this blog in Tech & U NST 26 November 2007

thanks to Suba for promoting this blog in the Tech & U NST...an excellent review from her...

LOVE cooking and baking, check out the blog called A Small Family with a Big Appetite. It is located at http://smallfamily-bigappetite.blogspot.com, or you can go to http://ezzuramd.fotopages.com and click on the link.

Interestingly, the site is developed by a doctor-cum-trainee lecturer, Dr Ezura Madiana Md Monoto. Besides reading, travelling and shopping, Dr Ezura loves cooking and baking, which explains the creation of the blog.

“Basically, the site is about sharing food recipes. I love cooking and baking. I always browse other blogs to test their food recipes. At the same time, I enjoy sharing my family’s favourite recipes with others,” she said.

The blog is designed for housewives, mothers, career professionals – practically anyone who loves cooking and baking. Dr Ezura even guarantees that she has tested all of the recipes posted on her blog.

“The recipes posted on the blog are absolutely delicious and easy to make. I welcome comments on the recipes tested by Internet viewers,” she said.

On how the blog helps to “bond” visitors, Dr Ezura said through the blog she has made new friends, from chefs to people from various backgrounds, all of whom share a common interest in food.

On monitoring the number of hits per day, Dr Ezura uses Motigo technology, a free Web analytics tool that allows her to track traffic to her site and gain an understanding of the behaviour of the visitors. The tool also helps her to constantly improve and optimise the blog to match visitors’ needs.

Apart from some scams that intruded the Comments section (in foreign languages), the site has been receiving encouraging response.“I am not sure how to solve (the scams). I usually delete comments that are not beneficial, especially when they are written in a foreign language,” Dr Ezura said.

Her future plans for the blog include uploading more recipes and linking the site to other Web sites that have similar trends.

pineapple and coconut upside down pudding

let me put the photos first...will write the recipe later yeah..! enjoy...!!

here's the recipe:

I tried out this recipe from Australia’s Food Ideas Magazine…quite easy to make and tastes marvellous….my hubby loves it so much…it tastes more wonderful when eaten with vanilla icecream…

150g butter
½ cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup self raising flour
½ cup caster sugar
½ cup shredded coconut
1 tbsp brown sugar
445g sliced pineapple (I used few pineapple cubes in syrup, enough to cover the baking dish)

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Melt 125g butter in a small saucepan over medium heat

Whisk milk, egg, sugar and melted butter in a bowl.

Sift flour into a bowl. Add caster sugar and coconut. Stir to combine. Make a well in the centre. Pour milk mixture into well. Gently stir until combined

Melt remaining 25g butter in a pan and pour over the baking dish. Sprinkle over brown sugar and stir to combine. Spread the mixture evenly on the baking dish
Place the pineapple to cover the base. Spoon batter over pineapple. Smooth the surface

Put the baking dish in the oven. Bake pudding for 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean

Stand pudding for 5 minutes. Turn over the pudding onto a serving plate.

Cut into pieces and serve with vanilla ice cream

Asian style beef

in conjunction with the recent Aidiladha, we made a beef dish....nicely marinated and can be grilled or stir fry....they are equally delicious and juicy...my sister made the marinated beef by just adding what was in the kitchen...

1kg beef slice into 1 cm thick

ginger ] grated

garlic ] grated

red chillies } chopped

coriander leaves } chopped

sugar, salt and pepper according to taste

lemongrass, pounded

oil

• mix all ingredients together. leave for a few hours (the longer you keep, the tastier the beef)


• grill the beef slices or fry in pan


• once cooked, cut the beef into slices


• do not throw away the leftover beef juice. you can turn it into delicious gravy to eat together with the beef.

Apple Pie

i tried this recipe from mamafami's fotopage....nice and lovely...

Ingredients :

250g butter

500g flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg ~ lightly beaten

5 tablespoons water (I used water from the fridge)

Filling :

2 granny smith apples , cut into small cubes

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder

Method :

1. For filling : Mix all the ingredients in a pot and cook on slow fire till the apple softens. Set aside to cool.

2. Rub butter and flour till it forms like breadcrumbs.

3. Add in egg and water, a bit at a time and mix well till a soft dough is formed. Cover with a damp cloth and leave to rest for about 10 - 20 minutes. (I kept the dough in the fridge)

4. Roll the dough thinly amd cut into rectangle shape. Put the filling at one side and cover with the other side. Put a bit of water at the edges to 'glue' the dough. Press with a fork at the edges to secure the filling.

5. Brush with egg yolk and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 - 200 degree celcius till golden brown.

chocolate apple cakes

adapted from Essential Cooking Series- Home Baking book..moist and lovely...

