Pumpkin in the air

Did I bake on valentine's day? you bet! I had wanted to make something fancy but decided on something simpler, something not at all romantic! Anyways, the motivation came from a can of pumpkin purée and I haven't baked pumpkin bread before.. further the recipe sub. butter with olive oil..hmmm another first for me. The exact experience needed for a novice like me!

At the time of typing this post, the pumpkin bread is still in the oven. The baking time needs 50-60 mins. In the meantime, fingers crossed . Because I have used extra virgin olive oil..wonder it would turn out too rich?

50 mins. 're up! The bread risen nicely (although sunken a little after cooling) ,the colour an appetising golden orange, moist and not too sweet, overall thumbs up from me.


Pumpkin Bread
1 1/2 cups (210g) flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup (200 g) sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (1/4 L) pumpkin purée
1/2 cup (1 dL) olive oil
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup (1 dL) chopped walnuts
(metric measurements in parentheses)

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Sift together the flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda. Mix the pumpkin, oil, eggs, 1/4 cup of water, and spices together, then combine with the dry ingredients, but do not mix too thoroughly. Stir in the nuts. Pour into a well-buttered 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. Bake 50-60 minutes until a straw poked in the very center of the loaf comes out clean. Turn out of the pan and let cool on a rack

source :
http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/000842pumpkin_bread.php#comments

Review : Dr. Oetker Muffin mix

This box of muffin mix kept staring at me in the kitchen since Christmas (got it in a set of gifts). I counldn't resist anymore, I have to give it a go!

Due to my first bad experience (once only) with muffin mix (another brand), which turned out dry, hard, powdery and the taste ....artificial ; I didn't have too high of expection this time round.

Dr. Oetker chocolate chips muffin mix changed my perception of pre-mixes. The muffins were fluffy, wholesome, and didn't taste artificial at all. If you want to spice it up, try twirling in some peanut butter (which i did) or any other jams before baking. It was great for tea time...yum ..satisfying ;)

Note : Included in the box was 1 pkt. of choc. chips, flour mix, 12 muffin cups. Additional fresh ingredients - eggs, milks and oil

What kind of food are you?

Haven't been baking as much as I want to. *sigh* I need to reduce my calorie intake. However, I do have a few more recipes that I will blog later. Meanwhile, let's find out what kind of food are you?

You Are Thai Food

Trendy yet complex. People seek you out - though they're not sure why.

What Kind of Food Are You?

Comfort!

one of the places to visit whilst in Budapest for us is KFC! I tell you it was all worth it going through the hassle of tracking down the only one KFC in the city.
When entering the outlet, you'll immediately noticed the dull ambience, not very KFC-like with bright lited box, colonel sanders plastered around. The neglecting ambience is probably due to fact colonel sanders is relatively unknown here..people prefer the more trendy McD and B King, I guess.

But who cares! I came for the chicken! the crispy deep-fried chicken! I know i know its not healthy..be moderate and I should be fine :p Yummy, it was! I smothered some coleslaw on the chicken and its ooh la la! So yummy, the next morning we decided to pack this christmas set and eat it as brunch...finger lickin' good ;)

what to eat before you die ?

A tough question to answer! at least for me...here's an idea of what others voted for, compiled by BBC "50 things to eat before you die"..scanning the list, wow! I did good! what about you?

50 cornish pasty 49 caviar 48 haggis 47 jerk chicken/pork 46 tapas
45 roast beef 44 ribs 43 octopus 42 Durian 41 mango
40 Australian meat pie 39 scallops 38 kebab 37 reindeer 36 barramundi
35 paela 34 sushi 33 shark 32 guinea pig 31 venison
30 salmon 29 american diner breakfast 28 squid 27 mexican food 26 burgers
25 Greek food 24 sandwiches 23 chocolate 22 kangaroo 21 oyster
20 alligator 19 cream tea 18 lamb 17 cheesecake 16 mussels
15 pasta 14 pancake 13 barbeque 12 clam chowder 11 Moreton Bay bugs
10 Prawn 9 Curry 8 Crab 7 Pizza 6 Ice cream
5 Chinese food 4 Thai food 3 Steak 2 Lobster

1 Fresh fish

Baklava

I love anything crispy, therefore, preparing snacks with filo sheets can be addictive. It's so easy. Throw in any sweet, or savoury fillings, ensure you treat the filo sheets right, throw in the oven cook til golden brown (first grease it of course). You'll get your snack in jiffy and less oily!

Making baklava which uses 30 filo sheets required more "courage" for me, though. In the end, the anxiety was worth it. Not as good as the ones you get in the shop :p but am PROUD and very sure i'll get it better the next time. Do try this at home, i insist !


Baklava

Ingredients:
30 pieces of filo (strudel) sheet
150gm margarine
300gm ground walnut
100gm sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
150gm honey

for the syrup:
1 lemon
100gm honey

Method :-
Pre-heat oven gas mark 3
Heat up the honey with sugar, walnut and cinnamon.
Grease a baking pan, which is the same size as the filo (strudel) sheets, with the margarine.
Put two filo sheets inside, then spread margarine on them, then put two other filo sheets and
so on until 10 sheets. Put half of the walnut filling on it, then 10 new filo sheets again, then the other half of the walnut filling, then the remaining 10 sheets.
Spread some margarin on it in slices with a sharp knife.
Bake it until it has golden yellow colour. (approx 20 mins.)
Pour hot honey and lemon juice – previously boiled in 2-3 dl water - on it.

appetising...

I attempted cook this yesterday. Now who would have thought things can go wrong with such a easy peesy recipe? The rice became mushy when i poured in the sardines, perhaps it is the type of rice and the method of which the rice was prepared (no one uses rice cooker here..can't even find it in electronic shops :(. Then, the canned sardines were tasteless (no ayam brand!!) not tomato-ish enough. In the end, the dish was saved by a simple side dipping sauce of
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sliced chilli with soya sauce saved the day! ;)