Time For A Break

Cutie will be taking a break for the next few months. I will resume blogging in August.

Anyway, this is also the time for me to say a big thank you to all of you who has been supporting me all this while. It's really sad that I wouldn't be able to be part of the blog sphere for the next few months but then I promise that once I come back in August, I will be sharing with all of you all the good food that I have been preparing. I will also be visiting all your blogs to keep myself updated.

To the rest who still want to have certain recipes from my blog, you can always email me or drop me a comment to request for any recipes.

So don't forget cutie and do come back to visit me in August.... Cutie will be missing all of you. Hugz!!!

Bready Pudding

It'struly funny how people at times say that if you are unable to finish your loaf of bread you can use the leftover to make bread and butter pudding. But most of the time you need quite a number of slices of bread to prepare this dessert. So probably you will end up having to buy another loaf of bread. *lol*

Anyway, it's been a while since I last prepared this lovely dessert. I love it so much as it's easy to make and one of the better dessert to end your perfect meal.





Bread and butter pudding is actually one of England's most loved and traditional desserts. I had tasted this dessert before I went to UK but it's in UK where I truly fell in love with this lovely dessert. It's rich, warming and filling and it's one of the perfect desserts to have during the winter then.

This dish is made by layering slices of buttered stale bread scattered with raisins. Then pour in the eggs, sugar and milk mixture seasoned with cinnamon or nutmeg. It is then baked in the oven. The smell is heavenly good. You will love your kitchen so much when your bread and butter pudding is nearly ready.

I tried several methods in serving this dessert. I tried it with cream which the taste wasn't that amazing. I also had it with custard which I kinda like it very much. But don't think I can have too much of that otherwise my cholestrol level will probably get worse. Hehe... But I have to say my favourite way of serving this dish has got to be warm bread and butter pudding serve with vanila ice cream topped with toffee sauce. *drool*

Anyway, very often the pudding is moist enough to be without sauce. So you can actually eat it on its own. I definitely will be preparing this when I have guests over at my place. You can actually prepare this dish 2 days in advance.

Oh well, I hope I have more time in preparing more food. My schedule is kinda tight. Busy packing and moving house right now as well. Yeap, I finally will be moving to my own house. I'm all excited about it but lazy at the same time. *lol* Will try my best to update my blog as often as possible although I know I'm getting slower as time goes by. So please bear with me okie... =) I'm getting slower as time goes by. So please bear with me okie... =)

Some Random Stuff...

I truly admire chefs who spends hours reading, experimenting and discovering methods in preparing a better dish. Imagine that a chef probably spend an hour or two in preparing the dish but we probably take about 5-10 minutes to finish the meal and before we knew it we are kinda unsure what we just had.

But no matter what is it, I still enjoy cooking especially to people who knows how to appreciate the food that I prepare. I enjoy being the mini little chef in my own kitchen. *giggle* And what I love most is coming up with new dishes.



Let's just say cooking is sort of my main hobby. Whenever I'm depress or happy, I resort to cooking. Reading cookbooks is also something I truly enjoys. Although I don't often purchase cookbooks, but I do get a few good ones whenever there is an offer. Otherwise I probably will read recipes from the websites and compile them.



So is it easy to figure out what to cook since I have tons of cookbooks? The answer is No. That's because I have so many choices to choose from. And most of the time I would like to prepare all the dishes at the same time. *greedy me* So one of the methods I told Doink to do is to put post it on the recipe books to let me know what he would like to savour. And this is what happens when you give him the freedom of deciding.



Nearly every single page was stucked with a post it. Isn't it better if I told him to do the opposite instead. *lol*

This post is just to take a break from my usual food post. Wanted to ramble a little since Doink snap some photos of my messy room with all the cookbooks laying on the floor. Yes, I can be very messy at times which makes me not cute anymore. Enough of rambling and I better get some rest. Will be posting some interesting food next.

Warm Pancakes for Brekkie

Cutie has been a little sad lately. Even McD couldn't bring a smile to my face. Just hope that I will be able to recover from this soon. Life is just so complicated. At times I wish life is just like a recipe book whereby it tells me what I shall do.

Anyway, for the past few weeks I have been preparing a typical fried breakfast that made me feel bored of it. So decided to have something different instead - Pancakes!!!

Pancakes are actually thin, flat cake prepared from a batter and cooked on a frying pan. The main ingrediants for the batter are eggs, flour and milk. These pancakes can be eaten anytime of the day and it can be served in different ways. Since it's for breakfast, I served it with loads of butter and honey.



