A chronicle of my (vegetarian) foodie creations (Moved to http://vegbuzz.blogspot.com)

Time for a Move

2009-10-27T23:12:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

It's been a long while since I last blogged. I have been pretty busy with the magazine, school, baking and of cos struggling with perennial laziness! I have decided to start a new blog, something more meaningful with proper recipes and not mere descriptions and also to include meaningful events happening in SG and around the world. I seek your continued support, and I can now be reached at http://vegbuzz.blogspot.com

See you there!

With lots of love and gratitude,

H

VegVibe September Issue is Out!

2009-09-23T01:00:00.000-07:00

Hey peeps, the September issue is out and features a very good friend and yoga master, Bala :) Hope you'll enjoy other articles in it as well. You can download it for free at www.vegvibe.com

Enjoy!

Mango Cake

2009-09-22T01:44:00.000-07:00

Managed to make a real mangoish cake because they were in season. Was playing around with my new prime lens :D

Chocolate Cakes

2009-09-22T01:30:00.001-07:00

Soccer Themed Cake Part 2

2009-09-22T01:25:00.000-07:00

Previously, I had an order for soccer themed cupcakes. This time round the mother wanted me to make a cake for her younger son. She wanted a simple soccer theme cake and hence I decided to go with this 'soccer ball in front of a goal post' look. I liked the way the cake turned out. It was quite a cute looking cake. :)

One of my favourite cakes

2009-09-22T01:11:00.000-07:00

I made this cake for a very special and dear friend who wanted something as fruity as possible. I made a chocolate cake and stuffed it with mango and kiwis and topped the cake off with strawberries, mango and more kiwi. I actually bought more fruits but could not add them in. I wanted to create the idea of a fruit basket, hence the basket weave. Was tedious to do but wanted to make something special for my friend. I liked the colour combination of the cake in the end :)

Tried making some mango roses by slicing them thinly and rolling them up

Simple Mocha and Blackforest Cake

2009-09-22T01:06:00.000-07:00

These are some simple cakes I made for two lovely ladies :)

Back with lots of updating!

2009-09-19T03:27:00.001-07:00

I've been out of action for such a long long time! Partly due to work and partly due to the fasting month, I hardly feel up to do updating my blog. I also realised I have a more cake pics than food due to the fact that during the fasting month I rely heavily on my mum to feed me! haha!

This is some simple bowtie pasta that I decided to make into an Asian style soup rather than the typical tomato sauce drenched version. I also like this version as I can add as much vegetables I like and it all enhances the soup base. I topped it with some fried shallots for an interesting taste.

I happen to chance upon some mock beef balls at the Friendly Vegetarian Supplier. The shop assistant recommended that we try it as he professed that it tastes rather authentic. We purchased it and Wow! Though it has been over eight years since I last ate beef, I think it does taste meaty and I made some noodles with it. It lends a very interesting taste and texture element :)

VegVibe - First Online Veg Mag in SG :D

2009-08-17T20:00:00.001-07:00

I apologise for not blogging in some time. This is one of the things that I had been busy with. My hubby and I have been working on an online veg magazine for the community. It's free of charge and can be downloaded at http://www.vegvibe.com/ It not only contains recipes (this month is on the red and white theme cos' of National Day), it also features great people like my friend Pauline, travel info, current affairs, eco-living, health issues and product and media reviews.
I'm also working on revamping the blog, hence the absence and silence :D I'll be back soon!

The 112 Cake

2009-07-30T04:43:00.000-07:00

Vegan Moch Cake made with Vietnamese Coffee

Initially when I started baking, I was thinking of it as a business but now I see beyond it. I realise that baking vegan cakes is a service to not only the community but also to promote a cruelty-free lifestyle. My baking journey has evolved into a hobby because the amount of time I spent baking and decorating and cleaning up can easily earn me more if I were to give tuition outside. I still do it because many times I realize there are not much options available for vegans. I have spend baking into the wee hours of the night because of clients telling me that they have no other alternatives. Many times I bake free cakes for friends and events knowing that my efforts will be appreciated by this wonderful community. In particular, I was blessed with the opportunity to bake cakes for great people like Teresa Hsu who celebrated her 112 birthday this July. I suppose this is the icing on my cake :)

Lunchbox #03 - Sushi Rolls

2009-07-30T04:27:00.000-07:00

I think a lot of you can empathize when I say we should have been born Japanese. We love the food, the technology and their quirky culture! This was my maiden effort in making sushi rolls. The first roll I did ended up with a thick layer of rice, so for the second roll I added less rice and more ingredients - basically teriyaki tofu, carrots and cucumbers with a serving of a veg salad. It was delicious but I think a squirt of vegan mayo would have added the additional twist to it. I omitted it since I was trying to keep it as fat free as possible!

Vegan Watercress Soup

2009-07-30T04:08:00.000-07:00

I have to apologise for the long absence. I've been having a particularly busy and tiring July. I have gone back to teaching for this term to help out with a cousin whose on leave. Unfortunately, though I'm just teaching temporarily, the hours are long, leaving me feeling so drained in the evenings. Added to that I've been busy handling a few other projects as well

I have been cooking and this time I've been writing down notes but unfortunately, I've forgotten where I placed them. This particular dish is simply boiled potatoes, garlic and watercress pureed upon cooking to achieve this emerald green and nutritious soup. It can be seasoned with salt, stock, pepper.

Thanks Cookie for encouraging me to post again! :D

Papaya Smoothie

2009-06-29T02:10:00.001-07:00

Papayas are in season and my mum passed me some mini-papayas. What better way to enjoy it than with some papaya-soy milk smoothie :) I realised that papaya has a custard like tendency which is giving me some ideas on new desserts... :D

Chocolate Mousse with Blueberries

2009-06-29T02:02:00.000-07:00

It's been sometime since we had chocolate mousse and so I decided to simply whip up a batch following vegan cupcakes take over the world recipe. It requires silken tofu, melted chocolate and a drizzle of maple syrup. Delicious and low in calories!

Vege Kuey Teow Noodles

2009-06-19T22:33:00.000-07:00

One of the things I miss after becoming vegetarian is Seafood Horfun. It's not the seafood that I miss as much as the gelationous gravy that goes with it. While grocery shopping at the wet market, I picked some Kuey Teow noodles and decided to make a dish that reminded me of Horfun. But instead of using mock meat and such, I just used all sorts of vegetables to create a colourful dish.

Fun with Chee Cheong Fan!

2009-06-10T04:21:00.000-07:00

Chee Cheong Fan is a type of Chinese rice dish, traditionally eaten for breakfast. Hubby and I saw it while we were checking out our local wet market (after staying in Clementi for four years!) and saw them selling it for 30 cents a piece. We quickly bought a bundle as hubby loves them. It can be steamed or flash boiled and is usually served with a dark sweet sauce and chilli sauce, sprinkled generously with sesame seeds and sesame oil. You can also add fried shallots, garlic and spring onions for flavour. It is a simple dish and can be bland without the additional condiments. It's texture is something that takes some getting used to: A little soft and slippery.

Vegan Cinnamon Rolls

2009-06-10T01:37:00.000-07:00

My hubby loves any fresh baked bread products and cinnamon rolls are one of his all time favorite. I modify my recipe from Hannah's blog and have amazing results all the time. She's a wizard in the kitchen!

Daring Bakers' Challenge #02 - Apple Strudel

2009-05-28T08:28:00.000-07:00

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

Having never made traditional apple strudel in my life, this challenge was truly something that I looked forward to and enjoyed very much. I was procrastinating on this one but when the deadline loomed ahead, I knew I had to get started on it.

Fortunately, the recipe was naturally vegan with the dough being made from water, flour and oil and hence the rest was a cinch. The only issue I had was to replace melted butter with non-diary margarine for the glazing of the dough layers but it was easily solved as well. I was a bit hesitant about using breadcrumbs but it was all good. Stuffed with diced green apples, raisins, almonds, cinnamon and nutmeg, I ended up with two strudel, and both of them were demolished within the next couple of hours. Even my highly critical, anti-vegan confectionary brother liked it! And that is really clinching the blue ribbon!

