Of serenity...

Happy holiday uols...i tgh duk atas tikar bwh pokok while the boys tgh berdiri tgh panas carik anak ketam. Errrr x sanggup!!!

Bekal cuti2 mesia esok..pastry puff lagik!

Haha ya ampun jgn bosan tgk entry asyik berkaitan pastry puff jerrr. Truth is mama dia x puas mkn lagi. Every time buat sempat rasa seketul je...so jom kita repeat lagik haha.

Ni utk bekal mkn kt hotel esok...cuti2 mesia ad-hoc dekat2 sini jer...en hubby baru je book ptg tadi :) So initial plan utk bercucuk tanam dan mencari tanah kena postpone ke ahad la kots.

Happy holiday u ols! Company kami cuti lama 5 hari ok...sangap giler kalo duk umah jer :p

Another variations for pastry puff topings

This topping version seriously is delish. Sauteed chicken cubes with mushroom, added some salt, black pepper, fresh milk n cheddar. Lastly add the sliced crab stick into the mixture. Done!

Banana coated chocolate

A quick go-to snack utk alas perut :)

 

mula2 slice banana...layered with peanut butter, freeze for an hour

 

 

then cairkan coklat (in this case i used Beryls dark chocolate compound), and main celup2 :)

 

 

Refrigerate for another 10 min...then boleh la ngap!!

 

 

so for today's bento ada la saya masukkan banana chocolate tuh...except bento Ammar sebab semlm dia cuma pakat mkn coklat tu je....pisang soh mama dia abiskan isk isk sabor jela

Today's bento

Is nasi goreng sempoi using perencah adabi + soy sauce with fried crab stick n nugget tempura :)

Embarking into new things in life

1. Do more exercise
2. Learn about gardening
3. Bento-ing

So that's the start-off for this new year.
We had a great family-bonding time this morning at Lake Valley. The morning breeze was cold with super nice weather, kids enjoyed watching fish inside the lake, n i had finished off my morning jog at 2.2km with 122 calories burnt. Tho it was followed by having roti canai at a nearby mamak restaurant afterwards haha

Gardening.
Thanx to my circle of friends aka geng lunch, i think i wanna start to learn about gardening. Hubby is pretty good at it, so it's good if both of us can share n inculcate the interest together. We bought pokok limau kasturi, cili padi, mangga n kangkung seeds. So lets pray they grow well n add some greens to our small compound. I have few more in my grow-to-list...bawang and daun sup. Tapi kena beli extra tanah dulu this weekend :)

Bento.
Hubby said he was happy that i determine to make breakfast for the kids everyday. To us it means less spending for breakfast at the office. Assuming u spend rm4/morning, so that would mean a saving of approximately rm80 per month! Campur masak dgn kasih sayang some more, ehemm that adds to unmeasurable satisfaction dont u think? :) Harap2 mode rajin continues selama yg mungkin! Hihi

 

 

Pastry folding hacks

Another tricks or piece of art u can do using instant pastry sheets. Try it out...u sure gonna love the after-effect. These are sausage n bite-sized milk chocolate puffs. Glaze them with egg wash before baking ok!

 

main potong2...mmg mcm seni gitu :p

 

 

ex-rumet i cakap cantik 'barut' sosej u nih :p

 

 

siap balut, sapu egg wash then bole la bakar!

 

 

ni guna milk chocolate Beryls...choc bar yg slalu guna buat kek tuh. Nak guna choc chips pon bole..lg senang!

 

 

siap!!

 

 

 mini choc puffs :)

Updated: hmm kids dont like it plain.so now improvise wif chilli sauce, mayo n cheddar :)

 

Happy folding peeps! 

Mari membuat star/love-shape bread

Saja mengada nk try buat. Guna cookies cutter je pon x susah yer...tp yg susah sebab sambil menshapekan roti mama kena abiskn balance2 hujung roti tu haha...takkan nk buang plak kan jangannnn membazir namanya!!

So today firas n ammar nk roti peanut butter n nutella. Si abang nk spaghetti chicken mushroom carbonara. Mama konon nk eat clean bwk koko krunch ngn banana nut clusters wif full cream milk. Lesson learnt- serius lapar giler wehhhh kol 11++ perut dh kriukkk kriukkkk. So lenkali kalo nk mengada mkn cereal kena prepare biskut brg sepack dua yer :p

Roti paratha n kari sardin kentang

Today's bento! Kids layan kuah jer..isi makpak yg makan :)
Sape nk cari idea utk buat bento breakfast or lunch utk anak2 boleh try masuk fb-kelab bekal/bento malaysia. Dasat2 bento derang hiasan mmg tip top. Setakat version i kira dpt markah paling corot la hihi. Tapi takpe..yg penting anak2 kenyang...dan dpt merasa air tangan mama dia (pujuk hati) :p Dan yg tersangat penting, i takmo susah payah sampai terpaksa kuar lambat pepagi. Tak rela bayar parking mahal wooo

Easy n quick apple & sausage puff!

