Yummmmmmmmmmmm .... Side Salad

This is but a simple,easy side salad for any cookout, or bar=b-q. I just made this to go with a
tuna salad and it went alongside well. (Tis better with bar-b-q ribs tho :). The veggies almost "pickle", but stay crispy,crunchy and go especially well with bar-b-q..
Salad takes but a few ingredients..perhaps you can think of a few more that would "pickle" well.
I used celery, green bell pepper, sweet Texas onion,cucumber....and Roma tomatoes....and....
Kroger's Zesty Italian dressing. I've tried with other dressings and it's just not as good.
The dressing has quite a bit of oil on top..sp before you shake dressing to add, I poured off half the oil on top....
Shake the dressing really well...The oil,vinegar and all those wonderful spices and garlic are already there..so shake well....
Pour over....cover and let chill for just a short while. Salad is ready to eat almost immediately...
and best of all, the veggies will stay crispy. Yummmmmmm
I sure hope you enjoy this little salad. I think during the summer, you will serve it often..
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~
Second Yummmmmmmm "pickled" Salad

This salad is served at our local bar-b-q place, is crispy, crunchy and is my favorite salad with their ribs. I tried and tried to make this simple salad..and yet, something was just not quite right. Finally Danny took pity on me and told me how to make. It is so simple..... two ingredients for the pickling liquid!!!!! Sugar and Vinegar in equal parts..that's it !!! I thought, yeah..right. *sighs...it was right !!!!!!!!!!
The salad consists of:
cucumbers, sliced
sweet onions, sliced
a bit of bell pepper, pimento....and a bit of tomato..
Layer all the ingredients in a deep bowl, or in my case..for a large cookout, I use a gallon jar.
Take equal parts of vinegar and sugar.....no matter how little or how much, just equal parts. Stir till the sugar is dissolved.....and pour over the veggies. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours for absolute best flavor. No cheating..24 hours..
Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Fried Rice Topped with Crispy Silver Fish

The secret to crispy silver fish is to put them in the freezer.

Whenever you wanted to fry some, take them out from the freezer and with a quick rinse of water, deep fried them in very hot oil till crispy golden brown. They are very cruchy.

Fried some overnight rice and add your favourite ingredients with taste of light soya sauce and sesame oil and beaten egg. Fried them till fluffy and topped with the crispy silver fish...yummy.

Scallops wrapped in yam(taro) mini basket

I ate this during mother's day lunch and I like it so much. I hope to find the recipe for this.

Inside is scallop and they are wrapped in mini yam/taro basket. Yummy. They are dipped in some honey sauce which I do not liked, I dipped them in chilli sauce.

Easter Eggs

For easter, I making some eggs from konnyaku jelly. Originally wanted to make them from agar agar but decided to try something different.

Boil some konnyaku jelly and pour into empty egg shell and put in some slices of peaches into it.

You can see the fruit through the transparent egg. It is quite fun and interesting.

I also make some with the assorted mould for the konnyaku jelly.

For recipe you can view my earlier post in here.

Broccoli..... Tip of the Day

* When you buy broccoli, look for bunches that are a rich, dark green in color...with tightly closed green buds. Over-aged broccoli is lighter in color, the buds are yellowish in color, open and may even show small yellow flowers. This is tougher, stronger in taste and has much less flavor than young broccoli.
1.
1 bunch of broccoli (will be about 1 1/2 pounds) will serve 4 people.
2.
If you cut the broccoli into 3" length flowerettes, it will cook quicker and stay greener. Cook the stalks also, but first peel off the thick skin. *NOTE: I like the stalks better than than flowerettes.
3,
If stalks are very thick, eithe split them lengthwise up to the buds or cut them into cubes and cook with flowerettes.
4.
be careful of overcooking broccoli...it should be slightly crisp.

