Moist Nutty Banana Cake

this is one cake that everybody love especially if its moist with a hint of nutty feel in this case i use hazelnuts ground and chunks..mmm thinking of it makes my mouth water...

i made 6 loaf of these beautifully bake cake...and its wonderful but this recipe only makes 2 loafs if you're using a standard rectangular pan.

what you need:
4pcs or ripe banana - meshed
1/2c butter
1cup sugar
1 1/2c self rising flour
1 tsp ground hazelnut
a handful of hazelnuts - chopped into chunks
2 eggs
1tsp soda bikarbonat
60ml milk

1. preheat oven at 180c then line the rectangle pan with parchment paper set aside
   
2. cream butter and sugar until fluffy
3. meanwhile you need to sift flour, soda bikarbonat and the ground hazelnuts in a different bowl then set aside.
   
4. then add in the eggs one by one, mixwell
   
5. then add in the meshed banana, mix well
6. then add in the flour mixture alternately with the milk until all well combined
7. lastly add in the hazelnut chunks
8. pour batter in prepared pan then bake for 30-40minutes or until done (when you press the centre of the cake lightly and it springs back - its done)

hope you'll enjoy this as much as i do...

Chicken pot pie

last week was a lazy weekend and i mean LAZY weekend! i'm on diet so when you are on diet, you'll feel extremely lazy to cook the whole complete meal (fyi i always cook at least 2 dishes to eat with a vege dish and a fish or chicken dish) to be eaten with rise...hubby haven had a decent dinner since i started my diet *giggles* he plead to me to cook something as he's bored eating outside.

so i reluctantly defrost chicken meat, dice manually the carrot, scrape my leftover sweet corn from the cob, celery sticks onions etc...actually i intended to make noodle soup then i remembered that i still have some puff pastry left in the freezer...Pot pie came to mind instantly...

so what you need is:
sufficient puff pastry
1 clove garlic
1 celery stick cut finely
1 bombay onion diced
1 small pack mix vege (i dun have one thats why i manualy dice everything)
2 piece chicken breast de bone and dice
1/2 can button mushroom (i dun have any so i didnt put any)
1/2c half and half cream
salt and sugar to taste
1 pc chicken stock cube
1tsp black pepper freshly ground
1tsp flour (+-) this is to thicken the gravy
1 egg lightly stired
500ml water/chicken stock (+-) - reserve a little and mix it with flour then set aside
2tsp olive oil for frying
1 bay leaf

1. heat oil and gently saute garlic until fragrant then add in the chicken meat
2. add in diced onion keep frying until fragrant
3. add in bay leaf and other veges.
4. fry until soft and tender then add in cream + water + chicken cube+black pepper
   
5. stir gently then let it simmer.
6. then add in the flour liquid. stir until the grave is lightly thickens. heat off and set aside
7. let it cool slightly then add in egg mix well
8. pour in the chicken mixture in individual remikins.
9. cut puff pastry making sure that the size it larger than the remikins.
10. wet the edge of teh remikins and stick the puff pastry on top it
11. brush pastry with egg wash
12. bake at a preheated oven at 200c

the egg is actually optional its just value added and act as thickening agent for the gravy.

Confession of a food addict =p

hi all....

i know that you've been wondering about my lack of entries in this blog...well i have a several reason for that....one the reason is still that i have yet to purchase my transfer cable (from fon to pc) i know i know its been awhile its just i'm having a slight financial problem...money is needed else where and my blog does not come first in the list *sigh* ..no.2 my children got sick....my son had a very high fever that we had to warded him...honestly i was afraid if he caught any of those potentialy deadly diseases...*shrugs* nowadays there's more and more diseases and one became more deadlier than ever....we now have swine flu, bird flu, sars, meningitis, chikungya (is that how you spell it?), dengue...argh! what else that we should be worried about??! it kindda makes you wonder why all of a sudden these deadly diseases came to surface...is God punishing us for being arrogant? arrogant for taking his world and life for granted? ah well enuf bout that....

and this is the confession which is also my ultimate reason....*clears throats* well..... actually i'm on a diet. there i said it...DIET... because i'm on diet i'm on cooking and baking detox....arghhh~ this is the worst sin as a cook or as a deligent baker...but i am at..i mean i was at my highest weight pile ever! i'm FAT....over weight. the thing is i piled up weight since i gave birth to my first child and never went down even after i had my second child. Sad ain't it? and i was in denial for a VERY LONG time!!