Mint - Chocolate Cupcakes

2009-05-28T08:07:00.000-07:00

This was for a cupcake order. The chocolate cake was made with some peppermint extract and filled with peppermint cream, topped with chocolate ganache and decorated with more peppermint cream.

Mango Juice With Pearlsng

2009-05-28T07:56:00.000-07:00

Just a 100% fresh pureed mangoes with pearls as a tea time beverage. Highly refreshing!

'Mutton' Stew

2009-05-28T07:48:00.001-07:00

I remember making my first ever mutton stew when I was dating my husband. I made it only once but I recall slaving over the hot stove for hours simmering the meat to make it tender. Of cos' the end result was good, (and I suppose my frequent treats for him sealed the deal!) but I just never got around to making it again. So, I felt like making a vegetable stew (which I had not done before as well) after being inspired by this recipe. I threw in some mock mutton that had been sitting in my fridge for the longest time. Personally, the stew was delish except for the mock mutton. Somehow, I'm not keen on eating mock stuff anymore and I felt that it did not do it for me. Needless to say, hubby was happy to have second helpings!

Refreshing Green Apple and Celery Juice

2009-05-28T05:30:00.000-07:00

Homemade Vegan Tortilla Wraps and Mexican Style Potatoes

2009-05-28T05:13:00.000-07:00

Since I had an avocado left in the fridge, I wanted to attempt making a guacamole again. (My first attempt failed thanks to an unripe avocado) Since I was heading in that direction, I started looking up on tortillas and came across this recipe. Unfortunately, it was not vegan but I simply replaced the milk with water and it worked as equally well! However, the resting period is very important to be able to stretch the dough. I also used this recipe to make mexican potatoes. Instead of deep frying the potatoes, I pan-roasted the potatoes and went ahead with the rest of the steps as per the recipe. Hubby loved it and I was so surprised to see that he actually enjoyed the guacamole :D

ROM cupcakes

2009-05-28T04:58:00.000-07:00

100 chocolate cupcakes as a ROM gift.

Simply Delish Vegan Potato and Leek Soup with Garlic Bread

2009-05-28T04:23:00.000-07:00

I've never cooked leeks before even though I love them to bits. I happen to purchase some and decided to make a vegan potato and leek soup. Traditionally made with some chicken or beef stock, I chose to crumble in some vegetable stock cube and instead of adding cream, I just added a little bit more potatoes and pureed it until creamy. It is a really easy foolproof soup and we loved it very much... Now I feel like having some more!

Potato and Leek Soup (Just based on estimation)

1 onion, sliced

1 leek, cleaned and sliced

3 cloves of garlic, sliced (or more if ur a garlic lover)

2 potatoes, peeled and diced

1/2 a vegetable stock cube (or more if you want more flavour)

Some water

Salt to taste

some pinch of thyme, rosemary and pepper

Method:

1) Saute the onion until translucent. Add the leeks and saute until tender

2) Add garlic and saute until well browned.

3) Add potatoes, stock cube, and enough water to cover the potatoes.

4) Let it boil until the potatoes are cooked. Add a pinch of thyme and rosemary.

5) Puree the soup with a handheld blender to preferred consistency. You can leave some chunky pieces for texture.

6) Add more thyme, ground pepper and salt to taste.

7) Serve with some crusty bread.

Simply Orange...

2009-05-28T04:14:00.000-07:00

Just a simple morning boost with just oranges and a squirt of lingonberry sauce.

Tech Theme Cupcakes

2009-05-28T03:46:00.000-07:00

This is my second time working with fondant. This was for SR who wanted chocolate cupcakes for her partner. She wanted a convertible, bowling and technology related cupcakes, such as laptop, ipod, PSP, with a maroon, blue and white theme.

What I did on Mother's Day

2009-05-28T03:44:00.001-07:00

Breakfast Boost - Avocado and Strawberry Smoothie

2009-05-10T09:50:00.000-07:00

My mum bought some avocados for me and so I decided to make some avocado smoothie with some leftover strawberries which were threatening to go bad. So I pureed the avocado with some soy milk and chopped up the strawberries and layered it with the avocado. In between the layers, I sweetened with some lingonberry sauce given to me by a friend from Sweden. In all, it looked so beautiful and was simple to do! I particularly love the pic at the bottom. It's my fav pic so far!

Breakfast Boost - Citrus Carrot Apple

2009-05-10T09:33:00.000-07:00

I have to thank my friend Esha for this idea. She posted on FB on how she has taken on to eating raw food one meal a day and I decided to have raw breakfast to start of the day. I started with a mango strawberry juice in the morning (which I forgot to take pics of) and the 2nd day I blended a whole carrot and a whole fuji apple with a splash of lemon. The lemon was so good as it brought out the sweetness of the fruit and brightened the whole flavour. I was skeptical about carrots, but it was truly delish!

Spinach Noodles

2009-05-10T09:25:00.001-07:00

I had this noodles for the first time in Delivege a couple of weeks ago. It was simple but yet very tasty and the deliciousness kept lingering. So I decided to recreate it and went to purchase the ingredients. The original dish called for all three coloured peppers - red, green and yellow but I settled for two as I was not able to get hold of the yellow one. The base was very simply some onions, garlic and celery blended and sauted in olive oil. Add in a little water and a two tsps of oyster and dark soy sauce. Add in more light soy for taste and toss in the shitake mushrooms and peppers towards the end. Cook spinach noodles separately and assemble them together :) yum...

Mocha Cake for Hubby

2009-05-10T00:59:00.000-07:00

This is a mocha cake for my hubby who was meeting up with some of his secondary school friends.

Simple Confetti Cake

2009-05-10T00:46:00.000-07:00

This is a simple confetti cake I made. On the inside it has layers of vanilla cake made with sprinkles. More sprinkles on the side to add to the festiveness of the cake!

'Rocking' Mango Cake

2009-05-10T00:43:00.000-07:00

This is a mango cake with wacky designs for a Canadian girl. I drizzled chocolate and mango puree on the side and did a double layer word with purple and yellow just for the craziness!

Daring Bakers' Challenge #01 - Cheezecake

2009-05-05T05:20:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late with this post but I've decided to jump onto the Daring Bakers' monthly challenge. Though the reveal was to be on the 27th of April, I'm a little late.

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

Since I prefer to bake vegan, I've been dragging my feet on this one. But, I think this was a good impetus as I finally made my first vegan cheezecake using this recipe. Of course, it did not taste anything like cheezecake but I think it makes a good base for pies and tarts. I made an oreo crust base since that was the easiest and vegan. Also, the recipe is a little wonky as it does not make enough custard. So, I ended up with a flat cheezecake!

Cook out with a dear friend :)

2009-04-30T01:43:00.000-07:00

The first time I met Virginie was by chance when I was coming back from work. She was on her maiden visit to Singapore to visit her bf who I know through the VSS. We clicked really well even though it was a short chat and since then we had been emailing each other and keeping in touch. Virginie has an amazing blog on veganism and she is truly and inspiration for me. She's innovative, daring and makes really good food. So when she was back visiting in Singapore, we just knew that we had to spend some time in my kitchen cooking away :)

So we did a sharing of cuisines, and I made some Indian dishes like Sambar, dosai with tomato chutney and a sweet potato porridge. Virginie made a veg tart, zucchini pasta, stuffed eggplants with brown rice and also brought some watermelon juice and chopped figs which was to be made into a sorbet but unfortunately, the weather was unbearably hot that it did not freeze sufficiently.

She also had some vegan meringue powder so we made our first vegan meringue. of course it did not taste anything like meringue but it was more like a crispy candy! But the possibilities are endless :)

The Overall Meal

Yummy Brown Rice Stuffed Eggplant

Healthy and Delicious Vegetable Tart

Thosai with tomato Chutney

Zucchini Pasta - Two thumbs up!

Vegan Meringue

Watermelon 'Sorbet' with Figs... Super delish!

