Rocky Roads for Christmas!

 
I hope everyone had a beautiful Christmas and I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy new year filled with lots of happiness, smiles and good health!!
This year I made some Rocky Roads as small Christmas present for some friends and received alot of compliments as to how good the Rocky Roads looked and tasted hehe it made me very happy to know that my little effort could bring about smiles and brighten someones day :D
I think in life, it is very important to cherish all the little things that we have already and take for granted everyday. Especially the people who are in our lives. Only recently was I reminded that life is precious and fragile. Sometimes we are so absorbed with whats happening in our own life that we forget to look back to see if we have left any of our love ones behind : ( no matter how busy life can be for you, your family and friends are still there and will walk along side your life with you. Though saying I love you to them everyday may not be your thing, but you can let them know how grateful you are to have them in your life in your own words. Even if your way of saying you care is giving your brother or sister a noogie :) So anytime you are feeling down, just know that there are people who care about you also and though bad things will happen, they will pass just as quickly. Being able to wake up every morning is a blessing. To me even those silly arguments that you have with your family everyday is blessing. If someone beside you is feeling down, why not take the time to really listen to what they have to say....or just make them some Rocky Roads! That should bring a smile to their face again :) For me, I love cooking and to be able to cook some delicious meals and desserts to share with my family is my way of telling my family I appreciate them. So if you are ever lucky enough to try something I made...well the rest should be self explanatory hehe

Here is my recipe for Rocky Roads:

Rocky Roads,

Ingredients:

1 packet of 110g slivered almonds, toasted on pan for 3 minutes

1/3 cup of peanuts, roasted

500g chocolate (i used half dark half milk chocolate)

1 cup of shredded coconut, toasted on pan for 1-2 minutes

250g marshmellow pink and white

20 raspberry lollies, chopped

100g of oreo biscuit, chopped

Method: (very simple)

Melt the chocolate on a double boiler (saucepan of boiling water on stove and another bowl of with the chocolate on top to melt slowly). Mix melted chocolate with all the other ingredients and mix well. Pour mixture into the square tin about 30cm tin or larger and set in fridge for 1 hour! Cut into smaller cubes to serve.Thats all there is to it!

Hope you enjoyed reading my blog so far :)

Happy reading!
Fat Pom Pom

Kimchi Jigae and Japchae!

I have always been a big fan of Korean cuisine, they are always packed with punches of flavours!! Spicy, sweet, sour, saltiness, they are always a nice balance of flavours. My family always looks forward to dinner when I cook korean dishes, and seeing their satisfied faces leaving the dinner table, I know I have done a good job ; ) 

These two dishes below are my favourite korean dishes and I always order them when dining out in a Korean restaurants. My recipes are as follows:

JAPCHAE

Ingredients: (serves 4)

1 packet of Korean sweet potato noodles (350g)

1 medium onion, slice into 8-10 wedges

3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 carrot, chopped into 5mm match sticks

4 green/spring onions, cut into 5cm peices

10 shitake mushrooms, soaked for 2 hours in warm water and then slice thinly

150g thinly slice beef fillet

100g of spinach, soak in boiling water for 1 minute, drain and season with 1 tsp of soysauce and sesame oil

Sesame oil, sugar, soysauce for seasoning

Sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

Method:

1. Boil the noodles in boiling water in a big pot for about 5 minutes. When the noodles are soft, drain them and put in a large bowl.
2. Use scissors to cut the noodles (as they are quite long) and add 2 tbs of soy sauce and 2 tbs of sesame oil. Mix it up and set aside. 
3. Heat a small frying pan, add a few drops of olive oil and your carrot strips and saute for a few minutes. Remove from pan and add to the bowl of noodles.
4. Repeat the same with onion and spring onions.
5. Add a few drops of olive oil to the pan and add your beef strips and your sliced shitake mushrooms and garlic. Stir it until it’s cooked well, then add 2 tbsp soy sauce and 1-2 tbsp sugar. Stir for another 30 seconds and then add to your bowl.
6. Add 3 tbsp of soy sauce, 2-3 tbsp of sugar, 2 tbsp of sesame oil to the bowl and mix all ingredients together. Taste and add more soy sauce or sugar according to your taste. 
7. Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds on the top to finish.

  

KIMCHI JIGAE

Ingredients:

500g kimchi

200g of soft or silken tofu, cut into smaller peices

1 small can of spam 200g, cut into smaller peices

5 green/spring onion, cut into 5cm peices

4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

Sesame oil

2 tbsp of hot pepper paste (see picture)

1tsp of chilli flakes/powder

3 cups of boiling water

Method:

1. Heat a medium size pot, add 1tbsp of sesame oil. Add the garlic, kimchi and spam and saute for 2-3 minutes.
2. Add water, hot pepper paste and chilli flakes. Simmer for 10-15 minutes for the flavour to develop. You can leave to simmer for longer for a more intense flavour!
3. Then add tofu and spring onions and simmer for another 5 minutes. Before serving, garnish with more spring onions and 1tsp of sesame oil.
4. Serve with rice

Hope you guys enjoy the recipes!!! Let me know how yours turned out :)

Happy eating!

Fat Pom Pom

Little Cupcakes

mmmmmm....

Hi everyone!! Hope all has been well, sorry i havent posted for a while! Been very busy with everything :)

Recently I got a dozen mini cupcakes at Little Cupcakes in Melbourne (as you can see from the pictures above)! A neat little store nestle in one of Melbourne's famous lane ways. Words cant describe how delicious they were hehe the sponge were super moist and soft, and the plentiful flavour icing were smooth and creamy and not too sweet, not to mention they looked absolutely adorable!! Too adorable that all I wanted to do was to keep them forever :) sounds crazy but you'll know what I mean when you see them!

I had 12 different flavours, my favourites I have to say are carrot, cookies and cream and vanilla!! Actually they were all pretty good! I already want to go back for more hehe

If you get a chance to try them, let me know what your favourite flavours are!

Hope everyone has a wonderful day, happy reading!

Fat Pom Pom