Strawberry Wholemeal Bread Loaf

Strawberry season is so exciting! Trays of ripe and beautiful strawberries in various shades of bright red can be found everywhere in open-air markets, green groceries and supermarkets. The fresh and sweet fragrance hits you in the face as you walk past them.
I've had this recipe for a while and I finally had the chance to test it out. It is such an easy-to-follow recipe it only took me 15 minutes of preparation time before it was ready for the oven.
The cake loaf does not rise much and is quite filling. I have more than halved the amount of sugar from the original recipe and found the sweetness is just right. The lightness and the freshness of the strawberries really stand out and help balance out the sugar.

Strawberry Wholemeal Bread Loaf

1 punnet of 250g fresh strawberries
1 1/2 cup wholemeal plain flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup olive oil
2 eggs, well beaten

1) Pre-heat the oven to 175 degrees C. Line a loaf tin with baking paper.
2) Dice strawberries into small chunks. Place in a bowl and sprinkle lightly with sugar. Set aside.
3) Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon and baking soda in a large mixing bowl and mix well. Blend oil and eggs and combine with the strawberries. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and pour in the strawberry mixture. Blend until dry ingredients are just moistened. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
4) Bake for 45 minutes or until cooked through. Leave in pan for about ten minutes. Turn the loaf out and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Serves 8

Nutritional value per serve:
Calories 191.1
Total fat 8.6g
Saturated fat 1.4g
Polyunsaturated fat 1.0g
Monounsaturated fat 5.5g
Carbohydrate 25.5g
Dietary fibre 3.8g
Sugars 8.1g
Protein 4.9g

PS Nutritional value is calculated using the recipe calculator by SparkRecipe

Chocolate Pomogranate Cake

It is amazing how much can happen within two weeks' time. The coming few weeks are probably going to be BIG. And these special times call for more special cakes. To farewell my lovely colleague, I have made a Chocolate Pomegranate Cake.
I first thought that the idea of using pomegranate juice in a chocolate cake was a bit weird. In my mind chocolate and fruit juice are not something that go together very often. But again don't we add lemon juice and orange juice to teacakes and muffins all the time? I could not find the POM pomegranate juice so I used Blackford instead. The flavour of pomegranate does not really stand out but the juice helps keep the cake soft and light. The cake is delicious, rich in chocolate flavour without being too heavy at all.
This is probably the first time ever when I thought adding chocolate chips to the recipe is completely necessary. The cake itself is so soft and fluffy that adding any other texture seems to ruin it. I think a chocolate icing or thinly shaved chocolate would have worked better.
The original recipe was for a bundt cake. Since I do not own a bundt tin, I made it in a bread loaf tin, which worked just as well. As an experiment I have also baked some cupcakes using muffin tins. They won't fill up your moulds at the beginning but the cake would raise quite a bit, almost double in size.

Chocolate Pomegranate Cake

2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup pure pomegranate juice
dark chocolate chips

1) Pre-heat oven to 175 degrees C. Line a loaf tin with baking paper and slightly grease.
2) In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
3) In a medium sized bowl, whisk cocoa powder with butter until smooth. One at a time, incorporate the eggs and vanilla extract. Add chocolate mixture, pomegranate juice into the flour mixture and stir until batter is well combined. Do not over-mix. Pour into the prepared tin and sprinkle the top with chocolate chips.
4) Bake for about 40 minutes, until until a tester inserted into the centre comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached.
5) Leave the cake in the tin for 5-10 minutes before turning out to wire rack to cool completely.

For cupcakes, reduce cooking time to approx 20-25 minutes

I found these babies at a vintage store yesterday...

I'm in love with them!

Decision. Decision. Decision.

Stir Fried Chicken with Zucchini

I have made this dish quite a few times and it has now become part of my usual repertoire. I often bring left-overs to work and I like to keep the vegetables crunchy so I tend to keep the cooking time short. The zucchini should just start to soften before you turn the heat off. This way they will keep the texture even after re-heating.
In Australia (and a lot of Western countries) most people prefer cooking with chicken breast than chicken thigh, probably because it is healthier (less fat, more protein, etc). But I have never been converted to use breast because thigh is just so much tastier and more tender! But feel free to use the fillet of your choice. Just make sure you marinate the breast fillet for long enough.

Stir fried chicken with zucchini

400g chicken thigh fillet
4 medium-sized zucchini
3 cloves garlic
2 tbsp sesame seeds

Marinate: 2 tsp raw sugar, cracked pepper, 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, 2 tsp corn starch
Sauce: 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp corn starch and 2 tbsp cold water

1) Cut the chicken fillets into 1-cm strips. Combine with the marinate and leave for at least 2 hours or overnight.
2) Chop the zucchini into 2-cm sections. Finely dice the garlic. Roast the sesame seeds if desired.
3) Heat 1 tbsp olive oil on a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add in the chicken fillet and cook until browned on both sides. Push the fillet to the side of the pan and add the garlic in the centre of the pan. When the garlic start to become fragrant, stir in the zucchini. Add about 1/4 cup of water and cover the pan with a lid. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the zucchini start to soften.
4) When the zucchini are cooking, prepare the sauce in a small bowl. Pour over the stir-fry when it is ready. Stir well to distribute the sauce. Sprinkle roasted sesame seeds on the top. Serve with rice.

