white truffles

truffles in the kitchen:

whitetruffles — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 15:04:05 +0000

cupcakes

the 1st pic shows some of the sugarless banana walnut cupcakes with vanilla butter cream topping (recipe given in previous post)

these were made for marissa's first birthday in may

as they were also meant for adults i added nuts

the 2nd pic shows reduced sugar banana cupcakes with same topping but tinted with food coloring

these were made for lizzie's last day of school party last term in june

for the topping i actually used caster sugar and icing sugar

this gave the topping a little sugary texture!

See the full gallery on posterous

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truffles in the kitchen:

whitetruffles — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 14:54:29 +0000

sugarless banana muffins

my neighbour who's a good baker lent me this book when i went to her for baking tips cos i'm really bad at baking

moreover, i was hoping to bake sugarless sweets (haha so ironic) for my diabetic mom-in-law and daughter

i tried making sugarless cupcakes and muffins using the banana nut loaf recipe by omitting the sugar

the result was very good

better than any diabetic recipes i've tried

for mini muffins (3×4), bake for only about 10 to 12 mins or until brown on top

for bigger muffins (2×3) bake for about 15 mins or until brown

because lizzie doesn't like nuts, i omit the nuts too during mixing

*one thing to note though, use very ripe bananas

if you are not using big bananas, substitute with 6 small Dole bananas

to make icing for 12 cupcakes (from "cupcakes" by susanna tee):

whisk 85g of butter soften until fluffy

then sift in 175g of icing sugar

beat together till well mixed

then add 1 tbsp of milk and 2 – 3 drops of vanilla essence

just take a knob of unsalted butter, whisk till light and fluffy, add icing sugar and a few drops of vanilla essence

put the icing in a piping bag and decorate the muffins when they are cold

decorate with sugar beads or walnuts or pecan

* i don't follow the recipe strictly. i just take about 50g of butter and add about 2 -3 tbsp of icing sugar and melted dark chocolate

See the full gallery on posterous

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truffles in the kitchen:

whitetruffles — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 14:39:11 +0000

coconut chicken with lemon rice

tried this recipe from olive magazine, may 2009

it's really simple and delicious!

looks impressive too!

lizzie could eat this too as it's not really spicy and she liked it!

great dish to serve when you have a bunch of friends coming over for dinner

you can pre-cook the chicken and heat it up again just before serving

rice can be cooked in rice cooker after frying all the ingredients together

alternatively, you can serve with noodles or bread

i used a whole chicken, chopped, instead of chicken thigh fillets

i also substituted half the required coconut milk with evaporated milk for health reasons!

try it

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truffles in the kitchen:

whitetruffles — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 14:35:58 +0000

meat balls, organic apples, grilled seabass and carrots

ran out of gas when i just started cooking lunch!!!!!!

took out an induction cooker which was meant for boiling tea to cook lunch!!!!!!

father in law bought it from china for just about S$30

we've used it to do shabu shabu!

it was really useful in times like this

unfortunately, my non-stick tefal pan cannot be used on the induction cooker

so i cooked the meatballs from may issue of goodfood magazine in my muffins tray in the oven

the vegetables and sauce in my wmf stainless steal pot on the induction cooker

i couldn't remember the recipe and used the following to make the meatballs:

200g of minced pork

2 small eggs beaten

about half of a large onion, finely chopped

2 slices of white bread soaked in milk and roughly torn up

some black peppercorn

mix the above ingredients with your hands and roll them into desired sizes and shapes

then coat with plain flour before pan frying or baking

i stir fried half of the minced without salt and gave them to marissa my one yr old

the other half, i lightly greased the muffin tray with olive oil and bake six big meatballs in the oven at 200 degrees for about 30mins until golden brown

need to turn the meatballs half way

to make the sauce, melt 1 tbsp of unsalted butter, add some stock if you have and enough plain flour to thicken the sauce

add dill as suggested in the goodfood recipe or any vege of your choice

then stir in the meat balls

serve with rice or mash or pasta

this is not the best meatballs i've tried but they're ok

the best i've tried are a little more complicated with more ingredients

will share some other time

had a deliciously sweet organic apple for snack when kids were napping

for dinner, kaif bought fantastic seabass and carrots from culina

we simply stuffed a few slices of ginger in the fish stomach and rubbed olive oil, sea salt, chopped garlic and black peppercorn on the fish

season the carrots with olive oil, black peppercorn and rosemary herbs

then set oven to grill and cook the fish and carrots (whole) for about 40 mins

need to turn over the fish half way when the top is brown and skin looks crispy

See the full gallery on posterous

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truffles in the kitchen:

whitetruffles — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 14:24:36 +0000

asparagus

was reading the goodfood magazine (may issue) last night and learnt some tips on cooking asparagus from this recipe

though i later found out online that it does not have good ratings, i gathered 4 useful tips:

