Beef with Broccoli

Whenever i need to prepare something quick, or perhaps when i'm a tad bit lazy (or busy making christmas cards), i'd take out my wok and i stir fry my way around in the kitchen. the secret to a successful stir fry is speed and the fire. turn your fire on high and let the sizzle do the talking..

This is a dish that doesnt require much. suits me well since i have my 14 month old Aidan, who always fancies the kitchen more than his toys, who always tags along to the kitchen, who's currently walking on 5th gear. 3 mins to prepare everything, and another 3-5 mins to stir fry them. alongside with your rice, and voila, a complete meal within minutes. unless you prefer your dish to be with some gravy... but this works fine for me and hardy (alongside telur dadar and kicap!).



STIR FRIED BEEF WITH BROCCOLI

Rump steak beef
1 tbsp Cornflour
1 tbsp Light soy sauce (i used kikoman)
1/2 tsp Sugar
Broccoli - cut into florets
Cooking Oil
2 cloves of Garlic - Finely chopped
1 tbsp Oyster Sauce
2-3 tbsp Chicken/Beef Stock
Sessame Oil



Method:

1. Slice beef very thinly. put in a bowl with cornflour, soy sauce and sugar. mix well. put aside.
2. Stir fry garlic and broccoli in your wok for a couple of mins. push them to one side of the wok and add the beef marinade. stir fry on high heat until meat changes colour.
3. Add the oyster sauce and stock and keep in stirring.
4. Lastly, add a few drops of sessame oil.

Take a Bow

I knew i had to improve on my cards. those two i did earlier were simply not enough for me. one was way too childish and the scrap card was way too simple.


Went through my stack of papers and i realized that i didnt have a red one with motives on them. all i had was a plain red paper. and what i did was i took a white pen and drew circles and stars on them. adding a little bit of a 'festive' touch to it.



Next step was to turn the piece of paper into a 'gift'. chose a contrasting ribbon and then i added a big bow on it. added some berries to the middle of the bow and stick them on top of the red paper.




And voila! another christmas card done... lets see... how much more to go zaza? 97? my.. my.. my..... i wish i have another pair of hands!

Our 2nd Anniversary

1 uinon, 1 special day.

2 years today. 2 wonderful, beautiful years.

Hardy and I got married this day, 2 years ago! and what a life, what a journey it has been for the both of us.

All i could ever wished for, everything i could ever dream of, thankful and grateful. i'm still head over heels, i'm still bananas, i'm still nuts.

Here's to more love, more fun, more happy times and more good food to the soul!

Coriander Meatballs

This is a real treat! very quick and very simple to prepare. this favourite dish is shared all across the world with their own versions. some in sandwiches (meatball SUB!), some on pizzas, some in soups, some in pastas (spaghetti meatballs), some in their noodles (indonesian bakso mee!).. some would combine the meat with other stuff like potatoes, and some just on its own. you can have them as your main meals, or as a side dish.



I dont know what i'd do without coriander. honestly. i think they are the most useful, versatile herb. they give out a beautiful, distinguih taste. i have to have them in my kitchen all the time (i really, REALLY need to grow them by now.. after this winter perhaps). i combined the two and the results were absolutely breathtaking and stunning! who needs IKEA swedish meatballs?! ;) (but quite frankly i do crave for them once in a while)

CORIANDER MEATBALLS

minced beef/lamb or a mix

1 Onion - chopped

1 clove of Garlic - chopped

Fresh Coriander - chopped

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

a tad bit of Light soy sauce

1tbsp Cornflour

Method:

1. Place meat, chopped onions, chopped garlic, soy sauce, cornflour, chopped coriander, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix them well.

2. Shape the mixture to balls and set them aside.

3. Heat oil in the pan and fry the meatballs, turning them occationally until cooked.

Scrap Christmas Card

Remember i told you in my last post that ideas came running as soon as i went to bed after making christmas card no.1? well, this was one of them. this one's a clever one. do not, and let me say this again, DO NOT throw away those tiny bits of ribbons and papers. i tend to keep scraps of papers, even to the tiny-est bit of them, just in case i can reuse them. when you tie a bow, and you cut out the ends to give it a little bit of an nice edge, well, i tend to keep that bit too, just in case it might be useful for later use.



It certainly was useful in this case. i was trying out a few ways on how to make use of them, and this was what i can come up with. i arranged them to a shape of a christmas tree (please tell me it looks like one). Added a sequine star on top and voila! hopefully the christmas colours adds to the theme.



Call me a cheapsket, but hey, it works for me! turned out nice dont you think so? if you have extra time or perhaps extra hands, add in a little bit more effort to tie those papers with a thin, extra super duper thin ribbons or a thick thread (those cross stitch ones -what do you call them?) and turn them into parcels and presents!

1 Down, 99 To Go!

Christmas is just around the corner. i look forward to every christmas not because i celebrate it but because of the stuff we can get during this season. loads and loads of nice wrappers, lots of decoration, lots of bags and lots and lots of crafts to do! one particularly - cards.



