Fish Congee

Weather has been so hot and humid of late that all I wanted was soupy and easy to eat food.  Since we had a fish head and some fish bones in our freezer, why not make some fish stock and cook congee out of it? I prefer congee cooked from soup stocks because the congee are more flavourful cooked that way! More work but all worthwhile.  This healthy fish congee makes a great meal for toddlers, children and adults. One pot for all :)

Fish Congee
2l fish stock
1 cup rice (soaked for 30min at least with a few drops of oil and 1/4 tsp salt)
White Fish slices
3 tbsp minced meat (seasoned with 2 tsp soy sauce, a dash of pepper, 1/2 tsp sesame oil & 1 tsp cornflour)
Salt & Pepper to taste
Spring onion, fried onion & pepper- for garnishing & taste

1. Bring fish stock to boil, drain rice water and pour rice into fish stock. Allow to come to boil and let it be on medium heat, letting rice cooked and thicken into congee texture.
2. Add in white fish slices into boiling thickening congee, spoon into small teaspoons of minced meat and stir well with a ladle to allow congee to cook evenly.
3. When fish slices and minced meat are cooked, season congee with salt to taste.
4. Garnish with spring onion cubes, fried onion, pepper and serve immediately.


How to make Fish Stock?
Bones and head of 1 garoupa, wash and dried briefly with kitchen towel
8-10 dried scallops or 4 medium sized scallops, rinsed
3 stalks of spring onion
1 carrot, skinned and diced
3 to 4 slices of ginger
2.5 litres of water

1. Place water in a big pot, place in dried scallops, spring onion stalks, carrot and bring to boil.
2. In a non-stick pan, heat 1/2 tsp oil and add in ginger slices and fry till fragrant. Add in fish head and bones and pan fried till 3/4 cooked. If you have stock bags, you can place the fish head and bones into 2 or 3 stock bags and place them into the main stock pot, otherwise scoop pan fried fish head and bones directly into stock pot.
3. Allow stock pot to come to a boil, lower heat and let it be on a rolling simmer for 1 or 1.5h. Fish stock is ready for soups, hotpots or congee. (Remove fish head and bones before using for cooking congee)

No-Bake Oreo Cheesecake

Last week I had a little guest over at my place for a one-night stay. This little guest was none other than the little girl that my mother babysat for the past years since she was like 3 months' old??? Well, she has now grown into a fine little girl whom I still adore so much.  And so her mama "parked" her at my place for a 2-day-1-night stay, and I cooked her favourite noodle soup lunch, and we played baking in my humble kitchen.

Fun for her, and me as well!

Sinking her teeth into one slice of the Oreo Cheesecake once it was set and decorated.

No-Bake Oreo Cheesecake

Makes a 6-inch cake

Bottom base

90g digestive biscuits crumbs 

30g oreo biscuits crumbs 

65g butter (melted) 

Fillings

250g cream cheese 

60g sugar 

2 teaspoon gelatin (dissolve with 1 tablespoon hot water) 

170ml whipping cream 

14 individual pcs of oreo cookies (cream removed), crush with a rolling pin till you get a mixture of fine bits and chunky bits 

Deco (Optional)

Oreo cookies 

1. Mix the crumbs and melted butter in a bowl. Spoon cookie base into baking pan and gently press to level base and keep in the fridge. (Do not press base hard as it might be hard and difficult to spoon out to eat)

2. In another bowl, beat cream cheese until soften, gradually beat in sugar until the sugar dissolve. 
3. Whisk the whipping cream in another bowl until thicken.
4. Mix the dissolved gelatin into the cream cheese mixture until well incorporated. Fold in the in the whipped cream until everything well combine. Add in crushed oreo bits and fold in briefly.
5. Spoon oreo creamcheese mixture into baking pan, cover top of baking pan with cling wrap anf allow to chill in the fridge until set. Decorate with Oreo cookies or crushed cookies and enjoy!

Lemon Herb Roasted Potatoes

With the number of potato dishes popping up here, you might think I am crazy about anything potatoes now yeah? But no I am not.  Back dated posts all these are and I am rushing to get them out of the drafts.

