D-I-Y - Pizza

When I have idle time with the kids (which by the way, for a SAHM is rare and an oddity rather than a norm), I usu, find baking or some culinary activity something that the kids and I both enjoy....they do learn something from baking - weighing, kneading and also cleaning up (well, just a bit, thank goodness, we have Auntie Rini to help out).

This time I got hold of Baker's One's Pizza Mix and got our hands dirty doing this.....Actually, my aunt has made many fabulous pizza's from this easy mix. What we love is the dough has dried veges - capsicums and olives and of course no artificial stuff or preservatives....

From a small pack of pizza bread mix - one can easily churn out 3-4 thin 10" diameter pizza bases. This time, we made a few 8" ones and the remaining pizza dough was used to make mini 3" cheese pizzas for my kids packed lunches.

Step 1. Get a pack of pizza bread mix - you'll need also yeast, olive oil and some extra flour for dusting

Step 2. Add yeast to lukewarm, boiled water and stir to thoroughly mix

Step 3. Pour out the pizza mix into a large bowl and make a well in the centre, slowly pour in the yeast mixture and knead to combine mix and yeast mixture

Step 4. Knead on and add in some olive oil and knead till it becomes a dough...this takes quite alot of strength and endurance (that's why most of the pizza chefs are men???)....do not give up! It will slowly come together and become that beautiful round dough! Check out the brown bits - those are the dried veges....

If you have a great food processor - now's the time to dump in the dough and let the machine do the work. Unfortunately, I do not have one, and I wanted the kids to feel the "effort" of getting the pizza done!

Step 5. Let the dough rest (or in professional culinary terms - proof) in a warm place - that's why I put it in an unheated oven. This allows the dough to react with the yeast to double its size. Do not over proof beyond the stated time or it will sour....if you do not have the time to continue the next step, just put the dough (covered with clingwrap in the fridge).

Step 6. Shape the dough on a lightly floured surface. Flatten with a rolling pin and constantly turn and flatten on a floured surface and repeat the process, otherwise, the dough will never flatten or get larger but spring back to its small size!

Step 7. Top it up with all your favs....we put the usu, ham, pineapples, capsicum and loads and loads of cheese. And pop it in the oven to cook! It comes out thin and crispy oozing with cheese and overflowing with ingredients.....

With my recent craze for eating as little stuff with preservatives and more natural foods.....at least I know what are the stuff going into my pizza....I know the kids are eating top quality fresh beef and good quality ham (even tho that is filled with nitrates), freshly cut Dole pineapples and capsicum and plump white button mushrooms - not stuff from a can! Not to mention the cost of putting 2 packs of Italiano pizza mix cheese!

More CNY Golden Agar!

Little Didi:"Wah! What do you have there?"
Kor Kor: "Mummy's yummy jelly! "
"Soon, you will be eating out of my hands forever!" said kor kor (with wicked laughter trailing.............)

More pics.....

2 small carps

1 big + 2 small carps!

A trio of bunnies!

Alas, I am still working on my pizza blog! my delay has span across the chinese new year, not the calender year yet!

CNY Golden Seaweed Agar

Chinese New Year Auspicious Golden Agar Agar

(a rather healthy dessert, if you discount the sugar!)

The Small Yu (Carp) only - measurements: L (horizontally across, from tail to nose area) - 9.5"/24cm, H - 2"/5cm, W - 3"/7.5 cm - would rest on 3/4 lengthwise of an A4 paper - would serve 8 to 10 people. Price - $20 (+$5 for bubbles & seaweed)

The Big Yu (Carp) only - measurements: L (horizontally across, from tail to nose area) - 13.5"/35cm, H - 2"/5cm, W - 4"/10cm - would rest on 3/4 lengthwise of an A3 paper - would serve about 20 people. Price - $30 (+$5 for bubbles & seaweed)

The Rabbit - measurements: L - 7"/13cm, H - 3"/7.5cm, W - 3.75"/10cm - would rest on 1/3 breathwise of an A4 paper - would serve about 6-8 people - Price - $22
(note: the rabbit has a more golden sheen then as seen in pic, it doesn't seem to come out well in the photos!)


Add $5 (only for Yu agar) to the price for bubbles (longan) and seaweed (green agar agar) to be self-assembled as below. Agar agar to be self-collected from Ang Mo Kio Ave 9. Should you pool orders and have at least 5 types of agar to order, I can deliver to one location. So do get your colleagues and other kakis to order....

This agar agar keeps very well, for weeks, even a couple of months.

I also do individual portions of the Golden Agar Agar, Price - $20 for 16 pcs (minimum order of 16 pcs) . I also make Konnyaku Jelly too!

Do drop me an email: jellyjellydeli@gmail.com

Don't miss out!Its simply delectable!

Back to Agar Agar

Hey, I am on a row! 2 blogs within 24 hrs! My new year resolution of not procrastinating and acting fast is taking action! Actually, kids are all out from a tiring day at school, and I am blessed with a little time for myself! The little pleasures!

Today, I update on my agar creations to date! These are some of the best ones I have done. I am always a bit apprehensive about making the colours more intense, which means we are consuming more artificial colouring, which is not good for the little ones.....The agar are all layered coconut agar and plain agar. Definitely, no preservatives, so whatever you order, is freshly made on the day of consumption.














