Traditional Tiramisu Cake

My Traditional Tiramisu (with Philadelphia Cream Cheese)

Mention Tiramisu and it will remind me of an amiable dear friend of mine who kindly brought and shared a whole tupperware of Tiramisu cake made by her chef-brother during one lunch hour. It was heaven to the taste and I couldn't forget the taste of the refreshing dessert! That day made one of my college days memorable.

Lately however, my interest piqued again when I suddenly craved for Tiramisu. Buying one is quite costly in my area. So I took the liberty to make one, and honestly, it is the easiest cake I'd ever made;no baking needed.

I did not follow according to the original recipe but instead, I made a few ammendments during the making of this cake and turned it into my own version. The signature of the Tiramisu include the Savoiardi biscuits (lady fingers) dipped in strong, black coffee, Mascarpone cheese, eggs, and cocoa.

Several sources (from Vin Vineto) claim that Tiramisu was invented at Le Beccherie restaurant by the god-daughter and apprentice of confectioner Robert Linguanotto, Francesca Valori, whose maiden name was Tiramisu. Other sources reported that the creation of the cake was originated in the city of Siena in honor of Cosimo III on the occasion of his visit to the city.

Well, either way, this still is a cake to try to put your hands on. Frankly, I went a long way in making a Mascarpone cheese substitute as I discovered that the price of the cheese was over my budget!

So, instead of using Mascarpone cheese, I used cream cheese, with a home-made whip cream and yogurt. Still, my cake turned out gorgeous to the taste.

Here are the ingredients you will need:

Savoiardi biscuits (lady fingers)

A large bowl of strong black coffee with sugar

Cocoa powder

250g Philadelphia cream cheese

1 tablespoon plain yogurt

For Self-made whip cream:

1/2 cup icing sugar/confectioner's sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup milk powder

1/3 cup butter, melted

* you can purchase a whip cream at your local store instead of making one.

Directions:

A. For Mascarpone cheese substitute:

1. Mix cream cheese with an electric mixer or a whip until soft.

2. For self-made whip cream, combine melted butter and milk powder. Beat until a heavy

cream is formed. Add in vanilla extract and icing sugar. Mix well.

3. Pour whip cream into the cream cheese little by little and mix well. Next, add in the plain

yogurt and mix again.

B. Cake

1. Soak Savoiardi biscuits with black coffee and arrange first layer of cake on a desired dish.

2. Layer the soaked biscuites with the cream cheese mix and repeat for the next layer.

3. Finally, top the last layer with cream cheese mix (in this case, there are only 2 layers).

4. Dust cocoa powder on top of cream cheese mix.

5. Refrigerate for about 4 hours or overnight.

To make this recipe simple, all you need are Savoiardi biscuits, cream cheese + whip cream+ yogurt/sour cream for Mascarpone cheese substitute, black coffee,and cocoa powder.

There are many versions of making this cake and they vary greatly. Today, many Tiramisu cake recipes include liquor or brandy. Some with walnuts and pecans.

Recipes using Mascarpone cheese require egg whites and egg yolks, beaten till fluffy. You can find more versions of Tiramisu recipes here.

that's my half-eaten cake!

Liquor or no liquor, eggs or no eggs,the most important is the cheese is rich and perfect to taste; the Savoiardi biscuits soaked in strong espresso or coffee. Then you shall enjoy your Tiramisu (literally meaning "pick me up") and get pulled into the sinful taste of the cake!

Chocolate Banana Smoothie

All hot and sunny days call for the opposite. Cool and chilling, in this case delicious to fill my tummy! Today, I decided to make full use of my brand new blender to make my Chocolate Banana Smoothie.
Ah, simple and extremely easy to make.

All you need are:

2 Bananas
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon chocolate syrup
a pinch of cinammon
ice cubes

All you have to do is:

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend till smooth!

It turned out so yummy that it wasn't satisfying enough so I finished all the bananas at home just to make more for myself and my younger brothers. =)

Can you see the bubbles? Take a look again...

There you go!

Yummy-ness in yummy-land. :)

Lo Han Guo Soup

The pandemic H1N1 outbreak is a scare to everyone including my family. Day and night, we practice our best hygiene an eat healthily. But that alone is not making me at ease. Perhaps if I practice an additional alernative, I would feel better. Least I have done what I can to promote a better and healthy lifestyle. The influenza affetcs the function of lungs and respiratory system, attacking mainly of those who suffers from asthma, pneumonia, diabetes, and obesity. Not to mention those with very low immunity system.

So, I have turned to chinese medicinal herbs to help ease my jittery and help boost the immunity system. One of the chinese soups that I believe might help is Luo Han Guo Herbal Soup. This soup helps relieve cough and invigorate the function of lungs.

I went to the local supermarket and found this ready packed packet of the soup.

The packet included the above. There are two herbs that I could not identify. (If you can, do let me know!)

