Been quite busy since starting on the new job at the end of June. Can't believe one month passed by so fast! Hadn't had time to blog for the whole of July. And I realised I kind of missed cooking...

Auntie Tips (24)

Tip 1:
Don't throw out the desiccant sachets from your vitamin bottles - put them in cookie jars to keep biscuits fresh longer

Tip 2:
Use creamy peanut butter to remove the residue left by sticky labels on glass.

Tip 3:
To remove stains on cups or utensils, rub crushed egg shells over the stains, then rinse.

Tip 4:
Place a slice of apple in hardened brown sugar to soften it.

From : Simply Her - Oct 2007

Auntie Tips (23)

Tip 1:
To prevent superglue from drying up, place it in the fridge and it will be as good as new.

Tip 2:
To maintain the freshness of leftover spaghetti sauce, freeze the sauce in an ice-cube tray. Just defrost what you need each time.

Tip 3:
Frozen packets of ketchup and chilli sauce make up for handy ice packs when your kid gets those bruises or bumps.

Tip 4:
Wrap celery in aluminium foil before refrigerating and it will keep for weeks.

From : Simply Her - Sep 2007

Fruit Yogurt Popsicles

After lying around in my kitchen cabinet for months, the 8 popsicle moulds were finally being put to work for the very first time. I wasn't really thinking of making this until I saw the boxes of blueberries and strawberries on sale in the supermarket. And it wasn't everyday that we have blueberries here on this sunny island of Singapore. So, I decided to buy 2 packs of them to give this recipe a try, and to freeze the remainders for some other recipes.

One tiny change I made was to just chop up the fruits to tiny bits instead of blending them, so that I can still munch on the frozen bits of fruits while enjoying the smoothness of the yogurt.

Fruit Yogurt Popsicles (recipe from here)

Ingredients : 

- 1 cup plain yogurt 

- 1 cup fresh fruit or frozen fruit, your choice of blueberries, strawberries, cherries, etc

- 2 tablespoons honey 

- 4 wooden popsicle sticks or plastic spoons 

- 4 paper cups, 5 ounce size 

- aluminum foil  

Directions :

1) Place the yogurt, fruit (slightly thawed if using frozen) and honey in a blender. Blend to desired consistency (some kids like the fruit chunky and others like it smooth).

2) Pour into paper cups, filling them 3/4 full.

3)Cover the cups with foil. Make slits in the center of the foil covers and insert the popsicle sticks.

4) Put in the freezer for about 5 hours or until frozen solid.

5) When ready, peel off the paper cup and eat. 

Note : I doubled the recipe and managed to fill about a little less than 7 popsicle moulds.

Chocolate Ganache Ice Cream

I didn't know what came over me to want to give this ice-cream recipe a try. I do not have an ice-cream maker to begin with. But sometimes, there are certain recipes that just caught my attention and I can't stop thinking about them until I gave them a try. And no, I didn't rush out to get an ice-cream maker either. Refer to the note at the end of the post to learn how to make ice-cream without a machine. 

To be honest, I didn't think there would be much success on this first attempt. There was a floating layer of fats (I think) after I had melted the chocolate and the cream together. And the final product turned out a bit too hard compared to store-bought. I didn't know if there is any relation to that layer of fats that I decided to omit when doing the final mix. But I was glad that the overall taste was good. So much richer and more chocolate-ty than store-bought.

Chocolate Ganache Ice Cream (recipe from here)

Ingredients :

- 6 ounces of bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream
- 1 cup of whole milk
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1/2 cup of sugar

Directions :

1) Put the chocolate in a 2-quart liquid measuring cup or a large heatproof bowl. Bring 3/4 of the cream to a boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let it sit a minute, then, using a rubber spatula, and starting in the center of the mixture, slowly stir the cream into the chocolate in ever-widening concentric circles. When the ganache is smooth, set it aside.

2) Bring the milk and the remaining 3/4 cream to a boil in a medium heavy bottomed saucepan.

3) Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the yolks and sugar together until well blended and just slightly thickened. Still whisking, drizzle in about one third of the hot liquid-this will temper, or warm, the yolks so they won't curdle, Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remaining liquid. Pour the custard back into the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring without stopping, until the custard thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon: if you run your finger down the bowl of the spoon, the custard should not run into the track. The custard should reach at least 170 degrees F, but no more than 180 degrees F, on an instant-read thermometer (this took about 8-10 minutes on my stove.) Immediately remove the pan from the heat and slowly and gently stir the custard into the ganache. 

Note : If you do not have an ice-cream maker, refer to this article by David Lebovitz. Thanks to him, everyone can enjoy home-made ice-cream even though you don't have the machine.  :)

Yam (Taro) Rice

To be honest, I didn't have much confidence when starting out on this recipe. Yam (or taro, as known in other parts of the world) is a completely new ingredient for me. But luckily, NTUC is selling vacuumed packs of yam that had already been skinned. So it saves some time and effort on my part to have to deal with the unfamiliar yam. 

After cooking this dish, I realised that it was not as complicated as it looks. But I would advise to use a larger rice-cooker if you are planning to cook the amount as stated in the recipe. For me, the cooked rice almost filled the brim of our tiny rice-cooker, and so the top layer was slightly uncooked. So, we stirred around a bit to bring the top layer down to the middle and let it steamed for a few more minutes.

Note : I followed the selected recipe very closely, except for the seasoning part. The recipe below will be my version. If you want to see the original recipe. Click here.

Yam Rice

Ingredients :

- 500g yam/taro (cut into cubes) (Remember to wear disposable gloves when handling yam)
- 3 1/2 cup rice
- 2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
- 2 shallots (finely chopped)
- 2 1/2 tablespoons dried shrimp (soaked in warm water, drained and roughly chopped)
- 250g ground pork or chicken meat (minced)
- 3 3/4 cups water (to be used separately) (use the same cup as the one to measure the rice)
- 5 dried shiitake mushrooms (soaked in warm water, drained and cut into thin slices)
- 4 tablespoons cooking oil
- Fried shallot crisps (for garnishing)
- 1 scallion (cut into small rounds, for garnishing)

Seasonings :

- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 3 dashes white pepper powder
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil

Directions :

1) Wash and rinse the rice. Set aside to drain.

2) Heat up a wok and add a little oil. Stir-fry the yam pieces for about 3 minutes. Dish out and set aside.

3) In the same wok, add some more cooking oil. Stir-fry the shallots and garlic until aromatic. Add pork (or chicken), mushrooms and dried shrimp and stir-fry until the meat changes color. Use the spatula to break the ground pork or chicken so they form into small lumps. Add 2 cups of water into the wok and follow by the yam pieces. Add all seasonings and bring it to boil. Add rice into the wok and do a few quick stirs. 

4) Transfer everything into the rice cooker, adding the remaining 1 3/4 cups of water, and then cook it like you are cooking steamed rice.

5) When the rice is cooked, use the rice scoop to stir the yam rice and loosen it up. Serve immediately with some fried shallot crisps and chopped scallions.

Auntie Tips (22)

Tip 1 :
Worried about candles dripping hot wax on the birthday cake you have baked? Simply use marshmallows to secure the candles firmly. Not only will they hold the candles straight and steady, marshmallows will also make your cake looks quite pretty.

Tip 2 :
You've bought a pretty bouquet of flowers, but find that their stems are too short for your long-necked vase? Try and insert the stem ends into drinking straws. Then simply cut the straws according to the length you desire.

Tip 3 :
Don't throw away your children's old baby booties or socks. Instead, slip them on the legs of the table and chairs. The socks will protect both your furniture and floor. And booties will add a 'cute' touch, especially in a child's room.

Tip 4 :
To remove stains on your fabric car upholstery, simply squirt a palm-sized of shaving cream on it. Rub thoroughly with a damp cloth and then dab dry with a sponge.

From : Women's Weekly - Dec 2008

Earl Grey Tea Sorbet

I can't remember when was the last time I made desserts. So when my mother sms-ed me to say that we will be celebrating Mother's Day at my grandma's place, and asked me to either make or buy some desserts, I knew it was time. And since the weather had been scorching these days, I thought sorbet would be the perfect thing to make. And not to mention, simple too. :)

I got the recipe from a video here.