150g butter

3/4 cup sugar

3 eggs

2 cup flour

1/4 cup cocoa

3 tsp baking powder

1 apple, sliced

icing sugar to dust

• preheat oven 180 degrees.


• melt butter in a large saucepan. remove from heat and mix in sugar and eggs until combined


• sift flour, cocoa and baking powder into mixture. beat with a wooden spoon until smooth


• half fill the muffin cup with mixture. top with apple slices then with chocolate mixture to fill the cases


• bake for 15-20 minutes or until firm. let cool


• dust with icing sugar

basic bread recipe

i tried out making buns out of this recipe from Roshayati Johari..i got this recipe from mamafami's fotopage...soft and lovely...i made some fillings for the bun, kaya and fried mackerel with onion and cheese...i made half of the recipe and managed to get 9 buns...

Ingredients :

(A)

500g bread flour/high protein flour

100g sugar

1 teaspoon salt

30g milk powder

1 teaspoon bread improver (optional)

1 teaspoon bread softener (optional)

4 teaspoons instant dry yeast



(B) 250ml water

1 egg (lightly beaten)



(C)

40g butter

40g shortening

[you can also use 80g margarine OR 80g shortening, instead of 40g butter + 40g shortening ]



Method :

1. Mix well all ingredients in (A)

2. Add (B) into (A) and knead till smooth.

3. Add (C) and continue kneading till smooth and shiny and dough does not stick to your hand.

4. Leave to prove for 30 - 40 minutes.

5. Punch down the dough to let the air out.

6. Divide the dough according to the weight you wish. Make into balls and leave to rest for 10 minutes.

7. Shape accordingly. put the fillings you want

8. Leave to prove for 40 minutes - 1 hour. (i can't wait that long because everybody was very hungry..i prove for about 20 minutes)


9. i brush the bun with egg yolk

10. Bake till golden brown.

get groovy..!!

we went to try out some groovy Japanese cuisine at Sushi Groove at One Utama...the ambience was quite gloomy and the sitting arrangement was something different...it was a good hang out place but not recommended for small kids like Jihan due to its gloomy appearance...luckily, Jihan did not freak out when she entered the restaurant..!!

we tried some sushi....it was great everybody enjoyed the sushi...nicely presented...i bought rice with chicken for Jihan, the chicken floss was lovely and Jihan ate the rice quite a lot...we didn't like the Udon though...

overall, the food was good..but a bit pricey...i'll surely bring my hubby here (he doesn't like Japanese food but i'm sure he'll like the rice..)

Al-Diafah Restaurant

this is a middle eastern restaurant in Seri Petaling....they serve lovely middle eastern cuisine at reasonable price....the interior is superb and lovely...you'll feel that you are somewhere in an Arab country...the service and hospitality is as great as its place and name....we've been here for a few times and chose ala carte menu..recently they launched buffet lunch priced at RM 21.90++....the selection of food was good and can satisfy your hungry stomach...

i really like it here and i also like the toilet...hahahha...!!!

Restaurant Al Diafah

43-1 &45-1, Jalan Radin ANum

Seri Petaling

57000, KL

roasted asparagus

i bought some asparagus last week and totally forgot about it...hehehe...so came out with this simple yet lovely vege dish...

1 bunch asparagus

2 garlic, sliced

rosemary

oregano

olive oil

salt and blackpepper

1 lemon, juiced

• cut the asparagus into 1 or 3 parts each. boil the asparagus in water for about 3-5 minutes. dry the asparagus on kitchen towel.


• put some olive oil on a baking tin. roll the asparagus in the oil.


• add the garlic, and other herbs. mix well.


• sprinkle some salt and blackpepper


• roast the asparagus in a preheated oven 18 degrees until lightly brown and crisp


• remove from oven and squeeze a lemon on the dish.

lacy crisp cookies

from the Australian Women's Weekly cupcakes and cookies book....crispy and chocolaty...

100g dark cooking chocolate, chopped coarsely

80g butter, chopped

1 cup castor sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 cup flour ] sifted

2 tbsp cocoa powder ] sifted

1/4 tsp bicarbonate soda ] sifted

1/4 cup icing sugar

• melt chocoalte and butter in a small saucepan over low heat. transfer to medium bowl


• stir in caster sugar, egg, flour cocoa powder and soda. cover, refrigerate about 15 minutes or until mixture is firm enough to handle


• preheat oven to 180 degrees fan-forced. grease oven trays, line with baking papaer


• roll level tablespoons of mixture into balls; roll each ball in icing sugar, place on trays 5 cm apart. bake about 15 minutes, cool crisps on trays

ultimate chocolate brownies

from Periplus Mini cookbooks...this is absolutely lovely and delicious...lovelier when served with vanilla ice cream..yummy..!!!

