ROSEVELT is one step nearer to their DREAM because of YOU!!

This is not a food post but a post to express my GRATITUDE to my family, friends, my facebook friends, my bloggers friends, both my readers (active and silent) who have voted for ROSEVELT.  I would also like thank those who does not have a facebook account, but have send their well wishes to ROSEVELT. THANKS A GAZILLION!


My Quay Lo too would like to thank you all.
Quote:
"A big THANK YOU to all of you that continuously have supported Nick's band, Rosevelt, in the recent two rounds of on line voting. The result of the effort is that Rosevelt goes into the final round holding a strong first place position. Now Incubus themselves must decide which band wiill open their Kuala Lumpur concert on July 23rd. Go to the Curve today (Sunday) at 2:30 pm when the top five hammer it some great alternative indy rock at the Laundtry Bar. The final decision will be made on July 22nd and announced at a press conference with Incubus. Thank you, thank you, thank you. No matter what happens now the, the fans, family, and friends of Rosevelt have spoken loud and clear, and shown our support for all of their hard work. ROCK ON ROSEVELT! http://www.roseveltband.com/

Mothers will do anything for their children

Mothers will do anything for their children. They will always put them before themselves. They will sacrifice for them and ask nothing in return. Their children’s dream is their dream too. Now, my son, Nick’s band ROSEVELT is one of the top 5 bands competing to be the opening band for the famous rock band from USA, INCUBUS.  In order to get there, they need votes from people who has a facebook account and SMS votes from TUNETALK’s subscribers. TUNETALK is the organizer of the INCUBUS concert.  My only way to help them attain this dream is to appeal to family members and friends to vote for them.  Can I bribe those of you who have a facebook account to cast them a vote with these cookies? Please click on the picture below to go vote for them. I am sure Nick and his band mates will be very grateful to you because you can help them realise their dream with just one click. Thanks a Million!

Rosevelt came out as Rank No.1 for 1^st round of voting on the top 10 bands. Now they are Rank No.2 on this round Top 5 bands voting. This time is very crucial that they get to be rank no.1 to receive 6 points and the other 4 points will come from INCUBUS. Voting close at 12 mid-night on 16^th July 2011.

http://apps.facebook.com/tt_incubus/index.php?tttg=8

Linzer dough cookies

Dough recipe adapted from Chef Lejuene of The Academy of Pastry Arts Malaysia

The first time I ever tasted tarts with a linzer dough crust is at the tart class in The Academy of Pastry Arts Malaysia. Thanks to Chef Lejuenne for the introduction.  I have made cookies with this dough and it taste as awesome as the tarts.  They truly taste as good as they look!  This will be the second recipe from The Academy Pastry Arts of Malaysia I am sharing with you.  They are more to come so check back when you have the time.

Ingredients:

500 g all purpose flour

334 g butter

250 g icing sugar

84 g almond powder

17 g cinnamon powder

2 g baking powder

2 g vanilla essense

25 g milk

37 g whole egg

Method for dough:

Combine all the dry ingredients and sift. Put sifted mixture into the mixer and add butter.  Mix at medium speed till sandy in texture. Add eggs and knead for 1 minute. Divide the dough in half and shape into two rectangles about 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) thick. Wrap the two rectangles of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm (at least one hour and up to several days).

Mehtod of making the cookies:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Remove one rectangle of dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough until it is about 1/4 inch (1 cm) thick. Using a 2 to 3 inch (5 to 7.5 cm) cookie cutter of any shape to cut out the dough. Place the cookies about 1 inch (2.54 cm) apart on the prepared baking sheet. Use a smaller cookie cutter (3/4 - 1 inch) (2.5 cm) to cut out the centers of half of the cookies on the baking sheet. Later you will be sandwiching two cookies together and there will be a small 'window ' in the top cookie to expose the jam underneath.

Reroll any scraps and cut out the cookies. Remove the other half of the dough from the refrigerator and roll and cut out the rest of the cookies. Bake the cookies for 12 - 14 minutes or until they are very lightly browned. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

While the cookies are cooling place the raspberry jam in a small saucepan and heat gently until it has thickened slightly. Strain if there are any lumps in the jam. Let cool.

To Assemble Cookies: 

Place the cookies with the cut-outs on a wire rack and lightly dust the tops with the icing sugar.

