Me raisin bun

This is not really a recipe...more like a story...due to "monetary circumstances"...i have been forced to create my own recipes from whatever ingredients i can find at home to stay alive...so i found a banana bread recipe and modified it to make *drum roll*...raisin bun...yalar yalar...i know the title say already...

what the recipe said:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs beaten
2 1/3 cups mashed over ripe bananas

I think this recipe will make delicious banana bread...but at home,i got no bananas and only one egg and lots of raisins...so this is what i came up with:

Soak raisins (i used 1 cup) overnight in rum...hehe...after helping yourself to some of course...i know what you're thinking...no...i'm not an alcoholic...

Preheat oven at 175 degrees celcius...i had mine at 140 because my oven always lies about the temperature...

Mix 2 cups of plain flour(my house got plenty of flour...plain flour,self raising flour,corn flour also got...enough to last till next year...haha) with 1 teaspoon of baking powder in a huge mixing bowl . Add 3/4 cup of brown sugar and 1/2 cup butter...Mix with mixer...i know...very dry right ? so i added whatever milk i had left in my fridge...it was only about 1/8 th of a cup...then mix again...then still a bit dry...nehmind...add egg (my house only got one egg left...cannot even put two...sigh) ...add the raisins that have been soaked overnight...and since it was so dry...i added...hehehe...some of the rum the raisins were soaked in (again i stress...no...i'm not an alcoholic) ...about 45 ml...or about 1/6 th of a cup...and also an approximately same amount of whipped cream...don't ask me why...it just felt right...maybe its the rum i had earlier doing its work(again...no...i am not an alcoholic...)...but anyway,then mix again until it's gooey sticky...knead into whatever shape you want and put in a suitable baking tray...pop in oven for about 50 minutes...the best way to judge is when a toothpick/knife comes out smoothly without any gooey sticky feeling inside after you poke the pasrty with it...and then...enjoy the suspiciously alcoholic raisin bun that's supposed to be bread and has the texture of a large cookie...wahaha...cheers...and no...i'm not an alcoholic...

Tags: raisin bun baked budget recipe

May's happy dry indian curry

*Err..not yet. Let me tell you a little something about myself first*

You know the funniest thing? Nearly a year ago I couldn't cook. Didn't want to. A year down the line and I'm posting recipes. Hmm.

Moral of story? Anybody can cook.

I must admit that I can be quite weird when I cook. For one, I'm bloody picky about who I cook for (exceptions in potluck parties). I don't cook for bastards. And certainly not pricks. So if you're a bastard, or a prick...too bad. If you're nice to me, I'll cook for you.

My second quirky habit is that I like to talk to my food. Yes you heard right. Even when I cook for myself. But most of the time, I start having this full-on conversation (in my head) when I prepare a meal for an exclusive bunch of friends. Or for my partner. A normal in-may's-head conversation goes something like this:

Okays...be nice...today we're cooking for ****, so let's see. What do we have here? Hmm. Okay, okay...looking good...let's taste it...hmm....

I know it sounds wrong but hey. :D

I discovered something interesting yesterday; if I don't talk to my food, there's bound to be disaster. Yesterday I made bak kut teh. Didn't talk to it and sure enough, I forgot the dark sauce. Bak kut teh looked murky brown. Oopsie.

Anyways....

May's happy dry indian curry! (finally.)

I love Indian food. I also like showing it off when I know it looks, tastes and smells authentic. Picture above was taken by dear prettyhazy during a party.

Now now...vat you need:

Chicken (duh...use chikadoo drumstick!)
Potatoes (chopped roughly)
Tomatoes (sliced thinly)
Red onion(nice red ones that can make you cry when sliced)
Garlic (crushed and chopped into bits)
Ginger (just a tiny bit)
Dry chilli
Fresh curry leaves (from Safeway. Bloody expensive but worth it!)
1 teaspoon of black mustard seed (this you can get at any good asian grocer)
Aniseed star (just one would do; too much of it and your dish would taste like colgate)
Cinnamon stick (just one!)
Kunyit (yellow powder thingy; don't really know how to describe it)
Chilli powder
Baba's meat curry powder

*Unless specifically mentioned, I haven't put any measurement/quantity on most ingredients. I’m a happy believer and follower of estimation. Just talk to your food.*

Okay! Let us start!

The night before:

Marinate chicken/s. Cut drumstick into smaller pieces so that it's easier.

1. Add in a dash of kunyit
2. Lots of chilli powder
3. And lots of meat curry powder.
4. Then add salt. Add a tiny bit of water and marinate the whole thing.
5. Place chikadoo in fridge overnight.

Then on the day itself:

1. Put oil in pan and fry potatoes. Once cooked, place aside.
2. Put a little more oil in pan. Wait till heated then throw in black mustard seed. Fry.
3. Throw in cinnamon and aniseed star.
4. Add garlic, onion, curry leaves, dry chilli and ginger. Fry until fragrant.
5. Once satisfied with smell (it would smell divine at this stage), add in chicken pieces.
6. Once cooked, add in tomatoes.
7. You'd be able to see a tiny layer of oil rising on the top. This means you're nearly done!
8. Turn fire down to low and add the potatoes.
9. Stir, stir, stir, stir, stir. Talk to your curry. Befriend it.

Done!

Tags: curry dry chicken budget recipe

soba salad

As seen on real life! Serves 8! Here's what you need:



Got that? No? Okay, in words and numbers.

400g soba (green tea flavour preferred for colour)
sesame oil
sesame seeds
seaweed
seafood salad/fish sticks, shredded
light soy sauce
dark soy sauce

First, the soba. Boil the soba noodles as per packet instructions. Drain, and wash immediately in cold water. Place on dish and mix well with sesame oil so that they don't stick.



Mix in two tablespoons of light soy and one tablespoon of dark soy. Stir and mix well. Add and mix the sesame seeds and seafood salad seperately. Garnish with more seafood salad and seaweed. Serve cold.



Tags: soba salad cold noodle budget recipe