I like how potatoes fit well being the main dish (think Shepherd's Pie!), and also makes good alternative as sides to main dishes.

Gotta say that this is a super easy dish to do as no peeling of the potato skin is required! All you need to do is to scrub the potato skins clean, dap dry with kitchen towel, slice them three quarter way down like how you would do to hasselback potatoes, brush on the oil & herb mixture, and off to the oven they go!  Easy? They taste yummy too. Make these to impress your guests if you have them over to your place :) Made these for Mummy when she came to my place to accompany me when hubby was out on biz trip. Glad Mummy enjoyed it :)

Lemon Herb Roasted Potatoes
Recipe by Rasa Malaysia
Serve 3

Ingredients

1 pounds baby potatoes

Oil Mixture

1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons melted butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley leaves
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey
Scant 1/4 teaspoon salt
3 dashes ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350F. Cut slits on the potatoes, do not cut through. Mix all ingredients in the Oil Mixture together.

Place the potatoes in a roasting pan and brush with the Oil Mixture. Make sure to brush inside the slits of the potatoes. Save some for basting.

Roast the potato for 1 hour, basting the oil mixture at 30 minute interval using the remaining Oil Mixture. Serve immediately after roasting.

Double-boiled Ginseng Chicken Soup

Finally found some time after so long to double-boil some herbal soup for our dinner on a weekend night.  Double-boiling soup is not difficult task, it is the time that you need set aside to be able to get a pot of nice and rich tasting double-boiled soup.  At least 2.5 to 3 hours of dedication and you will be rewarded :)

This time I bought one pre-packed Chinese herbal mix from the supermarket, grabbed a whole chicken thigh and off I went to make the soup. The good thing about double-boiling soup is that meat added will be soft and tender tasting still, even after hours of cooking. We wiped off the chicken thigh meat and soup in no time!

Double-boiled Ginseng Chicken Soup
300g to 350g whole chicken thigh
1.5l of water
Ginseng roots 人参
Honey dates 蜜枣
Red dates, pitted (optional) 红枣
Lotus seeds 湘莲
Liquorice 甘草
Indian bread 茯苓
Wolfberry 枸杞
Chuanxiong rhizome 川芎
Chinese angelica root 当归

1. Fill a big aluminium pot with enough water and bring to a rolling boil.
2. While waiting for the big pot of water to boil, remove fats and blood from chicken thigh. Snip off some chicken skins with underlying fats. Just leave some skin on. Rinse and clean meat and set in a dish. Pour hot water over chicken thigh to remove scums and excess oil.
3. Rinse all herbs.
4. Put 1.5l of water to boil in water boiler.

5. When big pot of water has come to a rolling boil, place in ceramic pot. Use a tong and place scalded chicken thigh into ceramic pot, place in rinsed herbs and finally pour in boiled water, place on ceramic pot lid and then main pot lid.
6. Bring big pot water to boil before turning down fire and let soup be at a gentle simmer for 2.5 to 3 hours. Remove as much oil from soup as possible.
7. Add salt to taste and serve immediately.

Benefits of Ginseng chicken soup
Improves stamina, complexion as well as rejuvenate the body.

Duchess Potatoes

Yet another dish that was made long time back and have sat in my draft for a long long time.

I made this dish to host my sister and brother-in-law before my sister popped. And here I am posting this so late when my baby nephew is already a month plus old!

These dainty potato rosettes goes well with any grilled steaks and roast meats, and are definitely a good alternative to the usual mash potatoes.  A little effort needed before you can sink your teeth into them but I assure you, it is worth it ;)

Duchess Potatoes
Recipe by Marshall Cavendish Mini Cookbook (Potatoes series)
Serves 4

450g potatoes, peeled and thickly sliced
1 tbsp butter
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Salt, to taste
Ground white pepper, to taste

1. Cover and cook potatoes in a pot of simmering salt water for 10minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Drain well and discard water in pot.

