Mint Chocolate Chips Cakes with Fresh Mint Leaves from My "Herb Garden"

Some people hate mint flavored baked goods/drinks because the minty flavor and scent reminded them of...tooth paste/mouth wash?
How many of you feel this way? I'm curious.
SC is one of them, he absolutely hates mint flavor (when it's not tooth paste/mouthwash/chewing gum/after dinner mints) and always asked me not to bake anything...minty.
I dunno...but I love it, I always order minty stuff from time to time.
I find the flavor, refreshing and cooling, especially love it for summer.

Anyway, I am the one who bakes stuff at home, so I get the final say.
Mint it was.

I used peppermint essence, but to crank it up a notch, I included quite a bit of mint leaves from my tiny and miserable "herb garden". My hands felt all minty after picking these tiny mint leaves. I love it!

Look at those tiny little green spots in the cake...cuter than green food coloring, don't you think?

Recipe
(yields 6 cupcakes)
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- a pinch of salt
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp peppermint essence
- a few sprigs of mint leaves (you can use less, my plant is not really "healthy" so the leaves are so tiny!)
- about 10 chocolate chips per cake

I did this the absolutely lazy way.
Preheat oven to 180C, pour all ingredients (except chocolate chips) into food processor (since I need to break down the mint leaves into tiny spots anyway), pulse until well mixed and the mint leaves are all broken into tiny spots. Pour into muffin tray lined with paper, add chocolate chips, bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Minty fresh!

If I wasn't too lazy I'd make some minted buttercream/cream cheese frosting...but of course I was too lazy.
Maybe next time la.

What other flavors I can mix with mint?

Chocolate Chips and Cheese Muffins - Muffin Coklat Keju

A classic Indonesian flavor combo that I always miss. I love the use of cheeses in baked goods, and tried incorporating them in these easy muffins. They aren't perfect. When used in Indonesian baked goods such as buns, which are normally consumed in room temperature, the cheese would be in a form of small savory bits (not melted) which bring out the best of the chocolate (and/or banana) flavor it's paired with. I aimed for having some gooey, melted cheese, at least when the muffins were freshly baked, but I think I did it wrong. If I wanted some gooey stuff, I should've added a chunk of cheese (and chocolate) in the middle instead of stirring grated cheeses into the batter. Oh wells, I'll try again next time.

The flavors aren't too bad, I did achieve that savory-sweet thing I wanted.

Recipe
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1/2 cup milk
- 3 handfuls of grated cheese (I used mozzarella and cheddar)
- Chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 180C, mix all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, mix wet ingredients (except cheese and chocolate chips) in another bowl, make a well in the dry ingredient mixture, pour wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Add a handful of grated cheeses. Pour batter into muffin tray lined with paper cups until half full, add grated cheeses & chocolate chips, top with more batter, add more cheeses and chocolate chips on top. Serve hot.

Naughty Weekend Breakfast - Corned Beef, Egg, & Cheese English Muffin

One of the things that I love about weekends is...the luxury to enjoy sinful breakfasts.
Right.
As if my weekday breakfasts aren't sinful enough...

One breakfast that I have been missing is..good old McDonDon breakfast.
Sausage egg McMuffin, hash brown, and coffee. Hmmm~
Obviously, my taste, my palate...not so sophisticated after all! :D

Unfortunately, there's no McDonald's near my place.

Dammit!

To solve this lack of McDonDon-ness, I bought a pack of Garden's English muffins, and whipped up this super sinful brekkie last weekend.

"Recipe"
Slice an English muffin into two, slather generously with butter...and place it butter side down on a non stick pan, let it brown a little, take 'em off the pan, set aside.
...and then, let's crank it up a notch.
Slather mayo and ketchup generously on both sides. Yum. Good enough to eat already, but don't!
Not yet.

