Quay Po's FIRST Cooking Class

I would never in my wildest dream thought that I will be invited to conduct a cooking class. I would like to thank Tania of Pantry Magic for giving me this opportunity.

Before last July, don't ask me to cook or bake, I was not interested. It is only when I started "Quay Po Cooks" to document my mum's and my Quay Lo's recipes that I began to pay attention to cooking and baking. Oh, and blog? What do I write about that anyone would want to read? I am not even a good writer. How would I know that in the process of seriously learning cooking Chinese cuisine from my mum and Western cuisine from my Quay Lo that it now became a second passion for me? My first is still dancing. What kept this passion for cooking and baking is actually the whole package. It is the result of delicious food,  the nice food photos, the positive comments and support I received from my family, friends, my blogger friends and my readers and the opportunity to meet some great friends all over the globe who share the same passion. I am here because of your continuous encouragement and I have to say “Thank you” again and again to you  for your friendship and being with me on my culinary journey. 

A shout out to those who do not know how to cook or bake but want to and are afraid to. DON'T talk yourself out of your interest!  Go into your kitchen and start now and you will be so happy you did. You will find yourself entering in a new world of self satisfaction. If Quay Po can do it, anyone can! It takes only a little time to start understanding the basics.

I am eager to share with you my experience of conducting my first cooking class in Pantry Magic, Bangsar last Sunday.  The morning before the class, I was rather nervous. I was afraid that I would not be able to deliver a good demontration. To my surprise, it went very well. I was much relieved that the “Lucy” in me was in hiding (wipe forehead with a sigh). If you are a new reader and wonder who “Lucy” is, read this old post of mine).  What is more I had my blogger friend, Sonia of Nasi Lemak Lover there to lend moral support and help me. Finally, I was very fortunate to have extremely friendly, nice people who attended my class.  It was more like a “Sunday hang out” rather than a class. We were chatting and laughing like old friends.  While waiting for the food to be ready, my  new friends were chatting amongst themselves and enjoying the little treat I brought for them. I made some “Maca-rights” the day before and brought with me to the class.. Yes, there were those with my roasted chestnut filling.  

Everyone commented that they were delicious and all noted that they liked them because they were not so sweet. Everybody who has tasted my macs with the roasted chestnut filling (including those who did not like macs due to their normal ultra-sweetness) said they enjoyed this combination. Sonia’s daughter loved it so much, she ate two! Click on the picture if you want the recipe. 


Points made by my attendees that I needed to take note of were what they liked about my class. They liked that I shared with them all the “Dos and Don'ts” and that I highlighted the useful tips on each recipe. They felt by knowing that, they were better equipped to try the three recipes on their own at home with a better chance of success. 

Although I was not familiar with the kitchen tools and the behavior of the oven at Pantry Magic, the food came out perfect and received positive comments from all the attendees.  Come to think of it, it is quite a good deal to attend classes in Pantry Magic. You only have to pay RM150.00 to learn three recipes and you will receive a RM50.00 discount vouchers (valid for 1 year) from them. You get a delicious meal and got to take home some delicious meat loaf, mashed potatoes and chocolate chips cookie dough. Also, you get to meet nice people. Isn't that worth it?

Both Tania of Pantry Magic, and especially the attendees, were very happy with the class and they said they looked forward to another in the near future.  That was so awesome! By the way, if you are somewhere in Bangsar, you might want to pop into Pantry Magic. The shop is a haven for those who love cooking and baking.  Here is the link to their website and you can browse through the products they carry. It is indeed a cool place and there is not one item there I don’t want to own.

One of my attendees, Tina Muhd is a Pilates Instructor. She said I should organize another class on baking and she will teach us how to stretch while waiting for the bakes to be ready so we will not feel so guilty. LOL!  She is so cute.  If any of you who reside in Kuala Lumpur, would like to take private Pilates class with her, you can contact her at her mobile 0162393923 or by email at breathingpilates@gmail.com.  From the short encounter with her, I find her to be a friendly and warm person and fun to be with.  If I were to take up a private class in Pilates, I would definitely go to her.

