[Recipe] Buttered Clams

 I had an urge for clams earlier this week, after the hubs and son wiped off the asahi butter clams we had as a side dish for lunch at a japanese restaurant. (*sulk) So I decided to try to  re-create this dish!

My original plan was to steam bamboo clams with garlic, ginger and chilli but finding these clams proved to be a challenge. It's the case of : when you want it, you can't find it!  But I was very happy that I managed to find fresh lala clams, those still in the tank, at Sheng Siong. It costs me $3.80 for almost a kilogram of clams. Very cheap I think, versus the price we paid for a small portion at the restaurant.

When I got home, I chilled the whole bag of clams in the fridge. Only to find out later from Jennifer that I should be soaking the clams in water so that they will "spurt" out the the sand and salt out of the shells, for at least 1/2 an hour. So I did! And a quick info from Mr Google told me that I should also clean the shells! So I scrub-a-dub-dub and gave the clams some back rub. Or was it front? Anyway..

Here's the ingredients to my dish :

- Lala clams (approx.1kg)

- Butter (I used about 1 tbsp scoop)

- Garlic (the more the merrier for me!)

- Chopped chinese parsley (this is my fave! adds flavor to the dish)

- 1/4 rice bowl of hua tiao jiu (chinese cooking wine - cos I don't have the ang moh white wine)

- 1 tsp of light soya sauce 

- grounded black pepper (depends on your preference, I added about 3-4 dashes)

I used my stainless steel pot to cook this because I don't want it scratching my chinese wok. With medium heat, melt the butter but be mindful not to let it get burnt. Throw in the garlic and stir fry a little before putting in the clams. Put in the chopped parsley, cooking wine, the soya sauce and black pepper. And about 1/2 rice bowl of water. Give it a good mix, cover the pot and let it cook for approximately half and hour or until the clams are opened up which is indication that they are cooked.  Do a taste test before serving - it could be a little salty because of the butter so adjust it by adding more water if necessary.

And ta-da! My first home cooked buttered clam dish! Sweet and succulent! My family loved it. Cooking with butter made a difference. I think this would go extremely well served with spaghetti too! Try it!

Oh and if anyone knows where to get em' bamboo clams, please leave a comment with the place where I can find them. Thanks!

Photo taken with my iphone4.

 Till the next post, have a blessed week!

Motivational Mondays - Never Give Up!

 

I have a friend who has such a wonderful heart for people around her. She may not think so but I know so.

She is enthusiastic about things in general and as I know it, nothing seems to ever faze her.

But lately, certain issues in her undertakings seemed to have taken a toll on her mind and soul.

I would like to dedicate this post to her, as a reminder to her and timely reminder to us as well, that sometimes : 

- we have to take smaller steps in life for bigger things to happen because when that happens, it will be a welcome unexpected event

- continue to look forward to a wonderful future because it is out there for you.

- take matters off the beaten path which could lead us to greener pastures.

It is important we keep that vision alive so that we can look forward to everyday and live the positive life that we all desire. We are not alone. We all have our ups and downs. Life is not perfect but it's how we want to make of it.

I do hope my friend is reading this and this will cheer you on! I am right behind you!

Till the next post, have a blessed week! 

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Foodie Fridays - A not so healthy salad?

I don't usually have craving for our local rojak as compared to Penang style rojak. But strangely, I had one yesterday and lucky me, a nearby hawker stall across my block had just what I wanted to have for lunch!

 I asked for jiu-he (cuttlefish) and pi-dan (century egg) to be added into the the rojak for the extra kick I was willing to have yesterday. :p  Cost me 5 bucks. Of all the ingredients that went into this, my favorite are the you-char-kway (dough fritter) and mang kwang (turnip).

The rojak sauce was just nice - not too sweet nor too spicy to my liking, albeit I felt something was missing. I think there was a lack of the shredded red ginger plant bud and lime! Yes, I think lime would have made this dish more appetizing than it looks.

Do you like our local rojak? Where would be the best place to have them? Do share with me!

Till the next post, have a blessed week!

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Wordless Wednesday - Friendship Band

 Remember this?  I made for my hubby when we were still dating. Easily 18 years ago... now, why is it in my drawer again?

Till the next post, have a blessed week!

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Photo *Heart* Fridays - I love the bonding

There's just something about taking time to bond between father and son. And I think, kite flying is one of the greatest way to do just that.

Till the next post, have a blessed week!

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[Recipe] Sheperd's Pie Recipe

I remember the first time I tasted this dish was back in the mid 90's at a quaint little cafe, tucked in a quiet corner at Far East Plaza. I immediately declared it my comfort dish because it was OH-SO-GOOD but not long after (well at least after 5 visits), this cafe closed down!  Determined to re-create this dish, I found myself a simple recipe and have improvised a little to its taste along the way. 