Since I don't have those artificial, chemically flavored "sausages" that McDonDon serves...I used some leftover corned beef instead. Equally unhealthy, equally sinful, and probably more delicious ;)

I love corned beef the best when it's fried with a bit of oil until you get some of crispy bits...yum! After frying, dump a generous amount of it on the buttered, mayoed, ketchuped muffin.

Then fry an egg...I like mine over easy with some crispy white bits. So heat up quite a bit of oil (I've already mentioned that this is gonna be unhealthy and sinful, right? :D)...crack the egg, let some parts get crispy, and flip. Almost immediately, transfer the egg on the other side of the muffin, we want runny egg yolk, my friend :D

Top the egg up with a slice of cheddar cheese...and the rest...is history.

Is there anything sexier than biting into this tower of sin, including the runny egg yolk?

Well, I can tell you that it's not sexy when the yolk's dripping all over your white sofa.
So, handle with care, folks!

This is only Wednesday but I'm looking forward to the weekend already :)

Mark & Spencer's Double Chocolate Muffin & Mint Tea: My Late Night Snack

Just a quick tea break post :)

Tonight's after dinner late night snack...
Mark & Spencer's Double Chocolate Muffin & Dilmah Mint Tea
I love love LOVE M&S double choco muffins...as they're more cake than muffins...very moist, enough sweetness and super duper chocolatey! I am sure they aren't healthy, that's why I love 'em ;)

...devour them with a cup of hot tea...perfect!

Char Siew (BBQ Pork) Cupcakes

If we can have char siew bao (BBQ pork buns), why can't we have char siew cupcakes, right? The idea has been floating around in my head for a while, and finally, last weekend, I did it!

Did it work? Well, subtly sweet cupcakes with sticky-savoury-sweet-rich-and-hearty BBQ pork filling and topping?
It worked like magic, just like conditioner on my frizzy tangled hair :D

Plus, making these cupcakes should be wayyy easier than making char siew bao.
PS. Not that I know how to make char siew bao...saw it on TV, and believe that I wouldn't be able to do it >.<
PS II. Crazy me. Why would I even think of making char siew bao? I live in HONG KONG for freak's sake :D
Anywayyy....

Recipe
I simply reduced the sweetness of a basic muffin recipe and tried to recreate the flavors of char siew bao filling.

The Char Siew Filling & Topping
- 1/2 lb of store bought BBQ pork or char siew, diced, not too finely, we still want a bit of a bite (about HK$10 and you'll have some leftover, buy HK$20 and you can keep some for lunch/dinner)
- 2 shallot, thinly sliced
- oyster sauce, dark soy, sugar, olive oil
- water (not hot), corn starch

If char siew is not something that's easily available in your area, then you're doomed. Kidding! Simply replace it with BBQ chicken/other meat ala you....or if you wanna make your own char siew, go for it, plenty of recipes are available online. Unfortunately, since I haven't tried any of the recipes, I can't recommend one :(

If you have char siew, we're ready to rumble!
Saute shallot in olive oil until fragrant and softened, add diced char siew, add oyster sauce, just a little dark soy, and a few tsp of sugar. Keep tasting until you reach a balance of savoury and sweet. Thicken the filling with about 3 tsp of corn starch in a bit of water. We want the filling and topping to be pretty thick, not runny, so that it won't leak when placed in or on top of the cake.

The Cake
- 1 cup of self raising flour (or 1 cup all purpose flour + 1 tsp baking powder)
- 5 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp chicken stock powder (or a pinch of salt)
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup olive oil

Preheat oven to 175C. In a mixing bowl, mix dry ingredients, make a well, and pour wet ingredients which has been mixed in another bowl. Whisk until just combined, pour 1 big tbsp of cake batter into muffin tray lined with paper cups, add about 1.5 tsp char siew filling, top with cake batter until the paper cup is almost full. Bake for 10 minutes, add about 1 tsp of char siew filling on top of each cake, continue to bake for 10 more minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.


Hmmm~ breakfast...with a cup of hot tea.

