Ramadhan

Assalamualaikum,

wahh it has been a looooong time since I posted. First of all I want to convey my Salam Ramadhan to those who still reads my blog. :)..I am truly touched to see that so many still read this blog. My heart goes to all of you. Thank you so much. Mamak and I are doing fine and since it's Ramadhan, we would like to ask for forgiveness, kalaulah kami terkasar bahasa, tersilap kata, offended or hurt anyone's feelings. Maaf Zahir Batin.

Update : 

I actually am still alive, to those who are wondering. Haha. I was just fully concentrating on my studies. Honestly, I haven't opened my own blog AND haven't visited any other blogs since I posted my last entry. Talk about determination.

The thing is, as you guys know, I swing my way back home and school. Also I had to study in German and that means, three times the workload of a normal students. It takes a lot of time trying to balance home and school at the same time, so I told myself I had to concentrate on some things and leave other things as they are for a while. 

Unfortunately I decided to leave my blog as it was and come back when I have the time. I miss blogging teribbly and I miss interacting with my blogreaders too. But I was determined. Alhamdulillah, I finished my semester, sat for 6 exams plus one Lab and syukur kepada Allah, I got 5 of my exams and my one lab results and I passed  all of them!! Now I'm waiting for my last results, and hopefully I will pass that one too.

Ramadhan is great. Sini at the end of summer, so fasting time is rather long. Mamak had a little problem fasting for 17-16 hours masa awal Ramadhan, but Alhamdulillah he's what the german calls 'Tapfer', meaning tak mudah patah semangat. Ada la dia tinggal dua tiga hari sbb tak larat akibat kerja (don't tell him I told you..haha..) but I am so proud of him still.

Skarang ni I am enjoying my summer holidays at home until end of September, which is cool because I start class after raya. So fasting is no problem since I just stay at home and do nothing. Well not exactly nothing, I am going for driving class in the evenings. My malaysian liscence is only valid for the first six month residence in Germany so obviously mine is not valid anymore. I'll have to take theorie and practical exams again to get my german driving liscence.  To think that I had it all behind me...haha. So now I have to actually attend driving classes with 17 year olds and that makes me feel so very young. NOT.

We also bought a 12 year old VW Lupo for a very little money (all the we could afford), which I call KODOK because it is bilious green, from Mamaks little brother who inherited the car from their late Atok. The car is old, the paint is beaten up, we had a casette player radio which we had to remove because it was messing up the car battery and now we have a hole with cables in it, no air-cond but thank god for the heater, roll windows, 1.0 engine and we love it. The kodok is responsible to take me to school next semester, meaning I have to pass my driving exams first. 

Foodwise, I have been cooking the same things in ramadhan. Nothing new. We tend to eat more malaysian food, since both of us are homesick, home as in Penang. Watching Shamsul Ghau-Ghau at Bazar ramadhan on tv3 online does not help ease the pain but we watch it anyway. 

Here's what I made two days ago.

In penang this what the people call 'Coq Kucai'

This one I made using a recipe from Foodbeam. So it's the stylish version of coq kucai la. Instead of the cream cheese used in the batter, I used fullfat yoghurt. Sedap. Crunchy on the outside, soft inside. I put in the fridge and reheat in the toaster oven of sahoor, still soft and crunchy.

Until next time!!

Cok Kodok Apple

We had a late lunch yesterday of kuey teow sup and shrimp dumplings. Sorry naa, tak ambil gambar pun, sebab sama ja rupa dia dengan dumpling yang buat hari tu. Hehe..

So for dinner I made some cekodok apple, which was so yummy. Tak sangka the batter came out so fluffy because I used resepi hentam keromo saja.

I put very little sugar in the batter sbb takut hangit, so they were not sweet enough. So I sprinkled lots of powdered sugar on them. So yummy, sugary sweet with a light sour flavour from the apples. 