Bread Crumbs .... Tip of the Day

1.
1 pound of bread will yield about 9 cups of soft bread crumbs
2.
1 slice if fresh bread broken into soft crumbs will yield about 2/3 cups, slightly packed
3.
1 slice of toast or dried bread will yield 1/2 cup of fine crumbs
4.
2 ozs. of dried bread,crushed,will yield about 3/4 cup fairly fine crumbs
5.
To make fresh (soft) bread crumbs, cut off the crusts of day old white bread and crumble the bread gently. Then rub through a very coarse strainer...
6.
to make fine crumbs from dried bread, use either stale bread or white bread toasted lightly and allowed to dry at room temperature or in a very low oven until all moisture is gone. Cover the bread with a dishtowel and either roll hard with a rolling pin or hit lightly with a hammer. You can also break up the pieces and put in a blender. If you suspect they're not quite dry, spread them shallowly on a cookie sheet in a 250 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Store in well sealed jars. They'll keep their flavor for several months, especially if they're refrigerated.
7.
for buttered crumbs, toss soft bread crumbs in melted butter (about 1 tablespoon butter to 1 cup soft bread crumbs). You can also add 2 tablespoons melted butter to 1 cup dry bread crumbs,
these are very good, but different than soft buttered crumbs.
8.
add dried herb, seasonings ot grated cheese to homemade bread crumbs, and you'll always have seasoned crumbs ready to use. at a tiny fraction of what you'd have to pay for them.
9.
try putting prepared bread stuffing in your blender and using it for breading chops.
10.
if you're running low on flour, substitute very fine bread crumbs, plain or roasted, for all or part of the flour in cookies.... they'll taste a little like macaroons. Add 1/2 teaspoon almond extract and they will taste like macaroons.....
11.
very fine bread crumbs used in place of flour are particularly good in a hearty cake like applesauce or nut cake.
12.
fine dry bread crumbs make a good thickener for creamed sauces in casserole dishes. Use them whenever you like a roasted flavor in sauces....

Biscuits .... Tip of the Day

1.
You'll turn out the best biscuits if you mix the dough only a short time.... Just long enough to moisten the ingredients.
2.
Biscuit dough should be handled as little as possible to keep the fat from melting.. Tenderness and flakiness depend on finely cut cold fat mixed with flour (this is also true of pie crust).
3.
Biscuits will be crisp on the outside and flaky in the center if yo roll the dough thin and fold it over once before cutting biscuits from it. They'll also split open easily when time to butter them.
4.
A quick and easy way to make doughnuts: cut the centers from refrigerator biscuits, then drop the biscuits into hot fat..as you would doughnuts. They can then be rolled in sugar or cinnamon sugar while still hot from the deep fryer. *Note: havent made these in ages, but they sure sound good.

Beer .... Tip Of the Day

1.
When boiling shrimp, try using beer for the cooking liquid. Season as you wish..but fon't overcook. The flavor is wonderful...reminiscent of lobster.
2.
Use beer in place of water or stock to make an excellant beef stew. This is what is called a carbonnade.

A Few Beef Cuts .... Tip of the Day

Beef Cuts:

It help a lot, when you go to buy groceries, to know the different kinds of beef cuts..and the best manner for cooking...... this will be an alphabetical order:



1. Arm Steak: requires rather long, slow cooking.

2. Blade Steak: same as for arm steak

3. Brisket: flavorful, but rather tough. Used mainly for pot roasts and braising.

4. Chuck Steak: Used mainly for braising and stewing.. or grinding into hamburger

5. Club Steak: Very tender and juicy steak..for grilling indoors or out..

To braise:
When braising meats, use a heavy pot just large enough to hold the food to be cooked. Never put in more liquid than will come halfway up the food. Too big a pot (and consquently too much liquid) will boil or poach the food, giving it an entirely different taste.

