Eye-opener

If you can remember, I bought a KitchenAid some months back. That big investment came with two free workshops where I can further understand how to better (or fully) make use of the machine. I purposely selected one workshop on bread. I did not have my camera (cos spoilt) but is not intelligent to use my HP that day. *hiaz*

The teacher is sam, who is not a baker/chef but a food technologist baker. You can know more about him at his blog http://samsbakejournal.blogspot.com. He showed us how to make curry buns with non time dough method and olive pesto loaft bread using the sponge dough method.

I got a better understanding on bread making plus some tips. He is open to any questions even though is not related to the breadmaking workshop. So I take this chance to clarify with him if it is alright to interchange ml and grams when we measure liquids like milk and oil. He says it is fine, going on to briefly explain why (using the mass volume density equation). I also asked him if it is alright to replace milk with skim milk. I guess I have asked redundant question, because to a technologist, everything counts, but he said, I am working with too little amount of ingredients so those differences are negligible. To him, replacing butter with oil also need to make adjustment because butter contains a certain amount of water.

A pity I have to leave early without seeing the end result of the olive loaf. Anyway, its very fun to attend these workshops ... and I think anyone can attend if they are willing to pay $10. If anyone is interested, perhaps can check with Mayer.

I hope I will put the stuff I learn that day to good use, and soon. If not, how would I be able to practice?

Rojak

No No. I did not make any of that (refering to the title). This post is mainly for me to talk to or update my friends who visit my blog.

I have been busy with my own house improvement (painting works) and lately helping out with my mother's new house renovation stuff as well as spring cleaning (ya so far just talk and not much done).

In the middle of all these, I still read papers and I come across an offer on something that I have been looking for quite a long time.

Ta da !

This little set of drawers now housed about 2/3 my possessions of beads and beading stuff.

(photo is blurred cos it is taken with my spoilt camera. Got spoilt on that very day!) Wished I had got another one but afraid of splurging too much on this hobby that I cannot go full swing into (actually no time to go into any hobby full swing leh).

Then just a few days ago, I came across this post where the mouth watering cake is baked in a ramekin found in Daiso (I asked the author), and ramekin is something that I have been wanting to get my hands on (thou not sure for what yet). I think it is not easy to get a $2 ramekin, so I got permission from the "finance manager" and went to purchase 4. Now I am a proud owner of these beautiful ramekins.

Besides busy shopping (keke), I attended a Bento making workshop on 30th Jan. Thanks to Angelia and June, I have the chance to enjoy some me time and most important, it is an event on something I like. I do not make bento before this workshop, but I do sometimes cut bread into shapes using my cookie cutters to prepare the kids' snack boxes to school.

At the workshop, I am totally lost at the part where we are suppose to make 2 bentos. I am not creative at all, so all I can do is to copy the simplest idea from the various pictures posted on the wall of the room.

This is the bento that I have made that day. Thanks to June for taking the pictures for me.

Our teacher for the workshop is Angie, and this is her blog where you will be able to read more details on the event. I am also happy to meet Leonny in person (otherwise only read about her in her blog).

I am really happy to have attended this event and also with the goodies that I got in that goodie bag. Thank you to Angelia and June again. Will I make bento from now on? Yes, will try, after all this is also my interest, just that hubby say I can't be having too many hobbies with the limited time I have. Anyway I think Teacher Angie says that Bento is about arranging food nicely into the boxes and I do try to create nice looking food and arrange my food, but onto plate .. so I think not difficult to try bento making on the plate. :-)

Anyway, this is the first try, meal in the box ... girl got to take her lunch at my mother's new place as I am supposed to help with supervising a job in her house.

It is salmon with Furikake. Initally only the rice and smiley potato, but not happy with serving the not so healthy ready made vege, I quickly prepare some broccoli and carrots to go with it.

Ya, I said I am busy, but my friend tried making her own kaya and said it takes her 10 minutes only. With ready ingredients in the fridge, and the "10 minutes only" temptation, I made kaya too, but I think I did not pass.

I started with low fire, trying to heat up the coconut milk, mixed some into the beaten eggs, before I empty everythingg bit by bit inside. However, I took around 30 minutes and it still doesn't look and taste like kaya. The mixture just won't thicken itself even with an extra egg I added. I double checked with my friend and decided that I will try again with the exact ingredients she used. That will be after CNY. Thanks June for the recipe and advices. Here's how my kaya look.

Too long a post, too tired ... no chinese translation for this post this time .....zzzzz

Doggie Biscuit

Its not the first time I use this recipe, but the 2nd. The first time was a long long time ago. I wanted to bring this biscuit home to malaysia for my little niece and also to find something for my kids to do, so I decided to bake these cute looking biscuits and ask my kids to decorate them. My friend, upon hearing this, like to bring her kids over to "participate".

So here is part of the end result.

I baked double the recipe, because I like my friend to bring home a recipe's portion, but now I ended up with quite alot still at home. The ones in the pictures are done mostly by my friend. Very creative. Those done by the kids .... erm ... :-)

The mixing part is so easy with KitchenAid, keke. Anyway I think this recipe can be done manually by hand too.

The kids enjoyed themselves for a while, but they are too fast for my small oven, and I did not want to use too many trays, so I rather them go play then sitting around the table with oily hands.

