Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies recipe is one of the common recipes you ought to try out. This is my second time using the Kraft Baker's recipe. Cookies turned out excellent! Having said that, I wished to have used more chocolate chips, perhaps 1/4 to 1/2 cup more.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 egg

1 1/8 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup Baker's semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven at 375 F.

2. Beat butter, sugars, vanilla essence, and egg until light and fluffy.

3. Mix in flour and baking soda until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips.

4. Drop by heaping teaspoons onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, 2 inches apart.

5. Bake in preheated oven at 375 F for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly brown. Transfer to rack to cool.

Char Kway Teow

Char Kway Teow (a.k.a. fried flat noodles) is one of my favourite Malaysian dishes. I was being adventurous to come up with this dish based on my own secret recipe ;) As I've a kind spirit of sharing (as always), I'm revealing to you the magic tricks behind it :D

Ingredients:

220g dried flat noodles

2 eggs, beaten
4 frozen shrimps

1 cup bean sprouts

1 stalk green onion, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 tbsp cooking oil

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp fish sauce

2 tbsp oyster sauce

2 tsp dark soya sauce

2 tsp light soya sauce

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 tsp ground white pepper

1/2 tsp red chili powder

Directions:

1. To cook the noodles and shrimps, prepare a pot of boiling water. Boil the dried noodles on high heat for 10-15 minutes until tender. Add 1 tbsp cooking oil to prevent noodles from sticking together. Add frozen shrimps into the pot of hot water to cook.
2. Drain water off the pot. Place noodles and shrimps separately.
3. Heat up the wok. Add the rest of the cooking oil into the wok. When heated, sautee onions and then garlic on medium heat.
4. Place noodles into the wok. Add oyster sauce, dark and light soya sauces, sesame oil, and fish sauce, while frying the noodles.
5. Add beaten eggs, ground peppers, and red chilli powder. Fry the noodles till soft and tender.
6. When eggs are cooked, add the cooked shrimps.
7. Lastly, incorporate bean sprouts and green onions into the noodles.
8. Ready to serve!

I'd have used some Chinese chives instead of green onions, if I could get hold of them. Besides that, I'm pretty happy with the taste and presentation of the dish! Hope you enjoy it ;)

Marble Cake

Marble cake has always been my favourite cake. I tried baking marble cupcakes this time, instead of a whole marble cake from two years ago. Yummy marble cupcakes! Better still, if they're more moist. Something to improve on for next time :)

Ingredients:

2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup milk
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Place butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and milk into a mixing bowl. Beat slowly to mix well.

3. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in another bowl.

3. Slowly pour in the flour mixture into the butter mixture while stirring. Reserve 1/3 of batter.

4. Stir cocoa powder into the reserved batter.

5. Drop by spoonfuls over top of white batter, in muffin cups or cake pan. Using a knife, swirl the cocoa batter into the white batter to incorporate it in a marble effect.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until an inserted wooden pick comes out clean.

Ultimate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Peanut butter cookies and oatmeal raisin cookies are rather common. You can easily get them from the bakeries. If you love them both, have you ever wonder what would the cookie taste like, when you put them together and generate the ultimate peanut butter oatmeal cookies?

Here I am to try it out! I've made some changes with the original recipe. Presenting to you the peanut butter oatmeal raisin chocolate chip cookies!! What a mouthful :)




Ingredients:
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup margarine, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together shortening, margarine, brown sugar, white sugar, and peanut butter until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time until well blended. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in the oats, raisins, and chocolate chips until just combined.
3. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten the dough lightly with a spoon.
4. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until just light brown. Don't over-bake.
5. Yield ~ 36 cookies. Cool and store in an airtight container.

