A celebration of Chocolate

I remember my first Easter in Melbourne. It was ten years ago, I was living with my aunt and uncle.

My uncle came home one day after work with what looked like a golden rabbit. That night he unwrapped it, and I discovered that it was actually chocolate, in the shape of a rabbit. The chocolate was yummy.

A few days later, my cousin offered me an egg. Much to my surprise, it was chocolate in the shape of an egg. Mmm.. yummy chocolate again.

For several weeks, more chocolate eggs and rabbit filled our pantry, and every night, after dinner of course, we would indulge. Then one evening my aunt came home with a basket full of chocolates, with a note stuck on it – Happy Easter!

‘What’s with all the chocolate’ I asked my uncle, he smiled and said its Easter this weekend. I was like ‘huh?!’ – I didn’t think non-Christians celebrated Easter.

As the years passed by, it was apparent that Easter and chocolates had a lot in common, regardless of your religious believes. It was a norm to give and receive chocolates, at work or among friends.

And the Easter long weekend, is time off work everyone looked forward too.

This was my Easter weekend this year.

Green juice (from Spring St Grocer) and soft boiled eggs for Sunday brunch. The Easter eggs and bunnies were gifts from friends.

Hot cross and Easter egg macaron from La Belle Miette, afternoon tea on Good Friday.

Homemade pancakes for Sunday brunch

Easter Bunny from Lux Bite, on Easter Monday, just because.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

A simple pancake recipe

I made pancakes yesterday. Its been ages since I last made these lovelies. It’s easy to make, and it’s so much more tastier than the pre-made mixes from the supermarket.

1 cup of self raising flour
1/4 of icing sugar
1.5 cup of milk or butter milk
1 tsp of vanilla essence
1 egg
A pinch of salt

Place flour, sugar, salt and vanilla essence in a mixing bowl. Add egg, and mix through. Then add half a cup of milk, and whisk well. Add another half, and whisk. Repeat for the last half cup of milk.

Heat a non stick pan, a small one preferably. Brush pan with butter, scope in about a ladle full of pancake mixture. Let it sit for 1 to 2 minutes or until brown, before flipping sides. Repeat with remaining mixture, brushing pan with butter in between batches.

Serve with honey and blueberries, butter and fresh lemon juice, or what ever tickles your pickle.

Makes 5-6 pancakes.

Hope you had a fabulous Easter x

Happy for no reason

Be happy for no reason, like a child. If you are happy for a reason, you’re in trouble, because that reason can be taken from you. Deepak Chopra

I quite like this quote by Mr. Chopra. It took me a few days to understand what he meant, and I finally got there.

I’ve always seen happiness as a state of mind. It’s not something you can buy, or get given. It’s something you experience. It’s not a destination, it’s a journey. It’s a bunch of magical (happy) moments put together.

Of course there will be things that will influence it, but don’t let it dominate you.

One more thing I’ve understood about happiness, and that is you can’t be happy all the time. There will be moments in life that you will anger, lose hope, resent, sadden, grief, and be confuse. The thing to remember is to fully be present in those moments, cherish it. Listen to your thoughts. Don’t run away, don’t distract your self. Like a child, let it all out – cry, if you must. Remember, this moment will past, and once it has, you will be able to cherish your happy moments. Don’t lose faith.

Having fun in the kitchen, cooking, is one of my happy moments.

*********************************************************************

An almost authentic Carbonara

Pecorino 1/2 cup grated (sheep cheese) or Parmesan
3 Egg yolks, cage free
Salt
Pepper
Pancetta fried with oil and garlic bulb, drained. Crisp.
Pasta enough for two
1 large mixing bowl (glass, preferably)
1 small bowl (any)

In the small bowl, mix the cheese and egg yolks.

Cook pasta (add two tsp of salt).

Drain pasta in the glass bowl – meaning you want the hot starchy water in the glass bowl, with your pasta still in the colander. The idea is to heat the glass bowl.

Then empty the glass bowl, wipe it.

Through in the pasta, and slowly fold in the rest of the ingredients.

Season with salt and pepper. Serve with grated Parmesan, if you want.

It’s the yummiest thing ever. Bon Appetito!

The Malaysian in Me

Despite living the Melbournian life for over a decade, I’m still a Malaysian at heart.