On the bottom surface of the full cookie (top of cookie will face out) spread with about a 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of jam.  Place the cut-out cookie on top and gently sandwich them together, making sure not to smug the confectioners' sugar.  Using a small spoon, fill the cut-out with a little more jam.

Note: You can store the unassembled cookies in the refrigerator for several days in an airtight container. It is best, though, to assemble the cookies the same day as serving in order to keep the cookies crisp.

Quay Po's meat is Quay Lo's poison

I have not had this dish for umpteen years! How did that happen? This is one of my favorite dishes. Aah, I know, out of sight, out of mind.  My Quay Lo does not quite like “Sotong”, he said it is like eating rubber. LOL!  There are so many Chinese dishes that mum and I like that my Quay Lo will not touch.  To name a few, sea cucumber, chicken feet and pig’s ears.  I agree with him that these things have not much taste on its own but when it is properly cooked with nice ingredients and spices, they taste awesome. I am sure many Asian friends will agree. I told him what we love is the texture, which is exactly what he hates. I can understand that because we are different, we came from different heredity. I will not try to convince my Quay Lo to like what I like to eat because one man's meat is another man's poison. 

Kung Pao Sotong (Cuttlefish)

Ingredients:

20 dried chillies, soak till soft

3 cloves chopped garlic

500g sotong (cuttlefish), cut

2 tbs light soy sauce

1 tbs oyster sauce

1 tbs dark soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tbs chilie sauce

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp corn flour, mixed with 2 tbs water

2 tbs cooking oil

½ cup toasted cashew nut

Method:

Toast cashew nuts and set aside. Wash and cut cuttlefish. Heat wok, add oil, stir fry dried chillies at low heat till turn to dark color and fragrant. Add in garlic, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, chilli sauces, sugar and sesame oil, stir till mix well. Add in sotong (cuttlefish) and stir fry over high heat till sotong (cuttle fish curled up). Add in the corn flour mixture, when it’s thicken, add cashew nut and mix well. Dish up and serve. 

Note: You may want to add, capsicum and green onions, I did not use them because I am out of it and I am lazy to drive out to buy. Sorry:D

Hot! Hot! Hot!

I am sure like these jalapenos, we were once hot! hot! hot!  Fortunately for me, my mum is a very opened minded Chinese lady and she is one person who has no fear of gossips.  No amount of gossips will stop her doing what she thinks is right. I salute her!


Do you all remember back in the seventies, where hot pants, bell bottoms, bell sleeve shirts, micro mini skirts, bare backs and black boots were in fashion?  Yours truly was the first Chinese girl with long black hair, I mean really long till my waist, in my neighbourhood who wore all of the above. Mind you, my mum had received ear full from relatives, friends and neighbors that she should not allow me to dress indecent. I heard complains like "Aiyah, why you let your daughter wear like that?" or "Choi!! Why at the back got no clothe one, so "yoke suen" (ugly looking)?" Why can't these "No. 8s" (When we call someone No.8 in Cantonese it means we regard the person a busybody) mind their own business?  Even my father was furious with me and had a big argument with my mum saying that she is too permissive. The truth was he could not stand to hear gossips. Honestly, people who could not overcome the fear of gossips will be upset all the time. I am glad I am like my mum, maybe not as cool as her but I am seldom being affected by gossips. 


I love the 70s, it was the best era in my life time. There were so many great songs and great fashion.  Here are some fashion of the 70s and I had them all in my wardrobe once upon a time. What about you?

Pictures from www.70scostumes.com

Now, are you ready for the genuine HOT stuff that are equally eye pleasing as the fashion above and at the same time give you one hack of a gratifying eating experience?

