Strawberry and Chocolate Marble cake

I've always like marble cake because the cake looks lovely with the marble effect. This one is from a recipe book but I modified it a little by adding yoghurt. Somehow, I find the cake a little dry a day after baking. Maybe a little bit more yoghurt will help :)

Ingredients:
Butter (150gm)
Sugar (3/4 cup)
Egg (2)
Vanilla Essence (1 tsp)
Yoghurt + Milk (1/2 cup)
Self Raising Flour (1 2/3 cup)
Strawberry Emulco (1 ½ tsp)
Cocoa Powder (3 tsp)
Oil

Preheat oven at 175C.

Method:
1. Beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
2. Add in egg one by one and beat till combined.
3. Mix in vanilla essence and yoghurt-milk mixture.
4. Sift in self raising flour and mix till combined.
5. Divide the mixture into 2 portions.
6. Add strawberry emulco to one portion and cocoa powder to the other portion.
7. Grease a baking pan.
8. Pour the mixture alternately into the baking pan. Swirl with a chopstick to create marble effect.
9. Bake for 35min or until cooked.

Pandan Cake with Roasted Sunflower Seeds

Ingredients:
Butter (130gm)
Sugar (120gm)
Egg (3)
Yoghurt (4 tbsp)
Pandan Emulco (1tbsp)
Self Raising Flour (190gm)
Roasted Sunflower Seeds
Oil

Preheat oven at 175C.


Method:
1. Beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
2. Add in egg one by one and beat till well combined.
3. Mix in yoghurt and pandan emulco.
4. Sift in self raising flour and mix till combined.
5. Add in sunflower seeds.
6. Grease baking pan with a little oil.
7. Pour mixture into baking pan and bake for 35min or till cooked.

Spaghetti in Chicken Mushroom Sauce

Want to make a quick spaghetti dish? :)


Ingredients:
Spaghetti (cooked per packet instruction)
Button Mushroom (sliced)
Chicken meat (minced)
Cauliflower (cut into small pieces)
Garlic (sliced)
Onion (sliced)
Mixed herbs
Salt
Olive oil
Chicken Soup (e.g. Campbell’s or any brand will do)
Water


Method:
1. Heat oil in a non-stick pan and sauté garlic till it turns golden brown.
2. Stir fry onion till fragrant.
3. Add in chicken meat, button mushroom and cauliflower and continue to stir fry for 3-4min. Add a little water if too dry.
4. Season with a little salt and mixed herbs.
5. Mix in spaghetti and chicken soup. Cook till soup becomes thick and coats the spaghetti.

Fried Rice with Pan Fried Dory Fish in Plum Sauce

Thought the fried rice was rather plain without meat, so added the fish. I think you can make it in any kind of sauce you like e.g. tomato sauce, black pepper, dark soy sauce, etc.

Ingredients:

Fried Rice
Cooked rice
Cauliflower
Dried shrimps (soaked till soft and chopped)
Button mushroom (cut into slices)
Garlic (chopped)
Soy Sauce
Oil
Water

Fish in Plum Sauce
Fish fillet
Pepper
Salt
Plum Sauce
Corn Flour
Water
Oil


Method:
1. To prepare the fish, marinate with salt and pepper for 30min.
2. Pan fry the fish on both sides till golden brown.
3. Add plum sauce and corn flour, then mix with a little water. Pour this mixture in the pan over the fish.
4. Cook till sauce thickens and coats the fish.
5. To prepare the fried rice, heat a little oil and brown garlic.
6. Add in dried shrimps and stir fry for 1-2min.
7. Add in cauliflower and button mushroom. Continue to stir fry for 2-3min.
8. Season with salt.
9. Mix in rice and add in soy sauce.
10. Add a little water if it’s too dry.
11. Stir fry for 2-3min. Serve hot with fish.

Pan Fried Dory Fish in Black Pepper Sauce

One of the dishes for dinner yesterday.

