Roasted butternut squash with Sage

This is just another failure on my trial for new recipe... I have been wanting to make this since a month ago... until last monday, where I only managed to get all ingredients ready in the kitchen, and I am so excited to make this for real. But the truth is this could be the first and last time i'm baking this dish... This is one of my unsuccessful recipe that I tried. Though the picture of the dish when I googled was very promising, i am not able to translate the recipe into what i expected it to be.... nevertheless, I will have this jotted on my blog in case i can twig the recipe for improvement in the future... who knows.... leave aside the disappointment, let's have a look at the recipe...

Ingredients 

 

 Methods

1. Begin by reciting bismillahirrahmaanirrahim

2. Cut the butternut and spread the sugared butter on each piece

3. Sprinkle salt and pepper with a drizzle of olive oil

4.  Crush the biscotti and sprinkle over the butternut

5. Finally put the sage leave on top

6. Bake it

I put more sage ..... i just love to put herbs in my dish....

fresh from the oven

this is how it look like.... it's not crisp as i thought it should be.... very watery.. and i don't quite like it...

nevertheless, I ate 4 pieces and actually it is not that bad... it's just not to my expectation..... in my mind it should be crisp on the outer part and juicy inside ... probably because I used butternut instead of acorn squash? sighhhh

Have a try though....

 

pssst : I have more than 10 recipes listed to be explored and attempted.... the next one is going to be a blast... just need 1 more ingredient and good to have a go...

Overnight Egg and Cheese Strata

Thinking of something fancy for breakfast? Perhaps can try and make this ... Strata... strata can be prepared savory our sweet... and layer all ingredients a night before , leaving you conveniently just to bake it on the next day. What goes in my strata? let see

Ingredients

Butter, for greasing the baking dish

Slices of hearty whole-wheat/wholemeal or mutigrain bread

6 large egg, beaten

2 1/2 cups of milk

Assorted cheese (Mixed of cheddar & mozarella)

Salt & Pepper to taste

Asparagus stalks

Beef strips

Finely chopped chives

Preparation

1. Start your cooking by reciting bismillahirrahmanirrahim
2. Preheat the oven 180 degree celcius
3. Butter the ovenproof baking dish
4.Cut the bread into slices. Lay the slices across the baking dish
5. Whisk together the eggs and milk in a large bowl. Stir in half the cheese and season with salth & pepper. I add in my Secret blend. Pour the egg mixture over the bread slices.
6. Layer the beef strips and asparagus stalks . Pour the remaining egg mixture over the top and finish with remaining cheese.
7. At this point, you can bake the strata immediately, or cover with plastic wrap/cling film and refrigerate overnight and bake the next day
8. Bake the strata until golden brown, let it cool, sprinkle the top with top chives, and serve in the baking dish

You can half the potion for smaller crowd , great dish for brunch and potluck.

Dapur Magika Kak Lin's secret blend

What is your favourite herbs sprinkled in your daily cooking? I have few but I found it too many if I were to put each type of spice in my cooking everytime... So, I came out with an idea to mix everything and have it combined in one spoonful for my cooking... it contained different substance but just right to give you basic flavour to your cooking.... to balance every ingredients is the key secret for perfect cooking...and you will need just one extra spice to suit your cooking....

So what goes in my magical blend?

Ingredients :

Dried garlic

Medley ground peppercorn (Black, Red, White)

Salt

Parsley

Chilli flakes

Mixed everything and this spicy blend will gives the fiery, bold and robust... just right for pepping up stir fries...suitable for vegetarian.....

Serving suggestions :

Use as desired to add a chilli kick for:-

1. Curry mix
2. Italian cooking (Lasagne, Pizza topping, Ragu sauce, bechamel sauce, Aglio Olio, al dante pasta etc.) with the italian mixed herbs added on
3. Mexican dishes and sauces
4. Work great for BBQ prep (used for marinating chicken , beef, lamb, hot dog etc)
5. Salad dressings
6. Perfect for pan grilled stuff - Fish fillet (especially salmon), vegetables
7. Taste enhancer for stir fry vegetables or anything
8. Savoury effect for chicken pie, pastry filling etc...

