I'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:

Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

CAKE
~100g brown sugar
~175g salted butter
~2 large eggs
~225g all purpose flour
~3/4tsp sodium bicarb
~1tsp cinnamon
~pinch of salt
~1/3 cup yogurt
~2 carrots, grated
~1 cup sultanas, soaked in hot water for 15 minutes and drained
~200g walnuts, roasted and chopped up.

ICING*
~250g philly cream cheese
~1 cup icing sugar
~juice of 1/2 a lime


+ Beat the sugar and butter together till smooth then beat in the eggs.
+Sift the flour, sodium bicarb, cinnamon and salt into the mixture and stir till just moistened.
+Fold in the yogurt, carrots, sultanas and walnuts.
+Divide out into cupcake cases, filling them up 3/4 of the way.
+Bake in a 200'C oven for 15-20 minutes, or until cupcakes are done.
+ Cool.

=Beat the cream cheese till smooth.
=Fold in the icing sugar and lime juice.
=Decorate.

*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!

Scones.

Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it.
~Salvador Dali.


Scones.

~1 cup sultanas
~3 cups all purpose flour
~3 and 3/4 tsp Baking Powder
~3 pinches of salt.
~2 tbsp castor sugar
~100g butter (softened, but not melting)
~3/4 cup buttermilk (1/2 cup milk+ 1/4 cup yogurt)

~Soak the sultanas in hot water.
~ Sift the flour, B.P and salt together into a large bowl. Stir in sugar.
~ Rub in the butter. You know it's done when the mixture looks like damp sand.
~ Drain the sultanas. Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients.
~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. But don't work it too much.
~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.
~Place the batch in an oven that has been preheated to 180'C. Bake for about 15-20 minutes.

*To be eaten with jam and whipped cream or butter. :-P

<= 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?

Peanut 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? ;-)

Peanut Butter Cookies
~ 1/2 cup butter ~ 1/2 cup peanut butter
~ 1 egg ~ 1/2 tsp vanilla
~ 1 and 1/4 cups all purpose flour ~ 1/2 cup castor sugar ~ 1/2 cup packed brown sugar ~ 1/2 tsp baking soda ~ 1/2 tsp baking powder
***
~ sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 190'C

1) Using an electric mixer, beat the first two ingredients together till smooth.
2) Still with that mixer, beat in the next two ingredients till well blended
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
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.
5) Dough, done. You can throw it in the fridge for a while if it's too soft to work with.

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.
7) Bake for 7-9 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool, enjoy.

Gimme, Gimme, GIMME!!!!

........ Be still my heart.

FORENSICS!!!

I miss it sooooo much.
Actually made it to Semis this time round.
I had such a blast.
Made a lot of new friends.
We all also brought home,
THE RAFIDAH CUP!! (in your face VI!!)
and
2ND PLACE SWEEPSTAKES!!!
I'm VERY, VERY proud of our juniors.
They did sooooo well.
Basically,
I HAD THE TIME OF MY LIFE.

Yes, yes, I do have a recipe for this post.
Introducing,
FORENSICS RICE KRISPIE TREATS.

what?!? I had to make something to keep us going, didn't I?


~Melt the marshmallows and butter together.
~ Stir in your chopped up chocolate.
~ Stir in the cereal.
~ Mash the glob into a CLING FILM LINED, WELL BUTTERED PAN.
~Leave to set in fridge.
~Cut into pieces using a serrated knife.

I would've taken a picture, but... welll.... I was really, really tired. So, this is kinda what they're gonna look like.
I DIDN'T TAKE THIS PIC.
IT COMES BY WAY OF HERE.

enjoy!

Eat. Pray. Love

I love my pizza so much that, in fact, I have come to the belief in my delirium that my pizza might actually love me in return. I am having a relationship with this pizza, almost an affair..............Holy of holies! Thin, doughy,strong, gummy, yummy, chewy, salty pizza paradise. On top, there is a sweet tomato sauce that foams up all bubbly and creamy when it melts the fresh buffalo mozzarella, and the one sprig of basil in the middle of the whole deal somehow infuses the entire pizza with herbal radiance......... It's technically impossible to eat this thing, of course. You try to take a bite off your slice and the gummy crust folds, and the hot cheese runs away like topsoil in a landslide, makes a mess of you and your surroundings, but just deal with it.

~ Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat. Pray. Love ~

When Pizza like THIS exist out there, WHAT ON EARTH DO WE NEED MEN FOR??? This is just a small part of a passage that made me want to hop on a plane to Naples and head over to Pizzeria da Michele for their Pizza Margherita with double mozzarella. Unfortunately, plane tickets to Rome are reputed to cost quite a bit, so I did the next best thing, make my own pizza. I'm pretty sure it didn't come anywhere close, but it still was pretty good, so it'll have to do for now.

Pizza, makes 2 pies

(yes, I do notice it's been ever so slightly burnt)

~Dough~
~125 g all purpose flour
~125 g high protein flour
~1 heaped tsp instant dry yeast
~1 tsp salt
~1/2 tsp sugar
~approx. 150 ml warm water
~2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil/ unsalted butter, melted

~Topping~
~4 heaped tbsp tomato sauce
(out of a bottle, or use my tomato salsa recipe here)
~ Shredded mozzarella cheese
~Whatever floats your boat baby.

Mix together all the ingredients in blue in a large mixing bowl. Set aside. Mix together ingredients in pink in a measuring cup for ease. Gradually pour the wet ingredients into the dry, constantly mixing with your hands. You might not need all the water, so proceed cautiously. Knead the dough till it forms a smooth ball. Expect it to be a wee sticky. Take the dough out, oil the bowl, lightly oil the dough too, then leave to rise in the oiled bowl for about an hour, or until doubled in size.

Preheat your oven to 240'C.
Knock the air out of your dough, and shape it onto a baking sheet. Round, rectangular, abstract, whatever strikes your fancy. Spread 4 tbsp of the tomato sauce onto your now flattened dough. Let it prove for 20 minutes.

Bake the dough for 20 minutes, or until the bottom sounds hollow when tapped. Top of with your trimmings of choice, as well as the mozzarella. Bake again until cheese is ooey, gooey and golden brown in places.

Potato Birthday Wishes.

Ok, ok.. I know I haven't updated for a while. but I'm here now!! Better late than never, right?
So first of...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KBB!!!!!
You're legal to drink........but may you not get drunk.
;)

To a bat I've known my entire life (or at least it feels that way), This is a lil' late, but thanks for having me over. It was really good seeing you lot, and I had a great time.
Hope you liked your present, despite the fact it was devoured in 15 minutes.
Love you to bits, and hope you had a good birthday.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now, I have a confession to make, with homework, studies, and the Forensics coming up, I'll admit I haven't been eating as regularly as I should. On average, i think I would have a meal a day, usually in school. Sometimes, nothing at all. So, now that the CNY holidays have started, I'm gonna try getting my eating schedule back in track over the next week. So, to start off, we have,

Potato Cheese Bake, makes 2 ramekins.~5 medium potatoes
~1 carrot
~2 cloves garlic, crushed
~3 tbsp butter
~3/4 cup milk
~1/2 tsp flour
~salt, pepper, oregano (to taste)
~1 tbsp sized dollop of
KRAFT cheese spread, cream cheese
~Mozzarella cheese, shredded for topping.

1. Peel and cube the potatoes. Rinse under cold water. Set aside.
2. Peel and finely chop the carrot. Rinse under cold water. Set aside.
3. Boil enough water to cook the potatoes and carrots. Heavily salt the water and throw in the crushed garlic. When boiling, throw in the cubed potatoes.
4. When the potatoes are just about done, give or take 10 minutes, throw in the carrots and boil for another 2 minutes. Drain the lot and get rid of the garlic. Set aside.
5. For the sauce, melt the butter. When that's melted, gradually pour in the milk and stir. Whisk the flour, salt, pepper and oregano. Let it simmer.
6. When it simmers, dollop in the cheese spread, whisking to mix.
7. When the sauce is smooth, pour in your carrots and potatoes. Let it simmer for a while, until the sauce is as thick as you wold like it to be.
8. Take off the heat and divide the mixture into 2 ramekins. Top with shredded cheese.
9. Bake at 180'C until cheese topping is melted and golden in places. Enjoy.

And to all my Chinese friends out there,

GONG XI FA CHAI!!!!!!!!!