Nando’s Delivery

There are days where I’ll order fast food for lunch only if I’m busy with chores and I was too lazy to cook. But when you have a toddler, you have to consider getting a healthier option for them and meals that comes with a free toy aren’t exactly one of them. So after much ding dong whether to order or buy back I decided to give Nando’s Peri Medic a try although I much prefer KR because they have my favourite; Mac n Cheese!

When I posted on my Facebook profile that I wanted to order Nando’s almost immediately I received not so positive feedbacks from my friends like they took a very long time to deliver and the food is below satisfactory. So obviously I got slightly worried especially when it’s not that cheap (the bill came up close to RM30). But since I was given a heads up so I didn’t really expect much. So I called them before the lunch peak hour and they told me delivery time would be from 30-45 mins which was fine by me because I usually have my lunch around 1pm. I ordered 1/4 Chicken with 2 sidelines ( Mediterranean rice & coleslaw) for myself and grilled sausages for the little missy. After finished doing my chores, 30 minutes after I made the order, my lunch arrived! And to my surprise it wasn’t that bad looking, although they could make some improvements to the packaging, but overall it was alright. The chicken was still warm, not hot but still quite warm and if you want you can heat them up in the microwave. The rice and coleslaw were delicious and like I said if they use a container it would be better, but I think they are practicing an environment-friendly approach hence they use paper packaging and no plastic.

I’ve always prefer paper bags over plastic bags and I’m mighty glad they use these for their packaging. (no that's not bottle of liquor wrapped up it's my bottle of Coca Cola)

I like their slogan ‘ Take me home’ it’s very ambiguous :P

My two sidelines

Ok I’m not so brave. Laugh all you want

It may look tiny to you but it’s just the right portion for me since I’m not really a meat eater. 

   Ashley enjoying her grilled sausages

So if you want a much healthier option when it comes to home/food delivery do check out their menu

Cekodok (Cucur) Ikan Bilis / Savoury Fritters

While the English love their scones with jam and butter, we Malaysian definitely love this yummy fritters for tea time. Almost everyone knows how to make this yummy tea time snacks, it’s that easy! I made this during my schooling days and even sold some to my friends at school for some extra pocket money. And I remember I had to wake up at 4 am each time I made this because of the frying process plus I had to make minimum 30 pieces. But it’s all worth it! Who wouldn't like deep fried yummy-ness filled with wonderful fillings. I can even have it as my main meal! I wonder if any of them still remember this hmmmm. Anyway back to the recipe, like I said it’s pretty easy almost fool proof if you ask me. You can jazz it up with any type of fillings ; sweet (bananas) or savoury (ikan bilis/dried anchovies).

You Need 

Basic Batter 

250grams of flour

salt & pepper to taste

2 eggs

3 tablespoons of oil and some for frying,

1/2 cup of warm water  

Fillings

 2 onions halved and sliced thinly

half a cup of green peas

1 cup of dried anchovies, cleaned and soaked in water for 10 mins

2 teaspoons of cumin seeds,

1 teaspoon of curry or chilli powder  

How To  

1. Mix all the ingredients for the basic batter until you have a thick batter but if it’s too gooey, just add in some water.

2. Add in the remaining ingredients and mix well.

3. Spoon into hot oil and fry till brown.

4.Drain on paper kitchen towel and serve with chilli sauce.  Best eaten while it’s still hot and with a cup of kopi o or teh tarik :)

Cooking Tutorials
  
Note : You can add bean sprouts, julienned carrots, diced potatoes, shrimps, chopped spring onions, sliced red chillies, or chives.

My favourite for tea time

When I was younger, my maternal Granma would make a pot of black coffee (kopi O) for tea time and we would dip cream crackers into our small mugs of kopi O  :)

Baking woes

I’m pretty sure by now everyone knows that my cakes usually doesn’t turn out right during the first try. It’s either the cakes/muffins

Sinks ,

browns unevenly,

  

has cracked top,

or has a heavy layer at the bottom of the cake

And more often than not I’m left puzzled wondering what went wrong since I followed the recipe to the T. Luckily a friend told me of a wonderful site called Baking 911. Ah how appropriate the name for the site, an emergency site for all your baking problems ! Although sometimes I’m just as confused as before for some of the possible explanations for why my cake turned out that way. For example,

Heavy layer on bottom

• Not enough mixing
• Too much liquid
• Too many eggs

how is it that I have too much liquid or eggs when I followed what the recipe asks for or for uneven browning, the heat in the oven isn’t being circulated evenly but I only have an oven like this with limited functionality (but I reckon it’s good enough especially when I bought it only at RM30!)