Stuffed Jalapeno peppers

Largey adapted from food.com with modification

Ingredients:

Servings: 6-10

12 -24 large jalapeno peppers

16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

 4 large garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup finely chopped sun-dried tomato

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt

1 lb bacon
some cherry tomatoes 

toothpick, soaked for about 15 minutes in water

Method:

Mix cream cheese, garlic, sundried tomatoes, cilantro and salt until well blended. Set the mixture aside . Slice the jalapeños lengthwise, then slice at the top along the width of the pepper just about a quarter inch below the base of the stem until you cut through the core, again being careful not to cut completely through the pepper. Now you need to decide whether you want to keep the seed webbing for those that like it really hot, or remove them for a lot less heat. If removing the seeds, gently remove the core using a paring knife by spreading the pepper carefully, you may need to shake some of the remaining seeds out. Pat dry on paper towels the strps of bacon.  Just to soak up some of the grease. Fill either a pastry bag and pipe some of the filling into each pepper until full but still able to almost close the pepper. Wrap each pepper with a strip of bacon then use two or three toothpicks to secure the pepper closed. Place the jalapeños on a medium heat grill and cook until the bacon is crisp. you'll need to turn frequently to heat them evenly. Let them sit for about 5 to 10 minutes and serve with some cherry tomatoes.

I find ways to improve my life as I grow older

I find that as I grow older, I do not like crowds and noisy places. I like staying home more, especially on the weekends.  Are these signs of old age?  Oh well, age is just a number right? What is important is that we do not feel old and yes, I know it is easier said than done. My psychologist friend said that fear of growing old will only speed the very decline we dread most. She advocates that we recognize and accept the aging process and all that goes with it as a reality and a natural part of the life cycle.  She recommends that we explore ways to improve our life.  I think these are good advice. So, one way I did last Sunday to improve my life was,  I had a relaxing weekend.  I went  for a nice massage in the morning and returned home for a quick simple yummy lunch.  If you have any more ideas to improve life as we age, do share with me. 

I did not do well with this meal. I overcooked the eggs and over baked the biscuit. If I did everything right, this is a fantastic dish. The flavor is awesome.  What is most special is the addition of the pickled shallot to it. It gave a whole new dimension to taste of the omelette. So I did not cook a perfect lunch but that does not upset me at all. I am practicing not sweating the small stuff and I had a wonderful weekend.:)

Chorizo potato omelette with biscuit

Largely adapted from JamieOliver.com

This recipe was featured on Asian Food Channel (Office) Facebook page on 3 September 2012

Ingredients:

1 medium potatoes, scrubbed and cut into chunks

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 eggs

1 Spanish chorizo sausage, cut into 1cm thick slices

10 fresh rosemary leaves

2 shallots, peeled and very finely sliced

1 tbs lemon juice

½ tsp sugar

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

10 or 12 mint leaves

Method:

Preheat your to 250 degrees C. Put the potatoes into a saucepan of boiling salted water and simmer them until cooked, then drain in a colander and leave them to steam dry. Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl, season well with salt and pepper to your taste, and put aside.

Heat a ovenproof frying pan. Add the chorizo slices and the potato chunks. When everything’s lightly golden and crisp, remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and put aside.  Sprinkle the rosemary leaves into the hot fat until crisp. Pour the beaten eggs on top immediately, adding the potatoes and chorizo and spreading everything out evenly. Place the whole pan in the preheated oven until the omelette is golden brown on top and just cooked through in the middle.

While the omelette is cooking, put the shallots into a bowl with the lemon juice, some salt and pepper and a glug of extra virgin olive oil. Toss and pinch the shallots with your fingertips to soften them slightly, then mix in the mint leaves. Serve a little on top of the omelette with biscuits and gravy.


I am bringing this dish to 'Friday Potluck' July, hosted by  Girlichef.

I also brought this dish to "Fun in the Sun' hosted by I Heart Cooking Clubs.

Ruguh-Love's cousin, Ruguh-Crush

I first saw this dessert at the Picnic Game 2011 hosted by Louise. Yummychunklet brought this with her.  First of all, I was attracted to the name, Rhubarb Ruguh-Love and then I was intrigued by the photos of this dessert.  Rhubarb Ruguh-Love is a twist from the Jewish pastry, Rugelach which has a cream cheese pie crust with fruit preserves and nuts filling.  However, I am not too fond of cream cheese pie crust and so I only adapted the idea of the housing the filling in croissant shape dough. I made the filling with thinly sliced rhubarb and strawberries, omitted the nuts and wrapped with the sweet pastry dough. This is a dough recipe I learned from Chef Lejuene from The Academy Pastry Arts Malaysia last weekend at the tart class. I love this recipe because it gave a crust that was very light, tender and flaky.  It also had a glorious butter flavor which is heavenly. The method used is so simple even an amateur baker like me can do it. I am sure it is a piece of cake for many of my friends and readers who are experienced bakers. There are more recipes that I learned from Chef Lejuene that I will eventually share with you, so let this be the first. For now, you can use this recipe to make all kinds of pies and tarts. Let your imagination run wild and come out with your own creation and please don't forget to share with us.

