Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Tuesdays with Dories - Chipster Topped Brownies


I made these last week and brought them to a friends place as dessert for dinner. I made some in my muffin pan and the rest of the batter went into my square baking pan. The ones in the muffin pan turned out pretty well and were a huge hit. I had to throw away the one in the square pan. The cookie part was done but the brownie part was just brown goo. I did put it back in the oven at a lower temperature but the top got burnt and it didn't taste very good.


I didn't actually taste these, but everyone who ate them said they were really good.

Thanks for the great pick Beth. Please visit her blog Suppilicious for the recipe.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

CEIMB - Thai Style Bocourti with Coconut Curry Broth


My mother is from Malaysia and my father is English. I love curry (and steak and kidney pies) and grew up eating this and other glorious malay food. I only wish i could cook malay food like my mum can. So its no surprise that when i told Mum i'd be cooking a thai fish curry she looked skeptical. You see, as well as being hopeless at cooking malay cuisine, i'm not fond of fish. I love shellfish, but not fish. I'm not allergic, its just that i don't like a strong tasting or smelling fish, and i don't like it cooked soft. It has to be really done before i'll eat it - no sashimi for me!

Its funny how things have different names in different countries. I don't know how many times i have an ingredient list in hand and i'm walking around the supermarket looking for something only to find its called something else. I had no idea what cilantro was and figured it was some sort of vegetable. The supermarket staff didn't know so i had to call my husband and he didn't know, but he did google it for me. Ahh... coriander. I did know it, just by a different name. Here are some others, eggplant - aubergine, capsicum - peppers, scallions - spring onions. THere are more but i can't think of them right now.

Only a couple of changes, i couldn't find light coconut milk so just used normal, and the halibut was a little expensive so i bought bocourti fish instead. Also, i didn't steam the baby spinach, i just added this into the sauce.



Mum did keep a watchful eye over me and was concerned a couple of times. Apparently there are different kinds of curry powder for meat and for fish. Well i didn't know (i bought the meat curry powder), oh well. She also said that tamarind would be a much better sour taste than the lime juice. She was also wondering where the chillies were. A curry with no chilli, she couldn't believe it. I had to add a teaspoon of sugar as the sauce was just too sour.

I really liked this, mum did too but she did say it would be much better with some chilli, i agree :)
The fish was good, firm and boneless (thank goodness). I really enjoyed it.



Big thanks are due to Liz from The Not So Skinny Kitchen for this great choice. Please check out her blog and her recipes, i think i'm going to try and make her cinnamon crumb cake :)

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Tuesdays with Dories - Fresh Mango Bread


This weeks Tuesdays with Dorie pick comes from Kelly from Baking with the Boys.




I was really intrigued by this. The only fruit bread i've ever had is raisin bread so mangoes are definitely different. Luckily mangoes are a local fruit, nowhere near as expensive as imported berries. I got my two cups from one large sweet mango. My inlaws left last wednesday but i was expecting more family on friday. I haven't seen my cousin for 12 years and she is visiting from Perth, Australia with her two kids so a busy weekend ahead. I knew that if i do what i normally do, bake on monday, i'd end up not participating as i'd get too carried away showing my cousin the sights. I thought i'd better get my skates on and get down to baking and CEIMB on the one day i had.




It all went together very easily and didn't take very long at all. I obviously don't pay any attention to what pan or pan size i'm supposed to use. The batter overflowed in the oven, a lot! It didn't make a very pretty loaf but it tasted very good. I tried it once it cooled down and there was a very strong taste of ginger, more like gingerbread. The ginger toned down the next day and you could really taste all the other flavours. It was a big hit, tasty and really moist.



Thanks for a great pick Kelly. Please check out her site here for the recipe.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

CEIMB - Jerk Chicken with Cool Pineapple Salsa


I'm really glad to get back into the swing of things. Lol, after 2 weeks off i have been baking and cooking up a storm :)

When i read the title of this weeks recipe i thought it sounded nice, then i read the ingredients for the salsa. Cucumber and pineapple, together? Hmm. Oh well, give it a try.



I live in a condo in Singapore so there isn't the same level of privacy you get in a house, and after 2 years here i'm still getting used to it. Anyways, i was dicing the cucumber and pineapple, my kitchen window was open and the little girl a floor below was singing at the tops of her lungs Kelly Clarkson's Miss Independent. It kept me so entertained that i just kept on chopping and ended up with double the quantity i needed for the salsa.



I really liked this, i wasn't expecting to but it was really good. I had the chicken and salsa with couscous and raisins and it was great. My kids wouldn't try it but my husband, picky eater that he his, finished his plate.

Thank you Jen from Notes From the Table for this weeks pick. Please visit her site for the recipe.


Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Tuesdays with Dorie - Tartiest Lemon Tart



I'm back!! My inlaws are heading back to Chicago tonight so i thought i could quickly do this tart before they leave. I've been looking forward to making this recipe, chosen by Babette Feasts . I used shop bought shortcrust pastry (bid mistake). I really wish i had taken the time to make my own pastry. The filling was great, a bit bitter but i still enjoyed it. I'll definitely make this again, with the proper crust.


Apologies for the short post but we're packing and trying to get some last minute shopping done :)