Wednesday Special 11

Congratulations to all the winners of June DMBLGIT! And thanks to Nidhi of Snacksgiving for appointing me to be the judge for the event. I would also like to express my gratitude to all participants who have submitted photos and helped save the contest. My special gratitude to many foodbloggers who have taken the step of submitting photos for the first time on behalf of good intention. Thank you all!

The contest managed to collect 95 submissions. Apparently there were many great photos to assess and it was hard to choose the winners when they were all good. Well, fortunately there were Meeta, Vero, and Tania... The final decision was drawn from the highest total points accumulated from all judges.



Meanwhile, the good news is I just got myself a new laptop that would give me 24 hour access to this blog. So pleased to finally get a full insight into what is going on with my blog and other's. Definitely will say "Hi" more often to everyone and no more reason to skip posting on a weekend. Now my blog update is just a few clicks away :-) Yes!



Just got to learn about the exciting photo contest from Deeba's Passionate About Baking. Check it out, you might be interested to join....





See you for more updates. For now hope you enjoy my non-food photo shoot. Have a great day!

Is It Time To Judge?

Nidhi from Snacksgiving wrote me an email just recently and asked me whether I would want to be the judge for June’s DMBLGIT. Being the host of this month’s event, Nidhi depicted that the number of entries to the photo contest has been continuously decreasing, to a point where if nothing improves, this month’s event could be the very last ever!



Wow, that is critical, isn’t it? I mean which one of us the food bloggers, who actually never heard of or felt eager to be part of DMBLGIT which has been running for 5 consecutive years? And could we imagine an event that has been inspiring us to cook and bake better so we can take a better food shot goes to an end?



So something needs to be done, dear friends ... to keep DMBLGIT going! Let’s show our support to Andrew of Spittoon and Spittoon Extra, the creator of DMBLGIT and Nidhi of this month’s host by sending your best food photo entry from your blog posts in May to June’s DMBLGIT. Besides the entry, you could also help spread the words for the event and its 5th anniversary by simply mentioning about it in your next post. To check out what Nidhi has to say click here.



I rememberred as a food blogger wannabe, I went into Bonbini and admired Thip's DMBLGIT winning photos and simply made a wish that someday soon I would become a food blogger and take nice photos myself. And hopefully if I was good enough I could win DMBLGIT myself someday. Truthfully, it is worthwhile having dreams and making wishes because they can come true.



My dream came true. And for those of you who share the same DMBLGIT dream, send your best photo and make your work seen. Help save this photography event and at the same time, keep other foodbloggers’ dreams alive.

So here come the judge :-)

As promised, I like to share the Strawberry Panacotta recipe which appeared to be the best seller in the bazaar! Enjoy!

Wednesday Special 06

It has been a terrific week with so many public holidays here in Bangkok. Despite the political turmoil, we still could find peace and happiness by getting away to the countryside. Managed to travel with T and his friends to the floating market and a beautiful clay workshop in Chachoengsao. Just in those moments, we forgot about all the chaos and enjoyed the trip to the fullest.



Meanwhile, the April's DMBLGIT host - the beautiful and talented Julia of Melanger Baking had sent me the award for winning the contest. So excited! Thanks to Julia, the judges Dominique of De vous à moi, El of Fresh, Giao of Kiss My Spatula and Mowie of Mowielicious. And Andrew of Spittoon!



It is another Wednesday Special. I would like to share a simple dish that mostly served on my dining table. T and I loved this easy-to-cook rice accompaniment and we hope you will too. And feel free to substitute any ingredient if you have your prefererred vegetable or meat in mind!

