Would You Like Some?

Hi friends,

When I bought my present house the first thing I did was to plant a few trees in the side yard. However, after a few years, the trees succumbed to termites and died except for the belimbing tree which remains good until today.  Other trees that I have now, the gaharu, cempaka and the mulberry were planted much later.

All the trees are thriving and making my home garden a little crowded. I don't mind that because they give shade and makes the place cool although scattered dead leaves become an eyesore. The belimbing tree very frequently bears fruits in abundance and there would be lots of scattered ones rotting away on the ground.

The belimbing tree with its low branches is a perfect place to hang the orchid pots. I feel it is more natural than building a structure to hang them. The only drawback is when the tree bears fruit I have the extra task of clearing the fruits that got dropped into the pots.

The belimbing fruits do not cause any excitement as do some other favorite fruits like mango, for example. They do get noticed sometimes but only due to its sheer abundance. Other than that there really is not much interest to people. 

The fruits seem to have no value. When offered to friends, they declined. To batter trade with the vegetable seller in the market will invite just scoffs :( 

Even the birds give them a miss. How I wish they taste like grapes, then maybe you don't see them fallen and scattered to rot.

The sour acidic taste of the fruits makes it impossible to be consumed fresh. Other than using them in masak lemak  I don't know how to use it any other way. Sometimes it makes me sad to think about the fruits being sidelined and so unwanted. So one day I plucked some and try to turn it into something which can be more palatable.

Here is how I made sambal sandwich filling using the fruits as ingredients.

Ingredients: belimbing fruits, anchovies, chili paste, onion, garlic, ginger.
Not in picture: oil, salt, palm sugar.

Process

Add a lump of palm sugar some salt and oil

Fry until quite dry

Final product

Yummm

The texture is like jam. Taste is sweet but hot. Unexpectedly delicious!

So there, friends, a recipe for you to try.


Till next entry . . .

Simple Baking Project

Hi friends

Another week has gone by. Time passes us so fast.

Infants have become toddler, the young has grown older but the old have yet to become wiser haha.

Life is a long and sometimes a tired journey. But no.

Still we are not tired of celebrating birthdays year after year because there is always the chocolate and cakes to sweeten, balloons  and ribbons to color and families and friends to cheer.

Life is not that dull at whatever age you are depending on how you color it and that you are not at all time chasing after the rainbows.

People say life is not only to be lived but also to be celebrated.

In the name of celebration aha, last weekend we held a small birthday get-together for our four October-born family members of three generations.

Home made, rugged  

Had an enjoyable family bonding with jokes and laughs and a lot of makan makan . . .

And one cake baked by me for the day was this . . .

Hah a burnt cake?

Hey no! I assure you it is nice.

I confess, that was my first trial.

Actually I have listed this cake recipe in my to do simple baking projects but never get to do it before this. And as usual the recipe is from the internet but I tweak it a little because I don't have some of the ingredients and equipment in my humble kitchen.

You can find this recipe on the internet easily just type Easy Lazy Daisy Cake in your browser and out will come the many recipes. Anyway I put the one from Taste.com down here for you.

Easy Lazy Daisy Cake.

4 eggs

2 cups sugar ( I used a bit less)

2 teaspoon vanilla ( I used pure vanilla powder)

2 cups AP flour ( I used 2 1/4 cups superfine flour)

2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup butter

1 cup milk


Frosting

1- 1//2 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup butter

1/2 cup milk or cream (I used milk)

2 cups sweetened shredded coconut ( I used ordinary fresh  shredded coconut, only the white)


Method (the cake)

1. Melt butter in milk in a small pot over the stove. Put aside. Keep the mixture hot.

2. Beat egg, sugar and vanilla until thick and yellow.

3.Combine flour, baking powder and salt, add to egg mixture

4. Add the hot milk+butter . ( Batter a little fluid)

5. Bake in 13 x 9 inch, 30 - 35 minutes at 350 degrees C.

( I baked for a longer time in a round tin which is smaller in capacity resulting in thicker cake which I think is a mistake, later you will know why)


Frosting

Melt butter in milk in a pot on the stove. add brown sugar. Stir. Add coconut. Boil for three minutes.

( I put some lemon rind and juice as I thought it can cut off some of the sweetness. As it turned out it was just the right thing to do)

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Spread the frosting evenly on hot cake.

