Red Velvet Cupcakes

Yay, i finally made my first cupcake. 

I got the recipe from Ingrid Hancock Bjerknes’s book. The book is in Norwegian and contains nearly 50 wonderful cupcake recipes.

I decided to make this one first because i have all the ingredients at home.

This was my first cupcake and for sure it wont be the last. I will make it again and i will try her other recipes.

I have translated into english and will share the recipe :). 

Rød Fløyelscupcakes or Red Velvet cupcakes

Adapted from Cupcakes: lag dem selv by Ingrid Hancock Bjerknes

Makes 12 cupcakes
Batter:
1 Egg
60 gr Margarine
150 gr Sugar (Rie - i used 100 gr)
½ tsp Vanilla essence
½ tsp Vinegar
½ tsp Baking soda
1 ¼ dl Buttermilk
125 gr Flour, sifted
1 tbsp Cocoa powder
Few drops of deep red food coloring

Frosting:
150 gr Philadelphia cream cheese
150 gr Margarine, room temperature
100 gr White chocolate
5 dl Confectioners sugar

Method:
- Preheat oven to 175 degrees C.
- Line muffin tray with paper cupcake liners.
- Whisk egg and sugar until fluffy.
- Add margarine and vanilla essence.
- In a small cup combine the vinegar and baking soda. Allow the mixture to fizz and then quickly fold into the cake batter.
- Add buttermilk, cocoa powder and flour. whisk well until the mixture has a creamy consistency.
- Add red food coloring.
- Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tray about 2/3 filled.
- Bake in oven for about 18 to 20 minutes.
- Take them out of the oven and leave to cool in the muffin tray for approx. 5 minutes. set cupcakes on a wire rack and let them totally cool.

For the frosting:
- Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or microwave oven. Set aside and let it cool completely.
- In a large bowl, beat margarine and cream cheese until fluffy.
- Add the confectioners sugar and melted chocolate. mix until well blended.
- Whisk until you get the creamy consistency.
- If you think that the frosting is not stiff enough, you can add more confectioners sugar.

Salad

Me and hubby were not typical salad people but after deciding to lose weight, we started to eat and actually enjoy this salad. Personally i dont like creamy or ready made salad dressings, based on that fact i decided to make my own dressing.

This is a simple recipe with a nice mix of flavour. Now very often when i ask hubby what he would like for dinner, surprise surprise he wants the salad :D. On the plus side we have both reduced weight and hubby has lowered his cholesterol level too (i'd like to think i have too) so all in all it was a smart and healthy decission for which we are both happy about.

Salad

by: Rie

Ingredients:

Romaine lettuce - wash and cut as desire

Cherry tomatoes - wash and cut as desire

Cucumber - wash and cut as desire

Feta cheese

Olives

Cooked shrimp

Dressing:

1½  Tbsp Distilled vinegar

1 Tbsp Garlic infused olive oil

1 Tsp Granulated sugar

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Dried oregano

Method:

- Place all the ingredients in a big bowl

- Wisk together dressing ingredients. Pour dressing over salad, toss and serve immediately.

Cakwe/You Tiao (Chinese crisp cruller)

The reason i made this because cakwe is one of the condiments for  chinese chicken congee. To make cakwe is not difficult and the process is easy, all you need is Patience :D. The process involves mix the ingredients, kneading, let the dough rest, kneading again, let it rest, kneading, let it rest, kneading again. I've told you, you need to be patient ;-) and its not yet over hehe.

Actually, i found a ready made mixture from the asian shop. I did buy and try it but it didnt turn out well both with the shape and the taste. I dont know what did i do wrong. I have followed the instruction stated in the box. Maybe i forgot something ?!? maybe...
Anyway, i finally decided to make it from scratch instead of buying a new ready made mixture :-).

