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Buttermilk Scones with almond and cranberry

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Nothing beats the good time of 2 old time buddies meet together to chat, to bake and spend a pleasant late afternoon catching up each other’s updates with some freshly baked scones and a cup of english tea. Life is short and the clock is spinning too fast, a 35 years of friendship passes by just like a blink of eyes.

Mandy, the first friend of mine in the primary school, now my oldest BFF, who is also an utterly talented baker. Today, she is sharing her perfect almond & cranberry scones recipe that she calls it “My Ultimate Scones”, adapted from the recipe book – Delia Smith: How to Cook. I used to love how my mum’s buttermilk scones tastes until I tried Mandy’s…. opps **someone please block my mum’s eyes if she happens to read this**…. well, my mum is still a great baker, especially her breads and cookies. I am lucky to have a chance to learn some baking skill from both of them, hopefully, I will fully utilize my electrical oven when I move into my new home.

I love flaky scones rather than chewy and with lots of buttery smell and taste… Mandy bakes the right scones of my taste bud. After finished her first round of scones, the taste still lingering on my mind and in my tongue… oh my gosh… I miss them so much!!! I told her and she said it is a quick and easy recipe, let her now when I am around her area, she will bake another batch for me to bring some fresh scones home… BFF is always the best!!! Ahemmm… Mandy, a portion is not enough, my family likes the scones too, more people less share… lol

I am hoping Mandy can share more of her mouth-watering baking recipes and photos here…. I need your help, please comment to motivate her to contribute more…. please, please, I ready need your helping hand!!!!

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Strawberry Jam Recipe

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Making your own strawberry jam is easy with 3 simple ingredients, and you can adjust the taste to your preference. My family loves the jam to be soft & easy spread, with mild sweetness and a little lemony. This is the recipe if you prefer your jam to be this way too. And, this recipe has no added gelatin and pectin.

My daughter told me that my jam taste just like the store bought jam but with more fragrance. She is right, that’s because I used rock sugar instead of normal white sugar.

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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.