As we had a family picnic last week, I made this pie and received the thumbs up from my family and extended family who tried it. Even my daughter, who is not into beef, had a quarter of pie to herself! (I asked the hubs if it was good and his reply was "cook more tomorrow"... smart answer! :p)

INGREDIENTS TO PREPARE
- 450gm minced beef
{originally, it is supposedly lamb meat, hence the dish name. You can also substitute with pork and it tastes equally wonderful}
- 4 to 5 large potatoes, skinned
- 5 tbsp of tomato paste or from a small can of pasta sauce

- 1 rice bowl of frozen peas
{though I used canned peas in this batch, it was too mushy for my liking}
- 2 medium sized onions {sliced into small pieces}
- 1/2 cube of chicken stock or 1 tsp of Masterchef multi-purpose seasoning powder
- Worcestershire sauce
- 1 bay leaf {optional}
- 3 tbsp corn flour
- Olive oil {optional}
- Cooking oil
 - Mayonaisse
 - Ground pepper {optional}
- Salt to taste

I marinated the beef with the pasta sauce, 6-7 dashes of worcestershire sauce, corn flour and let it sit for about 15-20 minutes.

COOKING STEPS
- heat up pan with about 1 1/2 tbsp of cooking oil
- fry onions till soft
- add marinated meat and fry till about half cooked
- add in chicken stock, peas and bay leaf
- mix well and let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Stir occasionally and set aside when cooked.

Now for the potatoes :
- Cook potatoes in boiling water for approx. 45 minutes or till soft when you poke a fork through.
- When potatoes are cooked and cooled, mash it up. This can be done beforehand.
- I added about 6 tbsp of mayonaisse, 1 tsp of olive oil, dashes of pepper and a light sprinkle of salt.
- Mix the potatoes well. Do a taste test because it may be subjective to you.

Lay the meat in a casserole or foiled tin before adding the mashed potatoes on top, making sure that it is compressed nicely. Do a little criss cross design on top of the potatoes with a fork and put in the oven to bake. You can also add some cheese topping if you like. This step is for the outer layer of the potato to be lightly crusted. You don't need to bake it too long if it is still piping hot and ready to serve. Set the oven on high about 190 degrees and bake for about 10 minutes.

I used disposable foiled tin for the picnic.

Happy cooking and eating! Tell me if this dish becomes one of your favourite too!

Till the next post, have a blessed week!

Wordless Wednesday - My Peranakan Roots

There wouldn't be me if my grandparents did not marry. :)

Till the next post, have a blessed week!

Wordless Wednesday - Happy Birthday Singapore!

 

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Till the next post, have a blessed week!

From Raw Clay To Silver

Last year, I had the opportunity to attend a 2 hour workshop and tried my hands on silver art clay at Jewellery Design and Management International School.  I had always been curious about silver art clay and turning it into pure silver was something that got me very excited!

 Unlike the polymer clay that I am used to working with, this one is water based so it's quite ooey to work with. (I immediately associate with the movie "Ghost" - remember the song "Unchained Melody"? hahahaha) But ok, there wasn't a Patrick Swayze with me nor a Demi Moore in me and there was only 10 gram of the clay to work with so not possible to do pottery there.

 

Anyway, I was still not convinced that the piece of boring wet cement colored clay would eventually turn out silver. So upon the instructions of the workshop teacher, the class rolled out our clays and designed whatever we wanted with the given tools. We had to constantly ensure that the clay is moist to work with so a water spray was the hottest property at the table. As I didn't want to waste it by coming up with some weird creation, I stuck to a simple style and so that my daughter can wear them.  The above left picture is my cut out design from raw clay, ready to be fired on the stove. On the right are all of the class's creations being fired up.

About 10 minutes later when the clay is dry, we had to leave it to cool a bit and check if there are condensation on the surface. Only when it is completely dry that we could continue to finish our work.

The magic happened when we burnished the clay with wired brush for at least a good 10 minutes. Wow! I was really amazed that the silver was showing and so shiny at that! 

I was really happy with what I saw and planned in my mind to create from this clay product and sell my creations at my blogshop. But gasp! When I found out that a 10gram clay costs near to $50, I almost fainted. That would mean that I cannot afford to make grave mistakes in my creations and selling prices would be at a premium. That is not what I set out for my blogshop to cater as my customers enjoy my mid-range priced creations. So I have put this plan on hold till at a better time when I can invest in this material. I'm just waiting for that day to happen. :)

The above are the completed jewelries from the workshop. It's pure silver mind you! Still amazes me and I hope my post has inspired you to go out and try something new. It is times like this that I appreciate my craft even more.

Before I left the workshop, I managed to take a photo with the school's principal, Tonya. Amazingly talented lady. Though not a very well taken photo by the workshop teacher! :p

Till the next post, have a blessed week!

~ This post is purely by my own accord and am in no way paid or affiliated with the school ~

Wordless Wednesday - Fireworks

Photo credit goes to my husband.

Till the next post, have a blessed week!

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