An Update

I've been busy settling in to the new office and I just wanted to give you guys a glimpse of what I've cooked up in the kitchen...the wonderful photos were taken by my arty design colleague...

This is a very simple olive and onion pizza...I decided to make this because I wanted to try out a recipe for a thin crust pizza base that doesn't need to proof...this is a dough that you can just mix and roll out right away and pop in the oven...this is done faster than the time it takes for you to pick up the phone and call Domino's pizza...and homemade is always much better!

All you need is 2cups of flour, 3/4 cup water, 2tsp yeast, 1tsp sugar, a pinch of salt and 2tbs olive oil...mix it all up...knead and roll out as thin as you can get it...add toppings of your choice...pop in the oven at 180C and cook till the crust browns slightly. This recipe makes 2 pizzas.

With this recipe I don't think I'll ever call for a pizza again!

We've also had a lot of filo pastry lying round the office which we've been meaning to use up...so I stewed some fresh nectarine slices in a grapefruit cranberry juice with some sugar...and then I put this together baklava style...a few slices of pastry brushed with butter...then I layered on the nectarines...and then layered on more slices of pastry followed with a ricotta, nutella, nut mixture...this was interesting and tasted like a fruit pie...

I also made spinach, ricotta, walnut rolls...those were delicious!!

This is what I've been busy doing in the kitchen at work over the past few days...next week I'm cooking up a series of burgers from around the world...and also some ghoulish halloween treats!

Yoghurt Coleslaw with Grated Apple

This was a cat that took a nap in my lap when I was at the beach bar in Penang over the holiday weekend...just too adorable to not post!

I am back! Well sort of...I'm still at my sister's place...but my cousin who was visiting from France has gone back home and so now I have more time on my hands to cook and blog!

Last night I decided to try a little something different than the usual dinner repertoire...I was craving something with smoky Cajun spices...something low in fat but packed with flavour! I ended up cooking blackened Cajun chicken breasts and serving it up with a side of coleslaw and spiced kidney beans...

Now I generally don't like coleslaw...the creamy awful kind that they serve in fast food restaurants like KFC...the ones laden with so much mayo that you can't even distinguish the crisp slivers of cabbage…I’m not a fan of mayo so that alone is a turn off...

So when I was thinking of the best match for my spicy Cajun chicken it was weird that a cold light creamy coleslaw popped into my head…of all things! Gosh…sometimes I have cravings that I just cannot explain…In my mind though this coleslaw was not going to be made with mayo…I decided to make it with yoghurt instead…and to give it a little juicy sweetness I also grated apples into the mix.

It was the perfect match for the hot spicy chicken…cooling and refreshing with a slight tangy creaminess…the added bite of cilantro was the cherry on the cake! After having this for dinner…I think coleslaw might make regular appearances at my dinner table!

Yoghurt Coleslaw with Grated Apple

1/2 Head of Cabbage, shredded
2 Spring onions, sliced thinly
2 Apples, grated(squeeze a little lemon to keep these from turning brown)
Handful of chopped cilantro
1/2 Cup plain yoghurt
1 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp Cayenne pepper

Toss the shredded cabbage with the salt and let it sit for 30mins. This draws some of the juices out. Toss in the spring onions, grated apples, and cilantro and mix well. Add in the yoghurt and cayenne pepper and mix till everything is coated.

Idiot's Guide #5: Spice Roast Pumpkin

In all honesty there can be too much of a good thing...I love my job because of all the food reviews and events I get to go to...but when they all happen at the same time it can make a person weary of the exact thing they love! Which is why this week I am exhausted at the thought of food...I don't want to eat any more of it...I don't want to cook it...or smell it...all that pleasure has drained away because there has simply been too much. I am full...simply put. No cravings...no desires...just full.

This is why when I was trying to figure out what in the world to make for lunch today I decided to go with something that would fill my stomach just enough to keep me going...but with a lot of nutritional content and no heaviness or greasiness! Just pure simple comfort food.

I had a pumpkin in my fridge that needed to be cooked...and so I decided to just chop it into cubes and toss with a few spices and roast...very simple but nutritious. Pumpkin is very high in carotenoids that are really good at neutralizing free radicals. They also have a lot of nutrients like iron, zinc, and fiber...so I figured a tupperware of this for lunch would be just fine!

Spice Roast Pumpkin

1/4 Pumpkin cut in cubes

1 tsp Cumin

1 tsp Coriander

1 tsp Cayenne Pepper

1 tsp Salt

2 tsp Olive Oil

Heat oven to 150C. Toss pumpkin cubes with all the spices and coat with olive oil. Using your hands to do this makes for a more even spread of the spices. Spread the pumpkin cubes out on a baking dish and pop in the oven for 30mins or till the cubes are tender. Enjoy!

