Easy Pizza on a LAZY Sunday evening

It was a Sunday evening and I did not feel like doing a lot of cooking nor do I want to dress up and go out for dinner or buy takeaway.  I was very lazy and just wanted to flop on my couch and watch a movie with my Quay Lo. I had some tomato sauce which I made a few days ago and a last piece of ready made pizza dough in the fridge. Those two were perfect for preparing an easy and quick dinner.  It only took me 30 mins to get the pizza ready to be served.  I served it on paper plates and we ate our meal with our fingers. The most thrilling part for me is no dishes to wash. Oooo I loved it!! I didn't think I could have done any better at being lazy could I? LOL!

Ingredients:

(A)

½ cup black olives, sliced
1 tbs thinly sliced sundried tomatoes,

5 cloves thinly sliced garlic

1 medium onion thinly sliced in rings

1  8-in ready made pizza dough

(B)

1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Ingredients for the sauce:

½ tsp chopped garlic

2 shallots, thinly slices

1 can plum tomatoes (drain off ½ the juice)

1 tbs tomato paste

½ bullion chicken stock

½ tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp olive oil

Method to prepare the sauce:

Heat oil and sauté garlic and shallots till fragrant. Add plum tomatoes and juice. Break up the tomatoes as much as possible with your ladle.  Lower hear to  medium and let simmer for about 10 mins. Add chicken stock, ground black pepper, sugar and tomato paste.  Mix well and side aside.

Method to assemble pizza:

Brush the sauce onto the pizza dough and add (A) and top with grated mozzarella cheese.  Bake in the pre heated oven at 220 degrees C or 450 degrees F for 10 – 15 mins or when the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted.

Mad grape cake lived up to its name

This recipe was sitting in my “not posted” folder for a long time and I had completely forgotten about it. When I was doing housekeeping on my laptop this morning, I found it. Tell 
me this is not a sign of old age. LOL!

The grapes used in this recipe were part of a gracious fruit basket gift from Reese of Reese Kitchen when she came to lunch at my home a few months ago. (Do drop by her blog to see all her mouth-watering bakes). A few days after the lunch meet, the grapes had begun to look unnoticed as just Mum & I were home. I began to look at grape recipes in the hope to find one that I could use up all the grapes in one go. BINGO!! I found this cake recipe submitted by Sharlene. This is the most simple cake to bake that uses lots of grapes. Yes, LOTS! 500gm! The only tedious thing to do is to remove the skin from each grape. I googled on what is the best way to peel the skin. I found a method to do so. Click here if you are interested to know. After a boring half hour peeling off the skin from each grape (YAWN), it was painfully accomplished. The rest that needed to be done was a no brainer. What I like about this recipe is, there is no oil, shortening or butter used and and it also featured much less sugar than many other cake recipes. One might expect the cake to be dry and dense without any fat used but surprisingly it came out moist and tasty. This is one healthy cake to bake if you want one that is low in sugar and calories. Equally surprising was that my mum loved it. I will definitely make this for her again because I know why she enjoyed this cake so much. She does not take any butter or any food with butter as an ingredient. So 
this one is her kind of cake

Adapted from Sharlene’s recipe

Ingredients:

2 eggs

3/4 cup castor sugar

1 tsp Vanilla Essence

1 lemon - rind and juice

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour

500 grams grapes (seedless and remove skin)

Method:
Preheat oven to 200 deg C. Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla essence, lemon rind and juice until thick. Add sifted flour. Stir until evenly mixed. Gently stir in grapes. Put in a greased and floured 23cm round tin. Reduce oven to 180 deg C and cook approximately 30-40 minutes. Leave for 3 minutes before turning out. Dust with sifted icing sugar.

Note: For those who do not mind the calories, serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Bak Kut Teh (Pork bone tea soup)

Few months ago, Sonia of Nasi Lemak Lover gave me few packets of  Bak Kut Teh (BKT) herbal mix and only yesterday I finally got to use it.  Sonia, thanks again for being so thoughtful.