Chicken Pot Pie * Made Simple

Source: Chuck

Note* The full recipe make a large amount of pot pie. This was done for a crowd, so you may want to halve the recipe.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees:
Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2....(1 pound packages)defrosted frozen vegetables of your choice.
3 jars chicken or turkey gravy from the store
3 cups Bisquick
1 1/2 cups milk
......................
Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces..cook in small amount of olive oil till done and browned a bit. Add the defrosted veggies and let saute in skillet for a minute to get some added flavor. Put the chicken and vegetables in a pan large enough to hold all ingredients comfortably. Add one jar of the gravy to the pan you've just removed chicken and veggies from..deglaze the pan with the gravy. Pour that gravy along with the other 2 jars...over the top of the chicken and veggies.
Make the biscuit dough..(mixture should be a bit thinner than regular biscuit dough)
and pour over the top of the chicken, veggies and gravy. Cook till biscuit top is done and well browned.
NOTE: * Also turkey or beef may be used. Just substitute the correct gravy to go with the meat or poultry. Chuck says that he now prefers the turkey gravy with the chicken.
I don't care for pot pie, but this one I like. The chicken is browned and flavorful, and the veggies he uses almost always has asparagus, brocolli...sugar snap peas..etc...not the usual mushy veggies.

Banana wrapped in spring roll skin

This is so yummy and delicious. I saw this recipe in the internet from many bloggers.

Cut the banana into half and add some brown sugar and wrapped them in spring roll wrappers/popiah skin.

The top two are with brown sugar while the other two are without.

The results - it tasted so good whether there is brown sugar or not. YUMMY! The skin is so cripsy and when you bite into it, you tasted the goodness of the banana.

DIY Mango Ice Cream

Hahaha it looked so easy with the DIY ice cream.

I decorated the ice cream with crushed nuts and coloured rice.

Recipes are from this video.

Sweet and Sour Minced Pork with Pineapple cubes

Ingredients
300 gm minced pork (seasoned in light soya sauce and sesame oil)
carrots
green pepper (optional)-did not use cause hubby and sons dont like
pineapple cubes (if pineapple cubes are from can, can add some pineapple juice in too)
1/2 cup cornflour (est)
1/2 cup water (est)
4 to 5 tbsp of ketchup
1/2 tbsp vinegar
1/2 tbsp sugar or to taste
1 beaten egg

Method
Marinate minced pork with few drops of light soya sauce and sesame oil.
Add beaten egg and mix well.
Add corn flour and mix well.
Spoon mixture one by one into oil and deep fry till golden brown.
Set aside.
In a wok, add some oil and throw in carrot and green pepper.
Add ketchup, vinegar, sugar, water and mix well.
Throw pork back into sauce together with pineapple cubes and mix well.
Let pork absorb the sauce till almost dry but mine has more gravy cause kids like the gravy with rice.
Serve hot.
Yummy

Steam tofu with minced shrimps and oyster sauce

This is so simple and yummy. I love tofu.

Steam 1 box of silken tofu and drain water away.

Minced some prawns and stir fry with little oil.

Add 1 tbsp of oyster sauce and mix well.

Add cornflour solution (2 tbsp of water and 1 tsp of cornflour) and mix well.

Pour over tofu and garnished with some spring onions and serve hot. Yummy

BBQ Chicken Wings

This is so yummy.

Marinate chicken wings with same amount of light soya sauce, dark soya sauce, oyster sauce and honey. Add sugar to taste (optional).

Baked the chicken wings for about 1 hour at 180 degrees celsius and turned the wings every 20 minutes or so for even baking and blast them occasionally. This is my version, you can improved your version.

You can BBQ them too.

Firm Tofu/Tau Kwa

This is so simple and yummy.

Cut the firm tofu/tau kwa into cubes and mixed them with some curry powder. Dust the firm tofu with cornflour and deep fry till golden brown. Yummy..........

Dried Mee Siam

This is my second attempt in frying dried mee siam. This time I decorated and garnished it nicely...lol. You can see my first attempt in here.

Fun Biscuits

This is just for fun. Use your favourite biscuits, melt some butter and pour over the biscuits in a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake for 180 degrees celsius for about 5 minutes.

Then sprinkle some chocolate/coloured rice chips over them and baked another 5 to 10 minutes.

Note: Not suitable for people who have diabetics or those who cannot take sweet stuff.

Attractive for kids.

Valentine's Drinks for Fun

Ok, Valentine's Day might be over but we can still be loving other days beside valentine's day. :) This is just some fun drinks.

Pour some coke/pepsi/syrup into heart shaped mould and put into freezer.

Use them as ices.

