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

This is an easy peasy recipe where no mixer is required.  Method is more or less like making muffins.  The texture of this banana loaf is soft, moist and there is a perfect blend between the aromatic bananas and chocolate chips. Chocolate chip banana bread   ~    香蕉巧克力蛋糕 Ingredients 1/4 cup oil 100 gm caster sugar 1 tsp lemon/orange zest 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 1/2 cup choc chips 188 gm plain flour 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 1/2 tsp salt 1 cup (about 300 gm) over-ripe bananas, mashed (about 3) 1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped (optional) Extra choc chips to sprinkle Method Grease and flour a 8.1/2" x 4.1/2" loaf pan. Whisk flour, bicarbonate soda, salt and sugar.  Set aside. Mash the bananas and mix in oil and beaten eggs. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture. Stir in choc chips.  Do not overmix. Spoon batter into the loaf pan.   Level the surface and sprinkle on some choc chips. Bake in a preheated oven @ 180 deg.C for

This is a quick and easy recipe made with store bought puff pastry.   Delicious with fresh apples and sheets of puff pastry.  Serve them for dessert with a scoop of ice cream or just drizzle on some cream. Apple Puff Pastries  ~   简易苹果派           Ingredients 1.1/2 sheets of 8 inch sq rough puff pastry (store-bought) 2 crunchy red apples 2 tsp cinnamon 3 tsp sugar 1 egg lightly beaten icing sugar for dusting Method Thaw the pastry and cut into 6 pieces. Cut apples into half, remove the core and slice into 4 mm thick slices. Arrange the pastries on a parchment lined baking tray. Prick the pastry with a fork and brush with beaten egg. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on the pastry. Arrange apple slices on top and sprinkle more cinnamon sugar.   Bake in a preheated oven @ 200 deg.C for 20 to 25 mins. Let cool and dust with icing sugar. Yield :  6 puff pastries.

The Blue Pea flower is highly valued in Ayurvedic medicine as a memory enhancer, antistress and tranquilizing agent.  In Malay it is called 'Bunga Telang' and its petals are very versatile as it's a great source of natural blue colour food dye.  Initially when I boiled the blue pea petals the colour was a dark blue but after baking, the colour changed to a slightly aquamarine bluish green.  Nonetheless this is a soft and moist chiffon and it's best served with a cup of Blue pea flower tea. Blue Pea Flower Marble Chiffon Cake ~蓝花戚风蛋糕 Ingredients (A) 6 large egg yolks 75 ml vegetable oil 75 ml milk (I used soy milk) 50 gm caster sugar 90 gm plain flour 15 gm cornflour 30 petals of blue pea flower + 100 ml water (B) 6 large egg whites 45 gm caster sugar Method Boil the blue pea flower in 100 ml of hot water, strain out 30 ml juice, set aside to cool. Sift the plain flour, set aside. Whisk egg yolks with sugar, add in oil and milk