Easy-Peasy Spinach Tofu Soup

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Weekend is the only time where my family and I could really, really eat together these days. While I love eating out more than anything, I feel like it’s quite costly and not exactly worth the money. Plus…the hubby is out most of the time during the weekdays so I figure he’s kinda sick of eating out and eating at home is much a better option for him.

So these days, I make a point to try and cook some simple meal during the weekend for my family to enjoy. So far so good. Nobody’s poisoned yet.

This is what I cooked last week for my family; easy peasy spinach-tofu soup. It’s very simple and won’t even take up more than your 10 minutes.

Ingredients

A few handfuls of baby spinach

Chopped garlic

Any kind of tofu( I used tofu-pok)

Oyster mushrooms

Water

Salt to taste

Here’s how I do it:

Sautee the baby spinach with some chopped garlic. Add in water, tofu pok and osyter mushrooms and let it simmer for about 3 minutes. Dish out into a bowl and serve immediately. Goes well with steamed rice and noodles.

Cleffairy: Cooking fairy?

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Quickie Spinach Frittata

Frittata is an Italian-style flat omelet that’s baked in a skillet, but I’m all for short cut in everything, including cooking, and so my version is pan-fried like a pancake instead of baked. I figured that making a spinach frittata is an awesome way of cheating my fussy boy to eat veggies. He hates veggies in his meals, but when it’s done in this way, he’ll gobble them up without any complains.

Here’s sharing with you my version of quickie Italian spinach frittata. Frittatas are pretty versatile, you can serve it anytime you want, but it makes a perfect holiday brunches or breakfast in bed.

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients
A handful of spinach
1 teaspoon of chopped garlic
2 eggs
2 cups of flour
4 cups of water
Some shredded cheddar cheese
Olive oil/cooking oil

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Yield: 2 servings

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First of all, sauté the handful of spinach leaves with olive oil and chopped garlic.

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In a mixing bowl, thoroughly beat the eggs until nice and frothy. Add in the flour, shredded cheddar cheese and water and stir until combined. Pour the mixture into the pan over the sautéed spinach. Give everything a stir to distribute the ingredients evenly.

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Cook for a few minutes over slow fire on the pan on both sides til golden brown.

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Cut into wedges and serve immediately while piping hot. You may serve the frittata with a side of salad to make it a more wholesome meal. 😀

Good luck trying.

 

Cleffairy: Do note that you can play around with the ingredients. You may toss whatever leftover meats and vegetables you can find in the kitchen for frittatas. 😀

 

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Constant Cravings- Sweedish Meatballs Recipe

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What do you do when you crave for something badly but could not get it? I craved for IKEA Sweedish meatballs badly the other day but I couldn’t get it. Running all the way to IKEA just for the meatballs is just not an option to me, and I ended up making some of my own. Here’s sharing my version of Sweedish Meatballs:

Ingredients:

1 cup breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup minced white onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3/4 pound lean ground beef
1 large egg plus 1 egg white, beaten
Vegetable oil, for brushing
Carrots- diced and boiled
Broccoli florets- boiled
Alternatively, you can use a pack of ready-made meatballs.
For the gravy:2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups low-sodium beef broth
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (optional)
Directions

Make the meatballs: Put the breadcrumbs in a large bowl. Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, allspice, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon white pepper and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the milk and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a simmer. Pour the milk mixture over the breadcrumbs and stir to make a thick paste; let cool. Add the beef, egg and egg white to the bowl and mix until combined.

Brush a baking sheet with vegetable oil. Roll the meat into 1-inch balls and arrange on the prepared baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Bake the meatballs until cooked through, about 20 minutes in the oven.

Make the gravy: Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, whisking, until smooth. Whisk in the beef broth and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a simmer. Add the cream and meatballs. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until the gravy thickens, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper. Transfer to a serving dish along with the boiled carrots and broccoli; sprinkle with the parsley and serve with lingonberry jam, if desired. ( I omit the jam)

Cleffairy: Have fun trying. 😀
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Gardenia vs. Massimo

If you’re living in Malaysia, there’s a big chance that you have eaten Gardenia, the local sandwich loaf that’s been produced commercially. It used to be my first choice for my family’s bread intake. The loaf used to be so fluffy, soft, and not to mention quite thick, but ever since Massimo appeared in the market with a huge ‘BANG’ (there’s political, racial issue and whatnot behind Massimo’s appearance, but I’m not gonna talk about that today), my choice has always been Massimo.