2. To evaporate excess moisture in potatoes so that a more fluffy potato mixture can be obtained, return potatoes to dry pot and shake over low heat for 1-2 minutes. Shaking pot will prevent potatoes from sticking to the bottom of pot.
3. Rub potatoes through a fine sieve, or press through a ricer. Add butter while potatoes are warm. Beat with a wooden spoon until mixture is very smooth. Mix egg gradually into potato mixture. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Lightly oil a baking tray. Spoon potato mixture into a piping bag fitted with 1-cm star nozzle and pipe rosettes onto baking tray.

5. Bake in a preheated oven at 190deg C for 10-15min, or until golden. Dish out immediately and serve while still hot.

Japanese Potato Salad

Just last week, I tried to stop myself from being a couch potato and got down to making some Japanese Potato Salad. I had most of the ingredients on hand, so why not?

Attempted this a long time back and being the lazy wife, I used the same recipe again :P

Japanese Potato Salad

Recipe by Noob Cook

1/2 Japanese cucumber cut to thin, semi-circle slices

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 carrot peeled and cut to thin, semi-circle slices

2 russett potatoes peeled and quartered

water (enough water to submerge the potatoes)

3 tbsp cooked corn nibblets usually tetra-pak or canned (I did not add)

1/2 small onions chopped till fine bits

3/4 cup Japanese mayonnaise

salt and black pepper to taste

1. Rub cucumber slices with salt and allow to 'sweat' for about 30 minutes. This will make the cucumbers more crunchy. Rinse, drain and squeeze dry.

2.In a pot, bring water to boil. Add carrots and potatoes. Boil for 10 minutes. Drain.

3. Transfer boiled potatoes to a bowl. Use a fork to mash the potatoes, leaving some small chunks behind.

4. Add corn, carrot, cucumber, onion, and Japanese mayonnaise. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill in fridge before serving.

Note: Feel free to spice up this potato salad with more flavour such as chopped ham, karashi (Japanese mustard) and chopped hard boiled egg.

Tomato Egg

I am starting the year with more food dishes than more cakes and bread!  I bake when the kick comes, and stay away when I am not in the mood.  So... be prepped that more food dishes will appear here than before :P

Here's one quick and easy egg dish that can be served in no time, and it pairs so well with plain rice or plain porridge.

I love this combi of egg and tomato. Cooked this for the first time and hubby also said it was good. 

Tomato Egg

2 or 3 garlic, minced

1 medium tomato (roughly cut into cubes or slices)

3 eggs

1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
a dash of pepper
1 tsp Chinese cooking wine
1/2 sesame oil (optional)

1.5 tbsp Canola oil

3/4 tsp sugar

1.  Crack eggs into a bowl and add light soy sauce, oyster sauce, pepper, sesame oil (optional) and Chinese cooking wine.  Set aside.

2.  Heat oil in pan and add in minced garlic and fry for some 30 seconds, then add in tomato cubes/slices and add in sugar then stir fry it well.  Let tomato cook till soft but not too mushy (tomato juice will ooze out and soften the tomato cubes/slices).  Spread tomato evenly over pan.

3.  Pour beaten egg over tomato and on medium high heat, let egg cook and firm up a little before mixing it up with spatula to form scramble egg.  After mixing tomato and eggs well, and when you see that the egg is cooked (yet not too dry still), turn off heat, dish out and serve immediately.

Marble Cake

Skipped the CNY goodies baking this year because I wanted a good rest. Excuse it was not. I had slogged myself silly the past years with goodies baking and felt really tire out (but happy and satisfied of cuz!) when the baking project wrapped up, hence I decided a break will do me good for this year. All these explains why no CNY goodies appeared in this space.  Next year then :)

Wanted to start my new year with a slower and more relaxed pace, so I took a short break from food blogging.

Here is a cake which I baked some time back but stayed in my draft till now :)

Now that I am back, I wanna share this yummy marble cake recipe by Rasa Malaysia.  A simple but yummy cake and I am glad I tried baking this.

Do give it a try if you also have a love for marble cake like I do! :)

Marble Cake
Recipe by Rasa Malaysia

2 sticks (220g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
7 oz (200g) plain flour/all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
7 oz (200g) fine or powdered sugar (confectioners sugar or icing sugar) - I reduced to 160g as my Hubby and I do not like sweet tasting cakes
4 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
4 tablespoons fresh milk
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 tablespoons cocoa powder

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190deg C). Lightly grease the pan with some butter.

