hiatus

recipe: one pot moist chocolate muffins inspired by Christine's blog post and flickr photo

Check out h.tea's muffins too :)

I thought about putting my blog on hold for a period of two and a half months due to upcoming exam revision and exams, but because it has become a habit of mine to bake / cook every weekend, I've decided to minimise that time to compensate for some blogging. From now, blog posts will be limited to around once a week.

And I'm back on twitter! yay!

sultana oat cookies

I was cleaning out my room a few weekends ago and found a folder of ripped out recipes from supermarket recipes. There weren't a lot, so I decided to make what seemed the easiest of them all. Cookies that require only a melt and mix method (like this, this and this) are by far my favourite because they are EASY! I don't even know how long I've been without creaming any butter and sugar :D

Aside from the butter content, I would say these cookies are quite healthy in terms of the amount and variety of wheat products. I like these cookies and would make them again :D
***
sultana oat cookies
recipe adapted from a 2009 Coles magazine
ingredients:

makes 18 (I made around 40, 1 Tb cookies)

• 1 cup self-raising flour
  (I used self-raising wholemeal flour)
• 1 cup Carman's Toasted Muesli
  (I used Vogel's premium oven crisp fruit and nut muesli)
• 1 tsp of ground cinnamon (if not using Carman's toasted muesli)
• 1 cup Sunbeam Sultanas
  (I used golden sultanas)
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 125 g butter, melted
  (I used unsalted butter)
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 Tb honey

method:

1. Preheat oven to 190°C or 170°C fan.
   Line two baking trays with baking paper.


2. Place dry ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine.
   Combine butter, egg and honey and add to dry ingredients.
   Mix well.


3. Drop 2 Tb (I did 1 Tb) of mixture onto prepared trays.
   Press lightly with the back of a fork.
   Bake for 10 - 12 minutes, until golden.
   Cool on trays before storing in an airtight container.

croquettes (コロッケ)

Many thanks to Uncle E who helped with the vegetables arrangement :)
More than half a year ago, it took me a whole night and help from my parents to get these croquettes done. Now I can safely say I can make them all by myself :) Although the frying part was quite scary... still is!
Anyway, made these again at school and they were somehow a big hit among my friends...Old Biscuit had around three?! Mrs Roddick and Douglas suggested I add cheese in them next time. Next time...

mini strawberry pancakes

A table for two, but no one to share with :( I'll invite someone over next time :)
Since I have already established I LOVE breakfasts in a previous post, I shall refrain from repeating myself.

Two weeks ago, the food tech students in my school have just started production in regards to the design folio. As I had time to spare, I was being a busy body looking at what kind of foods other people were making. They were busy making a variety of foods; exotic mango and coconut prawns, sweet and sour pork, turkish delight, honeycomb cake, cupcakes just to name a few. The girl who uses the stove top next to mine was making pancakes!

Seeing her make pancakes reminded me of ラブソーライフ, a manga chapter featured in the April 2009 花とゆめ; a birthday gift from my friends at Chinese school last year.
Anyway the chapter was about Shiharu, a 16 year old babysitter trying to make pancakes with the two two-year-old rascals Aoi and Akane. In one scene, Akane decides to make strawberry pancakes by throwing in whole strawberries inside -_-"
Although inspired by the idea of having strawberries inside pancakes, I did not add whole strawberries to the batter :P And I think these pancakes are the best ever!!
***

mini strawberry pancakesadapted from my previous recipe
ingredients:makes 10 ~ 12 mini pancakes

• 1 egg
• 2 1/2 Tb caster sugar
• 75 ml milk
• 1 1/2 Tb unsalted butter / margarine, melted
• dash of vanilla essence
• 75 g self raising flour, sifted
• 3/4 tsp baking powder, sifted
• 4 strawberries, chopped into small pieces
• unsalted butter / oil for frying

method:

1. Using a whisk, beat the egg and sugar until frothy.
   Whisk while adding the milk, melted butter / margarine and vanilla essence.


2. Add the sifted flour, baking powder and strawberry pieces and whisk to make a smooth and runny batter.


3. Heat a non stick frying pan and add a small piece of butter / drizzle of oil.
   Wipe fat off with kitchen paper and reserve. Turn heat to a medium high*.


4. Add 2 Tb of batter and flip with a spatula when many bubbles appear on the surface.
   Cook other side until golden.


5. Wipe the frying pan with the kitchen paper and repeat step 4 until there is no more batter.


6. To serve, drizzle pancakes with honey and top with half a strawberry.

* For the heat use, I generally start of using a medium high heat and lowering it each time as the pan gets hotter.