Merry Belated Christmas & Daring Bakers Challenge - Gingerbread House

Merry Christmas from the family! :)

Monkey 1 and Monkey 2

It's been a crazy and hectic month! Time seems to fly at HIGH SPEED when it comes to year end, doesn't it? Well, I'm once again late for posting my Christmas wishes to all of you AND for my Daring Bakers challenge (don't think THIS is ever gonna change! :P) Anyhow, I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Holiday!! =)

This year, I didn't feel as excited as I usually did....I think mainly because Nd (Lee) had to travel to Taiwan for work for the first 2 weeks of December. However, I have also notice that usually by the time we get to Christmas, I am already so exhausted with the kids' and Nd's birthdays, Thanksgiving and all the school parties. However, I am glad that, at least this time I wasn't late in the holiday baking. I managed to deliver all the treats to friends and neighbors the weekend before Christmas! Woohooo!!

Before I forget...
The December 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to you by Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi. They chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ everywhere to bake and assemble a gingerbread house from scratch. They chose recipes from Good Housekeeping and from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as the challenge recipes.

So, Gingerbread House made from scratch was the challenge, and boy, was THAT a TRUE challenge for me. We have only made gingerbread house ONCE, and from A KIT. At first, I was all excited, thinking of all the possibilities to decorate the gingerbread house, and that I would make a house for each of the kids, so they can decorate their own, and not mess with MINE! :P I started off by reserving gingerbread house books from the library. It was a little overwhelming ~ what design should I choose? Should I copy from one of the books, or should I make one of my own?? Then came the busy schedule that keeps building up, while I kept on pushing off the challenge. There was a week where we were forecast to have snow (we don't get a lot of snow fall in Portland, Oregon, some years, we don't even get ANY snow), and after last year's Arctic Blast, I was worried we were gonna get snowed-in and nothing to do. So I picked up all the candies --- but which candies to buy? How much do I need? I end up spending twenty something dollars JUST on candies itself, and we didn't even have ANY snow!!! Argghhh!

In short, I end up making the dough 3 days before Christmas ( I used Y's recipe)....thinking I could maybe have it done by Christmas. NOPE ~ THAT was just a thought! I only started rolling and cutting them out on Christmas night. I knew I was late, so I just picked a classic template from Gingerbread Houses: Baking & Building Memories by Nonnie Cargas.

I have read a lot of comments in the DB forum that the dough seems very dry. Mine seems ok, at least that's what I thought...until I started rolling them out. It cracks and tears like crazy! I added water, try to pinch them back together. Sometimes that help, but still it wasn't easy to work with.

Doesn't look too dry, right?

See how it cracks like crazy?

Anyway, I was ready to get it done...I cut out the template, planed on having one house for myself and one house for the 2 monkeys to share. As I was putting up the walls of my house, I realized I HAD FORGOTTEN ABOUT THE ROOF!!!! %$#*&#@!!!!! Talk about Challenge!! ~ No problem, no problem, I CAN be Bob Villa .I can fix THAT ~ the kids just have to sacrifice THEIR walls! ;P I trimmed the sides of my walls, and two of them cracked - no problem, just a little royal icing will fix it, and using the kiddos side walls, with 2 windows on each wall, WHICH could be the skylight for my gingerbread house! ;) Pretty proud of myself, I have to say.

See the two "holes" on the roof?? That's the skylight! ;)

However, there's still A problem. The walls weren't tall enough to fully cover the whole roof, so I had to patch the roofs with licorice. BUT before that, my other problem was...I had left the empty jar that I had used to support the walls while the royal icing dries, INSIDE the gingerbread house...and the roofs are already on!!! D-U-H!!!! So, I removed the roofs, take out the JAR, replace the roof, then patched the roof! Hmmm.... I wonder why I don't care about making gingerbread houses...especially from scratch??!!

See the jelly jar in there??? Bet you can tell which brand and what flavor huh?! :P

Anyway, that was really THE challenging parts of building a gingerbread house from scratch. The rest was the fun part, and was up to your imagination :)

Front view

Details on door

Side of house

Back of house

Top of house

Side of house

Despite all the interesting challenges I had, I was glad to have participated. Visit the Daring Kitchen for the recipes and other details in this challenge. And don't forget to stop by HERE to see how other Daring Bakers gingerbread turned out! You might get inspired and make one too! :)

Oh, by the way, there's always the question of to eat or not to eat the gingerbread house. And Nonnie Cargas has included in her book this poem for eating your gingerbread house, which I think is so funny and appropriate...