If you have a kitchen torch used it to caramelize the frosting. I do not have one so I put the cake again in  the oven under the grill. Be very careful, keep watch. I nearly burn the whole cake in the process ha ha.

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As mentioned earlier due to my using a smaller capacity baking tin my cake was thicker. I should have baked it in the bigger tin as stipulated in the recipe so that the cake is flatter.

This was pointed out to me that my cake was a little too thick. There was no more frosting after the first bite haha. Betul juga . . . if you bite from the top the bottom is left without the frosting. To attack from the side you have to open wide your mouth, not okey unless you are eating alone at home hehe. So a flatter cake is more dainty.

It was the coconut frosting that makes the cake taste different from other sponge cake. Every bite then would be heavenly.

I did not have a picture of the cut cake so that you can see the thickness. But you can more or less make out how thick it was as indicated in the last picture.

Egg. sugar ,vanilla 

Flour,baking powder,salt sift into egg mixture

mixture a little thick

Add hot butter milk mixture into flour mixture

The batter, a little fluid

Bake

Cook the coconut frosting

Put a little lemon rind and juice into frosting mixture

Spread frosting on hot cake

Set the grill

Put cake under the grill

Don't get it burnt!

The cake is supposed to be served in the baking container. Put the container in decorative perforated tray. If I have some edible flower like the bunga tongkeng , I would put in around in the tray to make it more presentable.

Well friends, I would make this cake again, nice soft and spongy and the caramelized coconut frosting makes it taste special.

I suggest you try it too.

As an after thought; we can also call this cake  kek kelapa hangus?


Happy baking .


Bye . . .

Microwave Chocolate Cake

Hi everyone

Today is Sunday again.

Everyone would be busy minding  their own affairs, visitings, weddings, shopping to stock up their supplies, entertaining the weekend children etc. So me and friends usually don't play tennis on Sunday. Anyway I had played yesterday evening, two sets of very long and tiring game.

It tickles me thinking about yesterday's game. My doubles partner was a man in his 70s. Our opponent was his wife of about the same age partnering a man also of about the same age. Heeee I was the youngest, but I think I was the weakest and slowest. When I could not take the opponent's dropshot my partner would be able to save it and while he was doing so he would shout in jest 'old man can still run . n . n . n . . .' without panting or he may hid cleverly his breathlessness. Yes we do ha ha ha.

We know we are old but we cannot stop playing, we enjoy and love tennis so much.

Today and tomorrow I must nurse my aching toes, by Tuesday I hope to play again.

When you are deep in the games food is off your mind but not when you are so free.

Today I crave for cakes.

In this entry I am going to share with you how like magic you can have a cake right in front of you so you can satisfy yourself of a sudden craving . Quick and easy.

Oh for some people they would just grab the car keys and drive to the nearest cake shop. But in some places like here there is no cake shop. You only have that bakery that sells mass produced cakes the ones that come in plastic wraps. Not the home baked type.

Bake your own cake.

You have all the neccessary kitchen equiptments use it. They are there not for show. Take the microwave oven for example, may be you are just like me the microwave oven is seldom used except just for reheating. It is made to do several functions. It can bake. Fast and quick. So if you suddenly want to eat chocolate cake then go the kitchen and bake one . Within fiteen minutes you can have a cake and eat it too.

(This recipe is not originally mine. Got the idea from the book in the picture below. Of course as an old person I am in the habit of adding a bit of this and a bit of that, a little less of this and a little less of that  . . . agak agak )

Small Microwave Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

1/2 cup soft salted butter (about)
1/2 cup castor sugar
2     eggs
1 teaspoon powdered vanilla (pure punyer)
1 cup (less 1 desertspoon) self raising flour
1 desertspoon cocoa powder + about 1 teaspoon nescafe
pinch of bicarbonate of soda


Method

Butter and line with paper a 6-inch diameter glass container ( mine is of a very thin and light material)

Put all the ingredients in the mixing bowl.

Beat on high speed one to two minutes until well mixed.

Pour into baking container.

level it. ( The batter is not so liquid)

Put in microwave oven uncovered.

Set microwave on high,

I cook first for 3 minutes. When I took out it looked so soft.I was scared it was not fully cooked. So I put it back in the oven and cook a furthur 40 seconds.

