I cook sometimes. I eat all the time. And I take photographs of them. So here are the results of my food exploits (and some other things when I feel up to it). As much as possible, recipes will be vegetarian. (All photos taken by me, unless otherwise stated.)
It's the twelfth day of Christmas and I'm going to pretend that it's not a Monday for a moment. I always think I write and doodle better when practising than when doing the actual pieces, which is quite upsetting. Made some mistakes with this one but it's a long piece of writing that I'm too lazy to redo. Oh wells. 4 of #100typographydays
I know I haven’t been updating in like, forever. Haven’t had the time to bake/cook much and write long posts about it... Sorry to disappoint if you were expecting food porn ("finally om-noam updates! But what is this crap?!") but here’s a little update on what I’m up to (apart from work and embarking on my Masters dissertation).
I spent New Year’s Eve at K’s with T doing art and learning to write with my new calligraphy nib. Here’s a picture of our New Year resolutions.
Check Instagram hashtag #iEMwriting to track my progress!
I have been so busy, I missed the blog's first birthday even though I told myself to post a recipe. I'll get it up once May 12 rolls over! It's approaching faster than I thought it would and it scares me so much, even though I desperately want to get this assignment over and done with.Â
Amidst my writing (misery), S delivered a Triple Milo cupcake from Fluff Bakery to my doorstep, along with all sorts of goodies from NZ!
It's such a thoughtful and delicious gesture, I'm shedding tears as I type this and look over to see an empty cupcake wrapper.
I've been so caught up with the crapload of crap in the real world, I've been neglecting tumblr (and my vocabulary's obviously affected as well). I don't know when the next update will be, but here's a (crappy iPhone-quality) photo just so you (whoever's still reading this?) know that I'm not dead. Yet. Sorry to keep your hopes high for the past 3 months only to disappoint you.
So, here's a good ol' bowl of goodness before I begin on my readings. And shhh, that's not crushed Lotus biscuit hiding in my muesli and walnuts.
P/S: Tumblr crashes and logs me out whenever I try to have a quick update using the app on my phone. Is it only me that Tumblr hates?
The weather has been rather unkind these days, and there were more days than one when I wished so badly for some hot chocolate. So the cold weather was what inspired my Christmas presents this year - hot chocolate kits!
When I saw thecakebar's post on snowman marshmallow, I thought that it'll be a perfect addition to the hot chocolate kit. It's really quite simple too, though I must admit I got really lazy drawing the mini snowman faces after a while, especially when I had a battalion to make. I also made chocolate stirrers, but packed in store-bought gingersnap cookies because making snowman minions exhaust me.
Nonetheless, I'm finally done with my homemade Christmas presents, and I'm quite pleased with them. Had one myself with a peppermint candy cane stirred in, and topped with coconut whipped cream. Yum!
Banana and Yoghurt Muffins with Brown Butter Streusel
This was something I made a really long time ago. Then it took me forever to write the post, and am now only putting it up as a filler to my long absence because of my laziness. Really, someone needs to slap me out of it.
After having had some savoury muffins (Avocado & Brie, and Spinach & Cheese) for breakfast previously, I decided I wanted a sweet one too. I love bananas in muffins; they make muffins sweet and keeps them moist, and I craved for some so badly, I bought a single banana and waited for it to ripen and grow spotty. Yes, a single solitary unripe banana. And I waited, and waited, and waited. I must be quite patient, after all.
Ingredients (makes 12 regular or 16 mini muffins)
Dry Ingredients
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Wet Ingredients
1 cup low-fat vanilla yoghurt (I used 98% fat-free country vanilla cream. LOVE!)
1 egg
2 tbsp skim milk
1/4 cup canola oil
2 ripe bananas, mashed
Streusel topping
60g butter
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Preparation
Brown butter:Â
1. Brown sliced butter in a pan over medium heat, stirring frequently with whisk. It will bubble and foam up, and light brown specks will begin to form at the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat when you smell a nutty aroma. Allow to cool in an airtight container before chilling in refrigerator. Allow to rest later at room temperature again when ready to use. Butter should be soft enough to blend.
Muffins:
2. Preheat oven to 205C
3. Sift all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
4. In a separate mixing bowl, combine all the wet ingredients.
5. Add wet mixture to the dry mixture and mix; careful not to over mix.
6. Fill muffin cases or greased muffin pan to 2/3 full
7. Streusel:Â Combine all ingredients for streusel topping in a mixing bowl using a fork or your fingers (make sure they're clean!)
8. Top each muffin with streusel topping and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean
Craving satisfied! Teehee!Â
Actually, no. These were made some time back, and I no longer have any left. I only made half the batch (for good reasons too; these don't keep long) and I kinda want one now. Kinda.
Who am I kidding? I want one NAO! BAH-NAH-NAH!! Â
I'm finally done with work and assignments, and am a liberated soul. At least, for the month. Now that I have so much free time, I don't know what to do with it. I'm so lazy, I've only been doing minimal cooking.Â
Lazy meals include things like a baked store-bought frozen tempura fish on herb tortilla and a quick avocado-cucumber-tomato salsa I put together. Lazy meals can taste pretty good though.
