Happy Halloween !

Have a safe and fun Halloween, everyone!

Of Curry Puffs And Elvis Presley

Curry puffs always remind me of those days when almost every young dude on the block grew long sideburns and donned Elvis' iconic quiff. Back then, the King's pompadour hairdo was known as the curry-puff hairstyle! Getting that huge wave on the head on straight, hard Chinese hair was no easy feat at a time when neither hair gel nor mousse existed. I remember cousin Charles walking around in his house with his mom's roller on his head, much to the disdain of our very traditional grandma!

image credit - http://www.amazon.co.uk/ELVIS-GLASSES-BLACK-BURNS-QUIFF/dp/B000LQAHYM

Curry Puffs - Small pies (Empanadas) with a curried filling of meat and potatoes in a deep-fried or baked pastry shell. They are a popular tea-time snack in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

Made these for the first time as I am currently in a baking frenzy, inspired by Pinterest and  my fellow foodie bloggers.

recipe @ http://www.rdasia.com/reader-recipe-curry-puffs

They are not hard to make - the crimping part needs a little practice though. Pinch, fold, pinch fold......

The curried filling is good for pies too.

Sharing with
April of The 21st Century Housewife
Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen
Alea of Premeditated Leftovers
Elsa of Elsa Cooks
Judy of Savoring Today
and me, Penny of Penniless Parenting.

Mustache Monday

Oreo, our pet guinea pig

Joining long-time bloggy buddy Lin @ http://duckandwheelwithstring.blogspot.com/2012/10/mustache-monday.html as she  officially kicks off Mustache Mondays.
C'mon, humour her! She's desperately in need of a new hobby!

Social Media Explained

If you have not already seen this image popping up everywhere, save it on your phone and impress guests at a party the next time someone asks you what social media is or how the various services differ. Better yet memorize the donut analogy!

source - http://www.geek.com/articles/geek-cetera/social-media-explained-with-donuts-20120210/

I Made this!

STORE-BOUGHT SHORTCRUST PASTRY + COOKIE CUTTER =
THIS!

I saw some jaws drop and heard gasps when I brought this crostata to a potluck tea party! Not bad, eh? - for someone who has baked pies a grand total of thrice in her entire life.

Okay, the credit isn't mine - the pastry was store-bought and that was just a very lame copy of the original (below).

Seriously, it isn't as intimidating as it looks and you don't need to be a pastry chef to attempt this - thanks to the step-by-step photo tutorial by kathrynl @ http://www.instructables.com/id/Triple-Berry-Pie-Its-diVine/

The first time I saw it on Pinterest, I merely gawked at it - pretty sure something this intricate was so out of my league. I didn't even bother to click on the link to the website! But the image kept popping up on Pinterest like a song you can't get out of your head and when I finally did visit the site, I just knew I had to make it.

Don't you just love Pinterest? It gives you a chance to create stuff that you've always dreamed about -  fabulous things that you thought  were beyond your ability.



Shared with
April of The 21st Century Housewife
Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen
Alea of Premeditated Leftovers
Elsa of Elsa Cooks
Judy of Savoring Today
and  Penny of Penniless Parenting.

Dollhouse Littles & Hitty Art by K. Arthur

I am totally enraptured by these darling dollhouse miniatures by folk artist Katie Arthur from Williamsburg, Virginia. Katie specializes in textiles for your dollhouse and vintage mini furniture.
You can find more of these littles at Katie's stores on  Etsy and her blog @ http://dollhouseminiatureart.blogspot.com/

Punchneedle Rugs

This LITTLE measures about 3" x 2.5" and is done using single and double thread to create lots of depth.

Chair Pads

Quilt fits a queen size, double or twin size doll bed!

 Miniature Embroidered Bed Linen

Miniature Embroidered Pillows

Catch Of The Day

I know it looks kinda gross but that was possibly the best fish I've ever tasted!

It was a hollowed out deep-fried grouper served with...

two different types of sauces (ying and yang)  and...

filled with a medley of shrimps, scallops, squids and morsels of the fish, sautéed with cashew nuts and red and green peppers in a Thai sauce.

4 different flavours in one!

Thank you,cousin Charles, for the lunch. It was delish!

