Mum's green bean soup

Mum n Dad just came back from Penang. They bought loads of gula melaka back! So mum decided to make dad's favourite! Green bean soup!

It's really time to learn some skills from Mom. But the problem with mothers, they never rely on recipes.

So i decided to take some pics of the steps:


Boil Beans with pandan leaves.


Melt the gula melaka and set aside.


"Santan"! (haha! Nonya shows call it that) coconut milk squeeze from haf a coconut. with a pinch of salt.


Add in gula melaka & then coconut milk. You get your green bean soup! We added some white sugar cause not sweet enuff. Hees


My mum and I had fun trying to display the green bean soup nicely. We had a great luff too.
Haha!

Friends & cookies! + Yx's Attempts!

My friend yx, is leaving her current workplace and decided to make some cookies as token of farewell to her current colleagues.

I told her that coconut crunch was really popular with my colleagues previously and told her to make the same! Besides, I still have loads of dehydrated coconut (thanx to wonderful mummy!) and the ingredients were all ready at my house! She had to come to my house and bake it together for she has no oven at home.

So this time I had a buddy to bake with me! Its kinda fun taking turns to cream the mixture and mix in the flour and also, rolling the dough together. Things get done faster, less tiring and you have someone to chat with.

And the aroma of freshly baked coconut crunch that fills the kitchen.... heavenly! So tempted to make a batch of it again soon! heez! I still have those dehydraterd coconut in my fridge!!




Besides cookies, yx has been doing a bit of stuffs lately on her own too. I recommended her the jellyhearts and give her the recipe! Told her its really yummy and really easy! And the best part, u no need an oven! all u need is the fridge!



This was her first attempt. she did not have a large tray so i told her to make a smaller portion. But instead, she made the layers thicker, except for the jelly! Which is good, cause she really loves cheese! Look at her cheese layer! so much thicker than mine! I always prefer the jelly layer more! Then she commented, i shld just eat the jelly! But its different! its the overall combination! hehe!! Her sis also love the cheesecake! She mentioned her sis can eat it everyday after dinner. I do that too! Because its such a yummy light dessert! keke~ I love the person who thot of this recipe!!



Her second attempt on the jellyhearts. She wanted to make them for her colleagues but i told her it be too messy to bring a whole tray there, messy to cut all. Told her its better if she could make them individually. See what the smart gal thot of!!! so clever!! nicely packed! very good idea if i want to give pple next time, instead of having to make 1 whole big one! & at home, i can just grab one cup everytime i feel like having a dessert! Again, if u see, she maintained her thick layer of cheese! That cheesy gal! keke!!


finally, her attempts on nutella cupcakes! unfortunately, this did not go so well because she tried making them with a toaster! She had more burnt cupcakes than edible ones. But still, i think it still tasted good! N her swirls are so much prettier than mine!

Strawberry Banana muffin

BOught Strawberries the other day to make jellyhearts for BC sister. It was meant to be a surprise! But my mum reminded me later than she is in her confinement period and its better if she doesnt take any cold stuffs.

I decided to do something else with my strawberries. I went to look up strawberry shortcake pt strawberry cheesecake recipes but the recipes usually requires either whipped cream or sour cream. Pretty broke these days. SO wanted to make do with what i have at hand.

Found a strawberry banana muffin recipe! It looks pretty good and I have all the ingredients. Also, I haven done muffins before! Always been baking cupcakes! hees!

Recipe: http://www.joyofbaking.com/muffins/StrawberryBananaMuffins.html


Cant seem to get really good strawberries from my nearby NTUC.


Chopped up strawberries!


My sifted flour mixture


Melting the butter.


my mashed up bananas!


Getting ready the wet ingredients


The wet mixture - whisked


Adding the melted butter to the mixture.


Mixing the chopped strawberries in the flour mixture


the Final muffin mixture


My end product.


Devouring the muffin!

The muffin smells really good. But like my mum said, she feel she cant the taste of the bananas nor the strawberries is strong enuff.
I dunno if i did not do a good job or that the recipe is not suitable for our taste buds.
I am suddenly thinking of nutella cupcakes again.
The second batch was dry.. feel like doing that again! heeS!

Measurements Method.

For cake, its important to get the measurement of ingredients right. Therefore, i have also looked up the correct way to measure the different ingredients correctly.

