Artichoke Pizza

Having purchased Jamie's Italy at a bargain, it was time to try some recipes. First choice is this pizza topped with artichokes, proscuitto, black olives and an egg. The base recipe is slightly different from the recipe from Jaime at Home which I've always used, this other base turned out softer which I preferred so this recipe is definitely a keeper!

Char Siew Fun (Rice)

I had some left over pork fillet and decided to make some char siew and ended up with char siew rice for dinner! I used the rice recipe for chicken rice as well as the chilli sauce. And finally to round it all up, a simple cabbage soup.

The all important chilli sauce and cabbage soup

Chocolate Sponge Pudding

Best served warm with it's oozing center, this is an easy to prepare dessert which can be made and frozen for a week prior to baking! I suspect the sponge should be lighter than it turned out as I have yet to get my electric beater replaced after it died and I had to cream the butter and sugar by hand. Needless to say I got a bit lazy and stopped beating before the ideal volume was achieved!

Carrot Cake

Oh so moist! This one is called Yummy Scrummy Carrot Cake and yummy scrummy it is! The first time I tried this recipe I dutifully grated the carrot and added it into the cake mix and the cake turned out like kuih! Oh dear! After a little consultation with an 'expert' I tried it again, this time squeezing out some of the carrot juice before adding it into the cake mix and voila! yummy scrummy carrot cake indeed!

The cake just baked and cooling, and the iced cake ready for serving

Beef Rendang

In celebration of Merdeka (Independance Day for Malaysia), I wanted to make something local for dinner and since it is also Ramadan, it brought to mind Beef Rendang and Lemang. So Beef Rendang it was, but since there was no way for me to make Lemang, I decided to serve the rendang with tomato rice and cucumber acar on the side. For once, I also got the timing right, that is, I made my rendang a day ahead, rendang normally tastes best eaten at least a day later. There is one missing ingredient, the turmeric leaves, which I can't find but the dish still turned out great!

The rendang paste made from scratch and dry frying the desicated coconut (no fresh ones)

Nasi Tomato (Tomato Rice)

Nasi Tomato or Tomato Rice is a rich tomato (no surprises there) flavoured rice. It makes a very satisfying meal when served with a curry or rendang. Although the recipe called for tomato soup, err, it was a cheat's recipe that I was using, I didn't have any so I double cheated and used watered down tomato puree with a dash of tomato ketchup! But it turn out really nice so moh man tai!

I served mine with Beef Rendang and Cucumber Acar

Cucumber Acar

This is not quite an acar but more like a very basic salsa. Normally served as a side dish with nasi kandar as it helps to refresh and cool the palate. So goes down really well with hot and spicy food. I made mine to go with my beef rendang.

Great eaten with Beef Rendang and Nasi Tomato