Hmm.. another quick update?

Somehow I always have the urge inspiration to blog when I’m on call. Something about sitting around in your scrubs, wondering what dismal meal you dinner would be from the hospital canteen, getting annoyed by the power trip that knocked out your air conditioner in your call room with no windows thus forcing you out of the room and bed when your oxygen runs out, something about receiving a call from your registrar at 8.30am saying that one of the house officers on call has been admitted with dengue and he would like me to cover. It was like a bad dream, I woke up one morning and 2 years of my life went in reverse and I became a house officer? On call? In the renal ward? That started this intense headache which is starting to ebb now with the help of painkillers and this blog. The. thought. of. a. life. existing. outside. this. hospital.

 

Ok well, things looked up when a house officer was found and I’ve gotten over the close shave of this being possibly the worst call of my life. Phew. Sometimes I feel like I’m living on the edge. Oh well, who am I kidding??

 

I cleared out my old pantry yesterday and I found a lot of expiring food. I have to start my gas stove working and my new oven cranking soon. I have tinned milk, foul muddamas or “kacang pool” the Malay-nized name of this dish. I’m not sure where all the time went. I think lots were spent making the house a home. We were everywhere all the time, buying the house phone, getting the tv and internet working, buying like random things, toilet paper, ?floor cleaner (that will take me a while to figure out). I’ll have to start learning to play house.

Meanwhile, here are some great sites I would like to share

A friend’s new business, beautiful wedding photography

A wonderful blog with Arabic food and more, you already know of another  favourite blog of mine on Middle Eastern food

And if you’re interested on amusing narratives on one baking disaster after another, check this out.

Catch up soon..

Quick Update

I’ve neglected this blog for a while as there were so many things going on with the new house and the trip and work and a few other things. Currently we are still in transition, who knew moving was so much work! My internet connection has been moved to the new address but we are still living in the old place so I will disappear again.. This time unintentionally.. I hope when things fall into place, I can start baking and cooking in my new kitchen and start answering all those comments and leave some on some blogs which I have just been stalking lately. My apologies!

moments of eid

Eid started with an Arabic 101 lesson by H so that I could speak to his grandmother. It lasted a few seconds and I was taught two words: “wala?” meaning “really?” and “alhamdulillah” meaning “all praise to God”. Needless to say the conversation was short.  But still its amazing how far those two words got me.

What did you wear for Eid? I have worn shades of purple and pink for the last 5 years.

This isn’t a bad outfit either. Complete with little towel hung at neck. Man making thosai at a open house I went to.

White hari raya outfit worn by cousin Isa who spent the whole day with us visiting my side of the family and often mistaken as H.

Not traditional Eid food but by 11 am on the day of Eid I had 4 ketupat meals at 4 different houses (my mom’s, Mel’s, home and home again), so I had my fill.

Someone spotted sneaking around thosai corner in traditional garb

Tiny cups of sweet arabic tea with a teaspoon that has holes. I don’t know about you but all these photos taken on my Samsung (except the first) look a little bit too 2 dimensional for me.

Isa’s welcome tea at his new workplace, congratulations on your new job!

Thank you Brenda for this award!

By accepting this award, I’d have to..
Put the logo on my blog.
Add a link to the person who gave me the award.
Nominate 7 other blogs.
Add links to the blogs I nominate.
Leave a message for my nominees on their blogs.

So here goes..

Mel of Mel’s Inc for her creativity

Arfi of homemades for beautiful photography in New Zealand

Angela of sweetrosie for her multicultural insights in an Australian kitchen

Laureen of eatandbehappy for experimenting in the kitchen from all the books that are sitting on my shelf!

