Mommy's Big Day

Today is my mommy's b'day! Happy Blessed Birthday Mommy dearest!

Can never describe how blessed i felt to have you as my mom. Wld not be who I am today without your unconditional motherly love, prayers, support and nurturing and for bringing me up all the years!

Loving you always, Joyce

P/S: pardon me for not updating. My internet memory size is running low and i tot i better save it for more important business like emails n stuff. We had a good easter long weekend; went bbq n did a lot of baking. Wld appreciate your continuous prayer for me n Mic. and Do take lotsa care! God bless!

All glory to my ABBA

Hey Hey, praise God! I passed my drive test and have just converted to a Victorian Driver Licence! Hehe, all efforts, painful lessons n scoldings are all worth it. :-)

Pineapple tarts, again!

I have been making lotsa pineapple tarts lately. And other cookies too. Flapjacks have been one of my latest favourites also, but I will share this in another post instead. Life has been busy busy; searching for God’s direction is on top. Driving test is in 5 days, which I pray I can pass successfully.

Pineapple tart is, of course, not something common you can find here. Many locals have not heard of it, and so do other foreigners. I attended a life group lately and there was this Eyptian couple who complimented how nice the tarts are. It was their first time, n i was happy to share the heritage and significance of these goldies in Malaysia and Singapore (only), especially during the lunar new year.  Another lady asked what they were called in Malay; and guess what, I couldn’t answer becoz I don't know. Isn’t pinapple tart more of a Chinese thing? I believe so.

Anyway, like the previous ones, I had to cook the paste from scratch. Pineapple is kinda in season now; just the other day I bought a mini one for hub (who decided to switch to pineapple for a change after the peaches are gone) and it was sweet and nice. What i love to do is buy lots and make them into paste, refrigerate so that they can come handy when i need them.

Just a news to share: I wil be enrolling into Mel Uni for a year in masters of Env Engineering in July. If that doesn't happen, that means God has put me in Coffey. Nevertheless, i just wan to praise Him for everything. God is really awesome! 

Finally scones!

We are now two hours ahead of GMT , turned back the clock an hour to EDT last Sunday. Tat means I am only two hours ahead of home!

Tell you a secret, I have this phobia when comes to baking certain stuff. One of them is non other than scones, which I often heard bakers complaining how complicated it is and how difficult, to obtain a 'soft but hard on the outside' texture. For reasons which I don’t know why I’m afraid, I never tried making scones. Until I came to Ozzie land. I used to eat alot of scones back in UK but never thought or even had the courage to make them. Then again, I was still very fresh back then. I am not saying I am extremely talented todat, but many years of baking somehow, taught me to be confident.  

If you have been following my blog, you would have known how many times we have had devonshire scones for the past months. Not mentioning the scones from supermarkets and cafes, yes, I admit I have a BIG thing for scones. I love them hot and warm with good homemade jam and a big dollop of whipped cream. Heaven! The thing about Ozzie scones is that they are usually served with whipped cream instead of the conventional clotted cream; wherelse in the UK we have the latter.

Just this morning, I was getting ready some cookie dough for an upcoming cell group meeting (after remaking pineapple paste last nite), and all of a sudden, i found myself kneading a very sticky dough. It wasn’t prepared; nor was it planned; but i was craving for some hot scones and those in the supermarkets weren't good enough to my standard (aiseh) so i just simply juggled with a trial and error experiment to satisfy myself.  The dough was so sticky n extremely hard to handle, i thought it must be a failure. But eventually i popped the ugly sticky roundies into the 220oC oven and nearly, so so almost, screamed out of my lungs (not on top but out) when i saw the darlings rising!

7/4/2011
Had the scones this morning with homemade peach jam and i think i'm fairly there. Still a bit cakey like the ones in ms Marples (after cooling), which i think is becoz i added too much liquid but otherwise, after heating, the outer layer is hard n middle soft. purfect. I will practise til perfect!

