Beef and mushroom lasagne

A recipe that takes a bit of effort, but the results are well worth the time 'cos you can tweak the ingredient amounts to your liking. More mushrooms and more cheese, please!

Serves 4-6 with a simple side salad 

Ingredients:

For the ragu/meat sauce:

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

300g ground beef

250g fresh white button mushrooms, sliced

1 can diced tomatoes, drained

2 tablespoons dried Italian seasoning 

4 tablespoons tomato paste

Salt and pepper to taste

For the white sauce:

50g butter

50g flour

600-700ml milk

2 bay leaves

Etc:

150-200g grated cheddar cheese (I like lots of cheese)

Uncooked lasagna sheets 

Directions:

Ragu/meat sauce:

1. Heat olive oil in pan. Fry minced garlic till fragrant. Add in ground beef, season with salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning. Cook till browned, about 5 mins. Remove beef from pan, draining any excess liquid.

2. Fry mushrooms in pan with remaining tablespoon of Italian seasoning. Add beef, drained tomatoes and tomato paste to pan. Cook until liquid has reduced to a thick sauce.

White sauce:

1. Melt butter in saucepan. Add flour and mix till you get a thick paste. Gradually add milk, stirring frequently as mixture thickens. This will take a while, but it will happen as the flour cooks.

Assembly:

1. Preheat oven to 180C.

2. Lightly oil a 18x24cm deep dish pan. 

3. Add alternate layers of meat sauce, white sauce, grated cheese and lasagne sheets. You should be able to get in about 3 layers of lasagne sheets. Finish off with a final layer lasagna sheets, white sauce and cheese. (See photos below)

Bake in preheated oven for about 30-40 mins. The cheese should be golden brown and bubbling slightly, mmmm...

Wonder Bread presents...

I love these commercials about bread, which don't talk about bread at all.
http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/ad-day-wonder-bread-campaign-greatest-thing-well-you-know-157115

Burgers on wheels

For homemade patties that are a happy medium between Ramly Burgers and pricey hipster burger joints. Don't even think about fast food chains!

Tip: Try something different, go for their crab burgers.

Address: Along Jalan 14/9, Section 14 Petaling Jaya. 

Operating hours: 11.30am-5.00pm, off days not specified.

Everything always looks better after ice-cream

Baskin Robbins 31 Love Potion.

Steamed chocolate cake

Recipe link: http://rasamalaysia.com/no-bake-chocolate-cake/2/

Since many people have asked, the texture is between a very light sponge cake and steamed pudding, with a finer crumb than baked cakes. Difficult to describe but try it, it's addictive!

Google explains why: When steamed, a cake never gets hot enough to caramelize (go through the Maillard reaction), contrary to when baking which will brown a cake. Also, where baking dries out a cake, steaming will keep it moist.

Recipe edits: Reduced sugar to 150g, used melted blackberry jam as a simple glaze on cooled cake.

Verdict:  I love these two-bowl recipes. One bowl for wet ingredients, one for dry. Takes about half the time of a regular baked cake to prepare. Which also means can eat cake sooner.

Myburgerlab

My usual order: The A+ burger (beef, cheddar cheese, mushrooms, grilled onion, grilled tomatoes, lettuce, secret sauce) with a side of portobello mushroom fries. 

Address: 

OUG: 8, Jalan Awan Hijau, Taman OUG, 58200 Kuala Lumpur.

SeaPark: 14, Jalan 21/22, SeaPark, 46300 Petaling Jaya

Website: http://myburgerlab.com 

Operating hours: Tuesday-Sunday 5pm-10.15pm

Ah-Ehsan Nasi Lemak Ayam Goreng, Paramount Garden

RM5.50 late night comfort food. Remember to ask for the freshly fried batch of chicken, and extra spicy-sweet sambal.

Oh, and the Indomee ayam goreng is pretty good too.

Address: Jalan 20/14, Paramount Garden (Taman Paramount), 46300 Petaling Jaya.

Sweet and savoury mixed nuts

Recipe link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/27/sweet-and-savory-mixed-nu_n_1059287.html

Hooray for healthy snacking! Double the recipe, these will go quick. 

Roasting fresh herbs and nuts will fill your home with an amazing aroma.

Recipe tip: Add a dash of cayenne pepper for a spicy kick!

Put them in a pretty jar and these nuts also make impressive homemade gifts.

Lurpack kitchen odyssey

An egg-cellent dramatisation of the omelette.

Simple oven frittata

Are you a fan of cold pizza? This crustless quiche tastes delicious hot or cold, making it a great lunchbox staple. And it's low-carb too!

