The - 3rd Rainbow Cake..

2 weeks notice.. My aunt called to order a birthday cake from me.. its for my cousin 21st birthday.. she had specifically asked for a rainbow cake.. She had asked for a price but since I am an amateur and had no confidence in baking a birthday cake, let alone a rainbow cake, I had told her to put her own price tag on my cake.. That was how the conversation ends..

Happy, excited, nervous that was how I felt.. Happy that my aunt trusted me to bake a cake knowing I had never sold any cakes.. Excited that I was given the opportunity to bake my cousin 21st birthday cake.. Nervous cos - What if it fails??

Did my research on a fool proof baking cake.. The right frosting recipe.. the right glaze.. The crumb coat.. 2 weeks was more than enuf preparation for me.. Bought the necessary tools waking up early for baking.. It paid off.. My hard work paid off..

The expression that I got for my aunt was priceless.. Alhamdulillah it turns out pretty good.. I amaze myself all the time..

Here are the pictures:





I am a happy baker! =)

Where was I??

9 months of hiatus.. that is freaking long.. where was I? I was nowhere but felt like I was everywhere.. it must be what you call aging? no??!

shit happens in life.. for some it maybe sometimes, but for me it seems like all the time.. family issues, in-law issues, the kid falling sick almost every 2 weeks it has been a roller coaster ride but Alhamdulillah, got thru all of it in 1 piece!

The numerous baking, cooking and kitchen experiments in these 9 months has been exciting.. after all those shit that happens, i'd realised my pots & pans, the stove, the oven and my lovely kitchen helps me to de-stress..


My comfort zone.. This is where i'll be when i'm hiding from my Firas.. This is where i'll wait impatiently for food to be out from the oven..


My very own island.. Love them to bits!

Here's what I've been doing since my last post:


5th March 2013.. Mountain Cheese burst patty.. Homemade dinner..


The first Rainbow cake for my Sister 30th Birthday, 17th March 2013.. It was such a failure.. the frosting was a runny mess, the taste was too sweet, but it was worth the try and I wasn't going to give up yet!


18th March 2013.. Maggi Goreng Mata Lembu! Instant quick dinner..


The first lunchbox, 19th March 2013.. This is when I decided to cut down on lunch spending.. That's stir fried veg + rice + Sweet Soy Sauce chicken..


Lunchbox, 22nd March 2013.. Fried Macaroni + oven baked chicken wings + Sardine bread roll..


22nd March 2013.. Fried Shrimp on Toasted Bun.. That's a lazy dinner..


23rd March 2013.. Weekend Brekkie.. My very own Big Breakfast.. Heh!


Lunchbox, 26th March 2013.. Green Chili fried rice + chicken cutlet & 'jemput-jemput'


4th April 2013.. The instant brekkie.. Instant Prata + Cheesy Sausage one can never go wrong with these combo..


11th April 2013.. Beef Pita for a weekday brekkie..


18th April 2013.. Baked Macaroni, for a weekday dinner..


19th April 2013.. Cajun Chicken Focaccia for a weekday breakfast..


Lunchbox, 26th April 2013.. Fried Egg Seafood Noodle..


4th May 2013, Mothers' Day celebration at the beach with my Mum and faveys aunts.. My 2nd rainbow cake.. It was my mistake cos I didn't crumb coat the cake.. henc ethe runny chocolate glaze.. But everyone love them!


5th May 2013.. Chocolate Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting on a good day!


5th May 2013.. Cuppies for my dear and his colleagues.. You've gotta feed Police Officers with good food!


The first Doughnut ball 12th May 2013.. Made them during the weekend for my sister's religious class and it turns out a 'lil chewy, the chocolate glaze didn't cooperate with me.. boohoo! But I was determine to try them again!


12th May 2013.. It was Mothers' Day celebration for my MIL.. Chocolate Cuppies with Cream Cheese frosting..


Dinner, 16th May 2013.. Beef tofu stew, missing Seoul badly..


Dinner, 28th May 2013..  Roasted Chicken + Potatoes, it turns out oily & it wasn't spicy enuff for my tastebud.. Recipe from allrecipe.com


Dinner, 29th May 2013.. The effortless meal.. Ramli's Chicken Patties with toast.. When I am uber lazy, out comes the instant!


Dinner, 31st May 2013.. Macaroni Chicken Soup + Sambal Kicap.. the purrrrfect dinner on a rainy day..


Brekkie, 8th June 2013.. Cheesy beef toast..


Lunchbox, 12th June 2013.. Stir-fried veg with vermicelli noodle + Egg tofu


Lunchbox, 17th June 2013.. Tuna Onigiri..


Dinner, 18th June 2013.. My first Beef Lasagne.. Recipe taken from the back of the pasta packaging..


28th June 2013.. Mini Cinnamon Churros to kill time while waiting for dear husband to come home.. Surprisingly it turns out good..


8th July 2013.. The perfect soft donuts!


