Recipes from and for the people I love
Coke in a crystal glass in the evening sun
I’ve been spoilt. H has banned me from cooking since I caught a cold he’s had. So its been dinners cooked by mom picked up on the way home. Instant home cooked meals, packed and ready to eat when I arrive home. Now, how can I ever go back to those dirty pots and pans and sweaty cooking after work?
I love my cheap lens.
This is how I feel tonight. Its a 9 pm fall asleep kind of night.
Seth in the middle of a yawn.
The last time I was on an airplane was to Kerala, India.
There is a sense of peace when you’re in the air looking at the sun’s rays over the clouds
We are celebrating our 3rd year wedding anniversary and Valentine’s Day in Borneo soon. Can’t wait.
In the meantime.. Here’s more love..
Christmas dinner.. We had non alchoholic sparkling champagne from yup, you guessed it, Mustafa. We didn’t bring out SLR and the Samsung did not take any forgiving pictures of the poor turkey so I shall just leave you with a glimpse of the table.
I rushed to see Zhimin and Lincoln exchange marriage vows before our cousin’s solemnization at the other end of Singapore. I’m definitely someone who doesn’t cry easily, I think I got it from my mom, but I couldn’t help tearing when they exchanged their vows. It was wonderful seeing this couple get together in medical school and the romance ad love shared between them.
We all graduated in the same year, it was nice to see all the boys after years spent working in different hospitals (can’t believe how time flies) together and in uniform.
Zhimin looked gorgeous, and the gown she designed herself was beautiful.
Quizas, you looked stunning too! And I’m a sucker for dresses with big fat bows.
Congratulations again Zhimin and Lincoln, our cousin Idris and Haza (photos coming soon..) and Elia and Ridwan. I’ve been to more weddings this weekend than the entire year! It was exciting and really fun. Now it’ll be your turn next Mel.. Thanks for the little congratulatory note and the sweet gift.
On a separate and equally exciting note, I’m getting the keys of our new flat on the 9th of January! We’ve been blessed with a truly good year with H’s recent promotion, my offer for traineeship, clearing both Part 1 and 2 of the exam in May and in December, the new house.. I feel incredibly lucky, 2008 would be a year I would remember and I hope that 2009 would be even better for all of us! Can’t wait for all your 2008 round up posts..Remember to link it here if you do, I’ll love to hear how your year went!
If you are, I thank you. For a food blog, the last few posts hasn’t been much about food. I hope to make it up to you, when I’m REALLY back. Tonight I am just thankful I got thru today, a 6 hour marathon of two 90 question 3 hour papers and walking up a slope to and from the car park. I ate lunch in the car and it was quite lonely, thinking back. My back aches I’m not sure from the sitting or from the climbing of the slope. I still have to survive tomorrow. And looking at how today went, I’m having mixed emotions. I am actually impressed with the paper and how wide and creative the questions were, some answers were wild guesses, some I knew but just couldn’t remember the answer, some I thought and over thought the answer thru. Anyway, here’s a little bottle of truffle oil and a story behind it I will share with you soon..
I’ve been having a really crazy time in this new department, I suspect it is largely due to the fact that we are understaffed, running at 2/3 the number of people as previously. I’ve sort of disappeared this entire week, I have not spoken to my mom nor seen much of my family. I’ve not replied to sms-es, well I have to some but not to all, I’ve not been replying to calls, and I have been hanging up when you called. I’m sorry!!
I’m sorry for not keeping up with comments on the blog too, but I’m reading and appreciating all the comments! Quizas: I am on call again on the 15th.. Looks like we’ll meet up only after our exams? Probably see you on the day itself!
Since I know some of you may be reading, let me just let you know whats going on. I guess there are a number of reasons why I have not had the time to have a proper lunch at work this last week. I did not even get to eat dinner till 11pm while I was on call on Thurs night! And dinner was another sandwhich, I’ve been surviving on sandwhiches and cartons of milk. Worse still, I did not manage to go off post call on Friday afternoon, ie take the half day off after spending the night in hospital. So yesterday I worked for 33 hours straight! With sort of a 2-3 hours fragmented sleep on Thurs night, I was really exhausted. So its Saturday, I worked half the day and I’ve just woken up from a nap, and guess what? The sun has set! I’ve not mananged to see much daylight at home. I remember vaguely H trying to rouse me just now, probably to watch tv or go for a walk, I can’t really remember. And more bad news, I am on call again tomorrow! So my weekend is over after tonight. I am crossing my fingers I would be able to take the afternoon off on Monday because working since last Saturday isn’t good for me. But then again, did I tell you that I am working every single day till the 23rd of November which is when I go on exam leave. Yup, every single Saturday and Sunday. I’ve run out of clothes to wear cos my laundry isn’t done and I’ve not done my groceries in ages.
