Archives for November 2013

Mee Hoon Kueh (Homemade Pulled Noodles)

mee hoon kueh

When does one crave for a bowl of piping hot mee hoon kueh? On cold days, I’d say, or when one is sick. The latter is what has been happening lately. The whole family has been down and out. I’ve had it really bad – I’m down with my second bout of flu in two weeks. I caught the first bout of flu from my little one, and the second bout from goodness knows where. Office perhaps. While my little one is up and bouncing even though she’s sick, I just want to bury myself under the covers and sleep (which is, by the way, what I’ve been doing almost the whole day.)

So one sickly day, I decided that I would definitely feel better if I had some mee hoon kueh. It would be easy enough to pop down to the coffee shop and buy a bowl, but since I had to feed the sick bub and the not-so-sick husband, I figured I might as well make some. Mee Hoon Kueh brings back memories from my childhood. When I was young, my grandma used to make mee hoon kueh. She made hers a little differently. She would make a thick floury mixture and drop spoons of batter into boiling soup. Saves one the hassle of pulling pieces of dough I guess. The texture of that mee hoon kueh is very different from what I made/is sold outside. The texture of that is somewhat fluffy on the outside and dense on the inside. Not all may like that version of mee hoon kueh.

Mee Hoon Kueh

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Cookie Top Brownies

Cookie Top Brownies

In my humble opinion, there are few desserts that are as charming in their simplicity as brownies. Moist chocolate goodness, in a bar, or a slab, or in a cup, whatever your preference. I used to think that the best brownies were the ones that were oozing chocolate goodness, with bits of nuts in them, the crunch of the nuts contrasting with the soft texture of the brownie. I have since changed my mind about what the best brownies are. The best brownies are the ones I’m about to introduce to you – Brownies topped with Cookie dough, baked to a golden brown perfection. Crisp chocolate chip cookie atop a moist dark chocolate brownie. NOW THAT IS PERFECTION.

Cookie Top Brownies

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Sun-dried Tomato Pesto

Sun-dried tomato pesto

I love sun-dried tomatoes. They are rich in flavour and can be used in so many ways. I particularly like them in pastas and salads – that distinct taste of sun-dried tomatoes livens up the whole dish! I usually use sun-dried tomatoes that are steeped in olive oil. If you use the dried ones, you will have to reconstitute them in some water. Do not throw away the water though, use it in your pasta!

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Nutella Swirled ChocoNana Muffins

Nutella swirled choco nana muffins

I was mulling over what to bake for breakfast and asked my husband if he preferred oatmeal bread or honey wholewheat bread. “Chocolate Banana bread!” my little one chimes in. Chocolate banana bread? Now where did that come from! She has never tried chocolate banana cake, bread, muffin or anything of that combination. It did sound like a good idea though. After all, I really like chocolate mousse cake with banana slices.

So breakfast was decided. Chocolate banana bread. Only that a loaf of bread sounded a little boring. “How bout chocolate banana muffins instead?” I asked the little one. She nodded in agreement. I never thought that my 2.5 y.o will be deciding the breakfast menu at such a young age!

I set out to bake Chocolate Banana muffins. And then I had a brainwave. My husband loves nutella. How bout topping each muffin with just a little nutella? Brilliant isn’t it? I would think so because the muffins were so good. I love the texture, the flavour, the chunky banana and the bits of chocolate AND the nutella. You would love it too, if you try it!

Nutella Swirled ChocoNana Muffins
 
Author:
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • 2 cups plain flour
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 3 ripe bananas, mashed coarsely
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • 3 ounces unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup buttermilk
  • ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • nutella
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven 175ÂșC.
  2. Place 8 large standing muffin liners on a baking tray. (You can use a muffin tray as well.)
  3. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
  4. In a smaller mixing bowl, add eggs, melted butter, vanilla extract and buttermilk to the mashed bananas. Stir to combine.
  5. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold gently.
  6. Stir in the chocolate chips.
  7. Fill each muffin cup to ¾ full.
  8. Top with ½ tsp of nutella. Swirl with a toothpick or a small spatula.
  9. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.

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