Caitlin's Yogurt Banana Pops

Caitlin has been subscribing to this children's magazine for almost two years now. They have another 'junior' version for younger children aged 4-7 years too. Every month, she looks forward to receiving it in the mail and would finish reading it in one sitting (it's not too thick). It contains nice and interesting stories and facts, with good (Christian) values, and many ideas for activities like craft and cookery for the kids.

Yesterday, she decided she wanted to try out a recipe she found in the latest issue. It's called Raspberry Banana Pops. As we didn't have raspberry yogurt which the recipe called for, we substituted it with a Mixed Berries yogurt which I happened to have bought a few days ago.

Here's Caitlin's 'handiwork' before it was put into the freezer:

The recipe:

3 bananas
6 wooden popsicle sticks
6 ounces raspberry yogurt
sprinkles (optional)

1. Cut bananas in half crosswise.
2. Slide one popsicle stick into each banana.
3. Pour yogurt onto a plate and roll the bananas until covered.
4. Pour sprinkles on a second plate and roll the bananas.
5. Place the bananas on a baking sheet with wax paper.
6. Place in freezer for 2 hours or until frozen.

Roti Jala and Chicken Curry

As I was going to be busy on Thursday, Cooking Thursdays took place on Wednesday this week instead. Although I had earlier planned to try out new recipes on Thursdays, it has turned out that I was doing it on non-Thursdays instead lately, like last week when I made strawberry cheesecake on Saturday.

I'd been meaning to try making roti jala for some time now. I had planned to make it earlier on Malaysia Day two weeks ago but that didn't materialise and since I had time on Wednesday, I took the opportunity.

The recipe for roti jala is very simple, but you need the roti jala making utensil to produce the net-like pancake. 'Jala' means 'net', 'roti' refers to 'bread' usually but is used here although it's more like a pancake.

The utensil can be bought from most super/hypermarkets or shops that cater to cooking/baking needs. I bought mine for around RM1.50 more than a year ago. Yes, that long ago and only now I'm using it! This is what it looks like.

Alternatively, a good substitute would be a mayonnaise dispenser with a row of nozzles which looks like this. I saw it at the Daiso shop here which sells every item for RM5.

After using the utensil I have, I'm thinking that maybe the mayo dispenser bottle could work better, unless it's my inexperienced hands that's the problem. When I dripped the batter onto the pan with the utensil, somehow the 'strips' that were created tend to spread and join up, filling up the gaps between each line. Not sure how to describe it actually but the end result gives you a pancake that looks like the regular pancake you make with too few netting-like holes. Maybe the batter was not thick enough thus making it 'run' around the pan?

Anyway, they improved a bit after the initial pieces and looked closer to the professionally-made ones after I folded them into triangles. You can also roll them up like in the recipe and video of the mayo bottle (click on the two links above).

Malaysian holiday season

Last Friday was Hari Raya Aidil Fitri, the Muslim celebration after a month-long fasting in the month of Ramadan the previous month. The school term took a break for a week last week too. And two weeks before that, Malaysia celebrated her 53rd year of independence, or Merdeka Day, on 31 August.

In two days' time, on 16 September, the country will have another national holiday called Malaysia Day. It's the day in 1963 when Sabah and Sarawak in Borneo, and the island of Singapore joined Peninsular Malaya to become Malaysia. (However, on 9 August 1965, the Parliament voted with a majority for the removal of Singapore from Malaysia.)

I'm wondering if I'll have the energy and time to make Malaysia Day a Cooking Thursday. C has a two-hour replacement class for her Yamaha Junior Extension Course in the morning. Parents sit in for these group lessons and by default, since I'm the one with music knowledge, it's become my 'duty', although it's not necessary for parents to have music knowledge to sit in).

Thinking aloud, I'd like to try making roti jala, or a simple cheesecake, or some kind of Malaysian 'kuih' since it's Malaysia Day. But I wonder if I'd have to cook a more elaborate dinner, especially when Thursday is also the day when E's parents come over for a visit and dinner. Since I'm not an expert cook, cooking for four adults and one adult wannabe is already more challenging than just cooking for ACE alone....