FRIED PRAWNS WITH SWEET GREEN PEAS AND GINKGO NUTS
Serves 2



Ingredients:
- Olive oil > 2 tablespoons
- Garlic - slice > 2 cloves
- Big prawns - remove head and feet > 4
- Sweet green peas > 100 grams
- Bean sprouts > 100 grams
- Ginkgo nuts > 25 grams
- Tomato - slice > 1
- Salt > 1/4 teaspoon
- Granulated sugar > 1 teaspoon
- Worchestershire sauce > 2 teaspoons
- Coriander or mint leaves > to granish



Method:
- Saute garlic in olive oil until golden brown and fragrant.
- Fold in prawns and fry for a while.
- Add green peas, bean spouts, ginkgo nuts, and tomatoes, followed with the salt, sugar and worchestershire sauce. Stir occasionally until cooked.
- Place in the serving plate. Garnish with coriander or mint leaves.
- Serve.

Rose and Chives

My chives flower shot just gave me a moment of bliss this week after getting a recognition in March DMBLGIT. Thanks to all of the judges for voting for my photo entry. I am so pleased to receive the award. Thank you!



Meanwhile I and T are planning for a 10-day holiday in Jakarta starting from 9th at the end of this week. Therefore there are many things I need to complete before the break. For one I need to carry out the next Daring Cooks' Challenge much earlier, prepare my Wednesday Special shots and whatever posts I might need to post from overseas. Now I do realize my life is not the same anymore, everything is connected with this blog and no matter where I go, this blog is always in my mind!






For now, I like to post something I have baked for a while now. It is one of my favorite bakings, and I believe it is one of most of yours too. Some might say that every food blogger must experience baking macarons. It could be universally true, could it?



Macaron is fun to bake, and for some it is a challenge. In moments of successful baking, the outcome is so pleasing and the feeling is overwhelmed with joy. The expression must go something like "There are feet!. There are feet!" Again, all of us have experienced that moment and will still react the same when encounter such occasion again and again. In that sense, macaron is always a special experience.

ROSE MACARON
Makes 10 macarons



1. Rose Macarons
Prepare: 1 big baking tray lined with a Silpat or parchment paper

Ingredients :
- Egg white > 70 grams
- Sugar > 50 grams
- Icing sugar > 90 grams
- Ground almond > 45 grams
- Dried rose > 2 teaspoons
- Pink coloring > 3 drops



Method :
- Combine icing sugar and ground almond. Sieve.
- Whip egg white until frothy. Add sugar and continue whipping until stiff peaks form.
- Fold almond and icing mixture, and 1 teaspoon of dried rose gradually into the egg white in 2 additions. Mix carefully with a spatula until batter is shiny and flowy like magma.
- Fill batter into piping bag tipped with a plain circular nozzle and pipe into a circle with a diameter of 3 cm. Piping makes 20 pieces. Sprinkle the top with the rest of dried rose.



- Leave to rest until surface of these pipings are flat and dry or when touched, it doesn't stick to our finger.
- Preheat oven at 150°C.
- Bake at 150°C for 8-10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 125°C, turn tray 180 degrees and continue baking for 8-10 minutes.
- Cool on the rack and detach from Silpat or parchment paper.



2. Rose Ganache

Ingredients :
- White chocolate > 90 grams
- Whipping cream > 40 grams
- Rose water > 1 teaspoon
- Butter > 16 grams



Method :
- Place white chocolate in a bowl.
- Heat whipping cream until boiled. Pour into white chocolate. Leave for a while until white chocolate melts. Stir thoroughly.
- Add butter and rose water. Mix well.
- Leave to cool and thicken.



3. Assembly

- Fill rose ganache into piping bag and pipe on the macaron. Top with the other macaron to form like a sandwich.

Satisfaction and Banana

A surprise came knocking this morning… I just won the DMBLGIT award for the month of February and I was so delighted. I have been waiting for snacksgiving’s announcement and finally it came through like a desirable red velvet cake topped with cheese cream frosting. And before I knew it, Fitri of Mommy Nisa congratulated me. Thanks, Fit!



It was in deed a pleasant feeling knowing that people agreed with my artistic judgement of choosing the right photo to send for the competition. I remember the first time I joined this contest, it took me days to pick the right picture to enter it since each participant was only allowed to send one entry from the previous month’s posting. As time went by and I learnt more about photography and saw more photos shot by professional bloggers (that’s you, by the way! :-)), this decision could be made quite fast.



