Crispy Panko Crusted Aubergine Slices

Finger food are addictive no matter what kind :)  Recently , I made some pan fried crispy panko crusted aubergine slices…awwww it was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside….. I paired them with some pickled ginger….mmmmm yum yum it was good !  You can dip them with hot spicy chilli sauce or wasabi :)  heavenly !  Aubergine or eggplant is one of my favourite veggie and you can have many variations of it.

Pan Seared Salmon With Citrus Yoghurt Sauce

I have been trying to add more salmon into my diet lately for I simply love salmon .  Give me a piece of salmon and I will know what to do with it. Seasoned it with crushed black pepper and sea salt and pan seared  for 4-5 minutes on each side...that's it....a beautiful piece of salmon steak to make a ' 25 year old ' happy  :p

I searched for a sauce to go with the salmon and finally found this very refreshing and healthy sauce .....yeah it is Citrus Yoghurt Sauce from epicurious.com . I found the perfect sauce for the salmon...... a  mixture of yoghurt, lemon & orange zest plus honey... I knew that this combo will never go wrong :p and true enough it was  a perfect match for the salmon steak !

Savoury Vadai

Divali /Deepavali - The Festival of Light , falls on 5th of November which is just around the corner, barely 10 days from now.  It will be a public holiday for Malaysia - a country with many different cultures and many of my Indian colleagues are getting ready to celebrate this festival and we always look forward to the Diwali delicacies during this celebration. A festival with the lighting of small clay lamps filled with oil to signify good over evil .

I would like to wish all my  readers , friends and colleagues celebrating Divali or known as Deepavali over here in Malaysia  " Happy Deepavali " .  I know I am a bit early in wishing all of you this but I am in the mood to start the celebration early with you :)

Wrap-turous Emperor Chicken

I have invited the ' wild boar  ' to be my guest writer again for I know he enjoys sharing his cooking adventures with all of you. Well...he did cook something great on my birthday...a special treat for me   :)  I would like him to share his cooking adventure with you and I happily gave him a space to rant on as a reward for taking the trouble to cook something nice for me .   (We didn't paint the town red for my two Piggies were not around to celebrate with us )  Have fun reading on and discover for yourself what the  ' wild boar ' has to rant about this dish :p

Elin's Birthday Cake Unveiled !

Many of my friends asked me this " hey , what cake are you going to make for yourself this coming birthday ? "  I can't really tell them at that moment, so I told them " wait , it is going to be a surprise ! " but deep down I really don't know what to bake for myself :)

I was going through Ellie's blog Almost Bourdain and  suddenly remembered seeing this beautiful cake she  baked for her Mr.J's birthday in one of her post. Tada, I baked this for my birthday today...hahaha never ask me my age...I celebrate my  25th birthday every year since 25 years ago :p   Today, I want to treat you guys to this virtual cake :p  have a slice but please don't salivate too much ...don't sue me for a new keyboard ! 

For more pictures and recipe of this luscious sinfully rich chocolatey cake.....please hop over to my other dessert blog - Elinluv's Sweet Delights  ...don't worry , I won't sue you for it...it's my BIRTHDAY  today !   LOL !   I love you guys for always dropping me sweet notes and lovely words of encouragement ! Thank you Ellie for this wonderful cake .

Happy virtual feasting!

Quick And Easy Tuna Garden Pasta

I find eating pasta much healthier than rice. Pasta are made from durum wheat , rich in protein and good for people who wants a low carb diet :) I read from somewhere that pasta is very low in sodium and non-egg varieties are cholesterol-free. One cup of enriched pastas provide an excellent source of folic acid and a good source of other essential nutrients, including iron and several B-vitamins. Good news for me too. I am trying to do away with rice for myself :)

Quick ,easy and effortless to whip up dinners are what I am looking forward to these days. Who say one dish meal is not appetizing ? :p Tell me this one dish meal is not and I won’t cook again :p Just kidding , not everyone likes pasta :) … this is one flavorful pasta dish that is so easy to prepare…infact for someone like me , this is a miracle dish whereby lots of nutrients can be found in this plate of pasta. Cherry tomatoes, french beans, canned tuna chunks in olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice are found in this quick and easy pasta dish .

Roasted Chicken Whole Leg With Rosemary, Lemon And Garlic Marinade

Pumpkins are very versatile in their uses for cooking . I make muffins, bread and cakes out of them ....the orange pigments in them  are rich in beta carotene  which generates vitamin A . They have a natural sweetness which kids love . I remembered my mom used to cook them with dried shrimps and curry powder. Those were the days and I miss my mom's cooking  :(

I sometimes roast them as a side dish  for my roasts . We had roasted pumpkin slices as a side dish for the  roasted chicken whole leg with rosemary, lemon and garlic marinade that we had yesterday . I read somewhere that pumpkin extract may be a good product for pre-diabetic people as well as those who already have diabetes :)  Ok, not too much on this side dish for the main highlight is the roasted chicken whole leg with rosemary, lemon and garlic marinade . A three ingredients  marinade that burst sensations to the palate  !

