KookyCulinary

Since I had some puff pastry leftover from making the Portuguese Egg Tart, I decided to make palmiers. It is another super easy snack to make and very delicious.

How to make them?

• First, roll out the puff pastry into a rectangular shape.
• Sprinkle a layer of sugar on the silpat or flat board
• Lay the piece of puff pastry on the sugar
• Sprinkle more sugar on the pastry
• Then fold one side of the pastry towards the center
• Then fold the other side towards the center
• Repeat again till the pastry meets in the middle
• Then fold over just like a book
• Wrap the whole pastry in a clingwrap and chill in the fridge for about 1 hour
• Remove from fridge and slice the dough into thin pieces
• Place them on the baking tray and sprinkle a little more sugar on top
• Bake at 450 for about 5 mins or till caramelized. Turn the pastry over and bake for another 3-4 minutes.  

There are some days when a girl just needs lots of chocolate to cheer herself up and this is where this yummy chocolate mud cake comes in. It is very very rich, chocolaty and so so delicious!!! Thanks to Judy for this delicious recipe. Too bad Judy doesn’t blog anymore ‘cos I’ve got one less blog to drool over. I really miss seeing her mouthwatering food!!

I love agar-agar especially those with coconut milk. It’s very easy to make. This is what I usually bring to a potluck when I am too lazy to make anything fancy. But I usually try to use different molds just to have fun. If you are interested in the recipe, it can be found in my previous post HERE.

We just got back from a weekend of camping. It was 40 degrees, wet and freezing. I think we were a little out of our mind but we just got so tired of waiting for the warm weather to arrive. So we packed our car and took off to our favorite campsite, a nearby state park that overlooks the sea. To most people, camping is all about the nature, the hikes, the outdoor fun and such but to my dear husband, camping is all about the food!! He says that even hot dogs and baked beans taste better when it is cooked over open fire & eated outdoors. Do you agree?? : )

While my husband indulges in his meat-laden camp food, I indulge in this sinful dessert - S’mores!!!

Roast a couple of marshmallow till they are a little burnt, then place them on a graham cracker, add a slab of chocolate then top off with another graham cracker, and you’ll have a delicious s’more. The heat from the marshmallow is suppose to melt the chocolate till they are gooey. Unfortunately the chocolate in my s’more didn’t melt much because I had to cool the marshmallow a little before giving it to the little one. I didn’t want her to burn her tongue! But it was still delicious! The little one kept asking for more.

What happens when you let a 3 year old roast her own marshmallow? (with supervision, of course!) You will get marshmallows on fire!!

Vancouver/Richmond Trip Part 2:

After our dim sum at Sun Sui Wah, we headed over to Aberdeen Centre in the Golden Village District of Richmond. Aberdeen Centre reminds me of the malls in Kuala Lumpur. 90% of the shoppers are Asian and most of the shops are also Asian-themed. There is a shop selling bak kua (pork jerky Singapore style), one that sells all the dried & pickled snacks, chinese bookstore, a Malaysian restaurant and many more. They also have my favorite store, a 2-storey Daiso! That’s where I get most of my bento supplies.

Since this is a food blog, I’ll concentrate on their food court. The food court is definitely geared towards Asian customers. Not a burger stall in sight. Some of the stalls include

My favorite thing to eat there - THIS!! Frappe Bliss.

Milk shaved ice topped with strawberry, kiwi, mango, mango ice-cream and a drizzle of condensed milk. Yummy!! It’s just like ice-kacang but the ice is definitely much smoother. Maybe it’s because they use milk shaved ice instead of regular ice It has a melt-in-your-mouth texture.

This one’s with kiwi, strawberry, mango, lychee and grass jelly (chin chow)

Once in a blue moon, I get this craving for mango pudding. When that happens, I head over to the Asian grocery store and get this . . . .

It’s super easy and takes only about 5 minutes to make. Just bring 2 cups milk + 1 cup water to a boil, add in the mango pudding mix. Pour into molds & let it set & cool for another hour. Once it’s cooled, remove from mold and serve with evaporated milk and some fresh mango cubes.

