Our Secret Garden ~ Chillies

Weather for Te Awamutu today

Season :
Summer
Forecast :
Chance of Rain
Temp : 35°C | 15°C
Current :
Cloudy
Temp : 20°C

Salam, Kia Ora,

Today's breaking news :

- A major earthquake in Christchurch at 12.51pm has caused widespread damage and injury, with phone lines down throughout the city.
- Prime Minister John Key has confirmed at least 65 deaths in the Christchurch earthquake.  Around 200 people are still trapped in collapsed buildings.

- Police say multiple fatalities have been reported at several locations in the central city, including two buses crushed by falling buildings.


Alhamdullilah, we are not affected by the quake at all as we live in the north island.  We all down with flu instead :( hb must have caught the flu bug at work.  He was on medical leave for 2 days and he is feeling much better today.  Jannah must have caught the bug from him yesterday. 

She spewed twice last night and woke up a few times crying.  Luckily, she didn't do it  in bed....phew! ;).  She's a little feverish today but still her normal self.  One minute, she was lying down on the couch saying she wants to relax.  Another minute, you can see her dancing and singing copying the kid's programme on telly.  She seldom fall sick, alhamdullilah.  If I remember correctly, the last time she was sick was during winter last year, which was last June.

I'm only suffering runny nose and am coughing.  I am taking the opportunity to bed rest at the same time ahakkkss :D.

November last year, we planted chillies, tomatoes, lemon grass and a few other plants.  We planted 26 chilli plants but only 20 survived. Today, I'm gonna share some photos of the progress of our chilli plants.  The rest, some other time ok ;) enjoyyzzzz.........

Chilli Seedlings

Flowers and baby chillies growing.

Chillies are getting bigger and....

Bigger here.....

Patiently waiting for them to turn red before I pick them ;)

Big, bigger, biggest......

Our chilli jungle.....100% organic!  No wax, pesticide and insecticide.

Me Te Aroha...With Love,
Anie ;)

Banana Doughnut

Weather for Te Awamutu today

Season :
Summer
Forecast :
Cloudy
Temp : 35°C | 15°C
Current :
Chance Of Rain
Temp : 19°C

Salam, Kia Ora...

Tonight, the NZ sky is brightly lit by a full moon.  Whenever the moon is full, I can hear wolves howling....hahahaz. Like real huh :D (if I'm not wrong there are no wolves here, no snakes & scorpions either) too much watching Vampire Diaries!!  Just getting frustrated with VD actually :( next week, is season 2 finale.  Haiizzz they just took a break before Xmas, aired again towards the end of January for 5 or 6 episodes and now they are going on a break again.  Argggghhh!!!

Btw, I saw this yummilicious easy peasy doughnut recipe at Izah's blog while blog walking one day.  Originally the recipe calls for mashed pumpkins.  Not really a big fan of pumpkin, in fact I don't really like them...hehehez.  I've decided to magically change the mashed pumpkin to a cinderella's coach instead.  Oooppsie I mean to mashed bananas...hehehez.  I totally agree at how Izah described the doughnuts, being soft and how easy it was to make.  Don't have to proof the mixture.  Just dump everything in a bowl and fry away ;)

I made them this morning at abt 10am, there were still some leftover at 10pm.  I had a bite and guess what....it was still ohhh so soft ;)  Definitely will be making these little beauties again.  This is what u call a NO FAIL doughnut recipe.  Thank you Izah for sharing the recipe.....

Source : Izah Muffin Lover / Cooks.com

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder (I used double action)
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup mashed banana
1/4 cup milk
2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 egg
Oil for frying

Method
- Sift flour, baking powder & salt together into a bowl.
- In a bowl add sugar, mashed banana, milk, oil, vanilla essence & egg and whisk with a fork until well combined.
- Add combined wet ingredients into the the dry ingredients until moistened. Then fry in hot oil, medium heat (dropped by tablespoon).

Enjoy the rest of the weekend everyone....*oooowwwwwww*

Me Te Aroha...With Love,
Anie ;)

Macaron

Weather for Te Awamutu today

Season :
Summer
Forecast :
Clear
Temp : 31°C | 15°C
Current :
Light Breeze
Temp : 19°C

Salam, Kia Ora...

Before attempting to make this temperamental cookies, I did a read up on some blogs why some people had a hard time creating them.  I learnt that a perfect macaron shell's should be smooth and have a tiny dome on the top as well as 'feet'.  I've never eaten one in my life.  Seen them being sold at some stores around the Orchard Road area when I used to work at that area years ago.  Everytime I looked at them all I could say was that they were too dear for me to indulge....hehehez.