I guess I'll find out what I will really do when Thursday arrives and unfolds itself......

Home-cooked ABC Soup

Caitlin and I will be having a one-pot dinner tonight. This week, E has a slew of 'buka puasa' dinners to attend. It's hard cooking for so few people so one-pot dishes are the best way to go. Today, it's a variation of the famous Malaysian Chinese ABC soup. Caitlin loves to eat porridge, or what some people refer to as congee. She's been choosing that over rice for lunch at the school canteen these two weeks. She also likes 'flooded' rice i.e. rice drenched with lots of clear soup, or what some people refer to as broth. Terms differ for locals and westerners, a case of tomayto, tomahto, potayto, potahto.

ABC soup is so easy to make, so delicious and nutritious; good comfort food, and best of all, one of Caitlin's favourites. That means she will eat with more enthusiasm, less dawdling, until her tummy bulges!

The basic ABC usually contains potatoes, carrots, onions and tomatoes, all diced or if you wish, cut into large chunks. They are then boiled and simmered with stock of chicken or pork. Alternatively, you could use chunky soup bones, chicken carcass, or pork spare ribs. I usually like to use pork because it renders a sweeter tasting stock compared to chicken. I guess you could use beef too but of course that will give a rather beefy flavour to the soup, masking the clear sweetness from the carrots, potatoes and onions.

My version today contains a few more ingredients, namely cabbage and fresh shitake mushrooms, another two of C's favourites. Instead of pork bones or ribs, I used pork fillet which I cut into bite-size chunks, marinated with a little salt. Once all the vegetables come to a boil in the pot, I add the pork, let it boil and then simmer until the meat, carrots, potatoes and cabbages are soft. Add some salt to taste and that's it. Steam some rice and serve.

Other ingredients in addition to the basic ones (carrot, potato, tomato, onion) that you can add are winter melon, other mushrooms like button, golden or oyster, baby or sweet corn and red dates. You could also add some fish balls as long as they are of good quality to avoid giving the soup a fishy taste. You could add a dash of white pepper if you like, but for Caitlin, she can taste the slightest bit of pepper and complain that it's spicy.

Caitlin will definitely flood her rice with this ABC soup. I can be assured this evening that she'll have a balanced meal as this is one dish where she will definitely eat all the veges (except the tomato) while the pork will be boneless and tender enough for her picky palate to accept.

Bread Pudding Recipe

Ingredients

Bread:

9 - 10 cups of bread cubes, (crusts left on or removed) cut into bite sized pieces

Custard:

4 large eggs

1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar

1 1 /2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

4 cups (960 ml) half & half, milk, light cream or a combination thereof

Variation: Can replace 2 tablespoons of the milk/cream with 2 tablespoons of brandy or rum.

Note: Use breads (or a combination thereof) like French, Brioche, Challah, Croissant, Italian, or Panettone. The bread can be fresh or stale and crusts can be left on or removed. You can also use day old scones.

Fruit: (Optional)

- 1 large peeled and cored tart apple, diced

- about 1 - 2 cups of fresh berries (raspberries, blueberries, blackberries)

- one large diced bananas and 2 ounces of chopped white or dark chocolate

- 1 cup sultanas (raisins)

- 1 cup of chocolate chips

Method

Bread Pudding: Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Lightly grease with butter, or spray with a non stick vegetable spray, a 9 x 13 x 2 inch (23 x 33 x 5 cm) heatproof baking dish. Place the baking dish into a larger roasting pan that has enough room to fill with water.

For Custard: In an electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the eggs and sugar on high speed until thick and lemon colored (about 4-5 minutes) (when beater is raised the batter will fall back into bowl in a slow ribbon). Beat in the vanilla extract and ground cinnamon. Then beat in the melted and cooled butter and half and half (light cream).

Assemble: Place the bread cubes and fruit (if using) in the baking dish. Carefully pour (or ladle) the prepared custard over the bread cubes until completely covered. Press down the bread cubes so they are covered with the custard.