My mum had made this dish many times in the past with BKT herbal mix that she bought from the Chinese Medical hall but the taste of the soup made from Old Grand BKT herb mix has a distinctive difference. The soup had a stronger “dong quai” taste which is the most important ingredient in Bak Kut Teh soup. “Dong quai” is an herb that has been used for centuries in China. It has a strong celery-like odor and a sweet taste. This herb is believed to have balancing effect on the female hormonal system but taken in high doses, may increase your sensitivity to sunlight and cause skin inflammation and rashes.  "Dong qui" takes three years for the plant to reach its maturity and maybe this is one reason why it is expensive. Most commercial ready made BKT herbal mix contain very little of it but in the case of Old Grand BKT mix, there is a right amount in it and that makes the soup perfect.

With the instruction clearly printed on the packet, it is so easy to do.  I followed the recipe but I added a stick of sugar cane and the outcome is mouth-watering worthy. When the soup and pork ribs were ready, I added two sheets of "foo juk" (bean curd sheet) before I serve the dish with "youtiao" (deep fried strip of dough). If I have some straw mushrooms, I would have added those too. You may add other ingredients like "tau pok" (fried bean curd) or even lettuce. BKT sold outside has all kinds of pig's internal organs which I prefer not to put in mine. LOL!


Note: A tip from my mum. - blanch the pork ribs before cooking them in the Bak Kut Teh soup to get a good texture and by doing so it will eliminate the porky smell. 

Method:

Honey-Lemon Rack of Lamb - Thanks to all the tips and advice from fellow bloggers!

If you remember, the first time I attempted to make a braised lamb shank, it was a disaster. Then, I received lots of tips and advice from fellow bloggers who were experienced cooks and they helped me solve my problem. They were so generous in sharing their knowledge with me. My "Quay Lo" has often said that my stubbornness has a good side, and that is that I don't give up easily. Like everyone, I have had my share of curve balls in the past and have been taken by surprise more than I can recall. I think I have found that stubbornness, or perhaps a better word is tenacity, leads to persevering over obstacles. However, the trait can be a two edged sword. In the face of an obstacle that is impossible to overcome, stubborness is stupid. There can be virtue in knowing "when to leave". In military terms this is "strategic withdrawal". While this idea is not unknown to me, believe me, there were many times I was stubborn to the point of stupid. I admit that I wondered if this was a case of doing that, but all the wonderful tips and advice from you steeled me to go at it again. I am so glad that I did. I think I got it right this time and I definitely learned along the way. My hubby says the most lasting lessons we learn come from trying and failing, and trying again. HOORAY!! The featured recipe today, with it's crusty pecan on the outside, and the tender lamb inside, is a match made in heaven. I proudly declare that this is a keeper lamb recipe. Try it!

Honey-Lemon Rack of Lamb featured 

on AFC (Offcial Facebook page on 

19 July 2012

Adapted from Diana Rattray recipes

Ingredients:

2 racks of lamb, 4 to 5 ribs on each

2 large cloves garlic, peeled and cut in thin slivers

½ tsp salt

1/2 cup honey

1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

6 tbs lemon juice

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp lemon zest

1 tbs fresh chopped mint leaves

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

Method:

Heat oven to 325°F or 160 degree C

Cut small slits all over the lamb and insert garlic slivers. Place the racks, bone side down, in a shallow roasting pan. Roast for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, combine honey, brown sugar, lemon juice, and garlic powder in a small saucepan. Heat, stirring, over medium-low heat, until sugar is dissolved; remove from heat. Stir in lemon peel, mint, and pecans. Spoon the honey mixture over the lamb. Continue roasting, basting occasionally, for about 30 to 45 minutes longer, or to about 160°F. on a meat thermometer for medium.

Note: To use a meat thermometer, insert it in the meat so that the tip is in the center of the meat and not touching bone or the roasting pan.


Bagel egg sandwich - No recipe required

A simple and healthy “brunch" put together by my Quay Lo.  No recipe required. Just toast the bagels, apply some butter and assemble omelette and a piece of cheese of your choice and serve with salad.  The omelette and salad used here are left overs from our previous meals. A delicious way to use up left overs don't you think? Notice what the prints on the cover of the magazine say? "Work Hard, Play Harder". With meals like this, we sure have lots of time to play harder! LOL!