Mini Apple Pie

I used to like apple pie and I will go and buy a slice from nearby cake shop.  I never bake any apple pie because I found that apple pie is usually quite a big portion for most of the recipes.  I was very delighted when my friend share with me a mini apple pie recipe.  This recipe can make only 8 to 10 mini apple pies.  I gathered all the necessary ingredients and I bake the apple pies this morning.

The ingredients that I need are,

For the dough,
1/2cup of butter (softened),
1/2 tsp. salt,
2 cups of all purpose flour,
1/4 cup ice water.
1 egg(beaten) combine with 1 tsp. sugar, 1 tbs. water, for brushing.

Fro the filling,
2 tbs. butter,
2 cups apple,
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar,
1/4 tsp. cinnamon,
1/2 tsp. lemon juice,
1/4 tsp. lemon zest,
2 tbs. raisins(optional)



Core and dice the apples, add in the lemon zest and pour the lemon juice over the dices apples.   Melt the butter in a sauce pan.  Add in cored and diced apple and cook until soften,  about 5 to 10 minutes.

Add brown sugar and the raisins.  Cook and stir until the sugar is dissolved and the juices from the apples begin to thicken,  about 5 to 10 minutes.

Remove apples from heat, add in cinnamon powder and stir well.  Set aside.

Now, prepare the dough.  Combine the flour, salt and butter in a mixing bowl.  Mix together until crumby.  Add in the ice water and mix until dough is formed.

 

Using rolling pin to roll out the dough.  Using pastry or cookie cutter to cut 10 round (4')

 

 

 

 

Place cut dough on the greased baking sheet.  Top half of each round with a tablespoon of filling.  Fold opposite side.

Cut a small slit on top of each pie to vent the steam.

Brush the top of each pie with the egg mixture.

Bake pies in preheated oven of 170 degree C for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

When cool, just loosen with a spatula and they just come right out.

Though the pies are not very pretty, but the taste is good.  I will try and bake this pie again.

 

 



 

 

White Carrot or Loh pak koa

Chinese New Year is just around the corner.  As usual I will bake some of my popular cookies like pineapple rolls, cashew nuts cookies, green peas cookies and fry arrow head chips . This year I wanted to add another goodies , that is white carrot cake (loh pak koa).  In fact I wanted to steam this cake for the last CNY but the carrot was overpriced as the supply was limited.  Fortunately, the carrot is very cheap this year, is only RM 4.00 per kilogram.

I got the recipe from my close friend, Agnes. She steam carrot cake every year as this is the tradition and a must for her family.  She will usually steam the cake 2 days before CNY and I did as her.
I got all the necessary ingredients as follow

ingredients
360 g carrots

40   g (tang mee fun)
40   g corn flour
525 g rice flour
750 g water 

220 g oil of fried onion(5) and garlic(5pips) oil
80   g Chinese sausage
80   g dried prawns
1/2 tbs fried garlic

2 tsp salt
3tsp chicken granules
60 g sugar
1125 g water

Wash and shredded the carrot and boil in hot water for  5 minutes. Drain and squeeze out the excess water. Set aside.

Mix all the flours in the measured water and set aside for later use.
Wash the onions and garlics, slightly crush and pat dry.  Heat up the oil and fry the onions and garlics until fragrant, drain and let the oil cool.
Next, prepare the Chinese sausage and dried prawns.  Par boil the sausage and peel off the covering the it, chopped into small sizes.  Presoak the dried prawns and chopped as the size of Chinese sausage.
In another bowl, mix the seasoning of salt, sugar and chicken granule into the water and set aside for later use.
In a sauce pan, pour in all the prepared ingredients and cook on slow fire for about10 to 15 minutes or until the mixture thicken.

 Remove from fire and pour into prepared tin with grease prove paper  and steam for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until is cooked.

When is cook, remove from steaming and let cool.  Cut into small sizes so that can be kept in container to place in the refrigerator for anytime when you feel like to eat the cake.
I fried some for 1st day of Chinese New Year for breakfast, really taste good with some Kampong Koh chili sauce.  Yum..yum I love it and it is a success fro my first try.

Soya and sweet potato

This morning I want to make use of my  multifunction hi-fibre food processor (Sheline) to prepare bread fast for 3 of us, me, husband and father-in-law,(so ya and sweet potato  tong sui)
the ingredients
40 g soy bean
40 g red bean
20 g black glutinous rice
100 g sweet potato(yam)
1/4 cup coconut milk
30 g rock sugar
1.5 lt hot water
2 pandan leaves

Wash and soak the soy bean, red bean and the black glutinous rice for 3 hours. Peel and cut the sweet potato into about 5cm cube,(usually I will soak in salt water for about 15 minutes before cooking).

