fishing for ideas

Hypothetically speaking lah kan,
if I am compiling my easy peasy recipes into a book,
what (which or what kind of recipes) would you like to see in it
and into what categories should I divide them into?
Would you like pictures?

P/s
please take a moment to vote on my poll ------------------------>
p/p/s
If you think my recipes suck, please do leave a comment on why it does and how it can be improved.
Dont be a d*ck when people are trying to be productive.

Easy Peasy No Bake Chilled Cheesecake

I made this for Neeza's birthday, and was planning to go to Jubayl to give it to her, but unfortunately Taufik had to work, so we had to cancel the trip :P (Sorry Neeza! Next time, eh?)

Caught Nigella making this on TV but I didnt have time to write down the recipe so I just winged it. Turned out not so bad, except for the topping which was too sweet. Next time I'd use fresh fruits or maybe just drizzle chocolate over it.
The texture of this cheesecake was really light and smooth and not so rich. You probably have to serve it chilled though, because it doesnt use any gelatine.

Easy Peasy No-Bake Chilled Cheesecake

Ingredients
10-12 Marie biscuits (Nigella used digestives)
2 tbsp soften butter/margerine
2 tbsp ground almonds, with 1/2 tbsp extra
300g pack of philly cream cheese @room temp
1/2 cup icing sugar (more if you like your cheesecake sweet)
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp lemon juice (more if you like your cheesecake tart)
1 cup whipping cream (I used vegetable whip topping)
Fruit topping (I used 3tbsp mixed fruit jam which is waaaay too sweet for me)

Method
Brush sides of a round 8" springform pan with butter, then sprinkle some ground almonds, shake to distribute evenly and remove excess.
In a food processor, ground biscuits then mix with 2tbsp butter and 2tbsp ground almonds, to form crumblike dough. Press biscuit mixture on the bottom of springform pan. Leave to chill in the fridge while you prepare filling.
In a bowl, mix well cream cheese, icing sugar, vanilla essence and lemon juice. In another bowl, whip cream till soft peaks form (not stiff).
Fold cream into cheese mixture till well incorporated.
Pour filling into spring form pan.
Cover and chill for at least 2 hours.
To serve, run a knife on the sides of spring form pan before releasing the cheesecake.
Top with your favourite fruit (I carefully spreaded a thin layer of jam)

Notes:
I find the layer of ground almonds on the sides help ease the release of the cake.
I also made my own cake board (the size of my spring form pan) so that i dont have to serve my cake in the bottom of my spring form pan. That also helped in making it easier to remove the cake.
I dont know how long this cake can last outside of the fridge. So far mine have been out for 2 hours and it's still standing.

Happy trying and tell me how yours turn out!

Easy Peasy Poutine

Declare your diets over, girlfriends. This is absolutely, sinfully yummy, and so easy to make, you and your kids would want it ever.ry.day.

The first time I heard of poutine was on PB's blog.
Being a person who's easily tergoda (tempted) by anything remotely edible (especially if it's cheesy), I googled for the recipe. Turns out they are pretty easy to make. You only need fries, cheese curds and some kinda gravy. I can do the fries part. I can even wing the some kinda gravy part. The cheese curd part was a little tricky, but via the wonders of the book of face, i got a tip from an authentic Canadian that I could subtitute it with mozarella cheese (Thanx, Ben!).

My first attempt at poutine turned into chilli cheese fries instead.
A few nights a go, entah apa dia mimpi malam tu, Taufik asked me to make steak for dinner. To go with the steak, I made mashed potatoes, and to go with the taters, I made some mushroom gravy. I had some leftover mushroom gravy and the first thing that popped in my head was "Poutine!".

Here's the recipe for the mushroom gravy (you can omit the mushroom if you're not a fan, then you'd end up with just gravy).

Easy Peasy Mushroom Gravy

Ingredients
1 tbsp cooking oil or butter
1 clove garlic finely chopped
1/2 an onion, finely chopped
a handful of mushrooms roughly chopped
1 tbsp plain flour
1 cup stock (Chicken, beef, vegetable, whatever you like)
salt and pepper to taste

Method
Heat oil/butter and saute garlic, onions and mushrooms in a saucepan till wilted.
Add in flour, saute till flour is brown.
Pour in stock and bring to a boil while stirring.
Add salt and pepper to taste , let simmer to desired thickness.

I kept the leftover gravy in an airtight contaner in the fridge.
Of course you could always modify the recipe to suit your taste. Omit mushrooms, add other spices (curry powder?), add a little dark soy sauce for coloring, or a little sugar for sweetness. To each, his own.

Easy Peasy Poutine

Ingredients
Frozen fries
Mozarella cheese (cut into small pieces or shredded)
Prepared gravy

Method
Prepare fries per instructions on package.
Heat up gravy.
Place hot fries in a serving bowl/plate.
Sprinkle as much cheese as you like.
Pour hot gravy on top.
Let sit for a few minutes for cheese to melt a bit and fries to soak up gravy.
Dig in!

I used shredded mozarella because I think they are easier to 'spread around' on the fries. I cant even begin to describe how the creamy and salty flavours meld together, or how the crunchiness of the fries, the gooey-ness of the melted cheese and the silky gravy just overloads your senses. Some fries got soggy, of course, but it's okay, coz it was soggy with yummeh gravy.
I can imagine sitting with a big bowl of this with my girlfriends and moaning with ecstasy with each mouthful, just like we did the first time we shared a bowl of beef queso.
Simply put, YUM!

