A Wish to All My Muslim Friends

Happy Eid Ul-Fitr (Aidil Fitri - as how we call it here) to all my Muslim friends out there. Have a great holiday whether you're sharing this holiday with your friends and/or family. Travel safe if you're travelling and eat safe when you're eating. Happy Holidays!

Vanilla Custard

This was made to go with the Spotted *ahem* in the last post.

Ok, ok, I'm no prude ... Spotted Dick, it was. You should have read what Veronica of Quay Po Cooks commented and a suggested name ... hilarious!

I think ... no, scrap that .... I'm definitely happier with the custard than the pudding. But there will be another post on the pudding soon. I won't give up til I get it right.

This is a no-fail recipe (can't say the same for the blinking pudding) and so simple to make and a very versatile topping to any dessert. Any leftovers and you can even turn it into a french-styled vanilla custard ice cream.

This makes a good 1 cup-and-a-bit of runny / pouring custard.

Feel free to double the recipe.

Check out those lovely specks of vanilla seeds!

INGREDIENTS

250 ml whole milk

150 ml cream

3 egg yolks

40 g sugar

1 vanilla pod

METHOD

In a saucepan, combine milk, cream and whole vanilla pod.

Bring to almost boiling and reduce heat to simmer for 10 mins.

Remove from heat.

In a separate bowl, whip egg yolks and sugar until pale in color.

Remove vanilla pod from milk and set aside.

Add hot milk to egg yolk mixture, a little at a time, whisking continuously as you go along.

Once all the milk has been incorporated, pour mixture back into the saucepan.

Split the vanilla bean into half lengthways, scrape the seeds and add it to the egg mixture.

On medium heat, keep stirring until custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Remove from heat.

Serve with your favorite dessert.

*Note: Custard will thicken a little more while cooling.

For a slightly thicker custard, heat a little longer but be careful as it may curdle.

1st Bloggiversary & Spotted What?!

Whoa! 1 year ... one whole year ... pinch me!

I didn't think I'd last this long. You know, I believe I wouldn't have if it wasn't for all of you supporting this crazy blog and me (ever so slightly crazy). When I first started this blog, it was a little like writing a diary and just talking to myself. But I am happy to say ... I've come a long way, baby! Uh, I didn't have to add the "baby" in, but somehow that statement reminded me of an ad from a long time ago. What was it? Virginia Slims? (No, they didn't pay me to put that in. Btw, are they still around?)

And a special thank you to my regulars who have not only supported the blog but who cared for my well-being during some political crisis that happened recently. I am truly touched. I have also learnt so much in this one year from all the blogs I've discovered, all the good friends I've made and I know there's gonna be lots more to discover out there.

Ok ... the end of my speech ... WAKE UP! and let's cook and eat!

Spotted What!?

Umm ... more correctly, it's called Spotted Dick. But I decided against putting it as the main header just in case google decided to label it as smut spam and blackmark my blog.

And no, it's not some bloke with measles either.

This is a traditional English pudding with a rather vague story behind its very interesting, attention-grabbing name, which recently has been changed to Spotted Richard due too many snickerings in the local cafeteria. There was, however, some hoohah about the name change, since its not good form to change anything traditional, so ... who knows what it's being called today.

The "spotted" part being the currants and the "other" part is probably due to the, umm... let's just describe it as "log-shaped". But I've decided to make it into the traditional pudding bowl shape instead. So, what should I call it? Any suggestions? And do I need to rate this post as G, PG or R before the suggestions come in?

Before I go on to the recipe, I'd like to say that I wasn't too happy with the outcome of the pudding. I had tasted this very interestingly-named dessert a long time ago and if my memory serves me right (no, I'm not going senile ... yet), it was like a fruitcake, dense but cakey. Somehow, mine turned out, yes, dense but sconey ... yes, crumbly, like a scone. It's suppose to expand some but mine did only a very unnoticeable bit. The taste was very good tho and the accompaniment of a very good vanilla custard helped it along. I will have to adjust some measurements, I guess. Or, I'll just take it as Spotted Scones and have it toasted with a slab of butter instead.

