A Wonderful Dinner Date With Su & Family

Su is one of my silent reader and I only got to know her when she wrote to me one day and introduced herself as someone who loves to read my blog :)  She is from the States and we wrote to each other quite often since. One day , she told me she is coming back to Malaysia and will be back for her holidays in Ipoh sometime in July....this is great news to me. We met in blogosphere and here we are... gathered together in Ipoh. I could not wait to meet this wonderful lady and her sweet family.  Daddy and I gave them dinner and we had a wonderful time chatting and in a short ten minutes, we chatted as if we have known each other since birth......lol especially when the two Daddies talked about their ' four legged son and daughter '  of course I meant their love dogs while we ladies chatted about our two legged daughters and son :p  

Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

The brother came back from the States to do his annual prigrimage , that is to visit the old dad and I have been busy entertaining him the last few days . Thus for the lack in blog updates  :p He brought back a gift from NJ for me...guess what ? Yay!  Martha Stewart 's Cupcakes , which has 175 inspired ideas for every occasions...another year of cupcakes :p  Thank you , brother , for this wonderful book !

a lot of nice and yummy cuppies in this treasure book

lot of tips in this book too :)

flipped through a few pages and I know what I am going to try out soon :p

mmmmmm....lip smacking goodness all in this book !

this book has further stirred up my passion for cuppies :))

I love the frosting on cuppies...it makes the cake more

desirable and delectable  :p

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Kidneys In Sesame Oil And Chinese Wine

Kidney cooked in sesame oil , chinese wine with lots of fine ginger strips is a delicacy , that I will seldom get to eat. My Piggies will  'eeeeeewww ' over it and will give me a good lecture on it :p  but I will cook this once in a blue moon , when they are not around that is .  Maybe because of my chinese upbringing ( chinese are known to eat everything out of my ' relative pig ' and not waste anything ) I still tend to crave for this once in a while :p  The new generation of chinese will not touch this anymore or rather the organs of our relative pigs the pig ! Reason  is obvious....... lol! I think I will not put into words or I myself will not want to eat it.... when I crave for it , I will conveniently forget what part this is ! :p  Oh btw, Joanna bought a kidney pie from the one of the supermart in Sheffield and I was SURPRISED  !  Someone who once said ' Eeeeeewwww' to me :p

Leek Tomato And Fresh Shiitake Mushroom Omelette

I love leeks , tomatoes and fresh shiitake in my omelette. Simple , light and easy to prepare and a versatile egg dish .Omelette is commonly thought to have originated in the ancient near-east.  Before we  knew about cholesterol, eggs and omelet recipes were the 'perfect food.' Even now, eggs can save the day when extra people show up for brunch or lunch, provide a nutritious breakfast in minutes, or dress up sandwiches :) 

Egg provides protein and vits A, D, E, B6 and B12 along with calcium, iron and potassium . Unfortunately the egg yolk has the most nutrients in it and also has the most egg cholesterol there. So those on low cholesterol diet  , need to worry about the fat content here :)  I can only have omelette once every ten days that means three times in amonth  :(

(excerpt taken from wikipedia )

An omelette or omelet is a dish made from beaten eggs quickly cooked with butter or oil in a frying pan, sometimes folded around a filling such as cheese, vegetables, meat (often ham), or some combination of the above. To obtain a fluffy texture, whole eggs or sometimes egg whites only are beaten with a small amount of milk or cream, or even water, the idea being to have "bubbles" of water vapor trapped within the rapidly cooked egg. The bubbles are what make the omelette light and fluffy.Omelettes may be only partially cooked on the top side and not flipped, even prior to folding.

This dish is thought to have travelled to Western Europe via the Middle East and North Africa, with each country adapting the original recipe to produce Italian frittata, Spanish tortilla and the French omelette. 

A British Dish - ' Toad In The Hole '

After reading Joanna's post on how the British named their restuarant / cafe/ pubs after animals name , I was not surprised at all when I read a food article on the funny names that comes with the foods the Brits eat. One eg. is Toad In The Hole. And ' toad in the hole' is a visual metaphor as the sausages in the dish resemble a toad sticking its head out of a hole. It is actually a traditional English dish - comprising of sausages baked in Yorkshire pudding batter and served with vegetables and  onion gravy. It actually tastes better than its names suggests, and it is a common school dinner dish in England :)

Claypot Chicken Rice Made Easy

This is the modern , fast and easy to prepare " claypot rice "  that I cooked  in a electric rice pot that taste as good as the authentic ones.  A one dish meal that I would love to indulge in once in a while. The real claypot rice uses a clay pot and cooked under charcoal fire.  Of course the taste is slightly different, somehow charcoal cooking makes the rice taste better . But for lazy people like me, rice pot chicken rice is just as good.  I did the shortcut method and yet it tasted delicious :p   But if I wanted the authentic one I would eat out at the Gourmet Square...the true claypot rice cooked under charcoal fire. 

Homemade Tofu - Pan Fried Crispy Tofu Nuggets

This is what I did to the other half of my homemade tofu. Pan fried coated with crispy flour and sesame seeds. I can't describe how good these tofu nuggets are but Daddy who doesn't fancy tofu ate up the whole lot. Take it with wasabi, these crispy tofu tasted even better.....mmmmm tasty to the dot. Great finger food for parties and I guarantee you that it would finish in a wink of an eye :p . You can coat it with potato flour or store bought crispy flour. For those staying in Ipoh, get the crispy flour from Yummy - the organic shop in Ipoh Garden South . The tofu nuggets keep its crispness till you finished the last piece :)

Homemade Tofu With Leeks And Mushroom Topping

Homemade tofu is healthy tofu....no preservative but of course lots of work involved. First you have to make your own soy milk, then add eggs to the soy milk , steam at the right temperature...this part of course is the easiest but it is the making of soy milk that takes time. Once you have the soy milk ready, then the rest is easy.

