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If a cake could kill, I would've been killed by this loaf of cake. Why? Was it just too damn delicious?
I wish.
OK, it was delicious when it was freshly baked, cos let's face it. Banana + Rum + Raisins? It'd take a lot to ruin such a winning combo.
The disaster happened the day after. I baked this large loaf for my daily breakfast at the office. Two thick slices each morning with my hot coffee. Yum. At least, that was the plan.
Previously, I never stored any cake in the fridge, cos based on my experiences so far, nothing good came out of that. But in this summer heat, I thought I had to rescue the cake from getting ruined too quickly. The next day, I happily took out the cake out of the fridge, transferred two slices into a bento box, and carried it to work. Hopefully, all the initial deliciousness would be restored by the time I reach my office.
Unfortunately, they didn't recover.
They dried out and hardened. I mean ROCK HARD. I could kill being hit on the head by that loaf. Hmmm, maybe not exactly subdural hematoma lethal, but at least it could inflict some serious bruising and swelling.
I tried microwaving cakes before, and again, it could never recover anywhere close to when they were freshly baked. Is it just mission impossible, or am I doing it wrong?
When I got home, I took out the rest of the loaf, placed it on my kitchen table and wait for it to return to room temperature, as advised by some online resources. It did return to room temperature, but the texture never recovered. It stayed persistently hard.
The recipe is the same as my previous soft and moist banana cake, I just added 2 tsp of rum and a couple handful of raisins.
Guys, helppppp! I desperately need some true and tested cake storage and reheating tips T_TWhatever it takes, I'll try it.
Hmm...as long as it doesn't involve storing the cake in my underwear drawer.
Fool me once - shame on you, fool me twice - shame on me.
I've failed these cookies once and I told you, I'll fail again. Actually no one fooled me, I was simply foolish.
This time, I was determined not to repeat the same mistake. I should've learnt from it, and do it right this time. I was pretty confident. How hard can it be? Ohhhhh...boy...I was too cocky, and much too soon!
What could possibly happen this time? (Again?!!)
This time I was really careful, and kept reminding myself not to line the baking sheet with paper. As instructed in the recipe, I lightly greased the baking sheet. However...I walked away while the cookies were baking in the oven, I failed to supervise it (I walked away to "glance" at a TV program and my azz "accidentally" got planted on the sofa for far too long)....and when I checked the cookies...man, oh, man!....
They were burnt!!!
I, the smart azz, also added raisins and smell-good spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg...which were all supposedly good...if only they weren't burnt!...unfortunately, they ended up charcoal-esque and bitter. Opppps!!!
But I never gave up, I tried another batch, and I really stood in front of my oven watching them baking every single second possible....I believed I got a pair of bulging red eyes due to the minimised blinking.
Finally I got them right. They were chewy, sweet, they smell fantastic...and they look absolutely beautiful!
This kitty would've made a great witness (if it could see, smell and taste)
Holiday snap of the day...
I wonder if anyone's as lazy as me...these are cute lil' Christmas ornaments...FROM LAST YEAR, which have been hanging on my workstation all through the year ^_*
Restricted cooking. Boy, don't we all hate it?
In a perfect world, there will be no restriction. But my world is a gigabazillion (ref: no such word) miles away from perfect. Out of the 1000000001 variations of different restrictions (or lame excuses), the typical restrictions can be summarized into the following categories:
Ingredients
Especially those which are rarely used, thus, rarely available in Hong Kong. I could probably only get them in luxury supermarkets nowhere near me (a bus, a train, and a boat ride away to get a piece of fresh duck meat???!!! No way, Jose!).
Kitchen Accessories
Sometimes I select recipes to try based on...whether or not I have the appliances/gadgets required. I normally select recipes measured in cups, rather than grams, cos I don't have no kitchen scale, my friend! (Thank God for online converters ^_^). Sometimes it is fun trying to figure out a creative way to get away with not using the required gadget...like using normal bowls instead of muffin tray...but it is NO FUN chopping my arms off before (just like before I had my food processor) or whisking the bejezuz outta me (just like before I tried a hand mixer).
Financial Resources
Some ingredients/tools/gadgets are so freakin' expensive, I might have to sell my soul to buy them (oh well, so I exaggerated it a little, sue me!). Ehm, maybe they are not really THAT expensive...but it is just my Chinese-Javanese super stingy nature. It's in my blood! I can't help it!
Human Resources
Namely culinary skills or lack thereof. My biggest problem is...my inability to follow recipes. No, I am not an arrogant little bitch who only trust my own recipes. I just have a problem with following recipes. I guess this is just a nicer way to say that I am normally too lazy/impatient and always try to find shortcuts and skip some parts of the recipe (e.g. Oh, Come on!...do I really need to let the cookie dough chill for 1 hour? I think I can get away with cutting them NOW. Oppps, no, wait. It looks like I can't).
