19 May 2014

Mixed Salad with Rice

The heat is on in Frankfurt. I ought to be ashamed of myself for not being able to withstand 25 degrees Celsius since I’m from Singapore. My excuse is that the tiny island is well equipped with air-conditioning. You could shop on Orchard Road without ever seeing the sun for goodness sake!

Here’s what we’ll be expecting this week in Frankfurt. Temperatures are up and although I don’t take the heat as well as Daniel, I love clear skies and plenty of sunshine. You won’t find me tanning myself though.

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When I asked Daniel what he fancied for dinner on a hot day, he suggested mixed salad with rice. It reminded him of what he would get when they get their occasional heatwave in the UK.

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Here’s a list of ingredients we used in our mixed salad which by the way is perfect for any hot day.

Ingredients (serves 4)

Iceberg salad (lettuce)
1 yellow pepper, chopped
3 small carrots, grated
5 radish, thinly sliced
Half a cucumber, sliced
1 avocado, chopped into cubes
1 tin of tuna mixed with kidney beans and corn
A handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
Gouda cheese, cut into cubes (or any cheese you prefer)


Instructions

Mix the ingredients all in a huge bowl. Add salad dressing only after you’ve dished up. This is so you can keep the remaining salad without it becoming all soggy overnight.



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To make it a more substantial meal, we heated up some Uncle Ben’s Basmati Rice with Curry. You could serve it with a bread roll or long grain rice. Or, just help yourself to more salad if you want to omit carbs.


The different ingredients used gave the salad an excellent texture. While the avocado was softer (more of a creamy texture), the pepper added crunch to the salad overall. And since it was so light, it does help cool is down on a hot day. Always a bonus to NOT stand in front of a cooking stove too!

What do you like to have on a hot day? Feel free to suggest a recipe or two in the comments section below!

15 May 2014

Soba Salad with Honey Soy Sauce

With temperatures looking like they will soar slightly over the next couple of weeks, I'm really eager to share with you a tried and tested Soba Salad with Honey Soy Sauce recipe.

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Refreshing Soba Salad, perfect on a hot summer's day.


Soba is one of my favourite Japanese noodles. It's made out of buckwheat and you'll just need to boil the noodles according to the instructions on the packaging. If you live in Frankfurt, soba is readily available at all Asian supermarkets.

This recipe was adapted from Just One Cookbook (my favourite online Japanese cooking resource).

Firstly, here's the list of ingredients for the sauce (For original recipe, please see here.)
1 Tbsp. canola or grapeseed oil
3 Tbsp. sesame oil
½ tsp. mixed chilli & pepper
3 Tbsp. honey
3 Tbsp. soy sauce

Other Ingrediants
3-4 bundles of soba noodles (serves 4)
1 spring onion
2 medium carrots, grated

Instructions
1. Mix the oil, mixed chilli and pepper and sesame oil in a small sauce pan. Heat it on medium heat for 10 minutes.

2. In a separate bowl, mix the honey well with the soy sauce.

3. When the oil mixture is done, carefully mix it with the honey and soy sauce. Whisk well to ensure that the honey is dissolved.

4. Cook the soba noodles according to the instructions on the packaging (no need to add salt!). Once it's cooked, run it under cold water and set aside to drain.

5. In a big bowl, mix the soba, spring onions, carrots and honey soy sauce. Toss the mixture well and serve either cold or at room temperature.

Although I had this for lunch on a day with a maximum of only 14 degrees Celsius, I can imagine how refreshing the noodles would be on a hot summer's day. I love it so much that I'm serving it for dinner as a main dish with a couple of pan-fried salmon fillets.

11 May 2014

Deep-Fried Elder Berry



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Elder Berry Flowers - Holunder

I love visiting the Farmers' Market at Konstablewache in Frankfurt on Saturdays. The market is ever so vibrant. It is little wonder that it attracts the locals and tourists alike. 

At the market, you'll be treated to many fresh produce such as vegetables, meat, poultry, cheese, fish and so on. It also prides itself in selling traditional German food such as wursts (sausages), Schnitzels and breads. I was really excited when i found a stall selling deep-fried holunder flowers. I love elder berry for its natural sweetness. It is often used to make jam, juice and even champagne!

