Cupcakes

Cake Mix

I thought I would never use another cake mix ever again since I watched Masterchef. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with cake mix... just that there is a "taste" to it that homemade cake does not have... it taste like "cake-mix cake"!

Well, the recipe from the Good Taste Mag is to use the White Wings Sweet Heart Chocolate-Vanilla Cupcakes. The advantage to use the cake mix is that I have extra time to play around with the decorations.

AWESOME!!! They look so Pretty!!!

Rogan Josh

Day 3 of Home Cook Challenge 2011

I made this Rogan Josh curry... whatever Rogan Josh is.. it comes in a can, so that is EASY!!!

From my "trusted" Wikipedia, "Rogan josh is from Kashmir, very popular in India, Pakistan, Singapore and UK. Rogan means oil in Persian, while Josh means heat, hot, boiling or passionate. Rogan josh thus means cooked in oil at intense heat."

It tasted kinda differ to the other curry e.g. korma, red/green etc... it has a bit of bitter taste to it.

Very interesting fact is that - According to Wikipedia, "traditional Kashmiri Pandit recipe which strictl EXCLUDES onions." So, the Good Taste mag (recipe, add 1 brown onion) is not so traditional! Anyway, the spices that are used in Rogan Josh includes cardamom, cinnamon, clove, ginger, cumin, aniseed, saffron, fennel, red chillies, garlic, tomatoes and almonds.

Day 2 Cooking Marathon

Cooking Marathon DAY 2

I am actually quite excited. Cooking for fun and there may be a prize at the end! Taking photos of my creation - that's what Asian do anyway, so I think I may have a chance to win!!! LOL This journey, however, people may pick up extra kg on the way... my advice as a pharmacist would be - just don't go and have a cholesterol and blood glucose tests during this month!

So Day 2 - continuing with the Japanese theme "Oknomiyaki".

Okonomiyaki is such a traditional Japanese dish. Apparently, there are two different types - the Osaka and Hiroshima styles.

Basically, the main ingredients are cabbage, flour and eggs. Then you can add whatever you like e.g. pork, chicken, seafood, vegies etc... very fun to make and quite simple. The difference between the two styles is that Hiroshima way cook with yakisoba noodles, while the Osaka way doesn't. This recipe from the Good Taste mag is the Hiroshima style! Very nice, but if you don't cook the batter straight away, the noodle gets soggy! ボナペティ

Good Taste Home Masterchef Challenge

Good Taste Home Cook of the Year Challenge

What am I getting myself into? I saw this ad on the Courier Mail (don't normally get the paper, only because of the cookbooks...another story) Anyway, saw the ad about Home Cook of the Year challenge with the Good Taste Mag. What this challenge is that you cook as many or as few as you wish. Cook the recipes exactly as they appear in the mag or give them a "clever, personal touch" (which doesn't make sense, you either cook exactly or do your own..) Anyway, the judges are looking for the skills as well as the creativity. There is also a prize for the one that make the most afford (with most recipes).

I started off with this "Stir it up", which titled Yaki Udon with Chicken & Mushroom. It tasted delicious, everyone emptied their bowl!

Looking at the mag though, I counted 84 recipes in the book. This is going to be a marathon cooking.... Well, one down 83 to go. GO MANDY!!!

Flower Pot

I forgot to upload this... Oooops..

I organised an afternoon for Be Gorgeous to a tea in October. An event which they raise money for a project called A-21: against human trafficking.

This cake was up for auction, which to my surprise, it was sold for $75 :) extravagant!!!!!!!

It is CHRISTMAS time!!!

Christmas time is by far the BEST time of the year. People are very generous about giving gifts, lots of yummy food, family and friends gathering together, and of course, our Father God gave his Son Jesus, so that we can have an eternal life and a relationship with Him!

This year, Shisei and I organised all the dishes. There wasn't a lot (I thought), but everything was prepared perfectly and extravagant!!

Watermelon and lychee cooler

Japanese egg salad - something that I just made it up LOL

This is really delicious and so simple - all it takes are cupee mayonaaise, egg yolks, salt and pepper. "SO SIMPLE, ITS PERFECT."

Garden Salad

Salmon Ricotta Rosti Stack

Dessert - Raspberry Splash

Aussie Aussie! Oi Oi Oi!!!!!

Australia's famous Pavlova!!

This is my first Pavlova. Ha ha.. now that I can make this Aussie favorite, I can really call myself a true blue LOL.

Wendy's Birthday/Be Gorgeous to a tea party 2010.