Aries Trio

R's birthday is coming up this Thursday on the 16th...oddly enough my sister's boyfriend whose name also begins with an R (but we'll call him RG on here) has the exact same birth date…and to make this all even weirder our dad’s birthday is just two days later!

So in April we have three big birthdays to celebrate…our Aries trio.

My mom decided to throw a nice family birthday dinner as RG’s parents, who live in London, also happened to be in town for a holiday. We enjoyed a lovely feast of goodies and unfortunately I enjoyed the dinner a bit too much because once I was done with the starter, I was about to tuck into the mains when I realised that I had completely forgotten to take a photo of the starter! Grr…what hunger does to the brain…

Anyway on to the food…My mom made a lovely mango avocado crab salad …there were so many different flavours going on in this dish…sweetness from the mango chunks as well as the pureed mango sauce…a sort of sealike saltiness from the crab…creaminess from the avocado different flavour notes from the cilantro and mint and a bit of heat from the Tabasco…it was refreshing and oh so good! I feel very silly for having missed out on that beautiful photo op!

Once we were done with the starters we were on to the main dish…a rich and tender boeuf bourguignon (burgundy beef stew)…sautéed green beans…and baked polenta circles topped off with a bit of Gruyere. All of this was no doubt delicious and as always my favourite part of boeuf bourguignon was mopping up all the delicious sauce with a nice crusty baguette…this is home cooking at its best!

Dessert was simple…a store bought birthday cake! This cake was light and fluffy which was good after a yummy heavy dinner... I helped my mom out the day before the dinner to make the baked polenta circles...it's a very simple side and yet its great to serve at a dinner party when you're tired of the usual starch dishes. It's also something that can be made a couple of days before so it saves you a lot of time on the day of your dinner party.

Baked Polenta Circles
2 cups organic milk
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups polenta
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese
1/4 cup olive oil

Bring the milk and water just to a boil in a large saucepan. Slowly stream in the polenta while stirring constantly with a whisk. Stir in the salt and turn down the heat a bit if needed (you don't want the polenta to scorch). Continue stirring until the polenta thickens up and starts to stick to the whisk. This can take anywhere from just a few minutes to much longer depending on your polenta.

Remove from heat and spread out onto a baking sheet using a spatula or your hands. Chill in a refrigerator for at least an hour, or overnight. Use a cookie cutter or a glass to cut the polenta into circles. Rub each piece with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with some Gruyere.

Bake at 200C on the middle rack, for 20 minutes or until golden.

An Idiots Guide to Cooking

The other day I was chatting with my sister online and she told me she was moving out of my parents place and needed to learn how to cook. This was how our conversation went:

Sis: Can you send me some simple healthy recipes that I can try?

Me: Just check out my blog there's some stuff on there

Sis: Yeah but everything on your blog is complicated it's for people who know how to cook! I need an idiots guide.

Me: Hey! that's a great idea! I'll start an idiots guide on my blog...something very simple with explicit instructions and with pictures to follow.

So I'll be starting an Idiots Guide to cooking on here pretty soon with pictures detailing each step. For now though I'll leave you with a cous cous recipe which is simple enough ;-)

This is something that can be eaten as a side dish or you can toss in diced grilled chicken to make it a complete meal. The couscous also gets more flavorful with time and makes for a great packed lunch.

1 Red Onion cut into 3inch wedges

1 Zucchini cut lenghtwise into 4 wedges

1 Squash cut lenghtwise into 4 wedges

1 Red Bell Pepper cut into 3inch strips

10 Cloves of Garlic unpeeled

1 Cup of pitted and halved Olives

Half a Lemon

Olive Oil

Box of instant Couscous

Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Toss the Red Onion, Zucchini, Squash, Red Bell Pepper and Garlic with a little drizzle of olive oil and lay them out on a baking sheet with the skin facing upwards. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper.

2. Turn on the broiler and put the vegetables on the middle rack. Broil till the Bell Pepper skin starts to char.

3. Cook the couscous as per package instructions (This usually depends on the brand but normally you would just boil some water and pour it on top of the couscous and cover for 5mins)

4. Once the vegetables are done let them cool and then cut them into little bite sized pieces. The Garlic should pop right out of the skin and you can cut the cloves in half.

5. Toss all the vegetables including the olives with the cooked couscous and add the juice of half a lemon, a drizzle of olive oil and some salt and pepper.

You can do so many things with couscous and if you have any fresh herbs on hand such as Rosemary, Thyme, Basil, or Oregano add them in!

