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Macarons make me mad!

My favorite moment. After you pipped them and let them rest and when the feet starts to form out

The result - Perfectly baked macaroons but have to be extra gentle as they are very fragile

There has been this sudden surge in macarons or macaroons demand. It seems like everyone is enjoying them. Apart from writer. There is something about this type of desserts which are too sweet for my own consumption. Maybe its the sugar content. I tried to diminish the sugar, reduce it but it resulted in unsuccessful and ugly macaroon shell.

The history of macaroons

In France it is spelled macaron, in English it is spelled macaroon and in Italian it is spelled maccarone or maccharone. The origin is uncertain as some said that it originated from Italy, then been imported to France by 2 Benedictine nuns whom seeked asylum during the French Revolution. Whatever it is, it is one of the most historical desserts ever made and it is the most popular consumed cookie enjoyed by Italian Jews especially during the eight day Passover.

My take on macaroons

I tried making them less sweet as i have very sensitive enamel. However tamper as i may, it didn't yield out any good result. Who am i to tamper with century old recipes? What i can say is, enjoy them as you can. I give up in consuming them but i get the satisfaction in making them especially when the shells turn out great with beautiful formed feet.

What i like about them is, you can use whatever filling that you like. I like to put in some fresh strawberries and kiwis. It really brings out the flavor. Unfortunately in Johor Bahru, it is very scarce to find a macaroon maker. I myself am seeking for the chef so that i can learn and develop my skills of macaroon making

Rocky Road Brownie

                                                                  Rocky Road Brownie

I know I know brownies are supposed to be made squares but i love this non stick baking tin so much that makes removing cakes so easy peasy. hehehe

We had a little family gathering last New Year's Eve at my parents' farm and my cousin requested me to make something chocolaty. It was a toss between chocolate pudding, mousse or brownie. I never made any brownies before and therefore surfed for the best recipe online. That it when i stumbled upon a recipe for a Rocky Road Brownie.

Rocky Road is actually a type of ice cream. I remembered having some nice Baskin Robbins' Rocky Road ice cream before and it was delicious. And pricey. I guess I liked that taste of gooey marshmallows topped with some cashews and walnuts. Drool worthy.

Anyway, making brownie is much more simpler than baking a cake. I used a mixed of leftovers chocolate chips with some semi sweet chocolate bars to give them the fudgy taste. Then i chopped up some pricey marshmallows to put on top of the brownie with some of my favorite nuts and shove it in the oven for additional 5 minutes or so until the marshmallows melt. That will give the brownie that gooey sticky taste. Yummy! Alternatively you can use some mixed grains to put on top but I do suggest to chop them nicely so that the kids can easily consumed them. Well except for oatmeal. I haven't tried any oatmeal yet therefore I wont recommend using it, Until I used it, of course.

The recipe is as follows:

240gm of chocolate bars (you can alternate with choc chips)
1 cup of butter
2 cups of sugar (i used fine granulated sugar)
2 teaspoon vanilla essence
4 eggs
1 3/4 cups of flour
A  pinch of salt

Preheat the oven for 165'c

1. Melt together the chocolate with butter using a double broiler
2. After melted, remove from the double boiler and put in the sugar. Stir until dissolve
3. Put in the eggs one by one and stir well
4. Put in the flour, vanilla essence and salt. Stir
5. Put in the baking tin of your choice. Cover the tins with some butter first to prevent the brownie to stick. Alternatively you can always cover your baking tins with some parchment paper.
6. Baked for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean

7. When the cake is baked, cover the top with some marshmallows and nuts and baked in for additional 5 minutes or until the marshmallows melt


Happy trying!

Red velvet cupcakes

                                                                   Freshly out of the oven

                                                      After decorating with cream cheese

Wow, it has been a while since i baked

The last time i baked was for some chocolate chip cookies which i sell them for Hari Raya and it was a blast. Imagine I was 8 months' old pregnant and I stayed up all night until sahur to make those cookies to cater to the orders that i received. It was a testing time and it taught me to be humbled and thankful.

Then came December which marks my eldest daughter turning 2. Gosh has it been that long? I can remember the day i popped her out of my body. She was weird. The moment she came out she did not even cry. She just smiled until the nurse slapped her bottom then she wailed. It was a beautiful sight.

