Sweet and Sour Rockfish

It's called a Rockfish, caught in the Atlantic Sea, near the Irish coast. This was the first time we ever saw this fish, but we bought it nonetheless. We're missing Malaysian style seafood so much and it's very hard to get variety of seafood here in Ireland despite this country is surrounded by sea!!

So, without any hesitation because of our craving, MrHubby paid for the fish (cost17euro for the whole fish! So expensive!!) and we headed home. The very next day, I scaled this fish (took alot of effort!) and cut it into 3 pieces. It was a big fish for us to finish in a single feast ;))

As requested by MrHubby, I cooked Sweet and Sour Rockfish. Let me share this recipe. It's simple and quick enough to make, best served with hot and steamy white rice ;))

Sweet and Sour Rockfish
Source: Myself ;))

Fish:

• 300g portion of Rockfish (you could use Seabass/Seabream/Snapper/Grouper)
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1/2 tsp of tumeric powder
  
• 4 tbsp of cornflour (or enough to cover the fish portion)
• Cooking oil (deep fry)

Method:

1. Clean the fish portion and dry it with kitchen towel.
2. Season the fish with the salt and tumeric powder for 10-15mins. Meanwhile, preheat the cooking oil in a wok/deep fryer.
   
3. Cover the fish with cornflour. And when the cooking oil is hot (190'C if using deep fryer), fry the fish portion for 10-15mins or until cooked. Set aside.

Sweet and Sour Sauce:

• 1 mediun onion (thinly sliced)
• 3 cloves of garlic (smashed)
• 2cm of ginger (peeled and thinly sliced)
• 1 tbsp of chilli paste
  
• 1 lemon grass (smashed)
• 1 leek (cut into chunky pieces)
• 2 tomatoes (chunky cubes)
• 4-5 tbsp of thai sweet chilli sauce
• 2 tbsp of chilli sauce
  
• 2 tbsp of lemon juice
• 1 tbsp of fish sauce
• 1 tbsp of tomato ketchup
• 50ml of water
  
• 3 tbsp of cooking oil
  
• 2 onion springs ( chopped/long cuts) for decorations

Method:

1. Heat up the cooking oil in a wok/saucepan
2. Stir in the onion, leek, garlic, ginger, lemongrass and chilli paste. Cook for about 3-5minutes.
3. Add in the the rest of the ingredients (except the spring onion) and bring it to boil. Turn off the heat and pour the sauce onto the fried fish. Spread the chopped spring onion and it's ready to be served!

p/s: I don't know what's been going on with blogger recently, I couldn't turn around those pics!

Cinnamon Rolls

I've been planning to bake the cinnamon rolls for ages!! And finally I've got time on my hands yesterday evening to bake these rolls. They're delicious and not too sweet for my liking.

So, here is the recipe for Cinnamon Rolls.




Cinnamon Rolls
Source: www.mekarwangi.blogspot.com

Bread dough:

• 250g bread flour (sieved)
  
• 50g plain flour (sieved)
• 50g butter
• 200g mixture of 1egg and fresh milk
• 30g of sugar
• 6g dry yeast
• 1/2 tsp of salt

Cinnamon Sugar:

• 50g brown sugar
• 25g walnuts ( I used 50g of mixed nuts and 50g of raisins)
• 1 tbsp of flour
• 1 tbsp of cinnamon powder

1. Mix everything together.
   

• 50g softened butter to brush onto the dough

Cream cheese frosting:

• 25g cream cheese
• 40g icing sugar
• 25g butter
• 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract

1. Mix everything together with a whisk. The mixture will turn into a creamy cheesy frosting!
   

Method:

1. Mix every ingredients for the bread dough in BM and select dough programme, let the machine do its job.
2. After that, take out the dough and and roll the dough about 20x40cm. Make sure to move around your dough when rolling so that it will not stick to your board.
3. Brush the softened butter onto the rolled dough and leave 1cm the upper dough unbuttered.
4. Spread the Cinnamon Sugar mixture onto the brushed area. Roll the dough together until becoming a log.
5. Cut the log evenly into 16 pieces. Put each pieces into a papercup.
6. Proof the cinnamon rolls until it double the size (40mins to 1hour)
7. Bake in the oven at 160'C for 12mins or until golden brown.
8. Then, while the cinnamon rolls are still hot, glaze them with the cream cheese frosting.
9. They are now ready to be eaten!

