Bananas Alert!

10.10.12

So Generally I..

Tried yet another recipe for Banana Cake. Testing our banana cake recipes has been a tireless pursuit for someone like me who likes bananas and any banana by-products. And a banana cake is a major by-product for me. This recipe is taken from the book ‘Cakes Galore’ by Valerie Barrett. The original recipe in the book is called Carribbean Banana Cake, but since I am happy just to try out the basic cake, I had omitted the spice ingredient in my version. My verdict of the cake is … hmm..how shall I put this? The cake didn’t last 24 hours..yes, it’s that good. Its moist and dense (which is what I was looking for)  and look very much like a good-old home-made cake.

History Trivia : There are reports that banana cakes could have originated from Eygptian times. While others might claim that the cake originates from Asia, as banana is an Asian fruit. However, the most popular information states that the banana cake recipe originated from America in the 18th century, when housewives discovered baking powder and baking soda and uses them as leavening agent in baking.

Carribbean Banana Cake

You will need :
2 ripe bananas, peeled

2 tablespoon clear honey

200g self-raising flour

¼ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg (I omitted this for my version)

150g unsalted butter, soften

175g soft light brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten

50g pecan, finely chopped.

What to do. :

Preheat oven to 180 C, 350F or Gas mark 4. Grease a 10 inch x 10inch cake tin.

> Mash the banana in bowl with honey.

> Sift the flour, baking powder and nutmeg in a separate bowl & set aside.

> Cream the butter and sugar together till pale and fluffy. Add in the eggs gradually, beating well after each addition.

> Fold in the banana and flour mixture.

> Bake for 25-30 mins or until skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Below is how my banana cake looks like. Do note that I made certain changes for my version as follows : I added 1 more banana as I wanted a more dense cake and I wanted to taste more of the banana. To balance up, I added 2 additional tablespoonful of flour. I skipped the nutmeg and pecans as I was not a fan of either one.

You can find more banana cake recipes on Allrecipes.com.

Show Me the Money..

I found a very interesting programme called Easy Paycheck Formula created by Sara Young. Sara is a mother of 6 kids and she worked from home doing internet marketing. You're really going to like this because she is completely hype-free and very practical and down to earth.

Sara doesn’t talk like a guru. She's just another person like you and me who happens to have cracked the code on how to make a living online.

Her programme won't show you flashy cars and huge mansions.  She

won't promise that you will make $100,000/month. Sara will just show you a simple system that works and makes you money within days.

And that's what I like about it - it's so simple and realistic,

and it's taught step-by-step so anyone can follow.

I highly recommend you take a look at what she has to

offer. In addition, you can also join her programme as an affiliate member.

Click here to get more information on this great programme.

Click here for the link of the My-Data-Team programme which I mentioned earlier.

Monday Blues

09.10.12

So Generally I..

Decided to make a special post on the Amy Cheong episode this week. Have been reading about her from the internet and some friends who posted some comments on their own FB page. The Amy Cheong episode was at the very least, a sad story to read in modern and multi-racial Singapore.

For the benefit of those reading this who are non-Singaporeans, Amy Cheong was an employee (Assistant Director) of a government-linked labour movement in Singapore. In other words, she is technically a civil servant. Last Sunday, Amy posted some racist remarks on her FB about a Malay wedding that was going on at her void deck. In Singapore, public housing consists of cluster flats with void decks which are accessible/ rentable for a small fee payable to the area town council. The common activities usually held at void decks are Malay weddings, Chinese funerals, resident’s party, birthday parties (of a major scale), etc. Come weekends, void decks are ‘popular’ for such activities, though for certain events, eg Chinese funerals, it can happen at any time. New generation cluster flats comes with a non-enclosed multi-purpose hall so most activities are held here instead of void decks, but the concept is still similar.

So last Sunday, there was a Malay wedding at Amy Cheong’s void deck of which had generated some level of noise to the neighbouring flats. Irritated and perhaps angry at the on-going activities and noise, Amy Cheong posted several racist comments on her FB. Those comments angered netizens and it spread across the social media throughout that same evening and night. The next day, Monday, Amy Cheong’s employers took her to task and her service was terminated with immediate effect. It become national news yesterday and even Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong posted a message on his FB to condemn her racist remarks. He also reminded Singaporeans to be careful and to avoid making remarks on social media and could offend other races and fellow Singaporeans.

She has since issued an apology for her comments but it is just too late. I can't help but feel sorry for what happen to her. It is a pity to dislike a culture when you don't anything about it. So instead of deliberating on her story, I thought it would be good to share a little about Malay weddings. 

You see..Singapore is a dynamic multi-racial society..my generation and the of my parents and grandparents grew up in kampungs or village settlements in the early 1900s right up to the 1960s..During kampungs days, the Malays and Chinese and Indians lived together and co-exist in harmony..of course there were the civil riots incidents in the 1960s but other that our parents and grandparents have neighbours of other races which became their close friends for many years of their lives.