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My glass of fresh elder berry juice. It is so much better than the cartons of juice you  find in supermarkets!



My highlight on Saturday was deep-fried elder berry flowers. Yes, deep-fried flowers! I've not had anything like that before but I love holunder so much that I had to savour it!

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The man grouped the flowers in a bunch and the lady was responsible for frying the flowers. She's so skilled! All the holunder were fried to perfection. The once soft petals were then covered in crispy, golden-brown batter. 

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Deep-fried to perfection! Crispy and golden-brown!
If you're in Frankfurt on a Thursday or Saturday, you'll have to visit this market at Konstablewache. You will LOVE it!











3 May 2014

Basil Pesto

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One evening, Daniel entered the front door looking all excited to share with me a big piece of news – his colleague made AMAZING basil pesto for lunch. It was so good that my husband couldn’t stop raving about it. If you know the saying “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach”, I was beginning to worry that this pesto treat was turning into an office bromance.

When he brought home some for me to sample, it finally dawned upon me that I couldn’t fault my husband for his moment of “infidelity”. At that instance, even my faithful mind cheated on him (with the pesto, of course). I requested Daniel to ask for the recipe since we can’t be knocking on someone else’s door demanding pesto. His colleague was very kind to share with us this wonderful recipe which I think deserves more attention.

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Off to the farmers’ market I went to get a pot of fresh basil. With such high standards to meet, I chose the pot with vibrant leaves and smoothest texture to achieve a richer flavour. Fresh basil is THE key ingredient!

Instead of pine nuts, we used walnuts as recommended by his colleague. I bought a pack of them from a Persian stall in Frankfurt’s Kleinmarkthalle.

As for the Parmesan cheese, I bought a 220g block from a cheese specialist at Kleinmarkthalle for €7,41. It’s definitely a lot more expensive than the pre-grated packet ones you get at supermarkets. However, we really wanted freshly grated cheese for this heavenly sauce! I reckon it will be cheaper elsewhere too but we were playing tourists at Kleinmarkthalle.

Ingredients (serves 4-6)
1 cup of basil leaves
1 cup of walnuts
1 cup of freshly grated Parmesan
1 clove of garlic
2 tbsp of olive oil
Black pepper, grounded



Instructions
1. Blend basil leaves, garlic, walnuts, Parmesan and grounded black pepper in a mixer. It will become like a paste.
2. In a bowl, mix the paste with olive oil.


Note: Feel free to adjust the amount of olive oil used to achieve the consistency you like. Add more olive oil if you’re using it for pasta. If you prefer more or less of certain ingredients, do adjust the recipe accordingly. Nothing is set in stone here!

Mission accomplished! The recipe worked extremely well for us and it was so easy to follow too. We had the pesto on a few slices of baguette and wrapped the leftover in cling-film for pasta tomorrow.

1 May 2014

Okonomiyaki



A few weeks back we had an okonomiyaki party at a friend’s place. It was so much fun and I realised how easy it was to make this Japanese pizza-like dish. When I got home, I searched online for a good recipe as my friend didn’t measure any of her ingredients (what an expert!).
 
Today I’ll share with you a basic and easy okonomiyaki recipe that allows you to be versatile in whatever ingredients you might want to use. I love Marc’s recipe because he teaches you the basics which then gives you room to improvise. It’s pretty much what I think cooking is about – it isn’t set in stone.

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In my version, these are the ingredients I used in addition to the basic recipe based on 4 serving portions.

125g bacon bits
60g Parmesan cheese
60g mozzarella
1 medium-sized tin of tuna 


Step 1: Mix all the dry ingredients together.

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Step 2: Add the eggs and dashi (stock).

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Step 3: Add bacon bits and tin of tuna.

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Step 4: Mix the ingredients well and ensure that they are well coated with the basic batter.

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Step 5: Scoop a ladle of the mixture into a frying pan with oil which is heated to medium-high heat. Cook covered with a lid for 7 minutes. The bottom should be brown and then repeat the same for the other side.

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Step 6: Serve on a plate. Garnish it with mayonnaise, okonomiyaki sauce, aonori (or just use regular seaweed – aonori is soooooo expensive in Frankfurt!), katsuobushi and red Japanese ginger (I omitted it as the Asian supermarket I visited didn’t have any in stock). 

