Chewy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

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The Dish
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This is a recipe I modified from a recipe I found at "Heart Healthy Cooking". The cookies are nice and chewy and not too sweet. I only made 18 rather than 30, as suggested by the original recipe.

All purpose white flour - 6 oz
Whole wheat flour - 6 oz
Quick cooking rolled oats - 1 cup
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp

Light brown sugar - 3/4 cup
Butter - 6 tbsp = 3/4 of a stick
Skim milk - 1/4 cup = 2 tbsp
Creamy peanut butter - 3 tbsp

1- Mix the first 5 dry ingredients and set aside in a bowl.
2- Whipped butter, sugar, milk, and peanut butter until well mixed.
3 - Add in the dry ingredients and mix it well
4- Make small walnut size ball of dough with your hand and a small spoon.
5- Place the dough ball on a greased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart.
6- Gently press the dough with the back of a fork.
7- Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 F for about 20 minutes.
8- Make about 20 cookies.



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The Ceramic
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I was lucky enough to have gone to Kaori's open studio at Wandsworth, London last summer. I never tire of simple glazes on understated ceramic forms. The patina of the clay comes through on the edges and gives the wares extra dimensions.

"East and West are sensitively bought together in the work of Kaori Tatebayashi"
Ceramic Review, Issue 236 March/April 2009. P.40

Bermuda Mudslide

A little bit of tropical paradise in your mouth. This is a very soft, moist, and at the same time crumbly cake because of the whole wheat pastry flour. The gooey pineapple rum sauce holds it all together like a Bermuda lime-washed roof in February. It is surprisingly good.



Pineapple Pound Cake with Pineapple Rum Goo

Whole wheat pastry flour - 2.5 cups
Butter - 1 sticks unsalted = at room temperature
Sour Cream - 1 cup
Eggs - 3 = separate yokes from egg white
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Vanilla - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Baking Soda - 1.5 tsp

Crushed Pineapple - 1 cup = drained

1- Whip egg white until stiff on high. About 3 minutes. Set aside.
2- Mix flour, baking soda and salt together. Set aside.
3- Whipped butter for one minute. Then add in the sugar mix well.
4- Add in the egg yokes and mix well. Then add the vanilla.
5- Alternately add in the flour mixture and the sour cream and mix well.
6- Add in pineapple and rum. Also mix well.
7- Finally, by hand and slowly fold in the egg white. Do not over-mix
8- Pour the batter into a buttered bundt pan. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 deg F. Bake for about 40 minutes or until a tooth pick comes clean and the edge and slightly golden brown.



Pineapple Rum Goo
Cream Cheese - 4oz = 0.5 package = room temperature
Butter - 1/4 stick = room temperature
Powder Sugar - 3 tbsp
Vanilla Extract - 1 tsp
Salt - pinch

Crushed Pinapple - 1 cup drained
Bermuda Gold Liqueur - 2 tbsp. Add more to taste. More is probably better. If you want strong rum taste, switch to real rum.

1- Beat cream cheese and butter on high until well mixed.
2- Add in the remaining ingredients and beat until it's nice and fluffy.
3- Mix in pineapple and rum. Serve with cake.
4- Garnish with pineapple chunks if you have it.

N.B. I found the canned pineapple not having too much flavor. I would like to try some frozen or fresh pineapple if it's in season next time.

Lemon Walnut Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Lemon Walnut Cake:

Flour - 1 cup
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Butter - 1/2 cup = 1 stick = room temperature
Eggs - 2 = room temperature
Baking Powder - 1/2 tsp
Lemon zest - 1 tbsp
Walnut - 1/2 cup = chopped




1- Mix flour and baking powder in a bowl
2- Whipped butter and sugar on high for 2 minutes, then on medium until well mixed.
3- Add one egg at a time and mix well into the butter 'mousse'.
4- Add into flour and baking soda. Mix well.
5 - Fold in lemon zest and walnuts.
6- Bake in a pre-heated 350 deg F oven until the edge is slightly brown and a tooth pick comes clean when inserted.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Cream Cheese - 8 oz = 1 package = room temperature
Butter - 1/2 stick = room temperature
Powder Sugar - 1 cup
Vanilla Extract - 1 tsp
Salt - pinch




1- Beat cream cheese and butter on high until well mixed.
2- Add in the remaining ingredients and beat until it's nice and fluffy.
3- Use immediately. Or keep in the refrigerator until needed. Best served at room temperature.


There you have it!!

N.B. It is also very good to have 2 tbsp of Matcha in place of lemon zest and walnuts.

Terry's Chocolate Orange Shortbread

A special Valentine treat. This is a recipe I nicked from my coconspirator Kristen Couse of Cakehouse. Instead of espresso, I turned it into a Terry's Chocolate Orange shortbread. I use whole wheat flour to lower the Glycemic Index and my guilt of using 2 sticks of butter.

