No-Frills Recipes ... cooking, baking & excerpts on travel

I'm very happy to have been asked to do a guest post for Shirley of 'Enriching your kid'.  But what to make to entice the kids has got my head cracking.  A clinical psychologist by profession, Shirley has a lot of tips on nutrients for growing-up kids in her blog.  You can also read up on the various spices and herbs that she uses in her cooking, baking and other interesting recipes as well.  Do visit  'Enriching your kid' for nutritious and healthy eating and to read my post  ~ 'Hazelnut Mini loaves'.  Thank you!

I've been wondering how to make good use of my Friand pan mould other than making  Blueberry Friands which I've posted earlier.  Then it dawned on me that I could also make use of this shape for cupcakes as well.  The pan mould is also a cup but only  in an oblong shape, so why not?  And so these cute little Orange Cupcakes were born!

This is a super easy dish that I prepared for dinner recently.  There's practiclly no oil in this chicken dish except for the fat from the chicken leg which is very minimal.  If you prefer a light, less oil meat dish, try this!

This is another version of  Meat floss Rolls that I made recently, slightly different from the previous meat floss roll that I've posted which was a loaf .  This time I used chicken meat floss and these rolls can be easily torn apart when you want to 'attack' them!

I've finally managed to get a rather nicely baked blueberry chiffon cake to my satisfaction.  Previously I've tried to bake blueberry yoghourt chiffon with glace blueberries and more often than not the cake ended up with a dense streak at the bottom and didn't rise as much.  This time I used fresh blueberries and I was quite pleased with the result.  I wouldn't dare say that this is perfect  but as long as it's well received by family members, I'm happy!

The weather here in Ipoh has gone crazy!  It's super hot these days and so humid.  You don't need to pay to have a sauna bath for you're getting it free everyday literally sweating in your home with all the fans on full blast.  Yes, what about having the air-conditioner on full day.  Good thinking but watch it, our national electricity supplier is going to raise their rates with effect from July, good timing for them!  I cooked this porridge to combat the weather and to cool our system ..... Ginkgo nut and beancurd porridge. Ginkgo is mainly used as a memory and concentration enhancer, helps to reverse memory loss!  Also supposed to relieve hangovers, coughs and asthma and although is has a high starch content, it's low in fat.  As for nutrients, they are are excellent source of phosphorous, potassium, copper, thiamin and niacin.

I still had some '00' flour with me after making Bak Kwa ~ BBQ Sweetmeat Sandwich Loaf and was browsing through the net looking for another suitable and yet to try recipe.  I stumbled on a post of   Focaccia Sandwich   from    Kitchen Corner   and without much hesitation set my hands on trying out this bread with no reservations!

As mentioned in my   'Steamed Mantou ~ Flower Bun'   post, this is the soy braised pork belly that I whipped up to pair with the steamed buns.  I had made this a day before and over time the meat mellowed and it was so soft and tasty the next day.  This meat together with the sauce complimented the Mantou very well.

Mantou is a steamed plain bun but void of  filling.  It's a staple food in Northern China where wheat and not rice is grown due to the cold weather.  On the other hand, rice is the staple food of the Southern Chinese.  This bun is very versatile, as it can be eaten plain on its own or dipped in sauces of most Szechuan dishes.  Not being a street food back here in Malaysia, mantou are often served in restaurants as an accompaniment with dishes and they are delectable once sponged up in sauces of these delicious dishes.  For an interesting tale regarding the origin of  this mantou, check it out  'here'

I made this seafood rice vermicelli salad and it's not just an appetiser or starter  for me.   It doubled up as another one-dish meal for my dinner and  although  it's light, it can be filling too ..... and what's more, it's really delicious!