Thursday, July 31, 2014

little thumbs up august 2014

I've been twiddling my thumbs, waiting and waiting for August to arrive because for this entire month, I shall be hosting the Little Thumbs Up event organised by Zoe from Baking for Kids and Doreen of my little favourite DIY.

I have chosen Flour as the theme ingredient for this month.
Flour is an essential ingredient in my (and I am sure, many of your) kitchen. It is the base of pastas and noodles, cakes and biscuits, or even as thickening agents in the making of a roux. The list of food items made using flour is endless.

As such, we will be limiting the theme to mainly Wheat Flour, namely,

1. All-Purpose (also known as Plain) Flour
2. Bread Flour
3. Cake Flour
4. Self-raising Flour
5. Pastry Flour
6. Wholemeal Flour
7. Hong Kong (also known as Waterlily) Flour
8. Superlite Flour
9. Top Flour

You must use one of these flours in its raw form in your recipe and you must use at least 1 tablespoon or 10g of one (or more) of these flours in your cooking.


To join the linky party, simply cook or bake any recipe using one (or more) of the flours from the list above. It can be your own original recipes, or a recipe from a cookbook, magazine or a website. You can submit as many posts as you wish to this thumbnail.

Please note, however, that
1. Your submission must be one that is posted in August 2014.
2. You mention the following, This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs Up organised by Bake for Happy Kids and My Little Favourite DIY, and hosted by Diana from the Domestic Goddess Wannabe at the end of your post.
3. You display the Little Thumbs Up badge in your post.
4. The last day of submission to this event is 31 August 2014.

It would be great if you can visit the blogs from the link and leave a comment.

assam batang curry

I was craving for batang. It is the local name for mackerel.

I love batang!! Love! Love! Love!

When I was pregnant with Aden, all I wanted to eat was fried batang. But I was unable to go near a hot stove so the LAM learnt to fry batang the way I liked, which was basically to fry it to death. Aromatic and crispy and salty. YUMMY!

Anyway, I digress.
So, as I was saying, I wanted batang, and I wanted curry.

The obvious thing to do was to combine them and make a batang curry!

To start, I fried the batang pieces in some oil until they were brown. They were set aside.
In my hot Dutch oven, I sauteed sliced red onions in vegetable oil until they were well-cooked.
Into this, I added curry leaves. I always put a ton of curry leaves in my curries because, well, I like them a lot, and we have a curry tree growing in our estate. How convenient, hehe. I also added lemon grass. And stirred them around for a couple of minutes.
I added fish curry paste and gave everything a stir.
This was followed by fish curry powder.
This was cooked for about 2-3 minutes.
Before I added water.
Once the water came to a boil, I added the okra and egg plant which I had lightly sauteed in hot oil.
Finally, I added the batang, as well as fish sauce and assam.
I garnished with plenty of fresh coriander. You can also add sliced green chili.
This was so good, I ate it with rice two nights running.

And I rarely eat the same thing twice in a week!

A GIVEAWAY!
The really nice folks at Tovolo would like to share a few of their fantastic products with readers of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe, and as such, I am hosting a giveaway for a Better Batter Tool and a Cupcake Scoop.

Fancy winning one (or all) of these? Here's how to take part!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Giveaway ends on Tuesday, August 5, 2014 at 12:00 a.m. Pacific time. The winner(s) will be selected by random.org and contacted by email. If there is no response after 48 hours, another winner will be selected. Open to residents of Singapore only.

RECIPE
Assam Batang Curry (Serves 4-6)

Ingredients:
5 pieces batang, about 1.5cm thick)
1 large eggplant (brinjal), cut into pieces
5 okra, cut into pieces
1 large red onion, sliced
3 stalks lemon grass, white part only, sliced
4 sprigs curry leaves
2 tablespoons fish curry powder
1 packet (about 200-250g) fish curry paste
3  tablespoons assam (tamarind) soaked in 1/2 cup water
2 cups water
1 teaspoon fish sauce, or to taste
1 bunch coriander, chopped
2-3 green chili, sliced (optional)

Method:
1. Saute eggplant in a little oil in a hot skillet until slightly brown. Remove and set aside. Repeat with okra.
2. Add a little oil to skillet. Saute onions until softened, about 8-10 minutes. Add lemon grass and curry leaves. Stir to mix.
3. Add curry powder and paste. Stir until mixed.
4. Add water and bring to a boil.
5. Add eggplant and okra. Lower heat and simmer 10-15 minutes, until vegetables have softened. Add fish sauce and liquid from soaked assam. Add fish. Stir to mix. Check and adjust seasoning.
6. Garnish with coriander and green chili and serve, hot, with rice.