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Cok Kodok Apple recipe:

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cold water
2 tablespoon sugar
1 large apple, skinned, sliced and diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder


method:
Combine flour, salt, sugar and cold water in a large bowl. It should have a sticky texture, since the apples will add some water to the mixture. Mix in the diced apples and stir until batter coats everything. Now if the batter is too sticky, you may add a little water and if too runny, add more flour. Add the baking powder and mix thoroughly one last time. Preheat oil in a deep frying pan, about 2 inches deep. Spoon apple mixture into the oil and fry for about 3-4 minutes. Lay them on kitchen towel and sprinkle powdered sugar before serving.

(ps: in Germany, fluid cooking oil sold, for instance cornoil of raspoil, are not suitable for deep frying because they are not heat-stable, that means they will burn and smoke at high temperature. To deep fry dishes like this one, I recommend using solid oils, usually made with palm oil, available at refrigerated section at stores, usually near butter)

Kuih Pau

Kuih pau! Kuih pau! Mari mari...

Kuih Pau ni dinner kami berdua semalam. Ni first time buat ni. Selama ni tak berani nak buat sebab kebanyakkan resipi pakai tepung pau atau tepung hongkong, mana la nak dpt kat sini. Baru ni jumpa banyak pula resepi yang pakai tepung gandum biasa, so boleh la nak cuba. Cuma orang kata kalau pakai tepung biasa, pau jadi kekuningan, tak gebueww gitu.

Pau ni inti kari ayam, kertas tu pulak baking paper yang dipotong kecil-kecil.

Dah lama periuk kukus ni sampai dari mesia, ni baru berpeluang nak guna. Hehe..

Ni pau yang dah siap kukus, kembang semangkuk you! Tak budget nak kembang, seb baik tak kukus ramai-ramai sekali, kalau tak memang melekat la jawabnya pau-pau ni. Alhamdulillah dough menjadi. Paling penting, dough ni dah sejuk pun masih lembut.

 This time mami mungkin terlalu tamak, roll dough sampai nipis lepas tu taruk inti bebanyak, so bila kembang, bertambah nipis la dough tu. Apa pun, pau ni tak macam beli di kedai, hehe..kalau beli kat kedai, kulit pau bukan main tebal, inti ciput saja. Pau ni inti membuak-buak, seb baik tak pecah..hehe.

Mamak baru first time makan kuih pau ni, katanya dia kena setting lidah sikit, sebab kat Jerman ni ada juga kuih kukus, nama dia Dampfnudel, rasa sebijik macam kuih pau, cuma takdak inti, makan pulak dengan sos vanila dan blueberry compote. So bila makan kuih pau inti kari, dia terasa confuse sekejap..haha.

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Pau dough:

250g All purpose flour, diayak

12g Fresh yeast,

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon baking powder

3 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoon shortening (I use veg oil)

125ml warm water *

Method:

Sieve flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl. Mix with sugar. Make a cavity in the middle of the flour mixture and crumble yeast into the cavity. *Pour in some of the water and start kneading. Add the shortening and knead further. *Only add more water if the dough is too dry, you dont have to use up all of the water. Knead until it becomes a soft pliable dough. Place in a bowl, cover with damp cloth and let rise for 30 minutes at a warm place. 

After the dough has doubled in size, knead to release the gas in the dough and roll into a log shape. Cut the dough into 6 portions and roll each portions into a ball. At this time, you can prepare the steamer on your stove. I use the rolling pin to flatten the dough into a round shape, fill the dough with filling and use fingers to gather up the edge and pleat to seal the pau. Place the pau on a small piece of paper (I use baking paper). When the water in the steamer boils, steam them for 10-15minutes.

Bubur Nasi

Hari ni kami berdua makan bubur nasi. Winter kali ini memang sangat sejuk, average -4°C memanjang. Kalau bukak tingkap saja, berderu angin masuk dengan salji-saljinya sekali. Brrrr!! Makanya sangat lah nikmat makan bubur nasi panas-panas untuk lunch.

Bubur yang dihidang panas-panas.

Yang ni condiments untuk bubur nasi. Dari kanan, crispy chicken, sambal cili, daun bawang dan homemade garlic oil.

Simple dan Sedap.