Anyone out there who is familiar with this recipe? I would appreciate some feedback about what I'm doing wrong here. I did check out a couple of recipes and came across 2 very different methods ... one uses eggs and the other doesn't. I figured a normal pudding uses eggs anyway, so I added that. Maybe that made it more dense? Or maybe I need more milk? I'm rambling. I need some enlightenment ... pleeez.

Can't remember where I found this recipe from ....

INGREDIENTS

2/3 cups self raising flour

1/2 cup shredded suet (I used Atora beef suet)

3/4 cup soft, white breadcrumbs

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup currants

zest of 1 lemon

1 egg + 1 tbs milk (I think I need more milk to make this work)

METHOD

Grease 4 200ml pudding bowls.

Combine first 7 ingredients.

Lightly beat egg with the tbs of water.

Stir into flour mixture to make a soft but not too sticky dough. Add more milk if necessary.

Divide dough into 4 parts and place each ball of dough into individual greased pudding bowls. Flatten tops.

Butter or spray a round piece of waxed paper and place over dough, butter side down. Cover tops of bowls tightly with foil, fold in the ends and tie around the bottom of the lip with twine so that no water will seep inside.

Place in a steamer or into a large, deep pan and add water to just about halfway up the sides of the pudding bowls. Cover and bring water to a boil, then lower heat and steam for 1 hour - 1 1/2 hours.

Remove and cool for a few minutes. Unmold and serve with Vanilla Custard

or Vanilla Ice Cream.

Warning: Do not try this at home.

Note: I will definitely do another post on this one.

PS: Next post: Vanilla Custard

Tag! I'm it!

I'm it alright.

This tag is all about your own stuff. I think it's a great idea to highlight some long forgotten posts or some lonely, neglected, uncommented recipe ... especially during one's early days of blogging. I'm happy to be tagged by Three Cookies to take part in this 7 - Link Challenge. That's 7 of your own posts in relation to the categories and then to nominate 5 victims bloggers to join in. No extra cooking or baking required.

2 simple rules:

1) publish links for the categories below (1 link per category)

2) nominate up to 5 bloggers to take part

Here are my links:

1. The most beautiful post:

Hmm ... well, this link I chose for this category isn't about the looks of it but rather the content, the memories that are beautiful to me. Apple Sauce. I loved those times when mum was so able, capable and independent. Today, we can just talk about those good times since she's no more mobile due old age.

2. The most popular post:

That would have to be Spike! Yeah, I named my pie. I picked this based on the number of views.

3. The most controversial post:

What? Who? Me? Controversial? Wouldn't dare. This is so lame but it'll have to be the Red Velvet Cupcake.

4. The most helpful post:

I've 2 categories on my blog called The Occasional Tip and DIY with some helpful hints. Here's one .... Marshmallow Plugs

5. The post that was surprisingly successful:

This was so funny! It wasn't even supposed to be featured. It was just one of the many dishes we had for our dinner and at the last minute decided we'd just snap a shot just for the heck of it and it turned out to be a top9! Fried Pumpkin

6. The post that did not get the attention it deserved:

This poor biscotti ... I'm not sure if it had even been looked at. So lonely and sad :( This was actually a very good recipe using egg whites ... very light and a great snack. That's why it got to be featured above :D Egg White Biscotti

7. The post that I'm most proud of:

Most may not find this too interesting but it took a lot of elbow grease (ouch) for the dough. And the chicken turned out beautifully moist! Salted Dough Chicken

And my 5 nominees ..... (drumroll)

1. Citra - My Home Diary in Turkey

2. Elisabeth - Food and Thrift Finds

3. Kita - Pass the Sushi

4. Megg - Pop Artichoke

5. Kelly - Food Pusher

Pork Ribs Curry

I have an aunt who just cannot take coconut milk. Not that she doesn't like the taste, she somehow gets a tummy ache every time she takes it .... kinda like lactose intolerance,... you get the picture. But she, being a true nyonya, loves her curries and chillies too much to give up on them. I'm not too sure of my facts, but I believe she came up with this recipe all by herself and it became a great family favorite.

