Foodie Tales

Thurs, 30th July 2009

2009-07-30T18:31:00.004+08:00

Chicken Liver Pate

Foodie Tales return with a whisper by a short post on chicken liver pate long promised to someone very patient! I hope you like it. :-)

A slight attempt was made to decorate the top with trimmed bay leaves, some spring onions, a tiny shallot and sprinkling of dried chilli peppers.

CHANELS

2009-05-14T06:07:00.001+08:00

Speechless in awe and wonder........

The insides? That's for another post.......

p.s not mine, not mine *sobs*

Simon

2009-05-11T19:59:00.005+08:00

When I read this article about Simon Cowell insisting his gardeners use a spirit level to trim his hedges, I couldn't see more sense than that. Isn't this the most sensible solution to ensuring your crockery, cutlery, placemats and glassware are lined up to absolutely straight lines?

I want one for Christmas to help me set my table in future.

oh, hang on - or can they be used on walls and now hedges only and not on tables?

Fri, 8th May 2009

2009-05-09T00:13:00.004+08:00

I set a challenge upon myself to feed 7 people for under $25 (total) today. This was what I made.

2 roast chickens - the usual way.

Roast pumpkin - garlic, parsley, salt, black pepper and some chicken juices. Before.

After.

Roasted Tomatoes. 6 plump Indonesian tomatoes (Oz ones will be take me over the budget) cut into halves.

With multi-layer seasonings - garlic, sea salt & black pepper.

I had a little anchovy garlic olive oil in the fridge and this was the next layer.

Then seasoned home-made breadcrumbs - wholemeal bread whizzed, mixed herbs, garlic, salt & black pepper panfried (no oil) till crispy. Store in airtight tub in the fridge and sprinkle over just about anything - roast poatoes, pasta, chicken, tomatoes, mixed vegs.

Final layer - basil.

Roast till tomatoes are soft and pulpy. Yumms right?

There were lots of potatoes panfried and we have enough left for a salad tomorrow.

Here is the receipt - potatoes $3.00, chicken $6.04, chicken $5.62, tomatoes $2.26, pumpkin $1.29, and spinach $1.20 (which I did not cook). Therefore if you added cooking oil, herbs, gas, electricity, seasonings, umm.... oh, washing liquid for washing up later & labour - that will add another say $5 thereby just meeting my budget of $25.00!

A table shot.

p.s. Wine cost not included.

A few updates.... Sat, 2nd May 2009

2009-05-03T06:54:00.006+08:00

I had a small dinner party last night and for the first time, I set up a dining table in our small back garden. It was a lovely night, not too hot or humid and there was a light breeze in the air.

Let's see - what did we have? Going backwards - here is a dessert of bananas cooked with rum and brown sugar, served with vanilla ice-cream.

A big juicy chicken, roasted with garlic, rosemary, thyme, parsley, salt, black pepper, soy sauce and olive oil. I did not even bother to debone as I usually do. The chicken was cut into large parts then simply garnished - the basil is from our garden.

I served the roast chicken with garlic pasta.

A simple salad of lettuce, baby corn, beans, brocolli, peppers and tomatoes.

With a dressing of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, dijon mustard, herbs and chopped shallots.

My prep for the garlic pasta. I used 2 cloves of garlic only.

And the chicken before it went into the oven at approx 5.30 pm.

Some starters - garlic dip and a salmon dip with pita.

Ha - bit of my maxi dress in the right corner - it looks alarmingly like pyjamas..... but super comfy for a casual dinner party with friends.

Friday, 1st May 2009

2009-05-03T06:48:00.003+08:00

I bought a tiny piece of beef and created this stirfry with leeks and edamame beans.

This plate of stirfry will make 3 meals for myself - Friday evening, Sat afternoon and there's a bit left in the fridge for another meal!! haha - I am trying, I am trying.

Mon, 27th April 2009

2009-05-03T06:33:00.002+08:00

We had UR over for a simple steak dinner. No frills - lovely pieces of ribeye and sirloin, with sea salt, black pepper and olive oil.

Some sauteed mangetouts and simple roasted potatoes/sweet potatoes.

I made a sauce out of pan drippings, some booze and CREAM...

A bottle of red to share amongst 4, nice easy meal. It's a good start to another awful week.

Fri, 17 April 2009

2009-05-03T06:19:00.004+08:00

After the Bobby Chinn cooking demo, I went to Z's house for her mum's soto ayam. Again this is one of my favourite dishes.

It's served with shredded chicken, beansprouts, potato patties, spring onions/coriander, chilli paste, fried shallots with a gorgeous tasty soup.

My favourite - potato patties.

We also had some rice cubes to go with the ayam soto - Singapore style.

Thank you, Z, for the food and especially for the chat.

Ultimate Foodies Bloggers Challenge

2009-04-27T05:31:00.005+08:00

Congratulations to Senor Pablo and his team for organising & hosting a magnificent event at his residence yesterday and thank you for giving us an arena to showcase our home recipes to everyone there. I look forward to buying the book and already have had a request from a reader who lives in Canada to reserve a copy (and sign!) it for her. *thank you*

(Photo by: Pablo)

And a HUGE thank you to everyone who voted for me!! My two winning dishes..

2nd prize - Roasted Garlic and Anchovy Dip (Photo by: Marul)

9th prize - Chinese Chicken Salad

These two recipes will be published in the Ultimate Foodie Bloggers Cookbook so don't forget to buy the book as soon as it is released - 100% of the proceeds goes to charity.

Congratulations to all the other winners as well and it was a pleasure to meet all of you yesterday... :-)

Chung / Ko Chung / Ba Chang

2009-04-24T19:46:00.003+08:00

Mr Ab & A's dear mumsie & Jeed's MIL, gave me & my family some chungs for the forthcoming festival. I took one with me to the office for breakfast this morning. 2 minutes in the microwave with a tiny sprinkling of water over the leaves.....

Have a look! Aren't they lovely? Flavourful glutinous rice, a meaty piece of chicken, dried mushroom, dried prawn, salted egg yolk and chestnut. The portion was absolutely correct too for a not too heavy breakfast. I was so happy as it kept me going until dinner (yes, I am on yet another diet)..

Thank you, Auntie, for always thinking of me. Your Ba Chang is deelicious!!

More from here and here..

It's absolutely halal as well. Isn't this a lovely way to share a traditional Chinese festival?

p.s. A.... my sis and her hub enjoyed the chung too and asked me to thank your mumsie on their behalf..

Healthy Dinner

2009-04-24T19:35:00.002+08:00

Here is someone's healthy dinner tonight - mixed grains & rice, with tomatoes and lean chicken. With cucumbers.. and chorizo. Eat with chilli oil.

Roast Chicken, Mashed Potatoes & Sauteed Mushrooms

2009-04-19T21:35:00.002+08:00

Last night's dinner for the kids.

Garlic sauteed mushrooms with a little dollop of mayonnaise.

Roast chicken with caramelised onions.

Creamy Mashed Potatoes with Mushrooms, Onions AND cheese. (This is Mark's creation).

Vegs Stir-fry

2009-04-19T21:26:00.002+08:00

2 types of vegetables I made recently.

Last week.

Cauliflower, oyster mushrooms, carrot, dried shiitake mushrooms and almonds.

Tonight - mangetout, carrots, red peppers, brocolli, wood's ear, baby corn, almonds and tinned button mushrooms. Stirfry with garlic, light soy, white pepper and oyster sauce.

Basic Batter

2009-04-19T21:20:00.002+08:00

For Katia who left a message on the tag board, here is the recipe for a basic batter - you can use this for fish, bananas, yam, pumpkin, squid or prawns, or other kinds of vegetables such as onion, egg plant, etc.

- 2 cups of self raising flour
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
- salt & white pepper
- water
- 3 small ice-cubes
- 1 teaspoon oil

Just mix together until lump free and a thick batter is formed.

If you are rushed for time, omit ice-cubes and oil.

Deep Fried Mushrooms

2009-04-19T07:54:00.002+08:00

Deep Fried Mushrooms.

It makes me happy when I get asked to cook a particular something for my kids - Mark asked for this yesterday and luckily, SS had some firm, fresh, and uncompletely unbruised white mushrooms on their shelves. I removed the stalks and fried them separately. They were delicious too! The dip was a simple one of grated garlic, mayonnaise and spring onions. Would have been better if I added tomato & chilli sauce but I did not have them in the fridge.

I used 1.5 tubs of mushrooms (each costing approx $3.20) - it's so cheap and easy to make this at home - restaurants charge up to $8 for a plate of 6 pcs with a tiny salad garnish on the side. The oil can be re-used once so there is not too much wastage.

Bobby Chinn

2009-04-17T20:22:00.002+08:00

What's better than getting up close and personal with a celebrity chef and having his undivided time for half an hour prior to the cooking demo this afternoon?
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Coming this close to his tools of the trade and having him explain each and every item to all of us!!!

I thought this was the best part of the entire afternoon and I am so glad I asked him to show us his tools.

Getting into the lift with him. (hehe).

Pot Roast Guinea Fowl

2009-04-12T20:58:00.014+08:00

Our friends S&H gave us two guinea fowls when they came over for the Peking Duck dinner. The fowls are from McFarm. I've never cooked this myself before, however Wm has cooked ginger wine with them and herb tonic soup too.

