tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58999829252113241422024-03-05T12:50:06.680-08:00White PlatesLove. Life. Food.Mallinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05399869504229296476noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5899982925211324142.post-63082700951315469252013-10-09T14:26:00.001-07:002013-10-09T14:26:45.755-07:00Soo....<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnocjt-WMN96s4HA79rBVHeLGk4UiQNTjf9ovlmU_yEm2fixF4s5wmIgJT2_2GEguT3DIeCxN39vAwbkeNIRjctIk22XH067lBw-cbvliVvaaoYmdN0AxGr-TqC1jh5SeKCRhB7txj-bDB/s640/blogger-image-2068621750.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnocjt-WMN96s4HA79rBVHeLGk4UiQNTjf9ovlmU_yEm2fixF4s5wmIgJT2_2GEguT3DIeCxN39vAwbkeNIRjctIk22XH067lBw-cbvliVvaaoYmdN0AxGr-TqC1jh5SeKCRhB7txj-bDB/s640/blogger-image-2068621750.jpg"></a></div></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div>O<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">k, I know I said I'd start blogging again and I will...just not here. </span></div><div>It's a little sad really... This little corner of the internet has been my food diary for soo long. I've abandoned it twice, but it's always been there for when I feel the urge to start blogging again. I would just continue here... But having to juggle 3 different e-mail accounts is a bit of a hassle. That... And maybe it's time for something new. A proper restart. </div><div><br></div><div>So in case you happen to be an old reader who just wandered by, thank you for giving me that support and I hope the posts here made you smile a bit. If you'd like to follow up on what I'm cooking next, here's my new address: </div><div>www.mylittlefryingpan.blogspot.co.uk</div><div><br></div><div>Take care, and I hope to see you all very soon. :)</div>Mallinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05399869504229296476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5899982925211324142.post-50323652438689874332013-09-12T07:06:00.001-07:002013-09-12T07:06:26.889-07:00I'm baaaaaaaaaack!!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxP4ZxRguhWhu1v4LoB62c5FEmZCABuTk4cF_qzKbp4KjBJGg7zF-ereP9rlojq00_-MJ16cWrPV63cYNItDKFPgsKnrdYvDfR0vkWm0Hxr5iCfn8PIWAA5XRB2KzHfuBuka5vSWBQP7cA/s640/blogger-image--261788499.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxP4ZxRguhWhu1v4LoB62c5FEmZCABuTk4cF_qzKbp4KjBJGg7zF-ereP9rlojq00_-MJ16cWrPV63cYNItDKFPgsKnrdYvDfR0vkWm0Hxr5iCfn8PIWAA5XRB2KzHfuBuka5vSWBQP7cA/s640/blogger-image--261788499.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">So here we go again. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">It's been years since I last posted anything here and soo much has changed since. I've finished my IB diploma, gotten into University, and am now a second year psychology student at the University of St. Andrews. I spend 9/12 months a year in Scotland. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">And now that I'm going to be cooking for myself full-time, I thought I'd restart my little blog to keep track of what I'm making and how I'm eating. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Here's to a brand new adventure.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Stay tuned!!</div>Mallinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05399869504229296476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5899982925211324142.post-66003966042032525472010-06-30T21:55:00.000-07:002010-06-30T21:56:03.122-07:00DARING BAKER'S CHALLENGE #7The June 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Dawn of Doable and Delicious. Dawn challenged the Daring Bakers’ to make Chocolate Pavlovas and Chocolate <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Mascarpone</span> Mousse. The challenge recipe is based on a recipe from the book Chocolate Epiphany by Francois <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Payard</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVPhI-Tv3frowNC7RFxSPnSlsLdquIIYPbOHmi7W0buCntyPpKAAa47KtiItQD5WD9j5dwYX4sNw72XOV7spmwrJ8bLjdusEXOAP5hkG81k6iJ9XcpYP8Q1oBHVrfYtgZr0MCqXutpXBBj/s1600/daring+kitchen+gang.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVPhI-Tv3frowNC7RFxSPnSlsLdquIIYPbOHmi7W0buCntyPpKAAa47KtiItQD5WD9j5dwYX4sNw72XOV7spmwrJ8bLjdusEXOAP5hkG81k6iJ9XcpYP8Q1oBHVrfYtgZr0MCqXutpXBBj/s320/daring+kitchen+gang.jpg" /></a></div> This month's challenge was TOTALLY AWESOME.<br />
<i>Chocolate Pavlova with Chocolate <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Mascarpone</span> Mousse.</i><br />
Could anything sound more extravagantly <i>lush</i> than THAT?<br />
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Since <strike>I was too lazy to complete the challenge earlier in the month</strike> one of my closest friends, <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Shekinah</span>, was turning 18 on the 24th, I made the pavlova quite late. I thought that <strike>being the stingy-poker that I was</strike> since there wouldn't be too many of us celebrating (it was a small dinner celebration at this TO DIE FOR steamboat place) I would make half the recipe. I had it all figured out, I'd make all the components the day before and assemble them in the morning before leaving for her house. The mousse and <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">mascarpone</span> cream didn't give me any trouble, but I probably should have remembered it was my VERY FIRST pavlova, and there were BOUND to be hiccups along the way.<br />
And a hiccup there was.<br />
A BIG one.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlUEswCwT_eeBmkY9Ri0yHrdc7vMs0dirJetaK-YWBQ9XcANwkis4n0k8YS1mUaiUHYTni8WnOEM1Y65rwVUGCUP5JKVuuLmjtvZMMhupZ6UkrKkEDdb_4Zg7kADXrDh5gLENhqHE8ZcPw/s1600/IMG_5439.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlUEswCwT_eeBmkY9Ri0yHrdc7vMs0dirJetaK-YWBQ9XcANwkis4n0k8YS1mUaiUHYTni8WnOEM1Y65rwVUGCUP5JKVuuLmjtvZMMhupZ6UkrKkEDdb_4Zg7kADXrDh5gLENhqHE8ZcPw/s320/IMG_5439.jpg" /></a></div>THAT my good readers, was what the pavlova looked like the next morning. I could BARELY get it off the baking paper, and the parts that DID peel off cracked and crumbled to bits. Looking back, I probably should have baked it for longer to allow the <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">pav</span> to dry out more. Truth be told though, I was actually quite happy it didn't turn out. It looked a bit TOO SMALL to be given as a present. So, I scrapped it, and tried again. This time making the full meringue recipe. As for the one above, I didn't want to waste it (It tasted REALLY GOOD) So I crumbled it up even more and made 2 little parfaits.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXiuMDBhVoQdnlgNPP0kL77U3TzTPQrxYP6dQf7V0xBnAQzP_m2cqN7FdHsB28oOVmEl9IQRV7cr-tNOYlkoZmjs4guxrwXX1bMSkshrQmeq1IC8npmHCUieZ0CqRq33-ncpX1mgI0_igv/s1600/IMG_5442.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXiuMDBhVoQdnlgNPP0kL77U3TzTPQrxYP6dQf7V0xBnAQzP_m2cqN7FdHsB28oOVmEl9IQRV7cr-tNOYlkoZmjs4guxrwXX1bMSkshrQmeq1IC8npmHCUieZ0CqRq33-ncpX1mgI0_igv/s320/IMG_5442.jpg" /></a></div>Quite decent, no? And SO YUMMY MY GAWD!!<br />
Anyways, after quickly putting together the stuff for the 2nd meringue (luckily I still had a decent amount of time on my hands) and baking it for 2 and 1/4 hours, I got a BE-YOU-TI-<span class="goog-spellcheck-word">FUL</span> looking pavlova.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_j_aBAq9ULVWHL_aYOKB9Dkgqi_MOhv3z8IcBkyrfjAUQKX5cmYXrhiXpgRfRxXfG1aPSzjAkb5b20Qd1YDffwRTAytBbjBslizAnteuAPcXAa2x4jY6QRjgHpVHy-sp7ltLpcB1n3kg9/s1600/IMG_5449.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_j_aBAq9ULVWHL_aYOKB9Dkgqi_MOhv3z8IcBkyrfjAUQKX5cmYXrhiXpgRfRxXfG1aPSzjAkb5b20Qd1YDffwRTAytBbjBslizAnteuAPcXAa2x4jY6QRjgHpVHy-sp7ltLpcB1n3kg9/s320/IMG_5449.jpg" /></a></div>I thought about it, and decided to add the finishing touches at her place. So I packed the mousse and cream into piping bags and took the lot to <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Kynah's</span> house. We had a good long gossip (haven't seen her since she started college) Had a shower, got dressed and dressed the pavlova so it was ready for dinner.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidZW5_ZWkpeLJlLP2JV8-uJLO7ao2pmK0XN1V9HB6v1nvZckCK-Do7GsFxNb0ymxLI5lipLblHuAEGPNDy2k8mSU105GF5Qri_0U7_lmhytK5-NBoB37aOpd_WQF4j6tbWC9sVCxu49fuY/s1600/IMG_5456.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidZW5_ZWkpeLJlLP2JV8-uJLO7ao2pmK0XN1V9HB6v1nvZckCK-Do7GsFxNb0ymxLI5lipLblHuAEGPNDy2k8mSU105GF5Qri_0U7_lmhytK5-NBoB37aOpd_WQF4j6tbWC9sVCxu49fuY/s320/IMG_5456.jpg" /></a></div>Doesn't it look ADORABLE? I cheated a bit and bought to sugar roses, so the whole thing was dead easy to put together. <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Kynah</span> and her parents oohed and <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">ahhed</span> over it, the we packed the <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">pav</span> up and headed to the restaurant.<br />
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This is where things got a little messy. The pavlova was sitting next to the HOT steamboat stove for about 15 minutes before we thought of moving it to a chair so it would be away from the heat. AND it was about 2 hours (the steamboat was REALLY GOOD,k?) before we got around to eating it. So by the time the pavlova came out of the box....<br />
Let's just say it tasted a lot better than it looked.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ENxYrJBnq4ZegYeU941FDFQSPgx_WzQ_5gq7Szy_C-mcmGCVQsF_arbgOEPlW6buN0828eRljiKW6bpl-hilAXI6RFAsqUW24ccXwWBHzo3RfTJQrpOz-HOWK582KDqHNzcftMcPckeS/s1600/IMG_5460.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ENxYrJBnq4ZegYeU941FDFQSPgx_WzQ_5gq7Szy_C-mcmGCVQsF_arbgOEPlW6buN0828eRljiKW6bpl-hilAXI6RFAsqUW24ccXwWBHzo3RfTJQrpOz-HOWK582KDqHNzcftMcPckeS/s320/IMG_5460.jpg" /></a></div>Honestly. However, all said and done <span class="goog-spellcheck-word">Kynah</span> LOVED IT.<br />
She thought it was fantastic (and quite frankly, it bloody was). I'll definitely be making this again. Although, I'll probably not subject it to heat next time!<br />
As usual, if you'd like to try the recipe for yourself, it'll be found on <a href="http://thedaringkitchen.com/recipe/chocolate-pavlovas-chocolate-mascarpone-mousse">The Daring Kitchen's website</a><br />
And do try to go through the <a href="http://thedaringkitchen.com/blogroll/bakers"><span class="goog-spellcheck-word">blogroll</span></a> to see what other Daring bakers thought of the challenge. Bye!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwBRbwfYVcu9o8OllSSNXfbNiTJBKrEZAtTPH28_F_9Q8mIL8syWHEquoaaQiTz7xn2cDZ2B2dyR8rxkCUwwJ23dstc6_Z6JYUZi3hQJN5u-958pPH29rLZ8TgSwQ9EzLs83E96XbS7jX0/s1600/IMG_5459.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwBRbwfYVcu9o8OllSSNXfbNiTJBKrEZAtTPH28_F_9Q8mIL8syWHEquoaaQiTz7xn2cDZ2B2dyR8rxkCUwwJ23dstc6_Z6JYUZi3hQJN5u-958pPH29rLZ8TgSwQ9EzLs83E96XbS7jX0/s320/IMG_5459.jpg" /></a></div>Mallinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05399869504229296476noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5899982925211324142.post-53299595294361824552010-05-27T19:25:00.000-07:002010-05-27T19:25:35.532-07:00DARING BAKER'S CHALLENGE #6<b></b> The May 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Cat of<a href="http://www.littlemisscupcakeparis.blogspot.com/"> Little Miss Cupcake</a>. Cat challenged everyone to make a piece montée, or croquembouche, based on recipes from Peter Kump’s Baking School in Manhattan and Nick Malgieri.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_jzx3uQLFjCOyCnhs1b4KOtWV5jrlhJRKzawT_RISQLluBX98MCJ4B_guBF16CsPN0CKHAlTm1zuPi02yf7NiybmVZo8wEsbG37zJ4ULchtKcJQSDEjntwBznHnyVpNzApXzI7gtSGc3n/s1600/daring+kitchen+gang.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_jzx3uQLFjCOyCnhs1b4KOtWV5jrlhJRKzawT_RISQLluBX98MCJ4B_guBF16CsPN0CKHAlTm1zuPi02yf7NiybmVZo8wEsbG37zJ4ULchtKcJQSDEjntwBznHnyVpNzApXzI7gtSGc3n/s320/daring+kitchen+gang.jpg" /></a></div>Hello, it's that time of month again! <br />
I was really really REALLY stoked when I found out what this months challenge was. Been wanting to make a croquembouche for a couple of YEARS now, but never plucked up the kahoonas to try. Another upside to the Daring Bakers, I guess I'm a wee bit more Gryffindor than I thought I was. ;-)<br />
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Alright, for those who are out of the loop, a piece montée, or croquembouche is a tower of creampuffs held together by a glaze, usually chocolate or caramel. People in France traditionally make this instead of the usual wedding cake. A professional one is supposed to look like this :<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.baking911.com/images/croqueyextract.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.baking911.com/images/croqueyextract.jpg" /></a></div>Ok, so mine didn't quite turn out as a tower.<br />
More like a lopsided molehill really.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirhDgXPzCtuRVDLt_AskF81worRcVfbGH1gmeOdhNtuYRARbHLu6ghHvKCu34uT83mK7UxPbv6xbdHzSlGhou0yVWizo_ecyzOPe4u6c-3mO-Cr9RHG3fdvKkkpvi5GyCPGpSN76ktYULT/s1600/IMG_5319.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirhDgXPzCtuRVDLt_AskF81worRcVfbGH1gmeOdhNtuYRARbHLu6ghHvKCu34uT83mK7UxPbv6xbdHzSlGhou0yVWizo_ecyzOPe4u6c-3mO-Cr9RHG3fdvKkkpvi5GyCPGpSN76ktYULT/s320/IMG_5319.jpg" /></a></div>I made only half the recipe, because there aren't too many people at home and there was NO WAY a full sized croquembouche was going to be finished, especially considering that this dessert has to be served ASAP. I filled the cream puffs with a coffee pastry cream and for the glaze I used caramel. It looked really pretty up close, but was really difficult to eat. The caramel made it almost impossible to pick an individual cream puff off without either:<br />
a) ripping it in half, OR<br />
b) ripping its immediate downstairs neighbour in half.<br />
I think my pastry cream was a bit too sweet too, would cut down the sugar next time I do this. The best part about making the piece montée was the caramel strands surrounding the cream puffs. Sure, I got burnt a couple of times (OUCH, by the way) but that didn't stop me from flicking sugar like mad all over the thing.<br />
and on myself.<br />
and the kitchen table.<br />
and the floor.<br />
and maybe a little on my kitchen scale.<br />
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All in all, I had fun with this challenge. It may have seemed overwhelming in the beginning, but once I broke it down, it was a relatively enjoyable task. Albeit a rather long one. It you'd like to try to make this ( and you should. It's one of those things everyone should try before we get sent off to that big bakery in the sky ) then the recipe and instructions are here on the <a href="http://thedaringkitchen.com/recipe/piece-mont%C3%A9e">Daring Kitchen website</a>.<br />
Also, try to check out the creations of the other Daring Bakers on the <a href="http://thedaringkitchen.com/blogroll/bakers">blogroll</a>. There are some that'll blow your mind!<br />
