Pesto Sauce

Simple and fast to make and oh, so shiok !

I love pesto sauce but the ones selling at the supermarket, I feel, are rather expensive considering the ingredients.

I am very lucky that I have this vegetable seller at my wet market who brings in basil and other stuff like mint leaves. A whole big bunch cost, maybe like $2-3 instead of the small boxes sold in the supermarket with too few leaves. I understand that there are basil leaves being sold at the Tekka market but it's too far for me.

I am also lucky that there is a spice/nut wholeseller shop (don't know what to call it) near my place where I could get pine nuts, walnuts, all kind of beans etc.

Recipe taken from "Pasta Cookbook"  - but frankly, I just guesstimate :) More nuts, less nuts, more basil, more cheese, all up to your taste.


Pesto Sauce
Serves : 4-6

1/4 cup pine nuts
2 cups basil leaves
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (I use the ready grated packet ones)
2 tablespoons freshly grated pecorino cheese (optional)
1/2 cup olive oil (I use extra virgin olive oil)
black pepper, to taste

1. Add pine nuts to a pan and stir over low heat for 2-3 minutes or until golden. Cool.

2. Place pine nuts, basil leaves, garlic and salt in food processor and process for 10 seconds. Scrape down sides of the bowl.

3. Add cheeses, process for 10 seconds. With motor running, gradually add oil until a paste is formed. Add pepper.

Marshmallows Pop

18 December 2012

Been rather fascinated by cake pops. But I find the original method (crumpled cake plus frosting then mold) very tedious. Hmmm.... better do something simple and see how it goes first.

Easiest method is to use marshmallows, of cos, it won't be called cake-pop since there's no cake involved - marshmallows pop?

This is so easy-peasy that I'll let my assistant show you how ...............

(1) Poke your stick into the marshmallows.

(2) Dip it into the candy-melt (melted the candy-melt but I don't know why but mine came out all kind of stiff even after adding some oil to try to make it less hard - so I have to smear it onto the marshmallows instead of dipping :(  

(3) Roll your marshmallow pop onto the sprinkles.

And that's it !

I used my colander to stick the pops upright as I don't have a styrofoam.

The kid couldn't wait and started eating it.

I permitted him only one stick.

Why? Becos it was so sweeeet ! well, at least to me.

The marshmallows were sweet, the candy-melt were sweet, the sprinkles were sweet - combine all and what have you? - ultra sweet!!!

Conclusion : no marshmallows.


I'm thinking of using oreos but oreos are kind of sweet too isn't it?

Maybe I just have to bake a cake as at least I can control the sweetness.


Till next time, maybe.......

Chicken Tikka Masala

I've always got a fondness for Indian food and really loves eating their curries and dahl with naan.

But have always been intimidated by all the different spices to add.

But I decided to try to make an Indian dish at least once. And so here goes.

I pounded the fennel seeds as fine as I could as I couldn't find any in powdered form.

I guess one could most probably find it in 'Mustafa' but am just too lazy to go all the way there just to get a packet of it.

Recipe from : Indian Simmer. She's got wonderful recipes for Indian food and great, great food pics.

Ingredients:

For Chicken Tikka:
4 boneless skinless chicken thighs (cut into cubes)
1 tsp Kashmiri red pepper powder (This is a red pepper which is not very hot but gives a beautiful color. But you can also use cayenne pepper if you can't find it)
1 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 1/2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 cup yogurt (any fat % is fine)
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp red food color (optional)
Salt

For the tomato sauce:
1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes (pureed)
1 tbsp garlic paste (I prefer fresh but you can use store bought too)
1 tbsp ginger paste
1 tbsp onion powder (optional)
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 1/2 tsp powdered black pepper
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp powdered fennel seeds
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp chopped cilantro (for garnish)
Salt

Method:
For Chicken Tikka:
Mix all the dry ingredients into the mixture of yogurt and lemon juice to prepare a marinade.
Add chicken pieces into the marinade.
Mix everything well. Cover the bowl and let it sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour. I did it overnight.
Thread the chicken pieces onto the skewers.
Grill the skewered chicken until done or pop it into the oven for 15-20 minutes at a temperature of 400 deg. F (205 deg. C)


For the Masala:
Pour oil in a thick bottom pan. Add ginger garlic paste.Turn on the heat and let the paste slowly cook as the oil heats up. This perfumes the oil and also your house!
When the oil is hot, add onion, coriander, fennel, black pepper powder and garam masala. Mix it all together.
Add tomato puree and mix it very well with all the spices. Let it simmer for about 15 minutes until the sauce starts reducing and the excess water evaporates. Stir occasionally scraping the bottom.
Add cooked chicken pieces along with the drippings if cooked in an oven and cream. Mix it all together and let it simmer for another 5-7 minutes.
Turn off the heat, cover with a lid and let it sit for at least 10 minutes before serving. My mom always says that letting the Indian curry sit for a few minutes before serving helps all the spices do wonders!
Garnish with some chopped cilantro and serve with nann, roti or rice pulao.

I added peas instead of cilantro to add some colour to the dish.

I would say it tasted quite good for a first try.