As I was busy conducting the class, I had no time to take any photos. I'm so grateful to Sonia who took some photos and she has shared her experience at my class and the photos in her blog. Click on "her blog" to go check it out. Here is group photo taken by her after the class. 

Thanks so much for your help Sonia. I so very much appreciate your presence and your help. MUAXXX!!  I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed yourself and it was great to see your daughter enjoying the food so much.  She is living up to the reputation of a Food Blogger Mummy's daughter! LOL! I am looking forward to see your post on the class and all the other photos that you have taken.

Here are the three recipes that I shared in my class last Sunday, which I would like to share with you today. I have posted two of the recipes before but here are the improved versions.  The improved meat loaf recipe was given to me by my Quay Lo but he could not remember where he got it so he could not give credit to the source. He said he had made some modifications to the original recipe. This one is to die for because the meat came out SO flavorful! For the mash potatoes recipe which was adapted from Linda Larsen, I have made further modification to it to get a more even silky and smooth texture. Lastly my late mother-in-law's American chocolate chips cookies, this too, I have changed the portion of white and brown sugar and the oven temperature to yield an even more chewy texture.

Pardon me for using the old photos for the recipes because I did not take any during the class.

Classic Meat Loaf

Ingredients:

1.5 kg ground beef

4 tbsp vegetable oil

2 onions chopped

6 cloves garlic minced

1 green pepper finely chopped

4 stalks celery chopped

3 eggs beaten

120 ml cream

150 g soft breadcrumbs

4 tbsp ketchup

2 tbsp brown sauce

1 tbsp chilli sauce

1 tbsp paprika (preferably smoked paprika)

2 tsp salt

½ tbsp ground black pepper

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C or 375F, or gas mark 4. Heat the frying pan and add the oil. Put in the onions and let them cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the celery, the green pepper and the garlic. Stir it all together and cook until soft. Then remove from the heat. Transfer the softened vegetables onto a tray and allow to cool for a few minutes. Place the beef into a large bow and add the ketchup, the HP sauce, the chilli sauce, the beaten eggs, the cream, the breadcrumbs, the paprika, the salt and pepper. Use your hands to combine it all together, squeeze and fold to ensure that everything is thoroughly mixed. Then add the cooled vegetables and mix them in thoroughly as well. Take handfuls of the meat mixture and press them down into the loaf tin. Continue to fill the tin until all the meat is used. Finish off by molding the top into a loaf shape. Place the meat loaf into the centre of the preheated oven and cook for approximately 1hr – 1hr 15mins. After this time, remove it from the oven. Allow it to rest for at least 15-20 minutes before cutting. Once the meat loaf has been removed from the tin, place it on a cutting board and cut into thick slices, using a large knife. It can be served with mashed potato, accompanied by horseradish sauce, mayonnaise, mustard or your favorite brown or cream sauce.

Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

2 lbs of russet potatoes

1 tbs salt (to put into the water)

85 gm unsalted butter

1 C warm milk

salt and freshly ground black or white pepper, to taste

Method:

Place the potatoes in cold water. Bring water to boil on medium heat. Lower heat to low and let simmer and cook potatoes until fork tender or about 25 to 30 mins. Drain potatoes and return to the same pot and let the residual heat in the pot to dry out the potatoes. Transfer to the mixing bowl. Melt the butter in a sauce pan with 1 cup of milk. Add the butter and milk potatoes in mixing bowl and mash them with a masher, potato riser or electric mixer. Add salt and freshly ground black or white pepper to taste.

Useful tips:

1)  Start with cold water to allow for more even cooking.

2) NEVER use a food processor to mash potatoes. 
  While it  seems like a good idea to make short work of the job, the extremely high speed at which the blade spins literally smashes the starch granules, and what you end up with is a gluey, starchy, nasty mess.

3) If you want lighter mashed potatoes, whisk them or use a mixer. If you like dense, smooth mashed potatoes, use the ricer. The texture of your mashed potatoes are really all about the tool you choose to use.