So there goes the recipe! Happy baking peeps!

Lemon Thyme Grilled Chicken, Cous Cous and Roasted Vegetables

It's been raining all day today..and most of the days this week. Doesn't feel like summer at all this year! Oh, how I miss the sunshines..we're lacking of Vitamin D this summer!!

Anyway, what did I cook for lunch on this rainy day? As the heading of this post, I have decided to grill chicken legs (finished them in the oven), with some roasted vegetables and cous cous. Cous cous is a kind of grain, can be a substitute to rice or pasta. It's very easy to prepare, literally, took only 5mins to cook! So, if you're in hurry or don't have enough time in your hands, cous cous could be very handy!


So here is the recipe:
Source: myself ;))

Lemon and Thyme Grilled Chicken

• 3 chicken legs (with skin, cleaned and dried)
  
• 1 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of ground black pepper
• 10-15 stalks of fresh thyme (just the leaves) -you could use dried thyme but fresh thyme make so much flavour
• 1 lemon (sliced)
• 2 tbsp of lemon juice
• 1 tbsp olive oil
  

Method:

1. Mix everything (except the lemon slices) and marinade the chicken legs for at least 30mins.
2. Insert the lemon slices underneath the skin of chicken legs. (I also put some of the thymes leaves underneath the skin).
3. Preheat your oven at 200'C.
   
4. Then, preheat your pan-grill on the stove. When flaming hot, grill your chicken leg for 5-7minutes on each side.
5. Transfer your chicken legs onto roasting tray and finish the cooking process in the oven for 10-15 mins.

Roasted Vegetables

• 2 small auberigines (cut into chucky cubes)
• 2 potatoes (chunky cubes)
• 2 carrots (chunky cubes)
• 1 sweet potatoes (chunky cubes)
  
• 2 onions (chunky cubes)
• 4-5 cloves of garlic (smashed)
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of ground black pepper
• 1-2 tbsp of olive oil

Method:

1. Preheat your oven at 200'C
   
2. Mix everything together and transfer them onto your roasting tray.
3. Roast the vegetables for 30minutes or until cooked.

Cous Cous

• 200g cous cous
• 250ml of chicken stock (boiling) -I used 250ml of boiling water and 1cube of chicken stock
• 1 tbsp Spring onion/parsley (chopped)
• Some chopped spring onion/parsley for deorations

Method:

1. Put the cous cous into a big bowl and pour the boiling chicken stock into the bowl. Add in the chopped spring onion/parsley.
2. Immediately, cover the bowl with cling film (make sure it's fully covered) and let the cous cous cooked in the chicken stock for 5-7mins.
3. After 5-7minutes, take a fork and fluff the cous cous using the fork.
4. Spread the chopeed spring onion/parsley on the cous cous. It's ready to be served.

I hope you'll try this easy peasy recipe. And it's so comforting in the rainy day just like today ;))

Apam PolkaDot

I saw this apam recipe a few months back, but had not had the time to make them until last weekend (plus, the recipe requires ovellete and I didn't have it, until I asked my mom back in Malaysia to post it to me). It's quite easy to make but you have to spend time on dotting the batter for the polka dot effect. But of course it's all worth it, they looked so pretty with different colours and they were yummy!

MrHubby who usually doesn't like eating kuih muih also liked this apam polka dot. BabyZara also loved this coulurful apam, and the funny part was, she only ate the polka dots. When the polka dots finished, then, she would ask for a new apam. Hehehe..always make me smiles with her cute, innocent actions.


Apam Polka Dot
Source: www.jintanmanis.com

Bahan-bahan ( 50 biji papercup medium )

3 biji telur-dari peti sejuk (gred A)
275 gm tepung gandum
220 gm gula halus
150 ml susu segar@susu cair
3 sudu teh baking powder
1 sudu kecil ovalette
filling-blueberry@strawberry@apa2 ikut citarasa
pewarna

Cara-cara

1. masukkan semua bahan apam kedal mangkuk mixer dan pukul dengan kelajuan maksima sehingga kembang
2. bahagikan adunan kepada beberapa bahagian,kemudian titiskan pewarna mengikut pilihan
3. masukkan setiap adunan berwarna kedalam piping bag
4. picitkan adunan ke dalam mangkuk kertas-setengah sahaja
5. letakkan filling secukupnya-nak senang masukkan dalam plastik kemudian picitkan
6. picit lagi adunan sama @ warna berbeza sehingga hampir penuh.
7. last sekali dot-dot kan dengan warna pilihan,kemudian kukus selama 10-15minit @ sehingga masak.