New Year's Poem for Eating Your Gingerbread House
by Nonnie Cargas

Eating this house so fair and sweet
Brings insight to the year you'll meet
For every bite has a tale to tell,
So eat for luck and wish you well.

If the front door is your choice to eat,
Far-flung visitors soon you'll greet.
But if on the pathway you choose to dine,
A trip afar will soon be thine.

Consume the roof if you want security,
For love and shelter will be a surety.
Tho' if it's adventure to which you aspire,
Devour the windows to achieve your desire.

From the warmth of the chimney true love will come;
A taste of it and a pair you'll become.
Or if, by chance, you're already a pair,
Eating the chimney will recharge the air.

Trees and buses bring money your way,
While lawn decorations bring laughter and play.
Fences bring projects at which you'll succeed,
And people bring kindness and help when there's need.

But indulge in some pieces that aren't mentioned here,
You'll have special surprises throughout the New Year!

Thanks Anna and Y for the challenge and thanks Nonnie Cargas for the great book and poem! :)

P/S Since I have LOTS of left over candies, I MIGHT, try another recipe and make up for the kids.

Newsletter Sign Up --- Ebelskivers

What happens after I sign up to receive news and deals from Williams Sonoma?? I get an e-mail saying they're having a one day deal - 50% off on the Ebelskiver (pronounced as "able-skeevers") pan (they are filled pancakes originally from Denmark) !!!! Aaaahhhhhhh!!!! What am I gonna do??? I have previously seen it on their catalog, and like always, was eying on it! But I figured we have spend so much these past few months, that I should forget about it. But, but, but.... it's 50% off!!! How the hell am I supposed to stick to my logical decision??

I told myself, I'd make Williams Sonoma my last stop, and have all the time to think if I SHOULD really get it...plus, they have mentioned that quantity is limited, so if by the time I get there, and they're out, it means I'm not meant to have it...if the pan is still available, then I can think about it.

Ebelskivers filled with Gingerbread butter

So, after doing some Christmas shopping for the kids and the hubby...I went to my last stop. The store was crowded with Christmas shoppers~ and I thought I'd be the only crazy one there! :P I looked at it, observe the other shoppers ...some of them were grabbing like 2-3 pans!!! Ahhhhh!!!! Even then, I was still pretty sure that I could stick to saving money. Then guess what?! Of course! Of course they have this lady standing there, demonstrating making these delicious Ebelskiver, and handing out samples! Now, I have NEVER had a Ebelskiver in my life...I can't even pronounce that name! Why, why oh why do they have to do this to me??? I've been sooo good, trying my best not to buy stuff for myself, cos' I do that too often, and with all the kids birthdays the past months and Christmas around the corner...so why, oh why now???

The moment I pop that sample into my mouth with my right hand, I was grabbing the pan by the counter with my left hand. However after that, I still hung around..thinking twice...looking at the recipe book Ebelskivers: Filled pancakes and other mouthwatering miniatures by Kevin Crafts...I know I probably can Google the recipe online...but, this book was filled with a whole bunch of recipes from simple to sweet to savory...and although Williams Sonoma sold the mix too...I'm all about making things from scratch, plus I LOVE collecting cookbooks.... I negotiated with myself that these will be my Christmas presents. There, I have a great excuse now ;) Later when I told Yesmin that I've already gotten my own Christmas present and that I'm gonna use the pan before Christmas, then we'll wrap it up on Christmas and put it under the tree ---- she thought I was silly! :D LOL.


Basic Ebelskiver Batter by Kevin Crafts
Makes about 21 filled pancakes

1 C All purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs, separated
1C whole milk (I used fat free milk)
2 Tbs unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled (I didn't used this, cos' I missed the step of adding it to the batter)

Whisk together the dry ingredient in a large bowl. In a small bowl, lightly whisk the egg yolks then whisk in the milk and melted butter. Add the yolk mixture to the flour mixture and, using a wooden spoon, stir until well blended. The batter will be lumpy.

In a clean bowl, using an electric mixer on high speed, beat the egg whites till stiff peak, but not dry. Gently fold one third of the egg whites into the batter to lighten it, then fold in the rest just until no white steaks remain. Use the batter right away.

Note: I have totally missed the step on combining the melted butter to the milk/yolk mixture. I thought it was for brushing the pan! It still turned out GREAT! By the way, I didn't get the Ebelskivers turning tool. You could just use 2 wooden skewers, I used toothpicks... you have to cook your filled pancakes on medium flame to prevent from burning, so it wasn't that hot to handle :)

Daring Bakers Challenge --- Cannoli

This month's challenge is Cannoli...And I thought I was able to handle this in time...looks like it's even worst than other months.... I hope to have the post up by tomorrow, so please check back later. In the mean time, check out our hostess, Lisa Michele's blog for more yummy cannoli.

