F for Fashion reconstruction #28

Have you ever encountered halfway through a project that your garment is a just a little tight at the bodice and just a little short for a full length skirt?


Well, this particular fashion reconstruction project is just an example of such encounter.


Fortunately, the discovery was at the fitting stage. So, there's still ample time to improvise and I was not at all discouraged because I had plenty of remnant material to work with.


How's that for an intro?


Now let's start at the beginning of the story...


For this fashion reconstruction project, I picked a short-sleeved cotton blouse that has been around quite a bit (that I simply cannot recall when I bought it) and paired it with my mom's short-sleeved cotton blouse that was just too precious to discard.

This combination will make a one piece long dress appear like a 2-piece blouse and skirt ensemble.


Straightforward, it seems at first until I reached the stumbling block mentioned earlier.


So, to cut the story short, I added black chiffon fabric to widen the bodice and black satin fabric to lengthen the skirt. And to extend the sleeves, I stole a pair of off-white chiffon sleeves that were previously used to line the sleeves of a dress I bought from my usual flea market.


All in all, it took me about a week to complete this project. I even had a chance to practise my zig-zag sewing on this dress because the finishing looks much nicer than the usual straight stitches. How's that for an added bonus?


After all that is said and done, I hereby present the finished product...

The mannequin simply does not do justice to the way the fabric should drape because it actually looks much better when I put it on.


Anyway, I like the simplicity of this new dress and cannot wait to wear it for my next casual outing.


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. 💃🐒👌🙋

D for Delectable delights #5

Apam balik or turnover pancake is also an old time favourite of mine.


I can still remember the market where I used to go to buy my favourite apam balik. The market is long gone and the old man who sold the apam balik is probably dead now but his legacy remains and cannot be replaced because I still cannot find anything even close to the ones he made.


Not even the likes of Mr Bean or Jollibean pancakes can beat the old man's apam balik.


Not even the over-the-top Indonesian martabak manis can beat the old man's apam balik.


I guess I am an oldie foodie. Nothing beats the tastes of the good old times because the good old times are unforgettable and full of nostalgia.


Nevertheless, I am not one who will sit around and pine for something or somebody. I just had to do something about it since I can no longer have wheat apam balik.


So the other day, I decided to give it a try...


And it was my first time lucky, I guess, because I got the thumbs up from each and everyone of my 'guinea pigs'. They even requested for more...


Even if my apam balik are not as close to the old man's, I am still satisfied because mine are still as soft and have the honeycomb texture. The natural sweet aroma of the yeast makes it even more appealing (I did not need to add any flavouring to my batter like the others did ~ they added vanilla essence, which I am allergic to, unfortunately or fortunately?)


The apam balik I made were still nice and soft even after I have reheated them in the microwave for 30 seconds straight from the freezer. (Whatever I make, I usually will make extra and freeze them just to test their endurance.)


This definitely will not be the last of my apam balik adventure because I have now found a cure for my old craving.


And now for the reveal ~ my non-wheat version of apam balik.


Apam Balik


What you need to have:

Ingredients
225g non-wheat flour (equal amounts of pearl millet flour, brown rice flour and potato starch)
50g spelt flour
50g glutinous rice flour
1 Tsp psyllium husk
1 tsp instant dry yeast
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda
1/4 tsp salt
4 Tsp raw sugar
4 large eggs
3 Tsp melted butter
1.1/4 cup water

Apparatus
kitchen scale
measuring cups
measuring spoons
medium-sized bowl
hand whisk
cling wrap
ladle
non-stick pan with cover (I used a non-stick saucepan because it was the right size and easier for me to remove the pancake)
stove
spatula
wire rack
plastic sheets to store the leftover apam balik individually


What you need to do:

1. In a medium-sized bowl, mix all dry ingredients together.

2. Make a well in the middle and add all wet ingredients.

3. Whisk into a smooth and thin batter. Cover with cling wrap and let rest for 1 hour or until batter is bubbly and almost double in size. (Overnight batter tastes even better.)

4. While waiting for the batter to rise, gather all the necessary equipment for cooking the apam balik and condiments for the filling e.g. ground peanuts and sugar (traditional apam balik filling), red bean paste (store-bought or homemade is still the best), cheeses (my nephew's favourite), jams (my mom prefers orange marmalade), peanut butter and jelly (my sister's favourite), etc..

5. When batter is ready, heat the pan over medium flame (make sure the pan is really hot).

6. Pour a ladle of batter (or more, if you prefer a thicker pancake).

7. Cover the pan for 2 minutes or so (the steam will cook the pancake evenly).

8. Once the top of pancake is cooked, remove from pan and spread filling on one half of the pancake and flip the other half over (that's how the apam balik got its name). Another option (which I found easier) is to spread filling all over one pancake while waiting for another pancake to cook and when ready, place immediately on top of the already filled pancake (like you would make a sandwich)

9. Repeat until batter is finished.

10. Cool apam balik completely on wire rack before storing leftovers in the freezer (store individually between sheets of plastic to avoid clumping).


Enjoy!

my thin and soft apam balik
top: homemade apple jam
middle: cheese
bottom: homemade red bean paste

Perhaps next time, I should make them thicker?

B for Baking #11

Pies are my most favourite pastry to make because they're easy to do and good to eat.

Since baking with non-wheat flours, I have only tried making pies twice and failed both times. It was so disheartening. 

Nevertheless, I am not one to give up easily. So, the other day, I was determined to try again.

This time around, I eliminated an ingredient which I think made the previous failed pies chewy and it worked. Even my sister gave her thumbs up.

The flours I used are ~ equal parts of pearl millet flour, brown rice flour and potato starch and I eliminated glutinous rice flour.

So for the full recipe...


Pies

What you need to have:

Ingredients
450g non-wheat flour
1 Tsp psyllium husk
1 Tsp golden flax seed meal
3 Tsp rolled oats flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp raw sugar
1/2 lb cold unsalted butter (1 block of 227g butter)
5 Tsp cold water

Apparatus
kitchen scale
measuring spoons
medium-sized bowl
pastry blender
plastic sheets
rolling pin
pastry cutter
pastry moulds
oven
wire rack

What you need to do:

1. In a medium-sized bowl, mix all dry ingredients together.

2. Cut butter into chunks and with the help of a pastry blender, combine butter and flour until it resembles bread crumbs.

3. Add a tablespoon of cold water at a time into the mixture to form a soft dough.

4. Rest the dough for 30 minutes.

5. Roll out dough in between sheets of plastic ~ 2.5 mm thick.

6. Using a pastry cutter, cut out dough according to the size of the pastry moulds.

7. Fill the moulds with your favourite savoury or sweet fillings.

8. Arrange the already filled moulds on a tray.

9. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 190 degrees for 25 minutes or until pastry is golden brown.

10. Remove from oven and cool completely on wire rack.

11. Freeze leftovers in an airtight container.


Enjoy!

my mini pies
front: mutton kheema pie,
middle: beef Bolognese pizza pie
back: spicy chicken fillet chunks pizza pie