Speaking of char siew cupcakes, I'm not the only crazy one. A good friend of mine, Jason Bonvivant made his version of char siew cupcakes too! Check it out la~

Pineapple Rum Cake - Devirginizing My New Kitchen

How should I devirginize my new kitchen?
- By sacrificing a virgin suckling pig? Nah, too cruel.
- By spritzing holy water all over it? Ehm, maybe some cleaning solution instead?
- With a prayer? Our Father who art in heaven, please bless this kitchen with less food disasters...
- With a ceremony involving dancing naked in front of the kitchen window? Hmm, tempting idea, but may result in multiple law suits from the neighbors...

So I opted to go with baking something dead easy instead.
Pineapple Rum Cake

Pineapple and rum? New best friends in my new kitchen!
Recipe
(yields 6 small muffins and 2 cakes in small ramekins)
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1 tsp rum
- 3/4 cup pineapple chunks (half of very small pineapple, peel skin, remove core, cut into bite sized chunks, or you can use canned pineapple)

Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl, mix all wet ingredients (except pineapple) in a bowl. Mix dry and wet ingredients, add pineapple chunks, pour into muffin tray lined with paper cups until 3/4 full and bake for about 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

? vs !
Now, let me refresh your memory on my old kitchen...

Space? What space? There was almost no working space for me...and don't even think of working on living/dining room. Space is one luxurious thing I couldn't have.

I haven't taken pictures of the whole new kitchen. Surely it is not as spacious as normal kitchens, this is Hong Kong after all, but I am grateful of the every square centimeter (not meter) of working space I could have.

More pictures of the new kitchen coming, stay tuned!

PS. I bet my new kitchen kinda enjoyed the devirginisation ritual. I was gentle. ^_*

Peanut Butter & Nutella Muffins - I'm A Blue & White Junkie

In between crazy work days, checking out the new flat's progress and mad rush packing, I still had the time to smile happily at my blue and whites, stroking them with love, as I carefully, painstakingly wrapped them, individually with bubble wrap. I just love them so much, it is surprising that I didn't paint my whole new flat blue and white.

Look what I've found at the bottom of my harddisk?
Peanut Butter & Nutella Muffins

How could I keep these babies in the corner? PB & N, they are one of my favorite combos ever!
Recipe
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp peanut butter (and more for filling)
- 2 tbsp nutella (and more for filling)
- 1 egg white (you can include the yolk if you want to)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- a dash of vanilla
- 2/3 cup plain yoghurt

Preheat oven to 180C. Mix dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix wet ingredients in another bowl, except peanut butter and nutella. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients, mix a bit, add peanut butter and nutella, whisk until just combined. Pour batter into muffin tray lined with paper cups half way, spoon a bit of peanut butter and nutella in the middle, top off with more batter until 3/4 full, bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Imagine biting into them, right in the middle where the warm peanut butter and nutella filling are...that's sick!

Blue and White Addiction
Now, how do I feed my blue and white addiction? Gawd, Hong Kong is a heaven full of them! Living here feels like a drug addict passing by numerous dealers offering goods at unbelievably low prices all the time, and it ain't easy resisting all the temptations.


This is one of my favorite blue and white joints, look at all those adorable beauties. They look so sad not being bought...all of them are calling my name, begging me to take them home...


Maybe after I get myself a bigger storage so that you can all live more comfortably, my babies...so long...

The shop is in Soho's Elgin St, Central.
Go on, but don't go crazy like me.

Chickpeas, Cheddar & Sausage Cakes- My Blogging Beginning

How did I end up blogging?

This question sent me back to sometime before Chinese New Year 2008. *Whoosh...time traveling*
Damn...I've totally missed my first bloggiversary without realizing it, just like how I've missed uncountable anniversaries, birthdays, and other special occasions of my loved ones. My bad.

I have always been an online exhibitionist. I love sharing what I ate, what did I do, where did I go, documenting, posting and ranting about every mundane trivia, torturing whoever happened to come across my (pre-blogging) Friendster/MSN Space page/Picasa Web Album/Facebook page.

