15-minute Dark Choc Brownie recipe :) (Low-fat, reduced sugar)

Dark (60% cocoa) chocs are lower in fat + good for your sex life ;p
I love dessert, but I don't like anything that's tooooo sweet
unfortunately, that's what most ready-made cakes are like
- they contain too much sugar
So, start making your own dessert:)
it's easy
What I have here is a fool-proof dark choc brownie recipe:)
- yes, it CAN'T go wrong AT ALL if you use the 3 key ingredients listed below
& you only need 15 minutes to mix it up & pop it into the oven:)
- and then you can go have a quickie with your partner & practise the Lusty Leapfrog position while waiting for the choc brownie to cook

There are 3 main secrets to making good low-fat choc brownies :)

1) use good dark chocs (Lindt)

- and they'll turn out nice, no matter
(well, it doesn't have to be Lindt, but if you can get some good 50% & above choc bars.. that would do :) )

but of course..if it's for a big party, you may wish to substitute Lindt chocs with dark cooking chocs - eg Cadbury or Nestle
But cooking chocs suck - they render this "waxy" aftertaste in ur mouth

...my advise is - splurge on the dark choc, skimp on the flour/butter
You don't have to buy expensive butter/self-raising flour
they're all the same
- just get the Home Brand items
more people buy them & they're always fresher

2) fresh self-raising flour

- check the expiry date before purchasing.
The fresher the flour is, the more active the raising agents are

- and hence, the cake would rise more beautifully

3) use "salted" butter. real butter. no margarines

- do you know that real butter is actually healtier?

yes, the cholesterol content may be higher compared to margarines, but the calorie amount is about the same + 'pure' butter contains far less chemicals

Salted butter brings out the sweetness of the brownies - and you won't have to use quite as much sugar

The Recipe:)

a) The bottom layer

2 cups plain flour

1 1/2 cup melted butter

Mix well & line the bottom of the cake tin with the pastry

Prick the pastry with a fork

b) The middle layer

1 1/2 cup pure butter

+

1 1/2 cup icing sugar

+

5 large eggs

+

1 cup high-quality cocoa powder (Hershey's)

+

1 teaspoon 'real' vanilla essence ( not the fake vanilla flavourings, please. it's gonna spoil the brownies)

Mix the above ingredients. Then add

2 cups self-raising flour

Pour into the cake tin. bake at 180 degree Celsius for 40 minutes

Melt 300g dark choc (Lindt) with 1/2 cup skim milk and pour over the brownies

Put the tray in the freezer for 5 minutes.

Then add chopped almond, pecans, hazelnuts or any other kinds of nuts that you prefer

How to make a low fat Strawberry-Pumpkin-Potato-Tomato-Onion-Cheddar Cheese-Beetroot-Broccoli Quiche

After having sampled the delicious quiches at Fat Dog Cafe (Rotorua) and Ronnie's Bakery (Quay St, Auckland City), I realised that you can include just about anything that you love in your own homemade quiches :)
- including strawberries!!
(that is, if berries are in season) :P))

That's a pic of Fat Dog's yummy vege quiche with fresh cranberry sauce
Oh, I love cranberries!! :)) 
Cranberries are so nutritious, flavourful + low in calories. 
Do you also know that cranberries prevent urinary tract infection? (Info source: wikipedia)

Quiches are so easy to make :)

You can make a low-fat one too!

Just use bread as the quiche base instead of puff pastry or shortcrust pastry :)) *grin*

You can make quiches while surfing net & watching TV or making love with your hubby (Oops, I gotta watch what I write cuz Dad just emailed & told me that Mum almost fainted after seeing a nude pic that I published on my blog even though that's not my pic;p)

Just pop the vege into the microwave for 6 mins:)
You don't even have to peel the skin beforehand
The skin comes off more easily after you've micrawaved the pumpkin/potatoes, etc etc

Cut the vege into small cubes & lay them evenly on top of the bread base

 

Put the onions & tomatoes at the very top layer of the quiche

(Quiches taste yummier if the tomatoes/berries juice seep into the middle layers of the vege)

 

I used lotttsss of onions for the quiche :)

& pure fresh Kiwi cheddar cheese :))
don't buy shredded cheese
Use block cheese

The best part of it all:-
YOU DON'T EVEN NEED A RECIPE!

Happy experimenting! ;)
I have confidence that you can all make even better tasting quiches :)))

You see, cook shows and cook books sometimes make cooking seem a lot more intimidating than it actually is.
But cooking is essentially a very fun & easy process
- a great way to show love to your family & friends

My eldest nephew's birthday

I learnt how to cook when I was ten, started baking bread at 14 - my Dad's a diabetic since he was in his late 20s & so, we try to bake cakes, brownies, cookies, etc as often as possible for family birthdays so that we can all enjoy guiltfree goodies :)

Good quality Kiwi bread

Was having a lil' Consumer Price Index comparison talk with my friend Li Li who has been residing in Auckland since 8 years ago.
We're debating about the higher average income and higher taxes in New Zealand, the higher car prices in Malaysia (a Toyota Vios costs NZD$40k in Malaysia) , the cheaper dairy products in New Zealand (a NZD$3.99 tub of Yoplait yogurt costs NZD$11 (MYR21) in Malaysia)...
She lamented about the higher cost of bread in New Zealand, but I still think you get a better value for your money here in Auckland compared to Malaysia.
- Fresh and natural ingredients are used
- Kiwi bakers don't cheat or skimp on flour by adding more cancer-causing chemicals such as bread improver and bread softener
- The variety is just amazing!
You can find at least 50 types of bread in a typical supermarket

Fresh loaf of fragrant rye bread (bought from Countdown supermarket, Auckland City), NZD$3.50 (MYR7.50)

 

Signature Range Rye Bread 750g (Less than NZD$2.99)

Signature Range Mixed Grain Bread (I think it's less than NZD2.99) 

In Malaysia, a normal loaf of rye bread that you can get from Countdown will cost 3-5 times the NZ price at a gourmet bakery in a posh 5-star hotel in Kuala Lumpur (eg, Renaissance Hotel)
All supermarkets in Malaysia (except for Cold Storage) offer a limited choices of bread; white bread, wholemeal bread, burger buns... and unfortunately, most bread contain a hazardous level of cancer-causing preservatives (propionic acid), artificial flavouring, colouring, bread softener and bread improver. Awful!!!

