Orange and Parsley Salad

Do you like parsley?  I mean to eat a big bunch of fragrant parsley. .... Occasionally I would sprinkle a little minced spring onions, parsley on the food.  But my big kids don't appreciate such fragrances when they were young ... but now they do not mind just a little of them tossed with or sprinkle on food.

Chance upon this interesting recipe ... parsley and orange salad .... since I've got a bunch of English parsley in the fringe, so tried this for my dinner. Yes, I'm on a healthy diet to reduce some weight and cholesterol level :(

Recipe adapted from : Brooklyn Supper
Below my slightly modified version as I've omitted shallots and reduced the quantities.

Parsley and Orange Salad
serves 1
Ingredients :
1 bunch parsley, minced
1 shallot, minced (I omitted this)
1 big orange
1 to 2 teaspoons Extra-virgin olive oil
Pinch of salt & ground pepper to taste

Method
Peeled and cut the oranges in thin wedges.
Gently toss the oranges with the minced parsley. Drizzle in the olive oil, and sprinkle a pinch of salt and dash of pepper.
Set aside to allow the flavors and taste to immerse.

Simple and easy to make! So how does this salad taste like? Sweet oranges with fragrance parsley has a distinct flavor with a hint of light peppery taste.

Well, healthy eating for a healthier me ^-^!
Have a blessed weekend !

Blueberry & Lemon Friands

My big kids love mini cakes.  Other than chocolate cakes, they love lemon zesty flavour cakes too.
Friands are quick and easy to make. However some recipes require the use of electric mixer (Fruited Friands which I attempted earlier this year). Regardless, most recipes I've come across do not require the use of electric mixer ... just a fork to beat the egg white, add and stir the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients :)  A muffin pan comes in just as handy if you do no have nice and dainty traditional Friand pan.

Recipe source : The Kiwi Cook
Below my slightly modified version as I've halved the recipe.

Blueberry & Lemon Friands
Yields 5 - 6
Ingredients :
25g all purpose plain flour
70g icing sugar (confectioner’s sugar) [think I'll cut down to 60g next time]
1 tablespoon lemon rind, finely grated
90g ground almonds
80g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
50g fresh blueberries
2 egg whites, lightly beaten with a fork
Icing sugar, to dust (optional)

Method :
1) Grease a 6-hole muffin tin with butter or cooking spray. (I don't have a friand pan, used a squarish muffin pan)

2) Preheat the oven to 180°C. Position the rack in the centre.
*The temperature of the oven may vary, do adjust the temperature and timing to suit your oven.

3) Melt the butter and leave to cool.

4) Sift the plain flour and icing sugar into a large bowl then add the lemon rind and ground almonds. Stir to combine evenly with a manual whisk and make a well in the center.

5) Add the egg whites and melted butter to the dry ingredients and stir gently until just combined; do not over-beat. Gently fold through blueberries with a spatula (don't over-mix or the batter will turn blue!).

6) Evenly fill about 3/4 in each greased muffin cup using an ice cream scoop. Bake for about 25 - 30 minutes until golden brown and just firm to touch. Check for doneness with a skewer/toothpick inserted comes out clean.

7) Leave in the pan for about 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool.
Dust a little icing sugar or snow powder to beautify the cakes.



Something sweet and delicate for the afternoon tea break.  Love the slightly chewy crust with soft and light texture bursting of fruity blueberries in each mini cake.  Enjoy ! Happy baking and have a wonderful week ahead ^-^!

Banana Bread with Maple-Cinnamon Applesauce

Recently, my home is filled with big bunch of bananas … so I simply add some ripe bananas to bake banana breads or muffins. Although we love the moist and dense banana breads, one thing for sure I have to reduce the butter & sugar intake … for health reason.  I’m sure if you have ever baked banana breads (non yeast), you’ll know how to “mix and match” the ingredients like the types of nuts, substitute raisins with chocolate chips etc etc. Mash or chop your bananas in chunks, add some toasted coarsely chopped walnuts/ almonds and a pinch of ground cinnamon … would definitely make a loaf of aromatic and delicious banana bread.

