Banana Bread

Over the years, I have been trying to recreate the banana bread that I love to eat back home. My mother buys them at the weekly night market and we'd finish it a loaf in one sitting! Although it is called bread, to me it eats like a cake more than bread.  This recipe is nearest to what I remember. The difference perhaps is due different type of banana available here. Anyway, I am more than happy to use this as my go-to recipe going forward.

Banana Bread
via PanlasangPinoy

Ingredients

1½ cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp teaspoon salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup banana, mashed

1 cup sugar2 raw eggs

½ cup cooking oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. Combine all the dry ingredients starting with the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda.
2. Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly until everything is evenly distributed.
3. Add the other ingredients (eggs, mashed bananas, cooking oil, vanilla extract ) then mix well with the dry ingredients until a batter is formed.
4. Grease the loaf pan and pour-in the mixture.
5. Preheat oven at 180˙c then bake the mixture for around an hour.
6. Remove from loaf pan from the oven then allow to cool down.
7. serve warm or room temperature.

Grapefruit Cake

photo via Andrew Zimmern

Unfortunately I didn't managed to take a photo of the actual cake, before it was demolish and became "unphotogenic". I'm posting still the recipe because it was surprising good!

Grapefruit cake
recipe via BlissfullyScrumptious

Ingredients
40gm Sugar
1 Egg
50gm Butter, melted
50gm Plain Flour
1/2 tsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Baking soda
a pinch of salt
50ml Grapefruit juice

Method
1) Pre-heat oven to 180˙c
2) In a bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda and a pinch of salt. Set aside
3) In another bowl whisk sugar, egg and melted butter until combine. Pour in the grape juice and flour mixture (1). Whisk until just combine, do not over mix!
4) Pour cake batter into greased loaf tin and bake for 20-25 mins.

Jamie Oliver Roasted Pork Belly {燒肉}

The last time and also the first time I roasted Chinese-style pork belly was in 2007! Although nothing wrong with the recipe and the taste, I failed in achieving the crackling skin. So, when this week the pork belly goes on sale, I thought why not try a different recipe and see how it goes. 
The verdict : I did it, I  achieved the crispy crackling! Also, seasoning with just salt and pepper were the perfect way to eat this. I'll definitely be using this recipe again!

I've since made this recipe several time and will be my go-to roasted pork belly going forward.

Jamie Oliver Roasted Pork Belly
adapted from Jules Food 

for 2-3 pax

Ingredients
600gm pork belly
Sea / kosher salt
fresh ground pepper

Method
1) Pre-heat oven 220°c / Gas 7
2) Clean pork belly and pat dry with kitchen towel. 3) Start by scoring pork rind, in a criss cross manner, 1cm apart. *Do not score to deep, just until the fat not meat*
4) Rub salt all over the scored skin well. Get rid of excess salt.
5) Season the underside of the meat with salt and ground pepper.
6) Place pork belly, skin side up on baking dish. Bake in the oven for 1/2 hour until the skin of the pork has started to puff up and you can see it turning into crackling.
7) After 1/2 hour, remove pork belly from oven and reduce temperature to 180°c/Gas 4. Put pork belly back into oven and cook for another 1/2 hour. *At this point, you may add onion, garlic, any vegetables and herbs to roast*  8) After the second 1/2 hour, remove pork belly again, baste the drippings on pork belly and put it back in the oven to cook for final 15-20 mins. or until meat falling apart.
9) Let it rest before serving.

Chocolate swirl cookies

I've mentioned that I rarely bakes cookies or biscuits. We do tend to buy cookies / biscuits that have something to with chocolate. We ran out of bought snacks and since I have all the ingredients for this recipe, I quickly whip this up. I would be relying this as my go-to chocolate based cookies going forward. The quantity of sugar have been reduced to my taste which resulted in a more intense chocolate bite. For special occasions and a more decadent version, I intend to sandwich with chocolate butter cream!
Chocolate Swirl Cookies
via BBC Good Food
**I halved this recipe and yield around 24 medium-size cookies
Ingredients  200g softened butter  300g soft brown sugar (in my halved recipe, I reduced from 150gm to 75gm) 2 tsp vanilla extract  2 eggs  300g self raising flour (used regular plain flour) 80g cocoa powder  1 tsp baking powder  300g choc chips (eliminated)

My additions
++ rum, to taste
++ pinch of salt,  if using unsalted butter

Method

1. preheat oven to 180 c/ gas 4
2. cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in vanilla extract and eggs
3. in a separate bowl sift flour, cocoa and baking powder together
4. add flour mix to the creamed mix in stages( a third at a time) mix well. fold in choc chips until just combined.
5. spoon a tablespoon of the mixture on to a baking tray and just let it drop off the spoon, repeat until you have used up all the cookie mixture.
6. bake in preheated oven for 12 minutes, when you remove the cookies from the oven they will still be soft, leave to cool completely on the baking tray, where they will continue to cook slightly,when completely cold move to a cooling rack. then enjoy!