Coffee Ogura Cake

I have baked many Ogura cake but all failed. Every cake collapsed on me and is inedible. I have to throw them away. Heart pain. For this attempt, I baked it in a tube pan as I usually have better luck with tube pan chiffon cake.

This cake rose beautifully in the oven and kept its height upon cooling. However, the texture of the cake looked so different from the blog. Her cake looked so fine and cottony whereas mine has so many big pores. My cake tasted just like any chiffon cake. Tasty and fluffy. I guess I will try again until I got this cake right in non tube pan.

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Pan-fried Sutchi Fillet with a simple pilaf using HCP

This meal requires minimal washing as I used my Happy Call Pan to fry the fish and cook the pilaf.

First, I melted some butter in some olive oil. Season the fillet with salt and pepper on both sides and pan fried till golden brown. Set aside.

Next, in some olive oil, saute an onion, chopped, until translucent.
   Add in minced ginger and garlic and fry till fragrant.
      Pour in some chopped tomatoes, turmeric and salt and fry till mushy.
         Rice and water in and bring it to a boil.
            Stir lightly. Cover the pan (but do not lock).
               Cook over medium heat until most of the water has evaporated.
                  Lock the pan and cook on low heat until the grain is cooked through.
                     If the water has dried up and the grain is not cooked, sprinkle some water and lock for 5 min.
                        Turn off the heat and rest for another 5 min. Fluff up the rice.

Fragrant rice. If the rice is cooked with stock instead of water, I can eat it without anything else. ;)

Clear-spices Chicken

There is a period of time where I just buy spices that I saw in recipe books. I have no plan to use them, I just want to own them in my pantry.*Faint* Now, I have an array of spices in my cabinet and I have to find some ways to use them in my weekend cooking before they pass their prime.

I realised that by marinating chicken breasts with spices first then bake for 15 minutes in the oven yields a simple and fulfilling meal. In the picture below, I marinated the chicken breasts (cut 3 silts) with rosemary, thyme, paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic, salt and pepper. I threw in some boiled potato wedges by the sides and baked it together with the chicken breasts. A well-balanced meal.

Tandoori Chicken

This is a dish that you have to plan ahead as we need to marinate the chicken overnight. As what Alton Brown likes to say, "Your patience will be rewarded". Yes. I was rewarded with a tender and flavorful Tandoori Chicken. I liked the lightly charred exterior as well. I served it with buckwheat for my weekend dinner. This is the recipe to turn to if you want to clear up the spices in your cabinet.

Recipe from Rasa Malaysia

Basic Granola Formula

I seldom buy granola from the supermarket because it is really simple to make a batch at home and it tastes so much better than store bought one.

The nuts and dried fruits are piling up in my fridge. I know by making them into granola, I can reduce the amount by half. I found this recipe from Chocolate & Zucchini which is the basic formula for granola. You are free to use whatever grains or nuts or sweetener or spices that you have at home (or eager to get rid of). You can make your granola more decadent by adding in those optional ingredients. The sky is the limit when it comes to the flavor of the granola, you just have to follow the basic ratio.

Above: Sliced almonds, Sunflower Seeds, Rolled Oats and Dried Cranberries, sweetened with Honey and spiced it up with Cinnamon and Nutmeg