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The Dish
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Whole wheat flour - 2 cups
Butter - 2 sticks unsalted = at room temperature
Sugar - 2/3 cup
Vanilla - 2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Orange zest - 1 tbsp

Baking chocolate - 6 oz



1- Mix butter and sugar in a mixing bowl. Mix well.
2- Add vanilla, salt, orange zest and flour until all the ingredients are well combined.
3- Make 2 balls out of the dough. Put them in plastic wrap and chill in refridgerator for 2 hours.
4- Cut the dough into 12 wedges for each dough ball. You will have 24 wedges all together.
5- Prick some holes on the dough. Place them at least 1" apart on an un-greased baking plate.
6 - Bake the wedges on low (300 deg F) for about 18 minutes or until the edges are pale golden brown.
7- While the shortbread are cooling. Melt the chocolate in the microwave for about 2 minutes.
8 - Shmear half of the shortbread with the melted chocolate or decorate it as you like it.



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The Ceramic
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The plate is a creation of mine. It's called "Love Isn't". It is inspired by a poem read by a friend, Ant Phillips, at my wedding.
You can read the poem here.

Spicy Mac and Cheese with Cauliflower

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The Dish
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Spicy Mac and Cheese with Cauliflower


Cavatappi Pasta (long spirals) - 1 box = 16 oz
Onion -1 = Chopped
Garlic - 3 gloves = Finely chopped
Cauliflower - 1 whole = Cut into small pieces
Buffalo Wing Hot Sauce New York Cheddar Cheese - 8 oz = shredded
Sharp Cheddar Cheese - 8 oz = shredded
Parmigiana cheese - 4 tbsp = grated
Milk - 1 to 1.5 cup
Whole wheat flour - 3 tbsp
Butter - 1 tbsp

1- Boil pasta in hot salted boiling water for 6 minutes and drain (2 minutes under suggested cooking time)
2- In a pan, sweat onion and garlic in butter for few minutes
3- Add in chopped cauliflower and stir fried for a few minutes. Season with a pinch of salt.
4- Add milk and flour to make a saucy cauliflower mix.
5- Fold in pasta and 2 cheddar cheeses.
6- Transfer to a shallow pan, sprinkle parmigiana cheese and bake to golden brown in 400 deg oven. About 18 minutes.
7- Serve 6 hungry persons.

P.S. I have collected 3 recipes: Macaroni and cheese with Cauliflower from Real Simple Mag, Spicy Macaroni And Cheese from Epicurious.com, and a recipe from Christine's mum. I read all 3 and put them away, and this is what I came up with.

Masago and Sweet Seaweed Salad

This is a quick 'Asian Confusion' salad that I really like. It's very easy and it can be made into a fancy salad if you add sashimi to it. Or you can make it more Asian-confused by wrapping inside a Vietnamese Summer Roll with shrimps.



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The Dish
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Romaine Lettuce - 2 small heart - cut into 2" pieces
Masago Caviar - 3 tbps
Japanese Seasoned Seaweed - 3 tbps
Store bought Miso Dressing - to taste

1-- Tossed salad dressing with lettuce.
2- Sprinkle Masago and Seaweed on top of salad and there you have it.
3 - Serve 4

Thanks to Michelle who gave me the recipe at Christmas.

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The Ceramic
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Kim Westad Hand Thrown Porcelain



I met Kim at the BUST Holiday 08 show. I have much respect to anybody who put lots of slip dots on the wares and make them into nice designs. The picture does not do the nice tactile quality justice. I especially love the surprise details inside the bowl. Her shop at etsy if you want to see more of her work.

Chinese Turnip Pudding

Kung Hai Fat Choi. I hope you like the new format I am implementing for 2009. I think it would be better if there are more in-progress photos.

For the Year Of The Ox, I will be making a Chinese Turnip Pudding - a recipe from my mum.

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The Dish
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Chinese Turnip Pudding

The Pudding:
Chinese Turnip - 3 lbs = shredded
Chinese Rice Flour - 1 cup
White Pepper: a pinch
Salt: a pinch

The Topping:
Chinese sausage - 3 = sliced
Reconstituted Shiitake Mushroom - 8 = chopped
Reconstituted dried shrimp - 4 tbsp = chopped
Scallion - 2 = chopped
Soy Sauce: 2 tbsp

The left is the pudding ingredients and the right is for the toppings

1- In hot pan, saute Chinese sausage, shiitake mushroom and dried shrimp until brown, add in soy sauce. About 8 mins
2- Turned off stove and add in scallion. This will be the topping.
3- Heat shredded turnip in a pot without water for about 2 - 3 minutes.
4- With the heat off, add in rice flour into the half-cooked turnip. Mix well. Add in white pepper and salt.
5- Fold in about 3 quarter of the toppings into the flour turnip mix.

6- Fold the flour mixture into a greased 9" shallow bowl. Arrange the remaining topping on top.

7-Steam for 1 hour or until a chopstick comes out clean when stick into the pudding.

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The Ceramic
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N.B. This is a 'soft' version of the turnip cake unlike what you would eat at a dim sum restaurant. I eat it with some soy sauce and hot oil and a spoon! It makes a nice food gift if package in a Chinese porcelain tea set. Add a gold and red tie and there you have it.