Hello Kitty Cake

this was such a easy cake to make I had a 10 inch pumpkin shaped cake pan that worked perfect for this
all I had to do was make a little indention on the top of the head that mad it look like cat ears. You can use
a star tip with a frosting bag or just frost it use thin string liquorice and black  & yellow jelly beans or any colored candy for the nose & eyes. and a Pink bow! it was fun to make

The Tea Party

Tea Party

recently my sister in-laws Mother came over for a short visit from the mainland so we (Mom & I) decided to have a Tea Party...I love Tea parties there is no better way to visit catch up with great friends & family ...

THE MENU
Finger Sandwiches- Cucumber, Ham with cream cheese spread.
Scones- with butter and local Hawaiian Jams very nice... strawberry guava & pineapple orange..v
Curried Eggs
Mini Choc Cherry cupcakes- with cream cheese frosting
Spinach Dip- my sister Ruby recipe
and last but not least..my sister in-law brought a delicious Strawberry pie! it was great nice crispy crust
with fresh whipped cream.

Ham & Cream Cheese Finger Sandwiches

1 loaf white or wheat bread
1 pkt sliced ham

Spread:
1 pkt cream cheese (8oz pkt softened)
1 stem spring onion (chopped)
1/2 tsp paprika
salt to taste
1 to 2 tablespoon milk

whip all ingredients together in a bowl until creamy and easy to spread.

spread cream cheese over 2 slices of bread place 1 piece of ham in between the bread cut crust off all sides
slice sandwich into 3 to 4 thin finger sandwiches, continue until all the bread is finished.

Cucumber Finger Sandwiches

1 loaf white or brown bread (if you can find the square sandwich bread that is the best)
1 thin cucumber
butter (softened)

half cucumber long ways and remove seeds, slice thin lay out on a paper towel and pat dry, season lightly with salt & pepper.

butter two slices of bread place cucumbers all over 1 slice of bread place other slice on top, trim off crust on all 4 sides cut into 3 or 4 slim finger size sandwiches.

Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes

1 chocolate cake mix as directed  (or the chocolate cake recipe posted 8/16/11)
1 can cherry pie filling
cream cheese frosting (recipe posted 7/16/11)

preheat oven to 350f/175c
pour cake batter into cupcake paper cups  half way full, spoon 3 cherries into the cup (not too much of the gel) then top with more cake batter until cup is 3/4 filled.

bake 15 to 20 minutes until done (if top of cake springs back when lightly touched they are ready)

cool completely & top with cream cheese frosting.

* to make it more decorative I added a tablespoon of the cherry gel to my frosting which made it pink, then I melted some chocolate chips or candy I had in the refrigerator with a little bit of milk and drizzled it over the top of the cupcakes 


Melted chocolate:


1/4 cup of milk 
1/2 cup chocolate chips (candy)


slightly (not boiled)heat milk in a pan or microwave pour chocolate in and stir until melted
drizzle over cupcakes

Curried Eggs

6 hard boiled eggs (mashed)
1/2 cup mayo (you could add more if it looks too dry)
2 stems spring onions (chopped fine)
1 stalk celery (chopped fine)
1 tablespoon curry powder (or as much or little as you like to your taste
salt & pepper to taste

mix all ingredients in a bowl like you are making deviled eggs serve in a bowl with crackers on the outside

perfect for pupus or just a snack Enjoy!

Sweet and Sour Pork (to die for) with Egg Fried Rice from Bowie's kitchen

Sweet and Sour Pork 

Flour mixture:

1. 1/2 cup Flour
2. 1/2 cup Cornflour/Cornstarch
3. 1 tspn Salt
4. 1 tspn Pepper

Marinade:

1. 500g/1lb. of pork (more fat is better)
2. 1 tblspn soy sauce
3. 1 tblspn rice vinegar/white vinegar

Sauce:

1. 1 cup ketchup (Watties is the best)
2. 1/2 cup sugar (i tend to lean more on the sweet side of this dish)
3. 1/4 cup soy sauce
4. 1 tspn rice vinegar/white vinegar
5. 1 tspn chilli powder (optional)
6. 1 carrot (chopped into 1/4 inch round pieces)
7. 1 red bell pepper and 1 green bell pepper (cut into same size as carrots)