PB, you MUSTI cuba ni!

Easy Peasy Ayam Percik

Dedicated to Nazrah

"Ayam Percik" ("Ayam" - are-yum is chicken, "Percik" - purrrrr-cheek is sprinkle/spatter) is the East Coast Malaysian version of barbecue chicken. Instead of a spicy, tangy and sweet sauce though, they use a spicy, creamy, sweet and sour sauce to marinade, and to baste the chicken with.
If you try and g00gle for the recipe, you'd find many many versions of the recipe, ranging from complicated to easy. The one I'm using is one of the easier ones coz as you all may be aware, I am a lazy cook and is always looking for shortcuts. This one is actually based on my mom's recipe for the sambal tumis nasi kerabu (the gravy that goes with rice eaten with salad of a combination of leaves, shoots and herbs). The ingredients are easy enough to find, and it requires very few steps, but on the scale of 1 to 10 (1 being the easiest), I would prolly rate this as a 6, because it does require a little bit of patience to wait for the gravy to thicken up and cook properly.
The result, however, is worth it ;)

Easy Peasy Ayam Percik

Ingredients
5 dried chillies (you may use chipotle if you like, soaked in warm water to soften)
5 shallots
2 cloves garlic
a thick sliver of fresh garlic
1 can (about 2 cups) coconut milk
1 chicken stock cube (or 1/2 cup of chicken stock)
one lemon grass (only use bottom 5 inch, bruise with the back of a knife)
1/2 tablespoon tamarind paste
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 tbsp sugar
1 medium sized chicken cut into quarters or eighths.

Method
Blend or pound chillies, shallots, garlic and ginger.
In a saucepot, combine all ingredients except chicken and stir to mix well.
Bring to a boil then add in chicken.
Let simmer till chicken is 3/4 cooked.
Take out chicken pieces with a thong, set aside and prepare griller/broiler.
Simmer gravy till it is thick and oil starts to break out.
Baste chicken pieces with gravy and grill/broil till chicken is done, turning once and basting it again.
Serve with remaining gravy.
Can be eaten with rice or bread.

Ayam Percik with Almost Nasi Kerabu

I had my ayam percik with white rice, a salad of thinly sliced long beans and water convulvus, and crispy fish crackers. It was only a sambal ikan & kelapa short of nasi kerabu, but it was enough to satisfy a rambler away from home like me ;)

Edited to add:
To make sambal nasi kerabu, subtitute chicken stock with ikan bilis stock or 1/4 cup budu (or anchovy sauce).
This sauce also goes well with fish.

Easy Peasy Chilli Cheese Fries

I was drooling over PB's post about poutine yesterday, and decided to make some myself.
Unfortunately, I couldnt find cheese curds at the grocery store, and I had been craving for chilli con carne for a while now, so I thought I'd make chilli cheese fries instead. (In respect of my canadian friends, I won't even call it poutine).
I used this brand of seasoned french fries that is the name of a presidential candidate.
I made chilli using this recipe, except I omitted the beans and cheese sauce.
I grated some cheddar cheese and mixed it with grated mozarella.

I started making the chilli right after I had put the fries in the oven, and it was done by the time the fries were crispy.
Ladeled the chilli over the fries and sprinkled a really generous amount of cheese. YUM.
I had to eat these with a fork.

Layers of sin. Try not to think about the calories.


If I'm lucky, I'd have some chilli leftover so that I can eat it with corn chips tomorrow!

Easy Peasy Chunky Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies

Got this recipe from Lily, on faceb00k.
I usually use the box mix from b3tty cr0cker, so I never really bothered with making brownies from scratch before, but Lily's looked so easy and so yummeh, I just had to try it.
I modified the recipe a bit because I think 2 cups of sugar is just a little too much, and I had a hankering for dark chocolate and I had some peanut butter to finish off. I also modified the method a bit because I only have one measuring cup and I wanted to use it without washing it too often.

Easy Peasy Chunky Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies

Ingredients
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1.5 cups sugar (I just use granulated sugar)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons chunky peanut butter (or smooth, or more, if you like)
200gram of your favourite dark chocolate bar (cut into chunks)

Method
Preheat oven to 350degFarenhite. Grease, flour and/or line the bottom of 9"X9" square pan or 11" round baking pan.
In a bowl, mix well flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and cocoa powder.
In another bowl, mix well oil and eggs.
Add flour mix into oil+egg mix bit by bit and stir to mix well. Add vanilla and peanut butter and stir till well incorporated (you dont see peanut butter streaks anymore).
Fold in chocolate chunks.
Pour into baking pan and bake for 20-30 minutes or until your cake tester (read: toothpick) comes out clean.
Let cool completely before cutting.

Like Lily said, this is a very good recipe to make with your kids. Anis helped me make mine, by mixing the flour and then later mixing the batter. Since my method requires two bowls, you can have 2 kids helping with each bowl if you want.
This recipe was so quick to make, by the time I was done measuring and mixing, I still had a few more minutes to wait before my oven was properly preheated.

