Spoken too Soon

There is this Enid Blyton book, The Naughtiest Girl in School. In it, the lead character, Elizabeth, makes up her mind and tells everyone in plain sight that by the end of the year, she would be gone. Because she hates school, from day one.

The year goes by, and she finds that she doesn't hate it, no - in fact she has fallen in love with her school. But, as she put it, she had to be brave, and keep to her word - and leave. But someone (her Head Girl, I think) tells her - it's not brave to keep to your promise this time - what would be brave, is that she admitted what she really felt - and that she stayed.

I feel, with all my being somehow, that it was the wrong move to leave my last assignment.

I don't usually say this, but I was, no, I am, darn good at it. I'm good at owning my package, I'm good at chasing down (mutiple0 solutions, and I live for the site work. The outdoors, the being in the middle of it all, the rush of something brought to life, I feel the loss of it now.

And I loved it - the pace, the ever changing environment, the different phases you go through - most of all, I love seeing and putting life into things on paper.

Most of all, something that I worked so hard on, it just would be really nice to see things come into fruition.

I want to go offshore. What is wrong with me??

Maybe I made the move too soon.

So now, what do I do??

Lean Tuna Melt (Dinner for One)

This does not look or sound appetising - but in a pinch - healthier, heartier and more satisfying than noodles. I have to say, I'm going on a very loong Instant-noodles hiatus after this. Here's what I have been eating instead:

Peanut butter sandwiches
Cheese sandwiches
Corn chips
Potato chips
Fried egg
Oatmeal with soymilk
Peanuts

And one more:

Lean Tuna Melt

First, a microwavable bowl with a lid (the single diner's best friend), preferably Corelle or Pyrex.

This recipe is basically an onion, sliced and tossed with black pepper and soy then nuked in the microwave for 5 minutes till it becomes translucent and sweet. Then, tip in the tuna chunks (in oil or water, doesn't matter to me - and I used half a can), sliced canned button mushrooms and half a tablespoonful of condensed cream of mushroom soup (Campbell's for preference - freeze the rest) - don't be tempted to add more, the soup concentrate is really salty. Sprinkle about 2-3 tablespoonfuls of water and any other flavour enhance (a squeeze of lime for instance, it cuts the fishy smell - I also add a chopped chilli).

Nuke again for 3 minutes. Try to finish this piping hot - it does get a teeny bit disgusting once it's cold.

Ethnic Decor

Gorgeous, Indian-or-Moroccan-inspired home decor elements.

Ketna Patel Indian Wedding carpet

From Singapore Home & Decor, an actual home with electric blue walls, Chinese screen wall deco and Indian-inspired bedspread. I wouldn't do this kind of thing in my own home (I prefer bedrooms to be more zen and peaceful, not a stimulation). But what an inspired combination!

Balinese Batik-inspired bathroom, also from SG H&D

Now something I truly love - a simple white dining room with a mirror, but add an Indian Saree tablecloth and some colourful Venetian goblets and the whole place is transformed. This is what I'd do for my home too.

Hermes India scarf - framed like the piece of art it is


Moroccan tea glasses

Orange Nutella Cupcakes

Let nothing go to waste, especially the fruit of the earth. I used the rind of the oranges (plus some stolen juice) for the jelly I made earlier. And since I still had some Nutella left over from Germany, I decided to use it here. I don't normally like my chocolate with fruit, but this is a really elegant combination - chocolate and orange - if I do say so myself. The cake is from Nigella's Lemon Cake recipe, but with more liquid in the form of juice instead of milk for a moister cake, since I would not be soaking it in syrup this time.

Orange Cake with a Nutella Filling

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons castor sugar

1 cup cake flour

2 eggs

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

Zest from 3 oranges

4 tablespoons orange juice, or enough for a runny batter

6 tablespoons Nutella, frozen individually

Rub the orange zest with the sugar until the everything becomes orange and smells like the fruit.

Cream the butter and orange sugar till light and creamy.

Add the eggs and stir to combine.

