Mottainai literally means “what a waste” in Japanese, but besides using it as an expression, it is also a tradition, a culture, a philosophy and a lifestyle to the Japanese. In brief, mottainai encompasses the “don’t waste”, “utilise as much as you can”, “reduce, recycle, reuse”, “respect”, and “be thankful” values. So what does this has…
lemon
Creamy Avocado and Tuna Spread / Dip
I have half an avocado left when I used the other half for maki sushi (avocado with smoked salmon – they looked horrendous but thankfully still tasted delicious), so the next day I started looking for a recipe to use it up. I have an avocado cookbook which includes recipes from smoothies to kimchi (yes avocado kimchi) to cakes, and one particular avocado…
Strawberry Lemonade Moscato
Baking and cooking took a hiatus as I was busy with a commitment for the last few months, but now I’m back for good so it’s time to start whipping butter and searing steaks in the kitchen! But first… let’s start with a drink – a refreshingly delicious Strawberry Lemonade Moscato!
Chicken Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken)
Just like ice cream, I have another love-hate relationship with anything deep-fried. While I can still say no to ice cream sometimes, I usually will succumb to their crispy coating and that oily satisfaction when eating deep-fried food. Every cuisine, be it Chinese, Korean, Malay, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, American, Italian, French etc, will definitely have some food…
Lemon Curd Hokkaido Chiffon Cupcakes
I don’t know why but I’m recently hooked on making Hokkaido Chiffon Cupcakes. The combination of the soft, fluffy and spongy chiffon cake with the sweetened whipped cream makes such a light, delectable and pretty treat – and one is always not enough for me, I have to eat at least 2 at one go!
Easy One-Bowl No-Mixer Lemon Yogurt Cake
I was craving a tea-time treat 2 days back and I ended up baking this incredibly easy, simple, one-bowl and no-mixer yogurt cake flavoured with a little lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla. They go sooo well with the Earl Grey tea I was having that I went for a second slice, with an additional…
Blueberry Cheesecake
I baked this cheesecake sometime last year and posted the recipe only on Instagram. Since then, I’ve been wanting to rebake this for the blog and only managed to do so a few weeks back when I needed to clear my refrigerator for this 3-week holiday – I think I’ve never seen my refrigerator so empty before! Technically…
Mayo, Lemon, Garlic and Parmesan Dip / Dressing
I’ve always like creamy salad dressings but tend to avoid them as they are not as waistline-friendly as their oil-vinegar based cousins. But once in a while, I will indulge in this rich, creamy, lemony, garlicky and cheesy dressing, and hey – if it’s delicious, it’s definitely worth the calories! I recently discovered that they can…
Minty Ice Lemon Tea
I bought a small pot of mint and coriander each a few weeks back from the market for garnishing purposes. It’s a lot easier to snip off a few leaves here and there to use as garnish instead of buying a bunch, using only a little and leaving the rest to rot in the refrigerator…
Pan-Fried Salmon with Asian Glaze
Buying chicken, beef and pork (we don’t really eat lamb) is easy, just go to the counter, ask for the parts and the butcher will give it to me. Fish, on the other hand, is a whole new different game. I would stare at the fish and the fish would stare back at me and I guess…
Nigella’s Mother-in-Law’s Madeira Cake
When I saw that the theme for Bake-Along this time round is Madeira Cake, I decided to Google and find out what’s so special about this cake that is named after a place in Portugal. It turns out that the cake is not from Portugal, but originated in England around the 1800s, and that its name, Madeira,…
Peach Layered Cake with Peach-Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Happy Mother’s Day! How is everyone celebrating this wondrous occasion? To be honest, we don’t celebrate Mother’s Day (I hate going to restaurants who are out to rip us off), and now that we are 8,000 km apart, I won’t be able to bring my mom out for dinner. So I called her yesterday and we had a really…
Lemon Cheesecake
After a long hiatus, I’m back to join the Bake-Along! And what a coincidence is that this Bake-Along is for its 4th Birthday! The theme decided by the 3 ladies – Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids, Joyce from Kitchen Flavours and Lena from Her Frozen Wings – behind Bake-Along this time round is cheesecake, how exciting and delicious, isn’t it?…
Lemon Cream Prawn Pasta