Mix the flour and the baking powder together and sieve. Add in salt and mix well. Set aside.

Use an electronic beater to mix butter and sugar until well combined or pale yellow in color. Add in the first egg. Beat well after each addition of egg until creamy. Scrape down the sides and add in vanilla essence and fold in the flour into the mixture and mix well. Finally, add in the milk.

Divide the batter into two portions. Stir the cocoa powder into one portion and mix well. Transfer the plain batter into the greased baking pan. Shake it lightly to distribute evenly. Pour the cocoa batter in the middle of baking pan, and lightly swirl the cocoa batter with a butter knife. I usually do the “S” shape with the butter knife a couple of times. Do not overmix.

Bake until golden brown and cooked, about 40 minutes. Insert a cake tester in the middle of the cake to test doneness. Remove it from the oven and let cool on the wire rack for another 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and serve immediately.

Banana Cake

Most home bakers would store a list of stuff that they plan to bake, and for me, banana cake has been one of the items that I have been wanting to bake. 

This was an impromptu bake. We had nothing for breakfast the next day and I bought a bunch of really ripe Del Monte bananas and got down to bake the cake after getting home from work.  Finally tried and got it off my "to-bake" list.

Hubby gave me a thumb's up after he tried the cake!  It was really yummy and this recipe by Wen's Delight was really good.  Cake was soft and moist.  All the banana cake lovers should really give this recipe a try.  


Banana Cake
Recipe by Wen's Delight (I made some variations to the original recipe)

2.5-3 Eggs (Room temp - Approx 150g) - I used 3 eggs and it weighed 160g
130g Sugar (Reduced, original-150g) - I used 110g
200g Banana (Ripe & cut into small pcs) - I mashed it with a fork
150g Top Flour (or plain flour/superlite flour/cake flour)
1/2 tsp Baking powder
1/4 tsp Baking soda
100g Corn oil (or any vegetable oil except olive oil, if prefer richer flavour replace with melted butter but it may cover the banana fragrant)
1/8 tsp Banana essense (optional)

Preheat oven to 160 degree C.
Grease & line a 8" round tin with paper.
I mashed the bananas with a fork.

1. Sieve flour, baking powder & soda together. Sieve twice & set aside.
2. Whisk eggs, sugar & banana at max. speed till stiff/ribbon stage. (For Kenwood Chef - approx 10-13mins)

3. Fold in flour & mix well. (Can use spatular or hand to mix)
4. Add in oil & mix well till batter is shiny & flowing.

 

5. Bake for 40 - 45min.

Popcorn Chicken with Pineapple Cubes & Onions in Tomato-Chilli Sauce

Who would have thought of making a sweet and sour pork-like dish in all under 30 minutes? Mum taught me this - the easy and fast (not forgetting lazy!) way is replacing pork with frozen popcorn chicken.  Airfry them and coat them with the sweet and sour or spicy sauce that you have prepped and heated up and you get the dish served in no time.

Easy. No fuss and yummy.  We have got a can of pineapple and some onions, so I bought a pack of popcorn chicken and churned up this dish.  It went so well with rice.  Kiddos will love this too :)

Popcorn Chicken with Pineapple Cubes & Onions in Tomato-Chilli Sauce
(Serve 2 to 3)

200g popcorn chicken
1 large onion, cubed
3 or 4 slices of canned pineapple, cubed
1.5 tbsp oil

3 tbsp tomato sauce
1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce (optional)
1/2 tbsp sugar (do taste test and add more sugar according to taste)
1 tbsp water

1. Preheat airfryer for 8min at 200deg C.
2. Place frozen popcorn chicken into airfryer basket and put to airfry at 200deg C for first 7min then 180deg C for another 5 to 7 min till light golden brown and crispy.