So here we go - 2 whole bulbs garlic, 15 shallots, 2 large onions and 4 bay leaves. Clean/trim the birds, there's quite a lot of fat under the skin. One was left whole, the other halved.

Here I've dusted the fowls with salt, black pepper and flour. I browned them thoroughly on my steak pan. The aromatics were browned separately in my dutch oven.

We interrupt this collage of photos to show a bored little girl playing outside in the rain, she added washing liquid to the tiled floor to create a slippery surface.

Next, the two half fowls were browned. I dusted rosemary and thyme onto the birds too. You want high enough heat to brown the skins but not hot enough to burn the oil so be a little careful, keep your eye on the flames and adjust accordingly.

The nicely browned skins will give so much flavour. Add the birds to the dutch oven, add more rosemary, thyme and dried parsley. I should really be using fresh herbs but oh well.

Then a good half bottle of white. Reduce reduce reduce, at this point I was really really torn - recipe books dictate adding a good quality stock you here - but it's a Sunday, I'm not going to make any - no thank you. SO. I had to reach for the Bisto jar - a tablespoon or so of chicken Bisto was added. eeeksss... But I wanted a rich slurpy gravy so don't shoot me.

No water was added at all - it was supposed to be a pot roast. Put lid on and simmer slowly. I added a tankard of red after an hour.

The birds needed almost 2.5 hours of cooking time to tenderise and soften them. But look at the gravy at the end - it was thick, shiny and so rich and flavourful.... (I was a bit caught up reading naughty bidarlah's blog, I almost forgot to take the pan off the fire).

Overall, I thought it was good, the meat was dark and falling off the bone; however breast meat was dry - did I make the dreaded mistake of overcooking to beyond redemption?

Some of us had rice.

And some had garlic pasta.

I really like looking at food posts with lots of pics but I must admit I have overdone it slightly here. hehe - I hope you enjoy them nonetheless :D

Irish Coffee

2009-04-12T20:11:00.005+08:00

NON-HALAL POST

How to make Irish Coffee at home.

Whip some pouring cream to soft peak consistency. For further excitement, add dash of whisky and little soft brown sugar to cream before whisking. Do not overwhisk! At best, the cream will become too stiff and at worst, a runny mess.

Put metal spoons into Irish Coffee glasses. This will stop glasses from cracking when boiling hot water is added to coffee granules. (Note: I bought these glasses from Yaohan at Seri Complex all those years ago, they have been used numerous times and so far I'm so glad they have been no cracks at all, I still have all 8 pieces). I guess you can warm the glasses in hot water too if you wanted too.

Add instant coffee and whisky into glasses, with some sugar. I'm using a 12 year old aged Dewar's...... Omit sugar for people who do not like sugar but personally I find a little improves the overall taste.

Add just boiled water. Quick stir.

Top with soft cream drizzled over the back of a spoon. You need a bit of practice for this. If you do this carefully, the cream will not sink to the bottom of the glass but will rest on the surface of the coffee creating a soft, creamy, fluffy layer.

Do not mix cream into coffee but sip through it.

Of course, omit alcohol if you wish.

There you are, if you've had this in a restaurant and paid $15 - $18 for a glass, try this at home. Use cheaper whisky like Red Label :-) for a more economical version.

p.s I don't know much but I know it is completely wrong to use the squirty 'cream' from a spray can for this recipe.

Porridge

2009-04-10T21:57:00.003+08:00

Down with flu all week, I've hardly entered the kitchen but let me share some porridge pics with you. This porridge was made from a roast duck carcass. I added dried scallops & oysters and moss for extra taste and served up with century and salted eggs, fried shallots, ginger slices, soy sauce, white pepper and sesame oil.

Do leave me a note if you love porridge too :-)

HK March 2009

2009-04-08T20:00:00.002+08:00

I never miss going to this Teo Chew eatery whenever I'm in HK. In the day, they serve the
freshest fish paste made into any shape imaginable, fish, meat, beef & squid balls as well as tripe, brisket and fried fish skin. In the evening, out comes various Teo Chew dishes such as braised goose, whole cuttlefish, tofu, peanuts all braising slowly in their individual claypots.

This is a bowl of broad rice noodles with fish roll, fish cake and seaweed in a delicious clear broth, topped with fried garlic, coriander and spring onions. Eat with chilli oil and red vinegar.

Squid balls (very tender and tasty).

Mee Siam - yeah!!

2009-04-06T19:53:00.003+08:00

Saturday, 4th April 2009

Z invited us for tea and we had her mum's fabulous mee siam.

And chicken wings.

The mee siam is served with prawn sambal.

and bean paste spicy gravy.

Top with chives, boiled eggs, lime and fried tofu.

See how beautiful the food is.

Another look.

My serving.

And now with gravy added. The odd lighting is due to me trying to lessen the flash by putting my finger partially over it.

For dessert, A brought a cooling 'cheng tng' and I brought some mango pudding (made from a box - only effort was chopping up some mangoes to add to it) to go with curry puffs and butter cake.

Thank you for inviting us to tea, Z. Now everyone knows where the best mee siam ever is!!

Dinner Party - Sat, 4th April 2009

2009-04-05T08:14:00.004+08:00

Some good friends came round last night to share a meal with us. The star of the night was definitely:

PEKING DUCK!!

First time in our household. Lovely shreds of roast duck and crispy skin on a bed of sliced cucumbers, spring onions, hoisin sauce enveloped in a homemade dough wrapper.

The duck was bought in HK and frozen, then flown home with me recently.

The table - from top - a plate of finely sliced iceburg lettuce, roast goose, a platter of sliced cucumber, spring onions and hoisin sauce, shredded roast duck with lots of crispy skin, grilled vegetables and dough wrappers. Condiments were chili oil and plum sauce.

The dough wrappers made by Wm.

Grilled vegetables platter served cold.

Another look at the shredded roast duck.

Cucumber, spring onions and hoisin sauce.

Choice pieces of roast goose, we served the best parts only.

That's me and helper working on the birds.

And a candlelit picture of my dining table - I've Santana on, a glass of wine in my hand, house is prepared, kitchen under control and all logistics planned. There's nothing I like more than moments like these, waiting for lovely friends to come round to share a meal together, and the certainty that the night will be another fabulous one.

And a lit shot of the table.

Right now, I have to start preparations for Hazel's belated birthday party - I have 15 children ages ranging from 4 to 12 coming round in 5 hours, anticipating traditional party games, food and fun! Have a great Sunday, everyone!

2009-04-03T22:22:00.002+08:00

Having some friends over tomorrow night and I made 2 platters of grilled vegetables tonight to go with our meal tomorrow. Red, yellow, green peppers, carrots, brinjals, baby corn, sugar snap peas, onions and mushrooms tossed with garlic, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, light herbs, salt & black pepper.

After this picture was taken, I scattered a little sea salt over the vegetables, and added a few droplets more of balsamic vinegar and olive oil for extra seasoning. There will also be roast duck which I will attempt to serve Peking Duck style (with dough wrappers, hoisin sauce, spring onions & cucumber) and also a whole roast goose.....

Sunday, 29th March 2009

2009-04-03T22:09:00.003+08:00

Dinner at home. Mashed potatoes (lite version) - boiled potatoes mashed with salt, black pepper, butter and 3 tablespoons of milk. I reduced the amount of butter and milk for a healthier version and it was just as good; and created grooves on the top to obtain a crispy finish.

Sirlion steak, with sauteed mushrooms with garlic and mash.

Hazel gets terribly annoyed but I still cut up her meat for her, trimming away gristle and fat.

Mark's portion.

Tues, 31st March 2009

2009-04-03T21:56:00.002+08:00

Went out with me old mates, K & J, for drinks and dinner. The spring chicken was good, nicely marinated with garlic and light herbs whilst the meehoon was a total disaster - all broken and mushy. We were having such a good time, I didn't have the heart to complain, etc, so I didn't.

After dinner, we did what we always do after dinner when we were in our late teens, a CAR RIDE, but this time with a purpose.... ;-) It was such fun... ^-^

HK

2009-04-03T07:21:00.003+08:00

With a little plum sauce...

HK roast duck..... there is another one in my freezer which I brought home.. roll on Saturday night!

Replies

2009-03-29T16:42:00.004+08:00

Hi Siti - actually the egg tart I had in the post below is the 'ordinary' one and not Portuguese egg tart - I had some but just realised I did not take any pictures this time. The pic here is from my 2007 trip. I think Portuguese egg tarts are slightly 'burnt' on the top and has a more creme brulee texture while the custard in the other egg tart is smoother, silkier and paler in colour. What do you think? And it would be great if you will share a picture of your Portuguese Egg Tarts. There are some pictures of both here...

And to Otaki - Hello! The beef brisket noodles are from a little shop near where I was staying in HK. I wish I can make it too....

Kolomee

2009-03-29T15:42:00.008+08:00

I've been asked on a few occasions for my recipe for kolomee so here is a step by step for those keen to know how it's done (my way).

