One of the things I look forward to having coffee at Dome Cafe is not its coffee but the biscotti that is served together with it. This little treat compliments the coffee so well! I always wanted to grab hold of a packet to bring home. But, after seeing the price, I decided to give this homemade version a go. That’s when I realized how cheap, healthier and tastier they could be!! Moving forward, I can happily say bye-bye to all the tasteless and expensive biscotti sold at the stores.

Biscotti originates from Italy. It is baked twice; first in log shape and then as individual slices. This method will yield a dry and hard, yet crisp texture for the biscuit which allows them to be kept longer at room temperature.

Some biscotti contain oil, some not. This biscotti recipe I am sharing now is oil and butter free and uses egg as a binding agent. It’s definitely a healthier option compared to the other oil or butter rich baked goods. When mixing the ingredients, don’t be fret if you get a sticky dough. Rest assured that nothing goes wrong. Just dust your hands and the work top with more flours will make the dough more manageable.

Biscotti is as easy-to-make as other cookies. However, it may need slightly more time and extra steps to produce its unique  hard, dry and crisp texture. At the first baking, the biscotti log is baked using longer baking time to ensure it is well risen and firm but not hard. Then it is left to cool down so that it can be easily cut into thin and neat slices with the use of a serrated knife. The purpose of the second baking is to dry up the biscotti until it becomes crunchy but not overly browned. Both baking sessions are done under low baking temperature.

The biscotti is so full of flavour. Cranberry lends some natural sweetness and moisture to it. I love the combination of cranberry and pistachio as the pairing of red and green creates a cheerful and festive look for the biscotti. I think it makes a perfect gift for all occasions especially this coming Father’s Day.

Earlier on, I had tried an all-nuts combination with pistachios, almonds and hazelnuts, but i still prefer a mix of nuts and dried fruits. The latter is more moist and tastier. However, feel free to use any combination of your choice. If your child is not ready for nuts or is allergic to them, then you can opt for 100% dried fruits for this recipe. Whether dunking into hot beverage or eating it alone, this biscotti is definitely going to be my family’s favourite year round snack.

For a note, this biscotti may not be suitable for young toddlers. For older toddlers, dunk it into their milk or hot drink to soften it.

>> Get the recipe and step by step photo for Cranberry and Pistachio Biscotti at PAGE 2 BELOW.

Crepes (or crêpes) are very thin pancakes. They originated from Brittany, a region in the north-west of France. Unlike pancakes, crepes don’t require leavening agent and have a higher content of milk.

Crepes come in two varieties: sweet (made with white or wheat flour and lightly sweetened) and savoury (made with buckwheat flour and unsweetened). While sweet crepes are often eaten as part of breakfast or as a dessert, savoury crepes are commonly served for lunch and dinner. My wholemeal crepe reicpe is closer to the sweet version. Nevertheless, it can be savoury too by switching to buckwheat flour and omitting the sugar.

Crepe is real simple and effortless to whip up even kids can do it. You can use a hand whisk and spatula to make the batter, or for a shortcut, whiz everything in a blender. You can make the batter a few hours or even a day in advance. However, it’s important to sieve your batter so as to be lump-free. Resting the batter before cooking also helps to produce more tender and soft crepes.

As I don’t have a special crepe pan, I cook my crepe with non-stick skillet which works just as perfectly. I find 20cm (8 inches) to be the ideal pan size for making crepes. It’s easy to handle especially during flipping or tossing. Of course, you can use any pan size as you like. Well, to be honest, I still don’t dare to toss my crepes yet. Do give it a go if you dare!

These crepes can be served cold or warm, and topped with sweet or savoury fillings.  The ideas on how to eat them are endless. Using fresh fruits to make fun faces is what my son and I love most.  It’s a fun yet healthy way to encourage your little ones to eat more fruits. Sometimes, if I want to pamper my taste bud, I will apply a layer of Nutella jam on my crepe, and top with sliced strawberries and a sprinkle of ground toasted peanuts (the more the better!). Wow! It tastes heavenly!! What’s your favourite way of eating crepe? I love to hear from you.

