I don't usually have afternoon tea. My kids do.

That's because I live my life around my kids' schedule. We have late lunches and early dinners. They won't be home from school before 1.30pm and we have to have dinner before 7 in the evening as bedtime is just a couple of hours away. As a result, I don't have any desire for food in the late afternoon, but my kids would usually be stealing some time snacking away at the dinning table. My elder child is that sort of person 'who lives in his own world'...but when it comes to tea-break time, he will automatically get out of his world and go hunt for food. He will ask his brother along. Besides food, you need good company to enjoy your tea time. It is the time they would share stories on the latest happenings in school, comparing whose teacher is stricter, and talking nonsense such as making fun of teachers hairstyles or names. They can talk just about anything under the sun...from jabulani ball to debating whether they should play English or Chinese chess in the evening.

I don't usually have afternoon tea since I don't have good company. My two rascals don't count. However, there is always an exception.

For instant, I can't resist but to make myself a cup of tea to go with a slice of this wholesome homemade cake.

Will you be surprised if I were to confess that this Banana Walnut Cake happens to fall under the category of those 'haphazardly-made' cakes? I have craved for scones, and have intended to make some, but I changed my mind halfway through measuring up the ingredients. My cravings has suddenly switched from scones to a slice of fruit pastry cake. I thought I could use up the leftover peaches to make the cake, but only to realise that I didn't have any yoghurt or sour cream that's called for in the recipe. I turned around and spotted a bunch of over-ripe bananas...all covered with speckles. My problem was solved. I threw in some mashed bananas and chopped walnuts in the batter and transformed the fruit pastry cake into a banana walnut cake. This cake is so easy to make that I have nothing to share with you on the preparation process!

The finished cake has far exceeded my expectations. This banana version tastes as good even without the use of yoghurt or sour cream. I guess nothing could ever go wrong baking with bananas. The walnuts lends an interesting texture to the soft, tender crumbs and I super-love the banana fragrant. While the cake was baking in the oven, my whole kitchen smelt as though I was frying a wok full of goreng pisang (banana fritters...deep fried bananas coated with batter). The cake tastes a little sweet though, and that is mainly due to the sweet bananas. On hindsight, I should have replaced some of the plain flour with wholemeal ones, besides the additional fibre, I'm sure I will like the extra nutty texture.

So, that was how I ended up enjoying my slice of cake with a cup of lemon tea, on a cool late afternoon.




Banana Walnut Cake

Ingredients:

100g butter, soften at room temperature
160g caster sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large ripe bananas, mashed
210g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
50g walnuts, chopped

Method:

1. Grease (with butter) and flour the sides of an 8" or 9" round pan and line the base with parchment paper.
2. With an electric mixer or a manual whisk, cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
3. Dribble in the eggs gradually and beat till incorporated in the batter. (The mixture may appear slightly curdled.)
4. Add vanilla extract and mashed bananas. Mix till smooth.
5. Sieve over flour and baking powder and mix till smooth.
6. Add chopped walnuts (reserve some for sprinkling the top, optional). Mix with a spatula.
7. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth out the top with the spatula. Sprinkle the top with the remaining walnuts or arrange some banana slices (dipped in some lemon juice to prevent it from turning black) on top.
8. Bake in pre-heat oven at 180degC for 60 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the cake.
9. Leave the cake to cool in the pan for about 5~10 mins. Unmold and transfer to wire rack to let cool completely.

A couple of weeks ago, when my better half was home for the weekend, I took the opportunity to grab him to the supermarket to stock up on rice, milk powder and bulky items which I would have problem lugging home on my own. While wheeling the trolley around, I spotted a small crowd at the fresh fruits section. I left the trolley to my kids and went up to check out what was the deal...organic grown strawberries were going at one third the original price! That was really a good deal, besides, the strawberries looked very fresh with stems that were still bright green. I grabbed, 3, then 6 punnets and placed them in the trolley. You would think that would be enough, but the greedy me, went back to grab another 3 and a few packs of blueberries too!

The strawberries were sweet (not super sweet, but at least they were not sour) and juicy. For the next few days, we had strawberries after every meal (^^")

I used some to made a strawberry galette and a double berry jam, both of which were on the top of my to-do list.

I took the homemade jam recipe from this book, 低热量点心DIY...homemade desserts with low calories. 1/10 serving of this strawberry and blueberry jam contains 63kcal, and 0.1g fat. I am not sure whether the figures are true, but I would choose to believe it as the amount of sugar used is less than most jam recipes.

