Fish & Noodle Soup

Since I don't really know the "real" name to call this dish, I'll just named it as it. Yes, there's fish in it....:) I just added whatever I could remember of this dish when my grams used to cook it or when we had it at some hawker center. It's been a looonnnngggg time and there're so many versions of this soupy delight out there that I'm not even gonna to delve into it. I'll leave it as such

Being in Lawrence, fresh fish is hard to come by and when I get the opportunity, I'll take it with no questions asked... Sometimes what you don't know it's better for you. I added whatever I could scavenge from my fridge so to clear everything out before the next major shopping in town. Of course, that means it might not be as authentic as the "real" thing. Overall it turned out to be a pretty rich broth but light as well. All you need is simply fresh fish and the rest is, well, whatever you can find in the fridge..:)

Recipe
Ingredients
-Red Snapper, Whole fish preferred and then cut up to bite size pieces.
-Salted mustard, rinsed and cut up
-Tofu, medium firm to firm
-Tomatoes, quartered
-Ginger, sliced (amount depends on how much you like ginger)
-Dried Seaweed, the China type (which usually comes in a circular form)
-Shaoxing wine
-Evaporated milk, amount depends on how rich you want it to be, I used 1 cup
-Thick vermicelli noodles, soaked in cold water for about 1 hr to soften it and then cooked in rapid boiling water till done.

Method
-Clean, towel-dried and cut the fish, salt it slightly and then set aside for now
-Drain the preserved liquid from the salted mustard by rinsing it under cold tap water a few times, you don't to soak it too much or it would just be too bland for the soup but enough to rinse off excess salt.
-Cut the tofu into cubes, quartered about 3 tomatoes, sliced up the ginger, hyrate those seaweed and ready for the frying of the fish pieces
-Heat up a pot with some oil, then add in the ginger slices, fried till fragrant and add in water or stock, enough for the soup part, I used water here since I ran out of home-made stock
-I used a deep-fryer here but any wok or sauce pot will do the trick. Deep fried the fish pieces, remember not to put in too many pieces at one time or it wouldn't really fry up. You don't want to really cook the fish through, just a quick blanch in the very hot oil. Take them out and set them aside on a kitchen towel to drain some of the excess oil
-Then once the water/stock is boiling, add in the tomatoes and salted mustard. Boil till tomatoes are softened.
-Then start to add the fried fish in, simmer at this point and add in the evaporated milk and wine.
-Taste before adding salt since the mustard is not thoroughly rinsed through and also some sugar to enhance soup.
-Once everything's done, add in the tofu cubes and seaweed and switched off the stove!
-Put the cooked noodles into a bowl, add the soup with little of everything, topped it with some chopped spring onions and you're done. Enjoy!

Not your everyday cup of "tea"

Eversince my move to Lawrence I'd been in a rather nostalgic mood. Making comfort food for me is something that totally soothes my soul, something akin to the culturally more popular, chicken soup. To me, having a good bowl of Bak Kut Teh is almost zen-like. I can't resist a good bowl of steaming, peppery, "herbally" soup. All my stress just totally melt away, I really don't care what other people have to say about it being an extremely rich decadent soup that adds pounds on you, hey, can't beat having to pay for therapy!!!

There're many versions of this soup but my perference is to use Seah's Bak Kut Teh Spice pack as the base for soup and using extra herbal ingredients to put together the final flavor. Most of the time this soup is served with chinese crullers as dippers but I prefer mine with thin noodles, it's just great. On the side for dipping is sliced thai chillis in dark sauce. As you can probabaly see, there are some chinese wolfberries in the soup as well..:)

To add to all the sentimental reasons for having this wonderfully rich tasting soup, it's also a good way to keep warm through the rather severe cold weather when we moved here. Lawrence, Kansas was apparently having one of the coldest and harsher winters they had seen in years, so this soup was really served as an "internal" temperature regulator for the whole family.

In retrospect, it's the little things in life that counts. Especially with this move, I've to realise that things are just not going to be what they used to be and the only way to deal with it is to think and be positive. One of the things I like to do to maintain whatever sanity and normancy in our lives is to just cook comfort foods; foods that we can always relate to and feel comfortable with.