........

Ok, finally...I've made my Cannoli!!! It's bad enough that I've always been a procrastinator, this month I gotten even worst! I'm two days late!!! Gosh, I hope Santa's not gonna drop be a bag of coal instead! ;P Nonetheless, I did what I can, and I was glad it didn't require using an oven, cos' I have not gotten a new oven YET! --- Wonder how long THAT is gonna take??!! Lisa Michele from Parsley, Sage, Desserts and line Drives was our lovely November hostess. There was A LOT of leniency allowed this time! Thanks Lisa!

The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book.



Here's the recipe with my notes in RED

Lidisano’s Cannoli as noted by Lisa, the name Lidisano is a combination of Lidia, Lisa and Saprano!!! :)

Makes 22-24 4-inch cannoli
Prep time:
Dough – 2 hours and 10-20 minutes, including resting time, and depending on whether you do it by hand or machine.
Filling – 5-10 minutes plus chilling time (about 2 hours or more)
Frying – 1-2 minutes per cannoli
Assemble – 20–30 minutes

RECIPE NOTE: THE EQUIVALENTS FROM THIS RECIPE WERE PREPARED USING THIS CONVERSION SITE: http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/index.asp.

CANNOLI SHELLS
2 cups (250 grams/8.82 ounces) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons(28 grams/1 ounce) sugar
1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.06 ounces) unsweetened baking cocoa powder (I opt out the cocoa powder and replaced it with all purpose)
1/2 teaspoon (1.15 grams/0.04 ounces) ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon (approx. 3 grams/0.11 ounces) salt
3 tablespoons (42 grams/1.5 ounces) vegetable or olive oil
1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.18 ounces) white wine vinegar ( I didn't have it, so I used e cider vinegar I had instead)
Approximately 1/2 cup (approx. 59 grams/approx. 4 fluid ounces/approx. 125 ml) sweet Marsala or any white or red wine you have on hand
1 large egg, separated (you will need the egg white but not the yolk)
Vegetable or any neutral oil for frying – about 2 quarts (8 cups/approx. 2 litres)
1/2 cup (approx. 62 grams/2 ounces) toasted, chopped pistachio nuts, mini chocolate chips/grated chocolate and/or candied or plain zests, fruits etc.. for garnish
Confectioners' sugar

Note - If you want a chocolate cannoli dough, substitute a few tablespoons of the flour (about 25%) with a few tablespoons of dark, unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch process) and a little more wine until you have a workable dough (Thanks to Audax)

DIRECTIONS FOR SHELLS:
1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer or food processor, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the oil, vinegar, and enough of the wine to make a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and well blended, about 2 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge from 2 hours to overnight.

2 Cut the dough into two pieces. Keep the remaining dough covered while you work. Lightly flour a large cutting or pastry board and roll the dough until super thin, about 1/16 to 1/8” thick (An area of about 13 inches by 18 inches should give you that). Cut out 3 to 5-inch circles (3-inch – small/medium; 4-inch – medium/large; 5-inch;- large. Your choice). Roll the cut out circle into an oval, rolling it larger and thinner if it’s shrunk a little.

3 Oil the outside of the cannoli tubes (You only have to do this once, as the oil from the deep fry will keep them well, uhh, oiled..lol). Roll a dough oval from the long side (If square, position like a diamond, and place tube/form on the corner closest to you, then roll) around each tube/form and dab a little egg white on the dough where the edges overlap. (Avoid getting egg white on the tube, or the pastry will stick to it.) Press well to seal. Set aside to let the egg white seal dry a little. (I tried letting the egg white seal dry a little, but found that my dough loves to shrink a lot. So while it was drying, the dough just kept pulling back that by the time I drop 'em in the oil, the dough aren't sticking together anymore. So instead, once I seal the dough up, I immediately drop them in the hot oil seam side down)

4. In a deep heavy saucepan, pour enough oil to reach a depth of 3 inches, or if using an electric deep-fryer, follow the manufacturer's directions. Heat the oil to 375°F (190 °C) on a deep fry thermometer, or until a small piece of the dough or bread cube placed in the oil sizzles and browns in 1 minute. Have ready a tray or sheet pan lined with paper towels or paper bags.

5. Carefully lower a few of the cannoli tubes into the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. Fry the shells until golden, about 2 minutes, turning them so that they brown evenly.