Not quite Anzac

If you have noticed, I have been baking lotsa cookies lately. No particular reason, just that when there are only two people in the house, baking a cake is definitely not a wise idea. Especially when these two are trying to abstain and lose weight. I’m not saying that cookies are helping in that sense, but the plus abt them is that they are able to keep longer, wherelse for cakes, there is an obligation to finish within 2-3 days.

Well well haha, to be perfectly honest, I am craving for a chocolate cake as I’m writing this post. Moist, chocolatey n the bite that just slides through your throat giving that ‘ahhh’ satisfaction. Don’t know why I seem to find pictures of chocolate cake everywhere on the recipe books I’m currently engaged in, and I almost, (90% almost) gave in to the temptation. Yeah, the loser me who’s trying to lose 5kgs am now craving for a big slice of chocolate cake. Sigh, life is cruel sometimes, isn’t it?

Anzac is not something new to most of us, n I remember myself first being introduced to the cookies during my undergraduate years. I had thought it was sth to do with Australasian (with exception to Fiji and Papa New Guinea) and sure I was right. This cookie remains very significant after many years, n with Easter coming soon (Anzac Day follows after Easter Monday), most supermarkets n bakeries are promoting the cookies on high. I have tried some from Woolworths, which I didn’t like at all. To me, a good anzac shd be crispy, n butterscothy with this crunch that you get as a result of the coconut and oats. But the ones I tasted was soft n chewy, which tasted more like coconut macaroons, n they are (I must again emphasize) overly too too sweet. Eventually I found out that there are two types of Anzac, just like chocolate chip cookies; chewy and the crispy version. So they are not wrong after all!

Few days ago, I was telling hub about Anzac and the significance of these cookies. Anzac which falls on the 25th April marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by the Ozzie and Kiwi forces during WW1. The cookies came about when someone created a new recipe that uses golden syrup as a natural preservative. This enabled the cookies to be transported to the European battlefronts and arrive fresh even after several weeks at sea.

By telling him the story, I sort of got inspired to bake a batch of these cookies. Also as part of the project I mentioned earlier. In the end, I made some ‘not quite Anzac but still Anzac anzac’ cookies which I have improvised (sth which I like doing instead of following blindly to recipes). Why not quite? Check the recipe below if you wish to know:

Not quite Anzac
Makes about 44
125g butter
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup of mixed dried fruits eg sultanas, tropical mix (papaya, banana n pineapple), raisins, or apricots (dice into very small pieces) **
1/4 cup processed bran and wheatgerm (mix together)
1 tbsp of genuine maple syrup (or honey) (original recipe calls for golden syrup)
1 cup dessicated coconut (do use good quality ones)
1 tsp bicarbonate soda
1/2 cup of wholemeal flour (sift)
1/2 cup of plain flour (sift)
2 tbps of boiling water***

3/4 cup of firmly packed brown sugar (I reduced it to 1/2 cup because the mixed dried fruits add further to the sweetness)

1. Preheat oven to 150oC.
2. Melt butter and golden syrup in a large saucepan. Add bicarbonate of soda mixed with boiling water.
3. Combine all dry ingredients then add in melted mixture.
4. Mix to a moist but firm consistency.
5. Drop teaspoonfuls of the mixture onto a tray.
6. Bake till golden brown approximately 15-20 minutes.
7. Cool for a few minutes before placing on a wire cooling tray.

** I mixed in some sunflower seeds also.
*** for thinner crispier biscuit, add an extra tsp of boiling water. 2 tbsps of water works just fine for me.

This recipe is definitely a keeper. N I believe healthier? My hub munched away half the container few hours after I baked these goodies, telling me how good they are. Best part is they are so easy n I don’t even have to take out the mixer!

More cookies up next!

