The wonderful Serai (Lemon Grass) & Bunga Kantan (Ginger Flower) ....

Hah, my favourites ... the wonderful serai & bunga kantan. Each time, my uncle (Seh Sook) & Aunty Mun Lee visit Kuala Lumpur, they bring along these 2 of my favourite ingredients. They grow in abundance in Balik Pulau.

Although I have settled down. in Kuala Lumpur, more than 20 years, I am not short of the taste from home. My mom sends along her salt fish acar, dried prawn sambal (sambal heh-bee). Occasionally, she sends deep frozen dishes like pineapple salt fish curry, perut ikan, bamboo shoot curry, fried fish with sambal spread inside by the bones, vinegar trotters and sometimes even the 'char kuay toew' from my favourite hawker along the roadside in front of Green Garden Kopitiam. I'm so lucky .........

What, in the world .... is this ??

(Hint ... this is a local fruit)

Do you know what this is ? ....
Ha ha .. the name of this fruit is call 'buah na nam'

It has a mixture tinge of sourish, sweet & bitter taste with flesh texture like guava ...

My family had a good time guessing ... Regina said, she thought it is a potato, that is about to rot!
Yup .. only I, the Balik Pulau girl knows .. what this is ... kekekeke

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Me, ... coming from Balik Pulau, a quiet & small town, situated in the south-west of Penang, (where almost everyone knows each other), is also where local fruits like durians, rambutans, mangosteens, quinin, chempedak, nangka, etc, etc, ... are in abundance, there are also others, that some find unheard of ... like soursop, custard apple (buah nona), kedong-dong, 'yu-kam' - (a small marble like fruit that is bitter, like fresh olive, with a seed in the center. If you drink water after chewing this fruit, it gives a pleasant taste) and bar-se-tui (??) - no translation, pale yellow orche colour, size: slightly bigger than a tennis ball - the way to eat it : Peel the skin, score the flesh & dip in soya sauce, sugar and shredded chilly. As you nibble off the outer layer, in the center, there is a juicy core with seeds. Yummy .. a very unique & refreshing taste.

A New Chapter Unfolding ........

I have decided to make 'baking from home' - my cottage business.

"Therefore, I am just a clik away ... if you need a cake. "

The other types of cakes that I make, apart from the carrot walnut & double chocolate ..... there's also butter cakes, sugi cakes, baked cheesecake, banana cake, brownies, brandy fruitcake, apple pie.

If you need further information, please send an email to :

homemade.joanne@gmail.com

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PRICE INFORMATION

(In M'sian Ringgit)

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CARROT WALNUT CAKE - 1.0Kg / 1.5Kg / 2.0Kg

Plain or with thin coating of Cream Cheese - 36.00 / 48.00 / 60.00

Full Cream Cheese coating with decoration - 42.00 / 56.00 / 70.00

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DOUBLE CHOCOLATE MOIST CAKE - 1.0Kg / 1.5Kg / 2.0Kg

Plain - 40.00 / 54.00 / 68.00

Creamy Chocolate coating with decoration - 46.00 / 62.00 / 78.00

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POUND CAKE - 1.0Kg / 1.5Kg / 2.0Kg

Plain / Marble / Orange / Chocolate / Coffee - 42.00 / 56.00 / 70.00

(add RM6.00, if add almonds or walnut)

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SUGI ALMOND - 1.0Kg / 1.5Kg / 2.0Kg

(almond nips)

46.00 / 62.00 / 78.00

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Cake size : square or round

1.0Kg - 8 inch

1.5Kg - 9 inch

2.0Kg - 10 inch

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BAKED CHEESECAKE

(per recipe 1.0Kg - 8 inch -square or round)

Lemon / Coffee - 48.00

(available in double recipe - 10 inch square or round) - 80.00

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*** Christmas Special***

BRANDY FRUITCAKE

425 gm (3.5 x 7 inch) - 30.00

850 gm (7 x 7 inch) - 50.00

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Cakes for special occasion or 3.0Kg and above, please email to inquire .

homemade.joanne@gmail.com

Carrot Walnut Cake - 5.0 Kg

with full Cream Cheese coating

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Carrot Walnut Cake - 1.0 Kg

with a thin coating of cream cheese

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Coffee Walnut Cake - 1.5 Kg

with Coffee Butter cream coating

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Carrot Walnut Cake - 1.5 Kg
with full Cream Cheese coating

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OOoooo no .. pictures of my cakes over the years ..

..... I have lost them all.

Through the many times, of formatting & re-formatting the computer ... the backup of files in this CD, and in that CD ... now, I do not know where my pictures are ... typical of me !!

