Japanese Sushi Lunch

Long weekend with Hari Raya Haji falling on Friday. It has been a while since I last make sushi. So far, I have been rolled sushi (maki) with the nori outside. Decided to try the reverse method which is nori on the inside and rice on the outside. Did some research on how to do it and finally settled on California Maki. Seems pretty easy from the video I saw on the web.

After getting all my ingredients ready, I started on my 1st california roll. It was terible...I didn't realize I was supposed to use half a sheet of nori. Instead I use the entire piece. I ended up with a "jumbo" size California roll....plus my rice could not cover the nori completely and I literally had to cut off the excess nori that was "hanging" from my maki roll....:(

2nd attempt was much better after I stick to half a sheet of nori only. My rice was able to cover the nori completely and I was able to roll the ingredients tightly inside the maki roll. After topping with the fish roe, I was very happy and satisfied with the end product. It looked quite close to the california maki I buy from those sushi joint....not too bad, right? hahaha...

I also make some sushi pockets and topped it with tuna mayo and fish roe. That is much simpler compared to california maki.
Finally, after boiling the endamame, I can sit down to a filling and fulfilling lunch. Cheers!

Cookies Mania

My two favourite cookies of all time..Chocolate Oat Cookies and Chocolate Chips cookies. Planning to bake them for my friends during Christmas and wanted to try out the recipe before I make a bigger batch. So that's how I started baking them now.

The chocolate chips cookies is from my trial and tested recipe. Chocolate oat cookies is my 1st attempt but they turned out pretty good and it has a chewy texture to it. My mum like this better as it is a softer cookies and less harsh on her teeth. :)

Chocolate Oat Cookies (makes about 20 big cookies)
Ingredients
90g butter
70g caster sugar (I used brown sugar to give it a more brown coloured look)
1 egg, beaten
80g Cake flour
1/4 tsp baking powder and baking soda each
40g chocolate bits or chocolate chips
90g rolled oats

Method
1. Cut butter into small cubes.
2. Sift flour, baking powder and baking soda onto a bowl. Set aside for later use.
3. Using a hand held beater, cream the sugar with butter till sugar is completely blended into butter.
4. Add beaten egg in 3 portions and continue to cream till egg is completely used up.
5. Fold in the sift flour/baking powder/baking soda in in 2 to 3 batches using metal spoon.
6. Line baking tray with baking paper.
7. Drop spoonful of the mixture on the baking tray, making sure to leave adequate space in between (This is to ensure your cookies don't stick together after baking).
8. Bake at 180 degrees for 20 mins till it is golden brown. Remove from tray. Cool and store in airtight containers.

Easy Homemade Pizza

Wanted pizza but unwilling to fork out money for pizza with little toppings? The best solution is to make your own pizza at home. These days, with so many choices of ready-made pizza bases to choose from at the supermarket, whipping up your own pizza with your favourite toppings is really a breeze. Best part is you get to choose what you put on the pizza (usually lots of toppings and they only cost half the price of the pizza you ordered.....:)

Easy Homemade Pizza
Ingredients
1 ready made pizza base (I got mine from Cold Storage supermarket)
2 to 3 tblsp Tomato paste
Canned mushrooms (sliced)
Green pepper (sliced)
Picnic Ham (sliced)
Morzarella cheese (shredded)

1. Pre-heat oven at 200 degrees celsius.
2. Place ready made pizza base on a baking tray. Spread tomato paste onto pizza base. Sprinkle some morzarella cheese ontop. This will help to "stick" the ingredients onto the pizza once it is baked.
3. Add the other ingredients onto the pizza. You can add other ingredients or your preference e.g., pepperoni, olives, pineapple, seafood etc.
4. Top generously with morzarella cheese making sure all the ingredients are covered.
5. Bake the pizza at 200 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes till the base is brown and cripsy and the cheese has melted.
6. Serve with chilli flakes and grated cheese.


It's really easy and highly recommended when you don't want to spend too much time and effort whipping up something elaborate. It is also a good choice for friends' gathering at home. Just make sure you prepare beer to go with your pizza...it will definitely be a hit!

Oaty Banana Muffins

My second bake of the day. Recipe is from a cupcake recipe book I borrowed from the library. I can't remember the title of the book already but I have used this recipe a few times already. This recipe is definitely a keeper. Not only is the muffin easy to make, the results are always consistent, so you can be ensured of a good bake each time :)

You can bake these as small cupcakes or big muffins. Both yielded about the same result and texture. I use these cupcakes case with little strawberries on them and filled them about 3/4 full. After 15 to 18 mins of baking, a beautiful dome shape cupcake is born!


Oaty Banana Muffins (makes about 21 small muffins)
Ingredients
200g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
75g porridge oats (I used Quaker instant oats)
3 eggs beaten
175g caster sugar or brown sugar
pinch of salt
250ml corn/sunflower oil
2 medium ripe banana (mashed or cut into small pieces - depending on your preference)

Method
1. Sift flour and baking powder into a large bowl and add the oats.
2. Beat eggs, sugar and oil and salt in another bowl till pale (sugar has dissolved). Add this to flour mixture and stir till all the flour has been completely mixed. Do not over mix as your muffins will turn out to be hard.
3. Fold in chopped bananas.
4. Spoon mixture into cupcakes/muffin cases (about 3/4 full).
5. Bake for 15 mins at 180 degrees. Bake for another 2 mins at 200 degrees for a golden brown crispiness.
6. Cool the muffins and store in air tight containers.

These should be consumed within 2 to 3 days to ensure the freshness.

Almond Cookies

It's only after I logged on my own blog that I realize I have not been blogging for almost a year now :p Actually, I have been baking and cooking every now and then. Just that I usually did not take the extra effort to take pictures or post the pictures.

Today after my bake, while waiting for them to cool down before I pack them into the container, I decided to take out my camera and that is how this blog "materializes". Almond cookies are something that most of us usually bake during our traditional chinese lunar new year, but since my ground almonds is expiring soon and I love to have some, so I got down to baking it anyway!

These cookies are really easy to make. I got this recipe from Aunty Yochana (http://auntyyochana.blogspot.com). No beating or creaming required. Just mix all the ingredients and mix it into a dough. Roll them into small little rolls and they are ready to go into the oven. I am pretty happy with the results and how they turn out in the pictures. My happiness is complete when I bite into these tiny little cookies.....yummy! This is definitely the recipe I will use if I want to make almond cookies again!