Remeber I promised you I will share this blog with you?

I miss these kids! And Husaini and Julie so much. Check out the blog for the thermal pot cooking thing. 

Those who know me well know that I am technologically averse. I limit the amount of technology I use. I keep one simple basic phone unlike most people who have a “work line” and a personal line. I don’t like to carry 2 phones and pay 2 bills. I don’t use any other electronic gadgets and I have never touched the dvd player that lies in my living room. Palms (and I’m not talking about the surface of a hand) terrify me. I am always quite amazed when someone whips out a palm during rounds and start fiddling around for medicine dosages. Of course kitchen equipment isn’t included in this list. I was utterly horrified when my laptop kind of sizzled and died when I turned it on just now. And it can’t be switched on. This is terrible considering I am preparing for a presentation on Saturday and I need my stuff! H recently bought me a hard drive and I was intending to transfer all my photos and documents. Then there was the call that came and went and the little person inside me that was recoiling from the thought of trying to sort out the hard drive thing which I have never tried before. So now I have to go down to the laptop service center hopefully during lunch or figure out how to get thru the presentation. I am supposed to speak at a career guidance seminar for college students on medicine as a career. I thought something will dawn on me by now but I’m kind of blank. 

So here I am doing this meme by Linda!

What were you cooking 5 years ago?
I was tutoring a kid to earn a little extra pocket money while still in medical school. I made a Malay banana cake that ended up in my current husband’s hands thru this now grown up kid. H and I didn’t even know each other then. 

What were you cooking 10 years ago?

Brownies from a mix. I was 16, forgive me!
Five snacks you enjoy:
Banana chips from Kerala

Cheezels

White chocolate with hazelnuts and rice crispies

Molten liquid hot chocolate from real melted chocolate and milk

Any good Malay kueh (or traditional cake)

Five recipes you know by heart:
Pizza base

Semolina pudding (sugee pudding)

Chicken pie

Basic tomato pasta sauce

Chapati

Five foods you love to cook:

Good quality prime steak

Anything for a BBQ

Roasted vegetables: zucchini, aurbergines, peppers, onions

Banana flower, I love the taste and texture

fresh herbs, I love the colour and smell. I especially love corriander leaves, in Thai or Indian food

Five things you cannot/will not eat:
Chicken thighs or drumsticks

Chicken feet

The thick streak of fat that sometimes comes with you steak

Clams cos I had really bad food poisoning once

Tripe, yuck!

Five favourite culinary toys:
Kitchen Aid, hands down

My Philips Ice Belender

My Philips Ice cream machine

My Cuisinart blender

My MOKA pot!

I’m tagging Is happygrub’s new blogging friend! Also Husaini, I hope you’ve gotten over your 1 day transit whirlwind that ended up in the unlikeliest of places, I think you know what I’m referring too! PS> H sends his love too.

And you know I would love to hear from anyone of you too..!

I need to start baking more and buying less books.

August has been a busy month. Or rather is a busy month for me since its not over yet. We had a really good time with our best friend Husaini last weekend. Its so funny, perhaps the world really has gotten smaller. They are in New Zealand but we still feel connected, by looking at each other’s blog, looking at photos uploaded on facebook (ok that’s only one way, we don’t have photos on facebook) and with Husaini transitting in Singapore once in a while. And of course the strange emails. It seems like we picked up right where we left off.

I think we need to start saving a little as our spending this month has been sky rocketed past the roof. I have a terrible weakness to cookbooks and kitchen equipment. What are you shopping indulgences?

I can’t find the energy to knead. But I do like experimenting with my camera. This was dinner on a weekday.

I like my vintage Royal Doulton plate and it comes with a matching teacup. Olive oil foccacia bought from Peck Bakery in Takashimaya. Eaten split, filled with mozarella and chicken salami then toasted.I like it with a slather of Japanese mayonnaise. I love japanese mayonnaise simply because its not sweet like regular mayo. And the fact that it comes in squeezy bottles just feels more hygienic some how.

Photo taken with my 50mm f1.4 lens and a Nikon D60

I wish there was a one stop grocery shop where I could get everything I needed. Unfortunately there isn’t and we shop around at a couple of places to stock up our kitchen. It seems like we are grocery shopping all the time but I think we both enjoy it. I think nothing screams more couplehood than loading a large supermarket trolley with stuff that you need. I’m not sure how it ended up this way but we by our steak from a supplier in Eunos, our chicken in the Geylang market, this is the only place I know that will sell me just the breast of the chicken because we don’t eat the other parts, we buy our fuit mostly from Giant because its the cheapest and we seem to consume a lot of fruit as we always run short. We buy our Middle Eastern and Indian stuff form Mustafa because they stock up on things you just can’t find elsewhere like foul, hummus and tahini. As well as that essential chapati flour, Pilsbury atta flour. Herbs and baby potatoes are also cheap at Mustafa. And then of course there’s Carrefour for cheese and Cold Storage or Jason’s for things you just can’t find in the other places like anchovies, special dressings, ok I did say I always make my own but the dressing below is seriously good.

