The weekend snacks: Apple raisin bread pudding

Been having a craving to learn how to make a bread and butter pudding... (partly because the pup likes it) and it's something I've never tried before... so why not!

Most recipes I saw online were for a regular sized pudding but I didn't want to venture that far and thought I'd experiment in small doses first. So I kinda made up my own recipe based on what I read online...

Ingredients

- 250 ml of milk (I used a small tetra pak)

- 1 egg

- 1 drop of vanilla essence

- 1 tsp sugar

- slices of white sandwich bread (or you can use any good bread, really)

- 1 green apple, cubed

- raisins (as much as you like) 

Add the milk, egg and vanilla. Mix well. No need to beat it until it's all bubbly and fluffy.

Add a little sugar and mix well. Make sure the sugar is dissolved.

Butter the bread and cut into strips and then into halves. Well I did this because my ramekins are rather small but you can do them in triangles or even just halves if you're making a regular sized one.

Put one layer of buttered bread and sprinkle the top with cubed apple and raisins.

  

Repeat until you reach the top. Then slowly pour in the egg/milk mixture till just about three-quarter full

Be warned. Pouring liquid into a small container can get quite messy!

Sprinkle a bit of sugar on top so you'll get a nice brown crispy top. Stick it in the oven for about 20 mins or so and it's ready!

Happy trying!

xxx

bunny

The weekend snacks: Banana chocolate chip muffins

I've been having this on my mind for like the longest time. But I never really dared to bake. It always ends up wonky. Plus, most of the baking stuff needs a mixer and I don't own one :P

But since I successfully baked bread couple of months ago I thought I'd give this a shot.

This banana chocolate chip muffin recipe looked relatively easy.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups (375g) self-raising flour
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup (170g) sugar
• 1/2 cup (95g) milk chocolate chips
• 1 cup (250ml) milk
• 3/4 cup (185ml) vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 2 small over ripe bananas

But of course I improvised a bit here :P

Instead of self-raising flour, I used all-purpose flour because that's the one I had in the pantry. Plus I used more bananas and choc chips than the recipe called for, not that anyone's complaining about the extra flavors :P

I read up about making these muffins from several recipes and every one of them asked for very ripe or over ripe bananas. Apparently these will give a better taste than a regular ripened banana.

First put all the dry ingredients in a bowl. I sifted the cinnamon powder, flour and sugar together and dunked the choc chips on top.

Then mixed it all properly.

Next - bananas. You'll get some soft and opaque-ish spots on overly ripened bananas. Just trim those bits off and you're good to go. I cut them into one-inch pieces and mashed them with a fork.

When you're done mashing, add in the milk, egg and oil. Stir well.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to combine. Whatever you do, DO NOT BEAT the mixture as it will make the texture less fluffy. Just stir it in.

You'll end up with a gooey mixture. I felt it was a bit too fluid but then again I've never made muffins before so I really don't know any better....

Anyways, this is the time you can start to preheat the oven at 200C (392F).

Then I lightly oiled the base and sides of the muffin trays...

... and scooped the mixture in.

Then leave it in the oven for about 20 mins or until it turns nice and golden brown.

Yeah. They don't really look like muffins right? Note to self: Always follow the recipes diligently! I really should have used self-raising flour instead.

There you go. My banana chocolate chip muffins :P

Verdict: It doesn't taste too bad but the texture's all wrong.

Oh well, practise makes perfect, right? I've just gotta keep trying.

If any one's got any muffin baking tips or other recipes, please do share! I'd love to learn more!

xxx

~bunny

Easy Desserts: Son of a Peach

What do you do when you've got some digestive biscuits and a tin of peaches at home? Get some vanilla ice cream and make the world's easiest dessert!

Ingredients

• 2-3 pieces of digestive biscuits
• 12-15 slices of tinned peaches
• 2-3 scoops of vanilla ice cream

Delicious on their own... fantastic together!

Take the digestive biscuits and put them in a zip loc bag. Burp the bag and zip loc it tight. You can either smash it a la Jamie Oliver (wrap them in a tea towel and smash them against the kitchen counter) or just use the back of a ramekin/small bowl to smush it.

This is what you should see in the end. Try to get it as fine as you can but hey, if you like chunky bits then stop halfway :)

Pour the powdered digestive biscuits into the ramekins. If you don't have these, little glasses would do too...

Add on a generous layer of vanilla ice cream on top. Don't fill it all the way to the top though - you need to leave space for the peaches!

Stick these back into the freezer so that the ice cream gets to firm up properly.

Take them out when you're just about to serve....

... and layer on the slices of tinned peaches... add on as much as you like!

There's only space for one layer for peaches here though :P

Tadaa!!! A super easy dessert :)

Happy "cooking"!

xxx

Bunny

The weekend snacks: Pan-fried dory fillets

The pup is a bit of a picky eater and doesn't really like fish too much and this is one of the few fish dishes that he actually likes... pan-fried bread crumbed dory fillets :) The best thing about this dish is that it goes really well with a lot of different side dishes. We usually serve them with mash (chips are great too but I just get a bit lazy to fry them) and a fresh garden salad.

