Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Whats New At Homeplus ........

Homeplus


New to a homeplus near you is Cheese Tortillas or in the freezer Department there is a cheaper regular Tortillas.

Also I have noticed a better selection of frozen fruits (strawberries raspberries and blueberries) I even spotted chocolate coated strawberries.

I have also picked up some food coloring recently( in the sale section)

Karei Fried

1 September 2008, senin,

Hari ini menu ikan nih...ikan karei goreng...enak, masaknya juga gampang. Ikannya dicuci bersih, dibumbuin garam n lada..trus tinggal dibubuhin tepung deh...digoreng di ferifan, tapi minyak ga perlu banyak2...
Pointnya, ikan nya msti dalam keadaan kering wkt masuk ke feripan. Minyak juga mesti panas...kalo ga, lengket di ferifannya. Enak, apalgi ditambah mayonaise...sippp

Armando Alarilla














No more Cola Zero For me



Aspartame:

  • What is it? Aspartame is sold by the brand names Nutrasweet and Equal. It’s found in 6,000 products worldwide.
  • You can find it in: Diet foods- diet soft drinks & drink mixes, low calorie desserts, gelatins, puddings, frozen desserts, yogurt, some childrens vitamins etc…
  • Why you should avoid it: Aspartame is responsible for 75 percent of the complaints that the FDA receives. The FDA has compiled a list of 92 Aspartame poisoning symptoms, from over 10,000 consumers. These complaints include- headaches, memory loss, seizures, vision loss, coma, and cancer.
  • Aspartame was once listed as a “Biochemical Warfare Agent” by the Pentagon.
  • For 8 years The US Food and Drug Administration did not approve Aspartame because of the evidence that was brought to light by numerous scientists, litigators and consumer groups, that aspartame damages the central nervous system and causes cancer in animals.
  • Alternatives: Stevia and Xylitol are low calorie, natural sweeteners
Fore 11 more Food Additives You may want to try and avoid check this out here

Second day Ramadhan

It is the second day of Ramadan. I haven’t had any chance to go out and taste the ridiculously expensive buffet around town. In fact, I don’t think I am interested to break fast by going to any of those beyond ridiculous pricey restaurant or hotels.

In Ramadhan we were suppose to be thriftier and value the things we have right now. We should learn to accept grievances of those less fortunate and look in a different perspective of giving rather than shoving out own stomach with gluts.

Other than that, most importantly hell no I am spending RM85 for a meal where you ended feeling bloated of drinking too much water and then you realize you only ate 2 pieces of chicken, a cut of roast beef and plate of nasik goreng, and fill your empty belly with sweet high sugar content cakes with no nutrition element and end up blaming yourself for being fat and feel sorry for yourself because your low self esteem.

But most importantly, really ah RM85 for a meal in KL. I could order lobsters and have balance for nice succulent ribs.

It is just utter ridiculous if you ask me.

However, if someone is buying I am can be more grateful enough to go.

Anyway, not only I haven’t had any chance to go to all those buffet dinner, I have not even step to any ramadhan bazaar just yet. I cannot stand the jam, and the hype of the bazaar concept. Most of the hawkers and traders there never ever cook a meal in their entire life. We can see all those pots and tupperwares are all very shiny and new. Some of the meals sold are just lame and yucky.

The fact that I am taking care of mother, and she somehow refuse to go to sister’s house this year, just breaks my heart to see her eating alone at home. I guess this year, I will be a good son and break the fast and have sahur as many time as possible with her.

To everyone else, have a blessed and happy ramadhan. May your day ahead is filled with endless joy.

(Delayed) Friday Nibbles - Chickpeas

Last Friday I made the mistake of committing myself to a regular and timetabled posting about a kitchen essential. Like the Chinese Olympian, Liu Xiang, I fell at the first hurdle and utterly failed to make a posting last week. There was a reason for this, it wasn’t merely laziness or plain old forgetfulness. I can’t now remember what that reason is but anyway, here is a Friday Nibbles post on a Tuesday. As a small concession to the fact that it is not a Friday, I’ve decided to make it about a general item rather than a specific product. So, essential item two for every kitchen cupboard is…

Chickpeas were one of the first vegetables to be domesticated. Archaeological evidence has been found dating them to at least 3500BCE, but the likelihood is that they were first cultivated even earlier than that in the Fertile Crescent of the Middle East (the strip of land that runs between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, now mostly in modern day Iraq – it is a painful irony that archaeologically this area is referred to as The Cradle of Civilisation).



