Cheese Brownies

Was at a hubby's colleague's house for BBQ and his wife served cheese brownies, just fall in love with it and decided to google and try it out. After the first attempt, I made the second with raspberry which is harder (the first was more gooey).

Ingredients:

• 85g unsalted butter
• 115g dark cooking chocolate, break to small pieces
• 120g sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 70g flour
• 1tbsp milo
• a small pinch salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 80g chocolate chips
• 200g cream cheese
• 1 large egg yolk
• 60g sugar
• a splash of vanilla extract
• a small handful of frozen raspberry

Methods:

1. Line a 9" square pan with foil, mist with non stick spray or grease lightly. I uses my lovely air fryer, so, I lined the basket instead and used only 2/3 of the ingredients. If you prefer the gooey version, used all the ingredients and smaller pan.
2. If using normal oven, preheat it at 180C. Airfryer, just add 2mins to the baking time later.
3. In a medium saucepan, melt butter and chocolate over low heat and stirring till it is smooth. Remove from heat and add in the 120g sugar and heat and stir.
4. Next stir in lightly beaten 2 eggs. Mix in flour, milo and salt, then vanilla and chocolate chips. Stir till even and pour over the baking pan, spread evenly.
5. In a separate bowl, cream the cheese, yolk, balance of sugar and vanilla until smooth.
6. Use a spoon to scoop the mixture and drop by dollops on top of the brownies mixture the lightly swirl it. If you adding the raspberry, pop on top of the mixture not too close to each other.
7. Bake for 30-40mins till the side set (the middle will still be soft and wobbly like). If using airfryer, I set it at 180C for 17mins.
8. After baking, take it out to cool before popping in the fridge to set, cut and serve.

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Home Made Almond Milk

Ingredients:

• 150g (approximately, didnt weight) almond (I used those with skin, so got to waste time removing, try to get those without), soaked overnight to remove the skin, then soaked for at least another night
• 5 cups water

Method:

1. Soak the almond for at least a night to ease the skin removal. Remove the brown skin. Then soak for another night. The reason I remove the skin is cause I wanted to use the almond meal later for baking. If you are just throwing it away (try not to waste), dont bother then. 
2. I uses the magi mix, but I guess should be the same with the other food processor or blender. Just sieve off all the water and blend it for about 20seconds and slowly add in water. Blend till you see the entire mixture is smooth and fine.
3. Use those fine sieve or cheesecloth to sieve the milk. Press the almond meal till dry so you get all the milk. Leave aside the almond meal for other recipes. Can use it for baking or make some vegetarian food dishes.
4. I then double boil the milk for bout 20mins and ready to be served. 

Cinnamon Rolls

I have gotten this recipe from Weight Watchers magazine though the second time making it, it is no longer weight conscious :p

First time, I used plain flour only but for the second time, I mixed it with self raising wheat flour, replaced the chocolates and nuts and raisins with shredded cheddar cheese.

This is the Cinnamon Cheese Wheat Rolls

This is the Chocolate Cashew Nuts Cranberries Raisin Rolls

Ingredients:

• 7g of yeast powder
• 125ml warm water (since it is cold now here, 60ml cold water and the rest hot water)
• 1 egg
• 250g plain flour (for the cheese rolls, I replaces 35g of plain flour with self raising wheat flour)
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tbsp raw sugar
• 2 handful of cashew nuts (lightly break it with the pestle and mortar) - for the version 1
• 1 handful of dried cranberries
• 1 handful of raisins
• 4 pieces of dark cooking chocolates (the square on the chocolate pcs) - melt it in a double boiler with the sugar and yogurt, stir till smooth
• 1 tsp of raw sugar
• 1 tbsp yogurt
• 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 tbsp of cinnamon powder

Methods:

1. Mix the yeast with the warm water and leave it to rise. It should bubble to shows that the yeast is active and not dead.
2. Crack the egg into the yeast once it bubble and lightly whisk it.
3. Pour the liquid into the flour (mixed it well with the ground cinnamon and raw sugar in advance).
4. Use your hand to knead the mixture till it becomes a nice smooth dough. That should take about 15mins.
5. Leave it to rise for 30mins (covered in hot warm towel). If the weather is too dry and cold, leave it on top of a pot of hot water.
6. Punch and knead the dough. Cut it to half.
7. Use the rolling pin, roll it to a long flat pieces.
8. For version 1, spread a layer of the chocolate paste and sprinkle it with the nuts, raisins and cranberries. Then roll it up, cut it into 1.5inch slice. Leave it on top of the baking sheets to rise for another 20-30mins.
9. For version 2, sprinkle it with the cinnamon powder and cheddar cheese, roll it up and cut it into 1.5 inch slice too. Similarly, leave it to rise for 20-30mins. * I had also sprinkle some parmesan cheese powder.
10. I uses the airfryer to bake it at first 2 mins 140C and another 4 mins on 180C (for second batch onwards, only need 3mins). If you uses the normal oven, dont bother pre-heating it. Leave the bread in there and bake for 30mins (reduce the rising time to 10mins will do) at 180C.

