Cooking Tips & Recipe

[choc06]

Soph, I am none other then cockle.. TIA..

Yah.. the hot weather will make one headache ! Try chrysanthemum tea..

Hey llyn, my 3 yr old is often sick also, with cough.. Think for everyday soup, watercress with nan xing bei xing is quite good, but always can't remember the portion for these almonds..

I double-boil cordeceps with pork also to boost her immunity.. but for one yr old, you might want to consult the physician in chinese hall.

I am also giving cod liver oil to both my girls.. waiting for the results. But, don't give any cold stuff to your child as this constricts the airways

 

[prisneo]

Sophie

Can give me the recipe as well please....we love chocolate cake. Can pm the recipe to me.

 

[nice_to_shop]

I used to make this quite often, as two of my colleague love it very much,always request that I make this for them.

Yogurt Loaf

125g butter
15ml(1tbsp) grated orange rind
250g caster sugar
3 eggs, separated
90g mixed peel or almond,chopped(Optional)
60ml(4 tbsp) orange juice
280g self-raising flour
250ml low-fat plain yogurt

<u>Orange Icing (Optional)</u>
250g icing sugar
30g butter,softened
5ml(1tsp) gratged orange rind
30ml(1tbsp) orange juice

1. Beat butter,rind and sugar together until light and creamy.Beat in egg yolks one at a time.Sitr in orange juice.

2. Sift flour and add to mixture alternately with yogurt.

3. Beat egg whites to soft peak stage and fold lightly into mixture.

4. Pour into a lined and greased 23cm(9inch) loaf tin and bake in preheated overn at 180C for 1 hour. Leave in tin for a few minutes, cool on a wire rack.

<u>For Icing:</u>
Combine icing sugar, butter and rind.Stir in enough juice to mix icing to a spreading consistency. Ice cake.

 

[nice_to_shop]

Choc06

Don't let young children take too much bei xing.

 

[nice_to_shop]

TRIED AND TESTED BY 3 PERSON:

Pound Cake

3 tbsp milk
150g 4 eggs
150g Sifted cake flour
150g Fine sugar
184g Unsalted Butter (softened)
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt

1 Preheat oven to 175C

2 Grease loaf tin, place a parchment paper on the bottom, then grease again and flour.

3 Mix milk, butter and vanilla lightly to blend well

4 Mix all dry ingredient thoroughly.pour in half of butter and egg mixture, blend at medium speed for 1 minute until the dry ingredient are moistened.

5 Pour in the remaining butter and egg mixture in 2 two batches, beat for 20 seconds after each addition.

6 Pour batter into loaf tin, use a spatula
to smooth out the surface

7 Bake for approx. 60 min (disposable loaf tin), or 55-60 min (8" loaf tin) or until toothpick inserted near centre come out clean.

Cover loosely with aluminium foil after 30 min to prevent overbrowning.

8 The cake will only shrink away from sides after removal from the oven. Leaveto cool in pan for 10 minutes, then place on a wire rack to cool completely before storing airtight.

 

[choc06]

Ok van, why huh ?

Wah.. you really yang yang dou xing.. Why don't you work along with Violet Oon or some foodie magazine? You'll be an asset to them
van and baking gurus,
Hey what do you think, if I want choc pound ? Which one should I add more or cut down ?

Yo lyn, I just made the watercress, black beans, soy beans, pork ribs and added some chicken feet..
verdict : very bu, tasty and my girls and i love it .

Reminder:
Hey mums whose children will be pri 1 next yr,
Reg starts in July.. P1 reg booklet is out already

 

[nice_to_shop]

Choc
Recently I read that Bei Xing has some kind of toxins(very minimal), not advisable to give too much to very young children too often.

You got the regisration booklet already?

You want a Chocolate Butter Cake Recipe?

 

[clovergreen]

Sorry about many bean bean questions here again:

Do you need to soak the beans before you cook .. how long to soak for which type.. and what portion for each type for making soup?

