Showing posts with label Sweetcorn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sweetcorn. Show all posts

Thursday, 5 December 2013

Festive Brunch Menu Using Perfect Italiano Cheese

Christmas is just another three weeks down the road and I am sure most of you are busy with the Christmas menu planning. Here with some complimentary cheese that we received from Perfect Italiano, we decided to whip up some dishes from their “Food Fixes in 15 Seconds” festive menu which features tasty and simple dishes that you can learn in just 15 seconds.

Using the cheese we prepared a 5 Course Brunch Menu shown above with Cheesy Corn Chowder, Parmesan Toast, Cheese Baked Christmas Casserole, Sausage And Mushroom Baked Rice plus Parmesan Pancakes for dessert.

Thursday, 15 August 2013

[Recipes] Quick Lunch Bentos For Kids

It's past mid-week and I am sure everyone is looking forward to weekend. In this post, I will be sharing 5 different quick lunch bento (with two recipes) ideas which you can prepare for your kids or yourself in a way too. I am always delighted to create my bento with "colourful" items which brighten my day or for the one who eats it. Although I might not be a skillful bento maker like some of those experts who makes really good character (charaben) bento (example, Samantha Lee) but in a way I am happy with what I can do for my boy.

And I am sure you can make simple bento too with a mixture of bread/rice, meat and some sides with fried stuffs, fresh fruits and vegetables I am sure you can create something interesting out from the box.


SANDWICH SUSHI ROLL


Sandwich sushi roll can be a quick breakfast or tea snacks which you can prepare for your kids at anytime of the day. To make it more nutritious, wholemeal or mutli-grain  bread can be use to replace normal white bread together with addition of some lettuce and cucumber in it. And also you can choose fillings like egg, tuna or chicken mayonnaise depending on their preference.

(Serve: 1   | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 10 minutes)

Ingredients:
  • 1 Slice of Wholemeal Bread
  • 1 Slice of Sandwich Cheese
  • 1 Hard-boiled Egg
  • 1/2 - 1 Tablespoon Mayonnaise
  • Cucumber and Salad Green
  • Side Dishes For Bento

  • Bento Tools:
  • Bento Box
  • Side Dishes Food Casing
  • Food Cutters For Decorations
  • Cling Wrap
  • Food Tweezer and Small Scissor
  • Drinking Straw and Dried Spaghetti

Method:-
1. Place all side-dish in food casings and arrange them on one corner of the bento box.

2. Put bread on a sheet of cling wrap, using a rolling pin to flatten bread slightly then spread a tablespoon or more of egg mayonnaise on it leaving 2cm free along the other end of the edge.

3. Top with lettuce and cucumber strip then lift up the bread and place it on top of the "cheese stars" (cut out from sandwich cheese using heartshape food cutter).

4. Roll up to enclose filling then cut the sandwich into 4 rounds.

5. When done, arrange the rounds on the food case and you are ready to serve it with the sides.



PANDA ONIGIRI BENTO


Have you thought of making Onigiri (rice ball) using bread? With sandwich bread that can be easily get in all household, you can use it to  make cute animal onigiri like what shown above. Instead of Panda, you can shape and decorate it to look like dog, cat, pig and etc base on your creativity.

Below is a simple recipe and step-by-step photo guide on how to make the bread onigiri.


(Serve: 1   | Preparation: 15 minutes | Cooking: 10 minutes)

Ingredients:
  • 1 Slice of White Bread
  • 1 Slice of Sandwich Cheese
  • 1 Tablespoon Tuna Mixture
  • Seaweed Sheet
  • 2 Raisin/Blueberry for Panda Ear
  • Side Dishes For Bento

  • Bento Tools:
  • Bento Box
  • Side Dishes Food Casing
  • Food Cutters For Decorations
  • Cling Wrap
  • Food Tweezer and Small Scissor
  • Drinking Straw and Dried Spaghetti

Method:-
1. Place all side-dish in food casings and arrange them on one corner of the bento box.

2. Put bread on a sheet of cling wrap, using a rolling pin flatten the bread then cut a 2cm slit on each corner of the bread (refer to the step-by-step photo above).

3. Spoon 1 tablespoon of drained tuna and place it on the centre of the flatten bread (you can drizzle some mayonnaise on it).

4.Carefully hold the 4 corners of the bread together and with the help of the cling wrap, shape the bread into a panda face (oval).

5. When done, arrange the tuna bread on the food case and you can start to decorate the feature of the panda using cheese and seaweed sheet.

6. Lastly fix the panda ears using either raining or blueberry with the help of dried spaghetti stick.



ASSORTED DESIGNED RICE BENTO


[Rice Bento] Cute Tuna Mayo Onigir
[Rice Bento] Kani and Cucumber Roll
[Rice Bento] Cucumber Roll with Teriyaki Chicken
Making your own bento like the above is  actually not as difficult as you think of. You can be creative to incorporate different side dishes/fruits which you prefer. Pick a meat or veggies to go with your sushi roll and at the same time add on some simple decoration to make it look more presentation. I hope this post can give you some inspiration to make a simple bento for your kid(s) this weekend to encourage and rewards them for coming CA2 exam. Good luck and all the best for the kids who are taking the coming CA2 or PSLE Exam.