Earl Grey Tea Sorbet

Ingredients :

- 3 3/4 cups water
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 6 Earl Grey teabags
- juice of 1 lemon

Directions :

1) Put the water and sugar together in a pot and bring it to a rolling boil. (Try to maintain a low and consistent heat, and ensure all sugar has melted but at the same time not burnt)

2) Add the 6 teabags into the syrup and take it off the heat.

3) Let the teabags rest in the syrup for about 30 minutes before removing them.

4) If the mixture is not completely cooled at this time, stick the pot into the fridge and let it cool.

5) Once it has cooled down, add in the juice of 1 lemon. If you have an ice-cream maker, just pour the mixture in it and leave it to do the rest of the work. 

If you do not have an ice-cream maker  :

- Put a glass dish into your freezer to cool it. When you are done with the final mixture, take out the glass dish from the freezer and put the mixture into it. Cover it with cling wrap and pop it back into the freezer. 

- After 30 minutes or so, check the mixture. If the sides of the dish is starting to freeze, use a fork to break down the pieces and put it back into the freezer again.

- Do this after every 30 minutes until you get the consistency you want. I've read that the best is to do it for 8 hours or so, if you really want a smooth professional-like consistency.

Note : I've got feedback about the final product being too sweet. So if you do not have a very sweet tooth, you might consider reducing the amount of sugar a little.

Braised Chicken with Shallots

Finally, we were rid of the flu and cough bug. So, it was back to cooking chicken for our meals. Looking back at previous meals, I thought it would be good to cook a Chinese dish this weekend. And of course, a simple and quick one at that.

Braised Chicken with Shallots (recipe from here)

Ingredients :

- 4 chicken thighs & drumsticks, chopped
- 10 shallots, washed & peeled
- 2 nos garlic, sliced
- 5 nos ginger, sliced
- 1 tsp black soy sauce

Marinate:
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp light soya sauce
- 4 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- pepper to taste

Directions :

1. Marinade chicken with the marinate. Set in the fridge for 3 hours or longer.

2. Heat up olive, saute shallots, garlic and ginger till fragrant.

3. Add chicken, stir fry the chicken till tender and fragrant.

4. Add water - the water should cover the chicken.

5. Cover the wok lid. Simmer under low fire for about 10-15mins or till gravy thicken. (Note : The gravy didn't seemed to be thickening at this point, so I added in some cornstarch mixed with water)

6. Add dash of salt.

7. Add black soy sauce, stir well & dish up. Serve hot.

Salmon and Broccoli Spaghetti

I made this about 2 weeks ago, when the husband and I were both attacked by the flu bug. The husband was worse off than I was, he got the cough as well. So, when he mentioned he wanted to eat at home for dinner, I had to think of something that was suitable for the sick. And according to my mother and Chinese physician, it is not good to take chicken when you are having a cough, though there are no real scientific evidence, but I had some experience in that, so I'd rather avoid it till we're ok.

So, off I went to the Internet (what would I do without it??!) to search for a quick and simple dinner. And I came across one with minimal ingredients, and decided to tweak it by adding some broccoli for a more balanced meal.

Salmon and Broccoli Spaghetti (recipe adapted from here)
2 servings

Ingredients :

- 1 steak salmon
- 200ml whipping cream
- spaghetti for 2
- broccoli florets
- 1 teaspoon tomato puree
- a little butter for frying
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (I omitted this)

Directions :

1) Season the salmon with some salt and black pepper. Then put it into the oven at 220 degrees Celsius for about 10-15 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of the salmon.

2)While the salmon is baking, boil the water and cook the spaghetti. When the water boils, what I did was to scoop some out to blanch the broccoli separately. Leave the broccoli in the water for about 3-5 minutes, then drain and set them aside.

3) When the salmon is cooked, it should be light pink and be able to flake apart easily when prodded with a fork. Break the salmon in the desired size and set aside.

4) When the pasta is within a few minutes of being done, heat up a pan and melt the butter over low heat. Add in the whipping cream, cayenne pepper (if using), tomato puree, salmon, broccoli, and salt and pepper to taste.

5) Gently heat this for a few minutes until hot (but NOT boiling), then add in the spaghetti, mixing it well to coat with the sauce. Serve immediately.