First slice shallots and fry them in lots of oil with a sprinkle of salt. When shallots are lightly browned and crunchy, remove them to a bowl with some of the oil. Leave some shallots in the remaining oil in the pan.

To the remaining oil in the pan, add the following: oyster sauce, dark soy, white pepper, sugar, sesame oil and water. I also add a little light sweet soy sauce which I buy from HK but if you don't have this, its ok. Boil gently to reduce slightly. Keep aside. This will form your mixing sauce; I will call it kolomee sauce from here on.

Mince chicken breast finely and marinate with light soy, white pepper, oyster sauce and sesame oil.

In a clean pan, add a few drops of oil and saute garlic and shallots till lightly browned and fragrant, add minced chicken and saute till chicken mince is brown and separated. Add finely diced dried mushrooms which have been softened by soaking in hot water. Add more of the same ingredients you marinated the chicken in and some dark soy as well and water. Simmer gently and thicken slightly with cornstarch. Put aside.

In a clean non-stick pan, make some egg omelettes and slice them finely.

Rinse the oil off the fishcakes with hot water and dry out in a pan withut oil. Slice finely and put aside.

There it's almost done now, here is a picture of all the ingredients you have prepared in the steps mentioned above. Top - Chicken and Mushroom Sauce, 2nd row - oil coated fresh egg noodles, kolomee sauce, fried shallots and a different type of flour coated fresh egg noodles. 3rd row - finely chopped spring onions and egg omelette and 4th row - fish cake and prawn sticks (optional - I just happened to buy some that day from the fish cake factory as they were amazingly fresh). All you need is some blanched chye sim (in water with a bit of oil and salt added).

To assemble, add some kolomee sauce and fried shallots into a large plate. Briefly blanch the fresh egg noodles to remove excess oil. Drain noodles thoroughly and add to the plate and mix well. Top with everything and serve with chilli oil. There you go - homestyle kolomee.

A bit time consuming due to the many ingredients but worth the effort.

In the picture above, I used oil coated fresh egg noodles and the cooking method is slightly easier than the method for cooking flour coated egg noodles. For flour coated egg noodles, lower the noodles into briskly boiling water, remove after approx 1.5/2 minutes (don't wait for water to come back to boil), drain noodles in a strainer and rinse with room temperature boiled water. Allow water in the pot to come back to briskly boiling point, lower noodles and remove after approx 1.5 mins or when water is almost boiling. Any longer and the noodles will lose their 'springiness'.

I find the flour coated noodles more challenging to cook, and now prefer to use the oil coated noodles. Oh dear, I am rambling on a bit and I hope you're all not scratching your heads with a puzzled expression. hehe - anyway, any questions just ask k.

Good luck and I would love to hear from anyone who will try give this recipe a go.

Beef Brisket Noodles

2009-03-28T08:24:00.003+08:00

Yummmsssszzzz.. Piping hot tenderly braised beef tendon & brisket, springy egg noodles, flavourful broth and lots of chopped fresh spring onions. Eat with chilli oil with crispy bits of fried garlic, shallots and dried chilli....

And a wobbly eggy tart just emerged from the oven, with layers of crispy pastry; eaten on the streets just outside the bakery.

Back from HK

2009-03-28T07:25:00.008+08:00

I'm back - shopped, ate, laughed, walked a lot and barely slept all 7 nights. Lots of food pics coming up but first, a handbag post.

The sales assistant (they are called Fashion Advisors in HK) was very patient and I had a lovely time going around the shop with her, playing with a so many lovely bags, while Hazel and my niece, sat on the couches reading their books.

At Pacific Place.

Closer now.

Here it is being lovingly packed, and the girls posing outside the store.

And here is the bag!!

On a packed train on the way home, I was lucky to find a seat and don't worry, the precious cargo was not on the floor, it was resting on my feet!

And here is the owner modeling the bag - you can carry it on the arm or on the shoulder.

Bye2 - it was fun to have you for a while... hehe. Enjoy your bag, Mrs 'x'!

Kolomee Sauce

2009-03-19T05:42:00.002+08:00

Hi to Mimi and Meezah who asked for the recipe for kolomee sauce. Soon I will put up a step by step to kolomee but in the meantime the sauce consists of oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, white pepper, sesame oil, water cooked in shallot oil, and some fried shallots.

Sunday, 15th March 2009

2009-03-19T05:10:00.008+08:00

After an entire afternoon of fun, I cooked (just managed to) a prawn pasta for everyone.

Al dente Spaghetti tossed in extra virgin olive oil, finely grated garlic, Maldon sea salt, cracked black pepper, sauteed onions and sea fresh peeled prawns.

Tasty.

Carbo's are extremely good after an advance birthday celebration.

Here's Mark and all working their way through a heaped plate of fried fish. With lime soy sauce. Again, they are all huddled around the tiny kitchen table.

Someone's birthday cupcakes which we had earlier that afternoon.

Peekabooooo...... I see you....

Lotsa happy pouty kisses - muaawaaaahs!

Happy birthday again to the birthday girl.

Weds, 17th March 2009

2009-03-19T04:53:00.003+08:00

So we went out last night and ordered shrimp paste fried chicken, salt/pepper deep fried squid, fuzzy butter fried prawns, deep fried mashed tofu and coffee lamb. (4xs fried there).

And how many of us were there? Just 3. Women.

Best Mee Siam in the world

2009-03-16T02:50:00.000+08:00

Almond Jelly with Longans

2009-03-15T07:39:00.002+08:00

I can't bake and working with precise measurements fills me with dread and rebellion so most of my 'desserts' are either bought/donated or simple like this.

Make the jelly by mixing almond jelly powder with water. Bring to the boil. Cool slightly and allow to set in fridge.

Cut into any shape.

Open a tin of longans, tip into a bowl syrup and all, add jelly.

There you go, bung into the fridge and serve with lotsa ice.

It was a good excuse to use my lovely crystal footed bowl (one of a set) which is all of 18 years old, I used a melamine serving spoon as anything harder may cause scratches or chips.

Salmon Sandwiches

2009-03-14T20:41:00.002+08:00

The salmon mayonnaise is great as a dip or in sandwiches.

Mix good quality mayonnaise, grainy mustard, dried parsley, salt and black pepper together.

Get hold of a tin of salmon - remove skin and bones (although if I were eating the sandwiches myself, I would keep the bones - they are a good source of calcium), add chopped red onion; they are really sweet but a regular onion will be ok too. Mush them up and store in fridge till needed.

Get some fresh wholemeal bread, spread salmon paste on one side, add sliced cucumber. Cut into any desired shape. Moisten a piece of kitchen paper with boiled water, cover sandwiches, seal with clingwrap and keep in fridge till guests arrive.

Easy right? No mystery, just a simple sandwich which is totally delicious.

Garnish just before serving.

More tea photos

2009-03-13T21:08:00.004+08:00

The menu..

And more table/food shots.

Ladies Tea - Fri, 13th March 2009

2009-03-13T19:35:00.005+08:00

I had 3 beautiful ladies (and 1 extreme cute little young lady) over for tea this afternoon. We had a leisurely afternoon of food, fun, laughter and GREAT conversation. We sat in the living room and with the laden dining table close by, each of us made little trips to it for plate top-ups. Thank you for coming, ladies, I had a wonderful afternoon; and thank you again for the gifts you brought.

Here is the tea station which I set up near the dining table; I served 3 types of coffee (Ipoh White Coffee, Instant 3 in 1 Nescafe and Nescafe Gold) and 6 types of tea (Camomile & Spearmint, Lemon & Ginger, Green Tea & Jasmine, Peppermint, Japanese Green Tea and Chinese Dragon Well Green Tea). I had prepared fresh mint tea in the kitchen but forgot to serve it earlier so I'm drinking it now!

After this picture was taken, I set up a kettle on the table. There are 2 bottles of water for cooling down very hot coffee or tea and the xtra large coffee mugs will suit someone who loves a big coffee. There are little sachets of brown sugar in the basket, and a little jug of milk and my sugar pot became a little receptacle for used teabags and wrappers. Very much, an all in one service station. I was almost sad to put everything away this evening.

Cold drinks - orange juice with bitter lemon, ice lemon tea with fresh lemon slices and bottled green tea with plenty of ice to cool us down earlier in the afternoon when it was sweltering outside.

The menu:

Homemade Kolomee - extremely fresh - I bought the fishcake and noodles this morning from the fishcake factory in Menglait. And I made the meat sauce, kolomee sauce, fried shallots, blanched vegs, fried shallots, egg omelette myself at 11 am.

Cucur Udang and Fried Chicken Wings.

Crispy Cucur Udang with Shredded Carrot, Cabbage & Chillies

Salmon & Cucumber Sandwiches. Bread was bought this morning from SS and the salmon mayonnaise was made from a tin of wild sockeye salmon with skin and bones removed, Hellman's mayonnaise, grainy mustard, sweet red onion, a tiny sprinkling of parsley and salt/black pepper and some thinly sliced cucumber.

Spicy Boneless Chicken Curry with 'roti jala pancakes'. The helper deboned the chicken legs but I skinned and diced the meat myself, carefully trimming off the fats under the skin. Added one diced potato too.

The Tumeric Flavoured Pancakes.

A teensy serving.

