Matcha cookies

I have been busy baking the past couple of days. Of course it wasn't the non-stop baking type. It was done at a leisurely pace. I prefer to give homemade cookies to family and friends rather than buy them off the shelf. It's just a sense of satisfaction I get. Pineapple tarts and chocolate chips are a must. However, I'm a bit more adventurous this year. I still have a batch or 2 of tarts to do but as I went around the blogs looking for a 'melting moments' recipe, I came across this simple to do matcha cookie and it just called out to me, 'try me, try me'. Which I did as you can see. :) It's a cookie for matcha lovers but I'm not one. However, it's not too bad really, although the next batch I make, I might cut down on the powder used, so it doesn't come out too strong. I got this recipe from sweet decadenze. This recipe is for Peony by request.

School bento #6 + CNY baking

A cutey rabbit char siew bun features in this recess bento. I had seen a bunny chocolate bun at Breaktalk but I think this one is way cuter. I got this from Four Leaves Bakery. It looks more like a rabbit than Bugs Bunny. My sis is born in the year of the rabbit and I know she will love this. Unfortunately I can't do one (bento) for her. Little oranges are seen here again (I have a whole basketful!). Normally, princess doesn't like oranges but she loves these as they are cute, sweet and seedless.

I've also been busy baking for CNY gifts. I really marvel those who bake to sell. Just making tarts for gifts and own consumption yesterday already zapped me of all my energy. From making the dough (thank you Kenwood), to rolling out the jam balls (no KW or KitchenAid can do this job unfortunately ;P), to wrapping dough over jam, to glacing, to finally baking. Remember those who eat tarts - think of the person doing them, the amount of hard work that goes into one ball. Please don't pop them like peanuts. It's a plea from bakers like me. Savour every bite and eat them with love, as much love as was put into making each and every ball, then you will feel the love of those who made them. :D

To get the ball rolling on my baking, I started with the very simple chocolate chip cookie. It was quick to prepare, bake and cool, thus making them great as a night time bake, which was the only time I had in the past few days. Afternoons are occupied these days with homework, tons of it. I'm glad that the girl has finally caught up on her hw. There is still one major compo to do and 3 short ones. Those are optional as she only needs to choose one out of 4, but she hopes to be able to complete all 4 at her own pace. Her bedtime has also been adjusted to 9pm, not by choice, but by her heavy workload. She has been quite good last 2 days as I was busy with work (my hubby will have you know that staying home is not work) - cleaning house, doing laundry, baking, cooking etc. Although having to do lots of hw, she did complain once or twice about her aching hand, but I just let her rest a few minutes here and there before continuing. There really wasn't enough time to waste. She sometimes completes them around 8-9pm, and it's off to bed. She gets a sheet of Maths problem sums to bring home every day, and that is on top of a few sheets that they do in school! For Chinese, there are also pages of hw. :( She doesn't have a life anymore! Why do they push them so hard? :(

Well, anyway, so here is my chocolate chip cookies. A big portion = two recipes.

My first batch. :)

This is the reason I hate making pineapple tarts... rolling them jam balls. They are sticky eeky and so time consuming.

Perfect circles.

Here they are, all ready to be packed.

CNY Bake - Pineapple Tarts

It's that long-awaited time of year again with lots of blogs ablaze with cookies of all sorts. My biscuit of choice is pineapple tarts. Even if I do not bake anything else this year, the least I have to do is tarts. Why? Simple! I love them to bits! Especially soft, melt in the mouth ones. The crispy ones don't get me so excited, but I will still eat them. Just not so much of a shiok factor. I made three versions of it on Monday. You know, it's not easy to get myself started on baking another lot, for the sole reason that it is a lot of tedious work, especially when I have to do it all by myself. Baking cookies for CNY is fun when many people come together, or even 2 or 3 people, and it makes the process shorter.

First up is nestar tarts. These look so pretty but were very time consuming. I made 15 of them before throwing in the towel. I first piped them out into long strips, then placed rolled up pineapple jam on them before rolling the pastry over that. Leave the dough too long and it dries up and makes it difficult to roll, and they will fall apart.

Waiting to go in the oven.

