Cocoa Dessicated Cococnut Buns

Moist and soft inside, tasty dessicated coconut buns.

Kibbled wheat muffin ( healthy version)

Kibbled wheat, grains that are cracked or broken into smaller particles and then moistened or steamed and dried.

                 They can be very good breakfast muffins, one is enough to fill you up for awhile.


Ingredients
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup mixed roasted nuts

1 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup mild honey
1/2 cup mashed bananas ( overripe)
2 large or extra large eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


1 cup cooked kibbled wheat
1/2 cup low fat milk (room temperature)

To prepare the kibbled wheat
Pre-soak for 4-8 hours ( for mine, overnight)
Wash and drain.
Steam over high heat for 10 minutes for use

Inspiration from: Martha Rose Shulman

raw kibbled wheats

cooked kibbled wheats

6 large muffins or 12 small cups.

Method
Preheat oven to 375F / 190C with a rack in the middle.  Grease 12 muffin cups / 6 large muffin cups.
Combine the kibbled wheat and milk together ( both in room temperature). Set aside.
Sift together whole wheat flour, baking powder, and the salt. Set aside.
In another bowl, beat in the eggs, honey, mashed banana, canola oil and vanilla.
Whisk in the flour, fold in the kibbled wheat and milk mixture, raisins and roasted nuts. Combine well.
Spoon into muffin cups, bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until lightly browned.

Healthy, nutritious, moist muffins.

KIbbled wheat mantou for further interest.

Abok Abok Sago Kuih ( Gula Melaka)

                Soft and chewy texture, with beautiful aroma of gula melaka in every bite you get.

Tiny Chocolate Cupcakes ( healthy ingredients)

I have made these cupcakes so many times, they are so good.  Oh yes, I deserved this little treat for some of my lazy afternoons!


Recipe from: Healthy Chef
Ingredients
1 and 1/2 cups (150g) almond flour/ ground almonds
1/4 cup (21g) unsweetened good quality cocoa powder
2 tablespoons honey, maple syrup or rice malt syrup
1/4 cup ( 60ml) milk your choice diary, almond or soy
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 free range eggs / organic eggs
1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder
1/4 cup (60ml) macadamia oil, light olive oil, avocdo oil or cold pressed coconut oil



Method
Preheat oven to 160C fan forced /  180C no fan.
Well combine almond meal, cocoa powder and baking powder.
Add the eggs, oil, milk and honey. Mix well to form a smooth batter.
Spoon into 12 small individual cupcake tins.
Bake for 25 minutes until puffed and cooked through.
Serve alone or topped with chocolate frosting or rasperry sauce.

Cheese and Bacon buns

                                     One of Aussie kids all-time favourite buns.
                                     They are light, airy and very tasty.

Homemade Popcorn Chicken

How can this be healthy? Oh yes, it is. Minimum oil is used here, it is not deep fried but baked; you can choose to use fresh organic chicken if you like.
Requested recipe asked for quite a bit of garlic powder, if you like garlic, go for it.  I would reduce the garlic and add more paprika for my next cook. I prefer my corn flakes not too fine.
Overall, we enjoyed it, all gone in one go :)



Recipe from: Gourmet Living Magazine 
Ingredients:
230g chicken breast, skinless
100g cornflakes
4 tsp garlic powder
15g (about 4 tbsp) Parmesan freshly grated
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
60g plain flour
2 egg whites, whisked lightly
a little oil


Marinade
1 1/2 tsp oyster sauce
1 1/2 tsp light soya sauce

1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
1/4 tsp sugar

note: I made a few batches at one go

going to start blending..

pound the chicken between two parchment papers
to tenderise it slightly.

like this

cut and marinade the chicken

coat the marinated chicken with plain flour, egg and last, the corn flakes mixture

drizzle oil, ready to get baked

Method:
Place chicken meat in a plastic bag. Pound with a rolling pin or empty glass bottle to flatten it. Remove and cut into 1 inch cubes.  Marinate in fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight.
Preheat oven to 200C.
Process cornflakes with a food processor until you get small crumbs, or place the cornflakes into a plastic bag and crush with fingers to create the crumbs.  Add garlic powder, parmesan , paprika and ground black pepper to mix well.  Set aside.
Dip the chicken cubes in the flour followed by egg whites and cornflakes mixture.
Line a baking tray with aluminium foil.  Grease the foil to prevent chicken cubes adhering to tray during baking later.
Arrange the coated chicken cubes on the tray.  Drizzle with some oil over them.
Bake for 15 minutes or until light golden brown.  Turn the chicken over halfway through.  Do not overcook the chicken lest it turn dry and hard.
Serve warm and best to go with dips such as tomato ketchup, sweet chilli sauce or tartar sauce.

Coconut and Banana Pancake

                                       Delicious, good to go on its own or, served with ice cream.