Steamed River Catfish With Simply Garlic Oil

Another great fish to savor is the River Catfish aka Ikan Baung.  I steamed it with simply garlic oil and sizzled light soy sauce.  Delicious !  The meat is silky smooth and sweet . I love fish prepared with no fuss so that I get to taste the natural sweetness of the fish. Awww .... Steamed river Catfish aka Ikan Baung in our national language can be quite pricey if you order from the restuaruant menu.  I bought mine alive from the aquarium tank , sold by a fish vendor from the wet market in Canning Garden . You can pick the one you want and the man will catch it for you.  Claire a good friend of mine  recommended me this fish :)  I have been to the market so often and can you believe it ???...I walked pass the stall most Saturdays and yet can't register such a stall there :p until Claire told me about it :)

Pan Seared Salmon With Mango Salsa

It is pan seared Salmon again ! Mmmmm this is heavenly , a simple and easy preparation yet it taste heavenly , it satiates my palate :)  I wish I can have salmon everyday  for my dinner  :p  I will not order salmon from the restaurant menu anymore when home cooked ones are so much thicker , cheaper and tastier . Those salmon served at my hometown restaurant comes in thin slices , I can't really get to taste the salmon-y flavor..and  over cooked.  I don't mind paying more if it comes out thick like those shown above :) I enjoy a thick slab of salmon steak and I can never resist one when I see a thick slab of salmon steak. You may call me a salmon woman ...seriously salmon is good and I will never stinge on it :p  The wonderful taste of this fish still haunts me and you can imagine what it is doing to my saliva glands while writing this post  :p

I prepared a mango salsa to go with it....mmmmmm  darn yummy ! A perfect match for the salmon !

Silken Tofu Garnish With Black Sesame Seeds And Bonito Flakes

Tofu is a cholesterol free soy product ....by itself it is bland , you can prepare them in any sauce with any fillings or toppings , deep fried or steamed , they will still taste delicious . A healthy and comfort food for those who are on soft diet.

You can have it simple - Tofu with sizzled soy sauce garlic oil or you can have a more complicated one - Pan Fried Prawn Paste Tofu Patties or more adventurous , baked them as Tofu Pizza . My tofu dishes here will tell you I am a fan of tofu :)  When I am not lazy, I will make my own tofu .  I love tofu and I can make many variations with it....I have tofu in most of my meals and a simple tofu dish  can make me happy ;p 

Dry Curry Chicken

After church today,  I came back to a house that smell like a curry house ....mmmm I thought it was my neighbor cooking curry and to my surprised the smell was strong when I entered the house. And guess what ?  The wild boar raided my kitchen while I was in church !!!  I forgave him for the mess he did to my haven when he served me the best dry curry chicken.....for my lunch .  

So to reward him, I invited him to be my guest blogger and share his recipe with you ......... frankly speaking, I don't mind if he wants to take over my role in the house for the weekend ....anyway, my Piggies loves his cooking so I think I can hand over my apron to him for the weekend ! What do you guys think ?  Is it advisable when he mess up my kitchen and I have to do the cleaning after him ? 

Stir-Fry Broccoli With ' Abalone Mushrooms '

For the last few weeks, our department had been organizing the Raya parties for their staffs. This is the norm in our department for each section to invite colleagues from different sections to attend their raya parties. The local malay raya food will be served like the lemang ( glutinous rice cooked in bamboo ) , chicken & beef satay ( bbq chicken & chicken in skewer ), Laksa , Roti Jala ( Net Bread - a kind of crepe/pancake eaten together with curry ) , Nasi Impit ( malay compact rice cake ) and lots of local malay delicacies . After this sinful  indulgence , my weight would have increased by at least a kilogramme :(

Eating simple , especially more veggies and fish dishes in my meal will be great for me after all those heavy stuff I had taken . Thus, this simple stir- fry broccoli ( my Piggies called this ' little green trees ' when they were young ) with ' abalone mushroom ' was a great comfort food for me :)

Mixed Herbs Fried Rice With Omelette Shreds Topping

Piggy Cuz bought back a few bottles of mixed herbs for me from UK and now I can use it generously :p She is such a gem and brought back birthday pressies from UK for me for my birthday. Will show you what she gave me when the big day comes * wink...well... soon... soon...be patience :)  She always springs surprises on me...but I do love surprises though !  Thanks Piggy Cuz for the pressies.

Back to this fried rice..well..I make it simple by just adding dried mixed herbs, chopped chicken ham, dash of white pepper and sea salt.  Garnish with omelette shreds....this is want I meant by simple cooking. I blanched some lettuce and garnish with deep fried crispy garlic and oyster sauce to go with the fried rice. Yummy! ...training  Daddy to eat simple for a day  days to come  :p till I get back my stamina !

Stir Fry Dory With Yellow Capsicum And Red Onion Peels

I have been busy lately with work up to my neck ...came back tired and I just want to relax, put up my feet and watch a movie to de-stress , so cooking is simple lately. I took out a packet of dory fillets and took out whatever there are in the fridge and cook this for dinner for the two of us . Carrots, yellow capsicum, ginger and red onions.....tired as I can be, I still make an effort to whip up something delicious with the dory fillets :p

Salmon Cubes With Organic Seaweed Tofu

If I have my way , I would love to have salmon in my meals everyday. But this pricey fish can only be savored once in a blue moon. How sad...this fish is so good for us and yet we can indulged everyday :(  Not only is it delicious but has a lot of omega 3 in them . There are so many ways to cook salmon. Pan seared to smoked  to baked .... they will turned out delicious. Salmon has a natural subtle saltish taste so we don't really need to add a lot of salt . Just a pinch of salt will do and I can forget my surname for a moment while indulging in this lovely cooked salmon . I love experimenting  with different method of cooking it ...give me a few minutes to be alone and I can surprise you with a delicious mouth-watering plate of salmon cubes .

Deep Fried Stuffed Chicken Wings

There was this little quaint shop in old town selling fried ice cream, portugese egg tarts , chicken pies, curry puffs and some nice snacks . This quaint shop is just opposite to ' The Hall of Mirror ' coffee shop.  I would normally buy some egg tarts for Joshua to take back to KL. He loves the Portuguese Egg Tarts from this particular quaint shop.

I saw some nice looking deep fried stuffed chicken wings . I could not resist buying a pair back for our dinner . I was a bit curious to know what was inside the wings * RM3 per stuffed wing , it does looks delicious. I was not disappointed , crispy on the outside and deliciously tasty on the inside.