I may not ‘lah’ and ‘ma’ anymore, but I miss the fresh sugarcane juice from the pasar malam, goreng pisang on rainy afternoons, a cup of teh tarik by the road side, bak ku teh after a late night out, that logan drink from Petaling Street and eating satay by the dozens when someone comes to visit.

Melbourne’s home, for now. I love it to bits. But I’d love to explore new places and experience more cultures. However, within me, this I know, no matter where I go, I’d always find comfort in the food I ate growing up.

******************************************************

Here’s a Mee Goreng recipe inspired by one of my aunts. It’s easy to make and simply yum. Use tofu for vego, and leave out omelet for vegan friendly.

Cooking oil (I use rice brand)
Salt
1 red onion
1 red chili
3 eggs
4 garlic cloves
A small piece of fresh ginger
2 table spoons of garlic and chili paste or sambal
4 table spoons of soy sauce
2 table spoons of kicap manis
A bunch of Chinese Broccoli (Kai Lan)
1 Chicken breast or fried tofu, diced
Rice noodles enough for two
Put the kettle on.

Finely chop onion, garlic, ginger and garlic. Cut Chinese broccoli into bite size.

Beat eggs in a bowl to make an omelet. Add a pinch of salt if you’d like. Dice the omelet and set aside.

Soak noodles in hot water.

In a wok, heat 1 table spoon oil. Fry onion, garlic, and ginger in chili paste (or sambal), until it gives a beautiful aroma. Add chicken and one tea spoon of salt, and stir fry until chicken is cooked.

Drain noodles and add to wok. Add soy sauce and kicap manis, and stir fry for two to three minutes. Remove from heat. Mix in fresh chili, diced omelet and Kai Lan.

Something to share

A friend of a friend decided that she was going to host an early Christmas lunch, at a friends place, this year. She got the ball rolling, and I got a text.

Everyone had to bring something to share and something to give. I put my hands up for dessert, naturally.

Our lunch, last Sunday, was simply fabulous. I’m still in awe at how everything, unplanned, just fell into place.

There was a moment, during lunch, when I paused to looked around – everyone gathered on a very long table, sharing the food we brought, laughing out loud. Some getting their hands dirty, while others trying to catch up from where they last left off, a handful blissfully singing along out loud to the radio.

In that moment ‘I felt that we were a family, an accidental gathering of beings, nourishing one another’ Kim Sunèe shared in her memoir.

*********************************************************

For dessert I made coconut sago and mango pudding. I always have sago sitting in my pantry. It’s easy to cook with, and it’s gluten free. I love it.

You will need

2 cups Tapioca (sago)
8 cups of water, maybe more
200ml coconut cream
8 tbsp brown palm sugar
300ml soya milk
pinch of salt
3 Fresh mangos, diced
A pot, non-stick preferred

Soak sago in 3 cups of water for about 15 minutes then drain.

Bring remaining water to boiling, and add sago. Stir constantly to avoid sago sticking together, or to the bottom of the pot. Cook until sago begins to turn transparent – add more water, if required.

Add remaining ingredients, and continue to stir until pudding is bubbling, remove from stove and wait to cool.

Add mangoes, stir, and refrigerate.

Serves 8, generously.

Note: Its vegan friendly. Add more soy milk if you want it less viscous. To make it more aromatic, add Pandan Leafs when you add sago to the boiling water, and remove when the pudding cools down. Serve cold.

Happy HoHoHolidays!

Vanilla Yoyo’s

I have been very uninspired, lately. My response to every thing has been “I don’t know” or “what ever!” – very unlike me, if you know me well.

Any who, someone at work brought some Yoyo’s to work the other day. They were from a place called Rebecca’s, down at Port Fairy – they were yum!

I use to make these when I was younger, much younger. They are a special favorite of mine. It’s easy to make, and it’s so much fun.

I did all the mixing by hand. I don’t have an electric mixer. However, use one if you’ve got one. Doing it the old school can be tiring, especially if you’re making more then one batch.

You will need
1 cup plain flour
1 cup custard powder
200g unsalted butter, soften to room temperature
1 tspn vanilla extract
1/2 cup icing sugar

Tip: don’t go cheap on the butter. The home brands are mostly water. This is important for its texture. I used Grigar.

For the filling
1 1/2 cup icing sugar
50g butter
1 tspn vanilla essence

So, pre heat oven to 180C. Line two baking trays with baking paper. One was enough for me, depends on the size of your baking tray I suppose.

Sift flours in a mixing bowl and set aside.