In fact, the bread in Malaysia are so unhealthy that we had to resort to making homemade bread

Homemade brioche with fresh Iranian dates:) My Dad's favourite

These are photos of my sister’s eldest son when he was 3-yr-old:-). He’s very very fussy about food. I was delighted that he tried the homemade banana bread without any coaxing and so, decided to take snapshots of him eating em;-)

He's cute, aye?;)

New Zealand Premium Scallops

Don't worry ;), this is not another pornographic review of New Zealand seafood 

Apologies for the overdose of seafood review, but my Mum in KL is so worried that I haven't been eating enough seafood that I have to explain to her that we do get seafood here in Auckland - and that kiwis don't just drink milk all the time even though there are more cows here than us human beans

I'm a regular consumer of "Premium Quality New Zealand Ready-to-Cook Scallops" from Countdown and Foodtown supermarkets
The name sounds nice, aye?
(Oh crikey, what's wrong with me? I'm starting to sound like a kiwi after having been here for only a month, aye)
They're quite easy to cook
- pretty similar to other types of scallops except that the NZ scallops come with the soft orange bits that taste like cooked testicles

Of course, I haven't been able to find the fierce looking pike mackerels that I really liked back in Malaysia...

But then again, I've never had better-tasting scallops anywhere else in the world :))
& they are affordable too
- approx $6 per packet

Egg bombs in Auckland

 

Discovered the best egg recipe by accident :)

Woke up on a Saturday morning and found that there weren't any match sticks in the kitchen

(Uh... oh, how on earth am I gonna have some decent hard boiled eggs?)

So, I put the eggs in the grill...

went for a nice morning shower

when I got to the kitchen, two of my housemates were happily grinning away and said, "the eggs exploded"

"It's like a warzone"

and I thought, "dang, there goes my breakfast... gotta cook again"

But what a pleasant surprise it turned out to be:)
Man, those were the best eggs (in shell) I've ever had in my life!


The yolk's like cheesecake - unbelievable good!
I'd recommend that you do the egg bombs whenever you have the chance

Hostelling & learning how to make "capati"

Before you start thinking that Central Hostel is paying me to write this, let me clarify that I'm not at all advertising for them :)

Having been through a 6-month long information search process before I arrived in Auckland, I wish that there's somebody to guide me before I got here - basic stuff like,... where to open a bank account, where to stay, where to eat..., the must-try local specialties...

This is a post that's dedicated to all Working Holidaymakers out there, especially those who are traveling alone to New Zealand

One of the major issues that you'd have to deal with is of course, accommodation

I would recommend hostelling
- hostelling provides a wonderful cultural exchange opportunity

But, be prepared to battle with fleas and bed bugs

Last week, Ashish Bijwe taught us how to make "capati"

The cooking lesson is extremely useful because "capati" cost 5 times more in Auckland compared to your regular "mamak" stall in Malaysia.

(For those of you who are new to Indian cuisine, "Capati" is similar to tortilla wraps, except that you use wheat flour to make them instead of cornflour)

Capati making is pretty simple
All you need is a packet of flour
+ enough water to knead a pliable dough

 

- Form dough into small little balls

- Roll them out

- Grill using a flat pan

Voila! You have your very own homemade capatis

Okay,... I should also mention that Ashish is not just a capati expert

He's a budding artist-cum-graphic designer-cum-web developer

For more information on Ashish's work http://www.ashish.co.nz/

Nephew & banana bread

These are photos of my sister’s eldest son:-). He’s very very fussy about food. I was delighted that he tried the banana bread without any coaxing & so, decided to take snapshots of him eating em;-)

'Popia' spring rolls

Gosh! I miss those days when Mum and I would make 'popia' (spring rolls) for the family on weekends.

Pic 1: Ingredients for 'popia'

Clockwise, from bottom Left: Lettuce, Fried onions, chopped peanuts, beancurd (grilled and shredded), 'char siew' (roasted pork), carrots, eggs, bolied shredded yambeans, and 'popia' wraps

What is Popia?

Popia is a type of chinese spring roll with a very flat and thin surface, and round in shape. It's tasteless unless you stuffed it with ingredients on your choice, turning it into a delicious spring roll.

The most popular fillings are like yam bean, salad, bean sprouts, carrots, etc. It used to be a Chinese favorite. But now, even the Malays are trying their ways to make the food in their own style. There is just no right or wrong method in making a tasty food in Malaysia sometimes.

Similar food in other cuisines include the Filipino variant referred to as Lumpiang Sariwa, fried spring rolls (Chinese) and fajitas (Tex-Mex). In Vietnam, bò bía is the Vietnamese version of popiah, introduced by Teochew (Chaozhou) immigrants.

Steamed sardine

Sick of MSG-laden food? Need to detox? Try steamed sardine with ginger :-)