Bento #285 - Simply Mooncake

Not making charaben today because Kimi wanted the Green Tea Baked Mooncake I made - happy! So, this is a another simple and speedy bento which I used picks to pretty up.

In the box, there are seaweed chicken which Kimi now loves, broccoli, corn and more corn and blueberries.

Teacher's Day Sept 2012

The first week of September is Teacher's Day here in Singapore.  It's a time where we, or rather students show their appreciation for their teachers.  This year, we decided to bake a muffin, pack it in a mug, add a tea bag and a pocket hand sanitiser so that Kimi's teacher can take a break, sip a hot tea while enjoying the muffin that Kimi baked.  After that, they can clean their hands with the sanitiser too! lol!

We baked 3 batches of these muffins as it was given out in different batches to different teachers at different places.  First batch was at church, followed by Kimi's piano and maths teachers and followed by Kindy teachers.  The last batch was baked early this morning as Kimi was too tired after his field trip to Sentosa's Butterfly Kingdom yesterday.  He did a good job in all 3 baking sessions :)



What's inside? Muffin, serviette, tea bag (oops!! I had forgotten to add in the teabags!!), sanitisers and tags

The flower tag - Kimi says, "Take a break, have a tea & cake, which I have baked.  Just add hot water & enjoy"

 

These are for church teachers as per Kimi's request.  I replaced the Rose Hip & Hibiscus tea with White Coffee for 1 for the teachers.  He is more a coffee person, really! lol!



For Church teachers - all wrapped and ready to go!

For Kindy teachers - all ready!

Bento #270 - Clone Troopers

Ahhh...! Finally, it's the last day of school and we can have a break and some fun.  I've yet to think up the plan for next week.  Let's see what Kimi wants to do.  These days he has a mind of his own and will tell me his plan and what he wants to do or go. :)

A busy start today as Kimi was too tired after his field trip yesterday to bake cuppies for his teachers so we did it this morning.  This is a fuss-free and fast & easy recipe.  U only need a fork, a measuring cup and a bowl.  I will share recipe later.  I've shared this previously in my contributing corner at the Greast Eastern Live Great Blog.  Do check it out, it has many healthy recipes and health tips - very informative indeed!

Of course with these out of the oven, Kimi wanted them for his lunchbox too. We made 2 flavours - for his teachers, we made Lavender choc chip and cranberry and an alternative choice for Kimi is choc chip with fresh Blueberry. He had 1 each for school.  Added our usual stash of broccoli and corn, mini taiwan sausages that hb bought during his last trip and golden kiwi.

I took the easy way out and press on cupcake rings. Kimi was thrilled. I got to scream again - Yay!!last day of school today!

 

 

Easy 1 Bowl Muffins Recipe (makes 10 small muffins)

 

What do you need?

• 125g self raising flour
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 90g caster sugar
• 125ml milk
• 70g oil or melted butter
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• Toppings or fillings - Chocolate chips, fresh blueberries, dried cranberries, shredded carrot, cubed cheese and chocolate rice etc

How do you do it?

1. Pre-heat oven to 200 degree celsius
2. Sift flour and salt together and mix with sugar
3. Beat egg, milk, oil and vanilla essence till smooth well mixed
4. Pour into dry ingredients and mix till just combined
5. Spoon batter into muffin cup till about 1/3 full
6. Add in fillings of your choice
7. Top up batter till 3/4 full
8. If you wish, you may add sprinkles or leave top plain
9. Bake in oven for about 15mins, longer if larger cups or lesser if smaller cups

Tips

• I find adding choc chips to the flour to coat before adding the wet ingredients better as the chips will not sink to the bottom of the cups.  But if you want different flavours in 1 baking batch then you will have to use the 1/3 batter, filling and top up method.

Rest Easy Muffins

Today was totally a REST day for me, I'm so happy!! Thanks papa!

I did not cook.  I rested, surfed, watched tv, stoned and just be lazy. Nice.  It's been eons since I've done this. :)

Last night, I slept from 11plus to 7 this morning.  I couldn't believe how light and refreshed I felt.  I was so tired I fell asleep and when I jolted out of bed, it was 2.35am.  I felt like a winner cos normally that was the time I made my way to my bed.  But now, I've already got a few hours sleep and I could sleep some more!!