PS: Just a small announcement, we have finally got into contract with the house that we were bidding on and hopefully close on this Thursday. Awfully close and unexpected but if everything turns out the way it is, we will be in a new place the week after this and "officially" start our life in Lawrence....;)

"We are no longer in Kansas", I mean, Texas..:)

I know, I know, I haven't posted for quite some time but there were some major changes in our lives these past couple of months. First of all....I'm no longer in Texas..:( I've relocated to Lawrence, Kansas, a small college town somewhere in Kansas. Technically, my lil' family had moved here. It was not an easy decision but it was for a better good, rather, a better goal. So despite all reluctance to move from Texas, a place where we have called home for ten years, we packed up whatever we could hold in two cars and left the state to another. It was heartwrenching for me. Sometimes, you never know what you had lost till you lose it. I didn't think I would miss Texas that much. After a while, I began to realise that I was homesick!! Strange even to say it.
When I first lived in Texas, I chanced upon this bumper sticker, it said "I wasn't born in Texas, but I came as fast a I could". I thought that was just too funny. Now that I'm no
longer residing there, I totally understand what that means.

Texas is one of those places that grows on you, it sneaks under your skin and before you know it, you're hooked! I'm always a little cynical of Texas' bigger than life mentality and sneered a little at their belief of it being a "worldly metropolitan" city. Well, I was wrong! Yes, it has its quirks and what not but trust that bumper sticker! The only regret I had was that I didn't really "make use" of my time there. In retrospect, I could have "utilize" my time there a little better. As for considering itself as a metropolitan town. It is, in its own special way; it's very multi-cultural and you have almost everything you would need in that lil' big town.
All in all, Texas is a big state with an even bigger heart! Definitely one of the friendliest people I had ever met! You know what, I could even live with the heat if I could stay there just one more day. Alas, we had to move and move we did......

Lawrence is a good place for small families like us but it's not Texas. Being brought up in a city environment, I guess I'm just not used to the small town, country life. Lawrence has its beauty, it's very scenic (codeword for country/rural) and very quaint (codeword for one of everything instead of 50 of everything). You don't pay for "options" of the big city which is a very good

thing. And once I get over the FACT that it's NOT Texas, I think I would be able to enjoy its perks. Meanwhile I'll just wallow over the fact that I'm no longer IN Texas!!! Lawrence, Kansas is a good place but Texas....an even better place...

The pics here are taken on my day in Lawrence from our apt balconey. All that snow is a pretty sight, a definite change from Texas scenery (give my city skyline!!). My husband had been real "guilty" about the move since he knew I love the city life, so he had been so nice as to drive us to Kansas City each weekend so I wouldn't be that "homesick". It's awfully sweet of him, but really, I'm sick of the long drive already!!!! On a bittersweet note, we are going back to Dallas next week................TO PACK UP THE REST OF OUR STUFF FOR THE MOVERS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Baking Frenzy

My hands are itching to create something new for Christmas but the rest of my body is just too darn lazy to get it off my behind and do something! Ok...I think I just have to psych myself to just DO something!! Here's some of the bakings I'd done over the week...nothing much...just something to, hopefully, motivate myself to get baking again... I think all these Christmas hype is seriously putting my spirits in in the damper...oh well....that and some other stuff....:)


I made some chicken potpie and after all the picture taking, didn't realise that I didn't get one that's sliced.. Oh well...people, just have to use your imagination..:) I made the chicken filling using cut to cube chicken breast meat (on hindsight, probably should had used the dark meat instead, juicier!), celery, carrots, potatoes (as a natural thickener), peas, onions and let's see, oh yah, some water. Cook them like you would a stew. I added all that ingredients (albeit it's a lot of ingredients but I wanted to clear all my remainding veges in the crisper) in a pot and cooked till done and let cooled. I had some frozen pastry sheets and used them for the crust. Baked it at 350F till crust turned golden brown. Oh yah, before putting in oven, brushed them with egg wash to get that browness. Turned out great. Ed's not a great fan of potpies but he had no complaints nonetheless. As for Ethan, well....he was a little skeptical of it...like father, like son!! BUT for those who loves potpies, this is one easy way to make one at home and a great way to utilise all those itty bitty veges you have laying around your fridge!

