Memories in the Cooking

I love this gooey baked cheese on salad. Yummy! Ingredients: - Camembert or Brie (125g each)  - olive oil  - honey - mixed herbs - vinegar  - truffle oil Procedures: 1) Cut the cheese into 2 halves 2) Drizzle some olive oil and sprinkle herbs.  3) Bake for 10-15 mins at 180 degree celsius. 4) Place the cheese on a bed of salad. Drizzle with honey, vinegar and truffle oil. 

One perk of being a teacher is that I learn new things all the time. Last week, I brought my students to learn kaya-making. Even though, every student's kaya looked different from each other, they were all successful attempts. Just like even though everyone is different, we can all be successful in their own way. Today, I tried making kaya at home. With 25 minutes of continuous stirring, I must say kaya-making definitely develops one's patience.  Ingredients: - 3 egg yokes  - 120g gula melaka  - 200 ml of coconut milk  - 50 ml of pandan juice (blended from 100g of pandan leaves)  - pandan paste  Procedures: - Blend 100g of pandan leaves with half a cup of water to get about 50g of pandan juice. Add a little pandan paste for a brighter colour.  - Chop gula melaka into small pieces.  - Add pandan juice, coconut milk amd gula melaka into a sauce pan. Heat the mixture to melt the gula melaka.  - Beat the egg yokes. Po...

Today, we harvested a little bunch of dill from our dill pot. This bunch was too little for cooking, so we decided to make a pesto. This is a little step towards our "garden-to-table" effort.   Ingredients: - a little bunch of dill  - juice from a quarter lemon  - 2 tablespoons of olive oil - 2 tablespoons of toasted pine nuts  - 1 clove of garlic  - a few olives  - salt  Procedures: 1) Add dill, lemon juice, olive oil, pine nuts, olives and garlic to blender. Blend into a paste. 2) Add salt to taste. Serve with crackers.  * I tried using sunflower seeds to substitute pine nuts and it tastes just as good! 

I had a can of black olives and a pack of cream cheese and don't know what to do with them. So, this is a result of a little experiment in my kitchen. My family loves it!  Ingredients: - 1 can of black olives (around 25) - 1 clove of garlic  - 100g of cream cheese  - salt  - paprika  Procedures:  1) Place black olives, garlic, cream cheese in a blender. Blend into a smooth paste.  2) Adjust the taste with salt.  3) Transfer into a serving dish. Garnish with chopped olives and a sprinkle of paprika. 

I think my kitchen is kinda like an all-day breakfast joint. Because, today, we had Egg Benedict for dinner! What a eggcellent way to start the evening! So as not to waste the 5 egg whites, we made a Pavlova too!  Ingredients: - 13 eggs (serving 4 persons)  - 4 portions of toasts/eggs  - 80g of butter - juice from 1/2 lemon - 1 tablespoon of white vinegar - pepper, sea salt Procedures: 1) Separate 5 egg yokes and place them in a heat-proof bowl. Add lemon juice to the egg yokes. Mix well with a whisk. 2) Melt butter in a small pan.  3) Pour the melted butter to the egg yokes bit by bit.  4) Pour the mixture back to the small pot and heat the mixture over very small fire until a thick hollandaise sauce is obtained. Season with sea salt and pepper. Add a little hot water if the sauce is too thick until you achieve a desired consistency.  3) To a pan of boiling water, add some white vinegar. Poach 8 eggs for 3 mins. 4) Assembly the Egg Benedi...

Be warn! This is a cheat recipe for the Taiwanese Spring Onion Pancake using stored-bought roti prata pastry. Ingredients: - 4 sheets of roti prata pastry - few stalks of spring onions, chopped finely - half a teaspoon of five spice powder - 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil - 2 eggs Procedure: 1) Mix spring onions with five spice powder and vegetable oil. 2) Place spring onions on each roti prata pastry and roll it into a tube. 3) Join the 4 tubes lengthwise and twirl into a snailshell shape. Flatten it. 4) Pan-fry it on both sides. Adding beaten eggs to each side. Serve.

My eldest boy loves scrambled eggs for its soft and creamy texture. Most scrambled eggs recipes are pretty similar, with differences only in the extent of folding and the doneness. So depends on the mood of the day, we would choose to whip up an American version (less scrambled and more form) or a British version (more scrambled and watery). Ingredients: - 8 eggs - 50g of butter - salt and pepper Procedures: 1) Whisk eggs in a mixing bowl. 2) In a frying pan, melt the butter. At low heat, add the beaten eggs and fold it continously until cooked. 3) Add salt and pepper to taste.  * The 'scrambledness' and 'doneness' of the scrambled eggs can be adjusted according to one's preference.

