Monday Inspiration.

Source: Vogue Italia.


What a wet, cold Monday
and it's December, the jolly season!

"Almost" feels like winter. HAHA!

As it seems my new love for baking and cooking,
ive started planning out some really cute gifts
to people who mean a lot to me and has especially
helped me out throughout the year of 2013.

But it will have to all be put on hold first for now
until I return from my trip to Hong Kong in mid Dec.

Busy month December
and soon it'll be 2014!

So exciting! xo.

Accidental chicken nuggets.

Okay let me explain first
why accidental.

Because initially I wanted
to make skewers with the mince meat
but somehow it was too soft and sticky
and ended up in dollops on an oven tray.

But funny enough,
I was so upset as i looked at the
miserable dollops cooking away in the oven,
I took a quick shower,
and when i came back... boy, did they smell amazing!

It tasted great too!


Ingredients:

Chicken nuggets:
1) Mince chicken meat
2) 1 Egg
3) 2 tablespoon of flour

Mash Potatoes:
1) 1 potato (or 2 if your potatoes are small)
2) 1 tablespoon of milk
3) 10 grams of butter
4) Cheese, parsley, herbs (optional)

I served mine with my *homemade pesto*.

Side Veges:
1) French beans
2) Button mushrooms
3) 5 grams of butter

*Serves 1 portion

******

Methods:
1) Preheat your oven to 150C.
2) Peel your potatoes, chop them up (not too small or your potatoes will start absorbing too much water and you'll end up with a watery thin mash) and put them in a pot of cold, salted water. Bring them to a boil for 12-15 mins, until you can poke thru your largest chunk of potato without any resistance.
3) In a bowl, mix your mince meat, egg and flour.
4) Line and grease (important!) your parchment paper on your oven tray and drop your mixture onto the tray. Remember not to make it too big chunks or it might not cook all the way thru! Cook for 25-30 mins.
5) Blanch your french beans and mushrooms.
6) Drain your potatoes and leave it to dry for a minute in the pot. Then add butter, milk, optional ingredients and mash it up. (Dont use a food processor as it will overwork the potatoes. A very hard lesson i had to learn. -_-)
7) Drain your veges and mix them up with butter.
8) Start plating your dishes and your nuggets should be pipping hot from the oven right now!

What a happy accident!
and the boy absolutely loved it too.





Have a good weekend everyone! x

Homemade from scratch!

So people asked me when I started
this passion to cook and bake,
well to be honest bake was only about
a month ago?

But for *cooking*,
it was wayyy back in 2006.

Not the best of *recipes* back then,
as the only improvisation i did
was to either clean up the fridge,
easy washing up and cooking/ prepping fast
because you would need the extra time
to study, do your coursework
and of course head out for drinks.



But i think things turned for the better,
with the prep of the wedding in Sept
and my father-in-law was diagnosed
with cancer earlier this year,
we decided its time to change things up.

So by cutting down carbs, salt, oil, sugar, dairy
and processed food (eg: canned food, chips, store-made sausages etc),
together with my annual *vegetarian month*
for the ghost festival that is a family tradition,
I started trying new things with trial and error
to excite the palate and our diet.

Now these recipes below,
requires a food processor.

I just bought mine about a month ago
and its the best thing Ive ever bought to date,
as it makes things faster
and easier for my tiny lil kitchen!

So here are just some of my
homemade to enjoy!

Happy cooking! x


******


Homemade milk. (Cashew Milk)




Now as i mentioned,
we tried to cut down on dairy
when we learned my father-in-law
was diagnosed with cancer,
because in some cancer research articles,
it was said that cancer cells actually feed
on sugar and dairy.

We dont know how true these articles are
but its always best to stick to healthier options
and to remember that moderation is key.




Ingredients are simple:
Cashew nuts 100g
Water 200ml

That't it.

Of course theres the option of:
- Cinnamon
- Honey

But me and the boy felt no need of those
as we were going to drink them in our cereal,
which already has sugar in them.

