Jade: Bitemymacarons!!

I've been on a bit of a baking spree lately...slight understatement...So now besides the 2 cakes in the fridge and the 5 filled cookie jars in my room, I also have 6 egg whites sitting in a pretty little ramekin wrapped in cling film. I could make a massive egg white omelette ..but I have no cheese..I could do egg fried rice..but it wouldn't look very good without the yolk for that burst of colour..or maybe a lemon meringue pie..actually ya la...I should've, considering the huge jar of lemon curd and kilo of butter I still have..damn hindsight. pfft..

I digress. I have been aching to make my own french macarons since I paid GBP 2. 50 for an uninspiring one from Paul's London. So with 6 aged egg whites and some leftover ground almonds I found at the back of my cupboard, remnants of an orange cake I made many moons ago [ I disgust myself sometimes], I had the perfect excuse to attempt a dessert that is the bane of most bakers/food bloggers. I have to say, with all those impassioned posts floating about the blogsphere about 'feet' and 'flowing magma', I was properly excited ..even though I don't actually like macarons ;)

Vanilla French Macarons with Nutella and Lemon curd

[adapted from Tartelette, who has an 8-page pdf document on her blog detailing tricks for the perfect macaron and this excellent video on youtube by the owner of Kitchen Musings...I don't know how to do the fancy hyperlink stuff so google it]

3 egg whites [aged, so store them in the fridge for a few days and bring to room temperature

before using. Something to do with reducing moisture.. aren't I helpful]

Pinch of cream of tartar [optional, but I've always used them in meringues so..]

50g castor sugar

200g powdered sugar

110g ground almonds

1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste

1. Mix powdered sugar and ground almonds, and give it a few quick pulses in the food processor to break up lumps. Set aside

2. In a separate bowl, add cream of tartar to egg whites and beat on medium speed till foamy

3. Add castor sugar gradually, still beating on medium speed, until you get soft peaks

4. Add the vanilla and beat until glossy. The mixture should stay put even if you tip the bowl upside down. I know because I tried....3 times.

5. Now add the almond mixture in about 4-5 batches, giving 1 or 2 quick folds with each addition, just to wet the dry ingredients a bit.

6. When all the almond has been added, beat with a rubber spatula. I did 5 rounds of 10 counts each. Shouldn't take more than 30 seconds.

7. Now take some mixture and drop it on a plate. If it flattens, giving you an even surface, it's ready. If you're still getting little peaks at the top, give the mixture a few more folds.

8. Spoon into a piping bag and pipe onto parchment paper or a silpat. All the blogs I've read recommend drawing a template, but really, if you have a steady hand, I wouldn't bother. It will flatten out into nice circles anyway. Or if you're really lucky like me, you'll have an awesome friend called Robynne who got you a silpat that comes with ready drawn circles for your birthday!

9. When you're done piping, give the tray a few gentle taps on the kitchen counter to get rid of air bubbles, and leave it to dry for 30-minutes to an hour.

10. Preheat oven to 150 degrees.

11. Touch the top and the sides of the unbaked macarons, they should have formed a skin.

12. The recipe said to bake for 10-12 minutes, but my oven is a bit funny, so mine had to bake for about 15-18 minutes.

13. The instructions above may have sounded like a pain, but it took all of 15 minutes to pull together. The most difficult bit for me was getting the damn things off the tray. Be gentle

14. Let cool and let your imagination run wild with ideas for fillings! I used nutella mixed with melted dark chocolate, for that bitter edge to take the sweetness of the macaron down a notch; and a very tangy lemon curd. Anything to cut through all that sugar.

