Of Heart and Mind

This is one of my fav.... you can just dump in anything that fancy, fruits, nuts, chocolates, oats... ANYTHING!  And the best part is... it'll take less than half an hour to prep, about an hour to soak and bake it for 45-60mins.  Voila... they're ready for you to dig in.   Warm Cheese Bread Pudding ... just the way I like it If you are expecting some guests and you don't have enough time to prepare anything to serve them... think of this bread pudding.  You can have it chilled before serving or you can serve it warm - it all depends on what you like.  Alternatively, you can call this WHAT-I-LIKE Bread Pudding.  It is best served with vanilla sauce... but having it without the sauce is just as good. So, are you ready?  Here goes... Spray your baking pan (I used a square 8"x 8" pan) with non-stick baking spray. Cut your preferred bread in cubes and arrange them in the baking pan - arrange or just throw them in.  Style and creativity is n...

I haven't been blogging since like forever.  I have so much to write about but as soon as I hit home everyday, I struggled for that 'extra' time to indulge myself...  dishes, laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc etc will always be there for me... day in day out.  Having a live in maid is a no-no for me..... though house chores can be very extremely tiring and challenging at times. But hey, no worries, I will be at home for 2 weeks so I will have a whole load of 'extra' time and I think I can spare some on updating my blog. Today, I want to share one of my favorite recipes ..  Aglio e Olio Pasta.  I've tried so many times to find the perfect recipe, but to no avail.  The one I am sharing today is the closest to 'goodness'.... hehehe.... not yet there, but yeah... edible :D  This is Nik's fav, btw... and it is one of those regular and/or 'must haves' meal in my home. There's always a secret or trick of the trade to a good recipe and I ha...

Baking cakes is my passion.... Somehow, my passion for bread-making is something that I discovered along the way, out of nowhere. My first 'bread-making' experience was when my husband asked me to make Cinnamon Rolls because he loves eating them with cream cheese. I've been keeping the Cinnamon Rolls recipe for God knows how long.... Since I used hate kneading dough so much, it took me quite a while to try it out.  Was so afraid of failing to make the dough rise, but when I actually made the rolls, the outcome did wonders to me... and so the rest was history. I continue to search for good bread recipes ever since.... and last nite I found one.  This is more of a 'sweet rolls' recipe because it uses honey, but I love it anyway.  Thanks to Allrecipes for this wonderful dinner rolls recipe, but I also made some minor changes to suit my taste buds. Just try it out and let me know what you think... 2.5 tsp active dry yeast, soak for 15 minutes with 1 cup of ...

My husband had been asking me to bake this ever since like..... foreva!  Because I was afraid of yeast, I used to ignore his request... hahaha! Until I bumped into this at  Allrecipe  .. all I can say is.... it's worth a try.. definitely!  I made this 3 times already and they turned out good every time.  So... LET's! I added some variations to the original recipe... check out the notes below. For cinnamon dough: 2 packs yeast (11g each pack) 1/4 cup warm water (not too hot or you will kill the yeast!) 1 1/2 cups buttermilk (I used plain yogurt) 1/2 cup vegetable oil 4 1/2 cups plain flour, sifted 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp baking soda Filling: 100 gm butter, melted 1 1/4 cup brown sugar 2-3 tsp ground cinnamon Topping: 250gm cream cheese  1/2 to 1 cup icing sugar, sifted  1 tsp vanilla essence (Beat all ingredients on high speed until smooth and creamy) Preparing the rolls: Dissolve yeast in warm water until foamy - leave for about ...

Home made doughnut has always been my fav kuih... I can say no to Dunkin' Donut or JCO and the likes ..... but soft, home made doughnut covered with castor sugar will melt me anytime. Since i am now sooo in the mood to make kuih that uses yeast - partly because i love to see the foam when you add warm water to the yeast.. and also to see the dough rises - i thought why not I try this one out.  After I did some research (ha! ha!), I finally found one recipe from Azie Kitchen  sometime ago and I have been keeping it like forever... I have never tried it because yeast and knead used to scare the hell out of me! Anyway, I was so bored today and since it was tea time.... I decided to make some doughnut!  I ran through the list of ingredients to make sure I have them all... yes, you don't want to be soakin the yeast only to find out that you don't have enough flour... ak-ahh! OK, all checked. So.. LET's! 11gm (1 packet) of yeast Soak with 200ml warm water (not too ho...