1/3 cup flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 cups sugar

1 cup chopped pecans or pistachio (i used almonds and walnuts)

250g dark cooking chocolate

2 tsp vanilla essence

4 eggs, lightly beaten

• preheat oven 180 degrees. brush a 8x 12 inch cake tin with melted butter or oil. line the base with baking paper, extending over 2 long sides


• sift flour and cocoa powder in a large bowl and combine with sugar and nuts. make a well in the centre


• chop chocolate into small pieces. add chocolate pieces to the dry ingredients


• melt butter in a small pan over low heat. add it to dry ingredients with vanilla and eggs. stir until ingredients are well combined


• pour the mixture into prepared tin, smooth the surface and bake for 40-45 minutes.


• set aside for 2 hours before cutting


• serve with vanilla ice cream

sneak preview...

what we've been doing for the past few days...(will upload the recipes later, yeah!)

roasted asparagus

lacy crisp cookies

polenta chocolate chips

apple pie

ultimate chocolate brownies

asian style beef barbeque

sup tulang

kaya buns

mackerel, onion and cheese buns

extra large chocolate chunk cookies

my sister made this, recipe taken from an Australian recipe book...will upload the recipe later...but this cookies is very nice, soft with some chunks inside...melts in your mouth...

From a recipe book that my sister copied in Australia…we didn’t expect the cookies to become extra large and they coalesced together…but tastes superb and crispy…

175g plain (semisweet) chocolate ** we used normal dark cooking chocolate
115g butter, cut into pieces
2 eggs
½ cup sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt

1 cup pecans, chopped

1 cup plain chocolate chips

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup milk chocolate, chopped

** we used assorted chocolate bars with nut, adding all to the same amount stated

Preheat oven to 160 degrees. Grease baking sheets.

Melt plain chocolate and butter in a pan over low heat, stirring frequently. Leave to cool slightly

Using an electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar for 2-3 minutes. Gradually beat in melted chocolate.

Beat in flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, vanilla and salt. Stir in nuts and chocolate pieces

Drop heaped tablespoons of mixture onto the baking sheets 10cm apart aand flatten each to a round about 3 inches diameter

Bake for 8-10 min until tops are shiny and cracked and the edges look crisp.

Remove the baking sheets to a wire rack to cool for 2 min, then remove the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Do not allow these cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet or they will become too crisp and will break when you try to lift them

Lemon chicken

i made this to eat with the butter rice....had a lovely dinner of butter rice, lemon chicken and salad with the dressing my sister bought from Australia....

3 chicken breast cut into 2 inch pieces, coat with corn flour and salt, fry till golden, set aside

2 lemon, juiced

2 tbsp sugar

1 cup water

corn flour (to thicken sauce)

rosemary leave

• mix lemon juice, sugar and water over heat. mix well


• add in rosemary leave


• thicken sauce with corn flour


• pour over fried chicken pieces

Butter rice

adapted from kak Ummi's blog....this is lovely, almost similar to Nando's butter rice....

2 cup basmathi rice

2 cup water

1 capsicum, diced

50g butter

1 onion, diced

1 cup mixed vegetablesfrozen

salt

coriander leaves, chopped

• heat butter in wok, add onion, mix well


• add basmathi rice, mix well


• transfer to a rice cooker, add water and salt. cook rice as usual.


• add in capsicum and frozen, mixed vegetables after the rice is boiled


• once cooked, sprinkle some coriander leaves and serve hot.

express thin crust pizza

my sister made this, adapted from Jamie Oliver's...no exact measurement used, just according to your instinct (hahahaha!!!)

dough:

flour

yeast

cold water

salt

sugar

• mixed all ingredients together until it become dough

pizza sauce:

chopped tomatoes in can

tomato puree

onion, chopped

minced chicken

garlic, crushed

olive oil

oregano

salt

sausage

sundried tomatoes

mozarella and parmesan cheese, shredded

• heat oil in pan, add garlic and onion, fry till fragrant


• add in minced chicken, fry till cooked through


• add in chopped tomatoes and tomato puree


• mix well


• add in salt and oregano


• remove from heat

roll the dough flat.

spread the pizza sauce, arrange the sausage on top. sprinkle with mozarella and parmesan cheese

bake in preheated oven 160 degrees until cheese melt and crust a bit brown

batang keladi masak tempoyak (yam in tempoyak gravy)

my mum's recipe...we simply love anything to do with tempoyak gravy....

yam cut into pieces

tempoyak (fermented durian)

bird's eye chilli ] pounded

tumeric ]

daun kesum

asam keping (dried tamarind skin)

water

• blanch the yam for a while and strain. remove


• put other ingredients in a pot. let boil.


• add in the blanched yam.


