Savoury Corn Bread

I'm not a food nutritionist but I believe healthy eating (or to have a balance diet) doesn’t have to be complicated anyway.  A rule of thumb for me : 

• to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables
• more nutrition food like wholemeal, oats, raw nuts etc. 
• consume less salt, sugar & saturated fats (in moderation) etc. etc.

Lately, I've also started to slowly introduce nutrition ingredients in my bakes like using rolled oats to make a batch of Oatmeal Buttermilk Muffins

When I saw this Savoury Corn Bread recipe, I was hesitated to try it as grated cheddar cheese is added (cos I don't really like cheesy stuff) ... but I like sweet corn, rich in fiber and benefits of cornmeal :

• Very low in saturated fat
• No cholesterol
• Very low in sodium
• Very low in sugar

Info: Cornmeal is a meal (coarse flour) ground from dried maize (corn). It is a common staple food, and is ground to fine, medium, and coarse consistencies, but not as fine as wheat flour.

This bread is one of those quick breads (no yeast added & no kneading and proving the dough) and pretty quick & easy ... just mix all the ingredients well ... so I decided to bake this on one weeknight for our brekkie ^-^

Savoury Corn Bread

Makes 9 (recipe adapted from cookbook Cakes and Bakes 500 by Martha Day)
2 eggs lightly beaten
250ml Buttermilk
115g plain (all purpose) flour
115g cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon caster sugar
115g grated cheddar cheese (1 reduced to 90g)
225g corn, fresh or frozen and thawed.
(I used fresh corn)

Method:
1) Preheat the oven to 200 degC. Grease a 23cm/9 inch square baking tin.
(I used 8 inch square baking pan)

2) Combine the eggs and buttermilk  in a small bowl and whisk until well mixed. Set aside.

Some prepared ingredients

3) In another bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and sugar.

4) Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon to combine thoroughly. Stir in the cheese and corn and combine.

Pour in the sweet corn & cheese and mix mix mix!

5) Pour the mixture into the baking tin. Bake about 25 mins or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
(Mine took about 28 mins to bake)

6) Unmould the bread on to a wire rack and leave to cool. Cut into squares before serving.

Cook’s Tip
Buttermilk is made from skimmed milk which is left over after the fat from full cream (whole) milk has been skimmed off to be used for making butter. This skimmed milk is then soured by the bacteria to produce buttermilk.  Although the results are not quite the same, yogurt is sometimes mixed with sweet (fresh) milk and works in a similar way to buttermilk.

The texture is not that cheesy afterall. My teens like this savoury bread too ^-^!

I'm linking this post to 

Cook-Your-Books #14 @ kitchen flavours

Japanese Condensed Milk Bread

Recipe adapted from Winnie's kitchen work, (original from  http://cookpad.com/recipe/1674665) this Japanese Condensed Milk Bread was posting like 'hot cake' ... opps ... perhaps 'hot bread' would be more appropriate, in the blogosphere last month. All so perfectly baked, just to name a few:-
Tze
Jozelyn
向日葵葵
nasilemaklover
Edith

With the encouragement given by Jozelyn (thank you ^-^), I was very motivated to bake bread again ... even though I haven't acquired the very basic 'master chef skills' in bread baking. So, I 敢敢冲呀 !! >~<
Well, luckily the bread turned out good ^-^ phew !任务完成了!不用吞口水了! Hee hee ..

My small cosy reading corner ^-^

Replicate the methods shared by Jozelyn and Tze that I could follow as I don’t have bread machine and air fryer :
Japanese Condensed Milk Bread 
日式练乳面包
Ingredients for bread:
200g bread flour
25g condensed milk
120g milk
10g sugar
3g dry instant yeast
3g salt
20g butter (salted butter at room temperature)

sticky sauce:
25g condensed milk
25g butter (salted butter at room temperature)
mix well

Topping:
some almond flakes, sun flower seeds
some dried apricot & raisins

Method:
1. Mix all ingredients for bread in the mixing bowl (except butter), knead the dough using the cake mixer with dough hook to form rough dough, add butter and knead until smooth elastic film.

2. Cover the dough and proof it until double in size.

3. Punch out the air in the dough, flatten the dough to a rectangle size 12" x 8"

4. Apply a layer of sticky sauce on the dough, cut into four strips. Stack up the dough and cut into eight portions. (Opps ... I just cut cut cut ... didn’t count how many portions)

5. Place the dough, straight side up in the lightly grease chiffon pan (I used a 21cm pan). Let it proof to cover the whole chiffon pan. 

