Wake Up and Smell the Cake

Once again I did not step out of the house to get groceries. Yes, I'm such a procrastinator, I've been wanting to do it for a week now but everytime I just postpone. Monday's dinner was a result of the procrastination. You see, I've ran out of onions. And I only have a whole chicken in the fridge. So what did I do? Find a recipe where cooking doesn't involve any onions hahaha. Couldn't think of any cos onion is such an essential ingredient. So I thought of cooking with the next most essential ingredient - garlic! And I found this garlic chicken recipe ! I had a tahu kering set and that would be made into a simple soup dish, of which I added too much garlic. Hurhur. Note to self: never EVER use more than three cloves in a soup. It'll just be bitter. Anyway. I tried the chicken recipe and Other Half loves it! Although he only ate one piece -_-" I wasn't confident of the taste, didn't know if he liked it and I know he won't like the

Home alone lunch before check up! Decided to make mini pizzas because I have leftover capsicum and bread. This time round I added a little sauce to the minced meat. Simple but yummy! The minced meat is sweet and tasty! Ingredients 3 slices of bread 1/2 capsicum Cheddar cheese & pizza cheese Chilli sauce & tomato sauce for the base Minced meat: 150g minced meat (rough estimation) 1 tbsp light soy sauce 2 tbsp honey 2 tbsp chilli sauce Yummy yumyum pizza before adding the cheese. Baked at 180 deg Celsius for about 20 min. My first time baking pizza using normal bread, and it turned out surprisingly crunchy and toasted! Love it! I have one piece leftover. Anyone wants one? :)

This must be the healthiest lunch I've ever made! Vege soup never tasted so good!! Sometimes sambal and curry and all that heavy gravy stuff can get boring.

French toast for Other Half's breakfast this morning! He requested for it yesterday. I was feeling sleepy and tired, was supposed to wake up half an hour earlier to make them, but I woke up at the usual time I do without alarm. Thank goodness I didn't take long. Haha! Decided to add a bit of milk, added about 1 tsp evaporated milk (because I have half a tinful not used yet) and a pinch of salt to one beaten egg. I have a tendency of cooking extra and I end up eating the leftovers, so this time round I limited myself to one egg. And it's perfect too! Just enough to coat three pieces of bread. I think they tasted awesome! One of my better tries of french toast :) I should make breakfast more often haha.

Made pengat pisang today! Was all prepared, with sago no less! And of course, leftover bananas. My first time attempting this, as usual when my mother does it, I wouldn't pay attention to the method or recipe haha. Anyway when I asked my mum, there wasn't a clear recipe either, all is by estimation. So here's my version! Makes 1 potful. Ingredients 4-6 ripe bananas 150ml coconut milk 2 cups water 1 pandan leaf 1 1/2 inches' block of gula melaka Sugar to taste, if necessary Heat water with coconut milk until well mixed. Tie the pandan leaf into a knot and put in the pot. Chop the gula melaka into smaller pieces so that it'll dissolve easily in the mix. Dissolve the gula melaka. Slice the bananas (not too thin or else they'll break) and put them into the mixture. Add already boiled and washed sago in! That's it! :) Chopped gula melaka! Not that easy to chop :s   End product! Couldn't be bothered to take a proper photo cos I was more w

Sounds yummy doesn't it!! I first saw this recipe at Belzy's Kitchen and I thought what a cool idea! But to my amazement there are many other recipes out there too! Yesterday night I was on a dessert frenzy. I have been longing to make agar-agar to eat in this hot weather, and I have all the ingredients ready. And I have like seven very ripe bananas that would end up in the rubbish bin unless I cook it. So! I did agar-agar sweetcorn and this chocolate banana roll. My mum often makes agar-agar sweetcorn, but I've never even bothered to help out or ask how it's done. All I know is there's many little containers in the fridge filled with yummy agar-agar waiting to be eaten. Haha! I use the one my mum always does, the instant mix from Swallow Globe. No fotos cos it's too simple to make and I didn't use any fancy moulds, just plain ol' Ikea square containers hahaha :) Agar-Agar Sweetcorn 1 packet instant mix 1.2 litres water 3 tbsp condensed mil

Have quite a few things I am feeling ambitious about making this week, that is if I've gone marketing. This is what happens when you start making your weekly grocery list! Haha! Sambal godok Kicap cili to go with fried tempeh and tahu Ayam lemak mangga Agar-agar jagung (found some tips here !) Banana hot pockets cos I have leftover bananas. I think I can do this today since the bananas are reeeaaalllly ripe already One whole jugful of fresh lime juice! Couldn't get enough of it especially in this hot weather! And I came across this recipe at the same page I found agar-agar recipe, Chinese Custart Egg Tarts . Looks easypeasy! But this weekend I'll be quite busy. I hope to find time! :)