Ingredients:
Dory fish fillet
Black pepper sauce
Garlic and Onion (minced)
Salt
Oil
Water


Method:
1. Marinate fish with all ingredients except water and oil.
2. Heat a little oil in a non-stick pan.
3. Pan fry the fish (without the marinate sauce) till it gets brownish on both sides.
4. Add a little water to the marinate sauce and cook with the fish till sauce gets thick. Yummy with rice :)

Chinese Style Fried Mifen

I missed my mum's fried mifen, so tried to replicate her cooking....;p Not exactly the same (of course not same la since we're not the same ma ;p), but taste great too :)

Ingredients:
Mifen (soaked in water until soft)
Carrot (cut into thin strips)
Cabbage (shredded)
Chicken meat (minced/cut into small pieces)
Onion (cut into thin strips)
Garlic (chopped)
Dark Soy Sauce
Light Soy Sauce
Salt
Pepper
Oil
Water


Method:
1. Marinate chicken meat with light soy sauce and pepper. Leave aside for 30min.
2. Heat a little oil in a wok or non-stick pan. Saute garlic and onion till fragrant.
3. Add chicken meat and stir fry for 1-2min.
4. Add in carrot and cabbage. Stir fry for 1-2min. Season with salt.
5. Add in mifen.
6. Add dark soy sauce and mix evenly.
7. Continue to stir fry for 2-3min and add in water if it gets dry….and it’s done!
* Add light soy sauce and mix well if you find it not salty enough (optional).

Curry Soybean Noodles

I felt like something hot and spicy but don’t want to cook something too complicated. Here’s what I came up with. As usual, you can add your fav vege and meat.




Ingredients:
Soybean Noodles (soaked in water for a few min)
Garlic (chopped)
Button Mushroom (sliced)
Cabbage (cut into medium size pieces)
Chicken Frankfurters (cut in any size you like ;p)
Curry Powder (mix with a little water to form paste)
Salt
Soy Sauce
Sugar
Water
Oil


Method:
1. Heat oil in a wok and brown the garlic.
2. Add cabbage, frankfurters and button mushroom. Stir fry for ~2min.
3. Add in curry paste and mix well. Continue to stir fry for 2-3min.
4. Season with salt, sugar and soy sauce. Add in water and cook till it simmers.
5. Put in soybean noodles and cook till soft. Serve hot.

Rum & Raisin Cake

Whenever I go for ice-cream at Baskin Robbin’s, rum and raisin is always my first choice (although sometimes I do struggle between that and green tea flavour ;p). Since TH mentioned rum and raisin cake when I asked for suggestions on what else should I try, of course I want to give it a try! Unfortunately, I do not have enough rum so the cake didn’t have a strong rum taste. Nevertheless, it smells heavenly right out of the oven and the texture is good. It’s quite moist but not too ‘heavy’. I think this cake is perfect if only I added more rum.

Ingredients:
Self raising flour (200gm)
Soy Bean Powder or Milk Powder (3 tbsp)
Butter (150gm)
Sugar (130gm)
Egg (4)
Yoghurt (4 tbsp)
Raisin (1/2 cup)
Rum (3 tbsp)

Preheat oven at 175C.


Method:
1. Sift self raising flour and soy bean flour together and set aside.
2. Mix raisins and rum together and set aside.
3. Beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
4. Add in egg one by one and beat till well combined.
5. Add in yoghurt and mix well.
6. Fold in the flour mixture.
7. Mix in the raisin and rum.8. Bake for 35-40min or until cooked.

Peanut Delight Cake

I’ve always wanted to try decorating a cake with cream but the idea of making the cream seemed a little ambitious to me. Anyway, I’d still want to try it because if we don’t try it, we’ll never learn!

So, I flipped through my recipe book and saw a recipe for hazelnut cake. I only have peanuts, so I use the recipe to make a peanut cake instead. As for the cream, it’s from a different book because I find that it’s easier to make. I only made a modification by adding ground peanut in it.

