Homemade Cherry Jam

My other half bought 1kg of cherries for $10 and as we could not finish it, we decided to make some jam.  The last time I tried making jam, I did not buy any jam setter. Therefore, the jam did not turned out like the jams which we buy from outside. So, this time around, I made sure I bought a packet of jam setter and I must say the result was really good. As my other half loves biting into the fruit itself, he made sure that the cherries are still whole so that he could bite into it... 

If you want to make your own jam, it a really easy process...just cut the cherries into 2, take out the seeds and boil it in the pot with some sugar for 30 mins or so.  Then, add the jam setter and let it cool properly before popping it into the fridge. Here's a photo of our homemade Cherry Jam:

Maybe the next time around we will try strawberry jam.....:)

Cokodok or Kueh Kodok (Banana Fritters)

When we have too many ripe bananas, the easiest way to ensure that it will not go to waste is to mash it and deep fry some cokodok.  Some of my friends call it kueh kodok. Its actually banana fritters. Cokodok is a favourite snack in my household. Its really easy to do...just mash the bananas, add in some eggs, sugar and flour. Stir it well and deep fry it.  The outer layer is crispy and the inside is soft and yummy.  It has been known as a comfort food for some...:)  My other half prefers to sprinkle icing sugar on top of the cokodok but I prefer to eat it plain.  Here's a photo of our Cokodok or Kueh Kodok:

Do try this simple snack...its just delicious!!!
You won't regret it....

Simple Tomato Pasta with Cheese

I am trying to introduce pasta to my 2 kiddos as they prefer to eat chow mien, soup noodles and other Asian stuff.  Hence, today I made a simple tomato pasta with cheese as my eldest wanted to try macaroni and cheese after watching Barney...ha!ha! So, I quickly whipped out this simple 1-dish meal for my kiddos' lunch.  I just saute some garlic and onions with olive oil. Then I threw in some minced chicken meat, add in tomato sauce and worcestershire sauce and lastly the cooked pasta and some seasonings. Then I asked my eldest to do the finishing touch - sprinkle some cheese onto the pasta.  Here's a photo of my son's Tomato Pasta with Cheese:

I am really pleased as my darling son ate the whole bowl...now....onwards to introducing him to another new dish....H A P P Y!!!!

BLT Sandwich

BLT sandwich is a very popular type of sandwich here. In the metro itself, it seems like every cafe has BLT..its a must have kind of thingy.  My other half loves bacon and BLT seems the easiest thing for me to whipped up in the morning when I am plain lazy to fry noodles and such.  What is a BLT? As the name states it, B - Bacon, L - Lettuce and T - Tomato.  For me, I will pan fry the bacon with some butter till crispy as my other half loves it crispy. Then I will spread some butter, mayonnaise and stack the BLT accordingly and lastly sprinkle some seasonings.  Here's a photo of my other half's BLT Sandwich.

I am glad that my other half is a easily pleased kind of guy...if not, I really have to slave in the kitchen to whip-up a meal for his breakfast...phew!!! :)

Sandwich Bread Loaf (Pullman Bread Loaf)

I am going nuts as I could not find a pullman bread loaf pan in my area.  I went to all the bakeware shops and they do not have a pan with a lid....golly!!! I tried using the normal bread pan and used something to cover the top of the pan  but the bread did not turn out well. I guess that's why it needs the pullman bread pan to do the job.  Over here, its better known as sandwich loaf.  In french, its known as pain de mie. Oh well...here's a photo of the "failed" Pullman Bread Loaf.

Oh well....thankfully, even though the bread looked out of shape, but my family still ate the whole loaf. :)

Deep Fried Fish Soup with Rice & Fish Nuggets with Thai Chilli Sauce

This was the first time that I could not resist buying 2 pieces of fish fillet...it looks so fresh and juicy.  With these 2 pieces, I made nuggets and deep fried fish soup with milk which we ate with rice.  Oh me, oh my...its really awesome on rainy days.

Deep fried fish soup with / without milk is a popular dish in my household.  Some of my friends prefer adding 1-2 tsp of carnation milk into the soup to make it more milky. Others just prefer the soup by itself.  This soup dish can be eaten with plain white rice or with noodles.  One of my friends loves to add XO into the soup.  However, even though I love XO, I do not use any as I have 2 kiddos in my family. To do the soup, I will fry some garlic and ginger till fragrant. Then I will add the ikan bilis stock, salted vegetable, tomato and seasonings. To serve, just add in 1-2 tsp carnation milk and seaweeds.  Here's a photo of our Deep Fried Fish Soup which we ate with rice.

While I was deep frying the pieces of fish fillet, my other half and my prince were happily eating these nuggets. My eldest called it fish nuggets. Discovered that it taste delicious when we dipped it into some sweet thai chilli sauce.  Here's a photo which my other half took - Fish Nuggets with Sweet Thai Chilli Sauce

Ain't it plain awesome when everyone in the family enjoys the food which we cook? What's more awesome, I created 2 dishes out of it...ha!ha!