Nancy Ho

The cookie that chloe brought to school had an overwelming response till the teachers are requesting for them.
So decided to make more ... then my niece and my friend's children also wanted to make something for their teachers.
With 7 kids including 2 of mine ...... we venture into cookie making!!
Here's what they have made:



All the children, decorated the cookie with their hearts
I am very proud of my chloe as she made 10+ cookie without my help ...
I never realised till i packed them !!
Special thanks to my friend who helped with the cleaning

Chloe has been very demanding when it comes to making teacher's day presents,
one moment she wants this the next she wants that .... its like endless request!!
Decided to send her for a cookie decorating class with me so that she realised that she needs to put in effort to help too!!
We enjoyed ourselves very much with the cookie decorating, she was also very serious and put in effort to work on her cookies
Here's what we made for Chloe's teachers:



Hope they like it
Happy teachers Day!!

I finally got hold of the book on TangZhong from the library!!
Last week, I burnt my cinnamon roll so decided to try out the recipe from Yvonne C book!!


Ingredients
A - bread flour 210g, top flour 56g, milk powder 20g, fine sugar 42g, salt 1/2 tsp, dry yeast 6g
B - egg 30g, water 85g, tangzhong 84g
C- unsalted butter 22g

Filling
fine sugar - 30g (i use granulated sugar)
cinnamon powder 1 tbsp
wine soaked raisin 80g (I used water soak raisin)


Decorations
icing sugar 70g
hot water 1 tbsp
almond flakes lightly toasted

Method
1. Mix A,B,C together to form a dough and using a dough hook to mix till window panel stage
2. Put the dough in a oiled bowl and proof for 40 mins
3. Dust the surface, punch the dough and roll out into a rectangular shape (25x 40cm)
4. Brush some water on the dough
5. Add filling and roll the dough like a swiss roll
6. Cut into small pieces and proof for another 40 mins (I place them 1 inch apart, after 2nd proofing the cinnamon roll will stick to each other)
7. Bake at 180 deg for 15 min
8. Add in decorations once cooled

Verdict: Its soft and its not so sweet. Its not as oily as those cinnamon roll that I tried during the craze period in Singapore.
I do wish its more chewy .... i should replace top flour with all bread flour

I always love to make cakes with yogurt, somehow it requires no mixers.
Just prepare the wet and dry ingredient and mix them together ... that simple!!
The recipe came from Baking mum


1 1/2 cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (if you’re skipping the fruit, you can also skip the last tablespoon of flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
3 extra-large eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (approximately 2 lemons)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen, thawed and rinsed (miniature wild blueberries are great for this, and pose the least risk of sinking)
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.

Sift together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and oil. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix the blueberries with the remaining tablespoon of flour, and fold them very gently into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 (+) minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Note: i use my mini loaf pan bake for 45 mins only

I was at the marketing and was introduce to this unusual fish call - "Mua" fish.
It was said to be good as it "clear" the body system ... thinking of making it for my princess since she has eczema
This recipe was given by the butcher opposite the fish seller ... uses very unusual ingredient "fatty meat"
The thought of it scares me .... eeeee so oily, so i requested for a cut of "fatty" meat where the pork goes to gym (less oily) hahah


Here are the ingredients:
1 piece of Mua fish
300g of fatty meat (sam cham bak) cut into small pieces
1/2 pc of old chai po
3 slices of ginger
coriander leaves
shaxing wine
fish sauce

Method
1. parboil the fatty meat to remove oil and debris
2. Boil the fatty meat with old chai po for 1 hour
3. Add in the fish and ginger slices, boil for another 2 hours
4. Add fish sauce to taste followed by coriander leaves and a dash of shaoxing wine

Verdict: It a very fragrant and sweet soup that is not oily at all .... i did not eat the fatty meat

In the M4m forum, many people was raving about this banana cake.
Decided to make some since my banana is getting over ripe
Used my new mini loaf pan to make ... hehe new gadget, takes shorter time to bake


Ingredients:
250g salted butter
1 1/2 cups castor sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
4 tbsp milk
1 1/2 cups mashed banana (4 large bananas)
2 cups plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder)
Some Walnuts to sprinkle on top (i forgotten to put in)

Method:
Cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add in eggs, vanilla essence and milk and mix well.

Add mashed banana into the mixture and mix well. Finally add in sifted flour and mix well.

Pour into a mini loaf pan.

Bake in preheated oven at 160 deg C for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Verdict: It has a pound cake texture but it moist but compare with Aunty Yochana's recipe its more dense.

Aunty Jo has been with us for 2 years, time flies without knowing.
To my two kids, she is their playmate and to me she has been a able helper.
She adores my 2 children and many times protective over them esp my son.



When she came, her luggage was just a small bag but now its two big luggages with multiple sea freight.
In order to cut cost, the recent box that she order for sea freight was much smaller ..... resulting in many stuff bring for the flight.
After packing her bag, i suspect that she will have excess baggage, had a hard time squeezing stuff into the bag.
How did she ended up with so much?? Who else but ME!!
Since i am leaving for Guangzhou, she inherited all my family old clothes, toys etc etc

At the airport, we queue for 1 hour before getting to check in ..... at the counter Aunty Jo has 30 kg excess!!!!
The excess baggage charge was $438!! for 1 international and domestic flight
The figure shocked the daylight out of me!!
At the end of the day, I paid ....
I have no heart to ask her to repack and queue again.
No time to arrange for sea freight ..... sigh

I made fun of her, telling her to pay for my family's airticket if we go and visit her!!
Anyway, I am very proud of her ....
she has really mature coming here from not knowing how to do housework to able to handle housework and my 2 active kids!!
I kept telling her, must grow up already!!


