Oven omelette

I previously mentioned that, given that I have a little over a month left here, I decided not to refill my cooking gas tank. But I still have most of my meals at home - using my trusty electrical appliances - kettle, microwave, toaster oven. I'll admit - a lot of it is heating up fried chicken and fishballs bought from the deli counters of supermarkets and instant noodles. But I make do.

Today, since i had a bit more time, I tore up a piece of aluminium foil, placed it in my trusty Indian copper platter and smeared a little oil all over it. I diced up an onion and tossed it in the oil with a little Maggie seasoning and placed it in the oven toaster with dial up to 12 minutes. Meanwhile I broke 2 eggs in a bowl, grated in a clove of garlic and some ginger. Since I had some mozarella I tossed a couple of slices in too. Tossed in a very finely sliced bird's eye chilli too, and whisked it all up with a fork. I opened the toaster door to the sweet smell of my onions caramellizing and a nice sizzling sound. I poured the contents of the bowl over the onions and closed the door. By the time the timer rang, I had a nice little frittata ready.

Voila, dinner.



Fresh ginger muffins

With the move impending, another thing I have been trying to do is use up my perishables - butter, cooking chocolate, flour - in my pantry and fridge.

So this long weekend I baked me some fresh ginger muffins. Just the pure flavour of fresh ginger, with a bit of bite in the texture, thanks the (deliberate) incomplete pulses in my little blender - I was too lazy to use my trusty Japanese porcelain grater.

Fresh ginger muffins

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour

1/2 cup caster sugar

3 tbsp brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tbsp demerara sugar (optional, to top the muffins)

1/3 cup grated ginger

Preheat the oven to 160 deg C. Melt the butter and let it cool slightly. Stir in the ginger, caster and brown sugar to mix. Add the eggs by one, stirring to incorporate before adding the second one. Tip in the flour and stir just to incorporate. Spoon into muffin cups/tins, then sprinkle the tops with demerara sugar.

Bake for around 20 minutes, till a skewer inserted in the middle of the muffins come out clean.

Throws and Art

So the little kink we encountered in the transaction of our new place has been ironed out. HUGE sigh of relief. Despite the delays (about a month), the bottom line is, we still love the place, and to undergo another round of house-hunting, negotiations and starting the process of purchasing all over again would be at least twice as long. So we'll take what we can get.

We made an order for a handmade woven cane sofa here in Miri. I am absolutely in love with it. It is a boxy, modern design, rustic dark-brown colour, grey Indian cotton upholstery and turquoise cushions. I can't wait for it to be completed. AK bought me a woven chest from them three years back for as a birthday present, and after two years it's still in pristine condition. You can't find hand-made, top-quality workmanship and materials for the same prices in West Malaysia.

In the meantime I am window shopping online for inspirations and other stuff.

I really want a soft throw for the sofa, to be used as a blanket to be snuggled into during movie nights and when it rains. Don't these sofas look super cosy? They are just waiting to be snuggled into. This is the kind of decor style I favour - a mishmash of styles that one loves and not necessarily strictly adhering to a certain look, be it modern, tropical or countryside. I especially love the look of the plain sofa with colourful throw cushions and cosy rug.

Pictures above courtesy of the Style Files.

I have been hounding eBay for soft throws, and found two that I really really like, from here and here (pictures c/o). They are made from Acapalca wool from Peru and they don't come cheap. So I think I will wait a couple of weeks - till my sofa gets here at least - to see if the craving still stays. I've made one too many impulse purchases last year just because I shappenned to stumbe something I thought I really needed wanted. So this time I am trying to practice a bit more self-restraint and I am trying to buy some time before I click "Buy".





Oh, and I've also been stalking Etsy for artwork. Mostly local vendors (Thailand, Malaysia). I love paintings of local scenes - shophouses and temples in Penang, tranquil seascapes like these ones from here. I have a real penchant for watercolours, and I love the moody blue washes in these pieces.

I also love artwork depicting food and the kitchen (this being one my favourite blogs - her works are super funny). So I am thinking also about artworks like this one here, from another Etsy seller.

 Ahh, decisions, decisions.

Newness

1) New necklaces, at prices to good not to snap them, from Forever21 and the local crafts market

2) The first 100% silk shirt I own. From Zara. Love the slouchy cut and of course, the feel of the fabric against my skin.

3) This gorgeous not-to-casual maxi dress, in vivid emerald. Also from Zara (I swear, this store will be death of my financial health one day - stylish, quality clothes at prices just at the high range of my price comfort zone). The peekaboo skirt makes it slightly special and the scoop neckline keeps it casual, in lieu of my usual halter or spaghetti straps in maxi dresses. Which mean I can wear this to church without looking overly dressy either. I have plans to wear this to Christmas mass (yes, it's a bit of planning a bit far ahead, but hey, this is how I justified the purchase)

4) I've been looking for this one forever - handwoven ikat table runner in blue rather than the usual red, brown and yellow. Something to remember Sarawak by.