American Chocolate chips cookies

Ingredients:

2 eggs

2 sticks (8 oz.) butter soften

1/3 C granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

(A)

2 ¼ C all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

(B)

1 C packed brown sugar

½ C oatmeal (raw)

2 tbs corn flour

Method:

Put (A) in a bowl and mix well and set aside. Put (B) in a blender and blend till fine. Beat fine blended mixture (B), butter, granulated sugar and vanilla extract in a large bowl with the mixer until creamy. Add eggs and beat well. Gradually add mixture (A) mix well. Stir in chocolate chips and mix well. Wrap the dough in cling wrap and chill in the freezer for 1 hour. Just before baking, preheat oven to 160C or 320F. Cut dough and form into golf ball size and place onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 18 - 20 mins or until lightly browned. (Note: this depends on your oven, mine was perfect at 18 mins)  Cool slightly and remove cookies to wire rack to cool completely before taking out of the baking sheet.

Note: Keep cookies in an air tight container and store in the fridge for balance not eaten. It becomes more chewy the next day.

Save money, make your own

There are a few Malaysian readers who wrote to me and asked where they could buy lemon pepper. I think it is very hard to find this item in the marekt.  I have seen them on the shelf, in the spice section, in Village Grocers many months ago. The price was so expensive (RM10.00 plus or USD3.30) that I decided against buying. The first time I tasted lemon pepper was when one of my girlfriends gave me a small jar of the spice. I fell in love with it. I think she brought it back from Australia. This spice combo is so versatile, and can be used as a rub for all kinds of meat, poultry or fish. You can also use it to spice up your soups and stews. A little will be good enough to enhance the flavor of almost any savory dish.   I recommend that you make your own which is so easy to do and I am sure it will be much better than store-bought. It is less expensive too.

When I met up with Small Kucing's "mamarazi" (If you want to know where to eat good food in Kuala Lumpur, you have to visit this blog) last month, I gave her a small bottle of my lemon pepper and she has used it to marinate chicken wings. In her post, she said the chicken wings tasted good. In fact Small Kucing’s "paparazzi" said they should have put more lemon pepper.  In return, I got this “Keropok Sotong” (Sotong crackers) that was brought back all the way from Trengganu (an Eastern state in Peninsular Malaysia).  Thank you very much "Small Kucing a.k.a. mamarazzi"! 

I have yet to fry them because I want to share it with my step brother.  I am waiting for his next visit. He loves anything with sotong (cuttlefish) in it.  Small Kucing’s mamarazi was so generous. She shared some of the lemon pepper I gave her with another of our blogger friends, Suituapui of Still Crazy All These Years. (On days where you feel bored or depressed, go visit his blog and I guarantee you that after reading a few of his posts, you will feel better, no need to pay RM200.00 an hour to a psychologist lah. It is free laughter therapy). Suituapua said he is waiting for his daughter to return home from abroad and let her use the tangy pepper to cook some Western cuisine and we will soon know the verdict.  For those who have asked me where to buy lemon pepper, don't buy it, save money, and make your own. So here is the recipe if you too want to test-taste it. Since Christmas is around the corner, you can make this spice, put them in some small recycled glass jars that you have sterilized in boiling water, tie a ribbon to it and use it as gifts to family and friends. Gifts made with love are more meaningful, don't you think?

Homemade Lemon Pepper Seasoning

Adapted from Simply Scratch with modification

Ingredients:
6 large lemons

1/3 cup of crushed pepper corns (black and/or medley)

1 1/2 tsp chilli flakes (optional)

1/4 cup kosher salt

Method:
Zest all the lemons. Mix the zest with roughly crushed peppercorns (using a mortar & pestle). Spread out on parchment lined baking sheet and bake on lowest setting until the zest is completely dried (approximately 80 C). Add the lemon-pepper to a spice grinder and grind until desired texture. Mix with the kosher salt and store in an airtight container for up to a few months.
A note on reusing containers:
Be sure that any jars you use have been properly sterilized. Following a thorough hot water & soapy wash & rinse jars should be boiled while completely immersed in water, for at least 10 minutes.  Metallic lids should also be boiled. Jars with plastic lids generally should not be reused unless a thorough, hot water wash  and rinse followed by a second soak in an anti bacterial solution (such as a 10% bleach 90% sterile water solution for 8 minutes) followed by a second hot water rinse.
Best candidate for reuse for spices or chlli sauces, jams, chutneys, & other preserves are baby food jars that have been sterilized per above. More on this topic at http://bit.ly/vAgGw4. I would love to have a source for baby food jars with metallic lids (hint - hint). My baby days are over.