So as a token of appreciation i decided to make some Red Velvet cupcakes for the guests to take home and after numerous search for the recipes, i finally found one that suits my fancy, along with  the cream cheese topping. The history of Red Velvet is it was said to came from American South. According to joyofbaking.com,  

"It is really a Devil's Food Cake that has red food coloring added to it. John Mariani tells us in his book "The Dictionary of American Food and Drink" that the name 'Devil's Food Cake' is so called "because it is supposedly so rich and delicious that it must, to a moralist, be somewhat sinful."  and I couldn't agree more. It is rich, creamy and with the cream cheese topping 1 serving is not enough. I had 5 servings in one go  Hehe

Here is the recipe: 

1 1/4 cups (125 grams) sifted cake flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoons (10 grams) regular or Dutch-processed cocoa powder 1/4 cup (57 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature 3/4 cups (150 grams) granulated white sugar 1 large egg 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract **1/2 cup (120 ml) buttermilk 1 tablespoon liquid red food coloring 1/2 teaspoon white distilled vinegar 1/2 teaspoon baking soda Cream Cheese Frosting: 4 ounces (113 grams) cream cheese, room temperature 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1/4 cup (30 grams) confectioners' (icing or powdered) sugar, sifted 1/3 cup (80 ml) heavy whipping cream To make it 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and line 12 muffin tins with paper cupcake liners. 2. In a large bowl sift together the flour, salt, and cocoa powder. 3. beat the butter until soft (about 1-2 minutes). Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add the egg and beat until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined. 4. In a measuring cup whisk the buttermilk with the red food coloring. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. 5. In a small cup combine the vinegar and baking soda. Allow the mixture to fizz and then quickly fold into the cake batter.  6. Divide the batter evenly among the 12  muffin cups and smooth the tops with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 18 - 23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean. 7. Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes and them remove from pan. Let cool completely before frosting. ** As buttermilk can be costly, to substitute it add in 1 tablespoon of white vinegar with one cup of milk and let it rest for 5-10 minutes. Have fun trying and advise me the outcome.

Grilled chicken mango salad with herbal rice

It has been a while

Writer was on maternity leave. Yup, just delivered a bouncy baby girl. Trying to get back in shape and regrow my herb garden which was destroyed and unattended during confinement. Well, i did asked my husband to tend to it but it proven to be such a chore for him. Ho hum.

                                                        We lit some candles, just for fun

Now, am embarking on a strict diet. No, not that atkinson kind. Just need to revise my whole menu and diet plan so that i can detox myself and give me more energy instead of feeling sluggish. Come January 2011 will be working at a gym and in this shape, I know i cant be physically active. So i got myself a new cookbook called Eat Well Stay Well and produced by Reader's Digest. My dad bought this book but i found it stored at the library unread. So i picked it up and found that most of the recipes are actually cookable (being a lazy cook, it helps)

There are more that 250 recipes inside and some nutritional guide as accordance with the type of the ingredients and bonus plus, it also provides information on the foods that fights illnesses.

To tell you the truth, not all 250 recipes can be catered to my culture especially those that involve the usage of wines. I cant honestly tell you whether wine is actually permissible in our cooking as being muslim we are prohibit to consume wine; although the alcohol in the wine will evaporate in high heat, but let us not touch that subject. If there are 10 recipes that contain wine, I can surely skip that and try the remaining 240 recipes, cant I? Let's be positive.

Today i cooked herbal rice or green rice. It is pretty easy to make. The  ingredients are:

3 teaspoon olive oil
4 spring onions, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 cup of rice
Salt
1/2 cup fresh coriander or flat leaf parsley (I add up 1/2 cup of fresh basil)
1 cup of fried anchovies

1. Heat the oil in medium saucepan over moderate heat. Add the spring onions and garlic, cook until soft
2. Add the rice, 2 1/4 water and a pinch of salt. Cook until the rice is tender. Once the rice is cooked, mix in the coriander and basil. As an alternative I put in some anchovies to give it that salty taste that my husband loves so much. Not to much salt though, else will defeat the whole purpose.

I paired the rice with grilled chicken with mango salad which i will share the recipe in the next post. Meanwhile, happy trying!

To get the book, you can click at the following link available below.