Cakwe/You Tiao (Chinese crisp cruller)
Source: Melrose Flowers and Youtube

Ingredients:
500 gr All purpose flour 
400 ml water
1 tbs baking powder
2 tsp baking soda or bicarbonate soda
1½ tsp salt
Oil for frying

Method:
- Place baking powder, baking soda, salt and water in a big bowl. Stir until the mixture dissolves. Add the flour and mix well. Then let it rest for 15 minutes. At this point, the dough is a bit wet and sticky.
- After 15 minutes, we start kneading process (Punch the dough 8 times, fold the dough 4 times, flip the dough and punch again for 8 times). Then let it rest for 15 minutes. 
- Repeat the process 3 or 4 times or until the dough is smooth and elastic.
- Cut the dough in to 2 batches and cover each batch using cling film or plastic wrap coated with shortening and let it rest for 4 hour to allow fermentation process. 
- Sprinkle flour on to work surface, form the dough into long roll. 
- Cut the dough into 1 inch wide strip.
- Stack 2 strips together and use the back of a knife or skewer to press the middle, so the 2 strips join together. Slightly stretch it before drop into hot oil.
- Deep fry until golden brown. Repeat process with the remaining strips. 

It turn out well so im pleased with the result :-). 

Chicken congee or Bubur ayam

Chicken congee or bubur ayam (in Indonesian language) is normally served for breakfast. Back home, me and my sisters always bought bubur ayam from food vendor who always passed in front of our house in the morning. Chicken congee which he sells do not use yellow spice broth instead he uses soy sauce. Later on i found out that he sells chinese style chicken congee. 

I missed eating this food very much, so i made one yesterday.  

Chinese chicken congee
adapted from Seri Masak Femina PRIMARASA

Ingredients:
150 gr Chicken fillet
2000 ml Chicken broth
1 tsp Angciu ( Rie - i used shaohsing rice wine)
½ tsp Sesame oil
1 tsp Soy sauce
200 gr Jasmine rice
1 - 2 tsp Salt or to taste

Condiments:
Cakwe/You Tiao (Chinese crisp cruller) – thin sliced about ½ cm
Celery - chopped
Preserved cabbage
Soy sauce
Sambal (Rie - i mixed soy sauce and chopped chili)
Crispy fried shallot (Rie)
Kerupuk or Indonesian style crackers (Rie)
Spring onion – chopped (Rie)

Method:
- Cut the chicken into thin pieces (½ cm) or finally chopped. Place the copped chicken in a bowl, add Angciu (rice wine), sesame oil and soy sauce and mix well. Set aside.
- Wash the rice thoroughly, drain. Using a grinder or mortar and pestle, grind rice to a coarse powder.
- Place the rice and chicken broth in a saucepan, cook in a medium heat, stirring frequently until it comes to boil and appear slightly curdled.
- Add the chicken and salt (if needed), stir well. If the mixture is too curdled you can always add boiling water.
- When the chicken is cooked, transfer the mixture into a bowl.
- Served chicken congee with the condiments above. 

This is how i enjoy my bubur ayam :-) yummy...

Weekend in Stavanger part 2

It was early start on sunday morning for the journey home. This time we took a route via Lysefjord. From Stavanger we drove around 40 minutes to Lauvvik and then we took a ferry (tourist boat) to Lysebotn. The Lysefjord is 42 km long and well worth seeing, the view was absolutely fantastic. The ferry departed at 9 am and cost 610 kroner for both of us and a car. It is best to reserve a space forhand so you know you have a place. For more information you can visit their website here and here.

The Ferry has a big lounge and a canteen where you can get food or drinks but the best part is on the deck. When we were there the weather was fair with periodic sunshine but it was also so windy that it was possible to lean into the wind without falling over. I even saw many people riding the wind hehe.

riding the wind

There was a guide on the ferry that made announcements in norwegian, english and german. Amongst other things we saw a Vagabond "Cave" or Fantehola. They called it Fantehola because there was a story that a band of vagabonds who escaped from the sheriff because they had not paid taxes. They sailed into the cave and jumped off the boat. They climbed up the mountainside and threw rocks at the sheriff. The sheriff eventualy decided it was best to retreat so the vagabonds escaped without paying their taxes.