Last year, when I started cooking, my friends and I would talk about recipes etc, and I found that it'd easier to just post what I've cooked, including the recipes in my Facebook photo albums, than repeating the same story again and again via various Instant Messaging mediums (I should join IM-holic Anonymous).

When I was looking for recipes online, I came across Su Yin's blog, The Journal of A Girl who Loves to Cook, and from there, all hells broke loose. I read every single post in her wonderful blog, feeling every moment she documented, and clicked all the links my eyes could see. Her blog led me to Jaden's hilarious blog, Steamy Kitchen, and again, I devoured everything, feasting on the drool-worthy food photographs, rolling on the floor laughing.

Inspired by them, my food descriptions in facebook photo albums was getting longer and longer, soon enough, one album grew to two albums, and I thought, what the heck, let me start a blog just for fun.

Great. And now look at me...totally hooked!

Let me spare you from a never ending nostalgia, which is a more accurate indicator of old age compared to wrinkles (wrinkles can always get ironed by cosmetics, botox, and the best of all...photoshop, but the tendency to blurt out repeated stories of nostalgia doesn't lie)...and share this with you...

Chickpeas, Cheddar & Sausage Muffins

Recipe
(yields 8 cakes, 6 in muffin tray, 2 in ramekins)
- 1 can of chickpeas, drained, pat dry, mash approx 3/4 of them
- 1 & 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1.5 tsp salt
- a dash of black pepper
- a bit of dried mixed herbs (oregano, thyme, rosemary, sage)
- 1 tsp chicken stock powder (optional)
- 6 mini sausages, sliced
- 1/3 cup (or more) cheese (I used cheddar, cut into cubes)
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 180C (350C), season mashed chick peas with a pinch of salt and pepper. Keep sausages, cheese and chickpeas on the side. Mix all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix all wet ingredients in a bowl. Mix dry and wet ingredients well, add chickpeas, sausages and cheese, pour batter into greased ramekins/cake mould/muffins, bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Hearty and savory deliciousness, perfect with my morning coffee or afternoon tea.

Now, tell me what led you to this addiction?

Potato Choco Chips Muffins

Inspirations come and go, but food is forever. Life without inspiration is like cappucino with no coffee, or lemon tea with no lemon, or chocolates without cocoa? W....whatt??? I guess composing profound philosophical quotes is just so not my thing.

What I was trying to say is...sometimes inspirations come from funny sources. Or at least, mine does.

There was an argument in the office...

At work, what would make us feel tinier than small potatoes?
- Job title? "Mochachocolatarita - Dung Sweeper" (Hey! That actually sounds kinda cool!)
- Salary? When it is simply not enough (...to cover essential expenses, don't even think about that piece of foie gras)
- Importance? (we need everybody's opinion on this project. Oh, except you. Remove all the staples from this mountain of documents, make 100000 copies and staple them back, please)
- Workstation? (a spacious corner office with a window, or that square meter spot between the copier and the shredder?)
- The way the tea lady treats you? (instead of calling you "Sir/Mam", washing your cup and serving you tea, she calls you "junior" and asks you to do the cups for her)
- How the upper management remembers your name? (oh yeah, they don't)

Oh my! Sucks, doesn't it? What a depressing discussion!
But the good news is...it got me thinking of a single, leftover small potato left in my spice bin at home. It's too small for a dish, but it's just perfect for baking some breakfast muffins.