After 2nd proofing about 1:5hrs

6. Brush the top of the dough with remaining sticky sauce and sprinkle the crushed nuts & dried fruits of your choice on top.

7. Bake at 165°C for 25mins.

Ta da ! Freshly baked ! Yummy

My teens gave a big thumbs up to this bread. For all you know ...  almost 3/4 of the bread had disappeared within minutes!

A cool sunny afternoon ... Enjoy my coffee break with freshly baked Japanese Condensed Milk Bread ... yummy! 

Thanks for the wonderful sharing by blogger pals ^-^  Indeed this bread recipe is a keeper ... really delicious soft and fluffy.

Mango Streusel Muffins

I enjoyed baking muffins but yet to attempt streusel muffins or cakes with streusel topping.  I've bookmarked this recipe from Joy of Baking quite sometime already. For our mid-week brekkie,  finally decided to bake this batch of Mango Streusel Muffins
Quote :
"Streusel Muffins seem to be a cross between a muffin, a scone, and a crumb topped coffee cake.
Did you know that the word 'streusel' comes from the German word 'streuen' which means 'to sprinkle' or 'to scatter'? And that is exactly what we are doing here. The streusel is sprinkled over the top of the muffins before they are placed in the oven."

Mango Streusel Muffins (Adapted from Joy of Baking using Blueberry Streusel Muffins recipe) click  here  for the original recipe. 
I made modification as reduced the quantity to make 12 muffins and replaced blueberry with mango: 
Ingredients:
2 small eggs
200ml milk (full or reduced fat)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
350 grams all purpose flour
150 grams caster sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
95 grams cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
150 grams fresh mango diced
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest (outer yellow skin)
20 grams unsalted butter (melted)

Method:
1) Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. 
Place rack in center of oven. 

2) Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners or lightly butter the muffin cups or spray them with a non stick vegetable spray.

3) In a bowl whisk the eggs with the milk and vanilla extract.

4) In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour with the sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender, your fingertips, or two knives. (The mixture should look like coarse crumbs). Remove about 90 grams of the mixture and set aside in a separate bowl to make the streusel topping. To the remaining muffin batter, gently fold in the mangoes and lemon zest. 

5) Add the milk and egg mixture to the flour mixture. Stir just until combined. (Do not over mix this mixture or the muffins will be tough when baked.) Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 full with the batter, using two spoons or an ice cream scoop.

6) Streusel Topping: Melt the remaining 20 grams butter and stir into the reserved 90 grams of flour mixture until it is crumbly and looks like coarse meal. 

7) Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of the streusel on top of each muffin. Bake the muffins for about 18 - 23 minutes or until firm and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. 

Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool before serving.
These muffins are at their best the day they're made, but they can be covered and stored at room temperature for about 2 days. They can also be frozen.

We simply love these streusel muffins ^-^

Mashed Potato & Luncheon Meat Patties

In my teenage years, I remembered my late mom would always keep stocks of canned food in the pantry ...cans of luncheon meat, chilli cubed pork 五丁肉, sardines etc. Sometimes, she would cook the canned food with some other ingredients eg. onions, some red chilli with sardines ... mashed potato with luncheon meat patties ... or simply just heat up the canned food. Those were just some of her easy non fuss cookings.

I particularly loved the golden brown deep- fried patties. Could really gobble up a big plate of steamed rice just with a few of those patties :D

Mashed Potato & Luncheon Meat Patties

Serves 4 persons

Russet potatoes 2 big pcs
Luncheon meat 50g finely chopped or mashed with fork
1 egg - separate egg yolk & white
Corn flour 1.5 tablespoons
Salt 1/2 teaspoon
Dash of pepper
Shallots 2 small cloves finely chopped

Method:
1) Peel & cut potato into big chunks.
Boil potato in a pot of hot boiling water for about 12-15 mins or till soft.

2) Drain the water, place the potatoes in a big bowl, lightly mashed.  Pour in the luncheon meat, shallots, pepper, salt and egg yolk.
Mix well with a spoon or fork. Add the corn flour and mix well again.

3) Heat wok or frying pan (medium flame), pour some cooking oil sufficient to cover the patties when deep frying.
Scoop 1 tablespoon full (a heap) and shape it to a small ball with fingers. Flatten it slightly and dip/coat it with egg white.