Ingredients:
Cake
Egg (5)
Sugar (120gm)
Plain flour (90gm)
Ground peanut (40gm)
Baking powder (1/2 tsp)
Melted butter or vegetable oil (70gm)

Peanut Butter Cream
Butter (60gm)
Icing sugar (2/3 cup)
Cocoa powder (2 tbsp)
Milk (4 tbsp)
Ground peanut (4 tbsp)

Decoration
Chocolate Rice (for decoration)

Preheat oven at 180C


Method:
1. To prepare the cake, beat egg and sugar till fluffy and light.
2. Sift plain flour and baking powder and fold into the sugar mixture.
3. Add ground peanut and melted butter/oil and mix till combined.
4. Bake at 180C for 25min. Leave aside to cool.
5. To prepare the butter cream, beat butter and icing sugar till fluffy and light.
6. Mix in cocoa powder, milk and ground peanut till combined. Beat for 2-3min.
7. Cut the cake horizontally into 2.
8. Spread a layer of peanut butter cream on the first layer of the cake.
9. Place the second layer of the cake on top.
10. Spread the rest of the cream on top and on the side of the cake. Sprinkle some chocolate rice on top of the cake. Ta-daa….Done!

I love the peanut taste in this cake! It's very fattening with the peanut and cream, so eat at your own risk la...;p

*Keep refrigerated until serving time.

Vegetarian Mee Sua

By the time I reach home from work, I was already starving so I thought I’d better cook something that does not require much preparation and cooking time.
VIP said he wanted to have noodles but already sick of chicken, so here comes this vegetarian mee sua :)




Ingredients:
Mee Sua (soak in water for few min)
Broccoli
Carrot (sliced)
Oyster Mushroom
Tofu
Onion (cut into small pieces)
Black Pepper
Oyster Sauce
Salt
Soy sauce
Oil
Water


Method:
1. Heat a little oil in a wok and stir fry onions for 2-3min.
2. Add in carrot and broccoli. Stir fry for 3-4min.
3. Add in oyster mushroom. Season with black pepper and oyster sauce. Continue to stir fry for 1-2min.
4. Add in tofu and mix well.
5. Add water and cook till boiling.
6. Put in the mee sua (stir so it won’t stick together) and add salt and soy sauce to taste.
7. Cook for 1-2min and it’s ready!

Stir Fried Cucumber with Red Bell Pepper

Ingredients:
Cucumber (cut into slices)
Red bell pepper (cut into small pieces)
Garlic (chopped)
Dried shrimps (soaked and roughly chopped)
Salt
Oil
Water


Method:
1. Heat oil in a wok and brown garlic.
2. Add in dried shrimps and stir fry till fragrant.
3. Put in red bell pepper and cucumber. Stir fry for 4-5min.
4. Season with salt.
5. Add some water and cook till it simmers and cucumbers are soft.

Chicken and Wood Fungus in Dark Soy Sauce

Ingredients:
Chicken (cut into medium or bite sized pieces)
Wood fungus (soaked in hot water till soft and cut into bite size pieces)
Dark soy sauce
Light soy sauce
Pepper
Sugar
Salt
Ginger (3-4 pieces)
Garlic (crushed lightly)
Oil
Water
Corn flour


Method:
1. Marinate chicken with light and dark soy sauce, pepper and sugar for 1 hour.
2. Heat oil in a wok and sauté garlic and ginger for 1-2min.
3. Add in chicken and sit fry 2-3min.
4. Put in wood fungus and mix well.
5. Add a little salt.
6. Put some water and cook till it boils. Continue to cook with low heat for ~10-15min.
7. In a bowl, mix a little corn flour with water.
8. Pour this mixture and cook till sauce thickens.

Tuna Omelet

I cooked 3 dishes for last week’s dinner (forgot which day as I tend to lose track of time/date when I get busy ;p). Here’s the first one and this goes well with either bread or rice. The other 2 dishes are chicken with wood fungus and cucumber with red bell pepper.

Ingredients:
Tuna (canned)
Egg
Pepper
Oil
Salt (optional)


Method:
1. In a bowl, beat the egg/s and mix in tuna.
2. Season with pepper and salt (optional – up to taste preference).
3. Heat a little oil in a non-stick pan.
4. Pour the mixture and fry on both sides till cooked.