Prepare a water bath. (A water bath is used to provide temperature protection for the egg custard.) Carefully pour in enough hot water so that the water is halfway up sides of the 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Bake about 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Another way to judge whether the pudding is fully baked, is to gently press down on the center of the pudding. If any custard comes up to the top, the pudding needs to be baked a little longer. Remove the bread pudding from the water bath and cool slightly before serving.

Can be served warm or cold with a dusting of confectioners' sugar and a dollop of softly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

This recipe is from Joy of Baking.

Makes one 9 x 13 bread pudding (serves about 8 - 10 people)

Bugs

I've been stricken by several bugs lately. That's the main reason why this blog has not been updated as frequently as it used to be. Don't worry, I'm still healthy physically but the bugs are pretty stubborn. I'm talking about the Lazy Bug, Procrastinator Bug, Lethargy Bug and Moody Bug. I wonder if there are any other bugs I have that have yet to be diagnosed.

It's hard to get my fat bottom off the chair and away from the computer, surfing the net and reading online stuff and being a nosey-poke on Facebook. In this day and age of advance technology, it's so easy to get drawn and lost in the the computer and internet world without realising the time passing.

Last week, I got busy putting old (and I mean, really old) photographs into proper photo albums. There was a bag of these small albums of photos lying around, those that you get from the photo processing shops when you send your films to be developed. If you're from my generation or before, you'll know what I'm talking about. Those were the days when cameras used film and once the 12, 24 or 36 exposures are used up, you send the roll to the shop. Then, when they're ready, you collect them and eagerly pore over every single photo to see how your pictures turned out. And you hold up the negatives to the light (most of us amateurs would not own lightboxes) to check the number and jot them down if you want to make extra copies of the photos.

People in this new generation like Caitlin only know of digital cameras. Right after taking a picture, they are instantly gratified. They get to check if the picture is great and if otherwise, they can just delete it on the spot, select modes like close-up, portrait, landscape, night or day, flash or without flash, reduce red-eye effect etc. Unlike those days when a picture is taken, no matter how badly, they will be there on the film/negative forever, unless you throw the negative away.

So back to the old photos I was talking about. I bought proper new albums and tried my best to sort and group them according to the 'era' to create a semblance of chronology. Then I ran out of albums. I've yet to get more to complete the job -- the Procrastinator and Lazy Bugs at work here.

I've a stack of books I so greedily bought during book sales and at BookAxcess that I've yet to read. They are books I like, I want to own, I think I should read....but I've YET to read - again, the Procrastinator Bug attack. Also the Moody Bug I think. There are some activities I need to have the 'mood' for in order for me to indulge in them. Reading and cooking are among them.

This week, I've selected two books to read. I've covered one-third of Money Doesn't Grow on Trees by Neale S. Godfrey so far, while Nurture Shock by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman is still patiently waiting for me to pick it up.

As for my 'Cooking Thursdays' projects, I actually did try out some recipes two Thursdays ago. I revisited Banana Bread since I had too many bananas lying around. Then I also made some milk buns. The earlier batch of dried yeast I had were 'dead' so I bought a new batch. It turned out that they were not any more alive than the earlier one although slightly better. The dough rose but not super-actively I guess. So the buns turned out not as fluffy as I hoped they would. Ate the buns with mushroom soup, dipping and spooning with slightly aching wrists and fingers from all the kneading!

I also baked some chicken thighs in satay marinade for dinner two Thursdays ago.  The marinade powder had been sitting in my larder for a long time. I once had lofty dreams of grilling my own satay but never got around to buying skewers and the thought of having to thread the chicken fillet bit by bit onto those sticks just put me off -- there you go, Lethargy Bug.

Last Friday, I made lasagna. It was my own version. I cheated by using bottled spaghetti gravy, mixed it with a concoction of pureed brinjals, tomatoes and frozen corn, carrot, peas (great way to hide the vege from the kid) before cooking it with minced pork (didn't have enough beef in the freezer). I layered the lasagna sheets with this gravy and lots of shredded cheddar and tossed it into the oven.  The end result was yummy luckily, and the kid gobbled up more than her usual dinner portion.

