Sesame salad dressing lovers, you will fancy this dish! Ever since I made Baba Ghanoush, I have been going gaga over sesame paste. So, tahini is basically a paste made from sesame seeds and they are so versatile because you can use it for both sweet and savory dishes. It is a protein rich paste and contains more protein than milk and most nuts. It is easy for your body to digest because of its high alkaline mineral content which is good for weight loss. Like avocado, it also contain high unsaturated fats (good fats). As the paste is very dense, you only require a small proportion of sesame paste in your dressing. Sometimes, I will substitute my peanut butter spread in my every morning oatmeal with tahini paste and honey. 

Recipe: Serves 2, original recipe adapted from here)

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup tahini

juice of 1 lemon

1/4 olive oil

salt, pepper

water, as needed to thin (about 1/4 cup, if necessary)

3 Handfuls of Penne

1. Cook pasta according to packaging instructions

2. Chop garlic and mix everything together except for water and penne. Slowly add water and adjust to your desired consistency. 

Big Breakfast is a common dish in almost every cafe nowadays, just that each cafe name the dish differently. Before these cafes even emerged in the market, I had been eating this dish every week since young. I was an avid fan of Mcdonalds and my parents never fail to bring me to the same outlet for breakfast every Sunday since I was 3 till probably 10 years old?? Being a regular customer, I was often showered with many freebies given by staff since they can recognise us. We would order their Hotcakes, Big Breakfast and a Burger set to share among the three of us and each of us would take a piece of hotcake. I would pile a small piece of hotcake, sausage patty and scramble eggs and eat altogether in a mouth. HAHAHA this is how I love it. Till now, we still visit Mcdonalds for breakfast during the weekends occasionally!

This is me at Mcdonalds when I was 3 or 4 years old. I can't remember anymore. Hahaha

Recipe for Waffles: ( Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen. Makes 6 square waffles) 

1/4 tsp salt 

3/4 Baking Soda 

1 egg, separated 

218 ml Butter Milk 

1/4 tsp vanilla 

1. Mix the dry ingredients: flour, salt, sugar and baking soda together. 

2. Mix buttermilk and egg yolk and in another bowl. Stir in melted butter and vanilla essence. 

3. Brush the waffle iron lightly with oil and preheat it. 

4. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. 

5. Beat egg white with an electric mixer or by hand with a whisk till soft peaks. 

6. Stir them gently into the batter. 

7. Bake until waffle is done, usually about 3-5 mins. ( follow the instructions of your waffle maker to bake the waffle. 

8. Serve immediately or keep them warm in an oven at about 93 degrees celsius or 200 degrees Fahrenhite.  

Recipe for Scrambled Eggs 

2 eggs

1 tbsp of Butter

Salt and Pepper 

Parsley 

Approximately 5 tbsp Milk 

1. Put eggs and butter into a cooking pan and cook it under low fire. Remove the pan occasionally from the stove but continue stirring it.

2. When the eggs are 3/5 cooked, add milk into the mixture and continue cooking. Season with salt and pepper when they are almost done.

3. Serve while hot. 

What did you have for breakfast today? A fat filled donut or those piping hotcakes drizzled with maple syrup from Mcdonalds or the authentic Singaporean hawker economical fried beehoon and stir-fried carrot cake? These food which are high in sugar and carbohydrates makes you full only for a brief period of time. Weight watchers, stay away from all these and seek healthier alternatives. Oats are one of the healthiest food. I have them for breakfast at least 4 times a week. I start my day with a bowl of nourishing oatmeal. Oatmeal is a good source of fiber and they keep you full and satisfied for a long time. I am not talking about those 3 in 1 instant packet cereal which are loaded with tons of sugar. I am referring to the old fashioned rolled oats.While oats are generally healthy, you might backfire your diet plan if you add lots of sugar and unhealthy cereal to compensate its 'blandness' taste. This defeats the purpose of eating oats anymore. The healthier way is to get your source of sweetness and crunch from healthy alternatives such as fruits, nuts etc... As for me, I usually add honey or peanut butter if my oatmeal is too bland. Banana is my all time favourite fruit to add to oatmeal. I mash half the banana and mix evenly with the oatmeal and dice the other half as topping.