Procedure:

1. Cut your pork into 1 inch cube pieces
2. Mix together soy sauce and vinegar for marinade and let your pork pieces soak in it for about 10-15 minutes
3. Start flour mixture by mixing together flour, cornflour/cornstarch, salt and pepper
4. Dip all pork pieces in the flour mixture and set aside
5. Heat up your frying pan and oil on medium-high heat ready for deep frying (heaps of oil), once oil starts making cracking noises turn it down to low heat or throw in a pinch of flour and if it starts bubbling then oil is ready for cooking
6. Deep fry your pork pieces in batches til their golden brown (5-8 minutes) and don't over crowd the frying pan (you will have to adjust heat from high to low and low to high to get your oil hot enough to cook pork thoroughly)
7. Place fried pork pieces on a paper towel and set aside when done
8. Start on sauce. Mix together Ketchup, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar and chilli (optional). Give it a good mix then pour it in a pot and set heat to medium-high
9. Bring sauce to a boil  stirring constantly to incorporate all flavors. 
10. Do a taste test and adjust accordingly i.e more ketchup, sugar, soy sauce etc. You can even add a little bit of water to reduce the strength if the taste is overwhelming.
11. When you are satisfied with taste, throw in carrots (decorations only, don't eat it) and bell peppers and stir for 1 minute
12. Add pork pieces and stir till all pieces are covered with sauce then turn stove off and enjoy

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups left over rice (don't panic if you don't have any left over rice you can make fresh rice and put it in the freezer for about 10-20 minutes. Medium and Long grain rice recommended)
2. 3 or 4 eggs
3. 1/2 carrot (chopped into tiny pieces)
4. 1/2 bell pepper (chopped into tiny pieces)
5. 2 pieces of spring onions or shallots
6. MSG (optional)
7. Salt and Pepper

Procedure:

1. Starting by heating up a tspn of oil in very high heat (let it sit there for at least 2 minutes)
2. Beat your eggs like you beat your kids ;) add a pinch of salt and pepper
3. Pour eggs into frying pan and quickly scramble it with a spatula (leave it slightly undercooked and take it out and set aside)
4. Put in another tspn of oil, throw in vegetables and quickly stir for about half a minute then throw in the rice
5. Constantly stir and break up any sticky grains of rice
6. Stir for about 3-5 minutes (really let the heat and smoke flavor incorporate in the rice) the add eggs
7. Salt and MSG to taste
8. Turn off heat and throw in spring onions/shallots and give it a quick stir. Enjoy

Hope you all enjoy this. Serves about 4 people or 2 1/2 Samoans on a diet ;) Please leave a comment/feedback if you try it. Love you all

Cookies!

I love cookies! decorating them is so fun and the end product is so beautiful & tasty!

Roast Pork

4-5 lb. pork roast
4 cloves chopped garlic
salt, pepper & paprika or any spices you like
6-8 potato's (peeled & washed) or any vegi's you like
1 oven bag

rub garlic all over roast, sprinkle seasoning all over roast, place roast & potato's in oven bag & bake at 350f/174c for 1 1/2 - 2 hrs
bring out of oven and let rest for 10 15 minutes before slicing

The Reception

The Wedding

Last year my son Mathew & his longtime girlfriend Shannon had their wedding here in Hawaii nothing fancy just the family and a few close friends it was great! I got to meet my new grandkids, Ty & Trinity and some of my other children were able to come all the way from New Zealand so it was extra special for me... the ceremony was at the Paradise Cove Beach late on a Saturday afternoon with the sun going down...then the next day we had the reception at our neighborhood park under a large tent with some table & chairs. I must say it was one of the nicest times I ever had! everyone helped with the decorations the cake, food, tent...nothing like family helping out when you really need them.