And as I STILL have some more pastry sheets (geez....I really don't know how I got that amount in the first place, must had gone pastry happy and gotten more than I really needed!!!). I made some sausage rolls. Same method as the chicken potpie but just different fillings (...the possibilities....); I made these rolls with some leftover sausages (take the meat out of the casings) and pan fried them with chopped onions, peas, carrots and as a final touch, some spring onions. You can add any herbs you wished, I added some rosemary just coz I like it! :) Let the filling cooled, lay your pastry sheet out and rolled them out a little, add the filling, not too much and rolled it up, smeared some egg wash or water to seal the ending of the rolls. Stuffed it back in the fridge to chill for at least an hour (trust me, your pieces wouldn't disintegrate into odd looking bits). Then take it out to cut them into bite-sized rolls. Egg washed and sprinkled with sesame seeds...or not...your choice. Baked them at 350F till done, about 30 to 45 mins.

And no, I didn't use ANY pastry crust here....I had FINALLY finished all those pastry I had stored in my freezer like I was waiting for some pastry convention to hit town!!! Those are oatmeal-raisin cookies. MY FAVS!!! I would love to share this recipe but I think it's protected by some copyright laws out there since I got it from a cookbook. Actually Martha Stewart's I think, so check it out. Since I'm on the topic, this is one good book to get if you enjoy baking, although I think some of the recipes are a little off(that or my oven's and measuring cups are off, I really don't know), it's overall a really good book. One more thing, I don't know if you can tell, but I made this cookies giant!! First it saves time and some space and also, I'm lazy (if no one realise that by now) . Second, it's just impressive and fascinating to just look at giant cookies. Ok...I just realise how silly that sounds but really, giant cookies are just cool to stare at...makes you wonder what in the world was the baker thinking when he/she made them!! hehehe....I guess I'm the only one who does that....ooookkkk....

Enough of my crazy pre-christmas insanity post, right now attempting to make some christmas cookies...hahahah...let's see how those turn out!!!

The Science of Chicken Rice : Singapore Style

Chicken Rice is one of those universal dish. You can pretty much find a variety of chicken rice dishes from every culture in the world. Where I'm from, Singapore, chicken rice has raisen to the ranks of what best epitomized Singapore cusine despite our multi-cultural society.

Almost everyone I know back home loves a good chicken rice meal, but finding a good place for that is the toughest thing to do. Everyone has their favorites so it's not that easy to agree on one. There're many minute details that people look for in their chicken rice. It could be texture of the rice, the flavor of the rice, or the chicken, the type of chicken used....etc...the list goes on. For me, it's simple... I like my rice flavorful, not too oily and my chicken tender and smooth, not overcooked.



After years of making this dish at home, I finally come up with a method that actually ensure a tender and smooth chicken each time. The only problem to that is that is rather time-consuming. Nevertheless I still make this dish...knowing at the end of cooking I get to sit down and savor a seriously good meal!! That's what motivates me to make it! Oh that and the fact that I'm greedy!



These days you can take a short cut on making the flavored rice with a bottle of ready-made chicken rice sauce. It gives the same authentic Singapore Style chicken rice but you can take the long way if you want to..just for the sake. I usually focus on making the chicken the right way...coz it's nothing worse that eating tough to chew chicken coz of overcooking!

Due to health concerns and the fact I lost the vote, I made this dish with just chicken breast meat but it's best with a whole chicken. Remainding chicken could be used in other dishes; eg, chicken pasta salad. Somehow using just part of the chicken just doesn't make good chicken rice nor tender juicy chicken! *personal opinion* :)

Otak Otak

With the big Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, lots of people probably a little tired of hearing the word T-U-R-K-E-Y! I know I am!! So for all those turkey weary people out there, I've got something to take your mind off that dreaded bird.....



I made Otak Otak with some really fresh snapper that I can't resist buying. It was one huge fish, too big for one sitting and as we all know, with fish that fresh, it's better to consume it asap instead of letting it sit in your freezer forever (which I tend to do!).

I used banana leaves as the wrap but I stuck it into the oven to grill it to give that slightly charred flavor of Otak Otak. It tasted authentic enough but it could had been better...;) I followed the recipe from CyberKauli to the best I could with the availability of ingredients.