It was raining cats n dogs today and by the time i reached home it was already 8pm! Sigh!  I really  hate it when it rains in KL... like it's a guaranteed sign that you will be stuck on the road with feet going numb, tummy starting to growl and all you have is the DJ on the radio to keep you entertained.  If you are lucky, you'll get to listen to your favorite songs. There's so much going on in the office and they sucked out all my mood this week.  So today as soon as I got home, I reached out for my loyal friend in the kitchen.... my cake mixer... hee hee hee I've been saving this recipe for so long and it was time to give it a GO.  I never fancy sugee cake but I just love trying new recipes... it gives me a good feeling once the aroma of the baked cake fills the air... and the feeling when you take a bite of the hot-and-fresh-from-the-oven-cake.... priceless! So here goes... SUGEE CAKE  250 gm butter 230gm – 250 gm castor sugar (I used 230 g...

Of late, i find myself wanting to bake something that I have the least interest in, not until these last few months ... like baking traditional kuih or cooking dishes that are not even on my cooking list.  I guess age is catching up on me that I am starting to cook what my mom used to cook ... :0 Last nite I was so bored that I started flipping my 'Saved Recipes - Not Tested' folder.    These are collections from so many sources ...  my friends, cousins, food blogs, magazines, etc.  Then I came across this recipe and I thought the steps are quite simple.. in a dash, I was already in my lil' office preparing the ingredients.  I like this kuih and this is my second time trying.  The first one was not at all successful :(   Anyway, you will need the following ingredients to make this nice Kuih Bakar Pandan: A 10-15 pcs of pandan leaves  2 cups water Blend these two ingredients and sift to get the pandan juice.  Take 1 1/2 cups of p...

I simply love pasta... any kind any shape.. well, who doesn't, right? This is one of my fav dish... yup, it's because i like to eat it, but above all.... it's the simplest dish to prepare :) For pasta, choose your fav pasta and boil according to the instruction on the packaging.  I always use either fussili or penne. Meatballs 500gm lean minced beef  (season with salt n pepper) 1 egg 1/2 cup breadcrumb  1-2 tsp dried herbs (parsley or oregano) Olive oil (to fry) Mix all ingredient (except olive oil) and make sure all are evenly mixed and well blended. Shape up the minced beef to make medium sized meatballs.  Heat up your frying pan (medium heat) with 1 tbsp olive oil.  Fry the meatballs just enough to dry 'em up on the outside.  Do not stir vigorously, otherwise you will break the meatballs apart.  But this is optional (the frying, I mean). You can straight away toss the meatballs into the tomato sauce without frying. Tomato sauce ...

It's Saturday and this is the second week we spent the day indoor.  Naqeeb is still 'recuperating' .. hahah so we decided not to go anywhere until he is fully recovered.  That will be 2-3 days more.... ouch!  Can't wait!  Hobbit the movie is waiting for me.... huhuhu Anyway, I was on my lazy mode today and decided to cook something simple for dinner.  Actually. not really dinner because it was just only 5.30pm when we had our meal this evening.  I made Shepherd's Pie today, so let's see NAH's version of this pie. Filling: About 500 gms minced beef (you can use minced lamb if you like) I added about 100-200gms beef (thinly sliced).  Make sure you buy good quality beef, otherwise you will be chewing forever. 4-5 cloves garlic (whole, pounced) 5-6 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 1-2 tsp brown sugar 1 beef cube 1-2 tbsp olive oil (to fry garlic) 1 cup water 2  tbsp corn flour - mixed with 3 plain water salt to taste ** you can add slic...

Suddenly i realized that it's already December ... haizzz... where was I? I'm just gonna share with you what I baked tonite... it was a busy day for me but I've been wanting to bake this for sooo long... and tonight I did it.   Such a nice cake, great recipe - definitely a keeper.. thanks to Betty Crocker... hehehe but I added some stuff in, just to add a little bit of taste.  Let's chekidout! For pineapple layer: A 70 gm butter 50 gm brown sugar 1 can pineapple (round) 5-6 fresh cherries Melt butter in an 8"x8" square baking tray - I just left it in the pre-heated oven for about 5 mins.  Then , take the tray out and sprinkle the brown sugar over butter - make sure it is evenly sprinkled.  Arrange pineapple and put the cherries (halves) in the middle (refer to pic below).  Set aside while you prepare the cake batter For cake batter B 1 1/3 cups plain flour 1 cup sugar 75 gm butter 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 3/4 cup milk ...