Fold in the flour and liquids, alternately.

Get your cupcake pan out. Fill with batter only a quarter up halfway, then add a tablespoon of frozen Nutella on the batter. Top up with the remaining batter till 3/4 full.

Bake at 275 degrees for 20 minutes.

Dear Reader, forgive me this photo, I just cannot resist showing off my new look - in the form of sexy-schoolmarm, rimmed Hugo Boss glasses :)

On British Cookbooks, and Chocohotopots (Ms. Lawson trumps)

I guess it goes without saying that I am THE hugest fan of the lady who delights in sinfully rich, decadent (she uses half a kilo of chocolate to make 12 cookies) food, and terribly unapologetic she is about it too (I do not put a price on someone's comfort). I love watching Jamie Oliver but the lone book of his I own goes unused, just because I find his writing too simplistic (the adjectives fantastic and pukka can only carry you so far) and uninspiring. Nigel Slater has a dry wit and that is always the truth, and gives such graphic descriptions of the food - "glorious dripping and jelly.........., the gelatinous bones, sucked or not..., the crunchy, sticky bits of skin and potato stuck to the pan ( I love Real Cooking, and am currently enjoying The Kitchen Diaries.

But the book that sparked my bankruptcy-inducing relationship with Amazon.com, the book that I carry from living room to kitchen to bedroom, that I read whilst forking instant noodles into my mouth, my all-time favourite cookbook, is undoubtedly How to Eat. I contemplated for almost an hour between Domestic Goddess and How to Eat browsing in Kinokuniya (reading and re-reading the covers - that was all I could see since I didn't want to bother the staff to unwrap the plastic) in 2008, and ended up returning to my hotel room and reading the book reviews. This is how I ended up with How to Eat. And I haven't put it down since. I love her prose, the way she describes her Sauternes Custard as "wobbling like the inside of a Reubenesque thigh", love to read about how she feeds her children smoked salmon and liver with apricots (yeuch though), and her sound advice (don't just stick food into the fridge or freezer with no thought of its purpose/plan in mind, most likely you'll end up not using it and chucking it out later - how true it is). And I will be forever grateful for her Best Chocolate Ice Cream in the World recipe.

OK, this one is a bit of a cheat - the recipe is from How to Eat, but the name is from Feast. I switched it up because I just posted the sticky chocolate pudding recipe, and the name in HtE is Gooey Chocolate Puddings, but they are quite different really. While the sticky pudding is like a cake with a thick chocolate sauce, this one is like a rich, hot, molten chocolate with a thin, crisp shell on top. This one, despite its name, is rather more elegant in looks than the homey-looking pudding - a shiny crisp carapace that encapsulates hot, molten chocolate lava underneath. This one you'd be forced to eat in modest teaspoonfuls, otherwise it'd just be too much hot stuff in your mouth. Trust me, I learnt the hard way. :P

Chocohotopots (or Gooey Chocolate Puddings)

125 g best quality dark chocolate, finely chopped
125g unsalted butter
3 large eggs
150g sugar
35g plain flour (preferably 00 flour - I used superfine flour)
butter and flour for preparing ramekins (I used bowls)

Put the chocolate and butter in a bowl and suspend over a pan of simmering water. Whisk every now and then until melted. Alternatively, use the microwave in 30-second bursts.

In another bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar and flour until just blended. Gradually whisk in the melted chocolate and butter. Set aside to rest.

Grease four 250g ramekins with butter and add flour to cover the butter, tapping the ramekins to get rid of the excess. Preheat the oven to 200 degC about half an hour before you want to eat the pudding.

Pour the mixture into the ramekins and put them on a baking sheet in the oven for 10-12 minutes, until the tops are firm and cracking slightly and the edges set. Serve immediately and consider providing a jug of cold, cold cream for people to pout over their pudding's hotly deliquescing interior as they eat.

Following Advice - Nigella's Stickly Chocolate Pudding

This is a revelation!