Till next time, Ciao!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo3vS32tENxmIbUB_zq-nA1FwtL68pRwWTDWMXug0LbCv-GnpWc7Ex49ZWipzvrLmX9S5WpvoHPkyPc-o0gDtzkH-mBS1-JTJzVmgOSOkZmje-nEXDy9Bhf6zetpJF9pC8a_hW3P4gb1zN/s1600/IMG_5322.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo3vS32tENxmIbUB_zq-nA1FwtL68pRwWTDWMXug0LbCv-GnpWc7Ex49ZWipzvrLmX9S5WpvoHPkyPc-o0gDtzkH-mBS1-JTJzVmgOSOkZmje-nEXDy9Bhf6zetpJF9pC8a_hW3P4gb1zN/s320/IMG_5322.jpg" /></a></div>Mallinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05399869504229296476noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5899982925211324142.post-9911156724145022672010-05-04T19:06:00.000-07:002010-05-04T19:06:55.284-07:00DARING BAKER'S CHALLENGE #5The April 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Esther of <a href="http://lilackitchen.blogspot.com/">The Lilac Kitchen</a>. She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge9EozGTQ7CRW9FctTCwKH2nna7iXA8WXY6oite1NICps8DKOoBP4v1AUUly5GK1PcldATdGXLezsO7o0semP1VkhmqqgGIpWt9jNOmT7HXjvK4Ezx3Q-ri6UxK4jmQYp9FBNUGJ_zy7xF/s1600/daring+kitchen+gang.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge9EozGTQ7CRW9FctTCwKH2nna7iXA8WXY6oite1NICps8DKOoBP4v1AUUly5GK1PcldATdGXLezsO7o0semP1VkhmqqgGIpWt9jNOmT7HXjvK4Ezx3Q-ri6UxK4jmQYp9FBNUGJ_zy7xF/s320/daring+kitchen+gang.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Boy am I LATE huh?<br />
*brushes dust off blog*<br />
Sorry bout that folks, I couldn't find my pictures until 2 days ago (they were still in my camera). But all hiccups aside, atleast I'm FINALLY posting, right?<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge-7sHuuQYylqbW7O3YwKnTYqQEXSD9MMfyYFiX_MdUEuItXoemt2pBuiRy3ljd5Nf8_Wxh3DRgXnDHPoxkch7Dtmz-WkQx9HMLfIM6ZWsHodtM1DPAoRH97AfcbLFUoywsYdelmfAjeAM/s1600/IMG_5215.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge-7sHuuQYylqbW7O3YwKnTYqQEXSD9MMfyYFiX_MdUEuItXoemt2pBuiRy3ljd5Nf8_Wxh3DRgXnDHPoxkch7Dtmz-WkQx9HMLfIM6ZWsHodtM1DPAoRH97AfcbLFUoywsYdelmfAjeAM/s320/IMG_5215.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9zI_aS7cJgPiHxpDEmL6rpun_uzw8tCE37VAvgv5a3An1rnJR9CypE5sdQIAZym8fTh_7IsadWpdOtLv-EzLFfYpMVlp967xsRZvHrKTpjas6E1Yb6nANJTpljtlidg9NTCfCPgVHMxob/s1600/IMG_5216.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9zI_aS7cJgPiHxpDEmL6rpun_uzw8tCE37VAvgv5a3An1rnJR9CypE5sdQIAZym8fTh_7IsadWpdOtLv-EzLFfYpMVlp967xsRZvHrKTpjas6E1Yb6nANJTpljtlidg9NTCfCPgVHMxob/s320/IMG_5216.jpg" /></a>So, let's get started. Steamed English Pudding. This is going to be quite a short post, cause I don't really have much to say about it. The challenge was easy enough but quite frankly we weren't too nuts about it, infact the pudding was still sitting in the fridge 3 weeks after I made it. It tasted a bit odd really, but then again that's probably the recipes fault. I did like steaming the pudding, it came out nice and moist and a little spongy too. wasn't too hard to do either, but that's probably cause I have an actual steamer. I used chinese bowls to steam the sponges in, so they came out in really cute domes. As for using suet, the only one I could find was made from beef and due to religious issues, that's a bit of a no no for me. I used shortening instead. Also, for the fruit I threw in a little something special. For the past 4 months, I've had a container of fruitsoaking in brandy in my fridge. And when I say soaking, I mean SOAKING. I don't even remember what fruit I have in there anymore, but I do know it smells strong. Funnily enough, the pudding didn't taste very alcohol-ly when it was done. I served the cooked pudding with custard sauce on top. On the whole, a very -meh- tasting challenge. I will do it again, but I'll be wanting a different recipe to use. I have NO IDEA where this one came from ( I was searching and printing out a lot, OK?), Heck, I don't even remember what it's CALLED. So if anyone DOES know, just give me a shout. :-)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4wC4zE7PUtrS7wJyxUC0YejGrQ3KR6ZlGncP3Cl7ArrRFqDMFHdAzakSyrlW2yJ1iNT6esedXf0XcZ9M5T7ko4fRIf5LLtHNDBGqmcCBaTHmjLLSVHXcog7u48dSBJKc9iT4kGHvsCSqE/s1600/IMG_5214.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4wC4zE7PUtrS7wJyxUC0YejGrQ3KR6ZlGncP3Cl7ArrRFqDMFHdAzakSyrlW2yJ1iNT6esedXf0XcZ9M5T7ko4fRIf5LLtHNDBGqmcCBaTHmjLLSVHXcog7u48dSBJKc9iT4kGHvsCSqE/s1600/IMG_5214.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4wC4zE7PUtrS7wJyxUC0YejGrQ3KR6ZlGncP3Cl7ArrRFqDMFHdAzakSyrlW2yJ1iNT6esedXf0XcZ9M5T7ko4fRIf5LLtHNDBGqmcCBaTHmjLLSVHXcog7u48dSBJKc9iT4kGHvsCSqE/s200/IMG_5214.jpg" width="150" /></a></div> <br />
~ 90g self raising flour<br />
~ pinch of salt<br />
~ 90g breadcrumbs<br />
~ 90g shreaded suet (again, I used shortening)<br />
~ 90g raisins<br />
~ 160g currants<br />
~ 30g candied peel<br />
~ 60g brown sugar<br />
~ 1 egg<br />
~ 6tbsp milk<br />
<br />
Mix everything together, divide into molds and steam for 1 and a 1/2 - 2 hours. (OMG this has got to be the SHORTEST set of instructions I've EVER written on this blog.)<br />
<br />
Please head on down to the Daring Bakers blogroll to check out what the others have done. It'll look pretty damn amazing! => http://thedaringkitchen.com/blogroll/bakers<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Mallinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05399869504229296476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5899982925211324142.post-23236830874743658142010-03-28T00:57:00.000-07:002010-03-28T01:38:16.431-07:00DARING BAKERS CHALLENGE #4The 2010 March Daring Baker’s challenge was hosted by Jennifer of <a href="http://www.chocolateshavings.ca/">Chocolate Shavings</a>. She chose Orange Tian as the challenge for this month, a dessert based on a recipe from Alain Ducasse’s Cooking School in Paris.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDiIyWpawP9xnqMVqY_ROzU_heCTm4DdWz-1ldFHxyGM_Yj0ppy1iOnf_UyJakPsTUzhSIjYbxWAIMICv7tyL4cjDqD3J12TOp7JQ39WlMilaBRXYzDvG9y2nKWu5XmzKgltrJZomw0EK8/s1600/daring+kitchen+gang.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDiIyWpawP9xnqMVqY_ROzU_heCTm4DdWz-1ldFHxyGM_Yj0ppy1iOnf_UyJakPsTUzhSIjYbxWAIMICv7tyL4cjDqD3J12TOp7JQ39WlMilaBRXYzDvG9y2nKWu5XmzKgltrJZomw0EK8/s320/daring+kitchen+gang.jpg" /></a></div> I learnt something new this month. Thanks to Jennifer, I now know what a 'tian' is. What? Never heard of em'?<br />
You can thank <a href="http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-tian.htm">wisegeek.com</a> later :<br />
<span class="mContent">Well known in some cultures as a prepared dish with layered ingredients, the <span class="yellowFade"><span class="yellowFadeInnerSpan" style="position: relative;">tian</span></span> can be thought of as a <a href="http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-casserole.htm">casserole</a> with a specific arrangement of components. From this perspective, a <span class="yellowFade"><span class="yellowFadeInnerSpan" style="position: relative;">tian</span></span> can be a hot or a cold dish.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="mContent">So, an orange tian.....</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgibdJS9LWUewgNeLHylWwLA2gzDb9xt6c9n-82lEweWoYABKeigjxKoToqWLM6uHCoVaf6OHQz-MFsKl4HXSNYA1dadRvKbpVoZztyFZeK0Oxnw865gNsjTr5g7isjcoZ_EpnUSJ2EUOfb/s1600/IMG_5120.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgibdJS9LWUewgNeLHylWwLA2gzDb9xt6c9n-82lEweWoYABKeigjxKoToqWLM6uHCoVaf6OHQz-MFsKl4HXSNYA1dadRvKbpVoZztyFZeK0Oxnw865gNsjTr5g7isjcoZ_EpnUSJ2EUOfb/s320/IMG_5120.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<span class="mContent">Frankly I was a little sceptical. I mean, it looked like a lot of work for whipped cream piled on top of a piece of shortbread then topped with fruit. But I'm glad I made it all the same. It was a very light dessert, and because I reduced the sugar, it wasn't too sweet either. I decided to make it family-sized just to make life easier for me. So, down to business then. There were 5 components to this dessert, as broken up below.</span><br />
<span class="mContent"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="mContent">~Pate Sablee</span><br />
<span class="mContent">From what I gather this is basically like shortbread....or, atleast it's suppossed to be. I'm not sure where I went wrong but it came out cake-like and VERY crumbly. I made the recipe twice and had the same result both times....any ideas? Not to say it wasn't good though, it was like a cross between a butter cake and shortbread. My dog agrees too, judging from the way she gobbled up the first batch. Very yummy.</span><br />
<span class="mContent"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="mContent">~Marmalade</span><br />
<span class="mContent">Again, not too much trouble. It came together fine and tasted a little tangy. The one thing I SHOULD have done, was blend the blanched oranges to make it finer, but I didn't want to wash the blender later (SO ANNOYING) so I just minced it all by hand. The resulting marmalade was a little chunky, but I didn't really mind, it still tasted good.</span><br />
<span class="mContent"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="mContent">~Orange Sements <3</span><br />
<span class="mContent">OMG. I LOVE segmenting oranges!!! It's like......so totally ZEN!! I'm not joking, you could put me in a corner with a bowl of oranges and order me to segment them, and I would be HAPPY. I don't know WHAT it is, but I was having so much fun, it was actually a little dissapointing when all the oranges were done. Anybody in Malaysia need an orange segmented? Pretty please??</span><br />
<span class="mContent"> </span><br />
<span class="mContent">~Caramel</span><br />
<span class="mContent">Now THIIIISSS..... was a little bit funky. Again, not too sure where messed up, but it turned out tasting bitter. And the thing is, the caramel was JUST STARTING to colour when I added the orange juice (And boy did that start to sputter. I feared for my life, I kid you not). Didn't think too much of it and just went ahead with the rest of the recipe. Could hardly taste anything bitter in he finished dessert, so YAY!</span><br />
<span class="mContent"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="mContent">~Whipped Cream</span><br />
<span class="mContent">Listen.</span><br />
<span class="mContent">If after 5 years of blowing up stuff in the kitchen I didn't know how to <i>whip cream</i>,</span><br />
<span class="mContent">I would just shoot myself.</span><br />
<span class="mContent">I really would.</span><br />
<span class="mContent">But now I know how to stabilize my cream. All you have to do is whip in a bit of gelatine and the cream won't collapse so fast. However, I really don't like the smell of gelatine, so I'll try out something else. Maybe unflavoured konyaku jelly powder?</span><br />
<span class="mContent"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="mContent">So with all the stuff prepared, I was ready to assemble the Tian. And again, I dissobeyed the first rule of Bakingdom. Again. Because I didn't read the instructions, I didn't notice we were supposed to DRAIN the orange slices (That had been sitting in caramel overnight) on paper towels.</span><br />
<span class="mContent">Oops no.1</span><br />
<span class="mContent">Luckily I wrapped my tin in alluminium foil. If I hadn't, the tin would have leaked wattery orange caramel all over the kitchen.</span><br />
<span class="mContent"> Ah well, lesson learnt. I moved on and piled on the whipped cream, then proceeded to place the pate sablee on top. Problem was, the biscuit broke <strike>clean</strike> into 2.</span><br />
<span class="mContent">Oops no.2 </span><br />
<span class="mContent">Nevermind, I thought to myself. It's at the bottom, no one will notice. So brushing the crumbs off the kitchen table, I set the Tian in the fridge to set for 1/2 an hour.</span><br />
<span class="mContent">Oops no.3</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmZwLZNY4t_ksqn7XZnA9ZF23Ym2Y4YJJH91pn9JENN7UGGtqHqidVDMAGlsiuPQh3si9peefKRPO3KjqPQnBf6frexQ5y-w5vt5eZOSf1rzKQNMXujgvJrB3HN-YsqdHqM_Y26AMVEOrR/s1600/IMG_5126.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmZwLZNY4t_ksqn7XZnA9ZF23Ym2Y4YJJH91pn9JENN7UGGtqHqidVDMAGlsiuPQh3si9peefKRPO3KjqPQnBf6frexQ5y-w5vt5eZOSf1rzKQNMXujgvJrB3HN-YsqdHqM_Y26AMVEOrR/s320/IMG_5126.jpg" /></a></div><span class="mContent">I barely had time to drizzle the remainder caramel sauce over it and take a picture.This is what it looked like 5 minutes after taking it out of the fridge:</span><br />
<span class="mContent"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="mContent">Not pretty.</span><br />
<span class="mContent">I didn't get a chance to take cross section picture, which was a pity cause I bet that would've looked really nice.It's alright though, the shot of the whole thing came out pretty all the same. Next time, I'll just</span><br />
<span class="mContent"> make individual portions.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="mContent"> </span><br />
<span class="mContent"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr0r5YcEKZbKhYm2iOWdQ-kni55s3A2l055vUcQuuCSaT8i8Fb92QxF5nSUhSDjv4-40jJg7MK58f43UQ3qT9UdskERGMF8lRKM8UhylC4oJcS-DeZtkDiLN36WUj5voq8CQ3zSlPZFXES/s1600/IMG_5121.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr0r5YcEKZbKhYm2iOWdQ-kni55s3A2l055vUcQuuCSaT8i8Fb92QxF5nSUhSDjv4-40jJg7MK58f43UQ3qT9UdskERGMF8lRKM8UhylC4oJcS-DeZtkDiLN36WUj5voq8CQ3zSlPZFXES/s320/IMG_5121.jpg" /></a></div><span class="mContent">If you'd like to try this recipe out for yourself, just follow the link and it'll take you to the daring kitchen 'Orange Tian' page. => </span><br />
http://thedaringkitchen.com/recipe/orange-tian<br />
<br />
Have fun, and happy baking!Mallinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05399869504229296476noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5899982925211324142.post-23663280741803832672010-03-19T07:39:00.000-07:002010-03-19T07:41:01.257-07:00Chocolate MOOOOOOOOOOUSSSSEEEE.....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWp4wMBlAo1Vh_kdYeMbnnZGKFby4R3z1TLg1dBkC-SCO-HwQ9C4yF0GHLD67OIrbIE7HAM3XgieBoh-1xMld9FlvlKVFaOqp_CGlM361ipdmjwPY0VY8P1D2UrwZmZH6ZYLFdcqYRLlDf/s1600-h/staged+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWp4wMBlAo1Vh_kdYeMbnnZGKFby4R3z1TLg1dBkC-SCO-HwQ9C4yF0GHLD67OIrbIE7HAM3XgieBoh-1xMld9FlvlKVFaOqp_CGlM361ipdmjwPY0VY8P1D2UrwZmZH6ZYLFdcqYRLlDf/s320/staged+2.jpg" /></a></div>I love that :<br />
1) This recipe is SUPER easy.<br />
2) It has very few ingredients (practically FOUR if you wanna skip the fruit and liquor)<br />
3) It's non-bake ( for those days you just CANNOT set up the oven )<br />
4) It's so ORGASMICLY GOOD. I can't even begin to tell you.<br />
<br />
Just make it.<br />
Then eat and weep.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMFKOYUQJvYKCkLOxAAbQLcu0EE31PvrqZdrw-jIOxFf3JW4iGmOuqtWiCSJse0Ljhm8OXR10OWjFK_HU1Dab1uRVp7K6CoojBmgH35tqKHlb-9LzgtjcNcAxHCRA7y98yYa2qW_NOF7Zr/s1600-h/IMG_5131.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMFKOYUQJvYKCkLOxAAbQLcu0EE31PvrqZdrw-jIOxFf3JW4iGmOuqtWiCSJse0Ljhm8OXR10OWjFK_HU1Dab1uRVp7K6CoojBmgH35tqKHlb-9LzgtjcNcAxHCRA7y98yYa2qW_NOF7Zr/s200/IMG_5131.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>Chocolate Mousse<br />
by Alec Kearns of Glebe Point Diner<br />
~300g dark chocolate, chopped<br />
~9 eggs, seperated<br />