Overall, too much prep work to make this treat worthwhile to make on a daily basis...it's nice...NOT THAT nice...:)

Sugar Plums

I never had sugar plums before; plums, yes, but sugar plums...nope. You hear all about them during Christmas time, it's always sugar plums this and sugar plums that! I always thought they were just candy for Christmas! Little did I know that they are actually fruits?!?!?! And after all my years in the US of A, I'd never ever seen a REAL sugar plum. So when I saw that in my local grocery store, I bought a bunch of it! I mean, with a name like sugar plums, you really can't go wrong. And I wasn't....they were sweet!!

Unlike most plums, these sugar varieties have "sweet" skins instead of the tart ones on regular plums. A real and rare treat for me; who loves plums but just hate peeling the outer skin just to get to the sweet fleshy insides. With these sugar plums, all you need is to wash, dry and bite right into it! They are not that big either, smaller than the usual plums bigger than a grape, so you can really get carried away with the eating part.



However I found that they ripened really fast even if you try to keep it refridgerated. Solution to that, buy as much as you think you can consume within the next couple of days and finish it so you wouldn't have to keep. We don't have any problem with eating part since I've got a fruit bat for a son.


The only problem is that plums seems out of season now and I just can't find them in the store anymore!! It was such a short season too...:( Still I'm glad I finally can say, I'd eaten sugar plums and, boy, they were great, not just as a decorative piece!!! :)

Early Thanksgiving

These two weeks had been travelling to one place to another. It was our friends' wedding and it was held in two different places. One was in Oklahoma where they reside and the other was in Kansas City where her family is. We went to Oklahoma last weekend and just over this weekend we were at Kansas for the for big wedding dinner. It was exhilarating but it was also very tiring! In a way, I'm glad it's over.

This is also the friend who makes one great succulent, tender, and perfectly roasted turkey! I really mean it! I hate roasted turkeys at Thanksgiving coz the turkey ALWAYS turned up dry, flaky and really, not appetizing at all!! Eversince he found this recipe last year and made this wonderful roast bird, he has been "crowned" the official roast turkey host!! Which means that every year for Thanksgiving, he will be making his "famous" roast turkey!

However this year, he can't host Thanksgiving on the actual date since he would be having YET another wedding (his, of course)in his hometown, KL. So he decided that he will just have to host one earlier....what would be a better time than celebrating it in conjunction with his "first" wedding...:)

Seriously, check this bird out. Of course with the bird, there's always fixings! He had roasted garlic mashed potates (my fave!) WITH homemade gravy (WONDERFUL), asparagus wrapped with bacaon simmered in some Thai Chilli sauce (my husband's fave and our friend's original recipe), buns, green bean casserole, and bread pudding AND lots of wine!! I mean, loads!! I loved it!! Every thing was just wonderful, great food and most of all, great company! You can't beat that!



Just look at my greedy boy's face staring the turkey down and you know you did good!! Ethan's not very enthusiastic when it comes to meat but check out his bulging eyes on his gleeful face....he can't wait!!! He actually hopped into the chair on his own and waited for FOOD!!!



But my friend being the budding photographer that he is, decided that he want to set up his equippment to take the pppuuuuurrrrrrrfffeeeccctttt Thanksgiving picture. Ethan's remark on that...."NNNNOOOOWWWWWWWW......ON THE TABLE!!!!!!!!!!!" Oh yah...:)

Woody

Woody it is....I had mentioned that Ethan's Halloween costume was NOT to be Buzz Lightyear. Well....the next best thing, Woody from Toy Story. I didn't decide on Woody initially coz I just thought it was such a cliche. I mean, we live in Texas, and dressing as a cowboy, well, you know what I mean. :) But Ethan actually looked so cute in it!!

Recently Ethan has developed a real sense of self-awareness. It's really kinda of enduring but he seems to have taken a negative outlook towards it. So right now, we are teaching him that it's ok to laugh at oneself and it's not a bad thing to have a sense of humour. He's still working on it..:)



We tried to take a "good" pic of him but Ethan was just too "shy" to pose for the camera. In the end, we decided that the only way that we were only take ANY pics was just let him be and kept snapping at the camera and prayed we get at least ONE good pic!!!



