Lest we forget

When I first came to Australia, I was very amused by those delicious oats biscuits normally sold in bulk from
Coles or woollies.




Later than I know that they are called Anzac Biscuits. It's kind of like the national biscuits in Australia, and it's eaten by soldiers who fought in WW1.

Anzac basically means: Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. Every year today (25th April), Australia and New Zealand celebrate this day to honour the armies, who fought in Gallipoli and the fields of Flanders during WW1.

We all know that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, so the mothers, wives and girlfriends of these army troops, bake heaps of biscuits to be sent to their loves ones who fought in Gallipoli. Concern that their loves ones doesn't get enough nutrient, they used a lot of oats in the biscuits, along with coconut, butter and golden syrup. Eggs, which are normally a binding agent in most biscuits, are purposely left out because they want these biscuits to be more sturdy and last longer in order to withstand the long journey to Gallipoli.
More interesting facts of Anzac Biscuits, can be found here.
Although I'm not too much an Australian myself yet, I do take this day to remember and appreciate them, for Australia is a free country today, all because of their sacrifice, and least not forget the little loving biscuits who give them strength and lift their spirit during the war!


Anzac Biscuits

Ingrediants: ( makes about 50 mediam sized biscuits )

• 125g butter
• 2 tbsp golden syrup
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1cup dessicated coconut
• 1 cup plain four
• 3/4 cup caster sugar
• 1 tbsp boiling water
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Methods:

1. Preheat oven to 160 degree Celcius
2. Line a large baking trays with baking paper
3. Place butter and golden syrup in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally.
4. Place all the dry ingrediants: oats, coconut, flour and sugar together in a large bowl.
5. Dissolve soda in the boiling water, and stir into the butter and golden syrup mixture.
   
6. Add wet ingrediants to dry ingrediants and stir until well combined.
   
7. Roll level tbps of the mixture into balls and place about 3 cm apart on the trays. Flatten slightly with the back of the fork, and bake in preheated oven for about 15-18 mins.
   
8. The biscuit will be golden brown, but still soft. It will harden and become crisp once cooled on the wire rack.
   
9. Stored cooled biscuits in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
   

In love with Lebanon

If i were to tell you that I got most my dinner and baking recipe from going to gym will you believe me? I know you'll think that I am joking, coz what on earth will a gym have so many recipes and meal ides?? But it's true. You see, there are 3 big LCD TV in front of me when I was on the treadmill, one is news, one is sport, and the other one will often always be a cooking show, depending on the timing of course. It's really amusing when I was running and shedding those fats, while in front of me, the chef is frying Foie gras !! There are also a lot of women's day magazines around, which also contain a lot of recipes!
So,when I was working out yesterday, I saw this recipe, about making your own chocolate baklava, I was immediately inspired. Especially since I am so hooked on Lebanese cuisinee these days.
I have a good study at the recipe, and decided that I'm going to go with my own style. I make it without the chocolate ( as a traditional baklava normally don't use chocolate ), and using a combination of pistachio and cashew nuts. Because I want to make it more healthy, and less sugary, I did not bother to make the sugar syrup, instead, I use maple syrup with rose water, and just brush the syrup on the pasty rather than pouring the whole syrup over the pastry and let them soak. But I shall includes the recipe for the sugar syrup if you like your baklava toothachiningly sweet.


Pistachio and Cashew Baklava

Ingredients:

• About 9 sheets of filo pastry
• 100g melted butter
• 100g pistachio, shelled
• 100g cashew
  
• 5 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp rose water

Methods:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius
2. Combine the pistachio, cashew and brown sugar into a grinder and grind for about 5 mins in high speed, or until the mixture resembled coarse pebble. ( beware, the texture should not be too sand like ). Add in the rosewater.
3. Use a big wet towel to cover the filo pastry to prevent them from drying out.
   
4. Took 1 sheet of filo pasty, and lay on a dry bench, and brushed the top side of the filo with a very thin layer of butter. Took another sheets of filo pastry, lay it on top of the buttered filo, and continue brushing the top side of the pasty with filo. Repeat with the 3rd sheets of filo.
   
5. Gently scatter a thin layer of ground nuts mixture on the buttered pastry, and rolled it up like a cigar. Cut the rolled up baklava into desired shaped, ( in my case, i just cut them into little tubes about 4 cm long ).
   
