Sweet, Sweet Breads

03 May 2008 - 3rd lesson today! Today's breads are the most fattening ! Aaaargggh! We made Sausage Rolls, Red Bean Buns, Coconut Buns, Tuna Buns, Chicken Floss Buns and also the Mexican Coffee Bun (which is like the RotiBoy that is sold in some stores in KL). We tried out different ways of making the buns look more interesting instead of just a round blob ! Here are some pictures !

Healthy Breads

29 April 2008 - had my second lesson today in bread baking. We made 'healthy' breads today.. meaning breads with no sugar in the recipe. The baguette was actually fun to make... and I think I'm beginning to get the hang of it already. We also got to watch some videos on the bread making processes and there was one where this baker did it entirely with his hands (no mixer was used)! I assume it will be extremely tiring if I ever tried that myself! We won't be having any lessons on Thursday as it is Labour Day so I really can't wait till class on Saturday. We'll be making sweet breads then.

01 May 2008 - I kept some of the bread from Tuesday, in the fridge and we had them today with some hams that my brother and sister in law brought back from their holiday in Eastern Europe. It was yummy and even my father liked the breads ! Mom made a mediterranean style salad to go with it and that was delicious too. Too bad we didn't have any Hungarian wine, so instead we had Chilean wine to go with the hams!

Here are some photos of the breads baked on Tuesday.

The one at the top (big fat one) is the French Country Bread, the long one is the French Baguette, the one with some stuff on the top (right below) is the Wholemeal bread.

Another closer shot of the French Country Bread

And another of the Wholemeal Bread.

KNITTING & CROCHETING

28 April 2008

I have just been reading some posts in a website on crochet and now I am thinking of adding that into this blog too ! I took up knitting about 2 years ago and then crochet after that. Found that knitting takes up too much time and maybe I am not that patient a person after all ! Crochet on the other hand is quicker. Also, if there are any errors in stitches, it can be undone & redone quickly ! Am posting some pictures of stuff I have knitted or crocheted since learning the craft !

This is a baby blanket that is knitted using 100% cotton yarn by Coats. Made this specially for my sister in law who was having a baby then. We didn't know if it would be a boy or a girl which is why I chose this light, pastel green colour. Using 100% cotton makes it softer on the baby's skin too.

This is also made from 100% cotton yarn. Gave this to my niece for her birthday last year !



After that I made many little baby dresses/blouses for my nieces and also my friends' daughters ! Here are some pictures !




Heh heh! I know there's still lots to do to improve on the stitches.... Oh well, in the meantime these are some of the stuff I've done. Will keep posting more once I've completed the rest !

Back To School !!

26 April 2008 - after a very long wait, my classes have finally begun ! I signed up for a Certificate In Baking (part time) class at the Malaysian Institute of Baking. This course is designed for people like me who would like to get a general knowledge of the different preparations of different baked goods. We would be learning how to bake breads, pastries and cakes over a course of 24 lessons (about 2 months). So now I would be going for lessons twice a week in the evenings and one in the afternoon. At our first lesson we learnt about the 'sponge & dough' method of making bread. And... this is the first time I have ever baked bread! We made a sandwich loaf and a panettone. Brought the finished goods back home for my friends and family to try out. Got good reviews ! Am very happy since this is the first time I'm making bread ! The second class would be on Tuesday and I am really looking forward to it. Now with these lessons I would learn more about the techniques and things to take note of when preparing and baking. THIS IS REALLY GOING TO BE FUN !!

Gong Xi Fa Cai !! Happy Birthday !!!

15 February 2008 - time really flies... it's already the 9th day of the Chinese New Year. Didn't do much baking and was also really too lazy to bake anything for the Chinese New Year. The weather is just so hot and besides I've already cleaned my kitchen (what an excuse!)


Well, I did bake 3 cakes though.




01 February 2008 - Reunion Dinner & My Aunt's Birthday !

As usual we have our reunion dinner with my aunt before the Chinese New Year and since her birthday was on the following day, I decided to bake her a cake and we celebrated her birthday then ! Went shopping on that day and saw some cute marshmallows and also one in the shape of a cow's head ! Decided to use those for my cake decoration. The outcome ... a cute little cake with marshmallow flowers & a marshmallow cow !





02 February 2008 - it was my sister's really good friend's birthday and I owed her a 'smiley' cake so I decided to bake one for her surprise birthday party. Nope I didn't get to attend this party but I heard that the Bak Kut Teh was good! Well, my sister wanted a chocolate cake (maybe because she still thinks my butter cake is not good enough) so I made a chocolate cake and iced it. Then piped the little stars to form a 'smiley' face. I used the red sugar hearts to shape the eyes and the mouth. Tried to sprinkle some chocolate rice at the sides and when I tilted the tray my whole cake slid ! Luckily I managed to catch hold of it. But the sides were already slightly damaged ..... now you know why the sides are decorated with the savoiardi biscuits. Luckily I had a packet that was unopened so I could use those! Oh well... at least the birthday girl liked the cake ! I still haven't told her the story though.





03 February 2008 - today we celebrate my friend's birthday. With the chinese new year coming up we decided not to have chinese food but instead opted for thai ! Good choice ! I had some more marshmallows and a few pieces of the savoiardi biscuits and rather than waste them, I decided to use those for decoration ... again ! My friend's son loved the little sprinkly stars !!




16 February 2008 - It's now the 10th day of the chinese new year and since the 3rd February I have not been baking ! Tomorrow is my sister's birthday and I have told her that I would not be baking her a cake (we have been overeating this chinese new year !) she agreed that it would be a good idea. After all, we would be having Italian and with all the pasta & pizza it would be really filling ! What she doesn't know is that I have prepared something else ! Not food though. I bought party packs for everyone and also a 'smiley' badge for each person to wear. Got her an extra big soft smiley and tied it to a necklace and I'll make her wear that tomorrow !! Hope she'll like it. Yes, my sister is a great fan of the 'smiley'.

Happy Birthday to my favourite sister!!