Cookies and sleeping

10 days to Hari Raya
Insomnia is setting in
Busy making cakes and cookies...filling up customers' demands
I am so lucky and thankful that i have been given a chance and talent by God for this
At least my family and i can celebrate Hari Raya with glee and at the same time, have some savings for my other baby who is due in 6 weeks time
To all my customers, cousins and friends...
I cant thank you enough for this chance
I pray the best to you too

Have a blessed 10 final days of Ramadhan 2010, i know i will

Muesli cookies

Made from oatmeal, mixture of nuts and raisins

Might say this is the healthiest of all cookies, in my opinion...hahaha

Going for RM 25 50 pieces

RM 43 100 pieces

Almond thumbprint cookies

Hazelnut thumbprint cookies

you can choose whichever fillings you like, be it chocolate ganache, peppermint or strawberry jams
Dont worry i didnt use my thumb to 'print' the mould...hahaha
Going for RM 22 50pieces
RM 40 100 pieces

new packagng

Amongst the type of packaging for the gift baskets.

Aside from the jar, there will be additional charge of RM 4 should you want to use the box packaging

Hari Raya cookies packaging

This is our other additional service
If you need to send out a gift baskets, instead of using the old fashion plastic cookie case (balang), you can also choose either one of our tin case containers
Going for additional RM 9 for small tin
Measurement 15cmx7.5cm (which can fit for 50+ pieces of cookies)

RM 14 for big container
Measurement 18cmx8.5cm (which can fit about 80+ pieces of cookies)

However the price is not fix  for the big container as negotiable upon request

As for the love shape container which is made from paper, it can fit about 80+ pieces of cookies and going for additional price of RM 6

Need to remind that each price are negotiable upon request and the type of cookies. It can be either one type of cookie or mixed. Please contact us for more details at our HP or email at lyssa3280@gmail.com. Or visit my facebook page under Ellie Satonaka-Halu

Thanks guys for your support!

Chocolate Mint Cookies

Fresh from the oven

Chocolate mint cookies

selling for RM 20 for 50 pieces

RM 38 for 100 pieces

Doesnt the green color mint reminded you of Shrek? If yes, dont worry, its changeable to pink or white or purple :P

Chocolate spice cookies

Fresh from the oven
Chocolate spice cookies
selling for RM 20 for 50 pieces
RM 35 for 100 pieces

Almond biscotti

Almond biscotti

Fresh from the oven simple yet crunchy almond biscotti.

Biscotti is Italian for biscuit, with biscotti is a plural for biscotto

it's a bit hard to eat as it is double baked to preserve its crunchiness and it is to be dunked into your selection of either coffee or tea

Well if you can have kerepek raya, why not some bicotti?

Going for RM 20 for 50 slices and RM 35 for 100 slices

Eggless chocolate chip cookies

Fresh from the oven

These cookies are actually egg free, which means that it suits those with eczema as it is allergen free

There is not much difference in taste except that it can be quite zesty as there is an additional ingredients of orange zest

Going for RM 18 for 50 pieces and RM 35 for 100 pieces

To order please contact writer via email at lyssa3280@gmail.com or call directly.

Hari Raya cookies

We are selling some cookies for the coming Hari Raya and the samples will be distributed upon request.
At the moment there are 2 types ready for sale which are:

1. Ultimate chocolate chip cookies
Which is basically chocolates galore with melted chocolate and and chocolate chip inside
Price is RM 22 for 50 pieces and RM 40 for 100 pieces 

2. Chocolate mint cookies
Another form of chocolate chip glazed with peppermint which incidentally you can choose the color of the glaze, from pink to green or the original chocolate glaze
Price is RM 20 for 50 pieces and RM 38 for 100 pieces

Besides that if you want chocolate chip cookies with nuts or raisins, it can be arrange.

We are also selling some almond biscotti which the pictures will be downloaded by earliest tomorrow

We are also offering special promotion for gift baskets, whether the cookies will be wrapped inside a special airtight tin container or just a simple gift basket with a additional, negotiable charges.

To place your order please email writer at lyssa3280@gmail.com or writer can also be contacted via SMS or call at 0127454203.

Proceeds of the sale will be distributed to Maya Qadeeja's education and Hari Raya fund (since writer is taking a hiatus). Latest order is until 2 weeks before Hari Raya

Thanks guys!

Our dream garden

After years of playing Farmville at Facebook...time to make this dream a reality
This is Jamie Oliver's garden. It is indeed a beauty
Someday i wished that we can have a garden just like this.

I found that gardening also relieves stress. While sowing and stabbing (??) the earth, i imagined that i am stabbing someone who i hated most. Well, not someone. In fact there are more than one people in this earth that i wished that they mind their own frigging business instead of mine. Bitter revenge as i would like to see it...much to my husband's chagrin...Heehaw...