Pour your favourite drinks. No prize for guessing the "His" and "Hers" Valentine's Day Drinks. :)

Cornbread .... Tip Of the Day

#1.....try mixing 1/3 cup crumbled, crisp cooked bacon into a corn bread batter before you pour it into the baking pan.

#2.....corn bread won't stick to the baking pan if you grease the pan and sprinkle it well with fine cornmeal.

#3.....don't bake corn bread in a pan tha's too thin or the outside will be overdone before the inside has baked.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to all.

I use some pink syrup to make heart shaped ice.

Pour some syrup together with the pink heart ice. So this is my valentine's day contribution. Plan to do some heart shape cookies but this migraine really put me off doing so much things.

Durian Pancake

Durian is the king of fruit. But not many like the taste and smell of the king of fruit, I have no idea why but I know I love durian very much.....yummy.

My durian pancake...yummy, finally got it after queueing for a while to purchase it...lol.

A short video to show you how they made the pancake.

Assorted agar agar and chendol agar agar

These are the agar agar that I made for chinese new year. :)

The green ones are chendol agar agar which I had posted before and the centre heart shaped agar agar are made with mandarin oranges while the rest are agar agar with coconut milk.

Traditional Chinese Teapots

I have to share these photos with you all. These are very traditional chinese teapots used long time ago. Now they are making a comeback. These teapots remind me of my childhood, used to see them in my late grandmother's house.

Blackberry and Cherry Dump Cakes

Source" Recipe, actual cake making and photos are courtesy of my son, Chuck....

Below is a portion of one of the desserts we made at Christmas. This one is Dump Cake..and better still, this one was blackberry. We also did a cherry one...yummmmm

You will need: (as shown below)
One 5 pound size loaf pan
2 cans ready made canned pie filling..of your choice
One large (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple
1 box yellow cake mix
3 to 4 sticks of butter..YES!! 3 to 4 sticks of butter
And a note: DO NOT STIR THE INGREDIENTS !!!!!! STIR NOTHING TOGETHER !!!!
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Into the 5 pound loaf pan,add the 2 cans of pie filling, smooth out, don't stir

next add: the undrained pineapple, smooth..don't stir

Next add: the dry cake mix, crumble over.smooth over,don't stir

Next add the butter, at least 3 sticks..cut in pats and lay all over top of cake mix

Layer butter, DON"T STIR..and put into oven. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes...until a light golden brown all over top. Ours took 50 minutes.

Chicken and Dumplings

Source:
Old Church Cookbook

1 hen
2 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon shortening or butter
2/3 cups(scant) milk

Cook hen in water to cover till very tender.Sift flour, salt and baking powder; cut in shortening. Stir in milk. Divide dough into two parts and roll out on floured board.Cut into strips 2" wide. Add to boiling chicken broth. Place several pieces of dough on top of chicken. Cover and cook till broth boils up over chicken. Repeat till all dough is used. Cook 20 to 30 minutes.
Serves 6
NOTE: Watch after dumplings are added to make sure does not boil over

Recipe of prawn toast

I have few pieces of bread so I decided to cook them with some prawns(shelled and devein).

I minced some prawns with onions and marinated with sesame oil.

Cut the crust off the bread and cut them into triangle shapes. Spread them with the prawns mixture and deep fry them prawn side down for about 2 minutes and turn them over and fry for about 30 seconds (dont let the toast burn).

Remove and drain them before serving.

Judie's Coconut Macaroon Pie

Source: Beaurino..Judie

Coconut Maccaroon Pie

1 STICK MELTED BUTTER
1 1/2 C. SUGAR
3 EGGS,BEATEN
1 TSP. VANILLA
1 TBSP WHITE VINAGER
1 C. COCONUT

MIX TOGETHER, POUR INTO UNBAKED CRUST.
BAKE 350* FOR 1 HOUR

REALLY YUMMY

Quick & Easy Pot Roast

One 3 pound brisket
1 cup catsup
1 package dry onion soup mix

Place brisket of foil, coat with catsup and then sprinkle with the dry onion soup mix. Wrap in foil and place on baking sheet. Cook at 350 degrees for 2 1/2 hours...

