Apple Oat Sesame Cookies

The combination of apple, oat and sesame cookies make soft chewy cookies as apple and honey is added.

The recipe is adapted from cooksrecipe.com which I have made minor changes to suit my own preference of sweetness and in metric too.

Apple Oat Sesame Cookies:

Ingredients：( sieved )

150 g flour

150 g wholemeal flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

1/2 tsp nutmeg powder ( omitted)

1 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp bicarbonate of soda

60 g  quick cooking oat ( I used instant oatmeal )

20 g sesame seeds

70 g castor sugar 

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups chopped apples ( 1 cup approx 90 g)

60 ml honey

60 ml corn oil

60 ml beaten egg ( 1 no.)

* 1/3 cup milk ( I omitted this as I thought that apple and honey would make this cookies soft enough. It is better not to add the milk or the cookie would be too soft  and  I have also got feedback from whom ate this cookies.)

Method:

1. Mix both flour + oat + sesame seeds + sugar + cinnamon powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and apple.

2. + honey + vegetable oil and beaten egg. Stir until everything is combined.

3. Shape like a ball and press with palm.

4. Baking time : 25 mins until golden.

    Temperature : 190 C .

Chocolate Chip Banana Coffee Cake

First time for me to buy chocolate chips (bought only 200 g,  from Tesco ) and  it was stored in the fridge for a while.
It is easy to get banana at the local market here. It is surprised that I love it very much !
Take this coffee cake for breakfast or tea time with a cup of coffee would be perfect enough for the day.

 Banna Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake :（ 1 loaf ）
160 g butter
70 g  sugar  ( * Low sugar as banana and chocolate chip are sweet enough)

3 eggs ( 70 g each)

200 g flour  + 1 tsp baking powder + 1/8 bicarbonate of soda --- sieve all.
150 g mashed banana
100 g chocolate chip

2 tbsp milk
1/8 salt


Method :
1. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy and pale.
2. + eggs one at a time + salt +  200 g flour , stir well + mashed banana + chocolate chip.
3.  2 tbsp milk .

Oven Temperature : 180 C
Baking time : 40 mins ( + / -  depending on your oven)

Stir Fried Lean Pork with Rosemary

My neighbour had given me a small plate of petai ( bitter bean or stink bean ) with minced pork with belacan. I added aubergine as to make it a bigger portion of vegetables in order to have a balance diet.

Ingredient to be added to enhance the taste for petai :
chopped onion ( half )
belacan
a spoonful of chilli paste
1/2 tbsp fish sauce
1/4 tsp sugar

The real cooking was the "Stir Fried Lean Pork with Rosemary".
Ingredients:
150 g lean pork

A.
1 tbsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp garlic peper ( salt free)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
1 tsp dark sauce

B. Some chopped garlic, ginger and shallot.

Method:
1. Marinate lean pork with (A) for 15 mins ( or 30 mins).
2. Fry chopped garlic, ginger and shallot until golden in colour.
3. + marinated lean pork . Stir fry for 2 mins with high heat,  + 1/4 cup of water.
4. Fry ( * without covering the wok or frying pan) until the pork become quite dry before serving.

Apricot Banana Bread

The inspiration of making this bread was adapted from Taste of Home. I substitute bran cereal with wheat germ  since I didn't have bran cereal.

Some changes were made from the original recipe.

Also , this is my first time using this savarin cake tin so I couldn't figure out how long does it take to get the cake "burn". 

Apricot Banana Bread:
Ingredient :
100 g butter
80 g castor sugar

2 eggs ( about 70 g each)

100 g mashed banana (suggested using pisang emas (wiki )

50 ml buttermilk ( I substituted it with milk + few drops of lemon)

1/8 salt 

120 g flour  +  1 tsp baking powder + 1/8 tsp bicarbonate of soda

30 g wheat germ

100 g chopped dry apricot (soak in hot water if it is too hard to cut)
50 chopped walnuts ( baked for 10 minutes before chopping)

Method:
1. Cream butter and castor sugar until light and fluffy.
2. + egg +  mashed banana + buttermilk + salt.  Stir the mixture with spoon.
3. + flour + wheat germ + apricot and walnuts.
4. Pour into a greased 9" savarin cake tin.
5. Temperature : 180 C
6. Baking time : 45 mins. ( I baked 30 mins over lower heat and 15 mins upper heat）
（* But the bread seemed not "burnt"enough after baking for half an hour's time over lower heat. )

Verdict : The banana bread was moist enough with a mild flavor of apricot and yet you still could feel the crunchiness of walnuts.

Lemon Poppy Seeds Cream Cheese Cookies

I have lemons.
I have poppy seeds.
I have cream cheese.
What am I waiting for ?

So, I decided to make this Lemon Poppy Seeds Cream Cheese Cookies ！
And I started to write this recipe based on how I wanted my cookies taste like last night.


Lemon Poppy Seeds Cream Cheese Cookies:
Ingredients:
A. 140 g cream cheese ( room temperature)
      70 g butter
      100 sugar

B. 1/8 tsp salt
      20 ml lemon juice
      1 tbsp lemon zest

C.( sieved). 215 g all purpose flour
     20 g poppy seeds
     1 tsp baking powder
     1/8 tsp bicarbonate of soda


Method ：
1. Cream Ingredient A for 10 mins ( until fluffy).
2.  + B + C . Mixed well.
3. Shape into a ball and use a fork to press the dough before baking.
4. Temperature : 180 C.
    Baking  Time ：25 - 30 mins （ Middle  rack)