As with most of my past jam making experiences...the process of making homemade jam is so easy...much easier than cooking a pot of porridge. As suggested by the recipe, I prepared the ingredients the night before, and left the berries and sugar to sit over night in the fridge. The next morning, when I was ready to cook the jam, much of the juice was 'extract' by the sugar from the fruits. It took me less than 15mins to cook the jam and can it.

In the past, I have never liked fruit jams. I am the kaya and butter person. But, ever since I started making my own jam, my opinion about it has totally changed!

The finished jam is not sweet at all...I could still taste the slight tang from the berries. What I really like is the chunks of fruits on my slice of toast. It is the best berry jam I have ever had....really, nothing beats a bottle of homemade jam :)

Try it and I am sure you won't regret...especially if you happen to get the berries at dreat discount ;)



Double Berry Jam

Ingredients:
(yields about 300ml of jam)

200g fresh strawberries (I used 275g)
200g fresh blueberries (I used 125g)
120g granulated sugar*
2 tablespoons lemon juice**

Method:

1. Wash and remove the stems from strawberries, cut into halves or quarters(for bigger ones), leave whole for small berries. Wash and drain blueberries.
2. Mix strawberries, blueberries and sugar in a bowl. Cover and leave in fridge over night, or let it sit for at least 30mins.
3. Transfer the mixture (including whatever juice that was drawn out from the berries) in the bowl to a stainless steel pot or a large saucepan. (Note: use non-reactive pots made with stainless steel, glass or enamel, avoid pots made with copper, aluminum or cast iron which would react with acid).
4. On medium heat, stirring constantly with a heat-proof spatula or a wooden spoon, bring the mixture to a full rolling boil (when the bubbles do not stop or lessen when you stir it). Once the mixture starts to boil, skim away any excessive foams or bubbles, stirring constantly all the time.
5. Keep at a slow rolling boil for another 5 ~ 10 mins, stirring constantly till the mixture thickens, becomes clearer and transparent (no more foams).
6. Drizzle in the lemon juice and cook for a further 2~3 mins.
7. Remove from heat. The jam will be a little runny when hot but the consistency will be just right after it has cool off.
8. Ladle hot jam into hot sterilised jars, fill to the brim. Secure lids. Let cool. Once opened, store in fridge and best consumed within 1~2 weeks***.

how to sterilise glass jars and bottles:
Wash glass jars and lids in hot, soapy water, rinse well. Place jars and lids in a pot. Fill with enough cold water to cover the jars. Place over high heat and bring water to the boil. Reduce heat to medium and boil gently for 10 minutes. Remove jars and lids from boiling water and drain upside down over a clean tea towel. Preheat oven to 110 degC. Place jars and lids upside down on a baking tray. Place in the oven and heat for 15 minutes. Proceed to make the jam while the jars are in the oven. Do use glass jars with lids that come with a gum binder that seals them against the top of the jar.

Note:
*Do not reduce the sugar, as the amount is required to preserve the jam.
** Do not omit the lemon juice as it help to hold the jam together and enhances the flavour.
*** For safe eating practices, do examine the jam frequently for signs of spoilage.

Recipe source: 低热量点心DIY, by 大越鄉子

It is not an everyday affair that my children helps me with my chores. On rare occasions when they eagerly offered to help mop the floor for me, I ended up spending another extra half an hour to complete the job. As much as I appreciate their kind assistance, sometimes I am better off that they leave me alone while I whizzed around the house.

It was a usual weekday evening. I was preparing dinner when my elder child dropped by the kitchen. He was trying to kill time while waiting for his turn to 'polish' the ebony and ivory keys (yes, I am one 'lucky' mother to have free 'piped-in' music every evening).

He offered to help me with the cooking.

In my mind, I was telling him 'You should be spending time to solve that mysteriously unsolvable maths question, the stove is not going to give you any inspiration', but what came out from my mouth was "Ok, go get the eggs from the fridge. We will have stir-fry eggs with tomatoes tonight."

Even though I wish that he spent the time on his studies, I know that I am doing myself good. In time to come, I would probably have to chain him to the dinning chair just to have him sit down to have dinner with me. I shouldn't miss golden opportunities like this, especially since it is out of his own will.