 

I can only fit two 6's muffin trays and I have to rotate them otherwise one side usually the one at the back of the oven browns faster than the side nearer to the door

The oven's heating element


I have the option of turning off either of the up or bottom heating element 

When a recipe states ‘bake at 170 Celsius’. I usually just turn the knob slightly after the 160C mark not sure if that’s right at all.

So really, I'd appreciate a lot if someone especially those who uses this kind of oven could shed some light and rescue me from my baking woes. :D 

When you’re sick

 

I honestly think that the best meal to have when you're feeling under the weather is rice porridge with condiments!

Stir Fry French Beans with Anchovies and Vegetarian Goose (Chai Siew Ngor)

 Preserved Radish Omelette

Pickled Lettuce and Preserved Olive Leaves 

Preserved Radish Omelette  

You Need
A handful of sweet preserved chopped radish (soaked in water for 30 minutes, drained, washed and pat dry on kitchen towel)
2 eggs
1 onion, chopped
salt and pepper to season

How To
1. Beat eggs with salt and pepper until light and fluffy. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in wok. Stir fry the radish and onion.
3. Once the radish starts jumping around the wok or make popping sound pour in the beaten eggs.
4. As the omelette starts to set, lift an edge of the omelette with your spatula and tilt the wok so that the runny unset egg mixture can run underneath and once it’s set flip over.
5. When the omelette sets, slide onto a plate.
6. Serve and enjoy!

*******************************************************************

Stir Fry French Beans with Anchovies 
You Need
200gm French beans, sliced diagonally
50gm carrot, julienned
A handful of dried anchovies cleaned and washed
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon of water

How To
1. Heat a little cooking oil in a wok.
2. Fry the anchovies until crispy and set aside.
3. In the same wok, stir fry garlic until fragrant. Add in carrots and stir fry for a minute before adding in the French beans.
4. Once the French beans looks a little translucent, add the remaining ingredients except for the anchovies and cornstarch mixture.
5. Simmer for a few minutes and just before you turn off the stove, add in the cornstarch mixture give a quick stir and add in the anchovies.
6. Serve and enjoy!

I’d be posting the recipe for the porridge/congee in a different blog post only because it would be a mighty long post :) So it’s not that bad to be sick when you get to enjoy great meal like this eh ;)

Vanilla Sponge Cake

I joined this baking club on Facebook honestly out of fun and surprised to know their challenges aren’t exactly that complicated at all. And for June their challenge was Vanilla Sponge Cake for daddy’s (Father’s day) and I decided why not. Below is the recipe by the founder of the club and my first attempt didn’t turn out how I thought it to be and even though I’m quite sick, I decided to try making it for the second time seeing that Ashley wants them so badly and this time she helped me out a bit :) 

(Makes a 8 inches Round tin / 7 inches Square tin)
Ingredients
130gm Self Raising Flour
¼ tsp Baking powder
4 Eggs (separated)
¼ tsp Cream of Tartar
Salt A pinch
180gm Castor sugar
60gm Butter, melted
60ml Water
1 tsp Vanilla Essence

Method
1. Preheat oven to 170~C .
2. Sift flour, baking powder and salt 2 -3 times. Set aside.
3. Whisk egg whites with cream of tartar and salt until stiff peaks are formed. Add sugar and continue whisking until stiff peaks form again.
4. In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks with melted butter, water and vanilla essence. Fold into the egg whites and combine well.
5. Finally fold in the sifted dry ingredients and pour batter immediately into a cake tin lined with greaseproof paper. Bake the cake for approximately 30 – 40 minutes. The cake is done when the top springs back when lightly pressed.
6. Remove cake from oven and let it cool completely before decorating it.

Check out my album for behind the scenes in making this yummy cake.

What’s in her lunchbox.

Now that Ashley is starting school, I have to make snacks for her to bring to school and I simply love doing so! I feel so much like a mother now that I am preparing her lunch box. I know it’s silly but it’s just what I’ve always wanted to do. :D

Usually I’ll just make a simple French toast or PB & J or sometimes some sausages or hash. So today I made Banana & Chocolate Toasties. I first made this during her 3rd birthday bash and it was a hit! But this time I didn’t have a sandwich maker so I used the usual toaster oven.

Anyway it’s very simple to make, all you need is two slices of bread, one banana, sliced and 2 tablespoon of chocolate spread (Nutella). Spread one side of the bread with Nutella , place slices of banana on the other slice of bread. Top the chocolate side up and toast. Let it cool before cutting it into quarters.
   

A sneak peek of what’s to come