Oh my...!!

A day will be so incomplete without having any cooking done. It doesn't matter at all if the results are not up to my expectations because you know, when you are a passionate, there's always this kind of gratifying feeling that will hook you up until you accomplish.

So today i decided to make a very simple dessert. Well, sweet and simple is a must as this blog turns out. Nevertheless i always found it difficult to satisfy my tastebuds when it comes to this one particular dessert. It's just an apple tart and to be true, this is NOT my cup of tea, at all. There were countless times where i started out feeling so charmed to buy ones sold in boulangerie at the roadsides, just to end up feeling upset with the taste and texture.

But i still remember this one fine evening, when i was still studying in Rouen, my room neighbour invited me for tea. She baked a super scrumptious apple tart that had captivated all my senses at that time. I tell you, that was the very first time i fell in love with the apple-dessert thingy and i swear, that got to be the best i ever tasted in my whole life. Huwaaa.

So i dare myself to give a try today. Failing to contact my ex-neighbour through facebook for the recipe, i make full use of Google like everyone does. I tell you, there was like thousand different recipes stacking in the list. Hurm, how am i going to choose while i have no idea what type of apple tart that suits my picky tastebud?

Nevermind dear, this is just for an experiment right. And you never lose anything for trying something out. So i just picked one randomly, based on the ingredients i have in store and which requires the least time of preparation. Hehe.

And voilaa, this is how my apple tart turned out after 45 minutes of preparaing + baking :



Ahaa. Ignore the messy and burnt part. I know i am way too far to be good in adorning my cooking. Phew.

As my cookings are nor intended to impress anybody, neither to show off my skill and how good i am as a woman (blegh!), i just couldn't care to show you the mediocre outcome as it may seem. But i don't bother to tell you the recipe. You surely could do it even better!

Ouh, maybe you need to know this one thing, especially for those in France. If ever you're buying a ready-made pate feuilleté for the crust, mind to take a look at the ingredients, as it may contain alcohol commonly. Well, i just learnt this today, when my housemate noticed on the packaging that it contains alcohol, and the best thing is my tart was already inside the oven. Ouh, poor me..

I did some research on the net, looking for some steadfast enlightenment, wether i have to simply throw away the whole thing. Well, praise be to Allah, though my apple tart happened to be just a frugal-but-edible piece of food, i still can eat them despite the alcohol. I bet you must wanna know why right?

Well, it is according to a fatwa in Malaysia, but for this i suggest you to read it yourself, for i fear that my explanation could possibly be misleading. Bottom line, it is because the alcohol used is not as additive, but appears as a result of natural reaction between chemicals during the manufacturing process. And secondly due to the minute content itself.

Oh dear, it's late already and i have to get myself ready for a phone call. I mean, the phone call, as usual. Hehe

Till then, have a blissful day lovelies!

#1 : Raspberry Cheese cake [updated]

I'm still owing some of you the recipe for this dead easy cheese cake. Actually the original recipe is in french so surely i need to translate it for you. Please allow me some time to sort things out, and then i'll spare you all the details, ok?

Stay tuned!

Updated 23/12

So here goes the recipe!

Ingredients:
A) Crust
- 250g finely crushed cookies (any type will suit but butter cookies is the best!)
- 100g melted butter

B) Filling
- 500g cream cheese (in France we use brand Faiselle)
- 150g sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 tablespoon flour
- 250g sour cream (in France we use crème fraiche)
- Raspberry glazing (might as well use raspberry jam)

How-to:

1) First, to make the crust, combine cookie crumbs with melted butter in medium bowl until moistened. Press firmly onto bottom of a pan lined with a grease-proof paper. Regrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

2) In another container, beat the cream cheese and sour cream up until smooth. Add in sugar, eggs, and flour. Add one teaspoon of raspberry glazing. Mix them well.

3) Pour the mixture over the crust. You may start to preheat the oven at 180°C.

4) To decorate, drop some raspberry glazing on top of the filling. Cut it through with a knife several times for a marble effect.

5) Bake for 30-35 minutes. Once baked, leave it to cool then remove it out of the pan.

6) Ready to be served.

Easy huh? :)

#0 : The first ever

Assalamualaikum dear friends and readers,

Before i start with all those cooking stuff, let me tell you the main reason why i am putting an effort to do this blog.

I'm a 23 year-old muslim lady, a government scholar pursuing studies in France, a wife to an outstanding and lovely husband, a daughter to the most wonderful parents in the world, the only sister to my 4 adorable growing-up brothers, and so on and so forth.

To be in France doing a future-worth studies, and being married at quite an early age, you must be telling me that i am now on top of my dreams.

Well dear, i am not, yet.

You might not know how hell my life had been for couple of years ago. But sure enough i'm not going to tell anything about it here. Just let it go forever and i'm moving on.

All of sudden, Allah sent me a new passion full of question mark. Something so irrelevant to me, which is cooking! And this is where i realize that i'm losing so many things in my life. I am not fulfilling my dreams eventhough it has been my long-held aspiration to study engineering in France.

So i do some flashback, through my excellent years back in 2004, where i was a form-five student. You know, 2004 marked a splendide history in my life, where i got round to achieve many things at the ultimate level. Uhh, i don't need to spell them out here. Yes, we do share sweet little things, but the sweetest thing is to be kept to yourself. Right?

And there, yes, i was on TOP of the world.

So i started questioning myself. What is it that had driven me to the top at that time? Why did life have to be so hard this past few years?

Praise be to Allah. He lights up the answers.

I'm regaining consciousness, and i am fully aware now. Those bright years, i was living along with my burning passion. Which is none other than the language. Ouh, did i mention that throughout the year, i used to read french-malay dictionary everynight as a dose of my 'sleeping pills'?

And of course, it's not the passion that had kept me going. It's Allah, solely Him. Now i understand how much i might be distant from Him these days, as i have already left behind my routine of reading Al-Mulk everyday after Isya' prayer.

Oh my god, i seem to write something way afar from cooking. Ok let's get back on track readers!

This is what i wanna tell you through this entry.

You must know what you're capable of. You must dig in to yourself, and treasure every single corner in-depth, what talent and capability you are entitled to.

You must be good at something. Please don't make up stories and say that you are good for nothing. If you strongly believe in Allah, you must believe that He must have blessed you with a natural passion, love, and value instilled in yourself.

If you don't have any idea where you're good at, keep on searching. But please, i need to stress this out, be yourself. Again, be yourself. You don't need to copy your friends or your mother. You must not simply do what others are doing, for everyone of us is granted with different amount and type of potential. You don't know, but Allah knows well.

Learn. Learn about yourself. And there you'll find an enormous strength and inner drive, to lead your life successfully. And when i'm saying success, i am meaning it syariah-wise. You got what i mean right?

Ooh i think it's best to really stop now. And like i said, i am launching this modest blog to live and to work on my passion (ouh, it should have 's' now). And to take it along with me as a powerful force, to keep me hanging on in this rocky journey.

So, bismillah, and let's get cooking ladies!

p/s : I might have done some grammatical or literal error here and there. Please excuse me for being redundant and would you mind to highlight them for me? You know, i'm an avid learner.:)

Love n peace,
Nini