BrB : Mum is here for a visit

Mum is around and I'm a little tied up eating her food! and cooking her some food! stay tuned

Chocolate Cheesecake - Goal!!!

I enjoy playing football(some may refer to it as soccer,but NO it's football) quite a fair bit, ok ok "ALOT" is more like it. I love the excitement, the creativity and of course the feeling of content when a goal is scored. As of recent I'm beginning to enjoy baking a fair bit too, somehow I find the the excitement quite similar to football... especially when the the cake comes out right

So, I decided to try and bake a cheese cake for the first time.

I used lite cream cheese, and later realised it was too healthy for me.

and , out came the melted chocolate to even the playing field.

Tasting time... and GOAL!!! - Bended it like David Beckham

Ingredients

• 1 x 250g pkt biscuits
• 140g butter, melted
• 2 x 250g pkts cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 x 300g ctn sour cream
• 155g (3/4 cup) caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 tsp vanilla essence

Extras

chocolate to taste and cream/or milk ( mixed in a bowl over slow boiling water)

How

1. Place the biscuits in the bowl or a food processor and process until finely crushed( I used a pestle and mortar). Add the butter and process until well combined. Transfer to the lined pan. Use the back of a spoon or a straight-sided glass to spread and press the biscuit mixture firmly over the base and side of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill.

2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 160°C. Place the cream cheese, sour cream and sugar in the clean bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla, and process until well combined.

3. Pour the cream cheese mixture into the prepared pan. Bake in oven for 1 hour or until just set in the centre. Turn oven off. Leave the cheesecake in the oven, with the door slightly ajar, until cooled completely (this will prevent the cake from cracking). Let It cool down for an hour or so. 4.Remove the cheesecake from the pan, and pour the chocolate mix on the cake

Buta Kakuni - Success!

Living away from my parents ain't that bad but it has it's cons. Besides missing them, the other major con is that if I get hungry I can't just go "MUM! is there any food?", furthermore I'm in Australia... not in Malaysia, where there are food stalls everywhere , running most of the time... so I can't just run out and get some food and except for McDonalds( There is only so much McWhatever one can take).

When I moved out, missing both the street stalls and mom's cooking... I had to do something about it. Like a true addict, I started sourcing other means of food... I found a restaurant and began purchasing food. Unfortunately at that time, I was a poor student, so by the 2nd day or so I felt the pinch, then I tried Baked beans and that didn't really cut it as well...

Pork Cracking - Crunch!

So I began to cooking quite a fair bit... trying new things...experimenting and trying to imitate or replicate some of the dishes I loved. There were days, where the dishes I put up just looked like what I wanted it to be but tasted real bad... and times where it tasted and looked bad too... but when the moons are lined and the winds blow in the right direction... Success happens...

Success like this "Buta kakuni" or braised pork. ( punches fist in the air)

Ingredients

most important - Pork belly strips

sliced thick ginger & sliced thin spring onion,2 cloves of garlic crushed,water1/4 cup of mirin,1 tablespoon sugar or to taste,2 tablespoon sake,1/4 cup soy sauce & kombu ( seaweed stock) (if available)

How

Fry pork belly on each of the sides. If you wish, you could cut out the skin to make some cracking. In another pot, boil all the other ingredients. Once the pork belly turns golden. Place it in the pot, make sure the water covers most of the meat. Boil for 2 hours, but make sure you keep an eye on the water level. Let it rest in the pot for 10-15 minutes for the flavors to sip in. All ready to serve...

What is your recent cooking success?

Triple Cooked Lamb

A month after Ortiga , I started craving the lamb again. Shaking and shivering… all I was thinking of was that soft lamb…I think I’ve got the lamb munchies.

With the Global Economic Crisis, I thought I’ll save some money and make it myself. Made my way to the "Lamb Dealer" or butcher as some call it, and asked for some lamb shoulder. Surprisingly; it was one of the cheaper cuts of lamb…only about $9/kg.

