The blog has moved

My dear non existent followers and others who will stumble upon this.
The blog has moved to nazeen.wordpress.com

I sit there with open arms ready to welcome you to the inside of the asylum

Cheers
N

What

I have this intense urge to write, to create something beautiful with words. But, I can't figure out, what should I write about.

Do I even have the capability to create something beautiful with words? Hmmm..  I really don't know. I guess, I need some inspiration, but then again, from where?

sigh!

Another baking adventure!

Well... being lazy for two days sort of fills me with lots of pent up energy and while I was looking for a nice Banana Bread recipe, I came across this really easy recipe for mini tarts at Salad in a jar and had to try it, with a few tweaks of course!


So while the Banana Muffins were in the oven, this is what I did


Fresh Fruit and Cream Mini Tarts
(Prep Time: 1 hour, Baking Time: 22 mins, Makes: 15-18 mini tarts)


Ingredients



Tart Crust:
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour (maida)
1/4 cup castor sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, chilled
1 egg yolk



Cream Filling:
2-3/4 cups milk (I used 2 cups milk + 3/4 cup heavy cream but any type will work)
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch or corn flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 egg yolks
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract



Directions
Crust:
Combine flour, sugar and salt in food processor or just whip it using your beater.


Cut butter into 8 slices and add to flour, pulsing several times until mixture resembles oatmeal. Add egg yolk. (Go ahead and add the egg white if you want a sturdier but not quite as tender crust.)

Getting there...

Pulse until all ingredients are moistened but not yet a solid ball. (If mixture too dry, add a bit of cream or a table spoon of milk.) 


Lightly press into a ball, cover and chill 30 minutes.

Ready to go into the fridge

Pull off small amount of dough and press into molds with fingers being careful to keep thickness consistent. Use a knife to trim off any extra at the top. Freeze for at least 30 minutes. I wish I had taken a picture of my perfect tart shells... with all that happened after this!


Place frozen tart shells on cookie sheet and cook at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Watch carefully as the time can vary according to the thickness of the crust. This is where the recipe was unclear. In the recipe she uses plastic moulds which of course can't be baked. So I used plastic moulds, froze the shells and then tapped them out to bake them.. and this is what happened

My tart shells became tasty biscuits!:(

Cream Filling:
Add milk, sugar, cornstarch, salt, and egg yolks, (in that order) to blender. Blend and pour into a microwave-safe bowl. 


Microwave 6 minutes on HIGH, whisking until smooth after 3 minutes, then every minute thereafter.
Add butter and vanilla and whisk until smooth.


Assembly:
Fill each baked tart shell with cream filling. Top with fruit of your choice. Melt 1/4 cup jam and use a brush to dab some shininess on each piece of fruit. It’s OK if some drips onto the cream.  Now, this is what was supposed to happen, but given that my shells were now biscuits.. this is what really happened.

Don't go on the looks, it passed the taste test! tasted just like the best tarts ever

what a nice end to a lazy weekend.....

The Banana Walnut muffins and the nearly there fruit tarts.

And just in case things went really belly up.. there's always Hello Panda!

Hello! Hello Panda

LOL! Am going to go buy the metal shell shapes and try this recipe again... this time.. it will LOOK and taste good.


Amateur experimenter says Good Bye, good night and Allah hafiz

A baking experiment.. errr.. adventure on a lazy Sunday

Hello!


Just realised how busy I've been when I saw that my last post was sometime in 2011! Well.. after a long time had a completely lazy weekend, where all I did was sleep, eat , read and then sleep some more. Felt like eating some Banana Bread so decided to make some. got inspiration from Tyler Florence , tweaked it a bit and decided to use my newly acquired muffin tins. 


Well.. let the adventure begin

The finished product.. but lets not get ahead of ourselves!

Banana Walnut Bread/ Muffin 
(Prep time: 10 minutes, Cooking time: 20 mins, Enough For : 12-18 muffins


Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (maida)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 overripe bananas
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup walnut, chopped
• 1 table spoon coffee powder or coffee essence (I used coffee essence as a couple of my colleagues are allergic to coffee) (optional. This is just to give it a heavenly smell)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 


Either butter a muffin tin or use cupcake cases.


In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. 


Mash 2 of the bananas with a fork in a small bowl so they still have a bit of texture. 


With an electric mixer whip the remaining bananas ,sugar and coffee together
(Warning: Looks very yucky, but tastes fantastic... so hands off!).

Bananas and brown sugar.

Add the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla and beat well.


Mix in the dry ingredients a little at a time, till incorporated. Fold in the nuts and the mashed bananas with a spatula.

Once all the ingredients are mixed

 
Spoon the batter into the muffin tins to fill them about halfway. Give them a rap on the counter to get any air bubbles out.

Ready for the tin

Ready for the oven

Bake until a toothpick stuck in the muffins comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes.

Warning!: May encourage pilferage!

Let cool for a few minutes before turning the muffins out. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

Viola! The Banana Walnut Bread masquerading as muffins!

I've always loved baking. Mixing the ingredients, looks kind of watery or too tough.. but then it goes into the over and the magic happens!

This was my attempt at baking after a couple of years and the first time I've ever tried this. Was very tasty... but now, can't wait to experiment!

Cheers!

Integrity

 

Many of my friends are bloggers who review places to eat and shop. I greatly respect them and their advice when it comes to deciding where to eat and where to go. So, when I see something like this, my blood boils, Please don’t debase yourselves , the title you have chosen to adopt and the others who share the same title.