4) Deep fried about 3 mins or till both sides golden brown.

Lightly dap with kitchen towel to remove the excess oil.  Depending on the sizes,  this recipe yields about 12 pcs.

Love the shallots & luncheon meat fragrant, these patties are thinly crispy on the outside with mushy potatoes inside !

Though they are my favourite,  I would make these occasionally as I believe to consume everything in moderation. My big kids liked these tasty patties too !

Cutie potato & luncheon meat patties

This post is linked to the event Little Thumbs Up (July 2014 Event: Potato) - organised by Zoe (Bake for Happy Kids) and Mui Mui (My Little Favourite DIY) and hosted by Jasline (Foodie Baker)

Potato Skins

They loved baked potato skins. Whenever we dine in some western food restaurants which served these as appetizer,   it is 'a must' on their menu.

While I do use potatoes in some of my Chinese dishes & soups,  and for few Western cooking like baked potato,  potato salads, chicken & potato pies, Shepherd's Pie etc. etc. this is my first attempt in baking potato skins.

Recipe adapted from Ree thepioneerwoman
I reduced the recipe to half used 4 whole Russet potatoes and with slight modification made in blue.
Potato Skins (serves 12)
Ingredients
8 whole Russet potatoes
4 tablespoons canola oil (I used olive oil)
2 tablespoons butter
Salt to taste
1-1/2 cup grated Cheddar Cheese
8 slices thick cut Peppered Bacon, fried until almost crisp and chopped (I used honey glaze bacon)
2 whole green onions, sliced
1/2 cup Sour Cream

Preparation Instructions
1) Preheat oven to 200°C

2) Scrub potatoes clean and allow them to dry. (I was thinking if i need to use a fan or hair dryer to blow them dry ... hee hee) With a paper towel (or just with your hands) rub the skin of the potatoes with 2 tablespoons canola oil so that they're nice and moist.

Yeah ! After a good scrub and rub with some oil on our skins,  we are going for sauna bath!

3) Place potatoes on a baking sheet and bake until skin is crisp and potatoes are tender, about 30 to 40 minutes. Remove the pan and allow to cool until you can handle the potatoes.

Found this plastic spoon suitable to scoop out the insides.

4) Cut potatoes in half lengthwise. Scoop out the insides, leaving a little bit of potato in the skins.

5) Melt the butter with 2 tablespoons canola oil, then brush both the outside and the inside of the potatoes. Sprinkle the inside lightly with salt.

6) Place potato halves face-down and return to the oven for 5 to 8 minutes. Using tongs, turn the potatoes over and continue to bake until the edges of the potatoes start to turn golden brown. (Oh I thought total baking time is 8 minutes and took the potato skins out from oven for step 7).

7) Remove from oven. Sprinkle the insides of the potato skins with cheddar, then sprinkle on the chopped bacon. Return to the oven long enough for the cheese to melt, about 3 to 4 minutes.

Serve immediately with sour cream and green onions

I made some quick and easy mashed potato salad ... Divide the scooped potatoes into 4 portions, add with some chopped celery and 2-3 tablespoon spoonfuls of cream of chicken soup to each portion.

My big boy was very delighted and gave a "wow! nicely baked potato skins and could smell the bacon ...tasted like those served in restaurant ... "

Enjoying our weekend 'couch potato dinner' !

This post is linked to the event Little Thumbs Up (July 2014 Event: Potato) - organised by Zoe (Bake for Happy Kids) and Mui Mui (My Little Favourite DIY) and hosted by Jasline (Foodie Baker)

Oatmeal Buttermilk Muffins

I hardly use buttermilk in my bakes. Flipped through the cookbook and delighted to use oatmeal since I still have half the pack ... plus buttermilk to bake some muffins.

Recipe adapted from Cakes and Bakes 500 Martha Day, with slight modification made in blue.
Oatmeal Buttermilk Muffins
Makes 12
Ingredients
75g rolled oats
225g buttermilk
115g butter at room temperature
75g soft dark brown sugar (I used 55g)
1egg at room temperature
115g all purpose flour
1teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
25g raisins

Method :
1) In a bowl, combine the oats and buttermilk, and leave to soak for 1 hour.
(Since I'm using instant rolled oats, soaked them for about 10 mins )

2) Grease 12 muffin cups or use paper cases.

3) Preheat the oven to 200 degC. (180°C for my oven)
With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg.