So while I was complaining to my brother while lying on the couch in front of the tv at my parent’s, he asked, what was the upside to the whole situation. I did think about that this week, because I need to cling on the some positivity in the middle of the madness of running around the hospital, answering phonecalls non stop and not really eating. I guess the upside would be that there’s a steep learning curve, I’ve learnt how to order dialysis for my patients, I’ve learnt about renal transplant and managing some of its problems, how to manage blocked lines hemodialysis, and lots and lots about the social and emotional aspects of managing a patient with failed kidneys. Its a lot of work because every single patient on my list doesn’t have much of an immune system because of their failed kidneys, and even if their kidneys work, its a transplanted kidney and they’re on drugs to suppress their immunity. So they are a bunch of fragile delicate people who need a lot of love because life can be trying when you don’t have your kidneys working for you. I’m also looking forward to this week cos I’m not on call till the following, and hopefully I can work a little faster because this week has really been about finding my way around.
Anyway these were from a weekend dinner last weekend at a hawker center near our house with my parents.
Satay with rice cakes and peanut dipping sauce. Notice the money on the table. Usually payment is done when the food arrives at your table.
My dad eating mee rebus or yellow noodles in a thick peanut and beef flavoured soup. I’m not sure why his dish came in a disposable container, perhaps the stall had run out of bowls.
Freshly squeezed sugarcane juice
I always end my meal at Changi Village (the hawker center) with the ice kachang or literally translated as ice nut. This dessert is layered boiled sweet red beans, pieces of grass jelly or chin chau, sweet corn and atap chee or sweet palm seeds then topped with shaved ice, a few splashes of colourful rose flavoured syrup and then finished with a good drizzle of evaporated milk.
Did I mention I’m on call again tomorrow? Yup, so my weekend has ended.
Remember a post ago I spoke about depression glass? I would like to share the two little pieces I recently acquired with you.
I’m glad I managed to catch a little bit of sunshine when I got home. Its raining so heavily now. With a little mix and match of some of my favourite things, a little alcapone J.co donut tastes just that much better.
You may notice the little teacup in the background, I recently got it on sale at Takashimaya from Royal Doulton. Fine china is definitely a good investment, my mom has had hers since I was 4 and they’re so classic and do not look dated at all. The napkin is from Tangs which is having a really good sale right now. I bought a king size bedsheet and quilt set for a third of the price. At 511 threadcount, its silky silky soft good cotton and I know it’ll be better in time. At $200 down from over $600, its a good investment that’ll last for years and years.
If you feel like injecting a more masculine feel, use dark colours and a little blue on your table. The good old Ikea napkin. Napkins can be used everyday, they’re inexpensive and H always likes it when I give him one to mop up drips or spills during the meal.
Check out the detailing on the stem and plate. Imagine these were made in mass and really cheap, put in free in oatmeal boxes during the 1930s. I paid $15 for each cake plate which is quite reasonable according to my ebay research.
Polka dots and flowers, my favaourite combination. This is also Royal Doulton, and part of their 100 anniversary series. Just by having these around, it gives you more reason to take it out for nice morning or afternoon tea. You don’t have to go that English cafe at Takashimaya, just make your own scones! And call someone over to share it. I don’t believe in keeping the pieces I have for display, I bought it to be shared and used. I would love to have you over one day!
Perhaps next time, there’ll be real homemade goodness on the cake plate.
I was looking for a pyrex bowl for tiramisu and bakes like lasagne or sheperds pie. I thought these were a steal for $10 each. For pyrex its cheap, and again pyrex lasts and lasts and lasts. There’s a small logo at the bottom of the plate, this really was the real deal.
I thought the antique silver plate cover was a bonus. It looks pretty good scrubbed up don’t you think? After a good foray at the antique shop, my fingers always turn black and my nose and face itching like crazy. But for these finds, don’t you think it was worth it?
Hope this inspired you to have your own little tea party, alone or with someone you love!
The weekend and today was a whirlwind. There were those 700 pieces of chicken pie and sausage rolls that were made yesterday.
There was the Italian themed lunch I hosted as an Eid get together with the girlfriends. It was great fun, and let me thank all the people with the food they brought, sadly, no pictures because as hostess I was busy making sure everyone had a fork. If anyone is going to blog about the lunch, link it here!
Farah for the brushetta
Enah for the wonderful oreo shake
Mel for the salad
Yati for the creamy pasta with bacon and roast chicken
Liz: for the yummy apple strudel and the ice cream
Yani for the ice cream that became affogato, how ice cream and espresso taste so good together is a mystery
Rizal, Yati’s husband for gmely going along with all the girl talk and H, as usual for being my marketing partner and always appreciating my cooking. I made a seafood pasta with small white clams, squid and prawns
Photograph from another Italian dinner last May
Here’s the recipe
Seafood spagetti:
For 1 packet of spagetti (I really have to check the weight) This will feed about 10-12 people as a main couse
10 cloves of garlic, diced
About 10 anchovy fillets, diced
8 tomatos, diced
Prawn, Squid and clams, about a kilo each and 300g of clams
A bunch of chopped basil
Fry garlic till fragrant. Add anchovies and it’ll splatter like crazy. Add the tomatoes and all the seafood, lots of liquid will suddenly appear, cook till reduced slightly. Add the spagetti and basil, season with salt and pepper cautiously as the anchovies are really very salty.
