My Dream Mixer

This will have to wait I think. But I am definitely getting this babe one day!




Buttery Ruffles

Savoury Stuff - Papaya & Fish Soup

Oh yeah, yet another savoury dish. This is for mummies who are breastfeeding as papaya and this fish is supposed to help with milk production.

Ingredients (Based on one serving slow cooker):
*Ngoh-Hyer (fish) Head - found in wet markets.
1/4 Unripe & green papaya, skinned, seeds removed and cut into chunks
1 Large red date (the huge kind)
2 Slices of Ginger
Water

*The fishmonger will cut and clean fish-head and pack accordingly. One fish-head can make 4 individual serves. Uncooked fish head can also be frozen for 2-3 weeks. For fish lovers, there's lots of meat on it too! For non-fish loving mummies, add abit additional chunks of papaya and dates, stew longer and go for the soup. For fish-aversive mummies, I am sure you know the more tricks for removing the fishy taste - e.g. pre-soak in milk or rub in salt. etc.

Steps:
1. Boil fish head in water briefly. Drain water away.
2. Add all ingredients into a slow cooker. Add enough water to cover ingredients.
3. Stew away! It would be ready in 3 hours. Stew longer for a richer taste.

The soup is sweet enough without any seasoning at all!

:)

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Savoury Stuff - Red Dates Chicken with Chicken Essence

Oh yeah, this is nowhere close to buttery pastries, but it's something I made for my cousin who is doing her confinement now. Since cousin and cousin-in-law said it was good, I thought I might as well post it so that I will remember it!

This dish is simple to make but nutritious enough especially for mummies in confinement! I suspect this will be good for those who needs to 'bu' their tired bodies too.

Ingredients:
1 Large Chicken Thigh, skin removed
5 Chinese Mushrooms, quartered
10 Red dates, soaked in water
1 & 1/2 Tablespoon Wolfberries (Gou Qi Zi), soaked in water
1 Bottles of Chicken Essence
1 Cup of Water
Seasoning:
2 Teaspoons Brown Sugar (cos we did not have the usual white sugar)
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce

Steps:
1. Put chicken thigh in boiling water (enough to cover chicken) and boil for 10 minutes. Drain water away.
2. Add mushrooms, red dates, wolfberries and 1 cup of water. Add soy sauce and sugar.
3. Bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until water is about half evaporated. By now, the chicken is pretty tender.
5. Add Chicken Essence and continue to simmer until fluids has been halved. By then, the chicken is really tender and will fall away from the bone effortlessly.

Done!

I did not think of taking any pics but you will end up with a really dark sauce and ingredients. The sauce would have penetrated the chicken too!

Enjoy!


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Lemony Lemon Bars

As part of the experimentation and selection of a pastry for the birth of my second niece, I am dabbling in citrus stuff.

The inspiration came from my cousin's cravings for citrus stuff and how citrus fruit/drinks have helped soothe her morning sickness. Oh of course, how can I forget the scene when she vomited orange juice after a car ride (which had worsened the nausea).

This is still in process. Only testing out how citrus this would be. Still undecided about the eventual pastry and flavours.

As for the lemony lemon bars, I made 2 mistakes. I made the filling too early (before the crust went into the oven). So the filling mixture sat and waited for at least 20 min. And I should have placed them lower in the oven rack. What resulted was a crusty top on the bars and yet the centre has yet to set. In the end, I had to peel the crusty top off every bar. What a waste of the filling!


This is richly citrus and sweet! The filling reminds me of lemonade. May need to cut down on sugar, if I am making this again... Shall eat (another) one tomorrow to see how it keeps.


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TWG Macarons

Ok, macarons are in. They have been in for a few years by now.

Should I try baking them? Are they part of the rite of passage for every baker? They seem a tart too sweet and rich for my liking... But to be able to bake them successfully seems like a nice challenge. Also, they really are quite pretty and colourful, aren't they?

Here's the highly-raved macarons from TWG. So pretty!


Will have to seriously consider trying to bake them!


Buttery Ruffles

Olivia's Lavender Shortbread Cookies

It has been a while since I baked. Life and work has indeed gotten the upper hand on me.

It was such a delight to set some time aside to bake. It was nothing fanciful, just cookies. This shortbread cookie has a special meaning for me though. It was created on the day my niece was born, and a treat to remember her safe and joyful birth.

While searching for a suitable pastry to name after the upcoming birth of my second niece, I was reminiscing and wanted to bake Olivia's Lavender Shortbread Cookies.

Lightly lavender-scented and buttery, this is how Olivia's arrival was for us all - sweet, warm, rich and full:




Buttery Ruffles

The Kitchen

I bake in a tiny lil kitchen...

The humble tools...

The pans...

The oven...

The food tasters oven guardians

:)

Buttery Ruffles