 

[choc06]

K, I want chocolate, i want chocolate !

Look at the SAHM thread, just posted some info there

No problem clover,
I only soaked the black ones for an hr, cos it takes a longer time to cook, soaked the soy for a while.. think you can soak both together
Once,I soaked green beans overnight, and they sprouted..

 

[nice_to_shop]

Chocolate Butter Cake

63g unsweetened cocoa
1 liquid cup boiling water
3 large eggs (150g weighed without shells)
2 tsp vanila
235g sifted cake flour
300g fine sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
227g butter,softened

Preheat oven to 180C

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cocoa and boiling water until smooth. Cool to room temperature.

2. In another bowl, lightly combine the eggs, 1/4 of the cocoa mixture and vanilla.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combinie the remaining ingredients and mix on low speed for 30 seconds to blend. Add the butter and remaining cocoa mixture. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened.

4. Increase to medium speed (High speed if using hand mixer) and beat for 1 1/2 minutes to aerate and develop the cake structure.Scrape down the sides.

5. Gradually add teh egg mixture in 3 batches, beating for 20 seconds afte each addtion to incorprate the ingredients and strengther the structure.Scrape down the sides.

6. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans and smooth the surface with a spatula. The pans will be about 1/2 full.

7. Bake 25 to 35 mins or until a tester inserted near the centre comes out clean and cake springs back when pressed lightly in the centre.

8.Let the cakes cool in the pans on racks for 10 min. Loosen the sides with a small metal spatula and invert onto greased wire rack. To prevent splitting, reinvert so that the tops are up and cool completely before keeping airtight.

Preparing the pans: two 9"x 1 1/2"cake pans greased,bottoms with with parchment of wax paper, then greased and floured.

 

[little_cat]

choc06, u trying to make dou-gey is it ? haha i can't stop laughing seeing u said u soak the green bean overnite and it sprouted..

sophie, like the rest said dun think too much, if u too kan-cheong make things worst. Enjoy and relax

and find more time to bake and cook

&amp; bd also lah...

hi llynn, r u referring to normal soup recipe or u want soups to cure the cough &amp; running nose?
how long u started her at infant care? btw how is the infant care.. pai seh trying to find out more too ...
If is normal soup what i did last time is use the ikan bilis to boil the stock, remove the ikan bilis, then put in some fish/toufo or anything she can eat in there. Quite easy to do.
Or another method is to grind the ikan bilis to powder then add in as and when u want to cook soups or porridge.

i have the recipe for nasi lemak in my old old home econ book. Already turn yellowish...
But when i tried to cook it here once, it still doesn't taste the same.. soob soob..! may be is the chilli here is diff, or the ikan bilis ? or the rice too good? hmm....

 

[choc06]

I think it's your old yellowish home econ book that cannot make it, the words are old, its pages yellow and with some silverfish running around and mushrooms growing ..so I don't think nasi lemak should have all these additional ingredients..
it's not you, not your fault.. and definitely not the chilli and ikan bilis.. haha..

Yah.. almost fried dao gei , they said if the green beans sprout, got poison liao..so I buang them down..

 

[little_cat]

hi all,
Went for regular check up just now.
Recently i crave for soft drinks and my overly kan-cheong hb dun allow me to drink

So i ask the gynae whether soft drinks is ok to take, in front of him... hehe so he can't pretend he didn;t hear!!!
None diet coke/pepsi of cos make u put on weight due to high sugar level. But heard that the diet coke/pepsi contains sweeteneer tat is harmful to baby.
According to him the sweetner which is harmful to baby is 'cyclamate'.
Those found in coke is 'aspartame' &amp; according to him is ok to consume.

 

[sophie]

Choc, Pris,
Have sent you the chocolate cake recipe courtesy of Amelia.

