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Bread as a Bowl

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If you love bread dip with chowder, stews or thick curry, this is the right recipe for you…. Bread Bowl.

Bread Bowl is a round loaf of bread with thick and crispy crust like French Loaf (Baguette), which has had the middle cut out to create an edible bowl. Add in your favorite, chicken curry with potatoes as shown in the photo, for instance, serve as main meal or as snack. Dip the cut out bread with the curry and eat, after that, you can eat the bread bowl to finish off the whole dish. A bowl less to clean up and wash, gheeee….. less work, less waste water, less dish wash to use and more environmental friendly

As some of you might have known, I don’t have an oven to bake. I baked this bread bowl at my mom’s house and off course with some helping hands from her. After all the baking and great time learning tips from her, I went home with a box of bread bowls, ready to serve my family with curry from my mom’s recipe too.

Get the recipe to bake some bread bowls for your family and friends on the next page. Enjoy!!!!

{Get full details on next page.}

1. Valentines Day Cookies with Buttercream Frosting at Tidymom.
2. Simply Dotty Valentines Cookies at Sweet Sugar Belle.
3. Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies at Two Peas And Their Pod.
4. Valentines Jello Hearts at The Hungry Housewife.
5. Oreo Cookie Love Bug at Snap.
6. Red Velvet Valentine’s Macarons at Delectable Deliciousness.
7. Heart Spinkle Valentine Macarons at Bubble And Sweet.
8. Marbled Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies at The Novice Chef.
9. Double-decker, Stripey, Valentine Cookies at Bake At 350.
10. Sweet Heart Shortbread at Diamonds For Dessert.
11. Sweets for my sweetie pie at Bits Of Taste.
12. Valentines Twinkies on a Stick at Confessions Of a Cookbook Queen.
13. Glass Topper Valentines Cookies at Cookies And Cups.
14. Valentine Cake Pop at National Geographic.
15. How to Make Valentine’s Day Marshmallow Pops at Mommy Gaga.
16. Valentine Sugar Cubes at Craft Passion.
17. Egg In A Basket at Food 4 Tots.
18. How to make a heart shaped egg at Anna The Red.
19. Heart Shaped Cinnamon Bun at Craft And Creativity.
20. Valentine Roasted Potatoes at Haniela’s.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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Recipe: Chicken Curry with Potatoes

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Cooking for family is not an easy task, which I only realized it after leaving home for education advancement, and, again when I have my own family. My mum used to cook at least 2 meals with 2 – 3 dishes a day during the weekdays. A good collection of recipes is important in order to keep the everyday diners happily and welly fed. I can feel the stress of being a full-time cook for the family and I haven’t had the gut to take up the job yet. Before I am ready for the job, I need to build up my recipe collection, practice till they are perfected. Luckily, I have a supportive husband and kids, they always said that I have the talent in cooking because they like what I cook even if it is for the first try. May be it is because I learned the tips and secrets from my mum during the up-bringing as I have to help in the kitchen.

I hope you like this curry chicken with potatoes which is mildly spice (depends on the spicy level of the fresh chillies) and creamy in taste and texture.

{Get full details on next page.}

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Tea Leaf Eggs
Easy Chinese Recipes: Family Favorites From Dim Sum to Kung Pao

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Now, tea leaf eggs is a common snack that we can find in most Chinese populated area and even in shopping complexes. You don’t have to find it, just smell it and you will know which shop or stall is selling it. Cooking tea leaf eggs isn’t difficult if you can get the spices, most Asian shops should have them, if not, you can get them from AsianSupermarket365.com.

If you love easy Chinese cooking, probably this is the best book you should buy, Easy Chinese Recipes: Family Favorites From Dim Sum to Kung Pao. It is not merely a recipes book that provides recipes. This 144 pages recipes book full of bountiful photos and awesome information from utensils, ingredients, tips & tricks to basic cooking method. You will never get lost half way through cooking the recipes from this book, authored by Bee Yinn Low who owns a popular website Rasa Malaysia: Easy Asian Recipes.

After flipping though the book over and over again, I decided to cook this tea leaf eggs because it seems so easy and simple to follow. The most important thing is that I wanted to try out if I can get the same authentic tea leaf eggs taste ever savored in my taste bud. This recipe didn’t fail me and I will cook more for my family with this recipe book.

Recipe: Tea Leaf Eggs [茶叶蛋]

Recipe from: Easy Chinese Recipes: Family Favorites From Dim Sum to Kung Pao
Makes: 12 eggs or serve 6 as an appetizer

INGREDIENTS:
4 cups (1 liter) water
12 large eggs

Tea Mixture
4 cups (1 liter) water ( I used 5 cups since I simmered the eggs for overnight)
3 heaping tablespoons Chinese puer tea leaf or black tea (I used Tie Guan Yin tea leaf 鐵觀音)
1 cinnamon stick
3 star anise
6 tablespoon soy sauce
3 teaspoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt

METHOD:

• Add 4 cups (1 liter) of water to a pot and gently drop in the eggs. Make sure the water covers the eggs. Bring the water to boil over high heat. Boil until the eggs are cooked, about 10 minutes.
• Remove the hard-boiled eggs from the boiling water and rinse them with cold running water. Using the back of a teaspoon, gently tap the eggshell to crack the shell. Discard the water in the pot.
• To make the Tea Mixture, heat the water in a pot and bring it to a boil. Add the rest of the ingredients and return to a boil.
• Transfer the eggs to the pot and boil the eggs with the Tea Mixture for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to low. Simmer the eggs for at least 2 hours. (I placed my them in a slow cooker and simmered for overnight.)
• Serve the eggs immediately or leave them in the Tea Mixture overnight to further develop the color and flavor. Tea Leaf Eggs are best served the next day.

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Chunky Mashed Potatoes With Baked Beans

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Husband and I usually cook chunky mashed potatoes for breakfast during some lazy weekends [get the recipes below]. One of our favorite potato dishes for breakfast is chunky mashed potatoes with baked beans. In order to make the breakfast more appealing to the kids, hubby would help to decorate the plate to make faces, with chunky mashed potatoes, shredded vegetables, sausage and fruits. They usually polish off the plate very fast and will ask for second serving with other facial expression.

Recipe: Chunky Mashed Potatoes

Serves: 4
Prepare time: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS:
Russet or Yukon Potatoes – 4 medium size
Butter – 3 to 4 tablespoon
Milk (optional)
Black Paper – freshly ground
Salt – 1 teaspoon for unsalted butter, a pinch for salted butter
Chives – chopped or sliced

METHOD:

• Wash and peel off the skin of the potatoes and cut them into cube.
• Put the potatoes in a pot and fill with cold water to cover the potatoes.
• Boil the potatoes with high heat then turn to medium heat and cover the pot with lid, shimmer for another 15 to 20 minutes. Stick a toothpick or fork into the potatoes to check if they are done. Slightly over-cook will make the mashing easier. Bigger cube and Yukon potatoes might need slight longer cooking time.
• While waiting for the potatoes to cook, take the butter out from the fridge and let it soften under room temperature.
• Drain the potatoes when it is ready.
• Add butter on the warm potatoes and mashed it with fork.
• Add milk if you prefer smoother & creamier texture.
• Add salt, ground black pepper to taste.
• Garnish with chives and serve while it is still warm.