Potato Choco Chips Muffins

Recipe
(yields 6 muffins)
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/3 cup caster sugar (you can add more if you like it sweeter)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 small potato, peeled, diced into about 1x1x1 cm pieces, microwave on high for 5 minutes, mashed, let cool
- 2 eggs (you can reduce to just 1 egg to make it taste less eggy)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup milk (or 2/3 cup yoghurt)
- 1 tsp coconut essence (or vanilla essence)
- semisweet chocolate chips (I like lots of it, i.e. at least 10 chips in each muffin HAHA! You can reduce to just around 5-6 chips each)

Preheat oven to 180C (350F), in a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, sugar, and salt. In another bowl, beat eggs, add milk, oil, coconut essence and mix. Pour egg mixture to flour mixture, mix until just combined. Add mashed potato, mix well. You can add the chocolate chips now, but I like adding mine into individual cups after pouring the batter so that each muffin gets equal amount of chips. Pour 2 tbsp batter into each muffin mold lined with paper cup, add choco chips, pour the remaining batter and bake for 15-20 minutes of until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

The muffins taste absolutely divine. Potatoey, slightly eggy, creamy and chocolatey.

This post is dedicated to small potatoes everywhere. Cheers!
Huge goodnesses can come from a small potato.

Ham and Cream Cheese Muffins

You guys know me. The savoury girl who is trapped in a sweet-named food blog.

In case you don't know how the sweet name came about, you can read it here. It's super lame. Don't say I didn't warn you. ;)

I have been going on and on and on about how I prefer savoury over sweet like a broken record (or these days, like a hit party song, remixed by a famous DJ, played in a hot club and everywhere else, over and over again). So don't be surprised to hear this when you go clubbing..."Yo! S-S-S-Savoury is HOT!" (Hmmm. I should pitch/brainwash this idea to a DJ friend).

Because of my love for savoury treats, the phrase "Life is short, eat dessert first" doesn't really work for me. "Life is short, eat lotsa bacon" is probably more appropriate. It doesn't mean that I don't love sweet nothings. I did lotsa lotsa sweet muffins. But every time I had them for breakfast. I secretly wish that I was biting into something savoury, cheesy and creamy instead.

*Ms. No Action Talk Only, please stop complaining and start doing*

Sir. Yes, Sir! Finally, I had enough ingredients in my fridge to bake something savoury for breakfast.

Ham and Cream Cheese Muffins

Recipe
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp chicken stock powder (optional)
- a bit of dried italian herb mix (oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme)
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2/3 cup yoghurt (or 1/2 cup milk)
- 2 slices of ham, cut into small strips/cubes (you can sooo replace this with bacon)
- 1/4 pack cream cheese, cut into approximately 1 x 1 x 1 cm cubes

Preheat oven to 180C/350F. In a mixing bowl, mix all dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix all wet ingredients. Leave the ham and cream cheese for last. Whisk dry and wet ingredients until just combined. Add ham and cheese. Line muffin tray with paper cups, pour batter 3/4 full and bake for about 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

I can't resist to share with you how amazing these babies look, smell and taste, fresh out of the oven.

Rich. Savoury. Creamy. My kind of breakfast.

By the way, guys...I know you love challenges! You got it!
My foodie fellow, Rurie is inviting us to join her event. It's not just foodie event, it is a contest with fantastic prizes too!

Join "know your Indonesian culinary heritage" contest and share your knowledge on Indonesian cuisine as well as fabulous pictures, if not for the prizes. Hehe! The food has to be Indonesian, which is rarely found these days. For Indonesian bloggers out there, the food might be something you noticed and always had when you were a kid, but you hardly see them anymore. Savoury dishes, snack, dessert and drinks. Anything goes! For more information, please click here.

Earl Grey Tea Cake - Is Cake Your Cup of Tea?

