I’m so tired

I bought a Philips Cucina food processor and made homemade sausages with roast garlicky potatoes and a grilled pepper sauce.

I’m totally exhausted from cooking healthy meals(excluding this meal, we’ve cut red meat out of our diets) and exercising. The diaper rash is also wearing me out as I’ve been solely cloth diapering and I’ve been doing without help at home for the past week. Hana’s diaper rash has disappeared but a new heat rash has appeared along the crease of her neck. Argh!

Dinner for one and a half

Dinner is usually a one pot or actually one wok affair. I make the base which is lots of fried garlic, prawn, squid, chicken and/or beef in different combinations depending on whats available in my freezer at that time. I then freeze this in portions and take it out for a quick dinner. I fry different noodles:  pasta, egg noodles, rice noodles thick or thin and add different seasoning and sauces. It can be Malay style “mee goreng” with some homemade chilli paste, it can be Chinese style Hokkien egg noodles or it can be a pasta with some tomatoes thrown in. Sometimes when we are in the mood for rice it would be fried rice. Something which I’m not that good at, somehow my fried rice is a 50-50 hit/miss situation.

Pretty plate apparently from the Isaac Mizrahi collection bought during the Robinson’s sale. A steal at S$2 a plate. What do you eat when you’re eating alone?

Dinner of roast vegetables

First cut up some vegetables that you think are starting to look a little tired in the fridge. Aurgbergines, peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, pumpkin, onion and garlic are some good things to roast.

Nestle a clove or two of garlic. Scatter some olives. Season well with olive oil, salt, pepper and dried herb of your choice like oregano or basil. Fresh herbs would burn.

Grill for 45 mins to an hour in a hot oven. Finish with crumbled feta and choice of fresh herb: parsley, basil or corriander. Serve with crusty baguette or toasted pita! Dinner in 5 mins prep + 45 mins roasting.

 

On a separate note.. I’ve been using lots of lemongrass products these last few months. I love lemongrass. I think it smells of Asia. Of resorts and sunsets and beaches and spas.

For essential oil to burn, I use Senteurs d’Angkor Lemongrass oil from Cambodia. You can get it at the large Artisans d’Angkor outlets in the airport at Siem Reap or Phnom Penh. This in an oil burner makes me really sleepy and I usually sleep well with this scent in my room.

For something fragrant in the bath I’ve been using A’kin’s Lemongrass shampoo

My latest buy was Lemongrass massage oil, and this by far was the most delicious, potently fragrant massage oil I’ve ever used. From Mt Sapola, they have a new shop at Tampines One.

 

Another by the way, I thought this was a fabulous idea. And beautiful. Made by Quizas. I feel that blogging is a great way to keep in touch with friends, somehow I always feel connected to her by reading her posts. I don’t think Facebook has the same feel, at least for me. Anyway, Quizas, when are you coming over bearing gifts from Italy?

Photo evidence..

..of a sunny side up with a broken yolk, a common occurence in my hands.

This time on foul mudammas or fava beans in a thick sauce. We know it in Malay as “kacang pool”. Its found in a tin and there’s two brands which we buy, one is made in China with a name I can’t remember. Its found in small grocery shops especially in Geylang and another is a name I can’t read:

I buy this brand from Mustafa and its the only place I know which has it. But we buy the tin with the whole beans which I then peel (each bean has a soft shell that protects it). I usually saute some onion and garlic and then add the beans. H likes it that way. Sometime I add a teensy pinch of garam masala or meat curry powder for some spice. Serve with chopped onion, fresh tomatoes, green chillis, a good drizzle of olive oil, a lime wedge to squeeze over and lots of crusty baguette.

This week’s read has been this amazing blog.

This week I’ve been dreaming of ..

..gardens and

sweet flowers.

This week I’ve been listening to my neighbour play “If you’re happy and you know you clap your hands” on her piano to her little toddler. A baby boy who gets so excited when he sees us coming home. He squeals and runs to the gate and shakes our hands while we ask him how his day is. H is called “uncle” and I’m currently nameless to him. I’ll always ask him about his car and that will set him off “car car car car!” a gazillion times. A coming home ritual which all of us look forward to.

This week I’ve been away from my kitchen so my potatoes are sadly sprouting eyes and my vegetables wilting in my chiller. Time for some roasting of those odds and ends like this quick weekday dinner a couple of weeks back:

Roasted aurbergine, olives, garlic, tomatoes in olive oil. Topped with crumbled Greek feta and fresh corriander. Mop with your favourite crusty bread or pita.

Details soon..