I resolve to sleep early. I hope I can make it.  Since, I had been lazy the whole day, I felt so guilty and decided to make a quick muffin for breakfast tomorrow.

These may look ugly but it tasted ok.  I'm using these Valrhona Choc Pearls which are FABULOUS!!! Even Kimi loves it!! It simply melts in your mouth!

I took the recipe from here.  It's an easy 1 bowl recipe.

Pineapple Tarts - Golden Nuggets

I made these 2 days ago, just a small batch for family cos as you would have already known, my oven is on holiday in some sunny place, spa-ing out! :) Charmaine has been so sweet to lend me her table-top oven so I can bake a little! That's what I call true friends!! Cos she uses her oven rather frequently, baking yummy salmon and cod for Julian. And she was willing to let me use it and Ju has to go without his salmon for a few days. Thanks Char! :) Much appreciated!

I prefer making the closed pineapple tarts cos I feel they are easier and faster. Also, since my mom makes the open ones, why trouble right? Hee hee...

Anyone wants to order? Place yours next year!! :)

Devastatingly Happy and Kueh Bangkits

Looks great doesn't it? It smells and tastes great too but fail miserably cos it is rather hard and crispy and not those melt in the mouth kind. :(

I got this idea of using my Tigger cutter for CNY cookies from Ellena. I used it for Kueh Bangkit as I thought it was so cute. But as usual my Kueh Bangkit failed. As always! This is such a tempermental cookie I tell you...I can never get the melt in the mouth texture since I started trying to bake this cookie.

But, frankly, I never got round to trial n errror... I just use a new recipe each year. Anyway, I have another 2 to try to see if it will turn out better. If you have 1 that you can share, pls pls teach me! In the mean time, wish me luck!

If you wish, you can download recipe from here. Maybe you have better hands, let me know? :) I'm hoping to get the old Kueh Bangkit mould cos I feel less handling of dough would make it more tender. But I've yet to see any around....

UNTIL ..... yesterday!!! I was soooo happy I bought both designs! I've seen even cuter ones from Malaysia but since this is the ONLY one I've seen, I decided to get them! :)

Look at the cute, intricate carvings!!

I was over the moon and cant wait to get started with baking a new batch of Kueh Bangkits when my oven DIED on me yesterday. YES, it did!! And thank God I had jus finished baking the Kueh Lapis.. can you just imagine if I was half way through?? Really FAINT!

I was totally upset as I had just bought a load of ingredients for some baking... Anyhow, I managed to get a contact from June who came today to take a look at my oven. The repairman said I could get my oven back next Friday.

Well, that's better than the agent who said if I'm lucky I'll get it within 3 weeks or latest by 6 weeks and I have to bring the oven to his shop. This is an oven not a toaster!!! Goodness! Sia Huat's after sales service is really crap! I was really in no mood yesterday!

But I look forward to next week to get my oven back. I hope by then I would still have the enthusiasm to continue baking and be in time!

Anyone have some free hours to spare so I can bake at your place? Keke! ;)

Buttery Moist Banana Cake

I think all of us at some time or another, accumulate way too many RIPE bananas somewhere in the kitchen. Well, that just happened to us and I decided to bake this family favourite which I had not in YEARS!!

This is an easy and yummy recipe, the cake is rich yet moist and soft! I used the paper loaves which I bought from Daiso that came in a set of 3. In less than 30mins coming out of the oven, 1 loaf was GONE! Mostly devoured by hb and Kimi. I was a happy mummy & baker! :)

Cat, here goes my 'secret recipe' as you call it! Haha! No secret lah.. u so drama! :)

Recipe (makes 3 smallish paper loaves which I bought from Daiso OR 1 9" round)

• 260g self-raising flour
• 220g caster/fine sugar
• 180g butter
• 260g banana
• 4 eggs
• 30ml milk
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Method

1. Preheat oven at 170 degrees celsius
2. Mash banana and stir into milk, set aside
3. Cream butter and sugar at medium speed till light abd fluffy.
4. Add 1 egg at a time till combined **
5. Add essence
6. Fold in sifted flour and soda till combined
7. Pour into desired tins/moulds and bake for 60 to 70mins or until pick comes out clean

Notes

** As this is a high fat cake, when adding the eggs, sometimes it may curdle. On the 1st sighting of the mixture curdling, add in 1 tsp of the pre-sifted flour and continue till all the eggs are added. Adding of a little flour helps to stop the curdling.