Bread and Butter Pudding is another dish that transforms stale bread into a marvelous weekend breakfast (see earlier post on French Toast). To prevent burning the raisins, I suggest baking the pudding covered and then uncovered at the last 5 minutes. Enjoy! Ingredients: - 15 slices of stale bread, halved into triangle slices - 500ml of milk - 6 eggs - quarter cup of sugar - 1 teaspoon of vanilla paste - 1 teaspoon of cinnamon powder - raisins - butter - icing sugar Procedures: 1) Spread butter on bread. 2) Place a layer of bread on the baking tray. Top up with raisins. Repeat until all bread are used. 3) To a mixing bowl, add milk, egg, sugar, vanilla paste, cinnamon powder. Mix well. 4) Pour the mixture on the bread and let it soak for 10 minutes. 5) Bake at 180 degree celsius covered for 20 minutes and uncovered for 5 minutes. 6) Serve with some icing sugar or ice-cream.

This is a North Africa's breakfast that one can have at anytime of the day. Ingredients: - 4 cloves of garlic, minced  - 1 large onion, chopped  - 4 stalks of celery, blended  - 2 stalks of carrots, blended  - 500g of minced beef  - 7 fresh eggs  - 1 beef cube - 2 teaspoon of sugar  - 3 chopped tomatos - 1 can tomato paste  - 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds  - salt and pepper  Procedures: 1) To a flat frying pan, add vegetable oil and stir fry garlic and onions until fragrant.  2) Add celery and carrots and fry until soft.  3) Add minced beef and chopped tomatoes and fry for a while.  4) Add tomato paste and 1 cup of water.  5) Season with beef cube, sugar, cumin, salt and pepper.  6) Make 7 wells in the sauce. Break an egg into each well. Cook the dish covered until the eggs are cooked but still runny. Serve. 

We know egg salad. What about placing the egg salad on a slice of baguette serve it as a canape? Ingredients: - 5 chicken eggs, hard-boiled  - 2 loaves of baguette, sliced - 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise  - 1 tablespoon of mustard sauce  - 3 slices of bacon - rocket leaves  - pepper  Procedures: 1) Lay the sliced baguette on an oven tray. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake in the oven at 180 degree celsius for 5 minutes.  2) Pan-fry bacon until crispy. Cut into small pieces.  3) In a mixing bowl, add hard-boiled eggs. Mash the eggs. Add bacon, mayonnaise, mustard and pepper. Mix well.  4) Add the egg salad on each slice of baguette.  5) Garnish each slice by adding a rocket leaf. Serve. 

Every first day of Chinese New Year, we will have Nian Gao for breakfast. The kids will prepare coffee and tea for us (the parents) and they will then greet us with Chinese oranges. Hopefully, these traditions will form part of their childhood memories. Ingredients (5 slices): - stored-bought nian gao, cut into thin slices  - spring roll skin  - white sesame seeds  Procedures: 1) Lay thin slices of nian gao between 2 sheets of spring roll skin.  2) Pan-fry the nian gao with spring roll skin until the skin is crispy and the nian gao is soft.  3) Sprinkle white sesame seeds on the nian gao pancakes. Serve.

Can this be counted as a home-cooked dish? Today, I suddenly got a random idea to make crossiants from store-bought roti prata pastry. Look like the real thing? Ingredients: - store-bought roti prata pastry (1 piece makes 3 tiny crossiants) - 1 beaten egg Procedures: 1) Cut 1 piece of roti prata pastry into almost 3 triangles. 2) Roll each piece from the broader end. Twist the ends to make it into the shape of crossiants. 3) Place them on a baking tray and brush them with egg wash. Bake at 180 degree celsius for 10-15 minutes. Serve.

I have some over-riped bananas and I was planning to make some banana pancakes or banana muffins. But, gasps, I realised I have no eggs in the fridge! So, change of plan. I switched to make some self-invented banana toasts instead. Ingredients: - 2 over-riped bananas, mashed - 8 pieces of bread, flattened with rolling pin - 1 large tablespoon of nutella - 2 tablespoons of milk - 1 knob of butter Procedures: 1) Wrap mashed banana in bread slices. Fold into half. 2) Melt a little butter and pan-fry the toasts. 3) Make chocolate sauce by combining nutella and milk. Serve.

Smoked duck crostini - an impressive starter for home parties. Smoked duck is available from wholesalers near my place at the Woodlands area (i.e. Fasslers, Melvados). So, this recipe is so simple and only involves mixing and assembling. Ingredients: - 1 pack of cherry tomatos, cut into quarters - half smoked duck breast, cut into strips - 2 tablespoons of jam - cream cheese - 2 baguettes, cut into slices - olive oil Procedures: 1) Lay the baguettes slices in an oven tray and spread some oil on it. Bake it at 180 degree celsius for 5 mins. 2) Mix cherry tomatos, smoked duck and jam. 3) Spread cream cheese on the toasted baguettes. 4) Place cherry tomatos and smoked duck on the baguette slices.