This recipe will make about 125ml approx of cashew milk
and it will taste a lil like soy milk (but more diluted).





Methods:

1) Pour both water and cashew nuts
into a food processor and blend them
until its white and milky.




Then sieve them out
into a jar or container
until ready to be served!

Easy as 1,2,3!







The milk will last in an
air-tight container in the fridge
for about 3 days
and you can add them to your oats,
cereal, or even your homemade curry!


******


Homemade Pesto. (slightly healthier version- dairy free!)




Ever since i was introduced to pesto
when i was England,
it was my go-to easy food
whenever i was in a hurry.

What i love about pesto,
is that you can eat it warm or cold
with your pasta or meat in an instant
BUT i know pre-packed pesto can be really high
in oil and cheese,
which will definitely send your calories
sky rocketing through the roof!

So I did tweaks to this recipe
I got off the internet and this is my version
of a spinach and toasted walnut pesto.




Ingredients:
Spinach (approx 75g)
Walnuts (45g)
Extra virgin Olive oil (1/4 cup) - may choose to add more for a more liquid texture.
Pinch of Salt
Pinch of Pepper

*Feel free to add lemon juice for a more citrus flavour. I omitted this.




Methods:

1) Toast your walnuts in an oven at about 180C for 5 mins.
2) Combine the walnuts, spinach (chopped up roughly), salt, pepper
and olive oil into the food processor and blend.
3) You might need to stop and scrape the sides a few times
and then blend again to get it smooth.
Or you can choose to leave it chunky as well. Like I did. :)




4) When you're done, just transfer it to a air-tight container
with a cling wrap over the top. This will ensure it to last fresher.

It should serve about 4 pax
and can last in the fridge for about 3 days.




I served mine with Farfalle pasta
and some shredded turkey ham!
(yes i know we cheated with the ham
but its okay to have an 'off' day! haha!)

And the boy loves it
that he wanted a second bowl!




So there my version of a no-cheese pesto sauce
with little oil and lots of greens!

You can choose to swap the spinach with
coriander or basil leaves;
and switching walnuts with pine nuts or almonds!

Love, love, love this! x


******


Homemade Cauliflower Rice.

Now i cant take credit for this
as *Sorted Food*, *Jamie Oliver*
and loads more others that have done this before.

I admit I was pretty skeptical about it at first
but its surprisingly good!

So instead of having rice (carbs),
how about another alternative
that actually looks like rice! haha!




Ingredients:
Cauliflower
Pinch of Salt




Methods:

1) Chop up your cauliflower into florets and add them to the food processor.
Season them with salt and then blend until rice consistency.
(Dont wanna blend them too long or they will end up like a mash instead!)
2) Transfer to a microwavable bowl and put a cling wrap on. Microwave it for about 4 minutes.
3) Ready to serve.




I served mine alongside my mum's homemade
tau yu bak (braised pork) and some
steamed man tou (buns).



Hmmmm. Yum yum!

Go on, try it! x

Homemade Applesauce.

With all the health issues
that has been happening to my family
in the last 3 years,
im trying slowly to change our diet.

First by starting to eat clean
and of course exercising regularly,
then next is to learn to make
all my food from scratch,
which isnt easy i know,
but we're trying to get rid of
process food or canned food
as much as possible.

So learning to make my own *sauces*,
jams, butter, milk etc.,
is a huge step for me.

So since ive been feeling
under the weather lately,
bored and stuck at home,
I decided to whip out my ever-growing
recipe file that I am slowly collecting
and made this applesauce from scratch.

Applesauce or Apple Puree are a good source
for babyfood, to be eaten with oats/ pancakes/ bread/ meat,
or even a great baking ingredient substitute
if you dont want eggs in your desserts.

Click *here* for more ideas
on what to do with applesauces!

******

Okay so here's the recipe.

Ingredients:
1kg Apples (i used fuji apple)
1/3 cup of water

Now to tell you the truth,
measurements dont quite matter
as I end up adding more water than was required.