Looks like I am really mad about mixing and matching food and drinks recently. First, Spam & Shrimps Virgin Colada, then Ginger Cola Grilled Chicken Wings...and now Earl Grey Tea Cupcakes. Well, as long as I was not mixing and matching alcohol with prescription drugs...while preparing these cakes, I guess we're good :p

How do you like your cup of tea?
I guess it's all relative, eh?
...with breakfast
I like coffee. HAHA! If it had to be tea...then it has to be Hong Kong super rich milk tea or Indonesian jasmine tea with a bit of sugar
...with lunch/dinner
Iced tea, Indonesian style, which means no lemon, no milk, can be with/without sugar, which is reallyyyy hard to get in Hong Kong. In Hong Kong coffee shops, people drink either milk tea or lemon tea. So, my order of iced tea in Hong Kong coffee shops could go as complicated as this: "Iced lemon tea (dung ling cha) with less sugar (siu tim) and no lemon (jau ling)", and I normally get either "HUH??" or raised eyebrow or a frown as a reaction
...with dessert
Hot earl grey/mint tea, unsweetened, no milk. I fell in love with earl grey tea the moment I first tasted it. I love its fragrant, citrusy scent with rich, sweet, decadent desserts. Then again, why not put them together?

Earl Grey Tea Cake

Recipe
(yields 6 cupcakes)
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup + 2 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 cup tea (made of boiling water + 1 bag of earl grey tea)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 egg white

Make your cup of tea first, make it richer than what you would normally drink, let cool. Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl, mix wet ingredients in another bowl. Mix dry and wet ingredients together with a whisk (should not take long, batter should be a bit runny, if too solid, pour a bit more tea). Pour batter into muffin tray lined with paper cups, bake for about 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Do not overbake, as the cake won't be as soft and fluffy.

What should I make next? Fried chicken drinks/dessert, perhaps? (Ew!)

Savoury Pumpkin, Cream Cheese and Bacon Baked Goods - which Pissed Sous Chef Off

Guess what? I am not done with pumpkin yet. Especially since I still have a quarter of mini pumpkin in the fridge which was threatening to go rotten on me.

So I went ahead and pissed sous chef by baking these savoury goodies.

Wait...how did that happen?
It was all because I prioritized baking these goodies in lieu of cooking a pot of rice for dinner.
Oppps, my bad.

Hong Kongers love their bowls of hot and steamy rice...even if they had to eat it with just a few drops of soy sauce, it beats any baked goods I could ever muster. No matter how good and tasty the baked goods were, in sous chef's mind, they will never replace the goodness of that bowl of rice. The absence of rice, made the day so wrong on so many levels for sous chef.

So, imagine hungry sous chef's facial expression of disappointment, frustration and despair upon coming home to face an empty rice cooker. Trust me, it was heart breaking.

I kinda felt bad for the...
Savoury Pumpkin, Cream Cheese and Bacon Baked Goods

...cos they really taste fun-bloody-tastic.
I mean...come on! Look at that pile of rich tasting cream cheese, greasy and crispy bacon, plus fragrant and creamy pumpkin...how could they ever go wrong?

Even the batter looked that good!

Recipe
(yields 8 baked goods)
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup oatmeal
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 1 cup mashed pumpkin (chop pumpkin into small cubes, add 2 tbsp of milk, microwave on high for about 8 minutes and mash with a fork)
- a few strips of bacon (chopped and pan fried until slightly browned, keep the oil)
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup of milk
- 1/2 stick of cream cheese (cut into cubes)
- 1/2 cup of olive oil
- a few sprinkles of mixed italian herbs (rosemary, oregano and thyme)

Preheat oven to 180C. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl, make a well in the middle, add wet ingredients, add pureed pumpkin, add bacon including the oil, set some aside for topping. To ensure even distribution of cream cheese goodness, it is better to add the cream cheese cubes into each cup of batter. Pour a couple tablespoons of batter into muffin tray lined with paper cups or greased ramekins, add cream cheese cubes, top off with more batter, add bacon topping and cream cheese (you could never have enough cream cheese), bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

As expected, sous chef didn't stay pissed for too long...or he might have to live on only bowls of white rice and soy sauce for a longgg longgg time. ^_*

Apple, Cinnamon & Raisin Oatmeal Muffins – My Frugal Halloween

Halloween is near! Yay! Ehm, I love any excuse to celebrate anything, even if it involves spooky stuff. As always, I had lots of plans for this year’s Halloween…and naturally, none of it gets materialized.