Nasi Lemak

Semalam kami makan nasi lemak. Dah lama tak makan nasi lemak ni, rindu pulak. Tahukah anda nasi lemak yang dijual di Penang adalah berbeza dengan yang dijual di KL?.. hehe

Nasi lemak penang, yang jual kat pasar pagi tu selalunya, bungkusan sama macam nasi lemak KL, tapi isinya nasi lemak + satu lauk. Lauk ni pulak range from telur rebus, sambal tumis ikan,sambal tumis ikan kering dan sambal tumis ikan bilis. So atas setiap bungkusan tu, penjual tu akan tulis ngan marker T untuk telur, I untuk ikan, K untuk ikan kering dan B untuk ikan bilis. Kiranya dalam bungkusan tu ada nasi + satu lauk, kekadang ada la dua urat timun..hehe.

Itu memori zaman kanak-kanak mami la di penang, tapi sekarang ni kat penang dah banyak org jual nasi lemak stail KL. Lauk utama ikan bilis goreng, kacang tanah, sambal dan telur rebus atau telur mata, pastu ada lagi berjenis-jenis lauk depan mata. Daripada ayam goreng sampaikan sambal tumis paru. Uih seronok mengingatkan deretan lauk dan bau² yang wangi itu. Ish sedapnya...

Teringat time first time makan nasi lemak kat KL time kecik dulu, jakun jadinya sbb ada kacang goreng dalam nasi lemak. Disebabkan kita ni memang dari kecik adventurous eater (adventurous ke makan kacang goreng?), belasah la jugak tanpa bual bicara. Masa tu baru tau yang sedap rupanya kacang goreng dengan nasi lemak..hehe..

Inilah nasi lemak yang kami makan semalam. Nasi lemak KL ke Penang? Hehe..we all kira ni nasi lemak Hybrid la senang.  Dari kanan, sambal tumis, hirisan timun, telur mata kerbau, ikan bilis, kacang goreng dan lauk tambahan, ikan goreng celup tepung.

Seriau jugak, takut mamak tak makan. Rupanya siap minta nasi tambah...huhu. Alhamdulillah, boleh buat selalu lepas ni. Cuma ikan bilis tu dia tak berapa gemar, so instead of bilis, dia makan kacang goreng. Problem solved.

Projekt: Doughnutku sudah berjaya...

Ni bukan doughnut biasa ye..Ni doughnut Jarman atau nama sebenar, Berliner. There's a lot of other German terms for this type of 'doughnut' but most of the bakeries here call them Berliner or Krapfen. Its the same yeast dough as a normal doughnut but instead of the familiar donut shape with the hole in the middle, the Berliner is simply round with jam filling and sprinkled with sugar on top.

Some of you probably know about the story of the then American President John F. Kennedy's famous speech in West Berlin in 1963 where he probably wanted to say "I am a resident of Berlin" and the correct term should've been "Ich bin Berliner". Instead he said "Ich bin ein Berliner" which actually means "I am a jelly doughnut." I think its cute, well who doesnt love a jelly doughnut?

Anyway, I tried almost 3-4 times to make doughnuts but this is the first time I succeded. I guess the yeast and I have this love-hate relationship. I got this recipe accidentally, thanks to my foodblog-hopping habit, from the foodblog called deliciousdays. I couldnt do exactly as directed since I dont own certain kitchen apparatus. So I improvised...

I made half of the recipe, the dough turns out nicely and this glass was my doughnut cutter...

I fry them in a pan filled with 1-inch deep of frying oil. I didn't own a cooking thermometer so I had to use my feelings...haha

The sprinkling of the icing sugar was easy...

Some we ate just like that...

Some we filled with raspberry jam. I didnt have a piping nozzle, so I just cut a slit with a knife and spoon teaspoons of jam into it...

The best doughnut I've made by far. Yummy yummy yummy...many thanks to delicious days.

Projekt: Jammy Doughnut Muffins

Harini kita buat muffins for breakfast. Asik dok buat chocolate muffin saja, this time kita branikan diri try resepi lain pulak. I found this recipe while I was foodblog-hopping. As usual, I only try very easy recipe (dasar penyegan!) and these Jammy Doughnut Muffins are super duper easy.

