Stuffed Bell Peppers

This is a super simple recipe, did it on a work night when we had some company over. Not only does it look pretty, it tastes delicious!

Ingredients:

3 Bell peppers, halved and insides cleaned 

1 large Onion, chopped 

1 shallot, chopped

4-5 button mushrooms, chopped 

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup apricots, chopped

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1 large tomato, chopped

3 tbs tomato paste

2 tbs lemon juice

1/2 cup feta cheese, divided

3 cups cooked couscous

Preparation:

 

My Cupcake Decorations

I just love decorating cupcakes. They are small enough to handle and I don't get bored because I can have different decorations for one batch. Here are a few pictures of what I have done.

Strawberry Jam

In the Spring, strawberry is of abundance in Switzerland. You can go to a farm, get a basket and pick your own strawberries as many as you like, even eating along the way, and paying a fraction of what you would at a store. My boys love strawberries and can eat a pound just by themselves. But when you find yourself with too many strawberries on hand, here is an easy recipe that can turn your strawberries into jam in no time. 

Ingredients:

2 lbs strawberries, hulled and crushed

3 cups sugar

1/4 cup lemon juice

Preparation:

1. Mix all ingredients in a heavy sauce pan. Cook on low heat until sugar dissolves. 

2. In the mean time, stick a small plate in the freezer. 

3. Turn up to a boil and continue to stir mixture. If foam appears, spoon them off with a stainless steel spoon. 

4. Once the mixture start to thickens, test if it is the consistency you want using the frozen plate. Put a drop on the plate and return the plate to the freezer for 30 seconds. Take the plate out and tilt to see if it runs. If it is too runny, continue to boil the mixture and test again. Always test a bit early (once it starts to thicken) since when it is too thick it will be too late to salvage.

5. Once mixture is done, let cool and transfer into glass mason jars or preserving jars. You can skip the pasteurization step if you keep the jam in the fridge.  Shelf life is about 8 weeks if kept in a preserving jar in a 5 deg C refrigerator.

This picture: the jar on the left is a Preserving Jar, made in France. I think this is best to keep jams, jellies and preserves. The jar on the right is a Mason Jar. Sterilization and pasteurization are needed but the good thing is that you don't need to refrigerate the jars before opening. 

Beef with French Beans

This is a super easy recipe when you are pressed with time but want to cook something delicious. The ingredients are quite basic that I always have in my pantry. You can substitute the french beans with any kind of vegetable and it works just as well. 

Ingredients: 

350 grams lean ground beef

200 grams french beans, cut the ends and cut into 2 inch length

1 large onion

3 garlic cloves

Salt

Black Pepper

Ground Ginger

Paprika powder

1 tbs butter

1/8 cup sesame oil

Preparation:

1. In a wok, boil about 2 cups of water and sprinkle with a little salt. Once boiled, cook french beans until just soft to the bite. Set aside.

2. Drain all water from the wok, heat buttet and fry onions and garlic until fragrant. 

3. Add beef and season with all ground spices. Once half cooked, add sesame oil. Cook until done. 

Serabi

Serabi is an Indonesian dessert similar to a pancake but best eaten when it is swimming in its palm sugar coconut milk syrup. I love it for a companion of my afternoon tea. Here's a simple recipe that I have tried (and modified from the original) that is delish and easy to make.

Ingredients:

7 gr rapid rise yeast

50mL warm water (not more than 120F)

1 tsp granulated sugar

100g all purpose flour

100g rice flour

Pinch salt

600mL coconut milk

2 eggs, losely beaten

Pandan flavor

150mL hot water

30g palm sugar

75mL coconut milk

Preparation:

1. Stir warm water and sugar, sprinkle yeast on top it and let it sit for 10 mins.

2. In a medium stainless still bowl, mix flour, salt and yeast mixture, slowly adding the coconut milk. Continue to mix.

3. Strain the flour mixture so no lumps are present. 

4. Add in the eggs and flavoring. Mix thoroughly. 

5. Heat a small pan with a little water and wait until water bubbles (use a sunny side up pan or a serabi pan if you have one), discard water.  

6. On the lowest heat, spoon 1.5 ladle of the serabi mixture and let cook covered and undisturbed for about 5 mins. Uncover the pan, turn the serabi upside down and let cook covered and undisturbed for another 5 mins. Repeat until mix is finished. 

7. Sauce: dissolve palm sugar in water and slowly mix in the coconut milk. Add a  pinch of salt. 

8. Serve serabi with a small ladle of sauce in a small bowl. Warm serabi is the best :)

Nasi Kuning

Nasi Kuning (meaning "yellow rice" in Bahasa Indonesia) is a traditional rice dish cooked with mainly coconut milk and turmeric. It has a fragrant smell due to lemon grass.  This dish, with all its trimmings, (such as fried chicken, spicy eggs, cucumbers, potato cakes) is usually served at a major festivity (birth, wedding, anniversary) and it is made into the shape of a cone, resembling a mountain, called a Tumpeng.  More about that in this blog but now, here's my recipe for the nasi kuning.


Ingredients:
3 cups rice, washed, set aside in a rice cooker
3 shallots
5 garlics
3 tbs water
1 tbs sunflower oil
1 stick lemon grass, break into 2 to release the oils
2 leaves of bay leaf
250 mL coconut cream
250mL water
2 tbs turmeric powder
1 tsp sugar
salt to taste

Preparation:
1. In a blender, chop shallots and garlic with 3 tbs of water until its consistency is soft and homogenous.