Vegan Mocha Cake

2009-04-30T01:15:00.000-07:00

I made this special mocha cake for a dear friend of mine who was visiting Singapore. As this was not a birthday cake, I was at a lost on how to decorate it. So I decided to 'draw' some flowers on it using mocha cream. I also sprinkled crushed Vietnamese coffee beans in between the layers to enhance the coffee flavour. I liked the way the cake looked... simple but elegant :) I'm glad to say that she liked the cake!

Banana Split Cupcakes...

2009-04-30T01:05:00.000-07:00

Yet another strawberry cake and mango cake :)

2009-04-30T00:53:00.000-07:00

Vegan Mango Chocolate Cake

2009-04-28T09:03:00.000-07:00

This was a cake I did for a dear friend of mine, R. It was a belated birthday cake for her mother and she wanted me to make something different for her. So, she decided on a mango and chocolate cake. Fortunately, fresh mangoes were going for a song and I decided to make a chocolate cake and layer it with fresh mango. I wanted to make something spectacular with chocolate for her but two things were working against me. For one, I have never tempered chocolate on my own, so I was a little worried about getting it right. Secondly, R informed me that the cake will be kept in the car (without shelter) for a few hours before consumption. I didn't want to take the risk of the chocolate melting, so I settled for something simple. After I took this picture, I made some modifications which I forgot to capture in my camera afterwards.

Fortunately, her mum who had never had a vegan cake before liked it, so I'm happy :)

VSS turns 10! (belatedly that is)

2009-04-22T00:08:00.000-07:00

VSS turned TEN on the 28th of March 2009 and yours truly was tasked with the catering. VSS is very special to me because I really believe in the vegetarian cause and the people there are amazing. Thanks to VSS, I have made some awesome friends who continue to inspire me to be better vegetarian, i.e., be more environmentally friendly, and hopefully to be vegan one day!

So, I wanted to make the best possible cake for VSS and hence I started experimenting with vegan fondant, after doing extensive research over the net. Somehow, I managed to get some vegan fondant by substituting agar with gelatine but though the batch was workable, I think there needs to be more tweaking to make it pliable. However, it was good enough to work with and I decided to use it. I decided on a garden theme and spent two days making bees, flowers, butterflies, snails and ladybird bugs for the cake.

I also decided on a two layer cake, so after gleaning information from youtube, I learnt how to make a two tier cake stable. Even though I initially wanted to cover the entire cake in fondant, I decided against it because I know most people will dislike the sweetness of it and also it will end up being wasted. So, I did a cream cake and added fondant figurines on it. I felt that it was one of the best cakes I've made (I'm sure the experts in fondant making will disagree) and even though I laboured over it for days, it was all worth it!

Potato Salad Sandwich

2009-04-21T23:46:00.000-07:00

Since it is nearing the end of my semester, I have been just so busy juggling school and baking. Particularly, this month has been difficult as I have been 'blessed' with a lecturer who is fickle minded to say the least. So, my research proposal has been through some difficult times and I'm glad that it is finally over.

Anyway, I was looking up some recipes online to make vegan sandwich without using mock meat and I chanced upon a potato salad sandwich. It is an awesome idea and I remembered how much I loved potato salads during my uni days. So this time round, I just

whipped it up with some vegan mayo. It was really good and we enjoyed it tremendously. Remember to refrigerate uneaten potato salad as it goes bad pretty fast in Singapore's humid weather.

Recipe for Potato Salad Sandwich (Makes a lot - 1/2 if necessary but seriously?)

700g boiling potatoes (like Russet)

3 cloves of garlic, peeled (or more, if u r a garlic lover)

1/2 an onion diced (or less if you don't like raw onions)

1/4 to 1/2 tsp pepper to taste

70 -80g of vegan mayo (I didn't use much as my bro does not like to much mayo, but feel free to adjust accordingly)

1/2 to 1 tbsp of nutritional yeast (really optional)

Vegan margarine

Some tomato slices

Some lettuce

Some bread (wholemeal/white etc)

Method:

1) Peel, cube and boil potatoes and garlic with some salt. Once the potatoes are tender, drain the liquid, reserving some, and mash it up to desired consistency. I prefer it a little chunky.

2) Add onions, pepper, vegan mayo and nutritional yeast. Mix well. If needed, add more vegan mayo or reserved liquid to achieve a creamier consistency.

3) Spread bread with vegan margarine (optional). Add a scoop of potato salad and top it off with tomato and lettuce.

4) Eat!

Note: You can consider making an open top sandwich by placing a slice of cheese on top and grilling it. Also, if using garlic powder, add it together with other seasoning.

Briyani Rice

2009-03-28T07:11:00.000-07:00

I contributed this recipe for a vegan magazine which was featuring some Indian cuisine. This is a rice dish from Hyderabad that has influenced South Indian cuisine. Mainly cooked with basmati rice, this dish is almost always made with ghee (clarified butter) and spiced with cinnamon, cardamom and various aromatics. In Singapore, pandan leaves (screwpine leaves) are added. This is purely a southeast asian influence and is not traditional Indian herb.

Ingredients:

1.5 tablespoon of canola/olive oil

35g raw cashew nuts, split lengthwise

15g raisins (optional)

2 inch cinnamon stick (abt 2g)

5 cardamon pods

5 cloves

1 star anise

2 bay leaf (optional)

1 blade of pandan (screwpine leaf) (optional)

1 stalk coriander, chopped

1 stalk mint, chopped

25g onion, sliced

15g garlic, grind into a paste

15g ginger, grind into a paste

1 green chilli, split lengthwise

100g tomatoes, diced

275g basmatic rice, washed and soaked in water for 15 mins

450ml water

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 pinch of saffron, steeped in a 1 tbsp of hot water

1 teaspoon rose water

Method:

1) Heat the oil in a pot (big enough to cook rice in). Fry the cashews until golden brown. Remove from heat.

2) Fry the raisins next in the same oil. Once the raisins start to puff, remove them quickly to prevent burning.

3) In the remaining oil, add cinnamon, cardamom, clove, star anise, bay leaf, pandan, mint and coriander. Sauté in the oil until the spices release fragrance.

4) Add the onions next. Sauté until golden brown. Add the garlic and ginger paste, tomatoes and chilli. Continue to sauté until the tomatoes disintegrate and the ginger and garlic paste is cooked.

5) Add the basmati rice to the mixture in the pot. Mix the basmati rice with the mixture until it is coated. Fry the rice in the pot for about 1 to 2 mins. Stir gently to prevent breaking of the rice and sticking to the bottom.

6) Add the water and the salt. Close the pan. Leave it on low heat and let the rice cook. When the rice has absorbed most of the water, pour in the saffron water and rose water. Add the cashews and raisins. Stir gently, scrapping the bottom.

7) Close the pan and continue the low heat and let the rice absorb the water completely. Remove from heat.

Note: Different grades of basmati rice needs different amounts of water. Please check package instructions.

Cupcakes for People Association's Branding Exercise

2009-03-24T22:36:00.000-07:00

This was a cupcake order that came through a friend as well for PA. There was a five colour and five value theme for this, so I had to wreck my brains to get this going properly. Altogether there were 120 cupcakes.

Strawberry Cake

2009-03-24T22:20:00.000-07:00

This was a cake order from one of my friends, who I must thank for her continued support. She wanted a strawberry cake and so since the Korean strawberries were in season, I used them to make this cake. Nearly all 300g of strawberries went into this cake.

Cupcakes for Bangle Ceremony

2009-03-24T21:57:00.000-07:00

This was a cupcake order for a bangle ceremony. I did some drop flowers with leaves on the cupcakes. The wordings were as requested by the bride-to-be.

Veg Travel -Vietnam

2009-03-24T19:49:00.000-07:00

Okie... I've not been conscientious this month when it comes to blogging. Call it a seemingly busy month with assignments, cake orders and of course a week long trip to lovely Ho Chi Minh city. :) Hubby and I decided to break away from our comfort zone and do a backpacking trip to Vietnam. The initial plan was to go to Hanoi but since there are no daily flights there, we decided on Ho Chi Minh instead. I think perhaps, that was a good move because we found out later that South Vietnamese were generally nicer and genuine as compared to the North. (Based on travel research and talking to people on the trip).

