Making this and that .

EP
===

Made this pudding on Sunday ,
the silky smooth texture and rice in coconut flavor
make me craving for more ...

Coconut Pudding
--------------------
Ingredients :

14 g ( 2.5 tbsp ) Gelatin powder
200 ml very hot water
400 ml premium coconut milk
100 ml evaporated milk)
Sugar 40g ( original recipe used 60g rock sugar )
Some shredded coconut ( Optional )

Methods :

1.) Dissolve the sugar into 100ml hot water. Mix it with the coconut milk and milk.
2.) Dissolve the gelatin into 100 ml very hot water. Mix it patiently until totally
dissolved. Pour it into the coconut mixture prepared in step 1.
3.) Add the coconut mixture evenly into each jelly cup or the container.
Freeze it in the fridge (not freezer) for 3 hours. Spray some shredded coconut if want.
Enjoy ~

Notes and Tips :

1.) Gelatin is not easy to be dissolved . The water must be hot enough ,
better to filter it before pour them into the coconut mixture .
2.) The sweetness will be less after freezing in the fridge. Can add more sugar if needed .
3.) Rock sugar can be replaced by 3/4 cup of sugar .

Makign this and that ...

EP
===

Craved for " sugar " last night and because of the foggy sticky
weather , i really want something sweety to make myself feels better .
i was supposed to make myself coconut pudding however
there's no coconut milk in the fridge ,
but only dark chocolate and biscuits ...

So i changed my mind and attempted to make
" salami de chocolate " again .

it was fantastic and i had few seconds felt like in heaven ...

Asian cuisines .

EP
===

After back from Portugal , I became someone’s chef fon Asian cuisines ,
Asian cuisines including : Chinese / Japanese / Thai / Vietnam / Indonesia etc …
To give myself some more inspirations on what to cook next time ,
I bought a book about “ Asian Cuisines “ by “ Australia Weekly “ ,
it cost not much since the bookstore is now having a clearance sales ,

I was attracted by the beautiful photos of the dishes inside this book also
the size of the book since it is very thin and light , easy to carry .
The most important thing is that all the recipes in this book are simple ,
easy to prepare and using common ingredients .

My mum made dumplings again on Sunday morning top with some “ Won Pak “
( the yellow Chinese cabbage ) .
Taste fantastic !
Her dumplings are always perfect , better than mine ….

Baked Penne with Sausage and Spinach .

====




After reading the recipe and photos from " Dinner with Julie "
about the Baked Penne , i decided to give it a try and bring it
for the X'mas party .

Well ... per my sister and friends , the taste was good ,
very fresh , very strong smell of cheese and tomatos .
The only shortcoming was too dry and over baked the cheese .

And i forgot to stir well both the sauce and penne before i
bake it . Some penne stuck at the bottom of the aluminum
container .... And i should add more spinach inside .


i should try again to make this dish later when i have time .

Beetroot salad .

EP
===






From " Wikipedia " :
Beetroots are rich in the nutrient betaine , which is important for
carduivascular health.Several preliminary studies on both rats and
humans have shown that betaine may protect against liver disease,
particularly the build up of fatty deposits in the liver caused by alcohol
abuse, protein deficiency, or diabetes, among other causes.

We used to cook beetroot soup however beetroot can also be used in salad .
So my salad have

Potatos -- 2 pcs
Apple -- 1 large one
Beetroot -- half clove
Lettuces -- for decorations .
Boiled eggs -- optional
Sour cream -- 3/4 cups
Mayonnaise -- 2 tbsp
salt / pepper -- a bit
Olive oil / vinegar -- a bit
Lemon juice -- a bit

Everything cut into small cubes and mix well with the seasoning .
Best for summer !
Doctors said ingestion of beetroot can colour urine red ,
The pinkness of pee depends on the acidity of your stomach ...
So far i didn't see my " pink pee " yet ...



i guess i have a strong stomach than ....

Summer lemon cream cheese muffins .

EP
====

To clear all the cream cheese in my fridge ,
and to use my fresh summer lemons ,
This muffin can be served in cold or hot .

Ingredients :

Cream Cheese -- 190g
unsalted butter -- 30g
Sugar -- 60g ( can reducted to 40 -50g )
Lemon juice -- half pc of lemon
Grated lemon zest -- 1 pc of lemon
Slided lemon -- for decoration .
Beaten eggs -- 2 pcs
Self rising flour -- 120g

Methods :

- Preheat oven to 170ºC. Grate zest from lemon and juice lemon.
- Cut cream cheese and butter into small pieces, mix with sugar
to thoroughly coat cream cheese bits.
- Add in beaten eggs little by little till .
- Add in lemon zest and juice , keep blending .
- Add in shifted self rising flour , keep blending till throughly mixed .
- Spoon into muffin paper cups, filling about 2/3 full.
- Put the slided lemon on top , bake 20 - 25 minutes .
- Let cool and serve .


Personally i like the muffins to be served in cold .


Yum Yum~

All purposes couscous .

EP
===

I like couscous its all purposes feature ,
you can add almost every kind of ingredients inside .
As salad , a side dish , lunch , dinner , desserts etc .
You can found over thousands recipes when you
search “ couscous “ on Goggle .


Last time Boss and I mixed couscous with the
“ Chinese salad veggies “ , surprisingly the taste was
fantastic . Sadly i forgot to take a photo for that
" masterpiece " .