My experience in gardening? Apart from years of Farmville...its pretty zilch though!

By the way, i changed our blog link to a name that is more memorable. its http://fahmelsprojects.blogspot.com. No more crazy cousins tongue twisters name..

Wish us luck people!

Herb garden

My husband advised me that i can spend my time with gardening to pass my time during this waiting period.

He was right. I bought these herbs from Jusco and transferred them to bigger pots. Loo and behold, they actually grew! I honestly thought that these plants will be a one time affair and they will wilt like 2 or 3 days after purchase, but they lasted longer than expected.

We put these herbs on the kitchen window sill, and i have some Italian Basil, Thai Basil which is much more fragrant than its Italian cousin, some dills, rosemary, chives and parsley. They are particularly easy too. They just need some sunlight and water, but not too much of both and fertilise them once a week, and one day i hope that my herb garden can grow like this. Chives need to be trim a few millimeters per month and rosemary can withstand the dry soil. Basil needs the sun .

I dream that my herb garden will look like this one day. We have the space, unfortunately not the manpower to clean up the lawn of our recently moved house, but we will. One day

Aside from the little cute herb garden, my husband also planted some chili padi, pandan leaves, limau purut, limau kasturi, pandan coconut, banana plant and some yams and lemon grass on our lawns. They can be very tiresome to maintain but very rewarding. Imagine yesterday i just plucked some fresh red chili padi to make some masak lemak cili padi for dinner. Yummers!

Go on guys, i promised that you can have a blast with gardening! All they need are some nutrition and some tender loving care!

If you have any tips, please let me know as i am still new at gardening.

Beef stew

I had no idea that making beef stew was really that easy!
All you need, is simply beef (duhh!!)
This became Maya's favorite meal and i cant tell you how easy it was to get her to eat carrots.
Healthy, nutritious and yet so simple
Next time i make the stew, will make sure that i will throw in some macaroni
Anyone wanna grab a bite of this stew during breaking fast next month? Just gimme a holler and I'll make them for you..

Enjoy!

Homemade burgers

Free time makes me wonder

Why do i spent so much money on McDonald's burger when i can make them myself?
I stumbled upon some recipe from a women's magazine (man, i have been doing so much stumbling lately, hahaha) so i was surprised to find that these aren't not only easy, but healthier to make on your own.
You just need some minced beef or chicken (Ramly's the best, the Saudi brand contained some unprocessed little bits of bones and there was this one time i bit the patty, i thought that my own teeth were falling! It scared me to bits!)

Then you add it some salt and pepper, some minced garlic and minced parsley to taste and some secret sauce. Ha...wanna know what that sauce is? I'll give you a clue, it started with W...
And you shaped it anyway you like, and grill them on a hot grill and if you desire slather on some cheddar cheese and grill them together. I simply cooked them using my Tefal non stick pan, talked about being healthy!

The taste? Simply yummylicious!

Oh, don't forget the buns. You can choose normal bread too (like we did because we forgot the buns..hahaha) and stack the patty with some fresh tomatoes, salads and mayonnaise. Rachel Ray despises mayonnaise, i wonder why...hmmm

These are great for your barbecue parties, or just as a midday snacking.

Enjoy!

Cupcakes

I made these for my niece's cukur jambul ceremony. Too bad i didnt get to take her pictures because my own daughter was down with the fever so i was like a chicken being chopped its head off panicking.  Motherly instinct...hahaha

These are actually chocolate chip cupcakes and also raisin filled cupcakes.  Both are then decorated with chocolate ganache and fondant. I actually despise the idea of using fondant as it can be very very sweet, but for decoration purpose it does serve its purpose. I love piping icing instead. Havent you notice those cupcakes conglomerates like Cupcake Chic at Sunway Pyramid  and Bisou? Simply yummylicious, and they dont use fondants. I dont mind paying RM4++ for a Cupcake Chic cupcake as they are simply, simply yummers! Cupcakes have many versatility and one of them is they can last for a week once u put them in the fridge, or more. Other than that you can just pop them up for anytime snacking.

Available for orders ranging from RM 2 for a large size. The more you orderm yeah for sure i will give some discounts.

Meanwhile this housewife will concentrate in developing more recipes for cupcakes, cakes, cookies and pies. Will keep you posted!