Chicken Pie

My housemate had a packet of filo pastry and asked me to try making something with it since I love mucking around the kitchen. I decided to try to experiment with a savoury item since I have been making cookies and muffins. As usual I surfed the web for interesting recipes and chanced upon a Chicken Pie recipe that seemed quite easy.

The results of my homemade Chicken Pie were pretty good for a first attempt. I was quite clueless on how to drape the pastry in the pie dish. Luckily it turned out pretty ok! The chicken pie filling tasted good but it was not enough! Haizz...I was worried it will overspill so I did not fill enough for each pie and it felt a little empty inside.

Here are my pics of the pie before baking, while baking and the finished products!

Banana Walnut Cupcakes...Yummy!

I have always been a sucker for Banana Walnut Muffins..especially the huge ones that you see at Starbucks or coffee places. I was really excited when I saw a bunch of overripe bananas when I was checking out baking ingredients in the kitchen. What luck! I can finally make Banana Muffins!

Next..need to get an easi recipe for Banana Muffins/Cupcakes. I quickly surfed the web to visit a few food bloggers recipes.Thank God for the internet! Found a simple Banana Cupcake recipe that the food blogger claimed was her mum-in-law's traditional recipe. Hmmm sounds great! Definitely worth a try..

I quickly assembled my ingredients and in less than an hour, aromatic banana cupcakes emerged. The banana cupcakes were moist, fluffy and yummy! What a wonderful recipe! :)
Ingredients:
21⁄4cups (295g) flour
2tsp baking powder
2tsp bicarbonate of soda
1⁄2tsp salt
1cup (210g) sugar
240g unsalted butter
4 eggs, beaten
4 bananas (roughly 375g), mashed
5Tbs milk
1tsp pure vanilla essence
Walnuts for topping

Method:
1.Sift flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a medium bowl.
2.Preheat Oven to 180˚C
3. Cream butter and sugar until creamy white. Add beaten eggs a little at a time. Beat well after each addition.
4.Add vanilla essence, milk and mashed bananas.
5.Fold in flour and blend well.
6.Pour mixture into muffin cups and top each cupcake with walnuts. Bake at 180˚C for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Back to Perth - the "chef" starts to mess the kitchen

Hainanese Chicken Rice

My housemate and I decided to try our hands at making Hainanese Chicken Rice. Of course we had the help of some chicken rice mix! It would be too much trouble doing it all from scratch..heh..the result? Fantastic and yummy! We also used the leftover chicken stock to make a cabbage soup. One of the few times I finished the rice on my plate!I will definitely try to cook this again on my own. Any one interested to try?



Baked Stuff -Muffins and Cookies

I attempted some muffins (Choc Chip/Nutella) and cookies (choc chips) as there is an oven in the kitchen in the house I am staying at. A big spacious kitchen some more! And this time I have more ppl interested to be my "food guinea pigs"! yeah!! Definitely will try more new stuff..

Beef Kimchi Noodles

It was a lazy day. Decided not to try cooking anything tiring. We decided to whip up a simple Beef and Kimchi Noodle Soup. Of course, me being me, I cant eat a simple noodle soup without lotsa extra ingredients! hehehe.. Beef definitely goes well with Kimchi soup.

Back to Perth!

You would realise that my past few blogs are a little delayed. Well, I am taking the time here in Perth to catch up sorting my fotos and all.

Yes I decided to come back again..this time staying at a different place. I was really lucky I managed to get a contact from a friend and am now staying at a friend's friend place. Itz definitely better to stay with people you know especially if it is going to be a longer stay. I am fortunate that both my housemates are really caring and generous.

Here are some pics of the place I am staying in. It's at Queens Park abt 10-15 min walk away from the train station and nearest grocer. I also managed to get an extremely cheap retro car for my driving "practice" now that I can officially drive. hehe...beware all the ppl of Perth!

1. Here is my bedroom which is the Master bedroom in the house. It has a walk-in wardrobe(yeah!) and a bright toilet.

2. The fotos below show the Living Room which is outside my bedroom, The Dining Room which adjoins to the Kitchen, and an Entertainment Area which has some pretty fun games! Did I mention that this Kitchen is double the size of mine in Singapore? sigh...