Two weeks ago, I was happy to find an easy to bake recipe shared here,  But I am also very happy to find another recipe that doesn’t require butter or oil to give the moist and dense in the banana breads.  Glad to learn that "Applesauce offers the same consistency as butter or oil, but with zero fat, a little extra natural sweetness, and fewer calories ..."  Since I’d made some easy maple cinnamon applesauce, it came timely to bake this lighter version of nutty banana bread with a hint of cinnamon applesauce fragrance. No guilt to have a few slices at one go :) 

Recipe source :
News Health - Baking without butter or oil
Yields: 1 small loaf (I used a heatproof paper pound cake mould 7.5cm x 17.8cm x 5cm)
Ingredients A:
126g all purpose plain flour (sifted)
50g caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Ingredients B:
60g cinnamon applesauce (I used homemade maple syrup sweeten applesauce *see recipe below)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 large ripe banana
60g chopped nuts (a mixture of walnuts & almonds, light toasted)

Method:
1) Position the rack in the middle and preheat oven to 180°C, spray loaf pan with cooking spray or lightly grease with low fat spread.

2) Lightly toast the nuts and set aside, chopped coarsely.

3) Mash the ripe banana with a fork, set aside.

4) In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients A.  Add in the ingredients B to A and mix with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until well combined. Do not over mix the batter.

5) Pour batter into greased loaf pan and bake for 35 mins – 40 mins. Check for doneness with a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake if it comes out clean.

6) Let cool in pan for 5 mins and then cool bread on cooling rack.



To make the *Maple-Cinnamon Applesauce (recipe adapted from the cookbook EatingWell Fast & Flavorful Meatless Meals by Jessie Price & the EatingWell Test Kitchen) with my slight modification in blue.

Ingredients :
6 Mclntosh or other tart apples, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 Golden Delicious or other sweet apples, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
(I used a mixture of Gala & Granny Smith apples)
60ml water
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Method:
Fill the large saucepan with water and all the apples.
Cook in medium heat and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer.
Cover and cook, stirring once or twice, until the apples are very soft, about 25 minutes.
Mash the apples to the desired consistency and stir in maple syrup and cinnamon.
Cool, store in air-tight container and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 6 months.

Soft and nutty texture with a hint a cinnamon maple fragrance! 

Enjoy & Happy Baking !

Roasted Portobello Caps

My big kids love to indulge stuffed grilled/roasted cheesy mushrooms whenever we dine out at some western restaurants that served as appetiser. But I always find that those stuffed grilled/roasted mushrooms are often stuffed with "high-fat" ingredients (eg. bacon, loaded with cheese and butter etc.).

Love this full of flavor "gigantic" stuffed mushroom yet without all the high-fat ingredients.  Most of all, a fuss free and easy to prepare dinner on busy weeknight.

Roasted Portobello Caps
(adapted from the cookbook EatingWell Fast & Flavorful Meatless Meals by Jessie Price & the EatingWell Test Kitchen)
Below my slight modification made in blue.
Ingredients:
4 large portobello mushrooms, stems removed
1/4 teaspoon salt (to sprinkle a little on mushrooms and remaining for stuffing mixture)
Ground pepper to taste

To make the stuffing mixture
15g breadcrumbs (I toasted 2 slices of wholemeal bread and crushed coarsely)
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

Cooking spray for the pan (I used olive oil)

Method :
1) Preheat oven to 220 °C.  Lightly grease a baking sheet or roasting pan with a little olive oil.

2) Remove the stems of the mushrooms, place gill-side up on to the prepared pan.  Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper on each mushroom. To roast for about 20 minutes or until soft.

3) While the portobello mushrooms are roasting in the oven, prepare the stuffing mixture. In a bowl, combine and mix well the remaining salt, pepper, breadcrumbs, olive oil, Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.

4) Remove the tray of roasted mushrooms from the oven. Spoon 2 tablespoonful of mixture onto each mushroom cap.  Return the mushrooms to the oven and continue to roast for about 5 minutes or until the breadcrumbs are nicely browned.



I was too lazy to grind the toasted bread to make breadcrumbs ... toasted 2 slices of wholemeal bread and crushed them coarsely ... hee... hee ... my big kids thought mushroom stuffed with grilled chicken meat.  As usual, they complained "not enough cheese ...". Okay will top with more grated cheese for them when I make roasted portobello caps again.  But this is definitely my kinda light and delightful dinner, paired with a bowl of green leafy salad and slices of fruits. Enjoy !