Here’s from Husaini’s facebook: ….farmland and mountains for miles……. H and I spent a day with Husaini who was in transit and headed back to his new home in Christchurch. As usual, we always try to squeeze so much into the day. Of all things he wanted to have, it was fast food like Burger King since its not halal in NZ. I had so many fast food meals this week for some strange reason, so it wasn’t what I really wanted to have. Still, the company was fun and we had a pretty good time together.
Here’s the rest of the photos from Biennale, I’m back to work so may disappear for a while.. I have to fulfill my call quota for October so that means 2 nights sleeping in hospital the rest of this week. Wish me luck..
Its a Sunday! Just one week ago I was in Kerala having fresh fruit with muesli and a sweet cold glass of lassi.
Would you like to stay in a place where the view to your room is an open sea and you are greeted with a huge wood oven at the entrance of the restaurant?
You could have a perfectly done wood stone oven fired pizza with the days finest catch.
Welcome to The Leela at Kovalam Beach.
Surf the net and enjoy the view
The roof reminds me of a Swiss chalet..
In the buggy on the way up to the main building, the rooms were fronting the beach while the lobby and restaurant was quite a walk up the cliff. We buggied to and fro.
Sitting by the pool, the views were fabulous all around the resort.
More breakfasts.
I have so many photos so stay tuned for the backwaters..
The cooking demonstrations..
Loads of home cooked South Indian food.
I didn’t know fish were so beautiful. I discovered a new fish called the seer fish which is a Keralan specialty.
More soon… I’ll try not to post it so late, can I say that I was jet lagged for a week? I could barely open my eyes when on call yesterday.. But well, Sunday is here again, more work unfortunately since I had 2 sundays off in Kerala. I am going for an interview on Tuesday so please wish me luck!
This weekend was all about a wedding and chocolate ice cream. I love the East (of Singapore) so much, I grew up here and moved and married and got my own place all in the East. We were walking around Katong, had thin crust salami pizza at our favourite pizza joint, popped by Cold storage in Katong mall to stock up on cheese and cream. Walked back to the car in a lovely drizzle clutching chocolate ice cream in a cute chinese takeout. The weekend is long over but it seems like yesterday. This was probably because I was working the whole time, Saturday AND Sunday and then I was on call on Monday, and I was mortified when it dawned on me that there was a departmental rule that we are not allowed to go post call on Tuesday (ie, not allowed to leave at 1 pm as is the rule when we work through the night). So it turned out that I worked from 8 am on Monday till 5.30pm on Tuesday. H kept on calling me and asking me to just go home but somehow I managed to survive. So its now Wednesday and I’ve been feeling like how I’ve felt for the past month, which is in between tired and completely exhausted.
Anyway, this brings me to the tag that I’ve been given by Marysol of Memories in the Baking. Marysol’s blog is entirely new to me and she is a really advanced baker! Go check it out..
And here are the rules
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on the blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.
So here are 6 things about me, I had a hard time coming up with something new, I think I’ve done this before in another post which I currently cannot find! But here goes..
1. I love pretty things and am currently housing a collection of Royal Doulton tea cups.. So far my collection hasn’t been big, its currently just 4. Somehow this collection seems a little indulgent especially since I’m trying to save.
2. I am quite a messy person. Considering that H folds and stacks his T shirts such that they’re in super neat columns and irons every single crease out of his shirts, he had a teeny weeny bit of adjustment to do when we first got married.. I think he’s still adjusting. About the details of my messiness.. Do we really need to elaborate..? I think Mel and Quizas can give some supporting evidence.
3. I’ve never backpacked in my life and the thought of it somehow doesn’t appeal to me. Having said that I love to travel. My top choice destinations would be China, India, Lebanon (where half of H is from but unrest always occurs as soon as we plan a trip), New Zealand (Husaini we miss u like crazy!), Dubai, Japan and I would love to go to Turkey again.
4. I hate all medical dramas, except Nip/Tuck but well thats about as far from medicine as anyone can go. Wednesday night its me, H and the telly.
5. I am picking up krav maga from H who is really hooked on it now and attending classes. Its an Isreali form of self defence and its really amazing. No matter how small you are and I am pretty small, there is a technique to defend yourself from any assailant.
6. My brother, after eating a cherry topped chocolate cake that I baked for my dad’s birthday, proposed that I start selling some of my bakes, offering to manage orders and deliver. What do you think??
I’m tagging people I’ve not tagged before (since being tagged by marysol was such a surprise) so I’m tagging
Does anyone feel like they need a break? Well, here’s a short photo trip you can take with me.
My parents recently returned from a trip to a fabulous country with beautiful food and people. They brought home an abundance of fresh fruit and dried nuts.
The colours are so vivid, it was summer.
My dad taking a walk.
An old and pretty door.
I love how this looks so mediterranean, cheese, salads, fresh fruit and bread.
More old monuments, did you know that the plane trip from Singapore costs $2.2k, thats a lot. Perhaps if Uzbekistan becomes more of a tourist destination for Singaporeans, the price would drop.
Yellow cherries caught in the sun
I enjoyed this, did you?
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