Happy Birthday Singapore! Part I

Today I am very excited to have WaiFong from "Fongs Kitchen Journal" to share with us her National Day Special Cookies as her guest post. I get to know Wai Fong about a year ago through a giveaway event from my blog and since then I always pop-by her blog, drooling over her delicious "Fongs 三菜一汤 - 3-plus-1" that she whipped up for her family. On top of that, she is also one of our regular supporters for the monthly "S$20 Budget Meal" event. So lets put our hands together and welcome WaiFong to share with us her icing cookie recipe as well as thoughts on coming National Day. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday, Singapore!

This is a very special post for me. First, as you can see, I have made some National Day Cookies here as a pre-National Day celebration. Tomorrow, I will be going down to Marina Bay to watch the NDP preview. And I am equally thrilled to be sharing this post with one of my favorite food bloggers, Ellena, at Cuisine Paradise.

With about a week more to our National Day, I decided to make these cookies for my little girl and her pre-school classmates. I zoom in on two colours - red and white, the colours of our National Flag. And, whats better way to pack these cookies than having them in this NDP Fun Box! For those who have attended last years NDP ("National Day Parade") celebration, you might remember having this Fun Box inside the goodies bag.

I thought this is also a great time for me, as a Singaporean and a young parent, to engage our little ones in some National Education. I design a simple quiz of 20 questions on Singapore, from "what is our National Anthem", " What does the crescent moon on our flag represents" to "Name 5 MRT stations on the East West Line". These questions are printed and glued on small little tags and taped behind each cookie pack. I hope while the children are enjoying the cookies, they will also get to learn something about Singapore.

I used the same cookie recipe as my earlier Valentines Day cookies. This cookie recipe yields very crispy cookies, but is extremely sticky to work with. If you prefer more manageable cookies, you may want to add a little more flour to it or cut down the butter to 200g.

Ingredients For Cookie dough: (makes about 28 to 30 cookies)
220g butter
100g caster sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla essence
300g plain flour
60g corn flour

Royal icing:
4 tsp meringue powder
4 tbsp water
300g icing sugar
4 tsp lemon juice
Red, black colour gel

Method:

1) Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy (pale white).

2) Add egg yolk and vanilla essence, beat for another minute or two.

3) Sift plain flour and corn flour together. Add into butter mixture and mix well to form a dough

4) Divide dough to 2 portions, cover with clingwrap and rest dough in fridge for an hour.

5) Roll each dough between baking paper and clingwrap to about 2 to 3mm thick.

6) Rest the dough sheet back in fridge for 30 minutes (or 10 minutes in the freezer).

7) Stamp the cookies using cookie cutter and transfer them to a baking tray lined with baking paper.

8) Bake in preheated oven at 175C for 15 to 20 minutes. Let the cookies cool completely on rack before decorating.


Decorating the cookies:

1) Whisk meringue powder and water till foamy.

2) Add icing sugar gradually and continue to whisk till stiff and fluffy.

3) Add lemon juice and whisk for another 2 minutes. Add a little water (1/4 tsp each time) if the icing is too stiff and dry.

4) Divide into portions and mix in desired coloured gel.

5) For each icing colour, save a portion for piping the outlines (i.e. stiff icing); and then add more water (1/4 tsp each time) to get thinner icing consistency for flooding the cookies.

NOTES:

1) Working with red and black colours are the most tricky, as the red and black coloured gels will turn "pink" and "grey" when mixed together with the white icing. You could try preparing the icing a day ahead, as icing color will darken slightly with time (whisk it slightly before using). If youre preparing your icing ahead, do not make it too thin as it tends to be a little diluted the next day. Alternatively, some websites suggested adding a little cocoa powder to darken the shades. I have not tried this method.

2) Transfer the royal icing to piping bag(s) and use immediately. Else, cover the royal icing with cling wrap to prevent it from drying out.

3) I used a piping tip #2 for piping the lines. For flooding, I just cut a small tip off the disposable piping bag.

4) Click here for a detailed explanation on getting the right icing consistency.

5) Let the icing fully set and dry before transferring them to cookie bag. I left them in a air-con room for about 5 hours to set. Some websites recommend leaving them overnight, but I am concern that the cookies might turn soft.


To know more about WaiFong and her blog, you can cross over to this link HERE to find out more about her cooking and baking recipes. Till then have a great weekend and stay tune for PART 2 of our National Day Special post which is done by me.

Happy Birthday, Singapore!