The busy week

Another week went by!! How time flies..I've been busy with BabyZara and packing up things for moving out to a new house..So much stuffs still waiting to be packed! And time is running out..we'll be moving to our new house in Letterkenny in 2weeks time.

As the night-sleeping-on-her-own-cot training, BabyZara is doing brilliantly! She is now sleeping in her own cot for 3nights consecutively. I only need to wake up once or twice at night to put her back to sleep without the need to nurse her! I'm so glad that she is a fast learner! Such a brilliant baby she is! She needed 6days of training all together from crying all night that I had to nurse her to sleep to sleeping in her own cot and back to sleep without the need to nurse her when she woke up in the middle of the night. Alhamdulillah..for she is so easy to learn and adapt..the patience and perseverance is the main key.

Anyway, there is one recipe that I want to share, Pasta Bake with Meatballs. It's easy peasy and it's delish! I made this sometimes last week. It's my own recipe (basic idea of meatballs from Ina Garten), you could always alter the recipe to your own liking.


Pasta Bake with Meatballs

Meatballs recipe

• 500g mince beef
• 100g breadcrumb
• 1 egg (lightly beaten)
• 75g grated parmesan
• 50g grated cheddar
  
• 1/2 cup of chopped parsley
• 1/2 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of ground black pepper

Method:

1. Mix everything together until well combined.
   
2. Make round balls until everything finish.
3. Set aside

Pasta Bake recipe

• 250g of fusilli pasta (cook as per instruction)
• 1 jar of bolognese sauce
  
• 1 medium onion (peeled and thinly sliced)
• 4 cloves of garlic (peeled and roughly chopped)
• 1 leek (thinly sliced)
• 5-6 button mushrooms (sliced)
• 3 tbsp of cooking oil
  
• 8-10 cheddar slices or 200g grated cheddar for the topping

Method:

1. Heat up the cooking oil in a saucepan. Add in the onion, leek and garlic. Stir for 3-4minutes. Then, add in the sliced mushrooms and cook further for 4-5minutes.
   
2. Add in the bolognese sauce and bring to boil. Turn off the heat immediately.
3. Add in the cooked pasta, stir in and make sure it's well mixed.
4. Trasfer the pasta and sauce into an oven-proof dish or lasagna dish. Smooth out the surface.
5. Spread the meatballs onto the pasta. Then spread the grated cheese or the cheese slices.
6. Bake in the preheated oven at 200'C for 20-25mins or until golden brown.
7. Take it out and ready to be served.

Cherry Berry Cheesecake

As promised, I'm going to share this cheescake recipe that I've baked for MrHubby on his birthday celebration. This cheesecake recipe is a keeper, even MrHubby who is not a dessert guy really liked this cheescake. It's not overly sweet and so creamy! Will definitely bake this again soon!

Original recipe from: www.mekarwangi.blogspot.com
(some alterations made)

Cherry Berry Cheesecake

Biscuit Base:

• 2 cups digestive biscuits (crushed)
• 6 tbsp melted butter

Method:

1. Mix the two ingredients together and pressed into cheesecake tin ( I used the 10inch cheesecake tin)
2. Chill it in the fridge for at least 1hour

Cheesecake Mixture:

• 500g cream cheese
  
• 200ml of sour cream
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 2 tbsp of cornflour

Method:

1. Mix everything (except for eggs) on medium speed until well mixed. Add in eggs then mix again until well mixed.
2. Pour the mixture onto the base and bake use the water bath at 160'C for 45minutes. Let it cool for at least 1/2hour before spreading the topping

Topping:

• 1 can of raspberries in syrup
• 1 tbsp of cornflour
• Cherries for decorations
• Ready whipped cream

Method:

1. Put the canned raspberries and cornflour in saucepan on medium heat
2. Stir constantly with wooden spoon/spatula until thick and glossy. Set aside to cool
3. When cooled, spread over the cheesecake.
4. Then, pipe the whipped cream onto the cheesecake and decorate with cherries as you please.
5. Ready to be served.

