How to make Mushroom Soup

 

Ingredient

1 Tbsp Butter

40g Chopped Onion

40g Coarsely chopped fresh Shitake mushroom, thinly sliced

40g Coarsely chopped fresh Buton mushroom, thinly sliced

40g Coarsely chopped fresh Oyster mushroom, thinly sliced

40g Coarsely chopped fresh Brown/White mushroom, thinly sliced

1/2 Tbsp Flour

500ml Chicken stock

Salt & Pepper to taste

Cream (to garnish)

Method

Melt Butter & stir fry Onion until soft.

Add all the mushrooms.

Add flour.

Add Chicken stock.

High pressure for 5 minutes (Conventional cooking is to boil for 10-15 minutes).

Blend until smooth.

Season with Salt & Pepper.

Serve with Cream.

Best if eaten with Garlic bread. Yumm.. :D

How to make Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients

1kg Pumpkin (peeled, de-seeded & cubed)

1 large Potato (peeled & cubed)

1 large Carrot (peeled & cubed)

1 white Onion (diced)

2 tbsp Olive oil

1 tsp Salt 
1 tsp Chicken stock (optional)

A pinch of Black Pepper

Whipping Cream (optional/garnish)

Method

Heat Olive oil and stir fry Onion until golden.

Add 500ml water.
(Optional, I added 1 tsp of Chicken stock)

High Pressure all the vegetables for 5 minutes. (Conventional method will be boiling the ingredients in pot for 20-30 minutes).

Put into blender & blend to become puree (I used Hand-blender)

Season with salt and pepper to taste accordingly.

Add some cream to taste/garnish (optional).

Serve. 


Best eaten with Garlic Bread. Yumm.. :D

Go Green Tips: Replace Energy-saving/Conventional Bulbs with LED Bulbs/Tubes

 
There are many types of lighting bulbs/tubes in our home. Incandescent bulb, compact flourescent bulbs, LED bulbs, flourescent tubes, LED tubes etc.


Incandescent bulb produces light by the way of heating up a thin filament in the bulb until it glows, to produce the light. In some countries, these types of bulb have be banned.



Flourescent light bulb are more efficient and emit a quarter of heat compare to incandescent bulb.


LED is made of electronics, are most efficient & last much longer than incandescent or flourescent bulb. LED bulb, being the latest type of energy efficient bulb, are also the most expensive. But the price is dropping as more and more people are switching to LED bulbs.


A few years back, I changed all my Incandescent bulbs to energy efficient bulbs and my ordinary flourescent tubes to brighter energy efficient tubes. By using less wattage (power) for the same amount of brightness, I have made some savings every month.

Recently, I started changing my flourescent bulbs and flourescent tubes to LED bulbs & tubes. I changed these one at a time as LED tubes are quite expensive. RM150 for branded ones and RM70 for quality but non-branded ones. RM22-40 for different wattage Philips LED bulbs.

I started by changing the bulbs/tubes that is on for the longest hours per day, e.g. my porch light and my back lane light which I on for 12 hours from 7pm to 7am. Next are my living room light which I on around 6 hours a day and so on.


The LED bulbs are direct fit for those using Edison screw (E27) type.



If your socket is the bayonet type, you can get a bayonet-to-screw converter.



A 4 foot flourescent tube consume 36W of electricity. The same brightness LED tube consume 20W of electricity. I bought the frosted ones as the clear ones can be very glaring.

Just remove the old tube & fit in the LED tube into the existing flourescent casing. Remember to remove the starter. LED tube does not need a starter to work. An added benefit is these bulbs/tubes can be switch on instantly. No waiting for it to flicker before turning on.

LED tube also does not require a ballast. To save even more on electricity, you can bypass the ballast (if you are keen to continue using the existing fitting). Please have an electrician to do this for you. Or you can get a new LED tube casing that does not have ballast inside.

A 100W incandescent bulb consumes 100W of electricity. The same brightness LED bulb will only consume 10-15W of electricity. Imagine the savings while we do our part to be more environment friendly.

