Avocado spread

What would be your choice of spread on your bread? Nutella? Fruit jam? Peanut Butter? Butter and Sugar? These are the normal spread me and you would apply on your toast...

As for me, instead of spreading the salted butter, I used ripened avocado on my toast... sprinkle pepper, add olives and cherry tomatoes and there you go.... extremely creamy and delish.. though it is just good by itself but sometime I layered my toast with beef strips or smoked salmon.... Try this out... you'll be addicted. Plus, it is factually nutritious..

Step 1 : Recite bismillahirrahmaanirrahim...

Step 2 : Cut the avocado into halves and remove the skin

Step 3 : Toast 2 slices of wholemeal bread

Step 4 : Spread the chunky avocado flesh on your toast

Step 5 : Sandwich the avocado with another slice of toast

Step 6 : And finally without saying, have your first bite.....

As I ate too much of avocados ... in experiment of planting avocado seeds.... has seen the roots emerged from the seeds....

Just poke 3 toothpicks on the seeds at any angle, soak it in water and place it near window for the sunlight.

My avocado in my office.... hahaha

It is growing and we'll see what will happen on the next couple of weeks.....

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...

Best Penang Rojak in Town

Once in a while, we will have this famous rojak... this can only be available if my colleagues went to eat YongTau Fu somewhere in Jalan Ipoh... there is this uncle selling rojak penang....


Awesomely good.....

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.

Sup Belut

You all suka tak hirup sup panas-panas, pedas dan masam? Contoh macam tomyum, szechuan hot and sour soup, sup ekor dsb... ai memang suka sangat.. even kalau buat sup ayam atau daging pun ai suka perahkan limau kasturi/limau nipis untuk tambahkan rasa masam tu... barulah kick.

Kalau kena time takde selera, cubalah hirup sup masam... insya allah terus berselera dan kalau yang rasa nak demam, terus rasa berpeluh-peluh...

dan kali ni, pilihan sup masam ai ... jeng jeng.. sup belut... yummy sangat... biasanya, sup belut ni femes kat negeri Kelantan... first time ai makan pun masa kat Kelantan... tapi sekarang ada kawan ai introduce kan satu kedai ni kat area Padang Jawa.... seingat ai dah lebih dari 10 kali pergi makan sup ni sejak diperkenalkan beberapa bulan lepas.....

Sup ni pekat. masam, pedas, lemak semua ada..... kalau berminat boleh lah cari kedai ni.. tapi sorry tak dapat nak share nama kedai sebab tak ingat....

bismillahirrahmanirrahim.....

Japanese lunch

I am now a bit adventurous in trying Japanese food..... had this last week... no word to describe, everything is yummy.

my favourite of all... Spicy Kaisen Miso Soup Pasta...

Sushi.. quite not like the rolls in wrap... still prefer the one with rice...

 

The rice

and the Macha Ice Cream for dessert served with Hokkaido cheesecake

 

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....

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

Buffet dinner at Majestic Hotel Kuala Lumpur

 

Sometime last month, we had dinner at Majestic Hotel , KL. We were treated by our Big Boss for her promotion. Otherwise, I'm not sure whether I'll be here in the first place.... The buffet spread is great... They served full range Japanese menu, which is my favourite among all, Italian, Chinese, Indian, International, Malay of course and some other menu from other parts of the world.... 

I can't described more than the picture above for their desserts.... it has so much variety and it is being served by... just like when you buy over the counter... that gives the freshness and untouched by others... really I'm spoiled by choices they have.

Fruits.....

This is what I took from Japanese counter... repeated 3 times to get more... 

and after eating so much of Japanese, I had this bit .. and that's it

Then I'm back to the dessert counter..... they have more than 12 flavours of premium ice-cream served including my favourite scoop, pistachio flavour.... 

It is recommended to have buffet here with your special one... heard the price is quite reasonable and food served are fresh ... no doubt on the variety of food they offered and cozy ambiance came with the package...

Sago Gula Melaka

Kuih melayu apa yang menjadi pilihan u all semua? Boleh dikatakan ai suka kebanyakan kuih jenis talam daripada jenis "savoury" ...dalam erti kata lain, apa jenis kuih yang ada elemen santan pekat lemak berkrim dan gula melaka...opppss tak boleh diamalkan selalu, tak bagus untuk kesihatan jantung..

Salah satu kuih atau dessert traditional kegemaran ai, kuih sago gula melaka... Tapi harus memenuhi kriteria sebenar, iaitu tak terlalu lembik dan tak pula terlalu keras... Mesti bergoyang gitu.... Barulah mencapai tahap piawaian citarasa ai....

Jadi, sekadar memenuhi craving ai untuk sago gula melaka ni, ai pilih untuk ke Old Time Malaya Kopitiam yang terletak di Seksyen 7... memang sedap dan berpadanan dengan harganya RM5 semangkuk .... Boleh dapat sepyrex kalau buat sendiri dirumah... jom kita cuba, bismillahirrahmanirrahim...

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

Birthday Dinner at Skybar, Traders Hotel

First time stepping in Traders Hotel... we were for the view. It was the eve of enche hubby's birthday... thought it will be cool to celebrate at level 33 with KLCC view. I forgotten that I'm 39 years old celebrating a birthday of 39 years old man... hehe.. this place can be quite havoc for a dinner.  But enjoying the moment of togetherness.... probably could only happen 2-3 times a year for us. My birthday, his and by luck, our anniversary...

Food serve was okay... nothing spectacular but reasonably priced and great portion for sharing.

 

But think of it, this place can be quite cool if we come here for tea... we can spend our time swimming while sipping fresh juices by the pool side. Pool closed at 7pm.

 

We left the place an hour after that and make way to Concorde , KL for a cup of coffee while listening to a more relaxing live band performance.... that's more I like it...

Nasi Kerabu at Teh Tarik, Empire

I didn't know Teh Tarik at Empire served Nasi Kerabu...  it was quite tasty... you can only have this on every Thursday... not any other day.... taste was good except for small portion of 'Ulam' was served..... hmm not bad.. not bad at all

Desserts at Ben's

I am glad to have Azie and Fieza to lunch with me at Yuzu last week.. after lunching, we shifted to Ben's for desserts.. so here we are.. wanted to order the Macademia Cheese Trifle but mistakenly ordered this... same taste except that no vanilla ice cream served on top.... a bit regret for not being careful when ordering. Lesson leant.... anyway... the cheesecake was good... it was just that not as I imagined and expected to be....

 

Luckily we ordered the brownies to manage our expectation gap.... hahaha... this is so yummy......

Here are  my two lunch mates... Ija can't make it for this time... thanks ladies for your time... we had the 3 G's throughout......

Farenheit 600

Only reason we come here (Publika) for lunch is because of their lunch set deal.... it's so worth it... but they only have 3 dishes to offer for a day.... you will only knew it once you step into their restaurant... for just RM20, you will get 1 main dish of your choice from the 3 dishes offered, 1 drink (Coffee and tea range) and 1 dessert (no limit of choice)

We have compared against their normal price.. you probably end up paying about RM44++ for the same meal... so don't come here during weekend.. offer is only  valid from Monday-Friday...

Let see what we had for that day...

We ordered all three main dishes offered for the day

1. Pasta...

2. Pizza

and 3. Lasagna

and 3 different type of desserts for 3 of us... the chocolate mousse is the best....probably this could be the other reason why we should come here....

and I had this for my drink.... Salted Caramel White Coffee