8. Lift a cannoli tube with a wire skimmer or large slotted spoon, out of the oil. Using tongs, grasp the cannoli tube at one end. Very carefully remove the cannoli tube with the open sides straight up and down so that the oil flows back into the pan. Place the tube on paper towels or bags to drain. Repeat with the remaining tubes. While they are still hot, grasp the tubes with a potholder and pull the cannoli shells off the tubes with a pair of tongs, or with your hand protected by an oven mitt or towel. Let the shells cool completely on the paper towels. Place shells on cooling rack until ready to fill.

9. Repeat making and frying the shells with the remaining dough. If you are reusing the cannoli tubes, let them cool before wrapping them in the dough.

Once again, I needed the help from the step stool. I'm just too short to roll our doughs on my counter!! In fact, I found out the other day when I was at my physician office that I am NOT 5' 2", I'm ONLY 5' 1.75" --- and that was with my sneakers on!!! SOOO SAD!

No deep fryer for me... just the typical wok and the handy extra long chop sticks!

Letting the sealed dough dry a little as suggested...

but it didn't work for me...the ones that got dried out most opened up immediately, as my dough was like an elastic band!! They would stretched when you roll it, but the moment you leave them alone....pop, they'd spring back!!!

These were the bits and pieces of dough. I fried them up, sprinkle with some powdered sugar and cinnamon ~ yummy! :)

I filled my cannoli with marscapone flavored with mango puree and chopped mango pieces.. tasted very refreshing...however, the "dessert king" in the house, a.k.a. Lucas --- DID NOT like it!!! :/ Wonder why? He took 2 bites and ran away from it??!!! Wonder if he was just too full from dinner?? Will try it on him again tomorrow and see if we get the same reaction! Cos' it's just NOT like him to not like a dessert! He DID like bits and pieces ones though. Other that HIM, all of us liked it! :)

For the full page on this challenge, just click HERE. Thanks again Lisa for this great challenge!! :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY YESMIN!!

Happy Birthday Yesmin! :)

I'm a Proud Mama!

There are so many times and situations where she just DRIVES me INSANE! ...But, there are times when I am just SO PROUD of her.

It's usually the little things she does. For example, last Thursday was their class' library "check out day." When she got off the bus, she was holding this big book and the excitement on her face was like how I would react if I had won the lottery! :P She couldn't wait to show me what she had in her hand. It was a book called, The Naughty Little Monkeys by Jim Aylesworth. She told me she had checked out this book for Lucas! I asked why didn't she checked out something for herself? She told me that she had already have checked out 2 other books for herself and have found this, and knew Lucas would love this! How sweet is that? The fact that she thought about her brother when she saw the book, knowing how much he likes all of the "Little Monkeys" series! She dash back home and showed it him...and of course, he was excited! After her piano lesson, she sat down and read to him :D

I love you, Yesmin! And thank you for being such a thoughtful child!

Ladybug Cake

Early last month, a friend's friend asked if I could make a cake for her daughter's soccer team. She specifically requested a ladybug cake. How cute is that? Of course I said yes!

I thought of making a whole ladybug cake...but figured might not be enough to feed everyone. So, I decided to make a quarter sheet cake with 6 ladybugs, representing the 6 girls in the team. My husband had commented that he hoped there isn't ANY boys in the team! :P


L was such an easy "customer." She left it to me to decide EVERYTHING. So I picked a yellow cake with chocolate butter cream filling. I had so much fun making them! :D

We Are Fishies!!

What does a aquaphobia mother gets?? Two kids who think they are fish!

Yes, I have a phobia of water, specifically in the pool, ocean, whatsoever. Even when I take a shower, I am usually very careful not to get my face directly facing the shower for more than 5 seconds. I even get nervous when I'm trying to "relax" in a bubble bath! It's not like my parents didn't send me to swimming lessons. They did! But I don't think I ever felt comfortable with the water, and obviously the instructor didn't make me feel that way too - and I don't blame them, cos' it takes a lot to help a person overcome a phobia. I think I'd probably need a psychiatrist too! :P

So because of all the above... when Yesmin was born, one of the things I told my husband was that I want to sign her up for swim lessons the moment she reaches the age to attend a class, and that HE has to go in the pool with her (it's a baby and me class), NOT me. I didn't want to pass my fear to them, as I know that I will start getting nervous when the class has to move around towards the middle of the big pool ( I can only stay by the wall, at most 4-5 feet away from the wall, AND only at where I can touch the bottom of the pool, i.e. no more than 4.5 feet deep - cos' I also get nervous if the water is at my chest level). That was the only activity I made him promise to stick through for them. Until they are about 3-4 years old, where they can move on to level 1, no parent participation required.