Here goes:

Reference: http://busycooks.about.com/od/howtocook/a/howtomeasure.htm

Here's a basic guide to measuring common ingredients:

• FlourStir flour in the storage container or bag. Using a large spoon, lightly spoon flour from the container into the measuring cup. Do not shake the cup and do not pack the flour. Using the back of a knife or flat blade spatula, level off the flour even with the top edge of the measuring cup. Don't use the measuring cup to scoop the flour out of the container. You can end up with 150% of the correct measurement if you do this! One cup of correctly measured flour should weigh about 112 grams.
• Baking powder and Baking SodaStir in the container. Using the measuring spoon, lightly scoop out of the container. Use that knife to level off even with the top edge of the measuring spoon.
• SugarSugar is measured by scooping the cup or measuring spoon into the container or bag until it is overflowing, then leveling off with the back of a knife.
• Brown SugarThis needs to be packed into the measuring cup. The sugar should retain the shape of the cup when it is dropped into the other ingredients.
  Powdered SugarPowdered sugar usually needs to be sifted to remove small lumps. It is measured by spooning the sugar into the measuring cup from the container, then leveling off with the back of a knife.
• Liquid IngredientsLiquids need to be measured at eye level. Using the liquid measuring cup, pour the liquid into the cup. Then bend over so you are on the same level with the measuring marks. The liquid should be right at the mark, not above or below.
  Shortening and Solid FatsButter and margarine have measuring amounts marked on the sides of the paper wrapping. One quarter pound stick of butter or margarine equals 1/2 cup. Solid shortening is measured by packing it into a cup so there are no air spaces, then leveling off with the knife. To easily remove fats from baking cups, spray them with a nonstick cooking spray before measuring. You can also use the liquid displacement method for measuring solid fats. For instance, if you want 1/2 cup of shortening, fill a liquid measuring cup with 1/2 cup of cold water. Then add shortening until the water level reaches 1 cup when you look at it at eye level. Pour out the water and use the shortening. Oil is measured as a liquid.
• Liquid Ingredients in SpoonsMake sure that you don't measure small amounts of liquid ingredients over the mixing bowl. It's just too easy to spill, and you don't want 2 teaspoons of almond extract when the recipe only calls for 1 teaspoon!
• Dry Ingredients in SpoonsIngredients measured in these small amounts still have to be measured carefully. Overfill the measuring spoons and level off using the back of a knife for the most accurate amounts. Accurate amounts of ingredients like baking soda and powder are critical to the success of any baked product.
• Chopped IngredientsPay close attention to whether or not an ingredient is to be chopped, diced or minced, and whether they are measured before chopping or after. Then the foods are placed in the measuring cup so the top is level with the surface.

Possibilities leading to dry cake

I had feedback that my second round of nutella cupcakes feels abit too dry. I had this feeling too when i ate it this time round. Therefore, I decided to look up the different possibilities that can lead to dryness of cakes. A good reference in future!

Reference: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Misc_Pages2/foodEditor.aspx

• There could be several reasons that your cakes turn out dry and crumbly:
  Using too much flour can cause a cake to become dry. When measuring dry ingredients, gently spoon the flour into a measuring cup for dry ingredients and level off with a flat spatula.
• Adding too little shortening or liquid can also cause dryness. Measure liquids in a liquid-measuring cup placed on a level surface like your kitchen counter. Read the liquid measurement at eye level while the cup is on the level surface.
• Batter that is improperly mixed or undermixed can cause the cake to be crumbly. Careful mixing to evenly distribute the ingredients throughout the cake batter will give it a uniform consistency. Frequently use a plastic spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl, and don’t forget to scrape the bottom of the bowl for any pockets of flour or other ingredients. (Be careful not to overmix once the flour is added, as this can cause the cake to be tough.)
• Overbeating the egg whites or using too many of them can lead to a dry cake. Egg whites act as a drying agent, so you could try eliminating one of the whites.
• Too much sugar can cause a cake to crumble when cut, while too little sugar can make a cake tough. The best cake recipes have a good balance of ingredients.
  Using a pan that is too big for the amount of batter you have can cause it to overbake and become dry. The pan should be filled from half to three-fourths full.
• Finally, check your oven temperature with an oven thermometer. If the oven temperature is too high, your cake could be dry. Overbaking could also be a culprit. Check your cake for doneness at the lower end of the baking range.