Little Joy Factory

My French lady boss will be leaving Singapore for a new job assignment in Morocco.  I am totally clueless about Morocco until someone mentioned Hollywood movie  Casablanca . Oh,  Casablanca is in Morocco! Well, that's all I know about this exotic country.  My boss is so nice that she wants to give us a feel of Moroccan.  So, she invited us to her house one day,  and prepared famous Morocco chicken tagine for lunch.  Served together with couscous, this plate of spiced chicken just hit the spot. We are so impressed as if we were under the Moroccan sun!

Greek yogurt is much thicker and creamier because it's strained three times to remove more whey and lactose. It has high protein and lower carbohydrates as compared to regular yogurt.  I have been using Greek yogurt to replace sour cream in dipping sauce, and it tastes really good. Never thought of making "cheesecake" with Greek yogurt until I chanced upon this recipe from Pinterest. A cheesecake without cheese?

新加坡海南鸡饭很出名，可我几乎没吃过。肯德基到处可见，我也很少光顾。不是为别的，说来你也许觉得好笑，鸡曾经是我儿时的宠物。

My elder daughter suggested me making Tiramisu last month.  I told her give me some time to find a good recipe first. I knew nothing about Tiramisu except that it uses Mascarpone cheese and ladyfingers. So, I bought these two ingredients, and stored them in the fridge. Two weeks have passed,  I have not found the right recipe yet.  One day, my Italian colleague Giulio gave us a pleasant surprise in the office. He brought his homemade Tiramisu to the office !  Italian dessert made by an Italian,  do I still need to search for the "right" recipe?   Giulio was so nice to translate his recipe from Italian to English and shared it with me. He asked me to send him the pictures after I have tried his recipe. Here you go, Giulio!

Ever since I bought Philips Airfryer, I have been trying to replicate my favourite deep-fried food with Airfryer. Some food can be perfectly done in Airfryer without hassle, such as chicken , while the others require try-and-error to achieve the desired taste and outlook. Banana Fritters, one of my favorite local snacks, are typically deep fried in a pot of sizzling oil. The taste differs largely due to the batter used in frying. As you know, Airfryer cannot fry food with wet batter. How to make this popular snack at home with Airfryer?

I have quite a bit of canned fruits such as pineapple slices and apricot halves leftover in my fridge.  They need to be used to empty the containers.  What to bake?  My family seems have been spoilt for choices of French desserts lately,   apricot flan ,  crème brûlée , and now clafoutis.

My mother always says eat with the seasons. Not only we will get the most nutritional value of the vegetables and fruits, they are at their peak of flavor. Though most foods here are imported, it's still healthy to eat when they are in season. At least we know they are the fresh new growth of the season.

Bakerzin's lovely fruit flans are all almond cream based, which reminds me of a galette baked by my French colleague last Easter. She also used almond cream or frangipane as the filling, which tastes wonderful!  I learned that frangipane is one of France's many traditional foods, which is normally made of butter, sugar, eggs, and ground almonds. My initial intention was to make a galette. Bakerzin's attractive dessert menu makes me finally decide to bake this Apricot and Almond Flan.

My daughter teased that my oven would be very "sad" after I bought Philips Airfryer. Well,  I may have spent more time on Airfryer to explore its functions, it does not mean Airfryer can totally replace traditional oven. They are both my kitchen helpers. Oven arrived much early, and it's very reliable, just like my old friend.  Airfryer is like a new friend, need to spend more time together so that our "friendship" can go a long way.  "Make new friends and keep the old, one is silver and the other gold."  This old saying on friendship also applies here in my kitchen. While continue baking with my oven,  I have been trying new recipes on my Airfryer lately. I just shared an amazing and simple recipe on Grilled Salmon with Airfryer , and now I am here to tell you one more recipe I enjoyed very much with Airfryer. Grilled corn!

My whole family love salmon, especially grilled salmon. There are many ways of marinating salmon, and my family's favorite marinade is lemon, soy sauce and brown sugar. 

My taste buds are fond of fried foods.  The pleasure of eating deep-fried food is irresistible to me. I like the tender interior and crisp exterior, which remains crisp even as the food soaks up the tangy sauce. However, for my family's health, I seldom deep fry food at home. I usually replace deep frying with baking, e.g, baked potato sticks , chicken wings and pork ribs .  Baked food tastes good, but sometimes, deep-fried food still tastes better. To satisfy our craving for deep-fried food,  we bought a Philips Airfryer recently. Now I can air fry! We have air-fried some "forbidden" snacks at home, and this buttermilk fried chicken is one of the top recipes we have tried so far.