The second lot of tarts I made resembled Mandarin oranges. I achieved that effect by putting cloves into the top of them.

Didn't bother taking out the dslr for this shot as it was already late at night. These below are cheese pineapple tarts. I did them like the ones above but instead of clove, I scattered cheddar over the top.

What is your favourite type of tart?

Chinatown 2010 - A feast for the eyes.

WARNING - Bumper post.

Let me take you on a walk through Chinatown with me on a learning journey planned for my princess. I wanted her to experience firsthand the colours, sights, sounds and smells of the most significant festival in Singapore... Chinese New Year. She took along with her a notebook and a pen to jot down things she saw and new words which she came across. However, that notebook only saw light once during the entire trip as there was too much going on, and on top of that the heat, not to mention the crowd, which was making both hubby and her irritable. Overall, though, it was a fun outing. I had planned to take her there from a week back, but each day the sun was getting hotter and hotter, so I kept shelving it. However, we had the opportunity yesterday afternoon when we returned from dance class and I seized the day and got everyone out of the house in double quick time, as the weather was really lovely and cloudy. A perfect day for an outing.

As we got off the bus, we were greeted by this sweets stall which had all the sugar laden preserved fruits with auspicious names to them. Chinese New Year is all about auspiciousness.

A very popular stall with 900 years of history selling preserved meats.

Right beside the preserved meat stall is CK departmental store which was packed to the brim with shoppers hunting down bargains on decorations for the home.

I love the bright cheery colours of Chinese New Year, and it is a MUST to visit it each year. Previously I went with my mum and sis as my girl was too young to take along. We usually went in the night, when the streets were all lit up, and the crowd was thicker. I'm glad that she is old enough now and I do hope to make it an annual tradition with her.

As we hadn't yet had our lunch, our first stop naturally, was for food, and I've been wanting to try out this guy's stall... the famous German guy, donning a Chinese outfit, selling sausages which his country is famous for, right in the middle of Chinatown.

Choice of sausages which were pretty limited.

More food choices.

Lovely choice of breads.

The star himself.

Hubby and I had cheese sausages with hard rolls while the girl opted for the frankfurter. She requested to not have hers cut up, and ketchup on the side. I did not try it but the ketchup looked like homemade, although I doubt it.

Right after our (yummy) sausage lunch, the girl spied a sign with the word 'Takoyaki', and knowing that this mummy loves them, she pointed out the stall to me. I didn't want any but she went for the steamed corn niblets and hubby had a waffle dog.

Patiently waiting for my cup of corn.

Beautiful gourds on display as well as for sale.

Some lovely windmills. We got one of these.

We came across our neighbour's family store during our walkabout. The store is famous for their egg tarts.

The nian gao which I wanted to show princess, as she learned it during Chinese class.

This is one of my favourite stalls along the street. I love anything personalised.

It was very crowded on a Saturday afternoon.

Lovely flowers to brighten up the home.

Lots of chopsticks for sale.

I even found them in my family name! These make great gifts at $1 a pair.

More auspicious-naming sweets along the way.

Cute little tigers.

The girl wanted to see some chun lian, so here they are, red papers with auspicious words written in calligraphy.

A Chinese medical hall selling herbal drinks.

Chinese New Year is not complete without yummy biscuits. The prices of these will be slashed down later, on the eve of the actual day on the 14th Feb this year.

Thirst-quenching goodness for a hot day out. Hubby had one of these and said it was very nice. And you need to look around as there were a few stalls selling them for $1 each.

Piping hot roasted chestnuts.

I love these sweet mini oranges. Very cheap too.

My sister loves these, and I love the colours.

Do try to pay a visit to Chinatown this year. We didn't manage to take photos of the main road decorations as my two companions were tired out. We searched for a shop selling Chinese New Year outfits but I got disorientated and couldn't find it. We came across another popular one and found her an outfit. I wasn't too keen on it as it was too red, but both hubby and she liked it so we bought it anyway.

Remember to bring an empty tummy along on your visit and try as many things along the way. It'll be a fun experience.

Tong Heng Confectionery (South Bridge Road)
285 South Bridge Road
Tel: 62230398