So whenever I am home, I would have a bowl of piping hot oatmeal for breakfast. The combination of the creamy nutty flavor from the peanut butter and crunch from granolas and walnuts is amazing. I always get my oats from Quaker. They have 2 kinds of oats, quickcook and instant. On days that I am too lazy to cook, I make do with the instant oatmeal where I just need hot water to prepare it. The instant oatmeal like porridge. Personally, I prefer the consistency of the quick cook oatmeal. 

Whenever I have morning classes during school days, this is what I will usually prepare for breakfast! This bowl of overnight rolled oats contains rolled oats, milk and yoghurt. I am hooked to eating this bowl of goodness and I literally have this almost everyday ( at least 4 times per week). Overnight rolled oats is a hearty and healthy breakfast packed with fiber, nutrients and vitamins. Don't underestimate this small bowl of overnight rolled oats because it keeps me really full and satisfied. There is no cooking involved. I usually prepare the night before, pop it into the fridge and bring it to school the next day. It is best to consume it while it is still cold since it contains dairy products. Enjoy!

I can no longer find such traditional braided butter sugar bread loaf from the commercial bakeries such as Breadtalk and Fourleaves. This is one of my favorite bread that I always get from the traditional bakeries and they taste best when they are slightly warm. I love the sprinkles of sugar on the slightly buttered bread. They are so soft and fluffy and I can finish one whole loaf on my own. So I attempt baking them with the same recipe as the assorted pull apart bread. I sprinkled the bread with very fine sugar which I regretted. Personally, I think I would prefer slightly coarser sugar as bread topping so i can actually taste the crunch of the sugar topping. 

Recipe: Adapted from Ellena Guan ( Make 2 loaves) 

350g Bread Flour 

10g Milk Powder 

6g Instant Yeast 

50g sugar 

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg, beaten lightly 

120g Tang Zhong 

125ml Fresh Milk 

30g Butter, soften 

For topping: 

2 tbsp Melted butter 

Sugar

Egg wash

1. Mix flour, milk powder, yeast, sugar and salt together

2. Make a well in the centre and add in all the wet ingredients: egg, tang zhong and butter. Stir or mix them till they form a sticky dough and slowly pour milk into the mixture. 

3. Hand knead it until it is a smooth and elastic ball and drizzle a little oil on the surface of the dough.

4. Leave it in a warm area to proof for 45mins - 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size. 

5. Punch the doubled sized dough and simply hand knead it and leave it to rest for about 3-5 mins

6. Divide the dough into 12 balls and roll each ball into strips. Braid 3 strips together and take 2 braids and place it in a lightly oiled loaf pan. Let it proof for another 45 mins. Brush egg wash onto the risen bread dough. Drizzle melted butter and top with sugar. 

7. Preheat your oven to 170 degrees

8. After 45 mins, pop it into the oven for about 20 mins or until golden brown. 

I LOVE BREAD. I wish bread is protein or fibre instead of carbs so I can have plenty of them everyday. It has been a long time since I last baked a bread and I am excited about baking them again. I remembered that my virgin attempt baking a bread back then cost me my electrical mixer because I overworked it and there was another time when I forgot to add in yeast and left it to proof for an hour (Of course the dough did not rise and I googled every way to salvage the dough). As I do not own a heavy duty electrical mixer or bread machine, I had to knead the dough by hand and it was really tiring. I took about 40 mins to hand knead my dough and by the time I finished kneading, I was sweating like a horse, as if I just ended my work-out. Although it takes a lot of time and effort to bake your own bread, the sense of accomplishment when you bake it yourself is definitely more than just merely buying from any bakery outside!

