Pandan agar-agar with coconut milk recipe

I had some free time yesterday morning whilst waiting for the kids to get up from bed. After I've had a cup of coffee, watered my plants, done the laundry and run the dishwasher, I've decided to make agar-agar for dessert.

Pandan agar-agar is something that I used to make during my secondary school years. I used to have a good recipe for pandan agar-agar, given by my mum, but had unfortunately lost it. It has been at least 10 years since I last make one.

I still remembered the ingredients though, although not the amount of ingredients. Luckily, the pandan agar-agar made came out perfect, and all my kids loved it.

Pandan agar-agar

Here is the recipe that I used:

Ingredients:

A packet of agar-agar powder

230 g of sugar

750 ml of water

200 ml of coconut milk

1 egg

Some pandan leaves

Part of the ingredients used

*Note: I used swallow globe brand agar-agar powder in green, you can also use the clear version instead. The original recipe from the agar-agar powder packet called for 250 grams of sugar and 1 liter of water, but since I am replacing the water with a mixture of coconut milk, egg and water, I have reduced the sugar amount by 20 grams.

Method:

1. Blend together water with the pandan leaves to get pandan extract. Sieve through a strainer.

Pandan extract made by processing pandan leaves and water using a food processor/blender

2. Mix the pandan extract with sugar and agar-agar powder and bring to boil in a pot, stirring occasionally.

3. In a different container, mix the coconut milk and egg.

4. Once the sugar and agar-agar powder had dissolved and the mixture has started to boil, mix in the coconut milk and egg mixture.

5. Stir well and let it simmer for a while before turning off the heat.

6. Pour the mixture into a container (i used a 7 x 7 inches of square cake pan) and let it cool before transferring it into a refrigerator to set.

I used a 7 x 7 inches container, and the height of the agar-agar came out great

Mini pleated wristlet

My mum had actually requested me to make her a small wristlet a while back, for her to place her handphones. However, since I've not been sewing, I had put it in my to-do list. Since sekarang saya dah start menjahit balik, maka wajiblah untuk saya selesaikan apa-apa yang ada dalam to-do list saya tu.

I spent my Monday evening sewing her wristlet. Since I've never done the same wristlet pattern before, it took me quite a while to figure out how to cut the fabric and how to do it. Alhamdulillah, I managed to put things together and I really love the result.

I used a soft japanese cotton for the exterior, and a normal plain cotton for the interior.

Here's the front view of the writlet:

And here's the back/interior view of the wristlet:

I went to my mum's place on that Monday evening itself to hand her the wristlet, and I'm glad my mum suka wristlet tu.

Handmade hobo bag

I've not done any baking recently, except for the occasional breads and buns for our own consumption, tu pon sebab saya gatal-gatal request bread maker from my dear hubby and he bought me a kenwood breadmaker as per my request. Thank you so much sayang for the breadmaker.

 

 

Apart from that, I've also not done any sewing for almost 3 months.. Kesian kat my sewing machine, lama betul terbiar. Baru-baru ni je rasa macam ada mood nak start menjahit balik, lagipun it's about time anyway sebab banyak juga baju/seluar yang dah terkoyak etc. So, aktiviti menjahit dimulakan dengan me-repair baju & seluar yang dah terkoyak.

 

I've then decided to make myself a new bag, nak bagi datang mood menjahit :)

 

So, last Saturday was spent sewing my new hobo bag. I used cotton for the exterior and lining, and a thick interfacing as stabilizer. I used a magnetic snap button for the opening of the bag and even included a small pocket inside the bag for small items. I absolutely love the result!!

 

 

Suka sangat sebab my current bag is kind of small, tak muat nak letak banyak barang. With this bag, siap ada enough space untuk letak baby wipes and diaper as well as a big container of raisins for Nuha.