Have you tried Boursin cream cheese? It is so addictive with chip or crackers. Its H’s favourite entertainment tool. He calls his friends over and they have cappucino with chips and Boursin. He leads a good life. 

I love mustard. I’m not sure how this love came about and how to explain it but I think nothing beats steak and mustard of that sausage with a dollop of mustard. I think Maille makes the best mustard and I only buy Maille Dijon or wholegrain. I don’t like the mustard in the squeezy bottles. The Caeser dressing to the right is seriously good. Making a Caeser dressing is a lot of work from the egg yolks to the grating of the parmesan. This is lovely and fluid and great on top of those croutons, cos lettuce and a soft boilled egg with a runny yolk on top.

Another thing I can’t live without is my Barilla pasta. Barilla is good, and I think can only be found in Carrefour/Jason’s or Cold Storage. I might have seen it at Giant but I can’t be sure

This is the secret to those chocolate chip cookes akin to Famous Amos with a golden brown caramelly bite.

I like anchovies in my tomato based pasta sauces, it adds a layer of flavour that just makes it all round tasty. I usually buy the ones without the capers and add the capers myself if I want them in the sauce.

The new issue of donna hay is out, so before I plow thru that, thought I would share some last pages from the last issue. What better way to spend a Sunday then slow with some slow roasts?

I’m not so great with meat, so I’m roasting a whole bag of bell peppers I bought today. The possibilities are endless.. Pasta, on burgers, in sandwhiches or salads. Slow roasting really mellows the flavours.

We walked at the beach last weekend. It was nice and cold as the eratic weather has been lately.

I’m not sure how soulful my contemplation will be this weekend, all I know is that Sunday will be terrific because..

Husaini’s in transit in Singapore! To those who don’t know Husaini, he’s equivalent to our soulmate as a couple. (husaini you’ll probably laugh reading this) And he has the coolest job. He flies with a company that does medical evacuations so he was from Johannesburg transitting here and going back to his new home in New Zealand. And he has a new food blog which has quite an interesting concept.. More soon..

A random weekend lunch. If you are Singaporean, you’ll know that this is smashed chicken rice or nasi ayam penyet that was the craze recently. It is kind of dying out like so many other food trends. For those unaccustomed to this curiously named dish, I think it originates form Indonesia and is rice served with a well seasoned crispy fried chicken “smashed” with a pestle and mortar into crispy bits. Its eaten with a chilli sauce that is usually sweet and spicy with tomatoes and chilli. This was homemade by my Indonesian helper. She’s absolutely amazing, just let her taste something and she can recreate it. And having had a Chinese employer previously she can cook lots of good chinese dishes including desserts.

Mel of Mel’s Inc just got engaged! Congratulations Mel, you looked ravishing and everything went so well. You have been such a fantastic friend and you’ve done more for me than I can ever do for you. When I was having exams you would come with hazelnut gelato, cos I have this thing where I confine myself into the home during exams and once had a desperate craving for ice cream! When I was sick you would never fail to come by and pay me a visit with more goodies. And once when I was going thru a really hard time, I think you remember when, you took sick leave to help me thru the tough time. Remember when I brought you to see my GP friend and we were trying to get the MC.. Hmm, I shouldn’t reveal too much.. Haha!

Anyway I am so happy for you and so glad that H and I can love your fiance as much as you. I can’t wait to see you both on your wedding day.. Marriage is the best thing that can happen to anyone, and everyday I know that being with the one I love is the key to my peace and happiness. Marriage isn’t overrated, the love doesn’t change, it just gets stronger and deeper and its loads of fun..Some people plan their lives including their marriage to the tee, but honestly its not hard being married. The road isn’t bumpy, instead of thinking to hard about adjusting and sacrifice and giving up yourself and your time, marriage taught me to think a lot less and to feel more. Being in love and married to the person you love is the easiest and most natural thing to do. But I think you do know Mel after all these years what I think of marriage. I know Haikal will be good to you, in fact I see a lot of similarities in the devotion he has for you as H has for me. I know you will be happy. Thanks for being such a fantastic friend, You are really a blessing to all who know you.

Happy engagement Mel and Haikal!

