Ramadan day 29

A delicious meal tonight from Ramadan buffet at a restaurant. I ate too much that I regret it. I have not been eating so much like this before. But it was all worth it because I have the family around me.

Baked Fruitcake

I love fruitcake. But I would not buy them at the store unless the fruitcake is a home cooked fruitcake. The factory made fruitcake often taste bitter because they add too much of the lemon rinds.

This recipe is very simple. But if I have to do it again, I would reduce the raisins and skip the Baking Powder. I would also grease the pan.

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1 cup of chopped dried red cherries
1 cup of chopped dried green cherries
1 cup of orange marmalade
1 cup of raisins ( I would reduce to half cup)
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 1/2 cups of water
2 sticks of unsalted butter
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of soda bicarbonate
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3 large eggs

Method:
In a saucepan, cook water, sugar and  all fruits until bubble and raisins plumped.
Add butter and let it melt. Set aside to cool.
In a bowl, whisk eggs.
Add vanilla.
Add flour, soda bicarbonate, baking powder.
Add the fruits and all the juices.
Mix well.
Grease the bunt pan.
Heat oven at 375 degree F.
Bake for 40 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 325 and bake for another 10 minutes.
Test to make sure cake is cook through using tooth pick.



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Curry Puff Pastry - Karipap

Once in a while I do crave for some spicy and bad for health type of food. One of the culprit food to add up to my bad health is karipap also known as Curry Puff Pastry.
This puff pastry is loaded with good stuff like potato and chicken.
The filling to this puff pastry can vary. Sometimes I like to use sardine, beef of just plain vegetables.

Today, I am making curry puff with potato and chicken.
Ingredients:
For the fillings.
4 Potato - skinned and dice small
1 onion - dice
1 bunch of coriander leaves
1 bunch of flat leaves parsley
1/2 cup of curry powder
2 tablespoons of ground hot pepper
1 tablespoon of ground ginger
1 tablespoon of ground lemongrass
1 can of chicken breast
2 tablespoons of olive oil
pinch of salt

Heat olive oil and fry the onion.
Add all of the powdered ingredients.
Add potato and mix well.
Seasoned to taste.
Cover and let the potato cook.
Add chopped parsley and chopped coriander.
Then add chicken. Mix well.
Let the filling cool before using.

For the pastry:
3 cups of all purpose flour
3 tablespoons of Crisco or any vegetable shortening
6 to 7 tablespoons of milk. Can use water to substitute.
a pinch of salt
a pinch of sugar

In a big bowl, add flour, salt, sugar and Crisco.
Use your finger to combine this dry mixture.
Add milk one tablespoon at a time.
Knead the dough until manageable to roll flat.
Take a small dough, flat it and use round cookie cutter.
Add a tablespoon of the filling to the center, crimp the dough together.
Fry in deep oil until all sides are golden brown.

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Syawal 2015 - Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Today is the first day of Syawal. We are leaving Ramadan behind. Honey and I love pineapple upside down cake. I am using the recipe from Cooking of Joy. As always, the cake turned out superb. Very moist on the cake and sweet and juicy on the toppings.

 For toppings:
1 can of sliced pineapple. Drain the juice.
2 cups of dark brown sugar
8 tablespoons of unsalted butter (1 stick)
Maraschino cherries

For the cake:
3 cups of all purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup of unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups of granulated white sugar
2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 cup of milk
1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar

In a big bowl mix well flour, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt.
In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar.
Cream in egg one at a time.
Add vanilla and beat the batter on high speed.
Add dry flour mixture slowly and keep beating with an electric mixer.
Add milk in between adding flour.

Heat the oven at 350 degree F.
Lay the pineapple on top of the brown sugar and the melted butter.
Decorate with the cherries.
Pour the batter on top of the pineapple.
Bake for about 45 minutes until the top is brown and inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Remove from the oven.
Use a knife to separate the cake from along the pan.
Turn the pan upside down on another tray and let it stand for about 20 minutes.
Remove the pan and walla all the pineapples are nicely placed on the top of the cake.

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Ramadan 2015 Day 24 - Break Fasting Party part 4

It was a nice break fasting dinner at a friend's house. I ate too much that I had to stop or else I would not be able to drive home. Everyone are happy and enjoyed the meal. We start the course with some appetizers followed with rice and all kind of side dishes. It was a potluck dinner where everyone brought their own dish and share it at the party.

 One of my favorite appetizer is the spring rolls. The filling of this spring roll is a mixture of eggs and vegetables. Someone brought quesadilla. I am not sure what is the filling. It might be egg and cheese.

 The hostess prepared the fried noddle. It was really tasty. My blood sugar probably went up to the roof after eating this meal. But it was really delicious.

 More main dishes are served. There are biryani rice, pineapple and cucumber salad, fish, bergedil, rice stick noodles, etc.

 We had watermelon and cocktail fruits for the drink.

 One lady brought this delicious tiramisu. I really had a good time enjoying the food and the company.
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Ramadan 2015 Day 22 - Fried Lamb and Breadfruit Cake

Fried lamb is one of my favorite meal. I am using the fish fry flour to coat the lamb. Mr Big wanted some corn on a cob. So, we have fried lamb and corn on a cob for tonight's dinner.

I forgot that I bought breadfruit (buah sukun) last week. The breadfruit turned ripe over the week. So, I decided to cook it like making a bingka. It was a simple recipe using a can of coconut milk, sugar, pinch of salt, 2 cups of flour, vanilla extract, olive oil and 4 eggs.