First things first - I made this twice - it was cheap (relatively, since it used cocoa instead of chocolate). Or at least I attempted to. You see, I didn't read Nigella's notes before the recipe the second time I made it. I stupidly tried to halve the recipe - except the one egg stipulated. Everything in half the quantity except the egg. I'd just have a slighly cakier pudding, right? Well, it did exactly that - became all cake and no pudding, and no fun at all.

So, as usual, put yourself in Nigella's messy (and rather clumsy) but wise and sensuous hands, and you'll do just fine.

FYI, the photos you see are from my first attempt, where I did follow the quantities listed. As you can see, the results are an absolute joy - a river of molten chocolate sauce to be scooped up and slobbered over with the crumbly topping.

"...child's play to make. Choose good cocoa and good dark chocolate and stick carefully to the exact measurements." And when Nigella says stick, you'd better stick (so I admonished myself after failed attempt number two).

Ready a 20-cm souffle dish (as Nigella does) - I used my shallow oval fish pie-looking dish from Ikea with no idea whether it can hold the mixture or not - thankfully it did.

The Pudding:
75 g best dark chocolate or chocolate buttons
150g self-raising flour
25g good cocoa
50 g ground hazelnuts (or just replace with flour)
200g caster sugar
40g unsalted butter, melted
1 egg
180 ml full-fat milk
1 tsp real vanilla extract (or any liquor - I used Tia Maria)

The Sauce:
180g soft brown sugar
120 g cocoa, sifted

Preheat the oven to 180 degC.

If you're not using the chocolate buttons, chop the chocolate roughly. Don't use the food processor since the pieces of chocolate will provide the chewy, melting lumps in the pudding; they need to be chunks and the machine will whizz them to dust.

Sift the flour and cocoa into a bowl, stir in the ground hazelnuts and the sugar, then add the chocolate. Whisk together the melted butter, egg, milk and vanilla and pour into the dry ingredients. Stir well, so it's all thoroughly mixed, then spoon into the buttered dish.

Now for the sauce, not that you make it yourself (the cooking does that for you) but you have to get the ingredients together. Put the kettle on. Mix the cocoa and brown sugar and sprinkle over the top of the pudding mixture in the dish. Pour the water to the 500 ml mark of the measuring jug, then pour over the pudding. Put the water-soused pudding into the oven and leave there for 50 minutes. I'd recommend placing a larger tray at the bottom, to catch any spillovers. Don't open the door till a good 45 minutes have passed, and then press; of it feels fairly firm and springy to the touch, it's ready. If you're using a shallow dish, it'll be ready in 35-40 minutes.

Remove from the oven and serve immediately, spooning from the dish and making sure everyone gets both sauce and sponge.

Indian Brown Beef Stew, and Dinner for One

Today I chose to buy white bread from Miri's most popular bakery. Gotta lay off the instant noodles sooner or later, right? When it came to my turn to pay, the cashier has the audacity to rearrange the carbon paper in her receipt books for a good 3 minutes, and has me giving her the most maleavolant stares I can muster, my damned 3 ringgit in my hand. Although I have to admit that the loaves are flying off the shelves - everyone in the bakery has at least one in their hands (the old man and his daughter who have just hijacked the counter beside my super efficient one have two with them).

Once home, I watch Jamie Oliver conjure baby tomato pasta and blueberry-apple-balsamic crumble whilst triumphantly tossing insta-cook meals into the trash.

I heat up a one-sized portion of my homemade curry that I had been storing for myself in anticipation of many solitary meals. Get out two slices of bread - thick and white and pillowy, and get my cheddar block out of the freezer. Lay the slices on a baking tray, grate on the cheese, a couple of twists of black pepper. Toast till everything turns a golden brown, while the curry spins happily in the microwave.

Hot curry - melting slices of beef and onions, spicy in the mouth. Everything is hot and savoury. I rush to wolf it all down - bread, beef - before they get cold.