Coconut Cream Pie

Note: ** This is a good one..
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 cup flour
2 1/4 cups rich milk
2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
3/4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup coconut

Mix sugar, salt, cornstarch and flour in a saucepan. Slowly stir in milk. Boil 1 minute, over medium heat...stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir half of mixture into egg yolks, then blend into hot mixture in saucepan. Boil 1 more minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Blend in vanilla and butter. Cool. Fold in 3/4 cup coconut into the cooled filling just before pouring into pie shell. Chill about 2 hours. Just before serving,top with whipped cream topping...sprinkle 1/4 cup coconut over whipped cream topping..

Boiled Custard

Source:
Fannie Farmer Boston Cooking School Cookbook,1918
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2 cups scalded milk
1/4 cup sugar
yolks 3 eggs
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Beat eggs slightly,add sugar and salt while adding gradually hot milk.
Cook in double boiler, continue stirring until mixture thickens and a coating is formed on the spoon, strain immediately; chill and flavor.
If cooked too long, the custard will curdle; should this happen, by using an egg beater it may be restored to a smooth consistency, but custard will not be as thick.
Eggs should be beaten slightly for custard, that it may be of smooth, thick consistency.
To prevent scum from forming,cover with a perforated tin.
When eggs are scarce, use yolks two eggs and one-half tablespoon cornstarch.

White Chocolate Popcorn

5 bags extra butter microwave popcorn
1 package white almond bark
peanuts or pecans are optional
an extra large mixing bowl
aluminum foil

Pop the corn according to package direstions. Pour into extra large mixing bowl, pick out as many unpopped kernels as you can.
Melt the almond bark as package directs...and pour over popped corn, Stir till all popcorn is coated. You can add the peanuts or pecans to the popcorn mixture BEFORE pouring the chocolate over if you wish. Be sure to mix thoroly. Spreak out on aluminum foil as thin as you can..let dry 30 to 45 minutes,
Bag into large ziploc freezer bags, or any airtight container..

Simple & Easy Cranberry Orange Relish

4 cups fresh cranberries
2 unpeeled oranges, quartered
2 cups sugar
Wash the cranberries and drain. Removed seeds from oranges. Grind the cranberries and oranges together and stir in the sugar. Stir well and chill..

Cracked Egg Tip

If an eggshell cracks during cooking, add a small quanity of vinegar to the cooking water..to prevent egg white from seeping through the shell..

Homemade Chili Sauce .... Money Saving Tip of the Day

Blend an economical homemade chili sauce for bar`b`q or salad making from the following:
1/2 teaspoon instant minced onion, 1/4 teaspoon chili powder, 1/8 teaspoon pepper and 1 cup catsup.

Sweet Pickling .... Money Saving Tip of the Day

To prepare a batch of tasty sweet pickles, select less costly, whole dill pickles, slice into a jar, and combine with thr following recipe:
Mix 1 cup dill pickle liquid, 2 cups sugar,13 whole cloves,1 Tablespoon celery seed and 1 teaspoon mustard seed in a saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil and pour over dill pickles. Seal. In 2 days, pickles will be ready to enjoy. Save the liquid for the next batch of homemade sweet pickles.

Chinese Vegetable Substitute .... Money Saving Tip of the Day

For an economical substitute in your next Chinese dish, use peeled sliced radishes for the same quantity of water chestnuts.
Heat radishes in the chop suey or chow mein..(any dish using water chestnuts), for the final 5 minutes..or just till tender crisp.
Pennies in radishes as a substitute for dollars in water chestnuts.

Agar Agar with Chendol Strips

This is agar agar with chendol strips

This is how chendol strips looked like. I blanched them in hot water and set aside.

Boil 12 gm agar agar powder, 850ml of water, 200 gm caster sugar, 200 ml coconut cream, pinch of salt, 3 pandan leaves tied into a knot, 1 box of green chendol strips.

When boiled pour into moulds and add some chendol strips. Let it set and refrigerate.