15. Fill, sandwich, and enjoy~Crisp meringue shells that melt away to a chewy centre...unctuous chocolatey cream....the perfect accompaniment to a steaming mug of thick, black coffee :)

Jade: Bitemycocoa

We were terrified of our mum when my sister and I were younger. One of the things we were not allowed to have were sweets. And whenever we were offered any candy by aunts and uncles, we would first sneak a tentative glance at Ma..see, as much as we were dying to reach out for the beautifully packaged sweets..all it took was one disapproving glare from her to completely kill any sugar craving we might have had and reduce us to a quivering mess..fine, I may have exaggerated a little bit...bottomline: candy-less childhood. I think it's probably why I've never quite taken to chocolate...or desserts in general for that matter. But in lieu of upcoming festivities, 'chu yi' being the same day as Valentine's day, I thought something chocolatey was rather necessary...nevermind the fact that I will probably not eat it ;)

Kek batik

120g butter

35g brown sugar

60g castor sugar

pinch of salt

4 large eggs

1 can 396g condensed milk

45g milo

60g cocoa powder[ feel free to adjust the ratio of milo to cocoa..I prefer a less sweet cake]

1/2tbsp vanilla

150g rich tea biscuits, or marie biscuits if you're in Malaysia

1. Line a cake tin with cling film, leaving quite a wide edge so you can fold it over the top of the cake later

2. Mix condensed milk, milo and cocoa so it forms a thick paste

3. Break biscuits into pieces, DON'T BASH THE BISCUITS. You want fairly sizeable pieces, not crumbs so you'll get that lovely pattern that defines this cake when you cut into it later

4. In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar

5. Add eggs one at a time and beat on low speed

6. Add vanilla and the cocoa mixture and beat on low speed to combine. You'll end up with a very liquidy batter

7. Transfer to a large pot or non stick wok and cook on LOW heat

8. Keep stirring, because what you're basically making is a thick, fudgy custard.

9. Takes about half an hour or so till you get a soft doughy batter..a bit like thick brownie batter.

10. Take off the heat, and fold in the broken biscuits.

11. Spread into your lined cake tin, and use either a spatula, or if you're like me, stick your hand in a plastic bag and smooth the top and press the mixture into the sides of the tin.

12. Let cool, cover with the excess cling film and chill overnight.

Sush: Peanut Cookies for CNY

Because I promised Jade that I would finally update my space here :)

Been on a baking frenzy of late, just because I've been quite stressed out with work etc. Also, it was an excuse to have trial runs to bake cookies since Chinese New Year is right around the corner! My weekends are completely filled up for the next few weeks with me being in London so baking has to be during the weeknights.
I tried Jade's pineapple tarts recipe below over the weekend, and they turned out beautifully! Thanks again, babe! The crust melts in the mouth like a dream.



I have to admit, I'm a peanut butter addict. I can devour a whole tub of peanut butter in one sitting (okay, maybe two sittings). I love adding peanut butter to my chocolate chip cookies, I get cravings for peanut butter and jam sandwiches. And I LOVE Reese's!!! The British find it very hard to comprehend the fascination the Americans have for peanut butter and some can't even handle the fact that peanut butter is eaten with chocolate!

Tonight, I made peanut cookies. :) Besides pineapple jam tarts, these are my next best favourite Chinese New Year cookies. Fragrant, salty yet sweet, and with the crunchy yet soft texture. Its like confusion in your mouth! :P Have I mentioned that they're delicious?


This recipe was adapted from Lily Wai Sek Hong's blog. She's like the queen of oriental desserts and dishes for online recipes. :)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups skinless peanuts , fried/roasted and processed till fine
1 cup fine granulated sugar
2 cups self-rising flour
1 tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
5 - 6 fl oz cooking oil (preferably peanut oil)

Egg yolk + 1 tsp water for glazing


Method:
Mix the dry ingredients like sugar, salt, processed peanuts and flour until they are well-mixed and crumbly.

Add oil bit by bit and knead the mixture until the sugar is dissolved and a small piece of dough can be formed into a ball. (I didn't use all the oil given in the recipe).

Roll the dough into small balls and place them on a lined baking sheet. Use a straw and press gently on the top of the balls to make round indents. My house didn't have straws, so I improvised and used a knife to make crosses across the center.

Glaze with egg and bake in preheated oven 350F (180C) for about 12 - 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Wait until cooled completely. Don't be deceived, they're HOT! The cookies have very high propensity for latent heat. Then pop into mouth and devour and savour the way they should be :) Best taken with a mug of coffee or tea.

