When Yong Pays A Visit

My old friend Yong always tries her very best to pay me a visit whenever she's around KL and PJ area. Of course, I'm very grateful of her thoughtful act. This time, she decided to see me 'in action' in the kitchen when I told her that we could only go out after 1 pm for I had to cook for Mr KHz. Well, when two old girlfriends go out, one should be able to expect that the outing would be dragged till much later in the evening. For this reason, I opted to be safe than sorry. As long as there's food prepared, I wouldn't feel guilty to arrive home later than usual.

For your information, my daily routine includes checking the freezer to see what I have in store. Next would be the fridge and later, the stove. Other mums would do spring cleaning but I 'clean' the freezer instead. When I saw my frozen tomato sauce, I decided to prepare a snack for Yong. Preparing this snack would be 'killing two birds with one stone' as my kids (who happen to find rice rather unappealing unless there's chicken curry or squid 'sambal') enjoy it too! In other words, lesser time spent on cooking means longer outing hours! Yabadabedu!!! Furthermore, I want to try the plastic-lined paper casings (they should be non-stick) that I bought last week to see if the coating really does its work.

After thawing the sauce, I prepared the dough and the toppings. Since my kids are carnivores ( I don't blame them as their father is one too), I decided to use cooked, diced chicken and sliced Ayamas mini chicken with cheese sausages. To cut my story short, feast your eyes upon the photo below. Baked to perfection and still piping-hot when Yong entered the kitchen. Shhhh...this was my attempt to divert her attention from my whale-size body and witch-like appearance while I slaved over the hot stove! Clever, huh? You are asking me why I did this? Have you seen Yong? Try putting her in The Biggest Loser and I'm sure that the contestants would be more than motivated to be slim. Oh, one more thing, please try this recipe. I guarantee that you wouldn't be disappointed. On a different note, Kak Siti Rahamah, if you are reading, this recipe is specially dedicated to you.

MINI PIZZA BUN

Ingredients:

For the dough

• 200g high protein flour
• 2 tsp of instant yeast
• 1 tsp of sugar
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• 160ml warm water
• vegetable shortening for greasing
• 8 large plastic-lined paper casings

For the sauce:

• 1 can chopped tomatoes
• 100ml water
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• 2 tbsp tomato sauce
• 1 yellow onion (finley chopped)
• 1 tsp dried oregano/ parsley
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• salt to tast

Toppings of your choice

Enough grated mozarella/ parmesan

Method:

Put all the ingredients except water and shortening into a mixer fixed with a dough hook. Process till it resembles bread crumbs texture. Put in the water and continue mixing till you get a soft but pliable dough. Leave in a container covered with cling plastic for 45 minutes till it doubles in size.

For the sauce, heat your pot and put in the olive oil. Stir fry the chopped onion till fragrant and translucent. Next, put in all the other ingredients and stir for 10 minutes. Take off from the heat and let to cool. Next, blend till fine. Bring over to the stove and cook over medium heat until the sauce thickens. Keep aside to cool.Preheat your over at 160C for 15 minutes.

Next, punch your dough to let the air out. Divide into 8 equal portions and shape into balls. Then, lightly grease you paper casing using the shortening and flatten the balls and put into the paper casings. Using your fingers, make indentation on the flatten dough. Let to rest for 10 minutes.

Smear the tomato sauce over your dough and sprinkle the grated mozarella. Arrange your topping and bake your buns for 20-25 minutes till golden brown.Enjoy!