Blessed Birthday to my Papa

Today's my daddy's birthday. I feel like a disappointment to him; I feel like i have not been doing my part as a daughter to look after and accompany him at this stage of his life when he has, throughout the years, worked so hard to nurture and bring me up, and i feel awfully bad for the million miles distance apart.

Dad is my ultimate best friend. When i was young, i looked up to him as my protector, my provider, my guidance and my driver. He was seldom at home due to work, n i remember myself being excited every Saturday because dad was coming home. He wld come home with some food in his hand for me and mom and buy me beautiful clothes n gifts throughout the weekend. It was his routine to treat us dim sum breakfast at the then famous Nam Hing every Sunday after church, I always looked forward to weekends because dad was home. 

And then i grew up, went to secondary school and dad moved back to KK for good. He was my driver. Always punctual. He wld buy me 'char sao baos' as my breakfast on the way to school. N after school, he wld bring me to have good lunches. (Now you understand why i was a lot bigger in size when i was 17 - 19). He was always eager to find out my day at school, listened and gave me his advices. He worked hard to send me to the university. It was him who inspired me to study engineering and further my study in the UK. Without him, i wldn't be who i am today.

The routine continued even after i started working. Dad wld call up and treat me yum chas every evening, without doubt. Dad sent Kim to accompany me when i first moved to Ozzie. So that i wldn't be alone. Dad has been such a wonderful parent to me and my sisters.  

God is gracious. He has blessed me with many things in life and the most significant is my dad. Thank you for everything and i trust that God will continue to bless you in your life, health and career. May the joy, love and peace of God continue to abound in your life, and i love you always my Papa.  

Ginger nuts

I tend to crave for sth gingery during certain times of the month (I hope you understand wat I meant hehe), and I bought this packet of ginger nuts few mths back when I was having that crave. Somehow I feel that ginger nut originated from Ozzie land, because I’ve never seen it so prevalent anywhere else like how it is here, or maybe I have not noticed (not sure). Gingerbread men is what I normally hear but not ginger nuts. And guess what, they are the same! LOL.

By the name itself, I was expecting that it is some ginger flavoured cookie with mixed nuts, but after the first bite, I was surprised not to find any trace of nuts!! And it was so crunchy I nearly broke my front tooth. LOL. Despite the hardness, my hubby and I like it; ginger nut has this special tangy aroma and cinnamony taste which I later find out was due to melted butter n golden syrup. Somehow if you melt butter n sugar together you’ll get this butterscotchy kinda aroma, which is exactly how ginger nuts smell. And the taste was real comfort. Credits to cinnamon!

Hence this tryout. I was trying to make sth in between crunchy n soft while abstracting the same taste. The only mistake I made was adding cardamom which makes the cookie tasted a bit like chai – without the tea (although I don’t know if chai without tea is chai LOL, but definitely very ‘chai’). N I had reduced the sugar too much, which I really shouldn’t, in order to get the tanginess out. Nevertheless, after much improvising, here is the ultimate recipe for a good batch of ginger nuts:

Ginger Nuts
Makes 20.
45g butter
40g firmly packed brown sugar
60g golden syrup
130g plain flour
1/4+1/8 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tbsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon **
1/8 tsp ground cloves

1. Preheat oven to 180oC or if fan forced, to 160oC. Grease and line oven tray.

2. Combine butter, sugar and syrup in a small saucepan (or a milk pan) and stir over low heat until smooth and sugar has dissolved.

3. Remove from heat and stir in sifted dry ingredients. Do not overmix. Only mix til no trace of white is seen and a soft dough is formed. Leave to cool for 10 mins.

4. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of mixture into balls. Place at abt 3cm apart on greased or lined tray and flatten slightly.

5. Bake for 10 minutes (or up 15 mins if you desire the crunchier version, but be reminded that the cookies tend to harden upon cooling).

6. Cool before serving.

**Some recipes omit cinnamon, but i advise you not too.

The ginger nuts tasted better the next day than when they were just baked.
Real comfort. Do tryout!