They are extremely high in protein, which explains their use in vegetarian and vegan diets, wonderfully versatile, filling, tasty and cheap - half a kilo of these brilliant legumes will set you back no more than fifty pence.

We always have a couple of bags of dried chickpeas on the shelf, as well as an emergency tin, just in case we have a pressing desire for hummus and have forgotten to soak some overnight. Raw chickpeas can be ground down and mixed with spices, garlic and coriander to be made into delicious falafel, cooked ones make a great addition to curries of all varieties and can, of course, also be made into creamy hummus by blitzing them up with some tahnini, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt and a little of the cooking water to thin the paste out. You can also add a wide range of Middle Eastern or North African spices to the resultant gloop to put a little twist on it. Cumin, cinnamon, chilli and smoked paprika are all excellent.

Barely a week goes by when we don’t indulge in flatbreads stuffed with hot and crunchy fried falafel tempered with cooling hummus, minted yoghurt and salad. Topped off with spicy chilli sauce, naturally. All recipes available on request.

www.justcookit.co.uk

DeviantART's Birthday!

One of the world's biggest online art galleries has been my art home for 4 years now. From my online scrap photos, paintings, vector art, photography, graphic design, food styling, surreal paintings and now, the home of my real life journal. I'll see the genius behind the largest art locker room someday soon. Central Park, NY. Then I'll grab some frozen hot chocolate at the Serendipity 3 Resto. Woot Woot! Am I dreaming? Will I meet the Jonathan Trager of my life? Let's keep our fingers crossed fellas!

Happy 8th BIRTHDAY DEVIANTart!!!!!!!!

Recipe - Breakfast Muffins

I know that I rarely post actual recipes on here. This is not a conscious decision, rather it is indicative of the way that I approach cooking – as a freeform process as opposed to a rigid set of rules. But I do like to make the occasional exception, especially when I receive such a large number of requests.

The post I wrote last week about breakfast muffins garnered the best response I think I have ever had and it was heart warming to receive so many great messages and requests for the recipe.

These are proper muffins that should rise up out of their paper houses, light and tasty. They are also relatively healthy and a great way to start the day, especially with a mug of coffee. The whisking of the egg whites aids the rising process by incorporating a substantial amount of air into the mixture and I doubt I will ever make muffins any other way after discovering this method.

So, without further ado, here is the recipe (and the picture again, for good measure)



150g of plain flour
150g of wholemeal flour
50g of oats
50g of caster sugar
3 teaspoons of baking powder
A generous handful of seeds (poppy, sunflower and pumpkin)
One orange, zested and juiced
One carrot, finely grated
Two eggs, separated
150ml of vanilla yoghurt
100ml of sunflower oil
Two handfuls of dried fruits (dates, cranberries, raisins)
A pinch of cinnamon or mixed spice
A little vanilla extract.

Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl (flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, seeds, fruit and spices). Gradually incorporate the wet ingredients (oil, yoghurt, orange zest and juice, carrot and egg yolks) until you have a batter.

Whilst the oven is heating up (200 degrees) whisk the egg whites until they have at least doubled in size and form billowing, cloud like white peaks. Mix a large spoonful of the batter into the egg whites and then gradually add this mixture to the batter. Try not to overwork the mixture as you will knock out all of the air that you worked so hard to attain.

When the oven is up to temperature, spoon enough of the mixture into waiting muffin cases so that they are almost too full. When they rise in the oven they should have no other place to go except up and over.

Bake them for about twenty minutes or until they are cooked all the way through and a gentle brown colour on the top.

The basic recipe can be personalised any way you wish: Lemon and poppy seed, banana and fudge, cranberry and orange, blueberry and vanilla. Feel free to play around with it and please do let me know how you get on. I’d love to see some pictures. Also, feel free to replace the wholemeal flour with plain white flour if you want an even lighter muffin.

www.justcookit.blogspot.com