Don’t be put off by the steps involved. It’s a really easy recipe to follow. Just dump all the ingredients in a huge bowl and pan-fry it, how tough can that get, right?

25 April 2014

Sausages with Sticky Onion Gravy

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Living in the land of sausages, one of my favourite sausages is the Nürnberger sausage. It originated from the city of Nürnberg. Made from coarsely ground lean pork and usually seasoned with marjoram, salt, pepper, ginger, cardamom, and lemon powder, these sausages are thin and small. The Germans usually serve them with sauerkraut and potatoes. To improvise, I served them with a slight British flair – Sticky onion gravy, Yorkshire puddings and beans.

I rely heavily on BBC Good Food for my British recipes. Hence, it is no surprise that the recipe for Sausages with Sticky Onion Gravy comes from them too.

The gravy was not only flavoursome but also aromatic. The mixture of thyme, sugar and splash of Worchetershire sauce gave the gravy its rich taste which complimented the sausages.

The Yorkshire pudding recipe which I’ve featured on my blog before was also from BBC Good Food. Unfortunately, I’ve yet to get myself Yorkshire Pudding tins or even a muffin tin. I’m still stuck with my mini-cupcakes tin which explains the oddly shaped Yorkshire Puddings. I promise you the taste isn’t compromised though!

Daniel appeared to enjoy homecooked British food. I must admit I don’t cook English food as often as I perhaps should. He must have had 8-9 mini Yorkshire Puddings and 7 sausages!

15 April 2014

Easter Nests

With Easter just round the corner, have you thought of what treats you’ll be making?

I wanted to make some easy no-bake chocolate treats for Dan’s colleagues since bending over to reach the oven has now become quite a challenge for me. So, Easter Nests is it for them!

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Ingredients
150g Shreddies cereal (mashed)
200g chocolate, melted
1 pack of mini eggs (I used 48 mini eggs in total)


Method
1. Use your hands or a blender to mash the Shreddies in a large mixing bowl.
2. Melt the chocolate (you can use a microwave or a saucepan)
3. Pour the chocolate into the mashed Shreddies and use a spatula to mix well. Ensure that the Shreddies are well coated in chocolate.
4. Depending in the size of your cupcake moulds, use either a teaspoon or tablespoon to fill each mould with the chocolate coated Shreddies. I used a mini-cupcake mould.
5. Place two to three mini eggs into each cupcake holder. Make sure you push them downwards slightly into the Shreddies.
6. Refrigerate for 2 hours to allow them to set.

I hope you’ll have fun this Easter! We’re so looking forward to the long weekend!

11 April 2014

Homemade Quiche

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Firstly, I would like to say a big thank you to Sarah of Backpack Bees for sharing her quiche recipe with me. I was complaining on the lack of variety available in German supermarkets and Sarah volunteered to make a quiche to show me how easy it was. She was so right!
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Unlike other quiche that involves making a crust, Sarah knew that I would prefer a all ingredients in one bowl recipe. This made things a lot simpler for me. I threw in all the ingredients in a huge mixing bowl and dished it into a cake tin. It worked perfectly too. I didn’t want to spend money on getting a tin specially for baking a quiche for the first time. However I did buy a new measuring jug that measures in cups! Now I can try out more recipes from American sites without converting numbers online.
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I followed Sarah’s recipe very closely and baked the quiche for 45 minutes at 200 degrees Cels in the oven. Greedy me did add some shredded mozzarella cheese though since I had them in the fridge.

The quiche tasted heavenly! So much better than the ones I get from the supermarkets in Germany. I love how versatile the recipe can be too. Instead of courgette (or zucchini), I’ll try making it with leeks and broccoli next time. I’m so looking forward to making a variety of quiche!

As Sarah said in her blog post, you can omit bacon/ham if you prefer a vegetarian option.

For Sarah’s recipe, please do visit her blog at this link (Quiche recipe).

8 April 2014

Crispy Baked Chicken


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Remember me saying I was going to try Just One Cookbook’s Crispy Baked Chicken recipe? I’ve tried Nami-san’s delicious Tonkatsu recipe and homemade tonkatsu recipe (here’s my post for it) and really loved it. However, I wanted a healthier version. I’m really glad that she has an oven baked version of it!
I served the crispy baked chicken with homemade chips, bacon wrapped asparagus and homemade Tonkatsu sauce. It was definitely healthier, less cleaning up and very crispy. It was also very easy to cook, so do give the recipe a try!