Racial harmony continues to be a part of an important curriculum in schools today, ie Social Studies. Children are taught about other races and their unique cultures and religions practices. All cultural festivities are celebrated and acknowledged. They are taught to be tolerant of one another and identify themselves as Singaporeans and not just a Malay, a Chinese or an Indian. Or any of the other minority races for that matter. During the Mooncake Festival for eg, they made lanterns out of ang pow packets and during Deepavali, they learn about the meaning behind the festival of lights.

In Singapore, perhaps 70-80% of Malay weddings are held at the void decks. This practice goes back many years ago, perhaps even when the public housing concept first started. The rational of having it at the void decks (of the groom’s and bride’s parents house), is simple – Malay weddings are major affair..invites can be as many as 2000 guests or as few as 500. Food is catered from one of the hundreds of wedding caterers in the business and every so often, a DJ is hired to provide some entertainment to the guests, play the music and make the appropriate announcements upon the arrival of the happy couple. The ‘noisiest’ of a Malay wedding perhaps comes from the kompang accompaniment which signals the arrival and departure of the bride and groom.

A more elaborated wedding starts on the Saturday, where the solemnization or the ‘akad-nikah’ takes place, followed by photo-taking and changing of costumes etc. Guests can come either on Saturday but preferably on Sunday. It is not uncommon to see the Chinese and Indians, friends or neighbors, or colleagues of the couple or their family, attending to a Malay wedding, enjoying the food and being part of the celebration.

Culturally and religiously, it is encouraged to have a reasonable celebration for the newly married couple. The wedding celebration serves as an ‘announcement’ and introduction of the newlyweds to relatives and friends, in addition to sharing in the joy of the couple on the marriage.

Hence, to manage costs and make it more accessible to family and friends, void deck weddings seems to be the ideal choice in Singapore’s context. In recent years, there is new trend among the couples. Those who are willing to spend more money do have their weddings at fancier restaurants and hotels. There are also couples who now prefer to have their weddings on Saturdays only, hence making it a simpler one day affair but just as elaborated. This is actually a much preferred trend, so that Sunday is left for immediate families to rest and re-charge.

Amidst the Amy Cheong eposide, I came across a somewhat light-hearted post by a local Malay celebrity on his FB account. Click here to read more.

Malay wedding is a rich cultural practice, one that will most likely stay for many many years to come. In the Singapore context, this practice equals to that of other races like the Chinese funeral, the Thaipusam, the prayer-offering during the Hungry Ghost festival etc..Living in a public housing neighbourhood, one cannot hide away for it..or complain so that they will go away. 

Live and let live..

Here are some photos of Malay weddings in Singapore :

I'm taken with you Crabbie

08.10.12

So Generally I..

Took time out to watch Taken2. The anticipation was high – I was expecting a sequel full of suspense and action. I wasn’t looking forward to be disappointed.

Liam Neeson’s role as Bryan Mills is somewhat too sedated for my liking..the movie lacked the unpredictability of the first instalment. Granted, the movie has a few interesting and clever scenes, like when Mills was guilding his daughter to help him trace his location. There was also the scene when Mills and his wife were being kidnapped in a van..Mills counted the seconds off while looking out (or rather hearing out) for details from his surroundings.

Other than that, I wasn't overly impressed. Overall the movie wasn’t that bad for light entertainment..it was rated PG13, hence perhaps the reasons for the mild violent scenes.

My personal verdict is as follows :

Entertainment Factor  - 3 out of 5

Suspense Factor  - 2.5 out of 5

Drama Factor – 2.5 out of 5

Guess I’ll wait patiently for it to come on HBO.

Following the Planetary Dots..

Would like to share a recipe here under this segment instead..Chilli Crab!!

This is a well known dish in Singapore, and if what I have read so far is true, the dish originates from Singapore back in 1960s by a lady named Cher Yam Tian (source of info : Wikipedia). Chilli Crab is basically a chilli and tomato based dish, usually made thick with cornstarch and egg. Mud crab is most commonly used in restaurants but it is also great with flower crabs or softshell crabs.

You can easily find the recipe for this dish if you google it , but the one I’m sharing today was given by a friend who got it from a local chef. And surprisingly, it's fairly simple to make.

You will need :

2 large mud crab

2 large onion – chopped

4 cloves of garlic – finely chopped

2 inch ginger – cut into strips

4 chillies – made into paste (alternatively, you can use ready-made chilli paste)

1 tablespoon of light soya sauce

2 tablespoon of oyster sauce

3 tablespoon of tomato sauce

1 tablespoon of chilli sauce

2 cups of chicken stock

1 tablespoon of vinegar

a dash of sesame oil

1 teaspoon of sugar

cornstarch

water  - to mix with cornstarch

1 egg

Olive oil for stir-frying

What to do :

Heat the oil in a large wok. Stir-fry the ginger, onions and garlic until slightly soft.

Add the chilli paste, oyster sauce, light soya sauce & tomato sauce & chilli sauce. Sautee for about 2-3 mins. Add sugar, vinegar and chicken stock. Let it boil.  Add the cornstarch.

Add the crab and stir well. When crab is cooked (about 10 mins), add in the sesame oil and egg. Stir well.  

Serve chilli crab with white rice or bread. Best eaten hot! Bless..