Camp Food - Lamb chops in the forest

Can't believe I am away for that long!! Been busy lately, lots of packing and day trips. Only 2 more weeks till I leave Melbourne to KL! In fact, my dogs are already in an airport awaiting for their flights to KL for the next day. Lucky dogs to be on a plane! Their tickets are not cheap, I must say, it totals up to A$2145 for both of them. Phiew. There goes my holiday trip to Italy.

Allright, back to the topic. Went bush camping at the Kooyoora State Park in Bendigo last weekend. It was hot and dry. Also, there were like gazillions of flies all around, which is the most annoying thing ever! I never knew that there could be so much flies! God damn!

I must say that the highlights of the trip for me would be the dinner and the trip to Melville Caves which was absolute gorgeous.

I freeze lamb chops the night before and by the time we were at the camp the next day, the lamb chops had defrosted nicely to be whacked on a pile of hot coals! I seasoned it with dried rosemary, salt and pepper. While it's cooking, it smelt amazing and guess what. It just attracted more flies. Ouch.

Turning around.

I wonder, why does camp food always tasted so much better than the same meals made at a kitchen? I swear to god, those were the best lamb chops I ever had. And I had many before that. It was so good.

Oh yah, the canned food was chilli beans with beef chunks. It was yummy but the lamb chops still wins in the taste factor hands down. Yee-haa!

Recipe: Shrimp Egg Foo Yong / Prawn Omelette

This is the type of Chinese dish that I love but will hesitate to order in a restaurant because it is so easy to make. It is so yummy and so good with rice.

I heat up the oil until its smoking hot before pouring the omelette mixture into the hot wok. It was real pleasure watching the omelette puffing up. I managed to take a picture of it. ^.^

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This is my recipe:

Ingredients:

Pink, fresh prawns

8-10 large fresh prawns
3 eggs
1 small brown onion
1 bunch of spring onion - sliced into 3 cm in length
salt to taste
3 tbsp oil

Method:

Fluffing up in hot oil

1. Cut the onion into halves. Then slice it into even half-rings.
2. Pour a tablespoon of oil into the wok. Cook the onions until it is slightly golden in color. Dish out and leave aside.
3. Break eggs in a bowl. Add salt and whisk it up with chopsticks. Add fresh prawns, cooked onions and spring onions into the omelette mixture.
4. Heat up remaining oil in a wok. Leave it on high heat until you begin to see smoke rising up. Pour the omelette and enjoy the beautiful sight of eggs puffing up. Lower down the heat to medium and cook for 30 seconds. Turn around to cook the other side. It is ready when the prawns are cooked.
5. Serve with rice.

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Yummy prawns

Oven-baked pork spare ribs with crispy garlic

Spare ribs with garlic

There's something about eating spare-ribs. It brings out the primitive side out of me. There is no way of eating politely when it comes to meat on bone. Especially the juiciest part of meat normally comes with bone. I.e lamb racks. I.e spare ribs.

I served the spare ribs with white rice and some chinese vegetables stir-fry. I picked one spare rib with my chopsticks. It became quite a chore as I find it hard to balance the rib on the chopsticks while I chew off the meat from the bone. It was so annoying because the meat kept slipping from the chopsticks. Lol.

My bare fingers then came to the rescue. Some food are just meant to be eaten with hands. There is just something about eating ribs with your hands. It is just so... carnivorous and comforting at the same time. Lol. Oh yeah, and the crispy garlic went so well with the rice...

My recipe is very simple, I just marinated the ribs for a couple of hours (overnight would be better) and then just bake in a hot oven till cooked. The whole house smelled so nice while the ribs are sizzling in the oven. I looove it!