Another simple n healthy menu that works best for ur morning brekkie! I seriously continuously took a peek inside the oven during the baking time, just to see how the pastry do its puffing n magic :p
Give it a try. I'm sure u gonna love it :)

For the original recipe and descriptive steps by steps, pls refer HERE.

Ingredients

• 1 whole Sheet Puffed Pastry, Cut Into Half Or Thirds
• 4 whole Apples, Cored, Halved, And Sliced, But Not Peeled
• 1 cup Brown Sugar - i used lesser than 1 cup, takut manis sgt
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• lemon - half

Note: i didn't follow the measurement as indicated, pakai campak jer. 

 apple slice yg tak sama bentuk..belasah jer. it's not easy to slice thinly n evenly u see :p Then squeeze some lemon juice over the sliced apples. Add salt and enough brown sugar, fold the apples evenly.

 

i cut 1 pastry puff into 2 small rectangles, and arrange the apple slices, allowing some space at both sides so that the pastry can puff up nicely.

 

these are sausage puffs. added some chilli sauce and grated cheddar on top..marvellous!

 

 ouchhh see the burnt? lesson learnt, do not put the cheddar from the beginning. You can added them halfway thru the baking..baru tak burn hihi. Nak cover hitam2 tuh kita bubuh cili sos lagi on top :p

 Now let's see the apple puff! Tak secantik mcm dlm resepi asal tp takper, rupa comes second! hihi pujuk hati :)

Now sprinkle them with lil bit of icing sugar...haa baru nampak cun sket n convincing ala2 kedai bakery. The verdict? mmg sedappp tak caya cubalah!

Instant pastry tu i guna brand Kawanku. U can find it at Tesco, AEON, Carefourre and any other supermarkets at the frozen food section.

The Best and Easiest Macaroni & Cheese!

My eldest is always a big fan of mac n cheese. Amongst all, he loves the ones served at Kenny Rogers (normally we pick them as one of the side dishes accompanied the chicken meal) and Sweet Chat café.

I’ve always wanted to make my very own mac n cheese version, of course it has to be simple, quick, and yet cheesy and tasty enough so that everyone can just have it at home whenever they feel like to! So the google effort begins for the ultimate (and easy!) mac n cheese recipe, but before that I dropped by at the neaby AEON after last Thursday office hour to buy the cheddar block. Ohhh a block of cheddar seriously was very costly, but it’s ok mama remember you wanted to make the best for the household don’t you? hihi and so I picked up the Bega brand (after all I couldn’t find much choice on the shelf at that point of time) and paid RM13.50 for that 200g block (or was it 250g lupa dah!).

Out of so many recipes you can find on the internet, I finally landed on this page and decided to give it a go at this recipe. I omitted the dry mustard and did not follow the measurement as indicated in the recipe exactly, but the end result is really satisfactory. Everyone loved it!!

Author: Kitchen Treaty

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. (1/2 pound or about 1¾ cups) macaroni or other medium tubular pasta (like penne or conchiglie)* - i used elbow macaroni
• 3 tablespoons butter
• ¼ cup flour
• ½ teaspoon salt - pakai agak2 jer, make sure you don't underSALT your mac n cheese :)
• ½ teaspoon dry mustard - i omit this
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ⅛ teaspoon smoked paprika plus more for sprinkling on top
• 2½ cups 2% milk - i used lesser...agak2 jer
• 3 cups grated medium cheddar cheese* - i used 1 cup + only

Instructions

1. Boil the pasta until al dente, according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cool water to stop the cooking, and return to the pan you boiled it in. Set aside. (Mix in a little butter to keep the noodles from sticking if it’s going to be awhile before you make the sauce)
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
3. Over medium heat, melt the butter.
4. Add the flour, salt, dry mustard, pepper, and ⅛ teaspoon smoked paprika. Stir constantly over medium heat for about three minutes.
5. Stir in the milk.
6. Keeping on medium heat, whisk constantly for about 10 minutes, until the sauce thickens.
7. Remove from heat, and stir in 2 cups of the cheese, stirring until melted.
8. Pour the cheese sauce over the noodles and toss gently until all noodles are covered.
9. Add half the noodles to a two quart casserole dish.
10. Sprinkle on half the cheese.
11. Add the rest of the noodles.
12. Sprinkle on the rest of the cheese, and dust lightly with the smoked paprika.
13. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, until it starts getting a slightly dry and a tiny bit brown on top. Serve, topping individual servings with cooked, chopped bacon if desired.

 

 The plain version for kids. I posted this pic on the FB last Friday morning and it triggers lots of comment from my friends. Guess what, this mac n cheese finally led us to the ex-Raudhah BBQ gathering on the Saturday nite at Zarid's...very impromptu & short notice yet we made it! :)

The 2nd round mac n cheese (adult's version) for the gathering. I added in some diced chicken, button mushroom, carrot and holland onion which resulted in a much superb and tasty mac n cheese :)

Please give it a try. Simple and tasty, yet it can becomes a perfect n healthy breakfast bento for ur kids :)

Double chocolate muffin

Recipe taken from here.
 