Ethan suddenly got the case of the "shy-ness" and didn't really know what he wanted to do. He was so conscious of all of us making a big fuss over him. What with our gushing, fussing, outbursts of delights and squealing, it was just too much althogether for him to take. I guess he just didn't know what to make of it! hehehe



In the end, the only "good" pic of him came when we were at the Arboretum. He just loves pumpkins, just don't ask me why....hehehe.. Overall I think he enjoyed his Halloween, although he's still having some night terrors about some jack-o-lanterns he had seen somewhere......poor baby!

PS: For those curious about his missing cowboy hat. Well...it's extra which means it doesn't come with the outfit, to be bought separately. And knowing Ethan, that hat wouldn't be on his head but in my hands, I'll be carrying it!! So NO!

Apple Crumble Coffee Cake

 
  

First Timer's Wedding Cake

One week researching on the internet and books, three days coming up with the actual design on blueprint and planning, plus three more days of actually making it in various stages.....this is the outcome............

Yup, I made a wedding cake for a very close family friend. They are FINALLY tying the knot, so why not! This is also my first attempt of making a fondant type cake. I made everything from scratch, except for the flowers, I didn't grow them!!! :) I didn't tell them about the cake coz I don't want to dissapoint anyone if it turned out to be a disaster and I didn't have a cake to give when they expected it. Well...it turned out to be a lovely surprise for them...they didn't expect it...LOL



I did so much research on the type of cake that I was really really stressed out! It also had to be assemble over the course of three cakes. So lets say that I screwed up on day three...I'm pretty much done and over with!!! Didn't have the time to do any thing else...and all effort would have gone down the drain!

The toughest part, surprisely, was baking the cake itself. I guessed I was a little over confident with the cake part since I bake a fair amount of it with no major disaster. The part which I thought would most likely to fail turned out to be the "easiest".

Of course, by the end of the whole thing, I was totally exhausted to say the least and was not really paying a whole lot of attention to what I'm doing. Main goal at the end was just finished up with whatever and slap it aside!! Hehehhe...bad attitude but with barely six hours of sleep each day and having to do everything else...it was definintey a brain drain!



Ed thought it was pretty good especially for a first-timer and asked if I was gonna start a new profession. Sure....that and find a cure for Cancer and AIDS, end world hunger, create world peace...oh yah oh yah.....find time to sleep...:)

Just for you guys, N & K, congrats again!!!! See ya this weekend!!! :)

PS: Did I mention I LOVE FONDANT!!!! They are like foundation, pretty much cover up MOST "blemishes"!!! ;)

PSS: San, CONGRATS AGAIN on your baptism!! Sorry that I didn't know....I'm a lousy friend!! :(

Arboretum in Autumn

 
  

To Infinity And Beyond......

Soooo Halloween's almost here...and still no Halloween cupcakes to boot. I'm a wreck! On the bright side, I think Ethan's finally "settled" on ONE costume! As you can see, it's Buzz Lightyear of Star Command/Toy Story. Doesn't matter.... COZ tomorrow's gonna be one hot day so this outfit wouldn't work after all. I got this costume about a month ago and debating to keep it till today (yah, I've to wait till the every last second to do this *sigh*). I decided to...not keep it!! It's just way too stiffling to wear that in the heat and my poor boy would be sweating like crazy! It's gone; I have returned that to Disney. NOTE TO SELF: NOT GOING TO BUY ANYTHING FROM DISNEY ONLINE AGAIN, I WAITED ON THE PHONE FOR 1 FULL HOUR FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE!It's too ridiculous!!!!

Saying that, I think I'm going to totally enjoy this weekend. I've planned out my schedule for it and hopefully I can keep to the timetable. *cross fingers* It's going to be fun, there's nothing better than Halloween. It meant that Thanksgiving's not too far and of course, Christmas would be here in a bit...oh lovely!!!! Besides, it's also Daylight Savings, so we get an hour back....WOOOOHOOOOOOOO......now...to get my son to understand that he needs to sleep an extra hour on Sunday! :)

Tune in for Ethan's final Halloween's costume...:)

Picnic At the Park

We are having some seriously great weather here in Texas right now!! No kidding!! After a really really long (never-ending it seems) and sorching summer, Fall has finally come to North Texas!! HOORAY for Mother Nature....I guess you haven't forgotten us..:) Just check out the bright blue sky...and did I mention...great cool weather?? :) Ok...'nuff said....