Halloween Costume
What did I have in mind?
Something that reflects me or what I wish to be. So, something cute, girly, cheeky, mischievous, sexy, kinky, food-related, and the spookiness should only happen when exposed to culinary failures, or lack of food/flavor/wit/brain/chocolates, i.e. something like this:

*My illustration, colored by my talented baby sista*
That would be my ideal costumed self: an upgraded version of me, i.e. minus 20 lbs, after numerous sessions of liposuction, major face and full body plastic surgeries, and countless hair extensions, in a super cute, sexy, and kinky cook costume

What will I end up with?
But…due to rarity of such costume, lack of time, dedication and effort to find it, and global economic crisis….I almost decided to go with this good stuff I found in HK Magazine (my HK Bible):





It’s creative, user friendly, one size fits all, flattering for all face and body shapes, and most of all, it is absolutely FREE!

Let’s see if I will really wear it tomorrow (fingers crossed)

Halloween Treats
What did I have in mind?
Loads of things related to pumpkins…such as pumpkin + white chocolate/cinnamon cake/pie/pudding/muffin, pumpkin pasta, pumpkin casserole, pumpkin stir fry, pumpkin sashimi…you name it!

What did I end up with?
However…due to lack of time….I ended up with something horrific:
Apple, Cinnamon & Raisin Oatmeal Muffins
Why horrific? It’s too healthy for my taste, it pretty much scared the shite outta me.

Recipe
(yields 6 muffins)
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup quick cooking oatmeal
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 6 tbsp sugar
- cinnamon powder (up to you, but I use loadsssss)
Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup high calcium milk
- ¼ cup vegetable oil (I use peanut oil)
- 1 egg- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 1 cup apple (diced into small cubes)
- a handful of raisins

Preheat oven to 180C. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl, make a well in the middle. Mix wet ingredients except diced apple and raisins, pour into dry ingredients, mix roughly. Fold diced apple and raisins. Pour mixture into muffin tray lined with paper cups until almost full, bake for about 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. I never thought something so healthy could be so tasty :p

I think I could get away with coming to tomorrow’s office gathering as myself, and simply scare off people by eating all the crappy party treats.

Cheddar and Corn Muffins

I am always more savoury than sweet. But I think life needs a bit of sweetness, aye? My idea of a perfect meal is the one that's concluded with a little sweet, rich and decadent thing (which preferably contains more than 70% chocolate? hehe)...and...let me tell you about sous chef's love-hate relationship with desserts and sweets...

A Sweet Conversation?

Year 2006
SC: I hate sweets
Me: Really? You don't like it or are you trying to keep fit?
SC: I really hate it. See! I drink my coffee BLACK
Me: OK, I get it

Year 2007
*noticing SC's over enthusiasm towards Haagen Dasz ice cream, chocolates & desserts*
Me: I remember you said you hate sweets
SC: Oh, not really. It was just a cover up, I need to avoid sweets to keep fit (!!!!), and I have an image to upkeep in front of girls, you see?
Me: right....

Year 2008
*in a conversation about sweets*
SC: Yeah, as I told you before...I don't like sweets. See, I like my coffee BLACK
Me: I thought you said that was just a cover up? Hey! This is me! I know you very well, you don't need to cover
SC: *puzzled* What did I say? I really hate sweets, man. I just eat sweets because you bake
Me: *speechless*

Talk about denial!...or PR talk? or fickle minded? or amnesia? Hehehe...anyway...

I've seen so many muffins and cupcakes around the blogsphere, and I believe if others can do it, I can at least try to fail several times :p...as long as I didn't accidentally melt my chocolate by microwaving it in a metal mixing bowl and blow my kitchen up (touch wood -touch wood - touch wood - this reminds me to get bigger insurance coverage), I love taking up new challenges. Thus, I started to bake.

...and I baked and I baked and I baked. Sweet treats. First, it felt so amazing being able to produce something new. But the novelty wears off, and I craved savoury treats again....so I made...