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Here is my recipe:

Ingredients:

1 kg pork spare ribs
5 cloves of fat garlic - chopped
2 tbsp soya sauce
2 tbsp Shao Xing rice wine
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
a pinch of salt

Method:

1. Marinate the pork with all ingredients. Leave it in the fridge for at least an hour to marinate.
2. Preheat oven to 200 degree celcius.
3. Line marinated ribs in a tray. Reserve the garlic for later. Bake for 20 minutes.
4. Turn the ribs around, baste with marinade. Bake for another 20 minutes.
5. Turn the ribs, baste with marinade. Place garlic on top of the ribs. Bake for another 5 minutes.
6. Serve immediately. Great with rice.



Note: If I have 5 spice powder, I would have added about a teaspoon in the marinade. It would give another dimension to the ribs, but it is already good as it is.

Recipe: Chicken Rendang

Seeing Jackson's post on his nasi lemak fare with chicken rendang the other day made me crave for chicken rendang soo much that all I can think about the whole day was chicken rendang. Serious. I am so not kidding you.

And so, the very next day, after dreaming of tender and spicy chicken rendang, I went to the market and get the ingredients for a chicken rendang. I am such an impulse food shopper, when I see something online, particularly in food blog that triggers my cravings and interest, I got to have that right away!!

Sigh, shouldn't I be an impulse clothes and shoes shopper instead? Guess, I am different from other gals. Food is my weakness, yo.

Well, I'm not sure if mine is as tasty as Jackson's, but I was very, very happy with the result, so did J - who had second helpings of rice and chicken rendang. Haha.

My recipe is very similar with my beef rendang recipe, the only difference would be the cooking time - as I do not need to cook the chicken for a very long time for it to be tender. In fact, I merely let it cook for about an hour to achieve a fall-off-the-bone tenderness.

Oh yah, I forgot that I also added lemongrass to the rendang. It definitely made the dish more flavourful and fragrant.

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This is my recipe:

Ingredients:


1.5 kg chicken
1 large brown onion - chopped finely
1 thumb-sized ginger - minced finely
3 lemongrass - use the white part only and minced finely
1 cinnamon
1 star anise
4 green cardamom pods
1 packet of ready-to-use rendang paste
2 cups of water
400 ml coconut cream (substitute with coconut milk if available)
1/2 cup of desiccated coconut for kerisik


Method:

1. To make kerisik: Toast desiccated coconut in a dry pan on low heat until the colour turns brown. Be very careful as they tend to burn easily. Leave aside.
(The other method would be toasting at 180 degrees celcius in a oven for 20 minutes).

2. Fry onions, ginger, lemongrass, cardamom pods, star anise and cinnamon until fragrant.

4. Add the rendang paste and stir well.

5. Add the chicken. Mix everything well together until chicken is coated with the paste.
Add water and simmer for 30 minutes on low heat.

6. Add the coconut cream. Allow it to simmer for 30 minutes until almost dry.

7. Add the kerisik. Mix well and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Serve hot with rice or roti canai.

Bon appetite!!

Bacons, Eggs and Sausages for Breakfast

There's something about preparing a leisurely breakfast on a Saturday morning and then enjoying it slowly over glasses of orange juice and morning chat. What you see on the picture are fried eggs, bacons, sausages and grilled tomatoes with parsley. I had given a recipe for grilled tomatoes in my previous entry. J had already piled up his toast with bacon and grilled tomatoes. They are so yummy!!

My plate

J's plate, with double of everything =)

So, what did you have for breakfast today?

Juicy, sweet corns on cobs

Corn on cobs

While walking around Footscray Market this morning, I came across rows and rows of fresh corns still in their husks and since I had not have corns for ages, it is only sensible to treat myself to fresh corns. And so, I returned home with 3 corns in my grocery bags.

A couple of hours later in the kitchen, I steamed the corns in the microwave for 4 minutes. Later, I slathered them with knobs of butter and a pinch of salt. One for J, one for me. The other one would have to wait in the fridge. I planned to save one for soup. =)

Plump kernels

Each kernel is so fat and bursting with juice, we have to be careful while eating so not to splatter each other with corn juice. Lol. But really, that is one hell of a good corn. So good with butter.

