Weekend Blogging

I have not blog about Buddy for a long time.

So here he is eyeing the KitKat wrapper which I have left on the table.

We went to the Indian Store and bought a hand cranked coconut grater. The base will be secured onto the table top and turn the handle to grate the coconut.

So next weekend, I will buy some coconuts from the Supermarket and make some kaya again.

Hope it turns out better this time.

A stork in the lake

The only remaining plant of my wild flowers which I planted this summer. We have to dig up all of the wild flowers because they were growing so tall and wild.


The banana plant

We eat bananas a lot so we decided to try and grow a banana plant. We bought two but have not planted the other one yet.


The Frangipani tree

This was planted early this year. A co-worker gave it to me.

As usual I was talking to my Sis, this time my big sis and she reminded me about one of my favorite breakfast kuih, the Apam Balik or Ban Chien Kuih, the thin version with the crispy edge cooked in individual pan. And here it is today, my version of the Apam Balik, the recipe from a Blog. It is not as good as those made by the Malaysian Street Hawkers, but hey I will do better next time. I think next time I am going to make them with a cast iron pan to make it more crispy and crunchy.

The batter which has been in the fridge for about 2 hours. The batter will be thick so more milk had to be added. To test the consistency, hold the wooden spoon up and the batter should be flowing down. Try one first to make sure it is the right consistency.


The apam balik, leave it in the pan for a few minutes.


Apam Balik, thin version with the crispy edge

Ingredients:(A)

Dough:

173 gm plain or all purpose flour
10 gm rice flour
30 gm corn flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

6-7 oz water or milk or santan(coconut milk)


Filling:

120 gm melted butter
150 gm castor sugar
1 cup roasted crushed peanut
7-8 tsp cream sweet corn

some young grated coconut*optional*

Method:

1: Beat eggs in an electric mixer and then add flour mixture and alternate with liquid to make a thin consistency batter. Strain batter and keep in fridge for 3-4 hours before use.


2: Heat a 7" or 8"non-stick pan at low heat.Check the batter,if it's too thick,add 2 tbsp water at one time..Use a big ladle to scoop the batter into the non-stick pan to form pancake shape, swirl the pan around so the batter will cover the whole pan to get the crispy edge. Sprinkle some sugar on the top and cover with lid. Cook until lightly golden brown. Sprinkle some crushed peanut,butter or grated coconut or any filling you prefer. When the edge pull away from the side of the pan, it is time to fold the crepe.


3:Remove crepe from heat and serve it warm.

Bought a Ice Cream maker from the Thrift Shop last weekend for US$6.00 and made my first ice cream today.

The ice cream maker taken apart. The container (top left) and the base (with the grey top) must be frozen.

Before the mixture is poured into the container, the blade is secured onto the base

The complete ice cream maker

The peanut butter ice cream

Ingredient List:

1 cup creamy peanut butter
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract


Instructions:

Step 1: In a medium bowl, combine the creamy peanut butter and sugar with an electric mixer and beat until smooth.

Step 2: Add the milk and blend on low speed for about 2 minutes until the mixture is smooth and the sugar has been dissolved.

Step 3: Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla.

Step 4: Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Step 5: When ready, pour the ice cream base into your frozen ice cream maker bowl.

Step 6: Churn until the mixture thickened, about 15-20 minutes. If you are adding in candies or peanuts, add them in the last 5 minutes of mixing.

Step 7: Pour into a freezer safe container and freeze for at least 2 hours.

Step 8: Enjoy your ice cream topped with dark chocolate or milk chocolate ice cream toppings.

Hi Fong, these macaroons are for you for inspiring me to make them.

I was talking to my sis the other night and she was telling me Macaroons are the buzz in KL. These macaroons are made from flaked coconuts

2/3 cup flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or lemon extract


5 1/2 cups shredded coconut

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

Use an ice cream scoop to drop dough onto tray lined with parchment paper

I used the side of a fork to make indentments around the macaroon

Macaroons ready for baking at 350 degrees for 15 minutes

The macaroons after 15 minutes in the oven
These macaroons are crunchy on the outside but chewy inside

I have been living overseas for many years but still miss the Malaysian hawker style street food especially nasi lemak, curry laksa, roti canai, ice kachang and lots more. So today, I made some Loh Mei Fan to satisfy my Malaysian cravings. Loh Mei Fan, one of my favorite breakfast meal since a kid

Ingredients shallots, dried shrimps, chinese sausage and glutinious rice which has been soaked overnight

First I fried the shallots then add in the dried shrimp and sausage

Add in rice, dark soy sauce, five spice powder, salt to taste

Put rice into steamer. Every 15 minutes I spray with water to cook the rice.

DaDa the loh mei fan.

I do not follow any recipe only remember how my mom used to cook it every weekend for our breakfast.

My pandan leaves plant has grown quite a bit and so I made my first kaya today because I have my own fresh pandan leaves and no more frozen leaves. Got the recipe from a blog and thought I will try it. I have not tasted kaya for a long long time so I am not sure how it taste like anymore. To me, my kaya taste OK. It was very sweet at first and I have to add more santan and have to stir it for over an hour.

The panda plant which I bought a few months ago.

Ingredients for the kaya, 4 eggs, santan, sugar and pandan leaves.

Cooking the kaya in a double boiler

The Kaya

John built me a quilting table from shelves for the stand and the top is a big piece of wood

I started on my second quilt. This is a Rail Fence quilt.

These are the precut strips. There are five strips to one block and just alternate the colors.


First five strips sewn





I have joined all the blocks, next have to add the borders, batting and then the bottom layer.

I always want to make a Quilt. So today, I went to WalMart and bought the following tools:

A cutting board, ruler and a rotary cutter.

And this weekend, I bought two pieces of fabric from the Thrift Store and below is my almost complete Quilt.




To start, I cut out all the squares from the fabric and join 4 squares with the green fabric. I have one more block to do and next I have to join all the blocks, sew in the batting, back cover and then the border and I will be done.

I was having problems with the bottom layer as it keeps "bunching up" when I was quilting the layers. A lot of sites recommend the "walking foot". So I bought a "Singer EvenFeed Foot" for my Brother machine and the lady in the store teach me how to mount it to the machine and also to use a #90 quilting needle and it solves my problem.

The foot from the left side


The foot from the right side


View from the front


Example of bottom layer "bunching up"



Bottom layer sewn with the EvenFeed Foot

I am still harvesting the daikons every Weekend for my soup.

We have some sweet and delicious corns from these plants which we planted some time back.


No wonder they are called Wild Flowers. They are growing wild and as tall as the trellis.

This cantalope plant just sprout from the ground.

I think this may be a ginger plant. Like the cantalope it just sprout from the ground.