Wednesday 30 April 2008

Personal Agenda

Main Entry: 1per·son·al
Pronunciation: \ˈpərs-nəl, ˈpər-sə-nəl\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French personel, from Late Latin personalis, from Latin persona
Date: 14th century
1: of, relating to, or affecting a particular person : private, individual
2 a: done in person without the intervention of another; also : proceeding from a single person
b: carried on between individuals directly
3: relating to the person or body
4: relating to an individual or an individual's character, conduct, motives, or private affairs often in an offensive manner
5 a: being rational and self-conscious
b: having the qualities of a person rather than a thing or abstraction
6: of, relating to, or constituting personal property
7: denoting grammatical person
8: intended for private use or use by one person

Main Entry: agen·da
Pronunciation: \ə-ˈjen-də\
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin, neuter plural of agendum, gerundive of agere
Date: 1871
1 : a list or outline of things to be considered or done
2 : an underlying often ideological plan or program

Tuesday 15 April 2008

I have been...


wanting to try baking this cookie since I saw it in Dorie's book Paris Sweets: Great Desserts Pastry . In that book the cookies were called Korova cookies. It was also in her newer book Baking from My Home to Yours but renamed to World Peace Cookies. The name change was suggested by her friend, who loved it so much and claimed that if everyone were to have eaten this cookie there would be world peace. I wish it was that easy!

At last a couple of days ago, when I decided that it is about time I used up my precious cache of premium professional 70% chocolate and cocoa powder, I tried out this cookie recipe. What is the main difference between this recipe with the normal run-of-the mill recipes? One thing for sure, it uses salt. Not a pinch but at least 1/2 teaspoon of fleur de sel. And some of you may ask, "What in earth is 'fleur de sel'?" Fleur de sel is french for flower of the salt. It is expensive sea salt, normally harvested from off the coast of Brittany in France. It is mineral rich which attributes to its grey colour. It is usually used as a final seasoning before one partakes food...in other words you sprinkle it on your food before eating. In the cookie recipe you may replace the fleur de salt with normal fine table salt but only 1/4 teaspoon. The cookie is not salty at all, but the salt and the amount of it enhances the sweetness and the chocolate factor.

The other difference in this recipe is that there is no egg, or milk. Therefore the taste of the chocolate and cocoa defines the cookie. Therefore it is worth to invest in top quality ingredients. Use at least 60% chocolate (meaning there is at least 60% cocoa in the chocolate).

It is the closest sibling to a brownie in a cookie form. The taste of chocolate is very clear and leaves no question unanswered. It would be delicious accompanied with milk. The cookie is abit crumbly but you would not want to waste any crumbs...

Monday 14 April 2008

Domestic Goddess? ...I think not!

I have been maidless for nearly a year now and domestic goddess I am not. I love cooking and baking but cleaning up afterwards and doing laundry is not my favourite past time. I don't mind loading up the washing machine and hanging out the laundry but ironing and folding is not what I call fun. I force myself, literally to do it when things seems to get out of hand, especially today when I look at the spare bed in my daughter's room starting to look like Mount Clean Laundry. Razman is forced to iron his own shirt to work, not that he complains but I am sure some MCP out there are dying to stake me up and tear me limb to limb.

But then I may able to avert such action by offering the said MCs (I am not referring to any specific boys' fartenity...opps I meant fraternity;-) here ) this lovely extra moist chocolate cake I tried for Nigella Lawson's " How to be a Domestic Goddess":




It's a very easy cake that requires very little handling. The only weird part was that it uses boiling water (not 'boiled' water, mind you there is a difference). I was a bit apprehensive about that part, worrying that I will end up with a puddle of oily scrambled eggs. Much to my relief, no such thing happened. The batter was quite liquid and when its time in the oven was up, it didn't really look 'done' like other cakes. I followed directions to the 't' and happy to report that it came out exactly and described.

It was not Super chocolaty, due to the fact that there is only 1 chocolate ( and I used the best quality I could lay my hands on) element in it and only 100g of it but Super moist it is. Important thing to remember is to wait till it is cool to remove from the pan, otherwise you end up with hot mush. As claimed, I had a piece today of what's left of it after three days, it certainly does improve with age.

There goes my thighs....

Thursday 10 April 2008

Fried Noodles

From top left: Bean sprouts, fried tofu, fresh tomatoes (cut into eight) , sliced beef, pepper, oyster sauce, tomato ketchup, sweet soy sauce, fresh noodles, mustard leaves and sliced shallots.

Heat wok and add a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil. Saute shallots till golden and add chili paste if you want the noodles to be hot. Saute till fragrant.
Add beef and continue sauteing.



Add all the vegetables except beansprouts ( beansprouts are added last after cooking is nearly done). Stir and season with oyster sauce, pepper, soy sauce, tomato ketchup. Taste and add salt if needed. Stir fry till vegetables are slightly wilted and add the noodles. If too dry add a little stock or water. Then add the noodles and continue stirring. Finally just before you take it off the heat add the beansprouts and fried sliced tofu.



Viola! Ready to be eaten in less than 30 minutes! You can add or exchange the vegetables to something else like cabbage and such, but remember to cut so that able to cook quickly.



Tin/Aluminium....



Yes, it is that time of year again...we will be celebrating our 10th anniversary this Friday 11th April 2008. 10 years ago, I was up to my neck with wedding preparation. I made all the bunga telur and hantaran myself with some help from my mother and sister. Unfortunately, this year's celeberation has to be postponed to a later date as my other half is on his way to JB till Sunday.


10 years may have passed but I am still as 'cute' as ever and him even 'cuter' still. There is a major reason why the photo is cropped as such... :-). No more moustache and lots of gray hair. Of course he will claim that is due to the fact of being married to me. Hahaha!

My question of "How and why did I ever marry you?", which I have asked him numerous occasions have been answered by his card to me.

Till next year....