28 March 2014

Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffins



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Note: Link to recipe can be found at the end of this post.

On Thursday afternoon, I thought it would be a good idea to grab a muffin and cold drink from Starbucks in town for a quick lunch amidst all the errands I had to run. It turned out to be a rather dissatisfying Raspberry Cream Cheese muffin which had NO raspberries in it whatsoever. Not a single one. It tasted just like a badly baked vanilla muffin.

Here’s a photo of the Starbucks muffin. I didn’t even bother taking photos of what it looked inside since there was nothing.

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Should I be surprised? Perhaps I’m pampered by the many cafés in Frankfurt that actually sell homebaked delicacies to appreciate Starbucks anymore.

To satisfy my craving, I made my own muffins instead. However, the supermarket I went to didn’t have raspberries so I baked the muffins with blueberries instead. Here’s my rule: if you’re going to name it a raspberry cream cheese muffin, Starbucks should have made sure that there were raspberries in it. Hence, when I baked these muffins, I went nuts with the ingredients. Probably something a huge commercial café like Starbucks couldn’t afford to do.

Here’s how the inside of the muffin I baked looks like. Yes, I love packing it with blueberries and a good amount of cream cheese!
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Thankfully these muffins are NOT difficult to bake. I love to have homebaked muffins every so often for breakfast on weekends or when we have an excursion. They are such lovely snacks to have on long train journeys.

If you’re also interested in baking your own raspberry/blueberry cream cheese muffins, here’s the link to the recipe I used. There are plenty of fanciful recipes out there but all I was searching for today was a simple one. This proved to worked well for me and I hope it will for you too.

21 March 2014

Vegetable Tempura

One of the set dishes I always order at a Japanese restaurant is Vegetable Tempura. I love the crispy batter and how it soaks up the tasty tempura sauce. As I’m currently in the phase of experimenting and learning how to cook Japanese cuisine, I made Vegetable Tempura for dinner.

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I like cooking to be fuss-free. Ideally, I should be able to get all the ingredients from the 4 different German supermarkets within walking distance from my apartment on a weekday. When I decided to make tempura, I wasn’t sure if I could get tempura flour. Therefore I was thrilled to learn from Just One Cookbook that I could make my own batter at home! So convenient and definitely cheaper too!

I didn’t exactly use the same vegetables as Nami-san’s recipe but I’m glad they still turned out well. As we only get asparagus in Spring in Germany, I was quick to get a bundle the moment I saw them. I also used sweet potatoes and an eggplant (aubergine). It turned out to be a feast for Daniel and I.

The tempura was crispy and so much less oily than what you would get in restaurants. I never reuse frying oil because I simply can’t bear the thought to, so I would like to think that deep-frying at home is cleaner than the ones you get outside.

Nami-san also provided the recipe for tempura sauce on her blog. Seriously, does she need to buy any bottled sauces? She seems to know how to make everything from scratch and make it look so easy!

As it was a slightly warm Spring Day, I served the lovely tempura with Zaru Soba. Ahhhh… Refreshing it was! Unfortunately I didn’t have all the ingredients to make the dipping sauce for the soba so I took the easy way out and used bottled Mentsuyu.
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If you’re a vegetable tempura lover, do try the recipe out at home. You’ll love it!

Any packet of soba will give you cooking instructions but I found the detailed instructions on Just One Cookbook really good to ensure I get the texture right.

Here are the links to the recipes.
Vegetable Tempura & sauce recipe
Zaru Soba recipe
I hope you’ll enjoy the vegetable tempura and Zaru soba as much as I did!

14 March 2014

Macaroni Cheese - Jamie Oliver

Once a week I like to whip up a vegetarian dinner. However the meal still needs to be hearty and filling. Therefore, I made Macaroni Cheese based on Jamie Oliver’s recipe.

I adapted his recipe since I was shopping at a nearby supermarket which had neither cheddar nor parmesan. As cooking isn’t set in stone, I used mozzarella and emmentaler. Also, I blended 3 slices of bread to get fresh breadcrumbs.
Here’s how it looked before it went into the oven for 30mins.