Orange Poppy Seed Muffin

This is a variation from one of the muffin recipes that I keep. I added yoghurt, poppyseed and also some toasted wheat germ for a little crunch ;p It's a little on the dry side (I think adding more yoghurt will help) and it's best eaten when it's warm :)


Ingredients:
Butter (1/3 cup)
Sugar (3/4 cup)
Salt (1/2 tsp)
Egg (1)
Plain Yoghurt (4 tbsp)
Orange Peel (chopped finely- 3tbsp)
Poppy Seed (2 ½ tbsp)
Toasted Wheat Germ (2 tbsp)
Plain Flour (1 ½ cup)
Baking Soda (1/2 tsp)
Baking Powder (1/2 tsp)

Preheat oven at 190C.


Method:
1. Beat butter, sugar, salt and egg till well combined.
2. Add yoghurt and orange peel.
3. Sift plain flour, baking soda and baking powder. Add in wheat germ and mix well.
4. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Mix till just combined.
5. Fill muffin cups till 2/3 full and bake for 20min.

Quick Sushi

I was in SG last weekend and had a great time shopping there. Nope, didn’t buy any clothes or shoes or bags BUT I bought sushi moulds!!! Crazy huh? Well, I was in NTUC and checking out the Jap food section when I saw these cute little sushi moulds. I just couldn’t help buying them although it’s quite pricey (OK, everything is expensive after we convert it to RM ;p).

Buy already must use ma, right….so I made sushi for dinner last night and also breakfast. I had fun playing with the moulds and will surely make these again.






Ingredients:
Sushi rice (cooked per packet instruction)
Cucumber (cut into tiny pieces)
Sushi mix (these are sold in Jap food section-Jusco sells it too)
Oil


Method:
1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
2. Start ‘masak-masak’ session with the cute little moulds.

Mashed Potato

I made this just for fun since the potatoes have been staring at me each time I check what's available in the fridge ;p
The original recipe from Petrina has bacon bits in it but I didn't buy it, so as usual, I just make do with whatever I have. What's new....Haha.. I had this for dinner last night with sushi (Yeah, I know it's a weird combination but who cares as long as it's tasty!)
This is super easy to make I think even a 3-year-old have no problem to do it.


Ingredients:
Potatoes (choose the type with reddish skin)
-I am sure there's a name to it but I don't know what it's called-
Eggs
Mayonaise (I used light mayo)
Ground black pepper (I don't have this, so I just use pepper)
Salt


Method:
1. Cook potatoes in boiling water till soft. You can remove the skin or choose to keep it. If you prefer it without the skin, peel the skin before cooking. Leave aside to let it cool.
2. Cook the eggs hard-boiled type.
3. Mash the potatoes together with the eggs.
4. Season with mayo, black pepper and salt.

Pasta in Baked Beans Sauce

Usually when I cook one dish meal for dinner that means either I am feeling lazy or it’s a busy time for me at work. I’ve been super busy since past 2 weeks so here’s another quick pasta dish I made for dinner.
While I was thinking what to cook, I saw this can of baked beans sitting in the cabinet, so I thought why not use it to make pasta sauce??? Hehe….and I think it really mixes well with pasta. You can even blend with some herbs! I’ll try that next time.

Ingredients:
Pasta (cook per packet instruction)
Baked beans
Cabbage (shredded)
Tomato (remove the seeds & cut into small pieces)
Garlic (chopped)
Salt
Oil
Water


Method:
1. Heat a little oil in wok and saute garlic for 1-2min.
2. Put in cabbage and tomatoes and stir fry for 1-2min.
3. Add in baked beans and season with salt.
4. Add some water and cook till it simmers.
5. Put in pasta and cook for 2-3min. Serve hot.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Cake

Who doesn't like chocolate cheese cake??? Love this cake...though a little sweet to my tastebud.

This recipe is from Peony's blog :)

http://myculinaryjournal.blogspot.com/2008/03/chocolate-cream-cheese-cake.html

I omitted the custard powder. Turns out great too!

Stir Fried Tomyam Angel Hair pasta

As you know, I love to mix things and create unusual recipes. This is another east meets west pasta dish and I really love it! It’s like eating dry laksa.