>>>> Get the recipe and step by step tutorial for Wholemeal Crepe at PAGE 2 BELOW

Can you guess which one is my son’s creation?

Apple is an excellent fruit to be introduced to babies and toddlers because it’s tasty, unlikely to cause allergy, easy-to-digest and packed with nutrients such as vitamin C, dietary fiber and flavonoids quercetin. In addition, it’s also very versatile and provides remarkable flavour and texture for cooking and baking.

My son is a great fan of apples but not I. Strangely, I have a current obsession with them. With my recent chicken and apple balls, I am in the mood to explore using apples to make muffins. Among all the apple muffins recipes that I have bookmarked, I like this version the most simply because the recipe calls for all the common ingredients. Unlike seasonal fruits, you can get year-round supply of apples in Singapore. So, you can make these muffins just about any time you like.

{My 1st attempt for apple muffins}

Though this recipe uses the creaming method (same as my blueberry muffins) and requires a little more time to prepare the apple filling, it’s worth the effort. These muffins are so light and moist with just the perfect sweetness.

I have baked these muffins twice. On my second attempt, I decided to add more apples. My oh my! They turned out to be even better – more apple flavour and extra apple bits to savour. Isn’t that a wise decision? I’m shocked to find out that my son gobbled up three apple muffins in a row and still requested for more helpings. Do you know that he just broke his personal record in eating my homemade muffins! Is it really that good? It’s definitely a big “YES” for an apple lover.

These muffins do not include any cinnamon powder, thus best to please your picky eater who dislikes spices. But, I’m surely a pinch of cinnamon will work as well. Now, with this new found love, I’m definitely going to make these fruity gems more often and add into my son’s lunch box.

>>>>>>> Get the recipe for APPLE MUFFINS at PAGE 2 BELOW.

Whenever I made these bite-sized chicken and apple balls, my hubby and son never seems to have enough. As they kept requesting me to cook this dish, I think I had cooked it more often than any other dishes in my family meal. So, what makes these eggless chicken balls taste so good? The secret lies with apple, cheese and a tingle of herbs, making them truly delicious and flavourful on their own even without a dip. I’m so glad to have discovered the use of apple to cut down artificial sugar in cooking. The hidden bits of apple keeps these balls so moist and tender, as well as fills with subtle natural sweetness. We really enjoyed every mouthful of it. My son claimed that they are by far the best chicken balls he had ever tasted!! Yeah!!

Making these chicken balls isn’t difficult but you may find it a bit tricky to get the balls round and smooth. Perhaps you can try out some by the following tips (or tricks?) which I find them quite useful:

• squeeze out the excess juice from the grated apple as much as you can;
• keep the balls in the fridge to firm up.
• wet your cleaned hands a little with either water or oil before shaping the balls
• mince the chicken and onion finely. In this case, food processor or blender will do a better job.

If you don’t like them in balls form, then you can make them into patties which take lesser time to firm up and much easier to pan-fry. Well, this means that you gonna miss the most fun part of it. You know what, my hubby and son volunteered themselves to shape the balls. They even competed with each other to see who gets the nicest and roundest ball! This is the only time I see them having no complaint about their “shared responsibilities”.
These chicken balls make great party food for both kids and adults. Just serve them on plate or thread them on skewer to impress your guests. Don’t forget the barbecue dip. It goes very well with the chicken balls.

>>>>> Get the RECIPE for CHICKEN AND APPLE BALLS WITH BARBECUE DIP at PAGE 2 BELOW.…………

Bread and butter pudding is made by soaking buttered stale bread in custard and then baked till the custard is set. This English classic dessert, though made from simple ingredients, takes bread to the next level. It is one of the good old desserts that never fail to please my palate. For most people, the whole idea of making this pudding is to “salvage” the stale bread that is nearly going into the bin. But I love this pudding so much that I purposely “created” stale bread to make this dessert.

My ideal bread and butter pudding must have beautiful crusty top with soft and moist custard inside. Although this pudding requires little effort, it takes time and patient to make. You need to allow 30 minutes for the custard to be fully absorbed into the bread before popping it into the oven.