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And tadahhhhh!!!! Golden brown and crispy top!

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I halved the recipe to serve 4-5 but the two of us managed to eat about 3 people’s worth of it. Shows you more morish this simple but delightful dish can be.

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Once again, this is another fuss-free and successful Jamie Oliver recipe.
How about making some in your kitchen this weekend? Here’s the recipe!

Ingredients (Serves 8 - 10)

  • sea salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 45 g butter
  • 3 heaped tablespoons plain flour
  • 10 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced
  • 6 bay leaves
  • 1 litre semi-skimmed milk
  • 600 g dried macaroni
  • 8 tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • 150 g Cheddar cheese, freshly grated
  • 100 g Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
  • a few sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked
  • 2 splashes Worcestershire sauce, optional
  • 1 grating nutmeg, optional
  • 3 big handfuls fresh breadcrumbs
  • olive oil  
Instructions

1. Boil a pot of salted water.

2. In a pan, melt the butter over low heat, add the flour and turn the heat up to medium. Mix well till you get a paste.

3. Add all the sliced garlic to the paste and mix well. The garlic will caramelise and become golden brown and sticky. 

4. Next, add bay leaves and milk slowly to ensure you get a smooth sauce. Bring the mixture to boil and then leave it to simmer.

5. Preheat your oven to 220 degress Cels.

6. Add pasta to the boiling pot of water and cook according to the instructions on the packaging.

7. Season chopped tomatoes with salt and pepper.

8. Drained cooked pasta and add to the sauce. Stir in the cheese, chopped tomatoes, thyme leaves and a couple of dashes of Worchestershire sauce. A little nutmeg would be nice too but this is optional.

9. Transfer the pasta mixture into an ovenproof dish, srpinkle fresh breadcrumbs all over it and bake for 30 minutes. (This step is different to the original recipe!)

10. Serve while it's hot.



13 March 2014

Chicken, Leek & Potato Soup

I’ve been trying to fight off a bothersome cold since last Thursday without any medication. Although my midwife said I could take one paracetamol pill to ease off the symptoms, I’ve been rather reluctant to do so. Instead, I’ve been drinking lots of water and honey. I don’t even remember the last time I was ill. Probably a few years back? Daniel was beginning to think that I could never ever fall sick because even when he did, I was never affected. I suppose it’s true that the pregnant body automatically shields the baby from all “harm” and poor mummy takes all the crap! I’d rather it be this way, honestly.

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Thankfully I haven’t lost any appetite, however I’m never quite close to saying I’m hungry either now that I’m sick. Therefore I need to remind myself to eat or else I could very well just be drinking honey water all day. Despite the warm sunshine outside, I made us a typical wintry soup – chicken, leek and potato. The original recipe called for bacon but I thought pan-fried chicken was the healthier option. I also added an extra potato to create a thicker texture to the soup.

I really like leeks so the flavour was great for me without having to add too much vegetable stock. Also, as the texture was rather rich, it served well as a meal by itself with a bread roll or two. It is definitely one of our favourite homemade soups! I’ll have to cook up a batch of it and freeze it before Theodore arrives!

5 March 2014

Thai Green Curry

The great thing about curries is they are so versatile. Unless you’re particular about what makes an authentic Thai curry, I reckon you’ll be happy to use whatever’s in your fridge to cook up a storm.

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A mid week curry is a brilliant way to add a little fire to our tongues. The last time I made green curry was in my first trimester and I just couldn’t stand its pungent smell. Although I’m one of the few lucky ones to not suffer any morning sickness, I had a heightened sense of smell which meant plain rice/ Chinese porridge was all I could stomach. Therefore I’m really glad to be able to enjoy a curry now.

Here are the ingredients I used.

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400g chicken breasts
400ml Coconut milk
2 tbsp Thai green curry paste
1 broccoli
1 garlic clove
Half an onion, sliced
Half a red pepper
Half a green pepper
Some coriander (to garnish at the end)
2 tbsp Fish sauce (optional)
2 tbsp sugar



Method

1. Heat a little oil in a wok and put in the garlic and onions. Cook till fragrant. Remember to toss the ingredients quickly to ensure they don’t burn.