These cookies are very flavourful. If you're the kind of person who likes a bit of everything and always wanted to try something new. This is the recipe for you! Happy trying :)

Broccoli Quiche

I was first introduced to quiche at the residence meal hall, in my first year of university. Thereafter, I tasted different homemade quiches and found them delightful. Below is a broccoli quiche recipe that I've tried:


Ingredients:
2 tbsp butter
1 medium onion (minced)
1 tsp garlic (minced)
2 cup fresh broccoli (chopped)
1/2 cup white mushrooms (sliced)
2 Pillsbury crescent rolls
1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
4 eggs (well beaten)
1 1/2 cup milk
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbp butter (melted)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Roll out the crescent roll to make pie crust.
3. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, mushrooms, and broccoli. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are soft. Spoon vegetables into crust and sprinkle with cheese.
4. Combine eggs and milk. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in melted butter. Pour egg mixture over vegetables and cheese.
5. Bake in preheated oven about 40 minutes, or until centre has set.

Overall, this is a great recipe! I'll probably make a thinner pie crust next time, or prepare it from scratch rather than using the crescent rolls.

Pad Thai Noodles

Pad Thai (Thai-style frying) noodles is a famous Thai dish. It's even offered at the Farmer's Market in Fredericton by a Thai food stall, at a cost of $4.50.

I felt like preparing a Thai meal for supper yesterday, and best of all, I brought some for lunch at work and shared it with my fellow co-workers. They absolutely loved it!

Ingredients:
250 g dried flat noodles (rice vermicelli)
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 medium onion (diced)
1 medium carrot (finely sliced)
5 medium white whole mushrooms (sliced)
6 medium shrimps
2 cup bean sprouts
2 eggs (beated and seasoned with white pepper and light soya sauce)
110 g Pad Thai sauce
1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp light soya sauce
1 tsp fish sauce
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
1/4 cup crushed peanuts
1 stalk green onion (finely chopped)

Directions:
1. Soak dried flat noodles in a pot of boiling water for about 15 minutes until soft. Drain off the water.
2. Heat up the wok and add cooking oil. When slightly heated, sautee onions over medium heat.
3. Add carrots and mushrooms and stir-fry them with oyster sauce.
4. Add beaten eggs. Continue frying.
5. Add flat noodles into the wok and fry with Pad Thai sauce, fish sauce, and light soya sauce.
6. Fry with the rest of ingredients: shrimps, bean sprouts, and ground white pepper.
7. Ready to serve by topping it with crushed peanuts and green onions!

Quick & Easy Pizza II

This is my second time preparing homemade pizza, using the same recipe as before. This time, I baked the pizza for 20 minutes at 400 F instead (rather than at 450 F) in the preheated oven . It turned out great, no burning at all :) It was more cheesy too!

Topping ingredients:

1 cup pasta sauce

2 round slices of bologne

1/2 lb ground beef (seasoned with ground pepper and light soya sauce)

1 medium onion (diced)

5 pieces medium whole mushrooms (sliced)

1 1/2 cup mozarella & marble cheese (in cubes or shredded)

1/4 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp rosemary leaves

1/2 tsp oregano leaves

Directions:

1. Preheat oven at 400F.

2. Place the ingredients in order, from the list above, on the pizza crust.

3. Bake pizza for 20 minutes.

4. Serve while hot!

Egg Tart

My love for egg tarts is on a par with Mom's love for taro cake, Dad's love for almond cookies, Bro's love for BBQ pork, and Sis' love for stuffed glutinous rice balls. Egg tart is certainly one of the food items that I missed most from home. I tried making egg tarts with a friend two years ago from an online recipe and they turned out great! I've been making egg tarts occasionally since then. Thanks to Pierre for his effort finding the recipe :)

Ingredients:

(A) Pastry

1/2 cup + 1/3 cup margarine/butter

1/3 cup icing sugar (sifted)

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (sifted)

1 beaten egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

(B) Filling

2 eggs (lightly beaten)

3 1/2 tbsp sugar

160 mls water

26 mls evaporated milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Mix the margarine, icing sugar, egg, and vanilla extract from (A) together. Slowly add all-purpose flour while stirring the mixture.

2. Chill the pastry dough for ~ 2 hours in the refrigerator, or at least 30 minutes in the freezer.

3. While waiting, mix the ingredients from (B) together.

4. Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F.

5. Once the pastry dough is ready, take ~ 2 tbsp of dough and spread it evenly on a tart mould. Do the same using the rest of the dough. It yields ~ 10 standard-sized tarts.