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Jamie Olivers Parents’ Spicy Butternut Squash Soup… Because I Have Gas Problems

I had a lovely apple-braised pork shoulder recipe all set to post today, but was unable to finish it off because PG&E turned off the gas line to do repairs on our street. So, stay tuned for that tomorrow, but in the meantime, here’s a great butternut squash soup video from Trevor and Sally Oliver, parents of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. Jamie’s one of my favorites, and not only are his parents adorable, but you can see where he gets some of his skills from. Enjoy!

This video was originally posted on Thisisbrandcultures YouTube Channel, February 22, 2011.

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White Gazpacho! I Eat This All the Time…Like Every 20 Years

A very, very long time ago, I had a white gazpacho. It was ice cold, very tasty, and super refreshing. It was similar to a classic gazpacho, but with no tomato and peppers. It was so unusually delicious that it really made an impression.

It had a cucumber base, was garnished with almonds and grapes, and was so good, I told myself to get the recipe and put it into regular summer rotation. That was probably 20 years ago, and I haven’t had it since. Totally spaced. 

Anyway, last week I came across this on Grubstreet, and it all came back to me. I knew I must try this soup! I’ve adapted the Dovetail’s versionslightly, but it’s one of those very personal recipes that you’ll want to adjust to your tastes.

Tweaking the amounts of salt, vinegar, and sweetness from the grapes will easily alter the final product, so experimentation is a must! The same goes for the texture. Add a bit more or less water depending on your dream viscosity.

The ice cube trick is optional, but really does keep the soup nicely chilled. The temperature is so critical here – you can’t serve this too cold. By the way, the dill oil I drip on the top was nothing more than a few tablespoons of vegetable oil mashed with some fresh dill with a mortar and pestle.

So, the next time you’re looking for a cool first course for that next great garden party, I hope you give this a try. You’ll love it so much, I’m sure you’ll make it all the time! ;) Enjoy!

Ingredients for 6 small servings:

1 tbsp olive oil 

1 cup whites part of leeks, washed, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

2 English cucumbers, peeled

8-10 green grapes

1/4 cup slivered almonds

1 tbsp olive oil

1/3 cup crème fraiche, sour cream or plain yogurt

1 generous cup fresh bread cubes

2 tbsp sherry vinegar, or to taste

1 tsp salt, plus more to taste

cayenne to taste

1 1/2 cups cold water, more if needed

dill oil and/or fresh dill leaves

View the complete recipe

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Potato Italian Frying Pepper Frittata and How I Learned to Swear in Italian

One of my earliest and fondest food memories is that of my grandfather making frittata. It wasn’t the taste of this hearty, Italian omelet that made such an impression, although that was always wonderful, it was the excitement surrounding “the flip.”

Traditionally, a frittata is cooked about three-quarters of the way, flipped over on to a plate, and slid back into the pan to finish cooking the other side. It’s an hot, slippery exercise fraught with danger, and more than one of his magnificent creations ended up a broken mess. Come to think of it, this is where I first learned how to curse in Italian.

The funny thing is, as long as you have a broiler to finish cooking the top, which he did, you don’t need to flip anything. Just pop it in for a few minutes to firm up the eggs, and brown the cheese, and you’re ready to eat. So, why did he insist on the always risky flip-n-slid?

I’m not exactly sure, but I imagine it was because his father flipped frittatas, and so did his grandfather. That’s just the way they were done, so that’s how he did it. Regardless whether you’re flipping or not, this rustic egg pie was invented for late summer’s vegetable bounty.

If you can fry it in olive oil, it tastes great in a frittata, especially leftover vegetables that would otherwise end up in the trash. It’s also amazing with any kind of summer squash. Just remember that the veggies need to be tender before the eggs go in, since they cook so fast. I hope you give this “memorable” recipe a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 servings:

12 large eggs

1 tbsp olive oil

6 slices of bacon or pancetta

1 1/2 cups sliced peppers

1 1/2 cups cubed, cooked potatoes

OR about 3 cups of any summer veggies

dry or fresh herbs to taste

salt and pepper to taste

hot pepper flakes to taste

2 oz crumbled feta cheese

*Remember to drain oil before adding potatoes and eggs!

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Butternut Squash and Mascarpone Gnocchi – I Don’t Like Gnocchi But I Love These!

When I tell people I don’t like gnocchi, I always have to clarify that I’m talking about the traditional, potato-dough style dumplings, and not the much easier and lighter, cheese-based versions, like this one featuring butternut squash and mascarpone cheese.