I couldn't put too much chilli as hubby is unable to take too spicy stuff and also I wanted Eugene to try it too.

Well, we finished the dish with some wraps I had bought from the supermarket :)

Teochew Yam Paste (Taro) Orh-Nee with Coconut Milk

Orh-Nee as it's called here is a traditional Teochew dessert.

Frankly, I didn't like it so much as the original recipe calls to cook it with lards and lots of shallot oil. Ya, it was so oily that I can literally see a layer of oil floating on top of the yam.
It was really hard to stomach it after a few mouthful.


So, I didn't like the original recipe that called for too much oil and too much work and searched for a recipe that's simpler and easier to make and found it.


The below recipe was from the web but unfortunately I don't know from which website I got it from as it was quite sometime ago and thus unable to give due credit.  But if you happen to see this and this is your recipe, do drop me a line.

Ingredients (serves 4-6)

- 500g taro (weighed after peeling), peeled and dices

(I bought it ready peeled and packed from NTUC and exactly 500g. It's Thai Taro/Yam. Heard that Thai Yam taste better)

- 1 pack cooked ginkgo nuts.

(I bought the vacuum packed ones but it was still hard to me, so I boiled it in sugar water. The ginkgo nuts are bitter - you can boil it in sugar water or marinate it with sugar so that it's not too bitter. I remembered using the canned boiled ones and didn't have any problem with it)

- 250ml unsweetened soy milk or water

(I used coconut milk instead. If worried about the calories, low-fat coconut milk is available)

- 1-2 tablespoons shallot oil
(1 teaspoon is enough. But I omitted the shallot oil out today as hubby didn't like it)

- 4-5 tablespoons sugar, or to taste

(4 tablespoons was enough for me, just nice. I used castor sugar)


The recipe didn't call for the below but I like to add it in :

- pumpkin (coarsely mashed)

- coconut cream, to drizzle over the Yam Paste 
 (add a pinch of salt into the coconut cream for a better taste)



Method

1) Steam yam and pumpkin separately. Steam till tender when pierced with a fork. 

Coarsely mash yam and pumpkin separately.

2) Blend the mashed taro with the oil, sugar until smooth and creamy. 

(if you don't like it too smooth, then put aside some of the yam that you had manually smashed earlier. Add it in later together with the smooth yam for more bite)

3) Place the ginkgo nuts  (leave some out for decoration, which I forgot), soy milk in a pot and bring to a boil (if using coconut milk, do not bring to a boil, just gentle fire).

4) Stir in the yam puree, stirring slowly over low heat till the soy milk/coconut milk is blended into the yam.

(after it is blended, you can add in the manually smashed yam that you had set aside earlier)

5) Ladle the orh-nee into a bowl or plate with depth and arrange the ginkgo nuts (the ones which you had taken out earlier for decoration) around it and place the mashed pumpkin in the middle and drizzle with coconut cream.

Serve hot or warm.

Cooking the yam paste with coconut milk makes it so absolutely delicious!

(The New Hong Kong restaurant at Novena Ville does very good Orh-Nee. No oiliness  but good amount of coconut milk and pumpkin and not too sweet. Perfect!)

Spaghetti Aglio Olio with Anchovies

Here's a dish of spaghetti aglio olio with a twist - it's aglio olio with anchovy fillets!

It is so simple and so fast to cook up.

I fry my sliced garlic and onions together and then put in the anchovy fillets and season with Italian herbs - do not add salt as the anchovies are salty already. Also do not stir too much as the anchovies will break up into minute pieces, unless if that's what you want.

Add in your cooked pasta, add in the chopped red chilli and stir gently and that's it!
(you can add in your red chilli together with the anchovies but I was afraid that it will be too hot for my hubby who's unable to take hot stuff - so my red chilli here is more to add colour to the dish).

Do excuse the not-so-great photos. I am living on the lower floors and it is hard to get good lighting.

Creamy Mushroom Soup without the Cream

Here's a creamy mushroom soup recipe that I had made (quite sometime ago) without using any cream. And it tasted as good as the ones using cream which sometimes do get a bit cloying.

What's the secret to it ? Use pearl barley !

Ingredients

- 2 cups chopped onions (2 medium ones)
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup uncooked pearl barley (do not use the Chinese barley. I use the Ayam Brand White Pearl Barley)
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 1/2 pounds white mushrooms, wiped clean, stems trimmed
- 8 cups vegetable broth
- 1/4 cup sherry (I omitted this)
- 1/2 cup chopped parsley
- salt and pepper to taste

1) Saute onions and garlic in a large heavy pot in water or sherry.

2) Add barley and nutmeg and cook for 1 minute, stirring.

3) Add chopped mushrooms, broth and sherry.

4) Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes.

5) Add parsely and cool soup slightly.

6) Puree soup in a food processor or blender until smooth or to your preferred consistency (I use a hand-held blender and blend it directly in the pot).

7) Return to the pot (if you're not blending it directly in the pot with a hand-held blender) and season with salt and pepper.

8) Reheat and serve garnished with more sliced mushrooms (optional).


Ok, as I've said, I made this quite sometime ago and I really can't remember how many it serves. But I do remember that it was just as delicious as the ones made with cream.