2. Add the curry paste and fry it for 2-3 minutes.


3. Add the chicken and make sure that it is well coated by the paste and fry till light brown.


4. Add coconut milk and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes.


5. Throw in the broccoli, and half the peppers (both red and green). The remaining peppers will be added at the end to garnish the dish. Cook for 5-8 minutes till the vegetables soften.


6. Now, add the sugar and fish sauce. You can either add more or less sugar depending on how sweet you want your curry to be.


7. Take the pot off the stove.


8. Dish up and garnish with coriander and peppers.


I usually cook Thai curries with aubergines and carrots but I didn’t have any of those in the fridge. That didn’t stop me from making a mouth-watering, satisfying curry. Cooking isn’t set in stone so, just use your best judgment and have fun in the kitchen.

For those who prefer an alternative curry, do check out my Red Thai Curry recipe!

4 March 2014

Vanilla Fairy Cupcakes with a Surprise

Our kitchen is tiny and has limited storage space. With a baby on his way, I had to clear a couple of shelves to store some of his essentials. Therefore, I decided to bake Vanilla Fairy Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting.

Vanilla Fairy Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

I adapted the recipe by adding half a teaspoon of Nutella in each of the cupcakes. That’s the surprise by the way. Daniel doesn’t eat Nutella but when he bit into it he thought it was regular chocolate! The cupcakes were so easy to make as BBC Good Food intended to target kids with this recipe. They turned out light and fluffy, just the way a good fairy cupcake should be. No fuss whatsoever.

Vanilla Fairy Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

With some leftover chocolates in the cupboard, I made chocolate frosting using the recipe from Dad’s Chocolate Drop Cakes. The frosting complimented the Vanilla Fairy Cupcakes superbly! It’s bound to be a winner with chocolate lovers out there. Oh, a little frosting goes a long way so don’t go crazy with it!
Since they are fairy cupcakes, I made them pretty by adding colourful sprinkles. Awww… I love how each of them looked – so dainty and graceful!

The usual protocol when it comes to baking is that I’ll keep a couple of slices for ourselves and the rest will be shared with Daniel’s colleagues. I do hope the men in his team won’t find these little fairies too girlish for their liking!

20 February 2014

Chinese Braised Pork Belly

After seeing an alluring picture of Kong Bak Pau (braised pork in steamed buns) on Instagram, I craved badly for some braised pork belly. I’ve tried making this one pot dish a few times with little success. The recipes were either too salty or simply, didn’t taste right. Hence, I was over the moon when the recipe from Noob Cook turned out the way I remember braised pork belly to be.

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I tweaked the recipe slightly as I’m not a fan of star anise or cloves. Also, I added “ang moh” (western) mushrooms because Daniel isn’t quite fond of Chinese mushrooms.

When it comes to braised pork belly, I love them succulent and tender. I cooked the dish on low heat for 3 hours to achieve the ideal texture. The long hours on the stove also resulted in meat that was full of flavour!

It’s surprising how far half a teaspoon of Chinese 5 spice, 1 cinnamon stick, some garlic and 1.5 tablespoon of soy sauce can go.

We had this with fragrant white rice and it was heavenly. It reminded Daniel of being in Singapore (without the heat he loves …).

Truth be told, I would probably not attempt this dish if I lived in Singapore. Why would I even need to step into the kitchen when I’m surrounded by talented cooks in the family and affordable food everywhere? Living abroad, especially in Germany, has encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone and explore different aspects of life. Dishes that seemed so complicated to me in the past don’t frighten me anymore.

Now, craving’s satisfied. I’m a happy person looking into other dishes to experiment with next.

16 February 2014

Peanut Butter Chocolate Brownie

Mr Sunshine is out and that makes me as happy as a lark. I’m beginning to think I’m a green plant whose well-being is dependent on natural sunlight. Charged with full gear motivation, like a car refuelled, I kept myself busy in the kitchen from 8am to make some Peanut Butter Chocolate Brownie. Unsurprisingly, this tested and tried recipe is found on my favourite BBC Good Food website.

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It’s rare to see a brownie baked in a round tin but as I rarely make them, I haven’t got a square or rectangular tin in my inventory. Does the shape really matter? Not, in my opinion.