This heart shaped mould is lovely, comes in handy for a valentine dessert...lol

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR

Here wishing everyone a merry christmas and happy new year. Thanks for visiting our blog and hope you all find these recipes useful or just reading them. :)

Wilton "Candy Making for Beginners"

I have shown this tiny 1982 book as inspiration to all us candy makers.Inside are some of the prettiest candies immaginable, and I can actually make them...as can you.
This little booklet was in the packages of candy molds I received a few years ago..this was the only one and I have made sure I kept track of it. I will post a couple of the recipes..will take a couple of days..The next time..either in the craft section and or cooking section, look for these tiny Wilton candy molds. It's great fun to make them.. I specially liked the pink and white marbelized shells I made..and actually sold a lot of my candies..

Egg in Bread

Hahaha..this is a very creative way to make your breakfast, I saw this idea in the internet.



You can pan fry or bake it.

Use a cookie cutter to cut a hole in the middle of the bread.
Put some butter in the baking dish and place the bread there.
Break an egg into the middle of the bread (i.e. in the hole of the bread)
Bake till the egg cooked.
Eat it plain or add some salt to taste and sprinkle with pepper or spices. Enjoy.

spaghetti pie

This video looked very interesting.

Appetizers and Dips

***** 1. Dill Dip
One 8 ounce package Neufchatel cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayonaise
3 tablespoons milk
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
3/4 teaspoon dill weed
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
Combine cheese,mayonaise and milk. Mix till blended, Stir in all the other ingredients, Chill. Serve with vegetable dippers.

***** 2. Mexican Spread
One 8 ounce package Neufchatel cheese, softened
One 4 ounce package drained chopped green chilies
Combine cheese and chilies and mix till the cheese is well blended. Chill and serve with tortilla chips or spread over warm tortillas or corn bread...

***** 3. Herb Spread or Dip
One 8 ounce package Neufchatel cheese, softened
1 tablespoon chopped chives
1/4 teaspoon crushed dried basil
dash of pepper
Combine everything, and mix till all is blended. Chill and serve with party rye bread slices or vegetable dippers

***** 4. Spinach Dip
One 8 ounce package Neufchatel cheese, softened
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 tablespoons milk
One 10 ounce package frozen spinack, thawed and well drained..chopped
2 hard cooked eggs, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
Combine cheese, yogurt and milk. Mix until well blended. Stir in all other ingredients, Serve with vegetable dippers.

***** 5. Cucumber Dip
One 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon mile
1 teaspoon grated onion
1/4 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup finely chopped cucumber
Combine everything except cucumber and mix till well blended. Then stir in cucumbers. Chill for several hours or overnight. Serve with vegetable dippers or chips.

Chicken Stir Fry with Pineapple....and Variations

Source: Our own sweet Do...from the English countryside....
Chicken stir fry with pineapple and ginger sauce

1 chicken breast cut into strips
carrots cut into thin batons
baby sweetcorn
sugar snap peas
1 onion sliced
either 1 tspn garlic and ginger paste or
1 clove garlic crushed and 1” ginger grated
teasoopn Chinese 5 spice
1 orange or yellow pepper sliced
beansprouts rinsed
1 tablespoon soy sauce
pineapple chunks
2 tablespoos juice from tin pineapple
black pepper- but do not salt until at the table as soy
sauca contains salt
1 teasoopn cornflour mixed with a little water to thicken sauce

flash fry the chicken in the smallest amout of sunflower
oil possible and put aside .
fry the veg in the order they are written down plus the spices
they should be only just turned and coloured if more liquid is necessary
add a tiny spot of water at a time to create steam
re-add the chicken and rest of ibgredients - then thicken with the cornflour
if wanted
serve on a bed of rice or with hot crusty bread
Enjoy

garlic and ginger paste
1 full bulb of garlic peeled
8” root of ginger peeled
small amount of sunflower oil to mix
process all the ingredients together to make a smooth paste
pot or put into an airtight container and keep in frig
Will keep for several weeks

Plum and ginger stir-fry

substitute pork or gammon strips for chicken
1 large plum chopped instead of chicken
1 tablespoon pale cream cheap supermarket sherry-own brand

Prawn and ginger stir-fry

substitute prawns instead of meat
sqeeze of lime or lemon instead of juice
1 tblspn oyster sauce
chopped fresh parsley