So can you find snowman, kitty cat, rabbit, bear bear, etc among the lot?

The recipe can be found at Happy Home baking's website.

狗狗餅可愛嗎？就是因為它可愛，所以想做些拿回家婆家哄小孩，順便我家哪兩個小瓜也可以參與一份。我朋友也乘假期帶孩子來湊熱鬧。圖片里的餅餅是出自我朋友的巧手。蠻容易的，現在就去動手做一做吧。請從這兒查閱食譜。

Questions that needed answers

Am copying a recipe down because am thinking about doing it. A question just pop into my mind. Can most batter wait? What do I mean by that?

You see, mine is a small oven that can only fit in a tray of twelve mini cupcakes nicely. What happen if the recipe I am following can make more than 12 ? Should I half the recipe, or should I get two trays? If I bake one first, can the batter wait? Will the waiting time allows chemical reaction to take place within the batter? I am sure some batter can survive the waiting time, some cannot. But I wouldn't know what can and what cannot.

So how?

Busy but not with ...

Sigh, this time of the year, not busy with my hobbies (unless you call tidying up the household is a hobby of SAHM?) but with spring cleaning. I still bakes, but it is just the same old stuff that use to fill the tummy.

Next year, my son is going to P1, so he has used some letters beads to make his teachers these handphone straps. Of cos, he only did the pattern planning and stringing part while I crimp all stuff proper for him. I hope the teachers are happy.

Black and white

Have not been baking for a long time .... cannot remember for wat reasons .. but here I am, with two recent bakes done last week and last last week.

The first is an easy Banana Chocolate cake from 手拌式蛋糕by Kevin Chai. I had very ripe bananas (so ripe that they fell off from the "don't know what to call". :-) . I am not sure if I failed or suceeded (but I baked it more than the time required), because the inside of the cake is so moist (or should I say wet) that it almost look like mud cake, or those super fudgy brownie? You see and you tell me.

The cake rises very well in the oven and it requires "tent-ing". However, after I removed it from the oven, it sank after a while. As it is a loaf cake, and I do not have a oven thermometer (my oven is very temperamental, haha) so I am worried that it will not be baked. With the aluminium foil tent, I purposely let the cake bake another 15 minutes more than the required time, so I hope the "wetness" is normal. Anyway my kids love the cake, I do too.

Look at that sunken "face".

Shortly after this bake, I remember my parmesan cheese is expiring soon, so I dig out the recipe that I had prepared long time ago ( I knew I would not be able to finish that tub before the expiry date). I followed the recipe and has Mini Cheese cupcake done with my girl in a morning. Pretty fast and fuss free, but the recipe isn't really complete because I did not jot down the temperature that I should bake the cupcakes in, so I just use any reading. Anyway, the parmesan cheese has passed its "Best Before" date (not expiry date), but I still went ahead to do it .. and eat it too! Its yummy, but oily. When they are in the oven, there are already alot of oil oozing out. My kids also love these and requested me to bake again. Look at the molehills.

and this "sunflower"

and the yummy inside.

I think I should learn from Happy Home Baker .. use more pictures, less words, esp when my command of english isn't very good. Now I am so tired to write in mandarin .. so this post will not have the mandarin part.

Here is the recipe.

Banana Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

90g SR flour, 90g plain flour

1/4 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp bicarbonate soda

1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder, 170g butter

1 tbsp corn oil, 150g chocolate

100ml hot water, 80ml milk

170g brown sugar, 3 eggs

200g banana flesh (sliced)

Method

1. Grease and line 10cm by 32 cm (4 by 13 inches) baking tin. Preheat oven to 170 degree celsius.

2. Combine flours, baking powder, soda and cocoa powder in a mixing bowl.

3. Melt butter, oil, chocolate, hot water and milk over low heat. Remove from heat, combine with brown sugar and eggs.

4. Stir egg mixture into flour mixture together with banana slices until well blended.

5. Spoon batter into prepared tin. Bake in oven for 40 - 45 minutes or until cooked. Stand for 10 minutes and turning on to wire rack to cool.

6. Decorate with decogel, banana slices and chocolate chips.

I have forgotten where did I get the mini cheesecake recipe from, so if anyone wanted it, do email me and I shall share it with you.

Now I really need to zzz...

Busy with beading

The kids had chicken pox, then I had chicken pox, and I am told to avoid food like egg, chicken, peas etc for minimum of a month.. so without eggs, I did not bake, just too lazy to find non egg recipes. So I spent some time on my other hobby, beading.

I feel that the previous earring that I made is not dainty enough due to the big loops, so I cut them up and made another pair.

Pearly Black Drops

Besides this, I keep bumping into ladies wearing earrings with a single pearl... that reminds me of the peach fruit, so I made a pair with my pearls and I added a green crystal to each pearl to symbolise the leaf. I do not know how to comment on this pair, but I think just a simple pearl, but bigger would be very nice. Simple is always nice.

Fresh Peaches

Besides doing something for myself, while reading the princess magazine with my girl, I have got an inspiration from a necklace clipart and made this bracelet for her. She is so happy and this is her new favourite.

Sweet Ivory

I hope I will find a time to get some supplies .. I wanted to make another necklace for myself.

Oh .. I miss eating cakes.