My house composition:
I live with 3 housemates, all working adults.
No air-conditioning unit as these consume quite a bit electricity.
Multiple ceiling fans.
One unit of hot shower.
One 2-door fridge.
Ironing clothes, once a week.
No washing machine.
No big screen TV or Hi-Fi.
3 laptops, tablets, smartphones etc.. these consume quite low energy.

Since I changed to LED bulbs/tubes, my electricity consumption has drop by half. From RM110 drop to RM85, then to RM65. Most recent, it was RM49. My investment in bulbs/tubes was around RM300. I think I can recover my investment in 6-12 months. Anything beyond that will be my savings.

Just doing my part to Go Green while saving money :D

How to make Mashed Potato

Ingredients:
1kg Russet Potatoes (about 4 large potatoes), peeled and quartered (I used Golden Yellow potatoes)



Place the peeled and quartered potatoes.
Add 250ml water.

Add a teaspoon of salt. Set high pressure in a Pressure Cooker for 5 minutes. (Conventional cooking will be Boiling in a pot for 20-30 minutes)

Once cooked, mash the potatoes (I use a Mash potato press). If you don't have a masher, u can use a fork.

Add 4 Tbsp Butter to the Mashed Potato. Add Black Pepper and salt to taste.
(Optionally, you can add 2Tbsp Whipping Cream to make it smoother)
Mix evenly.


Serve.. Yumm.. :P

How to make steamed Mantou (steamed bun)

Ingredients:
100g Water
100g plain Flour
50g Sugar
1 tsp Yeast

Mix all ingredients. Set aside for 30 minutes.

Add another 100g plain Flour

Mix evenly (I knead using a breadmaker/mixer)

Rest the dough by covering the bowl with damp cloth for 1 hour until double in size (can proof in oven 40C for 1 hour)

Get the dough out, knead into a ball.

On a lightly floured board, roll dough into a long log about 1 inch diameter.

Quickly cut into smaller sections.

Add about 250ml water to the steamer (water level should be below the steamer rack level)

Brush oil on the bottom of Mantou. Or put Mantou on a small piece of baking paper. Put onto steamer rack.



Let it rise for 20 minutes.

Steam for 15 minutes.

(If after leaving it for some time & the mantou gets cold, you can steam it again for 5 minutes to make it soft)

Serve.. Yumm.. :P

How to make Chicken Shepherd’s Pie

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 large Onion, chopped
1-2 cups diced Carrots & Peas
800g diced Chicken (you can substitute with Beef, Mutton or Pork)
1/2 cup Chicken Broth (I use 1Tbsp chicken stock with 50ml water)
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce (I use 1 soup spoon BBQ sauce)

1kg Russet Potatoes (about 4 large potatoes), peeled and quartered (I used Golden Yellow potatoes)
4 Tbsp Butter
Salt, pepper, other seasonings of choice



Place the peeled and quartered potatoes.
Add 250ml water.

Add a teaspoon of salt. Set high pressure in a Pressure Cooker for 5 minutes. (Conventional cooking will be Boiling in a pot for 20-30 minutes)

Once cooked, mash the potatoes (I use a Mash potato press). If you don't have a masher, you can use a fork.

Add 4 Tbsp Butter to the Mashed Potato. Add Black Pepper and salt to taste.


Put 4 Tbsp Olive Oil
Add chopped onions, green peas and cut carrot. Cook until tender.
Add minced Chicken (marinated with BBQ sauce) and chicken broth. (I use chicken stock added to 50ml water). Bring the broth to a simmer. Cook uncovered for 10 minutes or until not much broth is left.



Preheat oven to 200°C.

Spread the Chicken, onions, and vegetables in an even layer in a large baking dish.



Spread the mashed potatoes over the top of the minced Chicken. I use the Mash potato press again.

Rough up the surface of the mashed potatoes with a fork so there are peaks that will get well browned. You can even use a fork to make creative designs in the mashed potatoes.

Place baking dish in the oven and cook until browned and bubbling, about 20 minutes. If necessary, broil/grill for the last few minutes to help the surface of the mashed potatoes brown.



Remove from oven.

Serve.