Double chocolate muffins

taken from: http://call-me-cupcake.blogspot.com

makes 12

300 g all purpose flour
80 g cocoa powder
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
250 g granulated sugar
100 g butter, melted
250 ml buttermilk (about 1 cup or 8.45 US fluid ounces)
2 large eggs
150 g dark chocolate (70%), coarsely chopped

Heat oven to 200°c (392F). Prepare a cupcake pan with 12 muffin liners. Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in bowl. Set aside. Mix sugar, butter, buttermilk and eggs in a large bowl. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Stir in chocolate, but save 1/4 of the chocolate to put on top of muffins. Divide batter between 12 liners, filling them completely full. Sprinkle with remaining chocolate pieces. Bake for 18-21 minutes or until a cake tester comes out almost clean.


My review: Delish!! A quick fix to satisfy ur sweet tooth :)
Also perfect for a beginner!

Sambil tunggu muffin bakar buat cardio exercise via youtube. Haha remember the mantra? Health is wealth peeps! Dah mkn byk tu sila lah do something to burn the xtra cals :p

Hepi besday Nek Umi!!

Baked a special cake for the most wonderful n beautiful person in my life. Happy birthday Umi. May Allah bestow u with good health n rahmah. We all love u very very much!!!

Roti Arab & Kari Sardin

 This is my 2nd attempt of making roti arab, of which the recipe was googled from the internet. The first and the best roti arab I’ve eaten will always be my mil’s version, nevertheless I’ve forgotten on the correct measurement, hence let’s just make do with the online recipe then!

Recipe taken from here. Alhamdulillah it turned out pretty well, agak rangup di luar and lembut di dalam. The only critic (or read it as a positive comment hihi) from hubby is that roti arab ni macam lekat minyak, not sure the reason though. Other than that they are good and serves well for breakfast/lunch/dinner together with kari sardine or any kari of your preference :)  In my case, we ate it together with kari sardine, my first attempt actually…tak sangka sedap rupanya hoho senang plak tuh!! So let's take a peek at the recipe, i just copy & paste from kak Dayangjack yer.

Roti Arab 

Bahan-bahan : hidangan utk 4-5 orang

• 250 g tepung gandum
• 2 sk yis mauripan
• 1 sb susu tepung (jika guna susu segar tak perlu guna susu tepung)
• 1 sb marjerin/mentega  - i use buttercup
• 1 sb gula 
• 160ml -170 ml air suam (boleh campurkan dgn susu segar) - in my case i just use air suam, however my mil's version mmg campur air suam and susu
• 1/2 sk garam halus

Cara-cara :

1. Satukan yis bersama air suam dan gula. Bancuhkan hingga gula larut. Kemudian biarkan sebentar sehingga yis berbuih. - i rested the yeast for quite a couple of minutes, sempatlah mandi and solat dhuha kejap. Masuk2 dapur terkezut tgk yis tu dah berbuih2 haha
2. Di dalam bekas yg agak besar, ayakkan tepung. Satukan dgn garam, susu tepung dan marjerin/mentega. Gaul2kan rata2. Buatkan lubang di tengah2nya, kemudian tuangkan yis tadi. Kacau dan uli hingga menjadi doh yg licin. 
3. Setelah itu, simpankan doh di dlm bekas yg agak besar dan tutup kemas dgn kain lembab. Biarkan ia naik selama 1 jam. - here comes the multitasking part. i sempat iron baju sekolah and buat keje lain sambil tunggu dough naik :)
4. Sementara itu, bolehlah buat kari sardin, kari ikan, kari ayam dsbnya....hehe.
5. Keluarkan doh, uli sekali lagi dan bahagikan kpd beberapa bahagian (DJ suka buat yg kecik2 jer lagi kiut..hehe). Bulat2kan doh dan leperkan/canaikan. Jangan terlalu nipis atau terlalu tebal. - i tak buat kecik2 macam kak dayang. buat medium-sized..dptla dlm 11 ketul roti arab.
6. Panaskan minyak secukupnya utk menggoreng. Setelah minyak cukup panas, goreng doh tadi satu persatu. Siram2kan roti agar ia naik kembang. Goreng hingga keemasan. Angkat dan toskan. - sambil goreng sambil buat kari sardin :)
7. Bolehlah dihidangkan bersama kari sardin atau lauk apa2 jelah...selamat mencuba!

 

 let the dough proof n rest for 1 hour :) After 1 hour mmg dough naik gebu elok jer hihi

 

 proses mencanai bermula. tgk tu siap guna roller fondant tauuuu...maklumlah baker dah pencen from baking, mujur roller ni ada kegunaan dia hihi

lepas canai rest kan dough kejap before goreng. so boleh la start buat kari time nih

 Roti arab ku siap!! ada yg elok naik menggelembung, ada yg tak naik sgt...tapi dlm tetap rasa sama. Time goreng tuh curah minyak panas atas roti tuh...kasik dia gelembung.

 dimakan bersama dgn kari sardin yg sempoi tapi sedap! Cara dia - tumis bawang bersama cili giling and sedikit rempah kari ikan, then baru masuk sardin. mmg umpphhh kids pon suke!

p/s: Disebabkan dah terer buat pasni boleh jadi menu rutin time weekend :p