Following our usual Monday ritual, Ethan and I went to the Arboretum for some fall activities there and to meet up with some friends. He loves that place; he could run till his heart content, splash as much water as he wants, chase as many squirrels and birds till they are totally terrified of him (SIGH) and pick up as many bugs as he could find (EEEWWWWWW.....), what's there not to like! And as usual, Ethan gets to choose the "theme" for his face paint!



The past week was a spider and he wanted it blue...hmmm...a very creative mind.... As I wanted to take a good picture of Ethan, I told him he needed to stay put for a while like he does during "night night". Soooooo Ethan thought he might as well pose like he's taking his nap as well. So there you got it, a pretend napping position with a nibbled apple. Needless to say, the minute the shot was taken, he had taken off like lightning!!

Let's see what tomorrow will bring....I heard it's gonna be another great day...boy, can't wait to picnic again....on a negative note... my "famous" pumpkin bread took a "fall". For some reason, all the bread I made today collapsed after it was cooled. Hmmm...I guess no pumpkin bread to give out tomorrow when I meet the mothers....but I think I'll do it AGAIN later tonight...I really don't know what happened, it never happened before. Guess there's always a first....hmph!

Of Things Lycopene

These days people are more and more aware of what they are putting in their bodies. Thank goodness for TV and endless researches (trivial it seems they are) out there, people are getting more involved in making the right health choices.

Nevertheless we still can't get over certain food dislikes even though they are "supposedly" good for you. My husband, Ed, seems to have a distinct dislike for tomatoes, tomato juice, tomato-based sauce and even ketchup, well, he would only eat it with fries or eggs. Most of the time, Ed would avoid it like the plague! Because of it, I have devised many clever disguises for the tomatoes so that Ed would eat it.

Now you would be wondering why in the world would I be "forcing" him to eat tomatoes. Why not just let him be. Well, other than tomatoes, he also doesn't like/eat if he could green veges unless if they are deep fried, he also doesn't like eggplants, fruits, well actually, most veges in general. So why tomatoes in particular?? Reason=LYCOPENE. It's a powerful antioxident which in a recent research could prevent prostate cancer and various other cancer as well. Now tell me, wouldn't that be a good incentive enough to eat your tomatoes!! :)

So with all these "disguises", Ed would eat tomatoes and sometimes not even realise that he did eat it! What a laugh. Probably he had a bad experience with tomatoes once, who knows, the point is, what he doesn't know he wouldn't stop himself from eating it! Thank goodness Ethan loves his tomatoes...maybe got that from his mommy??? ;)

As for the picture above, it's a grilled open face tomato-cheese sandwich. I sliced some homemade maple-oat wheat bread, some roast beef on top, add slices of tomatoes and then a slice of cheese, placed in the grill and just melt the cheese, ready to be serve. It's just that easy.

Pandan Buns

The wonderful aroma from baking these buns is simply incredible....that is if you like the fragrant leaves of the screwpine plant, better known as pandan. Other than being a natural roach repellant (what's there not to like already), it also emits a sweet smell when cooked. Simply delightful!



So wonderful that I decided to post TWO pics of it!! LOL If only there's such thing as aroma-net, that would be so awesome! :) Nevetheless, it's a pretty easy recipe, no major cleanup since I have a breadmaker which kneaded and proofed the dough and all I did was mould, proof a little more and into the oven it goes. I used the sweet bread recipe from KC and just added a little pandan essence and paste to get that bright green color. Just amazing, for those pandan lovers out there, try this out! Goes great with butter if you like but my husband likes it as it is.

Snow Skin Mooncakes

YIPPPEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FINALLYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After a total of two failed attempts in one week plus one pitiful attempt last year, I finally did it!! I finally succeeded in making a batch on Mooncake Day itself!! :) Took more effort and time than I expected but I did it, I did it!!!!