Do you feel that time is flying every day? Can't believe it's end of July already. I asked my younger daughter the same question the other day, she told me she felt time has been very slow!  Well, I understand how she feels. She can't wait to go for an overseas cultural immersion trip organized by her school in November.

There are sometimes when I just don't know what to do with vegetables.  I usually stir-fry them with meat. However,  my daughters are getting more and more fussy nowadays.  One just takes Chinese cabbage, and the other just takes broccoli.  What about those vegies in my fridge?  That's when I turn to baked frittata as I can add whatever vegetables I have on hand. Baked vegetable frittata can be served as a vegetarian main course or a tasty side. It's easy to make and delicious.  In this recipe, I used two long leeks, 1 can of button mushrooms, and 1 pack fresh oyster mushroom.  My daughters loved it and asked for seconds!

I enjoy making delicacies from different cultures in my kitchen.  It gives me a feeling of having an exotic vacation without travelling.  When I browse through  Über mich's blog ,  it feels like I am on a French food tour. The beautiful array of French food in her blog look so tantalizing.  The blog is written in German and French, I used Google Translate and managed to get a few recipes in English.  I started "food sampling" with this Savory Crème Brûlée. The traditional Crème Brûlée,  which is also known as burnt cream,  is topped with hard caramelized sugar.  Über mich's recipe   creates a savory version by adding herbs and cherry tomatoes.  Simple ingredients, pleasant and rich taste! Egg yolk, whipping cream, cherry tomatoes and some dried herbs are all you need to make this famous French appetizer. 

How much a slice of cheesecake cost in Singapore nowadays? $6-$8. Quite steep to me,  which gives me a good excuse to watch the calories.  However,  as a fan of cheesecakes, I can't help baking at home occassionally.  I have tried different flavor of cheesecakes at home, e.g blueberry cheesecake , chocolate cheesecake , Oreo cheesecake and peach cream cheese cobbler . By far the most popular one is still peach cheesecake with digestive biscuit streusel. 

Everyone seems to be getting sick right now!  In fact, it is very common to get sick during this warm and humid period.  Outside temperature is as high as 34-35°C, while the air-conditioned room is at 23-25°C.  Really have to take extra precautions when walking in and out the air-conditioned rooms as sudden changes in temperature affect the respiratory system. Other than regular exercise to keep our immune system up and running,  we need to watch out our intake to have balanced and healthy meal.  You probably know that lemon is high in Vitamin C, which helps to boost the immune system. Do you know that garlic is powerful against infectious diseases like cold and flu? It all thanks to its antioxidant , antiviral and antibiotic properties.  That's one of the reason I decided to cook fish fillets with lemon and garlic today. Both lemon and garlic are powerful immune boosters. They are the best cold re...

炎炎夏日，你如何度过？朋友以为，我在新加坡这个热带岛国呆了十几年，应该对夏天习以为常了。其实不然。   新加坡的气温常年在26 －30 摄氏度之间徘徊，可是最近骤升到34度。看看家里的电费快要爆表了，就知道躲在有空调的地方是我们"防暑" 的唯一方法。在家开空调，上班公司也有空调。出门无论是驾车还是搭地铁巴士，一路上都有空调。反而在空调的环境生活久了，难得出汗。只好去Gym 做做有氧运动，出出汗，排排毒。 天气热，周末大部分时间躲在家里。去了趟超市采购了一周的水果蔬菜之后，闲来无事， 正好烤个蛋糕。买了几个新鲜的柠檬，驾轻就熟地做了个孩子们最爱的柠檬蛋糕。鲜艳的黄色，看起来很配合夏日的氛围。最喜欢淋在上面的柠檬糖汁，酸酸甜甜，使整个蛋糕绵软润泽，既有牛油的香浓，又不失柠檬的清 凉 。 用了Bundt 烤盘，这款家常蛋糕，华丽大变身，成为一道正餐后亮丽的甜点。 坐在藤制的躺椅上，手里端着杯lemonade , 品尝着自己亲手烘烤的美味蛋糕。看着夕阳西下，此刻才真正体味到“心静自然凉”。。。 FRESH LEMON BUNDT CAKE For the cake 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 250g unsalted butter (softened) 1 cup sugar 3 eggs zest of 1 lemon 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 200ml sour cream For the glaze: Juice of a lemon 1 tablespoon melted butter 1 cup icing sugar DIRECTIONS To make the cake: Preheat your oven to 180 DegC Mix flour, baking powder and the salt in a bowl. Cream together butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add eggs one by one. Beat well after ...