6. Prick holes with a fork on the bottom of the unbaked tarts.

7. Slowly pour the tart filling into each mould about 3/4 full.

8. Bake tarts for 25-30 minutes until the tart shells turn light brown and the fillings fully solidify.

9. Cool the tarts and dig in!

Tom Yum

What's the first thing come into mind when someone mentions about Thai food? Tom yum it is!! Eric who craved for tom yum so badly, has decided to have a Thai fix! Presented to you, the hot & spicy tom yum soup and tom yum rice vermicelli!

The delicious Tom Yum soup.

Ingredients:

~ 1 kg chicken thighs (chopped into pieces)

30 frozen cooked shrimps

2 medium carrots (1.5-inch pieces)

1 large onion

1/4 lb long beans (one-inch pieces)

5 medium white mushrooms (sliced)

2 medium tomatoes (in cubes)

6 dried red chillies

2 stalk lemongrass

3 piece lime leaves

1/2 can instant tom yum paste

2.5 tom yum cubes

Directions:

1. Chop the chicken thighs into small pieces. Cut the onion into pieces.

2. Cut the carrots, long beans, white mushrooms, and tomatoes. Soak the frozen shrimps in a bowl of water to thaw.

3. Prepare a large pot of boiling water. Add the tom yum cubes into the boiling water.

4. Add the chicken pieces into the pot. While they're almost cooked, add the rest of the ingredients (except shrimps). Snap the dried red chillies into two pieces before adding into the soup.

5. Add tom yum paste and salt according to taste.

6. Once cooked, cover the pot with lid and let simmer for 30 minutes until the soup thickens. Add the cooked shrimps for the last two minutes.

7. Serve it with white rice. Bon appetit!

The tom yum soup tasted more delightful the next day! And the best of all, it reminded me of asam laksa ;D

The spicy fried tom yum rice vermicelli.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb chicken breast (small stripes)

5 medium white mushrooms (sliced)

1/4 lb long beans (one-inch pieces)

1 small carrot (thin stripes)

1/2 medium red pepper (thin stripes)

1 inch ginger root (finely chopped)

1/2 large red onion

Bean sprouts

1 packet rice vermicelli

Instant tom yum paste

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp white pepper

Directions:

1. Soak the rice vermicelli in a bowl of hot water to soften.

2. Cut chicken into stripes and prepare the vegetables.

3. Heat the pan and add cooking oil. Saute the onion and ginger. Pan-fry the chicken stripes.

4. Add tom yum paste to taste. Add the rest of the vegetables into the pan and stir-fry them.

5. Add the rice vermicelli and more tom yum paste according to taste. Add salt and pepper.

6. Add bean sprouts and stir-fry for one minute.

7. Ready to serve!

Very colourful rice vermicelli indeed! Red (red pepper), green (long beans), orange (carrots), light brown (mushrooms), white (bean sprouts) etc. The presentation was appetizing, and the aroma of tom yum was simply irresistible! I certainly went for seconds, so did others!

Thanksgiving Feast

Thanksgiving celebration without a turkey? Yeah! This was an Asian-style thanksgiving with yummy sushi! Oh well, sushi was one of the many dishes we prepared for the big feast! There were mostly finger food:

Pork ribs with barbecue sauce.

Pork ribs were marinated overnight with barbecue sauce and kept in the refrigerator. Bake them the next day in the preheated oven at 400 F till cooked (about 40-45 minutes). It's as easy as ABC!

Chicken wings and home-baked fries.

Half of the chicken wings were marinated with ginger sesame sauce and the rest with teriyaki sauce. Together with the pork ribs, they were kept in the refrigerator overnight. Bake them in preheated oven at 400F.

Home-baked fries

Ingredients:

6 medium potatoes

1 tsp red chili powder

2 tsp dried basil

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp white pepper

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

1. Wash and peel the potatoes. Cut them into long stripes.

2. Place potato stripes in a large mixing bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients into the bowl and mix well.

3. Spread the potato stripes on a greased cookie sheet with aluminum foil.

4. Cook them in a preheated oven at 400 F until cooked (about 45 minutes).

5. Serve while hot!

*Hint: Fries are best served with mayonnaise + ketchup as dipping sauce.