DESSERTS
Almond Jelly with Longans - icy cold and refreshing.

Chocolate Fudge Cake and Carrot Cake - bought.

Wm made 10 individual portions of sago. We served them chilled with coconut milk and gula melaka.

Here you can see a little plate of Japanese jelly with peaches, some chocolates and some assorted kuehs.

Overall table shots.

More.

More pics on facebook soon!

8 more days

2009-03-11T07:40:00.002+08:00

8 more days to here. Is it possible to become a 12 from a 14 in 8 days?

Sun, 8th March 2009

2009-03-08T21:13:00.004+08:00

Beef with ginger, spring onions and black pepper.

Some chuck sliced and tenderised by heavy bashing using the back of a cleaver. Marinate with oyster & light soy, sesame oil and black pepper.

Lots of shallots, garlic and ginger in a very hot wok.

Push aside, allow oil to heat up and add beef. Don't touch! Let beef brown before stirring.

Add oyster sauce & dark soy sauce, and extra black pepper. Then sweet mild spring onions. Stir well, add a teensy bit of water for gravy, stir and serve.

Here it is.

Eat watching videojug.

With rice.

Mon, 23rd Feb 2009

2009-02-24T21:38:00.003+08:00

Dinner for 4.

Two types of vegetables cooked on the grill pan, with olive oil, salt & minced garlic.

Then 4 pieces of thick cut sirloin cooked approx 4 minutes each side. With a quarter turn after 2 minutes to create the grill marks.

Allowing the meat to tent (cover with foil) and rest for 5 minutes before serving. I've never tented steak before but my favourite TV BBQ chef never misses this step.

Wow, he is right - juicy tender meat.

Some golden roasted potatoes.

Some attempt at food styling.

Steak and mustard, anybody? I think I have almost achieved perfect medium rare.

With meat so good, all you need is a little sprinkle of sea salt, some freshly ground black pepper and the all essential English mustard.

Weekend

2009-02-22T21:32:00.005+08:00

Thursday, 19th Feb

Oysters and assorted cake at the Sheraton.

Saturday, 22nd Feb

One of my favourite vegs.

With garlic, shallots, dried shrimps, belachan from Hong Kong and chillies.

And a simple no frills fried meehoon, with slice chicken, dried mushrooms, vegetables and eggs.

Proving that good food needn't be complicated to make nor expensive :-)

Quiet weekend...

2009-02-15T21:08:00.005+08:00

Sunday - 15th Feb 2009 - Cooked vegs with coconut milk with tofupok. Made extra dried shrimp with shrimp paste and chillies to dust over the top. The coconut milk gravy was quite thin and not very flavourful, but the topping helped. I made it this way so everyone could adjust the degree of 'shrimpiness/spiciness' in their gravy.

The cucumbers were quite sweet and crunchy.

Saturday, 14th Feb 2009 - we had porridge tonight - yeah, I know porridge on Valentine's night when the rest of the world is indulging in truffles and chocolate and champagne - I could cry :-)

So here are some salted eggs and century eggs.

I deep fried a little meehoon (as topping for the porridge) - made this simple sauce of light soy, sesame oil & white pepper.

Some chopped coriander and sliced ginger. Toasted white sesame seeds.

Cakoi.

Porridge with condiments - the porridge is boiled with carrots, dried scallops, minced meat and moss.

And delicious with toasted sesame seeds. Our helper is really good at making Cantonese porridge - the smooth creamy type. If she went to work for another Cantonese family after us, I think they will approve of her porridge too.

Kids' activities - Hazel joined a swiming competition and here are the boys learning traditional kite making.

And Mark and his friends on the PS3 - this is my bedroom by the way.

My week

2009-02-14T15:32:00.007+08:00

Monday 9th Feb- Dinner at the ABs - thanks to Reeda and Zedah and their adorable kids.

Tuesday 10th Feb - Lunch with Alina at Twelv - we had the buffet brunch consisting of breakfast cereals, mushroom omelette, lemon dory fish, grilled chicken (delicious), noodles, potatoes, sausages, vegetables, fruits. The owner gave us some spring rolls to try. Thank you!

Wednesday 11th Feb - Lunch with Z - we went to Seri Kandi at Kiulap - lovely buffet spread consisting of salads, soup, several main courses, rice & vegetables (I loved the okras and had several helpings), dessert. Great value at $8.50 per person and good food too. It was such a nice surprise to bump into him and her here.

Thursday 12th Feb - Dinner at N & S's - N has a lovely pad by the river, we went out to the balcony after dinner, it is so quiet and peaceful here. I sat on a huge tall wrought iron chair and stared into the darkness and my mind was temporarily quietened. (At times like these, I wish I could still have a cigarette - no, I didn't).. We had Pate, Greek salad & Seafood Pasta.

Friday 13th Feb - Lunch with J at Excapade, we shared a prawn tempura, chicken teppanyaki & California maki. I frightened the order taker by saying very confidently "and a chicken tempura please"!! I was quite bewildered when she said "we don't have chicken tempura"!!! J & I talked till 2.30 pm - they were about to lock up when we left.

In the evening, had a visit from S, H & UR

What a nice week it was - saw so many of my favourite people. Talked, laughed, and ATE a lot.... :-)

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Fri, 13th Feb 2009

2009-02-14T15:15:00.004+08:00

Last night was so fun - hehe - we had a late CNY visit from some friends, and UR had just come back from his holiday in Perth and he came bearing two boxes of Apple Strudel. We had some VRBs, and at the end of the evening, after dessert (sago gula melaka), I made a refreshing garden party drink of Pimms, cucmber cubes, orange juice, lime juice, frozen strawberries and a tin of soda and for good measure, a bit of redbull. (I didn't have any ginger ale so just made things up as I went along)..

We had cashew nuts with garlic, roasted garlic/anchovy olive oil dip, cheese & crackers, pate, meehoon putih, Japanese seaweed and peanuts.

Sat, 14th Feb 2009

2009-02-14T15:02:00.003+08:00

My lunch - leftover pasta with roasted garlic & anchovy olive oil.

Hazel's lunch - Pate with toast, she had 2 slices of bread; and also a roasted chicken salad sandwich with Milo.

So here she is demonstrating how to eat pate with toast.

Mark and his friend Lennard had tuna sandwiches, chicken salad sandwiches and apple strudel.

Fri, 13th Feb 2009

2009-02-14T08:51:00.005+08:00

Had some lovely people coming over, so made some meehoon putih just in case they got hungry later (and they surely did).

Fry garlic, shallots and lots of dried shrimp. I used very little oil, and the heat was turned down low. The shrimp mixture was effectively roasted till it was fragrant and the mixture was not oily at all. Turn heat up. Add some peeled prawns.

And sliced fishcake. See - very little oil right?

Add meehoon. Mix well - don't break the strands! Season well with salt and white pepper.

Add choi sum.

Then lots of eggssss.

And serve with a lime chilli soy sauce and coriander.

It's really delicious! And easy.

Pate - Thurs, 12th Feb 2009

2009-02-14T08:34:00.003+08:00

Bought a kilo of chicken livers and made these to give away. I hope you'll like them folks. Happy Valentine's Day! xx

My pate is FULL of flavour from butter, tarragon, thyme, mixed herbs, salt, black pepper, cream..... Eat with plain crackers, toasted pita or grainy bread.

Fri, 13th Feb 2009

2009-02-14T08:25:00.002+08:00

Came home from work and saw this happy bunch who had gone off looking for bamboo for a fishing rod. The boys grabbed some of my peeled prawns and went off fishing somewhere in Subok and came home when it got dark. They're really sweet together.

Handbag again.

2009-02-14T08:14:00.006+08:00

Here is S again with another bag from her impressive haul. Enjoy, ladies!!!

Slim hips and a nice bag - I hate ya, man. Nah, just kidding - love you lots xxx

Sunday, 11th Feb 2009

2009-02-14T01:45:00.012+08:00

Chap Goh Mei - 15th day of Chinese New Year. Whipped up another feast consisting of all the children's favourites and food which we have had the week before.

Prawns with garlic, shallots and ginger.

Steamed fish again! The last of the 3 groupers, cooked by Wm.

Children's plates, loaded with their favourite food.

The STAR of the dinner - fish soup with tofu, tomatoes, salted vegetables, coriander, seaweed. A true labour of love, it took Wm 2 days to make this, first painstakingly making the fish stock (from fish head/bones and a whole fish - panfry, boil, mash, strain), then adding rest of the ingredients.

Table shots. By the time the 3 kgs of chicken wings was done, I think we had already eaten half of them, Dom said he has travelled far and wide to many continents and nothing beats home fried chicken wings. I think he has earned himself a permanent spot on my dining table.

Selina's favourite - kangkong with sambal. I fried 6 bunches. Yes, SIX bunches of kangkong.

Fried TOFU again.

Here I am in front of a huge wok frying away in the garden, feeding the mosquitoes, and having a beer.

The sambal mix - 2 bowls of dried shrimp, belachan, chillies, garlic & shallots.

And the 3 kgs of wings, marinating away.

The children's table.

Tues, 10th Feb 2009

2009-02-10T21:03:00.002+08:00

Tonight's dinner was squids with onions, garlic, shallots, ginger with broccoli.