Massimo is a must have item in my kitchen ever since the first time I’ve tasted it. In terms of taste and pricing, Massimo is much nicer to the taste-buds and also much kinder to the pocket. A regular loaf of Massimo bread only cost me Rm2.10 if I were to buy it at promotional introductory price in KK Mart.  It’s really great for me, as I’m a huge fan of a good toast during breakfast and supper.

My son, who is previously not quite a bread fan, is also turning into one after being introduced to Massimo. He no longer mind having half boiled eggs with toasts after switching to Massimo, which is really great, in my humble opinion.

Massimo sandwich bread is rather soft when you take it on its own, and goes really fluffy on the inside and crunchy on the outside when it’s toasted. I don’t get that from Gardenia. Well, not in the recent years, at least. Gardenia was great when it was just introduced, but it seems to me that the quality has somehow dropped after a few years time. I don’t feel that it’s worth paying for a loaf of Gardenia sandwich loaf anymore, though I still go for their other products like Twiggies, chocolate bread, buns or even instant waffles every now and then when I feel like it.

I have come to realize that Massimo sandwich loaf lasts longer in comparison to Gardenia too. It doesn’t go stale easily and does not have any bread fungus grown on it even after two or three days beyond its expiry date. (Yea, I eat those sandwich loaf even if it’s after the expiry dates, as long as it doesn’t have any fungus on it. So, sue me. LOL)

So, I’ve ditched Gardenia for good and opt for the cheaper but better quality Massimo sandwich bread instead. How about you?

 

Cleffairy: I  always choose a cheaper, but better quality foodstuff if I have the option to do so. How about you?

 

 

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Me, My Boy and Naan Pizza

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So, the boy was kinda upset about something last night, and he was making quite a fuss. He refused to sleep and he wanted supper. Outside. I couldn’t exactly stand his fuss. All I want is just for him quiet down. But then again, I wasn’t exactly in the mood to slack around in the regular restaurant that we both usually patronize last night. It was raining and I would very much prefer to just stay home and snuggle with my cat and a good book.

The boy was still fussing after a while, and so, I decided to compromise. He wants a hearty supper. I want peace. So we went out to take- away a piece of naan after the rain stops. When I came home, I decided that the naan is too plain and hell, we both deserves a little indulging, so why not spice up things a little bit? Nobody is there to stop us anyway.

I sprinkled the naan that I bought with cheese and sliced hot dogs. After stuffing the thing into the oven for a while, we got ourselves a very decent homemade pizza.

The boy finally feels happy again and I got the peace that I wanted at the end of the night. 😀 Who says you need to spend a lot of money to indulge and enjoy life? I certainly think that we don’t need to spend so much money to indulge in food. All we need to do is just be creative and enjoy life in small ways that we can. 😀

Cleffairy: I got to take note to stock up some naan at home so that I can use it as pizza base during ’emergencies’ like this. Comfort food can do wonder for people’s mood! 😀

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Goreng Pisang/Fried Bananas

Kids these days are terribly deprived of the simple joy of devouring not so healthy snacks. You almost never catch modern parents buying fried stuff sold on the street for their kids after school.

I could still remember my childhood days. Back then, my mum would buy my sister and I some goreng pisang (fried bananas) sold on the street for us to enjoy during tea time. I don’t see much parents doing that these days. Most have become health conscious freak and deep fried stuff is a no-no. You’d probably see these parents baking bananas in their sophisticated oven for their kids to eat. Either that, or these overly health conscious parents would have the kids munch on carrot sticks. Tsk. Poor kids.

I may control my boy’s sugar intake cuz he’s an ADHD child and sugar makes him go hyper, but I don’t really deprive him from taking oily food. Snacks like goreng pisang or fried stuff sold by the street is not a banned item in my household. They are in fact, a normal recurrence in the kitchen’s menu.

Anyway, I bought some bananas the other day because it’s rather cheap. I got a bunch of it for just Rm2.50. It was already ripened when I bought it and I thought that it would taste much better and less mushy if I fry it up. And so…instead of eating it just like that…I decided to fry it.