3. Here are some external parts of the house. I am extremely pleased with the Laundry Area which is HUGE as my current home does not have a laundry area (I have a dryer). The space is just incredible here! I understand from one of my housemates that this house which has 4 bedrooms and 2 toilets (4+2) is an average sized house.

4. My retro TV which came FREE with my retro car! (i am serious!:p)BTW, it wrks..hehe..5. And Finally, my retro car..

Home in Singapore..More baking!

Finally ..home in my tiny kitchen in SG..except this time I am staying alone as my hubby is still in Perth! yeah!! haha...Anyways, I will be joining him in Perth in a month's time..this time in Perth will be a much longer stay so I need to finish up all my "errands" in Singapore.

I came back specially to finish up my last lap of driving lessons and to sit for my test. It was gloomy rainy afternoon during my test and I was scared shitless...But I am glad to announce that I passed it! I am pretty proud of myself as it was realli difficult to keep up consistently with my lessons as I was travelling quite a bit. I was pretty determined to take this "to do" item off my list in the year that I am about to hit 30! So old still taking driving rite?? haizz..what to do? I was so privileged to be driven all my life..hahaha..

Anyways it was a good opportunity for me to enjoy Singapore and my fave Fish Slice Bee Hoon Soup and Ban Mian (hand made noodles) as well as catch up with my family and friends. All the travelling had made me appreciate all these litte things so much more. I even helped my sister to babysit my niece during her one week holiday! Super Nanny ah..dun play play...hehehe...

I also worked for my aunt, which was great as time was flexible..haha..a.k.a sleep late wake up late but wrk still finished lah. It was my first time working for a retail shop at Chinatown... It was interesting..except for the sicko uncles at Chinatown who will attempt to call me "hi girl" and whistle as I walk pass. sigh...I should be glad someone is calling me a "girl" but well..perverts! hahaha..

Wah one mth in Singapore and I was doing so many things hor...and to think many pple think I am lazing at home..heh!

I also managed to bake some stuff...here are some pics:

1. Mini Cupcakes... actually tried to use a Madeleine(butter sponge cake) recipe for this but used cupcake moulds to bake as I did not have a proper Madeleine moulds. I went to Mini Toons and bought some cute sweets to put on the top. Though the cake was pretty soft and spongy, I found this recipe a little too "eggy"..hmmm...will attempt another Madeleine recipe soon.

2. Brownie Muffin. I always wanted to make a chocolatey muffin and it seems that this recipe is IT! yeah..I made 2 variations below.. One with lotsa chocolate and another with almond nuts. It was spongy and moist enough....success!!

Ingredients:
125g butter
150g 70% cocoa solids chocolate (like Lindt) OR Van Houten Cooking Chocolate
200g brown sugar pinch of salt
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract 1 tbsp rum, Tia Maria,Baileys or Kahlua
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
150g plain flour
3 tsp cocoa powder chocolate chips for scattering

HOW:
- Roughly chop up butter and chocolate and microwave to melt, OR sit in a large (heat-proof) bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir to melt.
- Stir in salt and sugar.
- Stir in vanilla, eggs and rum,beat lightly to mix.
- Preheat oven to 180C.
- Sift in rising agents,flour and cocoa,stir to combine.
- Scatter 1 tsp chocolate chips in your liners,then half fill with the batter. Do not be tempted to fill more!
- Scatter 1 tsp more chocolate chips overtop,bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until risen,springy and an inserted toothpick comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it.
- If there is wet batter,bake a while more but monitor closely. Because if it comes out dry,you have overbaked it. Cool a while before enjoying it warm. This keeps well for a few days without refrigeration.

A CNY Break in Perth...baking

During my 2 week stay in Perth and with a mission to "feed" my hubby edible home cooked food, I also squeezed in time to bake some cookies and muffins. As I was limited by ingredients and equipment, I only made a few items. Time was a constraint too! hehe..