When I do make this again, I'll repost it with pics.

Natural Calcium

Eugene did not start his first teething till way beyond the teething period. I guess his biological mother did not take enough calcium while she was pregnant as baby teeth buds start to form during pregnancy.

The pediatrician of course prescribe calcium, to be given twice a day.

I would rather Eugene have his calcium naturally from his food and so I just give the prescribed calcium once a day and supplement it with natural calcium made of Ikan Bilis or Anchovies.


There are many types of ikan bilis and this aunty at the market recommended the ones below.

Not rinsed yet.

Rinse the ikan bilis to rid it of any sand and grit and leave it to dry.

I fry the ikan bilis in a non-stick pan without any oil, over a very low fire. Fry it till crisp and brown but not burnt.

Then grind it. I grind mine till very powdery.

Sprinkle and mix into the food.

*

A very NICE blog

I had come across this very interesting food blog.

An old lady by the name of NICE (yes, that's her real name) had left behind her hand-written recipes which her grand-daughter has shared so generously in this blog :

http://nicerecipes.wordpress.com/



And there're such great nostalgic photos in her blog too.

Spaghetti alla Carbonara (without cream)

 
I like my spaghetti carbonara without cream. Somehow, when I eat it with cream, my stomach gets bloated.

An Italian friend taught me how to cook it. As he said, the real Italian way is without cream.

Well, I'm not going into a debate about whether it should contain cream or not. I would say, to each his own.

Ingredients (my way)

4 eggs (ya, I know but I wanted more sauce, so I used 4 eggs but 2 eggs should be enough.)
*1 egg yolk (for more creaminess, you can add an additional egg yolk)
bacon
Parmesan cheese
spaghetti (I use Barilla)
salt (I use Malton sea-salt)
ground black pepper

Serves 2

* you have to add egg yolk or the sauce will be too runny

How much sauce you want, how creamy you want, how much salt and pepper you want, etc is all up to your taste.

1 Boil a large pot of water.

2  Saute the bacon and set aside. You can cut it into strips if you want but I like my bacon in bigger chunks.

3  Always cook your pasta in large amount of rapidly boiling water. Add some salt to the water.

I was being taught this way to put the spaghetti into the boiling water.
You hold your spaghetti in a bunch and lightly twist it - put it in the centre of your pot and let go - the spaghetti will drop in a spiral form. The spaghetti will slowly ease itself into the pot neatly when the bottom softens. Don't try to force the spaghetti into the pot or it will break.

Timing is critical. Pasta is always eaten al dente, which means firm to the bite. I feel that it is better to taste for doneness, several times if necessary instead of just relying on the packet's instruction.

4 Break eggs into bowl and beat it. Season with salt and pepper.

5 As soon as the spaghetti is done, drain it quickly and mix it into the egg mixture. The hot spaghetti will cook the egg mixture  but you have to mix it fast or else your egg mixture might turn into omelette.

6 Mix in the bacon and Parmesan cheese.

That's it!  Serve Immediately.

Buon Appetito!

Diabetes Cure?

PETAI

My sis-in-law told me that her father was cured of diabetes simply by eating Petai. Her father ate the petai in its raw form mixed with some belachan everyday for 2 years. When he went for a diabete test - his level was normal.

Petai is an acquired taste. It has a kind of a pungent taste and ahem, your urine and fart are going to smell pungent too. It's suppose to clean your insides and thus the rather pungent smell coming out from your orifice.

Here's a petai recipe which I had just whipped up. The chilli paste goes very well with petai as it helps to mask the pungent scent of the petai.


ANCHOVIES/IKAN BILIS WITH PETAI
(serves about 4-6)

Ingredients
Cooking Oil - 50ml
Shallots - 6, peeled and sliced
Chilli paste - 2 tbsp
Shrimp paste (belachan) - 4cm, roasted and ground
Tamarind pulp (asam) - 30g, mixed with 100ml water, squeezed and strained
Salt - to taste
Sugar - to taste
Petai - 80g, peeled
Anchovies/Ikan Bilis - 200g, deep fried

Note :
(a) re Petai : if you can find the whole stem of the petai, that's better but you will have to split the beans to get the pods out. But otherwise it is available already peeled in packet form.

(b) re chilli paste + belachan : I bought ready-mades at the NTUC supermarket.

(c) re Ikan Bilis : I just got 100g which I felt was more than enough.


Method
- Heat cooking oil in a frying pan.

- Add shallots, chilli paste and shrimp paste (or the ready-made ones). Stir-fry until fragrant.

- Add tamarind juice, salt and sugar to taste.

- When gravy is slightly thickened, add petai and anchovies.

- Cook for another 3 minutes.

- Dish out onto a serving plate.

I read on the internet that Petai have quite a lot of cures but I am usually sceptical. I would not have believed about the diabetes cure thingy if I had not heard it first hand from my bro and his wife that her father is now cured.

French Apple Tart - 09 Sept 2007

My couple of attempts to make the French Apple Tart which I had tasted before in France.
Managed to get the top right but I still couldn't whisk up the right texture and consistency of the fillings.
Will try again one day - hey, a lot of work to do this ok.