Adjust timing according to size of baking tins. Lesser time for smaller moulds, etc

Kimi is 3! A Weekend of Celebration!

We started with a mini celebration at SM class and as usual, Kimi wanted a Pirate theme. And he also told me he wanted a cake with an elephant pretending to be a pirate. Ok, I told him, mama will try her best. :)

We decided to do a whole weekend of celebration and let Kimi have loads and loads and fun - that's what Birthdays are all about ya?

We ate so much cake that really, enough is ENUFFF! I, er, we need to rest our systems a little. I was also tired cos besides all the going out, etc... I still had to bake and bake and bake. But it was all fun!

I decided to make cupcakes with a Pirate theme so it will be less messy and instead of using just icing frosting, I used cream cheese frosting with choc chips in the cuppies. I made the little pirates and Captain Pirate a few days earlier as it took a few days to dry out. Then I printed out some pirate flags, stuck them on a pick and away it went! Ahoy!

Fondant pirates

Kimi's classmates at SM

My little Pirate! How cute!!!

Eating his cuppie

Our little pressies for his friends

After class, we went home for a nap before bringing Kimi to the Night Safari - Kimi's first and he loved it!

Kimi giving me a hi-5 while waiting for dinner

Fish & Chips for the boys

Pepper Bongo Burger - looked great but tasted rather bleah....

At the souvenir shop

Since our plans were to let Kimi do the stuff he enjoyed most, we decided to do away with the eating session with our family and instead bring Kimi to see his most anticipated Dinosaurs Show at Hollywood Dinos and watch a IMAX movie. There were many good reviews for the show, Under the Sea so decided to give it a go!

This was about the only pix I took cos Kimi was screaming and said he was scared although he knows that dinosaurs are extinct and those were fake. Oh well...
So, he enjoyed playing and looking at the ducks and swans at the entrance of Jurong Bird Park best.

At Omnimax Theatre. Kimi although enjoyed the show, he almost fell asleep towards the end cos we had allowed him to skip his nap. :(

In the end, he fell asleep on the way home and we ate at the field at Punggol while enjoying the cool breeze and many kites!

After Church on Sunday,we went home as we wanted to bring Kimi for a nice dinner and he really needs his nap. Skipping it can sometimes be like a walking time bomb - sometimes he will be ok while most times he will be whiny and grouchy and unco-operative.

Once Kimi slept, I quickly baked and then iced the cake. By time I had finished, it was 5.45pm and Kimi didn't want to go out, preferring to stay in.

So we headed to Chomp Chomp and bought lots of yummy food and stuff ourselves silly! It was so fun!! After dinner, our neighbour Wayne came to give Kimi a pressie and they had lots of fun catching up and playing, er, I mean fighting together. Haha! Nah, they still played together lah..

Kimi's request for an elephant-pretending-to-be-pirate cake.

Kimi's favourite - candle blowing!

Papa, Kimi and Wayne

Ha! This time I finally remembered to take a pix of the cut cake

Wow... after so many days of non-stop baking and celebations, I was becoming rather weary. Today (Mon) we will be doing a mini celebration in Kimi's school and he could choose what he wished to wear and of course he chose ELEPHANT and his favourite camouflage pants.

Pressies for his little friends

Decided to make simple mini raisin cupcakes with a dollop of cream cheese frosting with an animal theme. Didn't have the time and energy to churn out fondant animals so I just made these animal picks using bento barans.

Kimi always looks forward to candle blowing
Teacher asking Kimi to make a wish before blowing his candle - aiyo, see how cute he is with his eyes closed? :)

Group photo before we leave

After a weekend of celebrating and fun, our wish for Kimi is,

"Darling, may you always be happy and healthy. To put God first and always look to God for all your needs. May the Good Lord always hold your hands, leading and showing you the way and giving you the wisdom to live in accordance to His Words. Papa and Mama will always stay by your side and give you all the support and love in whatever you do. Happy Birthday Darling!"