I used this in most of my dishes..... and that is why I call this my magical blend made with love.... recite bismillahirrahmanirrahim and sprinkle on any food you wish....

Bottled it and store in dry cool place....

Yummy french toast

How to make real good french toast? I am still not able to figure out what is the best mixture and method to make best french toast. My benchmark of good french toast is from red bean bag.. Served with caramelised berries and banana, with a spill of maple syrup.... not oily... It is just perfect.. Can have two sets of these during lunch...

My real concern :

What is the best bread to use?

What do we put in the mixture? Is it just yolk, white eggs only, both? Add whipped cream? Add milk?

Do we bake or pan grilled or what?

Do we deep or spread the batter?

Some use flour?

Soon to be dapur magika kak lin's project.. Insya Allah... but give me a little bit more time to do expand my research on this... until such time happened... I will choose to have my favourite french toast from red bean bag....

Fat burning herbal drink

For my age, it is very easy to gain weight and requires triple effort to loose every pound that I gained. I don't need to eat to gain weight... even if I am just breathing , it can contribute to the number on the weighing scale... sigghhh ... so anything that could help me to control my weight will be initiated... as long as it is doable and practical.

This is what I have been boiling for daily consumption....

My herbal tea made of

Green tea

Young ginger

Cumin

Mint leaves

Boil everything to simmer, stir anti clockwise, than finally add mint leaves for fresh taste and fragrance... 

Recite bismillahirrahmanirrahim before drink.. Enjoy every sip...

Pulut Kuning Berhias - Throwback 16th Anniversary

For the first time in our marriage, I presented my version of Pulut Kuning Berhias for our small celebration on our 16th anniversary with my love ones...enche hubby, beloved kids and close friends.... when comes to handling of glutinous rice, I am truly inexperience and no confidence at all in getting the right texture.. overly worried that it will be overcooked or half cooked (jelantah).. most of the time, it will be by luck.. no specific measurement, it's just based on estimation only.... 

My MIL has a shortcut way of doing this. For daily breakfast, she will just cook the glutinous rice with same level of water with the rice using rice cooker. No coconut milk added. This type of pulut goes well with ikan pekasam, ikan masin or sambal tumis.

ok let see how i did it..... here we are....

Bahan-bahan :

Pulut

Santan

Garam

Kunyit hidup

Daun pandan

Daun pisang

Bahan-bahan hiasan (Optional)

Serunding daging

Udang (digoreng)

Tomato ceri

Bunga cengkih

Daun Parsley

Cili merah (direndam dengan air ais)

Telur puyuh (direbus)

Bunga Hiasan

Cara-cara membuatnya :

1. Dimulakan dengan lafaz bismillahirrahmanirrahim

2. Rendam pulut bersama air yang dicampur sedikit garam dan kunyit hidup semalaman

3. Kukus pulut sehingga kembang bersama daun pandan dan dilapikkan dengan daun pisang

4. Masukkan santan yang telah dicampur garam

5. Sedia untuk dihias

Cara menghias :

1. Gunakan loyang bersaiz (7"-8")untuk membentuk lapisan pertama pulut (Tinggi 1 1/2 ")

2. Taburkan serunding daging dan ratakan

3. Lapiskan lapisan kedua pulut setinggi lapisan pertama tadi

4. Dan akhir sekali hias pulut dengan sentuhan kasih mengikut citarasa (seperti contoh di atas)

Tips : Gunakan pencucuk sate / pencungkil gigi untuk tujuan hiasan

Terubuk bakar asli

Dalam banyak-banyak jenis ikan yang dibakar, ikan terubuk memang menjadi pilihan hati ai.... walaupun ikan terubuk ni banyak tulang tapi itulah nikmat sebenarnya... enche hubby memang dah tahu kegemaran ai ni... kalau beli, anak-anak kami tak galakkan sebab tulangnya bercabang jadi... ai seorang pun boleh habis sebelah ekor...

sekarang ni kalau pergi ke pasar bukan senang nak dapat terubuk tempatan. Kebanyakannya diimport dan kualiti isi selalunya tak fresh.....

