Cinnamon Sticks

Posted August 15th, 2011 in Food | No Comments »

In a cold afternoon, drinking hot milk tea and feeling something to snack on….. Could it be only me?  Or, you just don’t want to throw away the bread crust – the left over from making sandwiches the other day?  Now here is the way to make delicious snack out of it.

This golden crisp cinnamon stick is a great accompaniment to your morning or afternoon tea (of coffee!).  And, is very simple to make too.

<Cinnamon Sticks>

  • 8 pieces bread crust (from 2 slices of bread)
  • cinnamon sugar
  • oil to deep-fry

a

  1. Heat oil in a pan.
  2. Deep-fry the bread crust until golden.
  3. Drain the oil well, then coat with cinnamon sugar.

a

You can also make it without deep-frying.  Toast in the oven, or in a frying pan (without oil) until golden crispy.  Keep them  in an air-tight container after cooled down.a

a


HCT French Toast

Posted July 3rd, 2011 in Food | No Comments »

I had some stale bread in the fridge. I was first thinking to make just standard French toast, then I looked inside the fridge again and found that there’re some ingredients for sandwiches too. Like the Croque Monsieur I made with spam, this time I decided to make one with ham, cheese, and tomatoes.

It’s a savory French toast. With cheese and tomato, it became a nutritious snack for kids too.

<HCT French Toast> makes 1

  • 2 slices bread
  • 2~3 slices ham
  • 1/2 tomato, sliced
  • 1 slice cheese
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tbs milk
  • 1 tbs butter
  1. Arrange ham, sliced tomato and cheese on a slice of bread, and top with another slice of bread. This is one portion. If you are making for 3 people, make 3 batches.
  2. Beat egg in a bowl and mix with milk. Place the egg mixture into a wide, flat plate, and immerse the sandwich in this mixture. Make sure you flip the sandwich around so the another side also absorb egg mixture.
  3. Melt butter in a frying pan. Over low heat, grill the sandwich until golden colored on both sides. Flip around several time to achieve the delicious colour.


Croissant

Posted May 1st, 2011 in Food | 2 Comments »

Croissant, croissant…  Many people love this buttery flaky bread, and it is one of the most popular bread across the world. Me, other hand, ummm not so much. I don’t hate it, it’s just that if I had to choose between croissant and hard crusty sourdough bread I would choose the sourdough.

Although it’s not in the list of my favourite bread, I do enjoy eating it occasionally.   Croissant reminds me of some memories.  A warm cozy log cottages in the middle of the forrest where I stayed during the school trip almost 15 years ago.  And, the memory of the stay in the hospital after giving birth to Hiro.

B&B (bed & breakfast accommodation) is still quite rare to find in Japan, so it was like a new experience to me when I stayed there overnight with my classmates and teachers. The location was so beautiful – in the middle of a big forrest, nothing else around.  I remember friends and I were excited to see a wild flying squirrel at night.  And, the owner couple was so friendly and welcoming.

One of the thing I remember in the memory is the croissant.  It was one of the menu in the breakfast.  When I woke up, the cottage was filled with the delicious smell, and everyone rushed to the dining room, and there were freshly baked croissants on the table!  In those days no one (at least anybody I knew)  had bread machine at home, and it was my first time eating fresh baked bread.  The croissant was still hot, just came out from the oven.

The memory of the stay in the hospital and croissant have nothing big, just that D and I ordered some croissant for breakfast several times and that’s it.  Now, the weather is cold, and having freshly baked bread in the morning is just perfect.  Especially in a quiet place away from the city noises – just like that cottage.


Croque Monsieur Ume’s Style

Posted April 7th, 2011 in Food | 2 Comments »


It was raining this morning!!  Finally I can actually see and feel that the weather is moving towards autumn and winter.  Outside is bit windy, and cloudy now.  I love it!

In the weather like today, I feel like something warm for breakfast.  This dish is what I made in the home economic class when I was in elementary school in Japan.  The name of the dish was “Croque Monsieur”, so I still call it so.  The original Croque Monsieur is actually a simple hot ham and Gruyere cheese sandwich, fried in butter.  This one, on the other hand, uses spam instead of ham, and the sandwich is dipped in egg mixture before being grilled.

It’s kind of French toast of spam and cheese sandwich.  Melted cheese and crispy bread – this can be a great snack for afternoon too. 🙂

<Croque Monsieur>  makes 1

  • 2 slices of stale bread (toast slices)
  • spam (as much as you want to put)
  • 1 slice of cheese
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbs milk
  • 1 tbs butter
  1. Place spam and cheese on a slice of bread, and sandwich with another slice.
  2. Beat the egg, and mix with milk.  Transfer the egg mixture into a shallow plate which is wide enough to put the bread in.
  3. Place the sandwich into the egg mixture to soak for about 30 seconds, then flip it around.
  4. Melt the butter in a frying pan, and grill the sandwich, both side, until golden.

The Miami Bakehouse Cafe

Posted March 28th, 2011 in Eat out in Perth | No Comments »

D has been having such a big craving for a sweet bun with icing…  He loves sweets, especially sugary ones and buttery ones.  I really think he should cut down his sugar intake!  I can’t believe his favourite flavour of ice cream is cotton candy.  The vivid colour (blue? pink? purple??) really turns me off…

Anyway, the other day he wanted to grab some icing buns from somewhere.  It was mid afternoon and Hiro was awake but quiet, so we decided to go out to get some fresh air and buy some buns.  Somehow, we headed to Miami Bakery in Melville. (I wrote about this place before here)

To be honest, I don’t really like their pastries… they look great, but  are not to my taste.  Pies are nice though, they have a variety of flavours.  The pie of this month “chicken green curry” was tempting.

…..  I did it again.  I thought “hey this apple turnover looks nice” and ordered one.  The pastry was too dry and hard (I think it was more than 2 days old…), and the cream was tasteless.  I think I had this experience here before, and I totally forgot about it.  I should not order anything with cream here…

I thought D was going to have something with icing, but he ordered chocolate croissant instead.

They do hight tea now. (only at Mandurah and Melville shop)  It’s $27 per head, and includes warm savoury pastries, finger sandwiches, scone with jam & cream, and a selection of desserts and cakes.  Ummm, if you chose a right dessert/cake, I think it’s a good deal.

* Miami Hight Tea $27.00 per person

* Sparkling High Tea (with a glass of sparkling wine) $33.00 per person (only at Mandurah)

Mandurah Foreshore: Saturdays & Sundays from 2PM (08 9581 3000)

Melville: Sundays from 2 PM  (08 9319 3555)


Utopia Bakery in Perth

Posted August 21st, 2010 in Eat out in Perth | No Comments »