kiwi cake, durian mousse cake and butter crescents

i made this kiwi cake last thursday for a fren.
this is durian mousse cake, just a normal sponge cake layered with durian mousse and cream. yum!
these are butter crescents, which resemble more like bread than its richer more french counterpart the croissants (also they share the same name). i must be getting better because i posted this recipe once, and the crescents look hard and flat, compared to these fat, glistening rolls!

cooking shows on tv

as a foodie and also an aspiring cook, i never miss the cooking shows on astro. my mother can recognise jamie oliver's voice from far away, because i always watch his shows, and as my mother said "asyik pasal makan je". the other programmes that i like to watch is nigella shows, come dine with me, and sometimes surf the menu and made to order. the only programme that i miss is delia smith's cooking show. unlike jamie or nigella, delia is about finesse and will teach the most basic in cooking, which includes boiling an egg or how to whip up a meringue.

what i love about jamie is his camaraderie and easy ways. the fact that he invites his frens over to eat whatever he's cooking for the show, shows that he's a nice bloke. and also the fact that he went at such great length to change british schools' dinners shows that he is a chef with a big and honest heart.

nigella is more stylish, and represents the modern mum. dubbed as the domestic goddess, her words are melodious and soothing, and full of adjectives such as "satiny melted chocolate" or "molten lava of melted chocolate". you can see the camera focusing on her savouring her own creations, to encourage people to view food not as an enemy, but something as a soothing fren, to sample the epicurean delights.

both cooks love chilies and both cooks bring international cuisine into their shows. jamie is more adventurous though, often than not creating fusion styled dishes, as is the trend today.

there is a new foodie series, called chic eats, every friday at 8pm on channel 11.

to those who love watching such cooking shows, you'll be pleased to know that there are more of such shows on BBCE (channel 26) every saturday morning starting at 7.30am.

A New Year, A New Resolution

yes, a whole new year. another exciting year, and hopefully it's much much better than 2006. anyway, i'm on mediterranean diet now (well, not really authentic mediterranean diet). so what's involved in mediterranean diet? to eat less carbs (but still there are carbs), more lean proteins, veggies and fruits (yeah yeah...we hear that all the time), good fats which derive from olive oil and nuts.

i've already switched from my normal homemade white bread to homemade wholegrain bread, sure it doesnt taste as nice and soft as the white variety, but i keep thinking of the fibre and what it does to my colon. to those of you who are interested in watching your weight and have the time to kill (to bake, i mean) i give u my wholegrain bread recipe


for 1 loaf of bread

1/6 cup brown sugar
1 tsp honey
1 cup warm water
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

dissolve the ingredients above until the mixture is frothy.

1/8 cup oil
1 tsp salt
2 cups hi protein flour
1/2 cup wholemeal flour
1/2 cup oat bran
some poppy seeds
some sunflower seeds


add the oil and the salt to the yeast mixture and stir. then, add in the flours and the seeds. work your dough on a flat clean surface and knead the dough for 5-8 minutes or until it has become elastic. leave it to rise until it has doubled in size in a well-oiled bowl, making sure that the top part of the dough is equally coated with oil.

when it has rise, punch the dough. i personally prefer to knead it for a few secs to punching the dough. shape it into a loaf and put it in a well-greased loaf tin. leave it to rise and bake at 200 C for 20 mins (baking time will vary frm 1 oven to the other).

take your bread out and leave it to rest for at least 5 mins or until it can come out frm the tin easily. leave it to cool completely on a wire rack.