Plus it's really really easy to make... here, I'll show you!

Ingredients

• 2-3 Dory fillets
• 1 cup of all purpose flour
• 2 eggs (beat with some salt and pepper)
• 1 cup of bread crumbs (you can get this easily from the bakery at any supermarket)
• olive oil (for frying)

My frying pan isn't that big so I usually cut the fillets up into about 2" wide. At this size, they're easier to coat and flip on the frying pan too.

Remove the excess water from the dory fillets with some kitchen towel. Gently press down to squeeze the liquid out. Set aside. Repeat until all fillets are "dry".

Then crack two eggs in a bowl, sprinkle in some salt and pepper to season it and beat well.

Place the cup of all purpose flour and breadcrumbs into plates and set aside. Here comes the fun part! :)

To start, coat the fillet in the flour first. Careful though, flour flies away super easily and you'll end up in a flour-y mess so don't get too excited here.

Coat the entire fillet with flour and shake off the excess...

... then place the flour coated fillet into the bowl of seasoned egg and cover completely. Remove...

... and place it onto the plate of breadcrumbs and cover it with as much breadcrumbs as you can.

You can do all of this in advanced and set them aside before pan frying.

Heat up some olive oil (you can use regular cooking oil too) in a frying pan on medium heat. When the oil is hot enough, place the bread crumbed fillets on to it and fry for about 2-3 minutes (depending on how thick the slices are).

When the fillets turn golden brown, flip it over and cook for another 2 minutes or so. By this time, you can start preheating the oven at 120C/248F. Line a tray with tin foil and set aside.

When the fillets are nicely brown on both sides, place them onto the tray and place them in the oven to keep warm. Repeat for ALL dory fillets...

Aww... don't they look just so yummy sitting there?

While the fillets are keeping warm, you can start plating up with the side dishes. I had pre-made some mash (potatoes, salt, pepper, butter, a little bit of olive oil and a dash of milk) and a fresh garden salad - butterhead and romaine lettuce, some red and green peppers and a handful of cherry tomatoes!

Tip!

Unless if you're going to eat it immediately, I wouldn't suggest that you pour balsamic vinegar on immediately because it just makes it soggy-ish. I usually pour the dressing on when I'm about to eat it.

Take the fillets out of the oven and plate it up. Serve with a lemon wedge and some tartare sauce!

Happy cooking!

xxx

Bunny

The weekend snacks: Gyoza Part II

I decided to make more this weekend :)

So yes, I added more ginger and more cabbage to the mix! YUMMY!!!

And since I couldn't find any gyoza skins, I used a little plate to cut the wanton skins into circles (although the plate was a teensy bit larger than the skins).

See? Quite perfect isn't it? I realized it really has to be a round and not a square wanton skin... and it really turns out A LOT nicer if you fold only one side instead of both the ends :)

Healthy breakfast

I was at a photoshoot the other day and learnt this from the owner and chef Debbra Lee of Fit For 2 and Bisou. And I've gotta tell you, I have NEVER eaten healthy food that's so bloody delicious!

Anyways, one of them was a Bircher Muesli - which is pretty much soaked oats with some fruits and or nuts.

Bircher Muesli was created by Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner who needed a diet that was rich in fresh fruit and veggies as part of theraphy.

Anyways, Deb's recipe is super easy and most of the stuff are already in your kitchen. Prepare it the night before, scoop it out in the morning and you're good to go! Plus it's a great snack because it's healthy and not so fattening!

This is my version of her recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 apples. She actually grates them but my grater is a bit too fine so I chop them up in teeny pieces
• 1 cup rolled oats
• Cinnamon powder
• 1 cup or a 135g tub of natural yoghurt
• 1 cup or one tetra pack of apple juice

I usually fill half the container with oats. You can use as much as you can but for starters I'd say about 1 cup would be great. It's always a great idea to start small just to get the feel of how it's done.

Then I add in about 3 shakes of cinnamon powder. I don't put in too much because I don't want it to over power the mix. But if you love the taste of cinnamon, by all means, put in more :)

Then add in the grated/diced apple.

Pour in the yoghurt.

Then pour in the apple juice. I usually use one small tetra pack instead of measuring from the big pack. We don't drink that much apple juice at home so using a big pack means I have to make this quite often and my usual batch lasts me three days....

Mix it well and you're done! Just put it in the fridge over night and you'll find a nice gooey and healthy breakfast ready to go.

Tip!

The measurements for yoghurt and juice really does depend on how much oats you use. When mixing it, if you feel that it's a tad dry, add a little more yoghurt or juice (up to you). It's supposed to be nice and moist but not runny.

When you scoop it out in the morning (or as a snack) and find that it's a little dry... fret not, just add a little yoghurt or fresh milk to loosen it up!

You can even top it up with some fresh berries or a sprinkling of nuts for that crunch.

This is a great basic recipe that you can modify any way you like. Experiment with different types of juices or fruits. Mangos and berries go really well with this. You could also try dried fruit. I usually use apples because they keep really well.

Let me know if you've tried this or made your own variation. I'd love to hear from you!

Happy cooking (or mixing)!

xxx

Bunny