Unless created by the hands of a true master, traditional potato gnocchi are too often dense, gummy nuggets of disappointment. However, as temperamental as the classic recipe is, these cheesier, low-starch versions are really quite simple.

These are often made with drained ricotta, and you are welcome to substitute, but here we’re going with mascarpone, a very rich and luscious Italian-style cream cheese. Along with Parmigiano-Reggiano, all you need besides the cheese is some cooked squash, and just enough egg and flour to keep it all together.

Once your mixture is done, and you let it firm up overnight, you have a few options as far as final service. You can follow the spoon-boil-fry-serve method seen herein, or you can do the spoon-boil part ahead of time, and then fry in the sage butter when ready.

If you do want to make these ahead, simply fish them out of the boiling water as they’re cooked, draining well, and place on a plastic-wrapped sheet pan to cool. Once cooled to room temperature, they can be carefully wrapped up (in a single layer), and kept in the fridge for at least a day, until you’re ready to crispy up in the butter.

Either way, prepare your palate for some incredibly light, tender, and delicious gnocchi. You can use them for a first course, like I did here, or as a very special side dish to some roasted meat. I really hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for about 12 appetizer-sized portions:

2 cups cooked butternut squash

1 cup mascarpone cheese, or cream cheese, goat cheese

2 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 oz (about 1/2 cup) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (if you’re going to use fake Parmesan cheese for this, don’t even bother)

1 packed cup all-purpose flour

1 stick unsalted butter for frying, used in batches

cayenne, salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup sliced sage leaves

View the complete recipe

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Look what I made!

I havent had much time to blog, but I did make some goodies this weekend.

Like this:


and this:


Which would you prefer?

Ill post the recipes and a recap of our Oregon trip last week after I get back from a short (school-related) overnight. This week is orientation week then school starts after Labor Day. Eek!

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Coconut Milk Rice Pudding with Fresh Mango – I Don’t Like Rice Pudding But I Love This!

I’m not a big fan of rice pudding, but curiosity got the best of me, and I needed to find out how much better/different a version would be that used Arborio rice, and the same basic technique as a savory risotto. 

In addition to trying out a new cooking method, I also wanted to sneak in some coconut milk for a little tropical twist, and I’m happy to report great success on both fronts. The Arborio produced a wonderfully creamy texture, and unlike tradition long-grain rice pudding, the grains of rice maintained a certain textural integrity, instead of just disappearing into one big, starchy mass.

The coconut milk gave the pudding another layer of subtle sweetness, and also inspired the fresh mango garnish, which really elevated these bowls of comforting goodness. Of course the mango is optional, and you’re welcome to take your chances with raisins, preferably golden ones. If desired, those can be added at the same time as the sugar and salt.

Speaking of bowls, I generally don’t make dessert for three (except this one time, at band camp…), but I had some new porcelain ones I wanted to use, and didn’t bother to check the volume before ladling in the sweet porridge.

Despite my “odd” yield, you should get four nicely sized portions from the amounts below. And yes, if you can’t find coconut milk (which you can), simply use all milk. I hope you give this coconut milk rice pudding a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 portions:

1 tbsp butter

1/3 cup Arborio rice (Note: I haven’t tested this recipe using regular rice, so no idea if that will work here. My instincts tell me, not nearly as well)

1 cup coconut milk

2 3/4 to 3 cups milk, or as needed

1/4 cup white sugar

1/8 tsp vanilla

salt to taste

1 egg yolk, beaten with 2 tbsp milk

For the garnish:

1/4 cup finely diced mango

pinch of Chinese 5-Spice

View the complete recipe

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i Love Mama Healthy Meal i Love Mama Bento

Photo Credit:- iWeekly (I周刊)

Finally after a few weeks of preparations (like designing and preparing of bentos for approval, practicing, lasing and etc) we managed to complete our two i-Love Mama Healthy Meal recruitment roadshows; 1st (Tampines Giant) and 2nd (Sheng Siong Supermarket) that were hosted by Mediacorp artiste Pornsak and Y.E.S 93.3FM deejay Siau Jia Hui!

Although in between there were some hard times dealing with the coordination and etc but eventually we were all thankful that everything went on smooth and we did have fun to be in part of their i-Love Mama Healthy Meal recruitment roadshows. More photos of the roadshows could be found at our Facebook Page HERE.

Introducing the ingredients used and concept of the Bento before the demonstration starts.

Shiting (Lobsterpaint.com) and I busying at the i-Love Mama Healthy Meal bento demo roadshow.