Indian Brown Beef Stew
Adapted from 5 Spices, 50 Dishes by Ruta Kahate

Serves 4, I halved the recipe and freeze for later supping

3 tbsp canola oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped (I sliced into rings)
4 cloves of garlic, finely grated
Small thumb-sized piece of ginger, grated
2 tsps chilli powder (cayenne) - to taste, really
1/2 tsp tumeric powder
2 tbsp coriander seeds, finely ground
1 pound beef sirloin, sliced into half-centimeter pieces
2 cups of water (I added chicken stock concentrate from the bottle)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice

Heat the oil in a stockpot and saute the onion till golden - this takes about 15-30 minutes. Add the coriander, garlic, ginger, cayenne and tumeric, and stir medium heat until browned, about 4 minutes. Deglaze the pan with aa couple of tablespoons of water/stock, stirring to loosen the browned bits at the bottom of the pan.

Add the beef, saute over medium heat till the meat is browned. Add the rest of the water/stock and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, and gently simmer until the beef is tender.

Add the lemon juice, simmer a bit more and remove from the heat. If storing, cool it quickly (I decant into a stainless steel bowl held in a bowl of cool water, then pop in the fridge and then freeze).

The good thing about this dish is that it does taste better the next day, so make it in advance if you so please. Although as you can see, as long as you slice the beef thinly enough this should be a piece of cake. If you like really soft melting chunks, use stewing beef and simmer for an hour or more, or as Ruta recommends, use a pressure cooker.

Solitary Opportunities

Things that can only be done ALONE:

So the time has finally come - AK goes offshore and leaves BooBoo and me for the next 2 weeks.
Living a more-or-less solitary existence (with the exception of the occasional working lunch/churchgoing) does have SOME, although I'd admit, not many, perks. You can live by standards very much lower than when there is the two of you. For example, Spicy potato chips and durian could constitute a pretty good dinner where you're concerned, but add a partner, and then expectations change. The TV could be forever tuned to the Cooking channel and no one would protest. And of course, combine the two to eating in front of the TV, which definitely is a conversation killer and not acceptable when the other half hates watching people cooking while he's eating, whereas you on the the other hand love it.

So here's a list of things I will be doing on my own:

1) Watch Julie and Julia, a movie on Julia Child, mother of poetic cooking in America

2) Tidy up my personal files - think it has been 4 years since I've done so. Make separate folders for insurance, shareholdings, investments, taxes, book receipts, warranty cards, etc etc.

3) Go furniture shopping! I have in mind a filing cabinet to be used as a kitchen cabinet - I will be seriously lacking kitchen space ionce we move. Other items include a TV bench, full-length mirrors, a new dustbin for my kitchen (hopefully a chic stainless steel one), towel racks for hanging hooks on, to hang my kitchen paraphernilia - AND - I'd better get these before AK comes back and gets me to change my mind :P

These cabinets would be perfect for my use - they're made of coated steel not flimsy plywood, so I can use their tops as worksurfaces (peeling, chopping, stirring) and keep jars/cans/tupperware in them.

4) Start setting up the garden - pre-plant my lemongrass and pandan.

Grumble

I have been working in a fog for the past few weeks.

Daydreaming, waiting for the clock to tick, tick tick its way to an honourable time to leave (in principle we are allowed to leave at 4 am, but I leave at 5 normally).

Why is this?

Ever since I accepted this new job, I have been fumbling. I HATE the work I do now, chasing people, getting their opinions and then typing them down. It's giving me no satisfaction whatsoever, and I usually come out of these meetings irritated, to say the least.

I want to do something with BITE, something with results that I can gauge and measure. Most importantly, something that adds VALUE to myself professionally.

Dear God, pls give me the patience to wait this out.

Head in the Clouds

The ALL-OUT Wishlist!!


Head in the clouds, heart aflutter.


- Tag Haeuer Grand Carrera as modelled by Maria Sharapova - the big black one with 3 knobs. I am a total sucker for big men's watches - I think they look totally sexy on my (rather) slim wrist. Plus, they're so damn cool. Breitling is another brand I like, but the Tag has an added elegance to it (could be cheaper too - haha), perhaps because they designed it with a woman in mind?