Yesmin, from the get go, thinks she's a mermaid. She likes Arial the mermaid too! :) Once she felt comfortable with the instructor (it helps that we live within the Tualatin Hills Parks and Recreation District), she just kept on bopping in and out of the water, trying to hold her breath as long as possible. There were so many times, when she didn't know how to swim yet, she had let go of the wall (it's a safety rule for all kids under certain level to be holding on to the wall while the instructor attends to each kid one at the time). She got busted by "teacher Connie" and got time outs. I am SO THANKFUL for having her, cos' after the 3rd time out, Yesmin has learned her lesson. She stills bopped herself in and out of the water, or submerge herself all the way under water, but at least, she was hanging on the wall. As for me, I am always sitting at the edge of the bench, watching with horror, peeling my nails (I don't bite them, I prefer to 'peel'), ready to shout for the lifeguard....sometimes, I feel so tensed and stressed out, I feel like just not going for the class...but soon, she's able to swim well. And now, she can even swim in the 12 ft deep end, no problem. I am so proud of her.

Lucas on the other hand, has started the lesson more carefully. He's the more cautious type. Doesn't like putting his face in the water... for awhile, I though, "oh no, is he gonna be like me??!" But at least, he's willing to get into the pool. Once in a while, there will be a kid who, no matter what the parents do, or what the instructor say, he/she just would not get in there. I am so thankful that both my kids aren't.

Anyway,Lucas' progress is definitely slower, but that's ok. I just didn't want him to ever be afraid like me. Over the past couple of months, he has improved a little. He is willing to stick his face in the water and blow bubbles. He would even "practice" blowing bubbles when he takes his shower :) He will also bop in and out of the water now and then.

For the past couple of lessons, I realized Lucas has gotten braver. He'd actually stay under the water for a few seconds, hands still on the wall. However, today, I forgot to remind him of the safety rule...he bopped up and down into the water, and let go of the wall while he was IN the water!!! Arrghhhhhh.... there was even one instance he was like 1-2 ft away from the wall!!!! I could see him struggling (the instructor was there, but because Lucas was at the end, and he was giving instruction, he didn't see this happened)....I screamed for his instructor, just as I did that, Lucas managed to get hold on the wall by himself. AAAHHHHH!!!! I felt like I was going to get a heart attack! And he didn't get busted! Dang. Like that wasn't enough, he continues to bopped up and down INTO the water, while letting go of the wall! After a couple of times, I've had enough. I walked over to the lifeguard and gave her a heads up on Mr. LUCAS! His instructor heard me, and had a TALK with him! Ha- Ha! Don't get me wrong, I am proud that he's NOT afraid to go into the water, but it's for his safety and my health! I WOULD GET a heart attack if he keeps going on like that! All I want him to do is, at least HANG ON THE WALL- it's for his safety anyway. I am also especially proud of him today cos' for the 1st time, he actually tried to swim by himself for like 2-3 feet! Man, that was a big step for him! :D

Anyway, I wonder how many more years do I have to endure this... Nonetheless, I am glad we have these great facilities and instructors, and affordable swim lessons. I might have to take some private class in the future to catch up with my kids! :D

My New Gadget For Many Yummy "Kuih" To Come!

After living here in Beaverton for about 7 years, we have finally discover that there are a lot of Malaysians/Singaporeans living in the area too!! We have been invited to the Singaporeans/Malaysian potluck, which held about twice a year. This is the time when we all get to savor the many delicious food that we all miss so much. Everyone do their best to bring along a dish or two of the common food that most of us crave for --- like rendang, laksa, hokkian mee, nasi lemak etc. etc. etc.

As someone who likes to make desserts, I usually try to bring a dish AND a dessert. However, there aren't many so called dessert in our cuisine. We have what it's called "Kuih". They are the equivalent of the western pastries and cakes. But, it is not necessary eaten after a meal, instead, we sometimes eat them during breakfast, or more commonly, we eat it during tea time, or as a snack. And back home in Malaysia, we are able to get kuih just about anywhere. But it's not easy to fine those really good- traditional- fine kuihs these days.

So, when my mother-in-law bought me this book called "Nonya Flavors: A Complete Guide to Penang Straits Chinese Cuisine" I was salivating all over the place, while flipping through the book!! I was determine to learn to make some traditional Nonya food. After all, there is some Nonya gene in my family, and I would like for my kids to learn to eat our traditional food.