~2tbsp brandy (opt)<br />
~30g castor sugar<br />
*my addition<br />
*5 tbsp sugar<br />
*8 ripe bananas, sliced<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHI320186DEEaOjK-3a7bHTjEr7AAjlQL-BDFdtfXikORoFlTj6Fv0q2nxkGlkJy7_eBW6SCuUISIsnN_s1ETFJOxiwNNwT0G-KHVlk6hYWG_sw1bugFICcbetldAwfBNWrWnpm8-DDAMm/s1600-h/IMG_5132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHI320186DEEaOjK-3a7bHTjEr7AAjlQL-BDFdtfXikORoFlTj6Fv0q2nxkGlkJy7_eBW6SCuUISIsnN_s1ETFJOxiwNNwT0G-KHVlk6hYWG_sw1bugFICcbetldAwfBNWrWnpm8-DDAMm/s320/IMG_5132.jpg" width="240" /></a>Melt the dark chocolate over a double boiler and whisk in egg yolks and liquor (if using). If mixture become very stiff, add 1 tbsp water to loosen it. Whisk eggs whites to soft peaks, then gradually adding sugar whisk to stiff peaks. Fold egg whites into chocolate mixture in three batches till combined. Divide among 8 X 250ml glasses and refridgerate 3-4 hours till set.<br />
<br />
*caramelized banana topping<br />
Melt 1 tbsp of sugar in heavy bottom saucepan and cook till very light golden colour. Add sliced bananas and stir to coat. Top mousses and refridgerate to set.<br />
<br />
The original recipe called for rasberries macerated in balsamic vineger. I opted out and used the caramelized bananas instead and removed the brandy element too. I also made only 1/3 of the recipe, as there weren't too many people at home to eat it ( although, I SUPPOSED I could have FORCED myself to polish off a full recipe on my own. You know, if ABSOLUTELY had to)<br />
<br />
Oh, and don't worry. This is a healthy dessert.<br />
It's got whole eggs in it, that's protein. <br />
And chocolate, so that's your antioxidants.<br />
;-)<br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">*recipe courtesy of Vougue Australia, Entertaining and Travel.</span> </div>Mallinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05399869504229296476noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5899982925211324142.post-27434569665704367892010-03-12T04:07:00.000-08:002010-03-18T01:21:42.764-07:00MIB classes, babysteps 1-6<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFeMI5s-sO5NktNx7yPIA86NdHQpX_Bz1F9oYzYMTKRqHQVRWdnxxuVVQBWDK-bKfCTs8QAdKwFQiwDJvtIoOyi2Ndtzv4IsE8LqniMox0J2byzR3X-bjtqut1xL97-qrGxiDwYONcds74/s1600-h/MIB+logo.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFeMI5s-sO5NktNx7yPIA86NdHQpX_Bz1F9oYzYMTKRqHQVRWdnxxuVVQBWDK-bKfCTs8QAdKwFQiwDJvtIoOyi2Ndtzv4IsE8LqniMox0J2byzR3X-bjtqut1xL97-qrGxiDwYONcds74/s320/MIB+logo.gif" /></a></div><br />
I know I'm bad at updating things, but this is getting ridiculous. <br />
I've had 6 lessons at MIB now.<br />
Each class is about 3.5-4 hours.<br />
Thus I've spent ATLEAST 21 hours there.<br />
21 hours.<br />
21 hours of learning wonderful things about food and baking.<br />
and I haven't blogged a SINGLE word of it.<br />
Shame on me, really.<br />
<br />
Especially considering I have SOOOOO much to share! Well, not really much, just one tip really.<br />
But if you've been making bread without a bread maker in a hot country a.k.a Malaysia (and IF you have, give yourself a pat on the back) this tip will revolutionize your ENTIRE perspective on bread making.<br />
THIS.<br />
WILL.<br />
CHANGE.<br />
YOUR.<br />
LIFE.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Did you know that we're ( 'WE' meaning people in tropical countries with really hot climates) are supposed to make bread with.........get ready for this.......this'll flip your lid........we're supposed to make bread.... with.... COLD water.<br />
<br />
I know, I know, boggles the mind doesn't it? <br />
After AAAAAALLLLL the propaganda fed to us by lying, thieving American and British cookbook authors the world over. I'll bet they were thinking, "ok, we can't slow down their economic growth, but we can be sure they'll be making bread WRONG!!! "<br />
<br />
Yesyesyes, you can argue that they're actually writing for an American / Europian audience. You can also argue that they're suiting their own temperatures......but I think my theory's more interesting. Not that I don't absolutely ADORE my fellow Caucasian earth dwellers of course!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT3FByiAiEuw-koT6319cToZZc4Nw6MD1Sq9Nab1noffeYgDb48gOGVYf77_P8Kq0qmbrVgzPBY8xAbVnyYRvsm5oJaiYiIFCrs3bVgYDlSNhYng436lI8PTGK1yMGwP94j8XJv6bQASCn/s1600-h/IMG_5072.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT3FByiAiEuw-koT6319cToZZc4Nw6MD1Sq9Nab1noffeYgDb48gOGVYf77_P8Kq0qmbrVgzPBY8xAbVnyYRvsm5oJaiYiIFCrs3bVgYDlSNhYng436lI8PTGK1yMGwP94j8XJv6bQASCn/s320/IMG_5072.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcdbKWrqFbTnImVnCZR3zhF_n7tHNqiPRR6h8X_aoXh6LHb8t6PfgnhEyU9QbWWSCW5yQ61uslOpv94XgQs5xvKNU6efkjo7BGMZct21w0lytCPdXQiJTMLEIfw7CM3wTOD8GNnTK1hQgW/s1600-h/IMG_5086.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcdbKWrqFbTnImVnCZR3zhF_n7tHNqiPRR6h8X_aoXh6LHb8t6PfgnhEyU9QbWWSCW5yQ61uslOpv94XgQs5xvKNU6efkjo7BGMZct21w0lytCPdXQiJTMLEIfw7CM3wTOD8GNnTK1hQgW/s320/IMG_5086.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyq-Q-vLCPy0xUVR7wDDE_QjJuGlYH9yT2qnX6EJXo4TBZZEQgdUWLVjC7mcGtOLjBfnNtsOqXDYTrdHdCm_F7NjF8CSl7-2B1arhJ9Efb879yMHkCc7QymuNvZPPZ1liUhNtvrxduWppC/s1600-h/IMG_5088.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyq-Q-vLCPy0xUVR7wDDE_QjJuGlYH9yT2qnX6EJXo4TBZZEQgdUWLVjC7mcGtOLjBfnNtsOqXDYTrdHdCm_F7NjF8CSl7-2B1arhJ9Efb879yMHkCc7QymuNvZPPZ1liUhNtvrxduWppC/s320/IMG_5088.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIuN0oN-cpAbJhk0QYge4yrVyZ11ZVQgSV-riXPbtBeFytP41YUCrQO7_t6YMnDk1Jk-_JD2wnKfXDy2L8VqQcwyXBVTcLyBYraw_a2siI7qr_weIXAkjysyzNdTWlv5bMaa2BxZvpBhnw/s1600-h/IMG_5119.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIuN0oN-cpAbJhk0QYge4yrVyZ11ZVQgSV-riXPbtBeFytP41YUCrQO7_t6YMnDk1Jk-_JD2wnKfXDy2L8VqQcwyXBVTcLyBYraw_a2siI7qr_weIXAkjysyzNdTWlv5bMaa2BxZvpBhnw/s320/IMG_5119.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrGkX24zdhP5YO_rWf0CddkFJL9-Ek6Bskh8sV5IkNCPen3HCydmDlpgvkB2TbybTDJ2JL-IacmFMp3wtcxR_amqftcWPwVYEt-RUSWRthsVkGAlH8ENSzFZshggFNRY2hAVGOcLBNX3nN/s1600-h/IMG_5095.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrGkX24zdhP5YO_rWf0CddkFJL9-Ek6Bskh8sV5IkNCPen3HCydmDlpgvkB2TbybTDJ2JL-IacmFMp3wtcxR_amqftcWPwVYEt-RUSWRthsVkGAlH8ENSzFZshggFNRY2hAVGOcLBNX3nN/s320/IMG_5095.jpg" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigDpeRFT7BKRbOkqyEq1L8Hbps-K1AwYvGDeX2e1ENsbnY3awxsMEwLiOT2DmzbI2Wc1urXum5wM3MgshMUpPd8zHl7wKx_S2f8e8sD9tBARpT4DSSiT4nNBE696ECIXy1hHvcCBj7DxJD/s1600-h/IMG_5112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigDpeRFT7BKRbOkqyEq1L8Hbps-K1AwYvGDeX2e1ENsbnY3awxsMEwLiOT2DmzbI2Wc1urXum5wM3MgshMUpPd8zHl7wKx_S2f8e8sD9tBARpT4DSSiT4nNBE696ECIXy1hHvcCBj7DxJD/s320/IMG_5112.jpg" /></a>I've also been learning all this stuff about molding, forming, and shaping bread, as well as getting to know the Science behind making it. It's ALOT of fun, and I look forward to my classes all the time. Although, I have to admit I'm getting a little sick of bread, and it doesn't help I have a freezer FULL off the stuff too. Here's some shots of some of the stuff we've been doing. I'll try to take more pictures, but usually by the time I get home, I'm so tired I can barely LIFT my camera, let alone photograph anything. :-)<br />
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Oh, by the way, 5A's and 5B's for SPM. Not too bad huh? :-)Mallinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05399869504229296476noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5899982925211324142.post-2765283811488304702010-02-28T04:20:00.000-08:002010-02-28T04:20:35.643-08:00DARING BAKERS CHALLENGE #3The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by <a href="http://mydiversekitchen.blogspot.com/">Aparna</a> of My Diverse Kitchen and <a href="http://www.passionateaboutbaking.com/">Deeba</a> of Passionate About Baking. They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home and Baking Obsession.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFKan4lL-dwL-QQ532gubQ24KiFxshcbfOljuzk5b-LOy5LuQr7ExDLWEgIqokDTgCk9Y50Tgd47t7KOH5dHpZURMPC4Dg1r-JyBcV6nqoLuNnSyuIA9f12lGQcWDMb58QeRGBFHHcpVao/s1600-h/daring+kitchen+gang.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFKan4lL-dwL-QQ532gubQ24KiFxshcbfOljuzk5b-LOy5LuQr7ExDLWEgIqokDTgCk9Y50Tgd47t7KOH5dHpZURMPC4Dg1r-JyBcV6nqoLuNnSyuIA9f12lGQcWDMb58QeRGBFHHcpVao/s320/daring+kitchen+gang.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Tiramisu this month.<br />
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MY GOD, what a bloody headache.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXRCZif6iurRdryccDqQPRXW762yu4G9kuR0V-d22imdns5Gjhq_6NBMdZNv-H4sWe3eT0EgBGLAKzfCtX72ZP7wjFhPPo_7oo5DDjCdzYr-iYiGvKcpPr0m2fpXaI0zzqeExziJFpwUfV/s1600-h/IMG_5027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXRCZif6iurRdryccDqQPRXW762yu4G9kuR0V-d22imdns5Gjhq_6NBMdZNv-H4sWe3eT0EgBGLAKzfCtX72ZP7wjFhPPo_7oo5DDjCdzYr-iYiGvKcpPr0m2fpXaI0zzqeExziJFpwUfV/s320/IMG_5027.jpg" /></a></div>For February it was decided that the Daring Bakers would make a tiramisu completely from scratch. and when I say completely, I mean <b><i>COMPLETELY</i></b>. And baby it was a LOOOOOOOOOOOOG process too, make no mistake about that.Well, ok. It wasn't really that long. The length of the instructions scared me. Truth is, it's really quite a straight forward recipe, you just need to do a little advance planning and it comes together fine. So with a deep breath, I hankered down and read the recipe over several times.<br />
<br />
Ok, maybe not several. <br />
<strike>15 times</strike><br />
<strike>10 times</strike><br />
<strike>5 tim</strike><br />
once.<br />
but it was a very thorough reading!!<br />
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Ok, maybe not.<br />
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I started with the cheese first. I read that the recipe required me to use a <i>cheesecloth </i>(and NO, ok? I DID NOT see that alternative <i>cotton handkerchief </i>option) So, wondering where on earth I would find some muslin cloth (a.k.a cheesecloth) I approached my darling mother.<br />
Me: Ma, I need cheesecloth for this month's challenge.<br />
Ma: Cheesecloth?<br />
Me: Cheesecloth.<br />
Ma: But.....why?<br />
Me: My <strike>sadistic</strike> loving hosts want me to make my own marscapone cheese.<br />
Ma: MAKE YOUR ON CHEESE?????<br />
Me: Make my own cheese.<br />
Ma: Can't we cheat and buy you a tub from Jaya33?<br />
Me: <strike>What a splendid idea</strike> NO MA. <strike>Why don't we go now so we can pick up a pirated version of Avatar too?</strike> BAKER'S HONOUR!! I HAVE to do each part of the challenge FROM SCRATCH!!<br />
Ma: *sigh* ok........ *light bulb flashes above head* Why don't you use one of your father's <i>vaeshttis</i>*?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHP78X0ar9oFPTIsIklgEcXIP1yhVgIWWPJA9fk2YKaQcA5RlpQAU6P5ZatfjpyKOHwE6lm_rX4YASero252vHsVEup7xN9cR-CbQjwWYdia9nym4UxPAbJhAa70I_P8ohjS3iEFHvJYSt/s1600-h/IMG_4982.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHP78X0ar9oFPTIsIklgEcXIP1yhVgIWWPJA9fk2YKaQcA5RlpQAU6P5ZatfjpyKOHwE6lm_rX4YASero252vHsVEup7xN9cR-CbQjwWYdia9nym4UxPAbJhAa70I_P8ohjS3iEFHvJYSt/s320/IMG_4982.jpg" /></a>And so it came to be that I would be making cheese with garment which dad usually reserves for going to temple. Gave it a good wash and <strike>ripped </strike> cut it into managable pieces.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq8IBeoGtT2Y6Qvdd5ZubxrpE4u2wVlasktnJ1H8BY57OVXGrDRDOX-UjRHQeuHnbnvCJdoByI8JM-jzdRHfuoFMaVa9_cTY6mpLdPDb3Mx6W9DVOVFdNMR0Ln0oqKv-A4NwtZKz2eWKSb/s1600-h/IMG_4984.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq8IBeoGtT2Y6Qvdd5ZubxrpE4u2wVlasktnJ1H8BY57OVXGrDRDOX-UjRHQeuHnbnvCJdoByI8JM-jzdRHfuoFMaVa9_cTY6mpLdPDb3Mx6W9DVOVFdNMR0Ln0oqKv-A4NwtZKz2eWKSb/s320/IMG_4984.jpg" /></a><br />
Of course dad protested. It's just that, we don't listen to him much. ;-) (LOVE YOU DADA!!)<br />
So far so good, it was getting quite exciting now too.<br />
Of course, things are never really straight forward with me, now are they?<br />
In my haste to make the cheese, I ignored the first golden rule of Bakingdom. You know, the one printed in bold and written in CAPITALS that's right <br />
on top, triple underlined and surrounded by flashing neon coloured arrows?<br />
<br />
<div style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">READ THE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST.</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1xMVhyTx-qieL0WihNS2xdzZWNEStpcg_06OlDbXWSp3f90iIwnAdem09CWShWT69xU3f5RT2BoH5BshY4SsL9t2MDep85HSAKs3C1hlyUBH-Ac4vHIZKB7SXY5yDDiMjKADLNgxGXHqs/s1600-h/cheese.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1xMVhyTx-qieL0WihNS2xdzZWNEStpcg_06OlDbXWSp3f90iIwnAdem09CWShWT69xU3f5RT2BoH5BshY4SsL9t2MDep85HSAKs3C1hlyUBH-Ac4vHIZKB7SXY5yDDiMjKADLNgxGXHqs/s320/cheese.jpg" /></a></div>Oh woe is me. Ignorant fool that I am, I lined a BOWL (instead of a sieve) with ONE layer of cheesecloth ( instead of 3). Good thing mum stopped me in time. Otherwise I would've had a mouldy, watery bit of creamy goo. Thankfully, the rest of the cheese making saga went well, And I had a lovely lump of wonderfully smooth marscapone.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQPHL5v8xdbTuTnAJJI3HR37iXvyu1FFndLsH6UO4hcLNmfLGNiW8lrk-ZH3k-qWW7Jtu3fFffhESIFEJdiYZmTQ_lNycNpEOQgAtayXlw4_QTFu2Q9vBq-1wogr_UTb26XQKngl1-0NhP/s1600-h/IMG_4992.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQPHL5v8xdbTuTnAJJI3HR37iXvyu1FFndLsH6UO4hcLNmfLGNiW8lrk-ZH3k-qWW7Jtu3fFffhESIFEJdiYZmTQ_lNycNpEOQgAtayXlw4_QTFu2Q9vBq-1wogr_UTb26XQKngl1-0NhP/s320/IMG_4992.jpg" /></a></div>After making the cheese I proceeded to promptly fall in love.<br />
With the savoiardi biscuits.<br />
These turned out NOTHING like my first attempt at making them. A little dense and a little moist but fluffy and spongy at the same time too. It had a lovely crunch on the outside, due to the sugar sprinkeled on before baking. They weren't even THAT eggy! I've always been a little afraid anything that smells really eggy since I encountered a raw egg during my early baking days...... but that's a story for another post.<br />
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The pastry cream and zabaliogne came together pretty easily. Ok, maybe not so much the pastry cream. I had to make a second batch cause the first came out lumpy ( high heat? BIG NONO). Anyways, I had all my components and proceeded to assemble them the next day. That went off without a glitch too!!<br />
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Then again.....not quite.<br />
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Inovative sentient being that I was, I thought it'd be cool to mold the tiramisu in a chocolate dome which I would then cover with gold dust?<br />
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Pretty fancy, no? Yeap.<br />
A pretty big pain-in-the-arse, yes? YOOOOOUUUUU BETCHA.<br />
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Nothing really went wrong with the tiramisu assembly, just the chocolate shell. I covered my metal bowl with cling wrap thinking it would make geting the tiramisu out easier.<br />
