favourite recipes for everyday cooking and baking

I made ricotta cheese. Did you not know you could do that, with only 3 ingredients in less than 10 minutes! And all with curds and whey, I felt like Little Miss Muffet now waiting for a spider to pounce at me. So why make ricotta? Apparently, homemade ricotta gives the cheesecake a fluffier texture, and it did turn out to be light, fluffy and creamy, with a subtle taste of ricotta. I used a gingernut biscuit base just to add some flavour and texture, although you can omit that to make a crustless version. This is not a very sweet cake, unlike your typical New York cheesecake. It's probably closer to a Japanese cheesecake except for the fine graininess of the ricotta. If you like, you can serve it with some berry coulis to satisfy that sweet tooth. I find that the cake tastes best after it has "matured" for up to 3 days in the fridge. The flavours seem to have developed and the texture is somehow creamier too. Ricotta in the making Homemade Ricotta Adapted from Smitten Kit

I posted a recipe for Ebi Fry  back in February last year (has it been that long??) and I mentioned something about serving the shrimp (or prawn, depending on which country you're from) with thick Japanese curry. Well, it sort of slipped my mind because I was busy trying out other recipes at the time. One year and a bit later, here's the post, and it's still one of my favourite comfort foods, especially now that we're in the middle of winter (Down Under). Crispy and golden panko-crumbed prawns, coated in a thick curry sauce and served with rice, how can anyone resist? Ebi Fry Curry Don Serves 4 You will need: 12 large Ebi Fry (fried shrimp) - click here for recipe 4 serves of cooked short-grained rice 4 serves of Japanese curry (see below for recipe) Japanese curry recipe I used S&B Golden Curry mix  and added chicken, carrots and potatoes. I also added a little honey for a hint of sweetness. Ingredients 2 tbsp vegetable oil or butter 2 medium onions, finely choppe

When I was little, I used to follow my mum to the Malaysian "wet" market in the mornings, where fresh meat and produce were sold. I have vague memories of those adventures, particularly how "smelly" the place was and I had to hold my breath every time we walked past the chicken section. There must have been hundreds of hens cooped up in their tiny plastic cages, clucking away noisily, awaiting their fate. I would cup my hand over my mouth to "filter" the air so that I didn't inhale any bits of chicken feathers floating around. I was relieved once mum finished her marketing and we could move on to the real purpose of the trip - which was to buy breakfast! There were street vendors outside the market who sold " yu tiao " (deep-fried dough fritters) and " muah chee " (glutinous rice balls with crushed peanuts and sugar) and getting to eat them always made the trip so worth it! I haven't been to a wet market since I came to Sydney.

Most women [generally] get excited when they walk past a shoe shop or designer clothing store, especially when the word "Sale" is flashing everywhere. I don't think I fall in the "most women" category. I do believe in retail therapy as a form of stress relief or pick-me-up when things are looking down, but not when that designer jacket staring at you through the window has more zeroes than you'll ever see on your weekly paycheck. The only time my eyes light up with excitement while shopping is when I walk past the butcher (no, of course I'm not excited AT the butcher!), and then I'd stop to admire the different cuts of meats on display. That's my idea of window shopping. I enjoy browsing through the supermarket aisles or checking out the seasonal produce at the fruit and vegetable market. I particularly find Korean (and Asian) supermarkets fascinating and I make it a point to go every weekend. From kimchee to frozen dumplings, quirky snacks to an