A week away

Oh God..I've been away from this blog for quite sometimes..again..was too busy and tired to write a new entry.

For your info, I'll be starting my job in a month (after a very long break). So I was busy preparing myself for that. Been busy buying new work clothes, went out almost everyday for work clothes hunting! (as my old clothes now are too small for me!!). Oh how I wish I'll get back my old figure..since the Summer sale is just starting, there are plenty clothes for me to pick/choose ;)) My shopping spree has not end yet!

And my younger brother (who is living and studying in Dublin) came to visit for a few days before heading back to Malaysia for his Summer break. Wish we could go back to Malaysia this year..but unlikely as I'm starting my job soon. Maybe next year..InsyaAllah..
While he was in Galway, we went for house hunting in Letterkenny (where I'll be working in July). It took 3 1/2 hours drive from Galway to get to Letterkenny. We've found a house that's in good location and new and affordable. So, the plan is to move in by first week of July.

Oh..and the good news is...MrHubby will be living with us in Letterkenny! (remember that he was posted in Waterford for 2years?) His application to defer his post for a year has been approved!! Yes!! Alhamdulillah..he'll be having a year off..but he has a lot to do..while on a year leave, he needs to study for his MRCP (while doing locum jobs) and hopefully by one year he'll pass at least one exam!

We'll be very busy packing things and unpacking things for the next month! I couldn't believe how much stuffs we have now..BabyZara's stuffs are mounting! Probably we'll donate or sell some old/unwanted stuffs as well..(pening..pening..tgk barang yg berlambak2)

Plus, we have to train BabyZara to sleep without me on her side at night. A doctor needed to be oncalled and my BabyZara will need to sleep without me at night..sigh..since the first day she was born, she has been sleeping with us by her side and she's now 14months!! And during night time she'll breastfeed for a couple of times (at least). There would be no problem during day cos she'll take her breastmilk from bottles..the night time worries me..should start to train her by next week! Have to!! Need to do research on this matter as well before starting this project..

Father-Daughter Time. Zara's telling stories on the stairs (her fav spot)

It's going to be busy month ahead..and of course I'll be busy with work after that..Please God everything will be smooth and easy for our family..amin..

The Weekend

Been away from this blog for quite sometimes! Kinda miss to write and tell our stories..

So what did we do last weekend? I was planning to surprise MrHubby for his birthday and I managed to do that on Sunday 29th May ;)) (And Zara turned 14months on the same day!) But no pressie given as I had not buy him the other pressie that I wanted him to have. So, only birthday cake and food on Sunday. The menu on Sunday were kue teow goreng, seafood sushi, air bandung cincau and of course the birthday cake (Cherry and Raspberry Cheesecake). The recipe will follow in the next few posts. We also had a few company on the day for MrHubby's birthday celebration.

The Birthday Cake (without the candles)

Blowing those candles

MrHubby and his birthday cake

Cutting the cake

One big slice for me please ;))

Before the feast, I had been going out to town 3days prior as I was trying to find him another pressie (bought him an Armani perfume on Thursday). After thinking hard I'd decided to buy him a SatNav. We didn't have any SatNav and MrHubby tried to download the programme into his Iphone once before but didn't succeed. Anyway, I went to Currys on Monday and bought him TomTom SatNav (Via 110) with 5years warranty (should anything happen to it we could get a replacement).  I gave him the pressies on Monday when he came back from work. He smiled ear to ear when he got the pressies and I was glad that he loved them.

Trying to figure out what was inside ;P

Ear to ear..hehe..

Oh, on Saturday morning, we went for a movie..me and MrHubby on a date ;p 

We watched Pirates of the Caribbean while munching on the nachos and sweet popcorn! (They only have the sweet popcorn in EyeCinema Galway, no other cinema in Ireland (as far as I know) sells sweet popcorn!) The movie was really good and we didn't realise that the showing time was about 2 and half hour. And of course afterwards we rushed back to home as I was missing BabyZara so much! Found her soundly asleep in her swing..

Tamak..hehe..both nachos and sweet popcorn were in his hands

Mummy and Zara (she turned 14months on MrHubby's birthday celebration)