Cold brew coffee

When it comes to coffee I am a downright peasant. Sure, I turn up my nose at pre-grated parmesan, margarine, etc etc. But when it comes to coffee I can't exist without plain ol' Nescafe. Always have, always will. I do order the occasional cappucinno or espresso when I meet friends at Starbucks or Coffee Bean, but that's mostly because, well, you're sitting in the cafe, you gotta order something, right? I am also steering clear of the current fad - Nespresso/CBTL capsule coffee machines. Most of our friends have already bought theirs. Me, I gotta have my daily shot of my (relatively) cheap caffeine every morning from instant Nescafe, and I'm set to go. I do brew coffee with my gorgeous Bodum French Press (a birthday gift from my mum) and my percolator for the fun of it. I love the process of brewing more than the drinking (Nescafe is all I really need), if I were to be entirely truthful. All in all, I do think that my wallet and the environment  ought to give me some credit. :)

Recently another foodie fad caught my eye (I am shamelessly behind it all- be it caramel, salt in desserts. But I try, people, I try). Cold brew coffee. According to the Curious Cook Harold McGee in his NY Times article, cold brews tend to contain less caffeine and less acid. Less caffeine, hmm. Not too sure about that. Less acid is most welcome. McGee also claims that cold brews taste fruitier and more refreshing. And it's so easy, people. Like, ridiculous. Just steep coffee grounds overnight in water (room temp, cold, I've come across recipes for both - if you can call them recipes). Strain and store in fridge. Pour over ice cubes, add milk  and sugar syrup. Duh. If this is too easy for you, this wonderful site that warrants a lot more vistis has some pretty detailed instructions on getting the best out of your cold brew. I tried 12 hours at room temp and another 12 in the fridge. My brew came out still slightly acidic - next time I'm gonna try using a milder blend, and steep in the fridge instead of at room temp. After all, unlike dumplings or cookies, this is one recipe easy enough to warrant multiple attempts at perfection :)

Lemon-Almond Ginger Cake

Another weekend to myself, another baking experiment. This time, a lemon-ginger cake inspired by Maida Heatter's too-tempting-to-resist sounding recipe for Best Damn Lemon Cake.

They say one good thing always leads to another. I was drawn to the book when I read, a long time ago, a seriously tempting-sounding 8-hour cheesecake post on one of my favourite blogs. I wanted so badly to try it but sadly my microwave convection doesn't go lower than 150 deg C or beyond 4 hours. Very sad. When I buy my built in oven I am gonna make sure it can bake this cheesecake.

Anyway I changed it up slightly - subbing self-raising flour for the mixture of AP and baking powder, adding ginger to the mix and since I didn't have lemon extract, used lemon juice in place of milk. Also, inspired by this beautiful sugary crust I saw Donna Hay create on one of her Fast, Fresh and Simple episodes, I used some of my golden demerara sugar to make a crust too.

The cake had the most delicate crumbs, very different from say pound cake ones which I am used to. I can't say this justifies the expense of the almonds. But overall, it had a gorgeous flavour and made very nice teatime treat.

Adapted from here.

1 1/2 cups sifted self-raising flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 lb butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup ground almonds
zest from 2 large lemons
1 2-ince knob of fresh ginger, peeled and grated (reserve the juices)

GLAZE
3 tbsp demerara sugar, 3 tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat heat oven to 160 deg C.
Butter a 6-cup loaf pan and dust with cookie or plain bread crumbs (I used oatmeal that I ground up in a food processor).
Melt butter. Rub the lemon zest and ginger gratings into the sugar.
In a mixing bowl, mix butter and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time on low speed.
Then, alternately, add sifted dry ingredients and milk.
Mix in lemon juice. Fold in almonds and lemon zest. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake 60-75 minutes. Two or three minutes before the cake is done, prepare the glaze.

Heat juice and sugars slightly, until the granulated sugar dissolves slightly, but do not boil.

Remove cake from oven and cool in pan 3 minutes.

Brush the hot glaze over the cake in the pan. You should have the sugar crystals clinging to the top of the cake.
Store wrapped in wax paper AND aluminum foil.
 
Set in refrigerator a few days before serving.
 

Our turn

That long-awaited letter has finally arrived.

This is now the catalyst to get things moving - sorting out dates with my real movers, getting a permit for dear Boo to go over to KL (we sincerely hope he will like it as much as we do). And sorting out where our precious one is going to live - I am surprised though that many service apartments in KL do allow pets. There are many terms and conditions applied (some we have to pay extra, they're only allowed in the service elevators, one requested for de-clawing of the cat - boo to that). But overall, Kudos!

The bad news is that we hit a little snag on the buying of our house - we're praying that it won't last long.

I can't wait.