How did I think of this? Well, VIP requested fried noodles for dinner but since we just had fried instant noodles sometime last week, I don’t want to do a repeat.
I had something tomyam in mind but I did tomyam mifen before, so that is also out. So, I just see ingredients are available in the kitchen and there’s some leftover angel hair pasta and a can of tuna and so, that’s how this came about! We both loved it and I hope you give it a try too!

Variations: Try adding other vegetables or using different kinds of pasta.


Ingredients:
Angel hair pasta (cook as per packet instruction)
Onion (cut into slices)
Oyster mushroom (sliced)
Carrot (cut into thin strips)
Tomato (cut into strips)
Tuna fish (1 can)
Tomyam paste
Honey

Method:
1. Heat a little oil in a wok and sauté onion for 1-2min.
2. Add in tuna fish, carrot, oyster mushroom and tomato. Stir fry for 1-2min.
3. Add in tomyam paste and honey. Mix well.
4. Put in angel hair pasta and stir fry for 1-2min and it’s done. Yummy!

Cornflakes Cookies

This is really very easy to make. I modified the recipe a little from the original version to speed up the process because I don’t want to be baking till the clock strikes midnight ;p
The original recipe calls for the cookie to be rolled in the crushed cornflakes before baking. I just mixed everything in :)


Ingredients:
Flour (2 cups)
Cornflakes – crushed (2 cups)
Salt (1/4 tsp)
Butter (1 cup)
Sugar (2/3 cup)
Vanilla essence (1tsp)

Preheat oven at 190C.


Method:
1. Mix butter, sugar, salt and vanilla essence and beat till combined.
2. Add in flour and corn flakes. Mix until it forms soft dough.
3. Portion and shape into small round balls. Flatten using a fork and place on a baking tray.
4. Bake for 20 minutes.

Note: This recipe yields one medium size container of cookies.

Honey Coconut Cake

First time baking with honey and I must say it’s quite tricky to bake the cake till it’s cooked and yet make sure the bottom of the cake is not burnt. I don’t know what's the foolproof way but it’s better not to bake at the lowest rack in the oven and bake at a lower temperature if you see the cake turning golden brown.




Ingredients:
Butter (120gm)
Sugar (2/3 cup)
Egg (2)
Vanilla essence (1tsp)
Honey (1/4 cup)
Milk (1/2 cup)
Self raising flour (1 ¾ cup)
Nutmeg powder (1tsp)
Cinnamon powder (1/4 tsp)
Desiccated coconut (1/4 cup)

Preheat oven at 170C.


Method:
1. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla essence until fluffy.
2. Add in egg one by one and continue beating till it mixes well.
3. Add in milk and honey and beat till combined.
4. Sift nutmeg powder, cinnamon powder and self raising flour. Mix in desiccated coconut.
5. Fold the dry ingredients into the mixture in no. 3.
6. Pour mixture into a greased baking dish.
7. Bake for 35min or until cooked.

Vegetarian Fried Noodles

I couldn’t remember when was the last time I cooked fried noodles because anything fried seems to be associated with lots of oil. Anyway, I used very little oil here and it turned out well.

No sticking on the wok too much. I’d reckon if you use a non stick pan, it’ll be even easier!

Ingredients:
Instant noodles (cooked for a few minutes until it’s semi-soft)
Carrot (cut into thin strips)
Oyster mushroom (sliced)
Cabbage (cut into thin strips)
Garlic (chopped)
Oyster sauce
Salt
Light Soya sauce
Dark soya sauce
Pepper
Oil


Method:
1. Heat a little oil in the wok and saute garlic for 1-2min.
2. Add in carrot and cabbage. Stir fry for 2-3min.
3. Put in oyster mushroom and season with oyster sauce, salt and pepper.
4. Add in noodles and mix well.
5. Put in some dark soya sauce and mix to coat noodles with an even color.
6. If you need to make it more salty, add a little light soya sauce. Otherwise, just stir fry for 1-2min and it’s ready to be served.

Note: If the noodles get too dry, add a little water.