Poached Fish and Zucchini Croquettes

Over the weekend I was at my parent's place cooking up a storm! I wanted to go with a light main and a more substantial side dish to compliment it. I decided on a wonderful Poached Fish in Lemon Broth which I found on this blog with Zucchini Croquettes on the side. The zucchini recipe also comes from a blog but I can't quite retrace my steps to find it.

This was my first time poaching fish and I found the recipe very easy to follow. The broth was light and fragrant, perfect for the simmering fish fillets. Once it came time to make the sauce I was quite surprised that no flour was used to thicken it. But upon tasting it I could understand why...this is not supposed to be a thick creamy sauce but rather a light healthy one. The addition of hot sauce(I used Tabasco Garlic) made all the flavors come together harmoniously.

There were quite a few steps involved in making the zucchini croquettes and one problem I had was figuring out how much water to squeeze from the grated zucchini strips...the more I squeezed the more water came out...it seemed neverending! Eventually I settled on semi-dry strips and decided that the breadcrumbs added at a later stage would take care of the moisture. Once everything was mixed together I moulded the patties and fried away...the minute these hit the hot oil you can smell the aromatic mingling of herbs, cheese, and zucchini...it made my tummy grumble!

All in all these two dishes were a success...in the future I will try using different types of fish to see how that changes the flavors.

Here are the recipes for you to follow:

Poached Cod in Lemon Fumé Broth

1 cod fillet
1 cup vegetable or mushroom broth
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 lemon
2 cloves minced garlic
1 T dried dill weed
1 T dried onion (or 2-4 scallions, minced, or 1/4 C leek leaves, minced)
3-4 sprigs cilantro, chopped
2 T butter
salt, hot sauce to taste

-Cut the fish into serving pieces (1 per diner).
-Combine the broth, wine, garlic, dill weed, onion, and cilantro in a skillet (sufficient to eventually accommodate comfortably all the fish in one layer) over medium heat. Squeeze the lemon into the pan and then cut it into several slices and place in the pan. Simmer the mixture for about 20 minutes. Add the fish and modulate the heat so the broth barely bubbles. Poach the fish for a total of about 4 minutes per inch of thickness, turning carefully when half cooked. (Reduce the time proportionately for the thinner pieces from the tail of the fish. If the thinner pieces are completely submerged there is no need to turn them.)
-Remove the fish to a warmed plate. Cover with foil and set aside while you finish the sauce.
-Strain the solids from the broth in the pan and return the liquid to the pan. Raise the heat to high and reduce quickly by half. Stir in the butter and season carefully with salt and hot sauce.

To serve, place the pieces of fish on a warm flat serving dish and spoon the sauce over them.

Zucchini Croquettes

4 courgettes
1 onion
Mint leaves
Basil leaves
Salt and pepper
4 egg yolks
Bread crumbs
100 g of grated parmesan

-Grate the courgettes very finely and salt them. Let them rest for 10 minutes, then drain and squeeze them to throw all the excess water.
-Add the onion, grated, them mix together with the egg yolks, the minced herbs, 100 g of parmesan and some bread crumbs, until perfectly combined.
-Heat good quality frying oil, and add spoonful of the courgettes mixture, frying until golden.
-Sprinkle with salt and serve right away.

Airplane Food? I Don't Think So!! **Repeat post from last year**

I know from all my experience in traveling that the last thing anyone wants to do is to hop on a long flight hungry. Once the plane takes off you're left with your hunger and your dreadful companion Mr.RectangularContainerJammedWithInedibleGunk. While he may not be your first choice of a companion he starts to grow on you as the hours slowly pass by. Soon enough you get to the point where you actually look up and down the aisles to see if he's around the corner...your tummy has deceived you. It has allowed you to make friends with just about anything that lies under the shiny tin foil...and while your tummy feels happy...you feel betrayed...such is the fate of a traveler...

Or is it?

Last night Avril and George(My parent's friends parents{tongue twister I know!}) were leaving on a flight to go back home to Spain. They were in KL visiting their son and our family had the pleasure of meeting them. Knowing that they were doomed to a fate of airplane food we decided to have them over for dinner before their flight. We were going for a light, simple, flavorful meal. And I think my mom and I accomplished just that!

As an appetizer with drinks I whipped up hummus and baba ganoush with small pita triangles. I wish I had a photo for you but before I could even take one the guests were digging in (I guess that's a compliment!)

Next we served up in buffet style in no particular order:

Bruschetta

I got this recipe from my sister's(Steph) boyfriend Ralph. He makes the most amazing Bruschetta. It is so fresh and delicious. The secret to this dish is in the olive oil and balsamic vinegar, the better the quality the yummier it is!



