Tarty-Tart

this is my first... first time baking a tart, i was a little worried but very excited as i love tarts especially strawberry tarts! i remember when i was a small little girl, my 'little' aunt, no, i don't mean physically little but we called her that as she was the youngest aunt we had, it's a direct translation to english on how we address her in teo-chew, she loves buying me tarts, especially the strawberry and fruit tarts from deli-france and i never get tired of them, so it's a challenge to bake something i enjoy, i wouldn't want to leave any bad memories with my beloved tarts =)

well, i have to say it turn out quite decent, though the tart crust was not as soft as i would like to be, but it was good on the first attempt. i brought the tarts to my brother's place and totally forgotten about the delicious cream which i did spent quite some time on until i was on my way in a cab... so i had to make do with another cream that i whipped up at their place, it was okay but not as good i have to say.

i was glad that they enjoyed the tarts although the 'tempura-frying' part of the evening was like a war-zone, trying to shield ourselves with the saucepan cover from all the splattering oil, i was the one and only wounded soldier, with 2-cm long burn scar smacked right in the middle of my wrist, i wish it would go away soon, i hate scars...

till the next 'bake-me-a-tart' day, i am gonna try to bake something new almost everyday!

jelly

 in the midst of summer, i dream of eating cool konnyaku jelly, the sweet and cooling jelly melting and satisfying my thirst, i love konnyaku jelly for the chewy texture and for the great varieties of fruits that it can hold in its belly!

konnyaky jelly powder are easily available anywhere, just mix it with sugar, dissolve in boiling water and you have a base, you are free to add any fruits or colorings to enhance the taste or the appearance.

berry crumble

after sooo many depressing posts, it was time for some perking up =)

since my brother and sis-in-law is here, i thought of a delicious dessert that was and easy to make, BERRY CRUMBLE!

crumble recipe:

100g flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

50g cold butter, cut into cubes

3 tbsp demerara sugar

1. combine cold butter, baking powder and flour, rubbing the cold butter into the flour using only the top part of your fingers.

2. mix in the sugar and we have the crumble.

this crumble can be stored in your freezer for ages and used immediately whenever you need it.

for my berry crumble, i used blackberries, blueberries and strawberries that was randomly cut, mix in around a teaspoon of corn flour (depends on how much berries you are using) to thicken the mixture when it is being baked, a couple teaspoon of vanilla sugar, for me, i love to sprinkle some cinnamon powder on the mix before i cover the berries with the crumble toppings. Bake at 190 degree celsius for around half an hour or when you see the crumble top turning golden brown.

Serve it with some fresh cream or a scoop of vanilla ice-cream when it is piping hot. The coldness of the ice-cream soften the hotness of the berry crumble, it was sooo juicy, all the flavors of the berries fills your mouth, i am definitely making another one now! of course, with double scoops of vanilla ice-cream!

The Oatmeal and Cranberries Cookie Recipe

this is specially for my sis-in-law who enjoyed the oatmeal and cranberries cookies, here it is:

70g rolled oats

210g soft unsalted butter

100g caster sugar

220g all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 packet dried cranberries (add/subtract to individual's liking)

1. Preheat oven at 150 degrees celsius

2. Mix butter and sugar until it is pale and creamy

3. Add the flour, baking powder, oats and cranberries to the mixture

4. Place the firm dough in the refrigerator for about half an hour

5. Roll it into a slim cylinder shape

6. Cut the dough at intervals of half a centimeter (0.5cm)

7. Place on baking try lined with backing paper

8. Bake for 15 mins, or till the top of the cookies has a nice pale golden color

9. Remove from oven and cool

10. Enjoy!

Tips:

Add the cranberries last, this prevents the cranberries from breaking up into small pieces, I prefer it whole.

Try not to cut the dough too thick as unlike some cookie mixture, the dough will not spread out and become flatter in the heat of the oven, it maintains its shape quite well.

this is for daff! =)

Lunch-Making

Scallops... it is hard to find nice and plump ones on this sunny island, so whenever I am in any Australian airport, I would keep a lookout for any shops that sells frozen abalones and scallops, to my delight, I did find some. Nice and plump ones, great for grilling!

Today, I decided to try my hand on a new dish - Grilled Scallops paired with a Refreshing Salad. The salad consist of diced mango, tomatoes and cucumber, mix with a little olive oil, lime juice, a pinch of salt and pepper. This salad goes well of most seafood,

in fact, it taste great by itself!

My mum loves it but my dad refuses to have anything to do with it, being his annoying and arrogant self as usual (we are still having our cold war...), he never fails to make me feel irritated and disappointed. Oh well, I have learnt never to take his attitude to heart, since he is really skillful at "dumping ice water on everyone"... drenching all the hopes and excitement, so I stayed cool and enjoyed my dish even more =)

PAVLOVA

Pavlova is a meringue dessert named after a Russian ballet dancer, Anna Pavlova. It is a cake of meringue with a crispy crust and soft, light inner. The photo above shows a chocolate pavlova with cream and strawberries that I have baked today. It is awfully simple to make yet delicious and of course... sinful like all desserts.

All you need are egg whites beaten to silky peaks, add in the sugar by spoonfuls and beaten till white soft peaks appear. This is followed by adding sifted cocoa powder to prevent lumps, a little vinegar and chocolate shaves. I use chocolate chips, saves me the trouble of chopping up the chocolate block. Bake the mixture, it is fine to see cracks, it is supposed to appear this way as the center of the mixture has sunken in. Removing it from the oven, you should be able to see the gooey mixture among the cracks. The crust is awfully crispy yet the inner is soft and chewy, the chocolate shaves melts in your mouth with every bite. Wait for the pavlova to cool before piling the cream on it, add any kind of fruits that you love.

Personally, I feel summer fruits goes the best with it especially strawberries or raspberries, the tinge of sourness with the cool cream match perfectly with the bittersweet pavlova.

the day it was sunny in adelaide

adelaide, an australian city that i have only come to know this year, and i am sure we will soon be good friends with the constant visits. what i love about adelaide is the central market park right outside the hotel. a 5 minutes walk is all it takes before i could munch on the freshest fruits and vegetables.

although i visit australia almost every week now, i still love to purchase fresh meat like beef and lamb to bring it back home. fruits and vegetables are a must, especially mushrooms! just walking through the vibrant central market perks me up and looking at the photos below, you will know why. all right, less words and more pictures!

there are definitely loads of healthy options in the central market, but who can resist the sinful treats... i can't... =)

The Traditional Vs. The Modern

If you read my blog, you would know that I was awake for the whole night. Rather than wasting time trying to convince my messed-up brain nerves that it was time to sleep, it would better using that time to do something else, like... cleaning my room, taking all the stuff out of my old cargo bag that was last used more than six months ago (I hope that is no food in there!), paying my bills, learning french, packing my bag for the trip tonight...etc. But all I did was blog again =)

Breakfast part 1: Yoghurt with strawberries and blackberries, typical breakfast for a modern gal, definitely healthy and good for my system. Just as I was patting myself on the back for having self-control and not indulging in any local food. My mum returned from the market. "What are you eating? I bought chui kueh back."

I started at her with the spoon of yoghurt still in my mouth.

"You did?"

I knew it, this was a battle that I can't win. It was the good, old, traditional chui kueh vs. the healthy, modern yoghurt. Chui kueh is a kind of rice cake, topped with pickled radish that is at once salty, sweet and piquant. The unique flavor is intensified by stir-frying it in oil till a little crisp and golden-brown. One word - D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S.

It's should be kinda of obvious that I fell for the sinful chui kueh. I am glad I did, it was worth every bite!