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The moist and dense brownie struck a balance between the bitterness of the dark chocolate and the sweetness peanut butter. Although the recipe asked for 280g of brown sugar, I only used 200g. The sight of a mountainous amount of sugar in my pan was shocking so I reduced it. When it comes to this brownie, one should savour the peanut butter and dark chocolate; not sugar.

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I like my brownie to have a slightly fudgy texture and this was how the Peanut Butter and Chocolate brownie turned out.

Decadently rich and satisfying, this brownie is pure heavenly indulgence for peanut butter and chocolate fanatics out there.

How can I possibly not share this tin of joy with my friends? I’ve set aside the humble slice you see in the picture above to share with Daniel and the rest will be generously shared with others. Bet they’ll hate me when their waistlines expand!

15 February 2014

Sloppy Joe

What do you cook when you’re feeling lazy but don’t fancy a takeaway?

Imagine the skies are overcast with dark grey clouds spitting down on you the entire day. You look outside from the comfort of your own home desperate to find a ray of sunshine but to no avail.

A good burger might cheer you up but you can’t even be bothered to shape it. A takeaway might be the easier option but you’re trying to eat more healthily. Yes, it’s the sort of night to make a Sloppy Joe.

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Ingredients (Serves 4)

1 onion diced
1 garlic clove diced
1 green pepper diced
250g minced beef
Half tbsp mustard
Half tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp vinegar
Ketchup (be generous!)
Half tsp chilli spice (optional)

4 burger buns
Pre-washed salad (optional)



Method
  1. Heat a small amount of oil in a frying pan. Throw in the minced beef, onion, garlic and green pepper. Cook till the beef is browned.

2. Add the mustard, vinegar, ketchup, chilli spice and brown sugar. Use as much or as little ketchup as you want. I like my mince well coated in ketchup so I’m really generous with it.

3. Mix well and cook on medium heat for 15-20mins.

4. Prepare the burger buns and place the pre-washed salad on the bottom half of the buns.

5. Serve the mince on the buns!

We make Sloppy Joe when we want a quick fix. Not only is it filling, but also tasty. The recipe isn’t get in stone and that’s really why I like it. Instead of peppers, I could substitute with diced carrots and throw in additional mushrooms.

Sloppy Joe for a sloppy me on a rather uneventful day – perfect!

12 February 2014

Chocolate Marble Cake



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I was craving for a small slice of chocolate cake but if I went to a cafe I know jolly well it would be more than just a slice of cake. Instead I walked to the supermarket to get the ingredients I needed to bake a cake and decided to share it with Daniel’s colleagues. Everyone’s happy this way!

By now you’ll know that I’m a big fan of BBC Good Food recipes. That’s where I got the Chocolate Marble Cake recipe from. With 222 reviews and so close to obtaining a perfect 5-stars rating, I’ll only have myself to blame if it didn’t work out.


The cake was moist and fluffy. It also had just the right amount of sweetness so it didn’t hurt the teeth. As suggested by the recipe, I alternated the plain and chocolate batter before giving it a swirl at the end.

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Before I cut into the first slice, I was filled with excitement! I wondered if my marble cake would look good. I’m always envious of bakers who are confident of the cakes they bake for others. They’ll never have to steal a slice before serving it.

I always make sure I taste the cakes I baked before sharing with people. I don’t think I can deal with the embarrassment of treating others to an undercooked, terrible tasting cake.

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As you can see, I had more chocolate batter than plain one hence the cake looked more chocolatey than having a proper marble effect. However, it was still mouth-watering! It was so delightful to have a slice to indulge in after dinner. Very heavenly!!!

11 February 2014

Prima Taste Beef Rendang

Rendang is a fragrant meat dish originally served in Indonesia. However its rich spicy flavour made it so popular that it is also commonly served in Singapore.

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Beef rendang is one of Daniel’s favourite Singapore cuisine and a must-have when we visit. However he has high expectations of this dish. While he’s happy to eat rendang anywhere, my aunt’s homemade from scratch rendang is his favourite. No restaurant or hawker has come close to replacing Daniel’s favourite. How much of it is sucking up? To be honest I have no idea since a simple request of rendang often results in a wide spread of all his favourite dishes for dinner the next day – all cooked by my aunt.