Though initally we approached HCM with trepidation,we had a blast renting a motorbike and touring the city with the millions of motorcycles on the road. HCM is a bustling city with over 5 million motorbike population. Of cos' this is a dream for hubby who is an avid motorcyclist. For once, we don't have to worry about cars on the road, and motorcycles rule the streets! This picture shows hubby trying to negotiate a turn on a super busy road!

We also visited quite a few places in HCM itself. The reunification palace, war remnants museum, ben than market, jade emperor pagoda and mariamman temple were some of the stops. Not to mention, we also took day trips to the Mekong delta, Cao Dai temple and Chu Chi Tunnels. Each trip was interesting and equally fascinating. In particular, we enjoyed our time at the famed Chu Chi Tunnels. Even though we had read scary reviews about it, its nothing compared to the actual experience. The tunnels are so small that I had to walk bowed while hubby had to do the 'duck' walk. The tunnels are also pitch black and initially there is an overwhelming sense of claustrophobia and panic. But once we calmed ourselves down, it was easier to go through the tunnel. It helped that we brought along a torchlight as well! Despite us just sampling 20m, it was a tiring experience!

Hubby entering the tunnel

Picturesque Mekong Delta

Cai Dao Temple - A made in Vietnam religion

Vegetarian food was easy to come by in Ho Chi Minh city itself. However, when we went for day trips, we could not get veg food as easily. We do believe it could be because the tour company is not keen to make the necessary arrangements. This was the first time me and hubby had Vietnamese food and they have an interesting and healthy cuisine. All Vietnamese meal came with a serving of fresh vegetables on the side, such as beansprouts, spinach, banana flowers, basil and other herbs. It was a refreshing change from the heavy, spicy food we are used too. However, call it the Indian in me, after a couple of days, we grew a little tired of the rice noodles ;)

Some of the dishes we had :)

Lotus Rice

Baked Potato Skin with Cheese and Cauliflower

Tacos with Vietnamese Tea in the background

Fried Chilli Rice with some mock meat

Hue Noodles

Vegan Almond Cookies

2009-03-04T01:49:00.001-08:00

These cookie recipe is courtesy of Gina from KC. The cookies contains ground almonds and it is made with oil. Completely vegan and tastes really good.

Recipe: (Courtesy of Gina)

100g flour

40g icing sugar, sifted

70 g almonds meal, dry roasted in a pan.

70ml corn oil

Method:

1) Add dry ingredients to a bowl.

2) Add the oil. Mix well with a fork until the dough comes together. If it is a little wet, add a tiny bit of flour.

3) Shape as desired.

4) Bake 10 - 15 mins at 180 Degree Celsius

Soccer Cupcakes

2009-03-04T01:46:00.000-08:00

I had an order for soccer cupcakes for a soccer crazy 13 year old boy. Chocolate and Oreo cupcakes with vanilla frosting tinted green for the grass effect. I used Wilton's 'grass' tip for this.

VWAV's (Fava Beans &) Quinoa Croquettes and Corn Chowder

2009-02-18T00:26:00.000-08:00

It was one of those days when I was out of inspiration and looked at VWAV for ideas. I decided upon the black eyed peas and quinoa croquettes with corn chowder since I had 5 ears of corn at home. Unfortunately, I realised I had only fava beans or kidney beans at home. So I decided to swap the black eyed peas for fava beans. This made a decent meal, something different from the usual fare but again I think I need to work on the spice level a bit to suit our taste. It makes a pretty presentation for parties though!

VWAV's Mashed Potatoes and Chickpea Gravy

2009-02-18T00:04:00.000-08:00

The first dish I made after acquiring the Vegan With a Vengeance was the mashed potato and chickpea gravy. The chickpea gravy had received rave reviews and so I decided to try it. It was pretty good and interesting but I found that it was a bit bland for my taste. I also made the the tempeh crumble from VWAV but I didn't quite care for it. I think the recipes are a good base to start but I'll probably have to tweak it to suit my taste.

Ramen Noodles

2009-02-17T23:31:00.000-08:00

I've always been intrigued by Japanese food. The emphasis on quality, details and aesthetics is rather amazing for me. The simplicity of Japanese cuisine which allows the food to speak for itself is yet another reason why I like Japanese food very much. So, when I chanced upon fresh ramen noodles when on a grocery trip, I naturally purchased it. After doing a search online, I came to realise that ramen noodles is actually the Japanese version of instant noodles and it is mainly made with chicken, seafood or meat based broth. Luckily, miso is also used for the broth.

So, I made a simple noodle base with miso and grilled some tempeh which was marinated in hoisin sauce and chilli powder. I also pan fried some dried red chillis and crushed it on top of the noodles as a garnish...

Blueberry Muffins

2009-02-17T22:51:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to make muffins for the longest time ever and I have finally managed to make it. Since I managed to pick up some cheap blueberries at Giant, I decided to make blueberry muffins. This is the first time I'm baking with fresh blueberries. Initially, I was a little worried about how they would turn out but I love the feeling of the fresh blueberries bursting in my mouth when I bite into the muffin. I made some with a crumb topping and some naked. Needless to say the crumb topping, perfumed with cinnamon, was much more delicious than the naked ones. Even my anti-vegetarian brother liked it and was surprised that it tasted good!

Double Choc Brownie Cookies

2009-02-17T21:26:00.000-08:00

This started out as an experiment for a vegan double chocolate chip cookie. However, along the way, they yielded delicious rich, bitter sweet brownie like cookie. It was well received by my classmates, so I'll be putting it up for sale as well soon :)

Heart Shaped Mousse Cake

2009-02-17T21:21:00.000-08:00

This is a birthday cake I did for a friend for his significant other. :)

Look What Came in the Mail....

2009-02-17T20:57:00.000-08:00

I was suppose to have received this package sometime in November but only got it in February! It all started with my brother's suggestion of getting his friend from the US to bring the books to Singapore. His friend travels to S.E. Asia alot for work and we figured we could save quite a bit in shipping!

So, after placing our orders, we waited for my brother's friend to finalize his business trip to Singapore. Unfortunately, soon after, my brother's friend lost his job due to the economic meltdown in the US! So, we just decided to get him to mail over the parcel through the US postal mail. That was in early December. We waited and waited but did not receive the parcel.

After a couple of emails to his friend, we discovered that his friend has asked his wife to mail out the parcel but she completely forgot about it!!! Grrr... So, in January, his friend finally mailed out the parcel. Again, we waited and waited but there was no parcel! Finally, we gave up thinking that it might have got lost in the sea of mails that passes through US. :(

And then... when the last hope was extinguished, I came back home one day to see a parcel on my dining table.... And I was finally enlightened on why the parcel took over a month and a half to get to me... my brother's friend wrote the address wrongly!!

Well, I suppose I shouldn't complain... after all I did get what I wanted in the end!

Garlic Yum...

2009-02-01T19:01:00.000-08:00

After looking at Hannah's post on her garlic bread, I just knew that I had to make it. Firstly, I love, love garlic and secondly my hubby loves freshly made bread. And most importantly, its vegan! I never thought I would enjoy bread making as much as cake making but I find it so exhilarating to handle a mount of soft, pliable dough. And of cos, nothing tastes as good as bread fresh out of the oven... just crisp on the outside and cottony soft on the inside. Slather on some non-diary margarine and you have a nostalgic melt-in-your-mouth goodness.

Only For Beet Lovers...