During one of the Singaporean/Malaysian potluck, I decided to make Kuih Dadar. This is a coconut flavored crepe, essence with pandan leaf, wrap with freshly grated coconut cooked in gula melaka syrup.

The tricky part of making this kuih is the grated coconut. Over here in America, we can only get the desiccated coconut (dried grated coconut), most of the time, already sweetened. Back home, I remember walking to the kedai runcit (a grocery store, usually the mom and pop style - where everyone knows everyone there) to get freshly grated coconut for my mom. All they need was 1-2 minutes to grate the fresh coconut. You see, back home, every grocery store HAS a coconut grated machine (coconut is a common ingredient in the Southeast Asia cuisine). Crack the coconut in half, and flip the switch. Hold on the shell and make sure your fingers don't get too close to the spinning blades...and ta-da!!! You'll get freshly grated coconut!

For many years, I have tried to find a coconut grating tool...and I did. I found this hand held tool in a Vietnamese grocery store here in Beaverton.


When I decided to make kuih dadar for the potluck, I bought 3 whole coconuts. It took me 20 minutes each to crack open the coconuts with my Chinese cleaver --- coconut shell bits flew everywhere. Then it took me about 3 hours to grate the 3 whole coconuts with this tiny tool! By the time I was done...I feel like it wasn't worth the torture to make this kuih! You see, we're so used to buying from the food stalls back home, it's so convenient. The only kuih I don't buy from the food stall is Kuih Talam, cos' I have a aunt who spoils us with her homemade ones :)

However, how can I go through all this and NOT make them? So of course, I did. And man, it tasted SO GOOD, if I have to say so myself! :P Everyone loved it! ~ they better do, cos' my hands were shaking after grating those coconuts!

After a couple of weeks/months, hubby and friends asked for it again. I told them, NO WAY, unless THEY are going to grate the coconut. Then, it sparks me to go search for a more efficient grater. I googled found this clip on Youtube.



So, I was determined to find THAT coconut grater!!! And guess what?! I found 2 places selling them here in U.S.!!! Wooohhooo.... Culinary Exotica in Olympia, Washington, and Niwasa at Simi Valley in California. Gosh, I was SO happy I was dancing with joy! My first find was Culinary Exotica. However, during that time, they were out of stock. I send them an e-mail asking when will they have in stock, I was told the Homeland Security was holding them. 2 months later, they were still held by Homeland Security - whatever the reason is! Gosh! I couldn't wait any longer...so I went out searching again. It was then I found Niwasa. Few days after that, I received my very own hand cranking coconut grated! Phew! The blades is the same as the ones we have back home, except those, you just need to flip the switch! ;P


So, last Friday, I invited 2 of my friends A and M over. It was my 1st trial on this "baby." Oh, by the way, this time around, it took me less time to crack open the coconuts. I must be getting GOOD at it, huh?! haha. I was kinda nervous when I tried the coconut grater...after all, there are a lot of very very very sharp blades there. I told Lucas to stay far away from it. Took me a few turns to get the hang of it. But I tell ya...once you have the feel, it took me about 5-7 minutes to grate one half of the coconut...which means, it took me at most 45 minutes to grate all 3 whole coconuts! Can you believe how much time and energy I saved???!! Boy, I HIGHLY recommend this to anyone who uses fresh coconut in their cooking/baking! The taste of the desiccated coconuts is nothing compared to freshly grated coconut in this case....ahhhhh....


Kuih Dadar/Tayap from Nonya Flavours: A complete guide to Penang Straits Chinese Cuisine

Pandan juice
5 pandan leaves, chopped
3-4 Tbs water

1. Combine the pandan leaves and water in an electric blender.Blend till the leaves are pretty chopped up.
   
2. Wrap the pulverised pandan in a muslin cloth and squeeze to extract the juice, or strain through a fine sieve. Set aside.

Crepe batter
120g all purpose flour
1 large egg
300 ml coconut milk (from 1/2 grated coconut --- I used canned light coconut milk) mixed with
1/4tsp salt
3Tbs pandan juice (I added pandan paste which you can get at most Asian grocery stores, for more flavor and color)

1. Sieve the flour into a mixing bowl. Mix in the egg, and the salted coconut milk and pandan juice.
   
2. Leave the batter to rest while cooking the filling.

Filling
90g palm sugar (gula Melaka)
1Tbs sugar
1 pandan leaf, knotted
50 ml water
1/2 coconut, grated, white part only
1 tsp cornflour

1. To cook the filling, break up the palm sugar (I roughly chopped them up first), and combine with the sugar, pandan leaf and water in a pot.
   