2. Heat oil in a pot at medium heat, add the chopped onions and stir fry until fragrant.

3. Add coconut cream and water, stir slowly with a wooden spatula until liquid warms up.

4. Add broken lemon grass, bay leaves, turmeric powder, sugar and salt. Stir and increase the heat.  Cook until it almost comes to a boil.  Do not boil as it will break the consistency of the coconut milk.

5. Add all the liquid and leaves to the rice in the rice cooker.  Press the cook button and cook while stirring occasionally.

Jasmine's Basic Bread

This recipe is really easy and it always comes out nice and soft. The cheese retains the bread's softness and adds a lovely taste too. I use mozzarella but you can use any cheese you wish. You can have it plain for a dinner roll, fill it up with chocolate or extra cheese, or roll it up and make sausage buns. 

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

1/3 cup unsalted butter, room temp

7g rapid rise yeast

4 cups all purpose flour

1 cup mozzarella cheese

1/3 cup granulated sugar

3 egg yolks

1 tsp salt

Method:

1. Warm milk and butter until butter melts up to 50 deg C. Sprinkle yeast on top and let sit for about 5 mins.

2. To the yeast mixture, add flour, half of the cheese, sugar, egg yolks and salt. Mix until all incorporated and becomes a nice dough. Add a bit of milk if dough is too dry. It should nice pull apart. Form into a ball. 

3. Lightly grease a bowl and place dough in it. Cover and let raise until double in size (around 1.5-2 hrs).

4. Place dough on a lightly floured work surface, deflate and knead 2-3 times. Cut into 24 equal pieces (or 12, 16, 18 depending on your preference). At this point you can fill them if you wish. 

5. Place on buttered baking dish, cover with plastic wrap and let sit for an hour. 

6. Brush buns with egg yolk wash and place in 190 degC oven until golden brown. 

7. Remove from oven and immediately brush with melted butter.

Egg Tarts

I love egg tarts and there was a restaurant in Singapore that we used to frequent where I can eat 15 of these in one go! <please don't try this at home 😜>.

I was searching for a recipe that was easy to make and voilà! Finally found it. I  modified it to suit my baking capabilities and it works well. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Pastry:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

200g butter, room temp but not soft

1/8 tsp salt

1 tbs sugar

2 tbs cold water

Custard: (prep while pastry dough is in the refrigerator)

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup hot water

3 eggs

1/2 cup evaporated milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 drops yellow food coloring

Method:

Pastry:

1. Combine flour, butter, salt and sugar by hand, breaking the butter into small pieces within the dry ingredients. Work into a dough but just so that small pieces of butter is still visible.

2. Form the dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and place in a refrigerator for 20 mins.

3. Take the dough out of the refrigerator, flatten into a rectangle and evenly roll it out to be  around 50cm in length and around 20cm in width. 

4. Fold dough into thirds like an envelope, turn 1/4, roll again to be 50cm in length and fold into thirds. 

5. Cover folded dough with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for another 20 mins. 

6. Take the dough out and roll to about 50cm in length. 

7. Cut dough to fit in the aluminium tins and fit them in. 

Custard:

1. Dissolve sugar with hot water. Let stand until room temp.

2. Whisk eggs, milk, vanilla and food color. Add liquid sugar into the egg mix.

3. Using a fine mesh, strain egg-sugar mixture until no lumps and bubbles are present. This can take 5-6 times. 

4. Carefully pour mixture in the pastry tins. Take care to ensure there are no bubbles at all. 

5. Bake at 200C for 25 mins, checking periodically. Egg tarts are done when a toothpick comes out clean and it jiggles when shook. The surface should be a glassy finish. 

Easy Mongolian Beef Stew

Ingredients:

300g beef, cut in cubes against grain

1/4 cup cornstarch

100mL soy sauce

400 mL water

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, sliced

1/4 cup brown sugar 

1 tsp ginger

6 baby potatoes, cut in two

3 carrots, cut

1 cup green peas

1 stalk green onion, thinly sliced

Method:

1. In a zippy bag, coat beef with cornstarch. 

2. Mix all ingredients except vegetables in a small cooking pot.  Add beef and mix together. 

3. Heat up pot to boil and quickly reduce to the lowest heat and simmer for 60 mins or until beef is tender. Stir frequently and make sure no sugar or soy sauce is burnt at the bottom of the pan. 

4. Once beef is tender, add potatoes and carrots and cook until tender. 

5. Mix in green onions and ready to serve. 

Japanese Cheesecake

Ingredients:

300g cream cheese

50g butter

100mL milk

60g cake flour

20g cornstarch

1/4 tsp salt

6 egg yolks

1 tbs lemon juice

6 egg whites

140g granulated sugar

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Method:

1. In a double boiler, whisk cream cheese, butter and milk until smooth.  Whisk in dry ingredients, followed by egg yolks and juice.

2. Beat egg whites until foamy and add gradually sugar and cream of tartar. Continue to beat until shiny and stiff. 

3. Fold in meringue into yolk mixture, 1/3 at a time. 

4. Pour mixture into a 9-inch cake pan which has been lightly greased and lined with parchment paper. 

5. Bake at 160C for 70 minutes in a water bath.