<3

Jade: Bitemypineapple

There is little in this world that is more satisfying than a good, homemade pineapple tart. The perfect ratio of buttery pastry to gooey, tangy pineapple paste that disintegrates as soon as it touches your tongue. And it's not just the tart itself..the whole process is a whirlpool of sensations from start to finish: Scent..as the fresh, fruity fragrance of pureed pineapple gradually intensifies to something more golden and syrupy..until finally you're swathed in a heady perfume, an exotic mix of warm caramel with a hint of cinnamon; Sight...watching the bright purée thicken ever so slowly, marvelling at the subtle changes in shades, from sunshine yellow to a rich reddish gold; Touch..crumbly pastry..sticky rounds of jam..painstakingly stretching the flour and butter concoction..gently rolling it between your palms to get a perfect sphere; Taste..of warm little bundles of joy fresh from the oven...sweet, tart and singing with tropical goodness; Sound...the sigh of pleasure that escapes your lips as you savour them..trying to make each one last..

Pineapple tarts

Jam:

2 small pineapples or 2 cans of pineapple in juice please, not syrup. Drained and chopped

4-5 tbsp brown sugar

pinch of salt

pinch of cinnamon

Pastry:

350g flour

220g butter

1tbsp shortening

2 egg yolks

1/4 tsp salt

50g cornstarch

3 tbsp icing sugar

egg wash

1. For the jam, blitz the pineapple a blender or food processor. I have neither so i used my stick blender, worked like a dream.

2. Sieve to get rid of a bit of the liquid, transfer to

a large, heavy bottomed non-stick pan, and stir over medium heat

3. Be patient

4. Once the mixture has thickened quite a bit, ie if you scrape the bottom of the pan with your spoon, you should see a clear line, no fluid rushing in , add the sugar slowly, tasting as you go along.

5. Add the cinnamon and salt and continue stirring until the whole mixture comes together in a ball. Should take about 45 minutes to an hour, depending

6. Cool and either store, or shape into balls in preparation for wrapping.

7. For the pastry, cream the butter, shortening and sugar

8. Add the yolks and mix

9. Sift in the flour, salt and cornstarch and mix gently.

11. Preheat oven to 170 degrees.

10. Now wrap. It's a very fiddly dough, quite crumbly..so add a bit more shortening if you have to. Be gentle as it is prone to breaking apart.

11. Glaze with a beaten egg, and bake for 10-15 minutes

12. Cool and devour. I would happily get fat on these, no questions asked :)

Jade: Bitemycoconut

It is 2 weeks to my favourite holiday of all time..and here I am, far away from fire crackers, noisy reunions and psychedelic layer cakes. I know come new year's day, I will be up at 2 in the morning in my flowery robe, dutifully sitting in front of my laptop, webcam on, waiting for the first gaggle of relatives to arrive and crowd around the home PC. There, I will listen, as cousins regale me with descriptions of food I obviously can't have; watch, as the littler nieces and nephews show off their new clothes; and nod, as uncles tell me to study hard...everyone holding a different cookie or cake in their hand, of course. Call me sensitive, but after 5 years of this, I am convinced it's deliberate.

So I am on a quest..to bring a little bit of Chinese New Year cheer to grey, dreary Southampton. Garish red lanterns (that my mum is unfortunately so partial to) and the word 'spring' stuck upside down aside, it's just not 'xin nian' without a dazzling display of cookies and cakes :)

Coconut crisps

100g all purpose flour

100g lightly salted butter

70g castor sugar

50g dessicated coconut

1/4 tsp salt

1 large egg yolk

1/2 tsp pandan paste/ extract

few drops green colouring (optional)

some chopped up red maraschino cherries and extra coconut for decoration

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees

2. Cream butter and sugar

3. Add egg yolk, salt, colouring and pandan

4. Fold in flour and coconut gently until just combined-- you'll get a very soft dough

5. Pop mixture in the fridge while you wash up. No. 1 chef rule--keep your station clean

6. Take teaspoonfuls of dough, shape into nice little circles, the littler the better: a) because you get more cookies, b) because little cookies are so much cuter

7. Press a cherry bit on top or scatter some coconut over the cookies

8. Bake for 10-12 minutes..keep an eye on them, they do brown quite quickly. I say the minute they start to colour, stick a piece of foil over them and let them finish baking.