The best part of this instant mix is that you can eat to your heart’s content. A box of mix only cost USD1.70 and makes about 5 rice bowls. If you order one of this mango pudding at the dim sum place, it costs at least USD3 for a measly little bowl!!

Do you like my mold? I used my new agar-agar mooncake mold to make the mango pudding. My gal thought it was the cutest fish ever! Hehe…

I love crepes. It’s so versatile. You can have it anytime of the day. Slather it up with orange marmalade or strawberry jelly/jam, you can have it for breakfast. Fill it up with savory filling like tuna or chicken salad, you can have it for lunch and for my favorite crepe, fill it with ice-cream, banana, chocolate sauce & whipped cream, you’ll have an amazing dessert!!

Recipe:
60 gm butter - melted & cooled
3 eggs - beaten
125 gm plain flour
250 ml milk
20 gm sugar
Pinch of salt

• Sieve flour into a big bowl. Make a hole in the middle
• Add the other ingredients one at a time &  mix it together gradually & whisk till it is well-mixed. Strain if there are lumps.
• Heat up a pan on medium heat & pour one scoop of mixture onto pan. Swirl all around to make a thin layer. Remove when bottom is golden brown. I actually only cook on one side since it is very thin. If preferred, you can flip it over & cook both side.

These are my coconut agar-agar. Cute or not??? hehe……I think I am a little obsessed with cute molds. Now I have a whole cabinet full of cake molds, agar-agar molds etc.. I would have more if I have more storage space. It doesn’t help that I’m staying only 15 mins away from a factory outlet!!! Things are so cheap there. Help!! Is that a cake mold anonymous..err, on 2nd thought, make that kitchen gadgets anonymous??? Please tell me I’m not the only one that has this problem!!!!!Oops, before I digress too much, here’s the recipe for this easy-peasy coconut agar-agar.

Ingredients:

400 ml coconut milk (preferably coconut cream)
400 ml water
100 gm sugar
4 tsp agar-agar powder
Pinch of salt
Pandan

Method:
1. Combine all ingredients in a pot & bring to a slow boil.
2. Remove from heat & add a little coloring & pour into mold. Chill before serving.

Edited to add:
This is the coconut cream & agar-agar powder that I used. ** Note that if you are using a different coconut cream or milk, you will have to experiment with the amount of coconut milk to use. This coconut cream is quite thick. So if you use coconut milk, you will have to reduce the liquid or the agar-agar will be too soft.

This recipe is for the Key Lime Tart I made for the Strawberries Galore .

For Key Lime Filling
Ingredients:
3 egg yolks
1 1/2 tsp grated key lime zest
1 14 oz can condensed milk
1/2 cup key lime juice

Method:
1. Beat egg yolk & lime zest together till creamy
2. Add milk & mix well.
3. Add lime juice & mix well
4. Pour the mixture into the baked crust.
5. Bake for 10 min. Top with whipped cream if desired.

Ever had one of those days that all you want to eat is something chocolately?? Today I felt like that. So here it is, my chocolate fix - BROWNIES

To me, brownies generally fall into 2 categories. Either they taste cakey or fudgy. This turns out to be a really rich and fudgy brownie. Due to its richness, 1 piece was about all I needed! : ) The rest are now frozen in my freezer for my next chocolate craving day.Recipe for this brownie:

Ingredients:

1 cup butter

8 oz chocolate

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup castor sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

3/4 cup toasted pecans

Method:

1. Melt butter & sugar together over low heat till butter has melted.

2. Add chocolate & stir till chocolate has melted and everything is well mixed. Remove from heat.

3. Add one egg at a time and mix well

4. Add vanilla, flour & salt and mix well.

5. Add pecans & mix well. Pour into a lined baking pan.

6. Bake at 350F for about 20 min or till brownies is set in the middle but still slightly soft.

7. Place immediately into freezer. When cold, remove & cut into small pieces & serve.