B for Baking #8

Wonder what you could do with all those cookies that were once crunchy and crispy but have now turned soft?


Well, we could always store them in the fridge or rebake them (like my mom would suggest), to regain their crunchiness and crispiness. Or, like I did the other day, we could turn them into something else - crepes!


Crepe is basically a type of very thin pastry, usually made from wheat flour or buckwheat flour. The ancient Greeks derived it from "tiganos", which is, frying pan, which is, pancakes in English and the French derived it from the Latin "crispa", which is, pancakes with creases.

The idea of crepes came about when my sister and I were talking about making durian crepes but since durians are still not in season, I decided to make crepes anyway.


Instead of making crepes from scratch, I thought to myself, since the basic ingredients are flour, eggs, milk, a little bit of salt and a little bit of sugar (for dessert crepes), why couldn't I do it differently, but still achieved the same results?


Anyway, I am not French, and I am not going to call it French crepes, so I could always do it my way...

Because I still had some homemade non-wheat cookies leftover from Eid that had turned soft, instead of keeping them in the fridge or rebake them, I challenged myself to make crepes out of them.

clockwise from top: chocolate sesame cookies,
almond cookies,  coconut cookies,
dark chocolate meringue cookies

These cookies had all the basic ingredients in them already and all I had to do was to thin them down with some liquid and fry them in a pan instead of turning on the oven, being the lazy baker that I am (because, unlike your usual kitchen, my oven-on-wheels is stored in our store room!).


Enough talk already... Let's move on...


Crepes (makes 12)


What you need to have:

Ingredients

175g cookies
1 cup soya milk
1 cup water
2 medium-sized eggs
1 Tbsp oil
1/2 tsp salt
butter for frying (optional)

Apparatus
a large bowl
measuring cups and spoons
a kitchen scale
a fork
a griddle or non-stick pan
stove
a spatula
a medium-sized plate
a zipper bag


What you need to do:

1. Place cookies in a large bowl.

2. Pour soya milk and let soak for 5 minutes. Mash the soaked cookies with a fork. (For a smooth batter, pulse the cookies in a blender or food processor before soaking them in milk. I liked mine with a little bit of character.)

3. Add water, eggs, oil and salt. Beat gently and mix well until it forms a thin batter. (For thinner batter, add more milk or water.)

4. Place a griddle or non-stick pan with a thin layer of butter over medium-high heat. (I only needed to butter my non-stick pan once.)

5. Scoop or pour, approximately 1/4 cup of batter onto the griddle or pan and QUICKLY tilt the pan in a circular motion so that the batter coats the pan evenly. (If your cup is heat-proof, without tilting the pan, coat the pan quickly and evenly using the base of the cup because the batter is so thin that it sticks very quickly to the hot pan, even before the batter coats the whole pan.)

6. Cook for 2 minutes. When the edges pull away from the sides of the pan and the bottom is light brown, loosen with a spatula and turn it over to cook the other side for another 2 minutes or so.

7. When ready, leave it as a whole, fold in half or quarters and place on a medium-sized plate.

8. Repeat until all the batter is finished.

9. Let cool completely before freezing the leftovers in a zipper bag.

Best served warm with your favourite jam or ice-cream.


Enjoy!

They may look scary to some, but judge a book not by its cover, because these crepes smelled really nice and tasted really good to me and they froze very well too. When I reheated them, they still maintained their softness.


Because mine is soft and pliable, I could easily unfold them, fill them up and fold them back and top them with my favourite jam. They're also good to eat on their own.

my crepe-ed homemade cookies
filled with my homemade plum sauce and
topped with more sauce and
frozen raspberry

E for Embellishment #7

When it comes to embellishing clothes, I prefer to work on garments that are plain like a blank canvas because I can let my imagination run free.

Usually, I would refer to the clothes I already owned and draw my inspiration from there.