9. Now take a cookie..savour the comforting aroma of toasted coconut...and feel the feather-like confection melt on your tongue...Careful though..it is rather difficult to stop at one ;)

Jade: Bitemyscones

I've always thought of scones as something quintessentially British...big fat scones, hot from the oven, slathered with butter and clotted cream, and finished with a large dollop of sweet, sticky strawberry jam. I remember having them at fancy hotels, feeling so important. My mum would tell me to add milk to my tea because it's the proper English way...and even though I found the taste of milky tea absolutely revolting, I would do it anyway, so intent was I to be all grown up, just like the ladies in the period films I so loved. I like milky tea now, and the idea of freshly baked scones with a nice cup of tea is enough to make me get out of bed at 7 o'clock on a Saturday morning ;)

Scones

500g self raising flour

100g very very cold butter, cubed

pinch of salt

big pinch of baking powder

about 2 teaspoons sugar

very very cold milk

[ there are no precise measurements as I've done this so many times it's more by feel now]

1. Preheat oven to 220

2. Sift flour and baking powder

3. Add butter and rub gently, using just the tips of your fingers, 'Lifting' the flour as you rub and letting it float back down. The idea of a light touch is so you get lots of air in there and so the fat doesn't melt. I've got really cold hands, great for pastry, not so great for my patients.

4. Once you get a loose mixture that resembles breadcrumbs, stir in the salt and sugar

5. Now add the milk slowly, bringing the dough together, not so much kneading as lightly patting everything together. Start with say..100 ml of milk and then add as you go along until you get a smooth dough.

6. Press it onto a well greased baking tray, so you get a large square that's about an inch thick, cut into smaller squares.. I do about 9-12....but that depends how large you want your scones to be.

7. Brush the top with milk and bake for 12-15 minutes.

8. Don't bother letting it cool, don't bother with a knife, just break it open, cut a fat wedge of butter and watch it melt into the steaming scone........I think I'm going to go have another one now..

Jade: Bitemyondehondeh

My mum loves anything made of glutinous rice flour. I, on the other hand, used to hate the thought of having to eat something that bore a disturbing resemblance to Flubber. So what I would do when my mum wasn't looking was stand over a bin, tear open the glutinous rice flour casing, suck out the filling and try my best to cover the now bland pastry with fruit peel.

I have since gotten over my fear of all things chewy and I must say, I quite like it now..mochi and all the rest of it..and as I sit here typing this, I'm beginning to see yet another pattern emerging....and shall resolve to break it, because while I am happy with my newfound relationships with previously shunned food, there was this boy back in school who I really really didn't like.....

Ondeh-ondeh

1 cup glutinous rice flour

Pandan essence and a few drops of green colouring [ you could always steam some sweet potatoes and mash it up for a gloriously orange version of this dessert]

Water

Gula melaka/ palm sugar, chopped or pounded till very fine [ just so it's easier to get the beautiful molten centre that defines this dessert]

Shredded coconut or dessicated coconut

1. Put a large pot of water on the hob and bring to

boil

2. Add the pandan essence and colouring to the flour and then add water. I do it this way because if you add the water first and the flavourings later, bearing in mind the flavouring and colouring are essentially extra liquid, you might end up with too wet a dough.

3. Add the water slowly, kneading as you go along until you get a dough the consistency of play dough. Pliable, but not sticky.

4. Pinch off a small ball, flatten it, and fill with the sandy sugar, making sure you get a good seal so nothing leaks.

5. Drop the balls into the pot of boiling water, remove with a slotted spoon once they float up to the surface, and roll in coconut.