Matt & Shannon's Wedding Aug. 14th, 2010

Our Family's Scrambled Eggs

This is definitely one of my family favorite..sometimes we even eat it for dinner and it's great for leftovers, rolled up in a flour tortilla with a little bit of Salsa or my sweet chili sauce that I posted on here.This amount is for a large family but you can scale it down to fit your family.

1/4 cup oil
4 potato's (peeled and chopped small bite size)
1 onion chopped
1/2 can spam (chopped small)
12 eggs (beaten with 1/2 cup of milk)

in a large frying pan heat oil, add onions & potato's cook until golden brown and soft in the middle. Add
spam and cook for about 5 minutes..add eggs stir until fully cooked, serve with toast..enjoy!

Coconut pecan frosting

1 cup evaporated milk, or full milk (12oz)

1 cup sugar

3 beaten egg yolks

1/2 cup butter. (115g)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup Coconut flakes

1 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts they're cheaper)

Mix the following ingredients on a stove set on medium heat for 12 minutes:

1 cup evaporated milk

1 cup sugar

3 beaten egg yolks

1/2 cup butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Once you are done stirring in the above ingredients add the coconut and pecans. 


this should be enough to frost the top and fill a 8” round cake

* for detailed pictures of this recipe go to

http://www.myhomecooking.net/german-chocolate-cake/coconut-pecan-frosting.htm

 it will give you an idea of what it should look like..enjoy!

Chocolate Cake

1-3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup cocoa

1-1/2 tsp baking powder

1-1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup oil

1cup milk

1 cup boiling water

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans. or whatever pan you have


Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans. 


Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to. Cool completely. 

Apple Struesel Coffee Cake

dry:
3 cups flour
3 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
creamed:
1 stick Butter/margarine softened (1/4 lb. or 1/2 cup)
1-1/2  cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cup milk

put all dry ingredients in a bowl and blend together with a fork, in a separate bowl whip together butter & sugar add eggs beat until creamy.
alternately add to creamed butter mixture 1/3 of the flour then 1/3 of the milk beat until all is blended.
(about 4 minutes). pour batter in 9 x 13 pan and (glass or what ever kind of pan you have) set aside.

apples:
2 large or 3 small apples (peeled cored & sliced thin)
lay them all over the top of the cake batter.

Struesel:
1/3 cup brown sugar (if I am out of Brown sugar I'll use white)
1/3 cup flour
4 tablespoon cold butter
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

put all ingredients in a bowl (or if you have a small processor pulse 7-8 times) and with a fork blend together until mixture is crumbly. spread struesel all over the top of cake batter.

bake in a 350 f (175 Cel) oven for 45 minutes to 55 minutes, make sure to test with a toothpick when the toothpick comes out clean. you don't have to take it our of the pan if you don't want to. cool for 15 to 20 minutes before eating..it's great warm with Ice cream..enjoy!

Orange glaze (optional)

1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon orange peel
juice of 1/2 orange

beat all ingredients in a small bowl and beat together until smooth, cool cake for 15 minutes and then drizzle glaze all over.


* you don't have to put the glaze on because the cake is sweet enough but sometimes I like the taste of the orange glaze.

Cream Cheese Frosting

  1/2 cup butter or 1/2 cup margarine

  1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

  1 teaspoon vanilla

  1 lb (about 3 cups) confectioners' sugar (sifted)

  beat cream cheese and butter together add vanilla and sugar, beat until blended together.

Carrot Cake

                                Thanks for the pic Gina...looks Great!
     
      2 cups flour

     2 teaspoons baking powder

     1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

     1 teaspoon salt

     2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

     4 eggs

     2 cups sugar

     1 cup vegetable oil

     2 cups grated raw carrots

     1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple in juice, drained

     1/2 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans optional)

    

      Preheat oven to 350°F.

     Sift together flour, baking powder, soda, salt and cinnamon.

     In mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar together

     about 6 minutes.

     Stir in oil, carrots, drained pineapple and nuts.

     Stir in dry ingredients and beat until well blended by hand, don’t over eat

     Turn into 3 greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans or one 13-x9-inch pan.

