Capsicum, the traffic light that u can bite
1:29 AM - Posted by Majiemvv - 0 comments

You may call it bell pepper, chili pepper, sweet pepper or even "tanglung", the capsicum what we usually in our local supermarket comes from the Capsicum annum plant. Shaped like a decorative ornament or lantern, capsicums are fruit vegetables, belong to the nightshade family which includes members like potatoes, tomatoes and eggplant. Their plump shape and glossy appearance come in a plethora of colours such as green, red, yellow, orange, purple, white, blue, ink, brown and black depending on when and where they are harvested. 


Although they are varied colour, the green, red and yellow capsicums are the same fruit from the same plant but picked at different times. Since they are non-climacteric fruits (fruits that does not ripen further after harvest), they are keeping their colours. They varies in taste, as well as the nutrition content. Capsicum, in overall, is high in vitamin C and bioflavanoids, beside containing wide range of minerals. The red one taste sweeter than the yellow and the green one, thus it is also the one who provides most calories, about 32cal per 100g red capsicum (yellow, 26cal; green, 15cal). However, since every colour has its unique phytochemicals and in order to benefit from all nutrients, it is recommended to consume capsicum in colours.


Think Tropical ~ Cucumber and Cream Cheese Mousse Cake
12:38 AM - Posted by Majiemvv - 0 comments
Cucumber? Yeap, I'm not kidding. 


Even at their simplest, this type of desserts are dazzling with a complexity of flavours, thanks to an abundance of fresh tropical fruits found locally. Just like what people says "The world has never lack of wonderful things. It is so close that our eyes and heart might ignore sometimes". 


Incorporating cucumber adding a unique dimension to the dessert. Some young ladies may find it difficult to finish the last scoop of a piece of cheese cake due to the stomach-filling creamy taste. With the fresh strike from the cucumber, there is always a room in the stomach for dessert.


Cucumber mousse is not a new thing, especially when it comes to appetizer. It goes well with salad, and amazingly suits with prawns. For example, the Prawn and Cucumber Mousse shared in "Some of what you might expect next week"  has a nice, presentable appearance and is very mouth watering......


Taste of Festive ~ Hero from the Cake
11:37 PM - Posted by Majiemvv - 0 comments
You can never claimed yourself as celebrated the Mooncake Festival with out the main character, the mooncake. Chinese always have that when they're enjoying the night breeze under the moon on it's roundest night ~~~ Follow the link for some celebrating traditions.

Once, according to Chinese legend, mooncakes helped bring about a revolution.  The time was the Yuan dynasty (AD 1280-1368), established by the invading Mongolians from the north. The Mongolians subjugated the Han Chinese.

According to one Chinese folk tale, a Han Chinese rebel leader named Liu Fu Tong devised a scheme to arouse the Han Chinese to rise up against the ruling Mongols to end the oppressive Yuan dynasty. He sought permission from Mongolian leaders to give gifts to friends as a symbolic gesture to honor the longevity of the Mongolian emperor. These gifts were round mooncakes. Inside, Liu had his followers place pieces of paper with the date the Han Chinese were to strike out in rebellion -- on the fifteenth night of the eighth month.

Thus Liu got word to his people, who when they cut open the mooncakes found the revolutionary message and set out to overthrow the Mongols, thus ending the Yuan dynasty.

Now, the cake has developed into various flavour and texture, and together with the more health concerning customer preference, the mooncake nowadays give you enough surprise every year.


p/s: what I like the most of this commercial, the dog ^^


Taste of Festive ~ Palace on the Moon
11:09 PM - Posted by Majiemvv -
August 15 of Lunar Calendar, is the romantic and joyful Mid-Autumn Mooncake Festival, gathering the families and couples.
the old folk story of Chang Er & Hou Yi is one of the most commonly known Mid-Autumn Mooncake Festival romance.

For her good, he bravely stand up to face the bright sun;
For her good, he request the medicine of immortality;
For his good, she warn him of his changing attitude;
For his good, she put herself on risk, and sacrifice her freedom and love...........

Get what I mean?

that's why people always says that we should gather during this festival....


Taste of Festive ~ Mandarin orange, a gift of tradition
10:49 PM - Posted by Majiemvv -

If Chinese New Year had a smell, it would be the scent of a freshly peeled mandarin orange. The emergence of succulent tangerine flesh misting the air with a sweet lingering citrus perfume, a yearly affair. It is the smell of gathering, of red packets, and loud familiar chatter. It is a ritual so set in tradition amongst generations of Chinese, an exchange symbolic of wealth and good fortune.

Ponkam, a special variety of mandarin orange from Taiwan, distributed by Euro-Atlantic, is my favorite one.

Healthwise, the mandarin orange is a hidden oasis. The well known dried peel, Chen Pi,   works well in treatment of abdominal distention and phlegm, besides the usual used in removing fishy smell in fish products. Vitamin C, antioxidant beta-cryptoxanthin, fiber are some of the component found to contribute to a better health, ranged from lowering cancer risk to lowering risk of liver disease.

This year, besides having mandarin orange as a fruit, you may like to have it in a different form. Recipe of Mandarin Oranges, Salmon Quenelles and Mesclun Salad in Creamy Mandarin Dressing and Mandarin Orange Cheesecake are proposed in the 8th issue of myNOURISHMENT (issue Nov-Feb 2011). 

you may be able to have a look on other salad combination too:





A Place with Good Protein Sources - Ipoh (3)
10:25 PM - Posted by Majiemvv -
~ Dinner: “With Bread or With Rice?”~

From Ipoh, you may have the Salt Baked Chicken. The chicken is marinated with herbs before wrapped with a piece of baking paper, then put within heated salt pieces to bake the bird. It taste salty, of course, but since the size is small, it goes well with rice.

