Garlic Bread

What's better than baking your own bread?  It's making your own garlic bread!  When I was a kid, we used garlic spread from the bottle and that was the only way I knew how to make garlic bread.  Actually, it's really simple..... all you need is: bread, butter and garlic!

Mince up some garlic and give it a good mix with some butter.  Spread this mixture on some bread and toast it.  That's it!

Garlic Bread

Vegetable/Fruit Bread

One big difference when using a slow juicer as compared to a blender, was the separation of fibre from the juice.  Here's the by-product of juicing:

Vegetable and fruit fibre

 Instead of throwing the fibre away, I added them to my bread.  Ta-daa!  A plain loaf of bread becomes a carrot-celery-apple bread!

Vegetable/Fruit bread

First Loaf of Bread Machine Bread

First loaf of bread from the bread machine

This is THE first loaf of bread that came out of our first ever bread machine.  Using the basic recipe that came together with the machine, it takes just minutes to throw in all the ingredients into the bread machine.  In about 3h, the bread is done!  Ah.... the wonders of technology.  I love my gadgets!!!

Psst.... try making some kaya (coconut egg jam) or peanut butter to go with your bread!

Homemade Peanut Butter

When it comes to spread for my bread, I find myself sticking to a few favourites: Nutella, peanut butter and Kaya (coconut egg jam).  These spreads win hands down when compared to fruit jams for me.  Having found a way to make Kaya the easy way, I was ready to try something new -- Peanut butter!  I always thought that there was butter in peanut butter.  Isn't that why it's so creamy?  It was after the usual Googling that I realised that all you needed to make peanut butter, was peanuts!  That's all!

Thus began my little experiment...

First, I "toasted" the peanuts in a frying pan without any oil

'Toasting' peanuts in a frying pan

Then came the worst part of my experiment..... I had to remove all the skin from the peanuts!  I was literally kicking myself for not buying peanuts which had the skin removed.  Anyway, when I finally removed all the skin from the peanuts, I chucked them into my blender.  Many websites mention that a food processor should be used, NOT a blender because it might overheat.  I didn't have a food processor, so my Bosch cake mixer cum blender was the only option.  I did stop often to let my blender rest though.

Place peanuts in a blender or food processor

As I blended the peanuts, it went through different stages before eventually getting to the peanut butter stage.  Amazingly, it became creamy peanut butter without any liquids added!

Different stages of blended peanuts

Verdict?  I liked it!!  It was not as sweet or as oily as store bought peanut butter and had a very natural taste.  Maybe next time I'll experiment with different nuts or add some honey :)

Homemade Kaya

For those unfamiliar with "kaya", it is a spread made from eggs, sugar and coconut milk, also known as coconut egg jam.  In Singapore, this is often spread on bread or toast together with butter.  Kaya in the bottled form is easily available in supermarkets and, depending on the brand, ranges from green to brown in colour.

When I was younger, my Mum would make homemade kaya once in a while.  According to her, my grandmother's recipe was: 1 bunch of pandan leaves, 1 bowl of eggs, 1 bowl of sugar, and 1 bowl of fresh coconut milk.  These simple ingredients will then be mixed together in the upper tier of a double boiler.  The ONE skill you need to make perfect homemade kaya -- PATIENCE.  While the kaya cooks in the double boiler, you have to keep stirring it so that it doesn't curdle and you get the perfect texture.

I wanted to make my own kaya, but I didn't have the time to make it the traditional way.  In steps my best internet friend -- Google... I decided to make kaya using my bread machine!  I made a watered-down version:

Bread Machine Kaya

1 cup coconut milk

1 cup raw sugar

1 cup eggs (approximately 4 medium sized eggs)

1. Mix coconut milk and sugar in bread machine pan.  Add eggs to the pan through a sift.
2. Start the "Jam" function on the bread machine.
3. At the end of the "Jam" cycle, the mixture will appear lumpy.  Pour the mixture into a blender and blend until smooth.  Pour into glass jars and keep refrigerated.

This is my lazy version where I used packet coconut milk instead of fresh and also skipped the pandan leaves.

Bread Machine Kaya (Coconut Egg Jam)