Although not yet perfect, this is my most successful attempt at baking bread so far. They finally do not taste as compact as my previous attempts. In fact, they are pretty soft. I was so excited that I wanted to bake so many so many different flavors. So, in the square tin you see above, there are actually 3 different flavors: Red bean, cranberry and plain. I used the following recipe to make assorted pull apart bread and a loaf of braided butter sugar bread. Personally, I prefer sweeter bread so I would probably increase the sugar level the next time I bake with this recipe. If you do not fancy sweet bread, you can stick with the original sugar level. 

Recipe: Adapted from Ellena Guan ( Makes 7 buns and a loaf) 

350g Bread Flour 

10g Milk Powder 

6g Instant Yeast 

50g sugar 

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg, beaten lightly 

120g Tang Zhong 

125ml Fresh Milk 

30g Butter, soften

Topping: 

Egg wash 

Filling (I bought my Red Bean Paste from Phoon Huat)

1. Mix flour, milk powder, yeast, sugar and salt together

2. Make a well in the centre and add in all the wet ingredients: egg, tang zhong and butter. Stir or mix them till they form a sticky dough and slowly pour milk into the mixture. 

3. Hand knead it until it is a smooth and elastic ball and drizzle a little oil on the surface of the dough.

4. Leave it in a warm area to proof for 45mins - 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size. 

5. Punch the doubled sized dough and simply hand knead it and leave it to rest for about 3-5 mins

6. Divide the dough into 12 balls and flatten each dough. Add your desired filling or topping and roll into your desired shape. Place it in a lightly oiled baking pan and proof it for another 45 mins. 

7. Preheat your oven to 170 degrees

8. After 45 mins, brush the surface with some egg wash. Pop it into the oven for about 20 mins or until golden brown. 

Avocados' appearance do not do justice to how nutritious and delicious they actually are. These alligator pears are in fact one of the healthiest fruit in the world. Weight watchers who have been shunning avocado because of their high level of fat content, these fats are actually good for you! You don't just get fat by eating fat. Majority of the fat content are monounsaturated fats and they help to speed up our basal metabolic rate (BMR), which is the rate at which calories are burned when you are in a state of rest and hence facilitate weight loss endeavors. I should eat more of avocados during revision week when I just spent everyday sitting down in the library. Avocados improve nutrient absorption and reduce hunger which would refrain us from bingeing those unhealthy salt laden snacks. Avocado should not be avoided by dieters as it is an effective weight loss food added to a healthy eating plan. They are so versatile that you can eat it raw or cook it. You can serve it as a spread on toast or biscuits, pasta sauce, dressing or even as a refreshing side salad to you main. This avocado wrap is very refreshing and satisfying. I can totally eat it on its own without the wrap! You only need 10 mins to make this. 

Recipe: 

1.5 Avocado 

A handful of cilantro

1 Big Lime

Olive oil 

Salt & Pepper

1. Chop Cilantro and slice avocado into small pieces. 

2. Mix avocado, cilantro and lime juice together. 

3. Drizzle some olive oil and season with moderate amount of salt and pepper

I am back at one of my favourite brunch cafes. I've been wanting to come back to this place since my last visit a year ago yet I took so long to return back to this place. Maison Ikkoku is certainly one of the cafes that I would highly recommend for a good brunch and I would definitely return for their brunch. I have been spending too much money eating around since summer started and I tell myself this is going to be the last cafe that I am going to spend beyond 10$ per visit this month (Cross fingers. If not, I will really go broke). Not only is their food fantastic, they are pretty generous with their serving too. I guess that is the main reason that keeps me coming back. I've heard good reviews about their red velvet cakes and coffee but I've yet to try them because I am always tempted by their brunch. All their prices are nett and you got to make your payment at the cashier upon order. I came here on a Saturday evening and it was not as crowded as I expected it to be. It is located at Khandahar Street (very near to the famous Rich & Good Cake shop) , a 10-15 mins walk away from Bugis MRT Station. 