With a sticky blackpepper sauce.

Serve with rice.

Mon, 9th Feb 2009

2009-02-09T23:07:00.003+08:00

You would get excited too, wouldn't you, to receive a menu such as this in the middle of a very blue Monday afternoon?

Antipasti
Bruschetta (Fresh tomato & basil on bread)

Pasticcio di fegato del pollo (Chicken Liver Pate)

Frittelle ripiene del gamberetto (Cucur Udang)

Minestra
Minestra piccante dei frutti di mare (Spicy Seafood Soup)

Primi
Linguini gamberetti dell'aglio (Linguini with garlic prawns)
Pesci di basilico e di pomodoro (Fish with basil and tomato sauce)
Funghi Saltati e pesto (Sauteed mushrooms & pesto on the side)

Dessert
Mars Bars Cheese Cake
Coffee & Tea

DINNER AT THE AB's - Many thanks for the lovely meal and company!

Mr & Mrs AB plating the food, watched by their very well-behaved children.

Dessert made by Mr AB's che, Alina. "Diet low calorie cake"

Despite its appearance, this cake really is light and not too overpoweringly sweet - yummy, Alina!

Friday, 6th Feb 2009

2009-02-08T07:11:00.007+08:00

After a crazy day out at sea, we popped over to Jerudong fish market where PT and Wm bought 3 large groupers. As soon as we arrived home, a huge one was cut into two and instantly steamed the Cantonese way lightly marinated with salt, white pepper, ginger & a dash of light soy.

Once cooked, pour away some of the stock, and add a nice light sauce of light soy, sugar, water, white pepper and a lot of spring onions. Then in boiling hot oil, quickly saute some sliced ginger and pour over the fish and wait for the exciting sizzling sound.

Serve immediately with a lot of white rice. The sauce will be amazing. Every drop was mopped up.

We had 2 plates of fish, steamed in 2 separate woks simultaneously.

After the harrowing day, if not for my calming, comforting rice porridge, I would have had to reach for artificial means.

Look at this crazy lot pretending to have fun, trying to persuade me to get into the water. They saw small corals, darting little colourful fishes and tiny little sparkles of jelly fish which stung ever so slightly. The quietness of the sea was only disturbed by their excited calls to each other.

This is me here, huddled in a huge warm beach towel, drinking a cup of hot lemon Earl Grey and reading the paper while the rest continued their relentless torture of themselves by skiing, wakeboarding and more crazy go's on the flying fish. Their self-inflicted torture continued for two whole hours. I shut my ears to their whoops and shouts of excitement and still cocooned in my towel, I went on to a nice nap on the lounger.

Chicken Liver Pate - Sat, 7th Feb 2009

2009-02-07T23:46:00.005+08:00

Tonight I made some chicken liver pate.

As with almost everything I make, it's really easy with a few ingredients. Lightly brown some garlic, onions and cleaned chicken livers in a very hot pan, add all kinds of herbs, black pepper and salt. You want the livers to be nicely browned (absolutely essential) - then add cream.

Simmer gently till flavours are well incorporated and the sauce is thick.

At this point, you can stop right there and have this over hot crusty bread. But pate it is, and pate it will be so carry on.

Blitz roughly in a food processor and put them into plastic containers - I would normally use some nice ones but I'm planning to give these away so I'm using plastic. Top with craisins and melted butter.

I think I might have over-salted these but we'll see tomorrow! Still getting used to the Maldon - pictured with Bolt (Hazel's new Siamese fighting fish who is hiding amongst the roots).

Here are 2 large tubs and 2 small ones, just before lids were put on and before going into the fridge.

Till tomorrow.

Tues, 3rd Feb 2009

2009-02-05T05:32:00.002+08:00

This is very delicious!! Homemade radish cake (lopakguo) made by Wm.

Panfried till crispy and served with HK chilli oil!

My breakfast in the office.

It was really early - but sunlight was filtering through the windows onto my plate.

Green Tea & Lo Pak Guo breakfast served on Noritake crockery.

RECIPES

2009-02-05T05:09:00.005+08:00

For Justin. Hello Justin, I hope your Mum will make this for you soon, or surprise her by making it for her :-)

Salt & Pepper Spiced Tofu

2 blocks fresh tofu

Cornstarch, five spice powder, salt

Garlic, Shallots finely chopped

1 chilli finely chopped

1. Cut tofu into large chunks, pat dry with kitchen paper, lightly dust with cornstarch flavoured with five spice powder and salt.

2. Deep Fry (or panfry) till crispy on the outside.

3. Drain on kitchen paper and put on a nice plate.

4. Fry garlic, shallots till crispy, add chilli last and season with more salt & five spice powder.

5. Drizzle oil mixture on top of tofu (or you can add tofu to the oil mixture while it is still in the pan). I have a spiced salt which I buy from HK and I sprinkle a little of this over the tofu for extra taste but if you don't have this, don't worry, just the ingredients mentioned will be absolutely fine.

For Liya (Hi, hope this works and let me know how it turns out).

MARINADE FOR FRIED CHICKEN

Light Soy, Oyster Sauce, Salt, White Pepper, Chinese Cooking Wine (optional), Grated Ginger, Sesame Oil & pinch of sugar.

Wash and dry chicken parts or wings, drain thoroughly, marinate for at least 6 hours. Dust with cornstarch and deep fry in a large wok. Serve with any type of chilli sauce.

Mon, 2nd Feb 2009

2009-02-05T04:44:00.002+08:00

Home dinner - Steamed Garlic Salted Chicken (cornfed free range), Baby kailan with ikan bilis, vegetable and egg curry.

And Pimms & Ginger Ale with Lime, Frozen Strawberries and Cucumber Cubes.

Sun, 1st Feb 2009

2009-02-01T21:07:00.005+08:00

Happy February! Where did January go?

Tonight we had yet another dinner just to celebrate being together and appreciating all that we have been blessed with. And as it's the 7th day of the New Year, it was everyone's birthday.

So here goes; fried gingery chicken wings which all the kids LOVE. I spent a good hour frying 2 kgs of wings and nuggets. Crunchy juicy golden brown wings which disappeared before your very eyes.

Then I made a salt/pepper spiced tofu.

And for starters a salmon yusang. We don't usually have this but took the opportunity this year as the kids were home and it would be a fun experience for everyone.

We all yelled LoHei!!!

And a vegetable beancurd skin egg curry was also on the menu. Added some cashews to my portion. It's yummy!

No frills home dinner with everything on the table, containers, sauce bottles, elbows, etc.

Sat, 31st Jan 2009

2009-02-01T06:48:00.004+08:00

A vegetarian dinner.

Multi-grains and a leftover dish.

Brinjals with eggs, and beans sauteed with tomatoes, onions and herbs (served cold).

Falafel (from a box).

Sometimes it's nice to eat huddled over the tiny kitchen table (managed to squeeze five around the table which had one edge against a wall) - those with sharp eyes will notice some powdery stuff around the rim of the pot - don't worry, someone had an unfortunate incident with a tub of kueh mors and dropped the entire thing into the pot, scattering kueh mors and sugar everywhere - hehe.

Some pre-dinner snacks - garlic keropok with pickled vegs (acar).

Sat, 31st Jan 2009

2009-01-31T22:06:00.003+08:00

I asked Z for some potato patties on Thursday and not only did I get potatoes, I also had SOTO AYAM to go with them.

Some of you will recognise Z's Mum's famous Soto as I've been lucky enough to have eaten it on several occasions. It is absolutely delicious and the best I've had. Nothing I've eaten comes close.

Here it is; we have soup, potato, rice cakes, meehoon, shredded chicken, tailed crunchy beansprouts, fried shallots, daun sup & spring onions, chilli paste.

Just one of the few portions I had.

I also had a takeaway to take home.... (yes, I know I am greedy).

We managed to get 4 portions out of the takeaway; 2 small ones which I had late in the afternoon, and medium portions for PT and Wm.

Thank you, Z, for the many sotos and for feeding me!

One more.

Porridge

2009-01-31T21:40:00.002+08:00

This is yummy rice porridge boiled to a gruel with carrots and dried scallops, eaten with fried fish, ginger slices, white pepper, light soy sauce and sesame oil. Porridge, to me, is like a cloak of warmth and comfort and so filling but so easy on the tummy. I can see myself eating this right into me old age.

Mind Games

2009-01-29T06:22:00.004+08:00

My dear friend J, gave me a pack of this recently. We spend hours together talking about procedures, methods, what's new, what's good/not, latest innovations and breakthroughs and are constantly updating each other with the latest findings.

So today somewhere on me is a little square of plaster (I'm supposed to leave it on for 24 hours) which is guaranteed to curb my appetite resulting in kgs and kgs of weight loss.

Brilliant! Just absolutely brilliant!!!!

One MUST believe. One must have faith.

CNY - Day 1 & 2

2009-01-28T04:18:00.009+08:00

Yes, I know this household consumes a lot of food and it never shows on anyone (well except one).. :-)

Day 1 - Mon, 26th Jan

Woke early and cooked this vegetarian 'chye' dish with 10 ingredients; beancurd stick, tofu cubes, wood's ear, bamboo pith, dried mushrooms, shittake mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, lily buds, Chinese long cabbage and vermicelli.

