Marble butter cupcake / Butter cake

Josh turns two today! :) 

2 years ago, I woke up at 7am, got myself ready for my routine check up with my gynae at the hospital. Little did I know I was gonna be pushed into the OT that day, and I would meet the lil' fella that day itself. 

A year ago, I woke up at 5am, if not earlier, to prepare for the lil' fella's first birthday cake, I made chocolate cupcake decorated with owl for his halloween-themed birthday party. 

Today I woke up at 6:15am. I made a simple but delicious butter cake, marbled, in a log form (topped with plenty of sunflower seeds) and 2 cupcakes. We're not gonna have any lavishing celebration this year, it's just gonna be a simple one with the family. I prepped his lunch (spaghetti with creamy mushroom sauce), I boiled him some red eggs and got his breakfast ready (steamed bun). Yea, it does seem too much of a breakfast spread for a little two year old. This is my wish for him, that he shall have nothing to worry about, his tummy shall be filled and he'll always be happy in his future years to come. 

I made this very good butter cake few months ago, here. It has gotten very good review from many bloggers so far. So I have decided that I would make it for the lil' fella's birthday cake. I was initially gonna make the easier Steamed Moist Chocolate Cupcake, but I couldn't get unsalted butter. And the only recipe that would go well with the savory butter would be butter cake. And no regrets. It was good! This time, I didn't drastically down the sugar level, cos I used salted butter, worrying that reducing the sugar may affect the ultimate taste. 

Ingredients: 

• 230g butter, soft 
• 80g brown sugar 
• 1tsp vanilla extract 
• 1/8tsp salt (I omitted this, cos I used unsalted butter in this recipe) 
• 4 egg yolk
• 1tbsp fresh milk
• 200g cake flour 
• 1tsp baking powder

• 4 egg white
• 80g brown sugar

For marbling effect: 

• 1tbsp cocoa powder
• 3tbsp hot water

Topping: sunflower seeds (optional) 

Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 170degC. Line a loaf tin. (This time I baked mine at 155degC) 
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 
3. Add in yolks, one at a time, and beat until fluffy. 
4. Sift in flour and baking powder and mix well. Set aside. 
5. Beat egg white with sugar till turns to soft peak in another bowl. 
6. Fold egg white meringue into yolk batter. Mix well and fold in the rest. 
7. In a small bowl, combine cocoa powder and hot water until there is no lumps. Mix into 3-4 tbsp batter in another bowl. 
8. Pour yellow batter in lined tin, followed by brown cocoa batter. 
9. Sprinkle generous amount of sunflower seeds on top of batter. 
10. Bake for 40min (for cupcakes, I baked for 20min) or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. 

My kind of breakfast

The two questions that I get asked most frequently are: (1) What sort of breakfast do you make for your boy? and (2) What do you eat for breakfast? .. If you've been following my blog or my facebook network group Healthy Food for My Baby, I'm sure you won't be deprived of ideas on breakfast for your little one. Now, what do I eat for breakfast? Tadaaa... this is my breakfast platter! 

I'm sorry if this revelation disappoint you, but unfortunately, (fortunate from my perspective), this is my kind of breakfast, almost every morning, if no one invites me out for an indulging breakfast. My usual routines are as such, I wake at about 6:30-7am, prep my son's breakfast cum lunch (check out this blog to ogle on his food), then I get myself ready for the day, and I sit down for a nice me-time enjoying my breakfast while flipping through a magazine or browsing my facebook or instagram feed. 

The orange juice look-alike drink on the right is made up of freshly squeezed juice from half an orange, a tablespoon of RIN enzyme, a sachet of FibreCleanse with half a glass of water. I have been consuming this drink for some time and I felt that it really clears up the complexion, making my skin more radiant. FibreCleanse is a fibre drink fortified with pre- and probiotics and chlorophyll, therefore rendering me more regular bowel movement, which I felt is the reason for the clearer and brighter skin tone. After drinking this FibreCleanse and RIN enzyme drink, I make myself another half a glass of water while at the same time, I dig into my overnight chia seeds oatmeal. 

The recipe for the simple chia seeds oatmeal are:

• 1 cup of rolled oat, organic 
• 1 cup of black soya milk, organic
• 1tbsp chia seeds 

This oatmeal is prepped the night before, combined and mixed thoroughly and kept refrigerated. For more interesting and delicious combo of this recipe, you may refer here. 

Most of us enjoy eating too much of 'acidifying' foods 酸性食物 these days. As a result, this create an acid ash in our body, allowing for micro-forms like bacteria, yeasts and fungi to thrive in our body, causing problems like recurring infections, poor immunity, allergies, dull skin tone etc. 

RIN Enzyme is super alkalizing, it contains the most complete blend of alkaline-rich foods from Japan that neutralize the damaging acids in our body. I take a tablespoon of RIN enzyme daily coupled with a sachet of FibreCleanse and this combination supports healthy digestion and bowel system. 