BIG MISTAKE.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>The clingwrap helped alright. But the chocolate got stuck in the folds of the plastic making it a PAIN to unmold. And it didn't come off completely too. Some plastic was still stuck in the chocolate shell . Everytime I tried to remove it, the shell started to crack so I had to leave it alone.I still covered it up with the gold and some cocoa powder.... but the plastic threat still lurked at the back of my mind. More so since dad decided to give some away to a friend of his which had 2 young boys in the family. I warned him, and the report that came back the next day only consisted of rave reviews so I suppose He wasn't given the plastic piece. Thank goodness.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd4XQpCD1sSTYM5oMqjDyK70FGb4tassSdWbAJ4Eo10oWPXGeSidCvZobaQNI7Gg1ZuKKDSie0Bb9411_Vo3JWN8S6yh6PgDbz_1JcDsN1pIT1fiheMBIZsesb0u1ZyFEIeJiw0qyRGcX2/s1600-h/IMG_5012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd4XQpCD1sSTYM5oMqjDyK70FGb4tassSdWbAJ4Eo10oWPXGeSidCvZobaQNI7Gg1ZuKKDSie0Bb9411_Vo3JWN8S6yh6PgDbz_1JcDsN1pIT1fiheMBIZsesb0u1ZyFEIeJiw0qyRGcX2/s320/IMG_5012.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>All in all, this really was a huge challenge. I still like my tiramisu recipe better than this one ( I thought it was a wee bit too sweet for my liking), but I'm glad I completed it. I never though would ever MAKE my own marscapone!! And I think i'll keep doing so, it's alot easier on the wallet and I know that it's peservative free. The savoiardi recipe has also become a new friend. I just made another batch and am wondering what to do with them.<br />
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And thus, another DB challenge was completed. If you want to try the recipe out for yourself, you can follow this link. => http://thedaringkitchen.com/recipe/tiramisu<br />
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Happy Baking!!<br />
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oh, and p.s- I'VE STARTED CLASSES AT MIB!! ;-D<br />
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* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veshti#Styles_and_varietiesMallinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05399869504229296476noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5899982925211324142.post-53459175554629409232010-02-18T05:51:00.000-08:002010-02-18T05:52:47.002-08:00Happy Belated Valentines<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitQk-RAjXxQtW9TPkknVU0XHsuiEIk7yNgBXnISkmEEkSHuxO8ihmqSO-WfH19gvLlA5G7TqKlBg1cVGVX1aFKGVIHC3AKGib9UfzJKYzxlvaH0BK1aKRMyA6NVfgYcNPGgkpH6c4764fo/s1600-h/IMG_5005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitQk-RAjXxQtW9TPkknVU0XHsuiEIk7yNgBXnISkmEEkSHuxO8ihmqSO-WfH19gvLlA5G7TqKlBg1cVGVX1aFKGVIHC3AKGib9UfzJKYzxlvaH0BK1aKRMyA6NVfgYcNPGgkpH6c4764fo/s320/IMG_5005.jpg" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> I don't think anyone could've said it better than a darling friend of mine :</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Happy Valentine's Day Sayangs.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Whether you've got a special someone or you're singeling it up (that's the way),</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I love you.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Believe in Vday or not, have a great day.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Quite frankly, I'm not quite sure what I feel about Valentines Day. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And I don't quite care either. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">All I know is that,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">my dad still tries to sneak in roses every year,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">my mum ALWAYS knows that the roses are coming,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and she acts surprised anyways.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We'll ALWAYS put those roses in either the blue porcelain or clear crystal glass,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and they'll ALWAYS be put on the same table,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">after which,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">they'll ALWAYS become manure for my dad's garden.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">romantic, isn't it?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_6vXvDupI7mm9Jl5FvaB8ZYJ1YW8zyl8nhiAAzTBZSlnB6F9m_M8AFfFIKSxqboNry4mAbLgd8n6tZNPxm6zgsRi-I0vrPHlEX86E7Zorh_ZJLrP1cJ3gmh_iVfh461eZ_A0XefB9cyZ2/s1600-h/IMG_5032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_6vXvDupI7mm9Jl5FvaB8ZYJ1YW8zyl8nhiAAzTBZSlnB6F9m_M8AFfFIKSxqboNry4mAbLgd8n6tZNPxm6zgsRi-I0vrPHlEX86E7Zorh_ZJLrP1cJ3gmh_iVfh461eZ_A0XefB9cyZ2/s320/IMG_5032.JPG" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Anyways, in the spirit of the season I decided to make a cheesecake. The recipe comes from one of the previous Daring Bakers's challenges Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I made a shortbread base, covered it with mandarin oranges and covered it with a 1/3 recipe of the cheese filling. The cake was baked in my ADORABLE 6-inch loose bottom tin and it turned out WONDERFULLY. The top is decorated with a bit of leftover strawberry coulis (a.k.a. fancy name for SAUCE) I had in the fridge.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLcaCgkG6IWXgvHPUZmoPS7NAdt3cn2pb66XuQyzJsLBWAh88hnzWQqwmeVHQGHEc9OgpSQ09h5zbECjTi_r2jhHGyz4n756E9EnhgkHGTWq4cHLBe3L0MX8v_wxtbL8ZgES7qRj7VRBeU/s1600-h/IMG_5041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLcaCgkG6IWXgvHPUZmoPS7NAdt3cn2pb66XuQyzJsLBWAh88hnzWQqwmeVHQGHEc9OgpSQ09h5zbECjTi_r2jhHGyz4n756E9EnhgkHGTWq4cHLBe3L0MX8v_wxtbL8ZgES7qRj7VRBeU/s200/IMG_5041.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>Base :<br />
~25 g cornflour ~75g all purpose flour ~2 tbsp ground almonds<br />
~1 tbsp icing sugar ~50 g butter <br />
<br />
Filling :<br />
~ 3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature<br />
~1 cup / 210 g sugar ~3 large eggs ~1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream<br />
~1 tbsp. lemon juice ~1 tbsp. vanilla extract ~1 tbsp liqueur, optional, but choose what will work well with your cheesecake<br />
<br />
also<br />
<br />
~segments of 1 mandarin orange, rind and seeds cut away<br />
<br />
Strawberry Coulis :<br />
~300g strawberries ~2 tbsp castor sugar ~Juice of 1/2 a lemon ~4 tbsp water<br />
<br />
*Again, I only used 1/3 of the recipe for the filling, but my tin was 6 inches in diameter, so it was just right. <br />
<br />
Base:<br />
Mix the dry ingredients together and cut in the softened butter. Use hands to squish together into a crumbly ball of dough. Flaten into base of cake tin. Bake in 180'C oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Take out and set aside to COOL COMPLETELY.<br />
<br />
Filling:<br />
Beat cream cheese and sugar together till smooth. Stir eggs in one at a time, being carefull not to incorperate too much air by overbeating. Fold in cream, lemon juice, extract, and if desired liquor.<br />
DO NOT POUR INTO THE TIN YET!!!!!!!!<br />
<br />
Coulis:<br />
*If you're going to use this, it'd be a good ida to prepare it first. And really, it takes minimal effort on your part.<br />
<br />
Clean and quarter the strawberries. Place all ingredients into a saucepan and stir to combine. Turn on the heat and let simmer, stirring often. When done, all the strawberries would have broken down. Let cool then push coulis through a sieve to remove seeds.<br />
<br />
Cheesecake:<br />
Preheat the oven to 180'C <br />
Ok, so you have your base in the tin,but your cheesecake filling is still IN IT'S BOWL. Before you want to pour it into the tin, you want to cover the out side of the tin with tin foil to make it waterproof. Tear a piece of tinfoil that's TWICE the size of your tin. Fold it in half and use it to wrap the outside of your cheesecake tin. Make sure it's nice and secure with no holes showing through. <br />
(What's all the fuss about making it water-tight? Well, we're going to be baking this in a water bath, but we'll get to that later.)<br />
<br />
Tin is covered with tinfoil?<br />
Check.<br />
Tin is waterproof?<br />
Check.<br />
No holes peeping through?<br />
None.<br />
<br />
Ok, NOW you pour in the filling.You can use the coulis to decorate the cheesecake like I've done by putting blobs of the sauce on the top of the cake and using a toothpick to draw designs. Or not. Whatever you fancy really.<br />
Ok, you're almost there. Take another sheet of tinfoil and cover the top of the tin. this is so your cake doesn't burn. Place the cheesecake tin into ANOTHER bigger tin. Place this HALFWAY into the oven. And finally, (and this is the LAST tricky bit. Promise.) pour HOT water into the bigger tin until the level of water is about 1 inch high.<br />
Alright, I might have lied a little about the tricky bit being over, cause finding out when the cheesecake is done is another fiddle all on it's own. Bake the cake for about 45-50 minutes. You won't be able to see when it's done because of the foil, but take it out and check at the 40 minute mark. You want it to be just set, but still jiggly in the centre.<br />
Don't worry, it's not rocket science.<br />
Just one thing to remember.<br />
DON'T POKE YOUR CAKE.<br />
It's pointless plus it'll make it crack.<br />
When done baking, turn off the oven and let the cake cool in there so it doesn't crack. Take it out and put it in the fridge overnight.<br />
Wake up in the morning and have a slice for breakfast. Screw the diet! You<i> deserve</i> it.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: magenta;">Happy Belated Valentines Day.</span></div>Mallinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05399869504229296476noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5899982925211324142.post-32517490589140797422010-01-30T01:39:00.000-08:002010-01-30T01:43:11.582-08:00French lessons.<div style="text-align: right;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.world-city-photos.org/Paris/Eiffel_Tower/Images_of_Eiffel_Tower_by_night.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 330px; height: 500px;" src="http://www.world-city-photos.org/Paris/Eiffel_Tower/Images_of_Eiffel_Tower_by_night.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:78%;">image courtesy of photoblog</span></span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Hi everyone, I'm looking for a french teacher who'll offer beginners lessons in the PJ area. Any ideas? Leave a comment please!<br />:-)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div></div>Mallinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05399869504229296476noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5899982925211324142.post-48282600254775192772010-01-27T17:40:00.000-08:002010-01-28T00:35:11.628-08:00DARING BAKERS CHALLENGE #2<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" href="http://www.celiacteen.com/">Celiac Teen</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" href="http://www.nanaimo.ca/" title="www.nanaimo.ca">www.nanaimo.ca</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">.</span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUy1GD7s2LZJvrMEaT7JrQ_EtJcSyQYhYxstjXtSHOv92f4g7DsdqfH3ziUkILr8UWuVVffeK3cckvQEO0dsklRwJVp3FNGWCk3aUqIAUQoMvGlTjv8HcPZUS4ZvOrmdU25uFGW8TKFRde/s1600-h/mallini5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 217px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUy1GD7s2LZJvrMEaT7JrQ_EtJcSyQYhYxstjXtSHOv92f4g7DsdqfH3ziUkILr8UWuVVffeK3cckvQEO0dsklRwJVp3FNGWCk3aUqIAUQoMvGlTjv8HcPZUS4ZvOrmdU25uFGW8TKFRde/s320/mallini5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431230976381982114" border="0" /></a><br />Oh boy... If it weren't for daring bakers I'm not sure I'd be posting at all! Atleast, I'm on time this time round right? :D<br /><br />So.....Nanaimo.<br /><br />I've officially gotten a friend's brother to completely fall in love with these bars. They really are quite addictive, I couldn't<br />stop at one myself. The challenge came at just the right time too, it gave me an opportunity to bring something a little different to my upcoming MAAN reunion. The guine- I mean, <span style="font-style: italic;">my friends</span> seemed to really like them. Not something I'd make often, but it's a good recipe to have on hand for times you have to bring something to a pot luck party.<br /><br />This months challenge consisted of 2 mandatory parts:<br />1) Make Graham crackers using the recipe provided.<br />2) Using the graham crackers, make the Nanaimo bar.<br /><br />The challenge was hosted by Lauren of who has Celiac Disease. This means that she has a gluten intolerance. Her body can't digest gluten, meaning she can't eat anything with wheat in it.<br />Which basically rules out most pastas, breads, and commercially made foods...like KitKat.<br />Can you <span style="font-style: italic;">imagine</span> not being able to eat KITKAT?<br />Life's tough for her, but that's what her blog's about.<br />It's about her finding a way to live with Celiac, and still keep eating great tasting food.<br />Following that vein, she thought she'd try to teach us DB people how to work it Gluten free. It was an option for us to make our graham crackers without gluten.<br />As much as I would've like to give that a crack, the flours ALONE would have eaten up my baking budget (which is a wee bit tighter than it used to be,now that SPM is over :-/ ) so I opted out for the gluten infested version.<br /><br />Not that <span style="font-style: italic;">that</span> made the cracker dough any easier to work with.<br />Bloody sticky difficult little bastard. I had dough under my nails, on my wrist, on my freakin' <span style="font-style: italic;">EYELID</span> ok?<br />NOT pleasant.<br />In the end I just rolled it out between sheets of plastic and stuck it in the freezer overnight. That way it hardened up, and I could just plonk it on the baking sheet and be done with it. So elated was I at this seemingly stroke of genius, I forgot to take pictures of the baked crakers.<br />Nevermind, they weren't exactly the prettiest of things. But they tasted DAMN good. I had plenty of leftovers with the full recipe, so some I made into a cheesecake crust.<br />The rest I ate.<br />Smothered in chocolate ganache.<br />While watching Gordon Ramsey swear.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">oh baby yeeeesss.</span><br /><br />So, having made my crackers, it was time to move onto making the actual bars.<br />And of course, these provided their own fair share of drama.<br /><br />The base is made by melting cocoa, butter and sugar over a double boiler, after which stirring in an egg to thicken it up.<br />Well, it was late, and I was tired so I thought to myself<br />"Double Boiler? At this time of night? <span style="font-style: italic;">pshaw</span>... I don't need that. I'll just use the regular stove top."<br />Where?<br />Where were my God given brains when I made this decision?<br />Probably still thinking about Gordon Ramsey swearing.<br /><br />Alright, so everything was going fine, <span style="font-style: italic;">until I added the egg.