The result was a brownie that wasn't too sweet, and had all the different yummeh tastes, textures and dwarves - chocolatey, sweetie, salty, softy, chewy, gooey and crunchy.




I had cut mine into half inch squares and put it in a paper cup because:
1. I do not have a square pan so I used a round pan instead, but brownies just dont look good in wedges.
2. I wanted to bring it to a party and felt guilty about it being so easy peasy so I felt the need to put in the extra effort.
3. I wanted to make it look less threatening to the waist for the lady guests who were watching what they eat.

Try it out with your family and friends! ;)

---

Side Story:
To tell you the truth, my brownies didn't cook properly at first. After 20 minutes in the oven, I found out that my batter was still wobbly. It was as if it wasn't cooking at all! I checked the oven dial to make sure I had set it properly, and it was. I thought maybe it was because I had added peanut butter, so I decided to let it bake for another 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes it still wasn't cooked! I started to think that I had contracted the Nazrah Baking Curse (Sorry Nazrah!). It was less than 2 hours to the party and my brownie wasnt done, and I still needed to let it cool, then cut it, then put them in paper cups then take pictures... I was starting to panic. But I calmed myself down, put on my engineer hat and started to think about how this could happen.
The only reasons a cake would not cook well is if there's too much moisture in the batter, or if there's not enough heat in the oven. I had not added too much extra liquid (a mere 4 tbsp of peanut butter couldn't have done this much harm!), so it must be insufficient heat. The thermostat is saying 350degrees, so the heat must be escaping somehow. I checked the oven door and I discovered it was skewed, and was not closing properly. I had to adjust it a bit to close it properly, and after 20 minutes of baking with the door properly closed, voila, my brownie was done! (Though the edges were kinda hard and crusty, my kids just happily ate those bits).
I've got to call the maintenance folks to fix my oven. If I'm lucky, I might even get a new one! woo hoooo!

Mee Kari Leftover

As you may or may not know, I have this habit of using last night's leftovers to make lunch for my kids and I. It's not only environmentally friendly (reduce waste, re-use), it is also economical and time-saving. I don't need to throw away food, I save money on groceries, and I cut my cooking time by at least half.
Every night after dinner, I would look at what i have left and plan for tomorrow's lunch. Sometimes I don't even plan, I just stuff everything into tupperwares inside the fridge, then look at what I have the next day, and try to figure out what to make for lunch. Most of the time, dishes turn into fried rice or porridges or sandwiches. Some time though, like today, I would hit the jackpot.
Yesterday I made goreng pisang (banana fritters) and had leftover batter. I fried the leftover batter into crunchy bits. I made fried chicken and vegetable soup for dinner and had some leftover. Looking at the fried chicken and crunchy fritter batter, I instantly thought of Lollies and had a craving for mee kari (curry noodles).

How to turn your leftover soup into curry gravy for noodles

1 pot of leftover soup (chicken/vegetable/fish)
5 shallots
2 pips garlic
half an inch fresh ginger
half an inch galangal (lengkuas)
2 tbsp curry powder
more water/stock if needed
coconut milk (1/2 cup, or more if you like your gravy thick)
meat/prawns/fish ball or tofu if there's not enough 'stuff' in your leftover soup.
salt to taste

Slice shallots, garlic and ginger into thin strips. In a frying pan, saute in a little bit of oil till fragrant.
Add a little liquid from soup, then add curry powder and galangal. Saute till a thin film of oil rises to the top (add more soup if it gets too dry).
Add into soup, add water/stock/liquid if necessary, bring to a boil.
Add meat and coconut milk, bring to a boil.
Taste and season as desired.
Serve with noodles (egg noodles, rice noodles or spaghetti) and garnishings (spring onions, bawang goreng (crispy fried shallots), sliced chillies, boiled eggs, fried chicken, sliced fried tofu, crispy bits) of your choice.

I had some fish cake and spring onions, and was too lazy to boil eggs and slice chillies and forgot I had bawang goreng, so here's what mine looked like:


Amacam Lolls, ada pass ka?

Happy cooking!

Easy Peasy Bubur Lambuk (Mixed Porridge)

Every time I cook bubur lambuk (mixed porridge), I feel like that guy who cooked nail soup.
You know the story - a vagrant asks a miser to make some soup using only water and a rusty crooked nail, then he starts adding more and more ingredients to 'make it better' and ends up with a delicious nutritious soup.

The basic ingredients for my bubur lambuk is simple - water, rice (raw or cooked, the only difference is the time it takes to become porridge), fish stock, shallots and pepper, and a ladle of coconut milk. I might replace fish stock with pounded anchovies/dried prawns or a stock cube or actual fish flesh (pounded to a pulp) or even last nights leftover vegetable soup or even sayur masak lemak, but the other ingredients cannot be subtituted. What else I put in it depends on what I have in the fridge. If you want it authentic, put pucuk mmiding (a kind of fern shoot) and budu, but kangkung (water convulvus) would also do. I have put cabbages, potatoes, carrots, celery and ground beef in mine and the kids just ate it up.

Though this rice porridge is usually eaten un-garnished, I have picked up a habit from my pakistani friends - I brown some onion slices (until crispy or not, depends on how you like it) and add it to my porridge. Yum.