Di sebabkan terlalu tamak..muahaha..I probably spooned to much jam into the muffins, so the jam become runny and flow out of the muffins while baking. So effect doughnut-look tu tak berapa menjadi.

The batter was enough for exactly 12 muffins. Half with normal sugar coating and the other half with cinnamon sugar.

 Setelah dibaham...hehe..Oh sungguh sedap dihidang bersama kopi O..

Projekt: Roti Canai Telur

Nasib badan. Kalau kami teringin nak makan roti canai, kena tebar sendiri. Takleh nak jalan pi kedai mamak and order "Mamak..Roti telur dua, kuah banjir!".Mana nak cari kedai mamak yang jual roti canai kat ceruk ni. Kalau Asiamarkt tu adala, yang frozen, tapi yang tu takleh isi telur. Takbes.

Yang nak makan dua orang saja, takyah nak buat banyak-banyak. Takut tak makan nanti buang, kesian kat makanan. Resepi ni ilham sendiri aaa, hasil ce-mu-cube-try-test 2-3 kali.

First and foremost sedia tepung gandum campur dengan sedikit garam.( Kita guna 250g tepung gandum biasa + 1/2 sudu teh garam...dptla dalam 7 biji roti canai size M). Sediakan air suam. What I do is, first make a crater in the middle of the flour. Then slowly pour a little bit of the warm water into the crater.(Some use warm milk..suka hati, dua2 pun boleh) Use a fork to combine water and flour together in the middle of the bowl. Add more water, not all at once and combine more flour to it.

Combine slowly sampai jadi dough camni. It wont stick to the bowl anymore. Bila dah dpt dough cem ni, takyah nak tambah air, air extra tu bleh buat minum...heheh. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.

After resting, make smaller dough balls and rub butter or ghee or just plain oil onto them. I used plain veg oil.  Then let the roti balls rest for 2-4 hours (I've heard it is best is to rest overnight..). I let them rest for a little more than 2 hours and the result is pretty satisfactory. Sementara tunggu tu, bleh la prepare kari ayam ka, kari daging ka, dalca ka. I made kari daging.

Lepas tu start tebar. Bukan tebar pun. Kalau mamak roti tgk kita tebar roti, mesti dia gelak guling-guling..muahaha.

Anyway when the dough to is well rested, I take one and rub more oil on in. Pastu letak tengah2 a big flat plate, press the dough to be flat as possible (kat sini kena ada gaya mamak roti aa skit..hehehe). After that I carefully pull the dough slowly and stick it to the sides of the plate. With a little bit of patience, it will work.

Pastu apa lagi, bleh la isi dengan isi kesukaan hati. I just filled them with whisked eggs and fold them. Bila goreng, pan mesti panas and boh minyak skit (bila goreng dia akan kembong..macam kat kedai..hehe).

Tadaa...dah bleh cicah ngan kari..

p/s: takleh makan selalu roti canai ni, banyak minyak, Hazardous to Health! Skali skala dua kali dua kala tu boleh la...

Flickr and Donauwelle

Sehari dua ni timbul kemalasan yang teramat sangat. Awatla jadi lagu ni. Jadi la lagu bes2 skit. Lagu Yuna ka, lagu Aizat ka kan bagus, bleh gak dpt hasil beribu-ribu lemon. Apa la yang aku ngarut ni.

Since ada masa lapang, kita ni mula la mengembara di dunia web. Kita pun mencuba fungsi 'Flickr'. Gua ni kalau nak kata buta IT takda la buta sangat. Cuma selalu ketinggalan. Old school la katakan. Memang perasan ramai yang dah guna function baru kat internet ni, contohnya Facebook, Twitter and of course Flickr. The fact is that I couldn't be bothered. Bila betul-betul perlu, barula mencangak cari petua, tips and tutorial sana-sini. Sort of pathetic.

Anyway, sronot gila bila berjaya meng'upload' dan menggunakan fungsi yang ada kat 'Flickr' tu. Gambar pun jadi terang benderang. So let us jamu mata!

