Recipe: Potato & Beef Patties (Bergedil)

I'm sharing the Potato and Beef patties recipe. Or as we Malays call it "bergedil". My Mom used to make this but she substituted the beef with mackerel (boiled and deboned). Very delicious.

Potato and Beef Patties
10 medium potatoes - peeled, quartered and fried until golden yellow
250grams of minced meat
1 clove of garlic - peeled and finely chopped
1 yellow onion - peeled and finely chopped
Some coriander leaves - chopped
Some spring onions - chopped
2 eggs - lightly beaten with a pinch of salt
Salt and pepper to taste

Pound/mash the potatoes. Put into mixing bowl.

Saute garlic and onion. Then, add in the minced meat. Cook for about 15 minutes. Add some salt and pepper.

Add the cooked minced meat in the mixing bowl. Next, add the chopped coriander leaves and spring onions. Season with salt and pepper. Mix the ingredients well and then make into small balls.

Heat vegetable oil. When ready to fry, slightly press the balls into patties shape and dip into egg mixture. Fry the patties until light brown.

What It Feels Like When You Know About The Other Women

What a long title!

Men, do you want to know how a woman feels inside when she got to know about your affair?

I picked this up from the movie - The Women. It's the scene when Meg Ryan went to see her mother to tell her about her husband. She then brushed her mother saying she can't possibly know how she feels, and the mother said, "Let me try...".

This honestly tells how it felt when I got to know:
"It feels like someone kicked you in the stomach, feels like your heart stopped beating, feels like that dream, you know the one when you are falling and you want so desperately to wake up before you hit the ground but it's all out of your control. You can't trust anything anymore, no one is who they say they are. Your life is changed forever, and the only thing to come out of the whole ugly experience is no one will be able to break your heart like that again."

RIP Robin Williams

Mork has returned to Ork...

One of the greatest actors in history is now gone. And such an irony. He spent his life entertaining people. Making people laugh. But little do people know that he was battling depression. Sad.

As an English major in the late 90s, one of the must-watch movie was Dead Poets Society. He inspired us to read and love poetry and seize the day. The boys of our batch even named themselves Dead Poets Society! And who can forget his amazing comic portrays of Captain Hook, Mrs Doubtfire, Teddy Roosevelt, Genie and many, many more. 

Upon reading about his death, I could only imagine him as Mork, the alien we so associated with in the early 80s when I was a child. Nano nano! And that three-stuck-together handshake. 

You will be sorely missed Robin Williams. RIP. You are free Genie!

3 Reasons Why You Should Take Up Cycling

Here are 3 reasons why you should start cycling.

1) Burn those calories!

Cycling might look easy but those slopes and hills can really test your body. And burn calories too. You can burn 120 calories on a 30-minute cycle.

2) Reduce Carbon Footprint!

Go green! If you just want to buy a few stuff from the grocery store, just ride on your bike. You save on petrol, you work out, you reduce your carbon footprint. Save the environment girls!

3) Gives You Time To Think!

When I cycle, I actually use the time to think on solving problems. And believe me, you do find the solutions.

Recipe: My Mom's Simple Yellow Cake

Here's my mom's simple cake. I don't know what it's really called. I just name it Yellow Cake. I guess you can call it Pound Cake.

When I was little, I love helping her prepare the cake. The reward is the leftover batter smeared on spoons and the mixing bowl. I would scrape off the batter with my fingers and lick it dry! Delicious!

Simple Yellow Cake

1 cup margarine or butter
1 cup castor sugar
1.5 cup flour
3 eggs (small), 2 if eggs are big
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
A few tablespoons of condensed milk (no specific measurement!)

Cream margarine/butter with castor sugar. Then add the eggs one by one. Mix really well.
Next, add flour. Finally add vanilla essence and condensed milk.
Pour batter into greased pan. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until skewer inserted comes out clean.

For varieties, can always divide the batter into 2 bowls. One mix with cocoa powder. You will get a simple marble cake.
Or, can sprinkle the top with chocolate rice or colourful sprinkles.

Recipe: Easiest Cheese Cake Ever!

Here's the recipe for the easiest cheese cake ever. Simple cheese cake. Easy to make. And delicious too!

200grams digestive biscuits (mc vities) - grind finely
80grams melted butter
4 eggs
180grams castor sugar
500grams cream cheese (room temperature)
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
Optional - juice of half a lemon and lemon zest

For the base: mix the digestive biscuits with melted butter. Press mixture to the bottom of a spring form pan. Chill in fridge.

Beat eggs with castor sugar. Put aside.

In another bowl, beat cream cheese till smooth.

Then, mix both mixture. Add vanilla essence.

Pour mixture into spring foam pan and bake at 165C for 30-40 minutes.  

Note:
- Do not over beat the cream mixture. This might result in cracked cake.
- Oven temperature must not be too hot. Cake might crack too!
- When cake is cooked, do not straight away take out of the oven. Just let it cool by opening the oven door.

Cat Blending In

My cat decided to give a stern face and thought she blended in inside the pot.

Recipe: Dark Moist Choc Cake

Here's a fool-proof dark moist chocolate cake recipe. I usually make this into cupcakes.

Dark Moist Choc Cake

2 cups sugar
2 cups plain flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 cup cocoa
1 cup milk
1/2 cup salad oil
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup hot instant coffee

Sift together dry ingredients. Add milk, oil, eggs and vanilla. Beat well and add hot instant coffee. Beat well. Batter will be thin. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.