3. In a pan, heat oil and add in onion cubes. Saute onions till fragrant then add in pineapple cubes and stir fry for about 30sec. Add in tomato sauce, sweet chilli sauce, water and sugar and stir to mix well. Let sauce come to a boil. Do taste test. Add more sugar if preferred, more water if a thinner consistency if preferred.
4. Place airfried popcorn chicken into sauce pot and mix well to coat sauce evenly.  Dish out and serve immediately.

Note: You may add cubed capsicums and cucumbers if you prefer more crunch and colour to this dish.

Spicy Prawn Pasta

Another pasta dish and I hope you aren't too sick of seeing this :P

Mum came over my place last week to accompany me while Hubby was out of town and I cooked this simple prawn pasta for Mum. Was not a big feast but I was glad Mum gave me the thumbs' up :)  Definitely enjoyed the 2 days spent with just my Mama alone.  Love cooking for my family and bonding with my family over food. ♡♡♡

Spicy Prawn Pasta
260 to 280g pasta of your choice
8 pcs of big tiger prawns / shrimps
5 garlic, minced
1 medium onion, half of it minced and the other half sliced thinly (you may mince the whole onion if preferred)
2 to 3 red chilli, cut and remove seeds (if you preferred a milder level of spiciness)
1/2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp dried parsely or italian herbs
Black pepper (optional)
Salt
Water

1. Add salt into a pot of water and bring to boil. Add spaghetti and cook til al dente, about 8min or plus 2 or 3 more minutes if prefer a less firm texture (or follow the pasta packaging directions)
2. When spaghetti is cooked, retain about half a cup of salt water and drain the rest, then set drained spaghetti aside.
3. Heat 1/2 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan.
4. Add in minced garlic, all onions and chilli padi bits and stir fry till fragrant, onions to be slight translucent. Do not allow garlic to brown.
5. Add in prawns/shrimps and stir fry till prawns is half cooked.
6. Spoon in 5 or 6 tbsp of tomato pasta sauce and stir to mix well with all ingredients. Allow sauce to come to a boil on medium heat.
7. Add in 2 tbsp salted pasta water and mix well, then do a taste test. Add in dried parsley and dash of black pepper. Mix well.
8. Place in drained spaghetti and do a quick stir to coat spaghetti with sauce. Dish out and serve immediately.

Spicy Basil Minced Pork with Fried Egg & Rice

On days when the cooking mood kicks in, my hubby will take over a lunch or dinner slot and cook me a yummy meal. Some weeks back, he cooked me a plate of spicy basil minced pork with fried egg over a plate of hot plain rice. It was fantastically yummy! The minced pork was juicy, tender  (and sooo spicy!) and fragrant! Oh and the egg was fried till just right, the way I like it, not too fry yet crispy on the sides of the whites and yolk still runny when pricked.

I thought this gotta be put down in my blog to share with all, and so here it is.  I am gonna request for Hubby to cook me this again!  He's gonna feel real flattered :P

Recipe by Eating Thai Food 
(Slight changes were made to suit our preference)

For the egg

• 1 egg (we used 2 eggs)
• 2 tablespoons of oil for frying

Basil chicken

• 1 chicken breast (or any other cut of boneless chicken, about 200 grams) - we used minced pork instead
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 4 Thai chilies (we used chilli padi)
• 1 tablespoon oil for frying
• 1 teaspoon of oyster sauce
• ½ teaspoon light soy sauce
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• 1 splash of dark soy sauce
• 1 handful of Thai holy basil leaves

(Hubby marinated the minced pork a night before with half tsp sesame, light sauce sauce 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce, a dash of pepper and threw in some basil leaves) - marinating the meat made it tastier but of course you may skip this marinate step if preferred but and just stir fry your meat with the above condiments.)

First, fry the egg

1. Heat about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a wok or frying pan on high-medium heat.
2. When the oil is hot and sizzling, drop in the egg. Let it sizzle and bubble up, and at the same time, splash some of the hot oil onto the top of the egg (don't flip the egg, unless you really want to).
3. After the egg looks about right to your cooked likeness (I like mine runny), take it out, drain the excess oil, and put it on a plate for later.