</span><br />Holy Mother of Cupcakes.<br />I've never seen anything clump so fast.<br /><br />Imagine if you will, semi-solid brown objects, floating in a watery brown liquid.<br />My heart nearly stopped at the sight of this diarrhea reminiscent deluge, and for a full minute,<br />I whisked like a woman possessed.<br />Thank the powers that be, that just as my arm was about to give out it all came together in a beautifully smooth paste.<br />Which just goes to show really.<br />When life gives you crap, work hard and eventually it'll look good. :-)<br /><br />So I thought that my troubles were over, and blissfully went about with the rest of the recipe.<br /><br />Then came the middle layer. I put in one cup of sugar instead of 2 and added a teaspoon of vanilla to the original recipe, since people were saying in the forums that the middle layer was too sweet.<br />First time I made it, it looked curdled. I mean, REALLY curdled.But it was really late, so I just spread it on the base, crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. I took it out of the fridge the next day to check, and it looked EVEN WORSE.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Oqf2Op_UF6HUEBbIgv2jPhZmsbpJ4Eq4wx_No58hbTpl094ONitgeJ9_CLrgJlUcixSsceObr7uhHKE8xjONpydyS-EbGrLkHyGBvRVQrF6GfF6YjG-v4GBXYaa2Cq30_nfeLxiible0/s1600-h/mallini1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Oqf2Op_UF6HUEBbIgv2jPhZmsbpJ4Eq4wx_No58hbTpl094ONitgeJ9_CLrgJlUcixSsceObr7uhHKE8xjONpydyS-EbGrLkHyGBvRVQrF6GfF6YjG-v4GBXYaa2Cq30_nfeLxiible0/s320/mallini1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431234450831048034" border="0" /></a><br />So with a sigh, I proceded to scrape off the layer and start again. Same recipe, just using my electric mixer this time round. With caffeine buzzing through my system, I began to beat the buttercream again.<br />with a vengence.<br />and it <span style="font-style: italic;">still</span> curdelled.<br />I swore.<br />LOUDLY.<br />And with the fury of a girl under pressure I increased the mixer speed.<br />And it was fine.<br />I'd insert another bowel dysfunction metaphor here, but I'm running out of ideas.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUAZp_YOJp7i-Go22keuYcG5gPEYdkI7fFJkdgMznW7jIv-uGiq2Dnzcz1NyjnVlJUlk6fR2RPwrdLoItxZg8oGZDpN9hr3vAGslYl7HqDUjp9SmYS6yy7e0GR__5HC0ESrMyKk1pUoev2/s1600-h/mallini2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUAZp_YOJp7i-Go22keuYcG5gPEYdkI7fFJkdgMznW7jIv-uGiq2Dnzcz1NyjnVlJUlk6fR2RPwrdLoItxZg8oGZDpN9hr3vAGslYl7HqDUjp9SmYS6yy7e0GR__5HC0ESrMyKk1pUoev2/s320/mallini2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431234600878266930" border="0" /></a><br />Infact, i think I can safely say that this could become one of my favourite buttercream recipe. It comes out soo smooth and buttery, a bit grainy, but we can't help that.<br />Stupid icing sugar.<br />At any rate, the rest of the recipe went off without a glitch <span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);"><span style="font-size:180%;"><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);">(A BIG SHOUTOUT TO MY LOVELY</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">SULEKHA CAMILLE SIVAPATHAM</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);">FOR ASSISITING ME WITH THE FINAL CHOCOLATE LAYER.)</span></span></span><br />and it was a hit at the reunion.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOxdncUf1uZGKfjemY2-vruYmMC_kPKc6lqaL6INoCvtIDb9uU8o-rCdPOdC-C4H5EMCC2936zYH3wuHtMISp3kS_Y12Kt81tsvUgUdVSo0utgVX8sMWxAJBoSdNb8dGFyREX31TfRZOVp/s1600-h/mallini3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOxdncUf1uZGKfjemY2-vruYmMC_kPKc6lqaL6INoCvtIDb9uU8o-rCdPOdC-C4H5EMCC2936zYH3wuHtMISp3kS_Y12Kt81tsvUgUdVSo0utgVX8sMWxAJBoSdNb8dGFyREX31TfRZOVp/s320/mallini3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431234740949575474" border="0" /></a>Another DB challenge completed.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Delicious.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /></div>Mallinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05399869504229296476noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5899982925211324142.post-77936932495828825322010-01-13T08:06:00.000-08:002010-01-14T00:11:14.430-08:00Pleased as PIE.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVZ8Wnl-YQAlbYsAezOGqPyReIOwxAN7ms9Gkq7ROVRM78K4h81kN657M_SkqhNKImwD_coFR9o32f1Hwn1tzOtYDq9efxEq9d_vAR0ECb_NegJazPYOvi470YxWYsSnFdkFz3J9KBC0Ho/s1600-h/pie+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVZ8Wnl-YQAlbYsAezOGqPyReIOwxAN7ms9Gkq7ROVRM78K4h81kN657M_SkqhNKImwD_coFR9o32f1Hwn1tzOtYDq9efxEq9d_vAR0ECb_NegJazPYOvi470YxWYsSnFdkFz3J9KBC0Ho/s400/pie+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426473691086530802" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="body">A boy doesn't have to go to war to be a hero; he can say he doesn't like pie when he sees there isn't enough to go around.</span><br /><span class="bodybold"> <a href="http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/e/edgarwatso152795.html">Edgar Watson Howe</a></span><br /><br /><span class="bodybold">There's something special about pulling a pie out of the oven. </span><br /><br /><span class="bodybold">Nothing can make you feel more deliciously <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">competent</span> and Domestic Goddess-y (or God-y) than pulling a well done pie out of the oven. And the beauty of this is that they're actually quite easy to make.There's not enough work involved for you to scream "AH, F*** IT!", but there's enough so you feel like you've accomplished something worthwhile.</span><br /><span class="bodybold">I made this double crust apple pie a few days ago for my mum. Quite frankly, I don't really like apple pie, but my mum ADORES it. It reminds her of when she was studying nursing in England. She eats it the same way she used to all those years ago; a big wodge smothe</span><span class="bodybold">red in Birds custa</span><span class="bodybold">rd. Before this, I've made little apple crumble pie-lets, but keeping in the spirit of 2010 I thought it was about time I attempted a double crust pie.</span><br /><br /><span class="bodybold">Not to say I was ever scared of making one. </span><br /><span class="bodybold">Just...a little wary.</span><br /><br /><span class="bodybold">Ok, ok.... I used to be scared stiff. </span><br /><br /><span class="bodybold">I mean, you pour a <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">WET</span> fruit filling over a <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">UNBAKED</span> dough and you cover the whole lot with some more <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">UNBAKED</span> dough. Doesn't that just scream <span style="font-weight: bold;">soggy</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">undercooked</span> for you? Not to mention my demon oven (which I love to bits, no doubt) has a nasty habit of burning things. </span><br /><br /><span class="bodybold">Now, this is NOT me.I can already hear you thinking "a craftsman shouldn't blame his tools for shoddy work"</span><br /><span class="bodybold">But this is NOT my fault.</span><br /><span class="bodybold" style="font-size:180%;">Seriously.</span><br /><span class="bodybold">I've timed things to the very second.</span><br /><span class="bodybold">I've shifted the oven racks around to make sure the pan isn't too close to the baking coil.</span><br /><span class="bodybold">I've CONSIDERABLY lower the temperature in any recipe I attempt.</span><br /><span class="bodybold">My *darling* oven still burns things.</span><br /><span class="bodybold">It's because of this 'tendency' that I often can't honestly give timing and temperature values in my recipes. My oven forces me to perform jazz-like improvisations on oven temperatures and timings every time I bake something, be it cake or bread. Often, I've only been able to get away with things because it only burns the top <span style="font-size:78%;">(so I can easily slice off the top and</span></span><span class="bodybold" style="font-size:78%;"> hide it under something.)</span><br /><span class="bodybold">But this is different.</span><br /><span class="bodybold">A pie needs to be just done top AND bottom.</span><br /><span class="bodybold">But what was I to do? It was one of my New Year resolutions to make a double crusted pie, so either way I would at least have to make an attempt. I used Better homes and Gardens Oil pastry and winged the filling on my own. I must say, everything was going fine up till the baking part. I immediately got nervous as to my oven's little arsonistic habit. Not to mention, I'd run out of aluminum foil to cover the top with for the first 10 minutes of baking. So, as usual, I improvised. </span><br /><span class="bodybold">~I baked it for 10 minutes with the heat only on the <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">bottom</span> at 220'C.</span><br /><span class="bodybold">~Turned the heat down to 170'C and baked for 30 minutes with the heat on <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">top</span> and <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">bot</span></span><span class="bodybold"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">tom</span>.</span><br /><span class="bodybold">~Bake for another 10 minutes at 170'C with heat only on <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">bottom</span>.</span><br /><br /><span class="bodybold">Sure it was a 'little fiddly', but the pie turned out FANTASTIC. Don't be scared away by the oven timing. I'll list the baking time and temperature according to the original recipe because I'm sure that your oven isn't as menopousal as mine. And really, it's a very satisfiying experience. And boys love girls who make them pie. ;-) (same concept applies the other way round of course)</span><br /><span class="bodybold"><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzTVwJfS-eSlqIPNA7gezAo4kkREiwjseZnju7gvKZMiTMGwvzOY5fOemAjAfOVYcwcHs28lpHLqXfcnuur2_hspt91fTZa7Y7TqgUnekVpklfByCh5Kr-JcmwF-Klj-ds20VExPhe83hS/s1600-h/pie+3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzTVwJfS-eSlqIPNA7gezAo4kkREiwjseZnju7gvKZMiTMGwvzOY5fOemAjAfOVYcwcHs28lpHLqXfcnuur2_hspt91fTZa7Y7TqgUnekVpklfByCh5Kr-JcmwF-Klj-ds20VExPhe83hS/s400/pie+3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426473978150425122" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span class="bodybold">Double-Crust Apple Pie (makes one 9 inch pie)</span><br /><br /><span class="bodybold">Oil Pastry</span><br /><span class="bodybold">~2 1/4 cups all purpose flour</span><br /><span class="bodybold">~ 1/4 tsp salt</span><br /><span class="bodybold">~1/2 cup cooking oil</span><br /><span class="bodybold">~1/3 cup cold milk.</span><br /><br /><span class="bodybold">Filling</span><br /><span class="bodybold">~ 1/2 cup loosely packed brown sugar.</span><br /><span class="bodybold">~ Juice of 1/2 an orange</span><br /><span class="bodybold">~ 1 1/2 tsp allspice</span><br /><span class="bodybold">~ pinch of salt</span><br /><span class="bodybold">~ 1 tbsp flour</span><br /><span class="bodybold">~ 4 cups worth of thinly sliced apples*</span><br /><span class="bodybold">~ 1 cup raisins. </span><br /><br /><span class="bodybold">~9 inch pie plate</span><br /><br /><span class="bodybold">*I used 2 granny smiths and 2 gala apples. Not traditional, but you work with whatcha got.</span><br /><br /><span class="bodybold">The pastry is REALLY EASY. </span><br /><span class="bodybold">All you have to do is measure out the flour and salt into a large bowl. Then, get your measuring cup, and measure out the oil FIRST. That way, you can measure out the milk in the same cup. Don't mix the liquids together, just pour it all into the bowl with the flour and salt. Mix with your hands, but don't overwork the mixture. When everything is combined, divide the dough into 2 balls, one slightly smaller that the other (that'll be the top of the pie) and put into the fridge to relax while you get on with the filling.</span><br /><br /><span class="bodybold">In a smaller bowl, mix everything except the fruit together until well combined. Toss the fruits into the mixture until completely smothered in the spiced liquid. I used jumbo raisins, so i had to</span><span class="bodybold"> chop them up a little, but the regular sized ones will be ok whole.</span><br /><br /><span class="bodybold">Preheat your oven to 220'C</span><br /><br /><span class="bodybold">Take the bigger ball of dough from the fridge and roll out into a circle slightly larger than the pie plate. The dough is quite soft, so your going to want to roll it out between two sheets of baking paper or plastic. take off the top sheet of paper or plastic and loosely drape the dough over the rolling pin. Unroll the pastry over your pie plate (the side with the other sheet of paper/plastic should be facing up). Remove the paper/plastic and ease the pastry into the pie plate. Cut away the excess. DON'T PRICK THE BOTTOM.</span><br /><br /><span class="bodybold">Pour the filling into the pie shell and smooth it out. Repeat the rolling out process with the secound ball of dough and drape that on top of the filling.Cut off the excess and seal the pastry around the edge of the pie, crimping as desired. Cut 8 slits in the top pastry to allow steam to escape. </span><br /><br /><span class="bodybold">Cover the edge of the pie with aluminium foil and bake for 10 minutes. </span><br /><span class="bodybold">After 10 minutes, turn temperature down to 175'C and remove foil. Bake for another 30-35 minutes.</span><br /><span class="bodybold">Cool on wire rack for an hour, then cut and serve. Mum likes hers with custard, and I like it with fresh cream.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh0dQAvgkOldGSrHKf5Vl0c2L236lloSRqb7Qn5e0P8RmWqrKGhnBg-6-NyHLJbSEVcKij5sHG9hj6E-zFyA11sPAypaMMZH3Ky7cpF-Vcnanj6m_Bxu0IX0Q6a0Cr3W88uBkVYPSweUQ9/s1600-h/pie+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 260px; height: 196px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh0dQAvgkOldGSrHKf5Vl0c2L236lloSRqb7Qn5e0P8RmWqrKGhnBg-6-NyHLJbSEVcKij5sHG9hj6E-zFyA11sPAypaMMZH3Ky7cpF-Vcnanj6m_Bxu0IX0Q6a0Cr3W88uBkVYPSweUQ9/s320/pie+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426473468676041602" border="0" /></a><span class="bodybold">:-)</span><br /></div>Mallinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05399869504229296476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5899982925211324142.post-36069403564554812812009-12-31T02:57:00.000-08:002009-12-31T08:36:32.541-08:00Daring Bakers Challenge #1The December 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to you by Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi. They chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ everywhere to bake and assemble a gingerbread house from scratch. They chose recipes from Good Housekeeping and from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as the challenge recipes.<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjonByKeT60kGXnVtf6twzEwIC-bss57F4H5W_kDhx4JHY_EhI8PeRAEUFXWFN2HoJAoYsXud5KEORplJSSuTb40RsDM9ZJiBCCuj8RPI1yx87c4SAeFe_3P3CzZI-AWHV9oqO6DbUPt26X/s1600-h/daring+kitchen+gang.