2009-02-01T18:34:00.000-08:00

I was running low on veg stocks and since it was prior to CNY, I couldn't bring myself to brave the throngs of crowd in supermarkets to buy veg. So, I digged about and found a pair of beets waiting to be used. Somehow, just the day before or so, I caught a glimpse of the Rachel Ray Show and she was making drunken spaghetti in beets. Her version was to cook the pasta in red wine and add the sauteed beets to it. I decided to do it a little different by cooking the beets and pasta separately and tossing them in together. I loved the deep burgundy red of the pasta as the beets stained it beautifully. Topped off with some Chinese celery for contrast, it made a rather tasty meal for me. Hubby has never liked beets, but he did enjoy the pasta minus the shredded beets. He suggested alternatively to puree the beets into a sauce. Maybe I'll do that the next time round.

Recipe for Beets Spaghetti (For 2 ample servings)

2 small beets (or 1 medium beet)

1 onion, sliced

3-4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp of chilli powder (reduce/increase to preference)

1 tbsp of nutritional yeast (adds a nice 'chickeny' taste to it)

salt to taste

Olive oil

Sufficient pasta for two.

Some Chinese celery/spring onions for garnish

Method:

1) Prepare beets - I trimmed the sprouts of the beets, scrubbed and boiled it whole for about 15 mins to 20 mins. After which, I peeled parts of the beets that I found offensive and left the other bits of skin on. (The beet's skin is edible. Just make sure to remove all the soil and dirt)

2) I julienned the beets but I think a food processor will easily do the job as well.

3) In a pan, heat some olive oil and add the onions and garlic and saute until brown and fragrant. Add chilli powder and continue to saute until its cooked. (At this point the chilli powder might stick to the pan, I usually add a tiny bit of water instead of oil)

4) Add the beets and salt to taste and saute until it is completely cooked. It should go limpy. It will taste pretty good by itself now. For a more savoury taste, add nutritional yeast.

5) Prepare pasta according to package instruction. Once cooked, drain most of the water away, leaving the pasta a little wet. Throw in the beets, toss and serve.

6) Garnish with spring onions or Chinese celery

Vegan Double Chocolate Pancakes

2009-01-23T09:15:00.000-08:00

I hadn't made pancakes in sometime and been craving for some. My fav pancakes usually contain sliced or mashed bananas and chocolate. However, for this one, I did not have bananas and relied on good ol chocolate. I added non-diary chocolates in the batter and drizzled some non-diary chocolate ganache on top. Super awesome. In fact, hubby said this were the best pancakes I have made, vegan or otherwise :)

Recipe for Vegan Double Chocolate Pancakes

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp of baking powder

1-2 tbsp of sugar

a pinch of salt

1 cup of soy milk (and about an additional tbsp)

2 tbsp of corn oil or other veg oil

1 tsp vanilla

A handful of chocolate chips, or more.

Method:

1) Sift all the dry ingredients.

2) Add the milk, vanilla and corn oil and whisk until smooth. The batter should be thick and runny. If not, add the additional tbsp or so.

3) Mix in the chocolate. (Take care not to over mix as the chocolates will start to melt).

4) Heat a non-stick pan with a little oil. Drop about 2 tablespoons of batter and cook it until it dries and has a lot of bubbles. Flip it over and cook until brown.

5) Pour some chocolate syrup on top for the chocolate overload.

Options:

This is a generic batter that can be easily changed by adding blueberries, mashed bananas or other fruits. Consider adding nuts, flax seeds or dried fruits. You can consider using different type of sweeteners as well, like brown sugar, maple syrup, agave nectar.

Beancurd Skin Parcels

2009-01-23T08:59:00.000-08:00

This is my first brush with the bean curd wrappers. I usually use the thicker kind which I use in soups. These were sitting in my cupboard for some time and I was thinking of a good time to use it. For the filling, I used some leftover rice and some vegetables. Essentially, a fried rice wrapped in bean curd skin. One of the things I realised was that the beancurd skin is very salty. When I made the first two, I noticed salt granules on it. So, I dipped the remaining sheets in water to reduce the amount salt. I was worried it will disintegrate but it actually held together well.

I suppose the parcels can be steamed but I did the unhealthy thing of pan frying it. The next time I will consider baking it. It tasted quite nice but I think if I used a different filling it will be much tastier! :)

Altazzag - Egyptian Restaurant

2009-01-18T23:11:00.000-08:00

Hubby and I rarely eat out but since it was our a special day for us, we decided to try the food at Altazzag, which has been much raved about by our friends. Since this was the first time my first time having Middle Eastern food, I was really looking forward to it - firstly I can find out what it tastes like, so that I can replicate it at home and secondly, I've heard so much about hummus and tahina etc. The closest I have come to having ME food is pita bread stuffed with my own fillings.

Fortunately. Altazzag has a all-in-one platter that offers the perennial favourites and we decided to go for that together with the much raved about falafel. In all honesty, I'm glad I tried the food but it was relatively bland to my tastebuds. I appreciate the nutritional value - loaded with wholesome sesames and chickpeas but it was not a out-of-this-world experience I was expecting. But then again, I'm a picky eater! Haha...

The falafel reassembled an Indian vadai that we make. We call it the 'tortoise' vadai and looks, tastes and has very similar texture to falafel. The only difference is that the vadai is more spicy because it has minced curry leaves, onions and chilli in it. I have a sneaky feeling that the Indian vadai and falafel is the same thing...

Food Exchange

2009-01-18T23:02:00.000-08:00

I met Virginie by chance when she came to Singapore. I was on my way back home from work when I bumped into Fred and his gf Virginie. I would have spoken to her about 5 to 10 mins at most but she is truly a remarkable person. We got to know each other better through email and we are in some sense kindred spirits. We share similar perspectives about life and food! Well, to cut the story short, as Fred was heading home for Christmas, we decided to do a food exchange of stuff that are hard to come by in our countries. So, I got her a whole bag of chinese herbs that she was interested in, some laksa leaves, kaffir lime leaves, torch ginger and other dried products.

In return, she send me a lovely bag of things that I could not have imagined, especially gold dust! The picture shows only some of the things, there are others that are not quite visible there... but let just say this is going to give me hours of fun in the kitchen!

Vegan Honeydew Sago

2009-01-18T22:28:00.000-08:00

Honeydews were on promotion went I did a mad dash to Sheng Siong some time ago. I bought a honeydew on a whim and it was sitting in my kitchen counter starring at me with its woeful eyes. I ignored it for a while, but I soon realised that it was heading towards the point of no return if I were not to intervene. So , I slashed it into pieces and made honeydew soy milk bubble tea with half a melon and stuffed the other half back into the fridge. The next day, I decided to make some honeydew sago. First, I boiled about a cup of sago, and after the opaqueness turned into a translucent jelly, I washed off the starch. Next, I pureed the remaining half of a melon (after scooping about 15 melon balls) with some soy milk and about 2 teaspoons of vanilla sugar. Mix in the cooked sago and the melon balls, and you have honeydew sago!

Soy milk made a refreshingly light dessert but for a richer taste, use coconut milk. You may also want to flavour it with pandan by boiling pandan with some water and using it to make a syrup solution. I used vanilla sugar (basically used vanilla pods steeped in sugar). I sprinkled mine with some brown sugar but really, it is entirely up to your creativity. :)

Chocolatey Cake and Mango B'day Cake

2009-01-18T21:50:00.000-08:00

The start of January saw me make 2 birthday cakes. One for an 8 year old who has a penchant for the mango fruit and for a 48 yr old who loves chocolates. (Who doesn't?)

The mango cake is perhaps my first major attempt at doing extensive cake decorating. I wasn't quite pleased with the results for two reasons - one, the hot and humid temperature was wrecking havoc on the cream making it very hard to get the piping done and two, my skills sucks. So combine the two and despite trying for hours to put on a good cake, I was only 50% satisfied.

The 2nd cake, a chocolate ganache cake was something that I was much pleased with despite working with ganache for the first time. The instructions was to make it as chocolaty as possible. So , I baked two moist choc cakes, layered with chocolate cream and chilled it. After which, I poured a layer of good strong chocolate ganache and sprinkled flaked chocolate on top. I dripped some chocolate ganache on the side as well, to make it all that more irresistible!

broccoli fried rice

2009-01-12T20:59:00.000-08:00

This is just a simple fried rice dish that I made with the left over vegetables from the vegan mee rebus. As you can see the beans sprouts and the beancurd puffs make another appearance here! I just added broccoli for the additional colour and nutrition. I love vegetarian cooking, because it is so simple, quick and clean up is a breeze!