This was my first attempt making them.  I decided to make the simplest macaron shell with a simple chocolate ganache filling, just in case it was a failure for me too.  I am aware that the failure rate is higher than the success rate.  Hence, I only made half of the recipe ;)  They are not as beautiful, perfectly shaped and shiny as the macaron gurus' masterpieces.  Alhamdullilah mine turn out like how the should with a few mishaps, sloppiness and some out of shapes ones ahakkksss. 

I made them yesterday, chilled them overnight and they taste oh soooo much yummier today.  Yesterday they were crunchy on the outside and chewy in the inside.  Today, there's a tad of crunchiness and they are absolutely chewy, almost melt in the mouth.  (Is that how they are supposed to taste btw??)  Simply luv the yummy almond flavour, they make me wanna concuss!! I just love anything and everything with nuts.....hahahaz. 

While drying the shells.

Hot and fresh from the oven.

Some shells cracked :(  I have yet to master the temperature of my oven I reckon.

Source : Foodnouveau.com ~~  A very detailed step by step on how to make a macaron ;)

Recipe : Foodnouveau Chocolate Macaron Recipe.

Macarons: Basic Recipe (I made half of this recipe)

3 egg whites (from large eggs), separated at least 24 hours in advance and kept in the refrigerator
210 g powdered sugar
125 g almond meal
30 g regular granulated sugar
I added a little drop of Wilton Rose Pink food colouring gel.

Ganache (cream): (I made half of this too)
120 g 70 % dark chocolate
80 g butter
30 g heavy cream

To make the macarons:Finely grind the powdered sugar, almond meal and cocoa in a food processor. Sift mixture to make sure no lumps or bigger bits of almonds are left.
Whisk the egg whites on medium/high speed for a minute or two, add a tablespoon of the granulated sugar, continue beating and add the remaining sugar slowly. Beat until the egg whites are stiff, dense and creamy.
Fold in the brown food coloring with a spatula. If you don’t have brown, you can make it as I did with the basic colors with the following recipe: 1 drop green, 3 drops red, 3 drops yellow. I added three times this recipe to reach the right color. Your eggs will look a bit orange but everything will turn out fine when you incorporate the cocoa mixture.
Delicately fold in the cocoa mixture in 4 or 5 additions. Slide your spatula all the way to the bottom of the bowl and comes back up several times to make sure no pockets of dry ingredients remain and the color is evenly blended.
Prepare your baking sheet by lining them with parchment paper.
Transfer your batter in a pastry bag fitted with a ½ tp ¾ round tip. Pipe 1 ½-inch rounds of batter, evenly spaced but still close to one another as they will not expand much.
Let your macarons rest on their baking sheets for a minimum of 20 minutes (30 to 60 minutes is best).
Preheat your oven to 300°F (140°C). Bake the macarons for 13 to 16 minutes.
Let the macarons cool to room temperature before assembling them with the ganache. Put them in an airtight container and let them sleep for one night in the refrigerator before indulging.

To make the ganache:
In a double boiler or the microwave, melt the chocolate, butter and cream together. Mix well, take off the heat and let cool. You can put it in the refrigerator if you want the ganache to firm up faster.

Me Te Aroha...With Love,

Anie ;)

Peanut Brownies

Weather for Te Awamutu today

Season :
Summer
Forecast :
Cloudy
Temp : 20°C | 14°C
Current :
Light Breeze
Temp : 18°C

Salam, Kia Ora...

I finally got to do groceries shopping today without hb....yippiee dah doo.  Of course there are pros and cons with him around.  The pros are : we get to go home early and he's able to help handle Jannah.  The cons are : I can't browse the supermarket shelves or chiller section from one end to another and from top to bottom...hehehez.  I also have to drive him around to second hand bookshops bcos he likes to scout for old rugby books. 

I volunteered to drive whenever we are in town bcos I can't stand his constant whinging abt the other road users, the traffic lights as well as the parking spaces....hehehez.  I rather have an aching leg from constantly changing the clutch rather than an aching ear from his whinging and whining....ooopppssssiieee daisiiee :D  After running around to do some errands with Jannah today, and filling a car load of groceries for 2 weeks, I am knackered.  Getting old lah or maybe what hb said is true, I am UNFIT....hahahaz my left leg is sore. :D :D 

