Merry Xmas & A Happy New Year 2009

Helloooooo! I've been MIA for 3 weeks. That's a loooong time in blogging years :) Apologies but I've been busy of late. My colleague Nads ordered some cuppies for her engagement last week and Nicko for Xmas. Kind, kind people they are :) It's been a whirlwind adventure so far, thanks to supportive friends and Facebook! Posted some pictures on it and next thing I know, I'm making cupcakes for sale.

I'd love to stay and go on a barrage of stories, so many things to share with you (like BunsInTheOven :))! But alas, I can't be too long here, gotta prepare some toppings for May's order. Her wedding is on the 31st and her 'guo dai lai' or delivery of bethrothal gifts is this Saturday. Instead of the usual cakes, she's opted for cupcakes. Btw, she's having a black and pink wedding how cool is that?

Ok, here are some pictures of Nad's cuppies and a sneak peek at Nicko's. The Xmas cupcakes are basically what you saw on one of my earlier posts. But this time I made sure that I used a mixture of gumpaste and fondant. And oh, to add HANDS for the snowmen!

Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year my virtual friends, may 2009 be everything you ever wish for and more!

Lap Cheong Fried Rice

Do you like lap cheong (chinese dried sausage)? TW & I lurveeee them. It's one of those dry food stuff that we stock up, because it's real handy when you run out of ideas on what to cook. You can add them to omelette, stir fry leek, fried bee hoon (rice vermicelli) or just steam them with white rice if you're just too lazy. But my personal favourite is to add them to fried rice. The sweet and savoury taste of the lap cheong gives an additional kick to the dish and you won't really to add a lot of other ingredients, just some eggs and vegetables. And if you're really really lazy or don't have much time to spare, use Adabi Chinese Fried Rice powder. It tastes reaalllyy good!

Ingredients (serves 2-3)

• 2 cups of rice, best to use leftover
• a handful of french beans, chopped
• 2-3 bird's eye chilly, sliced
• 3 sticks lap cheong, soaked in water for a few minutes, cut the top off a little, remove the casing and sliced diagonally
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten and seasoned with a dash of white pepper
  
• 1 packet of Adabi Chinese Fried Rice powder
• some oil

Method

1. Heat enough oil in a wok and fry eggs, scramble style. Dish out and set aside.
2. No need to clean the wok, add in lap cheong and fry till desired state of crispness. Drain and dish out. And oh, please do not throw away the melted lard that remains in the wok, no matter how much your conscience tells you that it's not good for you. That's the BEST part.
3. Add french beans and chilly, fry for a couple of minutes till vegetables start to wilt.
4. Put in rice, followed by lap cheong and eggs; add some oil if you find it too dry.
5. Sprinkle chinese fried rice powder over rice and toss till everything is mixed evenly. Add a dash or two of dark soy sauce if you like.
6. Tuck in!

chinese fried rice and a bowl of watercress soup

simple and satisfying

It's The Time of The Season

Christmas is just around the corner! Even though I don't observe the religious aspect of it, I embrace every other bit of this wonderful celebration. It's yet another season for food, gifts and lots of love. I took the opportunity to channel all of them into something that I could think of; cupcakes!

I started baking early in the morning and left the vanilla and choc cupcakes to cool while I prepared the decorations. All the figurines were made with 100% fondant, which was sooooo unwise. I totally forgot about the humid weather and as a result, lopsided snowmen! And by evening, a couple of them were already on their backs staring up innocently at me. Oh well, I should have known better. Lesson learnt there.

The candy cane was totally unplanned. I had leftover fondant and the next thing you know...tadaa! The holiday sprinkles were courtesy of Aunt Evelyn & Uncle Weng Kay. They actualy spent about 2 hours strolling through the aisles of Phoon Huat to get me my baking stuff, bless them. And what a haul it was! A 3 tier cake stand, a 56 piece master tip set, tip covers, savers and brushes, decorating bags, spatulas, icing colours, a cupcake cookbook, heart shape plunger cutters...the list goes on. I am so blessed!

christmas tree no.1  

christmas tree no.2

candy cane anyone?

armless snowmen! *smack on the head* i forgot about those too

made possible with the help of my mom

we made 3 sets; for Maggie, Jan & Aunt Evelyn

Season's greetings! 

Merry Christmas everyone!

p/s: my newly wed brother forgot to get me the green ribbons i asked for, red's kinda nice too eh?

Steamed Tofu & Cauliflower with Crispy Garlic

What's with the weather lately? It's been crazy! Bright and sunny one minute and thunderstorm the next. Funny how it never rains whenever I carry an umbrella though.

Anyways......TW & I had these for dinner a couple of days back. We didn't have rice as both us were quite stuffed from a late lunch.

cauliflower, corn and button mushrooms drizzled with crispy garlic oil

Recipe is based on an estimate as I didn't take measurements that day. It's just one of those days :)

• A small bouquet of cauliflower, cut to bite sized florets
• 4-5 shoots of fresh young corn, sliced diagonally
• 3-4 button mushrooms, sliced
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• a dash of osyter sauce

1. Boil cauliflower and corn for a few minutes or till just done, drain and run over cold water. (Do not overboil or they'll lose their crunchiness)
2. Heat oil in a wok. Fry garlic till golden brown and dish out, leaving some oil behind.
3. Do a quick stir fry of the mushrooms, cauliflower, corn and oyster sauce.
4. Dish out and serve with crispy garlic.

steamed tofu with minced pork, shitake mushrooms, spring onion

and TW's favourite; bird's eye chilly

• 1 block of soft tofu
• about 100g of lean pork, minced and seasoned with white pepper, sesame oil and salt
  
• 1/2 tbsp oil
• 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 2 stalks of spring onion, cut to 1.5" length
• 2-3 shitake mushrooms, soaked to soften and sliced thinly, discard stem
• 2-3 bird's eye chilly, roughly chopped

1. Drain water from tofu and steam over high heat for about 15 minutes.
2. Heat oil in a wok, stir fry mushrooms followed by minced pork for a few minutes.
3. Add in oyster sauce, mix well.
4. Add in spring onion and chillies and fry for another few minutes.
5. Dish out and pour over steamed tofu.
6. Best eaten while hot :)

Now isn't that simple? Enjoy my dears!