Here I am sauteing some garlic, shallots and ginger with some red preserved beancurd, and braising all the ingredients which require a longer cooking time.

In another huge wok, I fried the aromatics, then added Chinese cabbage.

Finally, tip the braised ingredients into the cabbage, and added vermicelli. Don't worry if it looks a bit watery or is slightly salty - the vermicelli will soon absorb the liquid & take on some saltiness.

Next, I fried a vegetarian kueh teow with a lot of choi sum, eggs, baby corn & mushrooms, and a fried yellow egg noodles with fish cake and prawns, mushrooms and vegetables.

This simple meal saw us through the entire day; each of us popping into the kitchen to help ourselves from the woks when hunger pangs strike in between cookies and snacks.

The children had some visitors and here they are setting off fireworks in the back garden.

Day 2 - Tues, 27th Jan

To 'open' the New Year, Wm and I jointly cooked lunch.

On the Menu:

Steamed cornfed chicken, chicken rice & ginger sauce

Another vegetarian dish of 2 types of tofu, lotus root, tofu pok, dried mushrooms, lily bud, water chestnuts, beancurd stick. Braise ingredients and top with panfried tofu, and let them stew together until the tofu absorbs some of the tasty braising liquid. This is quite healthy, all vegs and natural ingredients and contains only a tablespoon of oil. And of course, no msg.

Here is a black pepper stir fried stuffed tofu & prawn stick thingy.

Long Bean Omelette - we also had 2 other types of vegs - spinach with garlic and blanched lettuce leaves.

Table shots - Sauteed prawns with garlic, shallots, ginger, Chinese cooking wine, oyster sauce, light soy and a bit of sugar. The prawns were sea fresh, with a sweet flavour and crunchy texture. Worth the premium price paid for them.

A very home style no frills lunch with enough leftovers to feed the entire household for dinner too. Oh yes, there was also a huge watercress soup.

I will not mention the dreaded D word.

Happy New Year 2009 - Part I

2009-01-25T16:56:00.010+08:00

Gong Xi Fa Cai to everyone celebrating!

Thank you to all of you who left wishes on the tagbox. May the year of the Ox be a peaceful, prosperous and happy one for all of us.

Before I start on my New Year, a little note for Iskandar, Liza, Nonnie, Marul, Siti & Addy, Maurina, Pablo & Bunny, Sk. Khalid and Madam Tiff, Ciliqueen - how nice to meet all of you on Friday.

Huge thanks to Sk Khalid and Pablo for inviting me to the surprise birthday party for Madam Tiff - the food was delicious at the new Seri Kandi restaurant and the company was super, I really enjoyed the entertainment - 2 local comedians and although I did not catch most of their jokes (thanks, Liza for trying to explain some of them to me), it was tremendous fun watching their antics and the reaction from the audience; howls and tears of laughter, slapping of thighs and tables, and clutching of bellies and stomping of feet. Marul's facebook has priceless gems.

I hope you all had a wonderful NY's eve with your friends/family filled with happiness, fun and laughter. Ours was fabulous; great food, leisurely eating, pleasant wine, good company, lots of card games and monopoly, fireworks, and fun.

We had a steamboat for our NY eve dinner. Pretty easy to prepare and fuss free (well almost...).. Just pics for now - I'm really tired, was up at 6 am to cook 2 types of noodles and a vegetarian 'chai' dish and worked a fair bit getting the steamboat ready yesterday.

Have to be up early tomorrow as well as Wm and I are cooking lunch for 10.

Chinese New Year Eve Dinner - Sunday, 25th January 2009

The smaller table has 3 seating for non-seafood (Hazel) and vegetarians (Sil & H); the larger table has 6 seating.

I made a little fruit display from pomelos, pineapple and Mandarins.

What makes a real steamboat - sauces! Here are 2 types and a lot of salty crunchy shallots which everyone loves.

Dom's table setting (I think he probably had his porridge out of this bowl when he was a baby), and his place card is one which I made for Christmas 3 years ago. Mark's setting with a personalised placecard also from a few years ago.

Now food - nothing too dramatic; lots of stuffed tofu, prawn sticks, fish balls, eggs, fillet of fish, squid, sliced chicken thighs/drumsticks/eggs. 3 types of vegetables, 3 types of mushrooms - Shittake, Oyster and Enoki, tofu, baby corn and parsley/spring onions and kueh teow.

Vegetarian steamboat.

These sea prawns were crunchy sweeeettt fresh. The squid and fish fillets were marinated in the best marinade ever for seafood - salt, white pepper, Chinese wine, sesame oil and grated fresh ginger and a few drops of light soy sauce.

The stock was a simple one made with carrots, radish and mushrooms.

Monopoly and fireworks at the open field near our house.

At the stroke of midnight, thunderous fireworks were set off in our neighbourhood and from several households in the near distance; We joined in the merriment with our little selection and more noise was created by the aid of a large tin with several coins in it (PT), and clanging together 2 pot covers (Hazel).

We went to bed at 1 am, tired, exhausted, happy and full with the entire family under one roof. Everyone took a few pomelo leaves to shower with!

Beautiful young ladies.

Kung Hei Fatt Choy!!

Next post - Day 1 of Chinese New Year.

Chinese Chicken Salad Part II

2009-01-14T21:01:00.003+08:00

Here is the chicken just out of the fridge.

I am deboning and slicing the chicken here. (Discard skin).

There - finished; it does not look very exciting at this stage - it's just a heap of sliced chicken meat; breast on top and dark meat underneath.

Next add crunchy fried garlic with a bit of salt added to it and drizzle a bit of the garlic oil over. It's getting better, isn't it?

Next, garnish with coriander - it goes beautifully with the chicken; so do go ahead and eat the garnish.

Sprinkle a bit of spice salt over (5 spice powder and salt), and drizzle with the broth described in the post below. Add some toasted sesame seeds. Make sure it is nice and cold before serving.

10 minutes later.

15 minutes later.

Chicken Salad Part I

2009-01-13T21:20:00.005+08:00

For you, Dom. Your favourite Chinese Chicken Salad.

The broth to poach the chicken in - coriander, garlic, star anise, lemon grass, salt, five spice powder, sesame oil, Chinese cooking wine - did I miss anything? (I usually use ginger instead of lemongrass but ran out of ginger today so lemongrass will have to do).

Add chicken into the broth - when it comes to the boil, simmer gently for 20 mins. Turn off heat. Let chicken sit in broth until cool. Remove chicken, cover and put into fridge. Reduce stock to half, strain, cool and keep in fridge.

Please come back tomorrow for Part II!

Kuching Laksa

2009-01-13T20:43:00.003+08:00

My breakfast this morning; at approx 7.20 am, in the office safely out of the rain, this laksa went into the microwave for 2 minutes and was eaten steamy pipey hot.

Don't forget to place a tea towel over your work jacket!

p.s From a non-halal coffee shop.

Sat, 10th January 2009

2009-01-12T19:03:00.006+08:00

I made some marinated mushrooms tonight; which was eaten over spaghetti aglio olio - the mushrooms were bought from the recent Consumer Fair and were $10 for a kilo - they were very fresh and firm. Bought 3 types - oyster, shitake and one other unknown type - was told they are 'crunchy mushrooms' in Mandarin. Added some fresh white button mushrooms from SS.

So here is a four mushroom pasta dish.

Later that evening, some friends came over with foie gras & chilled Piper to add to our 'snack' menu of marinated mushrooms, sliced cold extreme rare ribeye with English mustard, roast garlicky potatoes, spaghetti aglio olio and toasts. Some Merlot, Shiraz and Glenlivet (for some :-) saw us through a very verryy pleasant evening.

Remember this?

Wardrobe Malfunction

2009-01-05T22:37:00.002+08:00

This was the sight which greeted me when I went to look for a white top this morning - for a moment I thought I was sleep walking (please understand that it was 6 am)..

Happy New Year 2009 Part II

2009-01-02T21:13:00.005+08:00

Ladies with weak hearts, please sit down with a comforting mug of tea before embarking further, otherwise proceed with extreme caution.

THE CLASSIC JUMBO. IN CAVIAR. IN RED. WITH SILVER HARDWARE.

At the end of the afternoon, I made a jug or two of this thirst quencher to soften the pain of my longing. Thanks for visiting, you siren. Till we meet again.

Happy New Year 2009

2009-01-01T08:16:00.008+08:00

I hope everyone had a great one! We had a BBQ, lots of card games, word games, fireworks & pot clanging at midnight, wine, laughter and merriment.

What did we have?

Pea Shoots, Baby Corn & Carrots sauteed in garlic and tossed in Balsamic Vinegar/olive oil. Topped with Grilled Red Peppers and Sesame Seeds. Very healthy.

Some panfried potatoes with rosemary & garlic.

Table shot - I had to crop the chicken drumsticks as they suffered the typical BBQ syndrome.

Ribeye Steaks with a lot of English Mustard - quite thinly cut by SS.

Cauliflower tossed in flavoured breadcrumbs with olive oil/butter.

