ANNA'S BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

I have bookmarked this recipe for quite awhile, and I wished I could have done this earlier. If you are looking for a healthy yet delicious muffin recipe, this is surely for you. The muffins are unbelievably soft and moist, and with lots of berry goodness. I added some fresh cherries too.

Ingredients

adapted from Fresh with Anna Olson

1/3 cup (75 mL) canola oil (I used olive oil instead)
1/2 cup (125 mL) honey
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups (300 mL) 2% plain yogurt
1 teaspoon (5 mL) finely grated orange zest
1 cup (250 mL) whole wheat flour
1 cup (250 mL) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons (10 mL) baking powder
1 teaspoon (5 mL) baking soda
1 teaspoon (5 mL) ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) salt
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) fresh blueberries


1. Preheat oven to 375 °F (190 °C) and line a 12-cup muffin tin (or 36 cup mini muffin tin) with paper liners (alternately, tins can be greased).

2. Whisk oil, honey, eggs, yogurt and orange zest to blend. In a separate bowl, combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

3. Add to yogurt mixture and stir just until blended. Add blueberries and spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

4. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until muffins spring back when touched. Muffin will keep 2 days in an airtight container, or can be frozen.

OVEN BAKED CHICKEN WINGS

This is probably the ultimate finger food treat. It was so easy to make, and I will definitely make this again. It has a delicious all-over brown hue and the aroma seeping out from the oven is to-die-for.

My photo does not look appetizing here, but it certainly taste goooood. All thanks to Gertrude, her recipes never fails me.

Ingredients:
adapted from My Kitchen Snippets

10 - 12 chicken wings
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper (I used chili powder instead)
2 tsp sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Wash and clean the chicken wings to make sure there are no stray feathers. Cut wings into portions through the joints, discarding wingtips (I left wingtips on)

2. Combine all the rest of the ingredients in a bowl. Add wings and coat in mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or overnight, stirring occasionally.

3. Preheat oven to 425 degree F. Cover a baking dish with aluminum foil. Drizzle it with some olive oil. Spread wings over the base, brush liberally with marinade. Roast for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Turn the wings half way through the baking. Serve warm or at room temperature

ALMOND CHERRY FINANCIERS

Cherries -my all time favourite and I usually eat them fresh. Lately, cherries are in abundance everywhere and I have the luxury of buying extra for baking. I tried them on my stone fruit tea cake and it was mad deliciuos. So, I went on searching for recipes with cherries.

When I saw this financier recipe from Sarah-Jane of SiliconeMoulds.com I was so excited and baked it the next day. Each dainty cutesie cake with a big fat juicy cherry in the middle - simply divine. Sarah-Jane was right on this!

Ingredients

adapted from SiliconeMoulds.com

70g ground almonds
105g icing sugar
35g flour
92g of salted butter

92g of egg whites (3 eggs)
1/2 tsp of baking powder
1/4 tsp of vanilla extract

Preheat fan oven to 200deg C.

Brown the butter to a nut brown.

Sift the dry ingredients together and mix in the egg whites and vanilla. I used an electric hand held mixer. Add the hot butter, mixing in quickly.

Pour as quickly as you can into your moulds and then pop in your sweet cherry, with stalk attached.

Cook in the oven for 10 mins, then turn down the heat to 180deg C. Bake for a further 15 mins or until golden brown. Test with a skewer. If it comes out clean means the cake is done.

CHICKEN MEATBALLS

This is a wonderful alternative to beefballs or porkballs, not too meaty nor heavy. With carrots and waterchestnuts to give a natural sweet and crunch - sheer delight and lotsa yum!

I chose to bake the meatballs instead of deep fry. It is definitely a healthier choice and taste as good. The original recipe comes with the sweet and sour sauce which I have omitted here. For the full recipe, swing over to My Kitchen Snippets.



Ingredients for meatballs
adapted from My Kitchen Snippets


1 pound of ground meat (can be pork, chicken or beef)
1 carrot – finely grated
6 water chestnuts - finely cubes
2 spring onions – finely chopped
2 tbsp of oyster sauce
1 tbsp of soy sauce
2 tbsp of cornstarch
1 egg
Salt and pepper to taste (I use 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper)


1. Put all the above ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix well and let it marinate for an hour.
2. Form it into little balls . At this stage you can either deep fry the meatballs or bake it in a 400 degree F oven until golden brown.

KUIH BAHULU

The recipe looks simple and easy to follow, no drama. I am so gonna make this. And so did I!

It is best to use the bahulu mould to get the right texture, but the lazy me used paper cups instead. The cake is light and soft and it is addictive by popping one by one into my mouth.

Here's the recipe adapted from My Kitchen Snippets.

Ingredients

5 eggs

130 gm sugar

140 gm cake flour

10 gm cornflour or custard powder

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 tsp lemon zest

3 Tbsp melter butter

1) Sift flour and baking powder and set aside. Whisk eggs and sugar until white and stiff.

2) Add vanilla essence and lemon zest. Turn down the speed and slowly add flour. Mix until combined. Fold melted butter and mix well.

3) Pre heat oven to 400F, warm the bahulu moulds for 5 mins. Take it out and brush with oil or spray with non-stick spray.

4) Put about 1 tsp batter into the mould. Bake for 10 mins or until golden brown.

STONE FRUIT TEA CAKE

My, oh my! Being an amatuer, I surprised myself by setting up this blog and posting my first attempt on this cake. I think this cake has some kind of magical powers in me :p

Anyways, me no professional photographer. I just use my trusty old Nikon Coolpix and snap away. I am such a clutz when it comes to photography.

The moment I saw the pics and recipes from My Kitchen Snippets, I told myself I just gotta try this. I have been following MKS for awhile and I simply adore her blog. But that does not mean I bake or cook all the time. For some unexplainable reasons, I simply love buying recipes books, watching food channels, reading food blogs.... well, hoping I would end up cooking and baking often for family and friends.

My friends could not believed I "bake-it-myself". They loved it!

I have leftover cherries in the fridge - good start. So I got peaches and blueberries from the nearby supermarket and bake away!!! (Extra peaches for myself to eat- love em!)

Here is the recipe adapted from My Kitchen Snippets.


Ingredients:


1 tbsp butter (for greasing pan)
150gm all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
100gm sugar
80gm butter
1 + 1/2 eggs (I used 2 eggs)
1 tbsp orange zest
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp brown sugar (I used 2 tsp only)
1 peach- removed the stones and cut small
1 cup blueberries
1 cup cherries - halve and removed stones



1. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. With a mixer, cream the sugar and butter together on medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition, then stir in the orange zest and vanilla.
2. Add the flour in 2 or three shifts, mixing just until a smooth dough forms. It will be pretty soft still. Dollop it out onto two pieces of plastic wrap, making one mound of dough slightly larger than the other. Wrap the dough blobs in the plastic and form them into flat discs. Place on a baking sheet and stick them in the freezer for 30 minutes. While waiting, prepare and cut your fruits.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degree F. Butter a shallow, 8-inch baking dish or tart pan. Take the slightly bigger parcel of dough and press it down onto the bottom of the pan. Scatter the fruit over the dough. Break the second disc of dough into tsp size balls and scatter them over the fruit.
4. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until lightly golden and firm. Cool for 30 minutes before serving.



P.S, I did not stick the dough into the freezer either.