Knowing that I bake muffins, a friend recommended me to try the muffins from Chocolat N' Spice at Shunfu market.  He said Shunfu market - a neighbourhood hawker center,  is famous because of the muffin store.  The snake queue in front of  the muffin store has become an unique scenery of this quiet hawker center. People queueing for muffins? Out of curiosity, I dropped by the store one day during lunch time. Over the one hour stay at the hawer center, I observed an average of 8-9 people in the queue. It has never shortened until all the muffins were sold out.  I bought one box of 6 muffins of different flavours,  priced from $1.30 to $1.60 each.  I chose Chocolate Chip, Double Chocolate, Banana Walnut,  Blueberry, Mocha and Cheese . These freshly baked muffins are large, soft with golden domed top, so enticing. Shared with colleagues, everyone was asking me when I would make the next the...

One apple a day, keeps the doctor away!  Be it a fact or friction, my family can never get enough of apples. We love Fuji apples, juicy and crisp. We also like Royal Gala apples, sweet with pleasant flavor and texture. When there are extra apples at home, the first thing that comes to my mind is always French apple cake.  Just like any classic French dessert, the apple cake looks elegant, and tastes incredibly delicious! The recipe asks for mixed types of apples. I used 2 large Fuji apples, and 2 medium gala apples. With a few tablespoons of rum, the apple cake smells so nice amid baking. This is a great dessert for your family and guests during holiday. FRENCH APPLE CAKE ( Recipe adapted from David Lebovitz ) Ingredients: 3/4 cup (110g) flour 3/4 teaspoon baking powder pinch of salt 4 large apples (a mix of varieties) 2 large eggs, at room temperature 3/4 cup (150g) sugar 3 tablespoons dark rum (* I used white rum ) 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract ...

Do you like pizza? do you like muffin? How about pizza muffin? When I saw the recipe from Donna Hay's website, I can't help but "Wow"! How come I have never thought of making these easy and delicious pizza muffins?   Just replace whatever sweet stuff in muffins with your favorite pizza toppings, there come the savoury pizza muffins! Soft, moist with cheesy filling, yummy yummy...! A good treat in the midst of the busy week.  I am submitting this post to March Potluck at I Heart Cooking Clubs .  Come and join the fun party ! PIZZA MUFFINS (adapted from Donna Hay's recipe ) Ingredients (make 6 large muffins) 1 cup self-raising flour        1/3 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 cup (60g) grated Parmesan cheese        50g ham, chopped 50g chopped pineapple, drained        50 ml...

Today is the fifteenth day of Chinese New Year , Chinese celebrate it as The Lantern Festival (元宵节). This year, The Lantern Festival is also the The Valentine's Day! It's reported that 243 couples in Singapore will be tying the knot today. What an auspicious “double happiness” date!  The Lantern Festival symbolises family togetherness. Eating tangyuan , or sweet rice dumplings,  is an important part of the day in my family. Back in my home town in Northeastern China,   tangyuan  is usually filled with sugar, walnuts, sesame, rose petals, sweetened tangerine peel, red bean paste, dates, or dried fruits.  A lot of combinations of these ingredients.  It feels so good to enjoy a bowl of warm  tangyuan with your family on a cold winter day . This year, I decided to make my own tangyuan for the first time. One reason is, I have one whole pack of glutinous rice flour, leftover from making Chinese N...

Joining  I Heart Cooking Clubs provides me a good chance to try different ways of cooking. The most exciting part is to prepare an everyday dish in a totally new way, such as steamed coconut curry soup, baked fish fillet,  roasted pork ribs etc. We all like that fall off the bone, melt in your mouth rack of ribs. That's why I often boil pork ribs soup, easy and nutritious. Typical ingredients go well with pork ribs are fresh corns, lotus root, apple, pear.  Never roasted pork ribs at home,  simply because I am afraid they would be too dry.   Asian ribs, one of Donna Hay's recipe suggests using hoisin sauce (海鲜酱), five-spice powder (五香粉), soy sauce (酱油) , sesame oil (芝麻油), Shaoxing (绍兴酒) to marinate the ribs. These seasonings are readily available in my kitchen.  It's so convenient to prepare this dish. To achieve tender roasted ribs, I first pull the membrane off  the ribs before marinate them. The...