** Note: These are originals from Do..straight from her wonderful English countryside..

Tlill's Peppermint Bark

Source: Our own sweet Tlill..aka Terry

Peppermint Bark

Message
10-12 ounces white chocolate baking squares
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
red food coloring
peppermint candy
line large baking sheet with foil melt chocolate squares in pan
put peppermint candies inzip loc bag crush with hammer untill fine pecies
when chocolate is nearly melted remove from heat add extract
stir untill smooth
spread chocolate in sheet pan smooth with metal spatula to 1/4 inch thick
drop food co;oring ove chocolate and take tooth pick or skewer and swril it in top with crushed candy press in with metal spatula
let chill about 10 minutes break into peices.
enjoy
store in air tight container.
refrigerate for 5 to 7 days

Tlill's Salsa

Source: Terry more lovingly known as Tlill

SALAS,
2 MED TOMATOES
1/2 RED ONION
1 JALAPENO PEPPER
I CHILLI PEPPER
JUICE FROM 1 LIME
SALT PEPPER TO YOUR TASTE
ADD CUMIN OR OREGANO IF DESIRED
CHILL IN FRIDGE FOR HOUR ENJOY. YOU CAN USE GREEN ONION IF DESIRED I DO.
DICE INGREDENTS FINELY.

Peanut Butter BonBons

1 can ready to spread vanilla frosting mix
1 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup softened butter
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 can ready to spread chocolate fudge frosting
Combine vanilla frosting, peanut butter and butter with a fork till well blended. Stir in the graham cracker crumbs until well mixed. Form into 1" balls..and chill for about an hour. Get good and cold.
Melt the chocolate frosting over low heat, watch it and stir frequently so as not to burn. Dip the chilled peanut butter balls in melted frosting, allow the excess to drip off and place on a wire rack that underneath has been lined with waxed paper. Let stand at room temperature until dry ..about 5 or 6 hours.
Makes about 5 dozen

More nonya kuehs

Here are more photos of our local kuehs. I wish you all get to taste them, they are so delicious but not suitable for diabetes.

Ondeh Ondeh

Pulut Inti and rainbow kuehs (I love the pulut inti, made of glutinous rice and top with coconut gratings)

Kueh Salat

For more photo of these kuehs, you can view my previous photos in here.

Ice Kachang

This is Ice Kachang, which is made of ice shavings and inside are some local ingredients and top with some very nice syrup. Sorry, I dont have the recipe

To find out more about ice kachang, you can view from wikipedia.

Brown Sugar Pie

Brown Sugar Pie
(makes 2 pies)
1 pound brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
6 Tablespoons plain flour
4 eggs
2 cups milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 Tablespoons melted butter
2 unbaked pie crusts
Combine flour, eggs, sugars
Blend in milk and butter
Add vanilla
Bake in unbaked crust at 350° for 45 minutes – till knife inserted in middle comes out clean. Pie will fall as it cools.
Enjoy

Hobo Fruit Bread

Source:
This recipe was sent in by Danny and it sounds super delicious. It's almost identical to the one my son does...
Danny says..
"I found this recipe in a survival forum I read a lot......sounds good

This fruit bread is very easy – and fun ! -- to make. If you’ve got youngin’s running around they will like to help."

Ingredients needed:

1 ½ cups hot water
2 cups of raisins (or other dried fruit, like cherries or pineapple)
1 ¾ cup chopped walnuts
4 teaspoons baking soda (not powder)
¼ cup butter or margarine
1 ¼ cup brown sugar
1 ¼ cup “white” sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¾ teaspoon salt
4 cups flour (I like to use two cups of “white” flour and 2 cups of whole wheat floor)
2 large eggs

Cans: Make sure your cans are clean inside. If you use soup cans you’ll need 10, if you use fruit cans (15 oz size) you’ll need seven. Grease inside the can ( I use any cooking spray). Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, pour hot water over raisins (or other fruit). Stir in baking soda and mix well. Add butter/margarine. Mix well, while water is still hot. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Fill the greased can about half-full (this bread will “grow” as it bakes). Place cans on a baking sheet and slide into the oven for 50 to 60 minutes (soup cans will bake a little faster).