The ingredients

The beans and black rice after steaming

As instructed by the manual of the food processor, Pour in 500 ml of hot water into the plastic cup, let the water turn a few round, add in all the ingredients and let the processor to do the work for 3 minutes.  Pour in the rest of the hot water, mix well and pour out into pot. So, the hot and delicious tong sui is ready for our bread fast.

This greenish and brown coloured beverage is the  mixture of soy beans red beans black glutinous rice and pandan leaves.

We add in some crackers into the beverage.

So this is our home made healthy bread fast.

Yam cake

Last week,my friend miss Tee wanted me to buy a meal voucher that cost me only RM6.00. That voucher can buy me a 5 course dinner and some demonstrations. So I went along with her with some curiosity and to find out what kind of dinner we will be served.
Oh, it was a table served dinner with local tofu with egg sauce, curry chicken, salted egg fried lotus root,oyster sauce vegetable and steamed fish. The dinner was more then the value we paid. Worth it.

After the dinner being served, it was show time. Two young men started their work by explaining the important of fibre in our food and finally came to the main point, the multi function hi-fibre food processor called Shelina.  They demonstrated how fine the fibre we can get from the fruits and vegetables when we use this processor, we would not waste any of the fibre like other normal food processor. We were served fruit juices, beverages and even some steamed desserts within half an hour. Really convincing. Finally i bought 1 of the processor.

This is my new food processor

Today tried to make soy milk by my new processor.  I follow the method from the manual. I have to soak the soy beans for 3 hours, then steam for half an hour. Pour hot water, rock sugar or palm sugar ,pandan leaves and the beans and press the on button. Grind for 5 minutes, then the hot soy milk is ready to be served. So simple and drink with all the bean fibre, no wastage at all.

This is the soy milk made by my new processor

The next thing i tried today is to make yam cake by following the simple recipe.

the ingredients

300 g rice, washed

300 g yam (cut into small pieces)

4 tbs oil

8 shallots(sliced)

600ml water

100 g dried prawns(chopped)

1tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

pepper, 5 spice powder

garnishing

chopped spring and red chillies,fried onion

In a wok, heat up the oil, fry the onion until light brown, dish some out for later use. Put in the dried prawns and fry till fragrant.  Add in the yam, sugar, salt, pepper and five spice powder. Stir fry and mix well. Dish out.

In the food processor, pour in the water and the rice. Blend for 3 minutes until the rice is fine. Mix in the fried ingredients and steam for 30 minutes.

I can enjoyed my yam cake within an hour.

It is so fast and easy and I used my own grind rice but not the rice flour form the shop. I will make full  use of this processor so to share with you more.

Steamed Yam cake

Yesterday had tried the Kuih Talam, today I tried to steam yam cake. I got this recipe from from cousin sister from Bukit Mertajam.

The ingredients

300gms yam(cut into small cubes)

30  g dried prawns(soaked till soft and cut into smaller pieces)
250 g rice flour
25   g wheat flour
500 g water

5     onions

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp sesame oil

2 tbs oil for frying

For garnishing
Chopped spring onion, parsley, and red chillies.  Crisp shallot slices.

In a bowl mix water into the flour and blend well.  Heat kuali with the two tablespoon of oil.  Fry dried prawns, onions and yam.  Add seasoning and fry till fragrant. Add in the flour mixture and stir well under slow fire until the batter thicken.

Pour the batter into a nine inch cake tin and steam for 35-40 minutes or until when tested with skiver, pull out clear. Let cool.  Garnish with the garnishing.

This is result of my steamed yam cake.  I like it,cos its full of yam.

Kuih Talam (Steam Pandan Layered Cake)

Many of my friends including me love  to eat Nyonya kuih. In fact, my grandmother was a nyonya from Bukit Mertajam. She was a very good Nyonya cook as well.  She helped to support my family daily expenses by making and selling Nyonya kuih during my childhood days. Business were busier during festive seasons like Chinese New Year, dumpling festival, moon cake festival and  she even  cater for baby full moon celebrations. I used to help her in grating coconuts by using coconut grater(old fashion way), grind rice in to rice flour and other works that needed to be done to make all types of Nyonya kuih. Unfortunately, I did not or never think of jotting down the methods and all the necessary amount of ingredients for those authentic Nyonya kuih and food. All the methods and recipes were buried along with my grandma when she passed away twenty years ago.

Now a day, when I wanted to make Nyonya kuih or prepare Nyonya food,I have to search for recipes from Internet or old recipe books.