One interesting point is that this pudding will be baked using water bath/ bain marie. The baking dish holding the pudding is placed onto a larger pan which is filled with hot water. This technique helps to cook the pudding with more uniform heat as well as prevent it from drying.

When choosing bread, the common types used for this dessert are white bread, wholemeal bread, croissant, brioche and panettone. Stale bread (ie 2 days old) is often preferred over fresh bread as the latter will make your pudding soggy. The thickness of the bread also plays an important role if you do not wish to see your pudding to collapse and shrink after baking. I learned this tip after making mistake to use pre-sliced bread with a thickness of 1cm. My hubby would giggle every time he saw my ugly looking pudding. Nevertheless, he  still gobbled up all of them happily as they tasted delicious.

I found that most bread and butter pudding recipes don’t match my personal requirement. They are either called for a square or rectangle baking dish or made large quantities which usually serve 6-8 persons. Thus, with my own concoction, I came out with a recipe that does not only yield a smaller portion serving 2-3 persons but also fits well into an oval shaped baking dish.

My son and I had a great time making this pudding. In fact, he did most of the steps. So happened on that day my sister came for a visit. As I know, she never likes bread and butter pudding as the ones she tried before were mushy. Much to my surprise, she loved my version a lot!! She even brought some home. Later that day, she called to say that her family including her maid liked it very much. This made my son very happy and proud of his “baking skill”! He kept reminding me to post this recipe up as soon as possible so his aunt can make this delicious pudding for her family too.

-> Get the recipes and step by step photos at PAGE 2 below.

Homemade fish stock makes a great soup base for soups, congee, rice, braises, stews and sauces. It gives any seafood-based dish an immeasurable flavour even to the simplest recipe. Apart from flavour, it is extremely nutritious too as it’s a rich source of gelatin and minerals that our body requires. This is further mentioned by by Sally Fallon (author of Nourishing Traditions) in her article titled Broth is Beautiful. An excerpt of this article is as follows:

“Fish stock, made from carcasses and heads of the fish, is especially rich in minerals including all-important iodine. Even more important, stock made from the heads, and therefore the thyroid glands of the fish, supplies thyroid hormone and other substances that nourish the thyroid gland.”

Honestly, most people living in urban area find it hard to get fish carcasses due to its limited supply. I consider myself lucky to find a constant (yet still limited) supply of fish bones from my nearby supermarket (NTUC Fairprice) and wet market (Tampines round market) at reasonable prices. Don’t be despair if you aren’t as lucky as me. You can always ask your local fishmonger to save the carcasses for you. That’s what I did whenever I was desperate for a bowl of comfy homemade fish soup. So, start sourcing for your fish bones. If the amount is too little, freeze them first until it’s sufficient to make the stock.

This western style white fish stock I shared here is very simple and easy to make. The inclusion of vegetables adds a great more flavour and nutrients to the stock. As they are cut into small pieces, they can release their maximum flavour in the shortest time. Making this stock doesn’t take you long. A gentle one-hour simmer is all you need to yield a good clear and tasty stock. Avoid using oily fish as highly unsaturated fish oils will become rancid during long cooking process. I use fresh coriander leaves to enhance the flavour but other fresh herbs such as parsley and thyme work just fine. This stock can be stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 days and up to 3 months with deep freezing. Having this stock on hand, you can easily whip up many delicious dishes such as my seafood beancurd soup. If you need more ideas, please stay tune for my upcoming quick and easy soup recipe!

-> Get the recipe and step by step tutorial on How To Make Fish Stock at PAGE 2 BELOW.

Last year, I submitted my frozen tofu salad recipe to Annabel Karmel’s member recipe column for fun. Being one of the first 10 recipes unloaded in Autumn, I received a copy of Annabel Karmel’s “Top 100 Finger Foods” cookbook. And, the wonderful thing is that, it reached me two days before Christmas!! This book features a collection of many quick and easy recipes for both babies and older children. This sweet potato crisp is one of  the recipes that I am fond of after trying it out. It tastes slightly sweet yet healthy that you can make for your kids (or maybe your loved ones) this Valentine’s Day.