Rendang is something I’ve never (and maybe never) cooked from scratch. The list of ingredients scares me to death and the actual cooking time required tests my patience. Most importantly, I have no confidence in recreating anything as close as my aunt’s rendang – not even 50% as close. Therefore, it is one of those dishes that I’m happy to use premix paste for.

I found Prima Taste’s Rendang at an Asian supermarket in town and decided to give it a try. I had my fears. It takes less effort than cooking from scratch but I hate ruining dinners. What if it tastes terrible?!

Thankfully, my two hours effort of cooking this dish didn’t go to waste. It was flavoursome, creamy enough (add just enough water to immerse the meat but not make the rendang watery) and the meat turned out tender.

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I’ll admit that it is not like my aunt’s rendang but it’s excellent quality given that it’s from premix paste! I love rendang when it’s “dry” because it means that the meat has soaked up lots of the spices. The ones that have too much gravy left over tend to be diluted and less satisfying. I also love adding potatoes to my rendang and then serving the dish with a bowl of steaming hot white rice. As a kid I’ve always loved to mash my potatoes, mix them with rice and rendang (or any curry!). That to me is a good dinner.

Note: Recipe can be found here.

10 February 2014

British Pancakes to Beat Monday Blues


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With eyes wide open at 6.30am, the first thing that came to mind was "pancakes". It always puzzles Daniel how I can wake up with a growling stomach even when I’m not pregnant. As far as I’m concerned, breakfast is THE most important meal of the day. It not only provides me energy to deal with the ups (and downs) of daily life, it also makes me a happier person. Whoever has tried getting me out of the house while I’m on an empty stomach knows not to mess with me. A hungry Yoyo is an angry one.

You’d probably know by now that I swear by most of the BBC Good Food Recipes. They are foolproof and hardly fail me. To satisfy my craving for pancakes, of course a recipe name such as “Perfect Pancakes” sounds hopeful.

Ingredients (Serves 8)
  • 100g plain flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 300ml semi-skimmed milk
  • 1 tbsp sunflower oil or vegetable, plus extra for frying
  • pinch salt
Instructions
  1. Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the eggs into the middle with 50ml of milk and 1 tbsp oil. Whisk till you have a smooth, thick paste. Add more milk if the mixture is too stiff.  Continue adding milk till the consistency is like slightly thick single cream. 
  2. Heat the pan over a moderate heat, then wipe it with oiled kitchen paper. Pour some batter into pan and cook undisturbed for about 30 secs before turning.
  3. Continue to cook the other side for 30 secs too and then serve. 
Unlike American pancakes, I don’t have to strive for them to rise and be fluffy and this makes things a lot easier on a sleepy Monday morning. I learned from Daniel that British pancakes are usually served with a dash of lemon juice and sugar. Since I depleted all lemons in the kitchen yesterday, I served the thin and golden brown pancakes with sugar and a little butter.

I’m definitely energised for the day! What about you?

22 January 2014

Chilli Chicken Sandwich with Avocado

I was craving for a sandwich for dinner. In fact, I crave for sandwiches a lot in a country that doesn’t know what a sandwich is. However, Germany does itself proud in many other ways so I shall compromise and make myself a homemade sandwich instead. I didn’t want anything too heavy after waking up at 2am last night with indigestion. That was a horrible pain and I don’t wish to go through that for two consecutive nights.

I wanted a zesty (and slightly spicy) sandwich so I marinated 400g of chicken breasts with lime juice (from 2 limes) and two tablespoons of chilli powder mixed with garlic for 2 hours.

As I’m currently addicted to avocados after reading its amazing health benefits, I added them to my sandwiches in addition to some green salad. They are surprisingly filling which is great if I’m only making a sandwich for Daniel at dinner time.

We don’t have a grill at home (unfortunately) so I pan fried the chicken breasts with olive oil and melted Chester cheese on them before serving with toasted muffin bread. Definitely sounds more complicated than slapping cold meat and cheese between slices of bread, but it was well worth the effort.

The lime juice gave the sandwich a citrusy taste which definitely did stimulate our taste buds. The chilli and garlic spice mixture wasn’t too spicy; it was just enough to give the chicken breasts some flavour. I reckon I’ll have to look for more chicken sandwich recipes!!!