Last night I made my couscous again . With some
left over I can found in the fridge … shrimps , carrots ,
tuna , raisins , pesto .
In a large bowl , mixed everything well with vinegar , olive oil ,
salt , pepper , pesto .

One small tip for making couscous is that like making oat flake .
Grab a bunch of couscous , spread them evenly in a box ,
pour hot water inside just right covered the surface of the couscous ,
Put back the lid and wait 2-3 minutes . Lett hem steam a bit by the heat .
Couscous will absorb all the water and become grainy and chewy .

Yum Yum ~

New York Cheese cake

EP
===









I follow this recipe ,
However slightly amended on the portion of ingredients .

Crust :
MCVITIE'S Digestive Biscuits 75g
Fresh unsalted Butter ( melt ) 35g

Filling :
Cream cheese 350g
Sugar 80g
Sour cream 80g
Egg 2 pieces
Vanillin Extract 2.5 g ( 1/4 tsb )
Flour ( all purposes ) 1/4 cup
Lemon juice 1 tsb
Lemon zest 1/4 tsb


Taste good , soft , the texture is what i expected ,
however the outlook still have room to improve ...
specially the crust .

Pesto pasta alla genovese .

EP
====

Still have some fresh basil leaves in the fridge , so i am going to make myself
pasta with Pesto .
" Pesto " is a sauce originating from northern Italy , simply blended all ingredients
into " paste " .

Ingredients :
-Fresh Basil leaves 20-30g
-Garlic 1 clove
-Salt a bit

-Pine nuts 20-30g
-Olive oil a bit
-Grated parmesan cheese 15 g

Method :
-Cut basil leves into thin slices , dice garlic clove.
-Put sliced basil leaves , diced garlic cloves , salt into food blender ,
pulse them a few times first .
-Slowly add the olive oil into the food blender while the machine is
still onfor few seconds .
-Stop the machine to scrape down the sides of the food blender with
a rubber spatula.
-Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended.
-Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Note :
- For a small portion " pesto " , can use a mortor , same steps .

i eat the pesto with fettucine , however " Pesto " can also serve
with oven baked potatoes, or spread over toasted baguette slices.

Yum Yum ~

Coconut Rocks ( Rochers aux noix de coco ) .

EP
====

( ** Sorry for the very bad quality of photos ** )


Besides “ Durian “ …..
Dear Boss Pires told me that he also LOVES coconut ,
Every kinda food with coconut inside ….
He may not be a big fan of desserts ,
However when I saw this goodies recipe of “ Coconut Rocks “ ,
( a sweety snack from France )
I tell myself I must make some for him next time …
and wonder if the name in Portuguese is “ Rocha de coco “ .
I hope I am correct . or maybe “ Bola de coco “ ?

The flavor from coconut crumbles left on my fingers ,
and made the house smell good with coconut ,
Crispy outside however soft and fluffy inside .
Stuffed your mouth full of coconut crumbles .
I ate 2 balls right after they came out from oven .

Bom appetite !

P.S : i also saw people top the rocks with chcoclate ....

Portuguese lemon-orange mini cakes ( Queques de Limão e Laranga )

EP
===




Don't have mold for mini cakes , so i make it into " cup cake " size .
Not bad , just too much butter and too less orange / lemon zest .
the texture and fragrant are still irresistible .


i follow recipe from Leite's Culinaria .

Pasties de nata ...

EP
===

Home made V.S. those very famous from " pasties de Belem " ......




Still got a long way to go ....
the cursts are from supermarket , very puffy texture .
custurds are too milky , not much flavor of eggs , not that gloden in color .
Good fragrant when just came out the oven .

i follow the recipe from Algarve buzz .

Home made pizza ( sort of .... )

EP
===

Ingredients :
Pizza base , olive oil , pepper , salt , sausages , fresh basil leaves , crab sticks ,
tomato paste , fresh mushrooms , mozzarella cheese .

i said " sort of " home made pizza becuase i bought the pizza base from
supermarket . Very easy just follow the instructions from the box of pizza base ,
add any ingredients you like , put the pizza into oven for 15 - 20 minutes .

DONE and bom apetite ~

Bone ... for myself .

EP
===

Rainy day , baking " dog's food " at home .
This " bone shape cookie mold " cost $15HKD ....
which i think is a bit expensive ..
so .... will use it till it break ... lol

Butter cookies .

EP
===

Ever since we bought a small oven at home ,
my younger sister and i are so attempted to bake something
when we have time .... muffins / cheese cake / puffs etc .
Last night we tried to bake some cookies and we got great successful .
Tonight we're going to bake chocolate and green tea flavors ,
Unfortunately i can only " smell " them because of still recovering from
my wisdom teeth surgery .
i still enjoy the process of baking tho i can't eat them right now .

Little bit of my weekend ...

EP
====

A little bit of my weekend .... my sunday ...
Of course , i've been to my yoga classes , a bit too lazy this month ,
only practise of not more than 3 hours ( i mean the whole month not more
than 3 hours ) , i remember when i first start practising
yoga , i normally spent more than 4 hours in classes within 2 days .
Anyway ... after classes today , i've been to this Art project exhibition
nearby the yoga centre . Don't know the theme of this exhibition ,
I guess is about encouraging Hong Kong people from this financial crisis .

Back fome , took a nap and than baked some chocolate chips muffins .
Great successful this time , taste + outlook + texture , all better than
last time the banana muffins . YUM YUM ~