Sweet and salty chocolate peanut butter pie

Serves 6-8

For the crust:

125g digestive biscuits, finely ground
5 tablespoons caster sugar
85g salted butter, melted

For the filling:

1 cup chunky peanut butter (I use a good quality one with no other ingredients except for a bit of salt)
85g Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 tablespoons icing sugar *
* Add as much as you like to your own taste. As I used a good quality peanut butter, I had to use about 2-3 tablespoons to sweeten - if you're using brands like Skippy, you may not need that much as it's pretty sweet already

For the topping:

230g (8 ounces) good quality semisweet chocolate, chopped or broken into pieces
1 cup/300ml heavy cream
1/4 cup salted roasted peanuts, roughly chopped

For the crust:

1) Preheat the oven to 190C.

2) In a food processor, blitz the biscuit, sugar and butter. (You can crush the biscuits by hand too)

3) Press it out onto a greased 9 inch tart pan with removable base, and bake for 7 minutes. Leave to cool. (You can also leave it in the fridge or freezer to chill, but I prefer to bake).

For the filling:

4) Mix all the ingredients for the filling. I used the food processor but you can do it by hand too. Spread it on the cooled crust. Mine was a bit doughy so it was easy to press out with my fingers.

For the topping:

5) Heat the heavy cream in a saucepan till it's simmering, and pour it over the chocolate. ( I sweetened my chocolate with a bit of icing sugar but if yours is sweet enough then there's no need) Mix till it's combined.

6) Pour the chocolate over the filling and sprinkle the chopped peanuts on the top.

7) Chill in the fridge, uncovered for at least 3 hours. Then remove the rim and base of the tart pan carefully with a palette knife.

8) Serve chilled.

Quick & easy bacon and broccoli quiche

Serves 4 - 6

For the filling:

4 rashers bacon

1 cup broccoli

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

pinch of salt

freshly ground black pepper

pinch of ground nutmeg

pinch of cayenne pepper

For the crust:

1 cup plain flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 ice water

1) Cut the broccoli into florets and steam or boil them for about 5 minutes till it's tender but not fully cooked.

2) While it's steaming, fry the bacon till it's just cooked but not crispy.

3) In a bowl, combine the bacon, broccoli, cheese, milk, cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg and cayenne pepper.

4) Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

5) In a separate bowl, measure one cup of flour and mix in 1/2 teaspoon of salt with a fork.

6) Pour 1/4 cup of olive oil in a measuring cup and another 1/4 cup of ice water into the same measuring cup. Beat with a whisk till it's thick. 

7) Pour in the oil and water mixture into the flour and mix till it forms a dough.

8) Press it out onto a 9 inch pie pan and pour in the filling.

9) Bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until the egg mixture is cooked (skewer or knife should come out clean)

10) Serve hot or cold. 

Yong Tau Foo

Serves 2

This is my own version of yong tau foo. I'm really not sure how other people make it but this is how I do it. Could you buy it ready made? Yes. Is that fun? No! It's just as fast to make it yourself and there's no strange chemicals in it that make it bouncy like the store bought fish balls/yong tau foo. It's not going to be as springy as the factory made fish balls but it sure is healthier!

I've used just 4 green chilies and 2 square pieces of firm tofu here but you can go crazy and use anything you like to stuff the fish paste in! Mushrooms, capsicum, eggplant, tomatoes.

As for the soup base, I used a mixture of fish bones and chicken feet with some garlic and onions. But you can use ANYTHING you want! Best is to boil a load of soya beans for about 2 - 3 hours, throw in a few ikan billis and dried shrimp, and that's really sweet enough. If you're pressed for time, just use a stock cube! Anything goes really.

For 2 people:

About 200g of white firm flesh fish, with skin in tact (bigger fish works best)
1 egg white
Cornflour
Salt
Finely ground white pepper
Chopped spring onions, chopped (optional)
Chopped red chilies, chopped (optional)

1) Using a teaspoon, scrape the meat from the fish. You'll realise that it turns into mush pretty easily.

2) Discard the skin and any bones.

3) Don't use all the egg white. About 1 teaspoon or less is good enough for 200g.

4) Add a pinch of salt, and finely ground white pepper and about 1/4 teaspoon of cornflour just to bind everything together. Add spring onions and chilies if desired.

5) Mix it all together until you get a sticky paste. You can also grab it and slap it on the mixing bowl a few times.

6) Stuff the paste into your vegetables or tofu. (If using chilies and capsicum you might want to discard the seeds).

7) If using firm tofu, cut each piece diagonally into two triangles. Make a slit into the cut but don't slit all the way through. Start stuffing. Be careful as it's quite delicate and you don't want to stuff too much.

8) Bring your stock to a boil and add in your ingredients. Boil for about 5 - 10 minutes or until your vegetables are cooked to your liking. Firm tofu is already cooked and really only needs 3 - 5 minutes.

9) Serve with cooked noodles of your choice, rice or just on its own!

Lazy Kway Chup

Different people love different parts of kway chup - my family prefers the small intestines so I use that the most. I can't give an exact amount of how much you'll need of each, but use as much or little as you like!

