Filosirapture (vegetarian filo wraps)

so today i decided to play with filo because i haven't done any baking in a while.

first things first - what do i have in the pantry/fridge?

scanned and spotted:

a few just-ripe avocado, coconut oil, soy milk, cheese, choc chips, cherry tomatoes, fried garlic, mushroom stock, spices+herbs.

(there were other things obviously, but i decided not to use them because they would require defrosting etc.)

so i decided to make (various kinds of) avocado filo wraps. using filo straight from the freezer*. i made different batches - about 3 wraps per combo, eg. avocado+cheese, avocado+choc chips.

preparation time for ingredients: + 5 mins?
cooking time: at Gas 6, in the oven for 12 mins per batch

overall, it took me about an hour to prepare the things for and make these:

defo not the prettiest dish in the world, lol.

also - sweet sour chilli sauce ftw!

i'm not even going to try to explain how i made this hahaha. it's not a horrible experiment (by my standards), but i know i can do better if i was more prepared and didn't feel too rushed (people were coming over so i didn't want them to witness my potential culinary disaster lol).

i'll defo try this again in the near future, but with a few things in mind:

1. * don't use filo straight from the freezer. leave it in the fridge for a few hours to soften it a bit or else it'll get brittle and too flaky. not fun to clean up later.
2. if you want to use milk to 'moisten' the filo up a bit, leave it to the stage just right before it's going to be chucked into the oven.
3. filo is terribly plain, and so is avocado. definitely need to spice/herb it up a bit, or else you'll have to eat it with some kind of sauce at the end (which isn't too bad tbh, i eat my savory ones with sweet sour chilli sauce :D).
4. use fresh garlic next time
5. possible different ingredients to try in the future: mushrooms, capsicum, onions, leek, tuna, mince, tomato paste, oregano, chilli, oatmeal
6. what i found were good combos in filo
1. avocado+cheese+cumin
2. avocado+cheese+tomato
3. avocado+choc chips+soy milk+cinnamon powder

... yeah.

Super Simple Stacked Sandwich

- zaty.

after much experimenting with sandwich-making recently, i have found my fav. way to stack my sandwich so that stuff doesn't spill out/fall off so much.

the result = cleaner hands, mouth, plate, everything :D

must-haves:

1. 2 buns/slices of bread - go for those seedy, wholegrain ones. and toast them just a bit
2. salad leaves - the more colorful, the better
3. meat slice/egg/protein-ish slab - cook it if it's not cooked yet
4. cheese slice

steps

in order of appearance on the plate:

1. bottom bun/bread slice
2. salad, esp. leafy ones
3. onion slices, if needed
4. ready-to-eat patty/egg/salami/slab of protein
5. sauces, if needed
6. cheese slice
7. herbs/spices, if needed
8. top bun/bread slice.

i wish i took a pic of my sandwich just now. it was quite beautiful if i do say so myself.

that is all.

/procrastinationtimeover/

Cheese scones (using cheese slices)

- Zaty.

So I've returned to Malaysia and upon my mother's request, I made cheese scones today. She asked me to bake about 20 scones, and since one batch makes about 6 I had to multiply the ingredients by 4 to make 24. I ended up making 25 tho, because I didn't cut up the portions evenly lol.

I generally used the ingredients from the cheese scone recipe I posted before, but I had to improvise a lil bit because I only had cheddar cheese slices instead of a block of edam, which I normally used back in NZ (edam cheese is much more creamy than cheddar). The scones still tasted pretty good tho, so I guess it wasn't a bad substitute. :)

I'm a bit sad that I wasn't equipped with my trusty measuring cups+spoons during the prepping process...I already gave them away because I thought I wouldn't need them. I felt so handicapped because Ma doesn't have the complete cup+spoons sets. :( Sigh.

Anyway, here's what I did, before I get all nostalgic and ramble further:

Prep time: 20-40 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Servings: 6 scones per batch

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 C self-raising flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 25g butter, diced
• Cheese: 
• for dough: 5 cheese slices, torn into smaller/thinner strips (C-D)
• for topping: 1 1/2 cheese slices, cut to make 6 squares = 1/4 slice per scone (C-T)
• Milk:
• for dough: 1/2 cup (M-D)
• for coating: 1/4 cup (M-C)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 220 deg C.
2. In a bowl (stir using wooden spatula - not hands!):
1. Sift in dry ingredients.
2. Add diced butter by 'massaging' it in - should look like fine breadcrumbs in the end.
3. Add cheese for dough (C-D). Mix evenly.
4. Make a pit in the middle of the mixture, then add milk (M-D) while mixing quickly.
3. Cover your hands with flour and sprinkle some on the tabletop/board to prevent dough from sticking to it.
4. Turn out dough and place on the tabletop/board. Knead dough lightly; if it's too sticky, add flour, bit by bit.
5. Roll out dough on board until about 2cm thick, then cut into 6 equal portions. (I like shaping the portions to make them slightly rounder).
6. Roll around each scone in milk (M-C), then place each on a greased/lined oven tray. Make sure to leave at least 2cm gaps between them.
7. Top each scone with 1/4 slice of cheese (C-T)
8. Bake for about 9-10 minutes, or depending on how brown you want them.
9. Set aside for about 5 minutes before munching on them :D

My mom says it's the best batch of scones she's ever had in Malaysia. Clearly that's an exaggeration lol, but it's nice watching my family members eat the things I bake.