The next scene you would see a mother trying her best to slice the ingredients into 'equal' sizes, and a boy cracking eggs using only one hand. A few knocks on the edge of the bowl, with a squeeze and a squash action, the egg flowed through the cracks effortlessly. I inspected the bowl, no tiny bits of egg shells, great! Do you believe that I am not able to break an egg with one hand? I have cracked so many eggs for the past years, and yet, I can only do it with both hands, and I still get egg shells in the bowl, sometimes. I have showed him how to break an egg with both hands, but he does it his way...which I think he finds it cool! This is just like the Chinese saying "初生之犊不怕虎", aka the fearless youth...there is no worries or fear of making a mess, and no silly self-imposed rule that the yolk has to stay in shape and not be broken, even though it was meant to be scrambled anyway!

Few minutes later, he dished out (actually it was pour, slide, push) his master piece from the frying pan. I was very impressed with him since I was almost hands-free throughout the cooking process. It was a simple stir fry dish, with just some oil, tomatoes and eggs, zero seasoning...no salt or pepper. The Chinese cilantro is a treat for his younger brother...who loves to stuff his mouth with parsley and cilantro...what we referred to as 'smelly vegetable'.

He also helped me with this stir-fry bean sprouts dish...one of my favourite dishes. My elder boy was so proud with his master pieces, that he had to make sure his brother (who was so engrossed polishing the black and white keys all this while) acknowledged his effort.

Both dishes cost less than a dollar, in total. But to me, they are priceless.

To cap it off, I was pleasantly surprised to see both boys folding the clean laundry when I was done cleaning up after our dinner. Even though their eyes were fixed on the tv set while working their way through the mountain of clothes, they did help save a few minutes of my time. It was a pleasant evening indeed.

Dear readers,

Thank you for leaving your comments on my previous post. I really appreciate the kind understanding from all or you. Thanks for cheering me on!

My purpose of putting up that post was not to highlight the negative comment, but to use it as a platform to express my appreciations to Cassie, someone I do not know, and yet took time to read my blog and hear me out.

I have no issues with the way the negative comment is worded. I was from the corporate world, I am well trained to brace myself against those comments. Life is not a bed of roses! The only thing is, right from the start, I believe the person is living at another side of the world. No mothers will feed their children to see them growing up to suffer from diabetes or heart problems. However, due to the differences in our culture, the person may not know that rice, noodles, wheat (flour) is our main staple. The majority of our population (hope I am not wrong?) have rice almost every day. It was only these recent years that we get to see more varieties of commercially made wholemeal or multi-grain bread available at the supermarket shelves. During my short-term stay in the states 10 years ago, I was really amazed at the range of delicious multigrain loaves available, I even thought of bringing loaves of bread home. For those of you living in the western part of the world, you will be surprised that most of the local bakery stores here are selling bread and buns made with white flour, you can hardly find a bun that is made with wholemeal flour at the neighbourhood store. If you were to walk along the baking supply shelves in our local supermarket, don't be shock that sometimes you don't even see wholemeal flour on the shelves. Most of the time, I have to make special trips to the baking supply store just to get it.

To increase the intake of complex carbohydrates, I compensate by cooking a mixture of white and brown rice, and I was lucky that my kids have no problem eating it for the past year. We switched to soft multi-grain bread once they acquire the taste. I have also started tweaking recipes to introduce wholemeal flour or oats in the bakes I made. I don't follow recipes that call for a whole block of butter, and if a whole cup of sugar is required in the recipe, I'll either stay away or reduce the amount. I make muffins instead of cupcakes laden with buttercream or icing and till now, I could not bring myself to frost a cake with fondant. I baked bread more than cakes and cookies, yes, even though the bread and buns I made consisted mainly of white flour, but if we were not to eat this, I don't know what else to feed my children for breakfast. What's the point of giving them cereals if they would rather choose those 'kids-friendly' cereals which is hidden with sugar, over muesli?

I am not trying to make any justifications as there is no need to do so. However, I have to highlight this fact that my blog posts are just snap shots of what we had at that point in time...my kids diet changes as they grow older, what I have written almost 3 years ago may not give a fair representation of the present.

I'm the sort of person who usually leaves things as it is, just like the Chinese saying 清者自清 (meaning: it is not necessary to explain or clear things up if one has not done anything wrong). However, I just felt so compelled to voice this:

Blogging makes our world smaller...it makes the world bordlerless, bringing us closer, and yet, everyone needs to understand that we are still physically apart, some of us are living thousands of miles away. We have to try to understand there is always differences in our cultures, not everyone on earth speaks the same language, eat the same food. So, instead of giving one's views based solely on one's perspectives, we have to take a step back...look at things from a macro point of view and try to understand the differences before making any judgmental comments. Seek first to understand then to be understood.