Choc,
Woah.... Sprouted beans very nutritious, full of lifeforce! A friend of mine sprouts mung beans and green beans for 2 days, changes water every day, then makes a salad out of it. I tried once, forgot to change water, and the whole tub stinks.

hmm... I was looking at the Yahoo Members Directory and was debating whether "cockle" was Choc or LittleCat. Didn't want to send recipe to wrong person

 

[nice_to_shop]

I baked Banana cake today.Using a new recipe from a friend's sister.

This is a sponge cake style banana cake, as opposed to the butter cake style that I usually make.

 

[little_cat]

choc06, i know liao! it is the age thing... soob soob!
hmm.. after giving birth must try again, now could be the taste bud change.

eh then how about the bean sprout we take leh?

okie! my mission is to find out her secret recipe on the fish i mentioned earlier hehe...
another dish she cooked well is the lor-duck &amp; lor pig trotter.
But this round somehow i dun like lor stuff during PG... find it bitter...

 

[little_cat]

sophie, "cockle" is Choc and LittleCat, cos we are the long lost sisters that used to eat hums 500 years ago hahaha !

oh my van u stay very near me one hor?
later i go bukit gombak direct leh.. get the hint ? hehe...

 

[nice_to_shop]

LittleCat,
Actually, I baked two banana cakes. The ingredient portions is too much, got to split into two bakng tins.

 

[little_cat]

Hi all cooking expert:

I just posted one recipe file at yahoo group.

Recipe on using white fungus for soups, dessert etc.. also some recipe for monkey head mushroom, zhu-shen...

i heard some said the white fungus is the cheaper version of bird's nest. Also no cholesterol. Not like hashima, although is cheaper version but some said high in cholesterol.

 

[choc06]

Of cos van got your hint, but BYO (bring your own coke /kopi/ teh si) , and bring one for me.. kopi see, thanks.

hey van, cut the cake, cut the cake..

so you use the butter sponge cake recipe to make this banana cake ? YOur banana cake looks moist and delicious

Everyday got cake to eat huh, not bad ! Wonder where's annelise?

Cat, look at the back of you to see whether your boss looking at you boh ?
how harmful can cyclamate be to bb ? Have been drinking it with my ang.. better change to coke man !

Hey Soph, thanks for the recipe
.. yah.. the stench of the water is terrible for the beans.. one night is enough for the water to stink.. Grew beans with my students and the stale water is yaks.. think even aedes mosquito also will not want to stay there..

 

[annelise]

Hi gals

Sorry, busy cleaning house yesterday cos' my daughter's friend was coming over for a visit, so I haven't had a chance to log in until now.

Wah, so many posts - I can barely catch up! Mmm...pics of yummy cakes! Can see cannot eat

Hi Van

I've never tried sponge cake style banana cake before - how is it? Looks great! Is it okay to share the recipe with us

Hi Sophie

Your cake looks yummy! Have you finished it yet? Anyway, I was curious to find out more about ganache and did a quick search on the Net. This is what I found:

Ganache

Definition: A combination of chocolate and cream, melted together slowly. When used warm, ganache is poured over cakes or cookies to form a smooth glossy coating. If chilled, it can be formed into chocolate truffles.

Pronunciation: gah NAHSH (noun)

Also Known As: Confectioner's Coating

Examples: The chocolate ganache was poured over the cake to form a glossy finish.

An alternative to using a double boiler is to boil heavy cream and pour it over finely chopped up chocolate (must cover choc entirely). Leave it for a few minutes before stirring to mix and melt.

Loads of ironing to do today

Will come here again later.

 

[nice_to_shop]

Choc06
1st time trying out Sponge cake style banana cake, it's indeed soft and moist. I thought it will fail initially, cos I forgot to add the corn oil(only corn oil, no butter/margarine) in before pouring into the cake tins! So Blur!

My friend's sister attended professional baking course, so I supposed the recipes she got must be proven ones.

Will post the recipe up tonight. Need to go fetch my dd now.

 

[little_cat]

choc06.. alamak like tat very stress leh... must put a mirror on my desk so i can see what's behind me liao hehe...