For this embellishment project, I have chosen a plain turquoise long dress I recently bought from our usual flea market stall. Because it was stock clearance day, the lady offered us pre-loved clothes at 1 for 1 i.e. buy 1 get 1 free. Who could resist such an offer? In the end, I bought 3 pieces of clothes and got not 3 but 5 pieces free.

Inspired by the embroidery on one of my long dresses, I decided to follow the same patterns but used sequins and beads for this dress instead.

The overall design is simple yet elegant and resembles that of songket, a traditional Malay fabric of the brocade family.

It took me a couple of days to finish this project and I could not be happier with the outcome.

Although this dress was a pre-loved item, given the proper care and attention, it turned out looking as good as new.

bodice

bottom of dress

end of sleeve (left, right and back)

F for Fashion reconstruction #15

The bright, the bold and the beautiful.


That's the theme for this fashion reconstruction project.


I was not sure if the whole concept would work out but I just went ahead with my instincts anyway.

This blouse was actually my mom's but ever since she started wearing the hijab, she thought I could wear it instead. (hmmm that was some time in the early 90s)


I really liked the bright and vibrant colours and the abstract design. However, I didn't really wear it much because of its oversized neckline that made it rather uncomfortable unless I wore something underneath. Also, it's a little bit big for my frame.


Because it has been idle for a long time, I thought I should give it a new look.


To complement the colour scheme, I decided to sacrifice one of my favourite blouses. Even though it has gone through many washes in the washing machine, it still maintained its colour and shape.

This blouse was also bought at about the same time and together, they should be able to last at least another decade or two.


To complete the ensemble, I had to return to my sister's stock once again and sure enough, I found the perfect match - a plain but bold, yellow fabric.


Once I finished conceptualising the design in my head, I went on with my work.


Even though the sewing machine was acting up, it took me just a week to complete the project and I am lost for words because the dress is really beautiful.


When it was time for a fitting, I could not stop dancing in it. It fits me really well and I could easily slip in and out of it even without any zipper or fastener.


And as usual, the dress is never complete without embellishment. So I headed down to my favourite shop at the textile centre to look for a suitable button and found one I really liked.

This could be another one of my favourite new dresses yet.


Who could tell that this was a cut-and-paste project, if I had not disclosed the facts?


I can proudly say that you cannot find this item anywhere. 💃🐒👌🙋

B for Baking #7

Still in the mood for microwave oven baking, I decided this morning to bake banana cupcakes instead.


Also since the only nut available in the pantry was chestnuts, I thought it would make a pleasant surprise when I bite into one of the cupcakes.


The ingredients are fairly the same as the other day's so it makes this just another of my whip-ups, off the top of my head.


And in just half an hour, I was already devouring it. The cupcake just melted in my mouth. If heaven could be this good.


Banana Chestnut Cupcakes (makes 6)


What you need to have:

Ingredients
2 Tsp unsalted butter
1 Tsp semi-sweet chocolate
1 Tsp raw sugar
1 medium-sized egg
1 medium-sized ripe banana
1 Tsp soya milk
4 Tsp all purpose non-wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder

Apparatus
microwave oven safe bowl
measuring spoons
sieve
hand whisk
spatula
silicone moulds
microwave oven
wire rack


What you need to do:

1. Melt butter and chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Let the mixture cool slightly.

2. Add sugar and egg to the mixture. Whisk until sugar is dissolved.

3. Add soya milk and banana. Mix well.

4. Sift flour and baking powder. Fold into the mixture.

5. Fill silicone moulds with the batter, 3/4 full.

6. Place in the middle of microwave oven, one at a time, and bake for 20 secs, at 10 secs intervals.

7. Let cool completely on wire rack.

8. Decorate with your favourite toppings.


Enjoy!

My banana chestnut cupcakes topped with
homemade creme fraiche,
homemade plum sauce and
frozen raspberries

F for Fashion reconstruction #14

Do what's simple first, followed by the difficult ones.


That's what I've been told and I still keep to that principle even today.


And the same goes for all my fashion reconstruction projects.


I could have started on this project much earlier but since this fashion reconstruction project is not a simple project to handle I decided to put it on hold so that I could finish the easier projects first.