 I love my fried chicken wings! ... sometimes we just have only chicken for dinner, and nothing else. The boys will be eating these will all their fingers, no rice, no salad.. nothing. Let's see how these are made. 6 pcs chicken wings, washed and cleaned 3 tbsp marmite (or you can use Bovril) 2 tbsp osyter sauce 1 tbsp soy sauce (sweet) 1-2 tbsp honey black pepper pinch of salt cumin powder last but not least....... cups and cups of TLC.... hehehhe   You can also use Bovril.... and leave the chicken for a few hours before you fry them   Mix everything and marinate chicken for 1 hr or so. Fry and serve hot.  Yummy!

I made trifle last weekend and invited Nik's sisters over to enjoy lunch at our house.  I had nasi dagang to go with it... hahaah what an odd combination, ey?  Check out my previous post for nasi dagang recipe. I enjoyed cooking so much and if only I have the time....... I would've invited guests to my house every weekend.. LOL! Btw, trifle is so easy to 'assemble' but very 'time consuming' to prepare.  It's all about layering the ingredients, so you may need to prepare the 'layers' in advance to save time... plus you need another 3 hours or so to chill it in the fridge. OK, here's the recipe for my Trifle.  You will need these, as a start Step 1 Cake rolls or butter cake or pound cake I normally buy this to expedite the process.. hahaha but you can always bake yours and cut to your desired shape to fit the trifle bowl  Mine looked like this... Step 2 After arranging the cake in the bowl, pour strawberry sa...

Goodness!  I haven't been updating my blog for so many weeks already.  Been so bz, not with work but with life.... hahahaha.... Anyway, I just wanna share this recipe which I've been saving since I started baking in early 2000.  I have always love baking and ... eating.... especially desserts. Keep this cake overnight and it'll taste .... much better... delicious! Ingredients 250 gm butter 1 1/2 sugar 2 1/2 self rasing flour, sifted 3 eggs 2 tsp vanilla 100 gm buttermilk 100 gm whip cream 1-2 tbsp cocoa powder, sifted 2 tbsp milk Method Mix A Beat butter and sugar till white and creamy.  Add in vanilla and eggs, one at a time.  Continue to beat till well blended. Mix together buttermilk and whip cream.  Add to the butter mixture, alternate with flour.  Mix B Finally scoop out one cup of the mixture and mix in cocoa powder and milk.  Mix till well blended. Pour mix A and B into a bundt pan, alternately .  Us...

I got this recipe from my sis in law in KB and of course, her version tastes much better....  hehehhe.  Anyway, here goes.... Marinating the chicken: 3-4 garlic 1 inch ginger A pinch of salt (to taste) * blend everything and marinate chicken overnight Making the sauce: Ingredients (A) 4-5 shallots 1-2 garlic 1-2 inch ginger 2 inch lemongrass 1-2 tbsp bawang goreng (thinly slice shallots and fry till golden brown) * blend all Heat (please put on very low heat) coconut milk (from 2 coconut) and stir, while adding A into the mixture. Continue to stir until mixture boils.  Add 1 whole lemon grass, salt to taste and black pepper (optional). Add brown sugar or 'gula melaka' and 1 asam keping. Cook until the sauce thickened. Preparing the chicken: Arrange the marinated chicken on a baking tray (lined with aluminium foil) and scoop some of the percik sauce and pour on the chicken. Bake/grill on high temperature till the chicken is coo...

I felt like having a  veryyy light dinner yesterday... tho I was back at home a lil' early, i.e. around 6m, as the lab ran by Pemandu concluded earlier than usual. Nothing seemed 'light' in the fridge... so I thought... why not fix a breakfast menu for dinner?  And breakfast menu was all we had yesterday (for dinner) ... hehehe Naqeeb decided to put up at my mom's house, so my menu last night was simple - as Naqeeb prefers rice than anything else.... So I made my special scramble egg.... fluffy, healthy and yummy :)  Let's check out how to do this.... Serving - 2 persons 2 eggs + 2 egg whites (healthy la konon  nya ni...).. but seriously, it tastes better :)  try it if you don't believe me... salt & peppa... to taste 1/4 cup of fresh milk 1 tbsp of mayo Beat all eggs + egg whites, add salt to taste Add mayo and fresh milk, and beat lightly Fry the egg (I used 2 tsp olive oil) and add pepper (if you wis...