Recipe from: Gourmet Living Magazine
Ingredients 
150g mashed bananas
110g dessicated coconut
50g plain flour
1 tbsp cornstarch
25g sugar
1/4 tsp salt
80ml water
some butter ( for pan-fry only)

Mix everything together

use a nonstick pan

Method
Mix all ingredients ( except butter) well.
Cover with a cling wrap and let it chill for at least 10 minutes.
Heat up the pan with some butter.  Pour in one tablespoon of batter for each pancake.
Over low heat, pan-fry until both sides are slightly browned.

Rye Bread ( walnuts)

A very healthy bread. Mostly Rye flour is used here.  Generally, rye lacks gluten, produces slightly heavier bread than white bread and the crumb is little tighter so a more dense texture is expected.
Wholemeal and a bit of white flour helped lighten the bread, grated cheese further helped moisture the loaf.  Good to toast.  Rye bread also can keep well, much longer than a white loaf.

Pork Belly Mui Choi ( Preserved Mustard Greens Braised Pork Belly)

A traditional Hakka dish, with sweet and salty pickled mustard greens and the slow-cooked melty pork belly, simply delicious.  Being a Hakka, this is something we always have for meals at home.
It goes so good with just plain rice and, you would ask for 2 bowls of rice for sure.

You can easily get this packet of preserved mustard greens from the Asian grocery shop.
I used the whole packet.



Recipe from: Going with my gut ( with alterations)
Ingredients
1 and 1/2 kg pork belly, no bones preferred ( medium-fatty pieces, cut into strips)
1 packet mui choy( soak for 1 hour, clean and rinse 3 times. Dice into 1 cm sections)
10 big gloves of garlic (peeled, roughly chopped)
2 to 3 tablespoons cooking oil
4 tablespoons dark soya sauce
4 tablespoons brown sugar / granulated sugar

Get your butcher to cut them into slabs for you.
Fry until it turns lightly browned.

2 main ingredients 

I use a claypot for cooking this.
It should do better than metal pot, my personal preference.

Method
Heat up the work over medium high heat, lightly brown all sides of the pork belly. Set aside.
Fry the garlic until softened, add in the chopped mui choi and stir fry for 15 minutes.
Transfer mui choy with garlic into a large pot ( I use a clay pot).
Place pork belly on top of the bed of mui choi.
Mix in the sugar and dark soya sauce with everything.
Pour in boiing water until all ingredients is covered.
Slow cook on low heat for at least 3 hours.
( add extra salt and dark soya sauce as necessary. Mine is just perfect).

Peanut Butter ice cream

                                                                         Delicious!

Recipe from: Todd's Kitchen
Ingredients
1 cup peanut butter
2/3 cup castor sugar
1 cup milk
2 cups thickened cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

churning..

done

Method 
Use your Mixer ( I used food processor) to mix peanut butter and sugar well.
Pour in milk, thickened cream and vanilla all at one go.
Process until it looks slightly thickened, that will do.
Transfer to your ice-cream machine, let it churn for about 30 minutes.
Store in a air-tight container.

Whole Wheat Honey Banana Muffin (healthy version)

These muffins are my lunches / breakfast  for some days in the week.  Nutritious, healthy, light, moist and simply delicious treats for me.  I use minimum amount of honey and dark muscovado sugar here, relying on the sweetness from the overripe  bananas.




Recipe: Food.com
Ingredients
1 and 1/2 cup + 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon chia seeds
3 tablespoons raisins
3 tablespoons chopped walnut
1 teaspoon cinnammon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
( add in choc chips if you like)


Wet ingredients
1/4 cup runny honey
1/4 cup dark muscovado sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 eggs
1 cup mashed banana ( overripe bananas)
1/4 cup hot water

Method
Stir together all the dry ingredients
Mix the oil, honey and dark muscovado sugar together, then add in eggs and mix well.
Add in bananas and well combine them.
Add dry ingredients to wet, alternating with hot water, mix well after each addition.
Spoon batter into 12 greased muffin cups / 6 large muffin cups.
Use nuts for toppings ( I used pecans)
Bake at preheated oven 170C/ 325F for 15 minutes, or until muffins are turning golden brown.
Insert a skewer in the centre, if it comes out clean, it is done.

Sesame whole wheat crackers (healthy)

                                        Love the nutty flavour, quick and easy to make them.

Wholemeal Big Meat Buns

Beef steamed buns with lots of vegetable.  Make lots, wrap and freeze them so you can always have some for lazy weekend dinners at home.  Go with any kind of dipping sauces you like....vinegar and sesame oil, chilli oil, chilli sauce, chilli, mustard sauce, XO sauce, what else?
Oh yes, they are soft, moist, fluffy and very filling buns :)

Pumpkin cheese stick

Black pepper pull-apart buns (savoury)

                                                Peppery, very soft and moist, tasty pull-apart bread.

Yeasted Country Bread with Cornmeal

         Cornmeal, together with lots of whole wheat flour used here makes a very healthy bread.