All of us were teary upon farewell
Deep inside me, i know Jo has learnt to "fish" through these 2 years
Now that she is leaving home, she has a fair amount of savings, bought a laptop, a nursing aide certification and tons of skills on homemanagement
Just realised, with teary farewell we had forgotten to take photo!!

Thank you Aunty Jo,
All the best will miss you
Now its time for me to stand on my own ... Jia you!!

I had a gathering to attend and last minute decided to bring pizza ..... wondering which recipe to use?
Peter Reinhart's recipe will take a day ... so i quickly surfed the internet for a quick and reliable recipe .....
Who else did I found - Jamie Oliver!!


Its a quick and easy pizza dough that is extemely easy to handle. I replace semolina with whole wheat flour, also the original recipe makes a lot of pizza - 6 to 8 medium size so i half the recipe
Please pardon my photos as it was taken on my way there with handphone

400g strong white bread flour & 100g finely ground semolina flour
1/2 tablespoon fine sea salt
7g of dried yeast
1/2 tablespoon caster sugar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
324 ml lukewarm water

Method
1. Put everything into the mixer and mixed till about 5-7 mins
2. Place the ball of dough in a large flour-dusted bowl and flour the top of it.
3. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and place in a warm room for about 1 hour until the dough has doubled in size.
4. Now remove the dough to a flour-dusted surface and knead it around a bit to push the air out with your hands - this is called punching down the dough. You can either use it immediately, or keep it, wrapped in plastic wrap, in the fridge (or freezer) until required

The other day when i went to my friend Yam Yee's place, I was glad to see curry leves and chilli growing in their backyard.
Just happened that she mentioned about cereal prawns, so I ask Koo Ning to help me to pluck some curry leaves before coming.
A search on on recipe book and memory of my favourite cereal prawn at Miki ....


Here's how i did it, agar agar menthod
1. Stir fry the marinated prawns (with salt only) with oil till its cooked, set aside
2. Put in butter into the wok, followed by curry leaves and chilli (optional), fry till fragrant. Add in eggs and stir into the mixture
3. Add instant oat and stir fry till its dry and crispy
4. Pour in the prawns

Verdict, i think the butter is insufficient so the cereal is not as crispy as i wanted. Looking on the positive side, its not as oily

As for dessert, I made jelly hearts ....


Its a modification from Aunty Yochana's recipe
Ingredients for Biscuit base:

300 gm. Digestive Biscuits
140 gm. Melted Butter

Ingredients for fillings:

1 block of Philidelphia Cream Cheese
10 gm. Gelatine Powder
50 gm. Sugar
1/2 cup Hot Water
1/2 tsp. Vanilla Essence

Topping:

1 box of Strawberry or Raspberry flavoured Jello
1 1/2 cups boiling hot water
1 1/2 cups cold.

Method:

(1) For biscuit base: Blend biscuits until fine and then mix with melted butter and mix thoroughly.
(2) Press into a 10" Square tray. Chill in the fridge to let it harden.
(3) For fillings, stir gelatine powder with boiling hot water until it dissolves.
(4) Cream cream cheese and vanilla essence till creamy, add in gelatine mixture gradually and cream until smooth. Pour on top of chilled biscuits in a heart heart mould

Had a chance to meet up with our long time neighbour, I always love her wonderful cooking and recipes
She brought along pear in red wine sauce today .... interesting combination!!
Its usually sold at high end restuarant ... at a high price too
She also mentioned that higher grade of red wine produce a much more tastier poached pear



How to do it? Simply poach the pear in re wine and simmer for a few hours till pear is soft, serve with vanilla ice cream!! Yummy

I heard so much about vinegar from Zhengjiang but never quite make it as i never really like vinegar in my cooking
In My home Kitchen, her son finished everything. Really hope to cook some new dishes for my super picky daughter
So here i go and get some Zhengjiang vinegar and pork rib. I modified the recipe after looking at how Aunty Lily use her pressure cooker:



Ingredient A:
Pork Ribs in small pieces
Ginger - a few slices
Shallots - 3 pcs & sliced
plain four - some for coating

Seasoning
Vinegar - 3+1/2 tbs
Sugar - 3 tbs
Shaoxing wine - 2+1/2 tbs (more if you like)
Water - 1/2 cup
Salt - 1/2 tsp or adjust to taste
Ketchup - 1 tbsp

Marinade
Soy Sauce - 3 tbs
Salt - 1 tsp or more if you want
Sesame oil - 1 tbs or adjust to own preference
white Pepper - a dash


Method:
1. Marinade Pork ribs with marinade for half hour or more.

2. Coat pork ribs with flour and fry till golden brown. (this makes the pork rib very oily, next time will tyr without)

3. Fry ginger and shallots till fragrant. Then add pork rib with all the seasoning (except ketchup) into the pressure cooker, adjust the seasoning according to taste
4. Lock the pressure cooker and cook in high pressure for 10 mins. Stir in ketchup at the end of cooking process

Verdict: The meat is soft and tender yet not jialut. The sauces was great with rice
The frying process really makes the sauce oily, next time i will pan fry without oil (will update again)