When I saw the theme for Little Thumbs Up is Noodles, I just couldn’t resist not making a dish for this event! I love making pastas because they are such a one-plate comfort – I can have both carbohydrates and proteins in just one serving! While looking at my pasta recipes that I’ve blogged before,…
Sangria
Sangria is a beverage originating from Spain and Portugal. It usually consists of wine, chopped fruit, a sweetener, and a small amount of added brandy. Sangria is named after the Spanish and Portuguese word for “bloodletting” because of its typical dark-red color. (Source: Wikipedia) X and I had our first taste of Sangria during our…
Seafood en Papillote
“En papillote”, which means “in parchment” in French, is a method of cooking, whereby food is placed in a pouch/parcel and then baked. The pouch/parcel is usually made from parchment paper, which seals the moisture inside. While baking, the moisture becomes steam which helps to steam the food to perfection. I actually made this dish…
Baked Honey and Lemon Chicken Wings
“A picture is worth a thousand words” – I hope this photo can really speak a thousand words as I’m so drained from work these days that I can’t even bring myself to blog a proper post. I can’t wait for the busy period to be over soon so I can blog more often! Just…
Baked Falafel (Chickpea Patties) with Tzatziki Sauce + Tiger Radler Review
I’m pretty upset that I missed last month’s Asian Food Fest because it’s one of my favourite countries – Thailand! I’ve originally wanted to make some pad thai or green curry but somehow the plans didn’t materialise. Hopefully there will be another Thailand theme some time soon! When I saw the theme for Asian Food…
THB #28: Greek Almond-Crusted Citrus Rolls
Christmas is just around the corner and I had just finished planning what I want to bake for the upcoming Christmas parties and giveaways! (Still left with the savoury meals though…) Hopefully I will remember to take photos of them and post on my Instagram! (Follow me @foodiebaker if you haven’t!) This bake was chosen…
Italian Almond Tart + Liebster Award
I’m hosting next month’s Aspiring Bakers event and the theme is Boozy-licious – just bake or cook anything with at least 1 tablespoon of alcohol (yes any kind of alochol!), blog about it, and submit your entry to me! Can’t wait to see what you all have cooked up! I really wish I have at…
Baked Maple Ribs (Nigella)
When we subscribed for SCV/Starhub TV (aka cable tv), the channels that I watched most are the cooking channels, especially Jamie Oliver and Nigella’s cooking shows. I love Jamie Oliver’s style of cooking – always so spontaneous and energetic! On the other hand, Nigella’s style of cooking is more laid-back, but she’s always capable of…
Steak with Chimichurri (Curtis Stone)
Grilling steaks is not a favourite hobby of mine as high heat is needed – and when there’s high heat, there’d be lots of smoke and my house would always ended up smoky and oily! I’d have to mop the floor after the cooking, which is definitely not my favourite household chore. However, restaurant steaks…
Chocolate and Strawberry Bavarian Cream Layer Cake
Chocolate collar was not very well done… :/ Just blogged about a layer cake recently and I’m back blogging about another one! This cake was made also for an early birthday celebration for a friend. I decided on a strawberry cake as Korean strawberries were on sale, so I bought 2 punnets and used 1…
Devil’s Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter & Jam
I’ve always have a soft spot for layer cakes because: 1) They look absolutely gorgeous – be it round, square, triangle, rectangle or whatever odd shape it is, layer cakes will always, in my personal opinion, look a lot more pretty than cupcakes. They look more sophisticated and a lot more classy than cupcakes, don’t…
THB #19: Lemon-Glazed Buttermilk Cake and a SNAPWARE Surprise!
It’s time for The Home Bakers again! This time the cake was chosen by Grace from Life Can Be Simple. The cake is mixed together without the use of a mixer (hooray!) and without the use of butter (oil is the fat here). Oil-based cakes are moist and tender, and this cake is no exception!…
Re-Bake: Real Fruits Strawberry Cupcakes
I’ve actually baked these cupcakes a few weeks back but I haven’t gotten down to blogging them, and just when I saw the theme for Bake Along today is cupcakes, I decided to blog about them first. :p I re-baked a previous favourite of mine – Strawberry Cupcakes as I had leftover Korean strawberries that…
The Home Bakers #16: Black Tea-Lemon Cornmeal Cupcakes
After getting my cornmeal last week, I finally attempted the Rosemary-Lemon Polenta Cake, chosen by Angela of The Charmed Cupcake. I scaled the recipe down and baked only 1/4 of the cake and ended up with 6 muffins/cupcakes. Unfortunately, no one in the family liked the taste of rosemary in the cake. I have to…