Just make sure you add bit by bit and if you are
unhappy with the consistency (if you want it thicker or thinner),
then you can add or reduce the water.




So first peel, core and cut the apples up
and put them all in a pan with the water.

Bring it up to a boil then reduce the heat
to cook for about 20-30 mins.

Keep checking and stiring your apples
and make sure they dont dry out!

Most recipes called for lemon juice,
cinnamon or even brown sugar to be added in
but i find it sweet enough for my liking
just the way it is (natural sugar from the apples).

Once its soft, you can use a potato masher
or if you like it chunky, you can leave it as it is
or like what i did was I put them in a blender
and pureed it to my desired consistency.




It can store in the fridge in a jar
for up to 3-4 days but can easily be stored away
in the freezer for months.

So there you have it,
your very own applesauce from scratch!

No preservatives, no sugar added and gluten free!

Homemade Cream Sauce (Bechamel Sauce).

So proud of myself as its the first time
I made it from scratch and the husband
couldnt stop telling me how good it was.
(Dont know if hes trying to make me feel better! haha!)

But I had a few people coming to me
and asking me how I got it done
so im sharing this easy recipe here.

To make the sauce, we need only 3 ingredients:

1) 30g all purpose flour
2) 30g butter
3) 500ml milk (depends on how thick you want, I only added about 150-200ml)

So step by step is easy!

First, melt butter in pan and then add butter
over gentle fire for 1-2 mins. This will then form the 'roux'.

Then add in the milk one bit at the time, and continue to stir.
Traditionally you're suppose to warm up the milk first
but you can also choose not to. I didnt.

Cook for another 2-3 mins once all the milk is added
to get rid of the raw flour taste.

Then add in cheese, salt and pepper for additional seasoning.
Again, I skipped this part as I wanted to go for a healthier version
but when i tasted it, I could feel that it just needed that cheese touch,
despite the hubby saying it was just perfect.

Different tastebuds i suppose!

I mixed the sauce in Farfalle pasta
with pork, white onions and cauliflower. :)

I got the recipe from *Sorted Food*
and you can check out more of their recipes *here*. x

Chocolate barks with nuts & fruits.

The title says it all.

Was having the worse Monday blues
anyone could possibly go through,
so I decided to whip up something simple
by doing a dark chocolate bark
with walnuts and orange peel.




Only 3 ingredients:
1) Choice of chocolate (milk, white, dark)
2) Choice of crushed nuts (Cashew, almonds, walnuts etc)
3) Choice of dried fruit (Apricots, cranberries, raisins, prunes etc)

*There arent exact measurements, it just depends how much you would want to make or prefer to add in.


Melt your choice of chocolate,
(i chose the healthier choice of dark chocolate)
and melt them in a bowl over
boiling hot water for a few mins.

When done pick the bowl out of the pot
and stir in the dried fruits (as many as you want).

Do this quickly before chocolate starts to set.




Place them over a tray lined with parchment paper
and sprinkle your crushed choice of nuts (i chose walnuts)
over your chocolate mixture
and let it set in the fridge for a
good couple of hours till its solid.

So simple and you can change to play around
with the choice of fruits, nuts and flavour you want
and it can be a wonderful lil' door gift too
by breaking the choc barks up and wrapping them
in clear, decorated bags.

All in a short span of 5 mins to make!

Now the only thing dreadful is the waiting time
for it to set so i can indulge. Urgh!

Peanut Butter and Soy Sauce.

So ive been quite a
cooking-channel nerd lately.

I think what drove me to this was
during the change of my diet schemes,
i started doing more research on what is best
to have in my diet for pre and post-workout.

I came across these four young chaps
which called themselves, *Sorted Food*
that aims to inspire the young generation
to do more cooking.

With homecook food,
you're able to adjust what you want
in your food with maybe less salt or less oil
and healthier options if you have a bit of a sweet tooth.