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 271px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjonByKeT60kGXnVtf6twzEwIC-bss57F4H5W_kDhx4JHY_EhI8PeRAEUFXWFN2HoJAoYsXud5KEORplJSSuTb40RsDM9ZJiBCCuj8RPI1yx87c4SAeFe_3P3CzZI-AWHV9oqO6DbUPt26X/s400/daring+kitchen+gang.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421413057226157330" border="0" /></a><br />In one of my previous posts, I mentioned joining this community and, well.... I'll just let the pros explain what I've gotten myself into.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">As taken from the Daring Kitchen website:<br /><p style="text-align: center;">In November 2006, Lisa of <a href="http://llcskitchen.blogspot.com/">La Mia Cucina</a> and Ivonne of <a href="http://www.creampuffsinvenice.ca/">Cream Puffs in Venice</a> decided to challenge themselves to bake pretzels for the very first time using the same recipe. They each went ahead and posted about it on November 18, 2006.</p><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p style="text-align: center;">Having enjoyed that experience tremendously, they decided to try it again the next month, this time choosing to bake biscotti. And to make matters even better, they were joined by a few more food bloggers.</p><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p style="text-align: center;">As the months went by, their baking group continued to grow, until it was finally decided that this "little baking group" had to have a name and The Daring Bakers were born!</p><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p style="text-align: center;">Today, The Daring Bakers span the world as bakers of all nationalities come together once a month to try something new in the kitchen!</p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Alright, the official reveal date was actually supposed to be on the 27th of December, but I've been away in India for the past 2 weeks ( a little scary, but fun all the same). Oh well, better late than never right? ;-)</p><p style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSeUO30jpcXLpgFwsSfM3kcnE8Dby0Nec_bkj6rnFpOfcqH08O6DRtfs8-A45pKvUtfyWcrCEfQV9XlrWErkDteHBHTMol2L5aXWjW1XPjOJD1uMO4ev7uY5Iu83K1JoZK9Agsf69_2ui4/s1600-h/IMG_4508.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSeUO30jpcXLpgFwsSfM3kcnE8Dby0Nec_bkj6rnFpOfcqH08O6DRtfs8-A45pKvUtfyWcrCEfQV9XlrWErkDteHBHTMol2L5aXWjW1XPjOJD1uMO4ev7uY5Iu83K1JoZK9Agsf69_2ui4/s320/IMG_4508.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421437579926077010" border="0" /></a></p><p style="text-align: left;">When I first found out about my challenge I was ECSTATIC. I was hoping 'the powers that be' would make us do a gingerbread house since I've always wanted to make one but never found the guts to do it. I really wanted to start immediately, but the challenge was released during SPM, and I don't think the parents would have been too happy with their baby girl building houses out of cookies when she should be cramming for chemistry and physics. So I waited. Impatiently. Newbie that i was, I had big plans to make a grand ol' traditional Malay kampung house complete with window carvings, balcony and STILTS. Yep, you read right. I wanted this baby to be supported by STILTS. In case you've never seen one of these before, youcan see a few <a href="http://images.google.com.my/images?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&hl=en&source=hp&q=kampung+house&gbv=2&aq=1&oq=kampung">here</a></p><p style="text-align: left;">So, I did my reasearch (maybe I did it during SPM, maybe not) and realized that all the houses I saw had one thing in common. They were all FIRMLY attached to the board. Not a stilt in sight. I was to be the pioneer on making gingerbread houses on stilts. Consultations with other DB members occured (these people are fantastic by the way) and my excitement grew. I started drawing rough sketches (maybe or maybe not on my Chemistry paper) and thinking of support systems (maybe or maybe not during my Physics paper). I figured that could support the bottom with a gingerbread structure and make the stilts out of Rice Krispee treats. All systems were GO and i couldn't see any problems that could possibly arise. I was ready to start building as soon as my last paper ended.</p><p style="text-align: left;">And end it did. But plain and simple, I procrastinated.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Prom was the following week and my India trip 2 days after that. The house was to be given to a lovely friend of mine who was having a Christmas party that I wouldn't be able to attend due to the trip. After my last paper, I hate to say it, but I got LAZY. I was going out, reading books, hardly spending any time in the kitchen. Before I knew it, it was 3 days till the house had to be presented. Despite this, i still tried to forge on wih my original kampung house idea. How hard could it be?</p><p style="text-align: left;">Right?</p><p style="text-align: left;">WRONG.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Eventhough I simplified my design, I still had trouble. My pieces kept shrinking during baking. then again, everyone in the DB forums seemed to be complaining about how their pieces shrank. A LOT. I'm not quite sure what i did wrong, but I'm guessing i worked the dough too much (dough these days.... You can't work em' too much or they shrink on you and bake hard and funny. Next thing you know, they'll be wanting healthcare benefits and paid leave).</p><p style="text-align: left;">My walls also kept breaking. Well, ok not just the walls. The roofs broke too. Infact, they all broke soo many times that I had to keep remaking new walls. If I'm not wrong, I think only<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS4VAgO6kfV_7svBOLRcERlNAk-2hcyAp1D3uhFDbkANHPlgyEHxrbExTvPylTHqkq3YJjLpZr6L3-kwUE7ca-YOJ0bsWYZnl-yjfQHehteGJuRiTxieH2p4Dq-JSm4cWATwcyMWOKcMjo/s1600-h/Gingerbreadhouse+broken.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS4VAgO6kfV_7svBOLRcERlNAk-2hcyAp1D3uhFDbkANHPlgyEHxrbExTvPylTHqkq3YJjLpZr6L3-kwUE7ca-YOJ0bsWYZnl-yjfQHehteGJuRiTxieH2p4Dq-JSm4cWATwcyMWOKcMjo/s320/Gingerbreadhouse+broken.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421438233590829026" border="0" /></a> one wall from the original batch made it to the complte house. The rest of the pieces (Broken and crumbling) were fed to my very grateful dogs.Eventually, I had 4 passable walls and to somewhat solid roof pieces that could be used. By now, it was evidet that I wouldn't have time to carry out my Grand Kampung house, so i setteled on making a traditional 4 walled strucure instead. Darling brother went out and bought me M&Ms to use as decor. I made a batch of royal icing, and proceeded to build my house.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Boy was THAT a doozy.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The walls kept falling over, regardless of how much royal icing I piped to hold it together and how many glasses I used to support it while it dried. By the time it was ready for the roofs to go on, it was 11 p.m. the night before delivery (Coincidently also the night before prom). Oh, and for all you prospective Gingerbread architects out there, word from the wise.</p><p style="text-align: left; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">DON'T throw away your templates. </p><p style="text-align: left;">You might need to make more walls, and if your new walls don't match up, it's gonna be hard putting your roof on. Whenever I tried, the roof would push the walls apart and the whole structure would collapse in on itself. A couple of stressful hours later though, my house looked....passable.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg40CPuBP5moAkgdId1S7Jq8e7vXv56j7TC7J04AT4z5QQ8BJcLCEJjKifYpBtqEIu5jrqcNQnDJ8_9F9kzkJtYZ2JnSSnH20pYFyI53147NEe-OGPulbuZGO7LJopTI-mSSc9CvyH5szI9/s1600-h/Gingerbreadhouse+complete.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 426px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg40CPuBP5moAkgdId1S7Jq8e7vXv56j7TC7J04AT4z5QQ8BJcLCEJjKifYpBtqEIu5jrqcNQnDJ8_9F9kzkJtYZ2JnSSnH20pYFyI53147NEe-OGPulbuZGO7LJopTI-mSSc9CvyH5szI9/s400/Gingerbreadhouse+complete.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421439125665353122" border="0" /></a></p><p style="text-align: left;">Ok, so it's not my best effort, far from it even. I feel a little guilty actually, seeing as this is my first challenge and all. But I did the best I could given my time constraints. At any rate, Su (my friend) seemed to like it, and at the end of the day, it was gonna be eaten right? ;-D</p><p style="text-align: left;">I used Y's Scandinavean gingerbread recipe:</p>Scandinavian Gingerbread (Pepparkakstuga)<br />from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book by Beatrice Ojakangas <a href="http://astore.amazon.com/thedarkit-20/detail/0816634963" title="http://astore.amazon.com/thedarkit-20/detail/0816634963">http://astore.amazon.com/thedarkit-20/detail/0816634963</a> <p>1 cup butter, room temperature [226g]<br />1 cup brown sugar, well packed [220g]<br />2 tablespoons cinnamon<br />4 teaspoons ground ginger<br />3 teaspoons ground cloves<br />2 teaspoons baking soda<br />½ cup boiling water<br />5 cups all-purpose flour [875g]</p> <p>1. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until blended. Add the cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Mix the baking soda with the boiling water and add to the dough along with the flour. Mix to make a stiff dough. If necessary add more water, a tablespoon at a time. Chill 2 hours or overnight. </p> <p>2. Cut patterns for the house, making patterns for the roof, front walls, gabled walls, chimney and door out of cardboard. </p> <p>3. Roll the dough out on a large, ungreased baking sheet and place the patterns on the dough. Mark off the various pieces with a knife, but leave the pieces in place. </p> <p>4. [I rolled out the dough on a floured bench, roughly 1/8 inch thick (which allows for fact that the dough puffs a little when baked), cut required shapes and transferred these to the baking sheet. Any scraps I saved and rerolled at the end.] </p> <p>5. Preheat the oven to 375'F (190'C). Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the cookie dough feels firm. After baking, again place the pattern on top of the gingerbread and trim the shapes, cutting the edges with a straight-edged knife. Leave to cool on the baking sheet.<br /></p><p>I decreased the cloves to 2 teaspoons and the flour to 625g, as suggested by some fellow DBs. I rolled the leftover dough out nice and thin and baked it. That tasted really good, kinda like the spice biscuits we used to get from IKEA.</p><p>And thus ended my first challenge.This is something I'm gonna be making into a annual tradition for sure. I wonder what my next challenge is going to be?<br /></p><p>Oh, and by the way:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:180%;">HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!</span><br /></p></div></div>Mallinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05399869504229296476noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5899982925211324142.post-71765550205008985432009-12-03T05:46:00.000-08:002009-12-03T05:50:01.797-08:00Je t'adore<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmEoNsHUFgi_HzTiW3Bm17fDwZWhffzqMYPTH_lC-dLR8n9q5EY0VlwgzWWKjVzIyhOPWIvMdy0id9OOtN1DK9McMNmSr6Cs61kPaTLxemCiKGm5l2OB5FcC6NML31HDEhQzZgEnuF-oi5/s1600-h/IMG_4487.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmEoNsHUFgi_HzTiW3Bm17fDwZWhffzqMYPTH_lC-dLR8n9q5EY0VlwgzWWKjVzIyhOPWIvMdy0id9OOtN1DK9McMNmSr6Cs61kPaTLxemCiKGm5l2OB5FcC6NML31HDEhQzZgEnuF-oi5/s400/IMG_4487.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411006439918999234" border="0" /></a>The sizing is a little off, it's not quite even yet and there's too much filling.<br />But right now,<br />I'm DEFINITELY in love.<br /><3<br /></div>Mallinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05399869504229296476noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5899982925211324142.post-84737447932158478832009-12-02T03:19:00.000-08:002009-12-02T04:53:30.407-08:00Big Bad Wolf Books~<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwuXexlp9h9DHcGK6R_ek5b8L2MIZtTsFsQMkhuFrZ2p2j91hGfRhR-fEAH-EcGQ-ZkicPHdir9CmbF4T8euUfu_DIsFj0YRFgVpKQxbXeJp7yT-Wan3FFwhrjKDpKfZBb_oD-Z8x_Zhl7/s400/The-Big-Bad-Books-warehouse-Sale.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 321px; height: 346px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwuXexlp9h9DHcGK6R_ek5b8L2MIZtTsFsQMkhuFrZ2p2j91hGfRhR-fEAH-EcGQ-ZkicPHdir9CmbF4T8euUfu_DIsFj0YRFgVpKQxbXeJp7yT-Wan3FFwhrjKDpKfZBb_oD-Z8x_Zhl7/s400/The-Big-Bad-Books-warehouse-Sale.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />I love these people. I want to MARRY whoever it is who thought of this FANTASTIC idea. I don't know how they manage to sell HARD COVER books, BRAND SPANKIN' NEW to boot for RM8. It's sureal. It's incredible. It's...just.....WOW. I never liked the Big Bad Wolf as a kid (that bloody flea infested fur bag scared the SH** out of me I tell you. I grew up thinking he'd make a LOVELY fur coat one day) but I sure as HELL love him now.<br />.<br />.<br />.<br />.<br />.<br />.<br />.<br />.<br />.<br />So since Saturday, Ampcorp has been FLOODED with people coming to buy books. I'm so serious, it's being held in the old cinema and there are people walking around with HUGE cardboard boxes just josteling one another and collecting books. It's so magical... there are books EVERYWHERE! On the floor, on tables, on racks, in little nooks and crannies, like something out of the pagemaster. And the best part is, all the people there GET IT. You know what I mean? It's like, they don't look at you like your some kind of freakish nerd whose head is going to pop off and start rotating if you walk up to the counter with welts on your arms from carrying books. Chances are, they'll recommend a few more to you!! And when you're walking around the mall with your very own Big bad Wolf bag, and another Big Bad Wolf bag carrier sees you, they give you this secret little smile. Like the both of you know something the rest of the world doesn't. It's so totally RADICAL!!!<br /><br /><br />Ok, so i went a little crazy..... but 26 books isn't really that much is it? Ok, so thats alot of books, BUT THEY WERE CHEAP!! It's not like I bought stupid stuff like...socks or something. I went nuts buying books!! Ahhhhhh...they're so beautiful. I love just staring at the unread pile.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAH5nRLC2IzO1Qyw4AZi8VNXlAuauPN_BuJvf_JALPzldtkcxLCVz_bCfe79QVFgysBHW2r_IsYUmqskH7tX2PnaVYbv6nzW03kN_xP3x-Kpz5tuMrvCjoSEy6NSzdA-bD8kwtfjDtnngb/s1600-h/IMG_4471.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAH5nRLC2IzO1Qyw4AZi8VNXlAuauPN_BuJvf_JALPzldtkcxLCVz_bCfe79QVFgysBHW2r_IsYUmqskH7tX2PnaVYbv6nzW03kN_xP3x-Kpz5tuMrvCjoSEy6NSzdA-bD8kwtfjDtnngb/s320/IMG_4471.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410617892281411650" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGoSm9BTXBs2Ysr22G0tB94VjYSeLYjIHoVreu7LHNEx2NkCat0IoXbYpeqFoPELiVYHOHIDvq8BnE9mqPU4qp9NPZFsn-YcowDmbx1wVZOKfoF8nVoxYTsRWlJuoWj0YYmiv7OyCe8AIi/s1600-h/IMG_4470.