In case any of you suspect the "edibleness" of my food, I am proud to announce my hubby is still well and alive..no complaints of diarrhoea! hahahaha....I was also daring enough to pass some of the goodies to his colleagues and it seems that feedback was pretty favourable..."cheeky grin"

1. Chocolate Chip Muffins. I made at least 3 batches of these muffins. I varied the recipe each time by adding cheese , walnuts or raisins into the muffins..yum yum!

Ingredients:
115 gm (4 oz) butter at room temperature
70 gm (2½ oz) caster sugar
30 gm (1 oz) brown sugar
2 eggs at room temperature
215 gm (7½ oz) plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
125 gm(4 floz) milkplain chocolate chips

Method
1. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F). Sift flour and baking powder twice.
2. Cream butter until soft. Add both sugars and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
3. Fold flour into butter mixture. Alternatively with the milk. Spoon mixture into muffin cups and sprinkle chocolate chips on top, then cover with a spoonful of the batter.
4. Bake until lightly coloured, about 25 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before turning out.

2. Chocolate Chip Oat Cookies. The 2nd picture below shows a variation where I added walnuts and raisins( u can see it is "fatter"). These are my hubby's fave. Again, I made at least a few batches of these cookies to pass to friends. Hard work I tell u...haha..

Ingredients:

125 g soft butter

75 gm caster sugar

60 ml brown sugar

1 egg

a few drops of vanila essence

150 gm plain flour

45 gm cornflour

½ tsp bicarbonate of sod

a pinch of salt

60 gm chopped nuts (walnuts, pecan, macadamia)

125 gm chocolate chips

Method

1. Cream butter with both sugars. Beat egg with vanila and add to butter mixture. Mix well.

2. Sift flour, cornflour, bicardonate of soda and salt together. Add to creamed mixture, mixing to a soft dough. Stir in nuts and chocoloate chips.

3. Shape dough into a ball, pinch off pieces and roll into balls, flouring your palms occasionally if necessary. Place on oiled baking trays leaving room for spreading, and flatten lightly with a fork. Bake at 180ºC (350ºF) for 15 minutes. Carefully remove to wire rack to cool.

3. Armed with lots of flour left and not much time, I decided to make pancakes for breakfast. It was my first attempt at making pancakes from scratch. It turned out pretty well and looks professional I must say...*grin*

I am not entirely satisfied with the taste of this pancakes so I will not post the recipe.Will research more!

4. Raisin Scones...I decided to make these as I had lots of flour left and no eggs. Again, this is my first attempt at scones and I am surprised it even turned out edible..hehehe..

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour, plus more for rolling

4 teaspoons baking powder

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

5 tablespoons sugar

Scant 2/3 cup milk

1/2 cup currants (optional)

1 large egg yolk (lightly beaten) or some milk for glaze

Clotted cream and strawberry jam, for serving

Method:

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Line baking pan with parchment paper.

Sift flour and baking powder into a medium bowl.

Rub butter and sugar into flour to form a fine crumble.

Make a well in center and add milk and currants. Knead gently together, being careful not to over mix. (Dough will be sticky.)

Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Lightly mold it into a ball than then press down till it forms a rectangle like shape. Fold dough into half and repeat another two times, turning it clockwise as you go along.

Shape into circle and press down till about 1.5 inches thick.Cut with a knife into 8 large small triangles.

Place scones on baking tray lined with parchment paper. Glaze with milk/eggs and sprinkle with sugar.Bake for about 12 - 15min.

A CNY Break in Perth...home cooked food

As I mentioned, I came to Perth to cook for my hubby and I am not joking! hehe.. In between all the shopping and sight seeing, we managed to squeeze enough time for me to cook a meal or two. I am no Martha Stewart so all these stuff are realli easy to prepare. The only difficulty I faced was having the same ingredients but having to cook different meals so that it doesnt make us bored of the same food...so I tried to engage my creative juices.. If you look carefully u will see all the same ingredients appearing in dishes!

Here are some pics of some meals I prepared..

1. Lamb Chops w Carrots & Corn . I "anyhow" made the sauce using onions and lamb gravy..surprisingly it tasted good...no "lamby" taste at all..haha.. 2. Seafood in Chilli crab sauce (I bought the Prima brand) + Roti Prata( I also brought in frozen Roti Prata from Singapore). It was not a good idea..the prata was thoroughly flattened during my flight there..*yikes*..at least it still tasted great!