Easy Peasy Bubur Lambuk
(makes 6 servings)

Ingredients
1/4 cup uncooked rice or 1/2 cup cooked rice
4 cups liquid (water or stock)
3 shallots
half teaspoon black peppercorns
a handful of anchovies or dried shrimp
hard vegetables of your choice (cubed or cut into small pieces)
leafy vegetables of your choice (preferrably sliced thinly)
meat of choice (optional, minced or cut into small pieces)
one ladle coconut milk (roughly 6 tablespoons?)
salt and pepper to taste

Method
Pound shallots, peppercorns and anchovies/shrimp till fine.
In a huge pot, put in ground ingredients, rice and liquid, bring to a boil.
Let simmer, stirring ocassionally, till rice has fatten up.
Put in the hard vegetables and meat, if using, and cook till vegetables are tender. (add more liquid if it gets too thick).
Put in the leafy vegetables and coconut milk, stir to mix well.
Simmer till porridge is thick, add salt and pepper to taste.

If your kids don't like fried onions like my kids, serve it seperately as a side dish.
This porridge is also a good way to sneak in veggies into your children's diet ;).

p/s For my non-asian friends who uses the anchovies they put on pizzas, you might want to use only like half a tablespoon of it, and taste it first before adding more salt.

Easy Peasy Sausage and Cheese Croissants

Inspired by Kak Nora's lunch box efforts, I, the ever malas (lazy) bonda, ventured to make an easy peasy version of the sausage roll, using ready made cheese croissants (available at any bakery/grocery store, plain also can) and some mini sausages (look for it at your frozen food section. I guess normal sized sausages will do too).
I just fried the sausages, slit the croissants on one side lengthwise (do not cut through), squeezed sauces per the child's preference (Anis wanted ketchup, Ilham wanted chilli sauce, Ihsan wanted nothing), then stuffed the mini sausages (3 or 4, depending on the size of the crescent bread) into the slits.
Wrap the croissants up in wax paper lined foil, and campak masuk lunch box.

Habis Cerita.

This is the adult's version, with mayo, lettuce and chilli sauce

Krispy Lessons

Lessons Learnt from yesterday's session of making rice krspy treats -

1. You cannot add chocolate chips to your rice krispy treats. The heat will just melt the chocolate and all you have is messy, ugly looking treats that tend to crumble coz the chocolate get in the way of the marshmallows. (But they still taste yummeh, so don't worry, your kids will eat them up in a jiffy)

2. If you want too add other ingredients to your treats, try nuts or raisins.

3. A pizza cutter (the wheel kind) is a good tool to use to cut up your treats into strips. Pull the cutter towards you instead of pushing it. It's easier to apply pressure on the blade that way.

4. A knife still works best for cutting your strips into squares. A flat blade, tapped hard on the treats works better than a serated blade, because the sawing motion might cause the treats to break up.

5. Using pink marshmallows with white rice krispies creates pretty girly treats.

6. The cheapest rice krispies you can find is at the indian grocery store, sold in plastic bags, not fancy boxes.

7. Always make your rice krispy treats at the last minute, because they dont last long. They can keep long in an airtight container, but some will magically dissapear before Eid day. You are forewarned.

Kid Friendly Asam Pedas

I love asam pedas, but because I am allergic to belacan (fermented shrimp paste), I am often wary to eat it at restaurants, coz most often than not, they would put belacan in it. But I luuuuuuurrrve asam pedas.
I had some fish the other day and was bored with the usual curry, so I decided to try making asam pedas. Furthermore, I just brought some bunga kantan and daun kesum from Malaysia, so what better way to use them other than for asam pedas?
I browsed for recipes and found one that doesn't use belacan, here.
I didn't have some of the ingredients and I had to make it kid-friendly, so here's my modified version:

Kid Friendly Asam Pedas

Ingredients
Ground:
3 shallots, 2 pips garlic
3 pieces dried chillies (more if you like it spicier), cut up and soaked in hot water to soften
1/2 inch ginger
1 tsp fennel
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp blackpepper corns

3 tbsp oil
1/2 large onion, sliced thinly
1/2 tsp mixed spices (fenugreek, poppyseeds, cumin)*
2 stalks curry leaves
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp tomato paste
water (depends on how thick/thin you want the sauce to be)
1 tbsp tamarind pulp
1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 medium sized fish (or 2 small fish), any kind you like
1 large tomato, cut into wedges
1/2 bunga kantan (?)
as much daun kesum as you like
salt and sugar to taste

Method
In a saucepot, heat up oil and saute sliced onions, mixed spices and curry leaves till fragrant.
Add ground ingredients, turmeric powder and tomato paste, let fry till a little dry and oil rises to the top.
Add water, tamarind pulp and oyster sauce, bring to a boil.
Add in the rest of the ingredients (fish + leaves), let simmer till fish is cooked.
Add salt and sugar to taste.
Serve with steamed white rice.

