Food Buzz Top 9: Apple and Blueberry Pie with Vanilla Bean Sauce is #8

What a way to end the month of September for me. This month has been a little slow I admit, as work was really crazy since financial year end is around the corner and I believe most of us are working insanely hours to crunch in the numbers. Lol.. having said that, this is a fantastic way for me to end this month.

Another Top 9; this is what I could only dream of. Apple and Blueberry Pie is Sept 29th, 2011 Top 9 in Foodbuzz [woooHooo]. Having selected amongst all of you great food writers, photographers, cooks or shall I call you Chefs.. makes me feel proud to stand together with or next to you. So much to learn still. ;).

THANKS for buzzing!! Happy cooking and baking everyone.. with lots of food love, buzzes and support from me back to you.

xx

Baking Recipe: Apple and Blueberry Pie with Vanilla Bean Sauce

How does an apple and blueberry pie sound to you right now? Don't you think a freshly baked apple pie served straight out of the oven sounds divine? Would you care to have one? Not only that, I made them in pocket or mini sizes.. is that how I should put it? Instead of a large pie, I wanted them in individual servings. So everyone could have their little pocket of warm goodies.

Each apple and blueberry pie will be served with chilled creamy vanilla bean sauce. I like how this simple pie can satisfy any crave. It somehow makes you feel warm, cuddly and would probably like to snuggle up under a throw over.

For recipe: Click on image + Zoom

This recipe does not really require you to have fresh blueberries. You can use canned or like me; I always keep a stash of the berries frozen in my freezer. So when you need some berry goodness, just take it out and whip up some muffins or bread or a mini pie. If you're feeling a little blue, or coldness of fall is kicking in; try baking some of these. Make some extras, and its good to freeze up to a month. Just heat up the oven and pop them in and bake till they are golden in colour. Serve them with your favourite custard sauce, or have them plain or with some good old fashion vanilla ice-cream. This will certainly help fight those cold nights, or kick some blues away. Till then!!

xx

Food Buzz Top 9: Nutella Banana Bread is #6

Hi everyone!! Thanks for making this possible. Nutella Banana Bread was Foodbuzz's Top 9, September 23, 2011. Yippiee.. A fantastic way to start the weekend.

You have no idea how much they mean to me. I do apologise as I am not able to revert to all responses on my Facebook page, or to all my comments. Please be assured that all of you are always on my mind. Otherwise I wouldn't put in a lot of thought I guess.. to think of something to bake or cook and in hopes that you'll try it out ;).

Because of all of you, that really keeps me going.. So to all of you; I know you put in tons of effort in to your daily meals, from prepping, to cooking or baking and even taking all the fancy photos.. no matter what you are ALL WINNERS in my eyes!! Enjoy the rest of your weekend y'all.

xx

Baking Recipe: Nutella Banana Bread

Recently I had a lot, I mean as much I could possible consume that is.. of banana nutella pancake. Doesn't that sound delish? I had so much of this while I was away in Krabi. It was super light, slightly greasy but the flavour of banana and melted nutella was such a joy. It's indeed a sinful treat to myself.

Since coming back from my short vacation, I couldn't stop thinking about the banana and nutella combo I had. Now to satisfy my crave, I thought why not I make a spin of my treat. Instead of pancake, I have always wanted to give it a try to make my own banana bread. And while it's freshly baked out of the oven and still hot, I will slather generous amount of nutella over the crust of my banana bread and sprinkle the top with some praline for added crunch.

If you have some left over bananas, or just don't know what to do with them? May I suggest to you to give this a try? The Nutella Banana Bread has a crunchy crust on the outside and ultra moist bread-cake like filling.

I assure you this is a great breakfast or tea time treat. Who says we should only have cereals or sandwiches only for breakfast? Lets make Nutella Banana Bread a new grab and go brekkie. Have a slice of nutella banana bread with a hot cup of coffee, latte, tea, espresso or milk. I think this could be a great way to kick start your mornings... Have a good week!

xx

Baking Recipe: Savoury Onion Scones & Back from Krabi

Hi peeps! It seems like forever, that I've not blogged on my next post. Well my fault and I'm sorry as I had to clear most of my work before heading off for a short beach vacation with my best buddy. Where did we head to? We went away soaking up the sand, sun and sea. Jealous yet? LOLs.. A much needed short trip, to be away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Not to worry, I did my level best to take as many photos to share them with you. Hopefully I didn't lose you folks over the past weekend.

Now, where were we? My colleague recently kept talking to me about some savoury onion scones she had for breakfast that were ultra delicious. And that made me really want one to myself too. Well, I could have just run out and grab it from a nearby bakery, but I thought how can that be satisfying. [I baked them before going away on vacation..if you're interested to know].

For recipe: Click on image + zoom

Instead, I decided to give it a try to bake my own scones, and not just any ordinary scones.. they were Savoury Onion Scones. You might cringe by just thinking? However, it's not heavily infused with onion taste. Well I think I am suppose to used chives; but I ended up using 1 large white onion, sweating the onions, saute it for a bit and adding some dried mix herbs. It just have the right hint of buttery onion taste and goes perfectly with Boursin, Cream Cheese, Sour Cream and Onion Dip, Curry Chicken or even on it's own. Yes folks, there are endless ways to eat this ultra fluffy and light Savoury Onion Scones.

Things to work on? I feel I can further improve on my scones, so do stay tune. Can't wait to share with you my Krabi photos. Stay tune okay? It'll be maybe the next upcoming posts...

xx

Baking Recipe: Pink Lemonade Pie (Non-Baked) & Award

It seems that lately I've been obsessed over tarts or pies..While there is Pink Lemonade cakes or cupcakes and a pink lemonade drink, I thought it would be fun to add another dessert to the ever refreshing taste of pink lemonade. The best part is that it's in pink, which is subtle and pretty.