Kalau terasa nak makan ikan terubuk bakar asli, tempatan, original, tiada campuran bahan awet.... ada carannya.... selalunya, ai beli ikan terubuk di Pasar Awam Sungai Besar... harga terubuk tempatan sedikit mahal dari terubuk biasa... ai dah ada target kedai amoi ni kalau nak beli... yang lain tu import..

Tips yang paling penting:

• Pilih saiz yang agak besar, sebab kalau terlalu kecil tak kurang lemak.
• Jangan buang sisik, cuma perlu potong dua dan buang perut.... 
• Rentap badan ikan terubuk sampai terdengar bunyi untuk luruskan tulang agar mudah untuk dimakan.
• Cuci bersih, dan sapukan sedikit garam... 

so sekarang dah sedia untuk dibakar.... bagi ai kalau bakar atas dapur gas memang takde ummphh... jadi, kebiasaanya, minta tolong enche hubby hidupkan bara tempurung kelapa.... barulah wangi... dan cara bakar, jangan terlalu kering, nak tahu samada dah masak atau belum, cuma tekankan sedikit ikan dan kalau dah takde darah dari tulang sum-sum tengah tu keluar (dah  mula beku hitam) tandanya, ikan yang dibakar dah masak.

Sedia di hidang atas daun pisang dan cicahan.... bismillahirrahmanirrahim....

Untuk bahan-bahan cicahan :

Air asam jawa

Cili padi ditumbuk kasar

Bawang Merah

Belacan

Garam

Gula

Limau kasturi dihiris

Kicap Tamin

Kerisik

 

terasa-rasa nikmatnya time tulis post ni... selamat mencuba... kena pulak dengan hidangan masakan kampung yang lain...pergghhh nikmat tak terkata

Jeruk Mangga Step by Step

Mango is  a must buy fruit for my house. We bought all sorts of mangoes. So happened that my MIL gave us some raw mango. What do we do with it? Kebetulan baru belajar resipi buat jeruk paling mudah dari my SIL. Haruslah dipraktikkan sebelum terlupa. Resipi ni sangat mudah dan yang paling penting boleh terus makan tanpa perlu untuk diperam. Jom start..

1. Dimulakan dengan mengupas beberapa biji mangga muda..

2. Kemudian dihiris nipis... ketebalan terpulang pada citarasa masing-masing

3. Dan inilah hasil hirisan...

4. Akhir sekali masukkan gula, garam, cili padi hiris dan asam boi merah. Gaulkan rata...

5. Dan hasilnya...krap krup..krap krup... rangup dan cukup rasa. yang paling penting tiada bahan pengawet dan pewarna tiruan...oppps ada sikit dari asam boi...

Fiqri's classmates lunch at LMA

Fiqri requested me to cook for his classmates.... The joy and laughter of Class 2KRK4... treating them lunch after their drama practice at my home... I cooked spaghetti bolognaise and asian grilled chicken salad for the teens....feast for them.... enjoying every bites..... alhamdulillah...

Bitter gourd fritters

My taste buds evolves as I grow older... I like bitter stuffs and dislikes sweet taste... one of my favourite bitter stuff is the bitter gourd fritters... I mixed my own recipe for the batter with the curry powder, chilli flakes, almond, curry leaves , flour, salt and pepper... mixed together and deep the thinly sliced bitter gourd.. Fry them until golden crisp and that's it.... ready to serve on my dinner plate...

Black Pepper Crab

 Black Pepper Crab

Apart from chilli crab or salted egg crab, you can try the black pepper crab for a change... the dish is simple but so delicious...hmm just love the aroma of ginger...

 Ingredients 

Fresh Crabs, cut into halves

Garlic

Curry leaves

A bit of chilli padi

Ginger (sliced)

Oyster Sauce

Black Pepper Sauce

Salt and Pepper

Cooking oil 

Spill of love

 Methods

Steamed the crab and put aside (this is to avoid excessive juice from the raw crab)

Heat oil in a pan

Saute garlic, ginger , curry leaves and  chilli padi

Then pour black pepper sauce and oyster sauce

Add salt and coarse pepper

and finally add the steamed crab

That's it..

Serve with plain white rice...