Asam Pedas Ikan Kembung (yang tak berapa pedas)

* This mixed spices are the same ones I use to make fish head curry. You can find them sold in packets at Giant or any grocery store in Malaysia. Outside of malaysia, though, it can be quite difficult to find so you might have to mix your own based on the seeds/spices I mentioned above.
The list of ingredients is long, but when you look at the method, you'll see that it's pretty easy.
I added oyster sauce to substitute for the belacan flavour. It worked :)
Like all Asam Pedas, this tastes better after reheating the next day, because all of the ingredients would've simmered and melded together for a while.
I know a certain family in Qatar that eats their Asam Pedas with bread, pancakes or paratha. *wink*

Happy trying, and I hope I have inspired you :)

Homemade Naan

It's Saturday and it's weekend for the rest of the world, so I guess it's safe for me to put up a food post, no?

I made my own naan yesterday!! I am so proud of myself!!
I got this recipe book, Malaysian Favourites: Best Recipes from Noted Malaysian Cooks
from Kinokuniya (RM45.90) the last time I went home and had been eyeing the naan recipe ever since. On Thursday I got some leftover thick beef curry from an iftar gathering with the folks from the Malaysian Embassy in Riyadh (where I also met Neeza from Jubayl *grin*), so I finally had an excuse to make some!
In the span of 3 weeks, I had slowly slowly bought the required ingredients - yeast (in small individually wrapped packets so that they don't go dead on me so quickly), ghee, flour (I bought 3 1kg packets in anticipation of having to make lots and lots of prawn fritters) and only yesterday did I ask Taufik to stop by the mini market after friday prayers and buy me a cup of yoghurt.
The recipe wasn't that complicated. I guess the only tough part would be the 15 minutes of kneading it required. With good yeast and good mixing or kneading, however, you will be rewarded with fluffy naan ;)
(Recipe modified a bit from original coz I dont have a kitchen scale).

Naan

Ingredients
2 teaspoons dry yeast
250ml lukewarm water (just a little bit more than 1 cup)
4 teaspoons sugar
3 tablespoons yoghurt
4 tablespoons melted ghee
1 teaspoon salt
3-4 cups all-purpose flour (I will explain)

Method
In a big bowl, dissolve dry yeast in half of the water. Add sugar, mix well, and set aside for 10 minutes till mixture gets all bubbly and frothy.
Mix in yoghurt, melted ghee, salt and remaining water.
Add in flour into the mixture bit by bit, mixing and eventually kneading until dough forms a stiff ball and does not stick to the bowl or your hands (I used roughly about 3.5 cups at this point). Continue kneading* for 15 more minutes.
Preheat oven to 220 deg C or 440 deg F.
Cover bowl with a clean, dry cloth and let sit in a warm dry corner of your kitchen for about an hour, or till it has doubled in volume.
Divide dough into two, then 4. Divide each quarter into another 4 and form balls (So you eventually get 16 balls).
Flatten each ball with your hands or a rolling pin to form thick discs the size of dessert plates.
Place in the pre-heated oven for 7-10 minutes or till edges are golden brown.
Remove from oven and keep warm under a napkin.

I served my naans with yesterday's thick beef curry and a plain salad of chopped lettuce and chunks of carrots and cucumber. The naan was just slightly sweet, salty and creamy (from the yoghurt i guess) and goes well with the spicy curry.

*Kneading
I am not an expert in kneading, so what I do is fold the dough into itself and push with my knuckles as I go. Repeat until tired.

Baking
To simulate the conditions of a brick oven, I used a Pizza Stone (bought at Stokes, Mall of Dhahran for about SR60 or so) and baked my naan on it. Put the stone in a cold oven before pre-heating to avoid cracking. Flour your naan well before placing it on the hot stone (Do not add any oil). The result is a naan with a crunchy crusty bottom, and a soft fluffy top, just the way my children likes it.
The original recipe instructed me to brush the tops of the naans with ghee and sprinkle it with chopped garlic before baking it, but since I didn't want to get any oil on my pizza stone, I omitted that ingredient/step. You can try it if you want.

My only complain is that these naans are really only best eaten while warm. When it's cold it tends to get quite hard and chewy.. :P
Haven't tried reheating yet, coz I didn't have any leftovers. I had some leftover dough though, and have kept it in the freezer for later use. Will tell you how that turns out.

Now, if only I could figure out how to make Shrimp Sizzler, then we wouldn't need to go to Mughal Restaurant anymore...

Happy trying and tell me how yours turn out!

Extremely Easy Peasy Cheese Samosa

It's so easy it's almost like cheating

Really. I mean, the ingredients can be bought ready-made at the stores. All you have to do is wrap them up, then deep fry.
But here's the recipe anyways. I'll add some tips/notes at the end of the recipe just to give this post some substance.

Easy Peasy Cheese Samosas

Ingredients
1 500gram packet of ready made samosa leaves
3 round boxes of cream cheese wedges
Some water for sealing

Method
Cut cheese wedges into half lengthwise (so you get a thinner wedge).
Take a samosa leaf carefully so as not to rip it. Put a halved-wedge at one end at a 45degree angle, fold into a triangle. Keep on folding the triangle until you reach the end of the leaf. Seal the final end by rubbing some water onto the leaf.
Heat some oil for deep frying. Deep fry the samosas until golden, drain on a paper towel. Let cool slightly before serving to avoid burns from hot cheese.
Can be kept in a tupperware in the fridge/freezer for one week.
Makes 48 (4 dozen).