20th August 2013.. Complete dinner set for my famish husband.. Stir-Fried veg + Sambal Sotong..


8th September 2013.. When both wants a different menu for lunch.. For him, Sambal Tiger Prawns & I wanted a Ayam Lemak Chili Padi..


14th September 2013.. Weekend lunch, Nasi Goreng Kampong + Cajun Prawn + Keropok Ikan Tamban.. Power GileRR!


12th October 2013.. Midnight Snack, Tuna Mayo on Toast..


15th October 2013.. Mini Chocolate Chip muffin..


16th October 2013.. MY Meat pie for dinner..


Lunchbox, 29th October 2013.. Kimchi Fried Rice + its condiments..


30th October 2013.. Brekkie was Kimchi pancake on a weekday..


9th November 2013.. Cake pop for a cousin wedding.. I still couldn't figure out the perfect cake pop recipe but these are just too pretty!


15th November 2013.. Mushroom Fried Rice it tasted superb!


19th November 2013.. Hokkien Fried Noodle for weekday breakfast..


24th November 2013.. Ddubokki for dinner.. missing Seoul street food..

These are homemade food.. I wouldn't consider myself as hardworking but when it comes to food I get excited all the time.. and that explains why I gained 6kg after giving birth..

THE - Beef Patties!

My favorite channel has gotta be TLC or AFC!

Watching Guy's Diner, Drive-in & Dine makes me wanna open up my own diner! I had been wanting to make my own burger patties for a very long time.. So after much watching and roughly gauging what's needed i made my very own patties! Made 4 HUGE patties and had them for 2 days! Here goes:

Beef Patties



Ingredients:
* 500g minced beef
* 1 egg
* Paprika
* Cayenne Pepper
* Ground black pepper
* 1 Tbsp soy sauce
* Worchestershire Sauce

Methods:
1) Mix all ingredients together. Mix well put on grill!

THE - Soft Tofu Stew

Since we got home from our Korea getaway, hubby was craving for Soft tofu stew which we had at Insadong.. So he googled some recipes then picked out 1 which he think would taste good and forward them to me so that i could cook it after work..

I have no idea where he got it from, i only had screenshot of the recipe, the address bar wasn't in the pic either.. Here goes:

Soft Tofu Stew



Ingrdients:
* 3 Tbsp sesame oil
* 1/2 lb beef (thinly sliced)
* 1/2 Tbsp garlic, finely chopped
* 2 Tbsp red pepper powder
* 2 cups anchovy stock or beef stock
* 3 cups soft tofu
* 2 Tbsp soy sauce
* 1 lb unshucked clams
* 2 scallion, sliced
* Eggs (optional)

Methods:
1) In a soup pot, stir-fry beef, garlic, red pepper powder in the sesame oil for abt 5 minutes.
2) Add in stock and soy sauce to pot. Bring to simmer.
3) Add in clams and let it cook for abt 5 minutes or till it opens.
4) Gently slide in the soft tofu & add in the scallion. Turn off heat and serve hot!

Note: In restaurants, these stew are served in traditional earthenware bowl while bubbling hot. Raw egg is added to the stew and folded into the contentc to cook from the heat within the bowl.

THE - Cinna Rolls

Got this recipe from allrecipes.com

It turn out a lil hard at the top but a-ok on the inside.. i guess its a useable recipe! heh! Made them cos my Big Sis was craving for it! served it with a lil nutella on top, its a heavenly treat for us who loves cinnamon!

Cinnamon Roll



I made some agar-agar for my lil monster.. Bought the red colored agar-agar powder but it turn out to be a pretty pink.. It somehow reminds me of pink diamonds!

Pink agar-agar



Had decided to cook something diff for my lil monster.. Rather then the same old rice with soup for his meals, made pasta with tomato sauce for him! he is a lil choosey with his food and he only eat it when he saw his daddy eating it!
Elbow & Alpha with Italian sauce

THE - Korea Hols!!

Korea is like the bestest destination that i've been to! Friendly people, SUPERB STEWS!! Seriously, if i could land a job there, i wouldn't mind migrating to Seoul..

So here's the super overdue foodporn from... "ANNYEONGHASAEYO!!"

Dinner at Insadong..

   

Soft Tofu Seafood Stew                                Stir Fried Octopus                   

    Honey Citron Tea                                       Wheat Rice

Dinner at Jeju Island - Hwangganae Restaurant

     Side Dishes:

     Preserved Garlic, Kimchi, Anchovies, Chili Baby Squid & Cold Veg

Seafood Stew:

Crab, Clam, Mussels, Abalone, Octopus & Prawns

Lunch at Busan - Shinsigae Mall

   

   Mushroom Noodle for Lunch                                                                        

Dinner at Busan - Heundae

                                                                                                      

   Kimchi Seafood Fried Rice                              Seafood Stew

 

 Table full of side dishes

 

Supper at Busan - Heundae Market 

Black Bean Noodle