This is what I do:

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I poured about two cups of flour into a bowl and mix it with some water and a pinch of salt to make the goreng pisang batter. And when the batter is ready, I added some sliced bananas into it and coat the bananas with the batter evenly before deep frying it in hot oil for about 5 minutes.

imageAnd the picture above is the end result. LOL. It may not look very good cuz the bananas were already ripened and the caramel was oozing out of the bananas when it’s fried, but I can assure you that these went *POOF* within minutes. 😀

There you go, folks. Fried bananas. Very simple to make and the recipe is idiot proof.

Cleffairy: If I can fry it, you can too. So… loosen up abit and let your kids enjoy some deep fried stuff once in a while.

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Sambal petai with prawn recipe

Smallkucing and his Mamarazzi came to find me for dinner to drop off some goodies they bought during their most recent trip back to Kuala Terengganu. Among of those goodies is some petai (stinky beans). Despite of the stinky and unpleasant smell, I love petai very much. And I can eat lotsa it especially if it’s made into some sambal.

I really couldn’t help myself and fished out some prawns from my freezer and made some sambal petai with prawn for dinner today. Here’s sharing the recipe with you folks:

500 g Medium Size Prawn

200 g Petai

2 Onion

240 g shallot

180 g Red chilli

5 g dried chilli (soaked in water to soften it)

15 g fresh tumeric

2 tbsp belacan powder

2 tbsp dried shrimp (soak in water to soften)

3 – 4 tbsp cooking Oil

20 g Tamarind Paste (mix with one cup of warm water)

Salt to taste

Sugar to taste (optional)

 

Blend the red chili, dried chili, shallots, tumeric, belacan powder and dried shrimp together.

Heat up wok with the cooking oil, when the wok is warm, add in onions and the blended mixture. Stir-fry in medium high heat for 3 – 5 minutes until the onion turn soft and the “sambal” is fragrant, it will be a bit dry at this time.

Stir in the prawns and the tamarind juice (if you want more sambal, add in a little bit more water) continue to cook until the prawn is almost done.

Lastly add in petai and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and sugar to taste. Serve warm with rice.

Cleffairy: Petai will make your urine smelly. If you don’t want your pee to smell so smelly, add in some eggplant in the sambal. Eggplant help you reduce strong smell of urine if you eat it with petai.

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Cheesy Potato Croquettes

I went to my regular egg supplier the other day, and I realized that they are also selling huge sacks of potatoes for Rm5 or Rm6 each, depending on what kind of potatoes there is inside the sacks. I got into my frugal mode and grabbed a huge sack of 8 kg for Rm6.

When I came home, it occurred to me that the supply can last for more than a week for my family, and I decided to get creative with it. Initially, I wanted to make rosti out of it (Rosti is a traditional Swiss dish made out of shredded potatoes) but rostis are rather bland to my liking. I opted to make potato croquettes instead.

Here’s sharing the recipe with you.

Ingredients:

1 kg of boiled potatoes

2 eggs, nicely beaten up

Cheddar cheese/bacon bits (optional)

KFC powder

Oil for frying (or if you prefer, you can bake it in the oven… but my oven goes KABOOM on me… so… yeah…)

Scrub your potatoes clean and boil them til they are fully cooked. Drain them and leave it to cool for 1 hour… or overnight in the fridge.

Shred or mash them up. Not too finely, though. You wouldn’t want to have mushy texture as it will break while you’re frying it.

Crack your eggs into a bowl and beat them up with 2 table spoon of KFC powder.

Add in some mozzarella cheese/cheddar cheese/bacon bits. Pour in the egg mixture and mix them well.

Heat up the oil and fry them up til golden brown.

Ooops… duzzin look so nice, but you can serve it with steak, rice or even eat it on it’s own with some dips.

Looks can be deceiving. I assure you that it’s yummy. Only 3 was left for me when I served them to my two hungry boys. >.< My husband says it tasted like cheesy hash brown.

Cleffairy: Hmm… perhaps I could make my own nuggets next. *GRINZ*

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Sweet and spicy crabs

Every now and then, I will show my sadistic streak…by cooking. I often show it when I get a good deal… like this…I got this crab for RM5 each (About USD2). Cheap, don’t you think? I bought 4 of them, so that’s RM20 (About USD8)

I bought it when it was still alive, and got the seller to tie it up for me. I asked the fishmonger to kill it for me, but that feller was a part-timer, so he did not know how to kill the crabs. I ended up freezing it up in the fridge to kill it cuz I don’t know how to kill a crab either. Yeah, I know. It’s cruel to let the crab die slowly like that, but don’t worry. I’m sure they’re all in crab-heaven now.

