As I was looking through my recently rearranged bookshelf, I was overcome with guilt. I just have too many cooking/baking books, more than a hundred of them! That don't include the magazines bought over the counter & food magazines & cards I used to subscribe. And of the thousands of recipes in the books & magazines, I've probably only tried about 10% of them. Still, it's so hard to stop buying.....
I'm not supposed to judge a book by its cover but it's always the book cover that attracts me first. Then as I flip through the pages & admire the beautiful pictures, I feel an overwhelming desire to replicate the products & I'm often confident I can do it......That's when I normally decide to buy the book. Unfortunately, most often, the desire remains a desire up till after a few days after purchasing the book, after which I'll forget about it as it stands in between the other books on my bookshelf.
I must say I've improved quite a bit. I've not been buying baking / cooking books as often as I used to. I still go to the food section of the bookstore.... I still browse through the books & admire the pictures.... I still have the desire to replicate the products.... But, after I'm done admiring them, I will close the book, put it back on the shelf & walk away. It's very painful, especially at the beginning, but it's getting easier.....
One of the books in my collection is Resipi Pesta Perut 2002. It is part of a series of 3 books produced by Mediacorp's Malay radio station, Warna 94.2FM. These books consist of recipes contributed by listeners of the station. This morning, I made Kasui Lapis Serimuka which is actually Kuih Kasui topped with kaya, like the top of Kuih Seri Muka.
I only made 1/3 of the original recipe. Good thing I did that. Managed to make about 30 pieces of Kuih Kasui Lapis Serimuka & there was leftover kasui mixture (bottom layer), so I steamed some Kuih Kasui & topped them with fresh grated coconut.
I'm submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #12: Traditional Kueh (October 2011) hosted by SSB of Small Small Baker.
Kaswi Lapis Serikaya
(recipe by Hazizah Ghani from Resipi Pesta Perut 2002)
** I only made 1/3 of original recipe, the amount I used is in red.)
A
400g (140g) palm sugar (gula Melaka)
200g (60g) castor sugar
600ml (200ml) water
3 (1) pandan leaves
B
500g (170g) plain flour
125g (40g) tapioca flour
1 tsp (1/3 tsp) lime/ lye water (air kapur sirih)
400ml (300ml) water (I added 500ml more to the original amt, so 900ml altogether.)
- Combine A in a pot & cook over medium fire until syrup is thick. Remove from fire & strain. Set aside & let cool.
- Combine B in a bowl. Add in sugar syrup & mix until well blend. Strain.
- Pour into greased small moulds, half full. (I used small silicone cupcake moulds & Chinese tea cups)
- Steam until cooked. (I steamed for 15 minutes.)
6 (2)eggs
400g (135g) sugar
2 Tbsp (2/3 Tbsp) rice flour (I used plain flour)
2 1/2 cup (200ml) thick coconut milk
salt (I used 1/2 tsp)
vanilla (I replaced this with 3 cardamoms, a pinch fennel (both crushed) & 3 pandan leaves)
yellow colouring (I used egg yellow colour)
- *Combine eggs & sugar & whisk until sugar dissolves.
- *Add rice flour & blend well.
- *Add coconut milk, salt, vanilla & colouring.
- Strain mixture into a pot & cook over low fire until mixture is warm & steam can be seen. Remove from fire.
- Pour mixture onto cooked bottom layer & continue steaming until cooked.(I steamed for 15 minutes)
- Remove from steamer & leave to cool. Remove kuih from moulds & serve.
You have a huge collection of books! Can put them to good use for AB. :) I agree it's so hard to resist the temptation to buy books and baking tools. :)
ReplyDeleteI sure will use them for AB! Joining AB has really motivated me to bake more often. Thank you for initiating it. About the baking tools, that calls for another, or a few, blog posts!
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteJust discovered ur blog today! I was smiling when I read abt how u can't resist buying cookbooks n when after buying, they end up in ur book shelf! Cos I have the same addiction - for cookbooks( at least 100 ) n Nordic ware pans( more than 20)! When buying, I always think I'm gonna read or use, then after buying - after a few days passed, sometimes it will turn into weeks n sometimes months! :(
It's so difficult cos these days so cheap to buy from amazon!
Anyways, nice blog u have! Thks for sharing ur recipes!
Regards,
Susanna,
Perth
Hi Susanna,
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by. So we hv the same problem... haha. I still can't resist buying the books although I'm now more disciplined. You hv more than 20 Nordic Ware pans? Wow!! I love them too. But I just hv to refrain myself from buying too many. It's hard though. Everytime I make a trip to Tott store here in Singapore, I'm sure to bring back at least 1 NW pan.
You have a great blog too! Hope to try the recipes from yr blog. :)