Lunch

This was my lunch with a bowl of plain porridge. I 'm trying to nurse Tummy back to health so that she can return with a vengeance on all that she had been missing. Grrrr............

My thanks to all you dear blogger friends and visitors for your well-wishes. My to-do list gets longer with each lingering day as I can only visit food blogs and drool over the delicious food posted.

But like what Arnold What's-his name said, "I'll Be Back!"

Angled loofah - one of my favourites. I love it in soups or stir-fried.

I simply sauteed 1/2 teaspoon of chopped garlic in 1 teaspoon oil and added in the loofah, followed by some prawn stock (I keep it frozen). While it's cooking, I lightly beat an egg with some salt and drizzle it in and let it cook for a minute or two. I added some leftover tomato and seasoned it a little. And lunch was ready.

Food Thickener

For cream soups, stews or some other dishes which require the gravy to be thickened, I usually use corn flour /cornstarch. The corn flour has to be mixed with water before adding it into the gravy. If I am not careful, I end up getting lumps in the gravy.

I have stopped using corn flour to thicken gravies. Instead I have been using a food thickener which is easy to use. Though it is slightly heavy on the budget, I like it in that the gravy stays thick without turning watery and I don't have to use much.

It can be obtained from any pharmacy located at the hospitals.

Breakdown

A mean bug

Intervals of tummy cramps

Frequent loo visitor

Woozy head

Cross out oily

Cross out spicy

Plain and light

Tasteless on the buds

Desist no more

Visit doc

Tomorrow to say

Hello

I'll Be Back!

A Savoury Moment

What do you do with near-expiry bread?

Think, think, think..........

Ah ha!

Bread.......

Pudding!!!

Nowadays, bread comes with expiry date. My family could hardly finish a normal loaf of bread before its shelf life. What do I do? I store the remaining 2 to 3 slices in the freezer.

Then comes another fresh loaf and the same happens to it.

Eventually I have a new loaf of 'expired bread' in the freezer.

I thought I would keep it for my grandsons to feed the fishes at a nearby pond but I remembered coming across a recipe by Mochachocolata-Rita and changed my mind.

A Savoury Bread Pudding! It got me excited. I have eaten the dessert type of bread pudding which is sweet and I would drown it in vanilla cream! YUM!

But a savoury one - this I had to try!

What I Used: (I tweaked the recipe to suit my taste)

2 slices wheat bread (I used 3 slices wholemeal), buttered and ripped

2 eggs (I used 3 eggs)

1 cup milk (I used low-fat milk)

1/2 cup grated cheese (I used 3/4 cup cheddar), keep some for topping

1/2 tin cornbeef (I used 1/3)

1 medium white onions, coarsely chopped

2 red chillies, thickly sliced

1 teaspoon mixed herbs

1/2 teaspoon parsley

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

What I Did:

1. Beat eggs and milk lightly. Mix in cornbeef.

2. Add in spices, some cheese, onions and chilli. Mix well.

3. Grease and line tin. (I used a 20-cm round tin and lined with foil.)

4. Pour mixture into tin and sprinkle top with remaining cheese.

5. Bake at pre-heated oven 180 degrees C for 40 to 50 minutes.( After 25 minutes, I covered the top with a foil as it was getting quite brown and left it on till end of baking time.)

6. Cool slightly and serve while still warm.

As I did not grease the foil well, it was quite difficult to remove the pudding without getting part of it stuck.

I had it for dinner with some greens. Satiation was the feeling!

R.U.M B.A.L.L.S

Do you have leftover cake?

Don't know what to do with it?

Here's a solution......

It's...........

R

U

M

BALLS!!!!

I love to bake and I have this perennial problem of finishing up the products. Not that my family doesn't like cakes or other baked stuffs, it's the calorie count that bothers them. ;p

Sometimes I give away, sometimes I freeze, sometimes I 'recycle'???

I MAKE RUM BALLS and it never fails - they are snapped up within a day or two....hmmm.....

What I used:

About 250g leftover cake

50g cherries (I omitted this - didn't want the extra sweetness)

80g walnuts, chopped (I used walnuts only)

80g almond, roasted and chopped

2 teaspoons cocoa or less, diluted with a little water to paste (I used 100g cooking chocolate, melted)

1 tablespoon rum or rum-flavoured paste (for those who can't take rum)

Some condensed milk enough to bind the mixture (I used some leftover buttercream)

Some chocolate rice or desiccated coconut

What I did:

1. Put everything into a mixing bowl and mix till combined.

2. Roll mixture into balls.

3. Roll in chocolate rice or coconut.

If you want a more chocolatey taste, roll the balls in some melted chocolate and then roll in chocolate rice. (The chocolate rice sticks better)

4. Refrigerate to store. Serve any time.

Mini Rum Balls

My Latest Addition

Oh gee!

Another restless night!

So I am back to playing with fondant.

This time - it's flowers!

Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce

After drooling at Ju's pics of the chilli sauce, I couldn't wait any longer. I got the recipe from She Simmers posted on Ju (The Little Teochew). But I adjusted it a little and increased the portion.

It's a very-easy-to make chilli dip. Oooh, can't wait to dip kropok into it. Yum!

What I used:

To be blended together:

14 red chillies and 4 chilli padi (for that extra heat)

6 cloves garlic

2/3 cup sugar + 2 tablespoons more

1 1/2 cups water

1/3 cup vinegar

3/4 tablespoon salt

1 1/2 tablespoon cornflour mixed with 3 tablespoons water

What I did:

1. After blending the ingredients, place in a pot and bring it to a boil on medium heat.

2. Then simmer for about 10 minutes, then stir in the cornflour mixture and continue stirring to prevent lumps from forming. I used a whisk to stir.

3. Simmer on low heat till it bubbles, stirring all the time. Check for taste and consistency.

If too thick, add a little water at a time to get your preferred consistency.

4. Store in a clean glass jar and let it cool before keeping in the fridge.