New Moon Muah Otah March 24, 2010

So, I’ve discovered a new vice – New Moon Muah Otah (Otah is spicy fish paste, typically wrapped in banana leaf and barbequed over a charcoal fire).

It comes frozen in supermarkets and in 2 flavours – Mackerel Fillet and Mackeral Fillet and Prawn.

Great thing about this is that it comes in one ginormous slab, and you wrap it in cling film and pop it into the microwave on medium for 2 -3 mins… and you get piping hot, soft, tender and melt in your mouth otah.

I’m not usually a fan of otah as I don’t take spicy food (I am a disgrace to Singaporeans). But since I’ve been pregnant, I have been craving for all things spicy and coconut-y – curries, spicy coconut rice (nasi lemak), laksa, otah…

I can’t really do this otak any justice with my words… so just go get it people!

Date and Walnut Loaf March 23, 2010

I realized that my last few postings on Facebook were mainly about food. I can’t help it, I need something to occupy me during the day while I await the arrival of the bubba.

I’ve been keeping busy trying to re-organize my load of recipe magazines. Scanning, tagging, filing. However, the more I look through them, the more I find myself wanting to experiment.

I found this recipe this morning and thought I’d give it a go, since I have all the ingredients on hand.

• 250g pitted dates, roughly chopped
• 1 cup (250ml) boiling water
• 90g butter, melted
• 3/4 cup (165g) caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 cups (225g) self raising flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 1/2 cup (60g) chopped walnuts, plus 2 tbsp extra for topping

1. Preheat oven to 180 degree celcius (or 160 fan). Grease and line a 21cm x 11cm loaf pan
2. Soak dates in water, cover and stand for 5 mins, until dates soften.
3. Cream melted butter and sugar until well combined. Stir in vanilla and egg.
4. Sift flour, bicarbonate of soda, mixed spice with a pinch of salt. Fold into date mixture, then fold through walnut.  Spoon mixture into prepared pan and scatter over extra walnut. Bake for 45 mins, until skewer comes out clean.
5. Cool in pan for 5 mins, then turn out onto wire rack to cool. Slice and serve with butter, if desired.

After the taste test by my husband, this recipe is definitely a keeper!

Home Made Pizza March 21, 2010

So, I adapted my recipe from Jamie Oliver’s website, but I had to halve the recipe as there was only 2 of us for dinner. Still, this produced 4 medium sized pizzas.

For 4 medium pizzas:

• 400g Tipo ‘OO’ flour. (I found this flour at Culina in Dempsey Hill, Singapore)
• 100g semolina flour
• 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1/2 tablespoon caster sugar
• 7g dried yeast
• 350 ml lukewarm water

1. In a jug, mix yeast, sugar and olive oil into the water and leave for a few minutes. (You know the yeast is still active if you see bubbles forming after a few minutes).
2. Sieve flours and salt onto clean work surface and make a well in the middle. Pour mixture into well. Using a large fork, bring the flour in by swirling it into the liquid.  When it all comes together, work the rest of the flour in with your clean flour-dusted hands until you form a smooth, springy dough. Alternatively, you could through it all into the mixing bowl of your trusty Kitchenaid, put on the dough hook and let it do the work.
3. Place ball of dough into large flour-dusted bowl and dust some flour on top of it. Cover with damp cloth and place in warm room for about 1 hr, or until dough has doubled in size.  (To create a warm place, you can put a mug of water in the microwave and turn on HIGH for 2 minutes. Place mug in the corner of microwave and put your bowl of dough in.)
4. Remove dough onto a flour-dusted surface and knead it around to punch air out. At this stage, you can use it immediately or keep it wrapped in clingfilm, in fridge/freezer, until ready to use.
5. Divide dough into 4 equal portions, roll out and top with whatever you like!
6. Bake in oven at 250 degrees celcius for 15 – 20 mins, or until topping is cooked.

anchovies, onion and cheese

salami, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, red peppers, cheese

Buffalo mozzarella, bacon, spinach and cheese

I did have a little trouble with my attempt. My yeast was AS DEAD AS A DODO. I was trying to figure out why it didn’t rise after 1 hr. I added more yeast and waited some more. NOTHING happened.  I then took out the yeast, added sugar and water into a small jug and waited to see what happened. Zzzz. NOTHING. This was when I realized the yeast was truly dead.  (I didn’t wait for the bubbles/frothing to appear when I was making the actual dough you see.)

I went ahead and made the pizzas anyway and they turned out fine. Tasted a little yeast-y, but the texture was still pretty good.  Had the yeast been active… the pizzas would have been to die for.

But, do try out this recipe anyway.  It is still very much worth the trouble, despite my half-successful attempt. I finished 3 pizzas, can’t be all that bad.

Banana Sour Cream Cake March 16, 2010

It is Day 2 of my “maternity leave”. Well, I’m not due for another 9 days, but I had annual leave to clear, so here I am, at home, trying my hardest to keep myself occupied.

Here’s the recipe for the cake:

• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup bananas; mashed
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cup plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda

Method:

1. Cream butter and sugar with mixer, adding 1 egg at a time.
2. Add vanilla. Sift flour and mix dry ingredients. Add sour cream, bananas and pecans.  Bake at 180 degrees celcius for 45 mins, or until skewer comes out clean.

Marble Cake March 14, 2010

So, I woke up this morning feeling more than energetic after a good night’s rest and spent an hour in bed annoying my husband, who wanted to carry on sleeping.

In his attempt to keep me at away, he suggested that I bake. I had planned to bake a lemon cheesecake, but didn’t have enough biscuits on hand.  He then suggested that I make a marble cake cause that was what he felt like. Hmm… Marble cake. I haven’t had one of those in ages, plus, I’ve never made one.  So, off marching into the kitchen I went.

I pulled out one of my mother’s cookbooks, which she owned from before I was born. Classic english cookbooks, filled with old fashioned cake recipes. I was sure I could find a recipe for Marble Cake in there. And I was right, on page 386.  I also researched online for similar recipes, but stuck to the one in the book as I wanted a dense marble cake like how I remembered it to be, and not one that was light and fluffy like a sponge cake.

The recipe was great, cake was moist but dense and felt just like how Mum used to make it.

Here is the recipe:

• 50g plain chocolate (I used dark chocolate, and it tasted just as good)
• 15 ml (1tbsp) of water
• 5ml (1tsp) vanilla extract
• 175g butter
• 175g caster sugar
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 250g plain flour
• 10 ml (2 level tsp) baking powder
• 2.5 ml (1/2 level tsp) salt
• 30 ml (2 level tbsp) milk
• 5 ml (1tsp) orange essence
• 25 g icing sugar (optional)

1. Grease and base line a 23cm (9 inch) springform cake tin. In small saucepan, over very low heat, melt chocolate in the water, then add vanilla extract and cool.
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, adding beaten eggs a little at a time.  Beat well after each addition. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.  Fold dry ingredients into creamed mixture alternating with milk and orange essence until well combined and smooth.
3. Remove 1/3 of the cake mixture into a small mixing bowl and add melted chocolate. Stir in until evenly blended.
4. Place large spoonfuls of the plain and chocolate mixtures alternately into prepared tin.
5. Cut through mixture several times with a knife and bake at 180 degrees celcius for 1 hour,  or until a skewer comes out clean.
6. Cool in tin for a few minutes before removing sides of tin to cool completely.
7. When cake is cook, top with sifted icing sugar.