I would like to share this delightful recipe and linking this post with :

 Cookbook Countdown #6

Hosted by Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

Oatmeal Honey Rolls

I've got an opened pack of rolled oats sitting in the pantry and moving rather slowly.
Chance upon this recipe King Arthur Flour Oatmeal Bread and definitely it comes in timely to help reduce the inventory :)
But I wasn't keen to bake a loaf of bread cos we had just finished the loaf of store bought white bread. So scaled down the quantity to make some buns instead. I remembered my big kids liked the honey glaze Honey Bread I baked previously. So I baked the buns glaze with honey and oats topping.

Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour Oatmeal Bread
Below my slightly modified version as I've scaled down the quantity.
Oatmeal Honey Rolls
Yields 12 rolls
Ingredients :
270g Bread Flour
60g rolled oats
25g unsalted butter (softened)
1 teaspoon salt
1.5 tablespoons honey
1.5 teaspoons instant yeast
210g lukewarm milk (to use 190g - 210g depending on texture)

Topping
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon of canola oil
15g - 20g rolled rolled oats to sprinkle

Method
1) Heat the milk to lukewarm in a small pan.

2) In a large bowl, combine bread flour, yeast, honey and rolled oats, add in the softened butter, salt with a spatula. Gradually pour in the milk and mix to form a shaggy dough. Lightly dust the hands with some flour and knead the dough by hand. Knead for about 10 minutes till it turns into a soft, smooth dough.

3) Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with a damp cloth or cling wrap and leave it in a warm place to proof until doubled in size, about 1 hour. (it'll become quite puffy, though it may not double in bulk).



4) To check if dough has doubled, lightly press down into center of dough with one finger. If indentations remain, knock back and punch the dough down. Divide the dough into 12 portions (about 45g each). Roll each piece into a ball, gently stretching the dough over itself and pinching together at the bottom. Place each roll seam-side down on a lightly greased pan or baking sheet. Cover with a damp cloth or cling wrap for 2nd proofing, about another 30 minutes.

5) Position the rack in the center and preheat oven to 180°C.

To make the honey & oats topping : mix canola oil and honey in a small bowl. Brush glaze over rolls and then sprinkle with some oats.

I made a few snips as thought to replicate
some petals shape but it didn't turn out well

6) Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for about 15 - 17 minutes or until golden brown.

7) Let buns cool in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove the buns from pan to wire rack to cool completely.  Store leftovers in an airtight container, good for about 3 days in room temperature.

Freshly baked healthy Oatmeal Honey Rolls to enjoy for our afternoon break and morning brekkie.

Banana Bread

Super love this so nicely browned loaf bread ...  We can never get tired of bananas .... add them in muffins, cakes or sweet desserts (here, here, here & here just to share a few).  Besides, my big kids prefer bananas to more expensive blueberries or fresh figs, so there's no reason why "I should burn a big hole in my wallet" ... hee hee !

Okay, to bake this bread is so easy with no stand-mixer is needed and minimal washing of utensils.  "A fork to whisk the egg and a sturdy spoon to mix the batter ..."
So it saves my time ... I baked this on a week night for our next day's brekkie.

Banana Bread
Recipe adapted from Simply Recipes Banana Bread
Below my slight modifications made as I've reduced the amount in butter and sugar.
Ingredients
185g all-purpose flour
2-3 very ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
50g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
120g castor sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt

Method
1) Butter (or spray with a non stick vegetable spray) a 4x8-inch loaf pan.

2) Preheat the oven to 180°C. Position the rack in the middle. *Note : The temperature of the oven may vary, do adjust accordingly.

3) In a mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas with a fork until you have a thick and smooth paste. Next, whisk in the melted butter, caster sugar, beaten egg and vanilla extract. Mix in the baking soda and salt.

4) With a big spoon, mix the banana mixture into the flour until just combined.  Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.

5) Bake until golden brown about 50 minutes to 1 hour in preheated oven or until a tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 

6) Remove pan from oven, place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Told ya! Hassle free to bake this nicely browned, slightly crisp crust yet moist texture banana fragrance bread.
We love to slice them in thick slices :) Enjoy !