Samosa leaves -
Not all samosa leaves are created equal. Some tend to absorb more oil than others and some has a slightly bitter aftertaste. You've really got to try them out to find one brand that you like. I like 'BintiAlBalad' or something. I fry them in really hot oil. It usually results in ugly blistery samosas, but they're crispy and I'd rather have ugly samosas than soggy ones.

Creamcheese Wedges -
You know which ones I mean, right? They usually come in round boxes and contain 8 individually wrapped cream cheese in foil. Though some brands offer flavoured cream cheese, I found the plain ones work best. The picture above shows what the cheese looks like unwrapped.

Timing -
I make my samosas in advance (a lot of them) and keep them in the fridge till I'm ready to fry them. This keeps the cheese inside it cool and won't seep out when you fry them. (Incidently, also try to fold the triangles as tightly as you can so that you don't have holes).
Fry at least 45 minutes before serving so that the cheese inside has sufficient time to cool down. There is nothing worse than getting your tongue burned by hot cheese.

This is really my children's favourite tit bit for iftar (breaking fast), only second to cucur udang (Prawn fritters). I have to make sure they get at least 4 each. I end up frying 2 dozen per day, so 48 pieces doesn't stay very long in the fridge. :)

Happy trying :)

Easy Peasy Nasi Tomato

We had bought a leg of lamb on Thursday and I had marinated it that very afternoon, not remembering that it was my birthday the next day. Ninuk reminded me by asking if it was for my birthday dinner, and I was wracking my brain for ideas of what to eat the lamb with, when Rozanne, in her birthday wish for me on TheBookOfFace, asked me for the recipe for Nasi Tomato. Lightbulbs went off, Nasi Tomato and Roast Lamb it is! I also decided to make some pajeri nenas to provide the obligatory kuah (gravy) for any rice dish we have in this family.

So this post is not only to show off tell you about what I had for my birthday iftar, but to also share with you (especially Rozanne) my recipe for an easy peasy nasi tomato (tomato rice).
My version of tomato rice does not use ghee or evaporated milk because I don't like it when my rice is too rich. Some recipes also use pandan (screwpine) leaves to add aroma, but since it's quite difficult to find that here, I also omitted that out. The result is a very light but tasty tomato rice, that went very well with lamb and pajeri nenas (a sweet, thick, pineapple curry).

Easy Peasy Nasi Tomato (Tomato Rice)

Ingredients:
2 cups rice (washed and drained)
Enough water to cook rice*
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 cube chicken stock OR salt to taste
2-3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 small onion chopped fine
2 cloves garlic sliced very fine (mayang)
one 2inch cinnamon stick (kulit kayu manis)
one star annise (bunga lawang)
2 cardammom pods (buah pelaga)

Method:
In your rice pot, mix rice, water, tomato paste, sugar and stock/salt.
In a seperate frying pan, heat up oil and saute onions, garlic and spices till onions are slightly brown and spices are fragrant.
Transfer fried ingredients into the rice pot, stir to mix well and let rice cook as usual**
When rice is done, garnish with roasted almonds/cashews, crispy shallots and chopped coriander.
Can served with most curry dishes, chicken in red sauce, pajeri nenas, mixed salad or any type of acar (mixed vegetables in a simple vinegar+sugar dressing)
Serves 4 adults comfortably.

Notes:
* I used the normal thai rice, but you may use basmathi rice if you prefer, so the amount of water required may vary. I am old fashioned and still use my finger to measure my water so cant really tell how much I actually used.
** I still cook my rice on the stove, so usually I let it boil on high uncovered until the water level recedes to the very surface of the rice, reduce the heat to low, give it a good stir, then cover the pot. I let it steam itself for about another 10 minutes then check if the rice is done by taking a few grains and pressing it in between my fingers. If it's thoroughly tender, then it's done, and you can take it off the heat. Electric rice cookers tend to undercook any type of rice dish that has tomatoes or milk in them, so if you're using one to prepare this dish, check often and keep switching on the cooker till your rice is done.

Links to related recipes:
Pajeri Nenas
Kid-Friendly Ayam Masak Merah (Not spicy Chicken in Red Sauce)

Happy trying, and don't forget to tell me how yours turn out!

Easy Peasy Spinach Filo Pie

It's more like a filo 'lasagne' than a 'pie' coz the ingredients are all layered up, but instead of using pasta sheets, I used filo pastry sheets (which are much much thinner), so I am reluctant to call it a lasagne.

This recipe involves quite a few ingredients and steps - the spinach filling, the bechamel sauce, the construction using filo pastry and cheese, and then the actual baking. Since the filling and sauce can be made in advance, however, plus the fact that the filo pastry can be bought from a store, the actual 'making' of this dish was quite easy and quick.