After scrubbing them clean, I steamed up two of the crabs.

And made sweet and spicy crabs out of the other two. For RM20, I think it’s quite a good deal, especially when you get to watch pornography later on.

Yeah, eating crabs is like having a food orgy… so much bondage, torture, sucking, fondling,digging, fingering, slurping, licking… and more sucking (the crab, that is) involved. Pretty arousing and rather sexy, I must say.

Neway, here’s the recipe for the sweet and spicy crab:

Ingredients:

Crabs

3 clove of crushed garlic

4 tablespoon of tomato sauce

2 tablespoon of chilli paste

1 tablespoon of light soya sauce

1 teaspoon of dark soya sauce

1 teaspoon of sugar

3 cups of water

3 tablespoon of cooking oil

Sauté the crushed garlic with all the sauce til fragrant. Then transfer the crabs into a huge pot. When the sauce is done, pour it into the pot along with 3 cups of water or more, and cook until crabs are cooked and the sauce thickens.

Cleffairy: I wonder how much these will cost in the restaurants?

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Sweet Baklava

Baklava is a rich, sweet pastry made of layers of filo pastry. It’s usually filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey.

Baklava is a traditional Greek delicacy. I was served one of those honeyed baklava back in 2006 during a visit to a lecturer’s house, and I have to say, it’s a delicacy that one won’t easily forget. It’s rich and melt in the mouth kind of pastry, and once you have a bite of it, you would want more.

Here’s a typical recipe for baklava:

For the baklava:

* 1 kg of chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts, or pistachios are best, or use a combination of them)

* 1 kg of phyllo dough

* 1 cup of butter, melted

* 1/3 cup of sugar

* 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

* 1/3 teaspoon of ground cloves

For the syrup:

* 1 cup of water

* 1 cup of sugar

* 1/2 cup of honey

* 2 tablespoons of lemon juice

* 1 cinnamon stick

* Finely ground pistachios for garnish (optional)

Lightly grease a 9×13 pan and set the oven to 350°F.

Thaw the phyllo dough according to manufacturer’s directions (this may take overnight). When thawed, roll out the dough and cut the dough in half so the sheets will fit in the pan. Cover with a damp towel to keep it from drying out.

Process the nuts until in small, even sized pieces. Combine with sugar, cinnamon, and cloves. In a separate bowl, melt the butter in the microwave.

Place a sheet of phyllo dough into the pan. Using a pastry brush, brush the phyllo sheet with melted butter. Repeat 7 more times until it is 8 sheets thick, each sheet being “painted” with the butter.

Spoon on a thin layer of the nut mixture. Cover with two more sheets of phyllo, brushing each one with butter. Continue to repeat the nut mixture and two buttered sheets of phyllo until the nut mixture is all used up. The top layer should be 8 phyllo sheets thick, each sheet being individually buttered. Do not worry if the sheets crinkle up a bit, it will just add more texture.

Cut into 24 equal sized squares using a sharp knife. Bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes or until lightly golden brown, and edges appear slightly crisp.

While baking, make the syrup. Combine the cinnamon stick, sugar, lemon juice, honey, and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium low heat and let simmer for 7 minutes and slightly thickened. Remove the cinnamon stick and allow to cool.

Spoon the cooled syrup over the hot baklava and let cool for at least 4 hours. Garnish with some finely crushed pistachios. (optional)

Want a good book to accompany those sweet baklava? Well, no problem, I happen to know one book that will accompany these treat perfectly.

‘Sweet Baklava’ by Debbie Mayne will just do the trick. Trust me, the book is as sweet as the baklava itself. It’s heartwarming and have a lot of family values. While the book does not leave you breathless out of anticipation, it will bring smile to your face nevertheless. There’s so much quirks and sweet, innocent love interwoven in the story, enhancing the already rich cultural background that’s portrayed in the story. I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. It’s a rather satisfying book. Almost as satisfying as eating baklava itself. More infos on this book, please click here.

I received this digital ARC from Abingdon Press via Netgalley. I was not required to give a positive review for it, and I was also not compensated in any ways to write this review.

From the back of the book:

Paula Andrews has finally found her niche in life, with only one thing missing—true love. When Nick, the heartthrob of her youth, returns home on military leave, she sees that he has no desire to join his family in the Greek community where the men work on the sponge docks. However, without each other, their lives seem incomplete. Is it possible for them to rekindle what they once had?

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