About the cyclamate, not really sure leh, cos when i ask him about the concern on the artificial sweetener thing this is what he told me.
Eh what drinks got cyclamate har?
he said like last time people use this, but now change.. so better listen lor...

then we talk about hum again in the gynae's office. i check my previous blood test, i have Hep B antibody but not sure abt Hep A. But if i want, can opt for the Hep A test during my next blood test. hehe if got also hor haha, i can eat hum bor chap liao!

 

[choc06]

Saw the choc ganache recipe on the PH website too.. They might have the ready mixed ones,
So how does one ganache the cake ? Just pour over and chill it ?

All the best for your ironing..anne.. did some today.. doing some more later..

 

[hong]

Pple,
my muffin not raising. I dun know where it goes wrong. Baking in oven not but it looks heavy. Haizzz..

 

[little_cat]

annelise, ok 'enjoy' your ironing !

i remember someone said iron the jeans is it neccessary huh? we dun iron one leh
cos jeans suppose to be ragged, so why need to iron leh? hehe finding excuse to iron less...

will be having steamboat at aunt's house this weekend.
Any good tips on unique steam boat ingredient ?
other than the usual meat slices/balls/vege....
ahem.. abolone...(fake one!)

seeing so many cakes recipe and picture, hand itchy liao feel like trying it this weekend

eh i remember someone mentioned about which brand of cake mixed is good etc.. should we collect the list, so i can post it together with the "which brand of sauce is good and where to get list" ?

 

[choc06]

hey hong, the last time I used the emulsifier (ovalette), my cake didn't rise so much, could that be the reason ?

Hello hello, cake gurus!!

Hey cat, the magic is in the dip ! Garlic , chilli, lime..

Thinly sliced beef( ready packed ones) from cold storage is good for steam boat.. dip in garlic and soy
yong tau foo.. of cos.. how can you forget your beloved hum..

 

[hong]

Choc,
no idea but the muffin taste ok just that it doesn raise much. Aiyah so sad.
I half the qty and i can make quite alot of muffin,15.

 

[choc06]

Never mind try again !as long as taste ok.. give your neighbours .
Didn't rise as much? about how many times your batter ?

 

[llynn000]

hi, Choc06 can share w me ur recipe for the blackbean soup? Just normal soup also will help her right? I v lazy every day at night I give rice cereal

bad mother rite?

Infant care ah..good and bad.. good is at least is public place where ppl can see, so 'ill treat' of child maybe less .. good also child is quite sociable with other kids... and sometimes the teachers do teach them things.. and they learn from each other (the other infants in the same group)...

bad is fall sick easily, must rush to fetch them punctually... write again on Monday..gotta rush to fetch my gal.. this thread grows so fast..
appreciate if you can PM me some of your reply if is not trooublesome..

ya will try the tui na.. must try to be amore 'kut lat' mother

thx mummiesssss... hv a nice wkend!

 

[little_cat]

choc06, they dun eat hum and they dun eat beef...:'(
eh sometime hor i find dun know whether is the food or the dip that draw us to eat...

i have this idea of making the home made noodle with diff fav/colour, like spinash for green noodle, carrot for the orange colour, or purple from the purple cabbage..
u can make you dough flat and cut and make it looks like noodle (not MHK shape).
May be can encourage kids to eat more vege hor?

eh can not give neighbour spoil reputation one leh... next time u give good one hor they might think again whether to accept like that how leh?

hong ah, eh where u stay huh?

 

[little_cat]

To all my cooking kaki, have a nice weekend!

Will login on Tuesday, as Monday out of office.

ciao!

 

[hong]

LittleCat,
I stay in Cassia Crescent, at Old airport rd.

Choc,
thanks. anyone have better muffin receipe?

