Soft Butter Cake

It's been a while since I'm do some baking.I saw butter cake sold everywhere when I do my food shopping and wanted to taste a piece but then I'm telling myself why not I bake myself since I have all the ingredients at home.I like my butter cake moist,soft and buttery..

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour (sieved 2x)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
3 sticks unsalted butter(softened)
2 tsp pure vanilla essence
4 large eggs(room temperature)
2 tbsp milk

Method:

1:Preheat oven to 350 F.Prepare loaf pan with parchment paper.

2:Combine brown sugar,granulated sugar and butter in mixer at medium speed to high until fluffy and lightly white in color,about 3-5 minutes.

3:Double sieved flour and baking powder in a mixing bowl,set aside.

4:Add egg one at a time in the mixer,then add in vanilla essence.

5:Reduce speed to low and add in flour mixer,use spatula to scrape all the batter from mixer wall,add in milk ,mix well about 30 seconds.

6:Pour batter into loaf pan,then shake the loaf pan to level the batter.Bake for 70 minutes.Use a bamboo stick or tooth pick to insert in the middle of cake ,if it's comes out clean then it's ready.

7:Remove cake from loaf pan to a wire rack until it's cool before remove the parchment paper.Cut slices and serve with coffee or tea.

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Pan-fried Tuna with Salt and Pepper

Tuna are remarkable and impressive wild animals.Tuna is sold in many different forms. It is available fresh as steaks, fillets, or pieces.Tuna is an excellent source of selenium, niacin, vitamin B12, vitamin B6, and protein. It is a very good source of phosphorus as well as a good source of vitamin D, choline, potassium, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, and magnesium.I bought a vacuum packaged of three tuna steak in frozen form from Trader's Joes.I like the quality and price from this store.The simplest way to cook this tuna steak is pan-fry with minimal seasoning.

Ingredients:

1 piece frozen tuna about 10 oz (thawed)
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground pepper
4 tbsp rice flour or all purpose flour
4 tbsp vegetable oil

Method:

1:Rub seasalt and pepper all over the tuna,let it set for 10 minutes.Prepare a skillet with oil at medium high heat.
2:Coat season tuna with flour on both side.Place coated tuna onto the hot skillet.
3:Pan-fry tuna on both side until golden brown,about 5 minutes.
4:Remove cooked tuna from skillet and serve warm.

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Mango and Strawberry Smoothie

Fruit smoothies is always a welcome drink for hot weather or during summer.This kind of drink is  not only healthy but delicious too.It's not bad to combine mango with other fruits to make this exotic drink.

Ingredients:

2 ripe mango,peeled and cut

5 strawberry,removed stem 

1/2 cup yogurt 

3-4 tbsp organic honey

1 cup milk

2 cups ice cubes

Method:

1:Combine all the above ingredients in a blender,use smoothie function  to blend for 3 minutes.

2:Check the taste,if needed add in more honey.Pour out and serve chilled.

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Iceberg Salad with Cheese and Chicken with Vinegar Dressing

Salad with roasted shredded chicken and cheese is an ideal light meal served as appetizer or main meal.This delicious meal is easy to prepared and can consider as healthy dish.It's not a bad idea to consume this light meal daily.

Ingredients:

1 per package ready cut and clean iceberg lettuce
10 sweetened cherry tomato,washed
1 cup shredded roasted chicken
2 hard boiled eggs,peeled and cut
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese
Vinegar dressing(available in any market)

Yield 2-3 portion

Method:

1:Grab 2 handful of iceberg lettuce onto a dinner plate.Place roasted shredded chicken,shredded cheese,tomato and cut hard boiled egg on top of the lettuce.

2:Prepare vinegar dressing on side or pour on the salad.Serve chilled.


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Puerto Rican Fried Beef Empanadas

This is my first experience making Puerto Rican empanadas.We been to a nearby Caribbean restaurant and hubby keep praising their beef empanadas,said he liked it.I promised to try to make this snack for him one day.Actually for me this snack is easier to make than kaya puff or curry puff.This empanadas method is similar with Malaysian currypuff .In my opinion, I think almost all Latin or South American foods are very similar with South Asia's food in term of appearance,cooking method,shape and taste.Since I don't take beef I have to asked hubby to taste the filling before wrapping.I dunno if my beef empanadas filling is similar with the one served in Caribbean restaurant but hubby said mine is good too..Well,at least I'm not disappointed with the answer!!

