Clam Chowder

We went to the Maritime (New Brunswick, PEI, Nova Scotia) for our honeymoon in July 2006. Other than beautiful scenery, as you expected, seafood were abundantly served over there. We enjoyed the cold and hot served lobster and we luvvv this particular clam chowder, to be honest with you, it was my first encounter with this thick seafood soup. I have been wanting to make it on my own after, but just happened almost end of last year (notice the printed year on the picture). I got the recipe from here claimed as the best clam chowder. The verdict? Not bad..but not as yummy as what we had during our honeymoon, or we were just so happy at that time and food would taste the yummiest!

Ingredients:

- 3 can minced clams
- 1 cup minced onion
- 1 cup diced celery
- 2 cups cubed potatoes
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 3/4 cup butter
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 quart half-and-half cream
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (I omit this one, since I didnt have it)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

Drain juice from clams into a large skillet over the onions, celery, potatoes and carrots. Add water to cover, and cook over medium heat until tender. Meanwhile, in a large, heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Whisk in cream and stir constantly until thick and smooth. Stir in vegetables and clam juice. Heat through, but do not boil. Stir in clams just before serving. If they cook too much they get tough. When clams are heated through, season with salt and pepper.

A bonus picture of us having lobster for dinner. Now I'm drooling....aren't you?

Steamed Zebra Cupcakes (Bolu Kukus Zebra)

Bianca is always excited every time I made these cupcakes (sorry for the old picture, back dated 2y ago..oh my..). She just loves them.. How bout the rest of our family? Of course they love them too. Normally I made them not too sweet, so that we can eat it more and more. The recipe source is: here.

Ingredients:

450g granulated sugar (decrease the quantity for less sweetness)
500g all purpose flour
1tsp baking powder
4 eggs
300mL water/light milk/coconut milk (the cupcakes on the picture were made with coconut milk)
1Tbsp emulsifier
1tsp choco/pandan/mocha essence (I used orange and choco for the above picture)

Directions:
Mix flour and baking powder all together in a bowl, keep it aside. Whisk sugar, egg, emulsifier until fluffy and thick, then add the flour mixture and coconut milk alternately while keep mixing it. Separate the batter into two and add the essence into one of them and mix it well. Pour into the mould alternately (plain and colored batter) until 2/3 high. Steam for 20min.

A bonus picture to show you how they love the cupcakes..

Colorful Stir Fried Lunch

One of these days, I stocked up a lot of vegetables in the fridge and felt like cooking them all at once, before they were going rotten. Thus, this is what I chose...easy to prepare, healthy and yummy. So happy to see the kids eating it fast..(patting my own chest..you know, how hard it is to get kids eating veggies).
Here is my "not so secret" recipe:

Ingredients:
300g chicken thigh, cut into strips
1/2 red bell pepper, cut
1/2 yellow bell pepper, cut
1/2 orange bell pepper, cut
some cauliflower
a bunch of asparagus, cut
some mini carrot
100g mushroom, cut into half
1/2 onion, chopped
4 garlic, chopped
3 cm of ginger, bruised
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp oyster sauce
1 Tbsp corn starch
1 Tbsp rice wine
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
Oil for sauteing
water

Directions:
Marinade chicken meat with soy sauce+rice wine+sesame oil+corn starch for 15min. Saute the meat with vegetable oil until changing color. Add chopped onion, garlic, and ginger and continue to saute until cooked. Add oyster sauce and some water (app. 100ml). Cook until boiling, stir occasionally, add sugar and stir well. Add the rest of ingredients accordingly (the hardest first). Cook until just barely cooked.

Steamed Seasoned Tofu+Shrimp+Mushroom (Botok Tahu)

Don't you just love the name of this meal? It is steamed, it's meat free (except for the little tiny shrimp, which you may omit)..it has to be healthy! And it's my husband's fave..it reminds him of a quiet remote place somewhere back in Indonesia. The fact, it is easy to prepare and so tasty..(I especially love the fragrant that came from the banana leaves). No need to believe me, just prove it yourself.

Ingredients:
4 blocks of medium firm tofu, mashed
150g small shrimp (no skin)
1 can of straw mushroom, discard the water
1 can of coconut milk
1 Tbsp of chicken broth powder
1 tsp of ground white pepper
2 egg
6 cloves of shallot, thinly sliced
8 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
8 chili paddy, sliced (adjust the quantity to your preference)
2 stalks of lemon grass, cut into 4cm in length
4cm galangal, sliced
bunch of Indonesian bay leaves
bunch of lemon basil leaves
salt and sugar
banana leaves and toothpicks for wrapping

Directions:
In a big bowl mix well all of the ingredients, except bay leaves and lemon grass. Take a piece of banana leaves then place one bay leaf and a cut of lemongrass and top them up with the mixed ingredients. Wrap it and seal it with toothpick as shown on the above picture. Steam them for 45minutes. Serve warm with warm steamed rice.

Gulai Daun Kale - Kale in Spiced Coconut Sauce

I always wanted to make this veggie meal, the original version normally using Cassava leaves. This food is widely known in Sumatra, Indonesia. Since I am not able to find fresh Cassava leaves here, I replaced them with Kale. And the taste was as good as the original version.

Ingredients:
- Kale (a bunch), trimmed and boiled, drained
- 75g fried/baked anchovies
- 1 stalk of lemongrass
- 2 Indonesian bay leaves
- 1/2 can of coconut milk
- water as needed
- salt
- sugar
- oil for sauteeing

To crush:
- 8 cloves of garlic
- 4 cloves of shallot
- 5 candle nuts
- 4cm of galangal
- 8 chili

Directions:
Saute the smooth spices with oil until fragrant. Add lemongrass, bay leaves, anchovies and coconut milk. Cook until boiling. Add salt and sugar to taste. At last add the boiled kale and mix them well.

Chocolate Pudding with Vanilla Sauce - Happy Valentine's Day!

So it is here again with all its sweetness, Valentine's Day! Don't you simply love this particular day? Though love should be shared each of every day, but this day is to express your feeling to your beloved in a special way. Here is a simple recipe to sweeten up your day. Happy Valentine's Day all!

Recipe from here. Beware of addiction (...but chocolate has anti oxidant in it, so do not worry! eat more and stay healthy :P).

Ingredients:
For Pudding:
1 package of agar powder, app. 8g
50g granulated sugar
200g dark cooking chocolate, melted
400mL water
100mL sweet condensed milk, you may use whole milk and then add some more sugar and reduce the water volume added
1 egg yolk, slightly beaten

For sauce:
1 tsp vanilla powder (I used vanilla liquid)
1 Tbsp cornstarch
200mL sweet condensed milk
pinch of salt
1 egg yolk, slightly beaten
300mL water
I added 1 tsp rum (to my sinfulness...:D)

Directions:
For pudding:
Wet/rinse pudding mold with water. Set aside. In a sauce pan, mix well sweet condensed milk, agar powder, sugar and water. Boil at medium high heat and stir constantly. Add melted dark cooking chocolate and mix well. Dissolved beaten egg yolk with 2 Tbsp of this agar mixture. Pour it into the sauce pan, mix well and continue to boil. Remove from the heat. Wait for 3min until the vapor gone. Pour it into the mold. Keep it in fridge. Serve cold with vanilla sauce.

For sauce:
In a sauce pan, mix well vanilla, cornstarch and salt. Add sweet condensed milk and water. Boil at medium high heat and stir constantly. Dissolve beaten egg yolk with 2 Tbsp of this mixture. Pour into the sauce pan and stir instantly until thicken. Remove from the heat and stir in the rum. Refrigerate before serving.