Sushi with avocado, simulated crab sticks, picked radish, canned salmon and tuna ;)

This special dish was prepared by Paul and Eric. Yummy sushi, best served with wasabi + sashimi soya sauce ;)

The cream cheese blueberry pie from the Happy Baker!

The bountiful food left my stomach with no room to contain this yummy blueberry pie bought by Teck from the famous bakery store, Happy Baker. Located in the heart of downtown Fredericton, it sells fresh and delicious pastries, cakes, breads (you name it) and I just love to be there!

I had to take a two-hour break before indulging into the yummy pie. Smart choice, Teck! Fresh blueberries on soft custard and tasty pie shell, yumm....

Gingerbread loaf from my Lab Manager, Tracy.

I shared this gingerbread loaf on Thanksgiving day with two of my roommates. Apparently, gingerbread is best served with whipping cream. We had it plain and it was tasteful with a strong aroma of spices just the way it was!

Chee Cheong Fun

I was absolutely inspired by the Chee Cheong Fun (a.k.a. rice noodle roll) prepared by Lily that she had it on her blog (http://lilyng2000.blogspot.com/2008/07/chee-cheong-fun-iii.html). The preparation process was fascinating and I was so eager to try it out myself!

Ingredients:
(A)
60g rice flour
20g tapioca flour
2 1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp oil

(B)
1 1/2 tbsp Hoisin sauce
1 1/2 tsp water
1 tbsp sesame seed

Directions:
1. Mix ingredients from (A) and leave it aside for at least 30 minutes.
2. Preheat a non-stick pan on medium heat. Pour a thin layer of batter into the pan and heat until a thin layer of the the batter solidifies at the bottom. Pour back any excess batter.
3. Place a lid on the pan and cook on low heat.
4. The noodle is cooked when it turns translucent. Remove pan from the heat source.
5. Roll the sheet of noodle carefully (not to break it) with a wooden spatula on the pan. Place the rice noodle roll on a greased plate.
6. Continue cooking with the remaining batter.
7. Dilute the Hoisin sauce with water. Pour the sauce on the noodles and garnish noodles with sesame seed. Savour the chee cheong fun while hot!

p/s: It takes some practice to yield smooth texture cheong fun. I appreciate those hawkers who cook fine and tasty chee cheong fun!

Steak Feast II

The carrot was cut into a unique shape, very creative :)

I've been craving for steaks these days and hence prepared myself a Grade A striploin and salad for supper. Besides the similar ingredients used to prepare the first steak that I had (refer to the post "Steak Feast I"), I added some Moroccan harissa spice (1 1/2 tsp) for marinating the meat. It was merely a 15-20 minutes of cooking time with the toaster oven set at 400F, for a medium rare steak. With the steak topped with mushroom sauce, and salad as side dish, I indulged myself in this delicious meal ^v^

Salad

Ingredients:
1 cherry tomato
1/2 medium green pepper
1 small carrot
2 stalks celery
2 leaves iceberg lettuce
2 leaves romaine lettuce

Directions:
Creativity + Passion + Patience = Awesomeness

How did I come out with this idea? Well, I had these ingredients sitting in the refrigerator that I needed to prepare for tomorrow's lunch. Instead of a boring dish of salad, I wanted something that's more presentable, and more appetizing! And here I am, combining the salad with some canned salmon for a meal *wink*

Steak Feast I

Hmm...what am I gonna have for today's supper? I found this sirloin tip steak from the meat market for a good deal. Without second thought, I've decided my supper menu--sirloin steak, salad, mashed potatoes, and my favourite Campbell cream of mushroom soup.

It was an absolutely random recipe. A good try!

First of all, let's prepare the steak.

Ingredients:
2 tsp light soya sauce
1 tsp dark soya sauce
2 tsp cooking wine
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:
1. Keep the marinated steak aside for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the toaster oven to 400F.
3. Cook the steak for about 10 minutes on each side.

It was a well-done steak before I managed to stop it from being cooked further. I was anticipating a medium rare. Oops! Too bad...try again next time ;P

Next, we have mashed potatoes.

