"More Mexican Everyday" - Rick Bayless

May 17, 2015

To say I have a weakness for cookbooks is an understatement of gigantic proportions. Was by Costco the other day, when I spied Rick Bayless " More Mexican Everyday. I just had to have it. But I have a self imposed moratorium on buying more cookbooks.... It has to meet some criterias.

Ching Ming 2015

April 12, 2015

Lovely way to introduce Ching Ming tradition to my beautiful nieces. First time at their grandpa's grave. The colors of the marble etching had faded although they told us it would be permanent. Brother HT, myself and my adorable nieces Aubrey and Amanda renewed the etching by coloring with oil pastels. Mom was delighted by our artistic efforts. Lots of laughter, chatter and questions as they colored while we told them about their grandpa as well as their grand aunt, great grandmother and great grandfather, at whose adjoining plots we made offerings too. Many thanks to sister in law Racheal for organizing and helping educate us on Ching Ming customs. I think dad was very happy. Love and miss you Dad.

Walking down to Dad's grave

Baking bread with Sifu Emilia

April 9, 2015

I have been a quest to bake Hainanese White bread, of my childhood. Lightly toasted slices of bread, smeared with margarine (butter, if you are so fortunate!) and Kaya (rich custardy coconut jam), is something to swoon about. Old fashion Kaya toast, simple in its execution and utterly comforting in its consumption. Without fail, when in Malaysia, my USA born children would order this breakfast delight when they see it on the menu. The past 2-3 years we have been a quest to find a recipe for the bread so we can recreate the experience back home. Endless googling and blogs surfing to no avail.

Meanwhile, Facebook would show mouthwatering pictures of delicious breads, baked by my cousin Emilia. It looked like a promising start to our quest. I was very fortunate Sifu Emilia was gracious enough to show me how to bake Chinese style soft white bread. It uses a roux starter called Tangzhong. It is what gives the bread its soft, pillowy texture. The bread remain soft at room temperature for a number of days.

P.S. Can I tell you, biting into the hot, freshly baked buns was delicious heaven! The butter and sugar melted, beautifully flavouring the buns. I am drooling thinking of them.....

Blood Orange Cake

Found an unposted blog article from 2014 when my garden was pumping out blood oranges. I was unable to find pictures of the Blood Orange cake but thought best to post this recipe before I lose it! Here's some pictures of my blood orange harvest instead.

June 15, 2014

I have been on a cake making kick of late. The Rosemary Pear cake is one I have made often. I love the slightly gritty texture of the pear and cornmeal in this  moist slightly sweet cake. It has become the base of my "clear the fruit basket cake." I have used over-riped fruits such as mango as a substitute with equally delicious success.

Wrapping the Persimmons

October 30, 2014
I finally got around to wrapping up the persimmons. The birds as usual were more diligent than I was. The persimmon tree is the darling of my fall garden. In the few weeks since I came back from Malaysia, the persimmon have taken a decidedly more orange color. The sight of those orange colored, pumpkin shaped Fuyu Persimmon is a sure sign of fall.... and good eats.

Fruits of Neglects

October 2014

I woke up happy that I was relatively unaffected by jet lag, thanks to sleeping just 3 hours on the last leg back from Asia and a dose of melatonin to grant me a full night of blissful sleep. This morning, I headed excitedly out to my garden/orchard. Weeds abound as expected after three weeks absence....plus even more weeks of neglect prior. I was anxious to check on the bunches of banana that started forming as I was leaving for my trip. Three bunches of bananas!! So glad that this year the banana plants flowered early enough in summer for the fruits to form and ripen before fall/winter. 

Uji's Special Soto Ayam

During my latest trip back home to Malaysia, my sister-in-law was raving about the Soto Ayam prepared by Uji, her domestic help from Indonesia. Uji was kind enough to show me how she made this dish and let me photograph her. She tells me unlike the Soto Ayam that was commonly served in Malaysia, in Indonesia, the Soto Ayam soup is served over plain white rice or clear noodles. In Malaysia, Soto Ayam soup is served over compressed rice cakes called nasi impit or ketupat, or with yellow noodles. She had no exact quantities for the ingredients and I was fine with that. I wanted to capture the spirit of the dish. I will refine it recipe along the way and quantity the ingredients. For now, I just want to have a record of the cooking session.

Be warned, this is a lengthy post as I included almost all the pictures I took of the cooking session. A picture is worth a thousand words and I need them to recreate this wonderful dish