Vagabond "Cave" or Fantehola

During the tour the captain sailed the ferry very close to the cliff where the vagabonds escaped. You can see a dummy/doll there.

the dummy/doll

The ferry passed the Preiskestolen or Pulpit rock that stands 600 meters above. The Preiskestolen is a 25 m x 25m flat-topped rock with no railing around it. I hope one day i can see the Lysefjord from up there :-).

Preiskestolen or Pulpit rock

The highest mountain on this trip is Kjerag. The cliff is 1.084 meters high. From the ferry we could see the famous Kjeragbolten which is a big stone plugged between two mountains. I would love to go there and to be photographed on the Kjeragbolten.

Kjerag

After 2.5 hour ferry trip we arrived at Lysebotn. When you drive off the ferry you will drive along a winding road with 27 hairpin bends up to Øygardstøl.

winding road

Øygardstøl is a restaurant with a great view overlooking Lysebotn and lysefjord and a starting point to a walk to Kjerag (around 3 hours one way). To park your car here you need to pay 80 kroner.  

 Øygardstøl from a distance

view from Øygardstøl

We then countinued our journey home and again the view was fantastic. Although we were tired and took a long time to drive home, we enjoyed the entire journey.  

Weekend in Stavanger

Just got back from Stavanger 2 days ago :-). We were invited by one of our friends (Terry) to spend the weekend with him and his girlfriend.  There are many flights available to get there from Oslo everyday but we decided to drive instead. Yes, it was a long journey but we love road trips, so it doesnt matter.

We left home on friday 11am. We decided to take a route via Kristiansand which took us around 7 hours. Actually, there was another shorter route (an hour less), but we decided to take that route on the way back.  we thought it would be nice to see different routes as this was our first trip to Stavanger.

The view was beautiful with valleys, fjords and mountains. Norwegian sceneries always amazed me!. I couldnt stop clicking the camera :-).

marshmallow?!?! hehe

After almost 7 hours drive, we finally arrived in Stavanger. We first visited my Indonesian friend (Gita) who also lives there and went to Terry's afterwards. Its nice to meet someone from your home country espesially when she cooked Indonesian food. She made a very good sayur lodeh, an Indonesian vegetable stew with coconout milk... oh how i miss that food :-).

The next day, we went to centrum just to look around and it turned out they had a blomsterfestival or flower festival. Stavanger blomsterfestival was from 12-14 August 2011. Of course being a flower festival there were bound to be flowers everywhere.

While we were in town, we took time to find an asian shop nearby. We went to a place called Norvina, its in Nytorget 6, 4013 Stavanger. I wish we had this shop in Kongsberg. We do have 2 asian shops here, but the variety of the stock is not as good compared to Norvina. At least thats what i think :D.

Shadow

He is hubby's youngest son's blue staffordshire bull terrier. He is 3 years old and has a blue coat. I really dont understand why they call them blue staffordshire bull terrier, to me he's more like greyish :D. Anyway, i was scared when i first met him 2 years ago, he looked scary and unfriendly but it slowly changed. He is a fearsome looking dog but really he is really gentle and easy to fall in love with.

I got a chance to get close with him early this year. Hubby's son had something important to do so he couldnt take care of him. For one and half months Shadow had to stay with me and hubby. I was the one who spent more time together with him since hubby had to go to work five days in a week. I took care of him and walked him twice a day. I started to like him and i guess he started to like me as well. Hubby even told me that when i wasnt with him he cried. He was always lying beside me and followed me everywhere i went, even to the bathroom!!!. The only time he lay away from me was when he was sunbathing but i knew that he kept his ears in standby so everytime i made a move he was always checking me out.