Actually I would love to serve my pancakes with ice cream, strawberries and chocolate sauce. *drool* But I guess that's just not suitable for breakfast isn't it. Hehe...

These pancakes are easy to prepare and if you have kids at home, it's one of the best activities you can do with your kids during the weekend.

Now I'm thinking how nice it would be if life is just as simple as preparing pancakes. I guess I will need to bake or cook something to cheer myself up. Hopefully things will turn out ok and I will be able to be that smiley cutie again.

Pork Chop with Mushroom Sauce

I always wanted to try preparing pork chop with mushroom sauce. But everytime when I wanted to prepare it, there is something else in mind which I rather try out first. Anyway, finally the other day when I had extra mushrooms in the fridge, I decided to try preparing this recipe.




The recipe is pretty similar to preparing mushroom soup and in fact I find it much easier to prepare compared to the soup. All you need to do is pan fry the pork chop first. You can use chicken or fish as an alternative instead.



To prepare for the sauce, all you need are slice mushrooms, cream, milk, onions, salt, pepper and parsley. Cook till the sauce thickens. Than it's ready to be served.

I wanted to prepare roast potato to go with this dish but as I came home a little bit late that day, and so happen I didn't have any potatoes at home, I had to opt for alternative instead. So I served this dish with rice.



I believe this dish goes better with roast potatoes. Now I'm craving for more mushrooms. *lol* Actually I'm craving for mushroom pizza... Yummy!!! Ok, I'm already starving just thinking of it. Should stop talking about mushrooms. Anyway, hope you guys have a great week and do try preparing this dish if you are a mushroom lover. =)

I Feel So Mushroomy

Mushroom soup is always a favourite to most people when it comes to starter. However, I'm quite a fussy person when it comes to mushroom soup and I never got the chance to savour delicious mushroom soup outside. Most of the time it's either too diluted, or there are practically no mushroom taste in it.

So I figured out that I have to try making my own version to satisfy my tastebuds as I'm always craving for this. It's actually very simple to prepare this soup and there are plenty of different recipes available in preparing this soup.



This soup is best served with crutons and garlic bread. It taste really good and Doink totally enjoyed it and I figured out that this is one of the things which he will probably be pestering me to make it often for him. =)



I now feel like preparing French Onion Soup next. But then again I'm not sure whether it will taste good. Hehe.... Maybe I will try and let you know then. *lol* Or maybe you can give me suggestion what type of soup to prepare as I'm not good in preparing one.

Potato Apple Salad

I seldom prepare salad as it's not one of the things Doink truly enjoys. He prefers to have his meat, fried food, eggs, etc. So to come up with some kind of salad for him to savour, I will need to choose some ingrediants that he loves. So that's why I chose potato apple salad as Doink loves his potatoes. What more this dish has some bacon on it which is absolutely his favourite. I think everyone loves bacon.

This dish is easy to prepare and the good thing about it is that you can prepare this in advance.

Firstly, place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Later reduce heat, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes or until tender. Drain. Peel the warm potatoes and slice them into bite size.

Pan fry some bacons and later cut them into small pieces. Also chop some onions. Of course you will also need to dice some apples.

Then later combine yogurt, mayonaise, a little salt. If you prefer a little kick in your salad, then add a little bit of mustard sauce.

Once you got all your ingrediants ready, place the potatoes, onions, apples into a large bowl. Pour the sauce over it and mix them. Once you are done with mixing, topped it with bacon and raisins. Cover and refrigerate for several hours before serving.

There you go, you now have your healthy salad. You can prepare this ahead for your lunch the next day. However, this will never be enough for Doink. He will need to eat more than this to fill him up. *lol*

Another New Adventure In The Kitchen

I'm getting more stressed lately. I have got so many things to do in the next few months - work, exams and also planning for my big event. But no matter what happens, all these are not going to stop me from cooking. I rather sleep less hours than to forego my favourite hobby.

Anyway, I'm very proud with what I had made the other day. Can you guess what I had made by looking at this picture?



I'm sure you can. Hehe... It's Tacos. It's a traditional Mexican dish where the hard taco shell is filled with any meat, fish, vegetable, cheese or anything that comes to your mind. Seriously there are no hard and fast rules. You can even try making Taco dessert. *lol* Well, maybe I can experiment on that one day.

I did not want to buy the taco kit set as I find it pretty expensive and moreover there isn't many taco shells in one box. So decided to try making my own taco shells. As you already know, I don't really like to fry anything, so decided to bake my taco shells. Will teach you how to make in my next post.