With chinese new year round the corner, I experimented on a nonya agar agar receipe that a fabulous baba cook shared with me. This nonya agar agar is crisp and not overly sweet, with a lovely golden sheen, that's so apt for chinese new year - gold....prosperity!!!! This agar is just the thing to serve guests, after gorging on heaty cashew nut cookies, peanut cookies, bak kwa. Its refreshing and healthy (read my earlier blog on the benefits of agar). I made it with a carp mould - symbolising - "nian nian you yu".

This was a hotcake during Chinese New Year when it was sold out at a rather famous peranakan restaurant in 2007. This year, it cost about $40 for one that's a rabbit shaped that's about 1/2 the size of an A4 paper. Get yours now with Jelly Deli. I package it in 2 versions - the yu only ($20) or the yu + the works ($25- to be self assembled) - self-collect at AMK before CNY. This agar keeps well, in the fridge, just covered in a plastic box. Apparently in the past, nonyas used to make this agar well ahead of the festivities as it was one of the few items that keep well.

The Yu only - its a small carp - cut it up it 1 cm-width slivers (16-20 slivers) and it should sufficiently serve 8-10 adults.

The Yu + the works - its a small carp decorated with longans (bubbles!) and green agar (seaweed in the water!). This is a prettier version, which is wonderful as a gift.

Drop me an email for orders! jellyjellydeli@gmail.com!

A long hiatus...I bake too!

A year has flown by! And I never managed to even blog on my adventures in creating different agars! Thanks to the various kids birthday parties we've been invited to, I managed to get loads of practice with the various character moulds - that also double up as an edible birthday gift!

Other than agars, I have ventured to baking! I found the perfect mix from Baker's One! Today, the kids and I did donuts (didn't bake, but fried them!)! I must say Baker's One Doughnut Mix was truly idiot-proof and we managed to churn out some really decent looking, and nice tasting donuts! My next venture is to work on another idiot-proof bangkit cookie mix, that hopefully, even whoas my ever critical peranakan aunties! Imagine, a bangkit, where you don't even need to fry the flour, or was it the coconut....its complicated???

See, I made these donuts! Macam donut factory???

See, how easy it is, with a great pre-mix!

Step 1. Get a packet of the easiest doughnut mix from Baker's One

Step 2. Dissolve the yeast in the water

Step 3. Add in doughnut mix

Step 4. Knead in the softened butter

Step 5. Leave to rest for 30 mins

Step 6. Shape the doughnuts. See my enthusiastic daughter, not even out of her PJs and hard at work, making donuts for daddy's breakfast. Had to cheat a bit and used an O cookie cutter to make the perfect O donuts!

Step 7. The sinful part.......Deep Fry the donuts! Hey! donuts that are almost done, float up!

Step 8. For extra- extravagance - melt chocs to coat it, and my hardworking kids were rewarded with sprinkles to sweeten their delectable donuts! See them lapping it all up, still in PJs!! It was a great sunday morning activity for the kids! Little mess, but lots of fun for them to knead and shape the dough and eat their own freshly made donuts!

In case you were wondering, what's Baker's One. Baker's One is a Malaysia-based baking supply company. Think along the lines of Phoon Huat or Ghim Heng Lee in Singapore. They have wonderful pre-mixes and what's special is they have pre-mixes for very local cookies - bangkit, green pea cookies. There are also chocolate cookie mix and cake mixes. What I love about it is it's free of preservatives and additives (so the shelf-life of the mixes are short, but you know you are getting them fresh each time). Next on my list to experiment is the Baker's One pizza mix! Another activity to get my kids to work for their food! Hopefully, I blog about that sooner than a year!

You better watch out......

A dessert that is healthy? Agar agar actually comes close, except for the sugar, but well, how can a dessert be a dessert without a little sugar!


Today, I will extol the benefits of agar agar. Agar agar is a gelling agent made from a combination of algaes from thespecies gelidium. Other names include dai choy goh, Japanese isinglass, or kanten, in reference to the dish in which it is commonly used. The name, agar agar, is Malaysian in origin, and the harvest of the long red and purple fronds goes back hundreds of years. The fronds are freeze dried and dehydrated naturally, producing colorless sheets which are shaped into bars. Agar is available in the traditional bars, flakes, and powder, all of which can be used interchangeably for gelling purposes. Long strands of agar are one of the ingredients in the seaweed salad served at sushi restaurants.Like the other sea vegetables, agar is a good source of iodine (100 grams agar has 160 milligrams of iodine), as well as some calcium and iron. It has no calories, and according to Paul Pitchford, promotes digestion and weight loss, treats hemorrhoids, and carries toxic and radioactive waste out of the body. It is cooling in nature, and reduces inflammations and other heat conditions as described in traditional Chinese medicine.


Being in need of a relatively healthy dessert for the holidays? Fear not, there is hope.....santa claus is coming to town......

Wobble wobble, jelly trouble

"Mummy mummy, i want a yummy cake just like Sofia's!" I looked and Sofia is indeed the envy of all little girls with that dreamy barbie doll cake oozing with all things sweet and delightful.

How should I make my little girl's dream come true? A jelly cake perhaps?

Scrabbling thro my drawers and look at my cookery inventory...aha! A barbie tray.....



Isabel smiles and says:"Good job mummy, but I think she needs more make-up"

Ahhhh, the little things that make being a mummy great after all.....