Anyway, hb requested me to make him these peanut brownies.  When I heard the word brownies I assumed that its the brownies that you and I know (u know that dense cake thingy...hehehez) but this peanut brownie is a kiwi thingy, its in cookie form.  He is crazy abt these cookies and warned me not to make them small and cute...he wants them as big as possible.  Ai ai captain!!  Since I've never make them before, I googled the recipe and stumbled on this one.  He ate the first cookie and said that it reminded him of his childhood......jeeezzzz so nostalgic aye :D

Source : Chelsea Sugar

Ingredients 

125g Softened Butter
1 cup of Chelsea White Sugar (Chelsea is a brand of sugar here, just use any white sugar brand that you normally use)
1 1/2 cups of Flour
1 teaspoon of Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt
2 Tablespoons of Cocoa
1 cup of Peanuts, roasted and husked

Method
Prehet oven to 180°C. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well. Sift flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa together. Mix into creamed mixture. Add cold peanuts and mix well. Roll tablespoonfuls of mixture into balls. Place on greased trays, flatten with a fork.
Bake at 180°C for 15 minutes, or until cooked. Makes 20 biscuits.


 

The cookies on the right, without the fork markings are mine.  I baked them 5 minutes longer and they are crunchier.

NitezzZZzz everyone.

Me Te Aroha...With Love,

Anie ;)

Roast Leg Of Lamb

Weather for Te Awamutu today

Season :
Summer
Forecast :
Chance Of Rain
Temp : 31°C | 19°C
Current :
Fair With Gentle Breeze and High UV(9) Warning
Temp : 29°C

Salam, Kia Ora...

Hello everyone I'm back and all I want to do is whinge abt the weather.  Oh my gossshhhh its so freaking hot here :(  Our house is facing north and soaking up all the heat from the sun during the day time.  Its good during winter though bcos this house is warmed by the sun and its insulated too.  Its the warmest house I've ever lived in.  Some cold winter nights we didn't even have to turn on the heater....its not all bad after all.  But for now, arrggghhhh I just wanna jump into a pool......

Ok enough of my whinging.  I made this roast leg of lamb last Saturday as hb has been craving for a good roast lamb for a while now.  Usually I will only buy lamb chops but this leg of lamb was a good change.  No....I didn't slaughter any of the sheeps from the paddock but yeah we feasted on their cuzzie bro ahakksss.  I bought it at the halal butcher, weighing almost 2.5kg and cost $30 and lasted for 2 nights dinner (2nd night dinner was roasted lamb and cheese sandwiches) and 1 lunch...hehehez a very gd deal aye??

This was my 1st time roasting a whole leg of lamb and I roasted some veggies which consists of kumaras, pumpkins, potatoes & corns to accompany it along with garlic & cheese pita breads and home made brown gravy.  Hb gave me 2 thumbs up and complimented the dish, saying it was the best he ever had.  Ehem, ehem....thank u hb *smiles*

If you are like me, lazy to scrub ur roasting pan.  Cover it up with aluminium foil then line it up with baking paper.  Waaalllaahhh easy peasy clean up ;)

Source : NZ Beef+Lamb Recipes

Ingredients

• 1 whole leg of lamb, trimmed
• 6-8 cloves garlic, peeled and cut into slithers
• Fresh rosemary sprigs
• 2-3 Tbsp olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 2 red onions cut into halves.

Directions

Note the weight of the lamb and leave at room temperature, covered for 30 minutes. Pierce with a sharp knife and add slithers of garlic and rosemary sprigs.  Place red onions beside the lamb. Brush with oil, season and place on an oven rack in a roasting dish.  Squeeze the lemon juice over the lamb just before putting it into the oven.


Preheat the oven to 170ºC and roast the lamb for 15-20 minutes per 500g (fan-forced) or until cooked to your liking. Insert a skewer into the thickest part of the leg to the bone, and when the juices run clear the lamb is cooked.  Total cooking time for mine was 2hr and 30 mins.


30 minutes before I remove the lamb from the oven, I added the veggies into the roasting pan.  I added the potatoes first and let it cook for 15 minutes than add the rest of the veggies except corns which were roasted on its own.


Remove from the oven and rest 25 minutes in a warm place before carving.

After roasting the lamb for 2.5hrs and half an hour for the veggies.

These are NZ kumaras....red & gold ;)

Enjoy the week everyone....


Me Te Aroha...With Love,
Anie ;)

Chocolate Cheese Layer Cake

Weather for Te Awamutu today

Season :
Summer
Forecast :
Chance Of Rain
Temp : 27°C | 17°C
Current :
Mostly Cloudy With High UV(7) Warning
Temp : 27°C

Salam, Kia Ora...