Donauwelle translated Waves of the river Donau. Perggh, dasyat kan nama tu. Thats the name of the cake above. I never knew about the existence of this cake until one day our friend bought it for breakfast. That was almost 3 years ago. So this cake is very new to me. Its probably originates from this part of the world, since google couldn't find other versions of this cake
(scary how often we depend on google for facts).

As you can probably see, there are FIVE layers of nyum-nyum in this cake. First layer from bottom is the butter cake, then comes the chocolate cake layer, and then sweet sweet cherries and its juices. Its topped with whipped cream and of course last but not least gooey-gooey chocolate ganaché. The small curls or dots on its surface were suppose to immitate 'waves' hence the name Donauwelle.

I've never tried to make this cake. I'm still an amateur baker so I'm giving myself time. Hopefully in the near future I can gather my nerves to bake the Waves of the river Donau.

Cream Pockets

Today mamak came home for breakfast, today he's working alone so theres no one to have breakfast with at work. We only live like 5minutes away(walking time) from his office, so it's kind of cool.

I made cream pockets for breakfast. In german, they are called Sahne Taschen so they can either be 'cream bags' or 'cream pockets'. I'm going for cream pockets, cause I think its sounds cute. A truly new recipe for me but it was simple enough for a breakfast treat. 

I first preheated the oven at 220°C.

Then I made the batter. It was easy. Two whole eggs and 50g sugar. Beat until fluffy. When I say fluffy, I mean really really fluffy. Until they double in size! Almost stiff like meringue.Then I sieved 50g flour with 1 1/2 teaspoon cacao powder. Fold them in lightly and viola! you've got it.

Dollop them on baking paper and make pancake-like shape with your spoon. Leave some space between them cause they tend to 'grow' as you bake them. Bake for 6-8 minutes. Leave to cool a bit and peel them carefully from the baking paper.

Whip some cream with a little sugar. (If you have ready to spray whipped cream, you dont have to do this)

Melt some chocolate on a double broiler. (If you have chocolate sauce, you dont have to do this)

Then, I spread a good amount of Strawberry jam on one side of the cake.

Spoon the whipped cream in the middle of the cake and then fold them into two, like little pockets.

Place them on a plate and dribble chocolate sauce over it. Tadaaaa.....

Serve and enjoy!...

ps: I'm totally absolutely definitely making this again..

Omelette

I'm the savory breakfaster and mamak is the sweet breakfaster.

Kalau kat mesia, I'm in breakfast heaven. I love eating mi goreng, nasi lemak, roti canai and nasi goreng for breakfast. Kadang2 before I go to sleep, I already look foward on my breakfast the next day. Especially, kalau kat kampung on friday ada makcik jual nasi lemak lauk campur2 depan rumah kami. Pergh just waking up knowing that you'll be taken care of with spicy nasi lemak is a joy. Since I was a child, I remember being a savoury breakfaster. Kalau my parents having a long trip balik kampung, my mom will pack us some sandwiches. Sometimes with jam and sometimes with eggs.Tak Layan. We also take pit stops to pee or just to tank up. Those are the time I'm waiting for. Time tu kalau arwah my dad singgah gerai nasi atau roti canai memang best. Tak layan aa kuih muih atau manisan pagi2. Sampai ja gerai mula la cari nasi goreng ka, mi goreng ka or nasi berlauk. Bila dah pekena, baru hilang rasa loya tekak (which I usually experience if I have long trip in a car).

Now I'm in Germany and kawin lak ngan mamak putih. Germans take their breakfast mostly sweet. Usually, buns cut open and spreaded with butter, jam, nutella or honey. When I say buns, bukan buns yang orang mesia slalu boh into kacang merah tu. Yang tu lembutnya la sungguhla lembut. But usually buns yang depa makan kat sini have strong crust and soft dough. Kadang2, liatnya jgn cerita la. Memang bleh tercabut gigi. So as I said, this kind of breakfast only appetizes me dalam once in a blue moon.

sweet breakfast

What I do is add egg to breakfast. If not then cheese. Baru la rasa tekak ni selera. Lepas tu I put lots of pepper on them.  Lagipun still remember my arwah bapak thought me cheese omelette recipe which is one of the best memories with bapak. Bila makan omelette ka, scrambled eggs ka or just teloq rebus ka, baru la sedap skit makan roti pagi2.

my breakfast..muahaha...see how the cheese melt..

