Mince Pork Pau with egg

I still use my sister Kerrie's invincible pau recipe. This time I secretly put some butter milk into the mixture and see if it turn out ok. It turns out much softer in a way but the down side is the pau seemed abit more yellow. My pau is usually yellowish anywhere as I cannot find bleached white flour on shelves here. It doesnt bother me much as pau is one of the delicacies that get sold off pretty fast in the household!

Homemade Ham Tan

30 May 07 01 July 07

This is my second attempt making chicken Ham Tan. The first time was quite a few month ago. It turn out to be ok but less salty than I have anticipated. This time, I use more salt and hopefully it will come out more tastier. I made it on the 30 of May. Will keep it posted.

I use 12 700 g chicken eggs

one small bag of rock salt (about two cup of it)

one cup of chinese wine

enough water to submerge the eggs

I boiled the water with the wine and salt until the rock salt melted. I then washed the eggs and put them into the salt water(cooled off) and stuck the lid on. Do remember to stick a piece of paper noting when you done the job. See how it will turn out this time..

01 July 07. Yap, this is the date the ham tan completed its pickle process. I took out the ham tan today in the evening and dry them on an empty egg carton. I put them straight back into the fridge so as not to alter too much of the temperature. I was really particular about food temperature change...

I also selected two ham tan and put it straight to the cooking porcess! Well, kind of. Boiled them and also made some spicy tofu from my sucessful tofu experiment. Make a soup and we had dinner!

The ham tan is much more saltier than the first patch I made. Even the color and texture is much more different. It tasted more like ham tan this time. Salty and nice. I guess it is considered yummy to me as ham tan in Perth is approx 2 buck each. Much of a delicacy from time to time. Now its up to me to search for duck eggs to "yap ham tan" for the real thing. In fact as I went to the Cannington Market the weekend, I found this couple that actually sells fresh duck eggs. Unfortunately it was sold out, but please to chat to them and I was told more will come (ducks had to lay first lor) around the 17 July. Good news....

Banana Cake

I tend to bake quite abit of banana cake. Bake one whenever there is the last few sorry looking banana which doesnt look like it is going to be eaten. I will use two for my baking and put the rest into the freezer if there is extras. Coincidently, there are usually one or two left hanging on the fruit hanger. I put butter milk in this cake. (I seemed to put in many of my baking now?!) I guess it makes the result more pleasing. So much so, it was actually eaten within the same hour it came out of the oven. I love to see my cakes sell off (consumed lah) quick quick! cause it helps to boost my baking ego just a little bit after failure here and there.

Little surprise

They say action speaks a thousand words. Well flowers dont also speaks a thousand words, it even melts my heart when it is coming from my darling daughter.

For the entire long holiday weekend, she was hanging out with friends; watching movies, sleep over and friends visiting her. When it come to times like this, I will have to sit back and relax. I dont have to do much at times like this; which is good, now and then...

As we are very close, I guess she was feeling abit guilty abundant the old mum. On sunday, while she was hanging out with her friend Gap who slept over at our place. she picked this little bunch of flowers, tied it up and presented to me. I was really touched. Isnt she lovely. It made all the hardwork being a mum all so worthwhile, heeee,Who say mum doesnt get spoiled too..

White Sandwich Bread

Made this last night. Little one run out of bread for school. Texture is soft and have abit of spring to it. Good to eat. I might have to lay off bread for a wee while as my newphew and my girl is really over stuffed with bread bread and bread. What to do, they are my faithfully guinea pigs. I love to watch my kaki enjoys my creation bah!

Ingredients

500g bread flour
1 tsp salt
12g (one sachet) instant yeast (Use about 50ml of the water, warm in micro and add in yeast to sit for 5-10 minutes before hand)
1 ½ tsp bread improver
20g sugar
1 ½ tsp melted butter
100ml butter milk
255ml water

Set bread machine in dough mode. Place all dry ingredients into the machine follow by the wet ingredients. Allow machine to work full cycle. Remove from machine when completed the cycle. Punch the dough and knead into long oblong shape and put it into sandwich bread tin. Cover and let to rise double in size. Glaze dough with egg wash and bake in preheated 230 oven for 35 minutes. Remove and cool before slicing or store as a whole in bread tin.

Note: Even though my bread machine could knead and bake on its own, I find it more satisfying to use traditional bread tin. Mainly because I am not particularly like my bread to have a little hole underneath where the kneading arm of the machine was.

I sometimes cut into bun size and make it into dinner rolls etc..

Lazy bugger me!

Keep posting many pictures into the blog but still havent come up with the intention to post the recipe details for those pictures. Winter must have the key influence in the lazy bug in me. Promise I will post one of these days ok...

Moist Banana Chocolate Cake

Rampaging through my baking stock pile this morning. Eee, didnt know I have bought so much stuff and have not put in good use. Some even have expired! Thinking that I have not bake many cakes recently, I suddenly have the enthusiastic to make one. It came out really ok lah. Very banana fragenty, had a piece already. Diet tomorrow..