When a man grows older, his balls get smaller

When I was heading a Sales team for one of the Manufacturers in building material many years ago, we used to have long boring meetings every week. That is the part of my job that I disliked the most because there are times I had to struggle to stay awake, let alone stay focused. I remember at one of the tedious long hours monthly meetings, my General Manager noticed that all of us were very bored and sleepy, especially me. After a presentation made by the Factory Manager, my GM turned to me and asked, "Veron, do you know that when a man grows older, his balls get smaller?" Everyone in the meeting room were shocked by what he said. Ah ha! I can see you giggling! Don’t be dirty minded. What he meant was, when male are boys, they play football, basketball, soccer, rugby and other games that involved bigger balls but as they grow older, they usually play golf which is a very small ball by comparison. That immediately made everyone laughed out loud and awaken. I think my GM was very clever and I admired his sense of humor. For those who wants to know how to liven up boring meetings, here are some tips from an article I read sometime ago:

Quote:

1. Spill some coffee on the meeting table. Produce a little paper boat (that you have prepared earlier) and sail it down the table.

2. During a meeting, each time the boss makes an important point, (or at least one he/she considers to be important), make a little noise like you are building up to an orgasm.

3. Stand up and act indignant. Demand that the boss tell you the real reason this meeting has been called.

4. Sneak some french fries into the meeting room. Every time someone beings to complain about something or bring up past problems or grudges, place a chip on your shoulder, literally, and roll your eyes obviously in front of your colleague.

5. Give a broad wink to someone else at the table. In time, wink at everyone around the table. Sometimes shake your head a little, as if to indicate that the speaker is slightly crazy and everybody knows it.

6. Bring in a laptop and vigorously pretend to transcribe the meeting. Tell people to speak slowly and one at a time during discussions. Type with two fingers.

7. Answer questions or speak to your co-worker in a different language. Keep a straight face and pretend not to understand when he/she replies in English.

8. Bring a small mountain of computer printouts to the meeting. If possible, include some old-fashioned fanfold paper for dramatic effect. Every time the speaker makes a point, pretend to check it in one of the printouts. Pretend to find substantiating evidence there. Nod vigorously, and say "uh-huh, uh-huh!"

9. Bring a hand puppet, preferably an animal. Ask it to clarify difficult points.

(If you're up for a real challenge, let the puppet be Sweep, the dog from "The Sooty Show" - his voice is a kazoo, so everything he says has to be repeated back to him as a question so other people can understand!)

10. When there is a call for questions, lean back in your chair, prop your feet up on the table, smile contentedly, and say, "Well, here's the way I see it, J.B..." (or any other impressive-sounding initials that are not actually your boss's.)

11. Take a buzz-word bingo card into the meeting. Everytime a typical phrase is used by the boss, such as "think outside the box", "client focussed" and "value added", cross it off the card. Yell "Bingo!" excitedly when you have crossed sufficient squares. Then sit down, blatantly take out a fresh card and look at the boss eagerly for him to continue while you have your pen poised in hand to cross of buzz words again. 

12. Complain loudly that your neighbour won't stop touching you. Demand that the boss make him/her stop doing it.

13. Make everyone some name plates and put them in front of where they are sitting. When they are not looking, swap them around and ask them to change seats.

(A variation on this is to swap name tags around with your colleagues just after everyone has sat down. This is particularly effective to confuse a guest presenter. He won't know why everyone is smiling!)

14. Make some fake handouts without the boss knowing. Hand them around the room before, during or after the meeting. Make sure the content is completely irrelevant to the meeting being held.

15. Pretend to fall asleep. Snore once so everyone can hear, then wake up suddenly and blurt out an opinion angrily to the speaker rebutting what was just said with supporting evidence. Then close your eyes and lean back in your chair calmly.

16. Bang loudly on the table with your paperwork at a random point during the meeting just to make everyone jump. Pretend you got the fly.

17. Stay behind as everyone else, including the boss, leaves. Thank them for coming.

Try any of the above but please don't come look for me when you get fired! LOL! 