Ok, that's all I have to say, thanks for reading, and I hope this won't offend anyone.

与所有读者共勉之，
HHB

(会看中文的读者不要笑hor, 我觉得最后那段好像选美赛宣言leh！不过不吐不快说了心中才感到痛快，可是长篇大论后又觉得在对牛弹琴，真是自相矛盾! 希望ah lau 没有突击检查，让他看到一定会给他笑死！)

No, no, no, not this one, but this one here:

Here's sharing with you the joy of blogging. 

Someone left a not-so-nice comment on my blog post here. I do get this kind of comments once in a while. I usually get a little upset initially (yes, go ahead call me 小气, petty-minded), but I would choose to ignore them and not be bothered with it...after an hour or so ;)

Although that post was written almost 3 years ago, to a certain extend I agree with that person's comment about me not feeding my kids with nutritious food. I wrote a rather childish reply (^^''')...even though I know that the person would likely not return to my blog. After posting my comment, I thought the case is closed.  Little did I know it is a classic case of the Chinese saying '赛翁失马,焉知非福' (aka 'The Lost Horse' in Chinese folktales).

I received the second comment from Cassie the next day. I felt so touched with her words! If you are a blogger like me, and if you are unlucky enough to encounter similar experiences, I am sure you will feel that everything you have put up on your blog is worth the effort and time. It is those words from readers like you that kept me going...and I am so glad that I have found another friend. Dear Cassie doesn't have a blog, and if I don't keep one, I will choose to be a silent reader, like many non-bloggers out there. I believe, it is not 'second nature' to leave comments on someone else blog if you are a non-blogger. The point I want to make is, she has chosen to break the silence just to 'stand-up' for me and cheered me on. I really don't know whether I would  be able to do the same. 

I am no good with my words at all. With my limited vocabulary, I am not able to express my heartfelt thanks to her in my reply...and I tend to digress in my replies! So, I am dedicating this post to Cassie to show my appreciation. We are total strangers and yet I felt like talking to a friend next door. I used to find it amazing that my mother could chat up with a stranger at the market as though she knew that person for ages. Now I know why aunties can 'click' so easily!

Once again THANK YOU Cassie!!!

Recipe source: courtesy of dailydelicious. Thanks Pook for sharing such a wonderful recipe!

A big thank you to everyone who took part in my first ever blog giveaway. Thank you so much for your keen participation, making it such a successful event :)

To give is always better than to receive. Prior to this giveaway, I have no idea that there are many readers who have been silently following my blogs these years. I am thankful that you have broke your silence and took time to leave your comments. Through your comments, I found myself landing on so many wonderful blogs. It is very unlikely I have the chance to stumble upon them since I have to cut down on blog-hopping so as to be a more responsible mother, tuition teacher, cook, housekeeper, etc, etc!

I am delighted to know that there are actually many people out there in our region, who share the same interest like me...creating delicious homemade cakes, breads and desserts for their families and friends; and for those who keeps a blog would generously share their wonderful tips and recipes with the rest of the world. Not everyone I know share the same interest. I only make it known to three of my friends that I am keeping this blog, anyway, they were the ones who encouraged me to start a blog in the first place. Reading your comments warms my heart, it makes me want to believe that I actually have so many friends out there.

Since this is the first time I am hosting a blog giveaway, after assigning a running number to each participating reader, I thought of ways to pick the lucky winner. Initially, I have wanted to do it in an old fashioned way, ie, writing the names in slips of paper and get my kids to draw the winner. I even thought of using a Bingo game set to spin out a lucky number! But, I had to drop the idea when the number of participants went past a hundred! I have never expected such an overwhelming response. In the end, I have to fall back to the online randomizer to generate pick the winner. It is not as fun, but it does serve its purpose...

and the lucky number that appeared on my screen is...Number 16!

Congratulations to Hearty Bakes, you have won the bottle of Nielsen-Massey's pure vanilla extract! (Please leave a comment stating your mailing address and email address and I'll send the gift right over to you.)

To the rest of you, I hope you are not too disappointed. One reader, Pris, left a comment saying that the vanilla extract is available at Phoon Huat (Hougang branch). For local readers who are interested to get the vanilla extract, you may want to check with that store.