Vegan Mee Rebus

2009-01-12T20:33:00.000-08:00

I'm quite ashamed of myself for not updating the blog regularly. My parents have returned from India which means, my mum cooks most of my meals now :) I've also started on my classes, so that means I have little time outside work to actually do the things that I like.... I know these are excuses, but I will get down to more blogging soon ;)

This is a vegan mee rebus that I did for my hubby one day when I was running out of ideas on what to cook. I didn't want to make the same old stir fried noodles and hubby just didn't want rice. So I settled for mee rebus. This is a traditional noodle dish of Malay/Indian origin, consisting of yellow noodles in a stock made from mashed sweet potatoes, shrimps and mutton/beef. For my vegan version, I took inspiration from Crystal's recipe and this. Unfortunately, I can't remember how I did it now, I just added a handful of this and that, but I do know that I added some vegetarian sambal belachan, curry powder, a piece of galangal, vegetarian salted fish (soaked and ground) and about 300g of japanese sweet potato (as suggested by crystal) among other things.

To increase the nutritional value, I topped with some beans sprout and bean curd puffs. Traditionally it comes topped with an egg. My hubby liked it but he did say that it does not taste like the 'real deal'. I've never been a fan of mee rebus so I suppose I have not registered the exact taste of it!

Vegan Shortbread....

2008-12-27T21:15:00.000-08:00

I had a box of self raising flour sitting in my shelf for a while now and I happen to chance upon a recipe by gluten-free food manufacturer Orgran. It was a recipe for shortbread that not only used self raising flour but also melted butter. (So easily veganise) So, I got to work and it was really easy and simple that it would be a perfect recipe for children to muck about in as well. And there is no worries about them eating the 'raw dough' as it does not contain eggs and such.

Working with the dough

Waiting to be baked...

Acquiring their delicious crispiness

Vegan Shortbread (Adapted from Orgran's Everday Health Magazine)

325 g self-raising flour

60 g plain flour

220 g non-diary margarine/oil

180 g icing sugar

Method:

1) Sift all the dry ingredients together.

2) Melt non-diary margarine in a big enough pot to contain all ingredients. If using oil, proceed to next step.

3) Once melted and cooled, add dry ingredients to melted margarine/oil and stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Knead for about a minute to combine. (The dough should be soft but not sticky - add a tiny bit of self-raising flour if you find yours sticky)

4) Roll out to about 0.5 cm thickness, cut out into desired shapes.

5) Bake in a lined/non-stick pan for 20 mins at 150 degree celcius.

6) Enjoy!

Wedding Cupcakes

2008-12-23T06:47:00.000-08:00

Mrs H ordered some cupcakes from me previously and this time she wanted to give them as wedding favours for her daughter's wedding. She ordered 600 cupcakes to be placed as a pair in 300 boxes. It was the biggest order ever and previously, I had only baked up to 300 cupcakes. It was very very tiring and only made possible because of my brother's and hubby's help. It took more than 24 hrs and I survived on about 2.5 hrs of sleep. Furthermore, the ribbon tying was also time consuming.

However, I am very pleased with the outcome and had a lot of fun doing it. I'm quite sure I am a sucker for such 'pain'!

Technology Themed Cupcakes

2008-12-23T06:30:00.000-08:00

Mrs C L's husband works in the IT industry and she requested for some technology themed cupcakes. It was the first time I was making something thematic and I spent quite a bit of time trying to find something interesting. I managed to get a few ideas and I put it all together. I started at about 9 at night and finished making them at 5 in the morning. Is it worth it? I dunno, but I sure did enjoy myself!

Vegan Black Forest Cake

2008-12-23T06:17:00.000-08:00

J works in SPCA and they wanted to celebrate Deirdre Moss' birthday during their Dinner and Dance. They wanted something chocoaltey, so they ordered a vegan black forest cake. After surfing the net for inspiration, I came up with my own black forest cake - triple layer of chocolate cake with chocolate mousse and stuffed with tart cherries in one layer and thickened cherry syrup in the next. Decorated with fire engine-red maraschino cherries... Too bad, I didn't even get a slice....

Mocha Cupcakes

2008-12-15T22:07:00.000-08:00

Z ordered some mocha and oreos cupcake for a gathering. Since I had posted so many pictures of the oreos, I'm just posting the mocha cupcakes I made. It is topped with some cinnamon powder for some yummy flavour!

My Very First Nasi Lemak

2008-12-15T21:46:00.000-08:00

This is my first nasi lemak in two ways. One it is the first vegetarian nasi lemak that I had. Despite wanting to eat vegetarian nasi lemak, I just can't seem to get the time to find a good place to try. Secondly, this is the first time I am making nasi lemak - be it vegetarian or non-veg. Since, I can't make egg or other non-veg side dishes, I just made a kangkong and cabbage stir fry. Since I can't make fried ikan bilis with this, I just toasted some ground nuts for a more healthy dish. I used this recipe as a guide, used basmati rice and reduced the coconut milk as well cos' I didn't want it to be overwhelming coconuty. I also added some star anise and a cinnamon stick. For the chilli, i happened to have vegetarian 'salted fish' (honestly, does not taste anything like fish!) and used a spoonful of vegetarian sambal belachan. It turned very yummy and like the real thing. I have some sitting in the fridge and I use it for my other dishes as well!

Japanese Dinner

2008-12-15T20:50:00.000-08:00

I belong to the legions of Japanese food fans. There is something so simple, artistic yet delicious about Japanese food. I've always been crazy about both as a vegetarian and non-vegetarian. However, sadly, Japanese food is not really vegetarian friendly. This time round, I decided that I had to try my hand at making Japanese food. However, I had my own constraints. My hubby does not like Japanese food and he certainly does not like seaweed. My brother is relatively neutral but he prefers not to have Japanese food. So with these challenges in mind, I surfed around and finally decided to make a sort of Japanese rice meal instead of sushi.

Of course, I was rather petrified to make Japanese rice. I had read many horror stories of burnt bottoms and mushy rice. After extensive reading, I used Alton Brown's sushi rice recipe but since I used sea salt, I reduced it to about a teaspoon. This recipe was fool proof and I managed to make a decent batch of sushi rice. For the sushi vinegar, I reduced the amount of sugar since my family don't enjoy sweet food as much.

The dish I was really craving for was miso soup and one of the important tips I have learnt was not to boil the soup. Apparently, it causes the flavours to merge and ruin the soup. I didn't have kombu at home so I just hecked it and made with miso paste. I added silken tofu and some enoki mushroom and it was a meal on its own. Very delicious. I suppose some seaweed would have made it much more delicious. I didn't use any particular recipe for this. Just surf around in youtube to learn the recipe.

So we've got the rice and soup. For the side dish, I decided to make some teriyaki tofu steak. I made my own teriyaki sauce but replaced the honey with brown sugar for a vegan version. I also added some sesame oil to the marinade. I pressed some firm tofu in between two plates to release extra water and sliced it up added it to the marinade. After about an hour, I grilled it on a non-stick pan with a tiny bit of oil. After removing the teriyaki tofu, I added the remaining marinade with about 1/4 cup of water to dilute it and added some corn starch. Thickened it in the pan (sort of deglazing, I suppose) and used it as a dipping sauce. I also topped the dipping sauce with some sesame seeds. The teriyaki tofu was very delicious, even my hubby liked it!

Of course I knew this is still not going to be enough to win over my hubby, so I decided to make some vegetable tempura using Jamie Oliver's recipe, halved. I decided to deep fry some yellow bell peppers, brinjal, onions and broccoli. Surprisingly, the batter clinged on beautifully and the vegetables turned out crispy. I never knew broccoli could be deep fried. It was a first for me! With the teriyaki dipping sauce, it was awesome!

