smoky flavor than most of the other dishes which was fitting. The dumplings were tender and had bits of vegetables inside them, frankly I thought they could have been a side dish or main dish on their own instead of a garnish on an already full plate but that's a minor quibble.

Ricotta cheesecake
I'd be remiss in not mentioning how well the dessert fit with the rest of the meal. The pastry chef Shannon Swindle is diabetic and perhaps that influences his less sweet and more adult desserts. The serving of delicate vanilla flecked ricotta cheese cake was creamy but not overly sweet, accented by grilled fruits and a few caramelized nuts.

The wine list has over 600 wines and over 100 are Pinot Noir, a good wine to pair with gently smoked and grilled dishes. The list is impressive and the mark up reasonable, ranging from 2 to 2 1/2 times retail. It features lots of interesting French choices some familiar and others less so. You can view a sample of the wine list here.

While there is no set tasting menu, you can arrange to have as many courses as your would like and to have wines paired with them as well. Rustic but refined in it's food and decor, the restaurant fits well with the surrounding rolling hills and it's easy to imagine the energy you will feel when it's filled with deal makers and holiday takers, even just those sneaking away for a leisurely lunch...

Madera
2825 Sand Hill Road
Menlo Park CA
650.561.1540

Opens April 2, 2009

Naan


This is a recipe that I found on My Kitchen Cafe, one of my favorite food blogs. After I saw the recipe I knew that I wouldn't be able to completely enjoy my life until I tried it, and it's just as good as it looks. From what I read, Naan is an Indian flatbread that is meant to be eaten with garlic butter and curry. But it seems like you could make this bread for so many other things. It reminded me of "fry bread" that had been baked, and was great with honey butter on it. I could also see myself baking this bread and piling it high with chili, cheese, tomatoes, the works. It's also great by itself, I couldn't stop eating this bread! When you make this bread though, make it on a day that you know you could have it all eaten that day. It's delicious the day of, but didn't taste that great to us the next day. I hope you try it though, it's fun and easy to make!

Naan

Ingredients

14 ounces (about 2 3/4 cups) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 egg
1/2 cup plain lowfat yogurt
1/2 cup milk

Directions

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl by hand), stir together the flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, and yeast. In a small bowl, mix together the egg, yogurt, and milk. Pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and stir for about 1 minute, until the dry ingredients are completely incorporated into the wet ingredients. Increase machine speed to 2 (or by hand) and knead the dough until it is smooth and shiny. Remove the bowl from the mixer and cover with a towel. Leave in a warm place to rise until the dough doubles in size, about an hour. Put a baking stone or heavy baking sheet on the lowest rack of your oven. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees for at least 30 minutes prior to baking. Divide the dough into eight pieces and form into teardrop (mine were more like oval) shapes with your hands, about 6 to 8 inches across. Cook two or three pieces at a time. Drop the dough onto the hot stone and shut the oven door, watching until they are just starting to turn brown in places, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the naan and lay on a board.

I also got an award from MaryBeth at Dunkin Cooking the Semi Homemade Way. I love MaryBeth's blog and she's always got things posted that make my mouth water. Thanks so much MaryBeth, it's a really cute award!



Along with the award came this little quote:

"These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated."It also says : "Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

So I would like to pass this on to the eight following food bloggers:

1. Lynette at Netts Nook
2. Donna at My Tasty Treasures
3. Melissa at Schweet 'N Savory
4. The gang at Eat at Betts
5. Rebekah at Yummy Tummies
6. Melody at Cheat Day Cafe
7. Christine at Cooking with Christine
8. Biz at Biggest Diabetic Loser
All of these blogs are definitely worth your attention and are always providing me great food ideas!

Minggu, 22 Maret 2009

SPINACH PIE...original by Nigella



this in one tastey savory pie folks!
behold, my version of "inmylife-paola"'s version of Nigella's SPINACH PIE. i have not yet seen the original recipe, so i don't know how far off i went, but this one turned out fabulous. what i really liked was the amount of spinach and how it's flavor shined through. spinach is so often lost and kind of incedental, used for it's vibrant color alone, but here you have a spinach pie that even popeye would apreciate.









it's amazing with the small amount of bulgar how it really came through...not only in flavor and texture, but visually as well.






really i think the only thing i changed was the vessel i decided to go with and the given dough recipe. my pastry chef...yes, i have my own pastry chef...makes, as you can see, ...the ultimate crust. all right...my secret pastry chef is MOM!...i will challenge her crust to anyone out there...it's perfect and flakey every time. anyway..i would definitely recommend this pie. it reheats very well and i think can be very versital. i will try some variations soon, maybe evn something with meat or bacon, ground lamb?...hmmmm


German Chocolate Cheesecake



This is a recipe I found on Priscilla Bakes, a wonderful food blog with gorgeous recipes. Shortly afterward I needed a good dessert to take to a baby shower, and this one instantly came to mind. I ended up being too sick to even go to the shower, but I still got great reviews on the cake, thanks Priscilla! The cream cheese filling is a great addition and even with all the layers, this is still a simple cake to prepare. I highly recommend this one, especially if you are a German Chocolate fan!