So... yup! Cheerios and till next time. :)

Mini Pizza

- Zaty.

Before baking

Ingredients

Essentials:

• 'Small' breads (preferably pizza bases, but any breads - even pita/normal sliced bread will do)
• Tomato paste
• Oregano
• Salt
• Sugar
• Cheese (slices/shreds = awesome). Best to use mozarella, but could use edam or colby.
• Oil (olive, preferable)

Topping suggestions:

• Garlic, chopped
• Mushrooms, small pieces
• Onion, diced
• Meat, diced finely (I used sausage bits for this one) - make sure this is pre-cooked!
• Pineapple, diced

Instructions

1. Preheat oven. If you'll be making mini pizza using...
1. Pizza bases, 230 deg C will do. F
2. For other breads, I'm unsure... maybe 200 degs?
2. If you'll be using meat, cook it while you're preparing the other stuff.
3. Add in salt, sugar, oregano and chopped garlic into the tomato paste. Not too much!
4. Slather the tomato paste mixture onto the breads.
5. Sprinkle mushrooms, onions and pineapples evenly on the bread. Then add meat. (Make sure to not overcrowd the toppings or they'll fall off!)
6. Cover #5 with cheese.
7. Sprinkle breads with some oregano and sugar.
8. Spread some oil on a baking tray/paper/foil, and place breads carefully onto it.
9. Put it in the oven for 8-10 mins.
10. After taking it out, let it stand for a couple of mins, and you're ready to dig in. Should turn out something like this:

After baking

うまえ! ;)

Quiche - with filo pastry

- zaty.

Update: salt amount corrected :)

So I made quiche again today. The difference, however, is that I used filo pastry for the first time in my dear life. Considering the fact that I'm making this as a 'more' (shared 'dessert' for after terawih prayers), this is quite a risk.

But then I'm too much of an experimenter to not take the risk. :P

Anyhoo this time around I made both 'mini' (ie. cupcake-sized) quiche and a medium-sized square-pan quiche. I also prepared two batters - one is with meat, and the other is vegetarian. Just cuz I felt like it. The later is only for the mini ones though.

Anyway, onto the recipe!

Inspired by this recipe (uses filo pastry) & the easy quiche #2 recipe --- modified. 

Makes:

• 3 dozens mini quiches OR 
• 2 dozens mini quiches + 1 medium-sized square-pan quiche.

Ingredients:

• filo pastry sheets
• 6 eggs
• 3 cups milk ~
• 5 tbsp melted butter (about 75g)
• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 2 cups grated cheese
• 4 cups of anything you like *
• 2 large tomatoes, sliced
  
  Optional: Oregano, thyme, black pepper, salt to taste (thanks canadian girl for the tip!)
  
  ~ for better taste, use 1½ cup cream+1½ cup milk
  * I used:
       Diced = 1 large sausage, 5 button mushrooms, 1 onion, 1 green capsicum
       Sliced finely = 4 spinach leaves

Directions:

1. Set oven to 175 deg C
2. Whisk together the first 5 ingredients (eggs, milk, butter, self-raising flour, salt)
3. Fold in cheese and filling (*)
4. Prepare filo pastry:
• For mini quiche:
• Take one sheet, fold it in half. You can 'glue' the folded parts together using melted butter/cooking spray.
• Cut filo sheet into 4 strips - each strip about 6cm in width.
• Fold the strips twice to make an approx 6cm square.
• Place filo 'squares' in muffin tray hole. 
• When every container is lined with filo, continue with step #5
• For square pan:
• Lay filo sheets one above the other, about 8 sheets
• Make the sheets look neater by folding them in/cutting them (I didn't do a good job tho :P), then continue with step #5.
5. Pour the mixture into pan.
6. Top with sliced tomatoes and sprinkle with herbs.
7. Bake for about 35 minutes. Wait to cool before serving (about 10 minutes).

PICS!

Before baking:

meaty mini quiches.
messy, i know. lol.

meaty square quiche.
i topped this with another sheet of filo, which explains that white-ish surface.
(next time i'll skip that - i prefer the quiche w/o it. haha.)

After baking:

vegetarian mini quiches
(no sausage, extra veggies+mushroom)

meaty mini quiches

meaty square quiche

Bon apetit! :)