Saturday, December 12, 2009

CoCo's Best Brownies



OK I've been having crazy cravings for brownies for months! But it's never easy to bake when you have a clingy 10 month old baby that always demand your attention. So I found a recipe at HERSHEY'S, took another week to gather my ingredients, and finally got down to do it!

Brownies are actually quite easy and quick to prepare, but it was a stressful 30mins with baby screaming at my background. The results? ABSOLUTELY 100% WORTH IT! Definitely a MUST TRY!

Basically I followed HERSHEY'S recipe, but they really like it SUPER SWEET, so I reduced the sugar by 1/4 cup. Trust me, it's sweet enough.

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine (about 226 grams)
• 1 and 3/4 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa or HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Cocoa
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (I use salted butter, so I didn't add salt)
• 1 cup chopped nuts(I added walnuts, pecan or other 'soft' nuts will be fine)

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F / 176°C Grease 13x9x2-inch baking pan.

(I laid 2 pieces of aluminium foil in a criss cross way on the pan, so when it's cooled, I just lift the whole thing up, place it on the chopping board and cut it. Easy and clean.)

2. Place butter in large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at MEDIUM (50%) 2 to 2-1/2 minutes or until melted. Stir in sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well with spoon after each addition. Add cocoa; beat until well blended. Add flour, baking powder and salt; beat well. Stir in nuts, if desired. Pour batter into prepared pan.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Frost if desired. Cut into bars. About 36 brownies.
(Duh~ how tiny is their brownie slices? I only got 12 cause I cut them pretty big. Haha~)

Really very good. No joke! You can store them in the fridge. When you need a little brownie therapy, pop one into the microwave for about 40 seconds and serve with a big scoop of ice cream! Instant happiness!

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Stir fry long beans with beef and mushrooms



Beef - sliced
Long beans - cut
Brown mushrooms - cut
Minced garlic
Minced ginger
Oyster sauce
Sugar

Combo A:
Oyster sauce
Corn flour
Sesame oil
Pepper

For my beef, I bought a piece of steak and put it in a clean plastic bag. Then I smack the meat till it's flat! That would tenderise it and get rid of all that stress! Haha...

Slice the beef and marinate it with combo A, the longer the better!

Stir fry the mushrooms in hot oil till it's little soft, add in the ginger and garlic.

Add in the marinated meat - add in more oil if needed. (mushrooms usually soaks up all the oil!)

Add a little water, another teaspoon of oyster sauce, 2 teaspoons of sugar and long beans.

Mix well and cover up to let the long bean cook.

After about 2 minutes, thicken the sauce with a splash of corn flour mix with water.

Turn of the fire and serve! :)

Friday, December 4, 2009

Super Quick Spicy Long Beans



Experimented this dish for my own lunch yesterday (that's why the portion is so small) and it turned out delicious! Best thing is that it's SO SIMPLE. Must try!

3 Long Beans
1 teaspoon of bean paste
1 chilli padi
1 garlic, minced
1/4 bowl of water
2 teaspoon of water

Stir fry everything with a little oil for a minute, cover the pan for another minute, SERVE!

Great with a bowl of rice. YUMS~!

Pumpkin Soup



Half a pumpkin, skinned, seeded and chopped into big chuncks
1 stick of carrot
1 potato
1 big onion
1 clove of garlic
1 bowl of chicken stock
1 tsp of Oregano
Salt and Pepper

Dice onion finely and mince garlic
Fry them in oil with a pinch of salt till onion becomes soft
Add the rest of the vegetables, oregano and chicken stock
Boil in pressure cooker for 10 minutes (or about 30mins for a regular pot) till all vegetables turn soft.
Blend into a smooth and creamy soup.

For babies, serve with baby biscuits.
For adults, season with salt and pepper and serve with toasted bread.

Pumpkin Soup



Half a pumpkin, skinned, seeded and chopped into big chuncks
1 stick of carrot
1 potato
1 big onion
1 clove of garlic
1 bowl of chicken stock
1 tsp of Oregano
Salt and Pepper

Dice onion finely and mince garlic
Fry them in oil with a pinch of salt till onion becomes soft
Add the rest of the vegetables, oregano and chicken stock
Boil in pressure cooker for 10 minutes (or about 30mins for a regular pot) till all vegetables turn soft.
Blend into a smooth and creamy soup.

For babies, serve with baby biscuits.
For adults, season with salt and pepper and serve with toasted bread.
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