Ingredients:
2 medium potatoes
1 small onion
1 tsp light soya sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp white pepper
1 tsp dried basil
Dash of red chili powder
2 tbsp margarine
2 tbsp whipped dressing or mayonnaise

Directions:
1. Prepare a pot of boiling water.
2. Peel and cut the potatoes into small cubes.
3. Dice the onion into small pieces.
4. Cook the potatoes in boiling water on high heat for 15 minutes. Add onion into the boiling water and cook for another 10 minutes on medium heat.
5. Drain water from the pot. Mash the potatoes and onion efficiently with a hamburger press (use a spatula if you don't have one).
6. Add light soya sauce, salt, margarine, and whipped dressing according to taste (adding some milk will give a richer taste too). Mix thoroughly.
7. Add black and white pepper, dried basil and red chili powder.
8. Ready to serve.

Umm...what else are we missing? The gravy! Again, a simply random recipe for gravy.

Ingredients:
1/2 small onion
1 1/2 tbsp corn starch
3/4 cup water
1/2 beaten egg
1 tbsp cooking wine
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp dark soya sauce
1/2 tsp light soya sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions:
1. Dice the onion into small pieces. Fry the onion in a sauce pan on medium heat till brown.
2. Dissolve the corn starch in water. Pour in the corn starch mixture. Let it boil on high heat, while stirring it occasionally.
3. Keep it on medium heat once it's boiled. Add the beaten egg, oyster sauce, salt, dark and light soya sauce. Stir well and cook the egg.
4. Add salt, cooking wine, white and black pepper according to taste.
5. Let the gravy simmer on low heat till thicken.
6. Serve it on the steak.

* The above recipes serve as a reference. The amount of ingredients used may not be exactly the same. So how? Try it out according to personal taste!

Last but not least, the creamy mushroom soup! It's quite self-explanatory. Simply refer to the directions on the can. You can either add a can of water or milk (gives creamier texture) to cook with it. Mushroom soup was a nice treat in the family for either supper or just a late night "snack" when I was little. Dad used to prepare it during a few occasions. Once it's cooked, stir in with dash of Maggie seasoning and white pepper. It's the best soup ever that will warm your heart! And not to mention, fog up your glass too with its hot steam! Yumm.... a memorable taste from childhood. *What a little girl I am*

Nasi Paprik

What is nasi paprik (a.k.a. paprik rice)? Also referred to as nasi pad prik, it is a fried rice dish with paprika sauce which is known to be of Thai origin.

Ingredients:
1 sachet Maggie Nasi Paprik
2 cups uncooked rice
1/2 lb ground pork
10 stalks green beans
1 medium carrot
1 beaten egg
1 medium onion
1 tsp light soya sauce
Dashed of white pepper
Sliced cucumbers
Tomato ketchup (according to taste)

Directions:
1. Cook the rice and let cool.
2. Marinate ground pork with dashed of pepper and light soya sauce. Leave it aside.
3. Cut the onion and carrot into small cubes.
4. Saute the onions till brown on medium heat. Add the ground pork and cook.
5. Pour in the cooked rice and mix in Maggie Nasi Paprik seasoning. Add dashes of white pepper.
6. Fry the rice until fragrant. Add the egg and cook.
7. Serve with sliced cucumbers.

One thing is missing here-tomatoes! Additionally, nasi paprik is usually served with sliced chicken meat as opposed to ground pork. It's just my little modification to come out with something different, as I always do ;)

Taro Cake

Taro cake (a.k.a. woo tao koh) is a Cantonese delicacy normally eaten for breakfast or afternoon tea. Since it's impossible to get it from a stall here, unlike in Malaysia; it can be easily found at the wet markets and coffee shops.

This special dish reminds me of Mom who loves Taro cake a lot ;) She even commented that this picture looks tempting (*blushed*). Haha... no worries, Mom, you can sure have some :)

Here is the recipe adapted from Lily's Wai Sek Hong. Thanks to Lily for sharing her great recipes!