Ingredients:
2 package of the (Goya white) flour discs (defrosted)
1 cup Sofrito (store bought ready to use)
4 tbsp Adobo Powder
2.5 lb ground beef meat
5-6 cloves fresh garlic,peeled and minced
1 large onion,peeled and minced

2 cups canola oil for frying

Yield 20 pieces

Method:

1:Prepare some oil in large skillet or pot at medium high heat with garlic.Saute garlic for 30 seconds,add in minced beef.Keep stirring beef with spatula for 10-15 minutes until the liquid semi-dry.

2:Add in sofrito and Adobe powder into the beef mixture,mix well.Keep simmer for 10 minutes or until dry.Remove from heat and cool completely before use.

3:Defrost the skin disc(Goya).Remove each layer of the plastic.Place the skin disc on kitchen counter.Sprinkle some flour to prevent from sticking.Use a roller to roll the skin slightly wide.

4:Use a tablespoon to scoop the beef filling and place on the center of the skin disc.Fold the skin with edges together.Press the edges close before crimps with your desire pattern or use fork to press the edges.Continues to wrap all the skins until finish.

5: Heat oil in fryer or pot at 325 F at medium high heat.Place 2-3 pieces of empanadas in the fryer,do not over crowded the pot or fryer.Fry for 5-8 minutes or until golden brown.Remove fried empanadas onto a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.

6:Keep the remaining empanadas in freezer.Wrap with plastic bag or ziploc bag.Do not defrosted frozen empanadas,fry immediately after taken out from freezer.

7:Serve while it warm with sour cream.

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Sauteed Kale with Garlic

This is my first time cooking kale and it's not bad at all after tasting it.I never attempted to buy kale until now.Well,I was wondering myself why I never attempted to cook this wonderful cholesterol-lowering benefits veggie.While shopping at wholesale mart,I saw a ready to cook kale in vacuum pack sell for $1.99 only and why not? All I have to do is just cook it ,no need to wash or cut.After "googling" this veggie I come to understand that kale is one of the healthiest vegetables around and one way to be sure to enjoy the maximum nutrition and flavor from kale is to cook it properly.Kale as one of the cruciferous vegetables you eat on a regular basis if you want to receive the fantastic health benefits provided by the cruciferous vegetable family.For now I simply sauteed kale with fresh garlic.To be honest eating kale is like eating flower!! Light and fluffy!! hahaha!

Ingredients:

1 pack/ 1 pound of ready to cook kale (washed and cut) d
3-4 cloves fresh garlic,peeled and slices
1 tbsp ground chicken bouillon powder
3-4 tbsp vegetable oil
3-4 tbsp water

Method:

1:Heat large skillet or wok with oil and fresh garlic at medium high heat.Saute garlic until golden brown,toss in kale and chicken bouillon powder,stir it with spatula.
2:Cover wok or skillet with lid for 1 minutes.Add in some water and stir well for 30 seconds.Check the seasoning.Make sure the kale is tender soft but still retain the greenish.
3: Dish out and serve.
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Tropical Smoothie with Almond Milk

Doctor suggested to me to take calcium  and vitamin B supplements daily but I'm not use to it or maybe I can said I don't like supplements.Furthermore,taking any type of supplements make me headache.But as a woman,I should replenish my calcium intake that was lost during childbirth and aging.As we all know milk is another form of calcium supplement but I prefer almond milk with vanilla flavor.Almond milk is a beverage made from ground almonds, occasionally used as a substitute for dairy milk.Unlike animal milk, almond milk contains neither cholesterol nor lactose. As it does not contain any animal products, it is suitable for vegans and vegetarians who abstain from dairy products. You don’t have to be lactose intolerant to enjoy almond milk, but if you are, you’re in for an extra-special treat. The creamy smooth texture and hint-of-almond taste make this nondairy beverage a stand out at standing in for milk.Today Mishu suggested that I use almond milk to make her Strawberry smoothie.I used the recipe on the carton but tweak a bit to suit my taste..Mishu said this drink is heavenly good!!

Ingredients:

2 slices of pineapple,chopped
1 green apple,remove core and cut small
10 strawberry,remove stump
1 cup almond milk
200 ml fresh orange juice
3 tbsp honey
1 cup of ice cube
whipped cream *optional*

 Method:

1:Cut all the fruits and place in a blender.Pour in almond milk,fresh orange juice,honey ,ice cubes and all the fruits.
2:Blend all the ingredients until smooth.Pour the smoothie into 2 large glasses.Serve chilled.Squirt some whipped cream.

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