 

 

 

Apam polkadot dan cookie monster

Dah lama betul tak update blog ni, dah almost 3 months. Bukan setakat tak update, buka blog sendiri pon jarang sangat-sangat.. Mesti ada yang tertanya-tanya, busy sangat ke sampai tak sempat nak update blog ni.. takde la busy sebenarnya.. order apam polkadot pon saya dah stop ambil since early Oktober hari tu. Ni gambar order apam polkadot dan apam cookie monster yang saya terima in early October, baru sekarang nak masuk dalam blog:

 

 

 

Apam polkadot tu ordered by my mum's friend, apam cookie monster tu repeat order from Kak Alia, thanks both for the orders!

 

For information, I've temporarily stop taking any order for both apam polkadot and mini cheese tart since early October 2012. If I've decided to resume taking order for these 2 items, I will let you all know k.

 

 

Mini strawberry cheesetart

Made these mini strawberry cheese tarts yesterday morning for my husband to bring to his office, and for Faiz to bring to school. Amirul dan Faiz suka sangat makan cheese tart ni.

Please fell free to e-mail me at shasrine@gmail.com if you are interested to order.

RM35 for 50 pieces (small cupcake size)

Choices for filling - blueberry or strawberry filling

Free delivery within Desa Petaling or self-collect at Desa Petaling. As tarts are made to order, 2 days advance notice is required.

Apam cookie monster dan apam strawberry

Made these last week, ordered by a customer, Kak Alia. 25 pcs of apam cookie monster and 25 pcs of apam strawberry.

Thank you so much Kak Alia for the order.

1st attempt at making a doll cake

We celebrated our youngest child's birthday last weekend, and I made her a doll cake for her birthday party. It was my first attempt actually. I don't have any cake mold for a doll cake, so what I did was that I baked 2 layers of 6 inch chocolate cake and another 2 layer of 8 inch chocolate cake. I then put them together, with cookies and cream filling in between them.

Then, using a knife, I trimmed the cake to make it to look like a dress. I didn't freeze the cake slices prior to trimming it, hence the messy cake with lots of crumbs. I then crumb coated the cake with chocolate ganache frosting, and store it in the fridge for a while before frosting the cake again with another layer of chocolate ganache frosting.  

In then inserted the doll, and did some finishing touches with the chocolate ganache frosting and also buttercream.

I'm glad Nuha loved her doll cake. Happy birthday Nuha!!

Apam strawberry

Made these last week whilst waiting for my husband to come home from work, apam with strawberry filling. Anak-anak suka sangat makan, baru keluar dari steamer je terus semua tak sabar-sabar nak rasa.

Sesiapa berminat nak order, boleh e-mail to shasrine@gmail.com. RM21 for 50 pieces, RM38 for 100 pieces. Kalau apam polkadot RM18 for 50 pieces, RM32 for 100 pieces. Free delivery within Desa Petaling or self pick-up at Desa Petaling.

Newborn handmade gifts

I love making long pants for my children as they love wearing them. I will normally make long pants from either cotton or stretchy fabric. I especially love making pants from stretchy fabric as they are very comfortable to wear. When I was still working, I will spent my lunch hours wondering from one fabric shop to another looking for a good bargain and will usually end up with a meter or two of fabrics. 

Whilst wondering around the fabric shops, I discovered stretchy denim. I bought a meter and started making long pants for my kids. They all loved it, and I can tell that the pants are very comfortable to wear. I then went back and bought a few more meters of the same kind. I still have quite a lot of them in my cabinet, even after making a number of pants for my kids.

My kids have always chooses the pants that I've made over jeans when we go out. I bet they loves them too. 

Coming back to my post title, last Friday, I went to visit my former babysitter's newborn grandchild with my kids. As a gift, I made her a long pants out of a stretchy denim fabric. I've made a few of the same pants to be given to some friends as a gift for their newborn and from the feedback that I've received, they all loves it because of the stretchy material that I used. 

I also made her a flower baby headband, using felt flower and stretchy laces. Hope that they'll like the gifts.

Apam barney, angry birds dan polkadot

It's a repeat order from Fara yang sebelum ni ada order apam polkadot. She asked if I could make apam with barney's face on top and I told her that I will try. I then tried making some and sent her the picture.

