lamb cutlets with mango salsa

lamb cutlets are my favourite cuts
the meat is tender
its thin and quick to cook.
mango is one of my favourite fruits
so yup I have decided to put them together as an experiment
lamb cutlets+mango=delicious!

Lamb cutlets & mango salsa

6 lamb cutlets
herbs
olive oil
salt & pepper

1 large ripe mango
1 small red chilli, finely chopped
2 tsp fish sauce
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp palm or brown sugar
1/3 cup coriander leaves (torn)

1. For salsa, peel and chop 1 large ripe mango and place in a bowl with 1 small red chilli (finely chopped).
In a separate bowl, combine 2 tsp fish sauce, 1 tbsp lime juice, 1 tsp palm or brown sugar and stir until sugar has dissolved.

2. Pour dressing over mango and chilli mixture and toss to combine.
Add 1/3 cup coriander leaves (torn), stir and set aside.

3. Brush both sides of 12-16 lamb cutlets with olive oil and season with salt and cracked black pepper.
Cook on a preheated hot barbecue or chargrill 2-3 minutes each side or until cooked as desired.

4.Serve cutlets topped with mango salsa.

And I made ice cream cake for Xiu's bday! LOL

lamb shank with creamy mash potatoes

I have always promised Xiu that I will be making shanks for him... one day

but never did. :(
When it ws his birthday I decided what better time to do it.
even though it just hit summer,
knowingly Melb weather is alway mixed up,
its was cold and wet in December.
I haved used this recipe a few years ago.. funnily it was around this time with Ben, Pin and Gary
It turns out great and it still did after a few years later.
This lamb shank recipe is definately a keeper.
Its easy but its not a quick one.
Takes 3 hours to wait but I didnt need to do anything much.
Leave in the oven and wait for the 'im falling off the meat' and 'then melting in your mouth' experience
and it is worth it.
The only work that you need to do
is rub a dub dub ur tummy after the meal.
Enjoy.

Creamy mash potato
4 medium size potatoes, cleaned & cut in quaters- yes skin on!
80g butter
60ml milk
salt &pepper
paprika powder

1. Placed potatoes in simmered water. cook till you can poke a fork through.
2. Drain the water out. pour in milk and toss in butter. With a potato masher, mash the potatoes till its nice and smooth.
3. Season the mash.


Lamb shank

4 lamb shank
1 cup plain flour
olive oil
1 large red onion
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, peeled & chopped
1 red capsicum, seeded & chopped
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
2x 400g tin diced tomtoes
1 cup (250ml) red wine
1 cup (250ml) beef stock
2 bay leaves
3 springs thyme
salt & pepper
2 tbsp chopped parsley, to serve


1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Coat the shank in the flour, dusting off any excess. Heat olive oil in a deep dish casserole. Add the shanks and cook until brown (not cooking the inside). Remove from pan and set aside.
2. Add more olive oil and toss in onion, celery, carrot, capsicum & garlic. Top with the browned shanks then pour over the tomato, wine, stock and herbs and season. Make sure you cover the shanks with all of the ingerdients. I would add more stock or wine to do so.
3. Cover with aluminium foil or a lid and transfer to the oven for 2-3 hours ( the longer the better).
You would know when shanks are ready when the meat is soft and is easily falling off the bone.
4. To serve, spoon some mash on and place shank on top. sprinkle some chopped parsley on top.

Untie Pat's foolproof brownies

I made some brownies for Bianca's coktail party

its easy
its fast
its adaptable-you can throw in whatever you want in it
and most importantly its idiot proof

Untie Pat's Brownies

142g cooking choc (you choose-dark/milk)
115g butter
2 eggs
150g caster sugar
85g self raising flour
1teaspoon vanilla essence
salt
Optional: nuts/fruits/choc bites of your choice


1. Melt choc with butter bran marie over low heat
2. In another bowl, beat eggs until thick then add sugar
3. Stir in the cooled melted choc
4. Add vanilla

5. Stir in sifted flour and salt
6. Add your optional ingredients

7. Pop in the oven- 180C for about 20 mins




I ended up making 4 different kinds of brownies that night
one with sliced almonds
one with pecans
one with dark choc bites
and another with dried blueberries that Amy got from Cosco for me
That night i used milk choc-because that is what i had in my cupboard
but i find that when i do use dark choc with milk choc bites
it turns out way way richer