Just within walking distance from the Kampar Old Town Kinta Bus Station, you can have a choice of Curry Chicken in Bread, Herbal Chicken in Bread, or Curry Mutton in Bread. The fillings are pre-cooked in a thick paste and wrapped in a piece of baking paper, before wrapped by another layer of dough and baked into a big piece of filled bread. This big bread, when cut, the mix aroma of the bread and the fillings first attack your nose, then you can see the how well the bread and baking paper present the mouth watering fillings in the middle. You might need to buy another small loaf of bread as the curry sauce is too good for another slice of bread.

So, let’s try these when you have the chance! 



A Place with Good Protein Sources - Ipoh (2)
10:18 PM - Posted by Majiemvv -
~ Tea time: "When Cendol meets Taufu Fa"~

We had our dessert at another stall, had a combination that you can only found in Malaysia, while playing with the temperature. Yes, they are Toufu Fa from Chinese and Cendol from Malay.


The hot Toufu Fa is so soft and smooth. Without too much of the coagulating agent, the soy milk transformed into a nice texture softer than pudding, and the ginger-containing sugar syrup brings up the peaceful aroma of soy bean.



 
The Cendol is daily prepared. Using appropriate recipe and the experienced technique, the light green Cendol is still chewy when you dig them out from the ice flakes. Unlike the sweet red bean that we usually have in KL, these red beans didn’t just match well with other ingredients, they are less sweet too. Is this because of the weather?







A Place with Good Protein Sources - Ipoh (1)
4:30 PM - Posted by Majiemvv - 0 comments
~ Lunch: derived from my older post "Run Chicken Run" ~

Around end of August last year, I went for few days Kampar-Ipoh trip, stayed at my sister’s place. As compared to the Connaugh night market I have usually, the night market for Kampar New Town is on Wednesday too, but with more stalls selling processed and unprocessed food, daily goods, as well as cloths. The price is generally cheaper too, making some out-of-budget spent. We bought half cuts of chicken and made a full pot of Herbal Chicken using only a rice cooker the next day. 

On Friday, we went to Ipoh. The to-and-fro bus ticket only cost us RM 7.50 per head, 40 min to the place famous with pretty girls, delicious chicken rice, and nice soya.


After hanging around between the old buildings, we found a nice place for lunch. Of course, we ordered the famous bean sprout, streamed chicken, kuey tiao in chicken broth, sugar cane juice, and meatballs. While waiting, we found some cute characters on the wall, drawn using marker, in co-operation with the switch, the fan, and the food display photos.
  • While the smooth kuey tiao was absorbing the chicken broth gently, you can’t taste any extra sweetener from the natural refreshing sugar cane juice.
  • The steamed matured chicken cuts are lined nicely by the crispy cucumber, protecting the poultry from over-soaked in the sauce.
  • The nice meat to flour ratio in the meatball in charge of providing some exercise for the teeth, while the fat, juicy bean sprout gives you a crispy crush from the young ones.

So, who want to come with me this time?



The Bitter Truth
4:22 PM - Posted by Majiemvv - 0 comments
Darker, bitter, better. A sharing of deep dark secret
~ comparing the types of chocolates: dark? milk? white? ~

Most chocolate from commercial outlets is made from cocoa solids, sugar, milk solids, colourings, artificial flavourings and preservatives. Cocoa is the dried and fermented fatty seeds of the cocoa tree from which chocolate is made. The fermentation process gives the nice aroma of cocoa. 

The cocoa solids contribute to its distinctly rich brown colour. White chocolate is white is white because it contains no cocoa solids, but with cocoa butter (fat). Non-fat cocoa solids contribute to the level of cocoa antioxidant (Miller, 2006), in which the relative total antioxidant capacities is highest, followed by red wine, green tea, and black tea (Ki et al 2003). Dark chocolate is being promoted as a health product due to its higher antioxidant levels compared to milk chocolate or other chocolate-based products. In other words, white chocolate would have none at all.

Health and nutrition value of cocoa powder and unsweetened dark chocolate:
Contains antioxidant, thus neutralize free radicals; suppress cough; relieve diarrhea; mood elevation; reduce risk of chronic health problems; lowers blood pressure and slows mental decline. (Steve Yap, 2010)

However, despite the wide range of goodness, cocoa products is still a calorie-dense treat, overconsumption will inherently add a lot of unnecessary calories to one’s diet. Therefore, eat in moderation as prime chocolate does make one’s life sweeter, and probably a wee bit healthier. (Ryan Khang, 2010)


References:
Ryan Khang, 2010. Chocolate Holds Its Temper. myNOURISHMENT, Issue 006.
Steve Yap, 2010. Chocolate: Nutrient or Vice? myNOURISHMENT, Issue 005.
Ki, W. et al, 2003. Cocoa has more phenolic phyochemicals and a higher antioxidant capacity than teas and red wine. J Agric Food Chem, 51(25)7292-7295.
Miller, K. et al, 2006. Antioxidant activity and polyphenol & procyanidin contents of selected commercially available cocoa-containing and chocolate products in the United States. J Agric Food Chem, 54(11)4062-4068.



Ms Chocolate, the destinated lover of chocolate ~.^
3:38 PM - Posted by Majiemvv - 0 comments
Despite the typical skin color of my race type, father's genes on nice skin color were the chosen one to dominate. The physiology books state that everyone has same amount of melanocytes, the skin pigment producing cells on the outermost layer of the skin, just that the active ratio is different. Born with such much of active melanocytes, my melanin (brown skin pigment) never disappoint me on misleading others’ first impression on me.

“Chocolate lover”, “chocoholic”, lots of names for people who like, or love, or more serious case, carve for chocolate. For my case, I had been called as “Ms Chocolate” since I was quite young due to my skin colour and of course, I like chocolate since my early age.