I prefer muffin with a twist of lemony taste and the combination of yogurt in it which can brings out the moist, tangy and refreshing bites in the mouth. Hence, you know the meaning behind this post, using blueberry, lemon and yogurt as the main ingredients. I find that yogurt or sour cream did a good job in making the muffin more moist and soft even the next day. Need not to say, with the additional of lemon juice and zest, you can imagine the angelic taste of these muffins. Come and join me if you are also interested in making this exotic and refreshing muffins for your family and friends.
My hubby bought back 2 packets of blueberries from his business trip recently, a good reason for me to bake a batch of blueberry muffins for the family and also for my son to pack for school. As I was keen to find a recipe with lemon and yogurt with blueberry, I found this simply delicious recipe from
Annabel Karmel. Thus, I did some adjustment from this recipe but it still tastes so delicious, it fits all the requirement that I am looking for. The sourish and tangy taste of the lemon juice is just a prefect companion for the blueberry.
Blueberry is high in anti-oxidant and low in calories. It has many health benefits including improve neurological functions, prevents cholesterol build up, improves eyesight and improve urinary tract health.
Reference from here. If you want to find out how to select and store fresh blueberry,
refer to this site.
I have freeze the balance of blueberries in the freezer after popping some of them. I kept on popping them while I was snapping those photographs, can't resist the temptation! (LOL) Meanwhile, need to get more fiber and vitamins from this superb berry. *wink* I am still thinking of what to make next with these cute little blueberries. Any idea?
 Sourced: Recipe adapted and modified from Annabel Karmel
Makes 8 large muffins
Dry Ingredients:
250 g (9 oz) plain flour
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tbsp baking powder
180 g (6 oz) caster sugar
125 g (4 1/2 oz) blueberries (rinse & pat dry)
Wet ingredients:
2 eggs
180 ml (6 fl oz) sunflower oil
180 ml (6 fl oz) soured cream (I substituted with fresh plain yogurt)
1 tsp vanilla extract
40ml lemon juice
grated zest of 1 small lemon
Method:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C/400°F.
2. Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. Stir in blueberries and mix well.
3. Whisk together the eggs, oil, fresh plain yogurt, vanilla extract, lemon juice and zest in a mixing bowl (it will look a bit curdled).
4. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well. Spoon into 8 muffin cups until about 95% full. Place some blueberries on the top to have the blueberries more appealing from the top.
5. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until golden brown on the top. Let it sits in the oven for 5 minutes before removing.
6. Test with a skewer, if the skewer comes out clean, the muffins are done! Removed and cool on the rack.
7. Best served warm, you may keep it for a day in an airtight container or freeze it.
Note:
• The baking time & temperature may vary depending on the size of the muffin cup and your oven function. Do adjust accordingly.
• If you do not have muffin tray, you may use aluminum foil cups as the base to support.
• You may get 12 muffins with medium-sized muffin cups. |
My family loves chicken pie to bits, we would surely have chicken pie during the eve of Christmas and New Year day. My mother-in-law is good in making her homemade chicken pie from scratch, meaning from kneading the pastry dough to cooking up the fillings. She had been making homemade pies since her children was young and also for special occasions such as Christmas, birthdays, New Year, Easter and so on. That's the reason why her children are hooked to chicken pie until today. I have also learnt some tips in making pies from her few years ago and hope to continue the pie eating tradition. (LOL) You may hop on to my post on her
homemade family pie here.
This round I want to try something different using puff pastry which I have been eyeing it for long time. We always admire those puff pastry chicken puffs or chicken pie in the bakery and of course we will definitely pack them home for tea. Thus, on my way to groceries shopping, I grabbed a packet of puff pastry and is going to make the puff pastry chicken pie for lunch. But, this round I am not using those chicken pie aluminum foil cups / ramekins as it takes longer time to prepare. Thus, I made a square baking dish chicken pie with the puff pastry and dropped the whole tray in the oven. (LOL) If you do need those all in one, fast & easy lunch/dinner, this recipe is definitely a good rescue to you.
Even though this is my first attempt using puff pastry for chicken pie, the result came out to be very good and simply easy! All you have to do is to cook up the fillings, thaw the puff pastry sheets, top them up the fillings, do some simple touch up and pattern. Hoala! This is all ready to bake! Within minutes, the chicken pie smells really good and ready to be serve. Isn' t it a good way to whip up a savoury and mouth-watering lunch? It is also good for party or any special occasion at home. We will make this chicken pie again for the coming Christmas. If you too like puff pastry, try this out!