• Luo Han Guo has cooling properties and are widely used as sweetener in many soups and drinks. It is good to relieve cough. It also has antioxidant properties that helps prevent cancer. For more info click here.
• Solomon's seal or yu zhu is believed to be excellent to alleviate a host of ills including throats and lung ailments. It is also used in the lowering of blood sugar levels and prevention of hardening of arteries.
• Lotus seeds are said to alleviate heatiness. They also benefit the heart, spleen, and kidneys. However, lotus seeds should not be consumed by people who are constipated.
• Red Dates isknown as the "living vitamin pill' by the Chinese. Scientists found that cyclic adenosin monophosophate found in the red dates can slow down the growth of cancer cells.
• Gou ji zhi are high in antioxidants and contain 6 essential vitamins, beta-carotene, potassium, calcium, and zinc. It is also known to be beneficial to the liver.

There are two ways of preparing the above.

1. Boil ingredients with 10 rice bowls of water and add in rock sugar. Bring to boil for about 1 hour. (Serve warm or chilled)
2. Boil ingredients with 10 rice bowls of water and add in 300g of ribs chicken. Bring to boil for about 1-2 hours or until chicken is cooked. (Serve hot)

Note: This soup is not pescribed by any chinese medicinal practitioner. If you need more information, do consult at your nearest chinese herbs practitioner. Also, do not simply consume chinese herbs without doing some research on the herbs or without consultation as some herbs might yield side effects.

Red Dates and Dried Longans Drink

The weather outside had been outrageous lately. Sometimes it rains, sometimes, it's scorching hot, and most of the time, it's hazy. I needed something that is cooling but that improves blood circulation as well. Moreover, healthy.

So, I made myself the following drink:

Red Dates and Dried Longans Drink

What you need:

8 red dates (coreless)

1 cup dried longans

Rock Sugar

10 cups water

Directions:

1. Rinse dried longans with warm water.

2. Boil dried longans and red dates for about 30 mintues. Add rock sugar and boil for anoter 5

minutes

3. Serve hot or chilled. (I prefer them chilled)

This is such a soothing drink! It's especially suitable for one of those hot, humid days.

Hinava Sadaa Tongii

How to Make Hinava (Raw Spanish Mackerel Fish Salad)

mine turned out a bit mashed up. but still tastes good.

Two nights ago, my memory flied way back where I almost always attend numerous Kadazan-Dusun weddings, Kaamatan dinner, or just any of those social nights and events. During their buffet dinner, there is only one thing that I was looking forward to: Hinava.
Anything sour, spicy, and chilled, count me in! I made a promise that I would eventually learn how to make Hinava.
That is why today, I have finally fulfilled my wish. And I never knew making it is a piece of cake!
Before that, a little bit on the background of this dish: Hinava tongii or pickled Spanish mackerel (ikan tenggiri) is among the most popular Kadazan-Dusun cuisine and probably the most widely served in many hotels and festivities as salad or appetizer. Hinava is made up of fresh, raw, spanish mackerel fish with grated ginger, lots of lime, bittergourd, chillies, and bambangan seed. What makes this dish enticingly tasty is its strong, and zesty taste of lime. (In other words, 'very kick'). (Find more about Sabah's Traditional Cuisine here)
If you are a native Sabahan, you shouldn't miss out making this yourself at home!

First, you will need:

1 lb spanish fish mackerel (ikan tenggiri)
Bittergourd
Ginger (grated/sliced)
Red chillies (Big and bird's eye chillies, finely sliced)
Red onions (ringed)
Big onion (thinly sliced)
10 limes (or more) - for lime juice
1 lemon - for lemon juice
Salt


And this is how you do it:

1. Skin and debone fish, and cut into cubes.

2. Drench fish in lime juice and salt. This is one of the methods to 'cook' the fish. Marinate and keep in refrigerator for about 10 minutes.

3. Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Add more salt and lime juice to add up to your liking.

4. Chill and serve!

Thismethod is pretty easy, not too extravagant. I didn't include bambangan seeds because I had no time to buy them. But if you do, by all means, add the latter!
Should you feel more adventurous, try adding in diced tomataoes, and shallots and tuhau.
You can also opt for vinegar and salt to 'wash' and 'cook' the fish.
Try mixing them with your hands rather than spoon or other utensils or you might end up squashing them. You wouldn't want mashed hinava.

The following websites give you more ideas and different ingredients to make hinava, whoch of course, omits the same result, if not better!

• A Daily Obsession
• Kuali.com All Malaysia Recipes

If you like raw, sour, and spicy fish, You are in the roll!

Chicken Salad with Cheddar Cheese

Great Chicken Salad with Cheddar Cheese

My mum is great at making salads. And she's getting beter day by day! Just that most of hers are well..greens. I decided to take a turn to add a little bit something into her ordinary salad.