She then ordered 50 pieces each of apam barney, apam angry birds and apam polkadot.

Thank you Fara for the repeat order!!

Rainbow cake

I have always wanted to give rainbow cake a try but I just don't know why I didn't. When Amirul requested me to bake a cake last week, I said okay and that I will make a chocolate cake for him. However, he said that he wanted a rainbow cake instead. So, I gave in and made a rainbow cake last Sunday.

I used a white cake recipe for the cake, divided the batter into 6 equal quantity and add a drop or two of coloring gel to each. I then baked them, 2 at a time.

Love the colors, beautiful :)

I then made italian buttercream to go with the white cake... and frosted the cake with simple decorations.

Off white cake, with simple decorations
It might look like a normal off white cake, but wait till I show you the inside..

The kids were excited when I cut the cake and handed it to them..

Pretty isn't it

I love the cake but I think that I could do better.. Yellow cake tasted better than white cake in my opinion, as white cake are supposed to be frosted with something more delicate or when we want the frosting flavor to be predominant.

Maybe to try white cake with cream cheese frosting or a yellow cake with italian buttercream for future rainbow cake.

Order from a customer - apam polkadot

Received order for 100 pieces of apam polkadot with mix fillings, delivered to her place early today. Alhamdulillah.

Thanks so much Fara for the order!

Cookies ordered

Alhamdulillah, still ada order received for raya cookies. 1 biskut snow almond dan 1 biskut semperit pandan.

Ordered by my mum's friend, she requested me to tie ribbons to the cookie boxes. Cookies to be delivered tomorrow.

Oatmeal pancakes

I am supposed to do grocery shopping since last weekend but had not been able to do so... and as the result, barang dapur dah banyak habis and I end up coking with whatever things available in our pantry. Siapa kata duduk rumah ada banyak free time? Seriously, that is soooo not true. Bila dah ada kat rumah tu, ada je benda nak buat. Nak menyapu pun tak tau berapa kali sehari, nampak je ada habuk la, mainan bersepah la etc.

Ok, berbalik kepada cerita asal.. sebab barang dapur dah banyak habis, so saya pon search la untuk  resipi yang guna oatmeal, sebab oatmeal memang ada kat rumah. Lepas tu tanya dekat Amirul pagi tadi sebelum dia pergi sekolah nak makan oatmeal porridge ke nak makan oatmeal pancake for breakfast. Dia pilih pancake. So, hasil dari men'google' saya jumpa resipi ni dari website smitten kitchen.

Kalau nak tengok resipi asal bolehlah refer to the original entry from smitten kitchen's website. Saya dah ubah sikit-sikit cara-cara buat oatmeal pancake tu to make it easier for myself. This is how I made mine:

Bahan-bahan:

1 cawan oat (saya guna quaker quickcook oatmeal, pek yang kaler biru) - dikisar

1 cawan tepung gandum

2 sudu besar gula

2 sudu kecil baking powder

1/2 sudu kecil garam

3 sudu butter, dicairkan (saya letak dalam cawan kecil dan masukkan dalam microwave for 30 seconds)

1 1/4 cawan susu (saya guna susu HL)

3/4 cawan oatmeal, dimasak bersama 1 1/2 cawan air dan sedikit garam (saya campur semua bahan-bahan ni dan masak dalam microwave for 2.5 minutes)

1 sudu besar madu

2 biji telur saiz besar

Campur semua bahan-bahan kat atas tu dan kacau sehingga sebati. Panaskan kuali dan masukkan sedikit minyak + butter. Masak pancake macam biasa.

Pancake ni sedap dihidangkan panas-panas. Saya suka sangat resipi ni sebab rasa lebih sihat (sebab guna oatmeal, walaupun tak berapa nak sihat sebab masak guna minyak dan butter).

Pancake ni sedap sangat, lain daripada rasa pancake yang biasa saya masak. Tak percaya bolehlah cuba :)

Chocolate chips and cranberries cookie recipe

Apart from the earlier cookies made for raya, I also baked chocolate chips cookies for the kids. 