Tommy of notesbynaive because I just love her and she’s making me love everything English (except the weather)

Quizas of grubliving (our co-owned blog) because I love knowing all that she’s up too

And Zhullie of ovenhaven who is the sweetest girl blogger I know

Carrot Cupcakes with a Cream Cheese frosting

We came back from a short relaxing weekend, and what better way to spend an anniversary than sharing some cupcakes with friends and family. I have been raving about Dorie Greenspan’s Carrot cake and it translates really well to little cupcakes. I tweaked the recipe a little and cut down on the sugar. This time the frosting was perfect as I did not use a frozen block of cream cheese like the last time. I just noticed that there was a label on the packaging that says “do not freeze”. I’m just bad at using dairy products before the expiry date so I tend to store it in the freezer. Very bad idea especially for cream, whipping cream (the non dairy pour and whip is fine though) or cream cheese! What happens is that the fat gobules come together when u use it after freezing resulting in a lumpy, grainy mess.

 

Carrot Cupcakes

Adapted from Dorie’s Baking from My Home to Yours

Makes about 18 cupcakes

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (Bake King from Phoon Huat is really good, pure and strongly fragrant)

3 cups grated carrots (2-3 large carrots or about 9 small ones)

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1 cup oil

1 cup sugar (the original recipe called for 2 cups, u can use 1 1/4 if u want it a little sweeter. I found that one cup worked well for a pleasantly sweet cake which paired well with the sweet frosting)

4eggs

Method

Preheat oven to 170C. The original recipe says 325F which translates to 165C but my oven bakes only at 160 or 170C.

Beat sugar and oil for 3 mins, add egg one at a time till smooth batter forms. Add in flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon,baking soda till flour just disappers. Fold in carrot, cranberries and nuts.

Scoop 2 tablespoons of mixture into each cupcake cup, till slightly less than half full for the flat topped cupcakes in the photo. Fill up to 3/4 for domed cakes. Bake 30-35 mins till a skewer comes out clean.

Beat 250g butter and 250g cream cheese till fluffy and gradually add 2 cups (original recipe used a pound of sugar)  of icing sugar. Add juice of half a lemon. Beat till light and fluffy and frost cakes when cool.

 

May your life together be sweet and filled with love..

In case you’re afraid to invite us to your wedding thinking we’ll be taking pictures of all your food and getting under the feet of your caterers, we promise you, its not what you’re thinking.

H and I were actually invited guests to the wedding then we became the wedding photographers when their photographer backed out. Of course, our friend Husaini, also back up photographer tried to outdo us with his black get up and his French persona (trust me you don’t want any details)

It was a small intimate gathering of friends and family set atop a glass walled ballroom overlooking the pool on one side and lush greenery on the other, making you almost forget you’re in the middle of the city center.

The food was really wonderful, better than I expected as based on this hotel’s buffet, I was convinced they couldn’t cook a single Asian dish. I was wrong though, the buffet had a wonderful mix of East and West from the dessert to the mains. And each dish was delicious.

To the happy couple I&N, may the sweetness of marriage be present with every moment together! We were so happy to be warmly welcomed by your family and we truly felt honoured to be part of your big moment.

000xxxH and Farhan000xxxx

 

Happy Birthday Mel!

H and I had Mel and beau over for a birthday dinner. Mel is turning a cool 26 and to celebrate 14 years of best friendship, what better way than having a home cooked dinner? We had mushroom tartlets for starters and an assortment of crackers with Boursin, a garlicky creamy soft cheese. Then the pasta I made specially inspired by the Italian dinner at Z’s. I used scallops in a sauce made with anchovies, tomatoes, capers and lots of garlic. I used capellini, a thinner spagetti. And sprinkled it with a generous amount of chopped basil and grated parmaggiano. For dessert, it was tiramisu, Mel’s all time favourite dessert. And of course cappucino at the end with Italian espresso and chocolate bonbons! It was fun, Happy Birthday Mel, there are many people who love you!

Special mention to H who peeled and chopped all the garlic for me and assisted in making the sauce. He makes a great sous chef!

Scallop Capellini in a Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

20 scallops split into half

10 cloves of garlic (yes, lots of it..)

