This is...

View from Piton de la Riviere Noire

I miss you, fellow food bloggers (maybe you're not even reading this blog anymore), I miss baking, I miss reading your scrumptious recipes, I.s.i.m.p.l.y.j.u.s.t.m.i.s.s. Y.O.U.

Now what?

This has probably been the longest hiatus on my blog. 1 month without blogging. Where the heck was I hiding?? Truth to be told, there's been a tremendous lack of motivation from my part to bake & blog. Oh I still do love baking & I try to bake whenever I get some free time. But I just feel that this year, there are too many things going on in my life. I've tried to keep this blog alive but it's been too much of a struggle.

So, dear friends, I don't even know if you're reading this but I just want to thank you for having remained faithful to my posts, for the virtual support & love you've provided. Without you, this blog would've been boring. I'll give a shout & post some recipes from time to time & of course, I'll still read your exciting blogs.

Before I type off, I wanna share this recipe with you. These biscuits simply melt in your mouth & you'll love to dip them in your afternoon tea. I used fine oatmeal instead of whole ones- which gives them the crunchier bite.

Crunchy oat & chocolate biscuits

Ingredients

• 160g unsalted butter at room temperature
• 150g sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 170g all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 60g fine oatmeal
• 60g good dark chocolate (I shaved the chocolate)

Procedure

1. Beat the butter with your electric mixer until pale. Add the sugar gradually & continue to beat the mixture until it thickens and lightens. Add the egg yolk.
2. Sieve the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Mix the dry ingredients with the butter mixture with a wooden spoon.
3. Add the oatmeal & shaved chocolate. Refrigerate for about 15mins.
4. Meanwhile preheat your oven to 350deg F. Prepare your baking sheets.
5. Take some dough & roll it in the size of table tennis balls. Use up the rest of the dough. Use your fingers (or the bottom of a cup) to press the balls down lightly.
6. Bake for 15minutes until they turn golden brown. Place on a wire rack to cool. Keep in an airtight container.

Croque-en-bouche

Choux Buns- recipe adapted from Nigella Lawson's book: Feast

I wasn't planning to bake anything but my mum called me & said if I could whip something out quickly so that I can use up the big bowl of creme patissiere she made. I've got plenty of recipes to make choux buns, but this time, I decided to try Lawson's. Her book Feast, is packed with recipes for any kinds of events- including for funerals! This book, being one of my favourites, because the recipes are more or less easy- perfect for amateurs like me. The only but-thing is that I spend my time converting the measurements. One recipe may include measurements in ml, cups, sticks, grams and oz!

Anyway, these mini-puffs don't rise tremendously but they don't collapse, as she'd reassured in her book. And they're just cute.

Ingredients

• 340g (2 3/4 cups) all purpose flour
• 3 cups water
• 340g (2 3/4 sticks) butter (of which I removed 40g)
• salt
• 8 large eggs, beaten

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 400deg F.
2. Sift the flour. Put the water, butter & pinch of salt in a large saucepan on the heat. Heat until butter's melted and water's begun to boil. Remove pan immediately from heat & beat in the flour with a wooden spoon (don't worry about it being lumpy, simply beat it until the dough gathers itself together).
3. Put the pan back on the heat for just long enough to finish this process off, until the dough begins to come away from the sides of the pan to form a smooth ball.
4. Beat in the eggs (use a food processor like Nigella); place the dough in a mixing bowl of a food processor fitted with double blade & gradually pour the eggs through the funnel while blitzing until you obtain a smooth & soft dough- but firm enough to pipe & stiff enough to hold its shape. Watch that you may not need all the eggs.
5. Prepare your baking sheet, use a spoon to dollop little rounds, spacing them well in between & bake for about 15mins until golden and crisp. Place on a wire rack to cool.

All good things come to an end

Coconut- Macadamia cookies

As some of you may have read, I've been very busy for the past 4 weeks. It's been such a fruitful holiday! After spending 1 1/2weeks with my ex-unimate, last week was devoted to Vacation Bible School, where we organise many activities for 5-12 year old kids. Conclusion- a rewarding experience.

So, this holiday didn't leave me much time & energy for baking. But I'm faithful to my kitchen and towards my loved ones. Work resumes tomorrow & I intentionally stayed at home today to bake some goodies instead of spending my last day of holidays out in town (where I'd probably spend money on some nonsense stuffs).