     Bake at 320 Fahrenheit or 160 Celsius for 35 to 40 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched

Auntie Ruby's Banana Nut Bread

I have made this recipe many times and it never came out as nice as Aunt Ruby's and Aunt Shirley's so 
I thought they were holding out on me some secret ingredient lol...but then I found out what it was, this recipe  as most like this has to be mixed by Hand! so if you see little lumps of butter or flour not to worry..it all comes together very nice when it's baked..this is a Great recipe! I know you will all love it...

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking SODA
1/2 cup butter (1 stick- softened)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs

3  ripe bananas mashed (pala is even better)
1/2 cup walnuts chopped (optional)

in a bowl beat (by hand) the butter & sugar until blended, beat in eggs, add  flour & baking soda, mix until blended

mix in mashed bananas & nuts.

in greased 9 inch square pan (or whatever pan you have not too small or the middle won't bake)
pour in batter.

bake at 350f (175c) for 45 to 60 minutes. Check center to make sure it if fully cooked.


* I always try to use real butter for my baking, margarine has more water in it and can change the texture
of a recipe.

Hamburger Patties

2 lbs minced meat/hamburger
1 onion chopped fine
2 eggs
1/4 cup Soyo (or steak sauce, Westchersire sauce, ketchup whatever flavor you like)
2 clove garlic (minced)
salt & pepper to taste


place everything in a bowl and mix together with you hand until it is blended well, shape into round even balls
as large or small as you want or how many patties you want,cut squares of wax paper place meat ball on 
paper and flatten, continue until all meat balls are finished.






* if you're making Teriyaki flavored patties add 2 tablespoon sugar

Lemon Meringue Pie

       1 x 9" pie crust baked and cooled (recipe is on this site)

       or you can use a prepared ready made crust from the store. (no judgement hehehe)

        

filling:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup Corn Starch/corn flour
• 1-1/2 cups cold water
• 3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons grated lemon peel (I usually use 1 large or 2 med medium)
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon butter OR margarine
 

• Meringue:
• 3 egg whites (4 if you made my crust)
• 1/3  cup sugar (+ 1 tablespoon if you have 4) lol

In a saucepan, stir sugar, cornstarch, water and egg yolks until smooth.
Stirring continuously, over medium heat until mixture starts to bubble.

Remove from heat, and Stir in lemon peel, lemon juice and butter until blended.

Spoon hot filling into your prepared pie crust and set aside.

For the Meringue:

Beat egg whites in small bowl with mixer at high speed 

until foamy. Gradually beat in 1/3 cup sugar continue beating until stiff peaks form.

Spread meringue evenly over hot filling, sealing to edge of crust.

Turn oven broiler on HI to medium Hi  place pie under broiler for 3 - 5 minutes  or until the meringue is golden brown. (Watch carefully it burns very quickly).

Cool on wire rack at room temperature for 30 minutes; refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm before serving.
Enjoy!

Scones

these are by far the best scones I have ever made..I love them!..careful not to over work the dough when you cut the butter into the flour ...please read notes * before starting

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 6 tablespoons cold butter
• 2/3 to 3/4 cup cold thickened cream or milk (dough should not be too sticky)
• 1 egg beaten slightly
• Optional: you can add 1 cup of  blueberries, nuts, or chocolate chips that you may like just be sure to toss them in flour before adding them to the dough.  (so the don't clump together or sink to the bottom)

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees /190 Celsius

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder and sugar. Whisk together to combine. Cut butter into flour until you get a crumbly consistency. In a separate bowl, combine cream with beaten egg then add to dry ingredients until well blended, but don't over mix. (You can add any extras you like at this time)  drop by heaping spoonfuls 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet, covered with baking paper. I get about 9 large scones.
Bake for 20 - 22 minutes or until tops are golden brown. (Dough shouldn't be too runny if it is toss a tablespoon or 2  of flour in it.)

Notes:

* Make sure to keep butter and milk cold, it will help to make a light and fluffy scone.

** also put rack a little higher then the middle it will help the browning.
*** I also like to use a greased cupcake pan no liners to make these, I like the crispy texture all around the scone.