Ingredients:
(A)
250g taro root (a.k.a. yam)
1 tsp five-spice powder
1 cup water

(B)
125g rice flour
20g tapioca flour
1 cup water
150g taro root

(C)
1 tbsp chicken stock granules
1 tsp soya sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
Dash of white pepper

(D)
Dried shrimps (~100)
4 shallots
2 stalks green onions
2 red chillies

(E)
10 red chillies
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp lemon juice/lime juice/white vinegar

(F)
3 tbsp Hoisin sauce, diluted with some water
1 tsp soya sauce
2 tsp sugar
Dash of white pepper

Directions:
1.From (A), coat the diced taro root with five-spice powder.
2. Dice, steam, and mash the taro root from (B). Mix in other ingredients from (B) and sieve.
3. For seasoning, mix together the ingredients from (C).
4. Soak and chop the dried shrimps from (D) coarsely. Cut shallots in slices and deep fry (or microwave with 1tsp oil on high till crispy). Chop the green onions and red chillies from (D). Set them aside for garnishing.
5. To prepare the chilli sauce, chop or blend the red chillies from (E), and mix in with the other ingredients from (E).
6. Mix together ingredients from (F) for sweet sauce.
7. Heat up some oil and saute the dried shrimps from (D) till fragrant. Remove 3/4 and set aside for garnishing.
8. Add some oil and into the wok, stir fry the seasoned taro root. Mix in water from (A) and bring to a boil.
9. Add in (B) and (C), and cook till the batter is fairly thick.
10. Pour thick batter into a well-greased 25cm round tray. Steam till the cake is set and cooked.
11. Garnish the cake and press lightly. Leave aside to cool.
12. Serve taro cake with chilli sauce and sweet sauce!

Yummm... Don't be intimidated by the long recipe. Trust me, it's not hard at all once you get it started! And believe it or not, you'll be tempted to prepare it over and over again ;)

Quick & Easy Pizza

Craving for pizza but don't feel like order one, wanna customize your own instead? Here is a recipe of a quick & easy pizza crust, plus your favourite toppings (anything you like):

Ingredients:
1 cup warm water (~ 110 degrees F)
1 tbsp sugar
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Directions:
1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in the warm water. Add in olive oil and salt.
2. Stir in the flour until well blended. Let dough rest for 10 minutes.
3. Preheat oven at 450 degrees F.
4. Pad dough into a pizza pan. Spread pizza sauce. Top with your favourite pizza toppings (i.e. onions, green peppers, carrots, tomatoes, sausages, bacon, hamburger slices etc.). Lastly, top with cheese slices/shredded cheese.
5. Bake pizza for 15-20 minutes. Serve while hot!

Onde-onde

Typically, onde-onde is prepared with glutinous rice flour and pandan extract, filled with "gula melaka" and coated with shredded coconut. This modified recipe, however, is using sweet potatoes, glutinous rice flour, and shredded coconut. It is a simpler version of onde-onde :) These sweet potatoes balls taste yummy and many of my Canadian friends love them!

Ingredients:
Sweet potatoes
Sugar
Glutinous rice flour
Shredded coconut

Directions:
1. Prepare a pot of boiling water. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into cubes (to minimum boiling time coz of smaller sizes).
2. Boil the potato cubes with medium heat for 20-30 minutes till tender.
3. Drain water off and mash the potatoes. Meanwhile, boil a second pot of water.
4. Add sugar (a bit sweeter than what you'd take, coz the next boiling step tends to reduce the sweetness). Pour in glutinous rice flour into the mashed potatoes gradually, to prepare a non-sticky dough.
5. Take a tablespoonful of dough and roll it into a ball-shaped dough. Repeat till dough is used up.
6. Drop them into the boiling water on high heat. Remove them once they appear on the water surface (they're cooked! Aren't they cool?)
7. Cool them for a bit before rolling them on a plateful of shredded coconut.
8. Bon appetit!

My Passion About Cooking & Baking

The kitchen in my apartment is my favourite spot to hang around. I have the opportunity to try out a variety of cooking styles and baking recipes and it has been such a great fulfilment in life ;) Being away from home has not only taught me to be more independent, but has also allowed me to explore new challenges in daily life.

Cooking and baking is my passion. It is my joy to share the stories of dishes I have had prepared. Hope you'd enjoy them as much as I do!!

Err...Kleenex is self-supply by the way. Stay tuned for exciting posts!