Enjoy !

Dorayaki (II) with Salted Egg Yolk Custard Filling

Hamburger? Kids asked.
Nope ... it's Dorayaki! But filled with savoury filling instead of the usual sweet red bean paste.

I've made Dorayaki 2 - 3 times since my 1st successful attempt here 2 years ago. Other than the sweet red bean paste filling, I've also tried with kaya filling too.

Besides the famous Liu Sha Bao, salted egg yolk prawns/crabs ... I've seen many recent debut of  'salted egg yolk (SEY) craze' that has been raving a storm here in some bakeries/cafes/restaurants ... like SEY Xiao Long Bao, SEY Croissant,  SEY Lava Cake, Liu Sha Custard Doughnuts, SEY Cream Puff, Liu Sha French Toast, SEY Crab Spaghetti etc. etc.

Previously I had made some Egg Custard Steamed Buns recipe shared by Zoe, so I thought to tweak the custard recipe a little ... Dorayaki with salted egg yolk custard filling ... so call to join the fun SEY maniac ! Ha .. ha!

To make the salted egg yolk custard filling:
Recipe source : Bake for Happy Kids Egg Custard Steamed Buns, below my slight modified version with added salted egg yolks and adjusted the texture with more coconut milk & butter.
Ingredients :
2 salted egg yolks
50g unsalted butter
20g icing sugar
20g cornflour
30g custard powder
100ml coconut milk (I used Ayam brand light, ok to use regular ones)

Method :
Prepare a small cooking pot with water. Boil the salted eggs for about 8 - 10 minutes. Once cooked, shelled, separate the cooked yolks and whites. Use only the yolks, mash with fork till fine. Set aside.

Sift custard powder, icing sugar, and cornflour into a saucepan. Whisk in coconut milk. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth. Next, add butter and the mashed salted egg yolks.

Stir constantly until the thickened mixture comes away from the sides of the pan and forms a firm texture.

Transfer the filling to a bowl and allow it to cool down completely. Once cooled and spreadable, ready to use/spread on pancake. If not use, cover the surface of the custard with cling wrap to avoid any condensation form on the cling wrap dripping on the custard. Leave in fridge to chill until ready to use.

To make the pancake batter
Recipe source : Bake for Happy Kids Easy Dorayaki mostly adapted from Just One Cookbook Dorayaki
Makes 10 (20 pancakes) Note: I yield 8, 16 pancakes as I used ice-cream scoop.
Ingredients :
4 extra large eggs (the size of my egg is 65g with shell each)
100g sugar
2 tablespoons honey
160g all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

About 2 teaspoons cooking oil for greasing the pan.

Method :
Combine and sift the plain flour & baking powder together.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, and honey and whisk well until the mixture becomes frothy.

Add the flour into the egg mixture. Whisk mixture gently until just combined. Do not over-mix the batter after the addition of dry ingredients. Cover the batter with cling wrap and place it in the fridge to rest for 15 mins.

Heat a non-stick frying pan over low flame. Dap some cooking oil with kitchen towel and lightly grease onto the non-stick pan. Wipe off excess oil if necessary.
Hint: The oil on the frying pan should not be visible.
My observations : I find that without greasing the pan with any cooking oil, it yields evenly nicely brown texture of the pancake. So after the 1st three rounds, I did not grease the non-stick pan.

I used an ice-cream scoop to scoop batter onto the warm heated pan to cook.

Flip gently with a spatula when surface are covered with bubbles. Cook for another 30 - 40 secs.

Transfer to a plate and cover up with cling wrap to prevent the pancakes from drying. Repeat the cooking process till finished the batter.

To assemble :
Spread about 1.5 tablespoonful of salted egg yolk custard filling on each of 8 pancakes.

Place the other pancakes on the pancakes with the paste to form a pancake sandwich. Wrap each sandwich with cling wrap to make them moist, tasty and 'stayed in shape'.

Enjoying this savoury Dorayaki
with a cup of green tea latte :)

Having tried 2 Dorayaki batter recipes, both work well for me.

Enjoy! Yeah! Glad that they liked the savoury fillings.