For recipe: Click on image + Zoom

Now, let me introduce you the newest member to the Pink Lemonade family [drum rolls..] It's my very own version of Jo's Pink Lemonade Pie. Instead of a drink, now you get to have it as a pie. The filling is ultra light, and melts in your mouth with hint of pink lemonade taste, and is topped with fresh whipped cream. Am I making you drool at this point? Perhaps you should feast on the pictures, and that could be good enough to make you want a slice? Lol..

Next, I am happy to share with you that Ann from Cooking Healthy For Me, who is constantly so kind with her compliments have awarded me the "Versatile Blogger" Award. Now that's really AWESOME! Never thought I can be versatile. However, I believe that I am. Part of the award is that I have to share with you 7 things that you might already know or may not know about me. But first, let me award 15 bloggers, who are my new foodie friends and maybe a couple who are pioneers in food blogging.. THANKS for constantly stopping by to buzz me here.

*The rules of a Versatile Blogger Award:
1. Thank the person who awarded you and link back to their site
2. Share seven things about yourself.
3. Pass the award along to fifteen bloggers you've discovered and read

The 15 bloggers, who I call my foodie friends are:

1. Elisabeth from Food and Thrift Finds
2. Pierre from Little Hungry Heart
3. Shannon from Just As Delish
4. Shu Han from Mummy, I Can Cook!
5. Ping from Ping's Pickings
6. Lola from Lola Lobato
7. Lizzy from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
8. Celeste from Cooking Creation
9. Sandra from The Sweet Sensations
10. Sandra from Sandra's Easy Cooking
11. Nic from Dining With A Stud
12. Kim Bee from Cravings Of A Lunatic
13. Stephanie from Eat. Drink. Love
14. Tina from Flour Trader
15. Tina from Pinay in Texas

Seven Things About Me?

1. This is something close to my heart, apart from playing a make a belief chef, and an actual IT consultant during the day, I'm a trained classical concert pianist and sometimes play with my violin as well.
2. I'm a huge classical geek, and have idolised Beethoven since I was the age of 5 years old. And I'm a big fan of musicals, catchy beats and tunes.
3. Till this day, I'm a huge Disney person. Bring me to Disneyland and I'll be a kid all over again. I only love watching comedies, and maybe some thriller. Otherwise, I only prefer happy and ultra funny shows or sitcoms.
4. I'm obsessed with documentaries, and anything related to Sharks, Whales and Dolphins, that's where I'll be glued to the couch and TV.
5. I'm fussy and an extreme perfectionist. If something looks awful, or what I made didn't turn out the way I want it to be, I'll start all over. Quiting is not in my books, although there were times that I'm on the verge of just giving up. However, my pride kicks in. I always live on this motto, "When doing something, it must be always be 101% or if not better".
6. Home interior decorating is another area that I love. I used to move my furniture around in my own bedroom. So if you need a second honest opinion, or want another set of eyes, I'm in.
7. I love colours, so I suppose you can imagine that my wardrobe will have a rainbow of colours.

Till then.. and have a great week!!

xx

Baking Recipe: Sweet, Salty Butterscotch Chocolate Ganache Cake

 

Sweet and salty in a cake? This is another match made in heaven. In my opinion, butterscotch itself is way too sweet. However if you add a just a pinch of salt, the salt somehow helps to balance and tone down the sweetness of butterscotch.

While there are a lot of recipes out there incorporating salty caramel and chocolate cake together, this is my own take of this version. I've replace the salty caramel with my own salty butterscotch cake filling. Here is my own trick. There is no salt involve, however the filling has cream cheese incorporated. I love the taste of cream cheese, as it's mildly salted and creamy. Plus point; cream cheese goes really well with dark chocolate cakes. And for you non-sweet tooth lovers, there's no powdered sugar involve in the filling. I relied on the sweetness of the butterscotch, and to my surprise it works out perfectly.

For recipe: Click on image + Zoom

The only extra work of this process, is just baking the cake. I've repeated this chocolate cake recipe (tweaked to my own likeness) so many times in my other posts. You could say that I'm the type that tend to stick to the best tried and tested recipe.

Now, as for the rest [which is the frosting] is simple and smooth. I try to simplify as much possible, so you have less work pacing back and forth ;). Perhaps just some washing up? And all hard work will be rewarded with some indulgence. So sit back, have a glass of milk and enjoy the the rich, moist, fluffy dark chocolate cake with light, creamy and not so sweet salty butterscotch filling.

xx

Food Buzz Top 9: Pumpkin, Sage and Feta Pasta is #6

Woohooo!! Thanks guys and gals for making this dish of mine possible to be part Foodbuzz Top 9 (Sept 5, 2011). A wonderful Monday to me and perfect to chase the blues away.

Have a great week everyone..

xx

Cooking Recipe: Pumpkin, Sage and Feta Pasta

Here's something that might come as a shock to most of you possibly ;). Of all my years of growing up, I've never really eaten pumpkin and didn't quite like sage. However, this changed when I ordered my very first Pumpkin, Sage and Feta Pasta some months back at this quaint little bistro down town.

For recipe: Click on image + Zoom

After having my first bite, I knew instantly that I love the sweetness of the pumpkin. and the aromatic sage which was use as a veg. Since then, I just had to recreate this dish for myself. To begin, I don't have a recipe nor did I look it up. I just wanted a challenge to myself; and relied a lot on my own taste bud.

Overall, this pasta is light and full of flavour with the combination of spices like cumin, coriander, fennel balanced with the natural sweetness of pumpkin,and saltiness of the feta cheese. Come to think of it, this can be my very first some what vegan recipe? Have a great weekend!!

xx