Since, the original idea is from Rugelach and I adapted the twist from Ruguh-Love, I would like to call mine Ruguh-Crush! So if you have a crush for someone, send him or her this dessert and when asked what is the name, say Ruguh-Crush. Hint! Hint! /blush

Ruguh-Crush

Ingredients:

For The Coating
adapted from mathastewart.com

1/2 C plus 1 tablespoons sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

113 g unsalted butter, melted

Sweet Pastry Dough

Adapted from Academy of Pastry Arts Malaysia’s recipe

Ingredients:

250 g all purpose flour

150 g unsalted butter

5 g salt

125 g icing sugar

2 eggs

For The Filling

1 C rhubarb, thinly sliced

1 C strawberry, thinly sliced

1 1/2 tbs sugar

3 tbs flour

Method:

Sift flour, salt and sugar.  Cut butter into small pieces. Mix flour and butter by hand till reaches sandy texture. Add eggs and knead for 1 minute. Divide dough into two and form dough into two disc. Keep in the fridge for 2 hours.

Unwrap 1 piece of dough and place on a floured work surface. Roll into an 11-inch round and, using a pizza wheel, cut into 8 equal wedges. Repeat process with remaining pieces of dough.

To Fill: 
Spread 1 level tablespoon rhubarb and strawberry mixture on each piece of dough. Starting with the long side of the triangle, fold corners in toward the center and roll up each piece to enclose filling. Repeat process with remaining dough.

Make the coating: 
In a small plate, mix together sugar and cinnamon. Dip each ruguh-crush first in melted butter and then in sugar mixture to coat, pressing on open ends to enclose. Place on a baking sheet with lied baking paper, 1/2 inch apart. Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees F or 175 degrees C for 30 minutes or until browned. Let cool for 30 minutes before serving. It taste very delicious with either whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