4) In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir into the butter mixture, alternating with the oat mixture. Fold in the  raisins. Take care not to over mix.
(Added a few blueberries into 3 muffin cups specially for me ... ^-^)

5) Fill the prepared cups two-thirds full. Bake until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean, 20-25 mins. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Yummy ! Couldn't wait to have one of these freshly baked oatmeal buttermilk muffins ... the texture is so soft and moist and the crust is slightly crispy ^-^!   "Chop" ! those with blueberries are mine !!!

Quick baked muffins for breakfast

I'm submitting this post to the 'Little Thumbs Up' event and the theme for June is 'Butter' organized by 

Zoe of  'Bake for Happy Kids',  Doreen of  'My Little Favourite DIY' and hosted by

Jozelyn of   'Spice up my Kitchen'.

And

I am linking this post to Cook-Your-Book#13 organized by Joyce (Kitchen Flavours).

Clover Leaf Rolls

At last ... baked some "real bread"... hee hee LOL ^-^ ! I've seen many bread recipes and some special techniques shared in the blogosphere  : straight dough, gelatinized dough, overnight dough, tangzhong method, pull apart bread ... etc.etc. I'm quite confused actually. And seeing some of those complicated steps ... lagi confused! >?<

I don't have a bread making machine and I do know that baking bread is "very time consuming" from kneading the dough ... to proofing takes between 2 to 4 hours depending on the type of breads/buns that you are baking. Although I could attend to other matters and leave dough aside for proofing,  still I don’t get to eat my products until after some 4 hours or so.

Frankly, I prefer baking cakes or pies to bread. But I would like to try out some nice simple buns recipes. This cookbook has all kinds of delicious bread and bun recipes ... Sesame Seed Bread, Rosemary Bread, Focaccia, Potato Bread, Poppy Seed Rolls, Breadsticks etc. etc. Wow! How I wished that I'm Hermione and I could perform magic just 'abracadabra' Ta da ! ALL appeared on the dining table within seconds !! Ha ha wishful thinking isn't it ^w^ !

Okay must learn to walk before I could run or 'fly'... back to reality and back to basic .... I zoomed into this kinda 'basic and not too difficult' recipe of baking rolls... Clover Leaf Rolls.

Recipe adapted from Cakes & Bakes 500 Cookbook by Martha Day, original recipe yields 24 but I reduced the quantity by half to make 12.
Clover Leaf Rolls (Makes 12)
150ml milk
1 tablespoon caster sugar
25g butter at room temperature
1 teaspoon active dried yeast
1/2 egg
1 teaspoon salt
250g bread flour
Melted butter to glaze

Method
1) Heat the milk to lukewarm in a small pan, pour into a large bowl and stir in the sugar, butter and yeast. Leave for 15 minutes to dissolve and for the yeast to become frothy.

2) Stir the egg and salt into the yeast mixture.  Gradually stir in 220g of the flour, and then add just enough extra flour to obtain a rough dough.
(I used a pair of chopsticks to mix/fold in the dough ... like kungfu ... twist & turn around ^-^)

3) Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth.  This will take about 10 minutes.

4) Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with clear film and leave it in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1.5 hours.

5) Grease 1 12-cup bun tray (I used  muffin pan). Knock back (punch down) the dough, and divide to 36 equal size balls.

6) Place three balls, in one layer in each bun cup. Cover the tray loosely with a clean dish towel and leave to rise in a warm place, until doubled in size, about 1.5 hours.

7) Meanwhile,  preheat the oven to 200°C. (Next time I will adjust to 180°C for my oven as the buns were burnt slightly ...) Brush the rolls with melted butter glaze.

Ta da ! Freshly baked.

8) Bake the rolls for about 20 minutes,  or until they are lightly browned.  Carefully turn out on to a wire rack and allow to cool slightly before serving.

Taste ok texture soft

Kneading the dough was a good arm workout for me .... so enjoying the momentum ... dust dust flour & knead knead knead. But experienced some arm muscle ache the next day >~< ....

Glad that we enjoyed these freshly baked warm soft rolls ... with a cup of hot coffee or juice. Think it's great to served with some soup too ^-^!

Have a nice weekend !

This post is linked to the event Little Thumbs Up (June 2014 Event: Butter) organised by Zoe (Bake for Happy Kids) and Mui Mui (My Little Favourite DIY) and hosted by Jozelyn Ng (Spice Up My Kitchen)

And

I am linking this post to Cook-Your-Book#13 organized by Joyce (Kitchen Flavours).