This recipe I took it from the lastest issue of Flavour Magazine . I tweaked the recipe a bit. Instead of having pickled vegetables and smoked salmon as toppings, I made my own topping . Leeks and fresh shiitake mushrooms topping with oyster sauce gravy. Tofu is my favourite and what more with leeks and fresh mushrooms topping...delish ! A healthy meal to blow away the Monday blues :p 

Thai Roast Drumsticks

Preparing this meal yesterday was one of a surprise for Daddy and myself. I was flipping through this month's Flavour magazine and each and every recipe was mouth-watering ! So, the greedy and hungry mind just took over and hence this surprise meal. A combination of east and west ! Thai roast chicken with Burmese Tomato Salad and Organic Pea Sprouts as a side dish and I added Asparagus Spears Wrapped With Bacon...hmmmm you tell me, greedy mind ...yes ? A blend of east and west and Daddy asked me what in the world are these....referring to the burmese tomato salad LOL! Raw dried shrimps in the tomato salad ...whoa no wonder he was taken aback by the raw fishy smell of dried shrimps.....hahaha but he finished all though LOL! so it must be appetizing after all :p

Sambal Petai Tumis / ' Stinky Beans ' In Sambal Paste

Sambal Petai Tumis or  'stinky bean '  in sambal is the family all-time favourite dish. With this dish alone, we can have  plates after plates of plain rice or coconut rice ( nasi lemak - local name ) A very appetizing dish ... hope this photo can whet up your appetite  :p  It has been quite a while since I last cooked this dish.

A lot of pounding to be done for the sambal ingredients. My pestle and mortar is the traditional ones and they are heavy so I seldom want to use it. But Daddy rather I pound the ingredients using a pestle and mortar then using a food processor. It is true that the sambal will taste much much better using a P &M :)  but it involves a lot of work to cook this dish. But like I say, if I hang up the apron and not cook something nice, Daddy will take over the apron......not that I mind, but the washing after his cooking....gosh , I rather cook myself :p  ( hope he is not reading this post )  Anyway , I cooked this for him so that he will not start to lament that I give him simple food everyday ( poor him ) and that I am married to the idiot box ( stuck with the korean dramas )

Hahaha...but I do crave for this too , so , to make two people happy , and to a  good weekend ......Sambal Petai it is ! :p When the man of the house is happy, the woman of the house will have a good weekend.  A hungry man is an angry man LOL!

loved the shrimps with the sambal petai...I love shrimps :)

just give me this one dish and I can have 2 plates of rice :p

I am a big eater when it comes to anything spicy * wink

Click here for

Recipe

Enjoy and have a great weekend !

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Pan Grilled Tilapia With Balsamic Vinegar Topped With Grated Mango

I really thank God that I can eat fish almost every day and yet not get bored with it, all types except those with lots of bones ...give me fish everyday and I will try to cook it differently .....I love the easy way out , either  pan grilled , pan seared, steamed and oven baked , they will still turned out good.  Ingredients like sea salt, black pepper and olive oil are the most important ingredients needed to bring out the natural flavor and sweetness of the fish.   * wink wink.....just rub these ingredients on the fish and pan grilled them....drizzle with white wine or balsamic vinegar and topped or garnish with chopped parsley and you tell me whether you would want to eat this everyday :)

Hawker Food At Gourmet Square

We didn't have a lavish dinner to celebrate our 27th annivesary, for the kids were not around to celebrate together with us, so we eat simple , we just hopped over to  Gourmet Square for for hawker food. For a change, we can have varieties.... like Sea Clams in Spicy Sauce & Deep Fried Soft Shell Crabs With Garlic and Bird Eyes with two plates of hot steaming rice. Followed by Chicken & Beef Satay with Nasi Impit ( compressed rice ) and ends with a bowl of local famous Shaved Ice ( Ice Kacang )......a wonderful dinner no doubt , but it would be even more fun if the Piggies were with us  :(

27th Years Of Wedded Bliss :)

Today is a special day for both Daddy and myself...yess...27th years of wedded bliss :p

Blessed with two wonderful Piggies :))

What can we ask for but hoping for another
27 more years together....greedy?

Love is not as simple
as candlelight and roses...
...love is day-to-day living, 
taking time, making time to be there,
with open arms and a giving heart...
Love is the special life we share.



Happy 27th Anniversary

To Us both

^_________^

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Pan Seared Alaskan Salmon With Brie

Given a choice I would choose alaskan salmon anytime :) I love salmon whether smoked or pan seared or as sashimi . Don't know why,  but I love the texture and the natural saltish taste of salmon. I love it medium cooked when pan seared, it is just wonderful when especially with just some crushed black peppercorn and a sprinkle of sea salt. Just with this two ingredients and lightly pan seared it with either olive oil or grapeseed oil...you get a world class salmon steak....beautiful taste and it explodes in your mouth with every mouthful :) Sorry , I am not over exaggerating here. For yesterday dinner, I cooked this delicious salmon fillet with just salt and black pepper and topped it with slices of brie....Mmmmm..I can't express how good it is.....just one word   H.E.A.V.E.N.L.Y !