Remove from the oven and let cool.. When cool, turn can over and tap the bottom of the can – bread will fall out of the can. You can wash-out the cans and use them again.

This bread freezes well, but in my house it gets ate-up pretty fast.

Slice and serve with warm butter. Mmmmmmmm ! ! !

Prepare To Cook

Before you start cooking from a recipe, be sure to read the recipe all the way through. As you read, assemble the ingredients; you don't want to get to the middle and find you've forgotten something. Then take out all the pots, pans,cooking utensils,and serving dishes you'll need,and there's no way you'll be caught short...

Soggy Bottoms Dessert

Soggy Bottoms

I invented this low cholesterol / low sugar dessert
after my husband bought a packet of ginger nut biscuits
(possibly use a thick ginger thins) then found he couldn’t bite
them
As I am still waiting for my friend CC to chew the Buffalo hides
-(1year-to make me squaw boots) I can only conclude that her
teeth have all dropped out so she is also relegated to the soggy
bottoms club.

ginger nuts = ginger snaps
1 sugar free jelly..(jello)
250 grms low fat cream cheese similar to Philadelphia
2 tbls low far crème frais or fromage frais
stewed apple or fruit of your choice
sherry or booze of your choice
ginger biscuit = ginger snaps

make jelly up to ½ pint and cool
whisk in the low fat cheese and fromage frais
put 1 ginger nut (ginger snap) in each individual dish
put about 1/4-1/2 teaspoon booze over each biscuit
add a large spoonful of apple stewed with a little powdered ginger
and sweeten to taste with splenda
pour over jelly mix
refrig to set
decorate with a spoonful of crème frais and grated
ginger biscuit
enjoy

** This recipe comes to us from Do, our sweet English friend. She is both a great cook and a great friend..albeit with a wicked sense of humor. :). The name of this recipe sent me over the edge laughing. I keep telling her that Indians (like me), being born and raised in Texas..we are now civilized. She assumes otherwise..:) She may be right..:)

http://lacenribbonroses.blogspot.com/
http://suestreehouse.blogspot.com/
http://sueskitchen.blogspot.com/

Tomato Soup Cake..One Bowl Method

Tomato Soup Cake..One Bowl Method
** Source: A Campbell Cookbook "Cooking With Soup"
~~~~~~~~~~~
2 cups sifted cake flour or
1 3/4 cups sifted all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup hydrogenated shortening
1 can (10 1/2 ounces) condensed tomato soup
2 eggs
~~~~~~~~~~
Pregeat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour two 8" round layer pans
Sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl.'
Add shortening and 1/2 can soup
Beat on medium speed of electric mixer 2 minutes (150 strokes per minute by hand)
Add remaining soup and eggs.
Beat 2 minutes more, scraping bowl frequently.
Pour into pans.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes.
Let stand in pans 10 minutes; remove and cool on racks.
Frost with cream cheese frosting or your favorite white frosting...

Cream Cheese Frosting
** Source: A Campbell Cookbook " Cooking With Soup"
~~~~~~~~~
Blend a 3 ounce package cream cheese with 1 tablespoon milk. Gradually add 2 1/2 cups sifted confectioners sugar; blend well. Mix in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional). If desired, sprinkle top with maple sugar. Makes enough frosting for tops of two 8" layers.

National Tie One On Day

On the right side, and at the bottom of this post..there is a National Tie One On Button.... it will take you to Ms. Geisel, the sweet lady that started the Tie One On campaign. There are also book give-aways for everyone to participate in.
The rules as such are simple....the following is how you participate:

Participation in National Tie One On Day is simple - on the day before Thanksgiving, pause in the preparation of your own bounty, wrap a loaf of bread or other baked good in an apron, tuck a prayer or note of encouragement in the pocket, and tie one on...an apron, of course! and deliver the wrapped bundle to someone in need of spiritual or physical sustenance.
The link below will take you to Apron Memories, Ms. Geisel's site. Please, pay her a visit, leave a comment and register for the book give-aways..