The cake is a little bit dry that it crack on the top. But the inside is soft.
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Ramadan 2015 Day 17 - Break Fasting Party part 2

Another day of feasting on lots of food during iftar or in other word breaking the fast dinner at another friend's house. I wish I could stay much longer after dinner but unfortunately dinner started around 8:40 PM. Before I knew it, the clock was ticking and it was almost 11PM at night. I felt like Cinderella where I need to be home before midnight. Some of the ladies make themselves comfortable at that house. They have been to the friend's house many times over the years. Waiting for the terawih prayer was a challenge for me. I wish I could perform the prayer with the group but like I said earlier, I need to be home by certain hour.

 I brought this store bought triple chocolate cake. This cake is divine.

 The table is serving lots of main food. I just don't know which one I want to eat. I certainly cannot sample each and every dish. They are all look delicious.

 This pineapple and cucumber salad is my number one favorite food. I could eat the whole bowl. The sweetness of the pineapple gives delicious flavor to the cucumber with a hint of hot pepper and onion. This salad is refreshing.

 The dessert table is full with lots of sweetness.

This fish curry is delicious. As a matter of fact there are several different types of fish being served. Some are fried fish dress up in hot and spicy sambal, others are fish in coconut milk and fish in plain soup.
All of the food are delicious.

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Ramadan 2015 Day 16 - Break Fasting Party

Another day is spent at a friend's house for break fasting. There are so much food served. I had a great time tasting each of the food.

 I brought these donuts for everyone to enjoy.

 I just don't know where to start...we have pulut panggang, fish in curry gravy, fried fish with sambal, fried bee hoon(rice stick noodles), fruit salad(rojak), stir fry vegetables, fried noodles, more stir fry vegetables.

 Above is the dessert table. There are curry puff, spring rolls, pulut panggang, fried tempe, onde onde, kuih ketayap, and fermented glutinous rice (tapai pulut).

 The same food as shown before...

 Close up on the tapai pulut. They are delicious.

 Spring rolls.

 The green food is called kuih ketayap.

 The hostess signature cake, pandan chiffon.

The drinks...fruit cocktail and watermelon juice.

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Ramadan 2015 Day 15 - Tapioca Tray Cake

Talam Ubi or in other name is called as Gertuk is one of my favorite dessert. The tray cake is so easy to make. For this recipe I am using about 5 lb of tapioca that has been cleaned.

For the toppings, I am using sweetened coconut flakes cooked in a cup of dark brown sugar, 1 cup of water, a few drops of pandan flavor and 4 tablespoons of tapioca flour.

Firstly, boil the tapioca in water and a tablespoon of salt until softened.
Drain and remove the center vein if any.
Mashed the yucca or tapioca with 2 cups of sweetened coconut flakes.
Flattened the tapioca evenly in a tray.
Set aside.

In a big pan, boil 1 cup of water and dissolve about 2 cups of dark brown sugar.
Add 6 cups of shredded sweetened coconut flakes.
Stir well.
Add tapioca flour and combine well.
Cook for about 5 minutes or until the water evaporated.
Turn off the stove.
Scoop the coconut and spread evenly onto the tapioca tray.
Using a plastic glove, press the coconut until smooth.
Let it cool completely before cutting into squares.

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Ramadan 2015 Day 10 - Rice Noodle in Beef Soup and Brownies

Lovely and beautiful day today. I decided to cook a simple meal for dinner. Rice noodle also known as bee hoon or mee siam is delicious and can be cooked in several ways. For today, I am making the rice noodle with beef soup.

For the soup:
1/2 lb of beef
1 stick of cinnamon
2 pieces star anise
5 pieces cloves
1 tablespoon of crushed coriander
1 big onion (diced)
1 tablespoon of chopped garlic
1 tablespoon of grated ginger
1 tablespoon of dried parsley
lots of water, about 10 cups
2 tablespoons of salt or as taste
Rice noodle. Soak in warm water.

Method:
Boil water and all of the ingredients.
Taste the soup and add salt if needed.
Let the beef cooked and all spices are marinated.
Add rice noodle and turn off the stove.
Garnish the rice noodle soup with hot peppers soak in soy sauce.

Dessert today was Brownies.
I am using brownie mix from the box. Follow the instruction on the box and add about 2 cups of apple sauce. I like to add some other ingredient into the cake mix. My favorite is to use apple sauce. The sauce will give more moisture to the cake mix.

 The brownie came out nice and super moist.

Other ingredient that you can add to the cake mix is grated zucchini, peaches, or any other fruits and vegetables.


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Fried Squid and Pear Pies

My sister, Anita treat me to these delicious food.

 We had this spicy fried squid at a restaurant in the airport. This squid was cooked to perfection. The dipping sauce was a sweet sauce that was really delicious.

These pear pies are cooked by the chef in the kitchen, David, my sister's husband. He loves to bake. The pies are really good.I really had a good time at Anita and David's house. One week was not enough to play with Daniella. She is adorable. Hop on to my other website to see her.

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Cream Puff

Cream puff is one of my favorite food. But it was not cheap to buy. So, this morning I decided to bake them for myself. The ingredients are simple but the process is a little bit tedious.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup of water
8 tablespoons of unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons of sugar
11/2 cups of all purpose flour
4 large eggs
1 egg for egg wash

Method:
Preheat the oven at 425 degrees F.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a pot, heat on medium low water, butter and sugar until bubble.

Turn off the stove. Then sifted flour into the pot.

Using a wooden spoon, mix the batter.

Add one egg. Mix it well.
Then add another egg. Mix well.

The batter will be soft after all 4 eggs are incorporated into the batter.

Using a plastic bag, spoon the batter into the bag and cut a small opening at one corner. Pipe the batter into 1 inch size.

Brush the top with egg wash.

Bake at 425F for 10 minutes.
Change the temperature to 300F and cook for another 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve by piping butter cream into the cream puff or drizzle with some melted chocolate.

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