Firstly fry the lamb shoulder in a pot with some oil and seasoned it with a little salt and pepper. After the lamb gets a little brown and slightly crisp, fill the pot with some boiling water and mix in some Italian herbs, paprika, salt, pepper, garlic, spring onion, carrots and chicken stock(to soften the meat). After a few hours, take it out and placed it into the oven at about 170-180 degrees till crisp( so you might want to check on it every 10 mins or so).

With the leftover stock, reduce it further … and season based on preference. White wine could be added for a little extra flavor ;)

Ingredients

Lamb shoulder 600g

Italian herbs

Paprika

Salt & pepper

Garlic

Spring onion & carrots

chicken stock

Optional – Homemade mint sauce

Mint leafs – Finely cut

Vinegar

Sugar

Combine the mint and sugar in a small pan. Add the boiling water and stir till the sugar dissolves. Add the vinegar and mix well. Allow the sauce to rest for 15 minutes for the flavor to develop and all ready to go.

What do you guys get the munchies for?

Gong Xi Fa Chai - Happy New Year

Chinese New Year has always been my all time favorite season when I was growing up. Ever since I could remember my family has been going to Malacca for our yearly reunion. My uncles, aunties and cousins would come from all over meeting up at grandma's to celebrate this occation. As kids we would help out our aunties; prepare cakes and biscuits. Whilst others would help cook up a feast for the reunion dinner.

The tradition of giving red packetts was and is the best tradition of the Chinese new year; especially if you are on the receiving end. After a day of visiting relatives and collecting the red packets, us kids would sit in the corner counting how much we have received. Gambling is also another tradition of the Chinese new year, this is where we normally blow the red packetts we collected or double it. Being away in Australia for the last few years, I've been unable to celebrate this festive season with my family, but I've always made the best of it. This year, me and Yoshi decided to have a reunion of our on at our place.

Another tradition in the Chinese new year is Yee Sang ; It usually consists of strips of raw fish (most commonly salmon), mixed with shredded vegetables and a variety of sauces and condiments, among other ingredients. Yusheng literally means "raw fish" but since "fish (鱼)" is commonly conflated with its homophone "abundance (余)", Yúshēng (鱼生) is interpreted as a homophone for Yúshēng (余升) meaning an increase in abundance. Basically a fish salad. We used shredded cucumber, radish, carrots, shallots, orange slices, homemade crackers and crushed peanuts. Once the ingredients is placed on the plate, all at the table then stand up and on cue, proceed to toss the shredded ingredients into the air with chopsticks while saying various "auspicious wishes" out loud". It is believed that the height of the toss reflects the height of the diner's growth in fortunes, thus diners are expected to toss enthusiastically A small mess on the table usually occurs later.

Well Happy Chinese New Year to you all!!!

So what's your favorite festive season growing up?

Chesty's Home Improvements

Hi Guys! Let me introduce you to Chesty. I found him unloved, worn out and tired. A year back , I decided to adopt him. After approvals from Yoshi and Mr. Bank ; Chesty was mine and Yoshi's to be called Home. We packed our bags ... and moved in. We knew that there were many things to be fix to make Chesty feel better.

Before

After

After Paint Job

A little computer editing to see what i pictured would turnout like. If you are thinking of renovation , i would recomend this method. IKEA also provides on their website a free software to help with furniture arrangement , which has help.

What it turned out like, End Result

First thing we did was to give Chesty a new coat, to brighten up the place .... and also new solid timber floors ... then new Bright lights. It was hard work, both me and Yoshi spend hours painting. We had to get contractors to work on the floors, as there were manythings to do inregards to floor preparation and installing. To save more money, we purchased our lights discounted at IKEA during a sale, and installed it ourselves. Mean while ... In the garden...

Before

After

Before

After

To fix up Chesty's Garden, I decided to make it a Japanese Garden to make Yoshi feel more at home.Got0 some new white stones from a Landscapes Supplier at Kelvin Grove, Brisbane only about $9 per bag of like 30Kg. Bamboo sticks , plants and the temple lantern from good old Bunnings . Not forgetting the stepping stones from Nuway for really cheap, about $3 per stone.




Chesty now is almost back to full health , although there is still some more painting to do and a few more touch ups here and there... but he is now fit and loved. Will show the rest of the house once done...So stay tuned