And at the end of the day, the award is worth the effort - the long preparation of the cake, props, and hours of photo shoot. Sort of like a hard work pays off, plus an overwhelming satisfaction.

For this special occasion, I like to share this recipe that I adapted from Sweet Paul's Blueberry Ice Cream. Apparently the man has a very good taste of ice cream. This banana ice cream is creamy and luscious, and most importantly goes well with almost anything. Try and see whether you like it…

BANANA ICE CREAM
Adapted from Sweet Paul’s Blueberry Ice Cream.
Serves 6



Ingredients:
- Egg > 1
- Egg yolks > 3
- Granulated sugar > 150 grams
- Corn starch > 2 teaspoons
- Milk > 250 ml
- Whipping cream > 2 cups
- Ripe big bananas – mash moderately > 2
- Strawberry jam > optional
- Chocolate sauce > optional
- Extra banana for decoration - slice > as desired
- Chocolate curl > optional
- Roasted almond chunks > optional



Method:
- Combine egg, egg yolks, and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat at high speed until pale and light.
- Heat milk in a saucepan until boiled. Immediately pour hot milk into the egg mixture while beating at medium speed. Add corn starch and mix thoroughly.
- Set stove to low heat, place egg mixture back into saucepan and cook until the mixture starts to curdle and thicken. Immediately remove from fire.
- Leave to cool. Add mashed banana and refrigerate overnight.
- Spin the cold mixture in ice cream maker until thick. Refrigerate overnight.
- Fill a serving glass with one thick layer of strawberry jam, scoop in some ice cream.
- Add a layer of chocolate sauce and a small amount of ice cream. Decorate with some banana slices. Top with a big ball of ice cream, a chocolate curl and some almond chunks.

Grateful

I should admit that I am pretty happy with the way a couple of things are going in my life. For one I know this blog has been fun and I am challenged of creating nice baking/cooking content and taking better photos for hopefully more frequent posts. Just the right moment for me to express my gratitude to Mandy of What The Fruitcake?! for passing me a very nice Over The Top award. Do visit her blog and explore her great recipes with beautiful pictures. You will definitely love it....



Meanwhile, I like to pass this award on to:
- Julia of Melanger :: to Mix
- Jo of Sugar & Everything Nice
- Barbara of Barbara Bakes
- Simone of Junglefrog Cooking
- Anncoo of Anncoo's Hobby. These 5 bloggers, with each individual, unique and distinctive style of blogging, have truly inspired me. A visit to their blogs is a must! Again, a must! :-)



Second, I am so glad that coming into the sixth month, T has always been there for me. The connection is getting stronger and we seem to be inseparable. And he is getting more involved into things that I like for instance now if we go for shopping, he will keep an eye on photo props for me, like plates, cups, cake stands, and all. And I reciprocated with picking up an interest in gardening everytime I am in his garden.



Third, I am grateful to be in Bangkok for my seventh year. Things have been good here and people are friendly and kind. All I can hope for is that I don't have to leave...... forever. That can only happen if I have the Thai Permanent Residence in hand. Will I have it soon? That is still a curious question mark? I have been trying... and waiting!



To celebrate this particular grateful moment of my life, I like to post Pink Lychee Mousse Cake that I baked recently for my colleague's birthday. I have kept the photos for a special occasion. Apparently January has been a perfect month for everything especially making new plans and keeping people who are close to me even closer to my heart. And my beloved sister's birthday also fell on this month. So.... to all the good things in my life and to people who made them happen, thank you!