Place butter, vanilla and icing sugar into a mixing bowl, and mix. If you don’t have a electric mixer, like me, elbow grease it baby! Mix until its light and fluffy. Combine flour, two table spoons at a time. Towards the end, I just gently knead it with my hands – don’t over do it.

Using your palms, shape them into little balls. The size of a tea spoon should be your guide, but if you want them bigger, go for your life.

Place them neatly on the baking tray, and lightly press down with a fork. Repeat for the remaining mixture.

Bake for 12 minutes on the center shelf of the oven until it goes slightly blonde. Stand for 5 minutes before removing, and slide onto a cooling rack. Allow biscuits to completely cool. Sandwich together with the filling.

Filling
Beat icing sugar, and butter for 3 to 4 minutes, until light and fluffy. And vanilla extract and beat for another one minute.

I refrigerated mine after putting them together. They will keep for up to 5 days in air tight container, unrefrigerated.

I got 18 little cuties – worth every elbow grease.

This year, I thought I’d give them away as Xmas gifts. After all, it’s made with lots of love.

Happy baking!

Call me Madame

When the guy you love is vegetarian, you’ve gotta think out side the box to maintain equilibrium.

I’ve never made a Croque Madame before, and I really wanted to try this recipe I found in a book I’ve been reading.

So, we went to Simon Johnson to get some Gruyere, I tweaked the recipe a little and made him a vego Croque Madame, and a turkey one for moi.

You will need
Butter
A pinch of salt
4 slices of sourdough
2 slices of turkey
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
Dijon mustard
1 cup of grated Gruyere
2 cups of Mornay Sauce
2 sunny side up eggs
1 Skillet (or frying pan, that can be placed into the oven, so no plastic handle)
1 saucepan (non-stick makes life easier)

Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Sauté mushrooms in butter for 1 to 2 minutes. Season with salt and remove from heat.

Heat pan. Butter all sides of the bread. Top one of the slices with turkey and smear Dijon. Top another slice with sautéed mushrooms. Top both slices with half the cheese and cover with remaining bread. Place sandwiches buttered side down on pan pressing gently with spatula. Let it cook for one or two minutes, or until slightly golden. Gently flip both sandwiches, and cook for one minute. Top with mornay sauce, and remaining cheese. Place pan in griller for one to two minutes.

Top with fresh sunny side up egg.

Mornay Sauce
2 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoon all purpose floor
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
About 2 cups of milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh grounded black pepper
Fresh nutmeg to taste
3/4 cups of Gruyere

Melt butter in saucepan (non-stick) over medium heat. Stir floor and cook, stirring constantly, for about a minute. Don’t let it brown. Add milk, whisking constantly. Bring to a low book and cook, stirring constantly for about two minutes. Add more milk if you think it’s too think. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese and Dijon.

Serves two, and its very filling!

Happy boyfie, happy Me.

Breakfast in a Jar

Who has time for berries, yogurt and muesli in a jar ?!

I have never been a Morning person, and that will never change. Breakfast was never been my thing, hence who ever thought of brunch, is a legend. I’m always rushing or sleeping in the morning and the earliest I can stomach anything is at 9.30am. Anything before that has to be coffee, a good cup of coffee. Around 10am I would have something light – a small bowl of yogurt or porridge, a piece of fruit, toast, or sometimes even sushi. This use to be my routine all through Uni.

Now, I often do have the time for breakfast most mornings, when I’m not rushing, but most of the time I just don’t feel like eating anything that early – it nauseates me. I usually start my mornings with a glass of water, two mouthfuls of yogurt or a banana, a hug and some fish oil. Sometimes I make my self a cup of tea, but most of the time I just flask it.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and if you’re big on it, by all means, don’t let me stop you. But if you’re anything like me, I have found the perfect solution – breakfast in jars.

I’ve been eating out of these jars for a month now and I love it. Just put what ever you feel like into a jar – natural yogurt, homemade porridge or fruit salad, add some berries, muesli, honey, nuts or seeds to it, and eat it while you’re stuck in traffic or when you get to work. Have it for morning tea, or while you’re in a meeting.

I get to have mine on the train. The beauty about catching the the train to work, heading away from the city, every morning – I always get a seat, and its not busy.

It’s also a great way to take soups and stews to work.

Happy Jar-ing!

A pot of Goodness

Something I love making when it starts to get a bit chilly

It’s always handy to keep yellow split pea lentils in your pantry. It’s high in protein and fiber. Also contains folate and iron.