notice that i said i 'was' at my highest weight? yes i did manage to lose some weight within only 1.5 weeks! oh believe it! and i didn't even use any diet pills or diet suppliment what ever diet crap that never seem to work for me. wanna know my weight before? i was (mmmm this is embarassing) 90kg and now I'm 85kg. which means i manage to loose 5 kilos in 1.5 weeks! isn't that GREAT? i was so happy....i didn't realised that i've lost weight until i went to my tailor and she measured me and told me that i've lost 1inch in both my arms and waist and 2inch from my butt! i didn't believe her at first so i then went home and weight myself and its true i did lost some weight!

now...the secret to my weight loss is my daily diet...i TOTALLY ditch RICE!!! yup No RICE..and being asian, this is a BITCH its like asking a drug addict to ditch drug...but with some will power and moral support from family and friends i only eat vegetables, fruits and proteins...and sometime just a very small portion of carb. so in this diet i'm supposed to ditch CARB totally but i couldn't its just too extreeme for me...since no rice i still eat just a little pasta or bread but in a very controlled portion. my dad follow this diet strictly and he lost more than 5kilos a week. the way that i'm doing it also works but a little bit slow.

so what i eat everyday nowadays?

i eat for breakfast: cereal, or a piece of bread with butter n jem or some low fat yogurt with gronolas then if i'm hungry in between meals i'll snack on either low fat yogurt or fruits.
then for lunch i'll eat grilled chicken breast with butterhead lattuce,shredded carrot with apple cider dressing. then for dinner i'll be eating basically the same thing only that instead of chicken i'll make grilled fish (ikan bakar). but dinner must be eaten by 6pm not any later.

its easy and no fuss but i have to be creative with the protiens coz you can get bored eating the same thing or style. i do some times make soup with some pasta for variety...but i must say that butterhead lettuse is the best tasting lettuce i've ever eaten (believe me coz i'm no fan of veges) i have also noticed that when i eat this way my metabolism is smoother and i'm also more alert. maybe its because of the vege that i'm eating...who knows?

so perhaps later on i would probably be posting a healthier recipes suitable for people like me...?i'm still fighting to lose weight and i need to lose another 25 kilos to my original weight...wish me luck guys!

p/s: don't forget to exercise...coz that definitely helps....and i do exercise whenever i can even when i can't i still exercise coz i have 2 hyper active kids that drives mommy crazy! but love them to bits...xoxo

Daniel: High Fever Alert n RIP Dr Haliza Shafie

This is the latest picture of Dr Haliza Shafie (the baby she's holding is not mine) this picture was taken from Big But Beautiful.

my son had a very high fever last friday so we admitted him in Ampang Putri Hospital (APH). when arrived the on call doctor asked have we been here and who was our doctor? yes and our dr was Dr Haliza Shafie. the staff stood in silence for awhile. and I wondered why...then the Dr on call nodded and told us to proceed in admitting him then told us that their on call dr for tonight was Dr Nasir.

After 15minutes or so...daniel's registration was done and he was on drip. once we're in our room the nurse finally told us that Dr Haliza had recently passed away. I was shocked and in disbelieved...yes she was our son's pead but we havent seen her since 2007. and that was when Daniel was 1 years old and was admitted due to his athsma attack.

althought we are not close merely patient doctor relationship, i can tell you for sure that she is a beautiful, gentle, and very motherly person and that we're gonna miss them.

I was told that she and her friend Dr Amin died due to a fatal fall when hiking at bukit Taboh sometime last months. who would have thought that Dr Haliza is a tough cookie i mean hiking is a tough sport i never thought that she's into those kind of sport!

and apparently the news about the 2 missing doctors were all over the news only that i didn't know coz 1. we don't suscribe newspaper and 2. my son hogs on the tele so....(i'm still in disbelieve)

anyway Al Fatihah to Dr Haliza Shafie n Dr Amin Tai. May you rest in peace.

more about Dr Haliza n Dr Amin Tai's death

Beef Stew : A hearty meal for whole family

tonight for some reason i feel like eating beef stew with some toast...sound plain and unappetizing huh? maybe...but you just gotta try before you judge...we all ate the whole pot of stew without realizing it...i was surprised myself. the smell of the stew was exactly like ones u used to have when i was studying in The UK. the the first taste of that tender beef almost melts in the mouth really brings back the wonderful and most cherished memories...ahh~

what you need:
300g beef cut in cubes : i use those ready cut beef written suitable for stew bought in cold storage.
1 stick of celery - cut coarsely
2 large tomatoes.- cut in 6 wedges each
1cup tomato puree
2 large potatoes - cut in chunky cubes
2 bay leaves
1 sprig rosemary- i use only half coz my family doesn't like the overwhelming aroma of rosemary.
1 carrot stick - cut in chunks
1 large bombay onion - cut in chunks
2 clove garlic- coarsely chopped
salt to taste
1tsp paprika powder
a pinch of black pepper
1ltr stock - i use my homemade chicken stock (i never buy chicken stock *wink*)
1tbsp olive oil
sugar to taste - about 1 1/2 tsp. +-

how to:

1. prepping the beef by putting some salt and paprika to taste.
2. then saute or brown the beef. if using small pan then do it in section otherwise you'll steam it instead of browning it, you don't want that. then set aside.
   