The wonderful part about cooking cinnamon roll is that the whole house is filled with the heavenly fragrance of cinnamon. If there is an aroma to describe 'family bliss', I think it would be the smell of freshly baked cinnamon roll. Ingredients (16 large cinnamon rolls/2 large round tins): - 5 cups of flour - 1 and a half cup of warm milk - 1 pack of yeast - 3/4 cup of sugar - 1 teaspoon of salt - 250g of butter, melted - 3 tablespoons of cinnamon powder - icing sugar Procedures: 1) In a mixing bowl, add milk, sugar, 1/3 of the butter, salt and yeast. Let it sit for 1 min. 2) Add 4 cups of flour. Mix well. Let it sit for 1 hour 3) Dust flour on the dough mixture and knead it. Roll out the dough into a rectangular sheet, dusting it at each step. Keep the rectangular sheet as regular as possible. 4) Mix 2/3 of the butter, half a cup of sugar and 3 tablespoons of cinnamon powder. 5) Spread the cinnamon-sugar mix on the rectangular dough sheet. 6) Beginni...

Fancy O' Brien at home? Grilled Cheese Sandwich is the answer. You can be creative with the sandwich fillings and customise with your favourite ingredients (i.e. tuna, ham, sausages, sauteed mushrooms). My elder boy says grilled cheese sandwich is his favourite breakfast. Well... he says the same for the other breakfast food such as garlic bread and pancakes too. Ingredients: - 8 slices of wholemeal bread - mozzarella cheese - fillings (sausages/ham/mushrooms/tuna) - butter Procedures: 1) Spread butter on one side of the bread slices (Side A). 2) Place side A down on the griddle pan for 1 minute on small flame. 3) Flip the bread slices over. On side B, place the fillings and mozeralla on half the bread slices (i.e 2 out of 4 slices). Place the other half of bread slices with no filling on top of the bread slices with filling. Serve.

Eugene's story behind the Egg Mayo Sandwich (written by the man himself). When I was young, I was quite deprived of parties - either attending them or being the reason for one. When I was in primary school, the post-exam activities in those days were usually board games that ended off with class parties. In Primary 2, I had my first class party. It was a potluck party and everyone had to contribute a dish. I asked my nanny to make something for me. I specially requested for Egg Mayo Sandwich. To me, that was an act of love, a present specially for me. It was precious. As I wasn't used to parties and potlucks, I was reluctant to share my precious sandwiches with my classmates. In the end, i brought almost all the sandwiches back, minus the pieces I ate myself. So, here is my precious Egg Mayo Sandwich recipe which I share reluctantly... Ingredients: - 8 bread slices, toasted - 4 eggs - 1/2 cup of Japanese mayonnaise - a dash of white pepper powder - a sprinkl...

Actually, the pancake chief of the house is the Husband. He started cooking the English version (thinner, less fluffy) a few years ago when we had the chance to stay in Cambridge for a year. In Cambridge, we even took part in a pancake race which required the contestants to flip a pancake while running towards the finish line. In Singapore, we are more familiar with the American version which is smaller and fluffier. This Banana Pancake recipe is a variation of the American Pancakes. Ingredients: - 1 cup of all-purpose flour - 2 eggs - 1 ripe banana (can include a few more as toppings) - 1 and 1/4 cup of milk - 2 tablespoons of sugar - 1 teaspoon of baking powder - 1/2 teaspoon of salt - 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract - vegetable oil - honey/maple syrup - icing sugar Steps: - Sieve flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl - Mash banana. Add eggs, milk, vanilla extract to the mashed banana. Mix well. - Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. M...

To start the weekend on a good note, I decided to make creamy spinach omelette for breakfast. My elder boy named this "ultimate omelette" because it is simply rich, delicious and satisfying. Ingredients: - 80g of cream cheese, soften  - 125g of spinach  - 4 eggs  - 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil  - 1 knob of butter  Procedures: 1) Add a knob of butter in a pan, followed by the spinach. When the spinach softens, add soften cream cheese. Add a little pepper.  2) To another large pan, add a little oil. Add 4 beaten eggs. When the omelete is half cooked, add the cream cheese spinach filling to cover half of the omelete.  3) Foil the other half of the omelete to cover the cheese spinach filling. Serve. 

I woke up this morning realising that we ran out of breakfast food. I found some glutinous rice flour and crushed peanuts in the fridge. 15 minutes later, there was homemade Muah Chee on the breakfast table. Ingredients: - 150g of glutinous rice flour, sifted - 200g of water - shallot oil - 200g of roasted crushed peanuts - 2 tablespoons of sugar Procedures: 1) Mix glutinous rice flour and water. Mix into a smooth batter. 2) In a pan, add 2 tablespoons of shallot oil. Add batter, stir and work it until it forms a sticky, opaque paste. 3) On a tray, mix the crushed peanuts with sugar. Place the cooked glutinous flour paste. Cut the paste into bite-size and coat every piece with peanut and sugar. Serve.