I'll be making my own christmas cards this year, no more buying those boxed cards. lets just hope i have enough time to make them for all our friends. here's one i made last week before going to bed. so 1 down, 99 more to go!! I'll do the cards and i shall leave all the writings and posting to Hardy!

The only smart thing i came up with for this one was to add the ribbon. and as soon as i lay down on my bed, trying to sleep, ideas came running. what timing! will share more of christmas cards ideas.

Spiced Potatoes with Garlic

No indian meal is complete without a side dish! and spices are at the heart and soul of indian cooking. i've learnt that whatever dish you're preparing, always fry your spices before the vegetable or meat. this will release the flavours and eliminate any raw taste. but careful, not to cook your spices for too long, otherwise the flavours will become bitter.

We had this as our side dish together wish our chicken balti the other day (which i will write later). A very simple dish everyone can handle them. Hardy loves the crunchy garlic bits and i love potatoes.

YELLOW SPICED POTATOES WITH GARLIC

3-4 Medium sized potatoes

Vegetable oil

3 Cloves garlic - chopped

1 tsp ground tumeric

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

salt

Method:

1. Cook the potatoes whole in boiling water for 20 mins orr until just cooked through. do not overcook. drain and leave to cool.

2. Cut them into bite sized pieces.

3. Heat oil in small frying pan and cook the garlic until it turns brown. Add the tumeric powder, chilli powder, cumin and mustard seeds. cook for a couple of mins.

4. Pour the spice mixture over the potatoes. mix them well.

5. Another option is to put them on grill.

Fifi's Birthday Banner

I think i'm starting a new tradition on family birthdays - Birthday Banners!

It was my sister's birthday last week and i thought i'd make her a banner. we couldnt be in the UK to celebrate her birthday so i thought i might try to brighten her day by sending her one.

I love hydrangeas, simply adore them! we have some real ones growing in our garden. you can dry them and make garlands or use them for decoration. but in this case, i used some artificial ones.

Using the alphabet templates, i then cut out her name. i then paste them individually on the cards. and now all you have to do is to decorate them, with butterflies, some wordings, flowers, or perhaps some dye cut stickers if you wish. but just remember not to overdo them. the simpler the nicer!

I wanted to write some dutch words such as gefeliceteered (congratulations), verjaardag (birthday), jarig (birthday) and hoera (hurray) but opted to write something merry instead - Smile, Love, Happy, Fun! i know i should have used a proper marker but i didnt have any. i will add them on my craft shopping list.

I'm glad she liked it!

Testing Icing

Now, this is more like it. ignore previous post! still not enough practise but jadilaaa... all i had was this cheap icing decorarting tubes. and all i used was icing sugar and water. i didnt know that all you need was just a tad bit of water to make glace icing. you need to check on the consistancy yourself, therefore i dont think i can write the exact amount of water and sugar. i followed the instructions on the back of the icing box - 225 of icing sugar and 2-3 tbsp water. mix them up, keep on checking on the consistancy. i dont know if this applies to all brands of icing sugar though. try experimenting yourself! its fun! (you experts out there, please by all means, correct me if i'm wrong!)

I had loads of fun trying this out with mum (basically, she pretty much laughed at me trying to push hard icing from the icing bag). one really need to have steady hands! i didnt want to waste any cupcakes therefore i used some wafers i had left in the pantry. we're going to try royal icing next time! doing this was so much fun! i totally recommend mums with their daughters to embark on this! now i know why people are in the craze for cupcakes and icing!

Its my good dear friend Nina Hafneh's birthday today! here's wishing you loads of happiness, loads of fun, laughter, love and may all your dreams come true! Happy Birthday Nin. We'll make icing together next year when you're near k? Missing you loads! With all our love, lots of hugs and kisses!

My Unsuccessful Blue Icing

Ok, dont laugh... this was actually my first attempt making icing (sad.. i know). I've come accross so so many blogs and fotopages with beautiful cupcakes decoration - soft icing, hard icing etc. i've been told by Nina (whom i havent met but would love to one day) that K.Muna does beautiful icing (which is no surprise to me since she's really a pro). she could probably cook single handedly, or when her eyes are shut and still i wouldnt be surprised! another baker who loves decorating and good at it as a friend of mine, Dayat (where's your bloglink la makcik). and not forgetting Wiz, who has been leaving comments on my blog, she's really good in decorating as well! and zara & zaria's mama, who once asked me if i could teach her do icing, well, here's the answer! i think you're way advanced than me! and last but not least, yaya for commenting i should try doing cupcakes in the last post. this entry proves that i suck! big time! i envy you bunch who can really decorate your cakes!



My brother in law's mum does wedding cakes and she's got real talent for this. they did our wedding cake and it was beautiful! i was told by my mum that my grandmother too, once upon a time, makes beautiful, good icing. why oh why didnt i follow her footsteps (the icing bit).

I am beginning to feel that i am useless at this. it was suppose to be a simple icing but it turned up to be 'slimy', perhaps its too soft, too much butter, i dunno... perhaps blue is not a good colour for icing? (yea right, blame it on the colour!)

I'm putting up these pictures (shamelessly) simply to share with you lot. no point putting up the recipe! coming soon : my trial icing session!

Have a good weekend everyone! i shall keep on trying...