Cranberry & Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

I have been so sleep deprived this week. Having worked six days in a row did not do much good to my energy level either. I wish I am one of those people who can sleep in for as many hours as they want. I was craving some sweet treats so I ended up making these cookies.
I love oatmeal cookies for their chewiness. These have dried fruits in them, giving them a lighter and fruity sweetness. I suspect they would taste really good with choc chips in them too~

Cranberry and Raisin Oatmeal Cookies, adopted from Baking Bites

1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup wholemeal plain flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup raisins
1 1/4 cup rolled oats

1) Preheat the oven to 175 degrees C. Line a baking sheet with baking paper.
2) In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg. Stir in vanilla extract.
3) In a separate bowl, mix together flour, wheat germ, baking soda and baking powder. Add in dried fruits.
4) Slowly incorporate the dry mixture into the butter mixture. Add in the rolled oats and stir well.
5) Drop 2.5cm balls on the lined baking sheet, about 2cm apart. Slightly flatten the balls. Baking for approx 11-12 minutes or until the edges start to turn brown. Leave cookies on the baking sheet for 1-2 minutes before putting them on a wire rack to cool completely.

Valentino Retrospective: Past/Present/Future

The Gallery of Modern Art is officially one of my favourite places in Brisbane. Out of all the capital cities in Australia, Brisbane gets to host the "Valentino, Retrospective: Past/Present/Future" exhibition at the GoMA! I went to see the gallery last Saturday with Karen and it was the best exhibition I have ever seen (Yes, it trumps the Pixar 20th Anniversary exhibition in Melbourne in 2008).
The exhibition is really well laid-out. It starts with what Valentino does the best - an evening gown in his signature "Valentino red" from his very first collection in 1965. It then opens up to the first gallery, where garments are grouped according to textile (eg feathers, leather and fur), prints (eg floral and animal prints), colours, silhouetts and techniques. When I walked into this hall, it literally took my breath away I had to gasp. The enormous space is filled with so many different colours, patterns and shapes it is like couture heaven. The second section is a display of documentory videos, fashion magazines from different decades and a huge picture board presenting the history of the Valentino house. The second gallery is arranged mainly by colours; white, black and red. One section is dedicated to pieces from his last collection while the exhibition finishes with the 2009 collection by Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli.
Unlike the Les Arts exhibition in Paris, all the garments are displayed in the open space (on specially made-to-measure mannequins belonging to Mr Valentino himself, of course). I felt like I was having an intimate experience with the couture gowns. You can see every stitch, every sequin, every inch of the fabric. The craftsmanship and the details are so amazing. Looking the clothes from a distance (or on style.com on a computer screen) simply does not do them justice. For the whole four hours that I was there I was just bombarded by beauty and colours. The combination of colours and the juxtaposition of fabrics are so creative. I think I saw a few colours that I did not even know existed ?! Each garment has their own unique character. His designs are so classic, so elegant, so feminine and so timeless. There are pieces from his 60's or 70's collections that are completely wearable today.
I am surprised that Alessandra Facchinetti was not even mentioned at all in the exhibition. Personally I love the few collections that she has done. I thought they were romantic, light, young and elegant. I guess that can be the exact reason that got her dismissed. Too approaching for a couture house maybe?
The new duo definitely have a different direction from the traditional Valentino. They are tougher and more modern. When compared to the collections designed by Valentino himself, their garments seem to be lacking femininity, class and delicacy. Whether they can uphold the Valentino legend is still questionable. But one thing is certain; Mr Valentino is an absolute legend and we will always love his talent!

Chocolate & Walnut Birthday Cake

This week has been so crazy. My brain is literally on fire and I feel like my thoughts are spewed out everywhere. I want it to slow down but it won't. I haven't been sleeping well and I am exhausted. Even after only 4 days of work.
So in between all this craziness I managed to find time to bake a birthday cake. I did not have time to search for a recipe online so I used one from the Easy Baking book. When it just came out from the oven, I thought it had to be the saddest-looking cake ever existed! It did not rise as much as I expected and I probably over-baked it a little, making the surface look dry and rough. For the first time in my life I actually iced it too - otherwise it would have been too unpresentable. I was even worried about how it would taste because I could not cut out a small for tasting. But when everyone ate it at dinner, they all liked it and it was delicious. It was rich in chocolate, packed with nuts and not too sweet. The cake actually had a good height as well. And most importantly the birthday boy loved it so that's all that matters :)

Chocolate & walnut cake

4 eggs
100g brown sugar
75g dark chocolate (70% cocoa), broken into pieces
125g plain flour
1 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp butter, melted
115g walnuts, finely chopped

icing:
50g dark chocolate
80g butter
125 icing sugar
2 tbsp milk

1) Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C. Grease a 18cm deep round cake tin and line with baking paper.2) Place the eggs and caster sugar in a large mixing bowl and whisk with an electric whisk for 10 minutes, or until foamy and a trail is left when the whisk is dragged across the surface. Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of gently simmering water until melted.
3) Sift the flour and cocoa together and fold into the egg and sugar mixture with a spatula. Fold in the melted butter, melted chocolate and walnut pieces. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 30 minutes, or until springy to the touch.
4) Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
5) To make the icing, melt the chocolate as above and leave to cool slightly. Beat together the butter, icing sugar and milk until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Whisk in the melted chocolate.
6) Spread the icing over the top of the cake.