The recipe used is actually a newly invented one, as follows:

150g of butter

1/2 cup of sugar

1/4 cup of brown sugar

1 tsp of vanilla essence

1 egg

2 tbs of cocoa powder

1 cup of flour

3/4 cup of self-raising flour

1/2 cup of chocolate chips

1/2 cup of dried cranberries

Cream the butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla essence. Add in the egg, followed by cocoa powder, flour and self-raising flour. Finally add in the chocolate chips and cranberries.

Drop the cookie mixture 1 tsp at a time onto the cookie/baking sheet. Bake at 160 degree celcius for about 16 minutes.

Note to myself:

Cookie tasted okay and the kids loved it. The texture is also perfect to my liking. However, in future, I will definitely add in more cocoa powder as I like my choc chips cookie darker, with more chocolate flavor.

Moist chocolate cakes

I baked chocolate cakes last week to bring to my grandma's house when we visited her during the raya holidays, and a couple of extra cakes, 1 for us to eat at home and another to bring to my in-laws.

The cakes were moist and tasted great. However, I am not putting this cake on my menu just yet as I wanted to make another batch and try to steam it instead.

Mix fruits jelly

I made mix fruit jelly for iftar about 2 weeks ago, but have not been able to post it.

It's one of the simplest dessert to make, and the jelly doesn't require much time to set. I made it at about 4.30 p.m. and by iftar, the jelly is all set and cold, ready to be eaten.

I used agar-agar powder (swallow globe brand, the same one that I used in my previous post) to make the jelly. To make one, all you need to do is to cook the agar-agar powder based from the instruction given on the packaging, and then pour it in a container to set. Add in some mix fruits (I used canned mix fruits) and let it rest at room temperature for about 5 to 10 minutes before transferring it to the refrigerator to set.

Enjoy the jelly on its own or you can pour evaporated milk on top of it when serving.

  

Selamat hari raya aidilfitri

I've been super busy for the past one week, and don't even have the time to update my blog. I've been busy fulfilling the cookie orders, sewing the boys' raya clothes, travelling to Kedah 2 days before raya and back to Kuala Lumpur the following day, etc. Nasib baik sempat siapkan baju untuk my two little boys, just in time for raya.

Anyway, I would like to wish all Muslim, especially my dear family, friends and customers Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri. 

Apam polkadot - repeat order from a customer

I've made and delivered 20 pieces of apam polkadot to a customer last Friday,  and on Sunday, she ordered another 4 x 20 pieces,  to be delivered by today.

40 pieces with blueberry filling, 20 pieces with kaya filling and 20 pieces with chocolate chips

Thank you Hajar for the repeat order!!


I've also managed to complete the rest of the cookies ordered:

Final batch of the cookies ordered, to be delivered today and tomorrow

My first few orders

I've received quite a number of orders and spent the whole weekend baking cookies. Alhamdulillah for the order received. 

Some of the cookies made over the last weekend.

I still have a few more boxes of cookies to prepare and deliver by tomorrow. Thanks so much for the orders and thank you to those who helped bringing in the orders!!

Apart from that,  I also received an order for 20 pieces of apam polkadot. 

Apam polkadot with blueberry filling. 

I've a repeat order from the same customer for apam polkadot, to be delivered tomorrow. 

Got to start working. Will update again soon.

Biskut raya 2012

In my first week of being a stay at home mom, I've made cakes and apam polkadot for iftar, cooked almost every day for the family, made cookies for sampling and a lot of other little things that I previously not able to accomplish due to the time constraint. Most importantly, we have managed to change our little daughter's sleep pattern. It is now back to normal and she now sleeps through the night, alhamdulillah.

For raya cookies, I'm starting off with just 3 type of cookies for the time being.