2. Cook over medium flame until sugar dissolved. Strain the syrup and return it to the pot.
   
3. Combine the cornflour with the coconut, then add them into the syrup and continue to cook for a few more minutes. Dish out and let cool.

Assemble the crepe

1. Heat up a shallow frying pan or crepe pan over low flame and grease lightly with oil. Pour 2 Tbs of the batter in the center and swirl the pan to coat it to form a thin crepe of about 13cm diameter.
2. When the crepe is cooked, turn out onto a board (coarse surface facing down).
3. Place 2 heaped tsp. of filling on the crepe and roll up spring roll-style.

Coconut sauce (I did not make this )
150ml coconut milk (from 1/2 grated coconut)
50g sugar
2tsp cornflour

Combine all the sauce ingredients in a small pot and mix well. Cook over a slow fire until mixture thickens and boils. Serve with the kuih

Note: I did not follow the recipe to the T. I used all of the ingredient for the filling and crepe, and just made the crepe like I would a western style crepe. I did not serve mine with the coconut sauce.


I am SO HAPPY! =)

DISASTER WITH THE FRENCH KISSES!!!

????

It's reveal day for the Daring Bakers. Our challenge for this month is the French Macarons...not the macarons that many of us in America come to know of -- clumps of coconut flakes... this is the ones that's kinda like the meringue kisses without the pointy tips and are usually sandwiched with a filling. And guess what?! I did not start my challenge till this morning. Ya, ya, I know...you're not surprised. In fact, for the next 2 months, I will, without a doubt, be the same! Besides being a procrastinator, the last 3 months of the year, is the craziest time. I'm not just talking about holiday seasons...that's just a little part of it. The biggest issue here is BIRTHDAYS! There are AT LEAST 10 birth dates I can remember off hand in October alone. Lucas' is one of them.

Anyhow, I should continue with THIS issue in my later post (if I will ever be able to get to it). I am here to talk about the DISASTER.

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macaroon from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

Macarons have been popping out everywhere lately. Probably another "trend" like the cupcakes?? Before this challenge, I have made it once - I did not like it. I probably didn't do it well too, that time. So, I was hoping that this time, with the guidance from the other Daring Bakers members, maybe I'll do better??? Nah...not me...not when I am making 'em on the day of posting! I logged on to check all the Q & A every now and then...but did not "complied" them, and make use of all the good advice you can't get in a book. However, I will link some of them for your sake :) ... Audax Artifex, Tartelette, David Lebovitz

Anyway, I manage to make two flavors ~ Greentea (macha) with chocolate ganache and pumpkin pie. Sounds good doesn't it? NOPE! My disaster started with my homemade almond flour. I toasted my almonds, let it cool, and grind them with powdered sugar. I don't think I put enough powdered sugar in it, so some of them clump together. Same goes with the toasted pecan I used for the pumpkin pie macarons. And you're supposed to sieve the almond/pecan flour...I was thinking --- how am I supposed to sieve them, if they aren't fine to begin with? So, being a stubborn person that I am, I DID NOT sieve the almond flour for the greentea macarons...guess what happens?? You get clumpy meringue like THIS --->

So, when I made my pumpkin pie macarons, I decided to behave...I sieve the almond/pecan flour...it wasn't easy like sieving the regular flours... I kinda have to "smashed" them through with the back of a spoon.

See the difference??!!! The nut flour is still coarse, but much better...at least, NOT clumpy :)

Next, I used fresh eggs, at room temperature, for the macha macarons. Many have advised to "aged" the egg whites - meaning separate the eggs, cover the egg whites with cling wrap, and place it in the fridge for 3 - 5 days. You want to have as little moisture as possible in the meringue. I did aged the other set of egg whites for just one day, and here, in the picture below, you can see how much moisture has accumulated on the cling wrap!


Another problem??? "Drying" time. Some recipes calls for drying the pipped macarons on the counter for 30 minutes to an hour before baking. The recipe we used requires us to bake them in a low temperature for 5 minutes, remove, pump up the temperature, and bake for another 7-8 minutes....which wasn't quite enough for my case. I don't know if the rainy weather did not help...but 7-8 minutes later, mine was still moist and soft. So I kept them in for another 10 minutes, at a lower temperature. This drying time is supposed to ensure your macarons has the trade mark "feet" on the bottom... I like to call it the "tutu" like a ballerina's costume :) My macarons have no feet, nor hands, tutus, what so ever! Looks more like the surface of the moon, BUMPY, don't you agree??!! *sigh*

None the less...it was still a good challenge. I learn a lot taking part as a Daring Baker. I am not sure I'd wanna try making macarons again in the future...maybe I should taste some of the true French macarons before I'd put on a tutu and dance around with egg whites and almond flour. (hint, hint: any other Daring Bakers wanna ship some of your beautiful and delicious macarons?? Drop me a note, and I'll contact you with my address!!! hahhahaa.... :P) Thanks Ami for this challenge! :D

If you're interested to try making these macarons, click here for the recipe. And you can visit other Daring Bakers' version of the Macarons here.