Smoked Salmon Scrambled ($18) 

I am a great fan of scrambled eggs. It is my favourite way of cooking eggs. The scrambled eggs are cooked with chives till the right consistency. The slices of smoked salmon are sitting underneath the eggs. The multigrain toast and the avocado side are my favourite too. Basically, I love everything about this dish! Hahaha

Hangover Omelette ($16) 

I am usually not an "omelette person" yet this is one of my favourite dishes at Maison Ikkoku. I ordered this during my first visit too. Unfortunately, the size of the omelette seemed to have shrunk. I hope that the size would at least remain till the next time I visit this place again. Nevertheless, it was still as delicious and satisfying. The over easy omelette was cooked with thick slices of honey baked ham, spanish onions, bell peppers, diced tomatoes, portobello mushrooms and mozerella cheese, served with breakfast potatoes and sourdough toast. 

French Toast Salpicon ($19 ++) 

The winner of the day. This is the most special french toast I have eaten, integrating both 'sweet' and 'salty' flavors into a dish. The toast is topped with different types of fruits, banana nuggets ( similar to goreng pisang) and chunks of savory chicken underneath or within the toast. Surprisingly, the combination of both sweet and salty flavors in this dish complemented each other really well. Not only is the portion gigantic, it tasted really delicious too. A must order!

Baba Ghanoush is a classic mediterranean egg plant dip. If you are a fan of hummus, you might like it too. Both hummus and baba ghanoush are very similar, except that hummus mainly consists of pureed chick peas while baba ghanoush is made of egg plant. Are you thinking of "Yikes. Egg plants!!!" Some people are turned off by the taste because of the gooyey texture. If you are one of the "Eggplant Haters", c'mon give eggplant a chance! They are not as bad as what you think. Eggplant is one of my favourite vegetables and I never fail to order them when i am eating economical rice from coffee shops. I love it when they are stir fried with some shrimps and black sauce because they are so savoury! This is a twist to what I always serve on the dining table. We hardly eat mediterranean food. One of the main ingredients in Baba ghanoush is tahini, also known as sesame paste that are mainly used in Greek, Turkish and Middle Eastern dishes. I got mine at $9 from the Jam and Peanut Butter spread section in Cos Storage. They are perfect for to serve with chips or crusty bread as side/appetizer. You can make and keep them in an air tight container in the fridge for approximately 5 days. 

Recipe

My first bake of the summer. Starting the summer with an easy bake to warm up my precious oven as well as myself. I was a little lost at the start but I am glad that the baking 'feel' began to return after a while. HAHAHA. I made a bit of mess on the kitchen table, with flour and cocoa powder spilled all over the table. But I assure I will get better after some time. I guess I just needed several attempts to get my original "baking feel ~ " back. After contemplating for sometime on what to bake, I finally decided with dark chocolate brownies because they are so simple to make and nothing can go wrong with chocolate brownies. These brownies surprisingly turned out to be really delicious, beyond my expectations. I used to only trust my Classic Fudgy Brownies recipe because they are so good and I have used the same recipe again and again. Now, I have 2 favourite brownies' recipes. These Dark Chocolate Brownies are pretty different from the Classic Fudgy Brownies. Unlike those Fudgy Brownies,  these Dark Chocolate Brownies were lighter and softer on the inside and crispy on the outside. They stay soft and moist even till the next day. I realize both recipes require the butter to be melted with the chocolate. This could probably explain why both recipes yield such rich and chocolatey brownies. I have reduced the sugar level from 200g to 145g but I guess I will reduce further in future because it is still slightly too sweet for me. I also halved the original recipe and baked them in 8X8 inch square pan. The original recipe calls for double of this but since these brownies are very rich, I didn't want them to be too thick. 

Recipe