 

British Fish and Chips with Mushy Peas

British Fish and Chips

with Mushy Peas

I have always craving for the authentic British (brei~t~ish) Fish and Chips since I left London fifteen years ago... it's like your staple ... fat chips with Salt and vinegar... argghhhh.... most Malaysian have their Fish batter with breadcrumbs... owh no!! i seriously don't like them.... and most of them has a very strong fishy taste if not properly prepared.... and they didn't serve it with Mushy peas....there are so many don't s .....ngheee

So? what other option do I have? answer to that would be... to do it myself.... and this is how my Fish and Chips look like... ah ha....

Ingredients

For the fish

Skinless dory fillet

Multi purpose flour

Corn flour

1 tsp baking powder

Ice-cold sparkling water

Salt and pepper

Oil for frying

For the mushy peas

Canned peas (boil for 2 minutes)

Butter

Salt and Pepper

Side Dish

Chips

Mayonnaise

Lemon (Cut into wedges)

Green salad (optional) 

I used watercress and cherry tomato with drizzle of olive oil and lemon

I do not intend to provide method in this post.... basically what you need to do is to prepare the batter like how you make your banana fritter batter, then dip the fish and fry them until golden crisp. Prepare the mushy peas like how you make your mashed potato and serve them as a platter... that' it.

Enjoy and happy trying....

Baked Cheesy Crab in Tomato and Herbs Sauce

Baked Cheesy Crab in Tomato and Herbs Sauce

This is the dishes that I have imagining for so long..... one fine day, felt that it's time to materialise what I have imagined.... I marry the Chinese taste with the authentic Italian flavour.... got the inspiration from a Singapore restaurant Eighteen Chefs... Click here ... we drove all the way to Singapore for this Chilli crab and it's halal...

and this is my version of Chilli crab... serve this with Mantao bread ....

Ingredients

5 fresh crabs (cut halves)

Garlic (chopped)

Ginger (thinly sliced)

Chilli padi

Tomato and Mushroom pasta sauce

Chilli flakes

Mixed Italian herbs

Mozzareella and cheddar cheese (grated)

Salt and pepper to taste

Oil

Sprinkle of love

Method

Preheat oven at 200-220 degree C

Heat the oil in the frying pan

      Saute garlic and ginger until golden brown

Add chilli padi

Pour in pasta sauce

Add salt, pepper and mixed Italian herbs to taste

Add crab (let the crab fully cooked)

Once done, put the crab in baking tin or pyrex

Topped with cheese

and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes at 180 degree C

Side dish

Mantao bread

(you can get this from any hypermarket selling at frozen food section)

Grilled Salmon with Herbs

Grilled Salmon with Herbs

This is our simple dinner recipe which is easy to prepare.. no thinking required... scrumptiously delicious..

all you need...

Ingredients

Slice of fresh salmon 

Butter

Dill

Mixed spicy herbs

Lemon and mashed potato for garnish

A drop of love

Method

Grill salmon on a pan (strictly no oil)

sprinkle spicy mixed herbs, salt and pepper - put aside

Mix butter & chopped dill (Refrigerate it)

Serve grilled salmon and put the butter on it (melted without asking)... 

serve with lemon slices and mashed potato..

That's all

 

This recipe is so easy, which I realised that I have nothing much to write on how to prepare this... a two liner recipe explained all... try this and no regret is assured...

Blueberry muffins

Thinking of what to bake yesterday after work..... actually,  I am so tempted to make blueberry muffins since monday.... all the ingredients required I have it at home except for the fresh blueberries.... Have been looking for this at nearby supermarket but none of them have it on shelf.... Until I cannot stand anymore, walk through the fruit wholesaler behind my office and got it..... yes I'm baking a muffin.. so what's the big deal....there isn't a big deal at all...except that it's my first time baking muffin... I must thank my mum who lent her kitchen aid mixer...making baking easier that I thought how it should be...

Got the recipe from Simply Scratch....

Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients

1/2 butter (125 gm) unsalted

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1tsp salt

1 1/4 tsp vanilla essence

2 cups multipurpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup fresh milk

1 cup blueberry

 Methods

Beat butter and sugar 

Add egg, one at a time

Add vanilla essence, salt and baking powder

Add 1 cup of flour

Then pour in milk

Add the remaining flour

and lastly add the blueberries which has been powdered with 1 tbs of flour.