I never had to cook with dietary restrictions. This low iodine diet is something new to me. It is really challenging as well as interesting. If I had to name one ingredient that I miss the most...it has to be soy sauce. It's like breaking up with someone you still like. You've taken the person for granted, and you don't miss him/her until he/she is gone. Thennnn...you realized you can't live without this person and uh-oh! It's too late! Oh yeah, Mr. Soy Sauce. I miss you so so so much! I can't wait for us to get back together again in three weeks (I am counting the days).
Meanwhile, I will try the best I can to produce better-than-just-edible-despite-the-restrictions treats for sous chef, to facilitate his speedy recovery. This time, I am doing an adaptation of Jamie Oliver's Butternut Squash Muffins recipe...I call it an "adaptation" simply because...surprise, surprise! I can't follow the recipe exactly, as always.
Yolkless Milkless Butternut Squash, Peanut Butter and Raisin Muffins
I removed the egg-yolks from the recipe (low iodine diet), reduced the recipe to half (some of my regular guinea pigs are on business trip), added nutmeg (because I love nutmeg & cinnamon combo), added my home made peanut butter and raisins instead of walnuts (walnuts are expensive hehe), and removed the whole frosting part (no dairy products allowed - low iodine diet). Is there anyyyy part of the recipe that I still follow???
Recipe
- 1 cup of butternut squash, leave skin on, remove seed, chop into chunks
- 1/2 cup of sugar
- 2 egg whites (you can include the yolk)
- non iodized salt (you can use normal salt)
- 1 & 1/4 cup plain flour
- 1 heaping tsp of baking powder
- 3 tbsp home made peanut butter (you can use normal peanut butter or a handful of peanuts)
- lots of cinnamon, and a couple sprinkles of nutmeg
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- a couple handful of raisins
Preheat oven to 180C. I threw all ingredients into my food processor (I didn't even bother with the sequence, apparently, I blame it on my lack of attention to detail) and blend until everything's mixed. Pour batter into muffin tray lined with paper cups, bake for 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
I was wondering what do egg yolks do for this recipe if I could just take them out and they still taste fan-bloody-tastic? Hmmm....interesssting. The skippy jar is just to show that I made these babies with peanut butter. I actually used my home made peanut butter....whose jar isn't as photogenic as skippy. My bad, it is probably now suffering from low self esteem. I am gonna submit this to Nick's Peanut Butter Lover’s Month
...and....let me just shut up and wish you all a...
Halloween is near! Yay! Ehm, I love any excuse to celebrate anything, even if it involves spooky stuff. As always, I had lots of plans for this year’s Halloween…and naturally, none of it gets materialized.
Halloween Costume
What did I have in mind?
Something that reflects me or what I wish to be. So, something cute, girly, cheeky, mischievous, sexy, kinky, food-related, and the spookiness should only happen when exposed to culinary failures, or lack of food/flavor/wit/brain/chocolates, i.e. something like this:
*My illustration, colored by my talented baby sista*
That would be my ideal costumed self: an upgraded version of me, i.e. minus 20 lbs, after numerous sessions of liposuction, major face and full body plastic surgeries, and countless hair extensions, in a super cute, sexy, and kinky cook costume
What will I end up with?
But…due to rarity of such costume, lack of time, dedication and effort to find it, and global economic crisis….I almost decided to go with this good stuff I found in HK Magazine (my HK Bible):
It’s creative, user friendly, one size fits all, flattering for all face and body shapes, and most of all, it is absolutely FREE!
Let’s see if I will really wear it tomorrow (fingers crossed)
Halloween Treats
What did I have in mind?
Loads of things related to pumpkins…such as pumpkin + white chocolate/cinnamon cake/pie/pudding/muffin, pumpkin pasta, pumpkin casserole, pumpkin stir fry, pumpkin sashimi…you name it!
What did I end up with?
However…due to lack of time….I ended up with something horrific:
Apple, Cinnamon & Raisin Oatmeal Muffins
Why horrific? It’s too healthy for my taste, it pretty much scared the shite outta me.
Recipe
(yields 6 muffins)
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup quick cooking oatmeal
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 6 tbsp sugar
- cinnamon powder (up to you, but I use loadsssss)
Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup high calcium milk
- ¼ cup vegetable oil (I use peanut oil)
- 1 egg- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 1 cup apple (diced into small cubes)
- a handful of raisins
Preheat oven to 180C. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl, make a well in the middle. Mix wet ingredients except diced apple and raisins, pour into dry ingredients, mix roughly. Fold diced apple and raisins. Pour mixture into muffin tray lined with paper cups until almost full, bake for about 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. I never thought something so healthy could be so tasty :p
I think I could get away with coming to tomorrow’s office gathering as myself, and simply scare off people by eating all the crappy party treats.
Sometimes I describe my stuff like they are people. Because that's how I think of them. It's creepy, but I feel it. I swear.
...and I am not even the type of person who can talk (out loud) to the thin air/the sun/the rain/myself/pets/babies/plants/stuff around me. I noticed that many people can, and I truly envy them.