Cheddar and Corn Muffins

They are perfect for breakfast, with a hot cup of coffee (I like mine with cream and sugar pleaseeee - no denial hehe)

Recipe
(yields 6)
- 1 cup self raising flour
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup milk
- 3/4 cup corn kernels
- 1/2 cup small pieces of cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 175C, in a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt, make a well in the middle. In another bowl, mix egg, oil and milk, pour into flour mixture, mix, add corn kernels and pieces of cheddar cheese. Pour into greased/lined muffin tray, bake for about 20-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Now...I've seen impressive food presentations everywhere. But this one caught my eye. It is a display of Beijing's molecular gastronomy at Shangrila's Blu Lobster by Chef Brian (picture's borrowed from Eat & Travel Weekly magazine). Would anyone care to brush their teeth with this egg white paste...or gargle with this mint wine?

For me, I don't like getting drunk before 09:00 AM (Denial? PR talk? Amnesia? All/none of the above? Hehe)

Curry Tuna Muffins

I'm officially falling in love all over again....
Head over heel, smiling from ear to ear, day dreaming, butterflies in my stomach, can't sleep at night, the world looks like a beautiful place, pollution fumes from the buses smelt like freshly baked cinnamon cookies, C-R-A-Z-Y in L-O-V-E!!
...and the new leading actor in my little day time soap opera is...my stud non stick, easy to clean, 6 cup MUFFIN TRAY!

Finally! After baking unshapely "muffins/cakes/baked goods/thingies" (cross out the inappropriate word), I could bake something which resemble muffins :) I had to hold back and restrain myself not to get my hands on my little stud muffin tray all the time! If only I could...I'd bring it to work with me or hold him in my sleep *grin*

My friends (i.e. my guinea pigs) noticed this infatuation and one of them asked:
A: (upon receiving another sample of baked goods) Do you bake EVERY DAY??!!
Me: NO!...well...not EVERY day...
A: So, every other day??!!
Me: (decided to use the most convenient method on hand...staring at my freshly painted toes)...

OK...you don't have to point a gun to my head...I admit...I might have over-used the tray, but what the heck! Life's short, bake more treats!

I want something savoury, and South East Asian inspired...so....I made...
CURRY TUNA MUFFINS

Recipe
- 1 can of tuna chunks in spring water (remove water and shred using fork, yields about 1 cup)
- 1 small clove of garlic, super finely chopped
- 2 small cloves of shallot, super finely chopped
- 1.5 tbsp of chicken stock powder (you can replace this with normal salt, just use less)
- 1.5 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp curry powder
- 1/3 cup of coconut milk
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 cup of self raising flour, sifted
- fried shallot flakes and dried/fresh corriander for garnish

Preheat oven to 175C, saute the super finely chopped garlic and shallot in 1 tbsp olive oil until fragrant, add the tuna, add 1/2 tbsp chicken stock powder (or a pinch of salt), add curry powder, stir about, set aside. Mix flour, chicken stock powder, sugar in one bowl. Mix beaten egg, coconut milk, olive oil in another bowl. Make a well in the middle of flour, pour the egg mix, stir about, add the tuna (leave some for topping), sprinkle more curry powder if you wish. Line muffin tray with muffin paper cups (or brush with oil), pour muffin mix until 3/4 full, bake for about 25 minutes, 10 minutes before they are done, add more tuna chunks, fried shallot flakes on top, continue to bake until toothpick comes out clean, sprinkle some dried corriander flakes, serve.
I like 'em HOT! Fresh from the oven ^_^

Now I gotta get back to day dreaming about my stud muffin tray...(cue background music...*recommend a love song of your choice here, it has to be the corniest, cheesiest love song EVER!!*)

Check out more yummy muffins at Michelle's Snack Shots event!
....and...there's still time to whip up something to bring for the Chinese Take-Out Party, see you there!