Bite On It!

I have 2 over-ripe banana sitting on my table and I really wanted to use them to make banana cake but 2 is not enough for the recipe I have so what shall I do? Another was, I was lazy to bring out the mixer coz I already going to have some cupcake projects later in the week… excuses.. excuses…

Then I remember I came across a few sites about making steam cakes and I thought, why not? So I went to google about ‘Steamed Banana Cakes’ and first on the list was from Chow Times.

Was extremely happy that the ingredients called for the recipe are so easy! Save me lots of time and electricity too! And of course they are less oily (no butter) and not heaty at all! The only thing that needs to compromise is of course the texture and taste… got to eat them fresh!

I took the opportunity to try out my silicon cups… just to test them if they can take the heat… and yes they did! The cakes turn out to be quite springy… like sponge… hehheehe

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Ingredients

• 2 ripe banana, mashed (if you have large banana, use one will do)
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 2 teaspoons water
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 cup icing sugar (I used brown sugar)
• 100g (close to 1 cup) all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons of semi-sweet chocolate chips or raisins (optional)

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Methods

1. Mashed the bananas and leave aside.
2. Mix the rest of the ingredients in another mixing bowl and it is well mixed add in the mashed banana.
3. Heat up the steamer and steam till all the banana cupcakes are cooked which is around 10-15 minutes.

Most carbo food like rice and noodles will let you pile up on weight - most of the time so these days I tried to consume less of such food though they have been my favorite all these while! Need to give a thought to our bodies mah!

Since Darrius has been a huge pasta fan, I tried to come up with more recipes that hopefully will entice him to eat more besides the pasta. I introduce a varieties of pasta both in shapes and types to him and let him enjoy his meals with fun.

This recipe I learned from an ex-nightschool mate which she prepared for one of the BBQ nite when I was in Singapore. A very easy to prepare and can be eaten cold… so perfect for Bento or lunch boxes!

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Ingredients

• 1 can Tuna (chunk) in water or brie
• 250g Elbow pasta/macaroni
• 1 Hard boiled egg (smashed into small pieces)
• Button mushrooms (sliced a few)
• 2tbsp Mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup Corn kernels
• Raisins (yellow) for garnishing
• Pepper, black pepper and salt for taste
• Lemon juice to kill the fishy taste/smell
• French beans for garnishing (optional)
• Bacon bits for garnishing (optional)
• Sunflower kernels for garnishing (optional)

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Method

1. Boil half a sauce pan of wate, add some salt and oil to cook the pasta/macaroni. When cooked, test the softness before draining the water away.
2. Boil another pot of water for cooking the French beans, corn kernels and button mushrooms slices.
3. Pour the can of tuna (drain away water/brie) into a bowl, smash them up and add in the mayonnaise and mix them well together with smashed up hard boiled egg. Add in sliced button mushrooms.
4. Sprinkle pepper, black pepper and salt to desire taste. Squeeze some lemon juice to kill the fishy smell of the tuna.
5. Toss in raisins, sunflower kernels and bacon bits to garnish. Top with some French beans for presentation. Voila!

Sometimes I will crave for those pickles and if I do buy them from the shop, I don’t get too much. Why? They could be pricey (as most are quite cheap ingredients), not fresh (only God know’s how long they have been kept) and taste funny (don’t know what other preservatives they added in). Therefore, I try to learn to do my own if I really enjoyed them… and if I could get all the ingredients.

One of such is papaya pickles. I love them especially if they are extra spicy! Yeah, I love to put cili padi (bird eyes chili) to give me that extra kicks which those store bought usually don’t have. I have made this a few times and some friends have been asking for the recipes so I decided to share it here.

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Ingredients

• 1 Papaya (the unripe - dark green color)
• Vinegar
• Sugar
• Salt
• Cili padi (to the spiciness you want)
• Hot boiling water

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Methods

1. De-skin the papaya, cut into smaller piece before slicing them using a slicer (for equal thickness).
2. Once they are done, put them in a big bowl (non-metal) and rub them with salt and let it stand for a few minutes. This process is to make the papaya slices crunchy.
3. Then boil a pot of hot water and pour over the sliced papaya and drain away the water after stirring for a few minutes.
4. In a glass bowl ( I used a big corning pot) place the sliced papaya and add enough vinegar and sugar to your taste before putting in the cili padi.
5. Cover the bowl and stir occasionally. Once it has reached room temperature put them in glass or plastic containers before storing them in the fridge.

When I was working in Singapore, I would normally pack something for breakfast as I do not have time to sit in coffee shops or hawker centres for a leisure breakfast. If my office is near McD, then I will pack their Big Breakfast as that can last me the entire day till dinner. Other than that, I will either get a packet of nasi lemak or the popular economy char bee hoon.

Now that I don’t go to work anymore, I kind of yearn for those taste so I decided to bring back some memories by preparing my own… This is one of PiggyBeng’s favorite too as both of us went through the same type of lifestyle in Singapore….

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Ingredients

(Serve 2)

• 1/2 pkt Rice noodles (beehoon)
• 1 Red chili (sliced thinly)
• 3 clove garlic (chopped)
• 80g Bean sprouts
• 1/2 can Luncheon meat (sliced around 5mm in thickness)
• 2 eggs
• Black sauce
• Light soy sauce to taste
• Water (to soften the rice noodles)

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Methods

1. Soak the rice noodles till soft. Slightly pan fry the luncheon meat slices till fragrant. Fry the eggs *sunny side up*.
2. Heat up wok with 2 tbsp oil and saute the chopped garlic till it starts to turn golden. Pour in the pre-soaked rice noodles and continue to stir, add in the black sauce to desired tone, stir and add in enough water before covering the wok for at least 5 minutes but stirring occasionally.
3. Add in the light soy sauce and stir before adding in the bean sprouts. Continue stirring (add a little of oil if need be) and when the bean sprouts started to soften, turn off the fire.
4. Serve hot with luncheon meat and egg together with some sambal belacan.

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During my last trip to KL, my mom bought a packet of blueberries muffins premix from one of the local baking supplies shop. It tasted real good as it was not overly sweet and the texture was so cottony that it will make you keep biting.

I’ve tried looking for dried blueberries in the baking supplies shops but so far I’ve never seen any on sale before. Most of them do not carry this item. So the next best thing is the premix. It was not that expensive as it cost around RM5+ a packet and each packet can make around 12-14 muffins on a regular muffin pan.

To make it even more yummy, I added in some cream cheese cubes before I send them to bake. The cream cheese did not melt inside the batter but it is soft after it is baked.

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Ingredients

• 1pkt Blueberries muffins mix
• 130g Butter/margerine
• 117ml Water
• 3 Eggs (medium size)
• 70g Cream Cheese (cut into rectangular cubes)

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Methods

1. Add in water to the pre-mix, stir and mixed well. Add in the eggs one by one till all eggs are well mixed to create a smooth batter.
2. Scoop 1 spoonful of batter into regular muffin pan, stuff in the cream cheese cube before covering it with another spoonful of batter.
3. Bake at 175 degree Celcius for about 20-25 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and cool on rack.

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