Archives for May 2013

May 31, 2013

Toasted Oatmeal Muffins

oatmeal muffins 1

First thought that comes to mind when someone mentions oatmeal muffins? Do the words dry, bland, gummy come into mind? Well I was not quite a fan of oatmeal muffins, but THIS oatmeal muffin is very different. For one, it does not use oats whole, but uses toasted ground oatmeal. It has a distinct taste of oats with a fragrance likened to popcorn. Intrigued?

I came across this article on my Cook’s Illustrated magazine on oatmeal muffin. Those of you who read Cook’s Illustrated will know that they spend extended time testing recipes and refining them. They suggested that toasting and grinding up the oatmeal allows it to absorb liquid quickly, while giving it flavour. Who would have thought of doing that?

oatmeal muffins 2

Since I had an unopened packet of oats sitting around, I decided to give the recipe a try. Although muffins are typically fast to prepare, this one does take time. So if you are intending to make this muffin for breakfast, plan ahead! I didn’t and so my starving family had a late breakfast. Also, the original recipe calls for a streusel topping which I find sweet. I removed the streusel topping and added some raisins instead to sweeten up the muffin a little.

The resulting muffin was fragrant and moist. It went very well with jam and my family enjoyed it. This was baked in conjunction with Cook For Family‘s event which ends today.

Toasted Oatmeal Muffins
 
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Recipe type: Muffins
Serves: 12 muffins
Ingredients
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1½ tsp salt
  • ¾ tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp baking soda
  • 6 tbsp butter, melted
  • 1¼ cup light brown sugar
  • 1¾ cups milk
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup raisins
Instructions
  1. Using a non-stick spray, grease a 12-cup muffin tray.
  2. Melt 2 tbsp butter in a skillet.
  3. Add oats and cook, stirring frequently until oats turn golden brown.
  4. Transfer oats to a food processor.
  5. Process until finely ground, about 30 seconds.
  6. Add flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda and pulse till combined.
  7. In a large mixing bowl, whisk butter and sugar together till thick and smooth.
  8. Add milk and eggs and whisk till smooth.
  9. Using a large whisk, fold half of oat flour mixture into the egg mixture.
  10. Fold in remaining oat flour gently.
  11. Add raisins and stir to combine.
  12. Allow batter to sit for 15 minutes to thicken.
  13. Preheat oven to 190°C and place an oven rack in the middle position.
  14. Using an ice cream scoop, divide batter equally among 12 muffin cups. The batter should fill each cup to the brim.
  15. Bake for about 20 minutes till muffins are golden brown and a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.
  16. Allow muffins to cool on wire racks for 10 minutes.
  17. Serve warm, or allow them to cool completely before storing.
Notes
Adapted from Cook's Illustrated magazine Muffins are best eaten the day they are baked. They can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days and toasted before eaten.

I link up at these parties.

Filed Under: Breads, Muffins and Scones, Breakfast, Desserts and Sweet Bakes, Food for Tots Tagged With: , , , 4 Comments
May 31, 2013

Pizza Dinner for #cookforfamily

pizza2 My husband’s favourite foods are pizza and baguette. Yes, he will survive very well in both France and Italy. Whenever the question of “what shall we eat today?” surfaces, his answer will likely be pizza. Our family may well be eating pizza every other day, if he has his way around things. Fortunately, he doesn’t.

So, he has been on a “I want to eat pizza” mood for a couple of weeks, and since the family wasn’t quite well (the flu bug has been going around), he hadn’t had his pizza fix. He signed up for cook for family event, I suggested to him to kill two birds with one stone – have his pizza fix AND cook for the family. He gamely took up my suggestion and we had fun making pizza!

pizza3

We modified a Jamie Oliver’s basic pizza dough recipe and had enough dough for four medium size pizzas. One of the pizzas was made with a tomato base and the other with a pesto base. We even had a splitza! Half ham, mushroom and peppers and the other butter chicken.

pizza_girl

It was all hands on deck for pizza night! Yes, even my two year old toddler had fun adding ingredients to the pizza. Here in this picture, she is adding her favourite mushrooms to the pizza. I love this candid shot!

pizza1

I made the above pizza with a pesto base, using a good ready-made pesto sauce. Spread the pesto as a base, heap on the ingredients to your liking, sprinkle with mozzarella and in the oven it goes!