Starting tomorrow, I shall be hosting the Little Thumbs Up linky for the entire month of August with Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids and Doreen of my little favourite D.I.Y.

Flour is an essential ingredient in my (and I am sure, many of your) kitchen. It is the base of pastas and noodles, cakes and biscuits, or even as thickening agents in the making of a roux. The list of food items made using flour is endless.

As such, we will be limiting the theme to mainly Wheat Flour, namely,

1. All-Purpose (also known as Plain) Flour
2. Bread Flour
3. Cake Flour
4. Self-raising Flour
5. Pastry Flour
6. Wholemeal Flour
7. Hong Kong (also known as Waterlily) Flour
8. Superlite Flour
9. Top Flour

You must use one of these flours in its raw form in your recipe and you must use at least 1 tablespoon or 10g of one (or more) of these flours in your cooking.

So if you have a food post in the month of August that includes flour, do come link up! :)

I breathe better when my child does | a review of drypers drypantz

I never seem to have enough time in my day. I work, I cook, I bake, I blog and I parent.

My day usually begins at about 6 in the morning and I finish at about 11 at night, by which I am usually exhausted. It is, therefore, crucial that I make life run as efficiently as possible and in as many ways as possible.

One of my best finds which helps me to do exactly that is Drypers Drypantz. 
 
Because Jadelyn is very active, we switched to pants diapers when she was about 8 months old.
It was simply a lot easier to pull the pants off when they got soiled and change her into a new pair.

Prior to switching to Drypers Drypantz, Jadelyn used to get redness, especially at the waist because she is a pretty chubby kid. That meant lots of discomfort for her it was awful for us as well because the rashes appeared at the folds near her tummy and were difficult to treat.
Indeed, the problem of redness and rashes due to ill-fitting diapers with waistbands that create red pressure marks and cause rashes is a common one in many kids but it can easily be avoided. 
What I really love about Drypers Drypantz is its new soft and breathable Comfort Fit™ waistband. It actually feels like cloth and is so soft and comfortable.
In addition to the comfortable feel of the pants diapers, Drypers Drypantz also keeps Jadelyn dry longer because it can hold more due to its Activ-Core™  which helps to quickly absorb urine and prevent flow-back and the interlocking fibres that help to drive urine into the core in order to keep the butt dry and comfortable.
This means I no longer have to keep worrying about leakages!!

Drypers has recently  introduced two cute mascots.
A colourful little pinwheel called Airy that embodies breathability and better air circulation. Drypers Drypantz’s extra breathable waistband helps reduce pressure formed on the skin at baby’s tummy and waist area, creating a more comfortable fit for baby.

There is also Softie who is a fluffly little cloud that embodies softness and comfort, just like the unique technology which goes into making Drypers Drypantz’s waistband extra soft, gentle and comfy on baby’s skin.

These two logos are a constant assurance for parents that Drypers Drypantz helps your baby's skin to breathe easy, and in turn, they, too, can breathe more easily!

For the month of August, Drypers will be giving away free 4 pcs of Drypers Drypantz with purchase of any pack of Drypers Drypantz (applicable to all sizes and banded packs only)

In addition, you can also log on to Drypers' facebook page here to take part in their "Breathe Easy Breeze" game!

Control their “Airy” mascot using your mouse to help “Softie” turn plain diapers into Drypers Drypantz diapers! Convert 12 diapers to Drypers Drypantz in the fastest amount of time.

Every week, the top scorers stand a chance to walk away with fantastic prizes!

Prizes include tickets  (worth $88 each) to Lunchbox Theatrical Production’s “Bubble Magic” show and $100 cash vouchers, happening in early September 2014.  

What's more, you can also request for FREE samples while you are at Drypers' Facebook page or you can look out for them in-stores!

Switching to Drypers was one of the best things I'd ever done but why take my word for it? Ask for some samples and try it out for yourself!

Disclaimer: This is part of a series of sponsored conversations between Drypers and The Domestic Goddess Wannabe. All opinions stated are my own. Jadelyn has been a regular user of Drypers since the beginning of 2014, and we strongly recommend the product based on its own merits and first hand user experience.

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

raisin bread | review of panasonic bread maker

I have been making bread almost everyday since I got the Panasonic bread maker. As part of the competition for the Best Cooking Blog category in the Singapore Blog Awards this year, I was asked to use the machine to make a series of different types of bread. Voting ends at the end of July so it is not too late to vote for me! :P
My 4-year-old has been watching me make bread with much interest. Today, I thought I'd make a raisin loaf for the LAM. As I was getting the ingredients out of the cupboard, Aden walked into the kitchen and asked if he could help.