HOME

I flew to home couple of weeks ago for about 3 weeks

i think i ate pretty much most of the food that i crave for
and when i say eat- that means none stop eating action
most of the time i eat them up and then realizing that i should be taking picture first
but by then they are all happily swimming in my tummy

.black seseme bean with lotus seed.
moon cakes are a sweet treat.
the only problem i find that the whole wide world much prefer yolk in it
im the only normal one who don't :)
i love the most is black bean with lotus seed inside.
its chewy stick in the mouth texture is a pure delight for me
i cont get here in melb- well its hard to find like i said because all the weird ppl who enjoys yolk in their cakes



.pan mee soup.
ooooh i love this. this shop only sells this noodle. obviously in both dry and wet but the wet seams to be the most popular one.
the wait is half an hour but f during office hours it would be about 1 hour or maybe more.
which i dont know how office ppl could go out for their one hour lunch and wait for more then an hour for their noodle soup.
the noonle is not really a long skinny noodle, its hand made with rice flour. so you will get flat long ones and short flat ones.
the soup is made of just a simple ikan bilis and moni leaves with a heapspoonful of ajinomoto
serve with crunchy ikan bilis, shitake mushroom and mince meat.
(think im gonna try making this soon soon-drools)

.ice kacang.
ooh i cannot tell you how dissaopited i am when my favourite penag ice kacang stall in Gaint was no longer there. so we had to look for alternative :(
This is from Oriantial Cravings in 1Utama
i would give a 6-7 out of 10
i still crave for my Gaint ice kacang
sob sob

I did had the best wan tan mee which melt in the mouth: as my dad would say it
did a trip to thailand which i enjoyed eating the mango sticky rice


imagine one whole mango sliced with stiky rice and a drizzle of coconut cream



.pulut.
my grandma makes this for me every year for chinese new year. its a glutinous rice which
she put beans in it to create a different texture to it. she then wraps it in a palm leave to make a triangle shape.
pull the bottom side of the tiangle and dip the rice cake in condensed milk.
i think i had 10 during my trip to kedah
.kao yum.
kao is rice and yum is NOT yummy but when you mix them all the ingredients together
i love this (by now you should realise that im a food junkie)
first you pour in the brown-blackish sauce over the rice- so that the sauce would absorb into the rice rather then coating your vegies
then you put in the rest-whatever you want to your liking.
The main ingredient is the rice, sauce, dried shrimps which has been finely blended and dried fried coconut.
the rest of the stuff would be cumin, serai (lemongrass), bean sprout, ulams (malaysian herbs), chili, and a squeze of lime.
there is no meat involve so i guess its a vegetarian dish then.
..........................

i would need to post up soon.
some one is requesting for my tiramisu recipe as well as the choc moooossss

tarts! tarts! tarts!

I have always love tarts
egg tars
fruit tart
nut tarts
cream tart
choc tart

however the only problem with these delicious tarts are the case itself
i think its more of being afraid of doing it
its always tedious and very time consuming
I went to sydney and had this amazing walnut tart and craving for it
so obviously i had to do it. i have not found a walnut tart just like that around melb.

Click on people's faces in the photo to tag them.

so my only challenge was to look for a oh-so-simple-but-foolproof tart case recipe
i found in smittenkitchen.com with a great unshrinkable sweet tart shell
its a basic method however it require a 2 hour fridge set to the dough.

i am not going to put in her tart shell recipe (trying not to get into trouble here) :) so just click on her website or the link.

She had a walnut tart recipe as well but hers require a baking process which i do not want. i wanted a quick pour and yummy mini tartlets. also i didnt want my caramel to be bubbling and pouring out of the shell and making a mess in my oven. So i had to look for a caramel recipe. It seams that most recipe requires a lot (and when i mean a lot - 4 cups of sugar lot lot!!) so yes. i dicided to make my own caramel.