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGoSm9BTXBs2Ysr22G0tB94VjYSeLYjIHoVreu7LHNEx2NkCat0IoXbYpeqFoPELiVYHOHIDvq8BnE9mqPU4qp9NPZFsn-YcowDmbx1wVZOKfoF8nVoxYTsRWlJuoWj0YYmiv7OyCe8AIi/s320/IMG_4470.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410617541173971250" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I bought :<br />~Simple Essentials, Chocolate (Donna Hay)<br />~2x Waitrose Food Illustrated<br />~Foreign Body (Robin Cooke)<br />~World Without End (Ken Follet)<br />~Inkheart (Cornelia Funke)<br />~Inkspell (Cornelia Funke)<br />~Inkdeath (Cornelia Funke)<br />~Vanity Drive (Yvonne Lee)<br />~Belly Dancing for Beginners (Liz Byrski)<br />~Breathing is Colour (Clare Jay)<br />~The Greedy Bastard Diary (Eric Idle)<br />~The Jamie Oliver Effect (Gilly Smith)<br />~Hook, Line and Homicide (Mark Richard Zubro)<br />~The Promise Land (David Hewson)<br />~Endgame (Andy Secombe)<br />~The Enchantress of Florence (Salman Rushdie)<br />~Hidden epths (Ann Cleeves)<br />~The Black Book of Secrets (F.E. Higgins)<br />~The Time Travellers Wife (Audrey Niffeneger)<br />~WAS (Geoff Ryman)<br />~Embryo Culture (Beth Kohl)<br />~Talking with My Mouth Full (Bonny Wolf)<br />~The Bones of Makaidos (Bryan Davis)<br />~Cast Not the Day (Paul Waters)<br /><br />Not Pictured (they were for presents)<br />~Princess Diaries (Meg Cabot)<br />~Jane Blonde (Lord knows who)Mallinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05399869504229296476noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5899982925211324142.post-88479285933023414312009-11-27T16:55:00.000-08:002009-11-27T18:06:00.222-08:00My friends part 1 (The stephie)One day, I was asked by a friend, 'If I was a cupcake, what would i be?' It got me thinking, this question. And so, I've decided to come up with a series of desserts (I'd love to do all cupcakes, but unfortunately, I'm not that creative. ^.^) inspired by my friends. And to kick off, I begin with 'The Stephie'.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEcTg5yacBWnKqOV9DaKhJEtJkhN2HYNmNIZ6BkCy96yclbbqSWmcNJ6LlTUgbZS6SuVgjIepGY-hE5XjiY6VujVhPGZdY_EcmLFNpYJ179fO_SfZ4IwrzkR1HwmdYLe_OWIqMBbcGL81f/s1600/stephanie.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 278px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEcTg5yacBWnKqOV9DaKhJEtJkhN2HYNmNIZ6BkCy96yclbbqSWmcNJ6LlTUgbZS6SuVgjIepGY-hE5XjiY6VujVhPGZdY_EcmLFNpYJ179fO_SfZ4IwrzkR1HwmdYLe_OWIqMBbcGL81f/s320/stephanie.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408956915418371954" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.floridaestateplanninglawyerblog.com/MarilynMonroe-thumb.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 207px; height: 344px;" src="http://www.floridaestateplanninglawyerblog.com/MarilynMonroe-thumb.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />So...Let me introduce you to Stephanie Boey, Assunta's resident Marilyn Monroe. A firm believer of partying hard, looking good and not letting people know how smart you really are, don't wanna fighten anyone off do we? A sarcastically witty street walker, she'll 'break your face' if you piss her off. The spunky lass may be Phillipino Chinese by birth, but anyone in the know knows that she's pure, passionate Indian. I've known Stephie for a really long time, about 6 years now I think. She's the kind of person you'd want with you if you got mugged in a dark alley. In exchange for 'protection', I ply her with baked goods. ;-)<br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Ladies and Gentlemen it's my pleasure to present,<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-8k_UQfQvqxSYCzPBOZerwDeuEIUkKed1s9fNP4wImB4qpcCthuEIkdDqfyg50XSk1Jrc_qEHyh7rLXiqTkr1VsEfh5xE0ltAw-UAPZcFhic0YZ9GiDXf_FaybXpSQnbZ7B4dRBF0CuLW/s1600/IMG_4422.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 234px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-8k_UQfQvqxSYCzPBOZerwDeuEIUkKed1s9fNP4wImB4qpcCthuEIkdDqfyg50XSk1Jrc_qEHyh7rLXiqTkr1VsEfh5xE0ltAw-UAPZcFhic0YZ9GiDXf_FaybXpSQnbZ7B4dRBF0CuLW/s320/IMG_4422.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408959152457791634" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:180%;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:180%;">THE <span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">RED VELVET</span> BOEY<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">The epitome of a Stephanie.<br />Moist chocolate cake, dyed a deep maroon topped of with a good wallop of cream cheese icing ( One of her vices CHEESE ) and a pair of gumpaste lips.<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">I chose this cupcake for Steph based on a number of reasons.<br />Let's take a look at Marilyn Monroe, <span style="font-style: italic;">THE</span> sex symbol of her time. A curvy, gorgeous young woman who played a starring role in every man's (married or single) fantasy. Marilyn was always given the 'dumb blonde' roles, but, atleast I think, she was a really sharp woman. She knew how to get what she wanted, and she played the game just right.<br />Same concepts apply to Stephie.<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:85%;">She </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >KNOWS </span><span style="font-size:85%;">things this little minx. Her street smarts and wit are bound to take her far. She'll wheedle her way to get what she wants, and nobody will have even noticed she wheedled. A loyal friend to have who'll make you laugh and will willingly beat up anyone who even attempts hurting you.<br />If you're wondering about the lips, check out her blog <a href="http://toyshopfullofhorrors.blogspot.com/">here</a><br />So Steph,<br />here's to you.</span><br /><br /><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiPhR6VPiiorNo73E3FiVOSgPSbgopy75bGk5XfsjJbve-ERdTPuoBxfc_twMDwHdmO_6yXr4-tHyhoWqssrBDMonjXViHMy8W5PQ8LcdgRl0SzbXJKNIcXSlVsq2P-QVLp-MT-t2zy5zG/s1600/IMG_4429.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiPhR6VPiiorNo73E3FiVOSgPSbgopy75bGk5XfsjJbve-ERdTPuoBxfc_twMDwHdmO_6yXr4-tHyhoWqssrBDMonjXViHMy8W5PQ8LcdgRl0SzbXJKNIcXSlVsq2P-QVLp-MT-t2zy5zG/s320/IMG_4429.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408966209904659826" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">*If you're interested in the recipe, please check back soon. I've lost mine (BAD FOOD BLOGGER!! BAD, BAD FOOD BLOGGER!) But I WILL find it and post it up. *determined*</span><br /></div>Mallinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05399869504229296476noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5899982925211324142.post-17245455043261963712009-11-19T04:29:00.000-08:002009-11-19T05:12:04.653-08:00It won't be long now......<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPZEEEJNFXTBrvsZDRykIPKugfq7TwN5VCcXISSaW1LtaTLVCcX7sSHwCmlkfrBycJYVfIdkdwA-XSibeIN_CgMHWuel7cQyF8CCg8qIF2EsDX3spxkO2WqHStrnZo9O6hAifc2xRt2FXS/s1600/IMG_4364.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 249px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPZEEEJNFXTBrvsZDRykIPKugfq7TwN5VCcXISSaW1LtaTLVCcX7sSHwCmlkfrBycJYVfIdkdwA-XSibeIN_CgMHWuel7cQyF8CCg8qIF2EsDX3spxkO2WqHStrnZo9O6hAifc2xRt2FXS/s320/IMG_4364.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405801248905737346" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">2 days down...... I don't even wanna know how many more till freedom.<br /><br />By the way, this post is dedicated to a special friend of mine Wen 'Penguin' Yuin, who told me in school today that my blog was dead. ;-) Anyways, SPM has been really sapping me dry, and quite frankly, I can't wait for it all to be over. In the meantime however, I still have to slog at subjects I can't say I really like*coughmoralcough*. But I'm allowing myself a bit of blogging time today, so here's a recipe that I used a while ago and have been meaning to share.<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-TeXnDTPTrZm4oBWe54RVR4JG6VZMxPqTawlcbzx_y_KY3izS-sQmAB1CfXwyHF6xD2QPXXfCOtiNm9jqcp9vmWQviGh8r8kNS-RRrz-DsXs2KfeGF_N_M5JRLZfas_C6LpRoYHNISNO3/s1600/IMG_4369.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 156px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-TeXnDTPTrZm4oBWe54RVR4JG6VZMxPqTawlcbzx_y_KY3izS-sQmAB1CfXwyHF6xD2QPXXfCOtiNm9jqcp9vmWQviGh8r8kNS-RRrz-DsXs2KfeGF_N_M5JRLZfas_C6LpRoYHNISNO3/s200/IMG_4369.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405801648453260338" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Flourless Chocolate Cake</span><br /><br />~200 g semi sweet chocolate<br />~2/3 cups sugar<br />~6 eggs<br />~100 g butter, softened<br />~pinch of salt<br />~1/2 cup cream, whipped to stiff peaks.<br /><br />1) melt chocolate over a bow of simmering water and let cool.<br />2) beat together butter and sugar and salt till light and fluffy.<br />3)beat in eggs one at a time, the mixture should thicken by the time all the eggs are beaten in.<br />4)GENTLY fold in the whipped cream.<br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);">5) pour into an 8-inch round cake pan, that has been buttered and lined or floured. Cover this with a sheet of aluminium foil</span> <span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);">6) put the set up into another bigger pan that will still fit in your oven.</span> <span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);">7)carry the lot and place in a 160'C oven.</span> <span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);">8) pour hot water into the 2nd pan till it fills up halfway.</span><br />9) bake for 1-1 1/2 hours.<br />10) when you take it out, the middle of the cake will be a wee bit jiggly, don't worry about that. Take the cake pan (the one with the cake in it) out and wipe the bottom dry. Let it cool on a wire rack.<br />11) chill for 3hours-overnight.<br />12) Turn out onto serving plate, and go straight to heaven. :-D<br /><br />I know the purple part seems a bit fiddly, but don't worry, it's actually REALLY simple. You're basically just putting your cake pan, into ANOTHER cake pan filled with water. This helps everything cook evenly. And OH MY CUPCAKE is it worth it.<br /><br />I took one bite out of this baby and I...oh.....I mean I......aaaahhh......I actually......oh yeeeesss..... I.....nearly......GOD....<br /><br />Let's just say I had to have a moment alone after the first bite. ;-)<br />Happy baking!Mallinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05399869504229296476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5899982925211324142.post-44400443347813358952009-11-13T19:35:00.000-08:002009-11-13T19:43:35.752-08:00So sorry...<div style="text-align: center;">Ok, this isn't an update, atleast not a proper one. Just wanted to let you all know that SPM will be over and done with soon, so I'll be back uploading recipes, just like old times ;-)<br />*chanting*<br /><span style="font-size:78%;">*Dec8thDec8thDec8th*<br /><span style="font-size:100%;">Also, I've just joined 'The Daring Kitchen'<br />http://thedaringkitchen.com/<br />and am waiting approval. Basically, it's a group of people all over the world who come together via the internet and bake/cook (depending if you're a 'daring baker' or a 'daring cook') using a particular recipe.<br />I'M SOOOO EXCITED!!<br />I think I'll be approved in December, so I bet it'll be Christmas themed!!<br />CAN'T WAIT!<br /></span></span></div>Mallinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05399869504229296476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5899982925211324142.post-22245374175578383402009-08-07T01:25:00.000-07:002009-08-07T02:20:17.151-07:00My 17th Birthday!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57fKzmo4XuVK2VD7ys0UONlxYTL3rj1v29Y8FnsRT32gFZnPwoNb1SOtF5RmlZuFP8xDCEyaYsuVkGoxXXrrmB0ZBzsr_nQTiPGzJyPYa9PO14RSU4RMa3-ShsFAy4F5yWxpYRKXALDvW/s1600-h/My+17th+cake.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57fKzmo4XuVK2VD7ys0UONlxYTL3rj1v29Y8FnsRT32gFZnPwoNb1SOtF5RmlZuFP8xDCEyaYsuVkGoxXXrrmB0ZBzsr_nQTiPGzJyPYa9PO14RSU4RMa3-ShsFAy4F5yWxpYRKXALDvW/s320/My+17th+cake.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367136756730042018" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Old much? LOL<br />;-)<br /><br />It's a little late, but I turned 17 last Saturday!!!And since I'd been wanting to do it for AGES, I had myself a picnic. You know, just a few friends in the park with some good food....Ok...maybe not SOME good food, we had Quite a bit.<br /><br />~ Mee hoon<br />~Tuna Sandwiches<br />~Cinnamon buns<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtVyWU_PhwBq_0B8gYyN_KxMpYd78FZigslUBzXspzaTMb8ZayxEZGMuYD6kQM8ZlBoiMbMhgSDqODKD-ba3enz0NfmpQavZo-bQ8VWH3f6gzKCJml90Re_AQ9c7Zu4NoWg1phoBEwq7da/s1600-h/cinnamon+birthday.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtVyWU_PhwBq_0B8gYyN_KxMpYd78FZigslUBzXspzaTMb8ZayxEZGMuYD6kQM8ZlBoiMbMhgSDqODKD-ba3enz0NfmpQavZo-bQ8VWH3f6gzKCJml90Re_AQ9c7Zu4NoWg1phoBEwq7da/s200/cinnamon+birthday.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367140139741655426" border="0" /></a><br />~Chocolate chip cookies<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP_-uqDjuVBBDQTAAARkkXBTtV-gnlDwFzOH1G76DHWD63IkPzx5wRHSP9TTpcvlSfQRVxJ1C7d-jio9gPhVmgIV2BTPZ-ZE_AtQo7NtyA8_4o0kGtHhLNw8erLWadKQt3aSWDWPPohd49/s1600-h/chocolate+chip+birthday.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP_-uqDjuVBBDQTAAARkkXBTtV-gnlDwFzOH1G76DHWD63IkPzx5wRHSP9TTpcvlSfQRVxJ1C7d-jio9gPhVmgIV2BTPZ-ZE_AtQo7NtyA8_4o0kGtHhLNw8erLWadKQt3aSWDWPPohd49/s200/chocolate+chip+birthday.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367140761509466034" border="0" /></a><br />~Scones<br />~Sausages<br />~Prawn Wan tan<br />~Mashed potatoes<br />~Grapes<br />~Longans<br />~COKE (by Sulu's request)<br /><br />So, I rounded up a few people to come and makan with me at Taman Jaya. A big THANK YOU to:<br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 0);">+Auretta</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 255);">+Shekinah</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);">+Sulekha</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">+Stephanie</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">+Ashqinn</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">+Kimberly</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">+Kate</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 153, 153);">+Debbie</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">+Inessa</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">+Mayuri</span><br /><br />XD XD Sorry you guys, you know that when you're my guest, you're BOUND to be stuffed. I'm just glad you all left full and bursting to the brim <span style="font-size:78%;"><br />Eventhough some of you could afford to eat dinner that day.<br />*grumpy*</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik0HznHjVqjnMmAFpk-aCnO8pT3kwoQweNwEi1JDN2q82N8E6HdOCo9mKLtJ8A4rHtpOwdEAysAtW0pea24cOw_GBvxCW_qVh9F5krt2LeZgRCrxkwDB9ObR1Y6ea5cxthksaOz2MwIEZc/s1600-h/Goofy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik0HznHjVqjnMmAFpk-aCnO8pT3kwoQweNwEi1JDN2q82N8E6HdOCo9mKLtJ8A4rHtpOwdEAysAtW0pea24cOw_GBvxCW_qVh9F5krt2LeZgRCrxkwDB9ObR1Y6ea5cxthksaOz2MwIEZc/s200/Goofy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367146912772780770" border="0" /></a><br />Thanks so much for taking the time to come and spend time with me. Anybody up for round 3 soon? I was thinking Pizza and <a href="http://whiteplates-abuela.blogspot.com/2008/09/thank-you-melissa.html">creme brulee</a>.....