Cake au Thon (Tuna Cake)

Say what?!?! Yes...your eyes aren’t deceiving you...tuna cake...this is a regular in French kitchens and yet I had heard of its existence just a few weeks ago. It wasn’t part of my mom’s daily repertoire as we were growing up…and well honestly my mom didn’t cook French food very often…aside from boeuf bourguignon (burgundy beef), coq au vin (chicken in wine stew), and hachis parmentier (sort of Sheppard’s pie)…we were more likely to see chicken curry and dhal or simple western dishes such as spaghetti bolognaise on the table. I guess for one thing my mom was cooking dishes that my dad would enjoy and identify with…and she was making dishes that were fast and easy as being a mother of two doesn’t always allow the time to prepare gourmet meals.

So just recently my mom got hold of a recipe for cake au thon…tuna cake…and so she decided to make it…she loved it so much that gave me the recipe…and at first the name just didn’t sit right with me…tuna cake…sure there aren’t any sweet ingredients…so it’s not that kind of a cake…but still…just the words tuna and cake together seemed strange…but at my mom’s insistence about how good it is I decided to bake it…and you know what? This is really really good! It’s tasty…and filling…you can have a few slices with a salad and you’re set to go. Sometimes you just have to try things…at least once to know if it’s something you’d like.

Tuna Cake

You can choose to change up the filling for this. My mom likes to use pine nuts and green olives. Next time I make this I'm thinking about adding in sundried tomatoes as well. It's so simple to make and it makes a great meal.

3 eggs
100ml milk
80ml olive oil
100g flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Handful of chopped basil
Handful of sliced black olives
1/2 handful of capers
1 1/2 cans of tuna, drained (I use 1 can of chilli tuna and half a can of tuna in water)
1 handful grated gruyere cheese (I didn't have gruyere and used emmenthal)

Preheat oven to 200C. Mix the eggs, milk, oil, flour, baking powder and salt. Add in the basil, olives, capers, and tuna. Pour into a loaf pan and sprinkle on top with the cheese. Bake 40-45 mins.

Asian Noodle Soup

Even though I'm half Asian and I've spent most of my life living in Asia I rarely cook Asian meals...sure my Western dishes might have a little bit of Asian flair as far as spices or seasonings go...but I just don't cook Asian food...I suppose it's because I can just walk down the street and find all sorts of stalls with anything I could want...Chinese dishes, Indian curries and rotis, Malay rice dishes...and it's cheap...dirt cheap.

So buying all the ingredients and cooking it myself is actually more expensive than just stepping out my front door. The only reason anyone living here would want to cook it themselves is if they want to be healthy...because although the stalls have very tasty food it is usually cooked with the lowest quality of ingredients and usually very high in fat.

Last night I decided to make my first Noodle soup dish...just the way I like it with green leafy veggies, large juicy oyster mushrooms, little pieces of tofu and an egg cracked into the soup and muddled in...it turned out very well! Extremely delicious and full of good proteins and hardly any fat. I think I'll be making more of my own Asian dishes from now on!

Spicy Noodle Soup

Chicken broth (This depends on how many you are cooking for and how soupy you like it)
5 Ginger slices
3 Garlic cloves, smashed
2 tbs Light Soy Sauce
2 tbs Chilli Sesame Oil
Handful of green leafy veg (I used choy sam, you can use spinach or anything you enjoy)
Handful of oyster mushrooms
Handful of diced firm tofu
Handful of noodle of your choice (I used soba)
1 Egg

Bring the chicken broth to a boil with the ginger and the garlic. Turn it down to simmer for 15mins. Bring it back up to a boil and toss in the noodles. Once they start to soften add in the tofu and mushrooms. Break the egg into the pot and whisk it around to make the broth murky. Turn off the heat and add in the leafy veg and once it starts to wilt add in the soy sauce and chilli sesame oil. Voila! A simple nutritious and tasty meal.

Savoury Oatmeal

Last week I was down with a terrible cold and I could barely think of food much less rustle up the energy to cook anything...but starving was not an option and I still needed some nutrients and vitamins to fight off the nasty virus. So I turned to something that funny enough has created a lot of buzz....savoury oats?

Most of you I'm sure are used to having your oats with berries, honey, nuts and everything sweet and breakfasty...I was the same. Then I started trying to incorporate more oatmeal into my diet for all the wonderful health benefits...cholesterol reduction...lowers risk of heart disease...high fiber...and the list can just keep going on.

I was so gung-ho about adding it to my diet that I went full force with a bowl of oatmeal with raisins, nuts, and honey almost everyday. And while it was lovely for the first day or two...I eventually got tired of the same flavours. Add on the fact that I don't have much of a sweet tooth (give me a bowl of salty fries or chips over a chocolate bar anyday!)...and I guess you can see where I'm going with this...

I needed my oatmeal to be salty and while I had never heard of anyone eating their oatmeal with anything other than sweet ingredients I decided to venture out and try it. The first time I was quite conservative and I grated a bit of white cheddar cheese into my hot bowl of oatmeal...stirred it all in...took a bite...and then immediately wondered to my self why I have never done this before! It was delicious!! Cheesy goodness with a nice salty edge...It was lovely and so the next day I got even more adventurous and decided to make it really Asian...I drizzled in some soy sauce, chilli sesame oil, minced ginger and I stirred in spinach and sauteed mushrooms...took a bite...and gosh if I thought the cheese oatmeal was good...then this was orgasmic!! It was almost exactly like a bubur(congee/rice porridge) but less starchy and so much easier to pull together. It was love at first sight I tell you...not quite the same love Garlic and I shared...but it was still love. I brought a bowl of different savoury oatmeal variations for lunch everyday that week and never got tired of it...and to tell you the truth...I might have trouble going back to a sweet breakfasty oatmeal!

You can play around with many variations on this...cheese and dried chilli flakes...make it like a bubur ayam (chicken porridge) by stirring in cooked chicken, soy sauce, fried shallots and chopped scallions...maybe even something with spices...or curry powder...this little bowl holds endless possibilities. You can even cut down on cooking time by using instant oatmeal...that's what I do when I didn't have the energy to cook!

This lovely bowl was my dinner last night after yoga...

All I did was pour boiling water on my instant oats...drizzled in soy and sesame oil...toss in some steamed broccoli...sprinkled with pepper...and voila! A healthy nutritious dinner ready in less than 10mins.