2 cups chopped cherry tomatoes
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
5 tablespoons olive oil
Fresh grated Parmesan to top it off
Baguette or Italian bread sliced

This is the basic bruschetta mix and then you can add spices of your choice to give it that extra oomph! I added Thyme, Oregano, Fresh Basil, and Fresh Parsley. Chop up the tomatoes, add the balsamic vinegar and olive oil along with all the spices and let it marinate for at least an hour or up to 2days. Broil the bread, rub it with garlic, and brush it with olive oil. Top it off with the tomato mixture and cheese.

Honey Ginger Bell Pepper Salad

This is a salad my mom and I made drawing inspiration from many different recipes. The flavors all worked very well together and we had a guest wiping the salad bowl clean with bread!



3 bell peppers in any color
1/2 unripe mango
1 cucumber remove the seeds
1/4 red onion
1 handful of fresh mint
1 handful of fresh coriander
1 handful of watercress

Thinly slice the bell peppers, mango, cucumber, and red onion. Toss in mint, coriander and watercress. Mix in dressing.

Dressing:

1 tbs honey
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs sesame oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbs grated ginger
1 handful of sesame seeds

We also served cold cuts but no I didn't make them...sadly I have not yet reached that level of chefdom.



Spicy Salmon Pasta

We decided to make a fusion pasta...Italy meets Malaysia. It was spicy and exciting, everything a pasta dish should be! While the picture may not look too pretty (hey I said I could cook not take photos!) it was definitely a very yummy dish!



Unfortunately since we made this for 10 people I don't really know what to tell you in terms of proportions..in fact we didn't measure anything we just made what we figured would be enough for 10...so I'll tell you what goes into it instead and you can decide how much of each thing you want in it. After all it is all a matter of each person's individual tastes.

Smoked salmon cut in pieces
Chopped dried chili pepper
Chopped fresh basil
Chopped chives
Sliced garlic
Pine nuts

Heat up olive oil. Add garlic and stir till light golden brown. Add all the other ingredients just to heat up for a minute and then add in pasta of choice. We went with spaghetti.

Cheesecake Topped With Peaches



For dessert Chandri(A family friend) brought a gorgeous cheesecake! As you can see from the photo the guests cut it up and ran off with their slices before I could even take a photo of the whole cake. It was light and delicate, the perfect end to a meal!

All in all the night was a success!
And hopefully we sent Avril and George off to a flight filled with less of Mr.RectangularContainerJammedWithInedibleGunk and more drowsy food induced sleep.

Good Ol' Fish N Chips

A succulent tender fish dipped in beer batter and then deep fried till it's crisp....fries made from scratch by cutting potatoes with the skin still on and deep fried... While it's obviously not the healthiest choice, who doesn't like something that is deep fried till it is crunchy and full of flavor?

To me fries are the ultimate comfort food...just the right amount of salt, crispiness, and flavor to satisfy me at meals and even just to snack on whenever hunger strikes! What better to pair homemade fries with than a battered fried fish! So I looked in the fridge and saw that I had a can of beer too...beer batter is very light and airy. It makes the batter fluffy and crispy once fried.

The end result: The meal was delicious! It didn't feel too greasy or heavy but rather the opposite. The subtle flavor of the fish with a little bit of lemon squeezed on it was heavenly. Paired with fries made from scratch it was the perfect sunday afternoon meal!

Beer Battered Fish

1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
4 white fish fillets (I used grouper)
225g of flour
1 can of cold beer
3 tsp baking powder

Whisk the flour, baking powder and beer together till it has mixed properly. Season the fish with salt and pepper on both sides, then lightly dust it with some extra flour to help it dry out a bit. Heat the oil till it is very hot. Test it by dripping a teaspoon of batter into the oil. If it sizzles and immediately begins to brown then you know it's ready. Dip the fish in the batter and carefully put it in the pan. Don't crowd your pan with too many fish. Cook it until it is a nice golden brown. Once you have taken all the fish out place it in the oven to keep warm as you fry the french fries. Drain the fish on paper towels once out of the oven. Sprinkle them with salt.

Homemade Fries

Potatoes sliced into chips

Parboil the potatoes for 5mins just till they turn slightly soft. Add the fries into the pan with the oil that was used to fry the fish and fry till they are golden. Now to make your fries extra crispy you are going to want to double fry it. So once you have taken the fries out of the pan and drained them, toss them back into the hot oil just for a few seconds to crisp up even more. Drain the fries on a paper towel. Season with paprika or another seasoning of your choice!

Serve the fish and chips with lemon wedges and malt vinegar for those who like their fries with salt and vinegar. Enjoy!