Have fun! :)
xoxoxo

Macha (green tea powder) macaron with chocolate ganache

Spiced pecan macaron with pumpkin buttercream

My Baby is 5 Today!!!

Happy Birthday Lucas! :)

My 100th Post!!!

I can believe I've actually posted 100 blahs on this blog! Ha! Anyway, to celebrate my 100th post, I'd like to share with you some the YUMMY food we had this past summer in Malaysia! I say SOME because, we were too busy gobbling up the others! :P

So here they are....please bring a bucket before you scroll down...especially any fellow Malaysians who are living far far away, like us,...don't drool all over your pc! ;) And for those who have not been to Malaysia, I hope someday you'll have the opportunity to visit this lovely country and try some of the best and unique cuisine.

Jalan Imbi's "Chu Yok Yun Fun" - flat rice noodle toss in dark soy sauce (with some special ingredient, that I can't figure out) topped with ground pork and serve with a side of soup and pork meat balls.

Jalan Imbi's famous Egg Tarts. You have to get there early, cos' they close at 2pm. And each tray that comes out from the hot oven, disappears quickly!

This is the famous Seremban siew pau ~ crispy BBQ pork buns.

My friend, Esther's Woo Tau Kou (steamed Taro cake)

This was some bun we ate at "Eu Yan Sang" restaurant in Mid Valley Mega Mall

Murtabak
Unfortunately this wasn't as good as the ones I used to eat during buka puasa month in front of Giant Supermarket in Kelana Jaya.

crabby~ have forgotten what my mom cooked in it

My favorite Chiew Chow style steam angle fish...YUM!

I don't know what's the name of this dish. But according to my mom, she thinks that, back in the days, people didn't wanna put any food (or any part of anything edible) to waste. So someone came up with this idea of using the dried mushroom (often used in Chinese cooking) stems - which often get toss away, to cook this dish. The stems are soak for hours to soften, then it's stir fry with diced carrots, green beans, salted radish, taosted peanuts and dried shrimp. Also one of my favorite dish.

Nasi Ulam, a Nyonya dish, which is serve with raw vegetables over rice, kinda like a "salad with rice". It is SOOOO good...I might have to improvise this with some other greens that I otherwise cannot get it here in US.

This is Dragon Fruit, also called Pitaya. They come in red and yellow skinned, white and red flesh. The red flesh Dragon fruit is ESPECIALLY sweet. The fruit is VERY juicy. It has now become one of my favorite fruits. Unfortunately, we can't get it here. So while we were back home, we ate it (and golden Kiwi from NZ) after EVERY meal.

See the red flesh in there, the black dots are the seeds, which are edible - just like kiwi. If you ever see one in your travels, DO try it!

My favorite Malaysian dessert - cendol - usually consist of shaved ice, with strands of noodle like thingy that we often tell the kids that they are worms or caterpillars ( made out of green pea flour flavored with pandan essence), sweet corn, red beans and top with gula melaka syrup, and coconut milk ~ YUM!

Bamboo razor clams

Baked crab ~ this guy was HUGE - not the guy holding the crab, I'm talking about THE CRAB! ;)

Chow Kueh Kak or Char Chai Tau Kueh (Radish/daikon). Check here for a recipe.

Bang Jian Kueh

Apum Balik

This is the economical fried meehoon mee. We eat this for breakfast, and as afternoon snack. It contains only the noodles and bean sprout, nothing else. YET, it is so delicious! *sigh.... looking at all these food now, makes me homesick*

Seafood (and beef) tom yam

Nasi paprik - this is a malay dish with a Thai influence. One of the dishes I have come to love when my husband, then my boyfriend, first introduce it to me. I have been trying to make it at home. So someday when I succeed, I'll definitely share it here.

Thab Tim Krob (Red rubies)

Mango sticky rice

Otak-otak

Thai style squid salad - very spicy, but very tasty!

And now, I AM HUNGRY!!!! arrgghh! ;P