Happy Blessed 2010!

We celebrated New Year with family members over popiah which I made and to sweeten the coming year, a Strawberry Fresh Cream cake.

Again, totally forgotten to take pix of the party and the cut cake. Age IS catching up.

Merry Xmas & Festive Bakes!

MERRY XMAS TO ALL !!!

May all your dreams & wishes come true !!

My classic fudgy wudgy brownies - crispy tops & exterior with a rich, moist, fudgy, chewy & chocolatey centre! You can sink your teeth into these even when it is COLD! When warmed with a scoop of ice-cream, heavens!! To test for a really good brownie, eat it when it's cold - all brownies (or cakes) when warmed and doused with chocoalte sauce & ice cream, always taste good. If the baker allows you to eat it cold, you know it's a winner! Sorry, too much musing here cos I last ate & baked this last xmas!! So, you can understand ya?

Here's some of my festive bakes to for this year. Sadly, these were all I could afford to bake this year. Made only 6 trays of brownies... (compared to before... this is only about half).

My Gingerbread House/Men & Chocolate Chip Cookies & Fruit Cake were not possible as I didn't have enough time. Hopefully, by next year I can resume my full Xmas Baking. But, it was good to be baking again, indeed therapeutic!

My usual X'mas Log Cake instalment - Rum infused Chocolate sponge with rum-soaked dark cherries covered with medium soft Dark Chocolate Ganache. Got a feeling, the family getting quite sian of this combo liao... But so far, they are not complaining or saying anything so I just continue... kekek!

Purple Food

Needed to replenish puree for Kimi, so after our brekkie at Kovan this morning, I hopped over to the wet market to get some fresh supplies.

Was snooping around for the stuff that were running low when I spotted some purple sweet potatoes!! So cute cos normally those at NTUC, it's the orange coloured ones. Even the Japaneses ones are only purple on the outside and not inside. So I quickly grabbed some. While choosing, I had a sudden impulse to make a batch of ondeh ondeh as I was craving for some.

Plus, also added some new tastes for Kimi : zucchini & sweet pepper. Don't know if he will like it?? Try lor, anyway he needs to be exposed to as many tastes as possible. Also picked up an Australian Pumpkin, so cute & small - just nice for Kimi!

Kimi's New Food - Washed, cut & ready to be steamed!

Sweet Potatoes Puree, ready to be frozen

Since, I'm at it, must as well share my ondeh ondeh adventure and recipe. You will notice that I do quite a bit of agaration as that's how I cook - I just feel it and many a times, I really don't know the exact measurement. But, I'll try next time to write it down.

And I do alot of shortcuts - what with a screaming bb in the background, simply don't have time on my side. Nevertheless, hope you will enjoy this simple and easy (albeit time-consuming) snack!

Recipe

Ondeh Ondeh Skin
- Approx. 400g glutinous rice powder
- 4 medium sized sweet potatoes
- 1 cup of Pandan Juice (I put 1 bunch of Pandan leaves & 1 bowl of water into blender & strain it afterwards)

Filling
- 2 rolls of gula melaka

For Finishing
- 1 grated fresh coconut (get those that have the brown skin peeled)
- 1 tsp of salt

Method :

1. Sift flour into a large bowl, reserve a cup and place in another bowl


2. Add salt to the grated coconut and place in fridge


3. Steam sweet potatoes


4. While steaming, chop up the gula melaka and set aside. Do not leave large chunks, best to use a 'shaving' method as this will ensure that filling will be melted when cooked.


5. Once sweet potatoes are ready, mash lightly & add to flour together with the pandan juice


6. Knead all ingredients together until it forms a pliable and soft but not sticky dough. If still sticky, add in the flour that was set aside earlier, bit by bit till manageable.


7. Boil a pot of water


8. Shape dough in balls, then push in the centre to form a well. Put in gula melake and carefully close dough and roll lightly into a ball.


9. Once water is boiling, add the balls in. When the balls float, remove with strainer and roll balls with the grated coconut.


10. Serve immediately & ENJOY!