Coconut-Macadamia cookies. The idea of baking these came when I was given 1kg of Macadamia cookies coming straight from Australia. Macadamia nuts in abundance!! So Daffy & I decided to bake something with Macadamia nunts while she was here. It was as if we were re-living our university days- baking together for other people. Needless to say that the cookies were a winner. And the recipe comes from Epicurious. Have a go with these cookies, you'll leave your cookie monsters VERY satisfied.

Ingredients

• 250g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups sifted all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped, roasted, salted macadamia nuts
• 1 egg white, beaten to blend
• 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Procedure

1. Using electric mixer, beat butter in medium bowl until light. Gradually beat in 3/4 cup powdered sugar. Beat in vanilla extract. Stir in flour and salt, then macadamia nuts. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 325°F. Line 3 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Pinch off 1 tablespoon dough; shape into 2-inch-long, 1/2-inch-thick crescent. (I didn't bother to shape mine into crescents.)
3. Repeat with remaining dough. Brush crescents with egg white, then dip tops into coconut. Place crescents, coconut side up, on parchment-lined sheets, spacing cookies 1 inch apart.
4. Bake until just barely golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool cookies on sheets on rack.
5. They can be prepared 1 week ahead. Transfer cookies to airtight container and freeze. Bring to room temperature before serving.

10 days of fun

"The portions are SO big here!"

This was the surprise of one of my dearest ex-uni friends, Daffy, who came all the way from Singapore for a 10day trip here. During 10days, we visited and explored many beautiful places in Mauritius. Most importantly, it was sharing & catching up time, i.e. doing the crazy things we usually did when we were in UK. I just want to share some photos with you, as I myself, was very much amazed by the beauty of nature when we explored Mauritius. We stopped at many viewpoints, admiring the Seven Coloured Earth at Chamarel,

Black River Gorge,

She also visited my workplace- Mount Ory. Yes, I work in the mountain, people!The dormant volcano at Trou aux CerfsWe even dared to eat Crocodile Steak She also tasted grated ice lollies, a typically Mauritian snack.

Of course, I brought her to the beach! One of the most beautiful beaches in Mauritius we went to- Blue BayOn another occasion, we spent a wonderful day at l'Ile aux BenitiersBut she couldn't stand the crawlies... Since she loves baking, we visited one of the oldest bakery in MauritiusWe also baked Macadamia cookies coated with grated coconutI brought her to Port Louis market, where she bought sachets & sachets full of fresh vanilla podsI fed her until she was too full. On her last 2days left, we went to a beautiful resort & did intensive water sports. But we also slacked & lazed on the sand.Having friends around the world is a blessing. I've never had so much fun in so little time at home. Her holiday (including mine) was simply unforgettable. Emotions don't lie, words cannot describe, I've just been very happy. I believe these are the moments when you truly get to know your friends & cherish these memorable events, wishing there'd be more & more. I can't wait to re-live this experience in a few months time, when one of my other girl-friends will come down to visit!

Bananas & chocolate- the perfect pair

Banana & chocolate muffins

Please do not be jealous but I want you to know that: I'm on holidays for a month!!!!

Oh yeah, it feels good to scream that out ;P I've got most of my days planned so far- my dear ex-flatmate is touching down this afternoon to spend 10days of fun in Mauritius. So, there'll be many exciting things ahead. ;)

I made these delicious muffins yesterday for my cousin. He's simply a banana lover. He even freezes his bananas if he ever didn't have the time to eat them. He eats bananas in all forms. I was searching for THE perfect receipt to make something out of bananas for him. If bananas make him happy, then, bananas it is! I landed on this recipe, but then, I decided to slightly modify the recipe. And the muffins turned out to be as yummy as they look like. Moist, light, the bananas perfectly paired with the chocolate chips. So, go for it, if you ever run out of ideas about how to use your overripped bananas!

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 125g unsalted butter
• 120g brown sugar
• 3 large ripe bananas- mashed
• 100g chocolate chopped roughly
• 1 pot of plain yogurt (125ml)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 275g flour
• 3 tsp baking powder

Procedure

1. Beat the eggs with your electric mixer & add the sugar and butter.
2. Add the mashed bananas & fold them in.
3. In a separate bowl, sieve the flour together with the baking powder and baking soda.
4. Alternately, blend in part of the yogurt in the egg mixture, then the flour, then the yogurt, until all has been combined. Add the chocolate chips.
5. Pour the batter in your muffin molds and bake for 25-30mins in a preheated oven at 350deg F.
6. To check if the muffins are cooked, poke a wooden skewer & make sure it comes out clean.