I thought, why not?

And so he did help.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am extremely proud to present Aden's first loaf of bread!
Other than checking the measurements were correct and helping him to place the bread pan in the machine, he did everything himself.

Here's how Aden made bread for the first time!

Into the pan, he added bread flour.
And sugar.
This was followed by the milk powder and the salt.
The last two ingredients to go into the pan were the butter and the water.
I placed the bread pan into the machine.
And closed the lid.

The Panasonic bread maker comes with an automatic ingredient dispenser which not only adds the ingredients (like dried fruit, nuts and cereals) to the bread dough after the first rise, it also distributes them evenly throughout the loaf.
This means that the ingredients are added only after the dough has risen and as a result, they do not affect the rising of the dough.

So Aden put the raisins into the ingredient dispenser.
The machine also has a yeast dispenser. The yeast is added after the ingredients have been mixed so that the salt will not kill the yeast. I think this is very clever.

Aden carefully added the yeast into the yeast dispenser.
He shut the lid shut and selected Menu "1" for a basic loaf.
And pressed the START button.
As you can see, he was really thrilled that he had basically done everything by himself!
Needless to say, I was mighty pleased too because I really enjoy spending time in the kitchen with my little man.

In fact, when Aden was adding flour to the bread pan, he gave out a giggle and said, "I really like cooking, Mommy!" Yes, my heart melted there and then. :)

So we let the machine do the work. And about 4 hours later, we had a beautiful loaf of raisin bread.
I must say that I am really impressed by how easy the entire process was! This machine makes the bread-making process so easy even a 4-year-old can make bread.

Apart from having spent a really nice time with Aden, I am really pleased that we are eating home-made bread now. It is so much more healthy because I know that only the best ingredients will go into my breads with absolutely no additives.
I look forward to making more bread with Aden, and I am also glad to report that Daddy was well-impressed with his bread.
He ate it with, well, Vegemite, of course!

The bread maker is available for sale at: 
Best Denki Ngee Ann, Junction 8, Katong, Court Mega Store, Harvey Norman, Isetan, CK Tangs and Takashimaya.
The retail price is at $329 and above store mentions are subject to stock availability.

Panasonic Singapore 
Official Website
Official Facebook Page


A GIVEAWAY!
The really nice folks at Tovolo would like to share a few of their fantastic products with readers of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe, and as such, I am hosting a giveaway for a Better Batter Tool and a Cupcake Scoop.

Fancy winning one (or all) of these? Here's how to take part!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Giveaway ends on Tuesday, August 12, 2014 at 12:00 a.m. Pacific time. The winner(s) will be selected by random.org and contacted by email. If there is no response after 48 hours, another winner will be selected. Open to residents of Singapore only.

RECIPE
Raisin Bread (Makes 1 loaf, about 6 slices)
Adapted from Panasonic 

Ingredients:
2 cups (250g) bread flour
10g butter
2 tablespoons (24g) caster sugar
1 tablespoon (6g) milk powder
1 teaspoon (6g) salt
190ml water
1 teaspoon (2.8g) instant dry yeast
40g raisins

Method:
1. Place all the ingredients (except for the yeast and raisins) in the bread pan.
2. Add raisins to the ingredient dispenser and the yeast to the yeast dispenser. If your machine does not have these functions, add the yeast to the opposite end of the pan to the salt, and add the raisins after the bread has risen.
3. Choose Menu 1 (for basic loaf) and press START.
4. When bread has been made, allow it to cool on a wire rack to cool completely.




Tuesday, July 29, 2014

matcha magic custard cake

I have heard so much about this cake, and seen so many versions of it but till now, I had not been tempted to make this cake.

Why, you ask.

Well, I was terribly unsure of the texture of the cake.

I mean, I like custard and I like cake. I just wasn't sure about putting the two of them together.
Then the LAM sent me a link to a recipe one day and asked me to try making the cake in the link. As it turned out, it was a custard cake.

So I decided to make a custard cake but the question was, which one?

As luck would have it, I was browsing online when I saw this cake. The colour of the cake really appealed to me - I really love the slight greenish tone, so I guess the decision was made. A Matcha custard cake it was!
This cake was really easy to put together. What I did was to break things up into a series of steps.

Here's how.

Before I started making the cake, I melted the butter in a saucepan over low heat. I also sifted the icing sugar (Gosh, I hate sifting icing sugar!)

