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

These crispy straws, full of cinnamon fragrance are perfect for snacking and great to satisfy your hunger pangs while waiting for lunch or dinner to be served.   I kept them in a bottle and they stayed crispy and fresh even after a week. Recipe for Cinnamon dusted puff pastry straws Ingredients 1 piece frozen puff pastry, thawed (store bought Kawan pastry) 1 egg, whisked Cinnamon raw sugar Method Lightly whisk the egg. Roll out the pastry to 1/8 inch thick, then brush with egg wash. Sprinkle the whole surface with cinnamon, then sprinkle on the raw sugar. Cut into 3/4 inch strips with a sharp knife. Twist each strip and place on a  parchment lined baking sheet. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 deg.C for about 15 - 20 mins till golden brown. Let cool and keep in a bottle. Yield :  10 pastry straws.

I'll round off my mooncake posts for this year with this Gold Fish Snowskin Moocakes.  I love the colours of these goldfish and it was indeed an attraction especially with the kids.  The recipe is the same as with my other snowskin moonies except that I use four different colours to 'create' this Gold fish.   Don't you agree that they are too pretty to be eaten? Recipe for Gold Fish Snowskin Mooncakes ~  金 鱼冰皮月饼 ~ 2015            Ingredients 100 gm koh fun (cooked glutinous rice flour) 100 gm icing sugar 32 gm shortening 125 ml ice cold pandan water ( boil 1 cup water with a few pandan/screwpine leaves and keep refrigerated) 320 to 350 gm of cranberry paste Dried cranberries (optional) Chocolate chips for fish eyes Method Sift koh fun and icing sugar into a mixing bowl.  Mix well. Rub in shortening till it resembles breadcrumbs. Gradually add in the ice water and mix into a ball of dough.  Knead lightly to form a smooth dough bu

These days, online shopping is getting very popular especially among the younger generation.  It's so easy to just browse thru the websites and pick and choose what you would like to buy at the convenience of your home.  But have you heard of an online shopping mobile application whereby you not only buy what you want and at the same time sell your stuff too.  Yes, it's Shopee! And what is Shopee?   It is a mobile marketplace specially designed for both buyers and sellers to enjoy fast, smooth and safe transactions.   With their in-app functions, you can convert what you thought is 'thrash' into cash.  It may be thrash to you but someone out there may be looking high and low for this 'valuable' item.  Buyers and sellers come together and they can buy and sell almost anything. Learn more about Shopee from the following links :- Official Website :   http://shopee.com.my/mobile/ Official Facebook :   https://www.facebook.com/ShopeeMY Official Inst

After making the Snowskin Oolong Tea mooncakes, I used up the balance of the paste to make these traditional baked ones.  These mini mooncakes will be perfect as a gift to your relatives or friends as the giving of a mooncake articulates the respect and appreciation the giver has for the receiver. Recipe for Baked Oolong Tea mooncakes ~   烤 乌龙月饼 2015 Ingredients 150 gm superfine flour 90 ml golden syrup 38 ml vegetable oil 2 gm alkaline water Egg glaze - 1 whole egg, beaten and strain. Filling 500 gm Oolong tea paste (store bought) Method 1.      Use a handwhisk to mix  the golden syrup, oil and alkaline water till no oil surfaces.  Sift in  the superfine flour.  Mix lightly to form a dough.  Cover and let rest for a few hours.  (I let it   rest for 4 hours). 2.      Scale dough to 25 gm each, roll into a ball.   3.      Scale filling to 40  gm each. 4.      Flatten the piece of dough with a rolling pin, wrap a ball of filling inside, roll into a b

What is best for dinner in this hot and hazy weather but a bowl of  plain white porridge served with some omelette and a vegetable dish on the side. .....Stir-fry baby French Beans with minced pork. Recipe for Stir-fry baby French Beans with minced pork  ~   四季豆炒肉碎 . Ingredients 100 gm baby French Beans 100 gm minced pork 30 gm preserved radish 3 pips of garlic, chopped Seasoning for minced pork 1/4 tsp each of salt and sugar 1/2 tsp light soya sauce and a dash of pepper Method Heat up some oil in a wok and saute the garlic till fragrant. Toss in the preserved radish, stir-fry. Add in the seasoned minced pork, stir-fry till cooked. Add in the baby French beans and fry till just cooked. Fine tune to taste and dish out on serving plate. Serve with white rice or porridge.  

When I saw a mooncake post with Ferrero Rocher on My Little Space's blog , last year,  I was very much taken in by Kristy's idea.  The Ferrero Rocher will be a very good 'stand in' for a salted egg yolk and I'm sure that the lotus paste with some nutty chocolate will be a good combination too. Recipe for Lotus with Ferrero Rocher Mooncake ~ 2015 Ingredients 150 gm superfine flour 90 ml golden syrup 38 ml vegetable oil 2 gm alkaline water Egg glaze - 1 whole egg, beaten and strain. Filling 600 gm lotus paste 6 Ferrero Rocher (about 20 gm each) Method Use a handwhisk to mix  the golden syrup, oil and alkaline water till no oil surfaces.  Sift in the superfine flour. Mix lightly to form a dough.  Cover and let rest for a few hours.  (I let it rest for 4 hours). Scale dough to 50 gm each, roll into a ball. Scale filling to 100 gm each, wrap a Ferrero Rocher inside the ball of filling. Flatten the piece of dough with a rolling

Festivals come and go and the Mid-Autumn Mooncake festival is no exception.  Honestly, I'm running out of ideas what sort of flavours that I want to create for my moonies this year.  I love the design of this mould and since I could get hold of it from a good friend, and with the Oolong tea paste that I had, didn't hesitate to make these snowskin mooncakes with Osmanthus flavour.  The Osmanthus fragrance complements the tea infused lotus paste perfectly and is indeed a good combination. Recipe for Osmanthus Oolong Tea Snow Skin Mooncake ~   桂花乌龙冰皮月饼   ~ 2015 Ingredients 75 gm kao fun 75 gm icing sugar 24 gm shortening 94 ml Osmanthus tea 240 gm Oolong tea paste Method Make Osmanthus flower tea and let steep for a few mins.  Strain and chill in the fridge. Sift kao fun and icing sugar, mix well. Rub in shortenng till it resembles bread crumbs. Gradually add in the chilled Osmanthus tea and mix till just combined to form a ball of dough.  Knead l