Sweet jebus

I need to put corns in my shopping list from now on.

Recipe: Long beans with Sambal Belachan

See that dark parts there? That small bits are so flavourful that I only need an itsy bitsy bit to eat with your plan rice. I kept the veges crisp though, as there is nothing worse than soggy stir-fry vegetables. This is a Malaysian dish, using belachan paste, dried shrimps and chillies.

Well, I used crispy prawn chillies that I bought from supermarkets, once I found a good brand, I tend to stick to it. I recommend DeliChef Crispy Prawn Chilli. It is so yummy and moreish.

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This is my recipe:

(Click for larger pic)

Ingredients:

300g long beans - cut into 3cms in length
1 tbsp dried shrimp - chopped
1 tbsp crispy prawn chillies
1/2 tbsp of belachan paste
2 cloves garlic - chopped finely
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp oil
salt to taste


Method:

1. Heat up oil in a wok under high heat. Add dried shrimps and fry for 4 minutes or until crispy. Remove and leave aside.
2. Saute garlic in the remaining oil until golden brown.
3. Add belachan paste and stir well until fragrant.
4. Add crispy prawn chillies and fry for 30 seconds.
5. Add beans and water and fry for 3 minutes.
6. Serve warm with rice.

Recipe: Creamy Spaghetti with Pork Sausages and Mushrooms

Spaghetti (Sausages + Mushrooms + Cream) + Parsley = DARN GOOD PASTA
(CLICK FOR LARGER PIC)

This pasta is so darn good that I smacked myself on the head thinking why did I never think of making this dish before!? Last night feeling hungry and in an intense need-food-now mode, I find myself rummaging the fridge to see what fresh ingredients I have. There is no time for cooking rice and dishes, my hunger could not wait.

When I saw the pork sausages and mushrooms, my mind was already thinking of making a dish with sausages and mushrooms. When a bottle of cream came into my view (leftover from my lasagna dish), I thought, "Brilliant!! Pasta it is!"

Porky Sausages

Seriously, this is so freaking tasty that I find myself gasping for air as I furiously shoved mounds of spaghettis into my eager mouth. The concoction is just perfect, meaty sausages with earthy fresh button mushrooms all combined together in a creamy sauce with sprinkling of parsley. Every single strand of spaghetti was coated with sauce and bits of parsley. It was so tasty and satisfying!

For you pasta lovers out there, you just got to try out this recipe! Believe me, you won't regret it. You can thank me later. =D

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This is my recipe:

Ingredients:

Spaghetti for 2 servings
3 pork sausages
2 cup of fresh button mushrooms - sliced evenly
4 cloves of garlic - minced finely
1/4 cup of fresh parsley - chopped finely
1/2 cup of cream
salt and pepper to taste


Method:

1. Cook spaghetti as per instruction on the back of the packet.
2. Meanwhile, cook the sausages on a separate pan in oil until cooked. Remove and chop the sausages into even bite-sized pieces. Leave aside.
3. Sweat the garlic in the same pan. Add the mushrooms and mix well for 3 minutes until mushrooms soften.
4. Add the chopped sausages and mix well.
5. Add the spaghetti and cream. Stir well.

6. Season with salt and pepper. Lastly, turn off the fire and add the parsley.

7. Combine everything well together and bon appetite!

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gimme more
(CLICK FOR LARGER PIC)

Scones and Hot Chocolate at Miss Marple's Tea Room, Sassafras

Just like out of a picture book

Miss Marple's Tea Room is located at a small picturesque town of Sassafras in the heart of beautiful Dandenongs. I loo-vvee going to the Dandenongs and escape to the lush of giant fern forests and wine farms. Every now and then, along the the road of the Dandenongs, I will come across a U-Pick Farm where you could pick strawberries, cherries, blueberries... whatever that is in season, really! There are also a few trout farms nestled in the Dandenongs. I highly recommend this trout farm, J and I had a field day fishing for trouts and salmon that day! We wind up our fruitful day with a tasty trout BBQ and a salmon sashimi on the farm itself!