PINK LYCHEE MOUSSE CAKE
Makes a 7 inch cake or five 2.5 inch mini cakes

1. Chocolate Base

Ingredients:
- Couscous > 135 grams
- Water > 400 ml
- Dark chocolate > 35 grams
- Granulated sugar > 160 grams
- Vanilla essence > 2 teaspoons

Method:
- Cover the bottom and sides of a 7 inch cake ring or five 2.5 inch cake rings with aluminium foil.
- Mix all ingredients together in a saucepan. Bring to boil and stir constantly.
- Once boiled, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes until the mixture becomes a thick paste. Keep stirring to avoid burnt mixture.
- Once the mixture is warm to touch, press it into the base of the cake rings.
- Refrigerate.



2. Lychee Yogurt Mousse

Ingredients :
- Canned lychee > 2 cans (each net weight 575 grams)
- Egg white > 60 grams
- Sugar > 60 grams
- Whipping cream > 140 grams
- Plain yogurt > 100 grams
- Gelatin powder > 20 grams
- Hot water > 30 grams

Preparation:
- Open 2 lychee cans and separate 8 pieces of lychees for decoration.
- Weight the rest of lychees plus syrup to 700 grams. Puree them until fine.
- Separate 400 grams for mousse, and 300 grams for jelly topping.
- For jelly topping, strain lychee puree into fine juice. Set aside for later use.
- Make meringue by beating egg white at medium speed until foamy.
- Add in sugar gradually and whisk until soft peaks form. Leave aside in mixing bowl.
- Beat whipping cream at medium speed until soft peaks form. Set aside.
- Melt gelatin in hot water. Leave it to cool for a while.
- Mix lychee puree with yogurt.
- Fold lychee mixture into meringue bowl and mix well at low speed.
- Then fold in whipping cream. Finally add gelatin.
- Pour into cake rings and refrigerate for 2 hours.



3. Jelly Topping

Ingredients:
- The above strained lychee puree > 300 grams
- Gelatin powder > 20 grams
- Hot water > 20 grams
- Pink rose coloring > 2 drops

Method:
- Melt gelatin powder in hot water. Leave to cool.
- Mix with lychee puree. Add pink coloring. Pour on top of lychee mousse layer.
- Refrigerate overnight.



4. Composition

- Take out lychee mousse from fridge.
- Decorate with whipping cream, lychees (that have been set aside earlier), and decorative chocolate pieces.

New and Wishful

Happy New Year, Everyone! Wish you all a new year filled with love, joy, great health, and success!

It is Bake in Paris’ first anniversary! My gratitudes to all of you - especially the blogger peers - for leaving constructive comments to my 91 posts and providing mental support to me. Thanks for the opportunity to make friends with you and to learn from you!



Also my gratitudes to Daring Baker, DMBLGIT, and CLICK for pushing me beyond the limit of my capabilities and causing me to realize what my true interests that lied deep down and yearned to express themselves were. I have found baking, cooking, photography, photo styling, and blogging my passion. This blog and T are 2 greatest things I have embraced during 2009 and for them I feel very blessed.



Meanwhile, I have made some resolutions for the new year...
* I would like to see myself getting one step closer to finding what I really want to do with these baking and photography interests. Despite there might be obstacles along the way, I would like to work on it and bring it into a clearer definition.
* I would like to inject more exciting content into this blog. Many new possibilites will be explored.
* I would like to keep myself healthy. Hopefully I will have more time to rest and exercise. Yoga skills should be improved.
* I would like to keep my lover, family, and friends close to my heart.



A close friend of mine has been talking about making a change in his life and relocate to a new country. I won't doubt a second if he again has included that into his new year’s resolution. He remarked that he has been doing mental preparation. However, he still has his doubt about his career in the foreign country and how he could cope leaving his mother behind. I truly wish him the best and hope this new year will give him great spirit to finally take the action. Afterall, I think he deserves to stay in a country of his dream, a place where he feels he belongs.



The exciting 2010 has begun with a new DMBLGIT award. Thanks to Arfi Binsted of Home MadeS for hosting the DMBLGIT December challenge! Arfi's blog is fabulous, packed with beautiful photographs and great recipes.... so give it a click! I am so charged up after the holiday and can't wait to bake more cakes and take more photos! Thanks again, Everyone!