Basil chicken

1. Cut the chicken into small bite sized pieces.
2. Rinse and peel the garlic and chilies, and pound them in a mortar and pestle (alternatively you can just mince them with a knife). They don't need to be super fine, you just want to bring out the oils and flavors from the garlic and chilies.
3. Pluck a good sized handful of holy basil leaves off the stems.
4. Now it's time to start cooking. Heat your wok on high heat, and add about 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan.
5. When the oil is hot, add the chilies and garlic. Stir fry them for about 20 seconds or so until they get really fragrant, but don't let them burn or get too dry.
6. Toss in your chicken. Keep stir frying continuously. At this stage you want to continue to stir and cook your chicken until it's just about fully cooked all the way through (depending on the size pieces of chicken and how hot your fire is, it should take about 2 - 3 minutes). If it starts to get dry, add just a tiny splash of water.
7. Add 1 teaspoon of oyster sauce, ½ teaspoon light soy sauce, ½ teaspoon sugar, and finally a splash of dark soy sauce. Keep stir frying for about another 30 seconds.
8. Grab a handful of holy basil, toss it into the pan, fold it into the chicken, and then immediately turn off the heat (if you're using an electric stove, you'll want to remove the pan from the burner). The holy basil really only needs to cook for about 5 seconds, and it will continue to wilt and cook from the existing heat of the chicken. This step is important because if you cook the basil for too long, it loses some of its glorious flavor and gets slightly chewy.

Mushroom Spaghetti

Not sure what's wrong with me, I did not use to like eating spaghetti but of late, I have been looking forward to cooking and eating spaghetti. Was surfing the net for some yummy spaghetti recipes and I found a yummy recipe by Noob Cook. Cooked it and love it.

If you love spaghetti, and you love mushrooms, you will love this mushroom spaghetti.

Mushroom Spaghetti
Recipe by Noob Cook

• 2 servings of spaghetti or your favourite pasta about 140-160grams
• 200 grams fresh button or favourite mushrooms stalks discarded and caps sliced thinly
• 10 cloves garlic peeled and sliced thinly
• 4 tbsp olive oil divided
• 1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes (or substitute with finely chopped chilli padi)
• 20 grams butter cubed
• 20 grams Italian flat-leaf parsley finely chopped
• sea salt to taste
• freshly cracked black pepper to taste

1. Bring a pot of water with 1 tbsp sea salt to a boil. Cook spaghetti until al dente (usually 2-3 minutes minus the recommended time). Drain and set aside the pasta, reserving a small cup of the pasta water.
2. Heat saucepan with 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add mushrooms, a pinch of salt and black pepper. Stir fry or saute until cooked, about 3 minutes. Set aside cooked mushrooms on a plate.
3. Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in the same pan, add garlic and chilli padi/chilli flakes (if using). Saute the garlic until it starts to turn light golden brown.
4. Turn off the stove. The garlic will continue cooking in the hot oil on its own for a few more seconds in the hot oil, until they turn a lovely golden brown. Melt cubed butter in the garlic & oil mixture.
5. Add cooked pasta, chopped parsley, cooked mushrooms, sea salt and black pepper (to taste). Toss to coat all the ingredients evenly, adding some reserved pasta water to help the ingredients bind together.

Ground Beef Pizza with Capsicum & Cherry Tomatoes

Pizzas for dinner again after awhile.  I had my sis and BIL over for a casual dinner and treated them to some homemade pizzas.

The usual suspect, our favourite hawaiian pizza was surely one of the 2 pizzas served, and the 2nd being a ground beef pizza which I have always wanted to try and make :)

I topped it with some capsicums and cherry tomatoes that I have and made a colourful looking (IMO :P) ground beef pizza with capsicum and cherry tomatoes.  It was not too bad for a first try. Will add in some cut red chillies into the ground beef during the quick stir fry the next time and that should bring up the yummy level.

Ground Beef Pizza with Capsicum & Cherry Tomatoes

Toppings
200g ground beef
1 tbsp olive oil
A dash of salt
A dash of pepper
1 quarter yellow capsicum (sliced thinly)
4 cherry tomatoes (sliced thinly)
Half brown / yellow onion (sliced thinly)

1. Season ground beef with some black pepper and salt.
2. Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan and do a quick stir fry of the beef to let it be half cooked, adding in more salt and black pepper if desired. Loosen up the beef pieces with your spatula. Set aside.