6. Let cool slightly, and then the most important bit: pick up one of the soft little gems, pop it in your mouth whole, bite down, feel the satisfying squirt of sweet, molten caramel..and have another one ;)

Jade: Bitemycannoncini

I remember my first cannoncino...warm buttery pastry so feathery light....rich, silky cream bursting with the flavour of vanilla...i was astounded..how could something so seemingly simple taste so good..At that very moment, my mind went into overdrive, thinking up ways to recreate it in my own kitchen.

I took a few shortcuts just because I'm in a lazy mood [ but itching to play with my new cream horn moulds!]...Although I will probably never use ready made puff pastry for this again...not unless it's all butter and comes with some form of celebrity chef endorsement. In retrospect, it is actually blindingly obvious that the quality of the pastry would make or break a dessert that is nothing more than a pastry horn filled with cream......Highsight is always so much clearer..Having said that, on days when the cravings strike and Princi's isn't a 5-minute walk away, my way will do ;)

Cheats' Cannoncini~Little cannons

1 tube ready made puff pastry [ do get a good quality tube...I'll post up the recipe for proper cannoncini pastry once I get the time to measure flour and grate butter]

1 egg lightly beaten

1/4 cup sugar

Crema Pasticcera~gives about 2 cups so feel

free to halve the recipe

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/3 cup single cream

2 egg yolks

2 whole eggs

2 tsp cornstarch

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 2oo degrees C.

2. Leave puff pastry for about 20 minutes to come to room temperature.

3. In the meantime, dissolve 2 tbsp sugar in cream over LOW heat, and bring some water to boil in a separate pot, preferably one that's big enough to hold a metal mixing bowl. The idea is to replicate a double boiler..if you have one on hand, lucky you. Once the water boils, lower the heat and let it simmer.

4. Beat eggs, cornstarch, salt and the rest of the sugar in your metal mixing bowl/ top half of your double boiler

5. Place it over the pot of simmering water and vigorously beat in the scalded cream from step 3 until the mixture thickens.

6. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla; let cool and chill.

7. Once the cream is done, grease your baking tray and cream horn moulds.

8. Unroll the pastry sheet and cut into 1'' wide strips

9. Wrap each strip around a cream horn mould, leaving a margin of about 1/4 of an inch with each wrap.

10. When that's done, give the pastry a light egg wash, and roll gently in sugar

11. Pop in the oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes

12. Remove the moulds, let cool and fill with pastry cream.- The trick is to push the nozzle of your piping bag right into the narrow end of the pastry so you dont get any creamless gaps..which frankly is just cruel.

Bon appetit ;)

Jade: Bitemypeanutbutter

I went through a phase after the whole Parent Trap thing where I ate oreos with peanut butter...I secretly hated it..but I was 12..and if it was good enough for Lohan, it was good enough for me. Then I went to boarding school and befriended a rather subnormal being who ate her morning cereal with peanut butter...I didn't like it...but I thought it was a cool quirk..god knows what I was thinking..so I ate it anyway. And then I dated someone who ate peanut butter out of the jar...see above. Took me 23 painful years and too many wasted calories to realize I'm not actually a great fan of peanut butter....what can I say..I'm a slow learner. So slow in fact...that I came across a recipe recently, starring peanut butter....and I really admire the blog it came from...and if she really really likes it..Ah such is the power of blind faith;)

Chocolate peanut butter surprises..well it's not really a surprise now that I've told you..but whatever..adapted from The journal of a girl who loves to cook

125g plain flour

62.5g cocoa

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

60g butter

40g castor sugar

40g brown sugar

60g smooth peanut butter

1 large egg

1/2 tbsp milk

1/2tbsp vanilla extract

Surprise!~

1/4 cup icing sugar

pinch of salt

120g peanut butter

1. Preheat oven to 190 degrees

2. Mix ingredients for peanut butter filling until it almost resembles a dough. Pop into the freezer. You don't have to...but it will make wrapping easier