Saturday, 28 January 2012

Caramel Popcorn

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Popcorn or popping corn is corn (maize) which expands from the kernel and puffs up when heated. There are many techniques for popping corn from either normal kitchen pan/pot, microwave to large scale popcorn machines. Usually Popcorn is eaten in movie theatres that served in choices such as salted or sweetened. But now instead of having it only in the cinema, we could also easily make them at home or purchase in major supermarkets.

About a year ago "Garrett Popcorn" which is a chain of popcorn outlets open it's first outlet in Resort World Sentosa and now they have many other outlets located in Singapore too. (detail HERE). I love their Caramel Flavour with Macadamia Nuts where I could enjoy my favourite nuts and popcorn coated with delicious caramel.


CARAMEL POPCORN


My boy prefers popcorn which is sweeten like those sold in the "cinema" compared to those available in the commercial shops (either nuts, chocolate,  cheese, colouring and etc). And since it is pretty easier to make "popcorn" at home using minimum ingredients and a cooking pot (or home type popcorn machine), we always "pop" some whenever we crave for them.


(serves: 4 | Preparation: 5 minutes | Cooking: 10 minutes)

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1/2 Cup Corn Kernel

Caramel Sauce:
1/4 Cup Honey
1/4 Cup Golden Syrup
3/4 Cup Caster Sugar
100g Butter Chopped


Method:-
1. Line a big baking tray with baking papers, allowing 2cm overhang at long ends.

2. Heat oil in HCP(or any cooking pan) over medium heat. Add 2 - 3 corn kernels to test the heat. (Oil is hot enough when corn turns slowly in a circle)

3. Add remaining corn, cover and lock the pan(if using HCP). Shake pan gently when corn starts popping.

4. Remove from heat when corn stops popping. Transfer to a bowl and discard un-popped corn.

5. To make Caramel Sauce:- Clean the pan using kitchen paper towel after removing the popcorn. Place honey, golden syrup, sugar and butter in the pan. Stir and cook over very low heat for about 6 minutes or until sugar dissolved.

6. Next bring the mixture to boil without stirring for another 5 minutes or until light golden.

7. Work quickly, pour mixture over popcorn and stir to combine. Rest caramel popcorn in prepared lined baking tray to cool completely.

8. Break into pieces and served or stored in air-tight containers.


Although this recipe is done using Happy Call Pan (HCP) but you still can apply the same method using any heavy duty pan/pot to achieve the similar results. Have a lovely weekend everyone!!! Cheers!

Friday, 16 December 2011

Grilled Salmon with Spicy Sweetcorn Salsa

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Corn also known as maize is one of the world's most popular and nutritious cereal crops. Corn is also used to make corn syrup, breakfast cereal, cornflour, corn chips, polenta, popcorn and etc. Also corn has similar benefits to wholegrains which is rich in carbohydrates, fibre and antioxidants.

Here we are cooking a grilled salmon dish with spicy sweetcorn salsa which is full of vibrant colours that would perk up your day.


GRILLED SALMON WITH SPICY SWEETCORN SALSA


For this dish you could choose either salmon fillet or salmon belly which would be better in texture and taste. And if you could get hold of some white firm fish fillet such as snapper or Barramundi they could also be used for this dish too.


(serves: 4 | Preparation: 15 minutes | Cooking: 10 minutes)

Ingredients for Salsa:
2 Fresh Sweetcorn Cobs, trimmed and halved
400g Can Chickpeas(garbanzo bean), drained and rinsed
1 Ripe Avocado, peeled and diced
1/2 Small Red Onion, finely chopped
1 Small Red Capsicum, diced
1 Long Green Chilli, thinly sliced
1 - 2 stalks of Fresh Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
50ml of Lime Juice
50ml of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4(150g each) Salmon/Snapper Fish Fillets, halved
Fresh Coriander Leaves, to serve


Method:-
1. Place corn in a pot of boiling water for about 3 minutes, remove and set aside to cool before using a sharp knife to remove the kernels.

2. Combine chickpeas, avocado, onion, capsicum, chilli and chopped coriander in a large bowl.

3. Mix 2 tablespoons lime juice and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a bowl, season with salt and pepper before pouring it into the chickpea and corn kernels mixture. Toss to combine.


4. Heat remaining oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat.

5. Season fish with salt and pepper. Cook in batches for 2 minutes each side or until cooked through.

6. Transfer to plate and drizzle with remaining lime juice.

7. Arrange fish between plates and top with salsa and coriander. Serve plain or with some crusty bread at side.

Apart from having this dish plain on it's own you could also serve it together with some crusty bread for a fuller meal which would be great with it different layer of textures and flavour. And for a more spicy taste, you could also replace the green chilli with the red with or without the seeds on.

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