6 tablespoons olive oil

10 large diced tomatoes

10 anchovy fillets, diced

1 tablespoon whole capers

Salt and pepper to taste

A good handful of chopped basil and parmesan to serve

Method

Fry garlic till golden brown, add anchovies and capers. Put in all the tomatoes and simmer till sauce thickens. Season to taste. Toss in pasta just before serving and top with basil and parmesan.

 

Now, that’s 2 birthday dinners down… 1 more tonight and a wedding on Wednesday.. I need to start exercising.

Italian night

How much can you possibly eat in one night? After looking thru the photos this morning, I realized, a whole lot! We had a wonderful Italian themed night at our gorgeous friend Z’s beautiful apartment filled with very pretty things. I made puff pastry tartlets with an aurbergine, yellow pepper and corriander filling topped with mozarella.

Z’s bruschetta was so so good, I think it was partly due to a secret ingredient…

….truffle salt…

All the appetizers plated. Truffle oil in the pine nut, parmesan, baby spinach, cherry tomato and arugula salad. Composed by Z. This had a heady aroma and made me want to get my hands on a bottle.

I made a couple of pizzas, this was the sausage and olive. I emptied the sausage filling from the casing of fresh sausages and dotted it atop the pizza.

I loved the pasta Z made! The secret ingredient was the anchovies. H has something against anchovies so I’ve never cooked with them. But this in the base of the pasta sauce had a delicious umami flavor that was really uncomparable to anything. I am recreating this pasta tonight, it was just too good.

…big smile…

Cupcakes for the kids..

Adult dessert waiting to be bowled

I brought my Moka pot for freshly brewed espresso. On top of french vanilla and tiramisu gelato, it was a delicious affogato.

Dorie Greenspan’s Classic Brownie. I think I overbaked it, it was a tad dry and not so fudgy..

Pretty pink plates and napkin. You can also see the crumbly texture of the brownie

Husaini’s contribution.. Ginger beer and orange juice in a drink. It was a great combination. But there was something about the drink that made you thirstier after you drink it. Either that or it was so good you just couldn’t get enough.

 

I have 3 birthday dinners, this dinner and a wedding in the span of less than a week.. This is not good for my span at all.

Aurbergine and Yellow Capsicum Puff Pastry tartlets

Makes 15

Ingredients

1 packet instant puff pastry

1 large soft purple aurbegine, diced

1 large yellow pepper, diced

1 medium red onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

3 tablespoons chopped corriander leaves

salt and perpper to taste

 1 cup grated mozarella

Method

Roll out puff pastry till 2 mm thick. Cut into rounds with a round cutter and shape in tartlet mould. Bake in oven at 220C for 10 mins

Saute onions till soft in olive oil. Add garlic and saute for another 2 minutes. Add aurbergine and capsicum. Stir and fry for 5 mins. Add copped corriander, season to taste and take off heat.

Fill pre baked tartlet cases with mixture. Top with grated mozarella and a sprig of corriander. Bake at 220C for another 5 mins.

A really good Indian night

 

How I met Ahmed and Sheerin is a long story. I was newly out of medical school and doing on of my first calls as a houseman (intern) at Changi General Hospital. My medical officer that night was this guy I’ve never met or worked with before, Ahmed. I remember the first time I met him, he was poring over the casenotes of a new admission, a 95 year old woman. Later that same night, we were reviewing some of the lab results on the computer and he showed me some of his photos of his baby daughter who was in India at that time. He spoke of his wife, who was miserable without her baby girl. A year passed before we met again in Singapore General Hospital. I was a medical officer and Ahmed was a new registrar in neurology, I asked about his daughter and she was now here in Singapore and he had a new son!

A few months later, I ended up in the blood bank with his wife Sheerin. As we worked together we became better friends and I discovered that my new friend was a gifted cook. Ahmed also started seeing H around the hospital where he also works and H ended up at their house for tea a couple of times. Then followed a series of meals, and this wonderful bbq dinner at their place with their adorable 10 month old son and their little girl. We met another wonderful couple and received another invitation to their house. Even though I’m stuffed, I am still looking forward to the invitation!