All you need is flour, cornmeal, water and egg. Here I did not put any cornmeal as I couldn't find any at all after visiting 2 baking shops, 5 supermarkets to search for it. So decided to give up and omit out this ingrediant. I did not want to cancel my plan to prepare this meal for Doink as promised just because of this one particular ingrediant.

The taco shells tasted ok but of course without the cornmeal it will somehow taste different. But still acceptable. =)



Here is my taco filling. It's minced chicken with mushrooms with my homemade sauce. I think the sauce is pretty similar to my pizza sauce but very much thicker and a little spicy to give a little kick in the taste.

And these are a must to have when you are having tacos: shredded cheese, tomatoes and sour cream. *yummy*

Bought a packet of my favourite cheese chachos to go with it. How? Look below.



Tadah!!! This is really delicious. In fact I enjoy eating it this way. I guess that's because I love my chachos chip very very much... Mmmm... now I feel like getting another few packets of chachos and stock up in my cupboard... *greedy me*

Ok, let me show you the end result.



Place lettuce at the bottom of the shell, fill it up with the meat fillings, then garnish with some tomatoes over it. Spoon sour cream over and generously top with mozarella cheese. Oooohhh, yummy!!!

Now all you need to do is be ready to get messy coz we don't eat tacos with the aid of utensils. You know at times I find food taste so much more delicious when it's eaten by hand.

I'm so happy with the end results as I never had tacos before in my life yet managed to make it to somehow similar to what it should be. *ahem*

Now I feel like having it again. I guess I wouldn't mind preparing it again. Afterall Doink and I enjoyed it so much. But promise my dearie Doink to be making pizza next. I guess I have been savouring all types of cuisines from Spanish to Mexican to Italian. *lol* What's next I wonder?

Delicious Banana Smoothie

Celebrating my birthday at Chilis the other day, I had this delicious drink which made me wanna have it again. So therefore I blended this delicious smoothie and amended the ingrediants just a little bit.

It's truly easy to make and it's something I will definitely make it over and over again. Just freeze your fresh bananas. That's because I would like my drink to be thick and extrmely cold. Also ensure that you have some chilled pineapple juice.

Blend those frozen bananas with the pineapple juice. Than add a big scoop of delicious ice cream together with it and blend.

Pour into a cup and your delicious smoothie is ready to be bottoms up. *lol* I decided not to add in coconut milk as I didn't like the taste of it. Oh ya, at Chilis, the drink that I had was added with cooconut milk. But of course if you like it, you can always add some coconut milk.

Instead of adding whip cream, I added a bit of nata de coco so that there is something to chew on when you are having your drink.

Now I'm in love with bananas. Oh, feel like having another cup of it now. =)

Spanish Cuisine

This is the 2nd time I visited La Bodega. It's a Spanish restaurant which serves pretty good Spanish food. The first time when I visited this place, I only managed to taste limited tapas and I couldn't remember much about it except that I knew it was expensive and the portion was pretty tiny as well.

We started off our dinner with some tapas. Here is the Deepfried Sheep’s Milk cheese with Honey. I had never expected honey goes so well with the cheese. Now I guess I learned something new. Hehe...

Next up is the Calameres which is the deep fried squid. For some reason, this dish can never go wrong. It's a favourite for all of us.

We also had the Eggplant with Olive Oil, Chili and Herbs Tapas. Not something I really fancy but the sauce is pretty good when you dip your bread on it.

I can never find a reason to say no when it comes to mushrooms. They just tasted so good. I wonder who came up with this brilliant idea that we can be consuming fungus. *lol* Anyway, this Button Mushrooms Sauteed in Olive Oil and Garlic is a must try if you ever visit this restaurant.

Next up is the Lamb. I really can't remember what's it but I knew it tasted kinda ok. It was served with mayonaise/yogurt (not quite sure) with diced peaches. The taste is kinda unique and I wouldn't mind trying it again.

Of course when you visit La Bodega, it's a must to order thePaella Valenciana Mixta or Spanish rice cooked with prawns, chicken, mussels and clams in a paella with saffron, peppers and peas. I think after having this, I finally settled my cravings for Paella. The last round I ever had this dish was many years back and was craving for it ever since then. But I have to say that this Paella is not really up to my expectation. The one I had in UK was way much better than this.

So this is what I had for the night celebrating Doink's birthday with his families. Tons of yummy food and I think I'm done with Spanish food for now. =)