29 September 2011

Cream cheese pound cake with tangelo zest

Check out at Smitten Kitchen's recipe and photos of this amazing cake!  Easy to make with few ingredients.  I added zest of one tangelo, used 2t of vanilla instead of 1t vanilla and 1t almond, and substituted 1C agave syrup for 3C sugar.  Mother, husband, and toddler gave thumbs up!  Try it!!!

Before we eat all of it -- and we are trying not to because the recipe includes 3 sticks of butter and 6 eggs and 1 pack of cream cheese -- I will take a photo and post it later.

04 September 2011

Eid Mubarak

In Malaysia, there is a tradition of having "open houses" in celebration of certain holidays such as Eid, Chinese New Year and Deepavali. As my family and I celebrate Eidil Fitri which marks the end of the month-long fast during the month of Ramadan. This year we had our an "open house" on the first day of Eid and had many friends and family come and visit. However, the tradition of visiting friends and family for Eid is not just limited to one day, our extended family and friends continue to visit our home throughout the month to wish us Selamat Hari Raya. It is a particularly special time of the year to catch up with cousins, aunties and uncles whom we may not be able to see regularly throughout the year (with people living in different parts of the country).

This year, for the first day, I made several types of cupcakes, a coffee cake and a cookie. My two eldest nieces made 8 different types of cookies! Here are some pictures of the food served at our Eid open house. Eid Mubarak, everyone!