Today I tried  to make the Kuih Talam, found this recipe from  an old paper cutting by Amey Bey. I used only half of the recipe from the ingredients below.

For the syrup
250g sugar
15     screw pine leaves,pound to extract juice
450ml water

Combine sugar, water and screw pine juice in a saucepan.  Cook until sugar dissolves. Let cool.

Bottom layer(green)

140g rice flour

40g   tapioca flour

30 g  green pea flour

330ml water

1 tsp  alkaline water

Mix rice flour, tapioca flour, green pea flour and water together. Stir in prepared syrup and alkaline water. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until mixture thickens. Transfer the batter into a greased 22cm square tray and steam for 10-20 minutes.

Top layer(white)
370ml thick coconut milk
40g     rice flour
30g     green pea flour
1 tsp   corn flour
2 tbsp  sugar
130ml  water

1 tsp    salt

Mix all ingredients for the top layer together.  Cook over very low heat until sugar dissolves.  Pour warm mixture over the bottom layer.  Steam for another 20 minutes or until cook.

Cool completely before slicing.

Well, taste good, but not as green as those sell in the market because I did not add any green colouring.

Kuih Lepat Pisang

Bought a banana seedling from Pasar Tani(farmer's market) to plant outside our fence beside the drain. It grew up very healthy and fast. The leaves were big enough for me to make some deserts.  So, I bought a bunch of pisang awak (a type of banana for making local deserts) and decided to make kuih pisang lepat(folded banana desert).  Cut two of the banana leaves from the plant, cut into 15cm by 15cm sizes, washed, par-boiled and wide dry ready for use.

My only banana tree

The ingredients

10 bananas

30 grams wheat flour

1/2 of coconut (only the white part)

1/4 teaspoon of salt (mix into the coconut white)

Smashed the bananas.  In a mixing bowl, put in the smashed bananas, slowly add in the flour, mix well.

 Place two tablespoon of the mixture on a piece of the dried banana leave, then put a tablespoon of white coconut on it, fold up carefully into shape. Repeat with the rest of the mixture.

Steam for twenty minutes. Serve hot or cold.

QUICK AND EASY STEAM EGG CAKE

STEAM EGG CAKE

A bowl of eggs,

A bowl of plain flour

A bowl of sugar,

Half a bowl of coconut milk/

soy milk/water

1/2 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

.

Beat the eggs and sugar till double.  Add in half of the flour and liquid,

mix well. Add in the remaining ingredients and blend well.

Lay grease prove paper on a nine inch round baking pan, pour the

mixture into the pan and steam for twenty minutes.

                                 

Yummy steam egg cake is done within thirty minutes.

         

SWEET POTATOES

My grandma used to tell us that Sweet potatoes was their basic food

during second world war.  Now a day, some of the sweet potatoes are

more expensive then rice.

Sweet potatoes(especially the yellow-fleshed varieties) are an excellent

food because they contain a rich and complete assortment of mineral,

vitamins and amino acids.  The supply of amino acids and B-complex

vitamins found in sweet potatoes cover just about all of the body's daily

nutritional requirement. Amino acids are essential for the repair and

maintained of the body's cells, nails, skin, internal organ, blood vessels,

and red blood cells.

Many think that since sweet potatoes are starchy foods they'll make you

fat.  Actually, eating too many high-fat foods will make you over-weight.

We used to eat steamed sweet potatoes with bread fast.  Sometimes

we will cook sweet potatoes porridge, sweet potatoes desert(tong sui). 

In fact, there are many ways of preparing sweet potatoes.

Recipe for Sweet Potatoes desert(tong sui)

Ingredients

500g sweet potatoes

6 rice bowls of water

50g of old ginger

150 g of rock sugar

4 PCs of pandan leaves

pinch of salt

Method

Peel sweet potatoes,cut into cubes, soak in salt water for 10 minutes,

drain. Boil the water,  add in smashed ginger ,pandan leaves and rock

sugar for about 15 minutes.Add in the sweet potatoes and boil for

another 10 minutes or till its soft.

Serve will its hot.

Sweet Potatoes Porridge

150 g sweet potatoes

5 bowls of water (rice bowl)

1/2 cup of rice(the cup from the rice cooker)

a pinch of salt

Peel the sweet potatoes,cubed and soak in salt water for 10 min.

Wash the rice.Boil the water, then put in the rice and sweet potatoes. 

Boil for 5 minutes  or till the sweet potatoes is soft. Add in the salt.

Let stand for 5 minutes, serve hot with a sprinkling of fried onion

chopped spring onion.