Samples of the i-Love Mama Bento made during the i-Love Mama Healthy Meal roadshow demo @ Sheng Siong Supermarket (88 Tanglin Halt Rd).

i-LOVE MAMA BENTO
(i-Love Mama Healthy Meal)

This i-Love Mama Bento design is request by organizer as they hope I would be able to include the Mama Lemon Lion Mascot as a character in the bento meal. Although at first I was quite hesitate to try out because I am not very confident to do character bento and also I am afraid that it might not resemble their Lion Mascot.

In order to make it look as close as possible to resemble the Lion Mascot, I decided to use mashed pumpkin to colour the rice for the face and hand, then use broccoli to assemble its hair.  And also to make the facial express more 3-D like, I used black beans for the eyes and mouth. Guess overall I still could be able to score a PASS for this right :)

(Serve: 1  | Preparation: 15 minutes | Cooking: 10 minutes)

Ingredients:
150g Broccoli, trim and cut into small florets
2 - 3 Fresh Shittake Mushrooms, sliced
1 Cup of Cooked Rice
100g Of Pumpkin Cubes
70g of Salmon Fillet
3 Goyza / Wanton
Some Cherry Tomato
1 Slice of Sandwich Cheese
3 Black Beans / Blueberry
Nori (seaweed) Sheet
Some Seaweed Flakes / Bonito Flakes
Some Fresh Lettuce, optional

Tools Needed:
Bento Box
Side Dishes Food Casing
Heat Resistant Cling Wrap
Alphabet and Heart-shape Food Cutters
Food Tweezer
Small Scissor
Bento Food Pick (optional)

To Assemble the Lion Character:-

1. Remove the outer skin of the pumpkin and cut it into small cubes. Either steamed or microwave it till soft then using a fork to mash until it resemble paste like texture. Set aside

2. Spoon about 5 Tablespoons of cooked rice in a bowl, slowly mix in the mashed pumpkin until you achieve your desire colour.

3 Place 2 - 2.5 tablespoons of pumpkin rice on a piece of heat resistant cling wrap. Using hand, shape it tight into oval / round shape to form the lion head. Set Side.

4. Next using the same method as step 3, make 2 small oblong shapes using 1/2 tablespoon of pumpkin rice to make the arm of the lion. Set aside.

5. Arrange the cooked mushrooms (stir-fry the shittake mushroom with broccoli) at the top corner of the box before placing the broccoli around it (refer to the photo above) to make the outline of the lion head with the round/oval pumpkin rice in the middle.

6. Next place arrange the gyoza or wanton below the lion head to resemble the clothes. Place a few cherry tomato beside the goyza to secure the placement.

7. Shaped the two small oblong pumpkin rice ball to from the arm and place it below the head area. (refer to the photo above) Plus two tiny small rice balls for the ears above.

8. Using the black beans to form the eyes and mouth of the lion. Cut thin strips from the nori (seaweed) sheet to form the whiskers.

9. Arrange cooked salmon into the box and start adding in the "i-Love Mama" wordings using Alphabet, Heart-shape and drinking straw to cutout the shapes from sandwich cheese and punkin (heart shaped).

10. Above shows the close up look of the completed i-Love Mama Bento.

To prepare the Baked Salmon:-

1. Marinate the salmon fillet with 2 tablespoons of freshly squeeze orange juice and rind of 1 orange together with some cooking wine and dash of pepper for 5 minutes.

2. Arrange some fresh corn kernels (optional) at the base of the baking dish, top with marinated salmon and some orange rinds.

3. Baked in preheated 180°C (degree Celsius) oven for about 10 minutes or till cooked through. Sprinkler some seaweed or bonito flakes on top and assemble into the bento box.

Lastly calling all mothers/grandmothers out there if you love to cook for your kids/grandchildren. Do consider to take part on this fun and family bonding i-Love Mama Healthy Bento contest which would be held on 11th May 2013.

To Participate:-

Email: mpbcontest@mediacorp.com.sg
Subject header: i-Love Mama Healthy Meal

Terms And Conditions:
~ Send in your healthy, tasty and attractive meal recipe (in Chinese or English), with a detailed ingredients list and step-by-step cooking instructions.
~ Share in less than 100 words the nutritional value and design concept behind the dish prepared for your child.
~ Attach a photo of yourself with your child, and your dish, along with your full particulars (name, age, NRIC and contact nos.)

*Open to grandmothers/mothers with child aged 12 years and below.

Closing date: 02 May 2013

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