• add in salt according to taste. let simmer


• remove and serve with hot rice

chicken balls soup

we had a lovely dinner today...everybody went down to the kitchen to cook something...

chicken balls soup (i did this)

yam pulp in tempoyak gravy ](made by my mum)

ikan terubuk masin goreng ]

kangkong goreng belacan } (made by my maid)

sambal telur dadar }

since my Jihan really like any type of balls, so i bought a whole bag of chicken balls yesterday...so today, i thought of doing chicken ball soup...a very simple dish...

10 chicken balls, halved

1 onion, sliced

2 garlic, sliced

1 inch ginger, sliced

star anise and cardamom

olive oil

dash of white pepper

chicken cube

salt

cauliflower florets

oyster mushroom

carrots, cubed

young corns

celery

potato, cubed

• in a pan, heat olive oil. add onion, garlic, ginger, star anise and cardamom, fry till fragrant, remove


• in a pot, boil water. add in fried ingredients and chicken cube. let boil


• add in the vegetables and chicken balls until vegetables cooked


• add salt and dash of white pepper according to your taste

Ikan parang asam pedas

my mum's recipe...we really love asam pedas...!!! everybody will stay at the dinner table waiting to sip all the gravy last...

1/2kg ikan parang

1 onion ]blend

1 tomato ]blend

3 red chillies ]blend

3 tbsp dried chilli paste

2 tbsp oil

2 stalk lemongrass

daun kesum

3 tbsp tamarind + water

lady fingers

bunga kantan

tomato, wedged

salt and sugar

• heat oil in pot, add, lemongrass and blended ingredients and chilli paste. fry until fragrant.


• add in tamarind juice. let boil


• add in fish and daun kesum, let simmer


• add in lady fingers and bunga kantan


• add salt and sugar according to taste


• remove from heat

Orange butter cake

made this cake few weeks ago...everybody loves butter cake but this time with a taste of orange...lovely and moist....from kak rin's fotopages

200g flour }

1/4 tsp baking powder} sift

1/2 tsp milk powder }

250g butter

5 eggs

175 castor sugar

2 tbsp orange juice

orange rind

1 tsp vanilla essence

• beat sifted ingredients and butter till thick and smooth


• in another bowl, beat eggs and sugar on high speed for 5-7 minutes


• add in vanilla, orange juice and rind. mix well


• pour into the flour mixture. mix well


• pour into a greased baking pan, bake for 30-40 minutes at 170 degrees

1st attempt making croissant

not so nicely done but tastes good..!!! presenting my fat croissant....



recipe from mamafami.

step by step photo from mamafami's fotopage




3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup lukewarm water
3/4 cup lukewarm milk
1 teaspoon instant dried yeast
250 g butter ~ divided into 3 portions

1. Sift flour, add sugar, salt, egg yolk and instant dried yeast into a mixer. On the mixer and pour lukewarm water and lukewarm milk, bit by bit (STOP if you get a dough- like consistency). Knead till a soft and elastic dough is formed. Cover and leave in a warm place for 2 - 3 hours to allow the dough to rise. . Punch down the dough and divide into 4 portions. If you prefer your croissants to be big, then divide to less number of portions. I made half the recipe so I divided into 2 portions.
2. Knead lightly and roll out into a rectangle.
3. Dot or grate 1/3 of the butter over the top 2/3 of the pastry, leaving a border.
4. Fold the bottom third of the pastry over the middle third and...
5. ...the top third over that. Press the edges together. Turn the dough around (clockwise) and then roll out to the original size. Repeat this folding and rolling process twice more with teh remaining butter, then once without any butter. Chill for 30 minutes before each rolling.
6. Roll each portion into a large rectangle.
7. Cut into 4 triangles.
8. Make a slit at both sides of the triangle.
9. Roll up each, starting from one corner to the opposite corner with both hands.
10. Seal the point of the triangle with a little beaten egg yolk.
11. Curve each croissants into a crescent shape.
12. Arrange on a baking tray.
13. Brush with beaten egg yolk. Leave to rise in a warm place for 15 - 20 minutes.
14.Preheat the oven to 200 C. Bake the croissants for 5 minutes then reduce heat to 180 C and bake for a further 15 - 20 minutes

Date bars

my mum made this during the weekend. taken from the Shape magazine

Date filling:

3 cup chopped dates

1 1/2 cup water

Crumble:
1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup shortening

1 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cup instant oats

• place dates and water and stir continuosly on low heat (10-15 minutes) until its consistency becomes paste-like. cool


• heat oven to 200 degrees. mix honey, butter and shortening.


• add in flour, salt, baking soda and oats.


• grease 8x8 inch tin and press in half the mixture


• spread the filling on the dough


• lightly press the remaining crumbles onto the filling


• bake for 25-30 minutes


• cut into 2x2 inch while it is still warm