Friday, September 28, 2012

Healthy Mix Fruits Smoothie


I like having juice or smoothies in the morning. Not the store bought kind but something that I juice or blend myself. As for juice it will be combinations of vegetables and fruits but for smoothies I prefer only fruits. For me having juice or smoothies is the quickest and easiest meal that contains all the nutrients in the most digestible form. You basically can add any type of vegetables or fruits to it. Once a while I like to add some non-fat yogurt or soy milk to it too. If you are worried about the sugar or calorie in certain fruits you can always use low sugar content fruits like green apple, grapefruit, berries, kiwi or lemon. This healthy smoothie tends to be high in fiber and low in calories. Do give it a try.


Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Sarawak Seri Kaya Cake/Kek Seri Kaya Sarawak


This steamed cake originated from Sarawak that uses browning sauce that is why the cake is brown in color. It comes in different names like Seri Kaya cake, Kek Hitam Manis and some called it Belacan cake. The appearance of the dark cake does resemble a piece of belacan, the dried fermented shrimp paste.

This is the second time I tried out this cake. The first time was 2 years ago when I made it for a friend using Homecreation recipe. I didn’t taste it but my friend told me that it was a bit too sweet for her. So for this cake I did some changes to the recipe and also cut down the sugar and condensed milk. With the reduction of the two I still find it a bit too sweet but Carlos said it is just perfect. Well, he has sweet tooth so to him it is alright. The next time I make this I might need to make adjustment to the recipe again.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Fruity Roasted Beet Salad


I know some of you are not a fan of beet but I just love it. I can have it in my juice or salad anytime. I will have it fresh in my juice and for the salad I will usually roast it up. Roasted beets are delightful, sweet but very earthy and aromatic. I planted some beets this year but it didn’t grow very well. I think the soil is too hard so next season I need to buy some extra soil to top it up. Anyway, I took them all out last week as I won’t have the time to water them as often as we will be travelling again soon. I just roast them with some olive oil, salt and pepper and eat it with some salad. This beet salad is full of bright colors, refreshing and sweet earthy flavors.


Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Mini Chicken Pot Pies


I baked these for Diana so she can take it to work when I am back to San Francisco. I was there in New York to take care of her since she had her foot surgery and she will be on crutches for at least 3 weeks. I try to prepare food that can be freeze up so she can just warm it up easily. With lack of ingredients and tools I still managed to bake something decent ha ha... But the area she is living at is very convenient. Shops, supermarkets and produce places are all within walking distance so it is not so bad. I wish I can stay here longer to take care of her but I can’t as I have doctor appointment and also someone very dear to me will be visiting next week before our trip to Argentina to see Carlos family.


I made short crust pastry for these pies and with the little leftover filling I used store bought puff pastry to make a 2 serving pie for us to have it for our dinner with some tomato salad. Like always I just used cream of mushroom soup for the filling to save me the hassle of getting small carton milk just for it since both of us only drink soy milk.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Ayam Masak Hitam Sarawak/Chicken in Black Sauce


I actually cooked this dish back in April but didn’t publish it until now. Well, I am actually waiting to publish it this month in conjunction with Malaysian Food Fest Month for the state of Sarawak hosted by Sharon of Feats of Feasts . My friend Shereen gave me some Masak Hitam paste all the way from Sarawak. This dish is very famous is Sarawak. It can be cook with beef or chicken. I used chicken since I have it in my freezer. I know this dish might not look too appetizing but let me tell you it is delicious. The chicken turns out really flavorful with great aroma of spices like lemongrass, galangal, cinnamon and etc in it. If you can’t find the Masak Hitam paste and like to cook this dish from scratch you can refer to the recipe here or just Google it and you will find many recipes out there in the web world.


Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Nectarine Buckle


I like making this type of cake with whatever fruits that I have in the fridge. It can be berries or stone fruits. I was clearing up my fruits compartment before my trip to New York and found a few nectarines. They don't look too good for eating and I can’t bear to throw them out either. So I just chop them up and put it in the cake.

This cake like cobbler with crumbly streusel topping and nestled in the cake can be any type of fruits of your choice. Cake like this is called buckles because as the cake bakes, it “buckles” around the fruit. The sweetness of the nectarines under-layer of buttery cake gives a harmonious nod to the cinnamon crunchy crumble topping. Enjoy!!


Monday, September 10, 2012

Apricot Glazed Grilled Pork Tenderloin

non-halal

We like having BBQ on the weekends. The weather at the bay area during summer it not too warm and we do get a lot of breeze in the evening. So it is a perfect weather to spend some time sitting at the backyard and do some grilling. Normally I will prepare a protein dish either steak, chicken or pork and we usually have it with grill corn and some salad. This is one of the usual ways we like to grill our pork loin.

Thursday, September 06, 2012

Sweet Potato Fritters


I was craving for some vadai the other day but found out that I don’t have any yellow dhal in my pantry. And you know when you have the craving you just need to have something. So I came up with this. Since I have some sweet potatoes left from my Kuih Keria so I just put it in the blender and blend it up, mix it with the rest of the ingredients and fried them up. It turns out much better than I expected but not as crunchy as vadai though. Nevertheless I am happy with it. The fritters look very much like Thai Fish Cake isn't it :)
 
 

Monday, September 03, 2012

Plum Jam


I picked the very last plum from the tree today. I feel kind of sad that I have to wait till next year to taste the sweet plums again. We truly enjoyed it very much. I picked lots of it 3 weeks ago as it all ripen at the same time. I decided to make homemade plum jam with it. I actually like homemade jam as I didn’t want to use a lot of sugar in it. I am happy with this pectin-free and not overload with sugar jam. It is tangy, sweet at the same time with great plum taste. I like it on toast, scones and Carlos like it over his plain yogurt. I still have a jar in my fridge and maybe I should make rugelach with it. Stay tune for it. I might bake it only when I am back from New York. I will be away from my blog for a while so I might not be able to reply to your comments but I will get to it as soon as possible.