Since we got married ni, mostly we ate German breakfast more. Tapi baru-baru ni, mamak told me one morning, 'Pi la goreng nasi.(lepas kita pujuk2 dan cerita macam2 kenangan makan pedas2 untuk breakfast) Hari ni kita makan breakfast nasi goreng!' kata mamak dalam bahasa jerman pekat (dah translate ni..satgi tak paham lak). Pergh..melompat kita ni pi goreng nasik. Slalu malas aa, sebab makan sorang. So dah a few times we ate nasi goreng for breakfast. Melepas la jugak rindu the savoury breakfaster! Am I converting him into the savoury breakfast kind of life? Give me a few years and we will see..hahaha

Five-Berry-Muffins

Normally, orang buat Tri-Berry ja. Kami belasah sampai 5 jenis berries. Hahaha..berries ni bukan kami kutip dalam hutan aa, kami kutip kat Kaufland, section frozen food.

Anyway, this is my third time ever making muffins. As said before, bab bakar membakar nih kurang talent skit. Dulu-dulu ingatkan susah nak buat muffins nih. At that time gila la impressed dengan orang yang boleh buat muffins. Heh..heh...skang ni impressed lagi. Sebab kami ni baru pass bab Muffin saja, bab lain tu belum lagi.

So sekali tu try la resepi Chocolate Chip Muffins Nigella Lawson. Menjadi, sedap lak tu. Sindri makan sindri komen. Second time, buat Marble muffins(Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry). Boleh la tahan. This time, menjadi lagi. Actually guna resepi Nigella, cuma tambah Berries.

Itula satu sebab kita ni kurang berjaya bab bakar membakar nih. Lepas dapat satu resepi, mula la nak merubah2 ikut suka hati. Haha..tapi nasib baik muffin ni okay. Maybe kurang manis skit, sebab berries tu masam rupanya.

Das Dinkelbrötchen = Roti 'spelt'

Kami ni kalau bab-bab pastry memang fail. Tapi baru-baru ni kami try buat Dinkelbrötchen ni, menjadi la pulak. Memang ada rupa roti. Mamak pun terkagum sekejap. Selama ni asyik kena gelak bila kita ni try buat roti.

Anyway, niatnya nak try buat roti bun biasa saja. Tapi yang ada kat rumah tepung Dinkel ni saja. So haritu belasah buat roti dinkel. Dinkel atau Spelt ni sejenis bijirin macam oat dan gandum, tapi Dinkel ni tak berapa popular. Orang yang allergic dengan gandum atau gluten boleh makan roti dinkel ni sebab protein yang ada dalam dinkel ni lebih kompleks daripada protein gandum. Lebih kurang macam tu la ceritanya. Kalau nak explain lebih-lebih nanti pening kepala plak nanti..hahaha...

Tapi dinkel ni tak sesedap gandum, sebabnya glutamic acid dia kurang. Glutamic acid ni la komponent terbesar dalam serbuk perasa contohnya macam AJINOMOTO. Glutamic acid ni ada dalam semua makanan yang berprotein dan dia la yang bagi lidah kita rasa sedap sangat bila makan makanan yang berprotein ni. Berbalik kepada bijirin dinkel, glutamic acid dia agak rendah kalau banding dengan gandum. So kalau compare dengan makan roti gandum biasa, makan roti dinkel ni kurang sedap skit. Ikut pengalaman kami nih, makanan sihat memang la kurang nikmat skit...kan..kan..kan?

Tapi ikut lidah masing-masing la. Kalau ikut lidah kami, rasa tekstur dia kasar skit, ada bau dan rasa macam kekacang. So masa buat roti ni, kami taruk honey instead of gula, baru bau honey tu bleh potong bau tepung dinkel tu.

At the end of the day, sedap ka tak sedap ka...habih jugak roti ni. Ibu saya kata, Rezeki jangan dibuang.