So when i came across this recipe
that the boys had invented,
I was pretty shocked by its combination.

Peanut butter AND soy sauce in a stir-fry.

You can see the video *here*.

My face cringed at the thought of it
but my god, that sounded interesting.

And so i tried it with a few twist of my own
by adding lesser amount of PB to adjust to the portion
and changed it up by putting in pork slices and cabbage instead.




And the result?
it was amazingly delicious.

No joke. Who knew PB would go so damn well with soy sauce?!

All you need to do is just put a tbsp of PB in a cup
and loosen it with some water then add in 1 tbsp of soy sauce,
mix them up which then you'll add it to your stir-fry pan/ wok.

You can adjust the amount of soy sauce or peanut butter you want
but make sure you mix them in a cup first
because I did a mistake of adding them separately straight in the wok
and the PB got stuck in a clump. -_-


******


For more of Sorted Food recipes,
you can check out their website *here*
or follow them on *Youtube*.

Try it, you'll be amazed!

Note: Dont forget peanut butter may be a good source of protein as mentioned in most articles for post-workout refuel but as always portion control is KEY!

Chicken Meatballs with a twist!

So a few people have been asking me
on how i made this and thought,
that I should just share it here. :)

It's quick, easy, delicious
and under 360 calories per servings!

Best of all there's no carbs,
which is what ive been trying to stay away
as much as possible for the next 2 months
as the wedding is closing up on us!

It's so simple, you'd be surprise yourself
that this is really under 30 mins!

And remember, the recipe is up to your liking
so theres alot of your own precision and preference
to change it around with the measurements.

There's no strict rule when it comes to this recipe!

Okay first things first, ingredients:

1) Minced chicken/ pork/ beef (your choice!) - About 400g makes about 16 balls)
(Tip: Due to religion i cant take beef, i choose chicken over pork
because it tends to be more moist compared to pork)
2) Mozzarella Cheese
3) Quarter of a zucchini
4) Broccoli (whole stalk)
5) Tomato puree/ paste (half a jar)
6) 20 ml of milk

******


First, season the meat with salt and pepper,
then roll them up into small balls.

It should weigh approx 25g each ball.
Dont want to get them too thick or its difficult
to cook them all the way thru.
(Tip: wet your hands so the meat wont stick
to your hands as you roll them up!)

Place them on a hot pan and add only
a teaspoon of olive oil to let it sizzle.

While that's cooking away,
cut up your broccoli (however big or small you like),
put them in a pot of boiling water first
to soften them up for about 3-5 mins
and while that is happening,
we chop up our zucchini into small chunks.

Zucchini is suppose to give you that fresh flavour,
although at the end of it, it will melt away in the background,
but still giving you that taste of a delicious questionmark.

Scoop the broccoli, zucchini and mix it into
your meatballs pan and along with your tomato puree/ paste.
(dont worry about water coming from your broccoli
as we are going to add in more water later)

To make your own tomato puree from scratch,
you can follow the recipe *here*
or anywhere on the internet,
but in this recipe, I used Prego sauce with mushroom
as I was kinda clearing out the fridge. haha!

Add the milk (i used low fat milk) for some creaminess,
then some water to loosen the texture up and stir on low fire.
(Depends on how thick and thin, you want the sauce to be)

While thats cooking in the pan
for a few minutes to let them
soak up all the sauce,
cut up how much cheese you would like
to be placed and pop that on top.

Cook for another few more seconds
for the cheese to melt.

WAHLAH! and your dish is ready to serve. haha :)

Hope you enjoyed that and happy cooking!

Jeeme and Baby Zander.

Taken from Hennley's facebook album and photo by *Jon Low*.

That beautiful bond with the lil man
and the lil man's best friend.

Just too cute not to document it. :)

Happy 4 months, my future-to-be nephew!




--------------------------------------------


Chef Sher.


So as you can tell
from my instagrams,
i love cooking.

It was ACTUALLY a REAL excuse
for me to move out 3 years ago,
because I wanted my own kitchen. (honest!)