Some belated food fotos. Lasagna dinner last Monday I think? Haha. Had more time to cook than usual but Other Half wanted lasagna. Nothing great about it except that it's the prettiest lasagna we've made! And a point to note, include chili sauce in the tomato paste! Hehe. Too much tomato and cheese is kinda jelak. Used pizza cheese mix for this, and leftover mozarella + cheddar mix. The three layer lasagna And this is the oats prawns. Deep frying prawns is totally NOT recommended. Oil splatter EVERYWHERE !!! I had to mop the floor after that! It's more violent than frying fish omg!! Didn't even have time to put the lid to prevent all that splatter! Recipe was okay, except that I should have not been clever-clever and added sugar. Fried oats is already sweet by itself. Made the condensed milk cake without a weighing machine! Used some conversion table from the internet, and guestimates using my measuring cup and spoons. Tasted so very rich! Could reduce the conde

No western menu yesterday! Changed to chicken curry instead hahaha. And stir fried some french beans for myself haha. A proper meal! :) Chicken Curry 5 pieces of chicken 1 big onion + 5 garlic, blended 4 (I think?) tbsp Malabar Masala curry powder (I refuse to use any other especially Baba's) 3 medium tomatoes 1 tbsp chilli kisar 1 medium sized onion, sliced usual spices (cinnamon stick, star anise, clove) 3 potatoes (optional) 1 tsp salt My sweet Other Half helped cook :) We searched high and low (NTUC doesn't carry many curry brands) for this Malabar Masala curry powder. Finally got it at where else but Mustafa, my all time fave grocery store! HAHA. Should've bought a bigger packet hehe. I don't like Baba's cos it's not spicy enough. And sadly Baba's is e v e r y w h e r e. Oats prawns postponed to today! :)

My back's aching, I can't find a comfortable sitting position, I can't sit for long, and I'm tired. And it's only midweek!! o_O And not like it'll be a peaceful relaxing weekend either. Sigh. Don't feel like cooking much tonight, and there's laundry and ironing to do. So western menu it is! HAHA. Crispy Oat Prawns with beef burger and a side of fries and I should go get some greens as well. To buy: curry leaves, burger bun, salad.

What happened since I last blogged: I made mee goreng last Saturday! Could do with a bit more chilli. Tastes quite tomato-ish and more like fried spaghetti. But it feels good to wake up in the morning to prepare breakfast for Other Half :) Thinking of making nasi goreng kampung this coming weekend! Ate instant noodles at 4 plus in the afternoon yesterday.Too hungry! Lunch was five hours before that, and dinner would be in another two hours. But I felt guilty after eating them. All that salt and MSG penetrating my system!! Baah. I wish I had healthier stuff here, granola bars or fruits. I should really go and stock up on my fruits. Haven't been on a fruit filled diet lately :( And pomelo season is ending already sobsob. Never mind. There's still strawberries! Better get them before their season ends too!  Cooked sambal godok on Monday yay! :) Pictures up later! Was quite a success haha! Again, self-proclaimed. Haha. I actually don't have to cook everyday. Cos most of t

Some overdue pictures: First dinner of Chilli Tomato Chicken cooked in a mad dash after work ! When time is of essence, orderliness in the kitchen is definitely not priority. Dinner is ready! :) And here's pineapple tart fotos I made on 6 February for Other Half. All gone now! Fresh from the oven yet many pieces have gone missing! -_-" Trying out my very own flower tart mould! The pattern isn't very obvious, sadly. But it's okay cos I love the flower shapes!! My beautiful oven baking the tarts. And this is the biggest tart I've ever made, with a flower tart as a comparison. But all gobbled up just the same.

Had yet another mad dash at the kitchen yesterday afternoon heehee! And the night before I made begedil to be frozen. One of the many things I want to do checked! But I need to do another batch cos this one was given to MIL. Yesterday I didn't go back to office after check-up, went to Chong Pang instead for some bit of marketing, and then to my mum's house to get some stuff which I was lazy to get on my own like ikan bilis and belacan and even glass bottles to store used oil. HAHA. My mum's house, the pantry :) Went home to start on the big project - laksa! Haha. I think I shall not use ikan kembung for laksa anymore. While it is the healthier option, using ikan bilis is WAAAYYY easier. No need to boil the fish, peel the flesh, remove those many many bones, pound the flesh. And I must remember to slice the lemongrass really really thinly. When my mum told me to slice thinly, I thought I could take the short cut and cut anyhow cos I'll be blendering it anyway, but yo

I am in the mood to make: popiah roti boyan but I don't have the recipe bergedil chocolate chip cookies butter cake cheesecake Making these are more therapeutic than eating. Right now no comfort food comes to mind. Grilled chicken and yummy fat fries at Charco's, naahh. Swensens meals or ice cream? Maybe, but not that interested either. Other normal comfort food like soto ayam, thosai, cheesy stuff, nope. Okay maybe bathura. But only slightly. I find this abnormal. Haha.