Last week I went to the supermarket to get some milk.  I like to browse the shelves whenever I am at the supermarket, sometimes an easy task of getting milk will take me 30 minutes in there...hehehez.  As I was browsing the chiller section, I saw the Kraft Philadelphia cream cheese reduced to clear for only $1.49 each.  The price was cheap bcos the expiry date was on 9th Feb that was in 6 days time.

I was hesitating whether I should buy the cheese.  In the end I grabbed 1 block...hehehez I just couldn't resist it.  Hesitating bcos I knew that I am still in my lazy mood, not knowing if I'll be able to use it before the expiry date.  Only yesterday that I finally gather some courage and energy to use the cream cheese ^_^.  I've been wanting to eat and bake a chocolate cake for 2 weeks now and decided to finally bake one yesterday.  I like being lazy bcos I don't succumbed to temptation easily I reckon....ahaakkkss.

This recipe has been bookmarked for awhile now.  I thought why not give it a try since I have all the ingredients at home yesterday.  I made the layers quite thick bcos I couldn't be bothered to slave in front of the oven for a long period of time.  I just want the cake to finish quickly and yummiliciously...LOL!!  We really love this cake, the cheese and chocolate flavour blends well together and it wasn't too sweet....yummmzz yummmzz :ppp love it.......

Source : Kek Warisan Bonda.  Thank you Neena for sharing this recipe ;)

Chocolate Cheese Layer Cake

Ingredients A :

12 egg yolks

6 egg whites

360 gm sugar (I only used 300gm)

300 gm flour Hong Kong (I used standard flour)

2 tablespoons ovalette

Ingredients B :

For Cheese

250 gm cream cheese

4 tablespoons condensed milk

1 teaspoon lemon paste

For Chocolate

250 gm butter

4 tablespoons condensed milk

150 gm cooking chocolate - melted

1 tablespoon chocolate paste

Method :

1. Whisk A until fluffy.

Note : 

- If using hand mixer mix beat all ingredients except flour until fluffy 1st than add flour.

- If using stand mixer like KitchenAid, u can dump all the ingredients together and whisk till fluffy.

2. Divide the batter into 2 equal amount.

3. Beat cream cheese ingredients until creamy and add it into half of mixture A.

4. Beat butter & sweetened condensed milk until creamy then add into the other half of mixture A.  Add the melted chocolate into the mixture and finally the chocolate paste.

5. Prepare a baking pan 9 "X9" x3 ". Grill the cake layer by layer, alternating the chocolate and cheese mixture until finished.

6. Chill in the refrigerator overnight before cutting.

NOTES:

I grilled the mixture layer by layer at 170 deg C for abt 7-8 mins.  For the last layer I baked the cake using the top and bottom heat for 15 minutes.

Me Te Aroha...With Love,
Anie ;)

Pain Au Chocolat

Weather for Te Awamutu today

Season :
Summer
Forecast :
Chance Of Rain
Temp : 30°C | 17°C
Current :
Light Breeze
Temp : 18°C

Salam, Kia Ora...

Ohhh my gosh ;( without even realising, we are almost approaching half of February.  I still haven't decide what I want to do this year.  I thought of taking up a part time course at the uni but I wonder why I am getting lazy nowadays.  This thought of furthering my studies was planned since Jannah was born.  If I wasn't wishy-washy or procrastinating a lot, I would have completed my course by now....haiiissshhh.

I seemed to have lost my mojo to update my blog too boohooo.  Only 3 months into blogging and I am already lazy to put up new entries.  There's a saying in Malay "hangat2 tahi ayam."  Duuuhhh I was so eager to start a blog after 2 yrs and promised myself to update it regularly but look at what is going on now.  Issshhh no words to describe.  Upsetttttt lahhhhh.....

Anyway, I tried this Pain Au Chocolat a few days back.  It was a pain alright ahaakkkss.  The layering of the pastry took hours and the outcome of mine isn't as good looking as Julie's pastry.  The pastry is soft but a little heavy, I must have rolled it a bit too thick.  I guess practice makes perfect lorr...will attempt again when the temperature gets cooler bcos its hard to manage the pastry when the butter melts too quickly while I was trying to roll it.

Source Dinner With Julie.  Take a peek at her blog for the step by step to make the pastry.  Thank you Julie for sharing this recipe ;)

Pain au Chocolat 

Danish Dough:
3/4 cup milk, warmed
1 Tbsp. active dry yeast
1/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 cup (1/2 lb.) butter, cold
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup(ish) good-quality chocolate (chopped, chips or squares, halved)

Method :
In a large bowl, stir together the milk and yeast. Stir in the sugar, eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add a cup of the flour and the salt, then add the rest of the flour gradually, stirring until it’s incorporated. Knead the dough on a lightly floured countertop for about 5 minutes, until smooth. Transfer to a lightly floured baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap; chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat the butter and flour with an electric mixer for a couple minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl, until smooth. Set aside (don’t refrigerate).