6. Put the baklava on a tray lined with baking paper. Brushed the top of baklava with a little butter.
7. Repeat step 4-6 until all the nuts mixture have been used up. The above recipe will yield about 3 long rolled up baklava and about 15 (4cm) cut baklava.
8. Bake in preheated oven for about 20-25 mins, or until the pasty is crisp and brown.

Alternative syrup :

• 5 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tbsp rose water

Methods:

1. Combine the maple syrup with rose water, heat it in the microwave for about 30 second or until the the syrup is hot.
   
2. Brushed the hot baklava generously with the syrup, let it cool to room temperature before serving.
   

Original syrup:

• 1 cup of caster sugar
• 1 cup of water
• 2 tbsp rose water

Methods:

1. Dissolve the caster sugar in water on the stoves. Stir in rose water.
   
2. Pour the sugar syrup over hot baklava and let it soak for 2 hours before serving.

Beware though because I added sugar in the nut mixture, so the baklava is already sweeten. If you would like to soak your baklava in sugar syrup, it's best to excludes sugar in the nut mixture to save your pancreas from overworking !!



Since figs are good companion to middle Eastern cuisine, and since I've recently bought a bag of figs, I decorated my baklava with it. The figs are beautiful and blushing just like 2 lovers met!

How to survive recession and keep your friends

You know Easter is just around the corner when all the supermarket shelf are being replaced with lot's of chocolate bunnies, chocolate eggs and hot cross buns. Almost everyone will rush in at the very last weekend before Easter to buy these chocolate treats from family and friends. Normally, I would join the crowd and buy a few treats, but I still have about 3 easter eggs sitting in the pantry from last year, and I'm not alone, few of my friends have chocolates from last Easter too. So, I decided to do something different this year, something that is more one of a kind, and perishable. Hence have to be appreciated and consume upon received.
There are so many easter goodies to make as well. I decided to skip the traditional hot cross buns, ( since it's so easy to buy one from anywhere ),and go with something a bit different.
As usual, I like to make simple, easy and delicious treats, and these chocolate easter crackles are just the kind of goodies to make. All in all, you only need some Mars bars and Coco Pops, and it yields about 40 crackers! Now, what a good idea to save money and still be generous!!



Chocolate Easter Crackles

Ingredients:

• 200g Mars Bars, chopped
• 2 tbsp cream
• 4 tbsp coconuts
  
• 3 cups Coco Pops
• 40 mini eggs for decoration

Methods:

1. Place the Mars bars and cream in a heatproof bowl over simmering water.
2. Stir until melted and smooth. ( it will take sometime for the Mars bars to melt )
3. Place coconuts and coco pops in another huge bowl, pour the melted Mars bar mixture and stir until well combined.
   
4. Quickly pile mixture into small paper cases and decorate each with a mini egg.
   
5. Place in the fridge until firm, store in airtight container for about 2 weeks.
   

aren't they look gorgeous? I glam them even further by putting them into small boxes, and give them to special friends.



or simply pile them into a basket and bring it to the office to share!

Happy Easter and Happy Holiday!

Brownies my style

Some people loves to eat brownies that are very googey in the centre,
Some likes it without nuts while others only eat brownies with nuts
Some like their brownies dusted with icing sugar
Some like it dusted with cocoa power
Some like to eat it warm
Some prefers over-night brownies, especially those left in the fridge
children loves it with milk chocolate, grown ups prefer dark, some are crazy for white...
and the list go on..

I love my brownies more like a cake, in fact, i don't really like any dense brownies. I find them too rich for my taste bud. Hence I am using SR flour in this brownies to created a lighter and more cake like texture. So consider you be warned should you love those dense and googey brownies, this is not the type for you!!




Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients:

• 200g dark chocolate
• 125g unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup SR flour
• 1/3 cup milk
• pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius. Grease and line a 20cm square cake tin with baking paper.
2. Chopped the chocolate and butter into cubes, put in a heat proof bowl. Melt the chocolate and butter by sitting the bowl on top of a saucepan of simmering water.
3. When melted, remove the bowl from the heat and stir in brown sugar.
4. Add eggs, and gently fold in flour, alternate with milk. Season with a pinch of salt to further enhance the flavour.
5. Add the chopped walnuts, or any preferred nuts, or go without nuts.
6. Pour the mixture into prepared pan and bake for 20-25 mins. When tested with a toothpick, it should come out clean.
7. Cool the brownies in the pan before turning out from pan. Serve warm or cold.