Recipe for one 18x18cm pan

Ingredients: 

(This is a guide, feel free to mix and match with your favourte veggies e.g. capsicum, broccoli, zucchini,corn)

6-7 eggs, beaten

Salt and pepper to taste

1/3 cup milk (I used soy)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs

1-2 tablespoons dijion mustard

3 sun-dried tomatoes, cut into small pieces

1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters

200g white button mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup spinach, chopped (I used frozen, after defrosting)

100g grated cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 180C.

2. In a 18x18cm deep dish pan, toss mushrooms, tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes and Italian herbs in olive oil. Spead into one layer and bake for 10 mins in preheated oven.

3. While waiting beat together eggs, dijion mustard, spinach, half the cheese and salt and pepper.

4. Remove pan from oven. Pour in egg mixture and mix everything well. Top with remaining cheese.

5. Bake for 30-40 mins until cheese is golden brown and eggs are firm. A skewer inserted in the middle should come out clean.

6. Slice into generous wedges and enjoy! The balance can be kept in the fridge for a yummy breakfast the next day.

Yong tau foo @ Hou Xiang, Taman Sea

I think the prices are slightly higher than most places, but the portion size and quality well makes up for it. And they have also have a wide range of different chee cheong fun plating options from different states.

Bonus find: Try the assam snow ice, it's awesome!

Address: No 47-1, Jalan SS23/15 Taman Sea, 47400 Petaling Jaya.

Tel: 03-74971253

Lunchbox

Spinach, mushroom, and scrambled egg wraps.

'Lap cheong' Chinese sausage omelette

The key to getting a nice fluffy omelette is beating the egg well to incorporate air bubbles. And not be tempted to flip the egg over multiple times or it'll dry out.

Anyone can fry an egg right? Well, just in case ;)

Makes 2 omelettes

Ingredients:

4 eggs

2 'lap cheong' Chinese sausage, skin removed and thinly sliced

Half an onion, thinly sliced and pieces separated (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat a frying pan, fry half the sausage and onion till onion is lightly browned. No oil required as the sausage is already oily.

2. While the sausage is frying, beat the 5 eggs well with salt and pepper, the sausage is salty so add less salt than you usually would.

3. Pour half the egg mixture into pan over the sausage. 

4. Let cook until egg is no longer liquid, about 2 mins, then flip over to brown the other side.

5. Repeat steps for second omelette.

On a side note, I have yet to master the art of flipping eggs and pancakes without a spatula no matter how many YouTube videos I watch.

Want. Eggs. Now.

You will too after watching this video. Watch out for some of my favourite egg recipes really soon!

http://sploid.gizmodo.com/this-video-about-cooking-eggs-1623680947

My favorite Japanese restaurant, Hokano has moved

But it's still in the neighborhood, yay!

The place to go to for yummy, reasonably-priced, home-cooked Japanese food. The shop is small, so be prepared to wait during peak hours and weekends. 

Address: 67M(1stfloor), Jalan SS21/37 Damansara Utama, Petaling Jaya

Tel: 03-77295325 

Website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hokano-Japanese-Restaurant

Closed Tuesdays 

Lunchbox

This week's low-carb lunchbox prep - spinach & mushroom frittata, grilled teriyaki chicken & mushrooms (for salads and wraps), and lots of fresh fruit.

Best-ever brownies

Recipe link: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1223/bestever-brownies

Taste - best. Chocolate on chocolate on chocolate.

Texture - best. Crisp on top, and fudgy on the inside.

Ability to travel well - best. It's the go-to gift for parties, potlucks and house-warmings. Read tip below.

Feedback many, many taste testers - best. There have been many friendly fights over the last piece.

Recipe edits: Reduce sugar to 175g. Instead of using milk and white chocolate, I only used dark chocolate.

Recipe tip: I line the baking tray with a larger piece of aluminum foil. To pack, just lift the foil with uncut brownies inside, fold over the top to cover and tie with ribbon. Instant portable gift!

The evils in Pandora's Box were nothing compared to this.

Crispy, salty, savoury, deep fried chicken skin. Thank goodness it's from Penang, or I'd eat it every day.

Fantastic service at Kaffe Café, TTDI

Feeling full after a heavy dinner, we asked if we could split a large hot chocolate into three mugs. The barista made the effort to design three tiny coffee art portions. Three thumbs up!

Oh, and it was good hot chocolate. 

Address: 33 Lorong Rahim Kajai 13, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, 60000 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-7722 2237

Website: https://www.facebook.com/kaffecafettdi

Testing blogger app

Teriyaki chicken, fried baby tomatoes and tapao-ed stir fried asparagus #lunch #mostlyhomecooked #beeneecooks