If you goggled about sweet potato and its nutritional value, you will have no reasons not to love it more. Not only is it sweet in taste, inexpensive, readily available and versatile, it’s also packed with many essential nutrients beneficial to our health. It’s low in calories and contains no saturated fat and cholesterol. Besides that, it is loaded with flavonoid anti-oxidants (such as beta-carotene and vitamin A), vitamins (vitamin B6, vitamin C and vitamin D), minerals (iron, potassium and magnesium), and dietary fiber (if eaten with skins).

Sweet potato is one of our family’s favourite root vegetables. I had introduced it into my son’s diet since his weaning stage. Even until now, he never get bored eating it. In the past, I added it into congee, made it into dessert or just steamed and enjoyed it plain. Well, making these crisps is definitely new to me but had been done by others around the world such as Simply Recipes and Tiny Urban Kitchen.

Given that they are baked rather than fried, these oven baked crisps are low in fat yet still retain their natural sweetness and crispiness as fried chips when freshly baked from the oven. So, trust me, kids would definitely love it and ask for more. My son complained that I should make more as he didn’t get enough with his share. THEY.ARE.SO.ADDICTIVE!!!

This snack is so easy to prepare that no one should give it a miss. You can slice your sweet potato with either a swivel peeler or mandolin. Make sure the slices are thin and even in thickness so that they can be browned and crisped at the same time. Having them soak in water to help get rid of the excess starch which will make them crispier when baked. But, keep an eye on them when baking, especially towards the end of the cooking time as they can turn brown easily.

  I wish you all HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!! 

-> Get the recipe and step by step tutorial at PAGE 2 BELOW.

A “LOVE LETTER” TO MY HUBBY

Dear Darling Hubby,

As always, I agree wholeheartedly with you that flower, chocolate and romantic dinners aren’t the only sweet ideas for Valentine’s Day. So, this year, I have a brilliant Valentine’s idea to share with you. It’s a lovely breakfast meal that is extremely easy to make, yet tasty and healthy. Also, not pricey! It’s a winning combination of my two favourites: egg and toast which are presented with novelty. Wikipedia lists many interesting and funny names for this dish: egg in toast, toad in a hole, egg in the hole, cowboy eggs etc etc. I’m not sure which one to pick. Maybe we just call it “egg in a basket” first and create a more fun name after that.

I know you have a hidden talent in cooking and are seriously searching for ideas on what to cook for me. How about giving this lovely breakfast a try on this Valentine’s morning? If both your son and I see this dish on our dining table, we will definitely jump in joy and give you loads of irresistible kisses and hugs. But please don’t surprise me with a messy kitchen.

To make sure you succeed in making this special toast, I have prepared a detailed instruction with tips and steps and steps photos which you can find in page 2 of this post. Don’t worry if your first attempt doesn’t turn out well. (It took me 4 attempts to perfect mine). We will still appreciate your efforts from the bottom of our heart and devour a dish that is made out of your love, care and patience.

Just to let you know, I have stored plenty of eggs and bread in the fridge for you to experiment with. So, have fun and enjoy!!

Love,
XOXO
Yours forever

PS: Psssst! If you love this dish as much as I do, please pass it on to your circle of friends and colleagues (especially guys). You know what I mean, right?

For more information about egg, please refer to this post.

Let me share with you my two recipes that were featured online this week. The featured posts are as follows:
- Braised taro and dried shrimps featured on SHAPE – 5 tasty meals you can make with taro
- Oven baked fries featured on Yummly – Guilt-free versions of your favourite junk foods

—> Get the recipe and step by steps photos for egg in a basket (egg in toast) at PAGE 2 BELOW.

Hi everyone, Happy New Year !!

Time flies! It has been three months since my last update. Sorry to keep everyone waiting, but thanks so much for your kind patience and continuing support!!!

During this period, life was exceptionally hectic with many unexpected things happened. Last December, instead of having Mr Santa, sick bug paid us a surprise visit. I had to battle with a persistent fever for 3 consecutive weeks. It was initially caused by the dengue virus but led to further complication with pneumonia. For this, I had to be hospitalized. Soon after this episode, it was my son’s turn to have a throat infection and fever. So, it was quite a miserable and unforgettable month for both of us. Nevertheless, we feel blessed that we have finally recovered and are back in good health now.