Miss Marple on the cover of the menu

Allright, back to Miss Marple's, I come to know by the quaint little tearoom while watching Postcard TV, and I thought that I gotta go there!! And indeed there I was, at the very next weekend, on a glorious, sunny Sunday morning. It proved to be very, very popular among the tourists and locals. J and I were among the first to arrive at 10 am and as minutes passed by, tourists and locals alike came in by the hordes and filled up the tables. By 10:30 am, there was a waiting line for tables.

Picture this people, people waiting... in... line... for an English Tea/Scones on a Sunday morning!! To be honest, if I wasn't there enjoying my tea and scones, I would be in my bed, still sleeping, soundly, not somewhere in the forest queuing up for scones. No regrets, though, the scones were very, very good. It made up for my sleeping in time, big time.

Devonshire Scones with Whipped Cream and Home-made Jam $7.90

We ordered a plain and fruit scone, with me having the former as I am not really fond of dried fruits. It came in a basket lined with pretty cloth along with 2 generous bowls of fresh lashings of whipped cream and home-made strawberry jam.

Fresh lashings of cream and jam

Hot chocolate with marshmallows $4.50

J ordered a hot chocolate while I had the Devonshire Tea $3.50 with its own teapot and a jug of milk. Aww, so thoughtful. J exclaimed that the hot chocolate was very good, he liked the dusting of cocoa powder on top very much. As for me, I enjoyed my tea. Watching the colour of tea changing as I poured in the milk was the highlight of the day for me. HAHA.

Fruit scone

I need to add that the scones arrived very warm, which means they are as fresh as they can be. There were also a very generous topping of icing sugar on top of the scones, which multiplies the pretty factor by 20 times, which helps to whelp the appetite by about 30 times. J said his fruit scone had a strong resemblance to a banana cake, he liked it a lot.

With generous serve of jam and cream

We took our time to cut our scones into smaller squares with our butter knives and slow-ly lashing it up with cream and jams. And then, after looking at our piece of arts fondly, we eat them.

Super awesome

Oh my god, it is so good. No wonder there were people waiting out in the cold for these wicked scones!! The scones are very dense and warm to the touch, the cream is very fresh and light and not at all queasy, and the best parts? Those little seeds in the jam that go POP in your mouth as you slowly savour the sweetness of the scones.

And what we did was repeating the process all over again: cutting, smearing, admiring and eating.

I could wake up to this every morning. No alarm clocks needed.

Jams and tea bags

As we come to the end of our meal, we headed to the counter near the entrance of the shop to pay our bill. Behind the counter were shelves of home-made jams, preserves and their house-tea, Devonshire Tea for sale. They don't take bookings so if you do plan to come here, do come early or you would have to wait for some time. You know, it is hard to get away from the firewood with your hot chocolate.

Ah, the Dandenongs, I love you.


382 Mt. Dandenong-Tourist Road
Sassafras
Victoria 3787
03-97551610

OOPS. Blog comments gone!!

DOH!

I was trying to change the template of my blog last night, and being the careless me, I did not do the recommended backup first.

Guess what happened? The new template had taken place, I do not like it at all as there were some tabs that could not be changed and so, when I tried to change back to my old template, most of the widgets and extras were gone.

Panicked, I quickly do a backup of my posts at Word Press with success, it was surprisingly very easy and simple to do, and then I have to delete and re-opened my blog at Blogger and start importing my posts from Word Press.

Phiew~

But.. sobs! I have lost my links, my ads and my precious comments!! SOBSSS!!

I need more time to get back with the links, there is so much to do now, I would have to start updating my other sites with the new blog ID (sitemeter, ads, etc).

So much work with just a little harmless template change!! Sheesh, well, never again!

So, please people, do.. DO.. DO.. BACKUP your template before doing any changes no matter how little the change is, or maybe I am the only silly one.

