Sesame Orange Shrimp - Prawns Week # 2

For this year's Chinese New Year, my FIL went all the way to the coastal areas to get seafood.
He bought few large fishes, 2 kg of prawns, crabmeat and lots of other stuff. We took one kg of the prawns and used it to prepare a dish for the reunion dinner. We found that the prawns to be.... not very fresh.

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Garlicky Spicy Prawns - Prawns Week #1

Recipe created in July 2011

I bought these prawns on a trip to the night market and they looked really fresh.
I had no idea what to cook with them yet and the next day I knew I just got to cook them asap.
I used what was in my pantry and came up with this dish.

Take note that the garlic was sauteed on low heat so that they dry up and get crispy, then only later, the prawns are returned on high heat. This way, everything remains fragrant and not soggy.

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Homemade Chinese Croutons - Random Sunday

One of my favs condiments for congee/rice porridge is crispy youtiao bits.
Hawkers usually will deep fry them but I choose to bake them.

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Mocha Checkerboard Cake - Caffeine Cakes #3

It was my hubby's birthday. Last Nov.

My hubby loves chocolate and each year, I'll think of something chocolate for him. 2011 was Chocolate Enigma Cake, 2010 was German Chocolate Cake. 2009 was..... a failed mango baked cheesecake that he told me to dump after blowing candles because it smelt and tasted like grass. And before that... nothing.

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Coffee Pudding Cake - Caffeine Cakes #2

Many years ago, Jusco's bakery had this pudding cake that I really adore. I will never fail to get at least one box each time. But it's not cheap, I think it's RM4.99 for a few bites, say about 4X4 only. I always feel unsatisfied with just one box.

Soft sponge, with a custard/pudding like jelly filling and a slightly bitterish coffee top. I'm in heaven.

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Tiramisu - Caffeine Cakes # 1

Recipe made in March 2011 (LOL, more than a year ago!)

Oh my Oh my…. Tiramisu : )

It’s so funny that all the blogging years, I’ve never never attempted a Tiramisu. Nor did I ever felt tempted to try it out. When some people I talk to know that I bake, they ask me, ever made tiramisu? I’d be dumbfounded and said no, not yet. It seems that is the first cake they ever ask me. Is that a pre requisite for someone who bakes? Must every baker make 1 tiramisu once in their life? Well, maybe a lot of people love tiramisu, but I was just so so about it. Most tiramisus I had are very bland, taste more like a coffee cream cake more than anything else. Maybe mascarpone is too bland for me, or those bakeries just didn’t use as much mascarpone to bring the flavour out? It just doesn’t appeal to me so so much that I got to add it in my baking list. Frankly, it is not.

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New plants and herbs, and update on my Strawberries - Random Sunday

It's been quite a while since I've last posted my plants.

I've been adding more plants and there'll be more to come.

New Plants

I bought my western herbs from those mini pots found at Jaya Grocer and BIG. Transplated them to the pot and they grew soooooo big. None died , so far :)

Cost me RM60 for this pot

I'm suspecting this is lemon thyme, but when I bought it, the label says just Thyme

Updates on previously featured plants



It's growing like mad, trying to creep everywhere!



My strawberries. Never flowered, but kept on having babies. I have more than 10 plants all around my garden.

Unidentified

Do you know what are these?

Sometimes things just pop out in my garden because I throw my food waste all around and let them rot.



Looks likea fruit tree sapling....but what is it? I dunno



I'm suspecting it's orange.



Calamansi??? Err... I don't know.

What is this thang??? I suspect it's edible

It looked like Sawtooth Coriander (刺芫荽)when it was small, but it's huge now (even bigger now, today!)

It actually tasted like English parsley.

It has no flowers, so that makes it super hard to identify

Please help me with this final pic

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More to come the next round,

local herbs and a fruiting plant that caught me by surprise.