I would normally end up sitting at a corner with frustration...watching others playing and "talking" to babies or pets. The "chi goo chi goo" and the "you like that, dontcha? you adorable lil' angel. yes you are, yes you are!" seem to charm the heck outta the concerned babies/pets. It's not that I didn't try...I did! but it just won't come outta me. The maximum I could do is..."hey...ehm...errr...cute? ehm...err...cute." Appalled by my desperate attempts, the babies/pets in question would just cry or go away. Sigh.
It must be a great release just to say everything out, even if it is to someone/something who can't really respond. We just wanna be "heard", right? - I've witnessed friends who talk to their stuff. Some friends talk to their plants, ranging from authoritative commands to desperate pleas, begging them to flower, or asking them not to die..- or some who scream out "Faster! Faster! FASTER!!!" in their room (sounds familiar? LOL!) to their..........computers...hoping they will download, well, faster (hehe)- Not to mention those who love heart-to-teddy bear talks about everything...including financial matters (during economic crisis just like this) or love/heart breaks (he/she loves me/loves me not kinda thing)
All are great! and I am so jealous for not being able to do it...cos I know it helps. Things/babies/pets hear us out. My most recent experience was with my sis' car. It's old, and I was suggesting to replace it with a new one. We were discussing which potential cars she might like...and there and then, right in front of my sis' apartment, the car stopped cold. I think he's (yes, it is a he) pissed.
Same thing goes for my kitchen appliances. Although I don't talk to them, I feel them. I feel my oven's jealousy when I kept using the stove, and vice versa. I think the blender absolutely hates me now, as I almost never use it...and the hand mixer probably feels like a VIP, as I only pulls it out during special occasions when I need to bake fancy schmancy baked goods.
First thing's first, let me fix my relationship with my loaf pan. It doesn't look very happy being used as a storage of spice mixes. Let me utilise it before it gets completely pissed and decides to go rusty on me or something ^_^
Extra Moist Banana Raisin Cake
Recipe
- 1 cup all purpose flour (sifted)
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 eggs
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- a dash of vanilla essence
- 5 small ripe bananas or 3 regular bananas (mashed)
- a couple handfuls of raisins
Preheat oven to 175C. In a mixing bowl, mix flour, sugar, and salt. Make a well in the middle. In another bowl, mix eggs, oil, milk, and vanilla essence. Pour liquid into the well in the middle of the flour, mix well, fold in bananas and raisins, pour into a greased loaf pan or muffin/cupcake mold or lined with paper liners. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
The cake was super moist, and it's perfect with a cup of earl grey.
Now I'll need to do something about that blender. Damage control. Maybe some goo-chi goo-chi you're so cute will do?
Finally! Baked goods with neither banana nor chocolate! HOHOHO! I wasn't exactly feeling experimental, trying to learn new things, yada yada yada....blablabla
I made these simply because:
- There were two large oranges on my dining table (gifts from sous chef's mom, as I don't generally buy and consume oranges), staring blankly at me, almost totally lost their hope of being useful, fulfilling their destiny...threatening to rot then and there in front of me. The idea of rotten oranges with worms coming outta them terrified me more than the fear of having to use and consume them
- My sous chef threatened to report to his mom that I wasted the oranges (she HATES to waste food). I still want to stay in executive chef's good book ^_*
- There was no banana in sight (or the title would've been "Banana Orange Cinnamon Raisins Muffins" ^_^)
Anyways, they turned out light, fragrant, and perfect with my morning jasmine tea (the coffee machine at the office nearest to me is broken!)
Recipe
- 1 large orange, peel skin off, separate orange into tiny pulps (I didn't use the skin and squeeze the juice, I threw in the little segments of pulps. If you wish, you can grate and include some zest, and cut the orange into segments and throw them into blender/processor)
- a handful of raisins
- 1 cup self raising flour
- a dash of cinnamon
- 5 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1/4 cup milk
Preheat oven to 175C. Mix flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl, sprinkle with cinnamon, make a well in the middle. Mix egg, vanilla, oil, and milk in another bowl. Pour liquid into flour, mix it a bit, add orange pulp segments, add raisins (keep some raisins to sprinkle on top of the muffins). Pour about 2 tbsp of mixture into greased muffin tray (I lined mine with paper cups, so no greasing necessary), add a couple of raisins on top, bake for about 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes.
....and...last weekend, I did my favorite weekend activity = supermarket browsing. This time I went to Whampoa's JUSCO Supermarket...and got myself these goodies. I heard about these Oreo goodies from a galpal from the States, but we surely never saw these in Hong Kong! ^_^
I love the softness of this Oreo cakesters. But pleaseeee nabisco, could you produce one without the stuffing? T_T pleaseee
These are great as they aren't too sweet, but a little too crunchy for my taste. I am more of a softie gal.
Let's see how long I can do without baking any banana-related goodies ^_*
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