 

[happysunflower]

sp,
I gotta resist fast food

It's not healthy food. Yes, healthy maternal diet before preggie will affect the baby in future.. Paternal diet also will affect. hee... I am just trying my best to have a healthy diet. During this pregnancy, I have succumb to potato chips twice... So guilty... I also dun take tit-bits with colorings and other additives

No choice ah... cos I did not take good care of my own health when young...


Choc06,
I can also just eat the sambal with rice... nothing else also fine.. kekeke... You know, Indonesian style of sambal will have poached tomatoes... It's very nice...


Sophie,
I used to win trophies for running while in school... kekeke... but now an injured sports person... I injured my back during a training for interschool volleyball...
In my first pregnancy, before I know I was pregnant, I went swimming and my legs hurt.. So can get injured easily even before we know of the pregnancy cos the hormones already start "working"... So becareful when you run...

Wah.. you do meditation ah... Did you learn from somwhere? I also thinking of learning meditation, but dunno where to learn...


Choc06,
Black beans and soya beans in soup nice hor? I got the idea from some yong tau fu and chicken rice stalls that use soya beans for soup. I put black beans cos it's very nutritious.


Clover,
I do soak the beans and remove the skin before cooking. I remove cos the skins is high in purine, and no good for people with gout. Else the skin got nutrition.
I soak till I can remove the skin. Sometimes overnite...

Littlecat,
I think about aspartame... better to avoid. Too much will cause brain damage in the long term.
I do iron jeans...


Van,
Wow.. the cake looks delicious... alamak.. so many cakes lately.. make me feel like baking one too.. hahaha... cakes virus around this forum recently ah... lol...


Hong,
Is it due to the emulsifier? I seldom see muffins recipes need to put that though...

 

[sophie]

hong,
Don't be sad over the muffins. I've got a muffin recipe somewhere that is "fail-proof", easy and no need for fancy ingredients or mixer. Just made it a month ago but have misplaced the recipe; probably in one of my kitchen cupboards. I'll go dig it up and post it up for you soon.

Annelise,
My cake not finished yet. Only 3 slices eaten so far. I think will probably have to throw away half of it if dh doesn't eat this weekend.

Lyn,
Woah, I am very impressed with you... win trophies one? I can probably run if you unleashed a pit bull behind me, otherwise I prefer to slack - shooting goals in netball games... no need to run, just wait for people to pass ball to me and I toss it up

Meditation - I have taken a course called Art of Living where they teach us a sequence of deep breathings called Ujjayi breaths, Bhastrika etc. During the one week course, we have to be vegetarians as well. Although the course is good in helping me have higher levels of mental alertness, I couldn't sleep properly at night during the one week cos my body is taking in so much oxygen from the sequence of breathings. I've since stopped practising the entire sequence and only doing Ujjayi breaths now as I feel it is good enough for me. I also make use of Ujjayi breaths during yoga poses to help me relax and stretch deeper into the pose.
Now I just use a meditation CD by a yoga teacher called Cyndi Lee to guide me in my daily meditations. It's good as it's segmented into 10mins track so you can choose how long you wish to meditate each time. Some parts also have mantras where you think of a person you love/dislike and then wish that person well. It's called the Loving Kindness Meditation. Heh, you must be bored with all my above ramblings on meditation. Will let you know next time more if you are interested.

 

[sophie]

LittleCat,
I also do not iron my jeans... haha, I'm quite lazy. In fact, I don't even iron my bedsheets, and once when I told a friend that, she was shocked as she irons all her bedsheets. Made me quite embarrassed

Do you guys iron bedsheets?

 

[nice_to_shop]

hong,
I do feel quite strange that you need to put emulsifier/ovalette/SP for muffins,usually it's used for bigger sponge cake.

Muffins usually require very minimal beating/creaming.The Eurpopean/US versions normally just mix it, and they won't rise as much as cup cakes.

LittleCat,
You missed out the black ink from Squid for black noodles! (If you and your darling dare to
eat it)

Sophie,
When you need to relax,destress, just come into this forums. Good way to de-stress reading the posts here.Lately I have been quite stressful, so I bake and chat here to de-stress.