Well, I console myself .. all is not lost - the 'how to do it' is still in my head. So, farewell to all my old cake designs ... the forth coming pictures are really very recent. ...

I can still remember .....

..... that, when I was in lower secondary school, I used to dread the Home Science Cookery class. I seldom get things right. If I do, my teacher will be fairly surprised.

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I remember having to make, for my trial exam (Form 3), among other dishes in the menu, the 'agar-agar santan' just two layers of jelly, with the white coconut milk on the top & the red coloured layer at the bottom ... Guess what ... mine turned out PINK! (I did not allow enough time for the red layer to set, before pouring in the coconut milk layer.) Somehow, I managed to get a borderline pass ... Thanks, Mrs Yeong - you know that I tried my best, right ?

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It was always fun time during the school year end exhibition & food-fair. I, automatically will be 'the one' collecting the sale coupons ... because, as I recall, our class made for sale, 'taukwa sumbat' - (beancurd stuffed with shredded cucumber, bean sprout, peanuts and drenched with chilly sauce), i do not belong to the cooking team. Either, I cut the veggies too rough or i'll break the beancurd while frying ... I was labeled to have 'ten thumbs' ... in other words .. 'cannot do delicate work'.

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Now ... it is fortunate to have available, shreadders, various kinds of cutter ..., & deep fryer with timing 'beeps' .... whew ... this progress & development has allowed even the impossible, do a good job.

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Well, frankly, I am amazed myself, at my own work at times. I thank God, for the discovery of my gift ... it is in me, to somehow, in a given recipe, be convinced that by adding certain ingredients, will bring out & enhance the taste. I'm also fortunate, to have a husband who has a 'sharp tongue' for tastes ... My family members are often my critics .. among them, I shine, where baking is concerned BUT in the kitchen, when it comes to cooking, my husband takes the lead. Even Nasiroh, our valuable domestic helper is catching up now.

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Well, if I managed to bake & cook, I believe ANYONE can, too. There are always lots of ideas in the newspapers, internet, TV .. the list goes on ....

The encouraging factor ...

Each time, when I get an order for a cake ... if, it is to be a plain one, I'll know for sure what it will look like, when done. However, if, it is one that is to be decorated for an occasion, then ... the adventure begins ... Somehow or other, I would normally use natural products, like fresh or preserved fruits, nuts, chocolate, wafers, etc, etc .. instead of using butter cream to create the decoration and design.

Although, through trial & error, from the start, well, I managed to improve little by little, gaining confidence to decorate a cake. I am still learning through sharing my discoveries & experiments with my professional baker friends, the internet and books.

Nevertheless ... knowing, I've given my best, it always feels so good to see the smile on the face of the one, who the cake is made for. The decoration is unique each time. I'm likely not able to produce another cake with the same design & decoration ..i just can promise that the cake will always taste the same, BUT it is going to look quite like this ......

Life is just like that ... one can go back to the same spot to recreate everything ... BUT, it will NOT be the same.

Therefore 'TREASURE YOUR SPECIAL MOMENTS', - because after that, .... it's just becomes a precious memory.

Chocolate Version ....

For Mom ...

For an engagement ....

..... and for the Wedding,

An order of 250 pieces of 'Thank You' gesture.
Brandy Fuitcake

Joanne's Lemon Cheesecake

Lemon Cheesecake decorated for a birthday.

Joanne's Double Chocolate Moist Cake

Creamy Chocolate experience in a cake ..

Joanne's Carrot Walnut Cake with Cream cheese icing

This cake ... Carrot Walnut with cream cheese icing is for the occasion of a birthday.

Joanne's first cake ..

CARROT WALNUT CAKE

Among ingredients - shreadded carrot, walnut, sunflower seeds, orange peel, raisins & spices.

Joanne's Kitchen presents .....

JOANNE TEH

I started baking, step by step from scraps, about six years ago. Not a kitchen person, I acquired baking information & skills from surfing the internet. One carrot cake recipe from my Aunty Aileen Ng, is all that was needed, to spark off the change that was initially considered 'a chore' into 'a passion' that slowly creep into my heart, upon seeing the smiles & satisfaction on the faces of those who tasted my cakes. From then on, I strive to perfect each bake, trying out other types of cakes - chocolate, butter, sugi, cheese, brandy fruitcake, even brownies & apple pie ... and the list goes on ... I take seriously & attentively all the feedbacks to me .... regarding the texture, ingredients used, the need to reduce the sugar and the spices, to add more baking powder, cake - not moist enough, etc., etc. etc .....

So, through this blog, I will also present my cakes in the forth the coming posts...

For any further inquiries, please send an e-mail to :

homemade.joanne@gmail.com

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