pizza4

And this picture brings me to the discovery of the day: Butter chicken pizza. Ok, I know what you must be thinking. This gooey mess of red? Are you kidding me? Well, we did go overboard with the butter chicken sauce, but trust me, this is the most delicious combination we have had on a pizza in a long while. Perhaps, it would have looked prettier if we had remembered to spread butter chicken sauce on the base, heap on chunky pieces of butter chicken with added onions and peppers and topped it with mozzarella cheese. But no, I forgot to spread the pizza base with sauce so I decided to drizzle it most liberally on the pizza. The result? This messy looking pizza that tasted every bit delicious.

So are you sold yet? What is butter chicken, some of you may ask. It’s this tasty chicken dish that is sold at most tandoori food stalls and it is a fantastic accompaniment to naan. I say, it is even better on pizza.

The next time you are wondering what to do for dinner, consider making pizza and having fun with your family! Pizza making is one of the the things that is sure to engage everyone, from the oldest to the youngest. No real recipe, just your favourite ingredients mixed and matched the way you like it. After all, dinner together as a family is supposed to be fun!

Simple pizza crust
 
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This simple pizza dough makes four medium size pizzas.
Author:
Ingredients
  • 500g bread flour
  • ½ tsp fine sea salt
  • 7g dried yeast (not instant)
  • 1½ tsp brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 325 ml warm water (43-46°C)
Instructions
Pizza dough
  1. Sieve flour and salt onto a clean surface.
  2. In a large measuring jug, mix yeast, brown sugar, olive oil and warm water.
  3. Leave it to stand for about 5-7 minutes (the mixture should look foamy).
  4. Make a well in the centre of the flour.
  5. Add the liquid mixture into the well and slowly mix in flour from the sides.
  6. When the dough comes together, knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic (about 10 - 15 minutes).
  7. Shape dough into a ball and place it in a large flour-dusted bowl.
  8. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and leave it to rise until double in bulk.
  9. Remove dough from bowl and knead it gently to remove some air.
  10. Divide dough into four portions and cover dough with a piece of cling wrap for 10-15 minutes.
  11. Roll out each piece of dough till about 0.5cm thick.
  12. Use immediately or stack them up, cover with cling wrap and place them into the fridge.
Baking pizza
  1. Preheat oven to 205°C 20 minutes before pizza is to be baked.
  2. Place a baking stone (if using) in the oven while it is heating up.
  3. Place pizza on a baking sheet.
  4. Spread sauce on pizza and place toppings on top of the sauce base.
  5. Sprinkle liberally with mozzarella cheese.
  6. Place baking sheet on top of baking stone and bake for 15 minutes, or until pizza crust is golden brown.
  7. Serve hot.
Notes
Recipe is adapted from Jamie Oliver's pizza dough

Filed Under: Baking and Cooking, Breads, Muffins and Scones, Food for Tots Tagged With: , Leave a Comment
May 25, 2013

Blueberry wholewheat pancakes for #cookforfamily

wholewheat pancakes

Yes it’s the Cook For Family event again and this time it’s for ONE WHOLE WEEK! It was planned to coincide intentionally with Singapore’s Eat With Your Family Day happening next Friday, 31 May. So, Cook For Family is encouraging everyone to join in the fun and cook a meal for your family this week!

I decided to kickstart this week’s cooking with these blueberry wholewheat pancakes. These are butter free (I used olive oil as a substitute) and made with whole wheat flour. The original recipe called for buttermilk but I used a buttermilk substitute instead. Simply add 1 tbsp of vinegar and top up with milk till it forms one cup. This gives 1 cup of buttermilk substitute.

little chef

I enlisted the help of my very young chef to make these pancakes. She’s running a slight temperature but she was very happy to help!

The resulting pancakes are fluffy and moist, but I want to try tweaking the recipe to reduce the amount of baking powder it called for. Somehow the amount that the recipe called for gave the pancakes a slightly metallic taste in my opinion. I happened to chat with a friend and she mentioned “aluminium-free baking powder”. It’s not easily available over here and I’ve never heard of it! Now I’ve got to go find it. Once I’ve tried it out, I will post the recipe.

If you wish to join the Cook For Family event, you still have time! You don’t have to be in Singapore, we have people participating from all over the world! Check out the facebook event link here.