Try this breakfast drink and you'll see tremendous results, especially your skin, in just 30 days!

Both RIN Enzyme and FibreCleanse are now available for sale at Just Health. Please call 089 210 620 or email justhealthsandakan@gmail.com for further info.

Slow-braised lamb with black eyed beans

This was the first time I served lamb to my 23mo toddler. I didn't actually intend to make this dish for him. This was made more for my hubby cos I was going out for dinner with the girls and the in laws weren't around, so I decided that I would prepare dinner for the hubby and the little fella before I leave, so they can dine peacefully at home and settle for an early night. 

I was afraid that the taste of lamb would be too intense for the lil' fella and the texture would be too tough for him. However, after the dish was made, I was pleasantly surprised of how soft the lamb had turned into. I let him tried the lamb. He loved it. He actually finished up quite a big portion I plated him. This is quite an easy and convenient one-pot dish. Just chuck in the veg and meat and any sort of beans you have at home, it's a nutritious and delicious meal on its own. I prepared this dish in the morning and just heated it up and plated it for dinner in the evening before I left home. 

I just simply googled for a recipe for lamb stew and I stumbled upon here. I adapted the recipe using whatever I have in my fridge, the results were superb. 

Here's my recipe, adapted from Jamie's Homecooking Skills

• about 800g lamb steak, diced to cubes 
• 2 slices of ham or streaky bacon, chopped
• 1 medium onions
• 1 parsnip, peeled and cubed or 1 potato, peeled and cubed 
• handful of fresh brown button mushrooms, cleaned
• handful of cherry tomatoes 
• Half a medium carrot, cubed 
• 3 cloves garlic, minced 
• 500g tomato juice (organic tomato juice in a bottle, with no sugar nor salt added) *
• Salt and pepper (according to taste) 

*If you dont have tomato juice, you could probably use half half of stock and tomato puree.

1. Heat up 2tablespoon of cooking oil in a casserole pan/ pressure cooker (I prepared this dish using a pressure cooker). 
2. Stir fry garlic and onion till fragrant. Then add in diced beef, ham and all the mixed veg. When all is slightly brown (in about 3-5min), pour in tomato juice. 
3. Simmer on low heat for about 15min, then put on the lid for pressure cooker to work. (without a pressure cooker, this dish may takes 2-3hrs to cook on low heat). 
4. Serve with cooked pasta or mashed potato, or in my case, both :) 

My gf and I had a great time out when hubby took good care of the lil one. 

{Foodie Review} Nijyumaru Japanese Restaurant 二重丸， Taman Sutera (Johor Bahru)

This is a long belated post. But I told myself I must post it, cos' I really liked this place. 

We came to Nijyumaru for dinner to celebrate (1) my hubby's birthday (ya.. we celebrated it over a few dinners) (2) my bro's studies advancement in Japan. This time we called ahead to book a table. There were about 10 of us. The first time we came here, which was my trip back to JB in CNY, we just walked in, and it was a bad idea, we were basically rejected entry, they didn't even have the option for us to wait cos they were that full. 

This time, we were given a low table in a cosy room on the second floor, and that was good, especially that we have the little fella with us. He gets to roam around the room with all of us at his height (cos we were all seated at the low table).

Basically we were so busy chatting and when the food came (despite the almost packed restaurant, the food came quite fast) we were busy tucking in.. I forgot to snap photos afterwards. But all of us was quite happy with the food. The sashimi was good! And we loved the soft shell crab roll too. 

There were actually a lot more on the menu. They do have a pretty extensive menu. But because the parents were not especially adventurous when comes to sashimi, we just chose the safer options. We'll probably be back again to try the other stuffs like urchin and others. 

My lovely family in JB <3 

Verdict: Good, worth a try. 

Price: A good steal for the good food and extensive menu. 

Ambience: Good. Request for a room if you have a crowd of about 10. 

Address: 

Nijyumaru Japanese Restaurant 

94, Jalan Sutera Tanjung 8/4 

Taman Sutera Utama

81300 Skudai, JB 

Tel: 07 558 9818 

{Foodie Review} Koi Sushi Japanese Restaurant (Sandakan)

New Kids On The Block 

Oh ya.. there's a new Japanese restaurant that just opened here in Sandakan. Its name is Koi Sushi Japanese Restaurant. It's situated at the new shop lots in IJM Mile 5 and is on the same block as Anakku. 

Hubby and I decided to try it out, yes, we love trying out new stuffs, especially Japanese. Prior to going there, I checked with my friend if it was okay, here's what she said, 'yea.. OK lo.. just like Kyoto (FYI, I did a review for Kyoto some time back, here), the menu are pretty much the same with some additions probably, but the tables and chairs are VERY small'. She placed heavy emphasis on the 'small' tables and chairs. I couldn't visualize what she meant. You would perhaps do once you get there :p 

We actually popped by there twice. Hahaaa.. not that we ate there twice. We had to turn back when we arrived the first time, realizing that they haven't got their credit card machine set up (as of 13th Sept 2014). Probably not a good thing when people don't bring much cash around these days and it isn't cheap to have a nice Japanese meal. 