The cake was soft and delicate. But slightly, very slightly dry. I suppose I shouldn't add the 40 seconds cooking time.

It was fast. You can even see the cake rising during cooking.

At first I thought of icing it ( I have icing ready in the fridge)  but since it  was too soft it would not be suitable.

I got a small package of whipped cream. As I seldom use cream so my whipping was not perfect. It was not smooth. May be the whipping was not rightly done or it might be because I added icing sugar too soon. Anyway I will take notice of this problem and would google later what was it that I did wrongly.

Anyway I like it.

I think if making the cream is a hassle just eat it on its own  . . . and drink nescafe . . .

Or eat it with ice cream! Or yogurt!

Whatever, when you crave for cake, there in less than 15 minutes you can have it!

You should try.

Happy microwaving!

Bye . . .

Small Baking Project

Hello again

The subject I am about to write is so small and insignificant matter. It really is nothing important. It doesn't deserve to be in the blogosphere. But then what deserves. . . sigh . . .

I have no specific subject that I write in depth.  Ah they say I have not found my niche. (What? Write on health and wellness? Mammogram? Menopause) I am in a wilderness. Nevermind  me think, as long as I enjoy writing and you enjoy reading.

Its going to always be light, easy happy reading for you . . .

And so I write . . .

A relative invited us for a casual makan makan last weekend at her house. It is usual for me to bring buah tangan to give to the hostess . By doing so I think we can create warmth and goodwill. Give her something which I can make myself is more meaningful. At the same time I can jolt myself out of the lazy mode.

So I made for her a tray of cupcakes. Sedap punyer! And I hoped she and her children would like it.

When I arrived at her place the first thing I saw in her living hall was the dessert table, elegantly set up and right in the centre was a very big cake all beautifully decorated  . . . aaahh . . .  my simple humble miniscule no glamour cupcakes . . . but did it matter?

Here is the recipe which I got from the internet and which I often use. As usual I will tweak it to suit my palate. If I am going to ice it with the sugar buttercream I have to reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe so that the sweetness don't overkill. If I want to frost it with the less sweet Swiss merengue buttercream then I use the recipe in its originality.

Vanilla Cupcakes

175 gm butter salted ( I let the butter go soft first)
175 sugar( I used 165 gm)
175 gm self raising flour ( I used about 190gm)
3 eggs ( I used 4 eggs)
Vanilla essence (I used pure vanilla powder which makes the cake taste nicer)
Milk about 2 tablespoon ( I added lemon juice to the milk.)

Vanilla powder comes in a tube

My method of doing it is easy. Dump everything into the mixing bowl. Start slow the mixer. Then hey go full speed one to two minutes. Don't over mix.

Line the cupcake holes/pan scoop the batter into them. Bake.

Icing

Seive 4 cups of icing sugar ready. Add about 1 dessertspoon meringue powder.

Keeps longer in the fridge

Mix well about 1/4 cup shortening and less than 1/4 cup butter.

Mix in the powdered sugar. Mix well.

Add lemon juice and milk to get the right consistency. Mix.

I wanted to use the russian icing tips to pipe the flower and not the usual swirls with the star tip. So I was careful when adjusting the consistency of the icing. I made a wee bit stiff.

I mixed blue colour gel to some and green to a small amout of icing. The rest I left it in original colour.

The end product?

The cake was soft and not so sweet. The icing flowers keep its shape after travelling,

A small icing flower and three small leaves on the cake did not make it doubly sweet. One cupcake can be finished in two bites. No harm to dieting.

So here's the picture of the end product.

Flowers piped with the Russian icing tips

From the picture you can see that some paper liners peeled away. Why this problem.          

Trouble shooting:

• Low quality cupcake liner. (Throw away the unused liners. Buy better ones)

• Baked cake left too long in the baking pan after being taken out from the oven. The heat cannot escape causing the paper to be wet. (Or should I say the cake perspired). Do not dilly dally to remove cake from the pan.

• Cake under bake. Some. The oven temperature not even. ( My built in oven was installed about 15 years ago. High time to get a new one hehe)

• To make it more presentable put the cake in decorative cupcake wrapper.

So there my small baking project . 