Few days ago my Quay Lo made some very delicious balls. They are the marshmallow popcorn balls.  These balls are nice sweet crunchy snacks and can be a great item to include for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Marshmallow Popcorn Balls

Adapted from Allrecipe.com

Ingredients:

3/4 cup light corn syrup

1/4 cup margarine

2 teaspoons cold water

2 5/8 cups confectioners' sugar

1 cup mini marshmallows

5 quarts plain popped popcorn

Method:

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the corn syrup, margarine, cold water, confectioners' sugar and marshmallows. Heat and stir until the mixture comes to a boil. Carefully combine the hot mixture with the popcorn, coating each kernel. Grease hands with vegetable shortening and quickly shape the coated popcorn into balls before it cools. Wrap with cellophane or plastic wrap and store at room temperature.

My mum recommends this for Thanksgiving

Back in the 60s, I don’t think there is such thing called Fusion food, is there? From what I read, Chinese food was introduced to America in the mid-19th century. Other Asian food like Vietnamese, Japanese and Thai cuisine were not known to most American diners, not until the 70s. It seemed this is when fusion cuisine emerged. Fusion cuisine are interesting because they are usually exotic and special in their taste just like this Roast chicken recipe that I am about to share with you. The Chinese goose liver sausage enhanced the flavor of the roast chicken as well as the flavor of the vegetables that were roasted together.  The taste of this roast chicken is unique and truly exotic. I get great reviews from all my guests. 


Mum and I used to chat in our kitchen a lot. Just yesterday, we were talking about what to make for this Thanksgiving and I told her I wanted to make fusion roast chicken again since I still have some Chinese goose liver sausage in the freezer but then this is such a rich and sinful dish. I asked my mum why most sinful dishes taste so awesome? Guess what my mum's answer to my question? She said, "If the food taste awesome, eat it. No need to stay away from sinful dishes. As long as we eat everything moderately and do regular exercises, we should be fine and I am a good example!"  Aiyoh, my mum so proud of herself...I "beh tahan" (cannot stand) LOL!  She recommends you to consider trying this recipe for this Thanksgiving too but she said, "Eat at your own risk!" I laughed my head off from her remarks. She is a piece of work! 

Roast Chicken with goose liver sausage, 
sweet potato and carrots

Ingredients:

1 x 1.5-2kg/3lb 5oz-4lb 6oz free-range chicken

2 medium carrot

1 medium purple sweet potato

1 tbs lemon pepper

small bunch of fresh thyme

1 tbs ground oregano

1 tbs duck fat

zest of a whole orange

3 pcs Chinese goose liver sausage

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.

Place chicken, potatoes, carrots and goose liver sausage a roasting pan. Rub olive oil, lemon pepper and ground oregon all over the chicken. Insert a sprig of thyme into the cavity of the chicken. Paint duck fat on potatoes, carrots and chicken. Tie chicken, refer to link how to do this. 



Cover the chicken loosely with foil and roast in the oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the foil and remove the goose live sausage and set aside. Return the chicken and roast for another 20-30 minutes and reduce the temperature to 160C-180C/320F-350F. It's fully cooked when the juices run clear when the bird is pierced in the thigh with a skewer. 

Turn off the oven and let the bird rest in the residual heat for at least ten minutes. Remove from the oven, then carve.

Make you favorite gravy with your pan juice. I made brown sauce with it.

Serve the carved chicken and roasted goose liver sausage, potatoes and carrots on a large platter and serve with gravy on the side and crusty bread.


Note: if you cannot find Chinese goose liver sausage, use other kind. I think it will still taste good.

Speaking of LOVE

We went to Rome for a holiday in 2000 and we had a great time there. Time flies and eleven years just passed by!

