Time for Pizza!

I'm enrolling a blog competition on happy moments & I decided to post this entry as my happy moment in the kitchen. This time it was not only ME, in the kitchen. My 3 girls helped me out with our Pizza Project or should I rephrase... I gave a helping hand to their project (exactly what I heard over a phone conversation between Yasmin & her Grandma).

I prepared the pizza base (well... I delegated it to my breadmaker) & set the oven. The rests were done by my girls. Yasmin & Wardah were in charged of cutting. Balqis helped with the dough & toppings. The end result... superlicious!

Yasmin chopping meat of a patty.

Wardah helping out with the sausages.

Are these too thick?

Another task from Wardah, juicy pineapple.

Balqis using her weight to flatten the base.

Ready with the sauce & let's have fun with the toppings!

Three little chefs at work!

Little Chef Balqis's hand putting the last touch of her pizza.. CHEESE!

Before & After

Their best pizza ever!

If you envy our happy moment, spare a minute to vote for us HERE. Thank you!

Ayam Masak Merah

I'm sharing with you HB's favourite dish. If this is served on the dining table, he won't even eye the other dishes. His love for this "Ayam Masak Merah" started way from his childhood years. A recipe from his grandmother passed to his mother & I, of course learned to cook this from my mother in-law. It is not complicated at all & I'm pretty sure this simple recipe will be a regular on your dining table too. First of all is to marinate the chicken with turmeric powder & salt. Deep fry until half cooked & put aside.

Blend shallot & garlic together. The more the shallots the better. Not too much garlic. Just half the amount of shallots.

Saute the blended ingredients together with pounded lemon grass. Use like 4 to 5. Unfortunately, I only have 3 in the fridge.

Once it turns slightly golden add about 2 tbsp of chilly paste.

Cook for about 5 minutes. Stir continuously unless you use a non-stick pan. Add about 5-6 tbsp of ketchup.

Next, pour about 2 glasses of water. Let simmer for 8 minutes.



Add in sugar & salt to taste plus the fried chicken & chopped onions.

Keep stirring until the gravy becomes slightly thick & your dish ready.


Before serving, I take out all the chicken from the pan to a serving dish.



Next is to separate the oil from the gravy.



Pour the gravy onto the chicken.

"Ayam Masak Merah"

Bread

Bread. Never did cross my mind that I would one day bake my own bread... The thought of kneading & proofing sounds like forever. Might as well I grab a loaf of bread from the supermarket which can last a couple of days.

It's different now. I'm proudly telling you that the bread served on my dining table daily is baked by ME. Edible bread! The girls love it especially Yasmin. Even hubby looked contented with his first slice of bread!

My first loaf of white bread

Now, the girls experience a different aroma in mama's kitchen.... fresh baked bread. Here is Wardah with mama's bread.

Check out the texture!

Well... I do have an assistant. Very reliable & smart too. Let me introduce you to my Breadmaker!! Hahaha!!




Even with a breadmaker, the measurement must be very precise. I experienced once a mushroom shape bread & short loaf bread. After all, we learn from mistakes.

Ikan Bakar

I love "ikan bakar", especially "ikan pari " (stingray). This recipe was given to me by HB's aunt & since then I never did try other "ikan bakar" recipe besides hers. Normally, "ikan bakar" is grilled & the condiment is prepared separately. The most basic condiment for "ikan bakar" is merely soy sauce, pounded garlic, fresh chillies & lime juice combined together. This recipe is however different. The sauce is prepared in a form of a paste & grilled together with the fish. The savoury taste of the sauce blended with the delicate flesh of the fish will definitely make you salivating. Enough said! Let's start cooking...

First of all is to blend together shallots, garlics, ginger, lemon grass, turmeric leaves, bird eye chillies and fresh red chillies.

Saute the blended ingredients with cooking oil.



Next is to add in a little bit of tamarind juice for a sour taste & also to make the texture of the paste thicker.



Add sugar & salt to taste. Here is the sauce that will play condiment to my fish.




The next step to do is to marinate the fish. I prefer stingray to any other fish when it comes to "ikan bakar".



I choose to use banana leaves to wrap the marinated fish. However, aluminium foil is also okay but make sure that it is suitable for grilling.




As it is rather tedious to prepare a grill, I simply use a pan. But better opt for an old pan as the so called grilling process might stain your pan.




Now you have your "ikan bakar" ready to be eaten...