Nestum cookies (biskut nestum) - RM21 for 50 pieces:

Green lace cookies (biskut semperit pandan) - RM22 for 50 pieces

Snow almond cookies (biskut snow almond) - RM24 for 45 pieces

If you are interested to order, kindly e-mail me at shasrine@gmail.com. Pick up point will be in front of Giant S Park Desa Petaling. I also provide free delivery (to the apartments' guard houses)  within Desa Petaling area.

Apam polka-dot

A friend of mine asked if I can make something for her to sell at an event that she participated in and I made her apam polkadot. We spent our Saturday making them, we then packed 20 pieces in each container to sell at RM8.00 per container.

The event doesn't went well, not enough publicity I suppose as those staying near the place don't even know about the existence of the event.  Although my friend did not manage to sell a lot, but that is still okay for me as I get to practice making the apam.

For those interested to order, below is the pricing:

Apam polkadot (halal & homemade) - for polka-dots design:

20 pieces - RM8.00

40 pieces - RM15.00

50 pieces - RM18.00

100 pieces - RM32.00

For any other design, e.g. - Angry Birds apam:

50 pieces - RM21.00

100 pieces - RM38.00

Filling to choose from:

Blueberry filling

Strawberry filling

Kaya filling

Chocolate chips filling

As orders are freshly made, 2 days advance notice is required.

Pick up point will be in front of Giant S Park Desa Petaling. I can also deliver within Desa Petaling area. Do email shasrine@gmail.com for order or for any inquiry.

Of being a stay at home mom

3 months ago, I decided to tender my resignation to become a stay at home mom. It took me a couple of months of serious thinking before I was finally able to decide. I have taken a lot of things into consideration.. and decided that this is the best for us for the time being. With this decision, I'll have more time to be with my family, to cook them nutritious lunches and dinners, to fetch my 2 school-going children from school every day without having to worry about them coming back on their own, to teach the children things which I wanted to teach but could not because of the time constraint, etc.

I know that it's a bold decision to make. It took a lot of courage to decide. A lot of colleagues were shocked when I told them that I wanted to quit my job as a Human Resource Manager, not because of better offer but because I wanted to become a stay at home mom.

So here I am, after serving the 3 months' notice... My very first day as a stay at home mom and I'm enjoying every single seconds of it :)

I will start baking, sewing and crafting more during my free time. So, watch out for this space as I will start advertising on things I've made / will be selling. I hope to be able to get positive feedback and supports from all of you readers.

But first thing first,  I'm gonna work towards changing my youngest child's sleep pattern.   I hope to be able to get her to sleep during the night as she has been sleeping during the day and not at night for the past 3 weeks and I have had a lot of sleepless nights this recent few weeks. Wish me luck. 

Work in progress

Some work in progress...

Sewing project

A dear friend of mine asked if I can make her a top/dress similar to the one she has. She said that it is very comfortable to wear and she would like to have another one of the same pattern.


Although I don't really like to work with soft fabric and prefer cotton over any other type of fabric, I took up her challenge to remake the top/dress. 

Alhamdulillah, I am able to make it. Gonna hand it to her tomorrow.

Bag to store laptop's adapter

Made this bag a few days ago for my husband to store his laptop's adapter. Outer fabric bought from Ikea, and the inner fabric bought from Jakel.

Hope you like it dear :)

Amirul's birthday celebrations

I took half day leave on Amirul's birthday, rushed back from office and was on time to pick him up from school. His face expression when he saw me outside his school compound, was priceless. We then went to pick up both Faiz and Nuha from the babysitter's place and headed home.

Amirul wanted a chocolate cake for his birthday. After lunch, we made chocolate moist birthday cake together. When my husband was back from office that evening, we celebrated Amirul's birthday.

On Sunday, I made another chocolate cake for Amirul's birthday party. This time around, I made my chocolate signature cake with oreos cream filling and chocolate ganache as frosting, on Amirul's request. Amirul wanted me to write "Happy Birthday" on the cake, so I whipped a simple buttercream for decorations. He loved it, although the decorations doesn't turned up well.

Happy birthday Amirul sayang. We all love you very very much!!

* Amirul wanted a pet fish for his birthday present. Nanti kita beli ye sayang.