Mini Caramel Walnut Tartlets



1 recipe Great Unshrinkable Sweet Tart Shell by SmittenKitchen.com, cook as directed

Fillings:
2 1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup water
2 table spoon honey
2 table spoon golden syrup
1 cup thicken cream
800g walnut

1. Bake tart in 12 muffin tray until brown and put aside to cool
2. Meanwhile heat sugar and water in a small sauce pan until melt in low heat
3. when sugar has melted turn the heat up. Sugar will start to bubble. wipe sides of the pan with baking brush regularly
4. as the sugar thickens, and changes colour, pour in honey and golden syrup and boil for 5-7 minutes.
5. pour in cream and remove from heat when it starts to boil.
6. pop in couple of walnuts into each shells (half full)
7. pour in a spoonfull of the hot caramel into the half-filled-walnut-shell.
8. fill the shells up with the remaining walnut into the shells. then pout in the remaining caramel
9. leave the tart to cool. preferbly in the fridge.
10. eat

I think with all of the tart making process- this shell is worth it. It was messy at first having to roll the dough to fit into the muffin tray. When eating, tart seams less crumbly then usual which is great. We had the tartlets without haviing to allow the caramel to set- which result in a very messy tea session (inclusive of Xiu licking the plate)
I love the caramel being not too sweet. and the thing with caramel you cant really taste it-it will burn your tongue! so its more towards instinct.

I can tell you a heads up. if you are not a baker-this recipe is gonna take the whole day and heaps of patience.
Worth it? hell yeah.

something cake-ish

i had a morning craving

something sweet and cake ish

fool proof chocolate truffle cake
-i had this recipe for a very long time. a cut out for a newspaper which i can no longer remember.-

150g dark choc
45g caster sugar
90g butter
5 eggs separated
10g (about 1 tbs) wheaten cornflour [i couldn't find one so i used 1 tsp plain flour + 1 tsp corn flour]
90g caster sugar, extra

1. preheat oven 160 degrees C
2. melt choc, sugar and butter- bran marie
3. whisk egg yolks with wheaten cornflour.
4. in separate bowl, whisk egg whites and slowly pour in extra sugar until they form a fine meringue texture, with soft peaks.
5. whisk choc mixture into egg yolks until evenly dispersed.
6. gently fold in one quater of the whites into the choc mixture, then fold in the choc mixture into the remaining egg whites until combined.
7. pour cake mixture into baking tin and bake for 40 mins.
8. cake will puff right up and the sink in the middle when cools.
9. i have a boyfriend who loves cream on top with anything so if you have one just like i do a dollop of cream- which i actually prefer jus the cake and maybe a heapful of dust of cocoa.

....................................

i have a little secret

im very picky when it comes to muesli bars
very very picky


i dont like those with yogurt
i cant bite the crunchy ones- coz of my jaw (long story)
some are too small- because they are high in sugar with choc or peanut and they need to make sure its a recomended serving intake per bar. thus small bar means ill be hungry before my morning tea break.
i dont like coconut in them
they sometimes get too sweet- which yes i dont like
i dont like apricots-which most basic muesli bar do have.


i found a brand that i love however im getting bored of my breakie in the train options
A: banana
B: the one and only brand of muesli bar that do i eat

so with all my pickyness i sometimes make my own muesli bars-loaded with dee's goodness.
i can reduce the sugar when i think its too sweet
i can throw in whatever i want
and i can cut them as big as i want to.
thus i call this:

Dee's muesli bar

basic dry ingredients:
2 cups of rolled oats
2 cups of puffed wheat/rice bubbles- i prefer puffed wheat because rice bubbles are high in sugar

options/choice of ingredients:
1/2 cup of chai seeds
1 cup of macadamia nuts half/quaters
1 cup of dried figs
1 cup of dried mango
1/2 cup of goji berries

melted mixture ingredients:
4 table spoon of honey
4 table spoon of peanut butter
125g of butter

note: the only thing that you need to keep track is the option dry ingredients need to be in ratio. too much of dry stuff will be too crumbly. too little will be too hard.
note2: with the melted mixture- if your dry mixture is not sweet, add brown sugar till your prefered sweetness. my dry ingredients have figs and mango which is sweet anyway.

1. mix all the dry ingredients into a large bowl
2. combine honey, peanut butter and butter in saucepan. heat until melted the simmer stirring constantly for 5 minutes or until mixture is thick and caramel in colour.
3. pour in honey mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well.
4. press evenly into a baking tin. i cut out baking paper and press down with my hands rather then using a spoon.
   