3. Cream butter, both sugars and peanut butter until fluffy

4. Add egg, milk and vanilla, mix until well combined

5. Sift in dry ingredients and mix

6. It's a fairly soft dough, so pop it in the fridge while you do the washing up.

7. And now the fun part: Scoop some peanut butter mix, roll into a small ball, flatten some cookie dough and wrap the peanut butter in it. Make sure you get a tight seal all over, I just roll the whole thing into a smooth ball once it's wrapped...don't want any peanut butter leaking all over the place..although if it does...melted peanut butter isn't exactly a tragedy:P, place it on a greased baking tray and flatten gently. Repeat as many times as you wish...depending on how large you want your cookies to be...should you want one giant cookie, I don't judge.

8. Bake for 10-15 minutes, 10 if you like a dense brownie-esque texture, 15 if like me, you think cookies should be delicately crunchy.

9. Let cool...break a cookie in half, dunk it in ice cold milk. It's like a reese's peanut butter cup! only so much better;)

Jade: Bitemycraisins

I remember reading about berries in my Enid Blyton book collection~strawberries and cream..blueberry pies..blackberry picking..In my 6-year old head, berries were akin to magic fruits. They sounded so mouthwateringly juicy and sweet...I imagined them to be like the best grape soda, the best strawberry jelly and the sweetest candy all rolled into one giant flavour explosion. And then I had my first real strawberry.........it was sour, mushy and not very juicy...I nearly cried. I've never liked berries since....and every time I come across an Enid Blyton story detailing how much of a treat berries are, I give the offensive passage the evil eye.

So when I came across a pack of craisins/ dried cranberries today, it took me a good 10 minutes to decide whether or not to reopen old wounds and give berries a second chance. My love of festivities won....they just looked so red and shiny and christmasy! And as much as it pains me to say this, they are actually quite good~soft and moist...sweet with a slightly tart ending...and a lovely change from the usual raisins. Just the dried ones though...baby steps...

White chocolate and craisin cookies~ so Christmasy!

227g butter

3/4 cup sugar [ I still found mine too sweet...but that's just me. I drink my coffee without sugar]

230g cream cheese

250g flour

1 cup white chocolate chips/chunks

1 cup craisins, roughly chopped

Pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees.

2. Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy

3. Add softened cream cheese and mix. The thing about cream cheese is it becomes really runny if you overbeat it. So do what I do, beat it with your mixer for about 5 seconds and then use a spatula to mix it properly, smooshing it into your butter and sugar mixture.

4. Add flour and fold.

5. Fold in chocolate and craisins.

6. Form balls..depending how large you want your cookies to be, flatten them and place on a cookie sheet.

7. Bake for about 15-20 minutes.

8. These cookies smell amazing...but be patient..let them cool completely. And try not to finish them in one go ;)

Jade: Bitemychinesepuffs

I used to get sooooooooo excited when my uncle ( distant cousin? who knows) from Singapore came to visit. Partly because his name made me laugh...literal translation meant ''no talent''...honestly it's a wonder he didn't sign emancipation papers. Any judge would've been sympathetic. But more importantly because he ALWAYS came bearing gifts. The one thing I looked forward to the most was this tiny little pastry, wrapped in very old school greaseproof paper. I remember how my heart would pound with anticipation as I peeled away the wrapping carefully to reveal layers and layers of the flakiest pastry that seemed to melt on my tongue...giving way to my favourite bit--the gooey filling, sweet and savoury at the same time, bursting with the flavour of shallots and toasted sesame.... and when it was all over, mopping up every last crumb with my little fingers and wishing I hadn't eaten it so quickly. Talent or no talent, the man knew how to make me happy.

~~

And so, MTAS. Me stress. Kitchen. Moving on..

马蹄酥 [ Some people call it heong peng; we've always called it 'Beh teh sor' ]- adapted from seadragon

Pastry: It's all science really. This whole flaky pastry thing works on the principle that water and oil don't mix; so if you have overlapping layers of oil and water pastry, they cook differently and what you end up with are these gorgeously thin and melty films of pastry.