I sometimes iron the bedsheets,depending on the mood,but I will always iron the pillow cases.

Lyn,
I wish there were more infant care centres when my dd was young. Back then, there were only three, far from my place and fully taken up.

I feel that infant care centre is much better than leaving babies with maid or nanny. Only minus point is the possibility of falling sick more easily,and the need to pick up on time,and the $$$.

 

[nice_to_shop]

I am so happy that my dd likes the banana cake,she usually prefers plain butter cake, or cakes with nuts.

The portions of this cake is very big.I used my Kenwood Chef Classic Stand Mixer, still have to worry that the batter will overflow after adding all the ingredients.So,do not use small mixer if you intend to make this cake.

Think will Half the quantities the next time I bake.

I have also tried making Banana Chiffon Cake, also sucessful and nice, but this Sponge Cake is much easier.

Banana Sponge Cake

Prepare Baking Tins 10"x10"X3 Square or 11"Round.
(I used a 8"x3" round plus a 7"x 2 1/4" round as I don't have the recommended size.But remove the smaller tin earlier.)Grease only the sides of the tin and line the base with paper.

<u>Ingredients:</u>
5 eggs (60g egg)
280g fine sugar
350g banana,mashed
300g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
180ml corn oil

<u>Method:</u>
1. Whisk egg and sugar for 10 min( longer if use hand mixer) at maximum speed, add in mashed banana, continue to beat for another 5 minutes at maximum speed.

2. Sift flour,baking powder and baking soda, and fold into 1.

3. Pour in corn oil and stir well.

4. Pour into the baking tray and back at 170C for about 40 minutes or when toothpick inserted near centre of cake turns out clean.

Leave the cake in tin on wire rack.When the sides start to pull away from the tin,remove from tin and leave on wire rack to cool.

 

[prisneo]

Van....was it you who tell me that eating alot of oranges will get a dd? How about banana....your cake too tempting haahaa...free like making one too haahaa.....

 

[nice_to_shop]

Pris
Ya, I mentioned to you about the orange.Heard from a nurse friend who worked in a fertility clinic.She also recommended this to my good friend who was trying for a girl,and yes, my good friend got a girl.ha ha!

 

[sophie]

Did someone ask where to buy Mickey Mouse mould pan before? Or maybe it's my imagination Anyway, I saw a Mickey Mouse mould cake pan at the baking supplies shop today selling for about $22 if anyone wants to get one. It's not like Annelise's one which is round with the Mickey face on top. This one will give you the whole cake in the shape of Mickey's face. Personally, I prefer Annelise's cake pan, looks more delicate.

This is the baking supplies shop I always go to get my muffin cups. If you guys are looking for anything specific, maybe can ring them and ask first - one of the ladies there is quite friendly, not sure about others though

Also, I saw many different types of chocolate there today. They even have a "Vahlrona Cocoa" which the lady said is much better than the normal type of cocoa we use. Color is darker and richer. I think I may try that cocoa the next time I make a chocolate cake.

A friend who is into baking says standard aluminium cake pans are cheaper in Phoon Huat, but this shop sells certain things that she cannot get in PH, such as the muffin cups I always use, and lots of nice dark chocolate from France.

 

[annelise]

Hi Sophie

I bought my pan from Tokyo many years ago - it has a nice non-stick coating that makes unmoulding very easy

Thanks for sharing your contact - yeah, valrhona is supposed to be one of the best - let us know how your cake turns out when you use it, ok? Is the cocoa a lot more expensive than the supermarket-type?

Hi Van

I was looking through the site that you reccommended - Jo's deli and she's got a recipe for making the bak zhang with red beans that you were talking about in your earlier posts. It's under Chinese pastries/festive recipe/dumpling festival. Maybe you could try making some this year

 

[rena076]

hi,

does anyone listen to the dong fang bily program? he has one recipe on the small tomatos in vinger but I have problems looking for the ingredents leh..

duno where to find natural vinger and also there is a type of sugar duno call what in english..