At the request of my brother, I also made some curried potatoes, to help them 'down' the Japanese rice should they not like the dishes. I also contemplated making sushi balls by using the potatoes as stuffing but did not have the time to try it.

All in all, the meal was a success. So much so, that I was left with only some miso soup and curried potatoes and nothing to bring for lunch the next day!

3 types of noodles...

2008-12-15T20:22:00.000-08:00

This month has been one of little inspirations. Partly because I have been so busy baking that I didn't have much time to think about food. So, I just relied on good old noodles. Here, there are three types of noodles that I made. Somehow noodles work because it is a one dish meal with all the vegetables and carbohydrates that you need!

This is a 'traditional' sort of yellow noodles with mock char siew, beans sprouts and chye sim. Too bad, home stoves are not hot enough to create the 'wok's breath'.

This was a lazy noodle dish using the non-fried instant noodles that comes without seasoning. I crumbled some tofu in it to give the feeling of scrambled egg. Made with yellow bell peppers and beans sprouts.

This was made with an egg plant / brinjal that I bought on a whim at Sheng Siong. Not knowing what to do and having to hide it from my husband who doesn't like brinjals, I sliced it thinly and added it to the noodles. Somehow it softened and absorbed the flavours well and hubby ate it all up! I suppose this is one way to fool children to eat their veges!

Roasted Beets!

2008-12-08T07:34:00.000-08:00

After the success of the mashed potatoes, my brother requested that I repeat the same feat again! Since I did not have much ingredients at home except for two innocent looking beets, I decided to make some roasted rosemary beets with a serving of mashed potatoes and stir fried peas and enoki mushrooms (Yes, I know, what a weird combo!) The beets cut a pretty picture on the aluminum foil, the ruby red glistening in the light coating of olive oil. Both my brother and I enjoyed munching on it raw and I think it would have made quite a decent juice as well. However, after roasting, I felt that the it muted the sweetness and earthiness of the beets though. Next time, I will probably try cutting them into strips and stir frying them.

The Sambar that was not to be....

2008-12-08T07:29:00.000-08:00

It had been sometime since I had sambar (a versatile Indian lentil curry that is used for just about any South Indian dish) and I was craving for some.... Since I did not have the right type of lentils but only the red lentils, I decided to just go ahead with it and try making the sambar. However, somehow, despite the long cooking time, the lentils did not disintegrate like they were suppose to. In the end, I was not left with sambar but a still as delicious tasting semi-globular lentil curry. With a side dish of stir fried spinach and rice, it made quite a decent meal.

Vege Soup and Rice

2008-12-08T07:23:00.000-08:00

About two weeks ago, we made a trip to the Pasir Panjang wholesale centre and bought some vegetables. We came across a vegetable that grew on a woody branch with dark green leaves. It also had thorns on it. The vendor was telling us that it is good for the eyes and so I decided to buy some and make a soup. To pair it off, I made some spicy fried tofu and cauliflower and broccoli stir fry.

The Meal

Spicy Tofu

The Vegetable Soup

Coconut-Vegetable Rice

2008-12-08T07:13:00.000-08:00

One day, I suddenly got thinking of coconut rice. Traditionally, my mum makes a delicious yellow (from turmeric) coconut rice and serves it with a very good fish curry. The pairing of the spiciness from the curry and the creaminess from the rice is amazing. Using that as an inspiration, I made a coconut vegetable basmati rice. This way, I not only get my carbohydrates, I also get my nutrition from vegetables. For the 'heat' factor, I paired it with tofu sambal and since I had one brinjal sitting around, I sliced it and added into the sambal. I was very happy with the results, to say the least and it also ended up as lunch the next day for me!

Vegan Fried Carrot Cake

2008-12-08T07:07:00.000-08:00

This was done in a rush as we had to go for a RC meeting. But knowing that it will end late and we will be dying of hunger by then, I quickly put together a fried carrot cake minus the egg. The ingredients are really simple - lots of minced garlic, chilli paste, chye poh (preserved vegetable), store bought carrot cake, tiny bit of soy sauce and lots of spring onions. Just saute it in the arrangement given. Surprisingly, even my picky non-veg brother liked it! And we did not even miss the egg that comes with it traditionally...

I suppose to increase the nutritional value, I might consider adding some bean sprouts and carrots in it (Of cos' hubby will hate me if I do that!)

Just a simple hearty noodle dish

2008-12-08T06:58:00.000-08:00

Made with bean sprouts, shitake mushrooms, cabbage and lightly fried bean curd in a sauce made from chilli and garlic paste with lemongrass and onions. Yum! As my hubby would say 'This is good stuff!"

Weekend of Birthday Cakes

2008-12-08T06:44:00.000-08:00

It just happened... Suddenly I was swarmed with last minute orders for birthday cakes! E wanted a very chocolatey cake and I made her one with 60% chocolate mousse cake with roasted almonds for the coating. So far, I think it is the prettiest cake I have made. :)

And I received a very last minute order from G, a birthday cake for himself and his gf. He wanted something fruity and I made him a mango cake with a nice mango pudding in the middle and fresh mango on top. Of cos' I think there is still some way to go to improve on my cake decorating skill!

Engage to be Engaged Ceremony Order

2008-12-08T06:31:00.000-08:00

Cinnamon Rolls - One tray is for hubby!

Marble Cake, fresh out of the oven!

Marble cake, packed in boxes

This was for S' and J's 'engage to be engaged' ceremony. Essentially, it is sort of a confirmation that the couple will be getting engaged sometime in the future. J had became a vegan in August and hence he wants all food in his functions to be vegan. So both sides ordered some marble cakes, cinnamon rolls and cupcakes. They are a very sweet pair and I wish them all the very best!

My Birthday Trip to JB :)

2008-11-22T06:24:00.000-08:00

We decided to go to JB for my birthday. Since I've not got a chance to try vege food in JB, we took this as an opportunity to try some places. We went to JB City Square and tried the 'Delicious Cafeteria.' I had the assam laksa while hubby had chicken rice. The assam laksa was the most delicious I've ever had. It was as equally good as the non-veg version. Very aromatic and full of spices. Hubby's chicken rice dish's rice itself was fragrant with ginger but we were not pleased with the mock meat 'chicken' which is the standard fare.

Alien Green Mee Goreng

2008-11-22T06:03:00.000-08:00

I had some purple cabbage left after making the white-purple cabbage stir fry. So I decided to use it in a yellow noodles stir fry. Unfortunately, the purple cabbage leached colour which made the noodles turn an unusual green. So, I decided to call it Alien Mee Goreng!

Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

2008-11-22T05:41:00.000-08:00

During our trip to Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre, we bought quite a lot of bell peppers of various colours. Since I wanted to make something different, I decided to make some stuffed peppers for dinner. This is the first time I was making it and usually the recipes asked for long grain rice to be used as the stuffing. For a change, I decided to go for quinoa which is high in protein. I put a tiny bit of cheese on top and grilled it in the oven. I also made a simple side of broccoli and grilled some tofu with soy sauce and sprinkled some sesame seeds.

Traditional Indian Rice Meal

2008-11-22T05:00:00.000-08:00

I love rasam and so I made this Indian spicy sour soup with some curried potatoes, purple and white cabbage stir fry and turmeric okra. Of course, an Indian meal is not complete without some crunchy papaddam.

Breakfast Boost

2008-11-22T04:23:00.000-08:00

This is a simple breakfast drink I had recently. Banana (soy)milkshake topped with some fresh passionfruit pulp. High in potassium for the morning brain boost and high in Vitamin C to perk up your skin :)

I love passionfruit, it is really so beautiful tasting and the aroma really evokes the passion in u :) How aptly named!

Tom Yum Noodle Soup

2008-11-21T20:12:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, hubby and I went to Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre to buy some vegetables. I also wanted to check out the Friendly Vegetarian Food Supplier. It was a good trip cos' the veg food supplier had a very good range of food products. I bought some fish slices, tom yum paste, vegetarian belachan and some fruit rojak sauce.