Some of the ingredients commonly used:

Pork belly
Small intestines, washed
Big intestines
Tau pok
Fish cake
Hard boiled egg

(I marinated the pork belly and intestines in a bit of Mei Kwei Lu, which is a rose alcohol. You won't have to do that for the non pork ingredients)

Sauce for the ingredients:

3 tablespoons oyster sauce
3 teaspoons dark soy sauce (the thick syrupy one)

1-2 teaspoon  sesame oil
5 tablespoons normal soy sauce
5 teaspoons sugar

Few dashes Maggi seasoning
1/4 teaspoon Chinese Five spice powder
1 star anise
3-5 cloves
1 centimeter bit of cinnamon stick
4-5 garlic cloves, lightly smashed
3-4 slices ginger, lightly smashed
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon white peppercorns

1 cup of water

For the soup:

2 pork bones
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
black peppercorns
Fresh flat white noodles

1) If using pork belly and intestines, wash the intestines first and marinade all in a bit of Mei kwei lu.

2) Combine all ingredients for the sauce and add to the slow cooker.

3) For pork belly and intestines, add it all together with the sauce in the slow cooker. Cook on high for 2 - 3 hours.

4) While that is cooking, make the soup stock. Throw in the pork bones, onion, garlic and peppercorns into a pot. Add enough water to cover.

5) Bring to a boil and remove scum. Turn down the fire, cover and continue boiling for as long as you can (2-3 hours) - just as the pork belly and intestines are ready.

6) When the pork belly and intestines are tender, add in the other ingredients such as tau pok, fish cake and hard boiled egg. Cook for another 15 - 20 minutes.

7) Strain the stock and add some salt. Then add about 1/2 cup of the sauce into the soup base. Keep it hot.

8) Remove all the ingredients from the slow cooker and start chopping into bite sized pieces. Serve onto a plate and spoon the sauce over.

9) Put some rice noodles into a bowl and spoon over the hot soup.

10) Garnish with coriander, spring onions and fried shallots.

11) Serve with chili sauce. As this is the lazy way, forget about doing it yourself. The chili sauce with garlic and ginger is just as good as home made!

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies (Lactation cookies)

Makes about 20 cookies

110g unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon flax seed meal mixed with 2 tablespoons water
1 1/4 cup plain flour
1 tablespoon cornflour
1- 2 tablespoons brewer's yeast
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
A pinch of salt
1 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/4 cup oats

1. Mix the flax seed meal with water and let it sit for 3- 5 minutes.

2. Cream the butter and sugar with electric beater/whisk.

3. Add the flax seed mixture, vanilla and egg. Beat again.

4. Sift the flour, cornflour, brewer's yeast, baking soda and salt.

5. Add both mixtures together.

6. Add the chocolate chips and oats. Mix.

7. Use an ice cream scoop and place each scoop onto a baking tray. (You may need to do 2 batches or more)

8. Put it in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

9. Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees celsius.

10. Bake at 18 minutes or until the tops are golden.

Rosemary roast pork leg with crackling

Serves 6 - 8

1.5kg pork leg with skin
2 - 3 tablespoons sea salt and dried rosemary
Pepper
1 - 2 cups water or stock
2 white onions
2 bulbs garlic

1. Remove the string if any and preheat the oven to 250 degrees celsius.

2. Pat dry the skin till very (x100) dry, and score with a very sharp knife diagonally in diamond shapes.

3. Pound the sea salt and rosemary in a mortar and pestle till powdery.

4. Rub all over the skin and into the cuts, and underside of the pork. Season with pepper.

5. Cut the onions in half, plus a bit off the top and same for the whole garlic bulbs. Place in a baking tray. (One that can hold some liquid)

6. Rest your pork on top of the garlic and onions. Pat dry any moisture on the skin if any.

7. Pour the water or stock till you cover 3/4 of the onions and garlic.

8. Roast at 250 degrees for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 180 degrees and roast for another 1 hour.

9. Remove the pork. Cover and allow to rest for 20 minutes.

10. Now make the gravy. Remove the garlic from the skin and pour everything in the pan into a saucepan. Boil the garlic and onions till soft, if they're soft already there's no need.

11. With a hand blender, blitz everything to form a thick gravy. Season to taste.

* Rule to roast pork is 20 minutes for every 500g of meat, plus the 20 minutes on 250 degrees and 20 minutes to rest. 

Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Cookies

4oz/110g room temperature butter

1/2 cup white sugar 

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 egg at room temperature 

1 teaspoon vanilla at room temperature

1 1/4  cup plain flour

1 tablespoon cornflour 

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 1/2 (plus a bit more)  semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped toasted pecans/hazelnuts

1. Toast and chop 1 cup pecans/hazelnuts

2. Cream together the butter and sugar with a spatula to the side if the bowl.

3. Add the egg and a good quality vanilla extract. Blend together.

4. Sift all the dry ingredients into the mixture and combine.

5. Add the chocolate chips and nuts Mix evenly.

7. Scoop 2 tablespoons batter and roll into balls.

8. Put in fridge to set for 1 hour.

9. Preheat oven to 325F or 160C.

10. Place balls about 2 inches apart onto tray.

11. Bake for 15-18 minutes.

12. Let it cool on the tray before removing them.