After taking such a long break, I can’t wait to start my baking again especially making my homemade bread. Though I love making bread a lot,  I dread kneading bread dough with hands. The reason is that I always ended up with a pair of arching arms. Having a KitchenAid standing mixer is really a great relief to me. However, if the amount of dough is small, it would be more practical to knead with hands than machine. This simple breadsticks recipe is a good example for kneading bread dough with hands.

This recipe was adapted and modified from a basic thin crust pizza recipe. Hence, you have a choice to make either one of the options or both. The recipe is very simple and easy to follow. With just a few basic ingredients, you can begin almost immediately, perfectly suitable for any first timers to have some hands on experience in kneading bread dough. I hope this recipe will give them a boost of confidence in their bread making journey in future.

As compared to my cheesy breadsticks, the texture of these sticks is not soft like bread but crispy and crunchy like cookies. Based on individual preference, the dough can be easily shaped into strip or stick. Both types taste equally great. My 6 year-old son had so much fun rolling the sticks.

These sticks can be eaten on its own or even go well with dips. Thus, it makes them a tasty snack for both kids and even adults too. If you are looking for some healthy and guilt free snack for your toddlers, this little treat will surely bring a smile to their face.

Chinese New Year is just two weeks away from now. I am counting down the days!!! Aren’t you? Are you going to bake any festive cookies for your family and little ones this year?  I had baked my hubby’s favourite cookies and will share with you in my next post. Do stay tuned!

-> Get the recipe and step by step tutorial at PAGE 2 BELOW.

My hubby and I are great fans for coconuts but our 6 year-old son is definitely not. Early this year, he tasted steamed nian gao (年高, a sticky cake served during Chinese New Year) coated with fresh coconut flakes for the first time. Within minutes, he threw up. Whew! that was scary! It made me wonder if the taste of fresh coconut flakes is really that terrible to him. Until now, I still couldn’t figure that out.

Beside this particular incident, my son still eats coconut if I play the “camourflage” game well. All of my previous recipes that include either coconut milk or desiccated coconut (such as power packed oat bars, coconut butter cookies, banana muffins and steamed pumpkin muffins) were well received by him. Not a bad achievement though. Maybe it’s time to stop the hiding game and take a bold step for a change. So for this recipe, I decided to double dare him with more coconuts (coconut milk plus desiccated coconut) and even topped the muffins with extra desiccated coconut. Will I succeed? You bet!

This muffin recipe was originated from Daily Delicious. As these muffins are super easy-to-make, I actually baked them three times within a week and shared some of them with my “external testers”. After taking into consideration their kind feedback, I made some slight modifications to the recipe to suit my personal taste bud.

Unexpectedly, the modified recipe yields a very satisfactory result! The muffins are absolutely awesome as they have the right balance of sweetness, texture and taste! It’s the kinda coconut banana muffin I would die for! They tasted unbelievably delicious and packed with strong aroma of coconut. The desiccated coconut toppings, when baked, add a lovely crunchy and fibrous texture to it. Another important ingredient that contribute to the success of this recipe is banana. It blends perfectly with coconuts in baking. Banana doesn’t only enhance the coconut flavour but also provides a moist texture to the muffins even if they are left overnight. When my picky eater first saw the coconut toppings on the muffins, he was quite reluctant to eat it. After much persuasion, he agreed to try a tiny bite. And the verdict is he loved it! After his first sampling, he even asked for more. “Coconut isn’t that bad after all.” he commented. Hooray!! One step closer to achieve my mission!

This recipe is using mixing method, so you can easily whip up these muffins by hands with the help of a balloon whisk and a spatula. As long as you pay close attention to the tips I mentioned in the recipe, I can assure you that your muffins will turn out great even you’re a novice in baking! They are great to be added to lunch boxes or packed to office as teatime snack. Why not treating your kids (and yourself) with some tasty coconut banana muffins!

Get the recipe with step-by-step tutorial at PAGE 2 BELOW.