You and I agree that cooking is not only about the preparation, or the ingredients, or the nutritional value. Presentation is equally important. How you are able to make your platter taste delectable at the same time appetizing to the eyes is an exciting challenge! It is all about being creative and artistic.

So for amatuers like me, the best way to pique my creativity is of course, starting with the very basic. Salads. The following is one of the easiest salad recipes that everyone would love.

What you will need:

Purchased roasted chicken (half, shredded)
Raw cabbage / lettuce
1 clove big onion (sliced)
1 cup red onions (sliced, ringed)
1 red pepper (diced)
1 green pepper (diced)
Cucumber (diced)
Cheddar cheese (grated)
Parsely flakes
Ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon olive oil
Half cup cocktails nuts and kidney beans (optional)

Directions:

1. Prepare ingredients as above in a large bowl.

2. Add in olive oil, salt, ground black pepper and grated cheddar cheese. Mix well.

3. Serve

What makes this chicken salad yummy is the cheddar cheese. Smells nice and tastes awesome. You can try to substitute the cheddar cheese with feta cheese or blue cheese.
You can also be a little creative to make use of this salad as a bread or totilla filling.

I would suggest you to part the salad into two bowls before adding in (2) and then finally mixing them altogether for so to ensure consistent distribution.

Enjoy!

Barley Soup with Beancurd Skin

Barley and Beancurd Skin Soup (Yee Mai Fu Chok)

I remember during one of my college nights two years ago, my boyfriend and I would go to this popular Chinese shop together with a bunch of friends for dinner cum supper. Not many Chinses restaurants serve dim sum and sweet soups. This restaurant, however probably have the best pan mien, wantan mee, tom yam and curry chicken in the whole of...Nilai. Just some light reminicse that inspired me to try making this drink. My boyfriend likes it. So I decided to give it a try.


Barley is a wonderfully versatile cereal grain with a rich nutlike flavor and an appealing, chewy, pasta-like consistency. It is cooling, refreshing, and has many health benefits. Find out more here.

Beancurd skin or tofu skin is made from soy beans which are known for their high protein, fiber, essential fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals content. Soy beans are good for men with high cholestrol, protects menopausal women against cardiovascular disease, and of course they are also good for improving complexion.

This is an extremely simple recipe. What you will need:

1 bowl of barley seeds
A desirable amount of beancurd skins, sliced (or beancurd sticks, fu chok)
2 eggs
Rock Sugar
15 bowls of water




Directions:

1. Soak beancurd skins in warm water for about 10 minutes

2. Bring water to boil in a round pot. Then, pour in barley seeds into boiling water and boil for 45 minutes in a low-medium heat.

3. Add in beancurd skin into pot and bring to boil for another 15 miuntes.

4. Add rock sugar, stir well.

5. After rock sugar has completely dissolved, turn off heat. Beat two eggs and stream into the soup before serving.

Quick and easy! You can consume hot or cold.
Keep the soup in the refrigerator if left overnight (tastes better the next day anyway!).
It is strongly recommended that you add in extra rock sugar but less water. The barley and beancurd skin will absorb the sweetness in the soup. And your soup will taste to perfection even with when ice cubes are added.
You can add extra water to your liking before drinking.
You can also include gingko nuts into your soup.

This is a great sweet soup and I reckon kids would like it! My younger brothers said they were delicious!

Easy Lasagna

Easy Lasagna for Beginners




You will need:

about 150g minced meat
lasagna noodles
1/2 cup tomato ketchup
240g tomato paste
diced red onins
minced garlic
minced big onions
minced red tomatoes
mozarella cheese
cheddar cheese
120 ml water
olive oil
parsely (fresh or shredded)
salt
ground black pepper
sugar

Directions:

1. Soak lasagna noodles in warm water for about 15-20 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat cooking pot with olive oil. Then add in garlic, onions, tomatoes and minced meat on medium heat. Mix well.


3. Once minced meat turns brown, add in tomato paste, tomato ketchup and 120ml water. Mix well. Simmer at low heat. You don't want the meat to be over-cooked.


4. Add shredded parsely, ground black pepper, 1 tea spoon of sugar, and about 1 1/2 teaspoon sugar (up to your preference).



5. Wait to simmer.


6. Laddle lasagna sauce into an oven-safe lasagna bowl (or lasagna pan - preferably stainless lasagna pan. Aluminiun in Aluminium pans will react with the acidic tomato sauce, leaching the aluminium and ruining the taste of your lasagna sauce). to cover the base. Spread lasagna noodles on top, cover with mozarella cheese, and grated cheddar cheese. Next, apply second layer of noodles, laddle amount of lasagna sauce and again repeat fr the second layer.





7. Finally, cover lasagna with remaining lasagna sauce, mozarella cheese, and grated cheddar cheese. Sprinkle parsely. Tent with aluminium foil (do not touch noodles or sauce) an bakefor 190 C for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, remove aluminium foil and bake again for another 25 minutes with same temperature.


8. Serve after cool for 15 minutes.