German Chocolate Cheesecake

Ingredients

1 package (18-1/4 ounces) German Chocolate cake mix
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1-1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
FROSTING:
1 cup sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter, cubed
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-1/2 cups flaked coconut
1-1/2 cup chopped pecans (my husband is allergic to pecans, so I would probably sub almonds, just FYI)

DIRECTIONS

Prepare cake batter according to package directions; set aside. In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Pour half of the cake batter into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Gently pour cream cheese mixture over batter. Gently spoon remaining batter over top; spread to edge of pan. Bake at 325° for 70-75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. For frosting, in a heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, milk, butter and egg yolks Cook and stir over medium-low heat until thickened and a thermometer reads 160° or is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Remove from the heat. Stir in vanilla; fold in coconut and pecans. Cool until frosting reaches spreading consistency. Frost cooled cake. Refrigerate leftovers.

Yield: 16 servings.

Sabtu, 21 Maret 2009

如意园素食 Ru Yi Yuan Vegetarian Food @ Redhill Close ......... one of the best vegetarian fried noodles around



There was one day, just a couple of years back, I saw an aunty, definitely past her 50s, sitting on the floor of the void deck below the block where I live. Just out of kindness, I went to ask if she's OK and need any help. She told me that she's fine and she's just sitting down to rest. I found out much later that she's the owner of 如意园 Ru Yi Yuan. I'm glad that till now she looks fit as a fiddle and still at her stall whipping out good food for us.

Ru Yi Yuan is located inside a coffee shop just beside the Redhill Close market. Most of the time, during their opening hours, you'll see a daunting queue. Everyone's waiting for their turn for the vegetarian bee hoon. On the 初一十五 1st and 15th of every lunar month, also every weekends, the queue sometimes doubles, extending all the way out of the coffeeshop. It may take some time to reach the front of the queue, but the wait is definitely worth it!

The main draw of the vegetarian stall is their fried noodles (bee hoon, mee and kway teow). You'll be ask if you'll like gravy over the fried noodles. I've ordered so many times before but I've never gotten to reject their gravy. The gravy makes the fried noodles so much tastier. If you do a take away, they can make the extra effort to separate the noodles and the gravy. This is absolutely helpful when I'm doing a takeaway and then travelling all the way to my parent's place for breakfast. This way you don't get the soggy noodles upon arrival. You see below, my takeaway order of vegetarian bee hoon (S$2.00). Even my father-in-law, thinks that the portion they give for S$2 is really worth every penny. He was always complaining that food portions at food centers cannot feel his stomach. When I takeaway the fried noodle from Ru Yi Yuan for him, we hear nothing but all praise.



Apart from the vegetables, like cabbage and string beans, it always amazes me how different each mock vegetarian ingredient (e.g. mock duck, mock char siew) look and taste even though they're made mostly of the same fundamental ingredient, wheat gluten. The photo below shows a close up of the mock char siew (the reddish one) and the mock fried duck (the golden brown one). The 斋鸭 mock fried duck is my personal favourite to go with Ru Yi Yuan's fried bee hoon. It's crispy on the outside and slightly tangy inside ..........


I like it so much that I'll always buy a whole strip of 斋鸭 mock fried duck (S$1.50) to compliment my fried bee hoon. This is the strip that's not cut up ito smaller strips like what you see in the previous photo.



In addition to the food that I described above, Ru Yi Yuan will cook up the Mixed Vegetable Curry, Braised Mixed Vegetables and fried spring rolls during Sundays and 初一十五 1st and 15th of every lunar month.

At the stall front, you'll notice that they're not new to the media glitz. There are some newspaper cuttings with Aunty's facial close ups. There is also a poster of a popular TV food show endorsing the good food award for Ru Yi Yuan culinary skills.

Never mind all the media glitz that Ru Yi Yuan had received, just go join the queue and try their food. You'll then understand why they're popular.