US Independence Day

Guest post by "Quay Lo" (Gary Davis)
Growing up in Oklahoma, in a post WWII, working class home, and being a statistical component of the great global generation known as the baby boomers, has, no doubt, served to shape who I am. Looking back I think I would be tempted to describe my youth as somewhat idyllic with an almost clichéd existence. Home was, in a physical sense, a small, brick & frame house built on a tract along with several similar homes. Perhaps the only unusual fact about our home was that the land had been purchased by the developer from a native American from the Osage tribe, but in every other way, it was an ordinary house, on a typical middle American street. Houses like ours exploded in number after WWII. My parents, of Ohio and Oklahoma pioneer stock, chose to expand the home as our family grew, rather than join the rush to the newer suburbs of our booming town. Those expansions were built by my father, with his own hands, using the experience of a lifetime in the carpentry trade. One such expansion involved tearing down a brick outerwall, to make way for the addition of a new room. I was young at the time so that my job assignment was the menial task of chipping the mortar away from the old bricks and reclaiming as many as I could. Waste not, want not was the rule in my family, set by parents with vivid memories of the great depression.  Still, the implied promise of the "want not" side of that equation was always fulfilled when it came to truly needful things. I was always well fed, clothed, and shod (even though that meant occasionally in hand-me-down shoes from an uncle). I cannot recall ever feeling deprived or poor, and a generous, caring household was my, and my siblings, great fortune to grow up in.
Life in those early years was marked by seasonal cycles of recurring themes. School days that signaled the end of Summer, played out through Fall, Winter, and Spring, and were punctuated with the holidays. My life, in recollection, seems like a blur of Church services and Sunday school,  boy scout activities, music lessons, school plays, newspaper delivery routes, barber shop visits, bus trips to downtown, family dinners, school books and homework, leaf raking that gave over to snow shoveling, Saturday matinees at the movie house nearby, listening to my crystal radio that was shaped like a rocket, with a thumbwheel dial that could tune in Chicago radio stations, lunches packed in a tin box that was decorated with enticing pictures of the Lone Ranger and his sidekick Tonto, long weekend drives into the countryside with my parents, class trips to museums, were among the highlights. Each year we looked forward to the heady days of summer. The summers of my youth were intoxicating in their sense of freedom, and childish joy. It meant days of  explorations, bicycle trips to the country side, freshly cut lawns, iced lemonade,  fishing trips with my father, and the joy of just lying on our backs to watch the clouds float by. That sheer exuberance reached its apex with the Fourth of July celebrations and that meant primarily one thing to me. Fireworks! I had an unfortunate preoccupation with blowing things up in those days, even though my parents never, ever, allowed us to possess the means to indulge that childish fetish. All of my pyro-maniacal pursuits were by neccessity clandestine, and along with a few neighborhood friends, conducted with the utmost secrecy. For a period of a few weeks, there was no tin can, no  cigar box, and no sweaty hand, that was safe. We exploded everything, and boldly did so anywhere as long as we deemed it far enough from prying adults eyes. Of course, we wanted to keep our backsides safe, while lighting our imaginations of great battles fought with valor. At the time, I did not truly understand what we were acting out. Our youth was regaled by movies and TV serials depicting victorious American soldiers, in heroic, and largely fictionalized accounts of violent encounters with evil people. Today, my parents refusal to entertain us with fireworks, to the extent of not even taking us to the legitimate firework displays that blossomed on the Fourth Of July,  seems to have been a form of wisdom. The glorification of armed conflict is highly misplaced. War is anything but glory to me now. And today I am more consciously a citizen of the world, in addition to being an American. It is a much troubled world by all accounts. Without doubt the events of the more recent past four decades have tested America's resolute commitment to democracy, even more so than the misguided Vietnam conflict that preceded them.  And I am a different person than the starry eyed youth of so many years ago, seeking glory in faux battles. However, in spite of those tests, and in spite of slipups by relinquishing ourselves to fear mongering politicians with dubious agendas, I find that the core resolve still stands strong. I am not making any apologies for American policies nor am I beating a drum and waving a flag. We all understand that nationalism is a two-edged sword, and can be a force for evil as well as good. Most of us are aligned with the latter and vilify the former.
Today we all live in a world where we may be forgiven for thinking the balance between good and evil is more precarious than ever before. It seems that everyday brings new headlines, screaming of atrocious behavior. Is it that we no longer have our youthful naiveté and are now more aware of consequences, or is it that news dissemination is much more efficient than during our early years? I think the answer is at least partially, yes, but I find no solace in that.
These thoughts, and many more, have roiled through my mind over the past several years. One is never more conscious of being a patriot until one becomes an expatriate. It is a paradox, to be sure, but in my own personal accounting of who I am, and where I come from, I know at least, that I love my country, more so now than in any time in my life. On this, her 235th birthday, I wish her the strength and resolve to adhere to the founding principles from which we started.  
With these thoughts in mind, I was surprised when my loving wife presented the following to me. She knows that there are times of the year when my roots call to me. While lovely cupcakes are a little less showy, and less noisy symbol of celebration than the Independence Days of my youth, it is perhaps time for a more contemplative, wary, and quiet celebration of the endurance of true American ideals. And now it is also a time to soak up the warmth of my wife's love.  


 Cupcakes with butter cream frosting

Ingredients:

250 gm butter

190 gm castor sugar

4 eggs

150 gm  self raising flour

35 gm plain flour

120gm  sour cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

Beat butter & sugar with mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in egg one at a time. Fold in shifted flour and sour cream. Scoop batter into cup cake paper cups to slightly more than half.   Bake at 180 degrees C or 375 degrees F for about 15 - 18 mins.  Remove from oven and let them cool on the wire rack.

Plain butter cream frosting

Ingredients:

250g butter

3 C icing sugar

3 tbs water

Method:

Have butter at room temperature. Place butter in an electric mixer and beat until butter is as white as possible. Gradually add sifted icing sugar, a tablespoon each time and beating constantly. Mixture should be smooth and easy to spread with a spatula. Add water icing until frosting is of a spreadable consistency. Continue beating until the frosting is silky.  Divide into 3 portions and add in color. Pipe your favorite design onto the cup cakes after they are cool completely. 


Note: Keep remainder butter cream frosting in air tight container and keep in the fridge. It is good for 2 weeks. Whip it again before use.