Phew after all that.. lets talk about something less serious.  This lovely hamper was by Goldchocs.

Mel’s handmade card!

This pic is a little blurry but I couldn’t resist these eyes.

Engagement gift from her to him decorated by Mariah & Sham http://haznsham.multiply.com/photos/album/40/Mariah_Sham”

Let’s eat!

Just a sneak preview Mel, till I show you all the shots we took. You looked gorgeous but I shan’t invade ur privacy by posting the photos here! H really enjoyed taking photos for the event, though we were erm, a bit late and left a lil bit early.. Your family are such warm and wonderful hosts, really you are family to us.

Wishing both of u all the happiness..

xxxxxxxxx00000 H& Farhan xxxxxx000000xxxx

This will be my last post on Kerala.. Its about a month since our return and it seems like ages ago.. Of course I may find the urge time again to continue posting photos just like I did with Bali. Sometimes I need to take a break, at least in my mind. I’m sure you do too!

We had a meal at Fusion restaurant along Kovalam Beach. I had this fish called seer fish which is apparently a Keralan specialty. Never heard of it till I went to Kerala.  According to wikepedia

“They are pelagic fishes ,fast swimming and predatory in nature and fight vigorously when caught.Seerfishes are mainly caught using hooks and lines.They are a delicacy in several regions of South India.  Seerfishes are also referres to as “king mackerels” in some areas.  They have very sharp teeth, and are handled with care by fishers familiar with them. “

Now I’m not sure what a pelagic fish is but I sure wouldn’t want to mess with a seer fish. The taste was good though, it was firm like tuna, almost boneless and had a salmony taste too. This ws done really well, pan fried and topped with just super crispy garlic flakes. I had these by the beach reading Indian Vogue. I don’t read womanly magazines as they bore me but this was really juicy.. The Indian bourgeoisie really know how to party.

H had grilled chicken kebabs. These were quite spicy as they had sort of deep fried chilli flakes, onion and garlic as a topping.

H has this thing where he pops his head in the most unlikeliest of places for a shot. He is quite affable, I think he always manages to pull it off somehow.

At the lake behind H’s grandfather’s house. Kerala is full of inland lakes and backwaters

I miss my hammock

I’ve never seen so many coconut trees. This is another shot from my buggy on the way up to the restaurant

How much I spent on silk is still a kept secret. A 6 metre saree made of pure silk with full beading and embroidery costs about S$80-100 (about US$60-80 estimated). My mother in law bought loads of raw silk to make pants and blouses.

Along the streets. These were red plums which were really very sour, lucky for us Keralan people are sweet and gentle so they didn’t make a fuss when we didn’t buy/

And so many of them are willing to smile for a photo.

Dinner at a local restaurant. We ordered another dish of fish and it was huge. We didn’t realize the portions were going to be so big. Food was so cheap there, we paid only a dollar for a full meal at the roadside stalls. This meal cost about S$15 as it was in a restaurant but considering how much we ate is really was amazing value.

I miss the swaying coconut trees.

Sunset and again on the hammock.

Finally, I am able to post pics again.. So these cupcakes turned up here, go look at it for more pics. Yes I did use the same carrot cake recipe with some tweaking. I doubled the recipe to make 60 1.5 inch sized cupcakes for a party. I used cashews instead of walnuts and added coconut. I piped the icing which is something I’ve erm, I’ll admit I’ve never done before. Usually I just smooth on my frosting that’s why I always half fill my wrappers and make flat cupcakes. But this time I got a little more adventurous.

I am now on call(read: unable to go home, bed in a crummy room and have to keep my eyes peeled for 30 plus hours), and it is pretty quiet, I think partly as it is the eve of National Day where Singapore celebrates its independence. It funny, someone has been trying to sell to me the idea of moving to New Zealand lately, especially after I’ve finished my membership exams. I’m actually quite happy here. Of course things can be better, like the working hours. I would love a 5 day work week, I have a house officer who trained in the UK and he still can’t get that we all have to work the weekend. Honestly I’ve worked a couple of years and I still have not gotten over it. I don’t know how people nonchalantly go about it without that scream in their head “its a Sunday!”