Japanese Beef Curry

Ingredients:

• 150-180g of beef cubes
• half carrots cut into chunk
• half potato cut into chunk
• half a pureed apple (I used the shredder to shred it to it is mushy too)
• 1/4 cup peas
• 1/4 onion cut into thin slices
• 1/4 tbsp oil
• 120ml water
• 1 tsp garam masala
• a small pinch of salt
  
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp Worcester sauce
• a pinch of freshly grounded pepper

Methods:

1. Heat up the oil in a sauce pan and fry the onion till golden and caramelised, used medium fire.
2. Once the onion brown, add in the beef cubes to brown it.
3. Add in the carrot and water. Turn the fire high.
4. Once at boiling stage, add in the potato, apple and garam masala. Simmer on low fire for about 20-30mins.
5. On a separate pan or saucepan, melt the butter, add in the flour and stir constantly.
6. Add in garam masala, curry powder, tomato paste, pepper and Worcester sauce.
7. Continue to stir till the mixture becomes dry and crumbly.
8. Add in the mixture into the pot of beef stew and stir till it mix well. Season with salt and done.

* amount for one person's lunch box, so multiply based on person eating.. :D

Home Made Crackers

Gotten this recipe from http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2010/05/homemade-crackers.html and done a little adjustment coz I was just too lazy to wait till the next day, so the soaking process was reduced to 3hrs instead... hehehe... not sure if that affects the nutrition or taste or not.

Ingredients:

• 3.5 self raising whole wheat flour
• 1 cup yogurt with 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup of coconut oil (melted)
• 1/4 cup of butter (melted)
• 1 tsp salt

Methods:

1. Mix the flour with the yogurt and apple cider vinegar. Leave it aside, covered in a piece of cloth for about 3 hours.
2. Add in the rest of the ingredients and knead till it forms proper dough.
3. Roll it out and cut to the shapes you like. Line it on the baking tray of the air fryer (180c), bake for 3mins. The first batch was 5mins coz the airfryer is still cold and needs to heat up.

Frittata with Airfryer

This is for someone's lunch box tomorrow :D

Another of air fryer cooking that I found online, ingredients customised based on supply in fridge.

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• a pinch of salt and pepper
• a handful of peas
• a handful of corns
• a big handful of mixed salad leaves, slightly shred with hand
• a handful of julienned capsicum
• a handful of julienned carrot
• 1.5 sticks of chinese waxed sausage, cut to side way long slices
• one tablespoon of chopped onion
• 1/8 teaspoon of oil

Methods:

1. Pour the sausage and onions into the baking tray and set the airfryer to 180C for 4mins.
2. Mixed the rest of the ingredients and mix it before pouring into the baking tray.
3. Set the airfryer to 180C for 4mins and then 200C for 1mins.

Air Fryer

Hehehe... I had just make my kitchen another step closer to a completely furnished kitchen with the addition of a new member, the Philips Airfryer.

I was contemplating between the Philips Viva Airfryer vs Tefal Actifry and concluded that I'll get the Airfryer for the following reason:

• I dont need a non stick slow cooker but a fryer
• Lots of complain online bout the Actifry for being easily broken (most of them break within 2years) and some even complaint that it will set the unit or stuff nearby on fire... ops... I dont want to turn into a human bakar or burn down the rented house.
• It can serves as a mini oven, which I need coz my oven is really slow and not powerful and we dont have the space to get a proper oven unless we move in to a place of our own.

The first two items that I had tested was the fries and fried chicken. For the fries, I have yet to perfect the skill to get it right, just like those deep fryer fries and will keep attempting. 

Meanwhile for the chicken, I guess this is finally good after two attempt though it makes the cleaning of the wire basket really tough.

Ingredients:

• 4 drumsticks (large one)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• a small pinch of mixed herbs
• 2 tablespoon of bread crumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon of oil (I uses spray so it could be lesser and more even)

Methods:

1. Marinade the chicken with the seasoning and coat it with bread crumbs. Leave it to marinade as long as possible, I had it marinated for about 4hrs or more.
2. Spray the drumstick with oil.
3. Leave it on the basket, set the airfryer at 180C for 13mins.
4. Turn the chicken and set the airfryer at 180C for another 10mins and finally 200C for another 2mins to give the chicken the crisp.