Since I've always loved tom yum, I decided to have a go at it using the paste. I used laksa noodles and the paste with lots of veges. I also added more lime zest for the extra kick! In all, it was quite good but I wasn't quite satisfied with it. I need to tweak the vegetables and make my own paste! :)

Noodles on Banana Leaf

2008-11-21T20:03:00.000-08:00

Hubby has a thing for noodles served on leaves like the traditional hokkien noodles. So we were in Sheng Siong and came across some banana leaves at 50 cents for 4 pieces. :) We decided to indulge ourselves in some banana leaves and I made some noodles and served it on the banana leaves. My preference would be hot pipping rice on banana leaf though.. It imparts a very lovely flavour that adds an interesting dimension to the food :)

Bell Peppers Feel too :O

2008-11-21T19:31:00.000-08:00

I was cutting some bell peppers when I came across this. :) So, do plants feel too?

In all fairness, I first came across such a post at theppk.com forum. Since then I have been on the lookout for such a similar occurrence :)

Can Food... and some Mashed Potatoes

2008-11-09T19:14:00.000-08:00

It was one of those days when I did not have much groceries at home. I had to turn to can food for salvation which I'm not particularly proud off! However, I managed to make it 'mine' by adding in some stuff. For the baked beans, I sauteed some garlic and onion in the oil and added a good pinch of dried basil and pepper to the baked beans. I had the odd head of broccoli, so I decided to open up a can of straw mushrooms with that. I just simply sauteed it with some garlic and crushed dried chilli. The only seasoning was salt.

I also had about 5 potatoes which were starting to grow shoots, so I decided to put them into good use by steaming them and mashed them into a smooth paste. I sneaked in about a tbsp of nutritional yeast, garlic powder, salt, black pepper and some water (I was out of all sorts of milk!) Then I layered it with some cheese slices and baked in the oven until the top browned. Somehow the combination of potato, nutritional yeast and garlic powder evoked a very chicken stock flavour. It was the hit among the 3 dishes :)

Not-so-Vegan but Awesome Spinach Pizza

2008-11-05T07:41:00.001-08:00

My brother had been bugging me to make pizza for him and I was tired of the same old topping of green peppers, mushrooms, olives and tomatoes. After looking up vegetarian pizza online, I came across this recipe. I used the topping suggestion with my standard pizza crust recipe which is to me fail-proof if you are using yeast that is alive!

Unfortunately, since I picked up the ingredients at the neighbourhood NTUC, I could not find soy cheese, so had to end up with Mozzarella. Just as luck would have it, I also had sun-dried tomatoes at home that I bought from Mustafa, so I pretty much had all the ingredients. After a quick par-bake of the crust, the topping was piled on and it looked so beautiful with the green spinach leaves acting as a bed for the topping of sunny yellow peppers, sliced broccoli, olives and tomatoes. I just had to snap a couple of pictures, for it felt that I was in some country home baking wholesome pizza for my family! Needless to say, everyone at home loved it and the three of us polished off a pan of wholesome goodness with delicious vegetables!

Fractal Food - Romanesco Brocolli

2008-11-05T07:25:00.000-08:00

Hubby and I made a trip to Seng Siong to grab some vegetables. We came across this interesting vegetable that was called the Pagoda Flower. The first time I saw it, I was wondering what on earth it was. It looked so weird and even scary that I felt that it came from outer space! Haha!

Later when we were measuring out some of the vegetables, I asked the sales staff about it and they told me it is something like broccoli and can be cooked normally. Even though it was costly, I purchased a small one as she told me that the pagoda flower is seasonal.

After doing an online search, I found out from good ol' Wiki that this is vegetable belongs to the same family as broccoli and cauliflower. It is called fractal food because of its beautiful swirls that end up in a pyramidal shape. One of nature's example of self-similar patterns. It was first grown in Italy but guess where this came from - China! Some of the suggested recipes included steaming it to retain its high Vitamin C content, so that is what I did.

After steaming it for about 10 mins (it was still crunchy), the colour turned from a golden yellow green to a beautiful jade green. It was so pretty and amazing that I started to munch on it. In terms of taste, after steaming it imparted a lovely sweet, delicate flavour very much like cauliflower! I made a sauce for it with oyster sauce, some seasame oil, minced garlic and crushed dried red chilli. I warmed it over the stove and pour it over the broccoli. Yum!

Guest Chef at World Vegan Day

2008-11-02T08:06:00.000-08:00

Food #03, a vegetarian eatery has a guest chef programme. I was invited on the 1st of November to be a guest chef to commemorate World Vegan Day. I made green tea, mango, choc-vanilla and coconut-lime cupcakes for this event. However, I did experience a series of kitchen disasters! The first batch of green tea deflated on me! And by the time I finished doing the mango cupcakes it was four in the morning. Since it was made with a pudding centre I wanted to keep it in the fridge. Guess what! In the process I toppled the entire thing and it was four in the morning! I screamed so loud that my hubby woke up. In the end, he cleaned up the huge frosting mess and I sat there stoned and stunned! Without knowing what to do, I decided to sleep and do another batch in the morning! However, it was a fantastic opportunity to meet up with friends and make new friends as well! Thanks peep for coming down to support!

Strawberry Cupcakes with a dash of colour to the frosting (for an earlier order by Food #03)

Vanilla-Choc Marble Cupcake with V-C frosting

Mango Cupcakes again but with a slight variation to the frosting (contains mango pudding)

Green Tea Cupcake with Green Tea Frosting

Coconut Cupcakes with Lime Frosting

Customer enjoying the cupcake

Me (with barely four hours of sleep) with customer

My Lunch - Laksa Pesto Linguine

My hubby's lunch - Black Pepper Linguine

Some of my amazing friends!

More of my amazing friends! I'm so blessed to have met them :)

Rasam and Rice Lunch

2008-11-02T07:57:00.000-08:00

Every South Indian loves rasam. It is a simple, hearty soup that is amazing flavourful and addictive. It is made with spices and tamarind which imparts a distinctive spicy sour taste that is simply awesome. Here I served it with ponni rice (parboiled rice), stir fried soya beansprouts with tempeh, stir fried turmeric french beans and curried potatoes. Of course, an Indian meal is not complete with papadam. I have had request for this recipe from friends of kitchen capers. I'll do it again and measure out the ingredients and post the recipe soon!

Cupcake Order - Oreos, Strawberry and Mango

2008-11-02T03:14:00.000-08:00

My friend from VSS, XY was finishing her internship, so she ordered 45 cupcakes for her colleagues. Since she liked fruit based cupcakes, she requested, strawberry, mango and oreos. It was nice baking for her cos' she's a supportive and wonderful person :)

Oreos Cupcake

Mango cupcakes with mango pudding in the centre and mango frosting

Vanilla Cupcakes stuffed with strawberries and a dollop of vanilla frosting

ST Interview Article!

2008-11-02T03:10:00.001-08:00

For those who did not get your hands on the article, this is the tiny version of it! Hugely embarrassing un-photoshop picture of me!

Indian Rojak - Vegan Style

2008-11-02T03:01:00.000-08:00

I was running out of ideas for dinner and decided to do an Indian rojak for a change. Well basically it was just fried tofu, dough fritters and cucumbers since I did not have the time do other stuff. I think adding steamed potatoes, blanched kangkong and beansprouts will up the nutritional value. I made the peanut/cashew sauce based on estimation and guess work. In all, it was pretty tasty though not high on the nutritional scale!

Cinnamon Rolls

2008-11-02T02:53:00.000-08:00

This was for an order that I had on Deepavali. Even though I'm not confident of baking cinnamon rolls, N wanted to try them. After baking the cinnamon rolls, I glazed it cinnamon flavoured sauce. I also made another batch for hubby and myself which was demolished by the next day :) I realised I enjoyed working with dough. It just feels right!

Deepavali Cupcakes

2008-11-01T09:20:00.000-07:00

I made some cupcakes for MIL for deepavali. I wanted it to reflect the deepavali mood, so I tinted the frosting yellow and sprinkled some hundreds and thousands. The picture above is my favorite. So delicate and pretty :)