I had grand plans to make roti jala over the weekend but the stars were not aligned for me to do so. Yes, I'm blaming the cosmic powers and the Lethargy Bug. On Friday morning, Rusty chanced upon an escape for the big wide wonderful world beyond our gates. This time, he ran harder and faster as soon as  I caught up with him. He also broke the record of going past our neighbourhood security post, out yonder into the 'wild' but luckily low-traffic main road. Thankfully, the guard got onto his bicycle and gave chase, blocked his galloping advance using the bike while I trailed behind panting and jogging in my flip flops, leash in hand. Gosh, I must have looked comical.

Having felt cornered, Rusty finally decided it was better to run towards me than face off with the two-wheeled stranger. With a 'smiley' look and pink tongue sticking out, he simply thought it was great fun until I admonished and smacked him for giving me a 1km jog I didn't plan for. He certainly forced the Lethargy Bug out of me then, but because of my poor fitness level, I felt the effects later that day with some aching knees and calves. This brings to the Great Procrastinator Bug problem I've been facing when it comes to training Rusty to 'stay' when my auto-gate beeps open....

Finally, there's always stuff to clear up and organise around the house. And this is the part that all the aforementioned bugs have ganged up on me. Can someone please invent some sort of vaccine to immunise me from these bugs?

Abok abok sago

Today I attempted abok abok sago. I remember learning how to make it when I was in Form One or Two for my Home Economics class. That version required banana leaves where you wrap the sago in a pyramid-like shape with the leaves. The recipe I used today simply requires you to steam it in a tray.

Here's a picture of the final result. It didn't turn out perfect as there were some grains of sago that didn't cook through. I increased the steaming time a little to try getting the grains cooked, and what turned out was a slightly tough, chewy 'kuih' instead of a soft, moist one.

Oh well, as long as it still can be eaten!

Upside down Thursday

It's Thursday again today. Last week, I missed my Cooking Thursday. I can't remember why. I must have been occupied with something else. I've been meaning to try my hand at making the old classic pineapple upside down cake for some time and had scoured the internet to look for an easy recipe.

Believe me, when I Googled 'pineapple upside down cake', it presented me with tons of recipes. Some called for unsalted butter and brown sugar, some said I had to use a skillet, and uncommon ingredients, etc etc. All that put me off. I'm the lazy type when it comes to cooking -- the recipes must be simple to follow, the ingredients easy to find, and the dish is something that fussy eaters here will eat or at least try.

I happened to be at a bookstore a few weeks ago and chanced upon a handy pocket-sized recipe booklet with the cover photo of  pineapple upside down cake! It was like it was calling out to me. Although I have more than enough cookbooks that I read and hardly use their recipes, I couldn't resist getting just another one for my collection. It was only RM9.90 so I didn't feel too guilty. It's by Betty Saw, a well-known local 'celebrity' cook and cookbook author.

Well, enough of my longwinded intro.  Here's the result of today's Cooking Thursday, out from the oven not too long ago (pardon the poor quality pic again, just too lazy to climb upstairs to get the proper camera!).

It's without the maraschino cherries and pineapple cream. Although the touch of red could have made it look more attractive, I was being practical. I didn't want to purposely go out to get the cherries which will end up being dug out and dumped into the dustbin because people here don't like the taste of it -- it's like a combi of cough medicine and cockroach (it's usually flavoured with oil of bitter almond). Plus, I don't think it's healthy food due to the preservatives and food colouring used. The same goes for the pineapple cream. I already used a whole block (250g) of butter and 250g of sugar for the cake. I think we can do without the additional 250g of butter and 150g for the decorative cream (as shown in the picture above). 

Now, what shall I do with this nine-inch square cake? There's only three of us at home. Gotta taste it first and see if it's 'passable' to be shared with 'outsiders'! Haha....

Banana Bread

This banana bread recipe that my friend shared with me is from the Joy of Baking website. Click here to view the recipe in the site. Otherwise, here it is.