 

Filed Under: Baking and Cooking Tagged With: , 1 Comment
May 18, 2013

Apple walnut bundt cake

apple bundt 1

Not so long ago there was this fruit sale at my office (yeah, to encourage us to eat healthy). My friend was in-charge of the sale and she was asking me to buy the apples. So I told her jokingly, “Buy them for me and I will bake you something.” WRONG MOVE. An hour later, I had 5 apples sitting on my table and I had to make good my word. I went home and lo and behold, my mom had bought another 4 apples. So I had 9 apples, and I better make something with it, fast.

So I flipped through my books for a simple recipe of something that required a lot of apples. I didn’t want to make a tart because it seemed like too much work for a late night baking session. When I came across this apple cake recipe that required 6 apples, I knew it was the one.

apple bundt 2

Enters apple bundt cake. The original recipe called for the cake to be baked in a tube pan. I didn’t have a tube pan, but I have several bundt pans and figured that they would do the job too. Bundt pans typically do an excellent job in getting the cake evenly baked while keeping it moist. Sounds like the perfect pan to use for this cake. I also like bundt cakes because they typically feed a crowd, and are so easy to cut up and serve (just follow the markings on the cake and you have a perfectly divided cake). They also look pretty and the cake hardly needs any decoration, though a dusting of powdered sugar would perhaps complete the look.

The cake was every bit what it promised to be – fully apple-ly and fully cake. Apples and cinnamon. Add walnuts and you will never go wrong. The walnuts add texture to the already flavourful cake and the bundt pan kept the cake oh so moist. Colleagues raved about it and I am sure you would too, if you try it.

Apple bundt cake
 
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An excellent apple bundt cake that's filled with apples, accentuated with walnuts and the flavour of cinnamon.
Recipe type: Cake
Serves: 12-16
Ingredients
  • 6 apples, peeled and cut into ½ inch chunks
  • 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
  • 1½ cup plus 5 tbsp sugar
  • 2¾ cups plain flour
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup canola/vegetable oil
  • ¼ cup orange juice
  • 2½ tsp vanilla extract
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup walnuts, chopped
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 175°C.
  2. Butter and flour a 10-12 cup large bundt pan or use non-stick spray.
  3. Toss chopped apples with 5 tbsp sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
  4. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl.
  5. In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine oil, orange juice, remaining sugar, vanilla extract and eggs.
  6. Add in flour mixture in 2 parts with mixer on low. Scrape bowl to ensure even incorporation. Stir in walnuts.
  7. Pour half of the batter into the pan. Spread half the apple chunks.
  8. Top up pan with remaining batter and spread evenly.
  9. Arrange remaining apple on top.
  10. Bake for 1½ hours, or until a tester comes out clean.
  11. Allow to cool completely in pan before turning it out onto a serving plate.
Notes
Recipe is adapted from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

Filed Under: Cakes, Vegetables and Fruit Tagged With: , , , 2 Comments
May 14, 2013

Steamed Red Bean Buns (Tau Sar Pau)

red bean buns1

Two weeks ago, my mother went for a class to learn how to make steamed red bean buns. A few days later, she tried to replicate the recipe with not-so-successful results. The bread of the buns tasted weird, and the red bean filling was grainy. Needless to say, she was rather discouraged even though we tried to render support by eating a few of the buns.

red bean buns 2

So on Saturday, in preparation for Mother’s Day, I decided to make my version of steamed red bean buns. I combed through many variations of making red bean paste and pau dough, and came up with my own variation. It was a success! True, it was much work making the red bean paste from scratch and it required some forward planning, something that is not my forte. But the results were rewarding – especially when the red bean paste actually tastes like red bean, and not some sweetened mush that you buy in a packet.

red bean buns 3

My husband participated in the making of the buns too! His favourite activity? Making animal faces. He became very popular with my daughter after she saw this little piggy. His effort disappeared in a couple of minutes though, as my daughter declared that she was going to eat the piggy soon after she saw it.