Crispy Thin Crust Pizza dough

(Makes 2 12-inch pizza dough)

1 pkg (.25 oz) Active Dry Yeast (7g)
¼ tsp Sugar
¾ Cup Warm Water (170g)
1 ¾ Cups All Purpose Flour (224g)
½ tsp Salt
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

*tomato pasta sauce or tomato puree

***Shredded Mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, Cheddar cheese (and Gouda cheese if preferred)

1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 8 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, combine all purpose flour, salt, olive oil.
3. Add the yeast mixture.
4. Add well.
5. Turn dough onto a floured surface. Knead for 2 minutes. (If doing this base ahead of your party, cover dough in bowl with cling wrap and set it in the fridge till about 30min before you are ready to add toppings, let dough return to room temperature and punch out excess air and proceed with step 7)
6. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.
7. Using a rolling pin, roll dough into a 12” circle.
8. Place one rolled dough on pizza pan, spread a thin layer of pasta sauce over one pizza base and put to bake for 10min at 230deg.
9. Spread a thicker layer of pasta sauce over half baked bread dough, leaving about 1.5cm of sides plain, add half cooked ground beef followed by a thick layer of cheese all over, and finally lay aliced cherry tomatoes and capsicums on cheese.
10. Bake at 500 Degree F (I baked at 230deg C for 25min) for 10 - 15 minutes or till done.

Orange Chiffon Cake

A light and citrusy cake after all the heavy and sinful meals of these 2 weeks of festive holiday celebrations. Here we are, ushered into the brand new 2016.  2015 wasn't too bad for me, and I hope this new year will be a better one for me, of cuz for my hubby, my family and everyone! 

No. Don't be mistaken. I aren't on a chiffon craze. It just so happened that I have some oranges on hands and I wanted to bake something simple for breakfast, hence this chiffon cake came along.

Using the zests of oranges and freshly squeezed orange juice, you can expect a zesty orange chiffon cake.  I haved baked this several times and orange chiffon cakes never disappoints!

I always enjoy peeping into my oven and see how my chiffon cake "grows" and fluff up into a pillowy soft whole chiffon cake!

Finally some wait and my orange chiffon cake is finally cooled, unmoulded and ready to be tasted!!!

An effortless deco using my home grown mint leaves to spruce up the otherwise plain chiffon photo.

I love how the kitchen is filled with the orangey aroma halfway through the baking.  That almost always get me excited and can never wait to cool it down, unmould and slice a piece of that zesty chiffon to taste.  It really makes a yummy tea time treat.

Orange Chiffon Cake
Bakes in a 21cm chiffon tube pan

Egg Yolk mixture
5 egg yolks
75ml olive oil 
30 g castor sugar
115g plain flour
95ml fresh orange juice 
Zest from 2 oranges

Egg white mixture
5 egg whites
70g castor sugar

1. Preheat your oven to 160deg C.
2. Sift plain flour and set aside. 
3. Combine egg yolks, olive oil, fresh orange juice and sugar and mix well.
4. Add in sifted plain flour into the mixture and mix well till no lumps. Mix in orange zest. Set aside.
5. Beat egg whites till frothy and add in castor sugar in 3 additions, beat well in between each addition. At the last portion of sugar addition, beat egg whites till stiff peaks.
6. Spoon 1/3 of egg whites into the egg yolk mixture and fold in gently till no whiteixture is visible, taking care not to deflate the mixture.
7. Add in remaining half of white mixture and continue to fold in, repeat with last portion of egg white mixture.
8. Pour mixture into chiffon pan. Drop pan twice on tabletop to get air bubbles dissipate from mixture. 
9. Put to bake at 160deg C for 1 hour or till done. To check done-ness, insert toothpick into cake centre, cake is done when toothpick comes out clean with no sticky batter.
10. Remove and invert chiffon pan to allow cake to cool before removing to slice.