Banana Bread

Ingredients:
1 cup (115 grams) walnuts or pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped (optional)
1 3/4 cups (230 grams) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 ripe large bananas (approximately 1 pound or 454 grams), mashed well (about 1-1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place oven rack to middle position. Butter and flour (or spray with a non stick vegetable/flour spray) the bottom and sides of a 9 x 5 x 3 inch (23 x 13 x 8 cm) loaf pan. Set aside.

Place the nuts on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly toasted. Let cool and then chop coarsely.

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nuts. Set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl combine the mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, lightly fold the wet ingredients (banana mixture) into the dry ingredients just until combined and the batter is thick and chunky. (The important thing is not to over mix the batter. You do not want it smooth. Over mixing the batter will yield tough, rubbery bread.) Scrape batter into prepared pan. Bake until bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 to 60 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool and then remove the bread from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature. This bread can be frozen.

Makes one 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf.

Chwee Kueh

As mentioned yesterday, here's the recipe for Chwee Kueh

Ingredients:

Rice flour 150g
Corn flour 20 g
Water 300 ml
Oil 2 teaspoons
Salt 1/2 teasponn
Water 800 ml

Method:

Mix flours together, add 300 ml room temperature water and stir well until there are no lumps. Pour 800 ml water into a pot, add the oil and salt and heat it until it just begins to boil. Pour in the flour mixture slowly, stirring continuously to prevent lumping. When the mixture thickens to a gluey consistency, turn off the heat and continue stirring to form a thick, smooth batter. Spoon the batter into individual moulds and steam for 15 minutes.

Chai Po (topping)

Ingredients:

Toasted white sesame 1 tablespoon
Oil 200g
Garlic chopped 50g
Chai Po 300g
Dried shrimps 30g, pounded
Sugar 3 teaspoons
Salt 1 teaspoon
Dark soya sauce 1 teaspoon

Method:

Heat the oil in a wok/pan. Fry the chai po, dried shrimps and garlic. When aromatic, add the seasoning followed by the sesame. Stir to mix evenly.

To serve:

Remove chwee kueh from moulds and top them with chai po. Enjoy!

I am not a food blogger so please pardon the quality of this picture. It was taken with my camera phone and I did not spend time styling the food. I should have used a plate with a dark colour to contrast it with the whitish chwee kueh and piled on the topping more neatly, without those bits on the plate!

If you do not wish the topping to be too dark, you could use less dark soya sauce.

Cooking Thursdays

For two consecutive Thursdays coincidentally, I've cooked something additional to the usual daily main meals.

I remember in my younger days, there was a man who sold 'chwee kueh' from a cart outside a grandaunt's house in Bandar Hilir, Melaka. Everytime we visited her and if the 'chwee kueh' seller was there, my mother would buy some for us to eat. I liked the taste of the steamed 'kueh' topped with 'chai po' (preserved vegetables) in a slightly sweet syrup if I remember correctly.

It so happened that some weeks back, I was again feasting my eyes on the lovely pictures posted by food bloggers on foodgawker, and came across one which featured 'chwee kueh'. This 'chwee kueh', however, is the savoury type with 'chai po', dried shrimps and salty seasoning, and not the sweet syrupy version I used to have back then. Unfortunately I didn't take note of the site and am not able to attribute it here.

Last Thursday, I had the chance and some extra time (plus I felt hungry and wanted to taste something different!) so I pulled out that recipe that I had copied, and made 'chwee kueh'. It turned out rather good and satisfied the pre-lunch hunger pangs.

Later, when my in-laws came for their weekly visit, we had them for tea. It went down pretty well with them as it was a good change from the usual cakes, cookies or nyonya kueh. My father-in-law finished most of it; hopefully because it was tasty!

Today, I printed out a recipe which a friend shared with me. It's for banana bread. I had some free time between making and serving dinner. And since I had enough bananas this week (compared to last week when I received the recipe), I decided to try out the recipe.

I have just removed the loaf from the oven and am letting it cool on the rack while we have dinner. I will try to post some pictures and share the recipes in the next post. I wonder if I'll be cooking something else new next Thursday....