Easy Peasy Spinach FIlo Pie serves 8

Ingredients

Filling
200grams spinach, frozen or fresh, chopped up and wilted.
200grams cream cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Sauce
1 clove garlic minced
1 shallot minced
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup chicken stock
optional - chopped up smoked turkey breasts
salt and pepper to taste
Body
1/2 pack small filo pastry squares
50 grams butter, melted
200grams shredded mozarella cheese

Method

Filling
In a bowl, mix cheese and spinach well, add salt and pepper to taste.
Sauce
In a saucepan, saute minced garlic and shallots in butter till slightly golden. Add the flour and stir until it's golden brown (This is called making the 'roux', a thickening agent). Add in the milk and stock and stir till thick. Add in the meat, if using, and salt and pepper to taste.
Body
Preheat oven to 375degF/190degC.
In a pie pan or casserole dish, arrange one layer of filo pastry squares at the bottom (it's ok to overlap). Brush some butter, then arrange another layer of filo. Spoon 1/3 of sauce over the bottom, then spread 1/3 of the spinach filling. Sprinkle 1/4 of the shredded cheese, then repeat the previous steps - one layer filo, brush with butter, 2nd layer filo, sauce, filling, cheese, until all the filling and sauce is finished. Arrange filo pastry squares that has been brushed with butter to form a lid, preferrably diagonally so that corners stick out like flower petals. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the edges of the filo pastry is browned.
Let cool before serving.

You would need a fork and knife to eat this coz the edges is kinda crunchy but the middle is kinda chewy.
My kids didn't like that they could still see the spinach, so maybe next time I'll mince them finer.

Happy Trying! :)

Easy Peasy Green Macaroni

Did you know that it's almost impossible to get fresh spinach over here? You can only get the red kind, and only at the Indian grocery store.
I bought some frozen spinach the other day (to experiment with some filo pastry I accidently bought thinking it was puff pastry), so I decided to use half of it to make today's lunch for the kids.
Voila - Puke Green Macaroni. Looks absolutely vile, but taste absolutely delicious. Would be a good dish to serve at a halloween party. My kids ate it even though they knew it has spinach in it. Hide that fact if you think your kids would be turned off by the thought of eating vegetables. That's why I call it 'Green Macaroni'.

Easy Peasy Green Macaroni (Macaroni with creamy spinach sauce)

Ingredients:
250grams elbow macaroni, cooked per instructions
200grams frozen spinach
10 3/4 ounce can of cream of mushroom soup
soup can of milk.
1 clove garlic, finely chopped.
1 tbsp cooking oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
more parmesan cheese for garnish.

Method:
Thaw the frozen spinach in hot water, drain well.
Put spinach and canned soup in the blender.
Measure milk in the empty soup can and add into blender.
Blend till smooth.
In a saucepan, saute garlic in oil till slightly brown.
Pour in blended spinach cream soup, bring to a boil.
Turn off heat and add cheese.

To serve:
Pour sauce over macaroni, mix it around (or not), garnish with more grated parmesan.

Looks ugly but tastes yummy.


Notes:
You can use any kind of creamy soup. If not using soup in a can, subtitute with one cup chicken stock and one cup cream.
If using fresh spinach: In the saucepan, saute garlic in oil then add chopped fresh spinach and stir till wilted. Put into blender with soup, blend till smooth as per recipe. Pour back into saucepan to bring to boil.
You can use other types of pasta instead of macaroni.

Easy Peasy Coconut and Cheese Pancakes

Woke up this morning to pack the kids' lunch and realized I ran out of bread.
So I made some pancakes instead, with whatever I had in my fridge. Turned out not bad for a campak-campak (throw anything in) recipe.

Warning: Measurements are guesstimates. It was waaaay too early in the morning.

Easy Peasy Coconut and Cheese Pancakes

Ingredients
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup freshly grated coconuts
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Method
Mix flour, milk, egg, sugar and salt in a large bowl, preferrably with a whisk, until batter is smooth. Add milk if it's too thick. Stir in coconuts.
Ladle onto an ungreased small non-stick pan over medium heat, spread evenly. Sprinkle grated cheese.
When edges start to brown, flip to cook other side.
Serve with your favourite condiment.

I had mine with last night's sambal tumis (thick chilli and onion sauce). It tasted good on its own too.
You could also omit the cheese if your family are not fans of cheese. You could also substitute the parmesan with cheddar or mozarella or whatever cheese you fancy or have in your fridge.
The coconuts give a nutty flavor and a crunchy texture to the pancakes. I wish my coconuts were younger, fresher and more roughly grated though. It would've tasted awesome. You could use dessicated coconut instead but the texture and taste would be slightly different, perhaps drier and sweeter.

Happy trying and tell me how yours turn out!

Easy Peasy Beef Queso

Reading Swahili's post on how she could turn chilli into lasagna made me crave for chilli con carne. But entah camner jadi beef queso pulak...
heh heh
By playing around with my chilli con carne recipe (damn.. I wanted to put a link, but that recipe was swallowed up by modblog. Pity), I discovered I could make it into Beef Queso, which is basically chilli con carne (beef/meat chilli) mixed with cheese. I brought the whole thing up a notch by adding corn and red kidney beans (you can use whatever vegetables you like).

Easy Peasy Beef Queso

Ingredients
One large onion chopped
5 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 tablespoon meat curry powder mixed with a little water
1/4 cup beef stock
250grams minced meat
4 tablespoons tomato paste
1 can (15oz) sweet corn kernels - drained
1 can (15oz) red kidney beans - drained
1 can (15oz) nacho cheese sauce*
salt, pepper, sugar to taste

Method
Saute onions and garlic in a little oil till brown and fragrant.
Add curry powder, with a little water if things get to dry, let simmer till a film of oil rises to the top.
Add beef stock, then minced meat. Stir to break up meat and for ingredients to combine.
Add tomato paste, stir, then season to taste.
Let simmer till sauce thickens.
Add vegetables.
Stir in cheese sauce.
Ladle into a bowl, use your favourite nacho chips to spoon.

sedap dimakan panas-panas, ramai-ramai

*If you can't find nacho cheese sauce in a can where you are, just buy one of the cheese dips in the bottle. Alternatively, you could also just use grated cheese (cheddar, mozarella, whatever you fancy). Some nacho cheese sauce/dip has jalapeno in them, so make sure you choose according to your taste in spicyness.