5. refigerate until firm before cutting.
6. store in fridge.
   

cravings

im craving for a big slap on da face.
something spicy
something that burns my tongue and lips all together.
i need sichuan soon soon!!



this is a must must. im actually craving for this more. spicy sweet eggplant!

you may cringe when you see this but i love it. its not only hot because it jus came out of the wok but its fried with dried chilles which infused into the fried chicken. careful- the trick is to not have the chicken to touch your lips coz by the time you reach out to your fifth chicken, you cant feel your lips no more!



soon soon!! Xiu lets go!

rasp cheesecake brownies

chai ying's birthday was 2 weeks ago and i have decided to bake a cake for her
i wanted to try something different-something less cocolaty
and yummy all over.
I bought a fantastic book

delicious: sweet

i have tried a few recipes- and so far have yet to fail me.
so i found a raspberry cheesecake brownies- prefect. i feel like cheesecake and im still craving for brownies- plus not forgeting that its all about me and baking for a friends' birthday cake

Raspberry cheesecake brownies

200g dark choc-chopped
200g butter-soften
250g + 150g caster sugar
5 eggs
11g plain flour-sifted
400g cream cheese
1tsp vanilla extract
125g punnet raspberries

1. Preheat oven tp 170degress C. Grease a square pan.
2. Melt choc in a bran-marie until smooth then set aside to cool slightly
3. beat butter and 250g sugar till pale and thick
4. add 3 eggs. one at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. stir in the melted choc then fold in the flour
6. spread the mixture onto the pan.
7. in a saperate bowl, beat eggs, vanilla 150g sugar and 2 eggs till smooth. then spread over the base.
8. poke the raspberries on the top and bake for 40-45 mins. (i baked it a little longer which made the brownies a little crumbly)
9. Eat.

Somehow when i baked it didn't look and feel right. my base mixture was too hard to spead. my cheese mixture was lumpy. but it turn out great. so i didnt expect it to turn out so well. the chocolateness of the brownies just complimented the cheesy soft cheese but wait for it- wait till the raspberry bangs into your mouth. :)
I never did like baked cheesecake. always prefer a fresh fridged ones. and this cake reminds me of that. missed my oreo cheesecake- perhaps ill do one soon.

MART 130

last weekend was our aniversary so we have decided to rent a car and go off somewhere nice and quiet.
and those who know me well breakfast is my favourite meal.
so i had to find somewhere nice and new to try
went online and found great reviews about MART 130
which the name came from 'tram' reading backwards and '130' is the tram stop
most reviews rave on about the corn fritters and the poached eggs.
so yes off we went to look for it.
little did we know that the cafe is actually literally right in front of the tram stop
it is a old station master's building- thus having that old classy feel to it.


and in the reviews also mentioned sitting outside for the beautiful view of Albert park
sure enough on a really windy day the place was jam pack with people both inside and outside
and we managed to grab a sit on the bench
i ordered the corn fritters bacon stack
xiu ordered poached eggs with smoked salmon
5 minutes later i got my latte and xiu got his tea in this beautiful vintage tea potlooking around each and every table would have a beautiful corm fritters stack and im starving
we waited for half an hour for our breakie to arrive- a little too long. the lady beside us had her fritters when we paid and left!

but the fritters is worth the wait

I never did like corn fritters- they are always chalky and by the time you finish one fritters, the next is always swallowed down by my latte
however with this one, you can taste each and every sweet corn and with the crunchy slighty burnt bacon is fantastic.


Xiu's poached salmon was jus as good.
avocado spread with tangy salsa on the top to balance the smoky salmon


I would give a 8/10 for breakie
my latte was a-ok. i like mine a little bitter and thicker- 7/10
wait i think was a little long. perhaps with the crowd however i have been to places with a jam pack place and fast service with great food.
would i go again- yes when i crave for corn fritters.
price? both was 16.50 each- which was really expensive
all in, corn fritters stack, smoked salmon with poached eggs, eng breakfast tea and a latte: 40.30

Chapter 1

once upon a time there was a girl
who lives in a tiny cottage in a far far away forest
she loves her freshly grounded coffees
cakes with fantastic cream cheese
gourmet food
mix pesto
macaroons
crunchy bread
sticky puddings
tangy lemon slice
and salty peppery calamari

she loves them all
and shes learning to cook them all

she squeak when she see Nigela Lawson bran marie choc and cream together
so this girl decided to try along and put together things that she love, enjoy and have passion for