Yakiniku Don RM18

Soft Shell Crab Roll RM25

Niku Enoki RM16

Here's what we have ordered and eaten. You must be wondering what small tummy we have. Ah! That's because the yaki udon (stir-fried udon) that I ordered wasn't actually heard by the attendant. By the time I realized that,  I was already full eating the stuffs here and I'm not a patient person. So, lesson of the day, make sure your orders get repeated. 

My hubby is a big fan of soft shell crab. He was quite happy to see that there is spyder roll (soft shell crab roll) on the menu. The presentation was lovely. But the tastes of the crab was kinda overwhelmed by the sauce. Anyways, no big deal, we just scrapped off the sauce and eat them as they are. 

All in all, it was a good and filling lunch (despite of the forgotten yaki udon). It's worth a try if you're in a mood for Japanese. And it's new. Everyone loves trying out new stuffs in town. We went there for lunch, and the place was not packed. I'm not too sure if you'll need to reserve in advanced if you are there for dinner. 

Verdict: OK lor... room for improvements. Still worth a try. 

Price: $$.

Have a good weekend, xoxo, Jen. 

{Foodie Review} My Liberica Coffee (Johor Bahru)

We were in JB earlier on this month. That day was my hubby's birthday. We were supposed to make a day trip to Singapore to check out Gardens by the Bay. Yet, maybe just maybe, we were 'fated' not to go, as we were heading out, my SIL's car tyre got punctured. It wasn't the usual easy stuff to get the tyre out (some complications there .. ) so we just cancelled our Singapore trip and stayed in JB and chilled out. Perhaps that was a blessing in disguise. It was a nice chill-out day for us as we checked out this cafe late afternoon and had our tummy fed well at night at a nice Japanese restaurant. 

We got to know about 'My Liberica Coffee' from the internet. It has gotten quite good review, so far. And we weren't disappointed. The drinks and food did not fail to impress. They didn't have extensive menu, but good enough. The thing I like about their menu, they have a selection of sweet and savory food. Most of the cafe serves mostly sweet food but some of us aren't sweet-tooth. 

Their croissant sandwich was nice. It was just a simple sandwich, but the croissant had that crusty bite which gives it a thumb up. We had an early brunch and was already hungry when we were here, about 2pm ish, so all 4 of us plus my lil' fella shared one croissant sandwich and we ordered a second helping cos we felt it was good. 

If you're a fan of good coffee, you should check it out. It serves a few unique drinks that is worth a try. My sis in law had the iced drip coffee, which I saw them having the coffee dripped through the filter at the coffee bar. Windy had the Aromatic Rose Coffee. It has a layer of rose syrup at the bottom of the glass. Both myself and hubby were the ultra 'safe' type. We just go went for our usuals, I had an earl grey tea and he went for hot chocolate to share with the lil' fella. 

They also serve some beautifully layered crepe cakes. We ordered Earl Grey Crepe Cake. As most of us were not big fans of sweet cakes, we thought it was okay. Not too sweet. 

It had a cosy and lovely ambience. 

Its menu.

Crepe cakes, RM9.90 each

Earl Grey Crepe Cake, RM9.90

Smoked Chicken Croissant Sandwich RM12

Aromatic Rose Coffee RM15

Hot Chocolate RM9

Earl Grey  RM9.90 (heheee.. yes I love my Earl Grey)

Iced Drip Coffee RM12

Check out the cafe. And see who's the happy bunny here? 

Date visited: 31 Aug 2014

My Liberica Coffee
No. 73, Jalan Molek 3/10
Taman Molek
81100 Johor Bahru

Mini mulberry scones

I had some really nice organic mulberries available for sale at my shop. I bought some home myself and made lots of nice goodies, including these - mini mulberry scones. I'm really into scones lately. They are so easy to make. I made them again for our breakfast this morning. The good thing about making them in mini size - (1) they take shorter time to bake, about 15min for this size (2) felt less guilty popping two at one go .. LOL! 

Check out how dainty they are

Here's the recipe, it's actually a recipe that I have used many times, blogged about it a few times too.

• 250g all purpose flour, sifted 
• 1.5tsp baking powder
• 2tbsp icing sugar 
• pinch of salt 
• 100g frozen butter, grated 
• 1/2 cup raisins and fresh mulberries 
• 120ml cream or half half of cream and milk

Glaze - 1 egg, beaten with 1tbsp milk. 

1. Preheat the oven to 190degC (fan forced). 
2. Combine the flour, icing sugar, baking powder and salt. Add in the cold grated butter. Mix in the cream. Combine until mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. 
3. Gently mix in the raisins and mulberries. 
4. Lightly knead a few times. Press into 2-3cm thickness dough. Cut into round shape scones. 
5. Place on the baking tray and brush with egg glaze. 
6. Bake for 15min or until golden.