Now with me working just walking distance to my home,
I make an effort to cook lunch at home,
that way I get to watch what i put in my food
and also by counting the calories i eat carefully.

Here are just some of my food inventions
for some healthy eating!

Please note that this isnt for everyone,
especially for those who want to build muscles
or have a balanced meal.

All my recipes are without carbs and counted specially
to fit my diet to becoming a bride this September!


#1



Ingredients:
Tofu (pre-fried)
Red Onion
Chicken 100g
Brussel Sprouts 100g

You'd be surprise how nice
brussel sprouts can taste by chopping them up
into tiny pieces and mixing with the right dish!

I pre-seasoned the chicken
and always fry using olive oil (Bertolli)
with only 1 teaspoon (10ml) to complete the dish!


#2



Ingredients:
Tofu (pre-fried)
Bak Choy
Red Onion
Fried Egg
Tomatoes

So here's the deal,
I only have eggs (1 egg: 90kcal)
whenever I dont have meat in my dishes.

That way i dont overdose myself
with my allowed count of protein a day.


#3



Ingredients:
Tofu (firm)
Cod Fish 100g
Red Onion
Cabbage 100g

Simple yet delicious.
Just the way i love it. :)


#4



Ingredients:
Tomatoes
Romaine
Chicken
Eggs
Red Onions
Japanese Roasted Sesame Seed Dressing (1 tablespoon)

I know i just mentioned i dont put
eggs and meat in a single dish,
but this was something I did before
i came out with my calorie count recipes.

It was also a classic cesar salad dinner
for one rainy night,
to share with the boy and I. :)


#5



Ingredients:
Tomato (half)
Chicken 100g
Spinach
Red Onions

This was clear-your-fridge day,
so I just threw whatever i had in the pan
and this turned out! :)


#6



Ingredients:
Shiitake mushrooms
Cherry tomatoes (5 = 10kcal)
1 Egg
French beans 100g
Firm Tofu

Here's another clear-your-fridge day dish haha!

I just absolutely love the colours
on this one! :)


#7





Ingredients:
Minced meat
Carrots (half)
Corn Flour

Okay so im particularly proud
of this one.

I was watching Jamie Oliver's 15 min meal
and improvised it a lil by adding carrots
before rolling it into lil balls.

I was suppose to use only 2 tablespoons of olive oil
but mum accidentally poured too much into the wok. -_-

You can always change it to add
chopped up spinach, cheese or onions into your meat
and it becomes a great snack!


#8



So i was told,
that having celery
with peanut butter was
a majorly delicious snack.

So i tried having it one tea-break,
considering celeries
are actually zero calories.

Ingredients:
Celeries 100g
Peanut butter with chocolate stripes 32g

Unfortunately for me,
it didnt change my mind at all
about eating raw celeries.





So i ran to the kitchen
to get myself plain biscuits
from Meiji (99 cal a packet)
and ate them with the remaining peanut butter.

Dont waste food right? ;p

Masterchef Australia!

I was very lucky to come across
this flyer when we were having dessert
just 2-3 days before the event
and we just had to squeeze this into our schedule,
just to be part of it!

It was a beautiful weather
and one of the best days we had
during our trip to Melbourne,
as we managed to pull out all our
family and friends to gather together!

Also there might be some spoilers ahead
as this is the new season
so only proceed if you are ready to see
whats cooking in the pan!

(I wont mention who the winners are,
just to maintain some suspense. haha ;p)



















Unfortunately,
we didnt manage to try all 4 teams
because it was too slow and the queue
was pilling up!





Look at the crazy, massive crowd!

Also the boy and Nelly
got roped in to give some food reviews
and got their 5 mins of fame as food critics!






*jealous*








My most fave picture of the day,
with Masterchef Australia judge, Gary Mehigan!

A major sweetheart
and I was super shy! haha!

And of course at the end of it all,
we had to finish it with some Gelati!






Gessie, The boy and Nelly.