3. Grilled Chicken Breasts w Creamy Cabonara spaghetti..i added ham n mushrooms too! This was realli well done as the sauce was not too creamy or dried up. *applause applause* 4.Dory Fish w creamy mushroom sauce on a bed of mash potatoes..complete w my baked mushrooms + carrots + corn. This was pretty good and extremely easy to whip up. Only thing was marinating the fish to ensure that it doesnt smell fishy.. 5. Vegetable Curry a.k.a Lontong!! I brought a paste from Singapore - Asian Gourmet. It doesnt taste so great...a bit regretful. I tried to alter the taste by adding lots of stuff (errmm cant remember now!) and it tasted ok. My hubby says it was good but I was still not satisfied..will continue to learn how to perfect a Lontong. Also, as I did not have ketupat (steamed rice in banana leaf), we substituted w mung bean vermicelli(tung hoon).

6. Beef steak w Black Pepper Sauce with mashed sweet potatoes and butter carrots. I remembered eating mashed sweet potatoes in a restaurant and decided to try making it. It was fantastic! As this steak was rather small, I also made a small side dish of clam spaghetti w white wine sauce. Fantastico!:P 7. Laksa.. a favourite local hawker dish in Singapore. I brought the Prima paste from Singapore. This paste is the easiest to cook...no brainer. We also discovered seafood chunks which is similar but nicer than the crab sticks we are used to eating in Singapore. aaahh.. .yummy-licious!
8. Shepard's Pie - Oven baked minced beef stew with mashed sweet potatoes on the top. I had to finish my sweet potatoes! :) Unfortunately we ran out of the mozerralla so we tore Kraft Cheese singles to melt on top..u can see weird cheese streaks on the top..haizz..so ugly.. Luckily this dish is something I have cooked many times (using sweet potato was the first time!) so it was delicious!
9.Chocolate Fondue..As it was Valentine's, we purchased a small choc fondue set from a chocolatier at Westfield Carousel. We sliced up peach, green apple and bananas to dip into the choc. Eating these with a glass of cool white fruity wine ..hmmm... sinful....

A CNY Break in Perth

After my working stint in HCM City, I took a 2 week holiday during the CNY period in Perth,Australia. The main purpose of the trip was to visit my hubby who is currently based in Perth AND more importantly, to cook for him (yeah rite!hah). It was my 2nd trip to Perth..my first trip being 16 years ago wen I was realli young...I was excited to see how the city has changed, especially the shopping scene. *oops now u know my main motive for going Perth*

Here are some pics of the self service apartment I stayed. It is situated abt 5 min walk to the Perth City. Very Convenient! U muz be wondering why "self service"..well this is the economical version of the service apartments. All the required cleaning/washing materials are available so u have to clean up on your own. The kitchen was well equipped. It was mini home away from home.

When my hubby was not working, we took the opportunity to explore Perth. I am not very into touristy spots so we just went where the Aussies went...in a bid to understand their culture. :) We did not take a lot of pictures tho..here are some of them.

We visited Swan Valley where there any many vineyards. The vineyards were so beautiful.. we even found grapes hanging above our heads...so nice! We managed to buy a bunch of juicy grapes and a bottle of wine.

We also managed to visit the Margaret River Chocolate Factory at Swan Valley. Yummy-licious chocolates were available in buckets for tasting! The ice cream was yummy too. Sigh..sinful goodies galore...makes me feel like a character in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

It was Summer, how can we not go to the beach? Below is Scarborough Beach, next to Cottlesloe beach. Wat a beautiful day w surfers and sun worshippers... ermm hope i dun get new freckles! *cross fingers*

During lunch one day, we went to Cicerello's for our Fish & Chips. It was crowded w Aussies..I am sure it must be one of the more popular joints. We ordered the spicy fish and chips as the original one looked a little boring...it was great! Though the fact that you need to purchase tiny packs of tartare & chilli sauce kinda puts me off..sianzzz...