EASY HOMEMADE TOMATO SALSA (WITHOUT JALAPENO)

It had been really hot these few days. I started to yearn for cold snacks at night. Since most of our night snacks were chips, I thought salsa would be a good, healthy choice. But it was not easy to get fresh jalapenos in my neighbourhood supermarkets and stalls, in fact, in all my 14 years staying here in this part of the island, I never saw them. So this salsa sadly did not have this main Mexican ingredient, yet the taste was not too far off from how I wanted it to be. Happy =)

Some people do not like the taste of cilantro leaves, but this herb is actually very good for our kidneys maintenance. The bell peppers and lime have anti-carcinogenic properties, the onions and cumin are also good for health as they help to raise our immunity levels. Tomatoes are full of Vitamin C.... so let us dig in!

EASY HOMEMADE TOMATO SALSA (WITHOUT JALAPENO)

Ingredients

4 large tomatoes

1/2 green bell pepper

1/2 yellow bell pepper

1/2 tsp cumin (aniseed), grounded

A bundle of cilantro or coriander leaves

2 small onions

Juice from 2 limes (green lemons)

3 - 4 tbsp tomato ketchp

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

1.5 tsp fish sauce

Method

Just wash and chop up tomatoes, bell peppers, coriander leaves. Mince the onions. Mix everything and place in glass jar to chill.

love the vibrant colours!

my favourite fish sauce (picture from google)

SUPER EASY ALL IN ONE RICE COOKER MEAL

I was down with flu, took medication and was feeling a little drowsy. My hubby and mother in law were both not at home, so I still had to prepare lunch for my boys. What was the best way to cook? Let the rice cooker be chef of the day! 

After sending my number two to get chicken breast meat from the supermarket across the road, I embarked on the mission to give them a tasty (I hoped as my taste bud was on vacation) meal. 

I guess the meal must be pretty good because the cooked rice filled to almost the brim of rice cooker, but when I headed for lunch afterwards, the rice level was down by more than half. Apparently my three boys each had at least two servings!

picture from Google

SUPER EASY ALL IN ONE RICE COOKER MEAL

Ingredients

1 pc chicken breast meat

3 pcs Chinese sausages

1/2 cup dried mushrooms, soaked, diced

1/2 cup minced pork

6-8 cloves garlic

1 onion, diced

4 cups uncooked rice

1 cup Swanson Chicken Broth

2.5 cups water

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cabbage

Method

1. Slice chicken breast meat thinly. Season with light soy sauce and pepper. Set aside.
2. Season minced pork with some light soy sauce, pepper, salt and cooking wine. Set aside.
3. Soak Chinese sausage in water, peel and slice thinly.
4. Clean cabbage, rip into smaller bits. Set aside.
5. Wash rice. Pour everything into rice cooker, except for cabbage. Stir to mix well. Cook as usual.
6. When the rice is cooked, immediately pour in ripped cabbages. Stir to mix well. Cover rice cooker and at WARM mode, let cabbage cook for about 10 min.
7. Serve while warm.

NAPOLEON CAKE

This is my first Napoleon Cake attempt. A good friend of more than 20 years asked if I could make this for her birthday. A search on the internet reveals there are quite a few types of Napoleon cakes: Russian, Italian, French.... As I did not know which version she preferred (she had no idea too) I decided to come up with this instead. I hope she likes it.

NAPOLEON CAKE

Pastry Ingredients (adapted from Let the Baking Begin blog)

100g cold butter, cubed 

160g plain flour

38ml cold water

3/4 tbsp vodka or rum

1/4 tbsp vinegar

1/2 egg, beaten

Pinch of salt 

1/2 egg for egg wash

Pastry Cream Ingredients (adapted from Eugenie Kitchen)

240ml full cream milk

2 egg yolks

40g caster sugar

15g plain flour

15g corn flour

1 tsp rum

1 tsp lemon juice

Pinch of salt

37g butter

37g butter, softened

For Decoration

Blueberries

Strawberries

Berry Jam

Snow Sugar powder

Method

1. Mix cold water, vinegar and vodka in a cup. Whisk in beaten egg and salt. Set aside.
2. Using a food processor, mix flour and butter until resemble bread crumbs of pea sizes.
3. Pour in mixed egg mixture and give a few pulses. Stop when the dough is about to form, sticking to the sides.
4. Pour dough out on lightly floured counter top, gently work to form into a log. Do not over knead.
5. Cut log into 4 equal sizes. Cover with cling wrap and chill for one hour.
   