1) green asparagus take about 3 – 5 mins to cook depending on the thickness

2) to test if it is cooked, pierce the spear or stem with the point of a knife to see if it slides in easily

3) if you don't wish to shave the woody stems of the asparagus which can be quite tedious, you may hold one asparagus at each end, then bend – it will break where the tough woody stem meets the more tender and edible tip

4) don't throw away trimmings and ends as they make a great stock for soups and risottos

so i tried cooking my other bunch of asparagus in the fridge today

i did not follow the recipe

i did not bend the asparagus till it breaks where the woody stem meets the edible tip

i didn't want to waste it cos i'm not making any stock today

i shaved the stems lightly so that they will not taste woody but tender when cooked

i sauteed them in butter and finely chopped garlic with a pinch of salt

i tested how long i needed to cook them properly

it was good

marissa, my one year old, loved the asparagus!

amazing!

ingredients

1 bunch of asparagus (rinsed, trimmed slightly and the woody part of the stems lightly shaved, then halved)

1 clove of finely chopped garlic

1 level tbsp of unsalted butter

a few drops of light olive oil to prevent the butter from burning

1 tbsp of cooking liquid

1 tsp of fried shallot oil (optional)

method

melt the butter in a non stick pan over medium heat

add the olive oil

add garlic and fry till fragrant but not brown or coloured

add asparagus and coat them with the butter

add cooking liquid and a pinch of salt and stir well (how big a pinch depends on how salty you like your food to be but a very small pinch makes a lot of difference as salt brings out the flavour of food in a very amazing way)

cover with a lid

remove the lid after about 3 – 5 mins (depending on the thickness of the asparagus) and test by piercing the asparagus with the point of a knife -

when cooked it will slide in easily

transfer to serving plate when cooked and spoon over the shallot oil if you have

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truffles in the kitchen:

whitetruffles — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 14:19:23 +0000

"steamed" bicourti fillet with asparagus

i had some left over bocourti fillet and a bunch of japanese asparagus in the fridge

so i decided to saute the asparagus (uncut) in a table spoon of olive butter

and cook the fish in the oven

ingredients for marinating the fish:

1 bocourti fillet

1/4 tsp of sugar (optional)

1/4 tsp of fine salt (optional)

a pinch of fine white pepper or black peppercorn

1 tsp of finely grated ginger

1 clove of garlic finely chopped

a handful or a small bunch of chinese corriander, roughly torn by hand

2 tsp of light olive oil

ingredients for sauteeing the asparagus:

a knob or 1 tbsp of olive butter or unsalted butter

a few drops of olive oil

1 clove of garlic finely chopped

1 tbsp of water or stock* if you have

a bunch of asparagus with the woody stems trimmed and shaved slightly with a sharp knife (i use the thicker stem ones)

ingredients for a light sauce to spoon over the dish:

2 tbsp of water or stock from the fish

1 tsp or a few drops of light soya sauce

1 tsp of sesame oil

toppings (optional):

crispy sliced onions, chopped garlic and ginger

method:

rub the marinate ingredients on the fish and marinate in the tin foil for at least 30 mins

leave it in the fridge till you need to cook it

preheat the oven at 200 degrees and bake the fish fully wrapped in tin foil for 20 to 25 mins

there will be some liquid produced during the process of cooking the fish, which you can use to make the sauce or gravy

melt the butter in the non-stick pan

add the garlic and fry till fragrant but not brown

add the asparagus and coat them well with the butter

when it seems a bit dry, add the stock and cover with a lid

lift the lid and check constantly for doneness

when the asparagus are cooked, they still have a nice green colour, darker from its uncook look, tender but not soggy

they should be removed from the heat and transferred to serving plate immediately

they will continue to cook a little even after they've come out of the pan!

do not cover greens when they are hot or they'll turn brown!

when the fish is ready, transfer it on top of the asparagus

heat up the sauce and pour over

spoon over some crispy onions, garlic and ginger if you have!

* i cook some ikan bilis (dried anchovies) and soya bean stock sometimes and it can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days

the stock come in really handy for a quick soup with egg and tofu or minced pork balls

See the full gallery on posterous

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truffles in the kitchen:

whitetruffles — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 14:10:25 +0000

bicourti fillets with grapes

lizzie can be very difficult when it comes to meal times

but she likes any dish that has fruits in it!

this is one of the dishes that she enjoys!

my method is an adaptation or simplified version of annabel karmel's fillet of sole with grapes (from her new complete baby and toddler meal planner)

i bought a couple of frozen thawed bocourti fillets from ntuc

melt a knob of butter in a non-stick pan (add some light olive oil to prevent it from burning)

add a clove of finely chopped garlic to it and fry till fragrant

add the fish fillets (rinsed and dry thoroughly with kitchen towels) and pan fry till a bit golden but not overly cooked so that the fish will still be tender

transfer fish to a plate and garnish with seedless grapes halved

note: i don't add salt to the fish as it's also meant for my one year old. but you may rub salt on the fish before frying it or use salted butter or grind some salt onto the cooked fish after setting aside for toddlers below 1

serve with rice or porridge

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truffles in the kitchen:

whitetruffles — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 11:39:58 +0000