Oh dear I have seriously let myself GO since September - 4 glorious months of excesses - at least 8 kgs weight gain, total inability to wear anything except my fattest/baggiest clothes; I wonder if it is now timely for a detox and attempt at healthier eating. I'll have a little think I think. Here I am in my fabulous party togs last night. CHUNKY extreme comes to mind. Jac, HELP! Or signing up and here? I LOVED the trial class although it left me aching for days - hehe.

(photo removed - LOL!)

Here is wishing everyone reading this a fabulous year ahead with lots of love, laughter, happiness, fun, and food!

LIVE life.

Christmas present/s

2008-12-28T07:18:00.003+08:00

My new handbag arrived on Christmas Day.

It's pale baby pink - the word frivolous comes to mind.

Wm received hers too - in a more practical chocolate colour.

Christmas

2008-12-27T07:13:00.003+08:00

Still in a Christmas mood.

From the top - mixture of dark/white turkey meat with lotsa gravy, brilliant emeralds of sprouts, marinated mushrooms - an Italian recipe, roasted potatoes, glazed carrots and raw cucumbers/red peppers, sausages and stuffing.

Sick for a record breaking 5 days and slightly wobbly, I will venture out of the house for the first time in 3 days. Mighty fine way to end the year.

Sugarush's Cupcakes

2008-12-27T06:09:00.007+08:00

SUGARUSH'S CUPCAKES

Aren't these the cutest? Gorgeous little morsels of cupcakes.

My favourite is the Carrot & Walnut Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting. It's filled with grated carrots, chopped walnuts, sultanas, a hint of lemon zest, spices and the topping is a rich yet light whip whirl of cream cheese, with a slight lemon tang. Heady stuff!

Second favourite is Fluffy Coffee & Walnut Cupcake with Coffee Frosting; a little package of a dense rich light bite of a cupcake scented with coffee/walnut, topped with coffee frosting.... (a tad too sweet for someone with a non-sweet tooth - I will ask for kurang manis frosting next time).

My kids loved the Double Chocolate Surprise with Chocolate Frosting. It's real chocolate chocolate - if you know what I mean - all smooth and cocoa-ey - none of those grainy brown-coloured artificially sweet paste which some bakeries try to pass off as chocolate.

The cakes were thoughtfully glued down with double-sided tape to avoid mishaps during transportation.

Want more? Head over to Sugarush's website for more photos and info.

(This post is un-sponsored).

Christmas Lunch

2008-12-25T19:47:00.006+08:00

Was in the kitchen at 5 am, preparing the turkey stuffing; the turkey went into the oven at 5.45 am and was ready by 10.30 am. I carved it at around 11.30 am - this year, I got wiser, I sat down for the carving which usually takes almost an hour, quite backbreaking when you don't have an electric knife.

Christmas lunch - Huge platter of sliced turkey, gravy (painstakingly made from pan juices and real stock and not a Bisto bottle in sight), potatoes, sausages, stuffing, marinated mushrooms, sprouts with bacon/roasted almonds, glazed carrots and cucumbers/red peppers (to replace peas - can you believe that SS did not have my favourite Birdseye Petit Pois this year or any other peas for that matter - bought some Waitrose tinned peas which were teeny and yellow so they went into the fridge to turn into soup tomorrow).

After lunch, the children launched into a traditional Christmas by playing Scrabble and Monopoly and other card games. I don't know why Hazel was wearing a pink floppy hat indoors - I really don't know.

Hello, what's this?? hehe - it arrived today after a 24/28? hour journey and was delivered to my front door! It's very, very candy baby PINK with matt gold hardware, has a sweet heart shaped mirror, dangly stuff, and phone pouch - it's just too cute!

And what kind of Christmas did you have? Even though I am still sick, I had a lovely one with family and friends and most of all, my kids/family enjoyed their lunch very much and all their presents. Bed for me now - Merry Christmas to one and all! With no other excuse left, this extremely rotund person here will start her diet in the next few days. Even my pyjamas are TIGHT... grrr.

Grav Lax

2008-12-25T19:11:00.004+08:00

My grav lax was a success - here it is as a starter which we had once I was confident that the kitchen and all the preparations for lunch were in order.

The second plate was taken out at around 6 pm.

More preparations

2008-12-25T07:31:00.004+08:00

I've just made some marinated Italian mushrooms - the smell of this permeated to every corner of the house, scents of garlic, balsamic vinegar, onions, mustard, bay leaf, olive oil and more.

The turkey is in the oven, stuffing made, carrots cut, sausages rolled, breadcrumb mixture made, sprouts prepared, garnishes ready, potatoes waiting to be roasted, peas on standby, turkey stock made - I think I am pretty much organised.

Breakfast anyone?

Christmas Day - Thurs, 25th Dec 2008

2008-12-25T04:40:00.003+08:00

For all who are celebrating, have a joyful and blessed Christmas. And for all who are not, enjoy the luxury of a day off today and the long weekend ahead!

Skipping off to the kitchen I go.....

Table setting

2008-12-24T22:07:00.005+08:00

The Christmas table looks like this - it might be changed slightly tomorrow - linen instead of paper napkins, and perhaps I will remove the mats from the middle and lay more decoration there.

I think this year the food will be kept in the dry kitchen instead of on the table as usual; and we will simply pop in the kitchen to help ourselves from the buffet 'line'.

Side table.

Hazel made a valid point this morning while she was helping me - "Why do we need candles when we are eating at lunch time and there is light?" It was a lightbulb moment for me - but the candles are staying.

Off to bed now as I have to be up by 5 am and HOPEFULLY this vise around my head and eyes will have miraculously disappeared overnight.

Next post - SUGARUSH'S CUPCAKES. Come back tomorrow. For now, to all of you still with me, here is an early wish for a wonderful Christmas!

Grav Lax after almost 24 hours

2008-12-24T21:30:00.003+08:00

Here it is after almost 24 hours.

You can see that quite a lot of liquid has been released from the fish. (This morning, I poked some 'drainage' holes in the clingwrap). I've now put the rolled package on 3 pieces of kitchen paper to absorb more liquid which will be released tonight.

It has started to take on that slight translucent 'rubbery' colour/texture. (I once had an unexplained grav lax disaster using good quality salmon I thought - the grav lax developed a 'cloudy' appearance and the whole lot had to go into the bin). Expensive disaster; and what is most frustrating is I used the same recipe, same method of preparation, same hygienic handling. That will remain an unsolved cooking mystery ;-)

p.s Still sick :-(

Christmas preparations

2008-12-24T21:04:00.004+08:00

I've made the stock (half a skinless chicken, onion, celery, carrot, garlic bulbs, parsley stalks, bay leaf, turkey giblets and neck). I will make the gravy tomorrow using pan juices from the roasted turkey, the fond, and a bit of flour to thicken and thinned down using this delicous homemade rich chicken/turkey stock. For now, once it has cooled down and strained, it will be kept tightly closed safe and sound in the refrigerator.

Low simmer to obtain a clear clean stock.

and the herb butter with a hint of garlic seasoned with salt and black pepper (this will be eased under the skin of the turkey and rubbed all over the bird tomorrow paying particular attention to the thigh and breast meat).

Merry Christmas Eve

2008-12-24T06:27:00.006+08:00

Preparations steaming ahead for tomorrow's lunch.

What do briefcases have to do with food? :-)

The inside!

The blue briefcase has 2 layers of cutlery; a setting for 8. This is 17 years old.

The black has 3 layers; with a setting for 12. This is 11 years old.

I keep them in pristine condition, drying and polishing after each use.

This set of brass cutlery with mother of pearl in lay is beautiful. I'll use the carving knife and fork only this time. Here you can see serving spoons, gravy spoon and a cheese knife and cake server. There are 4 settings consisting of spoon, fork, knife and teaspoon not shown. Each setting is individually wrapped in a gold/blue silk pouch. This is very old too.

Drinks tray and grav lax tray/ table mats / various candle holders (will decide which to use later).

And the star turkey plate. Off now to see how Nigella, Martha and Delia garnish their turkeys.

p.s still sick........

Grav Lax

2008-12-23T21:25:00.006+08:00

I crawled out of bed to make Grav Lax tonight. It'll be perfect by Christmas morning (I hope)!

Fresh dill.

Very fresh indeed. Here I've washed them and trimmed the stalks.

Salt, Brown Sugar & Freshly ground black pepper.

Line a large plate with clingwrap - scatter salt rub and dill on it.

A lovely salmon fillet from Sno Food - fast becoming one of my favourite haunts.

Put fillet on top of dill/salt rub and top with more salt.

And more dill.

Roll up tightly.

Rest on some crushed foil (to allow drainage) and seal in a clean dry plastic container. I'll show you what it looks like tomorrow.

I'm off to a shower and then I'm afraid I'm taking my aching head/eyes/neck & bits and pieces to bed now - I hope I am well by tomorrow; I have a mile long shopping list to tackle, the table to set, and lots more to do .... why do I have to be sick now why?? I'm never sick . yes, I'm whining and I am entitled to do so cos I am SICK!!

I've also taken out my glassware/cutlery/crockery/serving ware but that is for another post. Maybe tomorrow morning.

Bed time now with lots of ibuprofen and decongestants.