 

 

The briyani.. Which I shall attempt soon..

 

 

Chilli chicken

 

 

Potato panneer balls which H loved so much being a lover of cheese and potato

 

 

Expert hands rolling out roti (Sheerin’s of course)

 

 

roti on pan

 

 

Roti puffing up

 

 

A little gift for Sheerin, vanilla pods. I will put up how I made this gift container in posted in my other blog

 

 

Sunset from their 25th story apartment

 

Thank you Ahmed and Sheerin for being so generous and hospitable. And congratulations of the traineeship Sheerin, you deserve it!

CHILLI CHIKEN:

Recipe courtesy of Sheerin

INGREDIENTS:
1 kg boneless or chicken with bone{depending on preference)
5 medium sized onions
2 medium sized green capsicum
1.5 tsp each of ginger and garlic paste
1 pod of garlic finely chopped
1 egg
2 heaped tbsp corn flour
2 tbsp white vinegar
1 tbsp each of light and dark soy sauce
salt to taste
chilli powder
2 tbsp oil.
Hot and sweet maggie ketchup, 100 mls.

Recipe:
take egg, beat it. Add corn flour, ginger garlic paste, soy sauce, vinegar, salt and mix well. Add chicken to it and leave aside in fridge for 2 hrs.

Take non stick pan and heat oil. Add 1 onion paste to it and let it turn pink, add garlic chops and chilli powder. Add onion and capsicum pieces to it and turn the flame very low. Cover the pan and let it cook for at least 20 mnts, turn 1 or 2 times so that onion doesn’t stick.

after 2 hrs, take out the chiken marinade and deep fry the chiken pieces until brow. add these chiken pieces to the inoin and capsicum base and mix well. Cook for another 5 mnts on low flame and finally add the ketchup, cook for an additional 5 mnts, add salt.

Can garnish with coriander leaves, can be eaten with chapati or white rice.

happygrub has expanded!

happygrub has expanded and I am now co-authoring a new blog with Wenyin called grubliving. Its brand new so more posts will be up and coming and it chronicles all our crafty experiments and anything that may inspire! Come and drop by..

The moon is made of cheese

I spent a Happy weekend with Mel, having a leisurely meal and snacking on these cheesy crescents of cheese. There are simply made with a short pastry and cheddar cheese incorporated into the flour. Then cut with a cookie cutter, brushed with egg yolk and topped with more grated cheddar cheese. They’re intensely savoury with a strong cheddar taste. The cheese give the biscuits a soft crumbly texture. We enjoyed these with sweet iced milk coffee and exchanged supplies. As you know, Mel is the creator of many beautiful creations of handmade cards which she lets go at reasonable prices. We had a fun time exchanging ribbons, techniques and materials. My sister also joined in the fun and made a card. Mel was also part of the creating team of happygrub and helped this technologically disabled person start this blog. For her sweet and generous nature, and also for being my most loyal and trusted friend since I was thirteen and an awkward teen, I present her with: TADA!! This is courtesy of the kind and talented ovenhaven who has given me my first virtual award!

Cheddar Biscuits

Courtesy of my mom 

Ingredients

250g plain flour

125g butter

1 egg yolk

3/4 cup cheddar cheese

1 egg yolk for brushing 

Method

Combine flour, butter, 1 egg yolk and 1.2 cup cheese till a soft pastry form. Roll out to 75mm thick and chill for half hour. Remove from chiller and cut with cookie cutter. Alternatively shape into logs and chill. Cut into 5 mm rounds and place on a baking tray. Brush with egg yolk and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 180C for 15 mins or till golden brown.

 My well worn baking sheet

Exchanging supplies on the floor

Hard at work

 Mel’s organized ribbon box

Mel’s even more organized box of trinketsMy first ever card sale!