Click here to download:

bocourti fillets with grapes – truffles in the kitchen.webarchive (948 KB)

bicourti fillets with grapes

lizzie can be very difficult when it comes to meal times

but she likes any dish that has fruits in it!

this is one of the dishes that she enjoys!

my method is an adaptation or simplified version of annabel karmel's fillet of sole with grapes (from her new complete baby and toddler meal planner)

i bought a couple of frozen thawed bocourti fillets from ntuc

melt a knob of butter in a non-stick pan (add some light olive oil to prevent it from burning)

add a clove of finely chopped garlic to it and fry till fragrant

add the fish fillets (rinsed and dry thoroughly with kitchen towels) and pan fry till a bit golden but not overly cooked so that the fish will still be tender

transfer fish to a plate and garnish with seedless grapes halved

serve with rice or porridge

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truffles in the kitchen:

whitetruffles — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 11:19:40 +0000

chicken rice

my lizzie loves chicken rice

but i'm not keen to give her hawker food all the time as it's loaded with msg and salt

the easiest way to cook this is to buy a packet of the ready mix and cook it with your rice cooker

but i'm skeptical of all these commercial ready mix stuff even though some claim to have no msg added

you never know how much salt and sugar and substitutes are added

hence i thought of a way to cook chicken rice quickly, easily and still as tasty for just 2 adults or 1 adult and 2 children

i do this while the kids nap

takes me about 30 to 45 mins to prepare and cook

if the instructions are not clear below, do let me know because this is the first time i'm writing down a recipe!

ingredients for boiling the chicken and making the stock:

2 chicken thigh with skin on, rinsed

2 slices of ginger peeled

2 stalks of spring onions (just the white part)

2 small shallots peeled

2 small cloves of garlic

ingredients for cooking the rice:

1 cup of white long grains, rinsed

thinly sliced ginger (think enough to pick out cos kids don't like it)

1 clove of garlic

chicken fat from the 2 thighs

chicken stock enough to cook 1 cup of rice as indicated by rice cooker

salt

ingredients for the sauce:

3 tbsp of chicken stock

1 to 2 tbsp of light soya sauce

1 tsp of sesame oil

some fried shallot and it's oil (i bought the commercial ones!)

alternatively, use the cooked garlic and shallot from the stock

for garnishing:

fried shallots

chinese corriander leaves

method:

place all ingredients except chicken in a small pot of water (about 500ml ) and bring it to boil

while waiting for water to boil, place chicken fat in a non-stick pan over small to medium heat, take care not to burn it

add chicken to boiling stock and bring it to boil again (you may add a pinch of salt)

turn down the heat and remove the lid

simmer for about 20 to 30 mins depending on the size of chicken thighs used

if the chicken is not fully covered by stock, cover the pot half way with the lid so that the top part of the exposed chicken can be cooked by the steam

using a ladle, remove any impurities that come to the surface (if the water is boiling, the impurities will be drawn back down to the bottom and the skin of the chicken may tear, so it's important to make sure that the soup is barely moving)

while this is happening, add ginger slices, garlic and sliced shallots to the pan which should be very oily by now and the chicken fat turning golden

fry till fragrant and ginger slices turn golden

then add rice grains to fry till they turn opaque, slightly puffed up and fragrant

remove from pan and transfer into a rice cooker and set aside till the chicken is ready

remove chicken after 20 mins and place on a plate to cool

to check for doneness, prick the middle of the thigh and clear liquid should flow out if it's cooked

add the chicken stock and salt to the rice and cook

cooked rice can be kept warm in the rice cooker till dinner time

just before serving, heat up the sauce and add the crispy shallots or crushed cooked garlic and shallot

blanch some pak choi in the remaining chicken stock just before dinner time and spoon over some sauce and shallot oil

cut the thigh with scissors and spoon sauce over

to make nice chicken soup, season with salt or add chicken stock cube

See the full gallery on posterous

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truffles in the kitchen:

whitetruffles — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 08:58:22 +0000

cupcakes made from the banana walnut loaf recipe

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the 1st pic shows some of the sugarless banana walnut cupcakes with vanilla butter cream topping (recipe given in previous post)

these were made for marissa's first birthday in may

as they were also meant for adults i added nuts

the 2nd pic shows reduced sugar banana cupcakes with same topping but tinted with food coloring
these were made for lizzie's last day of school party last term in june
for the topping i actually used caster sugar and icing sugar
this gave the topping a little sugary texture!

Posted via email from white truffles