So you’ve decided that you want to embark on the journey of making your very own steamed buns? Here are some photo tips.

red bean paste steps

  1. When straining the red bean paste into the bowl, immerse the sieve into the red bean water. This will help remove the skins. After straining the paste twice, you should get a water red bean paste mixture.
  2. When squeezing out excess water, be careful not to squeeze out too much water. The paste should not be crumbly, and you should be able to form indentations with a spoon or finger.
  3. When mixing the red bean paste with sugar, the paste will become more fluid and glossy. Mix until you obtain the thickness of paste that you desire.
  4. The completed red bean paste should look like this.
  5. Guide to making steamed buns
  1. Ensure that your yeast is active. It should foam like shown in the picture.
  2. After kneading in the mixer (or by hand), the dough should be smooth and should not be sticky. Shape it into a ball and allow it to rest.
  3. It should triple in volume.
  4. Knead the dough gently and divide the dough into 14 equal pieces (my pieces are not very equal). This dough handles very easily.
  5. Enclose the red bean paste filling by forming little pleats and pinching the dough towards the centre. This forms the base.
  6. Ensure that your buns are spaced at least 2 – 2.5 inches apart as they will expand when they steam.

So now you are ready to try to make your own steamed buns!

Steamed Red Bean Buns (Tau Sar Pau)
 
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A recipe on making steamed red bean buns (tau sar pau) from scratch! Make your own red bean paste (tau sar) and sweeten it according to your taste.
Recipe type: Bread
Cuisine: Chinese
Serves: 14
Ingredients
Red Bean Paste (Tau Sar)
  • 1 cup of red beans
  • ¾ to 1 cup of sugar
Dough
  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • ⅞ cup warm water
  • 11/2 tsp dried yeast
  • 3 cups Hong Kong flour
  • 11/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tbsp shortening
Instructions
Red Bean Paste
  1. Soak red beans in water overnight. The water should cover the red beans.
  2. Pour away the water used to soak the red beans.
  3. In a large pot, add the soaked red beans. Add water to the pot - it should be about 1 inch above the red beans.
  4. Bring to a boil over a medium flame and turn off the flame. Allow it to stand for about 10 minutes. Pour away the hot water.
  5. Fill the pot once again with water till about 1 inch above the red beans.
  6. Bring to a boil and then turn the flame down.
  7. Simmer for about 1 hour, or until red beans are soft.
  8. Sieve the red beans and water into a large bowl.
  9. Using a metal spoon, mash the red beans in the sieve, leaving only the red bean skins behind. Repeat till all the red beans are mashed and skins removed. Wash the sieve.
  10. Sieve the red bean paste and water through the sieve to remove any bits.
  11. Using a cheesecloth bag, squeeze out excess water from the red bean paste and water mixture.
  12. Put the paste into a metal pot over medium heat. Add sugar (according to your taste) to the paste and stir in a back and forth motion till the sugar dissolves. The paste will become more fluid.
  13. Continue to stir in a back and forth motion until you reach the desired thickness for your paste.
  14. Optional: If you'd like your paste to be more glossy, you can fry your red bean paste in 1-2 tbsp of vegetable oil after the last step.
  15. Allow red bean paste to cool to room temperature. Keep in fridge until required.
  16. Shape red bean paste into 1 oz balls and set aside till dough is ready.
Dough
  1. In a bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water.
  2. Sprinkle yeast on the surface of the water and allow it to foam (about 10 minutes).
  3. Meanwhile, sift flour and baking powder into the bowl of a standing mixer prepared with a dough hook.
  4. Add shortening.
  5. When the yeast mixture foams, add it to the flour mixture in the mixer bowl.
  6. Knead the dough using the mixer for about 5-7 minutes, until it is smooth and does not stick. (If using hands, this step takes about 10-12 minutes).
  7. Remove dough from the mixer bowl and shape it into a ball.
  8. Place in a large clean bowl and cover with cling wrap.
  9. Allow it to rise in a warm place till it triples in volume.
  10. Remove from the bowl and knead it slightly to remove some air.
  11. Divide the dough into two portions and roll each portion into a log.
  12. Divide each log into 7 equal pieces.
  13. Shape each piece with your palm till it is a 10-12cm in diameter circle.
  14. Add a ball of red bean paste to the centre. Enclose the red bean paste by forming neat pleats and folding towards the centre. Place the folded side on a piece of small baking paper.
  15. Repeat till all the dough and paste has been used up.
  16. Let the buns stand for about 15 minutes before arranging them in a bamboo steamer. The buns should be about 2 inches apart as they will expand.
  17. Steam for 10 minutes.
  18. Serve hot or cool to room temperature and freeze.