The die-hard nyonyas will have my head for cooking a curry in a slow cooker. Yes, I agree the aroma from the saute-ing of the ground ingredients may be lacking but I still think it tastes pretty good. You can always add in this step if you're a nyonya die-hard. Me, I'm a save-some-time

die-hard. Well, perhaps that might not be too true either, since there are periods when I'd do recipes "from-scratch". Fickle minded, that's me. But for now, it's save-some-time curry.

INGREDIENTS

500 g pork soft ribs / short ribs

8 - 10 fresh red chillies (this can be adapted to your preference)

4 onions, cut into wedges / 10 shallots (the more onions the thicker the gravy)

1/4 cup tamarind paste plus enough water to make about 1/2 cup thick juice

1/2 - 3/4 tbs shrimp paste granules / belacan granules

1/2 tbs pork stock granules (you can use chicken stock as well)

1/2 tsp sugar or to taste

1 cucumber, halved length-wise and then cut into wedges

soy sauce, to taste

METHOD

If you prefer a less spicy curry, remove the seeds and white membranes of half the amount of the red chillies.

Add these together with the onions / shallots, tamarind juice and shrimp paste granules in a blender or food processor. At this point, it's up to you if you prefer your curry to have a smooth or coarse texture. Puree the mix until the desired consistency. (We prefer it to be not overly smooth).

[Should you decide to saute the paste for that authentic nyonya-ness, heat a tablespoon or two of oil in a pan and saute the paste for a minute or so until fragrant. But you might need to add a little extra liquid (tamarind juice/water, about 1/4 cup) in the slow cooker as the paste would be drier.]

Plonk ground chillies mixture and pork ribs into a slow cooker. Add in stock granules and stir to mix. You don't need to add any additional water (unless the paste was sauteed) as the juices from the meat and eventually the cucumbers will make it just perfect. Cook on high for about 3 hours.

Taste to see how much sugar or soy sauce you need to add in and also if you need to add more tamarind juice** if it's not tart enough. Toss in the cucumber wedges and cook for another hour or 2 or until the cucumbers are soft but not mushy*.

*Note: My aunt likes to add the cucumbers right at the beginning since she likes it all soft and mushy. I like mine with a little bite.

** The tartness depends a lot on each batch of tamarind. Adjust to taste.

Serve with fluffy white rice.

Golden Passionfruit Jam

Such a lot of fruit out there these couple of months. So many varieties, so many choices. Imported and local. They all look so gorgeous, so tempting. I keep buying and then find out there's no space in my fridge ... sigh.

I mentioned about our homegrown strawberries in the earlier strawberry jam post and how amazing they turned out these days ... big, red and juicy ... good stuff.

Well, on Sunday, I visited our pasar malam (literally translated: night market. Check this out : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasar_malam) and found some gorgeous homegrown golden passionfruits, also known as yellow passionfruits and also known as Lilikoi in Hawaiian. There were also the usual purple ones but these yellows were giving out the most beautiful, sensual fragrance ... I couldn't resist. (Apparently, the purple ones are supposed to be more fragrant and the yellow ones are the juicier but I guess the purples weren't ripe enough to seduce my senses). They aren't the prettiest looking fruits when ripe.

What I wanted to make with them, I had no idea at the time. I brought them home, stared at them for awhile, then decided I should turn them into something that will keep until I have some idea what I need to use them for. See, once you open up the fruit, the pulp and seeds don't keep too well. So, jam it is.

You may wonder why we use the pulp from under the skin. Reason being, there's tons of pectin in them! But don't overdo the amount since it does have a slight bitterness that may overpower the lovely passiony-fruity flavors :D

Oh, and if you should decide to blend the pulpy-seedy stuff, you may want to use a good blender and blade otherwise you will get some very sharp bits of seeds ... not nice. I leave them be ... nice crunch.

