Chocolate Cornflake Treats

When my ex-maid left, I took the opportunity to clean out my kitchen cabinets. There was a stack of mini paper cake cups stashed all the way to the back of the cupboard. That was 3 months ago and I still had not used them.

Since I just bought a new box of corn flakes, I might as well put those paper cake cups to use. Big Buddy loves a snack when he wakes from his afternoon naps and this will be something fun and crunchy for him.

Chocolate Cornflake Treats


Ingredients

100 gm plain Corn Flakes, lightly crushed
120 gm dark chocolate
10 gm toasted almond flake/hundreds and thousands/raisins


Method

1. Double-boil the dark chocolate over a pot of simmering hot water until melted or you can put in the microwave on high for 30 second. Stir and repeat the process until the chocolate is fully melted.

2. Add the corn flake into the melted chocolate and stir well using a spatula.

3. Spoon the coated corn flake into cake cups or ring mould then flatten the top with a spoon.

4. Decorate it with some almond fake or colourful chocolate bits. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes to harden before serving.


Source : Cuisine Paradise

Pizza Bread

At a simple mass workshop organized by my church, I learnt how to make this in 15 minutes. It was so easy peasy that the children in the group managed to make theirs with minimal adult intervention.

I tried it at home today and treated my family to some homemade Pizza Bread.

Pizza Bread


Ingredients

15 slices of bread
1 can tomato paste
1 can button mushrooms, drained & sliced
1 can pineapples, drained & sliced
ham, diced
1 packet mozzarella cheese


Method

1. Boil tomato paste with a pinch of salt and sugar. Remove from stove and set aside to cool.

2. Preheat oven at 180oC.

3. Flatten each slice of bread with a rolling pin.

4. Spread tomato paste on the bread with a spoon.

5. Place mushroom, pineapple, ham and mozzarella cheese on bread.

6. Place pizza bread into the oven and bake for 5-8 min or until the cheese melts and the crust is crispy.

7. Remove from oven and serve.

Book Review : Black Order

I love this book. It has all the elements of suspense, intrigue and action to hold you spellbound to the novel, gripping you in its page-turning pace as it brings you from the tops of the mountains to the depths of the earth.

To my pleasant surprise, James Rollins has thrown in a bit of romance in this one and it has its tender moments as the main character grapples with his fragile humanity. Black Order is a winner, juxtaposing the brash with the soft and the horror with the triumph.

Verdict : 9/10. I would read it again!

A bugging minor problem...and its solution!

The cyberspace is like a cavernous storehouse of information with more being continually added. With the vast amount of information (and disinformation) churned out every second, I have no reason, and am also not so swell-headed, to believe that my 2-cents’ worth of ramblings on my blog is captivating enough to generate a massive fan club.

However, in a bid to generate more traffic here and to meet new friends in the virtual space, I have been using Ping to widen the reach of my blog. It has been really simple, write my stuff, make a post and then do a Ping to inform that you have something new up on your blog space.

However, since end February, my posts have not been Pinging and various attempts based on my limited technical knowledge to fix it, have been frustratingly futile. It is a minor issue but yet it bugs me that Ping has worked well previously and the issue developed out of the blue.

It was a God-send when I came across this today. In desperation, I followed the steps and hey presto!...it works without a hitch!

So I am back to Pinging happily again.

Roasted Lemongrass Chicken & Grilled Honey Chicken

My sister-in-law shared an interesting recipe for cooking chicken on her blog and I thought it might be fun to try it at home.

I did not have fish sauce at home and decided that it was too bothersome to warrant a special trip to the supermarket just for that, so I chose to omit it. Also I tried out this recipe with a toaster-oven instead.

Bearing in mind that children will be part of the dinner group, I took a portion of the chicken wings and prepared Grilled Honey Chicken too. I was not sure if the distinctive taste of lemongrass will go down well with Big Buddy and decided to play it safe.

I felt the Roasted Lemongrass Chicken was not fully infused with the aroma of lemongrass. It might have been sufficiently marinaded as I had allowed it to sit for 4 hours before cooking. In future, if I am pressed for time, perhaps I will extract the juice from the lemongrass for marinade instead of using chopped bits.

I must say the Grilled Honey Chicken proved to be a bigger hit. All were polished off before I could swipe a piece from the serving plate to taste.



Roasted Lemongrass Chicken

Ingredients

12 chicken wings
3 stalks lemongrass, bruised (for brushing chicken with oil)
2 tbsp cooking oil

Marinade :
2 stalks lemongrass, finely chopped
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
125 ml water

Garnish :
some cooking oil for deep-frying
2 stalks lemongrass, finely sliced


Method

1. Cut chicken wings to separate drumlet and midjoint.

2. Heat a saucepan over medium heat. Add all ingredients for marinade and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, cover saucepan with a lid and leave until completely cool.

3. When marinade is cool, transfer to a mixing bowl. Place chicken in to steep in the marinade. Leave overnight in the refrigerator.

4. Preheat oven at 220 deg C.

5. Arrange chicken thighs on a baking tray. Brush chicken parts with some oil before placing in preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, heat some oil and deep-fry finely sliced lemongrass until crispy and golden brown. Set aside to drain well.

7. Remove chicken from oven and place on a serving plate. Drain drippings from baking tray and serve as a dipping sauce. Add garnish and serve.


Reference : Live Life & Live It More Abundantly


lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll


Grilled Honey Chicken


Ingredients

3 chicken wings
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon dark soya sauce
1 tablespoon light soya sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce


Method

1. Cut chicken wings to separate drumlet and midjoint.

2. Combine all the ingredients and marinate for at least 3 hours.

3. Grill chicken in a bread-toaster or oven for 30 min, turning over after 15 min.

4. Remove the chicken and transfer to a plate.

5. Pour the excess marinade and juice from grilling the chicken into a saucepan. Bring to a boil to reduce the quantity. If necessary, add cornstarch mixture to thicken the sauce.

6. Remove the sauce from the heat, pour it over the chicken and serve.

Boys at play

Today is the start of the 1-week school holidays and Little Buddy is just ecstatic that his big brother is home to play with him.

Both boys had their batteries recharged after their afternoon naps and decided that it was time for a boat trip. Big Buddy emptied one drawer of the toy cupboards and turned it into a boat and brought Little Buddy for a boat ride.

The loud chuckles and squeals bore testament to such enjoyment that I had not the heart to stop them though I know the marble flooring will suffer from their role-play.

Who says heroes must be superhumans?

Several years ago, I got to know a young lady through some friends in church. My first impression of her was someone with more grey matter in her brain than she chooses to let on. She was quietly confident, without a need to shout out her presence in large groups.

My contacts with her over the subsequent years have been brief and sporadic. She was an acquaintance but yet somehow she never strayed far from my mind. Perhaps it is due in part to how she chose to conduct herself in situations that most would have responded in the extreme opposite way. Over time, I discovered that she was jovial without being boisterous, talented without being boastful and kind without making a big deal out of it. Instead of the proverbial “an eye for an eye”, she chose to let go and let her talent and tenacity speak for her.

Today, she is one of the anchor teachers at Rus Art Studio, an artist with hundreds of paintings sold all over the world and recently, a business owner of her newly opened shop at Crown Centre #02-15. Take a peek at Artokoro and be refreshed by a whole new perspective of what art is.

My friend is Chun Wee Ping – an accomplished artist, a passionate teacher and an inspiring cancer survivor whose story has been published several times. She is a role model to her students, an inspiration to many and a strong testimony to the world of God’s faithfulness and goodness.

Thank you Wee Ping, for touching my life with your bravado and inspiring me. God bless you.