Chinese New Year is approaching, food bloggers here are busy baking CNY cookies.  I have baked pineapple tarts, almond cookies, peanut cookies. How about you? Since there is still one week away, I'd like to bake one more type of CNY cookies. Read a few posts about Chinese Walnut Cookies (核桃酥) recently.  Some recipes add alkaline water, some add shortening, some use vegetable oil, some use butter.  Despite the difference in recipes, I notice there is one thing in common:  food bloggers are trying to create the traditional taste of walnut cookies from their hometown, from their childhood memories. In my hometown, Chinese walnut cookies are crunchy and full of walnut fragrance. There is no butter in it,  but for sure there are walnuts. They are so delicious that I have always been tempted to buy them whenever I see similar ones at bakery shops here.  How...

This week at  I Heart Cooking Club ,  it's Time for Tea !  Friends have prepared  a good spread of tea time snacks such as delicious cakes, cookies, muffins, scorns.  I am running out of time as today is the deadline for submitting the post!  I don't want to miss the party again (sorry to say that, I have missed for two weeks).  To fit into the theme, I was thinking of making a quick and easy dessert with a Donna Hay's recipe. Standing in my kitchen, with my fridge door widely open,  I saw half pack of leftover buttermilk,  one pack of cooking cream.  Buttermilk Panna Cotta ?  Yes! Panna Cotta , which literally means cooked cream , is a traditional, easy, and delicious Italian dessert. It is made by simmering cream, sugar, and gelatin.  It took me less than 10 minutes to prepare. Garnished with blueberry sauce,  this silky smooth and wobble des...

Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) is still 20 days away, but Singapore is already getting ready for the Year of Horse. CNY decorations are all over the shopping malls, very pretty and impressive. As a home baker, it's time for me to bake CNY cookies . As usual, pineapple tarts are the top in my baking list. This year, I decided to try a different recipe.  Actually, I saw this recipe from Sonia's blog ( Nasi Lemak Lover ) last year. She said it's the "Best Melt-in-the-Mouth" pineapple tart recipe. As I have already finished baking  pineapple tarts  with my own recipe then, so did not have the chance to try.  A few days ago, Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids  shared her experience of baking pineapple tarts with 3 popular recipes. One of them is Sonia's.  Zoe provided a comparison table with ingredients and method used in each recipe, and concluded that Sonia's recipe yields the best melt-in-...

Nuts are my favourite snack. I love pecans, pistachios, walnuts and macadamia the most.  While these nuts are not so expensive in U.S and China,  they are quite pricy here in Singapore.  One pack of 250g roasted pecans can be sold close to S$10. To enjoy pecans at home,  I usually buy raw pecans from local wholesale market, and roast them in my oven.  Toss with some salt, sugar, and Chinese five-spice powder,  homemade roasted pecans  rival the top-quality nuts brands. Store in an airtight container in the fridge, we can enjoy a handful of  crispy delicious pecans anytime of the day.  While there are many good things about nuts,  try not to consume them in excess.   Nuts contain a high amount of omega 6. It's important to maintain a balanced omega 6 and omega 3 ratio (1:1) in your diet.  Study shows a diet that is hig...

I love walnut and banana, the combination of the two is simply irresistible to me. This banana and walnut cake recipe was pinned from Cuisine Paradise . It stands out from the rest due to its rich and moist texture. The secret lies in brown sugar, which has the taste of molasses, sweeter and richer as compared to white sugar. To make it suit more to our taste, I added cinnamon and chocolate chips. The cake is super moist and delicious. It smells heavenly during baking. It has become our "family cake".   CINNAMON WALNUT BANANA CAKE (Recipe adapted from  Cuisine Paradise ) Ingredients: - 227g unsalted butter, soften - 140g brown sugar - 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract - 4 eggs - 2 1/4 cup (~275g) self-raising flour - 1/4 teaspoon baking soda - 1/4 teaspoon salt - 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder - 240g  (2 medium-sized) ripe bananas - 50g chopped walnuts (+ extra for decoration) - 50g chocolate chips Directions: Preheat...