Famous saying, "In Rome, do what the Romans do" just did not apply to me as far as food was concerned when we were there. I remembered I survived my whole trip on bread and pasta. I ate penne pasta in spicy tomato sauce with lots of chilli flakes and NO cheese, for almost every meal.  We found this little family Italian restaurant that we both like. It was a cosy little place with friendly faces. Each time, we were there I ordered the same thing and always reminded the waiter to tell the chef that I want extra spicy hot. I guessed the chef got curious about this customer who always asked for more chillis. He finally came out to greet us and see who this hot stuff is. I am sure he was disappointed when he saw this little, very ordinary looking"Kampung" Chinese lady. LOL! He was such a friendly guy and he chatted with us like old friends. No wonder Italians are reputed to be very expressive and warm people. So this is not just in movie but in real life too. Then, the last night, before we returned to Malaysia, we went there for dinner for one last time. After our dinner, the boss of the restaurant and his manager came to greet us and gave us a big hug. They even walked us to the door and ordered a taxi for us when it was time to leave. They wanted us to take a photo with them and we did.  

The memory of how easy a hug was given by a stranger makes me want to share with you the speech from the late Italian doctor, Dr. Leo Buscaglia. My Quay Lo sent me this link a few days ago.  I did not expect to watch the whole series at one go but I did. Here is a link to Part 1 of 6.

↵ Use original player

Leo Buscaglia -Speaking of Love pt 1 of 6

By KathyN

YouTube

• 360p
• 240p FLV

← Replay

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i

I enjoyed his speech very much so I was hooked on it until I finished all 6 parts of the series. I could feel a lump in my throat and tears welled up in my eyes throughout listening to what he said about love. He had also written a book called LOVE.  From an article I read, A young reader of the book, Silvana Rosati-Capizzano wrote, “Leo was a University professor by profession. He had an idea for a new class to add to the curriculum. He wanted to introduce a university class on "LOVE". When he pitched his idea to the dean, and with much discussion it was accepted, (after much criticism), but only if he did it on his own time, without load credit and without a salary. The idea seemed ridiculous to the other professors. He ignored the ridiculing and forged ahead with this great idea. The idea was not embraced by many students but slowly and steadily, enrollment increased. It had to be eventually capped at 100 students.

These were students of all ages interested in "Love Class". They shared ideas, feeling and observations that was relevant to the human condition. Although they were never really able to define love, one student did come up with a wonderful explanation:

"I find love much like a mirror. When I love another, he becomes my mirror and I become his, and reflection in each other's love we see infinity!" Isn't this definition beautiful?

There are those that dismiss love as a naïve romantic concept while others find love all encompassing and the greatest, deepest feeling that is meant to be given away. Which one are you?

Did you listen to at least the 1^st part of his speech? Isn’t he amazing?

There is so many ways to share love and I know one sure way is through food.  I did not replicate the spicy penne pasta I had in that family restaurant in Italy but I made my own version. I used my fusion spicy tomato sauce.  Mine is super "All'arrabiata"!!  In Italian, it means "angry style" because of the heat of the chillis. I shared my love through food and even in an "angry style", there is lots of love in it. Enjoy!

Penne Pasta in Quay Po's fusion pomodoro sauce

Ingredients:

penne pasta

pamesan cheese to taste

fusion pomodoro sauce (click on the picture for the recipe)

Method:

Add a teaspoon of  salt to a pot of water and bring to boil. Cook penne pasta till el dante about 9 minutes. Drain water and pour fusion tomato sauce over it. Add parmesan cheese and serve with freshly baked crusty bread.

Notice I did not give you the measurement for the penne pasta?  I don't think it is necessary.

Dust to Dust

Did it occur to you that as you grow older you are less house proud? I did not realize it until I received an email from Darlene (my step daughter’s mum) one morning. This was what she shared with me. I thought it is worth sharing so please spend sometime to read it. This is SO TRUE! My house is more dusty now, I have figured it out finally, have you?

QUOTE:

"A house becomes a home when you can write 

'I love you' on the furniture .  

I used to spend at least 8 hours every weekend 
making sure things were just  perfect - 
'in case someone came over' 
Finally I realized one day that no-one came over; 
they were all out living life and having fun!

NOW, when people visit, I don't have to explain the 'condition' of my house.

They are more interested in hearing about the things I've been doing while I was away living life and having fun.

If you  haven't  figured this out yet, please heed this advice. Live is short, Enjoy it.

But  wouldn't it be better to paint a picture or write a letter,   bake cookies or a cake and lick the spoon or plant a seed,   than ponder the difference between want and need?