Water pastry:

131g plain flour

45g shortening

26g icing sugar

pinch of salt and 67.5 mls warm water

Oil pastry:

97.5g flour

22.5g cornflour

60g shortening

1. Mix water pastry and let it rest for 15-20 minutes.

2. Mix oil pastry--it gives a very short texture, slightly crumbly

3. Divide both pastries into 15 portions each, I weigh them out because I'm anal like that.

4. Flatten a piece of water pastry and wrap the oil pastry in it. So you want the water pastry on the outside, and the oil on the inside.

5. Roll it out thinly, but not thin enough that you break everything. Roll it up like a cigar, turn the pastry so it's vertical, roll out again.

6. Roll it up again so this time it looks short and stubby, turn it over so the spirally ends are facing you and flatten the dough. It should feel stiff but still malleable.

* You may wrap as you go along, or choose to get the fiddly pastry bits out of the way. Doesn't matter, but if you do the pastry first, cover them up with a damp towel so they don't dry out.

Filling:

100g brown sugar

generous pinch of salt

30g maltose

20ml shallot oil

50g cooked glutinous rice flour

20g corn flour

50ml water

1tsp toasted sesame seeds

1 tbsp fried shallots

1. Spread the glutinous rice flour on a baking tray and roast in a 180' oven for about an hour or till it's lightly golden. It's a pain I know, apparently you can buy it ready cooked in some places.

2. Melt the maltose in the water.

3. Mix everything together till it comes together to form a very soft dough.

* You MAY NOT need all the water, so add it slowly.

4. Now wrap the filling in the dough and make sure you seal the bottoms tightly so nothing leaks out in the baking process.

5. Bake at 210' Celcius for about 12-14 minutes, I usually leave it for a bit longer to brown up a bit more.

6. Let cool, break it apart, and relish the beautiful combination of delicate pastry and the almost toffee-ish filling.

Jade: Bitemynuts.....peanuts

I was reading up for my clinical exam tomorrow and apparently sitting down for long periods of time increases the pressure in your intervertebral disc and puts you at risk of getting slipped disc. Not one to argue with Wikipaedia, I thought I'd take a little walk to the kitchen...

~~

My mum used to buy these peanut brittle bars from this dingy little shop when she went to the wet market, a little treat we would both share. You can get them anywhere now..supermarkets, Chinatown...but they never taste quite the same..much like how nasi lemak from a 5-star hotel never tastes as good as the one from the oldest stall in the oldest part of town. It's that special homey flavour that is sorely lacking.

So with half an hour to kill, I thought I'd try to recreate that naughty little sweet from my childhood:)

Peanut Brittle [adapted from Lily's wai sek hong]

1 cup sugar [ I used half dark brown, half castor; I love the caramel-y tones you get with brown]

2 tbsp white vinegar

1 tbsp water

pinch of salt

1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

300g roasted peanuts

1. Mix sugar, vinegar and water

2. Melt over medium heat, DON'T STIR, however tempted you are to. The sugar will crystallize. Just swirl gently now and again.

* Tip: before you start anything, lightly grease the pot you're using with oil all the way up to the edge. It will not alter the taste or texture, but trust me, whoever's doing the washing up will thank you.

3. Let it bubble away gently for about 10 minutes. The original recipe said till 300 degree Fahrenheit but i don't have a candy thermometer. The mixture should be thick and stringy when you stick a spoon in it

4. While waiting for the sugar mixture, line a baking tin with foil and grease it thoroughly.

5. Sprinkle half the sesame seeds and all the peanuts onto the pan.

6. Once the sugar is ready, scrape it out with an oiled spatula and spread evenly onto the seeds. I got too impatient so I used my hands.

7. Sprinkle with remaining sesame seeds and let it cool slightly while you do the washing up, which should take no time thanks to my little tip;)

8. Once it's cool enough to handle, cut into little rectangles and let it cool completely.

9. Crunch away while you reminisce about days gone by:)

It tasted almost as good as I remembered...only things missing were my mum and our huge dining

table strewn with vegetables..