6. While waiting for dough to chill in fridge, warm milk over low heat in a heavy base pot. Do not let milk become too hot.
7. In a bowl, cream egg yolk and sugar with an egg beater.
8. Sift in plain flour and corn flour. Add in rum,lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Mix well.
9. Scoop out 1/4 cup of warm milk into egg batter, whisk continuously till well combined. Milk must not be too hot lest it cooks the egg mixture.
10. Pour egg mixture back into pot of warm milk. While whisking continuously, turn up heat to allow light boil. Mixture will turn smooth and thick. Cease fire, remove pot from stove.
11. Add in 37g butter and stir till well combined. Allow to cool.
12. Add in softened 37g butter. The pastry cream will become glossy and smooth.
    
13. Scoop cream into piping bag. Set aside.
    
14. Preheat oven at 205C and place baking rack in middle of oven. Prepare 2 baking sheets.
15. On a lightly floured surface, take a piece of dough and roll out to about 1-2mm thick. Transfer to baking sheet. Using a round cover lid as a guide, trace and cut out a round shaped pastry.
    
     
16. Poke holes on the round pastry with a fork. Egg wash and bake individually for about 12 min. Cool on rack. While baking the first tray, prepare pastry for the second tray.

    

    bake the side crumbs too

17. Repeat for all the other doughs.
    
18. To assemble, spread some jam on one of the pastries. Pipe pastry cream and place some fruits to top.
19. Place another pastry on top. Repeat to assemble.
20. Crush the side crumbs with food processor. Carefully stick them to sides of cake. 
    

My first trial batch

used 2 cake boxes to deliver the cake

PAVLOVA

After baking pineapple balls for the Chinese New Year, Little Mouse had some egg whites left. I used some for an angel cake, and decided to use the rest for pavlova. As the meringue is pretty sweet, I top with some acidic fruits and lime zest. Overall, the dessert turned out quite well-balanced, not overly sweet yet crunchy =)

To ensure successful bake, here are a few tips:

1. Make sure there is no trace of WATER or GREASE anywhere on the beaters, bowls and utensils.

2. I use low speed on my electric beater to ensure smooth meringue. I'm using Tefal hand mixer.

3. Bake at a low temperature, and when it is done, open the oven door very slightly (I chucked a chopstick at the top of oven door, it is this slight) to let the meringue cool in oven OVERNIGHT.

4. Do not open the oven door while it is still baking.

5. Best to do this at night as the wait can be agonizing.

PAVLOVA

Ingredients

2 egg whites

A dash of vinegar

100-120g caster sugar

1 tbsp cornflour

Method

1. Line baking sheet with non-stick baking paper. Preheat oven at 130C.
2. In a bowl, lightly beat the egg whites till foamy. Add a dash of vinegar to stabilize the whites.
3. Using low speed, continue to beat the whites and start adding sugar, tablespoon by tablespoon. Add the next tablespoon of sugar only after well mixed. You should get stiff peaked glossy whites.
4. Sift in cornflour and fold gently.
5. Scoop into piping bag and pipe onto the prepared baking sheet.
6. Bake at 130C for about 30 - 60 min, depending on size of pavlova.
7. Once it is done, slightly open oven door and let cool in oven at least 3 hours or overnight. (The egg whites will turn brownish or cream in colour when baked through, that's the way it is. Do not fret if it is not white.)
8. Decorate as desired.

Tips for storage:

Before assembly, store pavlova and meringues in airtight containers.

Pat dry all fruits with kitchen paper towels prior to assembly.

To chill the completed dessert, place dessert in a covered carton box to avoid condensation. The dessert will keep its crispness.

Found in my pantry: dried blueberries, orange (julienne), plum, banana, lime

spread with slightly sweetened whipped thickened cream

Bottom layer

2 layers of pavlova, surrounded with meringues