My, what a lesson.

Till then, please be patient while I post back the links!

Cheers!

Recipe: Braised Pork Belly with Boiled Eggs

Pork Belly with Eggs

The lasagna post would have to wait for now. Last night, I made braised pork belly with boiled eggs for dinner. It is sinfully delicious and easy to cook, the hardest thing is probably the waiting time, as this dish normally takes more than 2 hours to achieve the most tender piece of pork belly.

Eaten with warm rice and a few specks of hot chillies, it is the ultimate comfort Chinese home-style food. I could eat this everyday, which is probably not a good idea if I want to live longer.

Belly fat. Yum.

The best part would be the belly fat, it is so very tasty and tender melt-in-your-mouth kind. I love to cut a small piece of egg white + egg yolk + pork belly with fat and scoop it all up with rice. Your mouth and taste senses will be treated to the ultimate orgasm for sure.

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This is my recipe:


Ingredients:

500g pork belly - cut into cubes
4 cloves garlic
4 boiled eggs
1 tbsp dark soya sauce
1/2 tbsp soya sauce
1/2 tbsp sugar
2 star anise
1 cup water


Method:

Place all ingredients except the eggs in a pan and let it simmer for 1.5 hours. Add the eggs and let it simmer for another 30 minutes or until the meat is tender.

Step-by-step Recipe: Bolognese Sauce

Bolognese Meat Sauce on Pre-cooked Lasagna

This is a mighty tasty sauce which is simple to do. It is also great with pasta (spaghetti bolognese, anyone?) and could keep well in the fridge.

This is my recipe for Bolognese Meat Sauce:

Ingredients:

2 large brown onions - chopped finely
1 kg minced beef
2 bay leaves
500g of canned whole tomatoes
2 tbsp of tomato paste
2 tbsp oil
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Heat up oil in a large saucepan. Add onions and bay leaves and saute on medium heat for 2 minutes.

2. Add minced beef and stir well for 5 minutes or until beef is cooked.

3. Add the canned tomatoes and tomato paste into the beef mixture. Stir well and let it simmer for 10 minutes on low heat.

4. Voila!
Tasty bolognese sauce for lasagna or spaghetti bolognese.

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Coming up next!

A step-by-step recipe for making a lasagna - with photos and description of layering out the lasagna.

Mozzarella Cheese on Meat Sauce as part of a preparation for a Lasagna

Recipe: Bechamel Sauce

Lasagna

This will be the first part of a very long and tedious process of making a lasagna from scratch, right whisking up bechamel sauce, slicing onions and simmering the meat sauce. Everything took approximately 2 hours to make and the aftermath?

Two sinks full of dirty dishes and a disgruntled J - whose chore is to clean the dishes. Haha!

Hope I didn't scare you away from making a lasagna. Lol. I did made enough for 8 servings, so there's enough to freeze and to consume in the future.

So here goes, to start rolling, here is my simplified recipe for bechamel sauce (that I made for the very first time and which turned out quite well):

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Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter
4 tbsp plain flour - sifted
2 cup cream
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Melt butter in saucepan.

2. Add flour to the butter and stir well.

3. Add the cream and stir well into the mixture.

4. Whisk well on low heat until there are no visible of lumps. Bring it to a boil and add salt and pepper to taste. You should get a thick and creamy sauce in the end. Keep aside.

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As this was the first time in me making a bechamel sauce, I thought it would be easier to cook everything on a shallow pan for even distributed heat. Well, big mistake as you couldn't possibly whisk the sauce in a pan without splattering everywhere, could you? I also do not want have bits of teflon scraps in my sauce, do I? Lol. And so, I transfer the flour and butter mixture into a small pot before adding the cream and I recommend that you make your sauce from a pot.

Maybe that explains my mountains of dirty dishes, eh? Haha.

Coming up next! A photolog recipe of meat sauce, part 2 of the Lasagna Trilogy. Stay tuned!

That's 1 kg of minced beef you see here