This cocktail dress caught my eyes when I was on my way home after a visit to the doctor's, back in Hong Kong in 2011. I'm an impulsive shopper whenever I'm feeling under the weather.

Thankfully, this is the only dress in my possession that is made of Thai silk. The reason it is not a simple project to handle is because its edges fray easily. I would not repeat the same thing unless someone were to pay me a handsome price.


To complete the ensemble, I paired the dress with a pleated hockey skirt and sleeves taken from a kimono cardigan which I no longer wear (both were bought in the early 90s).

Regardless of the difficulty, I managed to finish the project within 2 weeks.


The finished dress is simple yet elegant and I like it because it fits comfortably, has no zipper or fastener which made it easy for me to slip in and out of it.

Who could tell that this was a cut-and-paste project, if I had not disclosed the facts?


I can proudly say that you cannot find this item anywhere. 💃🐒👌🙋

E for Embellishment #6

The item chosen for this embellishment project is one of the items I bought from my sister's leftover stock.


It was a long black dress with embroidered flowers below the knee and end of sleeves. The dress came with an inner pants. At a glance, it looked like a dress suitable for funerals.


Since the outfit looked a little bit dull, I decided to add some colours to the embroidered flowers so that I could also wear it on festive seasons.


After making some adjustments to the shoulders and body, I looked through my treasure box and found the perfect embellishments. I chose white diamantes and iron-on coloured rhinestones for this project.


This would be my first project using iron-ons on garments and it was not an easy task because the rhinestones refused to stick. I thought of using hot glue but because I did not want to damage the embroidered flowers just in case all the rhinestones wear off, I decided to use gem glue instead.


Unfortunately, I didn't have any. So, off to Spotlight I went.


After getting the hang of it, I managed to complete the embellishments in a couple of days.


As usual, after each project is finished, I just had to try on the outfit and it was pretty. My mom was passing by as I was posing in front of the mirror and she too liked it. I just asked her casually if she wanted to try it on and so she did. I thought it fit better on her and offered her the dress instead of keeping it for myself.

end of sleeve (left and right)

bottom of dress

This would also be the first embellishment project that was not meant to be mine. Arh well. There's always a first to anything, right?


Even if I don't get to wear it, at least I am happy because someone else likes it. Mom wears it often to her religious classes.

B for Baking #6

You can bake cakes not only in the oven, but also in the microwave oven.


I know so because I have baked some cakes and cupcakes with much success.


My latest baking adventure is something which I just whipped up, off the top of my head, without any recipe whatsoever.


Last night, I had a craving for something chocolatey but it was too late for me to do anything. So, when morning came, I decided I should whip up something right away before the craving wears off.


It didn't take long before I settled down and savoured the fruits of my labour (no sweat at all) with my usual cup of black coffee. And it turned out just the way I imagined. Even my mom liked it. The taste and texture reminded her of rum balls.


Chocolate Cupcakes (makes 5)

What you need to have:

Ingredients
1 Tsp unsalted butter
2 Tsp semi-sweet chocolate
1 Tsp unsweetened soya milk
1 Tsp raw sugar
1 medium-sized egg
4 Tsp all-purpose non-wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder

Apparatus
microwave safe bowl
measuring spoons
sieve
hand whisk
spatula
silicone moulds
microwave oven
wire rack


What you need to do:

1. Melt butter and chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Let the mixture cool slightly.

2. Add sugar and egg to the mixture. Whisk until sugar is dissolved.

3. Add soya milk and mix well.

4. Sift flour and baking powder. Fold into the chocolate mixture.

5. Fill silicone moulds with the batter, 3/4 full.

6. Place in the middle of microwave oven, one at a time, and bake for 20 secs, at 10 secs intervals.

7. Let cool completely on wire rack.

8. Decorate with your favourite toppings.


Enjoy!

My chocolate cupcakes topped with
homemade creme fraiche,
maraschino cherries and
mini chocolate chips