 Makes 20cm X 20cm chicken pie
Ingredients:
2 pieces of 25cm X 25cm puff pastry
2 chicken breasts (about 280g)
1 small carrot, chopped to bite-sized (cube)
1 large US potato, chopped to bite-sized (cube)
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup green peas (I used canned processed peas. Drained off the water)
Seasonings:
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp plain flour
1¼ cup milk (I used full cream milk)
* ½ cup chicken stock (I mixed 2 tbsp of Concentrated Chicken Stock with 1/2 cup of water)
1 tbsp parsley, chopped (I used dried parsley)
Salt and fresh ground black pepper according to your taste
Egg Glaze: 1 egg beaten
Methods:
1. Thaw the puff pastry from the freezer by leaving it on room temperature according to the packaging instruction. Mine is about 10 mins. The puff pastry will be a bit soft to handle but it separates each sheets with a layer of clear plastic sheet. You can separate them with the tip of a butter knife and pull the puff pastry off. Follow the instruction on the packaging.
2. Wash & rinse chicken breasts meat. Put chicken breasts meat in a medium pot, add sufficient water to cover the chicken breasts meat. Add 1 tsp of salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 2 minutes with the lid on. Turn off heat and let it sit for 20 minutes. Remove chicken from the pot. Retain the poaching liquid for chicken stock *.
3. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add the onion, potato and carrot and cook for about 5 - 7 minutes until just softened.
4. Add chicken stock, then add the flour and cook for another minute.
5. Add the milk gradually under low heat, stirring all the time until the sauce is thick and simmering.
6. Meanwhile, flake the chicken breasts meat with fingers, add to the saucepan. Stir well and let simmer for another 2 mins under low heat.
7. Add parsley. Add salt and fresh ground black pepper according to your taste. Stir well.
8. Preheat oven at 400°F. Prepare a 20Cm X 20 Cm baking dish. Line the bottom and side with puff pastry. Brush with egg glaze.
9. Pour in ingredients and spread evenly. Line another layer of puff pastry on top. Fold in sides gently and neatly. Fold the sides in gently, press with a fork to create some pattern. Brush egg glaze on top of the puff pastry.
10. Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F for 20 minutes or until pastry is puffy and golden brown on the top. Transfer to rack to cool. Serve according to your preference.
Note:
• Take out sufficient puff pastry for the recipe and keep the remaining puff pastry sheets back to the freezer immediately.
• Baking temperature and timing may vary depending on your oven and puff pastry. You may need to adjust accordingly.
• You may also make these pies with aluminum foil cups / ramekins. Suitable for party or picnic. It makes 5 - 6 medium-sized ramekins. |
Recently, the weather has turn a bit cold and rains very often especially in the evening. Having a pot of braised pork belly with spices is definitely warms up my day. This is another dish with spices which I love to bits especially accompany with a bowl of hot steamed rice. The fragrant of spices spontaneously spiced up my taste bud and give me the satisfaction feeling. Do you like dishes with spices too? Well, you might want to give this dish a try and take your time to savour it during a cold day.
My kitchen cabinet has stored up plenty of spices, especially cinnamon, cloves, star anise, cardamon and many more. It saves me some time when I need to cook up an one pot dish like this! Moreover, it gives you an authentic Asian taste. Lovely! So, let's start wokking!
 Ingredients:
300gm Pork belly, cut into chunks
10 pcs canned button mushroom, halved
5 pcs Dried bean curd puffs (tau pok), halved
2 nos Cinnamon, rinsed
2 nos Star Anise, rinsed
3 nos Cloves, rinsed
1 tbsp Black peppercorn, rinsed
5 cloves roasted garlic (retain skin), rinsed & bruised
2 nos Shallots, sliced
approx; 600ml Water
Seasonings:
2 tbsp Shao Xing Chinese rice wine
1/2 cup Light Soya Sauce (adjust according to taste)
1 tbsp Thick Soya Sauce
Methods:
1. Blanch pork belly with hot boiled water. Drained and set aside.
2. Heat up 3 tbsp oil, sautee garlic & shallots till fragrant.
3. Add in cinnamon, star anise & cloves. Sautee for 2 mins.
4. Add in water, bring to boil. Add in black peppercorn.
5. Add in pork belly, mushrooms & bean curd puffs. Bring to the boil & simmer for 5 mins.
6. Add in seasonings except thick soya sauce. Simmer in low fire for about 20 - 30 mins or untill pork belly is soft & tender.
7. Water should have reduced to half & gravy turns thick. Add thick soya sauce, mix well.
8. Dish up. Serve with hot steamed rice.
Note:
• Adjust the water for simmering accordingly. The water should be enough to cover all the ingredients.
• Adjust the seasonings according to your taste. |