3. heat olive oil, then saute onion until fragrant, then add in the garlic. stir until fragrant then add in the carrots. stir for a little bit then add in the chicken stock and tomato puree
4. let it simmer then add in the tomatoes, beef, potatoes, bay leaves and Rosemary and the seasonings (salt, black pepper and sugar to taste)
   
5. let it cook and simmer for about 30-45 minutes adding water and stir occasional to avoid burning
6. when the beef is tender (as do the potatoes ;)) and the sauce thickens, you may turn off the heat.

I serve this with corn and buttered toast...really a filling and hearty meal...
unfortunately i don't have my own picture for this stew coz as you know i do not own any camera only my trusty handphone nokia N series...since i made this in the evening the picture turned out badly that i'm embarrased to show it here so i pick one up from google images that looks closest to my stew. don't ask me the which site i can't remember but thanx to the owner, no Puns intended.

Warning: latest MODUS OPERANDI of robbery

hi,
today i would like to share or warn all malaysian about the latest operandi of robbery happening around malaysia. it is scary coz it seem like these criminal won't stop at nothing to get what they want!

anyway i got this 'warning' from my cousin fiza via SMS. so when you are in your car, if someone approach you for a tissue paper whose face or hand with blood, DO NOT wind down your windoe. they are ROBBERS! already 40 such cases happened in KL & Johor. so please inform your love ones and friends about this...

Fajitas Tortilla Wrap

i'm in the mood for fajitas. here in Malaysia the only restaurant that serve a descent fajitas is Chilies but its so expensive...i'm still broke thanx to my car....*long sigh* so i can't go out and spend money on luxury dining...and nither do my husband, our money stuck in an insurance claim the doctor was 'lazy' to write a report to the insurance company so we are all financially tied up. so what do i do? i have this huge craving of fajitas..and the AFC channel does not help =p

so i went to cold storage and buy me a pack of potato tortilla, some chicken breasts, cheese, and i looked for sour cream but couldn't find it...the rest i just use what ever i have in my pantry. so my culinary journy begins.....this recipe is 100% my own creation according to my taste so if you dun like it i'd like to use this as my exclusion clause ^_^

to create my own recipe for fajitas i went thru what i we like in a fajitas
we like caramelized onions, grilled chicken or beef, sour cream, cheese....

so i just incorporate them n make my very own fajitas...well unfortunately we couldn't find sour cream so no sour cream in this recipe...

so what you need:
fresh lettuce
sliced tomatoes
caramelized onion
cheese slice
grilled beef or chicken
some mayonnaise
tortillas store bought or home made what ever...mine was store bought sad to say coz i was to lazy for that...>_< style="font-weight: bold;">Balsamic Caramelized onion.
you need:
1tbsp balsamic vinegar (i love this)
1tsp sugar
a dash of salt
2 large onions sliced moderately
1 cube of butter

saute onions with butter until soft and when you see it starting to brown a little bit then add in all other ingredients. stir occasionally coz you don't want to burn it or anything. it took me about or almost 20 or so (maybe less can remember) to have the onions nicely caramelized. it all depends on what kind of heat you're using really....once caramelized that means the onions turned brown then you can set it aside


for the Grilled Balsamic Chicken

you need:
1 clove garlic - mashed or crushed
1 tsp paprika powder
slat to taste
1 tsp honey
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

A pack of chicken breast strips ( bought ready from the supermarket)

combine all the above ingredients and marinade at least for 2 hours then start grilling until done...

to assemble fajitas? are you kidding me? just put all the ingredients and start wrapping it with tortillas and open your mouth and start munching!

well anyway this would probably be my best dinner ever and it tasted great too coz of the caramelized onion....i know i know this dish may be ordinary for you angmos or gaijin (that means foreigners / mat salleh...also means white people or alike in chinese/japanese... i think) *mmm ponders* but us malaysian...maybe malay or maybe just me its something that we don't always eat or find... i like burritos too but burritos gives me gas...so i'm not sure if i'd make it in the future anyway...wooops off topic *big grins*

anyway hope you'll enjoy this recipe as much as i did...and i'm thinking to make this alot often coz this works for me!