Anyway dare I say that this night is quiet.. Shh.. I have just made the greatest sin among all doctors on call. Never make any comment on the nature of the call especially before 8 am (when its over). There are many “taboos” while on call, partly due to our Asian roots, we are a superstitious lot. I don’t comply to these rules and superstitions but some people are sticky about it, so for those who may find this useful, here are the rules to follow for a good call

-bathe, this is to “wash away bad luck”

-never take the “last lift” at any time of the day or the lift last on the corridor of lifts, this would indicate that u’ll have to walk a lot during the call

-never eat “pau” or steamed bun on the day of the call as “pau” sounds like the word “carry” in mandarin and this implies you’ll be carrying a heavy burden. A registrar in the hospital actually did a randomized control trial where he tracked 150 doctors and randomized them into 2 groups feeding half of them “pau” and the other half chocolate bars. So at 4 pm on the day of the call all the doctors on call would have either the pau or choc bar delivered to them. At the end of the call they were given a questionare asking if they ate it and how many hours they slept. Also the number of admission, ICU transfers and deaths were tracked and recorded based on the information from the computer system. At the end of the study, it was found that there was NO difference betweent the pau and non pau eating groups. this was actually published in the Singapore Medical Journal earlier this year. The registrar modestly said that it should have been in the Lancet or New England Journal or Medicine and that soon everyone will be talking about this study. He had to be gently reminded that the paper has been published for months and none of us have actually heard of it save for this time when he was explaining in great detail.

But why am I suddenly getting so many phone calls?? Got to go..

Hence the silence..

I can’t post because I can’t upload any photos on the blog, for some strange reason each time I load a photo and press the “insert into post” option, I get a blank page with a “!Done” message at the bottom of the page.. So unless this thing sorts out on its own, I’m not sure what I can do about it..

While typing this I’ve found out that this is a wordpress error http://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic.php?id=32542&page=2&replies=49 and people cant upload their photos either.

I am currently posting on my other blog instead while this thing works again so pop by!

Before i start waxing lyrical about bread, let me give a warning, proceed only if you are really into/curious about baking and bread baking or just want to see how long Farhan can talk about this subject. (read: Mel this is going to bore you like crazy)

I had a 18 hour ciabatta experiment which I am glad to say was a success. Since it was 18 hours long, sad to say by the time the sandwich was assembled, it was 8 pm and too dark to bother taking any photos. This led to my mother in law commenting that it was took too much effort and time to bake bread.I think this was contributed by me recruiting her help in spritzing water into the oven while I ran an errand in the neighbourhood.

This led me thinking. Is it worthwhile to bake your own bread? Zhullie of ovenhaven had her first bread baking experiment and thoroughly enjoyed it. And I think for every bread baker (calling all bread bakers: please back me up here!) there is never anything more satisfying than making your own bread. In terms of time consumption, I must say this was the most time consuming. But the results were phenomenol if I may say so. It had the perfect crisp crust and those lovely holes that ciabatta has that I could never have achieved previously.

I think the main block when it comes to bread baking is timing and planning. Unlike cookies which mixed in a bowl and baked on the spot, bread takes TIME to rise. It also needs a lot of love, some breads more than others. This ciabatta was like a newborn baby, needing to be caressed every few hours, fed and turned. Pizza dough is fast and takes an hour max from dough to oven. Chapati when made well needs minimal rest, but can be left overnight to relax for better results. Pita bread takes a little more time due to the starter which takes 4-5 hours. And I have discovered this ciabatta takes the icing on the cake! Well now you may ask, What are the advantages of making your own bread?

-you get free baking bread smells around the whole house

-it costs almost nothing to bake your own bread

-you can flavour it however you wish: rosemary, sundried tomatoes, beautiful olives, roast garlic, caremalized onions. You could put anything in a roll to make it sweet or savoury like these cream cheese and walnut rolls

-you can shape it which ever way you want like these small kaiser rolls, perhaps a heart for your love?

-there aren’t any wierd preservatives, leaveners and additives in homemade bread. This also means it doesnt keep well. but I guess we all know it freezes well for up to a month well wrapped in the fridge

-the joy of holding your own handmade rolls, burger buns, pizza, flatbreads is something that can’t rival paying a few dollars at your neighbourhood bakery.

But you probably think I’m a little crazy making my own mayonaise, cutting my own tenderloin for a burger and eating only handcut fries which H is extremely good at, always mixing my own salad dressing and never using bottled. But I still seriously believe that you need to taste how good and wholesome great quality homemade stuff is and you’ll never turn back.

Just like Dorie’s carrot cake which motivated me to buy the book,

This definitely made me add the book shown at the top of the page into my collection. Its superb, Zhullie, another must buy!! The recipe for the ciabatta coming soon, I made a pan bagna: a traditional French ‘submarine’ sandwich. It can be filled with a variety of fillings, but instead of butter or margarine, the bread is ‘bathed’ in olive oil. Pan Bagna should be moist, so it may not the sort of thing you want to eat in polite company!Enjoy the photo from here with recipe.