Helika's Felt Toys

Need something uber cute to cheer you up? Let Elena's hand-made felt dolls put a smile on your face.
More cuteness @ http://www.helika-my-toys.com

What's For Dinner, Ma? #5

CHAR SIEW - Literally translated from Cantonese as "fork-roast" after the traditional cooking method for the dish:. Long strips of seasoned boneless pork are skewered with long forks and placed in a covered oven or over a fire. There are many variations in the use of ingredients for the marinade and cooking methods. I like my char-siew braised in a wok and then broiled in the oven for a charred effect.
recipe @ http://www.foodcanon.com/2011/09/auntie-ruby-char-siew-summary.html

CAULIFLOWER PANCAKES
These make a great side dish when you're bored of potatoes. Wholesome, toothsome and awesome!
recipe @ http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com/2009/09/cheesy-cauliflower-pancakes.html

DAGING MASAK HITAM - Translated from Malay as "beef in black sauce". Quintessentially, a Malaysian dish with a fusion of  flavours from Malay, Chinese and Indian cuisines.

Ingredients:
90 ml / 3 fl oz / 3/8 cup Vegetable Oil
1 kg / 2 Pounds / 3 oz Beef, finely sliced (Striploin, Sirloin, Topside)
3 pieces Tamarind Juice (Assam Juice) - mix Tamarind Pulp with hot water, strain
45 g / 1 ½ oz / ¼ cup Brown Sugar or Palm Sugar (Gula Melaka)
1 litre / 1 3/5 pints / 4 cups water
125 ml / 4 fl oz / ½ cup Dark Sweet Soy Sauce (Kicap Manis)
3 Tbsp / 2 ½ fl oz Chili Powder or ready-made Chili Paste (Cili Boh)
Salt

Paste Ingredients: - to be Finely Grounded

8 Shallots (Red Onion), peeled
4 Garlic Cloves, peeled
2 cm / 1 inch Ginger, peeled & chopped
4 Lemongrass (Serai), finely sliced
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
Water to blend

Method:
Heat the oil and sauté the Paste until fragrant and oil begins to appear on the surface.

Add in Beef, Tamarind Juice, Dark Sweet Soy Sauce, Brown Sugar and water. Stir well. Add salt, pepper and Palm Sugar to taste.

Simmer until the Beef is tender, and the sauce almost dry. Serve.
recipe @ http://www.asianfoodchannel.com/bestwan/viewrecipe.php?id=18

WITCHY FINGERS
Success at last!!
Yep, I finally could put my finger on the problem. No pun intended!
The secret? Wrap the dough with plastic film and chill for at least 2 hours before shaping into fingers. Chill the shaped dough again for another 2 hours before popping them into the oven.
Now they do look like fingers, don't they? 
recipe @ http://whitelotuscooks.com/2010/10/shortbread-finger-cookies/

Mid Autumn Festival

Sharing these year's photos of the annual Mid-Autumn/Lantern/Mooncake festival that was held at the condo where we live. It's official - my boys have outgrown the lantern-toting ritual but sadly, I haven't! I love the enchantment of a procession  of excited kids with their colourful glowing lanterns under a full moon against the jetblack sky. I know I should have seen this coming when we lost our last lantern-toter the year before to teenage snobbery but I was wishing  the magic would last forever. I shall miss the pleasure of  my boys following me to Chinatown and helping them pick their lanterns! Sob!

My boys weren't amused when I bought them an elephant lantern. They refused to light it up!

Me with my Colombian neighbours

Food!!! It was a potluck party!

Traditional foods like caltrops, pomeloes, mooncakes and yams are served during the Mid Autumn celebration. A mortar & pestle is available for cracking the hard shells of the caltrops.

These creepy bat-like thingies  are called water caltrops aka bull's horns because of their horn-like structures. They are totally edible! They are actually nuts from an aquatic plant belonging to the same family of water chestnuts. I can still recall my dad turning  them into a spinning top using a bamboo skewer and some string when we were kids. Show that to a kid these days and chances are they are not impressed.
Water caltrops are only brought to our local markets from China once a year in Fall when the Chinese celebrates the Mid Autumn Festival.

Mooncakes

A turtle-shaped mooncake

* For the clueless, read about the festival in my previous post here.