Address : Blk 80 Redhill Lane

Opening Hours : About 7+ am a till 12 noon

Country : Singapore

Kamis, 19 Maret 2009

KING CONGO bars








KING CONGO BARS...their flavor and wow
factor...definitely lives up to the name. actually
these should be called "Aunt Betty's Congo Bars" since the recipe has been handed down from her. besides everybody's got an Aunt Betty...right?








the passage of nutty chewwy chocolatey bliss leads right through here...




sometimes you feel like a nut...

sometimes you don't..


as you can see, this makes for quite a few bars so i made 1/2 with and 1/2 without sliced almonds. i happen to prefer with...cuz i'm a known NUT!

preheat oven to 350

line a 12x15 cookie pan with aluminum foil...trust me on this one. makes for easier removal...the ol' flip and peel method

sift together 2 2/3 c. flour, 2 1/2 tsp.baking powder and 1 tsp. salt...set aside

melt 2/3 c. shortning or margerine in a sauce pan

dissolve 1 lb. of brown sugar in said sauce pan...let cool a bit...

put this in a mixer and add 3 eggs and 1 tsp. vanilla...mix

slowly add in dry goods...batter will be quite saucy..don't worry

spoon stir in 1 package chocolate chips

pour this onto prepared pan and sprinkle with your favorite chopped nuts. i used slivered almonds

bake at 350 for approx. 25 min. do the toothpick test. it should come out clean-ish...just not gooey

Senin, 16 Maret 2009

Banana Pudding

Obviously this is not always green!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I wanted to make a green dessert for the occasion, and I thought this would be perfect!

I LOVE this pudding. Several years ago a friend brought this to work and it was so good that I spent most of my day walking around with a plate of this in my hand and a goofy, sugar induced smile on my face. It's SO creamy and sweet, and so hard to stop eating! I wish I could show you a picture of the layers, but it's not time to serve it just yet, and I wanted to get it posted for the holiday. Definitely try this dessert sometime, it's so easy to whip up and your crowd will love it!

Banana Pudding

Ingredients

1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 (small) box banana or vanilla flavored pudding mix
1 (12 oz) bowl Cool Whip
4-5 bananas
1 box Nilla Wafers
2 cups milk

Directions

Mix pudding with 2 cups milk. Add condensed milk, the Cool Whip. Mix all together. Line wafers on bottom of bowl, then bananas. Pour pudding mix on top and then cover with another layer of wafers. Refrigerate overnight.

Minggu, 15 Maret 2009

Pong's Laksa House for Special Seafood Bread Laksa ...... good twist to the Laksa


I have two faces, one side a food lover, almost glutton like. The other side of me, a gadget geek. So geeky me need to visit the recent IT show whether or not there's anything for me to buy. Parking is usually a nightmare during this annual event. Fortunately, I managed to park in Marina Square and decide to have lunch at the Food Loft. When I stepped into the Food Loft, geekiness left and gluttony took over just like in Jekyll and Hyde.

I'm visiting San Francisco again in a fortnight's time, so I was already thinking about the clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. This is when I saw the bread bowl of laksa over at Pong's House of Laksa and decide to have it to settle my lunch. 

What you can see below is my order of Pong's Special Seafood Bread at S$5.50 per serving. Inside the bread bowl you can see vegetables at the bottom. The fish slices are stacked over the vegetables. Right at the top you can see the prawns. The laksa gravy is served in a separate bowl so that you can pour as much as you like into the bread bowl. This presentation of laksa is quite a novelty for me. It taste good too. I would have liked it more if the laksa gravy is thicker and spicier. 



Here's what my friend ordered. He's feeling kind of sick of prawns and ask to replace the prawns with cockles. The obliging stall owners created this for him. Very kind of them to customized their house specialty.



Apart from selling laksa, they welcome interested parties to ask to franchise their food.

Address : 6 Raffles Blvd Marina Square Food Loft #04-101

Tel : 68755026

Country : Singapore

Jones the Grocer for Breakfast

This is my second write up about Jones the Grocer. The last one was about having cupcakes and scones over tea. This time it's exploring their breakfast menu.

If you happen to walk in from their side door where there's a day bed set just on the right side of this door, you'll see many Jamie Oliver welcoming you into the grocer. The place can be busy. So, approach a waiter or waitress and ask for a table, else you'll be ignored for a while.

This is the English Breakfast that I had ordered S$20


This is the New Zealand Farm eggs that I ordered in another visit. It comes with toast and butter. The bacon and sausage in the bowl are add-on orders. After looking at this photo, I realized that I should just order the English Breakfast instead....... haha



A scone set (S$4). The butter that they serve here is good.


Coconut Pancake (S$12.50) - The 2 big pieces of coconut pancake is topped with mango cubes. The vanilla beans ice cream goes very well with the pancakes.



We discovered that Jones serves good Latte (S$4/glass). The coffee is aromatic and the milk is thick, giving a rich flavour. This is about the best latte had so far.


Address : 9 Dempsey Road, #01-12, Dempsey Hill

Country : Singapore