Anyways, they totally captured what I was looking for in a watch. Dream, dream!!

- Christian Loboutin heels in 2 colours. I promise I will cherish these for the rest of my walking days ( I have a reputation for ruining my shoes - the local cobbler is on really good terms with me) One black pump with a 2-3 inch heel, for everyday work and the runs of life. The other in nude - suede or something not shiny, higher, slighly chunkier (slightly stacked, perhaps?), for all other occasions, that look like extensions of my legs. Oh for those red soles!




- Big black Coach Carly, or Tod Pashmy. I love big black hobo bags, aka Rachel Zoe's style. As much as I'd hate to say so, she does make those skinny arses (Linsday, Paris, Nicole) look good. And an essential part of her look is the big slouchy bag (paired with oversized sunnies-which I have- and ballet flats). A big bag does make one look thinner, you know?

- Saville row suit in a soft grey wool, tailored to my proportions

TODAY

Am feeling good TODAY.

Caffeine in my system, a pretty outfit (a dress, my dears, and my favourite (or only pair that costs more than 10 bucks :P) on, a great dinner last night, a kaya puff in my hand now, and best of all, enough sleep, thanks to someone coming home. Oh, and let's not forget the fact that a headhunter called my yesterday, what a surprise!

Let's hope this moment is the beginning of great things to come.

Slipper Prawns Lazy Mornay

First of all, apologies are in order, especially to Mr. Mornay, or whoever it was who invented Lobster Mornay.

I have to say that they are not a pretty sight.

But, for the price, they're pretty darn good.

So they're not red and shiny with long spikes like their more glamorous lobster cousins.

So they're grey with really flat heads.

So AK said they look like cockroaches in the photos.

SO WHAT.

They have this sweet-yet-salty taste that, if you close your eyes and try hard enough, to make you believe that you're eating lobster - at sixteen bucks a kilo - enough for 2 meals and without that "I wish we could have more" feeling I have whenever I eat lobester (which is like once a decade).

If you're ever so lucky to come across these overlooked babies in the market, and eat with all your other senses besides your sight (hey, foie gras is no looker either, and don't get me started on sea urchin), then read on.

- Cut each prawn in half (belly side up) and pry away the belly shells to reveal the flesh underneath

- No need for salt (they're plenty salty as they are), just s couple of twists of black pepper will do

- Sprinkle with a cheese of your choice - I used mozarella for gooiness and aged cheddar for taste and get a lovely burnished look (parmesan doesn't give that)

- Bake at the hottest temperature (250 degC) for 15-10 mins, cover with foil if the cheese browns too much - though very likely the prawns will be cooked once the cheese is done as well

Orange Jasmine Tea Jelly

What to do with office-issued oranges when neither of us enjoy eating them as is?


Peel them, remove the seeds and as much as the white pith/membrane as you can. I grated the rind for orange cupcakes first (putting almost the entire fruit to use - waste not, want not after all). Make sure to collect all the juices as well in the bowl you want to make your jelly in (I really don't recommend using little jelly moulds for this as you'd have to make your orange segments pretty small). If the oranges are not sweet enough, sprinkle over some sugar and let them macerate for 10-15 minutes.

Put the kettle on to boil, and prepare your teabags (I used jasmine tea, but I suppose black tea can be used as well, not so sure about green tea). Get a heatproof measuring jug ready and place your teabags in the jug.

Reading the instructions on your gelatine/jelly powder packet (I used konkayyu jelly powder), and pour just enough boiling water to make the jelly. Sweeten to taste again, with sugar or honey. Stir to dissolve (with konkayyu jelly powder sometimes I had to whisk really vigorously - it tends to clump).

Chill till set.

Precious Moments

BooBoo and AK having a father-to-son chitchat :)


Obviously AK's lecturing got so boring that BooBoo fell asleep. See how he is blithely sprawled all over AK's legs.

Before you ask - AK is not short nor small - we just have a really big, fat cat. :)

Pengsan...

Complete with paws in the air pose...

We love our not-so-little fat cat.