Shadow enjoying the sun

Now he is back with hubby's son and seems he forget about me :-(. He broke my heart hiks. I wont forget him though :-), he reminded me not to judge book by its cover.

Hunstanton

When we were in England last time, we were invited by my sister in law to stay at their caravan in Hunstanton for a weekend. Hunstanton is a seaside town in Norfolk around 2 hours driving from hubby's home town Leicester. It has a nice beach where you can do kite surfing, pony ride, ride in an amphibious vehicle or just walking around the seashore.

The amphibious vehicle

Its very nice to walk along the beach when the tide is low and of course when the sun is shining :D. I cant believe i said that hahaha since i always hide from the sun :p. When we were there the wind was very strong and it blew cold, so a little sunshine made me feel warm :-).

Most interesting to me were the colourfull cliffs and beach stones covered by seaweed. You can even find the ruins of an old boat there.

Once we had enough of walking along the beach, we decided to go back to the caravan. It took us 15 to 20 minutes walking. On the way, we saw the ruins of St. Edmund's Chapel and an old lighthouse. From the picture below you can see the lighthouse through the arch in the remains of St Edmund's Chapel. According to wikipedia, the lighthouse ceased operations in 1922, since then it has been a private residence and a Holiday Let.

  

My sister in law's caravan is located in a big park together with 600 other caravans. It is easy to get lost there since all the caravans are almost alike. Her caravan has 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, kitchen, living room, veranda and even a garden!!. Its a nice caravan and we would love to go back there again, if we were invited of course :D.

the caravans

Elli, who "guarded" the caravan ;-)

woof woof

Bakso

Bakso has always been my comfort dish. Bakso is an Indonesian meatball soup and normally served with egg noodle and/or rice vermicelli with bean sprout and chinese green cabbage. If you are in Indonesia bakso can be found easily, from the street vendors to restaurants. But, if you are in Norway (like me) and you want to eat bakso, then you have to make it yourself.


A few months ago i tried to make Bakso but it didnt turn out well. It turned out soft and not chewy (as it should be). It was probably because of the meat i used. Last week i decided to give it a try again and it turned out great..Woo hoo!!. The Bakso was tasty and chewy, eventhough the apperance was´nt as smooth as the one they sell in street vendors or restaurants but to me it doesnt matter!! :D.


Angel (a friend who lives in the Netherlands) gave me the guide for this recipe and with a little change from myself i now have something that suits my taste. Thanks Angel xxx.


Bakso (Indonesian meatballs)

Ingredients for the meatballs:

500 gr Lean beef (Fresh)
100 ml Ice water
1 tsp Baking powder
100 gr Tapioca flour
1 tbs Garlic powder
2 tbs Fried onions
1 1/2 gr Lobo Accord Mix
1 Egg
1 tsp Pepper
Salt to taste
Method:
- Place the beef and ice water into food processor and mix until they get sticky
- Place the beef in the mixing bowl, add the rest of the ingredients and mix it well
- Form the mixture with your hand by making a fist and squeeze the mixture up through your thumb and forefinger, scoop with a spoon (it should have the apperence a round ball) and place the meatballs into a pan of hot water with a medium heat (dont let the water boil)
- When the meatballs float, you know they are cooked.
- Remove them from the water

Ingredients for the broth or soup:
1000cc water
Beef bone
3 Garlic cloves - crushed
3 cm Ginger - crushed
Grated Nutmeg
Salt & Pepper to taste

Method:
- Bring everything together to boil, then remove garlic cloves and ginger.

Condiment:
Egg noodle
Rice vermicelli
Bean sprout

Chinese green cabbage
Celery
Fried shallot
sweet soy sauce
Chilli sauce
Distiled vinegar
Sambal (i made from bird chili, garlic and salt)

The way i enjoy my Bakso is with Rice vermicelli, Fried shallot, Celery and a lots of Sambal... hmmmmm