Filed Under: Asian Dishes, Breads, Muffins and Scones, Breakfast Tagged With: , , , , , 6 Comments
May 2, 2013

BBQ cum Potluck gathering

Salad 1st of May is Labour Day and we celebrated Labour Day by having a BBQ cum potluck gathering with CG friends. The menu was quite varied – salad, chip and dips, pasta, wings, slaw and the list goes on. The highlights of the evening in my opinion were the beef and the ribs, and oh yes, the cornbread.

dry rub ribs The dry rub ribs were prepared painstakingly by Andrew, our host and main chef. He prepared 10 slabs of ribs and slow-baked them in the oven. In addition to the ribs, he prepared a oh-so-delicious cornbread (I need to ask him for the recipe) and slaw.

cornbread I’ve tried a few variations of cornbread but I’d have to say this is one of the best. Initially when we were cutting through the cornbread, we thought it was not baked long enough as it seemed a little sticky. However, it turned out superbly moist and yet it didn’t stick to the teeth. And yes, it is chock full of corn. Did I say I need to ask him for his recipe?

grilled beef The beef. One of our dear friends bought rib-eyed steaks and delivered them to the BBQ even though he could not be there. The guys grilled them up and the result is seen in the picture above. Succulent, flavourful, juicy steaks.

slaw There were desserts of course – apple crumble and my humble red wine chocolate cake. Everyone ate and was satisfied beyond measure. No surprise that there were mentions of gym visits today.

Filed Under: Baking and Cooking Tagged With: , , 2 Comments
May 1, 2013

Beef daube

beef daube I love beef stews cooked with red wine. Red wine adds a depth and flavour that stock alone cannot achieve. So when my mother-in-law bought a batch of brisket for stewing, I could not resist trying out this recipe from Dorie Greenspan’s book – Around my french table. I have made a few changes though, to reduce the alcohol amount and have also added mushrooms to it. Through the long hours of cooking (2.5 hours), the alcohol does boil off a little but a significant amount remains.

I made this recipe at night, let it cool overnight and reheated it the next day. I then added the sauteed mushrooms to it. It tastes even better the next day as the flavours combine. I will definitely be making this fuss-free recipe again.

Beef Daube

Print recipe
Beef Daube
Serves 4-6
From book Adapted from around my french table

Ingredients

  • 4 medium slices bacon (cut into 1-inch wide pieces)
  • 1kg beef brisket (cut into 2-3 inch cubes)
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 yellow onions (thinly sliced)
  • 1 garlic head (halved horizontally)
  • 3 large carrots (halved horizontally, then quartered lengthwise)
  • 250ml beef stock
  • 500ml red wine
  • 1 sprig dried thyme (or 2 sprigs fresh thyme)
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 400g button mushrooms (sliced thickly)
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley

Directions

Step 1
Centre an oven rack and preheat oven to 175°C.
Step 2
Put a dutch oven over medium heat and cook the bacon till the bacon just browns. Transfer bacon to a bowl.
Step 3
Dry the beef between sheets of kitchen paper and season with salt and pepper. Add 1 tbsp canola oil to the bacon fat and brown beef in batches. Set aside.
Step 4
Pour off oil in pot, add remaining 1 tbsp of oil and heat it over medium heat. Add in onions and cook till onions soften. Throw in the garlic and carrots and stir to combine. Pour in the red wine, scraping up the brown bits from the bacon.
Step 5
Add in the beef stock, beef and bacon, and herbs. Stir and bring everything to a boil.
Step 6
Place a piece of foil over the pot and cover with the lid. Slide the pot into the oven and allow it to braise for 1 hour.
Step 7
Pull pot out of oven, give everything a stir, and return for another 1.5 hours. Season with salt and pepper. (At this point, you can cool the daube to room temperature and chill it for up to 3 days in the fridge).
Step 8
In a small skillet, heat 2 tsp of olive oil and add in the mushrooms and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Cook till mushroom releases their liquids. Allow the liquids to cook off before adding mushrooms to the daube.
Step 9
Remove the bay leaves, thyme sprigs and garlic head. Serve hot over mash potatoes or buttered rice.
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Filed Under: Meats and Seafood Tagged With: , , Leave a Comment