 

[rena076]

I really wish to cook different dish for hubby every night but hor many ingredients I really duno what they are and how to find them..

many times I really need help.. haiz.. stress.. later hb dun like the food I cook duno he will go to the other girl house and eat or not!! stress

 

[nice_to_shop]

Hi annelise,
Thanks. Actually I know how to make the red bean bak zhang.From soaking beans,frying it with glutinous rice, seasoning the meat,blanching and washing the leaves,and preparing other ingredients etc. Cos I have been helping and watching my aunt did it for the many years that I stayed with her.

But.....I could not wrap and tie the dumpling nicely and tight enough.

So my aunt only allowed me to explore with the Kosong ingredients Ghee Zhang.

I didn't want to go through all the troubles to make a few pieces of Dou Zhang to eat.The Dou Zhang can't keep as long as normal Bak Zhang. So I was looking for a place that sells it, so I could pop by to buy a few pieces every time I crave for it.

Rena,
Relax...May be you could go library to borrow some simple cook books 1st? Some of them show pictures of the ingredients or step-by-step methods If you have any doubts,like where to get those ingredients, you can post questions here to ask all the cooking gurus here?

If you are really very keen and have time, you could also take up some cooking classes in Communiity Centres.

 

[rena076]

thanks van for the advice but it is impossible to learn now as my son is still young and i am the only care giver..

maybe these twodays too stress over hb.. he is at it again..

 

[prisneo]

Rena....Just do some simple dishes or one dish meal and then a soup. That can be good for dinner.

 

[sophie]

hi hong,
Here's the Banana Muffin recipe. I call it "idiot-proof" cos even I, a true baking novice who is only good at setting fires, can bake it too. If you want to put in chocolate, then you can substitute the walnuts with the chocolate chips

Hope you can try it someday and hope you'll like it!

Banana Walnut Muffins
To sift together as (A):
1 cup plain flour
1/3 tsp salt
1/3 tsp bicarbonate soda

1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
3 bananas, roughly mashed
1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celcius.
2. Stir oil and sugar together
3. Beat in egg. Mixture will turn gluey.
4. Mix in (A)
5. Stir in vanilla essence, bananas and walnuts
6. Fill muffin cups up to 3/4 full
7. Bake in preheated oven at 180 degrees Celcius for 20mins.

Tips:
- Use ang bak bananas and make sure they are very ripe so muffins will smell more fragrant
- To ripen bananas, put the bunch in a plastic bag and tie it up. Ripening bananas give out ethylene which makes fruits ripen faster.
- To ripen bananas even faster, put an apple in the bag as apple emit even more ethylene.
- Using 2.5 muffin cup, you should yield about 7 muffins with one recipe
- I only "roughly" mash the bananas i.e. I leave about half of the quantity in "lumps". This makes the muffin nicer as you get these little sweet surprises in your muffins.

 

[sophie]

Hi Annelise,
I'll let you know the results of using valrhona cocoa next time. I didn't buy it this time cos dh says enough to chocolate cakes

It is more pricey than supermarket ones... I think a small pack (maybe 100 or 150gm) cost $4, but I sniffed the pack... smells heavenly *drool*

Hi Rena,
Don't despair. I'm also a newbie especially when it comes to cooking local foods. I learn from the gurus here, and sometimes go to the supermarket and hang around there for hours just looking at the shelves of ingredients. And sometimes when I'm really lazy or tired, I'll do those simple one-pot meals that can be quite delicious too. I always tell myself cooking does not have to be complicated to make tasty meals.

 

[happysunflower]

Hi sophie,
Wah... The meditation course sounds interesting. Is it a meditation camp? hmm... I might wanna pick up meditation next time when I have the time

I do not iron the bedsheets . So big how to iron? kekeke... I just fold them nicely in the packaging that comes with it when I buy. Then after a while, it will become not so crease already...