Put the mixture into the paper cups...

Sprinkle brown sugar on top (optional)

Bake 15-17 minutes at 160 degree

Makes : 20 cups

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freshly baked from the oven

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not bad for my first attempt...not bad at all

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fluffy

not sweet

smells good

I just love it

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How I wish I have a vanilla ice cream to go with this... look at the melted blueberries.... so fresh and yummy

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Here's my little munchkin with 2 muffins in her tiny hands....

Thank you mum

Cooking Class at Dapur Magika Kak Lin

It was never cross my thoughts having cooking class in my house... what more if the class is leaded by myself.... it was all started from friends personal requests to have a hands on cooking experience in my house....  they prefer to try preparing foods on their own for food they ate during their visit to my house occasionally....sometime its their kids who requested for the same dish over and over again....so mummy has no choice except to learn and repeatedly do this again and again....

For whatever reasons.... I take this as a challenge.... I am more than happy to guide through step by step cooking... it was an informal session.. they agreed to buy all the ingredients and I'll share with them the techniques.... I have once referred them to my blog for recipe... but to them that is very theoretical..... they prefer to have a practical hands on so that they can pick up the tricks and tips along the way......better way of learning too....

For this session , the first ever livecast from Dapur Magika Kak Lin....we'll be preparing two all time favourite dishes

1. Lasagne

&

2. Mini Chicken Pie

I have two friends on board.... Fieza and K Sally.... thanks to both of you for the trust.. I felt honoured and thanks to Icah for accompanying us for morale support....

I let the two ladies to take charge and lead their show from the beginning till then end of the session. 

Step 1 : Preparing Ragu and Bechamel Sauce for Lasagna

 

Step 2 : Layering the Lasagne sheets with the sauce

 

Step 3 : While baking the lasagne, prepare the filling for mini pie...

Step 4 : Mould the pastry roll and place them on the baking tray

Step 5 : Happy faces after successfully baked the lasagne and mini pie

and the outcome being........


Soooooo goooood!!!! thumb up ladies..... we'll try more recipes together.....


Mini Chicken Pie.....

and the Lasagne.....

Well done ladies..... next to go Cheesy Chili Crab with Mantao Bread and Blueberry Muffins....opps not forgetting Icah's request for Mini fruit tart

oppps before I forgotten.... special thanks to K Sally for the yummy chicken rendang... memang terbaekkkk... must learn the secret from her also....

Tonight, I'll be making Lasagne and Chicken Pie again...this time not for class but for my order...... Alhamdulillah rezeki bulan Syawal.. tak putus-putus orang order....and making this again the following day for my pot luck dish.

Halal Wantan

My daughter has a special request for her friends coming over for raya... she wants me to prepare steamboat.... quite easy to get the ingredients from local supermarket... but I didn't normally buy the wantan... reason being... the Halal status that I'm concerned.. 

What option do I have then? answer for this is to make my own wantan....

First.. you need to prepare  the filling... it can be anything you desire...... I like to add some vegetables for the crunchiness ..... you may add chinese cabbage , canned button mushrooms.... etc

Ingredients

Prawn

Chicken

Dried Shitake Mushroom

Water Chestnut

Carrot

Capsicum

Garlic

Salt and pepper

Spring Onion

and a must have ingredient... 

Sesame oil

and don't forget

a pinch of love

Methods

Chopped all the ingredients and mixed well. Wrap in a wantan sheet....

 

 excuse for the upside down photo.... try rotating but still the same... very irritating...

I just bought the ready made wantan which cost less than RM2.00 for 100 sheets...Wantan sheets is made of flour, water and egg....

There are many ways to wrap the wantan... but I opt for the simplest version because this is what doable by my little tiny hands who assisted me... Put about 1 tsp of filling in the centre of the sheet.... then..

 

fold the sheet and meet the two edges together to form a triangle.... Add a water to make it sticky

Repeat the steps..... and that's it... keep it frozen or you may fry it first..... very very easy