On a side note, I can't stop listening to this song and this video is absolutely captivating.

Country Patch

2008-12-23T21:10:00.004+08:00

Hazel really enjoyed her breakfast at Country Patch recently.

So did I.

We ordered a plate of chicken wings to complete our meal - naughty!!

Bann Nucha Restaurant

2008-12-23T20:22:00.005+08:00

Here are more pictures of what we had at this Thai restaurant tucked away in a corner of the 2nd floor of the Mall (Unit 2.31).

Besides the fish cake in the earlier post, we also had Green Chicken Curry with Fresh Basil Leaves.

Tunghoon Salad with Prawns, Squids and Minced Chicken

Papaya Salad

Pineapple Fried Rice

2 types of dessert - Ruby Crystals & Mango Sticky Rice

I really enjoyed the food here; fine delicate flavours but still spicy and very tasty. Wm was thirsty after the meal and I think it was the fish sauce which made her so; I don't think they used a lot of msg as I felt fine; as a precautionary measure just remember to drink lots of lime juice or water during/after your meal. I want to try their Pad Thai on my next visit. By the way, all the above food plus the fish cake and 3 glasses of lime juice came up to B$49.50.

Sat, 20th Dec 2008

2008-12-22T08:47:00.003+08:00

I found this little gem of a Thai restaurant tucked away in the corner of the 3rd floor of the Gadong Mall quite by accident. The food is delicious and the service is excellent. Here is just one of the many dishes we ordered. More pics on a future post.

For someone who is on leave, I've been up since 5.30 am and am now getting ready to leave the house to run errands/buy groceries/go shopping, etc, etc. Have a great week ahead everyone!

p.s I am so jealous of Mr AB who is enjoying Kuching laksa right now - so very jealous.

Winter solstice - Sun, 21st Dec 2008

2008-12-22T08:11:00.005+08:00

Wm painstakingly made these little glutinous flour tangyuans to introduce my kids to an old Chinese tradition. We rolled them with crushed roasted peanuts and sugar. Mum used to make a soupy version with crushed peanuts and sugar inside the rice ball; and the balls are briefly cooked in a sweet gingery broth. It's delicious!

We also had steamed free range cornfed chicken with cloud's ear & mushrooms; my favourite ferns with dried shrimps.

A tofu dish braised in a claypot lined with cos lettuce; topped with 'sea asparagus' and abalone. I made the braising liquid by sauteing garlic/ginger in oil, Chinese cooking wine, the liquid from the tin abalone, oyster sauce, light soy, white pepper, sugar and droplets of sesame oil and thickened with a little cornstarch.

More cos lettuce with garlic.

And a plate of steamed Chinese sausages/meat from HK. A simple and delicious homecooked meal altogether.

Sat, 20th Dec 2008

2008-12-20T21:26:00.004+08:00

I think I just just may have my cooking mojo back.

Here's what I cooked for dinner tonight.

For my kids.

Roast lamb loin with caramelised onions, lamb jus, roasted potatoes and vegetables.

Here they are, reading and eating at the same time. As usual.

I had the butcher cut the lamb loin into 3 pieces - I roasted two and the remaining one is in the freezer. Someone enjoyed nibbling/gnawing on the bones!

The top. Look at the layer of melting fat and slightly charred onions.

For us.

Spicy prawn tomato fettucine.

The sauce was explosively flavourful; with olive oil, garlic, chilli, cherry tomatoes, white wine, prawns, black pepper and fresh basil leaves from the garden.

Have a great weekend, folks - for now, I am going to slather a nourishing body balm all over, slap a lifting/firming mask onto my face and settle down with a good book and tea in bed (thinking of pineapple tarts.....)... I simply love the holidays.

Fri, 19th Dec 2008

2008-12-20T06:36:00.010+08:00

We had dinner at Deals Restaurant at Sheraton last night. Here's a peek at what we had.

Lobster Linguine. Before and after.

Tenderloin with Mushroom Sauce and Ribeye with Pepper Sauce.

We also had Creamed Spinach, Asparagus, Marinated Mushrooms and French Fries to share.

The aftermath.

Chocolate something and Tiramisu to finish.

Dessert upstairs.

Just in case anyone was interested in more bag photos, here they are..

Pre-Christmas Get-together

2008-12-20T00:00:00.005+08:00

3 bags decided to have a little night out - just 3 bags and a lot of good food. A LOT.

How cosy they look nestled together.

Just hand over that bag, woman,

hand it over right now!

Buttery soft lambskin.

Sun, 14th Dec 2008

2008-12-14T21:18:00.005+08:00

This chickpea dip which I made this evening is quite good and a breeze to make. It's almost like this recipe except Nigella uses white beans with lemon zest and coriander as garnish; and this one consists of garbanzo beans, lemon juice instead of zest and a lot of coriander.

METHOD

Warm olive oil gently in non-stick pan over very low heat, add finely chopped garlic. Add drained and rinsed garbanzo beans (from a tin), a squeeze of lemon juice, more olive oil, sprinkle of salt and black pepper.

Mash roughly with a fork. Add chopped coriander.

Drizzle with olive oil before serving. Garnish if you like. Serve with toasted pita or just plain bread.

More updates below - please scroll down!!

Sun, 14th Dec 2008

2008-12-14T20:59:00.006+08:00

Kids' lunch today.

A simple Beef, Peas & Onion Pie.

Cook the mince first - brown mince in some oil with diced onions. Add black pepper and some mixed herbs, a tablespoon of flour, little butter & beef stock. Simmer till gravy is thick and luscious. Add peas last and cook till softened. Cool slightly.

Line a baking dish with a layer of puff pastry (don't bother to oil dish, etc). Top with mince.

and a layer on top - don't throw the trimmings away - just scatter them randomly over the top of the pie. Pierce some holes in the pastry to allow steam to escape while baking.

Bake till golden brown approx 25 mins on med high heat. Serve with salad.

I used Pampas ready made puff pastry.

Friday, 12th Dec 2008

2008-12-14T20:39:00.003+08:00

Many thanks to A & L for a lovely evening at their home.

Food beautifully cooked and presented by gracious hostess, A, with her Mumsie and SIL contributing a dish each.

I brought this simple starter - Tinned Smoked Oysters with Tomato Salsa, presented on A's gorgeous mirror tray.

Another presentation style.

All pics 'lifted' from A's facebook - taken by Badi.

Green Christmas Wrapping

2008-12-14T19:47:00.007+08:00

In a small effort to cut wastage and use less paper, this year, most of our Christmas presents will be wrapped in NEWSPAPER. The weekend issues of the Singapore Straits Times have been filled with gorgeous ads which I have been collecting for 2 weeks now.

These are full page colour Cartier and

Van Cleef & Arpels ads.

Together with their regular weekend cartoon pages, these make very very colourful wrapping paper indeed! Best of all, at no cost; or at just the cost of the newspaper... (Some cartoons to enjoy after opening the presents on Christmas day). If I were really diligent, I could spray gloss over the paper and add sparkles and bits and pieces but I'm not.

The tags are cut out of old Christmas and other greeting cards. Every year I cut up and keep Xmas and all other cards which trickle through the post. The plainer ones come in handy for birthday gifts too.

1st year anniversary

2008-12-14T19:34:00.004+08:00

10th December 2008 - We celebrated our 1st year anniversary in our house quietly,

with a delicious Chocolate Crunchy Cake.

Happy Anniversary, us!

Recipe for Spaghetti Aglio Olio

2008-12-08T19:52:00.006+08:00

Hello to 'anythingwilldo' who asked for the recipe for Spaghetti Aglio Olio.

Ingredients: Salt, Black Pepper, Raw grated garlic (1 or 2 cloves), good quality olive oil, chilli flakes and dried parsley (or fresh). Add small amount of grated parmesan cheese if you wish.

Make the 'oil mixture' by combining all the above ingredients in a deep bowl.

For PERFECT al dente pasta, boil for 2 minutes LESS than stated time on packet. By the time, you've drained, tossed and brought the pasta to the table, it will reach absolute perfect doneness.

Add about 3 to 4 tablespoons of pasta water to the oil mixture, drain pasta and add to oil mixture. Toss and adjust seasoning to taste.

Serve! I would love to hear from anyone who has tried this recipe :-)

Mon, 8th Dec 2008

2008-12-08T19:45:00.003+08:00

Lunch today - Vegetable Curry with Fish Cake and Shrimps - home made using A1 Curry Paste (for fish and seafood). I added 1/3 of a tin of diced tomatoes and a squeeze of lime. Trust me, it is as good as it looks.

Sunday, 30th November 2008

2008-11-30T20:53:00.005+08:00

There's been a lot of spaghetti aglio olio in this household recently. Here is tonight's dinner.

Mark helping to make the oil mix.

Spaghetti in briskly boiling salted water.

A tray of roast chicken.

Dinner is served.

Chicken Wine with Ginger

2008-11-26T10:13:00.002+08:00

http://foodietales.blogspot.com/2007_05_01_archive.html

Hello Lynn

Here is an old recipe from my archives. I used sweet rice wine which I buy from the neighbouring states.

It will be wonderful for a cold evening!

Happy trying ;-)

E.