I've been thinking about my bagel since yesterday after grocery shopping, and I finally got to eat it this morning!
1. Cut bagel into half and toast lightly. It has to be halved exactly. Yes, I mean it.Â
2. Combine minced garlic, parsley, oregano, thyme and ground black pepper with softened cream cheese. Schmear mixture over toasted bagel halves.
3. Top with cucumber slices. My Japanese cucumber slices sat around the bagel hole so neatly; I'm very pleased with them.
4. Top with thin tomato slices, followed by avocado slices.
5. Squeeze a little lemon over, sprinkle with ground black pepper and sea salt, and eat!
I craved for more even though I was stuffed after half the bagel. I think bagels might be my new obsession. Oh, dear!
My life is so sad right nao that the only thing vaguely exciting going on is my grocery haul. Argh, I hate you, Assignment!
But yay, avocado, caramelised fig yoghurt, bagel, plenty of white peaches and NATURAL PEANUT BUTTER; HI I FINALLY FOUND YOU!
And yes, I'm posting about groceries. BAH!
Cream cheese and blueberry compote on brioche makes good breakfast. Even better when you have creamy scrambled eggs on the side. Oh, and good coffee. Good coffee is a must.
It’s sheer madness; the amount of writing I have to do, but here are old photos from one of those cafe hunts I love (and miss) doing.
Just so you know I’m not dead. Not yet, at least.
I went grocery shopping last weekend and single-handedly bought and lugged home 8 kg of groceries. Nope, it’s not me being greedy. I’m preparing for war, DUH.
In other news, I’ve reached 100 followers! - tosses imaginary confetti into the air -
106 to be exact, excluding those who quit on me midway (meh you!). Thank you so, so much guys; every single one of you! And it’s been less than 6 months since I started this blog, I don’t even know how this happened!
To celebrate, here’s some Chai Latte and Date Oatmeal.
Okay, hear me out before you cringe and go Ack! Ewww! GAH!
I know that’s what you’re doing because I can hear you! Oh yes, I can! Hokay, I know because I would normally start gagging and rolling all over the floor, screaming in horror whenever presented with something disgustingly healthy…like celery juice. (WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? THOSE THINGS DON’T BELONG IN A CUP!) But while oatmeal lowers your cholesterol too (along with a lot of other health benefits), it is not green Mr. Awful dancing in a cup, and it is actually yummy.
I remember having to douse my muesli in chocolate milk when I was a kid. But now that I’ve grown and my taste buds have matured, bowls of warm, comforting oatmeal topped with plenty of goodies look really good to me. So I decided that while oatmeal is healthy (really healthy, it seems!), it does not have to be disgusting. I read up online on tips and recipes to cook oatmeal (I wish I was this diligent when it comes to writing my 5k-word assignment), and decided to try my hand at making some. “Try my hand at making some” is an understatement. I bought myself 2 HUGE bags. (What? There was a special deal for the lovely bags of premium Australian oats). That’s pretty bold of me since I’ve never cooked oatmeal before, and if I fail, I’ve got loads of leftover oats to worry about. Thankfully, I don’t have to start putting oats all over my face as some sort of facial regime because I enjoyed my first bowl of oatmeal. Alright, I’ll admit that when I first saw (and tasted) its stickiness, I was like WTFooh! But I quickly got used to its texture and enjoyed it, really, and am now looking forward to trying out a lot more recipes!
Chai spices sounded like it would make bland oats really exciting and yummy (and easily made vegan!), so that was what I decided to try out first. I made mine with my favourite Bengal Spice Tea from Celestial Seasonings and it turned out quite wonderful. I was torn between using milk (to add flavour) and using water (to cut calories) to cook my oatmeal, and decided to use a combination of both. Spices and the tea gave it extra flavour so I imagine omitting the milk to be good as well, if you want a vegan breakfast but do not have non-dairy milk. So here it goes!
Ingredients (serves 1 to 2)
1/2 cup rolled oats
1-2 chai teabags (2 if you want a stronger flavour!)
1/2 cup non-dairy milk
1/2 cup water
1 to 1Â 1/2 tsp raw sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp mixed spice
small pinch of sea salt
3 dates, chopped
splash of non-dairy milk, to serve
extra ground cinnamon, to serve
extra raw sugar, to serve
Preparation
1. In a saucepan, bring milk, water, teabags, sugar, cinnamon and mixed spice to a boil. Lower to a simmer, whisk well and let steep for 10 minutes.
2. Squeeze any liquid out from teabag and remove. Taste and adjust sweetness and spice accordingly (I was tempted to drink it all, but don’t!). Bring chai latte to boil again.
3. Lower to a simmer and add oats. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove oatmeal from heat and let stand for 2-5 minutes to allow more liquid to be absorbed.
5. Spoon into bowl and top with a splash of milk, chopped dates, and a sprinkle of ground cinnamon and raw sugar.
My oatmeal turned out thick and creamy while my oats remained slightly chewy, which was the perfect texture for me. If you like it more mushy and creamy, stir constantly while cooking oatmeal. For a thinner texture, simply add more water or milk. Enjoy!
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