It was a different recipe from what I tried before and this one is a definite keeper!! The texture is like that of mochi, slightly chewy yet very soft, almost like a melt in your mouth sensation. It's not too sweet which made a refreshing difference from the usual ones.

I made two types of snowskin mooncakes; one pandan/screwpine flavor and the other, almond flavor. I added the different essence in each and had only red bean paste for both. I was truly surprised at the end result, it was much better than I expected, a real treat for Ed and Ethan!

We "celebrated" our Mid-Autumn Festival with Ethan walking his little battery operated musical "lantern", compliments of a dear friend, L. Ethan walked around the neighbourhood and had fun, so say the least. He had some mini mooncakes that I had also moulded just for him, it was so funny, coz all he wanted to do was hold them in one hand and hold his lantern in the other!! Oh well...one way of celebrating Mooncake Fest!!


Of all, I'm most grateful to one friend in Singapore who generously sent me this mooncake mould, a mooncake cookbook, plus lanterns. Thanks Linda, you know who you are!! I truly appreciated what you did!! And we definitely had a great time! I would like to dedicate these mooncakes to you and your husband, have a great Mid-Autumn Fest! :) Take care!

Last of the Summer Cupcakes

Yup, the last of the summer berries are almost gone. You can still find some residual summer berries but these days, plums, plum-related fruits (eg, plouts) and varieties of apples are now in season.



These are some of lemon cupcakes I had done before summer ended although Texas weather still feels a whole lot like summer. I still need a lot of practice in decorating with frosting so I guess I'll be doing some other cupcakes for Fall.



After a few disasterous attempts of creating rosettes from my darn piping piece, I decided that fruits would be a better "decoration" piece...besides, I like the whole berry decor...:)

For those who are interested in the lemon cupcake recipe, I used the basic cupcake recipe from 500 Cupcakes and added a little of Boyajian Lemon Oil instead of the vanilla essence that was asked for. I also switched from plain flour to cake flour making it a lighter and fluffier cupcake.

As for the frosting, it's a mascarpone frosting instead of the regular cream cheese frosting or buttercream. I used 1.5 cups of mascarpone and 1 cup of confectioners sugar, beat them well with a mixer till fluffy, about 2-3 mins.

Eggplant Stir Fry

I love my eggplants but I just feel I don't know enough eggplant recipes to really explore all its potential but nevermind, I do what I can for now...:) This dish goes real well with white rice (staple food in this household) and most of all, satisfied most of the food groups required for a healthy balance. Even for Ed who claims he doesn't like eggplants (although I had caught him eating AND even ordering it when we eat out!!!) likes it! Most of all, it's rather easy to make, so that takes a bit of thinking work out of the equation!

Recipe
Ingredients
-4 Japanese Eggplant
-Shrimps, Shelled
-Green Onions, diced
-Garlic, minced
-Oil
-Mushroom flavored Sauce
-Sesame Oil
-Salt, Sugar and Pepper

Method
-Rinsed and dry eggplants, slice diagonally.
-At this point, you can either do a quick dip in hot oil or place them lightly salted, peppered and olive oiled in the oven for about 10 mins. Either way's fine.
-Heat very little oil (approx 1/2 tsp) in a wok, add garlic and shrimps.
-Fry till shrimps are almost done, add eggplants.
-Quickly seasoned it with mushroom sauce, sesame oil, salt, sugar and pepper and toss a couple more times before adding in the green onions and then dishing out to plate for serving.

Do Not Disturb : Art in Progress

It's funny how kids see things; all so innocent and so pure. Everything's beautiful or icky and even when it's icky, it's totally fascinating!! When Ethan is finger painting, he doesn't want help from mommy except for the cleaning up! *sigh* He's in total concentration of what he's painting and regardless how it looks, it's always gift worthy!! :)





Ethan was making a card for his grandpa(gong gong)in S'pore and this was one of the many he had done!! ehehhe...in the end he decided that he would give these paintings for his daddy instead while he made another card with stickers for grandpa!!

And for those who are interested, this easel from Ikea is great for kids Ethan's age coz it's the right height for them to reach and paint/draw/doodle at eye level. It's also a chalk board on the other side. A great "tool" around to calm a crazy kid.