In the bowl of a mixer, I added egg yolks and the icing sugar.
I turned on the machine (at very low speed) and slowly the yolks and sugar were mixed.
At this stage, I increased the speed of the mixer, and beat the mixture until it turned light and pale.
While that happened, I sifted the flour with the green tea powder. This was set aside.
The egg whites were placed into another bowl, together with the vinegar.

Using my hand whisk, I whisked this until stiff peaks formed.
This was also set aside.

Once the egg yolk mixture was pale and light, I added the melted butter and water.
 This was mixed for a further 2 minutes or so, until everything was well-mixed.
I removed the bowl from the mixer.

Using a hand whisk, I mixed the flour and tea into this mixture in 3 additions.
Then I did the same with the milk (also in 3 additions).
Finally, I folded the egg whites (also in 3 additions) into the mixture.
The batter may appear lumpy and to have curdled at the beginning but don't worry, just keep mixing.
I poured the batter into a lined and greased 8-inch square baking pan.
 
And baked the cake for 40 minutes, at the end of which I placed the baking pan on a wire rack until the cake was completely cool.

I transferred the cake onto a plate, and cut it.
Then I topped the cake with more sifted green tea and icing sugar.
This is one gorgeous cake.
And it tastes great!

Yes, you, too, should go make it!

A GIVEAWAY!
The really nice folks at Tovolo would like to share a few of their fantastic products with readers of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe, and as such, I am hosting a giveaway for a Better Batter Tool and a Cupcake Scoop.

Fancy winning one (or all) of these? Here's how to take part!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Giveaway ends on Tuesday, August 5, 2014 at 12:00 a.m. Pacific time. The winner(s) will be selected by random.org and contacted by email. If there is no response after 48 hours, another winner will be selected. Open to residents of Singapore only.

RECIPE
Matcha (Japanese Green Tea) Magic Custard Cake (Serves 8-10)
Adapted from raspberricupcakes

Ingredients:
1 cup (140g) plain flour
1-2 tbsp matcha powder (Japanese green tea powder), you can adjust to taste
113g (1/2 cup) butter
2 cups (500ml) milk
4 eggs, separated and at room temp
4 drops white vinegar
1 1/2 cups (180g) pure icing (confectioner's) sugar
1 Tablespoon (15ml) Water
To dust: 2 tbsp icing (confectioner's) sugar + 1 tsp matcha powder, sifted together

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F). Grease and line a 20cm (8 inch) square baking pan/dish with baking paper.
2. Sift flour and matcha powder together in a medium bowl. (I like my matcha flavour very strong so if you prefer it milder then only use 1 tbsp of powder)
3. Melt the butter and set aside to slightly cool. Warm the milk to lukewarm and set aside.
4. In a large mixing bowl, whip the egg whites and vinegar to stiff peaks with an electric mixer. Set aside.
5. In a separate large mixing bowl beat the egg yolks and sugar until light with an electric mixer. Mix in the melted butter and the tablespoon of water for about 2 minutes or until evenly incorporated.
6. Using a hand whisk, mix in the flour until evenly incorporated. Slowly hand whisk in the milk and until everything is well mixed.
7. Fold in the egg whites with your hand whisk, 1/3 at a time. Repeat until all of the egg whites are folded in. The egg whites will appear curdled and lumpy at first but keep gently mixing with your whisk until all the larger lumps are incorporated.
8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40-50 minutes or until the top is golden. (Take care not to over bake, middle should still be a bit wobbly) Allow cake to completely cool (you can place it in the fridge after 15 minutes to cool it quicker) before cutting and then dust with icing sugar/matcha mixture.
Note: Can be stored in an air-tight container in the fridge for several days, best served at room temperature.

In a couple of days, I shall be hosting the Little Thumbs Up linky for the entire month of August with Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids and Doreen of my little favourite D.I.Y.

Flour is an essential ingredient in my (and I am sure, many of your) kitchen. It is the base of pastas and noodles, cakes and biscuits, or even as thickening agents in the making of a roux. The list of food items made using flour is endless.

As such, we will be limiting the theme to mainly Wheat Flour, namely,

1. All-Purpose (also known as Plain) Flour
2. Bread Flour
3. Cake Flour
4. Self-raising Flour
5. Pastry Flour
6. Wholemeal Flour
7. Hong Kong (also known as Waterlily) Flour
8. Superlite Flour
9. Top Flour

You must use one of these flours in its raw form in your recipe and you must use at least 1 tablespoon or 10g of one (or more) of these flours in your cooking.

So if you have a food post in the month of August that includes flour, do come link up! :)