Do try making it yourself.

Enjoy baking.

Bye . . .

Enjoy Savoury Crawlies While Watching #Magpie-Robin

Hello again

Few days back I went to a shopping mall. It was a week day but the place was quite busy like a Saturday. There were many push cart stalls just being set up along the walkway between the shop lots. Must be in the anticipation of the coming Hari Raya. Though Ramadhan has not begun the spirit is already there.

One of the stalls sells all types of snacks . Snacks always attract me. The muruku and the kerepek and all. But most are fried and look oily. No no. I am now trying to lose weight. If I terlajak eat, all my efforts will come to a naught.

Back home I was still thinking and craving for snacks. Must make it and let it be baked not fried. So here I show my version of baked snack. Its savory and the shape is like some worms so I call it savoury crawlies.

It is so simple to make and using everyday ingredients that we use to have in the house. And the amount used does not warrant it to be so accurately measured. No ISO.

Savoury Crawlies

2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
3/4 cup pounded dried shrimps
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp salt
1 egg
1 tsp crushed fennel
1 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
2 pips grated garlic
chopped curry leaves
enough water

Mix all the dry ingredient
Rub in butter

Bind with lightly beaten egg

Add enough water to make into a smooth dough

Dough should not be too hard or too soft and not sticky.

dough

Take this tool.

Do like this.

Take a little dough press on the ridged surface

Slant the tool (mould) at an angle roll the dough forward

And there you have your crawly

Put on a lined baking pan.

Before baking

Bake for 10 to 12 mins on 175 degrees C In preheated oven

And here is the baked snack the savoury crawlies

Let cool, eat.

The snack was not crunchy enough and it turned a little soft too soon. So I put it again to dehydrate it in the oven on low heat for another ten minutes. 

It was Ok more crunchy. I like it so do my family members especially my sister who is very health conscious.

So have fun making the savoury crawlies.

Here are some photos to accompany your snacking. A magpie is having a snack too.

Perch under a shade

With an insect caught between the beaks

It is not swallowing it right away

Quite a big insect

We don't have to eat like a bird.

We can eat more but less the fried food.

Stay healthy will stay happy.

Bye . . .

Some Like It Hot

Hi everyone

A friend advised me to plant more trees in my garden. The fruits and flowers will attract the birds plus the leaves and branches can house the nests the more shaggy the garden the better.

I think she is quite correct.

Shaggy and overgrown. That's a real garden. Natural.

A place like this can impress birdsAdd caption

Reality is my garden requires regular tending to discourage snakes.

Thats a snake slithering through the fence

It cannot accommodate anymore plants due to its small size.

A tree too tall has got to be chopped off like what happened to the cempaka . 

The five gaharu trees have grown tall. Birds like to perch and play hopping among the branches.

There is a dukong tree which does not produce fruits even in season. The roots are about to encroach the foundation area of the house. When we thought of felling it the tree started to flower and gave us fruits like these. So keep it.

After being threatened to chop off it start bearing fruits

Apart from these trees there are also limau kasturi and limau purut shrubs.

I suppose birds don't like them

Leaves of limau purut used in recipes for its characteristic flavour

The passion fruit plant grows quite well but fruits are lost to monkeys and squirrels.

Destroyed by squirrels

 The mulberry trees are fast growing and have to be trimmed from time to time.

The fruits are well liked by the birds

Bulbul likes berries

Oriole also come for berries

If there is one type of fruit that the birds don't like then this is the one.

As sour as can be

I have never seen even a single bird come to peck.

The abundant fruits shall not go to waste though its sour.

1. It can be sun dried and made as an ingredient in acar.
2. It can be a substitution for tamarind.
3. It can be cooked to make sandwich filling

and many more if you care to find out..

I make sandwich filling with this belimbing buluh.

Here's how...

(Ignore the two packaging behind , for props only..)
Clockwise belimbing, soaked dried shrimps,onions, palm sugar n salt, chili paste, ginger garlic paste.

Then process

Then fry

. . .until dry

. . .and season to taste..

Cool. Keep in fridge, let mellow on the day.The next day spread on bread slices. Nyum.

Make sandwiches with this and ta pau for your bird outing.

If you like it hot put more chili.

Some like it hotter

Be cool and enjoy reading...

Bye...