Dust if you must, but there's not much time....

with wine to drink , rivers to swim and  mountains to climb ,   music to hear and books to read, friends to cherish 
and life to lead.  

Dust if you must,

but the world's out there with the sun in your eyes, the wind in your hair, a flutter of snow, a shower of rain.  This day will not come around again.  

Dust if you must , but bear in mind, 
old age will come and it's not kind...

And  when you go - and go you must - you,  yourself will make more  dust!

It's not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what  kind of life you have lived."

So now, stop dusting and go bake yourself a carrot cake. It is so simple to do.This cake is rich and moist. The grated carrot with nuts, raisins and spices give the cake a great flavor and when covered with a tangy and sweet cream cheese frosting, it taste DIVINE! Have a slice with a cup of hot coffee or tea. Relax and ENJOY!

The recipe was posted last year and I believe many of you have missed it. When we had a bloggers gathering early this year at my home, Sonia of Nasi Lemak Lover and her kids, Reese of Reese Kitchen and her daughter, Swee San of The Sweet Spot and Pei-Lin of Dodol Mochi all have tasted my carrot cake and loved it.  Sonia of Nasi Lemak Lover baked this cake sometime this September with some modification to the cream frosting and she was very pleased with the result. Recently, Mel of Through the Kitchen Door baked this too and said she finally found THE carrot cake recipe after trying a few others. For those who are still looking for a tested and tasted easy carrot cake recipe, seek no more, this is it!

Bake if you must, click on the photo below to get the recipe. 

Carrot Cake 

Happy Deepavali!

Deepavali always reminds me of my high school best friend, Santa. I found this photo of us when we were 14 years old.

Unfortunately, we have lost touch. I remembered her mother was an excellent cook. Santa has 6 sisters and no brothers. I used to spend my school holidays in her home and her mum will make me tosai and chicken masala when I was there because she knew I love it. During my working days as a Secretary to the Managing Director with a French company, I used to wear sari to work quite often. I had five sets of sari of various colors. To me, sari is one of the most elegant attire for a woman. Ladies who would like to know how to tie a sari, click on the pic and it will bring you to a video tutorial which is very easy to follow.

Today is Deepavali and I wish to dedicate  this chicken masala which I cooked some time ago, but did not post it yet, to all my Hindu friends and readers.  I wish you all a Very Happy Deepavali.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Recipe adapted from Meeta Kurana

Ingredients:

Marinating the Chicken:

3-4 boneless chicken breasts, skins removed and cut into bite-sized pieces

250g thick natural yogurt

1 tbs fresh ginger, minced

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp chili powder

2 tsp fresh cracked pepper

1 cup curry leaves

1 onion, cut into six portion

Salt to taste

Skewers, If using wooden skewers completely submerge them in water for approx. 30 minutes. This will hinder them from catching fire while grilling.

Tomato Gravy:

250g canned cocktail tomatoes

250g heavy cream

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 red chilies, finely chopped

2 ts ground cumin

2 tsp paprika powder

1 tbs ghee or clarified butter

Salt and pepper

Method:

 Mix all of the ingredients for the marinade in a large bowl. Thoroughly mix until the chicken is nicely coated. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

On the next day, either prepare your charcoal grill or heat up the grill function of your oven to high.

Thread the chicken pieces onto the skewers, discarding the marinade. Grill the chicken evenly on all sides, until juices run clear – approx. 5-6 minutes.

To prepare the gravy, heat a sauce pan to medium and melt the ghee/clarified butter. Sauté the garlic and chopped chilies, curry leaves and onions until fragrant. Sprinkle the ground cumin, paprika powder and a pinch of salt. Sauté for a further minute or two until the mixture turns into a paste-like texture.

Pour in the canned tomatoes, scraping the bottom of the skillet to deglaze it and to release any bits stuck to the pan. Simmer uncovered for approx. 10-15 minutes on low heat until the sauces begins to thicken, then add the grilled chicken pieces and cream. Simmer for a further 10 minutes, thickening the sauce further. Pour sauce over grilled chicken pieces.

Serve sprinkled deep fried red chillis and steamed Basmati rice or fresh naans and pickles.

Note: I did not pour sauce over chicken because it is easier  to photograph the chicken itself.