Today three years ago is a date I won't forget :) The start of something new, the best thing I've probably ever did and definitely not regretting that bold step. Yesterday's ayam sambal tomato turned out great! Yay! Was a mad dash at the kitchen. Other Half dropped me off at home and went to practise his golf while I cook. Quite a rush and kitchen was turned upside down but it was worth it! The only thing to improve is not to use too much oil for the sambal. The onions were happily swimming in the oil HAHAHAHA. No wonder it turned out nice! Took a bit more than an hour to prepare everything, I think I need to find ways to cut the time for cooking, like pre-peeling the onions and garlic maybe since I've already tried frying the chicken at the same time I cook the sambal. I think yesterday was a good start and a confidence booster definitely! But today, I'm not cooking hahaha. We're out to celebrate a special date ;) And I still have leftover chicken which cou

I bought this yesterday while waiting for Other Half. Thank you for being late! Hahahaha :) Price? TEN POUNDS!! :D Just what I needed! Brown heels! The one at home is quite in a bad shape. Trying on the shoes was a little weird cos it's been months since I've worn heels. Been wearing flats all round London. Need to get used to heels again! Hahaha. Love this pair. I can run in them too! Hahaha. Always buy shoes you can run in. And then my itchy fingers went to their website to look for more deals. And I found this: Another 10 pounds deal!! Should I buy?? Should I??? Very very tempting!! Hahaha. I think I shall. Hopefully they have it in store. Ordering online will cost 5 pounds more for shipping. Okay bye! Attempting Korean beef stew today. Wish me luck! [edited] So here's the recipe I used! Korean Beef Stew improvised 1 onion 2 garlic 2 inch ginger 1/2kg beef 50ml dark soy sauce 5 tbsp sugar 1 tsp cili kisar 1 tsp black pepper Serai to taste Turned

21 June 2010: Wanted to do something different with sotong today, like sotong bakar or something like that, but it was hard to find the recipe! So I settled for this one instead: http://audreycooks.blogspot.com/2006/08/sotong-curry-squid-or-calamari-in.html Finally! I could use the belacan and asam. Haha. Other Half loved it, so mission accomplished! Today: Life has been good. So good that I've been getting fatter. Haha. NOT good. That, I hate. The babats gather round the stomach area. Bleah. Can I have a magic wand and zap it all away? :( The weather's getting cooler, and hotter and cooler and hotter. Today it's hot. But one thing good about summer, shopping :) Sale has also begun, but nothing much on sale caught my eye yet. Lots of long dresses and quite a few skirts here! I like! Maybe I shall go looking for that wide leg pants too. After being dormant for a couple of months (a major feat!), the shopper in me has come alive! Hahahahahaha

I need to cut my hair. At least my fringe. I want to have annoying fringe that doesn't seem to stay behind the ear again hahahaha. Maybe I shall do a DIY haircut (including the back) like back in the JC days. I shall go buy scissors! :) My mum is getting sick way too often :( I do hope it's because of the weather and nothing else. But still, it's worrying :( I don't recall her having a low immune system. I love my mummy very very much dear God please take of her k. I am getting fatter. Damn. I am seriously considering that expensive programme my sister is selling. It is effective, might as well right. His exams will be over in two days! Yipee!! :) More time for me! Hahaha. Yesterday's lemak cili padi was a disaster. I never seem to get this right. This time, the coconut milk was tengik. Spoil only. Threw away the gravy, and used the instant mix instead. Kinda running out of ideas of what to cook. Haha! I shall buy boneless chicken and cook stir fry more ofte

Haha! After many many days contemplating, I've finally tried Chinese style chicken stir fry. Inspired by the TV show here, Chinese Food In Minutes. They make stir fry look so simple! So this is my first attempt at Chinese cooking! Sweet and sour not counted. Haha. Not as easy as it looks since I'm not used to soy sauce. Cannot anyhow throw in ingredients here and there. Tried Kung Pao Chicken since there's chili and I can omit whatever Worcestershire Sauce and Shaoxing wine. Took the recipe from Rasa Malaysia with some tweaks. Looks nice? No? At first the soy sauce was kinda overpowering (don't be fooled by the colour!), so I added more chili. I was prepared to wash off the sauce and recook the chicken if Other Half didn't like it, but amazingly he says it's nice. Okay then! :)

I love feeding the husband. HAHAHAHA. And I especially love it when he says it's delicious, and he shows it be having second helpings, licking his fingers and savouring. I feel so accomplished! :) The only problem is that the dish isn't enough to last the next meal when actually I cooked it for both lunch and dinner. Haha! But no matter :) It's awesome that he appreciates my cooking heehee. I aim to be at least as good as my mum. Getting the hang of cooking already. I should be okay I guess :) Or I could just ring my mum if I need any other recipe. Heh. Have been trying a couple of Malay dishes without referring to any recipe or my mum, and so far they turn out okay. Maybe some tweaks here and there :) It's true, a man's heart is through his stomach. And I'm glad I found my way to his. Now we just have to watch out weight... Hahaha