Tick off the bucket list - win a competition! Thanks to Hello Fresh

When writing a bucket list, some people say they wanted to do bungee jumping, travel around the world, learn new language.. whatever..
Well.. am one of those people apparently.. In fact, here's my bucket list
that i posted 3 years ago.. (whatever to me!)Funny how i found that I've crossed some of those without even realising it.. It actually makes me feel good going through it again..

Anyway, lets see where this all coming from..
I just recently won a prize from an 8 week well being challenge that work has conducted.. I couldnt be happier when I got the email saying that I've won one of the weekly prizes, i didnt even bother to check what the prize was.. It was not a major prize or anything, but hey.. it got me thinking.. can i tick this off my bucket list?

So here i was.. reading thru my old bucket list, hoping to cross one out..
Win a competition
but poor me.. its just not on my list from 2010 to actually win anything.. sigh sigh..

But hey.. am still happy..
I got this wonderful ingredients and a fool proo recipe - or so they say, for dinner tomorrow..
and  here's what i got going on tomorrow for dinner :)
thanks to Hello Fresh

1. Almond, olive and artichoke pasta
2. Chicken tagine
3. Rosemary lamb kebabs with tabouleh

Happy cooking!

Just cause how sweet he is..

A little gift to sweeten the so called Valentine day ~

Now i got a whole new list for appliances to buy for the kitchy-kitchen 

Peanut Butter Cookies

I got cookie fever.. Everywhere i go, i just wanted to get some cookie.. Everytime G asked me to bake, all i wanted is to bake more cookie..
Btw, we only got 1 jar of cookie, so i decided not to make another batch if we havent finish the cookie in the jar.. But then we ended up just eating it faster to get more cookie.. Or maybe at least thats what i did.. =)

This time around, i wanted to make some peanut butter cookies..
Dont know where it comes from, i dont even like peanut butter that much..
But i just got it in my head already that i wanted to make this cookie.. and cinnamon one, but thats later on.. not this post..
So.. here we are..
Recipe from here but i feel like a smart ass that day, so i change things around.. Just making it has less sugar and more peanut butter instead... and cruncy peanut butter instead of smooth one for more hearty feeling for me..
and below is what i did..
it turns out awesome.. i always prefer my cookie to be a bit soft instead of dry, but if u want to get that 'snap' feeling you can leave it a bit longer in the oven and turns the oven up to 375F instead.

Ingredients

    1/4 cup sugar
    1/2 cup packed brown sugar
    1/2 cup butter, room temperature
    2/3 cup peanut butter - crunchy
    1 egg
    1 1/4 cup flour
    3/4 teaspoon baking soda
    1/2 teaspoon baking powder
    1/4 teaspoon salt

Method

1 Beat the butter until creamy, 2 minutes. Add the sugars, beat for 2 more minutes. Mix in the peanut butter and egg. Mix together the dry ingredients - flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the sugar butter mixture.

2 Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate at least 3 hours.

3 Preheat oven to 375°F. Shape dough into 1 1/4 inch balls. Place about 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten in crisscross pattern with a fork. Bake until light brown, 9 to 10 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for a minute; transfer to rack to cool completely.

Use forks to make the lining shape

First trial batch

Leftover dough, made in heart shape =)

The London Olympic 2012 - Cola Baked Chicken

So, this year Olympic game will be located in London (doh,, who doesnt know?) and opening ceremony will be on Saturday 6am AUS time..
We got this crazy idea of watching the ceremony while eating a prepared chicken wings from the night before..
We got this idea from watching Matt Preston on Master Chef master class session last time.. He made this sooo easy - American style - cola baked chicken, and it made me salivate...
I made some sticky chicken wings not so long ago for G, and he loveddd it.. but i was using sweet soy sauce and honey instead of cola (healthy me ey?).. so.. lets see how it goes next Saturday, shall we?
=)

All recipe and picture are from MasterChef official website.

Method

1. Preheat oven to 140°C fan forced.

2. Combine cola, sugar, garlic, onion and soy in a bowl.

3. Arrange chicken wings in a single layer in a deep oven tray and pour over cola mixture.

4. Bake for 3-3.5 hours or until sauce is thick and very sticky.

How to poach an egg?

How to poach an egg?
Proper or improper, common or uncommon, any way of doing it as long as it works.

Cooking egg might seems simple, but trust me that many of us aren’t really sure (read for me: have no bloody idea) of the correct way to prepare a perfect poached egg.
While many might say that they were amazed of how people out there do not know how to poach an egg, i have my own defense on it.
If it was that easy, why would many cook book still feature a "how to poach an egg"? Yes?
Another one, when you google "how to poach an egg", you just got this whole list of tutorial and i put my name on it, that you can easily found bunch of pro cook who still struggle with it..
Oh guys.. poaching an egg is not that easy for some, so.. here we are..

As much as i feel that some things are best left to the pros, i do love eggs, and poaching is one of the most healthiest way of eating egg.
Thats why i was so determined to get this technique right..
I have read quite a bit of different tutorials and blogs and tips of how to poach an egg, but this is the one which work for me..
Really, there are heaps of different technique, swirl your water, put vinegar, boil the water, simmer it down, room temperature egg, rubber egg poacher.. etc..

I will feature the steps that work for me, one and only..
Some people might not like this technique, but what can i say.. this is the one that works for me..
And plus, i don't need to buy anything else with this technique, all i need was cling wrap..
So. if you desperate to poach an egg and decided to trust me, follow these steps and you’ll get what you want.. PERFECTLY POACHED EGG.. =)

OK, so first..
what do you need?

* Eggs
* Cling wrap - and dont be stingy, use as much as you need cos the bigger it is, the easier you hold
* Oil for greasing
* Bit of vinegar (depending on how fresh your eggs are - the fresher, the less vinegar you need)

what to do?
1. Fill a small saucepan with water and set to boil.
2. Place your cling wrap on top of ramekin (or any other holder like cup, etc)
3. Grease your cling wrap with some oil slightly
4. Break egg into cling wrap
5. Wrap the egg by gathering up the edges of the cling wrap twisting it and making sure that you have the egg enclosed well
6. Carefully place your egg in the simmering water.
 ***If you like your egg to be a bit runny or soft boiled, poach it for 4.5- 5 minutes (assuming eggs are cold from the fridge or else 3.5-4 minutes if they are from room temperature).
7. Take your egg out of the water and enjoy your poached eggs =)

Best compliment to my spicy noodle

Ooozy egg ~