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5HpZXzBnSHoNfxBm1X3LLIdoLKPt02Jno1bwi01-fC9F47z04Ut2hiCkZz3fExPqatogkwD80-Ctr8tpZBX2leO8GvrzZ2qute2846Yq2F25pP0WAPv1gkt28k8e7F3GJrHHJJs6DwQtQ/s1600-h/My+girls.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5HpZXzBnSHoNfxBm1X3LLIdoLKPt02Jno1bwi01-fC9F47z04Ut2hiCkZz3fExPqatogkwD80-Ctr8tpZBX2leO8GvrzZ2qute2846Yq2F25pP0WAPv1gkt28k8e7F3GJrHHJJs6DwQtQ/s200/My+girls.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367147574699295842" border="0" /></a><br />Till we can do it ALL over again,<br />SEE YA!!!<br />:-)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjITTfkOsu38L37s14_SRt7nBvCzvWEKfTorPLieMvLd4MIvTdZnCPivGOAbPptDsceMFYIQZbFkt7FtpVcrP0rX2Y0hTDvgMx0j8JA8R8n_KVJQWBw42IVRtRY44n-aR2BGQ9fNGB1FZV3/s1600-h/Nessa.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjITTfkOsu38L37s14_SRt7nBvCzvWEKfTorPLieMvLd4MIvTdZnCPivGOAbPptDsceMFYIQZbFkt7FtpVcrP0rX2Y0hTDvgMx0j8JA8R8n_KVJQWBw42IVRtRY44n-aR2BGQ9fNGB1FZV3/s200/Nessa.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367147707906526578" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbdUg0E7kxZCsoiEz4UUny7DaOwgqUJSCTejnC7_EDoppHru2EZdvi-U6RCn79RW29XwCtjhZj_dF9exIH_BVH7epg_OZqc08aCXQi89awbrFIznHv2IOZZ9pOhJpednvJqfRm2gSMhvHP/s1600-h/The+set+of+3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbdUg0E7kxZCsoiEz4UUny7DaOwgqUJSCTejnC7_EDoppHru2EZdvi-U6RCn79RW29XwCtjhZj_dF9exIH_BVH7epg_OZqc08aCXQi89awbrFIznHv2IOZZ9pOhJpednvJqfRm2gSMhvHP/s200/The+set+of+3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367147833840878930" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />You CANNOT break up this set, they're like Wedgewood China. :)<br /><br /><br />*<span style="font-size:85%;">All photos courtesy of Kate Ng and Stephanie Boey,</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmIJD5Njq1g2-1AmJI1cjNjBTYDXugyzMCa3t1X12XYsCxnfkJGuZnJTCsGvG37d4p6EvNWTngrBYddosiJFhnE-Q1JUPzWqLXJ8Qf1vePs3FhDVBmuXGX-WSzb_ZOi3x-hDs_w67ffem2/s1600-h/mayu.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmIJD5Njq1g2-1AmJI1cjNjBTYDXugyzMCa3t1X12XYsCxnfkJGuZnJTCsGvG37d4p6EvNWTngrBYddosiJFhnE-Q1JUPzWqLXJ8Qf1vePs3FhDVBmuXGX-WSzb_ZOi3x-hDs_w67ffem2/s200/mayu.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367147103102697122" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4tjyAvZCaXHD02ZEZeYCajVot2vGYnaR5BJhLQwA0Bwn6olE3BAnopE_-y7YwEA4a__6HRoRo0LEBi8ptob6sFYChr5s-f0PXj2aoxpOqyrv5yKckxq7sx3Z4Qgmv9R72_a2_KJ9SNjwH/s1600-h/Pikachu.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4tjyAvZCaXHD02ZEZeYCajVot2vGYnaR5BJhLQwA0Bwn6olE3BAnopE_-y7YwEA4a__6HRoRo0LEBi8ptob6sFYChr5s-f0PXj2aoxpOqyrv5yKckxq7sx3Z4Qgmv9R72_a2_KJ9SNjwH/s200/Pikachu.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367147767601422098" border="0" /></a></div>Mallinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05399869504229296476noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5899982925211324142.post-67747554637168452152009-05-29T01:11:00.000-07:002009-05-29T02:00:25.658-07:00I'm back ;-)Holidays have started!!! I've actually been baking quite a bit, but haven't had time to post anything up. So, here's a recipe for you lot:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing<br /></span> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi42EsiKkeNq5Rbq-o1UFiCgXIYmDg3gNA0_ZRIO6EePZ0aU-Wcoei7NM7hYwGByJ0NAQ1B_nEEt6EO4lmENoRhDp9AHhc0LkP28izmFXc38hjsAnoK3DsLH16gxEuLbawcTE0MvZc4HCdn/s1600-h/IMG_3990.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi42EsiKkeNq5Rbq-o1UFiCgXIYmDg3gNA0_ZRIO6EePZ0aU-Wcoei7NM7hYwGByJ0NAQ1B_nEEt6EO4lmENoRhDp9AHhc0LkP28izmFXc38hjsAnoK3DsLH16gxEuLbawcTE0MvZc4HCdn/s320/IMG_3990.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341167957039260274" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);">CAKE</span><br />~100g brown sugar<br />~175g salted butter<br />~2 large eggs<br />~225g all purpose flour<br />~3/4tsp sodium bicarb<br />~1tsp cinnamon<br />~pinch of salt<br />~1/3 cup yogurt<br />~2 carrots, grated<br />~1 cup sultanas, soaked in hot water for 15 minutes and drained<br />~200g walnuts, roasted and chopped up.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">ICING</span>*<br />~250g philly cream cheese<br />~1 cup icing sugar<br />~juice of 1/2 a lime<br /><br /><br />+ Beat the sugar and butter together till smooth then beat in the eggs.<br />+Sift the flour, sodium bicarb, cinnamon and salt into the mixture and stir till just moistened.<br />+Fold in the yogurt, carrots, sultanas and walnuts.<br />+Divide out into cupcake cases, filling them up 3/4 of the way.<br />+Bake in a 200'C oven for 15-20 minutes, or until cupcakes are done.<br />+ Cool.<br /><br />=Beat the cream cheese till smooth.<br />=Fold in the icing sugar and lime juice.<br />=Decorate.<br /><br />*This icing is going to be soft and gloopy. Don't expect to be able to pipe roses with it. On the bright side, It's GOOD!<br /><br /><br /><br /></div>Mallinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05399869504229296476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5899982925211324142.post-26546534943245655312009-04-03T02:37:00.000-07:002009-04-03T07:54:41.837-07:00Scones.<div style="text-align: center;">Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it.<br />~Salvador Dali.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYaLk32VwEP5CVs1QHI7qB7t_HSRmH7LB2UGaDM8AOEDiOcsMgnkKvNYl_BJRHefqeFYpKGWkjPkmAkZUSymBXtu3XuG8olp-pOBC5DX_12VE14pAsW1yAx9dUF4FY-j6DEEfDzALu7nLg/s1600-h/IMG_3604.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYaLk32VwEP5CVs1QHI7qB7t_HSRmH7LB2UGaDM8AOEDiOcsMgnkKvNYl_BJRHefqeFYpKGWkjPkmAkZUSymBXtu3XuG8olp-pOBC5DX_12VE14pAsW1yAx9dUF4FY-j6DEEfDzALu7nLg/s320/IMG_3604.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320400200627858146" border="0" /></a><br />Scones.<br /><br />~1 cup sultanas<br />~3 cups all purpose flour<br />~3 and 3/4 tsp Baking Powder<br />~3 pinches of salt.<br />~2 tbsp castor sugar<br />~100g butter (softened, but not melting)<br />~3/4 cup buttermilk (1/2 cup milk+ 1/4 cup yogurt)<br /><br />~Soak the sultanas in hot water.<br />~ Sift the flour, B.P and salt together into a large bowl. Stir in sugar.<br />~ Rub in the butter. You know it's done when the mixture looks like damp sand.<br />~ Drain the sultanas. Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients.<br />~Pour the buttermilk and raisins into the cavity. Mix gently. Overmixing can lead to hard and tough scones. It's ok if not all the flour mixes in. Just use your hands to mush the dough as much dough in as possible. <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">But don't work it too much</span>.<br />~Tumble the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Form into a long log, Cut of wedges of the dough and place on a greased or lined baking sheet.<br />~Place the batch in an oven that has been preheated to <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">180'C</span>. Bake for about <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">15-20 minutes</span>.<br /><br />*To be eaten with jam and whipped cream or butter. :-P<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisjlQpbvuJVAd-wPJAuxHxlzF6OM91ogl6kAq5wFOlncVWBKtK7CMO8Uk6MrG5OKFKy349CnF-ht0URmtB_IPetyBOjKQkkqigxv2ssWYJRLujFEzrMAtztqxNFulkUpXgwEceDAXQ5J2Z/s1600-h/IMG_3613.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 178px; height: 238px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisjlQpbvuJVAd-wPJAuxHxlzF6OM91ogl6kAq5wFOlncVWBKtK7CMO8Uk6MrG5OKFKy349CnF-ht0URmtB_IPetyBOjKQkkqigxv2ssWYJRLujFEzrMAtztqxNFulkUpXgwEceDAXQ5J2Z/s320/IMG_3613.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320401170945403218" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><= Isn't it adorable? I got it at the Jaya 33 flea market for RM8.90! Now I just need to find something to iron it onto... I was thinking maybe a vintage polka dot or striped print?Mallinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05399869504229296476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5899982925211324142.post-8762711317912305472009-03-20T01:50:00.000-07:002009-03-20T02:42:31.413-07:00Peanut Butter cookies.Ok, ok....I'm sorry, I know I haven't been around for a long, long while, but some peanut butter cookies to make up for it? ;-)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij8uy1YGRPSICyt9r8Yscpy1hyphenhyphenc1RnUd0oD1WiZMRl4owhFss8FcEQumq6zsRXLH57CvhlSVjsOBo7hzLYDObQ5kTVa5GMiyKbDGFnmlO-bodXH8pciEaKoDjahXgomENmbtSWsS5_n_nQ/s1600-h/IMG_3592.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij8uy1YGRPSICyt9r8Yscpy1hyphenhyphenc1RnUd0oD1WiZMRl4owhFss8FcEQumq6zsRXLH57CvhlSVjsOBo7hzLYDObQ5kTVa5GMiyKbDGFnmlO-bodXH8pciEaKoDjahXgomENmbtSWsS5_n_nQ/s320/IMG_3592.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315196725541976162" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);">Peanut Butter Cookies</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">~ 1/2 cup butter</span> <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">~ 1/2 cup peanut butter</span></span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">~ 1 egg</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">~ 1/2 tsp vanilla</span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">~ 1 and 1/4 cups all purpose flour</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">~ 1/2 cup castor sugar</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">~ 1/2 cup packed brown sugar</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">~ 1/2 tsp baking soda</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">~ 1/2 tsp baking powder</span></span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">***</span></span></span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">~ sugar (optional)</span></span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 51);">Preheat oven to 190'C</span></span></span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);">1) Using an electric mixer, beat the first two ingredients together till smooth.</span></span></span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);">2) Still with that mixer, beat in the next two ingredients till well blended</span></span></span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);">3) Combine all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl ( except the extra sugar at the end) , you don't have to sift them if you don't want to. ;-P</span></span></span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);">4) Beat in as much of the dry mix as you can with the electric mixer. Just stir in the rest with a spoon, no biggie.</span></span></span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);">5) Dough, done. You can throw it in the fridge for a while if it's too soft to work with.</span></span></span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">6) If using, spread the sugar out on a shallow plate. Get out your dough and roll it into 1 inch sized balls. roll these balls in the sugar first OR just plonk them onto a UNGREASED baking sheet with an inch of room in between. Flatten with the prongs of a fork in the usual crisscross pattern.</span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">7) Bake for 7-9 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool, enjoy.</span></span></span></span></span><br /></div><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102);"><br /><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span>Mallinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05399869504229296476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5899982925211324142.post-6527806322896260382009-02-19T22:49:00.000-08:002009-02-19T23:03:34.414-08:00Gimme, Gimme, GIMME!!!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.cookware-online.co.uk/images/product/main/KA_KSM150.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 375px; height: 537px;" src="http://www.cookware-online.co.uk/images/product/main/KA_KSM150.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">........ Be still my heart.<br /></div><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br /><br /></span>Mallinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05399869504229296476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5899982925211324142.post-54856494304278694402009-02-17T22:10:00.000-08:002009-02-17T23:07:26.270-08:00FORENSICS!!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF5imP-gCiHaPSW1jd8kNQkqZYP2TJbdgjFIf8LDIAHZnQ16UXD-6GeorFdbau453iJ6wjhZ6nJP-n0UtGMMFrNl8frqu0NW34zDfKfazr1veO8Aay0NL4haO73CXFyGP1p5XD7JyGAya8/s1600-h/IMG_3403.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF5imP-gCiHaPSW1jd8kNQkqZYP2TJbdgjFIf8LDIAHZnQ16UXD-6GeorFdbau453iJ6wjhZ6nJP-n0UtGMMFrNl8frqu0NW34zDfKfazr1veO8Aay0NL4haO73CXFyGP1p5XD7JyGAya8/s400/IMG_3403.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304023877167709522" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I miss it sooooo much.<br />Actually made it to Semis this time round.<br />I had such a blast.<br />Made a lot of new friends.<br />We all also brought home,<br />THE RAFIDAH CUP!! (in your face VI!!)<br />and<br />2ND PLACE SWEEPSTAKES!!!<br />I'm VERY, VERY proud of our juniors.<br />They did sooooo well.<br />Basically,<br />I HAD THE TIME OF MY LIFE.<br /><br />Yes, yes, I do have a recipe for this post.<br />Introducing,<br />FORENSICS RICE KRISPIE TREATS.<br /><br />what?!? I had to make something to keep us going, didn't I?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZh496rGZwQ6qVw-aPOoJz33VqahASewCHpuGpVC6oDH5hrO3rkqT6j3he8vNqgVENMLyCfFWTZE8jcEMobGHQseG1hy0RaJ8hv8wNE-eCGpDJPBr5DnYJ1ZhpHpOQJWfBTj75oOdi0CNq/s1600-h/IMG_3339.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZh496rGZwQ6qVw-aPOoJz33VqahASewCHpuGpVC6oDH5hrO3rkqT6j3he8vNqgVENMLyCfFWTZE8jcEMobGHQseG1hy0RaJ8hv8wNE-eCGpDJPBr5DnYJ1ZhpHpOQJWfBTj75oOdi0CNq/s320/IMG_3339.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304028589978620706" border="0" /></a><br />~Melt the marshmallows and butter together.<br />~ Stir in your chopped up chocolate.<br />~ Stir in the cereal.<br />~ Mash the glob into a CLING FILM LINED, WELL BUTTERED PAN.<br />~Leave to set in fridge.<br />~Cut into pieces using a serrated knife.<br /><br />I would've taken a picture, but... welll.... I was really, really tired. So, this is kinda what they're gonna look like.<br />I DIDN'T TAKE THIS PIC.<br />IT COMES BY WAY OF <a href="http://kissmyartichoke.wordpress.com/2009/01/07/choco-rice-krispy-treats/">HERE</a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3405/3178122806_232d75a91c.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 215px; height: 253px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3405/3178122806_232d75a91c.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>enjoy!<br /><br /></div>Mallinihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05399869504229296476noreply@blogger.com0