It’s easy to cook, no soaking required, and gentle on the stomach. Out of all the lentils, it’s the yummiest. I also use it to make dhal (a traditional Indian dish).

Split Pea & Butternut Pot

You will need
1 cup split pea lentils
1/2 a butternut pumpkin
3 white skinned potatoes
3 carrots
5 tsp sea salt
1 tsp of Turmeric powder
2 tsp of Chile powder
8 cups of water
A pot

Dice pumpkin and potatoes into chunks of about two fingers thick, and carrots, julienned but keep them about one finger thick.

In a pot (or Bessemer), bring to boil 1 cup of split pea lentils, 3 tsp of salt, 2 tsp of chili powder, 1 tsp of turmeric powder and 6 cups of water. Let it boil for 10 minutes, then add pumpkin and stir. 10 minutes later, add potatoes, 2 tsp of salt and 1 cup of water. Stir well. Let it boil for 15 minutes before adding the carrots. Add another cup of water and stir. Let it boil and stir every 5 minutes until pumpkin completely disintegrates and carrots softens.

I like my soup think, with chunky bits. Add another cup of water if you want, or blend it using a hand mix to purée it.

You may also add sweet potatoes, if you’ve got them, which I did on this particular day.

Serve with bread, whatever tickles your pickle. I love my sourdough.

Buon appetito!

Son-in-law Eggs

Sambal is a chilli base sauce, often used as a condiment in Malaysian, Indonesian and Singaporean cooking. It is typically made from a variety of chillies, and can be extremely hot. Ready-made sambals are available at local supermarkets or green grocers but be CAUTION of the ingredients, some of them may contain balacan (shrimp paste) and traces of nuts.

I make my own. Its easy.

You will need:

A blender

A wok

1.5 cups tap water

2 red onions – quartered

1 whole garlic – crushed

4 red chillies

1 red capsicum

1 tablespoon chilli powder

1 tsp of sea salt

1 tsp turmeric

2 tablespoon oil

Instructions

Blend all the ingredients together, using a blender. In a wok, add oil and heat. Add mixture* and stir. Add salt, turmeric and chilli powder, and stir until the mixer goes dark red. You know its ready when it gives out a beautiful aroma. Pour sauce into a bowl.

*CAUTION when pouring mixture into the wok. The moisture will cause an initial splash – pour slowly and keep a distance from the stove. I suggest you wear long sleeves and safety glasses.

Egg Sambal (aka Son-in-law Eggs)

A bowl of Sambal Sauce (see recipe above)

A wok and a pan

A dozen eggs, hard boiled

1.5 red onions, finely sliced

2 tablespoons of oil

1 tsp of salt

In a pan, add 1 tablespoon of oil and heat. through in eggs, slowly – keep a distance from the stove. Toss eggs until slightly browned. Remove from heat.

In the wok (you can use the same wok you used to make the sambal – no need to rinse, its saves time), add 1 tablespoon of oil and heat. Add finely sliced onions and stir until slightly caramelized. Add sauce, salt and stir. Fold in eggs and removed from heat.

Enough for four people. Serve with Basmati rice.

There are many different varieties of sambal, you can change it to suit any dish you want, as long as you stick to the foundations.

The egg sambal recipe above acts like a foundation. Just replace eggs with meat**, seafood or tofu^. My personal favorites are fried dried anchovies and prawn sambal.

**red meat takes longer to cook. Use a pot instead of a wok and always fry meat with onions, before adding the sauce.

^use fried tofu or mock meat – vegan and vegetarian friendly 🙂

My grandma thought and inspired me to cook. Ive had this recipe in my head since I was a little girl.

Chia Seeds

Breakfast this morning:

Yogurt with blueberries, banana and chia seeds

Chia is an ancient superseed, high in protein, fiber, Omega 3 and B12 – good alternative for vegetarians and vegans. It’s also gluten and dairy free, perfect for those with food intolerances, or if you generally dislike eating fish. Its easy to use and very nutritious. Just sprinkle a teaspoon full on cereals, muesli, salads and desserts. It can also be added to smoothies, shakes and muffins (anything you want, really).

Always buy locally grown. In Australia, Lotus does an Australian grown Chia Blend. There is not much difference between the black and white chia seeds and the same can be said about the different brands. I love Lotus, and its cheaper than the others (well, at my local health food store it is).

Have fun experimenting with it.