The red kidney beans really made the chilli yummy. I had initially put only half a can coz I wasnt sure how it'd turn out, but after tasting it, I decided to dump in the whole can! I ended up picking the beans with my nachos. Yummeh!

Buenos Nachos, Amigos!

Blueberry Cheesecake

Believe it or not ...

I made this for a kenduri aqiqah yesterday.
I think it turned out pretty good, considering it was gone in a flash. I actually had to convince a little girl to put off eating her piece so that I could take a picture of what it looked like inside. hee hee.

I got the recipe for the Japanese Soft Cotton Cheesecake from kak pea's blog. The first time I tried it, I brought it to Riyadh and my kids loved it. It was fluffy and only mildly cheesy and not too sweet. Since I was bringing it to a gathering this time, I decided to make it more presentable by slapping on some vanilla whipped cream (whip 1 cup whipping cream with 2 tablespoons of caster sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla), spooning on some blueberry topping/filling (from a can) and practicing my piping skills (still not there, but I think was better than before.. tee hee)

I am refraining from labeling this as 'easy peasy', because it does involve a few steps that sounds tricky and like it requires high culinary skill, but I think you'll find that it's pretty easy once I've explain it out and you've tried it.

Japanese Soft Cotton Cheesecake (original recipe here)

Ingredients
100ml milk
300grams philly cream cheese
50 grams unsalted butter (half a stick)
6 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt (omit if using salted butter)
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 heaping tablespoon corn flour
6 egg yolks
juice of half a lime

Method
Preheat oven to 160degC or 325degF. Line 11" circular cake pan or 8"by11" rectangular pan with ungreased waxed paper.
Whip egg whites, cream of tartar and salt in a standing mixer (makes it easier) till soft peaks form. Add sugar by spoonfuls and let it whip till stiff.
Melt cheese, butter and milk on a double boiler (Note 1), using a whisk to smooth. Cool to room temperature.
Sift flour and cornflour together and whisk into milk+cheese till smooth. Add in egg yolks and lime juice and whisk to mix well.
Fold in egg whites till thoroughly mixed.
Bake in a water bath (Note 2) for 1hr and 10minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Cool cake before decorating.

Notes:
(1) Double Boiler
Doesn't really require special equipments. Just find a pot that is big enough to support your mixing bowl on its rim. Boil some water in it and then place your mixing bowl on it to melt the ingredients. The purpose it to melt ingredients without burning it. (For the engineer-minded folks : The steam from boiling water provides a relatively even and constant heat source, that is not too hot that it reaches the melting point but not the burning point of ingredients)
(2) Water Bath
Again, no special equipment required. Find a pan with at least one inch high side that you could fit your cake pan in. Place your cake pan in the middle and fill the outer pan with water. Place the whole thing in the oven. Check the water level every half an hour or so, top up if necessary.
If you're using a springform pan for your cake, wrap the outside bottom with aluminum foil to avoid watter from seeping into your cake batter. The purpose is to keep the cake moist. (For the engineer-minded folks : the heat from the oven will make the water evaporate and fill the oven with water molecules. The heat keeps the water molecules from condensating and that keeps the water molecules in the cake from escaping).
Beware: Unless you want a steam facial, do not stick your face in when you open the oven door.

Happy Trying!!!

Those who can't pipe, arrange

I am really bad at piping icing, so for Anis' birthday cake, I had to make do with arranging marshmallows and ready made heartshaped candy.
It's good thing too, coz my attempt at piping out the birthday girl's name turned out all squiggly.

We had a pool party that was originally 'Girls Only', but my boys could not stay away from the kiddie pool when they saw all the fun the girls were having and got some of their friends to jump in with them.
It was so difficult to get everyone to get out of the pool to cut the cake, but we managed to somehow.



The candles that I bought didn't want to go out, it got all the other kids blowing at it too. I started thinking aloud that maybe they were trick candles. Only then did I read the fine print on the back of the packet and found out they were "self-relighting candles"!
*duh!!!*



I had trouble cutting up the cake because it was so spongy and my cake cutter wasn't so sharp and all the girls wanted "the flower". This was the first time that I've been to a party where the cake is finished in the first round. Not because it was good (the cake was actually burnt a bit around the edges), but because it was so small!

How to make the cake:
Cake - Spongy Cake recipe, add a little red food coloring and rose essence.
Frosting - 1 cup whipping cream with 4 heaping tablespoons icing sugar, whipped till stiff, slap on all over the cake. Set aside 4 tablespoons frosting to mix with red food coloring to pipe into name. (I used a ziploc bag as my pipe).
Decoration - ready made heart shaped candy, mini fruity marshmallows. Arranged as flowers, colummns on side and sprinkled around for good measure.
Easy Peasy Lemon Squeazy!