So you are a blogger, do you realise the responsibility that comes with a position and a title like that? People come and read your posts because they believes that you are one of the last bastions of independent journalism. Then why the hell do I see some of you walking around restaurants and shops, toting your camera and muttering loudly, “I am a blogger”.  Do you expect the restaurant owner to fall at your feet and feed you a free lavish meal or the shop owner to give you free outfits? What happened to your integrity?

Go ahead, just call yourself a freebie whore, don’t ruin the trust and respect that we have for our bloggers, our independent journalists who tell us what is, as it is.

Confessions of ……. Well, You try and pigeonhole me!

There is so much I want to blurt out. Most of it not polite, though I don’t see why people can’t accept the truth and get on with it. The world would be a much better place for it. As I am anonymous here, well ok! Kind of anonymous (not many people read this blog!), I feel kind of safe to say what I really want to say, or ok.. Confess! (LOL! for all of you expecting something lurid, go away now!)

As a proud Indian (After all we bit the crap out of the Aussies!) I am not loath to admit that I am , what you might say (to be politically correct) a racist! Oooh!!! cringing eh? I call it , calling it as it is, but you may call it what you want. I am a Kutchi Memon from the beautiful city of Hyderabad, For all of you ignorant ones out there, let me enlighten you, Kutchi Memon’s are the people for whom the classic Indian sayings, “kanjoos makhi choos” and “chamdi jaye par damri na jai” (roughly translated, a person who sucks a fly dry after it drops into their tea and a person who rather lose a bit of their skin than lose a penny. Well ok, does not sound too awesome in English, but we all have seen Lost in Translation right). And well, the Hyderabadi Urdu/ Hindi has inspired a whole genre of movies… but am I embarrassed? NO! am firkin proud of it! So get on with it people, be proud of your heritage and who you are!

As a lady driver I think I am entitled to say, I detest lady drivers! (ok Mom, don’t kill me), especially those who have their breakfast while driving or treat their rear view mirrors like their personal boudoirs. Seriously, could you not have woken up 5 minutes earlier??

I am not ashamed to say it, I LOVE Kerepok, I could eat it three times a day, five days a week and still want more. Stay away if you don’t like the smell.

I love taking the LRT to work every day, but seriously, could you please take a bath and brush your teeth before you take public transport? God made humans discover soaps, perfumes, tooth paste and mouth wash for a reason.

And as for all you lift farters… the less said the better (that way I don’t have to inhale)

What is it with Malaysians and air cons? (Have I already ranted on this before? well, there’s a lot more that can be said). I come to theatres to enjoy the movie, not to relive the lives of those who live within the artic circle. And while we are on the topic of movies, why can’t ALL theatres have salted popcorn?

Is there a reason why PR wannabe professionals want to give this profession a bad name? Do your research idiots! you don't send a lingerie fitting invite to a male editor and says he MUST come over! and when we send our regrets, don't reply saying that you will miss him at the event! For GOD Sake!

As you might have noticed, I love using !!!! marks. Why NOT? I am a person who believes in what she says and I have the freedom to use ANY punctuation I want, so if you are prejudiced towards the poor, innocent and yet so expressive ! go away!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What is it with people and short forms? I received this text message the other day, “ Dr Nzn, I nd u2 prnt sprt act sprdsht n brng 2 cnt mtng”, No I am Not a Doctor, neither am I a New Zealander , neither do I do porn and neither do I have anything to do with faeces. Damnit, it took them hundreds of years to perfect this language, don’t go and ruin it now!

Despite all my cribbing and ranting, I love Malaysia. I love the way I can experience nearly the best of all the cultures. the Yee Sang and oranges during CNY, the Kuihs and rendang during Raya, the murruku all year round, the smoked Salmon, the cured Mackerels, Sushi, Sashimi.. yummy! Now I am hungry and it’s all your fault!

Off to search for some awesome masala dosa now!

Adios Amigos

Child of the media age

As a child of the media age, as a citizen of a global kampung, I hereby blame the media for skewing my expectations, ruining my perceptions and nearly destroying everything I have hereby worked towards. I sue the supposed information blitzers for filling my heads with improbable ideas, unsustainable desires and unachievable life & relationship goals.

Everywhere you look, everything you read shows and talks about impossible demands made and miraculously and selflessly fulfilled by partners, friends and parents under the guise of , " if you love me.....". Do they really want us to believe that we are as fabulous as these career and home wizards inhabiting Danielle Steele's world, or as happening and hot as those babes in the movie, or anyone can love us with the starry eyed determination of Jacob or Stefan?

What is love, really?? Is it getting lovely bunches of flowers and presents for the one you love? Planning surprise vacations and get aways?High expectations & high maintenance. Or is it giving someone a nice home, cooking for them, cleaning for them, spending a few warm moments and expecting nothing in return?

Are we still in an era where a woman has to be glad to have "landed" a man or is marriage now an equal partnership?

Is it wrong to expect something from your partner or wrong to have them expect something from you?

Can one really be one of those grippingly intense couples in a Nora Robert book? Who gives authors right to make us imagine? Who actors the right to make us dream? is there really a Rahul for every Simran? Or are we all living in a world of pretend.

Do we really need someone to be with us, to reassure us ,to hold us, to pamper us? Do we really need someone to dote on, to smother in our love as we are lead to believe by all books and movies or are we simply better off alone?

Why does a woman have to follow her man, give everything up, build new lives and never recieve appreciation? Why is that the man does so little yes recieves all the appreciation!! ?? What makes them superior?


I think the best advice I have ever recieved was...." Snap Out of the Movies Nazeen- Free Flix is over!" But then again.. was it?