Sweet Beancurd Sheet with Bird Nest

Recently I decided to cook a simple desserts because I feel that I'm getting heaty and though I do not know if this dessert is "cooling" in nature or not but the fact that I eat this chilled is good enough for me! This is a very simple dump-it-all-in desserts which actually doesn't require a recipe but for those who are curious, this is it. 

Ingredients:

- 150gm beancurd sheets (腐竹)
- 160gm bird nest
- 160gm cooked gingko nuts
- 50gm + (150 to 200)gm rock sugar
- 4L water
- 1 egg

Method:

1. Soak the beancurd sheets in water to soften them. Soak the bird nest in a separate bowl.

2. Remove the little "stems" inside the gingko nuts.

3. Put the washed gingko nuts into a small pot and add enough water to cover them. Put in a piece of rock sugar (abt 50gm) and bring it to a boil. Continue to simmer for 10min. Leave aside to cool and let the gingko nuts soak in the syrup.

4. Bring the 4L of water to a boil and add in the 150gm rock sugar. Adjust the sugar amount to your liking. Make sure the sugar is dissolved completely before you add in the other ingredients.

5. Strain the gingko nuts from the syrup and put into the pot. Do the same for the beancurd sheets. Discard all the soaking liquids. Strain the bird nest and add them in too. Bring the whole pot to a simmer and simmer for few minutes. 

Lactation Cookies

All breastfeeding mommies will know that we are ALWAYS hungry. I often crave for food which are buttery and sweet so I eat a lot of cookies. Recently I baked my favourite Oatmeal Cookies and have been eating a lot of that. Since the ingredients between a regular oatmeal cookie and a lactation cookie do not differ much, the idea of baking lactation cookies pops up again. I mean since I'm going to eat a cookie, might as well eat one that is a milk booster, right?

The first time I baked lactation cookies was when I gave birth to my little P. I think I only baked it once. I wasn't exactly in great need of any milk booster at that time and also because those cookies didn't taste that fantastic. It had that bitter aftertaste, somewhat like beer, which I didn't fancy at all. So this round I try to find one recipe online that will taste good. I found one that is very similar to my Oatmeal Cookies and added cranberries and macadamia nuts instead of chocolate. I also try to reduce the brewer's yeast amount for a start; I reckon the bitter aftertaste from the previous bake was due to the brewer's yeast. This time round the cookies taste so much better! The texture is slightly different from the Oatmeal Cookies as it is more fibrous (because of the flaxseeds) yet softer. I recommend to bake it longer than 12min if you prefer a drier crunchier cookie.

Recipe adapted from: Dr Momma

Ingredients:

- 140gm unsalted butter
- 50gm caster sugar
- 50gm brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 40ml water1
- 115gm plain flour
- 1 tbsp brewer's yeast2
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 95gm flaxseeds
- 105gm raw rolled oats
- 100gm cranberries
- 100gm macadamia nuts

Method:

1. Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy.

2. Slowly add in beaten egg and vanilla extract into butter mixture as the mixer runs.

3. Slowly add in the water.

4. Sift flour, brewer's yeast, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in.

5. Add in flaxseeds. Fold the mixture a few times.

6. Add in the oats, cranberries and nuts and fold until even.

7. Bake at 175C fan forced for 12min1, 15min if you prefer a crunchier cookie.

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Notes:

1. The texture of the cookie is rather soft and crumbly. Almost cake-like. If you prefer a crunchier cookie, you can either reduce the water amount or lengthen the baking time.

2. I only used 1 tbsp of brewer's yeast because I want to avoid the bitter aftertaste. So far there is no such taste in this batch. I might want to increase this to 2 tbsp next round since this ingredient is supposedly a milk booster. :)

Sweet Toasted Macadamia Nuts

Sweet toasted macadamia nuts: super addictive be-a-couch-potato-and-watch-tv snack to munch on. Need me to say more? Recipe is adapted from a recipe for a pie topping from Martha Stewart's book.

Ingredients:
- unsalted macadamia nuts of any amount
- water that is slightly lesser than enough to cover the nuts completely
- caster sugar of the same weight amount as water

Method:
1. Put everything into a small sauce pan. Use a small based pot. Make sure the mixture is just enough to fully cover the nuts. Bring everything to a boil. Boil for 1-2min.

2. Strain n spread nuts on a baking tray. Bake at fan forced 160C for 15min or until golden brown. Cool completely.