INGREDIENTS

10 passionfruits

juice of 1/2 lemon

2 cups sugar

METHOD

Wash the passionfruits.

Halve and scoop out the pulpy seeds. Put aside in the fridge.

Put half the quantity of the shells in a pot and fill with enough water to just cover the tops. Boil for about 30 - 40 mins or until it turns translucent and soft.

Drain & cool for easier handling. Save 1 cup of boiled liquid.

When cooled, scoop out the inner flesh and discard the papery skins.

Pulse in a food processor or blender until a smooth puree.

Add to reserved seeds together with the lemon juice, reserved liquid and sugar in a deep stainless steel pot.

Stir over medium heat until all the sugar has dissolved. Then bring to a boil.

Set timer to 15 mins and allow to boil slowly without stirring too much except for the occasional scrape or two with a wooden spoon to make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom and burn.

Skim scum. (Say that quickly 5 times :D)

Turn off heat and cool for 15 - 20 mins before ladling into clean, sterilized jars.

* Great as plain ol' jam with toast or use as a filling for pastry or a topping for cheesecakes, ice creams .... go crazy!

Red Velvet Cupcakes : An Opinion & A Recipe

Adapted from Best Cupcake Recipes

Warning: This is a very opinionated post

(Never write when grumpy)

Red Velvet ... another fad? Why not green velvet or blue velvet or some other velvet? I doubt any of those "velvets" will work for me .... I'm not into coloring. Now, maybe I should use beetroot juice to color these but will it alter the taste? I'm quite certain it will. A friend told me she had some made with beetroot juice and it was nice and she couldn't tell at all.

So why did I make these?

I had to, I was curious as to what all the fuss was about. I know it's been around for awhile now but I've never felt like I needed to make any.

I had some at a cake shop with a friend. The stained tongue, fingers and lips didn't really look too chic and the taste wasn't too out-of-this-world either. And then I tried it at another place, ho-hum. Just like any other cupcake, except the texture is nice and fine and the added buttermilk and vinegar made a slightly more interesting taste. I just had to search for a recipe and try it out ... just curious, you know.

This claimed to be one of the better ones. I tried it out. It's good ...... but ...

Nothing's wrong with the recipe. It's just me. Maybe I'm not a cup-cakey person, maybe the red color puts me off, maybe the amount of coloring used puts me off ...

Oh yeah, another thing .... ignore the frosting. I'm hopeless at piping. Practise, practise ....

On a less grumpy note, I've been wanting to feature this brilliant idea for awhile now ... cupcake wrappers. I can't remember where I'd got the template for mine but I prefer these to the ones that need glue to put together (notice the tab and slot). Just google for "cupcake wrap templates" and there are a ton of them for you to choose from. They have made my otherwise plain ol' cupcakes a little prettier.

And funnily enough, when things look good, they seem to taste a whole lot better. (Ahem)

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

2 oz red food coloring ( I didn't use that much, I used abt 2 tbs and scared myself)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

1 tsp white vinegar

1 tsp baking soda

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180˚C. Line tins with cupcake liners.

Sift together cake flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together food coloring and cocoa powder to form a thin paste, without lumps. (Since I used less liquid coloring, I had to add a little water to make a paste). Set aside.

In another bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add in eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition.

Beat in vanilla and the red cocoa paste until well mixed.

Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, stir to mix well, then beat in half the buttermilk.

Stir in another 1/3 of flour then the other half of buttermilk. end with the last 1/3 of flour, mix until well combined.

In a small bowl, mix together vinegar and baking soda.

Add to cake batter and stir well.

Fill cupcake cups to slightly under 3/4 full.

Bake in preheated oven for about 20 mins or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Cool cupcakes on a wire rack completely before frosting.

Frost with your favorite topping.

* Here I used cream cheese frosting which didn't quite hold up in our humid weather and today was exceptionally hot, hot, HOT!!