When the dough has chilled, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a rectangle that is about 13″x18″ and 1/4″ thick. Spread the butter evenly over the right two-thirds of the dough. Fold the left third of the dough over, covering half the butter, then fold the right side over, as if you were folding a letter in thirds. (Unlike a letter, the dough ends should line up, so that it’s folded in three.) Cover the dough in plastic wrap and put it back into the fridge for 30 minutes.

Put the dough back on the floured surface lengthwise, with the open sides to the left and right. Roll it out into another 13″x18″ rectangle, 1/4″ thick. Fold the left third over the middle, then the right third over the middle. (This is referred to as “turns”. To keep track of each fold -or turn- press your finger into the dough at the edge to make two marks – you can do this each time you roll and fold so that you know how many times you’ve done it.) Chill the dough for another 30 minutes.

Roll, fold and refrigerate the dough two more times, so that you’ve done it four times total. Cover and refrigerate for at least 5 hours, or overnight. It can also be frozen at this point for up to 4 months.

To assemble the pain au chocolat, take the dough out of the fridge and roll it on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4″ thick. You can cut the dough into rectangles as large or as small as you like – we made them on the small side, cutting the dough into strips and then crosswise so that each piece was about the size of a business card. Put a little pile of chocolate, or a chunk of it, along the middle of the pastry, roll the sides up and place each one seam-side down on an ungreased baking sheet. If you have time, cover loosely with plastic or a tea towel and let them proof for an hour or two. (This is not absolutely necessary- we did ours in a rush!)

Preheat the oven to 400F. Bake the pain au chocolat for 15 minutes, until golden. (If they are larger, they may need more time.) Try to be a good person and share with your family and friends. Makes about 3 dozen.

Ok lah take care everyone TTFN (Ta Ta For Now)

Me Te Aroha...With Love,
Anie ;)

Hi...Ho..Hi..Ho!!!!

Weather for Te Awamutu today

Season :
Summer
Forecast :
Chance Of Rain
Temp : 28°C | 20°C
Current :
Starry Night
Temp : 19°C


Salam, Kia Ora...


First of all, congrats to NZ sevens rugby union team for winning the Wellington sevens rugby tournament and Gong Xi Fa Cai to all that are celebrating Chinese New Year, ushering the blessed year of the rabbit ;) Huat arh!!!

Its exactly a week that I last posted an entry.  Sorry for being away again.  Hb had another short break from work for 5 days.  Had a few ups and downs moments while he was on his break.  More ups than downs though ahakkksss....alls well, ends well ;) Alhamdullilah.

I suffered from an eye infection for the past 3 days.  First the right eye was swollen then the left one got infected.  Both eyes were half opened or half closed was it?? Hahahaz.  My vision were obstructed by the swollen lids and both eyes kept on producing yucky discharge!!  All I wanted to do while I was suffering from the swollen eyes was slepppzzzZZZzz.  Urrggghh....I don't know how I got them infected but both eyes are ok now, the swelling has gone down but they are still a little puffy.

Anyway, we played 10 pin bowling last Wednesday.  It was hb's first time playing 10 pin and he did well with a few strikes and spares ;)  Not bad for a first timer as he won the 1st game and got frustrated when I started over taking him on the 2nd.  He said I was hustling him during the 1st game, letting him win and showed my true colours on the 2nd game.  Hmmmmzzz all I can say is that he's just being a true blue sore loser kiwi (don't tell him I said this ok, otherwise he's gonna get upset with me....ahakkksss) :pppp

For those that missed me...enjoy these few pictures ;)  Hope to catch up again tomorrow, insyaAllah....

The Bowlevard - Hamilton SkyCity

Our pathetic score ^_^ and who the h*ll is Amie??  Those ppl spelled my name wrongly......

Love these money eating machines....ahakkksss :D

View of Waikato River from the bowling alley.



Jannah wanted to ride on this out of order horsie. 

Her hair was trimmed when she was 7 months old, she had her fringe cut by the hairdresser a few times and butchered by me a few times and she cut some of her once herself @_@.  I couldn't be bothered to have her fringe cut anymore, just gonna keep them long...

Going off to bed now...nitezz everyone.

Me Te Aroha...With Love,

Anie ;)