Claypot Beef Rendang

I used this instant Claypot premix to make my beef rendang for Evy's birthday. This packet was given to me by Lily (thanks Lily :*) because I told her I never tried this brand before, she said it's good and I should try it. :D This packet comes with everything, the coconut powder, the rendang paste and the desiccated coconut to put in the end. Very easy all in one.



I totally agreed. This premix is delicious. I added kaffir lime leaves at the end for extra flavor. Yummy, will sure buy this brand the next time I'm in Denver! :)

CALL OUT To Novice Baker:
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YES! you can make this beef rendang too!! :D

Evy's 3rd Birthday Celebration

This year for Evy birthday I had a little party for her over the weekend, only invited 4 little girls about her age and their parents. It took me two days to prepare the food but I had fun. I hope they enjoyed the food! :)

I made her this birthday cake, but my chocolate fudge didn't set in the middle! :( First time making fudge, very amatuer!

Children table with her Dora theme.

Nasi Lemak and Beef Rendang

Noodle, Soy Sauce Chicken Wings & Spice Chicken Wings

Appertizer & Dessert

The Vegetarian Noodle

Claypot Beef Rendang, I added the Kaffir Lime Leaves

Sambal Ikan Bilis for the Nasi Lemak

Spice Chicken Wings

When my mom see the spread, she will say, " Aiya, you should spend your time holding Edda instead of making all these food!" LOL!!

Yam Rice

I have been wanting to make a good yam rice ever since I had it in Malaysia. Gina's Uncle Willie's Yam Rice recipe at KC looks so good that I just had to try it. Finally bought some yam the other day for this and viola! This recipe didn't disappoint me and the flavor was good. I had it with bak kut teh just like back home.

A1 Bak Kut Teh

I was so happy when I found the A1 Bak Kut Teh Spices in Denver. I quickly bought a packet to try it out. It is indeed good. I was surprised that it called for oyster sauce in the soup, but the flavor turned out great.



I added beancurd sheet in my bak kut teh. By the way, anyone knows what kind of beancurd the store owners use for their bak kut teh? I have discussed this with my mom before but she has no idea. I told her I think they used the fresh beancurd sheet and I'm going to try it next time I make bak kut teh. So, here it is! I used the fresh beancurd sheet, cut it into pieces and then deep-fried it til crispy before adding it into the soup before serving. Is this the right way to make it, I have no idea, would love to have some insight from readers who know. Taste wise, it's pretty darn good, but not sure it's the right one, even my hubby also couldn't recall anymore. But sure tastes good though!

Cream Cheese Mixed Fruit Butter Cake

I have a bottle of Brandy sitting at home, so I'm thinking of soaking it with some mixed fruit and make a fruit cake out of it. But I never make a fruit cake before and eventhough I do like the American version of the dense fruit cake with little flour used, I still prefer the Asian version with more flour and less fruit.



My mixed fruit soaking in Brandy ready to be used. I soaked it for more than two months. Now in search of a recipe to try. Since I'm not going to make the traditional kind, I opted to try Lucy's cream cheese mixed fruit butter cake. You can find the recipe at her blog under October 2006 archives.

These are the nicer bunch of my end product. The rest got stuck to the pan and came out broken. :( So, please grease generously and flour it if you want to try.

This cake is very soft, sweet and moist. Since I used a lot of brandy (1 cup) to soak my mixed fruit, my cake tasted of brandy and if consume too much can get giddy wor. I think I should rename it Brandy Cake. LOL!

For convenient, I posted Lucy's recipe here:

Ingredients:

125 gm. Butter

125 gm. cream cheese

185 gm. castor sugar (probably have to cut down the sugar to 150 gm. or less)

3 eggs (size B)

200 gm. Cake flour, sifted together with

1 tsp. baking powder

150 gm. Mixed fruits - soaked overnight with 2 Tbsp. Rum/brandy/Kirsch

50 gm. Chopped walnuts

5 nos. green Cherries - diced

Method:

(1) Cream butter, cream cheese and sugar together till creamy.

(2) Add in eggs one at a time, beat well after each addition to prevent curdling.(3) Mix 2 Tbsp. of the sifted flour with the mixed fruits to prevent the fruits from sinking.

(4) Fold in sifted flour and then add in the mixed fruits, green cherries and walnuts.

(5) Pour mixture into a 7" square tin and bake in preheated oven at 175C for about 45 mins. or until cooked.

(6) Remove from oven and leave to cool on the wire rack.

My Girls

My lovely girls!


Edda smiling!


She is pushing up finally!

This is for my record, so I will know whether Edda is behind or not.

2 months before turning three, Evy knows:
~ All the phonics (through LeapFrog Phonics dvd).
~ Speak Mandarin in sentences.
~ Speak some English in sentences (self-learn through T.V. and her notebook).
~ Converse with grandpa and grandma on the phone (mummy's friends too).
~ Know most of the animals name in Mandarin & English.
~ Know all the common shapes and colors in Mandarin & English.
~ Learn to recognize and pronounce Chinese characters correctly.
~ A-Z, and sing the whole song correctly.
~ Sing a bunch of English and Mandarin songs.
~ Say 1-20 in Mandarin & 1-10 in English.
~ She can write 0, 1, 2, 10, H, E & F.
~ She can spell Evy, baby and Tad.
~ She can draw circle, rectangle and our family picture.
~ Tell me what to buy her on her 3rd birthday and what kind of birthday cake she wants. *Geez...*

As for Edda, a bit slow on her development. Still not turning over yet. But at least finally she is pushing up on her own. Not enough tummy exercise I guess, but she always cries when I put her on her tummy, so... Well, as long as she can sit up on her own at 6 months, I'm not going to worry about her turning over or not.