Strawberry & Banana Muffins

I thought only during spring and summer the strawberries are on sale but was surprised to find 'winter strawberries' in Aldi last weekend so bought a few boxes! And guess what? They were sweet! :D

There were some ripe bananas on the counter and I thought why not bake some muffins? And how about adding some strawberries since I have so many??? They were yummy!!! The sweetness from the banana is neutralized by the mild acidity from the strawberries which make them perfect!

I just love them when they are warm!

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Ingredients

• 2½ cup Self raising flour


• ¾ cup Raw sugar (you can use brown sugar)


• 1 cup Milk


• 1 Egg


• 2tbsp Sunflower oil (you can use margerine)


• 1tsp Vanilla essense


• 2 ripe Banana (mashed)


• ½ cup Strawberries (cubed and some sliced for deco)

Methods

1. In a big mixing bowl, place flour, sugar, mashed banana, vanilla essence, milk and margerine together.


2. Beat egg in a small bowl and pour into the big mixing bowl with the rest of the ingredients and mix them well and incorporated.


3. Add in the cubed strawberries and mix them into the batter.


4. Fill into prepared muffin liners in regular muffin pan about ½ full.


5. Place some sliced strawberry on each cavity before baking in oven at 180ºC.


6. Yields about 16 muffins.

Mini Herbed Muffins

One night while watching Masterchef, Darrius told me that he wanted to be one of the 3 men who do the tasting! How ambitious is that???!!! :lol: Well, I told him that, before he can be a taster, he must first learn to cook well and be a very good chef. Looks like cooking is in the genes :)

Darrius gets to cook in his school's kitchen (that was one of the reasons why we chose this school) twice a semester. Last week, he got to bake these little herbed muffins and brought some home which tasted pretty nice and he asked if we can make them at home. Therefore, I went to get some cheese and decided to bake a batch to try but I twisted the recipe a little as I did not have all the ingredients but they turned out great :)

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Ingredients

• 1 cup Self raising flour


• 1 cup Grated cheese


• 1 tablespoon Mixed herbs


• 1 tablespoon Fresh parsley


• ½ teaspoon Salt


• 1 teaspoon Sugar


• 1 Egg


• ½ cup + 2 tablespoons Milk

Method

1. Place the flour, cheese, parsley, herbs, salt and sugar in a big mixing bowl and mix them well.


2. Use another bowl to mix egg and milk and whisk till fluffy.


3. Slowly pour in the egg and milk mixture into the dry ingredients and fold them together until they are well dampen but not whisk them further.


4. Spoon mixture into mini muffin tins lightly glazed with some oil or butter.


5. Bake at 200°C for 10-12 minutes or until cooked (use a pick to poke and it comes out clean).

SPAM Fried Rice

We seldom eat can food when we are in Malaysia since we can get fresh food at a relatively low prices outside. So, when I am not cooking (too lazy) we'll just walk over to the nearby hawker stall and pack food. However, it is entirely different when we moved to Melbourne. Eating out or buying outside food can be a costly affair. Therefore, we avoid eating out or buying outside food as much as possible. We'll, we can't be eating fast food all the time rite? And the Asian food here sucks... they are all the same... taste and choice wise!

That was why we have started stocking up on can food for convenience sake. The weather can be really cold sometimes and we need to have hot food during these time. The kids and the hubby don't really fancy having sandwiches all the time so I have to think of ways to make food interesting! That is tough job!

Anyway, we have a knack for luncheon meat and when Coles was having ½ price sale for their SPAM, I just can't resist stocking up... after all, can food can be stored for quite a while. Even my mom bought a few cans home when she was here last month cause they are so expensive back in Malaysia! 1 can of SPAM is selling @ RM17.50 in Cold Storage! Insanity!

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Ingredients

• 1 can SPAM (I used the one with Bacon variety) - cubed


• 1 cup Fench beans - diced


• 1 cup Carrot - diced


• 1 cup Corn Kernels - drain away the water


• 3 cup Cooked rice - cooled


• 2 Eggs


• 1 tbsp Sauteed minced/chopped garlic


• Oil for frying
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Method

1. Heat up frying pan with some oil (I used non stick pan so uses less oil) and lightly stir fry the French beans and carrot for about 5 minute on medium fire. Lift up and put aside.


2. Using the same pan, add in a tbsp of oil and stir fry the the cubed SPAM till they turn brownish, lift up and put aside.


3. Beat the eggs in a bowl and fry it in the same pan with another tbsp of oil.


4. Add in the rice into the egg mixture and stir vigorously until they are well mixed.


5. Toss in the French beans, carrot, corn kernel and SPAM and mix them well.


6. Add the sauteed garlic and stir for another minute or so until you can hear the 'pop' sound from the hot rice.